"We should get going" Callie said, kissing my forehead while she rolled off the mattress. It was almost 5 o clock. It amazed me how quickly time passed with Callie, yet with that came saddness. There was never enough time.

"Can't we stay here?" I said, "Tell Owen that we are in the lab or something?"

"I already told him that we were in lab all day. Owen really likes you, Arizona. I want to keep it that way" She said, slipping back into her clothes.

"Does he ever get suspicious? About any of this?" I asked. She stopped, thinking momentarily.

"No. I don't think so. I have never been with a woman before, so I don't think he would ever see this coming. More than that, he is caught up in Cristina's world right now..." She said.

"Cristina? Cristina who?" I asked, confused.

"You didn't know? Owen has been sleeping with Cristina Yang for the last 10 months. Though, I imagine he has been in love with her for much longer than that..." She said, matter of factly.

"WHAT?" I exclaimed.

"You really didn't know?" She asked in disbelief. "I thought everyone knew. He isn't remotely sneaky about it..." My mouth must have been hanging open in shock, because she sat down next to me, prepared to give me a more detailed explaination.

"The last time Owen returned from overseas was by far the most difficult. At that point, we had spent more of our marriage apart than together. My career was on fire, while he was thrust into the chief of surgery position. He was stressed, all of the time. On top of that, he was dealing with PTSD. And not the occasional nightmare, heavy stuff. Intense anxiety whenever he heard a loud noise. Sleeping with the lights on. Overwhelming guilt every time he turned on the TV and saw even a hint of the military in the news. Owen and I...we have our differences, but I tried so hard to be there for him. But I just couldn't be there for him in the way he needed me to be. I didn't understand...I still don't understand him." She trailed off. I looked to her, still unable to wrap my head around it all.

"Then he met Dr. Yang. And something changed in him. At first, it was innocent exchanges in surgery. But it developed into something I didn't understand at the time. Now, he can hardly go a night without her. All those nights he stays at the hospital for "chief stuff", he is in an on call room, sleeping next to her. I know he is. Because the mornings after those nights, are the only times he looks fully rested. She puts his soul at ease, calms him. She made him want to be better. I never had that effect on him. Not even close"

"Oh Calliope, I am so sorry." I said softly. She nodded, seemingly at peace with all of this now. How had I not realized that there was more to this story than I could have guessed? There were times that I felt so intensely guilty about what I was doing to not just Owen, but Callie's marriage. I wasn't religious, but I knew Callie had catholicism in her background. Marriage is a sacred thing. Yet, I had never held back, ever. I was drawn to Callie in a way that I could not resist. Had Owen felt the same way about Cristina?

"There are no bad guys here, Arizona. Only people, making choices." She whispered.

"So why are you still together? Why not get a divorce?" She sighed.

"It's more complicated than 'Owen loves Cristina, let's get a divorce'. Owen and I are married. We made vows that we both meant. Despite our differences, despite the fact that we both may love other people, we have a life together. On paper, we make sense; we add up in the most practical way. We want the same things in life. It's far from perfect, but it's what we have."

"But marriage is based on more than practicalities and conveniences. I thought it was about love! Am I that naive to believe that?" I pleaded.

"You're not naive, but you're making things out to be simpler than they are. Hell, Cristina doesn't want anything to do with a real relationship, much less marriage or children. At the core of her being, she is a surgeon. She will always be a surgeon, Owen can't change that. With her, he will never get what he wants"

"But what about YOU! What do YOU want?" I exclaimed. She looked at me, a hardness to my face, waiting for me to realize what I already knew.

"You want a baby, don't you? That is it, isn't it?" I said softly, avoiding her gaze.

"It's more than that. Owen and I... we have always had the same dream. A big house with the classic white picket fence just outside of Seattle that held a house full of children. Despite everything, the infidelities, the lovelessness of our marriage, I can't let it go. WE can't let go of the shared dream we had together. I can't let go of those kids running around in the yard, swinging on the tire swing and playing tag in the lawn. It's what I have always wanted. Until you." She said with a glimmer in her eye.

"You have changed...everything. I have you and suddenly, everything is better. My life is brighter and I am so so happy. Happier than I have been in years. But you are so young. Your life is just beginning! You are going to start medical school and I am already through residency. I am ready to move on. I want a family. And with Owen, I have a chance at that life I always wanted to create." She said, a tear running down her face.

"Then why am I still here?" I said out of both frustration and desperation.

"Because you're my breath of fresh air" She said with a half smile, tears still running down her cheeks. I sighed, leaning into her, resting her forehead against my own.

I hated this. I hated that Callie and I were in such difference places in our lives. I hated that everything she wanted was nothing I could give her. I hated that Owen was what made sense to her. But what I hated most of all, was that this held no weight against my love for her. I never stood a chance. I never had a choice.

"I'm so sorry, Arizona. I didn't mean to unload all of this on you. Not yet, anyway. I just...I need time to sort this out. I need time to figure out how we are going to make sense. Can you give me that?" She pleaded. I thought back to the moment I met Callie, watching her blow through the surgical locker room doors, her bright brown eyes, her air of confidence. Even then, before all the rest of it, she took the breath right out of my lungs. No, I never stood a chance.

Whispering, just audibly enough for her to hear, "I can promise you, Calliope, I am not going anywhere."