A/N: Thank you to all of you who truly enjoy my story. I have done my very best to keep it as authentic as possible, however there are literally thousands of Calzona stories out there and though unintentional, there is bound to be some overlap in ideas and concepts. I have spent hours and hours writing and rewriting each chapter and it pains me to see someone insinuate my work is not mine.

It goes without saying however, that the characters and lines that come directly from the show belong to Shonda and ABC.

Still wearing her robe after a much needed shower, Arizona sat at her vanity to blow dry her hair and put on her make-up. She had decided to take her time getting ready so she could clear her jumbled thoughts. While she wanted nothing more than to enjoy time with her family, she was starting to feel a little overwhelmed with all the emotions swirling around inside and just needed a little break to figure out where everything belonged and how she felt about all that has happened in just a few short days. She was always someone who needed time to process, to get her thoughts in order. She had learned over the years that if she didn't take that time, she would become overwhelmed with her warring emotions and just shut down. But she also struggled to find a balance because she tended to overthink and found that sometimes she would just think her way right out of a situation no matter if it had the potential to be positive or negative. With Dr. Dawson's help, she learned that processing was normal and necessary, but sharing her thoughts with others who may be affected by them and being open to their input was also crucial. She was never one to open up in the first place, making that latter part her biggest struggle. So she knew without a doubt if she and Callie were going to work this time, she had to talk, to open up. She just needed some time to sit alone with her thoughts and plan her next steps.

Just as she began applying her foundation, she heard a knock at her door. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, apparently she wasn't going to get that much needed time alone after all. Still rubbing the creamy lotion onto her skin, she called out, "Come in." As she turned to welcome her visitor, her breath hitched at the sight before her. Callie was wearing a pair of lightweight khakis and a white, light blue, and tan plaid button down short sleeved shirt that was left open to reveal a tight fitting white tank top. Again, not her ex's usual style, but it exuded sexiness. She unintentionally licked her lips and had to clear her throat before she spoke, yet all that came out was "Hey," as memories of that gorgeous body writhing next to her flooded her brain. Yep, she certainly needed some time to get herself together. Callie smiled brightly as she saw the effect she was having on the blonde, though that smile faded quickly when Arizona shifted slightly revealing that she was wearing absolutely nothing under the pale pink silk robe. It took her a minute to remember why she had come knocking on the blonde's door in the first place. Seeing that Arizona was still in her robe and just now applying make-up, she knew her suspicions were correct and the blonde was more than likely taking her time getting ready so she could process. She was more than just a little pleased with herself that she could still read her ex-wife's behaviors and had anticipated as much. She brought her hand up to rub at the stubble on the side of her head as she finally explained, "Hey Sof and I are going to run out and pick up a few things. She decided since it was Tuesday…" Arizona laughed and finished for her, "Taco Tuesday. Yeah, we kinda made it a thing. She likes to get experimental with the fillings so we have to watch her. Give me just a minute and I can join you." While she would love to make this a family outing, she knew Arizona needed some space but wouldn't say anything. She also had come to realize that her own past reactions were the cause of her ex-wife's hesitation to ask for some space, so it was up to her to correct that.

Stepping in the room and shutting the door, Callie walked over behind the smaller woman and put her hands on her shoulders. She felt a little flutter in her stomach when pale hands immediately covered hers and blue eyes met brown in the reflection of the mirror. She smiled softly and said, "You are more than welcome to come, but…well, you can correct me if I'm wrong…but a lot has happened since you got here and you really haven't had a chance to stop and breathe. I thought maybe you would just need a little alone time to, um, process." Arizona was a little taken aback by the brunette's suggestion. Callie was always full steam ahead and never stopped to consider her own need to just take a moment. In fact, often times she would be hurt or upset if Arizona suggested she needed space. Studying the face looking back at her in the mirror, Arizona saw no hint of resignation, hurt, or anger and offered her a bright smile. She wasn't sure why, but suddenly she felt as if all her feelings were about to come bubbling to the surface. It meant a great deal that Callie recognized this. She turned in her seat and wrapped her arms around the taller woman's waist as she rested her head on her tight abdomen. She closed her eyes as she felt fingers run through her still damp hair combing through the light tangles. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she whispered, "Thank you Calliope." To ensure the other woman understood her frame of mind she looked up and offered, "It's nothing bad, just…just a lot." Callie nodded and replied, "I know. You saw what shape I was in last night and if you are feeling at all like I was, then you just need time to put it all where it goes before you talk to me." She pulled back then and asked shyly, "You will talk to me right? You'll tell me how you are feeling?" Arizona nodded quickly, "Of course sweetie. I'll tell you everything I'm feeling, I just need to…" She trailed off not sure how the rest would sound to Callie who was always so sure of her own feelings. "Figure it out on your own first?" Arizona chuckled then and replied, "Exactly. Thank you for knowing what I needed." Callie looked down into relieved blue eyes then squatted so they could see eye to eye. She lifted her hand to cup the soft pale skin of Arizona's face as she said, "I need you to tell me when you need something okay? I don't want you to bottle anything up because you are afraid to hurt me. We hurt each other more when we do that. So we talk, we say what we need. Okay?" Arizona nodded and blinked at the stinging of tears threatening to spill. When she finally felt like she could talk, she added, "You too? You'll tell me when you need something?" Callie nodded, "I will, but I have to say, we are doing a good job of seeing it for ourselves this time around." Arizona smiled, "We really are." She leaned in then and captured plump red lips with her own.

Feeling the instant heat and longing flood through her body, Callie pulled back and rested their foreheads together. While this morning was amazing and wonderful on so many levels, it only served to tease her and she didn't know how much longer she was going to last. Taking a deep breath to calm herself she whispered, "For the sake of being open, I should tell you that we need to have our talk soon because I really, really need to make love to you." Arizona nodded her head in agreement, "Yes please," she returned, not trusting herself to say more. Pulling back, she placed a soft peck on those sweet lips before she asked, "How about we start tonight?" Callie stood up and smiled sweetly as she responded, "Sounds perfect. I'd better get going before the little one gets antsy. Do you need anything while we're out?" Arizona shook her head as if saying no then started nodding in the affirmative. Callie laughed as she turned toward the door, "Your mini-donuts are in the cabinet next to the sink and coffee is ready." Arizona just laughed and breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the door click closed. "This is really happening." She told herself quietly.

XXXXXX

A little while later, Arizona emerged from her bedroom, fully dressed, with her hair pulled back into a loose French braid. She smiled when she reached the kitchen and saw a coffee mug had been set out for her next to her favorite creamer, the bowl of sugar, and a small blue and white bag of her favorite powdered mini-donuts. She popped a donut in her mouth and prepared her cup of coffee to her liking then put the creamer back into the refrigerator. She picked up her coffee and grabbed a couple more donuts as she decided to go out to the garden and enjoy the cool morning breeze. Following the paved path to the far corner of the expansive back yard, Arizona marveled at how much thought Callie had put into everything. It was all so aesthetically beautiful, but also extremely accessible without being obvious. In fact, for all the renovations that were made, there wasn't anything in the house that screamed at the average visitor that a disabled person lived there. She shook her head at that thought. Did she live here? She told her daughter she would stay to see how things worked out, but was this her home now? It felt like home already and as she told Callie the other evening, it most certainly looked like she lived here. Looking around the massive estate, she took in everything, the huge stone house that was always Callie's dream, the pool and pool house they both wanted to entertain and have family stay, the play area that rivaled any small park for their children and it occurred to her this was exactly what she and Callie had collectively dreamed of in all their discussions of the future. The only thing missing was…Arizona froze in her tracks. Ten years ago, she would have said chickens, but at that very moment, she looked over at the swing set and all she could see was Sofia sitting on the swing holding a little boy with disheveled curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes giggling his tiny little head off. Oh boy! Okay, that thought was going back on the shelf. It certainly wasn't time to open that can of worms.

Finally reaching the garden, she turned on the fountain then sat on the bench opposite to take in the beauty of the small waterfall. She really loved this spot; it was calm and peaceful and the surrounding bushes and trellis offered a bit of privacy in the enormous back yard. Taking a sip of her coffee, she closed her eyes and immediately she saw Callie's face as they both came undone as a result of the unintended wake-up call they shared earlier. She wasn't at all surprised that they woke up in such a compromising position given their heated make-out sessions and how difficult it had been to keep their hands off each other the last couple days. The intensity and intimacy of the moment was nearly overwhelming, like nothing she had experienced before, even with Callie. Maybe it was because they hadn't been together like that in so long, maybe it was because they had yet to touch each other like they had touched themselves, maybe it was because they were finally clearing the air between them and the pain no longer lingered in the backs of their minds waiting to jump out as soon as the moment was over. Whatever it was touched her heart in a way it hadn't been touched in years. It was familiar, yet new, comfortable, yet exciting, it was a rediscovery of who they were, yet an introduction to who they are now. It awoke something inside her, a passion she had long thought dead and buried. A passion she only shared with Callie. She knew when they finally came together, it was going to be explosive. They just had to keep their hands off each other long enough to talk.

Maybe sleeping in the same bed wasn't the best idea just yet. Waking up in Callie's arms these last two days had been amazing. But she wasn't willing to risk the end goal for immediate gratification and if she were being honest, sharing a bed was essentially sharing a room and she knew they weren't ready for that. She sighed at the thought of telling Callie they should probably not sleep in the same bed together; this was not going to go over well. When Callie set her attention on something she was relentless. There was no changing her mind and there was no going back to status quo. She either pushed until she got what she wanted, or…Arizona closed her eyes and tried to force the rest of that sentence out of her head. She didn't want to fight with her ex-wife, especially not about this, not about HOW they should reconcile. There were so many times throughout their relationship that she just gave in rather than get into a huge fight about it, but in doing that, she lost pieces of herself as well. It was like Callie said the other night, they didn't trust their relationship enough to say something when they were unhappy. In this case, she wasn't unhappy, just the opposite actually she was thrilled with how things were going, she just didn't want them to stop moving forward. Taking another sip of her coffee, she recalled how sweet and understanding Callie was when she came into her room to talk to her. It was clear the other woman had changed, so just maybe, she wouldn't be too upset by her suggestion that they wait to share a bed also. Afterall, everything else that came up thus far hadn't gone as she expected.

Since walking into Callie's center yesterday afternoon, she had been caught up in an emotional whirlwind. Seeing the scene in Bill's room was like a punch in the gut, it took her back to the worst time in her life. She couldn't help but say something; both to help the patient and his wife, but also to let her ex-wife know she was fully aware of how devastating her behavior was to their marriage. She was speaking to Callie as much as she was to Bill and his wife. Though Callie hadn't said much, the look in her eyes said she understood and heard her. Her reaction later that evening in the hot tub was proof that her words, her apology had been taken to heart and that particular wound could truly begin to heal. Though she still had a great deal of work to do on forgiving herself, it helped to know that Callie had forgiven her.

While the encounter with the patient was humbling in its own right, walking into Callie's lab, and seeing the robotic leg, her robotic leg, nearly brought her to her knees. She was still in awe over the whole thing. It wasn't like the ortho surgeon was in need of patients she could build this prosthesis for and test it on. But this wasn't just another project or another patient, this was personal, this was about her, about them. When she saw that leg lying on the table, it finally hit her how much this still affected her ex-wife. She, at last, understood that Callie, being who she was, had to do…something. Until the plane crash, that was always something she loved and admired about the brunette. Her big heart and her need to make things right. But after the crash, when it came to her, she didn't see it as Callie being Callie, she saw it as Callie feeling guilty and trying to fix what she broke, trying to make her the same as she was before the amputation. While this leg did look the same as her own leg and it simulated the human body as much as technologically possible, she was able to see it differently now. When she first saw the scars, she wondered why the ortho surgeon included them on her prototype; why she wouldn't want to make it flawless. But now, after taking time to think about it, she realized that she hadn't thought of either of those precious moments since before the crash. Yet, the minute she ran her hand over those imperfections, her mind was immediately filled with memories. The scar on her knee took her back to all the times her father took her out to skate and especially that fateful day when she was going too fast and faceplanted on their driveway. As soon as she touched the smaller scar at her ankle, a chill shot down her spine at the memory of she and Callie having sex in the ortho lab. Her mind was instantly flooded with thoughts and feelings of that day. She smiled at how excited she was to have a sex injury and how worried Callie was at first, then how cocky she got when she realized she had given her said injury. By adding the scars and the birthmark as well as the other markings that made the leg uniquely hers, Callie was truly giving part of herself back to her. Her leg didn't just help her walk, it held memories that made up who she was and her ex-wife recognized that. Callie didn't do this because SHE wanted her wife to look the same, to look whole, she did it because she wanted her wife to feel whole. She wanted her wife to look down at her leg and if only for a second, not feel damaged or less than. She knew now that Callie loved her so much she didn't care if she had one leg or two, she was alive and she just wanted her to live a life as close to normal as she could.

As she chewed her last donut, she thought about how far they had both come. Not for the first time, she wondered if they would have ever gotten to this point if Callie had not walked away from their marriage. While she would like to think that eventually they would have made a breakthrough if they stayed together, the logical side of her knew that they were headed for destruction and it could have been far worse than it was. Time was also a healing factor. Not just time, but time apart. They needed time away from their situation, from their anger, from their hurt, from each other in order to see how much damage both of their actions and behavior caused them as individuals and as a couple. As painful as the last few years apart from Callie had been, she knew now that her wife was justified in her actions. She could only hope and pray they had both learned from their mistakes and were dedicated to making it work for them and for their daughter. Feeling much more settled now, Arizona took the last drink of her coffee and headed back to the house. Reaching the patio doors, she could see her daughter talking animatedly to someone on the phone as she walked out of sight. Stepping inside the house, she saw the Latina coming in the front door with her arms full of bags and rushed to help her out. Taking a few of the bags off her hands, she laughed as she asked, "Why do I get the feeling you didn't intend to buy all this?" Callie shook her head and responded, "You know what your daughter's like when she gets to the grocery store." Arizona turned toward the kitchen and threw her head back in laughter, "Oh! So she's MY daughter is she?" Placing the bags on the counter, Callie nodded as she agreed, "When it comes to shopping and snacks she is. Look at all this crap." Arizona peeked into the bags she just sat down and pulled out a bag of hot chips holding them in the air, "Unh huh, and when exactly did Sofia start eating these nasty things?" Blushing slightly, Callie snatched the bag from her hands and walked toward the pantry. "Shut up!"

The two worked quickly to put away the groceries as Callie filled her in on all the disgusting things their daughter tried to make her buy for Taco Tuesday. Finally finished putting the last of the groceries in the refrigerator, Callie turned just in time to accept the steaming hot cup of coffee being held out to her. Taking the cup in one hand, she held it to the side as she wrapped her other arm around the blonde's waist and pulled her closer. Leaning down, she placed a soft kiss on her waiting lips and said, "Mmmm, I missed you. Thank you." She then took a small sip and placed her cup down on the counter behind her and brought her hand up and wrapped it around the back of a sleek pale neck. Arizona leaned in and murmured, "I missed you too," against her lips before pulling a full bottom lip between her teeth and nipping lightly. She then stuck out her tongue to sooth the sting and moaned when it was instantly sucked into the taller woman's mouth. Just that quickly, the two women got lost in the moment and were oblivious when their daughter entered the room. "See grandma I told you." Both women pulled back and looked over just in time to see their daughter holding Callie's phone out in front of her displaying a seemingly thrilled Barbara Robbins holding her hands over her mouth, blue eyes shining with tears. "Sofia!" fell from both sets of kiss swollen lips as each woman turned beat red at getting caught by both their daughter and Arizona's mom.

Not realizing they were still entangled in an embrace, both looked at the phone and sheepishly offered, "Hi mom." "Hi Barb." The older woman laughed at her daughter and daughter-in-law. No matter what happened between them, Callie would always be family. She was just happy they seemed to be finding their way back to each other even though it was much sooner than she had imagined. "Well, I would ask how things were going between the two of you, but they look just fine." She laughed harder as she watched her daughter drop her head on the other woman's shoulder and groan. Realizing she was probably not her moms' favorite person right now; Sofia took the phone from viewing her mothers and turned it toward her once again and excitedly offered, "Guess what grandma? Mama said if it was okay with mommy, we could go see the Statue of Liberty today." She then disappeared out of the room as quickly as she entered. Hearing this, Arizona looked at Callie and raised her eyebrow. Callie shrugged her shoulders and said, "I hadn't gotten around to asking you yet, you…you distracted me." Arizona laughed and finally stepped back from their embrace and replied, "Yes, and your daughter took the opportunity to out us to my mother." Though she wasn't angry, she was slightly embarrassed and just a little worried about what her mother would say. Callie threw her head back, "Oh and now she's mine?" Arizona nodded, "When she's getting me into trouble she is. I felt like a high schooler all over again." Callie laughed and pulled the blonde back into her embrace. She ran her hands soothingly over the smaller woman's back as she spoke softly, "Oh come on now, you saw Barb's face, she is happy for us." Arizona nodded, "I know and honestly, she'd just have to come around to the idea if she were upset because I'm not letting you go again." Callie placed a soft kiss on the top of the blonde's head and smiled at the warmth that ran through her. Pulling the other woman away slightly, she looked her in the eye and said, "That's good, because I'm not going anywhere."

Running back into the room, Sofia handed Callie her phone and said, "Mama, Grandma sent a picture she thought you'd like to see and mommy, she told me to tell you to call her and stop kissing in front of your daughter." She giggled then and bounced on her toes waiting to see the picture. Callie pulled up her messages then laughed out loud at the image that popped on her screen. "Oh, this is so my new wallpaper." She then swiped at her phone a few times before handing the phone over to her daughter, deliberately avoiding the blonde who was looking at her curiously. Sofia took the phone and giggled at the picture, "Mommy! Look at your pigtails." Furrowing her brow, Arizona snatched the phone from her daughter and snapped, "Let me see that." If she would have given it one moment's thought, she would have known exactly what picture her mother sent. Sure enough, looking back at her from her ex-wife's screen was an 8 year old scrawny Arizona complete with bib overall shorts with one strap unbuckled and an I heart New York t-shirt standing in front of the Statue of Liberty. She gasped when she realized it actually had become the brunette's wallpaper on her phone. "Calliope Iphigenia Torres, you switch that back right now!" Callie laughed, "Not on your life. This has to be the best picture I have ever seen. Look at those dimples!" Highly irritated, Arizona just nodded and pulled out her phone as she threatened, "You wanna play that game Calliope?" Callie was slightly nervous about what the blonde was going to do, she hadn't heard that tone since she was banned from coffee. But there was no way her ex had a picture this embarrassing of her. Grinning her full super magic smile, Arizona swiped at her phone a few times and handed her phone to her daughter. Sofia took the phone and said, "Hey! That looks like me!" Arizona tilted her head and smirked as she saw recognition dawn on those beautiful tan features and brown eyes squint into near slits glaring at her. Callie knew exactly what picture her daughter was looking at, it was her father's favorite picture and he swore that picture was like looking at her own daughter, what she didn't know is how her ex-wife got her hands on it. "How in the he…mmmm…how did you get this?" Callie asked as she looked down and saw the picture of her 6 year old chubby little face missing all four front teeth smiling widely for the camera. What made it worse was the big chunk of bangs that was missing because her sister decided to play beautician. Arizona took her phone back and stuffed it in her pocket as she grinned and responded, "I sent your dad a picture of Sofia when she lost her two front teeth and he sent this back to me." Callie huffed and put her own phone in her pocket. "Mine stays until you take that hideous thing off your phone." Arizona looked up to the ceiling for a moment and said, "What was it you said? Hmmm not on your life!"

XXXXXXX

"Moms look! There she is." Sofia said excitedly as she jumped out of her seat and ran to the railing, standing on the bottom rung and leaning over to get an unobstructed view. Arizona bit her lip nervously as she watched her daughter lean over the railing of the ferry boat just a little too far for her liking. "Sof, honey, please get down." She asked politely trying to disguise her nervousness. Hearing the anxiety in the blonde's voice, Callie looked over to see she was biting her bottom lip and her right leg was bouncing up and down. She rested her hand on the tremoring limb and leaned over to ask quietly, "Hey, what's got you so upset?" Arizona could feel the blush creep up her face so she dropped her head and stared at her hands which she was twisting together in her lap. She just shook her head declining to answer. Concerned now, Callie moved her hand to take one of Arizona's and placed her other under the strong chin prompting the blonde to look her in the eye. Speaking softly she said, "Hey, talk to me." Arizona let out a deep breath and said, "It's stupid, it's just…ugh, you almost died in a car accident, I almost died in a plane crash, Mark did die, and well…we're running out of forms of transportation and I…" Understanding perfectly now, Callie lifted her head and called out to her daughter, "Sofia, mommy asked you to get down." She then looked into blue eyes and offered, "It's not stupid. If you're worried or bothered by something, it's not stupid. Okay?" Arizona nodded and leaned in for a chaste kiss. "Thank you Callie." She said quietly as the two women sat back and watched as their daughter reluctantly climbed from the railing and stalked back toward them.

"Are we almost there? I've waited forever to see the Statue of Liberty." Sofia whined as she danced around her mothers. Lifting her brow in question, Arizona looked to the Latina, "You never brought her?" Callie smiled ruefully and shook her head, "She wouldn't come without you. We have a whole list of 'things to do with mommy'." She answered using air quotes to emphasize her point. The blonde wasn't sure why, but this warmed her heart. Both that her daughter wanted to share these things with her and that her ex-wife indulged her. Pulling her daughter onto her lap, she asked, "So what else is on this list?" The little Latina was nearly vibrating with excitement as she clapped her hands and gushed, "Oooh everything! Show her mama, show her please." Arizona watched on as Callie pulled out her phone and went to her notes app then handed her the phone. Almost in awe she asked, "There was really a list?" Callie nodded and said in her most business-like tone, though her eyes were dancing with laughter, "Oh this was serious. We spent an entire day on the computer looking for things to do." Callie pointed to the title of the list to prove her point. Sure enough, in all caps Callie had typed 'THINGS TO DO WITH MOMMY' at the top of the list. Hiding her own smile, she nodded and said, "I see. Do we have to do all these things at once…or…?" She asked her daughter. Sofia put her finger to her lips and looked to the sky giving it some serious thought. Recognizing her own actions in the young girl, the blonde had to choke back her laughter when she heard, "I swear you gave birth to the kid." Just as she turned to respond, her daughter replied, "I think since you live here now, we can do things…ummm…what's that word? When you don't do everything all at once?" Both moms looked at their daughter with amusement. Callie finally offered, "Gradually?" Sofia pumped her fist in the air and said, "Yes! We can do them gradually until we've seen everything." Arizona laughed at her daughter's antics and let her go as the little girl started squirming on her lap.

Both women watched as their daughter became more and more antsy as she saw they were docking. "We're here moms, let's go!" Sofia exclaimed as she started to take off. "Sofia Robbin!" both women called out making the little girl stop in her tracks. She slumped her shoulders and shuffled back to her parents grumbling under her breath, "This is starting to suck." Hearing what her daughter said, Arizona leaned over to the brunette and whispered, "Looks like you were right. It only took two days." Chuckling, Callie looked at their pouting child and whispered back, "But it's so much fun." Both women laughed and gathered their things before they departed the boat. Standing up first, Callie only hesitated half a second before reaching out her hand for the other woman. Arizona looked at the offered hand and trailed her eyes upward, relieved when she saw those dark chocolate eyes were no longer filled with fear. Smiling brightly, she took the offered hand and pulled herself up. She then leaned up on her toes and placed a smacking kiss on a smooth tan cheek. "Thank you," she offered and continued to smile as the other woman slid their hands together in order to intertwine their fingers. Not wanting to be left out, Sofia ran to the brunette's other side and took her hand bubbling with joy at being with both moms even if they did get on her nerves sometimes.