Learning to Fly (7/?)
TITLE: Learning to Fly (7/?)
AUTHOR: Melificent811
RATING: NC-17 (some parts anyway...)
PAIRING: Callie/Erica
SUMMARY: Set after the season 4 finale kiss. Coming out can be quite the rocky journey...
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 here:
CHAPTER ONE, CHAPTER TWO, CHAPTER THREE, CHAPTER FOUR, CHAPTER FIVE, CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
Erica slowly fluttered her eyes open. She gently raised her head to glance at the clock to find that it was already nine in the morning. By anyone else's standards, it would be just about the right time to roll out of bed and have a nice breakfast. In the world according to Erica Hahn, she had overindulged herself by sleeping in.
She glanced down to realize that the gorgeous Latin woman in her arms was still fast asleep. Erica stroked her raven curls, admiring the effortless rise and fall of her bare chest. She placed gentle kisses on her cheek and continued to trail light pecks down Callie's neck and onto her broad shoulder. Suddenly, she felt her lover stir and pull Erica's arms closer around her own body.
“Good morning.” Erica smiled as her lover's eyes slowly fluttered open.
“Good morning.” Callie couldn't help but smile back. She could get used to waking up like this every morning.
“You look like you slept well.” Erica traced her fingers down Callie's side and settled on the curve of waist. She felt so soft and sensual. The older woman could never get enough of it.
“I did...” Callie turned and pulled Erica in for a kiss. They lingered on each other's lips, remembering the wonderful and unexpected events that had happened the night before. “Erica, last night was amazing…”
Suddenly, Erica pulled back and frowned slightly while caressing the darker woman's face
Callie began to become genuinely worried. Was her partner having second thoughts? “What's wrong?”
“You know, Richard saw us last night... He's probably going to want us to update our date and tells when we go back to work.”
Callie rolled over onto her back and covered her face with the amazingly fluffy pillow. “Do we have to???” She asked, sounding more like a five year old child than a talented surgical resident.
The lighter woman quickly rolled on top of the darker one, tossing the pillow aside onto the floor. She placed a quick on her lips and smiled as Callie crinkled her nose in protest, “Yes baby... I think we're going to have to.”
Callie sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, the beautiful woman lying in bed with her was right. “Ok… But only if you go with me… I’m SO not going to do this by myself.”
“Of course,” Erica caressed her lover’s cheek, searching the depths of those dark chocolate eyes. “If that’s what you want, I’ll do it.”
Sensing a slight moment of panic, the blonde woman enveloped the darker woman in her arms and cradled her, breathing in the scent of her hair. “I’ll tell you what… I’ll come find you tomorrow afternoon at work. We’ll go to Richard together and take care of those stupid forms.”
Callie pulled away slightly, enough to look her lover in the eyes. “Okay, we’ll do that…”
“You know Cal, if it’s any consolation I’m actually thrilled that I can FINALLY put you onto that damn form.” Erica smiled, attempting to lighten the mood.
“Yeah,” The darker woman smiled right back, “I am too…”
******
“You will never guess what I saw this weekend.” Meredith walked up with her tray of food and joined Izzie and Alex who were already enjoying the first few minutes of their lunch break.
“Ooh… Lemme guess!” Izzie jumped unexpectedly at the question. Meredith shook her head, having no idea what got her so uppity. “You saw a guy open some dude’s chest up with a steak knife after he collapsed in the middle of a crowded restaurant.”
“Well...” Meredith took a sip of her soda, “You got the restaurant part right.”
Karev shook his head and looked at the pair. Sometimes it was tough being the only real man in their circle of friends. “Will you just tell her already?”
“Derek and I ran into Callie and Dr. Hahn at that restaurant… Galliano’s…”
“And that’s so interesting because…” Alex took a bite out of his food. There were times when he couldn’t understand why women got so invested in such trivial information.
“It’s interesting because I’m pretty sure they were out on a date together.”
“Come on Meredith,” Izzie argued in a state of disbelief. There was no way that the ‘dirty hot’ orthopedic resident would exchange mid-day romps with Dr McSteamy for a full on relationship with the ice queen. “They’re always hanging out. You sure they weren’t just having dinner or something?”
“Well, I saw them holding hands and kissing. I hate to admit it but it was actually kind of cute… Anyway, I don’t know about you but I’m pretty sure people who are ‘just friends’ don’t do that.” Meredith paused, watching the information process on her friend’s face. “Looks like Callie’s new best friend is turning out to be a lot more than that…”
“Dude!” Karev’s eyes grew wide with realization as he finally put two and two together. “Bambi totally turned Callie gay!” He just couldn’t believe his ears. This information was more golden than Callie’s coveted study cards.
The trio paused to look at each other almost searching for permission to respond. After only a millisecond of consideration, they burst into a fit of laughter.
“Oh come on guys…” Meredith tried to speak, despite her uncontrollable laughter. “We should be nice to George… Just because Erica Hahn is more of a stud than he is doesn’t mean we can laugh at his expense.”
“Yeah it does!” Karev laughed so hard he almost shot soda out his nose.
“Come on, I think it’s kind of cute…” Izzie’s laughter slowly subsided into the giggles. “Erica is Callie’s McDreamy.”
“More like McScary!...” Meredith sputtered out, still in a fit of laughter over Karev’s well timed comment.
“Hey guys,” Yang rounded a table nearby and headed for the free chair next to Grey, “What’s so funny?”
“Christina! I know you’re trying to keep on Hahn’s good side and everything but for god sakes… you LIVE with Callie. How could you not know?”
Yang sat on the free chair and popped opened the tray of salad she had purchased. “Know about what?” She tried her best to play dumb… as well as Christina Yang could anyway. She had heard the conversation the moment she stepped into the cafeteria. Indeed, trying to stay on the cardio attending’s good side was becoming increasingly difficult.
“That Callie and the Ice Queen are apparently an item.” Izzie interrupted.
“Oh yeah, that…” Christina took a bite of her salad, “I’ve known since the beginning.”
“Christina!” Meredith looked at her friend in disbelief.
“So what? So I knew that they’ve been sneaking around making googly eyes at each other for the last few weeks. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“The big deal is that you knew and you didn’t bother to tell anyone… you didn’t even tell ME and I'm your person!”
“Sorry, but I needed to stay on Hahn’s good side so she would put me in on more surgeries.”
“So it’s bad enough that Meredith lent you the sparkle pager.” Izzie leaned in towards the middle of the table, “Now you’re withholding information to get ahead!”
“That’s so NOT true.” Christina looked up at the blonde, completely unamused.
“Information withholder!” Izzie spat out her words like a five year old child on the playground.
“Settle down girls,” Karev interrupted, trying to break the mock fight. “You’re both pretty... Besides, we were laughing at Bambi, remember?”
“Oh god...” Izzie stood down from Christina and looked around the table at her friends. “Do you think George knows?”
“I saw him at Galliano's with Lexie.” Meredith recalled. “If he saw the way they were together, I'm sure he has a pretty good idea.”
******
Callie walked towards the nurses' station to collect a few charts before rounds. It had been a fairly uneventful day and she was looking forward to getting the job done so she could go home on time. As she approached the counter, she noticed George O'Malley pretending to keep himself busy with notations in an upside down chart. As groups of people passed by, they would snicker and whisper causing the young doctor to hide his face further in the chart.
“You know,” Callie reached over the counter to collect two charts next to the computer, “That would make a lot more sense if you read it right side up.”
George threw the chart down on the counter and fidgeted from side to side, avoiding eye contact at all costs. “Did I... um... are you with Dr. Hahn because of something I did?”
Callie sighed and shook her head. As much as she would love to bite back and tell her ex husband that it was all his fault. It was his fault that their relationship went the way of the toilet... It was his fault that she would never look at relationships the same way or trust as easily as she used to... It was his fault that she fell into a deep precipice and the only person who could fish her out was a beautiful blonde surgeon who swooped in unexpectedly and taught her how to love again.
“What are you talking about?”
“I saw you two holding hands when we ran into you at dinner... Now, half the hospital is claiming I turned you into a lesbian.”
Callie leaned into the counter, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. “Look George, it just happened... I still can't explain how. But, it happened and... I'm happy.” She reached forward to touch his shoulder in a friendly gesture. “It's not your fault.”
After a moment of silent consideration, George finally looked into Callie's eyes and saw the genuineness behind her words. “Thanks...”
Callie watched as George turned on his heel to walk in the other direction. Only a few steps away, he suddenly turns back and locks eyes with the woman who he had betrayed not so long ago.
“Oh yeah... And Callie... I'm glad you're happy. You... um... You deserve it...”
Callie watched as the new resident turned around and skittered down the hallway. There was still a little part of her that hadn't let go of the pain and humiliation that happened when their marriage had gone sour. It was that part of her that silently jumped with glee with the idea that her ex-husband was finally getting his karmic payback for all his wrongdoings. But the other part of her... the incredibly sympathetic, unconditionally loving to a fault part... just wanted it to blow over so George could move on as well.
Callie took a deep breath and continued on her way to begin afternoon rounds. As much as she wanted things to immediately blow over, she knew it was going to take some time for everyone to settle down.
******
“You ready?” Erica peered into the door then walked to the darker woman who was sitting in the break room awaiting her arrival.
Callie looked up from the chart she had just finished with a slight look of terror in her eyes. “Did you know that everyone's saying that George turned me gay?”
“Yeah,” Erica sighed and pulled up a chair next to her lover. She gently put her hand on Callie's knee and absentmindedly traced circles on it with her thumb. “I heard... Are you doing okay?”
“Well, considering the fact that EVERYONE in the hospital has found us out... I actually think I'm doing okay.”
“I know it’s not exactly the way you wanted to tell everyone.”
“It wasn’t… But in a weird, twisted way I’m kind of glad it happened. It’s still scary but I'm glad I don’t really need to hide anymore.” Callie placed her hand on Erica's creamy fingers and instantly intertwined them with hers. “I don't think I could have done this without you... Thank you.”
“Anything for you, baby.” Erica smiled as she pushed a stray lock of Callie’s hair behind her ear. There was nothing Erica loved more than the beautiful sight of her lover’s face. She quickly stood up and held out her hand, waiting for the other woman to take it. “Come on Torres, it’s time to rip the band aid off.”
Callie sighed as she stood and took the lighter woman’s hand into her own. “Okay… let’s do this.”
******
“Come in.”
The chief looked up and saw the couple walk through the door, their fingers lightly intertwined with each other. Erica walked in with an air of determination with a slightly hesitant Callie in tow. He could tell that Dr. Torres was slightly fearful of what was to come.
“Adele told me this morning that I should be expecting you two.”
The pair looked at each other in confusion. Neither had seen or talked to the chief or his wife since they had run into each other at the restaurant.
“Don’t worry. No one said anything. After we ran into you at the restaurant, she couldn’t stop talking about what a… um… ‘cute couple’ you two made. At the time I wasn’t quite sure what she was seeing but now that you’re both here, I’m going to assume you’re here to fill out a certain form.”
“Yes sir,” Erica answered with the most professional voice she could muster up.
The couple watched as the chief turned to the file cabinet behind the desk to retrieve two forms. He placed them out on the desk in front of each woman. Silently, they reached for the pens in their pockets and filled out the appropriate sections with information about each other.
As they handed the completed paperwork back to their superior, he looked up and the pair and said, “I appreciate your honesty. I can understand how difficult this must be.”
“Thank you sir,” Erica responded. She could see Callie’s nervousness through her silence. “And Chief, let me assure you that this is not going to affect us professionally.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less Dr. Hahn.” He glanced at the papers, making sure that the appropriate information had been filled out. ‘Well, these look to be in good working order. We’re done here is there isn’t anything else.”
The pair turned to head out the door but Richard unexpectadely began to speak. “Dr Hahn… Dr Torres. If there are any problems, I expect that you will let me know.”
Erica turned to the chief and immediately read his mind. In his time, Richard had gone through his share of discrimination and public ridicule. Deep down inside she knew that he would go to bat for the couple if a situation decided to present itself.
“Of course.”
“You know, Adele is right. You two do make a…um… ‘cute couple’.”
The pair turned to each other and shared a knowing smile before heading out the door. Once they reached the sanctity of the hallway, Callie took a deep breath and turned to Erica. The slight click of the door closing finally released Callie’s nervous silence.
“Well, that was pretty painless.”
“I told you everything was going to be okay.” The taller woman shot her a knowing glance.
“Why do I have the feeling that you’re always going to be right?” Callie turned slightly, grasping her fingers with her lover’s. Now that the whole hospital was talking about them, she didn’t feel the impulse to hide.
“Because I am…” Erica smiled, feeling the warmth of Callie’s hand in her own. She brimmed with pride, knowing that the woman she loved was growing and becoming stronger before her eyes. “Cal, I’m so proud of you.”
“For what?”
Erica watched intently as a bewildered expression took over the beautiful features of the latin woman’s face. “For doing this with me… For not running away.”
“I made a promise to you, Erica. I would never break that…” Callie looked deeply into her lover’s eyes. She remembered what it was like only weeks ago when she was running away to avoid the feelings that she had buried deep inside. Now her feelings were out and she was no longer scared. She knew that Erica would be there despite any fallout that may happen. Callie sensed it before when they were just friends but now she knew deep down in her soul that Erica was her rock.
“Well,” Erica teased. “Let’s hope you don’t because I happen to know a certain doctor who can rip your heart out of your chest with her bare hands.”
“I hear she’s damn good at it too.”
The pair shared a laugh and lightly rested their foreheads together. It was a sweet moment of victory to be able to finally be open about their relationship. Both of them knew that it would take some time for the rest of the hospital to settle down and finally come to terms with the fact that the hot tempered ortho chic and the emotionless heart surgeon were in a happy relationship.
The comfortable silence of their shared moment was suddenly interrupted by the shrill cry of one of their beepers. The women instantly parted and turned to their electronic leashed to see what was going on.
“It’s me…” Erica looked at the electronic device with spite. Of course it would choose to interrupt her moment with Callie. “I’ve gotta run down to the ER. I’ll see you at my place tonight?”
“Of course…” Callie smiled as she leaned in for a quick chaste kiss on her lover’s lips. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Callie watched as Erica walked away towards the emergency call. It had felt so good and so natural to kiss the beautiful woman on the lips right in the middle of the hallway. It was the most wonderful feeling to know that she didn’t have to hide anymore.
******
A/N: Phew… that one took some time. I had some trouble getting the dialogue just right. Not quite sure if it even got there or not. What did you think of the cafeteria scene? That one really threw me for a loop. I really wanted to get the characterizations right. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this installment.
AUTHOR: Melificent811
RATING: NC-17 (some parts anyway...)
PAIRING: Callie/Erica
SUMMARY: Set after the season 4 finale kiss. Coming out can be quite the rocky journey...
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 here:
CHAPTER ONE, CHAPTER TWO, CHAPTER THREE, CHAPTER FOUR, CHAPTER FIVE, CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
Erica slowly fluttered her eyes open. She gently raised her head to glance at the clock to find that it was already nine in the morning. By anyone else's standards, it would be just about the right time to roll out of bed and have a nice breakfast. In the world according to Erica Hahn, she had overindulged herself by sleeping in.
She glanced down to realize that the gorgeous Latin woman in her arms was still fast asleep. Erica stroked her raven curls, admiring the effortless rise and fall of her bare chest. She placed gentle kisses on her cheek and continued to trail light pecks down Callie's neck and onto her broad shoulder. Suddenly, she felt her lover stir and pull Erica's arms closer around her own body.
“Good morning.” Erica smiled as her lover's eyes slowly fluttered open.
“Good morning.” Callie couldn't help but smile back. She could get used to waking up like this every morning.
“You look like you slept well.” Erica traced her fingers down Callie's side and settled on the curve of waist. She felt so soft and sensual. The older woman could never get enough of it.
“I did...” Callie turned and pulled Erica in for a kiss. They lingered on each other's lips, remembering the wonderful and unexpected events that had happened the night before. “Erica, last night was amazing…”
Suddenly, Erica pulled back and frowned slightly while caressing the darker woman's face
Callie began to become genuinely worried. Was her partner having second thoughts? “What's wrong?”
“You know, Richard saw us last night... He's probably going to want us to update our date and tells when we go back to work.”
Callie rolled over onto her back and covered her face with the amazingly fluffy pillow. “Do we have to???” She asked, sounding more like a five year old child than a talented surgical resident.
The lighter woman quickly rolled on top of the darker one, tossing the pillow aside onto the floor. She placed a quick on her lips and smiled as Callie crinkled her nose in protest, “Yes baby... I think we're going to have to.”
Callie sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, the beautiful woman lying in bed with her was right. “Ok… But only if you go with me… I’m SO not going to do this by myself.”
“Of course,” Erica caressed her lover’s cheek, searching the depths of those dark chocolate eyes. “If that’s what you want, I’ll do it.”
Sensing a slight moment of panic, the blonde woman enveloped the darker woman in her arms and cradled her, breathing in the scent of her hair. “I’ll tell you what… I’ll come find you tomorrow afternoon at work. We’ll go to Richard together and take care of those stupid forms.”
Callie pulled away slightly, enough to look her lover in the eyes. “Okay, we’ll do that…”
“You know Cal, if it’s any consolation I’m actually thrilled that I can FINALLY put you onto that damn form.” Erica smiled, attempting to lighten the mood.
“Yeah,” The darker woman smiled right back, “I am too…”
******
“You will never guess what I saw this weekend.” Meredith walked up with her tray of food and joined Izzie and Alex who were already enjoying the first few minutes of their lunch break.
“Ooh… Lemme guess!” Izzie jumped unexpectedly at the question. Meredith shook her head, having no idea what got her so uppity. “You saw a guy open some dude’s chest up with a steak knife after he collapsed in the middle of a crowded restaurant.”
“Well...” Meredith took a sip of her soda, “You got the restaurant part right.”
Karev shook his head and looked at the pair. Sometimes it was tough being the only real man in their circle of friends. “Will you just tell her already?”
“Derek and I ran into Callie and Dr. Hahn at that restaurant… Galliano’s…”
“And that’s so interesting because…” Alex took a bite out of his food. There were times when he couldn’t understand why women got so invested in such trivial information.
“It’s interesting because I’m pretty sure they were out on a date together.”
“Come on Meredith,” Izzie argued in a state of disbelief. There was no way that the ‘dirty hot’ orthopedic resident would exchange mid-day romps with Dr McSteamy for a full on relationship with the ice queen. “They’re always hanging out. You sure they weren’t just having dinner or something?”
“Well, I saw them holding hands and kissing. I hate to admit it but it was actually kind of cute… Anyway, I don’t know about you but I’m pretty sure people who are ‘just friends’ don’t do that.” Meredith paused, watching the information process on her friend’s face. “Looks like Callie’s new best friend is turning out to be a lot more than that…”
“Dude!” Karev’s eyes grew wide with realization as he finally put two and two together. “Bambi totally turned Callie gay!” He just couldn’t believe his ears. This information was more golden than Callie’s coveted study cards.
The trio paused to look at each other almost searching for permission to respond. After only a millisecond of consideration, they burst into a fit of laughter.
“Oh come on guys…” Meredith tried to speak, despite her uncontrollable laughter. “We should be nice to George… Just because Erica Hahn is more of a stud than he is doesn’t mean we can laugh at his expense.”
“Yeah it does!” Karev laughed so hard he almost shot soda out his nose.
“Come on, I think it’s kind of cute…” Izzie’s laughter slowly subsided into the giggles. “Erica is Callie’s McDreamy.”
“More like McScary!...” Meredith sputtered out, still in a fit of laughter over Karev’s well timed comment.
“Hey guys,” Yang rounded a table nearby and headed for the free chair next to Grey, “What’s so funny?”
“Christina! I know you’re trying to keep on Hahn’s good side and everything but for god sakes… you LIVE with Callie. How could you not know?”
Yang sat on the free chair and popped opened the tray of salad she had purchased. “Know about what?” She tried her best to play dumb… as well as Christina Yang could anyway. She had heard the conversation the moment she stepped into the cafeteria. Indeed, trying to stay on the cardio attending’s good side was becoming increasingly difficult.
“That Callie and the Ice Queen are apparently an item.” Izzie interrupted.
“Oh yeah, that…” Christina took a bite of her salad, “I’ve known since the beginning.”
“Christina!” Meredith looked at her friend in disbelief.
“So what? So I knew that they’ve been sneaking around making googly eyes at each other for the last few weeks. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“The big deal is that you knew and you didn’t bother to tell anyone… you didn’t even tell ME and I'm your person!”
“Sorry, but I needed to stay on Hahn’s good side so she would put me in on more surgeries.”
“So it’s bad enough that Meredith lent you the sparkle pager.” Izzie leaned in towards the middle of the table, “Now you’re withholding information to get ahead!”
“That’s so NOT true.” Christina looked up at the blonde, completely unamused.
“Information withholder!” Izzie spat out her words like a five year old child on the playground.
“Settle down girls,” Karev interrupted, trying to break the mock fight. “You’re both pretty... Besides, we were laughing at Bambi, remember?”
“Oh god...” Izzie stood down from Christina and looked around the table at her friends. “Do you think George knows?”
“I saw him at Galliano's with Lexie.” Meredith recalled. “If he saw the way they were together, I'm sure he has a pretty good idea.”
******
Callie walked towards the nurses' station to collect a few charts before rounds. It had been a fairly uneventful day and she was looking forward to getting the job done so she could go home on time. As she approached the counter, she noticed George O'Malley pretending to keep himself busy with notations in an upside down chart. As groups of people passed by, they would snicker and whisper causing the young doctor to hide his face further in the chart.
“You know,” Callie reached over the counter to collect two charts next to the computer, “That would make a lot more sense if you read it right side up.”
George threw the chart down on the counter and fidgeted from side to side, avoiding eye contact at all costs. “Did I... um... are you with Dr. Hahn because of something I did?”
Callie sighed and shook her head. As much as she would love to bite back and tell her ex husband that it was all his fault. It was his fault that their relationship went the way of the toilet... It was his fault that she would never look at relationships the same way or trust as easily as she used to... It was his fault that she fell into a deep precipice and the only person who could fish her out was a beautiful blonde surgeon who swooped in unexpectedly and taught her how to love again.
“What are you talking about?”
“I saw you two holding hands when we ran into you at dinner... Now, half the hospital is claiming I turned you into a lesbian.”
Callie leaned into the counter, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. “Look George, it just happened... I still can't explain how. But, it happened and... I'm happy.” She reached forward to touch his shoulder in a friendly gesture. “It's not your fault.”
After a moment of silent consideration, George finally looked into Callie's eyes and saw the genuineness behind her words. “Thanks...”
Callie watched as George turned on his heel to walk in the other direction. Only a few steps away, he suddenly turns back and locks eyes with the woman who he had betrayed not so long ago.
“Oh yeah... And Callie... I'm glad you're happy. You... um... You deserve it...”
Callie watched as the new resident turned around and skittered down the hallway. There was still a little part of her that hadn't let go of the pain and humiliation that happened when their marriage had gone sour. It was that part of her that silently jumped with glee with the idea that her ex-husband was finally getting his karmic payback for all his wrongdoings. But the other part of her... the incredibly sympathetic, unconditionally loving to a fault part... just wanted it to blow over so George could move on as well.
Callie took a deep breath and continued on her way to begin afternoon rounds. As much as she wanted things to immediately blow over, she knew it was going to take some time for everyone to settle down.
******
“You ready?” Erica peered into the door then walked to the darker woman who was sitting in the break room awaiting her arrival.
Callie looked up from the chart she had just finished with a slight look of terror in her eyes. “Did you know that everyone's saying that George turned me gay?”
“Yeah,” Erica sighed and pulled up a chair next to her lover. She gently put her hand on Callie's knee and absentmindedly traced circles on it with her thumb. “I heard... Are you doing okay?”
“Well, considering the fact that EVERYONE in the hospital has found us out... I actually think I'm doing okay.”
“I know it’s not exactly the way you wanted to tell everyone.”
“It wasn’t… But in a weird, twisted way I’m kind of glad it happened. It’s still scary but I'm glad I don’t really need to hide anymore.” Callie placed her hand on Erica's creamy fingers and instantly intertwined them with hers. “I don't think I could have done this without you... Thank you.”
“Anything for you, baby.” Erica smiled as she pushed a stray lock of Callie’s hair behind her ear. There was nothing Erica loved more than the beautiful sight of her lover’s face. She quickly stood up and held out her hand, waiting for the other woman to take it. “Come on Torres, it’s time to rip the band aid off.”
Callie sighed as she stood and took the lighter woman’s hand into her own. “Okay… let’s do this.”
******
“Come in.”
The chief looked up and saw the couple walk through the door, their fingers lightly intertwined with each other. Erica walked in with an air of determination with a slightly hesitant Callie in tow. He could tell that Dr. Torres was slightly fearful of what was to come.
“Adele told me this morning that I should be expecting you two.”
The pair looked at each other in confusion. Neither had seen or talked to the chief or his wife since they had run into each other at the restaurant.
“Don’t worry. No one said anything. After we ran into you at the restaurant, she couldn’t stop talking about what a… um… ‘cute couple’ you two made. At the time I wasn’t quite sure what she was seeing but now that you’re both here, I’m going to assume you’re here to fill out a certain form.”
“Yes sir,” Erica answered with the most professional voice she could muster up.
The couple watched as the chief turned to the file cabinet behind the desk to retrieve two forms. He placed them out on the desk in front of each woman. Silently, they reached for the pens in their pockets and filled out the appropriate sections with information about each other.
As they handed the completed paperwork back to their superior, he looked up and the pair and said, “I appreciate your honesty. I can understand how difficult this must be.”
“Thank you sir,” Erica responded. She could see Callie’s nervousness through her silence. “And Chief, let me assure you that this is not going to affect us professionally.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less Dr. Hahn.” He glanced at the papers, making sure that the appropriate information had been filled out. ‘Well, these look to be in good working order. We’re done here is there isn’t anything else.”
The pair turned to head out the door but Richard unexpectadely began to speak. “Dr Hahn… Dr Torres. If there are any problems, I expect that you will let me know.”
Erica turned to the chief and immediately read his mind. In his time, Richard had gone through his share of discrimination and public ridicule. Deep down inside she knew that he would go to bat for the couple if a situation decided to present itself.
“Of course.”
“You know, Adele is right. You two do make a…um… ‘cute couple’.”
The pair turned to each other and shared a knowing smile before heading out the door. Once they reached the sanctity of the hallway, Callie took a deep breath and turned to Erica. The slight click of the door closing finally released Callie’s nervous silence.
“Well, that was pretty painless.”
“I told you everything was going to be okay.” The taller woman shot her a knowing glance.
“Why do I have the feeling that you’re always going to be right?” Callie turned slightly, grasping her fingers with her lover’s. Now that the whole hospital was talking about them, she didn’t feel the impulse to hide.
“Because I am…” Erica smiled, feeling the warmth of Callie’s hand in her own. She brimmed with pride, knowing that the woman she loved was growing and becoming stronger before her eyes. “Cal, I’m so proud of you.”
“For what?”
Erica watched intently as a bewildered expression took over the beautiful features of the latin woman’s face. “For doing this with me… For not running away.”
“I made a promise to you, Erica. I would never break that…” Callie looked deeply into her lover’s eyes. She remembered what it was like only weeks ago when she was running away to avoid the feelings that she had buried deep inside. Now her feelings were out and she was no longer scared. She knew that Erica would be there despite any fallout that may happen. Callie sensed it before when they were just friends but now she knew deep down in her soul that Erica was her rock.
“Well,” Erica teased. “Let’s hope you don’t because I happen to know a certain doctor who can rip your heart out of your chest with her bare hands.”
“I hear she’s damn good at it too.”
The pair shared a laugh and lightly rested their foreheads together. It was a sweet moment of victory to be able to finally be open about their relationship. Both of them knew that it would take some time for the rest of the hospital to settle down and finally come to terms with the fact that the hot tempered ortho chic and the emotionless heart surgeon were in a happy relationship.
The comfortable silence of their shared moment was suddenly interrupted by the shrill cry of one of their beepers. The women instantly parted and turned to their electronic leashed to see what was going on.
“It’s me…” Erica looked at the electronic device with spite. Of course it would choose to interrupt her moment with Callie. “I’ve gotta run down to the ER. I’ll see you at my place tonight?”
“Of course…” Callie smiled as she leaned in for a quick chaste kiss on her lover’s lips. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Callie watched as Erica walked away towards the emergency call. It had felt so good and so natural to kiss the beautiful woman on the lips right in the middle of the hallway. It was the most wonderful feeling to know that she didn’t have to hide anymore.
******
A/N: Phew… that one took some time. I had some trouble getting the dialogue just right. Not quite sure if it even got there or not. What did you think of the cafeteria scene? That one really threw me for a loop. I really wanted to get the characterizations right. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this installment.