"Honey, didn't you say you needed to add a few things to the grocery list?" Callie asked Arizona when she walked into the dining room. Arizona took her phone out of her pocket, pulled up her notes app, handed it to her wife and declared, "These are all the things our mothers said we'd need." Callie looked at the long list of items and asked, "They do know we are only doing finger foods for the party right?" Arizona laughed and answered, "Yes, but your mother and I decided we need to have traditional dishes from both cultures for Christmas dinner, it's been a long time since you've celebrated Christmas with your family and I want to do it right." Callie pulled her closer, kissed the back of her hand and offered a quiet, "Thank you," then proceeded to add the rest of the items to her list. After she passed the phone back to Arizona, she announced, "I think that's it. Is everybody ready to go?" Sofia bounced out of her chair and asked, "Can we take the stocking to Max while we're out?" Callie stood up and started to answer, then she froze and stared into the living room, her eyes darting from one wall to the other.
Arizona furrowed her brow in confusion, turned to see what Callie was looking at and realized it wasn't so much what she was looking at, but what she was looking for…they didn't have any stockings. They'd decided not to put up their old stockings because they wanted to start fresh with new ones but never got around to it. Turning to look at her wife, their eyes locked, and they came to a silent agreement, then Callie suggested, "Since it's Monday, I think they might both be at work." When the little girl deflated in disappointment, she quickly added, "But mommy and I noticed we still need to buy our own stockings and hang them up. Let's see when we can drop off the stocking then we can finish up your shopping list, pick out new family stockings, and get the groceries." Sofia let out a loud whoop then skipped off to her bedroom, exclaiming, "I need to get my money!" Both women laughed and Arizona whispered, "I can't believe we forgot stockings." Callie shook her head and responded, "Me neither, I guess it's a good thing we won those stockings or we might have forgotten all together." Arizona nodded and added, "I'm surprised she didn't suggest hanging the big stocking for herself." Callie looked around to make sure their daughter wasn't coming and hissed, "Shh, don't give her any ideas." Arizona laughed and said, "I'm going to go get my purse and call Max."
When Sofia returned with her little unicorn purse, she looked around the dining room and asked Callie, "Where's mommy?" Callie helped Sofia with her coat, put her own coat on, checked her pocket to make sure she had her keys and replied, "Mommy had to call Max to ask when we could drop off the stocking." Just then, Arizona walked down the hall and declared, "He had a better solution, he and Michael will pick it up Wednesday evening at the party." Callie held up Arizona's coat for her and requested, "Sof, can you please let Tobin in, give him a treat and put him in his crate?" The little brunette nodded, ran to the door and called for her dog. When he tromped into the house, Arizona couldn't help but laugh when she saw him and asked, "What in the world does he have on?" Callie blushed slightly and whined, "None of his clothes fit him anymore and I didn't want him to get cold, so I found one of Sofia's old sweatshirts and cut the sleeves." Arizona grabbed the lapels of her coat, pulled her down for a chaste kiss and whispered, "My big softy." Callie smiled and shrugged, defending, "It's cold and he has short hair." She rubbed the back of her own head as if she felt his pain. Arizona just laughed and walked toward the mudroom. When she reached the door, she noticed Sofia was having a hard time putting the not so tiny dog into the very small puppy crate, looked to her wife, and suggested, "I think someone else is in dire need of some Christmas presents." Callie leaned forward, nipped at her earlobe and whispered, "Aww who's the big softy now?" Arizona turned, glared at her, and replied, "Well I know what it feels like to grow out of everything you own." Callie bit back her laughter and followed her family out of the house, knowing it would be late into the afternoon before they returned.
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After stopping for a quick lunch, they sat in the parking lot mapping out their plan when Callie turned to look at Sofia and asked, "Do you have a list of what you want to get everyone?" Sofia reached into her pocket, handed the folded up sheet of paper to her mama and bit her bottom lip nervously, hoping her mommies would let her buy the presents she picked out. She usually got the same things every year, but this year she wanted to buy them all something different and she had to think of something for Abuela and Tia Aria too. Callie furrowed her brow in concern when she saw how anxious their daughter was and understood why when she opened up the list. She tapped Arizona with her elbow and both women were surprised to see that she hadn't written the usual war movie for Daniel, tie for Carlos, and basket of bath soaps and body lotions for Barbara. Callie looked back and asked, "So these are the things you want to buy this year big girl?" Sofia nodded and asked, "Is that okay? Do you think they will be sad if I don't get them the same thing I usually get?" Arizona shook her head and replied, "No, I think they will love these gifts." Sofia nodded her head but was having second thoughts.
When Callie pulled away, the little brunette stared out the window, still worried that her grandparents would be expecting their regular gifts and decided, "Maybe I should just get them what I always get. What if they don't like these gifts? What if they are disappointed?" Arizona turned to look at their little girl and asked, "Sweetie, why did you pick these gifts?" Sofia pursed her lips, thought for a minute, then answered, "I picked them because they are all things that are special between me and each of them." She then proceeded to explain each gift and why she chose it for that person. After she went through her reasoning, Arizona explained, "I think those are the exact reasons why you should buy those gifts sweet girl. It was great that you bought the things you did before, because you knew your grandparents liked them and would use them, but these gifts will be far more meaningful. You put thought into them, they mean something to you and to the person you are giving them to." Sofia breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "So they're okay? You'll help me buy them?" Callie smiled into the rearview mirror and answered, "They are great gifts sweetie and of course we will help you buy them." Arizona nodded in agreement and winked at her daughter.
When Callie turned into the parking lot of a small strip mall, Sofia asked, "Where are we?" Arizona pointed to a pop up store and explained, "That's The Christmas Shoppe and we are going in there to buy our stockings and some things for the party, then we are going over to that store because we need to buy a very important member of our family all of his Christmas gifts." Sofia followed her mommy's finger, saw the large pet store, bounced in her seat, and squealed, "Oh Tobin! We get to buy Tobin presents too?" Callie nodded and replied, "Well he's part of the family isn't he?" Sofia nodded furiously, unhooked her seatbelt, then walked around the car with her mama to help her mommy out. As they crossed the parking lot, Sofia happily skipping between them, Callie and Arizona looked at one another, then down at their daughter and Callie asked, "What's that big smile for?" Sofia shrugged and chirped, "I'm just happy we're together." Arizona squeezed the little hand in hers and replied, "Me too sweet girl, me too."
Once they were inside The Christmas Shoppe, Arizona looked at the wall of stockings that varied in size, shape, and color and muttered, "Why did I think this would be easy?" Callie took her hand, shook her head and responded, "I have no idea." They watched Sofia run off to the more child oriented stockings and were both instantly drawn to the rich colored, faux fur, plush stockings. They laughed when they each reached for the same one and Callie declared, "Well I guess that wasn't so hard after all." Arizona shook her head and replied, "I guess not." She took two off the rack and asked, "What should we get embroidered on them?" Callie bent down, kissed her nose, and muttered, "There you go, making things hard again." She then tilted her head and thought aloud, "I don't know, if you had your way, you would put my full name on mine but I kind of like mommy and mama. It's mostly for the kids anyway." Arizona smiled brightly and agreed, true I would want Calliope but I also like mama and mommy." Callie draped her arm around Arizona's shoulder, pulled her close and declared, "Okay, mommy and mama it is. Let's go see what our daughter found."
Just before they reached Sofia, Callie stopped in her tracks when they passed a mountain of baby blue and light pink sitting on a display table, and cooed, "Oh honey look. It's itty bitty baby stockings." She picked up one pink one and two blue ones, held them to Arizona's protruding belly and whispered, "Hey guys, you can't see what mama has, but I'm holding up Christmas stockings and they are so cute. You won't understand what they are for a few years, but you'll each get one next year. These are way too small for all the presents Santa and your mommies will bring you, but I just wanted to tell you about them." Though Arizona was used to the little flutters and the tingling sensation by now, it never ceased to amaze her. She ran her fingers along the side of Callie's head and murmured, "They hear you. They're moving around like crazy." Always excited to learn that her babies knew her voice, Callie smiled her brilliant mega-watt smile, kissed Arizona's stomach three times, stood upright, put the stockings down, then took her wife's hand and they walked up behind their daughter, who seemed to have found what she wanted.
Sofia looked at all of the colorful stockings and saw so many she liked but she knew her mommies would probably want them all to match. She reached out and touched the silky soft stocking with the unicorn head on the top and the rainbow colored bottom, then turned to find her parents, only to run right into her mama. She looked up to see that her mommy was holding dark red fluffy stockings in her hand but she only had two. When she started to ask where hers was, her mama asked, "Did you pick one yet? Is that the one you want?" Sofia chewed on the inside of her cheek and asked, "Don't we have to match?" She watched while her mommy and mama looked at each other and then looked back at her and both shook their heads and mommy answered, "No sweetheart, we don't have to match. Mama and I like these, but you can get whichever one you want." Sofia smiled her mini mega-watt smile, took the unicorn stocking off the hook, then asked, "Can Tobin get a stocking too?" Callie laughed and replied, "Of course he can. I think I saw some over there for pets. After you pick one for Tobin, we have to get our names put on them." When Sofia skipped over to the pet section, Arizona whispered, "I was certain she was going to put up a fight about wanting to use glitter and glue." Callie looked around and whispered, "Would you stop with these crazy ideas already?" They both laughed and followed their daughter.
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When they finally arrived home, Arizona let Tobin out and started putting the groceries away while Callie and Sofia continued to carry in all of the bags. When she felt a blast of cold air, the blonde turned to see Addison slipping in through the patio doors and looking around the house in a panic. Arizona arched her brow in question and the redhead whispered, "Where's Sofia?" The blonde pointed toward the back of the house and replied, "She's helping Callie carry in the bags." When they heard the pair coming closer, Addison ran to the counter, grabbed something from a bag and went to the pantry to put it away. When Callie walked into the kitchen, she put some things on the island, took Sofia's bags, and greeted, "Hey Ads." Then she looked in her friend's hand, noticed where she was going and said, "Not that we don't appreciate your help and all, but why the hell are you putting ice cream in the pantry?" Addie looked down at her hand, turned beet red, then went to the freezer and put the item where it belonged. Callie walked up to her, sniffed, and asked, "Are you drunk?" Addison swatted her away then waited for Sofia to leave the room, hearing her call out, "That's all the groceries, I'm going to start putting the presents in the guest room."
As soon as the little girl was gone she hissed, "No I'm not drunk! I forgot to buy a gift for that damn dwarf to bring. Do they bring cash? Is that a thing? Can I write an I O U?" Arizona and Callie both broke into a fit of giggles and Addison snapped her fingers and asked, "Hey! How did you freeze it?" Arizona shook her head and argued, "Oh no, you are not doing that to Henry. Just a minute." She left the room and walked down the hall. Addison looked at Callie who was just glaring at her and asked, "What? Where is she going?" Arizona came back into the dining room, handed her a bag and said, "Here, I figured you'd need this at some point." Addie took the bag and looked in it, only to find wrestlers, slime, cars, a game card for Henry's video game system, and several other things her son likes to play with, shook her head and asked, "What…where did this…" She narrowed her eyes and accused, "You thought I'd forget!"
Arizona crossed her arms, looked at the bag and arched her brow as if to prove her point. She then held out her hand to Callie who grumbled, dug in her pocket, pulled out a twenty dollar bill, scowled at Addison, and demanded, "You own me twenty dollars." Addison shook her head and asked, "How long have you had this?" Arizona replied, "Since we started the elves. I have to hand it to you though, you lasted much longer than I thought you would." Addison huffed and asked, "What if I wouldn't have needed these?" Arizona shrugged and nonchalantly replied, "We would have added them to his Christmas gifts and my wife wouldn't be out twenty bucks." Addison looked in the bag again, shook her head, and said, "Thank you. You're a lifesaver, even if you didn't believe in me." Callie snorted, shook her head, and retorted, "Ya let me down Addison." All three of them laughed and Addison went back outside, letting Tobin in when she opened the door. The little dog ran into the kitchen, looked around, then tore down the hall looking for his mommy, or maybe for his dinner. Either way, they could hear him barking when he found what he was looking for.
Their suspicions were confirmed when they heard a tiny voice call out, "Ahhh a little help here," and rushed to the mud room to see what was wrong. When they reached the doorway, they found Sofia holding a bag full of gifts for her grandparents, along with one from the pet store, which Tobin was currently trying to tug out of her hand. Callie covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, and proclaimed, "I'm guessing he found his stocking stuffers." Arizona couldn't hold it back, laughed and agreed, "Looks like he did." Callie quickly went to relieve her daughter of both items then asked, "Is that all of it?" Sofia nodded and answered, "That's everything except the C.R.A.T.E." Arizona smiled when her daughter spelled the word out, as if the dog would know what they were talking about. She took the bag of treats from her wife and carried them into the guest room with the rest of the gifts, which they agreed to start wrapping and putting in gift bags after dinner.
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Early Wednesday afternoon, Callie finished putting the last few presents under the tree then went into the dining room where Arizona was currently putting pickles, olives, and peppers into two trays shaped like Christmas trees. Callie reached down, stole a dill pickle spear, and asked, "How's it going out here?" Arizona looked up, puckered her lips for a kiss, smiled when Callie bent down and captured her lips in a long searing kiss, then answered breathlessly, "I'm not so sure leaving the pregnant woman in charge of the pickles was the best idea. We may not need both trays." Callie laughed, looked around at the plates of food her wife had already prepared and complimented, "These look amazing! How did you think of making a wreath out of cheese and crackers?" Arizona beamed up at her and replied, "It just came to me." Callie narrowed her eyes at her and asked, "Where's your phone?" Arizona blushed, picked it up off the chair beside her and admitted, "So it came to me through Pinterest, sue me." Callie let out a bark of laughter, put plastic wrap over the trays that were finished, and carried them to the refrigerator, then asked, "Why are you doing these so early anyway?" Arizona huffed and asked, "Seriously? You know the minute our mothers get here they won't let me do a damn thing. My mother tried to cut my meat for me last night at dinner Calliope and every time I wanted more water, your mother poured it for me."
Callie could hear the frustration in Arizona's voice, she knew firsthand there was a fine line between helping someone and taking away their independence and she still struggled not to cross it. She pulled out the chair next to Arizona, sat down, took her hand, and softly asked, "What can I do? Do you want me to talk to them? Should we talk to them together?" When Callie first sat down, Arizona half expected her to side with their mothers, or at least defend them and tell her they were just worried about her and wanted to take care of her. She really didn't expect this response at all. Rubbing her thumb across Callie's fingers, she focused on the wedding ring and was reminded that her wife knew her better than anyone else in this world and though even she went overboard at times, she understood her need for autonomy, and admitted, "I don't know. I don't want to hurt their feelings and part of me knows they mean well, but…" Callie nodded and finished, "But they weren't there, they didn't see you struggle to gain your independence. They don't watch more and more of it slip away from you every day and don't understand how important it is that you do the things you are still capable of doing." Arizona sighed in relief that Callie understood her thoughts and feelings without her having to voice them and said, "Exactly that, all of it." Callie caressed her face and replied, "Then if they do that today, I will gently remind them there are plenty of things you can still do from right here in this chair." Arizona smiled, leaned forward, brushed their lips together and murmured, "Thank you and thank you for being on my side." Callie smiled softly and whispered, "I'm always on your side."
Callie and Arizona had just finished hanging their stockings when the doorbell rang and based upon the cackles coming from the other side of the door, they knew their mothers had arrived. Callie rushed to greet them and let them in out of the cold, followed by Sofia who threw her arms around both of them at the same time, not wanting one of them to feel like she loved the other one more. They both bent down, kissed the little girl's head, then laughed when they heard the disgruntled, "Umm hello, can I at least come in the house? It's freezing out here." Sofia's head popped up and she squealed, "Tia Aria! I didn't know you were coming." Aria stepped into the house and answered, "I didn't know either pit bull. Mami said I had to come help." Callie muttered, "Doesn't she know we want to be able to eat the food?" Aria glared at her sister and retorted, "Very funny, they thought I could help set up or decorate or whatever, but it already looks like an elf threw up in here." Callie took everyone's coat and quipped, "No, it was actually Santa himself. We go straight to the man." Though the sound of her daughters bickering again was music to her ears, Lucia shook her head and scolded, "Would you two give it a rest?" Arizona laughed, hugged all three of their guests, and led them into the dining room to sit down.
Once the others were seated around the table, Arizona started to fill the kettle and put it on the stove, and Lucia stood up and offered, "Let me get that dear," followed by Barb who volunteered, "I'll start the coffee." Callie came into the kitchen after putting the coats away, saw that Arizona was clenching her jaw, trying not to snap at them, and in a soft gentle tone, relayed, "Arizona is perfectly capable of making tea and coffee, cooking, cutting vegetables or whatever we need to get done today. When she gets tired or needs help doing something, she will say so. She is pregnant, not helpless, when both of you were pregnant, you still took care of a toddler, worked, and did the things you needed to do and knowing each of you the way I do, you would have thrown a fit if someone tried to step in and keep you from doing something you were able to do on your own." Arizona looked at Callie gratefully, then they both looked at their mothers, awaiting their reactions.
Lucia and Barb both hung their heads, feeling properly chastised, then looked at Arizona who, now that Callie had said something, looked very upset that they were trying to do everything for her, and Barb asked for forgiveness, "I'm sorry sweet pea. You just look so uncomfortable and I guess the mother in me didn't want my baby to do anything that would tire you out." Lucia nodded and added, "I apologize as well Arizona." She looked at Callie sadly and admitted, "I think I might be overcompensating, but I don't want you to overexert yourself either." Arizona exhaled slowly and responded, "Thank you and I appreciate the attention, I really do and I'm sure I will need it soon enough. I just, while I can still do these things, I'd like to do them. Aside from that, this is our first Christmas together as a family and I want to participate in that as much as I can." Both women nodded and answered, "We understand," in unison.
Once they were all settled around the table with their drinks, Barb took a notebook out of her purse, tore off 5 sheets of paper and passed them out, then read out the menu they'd agreed upon during their Sunday call, along with a list of other things that needed to be done. They each volunteered for specific tasks until everything was covered and wrote them down on their paper to be crossed off as they were finished. Aria leaned over to Callie and whispered, "Can you be anymore anal?" Callie smiled brightly, looked at her wife who was glaring at her sister-in-law and corrected, "We prefer the term type-A and yes, yes you can." Arizona winked at Callie, then looked at Aria and declared, "It comes from years of growing up in a military family. Wait until you spend the night and I wake you up at the crack of dawn playing Reveille on my bugle." Aria's head snapped to look at her sister who loved her sleep and asked, "She's joking right? You can't possibly be okay with that!" All four women burst into laughter and Aria just scowled at them and declared, "I'm going to find my niece." They all watched as she stomped away and Lucia declared, "Well that's one way to keep her from burning your house down."
Just as they started to get up to begin preparing the food, there was a knock on the door. Callie furrowed her brow, looked at Arizona and asked, "Who could that be?" Based upon the knowing expression on her wife's face, she was convinced she was up to something and asked, "What did you do?" Arizona bounced on her toes and replied, "Go answer the door and see." Callie walked to the door, opened it, and was shocked to see Michael and Max standing on the other side, both holding several grocery bags and containers. Stepping aside to let them in, she greeted, "Hey! I'm so glad you're here…um what are you doing here?" Max chuckled and answered, "This is part of our Christmas gift to you. Michael has been promising private lessons and your coffee cured salmon, so here we are." Michael added, "It takes ten hours to cure the salmon properly, so I did that yesterday, but we still have plenty to do. I also brought some ingredients for a few other appetizers Arizona put on the list of things you liked that we didn't get to make." Callie had finally gotten over her fangirl phase, but she was still over the moon about this unexpected surprise. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she held out her hand and guided, "Right this way, the more the merrier."
Somehow they all seemed to move around the kitchen and dining room in harmony without getting in each other's way. When they ran out of space in the oven and refrigerator, they commandeered Jake and Addie's appliances as well. Arizona sat at the table frosting her mother's Christmas cookies and kept glancing up, trying to get Lucia's attention. When her mother-in-law finally looked at her, she nodded her head toward the hall, then got up claiming she needed to go to the bathroom. Shortly after she left, Lucia looked around the kitchen and declared, "There's still plenty of setting up to do. I'm going to get Aria out of hiding and send her out here." Lucia walked down the hall right past Sofia's room where her eldest daughter was hiding and tried to figure out what she was going to tell her daughter-in-law about her surprise for Calliope.
When she opened the bedroom door and saw the blonde pacing the floor, she knew she had to tell her the truth. Closing the door and locking it behind her, she started to do just that when Arizona turned and asked, "Have you heard anything? I haven't gotten a picture or any updates since last weekend. Please tell me they will be done by Saturday." Lucia crossed the room, took Arizona's hands in hers, held them tight and admitted, "I'm sorry Arizona, I didn't realize you would be this upset. Everything is completed, and exactly the way you wanted it. I was hoping to surprise you with the end product as well but I see now that I should have at least told you it was finished." Arizona let out a sigh of relief, closed her eyes, allowed her body to relax, and replied, "Yes, I would have liked to have known it was done but I do like the idea of not seeing it until Calliope does, so thank you for thinking of that." The two women hugged and just as they were about to leave the room, they heard a knock on the door and Callie calling out, "Arizona, are you okay?" They looked at one another, Lucia winked, opened the door and replied, "She's fine Calliope." Callie furrowed her brow in confusion and asked, "Mami? What are you doing in here?" Lucia shook her head and answered, "If you must know, I was asking your wife about a Christmas present I bought you and if I find out you pestered her, I will buy all of your children musical instruments with strict instructions to play them only when their mommy is not at home." She then walked down the hall and back into the kitchen to finish preparing for the party, leaving a stunned Callie standing in the doorway with her mouth open.
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Before they knew it, they had each crossed everything off their lists and set up in the warming trays Michael brought, with an hour to spare before the party started. After changing into their party clothes, which primarily consisted of dress pants and sweaters or button down shirts or blouses, they all sat around the living room with a glass of wine or eggnog relaxing for a few minutes and talking about their holiday plans. The first to arrive, of course, were Addie, Jake, and Henry who quickly ran off to play with Sofia. Callie had been trying to sneak away all day to see her friend, but every time she got to the patio doors, someone called her back with a question or a timer went off or someone needed something. Looking into the kitchen, nervously shaking her leg, she was relieved when she heard the redhead call out, "Hey Cal, can you come out here for a second? I can't find the wine I brought over the other day." The brunette hopped out of her chair and tried not to raise suspicion as she rushed into the kitchen.
Addison stood by the refrigerator out of sight, holding the bottle of wine and a small, nondescript brown envelope. Callie swallowed thickly and her whole body relaxed as she gushed out, "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. You are a lifesaver." Addison looked at the small package, arched her brow and asked, "What is this anyway? Why did I have to pick it up at the…" Callie cut her off and hissed, "Shhh! It's Arizona's present and it's exactly what you told me to get her. Part of it anyway. Our fathers are bringing the other part. Which reminds me, I need you to figure out a reason to have Jake move your car for a little while." Addison shook her head and grumbled, "Just once, one fucking time, it would be nice if you could do something simple that didn't involve me and all this espionage crap…picking up strange packages and moving cars around like you're being followed." Callie stomped her foot and begged, "Please Ads? I promise I'll make it up to you." The redhead sighed, strolled into the living room and in her silky smooth voice, asked, "Jake honey, would you mind running up to the store and grabbing bags of ice?" Her husband stood, nodded, and when he met her in the kitchen, she explained why she needed him to leave and to park the car in the driveway when he got back. He shook his head and muttered, "Always up to something," then left through the mudroom.
Not long after that, Daniel and Carlos came into the house carrying an armload of gifts each. When they finished putting them under the tree, Daniel turned to Callie, winked, and announced, "We could use a little help getting the extra chairs into the house if some of you wouldn't mind." Callie, Michael, and Max followed the older men out of the house and Jake pulled up just in time to help. Daniel opened the back doors of the hotel van and Michael scratched his head and asked, "The chairs are in this crate?" Callie shook her head and answered, "No, Arizona's present is in this crate. I had it sent to The Aria in my father's name so she wouldn't know about it." Carlos added, "The chairs are in the back seat, but we need to get this into the garage first." Jake, Michael, and Max nodded their understanding and the six of them made quick work of carrying the large shipping crate into the back of the garage. After Callie covered it with a tarp, Jake pulled his car into the garage to hide it and the others started carrying chairs into the house while Callie and Jake carried the ice.
The first actual guest to arrive were Lorraine, Maria, Miguel, and Bella, and to the couple's surprise, Marco followed shortly after and quickly went to her sister's side. Callie whispered to Arizona, "Did you know he was coming?" Arizona shook her head and replied, "I had no idea." They both glanced at Marco and Aria, then at Callie's parents, who were staring down the man who was sitting just a little too close to their oldest daughter for their liking, and Callie whispered, "Oh boy, she didn't tell mami and daddy yet." Arizona nodded and declared, "Well, this could get ugly," and started looking around the house. Callie furrowed her brows and asked, "What are you looking for?" Arizona smirked and answered, "Empty walls." Callie's whole body shook with laughter and she bent down to kiss her wife on the cheek and whispered, "You are bad."
Maria interrupted their private conversation by shoving a plate in Callie's hand, proclaiming, "A good host greets her guests." Callie looked around and quipped, "A good hostess also doesn't attack her guests with a tea towel as soon as they walk in the door. I was giving you space." The other brunette smirked and retorted, "Touché. Where do you want this?" Callie looked into the kitchen and dining area, saw that nearly every surface was covered with food or drink and suggested, "Anywhere you can find space." Hearing the door open again, Callie and Arizona looked up to see that the last guests to arrive were Nicole, Julie, Kim, and of course, baby Nicholas, who received all the oohs and aahs. When Kim led Nicole to sit on the small love seat, Tobin went to sniff Shep and feeling something rub up against her ankle, Nicole declared, "No need to lick my feet Torres, I forgave you already." Callie, Arizona, Max, and Addie all laughed, while the rest of the guests stared at them questioningly.
While everyone was getting drinks and putting their gifts under the tree, Carlos went to Arizona and discreetly commented, "I'm wondering why you asked that everyone only bring gifts for the children and then one general gift for no one in particular." Arizona turned to her father-in-law and explained, "There are so many of us and a lot of you don't know everyone like we do and we didn't want anyone to feel as if they had to bring a gift for everyone or people they don't know, so out of fairness, we thought each of us could bring one gift that anyone could use for themselves, their office, or their home, and we are going to play a little game to see who gets which gift." The older man smiled and responded, "I like that idea, I may have to steal it for the office. Do you know how many useless things I have that people give me on holidays out of a sense of obligation?" Arizona laughed and replied, "Probably about as many as I do."
The older man looked at Aria and Marco, scowled, and asked, "That man, is he, ah…a proper gentleman suitor for my daughter?" Arizona's eyes grew wide, unsure how to answer him and stammered, "I um…hmmm…I think that's something you should ask Aria." Carlos turned to study his daughter-in-law's face and could tell she knew more than she was letting on. He smirked and proclaimed, "Well if I don't get a speech at least half as good as yours, he doesn't have a chance. Maybe you should give him some pointers." Arizona blushed and asked, "Will I ever live that down?" Carlos shook his head and replied, "No, it's something you should be proud of mija. That was the day I realized no one would ever love my Calliope like you do and I'd be foolish to let the fact that you were a woman get in the way of that love." Arizona felt her wife's gaze on her, turned her head, smiled her super-magic smile, winked, and agreed, "You're right, no one could ever love her as much as I do." Carlos nodded and suggested, "You should also let him know I'm not opposed to throwing men against walls if they hurt my daughter." Arizona recalled her thoughts from earlier, laughed and replied, "Will do."
When her father walked away, Callie quickly joined her wife and asked, "What was that all about?" Arizona nodded toward Marco and Aria and said, "Your dad was asking what was going on with them." Callie looked at her and nervously asked, "What did you say?" Arizona shook her head and told her, "I said that's something he needed to ask Aria." Callie let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding and asked, "What else did he say? What were you laughing at?" Arizona chuckled and answered, "He told me he better be at least half as good at giving speeches as I am and maybe I should give him some pointers then he asked me to tell him he wasn't opposed to throwing men against walls." Callie let out a bark of laughter and proclaimed, "Oh my God! He's sending you to do the dirty work now. You're the enforcer." Arizona laughed, shoved her shoulder and argued, "I am not!" She then furrowed her brow, thought about the things Carlos said and gasped, "Oh my God, that sneaky old…" Callie bent down and kissed her before she could finish whatever she was going to say, then murmured, "You're our good man in a storm Arizona. You protect the ones you love." The blonde smiled, looked at her sister-in-law and grumbled, "Who says I love her?" Callie shook her head at her wife, kissed her on the cheek and invited, "Come on, let's go mingle."
Once the party was in full swing, Christmas music playing in the background, Arizona looked around her house and saw Aria, Addie, and Maria sitting in a corner talking and laughing about something; Barb, Lucia, Nicole, and Lorraine passing Nicholas around like a football; Daniel and Carlos sitting on either side of a very uncomfortable looking Marco; Kim and Julie cuddled on the loveseat watching the older women with the baby; Jake and Miguel discussing something sports related; and the kids sitting under the tree shaking presents. She briefly closed her eyes when she felt strong arms wrap around her from behind and relaxed into the warm body of her wife. Callie was across the room pouring herself a drink when she noticed Arizona standing alone observing their friends and family with a contented smile on her face, while rubbing her belly. Walking up behind her, she slipped her arms around her middle, kissed her neck and asked, "When you picked up the phone that night and told me you were moving out here, did you ever see this coming?" Arizona covered her hands, linked their fingers, and replied honestly, "Did I see it? No. Did a little tiny part of me wish for it? Yes. But I still never thought it would look like this." She turned her head so she could see Callie's face and asked, "Is this what you saw all those years ago in your lab?" Callie tilted her head and replied, "Mostly, but I never imagined it could be this amazing." They turned to face one another and Arizona caressed Callie's face then softly said, "We've come a long way Calliope." Callie nodded, lifted her hand over her head, looked up, prompting Arizona to follow her gaze, then quipped, "Well look at that, mistletoe." Arizona wrapped her hands around Callie's neck, pulled her down for a kiss and murmured against her lips, "Hmm how convenient," then drew her in for a long searing kiss.
The moment was broken when Callie was hit on the shoulder by a squeaky toy followed by Maria yelling, "This is a family event! Save that crap for later." They all burst into laughter and Lucia declared, "I don't know about the rest of you, but slaving over all of this food made me hungry. Let's eat." Arizona turned around, grabbed a plate and exclaimed, "Pregnant people first." Barbara huffed and complained, "Oh, now she wants to play the pregnant card." Arizona turned to glare at her mother and started, "I'm using my extra special vag…" Callie shoved a mini quiche in her mouth and whispered, "Let's just keep that to ourselves, shall we." Arizona chewed on the small bite of food, blushed, then nodded, realizing what she was about to announce to the entire room. Between the food they made and the dishes their friends brought, they ended up with far more food than even this group could possibly eat.
Arizona noticed that except for when she was eating, Nicole spent most of the evening holding Nicholas. Sitting down next to her, she commanded, "Quit being a baby hog and give me my Godson." Nicole looked in her direction and asked, "Aren't you carrying enough children already?" Arizona laughed and replied, "I can't hold them yet. Gimme." Nicole huffed, started to pass him over and asked, "Are your hands clean?" Arizona rolled her eyes and replied, "Yes Nicole, my hands are clean." She moved to pass him over again and directed, "Careful, watch his head, where are your arms Robbins, I can't feel your arms." Arizona smirked at how protective her friend was, tapped her forearms and said, "They're right here, I've got him. I do know how to hold a baby Nicole. You might not know this, but I am a mother and a maternal fetal surgeon and I was taught by the best." The older woman relaxed, only slightly, passed the baby over and muttered, "Doesn't mean you know how to hold a baby. How can you hold him with that big stomach anyway? Was that a cry? I heard him cry. Give him back." Arizona groaned, "Would you shut up and let me enjoy my time with him. Go make someone else's life miserable." Arizona looked down at Nicholas and just to get a rise out of her friend, she cooed, "Is your grandma being a grumpy pants? Yes she is, grumpy old grandma." Instead of being hit or scolded like she thought she would be, Arizona looked up to see that the older woman had a goofy grin on her face and while she was surprised by this new side of her friend, she was extremely happy she finally got the family she never had.
Seeing that the kids were getting restless, Callie rubbed her hands together and exclaimed, "I think it's present time." Bella, Sofia, and Henry all jumped up and down yelling, "Yay! Presents." Callie directed them to sit in the middle of the room and Daniel helped her pass out the presents for all of the kids. After tearing through the gifts, they were surrounded by action figures, dolls, clothes, art supplies, and finally Carlos passed over an identical rectangular box to each of them. Callie eyed him suspiciously and Addie and Maria looked at one another in confusion. The older man explained, "These gifts are from Daniel, Barbara, Lucia and myself and they are all the same thing, so you have to close your eyes, unwrap them, and when you are all finished, I will tell you when to open your eyes. The three children nodded, did as they were told, tore through the wrapping paper, and all three sets of parents tried to hold in their shock so they wouldn't tip off their children. Finally, Carlos said, "Okay, open your eyes." The three children opened their eyes and stared at the boxes in their hands. Finally Henry exclaimed, "This…this is an iPad!" Bella looked up at the four grandparents and asked, "Is it real?" Daniel replied, "It's very real, little one." Sofia hopped to her feet, hugged all four of her grandparents, prompting the others to do the same and repeated, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" They all looked up to see six sets of disbelieving eyes staring at them and Barb whispered, "I told you we should have asked first." Carlos replied, "It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission." Callie shook her head and Addie said, "You really shouldn't have done that, but thank you so much. We appreciate it." Maria and Miguel nodded in agreement and Miguel added, "Really, it's too much but we know there is no arguing with any of you, so thank you."
Seeing that the kids were busy with their gifts, Arizona stood up and proclaimed, "Okay, now it's our turn. If you would all grab the gift you brought, I will explain the rules, and we can have a little fun." Everyone took turns going to the tree, picking out their gift, then went back to their seats. Arizona explained, "Okay, this is called the left-right game. I am going to recite a poem and every time I say the word right, you pass the gift to the right and every time I say left, you pass the gift to the left. In the end, if you somehow end up with your own gift or that of your spouse or partner, you can trade with anyone you want." Everyone nodded their understanding and Arizona took her seat next to Callie. When they were all ready, Arizona recited the poem and sped up a little at each stanza so they went faster and faster. When they were finished, fortunately no one ended up with their own gift. Arizona looked around and declared, "Okay, on the count of three, everyone unwrap your present." Lucia asked, "Who got that heavy box and what in the world was in it?"
Callie dropped the box on the floor and replied, "That'd be me." She lifted the lid and let out a bark of laughter, then revealed, "It's a family sized bottle of laundry soap, fabric softener, dryer sheets, dishwashing liquid, kitchen towels, potholders, sponges, and what the hell is this?" Nicole replied, "It's one of those little balls, you put those smell good pouches in there and put them in your dresser drawer." Callie looked at it, took it out of the package, shook it so the little bell rang, and corrected, "No Nicole, you bought me a cat toy." The older woman laughed and asked, "Do you know how many jokes I'm holding in right now?" Addison burst into a fit of giggles and declared, "Oh God, me too." Nicole stopped for a minute and asked, "Wait! What were the smell good things I bought then?" Callie picked them up, looked at them and declared, "Catnip. You bought catnip. So is that what you want me to put in our dresser drawers? Catnip?" The formal fetal surgeon retorted, "Well you would attract lots of p…" "Okay, there are children here…and our parents." Arizona cut in, snatched the ridiculous items from her wife's hands, threw them at her mentor and asked, "What did everyone else get?"
After going around the room and showing off their gifts, everyone sat in the circle and talked for a while, sharing their holiday plans, and the party slowly came to an end. Before leaving, they all did their part in cleaning up and helping each other load their cars with leftovers and presents. Though it took some begging, the two finally gave in and let Sofia go to the hotel with her grandparents since they would be back the next day to start preparing for Christmas dinner so the small family could spend Christmas Eve on their own. Before long, Arizona and Callie found themselves alone in the quiet house, cuddled together on the sofa in the darkened living room looking at the Christmas tree lights. Arizona let out a contented sigh, cuddled closer to Callie's side and smiled when she felt warm moist lips brush against her forehead. Callie murmured, "I know we should go to bed, but I'm just so comfortable." Arizona unbuttoned the bottom three buttons of Callie's untucked shirt, slipped her hand inside, started tracing patterns on her tight abdomen, yawned and declared, "Me too, just a few more minutes." As they sat quietly staring at the multi-colored lights, their eyelids began to droop and they both drifted off to sleep, only to wake up nearly two hours later and finally go into the bedroom.
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Friday morning, Callie stood at the stove watching over the last pancake shaped like Santa's face, while Sofia and Arizona both sat on stools across from her decorating the ones she'd already finished. They'd set up a small assembly line in which Callie cooked the pancakes, Sofia decorated the hats with fresh sliced strawberries, and Arizona finished them off with whipped cream beards and the fur lining and puffy ball for the hat. Once the last pancake was finished, Callie added bacon to each plate and she and Sofia carried them to the table while Arizona carried the drinks. Taking the first bite of her pancake, Sofia let out a little giggle when the sweet cream hit her tongue. Callie and Arizona shared a look and couldn't help but smile at their daughter, who seemed oblivious of her habit of giggling after the first bite of something sweet as if it tickled her tongue.
Sofia bit into her bacon, looked at her half eaten pancake and smiled when she thought about how every Christmas Eve, one of her mommies would make her special pancakes, sometimes they had chocolate chips in them, or sprinkles, or blueberries, but they never made them this special. After breakfast, when they were in Seattle, mommy would take her to Pike's Place Market, buy hot chocolate, they would walk around, and she would help her buy gifts for mama. When she was with mama they would take the ferry so they could see all the decorations and lights on the buildings, then go to mommy's favorite store and mama would help her pick a gift for mommy and then no matter who she was with, they would always make cookies for Santa, read 'The Night Before Christmas' and go to sleep. She wondered what they were going to do today. She loved that they were together, but she was going to miss doing those things, they were special to her. Suddenly feeling sad, she didn't feel hungry anymore and started pushing her food around her plate with her fork.
Noticing Sofia had gotten quiet and stopped eating, Arizona looked at Callie and nodded her head toward their daughter who now had tears in her eyes. Callie reached out, took the little tan hand in hers and asked, "What is it baby girl? What's bothering you?" Sofia sniffled, looked from her mama to her mommy and asked, "What are we going to do today?" Arizona furrowed her brow in confusion and asked, "What do you mean honey?" Sofia wiped her eyes and explained, "We always went to Pikes Place Market and bought mama a present and mama always took me on the ferry to see the city and we went to buy you a present and…and we're together and in New York and there's no Pikes Place and…" "Sof, baby calm down." Callie tried to soothe her when she saw how worked up her daughter was getting. They both saw this coming; they'd kept many of the same traditions but they'd also done their own things with Sofia as well and they were just as important to them as they were to their daughter. Keeping that in mind, they developed a plan for the day that would allow them to do all of those things…just not in Seattle.
Arizona ran her fingers through soft brown curls and revealed, "There's no Pikes Place, but there are plenty of outdoor markets and mama and I have found one that you will love and they have some of the best hot chocolate in the world. Mama will walk around with us for a while and when you find something you'd like to buy for her, we'll figure out a way to get rid of her and you can buy it." The little girl giggled and Callie added, "In order to get to that market, we need to take a ferry so we can see all the lights and decorations on the buildings from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Then when we get there and you find something you want to buy for mommy, we'll ditch her and get what you need." Sofia laughed when her mommy huffed and crossed her arms, then she asked, "Do we still get to make cookies and read the story?" Both women nodded and replied, "Of course." With that minor disaster averted, Sofia perked right up and the three of them finished breakfast while discussing the last minute things they needed to do, which included wrapping each other's gifts.
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Though it was the middle of the day and they couldn't see the lights very well, Sofia was still excited to be on the ferry boat with her parents on Christmas Eve, as was her tradition, and pointed out, "Look at that building over there, it has a giant wreath on it." Arizona pointed a few buildings ahead and exclaimed, "Oooh that one looks like a present with a big bow on top." Unbeknownst to either of them, Callie stood in the background with her phone, recording their excitement. As she looked through the screen watching her family, she realized once again, as she did every time they experienced a second first, how fortunate she was to have the love of her life back, to have her family whole again. Moving closer, she saw they were just about the pass under the bridge which was nearly aflame with lights and decorations and suggested, "Okay, family selfie with the bridge in the background, come here and turn around." They all gathered together, Callie picked up Sofia, Arizona took the phone, counted to three, and they all said, "Merry Christmas," as she snapped the picture.
Once they docked, Callie hailed a cab to take them to Union Square Market and they were all grateful to get out of the cold and warm up for a while. Sofia rubbed her hands together and proclaimed, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, it's cold out. Are the babies going to be okay?" Arizona smiled at her thoughtful daughter and answered, "The babies are fine honey. Mommy is all bundled up and there are places we can go in and warm up." The cabbie looked in the rearview mirror, cleared his throat and in his thick New York accent interjected, "Uh, sorry to eavesdrop, but don't you worry little lady. They have outdoor heaters all over the place. You'll be sweatin' by the time you get outta there." Callie nodded at the man in thanks, looked down at the little girl and said, "See, we'll be fine." When the driver pulled up outside of Union Square, the cabbie turned to tell Callie the total and asked, "Where ya comin' from?" The brunette replied, "Brooklyn." The older man handed her a map with some markings on it and suggested, "Take the subway home, you and your family will enjoy it, and it'll be a hell of a lot warmer." Callie paid the man with a more than generous tip then got out of the car to join her family.
As soon as they went through the entrance, Sofia tugged on her mommies' hands and ordered, "Over here is the hot chocolate, see the sign?" Both women let her pull them along and Callie whispered, "Man can she be bossy." At the same time, they both quipped, "I wonder who she gets that from." Looking at one another, they burst into laughter, knowing their daughter got it from both of them. When they stepped up to order, Sofia and Callie both ordered hot chocolate and Arizona shook her head and declared, "I know this is going to sound weird, but I would like a frozen hot chocolate please." Callie's jaw dropped and she proclaimed, "Arizona, it's 48 degrees out here!" Arizona shrugged and replied, "I know but I'm in the mood for something cold. You try telling these three gremlins it's 48 degrees outside. They are nice and cozy in my 98.5 degree body." Callie shook her head at her wife, paid for their drinks, passed them out, took her own, and laughed when she looked at her wife and daughter who both had little drops of whipped cream on their noses. Arizona asked, "What's so funny?" Callie replied, "You have a little…ah…" she reached out, wiped the tip of Arizona's nose, showed her the cream, then furrowed her brow in question when Arizona stepped closer, leaned in, and ran her tongue across her top lip and whispered, "You had a little on your lip." She stepped back and giggled when she heard the disgruntled moan coming from her wife.
As they walked through the market, listening to the Christmas music, occasionally calling out to Sofia not to get too far ahead, they passed a tent selling snow globes and Callie saw one that immediately caught her eye that she wanted to get for Arizona. She knew her wife would think the same thing she did as soon as she saw it and tried to move past the tent as quickly as she could. Fortunately, she heard her daughter call out, "Mommy come here. Mama, you go away." Callie turned to block her wife's view of the object she was looking at and inferred, "I'm guessing she found my present." Arizona laughed and replied, "We need to work on subtlety and tactfulness." Callie leaned forward, brushed their lips together and told her, "I'll hang out around here, maybe go back that way and see if I can find a few more stocking stuffers." Arizona nodded and went to join her daughter. As soon as she was out of sight, Callie went to the vendor, asked to get a closer look at the globe, saw it was exactly what she needed to finish Arizona's present, and asked the man to wrap it for her. She then went to the tent that they practically had to drag Sofia away from and bought some of the items she was looking at. While she was looking around, she found a kiosk that sold animal friendly baked goods and bought Tobin a Santa cookie, a candy cane, and a snowman. She added her bag to the others and turned around just in time to see her family walking towards her.
Callie and Arizona both looked at the number of bags they had accumulated in the brief time they were apart and Arizona declared, "Well I guess we were productive, huh?" Callie smiled, took her hand and asked, "Did you get what you needed?" Arizona nodded, held up two extra bags and answered, "I may have found a few things too." Callie bounced on her toes, reached for the bags and excitedly asked, "Ooh for me?" Arizona pulled the bags away and teased, "I'm not telling." Sofia laughed at her mommies and asked, "Can we go down there next? We haven't been down that row yet." Both women nodded and followed their daughter down the path through the row of tents and kiosks. Just as the cabbie told them, there were outdoor heaters everywhere and they barely felt the cold. Sofia stopped at a tent that sold hand made jewelry and Arizona and Callie stepped up behind her to see what she was looking at. They watched as the little girl reached out, ran her hand across the cool metal, traced the pattern with her fingertip, picked it up, looked at it more closely, sighed, and put it back on the rack. Callie looked at Arizona, tilted her head at the item, smiled when her wife winked at her, then tapped her daughter on the shoulder and suggested, "Hey big girl, let's go see if we can find something for mommy. We still have cookies to make and a story to read." Sofia jumped up and down, clapped her hands together and exclaimed, "I think I found it, I just wanted to be sure. Come on." She pulled Callie back in the direction from which they had just come, leaving Arizona standing alone at the jewelry tent.
After buying the piece of jewelry, Arizona decided to find a nearby bench and wait for her family to return. She wanted to be able to enjoy the rest of their day together and didn't want to be worn out or cranky. As she sat watching the people pass by, unconsciously rubbing her swollen belly, Arizona couldn't help but think about how much her life had changed. When she first moved here, she and Callie promised not to go through all the what if's, but now she wondered what would have happened if she had just put Sofia on a plane and stayed in Seattle. Would either of them ever have the courage to admit their true feelings? Shaking her head, she realized in the end, the what if's really didn't matter, because she did get on that plane and this was the result. She was remarried to the love of her life, her soulmate, twenty-one weeks pregnant, and celebrating their first Christmas together as a happy family in several years. Hearing the familiar laughter that always brought a smile to her face, Arizona looked up to see Sofia and Callie walking toward her, carrying even more bags and asked, "Did you get me the best present ever?" Sofia nodded her head fervently and exclaimed, "The bestest."
Callie tried not to show her concern, but as soon as they turned the corner and she saw Arizona sitting on the bench, she worried that maybe they'd done too much. She should have known there was no use in trying to hide it when Arizona reached for her hand, pulled her down next to her and softly said, "I'm fine honey. There was just nothing else I wanted to look at and we have so much more we want to do and I am saving my energy. That's all." Callie draped her arm around her shoulder, kissed her cheek, rested their heads together and murmured, "Thank you for telling me. I know I don't need to worry about you…" "You just do. It comes naturally, the same way I worry about you. I get it." Arizona finished for her. Sofia sat on Callie's lap, took her mommy's hand and asked, "Can we go make cookies now? Then maybe order pizza?" Both women laughed and Callie asked, "We have all that yummy food in the house and you want to order pizza?" Sofia answered, "Yup, cuz you and mommy are going to make me eat leftovers for daaaaays." Arizona shook her head and quipped, "She's not wrong and I could go for some gooey cheesy goodness myself." Callie tapped her daughter's hip indicating she wanted to get up, stood, helped Arizona up, then whispered, "Any chance we might have some of that pizza cold?" Arizona winked and replied, "Oh there's every chance in the world for that Calliope."
After leaving Union Square, they took the stairs, albeit slowly, to the subway and Callie asked, "Why do you think he suggested the…Ohhhh." She stopped midway through her question when she saw the vintage subway cars pull to a stop. Sofia's eyes grew wide when she saw the old train and excitedly yelled, "It looks like the Polar Express!" Several people around them laughed at her description, though they couldn't disagree. As they stepped onto the 1930's underground train, they noticed it didn't look like a regular subway car inside as the seats were facing each other and it truly did look like a regular train. It was also decked out with Christmas decorations and colorful lights. Arizona let Sofia in first, put her bags on the floor in front of the little girl, then sat down next to her. Callie sat down directly across from Arizona, put the bags on the seat beside her, then pulled Arizona's right foot into her lap and started massaging her calf and ankle pleased to find there was no excess swelling.
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Sofia opened the patio door, let Tobin in, then went to cuddle up to Callie who was standing at the kitchen island laying out all the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies, and pouted, "I'm still cold mama." Callie shivered and answered, "I know sweetie, me too." Arizona walked into the dining room with a shopping bag and responded, "Me three." She put the bag on the table and suggested, "Why don't we all take a hot bath or shower, put our pajamas on, order the pizza, and you and mama can make the cookies while we are waiting?" Sofia and Callie both nodded in agreement, then Callie eyed the bag skeptically, afraid to ask what was in it. Knowing her wife though, she was almost positive but asked anyway, "Uh, what's in the bag Arizona?" The blonde smiled brightly and replied happily, "Our pajamas." Sofia jumped up, pumped her fist in the air and screamed, "YES!" Callie dropped her chin to her chest, not sure she even wanted to look at them. The last time her wife bought them matching Christmas pajamas, they were furry green grinch footie pajamas and while Sofia looked adorable and Arizona even looked pretty damn cute, she felt like the jolly green giant, and wasn't so jolly about it.
Feeling herself being pulled toward the table, Callie could see the excitement in her daughter's eyes and realized this must be something Arizona still did with her. She looked up to see the mischief in sparkling cerulean blue eyes and couldn't hold back her own smile. She knew damn well she would wear whatever was in that bag and would wear it proudly because her family wanted her to, because she had a family to share it with for the first time in years. Arizona reached into the bag, pulled out three boxes that had their names written on them, passed them out and ordered, "Okay, we open them on the count of three. 1, 2, 3." All three of them ripped the boxes open and Sofia and Callie both gasped in surprise while Arizona watched their reactions.
Sofia and Callie both put their boxes down on the table, took out their matching pajamas and the little girl declared, "Ooh, I get grown up pj's this year and look mama we got robes too." Callie held up the simple red satin two piece pajama set, then laughed when she saw the black satin robe with red and white candy canes all over it. Arizona smirked and said, "I had to have a little fun." The brunette smiled, pulled her wife into her arms and responded, "They're beautiful, even the robe is tasteful and not too…garish." Arizona laughed and asked, "What do you think big girl?" Sofia rubbed her robe against her face and proclaimed, "It's so soft. Can I take my bath now? Oh! Can I take a picture with my camera?" Both women laughed and Callie winked at her daughter and answered, "I guess since mommy didn't go overboard, we can allow it." Sofia grabbed her new pajamas and quickly walked down the hall.
Deciding they could spend the rest of the evening soaking in the tub, Callie and Arizona opted for a shower instead. Once they stepped under the hot spray, Arizona pulled Callie close, wrapped her arms around her waist, laid her cheek on her chest, and nearly purred when Callie started running her fingertips up and down her back. Both women let out a contented sigh and knew without asking what the other was thinking, for they had been thinking the same thing all day. Finally Arizona said, "I can't wait to wake up on Christmas morning with my wife again." Callie ran her fingers through damp curls and relayed her thoughts from earlier, "Every time we have a birthday or holiday, I feel a little twinge of pain that we missed so many together, then I just feel this overwhelming joy that we can experience it again, that we got another chance and we're doing it right this time." Arizona pulled her head back and agreed, "We are doing it right, aren't we?" Callie smiled, reached down, tapped her on the butt and answered, "You bet your sweet ass we are." Arizona lowered her hands to grip Callie's firm round ass and returned, "Hmm yours is sweeter." Lowering her head, Callie argued, "Your lips are sweeter." She then nibbled on Arizona's bottom lip, moaned when a warm tongue darted into her mouth, and immediately let her wife take control of the kiss.
Arizona turned Callie to the side, pushed her against the wall, slid her hand around her hip, down the crease of her thigh, cupped her mound, and Callie nearly cried when they heard a knock on the door and their daughter called out, "Mommies, are you both in there? I'm done with my bath." Callie groaned, dropped her head on Arizona's shoulder and the blonde called out, "We'll be out in a minute Sof. Why don't you start wrapping the gifts we bought today?" The little girl replied, "Okay, I'll be in my room. Knock first." Callie muttered, "That's rich coming from her." Arizona giggled, gave Callie a smacking kiss, stepped back and promised, "I'll make it up to you, I swear. Holiday sex ranks up there with birthday sex." Callie reached out, squirted some of Arizona's shampoo into her hand, lathered up her hair and asked, "What about engagement sex?" Arizona thought for a minute and replied, "I've never had engagement sex." Callie furrowed her brow and huffed, "We've been married twice, what do you mean you've never had engagement sex?" Arizona rinsed her hair, looked at her wife disbelievingly and answered, "Well, the first time, after I asked you to marry me, we got into a car accident." Callie opened her mouth, closed it again, and Arizona continued, "And the second time, after you asked me to marry you, we got married like three hours later, soooo engagement sex was wedding sex, and nothing beats wedding sex." Callie pulled her closer, kissed her again, and murmured against her lips, "Maybe not, but we can certainly try."
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Arizona carried the gallon of milk to the table, poured three glasses, then started to put it back when Sofia asked, "What about Santa?" Arizona's eyes went wide and she feigned shock as she exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, how could I forget about Santa?" Callie went to the cupboard, took out another glass, waited for Arizona to pour the milk, then put the jug back in the refrigerator for her. Carrying the platter of cookies to the table, Callie almost tripped over Tobin who had taken to sitting by Sofia's chair. She suspected their daughter was giving him scraps, but she could never prove it. When she handed Sofia two cookies, the dog whined and Callie asked, "Do you want a cookie? Is that what you want? Let me get you a cookie." When Callie walked back into the kitchen, Arizona scolded, "Calliope, don't you dare give that dog a cookie. He can't have chocolate and we agreed no people food." Callie reached on top of the refrigerator where she hid the special dog treats and stated, "These are Tobin cookies. While you and Sof were off buying my present, I found a doggie bakery stand and bought Tobin his own Christmas cookies." She held up the three cookies and asked, "Do you want Santa, a candy cane, or a snowman?" Tobin stared at all three treats, slowly walked to Callie, sniffed them, then snatched the Santa and candy cane out of her hand and ran out of the room, provoking her to huff, "You little sh.." "Calliope!" Arizona scolded.
Sofia laughed and declared, "It's only fair mama, I got two cookies." Callie narrowed her eyes at her daughter and said, "Remember that when I wake you at three in the morning to change a diaper. It's only fair Sofia, mommy and I each had to change a diaper." Arizona laughed, sat down, and ordered, "Both of you, eat your cookies and drink your milk." Sofia picked up her cookie and responded, "Yes mommy." Callie looked at her wife, caught her glaring at her, picked up a cookie and replied, "Yes dear." Arizona smiled, blew her wife a kiss, and suggested, "Sof, we still need to take pictures." Sofia took a drink of her milk and said, "I think I want to take them in front of the tree. I think it will be pretty with all of the presents there." Arizona looked up to see Callie staring at her, much like she had been since they put on their pajamas, and asked, "What do you think Calliope?" Callie couldn't keep her eyes off her wife. She was certain she bought red pajamas on purpose and she was the only one not wearing her robe, claiming she was too hot. She was hot, but it had nothing to do with the temperature. When she heard her name, she looked up and dumbly asked, "Huh?" She knew she was right when her wife smirked and repeated, "The tree, Sofia wants us to take pictures by the tree, she said the red would look pretty." Callie nodded, looked straight at her wife's chest and replied, "It most certainly does." Arizona stood up, took the empty plates and glasses to the dishwasher and whispered, "Works every time."
Once they were finished taking pictures, put Tobin to bed for the night, and left a plate of cookies and glass of milk out for Santa, it was time to tuck Sofia in and read the same story they read every year. Before they left the dining room, the little girl looked around the house and asked, "Have you seen the elves today? Did they leave without saying goodbye?" Callie and Arizona looked at each other and shook their heads. Arizona asked, "Where was the last place you saw them?" Sofia tapped her lip and answered, "Yesterday when they were rock climbing up the refrigerator magnets with my new Barbie Olympics Doll." Callie coughed to hide her laughter, she had to hand it to her wife, that was a good one, but hers was better. Arizona pursed her lips and assured, "I don't think they would leave without saying goodbye. What do you think mama?" Callie shook her head and replied, "They always say goodbye. Maybe they are just resting up for their long trip." Sofia nodded and agreed, "Yeah, that's prolly what they're doing." Arizona smiled and suggested, "Go brush your teeth and find the book and we will be right there to tuck you in."
Sofia started to do as her mommy said, turned and asked, "Instead of you reading me the story, can all three of us read to the babies?" Callie swallowed the lump in her throat and asked, "You want to read your story to the babies?" Sofia nodded and answered, "It's our story now and people say you should read to babies before they are born." Arizona nodded and confirmed, "That's true." Sofia smiled and answered, "Good, I'll brush my teeth and get the book and mama and I will tuck you and the babies in." Arizona pulled her lips between her teeth, raised her eyebrows, and tried to stop herself from smiling, but her dimples gave her away. Nodding her head, she started toward the bedroom when she heard a noise and asked, "What in the world is that?"
Sofia's head popped up when she heard the same noise, looked down the hall and laughed when she saw a big Barbie RV, the one she'd been asking for, coming towards them with Star Dancer behind the wheel and Dr. Perky Rainbow Sprinkles sticking out of the sunroof holding up a sign that said, 'Goodbye Sofia, we will miss you.' Callie stared at the pink monstrosity and asked, "How are they driving that?" Sofia looked around and answered, "I don't know. It's supposed to have a remote control, but I don't see one here. Maybe they left it in my room." She took off down the hall and Callie quickly pulled the remote from her pocket, shoved it under the elf's butt and called out, "I found it Sof, Dr. Perky was sitting on it." The little girl ran out with the book, handed it to her mommy, bent down to look at her elves and whispered, "I'm going to miss you too. Thank you for all the gifts you brought me. If you need to use that to get home, you can just send it back with Santa. I won't need it tonight. I'm going to read to my sister and brothers, then I have to go to sleep so Santa will come." She blew them a kiss, stood up, looked at her mommy and declared, "I'm going to brush my teeth, I'll be right there.
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Once everyone was washed up and ready for bed, for Sofia's sake at least, Arizona climbed into bed leaving enough room for one of her girls on each side. She laughed when they propped the book on her legs and both pressed their cheeks against her belly. Running her fingers through their hair, she declared, "How about you two read and I'll just sit back and listen?" Callie and Sofia nodded in agreement, happy to have extra time to talk to the babies. Sofia rubbed her mommy's tummy and said, "Hi, it's me Sofia, your big sister. You probably don't know it but today is really special. It's called Christmas Eve and it's special because it's the night Santa comes and brings lots of presents but you won't understand that for a long time. It's more special to me because we have a family tradition to spend the day together. One of the things we do every year is read a story and Mama and I are going to read it to you now." She looked at Callie and waited for her to start. Callie kissed Arizona's stomach and softly said, "Hey little ones, this is called The Night Before Christmas. It's a special story because your grandparents used to read it to your mommy and your uncle Timmy when they were little and when mommy was a pediatric surgeon, she used to gather all the kids together at Christmas time and read this story to them. When Sofia was born, we read it to her every year and now she wants to share it with you." Arizona smiled at the rambling introduction and could feel the babies start to move around at the sound of their mama's voice. She tried to stay still because they were really moving in there.
Callie opened the book, cleared her throat and read, "T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a…BABY!" She lifted her head and stared at the spot where she was just laying and Arizona's eyes grew wide as she asked, "You felt that?" Callie had tears streaming down her face as she nodded her head up and down and stammered, "He…he kicked me. Aggie kicked me." Sofia lifted her head and asked, "Did it hurt?" Callie let out a half laugh, half sob and answered, "No honey, it…I just, they've never kicked so hard that we could feel it from the outside before. It's miraculous." Sofia smiled and asked, "Can I feel?" Callie took her little hand and put it on the spot where her cheek was and whispered, "He might not do it again." Arizona shook her head and explained, "They are most active when you are talking to them. Keep reading." The two brunettes settled back down in their original positions and Callie started again. As the two took turns reading, they became more and more disappointed that neither of them felt a kick. Arizona could hear it in their voices but she knew it was coming because it felt like gymnastics practice was going on in her womb.
Sofia turned the page and read, "Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer, now…RAINBOW! She…Rainbow mommies. Feel, feel, she's still doing it." Sofia took Callie's hand, placed her fingers under her cheek and watched her mama's pretty smile form on her lips and knew she felt it too. Arizona watched while her wife and daughter lay on her belly feeling the babies kick for the first time and knew this was one of the moments she would cherish throughout the rest of her life. Once the babies settled down, Callie and Sofia also calmed down and were able to finish the story. Before she got up to go to her own bed, Sofia kissed her mommy's belly and whispered, "Merry Christmas babies. I love you." Callie and Arizona both followed their daughter into the bedroom, tucked her in, kissed her goodnight and Callie reminded her, "Don't forget, you don't go into the living room until you wake us up." Sofia sighed, "I know. I won't. I promise." Arizona smiled at the little girl and whispered, "We love you, sleep tight." Sofia snuggled under her covers, yawned and replied, "I love you too. Goodnight."
Callie closed the door behind her, took Arizona's hand, led her back to their bedroom, and requested, "Can we lay down for a while until she goes to sleep?" Arizona nodded, crawled under the covers and curled into Callie's side, smiling when she felt the bottom buttons of her shirt come undone and a warm hand start to caress her stomach. Callie kissed her forehead, her nose, then her lips, and whispered, "I think that was the best Christmas present I've ever gotten." Arizona slipped her hand under Callie shirt, lightly scratched at her taut abdomen and replied, "Me too. I'm so happy you got to feel it first. I love that you have such a strong connection with them." Callie continued to massage her stomach and stated, "It's because I have such a strong connection with you. Our souls are linked Arizona and they can feel that. They respond to me just like you do." Arizona thought about the warmth and tingling she feels every time Callie talks to their babies and how she feels every time her wife touches or looks at her and realized it is a very similar response. Nodding her head, she agreed, "I think you're right. They love you like I do." Callie lowered her head, brushed their lips together and whispered, "Speaking of loving me, you promised me you'd finish what you started in the shower and that I would get cold pizza tonight." Arizona nipped at her bottom lip and replied, "Mmm so I did. Let's go play Santa so I can fulfill those promises." Before she knew what was happening, Arizona found herself alone on the bed and looked up to see her wife halfway out the bedroom door.
A/N: I know, the build-up is killing me too. I just hate skipping good snapshots like this. Next up, Christmas day, then a little time jump, I promise. I need to meet these babies.