AUTHOR'S NOTE:: sorry this took so long. but i am working my butt off. holiday season and all. i already got the next two chapters ready to post, so those should be up before the weekend. i'm sure you all wanted erica to run straight to LA and rescue callie from that actor dude, but she's going to take a few wrong turns first. don't worry, she'll find her eventually... but will it be in time?
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Callie, please. Text me back. Call me back. Just let me know where you are and whether you're okay.
Erica hit the send button almost violently. It was her fifth message that day. Her millionth since the meeting where she had heard of Callie's swift departure from not only Seattle Grace, but Seattle as well.
She had called Mark and left a message begging for him to come home early, so she could go find her. It was selfish to ask him to cut his honeymoon short, but she needed to know Callie was alive. If Callie didn't want to be with her, she was sure she could handle that, but she could not live with not knowing whether or not Callie was alive somewhere, anywhere.
Her phone went off with an incoming call. She couldn't help the rush of hope that washed over her.
"Hello?"
"Erica? I got your message. What's wrong? What's the emergency?"
"Mark… Callie's gone. She left Mark. She resigned, and no one here has any clue where she is." Erica was starting to get hysterical, heading for another round of tears. She was glad she wasn't at the hospital this time.
"Calm down Erica."
"How can I calm down? What if she's dead? She won't talk to me Mark! She won't even let me know she's alive!" Erica's tears came, though you couldn't tell it in her voice. They rolled down, silent betrayals of what she was feeling. "Richard won't let me go after her until you're back."
"We'll be on the next flight back. Rose isn't feeling too hot anyway; she's been wanting to go home."
"Hurry Mark." Erica's tears kept coming, though she felt instantaneous relief. He was coming back, today.
"Where are you going to look for her Erica? LA?"
"Well I figure she's with Ethan. I called his agent and made up a story about having some updates on his brother's condition. The woman told me he was on vacation with his girlfriend, but she'd tell him to call me when he returned. So I don't think they're in LA. Callie left a note for Yang that said she was going home. I think she might have taken Ethan to meet her parents, so that's where I'm gonna start."
Mark was silent for a few moments. "You're going to Miami?"
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Erica could feel the knot in her stomach through the entire flight. She fidgeted through the layovers at Denver and then Atlanta. When they finally landed at Miami International, she was a wreck. She laughed humorlessly as she saw MIA painted on a wall. Cause that's exactly what Callie was.
She had only brought a carry-on with a couple changes of clothes, so she gladly ignored the wave of passengers filing towards baggage claim. She hailed a cab outside, and one easily pulled up, drawn in by the aura of authority Erica's presence held. Cab drivers knew authority usually meant money.
"Where to?" The cab driver looked over his shoulder at her.
Everything in Erica screamed to just go straight to the most likely place Callie would be, her parents house. But from what Callie had described of her parents, they wouldn't appreciate Erica showing up the way she was now. Better to get cleaned up first. "The Mandarin Oriental please."
The driver smirked. Oh yeah, she was money.
Erica emerged three hours later from the hotel, finely dressed, looking beyond presentable in a mid-thigh length dress and a trench coat, both designer. Even if Callie was not at her parents house, maybe Erica could impress them enough that they gave her some clue as to where she could find their daughter.
She had the doorman hail a cab, and as one pulled over, he opened the door for her.
"Where to miss?"
"Have you heard of a man named Eduardo Torres?"
"Heard of him? Of course. Everyone knows Eduardo Torres." The driver seemed to find her lack of Miami knowledge comical.
"Could you take me to his house? I have an appointment with his doctor, I mean daughter." She blushed slightly at her stumble.
"Whatever you say miss."
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The Torres estate had its own private beach that spread out behind it. Erica expected heavy security, gates with intercoms and what not, but there was nothing, Just an arched driveway that led right to a front door.
Erica paid the driver and exited the cab. She stared up at the huge house. She wasn't ready to admit it but this place intimidated her. This was the place where her ex-girlfriend, the girl she loved, had grown up. Callie had played on that beach as a child. She had come home to this front door. She had slept in one of those rooms.
Erica walked up to the door and knocked. A woman answered almost immediately. She wore a blouse and a floral skirt and looked a little like Callie. It must be her mom.
"Mrs. Torres?"
The woman stared at her curiously. Then she looked over her shoulder. "Idola!"
A woman descended the staircase Erica could see behind the woman she had spoken to. This new woman was slightly younger, but only by a small number of years. She had a big smile on her face that looked like it was there most of the time. She had on a bulky sweater and tight fitting jeans.
She stopped next to the woman who had answered the door and extended her hand. "Hello, I'm Idola Torres. You must be here for Calliope. Come in!"
Erica said nothing but followed Idola inside and to a hallway tucked against the side of the staircase. They passed by door after door and finally stopped at one towards the back of the house. It opened into a room that had to be about two stories high. The walls were lined with shelves of books of every shape, size, and color. Couches and chairs littered the center, all plush, comfy for sitting and getting lost in a book.
Erica smiled. She really liked this room.
Idola noticed her grin and smiled too, looking around. "This is Calliope's favorite room here."
She gestured to a chair and then sat in another one facing it.
"Calliope told me you were coming." Idola stared at Erica intently, analyzing her every feature, every movement.
Erica raised an eyebrow but didn't speak.
"She called me yesterday, quite distraught. We had a long conversation about you Erica. She told me about your relationship and how it had progressed and… how she felt about it, then and now."
Erica eyed Idola warily. She didn't seem upset or anything. But who knew what was brewing beneath her calm demeanor.
"Calliope told me you are a heart surgeon. That's quite a prestigious career."
Erica just continued to stare, caught somewhere between wonder and caution.
"She didn't tell me you were mute too."
"Excuse me?" Erica finally found her voice.
"She speaks!" Idola's smile widened.
"I'm sorry. I'm just a little shocked."
"What? You didn't think I'd approve of my daughter finding happiness with a very successful doctor?" Idola raised an eyebrow.
"No… I thought you wouldn't approve of Callie finding happiness with another woman."
"I may be Greek in my upbringing, and it is true that I was raised to believe that your and my daughter's relationship is not normal, it's wrong even." Erica cringed at the word 'wrong'. "But…" Idola smiled fondly. "I was also raised that family is more important than anything. So for me… this is a minor detail. In the grand scheme of things, it is but a small part of the big picture… Calliope's well being. I would never begrudge my daughter something that makes her feel so much joy. You should have heard her speak of you. She was glowing with pride. It was as if the world revolved around you. I haven't heard her sound like that in a very long time."
Erica was suddenly urgent. Idola's words struck a cord in her. She was here for Callie. She needed to get to Callie. No matter what, she needed to be with Callie. "Can I see her?"
"She's not here." Idola saddened at that fact. Her smile faltered the tiniest bit.
"But you talked to her." Erica's hope once again sank.
"She called me. She said she had left Seattle for good and she'd tell me where she was once she got settled, that she was staying with a friend. Then she told me of you and said you might show up here. She said a man had called and left her a message, a friend of yours…"
"Sloan." Erica said it as if it put a bad taste in her mouth.
"Yes, that's the one."
"She's not here." Erica let the words sink in. "Then where is she?"
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Erica stayed at the Torres residence until late that night, talking with Idola. She found that she really enjoyed spending time with Callie's mother. They got along well. And in turn, now that Idola knew about her and Calle, Idola wanted to know all about her. She returned to the Mandarin Oriental no closer to finding Callie. Idola had assured her that Callie had not disclosed her location. She had no ides where to go from here. She could go to LA, but how would she know where to look?
As if a sign from the fates, her cell buzzed with a new message from Mark.
Stevens spilled. Callie's in LA. Erica… Ethan proposed.
Erica felt her world crumble for the second time that week. Callie was getting married…again? No, she couldn't have said yes. But that would explain why she left. No, that wasn't like Callie. She wouldn't do that. Not after what she'd admitted at the wedding. It didn't make sense.
In a minute she was on the phone with the airline.
"I need a seat on the first flight to LA."
