A/N: Thank you so much to everyone reading, reviewing, favouriting and following! It means and lot and I'm so glad you're enjoying this.

I hope you like the next chapter :D

"What the hell was that?" Arizona demanded as soon as they were safely shut away in Callie's office.

The brunette was already settled behind her desk, clicking at her computer mouse and frowning at something on the screen in front of her. She barely glanced up at the other woman's words, before returning her attention to her work once more.

"They were going to give my job to Erica Hahn if I didn't find someone." She explained bluntly. "Erica Hahn, Arizona. I couldn't have that. I also couldn't deal with my mother setting me up with countless useless, boring men and not getting the hint that I'd rather amputate my own arm without anaesthetic."

"So you told your dad that we're getting married so he wouldn't give your job to your ex-girlfriend."

Callie did look up at that comment, scowling darkly. "It's my job."

"So why do I have to marry you?"

"Like you've got better offers?"

Arizona glared at her. "I might have."

She didn't. She spent almost all of her time with her demanding boss and any free time she did have with her five-year-old daughter. Callie didn't know that, though – she'd never been remotely interested in what Arizona did when she wasn't directly in her eye line.

"Right… but you won't have a job if Hahn takes over."

"What? Why?"

"Because she hates you almost as much as she hates me." Callie pointed out, rolling her eyes. "You're my personal assistant. You'll be the very first person Hahn gets rid of if she takes over."

Arizona huffed. She knew that Callie was right and she couldn't afford to lose her job. The Torres' paid well and, being a single mother, she needed the money. Besides, Arizona couldn't deny that she loved her job. She even grudgingly enjoyed working with Calliope Torres – despite the other woman frequently living up to her reputation as an irrational, narcissistic, overly demanding monster.

Aside from all that, the Latina was breathtakingly beautiful and Arizona had eyes. She was also, although she hid it well, incredibly kind and caring and had the biggest heart of anyone the blonde had ever met. Those traits were hidden incredibly deep down, however. Arizona was pretty sure that if anyone ever mentioned her more positive traits Callie would have had them killed. She had no doubts that she was capable of it.

"Please… just do this for me so that I can keep my job – so we can keep our jobs – and I'll get you a pay rise, better hours… whatever you want."

"Fine." Arizona muttered, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. I do need the pay check. But it has to be low key. I don't want my daughter–"

Callie looked stunned. "You have a daughter?"

There was a buzzing sound and Arizona immediately reached for the phone on her desk. She avoided even looking in her boss' direction as she answered the call, not sure why Callie being so surprised that she had a daughter felt like such a big deal. It wasn't as though Sofia had really ever come up between them before.

"Ms Torres' office, Arizona speaking." There was a long pause as she listened to the person on the other end of the call speaking. Callie watched her impatiently, waiting to hear what it was about. She quirked an eyebrow as the blonde's eyes went wide and a look of concern flicked across her face. "Uhh… yeah, I guess we can… OK? Sure…"

"Well?"

"That was your dad's assistant…"

"Yeah? What did Bailey want?"

"She wants to speak to us… an informal chat." Arizona swallowed. "I think… it sounded like she's going to interview us and find out if we're lying about the whole engagement thing."

Callie laughed. "What are you talking about?"

"She said that she'd love to have an informal chat with us now everything's out in the open." The blonde said slowly. "She… she said that I could probably understand that Mr Torres might have a few concerns about the situation considering he'd not heard anything about us before and now we're getting married. She mentioned some HR forms?"

"Oh shit."

"What d'you think she's going to ask us?"

"Knowing Bailey, anything and everything. She's like a bloodhound when she gets the hint of something that's not quite right." Callie huffed, throwing herself onto the couch to the side of Arizona's desk. "We're screwed. Hahn is totally getting my job. I've worked so fucking hard…"

Seeing the complete and utter dejection on the brunette's face, Arizona forced herself to smile reassuringly. "We'll be fine. We can do this. We convince them we're a couple, we play at being engaged for a while… then we can stage a fight and split up. It'll be fine."

"Eurgh… you're so optimistic." Callie shook her head slightly, the hint of a smirk playing about her lips. "If I'm going to get through any of this, I need coffee…"

Pouring them both a cup from the pot in the corner, Arizona thought hard about what was about to happen. She absolutely did not want Sofia getting dragged into any of this. Her daughter was her top priority and there was no way she was letting her get hurt. The whole Callie situation would have to play out as far away from Sofia as was physically possible. She knew she was being naïve… there was probably no way that she and Callie would be able to do this without someone bringing up the point that surely Arizona's daughter should be involved – or at least know that her mother was getting married.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The blonde shook her head as they stepped into the elevator that would take them upstairs.

"Arizona?"

"I just… I don't know if I can do this."

"You have to. Our jobs are on the line here, Robbins."

"With all due respect, I've got more at stake than just my job, Ms Torres." Arizona snapped back. Then she inhaled sharply, knowing that her boss wasn't likely to take kindly to her tone. "I just… my daughter…"

Callie's expression softened. "I'm sorry. I'll do everything I can to ensure this doesn't affect her in any way."

Together they stepped out of the elevator and looked around. Arizona jumped as she realised that Miranda Bailey was standing a little to their left, watching them closely. Forcing herself to smile, the blonde placed her hand on the small of Callie's back and pushed her forward lightly. She ignored the questioning look she was sent in return, focusing on the shorter woman instead.

"Miranda, hi. We came as quickly as we could." She greeted Carlos Torres' personal assistant brightly. "How can we help?"

"I need to ask you some questions." She responded bluntly, leading them over to her office and ushering them inside. Bailey seemed impatient, as though she thought it was a waste of her time. "It's all so sudden and out of nowhere… Mr Torres has concerns."

Callie huffed. "This is ridiculous. I'll go and speak to him. I can–"

"You'll do no such thing, Callie Torres." Bailey snapped at her, motioning towards the seat opposite her desk. "Sit your ass down and do as you're told."

Arizona bit her lips together to stifle her laugh. Miranda Bailey was the only person who could speak to the Torres' like that and get away with it. She took no nonsense from either of them and they respected her too much to argue. It was impressive, considering that both of her bosses towered over her – in stature and in status.

"So… I heard on the grapevine that this whole…" she waved her finger in a circle in their vague direction, "thing is just made up. I heard that the pair of you concocted this whole relationship so that Callie can keep her job. But I don't see what's in this for you, Ms Robbins."

"This is stupid, Bailey! Who…? Erica fucking Hahn." Callie's eyes narrowed. "She's just bitter because I fired her."

"Really?" Bailey arched an eyebrow, clearly not entirely convinced. "'Cos I have to say… I don't buy this."

"What?" The brunette frowned at her. "Why?"

"Because Little Miss Sunshine and Rainbows over here would drive you crazy and you're way too up and down for someone as sweet as her."

"I'm not sweet." Arizona complained at exactly the same moment as Callie demanded, "What the hell do you mean 'up and down'?"

"Hmmm…"

"Look, Bailey, what do you actually need from us?" Callie asked with a long sigh. "I've got lots to do today and haven't got time to sit around and be interrogated about–"

"Look, Miranda, I know this must have come as a shock to most people but… we didn't plan it." Arizona cut in, seeing that her boss was getting frustrated and was therefore likely to say something she shouldn't. Instinctively, she laid a soothing hand on the brunette's knee. "We just… it just happened and now we're here. We didn't say anything because it just wasn't anyone else's business. We wanted to keep things professional at work."

"And why didn't you mention anything about this secret love to your parents before this morning?"

"Bailey, you know my parents." Callie rolled her eyes. "My mother will have an absolute fit when she finds out and you know what Daddy's like with rules and protocol. We just wanted to stay in our happy little bubble without anyone else getting involved for as long as possible."

The other woman looked at them suspiciously. "Well have you told your parents about the engagement?"

"Uhh… not exactly." Arizona admitted, scrunching up her nose slightly.

"We were going to tell this this weekend, weren't we, honey?" Callie jumped in, glancing at the blonde with wide, pleading eyes. "It's your mom's birthday and your brother will be there. We thought it would be good to tell them all together."

"We… uhh… I…" Arizona blinked at her, totally caught off guard. It was the most horrible idea she had ever heard in her life, but what could she do? "Yeah…"

"So where's this little gathering happening?"

"At Arizona's parents house."

"And where is that, exactly?"

Callie laughed. "I should let you do some of the talking, babe. She's always saying I talk too much."

"Mmm…" Bailey shot her a hard look, before fixing her gaze on Arizona. "Well?"

"They move around a lot. My dad was in the Marines and I guess they just got used to moving house. At the moment they're living in Sitka.

"Sitka." Callie echoed, a perplexed expression on her face.

"Alaska."

"Alaska?" The brunette drew out the last syllable, turning to look at the blonde beside her in something that was close to horror.

Bailey snorted. "You're going to Alaska this weekend? Callie Torres in Alaska? That's hilarious."

"What?" Callie demanded with a pout. "Why is that funny? We're going to Alaska and we're going to have a lovely time."

"Whatever you say." The woman looked between them and snorted again. "I'm still not buying this, but whatever. I bet you by Monday morning you'll have killed each other and this whole thing will be off."

"Bailey!"

"Don't just sit there looking gormless; I'm busy. Go!"

Callie glanced at Arizona for a moment, before standing up and stalking out of the room with a huff. The blonde sent Bailey a small shrug and a smile, before following the Latina and closing the door behind them. She looked sideways at Callie as they waited for the elevator doors to open, her jaw setting as she thought about what had just happened.

"I can't believe you just did that."

"What?"

"My family? You just dragged my family into this. And my daughter. After you promised that you'd–"

"I know and I'm sorry." Callie did look genuinely apologetic as she glanced sideways at the blonde. "I just… I need to get them all off my back about this. I can't deal with my parents butting their noses into my business all the time. My job is pretty much all I have, Arizona, and they want to take it away."

Sighing deeply, Arizona glanced sideways at her. "You could at least have asked nicely."

"What?"

"I mean, you haven't actually asked me to marry you. You just kinda demanded it."

"Fine. Will you marry me?"

"Yeah, that's not going to cut it." Arizona informed her with a sniff, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Try a bit harder. You didn't even get down on one knee."

"You are kidding, right?"

"Hey! I'm a classy girl. I wanna be asked right."

Callie huffed and rolled her eyes but she did, to Arizona's astonishment, lower herself onto the elevator floor. She attempted to get down on one knee in the traditional proposal pose, but her pencil skirt prevented her form doing so and she ended up kneeling on the ground instead.

"Will you marry me?"

"At least say it like you mean it."

"Arizona… sweet Arizona… would you please, with cherries on top, marry me?" Callie asked, forcing her voice into a sickly sweet tone that didn't suit her at all.

Pretending to consider her for a moment, Arizona shrugged. "Sure, why not. I'm gonna have to take the rest of the day off to sort things out. I'll see you at the airport tomorrow, OK?"

The elevator doors dinged open and the blonde turned and disappeared out of sight, leaving Callie kneeling on the floor staring after her. Arizona smirked to herself as she grabbed her jacket and bag and then headed for the stairs. She knew that her boss wouldn't dare complain about her giving herself the day off after what she'd agreed to do for her. That didn't meant that she was going to be happy about it, however, and Arizona was already steeling herself for a grumpy Callie Torres in the morning.

"Hey, Mer, it's me." She said into her phone as she waited for the crossing sign to change. "I got out a little early today so I can pick Sofia up from school."

"Wait, what? The bitch let you out early? Did you finally snap and poison her coffee or something?"

Arizona laughed at her friend's words. "To be honest, she's not all bad."

"I know her, Arizona. She's the worst. You're just too nice."

"Well, whatever. She let me leave and we're flying to Sitka early tomorrow morning so I won't see you until next week."

"Need me to collect Sofia on Tuesday?"

Arizona thought for a moment, remembering Callie's promise to assign her better hours. "Probably, but I'll let you know."

"Surely Satan's Mistress will have you working longer hours to make up for today?"

"Meredith…" She admonished her gently. "I'm not sure. I'll let you know, OK?"

Agreeing, ending the call with a final comment about how Arizona was being weird, Meredith hung up. Chuckling fondly, Arizona glanced at her watch and decided that she was right on time to head straight for Sofia's school. She missed her daughter when she was at work and it wasn't often that she had the opportunity to pick her up.

The little girl spotted her mother immediately, breaking into a broad, bright smile and throwing herself into her arms. Arizona hugged her tightly, tucking an errant strand of dark hair behind her ear and asking about her day. Sofia was only too happy to chatter away as they walked the couple of blocks back to their apartment and her mother was more than content to listen to her.

"Sofia, baby…" Arizona started a long while later, once they'd finished dinner and the five-year-old was getting ready for bed. "I need to talk to you about something."

"OK." She agreed easily, swinging her ragdoll around by the arm as she skipped over to the couch. Snuggling into her mother's side, she looked up at her expectantly. "What is it?"

"You know tomorrow when we go and see Grandma and Gramps?"

"Yes… and Uncle Tim."

"Yeah… well, Mommy's friend will be coming too." Arizona informed her with a slight wince. "Her name is Callie."

"Is she nice? Does she like princesses? Will she play with me?"

"Umm… I guess if you ask her nicely she might?"

"Why is she coming with us?" Sofia asked suddenly, tilting her head and fixing her mother with a questioning gaze.

Arizona paused for a long moment. She'd thought long and hard about how to explain the situation to her daughter. She didn't want Sofia to get attached to Callie and then be upset when she, inevitably, disappeared from their lives. She also didn't want the little girl to blurt something out that might ruin everything and make the whole inconvenience of Callie coming to Sitka with them completely pointless.

"Mommy and Callie are playing a sort of game." She settled on at last.

"A game?"

"Yeah… we're playing a game where we're going to pretend that we love each other and that we're going to get married."

"But it's just a game?" Sofia questioned. "I think you should get married for real. I could be flower girl. I like weddings."

Arizona chuckled. "If I ever get married you'll definitely be the flower girl, Sof."

"Good."

"But now I've told you about the game, you can't tell anyone else, OK? You can be in the game with us and pretend too."

"Why can't I tell anyone else? Can I tell Grandma?"

"No!" Arizona shook her head quickly. "If you tell anyone else they'll stop us playing and I think it'll be a fun game."

"Will there be ice cream?" Sofia asked, considering the situation and evidently deciding that the involvement of ice cream might be make or break.

"Of course there will… but only if you keep it a secret."

"OK." Sofia nodded and grinned at her mother. "I won't tell. When is Callie coming? Is she coming tonight?"

"No, baby, we're meeting her at the airport tomorrow." Arizona informed her with a weak smile. "Now, off to bed. We have to get up really early in the morning."

The five-year-old nodded and skipped off to bed. Her mother collapsed against the couch cushions and rubbed at her face tiredly. She absolutely hated lying to her daughter and she hated involving her in the deception even more. That was not how she wanted to bring her daughter up; Arizona had always considered that she was better than that.

But this was important. She understood where Callie was coming from and, if she had been in her boss' position, she was sure she'd have stooped to desperate measures as well. Reassuring herself that at least they weren't doing anything illegal and it was nothing more than a mild inconvenience to her, Arizona tidied up the living room and headed away to tuck Sofia in before going to bed herself.

"Is that her?" Sofia demanded for about the fiftieth time, pointing at a woman passing them by.

Arizona shook her head. "Nope. I'll tell you when I see her, Sof, OK?"

The little girl pouted and slumped back in her chair. They had been waiting in the airport terminal for Callie for about half an hour. Arizona always did her best to be early for everything – whether it was a job interview, a flight or a coffee date with a friend. Her father, the Colonel, had always instilled a pride in promptness in both his children and it was a habit that Arizona couldn't seem to shake.

"There!" She leant across and pointed her boss out to her daughter, immediately dismissing the slight fluttering in her chest as the brunette stalked towards them. "That's her."

"Callie!" Sofia was on her feet in a second, rushing away before her mother could stop her. The five-year-old barrelled into the Latina and wrapped her arms around her waist, grinning up at her delightedly. "Wow! You're so pretty!"

"Uhhh?"

Taking pity on the bewildered brunette, Arizona prised her daughter away and held her against her side. "Sorry… Callie, this is my daughter Sofia. Sof, this is Mommy's friend Callie."

"The one you're going to marry."

Callie glanced at the other woman in confusion, seeing amusement sparkling in her eyes. "I…?"

"I told her." Arizona explained. "I had to tell her something."

"I guess, yeah." Callie agreed, relaxing a little. She looked down at the small brunette and smiled brightly. "Hey, Sofia. Thank you for letting me come with you this weekend."

"I didn't really get a choice." The little girl informed her with a shrug. "But it's OK. Mommy says you're nice."

"She did?"

"Well I couldn't exactly tell her the truth, could I?" Arizona teased, turning to collect their suitcase. "Our gate is this way."

Once they'd boarded and Arizona had settled Sofia with her iPad and headphones, she turned to look at Callie curiously. The brunette had seemed a little shell-shocked by the presence of the little girl, although as she'd begun to relax Arizona could tell that she was a natural with children. That, in itself, was slightly surprising. Then again, Arizona had always known that Callie was a lot more caring than she let other people see.

"So… we should probably learn some stuff about each other if we're going to convince people that we're a real couple." She suggested once they had taken off.

"Like what?"

"Like all the things I already know about you, that you don't know about me." Arizona informed her bluntly.

"You know things about me?" Callie asked, arching an eyebrow. "What kind of things?"

"I know that you speak Spanish fluently."

"Everyone knows that."

"OK, well I know that you do sunrise yoga."

"Anyone who goes to my class or checks my schedule knows that."

Arizona rolled her eyes. "Fine. Well, I know that you really hate sandwiches and salad and you love pizza. I know that you had a pet ferret for nine years. I know that you suffer from glossophobia, which is kind of unfortunate seeing as you have to make speeches quite a lot. I know that your blood type is A+. I know that your full name is Calliope Iphigenia Torres and you absolutely hate it. I know that you love Sudoku."

Callie blinked a couple of times. "Well… all that makes you sound like a stalker."

Arizona huffed. "Go on… tell me three things you know about me."

"You have a daughter."

"That doesn't count. She's literally sitting right there."

"Fine." Callie chewed her lip thinking hard.

"Really?" Arizona folded her arms and frowned. "You don't know a single thing about me?"

"Uhh… oh! Your favourite colour is pink."

"Nope. I don't actually really like pink all that much."

Sighing, the brunette twisted her head to look out of the window. "Fine… fine! I'm a horrible, selfish, self-absorbed person. I don't know anything about you and you, apparently, know everything about me."

"I don't know everything about you, Calliope." Arizona told her softly. "And it's not that hard to find out things about me. All you have to do is ask."

Callie huffed. "I hate being called Calliope."

Grinning teasingly, the blonde settled back in her seat and closed her eyes. "I know."