A/N: Please note the rating change! Be aware that this chapter cotains mild mature content, including mentions of violence.

The funeral was not elaborate by any means - just a group of people standing in silence around a hole in the ground while an aged woman chanted something unintelligible. Simple, but everyone in the village had come. It was a tribute to how close knit their community was. No one hesitated even in the burning heat; they all came to pay their respects out of love for this once vibrant youth that had made each of them smile at one point or another.

It was not the first patient funeral Arizona had been to. It was not the first time she and Callie had attended one together. It wasn't even the first time she was at the funeral for a patient whose family had initially blamed her or Callie for their loved one's untimely death. So why did this one hurt so much? Was it her fear that she was in over her head when she accepted the Carter Madison grant? Was it the possibility that the villagers would no longer trust her and all she had worked for would be for nothing? Or was it the terrifying prospect that the weight of this loss and the stifling guilt that hung over their heads would put a wedge between her and the woman she loved? Would Callie blame her for bringing her into this world when she saw the scars the experience had left on her spirit? She knew this had struck her lover down and no amount of comforting could fully lift the younger surgeon off her knees.

As if hearing the blonde's internal struggle, Callie slipped her fingers between pale digits. They stood in the back, their clasped hands hidden from view, but the warmth that simple gesture brought was enough to at least quiet the tone of Arizona's frantic mind. They were still in this together no matter what had happened and the older woman loved her partner all the more for never letting her forget that fact.

Taking a deep breath, the PEDs surgeon let her eyes drift to the crowd. Azibo stood across the flock with his head bowed and his eyes shut. Women and young girls were hunched over weeping and men stood tall with blank expressions, but two people in particular caught her attention. Near the wooden casket stood Kapeni - silent tears streaming down his dark face - and at the back of the crowd was a man she could hardly make out. She could see his gritted teeth and hunched shoulders; his body language screamed anger and hurt to an extent that threatened to overwhelm her. She didn't recognize him - could he be family? Chisulo's father?

Drip.

A sudden splash of water shook her from her wonderment. Rain? No, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. She looked down to her hand where she had felt the water hit and then it struck her. Her eyes darted to Callie's only to be greeted by the haunting vision of those chocolate orbs drowning in a sea of tears. Her heart crumbled bit-by-bit with ever tear the rolled down tanned cheeks. It was torture to see her lover fall apart and know there was nothing she could do. She couldn't press her lips against the trembling ones before her. She couldn't press the younger woman's face against her chest, soothing her cries with the strong beat of her heart. She couldn't...

A strangled sob.

Oh to Hell with it!

She let go of Callie's hand and before the other woman could register the lack of warmth, she quickly enveloped her in a tight embrace. She didn't care what anyone else thought. This woman was her life - her everything. To anyone who gave them a passing glance, she was comforting a friend, but the two of them knew it was more. This was an outward display of affection in disguise to remind them of who they were back home, who they would always be together. A simple hug, warm arms across a hunched back, and tears wetting a pale neck - they were a picture of anguished partnership.

"Breathe, sweetheart."

The gentle whisper soothed the Latina. "Please... can you... can you just..."

Her response was a tighter embrace and that is how they stayed until the funeral came to an end. Feet shuffled past them and with each foot fall their hold lessened until they were standing side by side, staring at a small mound of dirt crowned by a solitary stick decorated by a festively colored scarf. A shadow was cast over them when the sound of retreating steps suddenly stopped.

"You did everything you could for him."

Arizona kept her eyes trained on the grave. "You've said that every day since his death, Azibo."

The tribal man offered them a small smile. "And I will continue to say it until the day you hear it as truth instead of just words."

Callie was the first to lock eyes with him. "We know it's true, but it doesn't make his death any easier to accept."

"The day it's easy to lose a patient, the day it stops affecting us when someone dies on our table…" Arizona paused to sigh. "That's the day you take the scalpel out of our hands."

Gentle palms grazed their shoulders as he stepped behind them. "Your gracious hearts never cease, my friends. Please, take the morning for each other."

They turned their heads, staring at him in disbelief.

"Do not argue, just go. Lift one another so that you can return to help the rest of the village that needs you. I can handle the early morning crowd as you mourn."

Callie watched as he retreated, a warm smile on his face and a gentle wave ushering them to carry on. She couldn't help but be touched by his subtle gesture. It had happened several times since he had revealed knowing about them. He would find excuses for them to spend time together, alone so that their days would become just a little bit easier. It was as if the masquerade they had been dancing had finally ceased – the music continued to play and their feet continued to sweep the floor, but the masks were off. It was a breath of fresh air.

"Should we go for a walk?"

Arizona's voice drew a smile to Callie's face. "I'd like that."

And so they let their feet carry them, their bodies journeying still close to one another as they made their way to the outskirts of the village. They strode in silence until they were sure they were far from the prying eyes and ears of their community. It was by the small lake that they took refuge, sitting on familiar rocks that they had used in the past.

The PEDs surgeon sat close, wrapping am arm around her lover's lower back as they gazed at the water. "You know, I actually like the fact that Azibo knows about us. We tried so hard to hide it, but now that he knows… it's kind of nice."

Callie smiled. "Yeah, it is – we got lucky, though."

"You still think this is worth it?"

The smile began to falter. "What's worth it? Being here?" She waited until Arizona nodded. "Of course! I know we can't save everyone we try to help here, but can you imagine what things were like before we got here? The first few months I was in Botswana, we didn't even have a clinic. That was my first assignment – build the darn thing – and it was horrific. You see kids and parents and grandparents get hurt and there's nowhere to take them, only the very basic amounts of medical supplies, pretty much no medication… and the rare times someone had a serious infection or life threatening injury? I'll just say that watching a non-sterile, fully awake amputation is not something I will ever be able to get out of my mind."

The blonde swallowed roughly as her eyes remained fixed on her lover's. "Is that what first inspired you to choose orthopedics?"

Callie leaned against Arizona, looking down at her fondly as she contemplated the personal question. "That was part of it. The whole experience got my sorry ass in gear and sent me to med school, but yeah… it probably did get me thinking about ortho. Gruesome surgeries like that, debilitating cases of polio… I guess that's not really a glamorous way to inspire someone, but I just felt like I could make a difference if I became someone who tried to improve those procedures or at least make them available to people."

Arizona brushed back a few stray strands of ebony from her lover's face as her smile widened, dimples popping. "Pretty similar to why I got into PEDs… well, minus the whole gruesome leg hacking surgery you sat through. I wanted to be one of those people who gave sick kids hope. This is a pretty awesome way to do that."

"Being surgeons?"

"Well yeah, but I mean being here." She pointed to the village for emphasis.

The Latina sighed. "Yeah, it is."

She watched as the taller woman beside her returned her gaze to the water, the dark bags under her eyes broadcasting the obvious exhaustion that had taken its toll. In the three days between Chisulo's death and his burial, she had caught her lover awake through the night, staring out the window across the room. Arizona would lay wrapped in the cold sheets and watch her as she thought through her inner turmoil, assuming she was doing so without an audience. She had tried to comfort her lover once, but Callie had pushed her away and had even shied away from physical contact beyond what they were currently indulging in.

Enough was enough.

"Calliope…"

The Latina turned to her, the confusion etched in her eyes becoming deeper as Arizona leaned toward her even more. "Give me some of the weight… don't carry everything on your shoulders."

It only took a brief, silent conversation before the decision was made. They stood with gentle smiles on their faces. Hands brushed, cheeks flushed lightly, and they were soon on their way back to their hut. The wooden door shut, secured with rope and hooks that Callie had fastened as a makeshift lock, and suddenly the air grew thick.

"I love you."

Neither was entirely sure who had said it first as the words spilled from both of their mouths, but it was enough of a catalyst to move them forward. Lips grazed, fingers wove into silken strands of black and gold, and blind feet pushed them back toward the bottom bunk they had shared for months. Callie felt the chill of long abandoned sheets hit her back as she was gently guided down against the mattress by a loving weight above her.

She gasped for air, the oxygen caught in her throat as she felt pale lips leave a feverish burn of a trail down her neck. A soft moan escaped her, her back arching as the fire continued to spread. How long had it been? She was vaguely aware of Arizona unbuttoning her shirt, slightly cognoscente of the sensation of skin being exposed to air, but all she could focus on was the drastic change in her heartbeat. It pounded almost painfully, rapidly against her chest as clothes were removed and two distinct skin tones melded together. She found herself completely in her lover's hands.

It was as if every inch of her skin was being worshiped. There was no rush, no frantic need, just hands and lips paying their respects to every living cell. A flood of ecstasy filled her as familiar fingers raked down her back, a warm mouth pleasuring her breasts, and the steady rock of prominent hips brought her closer and closer to the edge. She was losing control with every passing breath and it felt incredible. Soon, she was calling out, begging for more, for her lover to make her feel again.

"I love you." It was a gentle whisper of her need and of her partner's agreement to give her everything.

Pale digits found purchase between tanned thighs and lips found one another in a tangled dance to music only their ears could interpret. They held each other as they moved to their own internal rhythm. Their hearts kept the beat, their moans acting as harmony, and their wandering hands delivering each note of their building symphony. They were whole if only for this one, beautiful moment in time.

They had lost all sense of the minutes, hours that ticked by until they found themselves in an exhausted heap, glued to one another by a combination of sweat and affection. Arizona was the first to recover, crawling up her lover's body so she could push aside the hair that had matted against the woman's stunning face. She pressed a gentle kiss to soft lips, smiling against her mouth when she felt hands encircle the sides of her face.

"Thank you…"

The hoarseness of Callie's voice and her clear inability to keep her eyes open filled Arizona with a slightly smug sense of a pride. "Sleep, sweetheart."

"Mmm... clinic."

The blonde's smile grew impossibly wide. "Let me handle it, okay? You take the day off and just recharge."

"When you come home… can we… again?"

Arizona bit back a laugh. "Are you bribing me with sex?"

"Whatever will make you come home faster."

She pressed a kiss to the nearly asleep woman's cheek. "Knowing you're here will always bring me home faster. Please just sleep..."

The older surgeon waited for the tell-tale signs that her lover had finally drifted off before she carefully made her way out of the bed. As she dressed, she couldn't help but continue to cast her gaze at Callie – the woman, after all these years, still managed to take her breath away. She had never felt like this with anyone. She had never felt more alive in someone's arms, making love had never felt so perfect, and no one had ever made her knees so weak with just a single smile. They had been through so much together in such a short time and yet they had conquered every challenge that had come their way. She had long ago forgiven herself for initially turning Callie down, but moments like this still reminded her how stupid she had been to every consider not giving this amazing woman a chance. What a life she would have missed out on… It was in that moment that a thought dawned on her with such an overwhelming amount of force that she could not deny it.

I want to spend the rest of my life with her.

Tying a final knot on her tennis shoes, Arizona made her way back to the bed and placed a soft kiss against her lover's forehead. "When we go home," she whispered. "I'm going to marry you."

She let the words echo against deaf ears as she eased her way out of the hut. The euphoria that surrounded her, the incredible warmth that blanketed her by admitting those words made her blind to everything around her. She walked in a haze, a wide smile on her face, a skip in her step and only faltered when a man nearly collided with her. The pause was only brief before she returned to her cheerful trajectory, thoughts of Callie and a white wedding filling her mind and pushing out the sorrows from the morning.

Azibo's smiling face, greeting her at the clinic's entrance, just made Arizona sure that today was a day she would not soon forget.

She heard their footsteps long before the sound of wood smashing against the wall of their home. The heavy thud of their boots, the anger behind each stride, it froze her in fear knowing there was no way out. They were shouting words she didn't understand, but the hatred in their eyes was something she was familiar with and it made her back away in a desperate plea.

Their hands were rough and violent as they pushed her around the room. Chairs fell, plates broke, cups rolled across the uneven ground as they moved her like a broken marionette. One more sharp tug and she heard a disgustingly familiar pop. A wave of white, hot pain shot from her shoulder through her body and she bit back the urge to scream in utter agony. The calloused hand across her mouth strangled what little whimper she managed to utter.

She stumbled and they pushed her down, wood splintering against her face. Blood. She bit her tongue. One was straddling her legs and the other was holding her down with an arm pressing down across her neck and a hand over her lips. The tears welled in her eyes – she knew what was to come. She fought – kicked and scratched as the man above her began to tug at her belt, whispering threats in a tongue she didn't know but a tone of voice she would have had to have been deaf not to recognize.

The belt was gone and then suddenly back, whipped across her face until she stopped fighting, until she just laid there as he reached for the button and pulled down the zipper. The tears streamed down her face as she felt his hands roughly force their way passed the tight fabric, cupping her heat with a painful dig. She cried out, her fear and sorrow muffled by a cowardly hand. Then it all fell into place.

The arm across her neck fell away, fingers groping her breast through the tousled fabric of her ripped shirt – she could breathe. The man above her moved off her legs, reaching to undo his own pants – there was her opening. She reeled her knee back and kicked as her right hand, the only one she could feel, reached for the wrist by her chest and twisted tight. Her foot connected with gratifyingly soft tissue and she could feel a satisfactory snap beneath her fingertips.

All too soon they recovered and she could hear them get back on their feet as she attempted to scramble away. A tug on her leg and she was face first on the ground. She turned in time to see the man she had kicked with a chair raised above his head. She knew him…

The taxi driver.

"Muuaji."

Then all was black against the sound of splintering wood.

A/N 2: Don't kill me! This chapter was impossible to write. I had the ending written weeks ago, but my ideas of how the lead into it kept changing. Hopefully what I came up with does the story justice. I've never written anything quite like this... we are nearing the end, my friends! PS One of you guys guess this was going to happen after I posted the last chapter! Hopefully I still managed to surprise you with where I went with that idea!