Title: Christening

Author: A. Windsor

Pairing/Characters: Callie/Arizona

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: 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. My one year of law school could allow me to legalese this a little more, but it also tells me it's pretty useless. So please don't sue; it's not mine, I'm just playing!

Series: Thing!verse

Summary: The gang assembles for Teo's baptism. [June 2022]

Author's Note: Two chapters to make up for my absence. Episcopalians (which the Thing!verse Robbins-Torres clan are) have infant baptism. Babies and water always go so well together. :P Beta'd by the wonderful, snarky roughian. Thanks, you weirdy reindeer.

"Oh, hello, hello," Bailey beams, leaning down to lift the one-month-old from his carrier. "Look at you. Aren't you looking mighty handsome today, Mateo." Now with her arms full of ten pounds of baby boy, Bailey turns her attention to his madre. "What are you two doing here? I thought you still had two weeks of maternity leave before you switched with Robbins."

Happy little Teo waves his arms excitedly at his newfound freedom, and Bailey feels her heart melt. What was it Karev had said after Teo's birth? Robbins and Torres made cute babies, even when they weren't the ones making them.

"We're here to meet Momma and Things One, Two, and Three for dinner. Arizona went to get the big kids."

"Ooh, family day in the cafeteria."

"Had to get out of the house before I went stir-crazy," Callie laughs, watching the toughest attending in the hospital moon over her youngest.

"He's getting so big," Bailey coos, still smiling at him.

"Hey, Arizona and I were talking. I guess now is as good a time as any to ask."

"Ask me what?" Bailey questions, still completely distracted by the big brown eyes blinking up at her and the tiny gurgles Teo makes.

"We were wondering if you would do us the honor of being one of Teo's godmothers."

Bailey smiles down at the little one in her arms for a few seconds longer until she processes the question and her gaze snaps back up to Callie's face.

"Torres. You did not just ask me to be godmama to your black baby."

"What? Oh. Oh my god. No. I mean, yes, but not because..."

Bailey laughs at the utter panic of Callie's face, and the new mom presses on.

"No, you're just, close to us. And we've been through a lot together, and we couldn't figure out why we'd never asked you before and-"

"Is there anyone in your house that doesn't ramble like a crazy person?"

"Teo, for now. Caroline."

"She is the most stoic three-year-old I've ever met," Bailey teases.

"I didn't mean... If you don't want..."

"Of course I will be this sweet angel's godmother. I was just giving you a hard time." She looks back down at Teo, brushing her nose against his. "Do you hear that? I've got a special little claim on you. Yes I do. And when you are sick of that big, loud, crazy house, you can run on over to Aunt Miranda and Tuck."

Callie smiles warmly as Aunt Miranda coos over her little boy. She loves that their hard ass, take-no-prisoners colleague, the leading contender to take Chief Toshima's place in a few years, turns into a completely adorable puddle of goo when faced with cute babies.

"Encouraging running away is definitely against the godparent rules."

"There are rules?"

"We had to spell them out for Mark."

"Well, of course you did. When's the christening?"

"Three weeks from Sunday. Is that okay?"

"Perfect. Little Tuck and I will be there in our Sunday best."

Suddenly, they're interrupted by the thundering herd of Things One through Three, their momma in tow.

"Aunt Miranda!"

"Hello, you three."

The younger three all chorus their hellos while climbing into their seats around the cafeteria table. Arizona stops briefly to kiss her wife hello. She looks at Bailey holding Teo, and then back to Callie, questioning.

"You can stop having your married people silent conversation. Yes, she asked me. Yes, I said yes."

"Yay!" Arizona beams, leaning into to hug Bailey in celebration.

"Aunt Miranda, why do you have our hermanito?" six-year-old Lena asks, perched on her knees, wild curls in her eyes.

"Sí. ¿Por qué Mami no have 'nito?" Caroline echoes. [Yeah. Why Mami no have 'nito?]

"Ingles, por favor, Cari," [English, please, Cari,] Asa says as if by rote. "Aunt Miranda doesn't speak Spanish."

"Like Uncle Mark," Lena underlines.

Asa nods approvingly at the example. "And Momma sometimes."

"Hey! I speak Spanish," Arizona objects, lightly swatting Lena's bum so that the six-year-old sits down properly and stealing three-year-old Caroline's seat, hauling her daughter into her lap.

"Más o menos," [More or less,] Lena chimes in, earning a playful scowl from her mother and an eye roll from her madre.

"I am holding your little brother, because I am going to be his godmama."

"Cool!" Lena approves, before looking over her shoulder and all around her. "Where is my Aunt Teddy?"

"If Mateo here loves me half as much as you love your Aunt Teddy, Lena Rose, I'll have done my job right."

"That's a hefty goal you're setting for yourself," Arizona teases, tugging on one of Lena's rogue curls. "She's in love."

"Momma, I'm hungry," Lena complains.

"You're hungry? What a shock. Good thing we're in the cafeteria, then, hmm?" Arizona directs at the bouncy little one.

"What are we having for dinner?" Asa asks.

"Let's go look," Callie says, scooping Caroline out of Arizona's lap and onto her hip. "Are you okay with him for a few minutes while we feed the troops?"

Bailey, still in baby mode, nods distractedly.

"Aunt Teddy!" Lena cries, leaping out of her chair and dashing for the cardio surgeon who just entered the room.

"Walk, Lena!" Arizona calls exasperatedly after her.

The Robbins-Torres house is being turned upside down. While thankfully almost everyone is staying at hotels, the house is still inundated with grandparents at every waking hour, who all loathe to relinquish any possible second of spoiling time with their grandchildren. Especially sweet baby Teo.

There is one guest who is brave enough to face the chaos and sleep in the guest room: Mateo's other godmother, and Arizona's college roommate and best friend, Kelly Adams.

"You had four kids and really didn't think of me until number four?" Kelly teases, her soon-to-be godson snuggled in her arms.

"Thing Four," Lena corrects helpfully, perched on the arm of the sofa where Kelly and Arizona sit.

Kelly grins at her old friend. "Seriously? Like Dr. Seuss?"

"We have shirts!" Lena adds.

"Of course you do. I still can't believe you have four kids," Kelly laughs as Arizona wrangles squirmy little Caroline into her lap.

Caught in her mother's embrace, Caroline lays her head against Arizona's breast and accepts the affection. Arizona brushes her hand over Caroline's silky hair, and the three-year-old starts to give in to the late hour.

"Oh, I know. College-Me would be shocked."

"You didn't always want a lot of kids, Momma?" Asa asks, cuddled close to Aunt Kelly's side so that he can look down at sleeping Teo's sweet face.

"Nope. Mami changed my mind, thank goodness," she says, faux-dramatically, grabbing Caroline even closer. The three-year-old giggles as Arizona continues: "Mami's the best."

"You've got it so bad," Kelly notes.

"Who's got it bad?" Callie questions, plucking Lena off the arm of the couch and tossing her, fireman style, over her shoulder.

Lena giggles: "Momma does."

"Oh yeah? Who's the lucky lady?"

"You are, Mami," Lena laughs.

"Mm. I'd heard that rumor. Alright. Bed time for all the little munchkins over the age of two."

"No tengo," Caroline yawns, "Sleepy." [I'm not]

Arizona awakes to a very light, rhythmic tapping. She blinks the sleep from her eyes and shakes her head at the way Callie sprawls across the bed. Extracting herself from under an arm and a leg, she presses a kiss to her wife's temple and then pads over to the bassinet where Teo spends his nights. Once he gets closer to sleeping through the night, he'll move up to his room, but for now they can only climb those steps so many times a day.

She bends over the bassinet to find big brown eyes staring up at her and little feet contentedly kicking against the padded side.

"I know Mami doesn't love the name, but you are so my Tiny Dancer," Arizona whispers adoringly, scooping him up into her arms. "And you're such a good, patient little Thing Four. Your big sister Caroline would've been screaming by now when she was your age."

Now that he does have one of his moms' attention, he begins to whimper and pout, as if remembering he is hungry and in need of a diaper change, and that this is his momma, so that's her job.

"Okay, okay, shh. It's a big day; let's let your grumpy Mami sleep." She finds his binky and a small toy to entertain him while she changes his diaper. Then she snaps up his soft monkey sleeper and carries him off to breakfast.

Teo lets out the occasional whine as Arizona readies a bottle, but he's mostly content to be snuggled in his mother's arms, rocked and sung to as they wait for his breakfast to be ready. Arizona pours herself a bowl of cereal, too, as she perfected the whole one-handed bottle feeding way back when Asa was a baby.

With Teo safely settled in his carrier, Arizona eats her cereal with one hand while the other holds up the bottle Teo hungrily suckles.

Kelly, an early riser, soon joins them, and greets the pair with a sleepy smile.

"Good morning."

"Teo, say good morning to your godmama-to-be."

The seven-week-old blinks obediently.

"Ready to wear a pretty dress, Mister Man?" Kelly asks the infant.

Teo seems unfazed by the idea.

"Rosario keeps looking at the christening gown and crying about how he'll be the last one to wear it. And then begging Aria for one more."

"How many does she have?"

"Two. 'One of each and we're done' were her words, I believe."

Kelly laughs. "Fair enough. Most people aren't crazy enough for more than two."

"Crazy? Are we crazy, Teo?" Arizona asks. "Maybe Caroline did turn us a little crazy."

Kelly laughs. "Poor Thing Three. Callie told me last night that this has turned into a great godparent reunion."

"Oh, yeah. The girls invited both of their godparents, so Asa got jealous and begged his Aunt Addison to fly up. It's a good thing that Aria and Blake couldn't make it, or we would've needed a third pew."

Lazy footsteps on the stairs announce the presence of another Robbins-Torres.

"Buen día, Momma," Lena yawns.

"Good morning, Lena-bug."

"Are my godmoms here yet?"

"Lena, it is-" Arizona checks her watch. "6:55 in the morning. No, Aunt Rachel and Aunt Teddy are not here yet."

"Darn," the six-year-old grumbles, climbing into one of the remaining chairs at the breakfast bar and pushing up on her knees. "Can I have some Rice Krispies while I wait?"

Arizona laughs. "What do you say?"

"Por favor, Momma?" Lena says extra sweetly, flashing those dangerous dimples.

"Yes, of course."

Kelly laughs: "Oh, I've seen that move pulled a thousand times, just by someone a little older."

Arizona shushes her.

"Thank you, ma'am," Lena sings, dropping to her butt triumphantly.

Arizona slides Teo's infant carrier over to Kelly, who takes over bottle duty.

"Momma, what dress am I gonna wear? And doesn't Teo have to wear a dress, too? And..."

Arizona settles herself in for the usual barrage, and Kelly grins at Lena's constant babble.

"Thank goodness you can't talk yet," Kelly says lowly to her godson.

Callie does find it disconcerting that in a house full of people they can lose the infant that can't even walk yet, but her worries are set at ease when she finds both of her boys back in the playroom, away from the chaos.

"You look very handsome in your dress," Asa assures the baby, kneeling beside the infant carrier where Teo is strapped in, ready to go to church. "I had to wear it, too, but soon you'll get to wear stuff like me."

The eight-year-old pats his navy blue sports coat and khaki shorts, fumbling adorably with his striped tie. Then he brushes his hand over his dark, buzzed hair and sighs.

"And I know Abuelita kisses a lot, but it's just 'cause nos quiere mucho." [... she loves us a lot.]

Callie fights back her laugh and says:

"Did you steal my baby?"

Asa looks up, brown eyes clearly startled, but then he gives a sloppy smile.

"He's my baby, too. And there were too many people. It made him fussy."

"Hmm. You know you're supposed to have a grown-up when you carry him, even in his carseat."

He might be a very involved and very strong big brother, but he is only eight-and-a-half, so they usually prefer he be supervised with the almost-two-month-old.

"Sorry, Mami."

"It's okay. I like that you love him so much."

Asa flushes a little and stuffs his hands in his pockets.

"Come on. We've gotta get to church. Can you go round up the girls for me?"

Asa nods and hops to his feet.

"Okay. Meet you at the car in five."

Her eldest playfully salutes, jogging down the hall.

"And hey," she calls after him, "Don't forget your momma!"

tbc