Fic: Well Maybe What You Want is Right Here 17/?
Title: Well Maybe What You Want is Right Here 17/?
Pairing: Arizona/Callie
Rating: M
Summary: Sometimes we don't realize what we want until we just know. And sometimes we realize that certain things are worth fighting for. Starts a day or two after the scene in 11x08. Timeline may not be perfectly canon.
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.
A/N: If you’re still keeping up with this story, I want to say thanks! I hope I’m still taking these characters on a journey that is worthy of them - I’d love to hear what you think!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Callie
The last two months have been absolutely insane.
Arizona and I had both hit the ground running when we came back from Pismo Beach. Herman had apparently been busy during her recovery spreading the word throughout the medical community about her latest protegé, and a steady stream of referrals had started to contact the hospital from all over the country. Addison Montgomery had even sent a few people her way -- thrilled that there was now a second fetal surgeon on the west coast she could recommend to potential patients who would have otherwise travelled to L.A. I’d talked to Addie a few times over the last couple months, and she was blown away by the things she was hearing about Arizona -- which I’ll admit made my heart swell with pride a little, knowing that feisty redhead didn’t give out praise easily. The blonde had been slightly stressed out about everything at first, but I could see she was thriving; she was becoming more and more confident and loving every minute of utilizing her new skills.
My own work with the robotics lab had also had a major breakthrough after we came back; one of the neuro functions we had been struggling with was finally working how I imagined. Amelia had agreed to sign on as the new neurosurgeon to the trial after seeing the success we were having - and possibly after a nudge from Arizona -- and I was really enjoying working with the other woman. Her knowledge of prosthetics was limited, but she brought some new ideas to the table and we’d already been able to fine-tune a lot of the functions. I'd had a handful of new patients from the veteran project come through to try the prototype, and just last week we'd been approved to send our first patient home and out into the world to test it for "real-life" wear. Of course, I'd wanted Arizona to be the first take-home trial -- the entire project had started because of her -- but she had declined, just not feeling like she was ready to deal with getting used to a new leg on top of her busy schedule. A year ago I probably would have been annoyed about it, but this time I completely understood.
But between all our work, and preschool, and Sofia's new dance class, it felt like we had barely had time to breathe the last little while. We hadn't been on a date in two months, and had barely even talked about getting married and any of our plans for that. We had managed to follow our family dinner twice a week rule, however. Some nights one of us barely squeaked home in time, and it had admittedly been a family dinner of takeout on the couch at least twice, but we'd made that promise to each other and we were hell bent on keeping it.
As I check the enchiladas in the oven and glance at the clock, I can't help but smile at the thought of welcoming Arizona home any minute now. These nights had become my absolute favourite -- and tonight especially I was looking forward to seeing the blonde because I had a surprise for her, one I’d been holding onto for the last week and a half waiting for the right time.
I glance over at the tiny blue box sitting on her plate at the table, suddenly a little nervous. Hopefully a surprise she'll like.
Two weeks ago, I'd swiped the sapphire ring that I'd given her when we moved into the house and had a new engraving added -- a line from one of our favourite songs. Part of me had wanted to buy her a brand new ring, since this was a brand new start for us, but...she had loved that ring so much I thought I would just...update it.
I hear the front door opening and Sofia's footsteps as she runs out from the living room and...yeah, suddenly I'm a lot nervous.
The childish chattering from the front of the house goes on for several minutes -- she's completely inheriting Arizona's perky, bubbly mannerisms, so help me -- and I take the opportunity to get the last bits of supper ready, mixing up the bowl of salad and checking the dish in the oven before turning the heat down.
"Something smells delicious in here! Sof, were you cooking again?"
I look up and smile as the blonde appears in the doorway, the little girl on her hip, and Sofia just glances over at me and giggles.
"Yah! I made it alllllllll. Mommy did nothin'. "
"It's true," I look around, shrugging helplessly, "she's taken over. I'm no longer needed here."
Moving around the island, Arizona leans in and captures my lips in a soft kiss, and I sigh happily into the now-familiar greeting.
"Mm, I still need you."
"Mamaaaaa!"
The four-year-old wrinkles her nose a little, giving both of us an exasperated look from her perch in her mother’s arms. Kissing had, apparently, become something totally and completely appalling.
"Mama loves kissing!"
I watch and can't help but laugh as she smooches Sofia on the lips, and then proceeds to cover her face in light little kisses until the squealing girl manages to squirm down to the floor. I’m constantly awed by the pure love and affection Arizona has for our little girl. It’s not that I ever thought she wouldn’t be an affectionate mother, but from the minute Sofia was born she had been utterly smitten, and she was adoringly demonstrative with her feelings.
"That's what happens, Sof," I run my fingers through her hair as she scurries away, "hey and don't go too far, supper is almost ready!"
The blonde watches her go, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she leans back on the counter.
"I fall more and more in love with that tiny human every day. How did we end up with such a perfect kid?"
"Well, she does have my genes."
"And Mark's."
I pause for a minute, unsure what tone she’s taking, but then I see her slightly raised eyebrow and the amused look on her face, and a laugh bubbles up from my throat.
"Yeah, good point. God, let's hope she takes after you when she’s a teenager."
Arizona's eyes go wide momentarily before she speaks.
"Oh no, no...let's not hope that. My teenage years were not all as pink and pretty as you imagine."
The timer goes off on the oven, and I give her a questioning look before heading over and sliding the pan out.
"You know, I really wish Tim was still around to tell me stories of your misguided youth."
"He'd be sworn to secrecy. There’s a reason no one sees pictures of me from a few years in there."
She peers down at the enchiladas and swipes her finger through the sauce lightly, bringing it up to her mouth.
"That's hot, Arizona!"
"And delicious."
I grab the salad bowl and thrust it towards her, pointing across the room, and I make a mental note to try bribing some old photos out of Barbara next time we talk. It had never actually occurred to me that there were a few years missing from the albums Arizona had, but now that she’s mentioned it I can’t not know.
"Here, take this to the table. Please."
She hadn't noticed the box on the table at all since she'd come in, and I glance over my shoulder as she heads that way now, waiting for her eyes to fall on the tiny gift. Holding my breath without realizing it, I fight against saying anything and just wait for her reaction. In a minute, she sets the bowl down, and I see her hand hover over her plate, a stunned look on her face.
"Open it."
I smile slowly, walking over toward the table, and wait in front of her as she delicately picks up the tiny box, giving me a questioning look.
"Just open it."
I bite my lip nervously, mustering up another smile as she meets my eyes, and watch as she drops her gaze again and opens the lid. She picks up the ring, smiling widely at the familiarity of it.
"I know I...already gave you that ring. And you probably felt awkward about putting it back on now. But you loved it so much, and it looked so beautiful on you that I didn’t think it should sit at the bottom of your jewelry box for the next fifty years. So look inside."
Giving me a curious look, she holds the ring up closer to her face and tilts it to see the engraving. I'd left the date that we moved into the house, and added a small inscription around the other side of the inner curve -- it had taken me three jewelers before I'd found one who could engrave small enough for it to fit.
I am me, the universe, and you.
"I hope you don’t think it’s lame...” I falter a bit as she simply stares at the inside of the ring, her eyes unreadable, “I thought...I didn't want them to erase the date. It was still an important day for us, you know? It's our history. But that line, it’s just...it’s how I feel about you. And I think how you feel about me. You are..." I trail off a little, my voice softening, nerves leaving me as I gaze at her face, "you are my future, Arizona. You are everything to me.”
A silence fills the space between us, and her eyes remain trained on the ring for another few seconds.
“Calliope Iphigenia Torres...”
My name tumbles from her lips in a whisper, her voice lyrically rolling through the syllables, and she looks up with brilliant blue eyes and a smile to meet my own as she speaks almost reverently.
“I love you. How did I get so lucky?”
She slips the ring on her left hand, nestling it beside the ring from Pismo that she’s yet to take off, and she steps around the table and immediately envelopes me in a tight embrace. I sigh happily at the warmth of her body against mine and nuzzle her hair affectionately, catching the sweet scent of her shampoo and perfume and everything that’s just...her.
“You really like it?”
Arizona pulls back then, her hands coming up to cup my face, and she kisses me forcefully, effectively silencing any of my doubts.
“I love it,” she kisses me once more, her smile brilliantly lighting up her face, “and I love you. It’s perfect, Calliope.”
Little footsteps patter back into the kitchen all of a sudden, and the other woman looks over, grinning as the child tries to peer up at the food on the counter, oblivious to the moment transpiring behind her.
“Ready for supper, little miss?”
“Yes pease!”
I glance down at Arizona’s hand, noticing she does the same, simply admiring the blue stone for a moment. It’s back where it belongs, and this time, it’s there to stay.
“Let’s eat then.”
*
“The thing I never understood is...why would you even want to make a coat out of puppies? They’re not even really furry puppies. I mean, how warm could that be anyway?”
“Shh!”
The hushed reply comes from the pajama-clad girl between us on the couch, and a dirty look is thrown my way by the woman on her other side.
“Because she’s evil, and that’s just what someone evil would do.”
For Sofia’s second birthday, Arizona’s mom had amassed a collection of the classic Disney movies on DVD - all of which had, naturally, been the blonde’s favourites as a child. I had always watched Disney movies, sure, but my sister and I had never obsessed over them quite as much as I feel the Robbins children did. Sofia’s current favourite of the lot was 101 Dalmatians, and so after some brief coaxing on my part it had narrowly beat out Frozen as tonight’s viewing choice.
Sofia shrieked suddenly as said villain appeared on the television, and she burrowed into my side, peeking out cautiously.
“It’s okay! She’ll never be able to catch them. They’ve got the...uh, barking telephone thing...”
“The Twilight Bark!”
Arizona finishes for me, grinning delightedly as her attention remains fixed on the screen. I look over Sofia’s head and just watch her, unable to help the smile that plays on my lips. She’s so wonderfully childlike sometimes in her love for these movies. It’s adorable.
Reaching around, I tug the sleeve of her hoodie a bit, beckoning her until she shifts closer on the couch to where I can wrap my arm around her shoulders. Sofia shifts half onto her lap and snuggles in, and Arizona simply rests her head against my shoulder with a content sigh, her attention never leaving the animated drama in front of us.
“Look, Sofia! Here comes Pongo!”
*
“But I’m not tireddd, Mama.”
I glance down with an amused look as the child’s argument is punctuated by a loud yawn.
“But Donny is sooo tired.”
Arizona squeezes the foot of the well-loved purple dinosaur teddy in Sofia’s arms, and then smoothes her hand over the head of dark hair.
“And you know he can’t sleep without you. So I think we should get you both into bed.”
Sofia looks up at me innocently, her big brown eyes trying to coax me into disagreeing.
“Mommy, I don’t wannaaaa.”
“But if you go to bed now, you can have a story. How does that sound?”
I climb off the couch and scoop the little girl into my arms, dino and all. She’s still faintly protesting, but she yawns and clutches the teddy bear, letting out a world-weary sigh as she leans against my shoulder.
“You and mama go to bed too.”
The blonde pushes herself up, dropping a soft kiss on our daughter’s cheek. I smile at her, a knowing look passing between us as the little girl airs her familiar bedtime statement - always afraid we’re going to have too much fun without her. I shift my hold a bit before heading out and down towards the bedrooms, and head into hers to get her settled for the night. I doubt it’s going to take very long.
“Mama and I will go to bed soon too, don’t worry.”
*
Arizona
I tidy up the living room and do a last check of the lights and locks around the house before making my way down to the bedroom, pausing only briefly outside Sofia’s door with a smile at the sound of Callie’s voice reading out loud. She’s by far the best storyteller in the house - the best I’ve ever heard, truthfully. She’s enthralling, and she does these amazing voices, and it’s no wonder our daughter has such a love for books already.
I switch the lamp on beside our bed and pull off my hoodie, padding into the bathroom. When the light comes on in there, it catches the stone on my finger, and I can’t help bring my hand up to admire the beautiful piece of jewelry for the thousandth time tonight.
It really is perfect. I slip it off carefully, holding it up to run my finger along the inside, over the delicately engraved words that now adorn the inner band. The countless times we had listened to that song, had danced to it, sung it under our breath to each other - the memories attached to such a simple line of words are endless. We hadn’t chosen it as our wedding song, always keeping it as something just between the two of us, but she couldn’t have chosen a more perfect way to commemorate this new part of our lives.
I stifle a yawn behind my own hand before slipping the ring back on, and reach over to start the water in the bathtub. The ensuite had come with an average-sized one when we bought the house, but I was glad that Callie had insisted upon replacing it with a soaker tub. I was exhausted, and although already happily relaxed after our night in, it beckoned to me with the promise of warmth and soothing bubbles.
Ten minutes later the tub is filled with just that, and I settle in, sinking down to rest my head against the back. I hear quiet shuffling in the bedroom a few moments later, and glance over to see Callie’s shadow in the light from the bedroom.
“Hey,” I call out softly, “come here.”
A moment later, the brunette appears in the doorway of the bathroom, a smile on her face.
"I thought I heard the water running."
"Sofia go down okay?"
Callie grabs a hair tie from the counter and starts pulling her hair back into a bun, nodding a little, and I watch the lean, toned lines of her bare arms.
"She fought it until the end of the story, but she's out like a light now."
Glancing down at the bubble covered surface of the tub again, I nod, hesitating a minute before I voice my next question. Callie and I used to love sharing a bath. It was a luxury we'd discovered we both loved fairly early on our relationship, and with the easy intimacy we shared, it had quickly become a favourite pastime.
We hadn't though, since the crash.
We'd showered together, and slept together, so of course she'd seen and touched my naked body -- touched it quite literally everywhere -- but for whatever reason, I'd avoided sharing a bath with the other woman. It was self-consciousness at first, but after that...truthfully, I don't really know what it was that had stopped me. She had never brought it up either, and so it had just...disappeared from our routine.
"Do you want to join me?"
I look up again, letting my lips curve into a shy smile, and I catch the look of surprise in her eyes as she turns from the mirror.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah,” I watch her, letting out a content sigh, “I'd like that."
Her smile blossoms, and the way it reaches her eyes and makes them sparkle just makes her that much more breathtakingly gorgeous. I will never stop being amazed at the natural beauty this woman possesses. I watch as she strips out of her pajamas and lets the clothing pool on the floor next to mine, my eyes grazing over the soft curves and lines of her body. I know she hates the scars that mark her torso from her surgeries, and the slight swell of her stomach and the stretch marks that remained after Sofia was born -- but I think everything about her is beautiful.
She hesitates a minute, looking down at me, but I immediately scoot forward in the tub to make room.
"It's been awhile..."
Callie carefully climbs in behind me, lowering herself into the water and settling back, her legs stretching out on either side of mine. I let out a sigh, settling back easily against her, and I let my head fall against her shoulder. One of her arms wraps gently around my middle, and she rests the other alongside mine on the edge of the tub, one finger lightly tracing over my knuckles.
"I really missed this."
She lets the admission out softly, dropping a kiss on my temple. I feel a slight tickle where some of her hair falls against my cheek, and I smile to myself.
"I did too. It seemed like the perfect end to tonight."
Her hand smoothes over my stomach below water, and roams slowly along the top of my thigh, absently stroking patterns into my skin. I love the feel of her wet, warm skin against mine; her entire body enveloping me in what feels like a safe little cocoon. The smell of the lavender bubble bath surrounds us, and I tilt my head up slightly so I can look at her.
"Let's get married."
A curious look crosses her eyes, and she quirks an eyebrow slightly as she looks at me.
"Um, I already asked you that, remember?"
Her finger lightly taps mine just above the sapphire, and I feel a grin tug at my lips.
"I mean, let's get married now. Let's just...do it. We haven't really had time to talk about the how and the when, but I don't want to wait."
Surprise now evident in her eyes, I see her own lips curving into a small smile, although she's giving me a slightly are-you-crazy look.
"Seriously?"
I look down at our hands on the edge of the tub and I turn mine under hers, our fingers naturally falling to link together.
"I'm serious. I mean, we’re always busy. Is there ever going to be a perfect time? We both have Friday afternoon off, so let's pick Sofia up early from school and go to the courthouse."
The idea hadn't crossed my mind until just now -- I hadn't been thinking about it much, admittedly, with how much we'd both been working the last few weeks. We had never decided whether we wanted to go with another wedding, or how we'd go about this, hadn't really talked about it at all since Pismo. But...like I told her, I'm tired of waiting. I’m tired of waiting for everything with her.
"Maybe we can invite everyone over to Joe's afterwards to celebrate."
"Friday. As in three days from now."
"Unless you want to have another big wedding," I tilt my head up again so I can see her face, "then we can wait."
The emotion in her eyes is palpable as she considers my request, and I find myself more hopeful than I expected that she'll agree and say yes. I know she's mine, I know we're going to be together -- but something deep in my very soul just cannot wait another minute to be her wife again.
Her arm tightens around my middle under the warmth of the water, and after only a moment's pause she presses a soft kiss to the corner of my eye, her lips forming into a beautiful smile.
"No, I don’t want to wait either. We're getting married on Friday."
Pairing: Arizona/Callie
Rating: M
Summary: Sometimes we don't realize what we want until we just know. And sometimes we realize that certain things are worth fighting for. Starts a day or two after the scene in 11x08. Timeline may not be perfectly canon.
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.
A/N: If you’re still keeping up with this story, I want to say thanks! I hope I’m still taking these characters on a journey that is worthy of them - I’d love to hear what you think!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Callie
The last two months have been absolutely insane.
Arizona and I had both hit the ground running when we came back from Pismo Beach. Herman had apparently been busy during her recovery spreading the word throughout the medical community about her latest protegé, and a steady stream of referrals had started to contact the hospital from all over the country. Addison Montgomery had even sent a few people her way -- thrilled that there was now a second fetal surgeon on the west coast she could recommend to potential patients who would have otherwise travelled to L.A. I’d talked to Addie a few times over the last couple months, and she was blown away by the things she was hearing about Arizona -- which I’ll admit made my heart swell with pride a little, knowing that feisty redhead didn’t give out praise easily. The blonde had been slightly stressed out about everything at first, but I could see she was thriving; she was becoming more and more confident and loving every minute of utilizing her new skills.
My own work with the robotics lab had also had a major breakthrough after we came back; one of the neuro functions we had been struggling with was finally working how I imagined. Amelia had agreed to sign on as the new neurosurgeon to the trial after seeing the success we were having - and possibly after a nudge from Arizona -- and I was really enjoying working with the other woman. Her knowledge of prosthetics was limited, but she brought some new ideas to the table and we’d already been able to fine-tune a lot of the functions. I'd had a handful of new patients from the veteran project come through to try the prototype, and just last week we'd been approved to send our first patient home and out into the world to test it for "real-life" wear. Of course, I'd wanted Arizona to be the first take-home trial -- the entire project had started because of her -- but she had declined, just not feeling like she was ready to deal with getting used to a new leg on top of her busy schedule. A year ago I probably would have been annoyed about it, but this time I completely understood.
But between all our work, and preschool, and Sofia's new dance class, it felt like we had barely had time to breathe the last little while. We hadn't been on a date in two months, and had barely even talked about getting married and any of our plans for that. We had managed to follow our family dinner twice a week rule, however. Some nights one of us barely squeaked home in time, and it had admittedly been a family dinner of takeout on the couch at least twice, but we'd made that promise to each other and we were hell bent on keeping it.
As I check the enchiladas in the oven and glance at the clock, I can't help but smile at the thought of welcoming Arizona home any minute now. These nights had become my absolute favourite -- and tonight especially I was looking forward to seeing the blonde because I had a surprise for her, one I’d been holding onto for the last week and a half waiting for the right time.
I glance over at the tiny blue box sitting on her plate at the table, suddenly a little nervous. Hopefully a surprise she'll like.
Two weeks ago, I'd swiped the sapphire ring that I'd given her when we moved into the house and had a new engraving added -- a line from one of our favourite songs. Part of me had wanted to buy her a brand new ring, since this was a brand new start for us, but...she had loved that ring so much I thought I would just...update it.
I hear the front door opening and Sofia's footsteps as she runs out from the living room and...yeah, suddenly I'm a lot nervous.
The childish chattering from the front of the house goes on for several minutes -- she's completely inheriting Arizona's perky, bubbly mannerisms, so help me -- and I take the opportunity to get the last bits of supper ready, mixing up the bowl of salad and checking the dish in the oven before turning the heat down.
"Something smells delicious in here! Sof, were you cooking again?"
I look up and smile as the blonde appears in the doorway, the little girl on her hip, and Sofia just glances over at me and giggles.
"Yah! I made it alllllllll. Mommy did nothin'. "
"It's true," I look around, shrugging helplessly, "she's taken over. I'm no longer needed here."
Moving around the island, Arizona leans in and captures my lips in a soft kiss, and I sigh happily into the now-familiar greeting.
"Mm, I still need you."
"Mamaaaaa!"
The four-year-old wrinkles her nose a little, giving both of us an exasperated look from her perch in her mother’s arms. Kissing had, apparently, become something totally and completely appalling.
"Mama loves kissing!"
I watch and can't help but laugh as she smooches Sofia on the lips, and then proceeds to cover her face in light little kisses until the squealing girl manages to squirm down to the floor. I’m constantly awed by the pure love and affection Arizona has for our little girl. It’s not that I ever thought she wouldn’t be an affectionate mother, but from the minute Sofia was born she had been utterly smitten, and she was adoringly demonstrative with her feelings.
"That's what happens, Sof," I run my fingers through her hair as she scurries away, "hey and don't go too far, supper is almost ready!"
The blonde watches her go, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she leans back on the counter.
"I fall more and more in love with that tiny human every day. How did we end up with such a perfect kid?"
"Well, she does have my genes."
"And Mark's."
I pause for a minute, unsure what tone she’s taking, but then I see her slightly raised eyebrow and the amused look on her face, and a laugh bubbles up from my throat.
"Yeah, good point. God, let's hope she takes after you when she’s a teenager."
Arizona's eyes go wide momentarily before she speaks.
"Oh no, no...let's not hope that. My teenage years were not all as pink and pretty as you imagine."
The timer goes off on the oven, and I give her a questioning look before heading over and sliding the pan out.
"You know, I really wish Tim was still around to tell me stories of your misguided youth."
"He'd be sworn to secrecy. There’s a reason no one sees pictures of me from a few years in there."
She peers down at the enchiladas and swipes her finger through the sauce lightly, bringing it up to her mouth.
"That's hot, Arizona!"
"And delicious."
I grab the salad bowl and thrust it towards her, pointing across the room, and I make a mental note to try bribing some old photos out of Barbara next time we talk. It had never actually occurred to me that there were a few years missing from the albums Arizona had, but now that she’s mentioned it I can’t not know.
"Here, take this to the table. Please."
She hadn't noticed the box on the table at all since she'd come in, and I glance over my shoulder as she heads that way now, waiting for her eyes to fall on the tiny gift. Holding my breath without realizing it, I fight against saying anything and just wait for her reaction. In a minute, she sets the bowl down, and I see her hand hover over her plate, a stunned look on her face.
"Open it."
I smile slowly, walking over toward the table, and wait in front of her as she delicately picks up the tiny box, giving me a questioning look.
"Just open it."
I bite my lip nervously, mustering up another smile as she meets my eyes, and watch as she drops her gaze again and opens the lid. She picks up the ring, smiling widely at the familiarity of it.
"I know I...already gave you that ring. And you probably felt awkward about putting it back on now. But you loved it so much, and it looked so beautiful on you that I didn’t think it should sit at the bottom of your jewelry box for the next fifty years. So look inside."
Giving me a curious look, she holds the ring up closer to her face and tilts it to see the engraving. I'd left the date that we moved into the house, and added a small inscription around the other side of the inner curve -- it had taken me three jewelers before I'd found one who could engrave small enough for it to fit.
I am me, the universe, and you.
"I hope you don’t think it’s lame...” I falter a bit as she simply stares at the inside of the ring, her eyes unreadable, “I thought...I didn't want them to erase the date. It was still an important day for us, you know? It's our history. But that line, it’s just...it’s how I feel about you. And I think how you feel about me. You are..." I trail off a little, my voice softening, nerves leaving me as I gaze at her face, "you are my future, Arizona. You are everything to me.”
A silence fills the space between us, and her eyes remain trained on the ring for another few seconds.
“Calliope Iphigenia Torres...”
My name tumbles from her lips in a whisper, her voice lyrically rolling through the syllables, and she looks up with brilliant blue eyes and a smile to meet my own as she speaks almost reverently.
“I love you. How did I get so lucky?”
She slips the ring on her left hand, nestling it beside the ring from Pismo that she’s yet to take off, and she steps around the table and immediately envelopes me in a tight embrace. I sigh happily at the warmth of her body against mine and nuzzle her hair affectionately, catching the sweet scent of her shampoo and perfume and everything that’s just...her.
“You really like it?”
Arizona pulls back then, her hands coming up to cup my face, and she kisses me forcefully, effectively silencing any of my doubts.
“I love it,” she kisses me once more, her smile brilliantly lighting up her face, “and I love you. It’s perfect, Calliope.”
Little footsteps patter back into the kitchen all of a sudden, and the other woman looks over, grinning as the child tries to peer up at the food on the counter, oblivious to the moment transpiring behind her.
“Ready for supper, little miss?”
“Yes pease!”
I glance down at Arizona’s hand, noticing she does the same, simply admiring the blue stone for a moment. It’s back where it belongs, and this time, it’s there to stay.
“Let’s eat then.”
*
“The thing I never understood is...why would you even want to make a coat out of puppies? They’re not even really furry puppies. I mean, how warm could that be anyway?”
“Shh!”
The hushed reply comes from the pajama-clad girl between us on the couch, and a dirty look is thrown my way by the woman on her other side.
“Because she’s evil, and that’s just what someone evil would do.”
For Sofia’s second birthday, Arizona’s mom had amassed a collection of the classic Disney movies on DVD - all of which had, naturally, been the blonde’s favourites as a child. I had always watched Disney movies, sure, but my sister and I had never obsessed over them quite as much as I feel the Robbins children did. Sofia’s current favourite of the lot was 101 Dalmatians, and so after some brief coaxing on my part it had narrowly beat out Frozen as tonight’s viewing choice.
Sofia shrieked suddenly as said villain appeared on the television, and she burrowed into my side, peeking out cautiously.
“It’s okay! She’ll never be able to catch them. They’ve got the...uh, barking telephone thing...”
“The Twilight Bark!”
Arizona finishes for me, grinning delightedly as her attention remains fixed on the screen. I look over Sofia’s head and just watch her, unable to help the smile that plays on my lips. She’s so wonderfully childlike sometimes in her love for these movies. It’s adorable.
Reaching around, I tug the sleeve of her hoodie a bit, beckoning her until she shifts closer on the couch to where I can wrap my arm around her shoulders. Sofia shifts half onto her lap and snuggles in, and Arizona simply rests her head against my shoulder with a content sigh, her attention never leaving the animated drama in front of us.
“Look, Sofia! Here comes Pongo!”
*
“But I’m not tireddd, Mama.”
I glance down with an amused look as the child’s argument is punctuated by a loud yawn.
“But Donny is sooo tired.”
Arizona squeezes the foot of the well-loved purple dinosaur teddy in Sofia’s arms, and then smoothes her hand over the head of dark hair.
“And you know he can’t sleep without you. So I think we should get you both into bed.”
Sofia looks up at me innocently, her big brown eyes trying to coax me into disagreeing.
“Mommy, I don’t wannaaaa.”
“But if you go to bed now, you can have a story. How does that sound?”
I climb off the couch and scoop the little girl into my arms, dino and all. She’s still faintly protesting, but she yawns and clutches the teddy bear, letting out a world-weary sigh as she leans against my shoulder.
“You and mama go to bed too.”
The blonde pushes herself up, dropping a soft kiss on our daughter’s cheek. I smile at her, a knowing look passing between us as the little girl airs her familiar bedtime statement - always afraid we’re going to have too much fun without her. I shift my hold a bit before heading out and down towards the bedrooms, and head into hers to get her settled for the night. I doubt it’s going to take very long.
“Mama and I will go to bed soon too, don’t worry.”
*
Arizona
I tidy up the living room and do a last check of the lights and locks around the house before making my way down to the bedroom, pausing only briefly outside Sofia’s door with a smile at the sound of Callie’s voice reading out loud. She’s by far the best storyteller in the house - the best I’ve ever heard, truthfully. She’s enthralling, and she does these amazing voices, and it’s no wonder our daughter has such a love for books already.
I switch the lamp on beside our bed and pull off my hoodie, padding into the bathroom. When the light comes on in there, it catches the stone on my finger, and I can’t help bring my hand up to admire the beautiful piece of jewelry for the thousandth time tonight.
It really is perfect. I slip it off carefully, holding it up to run my finger along the inside, over the delicately engraved words that now adorn the inner band. The countless times we had listened to that song, had danced to it, sung it under our breath to each other - the memories attached to such a simple line of words are endless. We hadn’t chosen it as our wedding song, always keeping it as something just between the two of us, but she couldn’t have chosen a more perfect way to commemorate this new part of our lives.
I stifle a yawn behind my own hand before slipping the ring back on, and reach over to start the water in the bathtub. The ensuite had come with an average-sized one when we bought the house, but I was glad that Callie had insisted upon replacing it with a soaker tub. I was exhausted, and although already happily relaxed after our night in, it beckoned to me with the promise of warmth and soothing bubbles.
Ten minutes later the tub is filled with just that, and I settle in, sinking down to rest my head against the back. I hear quiet shuffling in the bedroom a few moments later, and glance over to see Callie’s shadow in the light from the bedroom.
“Hey,” I call out softly, “come here.”
A moment later, the brunette appears in the doorway of the bathroom, a smile on her face.
"I thought I heard the water running."
"Sofia go down okay?"
Callie grabs a hair tie from the counter and starts pulling her hair back into a bun, nodding a little, and I watch the lean, toned lines of her bare arms.
"She fought it until the end of the story, but she's out like a light now."
Glancing down at the bubble covered surface of the tub again, I nod, hesitating a minute before I voice my next question. Callie and I used to love sharing a bath. It was a luxury we'd discovered we both loved fairly early on our relationship, and with the easy intimacy we shared, it had quickly become a favourite pastime.
We hadn't though, since the crash.
We'd showered together, and slept together, so of course she'd seen and touched my naked body -- touched it quite literally everywhere -- but for whatever reason, I'd avoided sharing a bath with the other woman. It was self-consciousness at first, but after that...truthfully, I don't really know what it was that had stopped me. She had never brought it up either, and so it had just...disappeared from our routine.
"Do you want to join me?"
I look up again, letting my lips curve into a shy smile, and I catch the look of surprise in her eyes as she turns from the mirror.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah,” I watch her, letting out a content sigh, “I'd like that."
Her smile blossoms, and the way it reaches her eyes and makes them sparkle just makes her that much more breathtakingly gorgeous. I will never stop being amazed at the natural beauty this woman possesses. I watch as she strips out of her pajamas and lets the clothing pool on the floor next to mine, my eyes grazing over the soft curves and lines of her body. I know she hates the scars that mark her torso from her surgeries, and the slight swell of her stomach and the stretch marks that remained after Sofia was born -- but I think everything about her is beautiful.
She hesitates a minute, looking down at me, but I immediately scoot forward in the tub to make room.
"It's been awhile..."
Callie carefully climbs in behind me, lowering herself into the water and settling back, her legs stretching out on either side of mine. I let out a sigh, settling back easily against her, and I let my head fall against her shoulder. One of her arms wraps gently around my middle, and she rests the other alongside mine on the edge of the tub, one finger lightly tracing over my knuckles.
"I really missed this."
She lets the admission out softly, dropping a kiss on my temple. I feel a slight tickle where some of her hair falls against my cheek, and I smile to myself.
"I did too. It seemed like the perfect end to tonight."
Her hand smoothes over my stomach below water, and roams slowly along the top of my thigh, absently stroking patterns into my skin. I love the feel of her wet, warm skin against mine; her entire body enveloping me in what feels like a safe little cocoon. The smell of the lavender bubble bath surrounds us, and I tilt my head up slightly so I can look at her.
"Let's get married."
A curious look crosses her eyes, and she quirks an eyebrow slightly as she looks at me.
"Um, I already asked you that, remember?"
Her finger lightly taps mine just above the sapphire, and I feel a grin tug at my lips.
"I mean, let's get married now. Let's just...do it. We haven't really had time to talk about the how and the when, but I don't want to wait."
Surprise now evident in her eyes, I see her own lips curving into a small smile, although she's giving me a slightly are-you-crazy look.
"Seriously?"
I look down at our hands on the edge of the tub and I turn mine under hers, our fingers naturally falling to link together.
"I'm serious. I mean, we’re always busy. Is there ever going to be a perfect time? We both have Friday afternoon off, so let's pick Sofia up early from school and go to the courthouse."
The idea hadn't crossed my mind until just now -- I hadn't been thinking about it much, admittedly, with how much we'd both been working the last few weeks. We had never decided whether we wanted to go with another wedding, or how we'd go about this, hadn't really talked about it at all since Pismo. But...like I told her, I'm tired of waiting. I’m tired of waiting for everything with her.
"Maybe we can invite everyone over to Joe's afterwards to celebrate."
"Friday. As in three days from now."
"Unless you want to have another big wedding," I tilt my head up again so I can see her face, "then we can wait."
The emotion in her eyes is palpable as she considers my request, and I find myself more hopeful than I expected that she'll agree and say yes. I know she's mine, I know we're going to be together -- but something deep in my very soul just cannot wait another minute to be her wife again.
Her arm tightens around my middle under the warmth of the water, and after only a moment's pause she presses a soft kiss to the corner of my eye, her lips forming into a beautiful smile.
"No, I don’t want to wait either. We're getting married on Friday."