Halloween Contest Entry - Fanfiction: "The Great Costume Debacle"
TITLE: The Great Costume Debacle
RATING: PG
PROMPT: •A couple of years down the road, the Robbins/Torres family prepares for their Halloween fun. A very, very pregnant-- and very, very uncomfortable-- Callie needs a costume, but none of Arizona's suggestions are doing the trick (at least, she's not getting her desired treats...)
DISCLAIMER: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Sometimes all it takes for a person's world to come to a screeching halt is for an innocent comment from the mouth of a child.
"What are you going to be for Halloween, Mommy?" Five year old Sofia asked Callie Torres one night in late September.
"I haven't really thought about it, sweetie. What are YOU going as?" Callie evaded.
"A princess." Sofia's tone had a "Duh, mommy" quality to it. There really should not have been any question regarding the little one's costume since the girl was deeply enraptured with all things royalty.
"I see. Have you talked to your mama about her costume?"
"Mama's a pirate, Mommy." The unspoken "You should know that" rang through the room.
"What are the chances of getting her to change her mind about that?
"You could be mama's parrot!" Sofia said excitedly.
Callie rolled her eyes. "We'll keep thinking, sweetheart." She leaned down to kiss her child's forehead. "Goodnight."
She left the door slightly ajar upon her exit.
"She go down ok?" Arizona asked from her seat on the couch.
Callie crossed the room to sit next to her wife. "Yeah. She's got Halloween and princesses on the brain."
Arizona gave a noncommittal grunt in response.
"YOU, however, need to find something new this year."
"But Callie." Arizona whined petulantly. "I already have everything I need."
"No more pirates. I don't care how many pirates you can name, your days as Jack Sparrow, Blackbeard, Hook from Peter Pan, Hook from Once Upon A Time, they're all done." Callie stated sternly.
"Well what's your costume?"
Callie shrugged. "Don't have one yet." She rubbed absentmindedly at her seven months pregnant belly.
Arizona leaned over to cover Callie's hand with her own."Active tonight, huh?"
Callie nodded. "Honestly, I'd rather just stay at home and pass out the candy."
"But trick or treating with Sof is tradition."
"I'm sure she'll understand that Junior here is behind yet another family function in which mommy can't participate."
Arizona stared intently at her wife. "You can't keep using the baby as a cop out, Callie."
"That's not what I'm doing!" She held Arizona's stare for as long as she could. "Ok, maybe a little bit." She inhaled deeply. "Compromise?" Arizona nodded. "I need help figuring out a costume."
"You could be a genie."
Callie glared at the other woman. "That's just BEGGING for people to rub my belly. Do you not remember what happened to April?"
Arizona cringed. "I can't believe you decked her after giving her permission to feel your belly."
"She wouldn't stop touching it!"
"She barely put her hands on you, Callie!"
Callie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm still not going to be a genie."
"Ok, something to cover up the baby belly. Hmmmmm. What about a dinosaur? I'm sure you could rent a Barney costume."
"No."
"Not a Barney fan. I got it! One of the Fruit of the Loom fruits."
Callie removed Arizona's hand from her baby bump and left the room. She returned a few minutes later carrying a pillow and blankets.
Arizona watched in confusion. "Why do you have those?"
"Because until you do better than oversized fruit and purple dinosaurs, you are sleeping on the couch."
SEVERAL DAYS LATER
Arizona approached the nurse's station where Callie was busy charting. "So I was talking over our problem with April and she mentioned that one year she and her sister Kimmy went as a horse, but then we decided that with my leg and your baby bump that that was out, which got us to cow costumes."
Callie snapped the chart shut. "I am NOT dressing as a cow, Arizona."
"Ok, ok. I've got a few more ideas. How do you feel about Ursula from the Little Mermaid?"
Callie ignored her wife's costume suggestions.
"Big Bird? Clifford the Bid Red Dog?"
Callie walked away from her.
"Is it all animals you hate or just livestock?" Arizona called after her.
THREE WEEKS BEFORE HALLOWEEN
"Knocked up cheerleader?"Arizona tried one night as they watched tv together.
"No."
"Zombie doctor?"
"Unoriginal."
"Truck driver?"
"No."
"Aunt Jemima?"
"Seriously?"
"Mrs. Butterworth?"
"Wow, this is starting to sound kinda racist."
"Mrs. Garrett from the Facts of Life?"
Callie glared at Arizona.
"What? You've got the boobs to pull it off."
"Goodnight, Arizona. Enjoy the couch."
TWO WEEKS BEFORE HALLOWEEN
Arizona threw her hands in the air. "What is wrong with Frankenstein? He's a classic!"
Callie threw the dish towel that was in her hands onto the counter next to the stove. "No! God, why are you so freaking obtuse?"
"At this rate, you oughtta go as a witch." Arizona mumbled in frustration.
Callie's eyes welled with tears.
"Mama! I'm ready!" Sofia called from her bedroom.
"Coming, Sof!" Arizona responded automatically. "Callie, I..."
"Go put Sofia to bed, Arizona." Callie murmured as she moved toward their bedroom door.
Arizona sighed heavily in frustration and ran her fingers through her hair. She needed insight into Callie's brain and time was running out. She entered her daughter's room. "Got your story picked out?"
"Are you and Mommy fighting again?" Sofia asked, her lower lip trembling.
"Of course not, sweetie." Arizona sat on the edge of the bed and covered her daughter's hand with her own.
"But you've been sleeping on the couch."
Arizona released a deep breath. "Sometimes mommies disagree about things."
"Is it because of my baby brother of sister?"
Arizona was slow to respond.
"I knew it! I knew it was a bad thing for us!" Sofia cried as she buried her head in her pillow.
Arizona laid next to the crying girl and held her tight. "The baby is a good thing, Sofia. Right now, Mommy and I are trying to figure something out and your mommy's really mad at me."
"Is it because you don't think she's pretty anymore?" Sofia sniffled.
"Where on earth did you hear that?" This was news to Arizona.
"I heard Mommy tell Aunt Meredith that you were making her feel fat and ugly. Why would you do that, Mama?"
As she recalled the past few weeks, Arizona felt about two inches tall. "Y-your mommy is the most beautiful person I have ever met and I am so lucky to have her." Her voice cracked slightly. "I'll do better, sweetie." She continued to hold her daughter close until the small girl's breaths evened.
Arizona eased away from the sleeping girl and left the room. She crossed the room and knocked lightly on the door to the bedroom she shared with her wife. "Callie, please. Let me in."
The door unlocked and cracked open slightly. "What do you want?"
"What I want is to tell my wife that she is the most gorgeous being on this planet. That every time I see her takes my breath away. That not a day goes by without me thanking God or Buddha or the flying Horses in the sky or whatever that you are in my life."
"Arizona," Callie's voice cracked.
"Callie, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that my costume suggestions were making you feel fat and ugly and unloved."
Callie pushed the door open and welcomed Arizona into her embrace.
"I love you so much, Calliope. Please don't doubt that."
"I love you, too, Arizona."
HALLOWEEN NIGHT
"Callie, are you ready?" Arizona called as she readjusted Sofia's tiara.
The bedroom door opened to reveal Callie in her costume...as Santa Claus. "I'm having trouble with my belt. Between my beard and my belly, I can't see what I'm doing."
Arizona chuckled. "Does that fall under the duties of Mrs. claus?" She teased as she buckled Santa's belt.
"Possibly." Callie pressed a light kiss to Arizona's lips. In a gruff voice, she said, "Has Princess Sofia been a good girl this year or a naughty one?"
Sofia giggled. "Silly Mommy."
Callie hefted a brown burlap bag over her left shoulder and offered her right arm to Arizona. "Shall we, Mrs. Claus?"
"Ready, Santa." Arizona said with a wink and a smile. She pressed another light kiss to Callie's rosy cheek. "Thank you for agreeing to this, Callie." She whispered as they watched Sofia run down the hall ahead of them.
"Thank you for coming up with an idea I could get behind."
"Well, Santa Claus DOES make the best deliveries and in a couple of weeks, I think you'll have Santa beat."
With the laughter of a child in their ears, the Robbins-Torres family began their evening of trick or treating.
RATING: PG
PROMPT: •A couple of years down the road, the Robbins/Torres family prepares for their Halloween fun. A very, very pregnant-- and very, very uncomfortable-- Callie needs a costume, but none of Arizona's suggestions are doing the trick (at least, she's not getting her desired treats...)
DISCLAIMER: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Sometimes all it takes for a person's world to come to a screeching halt is for an innocent comment from the mouth of a child.
"What are you going to be for Halloween, Mommy?" Five year old Sofia asked Callie Torres one night in late September.
"I haven't really thought about it, sweetie. What are YOU going as?" Callie evaded.
"A princess." Sofia's tone had a "Duh, mommy" quality to it. There really should not have been any question regarding the little one's costume since the girl was deeply enraptured with all things royalty.
"I see. Have you talked to your mama about her costume?"
"Mama's a pirate, Mommy." The unspoken "You should know that" rang through the room.
"What are the chances of getting her to change her mind about that?
"You could be mama's parrot!" Sofia said excitedly.
Callie rolled her eyes. "We'll keep thinking, sweetheart." She leaned down to kiss her child's forehead. "Goodnight."
She left the door slightly ajar upon her exit.
"She go down ok?" Arizona asked from her seat on the couch.
Callie crossed the room to sit next to her wife. "Yeah. She's got Halloween and princesses on the brain."
Arizona gave a noncommittal grunt in response.
"YOU, however, need to find something new this year."
"But Callie." Arizona whined petulantly. "I already have everything I need."
"No more pirates. I don't care how many pirates you can name, your days as Jack Sparrow, Blackbeard, Hook from Peter Pan, Hook from Once Upon A Time, they're all done." Callie stated sternly.
"Well what's your costume?"
Callie shrugged. "Don't have one yet." She rubbed absentmindedly at her seven months pregnant belly.
Arizona leaned over to cover Callie's hand with her own."Active tonight, huh?"
Callie nodded. "Honestly, I'd rather just stay at home and pass out the candy."
"But trick or treating with Sof is tradition."
"I'm sure she'll understand that Junior here is behind yet another family function in which mommy can't participate."
Arizona stared intently at her wife. "You can't keep using the baby as a cop out, Callie."
"That's not what I'm doing!" She held Arizona's stare for as long as she could. "Ok, maybe a little bit." She inhaled deeply. "Compromise?" Arizona nodded. "I need help figuring out a costume."
"You could be a genie."
Callie glared at the other woman. "That's just BEGGING for people to rub my belly. Do you not remember what happened to April?"
Arizona cringed. "I can't believe you decked her after giving her permission to feel your belly."
"She wouldn't stop touching it!"
"She barely put her hands on you, Callie!"
Callie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm still not going to be a genie."
"Ok, something to cover up the baby belly. Hmmmmm. What about a dinosaur? I'm sure you could rent a Barney costume."
"No."
"Not a Barney fan. I got it! One of the Fruit of the Loom fruits."
Callie removed Arizona's hand from her baby bump and left the room. She returned a few minutes later carrying a pillow and blankets.
Arizona watched in confusion. "Why do you have those?"
"Because until you do better than oversized fruit and purple dinosaurs, you are sleeping on the couch."
SEVERAL DAYS LATER
Arizona approached the nurse's station where Callie was busy charting. "So I was talking over our problem with April and she mentioned that one year she and her sister Kimmy went as a horse, but then we decided that with my leg and your baby bump that that was out, which got us to cow costumes."
Callie snapped the chart shut. "I am NOT dressing as a cow, Arizona."
"Ok, ok. I've got a few more ideas. How do you feel about Ursula from the Little Mermaid?"
Callie ignored her wife's costume suggestions.
"Big Bird? Clifford the Bid Red Dog?"
Callie walked away from her.
"Is it all animals you hate or just livestock?" Arizona called after her.
THREE WEEKS BEFORE HALLOWEEN
"Knocked up cheerleader?"Arizona tried one night as they watched tv together.
"No."
"Zombie doctor?"
"Unoriginal."
"Truck driver?"
"No."
"Aunt Jemima?"
"Seriously?"
"Mrs. Butterworth?"
"Wow, this is starting to sound kinda racist."
"Mrs. Garrett from the Facts of Life?"
Callie glared at Arizona.
"What? You've got the boobs to pull it off."
"Goodnight, Arizona. Enjoy the couch."
TWO WEEKS BEFORE HALLOWEEN
Arizona threw her hands in the air. "What is wrong with Frankenstein? He's a classic!"
Callie threw the dish towel that was in her hands onto the counter next to the stove. "No! God, why are you so freaking obtuse?"
"At this rate, you oughtta go as a witch." Arizona mumbled in frustration.
Callie's eyes welled with tears.
"Mama! I'm ready!" Sofia called from her bedroom.
"Coming, Sof!" Arizona responded automatically. "Callie, I..."
"Go put Sofia to bed, Arizona." Callie murmured as she moved toward their bedroom door.
Arizona sighed heavily in frustration and ran her fingers through her hair. She needed insight into Callie's brain and time was running out. She entered her daughter's room. "Got your story picked out?"
"Are you and Mommy fighting again?" Sofia asked, her lower lip trembling.
"Of course not, sweetie." Arizona sat on the edge of the bed and covered her daughter's hand with her own.
"But you've been sleeping on the couch."
Arizona released a deep breath. "Sometimes mommies disagree about things."
"Is it because of my baby brother of sister?"
Arizona was slow to respond.
"I knew it! I knew it was a bad thing for us!" Sofia cried as she buried her head in her pillow.
Arizona laid next to the crying girl and held her tight. "The baby is a good thing, Sofia. Right now, Mommy and I are trying to figure something out and your mommy's really mad at me."
"Is it because you don't think she's pretty anymore?" Sofia sniffled.
"Where on earth did you hear that?" This was news to Arizona.
"I heard Mommy tell Aunt Meredith that you were making her feel fat and ugly. Why would you do that, Mama?"
As she recalled the past few weeks, Arizona felt about two inches tall. "Y-your mommy is the most beautiful person I have ever met and I am so lucky to have her." Her voice cracked slightly. "I'll do better, sweetie." She continued to hold her daughter close until the small girl's breaths evened.
Arizona eased away from the sleeping girl and left the room. She crossed the room and knocked lightly on the door to the bedroom she shared with her wife. "Callie, please. Let me in."
The door unlocked and cracked open slightly. "What do you want?"
"What I want is to tell my wife that she is the most gorgeous being on this planet. That every time I see her takes my breath away. That not a day goes by without me thanking God or Buddha or the flying Horses in the sky or whatever that you are in my life."
"Arizona," Callie's voice cracked.
"Callie, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that my costume suggestions were making you feel fat and ugly and unloved."
Callie pushed the door open and welcomed Arizona into her embrace.
"I love you so much, Calliope. Please don't doubt that."
"I love you, too, Arizona."
HALLOWEEN NIGHT
"Callie, are you ready?" Arizona called as she readjusted Sofia's tiara.
The bedroom door opened to reveal Callie in her costume...as Santa Claus. "I'm having trouble with my belt. Between my beard and my belly, I can't see what I'm doing."
Arizona chuckled. "Does that fall under the duties of Mrs. claus?" She teased as she buckled Santa's belt.
"Possibly." Callie pressed a light kiss to Arizona's lips. In a gruff voice, she said, "Has Princess Sofia been a good girl this year or a naughty one?"
Sofia giggled. "Silly Mommy."
Callie hefted a brown burlap bag over her left shoulder and offered her right arm to Arizona. "Shall we, Mrs. Claus?"
"Ready, Santa." Arizona said with a wink and a smile. She pressed another light kiss to Callie's rosy cheek. "Thank you for agreeing to this, Callie." She whispered as they watched Sofia run down the hall ahead of them.
"Thank you for coming up with an idea I could get behind."
"Well, Santa Claus DOES make the best deliveries and in a couple of weeks, I think you'll have Santa beat."
With the laughter of a child in their ears, the Robbins-Torres family began their evening of trick or treating.