DISCLAIMER:: not mine. still belongs to shonda and abc studios

A/N:: so, if you're a fan of callie and the callie/arizona pairing, i will be posting my new story 'meet me there' tomorrow, so be sure to look for that. i've been working on developing the story for quite some time now. that being said, here's another update. unfortunately, callie's secret is going to remain unspilled for now, but it is coming, i promise. you will find out what callie has been keeping from erica BEFORE they go back to seattle. reviews appreciated. thanks and enjoy.

The Torres dining room was like the dining rooms you see in those movies about lonely children with rich parents who neglect them. It was long enough to seat twenty people comfortably. Eduardo took the seat at the head of the table, Idola to his right, Adara to his left. Darius took the seat next to her and Damian the one next to him. Callie sat next to her mother and Erica took the seat next to her across from Damian. It was all very strict and formal and Erica was quick to adopt the apprehension Callie had been feeling earlier.

Dinner at the Torres house reminded Erica of a business meeting more than a gathering of family. The closeness of Callie and her cousins was not visible as they all ate in silence. The food was delicious, but when she'd commented on such, Idola had thanked her warmly and then they'd fell right back into silence. Finally, Eduardo spoke.

"I hear you're quite good at what you do, Dr. Hahn."

Erica nodded. "Some say the best, some say second best."

Eduardo chewed his food thoughtfully for a second then nodded, as if he approved. "That is good. Calliope is lucky to have found someone so successful."

The whole room, Erica included, breathed an internal sigh of relief. He was okay with their relationship, at least for the moment. The mood in the room instantly lifted, with the exception of Adara's. She remained as blank as she always did.

"Aria will arrive the day after tomorrow from Greece." Eduardo smiled at his family, genuinely happy with the news.

Idola's face lit up. "Oh, how wonderful!"

Callie turned to Erica. "You're going to love my sister."

Erica smiled and nodded. "If she's anything like you, I'm sure I will."

Callie looked at her father. "I had no idea she was overseas again."

Eduardo nodded. "Yes. She went on vacation to see her boyfriend's family."

Callie dropped her fork onto her plate, her full attention on her father. "We talked just a few months ago; she didn't tell me she was seeing someone."

Her father shrugged. "It's fairly recent. She ran into him while spending a weekend with friend's in DC."

"She met some random guy, who happened to be from Greece, and just decided they would make a good couple?"

Idola intervened. "Actually mija, he's someone you know, someone we all know."

"And who might that be?" Callie took a sip of wine from Erica's glass.

Damian met Callie's gaze. "Sebastian Skedros."

Callie's eyes grew wide and she nearly spit out the sip of wine in her mouth. "Bastian?"

"She met him in DC and they reconnected. He seemed really interested in her life now and they started dating."

Erica felt Callie tense. "How long now?"

Again Damian had the answer. "Almost three months."

Callie took the napkin off her lap and tossed it on her plate. "And no one thought to mention this to me?"

"Who your sister dates is not your concern Calliope. Who you were dating wasn't any of ours. How does it feel to be out of the loop?" Eduardo had tinges of red snaking up from his neck into his cheeks.

Callie stood. "Oh dad, this is so not the same thing!"

"Yes, Calliope, it is. You did not tell me you were dating a woman because you were afraid of how I would react. Aria did not tell you she was dating Sebastian because she was afraid of how you would react. It is the exact same thing."

Erica's eyes grew wide as Callie and her father went into full verbal war, weaving between Greek, Spanish, English, and back again. Normally she would find this very comical, but Callie looked really upset and her father looked really mad. Finally, Callie pushed back her chair and stormed out of the room.

Erica stood and pushed back her own chair. "If you'll excuse me."

Idola nodded. "Of course dear."

Erica nodded and left the room, heading back up the stairs and to Callie's room. She wasn't there. It didn't take Erica long to realize she'd probably gone to her favorite room in the house, the library.

She slipped in through the door to find Callie curled up on a chair. She crouched down in front of the chair and Callie looked at her. There were a few stray tears in her eyes and a couple on her cheeks. Erica wiped them away.

"You wanna tell me why you're upset?"

Callie shook her head.

"You want to tell me what you were going to before dinner?"

Callie slowly shook her head again.

Erica nodded and looked away. Then she looked back at Callie. "You want me to leave?"

Callie shook her head once more.

"You want me to sit with you?"

Callie nodded. She moved over onto the arm of the chair so Erica could sit down and then curled up in her lap.

Erica kissed the top of her head and ran her hand soothingly up and down her back.

They stayed that way for nearly two hours before Idola came to find them.

She opened the door and tiptoed inside. Callie was asleep in Erica's arms.

"How is she?"

Erica looked down at Callie and then back up at Idola. "She's good. Whatever got her so worked up… I think she's worked through the worst of it. Sleeping always helps."

"I'm sorry for my husband's behavior. He was quite rude and I…"

Erica held up a hand to stop her. "He could have been much worse. He took our relationship much better than I could have hoped."

Idola nodded. "Do you need anything?"

Erica looked at Callie once more and shook her head. "I think we're good here. Thank you Idola."

Callie's mother nodded and smiled at them for a moment before she silently turned and left the room.

It took another three hours before Erica was able to fall asleep.

Callie was the first to wake. She tried to stretch but found that her body was too stiff to move more than a couple inches. She opened her eyes and found that all she saw was blonde hair. Her face was buried deep in Erica's neck, that she could tell, but her mind was too foggy to remember how she got there.

When she lifted her head and saw where they were, she remembered everything.

She looked at Erica and a smile crossed her face. Erica had slept here, in a chair, for her, because she had wanted to throw a tantrum and be upset and be held. She kissed Erica's forehead. The blonde's eyes immediately opened.

"Do you feel better?"

Callie smiled and nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"Your mother came in and apologized for your father."

Callie nodded again. "I should probably apologize too. I overreacted."

"Who is he?"

Callie stood and stretched before she dared answer.

"Bastian and I used to date, when we were younger."

"Was it serious?"

Callie looked over at Erica, who was staring back curiously. "You and I… we're serious. Bastian was nothing." She leaned down and captured Erica's lips.

Erica sank forward into the kiss. She was comforted by Callie's words. The last thing she needed now was a blast from the past ruining what she had.