She knew it was bad. She knew her life would be forever changed. She could feel within the depths of her soul she was in trouble. Serious trouble. Her whole body felt as though it was set aflame. Every nerve ending seemed to be exposed to the raw elements. She knew she had to move, to try, but her head was so foggy and her limbs felt like dead weight. She could not hear any noise at all. It was as if she were under water, deep under the sea. She knew there had to be an enormous amount of chaos going on around her but it was utterly silent in her very alone world. She knew she could open her eyes but the pure fear to actually witness what had happened made her tighten them closed even more. She pictured the only thing that could slow the increasing panic rising inside her. Calliope. And with one thought, one word, the panic she was trying to keep at bay slammed throughout her whole body. Her eyes shot open as she tried to immediately sit up when severe pain shot through her upper body mainly in her chest. She wasn't sure if she was truly injured or if her heart was breaking with the knowledge that she had no idea where the love of her life was. She had to get up, she had to find Callie. As she frantically looked around all of her senses crashed into one. Fear.
***Flashback to two years before**
Callie and Mark had just entered the cafeteria of the hospital when Mark stopped short grabbing Callie's arm.
"What the hell Mark!" Callie yelled as she wiped the spilt coffee off her lab coat.
"Look!" Mark pointed to a table occupying two women.
"I don't care-"Callie was cut off as Mark forcefully spoke his tone stern.
"Shut up and look Cal!". Callie turned her head in the direction Mark was looking and dropped her coffee. There sitting at the table was the woman who just six short months before had walked out of her life leaving Callie heartbroken. Not one word. No note. No goodbye. Just gone, like their relationship of a year never existed. She had vanished and it left Callie in a way she had never felt before. Insecure and completely confused.
Now there she sat with another Dr. She recognized from the oncology department. They seemed to be involved in a serious conversation and Callie mentally cursed herself for hoping Erica was sick.
"I'm going over there!" Mark said as he stepped forward before Callie pulled him back.
"No I am. Stay here." Callie hissed as she quickly crossed the room and stood tall over the table glaring down at Erica.
"Dr Hahn, may I politely interrupt and have a word with you?" Callie asked looking at the oncology Dr then back at Erica. Erica quickly nodded as she backed her chair up and stood with a noticeable smirk on her face that set Callie's blood to a boil level. Callie led them through a door to an empty stairwell and turned to face the blonde with her arms defensively crossed over her chest.
"Callie...I figured I would run into you being back at good old Seattle Grace. How are you?" Erica asked flatly clearly annoyed to be involved in this confrontation.
"Why are you back here and when are you returning to the hole you crawled out of?" Callie spat as her cheeks flushed in anger. Erica shifted her weight from one foot to the other and put her hands on her hips.
"I'm here for a consult on a former patient I had when I worked here. When the patient goes home, so do I." Callie rolled her eyes and turned her back on Erica to hide the apparent anger in her eyes. She clenched her fists in an attempt to get her temper under control.
"Can you just answer me one question?" Callie turned to face the blonde once again.
"Anything for you babe.." Erica said holding her arms open with a wide smile on her face. It took everything Callie had not to punch her right then.
"Why didn't you at the very least tell me you were leaving?" Erica sighed and pretended to be pondering a reasonable explanation. Instead she just shrugged her shoulders and said,
"I was offered a better position in Cleveland and was kinda just over us, you really. I don't do emotions as you know and I didn't feel like dealing with a long conversation over a breakup. I was never that attached and we were both adults. I dealt with it. End of story." Callie kept her emotions in check as a lump the size of a softball rose to her throat. She had just been dismissed as nothing, literally was just told her girlfriend of a year thought a breakup conversation as a burden. She had no idea what she ever saw in this vile human, but could not help the feeling of rejection completely deflate her. For the second time.
"Ok" was all Callie could mutter as she walked to the stairwell door. She grabbed the handle and abruptly turned back to face Erica who again was holding an evil smirk on her face. "You will always be my biggest regret and the mistake I wish I never made. Sooooo not worth the mediocre sex."
She burst through the door feeling satisfied and sad all at the same time when she collided with another blonde woman who instantly fell to the floor. "Omg! I am so sorry!" Callie said as she reached down to help the woman up. When the woman brushed the blonde curls out of her face, Callie's breath caught in her lungs. Staring up at her were the most beautiful blue orbs she had ever seen. That coupled with the dimples and the perfect smile she was flashing made Callie stutter her next words. "I can't can't see..um..didn't watch..couldn't stop stop staring." WHAT! What the hell did she just say. She mentally slapped herself as the petite blonde got herself up while Callie stood motionless.
"No worries. I didn't break, although I think your speech might have. Are you ok? You seem a little flustered." Just as the woman finished, Callie heard a voice that made her cringe answer for her.
Erica put her hand on Callie's shoulder and spoke "Oh Callie here is just fine, we were just having a little lovers quarrel is all." Callie whipped her head around knocking the offending hand off her shoulder as she stood facing Erica with wide eyes. "Right baby?" Erica asked with glaring eyes.
"Ok then, well I'll just head up to Peads now. Nice running into you Callie." The gorgeous woman said as she winked and disappeared into the stairwell. Callie was feeling so many emotions her head hurt. The foremost being arousal. The second was pure anger.
"What the fuck was that Erica?" Callie shouted as heads started turning their way. Her cheeks turned with anger when Erica said,
"I saw your reaction when you saw her face, and the stuttering. You're not going to flirt or fawn over someone else while I'm back here Callie." She said with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"There is seriously something wrong with you. You're a little bit crazy." Callie snapped as she stormed off in the opposite direction. Erica just watched laughing when she heard a veery irritating voice in her ear.
"She's right you know. You're kinda batshit insane. Stay away from her Erica or you deal with me." Mark whispered as he squeezed Erica's arm a bit harder than he should have.
"Screw you man whore!" Erica yelled to Marks back as he walked in the same direction as Callie had.