A/N: Thanks to Dr-Arizona for checking my Spanish for me. You're awesome.
I hope you guys like this chapter ;) it's a lot longer.

I'm going to kill you. Do you hear me? When you get home and you're safe and alive, I will kill you.

Shot! Calliope Torres! You got shot? And you didn't tell me? You got shot, in the arm, you were out of commission for TWO WEEKS! And you didn't tell me? Calliope, I'm going to ring your neck. I'm going to beat you until you are black and blue. I'm going to singlehandedly kill you.

Thank God that's all. Thank God it was only a graze. Thank God nothing else happened to you. Because if it was something more major, I would come over there and kill you!

Sofia doesn't know. She'd think you were dead if I told her without you being here. So you get to tell her that. You get to deal with all of those questions. Maybe I'll just let her kill you. Because she's going to. Although maybe not since Sof has taken a liking to grenades. Maybe she'll think it's cool that you got shot. But either way, one of us will kill you. Maybe even Mark will join in, but I think he already knew because he wasn't nearly as surprised as he should have been. Which pisses me off.

On another note, I can't believe Teddy is back. That was the biggest shock in the world, seeing her face, seeing her standing in the doorway. She's staying here; she's going to be sleeping on the couch until I can fix up something better. She's going to look for a new apartment I think, but she can't go back to work yet and I told her to take her time. You can't imagine how uplifting it has been to have her home. The hospital won't be quite so dreary and Sofia loves having someone else to dote on her at all times.

If I could give you some words of advice, don't call for a while. At least let my anger die out a little. Because I will kill you, Calliope Torres. Mark my words.

It was almost a month to the day since Teddy had returned and despite Arizona's pleas, the stubborn surgeon was moving out two days before Christmas. So Arizona was loading Teddy's few bags into the back of her Expedition. Teddy had gone to her storage unit across town to unload boxes and Arizona was supposed to meet her at the new apartment. Sofia was with Mark today, after school, so she didn't have to worry about being home to meet the bus. Her mind wasn't focused on anything except the fact that the air smelled like snow on the way. As Arizona was closing the trunk, she saw a blue sedan pull up to her building. She'd seen it a few times, passing by, and when a uniformed military officer stepped out of the driver's seat, her heart dropped into her stomach. She steadily continued on her way back, hoping that she was wrong, but as she crossed the street he called out to her.

"Ma'am," he asked. "Do you know where I might find doctor Arizona Robbins?"

Her heart sank further. "I am her." She knew what was coming. She had been preparing herself for this. Steeling herself and willing the oncoming tears to stay back, she waited to hear the dreaded words proclaiming Callie's death.

"I'm looking for Major Altman," he said, almost casually.

Arizona's brow twisted in confusion. "You don't…you aren't looking for me?"

"Yes ma'am. I was told Major Altman was staying with you. Do you know where I might find her?" he asked.

"She's moving," Arizona said, hooking her thumb over her shoulder. Her mind was still reeling and hadn't quite caught up to the conversation. "I'm on my way to help her now. Are you sure you aren't looking for me?" She had been sure that heart-wrenching new had been coming her way.

Arizona heard another car door open and close. "He's not, but I am."

She turned, but she didn't need to. She would know that voice anywhere. The way the tone washed up to her ears and the words carried her back out to sea. The melody of the voice crashed over her head and threatened to tug her under the warm current of blissful peace. She held her breath, not daring to believe it until she saw with her crystal blue eyes the military uniform, the dark tanned skin, and those brilliant ebony eyes. Her jaw went slack as she raised her gaze. Her peripheral mind registered that the uniformed man was stepping back as she took a weightless step forward. And then she was running, breaking through her trance, and flinging her arms around the woman standing before her. "Oh Callie."

"Hey, baby," Callie wrapped her arms around Arizona in a breathtaking hug. "I missed you so much."

It seemed like time stopped as Callie held her. She buried her face in Callie's neck, breathing in her scent. The usual warm vanilla was now mixed with hints of desert storms and the oddly familiar scent of the military. She forgot the stranger that was leaning against the hood of the car, giving them as much privacy as he could. Arizona pulled back, just enough to tentatively press her lips to Callie's. Callie kissed her back, catching her lips as though she would never let go.

Then Callie broke for air and they just stared at each other before Arizona reared back and smacked Callie on the chest. "I'm going to kill you."

Callie jumped, shocked.

Before she could say anything, Arizona snapped, "You got shot! You got shot and you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry," Callie said softly, trying to grab Arizona's flailing arms. "Would you stop freaking out? I'm alive and okay. I have three days, you really want to spend them all yelling at me?"

Arizona glared at her hard before breaking down in tears. "You're home. I can't believe you're home. I've missed you so much, Calliope."

"I've missed you too, baby. More than you will ever know."

They dropped Teddy's stuff and her mystery man off at the new apartment. Apparently, Teddy knew him very well though, because she jumped into his arms when she saw him. Callie grasped Arizona's hand as they drove back through the city. Just having Callie physically present lifted all of the weight off of Arizona's chest. She was safe. She was home. And for three days, Arizona wouldn't have to wonder if she was lying in the desert somewhere dead. She took the well-practiced turn down the road to Sofia's elementary school.

"It's only 11," Callie said.

"Don't tell me that you aren't dying to see her," Arizona shot Callie a disbelieving look. "We can make out like horny teenagers later."

The brilliant smile that always warmed Arizona's heart grew across Callie's face. "Is she big?"

"You won't believe how she's grown, Callie. And you're all she talks about. She wants to be just like you. She's so smart," Arizona said, smiling as they pulled into the parking lot. She got out, but noticed that Callie had yet to move. "Calliope?"

"I'm okay," Callie dried the tears forming in her eyes. "It's just been a long time. You have no idea how many times we drove around the city before I got up the courage to see you. Kevin had to put up with a lot of crying."

"Teddy's guy?" Arizona asked. Callie nodded. Arizona gave her a few moments to collect herself. "Ready?"

The Latina nodded and climbed out of the passenger seat. She took Arizona's hand again as they walked towards the school. Arizona shot her a smile, "I've missed that."

"Hmm?"

"Your super magic smile," Callie said. Arizona leaned into her, savoring the physical contact. They walked slowly as they enjoyed being together, but it was a definitively cold day and Callie started shivering. "I'm used to the desert heat."

"You want my coat?" Arizona asked, knowing that Callie would decline.

"No," the smile came again. "We'll be inside soon."

When they finally made it inside the warmth of the school, Arizona steered her wife into the office. "Hi, I'm Arizona Robbins, Sofia Torres' mother. I'm here to pick her up."

"Reason?" the secretary asked without looking up.

"My wife is home from Iraq and Sofia hasn't seen her mom in months," Arizona snapped, a bit of irritation seeping into her voice.

The secretary looked up. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Major Calliope Torres," Callie held out her hand.

"Welcome back Major Torres," she said. "I'll call Ms. Scott and have her get Sofia packed up. Would you like to head down to her classroom?"

"We will," Arizona said. "Please make sure Ms. Scott knows that this is a surprise."

The two women took their time walking down to Sofia's classroom, arm in arm. The air seemed to be getting warmer as they walked and Callie's shivering had subsided. Her uniform was thin and they hadn't thought to grab her a coat from the apartment. Arizona stopped outside of a colorful door and pulled it open. The sounds of happy children greeted Callie's ears as she stepped into the room behind Arizona. Gasps arose from the young children as they saw the uniform. Many of them sat up straight and grew silent.

"Sofia," a soft voice from the teacher called out. "Your mom is here."

Sofia trotted over, oblivious to Callie's presence until Arizona stepped aside. The five year old stopped. Her dark eyes grew huge and she looked confused. Then she ran, the same way her mother had. "Mamá!"

"Hola niňa," Callie smiled, scooping her up into her arms with ease. "¿Comó estás?"

"Bien, Mamá," Sofia was almost crying. "You're home!"

While Callie and Sofia got reacquainted, Arizona thanked Ms. Scott and apologized for the disruption. Then she turned back to her girls and ushered them out of the classroom. She couldn't help the huge smile that was plastered on her face. Mamá and child were both crying and laughing as they jabbered in broken Spanish to each other, Callie helping Sofia with words that she didn't know.

"¿Cuantos aňos tienes?"

"Cinco," Sofia held up five fingers. "You missed my birthday."

"I did?" She let mock shame leak into her voice for Sofia's sake. She wasn't trying to tease her daughter, but she also knew that Sofia knew she was well aware of what she had missed.

Sofia looked away, a sad little pout forming on her cute lips. "Si."

"Lo siento, cariňo," Callie said, kissing her forehead. "I didn't want to. I wanted so badly to be there, Sof."

"Yo se, Mamá," Sofia said, burying her head into Callie's shoulder again. "Madre me dijo."

Arizona put her arm around Callie's back. "We're just glad that Mamá is home safe, aren't we?"

Sofia nodded as she clung to Callie's neck. They turned and walked out of the building, Callie bracing herself against the chill. She refused to put Sofia down and Sofia refused to let go even long enough for her mother to take her backpack off. It was a fight to get her into the car, but at a gentle word from Callie, she reluctantly climbed into her car seat. As they drove down the street, Callie reached back and grabbed Sofia's foot, causing an eruption of giggles. "¿Mamá, ya fuistes a ver a papá? ¿Tía Lexie?"

"No baby, hablar en Inglés para tu madre, ¿bien?" Callie told her. "You ready to get rid of me already?"

"No! No Mamá! Don't go," Sofia suddenly went frantic, lunging forward to grab Callie's hand.

Callie twisted so she could more fully reach Sofia's small hand. Looking in the rearview mirror, Arizona caught the panicked expression on her daughter's face. She knew that feeling well. "I'm not leaving, baby girl."

Through sniffles, Sofia replied, "But you are. You're leaving again, aren't you?"

Callie shot Arizona a look and sighed. "You know how you have a winter break?

Sofia nodded.

"Well, this is like that. Mamá has a break and then she has to go back. But school doesn't last forever right?"

Sofia shook her head. "Summer!"

Laughing, Callie agreed. "Right. I get to come home at summer too."

The little girl thought for a moment. "But you weren't here last summer."

"I told you," Arizona said with a quiet chuckle. "She's got her parents' brains."

"Sometimes," Callie tried to explain with a sidelong glance at her wife. "If you don't know everything you need to know, you have to go to summer school. That's kind of like what Mamá had to do with training camp."

She watched Sofia's brow furrow in concentration and the smile that snuck back up onto her face couldn't be helped. That brow furrow reminded her so much of Mark. She had missed being a part of her daughter's life. She had missed getting to watch her grow up. All she'd wanted was a kid and now she was missing out on it. At this age, kids grew up so fast.

Mark burst into the Robbins-Torres apartment. "Robbins! What's the big idea stealing my kid?"

"Arizona went out," Callie stepped out of the bedroom. Her military fatigues had been shed for civilian clothing the moment they'd gotten home; she looked as though she'd been right there all along. "But I didn't think you would mind."

Mark stared at her. "Cal?"

"Hey Mark," she smiled, moving towards him for a hug. She relished the feeling of his strong protective arms around her. After doing so much of the fighting, it was nice to feel safe. "I missed you."

"God, I missed you too, Cal," he said. "When did you get in?"

"This morning," she said. She heard little thundering feet and Sofia joined them. Callie reached down and picked her up. "I can't get enough of this one."

"Hi daddy," Sofia said happily, snuggling into Callie's shoulder.

"Hi Sof. Happy your Mamá is home?" He asked. She nodded vigorously. "So…how are you? How's the arm?"

"It was just a graze, and aside from telling me that she was going to kill me, Arizona hasn't mentioned it. But I'm fine. It's been healed for a while now," she said, bouncing Sofia on her hip. "I'm one of the lucky ones."

After Mark finally left for the evening, after enough hugs to last anyone a life time, Callie went to put Sofia to bed. Arizona followed after a few minutes, standing in the doorway to watch her favorite scene. Callie was kneeling by Sofia's bed, holding her hand and stroking her hair. The song she was singing made Arizona close her eyes and transported her to a land far away, where everyone was safe. She didn't know the words. Callie always sung to Sofia in Spanish and though Arizona had learned a fair bit, she couldn't process it fast enough to understand what Callie was saying. But it took her to another place, often putting her so far under its spell that she didn't know when Callie stopped singing. Like many nights in the past, she was brought back to reality by Callie's hand on her back and her soft lips on her neck. "She's asleep."

Taking Arizona by the hand, Callie led the way back to their bedroom. "Finally alone."

"Oh, because having Sofia on your lap all night was such a hardship," Arizona laughed, running her hand along Callie's jaw to cradle the back of her head.

"After the desert," Callie said, "nothing is a hardship. Not compared to leaving my family."

"We're okay," Arizona said softly. "But we missed you. We missed you a lot. It's been–"

"I know," Callie supplied. "It's been hell."

Arizona looked up, tears shining in her eyes. "Worse than hell."

Callie reached up and wiped the lone tear creeping down a pale cheek, "It'll…it'll be over soon." She didn't know what to say to comfort Arizona and it was a terrible feeling. So instead of trying to say something that could potentially make the situation worse, she leaned in and kissed Arizona gently. The blonde's mouth opened to her immediately and their tongues brushed against one another. It wasn't the hot sexy tango that they remembered in their dreams; it was much more of a waltz. After months of separation they just wanted to touch each other, feel each other again and take as much time as possible doing it. Hands slid across necks and shoulders, heated whispers elicited shivers that crept down spines. Arizona's knees buckled when Callie's lips moved to her neck and began sucking at her pulse. But Callie caught her and carried her to bed, to their bed that had for months felt as empty and vast as the Pacific Ocean.

Arizona pushed herself back into the middle of the bed, and growled seductively when Callie tugged her t-shirt off and crawled over her. Blue eyes darkened with lust at the feel of Callie's strong hands moving on her skin beneath her camisole. "Get it off."

Grinning, Callie ripped the shirt off. Her lips immediately replaced her hands on Arizona's soft skin. Starting at her stomach, Callie placed light kisses over the flat plain. Her tongue swiped over ribs, causing a long missed groan to escape Arizona's throat. When she arched, Callie's hands slipped beneath her and made quick work of her bra. Her hot mouth fell against a milky shoulder, sucking and biting at the skin as her hands molded newly freed breasts.

Arizona's hands rushed across Callie's back, pulling her bra over her head between bruising kisses, not bothering to waste time unhinging the clasp. Her legs shifted and her left knee slid up between Callie's causing a moan to vibrate over her skin. She caught Callie's lips again in passion, deepening their kisses as hands wandered and nails raked. She wanted to feel all of Callie. It had been so long since she'd felt Callie's hands on her, her weight pressing her back into the mattress, and her tongue filling the empty space in her mouth. Too soon, and at the same time not soon enough, she felt her sweatpants being tugged down her legs and Callie's fingers sliding back up the insides of her thighs.

Two days later, they were standing in the airport. Callie was back in her fatigues, her daughter clinging to her neck. It had been a long and full three days, but they could never have been long enough for the young family. Sofia was not happy. She had just gotten her Mamá back and used to the idea of her being back, when suddenly she was being taken away again. Big cold tears were washing out her lightly browned cheeks and landing on Callie's shoulder, making dark splotches that disappeared into the camouflage. "Why Mamá?"

"I'm sorry, baby," Callie whispered, trying to hold back tears as she kissed the side of Sofia's head.

"Please don't go."

It was breaking Callie's heart. She turned to Arizona again in an attempt to keep her own tears at bay, only to see those crystal clear blue eyes that she would see every time she blinked swimming in tears. "Arizona."

The blonde shook her head, ringlet curls bouncing around her, reminding Callie far too much of another goodbye years ago in the middle of the same airport. "We'll be fine," she took Sofia into her own arms. "Right Sof? We'll be just fine."

Sofia buried her face into Arizona's neck, crying gently and peeking out at Callie.

"And Mamá is going to be just fine and she'll be home for good soon," Arizona looked down at her daughter before looking back up at Callie. For a moment, they just looked at each other. Arizona wanted to laugh, because at times like these one expected scenes from movies of epic love and passionate kisses, but this was reality and that was the source of her tears. This was her reality. Everything that needed to be said, they passed between them in those few minutes. Callie jerked as her flight was called over the speakers. "Go on babe, go save people's lives. We'll be right here cheering you on. Give Mamá a kiss, Sof."

Sofia reached out and Callie leaned in to kiss her. Then she looked up and put her arms around Arizona, holding her family together. Callie kissed her briefly, not lingering and gave Arizona her best smile. "Hang in there, Zona. I'm going to be fine. And I will be home soon. In one piece."

"I'll hold you to that, Calliope. I love you."

"I love you, too," Callie blinked back the tears that were brimming in her eyes. "I love you so much, Sof."

"Bye Mamá," Sofia replied quietly. "Be safe."

"I will baby. Take care of Mommy for me okay?" Callie smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead. She looked back up at her love one last time. "Bye Arizona."

"Go on, get out of here, kick some desert ass," Arizona said. She watched Callie shoulder her bag and walk off to get on her plane. "And come home."