They were snuggled together on the couch, enjoying the soothing serenity of silently being wrapped in each other's warmth. Arizona couldn't help but smile as she nestled closer, rubbing her cheek against Callie's chest and listening to the taller woman's breath hitch. This was perfect.

At least it was perfect until a loud knock sounded from the door.

"Pizza!"

And with that, Callie was bounding off the couch, leaving her girlfriend too frazzled to react in time. Arizona wanted to protest, to throw a pillow at the stubborn Latina, but she knew it would never do any good. There stood Callie, digging through her clearly diluted wallet for the change the delivery boy was expecting. She had nothing to prove – there was no reason for her to give up her grocery money just so she could buy them a pizza Arizona could easily afford, but she did it anyway. Every time. This time, though, after a short exchange with the teenager at the door, Arizona noticed a stricken expression plague those beautiful, tanned features.

The tip. She forgot to account for the tip.

She didn't have enough.

Wordlessly, Arizona joined her girlfriend at the door and slipped a 5 dollar bill into the boy's hand with a warm smile. He left without a passing glance and Callie stood rooted in place, pizza box in one hand and her eyes trained on the now closed door.

Arizona reached out a hand, trailing her fingers up to her girlfriend's shoulder. "Calliope…"

The Latina shrugged off the touch and walked briskly toward the kitchen without a word. Behind her, Arizona sighed, hardening her gaze at the back of the stubborn woman's head.

"Calliope, you don't have to act like this. It's okay to let me pitch in now and then."

The younger surgeon wasn't hearing any of it, though. She busied herself with pulling out paper plates and rummaging through cabinets for two wine glasses, trying to drown out the sound of Arizona's plea and the internal screaming of her own misguided shame. As she wrapped her hand around the wine cork, pale fingers gently stopped her. They stood there for a moment, Callie staring at the wine bottle as if she could make it burst with her mind and Arizona patiently waiting for the woman next to her to calm down.

"I don't expect you to give up your last dime over a silly pizza, Callie." She maneuvered her fingers so she could weave them through the tanned digits still holding the wine bottle like a vice. "Having to pay for things won't change the way I feel about you."

With that, Callie turned her head so that their eyes could meet. She could see nothing but honesty staring back at her and yet, something held her back. A voice in the back of her head screamed at her not to listen, to think of all the people who had left her for not being good enough for them – if she couldn't provide for Arizona, what would make her stay?

"I need to take care of you…"

Her heart melted at the soft, shy confession that left the brunette's lips and the insecurity in her loving gaze. How did this woman standing in front of her not realize she was absolutely perfect? Wordlessly, Arizona lowered Callie's hand and unwrapped their fingers once the wine bottle was safely on the counter. Stepping forward, she held the taller woman's face in both of her palms, letting her pale digits become lost in waves of soft, thick ebony. Their eyes never strayed from one another.

"You do take care of me, Calliope, in the ways that really matter. If you never have another cent to your name, I would still be here with you. If I had to choose between you being able to buy me whatever I ask for and you being the caring and loving and protective person you are… I would give up every penny of your trust fund if it meant I could keep what's in your heart forever. I lo-"

Strong arms clutching desperately at her back cut her off before those three life-changing words could fall from her lips. It took only a second for the initial shock to wear off before Arizona rubbed a soothing hand across the woman's shoulder blades as she cradled the back of her head. How many times had she held Callie while the beaten woman cried? Even the day she had introduced herself had been a moment when Callie had been wiping tears from her face. She felt as though she had already lost count, but it didn't matter. She envied this woman's ability to feel so openly and it warmed her breaking heart to know that she felt comfortable enough to fall apart in her arms time after time.

"I make enough money for the two of us." Arizona grazed her lips against the crying woman's ear as she whispered to her softly. "So let me take care of your for a while, okay? Let go of your pride and let me help you because I need to take care of you, too. We'll be okay. I can still buy us pretty things."

Callie snorted softly against the pale neck, a smile stretching across her trembling lips. She pressed herself even closer to Arizona and sighed at the warmth that spread through every nerve ending in her body. It was still so surreal, after months of dating, that just being close to this woman could make her feel safe and at home.

"You're perfect, you know that?"

Arizona smiled at the compliment and pressed a gentle kiss to Callie's temple. "Only with you."

The Latina pulled out of the loving embrace almost too quickly and she brought the palm of Arizona's hand to her lips in what seemed like a silent apology. "I need to tell you something…"

Without another word, they walked hand-in-hand to the living room and sat next to one another on the couch. Arizona kept her eyes keenly focused on Callie while the dark-haired surgeon's gaze was trained on the pale hands she held in both of hers. Minutes ticked by with only the sound of their breathing and the steady rhythm of their hearts echoing between them, but Arizona didn't push. She sat and waited and finally, after what felt like a suffocating eternity, Callie rewarded her with the sound of her voice.

"I've hated that money ever since I was old enough to understand the consequences of having it." She kept her head down, refusing to meet the blue gaze she knew was focused on her. "It ruined every friendship I had during my childhood. The true friends I could have had walked away because it just wasn't fair to them that I had so much when they had so little and so the only friends I did have were the kind that would lie to me with a smile on their face just so they could have a taste of my family's wealth. Boyfriends used me or walked away when my money emasculated them. So, by the time I was about to graduate from college, I decided enough was enough."

Callie took a deep breath and chanced a quick glance at her girlfriend, strengthened by the warm smile of encouragement that met her.

"I was supposed to get my MBA at Stanford." Arizona's eyes widened at the admission, but she kept quiet, only squeezing Callie's hand to urge her to continue. "I sent them a letter, rescinding my registration, and before they could notify my father of the partial refund he would be getting, I signed up for the Peace Corps. My parents were furious, but I was legally an adult so there was nothing they could do about it."

The Latina fell silent and when it seemed as if she was lost in the pain of those memories, Arizona tugged at her hands to draw her back. "Why did you go?"

"Hmm?" Callie turned to look at her, mildly startled curiosity in her brown eyes.

"What made you sign up for the Peace Corps?"

A wistful smile painted over the younger woman's features as she turned to gaze out of the window in front of them. "I wanted to help people. My whole life I had never wanted for anything, but I had seen people struggle and never did anything to make that better. It seemed wrong to have all of this money and not do anything with it that meant something. My father built hotels, but they were so upscale that they only served the rich and the richer and my mother just kept donating to or forming charity after charity that probably kept 90% of the donations for themselves. I wanted to give what I had to someone who needed it… because I didn't want it anymore."

"And that's when you decided to go to medical school…"

Callie smiled at the fact that her girlfriend had remembered her blabbing that little tid-bit of personal information on one of the more embarrassing nights of their pre-dating relationship. "Yeah, thankfully I had majored in biochemistry, so they let me volunteer at a clinic in Botswana. Do you know how freeing it was to live like that? To live without the luxury of things I didn't need? It felt… amazing and it opened my eyes. I couldn't live with the fact that I had so much money and there were people out there with nothing."

Arizona scooted closer to the Latina and rested her cheek on one of her hunched shoulders. "You know, most people with that kind of money don't think like that."

"I know."

Before she could say anything else, warm lips were pressed against hers and fingers were tangling in her hair. She moaned softly at the electricity sizzling through her skin and Arizona took advantage of the brief moment her lips had parted. A strong tongue darted into her mouth, tasting every inch of her, clouding every corner of her mind and quickening the beat of her heart with each determined caress. What little oxygen as left in her lungs quickly disappeared as she felt Arizona straddle her thighs and her own tanned fingers subconsciously fall to perfect hips.

They broke apart breathless and the PEDs surgeon rested their foreheads together until she felt in control enough to pull back and speak. "You have this incredible sense of responsibility." She brushed away a few stray strands of ebony hair from Callie's face. "It's one of the first things I noticed about you. You always want to help people even if you can't – it's what makes you a great doctor and an incredible partner. It's something we share. I tried giving back when I first came here, but there's only so much you can do while you're still paying off your medical school debt. Still, I get it – that need you felt to do something for those who had nothing when you had everything… I get it. You've spent a better part of your life trying to take care of everyone, so now it's your turn. Let me take care of you."

Callie just smiled up at her. "You're the only one who never cared about the money. George? He and I fought about it when he found out… being married to an heiress made him feel small. Then with Erica, I never got the chance to tell her, but I could see her eyes light up more than they should have when I would pay for everything. With you, though, it's never mattered to you. You knew I had money, even if you didn't know exactly how much, and I still had to fight you for the check. And now that I have nothing…"

Arizona brushed another soft kiss against her lips. "My feelings for you have nothing to do with money, Calliope. They're strong enough to withstand finding out that you've gone from being the prince to the pauper in one conversation. All I want is you."

She sat in the dark, watching the rain pelt against the window of their living room as it ticked by the minutes of the hours past midnight. Her mind felt blank even as it filled with memories of long ago conversations and defiant acts against wealth and poverty. The silence was suffocating as she closed her eyes against its oppressive weight while the creaking of floor boards and the dipping of the couch cushion echoed at a deafening volume between her ears.

"Calliope, it's 3 o'clock in the morning…"

"I'm being a hypocrite."

Arizona paused, trying to catch the gaze of the brown eyes that now stared straight ahead as if in a daze. She reached forward, lacing a hand with her lover's, but before she had the chance to question the strange statement, the beautiful voice she fell in love with sounded once more.

"I've been sitting here day after day judging you for wanting to leave, for wanting to drop everything and help them. I've been making you feel guilty for wanting to do the exact same thing I did." Their eyes met in an instant. "When I told you about Botswana, you said that sense of responsibility was something we both shared."

"It is."

"Well, I'm done."

"Callie-"

"I'm done keeping you from going to Africa. I'm done getting in your way and stopping you from doing something we both know is right." A shy smile spread across the Latina's features. "I'm still a little pissed at you for making this decision without me-"

"I'm so sorry, Callio-" She was silenced by a tanned finger pressed against her lips briefly.

"It doesn't matter anymore. We're doing this together. We're going to change lives together."

"You mean that?" Wide blue eyes searched for truth in the brown wells before her.

"I do."

Callie sealed her promise with the press of her lips against the soft mouth hanging slightly open in shock. She could feel Arizona smile into their kiss as pale arms wrapped around her body to draw her even closer and that familiar wave of warmth washed over her. The sensation lingered even as their lips parted moments later.

"Calliope…" The word was a whispered brush of air across their lips as they remained pressed against one another.

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember what you told me when I asked you why you joined the Peace Corps?"

"I said I wanted to give something to those who had nothing when I had everything."

Arizona simply smiled as she tightened her hold on the younger surgeon. "I have everything right in front of me."

Their lips met once more in a passionate embrace in which they both silently promised to never let go.

A/N: I'm considering making this a multi-chapter fic that will follow them to Africa... let me know what you think!