One More Try: Part 3

Chapter Fourteen

ELIZA'S POV

"Good morning, beautiful…" The sound of my wife's voice pulling me from a deep sleep, I can feel the sunlight hitting my eyes but I don't want to wake yet. Surely it isn't already morning. Surely I have a little while longer. Clearly not, judging by the fact my wife is waking me, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee hitting my senses. "Eliza?"

"Mm?" I crack one eye open to find Nevaeh in my wife's arms. "Is she okay?" I sit upright.

"Of course, she is." Arizona smiles as she drops down beside me on the bed. "She's fine."

"Okay, good." I breathe a sigh of relief. "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven." She shrugs. "Dillon is napping right now but little miss here wasn't down for that plan."

"You want me to take over?" I pull myself up against the headboard and Arizona shakes her head in disagreement. "Why did you let me sleep so long?"

"Because you woke in the night." Leaning in, she presses a kiss below my ear and smiles against my skin. "I know you tried to do it quietly, but I heard you through the monitor."

"I'm sorry." I give my wife a sad smile. "Nevaeh wouldn't settle."

"Don't be sorry…" She waves off my apology. "I like listening to you…"

"You do?" I furrow my brow. "Why?"

"Uh, because it's adorable." She deadpans. "And because I just like it." My wife's eyes closing, Nevaeh is sleeping soundly on her chest and it's a vision I could watch for the rest of my life. Honestly, no matter what we've been through, Arizona and kids will always bring my mood up. I can say that with complete certainty. "You want some breakfast?"

"I can take care of breakfast." I run my fingers through my hair. "I think you've done enough today and it's not even midday."

"Nonsense." She rolls her eyes playfully. "It's my job to look after my girls." Pressing a kiss to our youngest daughter's head, Arizona hands her over to me and climbs from the bed. "Pancakes okay? It was Dillon's choice this morning."

"Pancakes sound perfect, thank you." Giving my wife my best smile, I snuggle down with Nevaeh and give myself a few minutes to wake up. Yeah, I've had way too much sleep but I won't lie…I enjoyed it. Arizona is amazing in every way possible and now that I'm feeling better about things, I don't feel as tense as I once did. Instead of wondering why she is taking care of the kids alone, I just go with it. At one time, I'd have accused her of not trusting me with them, but I know that isn't why she does it. She does it because she loves me and she wants me to feel good. "What do you say we hang out here a little while longer?" Pressing a kiss to Nevaeh's head, she stretches her tiny body out and a smile curls on my mouth. "Sounds good, huh?"

I know I've messed up with my wife these past few months but I need her to know how much I love her. I need us to be okay once and for all. I don't even know how to begin fixing what I've broken, but I feel like I have to do something. Maybe I should just continue to get better for her, I don't know. I mean, I'm lying here with my daughter in my arms. How can I not love this? How can I not feel amazing inside? I know it isn't as simple as that, but I feel like I'm making progress. Instead of feeling shitty and worthless when I look at Nevaeh, I feel pride. Pride for what I created…what we both have. Surely all of that cancels out the crap I've put my wife through. What I've put myself through, too.

I know some days will be better than others, but today is our wedding anniversary and hell will freeze over before I allow my mood to get the better of me. I'm in love. I have the most incredible wife. The most amazing daughters. Yeah, today is going to be a good day and I can feel it. I can feel the love and happiness coursing through my veins. Deciding that I've missed my wife enough, I slowly climb from our warm comfortable bed and fix Nevaeh on my chest. She hasn't made a single sound and that tells me she wants to be in my company. It tells me she loves me and that she feels safe with me. She should always feel safe with me. Taking the stairs slowly, I find Arizona in the kitchen preparing breakfast for me.

Stepping up behind her, my hand finds the small of her back and I lean in as she turns her head, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Happy anniversary, beautiful." Smiling against my mouth, she turns her body a little and her hand finds my hip.

"The most beautiful wife anyone could ever ask for." Our lips connect again. "And I don't know what I'd do without you, Eliza."

"I think I'm supposed to be saying that to you." I smile. "I love you…"

"I love you too, baby." Releasing me from her grip, she plates up a stack of pancakes and motions for me to sit. "Let me take her while you eat." The warmth of my daughter disappearing from my chest, I glance over my shoulder to find Arizona watching me.

"Thank you…"

"Isn't it ridiculous how good babies smell?" She inhales deeply through her nose as her lips press against Nevaeh's temple. "Like, if you could bottle that up, ugh!"

"I know." I smile. "Nothing quite like it." Shoving a forkful of pancake into my mouth, I moan in appreciation and Arizona smiles. "These are good…"

"Thank Dillon." She shrugs. "She is the one who shoved her hands into the mixture repeatedly."

"Mm, nice." I laugh. "I hope they were clean…"

"No comment." She shakes her head. "I cannot possibly promise you that." Relaxing as her body connects with the couch, her head rests back and her eyes close. "I love mornings like this with you."

"Me too."

"I love everything about you, Eliza…" She glances my way. "Everything. The good and the not so good."

"Thank you." I give her a sad smile. "For being my everything, Arizona."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, beautiful." A silence falling between us, I change my position so I can watch my wife while I eat breakfast. I could spend a lifetime watching her and right now, it's quite the vision. I know she is about to slip into a light sleep, but I don't care. We have the rest of the day to make conversation.

We have the rest of our lives, too…

"Mommy?" Dillon pulls me from my thoughts as I approach her in the living room. "You beautiful."

"Thank you, baby girl." Leaning down and pressing a kiss to her head, she gives me a smile and a miniature Arizona stares up at me. The dimples. They quite literally match my wife's. "You'll be good for grandma, right?"

"Yes, mommy." Dillon climbs to her feet on the couch and wraps her arms around my neck. "Smell nice."

"I do." I smile. "All for your momma." I throw her a wink. Heading into the kitchen, I find Barbara preparing coffee for herself and Arizona's heels hit the hardwood at the bottom of the staircase. "Thank you for looking after the girls tonight…"

"Oh, honey…it's my pleasure." She gives me a genuine smile. "You and Arizona have some celebrating to do…"

"We do." My wife cuts in, her arm wrapping around my waist. "You look incredible." Her lips press against my ear and my eyes close. "Hard to believe you're mine."

"All yours." I smile, a slight blush creeping up my neck.

"Damn right." She lowers her tone. "You ready to get out of here?" Taking my hand in her own, Barbara throws me a wink and motions for us to both get out of our place. My gorgeous wife beside me, she leans down and presses a kiss to Dillon's head. "Goodnight, big girl."

"Night, momma." She yawns. "See you mornin'?"

"You will." Arizona gives our eldest daughter a full smile. Heading for the front door, we step out onto the porch and the cool evening air fills my lungs. "You really do look amazing…" Arizona turns back to face me.

"You're looking pretty incredible yourself, Professor Robbins," I smirk.

"Oh, Professor, huh?" She narrows her eyes. "It's been a while since you called me that."

"Figured it would suit for tonight." I laugh as we head down the porch. "I did meet you when you were my professor, after all."

"Mm, you did." My wife agrees. "Can't say I ever imagined I'd marry my student."

"No?" I raise an eyebrow. "Because it was always my intention to marry my professor." Leaning into Arizona and giving her a nudge, we both laugh and head down the street towards our favorite restaurant. "Joking aside, I have had the most amazing time with you, Arizona."

"I know." She gives me a genuine smile. "We've had some really shitty times but this right now is perfect."

"Yeah?" My smile widens. "You really believe that?"

"More than anything else in this world…that is the one thing I'm sure of." She laces our fingers. "Times will always be tough, but look at you now. Look at the difference in a few weeks."

"I just needed you," I admit. "I should've realized that sooner and for that, I'm truly sorry."

"It is what it is, beautiful." She sighs. "So long as you remember that I'm here, I'm okay with the rest."

"I do know you're here." My head rests on my wife's shoulder. "I know you've always been here. It's me that wasn't."

"You had stuff going on…" She squeezes my hand.

"Yeah, and that's the problem." I scoff. "I've always got stuff going on…" I roll my eyes. "If it's not one thing, it's another."

"Hey…" She stops us in the street and faces me fully. "If you've got things on your mind, you've got things on your mind." She shrugs. "You aren't the first person to have things dropped on you, Eliza…"

"I know…" I give her a small smile. "I'm just tired of it always being something. I'm tired of wondering when something else is going to come along and mess things up for us."

"So, we won't let it," Arizona says confidently. "We don't let anything come between us ever again."

"Where have I heard that before?" I roll my eyes. "This is all me, Arizona. It always has been and it always will be."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be the one who messes up somewhere along the way." I know she is trying to reassure me, but the fact of the matter is…I'm the one who is always the cause of the shit hitting the fan. "We're good, Eliza…"

"Oh, I don't doubt that." I shake my head. "Just lucky and so very blessed to have you in my life." I smile. "Thank you for sticking with me, Arizona…"

"Wouldn't wanna ever be stuck with anyone else." She leans in, her teeth taking my bottom lip. "Don't ever forget that."

"Arizona Robbins, I love you." My forehead resting against her own, I take both of her hands and squeeze them tight. "You are the only woman I could ever spend my life with and I still wake wondering what the hell I did to deserve you…"

"Crazy…" She whispers against my mouth. "I think the exact same thing…"

Stepping out of the restaurant, I take my wife's hand in my own and fall into step with her. Our evening has been beautiful, but it's no longer a surprise to me. Arizona always does our evenings incredibly well. Incredibly well and breathtakingly beautiful. It's one of the things I quickly fell in love with all those years ago. How she always took the lead. How she thought about me before herself and what she wanted. My wife has always been something special and even now that we no longer have to hide, she still is. I often wondered if the fascination would one day wear off. You know, the forbidden student/teacher relationship…but it didn't. Our connection only grew stronger. I think it was around the time of the explosion and how scared I was by it all that I realised just how much I loved her. Just how much I couldn't imagine my life without her in it. Yes, she knew I loved her and so did I, but in that moment…I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I needed her and I couldn't find her.

I don't think much about that time anymore. It only reminds me of the potential outcome and honestly, my blood runs cold. How I searched for her. How I could visualize her broken and lifeless body as I ran down the street to the billowing smoke. Now we have two kids and we are married. Hard to believe at times but yeah, it's so very very real. Real and better than I ever imagined my life could turn out. I mean, I left this woman. I left her and returned two years later. She was still here waiting for me. She was still in love with me even after all of that hurt and pain I'd put her through. I don't know how she does it, but I'm so happy that she can. I'm so happy that she waited for me and agreed to take me back.

"You're amazing." My words falling from my mouth effortlessly, Arizona glances my way and furrows her brow. "What? You are…"

"Um, thanks." She studies my face.

"I was just thinking…" I shrug as we cross the street. "I almost lost you on this very street, Arizona."

"But you didn't." She gives me a full smile.

"No, I know." I mirror it with one of my own. "But still…that possibility was there."

"I know you struggled with it." She squeezes my hand. "I know it kept you awake at night for a long long time."

"It did." I agree. "I couldn't imagine my life without you then…and I certainly can't imagine my life without you now."

"Good thing I'm not going anywhere." She leans in, her lips pressing below my ear. "You know, I think this year is totally going to be our year…"

"How so?" I ask, genuinely intrigued.

"We have so much to look forward to, Eliza." She pulls me in a little closer, the cool air chilling us both. "We have two gorgeous kids…I have a gorgeous wife…this year is going to be something beautiful."

"Do you think we're complete now?" I ask, a little uncertainty in my voice. We have never discussed having more kids but I don't imagine Arizona would want to go through all of this with me again.

"You mean our family?"

"Yeah, I guess I do," I answer honestly. "Do you think this is it for us?"

"Do you want this to be it for us?" She counters.

"Honestly…I don't know." I give her a sad smile. "Maybe we should just live life and go from there?"

"You know what…that sounds like the perfect idea." Giving me a nod in agreement, my body relaxes a little and I release a slight sigh. "Who knows what the future holds for us…"

"Right now, I believe that I have everything I need," I reply. "But I don't know how I will feel a year or two down the line."

"And that is okay," Arizona reassures me. "We take this one step at a time…" She gives me a knowing look. "We may wake up next month and decide we want more kids or it may never cross our minds again."

"I love how you do that." I give her a full smile. "I love how you just put me at ease and make me forget about everything else."

"Well, what's the point in worrying about something that may never happen?" She shrugs. "I'm here. You're here. Our girls are more than here." Arizona laughs. "We have the absolute world right now, Eliza…and if this is where it all comes full circle for us then I am more than okay with that. So long as I have you by my side…I will always be okay with that."

"One step at a time…" I breathe out. "How about we get home and give our girls a cuddle?"

"God, I love you…" Arizona wraps her arm around my waist.

"I love you, too." My voice breaks.

"Do I get a cuddle, too?" She perks up.

"A cuddle?" I raise an eyebrow. "Oh, Arizona…"

"What?"

"You don't get a cuddle…" I stop us at the end of our street and bring my lips up to her ear. "You get your world rocked. Over and over and over again…"

"Y-Yeah?" Her breath catches as I tug on her earlobe, her scent sending me completely insane.

"My wife deserves all the lovin' in this world…and I'm the one who is going to give it to her."

That's a wrap.

Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed part three…and the first two installments. Your support is overwhelming and so very awesome.

One More Try has officially ended now, but thank you for coming on one hell of a ride with me. I couldn't have done it without you all.