A/N: Yikes - sorry for taking so long. I promise I haven't given up on this! Find me buildyourownarchitecture on tumblr to talk fic!

"Is this the same freakin' boat, too?" Arizona snapped, slamming her body down onto the seat next to Callie, who raised an amused eyebrow. "What, are my parents trying to recreate the vacation from hell in hopes it never happened, I mean, what the f-"

"Hey, Mumma!" Kylie interrupted, hopping up between her parents. "Ready for snorkelin'?"

Sighing and actively choosing to let go of her frustration, Arizona grinned. "The last time Cal and I went snorkeling was here," she supplied, kissing Kylie's light brown locks.

"Really?"

"Yes and your Mumma was a total goofball. Does that surprise you?"

"No!" Kylie answered quickly, jumping off their laps and backing far enough away to avoid Arizona's tickles. "No way that doesn't!"

"I'll keep that in mind next time you want to share my dessert," the blonde teasingly threatened. "Go grab your sisters so we can see the fish, trouble."

Kylie giggled and spun off in search of her sisters.

Sighing, Arizona slipped under Callie's arm and closed her eyes. "I can't wait to go home."

Pulling her closer, Callie dropped a kiss on her head. "I'm sorry this is a not so fun vacation for you. I wish it were different, but I'm proud of you for making this fun for the girls."

Arizona hugged Callie's waist. "It's not not fun. Just emotionally exhausting at times. I love vacations with the four of you, regardless of the details."

Before Callie could respond, the couple was met with excited Kylie and Ria's and a smiling Ellie. Standing up, Arizona clapped her hands together and plucked Ria up in a spin. "Alright. Who's ready for fish time?"

Arizona chuckled at Ria's squeals and excited exclamations of the different colors and kinds of fish swimming between her feet. Tightening her hold on her three-year-old, she glanced to her right and took a few moments to watch Callie quietly and gently interacting with Ellie. The two had swam off a few minutes ago in an attempt to get a good look at the fish and ocean life they were snorkeling with without Ria scaring everything away. Heart warming as Callie helped Ellie lift her snorkel gear off her face, Arizona hummed in contentment. The incident with Ellie and Callie had made her really nervous, not because she thought Callie would feel bitter or that Ellie wouldn't apologize and seriously mean it, but because the situation brought up tucked and packed away emotions about Katelyn. She and Callie were still constantly battling family and friends about the timeline of their relationship and Arizona's true feelings. Callie regularly defended Arizona and made it clear who had a say in their relationship, but that wasn't always enough to stop Arizona's guilt at what Katelyn had potentially thought.

Sighing, Arizona shook herself out of her thoughts and rolled her eyes. She was usually pretty good at ignoring what other people thought and said and she wasn't going to let a stupid fight between her wife and daughter and 'what ifs' ruin her day or vacation.

"Mumma." The tentative call came from where the boat was stationed, a few yards behind where Arizona was holding Ria.

Slipping a kiss onto her youngest's head, Arizona turned around in the water and gave Kylie an encouraging wave. Her middle child was all parts bravery and challenge, but things like crabs and fish and seaweed irked her, despite her excitement, and it always took her a bit more time to warm-up to participating.

"You ready?" Arizona called, playfully jostling Ria when the three-year-old giggled and again squealed about the fish tickling her feet. Arizona began making her way back to the boat and ladder.

"Yeah, I'm ready, but I'm not going with her," Kylie demanded, briefly scowling at her little sister. "She's way too much right now."

"Kylie," Arizona admonished, trying not to laugh. "She's having fun."

"Too much fun for me. Those fish love her and I don't want them swimming up and down my legs like I'm their other best friend. Pass her off to Mom and take me by myself, please."

Turning to look for Callie, as a way to hide her smile at Kylie calling her wife Mom, Arizona nodded. "Okay. You made a good bargain there, although, I think your big sister is going to be a little angry at you since Miss. Giggles," she explained, tickling Ria's tummy and making her laugh louder, "was the reason Mom and her swam a little ways from us."

"Well Ria needs to share!" Kylie argued, hands falling to her hips. "And I don't care if Ellie is mad at me. She's always mad at me so at least this time I actually did something to make her angry. I could beat Ellie up anyways."

"Hey! I'm definitely not taking Ria to Mom with that attitude, grump. You wanna come snorkeling with me or not?" Kylie mumbled out a sorry and Arizona nodded. "That's better. Give me a minute."

Kylie waited patiently for Arizona to drop Ria off and come back for her, smirking when she heard Ellie's protests and Callie and Arizona's reprimands. Her sister had gotten off easy with the whole Cal thing and then proceeded to rub it in Kylie's face when Kylie got in trouble later that day for mouthing off to Aria. If her moms knew about Ellie doing that, she definitely would have been grounded longer.

"Snorkel for your thoughts?" Arizona teased, gathering Kylie's attention and climbing up a few rungs of the ladder toward her daughter.

Kylie grinned and looped onto her mom's body, still a little nervous about the icky fish swimming below them. "Did you know Elliot made fun of me for getting yelled at when I told Aunt Aria she was being annoying?"

"I did not know that. Did you know you're doing what Ria does and tattling on your big sister?"

Huffing, Kylie jolted as she felt her foot hit something that felt like a fish, tensing and wrapping her legs around her mom's waist. "This is different."

"No it's the same," Arizona promised, drawing Kylie closer and rubbing a comforting hand against her back. "It's okay. They don't bite and I've got you."

"This is annoying."

Chuckling, Arizona made eye contact with Kylie. "You don't have to snorkel, baby. It's okay if you want to stay on the boat with your grandparents and Aunt Emily. I know you were really excited about it but got a little nervous when you realized the fish and things could touch you."

"No, Mumma, I don't want to miss it!"

"Okay, Ky, deep breaths. We can stay. If you get too nervous and change your mind, that's okay. We can go to the aquarium if you're worried about missing all the fish."

Suddenly quite determined, Kylie shook her head. "No. The aquarium is lame and I'm a superhero."

"You are not," Ellie spat, having swum up behind them and onto the ladder for a break.

"Yes she is," Arizona corrected, glaring at her oldest. "Don't start."

"Yeah, you're the one who is too scared to talk to people!" Kylie exclaimed, narrowly avoiding Ellie's subsequent slap.

"Shut up, Kylie. At least I don't act like I'm super brave and then turn into one big scaredy cat."

"You shut up, Elliot! I'm not a scaredy cat."

Clearing her throat loudly, Arizona surveyed both girls for their next move. After glancing at their mother's expectant gaze, both girls sheepishly apologized, Ellie scurrying up the ladder and Kylie turning back to face her mom, cheeks red from embarrassment.

"She was being real mean," she muttered in a last ditch effort to defend herself.

"You were both being mean."

Kylie shrugged, finally relaxing against Arizona and looking at the water below her. "I'm not scared."

"It's okay to be scared."

"I'm not scared, Mumma!"

Arizona sucked in a deep breath through her nose. "Noted."

"Sorry," Kylie mumbled again, glancing up at Arizona through her eyelashes. "Ellie's got me on cliff."

"On edge," Arizona corrected, chuckling. "Not on cliff."

"Oh. Well then Ellie's got me on edge."

"What's going on with the two of you? You have been practically inseparable your entire lives except for the past few weeks. Now it's like you've gone to war against each other."

Kylie shrugged again, avoiding Arizona's gaze.

"You can either talk to me now or you and Elliot can talk to Cal and me when we get back. I'll even bring out the talking stick."

"You didn't bring that to Hawaii," Kylie tested, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"You think I can't make one?"

Groaning, Kylie swung an arm around Arizona's shoulders to better make eye contact. "Fine. But if Ellie asks you, I didn't tell you. Ria did."

Arizona slammed her teeth together to keep from snorting. "My lips are sealed."

"Ellie and I are fighting 'cause we had a non-agreement."

"A disagreement?"

"Yeah, sure."

"About what?"

"Who is going to share a room when the baby comes."

"What?" Arizona spat, forehead furrowing together and mouth hanging open. "What baby?"

"Your baby, duh."

Surveying Kylie's excited face and sparking eyes, Arizona bit her lip and shook her head gently. "Kylie, sweetheart, I'm not pregnant."

Her daughter's face fell. "You're not?"

"No, baby."

"Is Cal?"

Arizona shook her head again before kissing Kylie's forehead. "No, baby girl. No one is pregnant."

"But we thought you were! You had lots of doctor appointments just like when you had Ria, and Ellie said she heard you talking to Aunt Teddy about a baby. Are you sure you're not gonna have a baby?"

Sucking in a breath, Arizona ran a hand over Kylie's braid, gently twisting the tail around her pointer finger to try and comfort the girl. "I'm sure, Ky. I'm sorry Cal and I didn't talk to you girls about this. We didn't know you heard me on the phone. That was a bad Mumma call. I'm sorry, baby."

"S'okay," Kylie promised, snuggling into her mom's chest. "Were you gonna have a baby or somethin'?"

"Nope," Arizona promised back, popping a kiss onto Kylie's cheek. "Cal and I want to have another baby, but it's taking a little bit more time this time around."

"What does that mean? Grown up stuff?"

"Confusing, grown up stuff."

"K."

"But I promise you and your sisters will be the first to know if Cal and I are going to have a baby, okay? And Cal and I will decide who is moving where when the time comes, got it? No more worrying or fighting with your big sister. Deal?"

"Deal." Arizona and Kylie shook on it, both grinning at their mock agreement. "But can I pretty please not have to share with Ria? I love her, Mumma, but I want to be with Ellie. She's cool."

"I'll think about it."

Pumping the air with a fist, Kylie 'wooted' and let go of Arizona. "Come on, Mumma, the fish are waiting on us!"

"I thought you were afraid of the damn fish," Arizona muttered, swimming after her daughter.

"Mom!" Kylie yelled, two inches from Callie's ear. Callie cringed and rubbed her ear against her shoulder.

"Hey, Ky." She watched Kylie flip around for a few moments before raising an eyebrow. "Are you a mermaid now or just one with the fish?"

Laughing, Kylie hooked onto Callie, who had to readjust to keep both her and Ria comfortable. "I've always been a mermaid, duh."

"Right - how could I forget?"

Arizona chuckled. "I need to go talk to Ellie and Ariel over here wanted to come play with you and Ria."

"Okay, I've got her." Callie leaned in for a kiss and then saluted her wife. "Aye, aye, captain."

Rolling her eyes and popping a second kiss against Callie's lips, Arizona high-fived her two youngest and swam back to the boat, calling for Ellie when she got up the ladder. Finding her blonde mini-me crossed legged on part of the seat in the front of the boat, she grabbed a towel from their pile and made her way over. Ellie waved and tossed a cheez-it into her mouth.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Hi, Mumma. Want some?" Holding out the box, Ellie shook it suggestively. "They're gooooooooood."

"I'm okay, cheez-it monster. Enjoy."

Ellie shrugged. "More for me."

"You're a brat," Arizona teased, laughing and settling in next to her child, who immediately threw her legs across her mom's lap and made herself comfortable.

"Go on, yell at me."

"Do I typically yell at you?"

"Well, no."

"So why do you think I'm going to yell?"

"Yell, discipline, tell me to be nicer to my sisters, same thing. Sorry for hitting her. She pushed a nerve."

Sharing a gentle smile with Ellie, Arizona cuddled her closer, pushing the cheez-it box away. "I know she did and I talked to her. Sisters fight. You two do a pretty good job of figuring it out on your own, but I realize Kylie said something that probably hurt a little more than what she usually says and I'm sorry your feelings were hurt."

"S'okay."

"Your sister does the same thing," Arizona muttered, chuckling.

"What thing?"

"The s'okay thing."

"Oh. That's because I taught her everything I know."

Rolling her eyes, Arizona began detangling Ellie's waves with the hand that wasn't wrapped around her waist in a permanent hug. "So one of the fish told me something else and I want to check in with you."

"One of the fish being Kylie."

Making a 'sh' motion with her mouth and finger, Arizona nodded. "Don't tell her. I promised I wouldn't tell you she talked to me."

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine. But," Ellie began, eyes brightening, "you owe me. I'd like to keep my own room in payment for keeping my mouth shut."

"Absolutely not. And, for the record, I'm not pregnant and neither is Cal so everyone is keeping their own rooms for right now."

"What do you mean you're not pregnant?!"

"I'm not. Cal and I want to have another baby and we're working on it, but neither of us are having a baby right now. I'm sorry we didn't talk to you about it before. I'll tell you the same thing I told your sister - that was a Mumma and Cal mistake. We just didn't want to get your hopes up or stress you guys out until we were pregnant. From now on, Cal and I will try to share what we can with you two."

"Okay, but don't tell us any of the gross stuff because ew."

"What exactly is the gross stuff?" Arizona asked, laughter bubbling up from her chest.

Raising her lips and scrunching up her nose and forehead, Ellie made a dramatic motion of showcasing her mother's lower body. "That gross stuff. I dunno what goes on down there when the baby is growing, but Ria came out looking slimy and disgusting and that's all I ever want to know."

"What about if you want to have your own baby someday? Will it still be gross stuff?"

The eleven-year-old looked at Arizona incredulously. "Uh, my wife can have the babies. I am not doing all that, uh uh, no way, ew." Standing up, Ellie shuddered. "That's gross to even think about, Mum. I'm going out with Cal, okay?" Without waiting for a response, Ellie jogged to the ladder, ignoring her abuela's "walk," and jumped into the water.

Arizona, eyes wide, relaxed back against her seat, a little shell-shocked. "Okay then," she mumbled to herself.

"Why do our children keep looking over at us guiltily?" Callie asked that night when she noticed Kylie and Ellie glancing back at her and Arizona for about the thirteenth time in two minutes. The girls were whispering to their abuela and Aunt Aria.

"They told everyone we were pregnant and are now telling everyone we aren't and asking them not to tell us they told them anything. Oh and Ellie said she wants a wife," Arizona deadpanned, mouth full of ice cream and fudge.

Taking the spoon, Callie took another bite from the bowl they were sharing. "How exactly do you know all that?"

"El and Ky got into it earlier and when I asked Kylie what was going on between the two of them lately, she explained that they were fighting over who was going to have to share rooms with whom once our mystery baby made his or her appearance. I used context clues for the rest. And Ellie casually mentioned her wife is going to be the one having the babies after looking repulsed because of what newborns look like."

"Wait, wait, go back. They thought we were pregnant?"

"Mhm. Ellie overheard me on the phone with Teddy apparently and they put two and two together and realized we were going to a lot of doctor appointments. That's all they really know. Kylie was devastated when I told her we weren't pregnant so I explained it's taking a little bit more time this time around. Ellie was more worried about keeping her own room so she was a little easier."

"Crap. That was a whoops on our part. I guess we didn't realize how much older they are this time around."

"I told them it was a Mumma and Cal mistake and that we would share what we can with them moving forward. We are going to have to figure out appropriate ways to do that, but they very clearly want to know and are excited about it all so we'll do what we can."

"You think they're okay?" Callie worried, gnawing at her bottom lip.

"Mhm. I don't think they understand the extent of it and are just excited about a little brother or sister, especially big sister extraordinaire."

Humming, Callie nudged Arizona's temple with her nose. "I think that's in my top five favorite things about her."

"Me too. What are your others?"

"Hmm...top five Kylie traits...her energy is definitely one."

"How loving she is," Arizona added, both women now staring Kylie down.

"Her pa-"

"What about me?" Kylie asked, bouncing over and falling onto Callie's lap. "I know you're talking about me. You both have that look in your eyes and you were staring!"

"We were just talking about how awful you are," Callie answered, pretending to examine her cuticles and look disinterested. "How we wish we could trade ya in."

"Nu uh, you're lying!"

"We don't lie," Arizona added, making a show of looking around Kylie. "Where are our preferred children?"

"Hey!" Kylie protested, laughing. "There are no better sisters! You love us all equal."

Breaking, Callie and Arizona both reached out to tickle Kylie. "How'd you get so smart? But...you could be the preferred sister if you got Mumma and me some more fudge for our ice cream. We may even share with you."

Ellie, who had just come up to the trio, darted off toward the kitchen, before Kylie even realized what was happening. When the blonde preteen emerged a minute later with a cup of fudge and two more spoons, Kylie's pout vanished and she eagerly took the spoon her sister held out to her.

"You can be my preferred sister," Ellie promised, after making sure Ria wasn't in hearing distance. "Every other day at least. Truce?"

"Truce," Kylie agreed, clicking her spoon against Ellie's and grabbing the bowl out of her parents' hands. "And preferred sisters get all the ice cream," she explained, face serious, when Callie and Arizona voiced their protests.

"She's right," Ellie added, grabbing Kylie's wrist and tugging when Arizona went to snatch the bowl back. "Come on!"

"Did we just get our ice cream stolen by an eleven and seven year old?"

"Yeah, I'm not really sure how that just happened."

"So you are or you aren't pregnant?"

Arizona looked to Tim, who was now casually leaning against the bathroom door watching her brush her teeth. "Not," she confirmed around a mouthful of toothpaste. Quickly spitting into the sink, Arizona cleaned her toothbrush and started brushing the tangles out of her wet hair.

"Second and third questions. Why the fuck do you have my favorite sweatpants on and how'd you get them?"

Smirking, Arizona unknotted the last few tangles and hopped up onto the counter, swinging her sweatpant-covered legs obnoxiously and batting her eyelashes. "I found them. And because they are my favorite, too."

"You found them where exactly? And you look ridiculous. They are triple your size, at least."

"Your suitcase? And who am I trying to impress? They're Callie's favorites, too!"

"Arizona!"

Snorting, Arizona hopped back down and grabbed Tim's hand, pulling him toward the large family room of the condo. "Come cuddle with me and maybe I'll give them back before we leave."

Tim groaned but let his sister pull him toward one of the couches. She pushed him down and made herself comfortable, head falling against his lap and hands motioning for him to play with her hair. "Come on, you missed me," she guilt-tripped, grinning in success when Tim complied.

"I'm not sure how," he deadpanned, nonetheless continuing to run his fingers through her hair.

Ignoring him, Arizona hummed in appreciation and closed her eyes. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Uh oh."

"I'm taking that as a yes."

"Of course you are."

"Do you think I've always loved Calliope?"

Internally cringing at the question, Tim was at a loss for how exactly to answer. Of course Arizona always loved Callie. That was clear from the day the pair were old enough to understand their first Valentine's Day and Arizona spent hours making and remaking a card for Callie. It was clear to Tim from the way the two were always holding hands, snuggled together, or touching in some little way, even if that simply meant being pressed shoulder-to-shoulder sitting at lunch together. Tim also remembered the way Arizona sobbed when their family had to move away for their dad's work and the crazy in her eyes when she found out Callie's boyfriend had dumped her after she had her miscarriage in high school. He knew from how fiercely protective the two were, yet how gentle and instinctual they could be with one another.

But, Tim also saw how much Arizona loved Katelyn in the way their hands were always all over each other, how his sister calmed within seconds of Katelyn's comfort, of the way in which Arizona acted when Katelyn was in labor with Kylie, in how dedicated Arizona was to their relationship, and the devastation that wrecked his sister's life when Katelyn died.

Their parents often asked Tim what he thought of the quickness of Callie and Arizona's relationship and he was guilty of letting their mother ramble on and on over the phone, choosing to half listen and multitask at the same time, but he never agreed with them or confirmed that he understood. Maybe he understood Arizona because of how close the two were as siblings. Moving around every few years did that to you. Maybe he understood because of Emily, who had always been one of Arizona's biggest supporters. Maybe he just understood because he saw his sister interact with both women and nothing else really made sense.

"Tim?" Arizona called quietly, blue eyes now open again and staring into Tim's matching ones. "I won't be mad, whatever you say. I'm just searching for someone I trust to tell me the truth and agree with me."

Tim laughed dryly. "You want me to agree with you, but you trust me to tell you the truth?"

"Exactly."

"Well then you're in luck. I think you've always loved Callie, but I think you were also in love with Katelyn. Stop feeling guilty because mom and dad are assholes. You know they like to get under your skin and you also know they don't understand, even when they try really hard to. I've told you this from day one, little sis, and I'll always tell you when you need the reminder - you're allowed to love whomever the hell you want to love and no one can stop you, especially not mom and dad. I'm your big, smart, god-like brother. You have to listen to me."

"Oh my god," Arizona groaned. "Your freaking ego!"

"Hey, you asked, pint size."

"Stop calling me that."

"It's better than other things I can call you, isn't it?"

Instead of answering, Arizona pinched Tim's inner elbows, shooting up and running when he tried to retaliate.

Arizona snorted when an exhausted Callie entered the room they were using, shoulders slumping against the door when after it shut. Callie closed her eyes and groaned. "I'm going to kill our kids."

"Because you just spent forty-five awkward minutes explaining to your dad why exactly we aren't pregnant and how everything works?"

"Can you not say that with so much glee?"

"Sorry…kinda," Arizona added when she saw Callie's disbelieving raised eyebrow. "Come to bed. I'll make it up to you."

"Arizona, I love you, but no amount of sex, massages, hair rubs, or cuddles is going to make up this past hour for me. I'm ruined."

"You're dramatic," Arizona teased, grabbing onto Callie's wrist and tugging her down for a kiss. "While you're getting ready for bed, I'll brainstorm different ways to make it up to you."

The smirk, twinkling eyes, and scrunched nose motivated Callie to double time it.