"I want to go to Kindergarten with you," Arizona heard her little girl telling Mark.
"I know, Sof," he said. "I'll try to meet you there. But first I have to go do a surgery. Mommy's gonna make you breakfast so Lexie and I can go work."
"You promise you'll meet me at Kindergarten?"
"I can't promise, Baby," he said. "But I'll really, really try."
"Good."
"And if not, then you can tell me all about it later."
"Yeah."
"Sound good, Sof?" Arizona asked, meeting her at the door.
"Big school's today!" she announced. "I can't believe it, Mommy!"
She laughed. "I can't believe it, either. What happened to teeny tiny baby you?"
"I growed."
"You did," she nodded. "What would you like for breakfast?"
"I don't know."
"Give me a kiss, Big School Girl," Mark said.
She looked up and he and Lexie both bent down to give her goodbye kisses. Luckily, she was fairly used to one of them having to quickly leave her with the other. This still didn't help Mark feel any less bad about possibly missing out on Sofia's first day of "big school," though.
"Bye Daddy," she said. "Bye Lexie. Try really your hardest."
"We will," Lexie promised.
"Okay, so what's for breakfast?" Arizona asked as she and Sofia entered the apartment.
"Toast with jelly and peanut butter."
"Again?" she asked. "Sofia, you've gotta try other stuff."
"But that's my favourite!"
"How about toast and some yogurt? Alena made it yesterday with fresh strawberries. It's really good."
"I just said toast."
"Try a little yogurt," she said.
"Fine."
"You're five, not fifteen," she told her. "What's with the attitude?"
"Because Mommy, you can't ask what I want and then say no."
"I can," she replied. "I'm the mommy."
Alena came out of the bedroom. "Hey, Big School Girl."
"Hi," Sofia smiled as she climbed up to the chair that they kept at the island.
Alena had moved in with them last year and Sofia loved having an extra playmate around. She wasn't totally sure how to explain why she had so many parents when her little friends asked, but Arizona and Mark had always told her it was a special thing. It just meant she got a little more love, and who wouldn't want that?
"You're so big."
"I know," she said. "Daddy says before I know it, I'll be at prom."
"Oh God," Arizona replied.
"What's prom?" she asked.
"It's a party for really big, big kids."
"Like Sloan?"
"A little younger than her, but yeah," she nodded.
"Oh," she said. "Little kids not allowed?"
"Nope."
"No fun."
Arizona gave Sofia some yogurt and started to toast the bread for her toast.
"Toast again, huh?" Alena asked.
"Because it's yummy," Sofia nodded.
"I know."
"You have your madre's stubbornness," Arizona told the five-year-old
"She only eated toast, too?"
"No," Arizona smiled. "But when you make up your mind, there's no changing it. She was the same way."
"And I think she liked toast," Sofia decided. "Everybody does."
"Sofia Robbin Sloan!" Arizona called out. "Come on! You're gonna be late for big school."
"I can't believe she's five already," Alena said.
"You can't?" she asked. "You didn't see her when she was literally a pound. To think that that little baby grew up to be her is insane."
"What do you think about having another one?" she asked.
It had been on her mind for awhile now, but Alena had been nervous to bring it up. She knew her girlfriend hadn't wanted children before Sofia came along, but she also knew that that little lady was Arizona's entire world now. Maybe, hopefully, she would want to add to the family. Alena loved Sofia, but she did want more kids one day.
"Someday," Arizona decided. "Not now, but eventually."
"Really?"
"Really," she nodded. "I have zero desire to be pregnant, but I know it's something you want. And Sofia'd love to have a little one around. And, surprisingly, I love being a mommy. So, yeah."
"Good."
Sofia came out of her bedroom. "I look pretty enough," she decided. "We could go now."
"You're so funny," Arizona said. "Of course you look pretty."
"Daddy says I'm the prettiest girl he knows," she said as Arizona put her princess backpack on for her. "Well, and Lexie and Sloan."
"Yeah."
"Mommy…?" she asked.
"What?"
"How long is big school?"
"You're done at three o'clock," she said. "Auntie Meredith's gonna pick you and Zola both up. She'll be done work, but we won't be. But I think she's gonna bring you to the hospital so you and Zola can tell us all about it."
"Zola's in my class?"
"Maybe."
"I hope."
"Sofia!" Little Zola squealed as she saw her best friend walk into the classroom. "Daddy, it's Sofia!"
"I see her," Derek chuckled. "You're in the same class."
"Good."
Derek was still there because the teacher was allowing the parents to stay for the first hour to help ease their children in if they were unsure. Meredith had left work just long enough to be able to drop Zola off with Derek, but she had had to go back.
"Zola, is Kindergarten fun?" Sofia asked, assuming the extra few minutes Zola had been there gave her so much knowledge about this new place.
"Yeah," she smiled.
Sofia turned around. "See my pack-pack?" she asked. "I picked it out all by myself. But my daddy paid the money 'cause I don't got a job."
The adults all laughed.
"What's your name?" the teacher asked as she came over to Sofia. "I'm Mrs. Rollins."
"My name is Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres," she answered.
"Hi, Sofia," she smiled. "Welcome to my class."
"Zola is my friend," she told her.
"I see," she said. "Would you girls like to draw a picture of your family to share with the class?"
"Okay," Zola replied. "I got a new puppy. Can I put her?"
"Sure," Mrs. Rollins nodded. "What's her name?"
"Tequila," Zola said, proudly.
"Oh."
"Clearly she didn't pick it," Derek laughed as their girls went off to draw.
"Hey!" Arizona protested. "We don't get kisses?"
Sofia came back over and gave Arizona and Alena both kisses. "That's my mommy," she explained to Mrs. Rollins. "And Alena. She's kinda my mommy, too. Like Lexie. Oh, and I gots a madre in Heaven."
"You've got a big family, huh?" her teacher asked. "Lucky girl."
"It's cause mommy and daddy both like girls," she said. "Daddy and Lexie is cuttin' somebody open so they're not here."
"We're surgeons," Arizona explained as Sofia went back to her drawing.
"All of you?" Mrs. Rollins asked. "How do you get anything done?"
"Caffiene," she said.
"My sister's a surgeon and I hardly ever see her. I couldn't imagine how surgeons manage with kids. Good for you."
"The four parents thing helps," Arizona said. "But yeah."
Sofia was almost done her picture when Mark walked in. "We've been told we have to wait until she's finished," Arizona said. "I could be rounding, but I'm waiting for her to add flowers to the grass."
He laughed and went over. "Sofia…" he said.
She looked up. "Daddy!"
"Shhh…" he said. "Inside voice."
"You comed to my class," she smiled.
"I did," he nodded. "Just for a few minutes, though. Then Mommy, Alena, and I have to go to work."
"I know," she said. "See my picture, Daddy?"
"I love it," he replied. "But why is my hair green?"
"I gave you a bow," she said.
"Lovely."
"How do you spell daddy?" she asked.
She knew how to spell her own name – and her sister's since it was a part of her full name - so they were written under their places in the picture, but she didn't know how to spell anyone elses.
"D-A-D-D-Y."
"Oh," she said. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"I love Kindergarten."
"I'm glad."
"Our kid is at school right now," Arizona said as she ate lunch with Mark that afternoon. "That can't be right."
"Yep," he said. "Where did our baby go?"
"I spent all morning asking myself that."
"I asked Lexie about having another one," Mark said. "Is that weird? Part of me thinks it's werid. I mean, Sloan's twenty-four. But Sofia's only five. And Sloan was older when she was born too."
"What is with you people?" she asked him.
"What?"
"Alena asked about having one, too."
"Oh. And…?"
"One day," she said, taking a bite out of her apple. "What about Lexie?"
"She wants to get married first," she said. "Little does she know, I'm also working on that."
"You bought a ring?"
"Yeah," he nodded.
"Wow. Today's been a big day."
"Yep."
