Work Text:
'Cause you'll be in my heart. Yes, you'll be in my heart. From this day on, now and forever more…
Arizona bolted upright in bed, hearing her phone play the song Sofia had chosen for calls from her daughter's new iPad. The surgeon pulled the phone free from it's plug and turned on the bedside lamp, answering as quickly as she could, nervous at what a call in the middle of the night from Sofia could mean.
The screen on the other side was dark when FaceTime connected, but the blonde could hear small sobs and sniffles. Arizona's heart clenched in her chest at the thought that her little girl was crying and she couldn't hold her.
"Sofia Robbin! You are not calling your mother! It's not even five in the morning there!" Though faint, she could recognize her ex-wife's voice anywhere, even over facetime and through their daughter's presumably shut bedroom door.
"Hey, big girl! Is everything okay?" Arizona was concerned but kept her tone cheerful. She could tell that Callie wasn't too panicked judging by the frustration in her voice.
At the click of Sofia's princess lamp turning on, her beautiful daughter came into view, wearing her pink pajamas, tears streaming down her face. The little girl shook her head. "I'm sorry I woke you up, Mommy."
"Oh, Sofia, don't ever feel sorry. You can call me anytime. You know that. Talking to you is the best part of my day," Arizona meant every word, sitting up straighter in bed.
Sofia's face lit up despite the tears, and her Sloan smile came into view. She'd inherited Mark's sparkling grin, and somehow Arizona's dimples. "Really?"
"Of course! Don't be silly!" Arizona laughed softly. "You're my girl."
"I miss you so much, Mommy," tears slid down Sofia's face.
"I miss you more," Arizona replied. "I was dreaming about you."
Sofia smiled. "Really? What was I doing?"
"Well," Arizona began, her dimpled grin coming into view. "I was snuggling on the couch with my favorite little girl, and she was hogging the ice cream."
"I never hog the ice cream, Mommy!" Sofia giggled. "What flavor?"
"Strawberry," Arizona stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's our favorite."
Sofia smiled again. "Were we watching a movie?"
"You bet!" Arizona said. "Can you guess which?"
"Tarzan?" Sofia had been going through a Tarzan phase lately.
Arizona laughed gently. "Yes! We wouldn't watch anything else, would we?"
Sofia shook her head. "Can we sing the song, Mommy?" Sofia asked.
"Of course, little miss. Put your hand on the screen and I'll do the same." Arizona laid her hand on the screen as Sofia did. "Ready?"
Sofia nodded and they began to sing their favorite song from Tarzan. "Come stop your crying it will be alright. Just take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry…"
Arizona could feel tears fill her eyes as she sang with her little girl. "'Cause you'll be in my heart. Yes, you'll be in my heart. From this day on, now and forever more. You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say. You'll be here in my heart, always…"
When they finished the song, Arizona smiled at the little girl, trying to hold back her tears as Sofia's streamed down her perfect face. She missed her daughter tremendously.
"How many more nights until I see you for Thanksgiving?" Sofia's voice was small.
"I'm going to pick you up from the airport on Tuesday," Arizona replied, bringing up her hand to count on her fingers. "Tonight, tomorrow night, Monday night, and then we'll be together."
"So only three nights?" Sofia broke into a huge grin.
"Just three nights, big girl." Arizona confirmed.
"And do I get to sleep in the big bed with you?" Sofia asked.
"Of course! How else will we have a sleepover?" The surgeon was as excited about this as her daugher was. "Just don't spill your tea on my leg again, okay?"
Sofia giggled, remembering how they had to clean the honey out of the socket the next morning. "I promise."
Callie slid into her daughter's room and Arizona caught a glimpse of her in the video call's frame. It seemed Sofia was oblivious to her presence until Callie sat on the edge of the bed, wrapping an arm around Sofia's shoulders.
Sofia looked up at Callie and grinned before returning her attention back to Arizona. Her tears seemed to have stopped for the time being. "And we'll make the sweet potatoes with marshmallows? And I get to eat the extra ones?"
"Yes," Arizona said with a laugh. "And I'll drink the extra bourbon. It's tradition."
Callie couldn't stifle a laugh at how excited her ex-wife and daughter seemed to be for their reunion.
"Sof," Arizona began softly, "why were you upset this morning? It wasn't just because you missed me, was it?"
Sofia shook her head softly. "Momma made the yuckiest hot cocoa in the world. It was horrible." She leaned closer to the screen to whisper, even though it was clear that Callie could still hear. "Really, really horrible, Mommy. I almost throwed up."
Arizona could barely keep herself from laughing and Callie rolled her eyes at Sofia's dramatics. Their daughter was clearly very upset about this. While Callie always did the majority of the cooking while they were together, Arizona had a few notable specialties which Callie wouldn't dare attempt, one being hot chocolate.
"Why don't you give me to Momma and I'll teach her how to properly make hot chocolate. Is Penny there? Maybe she could watch cartoons with you." Arizona suggested.
"Penny doesn't live here anymore. We haven't seen her in a while," Sofia stated with ambivalence. She didn't seem too upset about this. Arizona could see a flash of guilt cross Callie's face as Sofia spoke.
Arizona didn't miss a beat. "Well, you're a big girl. Why don't you go put on the cartoons yourself?"
Sofia passed off the iPad to Callie and went into the other room. Callie stood and silently walked them into the kitchen.
"So, how do I make this hot chocolate?" Callie asked, setting the iPad on the kitchen counter, clearly upset about whatever transpired between herself and Penny, but trying not to bring it up. "I have a packet of mix added to hot water…"
"Go grab two more packets," Arizona instructed.
"I'm only making one cup, Arizona." Callie was confused.
"Trust me," Arizona said, watching her ex-wife what she'd instructed. "Add them to the hot water, and stir."
"Three packets?" Callie asked incredulously.
Blonde curls bounced up and down as she nodded. "And a splash of half and half and some marshmallows on top," Arizona instructed. "Sof likes four big marshmallows or twelve little ones." She and Sofia had it down to a science.
"This has got to be like five hundred calories," Callie said, stirring vigorously.
Arizona shrugged unapologetically. "But it's delicious!"
Callie rolled her eyes but couldn't help but half-smile. Her ex-wife always had quite the sweet tooth.
Thick silence passed between them, though the sound of giggling and cartoon voices could be heard faintly through the call.
"Callie, are you okay?" Arizona's tone was soft.
"I'm sorry," Callie said abruptly. "I wanted to tell you. It's just– You sacrificed so much to let me be with Penny, and now–"
"Wait," Arizona said. "Do you think that I'm mad it didn't work out with Penny?"
"You sacrificed so much for me, Arizona. How could I tell you that you did it all for nothing?" The guilt was plain in Callie's voice.
"It wasn't for nothing. I did it because…" Because I love you. Because I'm stupidly, horribly, embarrassingly, head-over-heels in love with you. Because after everything, I still love you. Because I can't stop loving you. Because I would do anything for you. "Because I want you to be happy. I'm sorry things didn't work out with Penny, because I want you to be happy, but I'm not angry, Callie." Arizona was a little hurt.
"She didn't realize how different everything would be, living with a child." The sadness was clear in Callie's voice. "She wasn't ready for it. Sofia and I were too much for her, so she left."
"I'm sorry, Callie," Arizona didn't know what else to say. It wasn't her place to say more, at least not anymore. But she couldn't deny the fact that a part of her was relieved that it didn't work out. Relieved that maybe there was an infinitesimal chance that Callie might come back to her.
Arizona took a deep breath, stopping herself from entertaining the thought. "Meredith is having Thanksgiving dinner at her house. We're all bringing a dish and Riggs apparently knows how to deep fry a turkey. Why don't you come? It'll be fun. Everyone misses you, plus, there's a case I could use a second set of eyes on. Bailey hasn't filled your position yet."
Callie smiled unconsciously at the thought that her position back in Seattle was still waiting for her. "That actually sounds really nice. Are you sure?"
Arizona yawned. "Positive. I'll pick you up at the airport on Tuesday. You can stay in the guest room."
"I can just get a cab, and I can stay at a hotel or Mer's," Callie said, not wanting to be any more of an imposition on Arizona.
"I'm perfectly capable of driving, Callie, and if you think I'm going to spend one second away from my baby girl while she's in Seattle, you're nuts." Arizona smiled. "Plus, if you stay at Mer's, Sofia will want to stay over with Zola, and I fully plan on monopolizing our daughter for the five days we're together."
"Okay," Callie relented with a smile. "I'll see you on Tuesday, then. Sorry Sofia woke you."
"Don't ever be sorry for that. She's my daughter, too. I don't mind." Arizona's voice was soft.
"Of course, I never meant to imply that you're not her mother or–"
"I know. I'm going to go back to bed now, if you've got everything under control there?" Arizona asked.
"I do now. Thank you, Arizona. Sweet dreams." Callie said.
Once she ended the call, Arizona closed her eyes again, and went back to sweet dreams of strawberry ice cream, Tarzan, and snuggles on the couch with Sofia and Callie.