Title: Moving On
Author: iheartcallietorres (laurenxx3 on LJ)
Pairing: Callie/Arizona, Callie/Mark (friendship), Mark/Lexie, with appearances by other GA characters, including one Dr. Erica Hahn
Rating: T
Summary: (I've always wanted an Erica/Callie closure scene/episode on the show, but I highly doubt we'll actually get one, so I wrote my own. I love being creative.) Set four and a half years after 5x07 (Rise Up) when Erica walked out of Callie's life. How will Callie, Arizona, Erica and other Grey's characters react to her return?
Disclaimer: You know the drill. All characters belong to Shonda Rhimes/ABC. I don't own anything. If I did, I'd be a lot richer than a poor college student. Any similarities to real life situations/persons are purely coincidental. Not for profit; for entertainment purposes only.
A/N: I have absolutely NO medical knowledge beyond what I see/hear on Grey's Anatomy, so forgive me of any medical-related errors. Also, this is un-betad, so all mistakes are mine. Please let me know if you come across any. As always, comments are much appreciated (and will encourage me to write more fics in the future - *hint, hint*).
__________
Four and a half years had passed since Erica Hahn had left Seattle for the East Coast. Four and a half years since she'd walked away from Seattle Grace, her job and the woman she'd been half-way in love with.
But today, she was back.
Two days ago, she'd received a call from Derek Shepherd, who'd replaced Richard Webber as Chief three years ago. A VIP heart transplant recipient had requested her as his surgeon and was too unstable to be moved to another hospital. Erica had been tempted to refuse, but the VIP patient was undeniable. He'd been her mentor during her residency at Johns Hopkins. Why he was now at Seattle Grace, she had no idea. But she couldn't turn him down. He'd taught her everything she knew. And now he needed a new heart and had requested her personally. Damn it, she couldn't refuse Dr. Mason Boyd!
"Erica," Derek greeted her as she entered his office. She'd been lucky to not run into anyone on her way up here, but knew it was inevitable that she'd face many former colleagues, including one Dr. Callie Torres. She knew Callie still worked here. She'd seen her name on the OR schedule as she'd passed by it on her way to Derek's office.
"Derek," Erica replied, shaking his hand. "Or should I call you Chief?"
Derek chuckled. "Please, have a seat," he said, indicating the chair in front of his desk. She did and they discussed Dr. Boyd's prognoses.
"You should know that things have changed since you were last here," Derek said as they wrapped up their conversation. "Everything that's happened with George O'Malley and Izzie Stevens… it's taken its toll on everyone."
"O'Malley and Stevens?" Erica said, confusion apparent on her face.
Derek's eyebrows raised. "You didn't hear?"
Erica shook her head and Derek sighed.
"Shortly after you left, Stevens was diagnosed with stage four Metastatic Melanoma. She… was in a bad state for a long time and a DNR was ignored... She's in remission now and finishing her residency in Oregon, but it's been hard on everyone, especially Karev. Then O'Malley stepped in front of a bus to save a woman's life and was badly injured. He died soon after. Needless to say, even four years later, we're still feeling the loss."
Erica was speechless. Stevens had cancer? O'Malley was dead?
A lot had changed in the past four and a half years. Her first thought was about how Callie handled it all.
An hour later found Erica sitting in a conference room going over Dr. Boyd's charts.
"Well, well, well," a smug voice said from the doorway. "I never thought I'd see the day that Erica Hahn returned to Seattle Grace."
Erica looked up and glared at Mark Sloan as he leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. "Sloan," Erica said, then tried to ignore him.
Of course, Mark would not be dismissed so easily and walked further into the room, dropping into the chair across the table from her. He just stared at her, not saying a word.
"What?" Erica asked, annoyed.
Mark narrowed his eyes. "Why didn't you at least say goodbye?"
"I didn't realize you would miss me so much."
"Not to me," Mark said, a little harshly. "To Callie. You nearly broke her, you know."
Erica's jaw clenched. She did not need this right now. "Sloan—"
"I'm just curious," Mark interrupted, "how you could just walk away and—"
"Is there something you wanted, Dr. Sloan?" Erica cut him off.
"Just don't do or say anything to upset her," Mark warned.
"This isn't a social visit," Erica retorted. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be."
"I'm just saying, she's finally happy now and I don't want to see you mess that up," Mark warned.
"I already told you this isn't a social visit," Erica seethed. "So don't bother hitting on me, either."
Mark grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it," he said smugly, holding up his left hand, showing off the wedding band surrounding his ring finger. "My wife wouldn't like that one bit." With that, he turned and quickly left the room, leaving Erica stunned.
Mark was married now? Wow, things really had changed in the past four and a half years.
Erica managed to avoid Callie all day until she was walking out of the hospital that evening. She had just stepped off the elevator when she noticed the raven-haired beauty across the lobby, talking to Sloan. She laughed at something he said and Erica's stomach clenched as realization dawned on her.
Sloan had married Callie.
__________
Callie had heard that Erica Hahn had returned to Seattle Grace, but she'd yet to run into her. For that, she was grateful.
As she waited with Mark for Lexie and Arizona to join them in the lobby, she felt someone watching her. She glanced around the lobby and she locked eyes with the notorious Dr. Erica Hahn and her laughter immediately died on her lips.
Mark followed his best friend's gaze and felt his jaw clench. He was highly protective of his friends, especially Callie, who had done so much for him in the past few years. He grasped her elbow and pulled her towards the exit. "Come on, Cal. Let's wait for them at Joe's."
He didn't even give her a chance to protest as he dragged her outside, pulling out his phone at the same time to text Lexie and Arizona that they would meet them at the bar.
"Mark, are you okay? You're more upset than I am." Callie chuckled a bit. Sure, Erica being here had phased her momentarily and seeing her had made her loose her focus for a second, but she wasn't too distraught. They were both professionals and both damn good in their respective fields. Surely they could work together if need be. Besides, Callie was no longer angry. All her anger at Erica had fled when she'd fallen for her beautiful girlfriend who was now her wife. If Erica had not walked away, Callie would never have gotten together with Arizona, and Arizona made her whole. So, in a weird way, she was grateful that Erica had walked away.
Mark stopped outside Joe's. "How are you so calm?" he asked.
Callie shrugged. "It was along time ago, Mark. I've moved on and I'm assuming she has, too. In case you've forgotten, I'm in love with Arizona. Why should I care if Erica's back? It's not like she's trying to win me back or anything."
Mark studied his friend, unsure of whether to believe her or not. "When I saw her today, all I could think about was how defeated you were when she left. All I could remember was you breaking down in the OR and crying into my shoulder. All I could remember was you moping around for weeks, afraid to let anyone get close. I don't understand how you can forgive her, Cal. Because I can't. She broke my best friend."
Callie sighed. "Mark, that was all before I met Arizona. She put me back together again and made me whole. Even more whole than I was before Erica left, before George cheated on me. Arizona… she means the world to me and if Erica hadn't left, I wouldn't have gotten together with Arizona, and I can't even think about not being with her. So, yeah, I can forgive Erica. Because she led me to the love of my life and I'm thankful for that."
"I'm thankful, too," a soft voice spoke into Callie's ear as two arms wrapped around her from behind. Callie didn't even have to turn around to know it was Arizona. She smiled broadly and turned in Arizona's arms.
"Hi," she said softly, placing a soft kiss on her wife's lips.
"Calliope Torres, you are amazing," Arizona said, hugging Callie to her.
"I try," Callie joked.
"Something tells me that our night of hanging out is about to be cut short," Mark said, watching his two friends cuddle. He slipped his arm around Lexie, his wife of just over a year, and grinned. She grinned back at him and had to agree. When Callie and Arizona got in their cuddle mood, which was quite often, it was obvious that they wanted some alone time.
Both couples retreated to their apartments, still in the same building across the street from the hospital. Callie and Arizona still occupied the unit that Callie and Cristina had lived in as roommates, but Cristina and Owen had moved out several years ago and into their own apartment. Shortly after, Arizona had officially moved in with Callie.
Callie and Arizona said goodnight to Mark and Lexie and entered their apartment hand in hand.
"Hi Dr. Torres, Dr. Robbins," Stephanie said as they entered the apartment. She was bent over textbooks, working on what appeared to be math homework.
"Hey Stephanie, how was Elena?" Arizona asked the teenager.
"A perfect angel, as always," Stephanie said, gathering her schoolbooks and placing them into her bag. "She's asleep already."
Callie reached into her own bag and pulled out her wallet. She counted out some cash and handed it to Stephanie, who counted it and began to protest. "Oh, this is way too much," she started.
"We do this every time, Stephanie," Callie said with a smile. "Just say thanks and go home."
Stephanie sighed, but pocketed the cash. "Thanks," she said and walked out the door. "Do you need me tomorrow?" she asked before closing the door.
Arizona shook her head. "Nope, you're in the clear."
Stephanie laughed. "I enjoy it," she said. "Goodnight."
"Night Stephanie."
The door closed and Arizona grinned at her wife. "Finally alone," she said as she pulled her closer. She placed her lips against Callie's, allowing her teeth to nip playfully at Callie's lower lip.
Callie groaned and pulled Arizona closer, enjoying the feel of her firm body against her own. Things were just getting heated up when a yell came from the room previously occupied by Cristina. "Mamá! Mommy!"
Callie groaned and pulled back from Arizona. "Not completely alone," she said, but smiled.
Arizona chuckled and they walked into Cristina's old room. "What is it, baby?" Arizona asked softly as she sat on the edge of two-year-old Elena's bed.
"I had a bad dream," Elena sobbed, clutching at Arizona's arm.
Callie went to the other side of the bed and knelt beside her daughter, running her fingers through the dark, curly locks. "It was just a dream, baby," Callie soothed. "It's not real."
But Elena continued to cry and clutch Arizona's arm.
Arizona looked at Callie and Callie nodded. "How about you sleep with us tonight?" Callie suggested.
Elena nodded, sniffing. "Okay."
Arizona picked her up into her arms and the three of them made their way to Callie and Arizona's bedroom. They settled Elena under the covers in the middle of the bed before getting ready for bed. Soon, Callie and Arizona crawled under the covers and snuggled close to the still-upset Elena.
"Goodnight Elena-bear," Callie said softly against her daughters forehead.
"Night Mamá," Elena answered. "Night Mommy."
"Goodnight, baby," Arizona said softly.
Within minutes, all three were asleep, the two momma bears and their little cub.
__________
Of course Callie had married Sloan, Erica thought to herself as she went over the previous day in her head. Had Callie ended up with anyone else, it wouldn't have bothered her one bit. Okay, it would have bothered her a little, but not as much as her ending up with Sloan, the man she'd run to mere hours after sleeping with her.
Erica hoped that for once, she would have good luck and not see Callie, or Sloan for that matter, at all day.
But wouldn't you know it, the first person she sees when she walks into the damn hospital is Sloan, standing at the nurses' station, studying a patient's charts. She wanted to just walk in the other direction, but couldn't. She needed Dr. Boyd's charts from that very nurses' station.
Rather than chance Sloan trying to talk to her, she opted to wait until he left. So she stood and waited.
Three minutes later, she wished she'd found something else to do to occupy her time. Callie, dressed in street clothes, was walking down the hall towards Sloan holding a… child? The little girl was young, maybe two, and was definitely Callie's, right down to her raven hair and olive complexion. Great, not only was Callie married to Sloan, they had a love child. Just freaking great.
Suddenly the little girl squealed and held out her arms towards Sloan. "Unca Mak!" the girl cried out, a huge smile on her face.
Sloan smiled and reached out to take the child. "Hey kiddo!" he said, blowing a raspberry on the girl's cheek.
Unca Mak? Erica thought to herself. Was that supposed to be Uncle Mark? Why would she call her father Uncle Mark and not Daddy? Unless… she was wrong about Callie and Mark. But then, who had Mark married and who had Callie had a baby with?
"Hey Mark," Callie greeted.
"Hey, I thought you had the day off," he said, shifting his attention to Callie.
"I do," Callie said. "Just dropping by to eat lunch with Arizona before we go to the park, right baby girl?"
"Yeah!" the little girl said loudly. "And I'm gonna swing on the swings! Mamá said she'd push me and make me go real high in the air. But not too high, though."
Mark chuckled. "Not too high," he agreed. "Last I saw, blondie was headed to catch some sleep in an on-call room. I can take cutie here for a while if you want. I have an hour before my next surgery."
Callie smiled. "What do you say, baby girl? Wanna hang out with Uncle Mark for a while?"
"Yeah! And Auntie Lexie, too?"
Mark chuckled. "I'll see if I can find her," he said. "Forth floor on-call room, I believe," he said to Callie.
"Thanks," she said. "Page me if you need me to take her."
Callie walked off in one direction and Mark in the other. Erica was left stunned. She'd been so wrong.
But who was this Arizona person?
__________
Callie slipped quietly into the forth floor on-call room, glad to find it empty except for her beautiful, sleeping wife. She quickly closed and locked the door behind her, then made her way to the bed Arizona occupied. She was lying on her side, facing the wall.
She toed off her shoes before lifting the covers and slipped under them, spooning Arizona. She lightly kissed the back of her neck while running her hand over her stomach lightly.
"Hmm," Arizona sighed, still sleeping.
Callie tried harder to wake her, moving her hand up to cup her breast.
"That better be Callie," a sleepy voice said.
"Damn right it better be," Callie said softly into her ear.
Arizona sighed and rolled over facing Callie. She kissed her softly. "Hey beautiful."
"Hey yourself," Callie said.
"What are you doing here?" Arizona asked. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you," she said as Callie nuzzled her neck.
"Just stopped by to see to eat lunch with you if you wanted."
"Hmm, sounds good. Where's Elena?" Arizona asked.
"With Mark. He said he'd take her for a while." Callie quickly disposed of Arizona's scrub top, tossing it carelessly to the floor.
"Remind me to thank him later," Arizona sighed as Callie kissed and licked her way down her neck to her bra-covered breasts. "Hmm, Calliope…" She pulled her back up to kiss her soundly. Their kisses soon became heated and their clothes mysteriously disappeared.
__________
Erica was beginning to feel like a stalker. It's not like she actively sought out Callie, but she seemed to be everywhere.
Like now, for example. Erica had been in the cafeteria first, eating her lunch in a secluded corner when Sloan had entered the cafeteria holding the little girl. He'd sat next to a resident that Erica recognized as the younger Grey sister. Also at the table was the older Grey sister, now a general surgery attending, and the former resident who'd been the bane of her existence when she'd worked here before, Cristina Yang. Yang had recently been promoted to attending Cardio-thoracic surgeon. Apparently, the current Head of Cardio, Teddy Altman, had been a better teacher than herself.
So Sloan had joined the Greys and Yang and was soon followed by Callie herself and a petite blond woman. The blonde enthusiastically picked up the child and hugged her before sitting at the table with the girl in her lap. Callie sat next to them, placing her arm around the blonde's waist.
This had to be Arizona.