Hearing a sound coming from the kitchen, Callie sat up on high alert, her heart racing, and turned to check on Arizona, then frowned when she found the bed empty. Realizing the noise she heard must be her wife, Callie turned to look at the time on her phone and she became only more confused and slightly concerned when she noticed it was only 2:30 am. Rubbing her eyes to try to clear the haze, to try to make things make sense, Callie inhaled deeply and arched her brow in question when the unmistakable aroma of bacon frying filled her nostrils. She shook her head and chuckled when she realized her wife was obviously having a craving and decided to get up to see if she could help with anything or at least keep her company. Tossing the covers aside, Callie grabbed her robe, padded out into the dining room and her heart caught in her throat at the sight before her.
Instead of putting on a robe, Arizona had opted to borrow one of her white sports bras and a pair of boxer shorts. When her wife turned, she noticed the thin white fabric did very little to support her heavy swollen breasts or to hide the two large, cherry red areola. Lowering her gaze, she was met with the delectable sight of taut alabaster skin stretched across her protruding belly, the dark vertical line stretching from just below her breasts to the top of her navel which was now also extending from her wife's belly, and finally, she saw a scrap of blue and white striped fabric, the waistline hanging properly over her backside and hips, then dipping lower, until it disappeared beneath the ever-growing abdomen that housed their children. If she looked close enough, and of course she did, she could see that the fly of the shorts was gaping open, showing just a hint of the bare mound it was supposed to be covering. The brunette wondered how her wife could look absolutely stunning, adorable, and sexy all at the same time. Enchanted by the sight, her feet propelled her forward to get a closer look and maybe a few not so innocent touches.
Turning from the refrigerator with a pickle sticking out of her mouth, a can of storebought biscuits in one hand, and a bottle of chocolate sauce in the other, Arizona froze when she saw Callie walking toward her with a huge, if not slightly amused smile on her face and just a hint of desire flashing in her darkening eyes. Finally fighting through her lust filled haze, Callie noticed the items her wife was carrying, along with the pickle sticking out from between her lips, bit down on the inside of her cheek, trying not to laugh, and gently asked, "Honey, what are you doing up? It's nearly 3 o'clock in the morning." Over the mouthful of pickle, the blonde responded, "I got hungry." Hearing the bacon grease popping next to her, Callie reached out, turned down the flame, and finally registered the rest of the items scattered across the countertop. Her face scrunched up in confusion when she noticed the bowl of powdered sugar, tongs, a jar of jalapeno jam, some canned pineapple, and what looked like a donut hole cutter. All of this, combined with the ingredients in her wife's hands, made it extremely difficult for her to think of anything that may be edible when mixed together.
Arizona walked up beside Callie, placed the items on the countertop, carefully balanced herself to lean forward to turn on the deep fryer, then picked up the can of biscuits, handed them over and chirped, "I'm glad you're here, you know how these things scare me." The brunette shook her head, chuckled, and asked, "Why do you buy them then? Your biscuits are much better." Just to be playful and add a little double entendre to her words, Callie tapped Arizona on her ass and got just a little too much enjoyment from the squeak that escaped bare pink lips. The blonde feigned a scowl, glared at her wife and grumbled, "Just open the damn biscuits." Not really trusting the item herself, Callie closed one eye, held the thing as far away from her body as possible, carefully unwrapped the blue label, sighed in relief when the fluffy dough didn't explode on her, then banged the cardboard tube against the countertop, making them both startle and jump back when they heard the pop of the seal breaking. As she took the rounds of dough out of the container and passed them over to her wife, Callie curiously asked, "Ah, what exactly are you making?" Arizona took the pieces of dough that were handed to her, laid them out on the bread board, started cutting them into smaller circles and proclaimed, "Donuts." Still not understanding how or where most of these ingredients came into play, and not sure she wanted to know, Callie just continued to watch as her wife manipulated the dough.
Seeing that her bacon was exactly how she wanted it, Arizona passed Callie a knife and asked, "Can you take that off the stove and chop it up into smaller pieces please?" Callie nodded, picked up the plate that was already covered with paper towel, and proceeded to remove the chewy bacon from the pan. Patting it with another paper towel to collect the excess grease, she picked up a piece of bacon, took a bite, and laughed when a small pale hand wrapped around her wrist, pulled her arm over, and her wife's luscious lips closed around her fingertips and stole the greasy goodness right out of her grasp. Leaning down, she nibbled on glistening pink lips and murmured, "You stole my bacon." She could feel Arizona's mouth curve into a smile under her own and laughed lightly when she returned, "Technically, you stole my bacon." Callie brushed their lips together again, traced the full bottom lip with her tongue, then they both moaned as their tongues slid against one another and the kiss deepened, threatening to make both of them forget about any hunger but the one that was building between them.
Callie knew she was on the verge of taking her wife right there against the kitchen counter, reluctantly pulled back, rested their foreheads together to catch her breath, and suggested, "Let's get you and the babies fed so we can get back to bed." Arizona ran her hands up Callie's chest, circled the nipples that were now protruding from the black silk, and whispered, "Mmm, yeah, I'm definitely feeling a completely different type of craving coming on." Callie groaned, partially from lust, mostly from frustration, brushed their lips together again and scolded, "You can't say things like that if you actually want to eat." Realizing how her words could be interpreted, she quickly added, "FOOD," then turned her back on her sexy, half dressed wife, and started chopping the bacon into bite sized pieces. Considering doing this to perfectly good bacon as a crime, she asked, "What are you doing with this anyway?" Arizona looked over her shoulder and requested, "A little bit smaller please." When Callie was finished, Arizona declared, "I told you, I'm making donuts." Callie watched as Arizona reached over, picked up some of the bacon, laid it in the center of the small circle of dough, opened the jalapeno jam, covered just the tip of the spoon, placed it on top of the bacon, then picked up another piece of dough, laid it on top, pinched the sides together and dropped it into the hot grease. Callie wasn't certain how that combination of flavors would blend together or if this little experiment would even work, but she was intrigued now and watched as the little ball of dough puffed up and started to turn a golden brown.
Arizona picked up the tongs to turn the donut and was surprised when Callie snatched the utensil from her hand and whined, "Arizona, you're barely dressed, you could get burned. Let me do this part please." Looking down at herself, Arizona saw all the exposed skin, realized her wife was right, and she wasn't being safe, then conceded, "Okay, you do that and I'll finish putting these together." She looked up to see the skeptical expression on her wife's face, looked at the odd array of food items spread out before her, then exclaimed, "Oooh cheese!" and rushed back to the refrigerator to get two different kinds of shredded cheese. Callie shook her head and asked, "Can you um, just leave a few of them empty so your wife, who was awoken from a deep sleep by the clattering of pans, is clearly not having pregnancy cravings, and is now participating in the creation of this weird concoction, can eat too?" Arizona giggled, bumped their hips together, and agreed, "I think I can do that." She then leaned up, kissed Callie's cheek, and offered, "Thanks for staying up with me and indulging me." Callie turned the small doughball over to brown the other side and replied, "I will always get up with you and support you." She then removed the straining basket, dropped the piece of fried dough onto another plate covered with paper towel, and ordered, "Get a move on woman. We can do about six or seven at a time."
Arizona nodded her head, quickly assembled the dough balls using several different combinations of food and passed them on to her wife. Callie picked up the first 'donut' she made to test the temperature, handed it over to Arizona and suggested, "Here, nibble on this until the rest are finished." Clearly excited about her creation, Arizona bit into the fried dough and moaned in satisfaction as the sweet heat from the jam, combined with the saltiness of the bacon, and the soft yet crispy texture of the bread danced across her palate. She looked up to see Callie staring at her, waiting for her to say something, and held it up to her lips suggesting, "Try it, it's really good." The brunette narrowed her eyes, took the offered bite, and was pleasantly surprised by how well the flavors blended together. She couldn't help but let out her own little moan and declared, "Ooh, make more of those." Arizona laughed, did as she was told, and soon the two women were seated at the table with a mound of fried dough balls and various bowls of sauces or powdered mixtures to dip them in.
Callie bit into one filled with raspberry jam and covered in powdered sugar and her eyes widened as she asked, "Why have we never made this before? Where did you even get the idea? I'm sure I've never seen a weird pregnancy craving episode on the Food Network." Arizona giggled, reached over, swiped the powdered sugar from her lips with her thumb, stuck it in her mouth and explained, "When we lived on the bases, before daddy became The Colonel, we didn't have a whole lot of extra money for treats and momma would sometimes make these homemade donuts using canned biscuit dough. She'd dip them in powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar and as we got older, Timmy and I would try different dips like chocolate, or jam, or honey. I think maybe that's why I turned to donuts for comfort after he died. They reminded me of those days where everything just felt right." Callie nodded in understanding, dipped one of the cinnamon and sugar donut holes into the chocolate sauce and replied, "You know, hearing that story and tasting this, it kind of reminds me of the sopapillas Papi used to make for me when I was sad. It was pretty much the same thing, but they were square, would get really puffy, and they were hollow inside. He would coat them in cinnamon and sugar and we would dip them in chocolate or honey."
Arizona linked their fingers and suggested, "I'd like to do things like this with the kids more often. I know Sof will never forget our donut tour, but she loves our popcorn and movie nights, making cookies with you, and those, those are the memories I want her to have, all of them to have, and pass down to their…" Callie put her finger over Arizona's mouth and begged, "Please, please, while you are still pregnant, do not discuss our future children's future children." Arizona laughed, tilted her head and asked, "Aww are you feeling old Mrs. Robbins-Torres?" The blonde popped another donut hole into her mouth, started coughing, and immediately spit it into a napkin, gagging and complaining, "Ugh, we should have marked these, what the hell was I thinking?" Callie was struggling not to tell her wife that's what she got for teasing her about her age, and instead asked, "Which one was that?" Arizona cringed at just the thought of the nastiness she just spit out and replied, "I think it was the peanut butter and jalapeno jam." Callie shivered, stood up to get a knife, cut the remaining treats open and declared, "Okay, no more blind tasting, I'm certain we would have had a mess to clean up if I would have gotten that one. Oh gross, or this one. Seriously Arizona? Mozzarella cheese and pineapple?" The blonde shrugged, leaned over to look at it, picked it up, smelled it, then popped it into her mouth and muttered, "It's actually pretty good." Callie snorted, her whole body shook as she tried to contain her laughter, and after eating the last of her favorites which turned out to be bacon and shredded cheese dipped in jalapeno jam, she started cleaning up their mess, knowing neither of them could stand leaving dirty dishes or food lying around.
When everything was cleaned up, Callie turned to see Arizona popping a plain powdered donut into her mouth, waited for her to finish eating it, then dove in to clean up the remnants of the sweet substance that still lingered on her lips. Arizona lifted her arms, tangled her hands in messy black curls, whimpered when warm hands started exploring the bare skin of her back, shifted her head just a little, and became more demanding when an entirely different hunger took over. When Callie's moan vibrated through her body, awakening every nerve and sending a flood of desire straight to her core, she slid her hand down Callie's strong neck, over her shoulder, slipped it into the opening of her robe and gently caressed the full breast, lightly scraping her thumbnail over the quickly tightening mocha bud, reveling in the way Callie's entire body jerked at the simple act.
Callie arched her back, pressing her chest further into her wife's touch, dipped her hands under the waistband of the blue cotton boxers, grasped at her wife's firm round ass and pulled her as close as she could. Feeling Arizona's hips buck in her hands, the brunette recalled the gaping opening at the front of her shorts, slid her right hand around, snaked it between them, slipped it into the fly of the cotton material and hummed in delight when her hand covered her wife's dripping sex. Taking her time to explore, she slowly, softly, ran her fingertips up and down Arizona's lower lips feeling the arousal begin to trickle onto her hand, ran her middle finger over the slit, careful to keep it outside, to keep her touch light. Feeling that one finger start to part her lips, willing it to go where she needed it most, Arizona broke their kiss on a gasp and whispered, "Mmm Calliope, please." Callie looked into eyes so dark they were nearly black and teased, "Please what baby?" The blonde was in no mood to play and the flash of raw desire in her eyes sent a shiver down Callie's spine. Still staring into lust filled dark chocolate eyes, seeing the pupils begin to dilate, Arizona knew Callie wanted it just as bad as she did, lowered her hand to tug on the belt of her robe, parted both sides, trailed her fingertips down Callie's stomach, reached between her legs, let her eyelids flutter closed for a fraction of a second when she felt how wet her wife was, leaned up on her tiptoes, bit down on her soft earlobe and commanded, "Please me," then without warning thrust two fingers into Callie's opening, leaving no question about what she wanted.
Callie dropped her head and bit down on Arizona's shoulder to muffle her cry and decided the teasing portion of the program was over. With her wife's fingers still deep in her core, Callie walked them backward, further away from their daughter's room, further away from the opened patio windows, just past the refrigerator, turned, pressed Arizona's back against the cool steel of the side of the refrigerator, and thrust three fingers deep into the tight channel and began pumping her arm as hard and fast as she could, knowing that recently Arizona had been wanting to be fucked, taken, craved the carnal passion that carrying their children awoke within her. Faltering for only a moment when she finally felt her wife's talented fingers fill her, Arizona picked up her pace and began pumping her hand in and out of Callie's hot, slick channel. She reveled in the sounds, was further aroused by each gasp, grunt, whimper, by the slapping of their skin, by the sound of their fingers moving through the creamy arousal and felt almost primal. Adding two more fingers to her ministrations, Arizona pushed her entire body forward, causing Callie to slam into the pantry door with a thud and a grunt, and she thrust even harder, faster, giving her wife everything she had.
Both sets of hips moved at lightning speed while glistening white teeth nipped and bit at creamy soft skin and full pink lips sucked on the racing pulse point throbbing from a sleek tan neck. On her inward thrust, Arizona curled her fingers, pressed firmly on the sensitive spongy spot deep within her wife's sex, kept her fingers in the same position and pulled out, dragging them across it each time just to prolong the sensation. Callie's entire body trembled, her legs struggled to keep her upright, and her arm burned with the speed and power with which she was fucking her wife. She pressed her palm into the sensitive bundle of nerves, stretched her fingers and caught the blonde's screams in her mouth as she hit her secret spot, the place that only she had ever found, and reveled in how Arizona's tongue nearly devoured her mouth, silently telling her she couldn't get enough of her, wanted everything she had to offer. Callie slid her left hand around the curve of Arizona's hip, gathered her arousal on her middle finger and smiled as her wife whimpered and shivered in anticipation, already knowing what she intended.
Arizona felt Callie's middle finger slip between her clenching ass cheeks, circle the tight rosebud opening, and pushed back against the digit as it slowly…God, painstakingly slowly entered her and buried her head in her neck, sucking and biting at the skin to keep herself from growling in pleasure as she was filled from behind. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her own rapid thrusting was thrown off once again when Callie began the see-saw type action she knew would send her flying in a matter of seconds. She nearly flew apart right then and there when Callie licked the shell of her ear and begged, "Fill me baby, fill me like this." Feeling the jolt of electricity course through her nerve endings, Arizona slipped her free hand between Callie's legs, circled her clit while gathering the lubricant she needed, then slid her hand around Callie's tight ass, slipped her finger between the perfect tan globes, spread the arousal she had collected around the puckered opening and gently inserted her finger, pulling out, and going a little further each time until she had entered her wife completely, then held her hand still until Callie adjusted and started moving her own hands again. Though it took them a moment to find a rhythm, they quickly picked up their pace and neither of them could think of anything but the pleasure they were giving and receiving.
Callie had only experienced this amazing sensation one other time, the morning after their first date, and though she had never asked for it again, found herself wanting it, needing it, and seeing how much pleasure her wife was experiencing in that moment, she finally gave in to her baser desires and asked, nay, begged to be filled. As the two women continued to thrust in one opening, pull out of the other, and kept up the pattern, they felt their stomachs clench, their bodies start to go rigid, their minds start to blur and knew they were being pushed, they were pushing their lover to the edge. When their lips met in a sloppy demanding kiss, Arizona bit down on Callie's lip, and as they both got that first coppery taste of blood, that's all it took for them to tense completely, open their mouths simultaneously on silent screams, and stare into the other's eyes as their bodies jerked and convulsed and their hands were covered in the slick evidence of their highly intense combined orgasm.
Callie slumped against the door, immediately wrapped her arms around her wife and pulled her sweat-slick body close, trying to calm the aftershocks that still wracked her body with slight convulsions. They could have been there for hours, neither was certain, but when their bodies began to cool and the shivers were caused more from the chill in the air than from what they'd just shared, Callie guided Arizona into their room, lay her on the bed, went into the bathroom to get two warm wet washcloths, and they both carefully, lovingly washed one another, gently stroking the sensitive areas between their legs, their upper thighs, and finally, Callie crawled into the bed, gathered her wife in her arms, and just before they fell asleep, Arizona muttered, "Thanks for satisfying my cravings baby."
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The next time they awoke, it was to the unmistakable roar of a snowplow in their driveway and the scraping of metal against cement. Arizona groaned, "I know I should consider this a good sign, but it's not exactly the most pleasant sound to wake up to." Callie chuckled, rolled to her side, and grumbled, "Neither is clattering pans in the middle of the night, but I seem to remember that turned out to be extremely pleasant." Arizona stared at her and scoffed, "Pleasant? The way you fell apart in my arms and these bites on your neck tell me it was far more than pleasant." Callie traced her own bitemark on otherwise flawless pale skin, leaned in to place a soothing kiss on the bright red area and corrected, "Mind-blowing." Arizona tangled her fingers in Callie's short tuft of hair, pulled her head over until their lips were nearly touching, murmured, "Earthshattering," then captured still swollen red lips into a searing kiss. When they finally pulled apart for some much needed oxygen, Callie lowered her hand to caress Arizona's stomach and whispered, "Good morning my love." Arizona's super-magic smile bloomed across her face and she returned, "Good morning gorgeous."
After a few more softer kisses, whispered words, and gentle touches, Callie rested her head on Arizona's shoulder and complained, "I guess we should get up." Hearing the giggles coming from the other part of the house, Arizona agreed, "I guess we should, since it sounds like our daughter is already entertaining a guest." Callie chuckled, sat up and muttered, "Or Addie sent him over for breakfast because we have better cereal." Arizona reached out her arm, silently asking for help sitting up, and agreed, "I'm sure that's it." Though they would normally just throw on their robes, since Henry was here, Callie went to the dresser, took out some comfortable clothes for each of them, and went to the bed to help Arizona with her leg and her clothes. They both headed to the bathroom for their morning routine, then walked into the kitchen hand in hand to find the two children sitting at the table eating their cereal while the two boxes along with the gallon of milk sat wide open and abandoned on the countertop.
Hearing movement in the doorway, both Henry and Sofia looked up into the not so happy faces of Callie and Arizona, audibly swallowed the bite of cereal they'd just shoved in their mouths, then scrambled to their feet to clean up the kitchen before returning to their seats at the table. Avoiding eye contact, Sofia picked up her spoon and muttered, "Sorry mommies, we were really hungry." Henry nodded and added, "Sorry Cal and Arizona, we won't leave our mess out again." Both women nodded, lowered their heads to hide their smiles, and Callie went straight to the coffee pot while Arizona filled her tea kettle with water. After a few moments of awkward silence, Arizona walked up behind Sofia, kissed her on the crown of her head, kissed Henry's forehead, greeted, "Good morning, what are you to up to today?" Callie watched as both little bodies slumped in relief as if all was right in their worlds again, and they rattled off everything they wanted to do before they went back to school tomorrow.
Callie prepared her coffee, sat down next to Henry, picked up a piece of dry cereal that had fallen from his bowl, put it in her mouth, and proclaimed, "That sounds like a busy day. Do you need a banana for the snowman's nose?" Both kids started giggling and Sofia corrected, "Mama, snowmen have carrots for noses!" Callie took a sip of her coffee, winked at Arizona who had just settled across from her and lied, "I don't know these things. I grew up in Miami, we made sandmen and used tropical fruit to decorate them." Arizona lifted her cup to her mouth to hide her laughter and nearly choked when Callie continued, "We used kiwi fruit slices for their eyes, grapes for their buttons, made big pineapple hats…" then trailed off and added excitedly, "Oh! Then we would use coconut shells for…" "Calliope!" Arizona scolded and shook her head when her wife amended, "Feet. We would cut them in half and put them down on the ground so they looked like feet."
Henry narrowed his eyes at the brunette and argued, "I grew up in California and I've never heard of a sandman." Callie reached into the little boy's bowl, stole a few more pieces of cereal, and claimed, "That's because your mommy has no imagination." Sofia watched her mama closely, noticed how her eyes darted all over the room and she wouldn't look at them, then pointed at her and accused, "You're teasing us! You never made a sandman. You won't look at us." Both women started laughing then, and Callie conceded, "No, I never made a sandman, but it sounds like fun doesn't it?" They both nodded their heads, then Sofia picked up her bowl, drank the rest of the milk, put the bowl down and proclaimed, "But a snowman sounds like more fun and Uncle Jake said he'd help." She then took her bowl to the sink and just to get back in her mommies' good graces, wet the sponge, wiped down the table, and asked, "Can I go outside now?" Arizona nodded and directed, "Go brush your teeth and dress warmly." When the little girl disappeared down the hall, Callie called out, "Put your snow pants on." Henry finished his cereal, took his bowl to the sink, rinsed them both, put them in the dishwasher, pulled on his coat and said, "Thanks for breakfast." Then he took off out the door and into the backyard.
Callie looked up to see Arizona staring at her with a smirk on her face and asked, "What?" The blonde shook her head and asked, "Sandmen? Seriously?" Callie laughed, shrugged, and replied, "It was the best I could do." They both laughed, then Callie admitted, "Talking about all that fruit made me hungry. What do you think about fruit, yogurt, and granola for breakfast?" Arizona thought about their heavy middle of the night snack, and replied, "I think after my craving last night, that sounds very healthy and exactly what I need to counteract all the grease and calories." Callie chuckled, stood up to go into the kitchen and rounded the table when she saw Arizona was preparing to stand as well, bent down, kissed her forehead, and asked, "Will you let me do this for you? Just sit and relax baby." Arizona smiled up into pleading brown eyes and appreciated that once again Callie was asking and not demanding. Puckering her lips for a kiss, Arizona smiled when it was granted and murmured, "Thank you for taking care of us." Callie kissed her again and replied, "I love taking care of you." Arizona smiled, feeling the truth of that statement warm her from inside out, then watched as her wife effortlessly and gracefully moved around the kitchen.
During breakfast, they discussed the best plan of action for their centers now that the roads were clear and the travel advisory had been lifted. Callie collected their laptops from their office and after checking the master schedules for each center, they worked tirelessly to create a new temporary schedule which allowed the staff who were currently on-duty a much needed break, split up the refreshed staff into two different twelve hour shifts rather than the three eight hour shifts they'd normally run, and would get them all back on track with their normal schedules by Monday. They then sent out an email to their employees who'd been off work due to the storm, requesting that they fill in the empty time slots in order to relieve their colleagues who had basically been stranded since Sunday night or early Monday morning, offering them the same opportunities to pick up overtime. They'd also decided that since it was safe for them to travel, they'd like to go in to personally thank the dedicated doctors and nurses who had worked so tirelessly to keep everything running smoothly and oversee the transition of staff and just maybe get a peek at the newest member of their extended family.
After taking a quick shower, Arizona stepped out of the closet in just her bra and underwear carrying an outfit Callie didn't recall ever seeing before, and declared, "Thank goodness my mother bought clothes in different sizes and encouraged me to do the same, otherwise I'd be struggling right now to find something that fits." Callie fastened her pants, pulled the red shirt on, leaving the buttons undone, walked toward Arizona, took the black dress pants off the hanger, crouched down, waited for small hands to grip her shoulders for balance, carefully lifted one foot, slipped it into the leg hole of the pants, switched to the other foot, then pulled the pants up Arizona's legs until she could bend down, reach the waistband, and finish dressing herself. Though she wouldn't have minded completely dressing her wife, she knew how important even this little bit of independence was, so she did only what was necessary, then allowed her wife to do the rest.
Since she'd started needing help getting dressed, Arizona never asked why Callie always stopped midway through and left her to finish. She could see the answer in her eyes, it was the same reason she always asked what she wanted her to help her with when it came to her leg. Her wife was not only allowing her to keep her independence and therefore just a little more self-dignity, but she was respecting her body autonomy and her sense of self. Pulling up her pants, she reached out, clutched both sides of Callie's shirt, pulled her into a sweet loving kiss, and murmured, "Thank you for helping me." Then, because she could, or maybe to return the favor, she buttoned her wife's shirt for her, smoothed out the creases with her palms, then took the sweater that was being offered, pulled it over her head, then went to the vanity, sat down, and started drying her hair with the blow dryer.
Seeing Callie's reflection in the mirror, she smiled, tilted her head to the left, and wasn't disappointed when her wife nuzzled her neck before reaching for her own hair products to style her hair. While they finished getting themselves ready to go back out into the world again, Callie commented, "I kind of miss wearing sweats and not bothering with my hair." Arizona chuckled and replied, "Me too, I haven't worn make-up all week." Callie bent down, kissed her cheek and complimented, "You don't need to. Your skin is gorgeous and your eyes shine just as much without it." Arizona threw her head back, let out a loud bark of laughter and accused, "You are biased and find me beautiful no matter what, the rest of the world, not so much." Callie nibbled on her earlobe and growled, "Fuck them, no one needs to be looking at you anyway." Arizona turned to capture her lips and whispered, "Mmm I love your little possessive streak." Callie wrapped her arms around Arizona's stomach, hugged her tightly and proclaimed, "You're damn right I'm possessive. You're all mine Arizona Robbins-Torres." She arched her sexy brow as if waiting for her wife to challenge her and her heart flipped once again when Arizona simply nodded and agreed, "I am most definitely all yours. I always have been and always will be."
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Both women sat at the dining room table staring at their computers in disbelief. The entire schedule had filled up in just the small amount of time it took them to shower and get dressed. Callie looked at the clock and saw that it was just after 11:00 am and they had set the next shift to start at 2:00 pm. Tilting her head, she asked, "What would you think about providing lunch for our staff as a thank you. I'm sure those who are on-duty must be ready for a hot nutritious meal and those coming in can save it for dinner if they've already eaten." Arizona smiled and agreed, "I think that's an amazing idea, do you think we can find someone to do it in such short notice?" Callie had already started searching restaurants near the medical park and answered, "It won't hurt to try. If we can't find one to do both places, we could use two different places. I'll work on that right now; do you have a preference?" Arizona shook her head, trying not to show her interest in the email she'd just received from the contractors. Scrolling down to the images, she nearly gasped when she saw how far the workers had come in such a short time. The foundation had already been poured and that's all she'd gotten for two weeks before Lucia had her come to Jesus meeting with them the other day. She nearly burst out of her skin when she saw the framing was practically finished and with just a little imagination, she could see their hacienda coming to life. Quickly closing that email, she came across another from the artist she'd commissioned last weekend to make a sketch of her photo. The young woman was going out of town for an exhibition and asked if she could mail the package to her or drop it off somewhere. Quickly sending a response, Arizona became excited all over again and decided that this surprise wouldn't wait until Christmas.
Arizona had just closed her laptop, packed it up and joined Callie in the kitchen when she disconnected her call and informed her, "The first couple places I called lost power during the storm and didn't have the supplies to accommodate such a large order. Then I called Mandy's…" "Yum! That lasagna with a twist place?" Arizona interrupted, Callie nodded and continued, "Yeah, they didn't lose power, but they lost a lot of money and were more than happy to do whatever I asked. They'd already started prepping in hopes of having full service tonight, so they said they can have everything delivered by 2:00 pm." Arizona threw her arms around her wife's neck and declared, "You are amazing. Thank you for thinking of that. I know everyone will appreciate it." The two women stood in the kitchen holding one another, swaying back and forth when they felt a gust of cold air and turned to see Addie walking through the door carrying a small gift bag in one hand and her overnight bag in the other.
Smirking, Arizona asked, "Did Jake kick you out?" Addison dropped the bag onto the floor with a thump and replied, "No smartass, I am going into work to relieve Max. My boss sent out an email requesting volunteers and Sof said you all were headed in, so I figured I'd bum a ride." Arizona smiled gratefully at her friend and declared, "That's really nice of you. Thank you." She broke free from her wife's grasp to go to her friend and laughed when her jaw dropped, then a beautiful, excited smile lit up her face and she stepped forward, put her cold hands on her protruding abdomen and asked, "Well, what do we have here? When did this happen?" Arizona smiled at her friend's obvious delight and added her hand to the two caressing her stomach.
Callie couldn't help but watch with a dreamy look in her eye when a small pale hand stroked the belly housing their unborn children and her wife's lilting voice proudly declared, "Apparently they didn't like Nicholas getting so much of mommy's attention and decided to show themselves at some point during my twelve hour hibernation yesterday." Addison bent down and greeted, "Well hello there little ones. Aunt Addie would call you by your names, but your mommies are holding out on me." She then stood up, narrowed her eyes, put her hands on her hips, and glared at the two women, hazel eyes darting from one to the other as if her stare down would make them give up the names. Arizona sighed, looked at Callie and asked, "Should we tell her?" Slightly startled by her wife's suggestion because they'd sworn each other to secrecy, Callie tilted her head in question and prepared to argue, when she saw the mirth dancing in twinkling blue eyes. Seeing what her wife was up to, she played along, huffed and replied, "I mean, it is only Addie, I think we can trust her."
With a straight face, Callie searched her memory while she moved to stand beside Arizona, rubbed the left side of her stomach and declared, "This little guy is Agamemnon, and his brother is…" Arizona covered Callie's hand and proclaimed, "This is Tulio and our baby girl…" They both looked at one another, smiled, and in unison exclaimed, "Rainbow!" They leaned in for a kiss, trying to hide their laughter and their expressions, and nearly lost it when they heard the monotone, "Agamemnon, Tulio, and Rainbow." Addison thought for certain her friends were messing with her until they both turned to her, faces full of excitement and Callie asked, "Don't you love them? They've been on our list since the last time we talked about having a baby." Addison's smile was more of a grimace when she swallowed thickly and gritted out, "Ah, yeah, they um…they're great." Arizona nodded and replied, "We thought so too. We wanted something unique…" Callie cut in, "Special!" They looked at one another, smiled again, and both declared, "And none of your damn business!"
Addison took a moment to process what her friends just said, put her hand over her heart, dramatically slumped against the wall, and sighed, "Oh thank fucking God! I thought you'd lost your ever loving damn minds!" Callie and Arizona both broke into a fit of giggles and the brunette chided, "Oh, you should have seen your face!" The redhead stomped toward the coffee pot, took a cup from the cabinet, set it down with a click, and muttered, "I hate you. Like sometimes I really hate you." Arizona couldn't help but laugh, lifted their entwined hands to her stomach and explained, "We just want their names to be a surprise, can you give us that please?" Turning to see both women looking at her hopefully, Addison realized that whatever names they had chosen were special to them and she couldn't' begrudge them wanting to keep it to themselves. She poured her coffee, sighed, and agreed, "On one condition." Callie arched her brow and asked, "You're giving us conditions about our own children's names?" Addie smirked and replied, "You have to promise I'm not the only one you tell those ridiculous names to." Both women laughed and quickly agreed.
Once they were all seated and Addison had calmed down, she eyed her friend and asked, "So how are you feeling really? Have you experienced any other changes?" Arizona shook her head and replied, "I was exhausted all day yesterday, I slept almost up until dinner time, but I feel good now. It's obviously a little harder to get around and I'm sure I'll tire faster than I did just a few days ago, but that's to be expected." Addison grumbled, "Damn doctors as patients." She then clarified, "Talk to me like you're my patient please and answer the damn questions you know I'm asking." Arizona rolled her eyes and responded, "There's no spotting or discharge, I can feel them kicking away at my bladder so they are all moving and settling in, my appetite is good, cravings are more prominent, other than yesterday, there's no lethargy, my blood pressure is normal, and it's harder than fuck to roll over or sit up. Thanks to my wife and her amazing leg, my balance is still good, but I can no longer see the wonderful foot she made me, nor the other one for that matter."
Addison smirked and asked, "Now was that so hard?" Arizona took Callie's hand, linked their fingers, looked into understanding brown eyes and explained, "It's not…well, yes, sometimes it is hard." Seeing the redhead's befuddled expression, Arizona sighed and further explained, "When I lost my leg, I felt like a perpetual patient. I was surrounded by doctors and everyone was asking me how I was feeling. I had a hard time deciphering if they were asking as doctors or friends, even Callie…especially Callie, and it's difficult to share those things, to not go back to that place. We are sitting in my dining room, sipping coffee like friends, and you ask me doctor questions…I just…" The blonde trailed off when she realized she was rambling and wondered if she was even making sense.
Addison was starting to understand the jumble of thoughts that was coming from her friend's mouth and she reached out, took Arizona's hand and empathized, "I see how that can be upsetting. I'm sorry. I'll try to keep the doctor hat on at the center and just be your friend here. You know some of the questions will cross over though. As both your friend and your doctor, I am concerned about your health." Arizona smiled, popped her dimples, and assured, "I know and I promise if I have a medical concern, I will tell you, no matter where we are. Here, I just want to be an expectant mom and I want you to enjoy this time with us as our family." The redhead nodded, squeezed her hand before letting go, and agreed, "Deal. I can be Aunt Addie at home and Dr. Montgomery during your appointments." Arizona offered a soft smile and murmured, "Thank you, that means a lot."
Callie listened while Arizona tried to explain her feelings to their friend and though she knew why her wife was being vague with her responses, she was happy she voiced her feelings and didn't keep them inside to let them fester. She leaned over, kissed the side of Arizona's head just above her ear and whispered, "I'm so proud of you, I know that was hard." Arizona didn't know why, but those words made her feel so much better, gave her strength, maybe it was because she realized it was okay to share her feelings and she would be heard. So far, she'd only trusted Callie enough to do that with. Addison's response though, it was warm and understanding and that too made her feel more secure. Not often, but there were rare occasions when she struggled to fight those memories and remember this beautiful thing she was experiencing was so completely different and so far removed from her disability, but when they snuck up on her, it was quick and with a vengeance, so she knew she had to battle those thoughts by sharing her true feelings.
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When Callie pulled Arizona's SUV into her parking space right in front of the Robbins-Herman Center, all three surgeons were impressed to see that the incoming staff were in the parking lot cleaning off the cars that had been sitting for the past few days collecting snow and ice. Callie turned to look at Arizona and couldn't help but chuckle when she saw her angrily swiping at tears, muttering, "Stupid pregnancy hormones." Smiling softly, she reached out, took her hand and soothed, "They're not stupid and it's very touching to see how our staff takes care of each other." Overhearing the conversation, Addison watched while the catering trucks arrived and stopped in front of the doors of both facilities and commented, "They learn from their administration. Look how quickly you two responded and how you are going above and beyond to show your appreciation." Both women looked at one another, a little stunned to hear such a nice comment come from their normally sarcastic friend, then laughed when she added, "Eww, now you're making me human too. I just can't with you two," and got out of the backseat, slamming the door behind her.
Callie watched their friend try to traverse the snow in her signature high heels and asked, "Is it wrong that I want to watch her fall on her ass right now?" Arizona shook her head and replied, "As long as it's not wrong that it wouldn't make me cry like watching everyone be so nice to each other did." Callie snorted, kissed her wife, and muttered, "We have a little evil streak don't we?" Arizona nodded and tugged on Callie's coat, silently asking for a kiss. Sofia huffed from the backseat, picked up the gift they'd bought for the little baby last weekend, and asked, "Can we go see baby Nicholas now?" The two women broke apart giggling and Callie turned, nodded at the little girl and replied, "Well let's go then, what are you waiting for?"
Once they entered the lobby, they were greeted by an exhausted looking Max, who took in his friend and chief's appearance and gasped, "When the hell did that happen?" Arizona laughed and replied, "Just the other night. I woke up and there they were." He furrowed his tired brow and asked, "Should we go take a look?" As much as she wanted to, Arizona could see her friend was about to pass out, shook her head, put her chief hat on and proclaimed, "No. You should go gather your things and take your tired body home to your husband and get some rest. I don't want to see you until Friday at the earliest and I would be even happier if you chose to be on-call over the weekend." Shaking his head, Max argued, "No can do chief, I have patients and…" Addie tapped the overnight bag hanging from her shoulder and finished, "And you have back up. I'm staying tonight and I'll get some sleep while Arizona is in tomorrow during the day, and I'll be here in the evening for a bit." Feeling as if he were on the verge of tears from the exhaustion, Max quickly agreed, "Okay, if you are sure, then I can't argue. I don't think I have it in me." Arizona patted his back, looked him in the eye and assured, "We are certain. You have no idea how much I appreciate you. Now go get yourself a hot meal and take your ass home." Max nodded, kissed her cheek, thanked Addison, then virtually sprinted to his office to gather his belongings.
Sofia and Callie were standing near the reception desk talking to Dee and hearing her wife's unmistakable laughter, Arizona turned to see what was so funny. Callie reached out her hand, pulled Arizona toward her and explained, "Dee was just telling me how Herman has been being so protective and snapping out orders at everyone, that Julie kicked her out of her room and ordered her to come to her office to take a nap." Both Addison and Arizona broke into laughter as well and the redhead declared, "It has to be something with you feisty blondes. I swear no one else would dare talk to her the way you and Julie do." Arizona chuckled and replied, "I guess we just know how to tame the beast." Dee laughed and proclaimed, "Oh, it's more than that, she's like a big ole mama bear with both of you. The two of you get away with it because she knows she needs you and won't admit it." Arizona's brow lifted in surprise and she looked to Callie and Addie who were both nodding in agreement. Callie pointed at the older woman and replied, "That sounds more accurate." Arizona pouted, "I liked it better when I was a feisty blonde who could tame the beast." Callie chuckled and whispered, "Oh you're plenty feisty and the only beast you need to tame is this one," making a red tint creep up Arizona's pale skin.
Seeing this, Addison announced, "I have no idea what you just said, but it was sickening I'm sure. I'm going to get settled in my office then I'll start rounds." She then looked to Arizona and commanded, "And now that we are here, I get to be the doctor, so as soon as you and Cal are finished for the day, you find me so I can do a thorough check-up." Arizona started to argue that she had an appointment Monday, when Callie tightened her grip on her and she looked up, expecting to get scolded until she saw excitement dancing in her wife's eyes and realized she wanted to see the babies, even if it were through the grainy ultrasound. Deciding she really didn't want to wait either, Arizona feigned annoyance and replied, "If I must." Completely unfazed, the redhead replied, "You must!" then turned and walked toward her office. Sofia excitedly bounced on her toes and asked, "Can I come too? Do I get to see my babies?" Arizona smiled, caressed the exuberant faces of both of her brunettes and replied, "Of course you can sweet girl and speaking of babies, let's go see the newest member of our family shall we?" Again both Callie and Sofia squirmed with excitement and Arizona laughed at their enthusiasm as they quickly made their way to the elevators.
Stepping onto the third floor, Callie and Arizona followed the familiar laughter they heard echoing through the halls and found the room they were looking for full of their chosen family. When they reached the door, they saw that Julie was sitting up in the bed with Kim propped on the edge next to her, animatedly retelling the story of Nicholas' birth, while Maria was stretched out on the small sofa laughing at her expressions, and Lorraine was sitting in a chair by the bed holding the baby while fussing with his little outfit. Seeing a flash of pink, Maria looked up to see the new arrivals and snarked, "It's about time you showed up. I've heard of calling it in, but seriously Robbins, you've taken it to a whole new level." Arizona walked into the room, unzipped her coat and replied, "When you're as good as I am, you don't need to leave the house, and it's Robbins-Torres." Maria stuck out her tongue and prepared a sharp comeback when she saw the blonde's stomach and fell off the couch trying to stand up to get to her.
Callie started laughing at her friend's antics as she watched her rush to her wife's side, causing the rest of them to turn and comment as well. Arizona playfully slapped at the hands that were now caressing her belly and teased, "Boundaries Santos." Maria looked up, worried she'd crossed the line, only to see blue eyes laughing at her and a bright smile greeting her. She narrowed her eyes and muttered, "Fuck boundaries, these little ones are begging for attention." She focused on Arizona's stomach and cooed, "Look how you've grown, is your mommy treating you okay in there? You let Aunt Maria know if she isn't and I'll be sure to give her an earful." Callie glared at Maria, crossed the room, wrapped her arm around her wife, slapped at the roaming hands on her protruding abdomen, and snapped, "Stop fondling my wife." Everyone laughed at that comment, which caused the baby to startle and start fussing. Instantly panicking, Lorraine started to pass him back to Julie when the blonde shook her head and suggested, "Give him to his Godparents, they haven't formally met him yet."
Stunned by the revelation, Callie and Arizona both looked around the room, at one another, then finally their gazes landed on Julie and Callie croaked out, "Us? You want us to be…" She trailed off as a wide smile broke out on her face, walked up to Lorraine and playfully commanded, "Give me my Godson." Lorraine stood up, passed the baby over, and Callie instantly took the seat her friend had abandoned. Looking down at the tiny baby who already had a hint of his mother's shallow dimple and baby soft hair so fine and so light you could barely see it, Callie whispered, "Look at you little guy, you're so precious." Arizona wiped the tears from her eyes, joined her wife, bent down, kissed the sweet baby on the crown of his head and greeted, "Hi there Nicholas. It looks like we're your Godparents, we promise to love you and always be here for you." She locked eyes with Callie, both of them recalling the conversation they once had about how they'd envisioned seeing each other holding this very same baby, only he was theirs and how his existence sparked their own dreams of growing their family. The irony was lost on neither of them as they realized that as his Godparents, he was, in a sense, theirs.
Julie watched as the two people who saved her legs, her unborn baby's life, returned her to a sense of normalcy, gave her a job, a family, and even brought him into this world, held him, fawned over him, and looked at him with the same love they showed their own daughter and knew she'd made the right decision. She'd never had Godparents, her mother and father couldn't agree on who to name and when the time came, the need for her to be taken care of by someone other than her parents, there was no one, until now. She wanted to make sure that wasn't the case with her own son. Looking around the room, she knew she had plenty of people to choose from and they'd all be amazing and would still play important roles in Nicholas' life, but when it came down to it, she felt she owed him the same chance at life those two women gave her and somehow knew they'd be honored to take on the role. Reaching for a Kleenex, Julie was startled when one was put in her hand and she looked into adorable brown doe eyes who were staring at her warily and smiled when the little girl assured her, "I know you're his mommy, but they are the best mommies in the whole world and they will love him as much as you do. They won't even call him a chicken." Julie furrowed her brow at that statement and looked to Arizona and Callie who were giggling, for explanation.
Callie rolled her eyes and explained, "Sofia's Godmother is very…blunt and she…" "She's the Korean version of Maria." Arizona cut in dryly, saying everything Julie needed to know. At the young blonde's knowing smile, Callie continued, "Sof was born very early and while I was whining that I wanted to see my baby, Yang's way of consoling me was to tell me she looked like a featherless, beakless chicken and I wanted to wait until she was cuter." Maria scoffed, "Yang!? Christina is Sofia's Godmother? I pray to all things holy you will use better judgement this time." Arizona tilted her head and retorted, "Well, that takes you out of the running." Maria fell back onto the sofa and claimed, "If there weren't tiny eyes and ears and I wasn't so tired, you'd get that earful I promised earlier." Arizona popped her dimples, batted her eyelashes, and the nurse muttered, "Doesn't work on me." Callie retorted, "Yet you still had your hands all over her as soon as we walked into the room." Maria scoffed, stood from the couch and pouted, "I don't need this abuse, I'm going home. I'll be in when I've gotten enough rest." Both Callie and Arizona called out, "Love you," and laughed when they were certain the middle finger scratching black hair was meant for them.
Sofia looked around the room, remembered the bag she brought with her, rushed to pick it up, carried it back to Julie, and exclaimed, "We bought Nicholas a gift last weekend while we were out." Julie widened her eyes and asked, "You did? What did you get him?" Sofia bounced up and down and demanded, "Open it, open it." The new mother dug through the tissue paper, wrapped her hands around something soft and fuzzy, assumed it was a blanket, and her breath hitched when she pulled it out of the bag." Seeing the tears in her eyes, Sofia asked, "Don't you like it? We had it made just for him and there's already a gift inside." Julie looked at the baby blue fleece stocking with her son's name carefully embroidered on the top, held it close to her chest, and proclaimed, "I love it Sofia. It's the best gift ever." Sofia asked, "Why are you crying?" Julie swallowed the lump in her throat and explained, "I am crying because one of the only things I still have from my childhood is an old pink stocking, very much like this, with my name sewn into the white part by my grandmother. But this, Nicholas' stocking is far more beautiful. Did you pick it?" Sofia nodded and replied, "I did, and I picked the gift inside too." Julie reached into the stocking and though she'd been given other ornaments declaring it was the baby's first Christmas, she looked at the small little frosted globe with tiny blue footprints, spun it around in her hand and saw that his full name had been painted on the other side. Sofia explained, "I have one just like it and my mommies put it up every year. We wanted Nicholas to have his own special ornament too."
The blonde smiled, scooted herself over in the bed, tapped the now empty space beside her, and watched while the little brunette climbed up and settled in next to her. Putting her arm around her, Julie explained, "You are going to be the best God sister ever. I'm so happy I picked you." Sofia's eyes lit up with excitement and she asked in awe, "You picked me too? I get to be his God sister?" Callie and Arizona watched the young mother with their daughter and neither had any doubt that this little boy would be well loved and taken care of. Hearing her name, Callie looked up and Julie repeated, "Cal, can you share your God son? His God sister wants to hold him." Callie smiled at her daughter who was doing her best to hold still and in that moment felt the excitement for the birth of their own babies all over again. Standing up, she passed the tiny boy off to her daughter, kissed both of their heads and explained, "I need to get over to my place. Don't stay too long Sof, I'm sure Julie, Kim, and Nicholas are exhausted." She laughed when she heard a soft snore, looked over and found her administrative assistant knocked out on the small sofa. Turning back to Kim, she opened her mouth to say something, when the young girl assured her, "I'm taking her home tonight and I'll stay with her and make sure she eats and gets plenty of rest." Callie smiled and replied, "Thank you, oh, speaking of food, we had some lunch catered in and since you two are employees, that qualifies you for something other than hospital food." Both girls sighed in relief and showered them with words of appreciation.
Before Callie reached the door, she stopped, turned around, walked up behind Arizona, looked at Julie and shared, "I don't think we actually answered you properly. Thank you for asking us to be Nichola's Godparents. We are honored and will be here for you both whenever you need us." Julie fought back the tears, nodded her head, and replied, "You've been here for me since I was wheeled into your center on a gurney and I owe you both so much. I just…I couldn't think of a better family to entrust him with." Arizona reached out, took her hand, and offered, "You're our family, you don't owe us a thing. I'm going to get to work too. I'll be back for my turn with my Godson. Shoo her away in about ten minutes." Arizona kissed her daughter and turned to walk her wife out.
Once they reached the elevator, Callie pushed the button for the lobby, leaned against the wall, pulled Arizona into her arms and sighed, "Well that was a surprise." Arizona lifted her head, smiled up at her and answered, "A pleasant one, but still a surprise." She then thought for a minute and suggested, "We still have to do that, pick Godparents." Callie nodded and assured, "We will, little Agamemnon, Tulio, and Rainbow deserve the best." Arizona laughed out loud at her wife's silliness and stated, "I can't believe you even remembered those names." Callie laughed and declared, "They are absurd Arizona, how could I not? What the hell were you thinking?" The blonde bit her bottom lip and replied, "You kept shooting down the cute names, so I made a list of stupid names and tried to slip in a few that I liked, hoping you'd cling to one." Callie shook her head and asked, "Are you happy with what we have chosen this time?" The blonde nodded, struggled to lean up on her tip toes, brushed their lips together and replied, "I'm thrilled with them." Before they could deepen the kiss, the elevator doors opened and they heard, "Ugh! I can't get away from this shit!" and broke apart to see Addison stomping off toward the stairs.
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After walking through Fresh Start, greeting as many of the staff members as she could to personally thank them for their service, and stopping to visit a few patients she was concerned about, Callie retreated to her office to go through her messages and email. She was pleasantly surprised by the number of responses she'd already received in regards to her surprise for Arizona. Reading one message in particular that included several ideas she hadn't thought of, Callie looked at the time, picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number she was certain she would never forget. Her mega-watt smile spread across her face when she heard, "Dr. Meredith Grey," ring out from the other end of the line. Callie greeted, "Well hello there Dr. Meredith Grey, this is Dr. Robbins-Torres." The general surgeon laughed and commented, "I take it you got my email." Callie answered, "I did and I love the ideas, but…" "You'll need some help carrying them out. Yeah I figured, I already covered a few of the places I thought you'd want to include and I'll get the rest if you want to send me a list. I have an intern working on the cases you asked about, and Bailey is almost finished with the assignment you gave her." Callie sighed in relief and proclaimed, "You are a lifesaver. Thank you so much." Meredith laughed and replied, "You know we'd all do anything for the two of you. Just let us know how she reacts to it." Callie answered, "Oh, I certainly will." The two talked for a little longer, caught each other up on their lives and families, then the blonde was called to the pit and had to hang up.
After confirming her appointments for the next day, making sure the transition of staff went smoothly, and leaving instructions with the receptionist not to call Lorraine for any reason, Callie headed back across the parking lot with a huge smile on her face. It had only been a few weeks since their last appointment, however the idea of seeing her unborn children always excited her. Walking into the lobby of The Robbins-Herman Center, Callie furrowed her brows in concern when she saw Sofia sitting in the waiting room with her tablet. Normally she hung out in Arizona's office and wondered what she was doing out here alone. Walking up to her daughter, she asked, "Where's mommy? What are you doing out here?" Engrossed in the game she was playing, Sofia shrugged and replied, "She's in a meeting and asked me to wait out here. Some lady came to see her." Certain Arizona didn't have any appointments set for the day, Callie became even more concerned and quickly went to Arizona's office.
As she turned the corner, she saw her wife leading a young woman out of her office and heard her thank her again for stopping by. Callie could tell she clearly wasn't a patient and became even more confused when the younger woman passed her, smiled, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd seen her somewhere before. She looked up when she heard Arizona excitedly call out, "Calliope! You have perfect timing. Come here, I have something for you." Smiling brightly, Callie asked, "You do?" Arizona reached out, pulled her into her office, and quickly locked the door. The brunette arched her eyebrow and asked, "Oh, it's that kind of something eh?" She reached out to pull Arizona close when her wife giggled, slipped out of her grasp, and walked to the table in the middle of her office and pointed at a large flat package wrapped in brown paper. Furrowing her brow, she asked, "You really got me something? What's the occa…oh no, did I miss an anniversary? Is it…" Arizona rushed to Callie's side and soothed, "You didn't miss anything. I just, well this is kind of a gender reveal gift for you." Seeing that her wife was even more confused, Arizona suggested, "Open it and then I'll explain." Callie tilted her head in question, cautiously approached the table, then reached out and carefully removed the paper.
Tears instantly sprang to her eyes when she saw an exquisitely drawn image of her and Arizona. Though it didn't show Arizona's face, it was clear what she was looking at. Her head was nestled under her wife's breasts which were covered with her arm, her eyes were closed, obviously sleeping since she had no recollection of this moment, her face was relaxed, soft and she had a huge smile on her face, the smile her wife claimed was always there, and her hand was splayed across Arizona's protruding stomach. It was beautiful, intimate, and though they were both clearly naked, it was in no way sexual. She covered her mouth in awe and asked, "When did…how? My God Arizona, it's just…gorgeous. This one picture, it…it says so much." Arizona smiled, relieved her wife liked it, saw it in the same way she did, pulled out her phone, showed her the pictures that inspired it and explained, "I took these the morning after the gender reveal. I woke up before you and found you lying on my chest and I just, I don't know, I decided to take a picture and when I saw your gorgeous smile, the way you protected our babies even in your sleep…I wanted to preserve that moment. I had intended to have one of these blown up, but last weekend when we were getting our sign made, I saw this artist and her sketches were beautiful, so I asked her if she could turn it into a sketch for you." Callie kissed her softly and murmured, "This is magnificent, thank you."
When her wife's words registered, Callie furrowed her brow and asked, "How did you order it without me…Sofia! She didn't really have to use the bathroom did she?" Arizona shook her head and confirmed, "No, I told her I was on a secret mission for you and she was more than happy to help." Callie looked down at the image again, pulled Arizona into her arms and whispered, "This is one of the most beautiful, thoughtful gifts I've ever received and I will cherish it forever." She then added possessively, "In our bedroom, hanging on the wall opposite our bed. No one else gets to see this." Arizona kissed her cheek and assured, "No, this was just for us, for you. The other maternity pictures we take can be for others to see." Callie turned to look at the sketch again, traced her smile, and before she could ask, Arizona confirmed, "That's the smile I see every morning when I wake up, the smile I love so much, the smile that makes me feel loved and cherished. That look right there is why I fall in love with you more and more every day." Callie swiped at the tears running down her cheeks, and declared, "God! Just when I think I couldn't love you more than I do…" She was interrupted by a knock on the door and their daughter's sweet voice calling out, "Mommies, Aunt Addie said to get your butts out here except she didn't say butt and I'm not saying the word she said because I don't want mine to hurt for repeating it." Both women started giggling at their daughter's long and hilarious ramble, Callie covered the picture, wiped her eyes, and they both left the office, joined their daughter and went to find their 'doctor' for their appointment.
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When they reached the lobby, they found Addie coming from the conference room with a white paper bag in her hand with the logo from the restaurant that catered their lunch. Callie pointed to the bag and asked, "You had our daughter rush us so we could watch you eat lunch?" Addison laughed, handed the bag to Sofia and explained, "This is for you, but you can't open it yet okay?" Sofia smiled and nodded. She was positive it was another fruit or vegetable that helped her understand how big her babies are now. She was a little more than curious because it felt a little heavier than all the others. When they reached the exam room, she took a seat on the chair by the door, settled the bag on her lap, and watched while her mama helped her mommy onto the table, lifted her shirt to show her belly, tucked a blue towel in her pants, then kissed her on the head and asked her if she was comfortable. She smiled at the interaction because she loved watching how they took care of each other, how much they loved each other and even though love was yucky right now, she promised herself that when she did fall in love, it was going to look like her mommies' love.
Addison finished typing in Arizona's information, waited for Callie to heat up the tube of gel under the hot water, then asked, "Did you want to put it on her too?" Callie tilted her head, shrugged, and started toward the examination table when the redhead snatched the tube from her hand and snarked, "I was joking Cal. Now go stand by your wife and just be a mom." Callie laughed and quickly took her place by Arizona's side, reached for her hand, watched Addison squirt the gel on her wife's stomach, then right before she put the wand down, Callie proclaimed, "Wait! Why are you doing a 4D? Are you looking for something? What aren't you…" Addison rolled her eyes, looked at Arizona and asked, "Do you want to explain and settle mama bear down before she passes out again?" Arizona snorted, squeezed Callie's hand and gently explained, "Usually after sudden growth or long intervals with no growth, we use the 4D to get a more accurate reading and to make sure there is nothing else going on other than mother nature just taking its course." Callie's shoulders relaxed slightly and she asked Addie, "You don't think…" The fetal surgeon shook her head and replied, "I don't have any concerns Cal, I was actually expecting a little growth spurt or at least some shifting. How about you let me do my job and we'll put your mind at ease, okay?" Callie nodded her head, sighed in relief, and stared at the screen once again.
All four occupants in the room smiled brightly when they heard the steady thumping of overlapping heartbeats just before three tiny little humans appeared on screen. Arizona laughed the instant the images came into focus and proclaimed, "Well, that right there explains it. Little Rainbow spreads out in her sleep just like her mama and sister." Callie looked to her wife in question then back at the screen and saw that their daughter was practically star-fished, her little arms and legs spread out as if she were staking claim on her space, while her two brothers were cuddled together and she cooed, "Oh look! Aggie has his arm around Tulio and Tulio is sucking his thumb." Sofia had moved closer to the screen to see what her mommies were talking about, then she blinked, looked at her parents and asked, "Why are you calling them those stupid names? You are NOT naming my babies those names." All three surgeons laughed and Callie explained, "No, we are not naming them those names. They are silly names we came up with because no one gets to know their names until they get here." Sofia slumped in relief and muttered, "Thank God."
While the little family was admiring their new additions, Addison was busy taking measurements and though her mommy brain was listening to the conversation between her wife and daughter, Arizona's surgeon brain was studying each child with her trained eye, listening to each heart beat in the same manner as Addison, making sure she didn't catch any murmurs, clicks, or whooshes. She froze when she heard a slight catch in the heartbeat of the tiny human they were calling Tulio. Her eyes snapped to Addison who had already turned her head to look at her, and they both listened carefully, then Arizona felt an odd flutter in her abdomen, looked up at the screen and watched the tiny fetus pull his thumb from his mouth and his chest quickly moved up and down every few seconds, she put her hand on the side of her stomach, took a deep breath, then giggled as a hiccup escaped her, and both fetal surgeons relaxed and Arizona pointed to the screen and whispered, "Calliope, look, Tulio has the hiccups." The ortho surgeon's eyes widened and she worriedly asked, "Are you sure? Can you feel it?" In answer to her question, Arizona hiccupped again and both she and Addie answered, "We're sure." Arizona then asked, "Sof, can you get mommy a cup of water please?" The little girl nodded, went to the sink, filled a paper cup with water, and carried it to her mommy.
All three watched while the tiny baby seemed to settle and Arizona explained, "Remember I said they were just forming their swallowing and sucking reflexes?" Callie and Sofia both nodded and the blonde continued, "They still aren't used to it and sucking his thumb probably caused him to have hiccups." Sofia tilted her head and asked, "Will you get them whenever they get them?" Arizona shook her head and replied, "No, but I will feel them as they get bigger. I felt it this time, but it was just a little flutter like their kicks." Sofia nodded then asked, "How big are they? Can I look in the bag yet?" Addie smiled and nodded, then explained, "At nineteen weeks, which your mommy will be in just a couple of days, they are the size of those tomatoes and single babies weigh around eight ounces and measure about 6 inches long. Rainbow is 6 ounces and 4 and a half inches long, and Tulio and Agamemnon are both 7 ounces and 5 and a half inches long." Arizona smiled and declared, "That sounds about right." Addison nodded in agreement and proclaimed, "Everything looks good." She took the wand from Arizona's stomach, wiped it with an anti-bacterial wipe, then printed off the scans she'd just recorded.
Callie walked to the sink, took a towel out of the overhead cabinet, got it wet and washed Arizona's stomach, dried it off, then helped her wife sit up. They looked at one another, held a silent conversation, and Arizona asked, "Can we schedule the amnio for next week?" Addison looked at her, slightly surprised and asked, "You want an amnio? That's usually to check for genetic disorders and…" Callie sighed and clarified, "We know what an amnio tests for. We also know that they are recommended for women of our age and we would like to have one." Addison nodded, pulled out her phone to check her calendar, then suggested, "We could do it Monday, you already have an appointment anyway." Arizona smiled and replied, "That's perfect." She then reached out for Callie's hand, slid off the table, and asked, "Anything else Dr. Montgomery?" The redhead snorted and replied, "No, you are good to go Mrs. Robbins-Torres." Sofia shook her head and muttered, "You guys are weird." Without waiting for the adults, she opened the door and walked out. Addie handed Callie the pictures, then declared, "I'll see you both tomorrow. Have a good night."
Arizona turned to see Callie staring at the pictures, smiled softly, and asked, "What are you thinking about?" Callie looked up and admitted, "The same thing I always think about after these appointments; their hair color, eye color, who they will take after, what their personalities will be like, just…everything." Arizona linked their fingers together, guided her wife out the door and replied, "Well, odds are, they will look like me or Mark, maybe a little like Sof, and they will have amazing personalities and characters because we are their mothers." Callie wrapped her arm around Arizona's shoulder, pulled her closer and repeated, "We are their mothers." Arizona put her head on her wife's shoulder and took great comfort in both her wife's arms and in the fact that they are their mothers, there family is growing, and they have another chance to get it right.
A/N: Thank you all for the great reviews. I'm so happy you enjoyed Nicholas' birth. Your comments are truly heartwarming and I look forward to reading them as much as you look forward to reading a new chapter.