The Aftermath of Callie and Arizona - Volume II

Hustle And Holiday Bustle Part II

Callie's POV:

It was early morning on the day of our holiday open house party when I awoke. I went to roll over in bed to snuggle with Arizona when I was immediately aware she was no longer next to me. In fact, it was more concerning that her spot in our bed was cold, than her being gone.

Like our oldest daughter, I'm sometimes reticent to wake-up, but when I was woken by the thought that Arizona's side of the bed was not warm, it gave me pause. 

In a quick moment, I hopped out of bed and headed down the hall. I had noticed that Arizona's prosthetic was not next to her side of the bed when I half remembered she got up with Madelyn a few hours ago. Even though I didn't hear any noises of distress, I scooted down the hallway to the nursery as quickly as I could. 

When I walked into the nursery, I realized what had happened. There, sitting half reclined, but slightly upright in the rocker chair and ottoman, was Arizona. She was holding Madelyn on her chest, whom had also fallen back to sleep on her Mama. It was an adorable sight to behold, two of the people I love the most in this world, snuggled up together. They both looked so content in the early morning hour, as I could hear their breathing. 

I didn't want to disturb either one, but knew Arizona would sleep much better the remainder of the morning, in our own bed. So, I bent down and whispered, "Sweetheart, I'm going to put Maddy back to bed and take you back to ours, okay?"

Arizona half nodded and grunted something I couldn't understand. Either way, she let me pick Maddy up, who I promptly put back in her crib. Thankfully, she didn't wake up or fuss, as she quickly went back to sleep. I noticed Arizona had gone back to sleep herself in the time it took me to get Madelyn settled, which wasn't long.

"Hey sweet girl, let's get you to bed, okay?" I was keeping my voice at a whisper so I wouldn't disturb Maddy.

 Again, Arizona nodded and yawned as I held her hands so she could stand up. After she was on her feet, she buried her face into my chest so she could sleep, standing up. I decided to spin her around and wrap my arms around her waist. And, that's how we walked down the hallway together, me guiding my wife as I held on to her waist and steered her back to our bed. 

Once we were back in bed, I spooned Arizona. And just like Maddy, she fell asleep in no time flat. We ended up sleeping that way until our alarm went off at 6 am. We still had food prep to finish up and a few other tasks, before our guests started arriving that afternoon.

"Callie, can I sleep for just a few more minutes? I was up with Maddy for a couple hours last night. She was not happy about her new tooth and decided to let me know about it." Arizona started yawning before she could finish speaking.

I kissed her cheek before getting up and said, "Of course Arizona. I'll look after the girls and get some things started. You rest and I'll wake you up in a little while, okay?"

She yawned again as she nodded and then pulled the covers up more so she could keep warm. "Just don't let me sleep too long, Callie. There's a lot that still needs to be done."

I kissed her forehead and told her I wouldn't let her sleep for too long. I quickly put on a sweatshirt over my t-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants before quietly exiting our room. I gently closed the door and headed down the hallway to check on our daughters.

Madelyn was still sleeping soundly and so was Sophia when I doubled back down the hall. I figured since our two munchkins were still out, it would be a good time to make a large pot of coffee and get started with food prep. 

We had opted for a lot of premade appetizers for the party in order to reduce the stress that morning. Arizona had either bought fresh made items or a few frozen items like mini-quiches or pot stickers with teriyaki dipping sauce. The only things we needed to do that morning were to put together a meat and cheese tray and vegetable/fruit platter.