Saturday morning, Callie was in the kitchen whipping up eggs and milk for French toast and went to the pantry to collect the cinnamon to add to the mixture and the powdered sugar to sprinkle on top when it was finished. As soon as she closed the door, Sofia came through and reminded her, "Don't forget the vanilla," then snatched Callie's cellphone off the countertop and went into the living room. Callie opened the door, grabbed the vanilla, furrowed her brow and asked, "Why do I need vanilla…WAIT! Is that mommy's secret ingredient?" Sofia popped off the sofa, put her hands on her hips, stared at her mama, and stammered, "What? Who said that? I didn't say anything." Callie held up the bottle of vanilla, glared at her daughter, and declared, "Sofia Robbin, you did so. You just walked past me and said, 'Don't forget the vanilla'." Arizona came out of the bedroom, yawning, eyes still swollen from sleep, hair sticking out all over the place and asked, "What's all the fuss about?" She looked up to see her wife holding a bottle of vanilla extract glaring at her daughter and her child standing in the middle of the living room with her hands on her hips staring right back. Then she looked around the kitchen, saw the thick cut bread, egg batter, cinnamon, powdered sugar, syrup, butter, and griddle, then narrowed her eyes at her daughter as well. Sofia waved her hands in Callie's direction and pouted, "Mama tricked me mommy." Callie's jaw dropped and she muttered, "Why you little…" "Calliope!" Arizona scolded.
Based on the smug look on her daughter's face and the irritated look on her wife's, paired with the yelling she heard, Arizona was sure Sofia gave up her secret willingly. The blonde smiled at her wife and asked, "How many eggs did you use?" Callie grumpily responded, "Four." Arizona nodded and sweetly suggested, "One teaspoon, you use half a teaspoon for every two eggs. Add it before the cinnamon." Callie smiled brightly, slightly surprised the secret was shared so easily, kissed her wife on the cheek, stuck her tongue out at her daughter, then returned to the kitchen, and did as she was told. The blonde then looked at Sofia and suggested, "Next time you try to pit me and mama against each other, you might not want to have a screaming match right before." Sofia bowed her head and responded, "Yes mommy, sorry mama." Callie bit her lips to try to hide her laughter.
Arizona went into the kitchen trying to contain her own laughter, wrapped her arms around Callie's back and leaned up on her tip toes to give her a good morning kiss and asked, "Do I need to scold you too?" The brunette lifted her hands to tame the wild blonde curls and claimed, "Not that it's not adorable and just a little on the sexy side because I know what made it look like this, but it's kind of hard to take you seriously with your hair sticking up all over." Arizona asked, "How about now?" then reached up, twisted her nipple making her yelp and whine, "No fair! You know they get sensitive at around this time." Arizona poked out her bottom lip, kissed both protruding nipples through the thin fabric of Callie's tank top and asked, "All better?" Adjusting the crotch of her sleep shorts which were now a little damp, Callie mumbled, "Hardly," went to the sink to wash her hands and asked, "Geesh, what got into you this morning?" Arizona smirked, swatted her wife's full round ass with a tea towel and quipped, "About three fingers just before the sun came up if I'm not mistaken." Upon hearing her wife's words, Callie whipped around, smiled and pulled Arizona into her arms, defending, "You started it." Arizona ran her hands along Callie's bare shoulders and asked, "How did I start it? I was fast asleep." Callie tilted her head, gave her wife a smacking kiss and proclaimed, "Dream you started it." Arizona laughed, reached for the whisk, shoved it in Callie's hand and demanded, "Make my breakfast wife!" Callie kissed her again and bargained, "Only if you make coffee and sausage." Arizona nodded, "Deal," then they both got to work.
Arizona didn't believe in the prepackaged pork sausage after watching it being made on one of their cooking shows, so she quickly whipped up a batch of sausage and made patties to go along with their breakfast and a few extras for quick breakfast sandwiches during the week. Callie held the oven door open while Arizona slid in the baking pan holding a couple pieces of French toast and some sausage patties to keep them warm while they continued to cook the rest. They both looked up curiously when they heard barking and whining, then their daughter's cute little belly laugh followed by, "Aww, they're just so cute!" Callie arched her brow at her wife and Arizona shrugged her shoulder and responded, "Probably watching someone play with some toy on you tube that she has three of in her room." Callie nodded then scrunched up her nose when she heard her sister's voice reply, "They are Miniature Stafford-shire Pit Bulls. What should we name them? This one has dark brown fur, is very protective of her siblings, and won't let anyone near them, so I call her Sofibug." Sofia snickered and asked, "Can I see that one with the light fur?" Unbeknownst to either of the participants of the phone call, the eavesdroppers also giggled at the fitting name.
Realizing Aria's dog must have had her puppies, Callie took the pans off the heat and both women moved closer to pay better attention to the phone call just in time to see the most adorable dog they'd ever seen pop up on the screen of her cell phone. Sofia studied it for a minute, watched it try to get to her and lick the phone and giggled, "He likes me!" Aria agreed, "I think he does." She looked at the baby animal and cooed, "Do you like Sofia little papa? What should we name him Sof?" The puppy let out a squawk and wagged his tail, making his whole body shake. Sofia looked at the dog again and proclaimed, "He has a caramel head and a white heart in the middle and one white ear and one caramel ear, but he has a mostly white body except a big caramel heart shape in the middle of his chest, and look at his eyes, one is blue and one is brown." Aria looked at the dog and commended, "Those are great observations, can you think of a name?" Sofia nodded proudly and exclaimed, "Tobin." Aria made a face and asked, "Tobin?" Sofia squealed excitedly, "Yeah Tobin." Callie and Arizona looked at each other equally confused and Sofia explained to her tia, "It's a ship, when you smush two names together. He has caramel fur like mama's skin and white fur like mommy's skin, a big caramel heart on his chest because mama loves with her heart first and a white heart on his head because mommy has to think about how she feels first and he has one blue eye and one brown eye and he loves me before he even knows me like they did, Torres and Robbins – Tobin…and I want him." Aria stammered ahhh that's umm sweet, and we can definitely name him Tobin, but uhh…" Callie and Arizona rushed back into the kitchen before they were seen. They knew after what their daughter just said, they would be cruel and heartless to say no. So they did what any sensible parent would do…they ran like cowards.
While they continued to finish up breakfast, they heard their daughter arguing all the points as to why her tia should give her the puppy. She was really piling it on – She was Hero of the week, led her friends to safety, knew first aid, she was responsible, she cleaned her room, took care of her toys, helped around the house, fed the class hamster, but they knew they were sunk and might as well start looking for dog crates when she pulled out the big guns, "But you've missed like eight years of Christmases, Easters, and Birthdays, this will make up for all that!" Arizona stifled a laugh when she heard a fake bark and Aria ask, "Did you hear that? It must be feeding time; I have to go. I love you." Sofia growled and carried the phone into the kitchen, glaring at Arizona, asking, "Why do adults think that works?" Arizona flipped the sausage and Callie put the last piece of French toast in the oven and decided to make a raspberry sauce to go with the toast when she looked at her daughter and asked, "Think what works?" Then proclaimed, "Hey, there's my phone, I thought I left it in the bedroom." Sofia grumbled, "No, I was talking to Tia Aria and Nala had her puppies and I helped her named them and there was this one who was really…" "Hey Sof, can you go see if my phone is still on the table by the bed in our room? I need to call grandma." Arizona cut in while she put the last of the sausage into the oven and took both pans to the sink to wash them. Sofia did as her mommy asked, knowing she was politely being ignored about the dog.
When she left the room, Callie's phone started vibrating across the countertop. She laughed when she saw the message from her sister.
Aria: Don't think I didn't see you two chickenshits run away when she asked for a puppy!
Aria: You gotta admit, that was a sweet reason she gave for the name.
Arizona was reading over her shoulder and commented, "It was pretty sweet." Callie shook her head and replied, "It wasn't 'Honey the dog buried my leg in the back yard' sweet. Arizona snorted and Callie sent off a reply feigning ignorance.
Me: I have no idea what you are talking about.
She busted out laughing when she quickly got a response.
Aria: In my line of work, that's called pleading the fifth.
Sofia ran into the kitchen excitedly proclaiming, "Tia Aria sent you a text!" Arizona furrowed her brow and responded, "Oh, it's probably because mommy is trying to fix her up on a date." Callie leaned over and whispered, "I thought you said no to that." Arizona nodded and answered, "She doesn't know that." Callie chuckled, looked at Arizona's phone and asked, "What did she say?" Arizona opened the message and started laughing then showed Callie her phone.
Aria: You know she got that guilt trip speech shit from you right?
Callie chuckled and quipped, "Well she's not wrong." Arizona narrowed her eyes at her wife, smirked, pursed her lips and responded.
Me: On the advice of counsel (My sister-in-law the attorney), I invoke my fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination and respectfully decline to answer your question.
Callie went back to her fruit sauce, shook her head at her wife and accused, "You are just too cute for words." Arizona kissed her, smacked her butt and corrected, "And hot, don't forget hot!" Callie pulled her in for a searing kiss and murmured against her lips, "Never." Arizona took their breakfast out of the oven and called Sofia back to the kitchen and asked her to set the table. Both women noticed their daughter had a little less pep in her step than before and looked to one another for strength. They'd never really discussed having a pet before. It just seemed cruel with the hours they worked and being cooped up in an apartment and after they moved into the house, everything was just…too much. Maybe it was something they could consider now that they had different jobs, an actual yard, and Sofia was older. But not right now.
While Arizona was serving the breakfast, Sofia asked, "Are we doing anything this weekend?" Callie took a drink of her coffee and replied, "We need to do a little grocery shopping, stock up on a few things, mommy and I promised to buy snacks for the daycare so they can start to build up a stockpile." Sofia took a bite of her French toast and confirmed, "No parties, no visiting, no one is coming over, it's just us?" Both women wrinkled their brows, shook their heads and watched as Sofia slumped in her chair dramatically, letting her whole body go lax and sighed, "Oh thank God!" Arizona cut her sausage and asked, "What's wrong baby girl? Are you not feeling well?" Sofia took a drink of her orange juice and answered, "I'm feeling fine, it's just, every weekend we're going somewhere or there's a party, or someone's here, or your wedding which I'm very happy about, but we haven't just stayed home and done normal family things since we first got here and I…I just miss it." Callie smiled at her daughter and replied, "So do we baby, that's why we didn't make any plans this weekend."
While they were finishing breakfast, Callie had her phone out making a shopping list, typing out everything the family was throwing at her. She proclaimed, "Okay, that's it for the fresh food and refrigerator items…" Sofia interrupted, "Wait! Where do fruit cups and mandolin oranges go?" Arizona scrunched up her nose and asked, "Mandolin oranges?" Sofia smiled and answered, "Those little oranges I got with my cheeseburger yesterday…mandolin oranges." Callie lifted her head in understanding and corrected, "Ohh mandarin oranges. We wondered why you ordered those with your dinner. Since when do you like those?" Sofia explained, "The other night when you both worked late, Jordyn and Stevie took us to Red Robin and none of us like the fat french fries and we didn't like the other side options like sweet potato fries or steamed broccoli cuz it didn't have cheese so we got the oranges, and they were so sweet and yummy." Callie eyed her daughter suspiciously and asked, "What about The Burger Shack we went to last night? You love their fries." Sofia lowered her head so her parents couldn't see the guilty look on her face and Arizona asked, "Did you just want to share our food with us?" Sofia nodded and Callie sat back and scolded, "Oh no, un unh, that's not how it works, you don't get our fries and veggies for free. Next time you give up some oranges or the deal's off!" Sofia giggled, stuck out her hand and proclaimed, "Deal!" Both Callie and Arizona put their hands on top of hers and they kept piling their hands on top of each other until Arizona proclaimed herself the winner. Sitting back down, they finished their list and realized after adding toiletries and other household items, this was going to be a long trip.
After getting dressed for the day, while they knew they would do the majority of their shopping in bulk at the giant wholesale club so they didn't have to go weekly, they preferred to purchase as many fresh food items as possible locally from farmer's markets and smaller retailers. This is how they found themselves at the Brooklyn Bridge Park Bizarre, one of the last markets of the summer. Vendor's came from all over the state to sell fruits, vegetables, fish, meats, flowers, herbs and spices from various cultures, cheeses, freshly made breads and pastas, sweets such as cookies and fudge, and of course every booth had a tray set out so you could sample their goods or products made with them. There were even a few tables set up with crafts, vintage items, or 'flea market' wares. Each member of the Robbins-Torres family found their own little slice of heaven right there on the grounds of the park. Sofia was enthralled with all the fruits and vegetables she had never seen, let alone tasted before and talked her parents into trying the new foods and even buying a small cookbook so they could learn how to prepare them. Arizona was drawn to the fish and leaner cuts of meat claiming she was bored of their regular meals and it would be nice to switch it up for a while, also whispering to her wife these items were good for fertility and or pregnancy, and of course Callie agreed. They moved straight to her favorite which was the spices and cheeses, purchasing another cookbook detailing how to make curries and their preferred Thai and Chinese dishes. All of them found pastas and breads or rolls they liked and the trio spent nearly thirty minutes watching fudge being made and oddly, none of them were in the mood to buy any sweets, other than a bag of cotton candy to share as they were leaving since they were so full from samples.
Once they left the food area and entered the smaller tent with the resale items, the two walked hand in hand and allowed Sofia to run ahead of them a few feet and look at everything they had to offer. They were pretty sure their daughter wouldn't be begging for second or third hand toys, though she may be wondering what some of them were, making them feel ancient since most of the items were toys from their childhood. Suddenly, a conversation from ten years ago came back to both of them and neither of them was sure if they should bring it up because, well…it didn't go so well at the time. Arizona looked down the aisle and saw the miniature version of the woman she loved, the child who, at that time, she claimed she never wanted, she watched how her expressive eyes danced and that amazing smile took over her face, then looked up at the person next to her and saw the same look and the love shining in her eyes for that tiny human, felt the grip tighten on her own hand, feeling the wedding band press into her skin, she thought about their morning, their happy life, their gorgeous home, their friends, and admitted aloud, "It was a beautiful picture you drew…all those years ago…we took the long way around to get here and I fought it at times, but we made it…and it's such an amazing life and…I…I think it scared me, I never knew a life like this, so I didn't think I was made for it, but I wish…I wish I'd seen it too because this life, what we have, it's all I'll ever want." Callie was just thinking how they had fulfilled her dream from all those years ago but didn't want to say anything for fear of starting a fight. To have Arizona bring it up meant so much more. It meant she saw it now, it meant she no longer feared it, it meant she wanted it just as badly, it meant it was her dream now too. Smiling down at her wife she turned, took her other hand in hers, and responded, "Thank you for saying that; we have built a beautiful life together, but what's our new motto? It happened when it was supposed to happen and its still within the ten year time frame." Arizona giggled and Callie rubbed her abdomen and suggested, "Though the picture isn't complete yet, I believe I said kidssss running around the yard and you mentioned something about a dog." Arizona smiled brightly, clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Ooh chickens!" Callie laughed and warned, "Don't press your luck Robbins-Torres. Let's see how Tobin works out first." Arizona smiled, kissed her cheek and whispered, "I love you." Callie turned her head in time to brush their lips together and whispered, "I love you too." Then they proceeded to walk down the aisle and Arizona asked, "Tobin?" Callie shrugged, "Maybe."
Callie looked down at the table next to them and saw a familiar looking doll, still in the box and exclaimed, "Oh my god! It's an original Anatomy Jane Doll, still sealed in the box." Arizona picked it up and declared, "I still have mine somewhere in my mom's attic, though I am pretty sure my brother ate her liver When he was on a Silence of the Lambs kick." Callie chuckled and asked, "Why am I not surprised? I think you and Mer are more alike than either of you know. She found hers and brought it to work one day. Actually saved a patient because of it." Arizona gasped and asked "Was that right before Kinley died? I heard about a resident who did that. People were saying she was crazy and I was thinking she was a genius. Now I know she's both, but…" She shrugged, giggling at her own little joke. Callie took the doll from her and asked, "Do you want it?" Arizona eyed the doll and a little smile grew on her face as she nodded like a little girl shyly asking for a new toy. Callie kissed her nose and replied, "Then it's yours my love." Callie passed her credit card over and the man bagged the doll up for Arizona, explaining, "I bought this for my daughter when she was six and wanted to be a doctor, her grandparents bought her the same thing for her birthday. Instead of taking it back, I kept it all these years. She decided to go to law school and we never had any grand kids to pass it on to. Glad it's going to a good home." Arizona smiled and replied, "We are both surgeons and will take excellent care of her. She's going to the best home."
When they walked a little further, Arizona noticed Callie eyeing a vintage display of cooking utensils. Again, this wasn't something Callie was into, but she could envision these things as decorative pieces in their home. She wasn't sure if they had ever been used or if they had been refurbished, but there wasn't a dent, a piece of rust, nor a chip of paint out of any of them. The wooden handles were a sea foam green, the same color as their kitchen, the silver was polished nicely, there was a wooden handled hand mixer, several wooden handled food mashers, choppers, spatulas, and spoons, an old fashioned coffee bean grinder and percolator, a wooden handled whisk, peeler, and can opener, and four tin canisters. Without asking for her wife's permission or approval, Arizona bought the lot and had it boxed up. The look on Callie's face was one of pure joy and gratitude. This wasn't something she would have purchased for herself, since surely she wouldn't be using it, but the fact that Arizona, who didn't believe in frivolity purchased it for her, meant the world to her.
Both women were shocked when their daughter came to them with a large box proclaiming, "Grandpa said we needed to pick a new hobby that wouldn't get either of us hurt and I want it to be this." Callie tilted her head and smirked when she realized what it was and gushed, "Baby girl, I think your grandpa would love that hobby and it would make him so proud that you picked it." Arizona looked up from putting her credit card and wallet back in her purse and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and asked, "You want to build model ships with grandpa?" Sofia bounced from foot to foot and proclaimed, "This isn't just any ship mommy. This is the USS Arizona and I think it would make grandpa very happy to build this with me." Arizona looked to her wife who smiled at her proudly then replied, "I think you are absolutely correct big girl, let's go pay for it then." Sofia skipped her way through the tent showing her parents where she found the model and they purchased the display board, glue, and anything else the duo would need to begin their new hobby.
XXXX
Being the wise shoppers they are, Callie had a cooler in the back of her SUV and stopped at a gas station for gas and ice and got them all a cold drink after their morning in the hot sun. While waiting for her wife to fill up the tank and prepare the cooler, adding the cheese and meats they purchased, Arizona allowed Sofia to facetime the Colonel to tell him about their new hobby. When he picked up the phone he boomed, "Well isn't this a pleasant surprise? You're not out with your boyfriend this weekend?" Sofia scrunched up her face and declared, "Grandpa, you know I can't date until I'm 28." The older man chuckled and feigned remembrance, "Ahh, that's right, I remember now. I think that was the same age as your mother." Arizona tried to hold in her laughter when she heard her mother cough 'bullshit' in the background. Changing the subject, Daniel asked, "So, why do I get the pleasure of seeing my favorite face in the world today? Is it Sunday? Did I forget to mow the yard?" Sofia giggled and answered, "No, but I have a surprise for you." Daniel's voice changed, it softened slightly as it always did for his granddaughter and he asked, "You do, do you?" Arizona picked up Callie's phone and texted her mom, "Get ready," and got a question mark in return. Sofia nodded and said, "You said you wanted to find a new hobby that only me and you could do that was important to both of us and I saw this thing today that's special to you because of your daddy and it's special to me because of my mommy and you have some in your house already, but you didn't make those, this is for us to make." Daniel pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes in confusion and Sofia handed the phone to her mommy who hit record so she could capture her father's expression and held it so her daughter could show off the surprise. Sofia held up the box and proclaimed, I want us to build ships together and I want to start with the USS Arizona!"
Callie got in the car just in time to see her wife put her finger to her lips indicating for her not to say anything and all they heard on the other end of the line was a sniffle and Sofia asked, "Is…is that not okay? Did I do something wrong?" Daniel shook his head fervently and replied, "No sweet pea, that is the very best hobby ever and there is no one in this world I would want to build ships with and the USS Arizona is the best ship to start with because it is the perfect tribute to your mommy and my daddy. I just…I can't believe your big heart. You get that from both your mommies, you know you're one lucky girl. I can't wait to get started." Sofia clapped then told him about all the supplies they bought with it and he nodded and added a few words here or there, but Arizona could tell her father was too choked up to speak so she ended the call. As soon as she hung up, Callie's phone chimed with a message from Barb stating she'd never seen the man cry such tears of joy since his children had been born and thanked them for blessing them with that sweet little girl.
XXXX
After another two hours in the wholesale club, they popped into the local grocery store for some items they didn't need so much you could feed an army with then dropped a few freezer meals and fresh bandages off at Maria's. Once they returned home, the small family started unloading the car and they weren't sure exactly when in their lifetime it happened, but at some point, Sofia became in charge of restocking the bathrooms, Callie took over putting away all the excess supplies, and Arizona washed the fruits and vegetables and broke down the meats into smaller portions so they didn't have to freeze and thaw out entire packages of things for one meal.
While Callie had a step ladder out to display her new/old kitchen wares, she commented, "You know, you could have waited to give me this until my birthday." Arizona bit back a smile and asked, "Oh is that coming up?" Callie put her hands on her hips, shot her a glare and scolded, "Arizona Robbins-Torres, I will allow you not to make a big deal of your own birthday, but I need presents, celebrations, balloons, noisy things, lots of presents…" "You already said presents." Arizona pointed out. Callie nodded and declared, "This is the 20th anniversary of my 20th birthday, I need extra gifts." Arizona burst into laughter and asked, "Oh, that's how it is now huh? You're not turning 40?" Callie walked up to her wife, took her in her arms and teased, "Nope, it's the 20th anniversary of my 20th birthday." Arizona tilted her head and asked, "What if you want to drink?" Callie nodded and answered, "Good point, it's the 19th anniversary of my 21st birthday." Arizona shook her head and replied, "You're ridiculous." Callie pouted. "Why am I ridiculous? I'm almost 40 Arizona! I'm getting old!"
Arizona huffed, dragged her into the nearest bathroom, stuck her in front of the mirror and said, "Does this face say almost 40 to you?" There's barely a wrinkle except here…" She pointed out the small lines between her eyes. "…and here…" she traced the tiny little crows feet. "…and my favorite…these right here." She traced the deep grooves in her cheeks around her mouth and explained, "All of these are from laughing or smiling, telling me no matter what shit life threw at you, you still found a reason to laugh and smile." She then caressed the skin of her face and commented, "Not a mark, scar or blemish, nothing that says, "I'm aging." Arizona traced Callie's shoulders, her arms, hips, legs, came back up and caressed her ass, lifted her shirt to show off her abs, held her full pert breasts in her hands and explained, man, woman, or non-binary, you have a body to die for, you're strong, muscular, firm, well-built, baby, I know people who are 20 who wished they looked like you right now. Hell, when I was 20 I wished I looked like you. When you look like that, when you have what you have, a hot and sexy wife, an amazing daughter, a beautiful home, your own medical center, stock and a seat on the board of one of the leading teaching hospitals in the country before you are 40, a gorgeous body, loving friends, I'd say 40 is nothing to balk at. I'd look back at our lives and say, "Fuck you, we made it! Except I'd whisper it, cuz you know, karma doesn't like us."
Callie chuckled at that then realized her wife was exactly right. She had everything she ever wanted and she had it all before she was 40 years old. Pulling Arizona into her arms, she nibbled on her bottom lip and asked, "So what ARE you getting me for my birthday?" Arizona chuckled and replied, "The question is, what are you getting me? Remember you have to top 2 years ago." Callie furrowed her brow and asked, "I thought you didn't celebrate your birthday?" Arizona chirped, "I didn't until you realized you still loved me and dumped Penny on my birthday. Now you have to top it." Callie chuckled and claimed, "So I made you a believer huh?" Arizona patted her cheek and proclaimed, "I'm celebrating the 20th anniversary of my 20th birthday, it's a big deal, I need presents, and a cake, and presents and I want people to pay attention to me." Callie laughed and pulled her wife from the bathroom and muttered, "I've created a monster." Arizona breathed a sigh of relief, thankful her wife dropped the subject of her birthday. Changing the subject completely, she said, let's go check out that new cookbook, I'm in the mood for something sweet and spicy just like my wife." Callie swatted her ass and retorted, "Oh you're really laying it on thick today."
XXXX
Wednesday afternoon, Callie was pacing her office waiting for Arizona to come over with lunch and a pregnancy test and she had a syringe and vials so they could run a blood test just in case. Neither of them liked to rely on the kit alone, especially in situations like this and after what happened to Maria. Their cycles had synced up by now and while Callie had started, Arizona was moody, her breasts were tender, and she was spotting, but she hadn't officially started her period. So they were both trying to be reasonable and not get their hopes up. But her wife should have been here 30 minutes ago and she didn't want to call because when she said her wife was moody, she meant, poking a bear with a stick moody. When her office door opened, she instantly smiled then deflated when she saw that it was her administrative assistant turned head nurse.
Lorraine chuckled and quipped, "Well, I'm happy to see you too." She tossed an envelope at her boss and declared, "Maria is driving me insane and decided with all the extra time on her hands that she was throwing a surprise birthday party for Julie this Saturday at some old warehouse and inviting her friends from the home like some sort of prom or something. Apparently we are the chaperones, but we aren't giving her our gift until her actual birthday because she doesn't want the other kids to feel bad. At least we don't have to do anything but show up." Callie furrowed her brow and asked, "Does she even have the medical clearance to be out and about?" Lorraine shrugged and answered, "Said she's been following doctor's orders and it's only three hours. Has an appointment Friday and is prepared to beg." Callie chuckled and responded, "Ooh Arizona is going to milk that for all it's worth." The older woman nodded and chuckled.
Seeing the sour look on her boss' face, she remembered the real reason she came in, "Speaking of Dr. RT, I'm guessing she's being held up because of the gas leak…" "What? There's a gas leak? Is everyone out…" Callie started to panic and head toward the door. Lorraine held up her hand and explained, "Not at the center. Brooklyn University Hospital had a gas leak and they are evacuating, mothers and baby's first, ambulances have been in and out of there for the past hour or so. I'm guessing they got too busy to even spare anyone to call you. As usual, ortho is last and they just called and asked if we had room, I doubled up where I could and gave them a floor. They have a few surgeries scheduled that can't wait and I told them that was your territory but no one operates here but you and our surgeons for legal purposes and they are sending the files over to your email." Callie nodded and went to her laptop to pull up the files and assign surgeons.
She looked to Lorraine and asked, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" The older woman replied, "They just called me 20 minutes ago and I had to get started on the rooms first. The first ambulance will be here any minute. I called in any nurse who's had at least 24 hours off and this shift is working until everyone is up to speed. Kim is staying here to help people get signed in and Julie is over there being Nicole's eyes so she doesn't drive your wife nuts." Callie chuckled and asked, "Can you have Kim call and see if Jordyn can pick up Sofia and if not, possibly Miguel? I'd hate to give him extra duty, but maybe it will keep Bella out of his hair for a while." Lorraine nodded, "Will do. Anything else?" Callie shook her head and waved her friend off. Sighing, she stuck the syringe in her desk and resigned herself to the idea that they wouldn't find out if they were expecting tonight.
While Callie stood in the scrub room leaning against the cabinet watching through the window as they wheeled one patient out and started turning the room over preparing it for the next, she found it very reminiscent of the bus crash, then smiled brightly as the patient she was waiting to be wheeled in the last time walked through the scrub room door holding a brown bag in one hand and an orange juice in the other. Callie held out her hands to take the items extended to her and asked, "What's all this?" Julie responded, "It's the lunch you never got, though it was supposed to be Oodles of Noodles. So you'll have to settle for the deli down the street; a turkey wrap, no tomato, pickle spear, carrot sticks, and your favorite hot chips, only if I watch you eat at least half the wrap. The OJ is to keep your sugar balanced but there's a Mountain Dew in your fridge for after your procedures."
Callie laughed, gladly bit into the wrap and groaned at the delicious taste of roasted turkey blended with the special sauce and crispy lettuce. She didn't like sandwiches, but she wouldn't turn down a good wrap. Wiping her face with a napkin she asked, "Did Arizona eat? Are they busy over there?" Julie nodded her head and responded, "Same wrap as you, but only half and a small vegetable and rice soup. A couple pre-term labors, a few sick babies, and a mom that should have been sent to her last week." Callie scowled at that; she hated when doctors were too proud to ask for help at the risk of the patient. Before she knew it, her wrap and carrots were gone and she checked her bag, but was disappointed to find the chips missing, and asked, "May I have my chips now mom?" Julie giggled and pulled the bag from the leg pocket of her scrubs and passed them over. Callie noticed it was getting harder for the girl to bend over, shook her head at that and the fact that she hid her chips, and declared, "Man, you weren't messing around." She opened the bag, offered a chip to the teenager and proclaimed, "You know, you really are going to make a good mom." Julie blushed and admitted, "I was really scared at first, but now I have family and I have the best role models anyone could ask for, so if I don't know what to do, I'll just ask you or Arizona." Callie fought the lump in her throat, nodded, gave the girl a one armed hug and declared, "We'll always be right here to support you. Just don't steal my chips." The teenager laughed and replied, "Looks like your next patient just showed up and I need to report back to your boss…er…my boss." Callie chuckled and declared, "Nah, I think you had it right the first time." She ate a few more chips then scrubbed her hands a little more thoroughly making sure to get the red stain off.
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Arizona sat in her office going over the next procedure in her mind and rubbed at her temples trying to get rid of the headache that had been trying to work its way to the forefront all day. She opened her drawer to grab two ibuprofen and decided to take acetaminophen just in case. She knew a headache was a sign of her impending period, but it usually came before the moodiness and tenderness. She opened the bottle, took two pills, then took the pregnancy test out of her pocket and placed it in her drawer. She stared at it for a moment…it would only take a few minutes…nope, she wanted Callie with her. Her wife would be devastated if she knew she did it without her. She closed the drawer, grabbed her tablet, and no sooner reached the door when she heard a large crash like metal scraping against metal. A sound she would never forget, since it reminded her of the two worst moments of her life.
Running outside with any available staff she had on hand; she saw Callie doing the same coming from the opposite direction. When they reached the scene, they found two ambulances had crashed into one another on their way in. Both chiefs called for gurneys, oxygen, med kits, police, fire, and other surgeons. Noticing one rig was on its side, they rushed to that one first, found the driver was DOA and the passenger was awake and alert. He informed them, "Name's Ross, that there was Captain Dorsett, we were bringing two patients to the Robbins-Herman Center." Arizona interrupted him and called out, "Get these doors opened now, get them into the Women's center, do full work up's, run scans for broken bones, and report back to Ortho Dr. Robbins-Torres. If nothing is broken come to me." Callie looked to the passenger and asked, "What about you Ross? Anything feel broken?" Ross blinked a couple times and responded, hit my head pretty hard, possible concussion and whiplash from the flip, seat belt locked, possibly some bruising. I can feel all my extremities, not too hot or too cold, no tingling or numbness anywhere." Both women breathed a sigh of relief and Callie suggested, "We are going to get you out of there as soon as we safely can. Fortunately we don't have to look far for a backboard or stretcher. Just hang tight." Arizona stared at her and asked, "Did you really just say that?" The man chuckled and responded, "It's okay, I'm not going anywhere." Arizona shook her head and glared at her wife.
Standing up, she looked up just in time to see the other two EMT's getting out of their rig and walking toward the back. She ran over to them and asked, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, where do you think you're going?" The driver ignored her and kept walking and she guided the other man who was extremely unsteady on his feet into a wheelchair then caught up to the driver and he answered, "Checking on my patient, he's in some sort of X-man contraption and they said he shouldn't even be moved." Arizona scrunched up her face in confusion then heard an excruciating scream coming from inside the ambulance and asked, "Ex-fix? Are you saying the man you were transporting had an ex-fix on his leg?" The man shrugged, and mumbled, "They woke us from the on-call room and said move, so we did." Then he swayed and passed out falling onto Arizona. The fetal surgeon called out for a gurney, looked up to the closest nurse and ordered, "Get them a CT scan, tox screen, and blood gasses, then have them transferred to the nearest hospital with a good neuro department."
She looked up to find her wife and called out "Callie, I need you over here now!" Callie ran toward her, heard the screaming coming from the ambulance and Arizona grabbed a syringe from her med kit and explained, "This guy was in an ex-fix and I have no idea what shape he's in now, but it doesn't sound good." Callie muttered, "Fuck!" took the syringe, asked, "What is it?" then stood beside the door. Arizona responded, "Double dose of morphine. I'll open the door, you inject wherever you can, then we will examine him." Callie nodded and counted, "1, 2, go!" Arizona opened the door, Callie saw that the man was face down on the floor, injected him in the calf, then both women waited until the screams died down and his body relaxed. Choosing not to try to move him on their own, they could see the contraption was shattered to pieces and only the screws that should be there and pieces of shrapnel remained embedded in his skin. Arizona found the man's file and asked, "Did you know he was coming?" Callie shook her head and answered, "Not him specifically, they told me they had a patient who was two hours post-op that they were sending over." Arizona started reading his file, "Drunk driving accident, he was sober, on his way to work, third shift, thrown from the car when it rolled, door broke off and crushed his femur." Callie shook her head, took a deep breath and inferred, "I'm not sure I can save it."
Arizona looked up in the direction the drivers were being taken and asked, "Is it possible the drivers were effected by the gas leak? One of them told me they were asleep in an on-call room when they were awaken to transport this guy. If he was one of the last, that means they were exposed all this time." Callie swiped her hand down her face, sighed and suggested, "I know he's on leave, but call Miguel, tell him what happened, your entire interaction with both men, and what you suspect, along with the tests you're having run and why, just to cover our asses. I have a big hunch you're right on this one." Both women walked toward the police car when they saw it pull into the parking lot and a tall familiar looking man got out and proclaimed, "You two just can't stay out of trouble can you?" Arizona shrugged and replied, "This time it came to us." The man chuckled and asked, "How's our little hero?" Callie smiled and responded, "She's good. Never let it go to her head." The officer nodded, took out his tablet, and took their statements, including Arizona's suspicions about the paramedics having gas poisoning. Once the firetrucks and a new ambulance arrived, they took the three paramedics to the proper facilities and stayed until the other rigs were removed and the mess was properly cleaned up. By that point, both surgeons had returned to their own facilities and were focusing on their patients.
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After fixing the ruptured spleen of one of the expectant mothers who was in the ambulance that was turned over and making sure the other mother in the ambulance was still stable, Arizona took a stroll through the NICU to check on all the babies that were brought in. After a full day of oxygen and a lot of TLC, they had all returned to their natural coloring and were breathing on their own. They were each assigned a nurse to watch them through the night however, just to be on the safe side. Those who had a parent who was able to stay with them, were assigned a room and those who weren't were set up with the webcams so a family member could still watch over them as well. She stopped into her next patient's room to go over the pre-op checks and make sure she had answered all the questions before sending her into the O.R. Arizona had to take a deep breath and try to tamp down her irritation with the treating physician and not let it show to the patient and her husband. They weren't even informed there was a problem until the husband asked why one baby was so much bigger than the other and the mother kept saying things didn't feel right. When the OB/GYN told them it could possibly be TTTS or Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome, they asked for a referral and were in the hospital today to get that referral when the gas leak occurred.
Arizona plastered her best professional smile on her face and asked, "Long day huh?" The couple laughed and responded, "You could say that." The mother worriedly asked, "How about you? Are you too tired? You've done a lot today; do you need to have fresh eyes? A fresh mind?" Arizona lowered the railing of the bed, placed the tablet next to her, took the mother's hand in both of hers and explained, "Cindy, this is what I do, what I've been trained for. A doctor's first day on the job is a 40 hour shift. I'm not saying it's healthy and we don't get tired. But I had a very restful weekend and up until today, things were pretty normal, 9 to 5 ish. I had a good breakfast and a good lunch. I'm stress free, except there are two little boys in that tummy of yours giving me fits and I'd kind of like to get a good night's sleep and I won't do that if I know they aren't doing well. So, how about I tell you what I am going to do and then we get this show on the road and we will all get some good z's tonight?" Cindy smiled at the blonde surgeon and replied, "Yes please." She looked at her husband who sat beside her on the other side of the bed and Arizona pulled up a scan on her tablet.
Pointing to the larger baby, Arizona said, "This guy here…" "Jeffrey, his name is Jeffrey." Justin, the father interjected. Arizona nodded, "Jeffrey is a little larger and is called the recipient twin because he is receiving all the nutrients and the majority of the blood flow. This is also causing stress on his heart and raising his blood pressure because it is causing an enlarged bladder and he is producing too much urine into the amniotic sac. Now this little guy…" "Jason." Justin offered. Arizona finished, "Jason is considered the donor. Due to abnormalities in the placenta, blood flow is only working one way so Jason is sending nutrients to his brother and getting little to none in return, making his bladder weak and his urine output minimal causing dehydration. Now, what I am going to do is make a tiny little hole in your abdomen, no bigger than what a straw would fit through, put a metal straw in there, use a laser to seal the blood vessels in the placenta, drain the excess fluid from your womb, and insert some antibiotics. Now because your placenta is in the front, we are going to sedate you through your IV, give you a local anesthetic, and an epidural. Due to the epidural, I'm going to keep you for 2 days, send you home, and I'll want to see you in a week. If things look good and Jason starts to show signs of growth and Jeffrey lets him catch up, then we can put a little more space between our visits." Both parents nodded their understanding and breathed a sigh of relief.
Arizona stood up and Justin followed her out into the hall and offered, "Arizona…um…Dr. Robbins-Torres, thank you for taking the time to explain that to us. All we knew was that one baby was taking all the blood. The way you said it…it made it make sense…it made it less scary…it made it…" Arizona interjected, "It made it so you didn't want to change his name to Edward or Drac?" Justin chuckled and answered, "Yeah, that too." Arizona nodded and responded, "That's what I'm here for. We will see you soon."
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Callie stormed away from the patient gurney, ripped the gown, gloves, and mask from her body, threw them in the bio bin and slammed through the doors of the scrub room. She stepped on the pedal to turn on the sink, ripped open a scrub brush and just scrubbed as hard as she could, knowing no matter what she did, no matter how hard she scrubbed, it wouldn't make what she just had to do any easier on her or on her patient. She just spent the last 8 hours trying to no avail to figure out a way to keep his leg. It was a miracle they were able to put the ex-fix on it in the first place, the second accident just shattered any bone or muscle left beyond repair. If she would have kept him open any longer, there would have been further complications. She closed her eyes, threw the brush in the sink and hung her head trying to reign in her temper. At some point during the surgery, news came through that the ambulance drivers carrying the man with the ex-fix were indeed exposed to the noxious fumes for an unknown period of time since the ambulance service they worked for was run from the hospital and they were off duty when they were woken up from an on-call room to transport the patient. It's believed that the driver lost consciousness and collided with the other driver. It may have never been discovered if Arizona hadn't caught it and run the tox screen and blood gasses.
She dried off her hands, wiped her face with the towel and looked at the clock. It was nearly 3:30 am and she knew damn well she wasn't driving home nor taking an uber or Lyft if Arizona already left. She felt around her pockets for her phone and saw Lorraine standing in the doorway holding it out for her. She lifted the corner of her lip and offered, "Thanks." Lorraine nodded her head and walked out of the room. She knew this was a hard loss for her boss. Any amputation was. But the ones that had to do with the left femur, they hit too close to home and there was no consoling her. So she never even tried. Callie looked at her phone and smiled when she saw a message from her wife.
Wifey: Go down the hall past the reception desk, very last room at the end. Sign on the door says admin supplies. Lock code is your birthday.
Callie didn't even bother taking her scrub cap off. She just made her way to the elevators, through the lobby and straight out the door. When she arrived at the Robbins-Herman Center, the lights in the lobby were dimmed, though she could see a few staff members moving around upstairs. The evening receptionist smiled at her, pointed her thumb behind her and informed her, "She just finished an emergency C-section, went in a few minutes ago." Callie nodded, whispered "Thank you," and made her way down the hall. Finding the room she was looking for, she typed in her birthday, heard a beep and a click, then turned the handle and found her wife sitting on a full sized bed in just her underwear, taking her prosthetic leg off.
Walking toward the bed, she took off her scrub cap, shoved it in her pocket, pulled her shirt and bra over her head, tossed them on the same chair as Arizona's clothes, pulled down her pants, and asked, "So how did you rate with a full sized bed?" Arizona shrugged and quipped, "Blind business partner, didn't know what she was signing for." Callie threw her head back and laughed then replied, "I'd believe you if I didn't know your conscience would eat at you until you admitted it." Arizona blushed and revealed, "I was inspired by yours and bought it myself. It came in over the weekend, Dee is the only one who knows about the bed. The other receptionists know about my private on-call room." Arizona pulled back the covers, kept her panties on, knowing Callie still didn't feel comfortable sleeping without them during that time of the month and scooted toward the back of the bed.
She could tell how her wife's surgery went without having to ask, she could see the look of regret and remorse in her eyes, the look of panic just the thought of talking about it caused. Settling herself on the pillows, she held out her arms, silently telling Callie to take comfort from her, that it was okay to draw strength from her wife, and slowly exhaled the breath she had been holding when the brunette rested her head on her chest and wrapped her arm around her middle. Arizona pulled up the covers, ran her fingers through Callie's hair, lightly stroked her back with the other and held her while she sobbed. No words had to be spoken. Arizona knew the weight Callie carried with her and she recognized the tears, the remorse, the regret weren't for this cut alone and Callie knew that Arizona understood that. Callie also knew that Arizona was holding her now, not just because tonight's surgery didn't go well, but because of all those nights she had to cry alone, all the nights she cried silent tears wishing her wife would hold her and didn't. The two women fell asleep holding one another with a better understanding of how their new marriage worked and a silent vow to keep it that way.
A/N: Thank you for the great reviews. Is the build up eating at you? It's coming, I promise.
Calzonafan123 – I hope I answered your question within the chapter, but a lot of restaurants offer fruit cups or apple slices or applesauce or mandarin oranges with their kids meals. It was also Sofia's sneaky little way to participate in her moms' little food exchange.
I keep checking and I'm still not Shonda, so all characters belong to her except Maria, she's mine and I love her. LOL Also, to those of you who say I should write for Grey's, if you know somebody who knows somebody, I'll happily give up my day job.