A/N: Here's the next chapter! It's the longest one. We're getting closer...
I hope this one tides you over, as I'll be busy for the next few days - next chapter should be up sometime next week.
Please let me know what you think! If you notice any errors, let me know :)

God damn, I'm stuck on this once again

And I don't know if we can be friends

One look at you and I'm a mess

I know it's been years

But it killed me to leave

19

By Xana

Callie awoke to an empty bed on Saturday morning, feeling rested. She lifted her head, pried her eyes open and reached for her phone to check the time. Reading that it was 7am, Callie let her head rest back on the pillow, sighing in relief.

She saw that she had two message notifications. The first was from Penny, letting her know that she got called in early and hoping that she slept well.

The second was from her ex-wife.

Arizona: Good morning! Rise and shine! :D

Unsurprisingly, the text was sent an hour ago – she was still an early bird. It was a little weird to get a 'good morning' text from Arizona, but she replied anyway.

Me: Morning

As always, Arizona's reply was rapid.

Arizona: Wow! You're awake before noon on a day off! I was thinking of making pancakes if you fancy coming over early :)

When she saw the message, Callie practically jumped out of bed to get ready.

Me: Will be there ASAP

She might have turned down hot chocolate, but she definitely wasn't going to turn down breakfast. Callie headed to the bathroom and started brushing her teeth, thinking about how nice it was for her Arizona to include her.

A mental lightbulb switched on. She paused to text Arizona, toothbrush still in her mouth.

Me: You are sneaky

Arizona: I have no idea what you're referring to…

Me: You only invited me so I'd help get Sofia ready!

Arizona: Nooooo

Callie continued to brush her teeth, waiting for Arizona to cave. Less than a minute later, her phone buzzed again.

Arizona: Okay, yes. You still coming? Pretty please?

Me: Fine but you owe me

Arizona: I'm making you breakfast aren't I? That's payment :P

Callie laughed, settling her phone on the bathroom counter and continuing to get ready. She was excited, looking forward to a fun day with their daughter and hoping that everything would go smoothly. So far, there had been no real bumps in their budding friendship

When Callie arrived home last night, she'd feared that her evening would result in an almighty bump being created by her girlfriend. However, quite the opposite occurred.

Callie ordered takeout, and they'd settled down on the couch to watch a film. For the first ten minutes, her leg bounced anxiously. Penny paused the film, noticing her fidgeting. After some prying, Callie admitted her plans for Saturday, and that her and Arizona were trying to work on their co-parenting. Sure, a few details were left out, but regardless of that, her girlfriend's response shocked her.

Penny was thrilled. The redhead thought it was a great idea, rambling about how it would make work less awkward for them both, and that it would be good for Sofia.

It was like the Penny she'd argued with, never existed. Part of her wanted to ask how she could be so okay with it, but she didn't – fearing she'd create the argument she wished to avoid.

She was relieved that Penny was understanding – even if she was a little too supportive. It was a reminder of why she liked the redhead – she was easy to talk to, she didn't create drama.

After their talk, Penny yawned and said she was tired, resulting in an early night for Callie. Another relief, as the last thing she wanted to be today was grumpy from lack of sleep.

Now dressed and finishing applying her light makeup, she felt refreshed and ready for the day.

Callie was out the door, heading for Arizona's house.

For the second time in 24 hours, Callie stood on Arizona's doorstep, ringing the bell.

As she pulled her hand away, she heard the faint sound of something smashing, and then something heavy clanging.

That's not good.

Hoping the noises were just pots and pans, she froze. But a yelp of "Oh, fuck," spurred her into action. She opened the luckily unlocked door, tossed the leather jacket and bag she was holding to the floor and ran towards the now evident cries of her daughter.

Callie surveyed the kitchen as she entered. She rushed to Arizona, who sat on the floor with her prosthetic detached, surrounded by shattered glass and some sort of liquid.

Sofia was standing at a distance from her ex-wife, sobbing but seemingly unharmed. "It's okay baby girl, I'm here, I'm gonna take care of Mommy." Sofia nodded, her crying subduing a little.

Callie knelt down in front of Arizona, not caring to avoid the glass.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"Shit. Yes, yes, I'm okay I think," The blonde was staring at her hand, trying to remove a small shard of glass protruding from her bleeding fingertip.

Callie grabbed her wrist, gently pulling her hand towards her to assess the wound as Arizona continued.

"I was cracking eggs and then the doorbell went and I think I cranked an egg too hard against the bowl and then the bowl was on the floor."

Callie was only half-listening, eyes scanning Arizona's face and body for other signs of injury. Her gaze lingered on her thighs, glancing past her egg-soaked pajama shorts as she searched for any glass that may have penetrated the skin when she fell.

"And then I tried to move out of the way and I think I slipped on the eggs, now I'm covered in egg and glass." Arizona let out a strained laugh, morphing into a quiet "Ouch," as Callie pulled the tiny shard out of her finger.

The brunette continued her assessment, "Are you experiencing pain from anywhere else? Do you have full mobility of both arms and legs?" she asked, cringing when she then looked down at the detached prosthetic.

"No," Arizona giggled, "No, I don't. My leg fell off."

"Can you… Can I help you stand? There's just… a lot of glass, I don't want you getting hurt any further, and your leg-" she faltered, her voice uncertain, afraid that Arizona might accuse her of being overbearing or belittling her.

"Yes, please. My ass hurts, and I don't think I can get up on my own."

Callie shifted closer, raising one leg to plant her foot firmly on the floor. "Okay, okay, well you can hold onto my shoulders, and I'll lift you?"

Arizona nodded, vest riding up slightly as she interlocked her arms around the brunette's shoulders. Callie wrapped an arm around her waist, fingers brushing against bare skin. She had to fight the involuntary rush of warmth it sent through her body.

Get it together. You're friends. You're just helping a friend.

She pressed a hand on the counter for leverage and pulled Arizona closer, the scent of her perfume filled Callie's senses.

Focus.

"Ready?" Callie asked, waiting for Arizona's nod before standing, taking her weight with ease.

The blonde winced, exhaling a heavy breath as Callie lifted her. She took a large step forward, moving them away from the mess below.

"Are you okay? Is your leg okay?"

Arizona chuckled lightly as Callie lowered her down, "Yes, I'm okay, I think my ass is bruised."

Callie sighed in relief, maintaining her hold of Arizona.

This is fine. She's fine. You're fine.

"I'm good Callie, honestly. Would you mind walking me to the couch?" Arizona relaxed her arms from the her shoulders and turned slightly, moving her hand around Callie's waist.

Callie adjusted her hold, making sure Arizona stayed steady as they hobbled over to the couch. As Arizona sank into the cushions, she let go.

"Thank you," Arizona said, her tone warm, "You know, you make a great crutch, Calliope."

She grinned, jokingly flexing her biceps, "All thanks to these strong muscles."

Her ex-wife winked, presenting a knowing smirk, "I'm well acquainted with your strong muscles, Dr Torres."

Callie's smile faltered slightly, face flushing.

It's just a joke. Don't freak out.

Tearful sniffles interrupted the moment as Sofia padded her way towards them. "Is Mommy okay?" Sofia said, looking up at her.

With a reassuring smile, Callie spoke softly, "Yes baby, she's just got a little cut on her finger and a sore butt."

Sofia climbed onto the couch, cuddling into Arizona. The blonde wiped away the tear stains from Sofia's cheeks with her unharmed hand, "I'm okay, baby girl."

"Did Mama kiss them better?" Sofia asked, her voice serious with concern.

Callie pinched her lips together, trying to hold back a laugh. She saw that Arizona was doing the same, biting her lip firmly before responding, "Don't worry, I only need a band aid."

Their daughter didn't seem convinced, stubborn as ever, "But Mommy, you say kisses are magic, you always kiss my boo boo's."

Callie cleared her throat, turning on her heels, "I'll… go find a band aid and clean up."

"Top draw next to the stove."

She took her time, leaving Arizona to handle Sofia's questioning of why she hadn't kissed her ex-wife's ass.

Callie retrieved a dust pan and brush from under the sink and swept up the glass-egg concoction. She cleaned the floor of the remaining gunk and wiped down Arizona's prosthetic, checking for any damage. Luckily, it appeared to be fully intact.

Finishing up, she opened the drawer, finding a first aid kit stocked with a jumbo-pack of butterfly patterned band aids.

Freakin' butterfly band aids.

Callie smiled to herself, of course they had butterflies on them. She grabbed one and an antiseptic wipe, then picked up the prosthetic and made her way back to the couch.

She found Arizona and Sofia still curled up together. Sitting on the arm of the couch, she passed her ex-wife the prosthetic. Arizona aligned the prosthetic onto her thigh and presented her injured finger to Callie.

"Right, Dr Robbins, let's attend to that poorly finger." Callie gently cleaned the small cut of dried blood before placing the butterfly adhesive.

"You gotta kiss it now, Mama," Sofia insisted.

Callie raised an eyebrow at Arizona, silently asking if she was okay with their daughter's demand. Arizona gave a subtle nod. Callie leaned forward, placing a brief, delicate kiss on the finger. "All better."

Deep brown eyes met bright blues, and for a moment, time seemed to slow.

"Thank you, Calliope," Arizona whispered.

Fuck.

Rather than risk another accidental injury by trying to make pancakes, Arizona settled on having toast for breakfast. Callie insisted on making it, showing concern about Arizona even thinking of entering back into the kitchen.

Having her ex-wife express worry about her would typically annoy her - she wasn't an invalid, but there was something about the way Callie looked at her with so much care. It made her weak at the knees, even the metal one felt unsteady.

Following the less extravagant breakfast, Sofia became increasingly impatient, wanting to go to the park as soon as possible. Not wanting to have the day disrupted by a tantrum, both herself and Callie agreed that time was of the essence.

Callie shooed Arizona to go get dressed and encouraged Sofia to do the same. Her commanding voice worked wonders, with Sofia skipping down to her bedroom at the utterance of, "Get dressed! The sooner you are, the sooner we leave."

When Arizona got to her own bedroom, she took a moment to assess the incident that had occurred. It was like a knight in shining armour had come to her rescue. Better yet – it had been her stunning ex-wife in tight fitting black jeans, with ever so capable hands.

Her ass did hurt though. A lot.

What hurt more was not asking Callie to 'kiss her ass' after Sofia's demand. It was on the tip of her tongue; it took her whole body and soul to not let the words slip. It left her with no restraint when Callie mentioned her strength. God, did she miss those arms, those hands, her fingers.

Head out of the gutter, Robbins.

Arizona gave her head a shake, trying to focus on the simple act of dressing her now slightly sore body.

When she returned to the lounge, Callie and Sofia were both waiting for her. Her baby girl was tapping her foot impatiently, arms crossed.

She's just like her Mama.

Arizona let her eyes wander across her ex-wife, noticing the addition of a leather jacket now hugging her frame, damn did that woman look good in leather.

"Let's go!" Arizona exclaimed, picking up her small brown satchel from the table as she walked towards her girls.

Callie opened the door for them, with Sofia running out and pulling on the car door handle while she waited for it to be unlocked.

Her ex-wife placed a hand on her bicep, pausing before they left, "You sure you're okay?"

She gazed up at Callie, "I am, I promise to tell you if I'm not."

Arizona watched as Callie's lips curled into a soft smile, feeling her hand move to graze the small of her back, urging her out of the door.

The drive to their first stop was going to take about thirty minutes, according to Callie's estimation. They'd visited this particular park often when they were together. It was a little further away, but it was always Sofia's favourite.

At Sofia's request, Callie connected her phone to the car's bluetooth to play the playlist their daughter had curated. She still loved everything Disney, which Arizona could appreciate, but interest had now strayed towards the likes of Mulan and Moana, rather than traditional princesses.

This resulted in their daughter's dramatic rendition of 'I'll make a man out of you' in the back of Callie's car. Sofia's attempt to lower her voice to match the masculine voices was hard not to laugh at. She looked over at her ex-wife, whose jaw was clenched, mouth firmly shut with a concerted effort not to laugh as she drove.

Arizona knew her own part in the song was approaching, designated by Sofia every time she played the song. She chimed in with "Be a man" in the deepest, gruffest voice she could manage.

That sent Callie into a coughing fit trying to stifle her laughter. Arizona couldn't help but giggle lightly while Sofia continued to belt out the lyrics, her energy far outpacing her pitch.

They managed to calm themselves as the song drew to a close. Sofia perked up as 'I Won't Say (I'm in Love)' started to play.

"Oh, no," Callie said, shaking her head in mock despair.

"Yes! Mama! You gotta sing this one with me, you do it best!" Sofia shouted, bouncing in her seat.

"Fine," Callie grumbled, tossing a playful look in the rearview mirror. "But you need to be my backup singer, Sof."

The brunette took a deep breath before diving into the first line, "If there's a prize for rotten judgement, I guess I've already won that…"

Arizona glanced sideways at Callie, taking the opportunity to appreciate her ex-wife as she sang. There was something about the way she sang – playful, warm, unguarded – that tugged at memories Arizona thought she'd buried.

"No man is worth the aggravation, that's ancient history, been there, done that…"

She remembered the lazy mornings when Callie sang in the shower, the way her voice drifted through the kitchen as she cooked. She remembered the way Callie would hum softly in her ear as they slow danced in the living room.

Sofia sang, wagging her finger dramatically. "Who'd ya think you're kiddin'? He's the earth and heaven to ya!"

Arizona winced; Sofia was enthusiastic, very enthusiastic – her voice straining as she tried to hit the high notes.

Sofia continued, belting out the backup lines with gusto. Callie, to her credit, didn't miss a beat, though her voice was now laced with laughter.

"I thought my heart had learned its lesson, it feels so good when you start out, my head is screaming get a grip, girl… Unless you're dying to cry your heart out!"

Sofia managed to keep up with the speed of the song, singing in tandem. Arizona turned her head to the back of the car, watching as Sofia shimmied her shoulders in time, "Face it like a grown up! When ya gonna own up that ya got, got, got it bad!"

Her ex-wife's smile was bright, enjoying the moment with their daughter.

Arizona shook her head, her chest tightened despite the humour of the moment. This was the kind of magic she missed being a part of.

Callie's eyes flicked back to the rearview mirror as she hit the high note with confidence, her voice carrying through the car, "This scene won't play, I won't say I'm love!"

As they reached the final chorus, Sofia's voiced cracked in spectacular fashion, and Callie burst out laughing so hard she nearly missed their next turn.

"Mama!" Sofia huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at Callie in the rearview mirror.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Callie said, trying to catch her breath, "That was just… wow."

Arizona was laughing too, tears prickling the corners of her eyes, "It was definitely memorable, Sof."

The car grew silent as the song began to fade, Arizona glanced over at Callie, their eyes meeting for a brief moment as the final line played.

'At least out loud, I won't say I'm in love.'

The familiar ache settled in as she quickly averted her gaze, she wondered if she was pushing too hard, trying to make something happen that wasn't there.

Was she just fooling herself, imagining that Callie felt the same?

The rest of the journey was filled with several more Disney songs playing, Sofia taking the lead, both Callie and Arizona acting as her back-up singers and managing, mostly, not to embarrass their daughter by laughing.

When they arrived at the park, Sofia was eager as ever, grabbing her backpack and rushing her mothers to get out of the car. Arizona expected their little girl to run off to go on the 'big girl slides,' but instead she had a different request.

"Swing me!" Sofia shouting, giddily offering a hand to each parent.

Arizona shared a knowing look with Callie as they each took hold of a little hand. They lifted and swung their daughter as they walked to the gate of the park.

"Whee!" Sofia squealed, giggling every time they lifted her.

The blonde looked over to her ex-wife, her smile bright, "I'm glad we're doing this."

"Me too, Arizona," Callie responded, but looked conflicted, guilt littering her features, "We should never have stopped."

As they entered the park, Sofia dropped their hands, "I'm going first! Watch me!"

The mothers settled on a bench by the entrance, watching as Sofia ran towards the variety of slides. It wasn't too busy, with only a few other children dotted around the park and parents watching closely by the younger children.

Arizona kept her gaze on their daughter as she spoke, "You're right, we shouldn't have stopped."

She heard her ex-wife exhale a heavy breath, "It's my fault, you know. After the divorce, I…"

"No, no. It was mine. I was… hurt." She remembered the pain that clouded her when Callie left, "and I let that stop us being parents."

The shame overwhelmed her, she flattened her palms onto her thighs, fingers digging in. A tanned hand pressed onto her own, providing a gentle squeeze and relaxing her tense grip.

"You had every right to be hurt, Arizona." Her tone was soft. It did nothing to suppress the tears that were now collecting in Arizona's eyes. She blinked them away and cleared her throat, trying to dislodge the lump that had settled in her throat.

Choosing to change the subject, Arizona racked her brain for small talk. "How's Penny?"

The hand that held hers slipped away as Callie responded, "Oh. She's… good. Penny's at work today."

Arizona couldn't help herself from prying, "Does she know you're with me today?"

The brunette adjusted her position on the bench, straightening her posture and crossing her arms. "Yeah, of course she knows."

Arizona was unsure if her ex-wife was telling the truth. Considering the argument she'd heard; it would be surprising if Penny was okay with Callie spending time with her. Especially if Callie had told her about their alcohol-fuelled embrace that night.

Though, she knew that Callie couldn't have told Penny that part. If she had, she had no doubt that the woman sat next to her would be single.

"And she's… okay with that?" Arizona tentatively asked, hoping that she wouldn't push her now defensive ex-wife to shut down entirely.

"She is. She thinks it's good thing that we are trying to be better co-parents."

Arizona was puzzled, something wasn't adding up.

How little has Callie actually told her?

Just as she was about to push her luck by prying further, Sofia bounded towards them.

"Mummy! Mama! You gotta try the blue slide. It's awesome!" Their little girl's excitement was infectious.

Callie's look of concern returned, directed once again at Arizona, "Um, I don't know Sof, after Mummy's fall-"

"Absolutely! Show me this awesome slide, baby girl." Arizona wasn't going to let being an amputee with a bruised ass stop her from playing with her daughter. She stood, disregarding her ex-wife's surprised expression.

"You coming, Torres? Or are you too chicken for a big slide?"

Callie scoffed, standing with a determined glare, "Chicken? Oh, It's so on, Robbins."

Sofia pulled each of them by their hands, tugging them towards the slide, "You gotta see how fast I go!"

The trio spent the next few hours trying all the slides, at least all of the ones big enough for adults. They took turns pushing Sofia on the swings, and the playground spinner – which left Sofia exhausted and a little queasy.

Around noon, the family made their way back to the car, with Callie giving Sofia a piggyback after she dramatically announced that she was too tired to walk.

Arizona pulled Sofia off her ex-wife's back when they got to the car, making sure her belt was secure over the booster seat.

"That was awesome, Mommy," her daughter yawned. Arizona pressed a kiss to her head before shutting the door and making her way to the passenger seat.

"Ready for pizza?" Callie asked as she sat down.

Arizona's stomach was grumbling, "Absolutely, I'm starving."

Her ex-wife selected a more relaxed playlist for their next journey, setting it to a low volume. With Sofia already half-asleep in the back – there'd be no squawk-like singing on the ride.

As Callie drove, Arizona leaned against the passenger door, letting her eyes wander over to her ex-wife. The sun was high in the sky, light spilling through the windshield, catching Callie's dark hair and highlighting the lighter chestnut strands. The brown eyes that were trained on the road ahead appeared almost orange, glowing in the sun.

After a few minutes, Callie broke the silence, "I was thinking we could go to that place near our old apartment? You always said you liked it in there."

"Gino's? I love it there! I don't think I've been since…. well, since before the plane."

It was one of her favourite restaurants, but she'd only ever been there with Callie. The idea of going without her was unfathomable. It was somewhere that was just… theirs.

"Yeah, same here," Callie said, a trace of warmth in her voice. "We last went when Sofia was just a baby. Mark had pretty much forced us out the apartment, talking about how he needed his 'father-daughter bonding time'."

Arizona couldn't help but smile, Mark was always so set on making sure Sofia had enough Sloan in her. Even though he had his own apartment, they'd both end up popping in to check on Sofia on his nights, so it wasn't uncommon for Mark to shoo them away for a few hours.

Callie laughed lightly, her fingers gently tapping absentmindedly on the wheel, "We couldn't agree on where to go. I wanted to go to that French place, but you wanted Thai food, so we settled on Gino's." Her eyes narrowed slightly; a faint crease formed between her brows.

"You wore that beautiful blue wrap dress." Callie added, her voice dipping into something lower, gentler.

"You… remember that?" Arizona whispered, disbelief washing over her.

Callie's mouth quirked into a half-smile, "Yeah," she paused, "I remember everything." The brunette cleared her throat.

"That night especially," Callie began, her tone now casual with an unmistakable flirtatious edge, "because when we got back to the apartment, we tried… that thing out."

It took a moment for Arizona to catch on, "Oh! Oh. Yes." Her face flushed, visions of Callie on top of her flooding her memory. She glanced out the window, trying to calm herself. "Yeah, I, uh, definitely remember that night."

Arizona shifted in her seat. That was the night they tried a certain strapless device; Callie had used it on her and absolutely blown her mind.

Looking back towards Callie, she saw how her lips curved into a smirk, her eyes still fixed to the road. "You should remember. Pretty sure Mark could hear you all the way across the hall."

The blonde's eyes widened, jaw dropping at the comment. "Calliope!" she hissed, half-mortified, half-laughing. Her eyes flicked to the back of the car, Sofia was thankfully asleep.

"What?" Callie replied, feigning innocence. "It's true. You weren't exactly… quiet."

Arizona bit her lip, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "Well, excuse me for appreciating your… technique."

Callie let out of gentle laugh, clearly trying to subdue it to avoid waking Sofia. "Maybe I should've patented my technique since you speak so highly of it."

Arizona shook her head, "Hmm… I doubt it would've been legalised for use. I think you should just settle for adding it to your resume."

The brunette snorted, "I'm sure I'd get loads more job offers with 'Additional skills: Sex Goddess' thrown in there."

Their laughter died down, and Callie's tone shifted to one that was almost sentimental, "We used to be good together, didn't we?" Callie's voice broke slightly as she gripped the steering wheel tighter, "For a while, we were so good."

"Callie…" Arizona started, her tongue feeling thick in her mouth.

What do I even say to that?

Her ex-wife's expression hardened, rolling her shoulders back, eyes fixed on the road. "Then everything else happened. Now, I'm with Penny. And you… well. You're better without me. Everything's not so… hard, anymore."

It was an unpleasant reminder of how difficult Arizona was to be with. Another nagging feeling that her efforts were futile. Even if Callie still had feelings for her, would she ever act on them, knowing how unhappy Arizona once made her?

She hoped that Callie would see that she had changed, grown. She'd accepted her mistakes, come to terms with the damage she'd done. But Callie left for a reason. Was she worth coming back for?

Arizona stared at her, an ache spreading across her chest, "Are you happy? Does she make you happy, Calliope?"

Callie's lips parted as if to respond immediately, but she hesitated. Her mouth snapped shut, jaw clenching as she swallowed firmly.

"Yes. Yes. I'm happy," she said, her tone lacking warmth.

Arizona sank back into her seat, forcing a tight smile. "I'm glad. She seems… good for you."

Her ex-wife didn't respond. In fact, they didn't speak again until they arrived at Gino's. Sofia woke as the car came to a stop, and was understandably grumpy after her nap.

"Who's ready for pizza?" The brunette asked, aiming her question to Sofia.

Their daughter grumbled, "So hungry."

The three of them exited the car, headed into the restaurant and were seated at a table. It was fairly busy, not surprising considering it was lunchtime and Gino's had always been quite popular with locals. The atmosphere was cosy, there was a comfortable, warming aura to the restaurant. It's part of why she liked it, helped by the fact that their pizza was amazing. It was jarring in comparison to the way she felt at this moment.

Callie's happy. Or at least she's happier than she was with you.

That's what you wanted, right? For Callie to be happy.

She did, deep down. She knew it in her soul. Together or apart, her heart wanted Callie to be happy. Even if it tortured her.

Their daughter was happily colouring in an activity book that had been provided next to her, giving her chance to properly look at her ex-wife. Callie was putting on a fantastic show of being okay, but Arizona could see straight through it, and what she saw was pure, unadulterated fear.

"Are you okay?" She found herself asking.

Callie squinted, pursing her lips slightly, "Yeah. Just hungry."

Her ex-wife made a considered effort of averting her gaze from Arizona's, choosing to look at the menu – even though she already knew what she'd be ordering. Arizona doubted that her go-to order would have changed. As much as Callie denied it, she was a creature of habit.

Deciding that Callie probably needed a minute to decompress, Arizona gave her just that.

"I'm just gonna pop to the ladies' room, you know my order if they come over."

Callie gave a curt nod as she left the table.

Fuck my freakin' life.

What am I doing?

The blonde had gone to the restroom and Callie was so grateful she had. Callie was having a full blown internal freak out and she didn't know how to stop it. The day so far had been amazing. Genuinely fantastic. And that even included the panic-inducing incident of finding Arizona on the kitchen floor.

It had not however, been good for her emotional wellbeing. Before she came, she was so set on it being a good idea to be friends with Arizona. Sure, there were some residual feelings there. Everyone felt like that with their exes. She had strongly believed that more contact of a friendly nature would have been a good thing, and that it was stamp down those feelings.

But now she'd been texting, and calling, caring for and kissing the freakin' boo boo's of her ex-wife. Not only that but she'd been flirting. She'd freakin' flirted with Arizona. It wasn't intentional, it was second nature, and it drove her insane.

Callie pulled her phone out of her pocket, unsurprised to see the notifications were all from Penny. After all, she'd put her phone on silent for a reason. She wasn't on call, and she hadn't planned to spend her day on her phone.

3 missed calls, 1 voice mail, 2 text messages

Callie could count on one hand how many times Penny had crossed her mind today; it totalled at three. Two of those three had been instigated by Arizona.

She'd been so wrapped up in everything Arizona. Her laugh, her wit, her love for Sofia, the feeling of her skin against her fingers, the soft waves of her hair framing her face, the way she kept looking at her with those damn blue eyes, the little nose scrunch she did when she was thinking. All of it.

More than anything, she couldn't stop thinking about how much she'd missed Arizona.

Arizona today was too much of a reminder of the woman she'd fallen in love with all those years ago. The Arizona that wanted her more than she ever needed her.

Callie knew there'd likely be some issue today, she knew from the moment she woke up that there'd be a bump in the road. She just didn't expect that bump to be the feelings she'd held for Arizona rushing back to her like a goddamn tidal wave.

All her reeling emotions needed to be squashed. This was their family day, so she just needed to focus on Sofia. They could just focus on Sofia, and everything would be fine.

Callie took a deep inhale, and slowly exhaled.

You can do this.

You can want Arizona and know that you can't have her. You can want Arizona and still be Penny.

You can be friends with Arizona, for Sofia. It doesn't matter if it hurts, it's for Sofia.

She told herself, once again, that the feelings she was experiencing would fade. This was just a bump, and a bump in the road didn't mean there had to be a sinkhole.

Callie felt a little calmer, and a little brighter, in herself when Arizona returned to the table.

"Hey! Have they taken our order yet?" The blonde seemed perkier as she seated herself back down next to Sofia.

Callie shook her head, "No, not yet." She offered a small smile to her ex-wife, a more genuine one this time.

It didn't take much longer before their orders were taken and their food arrived quickly. The service was always speedy at Gino's, no matter how busy they got.

The hunger of both her ex-wife and daughter was obvious as the pair were quick to dig in as soon as their food was served.

"Mmm, so good," Arizona moaned as she bit into her first slice of cheese pizza.

Boring.

Their daughter shared her expression, also indulging in a cheese pizza, however hers was noticeably smaller.

Like mother like daughter.

Callie had chosen pepperoni – it wasn't adventurous by any means but at least it had an actual topping.

After finishing her first slice, she looked over at Sofia – who currently had sauce all over her face. Arizona giggled, turning to Sofia, seemingly noticing at the same time.

"Sof, how did you manage to get sauce on your eyebrow?" Arizona asked, reached to wipe their daughter's face with a napkin. Their daughter mumbled something incoherent, mouth still full.

As the blonde turned back to her own pizza, Callie saw that Arizona had also managed to get sauce on her face. Only in her case, it was a little dot of red covering a dimple on her check.

Instinctively, she reached her thumb across the table, "Arizona, you've got a little-" Callie swiped her thumb across Arizona's cheek, removing the little blob of sauce. Her ex-wife froze, eyebrows raised with her gaze directed towards her.

Don't freak out again. Friends would do that.

Callie grinned as she pulled back, "Moron." She wiped her thumb on her napkin, trying to play it cool despite her heart racing.

Naked, in bed with Arizona, eating pizza. Wiping sauce off her face on more than one occasion because she's somehow such a messy eater.

Arizona's gaze lingered for a moment, her eyes studying Callie with the soft intensity that always made Callie ever so slightly breathless. As if snapping out of it, Arizona gave an easy smile.

"Thank you, guess I'm just as messy as Sof, huh?" Arizona chuckled, tilting her head to the side.

For that moment, it felt normal. Just a little family sharing a meal, laughing over sauce-covered faces. Nothing complicated, no history looming over them.

But as Callie looked across the table to her ex-wife, who was now animatedly recounting some silly story to Sofia, she couldn't ignore the warmth that spread through her chest. That tidal wave of feelings she was trying to suppress wasn't receding – it was rising. And God help her, it was going to crash over her like a tsunami.