Doctors don't make promises, do they? (Callie/Erica, 19/?)
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.
Timeframe: Starts with the season 4 finale
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
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, Chapter Fifteen B, Chapter Sixteen, Chapter Seventeen, Chapter Eighteen
Author’s Note: Ugh. I hate this chapter. Seriously, hate! But I need to move on and get it over with. I hope that future chapters will be better. I know that it’s been forever since I posted last, and I’m sorry for that. Life has been kicking my butt and my muse left me. Oh well, here it is. Any ideas/suggestions/constructive criticism are more than welcome!
Chapter Nineteen - Open your mind
Dr. Erica Hahn liked rules. She had clear rules in her mind and expected herself and others to follow them. Rules on how to treat patients. Rules on how to operate. Rules on how to act around colleagues. Dr. Erica Hahn also liked clear-cut boundaries. Boundaries that allowed her to keep her distance from patients. Boundaries that allowed her to keep a safe distance from colleagues. Boundaries that allowed her to keep her distance without seeming impolite.
When she or someone else broke those rules or overstepped the boundaries, she handed out punishments. Once, she had slept with a colleague from New York at a medical congress. It was a stupid mistake and could have cost her her reputation, so she had stripped herself of the right to have sex for months. He had been insanely hot, but her rules should have made her resist his advances. There was a reason these rules existed and she had failed herself, so the punishment was really only an expression of the disappointment she felt inside.
When Dr. Erica Hahn came to Seattle Grace, she soon realized that her rules and boundaries were not even respected by her colleagues, much less followed. And she felt herself slipping, skirting close to the boundaries that separated her from her co-workers. Dr. Wyatt tried to tell her it was okay to break some rules, that some rules were meant to be broken. Even though it assured her slightly that her psychiatrist didn’t see this development as dangerous, there wasn’t really anything Erica could have done either. As much as she tried to fight her feelings for Callie, they got stronger the more she fought. Now, she saw Callie as the exception to the rule. The one person - apart from Angie - that would be allowed to overstep her boundaries.
When she had met her family, Marie’s family, at the airport in New York, her brother had immediately overstepped her personal boundaries. While Erica let her mother hug her, she shook her sister’s hand. Things were still awkward between them, after their disagreements and almost fights the atmosphere was tense. When Erica had stretched out her hand to shake Ethan’s hand, he had pulled her close and crushed her in a hug. He was even taller than the cardio goddess and clearly not uncomfortable with body contact. Erica, however, was even more uncomfortable than with her sister, since the blonde had never met Ethan before and she generally didn’t warm up to people until she had known them a long time. Body contact was also something Erica had clear boundaries and rules for. Shaking hands was a social necessity and allowed her to show her strength. As a doctor, she had to shake her patient’s hands, the patient’s families’ hands, to reassure them. Hugging, even if they had just lost a family member, was out of the question. For one, she had probably been the one who hadn’t been able to save the patient, so consoling the family members was to be done with words, not with body contact. Also, close body contact was unprofessional to Erica and therefore out of the question.
The fact that Ethan seemed completely unfazed by their body contact and the fact that she hadn’t hugged him back, but rather had held her breath, irritated her. He started talking to her instantly, bombarding her with questions about the flight, the weather in Seattle and what she knew of Paris. Completely overwhelmed with his openness and the fact that he treated her as if they had known each other for ever, she answered his questions with single sentences and didn’t ask him anything in return. Ethan was overstepping the boundaries and she had no idea what to do. Her sister already disliked her and she didn’t want her brother to turn against her as well. Erica had no real rules about the situation she was finding herself in. She knew how to treat patients, colleagues and acquaintances, but she had no idea how to treat her brother. When they entered the plane, she groaned inwardly as he asked to sit next to her, fearing that he would want to talk to her throughout the whole flight. Luckily, as the flight crew dimmed the lights, he yawned and wished her a pleasant night, then went to sleep.
As much as she wanted to, the cardio goddess couldn’t fall asleep. She kept wondering how he so easily conversed with her, how he just opened up to her as if she weren’t a total stranger to him. Ethan had asked her about Callie, which was the point at which she had stopped answering all this questions. Now, she feared having to be questioned by him for four straight days, while her mother just sat and watched her squirm.
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“Hey.”
“Hi. Are you busy?”
“No, I’m still at home. I have to leave for work in an hour, so we can talk. Was the flight okay?”
“Yeah, it was fine. Ethan won’t stop talking, I swear he’s going to drive me crazy by the end of the weekend.” Erica tried joking about the situation to relieve some of the pressure she felt constantly by now, but somehow Callie caught her tone and knew that she was serious underneath her hard exterior.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, he asks me question after question until I refuse to answer something and then he changes the topic, still asking me things.”
“So he’s trying to get to know all about you in four days?”
“It seems he’s trying to get to know me in one.” Erica sighed and fell back onto the bed in her hotel room. “I miss you.” The heard-core surgeon sounded vulnerable and soft, but she didn’t care. She did miss Callie and the fact that she seemed to only be able to breathe freely when the raven beauty was around didn’t make being so far away from her any easier.
“I miss you too. It’s only four days, Erica. Give Ethan a chance, I’m sure he is genuinely interested in his older sister.”
Erica sighed again and closed her eyes, trying to imagine Callie lying by her side, breathing evenly.
“I know. It’s just a bit … much, you know? I think now that we aren’t confined in a plane anymore he’ll give me more space to breath. Besides, we’ll do sightseeing all day, so he will be busy with Paris.”
“What about Marie’s husband, is he nice?”
“Tom. Yeah, he seems okay, I haven’t actually talked to him much yet.”
“Are you okay? You sound so, I don’t know, you sound really tired.”
“I am, I didn’t get much sleep in the plane. I missed having you close.”
“Erica.” Callie sighed, not knowing how to help her girlfriend at all. She missed Erica as well, but the blond doctor was behaving like a love-struck teenager and Callie had no idea how to deal with this side of Erica. The vulnerable side that hardly ever saw the light of day. “You will be fine. Just go to sleep early tonight, otherwise the jet lag will kick your ass. You aren’t going to go into Dr. Hahn mode with Ethan, are you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Do you think I’ll stab a scalpel in his chest to stop him from asking one more question?” Erica sounded hurt, but by now Callie had difficulties reading Erica’s tone. All the raven beauty knew was that Erica was really tired and she also knew the cardio goddess’ defense mode.
“You know what I mean. You get cold and detached when you feel uncomfortable and I’d hate to have you spend your vacation with your family that way. Let them see the real you, Erica, and they’ll love you. I’m sure by Sunday you’ll feel like part of the family.”
“I don’t need their love or approval.”
Callie sighed. What she least needed right now was to fight with Erica, being on a different continent and unable to look deep into the pierce blue eyes, getting her point across.
“I’m sorry, I know that I’m being a bitch and childish. I’ll try being me, I’m just … I am really tired and … and anxious. I don’t want to take it out on you, I’m sorry.”
“I accept your apologies. Where is this coming from, Erica? When you left you were fine, what changed?”
“They are so comfortable around each other. They are a family, the way you would want to be a family. They look alike and they talk and laugh and joke and I- I look like her, but-” Erica sighed, frustrated at her lack of words. “I had great parents, I know that I’m lucky because I had parents who took good care of me. But I never felt like I belonged, I never really felt like I was theirs. Especially not after Angie moved in with us. I had that strange hope, a fantasy, that I’d belong to them. Don’t know why I thought that, I’m not part of their family. I mean, Sandra doesn’t even like me and Tom has no idea who I am.”
“Erica, you need to give this some time. You just started getting to know them, you can’t expect to feel like you belong within one day. I’m sure you will feel that way, it just takes some time. Until then, you can always think of me as your family. And you definitely belong to me!”
Callie grinned into the phone, hoping that her attempt at cheering Erica up was having the desired effect.
“I don’t know how I deserve you, but I sure am lucky that you feel this way about me. You are everything to me, you know that, right?”
“Yes, I know. Now go and spend some time with your family, have some fun! And eat a crêpe for me!”
“I will. Have a good day at work! I’ll call again, maybe tomorrow.”
“I will be waiting. Bye.”
"Bye.”
Erica hung up the phone, falling back onto the bed. She smiled and thanked her lucky stars for bringing the raven beauty into her life. When she heard a knock at the door, she stood up, ready to face another day with Ethan and his endless questions.
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“Wow, this IS beautiful. Amazing. There are no words.”
“Then stop trying to find any and just enjoy the experience.” Erica grinned a cocky smile at Ethan to not offend him and when he smiled back at her, mirroring her facial expression, she knew that they would be fine as siblings. They sat in the basilique du Sacré-Coeur, staring at the ceiling in awe and just enjoyed spending time together.
Two hours later, the family was sitting in a small French restaurant, having dinner. Erica had impressed everyone with her French, ordering dinner and making small talk with the waiter, who seemed to love the fact that she was able to speak his language. They had ordered all the French specialties and French wine and were now talking about their first day in Paris and all the sights they had already seen.
“So, Erica, tell me some more about your girlfriend.”
Erica sighed and rolled her eyes at her brother. She had thought that he had finally stopped questioning her, he had made it throughout the day without pestering her with endless questions, but apparently, she had gotten her hopes up too soon.
“I heard that she’s hot.”
But Erica’s and Sandra’s heads shot up at the statement to look at Ethan, one in surprise and one in anger.
Sensing the tension, Maria covered Erica’s hand with her own and said “I think what Ethan meant was that Callie is very beautiful.”
She smiled at her daughter and shot Ethan a glare that came eerily close to the famous ‘Doctor-Hahn-glare’.
“Do you have a picture of her? I can’t wait to meet her to see if she lives up to the fantasy.”
Ethan was teasing Erica and the blonde knew it, but she hated that his words had such an effect on her. She wanted to lash out to hurt him and tell him to stay away from *her* Callie and at the same time she was incredibly angry at Sandra. To think that her own sister had spoken about Callie in such a way. It was true, Callie was incredibly beautiful and Erica would never deny it, but Callie was so much more to her. Callie made her see what life could be like, Callie had completely turned her world upside down and to hear her be diminished to a sex object made Erica sick to the stomach.
“Ethan, shut up. Or do you want me to tell mum and dad about John and his wonderful service?” Sandra dared her brother, willing him to stand up to her.
“Who is John?” Marie asked, suddenly very interested in what her only son had to say.
“Mum, it’s nothing, really, never mind. Okay, so I’ll shut up and we can all go back to having dinner, okay? How beautiful was Sacré Coeur? Man, I’ve never seen a church so beautiful.”
Erica and Sandra chuckled at their brother’s attempt to change the topic and shared a quick glance. Both were uncertain about their relationship and they knew it, but at the same time, they realized that they would have to try and make an effort to make it work. Seeing Sandra stand up for her and Callie made Erica want to finally give her sister a real chance.
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Erica was getting ready for bed when she heard a knock on her door.
“Hey. Can I come in?”
“Um, sure.” She opened the door wider to let her sister walk by and pulled her robe closer around her body, trying to figure out what this visit would be about.
“I just wanted to apologize, I did tell Ethan that Callie’s beautiful and, well, ahm, hot. But I also told him how in love you two are and that I just think it’s great that you’re happy. I didn’t think he would tease you or say inappropriate things, so I’m sorry that I even said anything to him. I guess he’s just testing the boundaries, seeing how far he can allow himself to push you.”
"Well, he pushed a bit too far tonight.” Erica sighed and motioned for Sandra to sit down in the armchair. She sat down on the bed and ran a hand through her damp hair, uncertain what to say.
“But thanks for defending her and, well, for getting him to shut up. I’m not sure I even deserved it, I guess I haven’t been the greatest older sister, have I?”
Sandra smiled at the statement, deciding that she wouldn’t have to answer the question.
“You know, I think Ethan is just jealous. I’m sure if he knew Callie he would have a crush on her and I think he knows that too. But I wouldn’t worry about that, I mean I’m pretty certain that you can trust Callie.”
“Oh, I trust her. I know that she would never betray me. But when he meets her, if I decide to let him meet her, and he makes any inappropriate comments, I’ll just cut his tongue out with a scalpel.” Erica shrugged nonchalantly and smirked at her sister.
“Please, do so. If it just makes him shut up.”
“He does talk a lot, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah. But in all seriousness, I think he doesn’t get to talk about normal stuff too much when he’s on tour. I guess it’s hard for him to transition into a civil life again.”
Erica nodded, taking in the information. She hadn’t given the fact that Ethan had been to war too much thought, but now she understood why he was constantly trying to make conversation. On tour, he probably didn’t have the luxury of just having a normal conversation, even if he tried to act that they weren’t risking their lives for their country.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings by saying that Callie’s hot. I mean I can’t deny that I noticed, but it’s obvious that she’s off limits. I would never try and flirt with her or anything, I would never even attempt to do something like that to you.”
“Thank you for saying that. I don’t worry about that, honestly, the thought hasn’t even crossed my mind, but I’m just still figuring that all out. I guess I’m a bit sensitive when it comes to her. That’s all. I would worry about your eyesight if you hadn’t noticed that she’s gorgeous.”
A cocky smile spread over Erica’s face and made her eyes twinkle which elicited a laugh from Sandra’s mouth.
“Good to know that we’re good. I’m going to leave and let you go to bed now, have a good night.”
Erica stood and showed Sandra to the door, where the younger sister leaned in and gave Erica an awkward hug. The cardio goddess returned the hug with one hand while the other rested on the door handle, impatiently waiting for Sandra to pull back and let her out of the room.
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.
Timeframe: Starts with the season 4 finale
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
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, Chapter Fifteen B, Chapter Sixteen, Chapter Seventeen, Chapter Eighteen
Author’s Note: Ugh. I hate this chapter. Seriously, hate! But I need to move on and get it over with. I hope that future chapters will be better. I know that it’s been forever since I posted last, and I’m sorry for that. Life has been kicking my butt and my muse left me. Oh well, here it is. Any ideas/suggestions/constructive criticism are more than welcome!
Chapter Nineteen - Open your mind
Dr. Erica Hahn liked rules. She had clear rules in her mind and expected herself and others to follow them. Rules on how to treat patients. Rules on how to operate. Rules on how to act around colleagues. Dr. Erica Hahn also liked clear-cut boundaries. Boundaries that allowed her to keep her distance from patients. Boundaries that allowed her to keep a safe distance from colleagues. Boundaries that allowed her to keep her distance without seeming impolite.
When she or someone else broke those rules or overstepped the boundaries, she handed out punishments. Once, she had slept with a colleague from New York at a medical congress. It was a stupid mistake and could have cost her her reputation, so she had stripped herself of the right to have sex for months. He had been insanely hot, but her rules should have made her resist his advances. There was a reason these rules existed and she had failed herself, so the punishment was really only an expression of the disappointment she felt inside.
When Dr. Erica Hahn came to Seattle Grace, she soon realized that her rules and boundaries were not even respected by her colleagues, much less followed. And she felt herself slipping, skirting close to the boundaries that separated her from her co-workers. Dr. Wyatt tried to tell her it was okay to break some rules, that some rules were meant to be broken. Even though it assured her slightly that her psychiatrist didn’t see this development as dangerous, there wasn’t really anything Erica could have done either. As much as she tried to fight her feelings for Callie, they got stronger the more she fought. Now, she saw Callie as the exception to the rule. The one person - apart from Angie - that would be allowed to overstep her boundaries.
When she had met her family, Marie’s family, at the airport in New York, her brother had immediately overstepped her personal boundaries. While Erica let her mother hug her, she shook her sister’s hand. Things were still awkward between them, after their disagreements and almost fights the atmosphere was tense. When Erica had stretched out her hand to shake Ethan’s hand, he had pulled her close and crushed her in a hug. He was even taller than the cardio goddess and clearly not uncomfortable with body contact. Erica, however, was even more uncomfortable than with her sister, since the blonde had never met Ethan before and she generally didn’t warm up to people until she had known them a long time. Body contact was also something Erica had clear boundaries and rules for. Shaking hands was a social necessity and allowed her to show her strength. As a doctor, she had to shake her patient’s hands, the patient’s families’ hands, to reassure them. Hugging, even if they had just lost a family member, was out of the question. For one, she had probably been the one who hadn’t been able to save the patient, so consoling the family members was to be done with words, not with body contact. Also, close body contact was unprofessional to Erica and therefore out of the question.
The fact that Ethan seemed completely unfazed by their body contact and the fact that she hadn’t hugged him back, but rather had held her breath, irritated her. He started talking to her instantly, bombarding her with questions about the flight, the weather in Seattle and what she knew of Paris. Completely overwhelmed with his openness and the fact that he treated her as if they had known each other for ever, she answered his questions with single sentences and didn’t ask him anything in return. Ethan was overstepping the boundaries and she had no idea what to do. Her sister already disliked her and she didn’t want her brother to turn against her as well. Erica had no real rules about the situation she was finding herself in. She knew how to treat patients, colleagues and acquaintances, but she had no idea how to treat her brother. When they entered the plane, she groaned inwardly as he asked to sit next to her, fearing that he would want to talk to her throughout the whole flight. Luckily, as the flight crew dimmed the lights, he yawned and wished her a pleasant night, then went to sleep.
As much as she wanted to, the cardio goddess couldn’t fall asleep. She kept wondering how he so easily conversed with her, how he just opened up to her as if she weren’t a total stranger to him. Ethan had asked her about Callie, which was the point at which she had stopped answering all this questions. Now, she feared having to be questioned by him for four straight days, while her mother just sat and watched her squirm.
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“Hey.”
“Hi. Are you busy?”
“No, I’m still at home. I have to leave for work in an hour, so we can talk. Was the flight okay?”
“Yeah, it was fine. Ethan won’t stop talking, I swear he’s going to drive me crazy by the end of the weekend.” Erica tried joking about the situation to relieve some of the pressure she felt constantly by now, but somehow Callie caught her tone and knew that she was serious underneath her hard exterior.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, he asks me question after question until I refuse to answer something and then he changes the topic, still asking me things.”
“So he’s trying to get to know all about you in four days?”
“It seems he’s trying to get to know me in one.” Erica sighed and fell back onto the bed in her hotel room. “I miss you.” The heard-core surgeon sounded vulnerable and soft, but she didn’t care. She did miss Callie and the fact that she seemed to only be able to breathe freely when the raven beauty was around didn’t make being so far away from her any easier.
“I miss you too. It’s only four days, Erica. Give Ethan a chance, I’m sure he is genuinely interested in his older sister.”
Erica sighed again and closed her eyes, trying to imagine Callie lying by her side, breathing evenly.
“I know. It’s just a bit … much, you know? I think now that we aren’t confined in a plane anymore he’ll give me more space to breath. Besides, we’ll do sightseeing all day, so he will be busy with Paris.”
“What about Marie’s husband, is he nice?”
“Tom. Yeah, he seems okay, I haven’t actually talked to him much yet.”
“Are you okay? You sound so, I don’t know, you sound really tired.”
“I am, I didn’t get much sleep in the plane. I missed having you close.”
“Erica.” Callie sighed, not knowing how to help her girlfriend at all. She missed Erica as well, but the blond doctor was behaving like a love-struck teenager and Callie had no idea how to deal with this side of Erica. The vulnerable side that hardly ever saw the light of day. “You will be fine. Just go to sleep early tonight, otherwise the jet lag will kick your ass. You aren’t going to go into Dr. Hahn mode with Ethan, are you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Do you think I’ll stab a scalpel in his chest to stop him from asking one more question?” Erica sounded hurt, but by now Callie had difficulties reading Erica’s tone. All the raven beauty knew was that Erica was really tired and she also knew the cardio goddess’ defense mode.
“You know what I mean. You get cold and detached when you feel uncomfortable and I’d hate to have you spend your vacation with your family that way. Let them see the real you, Erica, and they’ll love you. I’m sure by Sunday you’ll feel like part of the family.”
“I don’t need their love or approval.”
Callie sighed. What she least needed right now was to fight with Erica, being on a different continent and unable to look deep into the pierce blue eyes, getting her point across.
“I’m sorry, I know that I’m being a bitch and childish. I’ll try being me, I’m just … I am really tired and … and anxious. I don’t want to take it out on you, I’m sorry.”
“I accept your apologies. Where is this coming from, Erica? When you left you were fine, what changed?”
“They are so comfortable around each other. They are a family, the way you would want to be a family. They look alike and they talk and laugh and joke and I- I look like her, but-” Erica sighed, frustrated at her lack of words. “I had great parents, I know that I’m lucky because I had parents who took good care of me. But I never felt like I belonged, I never really felt like I was theirs. Especially not after Angie moved in with us. I had that strange hope, a fantasy, that I’d belong to them. Don’t know why I thought that, I’m not part of their family. I mean, Sandra doesn’t even like me and Tom has no idea who I am.”
“Erica, you need to give this some time. You just started getting to know them, you can’t expect to feel like you belong within one day. I’m sure you will feel that way, it just takes some time. Until then, you can always think of me as your family. And you definitely belong to me!”
Callie grinned into the phone, hoping that her attempt at cheering Erica up was having the desired effect.
“I don’t know how I deserve you, but I sure am lucky that you feel this way about me. You are everything to me, you know that, right?”
“Yes, I know. Now go and spend some time with your family, have some fun! And eat a crêpe for me!”
“I will. Have a good day at work! I’ll call again, maybe tomorrow.”
“I will be waiting. Bye.”
"Bye.”
Erica hung up the phone, falling back onto the bed. She smiled and thanked her lucky stars for bringing the raven beauty into her life. When she heard a knock at the door, she stood up, ready to face another day with Ethan and his endless questions.
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“Wow, this IS beautiful. Amazing. There are no words.”
“Then stop trying to find any and just enjoy the experience.” Erica grinned a cocky smile at Ethan to not offend him and when he smiled back at her, mirroring her facial expression, she knew that they would be fine as siblings. They sat in the basilique du Sacré-Coeur, staring at the ceiling in awe and just enjoyed spending time together.
Two hours later, the family was sitting in a small French restaurant, having dinner. Erica had impressed everyone with her French, ordering dinner and making small talk with the waiter, who seemed to love the fact that she was able to speak his language. They had ordered all the French specialties and French wine and were now talking about their first day in Paris and all the sights they had already seen.
“So, Erica, tell me some more about your girlfriend.”
Erica sighed and rolled her eyes at her brother. She had thought that he had finally stopped questioning her, he had made it throughout the day without pestering her with endless questions, but apparently, she had gotten her hopes up too soon.
“I heard that she’s hot.”
But Erica’s and Sandra’s heads shot up at the statement to look at Ethan, one in surprise and one in anger.
Sensing the tension, Maria covered Erica’s hand with her own and said “I think what Ethan meant was that Callie is very beautiful.”
She smiled at her daughter and shot Ethan a glare that came eerily close to the famous ‘Doctor-Hahn-glare’.
“Do you have a picture of her? I can’t wait to meet her to see if she lives up to the fantasy.”
Ethan was teasing Erica and the blonde knew it, but she hated that his words had such an effect on her. She wanted to lash out to hurt him and tell him to stay away from *her* Callie and at the same time she was incredibly angry at Sandra. To think that her own sister had spoken about Callie in such a way. It was true, Callie was incredibly beautiful and Erica would never deny it, but Callie was so much more to her. Callie made her see what life could be like, Callie had completely turned her world upside down and to hear her be diminished to a sex object made Erica sick to the stomach.
“Ethan, shut up. Or do you want me to tell mum and dad about John and his wonderful service?” Sandra dared her brother, willing him to stand up to her.
“Who is John?” Marie asked, suddenly very interested in what her only son had to say.
“Mum, it’s nothing, really, never mind. Okay, so I’ll shut up and we can all go back to having dinner, okay? How beautiful was Sacré Coeur? Man, I’ve never seen a church so beautiful.”
Erica and Sandra chuckled at their brother’s attempt to change the topic and shared a quick glance. Both were uncertain about their relationship and they knew it, but at the same time, they realized that they would have to try and make an effort to make it work. Seeing Sandra stand up for her and Callie made Erica want to finally give her sister a real chance.
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Erica was getting ready for bed when she heard a knock on her door.
“Hey. Can I come in?”
“Um, sure.” She opened the door wider to let her sister walk by and pulled her robe closer around her body, trying to figure out what this visit would be about.
“I just wanted to apologize, I did tell Ethan that Callie’s beautiful and, well, ahm, hot. But I also told him how in love you two are and that I just think it’s great that you’re happy. I didn’t think he would tease you or say inappropriate things, so I’m sorry that I even said anything to him. I guess he’s just testing the boundaries, seeing how far he can allow himself to push you.”
"Well, he pushed a bit too far tonight.” Erica sighed and motioned for Sandra to sit down in the armchair. She sat down on the bed and ran a hand through her damp hair, uncertain what to say.
“But thanks for defending her and, well, for getting him to shut up. I’m not sure I even deserved it, I guess I haven’t been the greatest older sister, have I?”
Sandra smiled at the statement, deciding that she wouldn’t have to answer the question.
“You know, I think Ethan is just jealous. I’m sure if he knew Callie he would have a crush on her and I think he knows that too. But I wouldn’t worry about that, I mean I’m pretty certain that you can trust Callie.”
“Oh, I trust her. I know that she would never betray me. But when he meets her, if I decide to let him meet her, and he makes any inappropriate comments, I’ll just cut his tongue out with a scalpel.” Erica shrugged nonchalantly and smirked at her sister.
“Please, do so. If it just makes him shut up.”
“He does talk a lot, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah. But in all seriousness, I think he doesn’t get to talk about normal stuff too much when he’s on tour. I guess it’s hard for him to transition into a civil life again.”
Erica nodded, taking in the information. She hadn’t given the fact that Ethan had been to war too much thought, but now she understood why he was constantly trying to make conversation. On tour, he probably didn’t have the luxury of just having a normal conversation, even if he tried to act that they weren’t risking their lives for their country.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings by saying that Callie’s hot. I mean I can’t deny that I noticed, but it’s obvious that she’s off limits. I would never try and flirt with her or anything, I would never even attempt to do something like that to you.”
“Thank you for saying that. I don’t worry about that, honestly, the thought hasn’t even crossed my mind, but I’m just still figuring that all out. I guess I’m a bit sensitive when it comes to her. That’s all. I would worry about your eyesight if you hadn’t noticed that she’s gorgeous.”
A cocky smile spread over Erica’s face and made her eyes twinkle which elicited a laugh from Sandra’s mouth.
“Good to know that we’re good. I’m going to leave and let you go to bed now, have a good night.”
Erica stood and showed Sandra to the door, where the younger sister leaned in and gave Erica an awkward hug. The cardio goddess returned the hug with one hand while the other rested on the door handle, impatiently waiting for Sandra to pull back and let her out of the room.