A/N: OK, I think I said yesterday that Erica was going to get her kick-ass on in this chapter, but it's actually the next chapter. Sorry about that. But it IS coming, and I'm kinda proud of it and I can't wait to share it with you... so maybe, if you're really nice to me, I'll post twice tonight. ;-)
No one ever looks right after surgery. Families of patients have often been confused by the sight of their loved ones when they visit soon after a major surgery. Some have gone so far as to insist that the person lying in the bed before them is not their loved one. It happens more often that most people realize. Circumstances are not helped when the patient is intubated and has a catheter or a port installed. The human body is not supposed to have wire leads attached and they can be quite frightening to the uninitiated. The tubes and wires generally add to the confusion felt by the patient's family. Callie had often wondered if it was genuine confusion, or if some of the visitors were so shocked and appalled by the state their loved one was in, that their brains just automatically rejected the sight of them. She could understand how scared the family must feel. Surgery, while it is meant to help the body, is a heavy violation. Under the anesthetic, the body becomes weak. Muscles that are normally strong and pliant become lax and droopy. The skin loses its color because the energy the body normally uses to flush cheeks and put the sparkle in someone's eyes is being diverted to healing incisions and guarding against infection. A person recovering from surgery initially loses some of the vigor that the surgery intends to eventually bring back to the body. Although Callie was well aware of these facts, seeing her mother on life support in the intensive care unit still came as a complete shock to her. Despite her efforts to mentally prepare for what she'd see, she found herself quietly crying over her mother.
"Mommy..." she whispered, taking her mother's hand into her own. Her mother did not stir. She did not expect her to stir. She'd been heavily sedated and it would be at least another day before she awoke. Callie sat beside the bed and rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "Am I ever going to get to hug you again, Mommy?" Callie whispered. "When you wake up, are you going to hate me the way you hated me this morning? Because I still love you. And I hope you will learn to love me again too." No answers were forthcoming. Callie knew better than to expect them."You'd love Erica too if you just took the time to get to know her. She's wonderful." Callie snuggled close, smelling her mother's shampoo. She'd been using the same shampoo since Callie was a little girl. Callie thought back to the times when she was little and scared, and she'd climb into bed with her parents to sleep there with them. Curled in her mother's arms, she would smell her shampoo much like she was now. Back then she'd felt safe and secure, and her nightmares would stop just knowing that her parents were there to ward them off. Sighing, Callie wondered if her parents would have held her and protected her like that if they'd known what would take place today. How was it possible for them to just shut off their love for her? How could her father just discard her like yesterday's trash? Why didn't her mother defend her? She was so close to her mother and had spoken to her about Erica for months. Couldn't she see how happy Erica had made her? Why couldn't she be happy for her? Was it really that hard to accept? Wiping away her tears, Callie sat back up and listened to the heart monitor over the bed. The beep was regular, and the rhythm was strong. Reassured by the readouts she was seeing, Callie let her eyes close, just for a moment. Or so she thought.
"Dr. Torres." A strong hand had fallen on her shoulder but she was slow to wake. "Callie." The voice was deep and filled with gentle authority. Opening her eyes, Callie was surprised to see that the Chief was standing over her. Her jaw dropped open. Had she fallen asleep next to a patient's bed? Looking down at the patient in the bed, the entire morning played out in her mind. She remembered where she was, where her mother was, and who had put her there. She remembered Erica lying in a hospital bed upstairs, in her own pain. Before the severity of it all could truly sink in, the Chief continued. "Dr. Torres, why don't you go home and get some rest?" The Chief held his hand out to her, encouraging her to get up.
"How long?" Callie stammered. "How long was I sleeping?" She whispered to the Chief as she took his hand and he helped her to stand up.
"The charge nurse said about four hours. Dr. Yang threatened the nurses and told them that if any one of them tried to wake you or move you, they'd be in a bed in the same state as the patients they treat in this ward. So of course at the shift change, the nurse came and got me."
"Oh God..." Callie moaned, rubbing her hand over her face. "Sir, I'm sorry. I just wanted to visit her. I know it's inappropriate to sleep around patients."
"This isn't a patient, Callie. It's your mother. And like your mother, you need to get some rest. Your mother is stable, Callie. Dr. Yang has not stopped monitoring her since the surgery. Wild horses could not tear her away from your mother's side right now. So go home and get some rest. Come back in the morning and visit her when you're able to keep your eyes open. She's going to need you when she wakes up."
"I don't think she's going to want me near her, when she wakes up, Chief." Callie said sadly.
"Nonsense. You'll work it out with your parents. Now, go home." He said gently. "Do you want me to call you a cab?"
"Actually, Chief, I'm going to sleep in the chair next to Erica's bed. I uh, I admitted her for observation overnight so that she could stay here and I could monitor both Erica and my mother. We've got her on an IV of acetaminophen and codeine because of the concussion. I was supposed to look in on her every hour. Looks like I'm doing a great job..." Callie gave a painful laugh.
"Erica is fine. Sleeping soundly. She's been her normal, to-the-point self every time I've awakened her to monitor her concussion. She's been asking for you though. She's not your patient Callie, she's your girlfriend. Let the nurses and doctors here care for her. I've instructed them to take her off hourly monitoring and wake her every two hours instead. I'm sure the nurses up there will be quite relieved to know that, considering the mood she's in."
Callie was worried. She knew Erica didn't like to be woken up, and the fact that they were waking her every hour must have been torture for her. But she'd been asking for Callie and Callie had been sleeping down there, oblivious to it all. "I'm going to stay up there tonight, okay? I promise, no funny business."
"I know, Dr. Torres. I would never expect that from you." The Chief smiled when he said this. He knew that Callie had some "funny business" of her own in some of the on-call rooms of this hospital, but he knew after the scare with Cristina Yang last week, he'd never have to worry about that from her again. The Chief pulled her to her feet and steered her towards the door leading away from the ICU. Callie caught a glimpse of Cristina Yang watching her. She nodded slightly. Cristina nodded back. Things were going to work out with Cristina and herself, Callie knew it. She just couldn't fight with Cristina anymore after what she'd done for her mother. Getting things to work out with Cristina and Erica was going to be another story entirely though.
"Things have a way of working themselves out, Dr. Torres." The Chief said, noticing the nod between the two female doctors.
"I've heard that somewhere before, Chief." Callie said with a grin.
"Good night, Dr. Torres. See you in the morning. I've taken you off the schedule for the rest of the week so that you can care for your loved ones, so I'll see you during visiting hours."
"Good night, Chief. And, thanks for everything."
Returning to Erica's room, Callie first went to the bed and found Erica sleeping soundly. She stopped and watched the even rise and fall of Erica's chest. She felt awful for disappearing for so long. She desperately hoped Erica would not be mad at her. She took Erica's hand in her own and held it for a few minutes. In her sleep, Erica smiled. Confident that everything was all right with her, Callie went into the bathroom and washed her face. Her mascara had streaked all over and she was embarrassed to think she'd looked like a skunk all day long. After freshening up, she returned to the room and surveyed her sleeping options. The chair next to the bed reclined slightly, and she figured that it would be inappropriate to sleep on the same bed as Erica while Erica was being monitored for her concussion. She leaned over and placed a kiss on Erica's cheek before she slipped her lab coat off and curled into the chair next to Erica's bed. She used her lab coat as a blanket and tried to get comfortable. She leaned the chair back as far as it would go and curled her legs up underneath herself. Shifting in the chair to make herself comfortable, the mock leather of the chair made unladylike noises as she moved.
"Did you eat a can of beans? Is that why you were gone for so long?" Came the muffled question from the bed.
Laughing a little, Callie whispered back "It's the chair, I swear it."
"Sure. I've heard that before. So are you gonna stay there and have a rootin' tootin' time or are you going to come to bed?" Erica asked, unable to keep the giggle out of her voice.
"I didn't want to wake you." Callie said.
"Too late." Erica whispered back at her. "If you promise not to fart, you can sleep on the bed with me. I missed you."
"I wasn't farting! But... It's a deal." Callie said as she crawled under the covers with Erica. Suddenly it didn't matter if someone walked in to monitor Erica. The entire hospital knew about them now anyway, thanks to Cristina. Callie just needed to be near Erica and be held. She laced her fingers through Erica's and squeezed her hand. Automatically, Erica wrapped her arms around Callie and breathed in Callie's scent. Just having Callie there was better than any painkiller she could have ever been given. The pain in her head and jaw were suddenly forgotten, as were the insecurities she'd felt leading up to their meeting with Callie's parents. She'd been so scared when the hours passed and Callie hadn't come back. She'd wake up, expecting to see Callie standing over her, taking her pulse and watching her pupils dilate as she went through the coma scale tests. Instead, she'd been faced first with Richard and then with different nurses, none of whom knew or cared where Callie was. She'd fallen asleep crying the last two times the nurse had left. She wanted Callie there with her, even if it was selfish to think that way when Callie needed to be with her mother. She didn't want to lose her. She couldn't bear to lose her. There'd be no repairing her heart if Callie walked out of her life. Her fears were unfounded though. Callie was curled up in her arms, raining tiny kisses down on her and telling her how much she loved her. Callie was apologizing for falling asleep next to her mother and not coming back when she'd planned. Callie was there. Holding her like this gave Erica the confidence she needed to know that she and Callie were going to weather this storm in their relationship. She didn't have to worry about losing Callie, because they were meant to be together. Callie had defended their relationship this morning and she'd showed that she could care for both Erica and her family. Erica couldn't believe how lucky she was to have her in her life. She hoped that she could make Callie's parent's see that too.
Derek woke the two of them the following morning. He had a sweet smile on his face. There were times he'd woken with Meredith tangled in his arms the same way these two were currently tangled. It warmed his heart to see them so happy together. "Ladies," he whispered. Callie's eyes opened first and she grinned at him, a bit shy that she'd been caught curled in Erica's arms by one of the hospital's hottest doctors. Before she even said anything, she rolled over and gently woke Erica. Better she did it than Derek- the last few times she'd been woken up during the night had been by a male nurse and Erica had threatened to emasculate him if he woke her again.
"Erica." Callie whispered, leaning her forehead against Erica's. "Come on sweetie, it's time to get up."
Erica groaned but opened her eyes. She found herself staring directly into the depths of Callie's brown eyes. She smiled instantly. "Hey." She whispered, and then suddenly realized they were not alone in the room.
"Good morning." Derek Shepherd was smiling down at them. "How are you feeling?"
It took Erica a second to assess herself. A muffled throb still coursed through her head and her cheek hurt to the touch, but otherwise, she felt far better than last night. "I think the freight train in my head has finally departed the station." She said with a grin.
"That's good!" Derek said as he flashed his penlight back and forth over Erica's eyes, monitoring the length of time it took for her pupils to dilate. "The nurses said you were your feisty self all night, and that you're in pretty good shape."
"I am not feisty!" Erica growled.
"Really?" Derek laughed.
Looking at Callie, Erica poked her because she knew Callie was doing everything she could to keep from laughing. Erica Hahn was nothing if she wasn't feisty, and everyone knew it. "Okay, maybe a little feisty." She admitted.
"You can go home, if you want, Erica." Derek said, his professionalism returning as he signed the discharge papers in front of him. "You're still concussed though, so no work for you for the next week. Avoid driving. No alcohol. No heavy machinery, if you have any. Try to sit back and relax. Don't let yourself get so dehydrated again. Take acetaminophen for the headaches, no NSAIDs like aspirin. And call me if the dizziness returns, you feel confused or out-of-sorts, or if you start to vomit. Dr. Torres will examine your facial fracture and if necessary you should see an oral surgeon. Oh, and by the way, Richard said to tell you he'll take care of Walter Tapley this morning." He finished with a wink.
"Oh crap, Walter Tapley's appointment was today." Erica said with just a slight note of disappointment in her voice. "I was looking forward to telling him I was staying here."
"Staying here?" Derek asked.
"Tapley was coming in for a follow up visit and then was going to offer Erica a job working with him." Callie replied, taking Erica's hand into her own.
"I realized though that he couldn't offer me anything close to what I have here. So I'm staying." Erica said, looking over at Callie with a smile.
"Good for you. But congratulations none the less. I hear that Walter Tapley's a bigwig in the cardio world. I'm honored to be able to work with someone so sought after." Derek said with genuine admiration.
"Thanks Derek." Erica said.
Derek walked out and Callie, who had gotten out of bed while Derek examined Erica, returned to the side of the bed and gently placed her hand on Erica's bruised cheek. "The swelling has gone down considerably, though the contusion is still very fresh." Callie said quietly. "I don't think you'll need to see the oral surgeon. Are you tender?"
Erica leaned her face into Callie's palm and kissed it gently. "A little." Callie knew she didn't just mean her face hurt.
"I'm sorry about yesterday, Erica." Callie murmured.
"I told you that there is nothing to apologize about. Don't worry so much, okay?"
"No, I mean, I'm sorry that I disappeared for so long. You needed me here too and I fell asleep..."
"I was scared that you weren't coming back..." Erica whispered, her chin trembling. "But I'm not angry. Just, please, just don't disappear like that again, okay? I know you needed to be with your mom and I'm glad that you were there with her. I just... When you didn't come back for so long... I was so scared that you had walked out of this room and out of my life. I couldn't handle that."
"I'm not going anywhere, Erica. I promise to make you see that, too. I love you. Don't you ever forget that." Callie said as she sat on the edge of the bed. Erica had begun to sob, so Callie pulled her into her arms and held her tightly. "I love you Erica. I'm not going anywhere. I promise. You've got to believe me. We're the two Juliets who don't need a Romeo, remember?"
Smiling through her tears, Erica nodded. "I'm sorry I'm so irrational about this. I know I should trust you when you tell me you're not going anywhere. I didn't mean to make it sound like you wouldn't keep your promise. It's just that, after yesterday, I was so afraid of what would happen. I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd suddenly decided that you wanted your family instead of me."
"I want you both. And right now, I have you. And you're going to help me get my parents back into my life, aren't you?"
"Of course."
"Then let's go home and get showered and dressed. You can stay in bed and relax and I'm going to come back here and wait for my mother to wake up." Callie said.
"No, I'll come back here and wait with you. You're not doing this alone, Callie."
"You're supposed to be on bed rest for a week. Bed rest does not include sitting in the ICU waiting room. But we'll discuss it when we get home. Come on." Callie said, avoiding an argument and leading Erica out of the room, eager to get home.