Half Blast- Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Erica Hahn, Callie Torres and Mark Sloan belong to ABC/Shondaland. No profit intended.
Rating: PG-13. There's some language and some adult themes.
Pairing: Callie/Erica
Summary: Erica is talked into letting a documentary television crew descend on Seattle Grace. While in her personal life, she's realizing a deepening emotional dependence on her girlfriend that isn't sitting well.
Story aside: This picks up approximately six months after the end of my first story, Bulletproof (I Wish I Was). You don't have to read that one for this one to make sense, but you do need to know that Erica is now the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace and that Callie finished her residency and is now an attending at Seattle Presbyterian. They are still very much a couple.
Personal note: Yes, it's been 2 years since I last updated this. No, I'm not sure when the next installment will be. The muse has been fickle and the creative juices haven't been flowing very freely. We'll see how it goes, if anyone is even still interested. Anyway, on with the show...
Chapter 3
Back resting against the wall, Erica surveyed the auditorium as it filled with staff. She was in the back, near the door, hidden in one of the darker spots where the recess lighting didn't quite touch. For the past twenty minutes or so, she'd watched both residents and attendings stroll in, listening to their questions, to their speculations about what this emergency, mandatory meeting was about. As the crowd grew, the chatter became a continuous background hum. It did not heighten her comfort level.
She checked her watch then looked back up. From her vantage point, the brightly lit stage looked conspicuous. A podium with a microphone was center stage and several chairs were lined up on either side. It was only a matter of minutes before Albright and the TMN people would wander out and she'd have to go down and be visible while it was explained what was happening. She was not looking forward to that, particularly since she was fully expecting some idiotic reaction from her staff the moment the show was announced. Not that she blamed them. An idiotic announcement deserved an idiotic response.
To make matters worse, public speaking was involved. There were few things Erica hated more. Although years of practice had allowed her to find a place, a little corner of her psyche, where she could stow the anxiety and work around it, the apprehension, the insecurity never quite went away. All those eyes on her, all those minds whirling, listening, trying to pick apart what she was saying made her feel exposed and self-conscious. This though was a hundred times worse than a regular public speaking gig. Usually when she was giving a presentation it was about something she believed in, research she'd done, funding she wanted. It was usually for something she felt comfortable with, something she would gladly fight for. This was an entirely different animal, this was a cause she didn't really believe in. She checked her watch again.
"Hey, boss lady." Mark Sloan's grating voice distracted her and she looked over at him. For the first time that she could remember she was almost relieved to see him. It gave her something else to focus on and, if need be, something to lash out at.
"What do you want, Sloan?"
"That hot new trauma nurse, but that's only a matter of time." He gave one of his cocky smiles.
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop whoring after my staff? This is a hospital, not a single's club. Could you at least pretend to care about the difference?"
"Hey, I haven't screwed one nurse in an on-call room since you've been Chief."
"And the operative word there is nurse," she pointed out. "Don't think I don't know about you and the younger Grey. It ends today, Mark."
"Oh come on, that's harmless fun. No one's getting hurt."
"She's an intern. You're an attending. That sends a message I don't want sent."
He grinned, knowing full well he was pushing one of her buttons. It was written all over his obnoxiously handsome face. She couldn't help but wonder if he was sleeping with Grey just to get under her skin, to force a confrontation. Mark was an antagonist by nature, she wouldn't put anything past him. "Are you ordering me not to sleep with her?" He seemed more amused than anything.
"I don't have the authority to order you not to sleep with her," she conceded, knowing damn well there was no written rule against inter-staff relationships in the hospital guidelines, even an intern/attending relationship. "But I would think even you would be smart enough to know the complications that could come from it. She's a student, Mark. Not only is it tacky, but when you choose her to scrub in on a surgery, I don't want people crying to me that you're playing favorites because she's pathetic enough to have sex with you."
"Let me see if I've got this straight. When you were screwing Torres while she was a resident and you were Chief, it was okay. But I'm having a little slap and tickle with an intern and you're suddenly the sex police?"
Erica whirled on him. "You son of a bitch, you know damn well that Callie and I weren't together while I was her chief."
He lifted the travel mug and gave a smug smirk. "Do I?"
Erica was fighting with her temper, willing herself not to reach out and wrap a hand around his throat when she heard her name called over the P.A. system. She glared down to the front of the room, saw the people milling out onto the stage. Albright was at the podium. "Fuck you," she hissed at Sloan, then turned and started to bull her way down toward the front.
"Any time, any place, boss lady," Sloan called after her, chuckling.
Albright met Erica as she stomped onto the stage. "Is there a problem, Dr. Hahn?"
"It'll be news around here when there isn't a problem," Erica snapped. "Let's do this thing already, so we can all get back to work."
Albright scrutinized her with something that bordered on concern but didn't push the subject, instead she nodded. "Very well." She motioned over Irving Rosen, the show's Executive Producer, and together the two of them approached the podium.
Erica stood with her arms crossed, hovering like the other half dozen or so people on stage. She assumed they were network support staff since the only face she recognized was Jason Shea, the director. He waved at her. She ignored him.
"Thank you all for coming," Albright's clear voice rang out and stopped all chatter. "Today we have exciting news. Starting next week, The Medical Network will begin filming a regular, weekly program right here at Seattle Grace."
Erica sighed at the burst of noise and excitement from the group. She waited while Albright and Rosen went over the particulars, barely listening because she'd heard it all before. That is until the word 'casting' made its way through the blather and into her ears. She tuned back in to hear Rosen explaining that they were planning screen tests on the staff to choose the 'main cast.'
"Wait," Erica interrupted, "what do you mean 'main cast'? This is supposed to be a show about the hospital, not individual doctors."
He gave her a wry look. "The doctors are the hospital, Dr. Hahn."
"No, the medicine is the hospital."
"Erica," Albright said, placing a hand over the microphone causing a momentary whine of feedback. "Now is not the time for this discussion."
"Now is the perfect time for this discussion," she disagreed. "No one said this show was going to be narrowing in on specific staff. I need to know how narrow of a focus it's going to be. Are we talking about following someone around for a week or are we talking about trying to make someone a reality TV star? That's a huge difference on whether or not I'm okay with this."
"It's a little late for you to voice those concerns now," Albright told her, irritation creeping into her tone.
"Besides, you already signed a contract and a release," Rosen pointed out. "Your opinion no longer matters. Any and all decisions regarding the status of filming are now mine. You're being kept in the loop merely as a courtesy, Dr. Hahn, not a necessity."
Erica opened her mouth to say...something, but realized she had nothing to say. She glared at Albright, who gave a contrite shrug in response. Rosen started speaking into the microphone once again, reading out a schedule of events, but she could bare contain her rage enough to listen.
"Relax," Albright suggested, moving beside Erica, voice hushed in deference to the man still speaking. "Irv can be a little overbearing, but that's only because he's very particular, kind of like a certain Chief of Surgery I know."
"If he thinks he can steamroll me on this, he's deluding himself."
"This isn't a pissing contest, Erica. Please remember that. His job is to make sure this turkey flies. Just like your job is to make sure the surgical ward works at optimum level. It'll go a lot smoother if you two could simply get along." Albright patted Erica's forearm, then stepped closer to the podium, presumably to field questions from the Grace staff.
Erica was still seething, the other woman's words did little to alleviate that feeling of dread settling in the pit of her stomach.
***
Feet kicked up on a chair, Callie flipped the page of the orthopedic journal and took a bite of her salad. Like just about everything at Presbyterian, the cafeteria was smaller, cozier, nicer than at Grace. For one, the chairs were real wood. The padding was not overly comfortable but they beat the hell out of those cheap plastic chairs she'd spent her residency sitting in. The floor had a clean but boring carpet, dark gray with flecks of primary and secondary colors. Paintings lined the walls, and fairly convincing fake plants lent the place a relatively homey air. It was a little cave of comfort in an otherwise, colorless, sterile environment.
She speared another forkful of lettuce but before she could raise it to her mouth, another tray landed on her table. "May I?"
She was surprised but not unpleasantly so to see Janet, the scrub nurse standing there. It was only the second time she'd seen the woman without her surgical gear on and, as she was the first time, she was impressed by the woman's head of springy auburn curls. "No, go ahead." She shut the magazine and sat up straight. "So, is there something I can help you with?"
Janet stabbed her straw through the lid of her cup. "Nope. The thing is, we're mostly a close knit family around here, and now that we've worked together a few times I figured it's a good time to get to know you a little better."
"Hey, I'm all for making new friends." Callie flashed an amiable smile.
"Good to know." Janet took a bite of french fry, her pale brown eyes twinkling in the florescent light. "How about Dr. Hahn? Is she all about making new friends too?"
That threw Callie and she didn't know how to respond to that. She couldn't help but wonder if that was some kind of warning or maybe a threat, or worse, a come on. She managed to keep her tone more curious than accusatory. "Why do you ask?"
Janet flashed a beaming smile. "Because my girlfriend and I are having a party this weekend. I thought maybe you and Dr. Hahn would like to drop by."
"Oh." Callie couldn't keep the surprise from her voice. She was so ready to jump down the woman's throat and defend her girlfriend and their relationship that it hadn't crossed her mind that their conversation might be leading there.
She bit her lip and looked at her tablemate. Janet was an attractive enough woman, slight in build, an open and friendly, slightly freckled face. Callie kind of hated herself that her first thought was that the woman didn't look gay. It was such a dumb thing to think, such a play on the stereotype, but there it was and she couldn't quite shake it.
"It's no big deal," Janet rushed on at Callie's prolonged silence, "just a few close friends. I know you don't know me very well and this may seem a little soon and out of the blue, but you can never have too many friends. And, I have to admit, I'm intrigued to see you and Dr. Hahn together."
That made Callie smirk a little. Although no one had said a word to her, she could only imagine the rumor mill had made the rounds. No matter how professional the atmosphere, news like that was not likely to stay isolated. "I bet, and it's okay for you to call her Erica."
Janet chuckled. "No, it's okay for you to call her Erica. I'd prefer to keep my head firmly on my neck, thanks."
"Oh come on, she's not that bad," Callie said, instinctively defending her girl. "She's more bark than bite."
"No, she's a lot of bark, and even more bite." She held up a hand, forstalling Callie's protest. "Don't get me wrong. I admired Dr. Hahn while she was here. I even liked her, as much as she would allow anyone to like her, but I've seen her bite. Heck, she's taken a chunk out of my behind on more than one occasion. I don't hold it against her though. It was kind of rough for her here."
That got Callie's attention. Erica had never talked about her time at Pres in anything but glowing terms. This was the first she'd heard of anything even remotely negative. "How was it rough for her?"
"Well you know." Janet fluttered a hand in the air. "With Dr. McMichael being the studly, big man of cardio, she kind of took a backseat. Plus everyone knew he got her the job."
Callie almost choked on her sip of ice tea. "Oh, that's a load of crap. Erica's brilliant. She was a top resident at one of the best programs in the country. How do you figure she'd need his help to land a position at the 'reknown' Seattle Presbyterian?" She couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice.
"Well, maybe when you put it like that, it does sound a little silly, but you know how it looks. He was an attending, she was fresh off her residency and happened to be sleeping with him. People talk, people assume, ya know?"
"Okay." It was Callie's turn to hold up a hand. "I don't want to hear about who she was sleeping with. Let's simply concede that you're wrong and move on."
Janet nodded. "Fair enough. So, do you want to come to the party? Do you think she'd want to come?"
"I'll ask her, but Erica's not much for socializing." No sooner had the words left her mouth did her pager sound. She pushed her chair back. "Trauma," she announced, standing. "When did you say the party was?"
"Saturday at 7."
Callie gathered up her tray. "Like I said, I'll ask her, but I wouldn't count on it. I'll let you know and thanks for the invite either way."
"Dr. Torres," Janet halted her escape. "you know that if she doesn't want to come, you're still invited?"
"It's Callie," she told the woman. "And I just might do that. Thanks again." Her pager sounded again and she rolled her eyes. "Look, I have to-"
"Go already." Janet gave a breezy laugh.
Callie didn't hesitate in dumping her trash and heading out of the cafeteria, her mind caught between focusing on the impending trauma she was going to be dealing with and the new revelation about Janet. The thought had never crossed her mind that the other woman might be gay. Now that she knew, though, she was intrigued at the possibility of having an ally at the hospital, someone who understood some of the things she was going through and dealing with in her relationship with Erica. Those thoughts, however were pushed to the back of her mind when she walked through the sliding glass door into the trauma unit and saw the chaos. Immediately a nurse stepped forward with a trauma gown. Callie slipped it on and set to work.