4.
Watching the screen carefully Arizona remained silent as Emma Peters the hospitals head of OBGYN clicked away at the ultrasound monitor, writing down the measurements before moving the probe around to get a better look.
"Everything ok?" Richard asked, concerned by her complete silence.
Arizona nodded. "I'm just trying really hard to be a mother and not a doctor," she admitted.
"You say you're just over 20 weeks today?" Dr. Peters questioned, once she had finished getting all of the measurements she needed.
"Yes, without a doubt," Arizona answered, not wanting to explain how she knew and respecting the other doctor for not asking about the baby's conception, when she knew that would be the first question on everyone's lips when they found out.
Emma made a note in the chart before turning to face her patient. "So everything looks good, the heart has 4 well-formed chambers, I was able to visualize all vital organs, the level of amniotic fluid is as it should be and the placenta looks healthy. Baby is measuring a little bit small for the dates but there is plenty of time for he or she to catch up."
"She, she's a she right?" Arizona asked, although she was 99% certain of her baby's gender she wanted to hear it confirmed before she told Sofia.
"Yes, it's a little-girl, congratulations Arizona," Emma smiled.
Arizona wiped at her eyes trying not to cry as she realized that this was the first time, since her pregnancy had been revealed to those around her, that someone had congratulated her. "Thank-you, and with her being small … that's ok right? I mean I know … the medical me knows that it's probably nothing and that when my diet improves and I stop working crazy shifts I should start putting on weight and then she will start putting on weight but … I just … I know it's not rational-"
"I would like to do another growth scan in 4 weeks but everything I am seeing here, reassures me that you are carrying a perfectly healthy little-girl," Emma reassured her.
"Thank-you Emma," Arizona smiled, when she had been admitted Dr. Peters had been her only choice for an OBGYN, not only did she respect the woman professionally but they had a good working relationship and she knew that Emma would be nothing but considerate and professional.
Emma nodded. "Would you like a copy of the scan?"
"Yes please," Arizona nodded, although she already had one from just days ago, she wanted one that she could keep here with her until she was discharged, so that when the nightmares came, which she knew they would, she had something to focus her energy on.
"I'll e-mail you some dates for the next scan," Emma suggested as she printed off a few copies of the ultrasound before putting the machine away, leaving Arizona and Richard alone.
Holding the image gently between her thumb and index finger she suddenly felt overwhelmed, as a series of gentle coughs shook her body, whilst it was nothing compared to how she had sounded 48 hours earlier Richard still couldn't help but frown.
"Can I?" Richard asked, motioning to his stethoscope as she leaned back against the bed.
Arizona nodded, her chest feeling a little tight. "Sure."
Listening to her lungs he was careful not to move her gown as he heard the gentle wheezing sound every time she exhaled. "Alex said you used to have asthma as a child?"
"Yeah but I grew out of it when we moved back to the US, my parents and pediatrician put it down to the dust and humidity of living in the Middle East; it was at its worse when we were living in Saudi," Arizona explained.
"You're wheezy, it could be bronchitis but I think we should finish the course of steroids and treat it as if it's a flare up of asthma just in case," Richard suggested.
Arizona nodded, knowing that the steroids and breathing treatment would help her breath easier, whilst having no adverse effect on her unborn daughter. "Ok."
"I'll have Michelle come back, set you up with an albuterol treatment, that should help you feel more comfortable," Richard explained as he sent off a page to the RT.
"Maybe I should put off speaking to Callie," Arizona suggested, the tightness in her chest making it difficult for her to get too many words out.
Just seconds later Michelle entered the room, practically crashing through the door. "Hey," she greeted, relieved to see that Arizona looked ok, when she had received the page from Richard she'd panicked, worried that the surgeon was crashing again.
"She's got bilateral expiratory wheeze and is struggling to speak in full sentences, I've put in an order to extend the course of steroids but I think she needs regular albuterol treatments, I know she's not asthmatic but the bronchitis is behaving like it," Richard informed the other woman.
Michelle removed her stethoscope from around her neck. "May I?"
Closing her eyes Arizona nodded as Michelle repeated the same process that Richard had performed just moments earlier, bringing herself to the same conclusion that the other man had reached. "I agree with Richard; your air entry is good still and there are no signs of a recurrence of the empyema, but there's definitely significant wheezing."
"Urgh," Arizona sighed as Michelle handed her the mouthpiece that she was becoming very familiar with.
Richard couldn't help but laugh as she pouted like a child. "You are definitely on the mend though, I give it 2 hours before she's demanding Alex bring her charts and April breaks her out of ICU."
Narrowing her eyes Arizona glared at her friend. "Bite me."
"Stop talking and breath," Richard ordered.
"I'll leave you in charge Richard, I'll be back in 2 hours to check how things are going," Michelle said, leaving the 2 surgeons alone again.
Richard watched as Arizona's breaths become less and less labored, as the albuterol treatment ran out of steam signaling that it had finished. Taking the mouth piece from her he was about to hand her some water when she started coughing, her eyes watering as she cleared some of the congestion that was still rattling in her chest.
"Urgh," Arizona groaned, repeating her earlier protest.
"Better out than in," Richard reminded her as he handed her a tissue. "As uncomfortable as this is it's a good sign; it means that you are getting strong enough to clear your lungs on your own."
"Yay me," Arizona yawned as she wiped at her mouth, before taking the glass of water from him, her hands shaking slightly from a mixture of exhaustion and the effects of the albuterol treatment. "I know it's just … urgh."
"Your eloquence astounds me," Richard laughed taking the glass from her.
"Bite-"
"You already used that one," Richard pointed out.
Closing her eyes Arizona shook her head. "I need to get some new friends."
"Before you fall asleep on me, again, erm … would you like me to delay Torres? Only she should be finishing up with Bailey soon and then she'll be headed straight here," Richard reminded her.
"No," Arizona coughed. "I just need to close my eyes for a few minutes, my chest feels better … there's no elephant sitting there anymore, I just need a few minutes," she insisted.
Tidying away the albuterol treatment Richard scanned the thermometer across her skin, relieved to find that her temperature was still normal he stretched out the kink in his back. Busying himself in finishing up the last of his charts, sending an e-mail to HR and trying to complete level 341 of Candy Crush, the same level that he had been stuck on for 2 weeks. Playing the brightly colored game was one of his few guilty pleasures this one being a secret that only Arizona was in on. After all it was the fetal-pediatric surgeon that had first got him hooked on the game, and he was determined to surpass her but last time they talked about it she was over 100 levels ahead of him.
He hadn't realized how much time had passed until he heard a tentative, almost shy knock on the door. Looking up he saw the familiar silhouette of Callie Torres.
"Robbins," he whispered, not wanting to startle her.
"See," Arizona breathed, pushing herself into a sitting position. "Told you I just needed to close my eyes for a few minutes."
Looking up at the clock Richard smirked. "87 minutes actually," he pointed out as another round of knocking echoed through the room, this one slightly more confident than the last.
"Callie?" Arizona questioned, running her hand through her hair trying not to think about what a mess she must look after 3 days without a shower or hairbrush.
"Yeah," Richard agreed. "Want me to let her in? Or I could ask her to come back," he suggested.
Arizona pushed herself further up the bed, wincing as the chest tube pulled a little bit, she had almost forgotten that it was still there. "No. Let her in."
Pausing at the door Richard was reluctant to leave her alone, although he knew Callie would not intentionally do something to upset Arizona he also knew that at times, when emotions were high, she could be hot-headed and impulsive.
"I'll be in my office if you need me, Michelle should be here in about half-an-hour to check on you," Richard said, opening the door and silently letting Callie into the room before he closed the door behind him, leaving the 2 women alone for the first time in months.
Shifting her weight from one foot to the other Callie remained with her back almost against the door, suddenly having no idea what to say to the woman in the bed.
"We can't talk unless you come closer," Arizona finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that was threatening to consume them.
Callie took small, cautious steps towards the bed, stopping just at the edge finally allowing herself to take in the appearance of the other woman. Arizona's hair was pulled back into a messy bun, her eyes were tired but still the same brilliant blue that she had fallen in love with. She had a central line in her neck that was attached to a variety of different infusions, there was an oxygen tube under her nose and the edge of a chest drain just visible snaking out of the right side of her gown.
"Bad hair day," Arizona joked trying to break the tension.
"Your hair looks fine," Callie mumbled.
Arizona couldn't help but smile at Callie's attempt to put her at ease. "Right."
"Sofia keeps asking when she can see you," Callie said, deciding that the neutral ground of their daughter was a good place to start.
"Hopefully I'll be out of ICU in a day or so and then she can visit, I've missed her, more than I ever thought possible," Arizona admitted.
Callie finally felt comfortable enough to sit down in a chair. "She's missed you too. I er … I'm flying back to New York tomorrow ... er just to sort things out so we can move back here for good, Sofia is staying with Meredith and Derek though and Richard has already offered to bring her up as soon as she's allowed to visit."
"Right, that's good, how long will you be gone for?" Arizona asked.
"I'm not sure, hopefully no longer than a week there's not much to sort out," Callie shrugged.
Deciding that it was now or never to address one of the many elephants in the room Arizona took a deep breath before she spoke, wincing slightly at the constant ache that seemed to have settled in her whole body. "So, things are really over with you and Penny?"
"We don't need to talk about that, it's not important, Sofia and I are moving back to Seattle and that's all that matters," Callie tried, trying to keep the promise she had made to Alex to keep things as calm as possible.
"We have to eventually, I mean after all it's the whole reason we are here right? Because you fell in love and moved our daughter across the country," Arizona accused, she had told herself that she would keep it amicable but now she was here, sat just inches away from the woman that had broken her heart she couldn't help herself.
Callie shook her head. "It wasn't like that."
"What was it like then?" Arizona wondered. "If it wasn't for love and a fresh start what exactly was it Callie? Just another way to punish me?"
"Arizona no, just no, I would never use our daughter as a weapon like that … I don't know how you could even think that," Callie argued.
Arizona shook her head, leaning back against the bed, suddenly feeling very drained. "I know, but that didn't mean that's not how it felt, losing Sofia, even if it was just across the country is the worst pain I have ever felt, not being able to see her every day, to wrap my arms around her, cuddle up with her at bed time and watch the way her face creases up when she's trying something new. These last 5 months have been the worst of my life, and I am not saying you are the sole reason behind that but … the things you let them say to me, the way you let them just cast my role in Sofia's life aside, like the last 6 years have never meant anything I … I never thought you would be able to hurt me like that."
"Ari-"
"I know I hurt you too Callie. And I know that some people might think I was being selfish, by trying to keep Sofia here but I really did think I was doing what was best for her, she has a life here Callie, her whole life," Arizona cried, her words punctuated by a small series of painful coughs.
Callie waited until Arizona's breathing settled before speaking. "I'm sorry. Penny was where I thought my future was and I know I didn't think it through, expecting you to get on a plane every time you wanted to see your daughter, but when you got the lawyers involved I just … I was angry and I didn't think about what this would do to you and to Sofia."
"She thinks I didn't want her," Arizona whispered.
"No she doesn't," Callie tried to reassure her.
Arizona nodded. "Yes, she does, she doesn't think I fought for her."
"Sofia thinks you created the world Arizona, there is no one else in the world that she loves as much as she loves you," Callie told her. "She thinks you hung the sun, the moon and the stars."
"I need you to promise me that whatever happens you will never question my place in Sofia's life again, that you will never try and take her away from me and question my dedication to her," Arizona pleaded, although she knew that Callie was all apologetic and full of guilt now, seeing the domino affect her actions had had, she still had no idea how she would react when the truth about her pregnancy was revealed.
Callie nodded. "I promise Arizona, Sofia is your daughter and I will never do anything to come between you, she needs you, she loves you and … you're her mommy."
"Sofia is the most important thing in my life, my daughter is my reason for living," Arizona said, silently turning it plural in her head.
"I know-"
The moment between the two women was broken as Michelle entered the room. "Oh Callie, hi," she smiled approaching the bed.
"Michelle has been my RT through all of this," Arizona explained.
"She's my star patient," Michelle chuckled as she removed her stethoscope and repeated the now familiar action of listening to Arizona's chest.
Arizona took a series of deep breaths when instructed, waiting until Michelle had finished before talking. "How do I score?"
"You're still pretty wheezy, I'm going to write you up for 2 hourly albuterol treatments for the next 6 hours and then we can review things then," Michelle observed, adding the order into her chart before setting up the breathing treatment and then leaving the exes alone again.
Callie was silent, her thoughts a jumbled mess as she watched Arizona's eyes flutter shut as she held the mouthpiece tight, her knuckled turning white.
Trying not to stare Callie reached down for her bag, knocking something off the side with her elbow she bent down to pick it up, instead finding her fingers curled around a grainy black and white image. Lifting it up her eyes immediately flicked to the left-hand corner, her breath catching in her throat as she saw the name written there and today's date next to it.
"You're pregnant, you're … really, really pregnant," Callie accused, her tone a lot angrier than she had expected it to be.
Dropping the mouthpiece to the bed Arizona opened her eyes, silently berating herself for not making sure the picture was hidden from view, she hadn't wanted the truth to come out like this. She needed more time, she needed to figure out what she was going to tell Callie, how she was going to explain to her that this didn't change anything, that it didn't mean she cared any less about Sofia.
"I-"
Callie could hear the wheezing start to increase as Arizona's heart rate spiked. "You need to finish this," she frowned handing the apparatus back to her, trying not to let her mind run away with her as she looked down at the image in her hand.
Arizona was pregnant, the woman who had resisted so hard to keep trying for another baby was pregnant, without her. Looking down at the ultrasound again Callie couldn't help the frown the spread across her face as the only sound in the room came from the hissing of the nebulizer.
Studying the image, she tried to remember everything she could from her OBGYN rotation as she carefully studied the image, the grainy black and white child appeared to be at least 16 weeks in gestation. Counting backwards in her head she realized that meant Arizona had to have made the decision to have another baby just days after Callie was awarded full custody of their daughter, and then finally going through with it around the time they moved to New York.
"You're replacing her," Callie whispered.
Arizona's eyes widened in panic, this was exactly the reaction she had feared. "No. It's not like that," she insisted, her voice muffled over the sound of the albuterol.
"Then what is it like?" Callie needed to know. "Because we must have been gone what … days … is that when you decided to have another baby? To just stop fighting for the daughter you already have and move on, have another child, forget all about Sofia?"
"I didn't want…"
Arizona trailed off, realizing she had nearly revealed her darkest secret, a secret she had already decided her ex-wife did not need to know.
"Didn't what Arizona?" Callie asked when the other women didn't continue.
Taking a deep breath Arizona exhaled as a series of coughs rattled through her body, bringing tears to her eyes, tears she wasn't sure were actually even caused by the physical pain.
"It's … complicated," Arizona hedged, once she was able to talk.
"It always is with you Arizona," Callie raged, standing up and grabbing her bag she dropped the ultrasound picture on to the bed before heading before the door.
Feeling her breathing speed up Arizona realized that if she didn't say something now, then she might never be able too, that the more time she had to think about it the more she would talk herself out of it again. "I didn't want it," Arizona shouted, finishing the sentence she had started earlier.
Callie's hand paused on the door as she tried to interpret the real meaning behind Arizona's words. "Didn't want what Arizona?" she asked, letting her hand drop from the door as she turned back to face her ex-wife.
"I … it doesn't matter," Arizona whispered, tears falling freely down her face as she felt her hands start to tremble, she couldn't let herself go back to that moment, she wasn't strong enough, but she also knew that if she didn't Callie might always think that she believed that Sofia's place in her life could so easily be replaced.
"It obviously does," Callie observed, seeing the absolute terror that clouded such familiar blue eyes.
Arizona closed her eyes, knowing that they had always given her away. "I didn't mean anything by it I just meant …"
"What happened Arizona?" Callie asked, her voice soft and cautious as she moved back over to the bed taking in the trembling form of the other woman, a trembling that she was starting to think had nothing to do with the illness she was fighting off, and everything to do with the demons she was fighting in her head.
Opening her eyes Arizona found herself looking straight into the familiar chocolate orbs that had always made her feel safe. "I didn't want it," she repeated.
"Arizona," Callie prompted when the blonde didn't continue, her hand reaching out to take hold of the smaller, trembling hand that was playing nervously with the edges of the ultrasound picture.
"The night of the custody ruling," Arizona began, her eyes clouding over as she tried to fight off the images that were threatening to overwhelm her. "I was in a bad place, I felt like I had lost everything … you were taking Sofia to New York and a teenage mother and her unborn child had died on my table just hours before the ruling. I didn't want to go home … nothing felt like home anymore anyway so I just kept walking, away from the court house, away from the reality of it all," she started to recall the shaking of her hands increasing as she felt herself being pulled further and further into the memory.
Callie tightened her grip on Arizona's hand, silently letting her know that she was there and that she would still be there after. And even though she had already started to put the pieces together in her head she knew that she needed to let Arizona speak, no matter how painful it might be for both of them.
"I was in a bar, it was just a normal bar with music, mood lighting and tables full of people talking. I don't know how many drinks I had, I wasn't counting, I don't even know when it happened or how … I mean I know it happened … but the rest is all just fragments of memories and nightmares but one minute I was in a bar and ... the next I was in my bed and … he … he was … I was … oh God," Arizona leaned over, throwing up all over the floor.
Callie knew she should make her stop, that there was time for the truth later but she also feared that if they didn't talk about this now then they never would, after all talking had never been their strong suit. She also knew that Arizona didn't owe her anything, that she wasn't her wife anymore and right now, sitting here, listening to her speak she realized, she didn't know what they were to each other. But what she did know for certain was how much the other woman was such an integral part of her life, she was her daughter's mommy and for Sofia's sake, in that moment she made a silent promise to herself, to Arizona and to their daughter that she would do everything she could to help the other woman through this.
Leaning back against the bed Arizona opened her eyes and focused them on the clock, fearing that if she closed them all she would see would be the broken memories she had of that night. "All I remember is his hands … his smell and the pain … the pain was … I'd never … no man … it was … he was … the only … his hands … I cried … so hard … then I don't remember anything other than the pain, he had his whole weight on me, his knees pressed into my ribs and … he hit me … his hands just kept … attacking me … even when he was finished."
"And then he was just gone," Arizona continued, not stopping to allow herself to think because if she allowed herself to think too much about the words she was speaking, she feared she would stop breathing. "I managed to make it to the bathroom, but the pain was so bad I couldn't get into the shower, my prosthetic leg was broken … I couldn't reach my crutches … the … I couldn't even shower … I couldn't stop heaving … for 2 days that room … that pain … that feeling … that was all I knew and then Alex was there, I could see in his eyes that he knew, that I didn't have to say the words ... I never had to say the words," Arizona sobbed, her whole body shaking as she tried to regain control of her breathing and emotions.
Climbing up on the bed Callie was careful not to pull the central line or chest drain as she pulled Arizona into her, her arms wrapping around the sobbing form of her ex-wife as if she was trying to protect her from the pain of what had happened to her. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry Arizona … I should have been there."
"Not your responsibility anymore," Arizona mumbled through her tears.
"You are the mother of my child, you will always be a part of my life Arizona," Callie vowed as she felt the other woman's breathing finally start to calm down and the shaking lessen.
Pulling away from Callie Arizona wiped at her eyes. "I didn't plan this … the baby … any of it but I'm keeping her Callie … it's not her fault, she didn't ask to be brought into the world this way and she's my baby, mine and mine only. She's my little-girl, just like Sofia ... she's mine."
Arizona's words pierced at Callie's heart in a way she couldn't explain when Arizona spoke about her baby, a baby she was having without Callie.
"I did everything they said," Arizona whispered, her hands falling to her baby bump as Callie moved to the bottom of the bed to give her some space. "I took all of the medication they prescribed, the HIV cocktail, the antibiotics, the morning-after-pill, all of them but … my head was all over the place and for days after I couldn't keep anything down but I didn't think, I didn't think … and now she's here … I did what they said, I took the pills and she's still here … she held on."
Callie nodded, her eyes falling on the tiny bump that was suddenly visible as the blanket fell down to her waist. For so long the image of seeing Arizona pregnant was something she had dreamt about, wished for and hoped for, but then she had miscarried and their marriage had fallen apart and she thought it would never happen. But here they were, more apart than they had ever been whilst Arizona faced one of the toughest challenges of her life; alone. And suddenly the image she had only ever seen in her dreams was a very real part of the nightmare they were living.
"After everything that happened ... I did some things … things I'm not proud of … but I was drowning … most days it took every last piece of energy I had just to breath, because everything hurt. I was working crazy hours, and when I wasn't working I was drinking … more than I have ever drunk in my life before … but I just needed it all to be gone. When I didn't get my period it didn't click, I thought it was just stress, but weeks turned into months and I knew … I never took a test but I knew," Arizona surmised, trying to explain where her head was at.
"Ar-"
"I was at the airport coming to see Sofia, I really planned on getting on the plane Callie. I have been on a plane since the crash … but I was at the boarding gate and I felt something … I felt her move … I didn't know she was a her then, and my feelings were … not what they are now and all of a sudden, I was back there, in my room ... my own home ... with his hands … I couldn't breathe … I couldn't speak … Richard had to come and get me … he thought it was the plane but it wasn't. I was pregnant and the father was someone that … hurt me … he destroyed me … and here this … thing … because that's what it was to me then … here it was living, growing and moving inside me," Arizona sobbed as once again she felt her emotions start to consume her.
Reaching out Callie rested a hand on Arizona's leg, realizing how even after so long apart she instinctively reached for her right, her mind always knowing not to go towards her left. "Breathe, just in and out and … breathe."
"I wanted it all to go away, they gave me pain pills and sleeping tablets after it happened … I don't know what I was thinking except how I wanted it gone … how I wanted to be gone … and then I was swallowing them … one by one like it was just a normal thing to do … I don't know how many I had taken, it was almost all of them and then I felt it move again and then next thing I know I'm on my knees throwing it all up. I was still here, the baby was still here but so was the pain, the guilt, the fear … the everything … I started drinking and I ended up on the roof … they found me … everything came out and then I ended up in here. So now you know, now you know everything," Arizona finished, her whole body practically sagging against the bed as she realized just how exhausted she was.
When Callie didn't say anything, Arizona felt compelled to speak. "So now you know … I didn't choose this Callie. I didn't want this, not this way. But it's happening and I'm going to do it, I'm going to have this baby and Sofia is going to be a big-sister and things would be so much easier if you could understand, help me help Sofia understand that she will always be my little-girl but ... that things are going to change. I know you don't owe me anything but we were a good team once. We were able put everything aside and be parents to her, good parents to her."
"I'd like that," Callie whispered. "I'd really, really like that."
"It's not going to be easy. I'm a mess, everything is a mess and most of the time I don't know where my head is at but I need Sofia in my life and you, me and Sofia even though we're over, we'll always be a part of each other's life Callie, always," Arizona smiled, feeling a tiny sliver of hope slip into the darkness that had become her every waking moment.
Callie nodded her agreement. "We're family. You, me, Sofia and … this little-one … I want to help you Arizona, as much or as little as you need, as your friend and as Sofia's mother I'll be there, for all of you."
"I-"
"What you have been through, what happened to you, I … the idea that someone hurt you, that I hurt you too it makes me feel physically ill. But if anyone can learn to find a way through this I know it's you. And that baby is so lucky that it gets to have you as a mommy, whatever, however, if I know one thing for sure it's this; that little-girl won the mom-lottery, just like Sofia did. We can do this Arizona, we can learn to be friends," Callie exclaimed, her eyes bright with unshed tears as she tried to comprehend the way her whole life, everything she thought she knew had been turned so completely upside down in a matter of minutes.
"Sofia's parents, that's all we are to each other Callie," Arizona corrected, her mind working overtime as she thought about how quickly Callie seemed to want to go all in, a decision she worried the other woman would regret in the light of a new day. Arizona wanted to believe everything Callie was saying, she wanted to believe that they could learn to be friends, but that was never who they were, they had never been through the friend's stage, they had been amicable, they had even been friendly to each other but they had never been friends.
She didn't want to believe, she didn't want to open her heart to the idea because she couldn't take any more hurt, any more loss, any more broken promises or hopes for the future that would never come to fruition. She needed to stop hoping that they could be something to each other again other than co-parents and just concentrate everything she had on making it through that darkness for herself, for Sofia and for her unborn daughter.
"Callie. I just think all we ... the best ... is to go back to how we ere before the custody battle. I-"
"Please Arizona, don't say anything else," Callie pleaded. "Today has been exhausting and you're not well, you're sick and tired and today was … I'm sorry I made you go through all of that but I'm glad you told me, because I want to help you but I don't want you to say anything, not now, just … get better … take everything you have and get better but know that I will be here. Sofia and I we will be here," she vowed, leaning over and placing a gentle kiss on her head before standing up and walking away, leaving Arizona alone to consider her words.
For so long all she had wanted was to hear Callie say those words, to be able to put all of the pain, fear and devastation they had caused each other behind them and learn to find a new normal. A normal that would benefit everyone, but right now, in this moment all she could allow herself to hope for was that they would be able to work together to help Sofia come to terms with all the changes that were about to come.
Changes that the little-girl would either embrace or run away from. After all in her 6-years of life their daughter had already faced so much change, and each time she had come out fighting, smiling and still believing in the innocence of the world. They needed to preserve that, they needed to protect her childhood.
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I am currently at the airport awaiting a flight to Central African Republic where I will be spending 8 days volunteering- I will try and post but I have no idea what the signal/WiFi situation is so if not I will as soon as I return.
I know now I say this every time but thank you so much to everyone that takes the time to review they mean a lot, I will take your ideas and suggestions on board but the majority of this story is planned chapter by chapter.
