Secret Santa fic for jj_280391: Four Christmases
Title: Four Christmases
Prompt from jj_280391: Future fic where Sofia is having a baby due on christmas eve and Callie and Arizona take a trip down memory lane remembering past christmases with their daughter ( up to the writer if they have more children or just Sofia)
Rating: PG-13
AN: I’m sorry you had to wait a bit for this; I’m pinch-hitting. But happy belated holidays and new year, JJ and the whole comm! I hope you enjoy!
AN2: In my own fancast world, older Sofia is played by Gina Rodriguez, because she is simply fantastic.
Four Christmases
December 24, 2035
Callie Torres listened to the laughter emanating from the living room as she placed the last of the dishes in the dishwasher. A grin formed on her face as she smelled the distinct smell of her wife’s cologne waft through the room. Callie straightened up, facing the window over the sink, as Arizona sidled up behind her, her arms wrapping around her wife’s stomach.
“Hi, pretty lady,” Arizona said through her grin. “The kids and I are missing you in there.”
Callie scoffed. “Can a 60-something year old really be called a pretty lady?”
“No, you’re right, my mistake. This 60-something year old should be called beautiful and sexy and - ”
Callie turned in her wife’s arms, giving her a quick peck on the lips. “All these years later, you’re still such a sweet talker.”
“You just make it so easy,” Arizona flirted.
As Arizona went in for another kiss, they heard a shout from the living room.
“Um, MOMS! Stop flirting with each other and get in here right now!”
“Geez, Sof, that is no way to speak to your - ” Arizona said, walking into the other room to see what the commotion was and stopping short when she saw a pool of liquid on their hardwood floors.
“That’s not…you…you didn’t spill your glass of water, did you?” Callie spluttered.
“No, Mama, I didn’t,” the young woman said with a brilliant smile. “It’s time.”
“Oh god okay we need to get the bag and okay, Greg, you go get the car running. Oh man we need two cars. Okay, Liam, you get the bag. We’ll help Sofia get to the car and then - fw”
“MOM,” Sofia stalked over toward Callie, cutting off her mom’s rambling. She placed her hands squarely on each of Callie’s forearms, staring straight into her mother’s eyes. “I am not an invalid. And I have several, several hours before the little peanut comes. Plus, aren’t we forgetting something?”
“Oh god I knew we’d forget something!” Callie responded, exasperated.
“I think, Calliope,” Arizona began, finally speaking after watching her wife’s panic in quiet amusement, “she’s referring to maybe a…mom sandwich? Am I right, Sofia?”
Callie’s eyes lit up as Sofia stretched her arms out. “Come here, you guys!” the younger woman said.
“Oh my baby, you’re having a baby!” Callie exclaimed as Arizona squealed, both of them gleefully snuggling into Sofia’s outstretched arms, and wrapping their own arms around their daughter.
“In-laws, too!” Arizona declared after a few seconds, beckoning Greg and his parents over to join the group hug.
As a few moments elapsed, Sofia peered over her husband’s shoulder. “So do you want to join in, or is my college-bound little brother way too cool for this?”
With an impish grin, Liam bounded over to the group, enveloping them all in his gangly arms. “I’m going to be an uncle!”
After more squealing and hugging, Sofia finally pushed back against the group. “Okay guys, I think you’re going to squeeze the baby out right here!”
With that, the whole group sprang away and into action, with Callie yelling out instructions.
“Alright Robbins Torres Hendrickson clan, up and at ‘em! Let’s get this baby born!” Callie shouted, already halfway out the door.
Rolling her eyes good naturedly, Arizona looped her arm through Mr. Hendrickson’s as the two walked towards the car. “You ready, grandpa?”
“Ready as ever, grandma,” he teased.
o0o0o0o
“Oh GOD this hurts! Why the hell did I say no to the epidural? It’s not too late, right? Greg? Mom? Guys?” Sofia pleaded as another wave of contractions rolled over her exhausted body.
The occupants in the room all looked at each other and back to Sofia sympathetically. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Arizona said, patting Sofia’s hand.
“You know what this reminds me of?” Callie asked rhetorically. “Christmas 2018.”
Arizona shot her wife a grateful look, glad that she was creating a distraction.
Sofia, on the other hand, was incredulous. “How the hell does me howling in pain remind you of Christmas 2018?”
“Well,” Callie started, to which Sofia let her head roll to the side to glance at her husband and his parents. “Buckle in, guys,” she warned.
“As I was saying, it was Christmas 2018. You were 7 and Liam was about 6 months old,” Callie continued.
“Liam was the worst baby,” Sofia added, throwing a teasing glance to her brother.
“Oh totally,” Arizona chimed in. “He cried constantly. I mean we were all at our wit’s end.”
December 24, 2008
“TAKE HIM BACK!!” 7-year-old Sofia shrieked at the top of her lungs.
“Sofia, honey, we’ve talked about this,” Arizona said with a soothing hand on her daughter’s back as the pair sat in the young girl’s bed.
At the first sign of Liam’s 2am cries, Callie had shot out of bed in an attempt to soothe the infant before Sofia woke up, but she was seconds too late.
“Angela told me where babies really come from. The mommy grows it in her belly. You didn’t grow him and neither did Mama. So you just got him from the baby store! So you can return him like you did that coat that didn’t fit me!”
Arizona cringed and mentally cursed Angela for making this even more difficult. Angela was an older kid on Sofia’s bus and while Arizona was glad an older student was looking out for her little girl she could do without her and her lessons right now.
“Yes, you’re right that Liam wasn’t grown in one of our bellies. But, sweetheart, we can’t just take him back,” Arizona said gently, the sounds of Liam’s cries still clearly heard in the background.
“But why not? I think he’s broken!”
Despite her fatigue and exasperation, Arizona had to chuckle. “This is what babies do. They cry. You cried.”
“Did not,” Sofia huffed, crossing her arms across her chest for good measure. “I just don’t get why he’s here. Why isn’t he with the mommy who grew him?”
“Well, unfortunately some mommies can’t take care of the babies they grow, so they make the brave decision to give them to other mommies and daddies who can take care of them. Your mama and I really wanted to have another baby, but we can’t grow babies anymore, so we were really lucky to have found Liam.”
Sofia softened, letting her arms uncross and fall.
“So…could we switch him with one that doesn’t cry?”
Arizona laughed and ruffled her daughter’s hair playfully. “I had a brother growing up, you know.”
“That’s Uncle Tim that you and Mama talk about?”
Arizona smiled sadly. “Yeah, Uncle Tim. He was older than me and I annoyed him constantly when I was a baby and a toddler. All I wanted to do was play with him, so I followed him around everywhere. He would shut me out of rooms to play with his friends and he would complain to our parents about me. But we moved around a lot as kids and one day all of that changed. We were inseparable, best friends.”
“Zola’s my best friend. I don’t think Liam will be my best friend. I guess he could be my regular friend, though.”
“Yeah?” Arizona said, relieved that her daughter was finally understanding.
Before Sofia could say anything, Callie came and leaned against the doorjamb. “Okay, Liam’s finally down. By my calculations, if we go to bed immediately, we can get 3 and a half more hours of uninterrupted sleep.”
“Ooh, gotta get to bed quick!” Arizona said enthusiastically, pulling the covers over her daughter. “Good night, sweet pea.”
“Good night. Again,” their daughter grumbled.
December 25, 2018
Arizona’s eyes fluttered open to the feel of light kisses being pressed against the back of her neck and shoulder.
“Merry Christmas,” Callie murmured against her wife’s skin.
“Mmm very merry,” Arizona agreed, turning to face Callie. “Think we have time for a little - “
Callie’s eyes went wide. “Time. Ohmygod time. What time is it?”
Sitting up straight in bed, Arizona reached for the alarm clock. “Ca-callie. It’s 8am. We went to sleep at 2. He slept for 6 whole hours.”
“No, there’s no way. What if he rolled over and - ”
“Don’t finish that sentence!”
“What if - oh my god what if Sofia got to him?”
“Calliope Torres, please calm down and go check on our healthy and alive little boy while I put on my leg.”
“Right, yeah, you’re right,” Callie said hurriedly as she rushed out of the room.
Arizona smiled and shook her head as she pulled her prosthetic over the sock on her limb. As she walked down the hallway, she cocked her head when she noticed Callie standing outside the door and watching. Hearing her wife coming down the hallway, Callie turned and placed her index finger over her lips to stop Arizona from saying anything.
“Look,” Callie whispered quirking her head into the baby’s room.
Peering her head into their son’s room, Arizona grinned before whispering “oh my god!”
Sofia was sitting in the rocking chair in Liam’s room, gently rocking the baby.
She grabbed her phone out of the pocket in her shorts and snapped a couple pictures. As she did so, Callie wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing Arizona in to lean against her.
“So this is why we could sleep in until 8?” Arizona asked quietly.
“Seems so. You know what?”
“What?”
“This,” Callie gestured around the room, “is going to work out.”
“Yeah, it is,” Arizona agreed with a huge grin.
“It’s a freaking Christmas miracle.”
December 24, 2035
“Awww so am I your best friend now, sis?” Liam teased.
“You know you are, shut up,” Sofia answered through gritted teeth, another contraction rippling through her body. “Let’s just hope this little peanut is a better baby than you were.”
A few minutes later, Dr. Jameson, Sofia’s OB/GYN was delivering the bad news that Sofia was only dilated to 6 centimeters.
Sofia groaned as another contraction ripped through her body. Greg immediately grabbed her hand while Arizona picked up some ice chips and Callie brushed a wet rag against her forehead.
“Okay I’m getting a liiiittle claustrophobic here, guys,” Sofia warned.
“Hey, Callie, why don’t we get some food? I’m starving,” Arizona suggested.
“But…but…we might miss it!”
“Mom,” Sofia said pointedly.
“Okay, okay, point taken, we’re going!”
o0o0o0o
Placing the salt back on the table, Callie chuckled and shook her head.
“What?” Arizona asked.
“We’re about to be grandparents. Did you ever think we would get here?”
“I did, actually. I mean, the feeling came and went with everything we went through. But that second Christmas together? I totally saw us growing old together and having a gaggle of grandchildren at our feet while we played the parts of revered matriarchs.”
Callie’s face broke out into a brilliant grin; even after all of those years of blissful marriage, the validation didn’t hurt. “So the Christmas after ‘I wanna have 10 kids’ and before ‘Africa’.”
Arizona winked and pointed playfully at her wife. “That’s the one.” All of the past turmoil, though never forgotten, seemed completely ridiculous now.
“That was a great Christmas,” Callie said, her eyebrow arched.
Arizona laughed and blushed slightly. “I wasn’t even thinking of that, but uh yeah, that was pretty damn incredible.”
“Top 5?”
Smiling around her forkful of lettuce, Arizona responded with, “Top 3, for sure.”
December 21, 2010
“Oooh look, mistletoe!” Callie exclaimed, looking up to the top of the elevator door.
Arizona followed Callie’s gaze only to see the unadorned chrome of the elevator. “Seriously? There so is not - “
As she was looking up, her neck was left vulnerable to Callie’s lips. “Calliope! That was so not smooth,” Arizona said with a giggle, her laugh turning to a moan as Callie found her pulse point.
Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie’s neck, bringing their lips together. She moaned as Callie’s tongue found its way between her lips.
“Mmm that was some good eggnog at Mer’s, I guess,” Arizona suggested.
“Uh huh, sure,” Callie muttered, distracted. She snaked her arms around Arizona’s waist and pushed her back against the wall that held the panel of buttons.
“Um, Callie? What are you doing?”
“Kissing you,” Callie replied with a grin. Reaching down, Callie pulled at a button and the elevator lurched and came to a stop.
“Woah, Callie! You can’t just do that! The-there’s an alarm and the fire - ”
“Relax,” Callie said, not stopping her assault on Arizona’s neck. “No one will know we’re here, and I just have to have you. Right. Now,” Callie continued, slipping her warm hand underneath Arizona’s shirt.
“You can’t…you can’t wait for us to get inside?” Arizona panted, running her hands down Callie’s ass.
“Nope,” Callie replied with a pop.
“Well, Merry Christmas to me,” Arizona said with a laugh, before tugging at the hem of Callie’s shirt and bringing it up over her torso.
December 24, 2035
“Okay, okay,” Arizona said with a laugh as Callie continued to recount their elevator tryst. “Yes, that was amazing. But don’t you want to hear about how I knew we were headed for grandparents-dom?”
“I’m all ears,” Callie grinned, chomping down on a carrot.
December 19, 2010
Arizona narrowed her eyes as she turned her key in the doorknob. All she could make out as she opened the door was a huge pile of wrapping paper and some rustling noises with a few grunts mixed in.
“Callie? Is that you?”
From underneath the mass of paper and ribbons came a grunt and then some arm flailing. “Yep, I’m…oof…right here,” she said, sticking her head out of the pile.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“Well, I was crafting and wrapping and it all kind of got a bit too much. Have I ever told you that I have a stupidly big family?”
“A stupidly big family whom you love and send amazingly detailed and personal gifts to. That family?”
“Mmhmm. I’m making a collage for my abuela’s sister. She’s always kind of been the matriarch of the family. Look at this picture I found.”
Arizona leaned in to see a picture of Callie’s extended family, featuring her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles, and cousins. “God, it’s a wonder you were all able to fit into one picture. Where are you?”
Callie groaned and pointed to a young girl in the right of the picture wearing a plaid dress and holding a basket.
“Oh my god, look how cute you are!” Arizona squealed. “Was this Easter?”
“Oh yeah, whole freaking Catholic clan gets together for Easter. I think the church can fit about two non-family members.”
“Wow, that’s really incredible. You must miss them, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I mean, it can totally be overwhelming, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”
Arizona grabbed Callie’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “Calliope?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m, um, really glad you didn’t have to give all of that up,” Arizona remarked, thinking back to the hell Callie had gone through when her family refused to accept her sexuality and understanding just how hard it must have been on her.
Callie smiled ruefully. “Yeah, me too.”
“Well,” Arizona said with a grin. “I’m thinking, when we’re going to have to recreate this picture sometime in the far distant future with out own offspring.”
December 25, 2035
Elena Robbins Torres Hendrickson was born at 2:35am Christmas morning. She was a healthy, pink, crying 19 inches and 7 pounds, 2 ounces.
Callie looked on lovingly as Arizona placed baby Elena back in Sofia’s eager arms.
Sally and David Hendrickson stood behind their son and peered over his shoulder as Liam sat forward in his chair, waving stupidly at the baby.
Sally caught Arizona’s eye and laughed. “Did you think, when we sat next to you guys at Sof and Greg’s Christmas show, that this would be our future?”
Arizona shook her head. “No way, but you guys sure proved us wrong, didn’t you?”
“You four really going to tell this story again?” Greg asked.
“Liam hasn’t heard it,” Dave suggested.
“Um, yes I have. Only 11 times. This week,” Liam said with a grimace.
“Well, I know someone who hasn’t heard it,” Callie grinned.
“Ah, yes!” Sally said excitedly. “So, Elena, here’s the story of how your parents met.”
December 20, 2021
“Which one’s yours?” Callie asked, leaning over Arizona to talk to the couple that had just sat down in the auditorium next to them.
“Oh you’ll see him soon enough with his antlers and red nose,” Dave said with a cheerful eye roll.
“You’re Rudolph’s parents?” Callie asked, wide-eyed. “Arizona, they’re Rudolph’s parents!”
“Yes, I hear that, honey,” Arizona said, humoring her wife.
“Want to fill us in?” Sally asked with a smile.
“Our daughter is Vixen and she has been talking not stop about the boy who plays Rudolph. I think someone has a bit of a crush,” Callie explained.
Dave and Sally shared an amused look. “We have heard quite a bit about Vixen, ourselves.”
“Interesting…” Callie started.
“Calliope, we are not setting up our 11 year-olds,” Arizona chastised lightly.
“We’ll see!” she continued in a sing-songy voice, before settling down in her seat to enjoy the school play.
o0o0o0o
“Sof-bear you were amazing!” Arizona cheered, hugging her daughter tightly to her chest. They were soon joined by Callie, who was spewing every accolade she could think of.
The family finally broke apart and Callie caught the Hendricksons’ eyes. “Hey, Sof! Guess who we met tonight?”
“Mom, if you say Santa again…”
“No, silly, we’d like you to meet Mr. and Mrs. Hendrickson. They’re your friend’s parents,” Callie said after the Hendricksons had walked over to them.
“Nice to meet you,” Sofia said politely. “Whose parents are you?”
Just then, Greg ran out from backstage, his big red nose still flashing on his face.
“Oh,” Sofia said with a blush.
“Greg, honey, come say hi to your friend,” his mother called.
“Hi, Vixen,” the young boy said.
“I’m Sofia,” she answered, partially hidden behind Callie.
“Greg,” the boy said, sticking out his hand for her to shake.
Sofia giggled and took his hand. When the two kids fell into an awkward silence, Greg’s parents decided it was time to head home.
“It was nice meeting all three of you,” Sally said.
“Likewise,” Arizona replied, her arm wrapped around Sofia’s small frame.
As the Hendrickson’s turned and walked towards the exit, Greg turned around to send a shy smile towards Sofia. “I’ll see you at school, Vix!”
December 25, 2035
“She’s so beautiful,” an awestruck Callie whispered from outside the hospital’s nursery.
“I don’t think she can hear us,” Arizona whispered back. “God, look at that face. She has your nose.”
“The Torres nose is a pervasive one,” Callie agreed.
“I wish Mark were here to see his grandkid,” Arizona said suddenly.
“Yeah,” Callie said thoughtfully. “I kind of think he can see her.”
Arizona cocked her head so that she was looking directly up at her wife. Callie blushed and shook her head. “Maybe I’m feeling more inclined to believe in the afterlife since it’s Christmas, but I just feel like he’s still around sometimes.”
“I think that’s nice. And I get it. I feel his presence sometimes, too.”
“Can you imagine the amount of toys and clothes and books he would’ve bought for her?”
“I think it would rival…”
“Christmas of 2011,” they said together.
December 25, 2011
“Santa is in the house!” Mark exclaimed, swinging the door open to 502 wide open. He carried with him two oversized paper bags and wore a red shirt and khaki pants, a lopsided Santa perched on his head. “Ladies? You decent? I don’t really care either way. But you guys probably knew that.”
Callie padded out of their bedroom, wrapping a robe around her body and squinting. “It’s 6:30.”
“Hey, there she is! Merry Christmas!”
“It’s 6:30,” Callie repeated slower, hoping it would sink in.
Mark pouted dramatically. “We said we were doing Christmas breakfast. I was going to make Santa pancakes!”
“Yes, Mark, we did say that. But we didn’t mean for the breakfast to start at 6:30 in the morning!”
“Good morning!” Arizona said as she breezed out of the bedroom. She was dressed in jeans and a Christmas sweater, her hair pulled back into two neat braids. As she passed Callie, she placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Hey, Mark! Merry Christmas!” she said cheerfully, placing a kiss on his cheek.
“You,” Callie said accusatorily, pointing at her wife. “You told him he could come early.”
“It’s Christmas! He’s going to make Santa pancakes! So go get dressed, my beautiful grinch. I laid your sweater out on the bed.”
“I want my vagina vote back!” Callie called over her shoulder as she went back into their bedroom to get dressed.
o0o0o0o
“Okay okay okay, these pancakes are delicious but it’s present time!” A now caffeinated Callie said, clapping her hands and smiling gleefully.
“Okay! Let me get mine!” Mark said, jumping out of his seat and racing to the door. He picked up the two huge bags he’d brought in and plopped them down in the living room.
“Yeah, you should probably add those huge bags to the 3 piles from the grandparents and huge box from the mothers,” Arizona remarked. “A 7-month old absolutely needs 1000 presents. This is all perfectly reasonable.”
“Shush,” Callie said gently from her spot behind the video camera. Arizona rolled her eyes good-naturedly and continued to help Mark unwrap all of Sofia’s piles upon heaps of presents.
o0o0o0o
“So, that, uh, ribbon there is her favorite toy, huh?” Mark asked, slightly dejected.
The three parents watched as their little girl gurgled happily and pulled at the decorative ribbon.
“Yeah and that Toys ‘R’ Us box over there is her second favorite,” Arizona said with a chuckle. “I’m glad we all spent hours researching the hottest toys for infants for weeks.”
Mark chortled as Sofia moved on to the reindeer wrapping paper, gleefully bunching it up in her tiny fists. “Worth every penny though, right, guys?”
One arm around Arizona’s waist, Callie hummed in approval. “Worth every penny,” Arizona agreed.
December 25, 2035
“So, Chief Robbins, what do you think about grabbing some pancakes from the cafeteria and taking them back to Sof’s room to continue our tradition here in the hospital?” Callie asked with a smile.
“You know I can never say no to you when you call me Chief.”
“It’s a weakness you know I love to exploit.”
Laughing, Arizona took her wife’s hand in hers and swung their joined arms playfully between them as they walked down the hallway.
“I think this may have been my favorite Christmas yet,” she remarked.
Pulling on their conjoined hands, Callie brought Arizona against her chest. She leaned down to kiss her wife gently. “Merry Christmas, Arizona.
“Merry Christmas, Calliope.”
Prompt from jj_280391: Future fic where Sofia is having a baby due on christmas eve and Callie and Arizona take a trip down memory lane remembering past christmases with their daughter ( up to the writer if they have more children or just Sofia)
Rating: PG-13
AN: I’m sorry you had to wait a bit for this; I’m pinch-hitting. But happy belated holidays and new year, JJ and the whole comm! I hope you enjoy!
AN2: In my own fancast world, older Sofia is played by Gina Rodriguez, because she is simply fantastic.
Four Christmases
December 24, 2035
Callie Torres listened to the laughter emanating from the living room as she placed the last of the dishes in the dishwasher. A grin formed on her face as she smelled the distinct smell of her wife’s cologne waft through the room. Callie straightened up, facing the window over the sink, as Arizona sidled up behind her, her arms wrapping around her wife’s stomach.
“Hi, pretty lady,” Arizona said through her grin. “The kids and I are missing you in there.”
Callie scoffed. “Can a 60-something year old really be called a pretty lady?”
“No, you’re right, my mistake. This 60-something year old should be called beautiful and sexy and - ”
Callie turned in her wife’s arms, giving her a quick peck on the lips. “All these years later, you’re still such a sweet talker.”
“You just make it so easy,” Arizona flirted.
As Arizona went in for another kiss, they heard a shout from the living room.
“Um, MOMS! Stop flirting with each other and get in here right now!”
“Geez, Sof, that is no way to speak to your - ” Arizona said, walking into the other room to see what the commotion was and stopping short when she saw a pool of liquid on their hardwood floors.
“That’s not…you…you didn’t spill your glass of water, did you?” Callie spluttered.
“No, Mama, I didn’t,” the young woman said with a brilliant smile. “It’s time.”
“Oh god okay we need to get the bag and okay, Greg, you go get the car running. Oh man we need two cars. Okay, Liam, you get the bag. We’ll help Sofia get to the car and then - fw”
“MOM,” Sofia stalked over toward Callie, cutting off her mom’s rambling. She placed her hands squarely on each of Callie’s forearms, staring straight into her mother’s eyes. “I am not an invalid. And I have several, several hours before the little peanut comes. Plus, aren’t we forgetting something?”
“Oh god I knew we’d forget something!” Callie responded, exasperated.
“I think, Calliope,” Arizona began, finally speaking after watching her wife’s panic in quiet amusement, “she’s referring to maybe a…mom sandwich? Am I right, Sofia?”
Callie’s eyes lit up as Sofia stretched her arms out. “Come here, you guys!” the younger woman said.
“Oh my baby, you’re having a baby!” Callie exclaimed as Arizona squealed, both of them gleefully snuggling into Sofia’s outstretched arms, and wrapping their own arms around their daughter.
“In-laws, too!” Arizona declared after a few seconds, beckoning Greg and his parents over to join the group hug.
As a few moments elapsed, Sofia peered over her husband’s shoulder. “So do you want to join in, or is my college-bound little brother way too cool for this?”
With an impish grin, Liam bounded over to the group, enveloping them all in his gangly arms. “I’m going to be an uncle!”
After more squealing and hugging, Sofia finally pushed back against the group. “Okay guys, I think you’re going to squeeze the baby out right here!”
With that, the whole group sprang away and into action, with Callie yelling out instructions.
“Alright Robbins Torres Hendrickson clan, up and at ‘em! Let’s get this baby born!” Callie shouted, already halfway out the door.
Rolling her eyes good naturedly, Arizona looped her arm through Mr. Hendrickson’s as the two walked towards the car. “You ready, grandpa?”
“Ready as ever, grandma,” he teased.
o0o0o0o
“Oh GOD this hurts! Why the hell did I say no to the epidural? It’s not too late, right? Greg? Mom? Guys?” Sofia pleaded as another wave of contractions rolled over her exhausted body.
The occupants in the room all looked at each other and back to Sofia sympathetically. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Arizona said, patting Sofia’s hand.
“You know what this reminds me of?” Callie asked rhetorically. “Christmas 2018.”
Arizona shot her wife a grateful look, glad that she was creating a distraction.
Sofia, on the other hand, was incredulous. “How the hell does me howling in pain remind you of Christmas 2018?”
“Well,” Callie started, to which Sofia let her head roll to the side to glance at her husband and his parents. “Buckle in, guys,” she warned.
“As I was saying, it was Christmas 2018. You were 7 and Liam was about 6 months old,” Callie continued.
“Liam was the worst baby,” Sofia added, throwing a teasing glance to her brother.
“Oh totally,” Arizona chimed in. “He cried constantly. I mean we were all at our wit’s end.”
December 24, 2008
“TAKE HIM BACK!!” 7-year-old Sofia shrieked at the top of her lungs.
“Sofia, honey, we’ve talked about this,” Arizona said with a soothing hand on her daughter’s back as the pair sat in the young girl’s bed.
At the first sign of Liam’s 2am cries, Callie had shot out of bed in an attempt to soothe the infant before Sofia woke up, but she was seconds too late.
“Angela told me where babies really come from. The mommy grows it in her belly. You didn’t grow him and neither did Mama. So you just got him from the baby store! So you can return him like you did that coat that didn’t fit me!”
Arizona cringed and mentally cursed Angela for making this even more difficult. Angela was an older kid on Sofia’s bus and while Arizona was glad an older student was looking out for her little girl she could do without her and her lessons right now.
“Yes, you’re right that Liam wasn’t grown in one of our bellies. But, sweetheart, we can’t just take him back,” Arizona said gently, the sounds of Liam’s cries still clearly heard in the background.
“But why not? I think he’s broken!”
Despite her fatigue and exasperation, Arizona had to chuckle. “This is what babies do. They cry. You cried.”
“Did not,” Sofia huffed, crossing her arms across her chest for good measure. “I just don’t get why he’s here. Why isn’t he with the mommy who grew him?”
“Well, unfortunately some mommies can’t take care of the babies they grow, so they make the brave decision to give them to other mommies and daddies who can take care of them. Your mama and I really wanted to have another baby, but we can’t grow babies anymore, so we were really lucky to have found Liam.”
Sofia softened, letting her arms uncross and fall.
“So…could we switch him with one that doesn’t cry?”
Arizona laughed and ruffled her daughter’s hair playfully. “I had a brother growing up, you know.”
“That’s Uncle Tim that you and Mama talk about?”
Arizona smiled sadly. “Yeah, Uncle Tim. He was older than me and I annoyed him constantly when I was a baby and a toddler. All I wanted to do was play with him, so I followed him around everywhere. He would shut me out of rooms to play with his friends and he would complain to our parents about me. But we moved around a lot as kids and one day all of that changed. We were inseparable, best friends.”
“Zola’s my best friend. I don’t think Liam will be my best friend. I guess he could be my regular friend, though.”
“Yeah?” Arizona said, relieved that her daughter was finally understanding.
Before Sofia could say anything, Callie came and leaned against the doorjamb. “Okay, Liam’s finally down. By my calculations, if we go to bed immediately, we can get 3 and a half more hours of uninterrupted sleep.”
“Ooh, gotta get to bed quick!” Arizona said enthusiastically, pulling the covers over her daughter. “Good night, sweet pea.”
“Good night. Again,” their daughter grumbled.
December 25, 2018
Arizona’s eyes fluttered open to the feel of light kisses being pressed against the back of her neck and shoulder.
“Merry Christmas,” Callie murmured against her wife’s skin.
“Mmm very merry,” Arizona agreed, turning to face Callie. “Think we have time for a little - “
Callie’s eyes went wide. “Time. Ohmygod time. What time is it?”
Sitting up straight in bed, Arizona reached for the alarm clock. “Ca-callie. It’s 8am. We went to sleep at 2. He slept for 6 whole hours.”
“No, there’s no way. What if he rolled over and - ”
“Don’t finish that sentence!”
“What if - oh my god what if Sofia got to him?”
“Calliope Torres, please calm down and go check on our healthy and alive little boy while I put on my leg.”
“Right, yeah, you’re right,” Callie said hurriedly as she rushed out of the room.
Arizona smiled and shook her head as she pulled her prosthetic over the sock on her limb. As she walked down the hallway, she cocked her head when she noticed Callie standing outside the door and watching. Hearing her wife coming down the hallway, Callie turned and placed her index finger over her lips to stop Arizona from saying anything.
“Look,” Callie whispered quirking her head into the baby’s room.
Peering her head into their son’s room, Arizona grinned before whispering “oh my god!”
Sofia was sitting in the rocking chair in Liam’s room, gently rocking the baby.
She grabbed her phone out of the pocket in her shorts and snapped a couple pictures. As she did so, Callie wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing Arizona in to lean against her.
“So this is why we could sleep in until 8?” Arizona asked quietly.
“Seems so. You know what?”
“What?”
“This,” Callie gestured around the room, “is going to work out.”
“Yeah, it is,” Arizona agreed with a huge grin.
“It’s a freaking Christmas miracle.”
December 24, 2035
“Awww so am I your best friend now, sis?” Liam teased.
“You know you are, shut up,” Sofia answered through gritted teeth, another contraction rippling through her body. “Let’s just hope this little peanut is a better baby than you were.”
A few minutes later, Dr. Jameson, Sofia’s OB/GYN was delivering the bad news that Sofia was only dilated to 6 centimeters.
Sofia groaned as another contraction ripped through her body. Greg immediately grabbed her hand while Arizona picked up some ice chips and Callie brushed a wet rag against her forehead.
“Okay I’m getting a liiiittle claustrophobic here, guys,” Sofia warned.
“Hey, Callie, why don’t we get some food? I’m starving,” Arizona suggested.
“But…but…we might miss it!”
“Mom,” Sofia said pointedly.
“Okay, okay, point taken, we’re going!”
o0o0o0o
Placing the salt back on the table, Callie chuckled and shook her head.
“What?” Arizona asked.
“We’re about to be grandparents. Did you ever think we would get here?”
“I did, actually. I mean, the feeling came and went with everything we went through. But that second Christmas together? I totally saw us growing old together and having a gaggle of grandchildren at our feet while we played the parts of revered matriarchs.”
Callie’s face broke out into a brilliant grin; even after all of those years of blissful marriage, the validation didn’t hurt. “So the Christmas after ‘I wanna have 10 kids’ and before ‘Africa’.”
Arizona winked and pointed playfully at her wife. “That’s the one.” All of the past turmoil, though never forgotten, seemed completely ridiculous now.
“That was a great Christmas,” Callie said, her eyebrow arched.
Arizona laughed and blushed slightly. “I wasn’t even thinking of that, but uh yeah, that was pretty damn incredible.”
“Top 5?”
Smiling around her forkful of lettuce, Arizona responded with, “Top 3, for sure.”
December 21, 2010
“Oooh look, mistletoe!” Callie exclaimed, looking up to the top of the elevator door.
Arizona followed Callie’s gaze only to see the unadorned chrome of the elevator. “Seriously? There so is not - “
As she was looking up, her neck was left vulnerable to Callie’s lips. “Calliope! That was so not smooth,” Arizona said with a giggle, her laugh turning to a moan as Callie found her pulse point.
Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie’s neck, bringing their lips together. She moaned as Callie’s tongue found its way between her lips.
“Mmm that was some good eggnog at Mer’s, I guess,” Arizona suggested.
“Uh huh, sure,” Callie muttered, distracted. She snaked her arms around Arizona’s waist and pushed her back against the wall that held the panel of buttons.
“Um, Callie? What are you doing?”
“Kissing you,” Callie replied with a grin. Reaching down, Callie pulled at a button and the elevator lurched and came to a stop.
“Woah, Callie! You can’t just do that! The-there’s an alarm and the fire - ”
“Relax,” Callie said, not stopping her assault on Arizona’s neck. “No one will know we’re here, and I just have to have you. Right. Now,” Callie continued, slipping her warm hand underneath Arizona’s shirt.
“You can’t…you can’t wait for us to get inside?” Arizona panted, running her hands down Callie’s ass.
“Nope,” Callie replied with a pop.
“Well, Merry Christmas to me,” Arizona said with a laugh, before tugging at the hem of Callie’s shirt and bringing it up over her torso.
December 24, 2035
“Okay, okay,” Arizona said with a laugh as Callie continued to recount their elevator tryst. “Yes, that was amazing. But don’t you want to hear about how I knew we were headed for grandparents-dom?”
“I’m all ears,” Callie grinned, chomping down on a carrot.
December 19, 2010
Arizona narrowed her eyes as she turned her key in the doorknob. All she could make out as she opened the door was a huge pile of wrapping paper and some rustling noises with a few grunts mixed in.
“Callie? Is that you?”
From underneath the mass of paper and ribbons came a grunt and then some arm flailing. “Yep, I’m…oof…right here,” she said, sticking her head out of the pile.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“Well, I was crafting and wrapping and it all kind of got a bit too much. Have I ever told you that I have a stupidly big family?”
“A stupidly big family whom you love and send amazingly detailed and personal gifts to. That family?”
“Mmhmm. I’m making a collage for my abuela’s sister. She’s always kind of been the matriarch of the family. Look at this picture I found.”
Arizona leaned in to see a picture of Callie’s extended family, featuring her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles, and cousins. “God, it’s a wonder you were all able to fit into one picture. Where are you?”
Callie groaned and pointed to a young girl in the right of the picture wearing a plaid dress and holding a basket.
“Oh my god, look how cute you are!” Arizona squealed. “Was this Easter?”
“Oh yeah, whole freaking Catholic clan gets together for Easter. I think the church can fit about two non-family members.”
“Wow, that’s really incredible. You must miss them, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I mean, it can totally be overwhelming, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”
Arizona grabbed Callie’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “Calliope?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m, um, really glad you didn’t have to give all of that up,” Arizona remarked, thinking back to the hell Callie had gone through when her family refused to accept her sexuality and understanding just how hard it must have been on her.
Callie smiled ruefully. “Yeah, me too.”
“Well,” Arizona said with a grin. “I’m thinking, when we’re going to have to recreate this picture sometime in the far distant future with out own offspring.”
December 25, 2035
Elena Robbins Torres Hendrickson was born at 2:35am Christmas morning. She was a healthy, pink, crying 19 inches and 7 pounds, 2 ounces.
Callie looked on lovingly as Arizona placed baby Elena back in Sofia’s eager arms.
Sally and David Hendrickson stood behind their son and peered over his shoulder as Liam sat forward in his chair, waving stupidly at the baby.
Sally caught Arizona’s eye and laughed. “Did you think, when we sat next to you guys at Sof and Greg’s Christmas show, that this would be our future?”
Arizona shook her head. “No way, but you guys sure proved us wrong, didn’t you?”
“You four really going to tell this story again?” Greg asked.
“Liam hasn’t heard it,” Dave suggested.
“Um, yes I have. Only 11 times. This week,” Liam said with a grimace.
“Well, I know someone who hasn’t heard it,” Callie grinned.
“Ah, yes!” Sally said excitedly. “So, Elena, here’s the story of how your parents met.”
December 20, 2021
“Which one’s yours?” Callie asked, leaning over Arizona to talk to the couple that had just sat down in the auditorium next to them.
“Oh you’ll see him soon enough with his antlers and red nose,” Dave said with a cheerful eye roll.
“You’re Rudolph’s parents?” Callie asked, wide-eyed. “Arizona, they’re Rudolph’s parents!”
“Yes, I hear that, honey,” Arizona said, humoring her wife.
“Want to fill us in?” Sally asked with a smile.
“Our daughter is Vixen and she has been talking not stop about the boy who plays Rudolph. I think someone has a bit of a crush,” Callie explained.
Dave and Sally shared an amused look. “We have heard quite a bit about Vixen, ourselves.”
“Interesting…” Callie started.
“Calliope, we are not setting up our 11 year-olds,” Arizona chastised lightly.
“We’ll see!” she continued in a sing-songy voice, before settling down in her seat to enjoy the school play.
o0o0o0o
“Sof-bear you were amazing!” Arizona cheered, hugging her daughter tightly to her chest. They were soon joined by Callie, who was spewing every accolade she could think of.
The family finally broke apart and Callie caught the Hendricksons’ eyes. “Hey, Sof! Guess who we met tonight?”
“Mom, if you say Santa again…”
“No, silly, we’d like you to meet Mr. and Mrs. Hendrickson. They’re your friend’s parents,” Callie said after the Hendricksons had walked over to them.
“Nice to meet you,” Sofia said politely. “Whose parents are you?”
Just then, Greg ran out from backstage, his big red nose still flashing on his face.
“Oh,” Sofia said with a blush.
“Greg, honey, come say hi to your friend,” his mother called.
“Hi, Vixen,” the young boy said.
“I’m Sofia,” she answered, partially hidden behind Callie.
“Greg,” the boy said, sticking out his hand for her to shake.
Sofia giggled and took his hand. When the two kids fell into an awkward silence, Greg’s parents decided it was time to head home.
“It was nice meeting all three of you,” Sally said.
“Likewise,” Arizona replied, her arm wrapped around Sofia’s small frame.
As the Hendrickson’s turned and walked towards the exit, Greg turned around to send a shy smile towards Sofia. “I’ll see you at school, Vix!”
December 25, 2035
“She’s so beautiful,” an awestruck Callie whispered from outside the hospital’s nursery.
“I don’t think she can hear us,” Arizona whispered back. “God, look at that face. She has your nose.”
“The Torres nose is a pervasive one,” Callie agreed.
“I wish Mark were here to see his grandkid,” Arizona said suddenly.
“Yeah,” Callie said thoughtfully. “I kind of think he can see her.”
Arizona cocked her head so that she was looking directly up at her wife. Callie blushed and shook her head. “Maybe I’m feeling more inclined to believe in the afterlife since it’s Christmas, but I just feel like he’s still around sometimes.”
“I think that’s nice. And I get it. I feel his presence sometimes, too.”
“Can you imagine the amount of toys and clothes and books he would’ve bought for her?”
“I think it would rival…”
“Christmas of 2011,” they said together.
December 25, 2011
“Santa is in the house!” Mark exclaimed, swinging the door open to 502 wide open. He carried with him two oversized paper bags and wore a red shirt and khaki pants, a lopsided Santa perched on his head. “Ladies? You decent? I don’t really care either way. But you guys probably knew that.”
Callie padded out of their bedroom, wrapping a robe around her body and squinting. “It’s 6:30.”
“Hey, there she is! Merry Christmas!”
“It’s 6:30,” Callie repeated slower, hoping it would sink in.
Mark pouted dramatically. “We said we were doing Christmas breakfast. I was going to make Santa pancakes!”
“Yes, Mark, we did say that. But we didn’t mean for the breakfast to start at 6:30 in the morning!”
“Good morning!” Arizona said as she breezed out of the bedroom. She was dressed in jeans and a Christmas sweater, her hair pulled back into two neat braids. As she passed Callie, she placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Hey, Mark! Merry Christmas!” she said cheerfully, placing a kiss on his cheek.
“You,” Callie said accusatorily, pointing at her wife. “You told him he could come early.”
“It’s Christmas! He’s going to make Santa pancakes! So go get dressed, my beautiful grinch. I laid your sweater out on the bed.”
“I want my vagina vote back!” Callie called over her shoulder as she went back into their bedroom to get dressed.
o0o0o0o
“Okay okay okay, these pancakes are delicious but it’s present time!” A now caffeinated Callie said, clapping her hands and smiling gleefully.
“Okay! Let me get mine!” Mark said, jumping out of his seat and racing to the door. He picked up the two huge bags he’d brought in and plopped them down in the living room.
“Yeah, you should probably add those huge bags to the 3 piles from the grandparents and huge box from the mothers,” Arizona remarked. “A 7-month old absolutely needs 1000 presents. This is all perfectly reasonable.”
“Shush,” Callie said gently from her spot behind the video camera. Arizona rolled her eyes good-naturedly and continued to help Mark unwrap all of Sofia’s piles upon heaps of presents.
o0o0o0o
“So, that, uh, ribbon there is her favorite toy, huh?” Mark asked, slightly dejected.
The three parents watched as their little girl gurgled happily and pulled at the decorative ribbon.
“Yeah and that Toys ‘R’ Us box over there is her second favorite,” Arizona said with a chuckle. “I’m glad we all spent hours researching the hottest toys for infants for weeks.”
Mark chortled as Sofia moved on to the reindeer wrapping paper, gleefully bunching it up in her tiny fists. “Worth every penny though, right, guys?”
One arm around Arizona’s waist, Callie hummed in approval. “Worth every penny,” Arizona agreed.
December 25, 2035
“So, Chief Robbins, what do you think about grabbing some pancakes from the cafeteria and taking them back to Sof’s room to continue our tradition here in the hospital?” Callie asked with a smile.
“You know I can never say no to you when you call me Chief.”
“It’s a weakness you know I love to exploit.”
Laughing, Arizona took her wife’s hand in hers and swung their joined arms playfully between them as they walked down the hallway.
“I think this may have been my favorite Christmas yet,” she remarked.
Pulling on their conjoined hands, Callie brought Arizona against her chest. She leaned down to kiss her wife gently. “Merry Christmas, Arizona.
“Merry Christmas, Calliope.”