Title: Lucky Dog (Or: Why Erica Hahn Likes Bats)
Author: DianeB
Rating: PG
Pairing: Erica Hahn/OFC

Summary: Erica Hahn, newly-minted lesbian, is discovering the joys of flirting, and is only marginally disturbed by the fact that she spends an awful lot of time eyeing women. Set long enough after the S5 episode, "Rise Up," to give Erica time to make peace with what happened between she and Callie and move on. I'll leave it up to you to determine just how long that might've been.

Author's Note: Written in February, 2010, as Part 3 of the "Erica Leaves Blindfold Challenge" on LiveJournal, and revised in January, 2012. This is the same LJ story spiffed up, including giving a name to the woman of Erica's interest. Even though this is an "Erica leaves" story, I still file it under Grey's Anatomy and call it my eighteenth story for the fandom.

oOo oOo oOo

"You know," said the woman whose name Erica had learned was Allison, "I've got a Chihuahua at home, and I know this great restaurant with outdoor seating for people with dogs. Would you like to go out sometime?" The woman blushed crimson at her own question, but when she looked Erica straight in the eye with clear determination, Erica was hooked and she rose to the challenge.

"I would love to, but I don't have a dog. Is that a deal-breaker?"

Allison colored even more deeply (which Erica thought was perfectly charming), looked away with a laugh, then waved her hand in a gesture of dismissal and looked back at Erica. "No, wait. I'm sorry, I was trying to throw you off by using the dog, but clearly that didn't work. Seriously? He's a great little dog, but I leave him home by himself too much, so I'm always looking for places where he'd be welcome. We don't have to go to that restaurant unless, you know, you want to. The menu's fairly broad, lots of things to choose from, dress is casual…" Allison trailed off, shrugging, and looked so pitiful that Erica decided to let her off the hook.

"No," Erica said with a smile, "the restaurant sounds great and so does your dog. I was just trying to throw you off. So relax, would you?"

oOo oOo oOo

It was not like Erica to be so bold in the flirting department, but her experience with Callie Torres had left her with thicker skin and considerably more courage. She realized that she was enjoying herself just now, bantering with this woman she had just met.

In fact, Erica's awareness that she was a lesbian had become more than just the "seeing leaves" epiphany it had been with Callie. While not exactly a dating machine, she had gone out with a few women and found the experiences comfortable and satisfying in ways her dates with men had never been. More than that, however, she found herself drawn to all manner of women, checking them out at every turn: the doctor's office, the grocery store, hell, even on the street. It was liberating, but also vaguely disturbing, and Erica – after staring too long at the well-defined arm muscles on the dark-haired woman unpacking oversized coffee-table tomes in the book store – had an idea that while some might say she was "making up for lost time," she herself feared she might be turning into a perv.

She got caught staring – of course – and was thankful the woman had not called security, but instead had smiled, introduced herself, and invited Erica to have coffee in the bookstore's café.

oOo oOo oOo

"Oh, I'm plenty relaxed, don't let the blush fool you. I get a little crazy when it comes to my dog, is all. Don't worry, you'll love Lucky, even if you aren't a dog person. You aren't, are you?"

Erica, again distracted by Allison's rugged good looks and striking green eyes, found herself daydreaming about putting the dog in its crate and getting right down to business with his owner. She blinked and came back to the moment. "I'm sorry?"

If Allison noticed Erica's brief departure, she pretended she hadn't. "A dog person. Not one, I mean."

"Well, I've never owned a dog, and I've never been around many people who did, so I guess you could say I don't know one way or the other." Hearing herself, Erica could only wonder if she was still a world-class cardiothoracic surgeon or just some clerk at the local pet superstore.

"Well, then, how about that restaurant? Tomorrow night? Say, seven o'clock? I'll bring Lucky."

Nearly unable to contain the flicker of desire this wordplay invoked, Erica smiled and said in the gravelly tone that Callie had always described as being unfuckingbelievably hot, "I'll bring the dog treats."

oOo oOo oOo

"Well, hi," Allison said, standing as Erica approached the table, a bright-eyed, black-and-tan Chihuahua tucked in the crook of her arm, "I honestly thought you'd stand me up."

"Never. Here I am." Erica sat down across from Allison and placed a bag on the table, which the dog took immediate interest in. "And here are the dog treats."

Allison was clearly flabbergasted and didn't bother to hide it. She placed the dog on the ground at her feet, where he promptly sat without a sound, though still clearly interested in what was on the table, and reached to open the bag. "Snausages , Lucky's favorite! I swear," she said, admiration tinting her words and her expression, "you are something else."

It was Erica's turn to blush, and then jump a mile when she felt something warm and soft cover her foot, and heard a tiny sigh of contentment. "Aaah!" She only just managed to keep herself from sending the dog flying.

Allison clearly knew what had happened and was immediately apologetic. "Uh oh, sorry about that," she said, reaching beneath the table. "I thought he'd wait until we'd ordered dinner before he started getting fresh. At least that was the plan. C'mere, you."

But before she could get to the little dog, Erica reached down and brought him into her lap, absently noting his weight must've been something close to that of her exercise weights. Studying the dog as he studied her, with his black pointed muzzle, round dark eyes, and big ears, Erica said without thinking, "He looks very bat-like," and then realizing how that must have sounded, quickly backpedaled. "No, no, I'm sorry, I meant that as a compliment, actually. I never minded bats. Some species eat mosquitoes, and the saliva of others is being studied to see if a new medicine can be found to help people with heart problems." Now she looked up to find Allison leaning forward on the table, looking at her with an expression that was difficult to read. Somewhere between fear and infatuation, Erica guessed, and it left a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "They're, uh, bats, that is, they're markers of a healthy environment," she finished feebly.

Allison continued to look straight at her, her gaze beginning to smolder, and Erica felt her queasiness shift southward and transform into an altogether different kind of feeling. Finally, Allison leaned back against her chair, blew a puff of air, smiled seductively, and said slowly, "So they are."

Erica dragged her eyes down to see Lucky splayed out across her lap, sound asleep. She could feel heat radiating from her lap and was pretty sure it wasn't all coming from a five-pound dog.

oOo oOo oOo

Lucky (very lucky dog that he was) did not end up in his crate that night.

End.

oOo oOo oOo

I'm an older woman now, doesn't mean that I am dead.
More than anything it means I'm more alive inside my head.
I'm not talking ethereal, we're physically bred.
I can talk you in circles, and I can talk you into bed.

Cause it only gets better and it only gets smarter.
It's sweet and it's sexy, it's softer and harder.
And it's all about the comfort, and it's all about the dare,
So I'll take you anytime, anywhere.

- Tret Fure, from her song, "Anytime, Anywhere."