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A/N: Chapter 11/12 of New Adventures

New Adventures is a set of stories inspired by Callie/Erica and their cupid, Mark Sloan. The action picks up after S4 finale, may contain some spoilers for S5, but not much because I don't know much. This set of stories should be completely done before the S5 premiere, and should help me survive the next month.

All chapter titles are borrowed from R.E.M.'s album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, but rearranged to fit the narrative.

Chapter 11, Be Mine, is told from Erica Hahn's POV.

As always, I really appreciate reviews and encouragement of all types. PLEASE. Ok thanks.

I don't own Grey's Anatomy or R.E.M., or any of the characters therein.

……

"Be Mine" – R.E.M. – New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)

and if I choose your sanctuary
I want to wash you with my hair.
I want to drink of sacred fountains
and find the riches hidden there.

……

"Only one more day," Callie said, digging her toes into the sand. "One more. Doesn't it feel like the days are getting longer?"

"Definitely," I said, leaning back on the towel. It was Thursday, the sun was rising behind us as we stared into the ocean. We'd been meeting here, secretly, away from her father and the Archfield, for a week. He was leaving tomorrow, thankfully, after getting Sloan's travel approval. "It reminds me of my first girlfriend, and how it used to feel in high school."

"Ah, your first. Do tell, Dr. Hahn," Callie exclaimed, eyes lighting up.

"There's not much to tell. I don't think either of us realized what was happening, but I remember one summer, her family went on vacation out west for like a month. It was agony – the days were like years. I counted minutes. I wrote letters but I couldn't send them because they were moving around so much, so mainly I just sat around and moped. I even forgot to change clothes until my mom yelled at me about it."

"And then?"

"Nothing. She came back, school started, and –"

"You never gave her the letters?"

"No way. It seems simple now, Callie, but it wasn't simple then. I did tell her how I felt, eventually, and we even made out a few times. That was much later, right before college. She went far away, and I didn't. That was the end of that."

We sat in silence for a while, Callie staring off into the distance while I stared at her feet. She had lovely feet. She had lovely everything, and I felt a surge of love rush through my body. Any past feelings of what I thought were love could not compare to the emotions I felt for this woman.

"I had one more girlfriend, in med school. But I had to break up with her."

"Why?" Callie asked, burying her feet deeper in the sand.

"Cradar."

"What?"

"Cradar. It's like gaydar, but for crazy people. She set everyone's off like, instantly. But it took me a little bit longer than everyone else to accept." Callie started to laugh as she buried her calves and patted the sand down on top of them.

"What did she do?"

"Well, she ate out of dumpsters, even though she had plenty of food at her apartment. Slightly embarrassing. She changed her name three times – legally – in the short time we dated. I never knew what to call her – Elizabeth, Patricia, Angela - so that was a problem. She punched her Women's Studies professor in the face once because she wasn't "a true feminist" – whatever that means."

"And which of these was your tipping point?" Callie asked, amazed.

"None of them, actually. It wasn't until we went to the beach and she told me the story about watching someone drown that I had to get out."

"Oh! She reminded you of what happened to your father?"

"Yeah. It wasn't – well, it isn't – something I like to think about. It's hard. And she told this whole story about watching some surfer drown, how humans will go under 3 times before they disappear completely, and I just freaked out. I couldn't handle it anymore," I paused, willing myself not to cry. I looked at Callie and saw the concern in her dark eyes. I'd never told anyone that story, but it seemed so natural to tell her everything. I reached for her hand and smiled. "So I said, look, Elizabeth Patricia Angela – we have to break up. You're a crazy bitch."

Callie threw her head back in laughter, which made me feel another rush of love spread through my body. I turned my body towards her and grabbed her other hand, which was covered with sand. I leaned in a kissed her lips.

"I just – Callie, I. I just –"

"I love you, Erica," she blurted, stealing my thunder. I gazed into her eyes again and felt safe, like home.

"I love you, too."

……

"Mr. Torres, Dr. Sloan," I said, grabbing the back of the chair. Mr. Torres stood quickly, and pulled out the chair for me. "Where's Callie?"

"She's on her way. You know women, they always need more time," Mr. Torres said, his dark eyes looking towards Sloan. "Dr. Hahn – I hope you don't mind that I invited Dr. Sloan. Kind of a thank you dinner after all the work he did for me this week."

"I appreciate it, Mr. T," Mark said as Callie walked into the restaurant, turning the heads of everyone at the table. She was wearing a simple summery yellow dress that seemed far from simple, and my mind automatically started to fill with dirty thoughts. I stomped them down, momentarily, as Callie made her way to her seat.

"Callie, you look lovely tonight," Mark said, beaming.

"She always looks lovely, Dr. Sloan," her father corrected. I sat on my hands, mouth dry, only able to nod. I was cautious not to say anything to draw her father's attention. "Callie, I knew you'd be pleased that I invited Dr. Sloan to join us."

Callie's eyes darted directly to mine, and I looked down at the table. "Pleased? Uh – of course, daddy. Very pleased!"

The dinner was pleasant – as pleasant as possible, considering that Callie's father kept making suggestive comments about Mark and Callie, which caused Mark to smile and Callie to shift uncomfortably in her seat. I didn't say much of anything, claiming fatigue from a long work day, but I managed to drink 3 glasses of dark red wine. I'd been hoping to sneak up to Callie's room after the meal, but I realized the risk was not worth it. He suspected nothing, and it was best to keep it that way for one more night.

"Mr. Torres, my money is no good with you?" I asked, after Mr. Torres refused to allow me to pitch in on the bill.

"Dr. Hahn, I insist. You've all been so kind to me this past week, and so kind to my daughter, helping her deal with her divorce."

"Thanks, dad. Thanks for bringing that up again," Callie said, finishing her glass of wine.

"Mr. Torres, let me offer a service in lieu of money, then. Tomorrow is my day off, let me drive you to the airport," I offered. He looked at Callie briefly.

"Is that okay, honey?"

"Yes, daddy, I've got an early surgery. Thanks, Erica, that is very kind of you," Callie said, giving me a quick wink.

"It's set, then. I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Torres."

……

The next morning, I was as nervous as a schoolgirl about picking up Mr. Torres at the Archfield. I'd practiced what I'd say to him in the shower, but it always sounded juvenile and awkward. Part of the problem was I'd never come out to anyone, much less my new girlfriend's father. I couldn't imagine what words would make this go smoothly.

Callie's father was waiting for me in the lobby, impeccably dressed in a suit with perfectly combed black hair. He didn't look anywhere near his actual age, and the recent surgery had only taken a slight bit of color from his cheeks. Watching his movements as he walked towards me, I could see parts of Callie in everything he did. My mind shifted to my own father, whose face I could barely remember without photographs, and for the first time, the thought of him did not make me sad. I wondered what I would tell him about my life now, if I were taking him to the airport.

"Dr. Hahn," Mr. Torres said, kissing my hand as he always did. Such a polite man, he never ceased to impress me. I loaded his bags into the car as he lowered himself in to the passenger seat, his slow movements the only indication that he'd had surgery just two days ago. I was silent as I merged into traffic, but as soon as we got on the main highway, I decided to talk.

"Do you have a direct flight?"

"Yes, it's the only way I will fly. I'm actually terrified to fly, and I believe that's why Calliope chose to move to the farthest city from Miami as possible," he said with a brief laugh. "But I had the last laugh – I visit her more now than when she lived 5 miles from home!"

"I did the same thing," I blurted. "I mean, I moved to the other side of the country. But not to escape my family, it's not like that at all." I was revealing too much, talking more now than I had all week. "I was just following my mentor, who happened to work out here."

"Oh, it's no big deal, really. When I was young, I hopped a plane to Miami for college, and I never told my parents. It was years before they found me, they thought I had died. But, things were much different then," he rationalized. "Besides, Calliope is like me – adventurous. I knew from the minute she started to walk that it'd be difficult to stop her."

I smiled, attempting to relax, but my hands were white-knuckled on the steering wheel. I decided it would be easier to say nothing, just let the blissfully ignorant man get on the plane. Mark Sloan was wrong; Mr. Torres didn't need to know. "She's certainly a free spirit, that's for sure."

There was another awkward pause. Mr. Torres shifted in his seat, clearing his throat.

"I know," he said. I looked at him out of the corner of my right eye; he was staring at my hands. "I mean, I know. Don't worry, Dr. Hahn, I'm not that conservative or behind-the-times. I know my daughter better than any living human on the planet. I know she loves you."

"How?" I asked, swallowing and staring straight ahead.

"Well, besides barging in on you two when I got here – it's in the way she looks at you. She doesn't look at anyone like that. She never looked at George O'Malley like that, and she married that one. And she talks about you all the time, even before I met you it was 'Erica this' and 'Dr. Hahn that'. She's pretty much an open book, if you care to read."

I sat still for a second, pretending to concentrate on the road. He knew. Everyone knew. We were fooling no one. I felt liberated, finally able to breathe. I grinned despite myself.

"She is a wonderful woman," I said, at a loss for words. Mr. Torres put his hand on top of mine.

"Let me say the one thing I always say to Calliope's suitors – just don't hurt my little girl."

"I promise I won't," I said, and with that, the conversation ended. We rode in comfortable silence to the airport, where he hugged me tightly and wished me good luck. Then he was gone.