A/N

As you asked for this one so nicely Calzonafan123, this one's for you :)

Arizona had reacted instinctively the moment that Callie had got back in the car, yelling at her to "drive". Maybe if she had been being rational in the moment, she would have immediately asked for destination, but right now she understood that all that she needed to do was get away from their current location.

She glanced at Callie as she drove, seeing that the brunette's hands were clasped and her gaze was unwavering, clearly she had picked out a point in the windscreen and wasn't willing to look away from it. She chose not to speak as she drove, within minutes pulling up onto the gravelly area that served as a parking lot of the beach.

"Is…" she asked hesitantly "is here ok? I didn't really know where else to drive to"

Callie blinked a couple of times and looked at her surroundings for the first time. She turned and looked back at the blonde next to her before speaking.

"It's perfect"

"You sure?" Arizona looked at her hesitantly.

"I'm sure" Callie met her gaze for the first time since she had left her father's house.

They both then stared out of the windscreen and across the ocean in front of them. Arizona clenched her fists, trying to fight back her instincts to reach out and touch the woman next to her, knowing that she had to let Callie deal with whatever had happened at her own pace.

"My father" it was Callie who broke the silence first "He didn't know the details of what Eduardo did"

The blonde looked at her "If you believe him, then I do too"

The brunette nodded "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course"

"Did you…did you ever think about staying…about telling me about what my father and Eduardo had done, and dealing with it…together?" Callie asked nervously.

Arizona found herself laughing, despite of herself "Only about a million times, Calliope"

"So why didn't you…tell me, I mean?"

"I couldn't take the chance" the blonde said softly "Eduardo said that I should know what would happen if I told you…I knew what he was capable of Calliope, I couldn't take the risk"

"But I married him Ari…" tears began streaming down Callie's face "if only I'd known…"

"I'm so sorry" the blonde apologised sincerely, causing Callie to turn and face her "if I had known, or had any indication that things would have worked out like they did, I would have stayed. I would have fought. But I truly believed that at the time, leaving was the only way to keep you safe"

"So you just walked away, and assumed that I would be ok, even though you knew that both my father and a man who had threatened to rape me were in my life?"

Arizona's head dropped into her hands "I…I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought he wouldn't hurt you if I wasn't here"

"But did you even think to check…did you even think to find out if I was ok?"

The blonde lifted her head and made eye contact with Callie.

"I called Mark" she said simply "I called him every year, the day after your birthday"

"What?" the brunette whispered.

"I made him promise not to talk about details, either about you, or why I had left. Essentially, I made him give me an update report on how you were doing" Arizona took a deep breath "I know it wasn't enough…it would never have been enough…but I knew I could trust him, and that as long as he said you were ok, then I was doing the right thing by staying away"

"But he didn't know…"

The blonde shook her head "He has no idea what happened that night"

"So why…why does he think you left?"

Arizona sighed "In simple terms, he knows the truth. He knows that I left to protect you. Only, he thinks that I made that decision of my own accord. He thinks that I left to set you free, because I thought that I was trapping you into a life that you didn't want, that you would be better off without me"

Callie stared at her, unable to believe what she was hearing "And he accepted that?"

"No" the blonde shook her head "he spent a long time trying to convince me that I'd done the wrong thing, that whatever had happened, you'd have been better off if I'd stayed here and worked it through with you"

"And he said?"

"That I was disillusioned. I told him that he was wrong. That I was setting you free"

"Arizona…there were so many chances…"

"I know. But I had told Mark explicitly that I didn't want to know about anyone that you got involved with. And so I let myself believe that you were ok, that I'd done the right thing"

"What would have happened" the brunette asked slowly "if he'd told you that something bad had happened to me?"

"I'd have been back in a second" Arizona answered immediately, without the need for thought.

"Jesus" the brunette exhaled, leaning her head back against the seat and closing her eyes.

"If it helps, Mark swore at me a lot"

"I can imagine"

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry. It's such a pathetically small word for everything that's happened, but I.." Arizona swallowed "I'm truly sorry that I didn't do more to protect you from this…from him"

The brunette opened her eyes and stared at Arizona "Don't…"

"Callie, I mean it, if I…"

"Arizona"

The way that Callie said her name never failed to have an effect on the blonde, and she was powerless in that moment. Their eyes locked together, and neither one seemed willing to break the intensity of the gaze. The rise and fall of their chests was visible as each of them stared the other one down, almost daring the other to break the moment.

Without breaking their gaze, Callie reached between them and unfasted both of their seatbelts. For a second, the blonde looked like she was about to question it, but one look from Callie and she stayed silent. Instead she sat there, frozen, as the brunette climbed over the centre console and straddled her thighs. Instinctively, she reached her hands up so that they came to rest on Callie's waist as the brunette settled herself astride her lap. Their eyes remained locked together, as though a challenge had been set that neither one of them was willing to lose.

Slowly Callie reached out a hand, letting her fingertips trace down the contours of the blonde's face. As her fingers brushed the blonde's chin, she let her thumb gently come to rest against her lips.

"Calliope" the blonde breathed.

"I don't know" Callie whispered, taking a deep breath before continuing "how to tell you how I feel about you"

Keeping her eyes focused on the brunette's, Arizona parted her lips and slowly grazed her teeth over the brunette's thumb, gradually taking it into her mouth. She then slowly dragged her lips back up the digit, freeing it from her mouth, all the while never breaking eye contact with Callie.

The brunette whimpered, feeling Arizona's fingertips sliding up her arms and coming to grip her shoulders. Slowly she tilted her head downwards, letting her hand slip out of the way, as she let her own mouth move into the space that her thumb had occupied. Her lips grazed the blonde's as her hands reached out to rest on her waist. She could feel fingertips digging into her shoulders, encouraging her to continue, as she let her lips brush the blonde's again.

"Callie" Arizona whimpered, closing the gap between them to let their lips brush against one another for a third time.

Slowly Callie slid one of her hands up from the blonde's waist, taking in the contours of her body as she let her fingertips drift lightly over her breast. Hearing the sharp intake of breath from the blonde, Callie let her thumb stretch out, knowing that she was pushing boundaries, but unable to resist the temptation of letting it graze over the blonde's nipple.

Unable to control herself any further, Arizona pulled the brunette into her, immediately taking control of her lips. Their tongues sought each other out as they kissed desperately, the emotion of the last twenty four hours finally taking over them. She could feel her hips rising to meet the brunette's, wanting more contact than she was allowed with the woman that was on top of her.

Callie felt like she was on fire. It had been ten years since someone's touch had made her feel like this. She let her hand move to cup the blonde's breast, squeezing it firmly as her tongue delved into Arizona's mouth. The sound that she heard in the back of the blonde's throat was one that only a woman could make, and in that moment, Callie lost all control. Everything about her knew that this was wrong, that she shouldn't be doing this given her current situation, but she couldn't help herself.

The blonde dug her fingernails into Callie's shoulders, desperately urging the brunette closer. Their mouths were devouring each other. And if she hadn't been sure before, she knew now that she wanted nothing more than the woman that was on top of her.

"Arizona" it was Callie who broke the kiss first, pulling back slightly, panting "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be doing this, not now"

The blonde could feel her heart sinking, letting her arms drop to her sides. It was like she had tasted a moment of perfection, of where she was meant to be, only for it to be ripped away. A hand cupping her cheek forced her to look up at the brunette, despite all her instincts at that moment telling her to run.

"I'm sorry" Callie apologised softly "and believe me, I want this, ok. I want you"

Arizona could only nod, apparently her feelings had robbed her of the ability to speak.

"Please don't look at me like that" the brunette begged.

"Like what?" Arizona managed to whisper in response.

"Like I've broken you…Arizona please…know that I meant every moment and I don't regret it. I just…"

"I understand" the blonde replied softly, turning her head, unable to meet Callie's gaze.

"No" the brunette said firmly, cupping one of Arizona's cheeks and tilting her head up until she had no choice but to look in to her eyes "I mean it. Arizona, this isn't about you. Right now I want nothing more than to rip your clothes off and make love to you…"

The blonde took a sharp of intake of breath, unprepared for the effect that Callie's words would have on her.

"And I can't" Callie continued, her voice wavering "no matter how much I fucking want to, I can't have you right now"

"Calliope" the blonde breathed.

"Tell me what you're thinking right now"

"Honestly?"

"Honestly" the brunette confirmed.

Arizona swallowed, unable to tear her eyes away from the brunette's "I'm thinking about how easy it would be for me to reach up and slide my fingers into you, to take you so hard against the steering wheel…is that honest enough for you?"

"Arizona" the brunette groaned.

Without speaking, Callie took hold of the blonde's hand and placed it between her legs, encouraging her to cup her through her jeans. Feeling herself be grasped by Arizona, she cried out, rocking her hips forwards before bursting into her tears and dropping her head to the blonde's shoulder.

"Hey" Arizona said softly, immediately removing her hand so that she could wrap both arms around the brunette, who had collapsed on top of her.

"I'm so sorry" Callie sobbed into her shoulder.

"Ssh" the blonde soothed, rubbing her back "it's ok, I've got you"

"I…" the brunette paused, trying to get a grip on what she was going to say "I need to say this before I lose my nerve"

Slowly Callie lifted her head, letting her tearstained eyes meet the blonde's.

"I've never stopped loving you" she said softly, unsuccessfully trying to keep her tears at bay.

Arizona reached up and wiped away the brunette's tears with her thumb.

"Good" she replied firmly "because I love you too. And right now, I love you even more than I ever did before"

"Ari…" the brunette ran her fingers through Arizona's hair before letting them come to rest on her cheeks "please don't give up on me"

Arizona shook her head decisively "I couldn't even if I wanted to"

"Could you…" Callie took a deep breath "could you take me to my house please, I need to finish ripping off the band-aid?"