Another Chance - Grey's Anatomy Mark/Callie Fanfic - 1/2
“Arizona doesn’t want kids.”
Mark blinked slowly, looking up from his work at his kitchen stable. “Huh?”
Callie entered through his door, slamming it behind her, eyes wide and frazzled. “Arizona doesn’t want kids.”
Mark furrowed his brows. “But she loves kids. It comes with the profession. She’s a pediatric surgeon. How does she not want kids?”
Callie sighed and took a seat next to him, pulling her chair close to his. She eyed his glass of scotch and decidedly took a sip. Mark knew better than to protest.
“She said something about all the pain that parents go through and the terrible things that can happen to kids. She sees it everyday and doesn’t think she can handle it or something like that. She told me she doesn’t want children. None. I don’t know what to do.”
Mark took his drink back and sipped it. “You want kids,” he stated. “You’ve talked about it a few times. Are you willing to sway on it at all, Torres? Any wiggle room?”
Callie bit her lip. “I don’t know. I’ve always wanted kids. I have a big family. Back when I was with George, we even planned on trying. Kids are something I’ve always wanted. I don’t know…I just…I think about it all, the way I want my life to end up, and I see children. It’s who I am. I don’t think I can change that. I never expected this problem with Arizona. I guess because she works with kids, I just assumed she would want them.”
She took his drink again, tossed it back, and Mark poured himself another.
Callie continued, “I don’t think I can compromise on this. I want kids,” she said resolutely.
Mark nodded. “So what are you going to do about it?”
Callie closed her eyes. “I have no idea.”
* * *
The next few days were tense for Callie and Arizona. Things got progressively worse with time. They avoided each other constantly at the hospital, neither wanting to confront the obvious issue in their relationship. They avoided the topic, not knowing what to do.
Then they were put on the same case. A father and daughter had been in a brutal car accident. The father died on impact, but the six year old girl managed to make it to the hospital alive. She underwent multiple surgeries under the care of Callie, Arizona, and others, and the case forced the couple together.
The young girl’s mother was a wreck. She lost her husband, and her daughter was in critical condition. They ended up losing the girl. The mother was hysterical. Her expression of grief was enough to break anyone.
Amidst the woman’s tears, Arizona pulled Callie aside. “Don’t you see, Calliope? I don’t want kids because I don’t ever want to be that woman in there. I can’t handle that pain. Look at her, Callie. Do you ever want to be her?”
“No one wants that, Arizona. No one wants to be her,” Callie responded. “Having my child die would be horrific, but I’m not going to let fear rule me. It doesn’t scare me away from wanting to be a mother. I’ve always wanted children. I’ve always wanted to experience that joy of having kids - that joy that you always talk about with working in your specialty. I want that. Maybe not today or even this year, but I do want it. I want kids.”
Arizona looked up at Callie with sad eyes. “I don’t.”
Callie bit her lip. “Well…I guess we want different things.”
Arizona grabbed Callie’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “Are we…are we ending this?”
There were tears in both their eyes.
Callie squeezed her hand even harder. “I think we are.”
“I love you, Calliope Iphigenia Torres,” Arizona whispered.
Callie had to choke back a laugh at the use of her full name. She sniffled. “I love you, too,” she whispered in reply.
After brushing a stray hair gently out of Arizona’s face, Callie leaned in and kissed her one last time. And then she walked away.
* * *
“Arizona and I broke up,” Callie spoke tearfully from Mark’s doorway.
Mark led her inside quickly, poured her a drink, and sat her down on the couch next to him.
“That girl,” Callie began. “That little girl who got in the car wreck…you know the one, you treated her burns? She died this afternoon. That little six year old girl. So Arizona and I finally talked about things. She doesn’t want kids, Mark. And I do. So we ended it. Arizona and I broke up,” she cried.
Callie was still in shock.
Mark hadn’t seen Callie in a state like this since her ex-husband’s death. He pulled her into him and stroked her hair. “I’m sorry, Torres.”
Callie nodded into his chest.
“Want me to make you some pancakes?”
Callie nodded into his chest again and mumbled, “Banana?”
“Sure.”
The pair spent the evening like this, drinking, talking, eating pancakes, and eventually falling asleep sprawled out together on Mark’s couch.
* * *
Things carried on like this for weeks. Binge eating, too much television, and drinks at Mark or Callie’s respective apartments.
At the hospital, things were strange. Callie was so used to being with Arizona, that she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. She and Arizona had become a unit, their lives integrated together in every respect. Callie felt strange alone. She was no longer good at it and hadn’t been in a few years. Not since before George. It did not take long for Callie to start sleeping with Mark after she and George ended their marriage. She and Mark had never been together, of course, but she had certainly gotten some fantastic sex and a best friend out of it. Then quite quickly, along came Erica Hahn. That had been a brief but certainly enlightening relationship. After only a few months of being single - a quite miserable time - along came Arizona kissing her in bathrooms. Things had been simple with Arizona. They came naturally and easily. She called her Calliope, and it never bothered her. The sex was good - it wasn’t a problem as it had been with Erica. It was great, actually. Callie had been initially surprised, but it made sense.
The wonderful thing, Callie realized by being with Arizona, was that women know what women want. Women know what make women tick. Women understand each other. The sex with Arizona could only be rivaled by one other partner she’d had - Mark. Women may know what women want, but Mark Sloan always seemed to know exactly what Callie wanted. The months they slept together made for some very, very amazing sex.
Over the past several weeks, her knowledge of that fact was making Callie’s life a bit difficult. With both Callie and Mark suddenly single, the lines were a little more blurred than usual. They used to have a lot of casual sex. Now that they were both available once more, Callie found it difficult to not slip back into the old habit. Their sexual tension had been growing for quite a while. Falling into bed with Mark Sloan was always enjoyable, but not always the best of ideas.
* * *
Two months passed. Two long celibate months between the two of them. They spent all their time together, constantly at Joe’s or watching movies. Callie even dragged him along sometimes when she needed to get groceries. They were damn near a couple without the benefits. They were best friends with sexual tension out the wazoo. Callie was beginning to think that the pair had been celibate for far too long.
“So what’s for dinner?” Mark asked, walking into Callie’s apartment.
Callie rolled her eyes, stirring a pot on the stove. “I’m making linguini.”
“I love a woman who cooks.”
She quipped, “You love a woman with a rack.”
Mark grinned. “Well, you’ve got that too, now don’t you?”
Callie rolled her eyes again. “Did you at least bring the wine?”
“Pinot noir, just as ordered.”
“Good. So what’s on the agenda for tonight? Bring any movies?”
Mark beamed. “I’ve got action or porn.”
“Seriously, Mark?” Callie laughed.
Mark shrugged his shoulders innocently. “It’s girl on girl, if that helps. I thought you could appreciate.”
Callie raised an eyebrow, briefly tempted, but shook her head quickly. “No, Mark. Action.”
“Shucks,” he grinned boyishly.
“I know you’re disappointed,” Callie replied, “but I’m sure we’ll make due.”
The pair ate, watched the movie, and polished off the bottle of wine.
Callie turned to him as the credits rolled silently, “Do you ever miss her?” Maybe she’d had too much wine, or maybe it was just Mark’s presence, but she wanted to talk.
“Lexie?” he asked roughly.
Callie nodded.
Mark gritted his teeth. “Yeah. I guess, sometimes I do. I don’t want her back, but I miss her sometimes. She was my first serious relationship that actually lasted. But we wanted different things, I guess. Derek’s mom said that Lexie and I were good together because I was emotionally immature. We were on the same level. We’re not anymore. I guess I really have grown up, huh?”
The corners of Callie’s lips curled upwards. “You really have.”
Mark spoke, “Do you miss Arizona?”
“Yes,” Callie whispered. “Sometimes I wish that she had done something horrible. Cheat, like George did. Betray me. Lie to me. Something unforgivable. It would be easier to forget if I could hate her. But I can’t. We just wanted different things. I can’t hate her for that. Neither of us did anything wrong; we just weren’t going to work. I’ve managed to accept that and move on, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss her sometimes.”
Mark nodded and grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly. Callie crawled into his lap. The pair rarely talked this seriously, but when they did, it was always very intimate.
Mark pressed and kiss to Callie’s cheek after several minutes and said quietly, “Thanks for dinner, Torres. I should head home.”
“Don’t,” Callie spoke abruptly. “Stay.”
They both knew exactly what she meant.
Mark tested, “Are you sure about that?”
A firm kiss to his lips was the only answer he needed. Tasting wine on her tongue, Mark delved in. His hands tangled in her curls, and she gripped his ass tightly. It wasn’t long before they stumbled into Callie’s bedroom, clothes flung every which way.
“Do you have…?” Callie trailed of, gasping as she felt his hand slide inside her panties.
Mark reached inside his pocket and pulled out a condom, smiling. “Always gotta be prepared.”
She heard a tearing of foil, a quick movement, a beat, and suddenly, for the first time in a long time, Mark was inside her.
It didn’t take Callie long to come. A thrust just there, a circle of the hips, Mark’s finger dragging lazily just where she wanted it, and Callie was a goner.
“Mark,” she rasped out as he palmed her breast. Callie pulled at his hair, and brought him into a searing kiss. They finished together for Callie’s second time, her with a strangled, high pitched cry, and Mark with a low, long groan.
Callie tried in vain to slow her breathing, entirely spent. She pressed feather-light kisses to Mark’s bare chest.
“Mmm,” Callie smiled into him. “Well then.”
Mark could not help but laugh. “C’mere, Torres,” he said, pulling her flush against him, eye to eye.
He grinned. “So, how are you?”
It was Callie’s turn to laugh - a breathless chuckle, ending with her biting her lip pleasantly. “I’m good. Very, very good, actually.”
He shrugged. “All in a day’s work.”
Callie rolled her eyes and swatted him playfully. “Come on now, Sloan. How long has it been for you?”
“Since before that…debacle…with Teddy. A nurse, I think. It’s been a few months,” he admitted grudgingly. “When was the last time you were with a guy, anyway?”
“A guy?” Callie repeated. “Well, when’s the last time slept together?”
Mark held a hand to his heart. “Aw, I was your last man? Now I feel special. We haven’t been together since before Erica.”
“And once during,” Callie corrected him. “Little Grey wasn’t the first woman to ask you to teach her, Sloan.”
“Ah, yes,” he smiled, reminiscing. “I believe I taught you all about the Sloan Method.”
“Let me tell you,” Callie said, “it was one great lesson. “I might, however, need a refresher course.”
Mark smirked. “Really now?”
Callie nodded seriously. “Really. You up for it?”
Mark trailed a finger down slowly between her breasts. “Baby, I’m always up for it.”
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End of part one. Part two should be up soon, and trust me, there's quite a surprise. ;) Feedback is appreciated.