Since Owen Hunt fired his best friend, who also happened to be the head of cardio-thoracic surgery at SGMW Hospital, he had been left empty handed. The second best CT surgeon wasn't yet qualified for the job, and he didn't feel anybody would fill the position like Teddy or Cristina could.
Hunt had one last person on his list, but it was a long shot. Dr. Erica Hahn had left the department before, so would she even consider coming back? It was worth a try because Hunt was desperate.
"Hello, is this Dr. Hahn?" Owen said through the phone, finally finding it in him to call.
"This is, how can I help you?" she hastily replied.
"I'm Dr. Owen Hunt…"
"Okay, Dr. Hunt, what has you calling me?" She's nice, right?
"I'm the chief of surgery at Seattle Grace – Mercy West Hospital. We lost our head of cardio recently. I was wondering if you would be willing to return to here to Seattle Grace."
"You said Seattle Grace – Mercy West?" Erica replied, emphasizing on the 'Mercy West'.
"Yes ma'am. In the recent years, the two hospitals have merged together. But about the position…it doesn't have to be permanent, if you don't feel like you want to stay. Right now, we are just desperate for a Cardio God."
"Does Izzie Stevens still work for you?"
"Uh, no she does not. She left during her third year."
"Cristina Yang?"
"She's doing her fellowship here, yes."
"I guess I'll be there whenever you want me." Secretly, she was hoping that her former lover, Callie Torres, was still working there. She wouldn't ask Hunt though, that might raise suspicions. But why wouldn't Callie be in Seattle anymore, anyways? Even though Erica left Callie high and dry after a stupid fight about the doctors in the hospital, she still loved Callie…and a lot.
"Can you come in tomorrow? Is that too soon? Do you need some time to get situated and organized?"
"My current practice will understand my quick departure. Tomorrow is great!" Erica said, a little too enthusiastically, through the phone.
It took all but a couple hours for rumors to spread that Erica Hahn was returning to Seattle Grace. Of course, the hospital was the epicenter of gossip, but nobody knew how that particular rumor started; or if the rumor was even true. It wasn't until Erica Hahn walked through the main entrance of the hospital that people knew it wasn't just a rumor. Erica marched straight to the chief's office while the nurses gossiped about her return.
"Erica, nice to have you here," Hunt said, shaking her hand as she entered his office.
"It's nice to be here. I forgot how much I loved it here," a blatant lie coming out of her mouth. She still hadn't figured out if Callie still worked here.
"Callie, did you hear that Erica's back? She's filling in as the head of cardio," Mark practically yelled to his best friend.
"What? You can't be serious. Mark, she's long gone. She hasn't even published since Burke won the Harper Avery. It's like she slipped into thin air when she left."
"Callie, I'm not kidding. She's in Hunt's office taking her old job back."
"Well, I have an amazing wife and child now. It can't be that bad, right?"
"I don't think this could be a good thing, but I guess we will just have to see."
Erica had been dragged through surgeries and consults all morning. She wasn't happy about it, she just wanted to see Callie, and hopefully win her heart back.
She decided to take a lunch break before she was dragged into another consult. Hopefully she would find Callie eating lunch as well, but knowing that if Callie was going to eat lunch she would find Mark Sloan right next to her. She saw Sloan earlier and he wasn't someone that she wanted to encounter.
Callie finally got out of a surgery that took longer than anticipated, and she needed a break. It turned out that the rumors were true; Erica Hahn was back in the hospital. She was doing everything she could to avoid cardio. She just wanted her wife and daughter. Since it would be Sofia's nap time at daycare, and Arizona had been busy with work all day, she decided to settle for lunch with Mark. She didn't know that Mark had talked to Arizona prior to asking her to lunch. Arizona was sitting next to Mark in the cafeteria with Sofia in her arms.
"She's really having a really hard time with the new head of cardio?" Arizona asked Mark.
"Erica's not new here. A few years ago she was also the head of cardio here. She left with barely a goodbye or notice of her departure. Callie was left crushed and heart broken. Callie's here now."
"Hey babe," Arizona said giving Callie a megawatt smile and a kiss.
"I thought you had back to back surgeries today. This is a nice surprise."
"Mark told me you were having a bad day. Nothing can make you smile like this cute little baby."
"And my really hot wife," Callie smirked.
Erica had seen Callie walk into the cafeteria, alone, so she decided to follow her after paying for her food. She noticed Callie sit down next to Mark, per usual, and a blond with a baby who looked nothing like her. But Erica brushed it off, thinking that Mark knocked her up and they had the baby together, and continued towards her ex-lover. By the time Erica had made her way to the table, Callie had taken the child into her arms and the group was laughing and talking comfortably.
"Hey, do you mind if I sit her?" Erica asked enthusiastically.
"Actually, we do mind. You can't just leave, come back years later, and pretend everything is okay and that we're all friends," Mark replied harshly.
"Same old Sloan, always protecting – what exactly? Your sex buddy?"
"My best friend. Because after you left, she was such a mess. You didn't even say goodbye."
"Right, your best friend. And then who's the blond?"
"His best friend's wife," Arizona responded coldly. She then turned to Mark and whispered, "I can see why you guys hate her."
"Erica, just go away," Callie said calmly.
"I can't sit with old friends and catch up?"
"Not after you broke Calliope's heart and ran off," Arizona spat.
"Calliope? Haha, nice name. But I'll have you know, I didn't just run off. Calliope and I ended our relationship after an issue involving an ex-employee."
"What was that issue? They weren't a good enough lesbian for you?" Mark scoffed.
"Callie, what is Mark talking about?"
"Why Erica left me…sort of… I'm sorry I haven't told you about this before."
"Isobel Stevens stole a heart that was supposed to go to a patient of mine. That was my problem." The tension at the table caused Sofia to start fussing. Callie wanted to hurt the blond cardio surgeon as badly as she was hurt that she forgot she was holding the child.
"Calm down Sofia; everything's okay." Callie cooed softly.
"And whose baby is this?" Erica acknowledged the child.
"She's ours," all three of them responded.
"All three of you are parents to that child?" Erica laughed. "It's worse than when Callie and I were together and she was sleeping with Mark. We shared sex, and you guys, you share a life."
"Sofia is more than anything you'll ever be. She's a fighter just like her mom, she loves the people in her life and she'll never be one to walk away. I can tell, and she's just a baby. That's more than I can say for you and you're a grown adult that I've heard a lot about," Arizona released all the anger she didn't know she had for this new surgeon.
"Blondie's right, Erica. You never treated any of us with an ounce of respect. These two are the happiest couple ever. One of the many things that this relationship has that yours never did is love. They have an over load of love for each other and their child. Blondie even put up with me for the sake of their relationship long before Sofia was even born. They have sacrificed and lost, but they have gained so much from each other. You would have never given Callie a chance at anything she's gotten from Arizona."
"Didn't know you cared so much about them; you sure cared less about us as a couple."
"Let's be honest, Erica. You were always an asshole to Mark."
"Also, they have given me everything I wanted. They gave me Sofia. It was hard in the beginning, after the accident, but Sofia's my daughter as much as she is Callie's and Arizona's."
"You're like the big, mean bully in school," Arizona added, taking Sofia from Callie. She needed the baby contact.
Erica couldn't even speak. She was so dumbfounded by the way Mark, Callie and Arizona were treating her. She thought that coming back meant that she would have another chance at a relationship. But now that a new blond had taken her place in Callie's heart, she felt angry.
"I'm under a month long, temporary contract here. Hopefully we don't have many cases where we're working together in the next few weeks."
"Don't worry; we'll be sure to page Dr. Yang. I was going to anyways," Mark said.
The next month was long and brutal. With many of Arizona's patients needing some type of cardio on standby, her and Erica saw way too much of each other. At times, Arizona could swear that Erica was saying something about her, Callie, or even Mark under her breath.
Towards the end of Erica's four week contract, the four of them ended up going at it again, just like the first day. This time, it was mostly Arizona and Erica talking. In some twisted way, Erica still felt that she could get the perky blond out of the picture. Arizona made sure to let Erica know that she was there to stay and anything Erica did or said wasn't going to change that fact. The first day, Callie had told Arizona all about her first lesbian relationship, and that was what fuelled Arizona's anger and determination. She wasn't going to let the woman who shattered her wife's heart get away with anything.
The cat fight ended with Callie pulling Arizona out of the argument. It wasn't worth letting Erica get anything out of it. If Erica felt that there was still something between them, she was going to have to live with it. Callie was more than happy with Arizona and Sofia. She wouldn't trade her family for anything. She made sure that Arizona knew that.
After the end of the month, Erica packed up all her belongings and left. Nobody at Seattle Grace – Mercy West had heard from Erica Hahn again after her short return.