AN: This chapter gave me a rough time, but here it is. It's a little intense. Happy Groundhog Day.
Warm rays of sunlight flickered through the dusty curtains of the small cottage, beckoning me to rejoin the world. As consciousness slowly claimed my mind, portions of the previous night returned to my attention, causing me to seek the warmth of the woman next to me. Regretfully finding only smooth, cool sheets, I sat up and inspected the room. No Callie. Sighing in both relief and disappointment, I ran my fingers through my messed curls.
"Hey."
The soft and unexpected voice made me snap my head up to take in the gorgeous being standing in the doorway with a cup of coffee. She looked good. Her face glowed, her hair lay perfectly, a wide and dazzling smile graced her face, and her clothes were clean and new. The second my eyes connected with hers, fierce currents of desire surged through me. Simultaneously, powerful swells of love and longing filled my heart, threatening to burst the insufficient organ. The two sensations combined to form a force previously unfathomable. My body betrayed me, willingly opening to Callie's pull.
Summoning strength I wasn't sure I possessed, I bit my lip and ripped my eyes from hers, "I, uh, I see you-you're feeling b-better." My stutter easily highlighted my unbalance.
Callie grinned, causing another wave of passion to flow over me, "Yeah, I am. I really needed last night…" She studied me for a moment, undoubtedly noticing my stiff body and deep flush, "Are you okay? Are you upset that I'm here? Are you regretting letting me stay?" A concerned frown replaced her contented smile.
Clenching my legs together and fighting the shivers running through me, I fought for focus, "Uh, no, not really. I just, um…You're not holding back anymore, are you?" Raw lust rolled off of Callie in overwhelming tsunamis.
Her brows furrowed in a moment of confusion, before she put the pieces together, "Oh, you mean…?" She vaguely flicked a hand toward me, arching her eyebrow.
I nodded quickly, hoping to hurry the slightly embarrassing moment along. "Yep…you're coming on a little strong right now…" My voice escaped in a strangled whimper.
Callie's eyes twinkled mischievously, "Maybe I want to be…it's not a problem, is it?"
My annoyance and fear came together enough to outweigh her affect on me, and I shot her a stern glare. "Yes, actually. Intentional or not, stop."
While still wearing a small smirk, Callie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Immediately, her hormonal and emotional grip on my body ebbed. However, the feelings only decreased by about half, letting me know that her powers weren't the sole cause of my reaction to her presence. She reopened her eyes and examined my expression, "Better?" After I nodded, she added, "Sorry…I got so excited to not have to hide anything from you…and to just be around you, that I forgot that my powers still need to be restrained sometimes." Watching my look darken as I considered the affect of her powers, she dipped her head to look into my eyes, "Just so you know, I stopped using my powers with you after that first day you saw me at the café. My powers made you look, but didn't keep you interested."
Pulling in a long breath, attempting to steady my whirring body, I snapped, "Who says I'm interested?"
Callie scoffed, "Spare me the self righteous spiel, you and I both know what's between us."
A little taken aback by her sudden bluntness, I blinked and lowered my gaze to study the heavy quilt on my lap. "I'm sorry, you're right. There's many confusing aspects to this whole…situation…but, whether or not I'm…interested…is not one of them." I managed to mumble. At the very least, she deserves my honesty.
Callie nodded and pushed herself off the door frame, "It's fine, I get it." She hesitated before lowering down next to me on the soft mattress and handing me her cup. I took a sip, savoring the strong flavor as it burned down my throat. A few minutes lapsed in relative comfortable silence, as we passed the cup between us.
Finally needing to break the quiet, I looked at Callie, "You know, I wish we could just be us, be together without worrying about your side or my side or who we really are. But, I…I committed to becoming an angel again…and I can't…I can't be with you…" My voice caught with the effort of uttering those words.
Callie's eyes clouded with emotions she had been trying to suppress as she licked her lips. "Can't you just…reconsider…or something? I don't know if I can…"
"I just can't, Callie. Since I've met you, I've done nothing but question every choice I've made, every feeling I have. It's entirely exhausting. I finally gave in to my affection for you, which felt great. Then, I found out that you lied to me. Not lied like I lied to you, to protect an identity, but manipulated me with the intention of harming me, kind of lied." I held up a hand to stop the protest I saw spring to her tongue, "I know. I do believe that most of what happened with us was real, and that you don't want to hurt me, but…I'm having a hard time getting passed it. Trust so thoroughly damaged as mine is nearly impossible to reconstruct. And, you hurt me, Callie. Hurt me so fiercely that I completely broke. The only way I survived was by re-pledging myself to the OverWorld. I can't turn my back on that now, especially not with that high risk of you hurting me again." I chewed on my lip, mentally reminding myself that letting us go was the right choice, despite the crippling dread that settled in my chest.
Dropping her eyes, Callie murmured, "That's a real no, isn't it?"
Unable to hold onto the hot tear that slid down my cheek, I nodded, "Yes. It has to be."
Callie gulped and sniffed, "I guess, I always knew this was the only way we could end, but it still feels like I'm suffocating in the total darkness…" I remained silent, though I had no lack of empathy for her feelings. That's exactly how I felt. She flicked her eyes to mine with a sorrowful, half smile, "Walk me out?"
Answering her by scooting off the bed, I trudged toward the door, unable to look at Callie, knowing it was the last time. Walking out the door, the bright sunlight drastically contrasted the dreary gloom encasing us. Reaching the end of the driveway, where her car now sat, seemed to take an eternity, but was still too fast. We both began to silently cry, hearts breaking in time with the other. Before I could react, Callie swooped down to take my lips in a soft and urgent kiss, expressing every emotion blazing through her. I returned the sentiment, pouring my soul out through my lips, hoping she would catch and embrace each piece. In actuality, the kiss lasted no more than a few seconds, but encapsulated the passion of an entire lifetime. When we broke, we simply stared into the other's eyes, willing anything to happen that might stop or just delay the inevitable moment when we'd say goodbye. Words I wanted to say danced on the tip of my tongue, but stuck, unwilling to make this any more difficult.
"I knew I'd find you with her." O'Malley's cold voice broke through our heated moment, causing us to snap our attention to the left, immediately on guard.
Though neither was sure which of us he had spoken to, Callie found her voice first, "What the hell are you doing here, O'Malley?" I noticed she stepped slightly in front of me as she spoke.
"I came to finish what we started," He snarled. "You didn't think that just because you decided she was too good a lay to kill, that everyone would just back up and let her go, did you? And, now that you've gone AWOL, I've been given orders to bring you in, as well. Dead or alive. Do you know the kind of power I'll be awarded for bringing in the two of you?" Noticing the swift scan I did of the area, he smirked, "No, I didn't come here alone, I just wanted this moment to myself. You might as well just surrender now." As he spoke several warriors, including a few I recognized, like Sloan, materialized next to him, slowly circling us and closing in.
Callie and I glanced at each other, knowing immediately that we'd have to fight together if we hoped to survive. She gave an nearly imperceptible nod and we acted in unison. I summoned what trivial powers I had at the moment to send Sloan flying into a nearby car, as I focused my thoughts on Teddy and called for Karev and Avery. Those three would come no matter when or where I called them. While I dove to the right to gain cover behind my red sedan, I heard Callie attack a warrior on her side and call for Addison. Within seconds we had four more figures on our side.
Addison crouched with Callie next to her T-Bird, while Karev, Avery, Teddy and myself gathered next to my car. I made eye contact with Callie before nodding to my guys. Simultaneously, Callie, Karev and I sprung from our hiding spots. Karev sent a bright ball of light directly into a warrior's chest, instantly rendering him useless. Callie tackled Sloan to the grass and landed a fist to his jaw, while I quickly held up my hand to deflect O'Malley's fire ball, and sent him hurtling to the ground. After our initial attack, Teddy, Avery and Addison sprung out and continued with our assault.
I watched Addison and Callie work seamlessly together, advancing and retreating in synchronized grace. They really must have been working together a long time. I flayed my hand in time to deflect an energy ball and instantly sent a weak ball of light back toward the eager young soldier. It was enough to make him grunt and hesitate long enough for me to slip away. To my right, Karev seemed to be engaged in a hand to hand combat with a huge warrior, and Avery fought telepathically with another, small warrior. Assured that they were fine, I weaved further into the battle field, attacking when I could.
I skidded roughly to the asphalt, getting clipped in the side by a flying shovel. I yelped at the pain shooting up my side and radiating in my back, but scrambled to my feet and kept moving. I flew behind a wall and sucked in air, trying to catch my breath. The mini war had been raging for a little over ten minutes now, and so far, no one was really winning. A few seconds later a body came hurtling in my direction, diving onto the ground next to me. "Teddy! You scared the crap out of me!"
"We're in the middle of a battle, and me coming to your side scared you? That doesn't bode well for your chances of survival, does it?" Teddy snapped lightly. Seeing me glare at her, she softened her voice, "In all seriousness, though…your powers are only so-so right now. I'm afraid that you might not be strong enough to keep up…"
Cringing and attempting to stave off the creeping trepidation, I snapped back, "Wow, Teddy, that was very inspiring, I feel like I could concur the world!"
"I'm just saying, be careful. You're not one hundred percent, so don't try to be a hero. Got it?" Her voice was stern, but concerned.
"Yeah, I got it. Now, lets get this over with. I'm not a big fan of the fighting." As soon as we emerged an energy ball swept Teddy off her feet, and a burst of air slammed me against the wall. Ouch. That maybe wasn't the smartest move. Hoisting myself up, I saw Karev and Avery attack our assailants from behind, giving us time to recover and move. I crouched low and dodged through two cars, scanning the area for Callie. I noticed her in an intense battle with O'Malley on the other side of the block. She's not a warrior, she can't battle one on one with a skilled fighter like O'Malley. Overcome with an unexplainable strength driven by my need to get to Callie, I jumped out into the open and took off at a dead sprint. I flung my hand as I ran, deterring any who tried to take a shot.
Approaching a small battle within the war, I noticed Addison taking on three UnderWorld warriors. I slid to a halt, panting loudly, debating on whether or not I should help her or keep moving toward Callie. Somehow sensing me, Addison glanced toward me and caught my eye. "Callie! Go!" She yelled over the deafening sound of flashing powers and crashing objects.
Not needing to be told twice, I nodded and bolted in the last direction I had seen Callie. Sweat covered my body and each muscle groaned with effort, begging me to rest. I couldn't rest yet, me and mine needed to get away. Callie is one of mine. On my journey, I noted that several of O'Malley's guys were gone, and Avery looked really injured. But, we seemed to be holding our own, especially considering we were ambushed. Running around a house that I guessed Callie and O'Malley had gone behind, the sight before me ripped the remaining puffs of air from my lungs. Callie lay sprawled on the ground, blood coming from her head, her leg at an odd angle, and she was clutching her side. O'Malley kept his distance, but fiddled with a large knife in his hand. This did not look good.
"Oh, Calliope…I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. You can still come with me, you know. Let me bring you in, and you'll get to live…for now. What do you say?" His voice was cold and taunting.
"No…I told you. I'm not going back." I winced at Callie's hoarse and weak voice.
"Is it because of that blonde bitch?" He snarled, obviously annoyed with her calm and uncooperative demeanor.
"Leave her out of this. I'm not coming back because I'm done working for the UnderWorld." She spat back at him.
"That's a shame. However, I am going to take a certain satisfaction from killing you. It might interest you to know, that this is the same knife that killed your little girlfriend's brother. Kind of poetic, right?" He gripped the knife as Callie struggled to her feet, standing bravely in front of him.
I gasped as rage and desperation seized my body. My heart thrashed behind my rib cage, my overstretched muscles screamed as I frantically pushed them to move, and my eyes grew wide, somehow trying to stop what was about to happen. Time seemed to stand still as I ran toward Callie, knowing that I was too far to get her out of the way in time. I tried to telepathically interrupt his attack, but he easily intercepted it, and continued on toward his immediate goal. As he cocked his arm, preparing to release the knife and deliver the fatal blow, I suddenly felt light headed and the wind escaped me. I was transporting. I hadn't been able to transport since I saw Callie with Addison in the cafe. My personal victory was short lived as I suddenly rematerialized in front of Callie just in time for the knife to plunge deep into my chest.
Blinding, gut wrenching, soul shattering pain streaked through my body, causing me to collapse back into Callie. I heard a faint scream from her as she wrapped her arms around me, guiding me to the ground. I vaguely registered flickering lights and loud voices come up behind us, but my focus remained on the terrified, but gorgeous face of Callie.
"Arizona! No, come on. Stay with me. Keep your eyes open. Please. Come on." Callie's broken-hearted pleas echoed through my foggy brain, anchoring me.
"I'm sorry, Callie. I shouldn't have given up on us." I whispered, needing her to know how I felt.
"No, don't apologize...What were you thinking, taking that knife for me?" Callie's tears fell from her eyes, landing on my face, mingling with my own.
"I couldn't let you die." A numbness began to overtake my body, starting at the tips of my fingers and seeping down toward my heart. I could feel Callie stroke my cheek with a shaky hand, and I leaned into the touch. I was going to miss her touch. My lungs constricted, making breathing nearly impossible, my body felt light, and my vision blurred. It wouldn't be long now. Pulling for every ounce of strength I had left, I locked my eyes with Callie's, and managed to croak, "I couldn't tell you before, but…I love you."
Callie's sobs shook me as she clung to my lifeless form. The last thing I registered before everything faded away, was her soft voice telling me she loved me, too.
AN: So, that's the end. Ok, no, it's not, but we're very close. The next chapter will be the last. Let me know how this one sat with you.