Lynx: A Callie Torres Story

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Jada was not very keen on the idea of meeting her father in law without her wife. Callie got held up at work leaving Jada home by herself right before Callie's dad would be arriving.

She was very nervous and continued to let thoughts rattle her brain. What if Mr. Torres didn't like her? What if he thought she wasn't good enough for his daughter? There were so many things that Jada couldn't help but think about.

Callie and Kate got roped in by Arizona to help with another pediatric surgery. And Jada knew, when it was the last day of Callie's period like it was today, her wife got really bad baby fever. So convincing her not to help a baby was not an option. Jada got to listen to Callie talk about how bad she wanted a baby for the entire day this exact time of the month. Callie already volunteered to carry the baby and Jada was honestly considering just helping her wife get pregnant. She too, wanted kids, but she wasn't sure when. A baby that looked like Callie would be adorable. And Callie with a baby would be downright adorable. But Jada knew if she could convince her wife not to get pregnant until after the holidays, she'd be on board in January.

Jada was deep in thought and was startled when she heard the doorbell ring. "Wish me luck Jackie," she said aloud as she followed her dog to the front door.

She took a deep breath and opened the door to reveal Callie's dad. "Hi Mr. Torres, please come in."

Jada was nervous when she couldn't get a read of what he was thinking right away. She had leaned a lot from her wife about how to pick up on things like that, but Callie's dad was just like her. They both were very difficult to read.

Her heart just about dropped when he said, "you must be Calliope's wife? It's really nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too sir," Jada replied, shaking his hand.

"Please call me Carlos."

"It's very nice to meet you Carlos," Jada corrected and he smiled at her.

"That sounds better."

"Please come in," she repeated. "Callie should be home soon, she got stuck helping with another surgery. Dinner is almost ready. Feel free to make yourself at home and let me know if I can get you anything."

Carlos completely ignored his daughter in law and followed her into the kitchen. "I'd like to help if you don't mind," he stated. "I'm not going to sit around and let you cook for me."

Jada smiled. "Have at it," she said excitedly. "This is my first time making Callie's chicken piccata. She said she learned from you when she was younger so please show me how to perfect it."

"I'm sure Calliope makes it better than I can," he admitted. "She's always had a knack for cooking."

"She's a really good cook. Anything I make is usually me following step by step instructions from her," Jada said with a laugh.

Carlos dove right in and helped Jada slice vegetables for the salad. "How's Calliope doing?" her dad asked. "I'm embarrassed to even being asking the question. As her father I should know."

"She's been working a lot," Jada answered. "She's now on the hospital board and a part owner, and she's the chief of orthopedics."

"She's always been a hard worker," Carlos said aloud. "I'm ashamed that I've missed so much of her life."

"When Callie puts her mind to something, whatever that is, is happening. She completely rebuilt someone's neck the other day and saved the patient from paralysis."

"I see her name in the news sometimes," Carlos said. "I know she's a good doctor. But I didn't know until recently that people travel from all over the world to have surgeries performed by her."

As if on cue, Dr. Calliope Torres burst through the door and into the kitchen to find her wife and dad working together on dinner. "Babe you look fried," Jada admitted from in the kitchen.

Already sensing something went wrong today, Jada set down the knife and cleaned her hands before walking over to her wife who had plopped herself down in a chair. "What happened babe?"

"A baby was born paralyzed, and we went in to try and fix it but I couldn't do it. It wasn't working because the central nerves wrapped around the brain stem and I couldn't get them to reconnect. So this baby is going to be paralyzed it's entire life."

Callie stood up and hung up her jacket and keys. "I don't know why I couldn't do it. I can do everything. People come to me because they know I can do everything. I failed today. I failed this poor kid who's never going to have a normal life."

Jada wrapped her arms around her wife. "Hey babe, it's going to be okay," she whispered, jumping when she noticed Carlos coming to join the hug.

"Calliope, mija," he said. "You did your best work. Some things just happen for a reason. It's shitty, but things happen and we have no control over it."

Jada stepped out of the hug and let her wife hug her dad. "I'm happy you're here dad."

"Me too Calliope," he answered. "I should've never listened to your mother about you. I was wrong in so many ways and I want to start being the father you deserve from now on."

Jada slowly made her way back towards the food to allow them to have some time together. "Your wife seems like a really amazing woman," Jada overheard Carlos say. "I'm so glad to finally meet her."

Callie looked over her dad's shoulder at Jada and smiled. "Yeah dad, Jada's the best."