Sofia could sense that she was waking up, but she was so tired and tried to make herself stay asleep. She could feel her mommies on either side of her and she just felt so safe and warm and she wanted to stay like that as long as she could. She was eight years old and knew she was probably too big to sleep with her parents and would never tell any of her friends but she didn't get to do this a lot growing up. She remembered sometimes she would sleep with both of her moms, but mostly she remembered sleeping with one or the other, so this was nice. It was especially nice because the first night she was gone she really missed them tucking her in or at least calling to say goodnight like they did when she slept over at someone's house. Yesterday, she REALLY missed them and a little teeny part of her was afraid she would never see them again. Mostly, the biggest part of her knew her moms would be looking for her, she knew they wouldn't stop until they found her. She was half asleep, but she heard them talking to her grandparents and all the other people on the phone last night on the way home. She heard them say they couldn't sit on their bad word for butt and let other people find their baby. She hated being called baby, but she liked it yesterday. She liked knowing so many people loved her and cared about her, so that's why the biggest part of her knew she was going to be okay and they would find her.
Realizing she wasn't going to fall asleep, Sofia rolled over to look at her mommy. She was happy to see her mommy had a soft smile on her face and looked like she was having good dreams. She never said anything, but she'd heard her mommy wake up screaming before and knew she was having nightmares, probably about the crash. She was a little bit afraid that her mommy might have nightmares about losing her. She was afraid she would have nightmares too, but she didn't really remember her dream so she guessed she didn't have bad dreams last night. Hearing a snore come from behind her, she turned over and smiled when she saw her mama's smile. Mommy's sleep smile was just small and you could almost see one of her dimples, but mama's sleep smile was big and wide and so pretty, it just made you want to smile too. Unable to help herself, she lifted her hand and traced her mama's lips. She tried to be as soft as she could. She had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing when her mama moved her lips around then she smiled her big smile again. Sofia went back to her tracing and pulled her hand back really fast when her mama blew on it and this time she couldn't stop herself from giggling because her mama made her grumpy sleep face.
Feeling something tickle her lip, still half asleep and unwilling to open her eyes, Callie wiggled her mouth around, hoping the hair or lint or whatever it was would fall off. As she drifted back to sleep, she felt it again and blew out a puff of air and this time she heard a little giggle and furrowed her brow and frowned before she popped one eye open to see her daughter staring back at her with her little hand frozen in midair. Callie smiled at her daughter and carefully studied her face looking for any trace of fear or worry and finally whispered, "What are you doing little miss?" Sofia traced her mouth again and informed her quietly, "Mommy's right, you do smile in your sleep." Callie reached out to smooth unruly brown curls and replied, "That's because I always have dreams of you and mommy and they make me smile." Sofia turned to look at her mommy and whispered, "Mommy smiles in her sleep too." Callie lifted herself up on her elbow and was relieved to see that Arizona was indeed smiling and she was still sound asleep. She worried that one or all of them would have nightmares after the day they had, but it seemed as though they all slept peacefully.
Callie turned her attention back to Sofia, caressed her baby soft cheek and asked, "How did you sleep? Are you feeling okay?" Sofia yawned and answered, "I slept good, I'm still a little sleepy, but you and mommy were squishing me." A pale arm wrapped around her waist and a sleepy voice muttered, "Because we missed you so much and we are happy you're safe." Sofia turned to her back so she could see both parents and chirped, "Good morning mommy." Callie pouted, "Oh sure, mommy gets a good morning and I get woken up with you playing with my lips." Sofia blushed and replied, "Good morning mama." Then she added, "But I couldn't help it, you have such a pretty sleeping smile." Arizona sat up on her elbow and nodded, "It's true, you do." Callie tried to fight it and keep her pout, but she couldn't hold it in and let her mega-watt smile light up her face making both Sofia and Arizona smile back at just the sight of it.
Arizona took a minute to study both of the faces she loved and was relieved to see they both looked well-rested and their big brown eyes sparkled with happiness. Callie realized what Arizona was doing and reached over to link their fingers together giving her a tight squeeze and a wink to let her know she was fine. Arizona smiled brightly making her dimples pop to send the same message to her girlfriend. Neither of them could help but worry about their daughter though, both her physical and emotional health was their primary concern. Realizing the alarm hadn't gone off yet, Arizona asked, "Why are we up so early?" Callie pointed her thumb toward their daughter and answered, "Ask this one, I was sound asleep before she started playing with my face." Arizona chuckled then looked at her daughter, raising her eyebrow in question. Usually it's a tie between who is harder to wake up, Sofia or Callie. Sofia shrugged and answered, "I don't know, my body just said it was time to wake up." Slightly concerned, Callie asked, "Does your tummy hurt? Are you feeling okay? Did something scare you?" While she was asking the questions, Arizona was feeling her forehead and checking her stomach. Sofia shook her head and answered, "I think I'm hungry and I'm really thirsty." Arizona frowned and asked, "We saw two water bottles while we were looking for you, is that all you had to drink?" Sofia shook her head and answered, "We all had our own, but we only had the one bottle each and tried to make it last." Callie and Arizona looked at one another and Callie got out of bed to get the thermometer.
Sofia knew her moms were going to do this and be super worried and overprotective for a while but she decided they had that right because she knew they were scared too. To appease her moms, she sat still while they checked her tongue, took her temperature, and looked at her arms and legs. When they were all done, her mommy said, "Okay, it doesn't look like she's dehydrated." She looked at her and added, "If you start to feel sick or sleepy throughout the day, you let one of us know okay?" Sofia nodded and asked, "Do I get to go back to camp?" Both women looked at one another and Callie answered, "Not for the rest of this week at least. We aren't sure if they are going to open the day camp up again because a lot of the campers and counselors got hurt in the fire. No one was injured badly, but enough that parents, like us, might not want to be away from their kids for a while." Sofia slumped in disappointment. She knew that meant she would have to spend most of her days with her moms at work. Arizona lifted her chin, smiled softly and assured her, "We will figure something out, we know you don't want to be at the centers all day." Sofia shook her head and hoped maybe they could find her a babysitter so she could at least be at home and do stuff here. Deciding she couldn't wait any longer, the little girl scrambled off the bed and declared, "I'm going to get some cereal." Callie nodded and called out, "Drink some water and some orange juice also please."
As soon as Sofia left the room, Callie crawled back into bed and Arizona curled into her side, resting her head on her chest. Each of them let out a sigh of relief and felt their bodies relax as they found comfort in each other's arms. Callie kissed the top of Arizona's head and observed, "She seems to be doing alright." Arizona nodded and wrapped her arm tightly around Callie's waist and asked, "How about you? How are you doing?" Callie rubbed Arizona's back, inhaled deeply and responded, "Honestly, I'm doing much better than I thought I would. I was almost certain one, if not all of us would have nightmares or trouble sleeping. Yesterday was hard, but it was easier with you by my side. I don't know if it was because you were giving me strength or because I could see you and know you were safe and I was there if you needed me." Arizona slipped her hand under the hem of Callie's soft shirt and started drawing patterns on the warm tan skin of her abdomen and replied, "I was almost certain I would have nightmares, but I actually had quite happy dreams about our family. It was very difficult yesterday, but I feel the same way. It helped knowing you were there and safe and there for me, but it also helped that I could be there for you." Callie kissed her head again, making her smile.
After debating and arguing with herself for a minute, Callie asked, "Um…can I ask what happened with your leg last night, was it malfunctioning?" Arizona closed her eyes, she knew Callie would ask and she didn't mind telling her, she just didn't want to upset her, she didn't want her to have the visual. After a minute, Callie rubbed her back and offered, "You don't have to tell me." Arizona leaned her head back to look her in the eyes and could see some of the hurt her girlfriend was feeling. Arizona shook her head and assured, "It's not that I don't want to tell you it's that I don't want you to know. I don't want you to think about it." Callie scrunched her face up in confusion and declared, "I don't get it." Arizona sat up and took Callie's hands in hers and explained, "You saw my injury, the way my leg was just torn open. I splinted it…" "You splinted it?" Callie interjected. Arizona nodded, "I had to, everyone was off looking for Derek and Lexi and I had to stabilize it and stop the bleeding. But that's not the point. It was open for four days like that. A lot of the damage you saw, it wasn't from the crash. There were flies and maggots and other bugs and I could feel them. Christina and Meredith tried to keep it clean and they would pick them out, but it just hurt too badly. When I was having the phantom pains, I could feel them then too. But last night when I started hearing the crickets and other bugs, I could feel them again, so I needed you to turn off the sensation so I didn't feel it as much. It normally doesn't bother me, but being in the woods…" Callie closed her eyes and her stomach churned for what her wife went through. Now she understood what Arizona meant, she didn't want her to have to think about her that way.
Arizona could see the turmoil written all over Callie's face and soothed, "I'm okay now. It rarely ever happens anymore. Last night was the first time in a long, long time that has happened. I just, I'm trying to share things with you, but some things, I just don't want you to know, not because they are a secret or I'm protecting myself, but because I'm trying to protect you." Callie pulled Arizona to her and whispered, "I wish I could've protected you." Arizona nodded and answered, "I know you do." After a few moments, Callie pulled back, brushed their lips together and said, "Thank you for sharing that with me. I'll never know what it felt like, I can't even begin to imagine, but knowing, it helps me understand better." Arizona nodded and shared, "I know that now. Dr. Dawson explained that to me. She helped me to see that by keeping you in the dark about that, you felt shut out and didn't know how to be there for me. I promised her…and myself, if I ever got this chance, another chance with you…I'd correct that. Yesterday also helped me see some of what you went through too." Callie nodded and pulled Arizona close and said softly, "Thank God it had a completely different outcome." Arizona smiled and said, "Amen!"
After cuddling together for a little longer, Arizona's alarm finally went off and they knew they had to get up and start getting ready for work. To be honest, both of them were ready to get back to life as usual and to keep things as normal as possible for Sofia. Arizona turned off the alarm and suggested, "Why don't you shower first and I'll…" "Mommies, come look! Hurry!" Sofia called from the other room. Arizona attached her prosthesis and both women rushed to see what was happening. They got to the living room and saw Sofia pointing at the television which was displaying a picture of the camp after the fire. Callie grabbed the remote and turned it up in time to see the screen switch to Mr. Winters and hear him say, "Those campers need to be commended. They were extremely resourceful and thought quickly on their feet. They stuck together and helped their injured counselors get to safety." Callie and Arizona looked to Sofia and said, "They're talking about you." Sofia nodded and kept listening to the television. A voice from off camera commented, "We understand the campers were found by their parents. How did they get involved in the search?" Mr. Winters responded, "We had initially intended to allow the rescue workers to lead the search, however one set of parents took the lead and insisted they join the search. It was actually those parents who decided to search a specific area based on what they knew about their child and that group of parents ended up finding the children with the assistance of some police officers and members of the rescue team." Sofia looked at her parents and asked, "Was that you, you were the parents who made them let you help?" Both women nodded and Sofia threw her arms around them and hugged them tightly. She knew her parents would come for her.
Once they returned their attention to the television, Sofia called out, "Look! It's Carrie." From the looks of it, the teenager was at home sitting in her living room giving the interview. The camera panned the length of her body and showed the large bandage on her leg and returned to her face. The interviewer asked her to tell about what happened and Carrie went through the same story they told the night before and finished, "One of the campers, I don't think I can say her name, but she was really helpful and knew exactly what to do. She cleaned up my cut and she and another camper bandaged it with a sweatshirt and hair ribbons. She suggested we follow the river upstream and find shelter and we left a trail so people could find us. The first night we got to camp, she gave us all glow sticks and had some extras so we used them to mark trees around the shelter so we could be found. Her moms were in the group that found us, they are doctors and they cleaned my cut and bandaged it before we even left the woods." Sofia jumped up and down and said, "That's us! She's talking about us." Callie started to say something when she heard her phone ringing from the bedroom and ran down the hall to get it.
By the time she reached her room, Arizona's phone was ringing as well and she noticed both of them had several text messages. Seeing a number she didn't recognize, Callie started walking toward the living room, picked up and answered, "Dr. Torres." The voice on the other line started, "Dr. Torres this is Darlene Rodriguez from Channel 4 News. I was calling to see if we could set up an interview with you and your family. It's our understanding Sofia was quite the hero." Callie got Arizona's attention and called her into the kitchen where Sofia couldn't hear them. She said into the phone, "One moment please." Once she muted the phone, Arizona asked, "Who is that?" Callie furrowed her brow and responded, "It's ah, Channel 4 News, they want to interview us and Sofia." Arizona glanced toward their daughter who was enthralled with the news about the camp and questioned, "What do you think?" Callie shrugged and said, "They're calling her a hero." Arizona smiled and responded, "I mean, she kind of is. I don't think it could hurt." Callie nodded, returned to the phone, unmuted it, and tilted it so Arizona could hear as well, then offered, "Thank you for waiting. When would you want to do this interview?" The reporter answered, "We'd like to air it for the News at Noon this afternoon. We could come to you or you could come to the studio any time before 11:00 am so we can do any editing we need to do." Arizona mouthed '9 o'clock', Callie agreed and asked, "Would it be okay if we came to you at 9:00 am?" The reporter quickly agreed and went over the details of what to do once they reached the studio and offered to email Callie a copy of the questions so they could help Sofia practice.
Once they got off the phone, Callie and Arizona sat on either side of Sofia on the couch, Callie turned down the television and Arizona asked, "Hey Sof, how would you feel about doing an interview on the news like Carrie did?" Sofia opened her mouth and her eyes widened and she looked at Callie then at Arizona again and nodded her head and exclaimed, "YES!" Callie chuckled and explained all the details to her then Arizona took her to her room to help her pick out an outfit and do her hair while Callie took a quick shower. Once Callie was showered and dressed, she went into the kitchen to find Arizona standing against the cabinet drinking her coffee. Callie accepted the steaming mug Arizona offered her then saw that their daughter was sitting on the couch talking on the phone and asked, "Who is she talking to?" Arizona laughed and said, "She's on a three-way call with Bella and Jess, they are talking about seeing Carrie on the news and Sof is telling them about her interview." Callie just shook her head and asked, "Is it time to get her a phone of her own?" Arizona furrowed her brow and responded, "No, that means she's growing up." Callie laughed and shook her head and they overheard their daughter say, "Oh, my grandpa is calling. I have to hang up." She said her goodbyes then quickly ran to Arizona so she could switch over the call, then sat at the table and ate the fruit she abandoned when she saw the news.
Arizona connected the call and answered, "Hi daddy." Daniel smiled when he heard how chipper his daughter sounded. They spoke last night after the girls were found, but he worried this event would bring up bad memories for both Callie and Arizona. He cleared his throat and asked, "How are you today sweet pea?" Arizona knew what her dad was asking and responded, "I'm good, really. I had a few bad moments yesterday, but Callie was right there with me and we got through it." The older man let out a relieved breath and asked, "How about Callie? Is she okay?" Arizona looked to her girlfriend and said into the phone, "I'll let you ask her yourself." Arizona handed the phone off to Callie who furrowed her brow then spoke into the phone, "Good morning Daniel." Her heart swelled when she was immediately asked, "How are you doing? I know yesterday was really hard on you." Callie swallowed the lump in her throat and responded, "Like Arizona said, we had a few rough moments, but we got through them together. I couldn't just sit on my hands this time though, I had to do something." Daniel understood exactly what she meant, he's had to sit by on two different occasions, knowing his child was out there somewhere and couldn't do a damn thing about it. He offered quietly, "Thank you for taking care of our girls. Arizona, she's being there for you too?" Callie looked at the love of her life and responded, "Yes, sir." The older man was relieved to hear how strong they both sounded and asked, "Is my little soldier around? I have a few words for her." Callie held out the phone to Sofia and said, "Your turn little one."
Arizona waited for Callie to pass the phone off and whispered, "He's worried about us." Callie nodded and answered, "He is. I was too for a little while there, but I think we will be okay." Arizona kissed her cheek and responded, "I know we will. I need to go jump in the shower and get ready." Callie nodded, kissed her again, then tapped her on the butt earning herself a glare as her girlfriend walked away. Callie laughed when she saw Sofia get up from the table, clean up her mess, and walk away with the phone still attached to her ear. Arizona was right, there was no way they were buying her a phone yet. She wasn't ready for that phase of her daughter's life.
When Sofia was handed the phone, she was excited to tell her grandpa about everything that happened. She took a drink of her juice and answered, "Hi Grandpa, did you hear what they said on the news? The news lady called and she wants to talk to me and mommies too!" The older man laughed at his granddaughter's exuberance and responded, "That's why I'm calling, I hear you led your team to safety like any good soldier would do." Sofia picked up her dishes and cleaned her mess and answered, "We did it together, but I remembered all the secrets you told me and we did everything you said, except the food part because I had my backpack that you told me to pack and we had snacks and didn't need to find food because they found us first. I also used some glow sticks we had left over from our party. Mommy told me not to take them but I didn't listen and I should have, but I'm happy I didn't because they helped them find us." Daniel puffed up with pride and commended, "That's my girl!" Sofia bit her bottom lip and nervously asked, "So you aren't mad that I shared your secrets? You won't get into trouble with the Marines?" The older man chuckled at how literally his granddaughter took his words and how important it was to her that she kept his secret and responded, "There's no way I could be angry at you soldier, I'm very proud of you. Those secrets I told you are called survival skills and I taught them to your mommy when she was about your age too." Sofia let out a relieved sigh and sat a little taller hearing that her grandfather was proud of her. She continued to tell him all about her day until he asked to talk to her mama again, which she thought was weird because he usually only talked to her mommy.
Sofia handed the phone to Callie and ran off to get her shoes on so she was ready when it was time to go. Callie took the phone and said, "It's just me." The man chuckled and replied, "I just wanted to let you know I spoke to my doctor and the cast is coming off this week as long as I promise to keep a brace on and do all my PT." Callie smiled and asked, "So you'll be ready?" Daniel could hear the excitement in her voice and he answered, "Nothing will keep me away." Callie was so relieved to hear he would be able to carry out his part of the plan and she said, "That's good to hear." Clearing his throat, he offered, "Callie, I really respect you for this and for calling and asking me about it first." Callie swallowed the lump in her throat and replied, "Thank you Daniel. I won't let you down this time." The older man said sincerely, "You didn't let me down last time. You all take care of yourselves and we will see you soon." Callie said goodbye and went to their bedroom to hurry Arizona along.
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All the way to the television station, Arizona went over the questions with Sofia and she could feel Callie getting more nervous by the second. Arizona turned and handed her daughter the list of questions they printed and suggested, "Why don't you read over them yourself and think about what you want to say." She turned back to Callie, took her right hand and covered it with both of hers and whispered, "Breathe honey." Callie took a deep breath and hissed, "I'm going to puke on national television." Arizona rubbed the back of her hand and soothed, "No, you are not. You are the badass mom who refused to sit on your ass and wait for other people to find your daughter. You are the one who figured out the general vicinity they would be in, and you are the one who heard them first." Callie glanced over at Arizona, squeezed her hand and replied, "And you were right there with me." Arizona brought Callie's hand to her lips and answered, "Because we are a team and that's what we do." Callie brought their hands up and kissed the back of Arizona's hand as well and proclaimed, "I love you." Arizona leaned over, kissed her cheek and responded, "I love you too." The rest of the ride was fairly quiet as the two women listened to their daughter practice her answers.
When they arrived at the station, the small family was taken to a greenroom where they were greeted by Darlene Rodriguez. Sofia jumped up and exclaimed, "You're the lady from the news." Darlene smiled at the little girl and said, "That's right, but today you are the celebrity Miss Sofia." Sofia furrowed her brow and asked, "Me?" Darlene squatted down to look the little girl in the eyes and explained, "Everyone we talked to told us how brave and smart you were and how you helped them all stay calm and safe. Do you know what we call that?" Sofia shook her head and Darlene offered, "We call that a hero." Sofia's eyes got wide again and she asked, "I'm a hero?" Darlene nodded and declared, "That's the word on the street." She stood up, introduced herself to both Callie and Arizona and explained to them what was going to happen and the types of questions she would be asking them. After she answered all of their questions, she took them to make-up and told them her assistant would be waiting to bring them on set.
Once they were on set, Darlene suggested that Sofia sit closest to her since she would be doing most of the talking and Callie and Arizona sat on the small sofa next to their daughter. She explained there would be a countdown, then the red light on the camera would come on and she would start talking. All three nodded their understanding and Darlene gave a thumbs up to the camera man. As soon as the red light came on, Darlene began, "As you all know, along with the fire at Camp Copneconic yesterday afternoon, 6 campers and 2 counselors went missing and were found several hours later in a car that was abandoned in the woods and covered with brush. We have also heard several stories of one young girl who stepped up and led her fellow campers to safety and the parents who insisted on joining the search and were instrumental in finding the group of girls. I don't think it is any coincidence that they are all from the same family. Today I am speaking to Sofia Torres…" Sofia leaned over and whispered something and Darlene corrected, "Excuse me, this brave young lady is Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres, and she is accompanied by her two mothers, Dr. Arizona Robbins and Dr. Callie Torres. Welcome, it is an honor to speak with you." Sofia smiled brightly and tried her hardest not to be nervous. Callie and Arizona both said, "Thank you for having us."
Darlene started her interview by asking Sofia to talk about the events of the day from the time they realized the camp was on fire until the time they were found. Sofia told the entire story right up until they were all rescued from the car. Darlene thanked the little girl and declared, "Sofia, many people, including your counselors, Mr. Winters, some of the other campers, and several police officers are calling you a hero. How do you feel about that?" Sofia's eyes got wide again and she looked at the nice lady and answered, "I don't know if I feel like a hero. I learned how to take care of cuts and other things from my moms and growing up around doctors, so I just did what they would do. I learned some secrets from my grandpa who was a Colonel in the United States Marines and I did what he would do too. But I didn't do it all by myself, I think all of us worked as a team and I might have come up with the ideas, but they all helped and we made decisions together." Callie and Arizona smiled proudly at their daughter and Darlene reached out her hand and covered Sofia's and explained, "Those things are exactly why people are calling you a hero Sofia." Sofia smiled brightly, proud that she answered the question correctly.
The reporter turned her attention to the parents and asked, "Dr. Robbins, Dr. Torres, I know as a parent myself, this may seem like an odd question, but how do you feel about your daughter's actions yesterday?" Callie squeezed Arizona's hand asking her to speak first so Arizona offered, "We are always proud of Sofia, but learning how brave and strong she was yesterday and hearing what everyone else is saying makes us extremely proud that she stepped up and knew what to do and helped her friends and counselors." Darlene nodded and asked, "Dr. Torres, I understand that you were the first parent to speak up and insist on joining the search and that you and Dr. Robbins were instrumental in choosing a specific area, the area where you found the girls actually. Can you tell us more about that?" Callie cleared her throat and responded, "When the commander asked us to think of any special skills that our children had, or to offer anything that might narrow down the search, Arizona and I thought about what Sofia was told by her grandfather and we knew she would follow his suggestions. We chose that area because he told her to follow the river upstream until you found the source which would be a larger body of water. Given the amount of time they had already been missing, I suggested that we start at the source, at the lake, and work our way downriver back toward where they would have started. The other parents insisted on joining the search as well and we also worked as a team to find our children."
Darlene looked at her notes and asked, "May I ask why you didn't just leave it to the experts?" Callie really wanted to say that the experts weren't doing much, but instead she answered, "When you are in a situation where your loved one is missing, you go crazy with worry. Everyone was upset and asking for answers and we weren't getting them. I knew we couldn't sit and wait. I didn't want to sit and wait. I feel like any parent who was in our situation would have done the same thing." Darlene nodded and responded, "I am sure I would have. You and Dr. Robbins are also being touted as heroes. What are your thoughts on that?" Callie and Arizona looked to one another and Callie answered, "Very much the same as our daughter, we feel like we did what we had to do and followed our instincts. We all worked as a team and communicated and I don't feel that any of us stand out as a hero. We are parents, we are supposed to be our children's heroes." Darlene smiled at that response and declared, "While we certainly respect and appreciate your humility and understand why Sofia is such a brave girl, we here at Channel 4 feel that you are, in fact, heroes and have named your family as our Heroes of the Week."
Sofia's face took on an expression of pure awe and she asked, "Really?" The reporter chuckled at the little girl's excitement and answered, "Yes ma'am and here to present you with the award is the News Director himself. A tall man with greying hair, wearing a dark suit walked onto the set holding a large plaque and three ribbons with medals attached to them. He asked all three to stand and said, "On behalf of Channel 4 News, we would like to present you with this plaque and these medals to honor you as our Heroes of the Week." He handed the plaque to Callie who was standing closest to him, then proceeded to put the medals around all of their necks. They all thanked him and he remained on stage while Darlene wrapped up her segment. Once the cameraman turned off the camera, Darlene explained to Callie and Arizona that the interview ran long and several pieces would be cut but she would have a copy of the entire interview sent to their email addresses. After a photographer took the family's photo for the Heroes of the Week wall, they were finally able to leave the station. When they got outside, Sofia was skipping through the parking lot and talking a mile a minute. Neither Callie nor Arizona could keep up with her ramble so they just nodded and smiled at the little ball of energy. Callie leaned into Arizona and whispered, "I think she's going to be just fine." Arizona let out a relieved breath, nodded her head and agreed, "I think so too. Thank God." Arizona took Callie's hand and declared, "She's still not leaving our sight." Callie watched her daughter skip a few paces in front of them and responded, "Nope."
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Upon arriving at the center, Callie and Arizona were surprised to see many of their staff members filing out the doors to greet Sofia, hug her, tell her how proud they were of her, and how happy they were that she was safe. Arizona was touched to see that her staff came out as well since they barely knew each other and had only met her daughter a few times. Once everyone started going back in, Lorraine remained with her friends and took a good long look at both of them. They knew she was checking them out herself despite several messages informing her they were fine. Callie looked down at their daughter and suggested, "Hey little miss, why don't you go in and show Kim and Julie your medal then you can come back down and help mama clean up in the lab while I go over my notes for my presentation." Sofia nodded, looked both ways, and ran across the parking lot and into the center.
Lorraine looked her dear friend in the eye and ordered, "Now tell me the truth!" Both surgeons laughed at her and Arizona assured her, "We are fine really. Yesterday was tough and we both had our moments, but once we found Sofia safe and sound, we were fine. We all slept well and there were no nightmares." Lorraine looked at Callie who chuckled and responded, "It's true, it was hard, the not knowing and the worrying. It took us both back to that place, but this time we leaned on each other and we got through it." Seemingly satisfied, Lorraine looked back toward Fresh START and asked, "Little T? She's good too?" Both women nodded and hugged their friend thanking her for her concern. Arizona kissed Callie goodbye and they went their separate ways, ready to get back to normal. Unfortunately, things didn't settle down for quite a while as both of them found themselves fielding questions and answering calls from their friends in Seattle who were just waking up to the news. The staff from both centers gathered in the lobby of Fresh START at noon to watch the interview which was indeed shortened and consisted mostly of Sofia and Callie both talking about how they didn't feel like heroes and then the family being awarded the plaque. Everyone congratulated them and hugged Sofia and went back to work.
Callie walked Arizona to the door and said, "I have gotten absolutely nothing done today so I am going to turn off my phone, lock myself in my lab and finish this presentation. If you need me, just call Lorraine and she will come get me." Arizona ran her hand across the stubble on the side of Callie's head and replied, "I'm sorry you're feeling frustrated. I'll take little miss with me, she can help out with inventory and putting things away. Make sure you eat though please." Callie bent down and brushed their lips together and promised, "I will. Kim is bringing Julie over after lunch and staying to help out as well." Arizona smiled and replied, "Thank you, that will be a big help. Good luck on your presentation. I expect a run through tonight when we get home." Callie nodded and responded, "You know you'll have the thing memorized by the time I'm done practicing." Arizona pulled Callie into a hug and whispered, "Go be awesome Dr. Torres." The two kissed goodbye and Callie watched as Arizona walked across the lot, then went straight to her lab for the rest of the afternoon.
A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and comments. They really keep me going and the positive feed back is the energy that keeps the juices flowing. I know this one is much shorter than what I've been posting, but I just wanted to give a sneak peak into the aftermath and let little Sofia have the spotlight for a moment.