Waking Up in Vegas
Callie rolled to her left as she reluctantly left a night's slumber behind. A sliver of light persistently poked against one eye and forced her to squint at her surroundings. It was then she realized that while the bed was comfortable and familiar, it was not hers. Neither was the room.
It was then she felt a presence in the room, a person somewhere just out of sight.
Then the curtains on the window closed, eliminating that shaft of sun and revealing a recognizable figure.
It was George O'Malley, dressed in his usual striped polo shirt and faded blue jeans.
At once, she felt intense happiness fill her soul. "Hi," she said with a bright grin, not able to hold in her joy.
George looked back at her with that adorable smile that killed her since the first day. "Hi yourself," he said. Then he slowly crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed. "Wow. I forgot how gorgeous you are when you're just waking up. Your hair. Your skin. Magnificent."
Callie felt heat rush to her cheeks. Very few men ever made her blush like George could. As she tilted her head down to hide her expression, she discovered her own nudity. "George!" Callie cried, as she grabbed at a bedsheet to cover herself. "You could have said something."
"Don't worry," he said with a stifled giggle. "I've been a complete gentleman." His eyes scanned her for a moment. "Well, okay, maybe not a complete one."
"O'Malley," she groaned.
"Torres," he replied.
"At least turn your head," she said, grasping at the floor for her clothes.
George cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why?"
"Why?" Callie asked with more than a little incredulity. "Because I'm..."
"You're...?" he wondered.
She looked at herself again and found that she was fully dressed. At that, she lunged forward. "I am so glad to see you," Callie whispered, throwing her arms around him and holding him close. She took a long breath of his scent, felt the warmth of his cheek against hers. "Thank God you're okay. I had the worst dream."
"You did, huh?" George's smile faded a bit.
"Oh," Callie said, her happiness evaporating. She released him. "Oh, George, no."
He saw her reaction and smoothed a tear away from her eye. "Don't be sad," George said in a voice firm yet gentle. "I'm much, much better now."
"You are?"
"Mm-hm," he replied. "I have no pain. Not a bit. Feel really good, tell you the truth. My bones and joints are completely healed, so you don't have to worry about any of that."
"That's good," she said. "I'm happy to hear - " Her words caught in her throat as her eyes swept through the room. "We're – we're back in - ?"
George smiled. "Vegas, yes."
"Our room in Las Vegas," Callie said with a smile. "It hasn't changed."
"No, it hasn't. Remember the expression on my face when we got here?"
"Yes," she said. "I remember all of it." Her expression soured. "And then we went back to Seattle."
"Callie," George said firmly. "Let's not talk about unhappy things. I don't have a lot of time."
"Oh," Callie said quietly, unable to mask her disappointment. "Do you have to leave soon?"
"No, I'm staying. You're going." He smiled at her with pride. "You have some important work to do."
Callie's breath caught in her throat. "I do?"
His tone was undeniably proud. "Yes, Callie. You certainly do."
"I don't understand," she said, her mind scrambling the catch up with all the implications. "What do you mean, important work?"
George eyed her suspiciously. "You have a hip surgery on a mother of three this morning, if I'm not mistaken."
Callie let out a relieved moan. "Ohhh, I see. I thought you were talking about doing God's work or something like that."
George chuckled. "I'm not the one God sends out for that sort of thing," he said. "I just wanted to say hello to someone I always cared about even when I didn't seem to, visit a place I had very fond memories of, pass on the news that I was okay. Check, check and check. It's gonna be a pleasant day across the Seattle metro area with partly cloudy skies and afternoon highs in the low 70s. Tonight, clouds will be rolling in, bringing light rain - "
Then Callie heard Arizona's voice coming from somewhere far away. "Callie? Callie?"
Suddenly the room started to fade and blur around her. "I don't know what to do, George," Callie said. "I miss you. I miss talking to you, seeing you. And I feel so torn-up and sad and angry and I don't have any idea what to do about it."
George's face and voice were clear and sharp through the fog. "Go see my mom," he said.
Callie felt tears burning in her eyes. "I can't face her, George. I just can't. I mean, I love her, but I - "
"She doesn't blame you, you know. She's certainly not angry at you."
"I know, but – but I'm so afraid - "
"Go to the store, get the ingredients for a nice dinner, then take them to my mom. She loves you and she misses you and she wants you around." George touched Callie's hand and she felt a rush of energy flow through her. "Please, Callie. You need to do this for me. And for you."
Suddenly, like someone had parked the sun right outside the window, warm light began to flood the room. "You have to go now, Callie," she heard George say, even though she could no longer see his face or even feel his presence.
"I miss you, George O'Malley," she said.
"And I miss you, Callie Torres," he replied.
Her eyes snapped open. Arizona was sitting next to her on the bed, gripping her hand. "Callie?" she asked, concerned. "You okay? You were talking in your sleep."
Callie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah," she said. Arizona nodded with relief and started out of the bedroom. "Listen," Callie said, "I need to go visit someone tonight, so I won't be back until kinda late."
Arizona paused at the door. "Oh," she said. "If I might ask, are you going to finally go see George's mom?"
Callie sighed. "Yes."
Arizona offered a warm smile. "Finally. Thought it was going to take a miracle to get you to go."
The End