The 502 Stories

By AmboDriver

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own anything. I'm just playing around with them. They are owned by Shondaland, ABC, and probably a lot of other really rich folks.

A/N: I'm on a writing roll, so wanted to see if I could update all three of my stories in about 24 hours. And I did! Don't expect this to continue, but we'll see if I can keep up a good pace before the semester starts in February.

Thanks for all the kind comments on this series of scenes. I'm glad you are all enjoying it. I hope you like this one. A few more baby steps.

Chapter 6 – Can't Fight the Moonlight

Arizona awoke suddenly and blinked a few times, trying to clear her head and realize what had brought her out of her slumber. Then she heard Sofia crying loudly, in that way she had when she had woken in the middle of the night because she was scared. "Poor baby," she muttered as she sat up and reached for her crutches, not even hesitating in wanting to go to her daughter.

Luckily she had gotten quick on the crutches and so she made it just into the nursery before she heard Callie's key in the door. Instead of waiting for her wife, she went over to where Sofia was standing in her crib, her face red from crying. "Oh, Sofia, it's okay. Mama's here."

Callie swooped into the nursery just then. "Sof—Arizona, did she wake you? I'm sorry. I must have been sleeping really soundly."

"Of course she woke me, Callie. Every time she cries I wake up. I just haven't gotten up before now." She reached out and ran her hand over Sofia's back trying to soothe her. "I couldn't have helped before but I think I can now."

"What? Yes, of course you can, Arizona. You always could have."

It felt like Callie was chastising her for not getting up before this when their daughter woke at night. "What's that supposed to mean?" She shot Callie a dark look.

"What? No, I just meant…" Callie let out an exasperated sigh as she walked over to stand next to Arizona. "I know you thought you couldn't help before, but you were always welcome to help. But that doesn't matter now. What matters is you're here now, okay?"

Arizona held her gaze for a moment until Sofia let out another round of loud cries and pulled her attention back to their daughter. "I can't lift her on the crutches. If I sit in the rocking chair, can you give her to me?"

"Of course," Callie said as she reached in to grab Sofia under each arm. "Get comfortable," she said as she hefted the toddler out of the crib and propped her tightly to her chest.

Arizona slid into the rocking chair, placing her crutches to the side. As Callie came over, she reached up to take Sofia from her, frowning slightly when their daughter let out a cry at the transfer. "Shh, baby girl, remember how we used to do this?"

But it occurred to her that she didn't remember. It had been months since she had been the one to soothe her back to sleep. From the time they had brought her home from the hospital right up to the plane crash, Arizona had loved that she was the one who could get Sofia to go back to sleep at night. It was one of those things that made her realize that they had a special bond that went well beyond biology. But now Sofia had been having this experience with Callie since then, and obviously the toddler had grown accustomed to it. Yet again she was reminded that she had lost so much more than just her leg in the crash. And her daughter had lost so much, too.

"The first few weeks I couldn't get her to settle down," Callie said as she knelt down next to the rocking chair. "It was worse than normal because she missed you and Mark so much. But we finally got it figured out. Well kind of. I'm still not quite as good at getting her back to bed like you are."

"Were," Arizona whispered as she pulled Sofia to her chest. She began to rub her back in the small circles that had always worked to soothe her before. But this time she was less consolable and she just continued to cry and rub at her eyes. "Sofia, shh, we're here. We're both here," she whispered into her little ear as she started to rock the chair with her leg.

"I have an idea," Callie said as she got up and walked out of the nursery.

Arizona frowned at her wife's disappearance but then quickly went back to focusing on Sofia. "My sweet baby girl, I'm so sorry we don't have this down so well anymore. But we'll get it back, okay? This will be our thing again," she promised quietly as she placed a gentle kiss on the soft cheek.

Callie came back in, carrying Arizona's prosthetic and the sock she wore. "She likes to be bounced. If you can stand up, then you could bounce with her a little. I'll help you keep your balance if you need it, okay?" She cringed and then shook her head. "If you think that's stupid—"

"No, let's give it a try. Can you hold her for a minute?"

Callie took Sofia and moved over to the other side of the room. Arizona noticed how she focused intently on Sofia and she couldn't help but wonder if Callie was trying to avoid watching Arizona put the prosthetic on, either out of respect for Arizona or some revulsion. She shook her head to chase away the negative thoughts and quickly slid on the sock and then the leg, strapping the Velcro tightly so that she wouldn't have any slips. This would be the first time she carried Sofia while standing and she didn't want there to be any problems because she hadn't been careful to apply the leg properly. She stood up, taking a moment to get her balance and then said, "Okay, let's give this a try."

"Can you take a step forward so that I can get behind you in case you need a little balance help?" Callie came over and stood to the side, her eyes focused on Arizona's legs.

Arizona took a step with her right leg and then let the prosthetic come forward. She took a moment to bend her right knee, the prosthetic bending in kind, and then straightening her leg. She felt surprisingly steady as she did it again, a little quicker this time. It felt a little awkward, but she was getting used to everything about being upright feeling that way of late. "Okay, let's try this."

Callie first handed Sofia off and then moved behind Arizona, but didn't touch her at all. "Let me know if there are any problems," Callie whispered close to her ear.

"Okay, Sofia, bouncing huh? Is that what you're into now?" She bent her right knee slightly, feeling the prosthetic bend as she pressed down on it with her left leg. She then stood back up straight, smiling as she still felt steady, even with the additional weight of their rapidly growing daughter held tightly to her chest. She got into a good rhythm of bouncing gently up and down as she again started to whisper soothing words into Sofia's ear while rubbing her back.

What had been cries quickly became slight grunts as Sofia started to settle down. It took a few minutes, but she finally quieted and then her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. Arizona looked over her shoulder to find Callie smiling at her. Her wife came around and gently took the toddler before easing her back into her crib. Arizona grabbed her crutches and walked over to stand next to Callie. She smiled at her wife before reaching down to pull the little purple blanket up over their peaceful little girl. She then motioned with her head toward the door.

Callie motioned for Arizona to precede her and then followed her into the living area. They stood there, a little of their old awkwardness coming back before Callie motioned with her head toward the front door. "I guess I'll get back to Mark's."

"Callie, why don't you sleep here? The sofa bed isn't that uncomfortable." It was a question she had wanted to ask for weeks but hadn't had the guts to confront the issue.

"It's, um…" Callie looked down at the floor and let out a deep breath. "Ironically, it's less lonely."

Arizona suspected as much. She knew any reminder of the problems between them, of how their lives had so dramatically changed, was painful for her wife. It was for Arizona, too. And yet it still pulled at her heart to think that Callie had to resort to staying at her dead best friend's place instead of wanting to be in her own home. "Would you maybe sleep here from now on? I'm not quite ready to…"

"You're not ready to have me back in the same bed," Callie finished for her.

"Yeah. I'm getting better, I really am. And I hope that I'll be ready soon. I want to be." Arizona moved over to stand right in front of Callie so she could see her eyes in the soft moonlight coming from the living room windows. "I guess it's selfish of me, but I like knowing you're nearby," she finally admitted quietly.

That must have surprised Callie because she pulled in a sharp breath before letting it out slowly. They stood there and just looked at one another for a few long moments. Finally Callie nodded. "Okay," she said.

"Thank you."

"Let me go get my pillows," she said as she gave Arizona a small smile and then left the apartment.

Arizona let out a deep breath of relief. She turned and headed back toward the bedroom, getting to the door and then turning and waiting for Callie's return. A few moments later Callie came back in trailing a blanket and holding a pile of pillows. Arizona watched as her wife placed everything on their couch. Finally Callie sat down on the couch and looked up at Arizona.

"Good night, Callie."

"Good night, Arizona."

As Arizona turned to go back into the bedroom, she thought she had seen a smile come to Callie's lips. But then again, it might have just been a trick of the moonlight streaming through the window. It didn't really matter. What truly mattered was that Callie was home. And for that, Arizona was the one that certainly smiled.

TBC…