TITLE: Grey's Anatomy – "Out Here On My Own"

SUMMARY: Doctor Arizona Robbins has finally come to a decision after years of attempting to regain the love of her ex-wife. She didn't have the epiphany on her own; it was ungraciously shoved in her face by others. Is it finally time to move on and find some happiness or is she preordained to be alone?

Pairings: Arizona Robbins & Jaimie Miller; Callie Torres & Taylor Gordon.

RATING: M for mature readers.

DISCLAIMER: The television characters are owned by Creator Shonda Rhimes, ShondaLand, The Mark Gordon Company and ABC Studios. I have merely taken them out to play and will return them unscathed once my Muse is done. All original characters belong to the author. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is gained from this storytelling.

A/N: Please feel free to review, follow or favour. Thanks to those who have taken the time to leave a comment. A huge thank you to the regular reviewers and this tale is now complete. The Muse has enjoyed this story and is now moving on to finish all outstanding work before tackling new material. Again, I wish to express gratitude to all who have shared their thoughts and have enjoyed this storytelling. This work of fiction is dedicated to my much missed mother. Jaimie's mum is based on her and she is my hero. Without further ado, read on.

Chapter 63

Twenty five years on:

Hello there, my name is Ethan Richard Miller-Robbins and I am twenty five years of age. I bet you thought you'd never know what happened to my brothers and sisters or my extended families. I'd like to take the opportunity to inform you of how life has been this past quarter of a century.

Let me start with my eldest sister Sofia. She taught me many things as I was growing up; how to ride a bicycle, how to stop from falling off the play gym and how to use my dimples to gain an advantage. She told me it was a Robbins' trait and I have to admit to using it quite a lot. She also showed me how to build the highest of towers with blocks and all the moves required to "dance it out" when times were crappy. My big sister introduced me to the world of reading and shared her love of animals with me. She also helped my mum to teach me how to surf, although my Uncle Luke still tries to take credit.

As you know, Sofia has four mothers who adore her and I can see why. Aunt Callie and Taylor are awesome with her and her brother Mark. Mark is my best buddy and we have shared some wonderful times together over the years. More on him and his sister Ava later.

Getting back to Sofia, she is thirty three now and has been a Trauma Surgeon at Grey+Sloan for the past six years. She married a fellow General Surgeon by the name of Peter Barnes five years ago and they have two children. Aaron is three and Kelly is six months old. Sadly their great grandparents Carlos and Lucia passed away four months ago while holidaying with Callie and Taylor. The taxi they were travelling to the airport was in an accident and both suffered life ending injuries.

The funeral was a celebration of their lives and as mom said, they had had a full life during their ninety two years on earth. Although it was it was an uplifting day, there wasn't a dry eye in the church when Callie, Uncle Owen and my mum sang. I was a blubbering fool by song's end and my sibling weren't any better, least of all my mom.

Over the years, Carlos and Lucia were more like my grandparents than family friends and I loved them dearly. I miss them, but smile when I remember the love and joy they brought to my family's lives. I am grateful for the experience of having them present while I became who I am today.

Callie and Taylor are semi-retired from work now. They only attend the hospital two days a week and travel a lot on their days off. They also perform babysitting duty for Peter and Sofia when required. They are as in love with one another as the day I was old enough to understand what love was. Mom and mum remain close friends to them both and often holiday with them.

Mishal, who gave the best tickles, is much missed by me and my family. Before you think the worst, don't. She studied medicine at John Hopkins and is now Chief of Surgery at the Zamboze Clinic. Her speciality is Paediatrics and mom is particularly proud of that. The clinic and nearby orphanage have been solely sponsored by Grey+Sloan Memorial Hospital for the last fifteen years after it appeared both would be forced to close their doors due to the government withdrawing funds. Alex was the first to be made aware of the situation and the Board of Directors had no qualms in establishing the capital needed to keep the two institutions running.

Mishal has been in Malawi for five years now and she visits us or vice versa once or twice a year. She has been married to Lars and Julie's son Martin for four years and they have beautiful twin daughters Alivia and Liliana. At two years of age, they are a handful, but Mishal never complains nor does Martin. Martin works for his father's security firm and will take the reins when Lars retires next year.

My awesome twin brothers didn't chose a career in medicine. Jordan travels the world with his band Seattle Rain as lead guitarist and lead vocalist. He inherited mum's musical talents and owns his own record label based in Seattle. He is very successful and never leaves home without his wife Laurel and their four year old sons Grant and Matthew. Yes, you read that right. Another set of twins for the Miller-Robbins' clan. Laurel and Jordan meet at University while studying music and married soon afterwards.

Nathaniel is the proud papa of Sean who is three and along with his husband Michael, run the family business M & R Consolidated. Again, you didn't read that wrong. Nathaniel is a proud gay man and being surrounding by love and support, he never had to hide his sexuality from anyone. The company continues to thrive with my mothers developing several medical instruments for worldwide distribution since the business commenced.

Next is my darling Lilly. She's a feisty one to say the least. As we were closer in age growing up, it was only natural we spend a lot of time together. Mark, Lilly and I were inseparable until we all went away to different colleges. That didn't mean we didn't e-mail, skype or visit every chance we got. It only ensured good times when we managed to come home to Seattle.

Lilly isn't a Doctor either. She opted for a career in Law Enforcement and is a Police Officer with the Seattle Police Department. She has been with them for three years now and met her wife Anna on the job. They married a year ago and Anna announced she was eight weeks pregnant at Christmas. There were tears and laughter that day, but mostly expressions of happiness and love.

If you happen to be keeping score; there are two sets of twins and two gays amongst my siblings. The odds of this occurring were pretty high.

Uncle Luke and Aunt Teddy's sons Declan and Austin are Doctors at the George Washington University Hospital in DC specialising in Trauma and Cardio respectively. Austin's wife Tricia is a Nurse on the Children's Ward and Declan's wife Michelle is a school teacher. Tricia gave birth to Timothy John two years ago and Molly Gwen followed last year. Michelle added to the family four months ago with the arrival of twins Brooklyn and Hannah.

On an unhappy note, Grandpa Joel and Grandma Beverley have been gone for over a decade. We lost Grandma to melanoma after she bravely battled through surgery and then treatment. In all, it only extended her life for another twelve months. Grandpa was never the same and it was kind of a relief when death snuck up on him during his sleep six weeks later. His heart gave out and my mothers said he died of a broken heart. I fully understood and felt their loss deeply. Mum was shattered by their passing and mom took her to Australia for a holiday soon after. The break did her good and she returned full of vim and vigour.

My Grandpa Daniel is eighty seven now and he lives in the pool house with Grandma Barbara. They have slowed down the past few years, and mom asked them to move in after Grandpa suffered a stroke last fall. Grandma is still very active and in good health. She is a joy to watch around my nieces and nephews as well as the other offspring of the Doctors from the hospital.

Speaking of which, let's catch up on my extended family members from Grey+Sloan.

You know a little about Mark, so let me elaborate. Mark is a first year Resident at Grey+Sloan and firmly set on being as great an Orthopaedic Surgeon as his mother. He's a Brainiac and totally dedicated to his career, so I have no doubt he will be successful. Callie is as proud as punch of him as well as her daughter Ava. Taylor is just as proud of her children and as an ex-military Officer; she was thrilled when none of them chose to enlist. Ava is CEO of her Grandfather's business and works under her Aunt Aria. She visits home often and Mark and I have visited Miami many times to chase the waves and to spend time with Ava and her husband Rey. Ava gave birth to Poppy five years ago and is expecting a boy next month. That's all for the Torres-Gordon family, so on I go.

Sadly, my pseudo Grandparents Richard and Colleen are no longer with us. At eighty six, Doctor Richard Webber drew his last breath last April. He had remained vibrant and energetic up until the day a heart attack visited him and stayed. His passing had been keenly felt by all who knew him, most of all his third wife Colleen. With grief her constant companion, she succumbed to pneumonia after receiving an infection from a rose thorn weeks later. I like to think they are both gardening somewhere in heaven with others who have left this earth's presence.

As a side note, Richard's second wife Catherine Avery married Dirk York and the conniving bastard syphoned all the money out of her bank account ten years later and disappeared. She had to gall to ask for help from Jackson and he turned his back on her. Aunt April was more charitable and hired a private Detective to locate Dirk the Jerk. He was found in Barbados living the high life with some bimbo and April took great pleasure in having her mother in-law indebted to her. Catherine passed away five years after that, but was never forgiven by those she had wronged.

Uncle Alex and Aunt Lucy had another child besides Abigail. A son Jacob and a daughter named Emily. Abigail is a Neurosurgeon at John Hopkins and married to Katie, an Orthopaedic Surgeon. Katie completed her Residency under the guidance of Aunt Callie while Abigail gained hers with Aunt Amelia. Both received offers from John Hopkins the same day and only accepted if they had the blessing of their parents. There wasn't an issue and they have been there for four years now while raising two year old Noah.

Jacob is the drummer in Nathaniel's band and wedded Courtney three years past. Emily is an FBI Agent with the New York Field Office and dating a Surgeon from Mercy General Hospital. Alex and Lucy are proud of their children and often visit them since cutting back their work hours last year.

Aunt Amelia and Uncle Owen's son Tobias went into Plastic Surgery and found love with Uncle Jackson and Aunt April's daughter Harriet who is a General Surgeon. The two of them are also at Mercy General Hospital New York and are due to marry next year. They are close friends with Emily and Mason. It was Harriet who introduced the pair at a hospital function and the laws of attraction took flight.

Toby's younger sister Petra is in her final year of Law at Harvard and she married Wilson Court III last year. They met in class and have plans to start their own law firm in Seattle in twelve months' time. Needless to say, Amy and Owen are happy about that. Owen retired two years ago and Amelia will finish working in three years. They have already purchased some land outside of town and are in the process of building a new home and producing their own produce along with raising cattle.

Oh I forgot. Harriet's sister Samantha is an Architect and designed the hospital's two new upper floors last year. Sam's husband Brent is a colleague of Lilly's and a Sergeant. They greeted a son Harrison three years ago while the youngest Avery Liam is in his final year of Residency at Grey's. He is currently engaged to Uncle Tim and Aunt Maggie's daughter Alexis. His selected speciality is Oncology. Meanwhile, Alexis elected Craniofacial Surgery as her field.

My cousin Thomas, Alexis' older brother is a Trauma Surgeon with the US Army. He is married to Janice and they have a three year old son named Oliver and five year old Cassidy. Tom is stationed somewhere in Iraq and due for leave next month.

As owner of Grey+Sloan, mum has offered Tom a position in the ER once he is discharged from service at the end of next year. Aunt Maggie was very much relieved by the news and Uncle Tim was just as keen. It will be good for his family to have him back in Seattle on a full time basis. Tim retired from the Army five years ago and is often on the water fishing from the yacht. That boat has supplied me with many joyous memories and continues to do so.

Uncle Luke is now the District Attorney of Seattle since relocating from DC after Aunt Teddy retired from the Army. She is occasionally brought out of moth balls to consult on cases at the hospital, but otherwise, she spends her time babysitting everyone's grandchildren when required.

Now onto Aunt Meredith's brood. It's a long list, so you may want to make a hot beverage before continuing.

Comfy? Here we go; Zola is still best friends with Sofia and also works at Grey+Sloan as a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. She was mentored by Aunt Maggie and is destined for greater things. She and Lucas Thornton have been married for seven years and are raising Aiden who is five and three year old Charlotte. They've lived in Aunt Meredith's old home since she and Nathan built their dream home down the road from mom and mum. They are constant visitors and are still working full time at the hospital.

Twelve months ago, Zola received an offer from her godmother Cristina to go work in Zurich with her, but Zola didn't hesitate in declining when considering moving her family or leaving Seattle. Instead, Cristina visited Seattle for two months before returning to her research.

Bailey went into the family business and is an Emergency Doctor at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. He is happily married to a Nurse by the name of Georgina and they have two children. Scarlett is six and Mack is four.

Ellis went to art school in California and has run her own profitable studio in Seattle for some years. She can best be described as bohemian and is single. She prefers her own company and doesn't appear to date. She does however have three cats and a live-in friend called Willow. Her sister Zola once told me that is code for "I am a lesbian and don't want my mother to know". We both laughed at that one and mom has said she is willing to speak to Ellis on the subject at the next family gathering. Meredith is all for it and has basically given up on the idea of Ellis approaching her with the truth.

Meredith and Nathan's son Zachary is a Forensic Pathologist for the Seattle Police Department and is happy dating Valarie Blake. Yes, she is Penny Blake and Leah Murphy's daughter. Much to the surprise of everyone, that marriage has survived the test of time and both Doctors are still working.

Aunt Miranda's son Tuck Junior Jones goes by the name Will these days and he studied Engineering at Brown University then went on the gain employment with NASA. He is married to Josephine and they have two children. Amanda is ten and Kyle is eight. His sister Madison is a Medical Examiner with the LA Police Department and she is in a relationship with Paul Wilson who is a Detective Sergeant. Her dad Ben is Chief of Obstetrics and Miranda is still Chief of Surgery.

As for me, I followed in my mum's footsteps and am a First Lieutenant with the United States Army. My mom and mum weren't too thrilled when I was accepted into West Point eight years ago after obtaining nominations from the local Congressman, two Senators and the Vice President. My mum's dedication to service was a benefit to my application, but she was still in two minds in regards to being happy about me taking up the call. By the time I left for New York, both my mothers were accepting of my career choice and gave me their full support. In turn, I received excellent packages from home and was the envy of my barracks.

Four years later I graduated third in my class as a 2nd Lieutenant with a Bachelor of Science and majors in Social Science, Engineering, Humanities and Behavioural Science. It was a super awesome day to share with my family and friends and despite their initial misgivings, my two mothers were exceptionally proud of me. At twenty one my life was fairly well mapped out for me until I was introduced to an attractive Intern at Grey+Sloan while on leave. Mark takes full credit for setting me up on a blind date with Natalie Porter, but I always tell him I was taken with her beauty, her blue eyes, light blonde hair and down to earth attitude.

Our first date proved successful and outings two, three and four quickly followed before I was shipped back to Camp Justice in Kadhimiya, Iraq. Natalie and I just clicked and a steady flow of letters, telephone calls and Skype sessions ensued. We spent all my next leave together and married two years ago; three days after I was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.

I am currently stationed at Camp Victory in Baghdad and am second in command of a combat unit. The fight against terror continues, but the numbers of those willing to take up the cause has dwindled over the years and our patrols are more a peace keeping mission these days. Much to my family and wife's relief, my troop has not engaged in any battles this past year.

I'm one lucky fellow and my life rocks. I have the best parents a guy could ask for. I have a devoted wife who I am crazy about and awesome siblings. I'm due home next week for a two week break and will be catching up with everyone, particularly Natalie. The woman is my rock and safe harbour. Hopefully, our ten month old son Joel Benjamin will take his first steps and I'll be there to witness it. He has been pulling himself up into a standing position for the past two weeks and Natalie reckons he is just waiting for his daddy to be home so he can show off. I hope she is right; she usually is. My in-laws Peter and Nancy are brilliant and extremely supportive. They have become close with my parents and that pleases me.

Natalie is a Paediatric Resident now and under the watchful eye of my mom. My mum Jaimie has been the Chief of Trauma since Uncle Owen retired and she is ably assisted by Aunt April. I am proud of my parents and the work they have done and continue to do. Neither have plans to retire any time soon, but they do take extensive holidays during the year to avoid becoming overtired. Mum won a Harper Avery Award for her laser unit development two years after mom won. Their trophies take pride of place in their study along with the numerous sporting and academic awards achieved by me and my siblings.

If Natalie and I manage to stay half in love like my mothers then we will be fortunate. Their story has been an inspiration and it has nurtured my heart since the day I was old enough to understand their unique bond. In my twenty five years, I have never heard them argue or treat each other with anything other than respect, loyalty and kindness.

Growing up, our house was constantly filled with the sound of their laughter and my sisters and brothers and I spent many hours playing in the backyard or swimming in the pool when our parents had "adult time" together. Arizona may be sixty five and Jaimie sixty one, but they are still like a pair of rabbits when it comes to sex. They even ensure they have at least one date night a week and mum often serenades mom afterwards. The two women are a joy to watch and I take pride in modelling myself after them. Us kids were instilled with many fine attributes thanks to our parents and we all endeavour to pass them on to our children.

I'm nearly done, but did want to mention my best buddies from my childhood. Olaf and his son Kristoff were the other members of my family and I miss them still. Olaf was by my side for ten years and Kristoff fifteen. They have lived on in spirit at the Miller-Robbins family home over the years via Olaf's great grand puppies. Two year old Rex and Samson currently take up guard duty and watch over the grandchildren when they visit. Olaf's grandson Max is the fourth member of my immediate family and Joel loves him. He protects my loved ones when I am in-country and I adore him. Lilly and Anna have his brother Steen while Jordan and Michael have his sister Elsa.

My brothers and sisters and I never wanted for anything while growing up, but we all agree, all we needed was the love that engulfed us and kept us safe. We still feel it today and are thankful for the super awesome lives we share.

Anyhoo, that is my life so far and I owe it all to my beloved parents, family and friends.

The End