Archive of Our Own

The first collective meeting of the Robbins and Torres families hadn’t gone too badly, Callie thought as she intently watched the coffeemaker. For the most part, everyone was polite enough. Even accommodating toward each other. Mark had even managed to survive the ordeal which was quite a feat considering The Colonel seemed to be gunning for him. Of course, it had only been one night. If she had to guess, all bets would be off today. And, to make matters worse, Arizona had to work this morning. Karev’s last ditch effort at making chief resident was quite an undertaking. There was no way her Dr. Robbins wouldn’t be involved in much needed surgeries for African children. Yeah, the fact that their wedding and that event coincided was slightly ironic.

To make awkward first family meetings even more so, this morning Daniel and Barbara Robbins had arrived early for their wedding rehearsal brunch. To be fair, it was less of a brunch and more of a hastily thrown together meeting to get everyone on the same page for the big wedding the next day. Colonel Robbins must have sensed the disarray because he arrived with agendas for everyone. Those agendas provided wedding detailing down the minute with a precision Callie thanked God Arizona hadn’t fully inherited. Arizona did her fair share of dabbling in pie charts, but the color coded plan that The Colonel had worked up was on a whole other level. Callie had texted Arizona with a simple, ‘I’m being Coloneled’, as soon as they arrived hoping her fiancee could escape work for a while and deal with this situation. She had yet to receive a response, so all hope seemed to be lost.

“Do you need any help, Dear?” Mrs. Robbins asked as she strode into the kitchen.

“No ma’am,” Callie answered with a smile fixed on her face. “It’s fine, I’m fine.”

“A watched pot never boils.”

“So they say,” Callie chuckled a bit. “It should only be a few more minutes.”

“It’s okay, we’re in no rush,” Barbara said as she looked over to her husband who was reading his agenda in the living room. Her voice lowered in decibel, “I’m sorry that Daniel was so rude to Dr. Sloan last night.”

“Mark? Oh, no. Mark is pretty good at bringing that on himself.”

“He’s Sofia’s father, though.”

“Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop him from sticking his foot in his mouth.”

“Daniel sometimes only sees things in black and white. He has trouble with the grays.”

“I have experience with that,” Callie said knowingly.

“Like father, like daughter,” Barbara replied. “But there’s beauty in gray. I think you’re helping our Arizona learn that.”

“She’s done her fair share of helping me with that, too. I grew up with pretty rigid expectations. This really doesn’t fit,” Callie said, making a sweeping gesture with her hand. “Except it does, because I can’t help but be in love with your daughter. And well, Mark is the father of mine.”

Barbara smiled kindly, “We’ll all get used to each other soon enough, then.”

“I guess we will.”

“Sofia is beautiful,” Barbara went on. “When Arizona called to tell us about her…we were thrilled.”

Callie stifled a laugh before looking at her disbelievingly, “I know it must have been…strange news to get.”

“We were aware of what happened when she left for Africa. How things...ended. I know that must have been difficult for you.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Callie’s voice sounded harsher than she meant and immediately softened. “I mean, yes. Yeah, it was a tough couple of months.”

“Of course, I was surprised when Arizona told me...the situation upon her return.”

Callie didn’t take on the task of replying verbally, her only response was to turn back to the coffeemaker. This was not a conversation she wanted to have with Arizona’s mother.

“Yes,” Mrs. Robbins took a deep breath, knowing she was getting into dangerous territory. “I’m glad you two have put it behind you. She’s so happy, Callie. She’s never talked about anyone the way she talks about you. She just gushes about Sofia non-stop. Seeing them together last night. Well, it was something I didn’t think I’d ever see. My daughter has her own daughter.”

Callie couldn’t help smiling at the thought, “I didn’t think I would either, but it’s pretty amazing.”

“It sure is,” Barbara agreed. “And I have you to thank.”

“That reminds me,” Callie said as she left Mrs. Robbins for a second to go into her bedroom. When she came back out, she was holding a frame in her hands. “Arizona told me that even though your family moved a lot, the one thing you would do is set out plenty of pictures so it would always feel like home wherever you were. So, I thought you might like this.”

Barbara was speechless when she took the framed photograph of Arizona peering at a sleeping Sofia in the rocking chair of the nursery.

Callie studied her for a moment, “It was taken just after we left the hospital. We both stayed up all night that night mostly just watching her sleep. Well, I insisted, and Arizona was humoring me. But, I dozed off on the couch and when I woke up, I found them like that.” Callie tapped the frame. “I snapped it with my phone, so the quality isn’t-”

“No,” Mrs. Robbins interjected as she continued looking at the photo with reverence. “It’s perfect. Thank you, I love this.”

“Good.”

Before Callie knew it, she was being hugged within an inch of her life. She returned the hug with a light squeeze. “You’re welcome,” she said softly. “I kind of thought the only other person who would appreciate it as much as me, would be you.”

The knock on the door that signaled her own parents’ arrival was even more stifling as the Robbins’. It wasn’t her father that caused the dread. He had long since gotten over his disapproval of Arizona. In fact, the two of them got along surprisingly well. They had developed a knack for awkward small talk that had served them both during their meetings. Arizona and Carlos Torres were completely at peace with their stance on the other. They had moved past tolerated and tolerable and co-existed in mutual respect. Callie’s mother, however, was a different story.

Lucia Torres had acted like she’d rather be anywhere than else the entire night before. She had hardly said a word, was noticeably agitated when Callie and Arizona were within two feet of each other, and worst of all, she refused to interact with Sofia at all. She didn’t want to hold the baby. She didn’t want to pore over all the cute baby pictures. She politely turned down a tour of the nursery. Callie knew her mother wasn’t exactly thrilled with how Sofia was conceived, but her out and out ignoring her own grandchild was troubling, to say the least.

Callie opened the door with a kiss on the cheeks of both her parents in the way of greeting. She headed back into the kitchen toward the coffeemaker noticing it had clicked off in the last few minutes. When she turned to ask if anybody besides The Colonel wanted a cup, she was relieved to find her father and Arizona’s parents engaged in conversation. Her mother, however, had taken up residence in a chair seemingly staring off into the distance.

Callie took her in. Last night apparently had not been a fluke. It wasn’t uneasiness about meeting her daughter’s in-laws for the first time. In fact, she acted like she’d rather not meet them at all. Her father had been warm toward both The Colonel and Mrs. Robbins. He had been his regular charming self, asking about their respective retirements and complimenting them on their daughter. Callie’s mother was having none of it.

She was soon distracted by the wail of her own daughter from her crib. Callie looked down to the pot of coffee in her hand. “Mom?”

Lucia Torres turned to her silently.

“You wanna do me a favor and grab Sofia? You haven’t held your granddaughter yet?”

The older Torres opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. She didn’t make a move toward the nursery. She didn’t make a move at all. All eyes in the room fell to the woman occupying the chair.

“I’ll get her,” Barbara said as shot off the couch quickly. She returned shortly with the baby cooing and assuring her that she was the most adorable baby girl that she had ever seen.

“Thanks,” Callie whispered as Arizona’s mother passed by on her way to a bottle.

“It’s no problem,” the other woman replied with a secret wink.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Arizona barged through the door, already apologizing. “I’m here. Hello. Hi.”

“Arizona,” the Colonel announced, “I have agendas for everyone. You needed a better plan of operations.”

“Yes, sir,” the blonde answered with years of practice.

“Seven P’s,” he said as she pressed a quick kiss on his cheek.

“Yeah, Dad.” Arizona greeted the Torres’ and joined her mother and fiancee in the kitchen. She kissed her daughter on her full head of hair before asking, “Mom, do you want me to take her?”

“No, absolutely not.” Mrs. Robbins answered with a disapproving look that Arizona wasn’t quite sure she had earned.

“Hey, so sorry,” Arizona said to Callie. “Is everything okay? Do I need to do something? Anything?”

“It’s fine,” Callie insisted before quietly asking, “Seven P’s?”

Arizona just shook her head and pulled her in for a quick kiss. When Callie flinched, she was immediately concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing,” Callie answered, kicking herself for letting her mother get to her. She swiftly moved to connect with Arizona’s lips. She smiled, “Hi. I’m glad you’re here.”

“I only have...,” Arizona checked her watch with a grimace, “fifty two minutes and thirty four seconds..”

****

“You’re going to be late,” Callie told her fiancee when their shared giggles died down. Sitting alone with Arizona eased some of her apprehension from earlier. The two had finally found a few minutes to share while Mark looked after Sofia. Both sets of parents seemed to be entertaining themselves for now. “I’m fine. And I’m sorry about earlier.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” Callie said. “We’re getting married tomorrow.”

Arizona turned to face her on the bed, wrapping her arms around Callie. “Is this about your mom? Does she not like me? She’s barely said anything to me at all.”

Callie shook it off. “What’s not to like?”

“Well, I’m gay for starters,” Arizona shrugged. “And I’m marrying her daughter.”

“She’s had plenty of time to get used to the idea of us.”

“I know, but she’s never seen us together, Calliope,” Arizona said reasonably. “It’s one thing to know, it’s another to see her little girl kissing another woman.”

“It’s not just about that, though. She won't have anything to do with Sofia either.”

“Yeah,” the blonde lowered her head to Callie’s shoulder. “I’ve noticed.”

“That’s not about you, or us.”

“Have you tried talking to her?”

“No, what am I supposed to say,” Callie asked. “Why are you treating my fiancee and baby like they have the plague?”

“Maybe she’s just scared because Sofia is a preemie. Maybe she’s nervous about her health?”

“No,” Callie shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Oh,” Arizona’s lips pursed. She toyed with the heart necklace around Callie’s neck. “Hm.”

“Sofia is her granddaughter. Her granddaughter, Arizona. I mean, your mom is just falling all over her and my mom…”

“I know,” Arizona said with sympathy. “But it’s got to get better right?”

“It has to,” Callie stated.

***

“This isn’t better,” Callie said as soon as her father had walked out the door.

“He’ll talk to her.”

“You didn’t hear her,” Callie said as she collapsed on the couch. “She said I was going to hell.”

Arizona dropped to her side, “She said what? Today?”

“Yes,” Callie sighed in frustration. “The whole baby out of wedlock, marrying a lesbian thing is earning me a one way ticket to eternal damnation.”

“Calliope.”

“Hop on the train, Arizona. You’re going down with me. Don't forget your flame retardant boots.”

“Callie, stop.”

“What am I supposed to do now?” Callie asked as she laid her head on the back of the sofa.

Arizona used her thumb to wipe away a tear that had escaped down her fiancee’s face. “She’ll come around, Callie. Your dad reacted the same way and look at him now.”

“This is different.”

“Your dad refused to talk to you for months.”

“And she went along with that, Arizona,” Callie argued. “I thought all this time it was because he insisted everyone stop talking to me. Maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe she’s been thinking this all along.”

Arizona pulled the other woman in to rest her forehead against her own, “Do you think you’re going to hell?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you think what we’re doing is wrong?”

“I’m in love with you, Arizona.”

Arizona kissed her lightly, “I’m in love with you, too, but that’s not what I asked.”

“No.”

“Okay,” Arizona smiled briefly. “And we both know there is nothing wrong about our daughter. She’s a tiny ball of delightful perfection.”

Callie laughed at that. “That’s true.”

“Good,” Arizona said before leaning in for another kiss. “Since we agree, I’m going to take a shower. It’s been a long day. But then, we’ll crawl into bed and enjoy our last night of being wild and single.”

“Until Sofia wakes up.”

“Okay then,” Arizona amended. “Not so wild.”

When Arizona emerged from the bedroom just a little while later, Sofia was already awake. Callie was curled up in the chair feeding the baby girl.

“My dad won’t be there,” Callie said almost to herself.

“You really don’t think so?”

“I need someone to walk me down the aisle,” the brunette peeked over her shoulder. “Would you be okay with me asking Mark?”

“Um…well…if your dad isn’t going to be there.”

“If that’s not okay-”

“No,” Arizona stopped her. “Of course, you should ask Mark.”

“Yeah, maybe I should do that now,” Callie said before she nodded to the baby. “You want to take over?”

“Of course.” Arizona took the baby and sat in the space Callie had just vacated. “”Hurry back for the not-so-wild, barely still single party.” She watched her fiancee leave before looking down into the face of her daughter. Sofia’s big brown eyes were drifting closer and closer to sleep and her sucking on her bottle had slowed.

“Hi there, Beautiful,” she said. “You’re gorgeous just like your mommy, you know that?”

Sofia’s eyes popped open for a second to accept the compliment.

“Of course, you know. I tell you everyday.”

She listened for the sounds of the baby swallowing the milk. They were becoming less and less frequent.

“Tomorrow is a big day for our little family. Me and Mommy are getting married tomorrow. Aren’t you excited?”

Sofia kicked her leg slightly which Arizona took to mean she was indeed excited.

“And your Grandma Barbara and The Colonel think you’re the most awesome baby in the whole world.”

The little girl’s breath was evenly out as she faded into slumber.

“So does your other Grandpa. And I promise you, whatever is wrong with your Grandma Torres isn’t your fault, Sofia. You’re amazing. You’re strong just like Mommy. You’ve been my perfect little girl since I first heard your heart beating and tomorrow Mommy is going to be my wife. Sounds pretty good, huh?”

Arizona put the bottle on the side table and snuggled her daughter a little closer. She looked to the door that Callie had yet to come back through and thought about how awful the conversation with her mother must have been for her.

She looked back down to her peaceful, sleeping daughter. “Between you, your mommy, and your grandmother, I’m not sure I’m fully prepared for the Torres flair for the dramatic, Sofia.”

***

The first thing Callie registered the next morning was how cold her right leg was sticking out from the blanket. The second thing was how warm Arizona was all tangled up on her left side. She heard the soft snore and felt the light breaths of the blonde snuggled into her neck. When she finally blinked open her eyes she smiled at the sight of her soon to be wife’s hand resting on the sheet stretched across her own torso. By the end of the day, there’d be a ring on that finger. She couldn’t be more happy about it, but she couldn’t fight the nagging feeling that it wasn’t real. Not real in a legal sense.

She felt the blonde stir, so she gave her a loving kiss on her forehead, “Good morning.”

“G’morning,” was the reply.

“Sleep well?”

“Yes.” Arizona’s words were slightly slurred from sleepiness. “When did you come in last night?”

“It was kinda late.”

“Are you okay?” Arizona asked quietly.

“Sure.”

“Why the serious look then?”

“Because after all we’ve been through, the breakups, the fights, you leaving, my…thing with Mark, we’re together. And we’re getting married. We’re happy. I love you so much and I have for so long. Even when I didn’t want to, I still was so in love with you,” Callie looked down to see blue eyes boring into hers.

“I never stopped being in love with you,” Arizona raked her nails over Callie’s collarbone. “I think I have been since I kissed you the first time.”

“You were like a beam of light that day.”

“I’d like to think of it as a rainbow over cloudy skies.”

“You would,” Callie smiled. “All this time I’ve been wishing for this. I just wanted to wake up next to you and know without a doubt, you’re not going anywhere. That you were mine. My child’s other parent. You were going to be here…for life.”

“I am yours, Calliope.”

“I know,” Callie took a deep breath. “I’m just…taking it all in.”

“Pretty awesome, huh?”

“Awesome and delightful,” Callie teased as she pulled the other woman in even tighter. “Super, even.”

“Ha ha,” Arizona said humorlessly, but couldn’t help the hint of a grin. “What time is it?”

Callie leaned up just enough to glance at the clock, “Time for us to get up.”

***

Arizona's eyes drifted from right to left, then back to her hands as she scrubbed out. Mark stood on one side nervously shifting from one foot to the other. Miranda Bailey was rooted to her spot on the left sporting a really odd smile.

“Okay, what’s going on?” she finally asked.

“I’m in charge of getting you to your wedding,” Mark answered. “So…I’m waiting.”

“I’m marrying you today,” Bailey said in explanation.

Arizona laughed at that, “Sorry, Dr. Bailey, I'm super flattered, but I’m already getting married to Calliope today.”

“No,” Miranda said with absolutely no humor. “I’m marrying the two of you.”

“Hot,” Mark said with a wink.

Bailey stopped her routine with a pointed glare. “Dr. Sloan, please stop acting like a pubescent boy.”

“He can’t,” Arizona said before her eyebrow crinkled in question. “You’re marrying us?”

“Yes.”

“What happened to Father Brooks?”

Miranda just shrugged and pointed to Mark.

“Callie will fill you in later, we really don’t have a lot of time, Robbins.”

“So next stop, the church?” Arizona asked.

“Um, not quite,” Mark said as he gave a slight push toward the door. “We’re running by your apartment and then we’re off to the woods.”

Arizona stopped, “The woods?! I knew this would end with me being led into the woods by Sloan.”

Miranda took her elbow, “There’s been a couple changes in the original plan. Don’t ask questions, just go.”

***

Callie’s giddiness had subsided somewhat after she had been led away from the scene of their wedding. She was starting to get a bit concerned about how far they had trekked in the opposite direction of where they were intended to go until Arizona finally paused.

Callie looked up to see a super magic smile. She returned the smile, but still pointed in the other way. “You know we were supposed to go that way, right?”

“Yeah, I just wanted a minute alone with you.”

“Oh,” Callie tensed. “Why? What?”

“I love you,” Arizona let her fingers lace in and out of her wife’s lazily. “That’s all.”

“I love you, too,” Callie answered, clutching the blonde’s hands tighter. “We’re married.”

“With the rings to prove it.”

Callie wiggled her left hand at her wife. “Diamonds, honey. It’s serious now.”

Arizona responded by taking Callie’s face in her hands, “This was perfect.”

Callie nodded before leaning down to capture her wife’s lips with her own. She kissed her purposely. It was long and slow and sensuous, “There,” she said as breathlessly parted from Arizona. “That was a ‘we just got married’ kiss.”

“It gets my approval,” Arizona smiled. “I have a question, though.”

“What’s that?” Callie asked, still catching her breath before glancing over to see if anybody had caught the show.

“When I left for work, we were getting married at a church by a minister.” Arizona questioned, “How did you pull this off?”

“Massive amounts of bribing and teamwork,” Callie said as she watched Mark herd wedding attendees to the reception area.

“Uh huh,” Arizona smiled. “Any chance I’ll get you to elaborate on that?”

“Well, Kepner apparently is a huge fan of ours,” Callie pointed to April who proved her point by snapping yet another photograph of the two, even from the 50 yards away they now stood.

“Scary, but okay.”

“And she gathered up a bunch of people...”

“Interesting.”

“Which means, of course, you’ll have 25 interns following you around next week.”

“And why is that?”

“They all think they’re scrubbing in on your next procedure.”

“Fantastic,” Arizona moaned sarcastically.

“I used our daughter’s baby magic to get Bailey to agree to marry us.”

“What happened to Father Brooks?”

“Couldn’t make it.”

“Oh.”

Callie smiled, “And your dad took care of the rest.”

“My dad?”

“They don’t call him The Colonel for nothing,” Callie said seriously. “Those interns were hanging up streamers like it was going out of style.”

“The guests?”

“Had the wedding half an hour later than we were supposed to, I told Karev I’d pay his parking tickets if he diverted traffic from the church and voila.”

“And that worked?”

“That, and I think he’s a fan of ours, too.”

***

Callie rubbed her fingers along the bottom of her wife’s bottom lip, trying to wipe away the proof of their impromptu makeout session outside the pavilion where the reception was already underway.

“Am I a mess?”

“No, you’re gorgeous. I may have ruined your makeup, though.”

“Where?” Arizona blindly scratched at her own lip.

“I got it,” Callie leaned in to inspect and angled the blonde’s face up.

“Is this really necessary?” Arizona asked. “People are waiting. And more importantly, there’s cake in there.”

“I want my wife to look respectable when we go in,” Callie said, fighting one extra stubborn smear. “I don’t want you to look like the slutty head cheerleader that got caught feeling up the busty sorority girl behind the football field.”

“Mrs. Calliope Torres,” Arizona giggled, “That was detailed.”

All Callie offered in return was a wiggle of her eyebrows.

“I could get into it,” Arizona took the opportunity to fix a smudge in her wife’s makeup as well. When Callie licked her finger and descended on the stray lipstick, Arizona called foul. “Whoa, have we already been married long enough for you to do that?”

“Stop it, Arizona.” Callie batted her hands away. “Is this 18 hour lipstick? Did you tattoo it on?”

“Oh please, it’s not like they don’t know what we’ve been doing.”

“You don’t want your lipstick smeared in all of our wedding pictures.”

“Alright,” Arizona jutted her lips out so Callie could finish her work. “Wha u won du fur?”

“Huh?”

“Whuz fur?”

“Okay,” Callie removed her hand. “Repeat.”

“What do you want to do first?”

“Dance!” Callie said with a little hip action. “Of course.”

“Me too.”

“You’re lying,” Callie leaned in to kiss her wife, careful of the lipstick this time. “You want cake.”

“I do.”

“I do, too.”

Arizona pulled the other woman in again for another kiss. “How long before that gets old?”

“Oh, probably never.”

“I can live with that,” Arizona whispered just before her tongue tangled with her wife’s yet again.

Callie abruptly pulled away and shook herself out of the sexy haze she was in, “Okay, we have to quit or we’ll never get in there.”

“I could live that, too.”

“Cake.”

“I do want some of that cake,” Arizona said thoughtfully. “Can I get some to go?”

“Let’s go,” Callie held out her hand.

Arizona took her wife’s offered hand and was led into their reception. She smiled at the applause they got from their guests after the DJ announced, “Mrs. and Mrs. Arizona Robbins and Calliope Torres.”

“May I have this dance?” Callie asked as she stopped them on the dance floor.

“Of course,” Arizona smiled brightly before whispering. “Have I told you how beautiful you are yet?”

“That’s number 12, so yes.”

The magical moment of their first dance as wife and wife didn’t last long before Kepner’s shriek and the flashbulbs started.

***

Arizona sat cuddled into Callie with her arm threaded through that of her wife soaking up the magic of the evening. “I love you.”

Callie stroked her wife’s face, “I love you more. Even though you dance like there’s a hungry gorilla chasing you in a thunderstorm.”

Arizona scoffed, “Do not!”

“Oh, honey, yes you absolutely do,” Callie tried to break it gently. “But it’s the sexiest combination of running in fear and struck by lightning I’ve ever seen.”

“Aww, you think I dance all sexy?”

“Everything you do is sexy, Arizona. That’s why I married you.”

The tell tale sound of glass clinking made Arizona look up to see her father positioned with a glass in hand

“I believe it’s time to start the toasts to the happy couple,” Daniel Robbins announced. “When Arizona was born, her mother and I named her after a sacrifice that my own father had made. That sacrifice was all about bravery and honor, so I named my oldest child in hopes that she would exhibit those traits as well. The thing about my daughter, though, is she’s always been an overachiever. She’s those things and so much more. There’s never been a day I haven’t been proud of my girl, not one. Today, I’m more proud than ever because she has found the person she’s meant to be with. Her happiness was all we ever wanted, so thank you Callie for making her happier than we’ve ever seen. And Arizona, Timothy would be proud today, too. He loved you and looked up to you and never stopped wanting to make you proud. I wish the both of you all the happiness in the world. To Callie and Arizona."

Arizona was stunned into silence for a second. Not only did her father never mention Timothy, but she could have sworn he wiped a tear off his face as he stepped away and shoved the microphone into the hands of the next nearest person. That person just happened to be Alex Karev.

Karev accepted the mic and cleared his throat. “To Callie and Arizona,” he raised his glass only to be interrupted by his pager. He wasted no time in checking it and then saying, “I’ve got to go, but Congratulations. Happy rainbows and crap.”

Alex, too, just handed the microphone to the next nearest person. Teddy took the mic in the hand that wasn’t gripping a wine glass. She stood quickly, which led to a bit of a stumble. She righted herself and once she was on two feet again did a fist pump in celebration. She spoke into the mic just a bit too loudly. “My turn! It’s my turn. To Callie and Arizona, my aspirational couple,” she waved the glass in the air. “Thank God you two aren’t as stupid as I thought you were. I didn’t take part in the hospital-wide betting pool out of respect, but I’m glad I didn’t now. How do you feel about volkswagons?”

Mark, who was on his way, when he first saw the stumble, grabbed the mic. “Dr. Teddy Altman, everybody,” he presented to the crowd who cheered. Teddy bowed absolutely gracelessly before bumbling away. “Okay,” he raised his glass. “To Callie and Arizona, the mothers of my daughter…”

Arizona could have sworn she heard the Colonel, who had returned to the table, mumble something about being an expert marksman. “Dad,” she chided. His bout with emotion had been brief.

“From here, I’d have a clean killshot,” Daniel Robbins stated nonchalantly.

“No talk of weaponry at my wedding,” Arizona told the man.

Mark continued at the front of the crowd, “And now Arizona is my best friend-in-law, who would have thought? I wish you both nothing but joy. To the greatest love ever found in a dirty bar bathroom.”

“Okay, now maybe,” she relented easily at the conclusion of Mark’s speech.

Sloan stood raking in the applause until Cristina Yang pulled the mic from his hands, “Oh just givvitome,” she said. “Torres and Robbins. Sure you’ve had ups and downs. Goods and bads, but the heart wants what the heart wants. For example, my heart wants to operate on other hearts. The two of you go together like the left and right ventricles working seamlessly in a love that flows as easily as healthy valve systems pump blood. May you share your lives in happiness and surgery.”

“That was frightening,” Callie leaned into Arizona to whisper.

“Yet you still made her the godparent of our child,” Arizona whispered back.

Cristina drained another drink and tossed the mic to Bailey.

“Nuh uh, I officiated this wedding.”

“Your turn, Bailey,” Cristina remarked as she sauntered off.

“I could be watching Law and Order by now,” Bailey grumbled to no one. She gathered herself and smoothed down her dress. “Callie and Arizona. To two bright shining examples that love can overcome anything. To Callie, I’ve known you a long time. Hell, we survived residency together. But in all that time and all those years, I’ve never seen you light up like when Arizona Robbins is in the room. And to Arizona, who wheeled in with your ponytail on those ridiculous roller skate shoes and swept our Callie off her feet. Thank you for letting me be a part of this magical day for you. I’m proud to consider both of you friends. At least for tonight, tomorrow is back to business.”

Miranda’s speech left the two brides beaming at each other, that is until Callie saw something out of the corner of her eye. April Kepner was doing what could only be described as a slow motion pirouette. She was taking pictures with a camera in each of her hands slowly turning to capture a panoramic view.

“Arizona,” Callie said sweetly. “Kepner has two cameras. If you loved me, you’d do something about that.”

The blonde looked over her shoulder before turning back to the table. She looked around for a second or two before picking up her bouquet from earlier. She turned in her chair before chucking the bouquet across the dance floor and knocking one camera from Kepner’s hand. That camera slid under a table and the flowery ambush made her toss the other one up in surprise.

“Done,” Arizona said proudly. “For you.”

Callie kissed her wife. “Thank you.”

“My dad isn’t the only expert marksman in the family.”

***

“That was fun,” Arizona remarked as she pushed open the door of the apartment with her foot. Two garment bags containing big ass wedding dresses were draped over her arm. She and her wife had eventually changed into more comfortable clothes near the end of the reception. On her other shoulder, she had the straps of a duffel, a diaper bag, and two purses. She angled herself so she could push through the door with all of the baggage, then dropped it on the couch.

Callie sauntered in shortly behind her, cuddling Sofia to her chest. At her not so subtle urging, Mark had left earlier in the night to collect the baby from the sitter until the brides could get away. “Fun. And Romantic. And Beautiful.”

“And amazing.” Arizona said as she locked the door behind them. “Happy?”

The brunette held on just a little tighter to their daughter and smiled, “I’m so so so happy. You know, besides the temporary blindness.”

“I know right?” the blonde agreed. “I can’t believe Kepner crawled under that table to retrieve her camera.”

Callie shrugged. “As long as she’s not pasting our family photos onto a shrine in her Shepherd Grey room.”

“Speaking of Shepherd and Grey, did you get the text?”

“What text?”

Arizona rummaged in her purse before pulling out her cell. She clicked a couple buttons and then held it up for Callie to read.

The brunette smiled, “Okay, I didn’t even notice they weren’t there, so I’m totally on board with accepting a really nice gift.”

“Oh yeah.” Arizona nodded enthusiastically. “I hope it’s pool table nice and not toaster nice.”

“Pool table?”

“I’m married now,” Arizona said. “I’m starting my life of leisure.”

“I’m going to go put her down,” Callie hooked her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of Sofia’s room.

“I’m going to hang these up,” Arizona lifted the dresses in explanation.

Callie paused for a second to let her wife place a gentle kiss on Sofia’s cheek.

As Arizona hung the dresses in the closet, she smiled at Callie’s soft singing to baby Sofia as she settled her into her crib. They must have forgotten to turn the baby monitor off again. She smiled even wider when she heard Callie say, “It was a very important day, Sofia. Your mommies got married today.”

After a few minutes, Callie entered the bedroom. She wordlessly went over to her dresser and pulled out clothes to sleep in. As she passed Arizona, she took a moment to hug her from the back and drop a kiss on her neck, “I’ll be right out.”

As Callie exited the bathroom in her tank and boy shorts, she noticed Arizona perched awkwardly on the bed. “Hey.”

“Hey,” the blonde acknowledged before glancing around the room. “So?”

“So…”

Arizona’s eyes locked with Callie’s before quickly looking away again, “Tonight was great.”

“Everything was great,” Callie agreed with a skeptical look.

“We’re married.”

“We are,” Callie replied. She pointed at Arizona. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” the blonde sat up a little straighter. “What?”

Callie’s eyes narrowed in a silent question.

“Wedding night.”

“Wedding night,” Callie confirmed.

“Big deal.”

“Yeah.”

“We haven’t really,” Arizona gestured between the two of them. “You know…”

“Had a lot of sex recently.” Callie scratched her head in thought, “I’ve kind of been…”

“Yeah,” Arizona licked her lips. “And that’s fine. You had several major surgeries and we have a new baby. Then, wedding plans. Our parents. We’ve both been exhausted and our lives have been crazy. And you…that’s on your timetable, Calliope. Whatever you need. This isn’t about pressure. I just wasn’t quite sure what your expectation of tonight was. I’m happy either way. We got married today. That’s more than enough for me.”

“Are you saying you’re fine with no sex tonight?”

“Yes,” Arizona said without hesitation.

Callie looked at her seriously before her face broke into a wide grin, “Well, that’s ridiculous because we just got married. And I want nothing more than to make love to my wife.”

“Oh,” Arizona couldn’t stop the smile that slowly spread across her face. “Okay.”

“Yes, sex is a go,” Callie nodded firmly as she pulled her lotion out of a drawer. “Are you disappointed?”

“Why would I be disappointed?”

“No honeymoon?” She rubbed lotion up and down her arms. “No fancy hotel?”

“No, Calliope,” Arizona said sincerely as she watched. “We can’t just leave Sofia. And we can’t just drag her off anywhere quite yet. We can do big trips later.”

“Are you sure?” Callie eyed her suspiciously as she set the tube back down on the nightstand.

“I just want to be here with you,” Arizona pulled her wife closer by the hips. “With you and our daughter. In our home. We spent the last three months basically living at the hospital. This is like a fancy hotel.”

“Okay,” Callie let her fingers thread through blonde locks while Arizona hugged her closer and burrowed into her tummy. “I love you.”

“I love you, Calliope,” Arizona reached the hem of her shirt to peel it off when she heard the most excruciating painful sound ever. Her pager blared. “No, no, no.”

Callie closed her eyes begging for patience, “Seriously?”

“No, they’re not supposed to page me tonight…for anything. Unless I’m the only one on earth that can save that child.”

“Then you must be up,” Callie swallowed back her annoyance, “Probably one of the Malawi patients.”

“Karev is taking care of all that,” Arizona swore. “He said if he ran into any problems, he’d page Stark. He promised me.”

“Arizona.”

“Nope.”

Callie sighed, “You know you’re going to go, so you might as well just go and get it over with.”

“No, Callie.”

“So that you can get back.”

“I’m not going,” Arizona said, albeit getting weaker in conviction.

“We can continue when you return.”

“But...”

“Arizona.”

“Ugh.”

A few minutes later, Callie watched her new wife slip out the door promising to be back as soon as possible.

**

Callie awoke the next morning to cold sheets and an empty pillow. “Figures,” she mumbled to herself before stretching her limbs. She got out of bed, determined to have a quick breakfast before Sofia was awake. Making a slight detour, she walked over to her purse that was still sitting on the couch where Arizona had dropped it the night before. She pulled out her phone.

Eight missed calls. Four voicemails. Twenty texts ranging from, 'I’ll be home within an hour' to 'Please don’t divorce me' flooded her inbox. Just as she was going to throw it back in her purse, it rang.

“I’m so so so sorry,” Arizona said before Callie even had a chance to say hello.

“It’s okay,” Callie said. “Part of the job, I understand.”

“No, it’s not okay. I’m finally on my way out.”

“Good.”

“Yeah, but we have one more family event to attend,” Arizona cringed as she relayed the message. “In an hour.”

“What?” Callie asked.

“It’s on the Colonel’s agenda for the day. Oh-nine-hundred hours. Family breakfast before departing flights. He starred it twice.”

“Oh, the double star,” Callie laughed humorlessly. “I didn’t know the agenda extended to today.”

“Well, I’ll go by myself,” Arizona stated. “We’ll eat, I’ll send them off, then we’re back to normal. Just me and you and Sofia.”

“No, they’ll be expecting us, not just you.” Callie really didn’t want to start off her marriage to Arizona looking like a flake to her parents. Her dad was already harboring serious ill will toward the whole Mark situation. “I’ll hop in the shower as soon as you get here, you’ll have to feed Sofia.”

“Teamwork makes the dream work.”

***

“Is it the arm swaying?” Arizona asked as they got closer to the restaurant where they were meeting their parents.

“It’s the arm swaying and the way your face scrunches in concentration,” Callie tried to explain.

“Which causes the look of fear?”

“Yes, Baby.”

Arizona shifted Sofia’s diaper bag over to the other shoulder, “And my raise-theroof looks more like shielding myself from the rain?”

“Like you're trying to be your own umbrella.”

“Hm, this is very helpful, Calliope,” Arizona nodded.

“Honey, you’re married to a Latin woman now, we cannot have you dancing…like that.”

Arizona spotted her parents already sitting at a table near the front and tucked her finger into Callie’s front pocket to pull her along. “Hi,” she greeted cheerily.

“Good morning, Arizona,” her mother smiled. “Callie.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Robbins.”

“Nonsense, you’re my daughter now, call me Mom.”

The brunette gave her a warm smile despite the fact she wasn’t sure they were quite to that level yet. “Colonel.”

“Good morning Callie.” The older man sat up a little straighter in his seat to steal a peek of the baby, “How’s the little one this morning?”

“Fantastic, Dad,” Arizona answered for her.

“Good morning, everyone,” Carlos Torres said as he strolled up to the table alone.

Callie was beaming that her father showed until she realized that her mother hadn’t. “She’s not coming?”

Her father just shook his head.

“Ah, I see we’re minus a sperm donor today,” the Colonel stated once they were all seated.

“He’s not a sperm donor,” Arizona sighed. “I’ve told you that. He’s Sofia’s dad and our friend.”

“I don’t like him,” her dad stated matter-of-factly.

“I don’t blame you,” Arizona retorted. “Took me a while, too. He’ll grow on you, kind of like a fungus.”

“Okay, enough of that,” Barbara Robbins interjected. She stood and rounded the table heading for the baby. “Callie, may I?”

“Of course,” Callie handed Sofia to her mother-in-law. “At least she’ll have one grandmother.”

“Calliope,” Carlos said sadly.

“Aww, Sweetie,” Barbara patted her arm. “Your mother will come around.”

“I’m not so sure.” Callie looked to her father, “Did she say anything else last night?”

“Lucia is not very happy with me right now, either,” he answered with a quick shake of the head.

“I don’t understand,” Callie’s brows furrowed. “She knew what she was coming out here for. We didn’t make a secret of the fact it was a wedding. She knew about Sofia.”

“She tried, mija,” Carlos rubbed his daughter’s back. “She just…”

“Yeah, I know, I know,” the younger Torres cut him off.

“She loves you, Calliope.”

“Then she should be happy for me, Daddy.”

“She just needs time.”

“But she doesn’t have time,” Callie said. “She missed my wedding. She’s missing Sofia. Those are things she’ll never get back.”

“I know, mija.”

“Would she rather me have married Mark?” Callie asked.

Arizona choked on her water, “Callie.”

“Seriously, Daddy,” Callie continued. “Would that have made her feel better? Knowing I wasn’t with the person I loved? But at least it would be Sofia's father?”

“No, Calliope,” her dad answered. “Nobody wanted you to marry Mark.”

“Nope,” Arizona agreed. “No marrying Mark.”

“So he’s taking an active role in raising Sofia?” the Colonel asked between sips of his coffee.

“Yes, Dad,” Arizona patted his back. “Mark is her father.”

“He’s a chump.”

“Dad!”

“I agree,” Carlos said from across the table.

“Daddy!” Callie scolded her own father.

“I think he’s charming,” Mrs. Robbins offered. “We had a lovely dance last night.”

“Stay away from him, Mom,” Arizona warned.

“Arizona!” Callie kicked her under the table.

“What? He has a reputation,” Arizona argued.

All eyes fell on Callie as she shifted uncomfortably. “So, what’s everyone having for breakfast?”

****

“What are you doing here?” A pretty haggard looking Teddy asked as Arizona literally hopped on the elevator.

“Oh hey, Teddy,” Arizona smiled. “Just came to very very very quickly check on a couple of patients, now I’m headed back home to my wife.”

“Congratulations, again.”

“Thank you!”

“So,” Teddy bit on her bottom lip. “Andrew asked me to go to Germany.”

“Germany? Really? Wow,” Arizona was taken aback, before realization set in, “Oh! Volkswagon, I get it now.”

“He got a job in Germany and he asked me to go.”

“And?”

“And? I don’t know.”

“What about Hottie McHusband?”

“He still doesn’t know about Hottie McHusband.”

The doors of the elevator parted before Arizona could respond.Cristina Yang stood on the other side. She saw Teddy. Teddy saw her. The face off began. Arizona remained stock still, just her eyes passing between both women. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the doors closed with no Cristina.

“Tension, anyone?” the blonde asked aloud.

“She’s arrogant and dangerous, and until she learns it, I’m not going to teach her.”

“You think that’s the best course of action?”

“You got anything better?”

“No,” Arizona shrugged. “I know this has been going on for a while. And as your friend and a fellow attending, I understand where you’re coming from. As Callie’s wife…”

“Yeah,” Teddy said. “I’m thrilled that everything turned out, okay. That’s not the issue.”

“Whatever happened, my wife is alive, that’s what’s important,” Arizona said as the elevator opened once again. “She has things to learn and she wants to learn from you. You want to teach and there’s no better student in this hospital. Sounds like it could be worked out. Or maybe Germany’s a better option than working it out.”

****

Arizona entered the apartment and made her way immediately to Callie, who was resting on the sofa awaiting her return. "Hi,” she said in her most seductive voice.

"Hi,” Callie answered with a smirk.

"Sofia?"

"Sleeping."

Arizona slipped off her shoes and pulled her shirt over her head revealing her black lacy bra. Callie watched with rapt attention as the blonde crawled across the arm of the couch. She pushed up the jeans covering her wife’s legs and kissed an ankle and lower calf. Then she rocked up to her knees and tugged Callie down further on the sofa. Her hands trailed up two toned thighs before hooking her fingers into her wife’s belt and pulling again. Arizona slowly undid the buckle and slid the belt out of its loops while Callie lifted her ass ever so slightly. The blonde dropped her head and proceeded to leave slow, wet kisses up her still scarred stomach. Just a fraction higher each time as she pushed Callie’s shirt up just above her lips with every kiss. Callie closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation until it stopped. When she opened them, Arizona had her chin planted between her breasts. “Hey there.”

“Hi wife,” Callie moaned. “Welcome home.”

“Did you get hotter or is it just me?” Arizona asked as she tilted her head just enough to kiss the scar over her wife’s heart.

“Definitely not just you.”

Arizona smiled, “Shall we consummate our marriage?”

“I would like nothing more,” Callie said huskily as she leaned up to capture her wife’s lips. They didn’t even hear the door swing open.

“Hey,” Mark said as he let himself into the Robbins-Torres apartment. “What’s up, married ladies?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Arizona yelped as she grabbed for a throw pillow to hide her shirtless self.

Callie didn’t even bother lifting her head from the couch, “Hi Mark.”

“So,” he smirked and plopped down next to them. “Was it a hot, dirty wedding night?”

“Mark, I don’t know how you’ve managed to work so close to scalpels for all this time and still have no brutal stab wounds,” Arizona offered before she scampered over to her shirt and slipped it on.

“C’mon,” Mark said. “We’re all family now.”

“Nope, we are married now," Callie clarified. "Arizona and I. We’re not discussing any hot, dirty activities that happened last night nor any other night. No recap of anything that happens in our bedroom. No wink wink nudge nudge about any on-call room quickies that my wife and I may or may not engage in.”

“Damn,” Mark pouted. “I don’t like married you.”

“Oh no,” Arizona replied sarcastically. “Does that mean you won’t be camping out on our sofa all the time?”

The man, in all his dimwittedness looked surprised, “I’m not here all the time.”

Callie laughed heartily while Arizona rolled her eyes.

“I’m not!”

“Sure,” Arizona said as she continued past the pair into the kitchen.

“I didn’t come to see you two anyway, where’s Little Torres?”

“Sleeping,” Callie answered as she pointed to the nursery. “Come back in a couple hours and you can change her and feed her and be the dad you keep asserting yourself to be so insistently.”

“And we’re newlyweds, Mark,” Arizona threw in as she grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge. “So when you come back, do you think you could knock?”

“Okay,” he said as he hauled himself off the couch. “I don’t think I like either of the married yous.”

After Mark had exited the apartment, Callie sat up. “You took that surprisingly well.”

“What?” Arizona asked, taking a drink. “Peeping Mark? Yeah, well, he did something nice for me yesterday.”

“Which was?”

“Tim,” Arizona answered. “I was having a really hard time yesterday with him not being here for my wedding. Mark listened, he actually made me feel better.”

“Oh, honey,” Callie said as she leapt off the couch. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You weren’t here,” the blonde shrugged. “And you already had so much on your plate yesterday; with your mom and the wedding plans falling apart.”

“You could’ve talked to me.”

“I know, I just didn’t want to add to your stress.”

Callie’s brows knitted, “Arizona, we’re going to be in this for 50 years. Together. When something’s bothering you, it affects me, too. You’ve got to come to me.”

“You’re right, you’re right.”

“And in that spirit,” Callie lowered her gaze and braced herself for the worst. “I’ve got to tell you something.”

“Yes?” Arizona noticed her wife’s reluctance.

“I might have called off the wedding briefly yesterday?”

Arizona stopped the bottle midway to her mouth. “You what?!”

“I had a mild panic attack about my mom and the minister.”

“And you called off the wedding?” Arizona dropped her bottle with a thud. “When was I going to be notified of this?”

“Well, obviously, I didn’t really want to call it off, I didn’t even tell you.”

“And?”

“I told Mark, Mark sent Bailey. It was called off for a couple of hours tops.”

“So Bailey had to talk you into marrying me?”

“No,” Callie trailed a finger over Arizona’s wrist. “She just reminded me of what’s important.”

“You needed to be reminded?”

“No-oo, no. With my mom saying what she said and then the minister not being able to make it, I just kept thinking, this isn’t even real.”

Arizona’s face dropped. “Not real?”

“So not what I meant.”

“But it’s what you just said.”

“I just mean,” Callie grasped at an explanation. “It’s not legal. My parents weren’t there. It’s different for me, Arizona.”

“Different?” Arizona asked. “Why? Because you have options?”

“Don’t! Don’t make this about that,” Callie said angrily. “Because I don’t have options. I’m in love with you. I tried not to be…twice. But we’re inevitable. You’ve basically said that yourself. I mean, how much more proof do we need? I called off the wedding and it still happened.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Callie? You told Mark instead of me?” Arizona snapped. “What? Were we all playing a rousing game of family telephone and he dropped the ball?”

“Of course not, I was going to tell you. Then, I didn’t have to.”

“After Bailey assured you you weren’t making a huge mistake.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“So when?”

Callie’s eyes widened. “When what?”

Arizona crossed her arms across her chest, “When were you going to tell me I wasn’t getting married yesterday?”

“I don’t know.”

“Nope, not good enough,” Arizona spat. “Were you going to tell me yourself? Or Mark? Were you planning on sending Bailey with the bad news? A singing quartet of interns?”

“Of course, I would have told you myself.”

Arizona didn’t seem convinced. “Nothing and no one could have stopped me from marrying you yesterday.”

“Nothing stopped me either.”

“But the minister backing out almost did,” Arizona pointed out. “Your mom’s freak out came pretty close.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No, Callie,” Arizona resigned. “It’s not fair. A lot of things aren’t fair.”

“Like what?” Callie’s interest was piqued. “I didn’t make you do this.”

“No, you didn’t. That’s the point. I want to be married to you.”

“I want to be married to you, too.” Callie came close to screaming. “I want you. I chose you. I will continue to choose you for the rest of my life. Isn’t that what you needed?”

Arizona’s thoughts were coming too fast to make sense of them. Everything that had happened in the past few months was on a loop. Rewinding. Fastforwarding. Backwards. “Yes. But I need for you to need that, too.” Then reality sunk in. Not so much sinking, but an out of control swirling to the pit of her stomach. “You didn’t answer me.”

Callie regarded her curiously. “You didn’t ask me a question.”

“No.” Arizona clarified, “When I asked you to marry me in the car. You had time to answer and you didn’t. You didn’t know what you were going to say. I was looking at you and you didn’t answer.”

“I was surprised, I wasn’t expecting a proposal.”

“But you didn’t know?”

“I know, Arizona. I know this is what I want.”

“How?” Arizona questioned. “How do you know now what you didn’t know then? The accident didn’t change us. Sofia didn’t change us. All the things that were there before are still here.”

Callie ran her fingers through her hair, “You said we love each other and nothing else matters.”

“But you have to believe that, too.”

“I do.”

“Do you? Do you trust me now? Next time something goes wrong, who are you going to run to? Me? Or Mark?”

“Mark is my best friend.”

“And I’m your wife.”

“Oh my God, Arizona,” Callie rolled her eyes. “I thought we were past having these fights about Mark. I don’t want to be with Mark. I don’t love Mark. When I was with him, it was because I couldn’t be with you. I needed you and you weren’t here. Do you not realize that? He was here, that’s it.”

“Because you trust him and he’s your friend.”

“Yes,” Callie answered thinking she was finally getting through.

“I’m here now, though. And still. You’re still going to him.”

“I can’t apologize for trusting Mark. He’s been there for me through everything.”

“And I haven’t?”

“You have. You were fantastic through my recovery and we’re raising a child together. You have. Whatever we lost when you left, we’re back.”

“Are we?” Arizona sighed. “We’re never going to be that version of ourselves again.”

“I know,” Callie said sadly. “There’s nothing we can do about that, though. You walked away and I slept with Mark.”

“I walked away because I couldn’t stand to be the person who made you unhappy.”

“That’s ridiculous, Arizona. Being with you is what makes me happy.”

“I feel the same way, Calliope. I couldn’t be without you. I gave up my dream, because you were a better dream. Mark isn’t going to run me off. I stayed when I found out you were pregnant even though I was terrified. But, I’m so glad I did, because that baby is amazing. I’m not going anywhere. Ever. I’m your wife. I’m Sofia’s mom. I’m staying forever.” Arizona shrugged helplessly. “I came back for you.”

The reply Callie was going to give went unheard because of a small cry through the baby monitor that sounded just before Arizona’s pager.

Arizona groaned at the timing.

“I’ll take care of our tiny human,” Callie said while gesturing toward the pager. “You go take care of that one.”

***

Two hours later, Arizona still hadn’t returned. Mark had been there and left and she fought the urge to speak to him about the conversation she had with her wife. He was her friend. He had been there over and over again, but now she had to make an effort to separate him from at least some aspects of her life. It wasn’t easy and she wasn’t cutting him out. He would still be there. Mark was Sofia’s father. That was and would always be important. But Mark wasn’t her partner. She wasn’t in love with him, she never had been. He was fun, he was easy to be with. A life with Mark, though, she couldn’t even imagine that. It would be a life with great sex and a million laughs, sure. He didn’t make her heart pound. He didn’t make her breath catch. She didn’t feel a sense of belonging when she was wrapped in his arms. She didn’t melt into him at the end of the day. All of those things were things that she had with Arizona. Even at their very worst, she felt complete when Arizona was with her. Mark couldn’t compete with that. Her mother’s disapproval couldn’t compete with that. Even the African kids who wanted to take Arizona away couldn’t compete at the end of the day.

A curious rapping at her door shook her from her thoughts. It had all the perkiness of Arizona’s, but Arizona wouldn’t knock. Lexie was nowhere near this place these days. Crap, that only left one person. Kepner.

“Hi Dr. Torres,” April greeted. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“No,” Callie said tersely.

“I have something for you,” the younger woman smiled and handed her a book.

“Oh?”

“I put together a scrapbook…of your wedding.”

Callie stuffed down a laugh, “Seriously?”

“Yes,” April said brightly.

“Okay, Kepner,” the taller woman pulled the door back. “Come in.”

The two women sat on the couch looking at picture after picture. Callie heard Kepner’s voice as she narrated each photograph, but all she saw was the happiness on her own face. Arizona’s bright blue eyes stared back at her full of love and devotion. They looked so happy. They were. They are. This is everything she ever wanted. Then she remembered their last conversation.

“I haven’t had sex with my wife,” Callie blurted out.

April paused her quippy tale about seeing a drunken Altman eat hors d'oeuvres off the floor and squeaked, “Ever?”

“No, Kepner,” Callie groaned. “Since we got married.”

“Oh,” April said. “I’m a virgin, that’s just where my mind goes.”

“We got married yesterday and we still haven’t had sex,” Callie continued. “That can’t be healthy.”

“Wow,” the younger woman frowned. “That’s...yeah.”

“I’m sorry,” Callie apologized. “If you’re going to picture stalk us, you might as well know that I process out loud.”

“That’s okay,” April said softly.

“And then we had a big fight, so when she gets home I don’t know if we’re still fighting or not,” Callie explained. “And I really don’t want to be, because I just want to have sex with my wife. Because, I like, miss her. In my bones. And I know bones. I break ‘em regularly. Well, used to and will again soon.”

“At the risk of you breaking mine, what happened?” April asked gently.

Callie narrowed her eyes.

“Nevermind, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Kepner, can you stay here for a few minutes and watch Sofia? I have to run to the hospital.”

“Um,” April looked panicked. “Babysit?”

Callie was already flitting around the apartment, slipping on shoes and a coat. “Yeah, she’s asleep. You’re a doctor. You were her doctor, you’ll be fine.”

“Sure, yeah, I know. Sure,” April said unconvincingly. “I got this.”

“Mark’s next door if you need anything.”

April took a relieved breath. “Next door, okay.”

“Thanks,” Callie grabbed the other woman by the face and planted a kiss right on her lips. “I owe you.”

“Well, that was the most scandalous thing that’s ever happened to me,” Kepner said when Callie let the door slam behind her.

Callie didn’t waste anymore time. She cursed how slow the elevator in the building was, even though it was running at normal speed. She burst out the door and ran across the street to the hospital. She didn’t even bother with the achingly slow hospital elevators, she just ran up the stairs taking two at a time. When she entered the Peds floor, she stopped at the desk.

“Dr. Torres?” the nurse on duty asked. “What do you need?”

“My wife,” Callie answered. “Do you know where she is?”

“Dr. Robbins is still in surgery,” the nurse answered.

“Where?”

“OR 2.”

“Okay,” Callie thought for a moment. “Then give me some paper, some tape, and a marker.”

Arizona was deep in concentration in the operating room. So much so that she was greatly distracted when Alex softly said, “Dr. Robbins.”

“What Karev?” she asked, annoyed.

“Um, I think someone has a message for you,” Alex said as he tilted his head toward the gallery.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Geez, just look up,” he said gruffly. “It’s your wife.”

Callie was standing in the gallery with a huge smile. Six pieces of paper were taped to the glass with a message she should have told her months ago.

I came back for you too.