The autumn leaves flew past them as Callie drove her family through Arlington, following the directions that Arizona dictated to her from the passenger seat, while Sofia and Riley sat in the back seat, passing a game of magnetic checkers back and forth. To celebrate Riley's adoption, which had been finalized just a couple weeks ago, Callie and Arizona had decided to take the girls on a family trip to Washington D.C. Sofia had wanted to visit the Smithsonian for years now, plus it presented them with the opportunity to visit Timothy's grave, something that Arizona had wanted to show her family for a long time.
"Pull over here," Arizona instructed, indicating to the side of the curb next to an oak tree. "Checkmate!" Sofia cried out in triumph from the back seat, causing Riley to roll her eyes, "I told you, that's for chess. You can't checkmate in checkers!" But Sofia just smiled smugly, "You're just upset that you lost." Sighing in frustration, Riley mumbled, "Whatever. I want a rematch."
"Later m'ijas, put it away for now," Callie told them as she put the car in park, and pulled her keys from the ignition. Arizona opened her door and stepped out into the chill autumn air, staring solemnly at the long rows of graves before opening the sliding door and lowering the ramp so that Riley could roll herself out onto the grass.
"How far is it?" Riley asked tentatively, looking nervously at the grass as she gripped the wheels of her chair tightly, Sofia clamoring out behind her and shutting the sliding door of the rental van with the click of a button. Arizona smiled gently, reading the young girl's mind, "Not far, cricket." Feeling Callie's gentle hand on her back, Arizona grasped the handles of Riley's wheelchair, pushing her firmly through the bumpy grass, Sofia walking quietly beside them.
Arizona counted silently as she walked past the headstones, and then abruptly stopped, Callie and Sofia halting right behind her. She looked down at the headstone, swallowing the catch in her throat that emerged as she read his name at the top: Timothy Michael Robbins.
"Here we are," Arizona stated for her family's sake, though she knew they had all read the headstone by now. They stood silently in front of the grave for a moment, before Arizona broke the silence, addressing her late brother, "Timothy, this is my family."
As they stood quietly, Sofia looking up at her mother in confusion, finally asking cautiously, "Momma, I thought you didn't talk to dead people, because you don't believe they can hear you." Arizona looked kindly at her curious daughter as she felt Callie's hand resting comfortingly on her shoulder, "I don't believe he can hear me. But sometimes pretend he can, and I talk to him anyway. For me, and for you," she explained simply, and Sofia nodded, focusing her eyes back on the headstone.
Hearing a light rustling behind her, Arizona turned to gratefully see Callie pulling out a bouquet of flowers from her bag. Callie removed three roses, handing one to Sofia, one to Riley, and keeping one for herself, before placing the remainder of the bouquet in Arizona's open arms. Leaning forward, Callie respectfully placed her rose in front of Timothy's headstone, and Sofia and Riley followed in suit.
Callie pulled Arizona to her briefly, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head, and whispered, "We'll give you a minute." Taking hold of Riley's wheelchair, she slowly pushed her daughter away from the grave, Riley taking one last lingering look before facing forward. Sofia stood before Timothy's grave for a final minute, leaning forward and whispering, "I love you, Uncle Timothy," before giving her Momma a tight hug, and walking back to where Callie was waiting for her by the car. While some people liked to spend hours by their relatives' graves, chatting and even bringing picnic baskets, Callie knew that her wife was not one of those people. Arizona came and paid brief respects, and left quickly without lingering. She needed to keep moving forward.
Arizona stood before her beloved brother's headstone, taking in just for a moment all the memories of a lifetime with Timothy, and another lifetime without him. She looked downward at his headstone and then up the sky, forcing herself to smile as she felt warm rays of sun cut through the cool air. "I really do have a beautiful family," she said gratefully, half to her brother and half to herself. And with that, she laid the flowers gently at her feet and turned away, leaving her brother's tomb behind her as she walked forward to where her family stood waiting for her to join them.
A/N: To all of you who have finished this story, and stuck with it from the beginning-thank you so much. This story has meant so much to me, and I'm so happy to get to share it with all of you.
I'm considering writing more about this family—in either one-shots or a full-length sequel. Let me know if that's something you'd be interested in, or if you have any prompts!
Again, thank you so much for reading!