There seemed to be no escaping it. The halls of a hospital were certainly no place for peace and quiet.

She knew that. She had been here long enough. Yet today it seemed different. Today it was different. Today she had to escape it. Everyone was still whispering, still pointing and discussing. Only now they were focused on her. All the hushed conversations were about her. All of the eyes were looking at her. And she knew it.

"Callie!"

She awoke from her thoughts, and looked up at the man heading toward her.

"Jeez you look like death"

His harsh words were said with a devilish grin. Had it been anyone else saying that right now she's not sure she could have held her clenched fists at her side any longer. It was Mark however. Instead she gave him a light slap on the arm.

"Thanks" She replied, dripping with sarcasm.

Mark was her best friend. One of the only people to stand by her the past few months during her recent let's just say, indiscretion.

"Coffee?" It was more of a statement than a question,

Callie was hardly going to turn down caffeine given her lack of sleep. As they headed towards the hospital cafeteria Callie barely looked up from the tiled floor beneath her.

"You know Torres, you really need to get over this." Callie couldn't hold in her scoff. "It's no one's business what you do outside these walls. Take it from me; you can't let it get to you."

"I know Mark, but come on, you know what this place is like, as much as I'd like to think everyone will mind their own business, and they're not going to be talking behind my back for the next few months, it's going to happen." The brunette took a deep breath. "Doesn't make it any easier though."

Dr Sloan slung his arm around his best friends' shoulders and pulled her in tightly.

"We're going out tonight"

Callie attempted to interject, but was quickly cut off.

"I don't want any excuses. We are going out tonight. We are getting drunk tonight. And I won't hear any word against it!" He smiled picking up his fresh coffee and walking away. She hadn't even noticed they had made it to the café. Never mind noticing Mark ordering his coffee. Her mind was scrambled.

Callie lifted her double espresso. If she was going out tonight, sleep wasn't going to be an option. She needed all the help she could get just to reach the end of her shift.

ooo

"You're leaving me? You cannot be serious!"

The Latina began rushing around the room, throwing her clothes haphazardly into a duffle bag.

"Can't we work this out? What have I done? Thing were going great. Callie! Stop! What the hell's happening?"

The young woman grabbed a hold of her girlfriend by the shoulders and looked through her tear soaked eyes into those brown eyes she had looked at so many times before. They were different now. There was sadness to them, a darkness she had never noticed before.

"It's not working Zooey." Her voice broke as she tried to speak. "It's just, it's not going to work. I can't keep going on like this, it's not worth it. It's not fair on you."

"Can't we fix it? Please Callie, just let me fix it."

"It's not fixable, it's me, I'm not fixable. I don't want to hurt you anymore Zooey. I'm sorry."

And with that Callie left the house she had shared with her girlfriend for the past two years, with no thought of returning.

"I'll send Mark for my things."

Dr Zooey Martins tendered her resignation with immediate effect, the following day at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital.

ooo

"Torres! Move your ass!"

Mark was ready and raring to go. Callie…not so much.

She was staring at herself intently through the foggy mirror in her bathroom. She hated how little privacy she got now that she was living with Mark. She applied the finishing touches to her makeup, and made for the doorway.

"Right, keep your hair on Sloany boy, lets go!" She said attempting her best to be as perky and optimistic as she used to be.

She was going to have a good night out with her best friend.

Scratch that she was going to have an amazing night out. It had been so long since her and Mark had hit the town, that she was actually getting relatively excited about the prospect of a good old fashioned drunken, banter filled night with him.

"So where are we off to then?" She asked, worried about what dinky smelly little bar they would end up in, as usual, when it was his choice of establishment.

"There's a gig I want to check out before we club it. Supposed to be amazing, just this little blonde chick and her guitar."

Callie's face dropped.

"Oh yeah, sounds amazing Mark."

And with that Callie grabbed the keys from the table and headed to the door.

There was a light rain hanging in the sky, but that was to be expected in Seattle, it was unusual if rain wasn't far away.

"Hurry up Callie, I want to get my drink on!" Mark shouted back to his raven haired friend as he hailed a cab.

As they threw themselves into the back of the yellow taxi, Mark pulled a small hipflask from his pocket before taking a swig and handing it to her. The brown liquid burned her throat as it slid its way down. It was good.

"Right, so where are we off to?" The older gentleman half-shouted from the front of the car.

"Bus Stop, on Capitol Hill" Mark replied before taking another swig from his flask, and coughing hard. "That stuff hits the spot" He said smiling at Callie, who was staring intently out of the window.

"Callie, snap out of it"

"Sorry, I just don't know if I'm up for this yet." She said solemnly.

"Well, if you're not, you better hurry up, 'cause we're here"

They stepped out of the taxi into the busy street surrounding them.

"Who is it we're here to see again?" Callie shouted over the hustle and bustle.

The handsome doctor just replied by pointing at the sign flashing in the window.

"Introducing the newest rockette on the folk music scene.

Arizona Robbins."