A/N: Life seriously got in the way of updating this week – sorry about that! Okay, so here it is: the last chapter…oh, who am I kidding? There's totally an epilogue. As always, thank you for the fabulous reviews! Enjoy. :)

Chapter 11

Arizona grinned as she walked through the halls in the bowels of the Lincoln Center to her dressing room. The energy among the cast and crew was tangible and infectious. The walls were literally buzzing with pre-show jitters and excitement. The blonde delighted in the cacophony of frantic last-minute individual rehearsals emanating from every room she passed. She stopped at a table to pick up a program before continuing to her shared dressing room. Flipping through the booklet, she pushed open the door to find Callie already warming up in her concert black attire.

"Hey," Arizona said softly. Callie just grunted in response and kept playing. Arizona frowned, but decided not to take it too personally; she knew that most people had fairly regimented pre-show rituals and she didn't want to disturb Callie.

Her own pre-show ritual usually consisted of a lot of relaxation and meditation. She would much rather think about her part than play it, not wanting to tire out her arms before the concert had even started. After surreptitiously changing into her concert black in the corner, she relaxed into the more comfortable chair in the room and laid her head back. She continued to quietly skim the program, stopping when she saw Callie's beautiful face staring back at her under a picture of her own. She read through Callie's bio, her heart warming at how Callie had managed to convey such passion and enthusiasm for the cello and music in general in just one small paragraph.

Arizona's head rolled almost involuntarily to the side when she subconsciously realized that Callie had abandoned her music and was practicing her part of the duet. Though Arizona had been caught staring a few times too often during rehearsals, she relished this opportunity to unabashedly watch Callie play. She sighed in contentment, thinking that she could be perfectly happy just watching the Latina play all day long. She hoped that this could once again become her reality and not a dream after tonight.

Hearing Arizona's sigh, Callie turned at the noise. Arizona didn't attempt to look away and didn't even have the decency to blush. Callie rolled her eyes and turned around so that her back was facing Arizona. She knew she was being a bit childish, but she just didn't want to deal with that drama right before opening night.

Once again, Arizona tried not to take Callie's actions personally, and instead moved over to the counter to begin drawing her hair back in meticulous twists and curls. She was about to push the last of about thirty bobby pins into her elegant hair do when she felt Callie's presence behind her. She looked into the mirror and smiled at Callie's reflection. Callie smiled back softly before taking the bobby pin and fastening down a lock of Arizona's hair, before straightening out some unruly frizzy pieces. Arizona shut her eyes, reveling in the sensation. She'd always loved people playing with or brushing her hair. It made her feel so taken care of and loved. Callie placed her hands on the blonde's shoulders to indicate that she was done and Arizona opened her eyes. She smiled contentedly at Callie before murmuring "thanks".

"You're welcome," Callie spoke back gently. The two found each other's eyes in the mirror and allowed themselves to stare for just a moment. Arizona tried to convey as much love as she could in that brief moment. When she noticed a shift in Callie's line of vision, she mistook it for a sudden bout of nerves.

Crossing her right arm over her body, Arizona rested her hand on top of Callie's left and squeezed slightly. "You aren't nervous, are you?" she asked quietly.

"No, no I'm not nervous. I'm…I'm excited, anxious, but also a little sad. And I'm disappointed that I'm sad," Callie replied honestly.

"Why are you sad?" Arizona asked, trying to be as blissfully ignorant as possible.

Callie gave her a look that indicated that Arizona should know why she was sad and then promptly removed her hands from the blonde's shoulders. Picking up her cello, she said, "We only have 15 minutes. I'll see you out there."

"You certainly will," Arizona replied as Callie retreated from the room. Once the door shut, Arizona gave herself a once over in the mirror, scrunching her nose. You certainly will? What a lame response. She had wanted to say so much more, but she knew that words were useless in this situation and she really need to stick to her plan.

Arizona smiled at her reflection in the mirror, before grabbing her violin, tuning it, and leaving the dressing room to wait backstage for her cue. A stagehand gave her the cue and she walked gracefully onto the brightly lit stage. She gave a polite smile to the audience before turning to the orchestra to play the concert A.

The first half went well with not one mistake or hiccup as was to be expected. The orchestra knew those songs backwards and forwards and they were really just the warm-up to the main event that would take place in the second half. Nevertheless, they performed brilliantly and the audience clapped uproariously when the ensemble stood for recognition at the end.

Callie made her way back to their dressing room quickly. She was genuinely excited for the second half, having almost forgotten the state of her love life during the first half. The memories came flooding back, however, when Arizona came rushing into the room. The blonde gave her a quick, but genuine smile, before bustling around the room to change into her dress and fix her make up and hair in the short amount of time they were allotted. She didn't even care about modesty or propriety as she threw off her clothes and shrugged on her dress. Callie caught herself staring more than once, before realizing that she had just as little time to get ready herself.

After applying an extra coat of mascara, Arizona smiled over at Callie, who was smearing on a delicious shade of red lipstick. The tension was thick, both of them a bit nervous for their big debut and neither knowing what exactly to say to the other.

Together they made their way to the backstage wing from which they would enter the stage. Finding the silence too awkward, Arizona finally broke it.

"As you know I really wasn't happy about having to share the spotlight at first, but now I can't imagine it any other way. No matter what happens out there, I'm really glad to have known you and shared this experience with you," Arizona said sincerely.

Callie smiled gratefully before a look of confusion washed over her face. "Wait, what do you mean by what happens out there?"

Arizona's brain was now in conflict with itself. One half was berating the impetuous half for not sticking to the plan, while the impetuous half was reminding the regimented half that it wasn't so much a plan, but a whimsically thought out grand gesture.

A stagehand broke Arizona out of her inner turmoil telling them that it was time. Not wanting Callie to walk out on stage with that last thought, she blurted out, "I love you."

Clearly the impetuous half of her brain had won this battle.

"You do?" Callie asked with a mixture of hope and uncertainty lining her voice.

"I do," Arizona replied.

Before Callie was able to respond, she was unceremoniously pushed out into the lights by the frustrated stagehand whose only job it was to keep things running on time. Arizona was cued to enter just moments later.

This was it.

o0o0o

The second to last movement ended and Arizona suddenly had cold feet. It had nothing to do with the duet, but the grand gesture the romantic side of her had thought would be the perfect way to win over Callie's heart and prove her love. Now it seemed like it could just be an embarrassment for both of them. But no pain, no gain, right? Although this could result in a lot of pain and absolutely no gain for Arizona, looking over at the Latina in front of her, she knew it was worth it no matter the outcome.

She took a breath and stood on shaky legs, watching as Callie situated herself in the chair facing the audience. They found each other's eyes and smiled in silent support. Arizona's breath hitched in anticipation as she watched Gallo's arms rise and Callie's bow hand get into position. As soon as Callie's bow began to slide effortlessly across the string, Arizona let out the breath she was holding and found herself being overcome by the moment. Though she couldn't see the audience due to the oppressively bright lights, she could feel them collectively stiffen and lean forward, probably never having heard the cello played so magnificently. All too soon, Arizona was shocked out of her reverie when she heard the final few notes of Callie's part being played. She raised her violin to her shoulder, breathed in deeply, and let her fingers glide up and down the neck of the violin with delightful abandon. Fueled by the adrenaline, Arizona played the piece like she never had before. Letting her muscles recall the precise notes and rhythms, she focused on pushing every emotion she had in that moment onto the strings: the love and passion she felt for Callie, for the music, for the violin, the pride she had in herself for coming this far. Callie watched, her mouth slightly open in awe of the woman standing before her.

Callie could feel every emotion as if it were own and reciprocated with her own fervent ardor. The two continued in this fashion, passing the baton so-to-speak back and forth flawlessly, completely oblivious of the audience, who were sitting with rapt attention.

About three quarters of the way through the duet, they had a slight break while various instruments in the woodwind and brass sections had small solos. Arizona found herself almost subconsciously drifting towards Callie as if being pulled by a magnet. She merely smiled at Callie's questioning glance as she came to a stop right next to her on the other side of the conductor's podium from where she started.

The biggest part of Callie's solo was next and she handled it with the same grace and talent she'd exuded in the beginning. Arizona didn't care that it was unprofessional of her to stare at Callie while she was playing, but she literally couldn't help it. She began to play her own part, which led directly into the beginning of the climactic end.

As the orchestra score picked up and became more and more frenzied, Arizona leaned into Callie, her hip brushing lightly against Callie's arm, enough pressure for her to feel, but not enough to inhibit her playing. Their new proximity to each other bumped the duet into yet undiscovered heights. At the end of the piece, Owen had combined their two parts, Arizona playing her lightening fast scales and melismas while Callie played a graceful and haunting melody. The two motifs complemented each other the way two well-matched lovers do, equally wonderful as individuals, but magical together. And that's exactly how Arizona and Callie played it, as if together they were creating a whole with their two halves. They fed off of each other's energy as they reveled in the feel of their bodies moving against each other in time with the music.

All too quickly the music came to a feverish end and the two were left trying to catch their breaths, reeling from the adrenaline and the realization that this piece and their performance so accurately depicted their love and relationship.

The crowd jumped to their feet and whistled and clapped and screamed their adoration for what they had just witnessed. Having previously forgotten about the audience, Callie stood quickly, ready to take a bow. Moving her bow to her left hand, she reached out for Arizona's hand so that they could share in the audience's praise. They bowed deeply and slowly, drinking in the deserved adoration.

As they stood back up, Callie tried to release Arizona's hand to allow Gallo to step between them, but Arizona squeezed her hand tightly. Callie looked at her inquisitively, but Arizona just smiled slyly and tugged her abruptly towards her. Shocked by the motion, Callie stumbled into Arizona, careful not to drop her cello. Releasing Callie's hand, Arizona brought it behind Callie's neck and pulled their faces close together.

Callie felt woozy at the proximity of Arizona's breath, scent, lips and thought her legs might give out at every moment. She placed her now free hand on the small of Arizona's back for support, or so she told herself.

Arizona spoke against her lips, "I meant what I said. I love you."

"I love you, too," Callie breathed, before she felt lips being slammed into hers. She responded by pulling Arizona's hips into hers, needing to feel closer. Arizona gently parted Callie's lips with her tongue, needing every part of her to be as close to Callie as possible. The two were dimly aware of the crowd's renewed applause at their spectacle, but neither cared one bit.

They pulled apart when they felt a hand on both of their shoulders. They turned to see Gallo smiling and laughing at them with absolute delight. He took both of their free hands and the three bowed together, the applause from the audience never diminishing. As Gallo presented the rest of the ensemble, Callie and Arizona once again found their way to each other. They stood with Callie's arm around Arizona's shoulder, Arizona's arm around the taller woman's waist. They wanted to share each second of this with the other as close to each other as they could get.

Arizona was acutely aware of the fact that this could mean the end of her career, of both of their careers, but she actually couldn't care less. She thought that hearing the thunderous applause from an audience after she performed a brilliant solo would be the most satisfying and gratifying experience in her life, but it paled in comparison to the feeling of Callie's strong arm around her shoulder. As she leaned into Callie, she could feel the brunette's heart beating rapidly under her ear.

They could have been standing like this in a grocery store aisle, doing something completely mundane like arguing over which cereal to buy, and Arizona would have been perfectly content. As much as music would always be her passion and an undying part of her, Callie's love was what completed her. This was the moment she didn't realize she had been waiting for forever.