Climbing off the stepstool after hanging the last of the silver, red, and green garland from the ceiling, Addison looked around her friends' dining room and asked, "Do you usually go to all this trouble for some silly dwarves?" "They're elves Addison!" Arizona corrected as she tied a 3-foot tall mylar elf surrounded by a bundle of red and green latex balloons to a small bag of candy addressed to Sofia and placed it across from the bundle designated for Henry on the other side of the room. The redhead looked at the dining room table which was covered in a green tablecloth, set with paper plates, napkins, and cups imprinted with the trademarked red elf, and red plasticware, waved her hand in the air, and muttered, "Whatever, it still seems like a lot of fanfare for a silly toy." Arizona looked at their friend, rolled her eyes, and growled, "You're hopeless."
"It's not just about the elf Ads, it's about extending the magic of Christmas, seeing the joy on Sofia's face every morning when she wakes up and looks for her elf to see what mischief she's gotten into or what little treat she's brought." Callie explained, looking up from decorating the cookies she had just baked in the shapes of elves, trees, Santa faces, and reindeer heads. Addison snorted and snarked, "You sound like your wife." Smiling brightly, Callie retorted, "I'll take that as a compliment, and to answer your question, yes, whoever had Sof the first week of December, kicked it off with a welcome party of some sort." Arizona picked up a bag from the chair, shoved it in Addie's hands, and muttered, "Make yourself useful and put these on the table." Addison looked in the bag and asked, "What's all this?" then started adding gifts, both wrapped and unwrapped to the table. As the redhead laid out the cars, bouncy balls, light up rings, slime, kinetic sand, small action figures for Henry, surprise dolls for Sofia, Christmas coloring books, crayons, and an Elf on the Shelf advent calendar for each child, Arizona explained, "They are presents from the elves. We are actually going a little bigger than usual though, because Henry has never had an elf and we are about ten days behind. On the way home from the hospital the other night, Sofia worried her elves got lost or hurt in the storm."
The more Addison listened to her friends, saw how much effort they were putting into this little party, she realized it really wasn't about the elves or even the toys, but about making memories for their children. She looked around the room, not seeing the guests of honor and asked, "Where exactly are these ELVES?" Arizona gasped and commanded, "Quick, text Jake and remind him to stop at the mailbox and collect the mail!" Addison arched her brow in question and Callie explained, "They are sent special delivery from the North Pole. The kids have to receive them before they come into the house and see all of this." After texting her husband, she looked at the clock and asked, "Where is he anyway? Shouldn't he have been home from picking the kids up from Art Club an hour ago?" Arizona nodded and replied, "Oh, he had to stop for gas, then he needed something from the office supply store, and then he got a message that we were running late and asked him to stop and get pizza." Addie's jaw dropped in shock and she exclaimed, "You roped him into this elaborate scheme!" Callie laughed, carried the tray of intricately decorated cookies to the table, and answered, "Oh it wasn't hard at all, he was excited to help, especially since you forgot to order the elf. He called me and asked where to get one and what he could do to help us pull it off since he heard the kids whispering and wondering about it on the way to school this morning."
Addie scowled when her hand was smacked away from the cookies, then muttered, "There's only one thing wrong with your plan." Arizona asked, "What's that?" while she arranged sliced kiwi, honeydew melon, green plums, Mexican sour cucumbers, and green grapes into the shape of a Christmas tree, topped with a piece of star fruit and decorated it with raspberries, cherries, and strawberries. The redhead smirked and replied, "We are not running late, we are here, and the kids will know we did all this." Callie picked up her phone that just vibrated across the countertop, read the message and announced, "That's why we are leaving, waiting around the corner, and will pull in right behind Jake and the kids." Addison huffed and grumbled, "You two are setting impossibly high standards for me for next year." Both Callie and Arizona laughed and the blonde soothed, "We will send you Elves for Dummies," patted her friend on the back, and guided her out the door.
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"Look there he is! Go, I want to see Henry's face." Addison commanded when she saw her husband's car pass them from the parking lot they were waiting in. Callie pulled out, followed at a safe distance, and all three women watched as he appeared to be pulling into the driveway without stopping. Addison gasped and hissed, "Oh my God! He forgot to stop. He had one freaking job!" Callie and Arizona shared a knowing look and smiled at one another at Addie's reaction. Since they'd left the house, she pelted them with questions about what she should do with the elf, and her excitement grew with each answer they gave. She sighed in relief when she watched him stop halfway up the drive and the kids got out of the car and ran back to the mailbox. Realizing he'd done it on purpose, she declared, "Oh! He wanted the kids to get the packages." Seeing this, Callie continued driving and made it to the front of the house just as Henry and Sofia reached the mailbox.
Pulling into the driveway, Callie stopped so Arizona and Addison could record the moment, rolled down her window, and casually asked, "Hey how was…" and that's all she got out when she was cut off by her daughter's excited shriek. Sofia saw her mommy's red car pull into the driveway and heard her mama say something but she had just opened the mailbox and her attention was focused on the familiar shimmery red puffy envelope she'd gotten every year no matter whose house she was at. Snatching it out of the mailbox, she hugged it tightly to her body, let out a squeal of excitement and danced around in circles, singing, "They're here, they're here!" She stopped when she heard Henry ask, who's here? Our moms?" Remembering she saw a flash of green before she took out her own envelope, Sofia shook her head, reached into the mailbox, pulled out a green envelope identical to hers, handed it to Henry and explained, "Our elves! They finally came." Henry furrowed his brow and asked, "Are you sure? I don't have an elf." Sofia held up her envelope, showed him the white label which read, 'TO: Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres; FROM: S. Clause, North Pole' and explained, "This is my elf, it always comes in an envelope just like this. That one has your name on it, so it must be your elf." Henry looked down at the label, read, 'TO: Henry Montgomery Reilly; FROM: S. Clause, North Pole' let out a loud whoop and started jumping up and down yelling, "I got an elf! I got an elf! Dad! Mom! I got an elf!" Both kids ran straight to the house, forgetting about their parents, excited to see what was in their envelopes.
Addison put her phone down, wiped the tears of joy and maybe just a hint of guilt from her eyes and declared, "Okay, I get it now. I didn't…Wow! They're so excited and happy." Arizona turned to her friend, smiled, and replied, "It's the magic of Christmas." Callie reached for her wife's hand and added, "It brings them happiness, but it's also fun for us to watch their reactions, to know we can put those smiles on their faces." Addie tapped Callie on her shoulder and demanded, "Well come on then, I want to see the elves and their reactions when they get into the house." Callie laughed, looked at Arizona and whispered, "I think we created a monster." All three women laughed and followed Jake's car into the garage. Seeing the kids standing at the door, waiting impatiently, Addie whined, "How are we supposed to get in there before them? I want to see their faces when they see the dining room." Callie furrowed her brow in concentration, looked at Arizona, they both smiled at the same time, the blonde nodded, took the house keys from her wife, pulled up the camera app on her phone, jumped out of the car and declared, "Out of the way, pregnant woman with a baby on my bladder coming through." Addison snorted and mumbled, "Well, that's one way," then hurriedly got out of the car so she wouldn't miss anything.
The blonde barely got into the dining room, the kids right behind her when she turned, and hit the red record button just in time to see them both skid to a halt with their mouths wide open as their eyes darted around the room taking in all the decorations, balloons, treats, toys and little wrapped presents. She laughed loudly when they both exclaimed, "WOW!" at the same time. Jake walked into the kitchen, set the boxes of pizza, wings, and breadsticks on the counter and proclaimed, "You can say that again." Callie crossed the room to stand next to Arizona and suggested, "Open your packages, let's see your elves." Henry and Sofia looked at one another and though she was excited to see her elf, or to see which one of her elves came to visit this time, she looked to Henry and offered, "You go first." Henry looked down at his envelope, looked back at his friend and asked, "Are you sure?" Sofia glanced at her envelope one more time and nodded, "Yeah, this is your first elf and I want to see him." Callie and Arizona looked at one another and smiled, they knew their daughter was dying to open her package and couldn't be more proud of her for letting Henry have his moment.
Henry ripped his package open, looked inside, saw the elf and started to reach in to grab him out when Sofia commanded, "Wait! You can't touch him." Henry scrunched up his nose and asked, "I can't?" The little girl shook her head, went to her friend, looked into his envelope, pointed to the piece of paper, and suggested, "You need to read the letter first. It will tell you the rules…" Addison, Jake, and Henry all asked, "There are rules?" Callie and Arizona laughed at their confusion and Sofia explained, "We have to wear gloves; we can't touch them with our bare hands or we will make their magic disappear for a whole day and they can't go back to the North Pole and give Santa their report. Sometimes really bad things happen to them." Callie and Arizona both giggled and Jake couldn't help but ask, "What can happen?" Arizona glared at Callie and drolly recalled, "Well, they might end up frozen in a glass of water and can't bring gifts until they are thawed out." Callie rubbed the back of her neck and muttered, "You heard about that did ya?" Jake gasped and asked, "Isn't that a little harsh?" Callie turned toward him and whispered, "Not when you forget about the damn thing and can't get to the store for presents." Jake laughed and asked, "So they bring presents every day?" Sofia nodded and replied, "Sometimes they bring presents, if you had a good report. Sometimes they play tricks on you if you were bad or make mistakes. One time I used all the toilet paper and didn't replace it and my elf decorated my whole room in toilet paper." Arizona pursed her lips together, started whistling, and looked up to the ceiling when she felt Callie's gaze on her.
Henry carefully pulled out his letter which was typed in red and green print and read it out loud:
Dear Henry,
I am so excited that Santa assigned me to be your elf! Christmas Elves are magical creatures and we have a special magical Elvin dust on our clothes that make it possible to travel to and from the North Pole to see Santa to give him reports and pick up special gifts for you. But if we are touched by humans, our special powers to travel are drained for a whole day and we are unprotected from bad things that could happen to us. If you look on the table, there is a small green package with your name on it. Please open it now. (I'll wait).
Henry laid down his letter, found the green present, opened it, found that it contained a pair of white cotton gloves, put them on, picked up his letter, and continued reading.
You should have found a pair of gloves. If you haven't already, put them on, and now you can take me out of the envelope and we can be formally introduced.
Henry carefully took the elf out of the envelope and yelled, "Dad, look! He's dressed like Elvis." Jake shook his head, stared at Arizona and Callie in confusion, knowing the elf he purchased was the trademarked red elf, and responded, "Well, will you look at that. I wonder why he is dressed like that." Henry shrugged and kept reading.
I know elves don't usually look like me, but I like to sing and Santa picked me for you because he said you and your dad like to sing along to The King and you especially like his Christmas songs. He's my favorite too. I think we will be great friends. I will be here with you until Christmas Eve, then I will go back home with Santa until next year.
Your special friend,
Elfis Presently
Henry hugged his elf and exclaimed, "I love him!" He then looked at Sofia and said, "Thank you for letting me go first. Will you open yours now?" Sofia nodded excitedly, started to tear open her package, then stopped as she realized this was the first time she could remember spending Christmas with both of her mommies. She'd always had two elves and wondered which one came to visit and if they had to choose… "What's wrong sweetie?" Sofia looked up at her mommy, bit her bottom lip and hesitantly explained, "I've always…um, which elf came and what happened to the other one? Does she think I don't love her because I don't have two houses anymore? Do you think she will find another little girl to love?" Callie truly felt for her tender-hearted daughter. She never realized she'd think about these things and wasn't quite sure which elf Arizona chose. They'd only talked about not needing two elves anymore. Before she could say anything, Arizona turned to her, winked, then looked back at their daughter and suggested, "Why don't you open the package and see?" Sofia nodded, ripped the top of the envelope open, then gasped and exclaimed, "They both came!" She looked around the table, found a present on the table just like Henry's, opened it, put on the gloves, carefully took out first the elf with the astronaut helmet and princess dress, then the one with the white coat, rainbow leggings and roller skates, held them in one hand, took the letter out and read it aloud.
Dear Sofia,
We missed you so much! We're sorry we were so late. The weather was really bad and we couldn't travel. We know you are surprised to see both of us, but we couldn't decide which one of us got to keep you so Santa said since we were both with you most of your life, it wouldn't be fair to take one of us away, so he said we could both come. We're really happy you finally got your wish and get to have both of your mommies for Christmas.
Since it took us so long to get here and because we wanted to welcome Elfis and Henry, we decided to have a big party. We hope you like all of the gifts we brought. Don't forget to show Henry our movie. We know you know all the rules and you'll take good care of us.
Love your elves,
Star Dancer and Dr. Perky Rainbow Sprinkles
Sofia looked to her parents and declared, "I can't believe they both came! I love them both so much." Callie watched as the two children showed off their elves to one another, noticed how her daughter's mood instantly perked up when she saw both elves and realized once again how well her wife knew their daughter and thought of her needs. She knew it wasn't about having two elves, but what that represented. Sofia was a creature of habit like both of her parents and in this case, it's like the letter…or Arizona, who wrote the letter, said, they'd both been with her most of her life and they each brought her special memories of sharing the holiday with each of her parents. Wrapping her arm around Arizona's shoulder, Callie pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, "You are amazing. That was…you always know what she needs, you always give her what she needs." Arizona smiled up at her wife, kissed her on her cheek, and murmured, "Thank you. I just couldn't decide. I know they both mean so much to her. I didn't want her to feel like she had to give something up or lose it because we were together." Callie kissed the top of her head, squeezed her tighter, and the two couples stood smiling as they watched their children discover all the treats on the table.
After they'd eaten dinner, cleared their toys and presents from the table, the kids washed up, and put on their special elf pajamas, then Callie turned on the Elf on a Shelf movie and settled the kids on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn. Jake and Addison insisted on cleaning up the kitchen demanding that Arizona sit at the table and rest. Once they were all finished, they gathered around the table, Callie and Addison relaxing with a glass of wine while Jake decided to join Arizona in drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Lowering his voice so the kids couldn't hear him, Jake looked to Callie and Arizona and offered, "Thank you both for including him today. We know this is a special tradition for you and it means a great deal that you included Henry and us." Callie smiled and replied, "You're family, of course we would include you." Arizona nodded in agreement and added, "It was fun watching him get so excited." Addison conceded, "It really was. What I want to know is how you knew about Elvis." Arizona threw her head back and laughed as she explained, "The night you were putting up your tree, we could hear Elvis blasting through the speakers and I looked out the window and could see Jake and Henry doing their best Elvis moves." The redhead shook her head and declared, "They drive me nuts with that. But where did you get the costume?" Arizona explained, "They make all sorts of costumes for them now." Jake smiled and stated, "Well, I love it and my wife has no idea what good music is."
Callie sipped her wine, half listening to the conversation, focused on the elf that spent her Christmases with Sofia and Arizona. Not wanting to break the rules, she picked up a glove then lifted the doll that was wearing a white doctor coat, rainbow leggings, and roller skates, smirked and commented, "She looks a little familiar." Realizing exactly what her wife meant, Arizona chuckled and answered, "Well, she started out as Rainbow Sprinkles because of our shared love of rainbow sprinkled donuts but after Karev regaled her with the story of the perky blonde peds surgeon who used to roller skate in the hospital, drove Bailey crazy, and convinced him working with tiny humans was hardcore, she decided she wanted to be a doctor. When we got home, she added the coat from one of her Barbies and the skates from, well, I'm not sure where, but then she changed her name to Dr. Perky Rainbow Sprinkles." Callie smiled at the thought of the younger version of her wife, looked at the doll again and declared, "That's quite an homage to her mommy."
Addison pointed to the other elf which was wearing an astronaut helmet and a princess dress and asked, "What's that supposed to be?" Both Callie and Arizona smiled sadly, recalling the difficult time that they were separated and Callie explained, "That is Princess Star Dancer. When she was two, Sof told one of us she wanted to be an astronaut for Halloween and she told the other she wanted to be a princess, we compromised and put them together. When we decided to start the elf the following year after we moved into the house, she still wanted to be a princess and an astronaut but added a dancer into the mix." Jake laughed and shared, "When Henry was two, he wanted to be a firetruck when he grew up." Arizona laughed and asked, "Don't you mean a fireman?" Addie drank the last of her wine and drolly answered, "Nope, he wanted to be the truck. He would run around outside, whip out his hose and practice putting out fires. The joys of being a boy mom." Callie gasped and exclaimed, "You don't mean…" Addie nodded, grinned wickedly and quipped, "Just think, you'll have two…at the same time!" Arizona buried her face in her hands and muttered, "Oh God!"
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"Arizona, have you seen the little baby booties your mom sent from her knitting club?" Callie asked while walking into their closet and coming out with a large tote bag. Confused by the request, Arizona took one last look in the bathroom mirror, strolled into their bedroom, and answered, "I think they're in the guest room where we've been dumping all the baby stuff. Why are you…" Her question turned into a giggle when she watched her wife rush out of the room, apparently to find the elusive baby shoes. Crossing over to the bed, she started to look through the bag and wondered what her wife was up to when Callie returned with a huge accomplished smile on her face holding three pair of knitted shoes. Arching her brow in question, unable to hide her amusement, Arizona asked, "What is all this?" Callie added her latest find to the bag and replied, "Clare suggested we bring different outfits or props, things that represent who we are as a family and a couple, for our photo session today and I uh…" She stopped, nervously rubbed at the back of her neck and with her cheeks turning a bright red in embarrassment, admitted, "I might have logged into your Pinterest account and searched for cute maternity photo ideas." Standing in the middle of the room, staring at the badass ortho goddess, who was all but bursting with excitement over family maternity photos, Arizona felt her heart do that all too familiar flip and she knew for certain the fluttering she felt in her abdomen had nothing to do with their babies and everything to do with the gorgeous person in front of her who turned into a big ball of mush when it came to all things baby and family.
Deciding to reveal her own secret, Arizona slid her hands up Callie's arms, let her fingers linger on the defined biceps, then continue their path up her shoulders, around her neck, and into the soft stubble on the back of her head. She leaned forward, pulled her wife's face closer to hers, and brushed their lips together in a soft sexy kiss. Looking into those deep pools of emotion she loved so much, Arizona murmured, "I may have picked up a little something for our private collection of photos. I was going to surprise you, but I think now is a good time to show you." Callie arched her sexy brow and asked, "Oh yeah?" Arizona nuzzled their noses together, stepped out of her wife's embrace, and went into the closet to retrieve her little surprise. When she emerged with two small pink and white striped boxes with black trim and writing, Callie's heart began to race. She would recognize that box anywhere. Arizona knew it was one of her favorite stores, especially when it came to purchasing lingerie for her wife.
The brunette felt excitement of an entirely different kind coursing through her veins when Arizona stepped between her legs and handed her the top box. Biting her bottom lip nervously, the blonde explained, "While you were looking for good wholesome family photos, I researched something entirely different. This is what I will be wearing." Callie took the box, opened it up, and gasped, not only at the beauty of the garment, but at the sensation it caused in the pit of her stomach and the instant pooling of arousal at her core. She lifted the sheer, black lace, baby doll nighty which was barely long enough to cover Arizona's ass and she knew with her protruding belly, it would raise the front to reveal her…holy mother of God…the matching thong, which just fell onto her lap as the thin piece of material unfolded in her hands. She found the satin bows which served as shoulder straps, held the sexy outfit up so she could take it all in, and noticed how the embroidered floral pattern would allude to, but just barely cover, her wife's enlarged areola and nipples and the elastic band, covered in black satin that fell just below the bustline, would accentuate her full swollen breasts. Callie licked her lips when she focused on the sheer bodice which would do nothing to hide their unborn children, and the scalloped bottom that was embroidered with the same pattern and lined with shiny satin. Thinking of how the material would cling to her wife's curves, accentuate her protruding belly, and highlight her creamy alabaster skin, Callie was barely holding onto her desire to make her wife model it for her then and there. Her nostrils flared and she tried to control her breathing, when she looked up and whispered, "My God Arizona, I can't…this is going to…Jesus! I don't want anyone else to see you in this." Arizona knew the outfit would turn her wife on, but she never expected this reaction…she watched as onyx eyes devoured her with their gaze and a tongue darted out to lick luscious red lips.
Taking a deep breath, Arizona nervously handed over the other box, hoping her wife would find this not only acceptable, but just as sexy as she did. Callie could see the anxiety written all over her wife's face and though several months ago, may have been concerned that this was the typical lingerie set they used to buy one another, she knew without a doubt, Arizona had chosen something that suited the person she was now. She was not disappointed when she took off the lid and stared down into the box. Reaching out, she lifted the white satin racerback sports bra and felt a little tingle run down her spine. Though it veered from her norm these days, it was hot, sexy, and perfectly within her comfort zone. Inspecting the garment closer, she found the cups of the bra were made of white satin, as was the one inch elastic strip at the bottom that offered extra support. The front, sides and back were covered in sheer white lace, all trimmed in white satin as well. Looking down into the box, she found a pair of matching bottoms that could be classified as neither boy shorts nor boxers. The front, inner thighs, and back were made of the same white satin and the outer thighs were covered in sheer lace. Holding up both pieces, she realized that the bright white also contrasted with her own skin and understood that her wife had deliberately chosen these colors for them. Looking up to see Arizona chewing on the inside of her lip, she put the lingerie back into the boxes, moved them to the side, pulled her wife onto her lap, smile softly, and whispered, "It's…they're both gorgeous and sexy, and I…God please tell me you intend for us to wear these later tonight." Arizona let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, ran her hand through Callie's hair and confirmed, "Oh, I totally do." She looked down at the sexy lingerie and added, "Maybe not for long though." Callie chuckled and pulled her into a deep searing kiss.
As their passion took over and all thoughts of the day ahead of them started to drift away, leaving only thoughts of how much they wanted the other in that moment, they jumped apart when they heard their daughter call out, "Are you ready yet! It's time to go." Still panting, trying to get her libido under control, Callie accused, "She sounds just like you." Arizona stood up, exhaled slowly, trying to settle her own breathing and calm the throbbing at her core, and responded, "If you are referring to the need to be on time, yes. If you mean her impatience, then that's all you." Callie chuckled, knowing she couldn't argue with that statement, stood up, looked down at herself and smirked, wondering how her wife had managed to unbutton her shirt without her even knowing it, quickly fixed her clothes, smoothed out Arizona's outfit as well, then suggested, "Let's go take some pictures." She picked up the bag of things she had collected and strolled out of the room. Recalling two things that were in the bag, Arizona went to the closet, dug through a box, pulled out the third of the set, shoved it into her purse, then followed her wife out the door.
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Arriving at the studio right on time, Callie and Arizona were greeted by a woman in her mid-forties with curly auburn colored hair, grey-blue eyes, and a warm welcoming smile. The woman looked at the small family and introduced, "Hello, welcome, I'm Clare and I'm assuming you are the Robbins-Torres family." Callie smiled, shook the woman's outstretched hand and returned, "We are, I'm Cal, this is my wife Arizona, our daughter Sofia, and these…" she protectively splayed her hand across Arizona's stomach, and finished, "Are our triplets." Arizona watched as the woman's eyes lit up with surprise and she declared, "Oh! Carlos didn't mention you were having triplets. How exciting. Let's go to my office and talk a bit first. I'd like to get to know a little more about you as a family, what kind of photos you want to take, and if you need a little inspiration, you can look at my portfolio."
Arizona turned to take Sofia's hand and found her wandering through the studio looking at all the backdrops and equipment, smiling at her daughter's curiosity, she called out, "Come on Sof, let's go talk about the kind of pictures you want to take and maybe if you have questions, Ms. Fisher will answer them as we go along." The older woman looked down at the little brunette, saw the fascination in her eyes, remembered that look of amazement and wonder from her younger days, and was certain she saw that little spark, the same spark that had driven her to where she was now, and offered, "I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have Sofia." Just to test her theory, she suggested, "Maybe after we take the family photos, I can get my assistant to show you around and you can help her with a shoot she's been working on." She knew she had the little girl pegged when her face lit up and her little body started wiggling with excitement.
After twenty minutes of Callie and Arizona sharing a little about themselves and their family, and the three adults tossing ideas back and forth, Clare stood up and proclaimed, "Let's start with what you brought, which is an amazing idea, and then we will move on from there." She showed them to a private dressing room then went to her main studio to start setting up. When the trio first arrived, the foremost thing she noticed was how strikingly beautiful each of them were as individuals, but also what a gorgeous family they made. Her photographer's eye was already choosing lighting which would complement both the darker skin tones of Cal and Sofia as well as highlight Arizona's much lighter tone without making her look washed out or overly pale. She knew she would insist on a few black and whites with just the two women and was thrilled when they not only agreed to more intimate photos but came prepared for them. Hearing the small family in the hallway, she announced, "I'm in here, last door on your right," then smiled when she looked up to see the entire family enter the room dressed in medical scrubs. Callie explained, "Our friends had these made for us for the gender reveal and I thought…it's just so much of who we are." Arizona giggled and added, "Theirs were made, I grew out of mine a while ago, so you get my normal everyday scrubs." The photographer laughed and replied, "You all look great and I agree, this is exactly the type of thing I'm looking for."
Setting the background, she decided on all white which would make the color of their clothes, along with the blonde's blue eyes, pop in the photo once she added the filters she wanted. After putting each person in place, Arizona in the middle, sitting on a reclining chair that was draped with a soft white blanket, Callie on one side, Sofia on the other, she directed them in specific poses, then Callie asked, "Can we…um…Sofia and I, we like to listen to the babies' heartbeats and talk to them. I brought our stethoscopes, can we…" Clare smiled and nodded excitedly, she actually loved it when families came with their own ideas and she could already tell these pictures were going to be some of her best work. When Callie went to the bag of items they brought with them, Arizona remembered, "Oh!, Sofia, can you go to the dressing room and bring me my purse please?" The little girl nodded, left the room, and Callie returned to her side holding both of their stethoscopes. She furrowed her brow in confusion when Sofia returned with Arizona's purse and her wife pulled out a third stethoscope.
Arizona handed the item to Sofia, took her own from Callie and explained softly, "That was your daddy's. When I saw mama packed ours, I thought it would be special if we had at least one picture that included daddy too." Callie and Sofia both looked at the little hand that held the silver bell with the initials M.E.S. engraved on the top and all three sets of eyes glistened with unshed tears. Callie looked down at her wife in disbelief. She was so connected with these children already, so focused on the fact that they were hers, sometimes she forgot they used Mark as a donor, and the idea that Arizona wanted to include him in this way, it brought tears to her eyes. She leaned down, murmured, "You astonish me," then brushed their lips together in a soft kiss. None of them heard the shutters going off as the photographer took advantage of the seemingly emotional moment. Standing behind the camera, she framed the shot of the blonde reclining in the chair, her shirt lifted to bare her belly, each of them wearing a stethoscope and holding the bell on the protruding bump. She didn't even have to ask them to smile as they came naturally when they apparently heard the tiny heartbeats ringing out in their ears.
Once they changed into their normal outfits of jeans and royal blue tops again, Clare suggested a few poses, then situated the family so they were all on the floor, Sofia lying on her stomach in front of Arizona between her outstretched legs and Callie behind her, supporting her body with hers. Clare held up her hands, bent her fingers, touched all of her fingertips together, made a point at the bottom with the tips of her thumbs, then asked, "Sofia, can you make this shape and then put your hands on your mommy's belly, right in the middle?" Sofia smiled, easily made the shape of a heart with her hands and rested them on her mommy's tummy. Clare directed them all where to look, took a few shots, then asked Arizona to make the same heart shape and outline Sofia's hands, the blonde did as she was asked, Clare took a few more shots, then added Callie's hands into the pattern as well. When they were finished, Callie pulled out the little booties and asked if they could include them in a few shots before wrapping up the family shoot. The photographer repositioned them, watched as Callie and Arizona situated the pink and blue knitted booties on her stomach where they knew each baby was located, then followed their photographers notes about how to sit and where to put their hands.
When she announced she was finished with the family shots, they stood up and Clare noticed Sofia fiddling with her shirt that had risen up past her belly button as she stood. Looking over to see Arizona had yet to pull her own shirt down, she started taking more pictures and silently directed Callie to look at her wife and daughter and asked her to do the same. She smiled when she looked into her lens and saw all three of them with one hand holding their shirts up, the other hand resting on their stomach, and each of them looking down. When she finished, knowing the type of pictures Cal and Arizona wanted, Clare called out to her assistant, waited for her to join them, then asked, "Allie, can you please take Ms. Sofia into my small studio, show her how the Nikon works, and help her direct the teddy bear family through their photo shoot?" Understanding her boss wanted to give the parents their privacy as well as gauge the young girl's eye for photography, Allie winked at her mentor and aunt, and invited, "What do you say Sofia? Do you think you can get these busy bears under control for me?" Sofia bounced on her toes, looked from one adult to the other, received her parents' nod of approval, then followed the woman down the hall.
Clare closed the blinds in her studio, set up a portable changing partition, and informed Callie and Arizona, I'll let you get changed in here to protect your privacy so you don't have to walk through the studio. Knock on the door when you are ready for me, and we will get started. Both women nodded then waited for her to leave the room before Callie picked up the bag and carried it behind the curtain. Handing over Arizona's black nighty, she asked, "Are you…" Arizona stopped her with a hard smacking kiss and declared, "I am certain I want to do this. You make me feel so beautiful, so sexy, and this…this is something intimate that we may never get to do again. I want to have these memories, to preserve this time of us not only being expectant mothers, but lovers who are expecting." Callie smiled, lifted Arizona's shirt over her head and replied, "You are the sexiest pregnant woman I have ever seen and I love your body like this." Arizona leaned in for a longer, more sensual kiss, darted her tongue out to lick Callie's bottom lip, pulled back, and whispered, "I love that you love me no matter how I look." Callie brushed their lips together one last time, helped Arizona get dressed, then donned her own sexy lingerie.
Clare stepped back into the room, smiled softly at the obviously nervous couple, and gently revealed, "I'm going to leave this part up to you. I won't be posing you or directing you in any way because I want it all to be natural and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or do anything you don't want to do. So you discuss what you want to do, let me know if you need any blankets or props moved, and I'll just move around the room and take pictures." She watched both women relax slightly, then started taking pictures at their nod of approval. As she watched how their bodies molded together, almost became one, she tried to catch the fluidity in their movements, the flexing of their muscles, the look of undying love and devotion in their eyes. As she and Callie posed together, Arizona felt Callie's hand slide down her left thigh, looked up into brown eyes swirling with love, and that gave her all the courage she needed, to do something she'd been thinking about for the past couple of days. She wanted these pictures to be natural, to capture her at a time when she felt the strongest, yet most vulnerable. Taking a deep breath, she whispered, "Take it off." Callie's eyes shot up to meet Arizona's, uncertain she heard her correctly. For a brief moment, she thought she meant her outfit until she realized where her hand was and recognized that her wife wanted to bare her true self for these pictures and in that moment couldn't be more proud of her.
The photographer watched in silence as the brunette led the blonde to the oversized chair in the corner, helped her sit down, kneeled down in front of her, then proceeded to remove her leg. Clare did her best to hide her shock, she never would have guessed the blonde was an amputee, though the couple must have heard her breath hitch in the quiet room. Turning to look at the other woman, prepared to defend her wife, Callie relaxed slightly when she saw the woman watching them intently, holding the camera in one hand, while resting the other over her heart. Shaking her head, Clare offered, "I…my apologies, I didn't expect that. I just, I hope this is okay to say, I mean, I've taken hundreds of maternity photos, but you, Arizona, have got to be one of the most beautiful and confident subjects I've ever photographed." She saw the flare of jealousy burning in the brunette's eyes and was quick to add, "Artistically speaking that is. I've also been married to the same man for twenty-two years!" Arizona laughed at that, slapped her wife on the shoulder, and teased, "Stop scaring our photographer." She then looked at Clare and shyly offered, "Thank you, that was very nice of you." The woman nodded and continued to take photos of the gorgeous couple, then several of Arizona on her own in the flowy colorful fabrics she had on hand in the studio.
Once they were all finished, Allie returned with Sofia who was holding a small book and quickly ran to show her mothers. Callie and Arizona sat with their daughter between them and oohed and aahed at the pictures she had taken. Callie smiled, pointed to one particular picture and exclaimed, "This one is amazing Sof. Did you take this?" Sofia nodded excitedly and declared, "Ms. Allie showed me how to work the camera, it's sooooo much better than your phone. Oh, then we moved the lights around and changed the colors and she let me do whatever I wanted with the poses." After speaking to her niece and protégé, who started showing interest in photography at Sofia's age, Clare joined the family and asked, "May I see those?" Arizona passed the book to the photographer, then laughed at her daughter who continued to talk about lighting and camera settings and neither mother was surprised when she asked, "Can I get a real camera? We could take pictures of the babies, not just on your phone and I could take pictures of Tobin and Henry, and Christmas and…" she trailed off when Clare interrupted, "Sofia, would you mind finding Allie and asking her to bring me one of my special boxes please?" The little girl nodded, and though she was excited, tried to remember not to run, and skipped out the door.
Callie and Arizona both looked at Clare expectantly and the older woman explained, "When I saw your daughter walking around and looking at everything earlier, I noticed this little…I don't know, spark. That's why I asked Allie, my niece, to show her around. She was Sofia's age when she started taking an interest in photography. Clare crossed the room, picked up a book, flipped through the pages until she found her favorite landscape photos, and watched as both women turned the pages and admired the images. She went on to explain, "She was fifteen when she took this picture at The Grand Canyon." Callie furrowed her brow and insisted, "I've seen this picture…" Arizona cut in, "In almost every doctor's office or hotel lobby we've been to." Clare smiled and agreed, "She made hundreds of thousands of dollars on that one photo. My point is, looking at these pictures, I feel like Sofia has that same eye and Allie agrees. We run a photography clinic one Saturday a month and will be hosting a photo camp during the holiday break. I'd really love it if your daughter could join us." Arizona looked at Callie and the two carried on a silent conversation until the blonde supplied, "It's really up to Sofia. If she's interested, she has our full support. Just tell us what we need to get for her."
Somehow, she expected that answer, and the older woman smiled and explained, "Well, thanks to the Torres Foundation, we are able to provide the equipment to our students and who better to reap the benefits than a Torres herself? That's what I sent her for. We created a young photographer's starter kit with a decent camera, some editing software, and a photo printer with the funds Carlos provided. If it's okay with you, I will ask her if she is interested." Both women nodded in agreement and smiled when their daughter returned with the younger woman in tow, carrying a nondescript brown cardboard box. After discussing everything with Sofia, who was nearly coming out of her skin with excitement, the little girl looked at her mommies and asked, "Can I? It was so fun!" Callie nodded and replied, "If it's something you are interested in and think you would enjoy, then you most certainly can." Sofia jumped up and down, hugged both of her parents, then hugged the two photographers, and said, "Thank you! I'm so excited, I can't wait to start." Clare looked to her niece and suggested, "Why don't you get her started, show her how everything works, and we will go over the proofs from today's shoot." Allie nodded her head and led Sofia to her own office.
XXXX
After another hour of pouring over their photos and choosing their favorites, Arizona declared the babies were hungry, and upon Clare's suggestion, they found themselves in a small restaurant that specialized in making what the photographer claimed was the best macaroni and cheese she ever tasted. Looking at the menu, Callie shook her head and stated, "I can't believe there are so many options. You can pick your own pasta shape, cheese, and look at all these toppings." She glanced at her daughter who was painstakingly staring at the menu and her heart clenched when she realized she was trying to choose for herself. Though she wanted to just pick for her, she kept her mouth shut and let her daughter decide. Sofia stuck her little tongue out between her teeth and tried to read the menu on her own. She was becoming a better reader and she was a big girl now and didn't need her mommies to help her. Well, she knew they wouldn't have time to help her soon, so she was determined to try it alone. Scanning the menu, she searched for the kids section, found what she was looking for and asked, "May I get this one?" Arizona glanced at the menu where her daughter was pointing and though she could read it just fine, asked the little girl who was once again asserting her independence, "Which one? Will you read it for me?" Sofia nodded and replied, "It's called The Cheeseburger, it has cheddar and American cheese with sea…season…seasoned ground beef." Both women smiled and Callie nodded, "That sounds good. We know you love your cheeseburgers and macaroni and cheese. That's perfect for you." Sofia smiled, happy her mommies approved, then closed her menu and put it next to her.
Callie decided on the build your own with mozzarella cheese, lobster, and steak, and unable to decide, Arizona chose the sampler which consisted of smaller portions of a variety of different cheeses and toppings. After they ordered, Callie asked Sofia, "You never told us, what did your elves get up to today?" Sofia giggled and replied, "They brought me some Elf cereal and I think they were trying to make breakfast, but they spilled milk and cereal all over the place. I cleaned it up before you got mad at them." Arizona glared at Callie, who was actually behind the antics, and replied, "Well they sure started off with a bang. Sounds like they get into a lot of trouble together." Callie put down her drink, smiled at her wife and disagreed, "I don't know, sounds like they are the perfect pair to me." Arizona laughed and asked, "Well was the cereal good at least?" Sofia nodded and replied, "Oh yeah! It was really sugary and sweet and it has marshmallows. There was even a little mini elf inside." She then tilted her head as if she were thinking hard about something, pursed her lips and finally asked, "Will the babies get elves? Will they be baby elves? What will they do? Will the babies even know they are there?" Callie and Arizona stared at one another wide-eyed, they hadn't thought that far ahead and wondered about the tone in their daughter's voice.
Taking a drink of her water to give herself a little time to think, the blonde answered, "Well, I'm not sure. I think it's up to Santa. You're elf didn't start coming until you were three when you could enjoy her and understood what Christmas was about." Callie watched as their daughter seemed to sink in relief and asked, "What is it honey? Is something bothering you?" The little girl bit her lip and she looked everywhere but at her mommies. She knew they would both know this meant she didn't want to tell them something, but she'd been worried about it for a while and decided she had to tell them at some point. Taking a deep breath she blurted, "Things are gonna change and what if people forget about me. You are going to have three more kids to worry about and grandma and grandpa and abuela and abuelo and Tia Aria and everyone else are all so excited for the babies and…and…and they are going to get all the attention and I love the babies and I want them to come and I want little brothers and a sister, but what if I'm too old for Christmas and the Easter Bunny and they decide to only bring gifts for the babies and that's why I'm trying to do things on my own because you won't have time for me." Once she got it all out, she felt bad for saying it and could feel the tears burning her eyes. She knew she sounded like a selfish brat, but she was scared no one would love her anymore.
Callie and Arizona both watched and listened as their little girl nearly fell apart right before their eyes. Neither of them had any idea she was feeling this way. She'd seemed so excited about the babies. Quickly standing up and going to her side, Callie knelt down in front of her and Arizona took the seat next to her and they both pulled her into a tight hug making her cry harder. Arizona soothed, "Oh baby, we could never forget about you nor stop loving you." Sofia sniffled and replied, "But you could! You don't know that." Callie raised her hand, put her finger under Sofia's trembling chin, lifted her face so she was looking at both of them, Arizona wiped her eyes with a napkin, and Callie gently declared, "We do know that. We know with all of our hearts that we will always hold a special place for you in our hearts and in our minds. You are our first baby, you will always be our first baby no matter how many more come along. We loved you first, we've known you longest, and that makes you special." Sofia looked at them skeptically and her voice wobbled when she asked, "It does?" Arizona nodded and asked, "What's your most special toy?" Sofia huffed, rolled her eyes and answered, "You know it's Mr. Cuddles mommy." Arizona smiled and replied, "I do know that. I also know that Mr. Cuddles was your first toy. He's a beat up old bear with one eye, his arm has been sewn back on more times than I can remember, he used to be dark purple and now he's light pink because he's been washed so much. You have remote control barbie cars, light up toys, baby dolls that talk, pee, and poop, huge doll houses, tablets, and all kinds of other toys, but at the end of the day, Mr. Cuddles is your guy. It's like Mama and her T-Bird. It has an old radio, no air, no safety features, nothing special, except all the memories and love she's put into it because it was her first car. She's had many special cars and cares for them and takes care of them, but she still cares for that one just as much and never fails to give it the attention it deserves. We will love all of our children Sofia, and we will love all of you in different ways for different reasons because of the people you are, because of the things that are special about each one of you and that is one of the things that is special about just you and none of them can replace that. Do you understand?" Sofia smiled slightly and nodded.
Callie added softly, "Yes, things are going to change and the babies will need more help doing things than you do, but it doesn't mean we don't know that you will still need our attention and love too. We appreciate that you are trying to do things on your own, part of that is called finding your independence, figuring out what you can and can't do without us. Like just now, when you decided what you wanted for lunch all by yourself. Me and mommy, we were ready to order for you and I know for me, it made me a little sad, not only that you wanted to pick for yourself but that you picked something different than what I would have chosen and would have ended up with something you didn't want because you had no say." Sofia perked up then and asked, "Really?" Arizona nodded and answered, "Really, and the other day when I came in to wash your hair and you were already out of the bathtub and dressed for bed. It made me sad to know you didn't need me anymore." Sofia furrowed her brow and replied, "I'll always need you, I just…hmmm, I just knew I could do it alone." Arizona smiled and responded, "And we will always need you, no matter how big you get or how much you can do by yourself. You will always be our baby and we will always miss doing things for you." Sofia smiled then, her mini-mega-watt smile, and declared, "You can still read to me, tuck me in, and oh, you can cut up my meat because I can't do that yet." Both women laughed and Callie proclaimed, "Deal!" She then looked at her daughter lovingly and asked, "Are we good now?" Sofia nodded and answered, "We're good, I'm sor…" Arizona held up a finger and ordered, "No, you don't get to apologize for expressing your feelings. You were very mature about it and didn't act out or get angry and that also makes us very proud of who you are. Whatever you feel, you can always tell us." Sofia smiled brightly and promised, "Okay. I will."
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After leaving the restaurant, Callie parked as close as she could to Rockefeller Center due to the street closures. Knowing they had a fairly decent walk and several hours' wait before the tree lighting ceremony started, Callie glanced at Arizona, nervously bit her lip, and worried that it might be too much for her. Seeing the concern in her wife's eyes, Arizona took her strong tan hand, intertwined their fingers, and assured her, "Calliope, I'll be fine. If I get tired while we are walking, I'll tell you I need a break." The brunette nodded then expressed, "I know you will, I guess, I didn't…I didn't think about all the standing or how many people would be here, how cramped it would be and I don't want you to get bumped and jostled around." Arizona smiled softly, tightened her grip and tried, "I am almost positive of the 800,000 people who turn out, I won't be the only pregnant person. I'll…" "Is that supposed to reassure me? Seriously? 800,000 people?" Callie asked incredulously. Arizona glanced into the backseat where their daughter was enthralled with the sights and sounds of Christmas and whispered, "She needs this Calliope, especially after what she told us earlier. This is our first real Christmas as a family and the opportunity to do something like this, it's just…we've never had this before. If it will make you feel better, we can stand further back, away from the crowds." Callie exhaled slowly, she knew she was being overprotective, brought their hands to her lips, kissed the soft pale hand and murmured, "I'm sorry. I love you so much and I don't want anything to happen to you." Arizona smiled softly, pulled their hands to her own mouth, kissed Callie's hand and returned, "I love that you love me so much and I love you too. Now let's go, before we don't even get anywhere near the place." Callie smiled, turned to her daughter and declared, "Let's go big girl, we have a tree lighting to get to." Sofia popped up excitedly and scrambled to get out of the car.
Walking through the throngs of people, all three of them were bundled up tightly, and Sofia and Callie were carrying backpacks loaded with blankets, extra gloves, mittens and scarves to keep them warm while standing outside in the evening air. Sofia skipped around her mommies, as was her habit, and asked a barrage of questions, "How long until it starts? Why are we here so early? Doesn't it have to be dark when they light the tree?" Callie chuckled and replied, "They don't light the tree until 9:00 pm, but the entertainment starts at 7:00 pm. In order to get a decent spot, they recommend we be there around 3 or 4 o'clock, that is if we want to see the entertainment or the tree. Sofia asked, "So we are just going to stand around for six hours?" Arizona laughed and replied, "That's the plan. That's why we told you to bring your tablet. Did you pack it in your bag?" The little girl nodded and added, "I have my tablet, coloring book, crayons, and a book." Callie squeezed her shoulder and complimented, "Smart girl! We should have thought to bring books." Arizona leaned in closer to cuddle up to Callie and whispered, "I'm perfectly content just spending some time with my wife." Callie bent down, kissed her nose and replied, "Mmm, I like the sound of that."
Once they approached the venue, they were quite surprised to find that an area on the ice rink right by the low wall was empty, giving them not only an excellent view, but a place to sit. Before they sat down, Callie took one of the blankets from her bag, spread it out on the wall, helped Arizona and Sofia up, took Sofia's blanket from her small backpack, wrapped it around her, then took another blanket from her own bag, sat next to Arizona, and draped it around them. While Sofia was playing a game on her tablet, the two women entertained themselves with Arizona's favorite pastime of making up stories about the strangers around them, which led them to reminiscing about their first dates and holidays together, which started the discussion about what to get everyone for Christmas. Taking out her phone, Callie started a list, while Arizona searched on-line for stores near them which carried the items they wanted. While their daughter was busy, they also secretly ordered several items for her and had them shipped to Fresh Start.
Overhearing her mommies' discussion about presents, Sofia asked, "Do I still get to buy presents for everybody too?" Arizona nodded and replied, "You sure do big girl. Mama and I can take you sometime this week or next weekend…Oh, nope, we have the Rockettes on Saturday. It will have to be during the week." Sofia asked, "What are the Rockets?" Callie chuckled and corrected, "The Rockettes. Actually, you'll see them tonight. They always open the show. They are a famous dance company best known for their synchronous kick line dances. They put on this amazing Christmas show every year and Lorraine and Maria bought mommy tickets for her birthday." Sofia clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Yay! I love dancers. Who else is going to be here?" Arizona looked up to see the marquis, pointed at it and suggested, "Look up there. It is listing all of the entertainment and the schedule for the evening." Sofia turned to read the sign, huffed and proclaimed, "It's just an ad right now." Callie shook her head and replied, "Keep watching." She bit her bottom lip to contain her laughter at her daughter's impatience, knowing she took after her.
Feeling someone behind her, Callie turned to see a woman wearing ripped jeans, a hoodie covering her head and most of her face, and a black leather jacket, holding a cup of steaming liquid. The stranger smiled and asked, "Do you mind if I sit for a minute?" Callie shook her head and replied, "No, go right ahead." She scooted a little closer to Arizona to give the woman some room and listened as Sofia read the names from the sign, which took about three run throughs due to her questions and commentaries. First it showed the names of the hosts and recognizing one name in particular, Sofia whipped around and exclaimed, "Mario Lopez! Isn't he the boy from that show you used to watch when you were little and the news show Lorraine watches in the lobby?" Arizona snapped her head around and asked, "You used to watch 'Saved by the Bell?'" Callie shrugged and retorted, "Obviously so did you if you know who he is." Arizona opened her mouth to argue, then muttered, "Tiffany Thiessen was hot." Callie laughed and teased, "Oh my God! You so have a type." Arizona argued, "Oh and you don't?" Callie asked, "How the hell are you and Mario Lopez in any way similar?" Arizona smiled brightly, popped her dimples, pointed to them, and quipped, "We have adorable dimples." Hearing the woman next to her try to contain her laughter, Callie hissed, "That's so ridiculous even strangers are laughing at you." Sofia knew her moms would be at this all night and decided to keep reading.
Looking at the sign again, she yelled, "DIANA ROSS? I'm going to see Diana Ross? Oh my God. You need to call grandma. No, I need to call grandma." Callie turned to Arizona and asked, "Is that where she learned those songs from?" Arizona laughed and replied, "You know my mom, she listens to all the oldies." Callie looked up at the sign in time to see the next performer and suggested, "Oh Sofia, you better call Abuela too and tell her you are about to hear Tony Bennett." Sofia scrunched up her nose and asked, "Tony who?" The stranger next to them interrupted, "Actually, I heard he was sick and has been replaced by a new act." Sofia muttered, "I hope it's someone I know." The woman asked, "Have you ever heard of Pink?" Sofia looked at both of her mommies, not wanting to give away their secrets, but knew she did when they looked at her with that funny eyebrow thing they each did, then answered, "Yeah, I've heard some of her songs. She has a pretty voice." Arizona looked at Callie, they could each see the sadness swirling in the other's eyes and Callie asked, "Just Give Me A Reason? You played it too?" Arizona nodded and replied, "Every time we broke up or I thought we were going to. I listened to it on repeat all the way to Africa." Callie snorted and replied, "I listened to it for days until Christina broke the CD." Sofia rolled her eyes and added, "You both listened to it after you got divorced. ALL. THE. TIME." Embarrassed, both women scolded, "SOFIA!" Callie took Arizona's hand and admitted, "I know I was the one who…I just, I could never accept it was over. I tried, but I always…that song, it was us. Every single word." At the same time, they both declared, "You stole my heart," then smiled at one another lovingly until Arizona leaned in, kissed her softly, and revealed, "Even when we thought we were broken, we were just bent. It took four years, but our love is stronger than ever and now we know it's enough." Sophia muttered, "Well I hope she sings Christmas music. That song is so sad." The woman next to them chuckled, stood up, and offered, "Enjoy your evening. Thanks for letting me sit for a few."
Before they knew it, the sun started going down, activity on the stage started picking up, and finally the hosts came on and introduced themselves and sure enough, announced that Tony Bennett was being replaced by Pink. Unable to see very well, Sofia stood up on the wall beside Callie and danced and clapped when the Rockettes were on stage. When they left the stage in a kick line, she looked at her parents and proclaimed, "You're soooooo lucky!" Arizona smiled at her daughter and suggested, "Maybe next year you can go too." Sofia clapped in excitement, then borrowed her mommy's phone and recorded Diana Ross for her grandma and sent her the video as soon as she was done singing. All three of them sang and danced to the entertainment and with fifteen minutes left to go before the lighting of the tree, Mario Lopez introduced Pink. Unlike the other acts, instead of starting her song right away, the singer took the microphone and walked to the front of the stage.
Looking out over the crowd, she started, "As you all know, I wasn't supposed to be here tonight. As luck would have it, my family and I decided to extend our stay in New York after my most recent concert and when NBC called, I was more than happy to step in." The crowd burst into applause and she waited for the noise to die down before she continued, "Something many people may not know about me is I like to wander through the crowds at events like this and just listen to conversations, maybe get inspiration for new songs. Tonight though, I gained inspiration of a different kind. I'm frequently told how my music impacts other people and I wonder if they are saying it because they feel compelled to do so. While I was wandering through the crowd tonight, I sat by a lovely, and might I say, very entertaining family. Just listening to them, I thought, 'Wow, these people have the perfect life, the perfect relationship.' Long story short, after they heard I'd be here tonight, without knowing they were talking to me, I found out how one of my songs truly impacted them, how it helped them through some of the most trying times of their relationship. I never caught their names, but I'd like to dedicate this song to them. Sofia, I apologize for making you listen to this song again. This one is for your mommies and the inspiration they are to other couples who are afraid love isn't enough. I promise I will sing a Christmas song next, just for you." She then looked backstage and requested, "John Legend, would you mind coming out and helping me with this one?"
Sofia stared at the stage then looked at Callie and Arizona who were also looking at the stage with their mouths hanging open and asked her parents, "Did she…she said my name. Was that…that was the lady." Callie looked at the space where her daughter was now standing, Arizona leaned around her to do the same, then proclaimed, "You were…Pink…Callie…" She was cut off when the slow piano music began and all of their attention was drawn to the stage as the stranger they now knew to be Pink began to sing.
Right from the start
You were a thief, you stole my heart
And I, your willing victim
I let you see the parts of me, that weren't all that pretty
And with every touch you fixed them
Now you've been talking in your sleep oh oh
Things you never say to me oh oh
Tell me that you've had enough
Of our love, our love
Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again
It's in the stars, it's been written in the scars on our hearts
We're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again
I'm sorry I don't understand
Where all of this is coming from
I thought that we were fine (oh we had everything)
Your head is running wild again
My dear we still have everythin'
And it's all in your mind (yeah but this is happenin')
You've been havin' real bad dreams oh oh
You used to lie so close to me oh oh
There's nothing more than empty sheets between our love, our love
Oh our love, our love
Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just bent and we can learn to love again
I never stop, you're still written in the scars on my heart
You're not broken just bent and we can learn to love again
Oh tear ducts and rust
I'll fix it for us
We're collecting dust, but our love's enough
You're holding it in
You're pouring a drink
No nothing is as bad as it seems
We'll come clean
Just give me a reason just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just bent and we can learn to love again
It's in the stars, it's been written in the scars on our hearts
That we're not broken just bent and we can learn to love again
Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again
It's in the stars, it's been written in the scars on our hearts
That we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again
Oh we can learn to love again
Oh we can learn to love again
Oh that we're not broken just bent and we can learn to love again
By the time she was finished, Callie and Arizona had tears rolling down their cheeks, both from the sad memories the song conjured up and the elation they felt that those times were truly behind them. Turning toward one another, they rested their foreheads together and Callie murmured, "I love you so much Arizona Robbins-Torres and I swear to you we will never have to play that song again." Arizona lifted her hands to wipe the tears from cold reddened cheeks and promised, "I love you Calliope Robbins-Torres and I will do everything in my power to make sure we never bend or break again." The two brushed their lips together, once, twice, then deepened the kiss as Callie swiped her tongue across Arizona's top lip. In that moment, they each needed to assure the other that this was real, the sadness and the rough times were behind them, and the future was filled with hope and love. Reluctantly pulling apart, the two continued to hold each other tightly and listen to the end of the Christmas song that was dedicated to their daughter who was grinning so hard they were certain her cheeks would hurt for days to come.
After Pink finished her song, the hosts of the Today show took the stage, all the spotlights and surrounding lights were dimmed and one of the hosts started the countdown from 10. The entire crowd of over 750,000 people were screaming so loud it echoed through the air. When they got to one, the 85 foot tree came to life with thousands of brightly colored lights. The cheers were almost deafening, but then the noise quickly quieted and the impromptu singing of Silent Night rippling through the crowd nearly brought tears to their eyes. Sofia climbed into Callie's lap, lay her head on her shoulder, splayed her hand on Arizona's stomach, and sang along with her mommies. The two women looked at one another, eyes shimmering with love, and leaned their heads together, truly grateful that their love was enough, believing now that it always would be.
A/N: As always, thank you all for the great reviews. I had someone mention they'd like to see Nicole being the protective grandma type, it's in the works, I promise. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
I have to admit, I never watched Private Practice all the way through and only watched the last few episodes for the purposes of writing this story. I knew from GA she wanted to be a mother, but in my mind, because of her relationship with her parents, I see her struggling with the minor details that make the biggest difference, like the elf. I also like the irony of Arizona who thought she would be a bad mother kind of guiding Addison who always wanted to be a mother.
I hope you enjoyed the focus on family and the little bit of everything I tossed in there. I actually researched the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting from 2018 to see who the hosts and the guests were. I did take some creative license on a few things. The tree lighting is normally held the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, I didn't know that, but I knew I wanted them to go. Tony Bennett was in the actual show, but I had a request from ImSoCoolIPissIceCubes to include Pink and the song Just Give Me A Reason into the story somehow. Though it wasn't your exact idea, I hope it met your expectations. I agree, the song suits them perfectly and wish it would have come up in the earlier chapters. Thank you for the idea.
I also had to throw in the little nod to the episode where Arizona came home from Africa and the track of Sara Ramirez singing Silent Night was playing in the background.
All credit goes to Shonda for creating these amazing characters.
Source: Lyric Find
Songwriters: Alecia Moore / Jeff Bhasker / Nate Ruess
Just Give Me a Reason lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc