Title: Rise & Fall (1/?)
Author: VietAngel
Pairing: Callie/Mark
Rating: T
Summary: This casual arrangement leaves a bitter taste…
Author's Note: This has been in my head for months and I finally got around to finishing a chapter. The small verses are lyrics from this song: The Cinematics – "Rise & Fall"
Turn around and I'm in your world
Your pleasure is my pain in your world
But dissatisfied, I'll crawl to your world
And your body's warmth will only leave me colder in my world
Joe was a bartender—a good bartender. The kind who knew that his job involved so much more than just serving up drinks for the lonely and broken hearted. To the staff of Seattle Grace Hospital, he was a friend, a confidant…a shoulder to cry on and an ear to rant into. He knew them well, especially the surgical staff…they were more than friends, they were family. When they were up, they came to him to celebrate life—to revel in the fact that they'd helped keep one more soul firmly tethered to this Earth. When they were down, they came to him to drown the pain of the ones who'd slipped through their fingers. That's how Joe knew that Mark Sloan was way down in the dumps the second he walked through the door.
No it's not what I wanted
But she's holding my hand
No it's not what I wanted
At least she's holding my hand
"Dr. Sloan! What can I get for you? The usual?" he asked.
"I'll have your best bottle of scotch," Mark deadpanned, slapping a hundred bucks onto the counter.
"Hey, where's Callie tonight? You two are usually joined at the hip," Joe.
"She's on a date," Mark choked out.
Well I'm inside out
I'm all inside out
Yes, she's tearing me apart
Well I'm inside out
Uh-oh. That's the first thing that popped into Joe's mind. The great thing about being around drunken doctors is that you find out everything about their personal lives…they are talkative drunks. Callie Torres? Especially so. That is how Joe knew that Mark and Callie weren't just friends, they were friends with benefits. The benefit package was apparently pretty damned sweet, too. He really didn't need to know that Mark once made her come three times in a row without even touching anything below the belt, but he did. The fact that Mark memorized what every inch of her tasted like would never win him any trivia games, but Joe knew that too. There was one very important piece of information that Joe knew—he knew that Mark Sloan the manwhore had finally been tamed, and Mark Sloan the man was hopelessly in love with Callie Torres. Callie was the only one still oblivious to that fact.
This casual arrangement
Leaves a bitter taste
Our usual commitments
That's just killing me and killing you
Well our casual arrangement
Just leaves a bitter taste
Well our usual commitments
Just killing me, killing you
There are no words that could comfort a man whose heart is out on a date with another man instead of with him, so Joe just offered a sympathetic smile and handed the man his bottle and a glass. Mark still couldn't believe this was happening. He had finally found 'the one' and she was slipping through his fingers. He sighed and downed two shots in quick succession, hoping he could forget what he'd seen, but the image was still burned into his brain.
"She must be a very special lady," the elderly florist said as she handed over a very large bouquet of deep red Sumatra lilies. "Most young men your age just go for the standard red roses."
"She's definitely not a standard woman," Mark replied with a smile as he thought of Callie. He paid the woman and was sure to tip generously. "Thank you, this is gorgeous."
"You're welcome and good luck tonight," she replied. Mark flashed another smile and waved on his way out. He felt like luck was on his side as he stepped out into the cool evening air. For once there was no rain in Seattle and the brief reprieve had people coming out in droves. He had a three block walk back to his car and he took the time to people watch on his way. It was a Saturday night in downtown Seattle and there were couples everywhere. After tonight he would be joining their ranks.
Tonight was the night he would tell Callie how he really felt about her. Sure, being friends with benefits was great, but he wanted more…he wanted her—completely and officially. He wanted to be heading to their favorite restaurant with her on his arm. He wanted to enjoy romantic dinners and bottles of wine and quiet nights at home making love. He wanted to wake up in the morning and watch her sleep instead of watching her slip out the door in the middle of the night after the sex is over. They were best friends…they could vent, hang out, confide in each other, watch movies and play games—but in the end she always left. That was the rule of friends with benefits and he couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand losing the little pieces of him that died every time he watched her go.
Callie was everything he never knew he wanted. The fact that she was the only woman ever to have him begging for mercy in bed was a plus, but she was oh so much more. Drop dead gorgeous, intelligent, funny, a joy to be around…if you looked up perfect woman in the dictionary there would be a picture of Callie Torres. She was his Venus de Milo. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him when he first heard that all too familiar infectious giggle.
He looked to his left and was immediately drawn to the raven haired beauty across the street. He was completely in awe as he watched the way the city lights bounced off her skin and hair, casting her in an almost ethereal glow. He couldn't believe his luck; this had to be a sign. If he hadn't been so caught up in his desire, he would have thought about the situation. Ever since her breakup with George, Callie hated to be alone…it's why she moved in with Yang, and why she started hanging out with him and Hahn.
He wanted to call out to her, but there was no way she would hear him over the noise of the traffic and the people milling about. He waited impatiently for the little man to light up and let him know it was safe to cross. When it finally changed he started to trot across…and that's when he saw it. She was with another man. A man who dared to grab her hand, but wasn't gentleman enough to open the door and let her enter the restaurant first. Mark's heart suddenly felt like it had been put in a vice and his hand immediately went to it. He couldn't believe his eyes. The blaring of a horn broke him out of his daze and he turned back to the safety of the sidewalk. He headed back to his car with single-minded focus and tossed the bouquet into the trash on his way.
And I wish it was
Oh if I could change the world, I wish
Maybe if circumstances could allow, would allow
And you could come around again tonight
He slammed down his shot glass once more and then checked his watch. He couldn't get the image of Callie and that asshole out of his head. He should have punched the guy out the first time he met him. If he had, things would have never gotten this far.
Oh take me out of here
Cause I'm never coming home
Oh take me out of here
Cause I'm never coming home
Mark didn't know how the hell he'd gotten stuck with the paperwork for the trauma that had just come in, but here he was, signing forms while everyone else was trying to save lives. How a guy could get electrocuted and fall off a 20 foot ladder without any kind of cosmetic damage was beyond him. Other than him, Callie was the only one that hadn't rushed off to the OR, and that was only because Ortho didn't get any respect and she couldn't get in there until everyone else had finished what they needed to do. Instead she was still at the nurse's station pondering her game plan. He could tell by the way she was tapping her pen against her chin and furrowing those beautiful brows. It's what she did when she was deep in thought, and he was content to just watch her until he was pulled out of his reverie by a voice.
"Who's the hottie at the desk?" the voice asked. Mark looked to his left to see who was the source of the question and found an EMT that he recognized as a frequent visitor to Seattle Grace. David was what it said on his badge…and Mark hated him immediately. He was smarmy and he was undressing Callie—HIS Callie—with his eyes.
"The hottie," Mark began sarcastically after strategically stepping over to block David's view of Callie, "is Doctor Torres."
"Doctor Torres, huh…hot little Latina like that…I bet she's great in bed," David replied. Mark rolled his eyes at how easily the stereotype rolled off the guy's tongue, but in Callie's case it was true...though he knew it had nothing to do with her ethnicity. "So Sloan, you screw her yet?"
"Yeah, what of it?" Mark snapped. He really, really wanted to strangle this guy.
"Is she easy or what?"
"What? She…" Mark started, but he was abruptly cut off.
"Oh shit, here comes Airbrush Annie," David said. "That one, she's a great lay but the bitch wanted 2.5 kids, a dog, and a house with a white picket fence after one date."
"Who, Stevens?" Mark asked. Izzie Stevens was the only one headed in their direction. Mark was hardly her biggest fan, especially after the way she treated Callie, but he was a man who respected women and he didn't like the way this guy was talking about her. Was he a manwhore? Yes, but it could never be said that Mark Sloan didn't try to make every woman he slept with feel good about herself.
"Yeah, we used to model together back in the day. There's not one picture of her out there that isn't airbrushed. Chick has legs like a briar patch too…felt like fucking two porcupines fighting over apple pie," David said. "I've gotta get the hell out of here…after I get Torres' number of course."
Mark started to head after him to keep him away from Callie, but his pager went off before he had the chance. He wasn't too worried though. Callie could take care of herself, and there was no way she would be interested in such an asshole.
Or so he thought…until he saw it with his own eyes. Mark slammed one last shot and nearly fell of the barstool trying to put his jacket on. He wasn't completely sloshed yet, so he still had the presence of mind not to drive. Removing his keys from his jacket pocket, he handed them to Joe for safekeeping.
Well I'm inside out
I'm all inside out
Yeah, she's tearing me apart
Well I'm inside out
"I think I'm going to go strangle her…on second thought I'll just kick her in the shins or something—her neck is to beautiful for bruises. Her legs are too, but she can just wear pants," Mark slurred.
"I'll call you a cab," Joe chuckled, then began dialing. Maybe the liquid courage would be enough to get him to admit his feelings to her. As he relayed the address, he couldn't help but hope that Cristina would be home to witness the whole thing and tell him all the juicy details later.
Well this casual arrangement
Leaves a bitter taste
Our usual commitments
That's just killing me, killing you
We'd better change
We'd better change, change
We'd better change
We'd better change, change
TBC…