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

A/N:: again, sorry for the lack of updates. there should be a couple to each story by the end of the week.

"Erica dear, I'm so glad you're up." Idola fluttered into the kitchen not missing a beat as she grabbed a teapot and filled it with water from the tap, setting it on the stove and turning the heat up.

"I made coffee."

Idola smiled. "That was very thoughtful of you, however, I myself have never understood the attraction to such a, pardon me for saying, repulsive taste."

Erica looked at her as if she heard of the myth of the non-coffee drinker but had never actually entertained the idea of believing it.

"I wanted to ask you if you would mind accompanying me to the airport today to retrieve my daughter. I think it will be beneficial for you both if she has time to get to know you before she sees you with Calliope. It might be less of a shock on her. Besides, I think it would be nice for Calliope to have her own time to prepare. She hasn't seen Sebastian Skedros in a long time and things ended rather badly between them. " She grabbed a tea bag and a mug.

Erica was surprised by Idola's bluntness. It was the first she'd ever heard Callie's mother hint of someone not accepting Callie and her relationship. But she guessed she was naïve if she had expected no resistance from Callie's family.

"Um, I have to ask Cal, but I don't see why she'd have a problem with it."

Idola's unwavering smile widened as the teapot whistled. She poured some steaming water into her mug. "Fabulous. We have to leave in an hour. Make sure you're ready." And with that, she fluttered out just as quickly as she'd drifted in.

As soon as Erica finished her own coffee, she poured a fresh cup and made her way through the house and upstairs to wake Callie.

The room was dark when she entered. She wasn't surprised. Callie's years of residency had did little to alleviate her aversion to mornings. She set down the cup of coffee and went to sit on the edge of the bed next to the sleeping Callie. She watched her as she slept for several minutes before she dared to wake her. But her time was limited, so she pushed Callie's hair behind her ear and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Wake up Cal."

Callie shifted, rolling onto her side and looking up at Erica through half open lids. "What time is it?"

"Just after nine."

Callie groaned and pulled the blankets over her head. "Leave me alone if you value your life."

Erica switched tactics. "You're mother asked me to go with her to pick your sister up from the airport."

There was a couple long moments of silence, probably in which Callie was weighing her options on how to respond, before Callie threw off the blankets and sat up. "She didn't say anything about it yesterday."

"That's probably because she wants you to stay here."

Callie looked at her for a long moment. "You didn't say no right away?"

Erica shrugged. "Your mother can be very persuasive. But I did tell her I would have to clear it with you first."

Callie slid out from under the covers and stood. She crossed the room to where the pictures lined her wall. She pointed to one near the middle. Erica stood and came to her side, looking at the photo to which she was pointing. It was so obviously her prom photo. Standing next to a glowing Callie was the definition of tall, dark and handsome.

"He asked me to the prom when we were freshmen. We weren't even dating yet, but he said he didn't want me to be that girl worrying if anyone was going to ask her. He said I could always go with someone else if they asked me when the time came, but he wanted me to have that security. It was the first truly nice thing a boy ever did for me."

Erica couldn't help but feel a little jealous at the smile of remembrance on Callie's face. This was Sebastian. Idola had said things ended badly, but Erica saw no hint of sadness on Callie's face.

"You okay?"

"What?" Erica snapped out of her thoughts and realized that Callie was staring at her with concern. "Oh, um, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." She gave Callie what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Tonight, before dinner, I think we should go for a walk on the beach. You've been so good to me for such a long time now and I'm done keeping you in the dark. I want to get back to the way we were before all this drama. I know it's not possible to be those people again, not after all we've lived through, not after the losses we've suffered or the things we've gained. But that doesn't mean that I can't try to remember how it felt to be your best friend and your lover. I don't want to make that mistake; I don't want to shut you out. You don't deserve it and it's not what I want. I want to share everything with you, so from this point on, I'm going to try to do just that."

Erica raised an eyebrow. "Where's all this coming from?"

Callie smiled. "Tonight at dinner I want to announce our wedding plans and if that's going to happen I need to go into this with a clear conscience. I don't want any secrets between us."

Aria Torres had heard through several phone calls from home about her sister's various exploits on the west coast. Callie didn't come home at all during her internship and by the time that was over and she could get the vacation time, Aria had already gone off to college. The talked on the phone from time to time, but Callie usually just let her talk about her life rather than divulging any personal facts about her own. But Aria heard every single update from her mother. First her marriage to that irish boy. Then their divorce. And now this fling with a woman. Aria had never been to the west coast but if her sister's life was anything to judge by, it was a little crazy over there.

"Ari."

Aria looked over and found herself staring at her boyfriend's waist. She looked up.

"We're here."

Aria stood and took her carryon from the overhead bin. She grabbed Sebastian's hand and let him lead the way out.