8.

For a few seconds after waking up Callie forgot where she until she heard the gentle snores of her daughter. Opening her eyes fully she looked around the room, they were in the lounge at Alex's house, Arizona was asleep on the sofa with Sofia nestled into her front, she had one arm draped over the young girl's waist and her other one resting under her head. They had a soft comforter thrown over them and boxes full of half eaten pizzas littered the coffee table.

Sitting up she vaguely remembered covering the sleeping mother and daughter duo with the blanket, she had planned on waking them but she must have fallen asleep on the floor whilst watching the end of Moana.

She could tell by the fact it was still dark outside that it was early, glancing at her phone confirmed her suspicions as she realized it was only just 3am.

"Urgh" she moaned, not sure whether to leave them sleeping or wake them up.

Lying back down Callie decided to let them sleep, after all they looked so comfortable curled up together that she didn't have the heart to disturb them. Closing her eyes, she tried to sleep, instead she was distracted by a gentle banging from the kitchen. Pulling herself to stand she headed into the kitchen where she found Alex chucking old takeaways into the bin.

"I see you are just as good in the kitchen as Arizona," she observed, moving to sit on one of the stools.

Alex shrugged. "There's not been much time for cooking lately."

"Sorry I was just … trying to break the tension I guess," Callie admitted.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked, turning to face her as he poured himself some orange juice.

Callie sighed. "Sofia is here."

"Robbins is perfectly capable of looking after her daughter," Alex argued.

"I know that," Callie assured him. "I didn't plan this. The plan was to drop Sofia off, go back to Meredith's place and cry myself to sleep. But then I got here and things were … right, she was laughing and they were having fun. Then Arizona asked me to stay and after she and Sofia fell asleep I couldn't bring myself to leave."

Alex sat down on one of the other empty bar stools. "If you hurt her-"

"I won't, I promise. I don't know what Arizona and I are to each other right now, I'm hoping we can be friends but I know that I will do whatever I can to stop her from hurting any more than she already is," Callie vowed.

"Good. Because … she's finding her way back and … she can't get lost again," Alex insisted.

Callie rested her head on her hand. "I know."

"You should get some sleep," Alex told her. "I'm sure you've only got 3 hours, maybe less, before Short Stuff in there wakes up demanding some elaborate breakfast. Sofia too."

Laughing to herself Callie nodded and headed back into the room, watching as Arizona's hand held onto Sofia's she found herself just sitting there, watching the most important people in her life as the sun started to rise on a new day.

"Mama," Sofia greeted, untangling herself from Arizona's arms as the blonde shifted slightly in her sleep, moving her hand from her daughter to her unborn daughter.

"Sh," Callie promoted, not wanting to wake Arizona.

Sofia nodded, crawling into her lap. "Mommy's still sleeping."

"Mommy's still sleeping," Callie echoed.

"Is she still poorly?" Sofia worried.

Callie let out a long, loud breath. "A little, but she's getting better and better every day she just needs lots of rest."

"And super-magic hugs and kisses," Sofia added,

"Always, even when she's totally better she needs super-magic hugs and kisses," Callie told her daughter.

Sofia's eyebrows furrowed for a minute as she tilted her head to look up at her mother. "Who was giving her super-magic hugs when we were in New York?"

"She had people," Callie tried to reassure her daughter. "But nothing beats super-magic Sofia hugs."

"Can we go for breakfast?" Sofia asked, the conversation changing pace rapidly.

Callie wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Sure."

"To the pancake place? I've missed the purple pancake place, they do the best pancakes," Sofia said, her words coming faster than was almost humanely possible, unless of course you were 6-years-old or a pediatric surgeon.

"Pancakes sounds perfect," Callie agreed.

Sofia looked over at where her other mother slept. "Can mommy come? Or is she too poorly tired, she was having a bad leg day yesterday because she wasn't wearing it, will she be having a bad leg day today too?"

Biting her bottom lip Callie couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride as she listened to Sofia speak. Her 6-year-old was wise beyond her years, she was able to pick up on cues that most adults missed. She knew that when Callie played with the ends of her hair it meant she was nervous. That when Arizona bounced in her seat it meant she wanted to say something but was not sure she should, and she also knew from a young age that when Arizona wasn't wearing her prosthetic leg it meant she was hurting.

"I'm not sure Baby Girl," Callie sighed. "We'll have to wait till she wakes up and ask her," she concluded, although with the way Arizona was limping yesterday she was pretty sure the other woman wouldn't be up to taking any day trips today.

Picking up the prosthetic leg she gently adjusted the socket a little, moving the padding around it so that it was thicker in the areas that she had noticed were getting sore yesterday.

Trying to be as silent as possible mother and daughter moved to the floor, lying down on their stomach with a selection of coloring books spread out in front of them as they silently set about creating a masterpiece.

It was the exact same position that Arizona found them in when she woke almost 2 hours later. "Hey," she greeted, surprised to find them still here, she had expected Callie to take Sofia home.

"Mommy," Sofia squealed, pushing herself to her feet and sitting next to her mom. "Look what I made you," she said handing her a picture with 4 round figures and a fluffy ball or purple and yellow. "This is me," she started, pointing to the smallest figure. "This is you, look I even gave you a special leg, one that doesn't feel ouch. And then this is mama," she continued pointing to the dark-haired figure. "And this is Jo, I like Jo, she's my pretend big sister and then this is our dog Moma. He's a good dog, he doesn't pee or poop or make loud barks and he brings me stuff when I ask him too."

"That's amazing Goose," Arizona told the youngster as she took the brightly colored drawing from her.

Moving over to look Callie nodded. "Not sure where we can find a dog that color though."

"I was more worried about the fact she seems to think we are old enough to be Jo's parents," Arizona chuckled as she reached for her prosthetic, pulling it on and making her way to the bathroom.

Callie watched carefully as Arizona headed back into the room, she knew it had only been a few small steps but she was relieved to see that her movements appeared much easier than yesterday, her limp virtually non-existent.

"What did you do?" Arizona asked, a grateful smile spreading across her lips.

"Nothing," Callie shrugged.

Arizona's eyes widened. "Yes, you did. It feels different, it feels normal, well as normal as a prosthetic leg can feel."

"I just adjusted the socket and padding a little so that it was distributed more to the areas that were hurting," Callie explained. "Sorry if I overstepped it's just I was awake early and it was there and … you should be able to move around without being in pain."

"Thank-you," Arizona smiled softly.

Sofia rested her hand on her mother's prosthetic. "Is it a good leg day or a bad leg day?"

"It's a good leg day," Arizona assured her daughter.

"Does that mean you can come for breakfast with us to the purple pancake place, because mama said that you might if it was a good leg day and you were feeling ok," Sofia explained as she lent forward, kissing her on each cheek, her forehead and her lips. "And now you've had some super-magic kisses you're feeling better right?"

Arizona nodded. "That sounds like a great idea."

"Awesome," Sofia sung as she practically skipped across the room and started putting her things away.

"We don't have any clothes here," Callie pointed out. "How about I take Sofia back to Meredith's place, we can get dressed and then swing by and pick you up, that way you have time to get ready and we'll miss the breakfast rush," she suggested.

Arizona smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

"A good plan." Sofia added, not wanting to feel left out.

"Come on Little Miss, the sooner we go the sooner we can be back," Callie informed her daughter.

Running over to her mommy Sofia wrapped her arms around her. "We'll be back soon, love you mommy and I'm really, really pleased you are having a good leg day."

"Me too Goose, me too," Arizona agreed.

GA – GA – GA

"Mommy," Sofia shouted, running across the outside seating area towards her parents. "Mama, mommy, did you see? The people on the ferryboat were waving at me."

"We saw," Callie assured her daughter.

Doing a little twirl Sofia headed back to the look-out point under the watchful eye of her mom's. "I'm going to go and wait for the next boat, see if that one waves too."

"You ok?" Callie asked, turning her gaze towards the other woman, they had been out for almost 4 hours now and she was concerned that the activity might be a bit too much for her, after all she was only released yesterday.

Arizona nodded, reaching into her bag and taking out the inhaler she had been prescribed she took 2 puffs before replacing it. "I'm good, just a little wheezy," she admitted.

"We should head back," Callie worried.

"No," Arizona insisted. "Honestly, I'm fine, I promise to tell you the minute that changes because believe me when I say I will not do anything that puts my health at risk. Michelle said this could happen, that I might need to use the rescue inhaler from time to time, but as long as it's not more than once in a 4-hour period I'm good," she explained.

"Ok," Callie relented.

Arizona watched as Sofia waved to the ferryboat. "I need to tell her."

"I know," Callie agreed.

"I'm getting bigger and she's a smart kid, I just … I don't want her to hate me," Arizona admitted.

Callie narrowed her eyes. "She could never hate you Arizona. In fact I think she'll be happy, she's always wanted a brother or sister ever since Bailey came along."

"I know, but this is an extreme situation," Arizona reminded her.

"I don't think she'll ask Arizona, in her head everything is simple and black and white and I don't think this will be any different, I mean I could be wrong but there's only one way to find out," Callie shrugged.

Arizona licked her lips, suddenly feeling very nervous. "You think we should do it today?"

"Yeah. I mean if you're ready that is," Callie suggested.

"I think I am," Arizona replied.

Callie watched as Sofia continued to wave happily. "We should take her to the park, maybe grab some food and go from there. That's if you're feeling ok? With your breathing I mean."

"It's good, the tightness and wheezing has gone," Arizona reassured her.

"I didn't realize you still suffered with respiratory problems, I mean I remember you mentioning that you had some issues when you were a kid but … I didn't realize," Callie whispered.

Arizona shook her head. "I don't, at least I hope I don't. Like you said I had some problems when I was a kid and living in the Middle East. There was once during residency during a dust storm that I ended up in the ER on nebulizers but since then, nothing. Hopefully it was triggered by the bronchitis and once I am fully over that then it will be gone too."

"I hope so," Callie agreed.

"We should head off," Arizona suggested. "Because she will stay here all day if we let her."

GA – GA – GA

"Pancakes and ice-cream in the same day and it's not even my birthday," Arizona joked.

"It's because it's a good leg day and we are all together, here in Seattle and you aren't in the hospital," Sofia shrugged, her mouth covered in ice cream as she licked the sprinkles off.

Pulling the little-girl into her lap Arizona took a deep breath before speaking. "Sofia. Mommy has something she needs to talk to you about."

"Are we moving again?" Sofia panicked.

"No," Arizona reassured her. "Like we said the other day Seattle is forever now. This is something good something exciting."

Sofia's eyes lit up. "Are we getting a dog? A Moma?"

"Better than that, at least I think it is," Arizona began. "You see…"

As Arizona hesitated Callie remained silent, taking hold of her hand to let her know that she was there but also that she could do this.

Taking hold of the little-girls hand she rested it on her stomach. "You see the thing is Goose. Mommy's having a baby … you're going to have a little-sister."

"I am?" Sofia asked, not ready to truly get excited yet as she had hoped before but then everything had changed.

"You are. In about 4 months you are going to get a little baby sister," Arizona reassured her.

Sofia stood up and wrapped her arms around her mom, totally forgetting about the ice-cream in her hand as it collided with her mother's hair. "That is so awesome. Is it growing in your belly like I growed in mama's belly?"

"It is," Arizona nodded, as she locked eyes with Callie, the relief obvious on both their faces as the young girl accepted the new change so easily. "Can I feel?"

"She's still pretty tiny right now so I can only feel her from inside but in a few weeks, you might be able to," Arizona explained.

Sofia pouted. "You promise I will be the first person that gets to feel her?"

"I promise," Arizona reassured her.

"And it's definitely going to be a girl because boys are yuck," Sofia exclaimed.

"Definitely a girl," Arizona replied.

Leaning down Sofia rested her head on her mom's slightly swollen stomach. "Hey little-sister. My name is Sofia Robbin Sloan-Torres and I am going to the best big-sister ever, we have the best mommies in the world. Mommy is called Arizona and she fixes babies, sometimes before they are even born, and she likes fun things, songs, games, tickle time and playing in the park, she also has a super cool robot leg. Mama is called Callie well her real, full, whole name is Calliope but only mommy can call her that, she fixes bones, and makes bones and builds super cool robot legs, she lets us stay up later the mommy, makes the best pancakes and has the best singing voice."

Arizona looked at Callie, her eyes wide with panic as she listened to Sofia telling her unborn sister all about her family. The youngster too young to realize that now her parents were no longer married this baby would not have the same family as her.

"Sof-" Callie began before she was cut off by Arizona.

"Your family sounds like the best Goose," Arizona smiled, ruffling the young girls hair before she ran off towards the sand pit.

Once they were alone Callie sighed. "Arizona. I'm not sure …"

"I'm not saying we will ever be a … us again Callie, I'm not … I just …. Sofia's right, she has 2 really great mommies and I know this baby isn't yours, that … she's my baby … but she doesn't have 2 parents and … you are a great mom so maybe … when Sofia comes to yours at the weekend then … her sister could come too. I'm not asking you to be her mother Callie. I'm just asking you to think about the possibility that families come in all shapes and sizes and ours may be a little different, a little unconventional but … different is good right and Sofia is right … we're a great parenting team," Arizona explained, not sure she was making any sense but knowing even if she wasn't ready to be anything with Callie she wanted her daughter to have a family.

She knew she was asking a lot, that asking Callie to welcome a child into her heart when she had no obligation too was wrong on so many levels, but it also made so much sense. Sofia was a great child and that was down to them; to her and Callie and she wanted her daughter to have that, she wanted her to have the family that Sofia loved so much.

"I want that too," Callie whispered. "I want to be her family."

GA – GA – GA

"She asked me to be her daughter's family," Callie sighed, leaning back against the chair.

"Huh?" Meredith frowned.

Callie blew out a breath. "Arizona. We were at the park and we told Sofia about the baby, about her baby and then Sofia started talking to the baby … it was incredible. She was saying all this awesome stuff about how she had the best moms in the world and how the baby was going to have the best moms too. At first it was awkward but then Arizona she said she wanted that, she said she wanted me to be a part of her daughter's family, for this little girl to have what Sofia has. And I found myself saying yes. I mean Arizona doesn't want me to be anything to her, she doesn't even want to be friends but it feels like we're friends, it feels like we are … something."

"Maybe this is her way of saying she wants you to be her family too Callie," Meredith suggested.

"It's such a mess, but when I'm with her, even for the few short moments we've been together it feels like … we are building something, she's relaxed around me, I think she even trusts me but, she doesn't want me, she doesn't want to be my friend," Callie worried.

Meredith was just as confused as Callie was about the situation but she needed her friend to remain hopeful. "Arizona is drowning. She's lost so much, had so much taken from her and … she's drowning, she's scared to make you her anchor because you walked away but that's what you are Callie, you're her anchor, whether she says it or not she wants you in her life."

"So I just need to stay patient," Callie remembered. "And let her know she can trust me."

"She already trusts you Callie, she asked you to help raise her daughter, one of the most important people in her life. She trusts you, she just needs to trust in that trust," Meredith tried to reassure her.

Callie banged her head against the soft cushion. "You realize how crazy that sounds right?"

GA – GA – GA

"I thought I knew what I wanted Jo, but then she kept doing all of these cute little things, she kept her distance like I asked but; she was still there," Arizona breathed, swallowing her antibiotics with a glass of juice.

"She cares," Jo shrugged.

Arizona nodded. "I know. It's just for so long she didn't, or at least she acted like she didn't but then I got sick and she was here. I told her I didn't want to be her friend but she was there, she kept leaving little packages of my favorite things and she gave me space but every time someone would knock on my door … I wanted it to be her."

"You need to tell her this, not me," Jo pointed out.

"I did. Or at least I think I did, in a kind of sort of roundabout way," Arizona sighed.

Jo smiled lightly at her friend. "A kind of sort of roundabout way might be confusing to some, what exactly did you tell her you wanted?"

"I told her I wanted her to be part of my baby's family, that I wanted this little-girl to have what Sofia has," Arizona explained.

"But not part of your family?" Jo prompted, trying to picture how the conversation went.

Arizona shook her head. "No. I told her that I didn't think we could even be friends," she whispered.

"So, no judging here, I promise, but I just need to get this straight in my head. You told Callie you wanted her to be your daughter's mother, a part of her family, a very important part but not a part of your life, or to even be your friend," Jo summarized, trying to get a handle on the situation.

"Well when you say it like that I sound like a total bitch," Arizona huffed.

Jo laughed, helping herself to a piece of day-old pizza. "Not a total bitch, just a very confused person. Look …"

Jo trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say, her and Arizona had never addressed the reason she was living with them, they had never spoken about the night Alex had turned up with his bruised, broken and traumatized mentor. She had just let her in, become her friend and allowed her to heal and to grieve without asking anything of her. But she knew, the walls were thin and Arizona's nightmares were heartbreakingly loud and all it took was one look into the other woman's eyes and there was no mistaking what had happened to her.

"You can say it," Arizona whispered, as if she was reading the younger surgeon's thoughts.

Jo was hesitant, even with Arizona's permission it was like she was breaking some unspoken rule. "We never spoke about it, it was never my place and I kind of felt like you needed me to be the person that didn't ask, or mention anything so … we didn't talk about it."

"And I'm grateful for that," Arizona smiled. "Because it was what I needed. But now … you can talk Jo … I'm not going to break, I promise."

"Ok so here it goes; you were raped Arizona and I know hearing that word being said out loud is horrible and painful and all kinds of … horrible, but it's the truth, it's the truth that you're living with right now and the baby is a living reminder of that and however ok you may want to be with that it's still another truth that you are living with and Callie, she doesn't know-"

Arizona bit her bottom lip, the only other time she had heard the word rape said out loud was when Alex had taken her Seattle Press. But Jo was right, it was her truth and she needed to learn how to find her peace with it. "I was raped," she sobbed, the word causing her physical pain. "And Callie knows."

"Arizona-"

"I'm broken Jo and Callie has had to put me back together too many times before, I can't make her go through that again and I don't think I want to. I need to know that I can put me back together again, that I can be my own good man in a storm because I have a daughter, 2 daughters that need me and I need me to be me … a good man in a story, maybe then, maybe when I'm … me I can let her in," Arizona admitted.

Jo moved her stool closer to the other woman. "You know you're the most kick-ass person I've ever met right? If anyone's got this, you've got this."

"I-"

"No," Jo insisted before Arizona even had a chance to speak. "Don't say or even think that you are not strong enough to get through this because I've watched you. Before all of this happened I've … watched you and I realize how creepy that might sound but the way Alex talks about you, I wanted to know you, and the few times I got put on your service it was awesome and you are incredible. You give everything you've got to all of your patients, and not just your patients but their families too. You teach everyone like they are the greatest student you have ever encountered and your colleagues, the people at the hospital they … you get offers from the top hospitals in the country every week Arizona because you are the only person that can do what you do, literally like the only person in the world. Yet you stay here in Seattle, even after it has taken so much from you, you still remain loyal … you are a superhero, a real-life superhero."

Arizona wiped at her eyes, unable to stop the tears from falling. "Even superhero's fall sometimes."

"Yeah but they get back up, and you're getting back up, you're fixing you, you are being your … good man in a storm," Jo pointed out. "And not just for you but for your daughters too."

"I'm all she has," Arizona whispered, resting her hand on her stomach.

Jo rested her hand on top of the older surgeons. "You're all she needs."

"She-"

"Is incredibly lucky. Do you remember the other day when I told you that my parents didn't care? Biggest understatement of the year, they … he … she … didn't want me, they left me at a fire station when I was about 2 weeks old. I don't even know when my real birthday is. I know nothing about where I came from or who I am so trust me when I say that; having one mom who care as much as you do already makes this kid already one of the luckiest babies in the world," Jo tried to reassure her.

Arizona tightened her grip on her friends' hand. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not. Not anymore because everything that happened to me, all of the crap in my life led me to this moment to where I am and I really, really like where I am," Jo explained. "And I know it may not seem like it now, but there will come a time when you reach that moment, when you realize that as horrible and painful everything you have been through is it led you to where you are and you will be ok with that, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week but … you'll find your moment."

"I'm glad you're here," Arizona smiled through her tears.

Jo leaned her head on Arizona's shoulder. "Me too."

"I want my moment too," Arizona whispered.

Jo closed her eyes, feeling like for the first time in her life she really had a family, a somewhat unconventional, messed up, complicated family but it was still her family. "I guess the question you need to ask yourself is who do you want with you when that moment comes?"

"Callie," Arizona stammered through her tears. "I want Callie with me."