Doctors don't make promises, do they? (Callie/Erica, 13/?)
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
Author’s note: I’m sorry that I made you wait for this chapter for so long, I am still not happy with it but I don’t know how to change it anymore. So I’ll just go ahead and post it, I really hope that the next chapters will be better. I borrowed some lines from Shonda to keep them in character, I hope she doesn't mind ;-). I cast Chalize Theron as Angelica, just because I can :D.
Chapter Thirteen - An Unexpected Rain
Callie was shocked at the gossip she had just heard. The nurses made up stories sometimes, but they were harmless most of the time. Never had they been so wrong. She knew that she wasn’t pregnant, but did Erica know that as well?
‘Is this damn rumor the reason why Erica has been absent all weekend? And what was that about Erica hiding from me? She had said that she had to see a patient, but why didn’t Cristina need to see the patient? It was true, we haven’t had lunch in weeks. We haven’t had lunch since our second kiss. This kiss. Damn it! Is Erica really hiding from me?’ Callie was trying to piece all the information together, but she didn’t trust the nurses. ‘Erica didn’t tell me that she had taken the day off. She also hasn’t called me since dinner last week. Why is she not calling me, we talked almost daily before the kiss. Does she not miss me at all? What is wrong with her? I told her that Mark and I are over. Damn it! She started to open up to me and now that! If she weren’t so damn stubborn she might actually be able to communicate with me!’
Callie got up, unnerved by all the gossip and the drama. ‘So that’s why Cristina warned me against lesbian drama.’ She went down to the cafeteria to eat before her shift ended, as she wanted to get out of gossip hell as fast as possible. When she spotted Cristina sitting at a table alone, she sat down next to her and asked:
“Remember lunch last Wednesday? Did Erica have a patient that she saw without you?” Cristina seemed to consider the question for a minute, then answered. “Not that I know of, and I know of all of her patients. Did she lie? Whatever. I got to remove a clot ON MY OWN today, so I’m not exactly sad that Hahn isn’t here to teach me.”
“Did you know that Erica had taken the day off?” I asked in disbelief.
“No, Bailey told me today. The chief is shadowing me today, but I’m taking care of patients completely on my own. I even let my stupid interns do sutures and showed them how to suture without leaving a huge scar, that’s how happy I am. Who knows, I’ve got more than 30 hours to scrub in on emergent cardio surgeries, someone just has to have a stroke or need a bypass or something.”
“Is Erica not coming back tomorrow?” ‘Why didn’t she tell me?’ Callie was getting really angry at the cardio goddess.
“No, she took two days off. I thought you knew. Trouble in paradise?” Cristina asked, not sure whether she wanted to know.
“Yeah, paradise, as if.” Luckily, Mark sat down next to Callie and took her thoughts off of Erica for a moment.
“Hey Mark. Have you heard the latest crazy rumor?”
“When’s the last time you’ve had your period?” the doctor inquired, looking at Callie worried.
“Ugh, gross! Don’t answer that, I don’t want to know.” Cristina made a face, wondering why on earth McSteamy would ask something like that.
“So you’ve heard.” Callie grinned at his forthright question. “Last Friday, don’t worry. I’m not pregnant.”
“Thank god. I mean, if you had been pregnant, I would have supported you and been there for you, but clearly we are both not interested in kids right now. And please tell Hahn that I didn’t get you pregnant, I wouldn’t put it past her to cut my balls off.” Mark let out a long breath, relieved to find that he had not gotten one of his best friends pregnant.
Callie chuckled at the thought. “I will. How come the nurses say I tamed you? Have you not been on a date since we stopped seeing each other?”
“While you two *girls* talk about your feelings, I’m going to go and find myself a hardcore cardio surgery, which I will perform on my own.” Cristina stated and stood up, leaving Mark and Callie to their conversation.
“I haven’t been on a date since you, that’s true. Seeing you and Hahn made me realize that I am ready for that too. I’m ready to think of one person all the time. So, in a way, you did tame me. Besides, the way the nurses treated me, I’m not going to go near them anymore.” Callie was stunned. McSteamy, the manwhore himself, was talking about being with one person.
“Don’t act so shocked. I’m getting older, this was going to happen one day. I certainly can’t go the way you go, how’s Hahn holding up with you anyways? Did you wear her out already? She is older than you are.” ‘From love to sex in zero seconds’ Callie smiled, but as soon as she thought of Erica, her smile disappeared.
“How am I supposed to wear her out, as you so nicely put it, when I don’t see her or even hear from her?” Callie sighed and began to tell Mark what had happened when her pager went off.
“Oh, sorry, gotta go. It’s a 911.”
“Okay, but call me if you want to talk.” ‘Mark really has changed!’ Callie thoughtwhile she rushed out of the cafeteria.
When Callie walked outside to wait for the ambulance, Miranda Bailey, Alex Karev and George were already standing there.
“What have we got?” Callie pulled her gown on, tying it up behind her back
“Trauma, no real information.” Bailey stated, anticipation evident in her voice.
“So Torres, you preggers?” Alex asked.
“Karev! How often do I have to tell you, Torres is your superior, respect that some things are not made for your ears!” Bailey scolded. George looked at Callie in surprise, then let his eyes fall to her stomach, trying to make out a baby bump.
“No, I’m not pregnant.” Callie stated and added a “Thank god” under her breath.
“I thought you wanted to have a baby?” Bailey asked with genuine interest.
“I did want to have a baby, with my husband. Now that I don’t have a husband anymore, the idea of a baby doesn’t seem that attractive anymore either.” Callie answered, looking at George, who tried his best to vanish against the wall.
Karev grinned his sly grin, punched George in the stomach with his elbow and let out his signature “Dude!”, before their attention was distracted by the siren of the ambulance coming around the corner.
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By the time Callie was up Tuesday morning, she had already missed three calls and gotten two text messages, but there was still no sign of life from Erica on the doctor’s mobile phone. Her pride and hurt feelings kept her from calling her friend.
‘Are you okay? I was so busy today, I didn’t even have time to find you and finish our conversation. Call if you need anything. Mark’
‘Mark told me that something is wrong with you and Erica. Call me if you want to talk! Love, Addi.’
‘I’m fine, thanks. Don’t worry about me! Hugs, Callie’ she wrote back.
Callie had not interest to talk or think about Erica anymore. Her supposedly lover hadn’t gotten into contact with her long enough to really piss her off and she thought that she’d explode if she talked about the situation right now. Instead, Callie grabbed her Xbox and spent all day glued to the TV-screen.
Both Cristina and Mark told Callie the next day that Erica was back to work, but as the blond doctor spent her morning in back-to-back surgeries, the dark-haired beauty didn’t see her until lunch. Callie entered the cafeteria and spotted the blonde sitting at their table, in the company of a stunningly beautiful woman. Erica saw Callie as well and waved her over to their table, but Callie went to buy a sandwich first. When she turned and walked over to the table, she only saw the stranger sitting at their table.
“You must be Callie. Erica was paged, but I would love to have lunch with you. It’s so nice to finally meet you, Erica has told me so much about you already!” The woman stretched her hand out to greet Callie.
“I’m sorry, I wish I could say the same about you, but you are…?” The orthopedic surgeon asked and sat down after shaking the other woman’s hand.
“Angelica Hahn, call me Angie. Erica hasn’t told you that I’m in town?”
“She told me that an old friend was visiting. You are related to her?” Callie was surprised, this was not what she had expected. Over the last few days, the firm idea that an ex-girlfriend of Erica’s was in town had been on Callie’s mind. There was no other explanation why Erica hadn’t told her more about the visitor, except that Erica seemed even harder to get to know than the young doctor had thought.
“I’m her niece. She hasn’t told you about me? Hm, now I feel strange knowing all about you and you don’t even know who I am. I think I have to explain this thing called manners to her once again.” Angie smirked at Callie and then studied her features.
“You are really as beautiful as Erica said. I thought she was just bragging.” Callie blushed at the comment, she started to really like the woman sitting opposite of her.
“So you are her niece, I didn’t know that Erica had siblings, she hasn’t shared much about her family yet.”
Angie sighed, she had known Erica long enough to know that the cardiothoracic doctor never shared more information about her family as absolutely necessary. “Erica has a sister, my mum. But we sort of grew up together, I was three when my mum parked me at my grandparent’s. Erica was like the perfect older sister, she’s only 7 years older than-” Angelica was interrupted by her ringing phone, which she pulled out of her purse and answered with a court “Hahn.”
Callie ate her sandwich and watched Angie from the corner of her eyes. ‘They aren’t related, obviously, but they grew up together. How can they seem so different? Erica would never talk so openly about anything, let alone her family. I wonder what had happened that Angie grew up with her grandparents. Why didn’t Erica just say that her niece was visiting, was that too much to ask for?’
“Okay, bye. Listen, Callie, I’m really sorry, but I have to go now. My rehearsal starts in an hour. Erica asked me to invite you to dinner tonight, at 8, her place.”
“Oh, thanks. Then I guess we’ll see each other at 8.”
“It’s just going to be you and Erica, I have a concert to play. But you two have a nice evening and it was so nice to finally meet the person Erica just won’t shut up about.” Angie gave Callie a huge smile that made her eyes sparkle and left.
‘Erica has her niece invite me to dinner?? What the fuck, she can’t even invite me to a date in person?’ Even though Callie was relieve that just Erica’s niece had spent the weekend with the blonde, her mood hadn’t improved at all. Erica kept simple facts from her for no apparent reason whatsoever and Callie was starting to wonder whether they were actually dating for real or whether Erica was just playing with her.
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By the time Callie drove to Erica’s house in the evening, her anger and frustration at the whole situation had piled up and while Callie knew that she was ready to explode if Erica said one wrong word, she just couldn’t not see her. The dark-haired beauty felt the irresistible pull the older doctor exerted on her. As much as she hated the power Erica had over her heart, she also missed the embrace of the older doctor. She felt save in her lovers arms and she missed the smell and feel of the blond hair. Erica made her feel like she was the only person in the world who mattered when they were alone. However, knowing this feeling made it even harder for Callie that Erica seemed to avoid her at work.
In the meanwhile, Erica was excitedly cooking for Callie, looking forward to seeing her love again. Her weekend had been filled with the whirlwind called Angelica and as much as she loved her niece, nothing beat time spent with Callie.
“Hey, there you are!” Erica smiled at Callie and leaned in with the intention of kissing her dinner date. The raven beauty, however, leaned back against the door and looked at Erica sternly.
“I’m not pregnant.” Callie stated, her tone almost sullen.
“I’m sorry?” Erica furrowed her brows, confused that Callie hadn’t kissed her and by her statement.
“I said I’m not pregnant. Haven’t you heard that rumor yet?”
“No, I haven’t. I know that you’re not pregnant, you would have told me if you were pregnant.”
“Yeah, because I communicate. You know, that thing were you say things to other people, inform them of stuff that happens in you life. Ever heard of that?” Callie sounded a bit like a grouchy teenager, but she didn’t care. Erica’s good mood just made her even angrier.
“What are you talking about Callie? Are you angry with me?”
“Damn sure I am! Why didn’t you tell me that your niece was visiting. Would it have been too much information to share with me?”
Erica laughed, still surprised by the way Callie was acting. “I didn’t think you would care so much about that.”
“Do not laugh at me. You do not get to laugh at me. For all I knew, your ex-girlfriend could have been the one visiting you. You keep so much from me, how would I know?”
Erica didn’t say anything, she didn’t know where Callie’s outburst come from. Erica knew that Callie was right, she kept things from her date because she had a hard time sharing anything with anybody. She couldn’t excuse her behavior, so she didn’t say anything at all.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you kicked a nurse out of your OR for talking about me?”
“I am going to kill Yang. You don’t need to know the bullshit the nurses gossip about you, that’s just going to hurt you.” Erica’s face went cold, anger flaring up inside of her gut.
“You still could have mentioned the incident! Wait. What does that have to do with Cristina?”
“She told you, didn’t she?”
“No, I overheard the nurses talk about it. Cristina knew about that? So that was what your glances were about. You made MY FRIEND lie to me?” Callie had raised her voice and was close to tears.
“Callie, please. I just asked her to not mention it, this is nothing. Why are you so upset?” Erica started to panic. She had happily pushed the incident to the back of her mind and now her protective behavior was going to bite her in the ass.
“YOU HAVE BEEN AVOIDING ME AT WORK! I DON’T HEAR FROM YOU IN A WEEK, APART FROM THAT STUPID MESSAGE THAT COULDN’T HAVE BEEN ANY SHORTER! What am I to you? I’m not going to do this again, being placed second behind whatever is more important to you.” Tears were spilling down her cheeks and Erica had trouble understanding the last part of the sentence. She was completely overwhelmed, Callie had jumped from one thing to the next and Erica was speechless, she didn’t even know which accusation to address first.
Callie looked at Erica and turned to leave, disappointed that the person who had stolen her heart didn’t even defend her actions.
“Wait, Callie, don’t go.” Erica wrapped her arms around Callie from behind and held onto her tight, even though Callie struggled against the embrace.
“Let me go!” Callie was sobbing again, but had stopped struggling.
“No, I won’t. We’re going to talk about this.” Erica knew that she couldn’t let Callie leave right now, she cared too much about the raven beauty to not talk this out. Slowly, she sat down on the floor and pulled Callie with her, holding her tight and rocking her softly. Callie leaned back into the older woman and started to calm down, her sobs growing softer. When she pulled out a handkerchief and blew her nose, Erica loosened her embrace. She cupped Callie’s cheek and pulled her face back softly, leaning forward and looking at the younger woman.
“Are you okay? Can we do this on the sofa?”
“No. Yes.” A single tear rolled down Callie’s cheek, brushed away by Erica’s thumb.
“Come on.” Erica stood up and helped Callie up as well, leading the young woman into the living room. She got a glass of water from the kitchen and sat down next to Callie, who snuggled close immediately.
“I’m still angry at you.”
“Okay.” Erica couldn’t help but smile. If someone had told the cardio goddess that Callie was pregnant she would have probably believed them right away.
“You didn’t tell me that you had taken two days off.”
“I’m sorry.”
“And you didn’t even bother to call or invite me to dinner in person.”
“I’m sorry.”
Callie sighed and sat up to look at Erica. “Is that all you’re going to say? That you’re sorry?”
“I am sorry. I don’t know what else I’m supposed to say.”
“Did you not think of me at all on the weekend? Did it not occur to you that I might enjoy hearing your voice?”
“I did think of you, all I do is thinking of you. I’m sorry, I’m not used to this, I haven’t been in a relationship in a really long time. I got wrapped up in Angie, we had so much to catch up on.”
“She said that you told her a lot about me.” Erica blushed and averted her eyes from Callie’s.
“I did. She’s like a sister to me, I just had to tell her about you, about us. She’s the first person I told about us, I wasn’t planning on telling her about our relationship but then I just couldn’t hide it from her. I hope you’re okay with that?” Erica rushed out.
“Why wouldn’t I be? You can tell all your friends about us, I don’t mind. I don’t want us to hide.” Callie paused, gathering all her courage and asked again “What am I to you, Erica?” Now it was time for Erica to sigh.
“I honestly don’t know. You are my best friend, but you are also so much more. Girlfriend sounds so juvenile. Do we have to find a name for what we are? I know what I feel for you and how much I-” Erica caught herself, pausing for a second before saying “like you.” Callie’s breath caught, her eyes searching Erica’s. Erica was looking everywhere but at Callie. She had nearly let it slip that she loved the younger doctor and she had to fight very hard to keep the blush spreading over her cheeks. Callie saw Erica’s cheeks turn red lightly and smiled. “I like you very much too!” Erica looked up and saw in Callie’s eyes what the raven beauty really meant. They kissed, hands moving to cup cheeks and run fingers through long hair.
Against her own will, Erica pulled back.
“Dinner is getting cold.” She smiled at her love apologetically, neither wanted to stop. Callie whined, but when her stomach grumbled they laughed and got up.
“I know that we just started seeing each other and I don’t want to push you. My marriage was ruined because of secrets -” “Your marriage was ruined because your husband cheated on you!” “Yes, but it had a lot to do with me hiding things from George. But I don’t want us to hide things from each other and I want to know stuff about you. Like the fact that you have a sister.” Erica sighed and waited for Callie to continue instead of saying anything herself.
“So, I’m going to tell you something I’m uncomfortable with and then you have to do the same.”
“Can’t we just let things take their natural course? This seems really forced.”
“Well, obviously the natural course doesn’t work so well for us. I’m sorry if I was rude before, I tend to get rude when I’m angry. This is going to be fun, you’ll see!” Callie flashed Erica a smile and the blonde couldn’t help but smile back. Callie tended to have that effect on her.
“So, I’ll start. I’m really rich and I used to have a pet ferret.”
“How did you become rich?”
“Well, my parents are rich and as a consequence I’m rich. Money has affected every single one of my relationships and I still have to meet a person who doesn’t see me differently after I told them.”
“Why the hell do you live on Yang’s couch when you are rich?”
“I don’t live there because it’s cheap. I didn’t want to live alone after my marriage ended and she was looking for a roommate. But we’re going to move next month, we found a new apartment! With two bedrooms!” Callie said excitedly.
“We?” Erica was suspicious, she feared for the worse, which was that Callie would still live with Yang in her new apartment.
“Me and Cristina.” Erica’s face fell, but she didn’t say anything. She pursed her lips and bit her tongue just to keep her mouth from saying what she was thinking.
“Erica, don’t look so disappointed.”
“I just thought that if you moved, you would move to a place where we would have some privacy.”
“We will have plenty of privacy. I have my own bedroom and bathroom. Cristina is my friend, you have to learn to accept that. And don’t ever make her keep something from me again - don’t use your power to mess with my friendships.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve just had enough of the nurses talking about you and Sloan - and I quote - ‘practically doing each other on the dance floor’.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Apparently, half of the hospital saw you and Sloan dance at Joe’s. I guess I must have missed one hell of a show.” Erica shrugged, she tried to sound careless but Callie picked up the hurt in her voice.
“We were just dancing! Mark and I are over, if you actually spent any time with us then you would know that.” Callie was so sick of everybody thinking that she and Mark were a couple that she got defensive immediately.
“Ouch. So you’re saying it’s my fault?”
“NO! God! I- I just-… I don’t want us to fight. Mark and I, we’re just friends, please don’t listen to what the nurses say. According to them, I’m pregnant!”
“It’s hard not to listen to it when you hear it all the time. I’m sorry, I trust you, I know that you’re not sleeping with Mark anymore. I just don’t quite understand how you went back to being friends with him so easily.”
“We never were more than friends. I mean we were friends with benefits, but we never were a couple. Any more questions?”
“No.” They ate in silence, their mood dampened by their discussions.
Even though Erica wouldn’t admit it, she was still hurt by Callie’s recent ‘gay-panic sexcapades’. While she partly understood the behavior, it had hurt to see Callie chose Mark over her.
When they were finished with dinner, the couple moved to the living room, watching TV and lost in thought.
“Even though I was angry at you, I still missed you. Can we forget all that stuff for a moment and just cuddle, please?” Callie asked. She knew that Erica and her would have to overcome certain barriers, but wanted to be near to her lover none the less. Erica smiled at her lovingly and opened her arms in an inviting gesture.
“Of course! I really missed you too.” The younger doctor cuddled into the blondes embrace, inhaling her distinct smell. The two women sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the weather forecast.
“I’m sorry that I hurt your feelings. My relationship with Angie is complicated and I don’t see her often, so I try to spend as much time as possible with her when she’s in town. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?” Callie looked up, a mischievous grin lighting up her face.
“I know something that would make me feel better immediately.” The raven beauty said, wiggling her brows.
Erica raised hers, asking “So? What would that be?”
Callie didn’t answer but instead let her actions talk. She attacked Erica, hungrily kissing the older woman. Erica’s hands fell to the hem of Callie’s shirt and she let them slip under the fabric, stroking Callie’s bronze-colored skin. Callie’s fingers grabbed strands of the blond hair, pulling the cardio goddess even closer. Erica moaned, tightly gripping Callie’s hips. A small laugh escaped Callie’s lips and she pulled away. “Erica Hahn, are you into pain?” she teased, passion evident on her face. Erica just rolled her eyes and kissed the younger woman, lightly biting Callie’s full lower lip. The young woman moaned, her hands tugging at Erica’s shirt. They moved apart, simultaneously pulling at each others shirts. Erica finally succeeded to strip Callie of her shirt, immediately attacking her breasts. She softly bit Callie’s breasts through the bra, making Callie gasp.
“Wait.” Callie barely managed to sputter the word, but when Erica paused fondling her breasts she repeated the word “Wait. Please, I’m sorry. I’ve been in the hospital all day and I didn’t shower at work, so could I maybe take a shower before we do this?”
“You want to shower before we get dirty?” Erica teased, but then agreed. The blonde gave her lover a few minutes alone in the shower and then got ready to join her when she heard the front door open and Angie shouting a greeting into the house.
Erica moved to the bedroom door and let her niece know where they were and then put on her bathrobe. Angie knocked on the open door and then stepped into the room, looking at Erica and the bathroom door.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have know that the car in the driveway belongs to Callie. I’m going to go to bed.”
“Wait. How was your concert?”
“Great. Amazing, the orchestra is really good. The house was full, all concerts are sold out. I have two tickets for you for Friday, I thought you might want to take Callie with you.”
“Thanks. I’ll have to ask her, see whether she has to work or not.” Erica heard the shower being turned off, but didn’t really pay it any attention.
“I really like her. You know, I thought you were just trying to show off, telling me how beautiful she is. But she really is gorgeous, even I would date her!” Angie smirked at her aunt, teasing her.
“I thought you were straight?”
“I am, but you know, I’d so go gay for her!”
“Erica, I’m ready.” Callie stepped out of the bathroom, naked as the day she was born. The dark-haired beauty wanted to surprise her lover and be bold, but when she saw Angelica stand in the room she stopped dead in her tracks, blushing furiously.
“Callie!” Erica instinctively covered Angie’s eyes with her hands and shoved her niece out of her room, a blush spreading over her cheeks as well.
Angie just laughed at the whole incident. “Yep, I’d totally go gay for her. Good night, you two.”
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
Author’s note: I’m sorry that I made you wait for this chapter for so long, I am still not happy with it but I don’t know how to change it anymore. So I’ll just go ahead and post it, I really hope that the next chapters will be better. I borrowed some lines from Shonda to keep them in character, I hope she doesn't mind ;-). I cast Chalize Theron as Angelica, just because I can :D.
Chapter Thirteen - An Unexpected Rain
Callie was shocked at the gossip she had just heard. The nurses made up stories sometimes, but they were harmless most of the time. Never had they been so wrong. She knew that she wasn’t pregnant, but did Erica know that as well?
‘Is this damn rumor the reason why Erica has been absent all weekend? And what was that about Erica hiding from me? She had said that she had to see a patient, but why didn’t Cristina need to see the patient? It was true, we haven’t had lunch in weeks. We haven’t had lunch since our second kiss. This kiss. Damn it! Is Erica really hiding from me?’ Callie was trying to piece all the information together, but she didn’t trust the nurses. ‘Erica didn’t tell me that she had taken the day off. She also hasn’t called me since dinner last week. Why is she not calling me, we talked almost daily before the kiss. Does she not miss me at all? What is wrong with her? I told her that Mark and I are over. Damn it! She started to open up to me and now that! If she weren’t so damn stubborn she might actually be able to communicate with me!’
Callie got up, unnerved by all the gossip and the drama. ‘So that’s why Cristina warned me against lesbian drama.’ She went down to the cafeteria to eat before her shift ended, as she wanted to get out of gossip hell as fast as possible. When she spotted Cristina sitting at a table alone, she sat down next to her and asked:
“Remember lunch last Wednesday? Did Erica have a patient that she saw without you?” Cristina seemed to consider the question for a minute, then answered. “Not that I know of, and I know of all of her patients. Did she lie? Whatever. I got to remove a clot ON MY OWN today, so I’m not exactly sad that Hahn isn’t here to teach me.”
“Did you know that Erica had taken the day off?” I asked in disbelief.
“No, Bailey told me today. The chief is shadowing me today, but I’m taking care of patients completely on my own. I even let my stupid interns do sutures and showed them how to suture without leaving a huge scar, that’s how happy I am. Who knows, I’ve got more than 30 hours to scrub in on emergent cardio surgeries, someone just has to have a stroke or need a bypass or something.”
“Is Erica not coming back tomorrow?” ‘Why didn’t she tell me?’ Callie was getting really angry at the cardio goddess.
“No, she took two days off. I thought you knew. Trouble in paradise?” Cristina asked, not sure whether she wanted to know.
“Yeah, paradise, as if.” Luckily, Mark sat down next to Callie and took her thoughts off of Erica for a moment.
“Hey Mark. Have you heard the latest crazy rumor?”
“When’s the last time you’ve had your period?” the doctor inquired, looking at Callie worried.
“Ugh, gross! Don’t answer that, I don’t want to know.” Cristina made a face, wondering why on earth McSteamy would ask something like that.
“So you’ve heard.” Callie grinned at his forthright question. “Last Friday, don’t worry. I’m not pregnant.”
“Thank god. I mean, if you had been pregnant, I would have supported you and been there for you, but clearly we are both not interested in kids right now. And please tell Hahn that I didn’t get you pregnant, I wouldn’t put it past her to cut my balls off.” Mark let out a long breath, relieved to find that he had not gotten one of his best friends pregnant.
Callie chuckled at the thought. “I will. How come the nurses say I tamed you? Have you not been on a date since we stopped seeing each other?”
“While you two *girls* talk about your feelings, I’m going to go and find myself a hardcore cardio surgery, which I will perform on my own.” Cristina stated and stood up, leaving Mark and Callie to their conversation.
“I haven’t been on a date since you, that’s true. Seeing you and Hahn made me realize that I am ready for that too. I’m ready to think of one person all the time. So, in a way, you did tame me. Besides, the way the nurses treated me, I’m not going to go near them anymore.” Callie was stunned. McSteamy, the manwhore himself, was talking about being with one person.
“Don’t act so shocked. I’m getting older, this was going to happen one day. I certainly can’t go the way you go, how’s Hahn holding up with you anyways? Did you wear her out already? She is older than you are.” ‘From love to sex in zero seconds’ Callie smiled, but as soon as she thought of Erica, her smile disappeared.
“How am I supposed to wear her out, as you so nicely put it, when I don’t see her or even hear from her?” Callie sighed and began to tell Mark what had happened when her pager went off.
“Oh, sorry, gotta go. It’s a 911.”
“Okay, but call me if you want to talk.” ‘Mark really has changed!’ Callie thoughtwhile she rushed out of the cafeteria.
When Callie walked outside to wait for the ambulance, Miranda Bailey, Alex Karev and George were already standing there.
“What have we got?” Callie pulled her gown on, tying it up behind her back
“Trauma, no real information.” Bailey stated, anticipation evident in her voice.
“So Torres, you preggers?” Alex asked.
“Karev! How often do I have to tell you, Torres is your superior, respect that some things are not made for your ears!” Bailey scolded. George looked at Callie in surprise, then let his eyes fall to her stomach, trying to make out a baby bump.
“No, I’m not pregnant.” Callie stated and added a “Thank god” under her breath.
“I thought you wanted to have a baby?” Bailey asked with genuine interest.
“I did want to have a baby, with my husband. Now that I don’t have a husband anymore, the idea of a baby doesn’t seem that attractive anymore either.” Callie answered, looking at George, who tried his best to vanish against the wall.
Karev grinned his sly grin, punched George in the stomach with his elbow and let out his signature “Dude!”, before their attention was distracted by the siren of the ambulance coming around the corner.
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By the time Callie was up Tuesday morning, she had already missed three calls and gotten two text messages, but there was still no sign of life from Erica on the doctor’s mobile phone. Her pride and hurt feelings kept her from calling her friend.
‘Are you okay? I was so busy today, I didn’t even have time to find you and finish our conversation. Call if you need anything. Mark’
‘Mark told me that something is wrong with you and Erica. Call me if you want to talk! Love, Addi.’
‘I’m fine, thanks. Don’t worry about me! Hugs, Callie’ she wrote back.
Callie had not interest to talk or think about Erica anymore. Her supposedly lover hadn’t gotten into contact with her long enough to really piss her off and she thought that she’d explode if she talked about the situation right now. Instead, Callie grabbed her Xbox and spent all day glued to the TV-screen.
Both Cristina and Mark told Callie the next day that Erica was back to work, but as the blond doctor spent her morning in back-to-back surgeries, the dark-haired beauty didn’t see her until lunch. Callie entered the cafeteria and spotted the blonde sitting at their table, in the company of a stunningly beautiful woman. Erica saw Callie as well and waved her over to their table, but Callie went to buy a sandwich first. When she turned and walked over to the table, she only saw the stranger sitting at their table.
“You must be Callie. Erica was paged, but I would love to have lunch with you. It’s so nice to finally meet you, Erica has told me so much about you already!” The woman stretched her hand out to greet Callie.
“I’m sorry, I wish I could say the same about you, but you are…?” The orthopedic surgeon asked and sat down after shaking the other woman’s hand.
“Angelica Hahn, call me Angie. Erica hasn’t told you that I’m in town?”
“She told me that an old friend was visiting. You are related to her?” Callie was surprised, this was not what she had expected. Over the last few days, the firm idea that an ex-girlfriend of Erica’s was in town had been on Callie’s mind. There was no other explanation why Erica hadn’t told her more about the visitor, except that Erica seemed even harder to get to know than the young doctor had thought.
“I’m her niece. She hasn’t told you about me? Hm, now I feel strange knowing all about you and you don’t even know who I am. I think I have to explain this thing called manners to her once again.” Angie smirked at Callie and then studied her features.
“You are really as beautiful as Erica said. I thought she was just bragging.” Callie blushed at the comment, she started to really like the woman sitting opposite of her.
“So you are her niece, I didn’t know that Erica had siblings, she hasn’t shared much about her family yet.”
Angie sighed, she had known Erica long enough to know that the cardiothoracic doctor never shared more information about her family as absolutely necessary. “Erica has a sister, my mum. But we sort of grew up together, I was three when my mum parked me at my grandparent’s. Erica was like the perfect older sister, she’s only 7 years older than-” Angelica was interrupted by her ringing phone, which she pulled out of her purse and answered with a court “Hahn.”
Callie ate her sandwich and watched Angie from the corner of her eyes. ‘They aren’t related, obviously, but they grew up together. How can they seem so different? Erica would never talk so openly about anything, let alone her family. I wonder what had happened that Angie grew up with her grandparents. Why didn’t Erica just say that her niece was visiting, was that too much to ask for?’
“Okay, bye. Listen, Callie, I’m really sorry, but I have to go now. My rehearsal starts in an hour. Erica asked me to invite you to dinner tonight, at 8, her place.”
“Oh, thanks. Then I guess we’ll see each other at 8.”
“It’s just going to be you and Erica, I have a concert to play. But you two have a nice evening and it was so nice to finally meet the person Erica just won’t shut up about.” Angie gave Callie a huge smile that made her eyes sparkle and left.
‘Erica has her niece invite me to dinner?? What the fuck, she can’t even invite me to a date in person?’ Even though Callie was relieve that just Erica’s niece had spent the weekend with the blonde, her mood hadn’t improved at all. Erica kept simple facts from her for no apparent reason whatsoever and Callie was starting to wonder whether they were actually dating for real or whether Erica was just playing with her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
By the time Callie drove to Erica’s house in the evening, her anger and frustration at the whole situation had piled up and while Callie knew that she was ready to explode if Erica said one wrong word, she just couldn’t not see her. The dark-haired beauty felt the irresistible pull the older doctor exerted on her. As much as she hated the power Erica had over her heart, she also missed the embrace of the older doctor. She felt save in her lovers arms and she missed the smell and feel of the blond hair. Erica made her feel like she was the only person in the world who mattered when they were alone. However, knowing this feeling made it even harder for Callie that Erica seemed to avoid her at work.
In the meanwhile, Erica was excitedly cooking for Callie, looking forward to seeing her love again. Her weekend had been filled with the whirlwind called Angelica and as much as she loved her niece, nothing beat time spent with Callie.
“Hey, there you are!” Erica smiled at Callie and leaned in with the intention of kissing her dinner date. The raven beauty, however, leaned back against the door and looked at Erica sternly.
“I’m not pregnant.” Callie stated, her tone almost sullen.
“I’m sorry?” Erica furrowed her brows, confused that Callie hadn’t kissed her and by her statement.
“I said I’m not pregnant. Haven’t you heard that rumor yet?”
“No, I haven’t. I know that you’re not pregnant, you would have told me if you were pregnant.”
“Yeah, because I communicate. You know, that thing were you say things to other people, inform them of stuff that happens in you life. Ever heard of that?” Callie sounded a bit like a grouchy teenager, but she didn’t care. Erica’s good mood just made her even angrier.
“What are you talking about Callie? Are you angry with me?”
“Damn sure I am! Why didn’t you tell me that your niece was visiting. Would it have been too much information to share with me?”
Erica laughed, still surprised by the way Callie was acting. “I didn’t think you would care so much about that.”
“Do not laugh at me. You do not get to laugh at me. For all I knew, your ex-girlfriend could have been the one visiting you. You keep so much from me, how would I know?”
Erica didn’t say anything, she didn’t know where Callie’s outburst come from. Erica knew that Callie was right, she kept things from her date because she had a hard time sharing anything with anybody. She couldn’t excuse her behavior, so she didn’t say anything at all.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you kicked a nurse out of your OR for talking about me?”
“I am going to kill Yang. You don’t need to know the bullshit the nurses gossip about you, that’s just going to hurt you.” Erica’s face went cold, anger flaring up inside of her gut.
“You still could have mentioned the incident! Wait. What does that have to do with Cristina?”
“She told you, didn’t she?”
“No, I overheard the nurses talk about it. Cristina knew about that? So that was what your glances were about. You made MY FRIEND lie to me?” Callie had raised her voice and was close to tears.
“Callie, please. I just asked her to not mention it, this is nothing. Why are you so upset?” Erica started to panic. She had happily pushed the incident to the back of her mind and now her protective behavior was going to bite her in the ass.
“YOU HAVE BEEN AVOIDING ME AT WORK! I DON’T HEAR FROM YOU IN A WEEK, APART FROM THAT STUPID MESSAGE THAT COULDN’T HAVE BEEN ANY SHORTER! What am I to you? I’m not going to do this again, being placed second behind whatever is more important to you.” Tears were spilling down her cheeks and Erica had trouble understanding the last part of the sentence. She was completely overwhelmed, Callie had jumped from one thing to the next and Erica was speechless, she didn’t even know which accusation to address first.
Callie looked at Erica and turned to leave, disappointed that the person who had stolen her heart didn’t even defend her actions.
“Wait, Callie, don’t go.” Erica wrapped her arms around Callie from behind and held onto her tight, even though Callie struggled against the embrace.
“Let me go!” Callie was sobbing again, but had stopped struggling.
“No, I won’t. We’re going to talk about this.” Erica knew that she couldn’t let Callie leave right now, she cared too much about the raven beauty to not talk this out. Slowly, she sat down on the floor and pulled Callie with her, holding her tight and rocking her softly. Callie leaned back into the older woman and started to calm down, her sobs growing softer. When she pulled out a handkerchief and blew her nose, Erica loosened her embrace. She cupped Callie’s cheek and pulled her face back softly, leaning forward and looking at the younger woman.
“Are you okay? Can we do this on the sofa?”
“No. Yes.” A single tear rolled down Callie’s cheek, brushed away by Erica’s thumb.
“Come on.” Erica stood up and helped Callie up as well, leading the young woman into the living room. She got a glass of water from the kitchen and sat down next to Callie, who snuggled close immediately.
“I’m still angry at you.”
“Okay.” Erica couldn’t help but smile. If someone had told the cardio goddess that Callie was pregnant she would have probably believed them right away.
“You didn’t tell me that you had taken two days off.”
“I’m sorry.”
“And you didn’t even bother to call or invite me to dinner in person.”
“I’m sorry.”
Callie sighed and sat up to look at Erica. “Is that all you’re going to say? That you’re sorry?”
“I am sorry. I don’t know what else I’m supposed to say.”
“Did you not think of me at all on the weekend? Did it not occur to you that I might enjoy hearing your voice?”
“I did think of you, all I do is thinking of you. I’m sorry, I’m not used to this, I haven’t been in a relationship in a really long time. I got wrapped up in Angie, we had so much to catch up on.”
“She said that you told her a lot about me.” Erica blushed and averted her eyes from Callie’s.
“I did. She’s like a sister to me, I just had to tell her about you, about us. She’s the first person I told about us, I wasn’t planning on telling her about our relationship but then I just couldn’t hide it from her. I hope you’re okay with that?” Erica rushed out.
“Why wouldn’t I be? You can tell all your friends about us, I don’t mind. I don’t want us to hide.” Callie paused, gathering all her courage and asked again “What am I to you, Erica?” Now it was time for Erica to sigh.
“I honestly don’t know. You are my best friend, but you are also so much more. Girlfriend sounds so juvenile. Do we have to find a name for what we are? I know what I feel for you and how much I-” Erica caught herself, pausing for a second before saying “like you.” Callie’s breath caught, her eyes searching Erica’s. Erica was looking everywhere but at Callie. She had nearly let it slip that she loved the younger doctor and she had to fight very hard to keep the blush spreading over her cheeks. Callie saw Erica’s cheeks turn red lightly and smiled. “I like you very much too!” Erica looked up and saw in Callie’s eyes what the raven beauty really meant. They kissed, hands moving to cup cheeks and run fingers through long hair.
Against her own will, Erica pulled back.
“Dinner is getting cold.” She smiled at her love apologetically, neither wanted to stop. Callie whined, but when her stomach grumbled they laughed and got up.
“I know that we just started seeing each other and I don’t want to push you. My marriage was ruined because of secrets -” “Your marriage was ruined because your husband cheated on you!” “Yes, but it had a lot to do with me hiding things from George. But I don’t want us to hide things from each other and I want to know stuff about you. Like the fact that you have a sister.” Erica sighed and waited for Callie to continue instead of saying anything herself.
“So, I’m going to tell you something I’m uncomfortable with and then you have to do the same.”
“Can’t we just let things take their natural course? This seems really forced.”
“Well, obviously the natural course doesn’t work so well for us. I’m sorry if I was rude before, I tend to get rude when I’m angry. This is going to be fun, you’ll see!” Callie flashed Erica a smile and the blonde couldn’t help but smile back. Callie tended to have that effect on her.
“So, I’ll start. I’m really rich and I used to have a pet ferret.”
“How did you become rich?”
“Well, my parents are rich and as a consequence I’m rich. Money has affected every single one of my relationships and I still have to meet a person who doesn’t see me differently after I told them.”
“Why the hell do you live on Yang’s couch when you are rich?”
“I don’t live there because it’s cheap. I didn’t want to live alone after my marriage ended and she was looking for a roommate. But we’re going to move next month, we found a new apartment! With two bedrooms!” Callie said excitedly.
“We?” Erica was suspicious, she feared for the worse, which was that Callie would still live with Yang in her new apartment.
“Me and Cristina.” Erica’s face fell, but she didn’t say anything. She pursed her lips and bit her tongue just to keep her mouth from saying what she was thinking.
“Erica, don’t look so disappointed.”
“I just thought that if you moved, you would move to a place where we would have some privacy.”
“We will have plenty of privacy. I have my own bedroom and bathroom. Cristina is my friend, you have to learn to accept that. And don’t ever make her keep something from me again - don’t use your power to mess with my friendships.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve just had enough of the nurses talking about you and Sloan - and I quote - ‘practically doing each other on the dance floor’.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Apparently, half of the hospital saw you and Sloan dance at Joe’s. I guess I must have missed one hell of a show.” Erica shrugged, she tried to sound careless but Callie picked up the hurt in her voice.
“We were just dancing! Mark and I are over, if you actually spent any time with us then you would know that.” Callie was so sick of everybody thinking that she and Mark were a couple that she got defensive immediately.
“Ouch. So you’re saying it’s my fault?”
“NO! God! I- I just-… I don’t want us to fight. Mark and I, we’re just friends, please don’t listen to what the nurses say. According to them, I’m pregnant!”
“It’s hard not to listen to it when you hear it all the time. I’m sorry, I trust you, I know that you’re not sleeping with Mark anymore. I just don’t quite understand how you went back to being friends with him so easily.”
“We never were more than friends. I mean we were friends with benefits, but we never were a couple. Any more questions?”
“No.” They ate in silence, their mood dampened by their discussions.
Even though Erica wouldn’t admit it, she was still hurt by Callie’s recent ‘gay-panic sexcapades’. While she partly understood the behavior, it had hurt to see Callie chose Mark over her.
When they were finished with dinner, the couple moved to the living room, watching TV and lost in thought.
“Even though I was angry at you, I still missed you. Can we forget all that stuff for a moment and just cuddle, please?” Callie asked. She knew that Erica and her would have to overcome certain barriers, but wanted to be near to her lover none the less. Erica smiled at her lovingly and opened her arms in an inviting gesture.
“Of course! I really missed you too.” The younger doctor cuddled into the blondes embrace, inhaling her distinct smell. The two women sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the weather forecast.
“I’m sorry that I hurt your feelings. My relationship with Angie is complicated and I don’t see her often, so I try to spend as much time as possible with her when she’s in town. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?” Callie looked up, a mischievous grin lighting up her face.
“I know something that would make me feel better immediately.” The raven beauty said, wiggling her brows.
Erica raised hers, asking “So? What would that be?”
Callie didn’t answer but instead let her actions talk. She attacked Erica, hungrily kissing the older woman. Erica’s hands fell to the hem of Callie’s shirt and she let them slip under the fabric, stroking Callie’s bronze-colored skin. Callie’s fingers grabbed strands of the blond hair, pulling the cardio goddess even closer. Erica moaned, tightly gripping Callie’s hips. A small laugh escaped Callie’s lips and she pulled away. “Erica Hahn, are you into pain?” she teased, passion evident on her face. Erica just rolled her eyes and kissed the younger woman, lightly biting Callie’s full lower lip. The young woman moaned, her hands tugging at Erica’s shirt. They moved apart, simultaneously pulling at each others shirts. Erica finally succeeded to strip Callie of her shirt, immediately attacking her breasts. She softly bit Callie’s breasts through the bra, making Callie gasp.
“Wait.” Callie barely managed to sputter the word, but when Erica paused fondling her breasts she repeated the word “Wait. Please, I’m sorry. I’ve been in the hospital all day and I didn’t shower at work, so could I maybe take a shower before we do this?”
“You want to shower before we get dirty?” Erica teased, but then agreed. The blonde gave her lover a few minutes alone in the shower and then got ready to join her when she heard the front door open and Angie shouting a greeting into the house.
Erica moved to the bedroom door and let her niece know where they were and then put on her bathrobe. Angie knocked on the open door and then stepped into the room, looking at Erica and the bathroom door.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have know that the car in the driveway belongs to Callie. I’m going to go to bed.”
“Wait. How was your concert?”
“Great. Amazing, the orchestra is really good. The house was full, all concerts are sold out. I have two tickets for you for Friday, I thought you might want to take Callie with you.”
“Thanks. I’ll have to ask her, see whether she has to work or not.” Erica heard the shower being turned off, but didn’t really pay it any attention.
“I really like her. You know, I thought you were just trying to show off, telling me how beautiful she is. But she really is gorgeous, even I would date her!” Angie smirked at her aunt, teasing her.
“I thought you were straight?”
“I am, but you know, I’d so go gay for her!”
“Erica, I’m ready.” Callie stepped out of the bathroom, naked as the day she was born. The dark-haired beauty wanted to surprise her lover and be bold, but when she saw Angelica stand in the room she stopped dead in her tracks, blushing furiously.
“Callie!” Erica instinctively covered Angie’s eyes with her hands and shoved her niece out of her room, a blush spreading over her cheeks as well.
Angie just laughed at the whole incident. “Yep, I’d totally go gay for her. Good night, you two.”