I don't own anything…all credit goes to ABC/Shondaland

Chapter Thirty-Five

AN: Sorry this is a little rushed; I wanted to get it out to you guys. As you may know the website was down for a little bit, but it's back and so am I! Mistakes are fully mine. Hope you enjoy.

Callie's POV

Crap. Right now I'm regretting the choice not to call Arizona's parents before I proposed. I was just so busy that I forgot. She never made it seem like it was a big deal to her so I never really thought about it. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit intimidated by Daniel Robbins. He was in the military for goodness sake. That isn't something you take lightly. Speaking of which, I really need to figure out something about this Tim situation. Arizona wants her brother at her wedding and that's completely understandable, and from what she told me he may be away for a while. Quite honestly I don't know how much I can do. Money doesn't just fix a situation like this; I'm kind of going up against the United States Military and government. I can't just whisk him away home like I want. Anyway, back to Mr. Robbins. He's nice, but subtle. I guess it's father's duty to have "a talk" with their daughter's suitor. I kind of think it's outdated, but the act itself is honorable. All parents, mother or father, just want their child to be with someone worthy of them. That's all I want for Arizona, so I'll deal with this conversation especially if it means I get to marry the love of my life.

"Callie, have a seat." Mr. Robbins says pointing to a leather chair in front of a large desk. His study room is pretty typical. Bookshelves, a large desk with chairs, framed pictures of accolades, a small, but expensive alcohol collection. It's about the fraction of the size of the one my father has, but it's enough to be slightly threatening. Mr. Robbins rounds the desk and sits across from me. "So you want to marry my daughter?"

"Yes sir, I do." I state firmly.

"Why do you think I should let you?"

"Well with all due respect sir, it's ultimately her decision if she wants to marry me. That being said I would like to have your blessing. I want to marry your daughter simply because I love her. I love her with every fiber of my being. She has made my daughter and me the happiest people alive. I trust her with my life. I can promise you that I will take care of her in any way and protect her from what I can. I'm more the capable for providing a comfortable life for her, not that she needs me too. She makes me happy everyday, and from what I can tell I do the same for her. I'd never thought I find someone who would just accept me for me, but you daughter has and I couldn't be more thankful." I finished satisfied with my answer.

"I see." He says straightening up and leaning on his desk, while mulling his next thought. " All a parent wants is for their child to be happy, healthy, and safe. I'm assuming you already know that because you have a child, with that in mind as her father I want to protect Arizona from anything that I can until the day I die. If you all get married I will be sharing that duty with you to a certain extent. You are the one who will be with her everyday, not me. As soon as she leaves my sight I worry about her. I need to know that you can protect her. Not just her physically, but emotionally as well. Ultimately protect her heart."

"I promise you I will do everything in my power I can. I love her and I don't want anything to ever happen to her, sir."

"I know you do, Callie and I thank you for that. Arizona is her own person, if she's happy with you then who am I to stop her from happiness. She's never brought a girl home before, Callie. That means something to her and to her mother and I. Sure she's had a few girlfriends, and honestly I don't know much about them I just listen to what my wife tells me, but from what I can tell she's serious about you. Callie you have my blessing, truthfully you had it before you came into this room, but I still wanted to talk to you. When she told her mother and I she was gay I accepted it. It gave me a slight sigh of relief knowing she wouldn't come home pregnant anytime soon." He says laughing. "But then I thought about her in the real world. Some people will hate her just because of who she loves, that being you. There are countries in this world where you can die if you love someone of the same gender. It's not right, but unfortunately that's how it is right now. Even here in America people will hate you and disrespect you for who you love. I know Arizona is strong and independent because that's who I raised her to be. She will fight for what she loves and believes in. I know she's probably gotten some dirty looks or had mean comments said about her or to her directly, and it hurts that I can't protect her from that. You may not be able to either, but as long as you can make my little girl happy then that's all I can ask for. Everything else will come naturally."

"Thank you, sir. I hope that I can do right by you and your wife, and of course Arizona."

"I know you will, Callie. I fully trust you. Please, call me Daniel. Sir is too formal." He says with a wink.

"Daniel, I have a question." I say anxiously.

"Ask away." He says leaning back into his chair.

"Is there any way I could possibly get in contact with your son? Arizona would love to have him at our wedding, whenever that may be, and I was wondering if I could send him a letter or something. I know he can't just up and leave, but if there was any way he could come home for a little bit. Arizona has been so down about our wedding because she wants her brother there and I want that for her. I haven't asked Arizona about it because she doesn't like to talk about it."

"That's very honorable of you, Callie. I can give you an address to send him a letter. His Internet connection for personal use is limited and he only calls when he can. I'm sure if you left your contact information in the letter he would reach you as soon as he could. Timothy and Arizona are very close. Tim has never taken leave before because it makes it harder for him to go back, but I'm sure he would come home for his sister's wedding. I'll make sure to get his information to you before you leave."

"Thank you, Daniel. And if you could just keep this between us, that would be great. I don't want to promise Arizona anything if I can't deliver."

"Of course, it will stay between us." He says getting up from his desk. I get up as well and we embrace in an awkward hug. It was awkward because I wasn't expecting it, but it was very paternal and made me wish I could hug my own father like that again. As soon as I step outside his study Arizona is waiting for me.

"Sooooo?"

"It was fine, Arizona." I say dismissively.

"You have to give me more then that. What did he want?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know, maybe to grill you or something." She says suggestively.

"Yeah, that was it."

"Callie!" She says playfully swatting me.

"I'm serious, it's okay. I was nervous, but I'm good now."

"Gosh, your so useless…anyway I was thinking after dinner I would take you out around town." Arizona says picking at my shirt. "We can drive past my old high school, and then we can go to the bar we used to hang out at."

"You hung out at a bar in high school?"

"Well back then it was a diner that we visited after school, but recently they turned it into a bar. When I came here over winter break they had just opened it like a week before. It's pretty cool. Mom said she could watch Sofia while we were out."

"Okay, that's fine." I tell her giving her a kiss on the forehead and a smile. "So what so you want to do now?"

"Mom is in the kitchen cooking dinner and it's probably better if I'm out of her way, so we can talk a walk around the neighborhood. It's nice outside."

"Should we bring Sof?"

"I checked on her while you were with dad and she was still down." She says pulling me into the kitchen with her. "Mom, Callie and I are going out for a walk. We will be back shortly, Sofia is still napping so just listen out for her."

"Come back soon, dinner should be almost ready. Don't worry about Sofia, she'll be in good company." Mrs. Robbins says shooing us out the kitchen. Once outside we intertwine our fingers and slowly stroll through down the street. It's a quiet little neighborhood with two-story family homes. I can see why Arizona liked growing up here; it's what you think of when you think suburban living. It's definitely different then where I grew up in Miami. We barely saw our neighbors because all the houses were so big and spread out.

"So what are we going to do in Miami?" Arizona asks me breaking out of my thoughts.

"Probably hang out with Aria the most since we're staying at her house. I want to take Sofia to the beach; she's never been around sand before so that should be interesting. We can do what whatever you want. It's our vacation so I didn't want to plan too much." I've talked to Aria and she's agreed to watch Sofia for us for a night. I plan on taking Arizona out and having a romantic evening with her, but I haven't told her because I want to it be a complete surprised.

"Well I for one am excited to go to the beach. I could use a nice tan I'm so pale, plus I get to see you in a bikini so it's a win-win." She says winking at me.

"You're already so beautiful, babe. You don't need a tan. I like you just the way you are." I say kissing the back of her hand.

"Thank you, Calliope, but I looked at myself in the mirror the other day and I looked as white as a ghost. I could use some sunlight. Do you think you're going to talk to your parents at all while we're down there?"

"Maybe. Aria says dad has turned a new leaf and wants to have lunch with the two of us, but I told her that I would only go if you came. Seeing my mother is highly doubtful, I haven't seen or spoken to her in years and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon." I say remorsefully.

"I'm really sorry about that, Calliope. I'd love to come to lunch with your father and Aria. It's good that he's trying, right?"

"I hope so, I guess I'll find out in a couple of days."

"So are you going to take me all around Miami and show me your school and where you had your first kiss? She asks teasingly.

"If you really want. I only kissed boys in high school through, I didn't kiss a girl until college and I have no clue where those ladies are now. You already met Jordan, she was my first real relationship with a woman, and that was in med school. I was a little bit of a late bloomer I guess." I say shrugging my shoulders.

"That's fine, Calliope. I'm just happy that you found yourself because now you're here with me!" Arizona says stopping us from our walk and giving me a kiss.

"Exactly! Although I did have a major crush on this senior in high school, I was only a sophomore so he didn't give me the time of day, but he was soo…" Suddenly the face of Jesse Thompson came into my mind. He was everything I thought I wanted, but it was only a high school crush.

"Calliope Torres had a crush?!"

"Oh yeah. Major crush. He only knew who I was because I was in his science class and we sat next to each other because of our last names. He was your typical high school jock. He was flirty with all the girls, had tons of friends. He was the captain of the basketball team and all the girls would hang around the gym on Friday's because they always practiced with half the team in shirts and the other half shirtless, and naturally he was shirtless. His body was an art of work, I mean my god!" I say reminiscing.

"Calliope!" She playfully scolds.

"He was like a fantasy, or like a celebrity crush. You know nothing is ever going to happen, but it's sometime fun to think about."

"I see…well clearly you've been thinking."

"Oh Arizona please, he's nothing anymore. I haven't seen him since he graduated. It doesn't matter though because he's totally not my type anymore."

"Oh really, well who might you type me now?"

"Blonde, blue-eyes, preferably a teacher, might even have a name of a state. Maybe Alabama, or Arkansas…"

"It would seem I fit the description, but my name is Arizona…"

"Ahh yes! Arizona. Arizona is an extremely sexy name." I say huskily.

"Really?"

"Really." I say turning to her and giving her a loving kiss.

"Mhmm….as much as I'm loving this we should head back to the house for dinner.

"Lead the way!" We make it back to the house in fifteen minutes and head up to our room to freshen up. Once we make it back downstairs the table is set for dinner and Sofia is already seated next to Arizona's dad and it seems as though they are having their own little conversation. It's actually kind of cute to see Sof interacting with Arizona's dad.

"How was your walk?" Barbara asks sitting down.

"Good, we didn't go too far." Arizona says taking a seat next to me. "I see you decided on a Maryland staple."

"Of course I did! Callie has never been to Maryland before so it's only right that she has a Maryland crab cake!"

"Once again, it all looks and smells wonderful Barbara." I say plating some food.

Does Arizona cook for you like this at home?" Her mother inquires.

"Sometimes, but I usually do must of the cooking. It's a nice change of pace from the hospital."

"Oh I bet. I can only imagine what it's like to work at a hospital. Arizona told me about you passing your text, congratulations!"

"Thank you. It was a lot of hard work, but it all paid off."

"My girl is awesome!" Arizona says chirping in.

"My goodness Arizona! This is the first time I've seen your ring! It's even bigger in person." Barbara says grabbing Arizona's hand and inspecting it. "Daniel look! It almost matches the color of her eyes." I just give Arizona a sympathy smile, knowing that it's still a touchy subject.

"I did give her a ring too!" Arizona says moving her hand out her mother's.

"Of course you did, dear and it's lovely." Barbara says glancing at my hand.

"It's a beautiful ring, Callie." Daniel says.

"Thank you. I'm just honored that she wears it."

"How did your parents take the news?" Barbara asks.

"Ummm…"

"Actually Mr. Torres came to speak to me personally. He was happy for us." Arizona says for me.

"That's great! What about your mother Callie?"

I put down my fork and give her parents my full attention, "Actually I don't speak with my mother much. She was never able to accept me for liking women and having Sofia out of wedlock only distanced us more." Arizona places her hand on my thigh for comfort. "I was raised Catholic and although my views have changed some, my mothers have not.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Callie. You're a lovely lady and you've raised a beautiful little girl. Plus you've made my Arizona happy, so excuse me if it's blunt, but it's your mothers loss." Daniel says.

"Thank you. I just wish Sofia could meet her grandparents."

"Daniel and I love your little girl. We'd be happy to have even more time with her."

"Thanks, mom." Arizona replies.

"What kind of work does your father do?"

"He's in business and management down in Miami."

"That's wonderful! What kind of management?" Barbara says enthusiastically.

I look to Arizona and she gives me a nod of encouragement, "He owns T Hotels. The "T" stands for Torres."

"T Hotels? Those are some expensive hotels. They look so gorgeous from the outside. They have them all over the world, right? I begged Daniel to take me to the one in Washington, DC for a wedding anniversary a few years back and he said no because they were too expensive." Barbara says glaring at her husband. "You must of grew up very nicely. You don't seem like a wealthy snob." She says nonchalantly.

"Barbara!"

"Mom!"

"What? I didn't mean anything by it; I just see how those rich kids act on television and stuff. If I grew up with T Hotels money I'm sure I'd spend it every chance I got. Callie, dear you understand me, right?"

"Of course." I say laughing. I love how Barbara just says what's on her mind. It's kind of refreshing, reminds me of Cristina. "If you ever want to go I could get you a nice room to stay in for free, any location."

"Oh we would never ask you for that, if only my husband would stop being so cheap."

"Really, it's no big deal. Although I don't work for my father's business I do have ten percent ownership in the hotels. Anytime you want to stay just let me know."

"I didn't know you had ownership." Arizona says leaning over to me.

"My sister and I both do. Once we were born we each got a share. He wants to keep it all in the family. I don't make any decisions regarding the business unless it's major, but so far nothing has come up."

"I'll bet you all will have a wonderful time in Miami. I wouldn't leave my room if I was staying in a T Hotel."

"Actually mom we are staying with Callie's sister, Aria."

"Oh, well nothing like the company of family. Is she a doctor as well?"

"No, most of family is in business with my father. I'm the only one who is a doctor. I kind of wanted to do my own thing."

"That's admirable." Daniel says.

"It's what I wanted. It didn't go over well with my family, but I'm happy with my decision."

"Of course! You should be proud to be a doctor, that's not an easy job." Barbara affirms. "If I didn't know any better I'd think my daughter was with you for your money. No wonder you could afford such a dazzling ring."

"Mom!" Arizona says speaking up. I look to Barbara and she gives me a playful wink. "You can't just say stuff like that. I didn't even know about that until after met Calliope. I'm not with her for her money."

"I'm kidding, Zona. Calm down. It was supposed to be a joke."

"I thought it was funny." I say softly.

"Don't encourage her, Calliope."

"You used to be able to take a joke, Arizona." Daniel says. "Lighten up."

"Are you and Callie…you know, having relations…intimately? They say it helps calm down people. Endorphins releasing and all that." Daniel coughs and I look down at my plate not wanting to be part of that discussion.

"Mom how much wine have you had to drink? We aren't discussing that. Calliope and I are…we're fine. And for your information dad, I can take a joke! Arizona says sighing and rubbing her forehead. She just leans back in her chair and crosses her arm. I lean over to kiss her little out away and she gives me a squinted glare. We finish dinner shortly after and Arizona and I take Sofia up to give her a bath.

"Mom, Sofia is bathed and dressed in her pajamas. Calliope and I are headed out." Arizona announces when we enter the living room.

"Alright have fun, your father and I will watch Sofia and put her down shortly." Callie kisses Sof on the cheek and then I pass her off to my mother. Callie and I head out the door to the car and make our way into the city.

"So coming up on your left in the next block is my high school. It's a little dark out, but you should be able to see it. Nothing special. Just a large building and a football field." Arizona says pointing out the window.

"Did you go to pep rallies and stuff? I didn't have that because I went to a co-ed Catholic school and we didn't have a football team."

"Yeah, lots of cheering and all the guys wore their jersey's, nothing I cared about. Well except the cheerleaders, they were cute but overly peppy. I couldn't deal."

"That's cute! Is it like what you see in the movies?!" I question animatedly.

"Uh, not really. Maybe, I'm not sure. They were a good excuse to get out of class early. We all wore school colors. Red and white."

"I'm kind of jealous I missed out on that."

"Don't be, it's not all it's cracked up to be." We continue driving for a few more minutes before she pulls into a parking lot.

"We're here. Sal's Bar."

"Who is Sal?"

"He opened the diner, but he died a while ago. He left it to his grandchildren and they are the ones who changed it into a bar. We don't have to stay long, just for a drink if you want."

"I'm down for whatever, babe." We get out and head inside. A few people are there, but it's not crowded. It's has a modern atmosphere. Top 40 hits are playing in the background, and the bar is lit up with dim neon lights. We take a seat on a couple of stools and order each of glass of wine."

"So how often did you guys come here?"

"Usually on Friday afternoons for fries and shakes. It was just a nice way to unwind and talk about stuff. Kids from three different high schools came by so that was cool."

"That's kind what I did, except we all went to my dads hotel and sat in a cabana. But essentially the same thing." The bartender places our glasses in front of us and we each take sip.

"I can only imagine what it was like for you growing up in Miami. It seems like a different life compared to mine."

"Yeah, I understand that, but I like it here. I can see why people would raise a family here. Reminds of me of our house in Seattle a little bit." I finish taking another sip. I notice Arizona is distracted and looking right past me.

"Arizonaaaa?"

"Huh, sorry. I just thought I saw somebody I knew."

"Okay, well who was it?"

"Uhhh…remember Jackie Evans?"

"No! Topless girl! This is hilarious, is that her?" I ask turning around.

"Arizona Robbins!"

"Jackie!" Arizona says putting on a fake smile.

"You're back! It's so good to see you!" Jackie says approaching us. She looks almost like Arizona, but with brunette hair. Doesn't hold a flame to my fiancée. They embrace in a hug and Arizona turns around to introduce us.

"Jackie, meet my fiancée Calliope." I get up and shake her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Arizona has told me so much about you."

"Really? We haven't talked in forever. It's great to meet you." She says smiling at me. "Engaged huh? Who would've thought especially so young." Jackie says slyly. I can't try if she's trying to throw shade or just making a comment, either way my ears are perked.

"It just happened you know? Moved to Seattle and met the love of my life." Arizona coolly replies giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Seattle? Wow, yeah you really moved far. I'm just in DC, but came up to visit the parents for a few days."

"Same here, we're headed to Miami next."

"Fancy, fancy! The Arizona I knew in high school was so down to earth and chill."

"I'm still the same, Callie's family is in Miami. That's all, nothing fancy about it, Jackie." Arizona says sassily. Clearly this Jackie chick is making Arizona a little bit uncomfortable and I don't like it.

"Uh huh…there's that sharp tone you used to use on me. I didn't mean anything by it."

Deciding to take things into my own hands, I step in front of Arizona a little bit and face Jackie straight on. "It was lovely to meet you, Jackie but Arizona and I only have a few more minutes here and I'd to finish my evening out with my fiancée."

"Of course, right. Well it was nice to meet you. Hope to see you again, Arizona."

"Bye Jackie." She walks away to sit at another table. "I see why I ended things with her. We would be fine for twenty minutes and then she would just start to irk me."

"Seems like a real piece of work to me." I snort.

"She was…that's why we barely talked."

"I'm just going to take that to mean you guys were watching television and not making out."

"Trust me, I don't want to be reminded of me and her together." We stay out about thirty minutes later before we head back to the car luckily without another Jackie interruption.

The next day Daniel surprised us with tickets to an Orioles game. We got Sofia a little baseball jersey and had dinner out. The following day we had brunch with Barbara and Daniel before they dropped us off at the airport.

"Come back to Maryland, okay?" Barbara says giving Sofia and me a hug.

"Of course, we had a great time. Thank you for everything."

"No problem, you're family. We love to see you." Arizona and I switch places and I give her dad a hug goodbye. I felt like this trip was successful for Daniel and I. He is slowly becoming more approachable, and I'm starting to understand what Arizona means when she talks about her loving father. He has a strong demeanor, but deep down he's nice and warm.

"I slipped a slip of paper with Tim's info in your luggage. I hope it helps." He says discreetly.

"Thank you."

"I know I don't have to say it, but take care of my girl."

"I will." I nod in return and pick Sofia up from her stroller to let Daniel give her a hug goodbye.

"Ready, babe?" Arizona asks after saying goodbye to her mother.

"Yeah, let's go." Arizona takes Sofia from her father and gives him one last hug goodbye.

"Have fun in Miami!" Barbara yells.

Thanks for reading!

AN: Hey guys just wanted to let you know that I'm currently headed back to college (literally in the airport typing this right now) so I'll be distracted with settling back in. Classes start next week so updates will slow down a little, but I'll try for one or two a week. Thanks again for the continued support. If you have any ideas or suggestions let me know…I have some things I want to get out (wedding? Tim? Baby? Mark? More of Sof growing up?) but I'm open to new things. Sometimes I get writers block and can't think of an interesting topic. Anyway, thanks for the support and can I just say I'm so happy that Grey's will be back in a few weeks.