Unfortunately folks, this marks the beginning of the end of the Muddy Buddy series :-( I know, everyone is disappointed, but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Here we have the start of the lives of the kids of the Torres-Robbins group. Engagements, weddings and babies; some announcements, some of the actual events; and then there's a final surprise at the end.

Once again, timing is approximate.

So, to celebrate the Calzona engagement, here it is, the last chapter to a very memorable series. It was just over one year ago, when Becca invited me to cowrite a series with her, and now, 306 pages, 132,681 words, over 180,000 hits and nearly 300 reviews (is it just me, or is there a minor difference between the number of hits and number of reviews? :-P ), this series draws to a close. And a special thanks goes out to my ever faithful reviewer, auggy1984, be they single words, or full sentances, they made my day. And I must say, I do believe that this is the best chapter for the entire series, but I shall leave the truth to that up to you!

Epilogue - Callie and Arizona's last day for work.

"Ready for today?" Callie embraces her wife from behind, meeting her gaze in the bathroom mirror.

"Is it wrong that I'm kind of hoping for complications?" Today was scheduled to be their last day in a medical facility as an employee. The two had retired from surgery five years earlier, but Callie had continued on with her research while Arizona had taken up teaching and lecturing at the medical school. They both knew they wanted to go out with one final case, but had agreed that they would see this case through to the end, even if there were complications that called for their continued presence.

"Just a little. But remember, there's a villa in Spain with our names on it when we're done." Ever since their wedding and honeymoon, Spain had always been the favorite vacation spot for the couple. There was one stretch of beach that only the two of them had ever been, they'd never brought the children there, and they'd planned on spending the first month of their retirement in the tiny town on the beach. Just the two of them.

"Hmmm, there is indeed." She hums in contentment, leaning back into Callie's embrace. "I still shouldn't be hoping for complications in a child's surgery." The case had come into the ER six weeks ago and Jackson had brought it to Callie for consult. The patient was 12 years old and had come in with a torn rotator cuff. Every stretch of soft connective tissue in the shoulder joint had to be repaired or replaced. The boy had dreams of playing for the NFL one day, and the women had plans to ensure that dream came true.

Over the past twenty five years, Callie had perfected her cartilage and it was now regularly used in repairs, but never before had so much been used as was used in this boy. Because of that, the surgery had been broken up and done over five separate procedures. Today was the final procedure and both women hoped – despite protests – that it would be the last one and that it would go off without a hitch.

"Come on, our future awaits us." Arizona motions for Callie to clasp the chain that holds the heart pendant they exchanged on their first Valentine's Day together. When their children got married and they bought each other new wedding sets, the chains became the holders for their rings. Every surgery they took on since retiring had two things in common: they were pro bono, and they were pediatric orthopedic cases, so they could perform them together. Just before scrubbing in, they had the tradition of removing each other's rings, putting them on their own chains, then replacing them when they've scrubbed out. They'd never left the house without those chains.

"And that is the end." The surgery had been a total success. With a few years of intense physical therapy Patrick Marsdale would be throwing his first pass for the NFL after a full career in the college of his mother's choice. All in all, they both felt that it was a good case to end their careers on.

"We can't thank you enough." Olivia Marsdale thanks Callie and Arizona once again for their work on Patrick. Were it not for them, she never would have been able to afford to pay for the surgeries her son needed. While Mark Sloan requested that his portion of the Gibbs donation go toward a skin printer, Callie and Arizona requested that theirs go towards a private pro bono fund for the hospital. A private board was organized to select cases that would receive funds from the account and once a month, Arizona and Callie would each perform a surgery. This was to be their last surgery; as of tomorrow, Jackson Avery and Alex Karev would be taking over the positions as silent joint heads of the pro bono board.

"Dr. Robbins?" She turns toward the young boy in the hospital bed. While his throwing arm was bandaged with enough gauze to stretch from Seattle to his father in Afghanistan, his smile was free, and directed toward the surgeons.

"Why did you do this?" He motions to his shoulder to indicate what he meant by his question.

"Well, every little boy deserves to have their deepest dreams come true." She takes a seat beside him on the bed, smiling broadly at him.

"And why are you so invested in making little boys' dreams come true?"

"I once knew a little boy that had dreams of being in the Navy. And he was in a really bad car accident and his leg was crushed."

"And what happened to him?"

"Well, he had several long surgeries, and he went through four years of physical therapy and he ended up going to the Naval Academy and he became a Marine after graduation."

"You talk to all of your patients after you're done operating on them?"

"I often do, but I know so much about this boy, because he's also my son. Both of my boys had dreams as children and they both had medical problems that nearly kept them from their dreams."

"And you were their surgeon?"

"Only for one of them. But the point is: they're both living their dreams. One in the military and one as the pitcher for the Boston Red Sox."

"Liam Robbins-Torres? He's your son? Can you get me his autograph?" Smiling at the young boy's enthusiasm, she moves to leave.

"I'll see what I can do. But for now, rest up, you start physical therapy tomorrow."

"No rest for the wicked."

"None at all, sweetie."

"Thank you, again." Olivia gives the two of them one more hug before they leave the room, handing the chart off to Alex as they leave. Arizona quickly whips out her phone, sending off a quick text before turning her attention back to her wife, who's looking at her in curiosity.

"What was that about?"

"I was asking Liam to send an autograph out here for Patrick."

"You're amazing, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I've been told that on occasion, but I never tire of hearing you remind me."

"Well, you. Are. Amazing. And I love you. And I am the luckiest woman in the world to get to wake up to you every morning and fall asleep by your side every night." At this, Arizona takes in a deep breath, trying to contain her tears. The one that does fall, Callie gently kisses away. "Now, there is a bottle of tequila at Joe's with our name on it. Let's go."

"One last celebration at Joe's."

Walking into the bar just around the corner from the hospital, Arizona remembers the first time that she was in there. Little has changed in the 30 years since she first set foot in the room. Joe had long ago bought the building and turned the rest of the building into a night club/bar and found someone else to run the majority operations, but he kept the basement the same, with little to no change, and it was exclusive to the staff at Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital. For that, Arizona is thankful.

It was in this room that her life was changed for the good. It was in this room that she first laid eyes on the woman she would later come to call her wife. It was here that she took the chance of a lifetime and kissed a stranger in the bathroom. It was here that the same woman approached her, baring her soul, only to be shot down. Here, was the very place that her life changed for the better, for the first time.

As Joe and Walter's family grew, the atmosphere took on a more family friendly vibe. Often times, birthday parties for the kids of SGMW's doctors would take place here, something that many of the surgeons found immensely funny. As adults, they all spent so much time here, and it would seem, as children, their kids would too. Many of them enjoyed their first legal drinks here, Carter and Josh had their engagement party here, and Ryleigh was here when she went into labor with Elizabeth – she likely would have given birth here had the hospital not been 100 feet away from the front door. So many memories had taken place here. Still, Arizona takes a moment to run her hand along the wall by the door, finding the tiny pieces of metal that are embedded into the panels.

Following that fateful day at the hospital all those years ago – once the police had completed their investigations – the doctors had all requested that the bullets dug out of the hospital or retrieved from their bodies and the bodies of their fallen friends be handed over to them. Someone, somewhere, had come up with the idea to use them for some sort of memorial, but the hospital board had immediately 86'ed that idea, leaving the surgeons of Seattle Grace-Mercy West with several dozen chunks of metal with no real use. Joe was the one who came up with the idea of embedding the bullets into the wall at his bar. Everyone found it to be oddly poetic, and it was guaranteed to have the reminder that a memorial would have. Every doctor in the hospital had crossed the threshold of Joe's bar at some point during their tenure at the hospital. Anyone that was willing took a hammer and rammed one of the pieces into the first wall the day that the last wounded doctor returned to the hospital.

Arizona's fingers land on one in particular. Even after all these years, she knows exactly which one was the one she put in place; the bullet that took the life of security guard Raymond Jones. The man was a retired Marine that had served under her father on his first tour, and under her brother on his last. Every Monday morning, when he would be coming off of his weekend shift, and Arizona would be starting her week, they had an odd exchange. They'd smile, exchange pleasantries, he would hand her a cup of coffee, while she handed him a cup of herbal tea before going on their ways, her to the pediatric wing, him to his single apartment filled with jars of sand from every desert and beach that he'd ever set foot on. She always laughed at him for the odd collection of his, but she also cried the most when she helped his kids pack up the apartment after his funeral.

Callie's touch brings her out of her memories. Saying one quick prayer for all those lives ended that day, she gives thanks to them also, for without their deaths, she likely wouldn't have come to the realization that change could be a good thing, and she would have missed out on her current world with the love of her life by her side, and her three children waiting for her.

Speaking of her children… Callie leads her toward the table that had long ago been claimed by their extended family of choice. All of their names had been carved into the table top, and as soon as each of the children was old enough to wield a knife, they had added theirs.

With the early hour of the evening, all of their children were present, each with their partners, holding onto their children. Callie has already taken hold of four year old, Allison Torres, Lauren and Liam's daughter. Clearly she favored her father and his mother with her dark chocolate locks and olive skin, but her eyes were all Sloan, the indigo tone that she'd inherited from Lauren. She quickly kisses Allison, giving the child a quick tickle before moving on to her son and daughter in law, taking a moment to run her hand over Lauren's 7 month belly. The two had found out the previous month that they were having twins, though they still didn't know what the sex was – clearly these two took after Lexie and inherited her sense of modesty.

She turns to greet Carter and Josh and is greeted by the flying blur that is their six year old son, Parker. The young boy looks exactly like Josh, save for the eyes, his eyes were the bright blue of his mother and her. While he starts babbling on about his day spent at Fort Bremerton, Arizona takes a moment to observe her daughter and son in law. They both sport the dark circles that Arizona remembers from her days as an intern and the early days of parenthood. Tucked close to her daughter's chest is their daughter, the five week old Caroline. With the hours Carter is putting in to her internship, she gets so little time with her and she knows Carter is thankful that it's the off season for Josh. While he lives and works in Boston eight months out of the year, their home base is still in Seattle. The main reason why Callie and Arizona were only going to be in Spain for one month was because that coincided with training starting back up for Josh. The two women were both looking forward to having the house full of kids again while they took care of them during Carter's busy final months at the hospital leading up to her intern exam.

At last she turns her attention to Michael and Ryleigh. Callie has handed Allison off to Mark and is now cradling the 14 month old Brenna to her chest while listening to eight year old Elizabeth go on about the new band she'd just heard for the first time. Despite her young age, Elizabeth is proving to have an ear for music and they all know that if she doesn't come running when you call for her, it's because she's immersed in her music. Michael had recently been assigned a position as a Company Commander at Camp Pendleton Recruit Depot in San Diego, while Ryleigh had been assigned a post there as well on the staff at Medical Boards. While accepting of her son's commitment to his country – he'd been awarded three Purple Hearts for injuries sustained in combat – she was thankful that he'd be out of harm's way for the next two to four years.

Looking around, Arizona takes in the rest of the people present: Eileen Weatherly is standing off to the side with her husband Stephan, a former member of Julliard's Ballet Company, now an instructor at the school. George Shepherd is standing off to the side with Kate Robbins-Conway; the two had begun dating their senior year of high school and were making plans for grad school, him for sports management and her for hospital management, both at Indiana University. Andy Robbins-Conway is standing solo, having just broken up with his girlfriend – she couldn't handle the pressures of being with a military man – but he's currently receiving looks from one of the nurses from peds. William Robbins-Conway and Charles Robbins – affectionately nicknamed Chuck – are discussing their upcoming summers; William has made plans to backpack through Europe before starting his freshman year in Columbia's school of journalism, Chuck only has two weeks to himself this summer, he'll be starting his plebe training summer at the Coast Guard Academy afterwards. Sam Bennett Jr. and AJ Bennett are seen arguing off in the corner – likely about something inane like the best kind of wax to use for surfing. Their parents might be two of the best in their respective medical fields, but the brother and sister are both wandering adventurers at heart, they both work in an outdoor adventure outfit based out of LA and have plans to open their own once they've completed their degrees. Little Tuck – who's not so little anymore – is entertaining the ten year old Bailey, who is trying out her various card tricks on him. Alex Jr. and James are deep in discussion about the younger Karev's upcoming freshman year. Both are attending UW, Biology/pre-med, and Alex Jr. has made it no secret that he wants to follow his father into pediatric surgery. James spent more than a good portion of his teenage years in his mother's office after announcing that he wanted to be a medical examiner. Ellis is listening intently, injecting her own opinions wherever she can. The youngest Shepherd is almost done with her Bachelor's Degree and has already been accepted into Johns Hopkins Medical School. The Hunt boys are deep in discussion over the aspects of their own business. The two of them had absolutely no aptitude for science – something Christina was oddly okay with – and they have plans to attend culinary school in Paris next fall. The two have plans to open their own restaurant one day, but for now know that they'll likely be separated after their training is completed for a few years while they make names for themselves.

She doesn't spot the rest of the kids, but doesn't worry, they're likely in the back room that Walter and Joe decorated as the play/study room for their kids for when they had to come to work with Joe.

She looks up when she feels a familiar pair of arms encircle her waist. Looking into the familiar pools of chocolate that she's often found herself drowning in over the years together, Arizona once again sends up thanks to whatever higher power led her to Callie and also a quick thanks to Gary Clark. Despite the horror of his actions, it was that very man and those actions that led her back into the arms of the woman she loves, and for that, she will always be thankful for him.

"Ready for whatever is next?" The taller woman's voice never fails to send shivers down her spine, something that has never changed over the years, something she's very thankful for.

"With you by my side? I'm ready for anything." Feeling blessed beyond anything she'd ever dreamed of as a child, Arizona looks around the room, knowing that the best is not behind her.

The best is still to come.