Callie looked ahead of her. She wasn't at all sure what she was going to say to Erica. She had just finally reached the point where she didn't think about her all the time and could think about her without inwardly cringing. As she rounded the corner, her eyes frantically tried to comprehend the area. She didn't seem to be at the desk anymore. Callie questioned the nurse behind the desk. "Uh, do you know where I could find Dr. Hahn?" She smirked at the understatement of the year.

"She went to meet Dana Evans, the patient she's consulting on, room 127. The surgery is scheduled to start in two hours." The nurse answered while glancing over some papers. After Callie thanked her, but before she could walk away, the nurse added, "Is it weird having her back?"

Callie spun around, "What do you mean?"

"I just meant that having your friend come back after leaving without a warning." The nurse emphasized 'friend' way too enthusiastically for her liking.

"Wow, people really do talk," Callie mumbled in disbelief as she walked away without answering the nurse she had never really met before.

She walked stiffly to the room she was directed to, but was stopped in the hallway by Mark.

"Have fun in the on-call room?" Mark grinned impishly.

"Shut up…and, not really, she talked me out of having sex with her, and into talking with Erica," Callie frowned.

"Impressive. Have you talked to her?"

"Not yet, she came here to talk to her patient."

"What are you going to say?"

"I have no idea. Arizona told me to ask and say everything I ever wanted to," Callie smiled softly, "And, not to fall in love with her again, because she doesn't want to lose me."

"Good woman. She's right. Don't let Erica off the hook, make her talk to you."

"Yeah, I will." Callie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She was about to ask Mark something else, but quickly forgot what it was as Erica emerged from the room behind him.

"Okay, I'll go over the rest of her charts and see you in the OR," Erica smiled at her fellow surgeon. She brushed her hair back over her shoulder and glanced up, catching Callie's eye.

Callie watched her, she seemed different, more relaxed, comfortable. Actually, she looked great. Callie smiled a little as she approached. "Uh, hey."

"Well, that's nicer than earlier. What changed?" Erica eyed her nervously.

"Arizona talked some sense into me. I'm not less mad, just appreciative of the opportunity," Callie surprised them both with her calm.

"What does that mean, exactly?" Erica asked slowly.

"I need to hear some things from you. You owe me some explanations." Callie responded, evenly.

Erica stared at her. "Okay." With a nod, she led her down the hall, to an empty room.

"Can we do this here, or would you prefer we go to dinner, or something?" Erica inquired.

Not really wanting to sit through dinner with her, "Here's fine. You have some time before your surgery, right?"

"Yeah, a couple of hours." Erica gulped, "So…"

"Why?"

"Why?…" Erica questioned.

"Why did you leave? And, why did you leave without saying anything to me?" Callie asked without a moments hesitation, untrusting of her ability to hold strong.

Erica sighed and sat down on the edge of a bed, "I've been going over what I would say to you in my head, over and over, and…"

"And…" Callie prompted.

"I don't have a good answer for you."

"Awesome." Callie retorted snidely.

"I mean, I want to give you a good answer, you deserve that, and I want to give you what you deserve…" She looked up carefully.

Callie gazed back, noticing the softening of her tone, and the way she blushed lightly. But, she said nothing, just waited for her to continue.

"I guess, I just got overwhelmed. You and I-- we were so new. Not just us as a couple, but the whole experience. I was really hurt when you didn't seem as excited about us as I was, and I couldn't see past that." She paused, "I wanted you to be as…I don't know…awakened as I was, and you weren't. Then, I began to feel embarrassed and confused, and started to question if you wanted to be with me at all. Then, you slept with Mark, and I had no idea what to feel about that. Then, the whole hospital scandal and your opposite view gave me an excuse to escape. Not a good or ideal escape, but an escape."

"I didn't want you to escape," Callie said simply.

Erica looked up into her eyes, "I think I really knew that, I just couldn't deal with everything I was feeling. I had discovered something major and life changing and I felt alone. I know you would have been there for me, if I let you, but I didn't think you could understand how I felt."

"You don't think I was scared and confused, too? I was freaking out, the only thing I did know was that I cared about you." Callie couldn't hide the tears shining in her eyes.

"I cared about you, too…very much. We were really good friends, even before we got together, so losing you was losing my best friend and girlfriend in one swoop--"

"Yeah, I know," scoffed Callie.

"I was just wound up too tight, I needed to step away from the situation and figure out what was going on. I tried to call you a thousand times, I just had no idea what to say, because I had no idea what I was doing. So, when I left, I made it my first priority to no longer put myself behind my work. I really evaluated what was important to me, what I wanted, and how I was going to get it." Erica smiled softly.

"I think that's great. I really do. But, while you were off finding yourself, I was here by myself wondering where my girlfriend went." Callie began to get angry, "One minute, I was all excited because I fell for one of my best friends, and things seemed great, and the next minute, I'm watching you walk out of my life. I didn't deserve that, I understand I hurt you, and I am very sorry about that, that's never what I wanted. However, me inadvertently hurting you doesn't give you the right to walk away, leaving me a total mess. You know me well enough to know I didn't need someone else screwing me over." Callie let a couple of tears slide down her face, but she wasn't fully crying. Her voice lowered, "I truly cared about you, Erica, possibly even loved you, but I was still trying to figure it out and deal with it. I just needed a little more time and your patience."

Erica stood up and strode up to her, she carefully wiped the tears from her face, "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Callie sniffed and peered into her face, "You've changed. You're…I mean, you were always different with me, but now you're…happy, I think."

Erica was still resting her palm on Callie's cheek, and standing very close, "I think you're right, and that's thanks to you. I never understood why I couldn't be really happy, and then you came along and I realized it was because I wasn't being true to myself. I needed you, Callie."

They inched closer, "I think I needed you, too," instinctually knowing where they were heading, she added, "Is this what you came here for?"

"No." Erica answered quietly.

Without fully comprehending what was happening, Callie felt Erica lean down and lay her lips on Callie's. Callie didn't respond immediately. After a moment, Callie hesitantly began kissing her back. And, it only took another minute for the kissing to become more passionate. Suddenly, all the emotions from the past months came flooding over Callie and poured into the kiss.

After a few minutes, Erica pulled back as she felt wetness on her cheeks. She saw the tears streaking down Callie's face, and quickly gathered her into her arms. "Hey, I'm sorry…I didn't mean for that to happen…it's okay," she desperately tried to calm the other woman.

Callie composed herself, "I need to go." She walked out of the room, shakily. Wiping her eyes quickly, she glanced around, assessing the risks in the area. No one that would be particularly concerned seemed to be around. She headed for the locker room, needing to change before her next surgery. She had no idea what to feel or think. She had just made out with her ex. Erica. The woman that had shown her something new, changed her life, and then left. The worst part, she realized, was that the old feelings she had for her didn't feel so old right now. Arizona. She had promised she wouldn't realize she still loved Erica. But, is that what happened? She didn't even know that. What was she going to do?