Grey's Anatomy: The Rest Of Our Lives (1/2)
Fandom: Grey's Anatomy
Title: The Rest Of Our Lives
Rating: PG13
Status: In progress (1/2)
Author: englishstrawbie
Characters/Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Disclaimer: Here.
Author's Note: filling in some gaps from the White Wedding. This part is set around Callie's conversation with Mama Torres, including some Arizona/Carlos bonding and dealing with the aftermath of Mama Torres' words.
Arizona walked out of the hospital and inhaled the fresh air. She was leaving later than she had planned, knowing that she had left Callie fending off both sets of parents, and she hoped that she was going to return to a peaceful apartment. She had spent the last few days juggling wedding plans and surgery schedules for the kids from Africa. Her father seemed to have taken control of the wedding and she was grateful that Alex Karev had taken on the hard work at the hospital, which had left Arizona in the middle, bouncing from one appointment to another.
Her busy schedule had not stopped her from investing in her patients and she thought about her conversation with Sefu. She understood the bond he shared with his brother and it made her heart ache for her own brother; not that the Colonel had allowed her time to miss him, but she knew her own mind and she knew that the moment she stopped, those thoughts and feelings would be there.
She walked along the path that led her away from the hospital, thinking about the last time she had seen Timothy. She had volunteered to wave him off at the airport. It had always left her with a funny feeling in her stomach to say goodbye to him, knowing that he was far from safe when he was on duty in Iraq. She had never shown him her fear, only pride. She remembered hugging him and telling him that she loved him and to be careful out there. He had smiled at her - people always said that they shared the same smile - and told her to have fun while he was gone, and to make sure she remembered to tell him about all the girls she met. She hated that the chance to write to him about Callie had been stolen from her.
“Arizona?” a voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and saw Carlos Torres waiting for her.
“Mr Torres, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine,” Carlos replied calmly, sensing the concern in her voice. “Calliope is at home with Sofia and her mother. Your parents left an hour ago to spend the rest of the evening at their hotel.”
Arizona was immediately relieved.
“I hope you don’t mind me meeting you here. I was hoping that I could walk you home. You and I haven’t had much chance to talk since Lucia and I arrived,” Carlos said.
He gestured to the path, inviting Arizona to fall into step beside him. She followed him obediently.
“Uh sure,” she said nervously. Oh God, was she in trouble? She walked silently next to him, waiting for him to say whatever it was that he had obviously come here to say.
Beside her, Carlos cleared his throat. “Arizona, the reason I wanted this moment with you was to talk to you about… well, it’s to say thank you.”
Arizona glanced curiously at him. “Thank you?”
“I don’t presume to know what has happened between you and Calliope over the last year. She has only told us little bits. I know how unhappy she was when you were in Africa, but I also know how happy she was when you came back. Every relationship has its ups and downs, but I believe that the two of you have what it takes to deal with whatever life throws at you. If anything has proved that to me, it’s the way you’ve embraced Sofia as your own because I know from experience, from raising Aria as my own daughter, how difficult that can sometimes feel.”
Arizona didn’t say anything but she was surprised at his candidacy, especially to her.
“I also saw the way that you cared for Calliope when she was in the hospital and I can never thank you enough for looking after her so well,” Carlos continued. “I’m sure that knowing that you and Sofia were waiting for her was what it took to help her recover.”
He stopped walking suddenly and Arizona turned to face him. Carlos cleared his throat. “I’m sorry that it took me a while to accept your relationship with Calliope. I don’t know when, or even if, I would have reconnected with my daughter if it hadn’t been for the speech you gave me. That is what I want to say ‘thank you’ for. Thank you for opening my eyes and making me see my daughter. You’re a good person, Arizona, and I look forward to welcoming you properly into my family.”
Arizona pursed her lips, unable to speak for fear of crying. She nodded, accepting his apology and his words. Carlos took her shoulders and stepped towards her, kissing her cheek fondly.
“And please, Arizona, stop calling me Mr Torres and start calling me Carlos, okay?”
Arizona let out a small laugh. “Okay.”
Carlos smiled, pleased that he’d had the chance to make peace with the past. They made small talk for the rest of the short walk home as Arizona regaled him with stories of the Colonel and the formalities that he had insisted upon when she had been growing up.
They arrived home just as Luisa Torres was pulling on her coat. The apartment was silent.
“I thought we were staying for dinner?” Carlos said.
Arizona’s eyes were drawn immediately to Callie, who was still sitting on the small table, her shoulders hunched and her fingers fiddling with her veil.
“What’s going on?” she said, her gaze flicking to Callie’s mother who refused to meet her eyes, instead looking towards her husband.
“We’re leaving,” Luisa said, putting her hand on Carlos’ arm and steering him towards the door.
“What do you mean we’re leaving? Why?” Carlos asked, obviously confused and slowly picking up on the tension in the room.
“I’ll explain outside, let’s just go,” Luisa said, wanting to get out of the apartment as soon as possible.
“No Mom, why don’t you explain now?” Callie suddenly spoke, standing up from her seat and glaring at her mother. “We were just discussing what aspect of my life she’s most disappointed about.”
All three pairs of eyes looked towards her.
“Callie, calm down,” Arizona said, moving across the room. She placed a hand on Callie’s back but Callie shrugged her off, her eyes concentrated on her mother.
“You know, Mom, I knew that you might struggle to accept my relationship with Arizona, like Daddy did, and I thought that seeing us together would help you understand. But telling that that beautiful little girl in the nursery is going to send me to hell is the most hurtful thing that I have ever heard; and I never expected that from you.”
Both Carlos and Arizona gasped in shock at such a statement, while Lucia squirmed at Callie’s harsh words.
“If that’s how you really feel, Mom, then you should go. If that’s how you really feel then I don’t want you at my wedding and I don’t want you anywhere near my daughter.”
“Calliope, don’t say that,” Carlos interjected. “Let’s just take a moment and calm down. I’m sure your mother didn’t mean it like that.”
He looked towards his wife seeking confirmation but she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but God does not agree with this.”
Arizona heard Callie whimper beside her and she stepped forward, grasping Callie’s hand and squeezing it comfortingly.
“Mrs Torres, please don’t do this,” Arizona said earnestly. “I get that this isn’t exactly what you imagined for Callie when she was growing up. But I do believe that you wanted her to find someone who is going to love her and take care of her and raise a family with her. I am that person, Mrs Torres. I’m not asking you to put aside your belief in God, but I’m asking you to take time to understand that this isn’t wrong. We love each other. That isn’t wrong, that’s never wrong.”
Arizona held her breath as she waited for a response. She felt Callie squeeze her hand in return.
“You seem like a very nice person, Arizona, and I appreciate your words. But this is not right.”
With that, she turned and left. Arizona felt Callie shaking next to her and she slid a hand around her back.
“I’ll… I’ll talk to her,” Carlos said, offering a small, optimistic smile before chasing after his wife.
Callie closed her eyes, taking in what had just happened.
“I’m sorry,” Arizona spoke through the silence.
“Don’t,” Callie scolded her. “Don’t apologise because of her.” She opened her eyes and pulled away. Arizona watched as she busied herself with tidying up the already clean apartment.
“If that’s how she feels then she’s not welcome here,” Callie said. She straightened the magazines on the table, puffed up the cushions on the sofa, rearranged the photo frames on the shelf; anything she could do to distract herself from how she was really feeling.
“Callie, please calm down,” Arizona said.
“You know, the first thing your mom wanted to do when she got here was to hold Sofia. She turned up with a bag full of presents and went straight to the nursery The first thing my mom wanted to do when she got here was take a nap!”
“Callie, you can’t compare the two. My mom has known that I’m gay for 16 years,” Arizona said.
“I don’t have 16 years for my mom to come around, Arizona. We’re getting married tomorrow,” Callie snapped, immediately regretting her tone. She bit her bottom lip and shook her head in apology.
“I know,” Arizona said softly. She walked over to where Callie was standing, taking the candle from her hand and placing back on the bookshelf. She wrapped her arms around Callie’s neck and pulled her in close. “I know.”
Callie rested her chin on Arizona’s shoulder and returned the embrace.
“Calliope…”
“No,” Callie said. She didn’t need to hear the rest of the sentence to know what Arizona was about to say. “If you’re about to suggest we put off the wedding because of my mom, the answer is no. I’m marrying you tomorrow.”
Arizona smiled and pulled back just enough to kiss Callie’s cheek. “I love you,” she whispered in her ear.
“I love you too,” Callie said. She held on to Arizona’s body tightly, willing herself to stay strong for just a little longer. “I can’t believe parents aren’t going to be there tomorrow to see me get married.”
“Your dad will be there,” Arizona said. “He’s so happy for us and I know that he’s so excited to walk you down the aisle tomorrow.”
“I can’t ask him to do that,” Callie said.
Arizona stepped back to face her. She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I can’t ask him to disrespect my mom,” Callie said. “I know it probably doesn’t make any sense but I know my dad and I know that he will find it impossible to choose between his wife and his daughter, even if he knows that my mom is wrong. I can’t make him choose like that.”
“Are you sure? I think your dad is stronger than you give him credit for.”
Callie nodded. “I’m sure. If he tries to argue with me, I need to you to back me up.”
Arizona thought about it for a moment, then cupped Callie’s face with her hands and kissed her lightly. “I will do anything you want me to do.”
“Thank you,” Callie said, dropping her head to kiss her again. She didn’t understand why her mom couldn’t see that what she shared with Arizona was special; a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love that she was hanging on to for the rest of her life.
A knock on the door broke their kiss.
“Calliope?” Carlos’ voice floated through the door. “Mija?”
Arizona could see Callie wavering. “It’s gonna be okay.”
Callie gave her a half-hearted smile and nodded her head slightly.
“Come in, Daddy,” she called towards the door.
Carlos came in, his head hung low. He followed her to the sofa and sat down next to her. Arizona sat the other side, her hand resting on the small of Callie’s back, letting her know that she was there.
“I… I tried to reason with her,” Carlos said. “She won’t listen. She’s just sitting downstairs in the car. I don’t… I don’t know what to say, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”
“Daddy, you need to go, okay?” Callie said, patting his knee affectionately. She stood up defiantly.
“Go? I… I can’t. I’m not leaving,” Carlos objected, standing up beside her. Arizona followed them and he saw her nod sadly.
Callie faced her father and rested her hands at the top of his arms. “You have to go, okay? Because if you don’t I will start crying, and then that will make you feel bad, and then I will feel worse. So you have to go. Okay?”
Carlos looked defeated and Callie felt her resolve starting to crack. She hugged him, needing this moment to end quickly. She felt him kiss her neck and she returned the affection.
“Okay,” she assured him, steering him towards the door.
She crossed her arms protectively as she watched him walk away. Arizona stepped up behind her and gripped her arm. Callie placed her hand over Arizona’s and forced a smile.
“I’m okay,” she lied.
“No, you’re not,” Arizona said softly.
She felt Callie start to shake in her arms. She guided her back to the sofa. “It’s okay to be upset. But tomorrow’s going to be a brand new day. The bigger picture, remember? You and I are getting married and no-one can take that away from us.”
Callie nodded as her face crumpled. Arizona curled her hand around Callie’s face and pulled her close. Callie buried her face into Arizona’s shoulder, her tears soaking into her blue top as she cried. Arizona held her tightly.
She was certain that the Colonel had not included this in his schedule.
Title: The Rest Of Our Lives
Rating: PG13
Status: In progress (1/2)
Author: englishstrawbie
Characters/Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Disclaimer: Here.
Author's Note: filling in some gaps from the White Wedding. This part is set around Callie's conversation with Mama Torres, including some Arizona/Carlos bonding and dealing with the aftermath of Mama Torres' words.
Arizona walked out of the hospital and inhaled the fresh air. She was leaving later than she had planned, knowing that she had left Callie fending off both sets of parents, and she hoped that she was going to return to a peaceful apartment. She had spent the last few days juggling wedding plans and surgery schedules for the kids from Africa. Her father seemed to have taken control of the wedding and she was grateful that Alex Karev had taken on the hard work at the hospital, which had left Arizona in the middle, bouncing from one appointment to another.
Her busy schedule had not stopped her from investing in her patients and she thought about her conversation with Sefu. She understood the bond he shared with his brother and it made her heart ache for her own brother; not that the Colonel had allowed her time to miss him, but she knew her own mind and she knew that the moment she stopped, those thoughts and feelings would be there.
She walked along the path that led her away from the hospital, thinking about the last time she had seen Timothy. She had volunteered to wave him off at the airport. It had always left her with a funny feeling in her stomach to say goodbye to him, knowing that he was far from safe when he was on duty in Iraq. She had never shown him her fear, only pride. She remembered hugging him and telling him that she loved him and to be careful out there. He had smiled at her - people always said that they shared the same smile - and told her to have fun while he was gone, and to make sure she remembered to tell him about all the girls she met. She hated that the chance to write to him about Callie had been stolen from her.
“Arizona?” a voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and saw Carlos Torres waiting for her.
“Mr Torres, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine,” Carlos replied calmly, sensing the concern in her voice. “Calliope is at home with Sofia and her mother. Your parents left an hour ago to spend the rest of the evening at their hotel.”
Arizona was immediately relieved.
“I hope you don’t mind me meeting you here. I was hoping that I could walk you home. You and I haven’t had much chance to talk since Lucia and I arrived,” Carlos said.
He gestured to the path, inviting Arizona to fall into step beside him. She followed him obediently.
“Uh sure,” she said nervously. Oh God, was she in trouble? She walked silently next to him, waiting for him to say whatever it was that he had obviously come here to say.
Beside her, Carlos cleared his throat. “Arizona, the reason I wanted this moment with you was to talk to you about… well, it’s to say thank you.”
Arizona glanced curiously at him. “Thank you?”
“I don’t presume to know what has happened between you and Calliope over the last year. She has only told us little bits. I know how unhappy she was when you were in Africa, but I also know how happy she was when you came back. Every relationship has its ups and downs, but I believe that the two of you have what it takes to deal with whatever life throws at you. If anything has proved that to me, it’s the way you’ve embraced Sofia as your own because I know from experience, from raising Aria as my own daughter, how difficult that can sometimes feel.”
Arizona didn’t say anything but she was surprised at his candidacy, especially to her.
“I also saw the way that you cared for Calliope when she was in the hospital and I can never thank you enough for looking after her so well,” Carlos continued. “I’m sure that knowing that you and Sofia were waiting for her was what it took to help her recover.”
He stopped walking suddenly and Arizona turned to face him. Carlos cleared his throat. “I’m sorry that it took me a while to accept your relationship with Calliope. I don’t know when, or even if, I would have reconnected with my daughter if it hadn’t been for the speech you gave me. That is what I want to say ‘thank you’ for. Thank you for opening my eyes and making me see my daughter. You’re a good person, Arizona, and I look forward to welcoming you properly into my family.”
Arizona pursed her lips, unable to speak for fear of crying. She nodded, accepting his apology and his words. Carlos took her shoulders and stepped towards her, kissing her cheek fondly.
“And please, Arizona, stop calling me Mr Torres and start calling me Carlos, okay?”
Arizona let out a small laugh. “Okay.”
Carlos smiled, pleased that he’d had the chance to make peace with the past. They made small talk for the rest of the short walk home as Arizona regaled him with stories of the Colonel and the formalities that he had insisted upon when she had been growing up.
They arrived home just as Luisa Torres was pulling on her coat. The apartment was silent.
“I thought we were staying for dinner?” Carlos said.
Arizona’s eyes were drawn immediately to Callie, who was still sitting on the small table, her shoulders hunched and her fingers fiddling with her veil.
“What’s going on?” she said, her gaze flicking to Callie’s mother who refused to meet her eyes, instead looking towards her husband.
“We’re leaving,” Luisa said, putting her hand on Carlos’ arm and steering him towards the door.
“What do you mean we’re leaving? Why?” Carlos asked, obviously confused and slowly picking up on the tension in the room.
“I’ll explain outside, let’s just go,” Luisa said, wanting to get out of the apartment as soon as possible.
“No Mom, why don’t you explain now?” Callie suddenly spoke, standing up from her seat and glaring at her mother. “We were just discussing what aspect of my life she’s most disappointed about.”
All three pairs of eyes looked towards her.
“Callie, calm down,” Arizona said, moving across the room. She placed a hand on Callie’s back but Callie shrugged her off, her eyes concentrated on her mother.
“You know, Mom, I knew that you might struggle to accept my relationship with Arizona, like Daddy did, and I thought that seeing us together would help you understand. But telling that that beautiful little girl in the nursery is going to send me to hell is the most hurtful thing that I have ever heard; and I never expected that from you.”
Both Carlos and Arizona gasped in shock at such a statement, while Lucia squirmed at Callie’s harsh words.
“If that’s how you really feel, Mom, then you should go. If that’s how you really feel then I don’t want you at my wedding and I don’t want you anywhere near my daughter.”
“Calliope, don’t say that,” Carlos interjected. “Let’s just take a moment and calm down. I’m sure your mother didn’t mean it like that.”
He looked towards his wife seeking confirmation but she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but God does not agree with this.”
Arizona heard Callie whimper beside her and she stepped forward, grasping Callie’s hand and squeezing it comfortingly.
“Mrs Torres, please don’t do this,” Arizona said earnestly. “I get that this isn’t exactly what you imagined for Callie when she was growing up. But I do believe that you wanted her to find someone who is going to love her and take care of her and raise a family with her. I am that person, Mrs Torres. I’m not asking you to put aside your belief in God, but I’m asking you to take time to understand that this isn’t wrong. We love each other. That isn’t wrong, that’s never wrong.”
Arizona held her breath as she waited for a response. She felt Callie squeeze her hand in return.
“You seem like a very nice person, Arizona, and I appreciate your words. But this is not right.”
With that, she turned and left. Arizona felt Callie shaking next to her and she slid a hand around her back.
“I’ll… I’ll talk to her,” Carlos said, offering a small, optimistic smile before chasing after his wife.
Callie closed her eyes, taking in what had just happened.
“I’m sorry,” Arizona spoke through the silence.
“Don’t,” Callie scolded her. “Don’t apologise because of her.” She opened her eyes and pulled away. Arizona watched as she busied herself with tidying up the already clean apartment.
“If that’s how she feels then she’s not welcome here,” Callie said. She straightened the magazines on the table, puffed up the cushions on the sofa, rearranged the photo frames on the shelf; anything she could do to distract herself from how she was really feeling.
“Callie, please calm down,” Arizona said.
“You know, the first thing your mom wanted to do when she got here was to hold Sofia. She turned up with a bag full of presents and went straight to the nursery The first thing my mom wanted to do when she got here was take a nap!”
“Callie, you can’t compare the two. My mom has known that I’m gay for 16 years,” Arizona said.
“I don’t have 16 years for my mom to come around, Arizona. We’re getting married tomorrow,” Callie snapped, immediately regretting her tone. She bit her bottom lip and shook her head in apology.
“I know,” Arizona said softly. She walked over to where Callie was standing, taking the candle from her hand and placing back on the bookshelf. She wrapped her arms around Callie’s neck and pulled her in close. “I know.”
Callie rested her chin on Arizona’s shoulder and returned the embrace.
“Calliope…”
“No,” Callie said. She didn’t need to hear the rest of the sentence to know what Arizona was about to say. “If you’re about to suggest we put off the wedding because of my mom, the answer is no. I’m marrying you tomorrow.”
Arizona smiled and pulled back just enough to kiss Callie’s cheek. “I love you,” she whispered in her ear.
“I love you too,” Callie said. She held on to Arizona’s body tightly, willing herself to stay strong for just a little longer. “I can’t believe parents aren’t going to be there tomorrow to see me get married.”
“Your dad will be there,” Arizona said. “He’s so happy for us and I know that he’s so excited to walk you down the aisle tomorrow.”
“I can’t ask him to do that,” Callie said.
Arizona stepped back to face her. She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I can’t ask him to disrespect my mom,” Callie said. “I know it probably doesn’t make any sense but I know my dad and I know that he will find it impossible to choose between his wife and his daughter, even if he knows that my mom is wrong. I can’t make him choose like that.”
“Are you sure? I think your dad is stronger than you give him credit for.”
Callie nodded. “I’m sure. If he tries to argue with me, I need to you to back me up.”
Arizona thought about it for a moment, then cupped Callie’s face with her hands and kissed her lightly. “I will do anything you want me to do.”
“Thank you,” Callie said, dropping her head to kiss her again. She didn’t understand why her mom couldn’t see that what she shared with Arizona was special; a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love that she was hanging on to for the rest of her life.
A knock on the door broke their kiss.
“Calliope?” Carlos’ voice floated through the door. “Mija?”
Arizona could see Callie wavering. “It’s gonna be okay.”
Callie gave her a half-hearted smile and nodded her head slightly.
“Come in, Daddy,” she called towards the door.
Carlos came in, his head hung low. He followed her to the sofa and sat down next to her. Arizona sat the other side, her hand resting on the small of Callie’s back, letting her know that she was there.
“I… I tried to reason with her,” Carlos said. “She won’t listen. She’s just sitting downstairs in the car. I don’t… I don’t know what to say, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”
“Daddy, you need to go, okay?” Callie said, patting his knee affectionately. She stood up defiantly.
“Go? I… I can’t. I’m not leaving,” Carlos objected, standing up beside her. Arizona followed them and he saw her nod sadly.
Callie faced her father and rested her hands at the top of his arms. “You have to go, okay? Because if you don’t I will start crying, and then that will make you feel bad, and then I will feel worse. So you have to go. Okay?”
Carlos looked defeated and Callie felt her resolve starting to crack. She hugged him, needing this moment to end quickly. She felt him kiss her neck and she returned the affection.
“Okay,” she assured him, steering him towards the door.
She crossed her arms protectively as she watched him walk away. Arizona stepped up behind her and gripped her arm. Callie placed her hand over Arizona’s and forced a smile.
“I’m okay,” she lied.
“No, you’re not,” Arizona said softly.
She felt Callie start to shake in her arms. She guided her back to the sofa. “It’s okay to be upset. But tomorrow’s going to be a brand new day. The bigger picture, remember? You and I are getting married and no-one can take that away from us.”
Callie nodded as her face crumpled. Arizona curled her hand around Callie’s face and pulled her close. Callie buried her face into Arizona’s shoulder, her tears soaking into her blue top as she cried. Arizona held her tightly.
She was certain that the Colonel had not included this in his schedule.