The sound of children laughing, running, living was muffled by the deafening silence in their small dwelling. Four patchwork walls protected them from the deceptive "warm arms" that would welcome them to the village. Four walls kept them in their own bubble of Seattle. Four walls threatened to cave in on them without notice.

Arizona sighed, tilting her head up to gaze at the thatch roof from her place on the floor. Melissa Jones had left over an hour ago, giving them time to digest their newfound roles as secret lovers – doctors first, partners never. It had been 60 painful minutes since a word had echoed in the dead air hanging between her and Callie. 3600 seconds of silence. To her right sat her muted girlfriend; she sat in one of the wooden chairs, staring at the plank covering a poorly constructed window as if she could will it to open with her mind. She had clearly drifted off to some internal hiding place that Arizona felt she would get lost attempting to find, but still, her silence was frightening.

"Callie?"

No response – not even a touch of recognition graced those brown eyes.

"Calliope, say something, please…"

She didn't blink; she just let her lips fall open. "I can't do this."

Those four words squeezed at Arizona's heart, their barbed edges ripping into her so deeply that she could hardly breathe. "Callie, no! We'll figure something out, I pro-"

"Don't you dare!" Blazing chocolate pools were upon her, a judgmental glare marring the Latina's perfect face. "You can't promise me that this will be okay, Arizona. You just can't!"

"Callie…"

"No!" And with that, she was on her feet, pacing back and forth with unconscious mutterings of Spanish trailing behind her. "This is insane! Por tres anos, Arizona! Tres! ¿Cómo no te importa? ¿Es fácil para ti? Tu puedes simplemente olvidar lo que significa para ti? ¿Cómo se puede- (It's three years, Arizona! Three! How do you not care? Is it easy for you? You can simply forget what I mean to you? How can you-)"

Her words were cut short by pale hands clutching tightly at her forarms and blue eyes challenging her to continue. "I'm going to stop you right there because I might not speak Spanish, but it doesn't take a genius to guess you're probably saying a boat load of things you are thanking God right now I couldn't translate! So just shut-up and sit, Callie. We will work this out. Together."

The taller surgeon obeyed, swallowing her tongue as the truth behind her girlfriends words seeped into her mind. She couldn't bring her eyes off the floor, they remained transfixed on the uneven surface. Why was Arizona so calm? Why didn't this whole situation make her blood boil just as badly as Callie's? Had she done it again? Had she fallen for someone harder than they could ever fall for her? Not Arizona… she had said it first. She was the only one who had said it first…

"This is hurting me, too, Calliope." The words chipped away at her defenses, the warm hands on her knees knocked them down even further, but it wasn't until she saw the damage behind those blue eyes and the buried tears silently drowning them that her resolve finally faltered.

"What are we going to do?"

Arizona sighed at the defeated sound of her lover's voice. Without a second thought, she stood from her place at Callie's feet and enveloped her in a comforting embrace, pressing the younger woman's cheek against her chest.

"I don't know, sweetheart. I don't know."

They awoke huddled together on the bottom bunk, the sun creeping between the cracks in the wooden window cover rousing them from their fitful sleep. This was it. Today they put on a three-year long mask. Today they put patients before each other to an extreme that they never had before. Today they rewound the clock. Today was a day neither of them had ever wished to experience.

Without a word, they untangled themselves and danced around one another as they got ready to face the sun. A water pump in the bathroom and a tub served as their individual showers. They changed into their SGMW scrubs, only offering each other passing glances of appreciation and pained smiles. Granola bars they had packed served as breakfast in a seemingly pathetic attempt to delay their inevitable need to walk out the door. Their hands rested linked together against the wooden table, a quiet reminder of their shared affection.

Clutching the empty plastic wrapper of the bar tightly in her fist, Callie willed all the anger coursing through her veins to lock itself back inside the tiny box she had created in her mind. She would not judge these people, she would not treat them differently simply because they did not understand her. No, she came here to help them. It didn't matter what sort of misguided views they held…

At least that's what she tried to convince herself…

"Ready to go?" She stood abruptly, smiling weakly at her blonde counterpart.

Arizona stalled for a moment, simply locking eyes with the woman before her. "Calliope… it won't matter. Whatever happens out there, whatever we have to do once we step outside… it won't matter." She pushed herself out of her chair, walking with purpose until she was toe-to-toe with the Latina. "What matters to me is in my heart; it's in your heart. That out there – that prejudice, it can't ruin what we have. Do you hear me?"

Callie bit her lip, fighting against the tears that welled in her eyes.

"I will still love you not matter what happens."

Arizona bit back squeak of surprise as warm lips crashed against her own, a familiar hand tangling in her hair as it cradled that back of her head with affection. Her eyes slipped closed and she allowed herself to absorb every ounce of comfort pouring into her. This feeling, this unspoken promise of undying, unconditional love was something she would keep with her no matter they had to overcome. They had chosen this path together and as the older surgeon wrapped her arms around Callie's neck, she felt a renewed sense of confidence that they would weather this storm in one piece.

They parted only when the need for air was too much to ignore, their foreheads resting against one another as they held on to each passing second. Callie brought her hands to cup Arizona's cheeks, running her thumb across the softest skin she had ever felt.

"I will always love you," Callie whispered as her voice broke under the pain. "We can do this – it's just a harder version of what we've done every day at work."

"Yup, this is just a test and you and I? We will rock this. We're too awesome together to not get through it, right?" Arizona placed her hands over the gentle ones on her face.

"Right." Callie closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Arizona, I've never wanted to hide you. I have never wanted to lie and say we aren't together – I couldn't even do that when my family abandoned me. This… this isn't fair, but whatever we do out there, it doesn't mean I love you any less."

"I know that, sweetheart. I know."

They shared one last, gentle kiss before stepping away into a "friendly" distance. Satisfied that they would see each other through their first day, Callie opened their door and they walked out of their quiet bubble. Together, they observed the village as they passed through in search of the newly built clinic. Elders gazed at them with uncertainty, children paid them no mind, the occasional whisper of "doctor" and words they couldn't understand made them feel on display, but they made no effort to engage any of them beyond a polite smile.

In the far corner of the seemingly endless rows of huts stood a structure with a red painted cross above its door. This was their new sanctuary, a place where they could lose themselves in professionalism and forget what they had walked into. This was their new home and as their eyes caught the wide smile of a tall, dark man at the entrance, they knew that this was it.

Today was the beginning of the end.

A/N: Sorry this was so short! It's been a tiring week at work... the only reason I had time to type this is because I'm stuck in lab in the middle of a rain storm. Anyway, I hope you guys are still enjoying this. Your feedback is what inspires me to write!