A/N : Reviews are most appreciated. This is the last part of this story. I am thinking of writing a sequel which would include important events in Calzone's and Bernie's life.
For the next week after the hearing Callie and Arizona took leave from work and stayed locked up in their apartment , never leaving the building and on the first day not even leaving their room. Mark and Cristina came over a lot and tried everything to cheer their friends up and even though Callie and Arizona smiled a little for the benefit of their friends, Mark and Cristina could easily see the heavy sadness in their eyes. Amy had come by to pick up the rest of Bernie's things to return to the social worker for Bernie but they refused to see her so Mark brought Bernie's things to her. " Will they be alright" Amy asked Mark with a look of sorrow. Mark just shook his head with tears in his eyes " I don't know. They are tough but they've both lost a lot in life. And now this……you don't know how much they love that little boy". Amy nodded sadly " Yes , I do". For the first time in her career as she had left the courthouse last week , she had stepped on the gas as hard as she could and had cried too. " I would like to see them when they are ready and talk about an appeal. I really think it would be worth it. I can't believe that the court ruled in favor of a prostitute and a drug addict just because she's the natural mother against women like Arizona and Callie. I want to take this one all the way to the supreme court" said Amy with anger in her voice. "I'll tell them when I see them" Mark looked as though he approved.
A week later Arizona was woken by the phone ringing . "Zony" It was Amy and she sounded excited at the other end. " Hi" Arizona was still half asleep. " Whats up?" She then realized that Amy probably wanted to discuss the appeal . She and Callie had decided that they didn't want to put Bernie through the ordeal again. They had spoken to the social worker twice , he had told them that Bernie was having a tough time readjusting and that he wanted to come back to them , but there was nothing he could do and that he had told Bernie as much the last time he'd stopped by his moms house. They had tried to ask if his mother was being decent to him but Jenkins was vague and just said that he assumed she was.
Arizona was broken from her thoughts when Amy said " Zony , I want you and Callie to come to my office". " We don't want to discuss the appeal , Amy" Arizona sat up in bed with an unhappy frown . " There's no point. We wont do it." " I understand that but there are some other matters we have to work out" Amy responded. "Like what" Arizona sounded suspicious. " There are some papers you guys didn't sign" Amy explained. " Send them to us" Arizona said . " I cant "Amy said. Arizona was now irritated. She was tired and it was early. She then realized it was Sunday. "What are you doing calling us to your office on a Sunday ,Amy " she said sounding annoyed. " Please , just do it for me. I would be very grateful". At the sound of that Arizona started to panic " Is something wrong with Bernie? Is he hurt ? Did she beat him again?" Arizona felt her heart race but Amy was quick to reassure her " No , no , its nothing like that. I'm sure he's fine. I would just appreciate winding it up today that's all." " Amy " Arizona sighed looking at the clock. It was seven in the morning. " Personally I think you're demented. But you were a big help and you tried so we'll be there. What exactly do you need us to sign?" Amy casually replied" Oh just some papers saying that you don't want to appeal ." Arizona felt annoyed again " Why the hell cant you mail them". " I am too cheap to buy a stamp" Amy quipped. Arizona laughed at that" You're 'll be there after lunch". " No , come in at 9 am". Arizona protested " That's early. You want us to come in our nighties , Amy ". Amy laughed " That would be nice. See you at nine".
Arizona woke Callie up and told her and she was just as annoyed " Why the hell cant she just mail us the stuff?" "I don't know but if we have to do it might as well do it today. We don't have time all week. We both have lots of surgeries planned". Callie just nodded still half asleep " Alright , We'll leave in an hour". Arizona was ready 45 minutes later and was waiting for Callie who finally came out wearing jeans and a red sweater with a red ribbon in her hair. " You look like a valentine , Calliope" said Arizona with a grin. " I feel more like a Halloween. I don't know why the hell we have to go to her office on a Sunday morning" Callie scowled. When they reached Amy's office she seemed terribly jumpy and hyper and insisted that they had to go to the courthouse as she had forgotten some of the papers there. "Courthouse on a Sunday? Amy have you been drinking" said Arizona not at all amused. "Just trust me for God's sake" Amy retorted. " If we didn't we wouldn't be here" said Callie looking at her suspiciously and drove to the courthouse.
When they got there Amy suddenly looked as though she knew what she was doing. She flashed a pass at the guard , the guard nodded and let them in. Amy led them to a brightly lit room with a uniformed warden at the desk and a policeman talking to her. Suddenly Callie and Arizona gave a gasp and a shriek and raced towards him. It was Bernie , sitting in his wheelchair with his teddy , looking dirty again but wearing his good suit and a grin as soon as he saw them. They held him tight for a long time and felt him tremble in their arms. He said nothing and all they kept saying was " We love you Bernie….We love you angel….its alright,….". They didn't know how long they would be able to see him, if it would be a minute or an hour or a day, but they didn't care , they would give him everything they had for as long as they could , for as long as they were allowed to.
"My mom's dead". Bernie stared at them and said the words as though he didn't understand what they meant. They then noticed that there were deep circles under his eyes and a nasty bruise on his neck." What happened " They looked horrified as much by what they saw as by what he had said." What do you mean" but Amy came towards them and took their arm gently. "She overdosed two days ago. The police found Bernie alone at the house last night." " Was she there " Their eyes were wide as they held Bernie's hands. " No, she was somewhere else. Bernie was alone at the apartment. The cops called the judge last night about Bernie , because they weren't sure if they should put him in juvenile hall and the judge called me. He said he'd meet us here this morning with Bernie's file. Ladies , its going to be all over" Amy said with tears in her eyes. " Right now. Can he do that ?" they asked .
Amy nodded " Yes , he can reverse his decision based on what has just occurred. Bernie won't have to go through all the business of becoming a ward of the court on an interim basis. He's yours , ladies." She turned and looked at the small child in the wheelchair , holding Callie's and Arizona's hands. " You've got your son " . It had been two weeks since they had seen him wheeled , screaming from the courtroom , and now he was theirs. They reached out and pulled him onto Callie's knees and held him , sobbing openly now and laughing and kissing him and stroking his hair. He slowly began to understand and he held them and kissed them and in a quiet moment he touched each of their faces with his small hand and said " I love you , Mom." The judge arrived 30 minutes later and they took care of all the paperwork. By this point Callie , Arizona and Amy were crying , the judge was grinning and Bernie waved his teddy bear at the judge with a huge grin as they wheeled him out. " So long " he shouted and when they had gone the judge was laughing and crying too.
" And then I'm going to eat ice cram and play with my train and my fire engine and….." " Take a bath" Arizona filled in for him with a grin. She and Callie were so happy at the gift they had been given that they were laughing and giggling almost hysterically. Callie then looked at Bernie with a big grin " Guess what you're going to do in a few weeks". " What?" he looked excited , despite the dark circles under his eyes. " You're going to school" Callie told him. "Why ?" he looked less than pleased. "We just decided". " But I didn't before" it was a whine just like that of any child and Callie and Arizona exchanged a grin. " That's because before you were special and now you're regular" they teased him. " Cant I be special again" he pouted. Callie gave him a gentle smile " You'll always be special buddy. But now we can live a regular life. We don't have to worry about you going away , or being taken anyway or anything. You can go to school just like other kids." "But I want to stay home with you" he whined. " You can for a while , but then you've got to go to school. Don't you want get smart like Cal and me" Arizona was giggling again. Suddenly Bernie laughed too and groaned at what she said " You guys are not smart…..you're just my moms now". " Thanks a lot" they pouted.
When they got home they baked cookies and read him a bedtime story before he went to sleep in the room next to theirs. Before they had finished it , he was snoring softly. They stayed like that for a long time , just watching him sleep and stroking his hair and thanking God for bringing him back to them. " Austin" Callie said suddenly. " Huh" Arizona asked confused." We should name him Austin" Callie explained. Bernie had requested for them to change his name and they realized that he wanted to start life afresh with a clean state. Arizona swallowed the lump in her throat , she was really touched that Callie wanted to name him after her dead older brother. She responded with a huge grin " How about Austin George Robbins-Torres". Callie replied with a soft smile " Perfect " and they sealed the deal with a kiss. That night all three of them slept peacefully. Callie and Arizona finally had their son and Bernie had finally found safety and comfort with his mommy ( Callie) and mama (Arizona). Their little family was blissful and complete.