Stitches of Survival

Trigger Happy

Chapter Sixty-Two: Trigger Happy

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"Joel, Mel, make sure you're both ready to head out the door in ten minutes!" I shouted up the stairs to the older two kids before turning my attention back to where Chris was still sitting in his high chair, having just knocked his milk onto the floor. "Really, dude?"

Only laughter escaped the boy's mouth as I grabbed a napkin from the basket placed in the middle of the table. I quickly wiped up the little bit of milk that had managed to escape the lidded up before picking up the cup itself, setting it on the table. Just as I threw away the napkin I heard the front door open and close, alerting me that Mark was finally home.

"Hey, sorry I wasn't here last night," he apologized once he'd entered the kitchen. I could feel my brows furrow as I took in his exhausted expression, from the bags under his eyes to the chaotic style of his hair. "I just had a long night."

"Did you get caught up with a patient?" I asked. He hadn't been specific when he'd texted me the night before, simply saying that he was busy and probably wouldn't be home until the morning. 

"Actually, I was with Robbins," he corrected me. 

"What's--" I started to ask, but he didn't even let me finish before he spoke again.

"We were at a law office and then went back to her place," he elaborated for me. Just the mention of the law office caused my eyes to widen and a feeling of confusion to flood me, not having the slightest idea as to why he or Arizona would need a lawyer. "Callie told Robbins that she's moving to New York with Blake and she's taking Sofia with her."

"What?" If I had been eating or drinking anything in that moment I was sure that I would've been choking at the news. Everyone knew that Blake had won the grant and was offered a position in New York, for at least a year, but I hadn't thought Callie would ever consider moving there with her. After all, they hadn't been dating for too long-- Plus, she had a life here, a family. 

"Yeah, apparently instead of having a normal long-distance relationship with Blake, Callie's genius idea is to move across the country and take my daughter with her. Told Robbins we'd have phone calls, breaks and vacation, maybe visits on long weekends." He elaborated as he headed up the stairs, no doubt to change into clean clothes. I quickly plucked Chris up from his seat and carried him with me as I followed my husband up the stairs. "It's like she already has everything planned out and we don't get a say."

"Well, she can't do that. Right?" I frowned.

"Well, we're not gonna let her. Not without a fight," he said as he slipped into the bathroom to change. "We're meeting with her at that coffee shop around the corner from the hospital before work. Maybe the three of us will be able to talk some sense into her together."

"Three of us?" I questioned, my eyes widening slightly. 

"Yeah," he confirmed. "You need to be there, too. You're just as much a part of Sofia's life as the rest of us. You have been from the day she was born."

"I get that, and I love Sofia just as much as I love the other kids," I assured him. "But don't you think this is something that the three of you should talk about yourselves? I mean, I love Sofia but, legally, I don't have any say here. I'm just the stepmom."

"Well, I want you there. And so does Robbins," he insisted as he came out of the bathroom in a fresh shirt and pair of pants. "Now, come on. We can drop Chris off at daycare after we get the other two to school, then we'll meet them at the coffee shop."