So here's the last one in this edition. Thank you for all the love.


Callie looked up with a welcoming smile when Arizona barged into her office early the next morning. She looked so clean and cool in her impeccable wool suit, that Arizona fell in love with her all over again. But Arizona had no time for romance.

"Calliope, I want to see what's in that folder," Arizona said, leaning down on her desk with both hands.

Callie's smile faded. "I don't know that I can let you, Arizona. I made an agreement with your sister…."

"Oh, come on, Callie." Arizona was very near to losing it. "You've embroiled me so deeply into this by now — I think I have a right to see what it's all about."

Callie frowned at her, not saying a word, and Arizona groaned and began to pace the room. "Why don't you just look the other way and let me steal it? Then we'll be done with it."

Callie shook her head, her liquid brown eyes hooded. "I can't do that. That folder is part of a bargain I made with your sister. I need to hold on to it."

"Calliope…." Arizona stopped before her and shook her head, her eyes filled with a tragic appeal.

Looking into those eyes, Callie's resolve melted away. "Okay," she said quietly, opening the file drawer. "Read the letter. But don't take it away." Handing Arizona the folder, Callie turned and left the office, giving her privacy.

Arizona's hand shook as she lifted the folder. Slowly, she opened it and looked at the paper inside. Callie had been telling the truth. It was surely no love letter. One sheet of paper, typed formally — a legal document, signed by Callie and Teddy and witnessed and notarized at the bottom.

Arizona read the first line, then skimmed the rest, trying to get the gist of it quickly. There was something about Teddy admitting guilt, something about Callie holding her to a promise, something about the threat of bringing in the police. A lump rose in Arizona's throat and her eyes filled with tears and she couldn't make out the words any longer. Inside, she felt hollow and very much alone.

She sat for a long time trying to clear her vision enough to read more, but the tears wouldn't stop coming. And then Callie opened the door and leaned in.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Arizona nodded, but Callie had seen the tears and she came to her quickly, gathering her in her arms and rocking her against her chest.

"Hey," Callie said, her voice warm with comfort. "Don't, Arizona. It's okay. It's all taken care of." Callie dropped a kiss on Arizona's nose. "You really didn't know about this, did you?"

"No," Arizona said brokenly. "Explain it, please. I couldn't see well enough to finish reading it."


Callie held Arizona close, burying her face in her hair and breathing her light, delicious scent. Callie didn't want to explain. She only wanted to make love to this woman who was beginning to mean so much to her again.

"We hired Teddy as a temp," she said at last, stroking Arizona's hair, "because she'd had experience in legal offices and my assistant was out on maternity leave. It turned out your sister wasn't really well suited for this job. I blame myself in that I didn't pick up on that right away and transfer her to another department. I was gone a lot during that period, and she was left on her own too much. And when I got back from one trip, a colleague contacted me and told me Teddy had tried to extort money from him in my name."

Arizona's heart sank and she pulled out of Callie arms and sat back, watching Callie as best she could through her tears. "Oh, Callie!"

"If you like, I can show you the evidence."

"No." Arizona shook her head. It wasn't as if Teddy hadn't been in trouble before. She'd made it a practice to live very close to the edge ever since Arizona could remember. "I believe you."

"At any rate, I didn't want to call the police, so I offered her a deal. If she would leave Torres and Forbes without a fuss, I would get her a position with a friend of mine who does legal aid work with immigrant groups. I got her to agree to work for him for peanuts for eight months, during which time I would be keeping an eye on her, and as long as all went well, I would keep the police out of it."

Arizona winced. "She hates that job."

"I know. That's why she sent you to get the agreement so that she could destroy it and not have the threat of arrest hanging over her any longer. Then she could quit." Callie grinned. "But as I've told her a number of times, this work she's doing is going to benefit her in the long run. It will give her valuable work experience."

Arizona closed her eyes. Callie was a good and decent woman, the best, probably, that she'd ever known. And Arizona herself…she was the one who wasn't good enough for their relationship. She was the liar, the cheat, the one who came from a family who used others instead of treating them like real people with real feelings.

Callie's mother's original instinct had been the right one. Arizona wasn't good enough for her daughter. Her sigh came from deep within her soul. It was time this charade was ended.

Reaching out, she took Callie's hand and looked directly into her liquid brown eyes. "Calliope," she said, a catch in her voice, "our engagement has to end."

Callie stared at her, alarmed. "Why?" she asked softly.

"Because it's a sham." Arizona squeezed her hand tightly. "And I can't face you any longer, knowing what I know now about what Teddy has done."

Callie's face hardened into an emotionless mask. "That has nothing to do with you and me."

"Don't you see? It has everything to do with us." Dropping Callie's hand, Arizona rose. "We wouldn't have even met if it hadn't been for Teddy. And then to find out she'd done something so awful… This would always be hanging over us."

Turning resolutely toward the door, Arizona glanced back and winced. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "So sorry." And she was gone.

Callie watched her walk away, listened to the door close, and thought to herself, Well, here it is. The breakup.

Every relationship got to this point sooner or later. The only difference was, it was usually her walking away.

"It was bound to happen,"Callie told herself stoically. "This is what always happens. It's just the way things are meant to be. Story over. The end."