The First Noel

Rating: T

Mentions of sex but nothing graphic (sorry!)

Summary

Callie and Erica's first festive season together. Will everything go to plan? Set mid season 5.

Disclaimer:

All publicly recognizable characters, settings etc. are the property of their respective owners.

AN

So, just in time for New Year I give you: a Callica Christmas. It's really a series of short one shots put together, all set over the festive season. Hope you enjoy it.

P.S. I know, I know- still no So Sudden. I humbly ask for your patience, the ideas are there but it just won't write itself! Hang in there, I hope it will be posted soon. Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving Night

'Weren't you supposed to get out of here while it was still daylight?' Callie nudged Erica with her shoulder, pleasantly surprised to see her signing charts at the nurse's station.

'Carving knife to the chest,' Erica said shortly. 'Wife lost it when he wouldn't turn off the game.'

Callie's mouth fell open.

'You're kidding.'

'Afraid not. Looks like I'm sticking around for the foreseeable future. You?'

'Not too bad. The ER's a zoo of course but so far just bone swallowers and some over enthusiastic football players. Not even anything surgical,' she finished, pouting.

'Sorry,' Erica said, grinning.

'Do you wanna go up to Peds and laugh at the new fellow with me? Apparently she's dressed as a turkey.'

'I think I can live without seeing that.'

'Okay, so can I buy you…' Callie checked her watch, suddenly aware that she had no idea what time it was. 'Dinner? I hear the cafeteria has turkey burritos.'

'Sounds appalling,' Erica fired back drily but without much conviction. 'You can buy me coffee.'

'I'll bring it to the fourth floor on call room,' Callie told her, smiling triumphantly.

'Callie,' Erica began warningly, looking around nervously for anyone who might have overheard. 'I told you, I don't-'

'Oh come on. A little making out, that's all. I'll show you how thankful I am.'

'Callie!' Erica hissed, all too aware that her face was turning a brilliant shade of red. 'Stop it!'

'What else are you going to do? It's quiet.'

No sooner had the words left her mouth when her pager blared loudly.

'Crap!' She cursed when she saw the display.

'You were saying?'

'Shut up. I have to go, 911 in the ER.'

'You should know better than to say it's quiet.'

'And again, shut up,' Callie reiterated. 'Rain check on the coffee, okay?'

'Callie,' Erica's hand closed gently over her forearm as she turned to leave. 'Come over when you're finished?

'It'll be late. Are you sure you want to wait up for me?'

'That's fine,' Erica said completely professionally, eyes trained steadily on a chart.

Callie leaned over on the pretense of replacing Erica's pen in the top pocket of her lab coat.

'Be naked,' she whispered when her mouth was against Erica's ear and then sauntered over to the elevator, feeling Erica's hot gaze burning into her the whole way.

December 1st

'I know you hate Christmas,' Callie began leadingly as Erica swept a distasteful gaze over the sparkly lights and plastic Santas that now adorned every available surface in their favourite coffee place.

'I don't hate it,' Erica disagreed irritably. 'But why does it have to begin so early and why do people have to lose their minds over it and turn into complete idiots?'

'Scrooge,' Callie teased. 'But I was going to say, I'm off for the first time in five years so maybe we could do something. Make dinner and watch Christmas movies. Just us,' she stressed. 'Low key.'

'You won't be with your parents?'

'I'd really rather be with you,' Callie stated honestly.

'Oh.' A smile, equal parts embarrassment and happiness, flashed across Erica's face. 'Okay. I'm working but just 8 to 2, so that would…be nice.'

'Great,' Callie said happily.

'Yes,' Erica concurred, still smiling in her self-conscious, unavoidable way. She took a sip of her coffee and immediately pulled a face. 'Ugh, this is yours. What is it anyway?' She asked, swapping their cups.

'It's a gingerbread latte. What?' she said defensively at Erica's raised eyebrow. 'It's festive!'

'It makes my teeth hurt.'

'Coffee doesn't always have to taste like melted down tar, you know.'

'I wouldn't expect you to know what real coffee tastes like.'

'Well, if you're interested in what real cake tastes like instead of that granola and carob crap you eat then you could go and get me a piece of the chocolate orange.'

'Fine,' Erica said resignedly and stood up.

'And another pump of syrup for my coffee. It's not sweet enough.'

December 6th

'What's this?'

'Well, it's a gift,' Erica said awkwardly, refusing to make eye contact. 'Here,' she practically shoved it into Callie's hands.

Callie looked at the little package. It was light and neatly wrapped, though not quite perfect enough to have been decorated by some department store lackey.

'You wrapped it yourself,' she murmured happily.

'…..yes?' Erica confirmed uncertainly.

'But what's the occasion?' Callie asked, tearing the heavy paper off indiscriminately.

'It's Mikołaj. St. Nicholas Day,' she elaborated at Callie's blank look. 'I always used to get little gifts when I was a kid- candy or coloring pencils or something. My grandparents were Polish and German and my father thought it was a nice tradition.'

Paper discarded, Callie opened the presentation box. Truffles from the new gourmet chocolate shop that they had walked past at the weekend. Just ten. Her favorite flavors. If she'd mentioned this place to her father a FedEx guy would have been at her door within hours laden down with the most expensive, extravagant gift basket his secretary could find complete with generic card written by a stranger. From Erica she got ten. Carefully selected and given on a day that was special to her. She swallowed down the ridiculous lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat.

'They're perfect,' she managed. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome.'

'Happy….um Niko…'

Erica smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

'Wesółych Świąt. I think. Just don't ask me how to spell it.'

December 14th

'I don't see why this couldn't go in your apartment,' Erica grumbled as they attempted to haul the overpriced, oversized, overannoying real Christmas tree that Callie had insisted on buying into her living room.

'Look, I know Yang isn't exactly going to invite me to play dreidel games and light the Menorah every night but I think she draws the line at a Christmas tree,' Callie huffed.

'Yang has a religion?'

'I think she likes the food.'

'Oh-kay.'

'Anyway, we're having Christmas here, right? Listening to Yang and Grey cackling like hyenas while they inhale a bottle of Jose Cuervo doesn't exactly strike me as festive. They'll eat all the food too, Yang may look small but I've seen her get through a super-size pizza in fifteen minutes.'

'What a lovely image. Of course we're having it here.'

'Well, good. I really don't want to be disturbed,' Callie said suggestively.

'Oh?

'Ever had sex under a Christmas tree?' Callie asked innocently.

'No.'

'Maybe this could be your lucky year.'

Erica cleared her throat.

'Where do you want this thing?'

They got it into the corner of the room, in the window, and Erica watched Callie fuss with it for a few minutes.

'It's so pretty!' She said happily.

'Very nice,' Erica allowed, brushing the pine needles from Callie's clothes. She lingered a little over her stomach and hips and when Callie felt her sliding her hands upwards, under her shirt, she laughed and shook her head.

'You have to decorate it first.'

'I'm a minimalist,' Erica whispered, trying to move her hands downwards this time.

'I like looking at the lights,' Callie insisted, playfully slapping her hands away.

'I have you to look at.'

'Decorations. First.'

'Fine,' Erica sighed. They stood looking at each other for a few seconds, both waiting for the other do something.

'Well, where are they?' Erica asked eventually. 'In your car?'

'Where are what?'

'The decorations!'

'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'You don't have any decorations,' Erica realized, unable to stop an ironic smile from spreading slowly across her face. 'After you begged me to buy this tree, got me out of bed at 7am after I was working till 3 so we could get best pick, you have nothing to decorate it with.'

'What did I have to decorate? The hospital basement? My room at the Archfield? Yang's couch? Where are your decorations?' Callie pouted, arms folded petulantly across her chest. 'You have a house, you're a real adult! If anyone's to blame here-'

'Okay, okay,' Erica cut her off. 'There might be something in the attic. Maybe.'

Twenty minutes later they found one box, sealed and collapsing inwards with age. 'Christmas' was scrawled on the side in what was probably once black marker.

'Looks promising,' Callie said dubiously. 'When's the last time you opened this thing?'

'Probably when I was packing up my parents' house,' Erica admitted.

'Which was when?'

A short pause.

'1993.'

'Riiiight. Of course.'

Unsurprisingly, the pickings were slim. Some half burned down red candles, a string of ancient tree lights that probably violated all kinds of fire codes and some tinsel that was so infested with dust that both of them nearly choked were the first things out of the box. Once the air had cleared Callie saw something that might not be a total lost cause wrapped in tissue paper.

'Oh hey, look,' she said, holding it up to the light. 'It's an antique.'

Erica glanced over. It was an ornament with 'Baby's First Christmas 1967' engraved on it.

'Ha ha.'

She took it anyway, turning it over in her palm thoughtfully. Callie bravely dived back into the box to give her some privacy. She retrieved a few other things that might be useable in a low light and was rifling through some red napkins edged with holly when a piece of construction paper fell out. It was folded in half and covered with a child's unintelligible scribbles. Callie could just make out three people, two big and one small, all holding stick hands. There was cotton wool and glitter stuck all over it in seemingly random places. She opened it and saw the words 'To Mommy, Happy Birthday, Love,' neatly printed by an adult, presumably Erica's father. Underneath, she could make out 'Erica' in uneven black crayon. All the letters were a different size and the 'c' was backwards. Smiling, she passed it over.

'You were quite the artist.'

'So my parents told me.'

'Your mother's birthday was during the holidays?' Callie asked gently, sitting back on her ankles.

'Mmm, Christmas Eve. Dad and I used to buy her Christmas roses. She'd put them on the table for Christmas dinner.'

'That sounds nice,' Callie offered tentatively.

A comforting moment passed then Erica gestured at the now empty box.

'So, most of that stuff is crap, huh?'

'There's a few things that might be okay,' Callie said optimistically. 'But most of it can probably go in the trash, yeah.'

'Okay. Well, never mind, I thought as much.'

'Let's put your baby ornament on the tree,' Callie suggested when they were downstairs again, finding places for the small selection of things that could go on display. 'It should go on first.'

Erica looked at it again, unchanged since her childhood. She didn't usually let herself indulge in pointless reminiscing but what the hell. Why not?

'Alright.'

She reached up and hung it from a high branch.

'I always wanted to put it right at the top,' she found herself saying, whether to herself or Callie she didn't know. 'My father used to lift me up.'

'Mine too,' she heard from behind her, Callie's hand brushing her hip absently. 'When it was my turn to put the angel on top.'

'We had a star,' she murmured and then abruptly shook herself out of her reverie. She turned around hopefully. 'So, is it decorated now?'

'You have got to be kidding. We'll go to the mall and buy what we need.'

Erica stared at her, aghast.

'Today?'

'Yes, today! Now!'

'Callie, its two Saturdays before Christmas. No. Please,' she implored.

'We can't leave it like this; people will make fun of it. It's sad and…and cruel!'

'You know what's cruel? Promising someone sex and then saying that they have to go to the mall instead!

'These clothes are staying on until that tree is radiating with Christmas cheer,' Callie insisted stubbornly.

'You know I have a bed and a shower and a bathtub. Do I have to decorate those too?'

Callie looked at her calculatingly.

'What if I told you that I would take my clothes off in every festively decorated place in this hou-'

'Get in the car.'

Christmas Eve

Callie fought to keep her eyes open as she stood in the middle of the teeming crowd at the back of the hot, claustrophobic church. Late to midnight mass and now she was falling asleep during the sermon- she might as well have drawn a pentagram on the floor and slaughtered a goat.

When it was finally over she went against the tide of people heading into the foyer for hot wine and cookies and instead made her way to the candle display. She dropped a few dollars into the box and carefully lit a new candle, placing it next to the many other tokens of remembrance.

'Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon her,' Callie recited simply. 'May she rest in peace, Amen.'

She stood quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the rare opportunity for reflection in her otherwise frantic life. She didn't know much about her, just a few disjointed pieces of information. Her name was Sarah and she'd been a nurse. Erica missed her. It was hardly anything at this point but Callie stood there anyway. She was important. Hopefully in time she'd find out why.

'Happy Birthday,' she whispered and made the sign of the cross before leaving.

It was nearly two am before she was able to crawl into bed, congratulating herself on not waking Erica up.

'Hey.'

'Damnit! I was quiet!'

'Mmm.'

'I tried really hard,' Callie said genuinely.

'I'm not like you, Cal, I don't need an air raid siren to wake me up. How was mass?'

'Nice, I guess. Long. I was so tired. I uh, I lit a candle for your mother,' she said hesitantly. 'I hope you don't mind.'

Erica sleepily gravitated over to Callie's warmth and graciously accepted the possibility of an arm in the face until Callie managed to find a comfortable position.

'You did?'

'I know you're not religious, but it's nothing to do with that really and-'

'Callie,' Erica interrupted her softly. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome,' Callie said, running her hands through Erica's freshly washed hair. 'You must think about her a lot today.'

'Yes,' Erica admitted simply. 'Every day really, but especially today.'

'The photograph downstairs, on the table- it's her?'

'Mmm. She was pretty, huh?'

'She was beautiful,' Callie corrected her. 'Like you.'

At any other time of any other day Erica would have scoffed at a comment like that but it was Christmas and maybe it was even true for Callie so she let it go.

Christmas Day

Erica stared listlessly at the empty surgical board. No scheduled surgeries and if you squinted hard enough it was almost possible to spot the tumbleweed being blown along the corridor. The place was a ghost town.

Apart from the embarrassing amount of doctors present, of course.

It had been Hunt's idea- some overly honorable tradition from his military days about the officers serving the soldiers on Christmas Day- that the attendings would each work a shift on Christmas Day to give the interns and residents a rare day off. Webber, raging workaholic that he was, jumped at the idea and so here she was, 'working' the morning shift along with Pretty, Prettier, McArmy, Sparkle Robbins and the Chief himself. She didn't even mind except that the interns and junior residents were scurrying around the hospital like rats anyway just like she'd known they would. Holidays could be jackpots for baby surgeons, enforced togetherness and excessive cheer often proved to be gloriously harmful in large amounts, and best of all there would only be one exhausted senior resident running the show so you got to do procedures you'd never normally be allowed to. Unsupervised. She'd crawled into work at 5am on every holiday for seven years - the duration of her residency and fellowship- and reaped the benefits. Part of her had even felt approving when she saw Yang and Grey et al trolling the ER for traumas when she arrived. Her presence, however was completely superfluous. Annoying in fact. Even the incompetent interns didn't need her, or any over attending for that matter, breathing down their necks while they fought over the handful of cases in the ER.

Things would pick up this afternoon, after lunch- between 3 and 5 it would be food poisoning central, followed by the endless family fights beginning as the sun went down. She'd be long gone by then though. Long naked too if she had any say in the matter.

'Are you as bored as me?'

She looked up to see Mark Sloan leaning sluggishly on the other side of the admit desk.

'Won't the nurses let you into their party, Sloan?' As far as she could tell it involved barricading themselves in the lounge, eating some stale cookies stolen from an intern's locker and bitching about the doctors. Not exactly the Black and White Ball but who was she to judge?

'No doctors allowed. Especially surgeons- they're the worst.'

'That's too bad. If I'm not mistaken they're just about to start a game of spin the bottle,' she drawled sarcastically.

'Really?'

'Mmm. I donated my water bottle to the cause.'

'Isn't Eli the only male nurse working today?' He asked, a wonderful scenario unfolding in his mind.

'I believe so.'

'So that's what, one guy and seven women? Playing spin the bottle? Nurse Colleen and Nurse Tanya are in there! They're going to have to kiss each other!'

'A truly devastating loss for you, Sloan.'

'You'd know.'

She glared at him half-heartedly and received a wolfish grin in return. No doubt he was indulging in some fantasy involving her, Callie and a game that required them to remove their clothes. Generously, she allowed him to continue. She'd be getting the real thing later.

'This retractor's reflective,' she told him, passing it over. 'Why don't you stare at your pretty face for a few hours?'

'Ouch. No Christmas ceasefire for you then.'

'I was provoked,' she reminded him, idly turning a pen over in her hands.

'So, what's for dinner?' He asked cheerfully, undeterred by her less than encouraging body language. 'Fresh carp? Torres told me you're Polish,' he elaborated at her confused expression. 'I did some research.'

'Good for you.'

'That's an acquired taste. Carp, I mean. Not everyone likes it. I do,' he said bluntly when he failed to elicit a response, eyes boring meaningfully into hers. 'But it's a risk, definitely.'

'I'll remember that, thank you.'

'You know what else I think I'd like? Those little dumpling things? Pierogi, right? Can you make those?'

Again the only reply he received was a disbelieving stare.

'I read about a lot of nice traditions too,' he barreled on regardless. 'I think my favorite was the one where you set an extra place at the table for a hungry stranger who might turn up at the door.'

'You're not a stranger,' she bit back immediately. 'Unfortunately.'

'I feel like we could know each other better.'

Erica shook her head slowly, in complete denial about the unfolding situation.

'You have got to be kidding me, Sloan.'

'I have a case of eye-wateringly expensive wine in my hotel room…'

'I have wine,' she interrupted in an unimpressed voice.

'I'll do the dishes,' he promised earnestly.

'I have a dishwasher.'

'I'll let you beat me at Monopoly again!'

'You didn't let me…' she snapped before she could stop herself. Taking a deep breath she continued in a more controlled manner. 'I don't even like Monopoly.'

'Derek has Clue.'

'Derek? What's he got to do with this?!'

'Well, Meredith's working and…'

'Jesus Christ,' she muttered hopelessly.

'He actually caught a carp yesterday.'

'Enough, please. Just…' She dropped her forehead onto her hand in surrender, closing her eyes against reality. 'Be at my house at 3pm and don't even attempt to show up without the wine.'

'I don't know…what happened,' Erica whispered flatly, sounding nothing short of shell shocked.

Callie glanced out into the living room where a game of Wii tennis was in full swing. Robbins had brought the console. Robbins was in Erica's house.

'Did you invite them?' Callie asked disbelievingly, resting a hand against her forehead to check for fever. An annoying automated voice declared that it was fifteen-love to Owen and Bailey cheered enthusiastically.

'I don't know,' Erica repeated miserably. 'First it was Sloan, then Shepherd and now…' she gestured wildly in the direction of what was undeniably a gathering. Maybe even a party.

'Word spreads quickly,' Callie murmured soothingly. 'There was no way you could have predicted uh…this.'

'This isn't how it was supposed to be!' Erica whined pathetically.

'I know, I know.'

At least everyone seemed to be having a good time. Mark had shown up with some pretentious basket of goodies from the Archfield, Robbins had hauled in enough sugary concoctions to rot one hundred people's teeth and no-one had seemed to notice there was hardly any real food. Of course everyone was also merrily making their way towards tipsy which didn't hurt any.

'Have a drink,' Callie suggested encouragingly, pouring her a glass of wine. Erica downed it in three gulps.

'I don't even like half of these people!' she hissed manically.

'Take it from the person who spent eighteen Christmases watching my Uncle Berto reliving his glory days playing bit parts in musical theater and listening to my grandmother lament about how she couldn't understand why he wasn't married, it could be worse,' Callie said firmly.

'Do you have any paper?' Robbins had appeared in the kitchen, bedecked in Rudolph antlers and a maddeningly perky smile. 'We're getting a tournament going.' Callie shoved the memo pad from next to the phone at her and frantically gestured with her eyes to get the hell out quickly.

'Perfect,' Erica muttered, refilling her glass swiftly.

'They'll be gone in a few hours,' Callie said consolingly. 'Then you can unwrap your gift.'

Erica nodded bleakly.

'Undress would probably be a more accurate description,' she elaborated casually and Erica sat up a little bit straighter.

'Really?'

'Mmm. You can unwrap it all night.'

'Torres!' Bailey's alcohol enhanced voice rudely interrupted the only good news she'd had since Sloan had butted his annoying head into her plans. 'You're with me. I'm guessing that your childhood included tennis lessons seeing as you grew up richer than God. What?' she questioned unrepentantly. 'Just saying what everyone's thinking. Chief wants you,' she informed Erica, vaguely waving her glass in her general direction. 'Says you've got "killer instinct." Ha!' she scoffed before disappearing again.

'I guess I'd better go,' Callie giggled, grabbing her own glass of wine. 'Talk strategy or whatever. You coming?'

'In a minute.'

'Don't hide out here too long, okay?' Callie coaxed, brushing her lips against Erica's temple. 'They're really not so bad once you get to know them.'

Alone for a few precious seconds, Erica stretched out her hand to touch one of the flowers that Callie had carefully arranged in a vase. Christmas roses. Inaccurately labeled and difficult to grow, yet resilient and oddly hopeful. They were still her favorites, after all this time.

She was giving them two hours, she decided, before she accidentally on purpose stamped on Robbins' stupid game thing and ejected each and every one of them from her home. Two hours and not a second more.

New Year's Eve

22.48, Erica read from the digital clock as she finished closing the patient. She'd have to hurry if she wanted to make it to Shepherd's land before midnight. Truthfully she wasn't exactly looking forward to the Blair Witch esque drive through the forest alone and Pretty and Prettier drunkenly setting off fireworks just sounded like a potential disaster for everyone's hair, but Callie would be there. With booze. Also, this was the first party invitation she'd received since the days when they were handwritten and delivered to her mother via her book bag, it seemed like bad luck to turn it down.

'Hey, Erica!' she heard from behind her as she was waiting for the elevator and inwardly cringed. Robbins. One of the most relentlessly cheerful medical students she'd ever had the misfortune of supervising and one she'd taken a savage pleasure in torturing. She never passed on an opportunity to use her first name since they'd been reunited at Seattle Grace, constantly reminding her that she no longer had the power to assign her to scut or rectal exams . Dr. Hahn she snarled angrily on reflex but managed not to say it out loud. She is your equal, she chanted internally, breathing deeply. She is your equal.

'Arizona,' she forced out, nearly choking on her ridiculous name.

'Beautiful night for fireworks,' Robbins chirped, her ever present placid joy shining out of every pore. 'Are you heading up there now?'

'Yes,' Erica admitted.

'Have you been there before?'

'Once. Do you want to follow me?' She offered out of necessity. For some reason she felt an awful foreboding- Robbins had on what she probably thought was her irresistibly charming face. The only effect it had on her was to make her blood boil with irritation but she could deduce that it would probably be persuasive to the majority of people.

'Well, actually,' Robbins began as they stepped onto the elevator, proving her right. 'I need a super tiny favor.'

Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. A super tiny favor? Was she some kind of hybrid squeaky Disney character, dropped into society in order to pave the way for their world domination? Was this actually how normal adults communicated? Not trusting herself to speak, Erica kept silent and waited to see what she wanted.

'You see, I got a ride to work this morning so I don't have my car and getting a taxi at this time on New Year's Eve is going to be impossible.'

Erica kept waiting. If she thought she was going to offer then she was sadly mistaken.

'If I don't get up there soon I'll miss the New Year countdown and then there's really no point in going at all.'

'No point at all,' Erica agreed coolly. There was a tiny chance that Robbins wouldn't have the front to ask directly and she'd be saved.

'So, could you take me?' She finally spelled it out and managed to make her mouth so wide that Erica was half convinced her jaw would shatter under the strain.

'Alright,' she said shortly after bitterly accepting that she had no choice.

'Awesome!' Robbins cheered and Erica dug her nails into the palm of her hand. The pain helped.

Robbins started up a running commentary of inane babble as soon as Erica turned the key in the ignition and kept it up until they were about halfway there. Luckily she hardly needed to respond at all since Robbins seemed perfectly happy to answer her own questions and fill in Erica's places in the conversation herself. They were edging off the main drag, towards mountain man territory, when Erica noticed that her ears had stopped ringing and Robbins was looking at her silently with an alarming amount of curiosity.

'So, you and Dr. Torres ?' She said leadingly.

Erica exhaled irritably. On the list of people she was happy to discuss her personal life with Robbins was dueling it out with Yang, door to door salesmen and Jehovah's Witnesses for position of 'least desirable'.

'What about us?' She snapped, hoping to intimidate her into silence.

'Are you two…a couple?' Robbins asked bluntly. 'Because people talk and-'

'I'm not interested in the hospital gossip mill.' Erica interrupted, once again trying to shut the conversation down.

'That's unusual for Seattle Grace,' Robbins laughed, seemingly unaffected by Erica's increasing aggravation.

'Yes. Well.' She said meaninglessly, praying that Robbins would just get the message already and leave it alone.

'That's admirable,' Robbins declared, causing Erica to tighten her hand on the steering wheel in a death grip. 'You want to keep your private life private. I respect that.'

'Glad to hear it.'

There was blessed silence for a few moments and then Erica nearly screamed in frustration as Robbins' sing-song self- satisfied tones shattered the peace.

'I knew I was right about you.'

'Excuse me?' Erica blurted out incredulously.

'It's too bad that you're taken though,' she continued, unabashed. 'You're quite striking, you know. I'll bet women would be lining up for you.'

Erica opened and closed her mouth a few times but remained stunned into silence.

'Is she your first? I mean, obviously you're hers,' Robbins twittered confidingly like they were both in on some secret. 'But I wasn't sure about you.'

She couldn't make a sound. Nothing.

'Well that's great!' Robbins concluded. 'You can explore and experiment together and no-one has to worry about being a newborn. Yay!' she added hysterically and Erica physically flinched.

'You know there's this great bar downtown, you and Torres should come by sometime. Tuesday nights are-'

'We're here.' Erica found her voice again as she pulled into the clearing that contained Shepherd's trailers. Relief didn't even begin to cover it 'Get out. I mean,' she rephrased slightly. 'You can get out.'

'See you around,' Robbins twinkled as she climbed out of the passenger's side. Erica's head thumped back onto the headrest. She was never allowing herself to be alone with that woman again. Never. She'd torch her car before she got railroaded into offering her a ride again. She checked her watch. 23.53, she'd just made it.

Grabbing the case of beer and bottle of tequila she'd brought with her out of the trunk, she made her way over to where Callie and some others were congregated on the makeshift deck.

'Hey!' Callie said enthusiastically as soon as she saw her. Erica continued to walk towards her, smiling as she saw Callie struggle to her feet and move in her direction, a little unsteadily. Callie usually went through two stages of being drunk- happy and horny and then messy. If she was a praying kind of person then she'd be offering up a rosary right now for the first possibility.

'You made it!' Callie declared loudly as they met in the middle. She threw her arms around Erica, liquor and all. Erica stood there, smiling awkwardly at the amused audience on the deck.

'Ouch!' Callie exclaimed, pulling away suddenly. 'That box just hit me!' She pointed accusingly at one of the corners. 'Right in the boob!'

Erica couldn't help but laugh.

'The box hit you?'

'Yeah,' Callie pouted but then the outrage melted off her face to be replaced by blatant teasing. It was like magic. 'Wanna rub it better?'

'Callie,' Erica tried to sound disapproving but couldn't keep herself from smiling. Karev appeared at her side to take the alcohol and she took Callie's hand to steady her.

'Kiss it better?' Callie requested breathily in her ear as she hugged her properly this time. Erica bit back a groan, the hold this woman had over her was frightening. They were going to end up doing something inappropriate in an inappropriate place and Erica didn't even care. She wanted it. For God's sake. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Robbins raise her beer knowingly in their direction, reminding her they were in a very public place and she pulled away regretfully.

'I'm getting a drink,' she said, trying very hard not to notice how tight Callie's jeans were.

'Hurry up, it's almost midnight.' Callie told her impatiently. 'Yang!' she yelled as she wondered back to the deck. 'Erica brought tequila!'

'Alright! Go Attila!' floated back from an unknown person and location near the trailer.

Beer in hand, Erica sat on the steps with Callie, Callie's head on her shoulder. She was being publicly affectionate. With a co-worker. She looked around- no-one was staring or looking at all really. She found that she didn't care too much either way.

'Have they done this before?' She said doubtfully as Shepherd and Sloan unloaded the fireworks in the distance.

'They're guys,' Callie shrugged. 'This is what they do for fun, right? Blow things up?'

'Just as long as one of those things doesn't hit my car.'

Both of them turned around as someone turned the music off, signaling that it was nearly midnight. Plastic cups of champagne were passed around.

'I'm going to kiss you at midnight,' Callie informed her in a tone that made it clear that resistance was futile. 'It's bad luck otherwise.'

'Okay.'

'You don't want bad luck.'

'No, I don't.'

The countdown started but Erica could barely hear it. She was staring at Callie, blood pounding in her ears. Waiting. Wanting. It was like the first time again. They were kissing way before zero. Fireworks exploded around them and they didn't stop until a chair crashed over right beside them, making them both jump. A very sheepish Owen Hunt peeled himself off the ground, apologizing profusely. He couldn't look either of them in the eye.

'Apparently we're very distracting,' Callie giggled as he stumbled away, still a little glassy eyed.

Erica just stared at the ground, blushing.

'You're very distracting,' she mumbled. 'To me. You make me want to do things. Reckless things.'

'Oh?' Callie said, feeling her mouth go dry at the expression on Erica's face. Everyone around them was kissing and laughing and looking up at the fireworks. The noise was deafening. 'Like what?'

Erica put her mouth right next to Callie's ear and whispered roughly.

'Come into the woods with me and I'll show you.'

Callie gaped at her- surprised but delighted. She looked casually at the start of the tree line a few meters away. They might be seen- sneaking in there like teenagers. People would talk. Then again they might not. And maybe she didn't give a damn.

'Seriously?'

Erica stood up and held her hand out.

'New Year, new me. You coming?'

Callie grinned and took her hand.

'Lead the way.'