A/N - First off I want to apologise immensely for the long wait. How has a week passed already? I really never intended the break, especially when I left you hanging! I've been away for a few days so writing hasn't really been possible. Which takes me to my apology for actually leaving the chapter like I did. It just seemed like the best place to leave it. Forgive me? I promise an Arizona speech... *bashes eyelashes*

The responses I got from you guys…..WOW! With every chapter your comments are just becoming more and more awesome! Really, you guys make writing so enjoyable! Calzonafan123, were not quite at that stage….yet ;) Shortiepurk, Reserl, Sadielady, Star point - I've taken all the bricks from you, coz I feel after this chapter you're gona want to use them! Thank you to everyone for the reviews….Its so great to see new readers leaving their thoughts and to all my regular readers, thank you so much! I really appreciate that….and love you all….just remember that!

Can I just say a HUGE thank you to my IBM Jenn aka CoffeeCartGirl for her help with this chapter, you're awesome! Thank you to Amber aka BerBer for the idea for a part of this chapter. Yes, she is to blame for putting the idea in my head…remember that when you wona hurt someone…. ;)

Congrats to for being my 300th reviewer! Thank you so much to everyone for your reviews! Want me to shut up now? You got it ;)

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Previously….

Arizona stood rooted to the spot, watching as the woman she loved left her behind. It was the first time she'd been the one left behind and it was causing all sorts of unpleasant feelings throughout her body. Something was playing in her mind. The same thing that had niggled at her since Friday night at her aunts BBQ. She'd suppressed it as best she could. She couldn't do this. It was stupid, she was stupid for even thinking of asking.

It was too soon….far too soon. Callie wouldn't go for it. She's tell her she was jumping the gun, she'd done it before and it didn't work out.

And yet, here she stood, that final bit of restraint snapping at the sight of Callie leaving her behind. The Latina was a good few feet away now, almost at the security line. If she was going to do it, she had to be quick.

Plucking up every ounce of courage she possessed and ignoring the butterflies working their from her stomach to her chest and throat, she let her heart guide her to what she felt was the most important decision of her life. A decision that would probably define the rest of her life. Taking a deep breath, she got ready to shout.

'Move in with me?'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 35

Rain in Seattle…..who would have guessed it?

By the time she'd exited the plane…..the longest plane ride in the history of plane rides, it was almost 7pm and her home town was eerily dark and wet. It was a total contrast because when she'd entered the airport in Missouri it had been warm and bright.

Was this someone's idea of an intervention? Was someone showing her the grass was greener or in this case, the sun shone brighter in Missouri?

Ofcourse not. It was just her mind trying to compare her home state to her girlfriends. The same thing it had been doing for the entire plane ride home.

She'd been fighting back tears as she approached the security desk at Columbia Regional Airport. She'd resisted turning back to the woman she was leaving behind. She knew looking into those sad blue eyes would break her completely so she needed to get some distance between them before she could look back a final time.

Her plan had been going well…..until she heard Arizona's voice. She hadn't been expecting to hear her girlfriends voice again, so when she heard a shout, it didn't register in her mind at first that it was Arizona. Her brow had creased and she's turned around. Arizona had had her mouth slightly open, her eyes looking expectantly back at her.

'What?' Callie had called back.

The blonde had cautiously approached her, noticeably anxious. When the blonde had stood directly in front of her, she'd seemed to struggle to find her words. The Latina had searched her face, looking for a hint as to what it was Arizona had actually shouted to her.

'I love you…' Arizona had started. 'I love you more than anything Calliope and I know it's only been a month, I know we don't know everything about each other yet, I know that…..but I don't think I can take the pain of you leaving me behind. I thought leaving you behind was hard enough but this…..this hurts so much.'

Callie had still been unsure of what it was Arizona was talking about. She hadn't interrupted though, she realised Arizona had more to say.

'Seeing you with my family the other day. Seeing how easy it was for them to fall in love with you…..that's never happened before…' she'd confessed with a shake of her head. 'For me, getting my families blessing is all the encouragement I need.' She'd paused, swallowing the lump that was increasingly taking over her throat. 'I want to be with you all the time Callie. I realise my job takes me away 3 to 4 days a week, I know that wont change, but maybe, If I knew that you would be there, waiting in a place we both called home….maybe the separation wouldn't hurt so much. You going back to Seattle….back to your home….back to Erica hurts too much and I know she's nothing more than your roommate now…' she'd pressed on when Callie had tried to protest.

'But still, you leaving to go back to the place you call home….away from me, it's not right. I don't want to go back to living separate lives until our paths can cross again. I really don't want to do that, so….' She'd brushed a few tears away from her eyes and looked sincerely into Callie's eyes. 'I've been thinking...'

It was true, she had been thinking. Not just since Friday but pretty much since the first time they met and their attraction had been instant. It was hard to understand but sometimes the people that we've known for such a short amount of time can actually have a bigger impact on us than those we've known forever.

For Arizona, Callie was one of those people.

'I want you to live with me. I need you to live with me…'

It was like Callie was frozen in time. The only response she'd gave was the slight widening of her eyes. Arizona had just told her she wanted to live with her. The blonde wasn't finished talking yet though.

'What I've been thinking about is transferring to Portland, Oregon. I'd move to Seattle if I could but we don't have a base there. Oregon is the closest, so if we both move there, you would still only be a few hours car journey from Seattle. You could still be close to your friends and your job….well…' she'd paused, as though suddenly remembering Callie would have to give up her job. '…umm, maybe your boss could transfer you to a branch in Portland?' She'd looked back anxiously at the Latina, hoping to get the answer she so desperately wanted. The look that had been on Callie's face though had made her heart begin to shatter.

She'd been an idiot. Asking Callie to move in with her after only meeting a month ago….talk about U-hauling! When had she become such a cliché? She was about to apologise when Callie began to speak.

'Y…you're asking me to…..you want me to move in with you?'

Arizona hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. 'I do…' she answered quietly.

Callie's body had felt completely exhilarated. Arizona was wanting to move in with her. It was safe to say the Latina had never wanted to do anything more in her life. She felt like crying and jumping around, screaming with joy….but something stopped her. Her girlfriend had just asked her to move to Oregon.

What the hell was in Oregon? Well naturally, nothing… Arizona had just told her it was the closest she could get to Seattle. Her girlfriend had been more than willing to move to a state miles away from her home town, just so Callie could stay close to her current home state. That in itself showed Callie that this really was love. She'd found a girl that was willing to do something so big for her.

But….she didn't want to move to Oregon.

'Arizona…' she'd started. A small, yet rational part of her had been saying to calm down. She needed to think this through. She'd done the whole moving across the country and look where that had got her….in a long term, controlling and sexless relationship.

The blonde had tensed at Callie's neutral voice, her own rational side coming into play. 'Or I mean, we don't have to move to Oregon. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just assumed you'd be willing to leave your life and friends behind. It's too soon. I see that now, I'm sorry Callie, I was too abrupt….'

'Arizona…' Callie said again, laughing slightly as she silenced the blonde from going into complete babble mode. 'Hang on…' She put her hands on the blondes shoulders, giving herself a few moments to think her reply through. 'I want to live with you Arizona…' she smiled. A smile had slowly made itself visible on the blondes lips. 'You have no idea how much. It's all I've been thinking about for….well, for a while. Going to the shops the other morning, I let myself daydream about moving over here long term.' She smiled widely at the memory. 'It was the best day dream I've ever had.'

Arizona had blinked a few times, processing the Latina's words. 'You'd move over to Missouri?'

She'd nodded. 'I would. I didn't let myself get too hung up on the dream because I thought it was far too soon. I thought you'd tell me it was too soon for us to take the next step.' She'd squeezed the blondes shoulders. 'Hearing you say you'd drop everything here in Missouri and move across the country for me….it just, it means so much to me. If I'm honest though, I don't want to move to Oregon. I don't want to start over in a state that neither of us know or have family or friends in.'

This conversation for Arizona was going from one extreme to the other. From her rushed declaration a few minutes ago, expressing that she'd wanted to move to Oregon, to Callie now saying….

What exactly was Callie saying?

'Do you really mean it? Do you really want to move in with me?'

Arizona nodded without hesitation. 'More than anything Callie. And actually….you won Cardinal tickets. I'm pretty sure that's some higher powers way of showing us you need to move here.'

Callie laughed but a few tears had began to spill down her cheeks. 'A bit of fate at work perhaps…' she replied.

They were silent for a few moments. Arizona could see Callie was struggling with her reply. 'Calliope. I know you're worrying here. I know you're thinking about what happened with Erica. I know it all seems too familiar…..but Callie, I'm a completely different person and this is a completely different scenario. We're not hiding our love from anyone. I mean, hello….standing here in the middle of an airport almost begging you to live with me…' Callie had had to laugh as she glanced at the people that passed by. 'We wont end up like that Callie. I will never try to control you and there's no way in hell I could go more than a few days without worshiping every inch of your body. The day I refuse your love is the day I give you permission to kill me.'

Arizona had said all the right words. She'd painted a very clear and beautiful picture. It was all very well for them to imagine what could be…..but there were so many things to think about though. She couldn't just drop everything and move here. Sure she'd done that 7 years ago, but she was older now…..she had commitments, a job, friends….a routine. She had to be serious with herself and realise a step like this was going to take time.

Taking a deep breath she'd smiled at the nervous looking blonde in front of her. 'I know it will be different this time Arizona. I'm older now. I've got….' she let out a sarcastic laugh. 'I've got experience with long distance relationship. I realise what I'd be getting myself in to. I want to do things right this time though. I don't want to rush.'

Arizona had looked to the floor and nodded, feeling slightly dejected. It was a sight that had tugged hard on Callie's heart. 'When I go back to Seattle, I'm going to start to sort my affairs out. I don't know how long it will take…..what with the joint house, my job, my bills…..but I'll set the ball in motion because….I want to move in with you….'

Arizona's head had popped up as thought she'd just grasped what Callie was saying. 'You do?'

Callie had simply nodded and laughed. 'I do. God, of course I do you moron! I want to move in with you.'

The Latina had only just made it for her flight. For a change, they'd left each other with smiles instead of tears because they realised that in the not so distant future, they'd be able to call the same place their home!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Teddy! Thank god you're on!'

'I sense tears are being shed over there…' came Teddy's reply over Skype.

'No, well yes….but they're happy tears Teddy!'

'Happy Tears? You mean Callie's managed to get a few extra days there?'

'No, not yet anyway…'

'Hmm, OK….walk me through it honey…'

'I asked her to move in with me Teds!'

The blonde had almost 20 seconds of nervous waiting before she saw Teddy was typing a reply. Since leaving the airport she'd come straight home and proceeded to clean the apartment. It was ridiculous. Rationally she knew it would probably be months before Callie actually moved over to Missouri but still…she needed to do something. When she was somewhat content with the state of the place, she booted up her laptop in hopes that her friend, who was currently abroad, was online.

'Wow, Arizona….that's fast work!'

'I know, I was just…I was standing there watching her leave and it just kind of blurted out.'

'Oh please, tell me you didn't make a scene in the middle of the airport?'

'Umm, well….I may have shouted it, but I don't think anyone was paying attention.'

'You watch too many sappy love movies Blondie!'

'Whatevs Teddy! Do you think I've been too hasty?'

Teddy paused briefly before replying. 'Honestly Arizona? I think you have to do what your heart tells you to do. I have to admit I think it's a little too soon but if Callie really is the one….what's the point in wasting time?'

'This is my point Teddy. It's only been a month and I hate when we cant be together. I know I'll be away with work still….but she'll be here, in my apartment….our joint apartment waiting for me to get back. I really cant think of anything I want more. All my days off can be spent with her.'

'So I'm never going to see you again? Is that what you're telling me here?'

Arizona laughed as she wrote her reply. 'Well you could move to domestic flights too and then we'd still work together…. Ofcourse we'll see each other you moron! You and Callie worked things out right?'

'Yea, we're tight! And I'm flying to Florida with you next week so I guess I'll still get my Blondie fix.'

'I'll bet you'll love it so much you won't go back to international.'

'Doubtful Ari, very doubtful!'

Hearing her cell buzz on the counter, Arizona got up to retrieve it. 'Landed in Seattle babe, it's rainging and gloomy ;( In a taxi on my way home now….daydreaming of a time when my destination is your apartment in Missouri xx'

A daydream that Arizona allowed herself to get lost in too.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In amongst the screaming fans, Callie and Mark sat watching the football game between the Huskies and the Buffaloes. At some point around the start of the game, Callie had found herself daydreaming of the woman she hadn't seen in 10 days.

10...excruciatingly long days.

She was frustrated and angry and pretty sure she'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. It was just one of those days really. Anything that could go wrong…..was going wrong. It wasn't anything big, just things like there being no toilet roll left when she went to the toilet this morning….or the film refusing to go in her camera before the game. Then of course there was the fact she'd forgotten to take her laptop to work with her this morning. It was all these little things that made her feel like she just wanted to curl up in bed and go back to sleep. She hadn't spoke to Arizona since their quick texts this morning, before the blonde had been scheduled to fly back home from Florida.

10 days was proving to be far too long a time to go without seeing each other. They'd spoke often over the last 10 days ofcourse….either by texting, calling or on Skype of a night time. They'd discussed in depth how the whole Callie moving to Missouri would go. In reality Callie had at first thought the move wouldn't be possible until at least September. Sure it was 4 months away, but packing up your life and moving across the country was a big thing.

The 20 year old Callie hadn't hesitated this much.

Back then it had been a case of packing her bags and 2 weeks later, goodbye Miami, hello Seattle. She'd been young though. She'd lived with her parents. Her bedroom had housed most of her possessions. That wasn't the case anymore.

When Arizona had informed her that she had the whole of July off however, that changed everything. The blonde had taken the whole of July off months ago. She did this most years as her birthday was mid July and she'd spend some time with family or doing some personal travelling. Usually on her own.

Ofcourse, now circumstances had changed for her, July looked to be the perfect time to get Callie moved in.

They'd talked at length about telling everyone their plans. For now it seemed like keeping it to themselves was the best strategy. Teddy knew of course, but she could be trusted to keep it to herself. It was telling Erica that had Callie a nervous wreck. She had started to feel like she had just before she ended their relationship. She'd caused her ex so much heartbreak over the last month or so and things were just finally starting to become more bearable between them.

Erica was still completely devastated about the end of their relationship, but she seemed to be coping with it marginally better then she had been a couple of weeks ago. Jack being around seemed to help the matter. Having her son there to dote on definitely took her mind off her own problems. Now Callie had yet another huge bomb to drop on her and it threatened to put her ex back to square one.

Again though, Callie had to tell herself it was time to look after number one. She didn't even have the heart to tell Richard just yet. He'd been so good to her these last few weeks, but how would he react when she told him she was resigning?

Then there was Cristina, who would probably think she was crazy for taking such a big step so soon. She'd been more than supportive of her when she finally confessed all to her a few weeks ago though. Hopefully she would see things from Callie's point of view and be happy for her. The Asian woman didn't have many friends around the area and work took her from state to state more often then not. It wasn't a long shot to think that Cristina would follow her to Missouri…

'Holy shit, did you…..Callie, quick…'

'Huh, what?'

'Get your damn head out of the clouds and snap that!' Mark almost yelled.

Fumbling with her camera, Callie got to her feet and looked towards the field where a fight was taking place between 2 of the players. 'What happened?' she asked, taking several shots of the commotion.

'Polk took a nasty tackle and now he's kicking ass…'

When the ref finally calmed the situation, the game resumed and Callie sat back in her chair. She let out a long puff of air and rested her head on the back of her seat.

Mark took a side ways glance at her and raised an eyebrow. 'Everything alright kid?

She turned her head towards him slightly. 'Yea, I'm good.'

'You sure?'

'Yea, just….one of those days, you know?'

'Everything alright with you and Blondie? You know you can talk to me right?'

She nodded. 'I know Mark, thanks. Everything's great with Arizona….' she flashed a genuine smile as she thought of the blonde. 'Although I miss her like crazy right now.'

He looked at her for several seconds before nodding his head. 'Alright Torres, I'm here when you need me…' he replied, turning his attention back on the game.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Ladies and Gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seatbelt is fastened and all carry on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead compartments. Please turn off all electronic devices until we are safely parked at the gate. Thank you.' Arizona reattached the talkie to the wall and turned back to Teddy. 'So, how do you feel after your first domestic flight?'

'Horny…' Teddy replied quickly, looking back down the aisle.

Arizona rolled her eyes and turned to one of the cabinets. 'You see, and you thought you'd be bored!'

'The trip was boring….it's just this flight that made it seem all worth it. Oh, looks like I'm needed…' The brunette announced, scurrying down the aisle.

Arizona peeked her head around the wall to see where her friend was going. *Ofcourse* she thought, watching Teddy approach the woman in 36C that was currently 'struggling' to put her bag in the over head compartment. She'd watched totally perplexed for the whole flight at how her friend and this woman had flirted aimlessly.

The thing was…..this woman's boyfriend had been seated next to her for the whole flight. He'd had his head buried into a game on his laptop, with his headphones on for almost the entire journey….so really, he was non the wiser.

She watched as Teddy came up alongside the woman, subtly pushing herself into her as she reached up to push the bag completely into the compartment. There were the glances again.

Rolling her eyes for the hundredth time on this flight, Arizona closed the door to the cabinet and made her way along the aisle to check seatbelts.

Once the checks were made, she and Teddy made themselves comfortable at the front of the plane, alongside the other attendant, Jackson.

'Fancy grabbing a bite at Georgio's when we land?'

Arizona looked over at her friend with an excited grin. 'That sounds great, I'm quite peckish actually.'

'You can get your favourite…'

'Second favourite…' Arizona corrected. 'Callie's chicken picatta has taken over first place. That dish is the best thing I've ever tasted!'

Teddy raised a playful eyebrow and grinned. 'Really….the best?'

Arizona glanced at Jackson, who was looking at his lap, seemingly trying his best not to grin. 'Maybe not…..the…..yea…' She didn't bother finishing her stuttered response, instead she looked down at her own lap.

A few minutes passed and the plane touched down.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girl, welcome to Columbia National Airport where the local time is 7:35. On behalf of Southwest Airlines and my crew, I'd like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we look forward to seeing you on board again in the future. As you exit the plane, please make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants so please, don't leave children or spouses.' With a grin, Arizona reattached the talkie once again to the wall.

'Unless your girlfriend happens to be a hot blonde sitting in 36C…' Teddy retorted before joining the other 2 attendants at the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Arriving home from work, Callie dumped her camera bag by the door and made for the kitchen. Today had been long and all she wanted to do right now was open up a nice cold beer and relax. The only good thing that had happened today was the text she received from Arizona 10 minutes ago saying she'd landed safe and was heading out for food with Teddy. The day would have been drastically improved if she'd been able to join them. July was looking much too far away right now.

Retrieving a beer from the fridge, she made her way into the living room. 'Hey…' she said, finding Erica sitting on the couch with the TV on.

The blonde looked over to her and smiled weakly. 'Hi…'

'Is your day going as well as mine…?' she asked, her tone laced with sarcasm. Things between them had improved to the point where they could talk normally with each other about their day….much to Callie's appreciation.

Erica nodded slightly. 'I think it may be….' she replied, putting her attention back on the TV.

Callie's studied her ex. 'What's happened to make yours so fabulous?'

Erica looked down at her lap, noticeably struggling to answer Callie's question. 'Can I ask you something?'

'Umm, sure…'

'Are you…..are you moving out?'

And just like that, Callie's day went from bad to worse. Her heart began to thump painfully in her chest. She really wasn't in the mood to have this conversation, but at the same time, she knew she wouldn't be able to lie. She stalled for a few moments, taking a swig of her beer. 'W….what makes you, why do you ask that?' She sounded nervous…..she knew she sounded nervous, but she needed a few moments to think of how she was going to word this.

'The desktop shut down when I was in the middle of using it earlier. I needed to do some work and I saw you hadn't taken your laptop to work so I went on…' The blonde picked at the seam of her pants nervously. 'I didn't do it to snoop on you Callie, really. I know it kind of looks that way.' When Callie didn't say anything, Erica went on. 'So, I switched it on but you'd left it on sleep. There was a word document…'

Callie closed her eyes. Shit! She'd made herself a checklist of things she needed to do before the move to Missouri. She'd been looking at it last night and obviously when she'd put the lid of the laptop down last night, she hadn't clicked out of it.

This is not how she's wanted Erica to find out. Taking a few moments to control her breathing, she opened her glistening eyes and looked back at Erica. The blondes eyes remained on her own lap, picking at the seam of her pants. 'Erica, its true. I'm….I'm going to be moving out.' She watched her ex's body visibly shudder as the words hit her.

A few moments passed before Erica replied. 'Did you not think I deserved to know?'

'Ofcourse you deserve to know, Erica. I just…..I didn't know how to tell you.'

Silence hung in the air, awkwardly consuming them. Erica started crying, which in turn made Callie cry. She made no attempt to move across the room and console her ex though. She was the cause of the blondes pain. After a few minutes, Erica got up from the couch and turned to leave. Before exiting the room she turned back to the Latina. 'I don't want to know any details Callie, I'm assuming you're moving to Missouri. I know were not together anymore but you are…..you're my best friend and…..and I don't know what I'll do without my best friend. Missouri's so….' she paused, wiping at her flowing tears. 'Can you just…..can you pack when I'm not around, please?'

'I'm not going for a couple of months but….' She sniffed back her own tears and nodded. '…OK.'

Twenty minutes later, Callie found herself shut up in her room. She didn't feel much like eating just yet and when Jack had arrived home, she didn't feel much like socialising either. She lay back in bed wishing Arizona was there right now, or more to the point, that she was over in Missouri. The blonde would still be having dinner with Teddy no doubt. Looking at the clock she thought about her mom. She hadn't heard from her in so long and right now she really felt the need to hear her mothers voice.

Picking up her cell she scrolled to her parents number. After a few moments, Maria's voice met her ears. 'Hello?'

'Mom, hey….' Callie replied.

'Calliope, sweetheart….I'm so glad to hear your voice.'

'You too mom, I….I just really needed to…..to hear your voice.'

'Calliope, is everything alright?'

'Fine mom, I'm just….' she was trying so hard to keep her emotions at bay, but after breaking Erica's heart for the 2nd time in only a few weeks, mixed with the concerned tone of her mother's voice, her effort was all in vein. 'I'm just having one of those days mom.' Her body began to shake and sobs broke free from her mouth.

'Oh mi amor….please, Calliope, don't cry.' Hearing her daughters gut wrenching sobs caused Maria to start crying herself. 'Please Calliope, everything's going to be OK. Tell me what's happened?'

For the next 5 minutes, Callie offloaded what was happening in her life…..at least, the Erica part of her life. It was a weird feeling for Callie because they'd never had a heart to heart conversation like this before. She explained how she was breaking Erica's heart, how she was struggling to live with her because of the guilt she was feeling for falling in love with someone else so quickly.

Maria listened intently to her daughters woes, choosing to keep silent while her daughter admitted what was making her so upset. When Callie had finally got her up to speed, Maria tried to answer as honestly as she could. 'Calliope, I hate how you're feeling right now. I hate that you feel so upset but I cannot bring myself to feel guilty for Erica when that woman broke my heart 7 years ago by taking my daughter away from me.'

'It wasn't all her fault mom, I was….'

'You were so young Calliope, you were my baby and she made you move so far away.'

'Mom, please…..I chose to move. She didn't force me.'

'I'm sorry mi amor but I can't see it that way.' A few moments of silence passed between them. 'Calliope, please move back home? We all want you to come home. No one thinks differently of you sweetheart. If you move back to Miami you can live here, in your old room. You can get a job and have a nice down payment on a home in the future. Please mi amor…. I'm begging you. Let me try fix this for you.'

Callie felt slightly overwhelmed by what her mom was offering. Knowing she would be welcomed back with open arms made her feel just that little bit brighter. But what her mom was saying was that she would be welcomed back home. No one else. As amazing as her mothers offer was…..she wanted a life with Arizona, in Missouri. 'Mom, you cant know how grateful I am for everything you've just said. For you to do that for me…..it's really tempting. But mom, I'm in love with someone and I really, really think she's the one. She means…..everything to me mom and…..and I cant come back home unless…..unless you're prepared to accept my life and the people in it. Arizona is going to be part of my life now mom and I need for you to respect that.'

Maria was quiet for several moments and then she began to cry down the phone. Even before she answered, Callie knew her mother wasn't ready to do that. 'Calliope, I'm sorry. We just…I can't accept her. It's nothing against her mi amor but…..I can't accept someone into our lives who is touching my daughter in unnatural ways. It makes me….Oh Calliope, it makes me feel so ill to think about this. You're my daughter and I love you so much but this isn't right. I wish we could feel differently, I really wish we could but….'

Callie's eyes were closed tight, forcing the tears to stay at bay. She wasn't going to get anywhere with this conversation tonight. She needed to go, before she completely broke down. 'OK mom, I'm going to go OK. I just…..all I can do is hope and prey that one day you'll change your minds and everything will work out in time.'

'I can only do the same thing Calliope. I prey everyday that this is just a dream. One thing that will never change mi amor is that your father and I love you. We love you so much.'

'I love you guys too mom. All I want is to be one big happy family, but Arizona is becoming part of my family too. I know coming out to you was completely out of the blue, I know I kind of sprang it on you so I'll give you time….but Mom, I can't wait forever.'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'You have no idea how glad I am that you're driving. My tummy hurts….' the blonde groaned, rubbing at her midsection.

'I'm not surprised' Teddy laughed. 'That chocolate brownie pudding could have fed at least 4!'

'Why did it have to taste so good? Damn the warm gooey goodness!'

'Maybe next time have coffee for pudding instead of being a total pig!'

'Whatevs Teds!' the blonde replied, putting her head back on the rest.

''I like big butts and I cannot lie'' began to play in the car. 'Huh?' Arizona questioned, feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket. Teddy sniggered from the drivers seat as she continued to drive towards Arizona's apartment. Retrieving her cell, she looked at the caller. 'You changed Callie's ring tone to Sir Mix-a-lot? Really?'

'Don't know what you're talking about…' Teddy replied with mock innocence.

'Mhmm, right.' She answered the call. 'Hey Calliope…'

'Hey, are you still out with Teddy?'

'We're just on the way back now.'

'Oh, that's cool.'

'Are you OK Cal, you sound a little shaky?'

'Yea, its just….I've been on the phone to my mom and…..Erica found out about me leaving.'

Arizona cringed. 'Oh, crap! That's a bad series of events.'

'Yup, today's been the shittiest of shit days!'

'I'm sorry baby, I wish there was something I could do to help. What did your mom say, do you want to talk about it?'

'Same old stuff really. I told her I was in a relationship with you and well, she said she cant accept you.'

Arizona looked down at the car mat beneath her feet. 'I'm sorry Callie. It's still so fresh for her though. She could still come around.'

'Yea maybe. I have to admit it was nice to actually talk to her about this stuff. We've never done that before. It kind of made me see that everyone is different. I mean, how do you get someone to change how they think or what they believe in? No one could ever make me think what I'm doing is wrong so how can I make her think that it's right?'

'Yea but at the same time Calliope, you shouldn't treat people differently for being who they are. She might not accept who you are or who I am but she shouldn't treat you the way she is. She's your mother.'

'I know. I didn't tell her I was moving yet. I didn't want to add fuel to the fire.'

'I get that. There's still a couple of months though, maybe she'll start to warm to the idea of me…'

A sarcastic laugh left Callie's throat. 'Yea, I wont hold my breath.' She sighed deeply. 'Today needs to end!'

'Well its almost over for me.' the blonde replied, looking out of her side window. '9:30 here. Just enough time to get home, shower then see my beautiful girlfriends face on Skype.'

'This is the only thing that's getting me through the….'

'Teddy!' Came Arizona's frantic cry down the line. Callie's body physically jumped as she heard a loud smashing sound, right before the line went dead.

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