Title: Resolutions 5K (Secret Santa Fic for I_fly_solo )
Author: captstarbuck
Beta: Stacy D'Lacey – sorry I made you cryA/N: Special thanks to pens_co67. Thanks for letting me bounce ideas off you, and sorry I made you cry, too.
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: T
Secret Santa Prompt:The only thing I don't want is angst. Otherwise I would love something hot and steamy, or something where Callie and Arizona make New Year's resolutions and Sofia, who's maybe four or so, learns what they are for the first time and gets in on the tradition with her mothers
Disclaimers: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Part 5
Friday, December 30th, 2016
Barbara Robbins couldn't keep the smile off her face as she entered the kitchen. In fact, she she probably hadn't stopped smiling once for the past week. Spending the holidays with Arizona, Callie and Sofia was now her favorite thing to do. It was right up there with Sofia's birthday, her own anniversary, and Arizona and Callie's anniversary.
Callie looked up as she filled a second glass of wine. "Do you want a glass, Mom?"
Looking at the two large glasses, one with red wine and one with white, Barbara Robbins decided that a glass of wine before bed would hit the spot.
"Yes, thank you, but only half a glass."
"Red or white?"
"Red, please."
Callie took a smaller glass out of the cupboard and filled it with red wine.
"You've got quite a smile this evening," Callie commented as she put the wine bottles away. She loved her mother-in-law and Callie was always happy to see dimples on both the Robbins women.
"I… we're having a wonderful time with you and your family, Callie."
"We've loved having you here. You're always welcome here."
"You know, having a grandchild is the best thing that ever happened to Daniel. He can't get enough of her." She paused. "Daniel missed so much of his Arizona's childhood and I think he's taking every opportunity he can to not miss any of Sofia's."
"I know." Callie was always amazed at how much love and affection her in-laws had for Sofia. It was as if the circumstances surrounding her conception were long forgotten. "And I'm really glad." Callie took a small sip from her glass. "Actually, I was hoping you both felt that way."
"Of course we do!"
"How would you like to spend, say, two weeks alone with her?"
"We'd love to! Why? What have you got planned?"
"Well, my New Year's resolution next year is to finally get Arizona to go on the honeymoon we never had. But don't tell her anything," she quickly added. "I haven't got it planned yet."
"Just say the word, and we'll be here." Barbara's eyes lit up. "Or maybe Sofia could spend the two weeks with us? Carlos could even visit."
"I don't know… sounds like the potential for over-spoiling with that idea," Callie smiled.
"Nonsense. The word over-spoiling doesn't exist in the grandparents' dictionary."
Callie laughed, then hugged her mother-in-law. She then picked up her glass of wine and the glass she'd poured for Arizona.
"Are you girls staying up late?" Barbara asked as they walked together to the living room.
"Only until the fire's out," Callie replied.
The Latina handed her wife the glass of white wine before settling down on the sofa beside her. Barbara Robbins watched the two of them together. It was clear now as it was the day that they married how in love the two of them were. Her eyes darted down and saw that her daughter had a small blanket covering her lap and for a brief moment, she could forget that Arizona only had one leg. A quick glance to the right brought the reality back when she saw Arizona's wheelchair.
Instead of focusing on the wheelchair, she let her eyes be drawn to one of her daughter-in-law's gifts to Arizona. Sitting on the mantle of fireplace (not yet hanging up as they still hadn't decided where to put it) was a large photograph of Arizona crossing the finish line. Beside the photograph, also under the same glass, was the race number Arizona had worn. It had been signed by all of the family and friends who had been there cheering for her. Barbara smiled and decided to appreciate the triumphs.
"Where's dad?" Arizona asked.
"I just put him to bed. He fell asleep reading to Sofia." Seeing the smiles on the two women's faces, Barbara smiled back. "And yes, I took a picture before I woke him up."
"He's that tired?"
"Apparently an evening of teaching his granddaughter how to march tired him out as much as Sofia," she said, sitting down on the matching loveseat.
"It was awfully cute watching them," Callie commented.
"Oh, he used to do it all the time with Tim and Arizona. When the two of them were wound up, Daniel would take them outside and they'd play 'boot camp'. Worked like a charm. Got them good and tired and they'd be out like a light come bedtime."
"I bet you were an adorable 'mini-Marine'," Callie said to her wife, smiling at the image in her head of a blonde haired little girl marching around and saluting.
"She was." Barbara chuckled. "You should have seen the tantrum Arizona threw when Tim and Daniel came from the base barbershop with matching crew cuts."
"Why?"
"Because she wanted one, too."
"Mom…" Arizona protested.
"You cried and cried, Arizona," she recalled with a laugh. "And then I cried when I later found you and Tim cutting off your braids."
"Arizona, you didn't!" Callie was shocked.
"I did," Arizona said, fondly remembering the moment from her childhood.
"I salvaged what I could once I got the scissors away from Tim." Barbara drank the last sip from her glass. "That was the summer Arizona sported a pixie cut. How old were you, dear?"
"Five or six, I think."
"That was the year we were stationed at Quantico for the first time." She stood up. "I'm going to turn in now. You girls feel free to sleep in. Daniel and I will take care of Sofia's breakfast."
"Oh, that's not necessary, Mom. You don't have to do that."
"But we want to. This past week with the three of you has been a delight for both of us." Before she headed upstairs, she said, "Besides, I think Daniel wants to teach Sofia how to execute a proper salute." She smiled warmly at Callie and Arizona, the dimples matching her daughter's reappearing. "Good night."
"Good night, Mom," they chorused.
Once she heard the door to the guest bedroom close, Callie turned to her wife. "Okay, it's one thing for Sofia to be running around in camouflage pajamas – which I'm still surprised your mother let your father buy – and marching and saluting, but I draw the line when Sofia asks to get a crew cut."
"No argument from me." There was no way Arizona would allow Sofia to cut her hair. She loved the long, thick black hair that Sofia had inherited from her mother.
"And as soon as she asks, and you know she will because she is so much like you that it's scary, we're hiding all the scissors."
"Agreed," Arizona said with a nod. She set her glass down on the coaster. "You have to admit the pajamas are pretty cute."
"Yes, they are."
"And a little better than the ones Cristina gave her this year."
Callie snorted. "The musculoskeletal system. That must've cost Yang a pretty penny."
"It's getting out of hand," Arizona said, shifting over to the wheelchair with an ease that had taken years of practice. "I suppose next year will be internal organs."
"Or the nervous system."
"And what's with all the black clothes she gave her?" Arizona asked as she wheeled herself down the hallway.
"Oh, Yang thinks Sofia needs to look a little more badass and edgy."
"She's five! She should have days filled with color."
"I know, I know, but the… overabundance of rainbows is a bit much, too," Callie said as tactfully as she could. "I wouldn't worry about it, Arizona. Sofia almost always picks out the bright colors." She headed for the kitchen with the empty glasses. "I'll just be a few minutes."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Arizona was already sitting up in bed by the time Callie had finished cleaning up the kitchen. She saw the pad of paper in her wife's lap and smiled.
"Time to make your New Year's resolutions list?"
"Yes."
"Has Sofia said anything to you about making a resolution this year?" Callie asked from the bathroom as she got ready for bed.
"No. I think eating her vegetables all year was enough to steer her away from ever making one again," Arizona answered with a laugh. "Maybe we can talk her into something that's not quite so horrifying for her."
"I heard her tell Mom in the car the other day that she wanted to learn how to play the piano. Maybe we could encourage her to have that as a resolution."
"That's an idea, but maybe we shouldn't make it a resolution. Let's see if she likes it first."
Callie slipped into bed beside her wife. She looked over at the pad of paper and was surprised to find that nothing had been written on it.
"Can't come up with a resolution this year? I know this year's would be a pretty tough one to follow."
"I… I have one that I think we both can do."
"Oh yeah?" Callie's right eyebrow arched upward. "Does that mean you've got one to top my resolution?" She gave her wife a sultry smile. "I mean, mine was pretty awesome, and we both got to enjoy it."
"Oh, I agree that it was pretty awesome, Calliope," she said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Even if it wasn't a real resolution."
"Well, I thought about maybe having a similar one this year. Maybe my resolution should be to have sex with you in every on-call room in the hospital at least once," she leaned closer to her wife.
"As much as the idea appeals to me, it wouldn't be anything new. We've already used every on-call room in the hospital… multiple times."
"Well, what's your resolution then? And before you tell me, I will be revisiting mine. I just need to come up with a better one."
"I look forward to it," she flirted back.
"So tell me, Arizona. What is this resolution for us?"
Arizona set her pad of paper on the nightstand. Callie suddenly felt uneasy. Arizona looked nervous, almost a little timid, and that never boded well for them.
"We have this big house, Callie. All those extra bedrooms."
"And what? You want to move? Is it too big? You want a smaller house? That's your resolution?"
They'd bought the large four bedroom split-level house two years ago. Before moving in, however, they'd added a large master bedroom on the first floor with a large custom bathroom. It had proven to be more than convenient for Arizona to move around on one level for a majority of the time. Having their bedroom on the main floor removed the necessity of her having to wear her prosthesis all the time while she was home.
The original master bedroom on the upper level had been turned into the guest room for when the Robbins or Carlos Torres visited. That left two extra bedrooms, aside from Sofia's. Their daughter had gradually taken over one of the spare rooms as a playroom when it wasn't needed for additional guests.
"No! No, not at all. I love this house. This is our home, now."
"Then what, Arizona?"
"I think my… our… resolution this year should be to expand our family."
"What? You want your parents to move in with us? I love having them visit. Really, I do. And they can visit as often as they want, but l don't think I'm ready to have them live with us," Callie rambled.
"You're not listening to me, Calliope. I want us to… I think it's time we… Sofia needs a sibling," she finally blurted.
Callie's mouth dropped open. "Really? You want another kid?"
"Yes."
"How? How do we do that?"
"Well, I can't because… because of the injuries from the plane crash, and you shouldn't either." She took Callie's hand in hers. "Maybe we could do surrogacy? Or adopt?"
"Anything you want, Arizona. I'm in. I'm all in," she said with a broad smile. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she replied, squeezing Callie's hand. "And I'm more than ready… we're more than ready to add to our family."
Callie embraced her wife and kissed her. Arizona surprised her by deepening the kiss, then pushing Callie onto her back. Straddling her wife's hips, Arizona leaned over, her lips finding Callie's neck.
"I know we can't make a baby, Calliope," she whispered. "But we can try, can't we?"
"Um… Arizona… your parents…" Callie protested half-heartedly.
"Are upstairs and asleep." The blonde kissed her way down Callie's neck as her hands slid up Callie's top. "And unless you're planning on screaming my name… which I'm not at all adverse to… they won't hear a thing." Her hands cupped Callie's breasts. "You can be quiet, can't you?"
"I… I'll try," she moaned.
"Good," she said with a smile. "Because I plan on 'trying' all night with you."