Hey everyone, I was going over my stories and missed this family, so I thought I'd give it another go. Takes place about 8 years after Life's a Dance ends, if you haven't read that, or Sometimes love just isn't enough, or Life's a dance, I suggest
you do before reading this. Happy reading.
"that's bullshit" I hear coming from the living room "Stephanie" I yell back there were young ears in this house "momma said bullshit" Oliver giggled sitting at the table, his twin sister Olivia started to giggle along with his cousin Samantha. "no mom, this is bullshit, I specifically told them I couldn't go out on assignment this week, this week of all weeks, but" she groaned shaking her head. I had to bite my lip as to not laugh, she was just like Callie. Even though she wasn't blood to either of us, over the past 20 years she'd picked up a lot from us. "dang auntie Steph relax, you'll give yourself a brain tumor"
"she can't get a brain tumor from being upset" Olivia says rolling her eyes at her cousin.
"I just" she starts to say but a look from me and she rolls her eyes "sorry kids, I just wanted to take your mom some place special for our 10-year anniversary"
"I know you do" Ollie says standing up, he walks over to his mom and gives her a hug and what he says next melts my heart "you know she loves you and will love whatever you plan for her"
"thanks buddy" Steph reaches out and pulls him in for a hug. Olivia quickly stands and joins her brother. "where do they have you going this time" I ask standing from the table, taking the dirty plates to the sink. Steph lets out a groan "New York"
"New York huh?"
"yeah" she sighs. And my thoughts went back to a time, when life was hard, and Callie and I weren't together. I broke out of my thoughts when Sammi says "take her with you" I have to laugh, she was so much like Sofia it was funny. And Olivia was a cross between both her moms, it was like having all three girls young again. "what do you think?" I turn around, from the sink and see her looking at me, asking me my opinion. "I guess that's up to you" turning back around I run the water.
"when's momma get home?" Steph asked
"I'm not sure" Callie and I were both pretty much retired, I had been officially retired, since Sammi was born, but get calls for consults a lot, and even went back part time, but Callie on the other hand, had just retired a month ago, still got consults and she's still working on research. "hmm" Steph hums and leaves the room. Shaking my head I continue with putting the dishes from lunch into the dishwasher "nana let me finish, you go sit" I hear Oliver say coming up next to me
"I got it honey" I smile at him
"are you sure?" the 3 kids were such big help around the house, they are turning out amazing, just like our girls, and I'd like to take some credit for my son in law, Mark. He had surprised us all and is an amazing dad, and uncle. "I'm almost done here, but if you want to grab the soap for the dishwasher"
"I got it" he smiles showing off his dimples, with his dark complexion and his blue eyes the girls are going to flock to him in a few years. I'm a little surprised they aren't already. Olivia, still had her blonde hair, but her eyes turned dark, I'm not sure how but she was a perfect mixture of both Stephanie and Zola. Samantha on the other hand, had turned out to look just like Sofia, no traces of Mark in her at all. I had found a baby picture of Callie a few years back, and laid it out on the table with a picture of Sofia and Samantha, the only way you could tell who was who was by how old the picture was. I hear the front door open and someone call out "knock, knock" and Olivia and Oliver run out of the kitchen saying "gramma"
"there's my grand kids" Meredith says I couldn't see but I'm sure she's hugging them both. "where's nana"
"kitchen" Ollie says and I hear the tv turn on and his game system start up.
"kitchen, she's always in the kitchen" Meredith says, I chuckle and look up meeting her eyes "Callie still at the hospital?"
"she'd live there if she could" I roll my eyes hearing Meredith laugh, I was waiting for a comment about how she did once, but then again so did I. I turn around and find Meredith digging through the cupboard for her cup, and smile. She smiles when she finds it and pours herself a cup. "who pushed it all the way to the back?"
"um, Mark did the dishes the other night, he must have just shoved everything in there" I shrug, picking up my cup, refreshing it and sitting at the table with my friend. We are just sitting there staring at each other when Steph comes in. "oh good you're here" Steph says reaching for her own cup and sitting down.
"it's good to see you too Steph" Meredith laughs
"I need your advice on something"
"mine wasn't good enough" I say taking a sip of my coffee
"no mom, you gave me the idea, I just" I cut her off "you want someone else's advice" I look up at her and she nods. "especially about this" I smile letting her know I'm not butthurt.
"well what is it?" Meredith asks
"as you know our anniversary is coming"
"ten years" Meredith smiles
"yes" the smile on her face reminds me of mine when I'm thinking of Callie "anyway, I wanted to take her on a vacation, but"
"you got called on an assignment?" Meredith shakes her head, Steph nods "always seems to happen that way"
"hmm" I hum
"well" Meredith sits back in the chair "if you want my advice" Steph nods "take her with"
"that's what I said"
"actually it was Sammi who said it" Steph laughs
"only thing is" Meredith leans forward again putting her elbows on the table "remember they have their boards soon"
"oh shit that's right" Steph says sitting back letting out a sigh
"so why don't you just wait, she'll have some time off between the tests and starting her new job, take her then"
"maybe we can all go" I smile knowing Callie would love a vacation "we could go to Miami" I hear Steph let out a groan, that was where we always went, with having the house there. "I'd rather take her somewhere we haven't been, and no offense" she looks at me "I'd rather not spend my vacation with my moms"
"I'm hurt, you don't love us" I put my hand over my heart Steph laughs "mom you know exactly how much I love you"
"fine we'll go to Miami" Meredith smiles at me "and you can go to Spain"
"I don't speak Spanish" she shakes her head
"no but Zola does" Meredith laughs
"I don't understand why you didn't take Spanish, knowing your momma and sister speak it"
"abuelo tried to teach me, but it didn't stick" I let out a sigh, and we are quiet a moment when he is brought up. Callie was so lost after he passed, shit we all were. "well that's my advice" Meredith says breaking the silence.
"thanks" Steph smiles then stands, I feel her kiss the top of my head, then see her do the same to Meredith as she leaves the room. "gramma look at this" Olivia comes in holding up some artwork she did, Meredith gushes over it. I think Olivia is going to go into art like Steph, Oliver on the other hand, I wasn't sure what he was going to do, but they were only 8, there was plenty of time. Sammi, though, Sammi was going to be a doctor like the rest of us.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Callie
Walking down the hallway of the hospital, I was hoping to be home by now, only came in to get something I forgot in my lab. "hey" I hear, looking up I see my son in law "hi Mark" I smile
"can you take a look at this right quick"
"right quick, Arizona is home waiting"
"I know, it'll only be a minute" he smiles and hands me the iPad and I gasp when I see it "Jackson and I were thinking that if we go in through here" he points to the screen.
"no, that won't work, you'll have to" I say tilting my head to look at the image more closely "is the patient here?" Mark nods, I motion for him to show me. Mark had went into plastics, which made Jackson happy, he even made the joke about the plastics posse being back. Causing us older folk to laugh, but the kids to roll their eyes. "I was on my way to find Sofia, but came across you instead" I smile, Sofia had been working closely with me the last few years, and was planning on eventually taking over my spot or the spot I left open, Jo took over my spot as head of ortho, but I have no doubt my daughter will be in time. Zola, Zola made Arizona proud, she'd been working closely with Clara, and was planning on doing the fellowship with her once the boards were done. I think Meredith was a little butthurt that she didn't go into general, but she quickly got over it. Ellis was almost done with school and would hopefully be joining the family here at Grey Sloan soon. Mark and I walk to the elevators and he hits the button, when the doors open Sofia is standing inside, a smile on her face when she sees us. I want to say it's because she's happy to see me, but I know it's Mark she's excited about. They haven't seen each other much the last month. Zola and Sofia were either working or studying for their boards which is next week. I could tell both girls were nervous, but they needn't be, they had the Torres method after all, and the Torres method never fails. "momma why are you here?"
"I came to get something, and" I shrug
"I found her, wanting a consult"
"Oh on what?" Sofia asks, Mark holds out the iPad "oh nice"
"you want it Sof?" I ask seeing her face light up
"I'd love it" Sofia says not taking her eyes off the iPad
"we're headed to meet the patient, you busy?" Mark asks in a soft tone he often used with her "nope I'm free, was headed to find Zo to see if she wanted to study more"
"I'll tag along, I'd like to meet this patient and see for myself" I say, hearing a murmur of ok come from the other two. Shaking my head, I laugh to myself, I loved how they were with each other. As the doors open Mark steps out, I could tell he wanted to take Sofia's hand but since they were at work he held back. "here we are" he says stopping outside a patient room "Victor Simmons, 42" I tune the rest out, I didn't need to know the diagnosis, I just wanted the name. Mark softly knocks on the door "hello Mr. Simmons" he smiles when the man in the bed looks up, his wife, who was sitting in the chair beside the bed looks up too, smiling "hello Dr. Fox"
"this is Dr. Robbins, and Dr. Sloan, they have come to"
"see this massive tumor on my face" he finishes for Mark, who laughs and nods. "well come on in, take a look" He had a positive attitude which I liked. Mark hands me the chart and I read through it "Mr. Simmons how long have you had it?"
"Victor please" he smiles, well attempted to smile when his wife speaks up "he's had something for the last 5 years but about a year ago it started to grow"
"hmm" I hum, not taking my eyes off the chart
"Dr. Robbins is one of the best" Jackson says standing in the doorway smiling. "she's been with us a long time"
"Dr. Avery" I smile Arizona was still in constant contact with April, but I honestly haven't seen Jackson in a while. If I have anything to do with plastics Mark usually comes. Sofia comes to stand next to me reading over my shoulder. "well I think you guys have it handled" I hand Sofia the chart, smiling "Mr. and Mrs. Simmons it was good to meet you, Dr. Sloan and Dr. Fox will take good care of you" I smile at the couple and make my leave. "Dr. Robbins, can I have a word" Jackson says as I'm standing in the doorway, I nod and step out waiting for him. "what's up?" I ask once he is standing in front of me.
"what do you think about this?" he motions to the room
"I think" I say looking into the room "what you guys are planning is the best approach" he nods and we stand there watching Sofia and Mark with the patient. "they are amazing" Jackson says quietly.
"yeah they are" I smile "I'm one proud momma"
"as you should be, Arizona too" Jackson smiles, I look over at him "speaking of Arizona, she's at home waiting for me"
"that's right, you're officially retired now" he laughs
"I am" I take a deep breath and hear him ask "do I expect you at the next board meeting?"
"of course" I smile "Arizona and I will both be there"
"good" he smiles then touches my arm "it was good to see you Callie, we'll have to do dinner soon"
"a Grey Sloan family dinner" I say
"exactly, it's been way too long since we've all been together"
"maybe after the girls are done with the boards, give us reason to celebrate"
"perfect idea" he smiles as his pager goes off. I do not miss that one bit, I remember when I was stuck in that damn chair, I missed it, but not now. "right Callie I'll see you soon" I nod and watch him walk off. Taking a deep breath I look back into the room, Sofia is talking to the wife, and Mark is checking over the patient. I smile and turn to leave, my wife was waiting for me.
Xxxxxxxxxx
Stephanie
I still think it's bullshit, but the parentals were right, I should wait until after Zola is done with her tests. It just sucks I won't be here on our anniversary. Letting out a sigh, I shut my laptop, I'll talk to my wife when she gets home, see what she wants to do. "momma" I look up and see my son standing there. "yeah buddy?"
"when is mom coming home?" he asks in a tone I have come to know as he missed her
"um" I look at the clock "soon I think why? What's up?"
"nothing" he says looking down not making eye contact with me "Oliver" I say softly he looks up and I'm met with a pair of sad eyes "I just miss her"
"I know buddy" I say "but I'm here, is there something you want to do?"
"can we go get ice cream?" he asks, I think about it for a bit, I could get out of the house for a bit. "sure" I smile and I watch as his face goes from sad to excited. "go get your sister" after the words came out of my mouth I see his features change to sad again. "or did you want it just to be us?"
"can it be just us?" he looks at me hopefully, I smile "I'm sure that can be arranged" he runs off to put on his shoes, I stand and head into the kitchen where my mom and mother in law are still sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. I have to laugh, I often found mom in the kitchen with either Meredith, April or Clara. The people are different but she's always there, I smile at them as I enter. "I'm going to take Ollie out for some ice cream, are you ok with the girls?"
"ice cream?" Meredith laughs
"he's missing Zola, so I thought" I shrug I hear my mom hum, like she always does and Meredith laughs. "do you need anything while I'm out?"
"no" mom shakes her head "your momma should be home soon"
"ok" I smile as Oliver comes in his jacket on and shoes tied "hey you did it" I high five him, he'd been having issues with tying his shoes. "Sammi helped" he shrugged but high fived me anyway.
"you'll get there" I wink "tell your gramma's bye"
"bye nana, bye gramma, love you" he waves and we leave through the kitchen door. It's not often we get to spend time with the kids alone. It was hard having a full time job and twins. Along with a niece around the same age. "which place you want to go?" I ask once we are inside the car, I hear the click of the seatbelt, and smile to myself when I didn't have to remind him. "the one by the water"
"ok" I nod and start the car, as we pull out of the driveway he asks "can we go see momma?" I look into the mirror and meet his eyes "sure buddy, before or after ice cream"
"either works" he shrugs and looks out the window. At the stop light I consider my options, if I go forward it will take me to Grey Sloan, but if I turned left, I'll go to the ice cream place. The light turned green and I went forward. Glancing in the mirror I can see my son smiling, he really did miss his mommy. Truth be told I missed her too, with the boards coming up I haven't seen her much. It didn't take long and I was pulling into the parking lot, and into a spot, I saw momma's car still parked in her spot and I laugh "what's funny?" Ollie asks
"your gram is still here"
"nana is going to be mad, she's been waiting for her to come home all day"
"exactly" I turn off the engine and get out, opening the door for him, they were older now, but I still kept the child lock in place, you never know when one of them might decide to jump out randomly. He jumps out and reaches for my hand, I smile, we drilled it into their heads when we are in a parking lot you have to hold an adults hand. Walking through the front doors, like I've done a million times in my life, I'm met by my momma "gram" Ollie says as he jumps into her arms.
"hey buddy, what are you two doing here?"
"I came to see mommy" Ollie says hugging his grandma
"oh" she looks at me, and I shrug "he's missing her, can't say he's the only one"
"well I'm not sure where she is, but your aunt and uncle are in the cafeteria" she says putting Ollie down. "I'm headed out, should have been home hours ago"
"oh I know" I laugh
"is she pissed?" momma asked
"well Mer is there so"
"great" she lets out a sigh "alright I'm off see you later" she says heading towards the door.
"bye gram, love you"
"love you too buddy" she says and leaves "alright, should we head to the cafeteria?" I see him nod, he takes my hand again. "I think I might want to be a doctor" he says as we make our way down the hallway. "really?" I ask not quite convinced.
"yeah" he says "this place is so cool" I remember Sofia and Zola saying that when we were his age. "how come you didn't"
"didn't what?" I ask confused
"become a doctor like everyone else?"
"well" I sigh, I wasn't really sure how to answer that, yeah I grew up here, this was our home away from home, "I'm not sure"
"auntie Sof, and mommy, and even uncle Mark are all doctors and nana, gram, and gramma"
"I know" I let out in a sigh
"why didn't you"
"well auntie Sof was born into it, and your mom, well she was destined to be"
"what does destined mean?"
"meant to be, she was meant to be a doctor"
"weren't you born into it" he asked, I sigh and roll my eyes how am I going to explain to my 8 year old what happened to me. "well" I say seeing a bench I lead him to it "sit down" I say softly, he nods and sits, I watch as his little legs dangle, then he looks at me waiting for me to finish "you see you gram and nana adopted me" he cocks his head in confusion "when I was born, I had a different mom and dad"
"what happened to them?"
"well" I take a deep breath "my mom and I were in a very bad car accident, when I was very young" he understood that, being from a family full of doctors. "was your mom ok?" I shake my head no "she died"
"did gram and nana take you from the hospital" I sigh I really didn't want to explain this to my kids, not yet anyway. "no buddy, I ended up in what they call foster care"
"that's where you go when you don't have mommies or daddy's" I nod "I was your age when I met your mom and auntie Sofia in school"
"and gram and nana"
"and your gramma too" I smile remembering Sofia's birthday party at the skating rink, the day that actually changed my life. I remember Meredith picking me up, and then taking me back to her place where she then gave me a bath and I put on some of Zola's clothes. I have to hold back a laugh when my mind goes dirty and I think that I was in her pants long before I knew I wanted to be. "so gram, nana and gramma, they saved you?"
"yes" to this day I still think about what could have happened if my mom and momma wouldn't have stepped in and adopted me. There were times growing up that Sofia would throw a fit about something and I would hear her say that they didn't want her, but for me, there was never any doubt, I knew they wanted me, hell they saved me. I sent up a silent prayer, when I hear my wife's voice "hey what are you two doing here"
"mommy" Oliver jumps up and runs to her.
"hey buddy" she bends down, she used to pick him up but now that he's getting bigger the only people that can pick him up are momma and Mark. I watch as Oliver latches himself around her "I miss you mommy"
"I miss you too buddy" Zola says looking up at me giving me that look "hey let me say hi to your mom, then we can go get some ice cream from the cafeteria, your auntie and uncle are there waiting for me"
"we already know, gram told us"
"we ran into momma on the way in" I clarify, Zola nods, looking down the hallway "bud why don't you go ahead and find your auntie and uncle" she says nodding down the hallway. We could see the doors to the cafeteria from where we were "ok" Oliver says and runs off. We watch as he opens the door, knowing Sofia would spot him right away so he was safe. "Hey" Zola says turning toward me "what's wrong?"
"huh?" I ask shaking my head I smile "nothing"
"Stephanie" she says using my full name, I let out a sigh "Ollie was asking me why I wasn't a doctor"
"and?"
"and I told him I wasn't sure, then he said that you guys were all doctors and he couldn't understand why I didn't" Zola cocks her head, I could tell she was still confused as to why I was upset "I told him that Sofia was born into it, and you were destined to be one, then of course he was confused because Sofia and I have the same parents, so I explained that I was adopted"
"you didn't tell him I am also adopted?" Zola asked confused,
"no" I shake my head "but my mind went back to the past and" I'm cut off by my wife pulling me into her. Hugging me tight "I love you Stephanie, you have become such and amazing wife and mother"
"thanks, I love you too" I let out a sigh and we share a kiss "come on our son is waiting"
"I'm sure he's already talked Sofia into getting him ice cream"
"he's such a smooth talker."
"he said he wants to be a doctor"
"really" Zola's face lit up and I smile. I had a feeling he was going to take after his mom and Olivia would follow in my footsteps and go into arts. Zola takes my hand and we walk to the cafeteria, as predicted Ollie was sitting at the table with Sofia and Mark, and to my surprise Cristina, who was setting down a huge bowl of ice cream in front of him. Zola and I both laugh, as we take our seats.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Sofia
I don't understand why auntie Cristina never wanted kids, she was always great with us, although she wasn't around much in our younger years, but I see her with the kids now. Laughing when she makes Ollie pout by trying to steal some of his ice cream. She was still the chief of surgery, and doing a damn good job at it, if I had anything to say about it. Looking at my nephew, I can't help but smile, all three kids are amazing, yeah Sammi might be a little spoiled, but that's only because technically she's an only child, Mark and I like to make sure she wants for nothing. Steph made the comment once, when Sammi and Olivia were fighting over a doll, that they were just like her and I. And honestly outside of Olivia's darker complexion, they looked just like us too. Mark is great with Oliver, he says since they are the only two men of the family they have to stick together. I smile, at my husband, and he winks at me, I honestly never thought I'd be married and have a family this early in my life. Moms always told me stories about how residency killed you, and for the most part they were right, there were times through out the last 5 years I never made it home for days straight, and with a young kid at home, it pretty much kills you. I had a great support system though, in the people around this table. And still living with my parents and sister at 28, was kind of weird, but it works. My thoughts are brought back to the present when I hear Mark ask Ollie a question "you ready for tball?"
"totally uncle Mark" the smile on both Ollie and Mark's face warmed my heart. Mark and I had talked about having another, I know Sammi was an accident, and amazing accident, but I don't know if I want another. I could tell he really wanted a son of his own, that's where living in the house with my moms and sister, and her two kids really comes in nicely. "tball?" Cristina asks confused.
"it's baseball, but the ball sits on a T, so they can hit it" Mark explains
"why?" Cristina asks
"so the kids can hit it" Mark says again, I look over at Steph then at Zola, who are trying hard not to laugh, you'd think after all these years he'd know how Cristina is.
"I don't understand" she says, by this point I have to bite my lip to not laugh, I hear Mark let out a sigh and look at Ollie. "you want to explain it to her?" Ollie laughs and shakes his head "it's all yours uncle Mark" he smiles a big toothy smile, and I notice he's missing his two front teeth. Leaning over to my sister in law, who was sitting beside me "when did that happen?"
"huh?" Zola looks at me confused, then smiles "his teeth?" I nod "I'm not sure" she shrugs. Then leans over and whispers something to Steph, I see then both smile and kiss each other. "yesterday" she says moving back to me. Yesterday huh? Makes me wonder what else Zola and I have missed lately. With our boards coming up, next week, we've been super busy the last month or so, with trying to get as much OR time as we can, and studying when we're not in the OR. I'm actually fried. And of course, when were are all together you hear a pager blare. I hear Mark groan, as it's his. I watch as he pulls it out "it's Jackson" he stands, and leans down to kiss me "I'll see you later" I smile and nod "love you" he smiles back at me, I feel the butterflies in my stomach, I remember momma saying that mom still gives her butterflies even after all this time. I hope I found that, I watch him ruffle Ollie's hair, then leave. "what's with that look?" Cristina asks
"huh?" I look at her "what look?"
"you have this 'oh he's so dreamy' look on your face" she says "kind of how your mom" she points at Zola, looked at your dad" she squinches up her face "come to think of it your dumb moms look at each other like that, and have since the day they got together" she cringes. I laugh shaking my head as Zola says "auntie, never change"
"I don't plan too" she says moving her focus onto Oliver. "you want to see a surgery?"
"Cristina" Steph says
"what? Gotta start em young"
"moms can I?" Ollie looks at his moms, Steph and Zola are looking at each other, I am impatiently waiting on what they are going to say. I see Steph give a little nod, and Zola speaks "what kind of surgery?"
"oh just a little valve replacement" Christina shrugs, Zola looks at Steph again I see her shrug "you want to" Zola asks
"that'd be super cool" the little boy says with excitement
"alright" Cristina says standing up "let's go Dr. Shephard"
"bye moms" Ollie says as he runs after Cristina.
"awe his first surgery" I coo
"by his age, we've already seen too many to count" Zola says I nod and look at Steph, when our eyes meet I could tell there was something up. When another pager sounds, I know it's not mine, I hear Zola groan, then lean over to kiss Steph "I love you" I hear them both say, and Zola runs off. "sister time" I smile
"sister time" she says sitting back in her chair letting out a deep sigh, cocking my head I look at her "Steph"
"hmm" she hums
"are you" I sigh "are you ok?" I watch as she smiles "yeah, I'm just a little pissed off, I got an email earlier from my boss" I nod to let her know I'm paying attention "they want me to go to New York, on assignment" she shakes her head
"when?"
"I have to leave on Thursday" she sighs "I'll be gone until Monday" I nod, Saturday was their anniversary, the big 10 years. "I'd be pissed too"
"what really gets me is" she reaches for a napkin and starts shredding it, something she picked up from mom "I specifically told her that I couldn't go right now"
"I remember you saying that"
"mom and Meredith both said to either take Zo with, or wait until after the boards"
"want my opinion?" I ask sitting back in my chair, seeing her nod "I think you should wait, I know it's a big anniversary, but this test" I don't have to go on Steph knows how big this test is to both of us, we watched Mark go through it a couple years ago. "alright" she smiles "I just hate I won't be here for it" an idea brews in my head. "Sof" Steph says cautiously.
"hmm?" I hum
"why do you have that look like momma gets when mom's done something she can't figure out?" I knew exactly what she was talking about and laugh "you'll see" I smile "come on let's clean this mess up" I wave my hand over the mess on the table "and get some coffee, you're stuck here now anyway"
"guess I am" she smiles.
So? Shall I keep going? I have no idea where it's going, but with this family it all just comes out...
