Monkey Business (2/2)
Title: Monkey Business (2/2)
Author: Faith kennedysbitch
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Mark/Lexie
Rating: PG-13
Choices Series
Summary: When five-year-old Jackson Sloan gets himself stuck in a tree, it’s Auntie Zona to the rescue. Set about nine or ten months before Fish Are Friends, Not Food. Stands alone.
Chapter 1
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“Jordana, can you come get your sister, please?” Arizona called out from her spot by the kitchen sink. Hearing the four-and-a-half year old grumble in the living room, she cracked a smile when the oldest of two came shuffling into the kitchen.
“Mama?”
Arizona glanced over her shoulder and spotted Jordana Riley Robbins - J.R. for short - holding one of her picture books and looking mildly annoyed at the interruption. Matching blue eyes met with her mother’s while the unimpressed pout the child was sporting mirrored Callie’s to a tee.
It had been quite a fluke that they’d been able to use Arizona’s brother for a donor. That wasn’t something she’d ever thought about before - obviously, given the ‘ew’ factor - but her mom had brought it up almost six years ago when she and Callie began planning for a baby. A lot of men in the military froze their ‘swimmers’ in case of debilitating injuries that prevented them from procreating in the future. Aaron had been engaged before he was killed, although his girlfriend moved on several years later and married another man in the service. In the end, Callie and Arizona decided as a couple to go that route instead of choosing an anonymous donor. It was about as close as they could get to a genetic match.
But even if she hadn’t been related to them by blood, Arizona’s little angels wouldn’t have been any less loved or cherished. Any kid that came from her wife was perfect and she’d call her own. Jordana happened to inherit Aaron’s - and her own - bright blue eyes and, as Callie called it, the ‘Robbins charm’. Hayley, on the other hand, was a miniature replica of Callie, right down to her cheeky attitude and mischievous streak, even at three years old.
Jordana sighed heavily and closed her book, lifting it high above her head and just barely managing to slide it onto the counter.
Arizona adored her little brainiac. Calliope was thoroughly amused that their first born had turned into a ‘giant dork’ like her Mama. She loved books, even if she couldn’t read them herself yet, and she loved science and animals. Arizona quite often reminded her partner of her own dorky streak whenever the opportunity arose.
Online video gaming and monthly subscriptions to Cosmo magazine being some examples from many.
Just because Arizona and Jordana both thought Harry Potter was the best book series - and worst movie adaptation - ever, didn’t mean that they were too nerdy for their own good. Besides, Callie had been a science fair geek when she was young. Put it all together and they made the perfect family.
“Can you help Hales clean up, please?” she asked her daughter.
J.R. grumbled and shuffled over to her little sister, who was sitting in her booster seat at the kitchen table.
Hayley Raine Robbins finished shoveling her morning oatmeal into her mouth and grinned at her big sister with a smear of it across her right cheek. She waited for Jordana to help her down from the booster seat and made a face as the taller sibling helped wipe away the mess she’d made. “Bleh!”
“Hold still,” J.R. grumbled, rubbing a napkin at the oatmeal patch as Hayley flinched away. “Stop it!”
“You stop!” Hayley shot back.
“Both of you knock it off,” Arizona called over as she rinsed off a frying pan. “Go wash up down the hall, please. Then get your shoes from the front and we’ll go for a walk.”
“Yes, ma’am,” both mini brunettes said at once. Jordana dutifully took Hayley’s hand and tugged her toward the downstairs bathroom that had a stepping stool in front of the sink. They bickered quietly along way.
Arizona shook her head and smiled to herself, enjoying her morning off with the girls so far. It was unfortunate that Callie had to work, but they made do with their varying schedules. Aside from being on-call once in a while, they usually had the evenings off together and made time before bed to catch up.
A rapid knocking on the back door pulled her attention away from the dishes. Arizona looked over with a frown, wondering who it was at this time of the morning. She dried off her hands and walked over, spotting a very pregnant Lexie Sloan standing there with one hand on her belly and the other rapping loudly on the glass.
Arizona started to smile as she pulled the door open but it immediately faded when she noticed the panicked look on the brunette’s face.
“Jack’s stuck in the tree.”
Arizona blinked. “What?”
Lexie glance over her shoulder toward the other house, shaking. “H-he climbed up when Mark went to the garage and now he can’t get down and our ladder is broken.”
It took a second for Arizona to absorb the information. “Oh my God,” she muttered, then turned around and shouted out to her own kids. “Girls! Grab our shoes and come here, please.”
Lexie had tears in her eyes when Arizona turned back and the blonde immediately placed a hand on the younger woman’s shoulders. “Hey, hey, everything will be okay. Jack’ll be fine; I’ll come over and help Mark get him down.”
None of the trees in the Sloans’ back yard were enormous, but it still amazed Arizona that the crafty little guy got into one by himself.
Lexie nodded vigorously. “Thank you, I-I didn’t know what else to. Should I call 9-1-1?”
“Let’s try and get him down, first.” Arizona looked over as Hayley and Jordana appeared with three sets of shoes in hand. She immediately slipped hers on and ushered the kids out the back door, closing it behind them.
The four women hurried through the adjoining gate and Arizona immediately spotted a frazzled looking Mark standing at the base of a tree. He was talking up into it and telling his son to hold on tight.
Jogging over, Arizona immediately craned her neck up and saw Jackson Sloan high in the foliage, clinging to a thick branch and bawling his eyes out. Her heart broke and she snapped her gaze over to Mark. “How the heck did he get up there?”
Mark’s fingers were tangled in his hair out of distress. “I don’t know, I was gone for a second and he...fuck.”
Hayley immediately giggled from where she was holding Lexie’s hand. “Bad word.”
Arizona glanced behind her at the kids and Lexie, who immediately swallowed back and shot Arizona a fearful look. Jordana, Hayley and Jayden all stood by watching.
Jayden looked bored despite her big brother’s predicament. “Mommy, ice cream?” she asked, tugging on Lexie’s hand.
“Sweetie, why don’t you take the kids inside? Mark and I will get Little Man down in one piece, I promise,” Arizona suggested.
Lexie still looked afraid, but she nodded anyway. “Okay, I’ll watch from the window. If we need to call someone...”
“Then we’ll call them,” Arizona confirmed with a nod. She worried for the brunette’s stress level, given that she could hardly waddle these days without groaning painfully. Lexie had a small frame and was carrying two big babies around in it - not an easy feat. “Please, Lex. Take it easy, he’ll be okay.”
As Mark’s wife took the children inside, Arizona turned to him with an incredulous stare.
“I didn’t want to climb up there in case he fell,” Mark said hoarsely. He was holding it together but looked just as terrified as Lexie. Especially with Jackson’s cries filtering down from high up in the tree.
Arizona scanned the lower branches around the trunk. They were sturdy but not enough to hold Mark’s weight without a sizeable risk. The chances of them snapping were too great and that didn’t bode well for either of the Sloan men.
“Spot me,” she said after a moment, immediately tugging off her zip-up sweater and depositing it on the ground.
Mark shot her a look. “Are you kidding?”
“I used to climb trees when I was a kid,” Arizona pointed out. “Every day in every neighborhood we moved to. I weigh a lot less than you do and I’m more agile. Plus, it’s safer if you spot me than if I spot you.”
She had a point. Still, Mark had his reservations about sending his best friend’s wife up a tree. But Jack was starting to get really panicked and Mark didn’t dare think about what would happen if his son fell the fifteen or so feet to the ground.
Arizona moved to the base and placed her hands on some of the lower branches. “Jack, sweetie, I’m coming up, okay? Hold on tight and don’t move.”
“I’m scared,” Jack whimpered, clinging harder to the trunk.
“I know, buddy, I know. But I’ll be right there and I promise I’ll get you down, so just hang and don’t let go.”
Arizona glanced behind her at Mark and nodded. He stepped over and boosted her up into the branches. She immediately set her feet on the lowest ones and reached up, searching for a decent hold.
How on earth a kid that wasn’t yet five years old managed to get this far up on his own was beyond her. Then again, Jack had the tendency not to think ahead; he usually went for something when he wanted it. She imagined he’d looked straight up and climbed without thinking through the consequences.
Poor little guy. If she wasn’t so worried for his safety, she might’ve found it endearing.
Arizona was much lighter than Mark and didn’t have too many problems slowly maneuvering her way up. Some of the branches creaked under her weight but she kept her footing close to the trunk. She closed her eyes and cringed several times as smaller branches and leaves scraped against her face.
She tried not to look around for the giant spiders she just knew would be nesting up here by the dozens. Without a doubt she would involuntarily spazz and fall to her death, taking Mark out along the way and leaving an eight-month-pregnant lady to climb up and get her son.
Grunting, Arizona reached above her head and grasped a thin branch, hauling her weight up and setting foot on another one nearby.
It broke.
She barely contained a yelp as she slipped down half a foot before catching herself on something else, banging her knee into the trunk and scraping her forearm pretty good. Tears automatically sprung up in blue eyes as the funny-bone in her kneecap seized, causing her entire leg to go numb.
Arizona released a strangled groan and dangled precariously.
Down below, Mark was shifting around and following her progress, arms at the ready in case she fell. When she nearly did, he bit back a curse and tensed up in anticipation.
“Robbins! You okay up there?”
“Peachy,” Arizona called back with a slight waver to her voice. Her heart was pounding as she waited to get some feeling back in her leg before placing the foot on another branch. This time it held.
“How about you, Jacky-boy? Still holding on nice and tight for me?” she called out.
Jack whimpered but managed a soft, “Yeah,” under his breath.
“Good, keep doing it, tight-tight-tight. I’m almost there.”
Releasing a hard puff, Arizona pushed herself on and continued to climb, keeping a careful eye on which branches looked the sturdiest. They thinned out the higher she got, though luckily the rest of them held. Within a minute or so, she climbed even with the boy.
Thank God he hadn’t gone any higher. The trunk above them wouldn’t have been able to hold her weight.
Wrapping her left hand around a branch just above her head and planting her feet on two sturdy ones below, Arizona breathed a sigh of relief and flashed Jack her signature Robbins grin. “Fancy seeing you here,” she teasing, placing a hand carefully on the little boy’s back and making sure he was steady. He clung to the trunk so hard, she didn’t know if she’d be able to convince him to let go.
Jack sniffled and stared back at her with wide blue eyes. His messy blonde hair was tangled and had various twigs and leaves sticking out in several places. “Can’t go down,” he pouted.
“Sure you can, buddy. That’s why I’m here.” Arizona shifted closer and managed to wrap her right arm around his waist, securing him. “You know, when I was little, my brother and I used to climb trees all the time and I was really good at it. Even bigger ones than this. So it’s a good thing your mom got me, because I’m the perfect person to be up here with you, okay?”
Jack glanced down and quivered, clinging harder to the tree and crying out again.
“Hey, hey, look at me,” Arizona coaxed, ducking her head until she caught his eye and got him to tear his gaze away from the ground. “Keep looking at me, okay? It’s not as scary as it seems.”
It took a moment but he eventually nodded.
“Do you think you can hold on to me?”
Jack shook his head emphatically.
“Okay, then we can just hang out here for a minute until you’re ready. No rush.” Arizona adjusted her grip on the branch above. “What made you decide to climb up all by yourself?”
“Squirrel,” Jack answered in a faint voice, swallowing hard. “He runned away and I followed him.”
A grin broke out over Arizona’s face and she affectionately squeezed the arm around his tiny torso. “Of course you did,” she chuckled, not expecting anything less from the little guy.
He always forged ahead with his heart instead of his brain. He never thought about anything before he did it, which usually ended up getting him into situations the adults would rather didn’t happen.
Granted, he was young, but he definitely had a knack for trouble compared to the girls. Something told her that would never change. Up until now, it had all been harmless. Arizona had a feeling this would definitely sober Jack up and make him think twice before following a squirrel in the near future.
Then again, he was five and had the attention span of a gnat. She might very well be fishing him out of another tree by next week.
“How ya doin’?” she asked after a while, watching him patiently.
Jack sucked in a deep breath and appeared to be preparing himself for the treacherous journey down. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” Arizona glanced down through the foliage and saw the outline of Mark below. She didn’t know exactly how high up they were, but it was high enough to be of worry for Jack and even herself if they were to slip and fall.
Not good thoughts. Even less helpful than the spiders.
Arizona blinked and shook her head, shoving those images to the back of her mind. “Mark, we’re comin’ down.” It didn’t need to be specified that if something happened, he needed to catch his son first and foremost.
Arizona would just try not to land on her face. Or her butt.
But mostly not her face.
“When I count to three, I need you to let go of the trunk and put your hand on this branch between us,” she instructed Jack, watching to make sure he understood. “I’m going to have my arm around you so you’re not gonna fall. I promise that nothing bad will happen.”
Jack trusted his aunt and nodded again.
“Okay, on the count of three. One. Two. Three-”
Jack released his hold on the trunk and grabbed the thin branch with both hands, whimpering.
“I got you, buddy,” the blonde repeated, squeezing her arm. “You just have to keep holding on tightly.”
She looked below them and tried to map out a plan in her head. She couldn’t pick Jack up in one arm and safely climb down, so they’d have to play ‘follow the leader’ and have him put his feet and hands where she told him to. One at a time while she stayed a few inches lower and made sure he didn’t slip.
“See this branch right here where my shoulder is?” Arizona kept a hand planted firmly on his little back and moved down a step. “Again, on three, put your left foot on it.”
Jack scrunched his brow.
“This one,” Arizona clarified, nudging the correct leg with her elbow.
“Oh, ‘kay.” Jack wiggled in place and stepped over right away, not even waiting for the count. He seemed to regain a little bit of his confidence now that he had someone he trusted up there with him.
Arizona would rather jump into a pit of crocodiles than let anything happen to her favourite nephew, after all. She’d told him that once.
It was meticulous and slow-going, but as the minutes passed, Arizona helped Jackson slowly work his way back towards the ground. She stayed a little below him each time, securing herself before telling him to move. She winced when his bare feet would step on a branch knot or scrape against the bark, even though Jack didn’t seem to notice.
This whole experience reminded her of tree climbing as a kid with her brother. Of course, that was nearly thirty years ago, and even thinking about it now made her feel extremely old. At least she was doing okay for someone nearing the forty-year mark.
Ugh. Now she felt even older.
Finally, after a very cautious descent, Arizona’s feet hit a set of branches low enough that Mark could reach them. Jack climbed down in front of her and she steadied him while his dad stepped over with both arms stretched up.
“You can let go, buddy, we’ve got you,” Arizona murmured soothingly, feeling Jack quiver with nerves before he released his hold on the branches. She kept a tight grip around his sides while Mark reached up and grabbed him by the hips, easily lifting the kid down into his arms.
The tension drained from Mark’s shoulders as Jack wiggled around to face him and he hugged his son as tightly as he possibly could. He looked visibly shaken and a lot paler than he had earlier that morning.
“Don’t you ever do that again, you hear me?” Mark croaked, crushing the little boy to his chest.
“Sorry, daddy,” Jackson murmured, flinging both arms around his neck.
Mark heaved a sigh of relief before setting him down on firm ground. Lexie came back outside and looked as though she’d aged ten years in the last twenty minutes.
Jack saw her and scrambled up the back steps, running into her legs and throwing his arms around them. “Sorry, Mommy,” he repeated sheepishly, burying his face into her jeans.
Lexie couldn’t even see him over her enormous stomach, but she ruffled his hair and hugged him to her the best she could. “It’s okay, buddy. Just don’t do it again.”
Still in the tree, Arizona released the breath she’d been holding as some of the tension drained from her chest. “Thank God,” she muttered, closing her eyes briefly. If anything had happened to Jack, she didn’t know what any of them would’ve done.
She twisted her position so she was facing outward, stepping down onto another branch. Mark returned and held up his arms, preparing to help her down.
Arizona smirked at him, narrowing her eyes. “If you use this as an excuse to feel me up...”
“Who says I need an excuse?” Mark shot back, grinning crookedly at the blonde. He placed his hands on her lower legs and prepared to lift her down when she grabbed onto his shoulders.
Several things happened at once.
First, the squirrel that had apparently been hiding in the tree this entire time decided to leap down out of nowhere and land square in the middle of Arizona’s back.
Second, she screamed, caught completely off-guard, and jerked violently to the left.
Third, the branch she was on chose that moment to snap and give way beneath her weight.
Mark might’ve been able to catch her if it was just the branch, but the rodent clinging to her back sent her pitching awkwardly forward and knocked him off balance, too.
Arizona tumbled over his shoulder and took Mark down with her. On instinct, her right arm shot out to break her fall, resulting in her landing directly on it with a loud ‘snap’.
The squirrel plopped gracefully into the grass next to the crumpled mess of Mark and Arizona, twitching its tail once before hopping merrily off into the raspberry bushes.
A sharp, throbbing pain swelled up from Arizona’s right forearm and her eyes watered in response. She couldn’t do much more than wheeze into the grass as every last ounce of air was knocked from her lungs.
Mark was a lot better off. He’d fallen over backwards but hadn’t been five feet off the ground or mauled by a rodent. He got his breath back quickly and gently pushed Arizona’s legs away from his chest as he sat up. She’d kneed him in the collarbone and he’d probably have a decent sized bruise the next morning.
But there was little doubt about which one of them got the short end of the stick.
“Shit,” he grumbled under his breath, watching Arizona seize up in pain as she sucked the first weak breath back into her lungs. Mark scrambled to his knees and crouched over her, resting a hand on her side. “Robbins, are you okay? Arizona?”
Fuck. Callie was gonna kill him.
At least she was breathing. That kept him from freaking out in front of Lexie and Jackson. “Jesus, Robbins. Don’t move.”
Arizona used every last ounce of willpower she possessed to force her lungs to work again, breathing through the pain as she wheezed pathetically.
“Ow,” was the first audible sound that escaped her lips.
Mark heaved a sigh of relief. “Did you hit your head?”
Arizona grunted in response and rolled onto her back, cringing as the sun momentarily blinded her. “Ow,” she repeated.
Mark was debating if he should move her or not when she sat up on her own, using her left arm for support against the grass. Her right was cradled gingerly against her chest and he saw it was busted up pretty good.
Oh hell, Callie was really going to rip his balls off for this one.
“Easy does it,” Mark coaxed, kneeling beside her and placing a supportive hand against her back. “Just take a moment to breathe, you’re okay.”
“Easy for you to say,” Arizona groaned, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to clear her head. She blinked them open after a moment and stared down at her arm.
Yep, it was definitely broken. Awesome.
“C’mon.” Mark grabbed her by the sides and hauled her to her feet, keeping an arm wrapped securely around her waist. “I think we need to go see your wife.” He kept an eye on the blonde but it didn’t seem like she’d conked her head on the ground.
That was something, at least.
Lexie watched apprehensively from the deck, looking stricken. “Oh my God, are you okay?”
Arizona smiled weakly and grimaced as she pushed hair out of her eyes. “All in a day’s work,” she replied quietly, glancing around for Jack.
He was hiding behind his mom, clinging tightly to her pants and peering around her legs apprehensively.
The blonde mustered up a stronger smile and winked at him despite her wooziness. “I’m okay, buddy. Nothing to worry about.”
Jack continued to look solemn and unsure, but he nodded when Arizona flashed him her signature grin.
Even if it did look a little strained.
Mark kept one arm around her back and the other steadying her by the shoulder. “I’m gonna take her to the hosp- er, to see Callie,” he corrected, not wanting to worry his son. “Think you can handle the kids for a bit? Or do you need me to call Amelia over?”
“I should be okay. If they get to be too much, I’ll get some help.” Lexie ruffled Jack’s hair and watched Mark lead Arizona toward the side gate. “Um, thanks? And, y’know...sorry.”
Arizona managed to laugh and glanced back at the brunette. “Any time,” she joked weakly, wobbling a little as Mark led her towards the car.
Her arm was really starting to hurt.
***
Callie entered the exam room she’d transferred Arizona to with the woman’s x-rays in hand. She closed the door behind her and met the set of sad blue eyes staring in her direction.
“Sorry, baby,” Callie sighed, heading over to slap the x-rays up onto the light boxes lining the far wall. “I’m gonna have to set the bone; you did a pretty good job of knocking it outta place.”
“Do I need surgery?” Arizona asked. That would be just her luck. As it was, she’d be out of commission for a minimum of six weeks. No fun surgeries, just consults and bossing around the people in her department.
Damn.
“No, which is the good part. I can do a closed reduction and you’ll be good as new,” Callie replied. She indicated the fracture point with her pen on the first x-ray, though it was obvious where the problem was.
Arizona slouched forward and stuck her bottom lip out again, whining wordlessly.
“I’ll put an air splint on for a few days until the swelling subsides, then give you a full cast from about mid-arm to hand. We can even make it pink and have the girls put stickers on it,” Callie offered, doing her best to lift Arizona’s spirits. It was ridiculously hard to see the blonde sad or in any kind of pain, especially with that adorable pout of hers. It was Callie’s kryptonite.
Arizona nodded solemnly and forced out a smile for the other woman’s sake. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, looking down to where her busted arm sat on an elevated rolling tray. “Leave it to me to get attacked by a furry forest creature from a Disney movie and fall face-first out of a tree.”
“Hey, you’re a hero,” Callie objected, flipping the light box off and walking over to the blonde. She sat down and slid a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Mark said you totally kicked ass and saved Jack’s bacon today. That makes you brave, baby. I’m proud of you.”
Arizona looked at her and snorted. “Just in case we’re keeping score, today goes ‘Tree: one, squirrel: two, Arizona: zero’.”
“Good thing we’re not keeping score, then,” Callie chuckled, tugging Arizona sideways into her body and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “I love you, you goof. And I’m really glad you’re okay.”
Arizona released a deep breath and closed her eyes, resting her head against Callie’s shoulder. “Don’t supposed I can cash in all that heroism for some sympathy sex, can I?”
Callie snorted and nudged her partner’s good arm, pulling away and standing up. “Tempting,” she mused, “but it’s more than just your lead surgical hand you damaged, sweetie. You’ve never been a very good lefty.”
Arizona’s mouth fell open. “Hey!”
The brunette was already laughing. “God, you’re so easy to rile up; it’s ridiculous.”
Arizona scowled and wrinkled her nose in displeasure. “Meanie,” she grumbled.
Callie fiddled with the air splint, adjusting it to the correct size before setting it down and gingerly taking the damaged limb in her hands. She manipulated and felt around the bone, doing her best not to focus on the painful cringes her wife kept making. There was no way she could ever operate on the woman, even if it was allowed, but she’d rather set a broken bone herself to ensure it was done properly.
“Will it make you feel better if I tell you what you tell your patients?” Callie asked, glancing up as she continued to position the wrist. “That your big, strong wife will carry you home, spoil you with lots of kisses and feed you plenty of ice cream for a week?”
The corners of Arizona’s mouth twitched. “I know what you’re trying to do here.”
“You do?”
“You’re trying to distract me.”
“Is that so?”
“Calliope, c’mon,” Arizona reasoned. “I’m as relaxed as I’m gonna be; just set the damn thing and get it over with already.”
“Are you saying I’m not capable of distracting you?” Callie mused, focusing on the wrist while shooting the occasional glance up at her wife.
“I’m saying I’m onto you, woman.”
“You underestimate me. I think I’ve proven over the years that I’m pretty good at distracting you, Dr. Robbins.”
“You can’t take your shirt off and use your boobs against me if you’re setting my wrist, Dr. Torres.”
“You’re a cheeky one, you know that?” Callie smirked, tilting her head to the side while finalizing the positioning of the wrist.
Arizona grimaced at the pain but kept her eyes glued to the appendage. “Still not distracted,” she repeated defiantly. It would take more than a few jabs to tear her attention away from the bone jutting out from underneath her skin.
“Arizona?”
“Hm?”
“I’m pregnant.”
Arizona’s eyes snapped up and her mouth fell open. “You’re pr-”
Callie pulled and the bone snapped into place.
“Ow!!”
Satisfied at her success but wincing in sympathy for her partner, Callie patted Arizona lightly on the back of the hand before setting the limb back down on the tray. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Arizona’s eyes watered and she hissed through her teeth.
Callie pulled up a rolling stool and flopped down onto it, picking up the splint and carefully settling Arizona’s arm inside. She remained silent as she positioned each finger correctly before closing the temporary casting and fastening it shut. Brown eyes lifted to carefully watch blue as she began to wrap it in a black tensor bandage. The pink would come later in the week with the plaster cast.
Arizona pushed through the pain and focused on her wife again, furrowing her brow. “Was that...were you joking? Are you really...?”
The corner of Callie’s mouth twitched as she tried to keep from smiling. “About ten weeks.”
A breathless smile crossed Arizona’s face and for a moment she didn’t even notice the pain. “A-are you sure? Really, really sure?”
“I really, really am.” Callie bit her bottom lip and paused for a moment, holding Arizona’s gaze. “I didn’t want to say anything until I was positive. I know it’s been hard these last few months with all the trying, but it finally took. Number three is on the way.”
Arizona shook her head in disbelief, suddenly tearing up again - and for a whole different reason this time. “Wow. I-I...I don’t even know what to say, Calliope.”
“You can start with ‘I love you’,” Callie suggested with a smirk, cocking her head to the side.
“Well, that goes without saying.” Arizona leaned over her busted arm and sealed the sentiment with a kiss, bringing her left hand up to cradle the side of her wife’s face. “But I do. I love you.”
“Good. Because it’s yours and that means I own your ass for at least another eighteen years.”
“Provided I don’t fall out of any more trees,” Arizona added with a bark of laughter. She tugged Callie into another kiss and sighed contently against her lips. “Mm, finally. I was beginning to worry we’d run out of you-know-what before it took.”
“Your brother’s swimmers?”
Arizona made a face. “Ew, please stop.”
“His baby batter?”
“Calliope!”
“Man seed? Little sailors? Baby Marines? Sp-”
Arizona shoved Callie away and jammed a finger into her left ear, automatically trying to do the same with her right. A hard jolt shot through her arm at the movement and she cried out, groaning pitifully and slamming her eyes shut.
Callie winced. “Okay, point taken. Sorry.”
Arizona grumbled under her breath as her wife bandaged her up, bummed about her arm but more than elated at the joyful news.
Baby made three. They’d always talked about having three and now it was happening. For someone that never thought she wanted kids, Arizona was over the moon and even more in love with her wife than she’d ever been before.
If such a thing were possible.
Callie finished wrapping her up and stood, helping Arizona slide off the exam table. She grinned and held those piercing blue eyes with her own, fishing around in her pocket and producing a red lollipop.
Arizona scrunched her nose. “Cherry?”
“Nope - watermelon. I stole it from Peds on my way back from Radiology.”
Arizona’s face lit up and she snatched the lollipop from her wife’s hand, tearing off the plastic and shoving it in her mouth. If she was stuck with a bum arm and crappy pain meds for the next few weeks, the least she deserved was some sugar.
Shaking her head, Callie placed a hand against the small of Arizona’s back and slowly lead her from the room. “Do me a favour. Next time one of the kids get stuck in a tree, try and remember that we have a ladder in the garage.”
---
Author: Faith kennedysbitch
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Mark/Lexie
Rating: PG-13
Choices Series
Summary: When five-year-old Jackson Sloan gets himself stuck in a tree, it’s Auntie Zona to the rescue. Set about nine or ten months before Fish Are Friends, Not Food. Stands alone.
Chapter 1
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“Jordana, can you come get your sister, please?” Arizona called out from her spot by the kitchen sink. Hearing the four-and-a-half year old grumble in the living room, she cracked a smile when the oldest of two came shuffling into the kitchen.
“Mama?”
Arizona glanced over her shoulder and spotted Jordana Riley Robbins - J.R. for short - holding one of her picture books and looking mildly annoyed at the interruption. Matching blue eyes met with her mother’s while the unimpressed pout the child was sporting mirrored Callie’s to a tee.
It had been quite a fluke that they’d been able to use Arizona’s brother for a donor. That wasn’t something she’d ever thought about before - obviously, given the ‘ew’ factor - but her mom had brought it up almost six years ago when she and Callie began planning for a baby. A lot of men in the military froze their ‘swimmers’ in case of debilitating injuries that prevented them from procreating in the future. Aaron had been engaged before he was killed, although his girlfriend moved on several years later and married another man in the service. In the end, Callie and Arizona decided as a couple to go that route instead of choosing an anonymous donor. It was about as close as they could get to a genetic match.
But even if she hadn’t been related to them by blood, Arizona’s little angels wouldn’t have been any less loved or cherished. Any kid that came from her wife was perfect and she’d call her own. Jordana happened to inherit Aaron’s - and her own - bright blue eyes and, as Callie called it, the ‘Robbins charm’. Hayley, on the other hand, was a miniature replica of Callie, right down to her cheeky attitude and mischievous streak, even at three years old.
Jordana sighed heavily and closed her book, lifting it high above her head and just barely managing to slide it onto the counter.
Arizona adored her little brainiac. Calliope was thoroughly amused that their first born had turned into a ‘giant dork’ like her Mama. She loved books, even if she couldn’t read them herself yet, and she loved science and animals. Arizona quite often reminded her partner of her own dorky streak whenever the opportunity arose.
Online video gaming and monthly subscriptions to Cosmo magazine being some examples from many.
Just because Arizona and Jordana both thought Harry Potter was the best book series - and worst movie adaptation - ever, didn’t mean that they were too nerdy for their own good. Besides, Callie had been a science fair geek when she was young. Put it all together and they made the perfect family.
“Can you help Hales clean up, please?” she asked her daughter.
J.R. grumbled and shuffled over to her little sister, who was sitting in her booster seat at the kitchen table.
Hayley Raine Robbins finished shoveling her morning oatmeal into her mouth and grinned at her big sister with a smear of it across her right cheek. She waited for Jordana to help her down from the booster seat and made a face as the taller sibling helped wipe away the mess she’d made. “Bleh!”
“Hold still,” J.R. grumbled, rubbing a napkin at the oatmeal patch as Hayley flinched away. “Stop it!”
“You stop!” Hayley shot back.
“Both of you knock it off,” Arizona called over as she rinsed off a frying pan. “Go wash up down the hall, please. Then get your shoes from the front and we’ll go for a walk.”
“Yes, ma’am,” both mini brunettes said at once. Jordana dutifully took Hayley’s hand and tugged her toward the downstairs bathroom that had a stepping stool in front of the sink. They bickered quietly along way.
Arizona shook her head and smiled to herself, enjoying her morning off with the girls so far. It was unfortunate that Callie had to work, but they made do with their varying schedules. Aside from being on-call once in a while, they usually had the evenings off together and made time before bed to catch up.
A rapid knocking on the back door pulled her attention away from the dishes. Arizona looked over with a frown, wondering who it was at this time of the morning. She dried off her hands and walked over, spotting a very pregnant Lexie Sloan standing there with one hand on her belly and the other rapping loudly on the glass.
Arizona started to smile as she pulled the door open but it immediately faded when she noticed the panicked look on the brunette’s face.
“Jack’s stuck in the tree.”
Arizona blinked. “What?”
Lexie glance over her shoulder toward the other house, shaking. “H-he climbed up when Mark went to the garage and now he can’t get down and our ladder is broken.”
It took a second for Arizona to absorb the information. “Oh my God,” she muttered, then turned around and shouted out to her own kids. “Girls! Grab our shoes and come here, please.”
Lexie had tears in her eyes when Arizona turned back and the blonde immediately placed a hand on the younger woman’s shoulders. “Hey, hey, everything will be okay. Jack’ll be fine; I’ll come over and help Mark get him down.”
None of the trees in the Sloans’ back yard were enormous, but it still amazed Arizona that the crafty little guy got into one by himself.
Lexie nodded vigorously. “Thank you, I-I didn’t know what else to. Should I call 9-1-1?”
“Let’s try and get him down, first.” Arizona looked over as Hayley and Jordana appeared with three sets of shoes in hand. She immediately slipped hers on and ushered the kids out the back door, closing it behind them.
The four women hurried through the adjoining gate and Arizona immediately spotted a frazzled looking Mark standing at the base of a tree. He was talking up into it and telling his son to hold on tight.
Jogging over, Arizona immediately craned her neck up and saw Jackson Sloan high in the foliage, clinging to a thick branch and bawling his eyes out. Her heart broke and she snapped her gaze over to Mark. “How the heck did he get up there?”
Mark’s fingers were tangled in his hair out of distress. “I don’t know, I was gone for a second and he...fuck.”
Hayley immediately giggled from where she was holding Lexie’s hand. “Bad word.”
Arizona glanced behind her at the kids and Lexie, who immediately swallowed back and shot Arizona a fearful look. Jordana, Hayley and Jayden all stood by watching.
Jayden looked bored despite her big brother’s predicament. “Mommy, ice cream?” she asked, tugging on Lexie’s hand.
“Sweetie, why don’t you take the kids inside? Mark and I will get Little Man down in one piece, I promise,” Arizona suggested.
Lexie still looked afraid, but she nodded anyway. “Okay, I’ll watch from the window. If we need to call someone...”
“Then we’ll call them,” Arizona confirmed with a nod. She worried for the brunette’s stress level, given that she could hardly waddle these days without groaning painfully. Lexie had a small frame and was carrying two big babies around in it - not an easy feat. “Please, Lex. Take it easy, he’ll be okay.”
As Mark’s wife took the children inside, Arizona turned to him with an incredulous stare.
“I didn’t want to climb up there in case he fell,” Mark said hoarsely. He was holding it together but looked just as terrified as Lexie. Especially with Jackson’s cries filtering down from high up in the tree.
Arizona scanned the lower branches around the trunk. They were sturdy but not enough to hold Mark’s weight without a sizeable risk. The chances of them snapping were too great and that didn’t bode well for either of the Sloan men.
“Spot me,” she said after a moment, immediately tugging off her zip-up sweater and depositing it on the ground.
Mark shot her a look. “Are you kidding?”
“I used to climb trees when I was a kid,” Arizona pointed out. “Every day in every neighborhood we moved to. I weigh a lot less than you do and I’m more agile. Plus, it’s safer if you spot me than if I spot you.”
She had a point. Still, Mark had his reservations about sending his best friend’s wife up a tree. But Jack was starting to get really panicked and Mark didn’t dare think about what would happen if his son fell the fifteen or so feet to the ground.
Arizona moved to the base and placed her hands on some of the lower branches. “Jack, sweetie, I’m coming up, okay? Hold on tight and don’t move.”
“I’m scared,” Jack whimpered, clinging harder to the trunk.
“I know, buddy, I know. But I’ll be right there and I promise I’ll get you down, so just hang and don’t let go.”
Arizona glanced behind her at Mark and nodded. He stepped over and boosted her up into the branches. She immediately set her feet on the lowest ones and reached up, searching for a decent hold.
How on earth a kid that wasn’t yet five years old managed to get this far up on his own was beyond her. Then again, Jack had the tendency not to think ahead; he usually went for something when he wanted it. She imagined he’d looked straight up and climbed without thinking through the consequences.
Poor little guy. If she wasn’t so worried for his safety, she might’ve found it endearing.
Arizona was much lighter than Mark and didn’t have too many problems slowly maneuvering her way up. Some of the branches creaked under her weight but she kept her footing close to the trunk. She closed her eyes and cringed several times as smaller branches and leaves scraped against her face.
She tried not to look around for the giant spiders she just knew would be nesting up here by the dozens. Without a doubt she would involuntarily spazz and fall to her death, taking Mark out along the way and leaving an eight-month-pregnant lady to climb up and get her son.
Grunting, Arizona reached above her head and grasped a thin branch, hauling her weight up and setting foot on another one nearby.
It broke.
She barely contained a yelp as she slipped down half a foot before catching herself on something else, banging her knee into the trunk and scraping her forearm pretty good. Tears automatically sprung up in blue eyes as the funny-bone in her kneecap seized, causing her entire leg to go numb.
Arizona released a strangled groan and dangled precariously.
Down below, Mark was shifting around and following her progress, arms at the ready in case she fell. When she nearly did, he bit back a curse and tensed up in anticipation.
“Robbins! You okay up there?”
“Peachy,” Arizona called back with a slight waver to her voice. Her heart was pounding as she waited to get some feeling back in her leg before placing the foot on another branch. This time it held.
“How about you, Jacky-boy? Still holding on nice and tight for me?” she called out.
Jack whimpered but managed a soft, “Yeah,” under his breath.
“Good, keep doing it, tight-tight-tight. I’m almost there.”
Releasing a hard puff, Arizona pushed herself on and continued to climb, keeping a careful eye on which branches looked the sturdiest. They thinned out the higher she got, though luckily the rest of them held. Within a minute or so, she climbed even with the boy.
Thank God he hadn’t gone any higher. The trunk above them wouldn’t have been able to hold her weight.
Wrapping her left hand around a branch just above her head and planting her feet on two sturdy ones below, Arizona breathed a sigh of relief and flashed Jack her signature Robbins grin. “Fancy seeing you here,” she teasing, placing a hand carefully on the little boy’s back and making sure he was steady. He clung to the trunk so hard, she didn’t know if she’d be able to convince him to let go.
Jack sniffled and stared back at her with wide blue eyes. His messy blonde hair was tangled and had various twigs and leaves sticking out in several places. “Can’t go down,” he pouted.
“Sure you can, buddy. That’s why I’m here.” Arizona shifted closer and managed to wrap her right arm around his waist, securing him. “You know, when I was little, my brother and I used to climb trees all the time and I was really good at it. Even bigger ones than this. So it’s a good thing your mom got me, because I’m the perfect person to be up here with you, okay?”
Jack glanced down and quivered, clinging harder to the tree and crying out again.
“Hey, hey, look at me,” Arizona coaxed, ducking her head until she caught his eye and got him to tear his gaze away from the ground. “Keep looking at me, okay? It’s not as scary as it seems.”
It took a moment but he eventually nodded.
“Do you think you can hold on to me?”
Jack shook his head emphatically.
“Okay, then we can just hang out here for a minute until you’re ready. No rush.” Arizona adjusted her grip on the branch above. “What made you decide to climb up all by yourself?”
“Squirrel,” Jack answered in a faint voice, swallowing hard. “He runned away and I followed him.”
A grin broke out over Arizona’s face and she affectionately squeezed the arm around his tiny torso. “Of course you did,” she chuckled, not expecting anything less from the little guy.
He always forged ahead with his heart instead of his brain. He never thought about anything before he did it, which usually ended up getting him into situations the adults would rather didn’t happen.
Granted, he was young, but he definitely had a knack for trouble compared to the girls. Something told her that would never change. Up until now, it had all been harmless. Arizona had a feeling this would definitely sober Jack up and make him think twice before following a squirrel in the near future.
Then again, he was five and had the attention span of a gnat. She might very well be fishing him out of another tree by next week.
“How ya doin’?” she asked after a while, watching him patiently.
Jack sucked in a deep breath and appeared to be preparing himself for the treacherous journey down. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” Arizona glanced down through the foliage and saw the outline of Mark below. She didn’t know exactly how high up they were, but it was high enough to be of worry for Jack and even herself if they were to slip and fall.
Not good thoughts. Even less helpful than the spiders.
Arizona blinked and shook her head, shoving those images to the back of her mind. “Mark, we’re comin’ down.” It didn’t need to be specified that if something happened, he needed to catch his son first and foremost.
Arizona would just try not to land on her face. Or her butt.
But mostly not her face.
“When I count to three, I need you to let go of the trunk and put your hand on this branch between us,” she instructed Jack, watching to make sure he understood. “I’m going to have my arm around you so you’re not gonna fall. I promise that nothing bad will happen.”
Jack trusted his aunt and nodded again.
“Okay, on the count of three. One. Two. Three-”
Jack released his hold on the trunk and grabbed the thin branch with both hands, whimpering.
“I got you, buddy,” the blonde repeated, squeezing her arm. “You just have to keep holding on tightly.”
She looked below them and tried to map out a plan in her head. She couldn’t pick Jack up in one arm and safely climb down, so they’d have to play ‘follow the leader’ and have him put his feet and hands where she told him to. One at a time while she stayed a few inches lower and made sure he didn’t slip.
“See this branch right here where my shoulder is?” Arizona kept a hand planted firmly on his little back and moved down a step. “Again, on three, put your left foot on it.”
Jack scrunched his brow.
“This one,” Arizona clarified, nudging the correct leg with her elbow.
“Oh, ‘kay.” Jack wiggled in place and stepped over right away, not even waiting for the count. He seemed to regain a little bit of his confidence now that he had someone he trusted up there with him.
Arizona would rather jump into a pit of crocodiles than let anything happen to her favourite nephew, after all. She’d told him that once.
It was meticulous and slow-going, but as the minutes passed, Arizona helped Jackson slowly work his way back towards the ground. She stayed a little below him each time, securing herself before telling him to move. She winced when his bare feet would step on a branch knot or scrape against the bark, even though Jack didn’t seem to notice.
This whole experience reminded her of tree climbing as a kid with her brother. Of course, that was nearly thirty years ago, and even thinking about it now made her feel extremely old. At least she was doing okay for someone nearing the forty-year mark.
Ugh. Now she felt even older.
Finally, after a very cautious descent, Arizona’s feet hit a set of branches low enough that Mark could reach them. Jack climbed down in front of her and she steadied him while his dad stepped over with both arms stretched up.
“You can let go, buddy, we’ve got you,” Arizona murmured soothingly, feeling Jack quiver with nerves before he released his hold on the branches. She kept a tight grip around his sides while Mark reached up and grabbed him by the hips, easily lifting the kid down into his arms.
The tension drained from Mark’s shoulders as Jack wiggled around to face him and he hugged his son as tightly as he possibly could. He looked visibly shaken and a lot paler than he had earlier that morning.
“Don’t you ever do that again, you hear me?” Mark croaked, crushing the little boy to his chest.
“Sorry, daddy,” Jackson murmured, flinging both arms around his neck.
Mark heaved a sigh of relief before setting him down on firm ground. Lexie came back outside and looked as though she’d aged ten years in the last twenty minutes.
Jack saw her and scrambled up the back steps, running into her legs and throwing his arms around them. “Sorry, Mommy,” he repeated sheepishly, burying his face into her jeans.
Lexie couldn’t even see him over her enormous stomach, but she ruffled his hair and hugged him to her the best she could. “It’s okay, buddy. Just don’t do it again.”
Still in the tree, Arizona released the breath she’d been holding as some of the tension drained from her chest. “Thank God,” she muttered, closing her eyes briefly. If anything had happened to Jack, she didn’t know what any of them would’ve done.
She twisted her position so she was facing outward, stepping down onto another branch. Mark returned and held up his arms, preparing to help her down.
Arizona smirked at him, narrowing her eyes. “If you use this as an excuse to feel me up...”
“Who says I need an excuse?” Mark shot back, grinning crookedly at the blonde. He placed his hands on her lower legs and prepared to lift her down when she grabbed onto his shoulders.
Several things happened at once.
First, the squirrel that had apparently been hiding in the tree this entire time decided to leap down out of nowhere and land square in the middle of Arizona’s back.
Second, she screamed, caught completely off-guard, and jerked violently to the left.
Third, the branch she was on chose that moment to snap and give way beneath her weight.
Mark might’ve been able to catch her if it was just the branch, but the rodent clinging to her back sent her pitching awkwardly forward and knocked him off balance, too.
Arizona tumbled over his shoulder and took Mark down with her. On instinct, her right arm shot out to break her fall, resulting in her landing directly on it with a loud ‘snap’.
The squirrel plopped gracefully into the grass next to the crumpled mess of Mark and Arizona, twitching its tail once before hopping merrily off into the raspberry bushes.
A sharp, throbbing pain swelled up from Arizona’s right forearm and her eyes watered in response. She couldn’t do much more than wheeze into the grass as every last ounce of air was knocked from her lungs.
Mark was a lot better off. He’d fallen over backwards but hadn’t been five feet off the ground or mauled by a rodent. He got his breath back quickly and gently pushed Arizona’s legs away from his chest as he sat up. She’d kneed him in the collarbone and he’d probably have a decent sized bruise the next morning.
But there was little doubt about which one of them got the short end of the stick.
“Shit,” he grumbled under his breath, watching Arizona seize up in pain as she sucked the first weak breath back into her lungs. Mark scrambled to his knees and crouched over her, resting a hand on her side. “Robbins, are you okay? Arizona?”
Fuck. Callie was gonna kill him.
At least she was breathing. That kept him from freaking out in front of Lexie and Jackson. “Jesus, Robbins. Don’t move.”
Arizona used every last ounce of willpower she possessed to force her lungs to work again, breathing through the pain as she wheezed pathetically.
“Ow,” was the first audible sound that escaped her lips.
Mark heaved a sigh of relief. “Did you hit your head?”
Arizona grunted in response and rolled onto her back, cringing as the sun momentarily blinded her. “Ow,” she repeated.
Mark was debating if he should move her or not when she sat up on her own, using her left arm for support against the grass. Her right was cradled gingerly against her chest and he saw it was busted up pretty good.
Oh hell, Callie was really going to rip his balls off for this one.
“Easy does it,” Mark coaxed, kneeling beside her and placing a supportive hand against her back. “Just take a moment to breathe, you’re okay.”
“Easy for you to say,” Arizona groaned, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to clear her head. She blinked them open after a moment and stared down at her arm.
Yep, it was definitely broken. Awesome.
“C’mon.” Mark grabbed her by the sides and hauled her to her feet, keeping an arm wrapped securely around her waist. “I think we need to go see your wife.” He kept an eye on the blonde but it didn’t seem like she’d conked her head on the ground.
That was something, at least.
Lexie watched apprehensively from the deck, looking stricken. “Oh my God, are you okay?”
Arizona smiled weakly and grimaced as she pushed hair out of her eyes. “All in a day’s work,” she replied quietly, glancing around for Jack.
He was hiding behind his mom, clinging tightly to her pants and peering around her legs apprehensively.
The blonde mustered up a stronger smile and winked at him despite her wooziness. “I’m okay, buddy. Nothing to worry about.”
Jack continued to look solemn and unsure, but he nodded when Arizona flashed him her signature grin.
Even if it did look a little strained.
Mark kept one arm around her back and the other steadying her by the shoulder. “I’m gonna take her to the hosp- er, to see Callie,” he corrected, not wanting to worry his son. “Think you can handle the kids for a bit? Or do you need me to call Amelia over?”
“I should be okay. If they get to be too much, I’ll get some help.” Lexie ruffled Jack’s hair and watched Mark lead Arizona toward the side gate. “Um, thanks? And, y’know...sorry.”
Arizona managed to laugh and glanced back at the brunette. “Any time,” she joked weakly, wobbling a little as Mark led her towards the car.
Her arm was really starting to hurt.
***
Callie entered the exam room she’d transferred Arizona to with the woman’s x-rays in hand. She closed the door behind her and met the set of sad blue eyes staring in her direction.
“Sorry, baby,” Callie sighed, heading over to slap the x-rays up onto the light boxes lining the far wall. “I’m gonna have to set the bone; you did a pretty good job of knocking it outta place.”
“Do I need surgery?” Arizona asked. That would be just her luck. As it was, she’d be out of commission for a minimum of six weeks. No fun surgeries, just consults and bossing around the people in her department.
Damn.
“No, which is the good part. I can do a closed reduction and you’ll be good as new,” Callie replied. She indicated the fracture point with her pen on the first x-ray, though it was obvious where the problem was.
Arizona slouched forward and stuck her bottom lip out again, whining wordlessly.
“I’ll put an air splint on for a few days until the swelling subsides, then give you a full cast from about mid-arm to hand. We can even make it pink and have the girls put stickers on it,” Callie offered, doing her best to lift Arizona’s spirits. It was ridiculously hard to see the blonde sad or in any kind of pain, especially with that adorable pout of hers. It was Callie’s kryptonite.
Arizona nodded solemnly and forced out a smile for the other woman’s sake. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, looking down to where her busted arm sat on an elevated rolling tray. “Leave it to me to get attacked by a furry forest creature from a Disney movie and fall face-first out of a tree.”
“Hey, you’re a hero,” Callie objected, flipping the light box off and walking over to the blonde. She sat down and slid a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Mark said you totally kicked ass and saved Jack’s bacon today. That makes you brave, baby. I’m proud of you.”
Arizona looked at her and snorted. “Just in case we’re keeping score, today goes ‘Tree: one, squirrel: two, Arizona: zero’.”
“Good thing we’re not keeping score, then,” Callie chuckled, tugging Arizona sideways into her body and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “I love you, you goof. And I’m really glad you’re okay.”
Arizona released a deep breath and closed her eyes, resting her head against Callie’s shoulder. “Don’t supposed I can cash in all that heroism for some sympathy sex, can I?”
Callie snorted and nudged her partner’s good arm, pulling away and standing up. “Tempting,” she mused, “but it’s more than just your lead surgical hand you damaged, sweetie. You’ve never been a very good lefty.”
Arizona’s mouth fell open. “Hey!”
The brunette was already laughing. “God, you’re so easy to rile up; it’s ridiculous.”
Arizona scowled and wrinkled her nose in displeasure. “Meanie,” she grumbled.
Callie fiddled with the air splint, adjusting it to the correct size before setting it down and gingerly taking the damaged limb in her hands. She manipulated and felt around the bone, doing her best not to focus on the painful cringes her wife kept making. There was no way she could ever operate on the woman, even if it was allowed, but she’d rather set a broken bone herself to ensure it was done properly.
“Will it make you feel better if I tell you what you tell your patients?” Callie asked, glancing up as she continued to position the wrist. “That your big, strong wife will carry you home, spoil you with lots of kisses and feed you plenty of ice cream for a week?”
The corners of Arizona’s mouth twitched. “I know what you’re trying to do here.”
“You do?”
“You’re trying to distract me.”
“Is that so?”
“Calliope, c’mon,” Arizona reasoned. “I’m as relaxed as I’m gonna be; just set the damn thing and get it over with already.”
“Are you saying I’m not capable of distracting you?” Callie mused, focusing on the wrist while shooting the occasional glance up at her wife.
“I’m saying I’m onto you, woman.”
“You underestimate me. I think I’ve proven over the years that I’m pretty good at distracting you, Dr. Robbins.”
“You can’t take your shirt off and use your boobs against me if you’re setting my wrist, Dr. Torres.”
“You’re a cheeky one, you know that?” Callie smirked, tilting her head to the side while finalizing the positioning of the wrist.
Arizona grimaced at the pain but kept her eyes glued to the appendage. “Still not distracted,” she repeated defiantly. It would take more than a few jabs to tear her attention away from the bone jutting out from underneath her skin.
“Arizona?”
“Hm?”
“I’m pregnant.”
Arizona’s eyes snapped up and her mouth fell open. “You’re pr-”
Callie pulled and the bone snapped into place.
“Ow!!”
Satisfied at her success but wincing in sympathy for her partner, Callie patted Arizona lightly on the back of the hand before setting the limb back down on the tray. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Arizona’s eyes watered and she hissed through her teeth.
Callie pulled up a rolling stool and flopped down onto it, picking up the splint and carefully settling Arizona’s arm inside. She remained silent as she positioned each finger correctly before closing the temporary casting and fastening it shut. Brown eyes lifted to carefully watch blue as she began to wrap it in a black tensor bandage. The pink would come later in the week with the plaster cast.
Arizona pushed through the pain and focused on her wife again, furrowing her brow. “Was that...were you joking? Are you really...?”
The corner of Callie’s mouth twitched as she tried to keep from smiling. “About ten weeks.”
A breathless smile crossed Arizona’s face and for a moment she didn’t even notice the pain. “A-are you sure? Really, really sure?”
“I really, really am.” Callie bit her bottom lip and paused for a moment, holding Arizona’s gaze. “I didn’t want to say anything until I was positive. I know it’s been hard these last few months with all the trying, but it finally took. Number three is on the way.”
Arizona shook her head in disbelief, suddenly tearing up again - and for a whole different reason this time. “Wow. I-I...I don’t even know what to say, Calliope.”
“You can start with ‘I love you’,” Callie suggested with a smirk, cocking her head to the side.
“Well, that goes without saying.” Arizona leaned over her busted arm and sealed the sentiment with a kiss, bringing her left hand up to cradle the side of her wife’s face. “But I do. I love you.”
“Good. Because it’s yours and that means I own your ass for at least another eighteen years.”
“Provided I don’t fall out of any more trees,” Arizona added with a bark of laughter. She tugged Callie into another kiss and sighed contently against her lips. “Mm, finally. I was beginning to worry we’d run out of you-know-what before it took.”
“Your brother’s swimmers?”
Arizona made a face. “Ew, please stop.”
“His baby batter?”
“Calliope!”
“Man seed? Little sailors? Baby Marines? Sp-”
Arizona shoved Callie away and jammed a finger into her left ear, automatically trying to do the same with her right. A hard jolt shot through her arm at the movement and she cried out, groaning pitifully and slamming her eyes shut.
Callie winced. “Okay, point taken. Sorry.”
Arizona grumbled under her breath as her wife bandaged her up, bummed about her arm but more than elated at the joyful news.
Baby made three. They’d always talked about having three and now it was happening. For someone that never thought she wanted kids, Arizona was over the moon and even more in love with her wife than she’d ever been before.
If such a thing were possible.
Callie finished wrapping her up and stood, helping Arizona slide off the exam table. She grinned and held those piercing blue eyes with her own, fishing around in her pocket and producing a red lollipop.
Arizona scrunched her nose. “Cherry?”
“Nope - watermelon. I stole it from Peds on my way back from Radiology.”
Arizona’s face lit up and she snatched the lollipop from her wife’s hand, tearing off the plastic and shoving it in her mouth. If she was stuck with a bum arm and crappy pain meds for the next few weeks, the least she deserved was some sugar.
Shaking her head, Callie placed a hand against the small of Arizona’s back and slowly lead her from the room. “Do me a favour. Next time one of the kids get stuck in a tree, try and remember that we have a ladder in the garage.”
---