Arizona dressed Sofia in her astronaut/princess costume and helped her into the car, driving the short distance to Alex's house. She greeted Derek, the other day care parents and the kids before settling in to watch the games begin. Sofia had her turn at pin the head on the skeleton, took a wild swing at the Pinata but finally found her groove at apple bobbing. Arizona held her hair back as she bobbed for apples, coming up with an apple between her teeth on her first try.
Callie stood slightly back from them and watched with pride as her mini me cheered with Arizona over her accomplishment. Sofia raised her hands in triumph before she finally noticed Callie had made it to the party. Sofia ran over to get a big hug and kisses from her Mommy.
"You see me Mommy?"
Callie balanced her daughter on her hip and kissed Sofia's cheek once again before putting her back on the ground. "I did baby girl. You rocked! I love your costume, it's very you." Callie leaned down and hugged Sofia again, taking the time to breathe her daughter in. "Hey, I think Zola wants you to go over and play with her."
Callie gestured over her daughter's shoulder. Sofia turned to look at her friend and said a quick bye to Callie before scurrying back to play with Zola and the other kids some more. Arizona tentatively made her way towards Callie who for once didn't look for a way out of the room and away from her.
"Hey."
Callie brought a drink to her lips before she replied. "Hi."
Arizona fidgeted, nervous she would set Callie off again like she did this morning over the Halloween costume. It was an argument that could have been avoided if they had only talked to each other, but as was the case lately that didn't happen. Arizona knew she was coming to terms with the realizations from her session and the ramifications it had on their marriage and their lives but didn't want to push things too far too soon until she really got herself on the right track. Callie had asked her for space and she would respect that.
"So, I'm sorry about this morning. It's just, Sofia asked me a week ago if she could be an astronaut and it slipped my mind to tell you. I really am sorry."
"No, it's okay, I get it. Kids change their minds all the time. Sof only told me two days ago she wanted to be a princess and I guess she forgot what she asked you. It's my fault too."
Arizona bit her lip before she continued on with the conversation. "So, did you see her wild swing at the Pinata?"
Callie laughed, the sound music to Arizona's ears. "Yeah. I thought she was gonna take Derek's head off. It was evil, but my first thought was, 'not the hair, for the love of God, watch the hair'."
Arizona hesitantly smiled and let out a small laugh. "That is kind of evil."
The two of them stood side by side silently and watched their only child play until Meredith interrupted and they were off to the streets of Seattle to trick or treat. Callie walked at the back of the pack with Meredith, little Bailey in her arms while Arizona held Sofia's hand as they knocked on doors.
"So, it looked like the two of you actually had a conversation without bloodshed."
"Yeah. But you know that's what two people who share a child do. You put aside your differences for the kids and you play nice. Don't read anymore into it than that."
Meredith balanced Bailey on her hip and held up her free hand in surrender. "Okay, just saying."
TWO DAYS LATER
Callie had finished her last surgery of the day and was completing the final chart when she heard her name being called.
"Calliope Torres?"
"Yes?" Callie turned and was met with a man in a suit, a very serious looking document in his hands.
"Consider yourself served."
Callie took the envelope and swallowed hard. The last time she saw something like this it was from a lawyer and it was her copy of her and George's divorce papers. She tentatively opened the document and pulled the papers out. She skimmed the top lines and breathed a sigh of relief. Arizona wasn't starting divorce proceedings against her, she was just getting sued. Wait, what? Who the hell was suing her for malpractice and why? She continued to read and realized who it was.
Callie walked to the nearest on call room and sat on the bed, curled up in a ball and cried. This was where she would normally call her wife to help and comfort her but that was not an option. She wiped her tears and scrolled through her phone, selected the number and pressed call. A few rings later a calming voice answered.
"Hello."
When she didn't answer straight away and he could only hear sniffling Carlos Torres did what he always did - he took control.
"What's wrong mija? Calliope answer me."
"Daddy...I'm in trouble."
"I'll be there tomorrow morning. Whatever this is Calliope we'll work it out, we always do."
Callie wiped at the never-ending tears. "Thank you Daddy."
Callie ended the call and laid back on the bed. Her life was such a mess. Her wife cheated on her, she felt so lonely and lost and now the cherry on top, she was getting sued. Callie stayed in the on call room for an eternity before she finally dragged herself out the door and made her way back to the apartment, for the first time in her life happy Arizona had Sofia tonight. She didn't think she could handle anyone around her right now, not even her beautiful daughter. Callie finally drifted into a fitful sleep sometime later, the nightmares taking over soon after.
The next morning Arizona had just finished feeding Sofia when a knock sounded on the door. She knew Callie was working this morning and she was taking Sofia to day care so she was a little curious to see who it was. She looked through the peep-hole and swallowed hard. Her father in law was an imposing figure even through a tiny hole in the door. Arizona opened the door and prepared to lie her ass off.
"Hello Arizona. And hello Miss Sofia."
"Grandpa!" Sofia reached out with her little hands for Carlos. Carlos kissed her cheek and gave her a tight hug before balancing his granddaughter on his hip. Arizona smiled at their interaction before she spoke.
"Hi Carlos. Um...Callie's not here. She's...um, at the hospital. Yeah, she got called in this morning."
Five minutes earlier and across the hall Callie stirred from her slumber and pulled herself out of the bed, standing on unsteady feet and making her way to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror but didn't recognise the stranger staring back at her. Her eyes were puffy and her make up smeared, her hair like a bird's nest. She turned on the faucet and ran the water, splashing a generous amount on her face to wake herself up. She looked in the mirror once more and walked slowly into the kitchen for a large cup of coffee.
Callie took one sip when she heard her father's voice through the closed door. She drank the rest of her coffee and paused at the door, took a calming breath and opened the door. Carlos, Arizona and Sofia all turned their attention to the sound. Sofia reached for her Mommy, while Arizona looked petrified. Carlos raised his eyebrow in a gesture Callie knew all too well, time to face the music.
"What's going on Calliope?"
Callie sighed and opened the door wider. "Come inside Dad and I'll explain."
Carlos handed Sofia back to Arizona with a kiss to the cheek and a promise to see her later. He walked through the door as Arizona balanced Sofia in her arms. Callie gave Sofia a quick kiss on the cheek too and turned to follow her father.
"Callie what is going on and why is your Dad here? Please, talk to me."
Callie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I, uh, need his advise on something. You don't need to worry about it okay. Just take Sofia to day care and go to work. I'll explain about us." Callie blew a kiss to Sofia. "Bye baby girl. Have fun at day care."
Sofia nodded and smiled at her Mommy. At the same time Arizona's head dropped. She walked away without saying a word but inside she was screaming. She wanted to take Callie in her arms and be the one to ease her pain, to be the one to comfort her when she needed it, but it seemed more and more like she never would again. Arizona turned to take one last look at Callie before she entered the elevator but she had already shut the door. Arizona felt the tears but she held them back, at least until she could be alone.
"Come on miss, time to play." Arizona kissed Sofia's cheek as they walked to the hospital.
Back at Mark's Callie poured another cup of coffee for herself and one for her father while Carlos sat on the couch and waited patiently for his distraught daughter to talk to him. Callie sat next to her father and took one sip of her coffee before the floodgates opened. Carlos slid his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him, the sobs racking her body. Carlos let her calm down and wiped away her tears before he questioned her.
"What is happening Calliope? And why are you staying here instead of with your family?"
Callie ignored the second part of his questioning and pointed to the envelope on the coffee table. "I'm being sued for malpractice. This could ruin my career Daddy. What am I going to do?"
Carlos gestured to the envelope Callie had been given the day before and after getting silent permission from his daughter pulled the papers out to read. Carlos skimmed the suit and put it back down on the coffee table.
"I will get you the best lawyers out there mija, I will help you sort this out, you'll see. Trust me on this, I won't let anything happen to you."
Callie nodded and wiped at a stray tear. "Okay."
"Now, answer my other question. Why are you here instead of with your wife and daughter?"
"Short answer, she cheated on me. She slept with another woman. Remember that storm? I'm out there in the wind and rain saving lives and she's screwing some visiting doctor in an on call room. I left her Daddy."
"Why didn't you call me?"
Callie stood and started to pace the room, her hands gesturing wildly. "Because...because I didn't want to admit I failed again."
Carlos stood and halted Callie in her tracks. "You didn't fail Calliope. Come sit down."
After they sat Carlos put his arm around her again. "I never told you or Aria this but when you were younger your mother slept with another man."
Callie reeled away from her father. "WHAT!"
"Calliope, calm down and listen to me."
Callie leaned back on the couch, her arms folded across her chest. "Fine. Go ahead." She was having trouble believing that her mother, the same woman who couldn't, or more to the point, wouldn't accept her wife and child was a cheater. Oh the irony.
"Calliope, when you were four and Aria was about a year old I was working long hours. Your mother, she was lonely and she thought I was cheating on her with my secretary. I wasn't and of course I denied it but she got it into her head that I was. She slept with my best friend to get back at me."
"Do you mean Uncle Santiago?"
"Yes, the one and the same."
Callie tilted her head and looked at the ceiling. "Huh. Well I guess that explains why he suddenly disappeared from our lives."
"That's not the point Calliope. Your mother and I, we stopped talking. We still loved each other but we stopped listening to each other, stopped working on the two of us. I'm not excusing what she did, I never have, but I moved on from it and I forgave her."
"Well I'm not you, maybe I can't move on."
Callie stood, opened the cupboard and found her stash of wine. It was early, but fuck it, she needed a drink. Callie poured a generous amount into the wine glass and drank half in one go. Carlos sighed and took the glass from her hand.
"It took me a year Calliope, a year before I could be around your mother again and not want to walk out of the room every time I looked at her."
"How did you forgive her then?"
Carlos sat on a bar stool as Callie sat in the other at the breakfast bar. "I asked myself if I could live without her and the answer was I couldn't. I loved her enough to start again, to rebuild the trust between us. It took time and patience but we got there."
"You know patience was never my strong suit." Callie ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "I still love her Daddy, I can't help that, but she needs to get help for herself before we can even think of being together again. She treated me like shit for a year, blamed me for her losing her leg and then she cheats. I can't be with that person, that Arizona is not someone I want to be with. I mean, she doesn't even know about the baby for God's sake."
Carlos tilted his head in curiosity. "What baby mija? What are you talking about?"
"Shit." Callie picked up her glass and drank the rest of her wine. "I was pregnant when the plane crashed. I miscarried on the third night she was gone."
Carlos gently put his hand over his daughter's. "I'm so sorry mija. Tell me what happened Calliope, start from the beginning."
"Arizona and I decided to have another baby. We talked about it and thought we were in a good place so we went ahead with our plan. We kept it secret from everyone in case it didn't take. We went to a clinic an hour away so no one would know. I got tested to make sure I could still get pregnant after Sofia and when everything came back clear we picked a sperm donor and Arizona and I used the good old turkey baster to start trying. It took on the first try."
"What happened mija?"
Callie wiped yet another tear, this one for the child she would never know. "About a month after we first tried and before we could do the test her friend Nick came to the hospital with cancer. When we found out we couldn't do anything for him and he was going to die Arizona was inconsolable. He was her brother Tim's best friend and she didn't want to lose him too. I was so busy trying to be there for her it slipped my mind to test myself. The morning she left for Boise to do that operation on the twins I felt sick and threw up."
"So you took the test?"
"Yeah and there it was, two little lines saying congratulations you're gonna be a Mommy again. I was so elated I planed an evening for Arizona and me when she got back. I got a sitter for Sofia and I was going to tell her that night. When I woke the next morning she still wasn't back, but I wasn't worried yet. I thought she'd just been delayed or something. Then I got the call from Owen. I spent the first two days being told, 'Hey don't worry, we'll find them'. But as the third day rolled around I started to face the truth. I went from being a married woman with a best friend for a baby daddy to a single mother."
Callie swallowed hard at the memory. "I felt pain all through my stomach and then I started to bleed. At first I thought it was spotting like with Sofia but it wasn't. I lost that baby and she doesn't even know it worked. Only an OB at the hospital and two nurses know and they've never said anything. They found the plane and Arizona in those woods the next day."
"I'm so sorry. Why haven't you ever told her?"
Callie looked away before she refocused on her father. "When she came back she was so sick. Arizona was touch and go and then she makes me promise she won't lose her leg. I put all my energy into helping Arizona and I ignored my heartache to help my wife. She didn't need to know about the baby when she was barely hanging on."
"She deserved to know Calliope. It was her child too."
"I know Daddy, believe me I know. It's just after the crash and then losing her leg she became a different person. It took a long time but I thought we were finally in a good place and we could try again but I was fooling myself. I know Arizona has never faced what she went through and I was selfish in wanting my wife back. I should've pushed her to get help but I just wanted Arizona back. I know now she was only pretending to be happy for my sake and Sofia's and I hate myself for forcing her into that corner and not letting Arizona move at her own pace. I may not have cheated but I'm not innocent and blame free in all this. I understand why she did it even if she doesn't."
Carlos embraced his daughter and held on. "And that is how I was able to forgive your Mother. I may not have cheated either but I was to blame too." Carlos pulled back and pushed Callie's hair behind her ears. "I didn't listen when she needed me to and I ignored the pain she was in. I agree Arizona needs help to face her anger but I think you need to grieve for the child you lost and I think you should do it together."
"But what if we never work it out? What if we really are finished?"
Carlos wiped a tear from Callie's cheek. "Then you will at least know you tried. Only the two of you can decide what happens from now on but you have to talk to each other. Ask yourself what I did. Can you live the rest of your life without her or can you start over and learn to trust Arizona again. No matter what you do I'll support you mija, I'll be by your side."
Callie hugged her father with all her might. "I love you Daddy. Did I ever tell you I think you're the wisest man I ever met?"
Carlos chuckled as her held his daughter. "No, but it's nice to know." Carlos pulled back as Callie wiped at a fresh set of tears. "Tell me more about this lawsuit Calliope."
Hello. So some of you may not agree with this storyline and that's fine but I needed to write it because even though Callie did everything she could for Arizona and took a lot of crap from her I do feel she was a little bit selfish in wanting Arizona to hurry up and get better. I am in no way excusing the cheating but I felt this would explain why Callie wanted Arizona to be her wife again so she could grieve for the child she lost. I have left the malpractice suit vague because I've been racking my brain trying to think of who would sue Callie and I can't think of anyone. I really REALLY hate the Leah storyline on Greys, it's like Callie's given up and Arizona's sleeping around to make herself feel something but she's still not getting help. I am however looking forward to Hector Elizondo returning, I love his work and he is my voice of reason in this story. Sorry for the long note, Tigersforever.