The latest piece I wrote and posted on my LJ.
The Dance of Deception - Chapter One – Façade
Façade, concealment, cover-up, disguise, it doesn't really matter what you chose to call it, because in the end these words still mean the same thing; something isn't quite as it seems.
Façades are a strange thing really; they give a certain appearance to the outside world, while the inside is a totally different story. They can be used to hide away a numerous amount of things, always acting like a Halloween costume, where nobody can see who's hidden behind the mask. No signs on show to give away the emotions that hideaway behind the surface.
How many façades do people go through to protect themselves during a lifetime? To protect their family and friends? To protect their values? Morals? Beliefs? And sometimes people are protecting more than that, they're keeping themselves well guarded at all times.
Whatever the reason may be for these façades; words, thoughts, and feelings are hidden from the outside world, giving the entire image that everything is in place and all right. Though in reality, on the inside, nothing really is, now is it?
Erica scratched her pen across the paper, signing her name at the bottom of her chart before throwing it back onto the table in front of her. She let her tired eyes travel from her pile of paperwork to the clock hanging on the left-hand side wall; taking in note of the early hour and instantly reaching for her cup of coffee. She'd been stuck in an emergency surgery for the better part of last night, her patient's rupturing artery ruining any chance of her finishing her shift on time and any chance of her going home between to sleep between her shifts.
Erica scrunched her nose up at the cold coffee that trickled down her throat, and tiredly rubbed at her eyes, willing herself to wake up and focus, wanting to be ready for another busy day at the hospital. She grabbed a couple of her grapes and popped them into her mouth, enjoying their flavour on her tongue before she reached for her pen again, thinking herself lucky that despite her hectic night, she'd managed to find an unoccupied on-call room for a few hours well needed shut-eye.
Callie pushed open the door to the Attending's longue and smiled to herself at the sight of her best friend working away at her charts; her quiet entrance going completely unnoticed by the cardio surgeon. She settled into the chair opposite and immediately reached to help herself to one of Erica's grapes, her action causing blue eyes to rise up from their position to meet brown. Callie stretched her arm and took another grape, popping it into her mouth and giving the blonde a playful smile.
Erica let out an amused sigh and shook her head in response, which only made Callie's cheeky smile widen. The blonde rolled her eyes and returned straight back to her paperwork. Over the two years that she'd been working at Seattle Grace, Callie Torres had been her best friend for nearly a year and a half of that time.
The Callie Torres she'd first met back then had been a slightly awkward Orthopaedic resident, who had been suffering her fair share of heart-ache and bad luck. It had surprised Erica that the friendly, bubbly Ortho resident that she'd heard so much about, always wore a sad expression on her beautiful face, and seemed to be equally as alone as she was; the other familiar faces of the surgical wing not seemingly treating her with any comfort or respect.
When their unusual friendship started Erica found herself watching Callie grow back into the happy-go-lucky person that she'd first expected; a smile was always plastered on her face, her infectious laugh always coming out and encouraging the blonde to join in, and a confident air masking the vulnerability left behind by her broken marriage.
Without even trying, Callie Torres had broken through all of Erica Hahn's well placed barriers and the two had settled into an easy friendship. At the beginning Erica had scolded herself for becoming one of those girls who talked for hours on the phone, and spent all of their free time with their best friend. Yoga and coffee became a morning ritual, followed by their lunch time meeting in the hospital cafeteria, Callie always opting for the slightly less healthy choice, and then an evening filled with drink, dancing and nonstop conversation.
During the time that they'd been friends, they'd managed to squeeze in a lot of things that Erica would have considered unusual, such as meeting the other's parents, going away for weekend breaks together, and celebrating Callie becoming Seattle Grace's Orthopaedic Attending by watching male strippers. Although she resisted at first, Callie had always managed to twist her arm, and in the end the blonde always managed to have fun.
They'd spent countless weekends lounging around each other's apartments, watching movies, and drinking, an event which always led to one of them staying the night. They'd even spent Christmas together, although eating a proper Christmas dinner went right out of the window when Erica forgot to switch the oven on. Callie had spent hours teasing Erica afterwards while they downed bottle after bottle of alcohol; they might not have eaten that Christmas, but it had been very merry.
Looking back at how their friendship had grown, Erica knew that now, she wouldn't change a single thing about it, even if the Orthopaedic Attending was stealing her breakfast. She'd managed to finish adding the final touch to another chart when she felt something hit her shoulder.
Erica lifted her head in time to see Callie throw another grape at her; the fruit hitting her directly in the chest. Callie tried to hide her laughter at the blonde's expression by pushing a smirk onto her face, "You do know that you're supposed to eat them, not throw them Torres, right?"
Callie rolled her eyes, knowing that Erica was teasing her on purpose, "Of course Dr Hahn, everyone knows that grapes are a delicious fruit," she grabbed another one and popped it into her mouth, "They're very tasty," she swiped another grape and rolled it between her thumb and index finger, "But did you know, that they're also very handy when it comes to," she released the grape from her grip and smirked when it hit Erica's shoulder again, "Getting people's attention."
Erica let out an amused sigh, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, "I guess I missed that piece of information. But since you have my attention now, did you want something?"
Callie flashed the blonde her megawatt smile, "There's a new club opening on Friday night, I've got tickets, come with me? I'll even pay for the drinks."
Erica brushed a piece of hair away from her eyes, "I don't know Cal; this week has been manic. I've been on all night, and I'm dead tired. I think I could use an early night on Friday, I'm getting old; I need to relax and get lots of sleep."
Callie chuckled, "You're not that old Erica, and you can sleep when you're dead. Please come Friday night, I've barely seen my best friend this week and I miss you."
"More like you're still upset that I managed to out drink you last weekend and you're determined to beat me," Erica smirked and raised an eyebrow in question.
"Fine, I'm a little upset that you managed to down more shots than me. I'm not even sure how that happened; I'm the Tequila queen-"
"If you don't count Meredith Grey," Erica stated, interrupting Callie's ramble.
Callie shook her head, "If I don't count Grey... Look, please come? We'll dance, we'll drink, we'll laugh; it'll be fun. Come on Hahn, you know you want to spend time with me. I'll even cook you breakfast in bed the next morning to help with your hangover."
Erica sighed, and shook her head. There was no way she was going to win this one, if Callie wanted something she always knew exactly how to keep going until she won the blonde over, "Fine, I'll go with you. But I want waffles for breakfast."
Callie smiled in satisfaction, "My speciality. I'd better leave you to it now, otherwise you'll be even more cranky with me," she pushed her chair back and headed to the door; her hand grasping the handle and pulling it open slightly before turning back to face the blonde.
Erica caught the hesitant look on Callie's face and smiled gently, "Cal?"
"I just wanted to tell you that erm..." she let out a sigh and smiled back at the blonde, "I like your hair, the curls look great, they suit you," she looked flustered for a minute before she regained her composure, " You look beautiful Erica."
Erica dropped her eyes away from Callie's dark pools, as a heated blush covered her cheeks, "Thank you," she smiled back shyly.
Callie laughed, "You are so cute when you blush Dr Hahn."
"Leave now or I'll be forced to kick your ass," Erica couldn't help smiling to herself as Callie threw her a wink over her shoulder as she opened the door to the lounge fully and let herself out, the door clicking shut behind her.
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"We need to get Tom into surgery to fix his leg as soon as possible. Can you go and tell his parents that I'm booking an OR and we'll be doing the surgery in about forty minutes, I think they'll be glad that he doesn't have to wait until tomorrow," Callie scribbled her signature onto her chart and handed it to Karev, "I'll see you in there, I'll even let you lead."
Alex gave her a cocky smile in response, "No problem Torres," he took the chart from her hand and started off down the corridor.
Callie turned back to the OR board and picked up the marker pen, adding in the details of her patient and her surgery; clipping the lid back onto the pen when she'd finished and placing it back. She reached into her lab coat pocket and drew out her scrub cap, along with an assortment of hair pins, clips and bands. She let out a groan of frustration as one of the pins slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground.
"I'll get it," Erica bent to retrieve the pin and offered Callie a smile, "Got a surgery?"
Callie turned and pointed at the board where she'd neatly added her name only moments before, and waited until Erica had read over the information written there, "Shouldn't be too bad, I've got Karev with me and although he's arrogant he's surprisingly good with Ortho."
Erica took the clips, pins and bands from Callie's hand and moved behind her, carefully scooping her hair away from her face and tying it up with the hair band. Next she took hold of the pins and slid them into place, making sure that none of Callie's beautiful dark tresses were escaping.
"Turn around," the blonde placed her hands on Callie's shoulders and urged her to turn and face her.
"Since when do you do hair?" Callie asked in amusement.
Erica returned her smile, "Shut up, and give me that," she took the black scrub cap covered with little bones from Callie's grip and placed it onto her head. She made sure it was sitting straight before sliding her arms around Callie's neck and letting her fingers try to work the ties into a knot.
Callie found herself unable to look away from Erica's gaze while the blonde's deft fingers skimmed across the nape of her neck as she fiddled to with the ties to her scrub cap. A strange wave of unsteadiness washed over her and she found herself gripping Erica's hips to steady her balance.
"Finally, all done," the blonde was just as surprised at having Callie's fingers digging into her hips as she was at the words leaving her mouth in a whisper. As soon as Erica had opened her mouth to speak, Callie had become acutely aware of how the blonde's warm breath puffed out and skittered against her own lips.
The heat radiating between them and the smell of Erica's perfume felt intoxicating in the small distance between them, it was making Callie's head feel fuzzy; her mind filling with thoughts that maybe if she just leaned in a bit closer she could-
Erica removed her arms from around Callie's neck and took a step back; averting the dark-haired woman's intense eyes for second before forcing a smile onto her lips, "Want to grab lunch after your surgery?"
Callie nodded her head and desperately swallowed the dry lump that had formed in her throat, "Of course, that'd be great."
Erica stared back and opened her mouth to reply; the sound of her pager interrupting the moment that had settled between them. She snatched it from her scrubs and held it to her eyes so she could read the message, "Its Steven's. I'm needed for a consult apparently. I'll meet you in the cafeteria after your surgery, I'll grab you a tray."
Callie gave a small smile and watched as Erica hurried off down the hallway. As soon as she was out of sight she let out a shaky breath, "Thanks for helping with my scrub cap," she shook her head, willing the tension to leave her body and headed towards the OR.
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As Erica pushed open the door leading into the cafeteria she took in a deep breath to steel her nerves. She wasn't normally one to suffer with nervousness settling into her stomach, but since her encounter with Callie earlier that morning she'd felt completely thrown.
She scanned the groups of people sitting at the tables and felt herself relax a little when she noted that Callie wasn't there yet. Erica headed over to the line and grabbed two trays, loading one for herself and one for Callie; making sure to get Callie's usual post-surgery meal of a burger with fries.
She settled the trays onto their normal table and took a long sip of her coke, loving the way the icy liquid quelled the dryness of her mouth. Her mind flashed back to the way Callie had been looking at her this morning and she quickly pushed it aside.
There were times in their friendship when these unnerving moments cropped up, they were always fleeting and both women pushed them from memory, neither speaking about the unusual flow of intensity that passed between them.
"Hey," Callie settled into the seat next to Erica and offered her a smile, "Thanks for grabbing me lunch, I'm starving."
Erica smiled back, relief flooding her every nerve at the return of their usual easiness, "No problem. How'd the surgery go?"
Callie took a bite of her burger and closed her eyes, letting out an appreciative sigh. She swallowed her mouthful and took a sip of her drink, giving the blonde a small shrug, "It went okay, we fixed the young boy, Tom's, leg and his parent's looked so happy when we wheeled him back to his room," she took a fry; biting into it, "This food, is to die for. I can't believe you have salad again Erica, branch out, have a bite," she offered the burger to Erica and frowned when the blonde shook her head, "You're no fun."
"That might be true, but at least my arteries won't be clogged up," Callie rolled her eyes and took another bite of her burger, "How did Karev get on?"
"Karev did a good job, but as usual he remains as a cocky asshole; if I didn't have a strange fondness for him I'd want to punch him."
Erica let out a chuckle, "Well at least you weren't stuck with Steven's all morning. The stupid girl was doing her whole "I'm so attached to all my patient's thing" again. It drives me insane."
Callie heard a laugh from the table behind them and turned to see Izzie laughing with George, "You're right, I'd definitely rather be stuck with Karev, hell I'd even take Grey over her."
Erica followed her gaze and studied Steven's with the man that used to be Callie's husband. She waited until Callie turned back towards her before replying, "I'd rather have Yang over her."
Callie's eyes widened, "Wow."
Erica nodded her head and gave her a smirk, "I know, I'm learning to accept her, no matter how annoying she may be," she stabbed her fork into her salad and waved it about as she searched for the right word, "Its growth."
"I'm impressed. Makes you hanging out at the apartment I share with Yang, much less awkward."
Erica opened her mouth to reply and stopped when Sloan and Sheppard slid into the seats opposite her and Callie, "Hello Ladies, mind if we join you?"
There was something about Mark Sloan that drove the blonde doctor to distraction, she'd never been able to put her finger on the reason why, but she was pretty sure it had something to do with the way he treated women. He constantly went from woman to woman, sleeping with them and then moving on to the next, and he had this disgusting habit of hitting on them in his unique sleazy way; unfortunately her and Callie weren't part of the exception.
"Of course not," Callie offered Derek and Mark a smile and glanced out of the corner of her eye at Erica; easily reading the look of annoyance that had settled on her face.
"I love the curly hair Erica, but I'm thinking it would look even better ruffled up," he closed his eyes and licked his lips as he pretended to think about it, "Yeah, I was right. You'd look super hot with sex hair. Want to meet me in an on-call room after lunch?"
Erica scoffed, her blue eyes flashing in anger before her control took over, leaving only disgust behind in her tone, "No thanks Sloan, I'm treating enough women that have slept with you already, they're all suffering from Chlamydia and I don't need to become one of them."
"Ouch Hahn, message received," he gave her a wink and turned his attention to Callie, "What about you Torres? You never say no to a good old fu-"
"Don't talk to her like that!" Erica tightened her grip around her fork and felt the urge to lean across the table and stab Sloan in the chest with it.
"Erica, it's fine," Callie placed her hand over Erica's, running her thumb over her knuckles and getting the blonde to release her killer grasp on the utensil. She shifted her attention to Mark, "Don't be an ass."
"You two can be so uptight sometimes," Mark shook his head and lifted a hand to scratch at his beard, "You know what usually loosens women up? Sex. I'm up for a threesome if you two don't like being separated."
"Mark," Derek chipped in with his warning tone, noticing the angry looks coming from both the women at the table, "Why don't you save it for those nurses you like."
"Fine, but you two are missing out," he smirked at them before taking a bite of his food.
Derek watched Callie leaning in to talk to Erica, the smirk that appeared on the blonde's face a few seconds later, before they both started laughing was enough to make him smile, "You know, you two are kind of like Meredith and Cristina," they stopped laughing at once, Callie turning to him with an eyebrow raised and Erica looking completely appalled, "Except you two have good communication and deal with feelings instead of drinking Tequila."
"I'm nothing like Yang!" Erica said scandalised by the mere thought.
"I wouldn't be so sure about the Tequila thing either Derek, trust me, these two can drink just as well as Meredith and Yang," Mark muffled through his mouthful of food. Once he swallowed he turned his attention to Erica, "And sure you're like Yang, Hahn. You're the slightly private one, and Torres here, is your version of Grey, who likes to cuddle up in your bed and mope about her feelings."
"Meredith doesn't mope," Derek added.
"And we don't cuddle, we're nothing like Meredith and Cristina, they're dysfunction," Callie turned to Derek, "No offense."
He let out a laugh as he stood, "None taken, but I'm telling you, you two are Mer and Cristina version 2.0," he flashed them his charm filled smile; "Have a good day ladies."
A few seconds after Derek left a blonde nurse passed by their table, flashing Sloan a smile, "That's my cue ladies, I'll see you around."
Callie watched him follow the nurse like a dog after a bitch in heat and shook her head as she found Erica's eyes, "He's a moron, but thank you for defending me."
Erica gave her a smile, "He really is a moron, and he had no right to speak to you like that."
"Thank you," Callie lifted her hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, "I have to go check on a patient. You want to meet me in the lobby at the end of your shift? We can go and grab a drink at Joe's and through darts at a picture of Mark's head."
Erica let out a laugh, "Sounds like a plan Cal."
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Callie let out a sigh of irritation and shifted her bag higher onto her shoulder at the same time that the elevator doors pinged opened; a smiled instantly formed on her face as Erica stepped through the doors and joined her.
"Sorry I'm a little late, that last surgery ran longer than I expected it to," Erica offered Callie an apologetic smile as they fell into step with one another.
"Doesn't matter, I've only just got down here myself," Callie pulled her jacket tighter around her body as they stepped out into the crisp night air, "I really could do with a drink though," she threw a smirk in the blonde's direction as they crossed the road and headed towards Joe's.
"Is there any time that you couldn't do with a drink?" Callie's eyes twinkled in amusement as she let out a low laugh and held the door open for Erica to pass through.
"Hey Dr Hahn, Dr Torres," Joe greeted them in his normal friendly manner as they settled onto the stools in front of the bar, "What can I get for you? The usual?"
Callie nodded, "Yes please, Tequila all around."
"Actually Joe, I'll have a glass of red wine please," Erica shot Callie a look, "I told you Torres, no more Tequila, that stuff is like poison to me, a couple of shots and I'm done."
Callie accepted her drink from Joe and downed her shot with ease, "You need to learn to hold your alcohol better Hahn," she titled her glass at Joe indicating for another.
Erica thanked Joe and passed him enough money to cover their drinks for the night, "I out drank you last weekend! I can hold my drink, but unlike you I don't need to get wasted every night of the week," she gave Callie a playful nudge and headed over to the dart board.
The younger woman quickly followed, "I can't believe that you just implied that I'm a slight alcoholic," she snatched the darts from Erica's hand and took her shots.
Erica studied where Callie's darts had landed and shook her head, "With or without alcohol in you Cal, you're the worst darts player in the world."
The dark-haired woman feigned offence and pouted, "Well, why don't you show me exactly how it's done Dr Hahn," she retrieved the darts from the board and offered them to Erica.
The cardio doctor smirked in acceptance to the challenge and easily flew her darts into the bulls-eye. When she turned back to Callie, the woman simply shot her an amused look and rolled her eyes, "Do you have to be so annoyingly good at everything?"
Erica laughed in response, "I can't help it," she gave Callie a playful took and tilted her head back to the bar, "Another drink?"
"You should know the answer to that one," Callie threaded her arm through the older woman's and let herself be led back to the bar.
A couple of hours, and a few drinks later, Erica found herself supporting Callie's weight against her own as she led the younger woman from the bar. She pulled one of Callie's arms more firmly around her neck and braced her other arm around her waist as she tried to steady her tipsy friend, "You're an idiot Torres."
Callie giggled, "I know, but I was having fun."
Erica struggled to adjust her hold on the other woman and managed to signal a cab for them. She slid Callie into it before climbing in behind her and giving the cab driver her address. As the driver pulled away from Joe's and started on the twenty minute journey to the cardio doctor's house, Erica felt Callie snuggle in closer to her side, her head falling to rest comfortably on the blonde's shoulder.
She let her blue eyes fall over Callie's face and took in the sight before her. The younger woman's honey skin was slightly flushed due to the alcohol, her beautiful brown eyes where safely hidden away as she snoozed and her gorgeous full lips were parted as she breathed against Erica's neck.
The blonde quickly tore her eyes away and let her head fall back against the seat. It was times like these when alcohol flooded through her system and Callie was completely unaware that her mind started playing tricks on her, she swore her senses became heightened because all she could think about was the smell of Callie's shampoo and perfume, the way the younger doctor's breath tickled against her skin and left a trail of goose bumps in their wake, and most proponent was the way Callie's heated body was pressed firmly against her own.
Erica scrunched her hands into fists and fought the urge to pull Callie closer, this is just what happened when she'd had a few to drink, it was nothing unusual, she just had to keep her calm and ignore the voice in her head that told her to break pass the barrier of friendship that they firmly had in place. The blonde sensed the driver slowing down and shifted a little so that Callie would wake, all she needed to do was get some sleep and then those thoughts running through her head would once again return to their dark depths.
"Cal, we're here, wake up sweetie," She ran her hand along Callie's arm and gave her a smile as brown eyes fluttered open and came into focus. She grabbed her bag and rummaged around for her purse, passing the driver their fare and pulling Callie out of the cab and up to her house.
Once inside she settled Callie on the couch and fetched the dark-haired woman a large glass of water, "You should drink that before we head to bed, you'll have an even worse hangover if you don't."
Callie took the glass and threw Erica a half smile, "Thanks, I really should try and knock off the week day drinking, I'm going to have a killer headache for work tomorrow."
Erica shrugged and watched as the younger woman finished the water, "You feeling a little sobered up now?" Callie nodded and stood from the couch, only swaying a little before regaining her composure, "Let's go to bed, I'm exhausted."
"Sounds like a plan," Callie held her hand out and waited for Erica to take it before she followed the older woman upstairs.
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Erica pulled the scrub cap from her head as she headed to the nurses' station, grabbing a chart from the pile and adding the information she needed. It was only the sound of Callie's laugh that drew her attention away from her work; she let her eyes dance over the situation going on before her.
A tall dark haired guy with his arm in a cast was talking animatedly away to Callie with a smile plastered over his face. Erica felt a twinge of something in her chest as the dark-haired woman returned his smile and lifted a hand to his arm in a friendly gesture. She watched until she saw the man turn to leave and quickly focused back on her chart, not wanting to be caught being nosey.
"Hey you," Callie leaned on the desk in front of her, "How's your day going so far?"
Erica lifted her eyes to meet brown and smiled, "Not too bad, one successful surgery down. How's the hangover?"
Callie let out a laugh and smirked, "Luckily for me I woke up in a doctor's house this morning, she had plenty of little bottles of pills to help my headache, so I'm not doing too badly."
"That's good then," Erica felt the word's forming in her head and willed them to go away; she would not be drawn into the gossip mill standards of Seattle Grace, she would not ask Callie about the man she was just talking to because frankly it wasn't any of her business, "Who was that patient you were talking to?" Damn her vocal cords for betraying her! She saw the look of surprise flash through Callie's eyes before she averted her gaze.
Callie hooked her thumb over her shoulder, "What Dan?" Erica nodded her head, "He's this patient I've had for years. He's a wrestler and sometimes they get a little carried away, he's had more broken bones than anyone I've ever know."
Erica nodded, "I see."
Callie wasn't sure why but the blonde seemed unsatisfied with her answer and she felt the need to explain more, "Not to mention he's a real flirt," she rolled her eyes as Erica looked up at her, "He asks me out for drinks every time I fix him up and I always tell him 'maybe next time,' I thought he'd get bored and leave it alone but he still always asks," she studied the blonde for a few seconds longer before continuing, "He's married now but it's become a bit of a joke between us now, so..."
Erica watched the younger woman shrug and swiftly felt relief pass through her. Ignoring it she gave Callie a smirk, "So you're even irresistible to the patients now? You need to watch what kind of vibes you give off Torres."
Callie felt at ease as the blonde's trade mark smirk graced her face, "I'll make sure I watch what 'vibes' I send out Hahn; don't worry."
The smirk fell from Erica's lips, the words 'don't worry' echoing around inside her head, what the hell was that supposed to mean? Why would she be worried if Callie dated someone? She wanted her best friend to be happy after the whole mess with George and not to mention it really wasn't anything to do with her, Callie was a grown woman; she could make her own choices.
Callie felt the tension shift in between them like a thick fog, Erica's usually confident and relaxed frame scrunched up with incredible discomfort. She risked a step towards the blonde, placing her hand on her upper arm, "Erica..."
Erica was sure that Callie's touch was burning through the layers of her clothes and etching into her skin, she wanted to do something, anything to dispel the heated air between them. She heard Callie's soft voice in her ears and felt her eyes drawn from their spot on the ground, there was something unreadable in the dark eyes she knew so well, a hint of expectancy mixed with an apology lingered on their surface and she immediately wanted to ease the younger's woman's distress.
She lifted her hand to brush a piece of hair away from Callie's eyes, "Cal, I-"
"Dr Hahn," the two women immediately sprang apart as Cristina appeared besides them, "Thank god I found you, Jeff Carlson has gone into arrest again and you weren't answering your page."
Erica snatched her pager from her lab coat pocket and growled in frustration, she hadn't even heard it go off during her awkward conversation with Callie. She gave the dark-haired woman a tight lipped smile and hurried off after Yang.
"Don't forget dancing later, the new club!"
Erica looked over her shoulder as she reached the end of the corridor, and gave Callie a smile that let her know she'd meet her later before rushing after Yang.
Callie ran her hands over her face as she leant back against the nurses' station, "Fuck..."
Whatever that moment had been had been... awkward... in the least, and she couldn't stop from feeling the lingering anxiety that had settled into her body. She just hoped that by tonight everything would be back to normal.
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Erica lifted her hand to Callie's door and paused to compose herself before rattling her knuckles against the metal. She hadn't seen the dark-haired woman since the moment they'd shared at the nurses' station and she was a little worried things might be awkward between them. No matter what happened when Callie opened the door, the blonde was determined to put their well practiced friendship back into place.
"Hey, you made it," Callie pushed the door open a little more and continued adding in her earring, "Come in for a second."
Erica smiled and closed the door behind herself, her eyes subconsciously moving over Callie's curvaceous frame. She was wearing a sleek purple dress that hugged her body in all the right places, and left enough of her beautiful caramel skin on display for anyone to desire her.
Callie grabbed her purse and shrugged into her jacket, turning back to face the blonde, "I see the lucky black skirt has joined us again tonight, looking to pull Dr Hahn?"
Erica laughed at Callie's playful remark. Her black skirt had become a joke between them right at the start of their friendship, whenever they went out dancing the blonde would wear it and it never failed to get her attention from a handful of handsome men.
"Who knows, could be my lucky night," she flashed Callie a smile, "But I am going out with you Torres, looking all gorgeous in your purple dress and casting your spell binding 'vibes' all over the men, I'm not sure I'll stand a chance."
Callie laughed, "I'll promise I'll leave one for you," she headed to the door and waited for Erica to pass through it before turning to lock it, "Maybe two, depends how generous I'm feeling."
When the cab pulled up outside the club Erica trailed her gaze over the long line of people waiting to get in, "How the hell did you get tickets to this place? It looks like everyone wants in there."
Callie jumped out of the cab and waited until Erica joined her on the sidewalk before looping her arm through the blonde's and leading her towards the club entrance, "A friend of my Dad's is an owner of a chain of clubs, when he told my dad he was opening one here in Seattle my Dad mentioned I lived here and he gave him the tickets, told him to pass them on to me so I could enjoy a night away from the hospital."
Callie passed the tickets to the doorman and flashed him a sexy smile as he held open the doors for her and Erica to enter. The club was filled with a mixture of well dressed men and woman already dancing away on the large dance floor, and a few people scattered in front of the bar drinking and laughing with their friends.
"Come on, I want a drink," Erica let the younger woman slide her hand into hers and lead her over to the bar, immediately catching the young guy's attention and ordering a row of shots for them.
Erica raised an eyebrow as Callie passed her one, "I thought I told you about my abilities with Tequila."
"We're here to have fun Erica, so shut up and drink it," she tossed back her shot and immediately grabbed another one. She smirked in victory when the blonde followed her lead and look another one for herself. She let her eyes travel over the groups of people in the club and took notice of a group of guys staring at her and Erica. She turned back to the cardio doctor, "I think I just found us some men for the night," she tilted her head in their direction and gave them a sexy smile.
Erica smiled back at the dark haired man who was holding her gaze and turned to grab another shot, when she turned back he was coming towards her. He held her eyes for a second and gave her a charming smile as he extended his hand, "Hey, I'm Jack, want to dance?"
The blonde nodded and took the hand he offered to her, throwing a wink over her shoulder at Callie before settling into an easy rhythm on the dance floor with him. Callie watched them for a few minutes, watching as Jack slowly pulled Erica closer to his body. She turned back to the bar and downed the last two shots, before heading out to the dance floor herself.
They'd been at the club for a couple of hours, dancing and drinking with the friendly crowds of people, but no matter how many men offered to buy Callie a drink or dance with her, she found herself drawn to watching Erica with Jack, the guy had seriously moved into full out flirting mode and she felt a surge of anger run through her at the sight of his hands freely roaming over Erica's body.
The dark-haired woman watched as Jack leaned in to whisper into Erica's ear and then disappear through the crowds towards the rest rooms. She swiftly excused herself from the guy she was dancing with and moved towards the blonde, "Hey you, having a good night?"
Erica smiled back, "Yeah without a doubt, I've definitely got a buzz from the all the alcohol I've consumed."
Callie chuckled, "Light weight," the blonde playfully slapped at her arm, "And what about Jack? Will he be taking you home tonight?"
Erica felt the intensity in Callie's gaze and looked away shyly, "I don't know yet, maybe."
The younger woman reached for Erica's hand and dragged her towards the bar again. When they finished their round of drinks Callie grasped Erica's hand, drawing blue eyes to her own, "How come you never want to dance with me, but with these guys you're out on the dance floor as soon as we get in here, whipping out your fully fledged dance moves," she tilted her head and regarded the older woman, "You been holding back on me all these times Hahn?"
Erica chuckled and smirked, "I just didn't want to outshine you, I know how dancing's your thing Torres."
Callie grabbed Erica's hand and tugged her in the direction of the dance floor, "I think you owe me a few dances then, don't you?"
Erica let herself be led, "Of course," she let herself follow the rhythm Callie set to the music and laughed when the music changed to something totally 80's. Callie immediately whipped out her cheesy dance moves and forced the blonde to join in with her.
As the night continued on, the two women continued making trips to the bar for more drinks before immediately returning to the dance floor. Erica quickly forgot about Jack and enjoyed spending the night with Callie, they were laughing and dancing the night away; she'd almost forgotten just how much fun night's like this could be.
Callie caught sight of the blonde out of the corner of her eye as she twirled in time to the music, her head was feeling fuzzy and her body held the happy tingle that came with having alcohol coursing through her veins. Erica's cheeks and the exposed skin of her chest had turned red in a heated flush and the younger woman guessed that her friend had moved way past her drinking limit.
Erica caught the younger woman looking at her and reached for Callie's hand; tugging her closer. She lazily trailed her hands up the exposed caramel skin of her arms and slid them loosely around her neck. In response Callie ran her hands over Erica's sides and grasped her hips; moving in time to the music in perfect sync.
Callie twisted Erica in her arms and pulled the blonde's back against her chest, she heard a moan escape the blonde's lips and instantly ran her hands over her stomach, leaning her mouth down to brush against the soft skin of her neck.
Erica felt her eyes flutter shut as Callie's lips linger against her neck, her warm breath was all over her skin and it was driving her crazy. She forced her body to keep in time to the music, her hips swaying and moving against the younger woman's centre.
The dark-haired woman breathed in deeply, filling her lungs with the scent of Erica's overwhelming perfume, it made her feel even dizzier than she already was, if that was at all possible. The blonde's skin was so soft against her lips; her mind wondered to the thought that maybe she'd taste as good as she felt. She brushed her lips over the blonde's skin again, opening her mouth a little and letting her tongue snake out to trail across her heated flesh.
The cardio doctor whimpered as Callie kissed at her neck again, the warm breath she felt on her skin suddenly turned moist and she groaned at the realisation that Callie was running her tongue over her neck.
Erica moved her hand to clasp the one Callie had splayed out on her stomach, and willed herself to open her eyes; she needed to turn around and make sure that this was really happening and that it wasn't just her wasted brain playing tricks on her.
Callie felt Erica release herself from her grip, the blonde turned halfway towards her and stopped when the lights in the club turned up, everyone's attention going to the man standing on the stage, "Sorry to interrupt everyone, but I just wanted to say a big thank you for making our opening night such a success. We hope you'll all become faithful regulars. But for now I'll let you all get back to having fun," he turned to the DJ and nodded his head, the lights dimmed again and the loud music drummed back into the air,
Erica turned slowly towards Callie, their eyes locking in a desperate battle of desire and confusion at what had just happened between them. Erica was the one who tore her gaze away first, her eyes dropping to the floor; her head spinning.
Callie breathed deeply, and watched the blonde for a second before heading back to the bar. She grabbed another shot and enjoyed the way it burned down the column of her throat. When she turned her gaze back to the dance floor she caught a glimpse of Erica dancing back with Jack. She shook her head, whatever was about to happen just then hadn't, actually she wasn't even sure what had just happened; one minute they'd been dancing away and having a laugh and the next they'd been wrapped closely together. Callie downed another shot and headed back to the dance floor; she grabbed the nearest guy and threw herself easily into the rhythm; if the blonde could pretend it hadn't so could she.
---------------------------
They'd stayed at the club until the early hours of the morning, avoiding each other for the most part and then regrouping towards the end of their night, the tension between them had seemingly vanished and they were back to being giggly, drunken, friends.
Erica fiddled with the key in the lock to her door and laughed when she managed to finally get it unlocked; she turned to Callie and grabbed her hand as she led her through the door. They stumbled to the kitchen laughing about absolutely anything; Erica's mind was to hazy to even understand what was happening.
She found a bottle of wine and two glasses left on her kitchen counter and quickly emptied the remainder of the bottle into the glasses, "Take one..."
Her words came out slower than normally and definitely slurred but Callie stumbled forward and downed her half a glass of wine. Erica followed suit and downed her own glass, wobbling slightly on her feet as she placed the glass back onto the counter.
She lifted her heavy lidded blue eyes to meet Callie's intense gaze, the younger woman was licking her bottom lip and shifting her eyes around the blonde's face. Erica wasn't sure if it was the way the alcohol made her legs stumble forward or if it was her own actual decision to move towards the dark-haired woman, but within three seconds she'd closed the distance between them, and was cupping Callie's cheek in her hand.
Callie closed her eyes at the touch of Erica's hand on her cheek, the pad of a thumb brushed over her cheekbone and she knew she was gone. She forced her eyes open and pulled the blonde's lips to her own; her hand grasping the back of Erica's neck as she glided their lips together, in a series of slow, gentle kisses.
The younger woman pulled back and searched the blue eyes before her, their shade had darkened and there was something in them that she'd never seen before. Erica inched her head forward a little and moaned against soft lips when Callie closed the remaining distance between them.
Callie slid her hand up into Erica's hair, weaving her fingers through golden curls as she crushed their lips together again. Erica's fingers where digging into her hips and it made the younger woman bite down on her lip; when the blonde whimpered in surprise Callie took the opportunity to soothe the hurt with her tongue.
Erica groaned at the sensation of Callie's tongue sliding against her own, it was caressing every inch of her mouth and it felt really fucking good. The blonde raked her nails up the dark-haired woman's arms and stopped to rest them against her shoulders. Callie moved to put a bit of space between their bodies and growled when Erica pushed at her jacket. She immediately dropped her hands from Erica's hair, letting the blonde shove away the material from her skin. Once she felt it fall past her wrists she nipped at the blonde's lip again, letting her own hands shove at Erica's jacket in return, and gladly letting it follow hers to the floor; their feverous kiss never breaking.
Sometimes it doesn't matter how well you wear your façade, because in the end if you're not careful, if you forget to keep it firmly in place for even a second, it easily falls away... leaving nothing but the real you on display.