Sofia was roused from a deep sleep by a loud clatter coming from the kitchen, followed by her mama's deep belly laugh and her mommy scolding her to hush. Sitting up, she wiped the sleep from her eyes and couldn't help the smile that curved on her lips. She loved waking up to the sound of her mommies laughing or talking quietly or really, doing anything together. Their house was filled with so much love and happiness now, it was hard to remember those years when they weren't together and things were always so…quiet…empty. While she knew both of her mommies tried to keep her happy and show her how much they loved her, it always felt like something was missing. Now though, they were complete and soon she would have brothers and a sister and their house would be full of love, laughter, and lots and lots of noise. She was especially excited today though because for the first time since she could remember, they were celebrating her birthday together as a family.
Hearing her mommy laugh this time as her mama used her baby voice while saying, "Oh look at her squishy little cheeks," Sofia realized exactly what her mommies were doing. She was sure this was just another thing they each did without the other knowing, but no matter who she was with, every year on the day they celebrated her birthday, she would find both her mama and her mommy looking at a scrapbook or photo album of her life. She would always climb up on their laps and listen to stories about when she was a baby and they would get all mushy about how fast she was growing. Hearing her mommies laugh again made her heart thump because another thing they didn't know was that every time they came across a picture with all three of them, the mom she was with would get quiet and her eyes would become sad, then she would run her finger across the picture of the other mom's face, and just for a second, she could see how much they missed each other. If she had to be honest, even though it was a little sad, that was one of her favorite parts of her birthday because it gave her hope that her mommies still loved each other. That's why whenever she blew out the candles on her birthday cake, for both birthday celebrations, she always wished that someday they could be a real family again. That had been her wish for five birthdays and now that it finally came true, it was even better than she ever wished for.
Just thinking about spending her birthday with both mommies made her entire body tingle with excitement. Even though she'd seen the pictures of both of her mommies standing behind her while she blew out the candles on her birthday cake, she didn't really remember it because she was too little. The first birthday she really remembered, she turned five and her mama had a pizza party for her on the weekend and her mommy celebrated with her on her real birthday and they made cupcakes for her to take to school. The next year, she was in New York with mama and they didn't know anyone but Maria, Bella, and Lorraine, so they had a little party on her birthday and her mommy face-timed her later that night and sent her gifts in the mail. Last year she was with mommy in Seattle and all her aunts, uncles, and friends celebrated with her and mama had to send her presents in the mail.
So this year, when she had both of her moms together and they were a real family, she didn't want to celebrate without either of them. While she didn't really want to not celebrate her birthday, she was telling the truth when she said she didn't want to have a party without her mommy. She was really happy to learn that she didn't have to and it was just as important to her mommies that they were all together. Now that her longstanding birthday wish had come true, she already knew what her next birthday wish would be. Even though her mommy told her all the reasons why she shouldn't want it, she couldn't get the thought out of her mind, especially now that it seemed like it could really happen. No longer able to contain her excitement, she jumped out of bed and ran into the kitchen, hoping to hear more stories about their life as a family and just maybe, if they were in a good mood, she could find out more about her party.
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Callie dropped a cinnamon stick into the steaming hot liquid and looked up just in time to see her wife waddling into the dining room with a stack of books precariously balanced against her stomach. She rushed around the island to help her when she was stopped by a deadly glare, silently warning her not to take another step. She knew Arizona needed this little piece of independence, but she wasn't sure her wife was aware of just how unstable she looked, nor how close she was to dropping everything. Even with her concern, she couldn't contain the loud bark of laughter when one by one the books slipped to the floor, but quickly snapped her mouth shut when Arizona scolded, "Oh hush!" Looking down at her empty hands, unable to see the books that fell by her feet, the blonde flushed slightly in embarrassment and offered, "Um…now you can help." Callie sucked her lips between her teeth to hide her amusement and bent down to pick up the three books, which based upon the pink and gold gemstones and little princess stickers adorning the front covers, she instantly recognized as Sofia's keepsake albums. She knew one was Sofia's scrapbook that she and Arizona had started together long before Sofia was born, another was the book she had kept over the last few years, and she could only assume the third was one Arizona had created, containing her own memories with their daughter.
Carrying the books to the table, she helped Arizona get settled, then she set the cup in front of her and declared, "One cup of horchata for the beautiful lady." Arizona smiled, tilted her head up, puckered her lips, waited for her kiss, and murmured, "Thank you." Grabbing her own cup of coffee, Callie settled onto the chair next to Arizona, took a sip, waited for the burn to subside, and asked, "So you still do this too?" Arizona stirred the cinnamon stick around in her drink and replied, "Of course I do. I love looking back and seeing how much she's grown. Though I have to admit, I've kind of neglected the book this year." Callie opened the front cover of Arizona's scrapbook, picked up the stack of loose photos that had been collected over the past several months, held up a picture of the three of them at their wedding and answered, "We've been a little busy getting our shit together." Arizona smiled, linked their hands together, and agreed, "We have, but this is something I don't want to let fall away, especially now that we will have three more lives to preserve." Callie rubbed Arizona's stomach and offered, "Maybe we can find some time to take care of this and start the others during our leave." Arizona laughed, pulled Sofia's first scrapbook closer, and teased, "Oh you think we will have a ton of free time in between changing, feeding, soothing, and bathing three newborns. That's cute Calliope, please tell me more." Callie bit her bottom lip and conceded, "Yeah, good point. It was a nice thought though." Arizona nodded in agreement and the two linked hands while Callie turned the pages of the memory album she and Arizona started together.
Coming across a photo of their baby girl lying on her pink tummy time mat, trying to reach the musical butterflies dancing above her head, Callie traced the image and cooed, "Oh look at her squishy little cheeks." Arizona glanced at the picture and giggled, "She sure was a chubby little thing for being born so tiny." Callie nodded and they each took turns pointing at pictures and making comments about little moments in time that were long forgotten. As they came to the final pages of the book they had started together, neither commented on the fact that the entries stopped shortly after Sofia turned three and half the book remained empty. In silent agreement, each of them reached for the book of memories collected by the other and as they sat going through the pieces of their daughter's life created during their absence, they were filled with a sense of sadness, not only from the moments they'd missed, but from those they'd deprived the other of. Breaking the silence, Arizona asked, "Do you think…we did okay, right?" Not needing to ask what her wife was talking about, hearing the worry in her voice, Callie turned, took her hands, and answered honestly, "We made a lot of mistakes honey, but when it came to Sof, we did the best we could. I mean, I really hate to dredge this up, but it's like you said in court, she was happy and healthy because we were her mothers and above anything else, we loved her. If it weren't for that, for your love for her, your need to make her happy, we…we might not be here now." Feeling more assured, Arizona smiled, caressed Callie's face, pulled her closer and murmured, "Aside from choosing to stay, to be her mom, coming here so she could have both of us was the best decision I ever made." Nodding in agreement Callie leaned in and connected their lips together in a long languorous kiss.
Just as they deepened their kiss, they heard the disgusted, "Eww, don't do that over my baby pictures," and they both looked up to see their daughter standing in the entryway with a scandalized expression on her adorable little face and broke into a fit of giggles. "There's our baby girl!" Callie exclaimed and held out her arms for her daughter to join them. Though she pretended to be grossed out by seeing her mommies kissing…again, Sofia couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face when she saw that they were indeed carrying on the tradition of looking through her baby books together. Not wanting to miss out on her stories, she quickly crossed the room to crawl into her mama's lap. With her mama holding her tightly, she leaned over, kissed her mommy's cheek, then her belly, and finally kissed her mama's cheek before resting her head on her shoulder.
Glancing at the table, she pointed to a loose picture that must have fallen out of one of the albums and asked, "What's that? I don't remember that one." Callie picked up the picture, shook her head at the contents, and showed it to Arizona, who let out a loud bark of laughter, earning a look of disdain from her wife. Arizona took the photo and explained, "Oh, this one got your daddy and me into a whole lot of trouble with mama." Sofia looked at the picture, scrunched up her nose, and asked, "Why am I so dirty? And…blue? Am I blue?" Callie glared at her wife playfully, took the picture from her, and grumpily answered, "Uh yes, you are most definitely blue and you stayed blue for three days." Though it wasn't so funny at the time, Arizona remembered the moment fondly now, looked at Sofia, popped her dimples, and chirped, "Actually you were a very pretty shade of purple for the first day or so." Callie scoffed and continued to glare while Arizona kept her super-magic dimpled smile, tilted her head and batted her eyelashes at the brunette. Sofia giggled at the looks her mommies were giving each other and asked, "What happened?" Callie, still not clear on exactly what went down that day, arched her brow at Arizona and repeated, "Yeah mommy, what happened?"
Arizona took a sip of her horchata and tried to bring the long forgotten memory back to the forefront as she relayed the story, lost in her own thoughts. Arizona had just closed the oven after checking on the roasted chicken and vegetables and turned to clean off the countertops. She had no idea how she and Mark always made such a mess when they were cooking together. Laying the dish towel on the edge of the countertop to dry, she shook her head in disbelief over the fact that the two of them had bonded over something as domestic as cooking. Their relationship was always rocky at best, but since Sofia was born, after the hurt subsided, they'd both settled down and seemed to form a new understanding and respect for one another, if for no other reason than the fact that this was their life now and they were forever bound together by their beautiful baby girl. Hearing, "Ma-ma, ma-ma," the sound that never failed to warm her heart and reach her soul, coming from the living room, she looked up just in time to see Sofia trying to pull herself up on the edge of the sofa and quickly crossed the room to be there if she fell. She smiled when her daughter saw her coming and started babbling louder, held her arms up for her, and immediately fell on her diaper clad bottom causing them both to giggle.
When the door burst open, they turned their heads to see Mark strolling into the apartment, wearing an apron and an oven mitt, carrying what she assumed to be a pie. Smiling down at the little girl, she cooed, "Look who's here Sof, it's daddy." She could only laugh when she looked down at the cherubic little face and saw Sofia blowing spit bubbles in his direction. Mark placed the pie on the towel on the countertop to finish cooling, rushed into the living room, scooped up his baby girl, and proceeded to blow raspberries on her little tummy. Leaving the two alone for some daddy daughter time, Arizona returned to the kitchen, took down the plates and went to the drawer to get the silverware when she noticed the pie on the countertop. It looked delicious and smelled amazing. Leaning down to get a better look, she scrunched up her nose and asked, "Is this blueberry?" Mark looked up at her and proudly responded, "Not just blueberry Robbins, freshly picked blueberries from a local farm outside of the city. I spent my whole morning picking those babies." Seeing the look on her face, he furrowed his brows and asked, "What's wrong with that? Don't tell me you don't like blueberries." Arizona looked at him disbelievingly and replied, "I love them, but Callie hates blueberries Mark." Putting his daughter down on her mat, he strode into the kitchen, put his hands on his hips and huffed, "What? No she doesn't!"
Secretly thrilled that she knew something about her wife that her best friend didn't…finally…Arizona mimicked his gesture and retorted, "Yes, she does. When have you ever seen her eat a blueberry or anything with a blueberry in it?" Mark scratched his head, then his eyes widened and he held up his hand and declared, "HA! Last week, I saw Torres leaving the lounge with a blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee. That's when I got the idea for the pie." He stood tall, puffed out his chest, and dared her to argue with him. All too happy to pop his bubble, Arizona put her tongue in her cheek, took out her phone, scrolled through her texts, and shoved the device in his face saying, "Read it!" Mark squinted at the screen, leaned in, and read, "Hey, someone brought in muffins. Since you left so early this morning, do you want me to bring you one?/ Oh my God, I knew there was a reason I loved you. Yes please./ You'd better love me for more than my muffins./ Oh honey, your muffins are the best part./ Mmm you keep talking like that and you can have my muffins whenever you want./ They are already mine beautiful./ True, so what kind do you want?/ Blueberry?/ EWWW how can you eat those? They have no flavor. How about pumpkin?/ Blueberry Calliope./ Ugh fine, but I'm not kissing you after./ Why? They have no flavor." Mark's face dropped and he looked down at the counter where he put the pie he'd spent so much time on, then blinked, furrowed his brow, and glared up at Arizona, asking, "Did you throw it away?" Arizona huffed and snapped, "Of course I didn't throw it away. What are you…" "Then where the hell is it?" Mark waved his hands around wildly.
Arizona glanced at the edge of the counter, which was now empty, looked around the kitchen, saw the splash of purple on the floor behind Mark's feet and hissed, "Oh no." Running around the island, she let out a gasp as she looked down and saw their daughter standing up and leaning on the base, the dish towel in one hand and the metal pie tin resting atop her head like a hat, while blueberries and crust dripped down her smiling face. Dropping to her knees, she removed the pan and immediately checked Sofia for any bumps and was relieved to feel the pie filling was room temperature and didn't burn their little girl's beautiful skin. If she weren't so concerned about her daughter, she would have laughed at the shocked expression on Mark's face. It looked as if he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Neither had time to think about laughing nor crying, however, when they heard a key in the door handle and their faces contorted into absolute horror. Even though neither of them understood Spanish, they were certain they were being cussed out from the second Callie laid eyes on the gooey mess that was their daughter.
"So you and daddy were afraid of mama?" Sofia asked, trying to stifle her laughter. Snapping out of her revery, Arizona recalled how Mark was banished from their apartment and she spent that night on the couch, looked up to Callie, who was now smirking at her, nodded, and answered, "Oh baby girl, you have no idea." Callie remembered walking in at that exact moment and finding her daughter covered in disgusting blueberries while Mark and Arizona both stammered and rambled about not knowing how it happened and how sorry they were, and how they even tried to make it a positive thing by celebrating the fact that she crawled all the way across the living room and pulled herself up to her feet. After taking several pictures to hang over both of their heads, she locked herself in the bathroom with Sofia and did everything she could to try to get the blueberry coloring off her baby girl's delicate skin. She was so angry, she didn't talk to either of them, nor let them spend any time alone with her child, until she was the right color again. Finally breaking a smile, Callie looked at her daughter and supplied, "Oh, they were terrified. Needless to say, they were far more careful about placing things at the edge of the counter from that point on." Sofia looked at the picture again and couldn't help but giggle at the messy baby looking back at her with a silly grin on her face.
Finally putting the picture down, she pulled one of the books toward her and the three flipped through the pages of her first scrapbook as her mommies regaled her with stories about their life together. Sofia's smile only grew wider as she realized once again that her mommies really were happy together before whatever it was that tore them apart and they used to do lots of fun things as a family. Even if she didn't remember it, she was happy that they did have those memories to share. When they reached the end of the last book, Sofia asked, "Are you going to do this every year?" Arizona nodded and chirped, "You betcha!" Sofia crinkled her nose and asked, "Even after the babies come?" Arizona opened her eyes wider and confirmed, "Even after the babies come and we will do it with them too." Sofia pursed her lips, tilted her head, and asked, "Even when I get married?" Not even wanting to think about her baby growing up and dating, let alone getting married, Callie tried to deter her from those thoughts the best way she knew how. Flipping back a few pages in the book they were looking at, she pointed at a specific picture and declared, "Oh definitely when you get married. We will show him or her this picture right here." Sofia gasped and squealed, "That's my bare booty! You can't show anyone that." Both women laughed out loud at their daughter's response and Callie closed the books, gathered them in a pile, and declared, "Okay little miss, it's time to get that booty into the tub, Maria will be here soon to pick you up for your birthday breakfast and I have to feed your mommy before the gremlins start getting restless."
Sofia crawled off her mama's lap and decided now was her chance and asked, "When is my party? Do I get to know what we are doing yet?" She watched while her mommies looked at each other and did that thing with their eyes again. Looking at the smirk on her mama's face, she could tell they were thinking about keeping it a secret, so she pressed, "I have to get dressed and I need to know what clothes to wear, how to do my hair. Are we doing something fancy? Should I wear a dress with my hair down? Are we doing something fun? Should I wear jeans and tennis shoes and have mommy braid my hair? Ooh, maybe it's outside and I need warm clothes and a hat. I HAVE TO PLAN MOMMIES!" Seeing and hearing so much of herself in their little girl in that moment, Arizona couldn't contain her laughter and looked up to see dark chocolate eyes glaring at her playfully, as Callie pointed at her and mouthed, "You did this." The blonde merely laughed, shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I mean it's only fair that she inherit some of my traits as well." Callie laughed, shook her head, and realized that whoever her daughter ended up with would have their hands full.
Finally looking into pleading brown puppy dog eyes, Arizona felt sympathetic to her daughter's needs, looked expectantly at Callie, who nodded her approval, then held out her arms as she said, "Come here big girl." Sofia perked up, hopeful that she would learn what they were going to do for her birthday and scurried into her mommy's arms. Arizona smoothed down her sleep tousled curls and asked, "Do you remember the last time we went to your photography class after you made videos and you told Ms. Clare and Ms. Allie that one day you were going to make your own movie?" Sofia nodded and waited for her mommy to continue, she couldn't help but smile bigger when she saw her mommy's dimples as she explained, "Well, that's what you are going to do for your birthday party. You and your friends are all going to make a movie." Hearing this, Sofia's head snapped from her mama to her mommy and she asked, "What? How? When?" Callie laughed and explained, "Ms. Clare gave mommy a card to this very special place that hosts birthday parties and they help kids make their own movie. So, we called them and we planned it all out. The only thing you have to do is wear something comfy for your breakfast with Maria and Bella and when you get back, your party will begin."
Sofia looked around the house, tilted her head, and squealed, "Here? We are making a movie here?" Arizona laughed and replied, "Nope! But we will start here where you and your friends will be transformed into movie stars by your very own hair and make-up crew and costume designer, then we will leave for your special red carpet event." Sofia was dancing on her toes and she could barely contain her excitement. Suddenly, she thought about the special dinners she saw on TV when the actors got their awards and asked, "A red carpet? Like on TV? For real?" Both women laughed, thrilled to see their daughter so excited about their choice. Callie nodded and responded, "Yep, just like on TV, but only better. So, go get yourself in the shower, get dressed, and prepare to be treated like the super star that you are." Sofia threw her arms around both of her mommies, squeezed them tightly, and proclaimed, "You are the best mommies in the whole world and this is the best day ever!" She then scurried out of the room and down the hall.
After watching her go, Callie turned to Arizona and asked, "How many best days ever can she have?" Arizona smirked, took a drink of her horchata, and replied, "By my count, that's at least twenty since we moved to New York." Callie threw her head back, let out a loud laugh, kissed her wife, rubbed her protruding belly, then murmured, "I feel like every day I wake up and see what our life has become is the best day ever." Arizona smiled, brushed their lips together in another brief chaste kiss and replied, "Hmm, me too. But you know what would make this day even better?" Callie pulled back and asked, "What's that?" Arizona smiled brightly and replied, "Pancakes." Callie let out another bark of laughter, stood up from the table, and declared, "Well in that case, prepare yourself for an even better best day ever."
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Arizona sat in their bedroom waiting for Callie to return from seeing Sofia off for breakfast, and nearly doubled over in pain as she felt a sharp kick to her side and a jolt of pain course down her leg. Breathing through the pain as she'd told her patients to do on countless occasions, Arizona mentally gauged the pain and kept note of the time just in case. Feeling the movement subside, realizing it was just the babies shifting yet again, she was reminded that she had yet to call her parents and tell them that she could be going into labor at any time now. She knew that both sets of parents wanted to be in New York, if not at the hospital, when the babies were born and had already arranged their schedules to do just that, however all their plans were made around the initial due date in March and they would have to shift their schedules yet again. If she were being honest, she wanted that too. While they'd already agreed it would be just her and Callie in the delivery room, she knew they would both need the support of their mothers once the babies were born. Something they neither asked for nor was it offered when Sofia was a baby, though she knew her mother would have jumped at the invitation. Figuring they could tell Callie's parents during or after the birthday party that evening, Arizona picked up the phone and dialed her mother's number.
Seeing Callie walk into the room, she switched the call to speaker and informed her, "I'm calling mom to tell her about the babies." Neither of them realizing the call had been picked up, they were startled to hear Barb's anxious voice ask, "What about the babies? Are they okay? Are you…is it time? Oh dear, I knew I should have just come home with you when you picked up Sofia." Unbeknownst to the two women, Barb was patting herself on the back for her performance while Daniel shook his head at his wife from the driver's side of the car. As soon as Max sent the message informing them of the change in date, she and Lucia cornered him in a three-way call to find out what was going on. Learning that their daughter could go into labor at any time, the two women rearranged their party plans and she and Daniel spent the remainder of the day making arrangements to be gone for an extended period of time and left before sunrise that morning. They planned to keep it a secret however, and let their daughter think they were still in Boston until the following day.
Wanting to soothe her mother's concern, Arizona rushed out, "No mama, everything is fine, well, for now. But you and daddy might want to see about changing your travel plans and come a little sooner if you can." Barb smiled inwardly pleased to learn that her daughter wasn't keeping the news from them as both she and Lucia had initially thought. Clearing her throat she asked, "Why is that sweet pea?" Feeling another kick, Arizona smiled when Callie's hand immediately moved to the exact spot on her stomach and relayed, "Well, it looks like our little trio wants to make an even earlier appearance. They are all moving into position and neither Max, Addie, nor I think they will wait until March 12th like we'd initially thought." Hearing a horn blast from the other end of the line, both Callie and Arizona looked at one another in concern and Callie asked, "Are we interrupting your plans? Did we call at a bad time?" Cursing the other driver under his breath, Daniel spoke up, knowing his wife couldn't lie to save her life if directly asked, and assured them, "Not at all, I'm just taking my wife out for a late breakfast."
To keep them from asking any further questions, he continued, "So when were you thinking about having us come then sweet pea?" Arizona ran her hand through her hair and declared, "Uh, soon, like um…this week maybe?" Keeping up the charade, Barb squealed, "This week? It may be that soon? Are you having contractions? Callie, you aren't leaving her side are you?" Smiling at the overprotectiveness of her mother-in-law, the brunette answered, "Not a chance. In fact, I'm also starting my leave this week so I can stay home with Arizona until the babies come." In answer to her mother's other questions, Arizona revealed, "I'm not having real contractions, possibly Braxton-Hicks, but it's hard to tell since there's so little room and they are moving around so much." Before her mother could ask, she added, "It's a little sooner than we had hoped, but we are all healthy and the babies are at a size where they could experience little to no complications. Right now we are taking it one day at a time." Though Max had said something similar to reassure them the day before, Barb was comforted to hear it coming straight from her daughter's mouth and breathed out a sigh of relief. Tears sprang to her eyes at the idea that her baby would be having more babies very soon and she looked to Daniel, pleading for him to continue the call. Seeing his wife so moved, Daniel explained, "Your mom's a little choked up at the moment. I'll make some calls this afternoon, change a few meetings I have coming up and we will give you a call and let you know our plans." Arizona smiled down at the phone and answered, "Okay daddy, thank you. I love you both." Smiling at the phone himself, Daniel responded, "We love you all too, tell my little soldier to enjoy her party and send lots of pictures. We'll talk to you soon."
Seeing that Arizona had become a little emotional herself, Callie took the phone, disconnected the call, and pulled her into her arms asking, "You okay?" Arizona cuddled into her side as best she could and answered, "Yeah, I just…I didn't realize how important it was to me to have them here until now. What if they can't clear their schedules?" Callie tossed the phone on the bed, wrapped both arms around her wife and soothed, "Oh honey, your dad would move hell and high water to be here for you. There's nothing that will keep him from coming this week." Arizona sniffled, looked up and asked, "What about your parents? Your mom's schedule is more set in stone than daddy's." Callie felt her heart flip when she realized that Arizona wasn't just talking about her own parents and wanted hers there as well, smiled softly and answered honestly, "Oh honey, my mom wouldn't make the same mistake twice. She wouldn't miss the birth of her grandchildren for anything, she will be driving the bulldozer. They'll all be here, I promise." That was one promise she was certain she could keep; she knew in her heart her parents would do everything possible to assure all four of them were at the hospital.
Feeling Arizona relax in her arms, Callie kissed the top of her head then tilted her head back, wiped away her tears and asked, "Are you ready to get into the shower? Jordyn and the others should be here soon." Arizona nodded, smirked, and asked, "Will you wash my back?" Callie chuckled, stood up and winked as she declared, "I'll even wash your bare booty if you play your cards right." Laughing at her wife's play on their daughter's earlier words, Arizona raised her arms for Callie to help her up and assured, "In that case, I'll be on my best behavior." Pulling Arizona up and helping her into the bathroom, Callie husked out, "Mmm you can be a little naughty if you want to." Arizona lowered her hand to cover Callie's ass and asked, "Hmm, like this?" Feeling the tingle in her abdomen, Callie nodded, lowered her head so their lips were barely touching and replied, "Yeah, just like that." She then captured her lips in a slow languorous kiss, knowing that their plans for a quick shower were quickly fading away.
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"Why can't I stay? I want to see them too." Maria asked as she tried to push her way through the front door. Callie held up her hand to stop her and retorted, "Because it's a surprise and you need to make your way to the studio and wait for us like the invitation says." Seeing a shock of red hair coming into the house, the nurse furrowed her brow and argued, "But it's not my birthday and why does she get to stay?" Callie turned her head in time to see Addison bringing Henry into the house and huffed, "She doesn't and I will tell her that as soon as you go away." Maria tossed her hands in the air and pouted, "Fine! I have someplace better to be anyway." She then stormed off the porch and stomped to her car. Callie watched her indignant friend walk away and turned to see that Arizona had cut Addison off at the pass and watched as she too walked off in a huff. She also couldn't help but notice that her wife had her arm outstretched with her palm flat against the wall as if she were bracing herself, while rubbing her stomach with the other hand and taking slow deliberate breaths.
Walking up behind her wife, who had just sent Henry into Sofia's room with the other kids, Callie wrapped her arms around her, rubbed the sides of her stomach, kissed her on the side of her neck and asked, "You okay?" Feeling Callie's warmth behind her, Arizona dropped her hand from the wall, leaned fully against her, allowed her eyelids to flutter closed and nodded as she whispered, "Yeah, I'm…ooooh…I'm good. They are moving around quite a bit today." Callie continued to rub Arizona's stomach and asked, "Braxton-Hicks?" Arizona shook her head and replied, "No, I think they are just restless." Feeling the pressure on her back subside, Arizona let out a slow even breath, nodded her head, and declared, "Okay, they settled down for a minute. How are Jo, Stevie, and Jordyn doing? Are they almost ready?" "We are ready. Do you want to come take a look?" Stevie asked as they crossed the living room into the dining room. Seeing the pain still etched on the blonde's face when she turned around, Stevie offered, "Let's get you into the office and settled, then we can call the kids in." Arizona nodded her consent and together Stevie and Callie escorted her down the hall toward the office.
When they reached the office door, Stevie knocked twice and they were greeted by Jordyn, who popped her head out and asked, "Are you ready for the big reveal?" Both women nodded and then gasped when the door swung open. Callie and Arizona stood in the doorway of their home office, which now looked like a studio dressing room, complete with stylists' chairs, lighted mirrors, and two racks of clothes, astounded by the transformation. Arizona turned to the three people responsible and declared, "Wow! You guys really outdid yourselves. This is far better than we could have imagined." Stevie plugged in the lighted mirror, turned it on and replied, "You said you wanted them to have the full experience and we aim to please." They spun one of the chairs in a circle and offered, "Besides, these were just sitting in our garage collecting dust." Jordyn added, "We had them in our first salon and couldn't part with them, at least we are putting them to good use now." Callie shook her head at her friends and declared, "Well we appreciate it and I know the kids will love it. It will make them feel special." Jordyn unfolded her cape, snapped it in the air, and responded, "That's what matters. I think this was an amazing idea, they are all going to love it." Jo looked around the room one last time and declared, "I think we are all set, now all we need is the star of the show and her supporting actors."
Callie and Arizona both smiled, grateful that their friends were not only willing to help them out, but that they bought into the whole scenario and were fully playing the part. She walked Arizona to the sofa, helped her get settled, then proclaimed, "I'll go get the movie stars then bring in their refreshments." Arizona leaned forward as if she wanted to get up again and offered, "Calliope, I can get the kids." Callie squatted down in front of her wife and whispered, "I've got it baby. Just relax. Please?" Arizona sighed, hating that she couldn't do anything and pouted, "I feel so helpless." Callie kissed her cheek and replied, "I know you do. This is only temporary honey. You are doing the most important job right now and that is preparing your body to give birth. Sofia understands that and so does everyone else." Relenting, the blonde brushed their lips together and murmured, "Thank you." Callie smiled, stood to her feet, and clapped her hands together as she announced to the room at large, "Prepare yourselves." She then strolled out of the room and went down the hall to get the kids.
Callie stopped outside Sofia's room and smiled when she heard her daughter giggling. It was a sound she would never tire of. Knocking on the door, she cleared her throat, put on her best professional voice, and declared, "Ms. Sofia, they are ready for you in hair and makeup." She laughed as the kids all squealed and the door burst open revealing five very excited little faces. Standing upright, she straightened her tie and greeted, "Good afternoon. My name is Callie and I will be your personal assistant for the day. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask." Sofia furrowed her brow and asked, "Mama? Why are you saying that?" Callie gasped, looked around, and said, "Mama? There are no parents allowed on set ma'am. Stage parents, they get a little bossy." All the kids giggled and Callie started walking as she offered, "If you will follow me, I will take you to your dressing room." Slightly confused, the kids all followed behind the brunette who was wearing a black suit and vest with a light pink shirt and a pink silk tie. Callie snickered as she heard, "Why is your mama acting like that? Where do you think we are going? I fawt dat was you woom."
Once they reached the door, Callie knocked and announced, "I have the cast of the next big production." The door swung open revealing Stevie in a black hairdresser's jacket who bowed and greeted, "Ahh, there are our next clients. Please come in." The kids all oohed and aahed as they walked into the room and saw the set up. Sofia looked around at the costumes and the stylists' chairs and asked, "Is this all for me?" Stevie replied, "You are the star of the show ma'am. Ms. Jordyn is waiting for you right over there." They pointed to Jordyn who was also wearing a black hairdresser's jacket, then turned back to the other kids and declared, "I will be working with you Mr. Henry, while the rest of you go to wardrobe and get fitted for your costumes." Henry walked to the empty chair and Jo stepped up to take the rest of the kids to the rack of costumes which had already been chosen and tailored for each child along with some extras just for fun. Callie bowed to Sofia and explained, "I will return shortly with your refreshments." Sofia giggled at her mama and answered, "Thank you mama um…Callie." Callie winked then left the room once again.
Arizona sat on the small loveseat watching as Jo picked up various outrageous outfits for Jessica, Bella, and Steven to choose from. It was clear the clothing store owner added several outfits the kids couldn't or wouldn't wear just to make it feel authentic for them. Hearing her daughter's melodious laugh, Arizona turned to see Jordyn twisting her hair up and moving it around in several different styles, again, some leaning toward the ridiculous. She almost laughed out loud at Stevie's face when she heard Henry declare, "I want my hair like Cal's!" Stevie and Arizona stared at one another briefly until the stylist recovered, shook their head, and in the most serious tone they could muster replied, "Sorry Mr. Henry, the director gave specific instructions that we weren't to cut a single hair on your heads. You are all perfect just the way you are." Sighing in relief, not wanting to be the one to tell their friend her son decided to shave the majority of his hair off, Arizona winked and nodded at Stevie in approval. Just when she couldn't decide who was having more fun, the kids or the adults, Arizona watched as Callie backed into the room with a steel surgical cart from one of the centers, which had been decorated with a pink tablecloth and was loaded with bottled water, juice, fruit, cheese and crackers, and a small vegetable tray. Shaking her head, she now understood what took her wife so long to return from what was supposed to be a quick trip to the sporting goods store to buy a bike the previous day. Apparently, she had developed a plan to further spoil the kids and really make them feel like movie stars.
Once Callie served the snacks, she moved the cart to the side of the room and took a seat next to Arizona. Leaning into her wife's side, the blonde whispered, "Nice touch." Callie shrugged and teased, "Well I figured since this is the last birthday we are going to allow her to have, we might as well go all out." Remembering how they'd teased their little girl about not letting her get older, Arizona chuckled and replied, "Well, this is amazing. Look at them, they are having so much fun." Tuning back into the activities in the room, Arizona could only laugh when she heard Jordyn ask, "So what is this movie about anyway?" Playing along, Sofia responded, "Oh, we haven't seen the script yet. Hopefully it is something fun and not a yucky love story." Callie shook her head and hissed, "When did she grow up?" In response, Arizona linked their fingers together and quipped, "Yep, definitely her last birthday."
Over the course of the next hour, Callie circled the room and took pictures as each child took their turn in the stylists' chair, receiving the full treatment, then went to 'wardrobe' to get dressed. The boys had their hair styled and were fitted in black suits and a pink shirt and tie much like Callie, while the girls had their hair curled and styled, got a manicure, and had a light coat of makeup applied; just enough to accentuate their features. Their dresses were various shades of pink in different styles and though all of them were beautiful and hand-picked by Callie and Arizona, the birthday girl's dress was slightly more special. Sofia's dress was made of hot pink silk with cap sleeves and a high waist, decorated with a pink silk ribbon, and the lower portion of the dress was covered with white tulle, decorated with various colored gemstones giving it a galaxy look. Her long thick hair was curled in ringlets and clipped up on either side with barrettes, adorned with the same gems as her dress. They all lined up in the living room to take pictures while Jordyn, Jo, and Stevie packed up their belongings.
Just as Callie snapped a picture of the group doing their best vogue poses, the doorbell rang and she mused, "Hmmm, I wonder who that could be." Arizona discretely turned her camera to video and turned it to follow her wife to the door. Callie opened the door, greeted the visitor, then stepped aside as he declared, "Good afternoon, I am here to collect a Ms. Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres, along with her other cast members and take them to the studio." The group of children who were dancing around the living room stopped in their tracks and looked at the older man who stood in the doorway wearing a black suit and hat and Sofia declared, "I'm Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres, who are you?" Arizona sucked her lips between her teeth to fend off her laughter and watched as the kids moved closer to study the visitor. The older man removed his hat, tucked it under his arm, bowed to Sofia and proclaimed, "Good afternoon Ms. Torres, my name is Gerald and I will be your driver for the day." Sofia looked from her mama to her mommy and asked, "Why do I need a driver?" Before either of them could answer, Gerald explained, "All of the A-list movie stars arrive at the red carpet in a limousine ma'am." Still recording, Arizona panned each child's face as realization dawned and they all squealed, "A limousine?" Sofia stepped closer to Gerald and asked, "You drive a limousine and you are here for me?" Gerald nodded and answered, "I do and I am. If your party is ready, I believe you have a special function to attend." They all nodded their heads excitedly and the adults rushed to help them with their dress coats.
Knowing they had to beat the limo to the party, Jo, Jordyn, and Stevie all said their goodbyes and started down the driveway. Unaware that they would be attending her party, Sofia called out, "Wait!" When they all stopped and turned to face her, Sofia ran up, hugged each one of them and offered, "Thank you for making this day super special. I will never forget this." Jordyn knelt down, hugged the precious little girl and whispered, "We were honored to be a part of your birthday. You deserve all the best little one." Callie and Arizona watched on proudly as their daughter once again showed how much she has grown. Waiting until the van pulled away, she turned to the group of kids who were all staring at the sleek black stretch Cadillac Escalade and they all burst into laughter when Steven exclaimed, "That's a big twuck!" Both women watched as Jessica took his hand, bent down to whisper something in his ear, and he looked up at her with all the trust and love in the world shining in his big doe eyes, and nodded at her, smiling. Neither of them could help but imagine the day that Sofia would do the same thing with her younger siblings and at the same time lowered their hands to rub at Arizona's stomach and smiled softly at one another when they each realized they were thinking the same thing.
Gerald walked to the rear of the limo, opened the back door, and explained, "I hope you find everything to your liking. In the center console, you will find personalized water bottles containing the finest sparkling grape juice and cider, along with a few snacks to hold you over until we arrive." Sofia peaked her head into the extended SUV, gasped, and popped out holding a water bottle shaped like an Oscar Award, ran her finger across the rounded bottom the statue was standing on and squealed, "It's the same award as on TV and look, they have our names on them." Callie pulled out her phone and recorded the moment all five excited children allowed Gerald to assist them into the back of the limo. Taking Arizona's hand, they moved toward the car when Gerald stopped them and declared, "This section is for the movie stars only, managers have their own seating." He then closed the door, moved to the door in the center of the vehicle, opened it, and whispered, "We like to give the kids the full experience, there is an automatic window separating these two portions of the car if you'd like to view them without them knowing, or you can lower it to interact with them." He then held out his hand and helped Arizona step into the car, then did the same for Callie. Both women turned to thank him, then Callie sent a text to Maria to let her know they were on their way.
XXXX
After taking the scenic route, driving down the side streets, and extending the normally twenty minute drive to downtown Brooklyn to thirty minutes, Gerald stopped at the corner, pushed the button for the communication device, and proclaimed, "We will be arriving on the Red Carpet in exactly one minute. Please stay in the vehicle until I come around to let you out." Callie and Arizona had decided to give their daughter and her friends their privacy and keep the window up but could now hear their squeals of excitement through the thin glass. Once the car came to a stop, Gerald opened the door and explained, "If you'd like to join the other parents behind the partition, I'll let the kids out in a moment. We have professional photographers taking their pictures, but we ask that parents and guests also make a big deal about their arrival." Nodding in understanding, Callie and Arizona accepted his help getting out of the massive SUV, then walked past the small group of strangers with cameras and turned to join their friends and family, who were standing behind gold plated stanchions with their phones and cameras ready to take pictures.
As soon as Gerald opened the back door, the small group of photographers jumped into action and one of them yelled, "There they are!" Another held up his camera and hollered, "Over here Ms. Sofia." Another pushed her way through the small crowd and squealed, "Mr. Henry, look this way." As the kids filed out of the car, each of their names were called and they looked up to blinding flashes of light. Finally moving away from the car, the photographers kept snapping pictures and the parents and other party goers joined in, cheering, clapping, and yelling their children's names as they all held out their cameras and took pictures. Arizona glanced to her left and notice Lucia standing there with her camera held high, Aria next to her with her phone recording the entire thing, both of them with tears running down their cheeks. Bumping Callie's arm to get her attention, she watched as her wife's eyes clouded with tears as well. Seeing her mother and her sister so emotional, Callie began to feel the same. She briefly wondered if they were crying tears of joy for finally being a part of Sofia's life or tears of guilt and regret for having missed all of her previous celebrations. Deciding it didn't matter, that the important thing was they were here now, Callie bent down, kissed Arizona's cheek and whispered, "Yeah, she'll be here for the gremlins no matter what." Arizona nodded in agreement, then turned her attention back to the red carpet and let out a whoop when Sofia walked by.
In that moment, everything stopped and all eyes focused on her. Looking up, seeing that everyone was staring at her, Arizona blushed and assured them, "I'm fine, I'm just excited to see movie stars up close and personal." She then widened her eyes, pursed her lips, and nodded her head towards the kids, willing everyone to turn their attention back to the birthday girl. She didn't want to detract from Sofia's special moment. Getting the point, Addison nearly swooned and hollered, "Mr. Henry, can I have your autograph?" The other adults joined in and Kim pushed her way up front and asked, "Will you sign my shirt?" Sofia laughed at the older girl, then looked at her questioningly when a marker was shoved in her hand. Kim nodded and Sofia carefully wrote her name along the bottom of Kim's shirt. For added effect, she leaned against the wall and pretended to faint just as Julie caught her in her arms.
As they got closer to the entrance, savoring the moment, Sofia dropped her gaze to the gorgeous red carpet laid out in front of her, turned to look at her friends who were all dressed up, glanced back at the limousine, then up to the photographers, and finally shifted her focus to all the people who were there to celebrate her birthday with her and knew this really was one of the best days of her life. Looking at her mommies, she blew them a kiss, then gasped as the door opened and they were greeted by men in suits and women with pretty dresses, welcoming them to the studio. Once they were all inside, they were greeted by a woman with a clipboard who looked at the kids and asked, "Which one of you amazing actors is Ms. Sofia?" Sofia raised her hand, jumped up and down and squealed, "That's me, I'm Sofia." The young woman looked at her, smiled, and greeted, "Good afternoon Ms. Sofia, my name is Drew and I will be your personal assistant. If you and your friends would like to follow me, I will take you to meet the director." Sofia turned, looked at her mommies, waited for their nod of approval, then followed Drew down the hall with the rest of the kids running excitedly behind them.
As the rest of the group watched the kids follow the young woman, Carlos looked around and asked, "Where are they taking the kids? Should we follow?" Arizona smiled at her father-in-law, shook her head and explained, "They are in good hands. They don't have enough room for all of us back there and the kids will be busy preparing for their movie. They will be meeting with a director, learning some acting tips and practicing their lines, then they will meet with a set designer where they will make their own props, after that, they will meet with the costume designer who will help them make their own costumes. Finally, they will record their movie while they each take turns acting, directing, and filming." Lorraine clapped and replied, "Oh, how fun for them, will we get to see the film?" Callie nodded and replied, "When they are finished, they will come out and join us for a special ceremony where we will watch the movie together and they will each receive an award for their part in the making of the movie." Addison shook her head and huffed, "Can't you two ever do anything low key?" Jake laughed at his wife and muttered, "Says the woman who rented the batmobile for our son's fifth birthday." Addison glared at him while the others laughed. Maria shrugged and asked, "So what do we do?"
Callie opened her mouth to answer when a young man stepped up behind her and greeted, "Good afternoon and welcome, my name is Terrance and I will be your host for the evening. If you will follow me, I will take you to the green room where you will find comfortable seating and refreshments while you wait for the actors to do their magic." Stopping in front of a set of double doors, Terrance turned and explained, "Due to the limited space, we ask that parents wait in here for the actors. You will find monitors throughout the room so you can view the activities." He then pointed to the far wall and stated, "Please help yourselves to the craft services table and if there is anything else you need, I will be right outside." Callie thanked the young man and they made their way into the room, which was furnished with several small tables, a large sofa, two smaller loveseats, and four overstuffed chairs. Looking around the room, Maria smirked and replied, "Well, this is more like it." Callie chuckled at her friend and responded, "I'm glad this is to your liking princess." Maria smirked, then genuinely smiled and declared, "Really, this is amazing. I know the kids will love it. Sofia was so excited at breakfast; she and Bella couldn't stop talking about it and kept trying to guess which movie they were making." Lorraine joined their little group and asked, "What movie are they making anyway." Arizona laughed and replied, "We figured we'd pick something they already knew, so we went with The Lion King." Maria looked at Arizona and quipped, "It's a good thing you haven't popped those puppies out yet or else she'd be in here wanting to borrow one of the boys to hold up in the air." They all laughed and Callie shook her head, claiming, "We laugh because it's true."
As everyone walked around the room helping themselves to the snacks and settled in, Callie felt the grip on her hand tighten as Arizona leaned more fully into her. Looking down, she noticed the exhaustion on her wife's face and whispered, "Let's get you over to the sofa." Arizona nodded and allowed Callie to help her across the room. She let out a long sigh of relief as she sat down and asked, "Would you mind getting me something cold to drink?" Callie leaned down, kissed her cheek, and replied, "Not at all, would you like something to eat?" Arizona perked up then and replied, "Ooh yes please." Callie chuckled and made her way across the room to fix her wife a plate. All of the chatter stopped when the monitors came on and images of the kids sitting around a table came into view. They heard a voice declare, "This is what is called a read through. Before a movie or television show is filmed, the actors, writers, and directors all meet in a big room and the actors read through the script and say the lines just like they would on set." All the kids looked at the papers in front of them and Henry excitedly hollered, "Hey, I know these words. Is this from The Lion King? Scar? I get to be Scar?" All the adults laughed when Addie muttered, "Oh sure, make my kid the bad guy." Miguel, still focused on the screen, pointed and declared, "Doesn't look like he's too bothered by that." They all looked up and saw Henry standing on a chair as he roared, "BE PREPARED!"
While they all continued to watch the monitors, periodically engaging in other conversations, Callie turned to Max and asked, "Where's Michael?" Max swallowed thickly, looked at Lucia, then rubbed at his beard as he answered, "Ah, he was planning to come but one of our friends ran into a jam and asked if he could cater some party at the last minute. He really couldn't say no, he never can, so he's uh, he's…that's where he is." Wondering why her friend and colleague was stumbling over his words, Arizona furrowed her brow in concern and asked, "Is that all? Is there something you're not telling us?" Seeing the panic in the man's eyes, Lucia interjected, "Oh that reminds me, I know this is last minute, but I was wondering if we could take you all out to lunch tomorrow. I'd like to spend some time with you before I go back to Miami." Seeing this was just as good of a time as any, Callie and Arizona looked at one another briefly before Arizona looked to her mother-in-law and said, "We would love to. Actually, we wanted to talk to you about that, about going back to Miami." Feeling as if he was off the hook for now, Max excused himself and moved to talk to Addison and Jake.
Like Barb, Lucia already knew what was coming, but played her part, took Arizona's hand and asked, "What is it mija?" Callie smiled at her mother's term of endearment then answered, "Well, we know that you and daddy wanted to be here for the babies' birth." Lucia nodded and Arizona finished, "It's just that, it may be sooner rather than later. When we woke up yesterday and saw that they'd shifted and I am even bigger than before, I went in for an ultrasound and it looks like they could come any day now. We umm, we want you to be here too. I just don't know how possible that will be." Lucia smiled brightly, touched that both women wanted her to be present for the births, squeezed Arizona's hand and proclaimed, "Consider it done. There is nothing that would keep me away from seeing my nietas coming into this world." She paused, shook her head, and croaked out, "Not…not again." Understanding the emotion and realizing now that the older woman's earlier tears were driven by guilt, Arizona tugged on her hand, pulled her close, and whispered, "No more of that. You are here now." Lucia pulled back, smiled weakly, and finished, "Exactly where I want to be." Callie leaned forward, kissed her mother on the cheek and added, "Exactly where you are needed." Feeling her eyes fill with tears once again, Lucia laughed at herself, wiped her cheeks and asked, "Who knew a child's party was so emotional? Excuse me dears, I need to freshen up."
After watching the kids move from room to room participating in various activities, Jordyn looked up at the screen and muttered, "Uh oh!" drawing all of their attention to the monitors as she announced, "It looks like they have their own craft services table." Callie leaned in to get a better look, noticed the table with filled with juice boxes, pop cans, chips, candy, and other unhealthy treats, then glared at her wife, who did all of the ordering, and proclaimed, "It sure does, but their snacks don't look nearly as nutritious as ours." Arizona shrugged and defended, "It's a birthday party Calliope! What kind of party would it be if we said, 'Oh happy birthday, have an apple'?" Aria nodded and added, "Exactly, let them be kids and enjoy their childhood." Callie arched her brow at her sister and challenged, "Okay fine, you come back to our place and enjoy her childhood with her after all that sugar." Aria put her hands on her hips and without thinking replied, "You know what, I'll do one better and they can all come back to my hotel room for a sleep over with Aunt Aria." Jordyn, Stevie, Maria, Addison, Arizona, and Callie all looked at one another then back at the unsuspecting woman in the center of the room and burst into laughter as they all snapped, "DEAL!" Aria smiled, knowing she'd just won this round, determined to be the cool aunt, then gasped as she heard the children screaming and looked at the screen as they all ran around the room chasing each other with fake swords. Dropping into a nearby chair, she muttered, "What did I do?" Carlos shook his head at his eldest daughter, laid his hand on her shoulder, and teased, "Someday you will learn to keep your mouth shut mija."
Shortly after that, the screens went dark and Callie explained, "They don't want us to see the making of the movie. It's supposed to be a surprise for us." Nodding in understanding, they all went back to their conversations. The next hour flew by and before they knew it, Terrance returned to the room and announced, "The awards ceremony is about to begin. Please follow me to the banquet hall so you can take your seats before the stars arrive." Terrance led them down the hall to another set of double doors which were being held open by two men in black tuxedos. The banquet hall was decorated with pink and black streamers and balloons, the colors Arizona had chosen, and the round tables were covered with long black tablecloths accented by a shorter pink runner. As they walked into the room, Max pointed toward the stage and preened, "Oh look at that!" They all looked up at the banner that read, 'The Sofia Awards' and Callie and Carlos both took out their phones to take pictures. Terrance led them further into the room and stated, "Please find your name card and take your seats. The actors will be announced shortly."
Once they were seated, the soundtrack for The Lion King started playing quietly in the background and all the adults looked around the room, taking everything in. Addison noticed the table in the center of the room which she assumed was where the kids would be sitting and cooed, "Oh my goodness, they even get swag bags like the actors at the awards ceremonies." Maria leaned over to Callie and whispered, "This really is amazing." Callie chuckled, took Arizona's hand, and replied, "Thank you. We wanted to make this birthday special for her. It's her first birthday with us together as a family, that she remembers anyway, and it's also her last birthday as an only child." Arizona nodded, rubbed her stomach, and added, "And if the gremlins have their way, it's one she will have to share for the rest of her life." Maria nodded and replied, "Well, I don't think this is something any of us will soon forget."
The lights dimmed and spotlights started flashing around the room as a deep voice boomed from the speakers declaring, "Welcome to the Sofia Awards! Please welcome our esteemed actors and nominees for this evening's awards." The doors opened and they all clapped as Bella and Henry walked into the room waving and posing for the photographers who seemed to appear out of nowhere and the announcements continued, "Mr. Henry Montgomery-Riley and Ms. Bella Santos, Mr. Steven Branson and Ms. Jessica Branson and our guest of honor, the reason we are all here, Ms. Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres." As Sofia entered the room, the music switched to Happy Birthday, and they all quickly started singing and watched as the little girl was handed a bouquet of balloons and led to her seat in the center of the room. After the music faded out and they all took their seats, the kids looked around excitedly and waved at their parents. Stevie watched as they posed for the photographers and declared, "Look how much they are loving this!" Hearing his mada's voice, Steven looked up and shouted, "Mada, I in a mobie!" Stevie laughed and replied, "I know bud. I'm so excited for you." The little boy nodded then took his seat once again.
As the waiters started serving their meal of pizza for the kids and chicken alfredo for the adults, the young woman, Drew, crossed the stage and announced, "Good afternoon and welcome to the first ever Sofia awards. We have some great talent in the room today and we are proud to present to you the remake of The Lion King. Please enjoy your dinner." As she left the stage, a screen was lowered from the ceiling and they all watched as the movie started as most movies do with the logo of the production company or movie studio. However in this version, instead of a real lion appearing in the center of the screen, they were greeted with five happy children wearing felt collars and cat ears roaring loudly at the camera. The screen faded to black then faded in again and the movie started as it normally would, and they all gasped as all of the children appeared dressed as different animals, somehow superimposed into the film. They tried to hold back their laughter when the music started and the room was filled with the off-key, yell-singing, of 'The Circle of Life'. They couldn't hold it in a few minutes later when Sofia and Jessica who were both dressed like lions tried to lift Steven up in the air at the end of the song. All hope was lost when Steven blurted, "You dwopted me!" and even the children burst into a fit of giggles.
As they watched the movie, it was clear that it was shortened and only highlights, which were the favorite scenes of each child, played before them. They all watched carefully as the kids acted out the fight between Mufasa who was played by Jessica and Scar who was played by Henry. Knowing it was coming, Callie wrapped her arm around Arizona's shoulder, pulled her close, and handed her a napkin to wipe her eyes. Julie looked up and asked, "Are you crying?" Arizona nodded her head and Callie tried to hide her smile as she answered, "It never fails. This scene gets her every single time." Jordyn wiped her eyes as well and agreed, "Me too, but it's even harder when it's my kid being dropped off a cliff." This caused them all to laugh, breaking the sadness of the moment. The scene changed to Henry, Steven, and Sofia singing Hakuna Matata which made them all smile. Just as the screen went black, Bella squealed, "Oooh I'm next!" Maria and Miguel focused on the screen as their daughter appeared as a grown up Nala saying her monologue as she tried to convince Simba, played by Sofia, to come back to the pride. Henry turned around to look at his parents and whisper yelled, "My part is next!" Seeing the cave come into view, Addie knew exactly which scene her son had chosen, covered her face in embarrassment but couldn't keep from peering through her fingers as Steven and Henry appeared on screen in Hawaiian shirts, hula skirts, and leis as they danced around the three girls who were dressed as hyenas singing that silly song. Everyone watched with rapt attention as all five children acted out the final fight scene with Sofia being Simba and Henry being Scar. When Simba reigned victorious, Addison huffed and whined, "Ugh, the only time I want the bad guy to win and he loses anyway. Now I get what you mean about watching your kid fall off a cliff… brutal." As the final scene played out, they all laughed when they noticed Steven was standing on a chair rather than allowing Sofia and Bella to hold him up in the air.
As the screen faded to black and the lights in the room came up again, all of the adults started clapping and cheering, giving the kids a standing ovation. As they settled down and waited for the tables to be cleared, Arizona asked, "What's in your little swag bags?" All the kids looked at the center of the table and Sofia asked, "We can look?" Callie and Arizona nodded and the kids immediately reached for the bag in front of them. Digging her hand into the bag, Sofia pulled out a small picture frame shaped like a movie clapper and exclaimed, "Oh wow! It has our picture in it already." All the kids reached in their bags to pull out the frame and ran to show their parents. Henry looked in his bag and yelled, "Look at this!" He pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on as the others did the same. They each reached into their bags and pulled out different toys, all somehow related to the movie industry, as the photographers descended once again and took pictures of them.
When the theme for the Academy Awards started playing through the speakers, they all took their seats and watched as Drew took the stage once again. This time, she was dressed in a formal gown and accompanied by Terrance in his black tuxedo. Going to the microphone, Drew announced, "I hope you all enjoyed the entertainment." Everyone clapped in response and after a brief pause, she continued, "I'm sure you will all agree our stars did an amazing job." She waited for the applause to die down and explained, "Our first award of the evening is for the best supporting actor. Please take a look at his outstanding work." They stepped back and everyone looked at the screen and watched as a clip of Steven as baby Simba played, followed by the scene of him dressed as Timon doing the hula, then again as the lion cub at the end of the movie. Drew stepped up to the microphone, opened an envelope and declared, "And the award goes to, Mr. Steven who played various roles throughout the film." Everyone clapped and Jessica had to tell him to go get his award. He ran up to the stage, took his little trophy, which was a plastic replica of the Oscar, held it in the air and screamed, "I AM THE WINNER!" Everyone laughed and clapped for the little boy and watched as he jumped off the stage and ran straight into Jordyn's arms.
Taking the mic once again, Drew declared, "We all know behind every great actor, is a great writer. Our nominee for best screenwriter did an amazing job rewriting the scenes for our actors." She turned her attention to the screen once again and they all watched as Bella appeared on the screen. This clip showed her backstage sitting at a table with an older woman as they discussed the script and she offered suggestions about changing some of the lines so it made sense for their version of the movie. Terrance stepped up and announced, "Oh I'm so nervous. I wonder who it is." He then tore open the envelope and hollered, "Ms. Bella is the winner of Best Screenwriter." They continued the process for the other kids, showing clips of Jessica showing Steven and Henry how to do the Hula, awarding her with Best Choreographer. Then they showed clips of Henry painting one of the backdrops, then another of him helping Sofia with her cat ears and announced that he had won for Best Set and Costume Design. Jake leaned in and asked, "Was it just coincidental that they each got awarded for the thing that interests them the most?" Callie shook her head and replied, "No, they asked us some questions about each of their hobbies and who we thought would be best in which category." Miguel shook his head and responded, "Well, you weren't wrong. They did great."
As Drew and Terrance took the stage once again, Terrance announced, "While everyone plays their part in the movie business, we all know there would be no film without the camera. This nominee really knows her angles, how to get the best lighting, and where to position the actors to get the best shots." He stepped back and the screen flashed images of Sofia behind the camera, positioning the lenses, waving at one of the other kids to move a certain way, and looking at the lights, pointing in different directions to get the best image. Walking back up to the mic, Drew announced, "The Sofia award for Best Cinematographer goes to…MS. SOFIA!" Everyone clapped as Sofia went to the stage to claim her trophy. Before she could leave, Drew held her hand to keep her on stage and leaned into the microphone as she announced, "Everyone, give it up for the birthday girl!" The birthday song blared through the speakers once again and everyone clapped and sang as Terrance disappeared backstage and returned pushing a cart which held a three tiered cake decorated with pink frosting. Stopping in front of Sofia, he lit the number 9 candle at the top and stepped back so the photographers could take her picture. After the song had finished, everyone yelled, "Make a wish!" and continued to clap and cheer. Sofia looked down at her cake, closed her eyes really tight, and whispered, "I wish for my babies to be born healthy and to share all of our birthdays together from now on." Opening her eyes, she blew out the candle and looked out at her mommies who were standing side by side, clapping and cheering for her. Seeing them hug, she smiled brightly, thrilled that all of her previous birthday wishes finally came true.
A/N: I suck! That's all I have to say about my long absence. I'm so sorry and I truly hope this chapter makes up for it. I really wanted Sofia to have her special day with her mommies. As I tried to find something really special for Sofia's birthday, I came across this place in New York called Cinemakidz, so places like this really do exist. As usual, I took some creative license and expanded on a few things. I will do my best to post regularly, I have experienced a horrible block and think it's primarily due to the pressure I put upon myself. I have so many plans for this story and don't want to let our girls or you down. Thank you for your patience, loyalty, and all the love you've sent me.