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En route to Lubbock the next morning, Arizona drove with both hands on the wheel while Callie sat beside her, her arm lazily slung around the back of the driver's seat.

Breaking their comfortable silence, Callie wondered aloud, "What exactly do you think it was that changed?"

Arizona turned to face her, brows furrowed.

"When we were apart," Callie clarified. "I mean, we always wanted each other, right? But it wasn't working. We weren't functional. But now…" She trailed off.

"Now what?" Arizona pressed, wanting to know exactly what Callie was thinking.

"Now, it feels different," Callie shrugged, suddenly feeling shy. "Better than ever."

Amused, Arizona grinned, and Callie chuckled. "But it does. Right?"

Arizona nodded. "It does feel different," she promised. She bit her lip. "It feels really good."

"I just wonder what it was," Callie continued musing, "that got us to this place. I think it's more than just shedding old resentments."

"Well," Arizona offered, "I think part of it was maybe that I had time to be alone for the first time in my adult life."

"But it's not like you ever had a lot of long-term girlfriends. Too fickle," Callie teased.

"I still always had casual relationships, though. I mean, even after we separated that first time, I was hooking up with Murphy two weeks later."

Callie made a face. "I remember."

Arizona dropped her palm to Callie's knee. "What I'm saying is that was a problem. A crutch, or whatever—to always have access to intimacy, to find confidence in constantly being desired."

Callie nodded.

"The first thing the therapist did after you left is challenge me to six months of celibacy."

Callie laughed a little. "What?"

Arizona rolled her eyes. "She wanted me to be emotionally and sexually self-reliant or whatever. I hadn't gone six months without sex since I was sixteen years old. But…it kind of worked," she accepted.

"What worked?" Callie joked. "Becoming sexually self-reliant?"

Arizona rolled her eyes playfully. "I've always been able to take care of things in that arena, thank you very much."

Callie felt her abdomen clench at the thought.

"No. I just had to sit with it—the pain, the losing you. No distractions, no crutches, no comforts. Just self-reflection and awareness of everything I lost." She paused for a minute.

Callie looked at her—how her blue eyes were fixed on the road in front of them but not really focused on it. Lost in thought, maybe.

Arizona sighed. "I had never felt pain like that."

"Come on," Callie shook her head. "You were in a plane crash."

"Well, that hurt, obviously," Arizona conceded, "but it was different emotionally. If I had died, I wasn't going to lose you. You were going to lose me."

"I don't want us to lose each other, anymore," Callie whispered.

"We won't," Arizona assured her. "Isn't that what you said? Things are different. There's been a shift. I can feel it."

Callie's lip quirked up. "Me, too."

"So what changed for you?" Arizona asked.

"Well, I dated other women. Hadn't really done that before."

Arizona raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"It's really not easier than dating men. The next time a straight woman flippantly says, 'I'm just going to become a lesbian,' I might advise her against it."

Arizona laughed. "Okay, what's that supposed to mean?"

"You know," Callie insisted. "It's different than dating men. More intensity, more emotions. And I realized I couldn't replace what I had with you. The other relationships weren't 'right' in the same way—and not because there was anything wrong with the women, really."

"So why weren't they right?"

Callie met her eyes and offered a helpless shrug. "You were the love of my life. Those women weren't."

Arizona tried to fight her smile.

"It was you giving me Sofia that did it, though," Callie decided. "I couldn't stop thinking about it. Or you. She means more than anything to you—more than I do even, and I love that—and still you let me take her away."

"I wanted you to be happy," Arizona breathed.

"And I was," Callie conceded. "But not the way I am with you."

Arizona reached for her hand, and their fingers entwined instantly. She lifted them to her lips and dropped a soft kiss on tan skin.

Callie's heart stuttered in her chest, somehow grew in size.

A while later, waking up from a nap, Callie looked over at Arizona. She tapping on the steering wheel in time with the radio music.

Seeing her stir from her sleep, Arizona turned and smiled at Callie. "We're almost there, I promise."

Callie yawned. "That was fast."

Arizona laughed. "It only felt fast to you because you were asleep."

"Did you make any plans for when we get there?" Callie asked.

Arizona frowned. "No. I only picked Lubbock out of convenience. It's Trump country around here."

"Great."

Arizona shrugged. "We can't win 'em all."

Callie grabbed her phone, deciding, "I'm going to find us something to do tonight. Even if it's a little thing." She opened her new messages. "Oh! Your mom sent us a new photo of Sof."

"Yeah?" Arizona instantly perked up, turning to look at the phone screen angled in her direction. There was Sofia, tanned and freckled with sun, her arms wrapped around three golden retrievers. "Awww. She loves those dogs."

"Your parents'?"

Arizona shook her head. "The neighbors'. They got them as puppies last summer and Sofia cried when she had to say goodbye."

Callie smiled. "She's so cute. She still wants to be a veterinarian, right?"

Arizona nodded. "Last I heard."

And, then, Callie was suddenly distracted, eyes on her phone screen, fixed on the message that had preceded the photo. Sofia can't wait to see you, and neither can we. Hope things are going well with you two. Daniel and I have missed our daughters!

Callie gulped back the stone in her throat. Despite the initial intimidation, Arizona's parents had always treated her like family. They'd always accepted her just as she was and, somehow, they had always considered her a daughter, even years after the separation.

Arizona inspected her expression. "Another photo?"

Callie shook her head. She lifted her hand and brushed back Arizona's hair. "Your mom says hi."

Arizona smirked. "I'm sure she does."

"You can't still be annoyed with her for setting us up."

"No. I'm grateful," Arizona vowed. "I might have been too scared to ever say anything, if she hadn't thrown you at me."

Callie smiled softly. "I don't know. I like to think we'd find our way back to each other no matter what. But I'm glad I don't have to wait anymore." She traced her hand over a soft cheek, a strong jawline.

"Me, too," Arizona whispered, ducking her head to press a kiss into Callie's palm.

As it turned out, there wasn't much to do on a weeknight in Lubbock, so Callie and Arizona ended up just walking around downtown, stretching their legs, and then eating a nice dinner.

After they paid the check, Arizona put her hand on her stomach. "Ugh. I'm stuffed."

Callie smiled. "Me, too."

When they walked back outside, they were instantly assaulted with the dry heat, even though it was almost seven.

"What now?" Arizona asked.

"Well, I saw that there was a cute local movie theater but, after the drive, I don't want to sit anymore. Do you?"

Arizona shook her head. "No thank you."

"How about a little more exploring, then?" Callie suggested. "There's still a lot of city to see."

And, at that, Arizona was already walking. "That's an idea I can get behind."

Callie hurried to catch up and, as soon as they were in stride, she reached for Arizona's hand, grinning at the way the blonde instantly entwined them and gave hers a loving squeeze.

Callie squeezed back. "Are you excited to see your parents?"

"Are you?" Arizona countered, joking, "I think they love you more than me."

Callie laughed. "I don't think that's possible. But yes. It's been a really long time."

"I miss Sofia, too." Arizona shook her head. "She's going to be so happy to see us together."

"Are you kidding?" Callie laughed. "She's going to lose her mind."

Arizona laughed with her, already picturing their daughter's smile, how thrilled she would be to spend time with them both at once, which hadn't happened in so long. "Like a kid on Christmas."

Callie met blue eyes, her expression soft. "It kind of feels like Christmas for me, too."

Back at the hotel, after brushing her teeth, Arizona walked over to Callie's bed, pulling back the blankets so that she could sit beside her.

Callie smiled.

Arizona met her amused expression. "What?"

"Nothing," Callie chuckled. "I'm just glad we no longer have to claim to be cold as an excuse to be near each other."

Arizona grinned back. "I'm actually pretty hot, honestly," she admitted, scooting closer.

Callie nodded. "You are hot."

Arizona rolled her eyes, her cheeks flushing with pleasure. "You know that's not what I meant."

"I know," Callie shrugged. "But it's true."

Arizona got to work on removing her prosthetic leg. "You want to watch something?" Gingerly, she rested it against the night-table.

Callie nodded, and Arizona handed her the remote, letting her scroll through the listings, fixing her eyes to her profile: all charcoal eyes, tan skin, freckles...

Noting the small wrinkles at the corner of her eye, deeper with age than she remembered, Arizona couldn't help herself as she reached out, traced the lines with her index finger, her touch feather-light.

Callie turned into the sensation and met Arizona's eyes, her expression curious.

Arizona bit her bottom lip, finger ghosting once again over the lines. "You're so pretty."

Not allowing herself to overthink, Callie instinctively leaned in, pressing her lips to a smooth pink cheek. She paused for a second—inhaling the intoxicating scent of Arizona's skin—before pulling back, her stomach fluttering.

Meeting Arizona's eyes, bright and fixed to hers, Callie bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm scared to say it. But you know how I feel. Right?"

Rather than answering directly, Arizona asked, "What are you scared of? That I won't say it back?"

Callie shrugged. "That it's meaningless."

"Oh," Arizona understood.

"Yeah."

"Because, before, we loved each other more than anything, but it still wasn't enough to keep us together," Arizona surmised.

"I was naïve about love before I met you," Callie sniffed. "Now, I know love counts for a lot, but love alone isn't enough. And what I feel for you goes beyond love. I don't know..." She sighed. "I think the words feel insufficient. Or devoid of any real meaning."

Arizona nodded. "I get that."

Unsure what to say, Callie remained silent, her eyes unblinking on Arizona's.

"So how about this?" Arizona began. She reached out, took Callie's hands into hers. "I more than just love you. I commit myself to making you laugh every day. To always being honest with you. To protecting you, even when you don't need protecting.

Slowly, Callie's lips bloomed into a smile.

Arizona's lip quirked up, and she shrugged a little. "If the words 'I love you' are insufficient, I have a lot more to choose from."

Overcome with love, Callie leaned in, pressing her lips to Arizona's, instantly groaning at the taste of her.

Arizona reached up and cradled her cheek, eyes falling shut at the sensation of Callie's lips, warm and puffy, on hers. She hummed with pleasure.

After another minute, they pulled back.

Gingerly, Callie tucked a curl behind Arizona's ear. "You know, for me, you're the most amazing person in the world."

Arizona blushed, looking down, and Callie ducked her head, wanting Arizona to see her eyes. "I'm serious," she vowed. "The smartest, the funnest, the most beautiful, the most…fascinating. And I've always felt that way. But, from now on, I'll make sure you always know, too."

Arizona smiled.

"The love of my life," Callie promised.

Arizona nodded softly, not trusting herself to speak with the newfound lump in her throat, blurred vision.

"Oh, no," Callie chuckled, her voice unbelievably tender. "Don't cry. Because if you cry, then I'll cry, and-"

Arizona was quickly shaking her head. "I'm not," she managed, flinging away the tear that had snuck its way down her cheek.

"Oh," Callie soothed, her expression softening. She leaned in, arm wrapping around Arizona's back, lips on her cheek, tasting salt. She kissed a line down her jaw, buried her face in her neck.

Arizona held her tight, pressing a kiss to black hair.

After watching an episode of a new cooking show, Callie and Arizona settled in for sleep, ignoring the second bed entirely.

Without hesitation, Callie curled herself around Arizona's, exhaling a shallow breath at the feel of that warm body against hers.

Arizona scooted back, wanting to be even closer, and felt Callie's breasts against her back, the steady ba-boom ba-boom of her heartbeat.

Callie reached for her hand, their fingers entwining.

"Sweet dreams," Arizona slurred.

Callie's lip quirked up. "Dream about me," she joked.

Arizona smiled. "I do."

If you made it to the end, tell me: Which part was your favorite? Tell me! Tell me!