'Til Death Us Do Part (3/4)
Fandom: Grey's Anatomy
Title: 'Til Death Us Do Part (Parts 3/4)
Rating: PG-13
Author: englishstrawbie
Beta: kennedysbitch
Characters/Pairing: in this part - Arizona, Nick, The Colonel, Callie, references to Tim
Disclaimer: Here.
Summary: Four family-centric moments in Arizona's life. Some happy, some less so.
Parts 1 & 2
* * * * *
Part 3
It was almost ten o’clock and the party was in full swing when Arizona finally had the chance to sneak away. Before she did, she paused at the edge of the tent and smiled at the sight of Callie swirling around the dance floor in her father’s arms. His late appearance at the reception meant the world to her wife and therefore meant the world to Arizona. Seeing Callie’s face light up with delight had perfected their already perfect day. It was perfect because it was just about the two of them and the love they had for each other, no matter what anyone else thought; a love that had overcome everything life had thrown at them over the last couple of years. The image of Callie walking down the aisle towards her, after being so close to death just a few months earlier, would be forever imprinted on her mind.
Yet, as much as she tried to fight it, the perfection of the day was marred by the absence of two people; two people who had played an important role in her past, just as Callie played an important role in her present - and would in her future.
With her cellphone grasped in her hand, Arizona crept out of the canopy and stepped into the gardens outside. It had been a warm day but the night air was chilly and she shivered, rubbing her arms to dispel the goose bumps that prickled her arms. She immediately regretted not bringing a shawl but she knew she would only get caught up in conversation if she went back. Instead, she lifted the bottom of her dress away from the ground and wandered across the grass to a short bench that sat underneath a weeping willow tree at the bottom of the garden. She perched carefully on the edge, her dress bunching up around her waist.
She looked down at her cellphone, lighting up the screen and smiling at the picture of Sofia that grinned up at her. She had missed her daughter today. Sofia was still so small and the day’s festivities would have tired her out quickly, but that didn’t stop Arizona from wishing that she had been with them today. She ran the tip of her thumb over the picture. How far they had come from the broken people they had been just six months ago when she had returned home from Africa to learn that Callie was pregnant with Mark’s child. Now they were a family, held together by love and understanding and patience.
Sliding her phone open, she hit a few buttons before holding it up to her ear. It rang seven and a half times before a familiar voice answered.
”Scottsdale!”
Arizona’s lips turned upwards automatically into a smile. “You know I don’t like it when you do that.”
”Liar.”
Arizona laughed despite herself.
”So, did I miss my chance? Are you a married woman now?”
“You did. I’m taken forever now, Nick,” Arizona teased her old friend.
”Tell me about it. Tell me every tiny detail, I wanna picture it all in my head.”
“Where do you want me to start? When my dad looked like he wanted to thump Mark Sloan? When Callie’s mom walked out because she didn’t approve of her daughter marrying another woman? When the minister cancelled because his wife got into an accident? Or maybe when my wife almost didn’t turn up to the ceremony?”
Hearing it all in one sentence made her realise how stupid it all sounded in hindsight. She heard laughter down the phone and mirrored it with her own giggle. “It was perfect in the end, Nick, it really was. The sun was shining and Calliope looked so beautiful and my parents didn’t stop smiling the whole time. I don’t care what happened before, I just care that we did it - we got married.”
”You sound happy. I can hear it in your voice. I haven’t heard that for a long time, not since you and Callie first got together and you’d call me after every date just to gush about the wonderful, sexy ortho doc you’d met.”
Arizona smiled widely. “I am happy. Beyond happy.” She heard chatter and laughter in the background. “What are you doing?”
”Breakfast time at the camp, the kids are full of beans this morning. It’s sounds quiet where you are…?”
“I snuck outside. The party’s still going, I think it will be for a while,” Arizona said, her eyes glancing towards the reception up ahead of her.
”Without you? You’re always in the middle of the dance floor, despite having two left feet!”
“Hey, I might not be the most graceful dancer but I can hold my own,” Arizona defended herself, her lips puckering into a pout that was lost on him over the phone. “How’s Calcutta?”
”Amazing. The kids are fantastic and the people have been nothing but friendly. I know I’m here to teach, but I feel like I’m the one who’s learning.”
“That’s great; that’s really great.”
Silence fell between them.
”Arizona?”
“I miss him. Tim, I, uh…I missed him more today than every other day since he died. I missed you, too. It felt weird to get married without you both here.”
”I’m sorry I couldn’t make it back. There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than at your wedding, you know that.”
“I know. You’re doing amazing things out there, Nick, and I wouldn’t want to take you away from that. I just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you today.”
”I’ve been thinking about you, too. I was thinking about the day you and I got married, do you remember that?”
“Yeah, I remember. You broke your vows within about ten minutes. You stole the streamers off my bike and I was really mad at you,” Arizona laughed.
”I think that was Tim, not me.”
“Liar.”
Nick laughed. ”Well, I hope Callie sticks to her vows longer than I did. You deserve it, Arizona. You deserve to be happy. You’re one of the best people I know and I’m so glad that you’ve found someone else who knows it, someone who loves you just as much as I do.”
“I’m the lucky one to have her,” Arizona smiled to herself.
”I hope I find a girl who makes me that happy.” There was a wistful tone to his voice.
“You will. You’re awesome and the right girl is out there for you somewhere,” Arizona enthused.
”D’you think?”
“I do,” Arizona said for the second time that day. She could feel his smile on the other end of the line.
”Listen, you know I love talking to you but I’ve got an English lesson to teach in few minutes.”
“Call me soon, okay? Let’s do it via Skype, I miss your stupid face.”
”I miss yours more. Love you, Phoenix.”
“I love you, too.”
Dropping her hand into her lap, she hit the ‘end’ button and stared at the blank screen. A five minute conversation wasn’t enough. It was never enough, not when there was fifteen thousand miles between them.
She leaned back against the bench and felt cold metal on her skin. Shuffling forwards, she looked behind her. There was a small plaque on the back of the bench, gleaming under the moonlight.
To my love, Flora, who sat beside me for 56 years.
Fifty-six years. Fifty-six years with the love of your life. The thought brought a smile to her face as she imagined the next fifty-six years of her life with Callie, watching their daughter grow up - and whoever else might come along.
“Arizona? Can I join you?”
Arizona turned towards the voice. “Of course.”
She gathered up her dress to make room for her father. The Colonel sat beside her, taking in the sight of his daughter in her wedding dress. It was the day he had waited for her whole life. He thought back to when she was a child and all the dreams he’d had for her. Of course, she was a force to be reckoned with and had forged her own path in life, one that had been unexpected but one in which she had blossomed. He had never seen her look more beautiful.
He noticed the goose bumps on her arms and shrugged off his jacket, reaching one arm around her shoulders as he covered her cold skin.
“Here. You look cold.”
Arizona curled her fingers around the edge of the jacket and pulled it tighter as she hugged her arms across her chest. “Thanks.”
“It’s been a lovely day,” Daniel said, resting his arms on his thighs, his clasped hands falling between his knees. He smiled at her over his shoulder.
“The best.” Arizona returned the smile. “Thank you for making today so special.”
“Oh, I think everyone was just humouring me with my schedule,” Daniel said with a wry smile.
“You were here. That means everything.”
The Colonel nodded. He understood the significance of Carlos returning to the wedding reception. He had seen Callie’s mother obviously struggling to accept her daughter’s love for another woman - a struggle that he had once been through himself. His heart had gone out to Callie when he had learned that her parents would not be attending the wedding. There was also a part of him that was affronted that Lucia Torres would not accept his daughter into her family. As far as he was concerned, any parent should be proud to have Arizona as a daughter-in-law, whether she was marrying their son or daughter.
“I like Calliope a lot, you know,” Daniel said kindly. “She’s been good for you.”
Arizona looked curiously at him. “Good for me?” she questioned.
“I’ve seen a change in you, Arizona. You two have been through so much together in such a short period of time and you’ve stuck together through it all. It’s not so long ago that you would have simply moved on, but there’s something special about this girl that made you stay. I can’t say your mother and I weren’t worried when you told us that Callie was pregnant with Mark’s child - and we’re not so naïve to believe that he’s just a sperm donor.”
Arizona blushed. “Dad…”
“It’s okay. If you’re okay with it, then we’re okay with it. And we adore Sofia. You’ve seen how besotted your mother is with her. You know how much she’s always wanted grandchildren and there was a long time where we didn’t think we’d have any.”
“I love that little girl so much,” Arizona said. “She’s changed my life in ways that I never thought possible.”
“That’s what it is to be a parent,” Daniel said.
“I never thought I would be a mom. I didn’t think I was cut out to be a mom, but they’ve proved me wrong - Callie and Sofia, they’ve made me realise that it’s what I wanted all along. I’m so glad I get to share that with you and mom.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for anything. Having children is so precious. Losing Tim…” He faltered momentarily, “…and learning what you went through when that crazy man came into the hospital, then the car accident. I hope that you never have to experience pain or fear like that, but if you do, I know that you and Callie will get through it together. That’s what marriage is about.”
“Thank you. It means so much to me that you’ve accepted Callie and Sofia into the family and into your lives. I can’t wait for you to get to know them better,” Arizona said.
“Us too,” Daniel said with a smile. “So, what are you doing out here on your own?”
“Talking to Nick. I promised him I’d call him. He couldn’t make it back from India for the wedding.”
Daniel nodded. “Your mother still sends him care packages once in a while. He always did love her homemade toffee.”
Arizona smiled. “He would get into so much trouble with his parents when he’d go home full of toffee and refuse to eat his dinner. He and Tim used to have a competition to see who could eat the most in two minutes. I was always waiting for them to make themselves sick, but Mom just let them go for it; she’d say it was the only way to keep them quiet for two minutes.”
Daniel laughed. “Those boys were too much trouble when they were kids. You all were,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
Arizona shook her head with a playful innocence. “Nuh uh, not me.”
“Really? What about the time you got stuck in the big oak tree at the end of the yard because you were spying on the neighbour’s barbeque? You managed to climb all the way to the top, then got scared and wouldn’t come down again. I had to borrow a ladder from the people across the street to get you down. Or the time you tricked Tim outside in just his pyjamas in the middle of winter and locked him out because you blamed him for breaking your favourite doll?”
“He did break my doll! He pulled her legs off so that he could turn her into a creature from outer space,” Arizona said solemnly.
“Or the time you locked yourself inside the car while your mom dashed into the grocery store and we had to call the mechanic to get you out? Or the time you got stuck your fingers together because you used superglue instead of a glue stick and we had to take you to the ER?”
“Okay, okay!” Arizona exclaimed in defeat. They were both laughing now, although she noticed her father’s expression becoming more sentimental.
“And then there was the time the boys went fishing and your mother wouldn’t let you go because you had a school project to finish, so you snuck out of the house when she went shopping and followed them to the river…”
Arizona started to smile as her father told the story, knowing how it ended.
“…you were, what, eleven years old? You tried to cross the water over the stepping stones instead of using the bridge half a mile up the river and got stuck because it was flowing too hard. Tim tried to get to you and he got stuck too, so Nick had to come and fetch me. By the time I got there, the two of you were cuddled up together on a rock, cold and wet and crying. The last time I’d seen you cry so much was when you lost your Barbie doll when you were six years old. I had to carry you home and you wouldn’t stop shaking in my arms. I think that’s the last time I carried you anywhere. Tim was just as scared, he clung to my leg the whole way home.”
She saw her father close his eyes and she lifted her hand hesitantly, gently placing it on his arm. “Daddy?”
“I know you missed Timothy today. I did too. He would have loved all this, you know?”
A sad smile passed across Arizona’s lips. “I know.”
The Colonel straightened up, his shoulder bumping against Arizona’s. “I’m sorry I didn’t let you have a minute’s silence for him. I’m sorry that I don’t let you talk about him as much as you want. I’m not very good at this.”
“I don’t need you to be good at it.”
“I’m your father, I’m supposed to protect you from hurt and sadness.”
“And you always have. But if I’ve learned anything over the last few months, it’s that you can’t protect the ones you love from everything. Mom’s cancer, Tim’s death, the car accident, Sofia’s birth… so many times I’ve wished that I could have stopped it all from happening. But there are bigger things in this world, things that I can’t control. I’ve learned to accept that and so I won’t let it consume me.”
Daniel looked proudly at her. “When did you get so wise?”
“I have very wise parents,” Arizona said, leaning into her father’s body and resting her cheek on shoulder. She closed her eyes as she felt his arm glide around her shoulders and hug her into his chest.
“I love you. And I’m so very proud of you.”
Teardrops fell into her lap. “I love you too, Daddy.”
“Hey now,” Daniel said softly, “why don’t we have that minute’s silence for Timothy now, huh?”
Arizona nodded. They sat together in silence for longer than a minute, enjoying the rare moment of intimacy. Arizona kept her head on her father’s shoulder. She lifted her hand and rested it on top of his, which he held tightly. She closed her eyes, her mind overflowing with memories of her brother; caught up in her daydream until the sound of heavy silk swishing in the quiet night air captured her attention. Arizona looked up and immediately grinned when she saw her new wife walking towards them.
“Hey,” Callie said awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just hadn’t seen you for a while.” She directed her comment towards Arizona, who sat up and held out her hand, beckoning Callie towards her.
Daniel stood up. “Don’t be silly. You girls take a moment.”
He took a few steps up towards the reception and paused next to Callie. Resting a hand on her arm, he kissed her cheek affectionately. “Welcome to the family, Calliope. We’re very glad to have you.”
Callie’s eyes filled with tears for the umpteenth that day as she smiled. “Thank you, Colonel.”
She waited until her father-in-law was out of earshot before sitting down on the bench next to her wife. “Everything okay?”
Arizona nodded. “Everything is perfect.” She took Callie’s hand in hers, looking down at their identical wedding bands. She gazed back at Callie, her eyes shining with happiness. “Come here.”
She cupped her hand around Callie’s cheek and guided her lips closer until they were pressed against her own. “I love you, Mrs Robbins.”
“I love you, Mrs Torres,” Callie replied, and they broke into simultaneous giggles.
“You look so beautiful today,” Arizona said. “I mean, you’re always beautiful. But today? Wow.”
Callie rolled her eyes. She still had a hard time accepting the compliments that Arizona threw at her since the accident, despite the good work that Mark had done to leave her with so few scars.
“I was starting to think you were hiding. You’re not bored of being married to me already, are you?” Callie said, playing with the ring on Arizona’s third finger.
“Never,” Arizona said. She dropped a kiss on Callie’s shoulder, then rested her chin there gently. “I’m glad your dad came back and could share today with us.”
“Me too,” Callie said with a smile. “When I left him, he was swinging your mom around the dance floor.”
Arizona chortled at the image in her head. “I’m sure she was loving it.”
Callie turned her head to catch Arizona’s eye. “I’m sorry Tim couldn’t be here.”
Arizona didn’t need to explain her disappearance outside for Callie to understand it. She shook her head slightly. “No matter how much I miss him, nothing can take away how unbelievably happy I feel right now.”
“And no matter how much I wish my mom would accept this - accept us - so that she could be here, nothing could stop me from feeling just as happy.”
Arizona lifted her face, opening her mouth and allowing Callie to capture her in a kiss, deeper this time as their tongues danced in time with the beat of the music coming from the party in front of them.
“Can we just stay out here and make out for the rest of the evening?” Arizona murmured in the few moments that their lips parted.
“Hmm, I think we might be missed.”
Arizona pouted and Callie concealed it with another kiss, grinning against her mouth as she heard a soft moan escape from the back of Arizona’s throat. “Okay, maybe for a little while,” she conceded. Her hand grasped at the back of Arizona’s head, fingers running through her hair and mouth pressing harder against Arizona’s.
“You know, as beautiful as you look in that dress, I can’t wait to get you home and out of it,” Arizona said flirtatiously, running her hand slowly around the bodice and pulling Callie’s body closer to hers.
“Oh, well, that’s gonna be a problem,” Callie said.
Arizona pulled her head back and frowned. The air was cold against her mouth, bare now that Callie’s lips were no longer covering them. “A problem? You know it’s your wifely duty to get naked for me tonight, right?” Her eyes flicked up and down Callie’s body, undressing her in her mind already.
Callie snickered, her laughter echoing around them. “I guess Bailey forgot that vow, huh? Besides…” she paused to steal a brief kiss, “…I never said I wouldn’t be getting naked. I just won’t be doing it at home.”
Arizona’s brow creased with confusion. “We’re not going home tonight?”
“On our wedding night? Are you freakin’ kidding me? Of course we’re not, Arizona!” Callie laughed. “I booked us a night in the honeymoon suite at the Four Seasons.”
A wide smile spread across Arizona’s face. “You are an awesome wife.”
“You’re pretty good yourself, Robbins.”
Arizona leaned into Callie’s body once more, noses bumping together as she hovered her lips in front of Callie’s. “Oh, I’m better than good, Calliope.”
“Yeah?"
Arizona nodded, her lips brushing against Callie’s as she did. Callie jerked her head forwards, trying to catch another kiss, but Arizona anticipated it and pulled her head back to avoid it. “Take me to the Four Seasons and I’ll prove it.”
Callie contemplated her options for a moment before grabbing Arizona’s hand and pulling her away from the bench as she stood up.
“One more dance and then we’re making our excuses.”
As Callie led her across the gardens and back to the reception tent, Arizona smiled smugly to herself. Their wedding wasn’t just about today, it was the start of the rest of their lives; and Arizona couldn’t think of a better way to start it than being holed up in the honeymoon suite of the Four Seasons with her wife. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy. Nick heard it in her voice, her father saw it in her face, and tonight, she would make sure Callie could feel it in her touch.
Title: 'Til Death Us Do Part (Parts 3/4)
Rating: PG-13
Author: englishstrawbie
Beta: kennedysbitch
Characters/Pairing: in this part - Arizona, Nick, The Colonel, Callie, references to Tim
Disclaimer: Here.
Summary: Four family-centric moments in Arizona's life. Some happy, some less so.
Parts 1 & 2
* * * * *
Part 3
It was almost ten o’clock and the party was in full swing when Arizona finally had the chance to sneak away. Before she did, she paused at the edge of the tent and smiled at the sight of Callie swirling around the dance floor in her father’s arms. His late appearance at the reception meant the world to her wife and therefore meant the world to Arizona. Seeing Callie’s face light up with delight had perfected their already perfect day. It was perfect because it was just about the two of them and the love they had for each other, no matter what anyone else thought; a love that had overcome everything life had thrown at them over the last couple of years. The image of Callie walking down the aisle towards her, after being so close to death just a few months earlier, would be forever imprinted on her mind.
Yet, as much as she tried to fight it, the perfection of the day was marred by the absence of two people; two people who had played an important role in her past, just as Callie played an important role in her present - and would in her future.
With her cellphone grasped in her hand, Arizona crept out of the canopy and stepped into the gardens outside. It had been a warm day but the night air was chilly and she shivered, rubbing her arms to dispel the goose bumps that prickled her arms. She immediately regretted not bringing a shawl but she knew she would only get caught up in conversation if she went back. Instead, she lifted the bottom of her dress away from the ground and wandered across the grass to a short bench that sat underneath a weeping willow tree at the bottom of the garden. She perched carefully on the edge, her dress bunching up around her waist.
She looked down at her cellphone, lighting up the screen and smiling at the picture of Sofia that grinned up at her. She had missed her daughter today. Sofia was still so small and the day’s festivities would have tired her out quickly, but that didn’t stop Arizona from wishing that she had been with them today. She ran the tip of her thumb over the picture. How far they had come from the broken people they had been just six months ago when she had returned home from Africa to learn that Callie was pregnant with Mark’s child. Now they were a family, held together by love and understanding and patience.
Sliding her phone open, she hit a few buttons before holding it up to her ear. It rang seven and a half times before a familiar voice answered.
”Scottsdale!”
Arizona’s lips turned upwards automatically into a smile. “You know I don’t like it when you do that.”
”Liar.”
Arizona laughed despite herself.
”So, did I miss my chance? Are you a married woman now?”
“You did. I’m taken forever now, Nick,” Arizona teased her old friend.
”Tell me about it. Tell me every tiny detail, I wanna picture it all in my head.”
“Where do you want me to start? When my dad looked like he wanted to thump Mark Sloan? When Callie’s mom walked out because she didn’t approve of her daughter marrying another woman? When the minister cancelled because his wife got into an accident? Or maybe when my wife almost didn’t turn up to the ceremony?”
Hearing it all in one sentence made her realise how stupid it all sounded in hindsight. She heard laughter down the phone and mirrored it with her own giggle. “It was perfect in the end, Nick, it really was. The sun was shining and Calliope looked so beautiful and my parents didn’t stop smiling the whole time. I don’t care what happened before, I just care that we did it - we got married.”
”You sound happy. I can hear it in your voice. I haven’t heard that for a long time, not since you and Callie first got together and you’d call me after every date just to gush about the wonderful, sexy ortho doc you’d met.”
Arizona smiled widely. “I am happy. Beyond happy.” She heard chatter and laughter in the background. “What are you doing?”
”Breakfast time at the camp, the kids are full of beans this morning. It’s sounds quiet where you are…?”
“I snuck outside. The party’s still going, I think it will be for a while,” Arizona said, her eyes glancing towards the reception up ahead of her.
”Without you? You’re always in the middle of the dance floor, despite having two left feet!”
“Hey, I might not be the most graceful dancer but I can hold my own,” Arizona defended herself, her lips puckering into a pout that was lost on him over the phone. “How’s Calcutta?”
”Amazing. The kids are fantastic and the people have been nothing but friendly. I know I’m here to teach, but I feel like I’m the one who’s learning.”
“That’s great; that’s really great.”
Silence fell between them.
”Arizona?”
“I miss him. Tim, I, uh…I missed him more today than every other day since he died. I missed you, too. It felt weird to get married without you both here.”
”I’m sorry I couldn’t make it back. There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than at your wedding, you know that.”
“I know. You’re doing amazing things out there, Nick, and I wouldn’t want to take you away from that. I just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you today.”
”I’ve been thinking about you, too. I was thinking about the day you and I got married, do you remember that?”
“Yeah, I remember. You broke your vows within about ten minutes. You stole the streamers off my bike and I was really mad at you,” Arizona laughed.
”I think that was Tim, not me.”
“Liar.”
Nick laughed. ”Well, I hope Callie sticks to her vows longer than I did. You deserve it, Arizona. You deserve to be happy. You’re one of the best people I know and I’m so glad that you’ve found someone else who knows it, someone who loves you just as much as I do.”
“I’m the lucky one to have her,” Arizona smiled to herself.
”I hope I find a girl who makes me that happy.” There was a wistful tone to his voice.
“You will. You’re awesome and the right girl is out there for you somewhere,” Arizona enthused.
”D’you think?”
“I do,” Arizona said for the second time that day. She could feel his smile on the other end of the line.
”Listen, you know I love talking to you but I’ve got an English lesson to teach in few minutes.”
“Call me soon, okay? Let’s do it via Skype, I miss your stupid face.”
”I miss yours more. Love you, Phoenix.”
“I love you, too.”
Dropping her hand into her lap, she hit the ‘end’ button and stared at the blank screen. A five minute conversation wasn’t enough. It was never enough, not when there was fifteen thousand miles between them.
She leaned back against the bench and felt cold metal on her skin. Shuffling forwards, she looked behind her. There was a small plaque on the back of the bench, gleaming under the moonlight.
To my love, Flora, who sat beside me for 56 years.
Fifty-six years. Fifty-six years with the love of your life. The thought brought a smile to her face as she imagined the next fifty-six years of her life with Callie, watching their daughter grow up - and whoever else might come along.
“Arizona? Can I join you?”
Arizona turned towards the voice. “Of course.”
She gathered up her dress to make room for her father. The Colonel sat beside her, taking in the sight of his daughter in her wedding dress. It was the day he had waited for her whole life. He thought back to when she was a child and all the dreams he’d had for her. Of course, she was a force to be reckoned with and had forged her own path in life, one that had been unexpected but one in which she had blossomed. He had never seen her look more beautiful.
He noticed the goose bumps on her arms and shrugged off his jacket, reaching one arm around her shoulders as he covered her cold skin.
“Here. You look cold.”
Arizona curled her fingers around the edge of the jacket and pulled it tighter as she hugged her arms across her chest. “Thanks.”
“It’s been a lovely day,” Daniel said, resting his arms on his thighs, his clasped hands falling between his knees. He smiled at her over his shoulder.
“The best.” Arizona returned the smile. “Thank you for making today so special.”
“Oh, I think everyone was just humouring me with my schedule,” Daniel said with a wry smile.
“You were here. That means everything.”
The Colonel nodded. He understood the significance of Carlos returning to the wedding reception. He had seen Callie’s mother obviously struggling to accept her daughter’s love for another woman - a struggle that he had once been through himself. His heart had gone out to Callie when he had learned that her parents would not be attending the wedding. There was also a part of him that was affronted that Lucia Torres would not accept his daughter into her family. As far as he was concerned, any parent should be proud to have Arizona as a daughter-in-law, whether she was marrying their son or daughter.
“I like Calliope a lot, you know,” Daniel said kindly. “She’s been good for you.”
Arizona looked curiously at him. “Good for me?” she questioned.
“I’ve seen a change in you, Arizona. You two have been through so much together in such a short period of time and you’ve stuck together through it all. It’s not so long ago that you would have simply moved on, but there’s something special about this girl that made you stay. I can’t say your mother and I weren’t worried when you told us that Callie was pregnant with Mark’s child - and we’re not so naïve to believe that he’s just a sperm donor.”
Arizona blushed. “Dad…”
“It’s okay. If you’re okay with it, then we’re okay with it. And we adore Sofia. You’ve seen how besotted your mother is with her. You know how much she’s always wanted grandchildren and there was a long time where we didn’t think we’d have any.”
“I love that little girl so much,” Arizona said. “She’s changed my life in ways that I never thought possible.”
“That’s what it is to be a parent,” Daniel said.
“I never thought I would be a mom. I didn’t think I was cut out to be a mom, but they’ve proved me wrong - Callie and Sofia, they’ve made me realise that it’s what I wanted all along. I’m so glad I get to share that with you and mom.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for anything. Having children is so precious. Losing Tim…” He faltered momentarily, “…and learning what you went through when that crazy man came into the hospital, then the car accident. I hope that you never have to experience pain or fear like that, but if you do, I know that you and Callie will get through it together. That’s what marriage is about.”
“Thank you. It means so much to me that you’ve accepted Callie and Sofia into the family and into your lives. I can’t wait for you to get to know them better,” Arizona said.
“Us too,” Daniel said with a smile. “So, what are you doing out here on your own?”
“Talking to Nick. I promised him I’d call him. He couldn’t make it back from India for the wedding.”
Daniel nodded. “Your mother still sends him care packages once in a while. He always did love her homemade toffee.”
Arizona smiled. “He would get into so much trouble with his parents when he’d go home full of toffee and refuse to eat his dinner. He and Tim used to have a competition to see who could eat the most in two minutes. I was always waiting for them to make themselves sick, but Mom just let them go for it; she’d say it was the only way to keep them quiet for two minutes.”
Daniel laughed. “Those boys were too much trouble when they were kids. You all were,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
Arizona shook her head with a playful innocence. “Nuh uh, not me.”
“Really? What about the time you got stuck in the big oak tree at the end of the yard because you were spying on the neighbour’s barbeque? You managed to climb all the way to the top, then got scared and wouldn’t come down again. I had to borrow a ladder from the people across the street to get you down. Or the time you tricked Tim outside in just his pyjamas in the middle of winter and locked him out because you blamed him for breaking your favourite doll?”
“He did break my doll! He pulled her legs off so that he could turn her into a creature from outer space,” Arizona said solemnly.
“Or the time you locked yourself inside the car while your mom dashed into the grocery store and we had to call the mechanic to get you out? Or the time you got stuck your fingers together because you used superglue instead of a glue stick and we had to take you to the ER?”
“Okay, okay!” Arizona exclaimed in defeat. They were both laughing now, although she noticed her father’s expression becoming more sentimental.
“And then there was the time the boys went fishing and your mother wouldn’t let you go because you had a school project to finish, so you snuck out of the house when she went shopping and followed them to the river…”
Arizona started to smile as her father told the story, knowing how it ended.
“…you were, what, eleven years old? You tried to cross the water over the stepping stones instead of using the bridge half a mile up the river and got stuck because it was flowing too hard. Tim tried to get to you and he got stuck too, so Nick had to come and fetch me. By the time I got there, the two of you were cuddled up together on a rock, cold and wet and crying. The last time I’d seen you cry so much was when you lost your Barbie doll when you were six years old. I had to carry you home and you wouldn’t stop shaking in my arms. I think that’s the last time I carried you anywhere. Tim was just as scared, he clung to my leg the whole way home.”
She saw her father close his eyes and she lifted her hand hesitantly, gently placing it on his arm. “Daddy?”
“I know you missed Timothy today. I did too. He would have loved all this, you know?”
A sad smile passed across Arizona’s lips. “I know.”
The Colonel straightened up, his shoulder bumping against Arizona’s. “I’m sorry I didn’t let you have a minute’s silence for him. I’m sorry that I don’t let you talk about him as much as you want. I’m not very good at this.”
“I don’t need you to be good at it.”
“I’m your father, I’m supposed to protect you from hurt and sadness.”
“And you always have. But if I’ve learned anything over the last few months, it’s that you can’t protect the ones you love from everything. Mom’s cancer, Tim’s death, the car accident, Sofia’s birth… so many times I’ve wished that I could have stopped it all from happening. But there are bigger things in this world, things that I can’t control. I’ve learned to accept that and so I won’t let it consume me.”
Daniel looked proudly at her. “When did you get so wise?”
“I have very wise parents,” Arizona said, leaning into her father’s body and resting her cheek on shoulder. She closed her eyes as she felt his arm glide around her shoulders and hug her into his chest.
“I love you. And I’m so very proud of you.”
Teardrops fell into her lap. “I love you too, Daddy.”
“Hey now,” Daniel said softly, “why don’t we have that minute’s silence for Timothy now, huh?”
Arizona nodded. They sat together in silence for longer than a minute, enjoying the rare moment of intimacy. Arizona kept her head on her father’s shoulder. She lifted her hand and rested it on top of his, which he held tightly. She closed her eyes, her mind overflowing with memories of her brother; caught up in her daydream until the sound of heavy silk swishing in the quiet night air captured her attention. Arizona looked up and immediately grinned when she saw her new wife walking towards them.
“Hey,” Callie said awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just hadn’t seen you for a while.” She directed her comment towards Arizona, who sat up and held out her hand, beckoning Callie towards her.
Daniel stood up. “Don’t be silly. You girls take a moment.”
He took a few steps up towards the reception and paused next to Callie. Resting a hand on her arm, he kissed her cheek affectionately. “Welcome to the family, Calliope. We’re very glad to have you.”
Callie’s eyes filled with tears for the umpteenth that day as she smiled. “Thank you, Colonel.”
She waited until her father-in-law was out of earshot before sitting down on the bench next to her wife. “Everything okay?”
Arizona nodded. “Everything is perfect.” She took Callie’s hand in hers, looking down at their identical wedding bands. She gazed back at Callie, her eyes shining with happiness. “Come here.”
She cupped her hand around Callie’s cheek and guided her lips closer until they were pressed against her own. “I love you, Mrs Robbins.”
“I love you, Mrs Torres,” Callie replied, and they broke into simultaneous giggles.
“You look so beautiful today,” Arizona said. “I mean, you’re always beautiful. But today? Wow.”
Callie rolled her eyes. She still had a hard time accepting the compliments that Arizona threw at her since the accident, despite the good work that Mark had done to leave her with so few scars.
“I was starting to think you were hiding. You’re not bored of being married to me already, are you?” Callie said, playing with the ring on Arizona’s third finger.
“Never,” Arizona said. She dropped a kiss on Callie’s shoulder, then rested her chin there gently. “I’m glad your dad came back and could share today with us.”
“Me too,” Callie said with a smile. “When I left him, he was swinging your mom around the dance floor.”
Arizona chortled at the image in her head. “I’m sure she was loving it.”
Callie turned her head to catch Arizona’s eye. “I’m sorry Tim couldn’t be here.”
Arizona didn’t need to explain her disappearance outside for Callie to understand it. She shook her head slightly. “No matter how much I miss him, nothing can take away how unbelievably happy I feel right now.”
“And no matter how much I wish my mom would accept this - accept us - so that she could be here, nothing could stop me from feeling just as happy.”
Arizona lifted her face, opening her mouth and allowing Callie to capture her in a kiss, deeper this time as their tongues danced in time with the beat of the music coming from the party in front of them.
“Can we just stay out here and make out for the rest of the evening?” Arizona murmured in the few moments that their lips parted.
“Hmm, I think we might be missed.”
Arizona pouted and Callie concealed it with another kiss, grinning against her mouth as she heard a soft moan escape from the back of Arizona’s throat. “Okay, maybe for a little while,” she conceded. Her hand grasped at the back of Arizona’s head, fingers running through her hair and mouth pressing harder against Arizona’s.
“You know, as beautiful as you look in that dress, I can’t wait to get you home and out of it,” Arizona said flirtatiously, running her hand slowly around the bodice and pulling Callie’s body closer to hers.
“Oh, well, that’s gonna be a problem,” Callie said.
Arizona pulled her head back and frowned. The air was cold against her mouth, bare now that Callie’s lips were no longer covering them. “A problem? You know it’s your wifely duty to get naked for me tonight, right?” Her eyes flicked up and down Callie’s body, undressing her in her mind already.
Callie snickered, her laughter echoing around them. “I guess Bailey forgot that vow, huh? Besides…” she paused to steal a brief kiss, “…I never said I wouldn’t be getting naked. I just won’t be doing it at home.”
Arizona’s brow creased with confusion. “We’re not going home tonight?”
“On our wedding night? Are you freakin’ kidding me? Of course we’re not, Arizona!” Callie laughed. “I booked us a night in the honeymoon suite at the Four Seasons.”
A wide smile spread across Arizona’s face. “You are an awesome wife.”
“You’re pretty good yourself, Robbins.”
Arizona leaned into Callie’s body once more, noses bumping together as she hovered her lips in front of Callie’s. “Oh, I’m better than good, Calliope.”
“Yeah?"
Arizona nodded, her lips brushing against Callie’s as she did. Callie jerked her head forwards, trying to catch another kiss, but Arizona anticipated it and pulled her head back to avoid it. “Take me to the Four Seasons and I’ll prove it.”
Callie contemplated her options for a moment before grabbing Arizona’s hand and pulling her away from the bench as she stood up.
“One more dance and then we’re making our excuses.”
As Callie led her across the gardens and back to the reception tent, Arizona smiled smugly to herself. Their wedding wasn’t just about today, it was the start of the rest of their lives; and Arizona couldn’t think of a better way to start it than being holed up in the honeymoon suite of the Four Seasons with her wife. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy. Nick heard it in her voice, her father saw it in her face, and tonight, she would make sure Callie could feel it in her touch.