The Aftermath of Callie and Arizona

Birthdays Only Happen Once a Year, Thankfully Part II

Callie's POV:

I walked into the front room, sternly looked at my Father and in a hostile manner said, "Daddy, what are you doing here?"

"Calliope, it's good to see you too, and why wouldn't I be here? My granddaughter has her birthday today, I wanted to surprise Sophia, give her a gift and of course, see you."

I opened the front door, and motioned my Father to step outside, onto the covered porch, before following him and closing the door behind us.

"He immediately pointed at the bench and asked, "Would you like to sit, Calliope?"

"No, I would prefer to stand." I said, while crossing my arms.

"How in the world do you have the nerve to show up here after what you said to me a number of months ago? Did you really think I was fine with you disrespecting my choices as an adult regarding Penny and New York? Do you think it's an accident I have not called or been in communication with you since that conversation?!"

Pretty sure my response came out as a blur of angry English and Spanish. It always takes me a second to shift my brain into speaking Spanish only.

"Calliope, we've always talked, you and I. You've never kept a secret from me, despite whatever disagreement we may be having. I only want the best for you and am here to make sure you and Sophia are okay."

"How did you find me?"

"I flew from Miami to New York yesterday to surprise you and my granddaughter, only to find out you didn't live in your apartment anymore. So, I went to the hospital and talked to your old Chief, he told me you had taken the job at Grey Sloan."

"I then booked the red eye flight from New York to Seattle and arrived this morning. Given that Sophia's birthday is today, I assumed you might be with Arizona. If you weren't, I figured Arizona might know where you were."

"Well, you found me, congratulations, but if you have nothing more to say, I'm going back inside to people that respect my life and career choices."

I went to open the door, when my Father's hand blocked me from doing so. He simultaneously spoke at the same time, "Calliope, will you please sit down and just listen to me? At least give me a chance to say what I came to say. I did just fly over 8 hours and 4,000 miles to get here, all within the last 24 hours."

I paused and reflected back to what Arizona had said to me minutes before in the media room, about our daughter's birthday and Soph wanting to see my Father. 

Darn my girlfriend for always knowing me so well! She's one of the few people that can get me to calmly look at all sides of a situation and not just my own. In fact, Arizona's the only person that has always gotten how to calm me down and consider all sides of a problem, well, as long as it didn't involve the two of us, I should say.

"Fine." I turned and headed towards the porch swing that was locked in place, so it wouldn't rock. My Father joined me on the medium-sized swing, so we couldn't help but be sitting directly side by side. We were facing outwards, looking at the street and the front lawn, as raindrops started falling instead of the light mist that had been minutes before.

"Calliope, while I might not always agree with your life choices, I will always love you. Nothing will ever change the love I have for you as my child. The things I said that day in New York came out of concern for your well being. I regret saying them now and want to apologize. You were right when you said I need to respect your decisions, because, you are a doctor, an excellent Mother and an adult. Please accept my apology Calliope. I truly just want you to be happy."

"Daddy," I said, as I leaned my head on his shoulder and continued speaking, "Will you do me a favor going forward? Please just support me and my choices?"