Rebirth- Chapter 20
Title: Rebirth
Rating: NC-17
Author: Tonysgirl02 AKA Kimmer
Summary: With a baby on the way and a wedding pending, George and Callie must deal with becoming husband and wife and mom and dad along with juggling their careers, their friends and living with Louise.
Pairings: Mainly Callie/George. All the friendships and what not.
Chapter 20
Alex pulled up in front of George’s mothers place and glanced over at Callie, she was still sound asleep and had been since they had left Joe’s. She had about three or four virgin drinks and then they had danced. He had never had such a good time, platonically with anyone as he had done tonight.
He spotted George standing just inside the door, arms crossed over his chest, watching Alex’s every move. He went around and opened the passenger side door, unhooked her seat belt, scooped her up into his arms and grabbed her purse and shoes, that she had kicked off.
George opened the door once he got closer and nodded at him, “So she ran away with you?”
Alex cleared his throat and handed George, Callie’s shoes and purse. “I’m not sure what she ran away from. She didn’t talk about it. Where should I put Sleeping Beauty?” he asked glancing around.
George headed up the stairs, motioning for Alex to follow him. “Not a single word, huh?”
“Nope, just called me and said come get me. That is all I know. We went to Joe’s and hung out and here I am, returning her to you,” Alex explained smugly as George opened the bedroom door and flipped on the light.
He walked over to the bed and laid her down, “Her mom said something mean and she stormed out and called you. I hope she had a better time then we did.”
“She was with me, how could she not have a great time?”
George rolled his eyes. Alex had been the one taking care of Callie, not him. It should have been him, she couldn’t always run away from their problems. This was there problem since in three days they would be husband and wife. George reached his hand out toward Alex, “Thank you for taking care of her tonight and bringing her home in one piece.”
“Not a problem,” Alex said reaching his hand for George’s and shaking it. He glanced over one last time at Callie before heading out of the house.
George closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled her into his arms and unzipped her dress and unhooked her bra, pulling the straps of each down her arms. He laid her back, hoping not to wake her as he continued to slide her dress the rest of the way down her body.
He tossed it into the hamper along with her bra before tucking her under the blankets. He paced around the room for a few moments, watching her sleep. He had been pissed when Diego came in and said she had left. He had been fuming, if they had to fair the choppy waters, they should have been doing it together, but she ran out, with Alex. What the hell was that?
Since when were Callie and Alex friends? Sure they had that little weird exchange in the locker room, Alex could barely keep his eyes off her breasts, but George had believed their little flirt session had been just……well he didn’t expect for Alex to be her knight in shinning armor who ran in to rescue her from the evil queen mommy.
He had Izzie though, even though he was supposed to have cut ties with her, they were slowly putting them back together. She was being civil toward Callie it seemed and she was his best friend after all. Well, Callie could have friends too, but did it have to be Alex? There were plenty of other people in the hospital to be friends with.
There was Burke, no wait Callie could not be friends with him after what Burke had done. Letting an intern basically operate on all his patients was unethical. There was Derek, she could be friends with him, but she couldn’t because Callie would probably kick his ass within five minutes. She could defiantly not be friends with Sloan after she had slept with him, that was a big no. So maybe she just had to be friends with Alex and he would have to accept it.
He sighed as he turned off the light and climbed into bed. Four nights from now the woman laying beside him would be his wife, their lives tied together until the day they died. They had hadn’t even known each other for a year and here they were, having a baby, getting married, making a life together.
It was scary, he had always figured he would be the guy who took his time, dated the girl, a long engagement, and then a wedding. Now he was rushing into everything, all of it. He loved Callie, that wasn’t the problem, the problem was after tonight, after her running away, he wasn’t so sure he knew the woman laying next to him. Being married to someone he hardly knew wasn’t something he wanted to do.
~*~*~
Callie was up unusually early, but she had heart burn, the three Tums she had chewed up had helped, but she would only need them again after she finished her coffee. It was raining, she could hear it hitting the windows. Another rainy day in Seattle.
She tapped her fingers against the cool counter top before running her fingers through her messy hair and glancing down at her belly. She gently brushed her fingers over the skin that was peeping out from between her yoga pants and tank top. She felt Baby O kick in response to her touch, or he was just up.
Last night she had run away and never in her life could she remember running away from her mother. She just took the shit she dished out, thinking it made her a stronger person. Now she realized it just made her upset and bitter. She saw the way Louise dotted on her boys and did the same with her now that she was apart of the family. Her mother had never done that for her.
She wasn’t a little girl anymore, who needed someone to hold her hand. She wasn’t a teen age girl who was dazed and confused. She had spent most of those years pretending to be a good girl, but truly a bad girl when Daddy wasn’t watching. Now she was almost thirty and nearly married and she still longed for the elements of a mother/daughter relationship she had been missing, with her own mother.
Lately she was not satisfied merely hating the woman. And that was because of Louise. That woman had taken Callie under her wing and accepted her with open arms. She loved Callie. She showed her how beautiful a relationship with a mother could be. She wanted that with Baby O regardless of gender, but her mother refused to have it with her.
She watched as Louise came into the kitchen in her robe and poured herself a cup of coffee. As she passed by Callie she smoothed her hair out and placed a kiss on her forehead. She sat at the island, next to Callie and began to add cream and sugar. “Morning are we feeling better today?”
“I can’t stand that I can’t do anything right by her. I will never be anything more then her mistake and I used to be fine with that until my relationship with you blossomed and I’m coming to realize how much I already love him without knowing him,” she explained pointing to her belly. “What I did last night though, was childish.”
Louise reached over and placed her hand on top of Callie’s, squeezing it gently. “We all do childish things from time to time.”
Callie nodded and sipped her coffee, “That just, it topped the cake. After everything I’ve been trying to get through to George about communication, talk to me first, we’ll sort it out together….well I didn’t practice what I preach.”
“Callie, it was a one time deal, I wouldn’t worry too much. You’re stressed over the wedding, the baby and work. Us women don’t always think rationally. George will understand that.”
George walked into the kitchen scratching himself, his hair all messy and his clothes wrinkled. He grabbed a coffee cup and poured himself a cup before plopping down next to Callie. He added sugar and cream before yawning. “What will I understand?” he questioned glancing over at the two women.
“What I did last night.”
“I don’t understand, maybe you should explain it…..”
Callie nodded and ran her fingers through her hair, watching him for a moment before she began to speak. “I can’t stand not being good enough for her anymore. She goes and she has baby after baby and she can love each and every one of them, but she can’t love me. I have this great relationship with a woman who isn’t even my mother, she’s your mother and I’m realizing everything I missed out on with Rosa. I get that I can’t change the past, but I can try and make it better, she won’t allow me to do that either. I’m caught between this rock and a hard place and there seems to be nothing I can do, to make her happy with me. If there was, I would have done it. I’m not content being her whipping girl anymore, I want to be her daughter. I feel like for once in my life, I desperately need a mother and she refuses to be there. I never needed her before, I never needed to understand before and now I do. If I can’t, I refuse to allow her to treat me the way she does anymore. When we went to visit, I finally had my chance to say something and I did. She made it all seem like a bed of rose, that maybe we could work it all out when they came for the wedding, but one of the first things out of her mouth when she sees me is an insult and I refuse to let her do that in front of our family. I could have said something, but I ran away instead. I just couldn’t do it anymore, George. I can’t deal with her anymore, but she’ll always be my mother and I long some type of relationship with her, but I’m realizing that I will never have that. I’m just lucky to have your family, which is soon to be our family. I couldn’t handle my mother last night….” She explained, realizing she was rambling. She awaited any type of reaction from him.
“It’s been 30 years, you’ve made an effort, she hasn’t. Your life is changing and wanting more then she’s giving you, is hurting you more and more each and every time you get your hopes up that maybe this time she’ll be the mother you want. She’s never going to be that mother for you, Callie. She made that decision a long time ago.”
“What are you saying George?” she questioned.
“George, maybe you should….” Louise trailed off.
“Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel Callie. If she can’t love you for you, in the now, let her go. Let the idea of any type of relationship with her, go. Because I watch you get hurt more and more each time this doesn’t pan out the way you hope, or you don’t understand her. And I hurt for you, because that isn’t a way a parent should treat their child….”
Callie stood up and placed her hands on her hips, gawking at him, as the words he spoke sunk it. She reached her hand up and slapped him, hard, the popping sound of skin on skin echoing through a now still kitchen. “I will see you at work,” she hissed before turning on her heel and heading for the door, still clad in her pj’s. A few seconds later he heard the front door slam.
“Don’t write checks your ass can’t cash O’Malley,” Louise said patting her son on the shoulder as she headed into her room to dress for the day. That was something she had always said to her husband.
~*~*~
George walked into the locker room two minutes before rounds, feeling about two feet tall. He had a hand print on his face and his mother had just dropped him off at the hospital considering Callie had taken his keys with her. “Rough morning?” Izzie smiled.
He cut his eyes over at her as he stomped toward his locker, throwing the door open. He tossed his bag down onto the bench and pulled his coat off, throwing it into his locker. Izzie watched as he hastily got changed and slammed his locker closed, “Yes, I had a rough morning.”
“Is that an imprint of Callie’s hand?” Izzie questioned examining his cheek, turning his face toward the light.
George sighed and opened his mouth to say something when Callie came into the locker room, “It appears Tuck is sick so Miranda is out. I’m your resident for today. Stevens and Grey, clinic. Yang, cover the pit. George, with Ava on Addison’s service and Alex with your with. Any questions? You need me, you page me? I need you, I page you. Any questions?”
“Ava is my patient, I’ve been with her since she’s been here. I’d like to continue to be on her case,” Alex stated.
“Fine, just don’t kill anyone, any of you,” she muttered before turning and heading out of the locker room.
“What did you do to her this morning? She’s nasty,” Meredith laughed as she grabbed her stethoscope.
“We had a fight,” George shrugged going after her. He wondered what his assignment was now. “Dr. Torres” he said watching her go through some charts.
“Yes Dr. O’Malley?”
“What is my assignment for today?”
“You’re with me,” she said handing him a chart. She wrote orders on the next and placed it on top, “Run labs and be ready to present in twenty.”
He nodded and went to turn to go to the lab before turning around, “Callie….” He trailed off as she watched him, tapping her pen against the palm of her hand. She was listening. He had her attention. He stepped back toward her, “I’m sorry for what I said this morning. I meant it, but maybe it came off as a little mean. I just, I can’t stand to see you hurt. When I hurt, you hurt and I can’t stand to see you hurt. The person who keeps hurting her is you.”
She nodded and chewed on her lip for a moment, before reaching for his hand, “George, wouldn’t you give just about anything to have one more day with you dad”
He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, “Absolutely.”
“Alright, even though my mother is no where near as great as your father was, right now, pregnant and having my relationship with your mom that I do. I would give anything to have a happy day with my mother,” she whispered. “Now, go get the labs.”
~*~*~
Callie had left George to watch their patients to go meet her father. He had left her a voicemail while she was in surgery, telling her to meet him at some address she had never heard of. She had no idea what he was up too, but she knew from experience that it was easier to go and meet him, then call back and ask questions.
She pulled up on a corner lot and saw the rental SUV sitting out front. She parked behind him and got out of her car, stepping up onto the curb near the little forest green mail box. The front yard was trimmed in a white picket fence. A gate separated the public side walk to the walk to the house. The house was a beautiful two story home, with a wrap around porch. The roof was black as where the shutters with the siding being white.
She unlatched the gate and walked to meet her father who was sitting on the concrete steps that led to the wrap around porch. He had a folder sitting in his lap and stood to greet her. “How’s the hospital?”
“Fine, what is this?”
He pulled at her hand, leading her up the steps and onto the porch. She glanced to her left and saw the swing and two rocking chairs. Her father opened the front door and ushered her into the front hall. “Welcome home Calliope.”
She turned her head and gave him a puzzled look. She took a step forward and peaked through the doorway. That was the living room. It had two large windows looking out onto the porch and a fire place rested at the far wall.
Beside the living room was a small bedroom, but had appeared to have been an office of sorts with the desk that had been left there. She turned and was faced with an enormous kitchen and dinning room area.
The cabinets were made of a deep cherry wood accompanied by forest green counter tops and a forest green and white titled back splash and all stainless steel appliances accented in black. The space was very opened, with a small breakfast nook tucked away in the corner. There was room for a large table in front of the French doors that opened onto the deck, facing the beautiful kidney shaped built in pool and the rest of the yard.
“Daddy, this is too much,” she whispered.
“No it’s not. Upstairs is a great room and four bedrooms, including the master suite which has a small den. That would probably be Baby O’s room for the first year or so. It’d make a great nursery Calliope.”
She nodded, not doubting that it would. She could see herself baking cookies in that kitchen and George teaching their own to play catch in the backyard. She could see numerous barbeques occurring on the beautiful deck and romantic moon light swims for her and George in the pool, but she wasn’t ready for it. Moving here meant leaving Louise and she wasn’t prepared to do that yet.
“It’s a beautiful place Daddy, it really is, but….”
“George can’t afford it, I know,” he assured sliding the envelope he had been holding toward her. “Open it Calliope. I was going to wait until the wedding to give you that, but….” He trailed off watching his daughter.
She opened the envelope and inside found the deed to the house, with her name on it along with all the other paperwork about the house. “Daddy….”
“Your name is on everything, just to be on the safe side, in case…..”
“DADDY!!!!”
“Calliope, you have to protect yourself. George may only be doing this…..”
“What? Be marrying me because I’m having his child?” she hissed.
“It’s paid for in full Callie, if you two did break up I would want to know you have somewhere to go with your child. You have more then yourself to think about it when it comes to this.”
“I didn’t ask you to do this….”
“Honestly Calliope, how long is he going to keep you living at his mothers? She’s a nice woman, but…”
“I know this may be slightly hard to believe, but I actually love living there and I had intended on living there until after Baby O was born. I’m going to need help, until George and I can figure out how to juggle everything. And how do I explain to my husband that we have a house, a lovely one at that, my dream house, but only my name is on it and my daddy paid for all of it? How do you think that will make him feel?”
“Calliope, calm down,” Hector insisted.
“No, I will not calm down. I have work to do. Get this changed to George and Calliope O’Malley and then I’ll consider it the greatest wedding present ever,” she hissed before heading out the front door and for her car. Why did her father think her marriage to George was a bad idea and that it was doomed to fail?
~*~*~
It was a lunch, but it was a late lunch for George and Izzie. Both had been caught up in mounds of paperwork. George flopped down next to his best friend with his tray, “Thank God my vacation starts tomorrow,” he muttered before opening his bottle of water and taking a long sip.
“Why are you taking tomorrow? The wedding isn’t until Saturday?”
“I have some things I need to do before the wedding, I wanna spend the day with Callie,” he shrugged glancing over at her as he peeled his banana.
“She slapped you the other day,” Izzie reminded with a giggle.
“And we made up. It’s part of being in love. You talk it out and forgive each other.”
Izzie nodded and picked at her salad, “Addison is throwing her a bridal shower. I was invited. I should go since I’m part of the bridal party, right?”
“Should you go, yes,” George replied as he unwrapped his turkey sandwich. “If you are going to be bitchy and mean to Callie and cause her not to have a good time, then don’t.”
“George…..”
“I’ve learned I have to blunt with you, I can’t beat around the bush or you don’t get what I’m saying. And if that is what I have to do to protect my family, then I’ll do it.”
“So, she’s your family now?”
“I’m marrying her in two days Izzie!!!! How can she not be my family? She carrying my baby for crying out loud.”
“Are you sure it’s yours?”
“Izzie!!!!!”
She sighed and reached for her hand, holding onto it so he couldn’t get up and walk away from her. “George, you can’t tell me you aren’t getting cold feet. You barely know her! You two spent more time broken up then you did together and if you marry her, it isn’t going to…..”
“Don’t you dare say it Izzie Stevens! Don’t you dare!” he hissed grabbing his hand from her. “If you want something bad enough in life, you make it work. We get that marriage isn’t going to be all happy times, but we’re willing to weather the bad times together just as much as we celebrate the good. It’s in the vows, better or worse. In life, when you want something bad enough, you’ll get it, if you work for it. Callie and I will make this work and I’m not just marrying her because she’s pregnant. Baby O is the best damn thing that has happened in my life. I’ve had to grow up because that is what my son and soon to be wife need!” He rose from the gurney and gathered his tray. “I will be taking my lunch elsewhere today.”
~*~*~
Rosa walked into the room at the restaurant and frowned at the lack of decorations. This Addison person had rented this room and was calling it a bridal shower? Rosa placed her gift on the table with the others and found a seat next to a tall blonde. “Hello,” she smiled warmly.
Izzie took a sip of her drink before smiling at the woman who had seated herself next to her. Meredith and Cristina were coming once they got off is what they had told her. She had figured it was best for her to come since she was in the bridal party and George’s best friend. “Hi, Izzie Stevens,” she said reaching out to shake the older woman’s hand.
“Nice to meet you Izzie, I believe Calliope or George mentioned you. I’m Rosa Torres, Callie’s mother,” she smiled, trying to act happy about that fact.
Izzie nodded, if Callie had said anything about her she wondered why the woman was still sitting next to her and the she remembered what George had told her. There was no love loss between Callie and her mother. “I’m George’s best friend, so I’m here out of obligation,” Izzie explained. “As are my friends that should be coming from the hospital anytime now.”
Rosa laughed as one of the waiters placed a water in front of her. She nodded a brief thank you before turning her attention to Izzie. “I wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t my daughter. It’s obvious my daughter does not have any friends by the amount of people who are here already, or lack there of.”
Izzie couldn’t help but let out a little giggle as she watched more people from the hospital come in and sit down, she wondered who all Addison had invited. She didn’t think Callie had that many friends and surely they weren’t all there out of obligation. “Ah, so I’m not the only who has those feelings toward Callie?”
“Oh no, she is very hard to get along with. Now, I am sure having her so young didn’t help any, but she was always so difficult and still is. How anyone gets along with her, I will never know. George is a very patient man to deal with my daughter. I would be grateful he was taking her off my hands, but Callie had never been the child on my hands. She is very independent and she got that from her father,” Rosa explained shaking her head.
Izzie nodded, trying to be polite. She was finding out more and more information, which was great. “George is a very patient man. Callie is very lucky to have him, with the way she treats him though, I have no idea why he stays around. He shouldn’t have to deal with everything she puts him through, but he does, out of love or because she’s having his baby or something. George is that type of guy, a stand up guy. I suppose your husband is too, how old where you when you had Callie?”
“I was 16,” Rosa sighed stirring her drink with a swift motion of her wrist.
\Izzie nodded, knowing how hard that was, but she didn’t want to say much. She glanced toward the doorway and watched as Olivia and a few of her nurse friends came in. Then Meredith and Cristina, looking none to be happy to be there.
“So where’s Torres?” Cristina questioned sitting down at the table. “Surgeries would be so much better. Addison told me if I didn’t come, she would make sure I didn’t see the inside of the OR for a long time. I went and bought a gift, what is that? George isn’t even my friend and I don’t enjoy ortho although when Callie cut that guys legs open when he was awake was pretty cool.”
“Why would she do that?” Rosa questioned.
“To save his life!”
Rosa nodded her head and then noticed everyone was looking toward the door way as Addison came in with Callie. She smiled briefly at her daughter who appeared shocked by this little party. Once that was over, Rosa turned her attention to Izzie, “Callie doesn’t have a seating chart for the wedding, sit with us,” she said with a smile. “You’re a great girl.”
“Thank you Mrs. Torres.”
“Please, call me Rosa.”
The rest of the evening was filled with food and a few games that Addison had come up with. It was a dorky idea, but since Callie couldn’t go out in drink it had seemed more practical to Addison to throw her a shower instead of a Bacherolette party.
Miranda joined Callie and Addison who were loading the gifts into the back of Callie’s SUV, “I wonder how many toasters you got,” she laughed placing a few more wrapped boxes inside. “And crock pots. I got about five of those.”
“Derek and I got six toasters,” Addison laughed. “Three blenders and two vacuum cleaners.”
“And I have to write thank you’s for all this crap?” Callie questioned. Both women nodded as they closed the back. “I have no idea where I’ll even put it all since we don’t have a house,” she muttered thinking about the perfect house her dad had gotten her. She could hide everything there until they moved in. She wanted that house, it was the house she had dreamed of since she was a little girl, but it needed to be hers and George’s, Mr. And Mrs. George O’Malley, not Calliope Torres O’Malley’s.
“Put it all into an extra bedroom until you move,” Addison suggested.
“The empty room is the one we’re turning into the nursery when we get around to it. I guess we could get a storage building or something,” Callie shrugged.
“You’re staying long enough to make a nursery?” Miranda questioned.
Callie nodded and rubbed her belly, “Yeah, we are. I want Louise around to help me and then she’ll be there once I go back to work. My mother isn’t so great at the mothering thing with me, as you saw tonight. With the boys she’s……” she trailed off not wanting to have to say it, but it was the truth. “Amazing, but with me the mothering never kicked in and I’m scared I won’t know how to do it….”
Miranda laughed and patted Callie’s shoulder, “When you’re pregnant, you worry about all that, but then you take that tiny little life home and sudden you know how to do everything and then some. It’s a feeling of empowerment, that’s how I felt. I was on top of the world after I had Tuck.”
“A lot of woman say that Callie, after their birthing experience. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“George says the same thing, but I just, I need to worry about this, alright? Thank you for the shower, it was lovely.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you in the morning for hair and nails?”
“Yeah at 10:30. Miranda, thank you for coming, I will you and the entire Bailey-Jones clan at the wedding tomorrow.”
“Not a problem Callie, have a good night.”
~*~*~
George sat at Joe’s with Ronnie and Jerry flanked to either side of him. Derek had just arrived, Mark was already seated not to Jerry and Alex next to Ronnie. George had already knocked back a few beers with Alberto and Hector. Diego sat in a corner of the bar, chatting with Walter.
“It’s Georgie’s last night of freedom, I can’t believe it,” Ronnie said sipping on his beer. “Tomorrow night at this time, you will be a married man, to one very hot woman.”
George chuckled and blushed, “Yes tomorrow I will be a married man to one very sexy hot pregnant wife,” he grinned before downing the rest of his beer. “Any advice Hector?”
The older man smiled as he laid his beer down, but Mark interjected his own comment, “Remember how important she is to you,” he said cutting his eyes over at Derek. “Don’t let work get in the way of family. She’ll always be there if you take of her. The job may or may not,” he shrugged before raising his beer to his lips.
Hector cleared his throat once again, “I’ll say something similar to this at the wedding tomorrow, but you are marrying my Princess George O’Malley. I was the second person in this world to hold her. Her first words were ‘Da-da’. She’s the most precious thing in the world to me. And if you ever hurt her, purposely, if I ever get a phone call in the middle of the night from her crying, I will be on the next plane here to kick your ass, because no one hurts my Callie. Granted, I tried to push her into some things and I know you would never hurt. I see the way she looks at you, she adores you. She never adored Diablo and even though I tried to force her into that because I thought he was what she needed, what she needs is you. And she has you. Just make sure that you have her.”
George nodded as Joe placed another beer in front of him. The other night he had been doubting if he had Callie in all the ways she needed him to. Yesterday he had jumped to her defense against Izzie, which was something he used to have trouble doing, but he did it without a second thought. Maybe he did have Callie in all the ways she needed, maybe that had just been an issue she didn’t need him for. He knew that sometimes he needed Izzie for an issue and not Callie. Maybe that was what it had been. Why had he been doubting whether he wanted to marry her or not? He loved her, she was having his baby and he intended on spending the rest of his life with her.
Derek rose his beer in George’s direction, “Remember what is important in life. Take the five minutes to ask how her day was. Never bet money on the fact that she’ll be there, because on day you’ll blink an eye and the love of your life will be gone. Once you find her, hold onto her and then some. Every woman deserves that much and Callie has that in you.”
Jerry glanced at his watch and then over at Joe who nodded his head, “Does anyone have anymore advice for George?” he questioned glancing around at the bar. “Sweet, come on. We have something to show you in the back.”
As George and everyone else followed his brothers into the back he asked, “If Callie told you who to invite, when did she say no strippers?” he questioned.
Ronnie laughed and opened the door to the store room where a large cake sat. It was white and trimmed in blue. There were about ten folding chairs set up and they each took a seat. ‘Slave 4 U” by Brittany Spears began to play a few seconds later and George just buried his head in his hands. The drinking was fine, it was good, but a stripper went a little too far.
Pieces of cardboard fly everywhere when she broke through the top of the cake, slankily clad in baby blue boy shorts and a flimsy bra. She began to dance her routine all in the small area in front of the guys, rubbing up against all of them, seeing whom she could get a rise out of. Mark was the first to pull his wallet from his back pocket and slip some money into her panties. “Can I take you home?” he asked.
“Maybe honey,” she purred sweetly. “Now who’s the one getting married tomorrow?” she questioned placing her hands on her hips.
“This one!” Ronnie exclaimed pointing at his brother.
George cringed as she came over to him and pulled his head up, so he was looking at her. He was almost married and this made him uncomfortable. She rubbed his shoulders and arms and ground her pelvis into his before dancing around a little more. The second she left his lap, he fled back into the bar, sitting with Diego and Walter. “I feel guilty that some stripper was grinding all on top of me and I’m marrying Callie tomorrow.”
“It’s her job,” Diego pointed out patting George’s arm.
“I just need a shower now,” he muttered.
“Tonight was the last night you could touch,” Diego teased. “Tomorrow night there will only be touching for one woman.”
“She’s the only person I wanna touch.”
“You really love her,” Diego smiled.
George nodded and smiled. There were no words to express how much he loved Callie. It was so overwhelming at times that he wondered if it was love, but it had to be if he was plunging into marriage with a woman he hardly knew and was defending her to his best friend.
Chapter 21.....
Will George and Callie get married or will cold feet get the best of them? Will the reception go off without a hitch and will George find out about the house? And where are they honeymooning again? If they can get that far.
Rating: NC-17
Author: Tonysgirl02 AKA Kimmer
Summary: With a baby on the way and a wedding pending, George and Callie must deal with becoming husband and wife and mom and dad along with juggling their careers, their friends and living with Louise.
Pairings: Mainly Callie/George. All the friendships and what not.
Chapter 20
Alex pulled up in front of George’s mothers place and glanced over at Callie, she was still sound asleep and had been since they had left Joe’s. She had about three or four virgin drinks and then they had danced. He had never had such a good time, platonically with anyone as he had done tonight.
He spotted George standing just inside the door, arms crossed over his chest, watching Alex’s every move. He went around and opened the passenger side door, unhooked her seat belt, scooped her up into his arms and grabbed her purse and shoes, that she had kicked off.
George opened the door once he got closer and nodded at him, “So she ran away with you?”
Alex cleared his throat and handed George, Callie’s shoes and purse. “I’m not sure what she ran away from. She didn’t talk about it. Where should I put Sleeping Beauty?” he asked glancing around.
George headed up the stairs, motioning for Alex to follow him. “Not a single word, huh?”
“Nope, just called me and said come get me. That is all I know. We went to Joe’s and hung out and here I am, returning her to you,” Alex explained smugly as George opened the bedroom door and flipped on the light.
He walked over to the bed and laid her down, “Her mom said something mean and she stormed out and called you. I hope she had a better time then we did.”
“She was with me, how could she not have a great time?”
George rolled his eyes. Alex had been the one taking care of Callie, not him. It should have been him, she couldn’t always run away from their problems. This was there problem since in three days they would be husband and wife. George reached his hand out toward Alex, “Thank you for taking care of her tonight and bringing her home in one piece.”
“Not a problem,” Alex said reaching his hand for George’s and shaking it. He glanced over one last time at Callie before heading out of the house.
George closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled her into his arms and unzipped her dress and unhooked her bra, pulling the straps of each down her arms. He laid her back, hoping not to wake her as he continued to slide her dress the rest of the way down her body.
He tossed it into the hamper along with her bra before tucking her under the blankets. He paced around the room for a few moments, watching her sleep. He had been pissed when Diego came in and said she had left. He had been fuming, if they had to fair the choppy waters, they should have been doing it together, but she ran out, with Alex. What the hell was that?
Since when were Callie and Alex friends? Sure they had that little weird exchange in the locker room, Alex could barely keep his eyes off her breasts, but George had believed their little flirt session had been just……well he didn’t expect for Alex to be her knight in shinning armor who ran in to rescue her from the evil queen mommy.
He had Izzie though, even though he was supposed to have cut ties with her, they were slowly putting them back together. She was being civil toward Callie it seemed and she was his best friend after all. Well, Callie could have friends too, but did it have to be Alex? There were plenty of other people in the hospital to be friends with.
There was Burke, no wait Callie could not be friends with him after what Burke had done. Letting an intern basically operate on all his patients was unethical. There was Derek, she could be friends with him, but she couldn’t because Callie would probably kick his ass within five minutes. She could defiantly not be friends with Sloan after she had slept with him, that was a big no. So maybe she just had to be friends with Alex and he would have to accept it.
He sighed as he turned off the light and climbed into bed. Four nights from now the woman laying beside him would be his wife, their lives tied together until the day they died. They had hadn’t even known each other for a year and here they were, having a baby, getting married, making a life together.
It was scary, he had always figured he would be the guy who took his time, dated the girl, a long engagement, and then a wedding. Now he was rushing into everything, all of it. He loved Callie, that wasn’t the problem, the problem was after tonight, after her running away, he wasn’t so sure he knew the woman laying next to him. Being married to someone he hardly knew wasn’t something he wanted to do.
~*~*~
Callie was up unusually early, but she had heart burn, the three Tums she had chewed up had helped, but she would only need them again after she finished her coffee. It was raining, she could hear it hitting the windows. Another rainy day in Seattle.
She tapped her fingers against the cool counter top before running her fingers through her messy hair and glancing down at her belly. She gently brushed her fingers over the skin that was peeping out from between her yoga pants and tank top. She felt Baby O kick in response to her touch, or he was just up.
Last night she had run away and never in her life could she remember running away from her mother. She just took the shit she dished out, thinking it made her a stronger person. Now she realized it just made her upset and bitter. She saw the way Louise dotted on her boys and did the same with her now that she was apart of the family. Her mother had never done that for her.
She wasn’t a little girl anymore, who needed someone to hold her hand. She wasn’t a teen age girl who was dazed and confused. She had spent most of those years pretending to be a good girl, but truly a bad girl when Daddy wasn’t watching. Now she was almost thirty and nearly married and she still longed for the elements of a mother/daughter relationship she had been missing, with her own mother.
Lately she was not satisfied merely hating the woman. And that was because of Louise. That woman had taken Callie under her wing and accepted her with open arms. She loved Callie. She showed her how beautiful a relationship with a mother could be. She wanted that with Baby O regardless of gender, but her mother refused to have it with her.
She watched as Louise came into the kitchen in her robe and poured herself a cup of coffee. As she passed by Callie she smoothed her hair out and placed a kiss on her forehead. She sat at the island, next to Callie and began to add cream and sugar. “Morning are we feeling better today?”
“I can’t stand that I can’t do anything right by her. I will never be anything more then her mistake and I used to be fine with that until my relationship with you blossomed and I’m coming to realize how much I already love him without knowing him,” she explained pointing to her belly. “What I did last night though, was childish.”
Louise reached over and placed her hand on top of Callie’s, squeezing it gently. “We all do childish things from time to time.”
Callie nodded and sipped her coffee, “That just, it topped the cake. After everything I’ve been trying to get through to George about communication, talk to me first, we’ll sort it out together….well I didn’t practice what I preach.”
“Callie, it was a one time deal, I wouldn’t worry too much. You’re stressed over the wedding, the baby and work. Us women don’t always think rationally. George will understand that.”
George walked into the kitchen scratching himself, his hair all messy and his clothes wrinkled. He grabbed a coffee cup and poured himself a cup before plopping down next to Callie. He added sugar and cream before yawning. “What will I understand?” he questioned glancing over at the two women.
“What I did last night.”
“I don’t understand, maybe you should explain it…..”
Callie nodded and ran her fingers through her hair, watching him for a moment before she began to speak. “I can’t stand not being good enough for her anymore. She goes and she has baby after baby and she can love each and every one of them, but she can’t love me. I have this great relationship with a woman who isn’t even my mother, she’s your mother and I’m realizing everything I missed out on with Rosa. I get that I can’t change the past, but I can try and make it better, she won’t allow me to do that either. I’m caught between this rock and a hard place and there seems to be nothing I can do, to make her happy with me. If there was, I would have done it. I’m not content being her whipping girl anymore, I want to be her daughter. I feel like for once in my life, I desperately need a mother and she refuses to be there. I never needed her before, I never needed to understand before and now I do. If I can’t, I refuse to allow her to treat me the way she does anymore. When we went to visit, I finally had my chance to say something and I did. She made it all seem like a bed of rose, that maybe we could work it all out when they came for the wedding, but one of the first things out of her mouth when she sees me is an insult and I refuse to let her do that in front of our family. I could have said something, but I ran away instead. I just couldn’t do it anymore, George. I can’t deal with her anymore, but she’ll always be my mother and I long some type of relationship with her, but I’m realizing that I will never have that. I’m just lucky to have your family, which is soon to be our family. I couldn’t handle my mother last night….” She explained, realizing she was rambling. She awaited any type of reaction from him.
“It’s been 30 years, you’ve made an effort, she hasn’t. Your life is changing and wanting more then she’s giving you, is hurting you more and more each and every time you get your hopes up that maybe this time she’ll be the mother you want. She’s never going to be that mother for you, Callie. She made that decision a long time ago.”
“What are you saying George?” she questioned.
“George, maybe you should….” Louise trailed off.
“Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel Callie. If she can’t love you for you, in the now, let her go. Let the idea of any type of relationship with her, go. Because I watch you get hurt more and more each time this doesn’t pan out the way you hope, or you don’t understand her. And I hurt for you, because that isn’t a way a parent should treat their child….”
Callie stood up and placed her hands on her hips, gawking at him, as the words he spoke sunk it. She reached her hand up and slapped him, hard, the popping sound of skin on skin echoing through a now still kitchen. “I will see you at work,” she hissed before turning on her heel and heading for the door, still clad in her pj’s. A few seconds later he heard the front door slam.
“Don’t write checks your ass can’t cash O’Malley,” Louise said patting her son on the shoulder as she headed into her room to dress for the day. That was something she had always said to her husband.
~*~*~
George walked into the locker room two minutes before rounds, feeling about two feet tall. He had a hand print on his face and his mother had just dropped him off at the hospital considering Callie had taken his keys with her. “Rough morning?” Izzie smiled.
He cut his eyes over at her as he stomped toward his locker, throwing the door open. He tossed his bag down onto the bench and pulled his coat off, throwing it into his locker. Izzie watched as he hastily got changed and slammed his locker closed, “Yes, I had a rough morning.”
“Is that an imprint of Callie’s hand?” Izzie questioned examining his cheek, turning his face toward the light.
George sighed and opened his mouth to say something when Callie came into the locker room, “It appears Tuck is sick so Miranda is out. I’m your resident for today. Stevens and Grey, clinic. Yang, cover the pit. George, with Ava on Addison’s service and Alex with your with. Any questions? You need me, you page me? I need you, I page you. Any questions?”
“Ava is my patient, I’ve been with her since she’s been here. I’d like to continue to be on her case,” Alex stated.
“Fine, just don’t kill anyone, any of you,” she muttered before turning and heading out of the locker room.
“What did you do to her this morning? She’s nasty,” Meredith laughed as she grabbed her stethoscope.
“We had a fight,” George shrugged going after her. He wondered what his assignment was now. “Dr. Torres” he said watching her go through some charts.
“Yes Dr. O’Malley?”
“What is my assignment for today?”
“You’re with me,” she said handing him a chart. She wrote orders on the next and placed it on top, “Run labs and be ready to present in twenty.”
He nodded and went to turn to go to the lab before turning around, “Callie….” He trailed off as she watched him, tapping her pen against the palm of her hand. She was listening. He had her attention. He stepped back toward her, “I’m sorry for what I said this morning. I meant it, but maybe it came off as a little mean. I just, I can’t stand to see you hurt. When I hurt, you hurt and I can’t stand to see you hurt. The person who keeps hurting her is you.”
She nodded and chewed on her lip for a moment, before reaching for his hand, “George, wouldn’t you give just about anything to have one more day with you dad”
He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, “Absolutely.”
“Alright, even though my mother is no where near as great as your father was, right now, pregnant and having my relationship with your mom that I do. I would give anything to have a happy day with my mother,” she whispered. “Now, go get the labs.”
~*~*~
Callie had left George to watch their patients to go meet her father. He had left her a voicemail while she was in surgery, telling her to meet him at some address she had never heard of. She had no idea what he was up too, but she knew from experience that it was easier to go and meet him, then call back and ask questions.
She pulled up on a corner lot and saw the rental SUV sitting out front. She parked behind him and got out of her car, stepping up onto the curb near the little forest green mail box. The front yard was trimmed in a white picket fence. A gate separated the public side walk to the walk to the house. The house was a beautiful two story home, with a wrap around porch. The roof was black as where the shutters with the siding being white.
She unlatched the gate and walked to meet her father who was sitting on the concrete steps that led to the wrap around porch. He had a folder sitting in his lap and stood to greet her. “How’s the hospital?”
“Fine, what is this?”
He pulled at her hand, leading her up the steps and onto the porch. She glanced to her left and saw the swing and two rocking chairs. Her father opened the front door and ushered her into the front hall. “Welcome home Calliope.”
She turned her head and gave him a puzzled look. She took a step forward and peaked through the doorway. That was the living room. It had two large windows looking out onto the porch and a fire place rested at the far wall.
Beside the living room was a small bedroom, but had appeared to have been an office of sorts with the desk that had been left there. She turned and was faced with an enormous kitchen and dinning room area.
The cabinets were made of a deep cherry wood accompanied by forest green counter tops and a forest green and white titled back splash and all stainless steel appliances accented in black. The space was very opened, with a small breakfast nook tucked away in the corner. There was room for a large table in front of the French doors that opened onto the deck, facing the beautiful kidney shaped built in pool and the rest of the yard.
“Daddy, this is too much,” she whispered.
“No it’s not. Upstairs is a great room and four bedrooms, including the master suite which has a small den. That would probably be Baby O’s room for the first year or so. It’d make a great nursery Calliope.”
She nodded, not doubting that it would. She could see herself baking cookies in that kitchen and George teaching their own to play catch in the backyard. She could see numerous barbeques occurring on the beautiful deck and romantic moon light swims for her and George in the pool, but she wasn’t ready for it. Moving here meant leaving Louise and she wasn’t prepared to do that yet.
“It’s a beautiful place Daddy, it really is, but….”
“George can’t afford it, I know,” he assured sliding the envelope he had been holding toward her. “Open it Calliope. I was going to wait until the wedding to give you that, but….” He trailed off watching his daughter.
She opened the envelope and inside found the deed to the house, with her name on it along with all the other paperwork about the house. “Daddy….”
“Your name is on everything, just to be on the safe side, in case…..”
“DADDY!!!!”
“Calliope, you have to protect yourself. George may only be doing this…..”
“What? Be marrying me because I’m having his child?” she hissed.
“It’s paid for in full Callie, if you two did break up I would want to know you have somewhere to go with your child. You have more then yourself to think about it when it comes to this.”
“I didn’t ask you to do this….”
“Honestly Calliope, how long is he going to keep you living at his mothers? She’s a nice woman, but…”
“I know this may be slightly hard to believe, but I actually love living there and I had intended on living there until after Baby O was born. I’m going to need help, until George and I can figure out how to juggle everything. And how do I explain to my husband that we have a house, a lovely one at that, my dream house, but only my name is on it and my daddy paid for all of it? How do you think that will make him feel?”
“Calliope, calm down,” Hector insisted.
“No, I will not calm down. I have work to do. Get this changed to George and Calliope O’Malley and then I’ll consider it the greatest wedding present ever,” she hissed before heading out the front door and for her car. Why did her father think her marriage to George was a bad idea and that it was doomed to fail?
~*~*~
It was a lunch, but it was a late lunch for George and Izzie. Both had been caught up in mounds of paperwork. George flopped down next to his best friend with his tray, “Thank God my vacation starts tomorrow,” he muttered before opening his bottle of water and taking a long sip.
“Why are you taking tomorrow? The wedding isn’t until Saturday?”
“I have some things I need to do before the wedding, I wanna spend the day with Callie,” he shrugged glancing over at her as he peeled his banana.
“She slapped you the other day,” Izzie reminded with a giggle.
“And we made up. It’s part of being in love. You talk it out and forgive each other.”
Izzie nodded and picked at her salad, “Addison is throwing her a bridal shower. I was invited. I should go since I’m part of the bridal party, right?”
“Should you go, yes,” George replied as he unwrapped his turkey sandwich. “If you are going to be bitchy and mean to Callie and cause her not to have a good time, then don’t.”
“George…..”
“I’ve learned I have to blunt with you, I can’t beat around the bush or you don’t get what I’m saying. And if that is what I have to do to protect my family, then I’ll do it.”
“So, she’s your family now?”
“I’m marrying her in two days Izzie!!!! How can she not be my family? She carrying my baby for crying out loud.”
“Are you sure it’s yours?”
“Izzie!!!!!”
She sighed and reached for her hand, holding onto it so he couldn’t get up and walk away from her. “George, you can’t tell me you aren’t getting cold feet. You barely know her! You two spent more time broken up then you did together and if you marry her, it isn’t going to…..”
“Don’t you dare say it Izzie Stevens! Don’t you dare!” he hissed grabbing his hand from her. “If you want something bad enough in life, you make it work. We get that marriage isn’t going to be all happy times, but we’re willing to weather the bad times together just as much as we celebrate the good. It’s in the vows, better or worse. In life, when you want something bad enough, you’ll get it, if you work for it. Callie and I will make this work and I’m not just marrying her because she’s pregnant. Baby O is the best damn thing that has happened in my life. I’ve had to grow up because that is what my son and soon to be wife need!” He rose from the gurney and gathered his tray. “I will be taking my lunch elsewhere today.”
~*~*~
Rosa walked into the room at the restaurant and frowned at the lack of decorations. This Addison person had rented this room and was calling it a bridal shower? Rosa placed her gift on the table with the others and found a seat next to a tall blonde. “Hello,” she smiled warmly.
Izzie took a sip of her drink before smiling at the woman who had seated herself next to her. Meredith and Cristina were coming once they got off is what they had told her. She had figured it was best for her to come since she was in the bridal party and George’s best friend. “Hi, Izzie Stevens,” she said reaching out to shake the older woman’s hand.
“Nice to meet you Izzie, I believe Calliope or George mentioned you. I’m Rosa Torres, Callie’s mother,” she smiled, trying to act happy about that fact.
Izzie nodded, if Callie had said anything about her she wondered why the woman was still sitting next to her and the she remembered what George had told her. There was no love loss between Callie and her mother. “I’m George’s best friend, so I’m here out of obligation,” Izzie explained. “As are my friends that should be coming from the hospital anytime now.”
Rosa laughed as one of the waiters placed a water in front of her. She nodded a brief thank you before turning her attention to Izzie. “I wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t my daughter. It’s obvious my daughter does not have any friends by the amount of people who are here already, or lack there of.”
Izzie couldn’t help but let out a little giggle as she watched more people from the hospital come in and sit down, she wondered who all Addison had invited. She didn’t think Callie had that many friends and surely they weren’t all there out of obligation. “Ah, so I’m not the only who has those feelings toward Callie?”
“Oh no, she is very hard to get along with. Now, I am sure having her so young didn’t help any, but she was always so difficult and still is. How anyone gets along with her, I will never know. George is a very patient man to deal with my daughter. I would be grateful he was taking her off my hands, but Callie had never been the child on my hands. She is very independent and she got that from her father,” Rosa explained shaking her head.
Izzie nodded, trying to be polite. She was finding out more and more information, which was great. “George is a very patient man. Callie is very lucky to have him, with the way she treats him though, I have no idea why he stays around. He shouldn’t have to deal with everything she puts him through, but he does, out of love or because she’s having his baby or something. George is that type of guy, a stand up guy. I suppose your husband is too, how old where you when you had Callie?”
“I was 16,” Rosa sighed stirring her drink with a swift motion of her wrist.
\Izzie nodded, knowing how hard that was, but she didn’t want to say much. She glanced toward the doorway and watched as Olivia and a few of her nurse friends came in. Then Meredith and Cristina, looking none to be happy to be there.
“So where’s Torres?” Cristina questioned sitting down at the table. “Surgeries would be so much better. Addison told me if I didn’t come, she would make sure I didn’t see the inside of the OR for a long time. I went and bought a gift, what is that? George isn’t even my friend and I don’t enjoy ortho although when Callie cut that guys legs open when he was awake was pretty cool.”
“Why would she do that?” Rosa questioned.
“To save his life!”
Rosa nodded her head and then noticed everyone was looking toward the door way as Addison came in with Callie. She smiled briefly at her daughter who appeared shocked by this little party. Once that was over, Rosa turned her attention to Izzie, “Callie doesn’t have a seating chart for the wedding, sit with us,” she said with a smile. “You’re a great girl.”
“Thank you Mrs. Torres.”
“Please, call me Rosa.”
The rest of the evening was filled with food and a few games that Addison had come up with. It was a dorky idea, but since Callie couldn’t go out in drink it had seemed more practical to Addison to throw her a shower instead of a Bacherolette party.
Miranda joined Callie and Addison who were loading the gifts into the back of Callie’s SUV, “I wonder how many toasters you got,” she laughed placing a few more wrapped boxes inside. “And crock pots. I got about five of those.”
“Derek and I got six toasters,” Addison laughed. “Three blenders and two vacuum cleaners.”
“And I have to write thank you’s for all this crap?” Callie questioned. Both women nodded as they closed the back. “I have no idea where I’ll even put it all since we don’t have a house,” she muttered thinking about the perfect house her dad had gotten her. She could hide everything there until they moved in. She wanted that house, it was the house she had dreamed of since she was a little girl, but it needed to be hers and George’s, Mr. And Mrs. George O’Malley, not Calliope Torres O’Malley’s.
“Put it all into an extra bedroom until you move,” Addison suggested.
“The empty room is the one we’re turning into the nursery when we get around to it. I guess we could get a storage building or something,” Callie shrugged.
“You’re staying long enough to make a nursery?” Miranda questioned.
Callie nodded and rubbed her belly, “Yeah, we are. I want Louise around to help me and then she’ll be there once I go back to work. My mother isn’t so great at the mothering thing with me, as you saw tonight. With the boys she’s……” she trailed off not wanting to have to say it, but it was the truth. “Amazing, but with me the mothering never kicked in and I’m scared I won’t know how to do it….”
Miranda laughed and patted Callie’s shoulder, “When you’re pregnant, you worry about all that, but then you take that tiny little life home and sudden you know how to do everything and then some. It’s a feeling of empowerment, that’s how I felt. I was on top of the world after I had Tuck.”
“A lot of woman say that Callie, after their birthing experience. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“George says the same thing, but I just, I need to worry about this, alright? Thank you for the shower, it was lovely.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you in the morning for hair and nails?”
“Yeah at 10:30. Miranda, thank you for coming, I will you and the entire Bailey-Jones clan at the wedding tomorrow.”
“Not a problem Callie, have a good night.”
~*~*~
George sat at Joe’s with Ronnie and Jerry flanked to either side of him. Derek had just arrived, Mark was already seated not to Jerry and Alex next to Ronnie. George had already knocked back a few beers with Alberto and Hector. Diego sat in a corner of the bar, chatting with Walter.
“It’s Georgie’s last night of freedom, I can’t believe it,” Ronnie said sipping on his beer. “Tomorrow night at this time, you will be a married man, to one very hot woman.”
George chuckled and blushed, “Yes tomorrow I will be a married man to one very sexy hot pregnant wife,” he grinned before downing the rest of his beer. “Any advice Hector?”
The older man smiled as he laid his beer down, but Mark interjected his own comment, “Remember how important she is to you,” he said cutting his eyes over at Derek. “Don’t let work get in the way of family. She’ll always be there if you take of her. The job may or may not,” he shrugged before raising his beer to his lips.
Hector cleared his throat once again, “I’ll say something similar to this at the wedding tomorrow, but you are marrying my Princess George O’Malley. I was the second person in this world to hold her. Her first words were ‘Da-da’. She’s the most precious thing in the world to me. And if you ever hurt her, purposely, if I ever get a phone call in the middle of the night from her crying, I will be on the next plane here to kick your ass, because no one hurts my Callie. Granted, I tried to push her into some things and I know you would never hurt. I see the way she looks at you, she adores you. She never adored Diablo and even though I tried to force her into that because I thought he was what she needed, what she needs is you. And she has you. Just make sure that you have her.”
George nodded as Joe placed another beer in front of him. The other night he had been doubting if he had Callie in all the ways she needed him to. Yesterday he had jumped to her defense against Izzie, which was something he used to have trouble doing, but he did it without a second thought. Maybe he did have Callie in all the ways she needed, maybe that had just been an issue she didn’t need him for. He knew that sometimes he needed Izzie for an issue and not Callie. Maybe that was what it had been. Why had he been doubting whether he wanted to marry her or not? He loved her, she was having his baby and he intended on spending the rest of his life with her.
Derek rose his beer in George’s direction, “Remember what is important in life. Take the five minutes to ask how her day was. Never bet money on the fact that she’ll be there, because on day you’ll blink an eye and the love of your life will be gone. Once you find her, hold onto her and then some. Every woman deserves that much and Callie has that in you.”
Jerry glanced at his watch and then over at Joe who nodded his head, “Does anyone have anymore advice for George?” he questioned glancing around at the bar. “Sweet, come on. We have something to show you in the back.”
As George and everyone else followed his brothers into the back he asked, “If Callie told you who to invite, when did she say no strippers?” he questioned.
Ronnie laughed and opened the door to the store room where a large cake sat. It was white and trimmed in blue. There were about ten folding chairs set up and they each took a seat. ‘Slave 4 U” by Brittany Spears began to play a few seconds later and George just buried his head in his hands. The drinking was fine, it was good, but a stripper went a little too far.
Pieces of cardboard fly everywhere when she broke through the top of the cake, slankily clad in baby blue boy shorts and a flimsy bra. She began to dance her routine all in the small area in front of the guys, rubbing up against all of them, seeing whom she could get a rise out of. Mark was the first to pull his wallet from his back pocket and slip some money into her panties. “Can I take you home?” he asked.
“Maybe honey,” she purred sweetly. “Now who’s the one getting married tomorrow?” she questioned placing her hands on her hips.
“This one!” Ronnie exclaimed pointing at his brother.
George cringed as she came over to him and pulled his head up, so he was looking at her. He was almost married and this made him uncomfortable. She rubbed his shoulders and arms and ground her pelvis into his before dancing around a little more. The second she left his lap, he fled back into the bar, sitting with Diego and Walter. “I feel guilty that some stripper was grinding all on top of me and I’m marrying Callie tomorrow.”
“It’s her job,” Diego pointed out patting George’s arm.
“I just need a shower now,” he muttered.
“Tonight was the last night you could touch,” Diego teased. “Tomorrow night there will only be touching for one woman.”
“She’s the only person I wanna touch.”
“You really love her,” Diego smiled.
George nodded and smiled. There were no words to express how much he loved Callie. It was so overwhelming at times that he wondered if it was love, but it had to be if he was plunging into marriage with a woman he hardly knew and was defending her to his best friend.
Chapter 21.....
Will George and Callie get married or will cold feet get the best of them? Will the reception go off without a hitch and will George find out about the house? And where are they honeymooning again? If they can get that far.