DISCLAIMER:: not mine. belongs to shonda and abc

A/N:: sorry for being m.i.a. my sister is getting married in less than a month and she flew out for an extended vacation. plus, i am super super busy at work. but i promise there will be a couple more updates before the third week of november when i go 'underground' until january.

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"So what did she say?" Ethan's eyes accused Callie curiously as she slid into the passenger seat of his black Audi.

"About what?" Callie stared blankly back at him as if she had no idea what he was talking about.

"God Callie, how did I know this would happen?" Ethan rubbed his temples then put the car in drive. He pulled away from the curb.

Callie buckled her seat belt. "What are you so frustrated about?"

"We have been talking bout this for weeks. How you would break the news to Erica, how she would react, how to prepare for the worst." He glanced at Callie and then back at the road. "So did you even spend any time with her?"

"Of course."

"Don't even try to say that like you've given her the time of day since…" He wouldn't dare finish his sentence. Mentioning Brenna's death, even though Callie was functional now, was a serious taboo. He wouldn't intentionally cause her pain, ever. He switched gears automatically to a safer topic. "What did you talk about then?"

"I asked her to marry me…again."

Ethan was too proud to show it, but a small piece of his heart broke off and disintegrated into nothingness. He still loved Callie Torres. Despite the fact that she had left him at the altar. She had run back to Erica Hahn; she had chosen Erica Hahn, he loved her still. Somewhere, buried deep behind all the fronts he put on for her benefit, he still held a small hope that she'd realize she had made a grave mistake by choosing Erica. He kept his true feelings a secret from her because he was certain he would lose her. You can't force someone to choose you, just simply guide them subtly along the right path. Right now, she was beyond his reach. She belonged to Erica. But he was buying his time, and part of him actually was starting to believe he was winning. She was, after all, talking to him about her problems and not Erica, a fact that pissed Erica off more each day. "And?"

Callie shrugged. "I don't know. We went home and I… went to bed without her."

"You have to tell her Callie."

Callie shook her head. "I can't risk losing her Ethan."

Ethan gripped the steering wheel and uttered the words he knew he had to. "You already are."

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"Dr. Torres, can I speak with you just one moment?"

Callie turned at the sound of the Chief's voice to see him leaning out the door of his office. He was beckoning her. She backtracked and followed him into his office, closing the door behind her. "Yeah Chief?"

"I'll get straight to the point Dr. Torres. You've been at Seattle Grace for six years. You are the best we have to offer in orthopedics and I think it's about time the title matched the talent."

Callie bit back the smile that was tugging at her lips.

The Chief smiled for her. "How do you feel about dark blue?"

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"Erica!" Callie nearly slammed the door behind her as she flew into the apartment she shared with Erica.

Erica looked up from the book she was reading on the couch with wide, concerned eyes. The exclamation was the most emotion she'd seen from Callie in too long. It was definitely cause for concern.

Callie stopped in front of the couch with a huge smile on her face.

Erica set her book down on the side table and gave Callie her full attention.

Callie had purposely not changed out of her new scrubs so she could flaunt them in front of Erica.

It took a moment for Erica's eyes to register this. When they did, they grew wide. "You got promoted?"

Callie fell into Erica's lap. "You are looking at the new orthopedic attending at Seattle Grace Hospital. I have my own department now, officially."

Erica smiled. "Cal, that's wonderful."

Callie took a deep breath. For the first time in what seemed like forever she let herself get lost in the blue of Erica's eyes. She leaned forward and her lips slowly found Erica's. Erica reacted cautiously, desperate for the contact but afraid of moving too fast and scaring Callie away. But once Callie had taken that first step there was no going back for her. She didn't object when Erica pulled her closer, but rather leaned in to the blonde's body.

Erica pulled back but Callie only allowed her a quick breath before leaning right back in and capturing her lips again. Erica sank into her kiss again and all thoughts of moving from her current position left her.

"Okay, I'll do it." Erica managed to get out in between kisses. "I'll do the whole white wedding thing."

This elicited an almost carnal response from Callie. She pressed herself harder into Erica's body and nipped at the blonde's neck playfully.

Erica had no idea what had come over Callie. She hadn't acted this way since before Brenna had passed.

It only took a few seconds for Callie to register Erica's hesitation. When she did, she pulled back. "What's wrong?"

Erica just smiled and shook her head. "Thank you."

Callie raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For eliminating my fears that you might never…"

Callie put a finger to Erica's lips. "We need to talk about that, about everything… but not now. She slid off Erica's lap, earning a whimper from the blonde. Callie smiled and held out her hand. "Come tuck me in?"

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Callie could hear someone talking in the back of her mind, through the haze of sleep. She reluctantly sifted through the layers of unconsciousness and opened her eyes. She saw Erica pacing the room in nothing but a long t-shirt, talking animatedly on the phone. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and watched Erica with a hungry gaze as the memories from last night came flooding back.

"I'll make the plans and call you with the details. I'll be sure and tell her. Uh-huh. Bye." Erica ended her call with the press of a button and set her cell phone down on the dresser. She noticed her audience and smiled, crossing the room and sitting on the edge of the bed. She pushed a stray strand of hair behind Callie's ear and bent down to capture her lips in a kiss.

Callie smiled as Erica pulled away. "Who was on the phone?"

Erica leaned in for another kiss. "Oh, just your mother."

Callie's eyes shot open and she dunked out of the way of the kiss. "What? You talked to my mother? You called my mother?"

"Yes, and yes."

Callie scowled. "I'll give you thirty seconds to explain before I kill you."

"Cal, don't be ridic…."

"Twenty three seconds."

Erica sighed. "Cal, she's my mother now too."

Callie's jaw dropped. She wasn't often rendered speechless, but she would never have expected those words to leave Erica's mouth. All remembrance of the countdown was gone. She just stared blankly at Erica as a million thoughts raced through her head. She wanted to feel jealous that her mother and Erica were obviously connecting, and relieved for the same reason. She wanted to feel betrayed that Erica hadn't told her this, but she had no right to do that when she was keeping secrets herself. She couldn't decide which emotion to feel.

"Cal, I'm sorry. I called her to tell her I found you after you left Ethan and we got to talking every couple weeks or so. It's not a big deal. I didn't know it would upset you."

"It doesn't." Callie sat up and wrapped her arms around Erica's neck. She pulled her into a hug. "It's good that you two are talking and getting to know each other. It means a lot to me. I was just a little caught off guard. It's obviously been going on for a while and neither of you had mentioned it to me."

Erica was normally not the type to hold her tongue but she was smart enough to know she probably shouldn't mention that Callie really hadn't given either of them the chance. With as few words as she'd said to Erica, she'd said even fewer to her family.

Callie wouldn't break the embrace; it felt so good to be in Erica's arms and she couldn't hide a small sniffle as she realized how quickly she could lose this.

Erica pulled back just enough to look into Callie's eyes. "Hey, hey what's wrong?"

Callie shook her head. "It's nothing."

Erica caressed Callie's cheeks gently with her hands. "I don't know what it is that you're not able to tell me, or why, but maybe I could give you a little motivation."

Callie smiled and put a hand over one of Erica's. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"A little vacation."

Callie pulled away from Erica's embrace and leaned against the headboard. She gave Erica a doubtful look. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. I'm not sure I'm ready to leave the comforts of home for some tourist locale."

Erica smiled. "Well then I guess it's good that I'm taking you home to your family."

Callie raised a hopeful eyebrow. "A Miami?"

Erica rolled her eyes and smiled. "Si, a Miami."

Callie sat forward and her lips found Erica's instantly. After a moment she pulled back and rested her forehead against Erica's. "Gracias, mi amor."

Erica smiled. "You're welcome Cal."