Fluffy Christmas
Title: Fluffy Christmas
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A glimpse into the future; Sofia is six and finally understanding Christmas and Santa.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I do not intend to profit in any way, shape or form by posting this story. It's for fun, nothing more, and nothing less. Please don't sue me.
A/N: Hi everyone! MERRY CHRISTMAS (or whatever other holiday you choose to celebrate). This story is a Secret Santa gift for the amazing mak62184. I tried my best to fit two of the prompts asked for in this story: {Christmas eve with Sofia. She is finally old enough to fully get the concept of Santa and Callie and Arizona go shopping at a really huge mall and then they can't find their car when they decide to leave]. This is really cheesy and saccharine, so I hope you still enjoy it.
_____ _____ _____ _____
“Okay, why did we have to drive an hour and half to a mall when there is a lovely one only fifteen minutes from the house?” Callie asked as she pouted from the passenger seat.
“Because this is the one with the real Santa, Mom, duh!” Sofia said while bouncing in the back seat.
“Sofia,” Arizona said while glancing in the rearview mirror at her six year old daughter.
Sofia smiled sheepishly when she caught her mother’s eye. “Sorry Mom. I forget that grownups don’t know these things.”
“I feel old,” Callie said with a pout as Arizona parked the car.
Arizona jumped out of the car quickly and ran around to open the door for Callie. Callie felt warmth spread throughout her body at the display. Once the door was opened, Arizona moved to the back door and started getting Sofia out of her booster seat. “This mall is three times the size of our little one.”
“Yes, make the pregnant lady walk around all day. You are so giving me a massage tonight, because I know my back is going to be sore.” Callie mumbled while carefully climbing out of the car.
“Anything you say, dear,” Arizona said with a grin and wink. She helped Sofia out of the car, and then shut the door. She then tried to help Callie, who batted her hands away. Arizona raised her hands with a chuckle and watched as Callie lumbered about with her six month baby belly. She then leaned toward said belly and whispered, “I hope you’re not responsible for Mommy’s mood today.”
“No, but someone else is,” Callie deadpanned while shut the door.
“Mommy, Santa isn’t going to give you a gift if you’re not nice,” Sofia said matter-of-factly as she slid her hand into Arizona’s.
“Yeah, Mommy, be nice to Mama.” Arizona said as Sofia started to pull her toward the mall. She turned her head and stuck her tongue out at Callie, before skipping off with Sofia... well, sort of skipping, as best as a person with one leg could skip. Callie rolled her eyes while making sure the doors of the car were locked, and then followed after her girls. She couldn’t help the small laugh though while she watched Arizona and Sofia skip along together. Christmas never failed to bring out Arizona’s inner child.
“C’mon, Mom!” Sofia turned and yelled.
“I’m coming, I’m coming…” Callie said as she waddled after them. Once close enough, she slid her hand into Arizona’s free one and the three walked together into the huge outlet mall. This particular mall was known for having a very large Santa display and when Sofia saw the picture, she begged for over a week to go visit.
“I’m hungry; can we stop in the food court?” Callie asked as they lazily wandered through the mall. The Santa display was in the center and according to all the signs they saw, they were headed in the right direction.
Arizona raised a brow, “But we just ate a huge breakf--…” And if looks could kill, Arizona would be six feet under because of the glare Callie was shooting at her. “O-of course we can, yeah, we’ll get a snack, maybe some ice cream? How’s that sound, Sofster?”
“Ice cream in the morning?” she said with wide, surprised eyes.
“Why not?” Arizona winked at Sofia, who jumped up and said a very Arizona-like yay.
“Great, you think she’s bouncing off the walls now, wait until she has a load of sugar in her,” Callie said while shaking her head.
“Jeeze, why are you Grinching out over there?” Arizona asked.
“Yeah, Mommy, you’re acting like the Grinch!” Sofia giggled.
“I am not. But if I was, I totally have a good reason. It’s because your Mama’s Robbins genes make this baby in my tummy hyper active, especially at three in the morning. Which means Mommy doesn’t get to sleep much. And no sleep will make anyone cranky, don’t you think?” Callie used her free hand to gently poke her belly. The little ball of energy was asleep now, of course.
“She said she’s cranky, Sof. See, we were right,” Arizona said with a grin, quickly dropping Callie’s hand and stepping a few steps ahead of her.
“Oh, don’t you worry, Arizona, I’ll get you later for that one.” To be honest, Callie was over the moon happy at carrying Arizona’s baby. When she broached the subject again, Arizona had broken down in tears and admitted that she was beyond scared to try and carry another baby. They had a long heartfelt conversation and Callie suggested they run some tests and see if she could carry it. Five weeks later Callie was pregnant with Arizona’s egg and a blonde haired, blue-eyed sperm donor.
“I’m hoping so!” Arizona said with a wink over her shoulder. She then turned her attention back to where they were going, leading the little family to the food court.
Ten minutes later, Arizona and Sofia were happily licking mink chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone. Arizona had grabbed two handfuls of napkins, knowing Sofia was going through a phase where she mimicked Arizona; including getting the same type of food. Ice cream cone at a six year old would mean a big mess.
Callie, on the other hand, had a bowl which held a scoop of cotton candy ice cream, peppermint ice cream, and a scoop of peanut butter ice cream. Just the thought of those combinations made Arizona’s stomach queasy, but pregnancy cravings were not to be questioned.
“Ooh, Arizona, get me a pretzel with some honey mustard.” Callie said. And when Arizona just stared at her for a minute she added, “Pretty please?”
“What Mommy wants Mommy gets… c’mon Princess Sofia, let’s get Mommy a pretzel.” Arizona nodded to a small table, “You sit and get comfortable with your ice cream, and we’ll be right back.”
Only five minutes later, they were back and plopping into the seats at the table. Callie had completely finished her ice cream already and made grabby hands at Arizona for the pretzel. “Yeesh, someone’s hungry.”
“It’s your fault. Now gimme.”
Arizona handed the pretzel and honey mustard over and cringed as Callie immediately dug into her treat. The little family chatted while Callie finished up, and then started their trek toward Santa again.
“Mama, did you know that Santa made some of his elves look like him so that they can visit all the malls in the world, so kids like me will be able to tell him what we want?” Sofia asked as she walked hand in hand with Arizona.
“Wow, really? I didn’t know that. Where did you hear that?” Arizona asked.
“Samantha told me in the playground. She’s three years older than me! She told me that the real Santa only comes to this mall.”
“So that’s why we’re here…” Callie said with a sigh.
Arizona shot a look at Callie, but then quickly turned back to Sofia. “Well, if the elves that look like Santa do the same thing as the real Santa, why did we come all the way to this mall?”
“Because the real thing is better!” Sofia said with a grin.
“You got that right, kiddo,” Arizona said with a chuckle.
Sofia’s eyes widened when they made it to the center of the mall. The entire place was decorated as though it were Santa’s workshop, with elves controlling the line which led to the big man himself, who was sitting in the center on a huge throne. “Wow. This has to be the real Santa!”
Callie and Arizona were thinking the same thing. The man sitting on the chair had on an outfit that could barely contain his girth and a real beard, not the fake ones most Santa’s paraded around with this time of year.
Arizona stepped up to Sofia and bent down as best she could to talk to her on her own level. “Okay, Sofia. You ready to talk to Mr. Claus?”
Sofia nodded, “I’ll be real good, Mama, I promise.”
It took thirty minutes to get through the line, but Sofia finally made it to Santa. She walked up to him and smiled brightly, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Claus.”
The Santa grinned and then bellowed, “Ho, ho, ho there, Cutie. Please, call me Santa.”
Sofia giggled softly, and then glanced at Arizona, who nodded slightly toward the chubby man. “Oh right… Thank you for all the presents last year, Santa. I especially liked the LeapFrog laptop. It has a lot of fun games on it and games that help me with my ABC’s!”
Arizona smiled, “Good job, Sofia.” She winked at the Santa, who now knew the little girl’s name. Callie slipped her arm around Arizona’s waist, chuckling at the situation.
The Santa laughed and pulled Sofia into his lap. He eyed her carefully while brushing his beard thoughtfully, “You were a good girl last year, Sofia.”
Sofia’s eyes widened when he said her name. She turned to her mothers and bounced, “It’s really him, Moms!”
“I see that, big girl,” Arizona said with a laugh while Callie shook her head with a laugh.
The Santa laughed, “And you were a very good girl this year too, so why don’t you tell me what you’d like and then I’ll have an elf snap a picture of us for your Moms.”
Sofia glanced at her mother, then back to Santa before asking, “Uhm, Santa… Do I have to ask for something for me, or can I ask for something for someone else?”
The Santa narrowed his eyes for a moment while he thought about the question. He rubbed his beard with his free hand again before saying, “You can ask for anything you want, but I can’t guarantee anything. My magic is different for every person, so what I can do for you, I might not be able to do for someone else. Do you understand, Sofia?”
“I think so,” she said after a few minutes. “I have a lot of toys, Santa. I don’t really need anymore. But my Mama,” she pointed to Arizona, “She’s a special kid doctor in a big hospital and sometimes, the kids there don’t get anything for Christmas… I was wondering if my presents could go to some of them. Oh! And my biggest wish of all though is for my little sister to really love me. Can you make that happen, Santa?”
Both parents had tears in their eyes. Sofia managed to surprise them all the time, but this was entire unexpected. Their little girl had a huge heart.
“Where is your little sister? Has she been a good girl?” Santa asked.
Sofia giggled and pointed at Callie, “She’s still in Mommy’s tummy. And she’s usually good, but Mommy says that she keeps her up at night and that is bad, isn’t it?”
The Santa laughed huskily, “It’s not bad from a baby still inside Mommy’s tummy. It’s actually good, it means she’s strong and active and I promise you, she’s going to love you a lot, cause she has an awesome big sister.”
“Mama says I’m awesome too!” Sofia cheered.
“That’s because you are, big girl; totally super awesome.” She wrapped Callie up in a hug and whispered into her ear, “We have the most amazing daughter. Mark would be so proud; I know I am.”
By now, Callie was crying too, “I am too.”
Moments later, the picture was snapped and handed to Arizona. Sofia turned and waved to Santa before grabbing Callie’s hand. “Thank you for letting me sees the real Santa, Moms.”
“You deserved it, Sofia. You’re such a good girl.” Callie said while they walked back toward the mall entrance.
“And Santa told me that you’re going to still get a mountain of gifts, but he also promised to give lots of gifts to kids all over the world in hospitals. If you’d like, Sofia, we can get some toys to take to the kids in the Peds ward tomorrow.” Arizona suggested.
“Really, Mama?”
Arizona nodded, “Of course, baby girl. I think it’s wonderful that you want to give others a happy Christmas.”
“Yay!” Sofia jumped and giggled when Callie tugged her arm gently.
The little family walked out of the mall and stood there for several moments. Callie stared at Arizona, who was looking around as though she lost something. “What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing is wrong…” She pulled out her keys and started hitting the alarm button, waiting to hear the sound which would help her remember where she parked.
“You know, this wouldn’t happen if you would just use the handicap spots, Arizona,” Callie said with a sigh.
“But I don’t need to park in the handicap spaces. I’m perfectly capable of walking. I’d rather leave the spots available to people who need actually need to use them, not just so I can be closer to the entrance,” Arizona was completely tired of this particular fight. It had become worse since Callie became pregnant.
Callie crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, the fact that I’m a whale and it hurts me to walk so much means you could take advantage, since both of us being minor handicapped should equal one full handicap person and allow us to use the space. Doesn’t that make sense?”
Arizona shot a glare over her shoulder, “No! And that’s a terrible way to look at things. Is that what you want to teach Sofia? There are people much worse off than you or I and I would hate to take that space from them.”
“Aren’t you being a little dramatic over a parking spot?” Callie sighed.
“I could say the same thing to you,” Arizona said through her clenched teeth. She decided to ignore that fight, realizing that Callie was cranky and tired from lack of sleep and walking the mall.
“I want to go hoooome,” Callie whined.
“Me toooo,” Sofia whined.
Arizona rolled her eyes and turned to both of them. “Really? Well, I happen to think it’s a lovely day, perhaps we should spend it walking the parking lot, because that’s what I really wanted to do today.”
Sofia pouted, “Really, Mama?”
“Sarcasm is lost in little ears, Arizona,” Callie said with a triumphant grin. “No, Sof, Mama is just mad she can’t find the car.”
“Is that why we’re standing here?” Sofia asked.
“Yup. That’s why we’ve been standing here arguing for close to thirty minutes, instead of being halfway home and so close to cookies and presents.” Callie said with a pout.
“Mama, I want to go home,” Sofia whined again.
“Thanks Callie.” Arizona sighed and ran her hand through her hair while trying to remember where they parked. There wasn’t a silver SUV in sight, which was so weird, because the mall was packed and SUVs are a dime a dozen, and silver is a popular color!
“Maybe I should call a detective, have them come down and sort this mystery out,” Callie said with a chuckle.
“Like Scooby Doo, Mommy?” Sofia asked.
“Yeah and then we could all have some Scooby snacks!” Callie and Sofia both giggled.
Arizona was looking through her purse while mumbling under her breath. Callie couldn’t make out anything she was saying, but she knew she was poking Arizona’s last nerve. Serves her right for not parking in the handicap spot, after all, she’s missing a leg. Isn’t that exactly who the handicap spots were for? When Arizona stopped fighting her purse and looked up at Callie with bright red cheeks and a sheepish smile, Callie almost lost all her frustration in the adorableness of that look. “Uh oh… Okay, out with it…”
Arizona sighed and held up a second set of keys, “I forgot we came in your car.” She hit the button and a black SUV not even five spaces away from them beeped to life with a loud honk and lights flashing.
Callie laughed, “You’d think you were pregnant with the pregnancy brain you’ve developed lately.”
“Oh hush… maybe it’s sympathy pregnancy brain because of how much I love you.” Arizona said with a shake of her head as they all headed to the car.
A moment later the three were on their way home for an evening of Christmas dinner, cuddling, and festive movies. The next day, Sofia bought gifts for all the long term patients in the pediatric ward of the hospital. And Sofia never questioned again whether her little sister loved her or not when she arrived three months later.
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A glimpse into the future; Sofia is six and finally understanding Christmas and Santa.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I do not intend to profit in any way, shape or form by posting this story. It's for fun, nothing more, and nothing less. Please don't sue me.
A/N: Hi everyone! MERRY CHRISTMAS (or whatever other holiday you choose to celebrate). This story is a Secret Santa gift for the amazing mak62184. I tried my best to fit two of the prompts asked for in this story: {Christmas eve with Sofia. She is finally old enough to fully get the concept of Santa and Callie and Arizona go shopping at a really huge mall and then they can't find their car when they decide to leave]. This is really cheesy and saccharine, so I hope you still enjoy it.
_____ _____ _____ _____
“Okay, why did we have to drive an hour and half to a mall when there is a lovely one only fifteen minutes from the house?” Callie asked as she pouted from the passenger seat.
“Because this is the one with the real Santa, Mom, duh!” Sofia said while bouncing in the back seat.
“Sofia,” Arizona said while glancing in the rearview mirror at her six year old daughter.
Sofia smiled sheepishly when she caught her mother’s eye. “Sorry Mom. I forget that grownups don’t know these things.”
“I feel old,” Callie said with a pout as Arizona parked the car.
Arizona jumped out of the car quickly and ran around to open the door for Callie. Callie felt warmth spread throughout her body at the display. Once the door was opened, Arizona moved to the back door and started getting Sofia out of her booster seat. “This mall is three times the size of our little one.”
“Yes, make the pregnant lady walk around all day. You are so giving me a massage tonight, because I know my back is going to be sore.” Callie mumbled while carefully climbing out of the car.
“Anything you say, dear,” Arizona said with a grin and wink. She helped Sofia out of the car, and then shut the door. She then tried to help Callie, who batted her hands away. Arizona raised her hands with a chuckle and watched as Callie lumbered about with her six month baby belly. She then leaned toward said belly and whispered, “I hope you’re not responsible for Mommy’s mood today.”
“No, but someone else is,” Callie deadpanned while shut the door.
“Mommy, Santa isn’t going to give you a gift if you’re not nice,” Sofia said matter-of-factly as she slid her hand into Arizona’s.
“Yeah, Mommy, be nice to Mama.” Arizona said as Sofia started to pull her toward the mall. She turned her head and stuck her tongue out at Callie, before skipping off with Sofia... well, sort of skipping, as best as a person with one leg could skip. Callie rolled her eyes while making sure the doors of the car were locked, and then followed after her girls. She couldn’t help the small laugh though while she watched Arizona and Sofia skip along together. Christmas never failed to bring out Arizona’s inner child.
“C’mon, Mom!” Sofia turned and yelled.
“I’m coming, I’m coming…” Callie said as she waddled after them. Once close enough, she slid her hand into Arizona’s free one and the three walked together into the huge outlet mall. This particular mall was known for having a very large Santa display and when Sofia saw the picture, she begged for over a week to go visit.
“I’m hungry; can we stop in the food court?” Callie asked as they lazily wandered through the mall. The Santa display was in the center and according to all the signs they saw, they were headed in the right direction.
Arizona raised a brow, “But we just ate a huge breakf--…” And if looks could kill, Arizona would be six feet under because of the glare Callie was shooting at her. “O-of course we can, yeah, we’ll get a snack, maybe some ice cream? How’s that sound, Sofster?”
“Ice cream in the morning?” she said with wide, surprised eyes.
“Why not?” Arizona winked at Sofia, who jumped up and said a very Arizona-like yay.
“Great, you think she’s bouncing off the walls now, wait until she has a load of sugar in her,” Callie said while shaking her head.
“Jeeze, why are you Grinching out over there?” Arizona asked.
“Yeah, Mommy, you’re acting like the Grinch!” Sofia giggled.
“I am not. But if I was, I totally have a good reason. It’s because your Mama’s Robbins genes make this baby in my tummy hyper active, especially at three in the morning. Which means Mommy doesn’t get to sleep much. And no sleep will make anyone cranky, don’t you think?” Callie used her free hand to gently poke her belly. The little ball of energy was asleep now, of course.
“She said she’s cranky, Sof. See, we were right,” Arizona said with a grin, quickly dropping Callie’s hand and stepping a few steps ahead of her.
“Oh, don’t you worry, Arizona, I’ll get you later for that one.” To be honest, Callie was over the moon happy at carrying Arizona’s baby. When she broached the subject again, Arizona had broken down in tears and admitted that she was beyond scared to try and carry another baby. They had a long heartfelt conversation and Callie suggested they run some tests and see if she could carry it. Five weeks later Callie was pregnant with Arizona’s egg and a blonde haired, blue-eyed sperm donor.
“I’m hoping so!” Arizona said with a wink over her shoulder. She then turned her attention back to where they were going, leading the little family to the food court.
Ten minutes later, Arizona and Sofia were happily licking mink chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone. Arizona had grabbed two handfuls of napkins, knowing Sofia was going through a phase where she mimicked Arizona; including getting the same type of food. Ice cream cone at a six year old would mean a big mess.
Callie, on the other hand, had a bowl which held a scoop of cotton candy ice cream, peppermint ice cream, and a scoop of peanut butter ice cream. Just the thought of those combinations made Arizona’s stomach queasy, but pregnancy cravings were not to be questioned.
“Ooh, Arizona, get me a pretzel with some honey mustard.” Callie said. And when Arizona just stared at her for a minute she added, “Pretty please?”
“What Mommy wants Mommy gets… c’mon Princess Sofia, let’s get Mommy a pretzel.” Arizona nodded to a small table, “You sit and get comfortable with your ice cream, and we’ll be right back.”
Only five minutes later, they were back and plopping into the seats at the table. Callie had completely finished her ice cream already and made grabby hands at Arizona for the pretzel. “Yeesh, someone’s hungry.”
“It’s your fault. Now gimme.”
Arizona handed the pretzel and honey mustard over and cringed as Callie immediately dug into her treat. The little family chatted while Callie finished up, and then started their trek toward Santa again.
“Mama, did you know that Santa made some of his elves look like him so that they can visit all the malls in the world, so kids like me will be able to tell him what we want?” Sofia asked as she walked hand in hand with Arizona.
“Wow, really? I didn’t know that. Where did you hear that?” Arizona asked.
“Samantha told me in the playground. She’s three years older than me! She told me that the real Santa only comes to this mall.”
“So that’s why we’re here…” Callie said with a sigh.
Arizona shot a look at Callie, but then quickly turned back to Sofia. “Well, if the elves that look like Santa do the same thing as the real Santa, why did we come all the way to this mall?”
“Because the real thing is better!” Sofia said with a grin.
“You got that right, kiddo,” Arizona said with a chuckle.
Sofia’s eyes widened when they made it to the center of the mall. The entire place was decorated as though it were Santa’s workshop, with elves controlling the line which led to the big man himself, who was sitting in the center on a huge throne. “Wow. This has to be the real Santa!”
Callie and Arizona were thinking the same thing. The man sitting on the chair had on an outfit that could barely contain his girth and a real beard, not the fake ones most Santa’s paraded around with this time of year.
Arizona stepped up to Sofia and bent down as best she could to talk to her on her own level. “Okay, Sofia. You ready to talk to Mr. Claus?”
Sofia nodded, “I’ll be real good, Mama, I promise.”
It took thirty minutes to get through the line, but Sofia finally made it to Santa. She walked up to him and smiled brightly, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Claus.”
The Santa grinned and then bellowed, “Ho, ho, ho there, Cutie. Please, call me Santa.”
Sofia giggled softly, and then glanced at Arizona, who nodded slightly toward the chubby man. “Oh right… Thank you for all the presents last year, Santa. I especially liked the LeapFrog laptop. It has a lot of fun games on it and games that help me with my ABC’s!”
Arizona smiled, “Good job, Sofia.” She winked at the Santa, who now knew the little girl’s name. Callie slipped her arm around Arizona’s waist, chuckling at the situation.
The Santa laughed and pulled Sofia into his lap. He eyed her carefully while brushing his beard thoughtfully, “You were a good girl last year, Sofia.”
Sofia’s eyes widened when he said her name. She turned to her mothers and bounced, “It’s really him, Moms!”
“I see that, big girl,” Arizona said with a laugh while Callie shook her head with a laugh.
The Santa laughed, “And you were a very good girl this year too, so why don’t you tell me what you’d like and then I’ll have an elf snap a picture of us for your Moms.”
Sofia glanced at her mother, then back to Santa before asking, “Uhm, Santa… Do I have to ask for something for me, or can I ask for something for someone else?”
The Santa narrowed his eyes for a moment while he thought about the question. He rubbed his beard with his free hand again before saying, “You can ask for anything you want, but I can’t guarantee anything. My magic is different for every person, so what I can do for you, I might not be able to do for someone else. Do you understand, Sofia?”
“I think so,” she said after a few minutes. “I have a lot of toys, Santa. I don’t really need anymore. But my Mama,” she pointed to Arizona, “She’s a special kid doctor in a big hospital and sometimes, the kids there don’t get anything for Christmas… I was wondering if my presents could go to some of them. Oh! And my biggest wish of all though is for my little sister to really love me. Can you make that happen, Santa?”
Both parents had tears in their eyes. Sofia managed to surprise them all the time, but this was entire unexpected. Their little girl had a huge heart.
“Where is your little sister? Has she been a good girl?” Santa asked.
Sofia giggled and pointed at Callie, “She’s still in Mommy’s tummy. And she’s usually good, but Mommy says that she keeps her up at night and that is bad, isn’t it?”
The Santa laughed huskily, “It’s not bad from a baby still inside Mommy’s tummy. It’s actually good, it means she’s strong and active and I promise you, she’s going to love you a lot, cause she has an awesome big sister.”
“Mama says I’m awesome too!” Sofia cheered.
“That’s because you are, big girl; totally super awesome.” She wrapped Callie up in a hug and whispered into her ear, “We have the most amazing daughter. Mark would be so proud; I know I am.”
By now, Callie was crying too, “I am too.”
Moments later, the picture was snapped and handed to Arizona. Sofia turned and waved to Santa before grabbing Callie’s hand. “Thank you for letting me sees the real Santa, Moms.”
“You deserved it, Sofia. You’re such a good girl.” Callie said while they walked back toward the mall entrance.
“And Santa told me that you’re going to still get a mountain of gifts, but he also promised to give lots of gifts to kids all over the world in hospitals. If you’d like, Sofia, we can get some toys to take to the kids in the Peds ward tomorrow.” Arizona suggested.
“Really, Mama?”
Arizona nodded, “Of course, baby girl. I think it’s wonderful that you want to give others a happy Christmas.”
“Yay!” Sofia jumped and giggled when Callie tugged her arm gently.
The little family walked out of the mall and stood there for several moments. Callie stared at Arizona, who was looking around as though she lost something. “What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing is wrong…” She pulled out her keys and started hitting the alarm button, waiting to hear the sound which would help her remember where she parked.
“You know, this wouldn’t happen if you would just use the handicap spots, Arizona,” Callie said with a sigh.
“But I don’t need to park in the handicap spaces. I’m perfectly capable of walking. I’d rather leave the spots available to people who need actually need to use them, not just so I can be closer to the entrance,” Arizona was completely tired of this particular fight. It had become worse since Callie became pregnant.
Callie crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, the fact that I’m a whale and it hurts me to walk so much means you could take advantage, since both of us being minor handicapped should equal one full handicap person and allow us to use the space. Doesn’t that make sense?”
Arizona shot a glare over her shoulder, “No! And that’s a terrible way to look at things. Is that what you want to teach Sofia? There are people much worse off than you or I and I would hate to take that space from them.”
“Aren’t you being a little dramatic over a parking spot?” Callie sighed.
“I could say the same thing to you,” Arizona said through her clenched teeth. She decided to ignore that fight, realizing that Callie was cranky and tired from lack of sleep and walking the mall.
“I want to go hoooome,” Callie whined.
“Me toooo,” Sofia whined.
Arizona rolled her eyes and turned to both of them. “Really? Well, I happen to think it’s a lovely day, perhaps we should spend it walking the parking lot, because that’s what I really wanted to do today.”
Sofia pouted, “Really, Mama?”
“Sarcasm is lost in little ears, Arizona,” Callie said with a triumphant grin. “No, Sof, Mama is just mad she can’t find the car.”
“Is that why we’re standing here?” Sofia asked.
“Yup. That’s why we’ve been standing here arguing for close to thirty minutes, instead of being halfway home and so close to cookies and presents.” Callie said with a pout.
“Mama, I want to go home,” Sofia whined again.
“Thanks Callie.” Arizona sighed and ran her hand through her hair while trying to remember where they parked. There wasn’t a silver SUV in sight, which was so weird, because the mall was packed and SUVs are a dime a dozen, and silver is a popular color!
“Maybe I should call a detective, have them come down and sort this mystery out,” Callie said with a chuckle.
“Like Scooby Doo, Mommy?” Sofia asked.
“Yeah and then we could all have some Scooby snacks!” Callie and Sofia both giggled.
Arizona was looking through her purse while mumbling under her breath. Callie couldn’t make out anything she was saying, but she knew she was poking Arizona’s last nerve. Serves her right for not parking in the handicap spot, after all, she’s missing a leg. Isn’t that exactly who the handicap spots were for? When Arizona stopped fighting her purse and looked up at Callie with bright red cheeks and a sheepish smile, Callie almost lost all her frustration in the adorableness of that look. “Uh oh… Okay, out with it…”
Arizona sighed and held up a second set of keys, “I forgot we came in your car.” She hit the button and a black SUV not even five spaces away from them beeped to life with a loud honk and lights flashing.
Callie laughed, “You’d think you were pregnant with the pregnancy brain you’ve developed lately.”
“Oh hush… maybe it’s sympathy pregnancy brain because of how much I love you.” Arizona said with a shake of her head as they all headed to the car.
A moment later the three were on their way home for an evening of Christmas dinner, cuddling, and festive movies. The next day, Sofia bought gifts for all the long term patients in the pediatric ward of the hospital. And Sofia never questioned again whether her little sister loved her or not when she arrived three months later.