Doctors don't make promises, do they? (Callie/Erica, 16/?)
Title: Doctors don’t make promises, do they?
Author: Nelfy
Characters: Callie Torres, Erica Hahn, Callica ship, slight mentions of Mark, Christina and Addison
Summary: This fanfic shows what happened during the season 4 finale and goes further to explore the relationship between Callie and Erica.
Spoilers: Starts with the season 4 finale
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Characters belong to ABC and Shonda Rhimes
Previous chapters: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven, Chapter Twelve, Chapter Thirteen, Chapter Fourteen, Chapter Fifteen A
Author’s note: I had a virus on my computer this past weekend, which kinda sucks. My brother was able to save my data, but I still don’t have windows office and somehow having no Word affects livejournal. I can post comments, but I can’t post a post on my journal (wtf?). So, I have to use the computers at my university to post, which means that until I have word, updates will probably be less frequent but hopefully longer. Sorry about that.
I’m going to bring this story to an end, if possible before the season premiere. But I still have a lot to say, so will see whether that’ll work out. I hope you like what I’m doing with this.
Chapter 16 - A Simple Love
“Callie?”
“Yeah?” The couple was driving to work the next day. “Can you ask Shepard about his clinical trial for me?”
“Yes?”
“It would make me feel better, okay?” Erica explained without really explaining anything.
“It’s okay, I’ll ask him. I’ll stare him down.” Callie chuckled and proceeded to tell Erica the story of the 17-year-old patient and how she had convinced Derek to operate on the girl.
The cardio surgeon parked her car in her designated spot and grabbed Callie’s hand to stop her from getting out of the car.
“Wait. I-… thanks. For everything. You are a really great friend!”
“I certainly hope that I’m more than just that.” Callie’s eyes sparkled and for a moment, it looked as if Erica would kiss her but then she made due with tracing her thumb across Callie’s hand. They got out of the car and Callie took Erica’s hand again, linking her fingers through Erica’s. A door opened somewhere and Erica pulled away.
“Not here.” The blonde checked whether someone had seen them, but the parking deck was deserted. “I’m sorry.”
Callie sighed but didn’t respond otherwise. They walked to the elevator in silence and parted ways to go about their day.
“Dr. Shepard, do you have a moment?”
“What can I do for you, Dr. Torres?”
“How do you find patients for your clinical trial?”
“Well, mainly through getting the word out that we are doing one and contacting other hospitals, other neurological doctors. Either the doctors refer the patients to us or the patients find us. Why?”
“I might know a candidate for your surgery, even though she hasn’t decided yet whether she wants to see you or not.”
“Okay. The patient should see Meredith first, she’ll do the usual tests. And, obviously, the patient should bring her medical history, would save us a lot of time and work.”
“I will tell her. Great, thanks.”
“Are you okay?” Derek asked, a concerned look he reserved for patients and Meredith clouding his face.
“Yes, why?” Callie didn’t really know what he was referring to, since they didn’t talk about personal issues.
“Because a friend of yours has a tumor in her brain.”
“Oh. Well, she’s more the friend of a friend, I just met her. But thanks for asking.”
“Okay.” Callie smiled at Derek, surprised that he would be so attentive and sympathetic.
When Callie finally made her way to Erica’s, she was already running late. An emergency surgery had come up and she had stopped at her place to pick up some cloths. The fact that she didn’t even have a car and needed to call a cab wasn’t great either, Erica had obviously forgotten that her car was still at Erica’s place. The raven beauty entered the house with the spare key Erica had given her when they had still been friends - *only* friends - and was surprised to find Erica vacuuming the living room. Callie knew that there was no need for cleaning, as Erica has someone come by and clean once a week. The cardio goddess was a neat person and her house reflected that. To see her vacuum the living room was certainly interesting.
“Hey. Sorry that I’m late, do you mind if I hop into the shower real quick? I’ll be ready once they get here.”
“They will be here in ten minutes!”
“I’ll be quick. I need to change as well. Besides, they probably won’t mind if I join you a bit later.”
“I mind. I don’t want them to know that you shower here, they will know that we are more than just friends.”
Callie sighed and looked at Erica, trying to figure out how the blonde would react to her confession. ‘Oh, just get it over with.’
“I think they already know. At least, Sandra does.”
“Why, what did you say to her?” Erica asked agitatedly, uncomfortable with the thought that her girlfriend and her sister had been talking behind her back.
“I didn’t say anything, she just knew. She told me she’s gay too-“
“I’m not gay!”
“Listen, I don’t want to fight with you, okay? It’s not my fault other people can see our happiness and I’m not going to apologize for that either.” Callie turned to leave but stopped staring that the empty wall ahead of her.
“What happened to our letters?” Erica had framed the letters they had written on the day of their first real date and had put them on the wall, side by side. When Callie wasn’t around, the cardio goddess liked to read them at night before going to bed and it made sleeping alone slightly more bearable.
“I took them down. I don’t want my guests to read something so personal.”
“Erica, you want your mother to get to know you, so put them back where they belong.” Erica wanted to argue, but when she saw the look of hurt in Callie’s eyes she decided against it.
“Okay” she grumbled and pulled the two frames from a drawer, placing them back on the wall.
“Thank you.” Callie’s tone was still harsh, but the raven beauty kissed the blonde softly on the cheek to make up for it. Callie hurried to take a shower while Erica put the finishing touches on the decoration in the living room and kitchen table.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At two minutes past seven, the bell rang in time to Callie walking down the stairs, putting on lip gloss as she went. Erica took in the sight and reveled in Callie’s beauty when her lover shook her out of her reverie.
“Aren’t you going to open the door?”
Erica blushed and cleared her throat, turning to do just that.
Marie and Sandra had brought flowers and a bottle of white wine to show their appreciation over the invitation and after exchanging awkward greetings the four women moved to the living room for appetizers. Erica offered drinks and poured herself a liberal glass of martini, drowning it in one shot. Callie was worried about this behavior, as Erica hardly drank more than just a few beer or a few glasses of wine. She refused to do shots at Joe’s because they would make her hung-over.
They made small talk, talking about the weather and the constant rain in Seattle. Erica mainly listened, letting Callie lead the conversation. She hated the useless discussions on weather or which show had been on the previous night. It was just one more reason why people didn’t like her, her distaste of trivialities.
When they had finished their drinks, the party moved to the dining room to eat. Marie complemented on the beautiful setting and Erica thanked her, stating that her mother had always made her pay attention to detail. An uncomfortable silence settled, until Marie decided to ask about Erica’s day. Erica replied with a short “Good” but was urged on by Callie with a warning “Erica” and a look that said ‘Talk or I’ll make you’.
“I had two surgeries today, one bypass surgery that went well and a valve replacement that didn’t go so well. The patient died on the table, her heart was just too weak to take the strain. I shouldn’t have operated, but the surgery was her only chance so …”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I am a doctor, sometimes I save a life and sometimes I can’t. We help more than we hurt.”
“I know that that is what doctors tell themselves, but to lose a patient on the table still hurts. I experienced it often enough. It’s okay to hurt over a patient’s death.”
“I’m dealing with it, okay? I’m dealing with this my way, I just don’t want to talk about it.”
Marie nodded and steered the conversation into what she believed where safer waters.
“So, how long have you two been a couple?” Callie threw Erica, who was staring at her plate, a nervous glance which way not lost on Sandra.
“We-.. we’re… I guess you could say we started dating three weeks ago. But we’ve been friends before that for a while.”
“Oh. I had assumed that you’ve been dating for longer. So you already did the whole lesbian U-haul thing?”
“I’m not a lesbian.” Was Erica’s reaction as Callie simultaneously asked “What’s that?”
Had the mood not been so tense, both Sandra and Callie had started laughing. But the tension was almost tangible in the air, so both bit back their laughter.
“I’m sorry, I just assumed you identify as a lesbian.”
“Well, I don’t. I’ve only been with two women in my life.”
“And you’ve been with more men?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Erica!” Another warning glace from Callie told Erica very clearly to be nice because Marie was just making an effort to get to know her.
“What, it is none of her business. I didn’t talk about my sex life with my other mother either.”
“’You don’t need to tell me about the number of sex partners you’ve had in your life, I don’t want to know that. I was just asking about relationships, you know, serious ones.”
Erica crossed her arms and slid down in her chair a bit, looking very much like a grouchy teenager.
“Can we please talk about something else?” The blonde grumbled.
“I talked to Derek Shepard today.” All eyes were on Callie immediately. “He says that you can come by any time, just bring your medical history and they’ll do some tests to see whether you are a suitable candidate.”
“My doctor said that I would be. But I want to take my children to Paris first. Then, I can be the lab rat, but Paris comes first. You should join us, Erica, it’s beautiful.”
“I’ve been to Paris, twice actually. My French is horrible, but the wine is good.”
Disappointment was evident on Marie’s face for a moment, but then she caught herself again and smiled. “Oh, I see. You could still come, if you wanted to. Get to know your siblings. It would make me really happy to see all my children united.”
“I’ll think about it.” Erica squirmed under her mothers gaze so Callie decided to help her out a bit.
“You have son as well, right?”
“Yes, Ethan. He just came back from his third tour in Iraq. He was in Afghanistan once and in Iraq twice.”
“Ethan is a soldier?” Erica had never cared about her siblings, but to think that her own brother, even if he was just her half-brother, was defending their country overseas made her proud in a way.
“Sort of, he’s a doctor as well, he’s in the Army medical corps. He joined the army to serve his country and save soldiers lives. He really grew up on his first tour, he came back as a changed man. He says that a doctor here has seen nothing compared to what he saw.” A certain amount of pride, but also fear, resonated in Marie’s voice.
“It’s a war zone, they blow your limbs away the first chance they get.”
“Sadly, that’s true.” Silence fell over the table again, but since they had all finished eating Erica decided to clear the table and move to the living room again for desert. Both Callie and Sandra offered to help, so Callie sent Erica and her mother to the living room and moved to the kitchen to do the dishes.
“What the hell is a lesbian U-haul thing?” Sandra laughed and explained Callie the phenomenon of lesbians moving in together after the first date. The ortho chicks talked and laughed about lesbianism and labels and their past relationships, allowing Erica and her mother some time alone.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“You know, I would really like you to join us on our trip to France. We’ll be in Paris for five days and then we’ll visit the castles along the Loire for four days. This time of the year, it shouldn’t be a problem to get another plane ticket for you.”
“Don’t you want to spend this time with your family? I don’t even know them.”
“But that’s the whole point. I want you to get to know them. I want you to be fine when I die and I would love for my children to be able to have a relationship. Once I’m gone, you and my other kids will not get into contact anymore.”
Erica sighed. In the past, she had always refused to meet her siblings, but she could understand her mother’s motives.
“Listen, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, but there is still so much resentment between us and I don’t know how to fix that. Ever second thing I say makes you angry. This is my last chance to make up with you.”
In this moment, Erica realized that she didn’t want her mother to die. She wanted her to live so they could become mother and daughter. She wanted her to live so that she could tell her about Callie and about her friends and about all the things that were important to her. She wanted her to live so that, if Callie was interested in having any, their children would have a grandmother.
“I’ll try to get some days off for the trip if you at least go and talk to Dr. Shepard.”
Marie stretched out her hand “Deal.” Erica shook it and smiled at her mother, convinced that they would somehow be able to mend their relationship. Now that she was letting go of all the anger and hurt she could see that her mother cared about her.
“You like Callie a lot, don’t you.” A smile lit up Erica’s face and her blue eyes twinkled with the emotions she felt when she thought about the raven beauty.
“Yes. She’s very special. Callie accepts me the way I am, even though she doesn’t accept my crap. Mostly.”
“That’s important. You have to be able to criticize your partner and still show him or her your love. Have you told her that you love her yet?”
“Yesterday, I did.” Erica blushed, thinking about what they had done the night before.
“That’s great.” Marie leaned in to push a stray strand of blond hair out of Erica’s face and cupped her cheek lightly. “Have I ever told you how happy I am that at least one of my children has my blue eyes? I know that you can make them look cold as ice if you want to, but right now, this blue is the most beautiful color I’ve ever seen. I’m happy that you are happy.” A single tear rolled down Erica’s cheek as she, for the first time in her live, felt the love her biological mother felt for her.
“I don’t want you to die.” Erica whispered and embraced her mother, silently crying for all the time they had lost while she was holding a grunge.
“I know, honey, I know. It’s going to be fine, you’re going to be fine.”
When Sandra and Callie joined Marie and Erica in the living room twenty minutes later, Erica was animatedly telling her mother how Marc Sloan tried to get her to go out with her. The four women laughed about his insistence and Callie was very happy when Erica left out the part where she had hooked up with McSteamy. As the evening came to an end, Erica and her family arranged to meet again the next day so that Erica could show them Seattle. ´The two lovers waved as the cab drove away and when Erica closed the door, Callie hugged her tightly and whispered “I’m very proud of you” into her ear.
“What for?”
“You opened up and you didn’t just let them into your house but also into your heart. So, I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks. I’m going to ask Richard for a few days off, I won’t go to France for as long as they go but four days should be enough to spend some time with them, with … my family. You could join me if you want to, you know?”
Callie smiled at Erica and kissed her lightly, touched by the invitation.
“You need to spend this time with your family. It’s okay, I’ll be here, patiently waiting for your return.” Erica smiled back and leaned in to kiss her lover again, slowly tracing her tongue over Callie’s lips, but Callie pulled away.
“I’m sorry if I was harsh today or if I pushed too much. I want what’s best for you, you know that, right?”
“Yes, I know. It’s okay, I wasn’t on my best behavior today either. So basically, we’re even.” Erica smiled at Callie and they kissed again, only this time, nobody pulled away for a while.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Okay, so here it is. I hope I was able to set the tone right, I feel like Erica and her mother are good right now. We’ll see what the future and their trip will bring. I can’t promise an update tomorrow, so you might have to wait until Monday because the university is closed on the weekend. It sucks, I know, but it sucks for me too, so shared pain, right? I would love some comments on this chapter!!
Oh, right, before I forget it: HUGE thank you to whoever nominated me at the ga-ficawards!! I feel very honored, especially since I’m up against burningeden’s ‘One Heart Too Many’, but it’s okay if you vote for her instead of me, I did too :D. She’s a great writer!
Author: Nelfy
Characters: Callie Torres, Erica Hahn, Callica ship, slight mentions of Mark, Christina and Addison
Summary: This fanfic shows what happened during the season 4 finale and goes further to explore the relationship between Callie and Erica.
Spoilers: Starts with the season 4 finale
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Characters belong to ABC and Shonda Rhimes
Previous chapters: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven, Chapter Twelve, Chapter Thirteen, Chapter Fourteen, Chapter Fifteen A
Author’s note: I had a virus on my computer this past weekend, which kinda sucks. My brother was able to save my data, but I still don’t have windows office and somehow having no Word affects livejournal. I can post comments, but I can’t post a post on my journal (wtf?). So, I have to use the computers at my university to post, which means that until I have word, updates will probably be less frequent but hopefully longer. Sorry about that.
I’m going to bring this story to an end, if possible before the season premiere. But I still have a lot to say, so will see whether that’ll work out. I hope you like what I’m doing with this.
Chapter 16 - A Simple Love
“Callie?”
“Yeah?” The couple was driving to work the next day. “Can you ask Shepard about his clinical trial for me?”
“Yes?”
“It would make me feel better, okay?” Erica explained without really explaining anything.
“It’s okay, I’ll ask him. I’ll stare him down.” Callie chuckled and proceeded to tell Erica the story of the 17-year-old patient and how she had convinced Derek to operate on the girl.
The cardio surgeon parked her car in her designated spot and grabbed Callie’s hand to stop her from getting out of the car.
“Wait. I-… thanks. For everything. You are a really great friend!”
“I certainly hope that I’m more than just that.” Callie’s eyes sparkled and for a moment, it looked as if Erica would kiss her but then she made due with tracing her thumb across Callie’s hand. They got out of the car and Callie took Erica’s hand again, linking her fingers through Erica’s. A door opened somewhere and Erica pulled away.
“Not here.” The blonde checked whether someone had seen them, but the parking deck was deserted. “I’m sorry.”
Callie sighed but didn’t respond otherwise. They walked to the elevator in silence and parted ways to go about their day.
“Dr. Shepard, do you have a moment?”
“What can I do for you, Dr. Torres?”
“How do you find patients for your clinical trial?”
“Well, mainly through getting the word out that we are doing one and contacting other hospitals, other neurological doctors. Either the doctors refer the patients to us or the patients find us. Why?”
“I might know a candidate for your surgery, even though she hasn’t decided yet whether she wants to see you or not.”
“Okay. The patient should see Meredith first, she’ll do the usual tests. And, obviously, the patient should bring her medical history, would save us a lot of time and work.”
“I will tell her. Great, thanks.”
“Are you okay?” Derek asked, a concerned look he reserved for patients and Meredith clouding his face.
“Yes, why?” Callie didn’t really know what he was referring to, since they didn’t talk about personal issues.
“Because a friend of yours has a tumor in her brain.”
“Oh. Well, she’s more the friend of a friend, I just met her. But thanks for asking.”
“Okay.” Callie smiled at Derek, surprised that he would be so attentive and sympathetic.
When Callie finally made her way to Erica’s, she was already running late. An emergency surgery had come up and she had stopped at her place to pick up some cloths. The fact that she didn’t even have a car and needed to call a cab wasn’t great either, Erica had obviously forgotten that her car was still at Erica’s place. The raven beauty entered the house with the spare key Erica had given her when they had still been friends - *only* friends - and was surprised to find Erica vacuuming the living room. Callie knew that there was no need for cleaning, as Erica has someone come by and clean once a week. The cardio goddess was a neat person and her house reflected that. To see her vacuum the living room was certainly interesting.
“Hey. Sorry that I’m late, do you mind if I hop into the shower real quick? I’ll be ready once they get here.”
“They will be here in ten minutes!”
“I’ll be quick. I need to change as well. Besides, they probably won’t mind if I join you a bit later.”
“I mind. I don’t want them to know that you shower here, they will know that we are more than just friends.”
Callie sighed and looked at Erica, trying to figure out how the blonde would react to her confession. ‘Oh, just get it over with.’
“I think they already know. At least, Sandra does.”
“Why, what did you say to her?” Erica asked agitatedly, uncomfortable with the thought that her girlfriend and her sister had been talking behind her back.
“I didn’t say anything, she just knew. She told me she’s gay too-“
“I’m not gay!”
“Listen, I don’t want to fight with you, okay? It’s not my fault other people can see our happiness and I’m not going to apologize for that either.” Callie turned to leave but stopped staring that the empty wall ahead of her.
“What happened to our letters?” Erica had framed the letters they had written on the day of their first real date and had put them on the wall, side by side. When Callie wasn’t around, the cardio goddess liked to read them at night before going to bed and it made sleeping alone slightly more bearable.
“I took them down. I don’t want my guests to read something so personal.”
“Erica, you want your mother to get to know you, so put them back where they belong.” Erica wanted to argue, but when she saw the look of hurt in Callie’s eyes she decided against it.
“Okay” she grumbled and pulled the two frames from a drawer, placing them back on the wall.
“Thank you.” Callie’s tone was still harsh, but the raven beauty kissed the blonde softly on the cheek to make up for it. Callie hurried to take a shower while Erica put the finishing touches on the decoration in the living room and kitchen table.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At two minutes past seven, the bell rang in time to Callie walking down the stairs, putting on lip gloss as she went. Erica took in the sight and reveled in Callie’s beauty when her lover shook her out of her reverie.
“Aren’t you going to open the door?”
Erica blushed and cleared her throat, turning to do just that.
Marie and Sandra had brought flowers and a bottle of white wine to show their appreciation over the invitation and after exchanging awkward greetings the four women moved to the living room for appetizers. Erica offered drinks and poured herself a liberal glass of martini, drowning it in one shot. Callie was worried about this behavior, as Erica hardly drank more than just a few beer or a few glasses of wine. She refused to do shots at Joe’s because they would make her hung-over.
They made small talk, talking about the weather and the constant rain in Seattle. Erica mainly listened, letting Callie lead the conversation. She hated the useless discussions on weather or which show had been on the previous night. It was just one more reason why people didn’t like her, her distaste of trivialities.
When they had finished their drinks, the party moved to the dining room to eat. Marie complemented on the beautiful setting and Erica thanked her, stating that her mother had always made her pay attention to detail. An uncomfortable silence settled, until Marie decided to ask about Erica’s day. Erica replied with a short “Good” but was urged on by Callie with a warning “Erica” and a look that said ‘Talk or I’ll make you’.
“I had two surgeries today, one bypass surgery that went well and a valve replacement that didn’t go so well. The patient died on the table, her heart was just too weak to take the strain. I shouldn’t have operated, but the surgery was her only chance so …”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I am a doctor, sometimes I save a life and sometimes I can’t. We help more than we hurt.”
“I know that that is what doctors tell themselves, but to lose a patient on the table still hurts. I experienced it often enough. It’s okay to hurt over a patient’s death.”
“I’m dealing with it, okay? I’m dealing with this my way, I just don’t want to talk about it.”
Marie nodded and steered the conversation into what she believed where safer waters.
“So, how long have you two been a couple?” Callie threw Erica, who was staring at her plate, a nervous glance which way not lost on Sandra.
“We-.. we’re… I guess you could say we started dating three weeks ago. But we’ve been friends before that for a while.”
“Oh. I had assumed that you’ve been dating for longer. So you already did the whole lesbian U-haul thing?”
“I’m not a lesbian.” Was Erica’s reaction as Callie simultaneously asked “What’s that?”
Had the mood not been so tense, both Sandra and Callie had started laughing. But the tension was almost tangible in the air, so both bit back their laughter.
“I’m sorry, I just assumed you identify as a lesbian.”
“Well, I don’t. I’ve only been with two women in my life.”
“And you’ve been with more men?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Erica!” Another warning glace from Callie told Erica very clearly to be nice because Marie was just making an effort to get to know her.
“What, it is none of her business. I didn’t talk about my sex life with my other mother either.”
“’You don’t need to tell me about the number of sex partners you’ve had in your life, I don’t want to know that. I was just asking about relationships, you know, serious ones.”
Erica crossed her arms and slid down in her chair a bit, looking very much like a grouchy teenager.
“Can we please talk about something else?” The blonde grumbled.
“I talked to Derek Shepard today.” All eyes were on Callie immediately. “He says that you can come by any time, just bring your medical history and they’ll do some tests to see whether you are a suitable candidate.”
“My doctor said that I would be. But I want to take my children to Paris first. Then, I can be the lab rat, but Paris comes first. You should join us, Erica, it’s beautiful.”
“I’ve been to Paris, twice actually. My French is horrible, but the wine is good.”
Disappointment was evident on Marie’s face for a moment, but then she caught herself again and smiled. “Oh, I see. You could still come, if you wanted to. Get to know your siblings. It would make me really happy to see all my children united.”
“I’ll think about it.” Erica squirmed under her mothers gaze so Callie decided to help her out a bit.
“You have son as well, right?”
“Yes, Ethan. He just came back from his third tour in Iraq. He was in Afghanistan once and in Iraq twice.”
“Ethan is a soldier?” Erica had never cared about her siblings, but to think that her own brother, even if he was just her half-brother, was defending their country overseas made her proud in a way.
“Sort of, he’s a doctor as well, he’s in the Army medical corps. He joined the army to serve his country and save soldiers lives. He really grew up on his first tour, he came back as a changed man. He says that a doctor here has seen nothing compared to what he saw.” A certain amount of pride, but also fear, resonated in Marie’s voice.
“It’s a war zone, they blow your limbs away the first chance they get.”
“Sadly, that’s true.” Silence fell over the table again, but since they had all finished eating Erica decided to clear the table and move to the living room again for desert. Both Callie and Sandra offered to help, so Callie sent Erica and her mother to the living room and moved to the kitchen to do the dishes.
“What the hell is a lesbian U-haul thing?” Sandra laughed and explained Callie the phenomenon of lesbians moving in together after the first date. The ortho chicks talked and laughed about lesbianism and labels and their past relationships, allowing Erica and her mother some time alone.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“You know, I would really like you to join us on our trip to France. We’ll be in Paris for five days and then we’ll visit the castles along the Loire for four days. This time of the year, it shouldn’t be a problem to get another plane ticket for you.”
“Don’t you want to spend this time with your family? I don’t even know them.”
“But that’s the whole point. I want you to get to know them. I want you to be fine when I die and I would love for my children to be able to have a relationship. Once I’m gone, you and my other kids will not get into contact anymore.”
Erica sighed. In the past, she had always refused to meet her siblings, but she could understand her mother’s motives.
“Listen, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, but there is still so much resentment between us and I don’t know how to fix that. Ever second thing I say makes you angry. This is my last chance to make up with you.”
In this moment, Erica realized that she didn’t want her mother to die. She wanted her to live so they could become mother and daughter. She wanted her to live so that she could tell her about Callie and about her friends and about all the things that were important to her. She wanted her to live so that, if Callie was interested in having any, their children would have a grandmother.
“I’ll try to get some days off for the trip if you at least go and talk to Dr. Shepard.”
Marie stretched out her hand “Deal.” Erica shook it and smiled at her mother, convinced that they would somehow be able to mend their relationship. Now that she was letting go of all the anger and hurt she could see that her mother cared about her.
“You like Callie a lot, don’t you.” A smile lit up Erica’s face and her blue eyes twinkled with the emotions she felt when she thought about the raven beauty.
“Yes. She’s very special. Callie accepts me the way I am, even though she doesn’t accept my crap. Mostly.”
“That’s important. You have to be able to criticize your partner and still show him or her your love. Have you told her that you love her yet?”
“Yesterday, I did.” Erica blushed, thinking about what they had done the night before.
“That’s great.” Marie leaned in to push a stray strand of blond hair out of Erica’s face and cupped her cheek lightly. “Have I ever told you how happy I am that at least one of my children has my blue eyes? I know that you can make them look cold as ice if you want to, but right now, this blue is the most beautiful color I’ve ever seen. I’m happy that you are happy.” A single tear rolled down Erica’s cheek as she, for the first time in her live, felt the love her biological mother felt for her.
“I don’t want you to die.” Erica whispered and embraced her mother, silently crying for all the time they had lost while she was holding a grunge.
“I know, honey, I know. It’s going to be fine, you’re going to be fine.”
When Sandra and Callie joined Marie and Erica in the living room twenty minutes later, Erica was animatedly telling her mother how Marc Sloan tried to get her to go out with her. The four women laughed about his insistence and Callie was very happy when Erica left out the part where she had hooked up with McSteamy. As the evening came to an end, Erica and her family arranged to meet again the next day so that Erica could show them Seattle. ´The two lovers waved as the cab drove away and when Erica closed the door, Callie hugged her tightly and whispered “I’m very proud of you” into her ear.
“What for?”
“You opened up and you didn’t just let them into your house but also into your heart. So, I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks. I’m going to ask Richard for a few days off, I won’t go to France for as long as they go but four days should be enough to spend some time with them, with … my family. You could join me if you want to, you know?”
Callie smiled at Erica and kissed her lightly, touched by the invitation.
“You need to spend this time with your family. It’s okay, I’ll be here, patiently waiting for your return.” Erica smiled back and leaned in to kiss her lover again, slowly tracing her tongue over Callie’s lips, but Callie pulled away.
“I’m sorry if I was harsh today or if I pushed too much. I want what’s best for you, you know that, right?”
“Yes, I know. It’s okay, I wasn’t on my best behavior today either. So basically, we’re even.” Erica smiled at Callie and they kissed again, only this time, nobody pulled away for a while.
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A/N: Okay, so here it is. I hope I was able to set the tone right, I feel like Erica and her mother are good right now. We’ll see what the future and their trip will bring. I can’t promise an update tomorrow, so you might have to wait until Monday because the university is closed on the weekend. It sucks, I know, but it sucks for me too, so shared pain, right? I would love some comments on this chapter!!
Oh, right, before I forget it: HUGE thank you to whoever nominated me at the ga-ficawards!! I feel very honored, especially since I’m up against burningeden’s ‘One Heart Too Many’, but it’s okay if you vote for her instead of me, I did too :D. She’s a great writer!