Greetings readers! I can't believe I let it go so long without an update. Many apologies. This is the final chapter, so I feel kind of bad about not just finishing it a lot sooner. Despite all that, I hope this story has been worth your while, worth the wait, and all around enjoyable. Reviews are wonderful, but I've learned not to be too offended by the lack of them, so if you'd like to review, please do, and if not, that's all right as well. Thanks for sticking it out so long, and I hope this is all you've needed to be happy. For those of you who miss me often, I am in the middle of writing a Glee/Grey's crossover that you can find by clicking my name (btw, I have changed it). It's called "This is for Keeps" and it is (going to be) a Brittana/Calzona fic. If you're into that, I suggest you check it out, but if you don't, that's fine too. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and feel free to message me about whether or not you'd like to see a sequel or have any requests.

xXxXx

The time had gone by quickly enough, all things considered. Soon, Andrew Perkins had gone, leaving Teddy and those he couldn't quite save in his wake. Still, the doctors seemed to move on in the best ways they could. No matter the amount of progress already made, more was possible, though only time and patience, neither of which was as readily available as it had previously seemed, was the only cure.

It had been nearly six months since the day that their lives had been forever changed. Six months of pain and sorrow; self-discovery and healing. Six months of Arizona and her Calliope, learning to live as a couple rather than two selfish individuals. At least, that was their goal.

Arizona had learned to bend quite a bit in the past six months. Things that would bother the old Arizona were brushed off and forgiven. No matter the extent of her personal growth, however, there was still something that bothered Arizona to the core. It was unreasonable, irrational, foolish. She told herself that each and every time the thought occurred. Still, it continued to reappear in her mind.

"Really, there's no reason why you shouldn't," she said to her best friend.

"I can think of several reasons," the cardio attending replied.

"See! I can't! I can think of zero reasons as to why my best friend shouldn't hook up with my girlfriend's best friend! Yes, I know he is an awful manwhore; he cheated on you! But I can't make that little voice in my head shut up and the only thought, the only idea that makes it go away just the littlest bit is the thought of you keeping him away!"

"Arizona, this is not okay."

"I know that! Still, I can't help it. You want to know how I reasoned this last night? I decided that if he hurt you, you wouldn't care because you only want the sex. Then I decided that if you two worked out, that would be even better, because then Callie and I could have our best friends out with us at the same time."

"Arizona," her friend said shaking her head in disbelief, "I think you're insane."

"Who's insane?" Bailey asked as she set her tray on the table with the two attendings.

"I am," Arizona said, "because Mark Sloan is driving me crazy. Not the funny aunt crazy, the masked murderer in the horror franchise crazy."

"Oh Lord," Bailey said, "I am not about to be a part of this."

"At least she doesn't want you to date him," Teddy said.

"Oh my gosh! Bailey, you're still single right?" Arizona excitedly asked.

"Date him?" Bailey asked, "Girl you must be out of your mind if you think I'm about to do that. Not for you. We are not good enough friends for me to do that for you," she said as she took a drink, cautiously eying the now frantic blonde.

When Bailey saw someone who could salvage the situation enter the door across the cafeteria, she made her move,

"Hey Torres!" she called. Half of the hospital staff turned and looked at her as though she was the crazy one for yelling across the room.

"Don't any of you look at me like that. You all can go ahead and mind your businesses. What, like you haven't ever had a friend you had to call to across a room? That's what I thought, cause we all know Dr. Bailey can do whatever Dr. Bailey wants to do!" She said as she sat back down, looking a her lunch companions who in turn were looking at her as though she had grown a third eye.

"What?"

"I think crazy is going around," Teddy said as the other women agreed.

"What the hell was that Bailey?" Callie asked as she approached the table.

"I just wanted to get your attention. For various reasons," she said, finally feeling embarrassed.

"And those are?"

"Not important!" Arizona interjected. Her companions decided to let the issue rest and they quickly began to discuss other topics of interest. Arizona reasoned that she'd figure out what to do about Mark, eventually.

xXxX

The chief announced that he would be hearing proposals for a new research, one that was worth a one million dollar grant. If there was one thing Callie needed, it was an all-out win. She needed to destroy her opponents in the most secretive way possible so that even they wouldn't know what she was doing until it was too late to recover. She knew she should feel bad about tricking her colleagues into defeat, but she rationalized that she would do something nice for them after she won the grant because, after all, she was totally going to win. Perhaps it should have bothered her to entertain the thoughts she currently worked over, but she knew it was for her win. She sat on the couch, nodding and speaking at the appropriate moments, all the while plotting against the one person who could truly defeat her.

"…so I told Teddy about it and she just said that if I was over it, I should be over it and I shouldn't worry. I just get so frustrated when it happens. I have been working on it, I really have, but sometimes when the Chief tells me not to do something or that I should do something I have to cry."

"Mmhmm," Callie said, holding Arizona's hand. She knew it was devious, but it was her only option, "Crying is okay. It's not like anyone would think you were a giant baby for crying about stuff the Chief says. It's not childish at all."

"Really?"

"Yeah! What kind of a child would roll around on wheelie sneakers and hand out stickers all day? It takes a completely capable adult for that."

"Are you mocking me, Calliope?"

"What? No! No, I'm not mocking you at all! I mean it's your party, cry if you want to! Isn't that what all you sorority girls do anyway?"

"I see what you're doing, Calliope, and I don't like it. I don't like it at all. You're using my naturally child-like world approach and college sorority status against me so that you can win the grant! Well, all I have to say to you is that you better try harder than that because it is on. It is so on. You may have grown up privileged and been able to have whatever you wanted, but I grew up on Marine bases around the world with the name Arizona. I can fight you, Calliope, and I will win. I know your weaknesses just as well as you know mine."

"Is that so?" Callie asked defiantly.

"It is!" Arizona countered as tears began to brim her eyes.

"Arizona, please don't cry," Callie asked, dropping her passive-aggression at the sight of her beloved.

"I'm going to cry, Calliope," Arizona said, "and you're going to comfort me, but don't you dare think this means that I quit!"

Callie wrapped the blonde up in a tight embrace and Arizona clung and sobbed. The competition might have been on at work, Callie decided, but at home, she and Arizona shouldn't go head to head.

xXxXx

"Owen," Callie said angrily as she opened her apartment door.

"Let it go," the blonde behind her said as she sorted the mail.

"Why should I? I had a plan. It was a solid plan."

"It was a terrible plan," Arizona told her, "half of the staff informed me that you made their lists."

Callie grunted some incoherent things and Arizona just smiled and shook her head. The mail was mostly junk; some credit card offers and store magazines. One letter, though, addressed to Dr. Arizona Robbins, poked out from the rest.

Arizona opened the letter, which had no return address but a crest that she thought she may have seen before, suspiciously, wondering if perhaps Callie had sent something to psych her out before they had called a truce. As she scanned it though, she saw words like 'pleased to inform' and 'achievements inspired' and 'congratulations'.

"Oh my gosh," she said in shock.

"Hmm? What?"

"I won. I won the grant."

"No, Arizona, you told the Chief you wanted to hit me. He gave you a pamphlet on domestic abuse," Callie said.

"You don't understand," she said, "not that grant. The Carter-Madison."

"You won the Carter-Madison?" Callie asked excitedly, jumping up from her chair and rushing around to the back of Arizona, so she could see the letter.

"I won the Carter-Madison."

"Arizona, this is amazing! I'm so proud of you! When did you apply, I didn't even know you applied, why do you look so less than thrilled?"

"I applied over two years ago, before I made it to Seattle even. I didn't tell you I applied cause I forgot about it. I thought it must not have been good enough," she said, still shocked and displeased.

"But you did it! You won, this is a good thing!"

"No, it isn't Callie!" she barked, "It isn't a good thing because when I applied for the grant I wasn't in love with anybody so it didn't matter to me if I had to pick up and leave or not! It seemed like a really good idea, to go to Africa and help the kids there that nobody else would! But now, I am in love, with you, and I don't want to go to Africa because I don't want to have to say goodbye to you again."

"Africa?" Was all Callie could say.

"Africa. I won the Carter-Madison grant to go work in Africa."

"We'll figure this out," Callie said, "we'll make it out of this. We'll be alright."

Arizona couldn't process. Her mind just kept reeling, repeating the same thing over again and again. Before, she would have been happy. She would have been so excited to go. Now, her mind and body felt heavy, as though gravity was holding her down with twenty times the usual force. She couldn't wrap her head around it, she couldn't feel reality any longer. Even as she felt Callie's arms take hold of her and hug her closely, she couldn't feel. Her body reacted violently, shaking and sobbing, as it had only once before, when she had lost him so long ago.

"I won the Carter-Madison," she repeated until her voice gave out. She was ready to fight for her and Callie, and she was certain that Callie was willing to fight for her.

"I won the Carter-Madison," she rasped out a final time. She couldn't understand why she was so upset. She couldn't understand why her victory felt so much like a loss.