Title: The Dig (11/11)

Author: GreysAddictJ

Pairing: Callie/Arizona

Rating: NC-17/M

Summary: A/U – What happens when a pesky (but hot) blonde journalist shows up at the dig site of world-renowned archaeologist Dr. Calliope Torres?

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, no infringement intended

A/N: Here's the last chapter of this fic – a short epilogue of sorts. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. It's been fun.

The next few months went off without a hitch. Once Erica had departed in disgrace, the dig site was relatively free of drama.

Callie and her team continued to make discovery after discovery, including a major find that all but confirmed what she had long hoped – the site was indeed the lost city of gold. They discovered that the underground tunnels led directly to the ruins at Cuzco, thus proving the rumor that the Incans had transported their gold out of Cuzco when the Spanish invaded.

Arizona worked closely with Callie, as well as John, the TV journalist, to develop an in-depth feature article and a companion television show on Callie's discovery. Though neither piece of work had been published or aired yet, Arizona had no doubt that they were great work . . . award-winning work even. In fact, Arizona believed that her girlfriend was about to become an overnight sensation – a household name.

Their last night at the site, the two women lay together in their tent, neither one wanting to start the conversation that they both knew needed to be had.

Callie held Arizona from behind, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist, unable to let go . . . afraid that if she did, she'd somehow lose her forever. Arizona had placed her hand over one of Callie's, content to gently stroke the back of her girlfriend's hand with her thumb. They stayed like this for what seemed like an eternity, the air heavy with the nervous tension that both women felt.

Arizona sighed and finally turned over in Callie's arms. She gazed deeply into her girlfriend's rich dark eyes and reached up to gently play with her raven locks. "We need to talk, Calliope . . . about us . . . about where we're going . . . about what's next."

"Do we have to?" Callie whined. "I can think of much more creative, much sexier ways to spend our last night here." She attempted to catch Arizona's lips in a kiss, but she would not be distracted.

"As awesome as that sounds, Calliope, no. We need to talk. We've been living in this happy little bubble. We've been able to spend tons of time together out here in the secluded jungle. But what happens tomorrow when we have to go back to the real world? As much as I love our pretty little pink bubble, it's time to pop it."

"A pink bubble, huh?" Callie smirked as she gazed into her lover's eyes. Arizona simply nodded, so Callie continued the conversation. "Okay, so here's what I know. I love you, Arizona Robbins . . . and that won't change just because we're no longer living in a tent in the middle of the jungle. I don't know what to say beyond that. I want to be with you. But hell, I don't even know where you live."

"I love you too, Calliope." Arizona smiled sweetly. "I agree. This is not over just because we have to go back to civilization. But there are a lot of things to sort out. You live in New York. Your job and your life are there. I live in Chicago. And I don't believe in long-distance relationships . . . but I do believe in you and me."

"So where does that leave us?" Callie swallowed the lump in her throat, suddenly nervous as to where this conversation was heading.

"I don't know. But what I do know is that I want to be with you Calliope, that I want to make this work out there in the real world."

"So maybe we just see where it goes from here? Take it day-by-day and figure it out as we go?" Callie offered, not really happy with their state of relationship limbo, but not really sure what else to suggest.

Arizona gave her a weak smile and nodded before taking Callie's lips against her own. She quickly deepened the kiss, tracing the seam of her girlfriend's lips with her tongue, seeking access. When Callie parted her lips and granted Arizona entry, she slowly slid her tongue along Callie's slowly savoring the unique taste of her lover.

They spent the rest of the night making love, with an intensity and feeling that it might be their last night together for quite some time.

The next morning, they said their real goodbyes in the confines of their tent, knowing that once they were outside, the real world would come crashing down. They'd both agreed to continue to keep their relationship under wraps until after news of the find had broken.

Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie's neck as her girlfriend snaked her arms around her waist. Burrowing her head into Callie's shoulder, both women stood there, holding onto each other tightly, unwilling to let go. Finally, Arizona pulled back to look at Callie, tears glistening in both of their eyes.

"I don't want to let you go." Arizona said softly, sniffling slightly.

Callie shook her head. "You're not. We'll work this out, somehow. Just think of this as a temporary hurdle." A tear escaped her eye and Arizona leaned up to kiss it away, gently tracing kisses from that spot until she landed on Callie's lips. The two shared a long, sad kiss, silently conveying what their words couldn't express.

"Tell me we're going to make it." Callie said as she pulled back and placed her forehead against Arizona's.

Arizona nodded slightly. "We'll make it. You're way too great a catch for me to let you get away, Calliope Torres."

"Thank you." Callie said quietly.

"For what?"

"For everything. For believing in me. For loving me. For making the last few months the most memorable, most unbelievable, best months of my life."

"I could say the same thing about you. I love you so much." Arizona leaned in for one more lingering kiss before releasing her hold on Callie. "Now let's go face that big, bad world out there." Placing a gentle hand across the small of her girlfriend's back, she led Callie from the tent.

After giving each other a rather chaste hug at the airport, the two women reluctantly went their separate ways, with promises to call and email as often as possible until they figured out where they stood.

Just as they'd predicted, once news of her discovery broke, Callie became an overnight sensation. She was interviewed by countless news outlets and the TV special was such a big success that the network had to re-run it twice due to popular demand. Arizona's feature story was also a hit. Copies of the story flew off the shelves and there was already talk of another award. Additionally, a big-time publisher had approached the two women and asked them if they'd be interested in collaborating on a book about the discovery. Both jumped at the chance, obviously eager to work with each other again.

They stayed in constant contact via phone and email, spending countless hours talking remotely. Both were eager, however, to be together more than just virtually.

All of the press coverage was starting to wear Callie down. She'd been doing interview after interview and it was starting to get old. There was only one journalist who she really wanted to see and it had been 2 months since she'd seen her. Sure, they talked every day (often multiple times), but it just wasn't the same. Every ounce of her being ached to be near Arizona again, but their hectic schedules had not allowed a reunion yet. Almost immediately after returning from the jungle, Arizona had been sent out on another assignment and Callie's new-found fame and teaching schedule had prevented her from visiting.

Dragging herself to yet another press conference, Callie tried to put on a brave face. After all, she was the consummate professional and she didn't want to let anyone know how rundown and lonely she was feeling.

Standing at the podium, she began to field questions from the reporters in the room. After taking several questions, she scanned the room for the next raised hand, signaling a query. She did a double-take when her eyes grazed across a very familiar-looking pair of blue eyes and dimples.

"Arizona Robbins, newly with the New York Times. My question is, now that you've discovered El Dorado, what do you plan to do next?"

Since they were in a room full of nosy reporters, Callie smirked and suppressed her first response, which was that she'd like to take her girlfriend home and make love to her until neither of them could see straight. Instead, she said, "Good question, Ms. Robbins. It will take several years more of study and more expeditions to really understand everything that we've found there. What we've discovered so far is really just the tip of the iceberg. So I plan to continue working on this amazing site as long as I can."

After dealing with the rest of the reporters, Callie made her way through the crowd, searching for Arizona. She finally found her leaning nonchalantly against the back wall of the room, arms crossed, obviously waiting for her.

"Seeing you up there, Dr. Torres, is incredibly hot. Fielding all those questions . . . having an answer for everything . . . looking all confident and smart . . . yes, very hot indeed." She smirked and shot Callie her dimples.

Callie grinned back. "You know what I find hot?" Arizona shook her head, enjoying their flirtatious banter. "Arizona Robbins, reporter for the New York Times. That sounds incredibly hot to me. Please tell me I heard you right – that you got a job here in New York?"

"I did indeed. Know some place where a poor little homeless reporter could crash while she gets on her feet?"

"Move in with me." Callie said as she placed a gentle hand on Arizona's arm, careful to keep their displays of affection to a minimum for the time being.

"I thought you'd never ask." Arizona beamed. "Now why don't you take me home and show me how much you've missed me."

Callie chuckled as she and her girlfriend headed out the door.

Once they were safely in the confines of Callie's (or rather their) apartment, they were upon each other almost immediately, lips crashing together as they conveyed the pent-up emotions of the past few months.

Finally pulling apart when oxygen became a necessity, Arizona peered into her lover's eyes. "I love you so much Calliope. I went into the jungle to find the next big story in my career. While I did find that, I found something even more important – what I truly believe will turn out to be the big story in my life – you. I am so grateful that fate brought us together." She placed a gentle kiss on Callie's lips.

Callie smiled. "That was so cheesy, Arizona . . . but I love it."

"Hey!" Arizona said in mock protest. "That was not cheesy – it was sincere."

"I know. And I love you too. If we're going to get all cheesy, I might as well tell you that I too am grateful. I went to South America to find gold. I did find it, in more ways than one. I found it literally – at El Dorado. But I also found something worth so much more than gold – I found you."

"See, you're getting all sappy now too." Arizona giggled, grabbing Callie's hand. "Now take me to bed and let's celebrate what we both found in that rainy jungle."

Callie grinned and let them to their bedroom, where they made up for lost time.