Title: Rise & Fall (3/3)

Author: VietAngel

Pairing: Callie/Mark

Rating: T

Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libellous, defamatory, or in any way factual.

Cristina couldn't get her key in the lock fast enough. She'd been in surgery when Callie called and didn't get her message until several hours later. As much as she liked to pretend she didn't care, she had a soft spot for her roommate and the sound of her crying over her voice mail was gut wrenching. She bolted from the hospital and across the street as soon as she heard, not wanting to leave Callie alone to worry herself sick. She cursed under her breath and finally pulled it together enough to open the door.

She was surprised to see Mark there. Callie was asleep on the sofa that also served as her bed with her legs sprawled across his lap. Her left ankle wrapped and elevated on a pillow while Mark held an ice pack to it. The television was watching them because Callie was completely knocked out and Mark was consumed with watching her sleep, only wrenching his eyes away from her when Cristina cleared her throat. He carefully extracted himself from under Callie's legs and walked over to where Christina was standing.

"Is she ok? She left me a message, but I was in surgery…I came as soon as I could," Cristina whispered.

"She's fine, just a bit shaken," Mark replied. Cristina let out a sigh of relief and Mark had to fight the urge to smirk. She always put on the front of being so hard core and uncaring, but he'd seen her around Callie and it was obvious she adored the woman.

"Good," Cristina replied. "So…you're going to kick his ass right?"

"Within an inch of his life."

"And you'll page me if you need backup?"

"Absolutely."

"And you'll take care of her instead of fucking with her head like that Hobbit O'Malley did?" she said. "I mean, since her underwear and your tie are in the floor, I'm assuming the two of you finally got your shit together and stopped all that fuck buddy bullshit."

"Yeah, we finally got our shit together," Mark repeated, chuckling.

"And you love her? Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Good," Cristina nodded. "Just remember that I'll gut you like a fish if you fuck it up with her."

"I'll remember," he replied, knowing she was dead serious.

"Did she report it to the cops?" she asked.

"No," he started, "She doesn't want to report it at all, but I'm making her go to Chief Webber tomorrow. I don't want that son of a bitch setting foot in Seattle Grace ever again."

"Good," she relied. "Well, you can put her in the bed; I'm going to stay with Meredith tonight."

"Thanks, Yang," Mark said. "Goodnight."

Cristina just nodded and held out her fist. He bumped his knuckles to hers and smiled, knowing that when it came to looking out for Callie he had a partner in crime for life. With that, Cristina quietly made were way out and Mark scooped Callie up and put her to bed.

******

The next morning Callie and Mark walked—well, limped actually, since Callie refused to use crutches—into Seattle Grace hand in hand. Everyone was staring, nurses were glaring, and Mark didn't give a shit…he'd finally gotten his girl and nothing could ruin it for him. Suddenly, Callie stopped and gripped his hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white. He tuned to ask her what was wrong and found her pale and terrified. She was trembling and he followed her eye line to what was troubling her…and the first thing he saw was David chatting up some nurse. Mark leaned in close, pressed a kiss to Callie's temple, and whispered for her to stay right where she was. She swallowed hard and finally released his hand from her grip.

Mark strode over to where David was standing like a man on a mission and nobody was fool enough to get in his way. He tapped the man on the shoulder and when he turned, Mark punched him in the face so hard that there was an audible crack and everyone gasped. David was out cold. Callie herself x-rayed Mark's hand and was relieved to find that it wasn't broken…but David's face was. Mark wouldn't be performing any surgeries for a while, but it was a small price to pay for defending his woman's honor.

Word spread around the hospital like wildfire and he soon found himself in Chief Webber's office getting yelled at with an ice pack on his hand. Once he was allowed to get a word in, he had Callie called in and he stayed by her side as she told Chief Webber about the events of the previous night. Despite their conflicts, Chief Webber thought of the attendings and residents on his surgical staff as family. They were like his children in a way, so needless to say he was livid.

He made a few phone calls and effectively ended David's career as an EMT. After admonishing Callie for not using her crutches, he gave them both the rest of the week off. While Callie went off to make sure her surgeries would be covered in her absence, the Chief pulled Mark aside.

"So, Dr. Sloan…I gather that you and Dr. Torres are together now?" he asked.

"Wh-what? I—I…" Mark stuttered, not expecting to get this kind of speech until he met Callie's parents.

"I saw the way you were looking at each other, it's pretty obvious," Chief Webber started. "I made a promise to her father when he was here. I told him I would look out for his little girl and I feel like I've dropped the ball on that over the past year. I'm not going to torture you…all I'm saying is be careful with her. That's a special woman you have there—cherish her. If you two are happy together, then by all means I wish you the best…just keep the drama away from work should any arise."

"Yes, sir," Mark replied with a smile.

Callie returned seconds later and Chief Webber clapped him on the shoulder before sending them on their way. He could do nothing but shake his head and laugh as he watched them. They argued about crutches the whole way down the hall. Mark called her stubborn and threatened to carry her if she didn't give in. Callie responded by calling him a bossy jackass and stubbornly continued to limp. Mark growled in frustration and threw her over his shoulder and slapped her on the ass when she kicked and screamed for him to put her down, prompting Callie to punch him in the shoulder so hard he almost dropped her. When they finally disappeared through the doors he realized that he needn't have worried about Callie, but he probably should have warned Mark that he would have his hands full with that one.

News about Callie's incident quickly made rounds through the rumor mill at Seattle Grace, and soon enough several other female employees came forward with similar tales of sexual assault at the hands of one Mr. David Reynolds. His subsequent arrest was a relief to everyone.

******************

"Mmmm," Callie moaned in pleasure as she and Mark lay in bed…a tangle of limbs and sheets. "Oh my God, that's so good."

"I'm glad you like it," Mark replied, repeating the action that had elicited such appreciation from her.

"This makes me miss living here," Callie said with her mouth full. "There is nothing better than Archfield chocolate cake."

Mark scooped up another forkful of the decadent dessert and prepared to feed it to her once again, but Callie stopped him.

"You're not going to eat any?" she asked. "You have to be hungry by now…we burned a lot of calories."

"I am hungry, but not for chocolate cake," Mark replied.

"Oh, we should get dressed and go out to dinner. We've been in bed all day—what are you hungry for?"

"Open your legs and I'll show you what I'm hungry for," Marked replied, nudging Callie's knee with his own.

"No way!" Callie replied laughing. She quickly grabbed a pillow and placed it between them, effectively blocking his advances. Callie regarded the sticky soreness between her legs. While it was pleasurable at its current level, she knew that one more round would cause her to have to sit gingerly for the next couple of days. "This has been fun, but my lady parts need a break. Besides, woman cannot live on chocolate cake and sex alone. I'm kind of hungry for real food and I think you owe me dinner."

"Oh, really?" Mark asked with an amused smirk on his face. "What makes you think I owe you dinner?"

"Well," Callie drawled sexily, "there's the fact that I'm naked in your bed right now, and I'm sure certain sexual favors you received today are at the very least worthy of a rather pricey meal." "I mean, come on," she said, lifted what little there was of the sheet covering her body, "if this isn't worth dinner I don't know what is."

"You're cocky, Callie Torres," he replied with a laugh. "I like that in a woman. Forget about food, baby…for that body I'd empty my bank account."

"Smart man," Callie replied with a smirk. She still couldn't believe this was her life. After everything that happened with George, she thought she'd never find a man who could love her as much as she loved him—and she definitely never thought that it would be Mark Sloan—but here he was. The manwhore had finally been tamed and he was loving every minute of it.

"Hey," Mark said as he reached over to sit the cake he'd been feeding her on the night table beside him. He reached into the drawer and pulled out a small Tiffany blue box, laughing as Callie's eyes became as big as the saucer her cake was on. "I have something for you, and before you freak out it's not what you think…open it."

Callie eyed him suspiciously, but opened the box anyway…letting out a sigh of relief when she finally took in the contents.

"A key?" she questioned, not understanding what it was for.

"It's the key to my new house," Mark started, "and I'm giving it to you because I was hoping you would agree to it becoming our new house." He could see the wheels turning in her head and decided he needed to give ease her mind a little before letting her answer. "I know what you're thinking, but it's all taken care of. You'll love it…Yang helped me pick it out. I also asked her for your hand in cohabitation…and I'm pretty sure she started packing your stuff already. She told me to tell you—and these are her words not mine—'Stop thinking about it and say yes, dumb ass…the man candy loves you and you practically live with him anyway, whore.' I do love you, Cal…so what do you say?"

"Yes," Callie replied with no hesitation. Wrapping a hand around the back of Mark's neck she pulled him forward and crushed his lips to hers. "Yes, yes, yes."

"Good," he said when he finally pulled back so they could catch their breath. "Since you're in a 'yes' mood, how about you say yes to this one too?"

Callie gasped as he held up a two-carat Tiffany set, platinum and diamond ring.

"I would love it if you agreed to marry me," he started, "but I know how you feel about marriage and that's ok. I don't need some legally binding piece of paper to be with you; I don't need you to change your name. We can live in sin and freak out your parents for the rest of our lives…I just need you to say you want forever with me. That's all the ring has to mean."

"Ask me," she replied.

"What?"

"Ask me for what you really want, Mark."

"Calliope Iphegenia Torres, you are the sexiest, most beautiful, most kick-ass woman I've ever met and I love you with everything in me. I took the liberty of asking your father for your hand in marriage already and he gave me his blessing after threatening to kill me if he finds out you're pregnant. So, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Yes, and the honor would be all mine," Callie replied. Mark slipped the ring on her finger and before she knew it she was on her back.

"Umm, babe?" Callie giggled. "I was serious about my lady parts needing a break."

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry! I just got excited," Mark replied.

"My thigh is well aware of your excitement," she said, quirking an eyebrow at him. Hooking her leg around his, she deftly flipped them so she was on top…and then it was Mark's turn to raise his eyebrow. She smiled deviously at him and then began to trail kisses down his chest and stomach before finally disappearing under the covers.

"Oh my God, your mouth should be declared a national treasure," he growled as she took the entire length of him in. He fisted his hand in her hair and prepared to enjoy the ride. They had an ongoing bet about who could get the other off faster. So far, Mark was winning—hell, he was originator of "The Sloan Method" after all—but exactly sixty seconds into it, Callie did something with her tongue that Mark couldn't even begin to describe…and she was declared champion for life.

"So, how much do you think that sexual favor was worth?" she asked when she finally reemerged.

"Anything you want, baby," he replied breathlessly. "Anything."

…and that's the moment when Mark Sloan knew that married life with Callie Torres was never going to get boring.

Fin.