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

A/N:: a very short update but one i know you guys have been waiting for for a while. yes, that does mean you're about to figure out 'the secret' but you're all gonna have to wait for erica's reaction, because she still doesn't know. coming up next chapter: aria's arrival and subsequent reaction to erica

"Hello my darling. Where's Erica?" Idola looked up from where she sat reading over some papers in one of the chairs in the parlor.

Callie walked in from the doorway and fell into the chair beside hers. "She's upstairs, taking a nap."

"She had a long night; you both did." Idola set down her papers and looked at Callie intensely over the top of her reading glasses. "Does Aria's choice of boyfriend really bother you that much mija, or is this something that goes much deeper?"

Callie shrugged. "I don't know if it bothers me. No. Yes. I mean, Bastian never showed any interest in her when we were together. He barely even knew she existed."

Idola nodded. "This is true, but she was young then, too young for him to even consider. She was a child to him then Calliope. You were not. And you hurt him, you know that. But what you don't know is Aria corresponded with him after the two of you split, to see if he was doing okay. She even visited him on her next trip to Greece."

"So they've been talking all these years and she never told me? She's unbelievable."

"No, she didn't. After she saw him in Greece, she only wrote one more letter to him. One that explained why they couldn't be friends. But it's been a long time now mija. She knows that you have someone important in your life now. She figured you'd be over it. They ran into each other by chance in DC, the timing was right for both of them. Would you rather she have just let this opportunity to be happy pass her by on the basis that their relationship might offend you?"

Callie sighed again. "No, I guess not." She knew she couldn't be mad at her sister for moving in on a guy she had forgotten about long ago. "You're right. I am over it. Erica is my world now." She smiled. "And she's all I could ever ask for."

Idola smiled. "You really are in love with her, aren't you mija?"

Callie smiled. "When I'm with her… I feel more alive than I ever possibly imagined anyone could feel. It feels powerful and warm and safe." She hugged her arms around herself as if trying to trap that feeling inside her.

"You should tell her that."

Callie shook her head. "I've told her before. She knows."

Idola chuckled. "Mija, the first rule of love is that you can never tell someone 'I love you' too many times. You never know when you're not going to be able to tell them that anymore. Just imagine that her mind erases every night as she sleeps and every morning you have to remind her."

Callie gave her mother a small smile. "I'll try to remember that." She looked down at her hands as she wrung them in her lap. "Mom?"

"Yes mija?"

"Have you ever kept secrets from dad?"

Idola laughed. "Oh all the time. A person requires a certain amount of privacy in their life. And you know just as well as I do that your father has a very short temper."

Callie relaxed a little.

"But, my darling, there is a fine line between storing something away in your head that no one needs to know and keeping something buried that's hurting you. Erica knows you're not telling her something, but that is not what she cares about. She cares that whatever this secret is, it hurts you. She sees you struggle with the weight of it and she wants to relieve you of that stress because she loves you. But by keeping her out, you prevent her from doing that, and in turn, she too gets hurt."

Callie felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes. "I'm afraid of what she'll think of me."

"Erica loves you my darling; she told me so herself. When you love someone, you understand."

"But what if she doesn't?"

"You will cross that bridge when you come to it. You are stronger than your fear Calliope, I know because that is how I raised you."

Callie nodded and wiped her tears away. She stood and leaned down to hug her mother. "Thanks Mom."

"Your welcome my darling."

Callie smiled and turned for the door. "I don't think I've reminded Erica that I love her yet today."

Idola watched her daughter walk away with a smile. "Don't forget to tell her you're pregnant too."

Callie nearly choked on the air flowing in and out of her lungs, but she kept on walking and decided to pretend she didn't hear what her mother had just said.

When she made it up to her room, she saw Erica was still sleeping. She smiled at the woman who had turned her world upside down. She crawled under the covers and draped Erica's arm around her waist. Erica instantly tightened the arm and snuggled into her. "Is it time to get up yet?"

She smiled. "Not yet." She bit down on her bottom lip. "Erica?"

"Mm-hmm?" Erica was already starting to fall back to sleep.

"I love you."

Erica smiled, even through her state of half-sleep. "I love you too."