A/N: I know I promised an update for yesterday, but my Microsoft Word app decided it didn't want to open for me, so I had to fix that and it took a good couple of hours. So here it is!

Callie's POV

"Arizona?"

The blonde's eyes light up at the sound of her name, and she starts giggling uncontrollably.

"CALLIOPE!" she yells loudly as she stumbles towards me. A light flicks on next door and I grab her and pull her inside before the neighbors come out and see us. And as soon as she's in my arms when I'm pulling her inside the overwhelming smell of alcohol hits my nose. I sigh and roll my eyes at this childish behavior, but I'm also very worried that something bad happened. As soon as we are safe inside, I turn the lights on and get a good look at her. Her clothes are disheveled, her hair included. Her eyes are bright yet distant, and are a bit puffy around the edges. She doesn't have any shoes or socks on.

"Arizona, what are you doing here?" I ask carefully.

"CALLIOPE!" she screams again.

"Arizona, keep it down. Do you want the cops called on us?" I ask, frustrated.

"Calliope!" she whisper yells this time, still laughing uncontrollably.

"Did you drive here?!" I whisper yell back at her.

"Yesssssssss" she drawls, placing a hand on the wall to steady herself.

"God, you could have killed someone. Yourself, even! Arizona, how could you be so stupid?"

At my words, her face changed from light to dark and her laughing stops.

"I'm stupid? I'M STUPID? You're the one who has been leading me on this whole time. Taking care of me and treating me like I'm your girlfriend when in reality I was just some little plaything to you," she spits out at me, tears welling in her eyes.

"Arizona, that's not how it was at all," I say gently, taking a step towards her. But she backs up a bit to get away from me.

"MY FATHER COULD HAVE DIED! He had five heart attacks over the course of four days. He could have died. And I would have never gotten to say goodbye to him because I was here. Normally, I go home every few weekends to see my parents because I love them so much and I'm a huge daddy's girl. But I've stayed here this year. You know why? Because of you. I stayed here so that I could be with you and see you. I stayed here multiple weekends when I had originally planned to go home. I stayed here over fall break. I missed out on what could have been the last few months of my father's life all because of you. And it was all a lie. And so, maybe I am the stupid one for believing that you actually cared for me. But you're the stupid one for thinking I wouldn't figure it out sooner or later. You're the stupid one," she says, tears freely flowing at this point.

"Arizona, I…" I start, but she cuts me off.

"STOP!" she yells, and then she is quickly in front of me, fists flying and colliding with my skin all over my body. "Don't try to tell me that it wasn't a lie. Don't try to explain your pathetic self to me. He could have died and it would have been all your fault that I didn't get to see him."

Her words hurt me more than her blows, but I know she is incredibly upset right now. Instead of trying to fight her off or run away to safety, I wrestle her squirming body into my arms and hold her tight. And after a few moments of unsuccessful attempts and trying to escape my arms, her body goes limp and her thin arms are clinging to my back. I hear her loud sobs in my ear and I rub her back softly.

"Arizona, sweetie. It's okay," I coo softly, allowing her to let her emotions out. After a few minutes, her sobs start to quiet down and her grip on my back loosens. She brings her head up so that our faces are inches apart, and she studies my eyes. I study hers for a while, too, and then my gaze falls to those perfect set of lips. I hesitate for a moment, not knowing if the right time is now, but decide it's as good as any. I gently lean my face into hers and capture her soft lips into mine. I hug her body closer to me as I deepen the kiss, and her hands find their way to my face, cupping it gently. I pull away when I need some air, and her tears fill with eyes again.

"I can't fight it anymore, Callie. I don't want to fight it anymore," she cries.

"You don't have to, sweetie," I say, and then pull her lips into mine for another long, sweet kiss. She pulls away this time, and then nuzzles her face into my neck. I hold her close and I hold her tight, not wanting her to slip away from me.

"It was never an act, baby girl. I'm sorry if I made it seem that way," I said softly into her ear.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just…I've just had a rough time lately," she says, lifting her head up to face me.

"I can imagine," I say, and then I plant a soft kiss on her forehead. I lead her over to the couch, her still drunk self not able to walk steadily. I sit down and then lay her head in my lap. It's quiet for a while, and then Arizona speaks softly:

"Can I tell you something?"

"Of course, sweetie. Anything," I say.

"When I was little, my parents would send me to a riding camp every summer because I loved horses, but we weren't allowed to keep any based on where we lived and there were no open stables to keep one in. So, I got sent to riding camp. The first day you arrive, you would get placed with a horse that would be yours for the month you were at camp. Of course, if you had been there before you would get the same horse year after year. My first day, they had all of us newbies lined up to receive our horse. I was eight at the time, but I remember it like it was yesterday. There were all of these beautiful horses tethered to the fence in front of us, calmly grazing and shuffling back and forth. When they brought out the last horse, they had a hard time keeping him still. He kept trying to get away and I overheard the counselors saying that this year was his last chance to find a camper before they sent him off to who knows where. I didn't like that. So, despite the counselors yelling at me to stay in the line, I walked right up to that horse. 'Arizona, back away before you get hurt' they told me. But I didn't listen. I kept walking towards him. And when I was close enough, he looked at me and his whole body fell still. The counselors took that chance to tie his rope, and the horse and I just stared at each other for some time, completely still. And then I reached out my arm to pet his nose, and the counselors said that was the moment they knew that he was mine, and I was his. His name was Boomerang and he had been there for 3 years and had never succumbed to having a camper. He was too wild, too unpredictable. The counselors told me that Boomerang saw strength and determination in me, and that's why he chose me. My fifth year at the camp is when Boomerang fell ill. I got called out of my cabin in the middle of the night to go to the stables. The vet was there with Boomerang and he said there was nothing more he could do to help him. So I stayed in the stable with Boomerang until he passed. I didn't go back the next year. But the year after that I was begged to come back by the counselors – they said they had a special project for me. So, I went and I found out that they had gotten a new horse last year in place of Boomerang, who, just like her predecessor, was unwilling to work with anyone. They hoped I would be able to help. She wasn't as taken with me at first as Boomerang was. But, I didn't give up. I worked with her for hours on end and by the end of the summer she was a breeze. I named her Duchess, and she is still going strong at the camp.

My whole life I've never been the one that has given up. I've always had determination and I've never shown that I was weak. But right now, I feel weak. And right now, I just want to give up," Arizona tells me as her head lies in my lap. My heart swells at her story and at her confession and I brush a few strands of hair out of her face. Some stray tears fall out of her eyes and I reach for her hand, lacing my fingers through her. We sit in silence for some time, me allowing Arizona to let her emotions flow.

"I'm sorry. That was a stupid story," she laughs, wiping her eyes.

"No, it was beautiful," I say, smiling down at her.

"Really?" she asks, her eyes full of light.

"Yes, Arizona," I reassure her and then dip my head to plant a soft kiss on her lips. "And for the record, it's okay to be weak sometimes. It's okay to feel like you want to give up. The important thing, though, is that you don't. You keep pushing. I know life sucks right now, but you are strong. I've seen it in you since day one."

"How?" she asks doubtfully.

"The moment you walked into my class late that first day, I could just sense it about you. And then Dr. Montgomery took me to your art locker, and I looked at all of your work. And there was strength in them. The way you walk, the way you talk, the way you interact with other people, it all just radiates confidence and strength," I said, trying to explain myself.

"I guess," she says quietly. "But when I first saw you, I don't know how you got that from me. I was too awestruck to even speak."

"Yes, I remember that," I laugh. "So you've liked me all this time?"

She shifts and lightly punches me in the stomach, and I fake a groaning noise.

"It's okay. I've liked you all this time, too," I smile. Arizona shifts back to her original position and gazes up at me.

"Callie?" she says.

"Yes, sweetheart?" I say, lightly stroking her hair.

"How are we going to make this work?" I sigh and think for a minute.

"Well, we will have to be quiet about it, I guess. I hate to do that, but both of our careers are at stake. I could lose my job, you could get kicked out. It's all just so complicated. But when we are here, at my place, we are free to be ourselves. We can go on weekend road trips sometimes if you'd like. Get away from this place and people we know so that we can be ourselves in public. Once you graduate, it'll be easier. We might want to wait a while to announce it because there is still the possibility of me losing my job, but it'll all work out in the end. Don't worry about it too much for now," I say.

"Are we telling anyone?" she asks.

"Well…Dr. Montgomery is kind of in on the whole thing without me even having to say anything. You can tell your roomies if you'd like, but only if you trust that they wouldn't blab to anyone."

"The only one that knows anything at this point is April. And all she knows is that I like you and that we kissed that one time," Arizona says.

"So you didn't tell them about our fight?" I ask.

"Of course not, Callie. That was between me and you. You are a great teacher, and they didn't need to have any disrespect for you because of some stupid little fight between you and me," she said, sitting up on my lap. I smiled at her in thanks, and then realized for the first time since she was standing outside that her clothes were soaked with rain.

"Do you want to change? You must be freezing," I say, snuggling her in close to me to keep her warm.

"That would be lovely," she smiles. I help her up and then lead her into my bedroom to find some clothes that might fit her. When I find a T-shirt and pair of sweat pants with a drawstring, I hand them to her.

"Actually, can I take a shower, too?" she asks sheepishly, motioning towards my bathroom door.

"Of course. Do you think you can handle it by yourself?" I ask, remembering how drunk she was when she first arrived.

"Yeah, I think so. The buzz has faded some," she says. I go into the bathroom with her and start the shower for her, and then grab her a towel out of the linen closet.

"I'll be sitting right outside the door if you need anything, okay?" I say, placing a hand on her arm. She nods and smiles at me brightly and then gives me a soft kiss on the lips. She closes the door and I slid down the wall adjacent to the bathroom door and sit on the ground. I sit silently with my eyes closed for a while, just listening to the sound of the water falling from the shower head. When I hear a crash, my eyes shoot open and I'm on my feet, leaning against the bathroom door.

"Arizona, is everything okay?" I yell through the wood.

"Yeah, I just knocked all the bottles off," she says, and I can hear her laugh. I smile to myself and sit back down on the floor. When the water finally turns off, I stand up and start turning the bedroom lights off, minus the bedside lamp. I hear the bathroom door creak open.

"Uhh…Callie?"

I spin around and Arizona has the door open only a crack, her head sticking out. I can see her bare shoulders, but nothing else. But her shoulders alone are enough to get my mind wandering.

"Yes?" I say, walking towards the door.

"I have a problem," she says, her face growing red.

"What? What's wrong?" I ask worriedly.

"I…uh…I don't have any undies," she says, avoiding eye contact with me. I snort and she finally looks at me, her eyes shooting daggers.

"You'll be fine, Arizona. Just put the pants on," I laugh.

"Butttt Callie. That's so uncomfortable," she whines.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" I ask, jokingly folding my arms across my chest.

"Well, whenever I would drive here I would notice the shopping mall a few blocks down," she said.

"Arizona. It is four in the morning. The mall is not open," I say.

"Okay, how about Walmart?" she asks.

"Walmart is a bit farther away," I say, not wanting to drive at this hour, or leave her drunk self alone.

"Pleasseeeeee," she begs. I roll my eyes and sigh.

"Fine. Anything for you, princess," I say.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" she says, opening the door a bit more to lean out for a kiss. I give her one and then grab my keys and make my way to Walmart. While I'm there I grab her some medium size boyshort undies and grab some Gatorade for her in the morning. When I get back to the apartment, Arizona is still in the bathroom and I can hear her jamming out. When I knock on the door, she screams and the music stops. She opens the door just enough to snake her hand out and grab the package of underwear from me.

"Hurry up! I'm tired and want to cuddle with my girlfriend," I say, smiling. Her head pops out of the crack in the door.

"I'm your girlfriend?" she asks.

"Of course you are," I reply.

"You never asked," she says pointedly. And then emerges from the bathroom, fully clothed. She starts walking towards a side of the bed, but I catch her hand and twirl her into my arms.

"Arizona Brooke Robbins, will you be my girlfriend?" I ask.

"Welllll…I mean I guess…" she says, faking doubt. I plant a kiss on her cheek, and then her chin, and then a row of kisses up her jawline to her ear before I start nibbling on her earlobe.

"Okay, okay. Yes, I will be your girlfriend!" she exclaims, surrendering. I laugh and pull her face in for a kiss. We get into bed and she cuddles up in my arms, and she is quickly fast asleep.

I look down at her, her blonde hair still damp from the shower, her face clean of any dirt or makeup. And yet, she is still breathtakingly stunning. And I can't find the answer to how I got so goddamn lucky that this girl came into my life. We have a long way to go in our relationship, but I know, without any doubt in my mind, that she is the one for me.

A/N: Reviews? Because I know this chapter is what you have all been waiting for.