The Aftermath of Callie and Arizona - Volume II

It's The Holiday Season

Arizona's POV:

It was early morning when I heard whimpering coming from Madelyn's bassinet, which was a couple feet from our bed. Callie, myself and our daughters had spent the evening and overnight in our backyard treehouse. Sophia was sleeping upstairs in the loft, while the rest of us were sleeping in the only bedroom. 

It was still dark outside, as I opened my eyes and glanced at the bedside clock, it was 6 am. Before Maddy could get any louder, I put my prosthetic on and picked her up. Sure enough, she needed a change and probably something to eat.

"Arizona, I can take care of Maddy. Why don't you come crawl back into bed?"

Callie was getting up while she spoke, and then extended her arms and hands to take Maddy from me.

"Callie, are you certain you don't mind being on diaper patrol this morning? She needs a change for sure."

"Arizona, I'm very sure. I owe you for all the early mornings I've been working recently and couldn't pitch-in." I handed Maddy over to Callie. 

"I insist you get under the covers and stay warm" Callie kissed me, as she took Maddy out to the couch to change her. 

And as much as I wanted to go back to bed, my bladder notified me it needed to be emptied before sleep would be a possibility again. So, I put on my robe and shuffled to the bathroom. When I finished and walked into the main room, I saw Callie feeding Maddy a bottle in the faint lighting that surrounded them.

"I wondered if she was hungry too, thanks sweetie." I sat down on the couch, next to Callie, while I talked and then kissed her gorgeous lips.

"She's famished and is definitely going through another growth spurt, yet again. I didn't feed her that long ago, what was it? Around 2 am this morning?"

I nodded yes, while I leaned my head onto Callie's shoulder. Callie kissed my forehead in response.

"That sounds about right, and she is most definitely going through a growth spurt right now. I think we'll be lucky to get a month out of those new cloud pajamas, at best."

"I was thinking the exact same thing when we put them on her, last night. Both of the girls are growing up, way too fast."

"Callie, I think so too." I motioned with my head towards the bedroom door after I agreed with my wife. 

We had been whispering so as not to wake Sophia, not to mention our bed was warm and way more comfortable than the couch. Callie immediately understood my reasoning and that I was suggesting we go back to our room. She quickly stood up and followed me while she was still feeding and holding Madelyn. Once we were in the bedroom with the door closed, but not shut, our conversation resumed.

"I always think about how much I'd love to be able to freeze them from getting any older, but then I think about all the things that we get to experience as they get older. Being a parent is an emotional roller coaster in so many ways."

I could see in the dim lighting that Callie had some tears in her eyes after her heartfelt observation.

"I feel the same way too, Callie. One minute I don't want our daughters to change, then the next minute, I'm blown away by something new they've learned. It's tough being a Mom for so many reasons. I'm glad I have you to co-parent with me because there are days I don't know how I'd do it otherwise."

"Oh Arizona, I'm not going anywhere, but you'd be just fine without me." Maddy had just finished her bottle and burped as Callie set the empty plastic container on her nightstand.

"Okay, so physically I wouldn't have a problem. My sanity on the other hand would be shot, gone, non-existent..."

Callie softly giggled and said, "Well, that would be a given for either of us if we had to parent our rascals alone!" I quietly laughed and mused along with her affirmation.