Arizona had picked Sofia up from school, grabbed Callie from the hospital and all three were headed back to hers. She had explained to their daughter that her mummy would be staying with them for a bit whilst the nasty bruises on her face healed. She told the eight year old that her mummy always looked after them when they were sick, so now they needed to look after her. Sofia was more than in agreement, she couldn't wait to have both parents close by.

Since they had agreed to talk, there had been a slight air of tension between them. Not their usual angst filled tension, but just an appreciation of how intense the conversation they needed to have would be. Callie wanted everything on the table, Arizona knew there was a lot she had to explain, yeah, this was make or break. If they could get through these next few conversations, she was confident they could move on, have a fresh start. But no stone had to be left unturned, no topic too painful to leave out, no emotion too great that it was dismissed as irrational. It was going to be heavy.

But it was going to be cathartic and ultimately lead to what they both wanted, right?

"So I was thinking", Arizona broke the silence, "what does everyone say to pizza and juice for dinner tonight?" She glanced in her rear-view mirror, eyeing her daughter's response.

"Me!"

Callie scoffed under her breath, mumbled, "pizza and beer maybe."

Ignoring Callie's comment, but affording herself a brief smirk, she addressed her daughter, "right you are Sof. When we get in you can play, then it's pizza & juice, bath, 30 minutes of reading then bed. Sound good?"

The little girl pouted, wow, that was pure Torres.

"Movie?" Sofia's tone was hopeful, but she knew what would work, she pulled out the big guns. Her pout was replaced with a wide-eyed, butter-wouldn't-melt smile with her delicate little eyelashes fluttering wistfully.

Arizona's heart melted and she shook her head, now her girl was pure pure Torres.

"We'll see how it goes Sof, but I'm not promising anything. Remember what I told you about mummy? She needs some rest, so none of us can stay up late, okay?"

Sofia nodded; she remembered what her mumma had told her about her mummy hurting. She had explained Callie had a 'bad fall' when she slipped during an operation. That scenario didn't make too much sense, but Arizona knew Sofia would understand a fall meant bruises, and that her mummy operated on people, so she was hopeful it wouldn't lead to more questions. And it didn't.

"Nicely done, Robbins", Callie turned and grinned at the blonde.

Arizona couldn't help smiling after giving her wife (maybe they needed to go back to ex before they have their conversation, to bring everything back to reality, she'll reluctantly go back to thinking ex-wife) a quick glance.

Okay Robbins, you've got this, you have your tick-list, you have the topics you want to discuss. You'll definitely need that beer. You're gonna hear some not so nice things about you, some you already got from Carlos earlier, so you need to be this good man in a storm. Weather what's going to get thrown at you, be strong enough to answer honestly.

Callie meanwhile was equally as apprehensive as her wi- ex-wife, she was pleased they had agreed to talk, but talking was never their strong point. Yes they could discuss a movie, a surgery, a joke they heard from friends, but the deep emotional stuff? Their track History, not so good. Where would she start? Where would Arizona start? Where was it fair to start? She didn't want to go back to Africa like she did during therapy, but it was the first time their inability to communicate first surfaced. Unless you could their disaster date at the French restaurant, oh god did it go all the way back to then?!

Okay Torres, you know this woman next to you, you know she has a tick-list of topics, she had a rota for your care for god's sake. You need to go into this prepared, even if the bulk of the conversation won't happen tonight, you need a plan. You love this woman, you know that, and you're both going to say some unpleasant things, but suck it up Torres, for everyone's sake. Africa? Mark? The treatment after the crash? The night of the storm, the subsequent affair… Yikes, this is gonna need more than beer.

With their past she was never going to be short of things, but there was also a lot of things outside of Arizona's control that she had to have allowances for, or at least a better understanding of them. She's aware of PTSD, she knows the miscarriage was hard (guess what, they never spoke about it, but maybe now their wounds had healed somewhat, they could?) and a plane crash? That, plus despite Arizona's outward confidence, she was very insecure and vulnerable inside, never feeling quite good enough personally. Professionally? Hardcore.

"So I err, have taken some personal days, Bailey's orders really, so I can help you recover as quickly as possible", the blonde broke the silence, again. Not that I want you to leave quickly.

"That's great, thank you, you didn't have to, my ribs will take a little over a month to heal, I don't want to be in your hair for that long", she nodded. If she wants me out quickly, I'll save her the embarrassment of having to ask.

A little hurt, Arizona pushed her emotions down and defended her heart. "Yeah it's probably for the better, you don't want me round for too long, I'm sure you'll get sick of me…" don't say it don't say it don't say it "…again." Dammit Robbins.

Callie took that opportunity to glace at their daughter, despite her view being slightly skewed as it was set to the driver's eyeline, she could still clearly see Sofia, who was quite engrossed watching a video on her iPad, headphones on.

"Arizona", she was firm, it all stems back to Arizona's insecurities, and whilst she wouldn't appease her ex-wife forever, she urged herself not to snap, something she would have previously done. "If I didn't want you around, I wouldn't have agreed to being discharged into your care, I can afford to hire a thousand nurses. I also wouldn't have asked for you to fall asleep with me, you have to understand not every thought or feeling I have is a rejection, okay?"

The blonde nodded, "I'm sorry, old habits".

The rest of the relatively short journey was silent, apart from the odd giggle from their daughter. Each time she did, two surgeons peeked at each other and smiled, their hearts fluttered at these moments. They both knew it was worth fighting for.

Just like Arizona planned, when they arrived home her itinerary was executed with military precision. Their daughter played with her LEGO whilst Arizona helped Callie settle into the guest room, they ate take-out pizza on the sofa whilst watching Aladdin (of course she got a movie), Sofia had her bath, Callie read to her and then her mini-me was out for the count. The only difference? Reading lasted 10 minutes and not 30, Arizona was secretly frustrated, she should have accounted for their daughter getting overly tired due to the excitement and no doubt lack of sleep from her night at Meredith's.

After Arizona finished clearing away the empty box, she grabbed two beers and made her way back to the sofa where Callie had retaken her spot after tending to Sofia. You ever seen those old wild west films? Where two cowboys stand there, neither willing to make their move, hands hovering over pistols, stood in perfect silence, examining their target? Yeah, that.

After what felt like a lifetime, Arizona passed Callie a beer and sat at the opposite end of the sofa, making sure she was facing Callie, not eyes forward. Eyes on Callie. For her part Callie was the same, whilst she couldn't exactly manoeuvre her body to directly face the blonde, she could still turn her head. It would have to do. Cracked ribs did not like to be in an unnatural position.

"So", Arizona took the initiative, "where do we start?"