Over the next two weeks Bernie's injuries started to heal nicely but what was even stronger than his recovery was the strength of his affection for Arizona and Callie. The bond between him and the two doctors was obvious for everyone to see. With the permission of the chief Arizona and Callie had actually taken Bernie to see the zoo and other simple outings such as eating French fries in the sun or watching a movie but these were treats the poor little boy had never experienced. What was healing him more than any medicine was the warmth and affection he was getting from the two doctors. They even took him shopping to buy him some smart new clothes. The bruises his mother had inflicted upon him had long healed and the social worker called every week to find out how he was.

At the end of one month when he came out to see Bernie , he looked from Bernie to Arizona and then back again and he was stunned. " What in Gods name did you do to him" he asked her when they were finally alone. Prying Bernie from her side had not been easy but the nurse had finally led him away after promising him a lollipop . " He looks like a completely different child " he added.

"He is a different child" Arizona said proudly. " He's a child who's been loved and it shows". At this point Callie entered the room . Arizona made the introductions " Mr Jenkins this is our orthopedic attending Dr. Calliope Torres and Calliope this is Mr Jenkins the social worker in charge of Bernie's case". Callie shook his hand.

The social worker looked at them sadly " You know hard you've made it for him?" At first they thought he was joking and they started to smile but then they saw that he was serious. Callie knit her brows and asked " What do you mean?" The social worker continued " Do you know what it'll be like for him to go back to a small dirty apartment to a drug addict mother who feeds him stale crackers and beer ".

Arizona took a deep breath and said " We wanted to talk to you about that Mr. Jenkins". "What are the possibilities of not sending him back?" Jenkins just said " But this is a hospital and the courts are paying for his treatment now but he needs to be . He cannot be kept here indefinitely"

Arizona then said " We don't mean like that". She and Callie had discussed this for a couple of weeks because by doing what they were about to suggest they could stand to win everything as they both had fallen in love with that adorable 6 year old boy. They wanted to give him the family he deserved because he completed theirs. They loved him with a kind of depth and feeling they had never even suspected they had. Arizona continued " My partner Calliope and I want to adopt him"

"I See" the social worker said and sat down heavily in a chair. He could clearly see that the two women loved the child. " I don't know Dr. Robbins , I would hate to get your hopes up. His mother may still want him"

A strange light came into Callie's eyes " By what right may I ask Mr. Jenkins? As I recall she abused him not to mention her drug habits". Jenkins didn't know what to say , the truth was that his mother could most likely keep him whether the two doctors liked the idea or not. " The fact is that she's the boys natural mother and the courts lean over backwards to respect that"

"How far do they lean" Arizona's voice was both frightened and cold . It was frightening to have let herself love Bernie as much as she did and now to have to face the possibility that he could leave. The social worker looked at her sadly " To tell you the truth ,they lean pretty far".

Callie squeezed Arizona's hand and asked " Couldn't we do something". He replied " You could. You could hire a lawyer and fight her if she still wants him. But you might lose……you probably will". " What about the boy ? Have you asked him?That could weigh with the court even if he's still very young. A natural mother would have a strong case here no matter how rotten she is." " Asking the boy is your best shot. If he wants to go back to his mother let it go…. But if he wants to stay with you…….I'll go talk to the mother myself…..she may not give you any problem". And then he gave them a hesitant smile " I hope for the sake of both of you she makes it easy as the boy would surely be better off with you".

Callie and Arizona thanked him and said " We'll talk to Bernie". As he was leaving the hospital Jenkins looked into Bernie's room where Callie and Arizona were there with him. At seeing them together even that hardened , tired old social worker had to wipe away a stray tear…. It was incredible to see what had happened to Bernie….. He was clean and happy , laughed all the time now, looked at Arizona and Callie with air of absolute adoration and he actually looked a lot like Arizona with the blond hair and the blue eyes…. Bernie may have found family and happiness at last.

Callie and Arizona waited until after dinner to ask Bernie. They were both trembling inside…..what if he didn't want them? If he wanted to go back to his mother? They weren't sure if they could stand the rejection but they had to ask him

Callie started " I was thinking today what you would think about sticking around here with us….." She hesitated , she hadn't realized it would be this difficult to ask him" You know, kind of like forever…..I mean- "

"You mean stay with you" his eyes grew huge in his little face.

"Yeah that's what I mean"

"Oh wow!" Arizona knew as soon as he said it that he had misunderstood. He thought they just meant an extended stay at the hospital. She knew that she had to tell him it would mean giving up his mom.

"Bernie….." Arizona started as he gave her a hug. " I don't mean like the other kids here." He seemed puzzled. Arizona hesitantly continued " I mean…..I mean…." " We want to adopt you if they'd let us. But you have to want that too. We would never do anything you didn't want" She was now having to fight back tears and Bernie was just staring at them in amazement.

" You mean you want me" He seemed astounded.

Callie ruffled his hair and said " Of course we want you, silly". Arizona hugged him tight and added " You're the best little kid in the whole world"

" What about my mom"

" We don't know Bernie. That would be the hard part" Callie answered.

" Would she come to see me"

Arizona answered " We don't know. Maybe we could arrange that but it would be harder for everyone that way".

Bernie looked frightened and they could feel him trembling …." Would she come and beat me" he whimpered.

"Oh no" Callie let out a cry of anguish. "We wouldn't let her do that"

At that Bernie suddenly started to cry and told them the things that he had never told anyone, about his mother and what she had done to him. When it was over he lay spent cuddled in their arms. The last thing he said to them before his eyes closed were " I want to be yours" That was all Callie and Arizona had wanted to hear……….They now knew their family was complete.