Title: Trepidation (1/?)

Authors: a_windsor and roughian (windsorian!)

Rating: PG for minor suggestiveness, and we mean minor. NC-17 eventually.

Summary: Arizona's parents arrive for a visit just as she contemplates taking the next step in her relationship with Callie (and the kids).

A/N: We're back! Sort of. Real life has been a bit of a challenge for both of us lately, but here's another installment of Alt-Verse. We love that you all have loved it so much thus far so please, please enjoy! We love hearing from you!

Usually, Arizona found the warm sudsy water and mindless repetition of dish washing to be a cathartic, welcome break. Tonight, though, her mind is occupied with too many other, important things.

Upstairs, telltale giggles and splashes track the progress of bath time. Tonight Callie took bath duty; she wanted time with the kids after her surgery ran over a little and she only caught the tail end of dinner. Their positions are just as likely to be flipped, with Mami on dishes and Sona on bath time. Similarly, Nanny Dana is just as likely to leave when Arizona gets to the house (gets home) as when Callie does.

Arizona Robbins never wanted to be a mom, but now she's a step-mom in all but name. So she never expected to be put in this position, but she's broken so many rules, her own and society's, to be with Calliope Torres that she doesn't even look back. She can't imagine her life without any of them, now, but it still scares the living crap out of her. So much could go wrong with their tiny little bodies. Every fight with Callie is the littlest bit scarier, because if this all goes to hell, she loses the love of her life and those three little angels.

All those worries, though, are peripheral, constant. Right now, what's on her mind is a lease. Specifically her lease, which ends in a month, and her landlord is unhappy with her for wavering so much about whether or not she'll be renewing it.

Ever since she confessed her love for Callie and Callie begged her to stay a few months ago, her apartment has become little more than a very pricey, very well-appointed storage unit and post office box. She sleeps every night with Callie, and every so often one or more of the children, and wakes up every morning to the chaos of getting ready for work and day care. All the day care workers know her by name. She lives here, but something about not having a place of her own seems like a very momentous step.

Also weighing heavy on her mind is-

"Sona, goodnight kisses!"

It's Gavin that shouts it from the top of the stairs. She can tell them apart by sound or sight now, without a thought. Like Allegra once told her, you just do. The three-year-old is dressed in triceratops long johns, hair still dark with water, and his bare feet are slapping against the wooden stairs as he hurries to her.

She picks him up and pulls him into a hug. He smells clean and sweet, and sometimes she feels so very overcome by how in love with these kids she is. His arms loop around her neck, and he squeezes extra tight. Arizona positions him at her hip and looks into those deep brown eyes he's acquired from his mother.

"Are you getting sleepy, little man?"

He nods and rubs his eye. "Mhmm."

"Where's your brother?" she asks.

"I beated him," Gavin grins winningly. The older brother by a handful of minutes, he's what some people call the "dominant" twin. For Arizona, though, it boils down more to Gavin being more high strung and always making everything a competition. They're competitions, though, which Gus currently couldn't care less about winning.

"I hope he's coming for his kisses too."

"Comin'," Gus calls from the stairs, making his way down them more leisurely.

"Gavin, bed!" Callie calls from upstairs.

"Okay, kiss, kiss, kiss. Mami's calling. Goodnight, buddy."

Gavin kindly allows her to smack a kiss against his cheek, then takes his hands to her face and turns her cheek so he can plant one of his own.

"'Night, Sona. Love you."

She melts as usual and gives him an extra squeeze. "I love you, too. To the moon."

"And back?" Gavin confirms as she sets him down.

"You bet. Sweet dreams."

Gavin sprints back up the stairs just as Gus gets there and lifts his arms to be picked up.

"Kisses for you, too, Gussy?"

"Yes, please," Gus says, puckering up.

Arizona grins and plants a kiss on each cheek before dropping a delicate one on his protruded lower lip.

"Goodnight, Gus. I love you."

"To the moon and back?" Gus says sleepily.

"To the moon and back."

"Me too," Gus nods, giving her a big hug that she whole-heartedly returns before she puts him back on the floor.

"Run on up to Mami, and tell your sister she's not too big for kisses."

"Nobody's too big for kisses," Gus giggles as he heads back up the stairs, readjusting the bottom of his jungle scene pajama top from where it rode up during his Sona snuggles.

When Allegra doesn't immediately hop down the stairs, Arizona figures she has a few more minutes and turns her attention back to the few waning dishes and her pressing concerns, this time specifically the phone call she got the day before.

"Arizona, we're coming to visit."

"Mom, really, it's-"

"Barbara, we might as well be honest with her."

"Dad?"

"We want to meet her, Arizona. It's been six months since you told us about this woman, and from what we know now, you've been seeing her for over a year. It's time."

"Daniel, if we're going to be honest, we have to be completely honest. Arizona, we want to meet Them."

"Mom, I-"

"Nonsense, Arizona. You are living in Callie's home, helping her raise her children. If you're going to be a step-mother, I want to be a step-grandmother."

"Barb, let's not get ahead of ourselves. No matter what the end result of your relationship with Callie, these children are exceptionally important to you, as their mother seems to be as well. I think it is instrumental that we meet them. Soon."

"Are you sure?"

"I know your father and I were a little shocked at first with the whole thing, honey, but you have to understand. You told us we'd never have grandchildren, and here you are, several months into a relationship with a woman with three very young children who you cannot stop talking about. If I have to hear one more story about Angus and Gavin putting their briefs on their head and being superheroes without actually getting to meet and spoil them, I am just going to give up on life right now."

"Barbara, don't be dramatic."

"Really, Mom."

"I want my grandbabies. I want to kiss those boys' sweet cheeks. I want to talk to that brilliant little girl. And I want to meet the woman that has my daughter so smitten she's driving carpool and reading bedtime stories."

"Okay, Mom. Look, no promises. But I'll talk to Callie and we'll look at our schedules."

But their schedules, and Arizona's nerves, have kept that conversation from happening yet. She's still figuring out how this whole thing is going to work.

"Hey, Sona."

Allegra is perfectly capable of saying her name (and come to think of it, the boys probably are now too), but she's started using the twins' affectionate nickname more and more often.

"Hey, big girl. Headed to bed?"

"Mami says I have to."

"You do," Arizona confirms for the six-year-old. "Don't you want to be well-rested for Ella's party tomorrow?"

Allegra shrugs and throws her arms around Arizona's middle, tilting her head up. Arizona drops a kiss to her forehead.

"Goodnight, Legs," Arizona says, using Callie's nickname for the girl. "Sweet dreams. I love you."

"Love you, too," Allegra grins sleepily. "Will you be here when I wake up?"

It's an old habit, from when every third or fourth morning Arizona would be back at her own apartment, but Allegra has yet to break it.

"You bet. I plan on eating all your Cheerios."

Allegra laughs and gives her another hug around her hips, which Arizona happily returns.

"Allegra! Come on."

"Coming, Mami!"

"Alright, seriously? I'm so jealous," Addison huffs.

"What?" Callie asks, eyes too busy trying to find two particularly blond tornadoes spinning around the children's gym.

"Mine can barely sit in a staff meeting together without coming to blows, and yours are over there drinking beer and talking about..." Addison gestures over to another table, where Arizona and Owen are tipping back beer bottles and laughing about something, Allegra close by. "What are they talking about?"

"I have no idea."

"Well what do they have in common?"

They both pause to consider that, and Addison gives Callie a once over and a raised eye brow.

"Oh god, I hope not," Callie shudders, clearly creeped out at the insinuation about Arizona's and Owen's commonality. "They're honestly probably just swapping military stories. Arizona was a Marine brat."

Addison barks out a laugh. "God, Cal. You really do have a type."

Callie blushes. "Let's not worry about that." Her eyes find Mark Sloan playing with Ella in the ball pit. "What difference a year makes, huh? I hear Derek is still hot and heavy with Webber."

Addison makes a face. "I really don't know what he sees in her."

"Mami, Mami."

Gus is there at her side, which makes her immediately search for Gavin. She finds him clambering up between his dad and his Sona, and gives a little wave as Arizona turns and meets her gaze.

"Mami, can I shows you somethin'?"

"Of course, Gus-monkey," she smiles, saying her goodbyes to Addison and letting Gus pretend to pull her to her feet, with much effort.

"Ove' here," he says, hand firmly in hers as he leads her to the other side of the rubber matted play area. "Look!"

He points, eyes wide.

"Did you find monkey bars?" she grins, picking him up onto her hip.

"I did!" he laughs, delighted.

"Of course you did, baby," Callie laughs along with him. "Do you want to try them?"

Gus nods vigorously, and they spend the next ten minutes conquering that play set to the best of their ability. Angus makes it there and back several times with the help of his mommy, and halfway there once all on his own, until he starts slipping and, rubber mats or not, Mami intervenes to catch him.

Then he leads her on another expedition, finding a patch of fake rocks he decides are perfect for their little hideaway and settling them down among them, Mami leaning against a faux-boulder and Gus in her lap. He chatters away about trucks or rocks or something, hand reaching for her wrist to happily play with the bracelets there.

Their little place is tucked away, kids running wild around them, and they're all alone until two very familiar faces find them.

"Aha, Gavin, you're right. They are hiding from us," Arizona says as the pair comes to a stop in front of them. Their fingers are tangled together as Gavin leads her along, but each puts their free hand onto their hip and gives a little harrumph. It might be the most adorable thing Callie has ever seen.

"Not nice," Gavin complains, pulling Arizona forward again, into the fake rock formation.

"I'm sorry, Gavs. We didn't mean to hide from you," Callie assures her son as he stops again beside mother and brother and points meaningfully to a nice spot right beside Mami.

"Use your words, dude," Arizona says, raising an eyebrow and waiting expectantly. Callie never expected watching someone else mother her children would make her so melty.

"Please sit, Sona."

"Oof, okay," Arizona sighs. "But Mami's gonna have to help me up. I don't know if I can do it alone."

"I don't know about that," Callie teases. "I know you're very flexible."

This earns Callie the raised eyebrow she earlier leveled at Gavin and a hushed "Behave."

Reunited, the boys converse in twin-speak and half-sentences, occasionally nudging one of the women to let them know they're talking to them now. That leaves Callie and Arizona to enjoy being snuggled up next to each other, a little one each in their laps, arms and knees pressed warmly together, passing smiles and jokes of their own over the boys's heads.

"Well, hello."

"Hi, Daddy," the boys chorus before returning to their conversation.

Callie and Arizona look up to find an amused Owen looking down at them, Allegra on his back.

"We're hiding," Callie tells him easily.

"I see that. Hey, I know it's almost n-a-p time for the boys, so do you think it would be okay if I took Allegra to a m-o-v-i-e?"

"Mov-" Allegra starts.

"Don't you dare," her parents snap in unison, knowing the word will spark a meltdown.

"But good spelling, girly," Arizona praises, hand warmly atop Gavin's head. Allegra beams back at her.

Callie grins and looks to Arizona for confirmation that they have no more plans for the night. Arizona nods and shrugs.

"Yeah, go, have fun," Callie shoos them. "You can get dinner too if you're home before b-e-d."

Owen smiles widely, and Allegra claps her hands.

"Thanks. We're gonna head out now, unless you two need help..."

"No, thank you, Hunt, we are not that old," Arizona complains, and Hunt chuckles.

Allegra gives kisses all around, and the boys give distracted kisses to their dad and sister before they head off. A few more minutes of idle chatter later, the boys are yawning and bickering, a sure sign of n-a-p time.

"Okay, we should get home. Let's go say bye to the birthday girl."

They somehow get themselves to their feet, shaking out the soreness from forgiving but not comfortable floor, and the sleep boys immediately turn around and hold up their arms so the women will hold them.

"Once we get them back," Arizona starts, a little tense suddenly. "I've got a couple things we should talk about away from little ears."

Callie gives her a curious gaze, but Arizona adds nothing further, and they're soon distracted by wrestling two increasingly grumpy children into the car.

tbc