"Aunt Zona! You made it!" Lily squealed, running up the aisle of the auditorium towards Arizona. As she approaches she makes a flying leap into her arms.

"Of course I did," Arizona says, hugging her tightly before placing her back on her feet. "Would I miss it?"

"Never ever," she beams.

"Never ever."

Lily grabs Arizona by the hand, leading her towards her mother, who has her belongings sprawled out over three seats. She's leafing through the program.

"Hey," Arizona says, a little out of breath from rushing to get there on time. She leans in and kisses Callie on the cheek.

"Hey, just in time," she says. "Was the hospital busy?"

"Little bit," Arizona answers, moving Callie's purse from one the chairs so that she can sit. "Mark should be here in five, he was a few minutes behind me. And your tutu looks even better today than it did yesterday!" she says, pulling Lily in to tickle her for a minute. She had tried her outfit on for both women last night.

"No it doesn't!" she cries happily, her little body twisting to get away from poking fingers. "It looks the same!"

"Well then you just keep getting more and more beautiful." And she is beautiful. She has flawless tan skin, and rich brown eyes. She is a spitfire Latina, like her mother.

"Lily, there's your teacher. It's time to go backstage," Calliope says, straightening the bow in Lily's hair and pointing her in the right direction. "Good luck baby, don't forget to smile!" she says, pulling her daughter in for a kiss. "I love you!"

"Love you too, Mom!" Lily yells, but she's already halfway across the auditorium. Looking down, Arizona can see that Callie already has a tissue balled up in her lap.

"Calliope, already?" she asks, astonished.

"Shut up, it's her first recital," she says, welling up. She's one of those moms.

"Hey," Mark whispers, arriving just as the lights start to go down. Callie and Arizona stand to shift over one, which is met with fierce consternation by the people behind them. Apparently, they're all "those" moms.

They sit through several acts before Lily's class even gets on stage. Arizona's stomach is in knots. She thinks, God what if she gets stage fright? What if the girl next to her pirouettes into her? Can they even do pirouettes at this age?

And then:

Wait, what the fuck is a pirouette? Maybe I'm getting that mixed up with something else.

In any case, she is as nervous as she'd be if she were her own mother (and despite making fun of Callie, a small part of her feels choked up, too).

As soon as she gets onstage, Arizona realizes that she's been worrying for naught.

"She's so good!" she says, grabbing onto Calliope's arm happily. "She's the best one up there! Seriously, look at that girl on the end. She's terrible."

"Arizona, they're five," she scolds her. But she's smirking and it's clear she thinks so, too. And Mark hasn't stopped smiling yet.

And then there's a moment – if you've been to a dance recital before, you know the one.

The one where the song is coming to an end, and the dancers are gearing up for that finishing pose. It's all very climactic. The music crescendos and then, with a final surge, it is silent, and everyone is perfectly still. (Except, these are in fact 5-year-olds, so sure, there's a little bit of movement).

But this is what happens. And Calliope and Arizona are holding on to each other's arms so tightly, both of them blubbering like the kid was getting married or something; proud as punch. Clapping foolishly. Standing ovation.

Mark stretches his arm to encompass the both of them, smiles broadly, and says: "That was amazing."

When the recital is over, Lily comes running into the room, all smiles.

"Did you love it? Was I good?" she yells, even though she's nowhere near them yet. "Hey Dad!" she says, wrapping her little arms around his waist. "Did you see me?"

"You bet I did!" Mark says, slinging her up into his arms. "You were like Natalie Portman in Black Swan, minus the crazy."

"Huh?"

"Like Belle, in Beauty in the Beast," he rectifies. Lily's eyes go wide.

"That good?"

"Better."

When we get to the car, Arizona helps strap Lily into her booster seat.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispers conspiratorially.

She leans in, touching her forehead to the blonde's. "How proud?" she whispers back.

Arizona reaches into her pocket and pulls out a York Peppermint Patty. They're Lily's favorite. Her mother would never let her eat chocolate so late at night. "Hide that," Arizona tells her.

She smiles up at Arizona, nodding her head solemnly and making the candy disappear.

"I love you Cupcake," Arizona says, kissing her goodbye.

"Love you, Aunt Zo. Bye Daddy!"

"See ya, Sweetpea. You and me this weekend, right?" he says, poking his head into the car to kiss her.

"Right!"

Once Mark has pulled out and Lily is tucked into the car, Callie turns to Arizona.

"She's gonna be out like a light in ten minutes, tops," she says.

"She was so great tonight… I don't think I'll ever stop bragging."

Callie laughed. "I believe that. Do you wanna come over for a glass of wine or something?"

Arizona looks at her watch. A little after eight.

"Shoot. I actually have a date," she says. And even though they haven't been together in close to six years, this still feels coarse on her tongue.

Callie nods. "Lori?"

"No, her name's Kate. You haven't met her."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. Have fun," she says, putting on a smile.

"Thanks Calliope. Goodnight." And as Arizona leans in to kiss her cheek, she can smell just a breath of her shampoo.

And for a minute, she is home again.