Lucky Enough

by Forever Calzona

After 2 long years of shuttling her daughter across the country from Seattle to New York, Arizona Robbins recognizes Sofia needs both mothers in her life and decides to follow her ex-wife across the country. Both women have already realized they had a love that only comes around once in a lifetime, will they be lucky enough for it to come around again?

121. Chapter 121

"I think this is the last of it," Callie whispered, while putting a precariously balanced stack of exquisitely wrapped boxes on the floor with only the lights of the tree to guide her. Arizona had just returned from the bedroom, slipped a final gift into the stocking labeled 'Mama', crossed the room, and stood next to her wife. She wrapped one arm around her back, the other around her front, and laid her head on Callie's shoulder, right above her heart, taking comfort in the steady rhythm. Callie draped her arm around Arizona's shoulder, pulled her tighter against her body, rested her cheek on soft blonde curls, and lowered her free hand to caress the abdomen that held their unborn children. Like usual, Callie's first thought was how much she missed this, how much time was lost, closed her eyes, let that familiar guilt wash over her and fade away, then sent up a silent prayer in thanks for all that she was blessed with, for the opportunity to share Christmas with the love of her life once again. Though Arizona wasn't one to pray, she closed her eyes, listened to the steady heartbeat beneath her head, felt the warmth of the body wrapped in her arms, and she too sent a silent thank you into the universe to whatever force it was that brought her family back together and allowed her to share this holiday and the years to come, with her family. Neither of them found the need to voice their thoughts aloud, for innately they knew, they were well aware that the other part of their soul was thinking the same thoughts, feeling the same emotions.

As the two stood in blissful silence, cuddled together, staring at the lights of the tree, as if she could feel Callie's emotions, Arizona murmured, "You told me yesterday that whenever we reach one of these special days, you always feel a twinge of pain, a little sadness for all the time we missed together." Callie kissed the crown of Arizona's head, knowing she felt that exact same way just seconds ago and replied, "I did say that and I meant it. I can't help but to…" Arizona tilted her head back, looked into dark chocolate eyes reflecting the twinkling lights of the tree and interjected, "When we were apart, I did the same thing, now that we are together though, each birthday, each holiday, every milestone we reach, I feel the opposite. Whenever I celebrate those days with you for the second first time, I feel the loneliness, the pain of those lost days drift further and further away. I want that for you too. I don't want you to hold on to the tiniest bit of hurt or guilt." She covered the tan hand on her protruding belly and finished, "I want you to think of how far we've come, the wonderful life we have built together, and the new memories we're making."

Callie looked down at her wife's beautiful face, her alabaster skin glowing from her pregnancy even in the dim light, and knew the other woman was right, she had to let go of the last vestiges of guilt and focus on the life they had now, the future that lie before them. Shifting her body slightly so they stood facing one another, Callie slid her hand over to tangle in silky blonde locks, slipped the other down Arizona's side to snake around her waist, and flirted, "Mmm you're right. Maybe we should focus on making new memories." She lowered her head to brush their lips together and Arizona slipped her hand under Callie's satin shirt, splayed it on her lower back and murmured, "I think that's exactly what we need to do." She moaned in pleasure when Callie darted her tongue out, licked the seam of her lips, and took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, slowly exploring her lovers mouth. Arizona's other hand moved to slip under Callie's shirt, prompting her to whimper when small fingers danced up her ribcage until they met with the sensitive skin at the side of her breast. Callie's hand gradually meandered around Arizona's hip, slipped into the waistband of her satin pajama bottoms and panties, and stroked her bare ass, while tightening her grip in her hair when the kiss turned from slow and languorous to hard and passionate.

Pulling back, gulping in air, Arizona started walking backward and declared, "We should probably take this into the bedroom before we give Santa a show." Keeping her wife firmly in her grasp, Callie carefully guided them around the furniture while placing soft wet kisses on Arizona's neck. Knowing she had one final thing to do to make their evening perfect, Arizona put her hand on Callie's shoulder and suggested, "Maybe you should save yourself a trip and grab that pizza now. We have a lot of Christmas memories to make up for." Thankful for the suggestion, since she had one final preparation to make, Callie gave her ass a tight squeeze, pulled her in for a hard searing kiss, and commanded, "Do not take those pajamas off without me." Just to get a rise out of her wife, Arizona looked her square in the eye, defiantly lifted her hands to her chest, unfastened the top button, and challenged, "You'd better hurry then Calliope." She winked, turned, and smirked to herself when she heard her wife's bare feet scampering across the hardwood floor. Callie quickly made her way to the refrigerator, took out the leftover pizza, grabbed a bottle of water as well, then started toward their bedroom. When she passed the patio doors, she was thankful to see the lights in the pool house were still on, reached over to the light switch, turned the back yard light on and off three times, waited for a response, unlocked the door, then rushed back to the bedroom to make new Christmas memories with her wife.

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When Callie reached their bedroom, before she opened the door, she was met with the spicy sweet aroma of cinnamon, which always reminded her of Christmas time and realized Arizona must have planned this ahead of time. When she turned the knob and slipped inside, making sure to lock the door behind her, Callie's breath hitched at the sight that greeted her, it wasn't just the aromatic candles placed all around the room, nor the soft jazzy Christmas music whispering through the speakers, no, all of that seemed to fade into the background when she laid eyes on Arizona. Her eyes were drawn to her gorgeous wife, belly swollen with their babies, holding a candle in front of her, the light illuminating her naturally glowing skin and sleek blonde curls to make her look like an angel who had fallen from heaven. She knew though, in those sinful red pajamas, the way her eyes glazed over with predatory intent, the sexy smirk which crept across her lips, and how she slowly put the candle down and sauntered toward her, Arizona was feeling anything but angelic at the moment.

Arizona had just lit the last candle when she heard their bedroom door close and the lock click into place. She glanced up to see Callie, unmoving, still holding the pizza box and bottle of water, her dark chocolate eyes igniting with desire as she stared at her like she was the only woman in the world. The light in the room flickered across Callie's flawless caramel colored skin, casting a shadow that accentuated her high cheekbones, her strong chin, and those luscious lips, making the blonde's heart race at the sheer magnificence standing before her. As their eyes locked, Arizona felt the familiar tightening in her abdomen, the jolt of electricity coursing through her veins, and she could no longer fight the urge to take her wife and show her all the love and passion churning inside her.

Putting down the candle, Arizona confidently strode across the room, took the items from her wife's hands, placed them on the dresser next to the door, then turned Callie around, slipped her fingertips under her lapels, placed her thumbs on top, slid her hands up and down the silky fabric, making sure her knuckles grazed the tops of her full breasts, and murmured, "I believe we had a tradition of sharing one specific gift on Christmas Eve Calliope." She slid her hands upwards, tugged lightly on Callie's collar, prompting her to lower her head, barely allowed their lips to touch before tilting her head, gliding her lips across plump red ones, again with the slightest of touches, repeating the action until the brunette growled out her frustration and tried to deepen the kiss herself. Arizona leaned in once more, ran her tongue across a voluptuous red upper lip, slipped it inside, and slid it across the roof of Callie's mouth before meeting her eager tongue in an all encompassing kiss which evoked a long guttural moan of pleasure from each of them.

Callie could already feel her body reacting to Arizona's slight touch and the suggestive tone of her voice. But the moment her wife started teasing her with barely-there kisses, all while her hands caressed her chest, taunting her with hints of the pleasure she knew would soon follow, she could feel her arousal heightening by the way her nipples were hardening, her heart was pounding, her clit was throbbing, and the moisture was trickling from her core. Seeing that her wife fully intended to take charge, she chose to submit and allow her to back her up toward the bed. Feeling their movement stop, Arizona broke the kiss, placed her hands on Callie's shoulders to gently guide her to sit on the side of the bed, leaned forward, traced the outline of her lips with her tongue, then stood between her wife's legs.

Needing to keep the contact, Callie placed her hands on Arizona's hips, dipping her fingertips beneath the waistband of her pajama pants and rubbing small circles at the top of her pelvic bone with her thumbs. Remembering her wife's warning not to start without her, Arizona raised her hands to her own sleep shirt, released the second button, and asked in a sultry tone, "Is this what you wanted to see Calliope? Do you want me to strip for you?" Callie swallowed thickly and with her eyes focused on the pale skin slowly being revealed by the unfastening of each button, she could only nod in response to her wife's question. Before Arizona could reach the final button, Callie broke from her lust-filled stupor, lifted her hands and completed the task for her. Slowly moving the silky fabric to the side, Callie leaned forward, placed soft wet kisses across the taut skin of her wife's protruding belly, and caressed the smooth skin with her hands, before gliding them up and over her sensitive nipples, smiling as she felt the body beneath her lips shudder, then slipped her hands further up and over her wife's strong shoulders, hearing it fall to the floor.

Arizona closed her eyes and allowed her head to roll backward as one of Callie's hands moved to the small of her back to pull her closer, while the other carefully cupped her breast and started rolling her thumb around her areola, never touching the sensitive nub that so desperately needed her attention. She sighed in relief when she felt Callie's warm breath hover over the other breast and gasped when her tongue darted out and swirled over and around her hardened nipple and finally took as much of the swollen mound into her mouth as she could, while kneading and caressing her other breast with her hand. Of their own accord, small pale hands raised to clutch at short black tufts of hair, keeping her wife's mouth where she needed it most. Wanting to feel more of her smooth warm skin, Arizona lowered her hands between them and released the buttons of her shirt until she could no longer reach, then tugged at the material, letting Callie know she needed it off. Callie lowered the hand which rested on Arizona's back, finished unbuttoning her shirt and together they managed to pull it down and off her arms.

Arizona immediately lowered her hands to cup the full mounds and made small circles around her stiffening buds with her palms. Callie kissed a path to the other breast, ran the back of her fingers down Arizona's rib cage, feeling her shiver once again, then slipped both hands into the waistband of her pants and panties and pushed them down to the floor. Sliding one hand around Arizona's hip, she traced the crease of her thigh until she reached the smooth bare skin of her sex and covered it with her hand, letting out a low lewd moan when she felt her creamy arousal gather on the tips of her fingers. Feeling Callie's hand massaging her lower lips caused Arizona's hips to buck and she reached up to grasp her shoulders while whimpering with need. She nearly cried out when nimble fingers swiped through her juices then disappeared, leaving her disappointed by the unfulfilled promise until she looked down and saw those fingers being sucked between glistening red lips. Certain she wouldn't be able to stand up much longer, Arizona pushed at Callie's shoulders, silently telling her what she wanted when she was met with resistance. Furrowing her brow in confusion, Arizona understood the hesitation when she saw Callie reach for her own pants, shimmy out of them, then scoot back on the bed, then reached for her and carefully helped her lie down so they were face to face.

Leaning in at the same time, their lips met in a long sensual kiss and as their hands drifted down one another's body, they knew their need was too strong to continue the foreplay. Callie slid her thigh between Arizona's legs, opening them both up for each other and ran her finger around the slick, throbbing opening of her wife's sex. Arizona rolled her hips into the touch, slipped her fingers through Callie's lower lips, gathered the moisture she knew her wife had produced just for her, and rubbed small quick circles around the swollen bundle of nerves. Callie's breath hitched and her entire body quivered at the sensation. Wanting her wife to feel as good as she did, she mimicked her actions and smiled into the kiss when she received a similar response. As their fingers traveled lower and lower, they penetrated one another with two fingers at the same time, causing them to break the kiss as they each let out a low cry of pleasure. Locking eyes, they proceeded to move their hands in and out at the same pace, their hips gradually picking up the rhythm, and their increasingly heavy breathing filling the air along with the heady scent of their combined arousal mixing with the cinnamon aromatic candles.

As their desire for one another, their need for release increased, so did their pace, and they began to thrust into one another, curling their fingers, knowing exactly how and where to touch the other to bring them pleasure, to push them over the edge into a heart-stopping orgasm. When Callie felt Arizona's tight channel clenching around her fingers, she opened them wider, preparing her for a third, knowing the added fullness would bring her that much closer. Understanding that Callie preferred the shock factor, the small bite of pain to push her to her breaking point, Arizona pulled her fingers almost all the way out of her wife's pulsating opening, and with just a little more force, thrust all four fingers in at the same time while gently massaging her clit to allow her to relax and unclench her muscles. Callie threw her head back and cried out, "Fuck, yes baby." Arizona, on the other hand, bit down on the strong tan shoulder as she felt herself being filled and had no control over her hips as they moved faster to chase her impending orgasm. When Callie curled her fingers inward and dragged them along the soft spongy flesh just behind her pubis, Arizona cried out as her body stiffened then immediately started to shake and tremble. She still had the wherewithal to twist her hand slightly to the right, wiggle her fingers to rub at Callie's g-spot, and push down on her clit at the same time, sending her wife into euphoria with her.

Heavy lidded, unfocused shadowy eyes stayed locked on glazed over, midnight blue, as the two women gradually brought each other back down from their high until their movements came to a halt, their fingers still buried within the other's sex, and lazy satisfied smiles formed on their faces. In an unspoken agreement, they removed their hands and quickly wrapped them around the other, connecting their lips in a slow passionate kiss. As their hands languidly stroked each other's back and the kiss came to its natural end, Callie whispered, "That is definitely one Christmas tradition we are never going to break Mrs. Robbins-Torres." Arizona's lips curled into her super-magic smile, dimples evident even in the dwindling candlelight, and she returned, "I love that." Callie arched her brow in question, and Arizona lifted her hand to brush sweat-dampened curls from her wife's glistening forehead, then explained, "I love that we have these traditions, these amazing memories that haven't faded, that still bring us joy when we think about them. Most of all, I love being called Mrs. Robbins-Torres, knowing that we belong to each other, we've always belonged to each other." Callie caressed Arizona's face, bent down to place a soft gentle kiss on her lips, and though she was going to wait until the morning when they opened the rest of their presents, she decided this was the perfect time and while she didn't mind showing off her gift, she'd rather see Arizona's uninhibited reaction.

Lifting her head, she asked, "Would you mind…um…can I give you your big present now?" Slightly surprised by the request and what appeared to her to be the quick change in mood, Arizona could only look at Callie quizzically. The brunette jumped to explain, "I know it seems like a strange time to bring it up, but the things you just said, well…they are the perfect leeway and the more I think about it, the more I realize that I want to give it to you while we are alone." Hearing the soft-spoken tone, the vulnerability in Callie's voice, Arizona recognized that this present was more on the personal level, maybe even more of a romantic gesture than a material gift and now understood why the sudden shift. Smiling softly, she pulled Callie in for a sweet chaste kiss, and murmured, "I'd love nothing more than to see what my amazing wife has decided to gift me with." Callie smiled, climbed out of bed, donned her new festive robe and declared, "Give me just a few minutes and I'll come back and get you." Arizona nodded, then gladly accepted Callie's help getting out of bed.

Callie rushed into the living room and exhaled deeply when she saw that Jake and Addie were able to carry Arizona's present inside and though they had the blanket she asked them to cover the object with upside down, she was thrilled to see that she could follow through with her plan. As quietly as she could, she pulled the present to the middle of the room so it sat in front of the television, then ran to the office to retrieve her laptop and connect it to the TV. She then fished the last minute present she purchased the day before out from under the tree and started to go get Arizona when a different plan formed in her mind and she turned, folded the blanket, sat it on the sofa, then left the room.

Firming up her plan on her way to get Arizona, she met her wife in the middle of their bedroom, pulled her into her arms, connected their lips in a long sexy kiss, then pulling back, reached into their top drawer, took out a familiar scarf which they normally used for other activities, and revealed, "I'm going to blindfold you, but I won't leave you, not even for a second." Having complete faith in her wife, Arizona nodded, turned around, and let Callie wrap the scarf around her head, effectively blocking her vision. Waving her hand in front of Arizona's face, Callie was satisfied her wife couldn't see and declared, "Okay, here we go." Callie walked Arizona down the hall, into the living room, around the sofa, and stood her in front of the first part of her present. Backing Arizona up, she whispered, "Okay, you can't take it off yet, but we are going to sit down together. I'll help you down, then sit right next to you." Arizona scrunched up her nose, then nodded in agreement.

Callie looked at the object, moved Arizona one step to the left, then guided her into a sitting position and immediately sat next to her and intertwined their fingers. Arizona could tell from the hard surface that they weren't sitting on the sofa. In fact, if she had to venture a guess, they were sitting on a bench of some sort, but that didn't make sense because they already had a brand new bench in the rock garden. Before she could reach out with her left hand to explore, she felt Callie move their linked hands, poke out her forefinger, and guided her in tracing something that felt like an indentation in wood. Furrowing her brow in concentration, she tried to focus on the feeling and finally after the second time, she was able to recognize a heart shape. Her own heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest as she began to suspect what she was feeling, but there was no way that was possible. When her finger was lifted and moved mere centimeters, she instantly made out the 'A' and quickly tore the blindfold off and stared at her wife in disbelief.

Callie knew it wouldn't take long for Arizona to figure out where they were sitting and wasn't at all surprised when she took off her blindfold. What she wasn't expecting was the look of absolute shock and the tears that welled up in excited blue eyes. Arizona shook her head and lovingly cooed, "Calliope Iphigenia Torres, I can't believe you." She looked down between them and her eyes focused on the old worn piece of wood which had clearly been cleaned up and refinished, but the only thing she could see was the roughly carved heart with AR loves CT whittled out of the center. Taking a closer look, she noticed all the wood had been replaced and finished to give it a weathered look, but the ornate sides were the same dark blue and though it was clear that they were repainted, they still held the dents and carvings that gave away their age and origin. Callie could see the joy and the question in her wife's eyes and promised, "I know you really want to know how this got here, but I need to give you the rest of your gift before I explain." Arizona shook her head and asked, "There's more? This, Calliope, this is…this is a part of our history, it's, it's…" She stopped when it occurred to her that she was talking about their traditions and memories when Callie suggested she give her this gift tonight and now she understood why.

Callie picked up the wrapped box which was sitting on her other side and explained, "I was wracking my brain trying to come up with the perfect gift for you. I wanted something that would be special and tell you what it means to me that we are able to share these things as a family again. Oddly enough, it was Addie who gave me this idea, well…she just planted the seed, but she told me you don't need things, you don't focus on possessions, if I wanted to give you something really special, I needed to make it memorable, I needed to give you memories to hold on to. So this, this is what I came up with and I hope you like it." Arizona traced the heart once again and admitted, "I'm sure I'll love it Calliope. Though I hate to admit it, Addison was right and all I need, all I'll ever need is these memorable moments to share with you." She then leaned up, kissed her wife on the cheek, then playfully added, "But since you have that box there…" Callie laughed, handed over the present, and watched while her wife tore into it like a little kid.

When Arizona finished tearing the paper off, she was left with a plain cardboard box that gave nothing away about its contents. Looking up at Callie, she laughed when her wife excitedly wave her hands in the air and commanded, "Open it!" She loved how excited Callie always got when she gave her something special and couldn't help but lean over and brush their lips together before she carefully slipped her finger under the piece of tape sealing the top of the box, then opened the lid to reveal a protective styrofoam container. Lifting the top off the foam box, tears sprang to her eyes as she took out the beautifully decorated snow globe and watched as the small crystals floated through the water and landed on the miniature replica of Bethesda Fountain and the tiny horse drawn carriage parked on the side of it. Turning it in her hands, awe filled her voice as she whispered, "It's the fountain we went to right before you proposed." Callie reached out, wiped at the lone tear that rolled down a creamy white cheek and replied, "It is. This wasn't initially part of your present; it was actually a last minute purchase but I couldn't stop myself because it fit so well with your gift." At Arizona's questioning look, Callie picked up the foam packaging, tipped it upside down, removed a small thumb drive which was taped to the bottom and revealed, "This is your real present." Arizona tilted her head and asked, "What is it?" Callie swallowed thickly, already aware that she was going to cry and explained, "Aptly enough, it's a memory stick."

At Arizona's befuddled expression, Callie offered, "I'll show you. But first, we need to get you covered up, you look a little cold." Though she was slightly chilly in just her robe, Arizona didn't think she'd need a blanket. When Callie stood up and went to the sofa, she expected her to return with the soft throw which usually lay across the back of the seat cushions, but when she looked up, her hand automatically covered her mouth to muffle her sobs. Callie was holding what appeared to be a queen-sized plush blanket with two hearts embroidered in the center, one outlined in gold, the other in silver, and written in the middle of each heart, were the promises they made to each other on the first day they gave each other the necklaces, the last time they donned them for good, and on their wedding day. Right beneath the hearts was the date of their wedding and the border surrounding it was a collage of images of the two of them throughout their life together. With her hand still covering her mouth, Arizona shook her head as the tears began to fall again and she let out a muffled, "Calliope, it's beautiful." Callie revealed her mega-watt smile, laid the blanket over her wife and said, "I'm glad you like it." Arizona pulled the soft material up to her chin, rubbed her cheek against it and replied, "I don't like it, I love it." Callie kissed her forehead, then turned and quickly set up the final piece of her present.

After clicking her mouse and pushing play, she went back to the bench, put her arm around Arizona and they both settled under the soft cover to watch the video. The black screen displayed a simple question written in white script, "How can you be sure that you've met THE ONE?" Then it faded to pink and white, displaying a design much like their wedding invitations, and Arizona chuckled when she saw the words, "I think you'll know…" appear across the middle of the screen. They both smiled at one another when they heard the first few notes of 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perry then the familiar voice of their dear friend Meredith saying, "It seems we have no control whatsoever over our own hearts," as the screen focused upon a faded green door which opened up to reveal a dirty bar bathroom. Both women reached for the other's hand when their friend's voice continued, "Conditions can change without warning, romance can make the heart pound."

As the music continued to play, the scene from the bathroom faded out and the next image to appear was the inside of an elevator and Arizona murmured, "That's where I asked you out on our first date." Callie leaned over, kissed her cheek and reminded her, "I asked you first, you were just too hard-headed to see how awesome I was." Arizona laughed and the two focused back on the television. They watched as an image of the all-too familiar blue door faded in, followed by photographs, snippets of moments forever captured in time, of activities and events that occurred behind that door, within the walls of that beloved apartment. They watched as picture after picture flashed before them, the first image to appear was a selfie they took on their first date, followed by images of Christina, Owen, Mark, Lexie, the two of them, combinations of all of them, a small tree with a few presents underneath it commemorating the first Christmas they spent together, birthday parties, dinner parties, Sofia's first day home, and the much larger, more festive tree celebrating their daughter's first Christmas. They both watched while another image of the two of them walking into the hospital, hand in hand, appeared on the screen, followed by several other images of them together in the hospital, sitting in the cafeteria, walking down the hall together, standing in the O.R., they both laughed when a picture appeared that neither of them knew even existed of Callie lying in a hospital bed with gauze paws on her hands and Arizona lying behind her with her arm wrapped around her waist. A flurry of other pictures followed of them in Callie's lab, talking to patients, laughing with friends and coworkers, and the final picture shown as that song faded out was of Callie and Arizona sitting in the NICU holding their daughter together for the first time.

When the first song ended as the screen faded to black, the second song, "Universe and You" by KT Tunstall played softly in the background as footage from their first wedding came into focus with Daniel walking Arizona down the aisle, followed by Callie being escorted by Mark. They watched as the two young women who clearly only had eyes for each other shared their vows, exchanged rings, and walked back down the aisle as a newly married couple. As the song continued to play, there were small snippets of their reception, including their first dance, cutting the cake, and several long slow kisses. The pictures that followed were of their first year as new moms and a happily married couple. Tears rolled down each of their faces as they knew the happiness of those two women would quickly come to an end. Arizona wondered how Callie would make the leap from their first marriage to their reunion without reliving all the pain and anguish they put each other through. This series of pictures and the song ended on the small picture which still sat on Callie's bedside table of the three of them at the zoo, not long before Sofia's third birthday. It was the last memory she, and apparently her wife, had of them as a truly happy family.

When "Just Give Me A Reason" by Pink started playing, Arizona's tears flowed harder and she clung to Callie when her wife appeared on screen in a pair of dark jeans, white button down shirt, and loose hanging red tie along, with her black leather jacket, which was the same outfit she wore when she picked them up from the airport a little over seven months ago. The Callie in the video cleared her throat and started, "When our marriage ended, I thought we were broken. I thought there was no way to fix us. I told you that I wanted you to be free, that I wanted to be free. Part of me felt like we were holding each other back, and maybe we were or maybe we were so mired down by the hurt, we couldn't pull ourselves out. We lost ourselves, we lost our way, and though I freely admit I went about it the wrong way and there was far more hurt before there was healing, we did heal. We grew personally and professionally. We learned to forgive, we learned to accept responsibility, we found ourselves again, and in doing that, we were able to see that our love never died. In the end, it turns out, we weren't broken after all, just bent. I never stopped loving you Arizona and I never will."

Instead of jumping straight to their new lives together, Callie opted for a twist Arizona didn't expect as "Up and Up" by Coldplay began, then images flashed of her walking down the hall of the hospital with Nicole, hovering over piles of books in the long forgotten hospital library, practicing on Jell-o molds, clips of videos of her performing surgery on expectant mothers, photo after photo of babies she saved, a close up of the OB Crash Cart, and a picture of her certifications as both an OB and a Maternal-Fetal Specialist. The next clips were of Callie working on her robotic limbs, standing in an O.R. at NYU, the vacant piece of land that eventually became Fresh START, photos of the dedication and her grand opening, and Callie working with amputees. As the song wrapped up, Arizona recognized Callie with her PT and OT walking through the empty, barely recognizable house, which was now their home, measuring doorways, tearing up carpet to see the floor underneath, and pointing at different things which she understood would all make the place more accessible for her. She looked to her wife and though it was obvious this house was designed with her in mind, it was in that very moment, it became so clear to her, all the work Callie did on herself, in her center, and in this house, was all in anticipation of them someday being together again.

Just when Arizona was certain she couldn't take anymore, that song faded out and "The Story" rang out from the television, showing images of the three of them together from the very first day Arizona and Sofia arrived in New York. Every little day trip they took, the candid pictures in the pool, at the zoo, on Callie and Arizona's first day date, their second first date on the cruise, every single day leading up to their wedding, including Arizona standing next to the sign declaring the site as the future home of her center and the slow transformation of The Robbins-Herman Center appeared on screen. The images turned to video clips of Callie's proposal, their wedding, their second first dance, then more photos of their wedding party, their birthdays, their honeymoon, their first ultrasound when they found out they were having triplets, and as the song ended, the last photo to appear was that of Sofia, Callie, and Arizona in their matching outfits from the maternity photo shoot.

When the video ended, Arizona buried her face in Callie's chest and sobbed uncontrollably. She couldn't even blame the hormones for this. As usual, Callie's thoughtfulness floored her and there wasn't a single happy memory she left out of this amazing video. It was all there for her to view over and over again. Callie held her wife and allowed her own tears to fall as those memories came flooding back to her as well. She'd worried at first that this wasn't enough, however based on Arizona's reaction, it was perfect. When Arizona lifted her head, her eyes were swirling with emotion and she whispered, "Calliope, that was…you just keep amazing me. Every time I think I can't love you any more than I do, you make my heart flip and my stomach flutter all over again, just like that first time our lips touched." Callie smiled softly, wiped the tears from her wife's reddened cheeks and promised, "This was only the beginning, we have so many memories to make, a whole life ahead of us." She lowered her head to connect their lips in a long languorous kiss that made the rest of the world disappear, and for just a brief moment, they were ten years younger, sitting in a park on their favorite bench, spending a quiet evening together.

When Arizona finally pulled back, breathless, she asked, "How did you do all this and where…why is this bench in our living room?" Callie laughed and explained, "Obviously I needed help from our friends in Seattle getting some of the pictures and the footage. It was Bailey's job to take a picture of the bench. When she got there, it was in really bad shape, so she called me and we came up with another idea." At Arizona's questioning look, Callie continued, "She went to the park service and promised them I would donate another bench to replace this one under the condition that they send me this one board and all the metal. The board wasn't salvageable, so the guys who refinished it, cut the piece with your carving on it and embedded it into the new wood." Arizona shook her head, again in disbelief at the measures her wife would take to show her love for her, and murmured, "You amaze me. I love how thoughtful you are, how much you love me, and how very much you cherish our life together." Callie smirked and asked, "Does that mean I can have my present now too?" Arizona let out a bark of laughter and replied, "Not on your life. In fact, it's not even here. But I will definitely show you how much I appreciate my gift." She then stood up, reached for Callie's hand, and the two returned to their bedroom where Arizona showed Callie just how much she loved her gift over and over again.

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Fortunately for the amorous couple, after they finished their well-earned pizza, they decided to wash up and put their pajamas back on in anticipation of being woken up by their daughter just a few short hours later. Both of them grunted out their displeasure when they were startled out of a deep sleep when their daughter bounced on the end of their bed and Cheerfully announced, "Merry Christmas mommies! It's time to get up. Santa came, we get to open presents now." Callie opened one eye, peered at her daughter and asked, "How do you know if Santa came or not?" Sofia's face froze in fear, she crossed her heart and swore, "I didn't peek, I promise. I thought I heard him on the roof in the middle of the night. It sounded like something sliding around." Callie realized her daughter must have heard Addie and Jake bringing the bench in from the garage and let her daughter off the hook, responding, "Okay, I believe you." Though she could feel her daughter's excitement radiating from her little body, Arizona reached for her and teased, "Too early, I'm sleeping, come cuddle with your mommy." Sofia huffed when neither of her parents moved and pouted, "But it's Christmas! It's time to open presents." Both women started laughing, Callie sat up, helped Arizona sit up as well, then admitted, "We were just teasing you princess." Go brush your teeth and get washed up while mommy and I do the same and we will come get you when we are done." Sofia wiggled off the bed, rushed to the door, then turned around and commanded, "Okay, but hurry!"

Callie walked around the side of the bed, helped Arizona with her leg, then started to reach for her pants when her wife popped up and rushed to the bathroom, muttering something about her bladder being a trampoline. Wiping her hand down her face, trying to wake herself up, Callie took Arizona's pants into the bathroom with her, laid them on the counter, then prepared both of their toothbrushes and started brushing her teeth. When Arizona was finished, she washed her hands and face, and while she was brushing her teeth, Callie bent down to help her with her pants. After they were both properly cleaned up, Arizona pulled Callie close, stretched up and gave her a toe-curling good morning kiss, leaving her gasping for air when it finally came to an end. They smiled at each other and Callie whispered, "Well good morning and Merry Christmas to you too Mrs. Robbins-Torres." Arizona caressed Callie's cheek lovingly and returned, "Merry Christmas Mrs. Robbins-Torres." Before they could lean in again, they heard, "Mommmmmiiiiieeeees!" Callie chuckled and offered, "I'll go let Tobin out, move the bench, then get in place with my phone so I can catch her reaction. Give me a couple of minutes." Arizona nodded and the two left their room and went their separate ways. Callie had no sooner turned into the dining room when Arizona felt her phone vibrate and pulled it out to see she'd received a text from Lucia. They'd worked out a special plan for the reveal of Callie's present and had a limited amount of time in which they could pull it off. Arizona quickly responded, agreeing to the time, and felt the excitement flow through her veins. She couldn't wait to see her wife's face.

After moving the bench into the office and taking one last look around the living room, Callie turned on the tree lights and hearing the dog scratch at the patio doors, she let him in and watched him run down the hall to find Sofia. She went back into the living room, took her place by the tree, and called out the okay for Arizona. She no sooner pulled up her camera on her phone, when she heard Sofia's squeal of excitement and her little feet pounding on the wood floor. This was always the best part of Christmas for her and Arizona, seeing Sofia's eyes light up with excitement. She wasn't disappointed when her mini-me ran into the living room, rounded the sofa, and skidded to a halt in front of her with her mouth wide open and her eyes laser focused on the gifts scattered all over the floor in front of the tree.

Sofia was so excited, she felt like her heart was beating harder than it normally does. When her mommy told her she could go into the living room, she took off and froze when she saw all the presents under the tree. She knew some were for her mommies, but there must have been hundreds of boxes and bags. There were so many, they didn't all fit under the tree. She looked at her mama who was standing by the tree holding up her phone, then at her mommy who was standing behind her, turned in a circle and saw all of the stockings so full that things were poking out of the top and the only thing she could think to say was, "Wow!" She heard her mommies laughing, then Tobin started barking and scratching at something and she turned around and giggled when she noticed he found his new crate. Rushing over to her pup, she asked, "Do you like your new house? Do you want to go in?" As if he understood her, Tobin let out a bark and when Sofia opened the door, he sniffed around the wire cage for a few seconds, then walked inside and settled himself on the new blanket they had put in there for him.

Arizona sat on the sofa, took a sip of her tea, and watched as her daughter interacted with her dog while her wife caught everything on video. She could tell Sofia was barely keeping it together and by the way she kept eyeing the presents, she was trying her best not to beg to open them. Sofia looked around the room, finally gave in to her overwhelming urgency to open presents and asked, "Do we still get to open our stockings first?" Both Callie and Arizona nodded their heads and Callie started taking them down one by one and passing them out. She gave Tobin's to Sofia, who was now sitting on the floor next to her dog's crate, while he was content to lay on his blanket and acclimate to his new home. Of course, both women set their stockings aside while they watched their daughter open all of the little trinkets Santa brought for her, but there was one special gift they'd purchased and couldn't wait to see her face when she opened it.

Sofia sat cross legged on the floor and though she really wanted to dump everything in her stocking out and look at it all at once, she also liked the idea of being surprised, so she took one gift out at a time to open it. Picking up the first gift, she was almost positive what the sphere shaped object was going to be and didn't even unwrap it before she exclaimed, "Look mommies! It's a surprise doll. It has 15 little prizes in here." Arizona laughed, leaned over to Callie and whispered, "You were right, we should have put it in a box." Callie pursed her lips and murmured, "Next time, maybe you'll listen to me." They both turned their attention back to Sofia as she continued to unwrap earrings, toys, and accessories for her barbies. When Sofia reached in her stocking to pull out another present, she noticed that Tobin was finally lured out of his cage and sniffing around his own stocking. She took out one of his gifts, squeezed it until it squeaked and giggled when the little dog pounced on it and started tearing at the paper with his paws and teeth. Once he had it open, he took the squeaky newspaper into his crate and chewed on it while watching her open her presents.

When she got to the bottom of the sock, she reached down, pulled out a thin rectangular box and asked, "What could this be?" Callie and Arizona both shrugged, but Callie discretely turned on her camera to record, and watched while little tan hands unwrapped the present. Sofia took the top off of the box and felt like crying when she saw what was lying on the red velvet cushion. She knew this gift wasn't from Santa because her mommies saw her looking at it just yesterday. She reached in, carefully picked up the silver chain, pulled it out of the box, and laid the charm with three hearts linked together in her hand and ran her thumb over it much like she did yesterday. She knew her mommies' necklaces were special, she didn't know what they meant, but they never took them off and they talked about them during their wedding. When she saw this necklace, it reminded her of theirs and how she wished she had one too, so they could match. Looking up with tears in her eyes, she said reverently, "You bought it." Her mommies nodded and her mama explained, "We saw you looking at it and knew you should have one too. Mommy and I wear these as a symbol of our love and you are a part of our hearts, just like we are a part of each other's so we knew it was time for you to have your own heart necklace." Sofia popped up from her place on the floor, went to the sofa and hugged both of her parents, thanking them profusely. She then handed it to Arizona and asked, "Will you put it on mommy?" Arizona wiped the tear from her eye and replied, "I'd be happy to big girl."

Once the necklace was fastened, Callie and Arizona each took an end of the little charm between their fingers, held their own charm with their other hand and Callie started, "Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres, from the minute you came into our lives, you have owned a piece of our hearts." Arizona continued, "This necklace is a symbol of our love to you and our promise that we will love you and support you no matter what." Sofia smiled brightly, kissed both of her mommies on the cheek, hugged them each again, then turned around to go back to her spot on the floor. All three of them laughed when they saw Tobin dragging his stocking into his crate and tearing at the paper, trying to open his presents.

Sofia looked up to see neither of her parents had opened their stockings and proclaimed, "It's your turn!" Both women looked at one another and unlike their daughter, had no qualms about pouring everything out in front of them. They both smiled when they once again realized that some things never changed. Holding to tradition, they'd each gotten the other their favorite scent of perfume or cologne, body lotion, shower gel, and a couple of other items they knew their wife would like. Arizona picked up a very messily wrapped gift, held it up and asked, "Now who could this be from?" Sofia wiggled around and exclaimed, "Me, it's from me. Mama, you have one too. You have to open them together." Callie found the gift that was wrapped very much like Arizona's, then awaited the countdown before opening her gift. Once the gifts were unwrapped, both women smiled when they saw what their thoughtful daughter had given them. Arizona was holding a gold keychain shaped like a heart with the words, 'World's Best Mommy,' engraved on the front while Callie was given a silver heart keychain with the words, 'World's Best Mama,' engraved on it." They both held out their hands to pull their daughter into a tight hug, then Callie asked, "Who's ready to open presents?" Sofia jumped up, bounced on her toes, held her hand in the air and exclaimed, "Me, me, me!" Both women laughed at her exuberance and Callie stood, walked to the tree and started to pass out the gifts.

Arizona watched as the gifts slowly dwindled from under the tree but piled up by their sides and their daughter's eyes grew wide, flittering from one present to the other. Sofia looked around at the pile of wrapped presents and gift bags, poked out her little tongue and tried to decide which gift would be the very first present she opened this year. Just as her parents expected, Sofia got up, went to the large box which stood a little taller than her waist and started tearing off the paper. Before she removed even a small portion of it, she shrieked, "It's the dollhouse for my surprise dolls! Santa brought it mommies. It was the first thing on my list." Both women smiled brightly at their daughter and while Arizona took a picture, Callie leaned over and whispered, "Sure, the fat man gets all the credit, meanwhile we're the ones who had to play the pregnant sympathy act to get the last one and stand in line for an hour to buy it." Arizona chuckled, elbowed her wife, and hissed, "Hush! You love it and you know it."

After opening several of her own presents, Sofia needed a rest and saw that once again, neither of her mommies had opened a single thing. Standing up, she found the large square box she was looking for, pushed it over to her mommy and suggested, "Open this one. It's from me. Maria helped me pick it out." Arizona tilted her head, having no idea what it could be, and when she reached for the paper, she heard Callie whisper, "Be careful, something might pop out at you." Arizona chuckled then looked at her daughter, who was bouncing on her toes nervously, and quickly unwrapped the present. Before she could get a good look at the picture on the box, Sofia explained, "It's a mater…maternal…it's a pillow for pregnant people. Maria said when she got further along, whatever that means, she couldn't get comfortable and bought one of these. She said it's like a big hug and I don't want you to be uncomfortable and when you use it, you can think of me giving you a big hug." Arizona looked down at the picture of the 'U' shaped body pillow and could already tell it was going to be her favorite gift next to Callie's. Holding out her arms, she wiggled her fingers and requested, "Come here sweetie. This is a super gift and I love, love, love it. Thank you so much."

Sofia beamed at her then looked through the presents by her mama's feet, found the box she was looking for, slid it over and proclaimed, "This is your gift from me mama. Miguel helped me pick it out." Callie smiled at her daughter, picked up the box, unwrapped it to reveal a plain white box, and looked at Arizona in question. The blonde shrugged her shoulders, she really had no idea what it could possibly be, unless it was clothes and maybe their daughter thought Miguel would be better at helping her choose. Callie lifted the lid and was still confused by the gift until she picked it up, turned it around, and Sofia asked, "Remember when I asked how you would carry all three babies? I know we picked out a stroller, but when we were picking out mommy's pillow, Miguel picked up the backpack thing, only it was smaller and he said he used to carry Bella around in it when they went shopping or when he was doing things around the house and it made her happy and made him feel closer to her. We couldn't find one for three babies, but we found one for two, one can go in the front and one in the back and they can trade places after mommy feeds them or if one is sleepy." Callie and Arizona looked at one another, both touched by their thoughtful daughter's gifts and Callie supplied, "This is exactly what I needed big girl. We used to have one for you too and mommy and your daddy and I would carry you around in it for the same reason. We all wanted you close to our hearts." Sofia danced from foot to foot and asked, "Did I do good?" Arizona smiled and replied, "You did amazing big girl. Thank you for thinking of us and your babies." Sofia's mini mega-watt smile bloomed across her face at hearing her mommy call the babies hers.

Nearly an hour and several excited proclamations of, "Oh, I've always wanted this; I can't believe you remembered; This is exactly what I needed; Mommies look; and Thank you honey, that was so sweet and thoughtful," later, the small family found themselves surrounded by toys, organizers, clothes, household items, and electronics. While Sofia struggled to put Tobin's new coat on him to let him outside, Callie and Arizona cuddled together on the sofa and looked at the total destruction in their living room. Callie sighed and declared, "We should probably get this all cleaned up and set the presents out so we can do it all over again when our families get here." Arizona laid her head on Callie's shoulder and moaned, "I'm so comfy though." Callie chuckled and asked, "When are they coming anyway?" Arizona looked at the clock, sat upright and exclaimed, "Crap, in a little over an hour. They said they wanted to help us with all of the preparation and mom wanted to get the turkey in the oven right away." Callie stood, helped her up, wiggled her brows and asked, "Any chance they're bringing my present with them?" Arizona smirked, kissed her wife on the corner of her mouth and answered, "Maybe." She tapped Callie on the butt and commanded, "Go get your sexy ass in the shower and get dressed and I'll start out here and make sure Sofia gets in the shower too." Callie bent down, nibbled on Arizona's bottom lip and muttered, "This better be good," and started to walk away when Arizona sang out, "Good things come to those who wait Calliope."

XXXX

Callie was in the kitchen taking down cups and mugs while waiting for a fresh pot of coffee to brew and the kettle of water to heat up, trying not to laugh when Sofia continued to complain to Arizona about pulling her hair too tight while she was doing the fishbone design their daughter requested. The blonde had barely finished tying the red ribbon, which matched the little girl's outfit when the doorbell rang and Sofia bounced off the footstool to answer it. Callie turned off the burner for the kettle, then went to greet their family. Fortunately, this time Sofia at least let them all in the door before she hugged each grandparent then her Tia Aria, greeting them all with a joyful Merry Christmas. Callie and Arizona helped everyone put their presents under the tree, took their coats, then exchanged hugs with each of them. Sofia immediately took Aria's hand and started pulling her toward the mudroom, exclaiming, "Come look at all the presents Tobin got. He's grown out of everything, even his house!" Aria giggled at her niece and followed her down the hall.

After Callie and Arizona served everyone their drinks and they all shared what they received for Christmas, Barb started to inquire about when they should start the turkey and what else needed to go in the oven, when they all heard a phone ringing and checked their pockets. Lucia smiled brightly and declared, "It's me," then connected the call and greeted, "Feliz Navidad Berto!" She was quiet for a moment then explained, "We just arrived at Callie and Arizona's house to celebrate Christmas with them and Arizona's parents." She got quiet again, obviously allowing her brother to talk, then looked at Callie and Arizona and asked, "Berto wants to know if we can skype him. He said the family is gathered together and they would all like to say hello and meet little Sofia." Callie nodded and replied, "Sure, have him text his information to you and we will call as soon as I get the computer set up." Lucia relayed the message, disconnected the call, then slid a key across the table to Arizona as soon as Callie went into the living room.

Realizing her laptop was already hooked up to the television, Callie decided that would be far better than everyone gathering around the laptop and went into the office to get her webcam so she could attach it to the top of the TV. Once everything was in place, she looked over her shoulder and proclaimed, "Okay, we are all set. What's his skype information?" Lucia took her phone to her daughter and everyone piled into the living room. Carlos noticed Aria and Sofia still hadn't joined them and called out for them to come into the living room to talk to the family. Everyone strategically placed themselves so Callie and Arizona had a direct view of the screen. When Sofia and Aria returned, Callie pulled their daughter onto her lap and Aria, who wasn't in on the little secret, brought a chair in from the dining room. She hadn't talked to anyone on this side of the family since they stopped going to visit them when she was in her early twenties. But it was important to her mother and apparently her sister, so she would participate in the call.

Once Berto appeared on screen with all of the aunts and cousins surrounding him, Arizona immediately noticed the change in Callie. Her smile became brighter just seeing her family again. Callie went around the room and introduced Arizona's parents, then kissed her daughter on the cheek and declared, "This is our Sofia." Tia Ana stepped closer to the camera, peered at the little girl, and cooed, "Oh look at that, she's a miniature Calliope. You look just like your mama when she was your age." Sofia tilted her head and in her normal blunt fashion, asked, "Who are you?" Ana laughed at the little girl, and remarked, "You act just like her too. I'm your Tia Ana, this is Tia Rosa, and this is Tia Marta and we are your abuela's sisters." She then waved behind her to all of the other people in the background and declared, "And these are all of your cousins." Sofia moved closer to the television so she could see better and asked, "Where are you? That place is pretty. Can I see more?" Lucia and Arizona shared a knowing look, both grateful for the young girl's curiosity since they weren't sure how Berto planned to reveal the hacienda.

Seeing this as a perfect opportunity, Berto came back on screen and explained, "What you are seeing is the end of our Posadas, our Christmas celebration. On Christmas day, in our family, we go to each other's homes, share gifts and spend time together." Sofia asked, "Is that your house?" Callie looked closer at the background and realized they weren't at the Ortiz hacienda where they would normally gather. Without missing a beat, Berto responded, "No, this is not our family hacienda. This is where my niece and her family live. Let me show you." They all watched while Berto took them on a tour, pointing out the newly planted native flowers, plants and trees, naming every one for the little girl. Arizona was in awe of the transformation and pleased that she waited to see the end result with her wife. The older man revealed, "This here has been my pet project. My nephews and I have been hard at work making sure this was finished by the time we had our Christmas celebration."

Unbeknownst to Callie; Carlos, Arizona, and Lucia kept glancing in her direction, waiting to see when it would all come together for her. When the large barn came into view, Callie furrowed her brows in concentration, she knew that barn, it was hard to forget because of its size and shape, it was substantially larger than others in the area and formed an 'L'. She could swear she'd seen that place before, but she'd never been to any of her cousins' homes after they all grew up and moved out. When her uncle started moving toward the house, Sofia gasped and declared, "It's so pretty." Callie had to agree, the enormous hacienda, which was freshly painted an eggshell color, trimmed with an Ancient Mayan pattern in rich greens, reds, yellows, and blues, was absolutely gorgeous and looked like something she herself would have chosen. The more of the house and land she saw, the more she started to recognize, but still couldn't place it. Once her uncle stepped inside with the computer, Callie's breath hitched at the sheer beauty and wonderful balance of classic and modern décor. When her uncle turned a corner and Callie saw a small door off to his right, she knew for a fact she'd been there before, she spent much of her childhood there, even hid in that little cubby hole, but the last time she'd seen it, everything was falling apart and it most certainly didn't look like this. Finally, she asked, "Tio Berto, where exactly are you?"

Callie watched as the older man's eyes shifted to Arizona then he answered, "Give me one minute Calliope." They all watched while the camera scrambled around, heard several voices in the background, then the faces of all three aunts and her uncle appeared on the screen again and Berto announced, "This might give you a better view." He turned the camera around, panned the front of the entire estate, then stopped at the wrought iron gates where the whole family stood. Callie's attention was so focused on the television, she didn't notice her father recording her with his phone, nor her wife taking a large envelope from under the cushion. She heard her mother say something, then watched as her family parted in the middle and slowly revealed the words welded into the iron. She leaned closer to make sure she was reading it right, then stammered, "That…it says…that says the Robbins-Torres Hacienda."

She looked at Arizona to see if she knew anything about it, saw tears running down her wife's cheeks, then watched as she held up the envelope and a small silver key, and said, "Merry Christmas Calliope." Callie looked at the key, looked back at the screen and exclaimed, "Arizona! You bought me a house…in Mexico!" The blonde nodded and replied, "I did. I told you your gift wasn't here." Callie blinked several times, looked around the room to see both sets of parents with tears in their eyes, heard her family yelling and hollering from the television, then turned to them and commanded, "You all better clean up my house and yard before you leave! Oh, and don't eat my avocadoes." They all laughed, promised to leave it as they found it, said their goodbyes and signed off. Callie was still staring at her wife, and in that moment, knew without a doubt that she was understood, she was heard, and this woman truly had made all her dreams come true. She lifted her hand to caress the soft pale cheek and whispered, "You bought a house." Arizona shook her head and replied, "I bought a home. I knew that's what I wanted to do since we left Mexico. When I saw how heartbroken you were to see what poor shape that house was in, I decided that was our house, that was where we would vacation and take our children and give them the childhood you had, immersed in their culture, surrounded by family." Callie pulled her wife close, lowered her head and just before their lips touched, commanded, "Everyone close your eyes!" Caressing Arizona's face, she shook her head in disbelief and murmured, "I love you so, so much," then connected their lips together in a long, deep kiss, pouring every emotion, every ounce of love she was feeling into it.

When they finally broke apart, Callie's senses began to return and she asked, "How did you…there was no money taken from our accounts. I don't…" She watched as the blush crept up Arizona's alabaster skin, from her neck to her cheeks, then looked into her eyes which held just a hint of guilt, and soothed, "It's okay, just tell me." Arizona swallowed thickly and admitted, "When we merged our accounts and all of our assets, I already knew I wanted to buy this house or a house in Mexico. I kept all of my interest from the hospital as well as my payments from the board and any speaking engagements in a separate account and used that to purchase, renovate, decorate, and furnish the house in Mexico. I wasn't trying to keep it from you and I already transferred the remainder into our joint account, but I…this was something I needed to do on my own. My gift to you." Arizona bit her lip nervously, waiting to see Callie's response and squealed when she was lifted to her feet and spun around in a circle as Callie exclaimed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I just…I have no words." Arizona laughed when all four parents demanded, "Put her down!"

Callie blushed, put her wife back on her feet, then immediately caressed her stomach, bent down and whispered, "Mama's sorry babies, I just got so excited." As if they shared in the excitement, Callie felt a little thump to each of her hands, stood with tears in her eyes and declared, "Feels like they're excited too." Arizona nodded and replied, "I think they're dancing in there." Barb's head snapped to her daughter-in-law and asked, "You felt them?" Lucia popped up from her seat at the same time Barb did and rushed to Arizona's side, knocking Callie out of the way. Callie stood back and watched as their mothers felt Arizona's stomach, waiting for a kick. Arizona caught her eye, nodded, and Callie cajoled, "Say hello to your grandma's little gremlins. They've been waiting to meet you." Almost on cue, each woman let out an awestruck, "Oh!" when they felt the tiniest of movements under their hands.

Aria walked up to Callie, just slightly jealous of her sister, but knowing she was deserving of all of it, and whispered, "You people just can't do anything low key can you?" Callie shook her head and answered, "Hi, I'm Callie, have you met our parents?" Aria threw back her head in laughter, wiggled her way between the older women and demanded, "Let me meet my puppies." Arizona thumped her on the head and declared, "You will not be calling them that!" They all laughed, watched as the brunette got on her knees, talked softly to the unborn babies, and came up with tears in her eyes when she finally felt the movement herself. Callie and Arizona shared a look, nodded at one another, then Arizona suggested, "Since Calliope already got her present, how about the rest of us open up some gifts."

XXXX

After Barb and Lucia dressed the turkey and started a few other things that would need more time to cook, the elder Robbins grabbed several garbage bags and joined the others in the living room. Sofia looked at her grandma in confusion and asked, "What are those for?" Arizona smiled at her mother then her daughter and explained, "Grandma likes to clean up the paper and boxes as we go, so nothing gets lost or thrown away." Aria leaned over to Callie again and commented, "See, anal. Did your wife do that too?" Callie chuckled and replied, "No, but I wish I would have thought of it. We spent ten minutes looking for a shoe the size of a dime." Aria slapped her sister on the back and reminded her, "Wait until next year when the mess quadruples." Callie slapped herself on the forehead and muttered, "Oh man. We so didn't plan ahead."

This time Daniel played Santa Claus and passed out all the presents. When he was finished, they all watched while Sofia went around the room and pulled out a specific gift from each of their piles and proclaimed, "You have to save these until last." They all hid their smiles, nodded at the little girl seriously and responded, "Understood," "Of course," "We always save the best for last," "Whatever you say sweet pea," and "What if I wanted to open that one first?" Sofia looked at her Tia Aria and, scolded, "Good things come to those who wait," prompting both of her parents to break into a fit of giggles. Callie shook her head and replied, "We really have to watch what we say. She is picking up everything." Arizona nodded in agreement and asked the room, "Who wants to go first?" Carlos interjected and asked, "Won't your friends be joining us?" Callie shook her head and answered, "No, they left early this morning to go to Jake's parents' house for Christmas." The elder Torres nodded and suggested, "Sofia, why don't you start?"

Not needing to be asked twice, Sofia tore into one of her presents and shrieked, "It's a glittery butterfly case for my iPad!" Everyone oohed and aahed, then continued around the room. Arizona's first present was a comfortable pair of pajamas in a much smaller size than she currently wears, a soft fuzzy robe, and a designer overnight bag. Before she could comment, Aria explained, "I was certain you'd be getting enough maternity and baby things so I wanted you to have something special for afterward. These are for your hospital stay once you have the babies and the bag is for…well, everyone needs a nice designer bag." Arizona smiled at her sister-in-law, grateful for the thoughtful gift, held up the pajamas again and wistfully stated, "Oh, to be this size again. Thank you, it gives me hope that I won't always feel like a whale." Aria laughed, looked at the other woman, and sincerely replied, "You look beautiful." Callie protectively wrapped her arm around Arizona and grumbled, "What did I tell you about hitting on my wife?" They all laughed and Callie opened her present to find a tailored Armani suit, black with white pinstripes, and a white silk shirt to accompany it, looked up at her sister, knowing this wasn't just a gift, but a sign of her acceptance, and choked out, "Thank you, this…it means a lot to me that you chose this. It's gorgeous." Arizona leaned over, looked in the box and whispered, "and HOT!" Callie leaned over to kiss her cheek and turned to watch the others open their presents.

When they saw Barb pick up a large thin rectangular box, Arizona announced, "All of you have the same box, if you wouldn't mind, we'd like you to open them together." Nodding in agreement, they all found their matching gifts and opened them at the same time. Aria, Barb, and Lucia each received a framed photo collage of all of the maternity pictures taken, save the personal photos of Callie and Arizona alone, and Daniel and Carlos received the silly pictures of Callie, Arizona, and Sofia in their scrubs listening to the babies' heartbeats. Callie explained, "Those aren't your actual gifts, but we thought they would be fun to open." They all commented on the pictures and proceeded to open their gifts, pausing in between to allow Sofia to open a couple at a time.

Once the majority of the presents were opened, Sofia finally slid her gifts forward and proclaimed, "Okay, you can open mine now." They each picked up their gifts, except for Barb who couldn't lift hers, and Sofia commanded, "Grandma, you go first." Barb eyed the rectangular box, thought about how heavy it was and was almost certain she knew what her granddaughter, with the help of her mothers, had picked out for her. Tearing open the paper, she gasped and cried, "Oh Sofia! It's exactly what I wanted." For good measure, she glared at her husband, who had enough sense to lower his head in shame. Sofia bounced up and down and reminded her grandmother, "Remember you said you wanted to make quilts for the new babies but your sewing machine broke? Me and mommies picked the very best one we could find so you can make all the blankets you want." Barb looked into the little girl's excited face, saw the glimmer of hope in her eyes and suggested, "Hmm I might be out of practice. Maybe I should make one for my oldest granddaughter first to make sure I can still make them soft and warm." Sofia smiled brightly, then shrugged and murmured, "I mean, if you think that will help, I'd love to try it out…just to make sure my babies don't get cold." All of the adults laughed at her and Barb pulled her in for a big hug.

She then turned to Daniel who was holding a long narrow box and asked, "Will you open yours next grandpa?" Daniel cleared his throat, always a sucker for the sweet little girl and though he knew it wasn't his normal war movie, he was certain this year she'd chosen the gifts with more thought and consideration. The retired Colonel carefully unwrapped his present, which was a model of the USS Indianapolis, and swallowed the lump in his throat before looking at his granddaughter and choking out, "This is…what a great choice sweet pea. You remembered the name all by yourself?" Sofia nodded and then admitted, "Mommy had to help me say it, but I told her and mama what you said about the battleship sinking and some of the survivors didn't live because they drowned or were eaten by sharks." The older man flinched when he felt his wife hit him on the arm and scold, "Daniel James Robbins, that is a horrible thing to tell an 8 year old." Sofia looked at her grandfather and whispered, "Sorry I got you in trouble." Daniel winked at her and returned, "You can make it up to me by helping me put this together." Sofia jumped up and down and clapped to show her excitement.

Carlos held the small box in his hand and asked, "Is it my turn?" He watched as the miniature version of his daughter nodded, then bit her bottom lip and held her hands behind her back, trying not to dance around nervously. He couldn't help but smile and declared, "I'm sure I'll love whatever it is." When he opened the small box, he looked to his granddaughter then to his daughter who was smiling at him knowingly, took out the wallet which was exactly like the one he carried in his pocket and heard his wife and eldest daughter mutter, "Oh thank God!" He glared at them, then listened as Sofia explained, "Remember that day you took me out shopping and you had to show the card with your picture on it to the man at the store?" Carlos nodded, knowing what was coming next and couldn't help the embarrassed blush that crept up his face. Sofia continued, "When that piece fell off and I asked you why you didn't just buy a new one, you said mama bought that for you before she left home. So I thought if mama and I bought you a new one just like it, you would use that one instead." Carlos sniffled and did his best to fight back the tears, reached into his pocket, took out a worn leather wallet that was faded with time and use, opened it to reveal nearly all the pockets were ripped and immediately transferred its contents to his new wallet. Lucia stood, walked across the room, held out her hand, and commanded, "Give me that thing, it's going straight to the trash." Callie, Arizona, and Sofia all yelled, "NO!" Then Callie stood up, held out her hand, and asked, "May I keep it? It was important enough for daddy to keep after all this time, I'd like to have it." Lucia handed over the beaten up scrap of leather, kissed her daughter on the cheek and murmured, "That's sweet of you mija."

When it came time for Aria to open her present, Sofia called out, "Wait!" She then went to her grandma, whispered something in her ear, slumped in relief when her grandma smiled and whispered something back, then turned to her Abuela and her Tia and directed, "I'd like you to open these at the same time. Some of it is the same." She then looked at her mommies who nodded and smiled at her, and continued, "I don't want you to feel bad, but I never gave you presents before and I thought of lots of things I could give you but they didn't feel right. So, I gave you all the things I would have given you if I knew you." Both women looked at one another and though they knew the little girl's heart was in the right place, they both felt guilt and shame for depriving her of those years. Taking a deep breath, Aria counted, "Ok mami, 1, 2, 3, GO!" They both tore open the paper to find a cardboard packing box, lifted the lids and couldn't help the tears that sprang to their eyes when they saw the contents. Lucia held up an apron with writing on it that looked like an excerpt from the dictionary, and read, "Abuelita, another term for grandmother except way cooler. See also, Gorgeous, Awesome." Sofia bounced on her toes and asked, "Do you like it? I know you don't wear t-shirts, but you cook, so we picked that." She turned when she heard Aria laugh, looked to see that she was holding up her t-shirt and heard her read, "My favorite people call me Tia!" Aria's heart melted and she held out her arms and cried, "Come here pit bull." Sofia hugged her Tia then bounced up and declared, "There's more! There's more!"

The two women went through the boxes and took out handmade trinkets, keychains declaring them number one Tia or Abuela, picture frames made from popsicle sticks and more glitter than anyone had the right to own, which held a picture of each of them with Sofia, then when they reached the bottom, they came up with identical scrapbooks. The other adults gathered around as they looked at page after page of the first 8 years of Sofia's life; school pictures, candid shots, copies of report cards, certificates, honors, special notes or cards written by her teachers that she would have shared with them, then when they turned to the final page, they found a picture of both families together at Callie and Arizona's wedding. Underneath the photo, in the neatest writing an 8 year old could manage, were the words, "Mi Familia."

Sofia looked up to see her whole family with tears in their eyes and though she didn't really understand why her Tia and Abuela stayed away for so long, she was happy they were here now and felt bad that everyone was sad. She looked at her Abuela and started, "I'm sorry Abuela, I didn't mean…" Lucia cut her off, pulled her onto her lap, held her tight and offered, "No mi linda nieta, I am the one who is sorry. I missed so much of your life and it makes me sad that I wasn't here to tell you what a good job you did, how big you were getting, how proud I was of you, and how much I love and support you. This gift is perfect. Gracias, thank you." Sofia threw her arms around her abuela's neck and whispered, "I love you." Aria joined her mother and her niece and whispered, "I love you little pit bull. This was truly a gift, it brought us so much joy to see how you've grown. Thank you for everything you gave us." Sofia turned to her Tia, hugged her as well, and whispered the same message in Aria's ear. Barb stood with her arm around Arizona, looked at her daughter and her wife and declared, "That's quite a girl you've raised." Callie and Arizona both smiled and the brunette asked, "What did she say to you?" Barb chuckled and recalled, "She told me she bought Lucia some things that said she's the best Abuela and she didn't want me to think she was replacing me. I told her I had plenty of those gifts from her and I was secure knowing I still held a special place in her heart." Arizona shook her head and replied, "Sometimes she amazes me."

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Once the living room was cleaned up and presents were put away or taken out to the car, Lucia donned her new apron and she, Barb, and Callie got to work in the kitchen while Arizona, Daniel, Aria and Carlos sat at the table peeling, chopping, and slicing. Callie carried a bowl of mixed peppers to the table, handed Arizona a pair of surgical gloves so she didn't burn her fingers or her eyes while cutting them, leaned down, kissed her cheek and whispered, "Try not to eat all of them." When she walked away, she heard Aria snort and quip, "I bet she can't even handle a jalapeño, let alone the ghost peppers or habaneros." Callie stopped in her tracks, turned around, glanced at Arizona who was smirking and gave her an imperceptible nod, then looked at her sister and asked, "How much?" Aria eyed Arizona, flashed her devilish grin and declared, "One thousand dollars says I last longer than she does." All of the parents gasped and Lucia huffed, "Arizona, ignore her. She challenges everyone." Callie looked at her wife again, saw her shrug, then replied, "Deal! But there are rules. If you choke or spit it out, you lose, one drink of water between peppers and once your glass is empty there are no refills, and finally, you each take turns picking a pepper and the other has to eat the same one as you do." Aria laughed at her sister and warned, "You know you just made this 100 times harder for your wife to win right?" Callie just shrugged and went to the sink to fill up two glasses of water.

The two sets of parents looked at one another to see who was going to stop this catastrophe from happening, but none of them made a move. Callie took out two small plates, filled each of them with three of each, jalapeño, serrano, habanero, and ghost peppers. Daniel looked at the plate of peppers and knew even he couldn't handle some of those, let alone his daughter, who didn't even like pickles. He looked at Arizona sympathetically and said, "Sorry sweet pea." He then looked at Callie and Aria and proclaimed, "Put me in for five hundred on Aria." Arizona's jaw dropped, then Carlos looked at his feisty daughter-in-law, then to his daughter, who always bragged a little more than she should, slapped his hand down and declared, "I'll take that action, my money's on Arizona." Barb tossed her potholder down and scolded, "Oh for pity's sake. Knock that off." Aria looked at Callie, realized even Arizona's father didn't think she could do it and raised the stakes, "Two thousand!" Before Callie could say anything, Arizona turned to look at Aria, exclaimed, "Deal!" She then popped a serrano pepper in her mouth, chewed and swallowed it like it was a strawberry.

Aria looked at the blonde, waited for some sort of reaction, and gulped when she realized she didn't even take a drink of water. Arizona smiled at her sweetly, tilted her head and chirped, "Your turn." Aria picked up the same pepper, put it in her mouth, bit down and instantly felt the heat scald her tongue. Trying not to react in any way, she too swallowed the pepper and refused to take a drink. Looking at the array of peppers her sister had laid out for them, Aria decided to end it all now, picked up a ghost pepper which was the hottest of them all, chewed it up, tried not to cough or gag when swallowing and immediately picked up the glass of water and downed half of it. Arizona smiled at her wife, followed the same pattern as she used during their contest, chewed on the pepper just enough to be able to swallow it, making sure to keep her tongue out of the way, then swallowed the pepper, reached for her glass of water, then grabbed a habanero and tossed it into her mouth instead, smiling at Aria the entire time she chewed on it. Aria nearly gagged at just the thought of eating another pepper so quickly but followed the blonde's lead and ate the spicy pepper, this time foregoing the water, deciding to save it for the ghost peppers. She was positive the other woman would cave soon, but her mouth couldn't handle it, so she went for the least spicy of them all and bit into a jalapeño.

Arizona watched Aria struggle to even swallow the last pepper, picked up her own jalapeño, took a bite out of it and teased, "Is it getting a little warm in here? Do you need us to open the door?" When the brunette glared at her, Arizona popped the rest of the pepper into her mouth, then started playing eenie, meenie, miney, mo with the remaining peppers. When she reached for another ghost pepper, Sofia skipped into the dining room and asked, "What's everyone looking at?" The little girl turned just as her mommy put a little light green pepper into her mouth, looked at her Tia Aria whose face was slightly red, then looked at her mama and giggled when she winked at her. Aria growled at the blonde, furiously put the pepper into her mouth, tried to chew it as quickly as she could, then washed it down with the rest of her water. Barb and Lucia stood against the far counter watching their children's antics and Lucia whispered, "What do you think they will do with the money?" Barb chuckled and replied, "If they're smart, they'll buy stock in pampers." Both women laughed then turned their attention back to the table.

They were down to one of each kind of pepper and it was Aria's turn to choose. She narrowed her eyes at her sister in law and suggested, "Let's make this interesting." Arizona nodded, and asked, "What do you have in mind?" Looking at the plate of peppers, Aria declared, "Double or nothing, we eat them all at the same time. Same rules apply." Arizona looked to Callie who nodded, then agreed, "You've got yourself a deal." Callie stepped in and added, "If there's a tie, you have to eat a Carolina Reaper." Aria's eyes widened, prayed to God that Arizona gave in, then nodded and said, "Okay, on the count of three." Needing to get in on the action, Sofia counted, "1, 2, 3, eat!" Arizona and Aria both shoved all four peppers into their mouths at the same time and started chewing. Watching her sisters face turn beet red and hearing the dry cough, Callie was certain she was about to lose it. Aria knew she made a mistake as soon as she inhaled the peppers before putting them into her mouth. As she chewed and started to cough, she couldn't stop and quickly ran to the bathroom and lost the contents of her stomach. Arizona finished chewing, gasped out, "Oh thank goodness," then went to the refrigerator, took out the milk, and without using a glass, downed what was left of the container.

Aria came out of the bathroom, red-faced, her eyes watering, gasping for air, went straight to the sink, turned it on, took the sprayer, and held it up to her mouth. When she finally felt as if she could talk, she glared at Callie and asked, "How the hell did she beat me? You are the only person who ever beat me." Callie scratched her head and asked, "Oh, did I forget to tell you that she beat me when I challenged her too?" Aria stomped her foot and declared, "That's cheating, you sent in a ringer!" Carlos scolded, "Arizona won fair and square mija." Callie smiled, looked at her sister, held out her hand and demanded, "Now pay up. I do believe you said double or nothing so that's four grand." Aria huffed, went to grab her phone, tapped a few buttons, and whined, "Fine, I sent it to you from pay pal." Arizona grinned and proclaimed, "That should take care of our diaper service for at least two years. Thanks Aria." Callie laughed, kissed her wife's nose, and whispered, "You are a hot mess." Arizona winked and responded, "Emphasis on hot Calliope." Arizona watched her father hand her father-in-law a check, narrowed her eyes at him, then walked to stand behind Carlos, kissed the top of his balding head and murmured, "Thank you for believing in me." The older man chuckled and replied, "I learned never to underestimate you ten years ago mija."

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When they finally sat down for dinner, enjoying foods from both cultures, Carlos asked, "So what are you all planning for New Years Eve?" Barb smiled at her husband and gushed, "After years of begging, I finally get to take my dream cruise, so we will be ringing in the new year somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean." Aria and Lucia both asked questions about where they would be stopping, gave them tips about the best places to eat and shop, and Carlos leaned over to Daniel and whispered, "Call the credit card company and lower your limit." The grey haired man nodded and returned, "I already did." Both men laughed and Carlos instantly sobered and zeroed in when he heard Arizona address Aria.

Arizona looked to Aria and asked, "Aria, what are you doing?" They all watched as she pushed her food around, refusing to look up at them, and Callie exclaimed, "Oh my God! You have a date!" Aria's head snapped up and she glared at her sister, then looked at her over-protective parents and replied, "Yes, I have a date. Marco asked me to join him for dinner and dancing and I accepted." Lucia smiled at her daughter, happy to see she was putting herself out there again, and offered, "Well I think that's wonderful dear." Aria dropped her fork and asked, "You do?" Lucia nodded and answered, "Of course we do, don't we Carlos." Carlos glanced at Arizona who nodded her head, then looked to his daughter and replied, "Yes mija. We only want you happy." Aria tilted her head, looked at Arizona and said, "Hmm, I could swear Marco told me he was warned about you not being opposed to slamming men against walls." Arizona shrugged, suddenly took great interest in her meal, and took a bite of her food. Callie leaned over and hissed, "You actually did it?" Arizona smiled sweetly and replied, "He had to be warned. Poor George nearly shit his pants." Callie laughed at that, nodded and answered, "True."

Looking to her mother, Callie asked, "What are you and daddy doing?" Carlos smiled proudly at his wife who looked nervously at her daughter, cleared her throat and explained, "As chair person of the board at the country club, it was my duty to plan the New Years Eve Fundraising Gala." Callie always hated those things but knew her mother enjoyed planning them. Every year they charged an exorbitant amount of money and chose some inane foundation that really didn't need their money. Trying to act interested, she asked, "What charity are you supporting this year?" Lucia looked around the table and declared, "I…um, I chose something that was very close to my heart. While visiting various foundations, I came across this little place, no bigger than your living room that offers guidance to LGBTQ youth. It broke my heart, for several reasons, to learn that there are hundreds of homeless teenagers and young adults who live on the streets because their families have rejected them. I…" She looked at Sofia, remembered she didn't want to say too much and finished, "I feel I owe it to that community to offer help and guidance. Your father and I also try to volunteer a few hours a week." Callie sat holding her wine glass in mid-air, staring at her mother, wondering if she heard her correctly. She blinked twice, put her glass down on the table and realized her mother wasn't just accepting her and Arizona so she could be in their lives again, she'd truly recognized the pain and damage that type of thinking could cause and was trying to do her part to remedy that situation.

Standing up, she went to her mother, extended her hand, helped her to her feet, then pulled her into a tight hug, crying as she murmured, "Thank you mami, what you just said, what you are trying to do, thank you, it means more to us than you will ever know." Lucia stood back, wiped her daughter's tears and quietly replied, "You made me see not only the fact that I was depriving myself of my family, but that I had hurt you in more ways than I will ever understand. I don't want these children to feel unloved. When I saw you with your friends, the people who have become your family, I understood how truly important it was to have that support system in place." Callie kissed her mother on the cheek, then returned to her seat next to Arizona. Carlos looked to his daughter and asked, "What are you doing for New Year's Eve?" Callie swallowed the bite she had just taken, took Arizona's hand in hers and said, "Well, it happens to be our five month anniversary, so we thought maybe we'd get a sitter and go to the Aria, have a nice dinner and attend the party there and stay overnight." Lucia furrowed her brow and asked, "Why don't you use the gift certificate I gave you and go to that nice Bed and Breakfast for the weekend?" Callie and Arizona looked at one another and Arizona explained, "Um, this may seem, well it is, it's extremely superstitious or whatever, but I'll be at 22 weeks next Sunday and…um…when Callie was at 23 weeks, we were headed out of town to spend the weekend alone together and I…we…the accident…" Callie cut in and bluntly stated, "The universe hates us. We don't want to go. Not until after the babies are born."

Completely understanding their fears and not wanting a repeat of that horrible situation himself, Carlos took a drink of his wine and offered, "I'll let them know you are coming and you can have the penthouse. If you'd like, we can reserve a room for your babysitter so Sofia can be near you and take advantage of the amenities." Both women released the breath they'd been holding, expecting some kickback from at least one of their parents, but looking around the table, all they saw was understanding and if they weren't mistaken, just a little bit of relief. Callie and Arizona could see Sofia squirming with excitement and Arizona replied, "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, we would love to have Sof close by." Carlos shook his head and answered, "No trouble at all." Sofia let out a squeal of excitement and they all laughed at her exuberance.

After cleaning up the table and carrying over the large variety of desserts, the blended families sat around the table, drinking coffee, picking at the sweet treats, and talking amongst themselves. As conversation went on around them, Callie and Arizona leaned into one another and watched the interaction between their families. Sofia and Aria were picking at one another as usual; Barb and Lucia were on one of their phones choosing quilt patterns, and Carlos was offering Daniel stock advice. Putting her hand on Callie's thigh, Arizona whispered, "I'd say this was a pretty successful first Christmas." Callie put her arm around the back of Arizona's chair, kissed the side of her head and stated, "The first of many my love."

A/N: Super, Super long. I know. I just wanted to get Christmas out of the way all in one shot so we could move on. I hope it lived up to your expectations. Thank you to the reviewer who suggested Aria challenge Arizona to a pepper eating contest and to Calzona123 who suggested Tobin be included as well.

My bank account still doesn't say Shonda Rhimes, so all of the characters still belong to her.