Author Devylish
Title Aria and The Duet
Chapter Once Again 3/?
Fandom Grey's Anatomy
Pair Mark and Callie
Rating PG16
Words 3162
Warning/Spoiler/Summary None. None. Callie's sister Aria is in town, and she's about to mix things up. Response to Aclairec's wishlist request to see Aria in town with Mark and Callie during the holidays.
Disclaimer All publicly recognizable characters, settings, plot, etc. are the property of the creators of the TV show Grey's Anatomy. Any original characters, settings and plots are the property of devylish. devylish is in no way associated with the TV show Grey's Anatomy and no copyright infringement is intended. This work is an amateur fan effort and no profit is being made.

Ode was the latest thing in Seattle, boasting strong drinks, delicious appetizers and a DJ/sound system that was the envy of other clubs.

Paying a cover charge that made the guys cringe a little, they'd headed in. And after two hours of drinks, appetizers, drinks, music and drinks, they were all feeling… good. All of them being: Callie, Aria, Yang and Hunt, Meredith and Derek, and Sloan. Yup, the gang was all there. Erh, all of them except for Lexie. And Arizona. Both were on shift tonight. Which left Callie and Mark… and Aria as the stag members of this little outing.

Callie still wasn't certain how Aria had gotten Sloan to agree to go, but she was pretty certain it had involved impugning his manhood in some way.

No matter, they were all having a good time, kicking back and relaxing…. Yang and Grey had even been able to get Hunt and Shepherd out on to the floor once or twice. As a matter of fact, they were out there now, leaving Aria Callie and Mark at the table.

Taking a swig of her TnT, Aria turned to Callie, "Wanna dance?" Callie shrugged and stood up.

Joining her at the front of the table, Aria leaned over Mark and tugged at his arm, "C'mon big boy, you too."

"I don't dance."

"You're dancing for me." She ordered and then she added, "c'mon Sloan, this has to be one of your fantasies… doing it with two sisters?"

He grinned "Well, when you put it that way." He let her lead him and Callie out onto the floor.

It was crowded, and hot out on the dance floor; the music thump thump thumping a heavy bass as the lights dimmed and flashed in time with the beat.

As the third song started, Aria started to cough, holding her hand to her chest.

"Are you okay!?" Callie yelled over the music.

"Damn smoker's cough! I need to get my drink! I'll be right back!" Walking behind Callie, Aria, none too subtly, shoved her sister towards Sloan on the crowded floor.

Callie fell against Mark who caught her, preventing her from falling.

It was, after all, what they did best for one another.

Thump thump thump

Aria coughed a few more times as she threaded her way back to the table. Taking a deep breath and gratefully collecting her drink as she reached the chairs, she asked, "Are they still dancing?"

Yang stared at the floor from her spot on Hunt's lap. "I guess you could call it dancing; although, I didn't know this was a slow dance."

Aria turned to face the dance floor and grinned. Mark had his arms around Callie's waist and she had her arms wrapped around his neck. They were dancing alright, but it was definitely to the beat of their own music.

Thump thump thump

He breathed in her scent and he was almost instantly hard. Callie. Soft against him – once again.

Thump thump thump

Callie stood in his arms, forgetting that there was any other place she'd ever been.

"Hey buddy." His voice was in that range, that timbre that it went to when he was turned on.

"Hey… pal." And hers was husky, breathless.

His hips were pressed against hers. They fit. It had been a year and it was as if he'd never left her side, never left her scent.

She curved her fingers along the short curls at the back of his neck, and she could feel him leaning into her touch – once again.

Thump thump thump

Aria followed Meredith to the ladies room and without waiting offered an apology/warning. "I don't think Sloan and your sister are a match."

Meredith blinked a few times. "Okay."

"I just wanted to give you fair warning that – while I'm here – I'm going to see what I can do to get Calliope and Mark together. Back together."

Deer. Headlights. "Uhm, okay."

"I don't want to hurt Arizona or Lexie, but, I'm usually right about people, and they're not going to get what they need from Cal and Mark; not when those two are still in one another's systems. And from what I saw on the dance floor, they're in one another's systems – deep."

Meredith gathered herself. "I won't let Sloan get away with cheating on Lexie."

"That's not what I'm aiming for. I want the two of them, Mark and Callie, to realize they're with the wrong people. Cheating does no one any good."

Meredith gave a half nod; half a blessing.

Thump thump thump

Funny how physical closeness can take you 'there'. How it can make everything on your body more alive. More aware. More responsive.

His breathing, deep and steady against her, combined with the music, the darkness, and the bodies gyrating around them, made Callie feel weak to her knees. Her nipples had hardened, and she was feeling womanly, in ways that only Mark had ever managed to make her feel.

She let her head drop against his shoulder and she breathed him in.

He shifted against her, lowering his hands a few inches until they rested just at the curve of her ass. And he pulled her closer yet to his body; his hardness pressed to her softness.

He heard her quiet whimper as she let him hold her; and his cock jumped. He wanted a wall, a column, the floor… something that he could use to hold Callie in place while he reacquainted himself to her body. His mouth was dry and he wanted to taste her – drink her. His hands clutched at her skirt, wanting to touch flesh – to be closer. And, Jesus, his cock wanted in – in her.

He audibly groaned when she slowly pulled away from him.

And she was looking up at him, the words 'we can't do this' written in her eyes.

And suddenly he could hear the music again. He could feel the bodies around them.

He remembered Lexie.

He remembered her, and damnit, he still wanted to touch Callie. But he'd made a promise. His hands still circling Callie, he brushed his hard cock against her belly, before requesting "give me a second here."

She nodded in semi-amused understanding; imaging him thinking of baseball, or cold showers, or whatever it was that boys dreamed of when they wanted to take down a mast.

A smile on her face, she offered up a distraction for him. "Think of Derek naked."

Mark groaned and laughed at the same time and quirking his eyes at Callie he responded, "I've seen him naked, he's kind of hot."

It was Callie's turn to laugh and she hit Mark on the chest as she retorted "Okay, now I have disturbing-ish thoughts in my head. Thanks. Thanks a lot."

"Disturbing or hot?" He followed her off of the dance floor.

***

"That was some show you and Mark put on tonight."

"Glad you liked it," Callie said, refusing to rise to the bait.

"If I didn't know you both had girlfriends, I would have thought the two of you were a couple out there on the floor."

Callie remained silent as she wiped off her makeup.

"I wonder how Arizona would have reacted to your dance."

"Aria, back the fuck off!"

Aria held her hands up in mock surrender… before pushing forward anyway. "Listen, lil sister, I'm just trying to wake you the fuck up. Life is too short to spend it with the wrong person."

"You don't even fucking know Arizona, you've spent all of fifteen minutes with her; how can you say she's the wrong person?"

"I know YOU. You're my baby sister." She cut off Callie's argument, "And no, I couldn't care less if you're gay, lesbian, bi, in to trannies, whatever the fuck. What I do care about is you not being with someone who makes your heart beat. Arizona IS sweet, but Mark… he's not sweet, and he makes you restless. He also makes you 'YOU' tenfold. You're Callie magnified around him."

Callie looked at her sister through the mirror, pleading with her eyes, as she repeated, "Aria, I need you to back the fuck off…, please." She put down her towel and walked out of the bathroom.

***

The rest of the fallout from the night at the club was quiet, but it existed.

.

.

Arizona: did you guys have fun?

Callie: yeah, it was fun.

Arizona: any salacious happenings? Yang flash anyone?"

Callie: not until we got home. Then there were boobs everywhere.

Arizona: I hate missing that stuff! - pause – Anything else happen?

Callie: - not looking Arizona in the eyes – No.

.

.

Lexie: I don't feel comfortable with you hanging out with her without me around.

Mark: there were five other people there! [not that I still didn't almost take her there on the dance floor]

Lexie: I just… you two have a history; what if I hung out with one of my exes all of the time? How would YOU feel?

Mark: - pause –

Lexie: you paused!

Mark: I was thinking

Lexie: Mark, crap! There's nothing to think about!

.

.

Callie: oh, uh, hi.

Mark: hi – eyes raking over her

Callie: how are you?

Mark: Amazing, as ever.

Callie: - eye roll

Mark: and you? – eyes caressing her

Callie: I'm pretty amazing myself.

Mark: I remember.

Callie: - pause – Lexie. How's Lexie doing?

Mark: - pause – she's… okay. And Arizona?

Callie: - pause – I… I'm sorry I'm late, I have to go. – and take a cold shower, crap!

Mark: watching her ass as she walked away.

***

Tuesday morning

I'm a bad bad bitch. Aria thought as she picked up Callie's cell phone. But, she typed in her text, I'm a bad bad bitch working for the good of my sister. Sending the text she put the phone down and escaped out of Callie's apartment and skipped down the hall and out of the building.

To: 1. 206. 555. 1536
From: Calliope
911.
ER.
My apartment NOW!

Mark didn't hesitate when he got the message, slamming out of his apartment and pushing into Callie's, which Aria had conveniently left unlocked.

"Callie?!"

No answer.

"Callie?!"

He heard the shower running and headed down the hall to the bathroom. What if she cut herself, or fell and knocked herself out. He paused at the door. "Callie?"

Inside the shower, safe and sound and getting herself squeaky clean, Callie pealed her ears. Did I just hear someone call my name? Hearing no further sounds, she went back to sudsing.

Mark took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he might see in the bathroom – blood… unconsciousness – and pushed in. Moving decisively toward the shower he pulled the curtain aside.

And, no, he hadn't prepared himself enough for what he did see; slick, wet, lathered Callie, staring at him wide eyed.

"Are you okay?" The words were out of his mouth even as he swept his gaze over her form, first in medical review, and then in a purely male fashion.

"I'm fine. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I got your text. I thought something was wrong."

"My text?"

"Come to my apartment asap. Something's wrong."

"I didn't text –" Aria! She was going to kill her! "Where's Aria?"

Mark shrugged. His eyes were still wandering over Callie's naked form. She was more beautiful than he remembered, her skin was more caramel, her breasts were fuller, and her hips were more curved. He also noted she'd stopped shaving bare. Instead, there was a trimmed thatch of hair leading his eye down between her thighs. She was definitely better than he'd remembered.

Callie, pretty much positive that her sister had sent Mark some sort of text message, suddenly realized she was naked.

Naked naked.

In front of Mark Sloan, the man who apparently still possessed the power to melt her.

Reaching up to turn off the water, she stared at him. That must have been some text he got, because he was wearing pretty much close to nothing himself. His pajama pants, the dark blue cotton ones… her favorites, were all he was wearing. His chest was bare, his feet were bare. And yeah, his chest was bare.

"Can I have a towel?"

Mark reached to the side and pulled a towel off of the rack; he unfolded it and held it open in front of him.

She knew it wasn't wise. She knew she should take the towel from him and send him out of the room. But instead, she did what she 'wanted' to do. She stepped out of the shower, taking the two steps necessary to stand right in front of him.

Mark draped the towel across Callie's body, and using his right hand, he rubbed the soft cloth along her shoulder. He lifted his other hand, and dried her second shoulder. And he slowly worked his way down and across her body, inch by inch; toweling her dry. Admiring her body. Wishing things were different for them; between them.

He crouched before her, her leg in his hands as he used the towel to pat her calf and foot dry. She rested one hand on his shoulder, steadying herself as she quietly let him touch her.

Why was he so enticing? Why did he make her skin, her nerve endings ache, from his touch… for his touch. And why didn't she feel this way about Arizona?

Mark stood up, dropped the towel he'd used to dry her off onto the floor and grabbed a fresh dry towel. He wrapped it around Callie's frame and carefully tucked the edges in around her breasts.

Lifting his hand to her face, he rubbed his thumb along her cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow, at the party." He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead before backing his way out of the bathroom, leaving her alone in the apartment.

***

"Dr. Balke!"

"Sloan! Glad you could make it, how are you man? I haven't seen you in too long!"

"I know, tell me about it. So you're working the late shift today too?"

"Today will be my third twelve hour day in a row. I even put in a half a day on Saturday."

"You oncologists work too hard." They had settled into their chairs in Nate Balke's office and Mark pulled out his pad of paper and pen, ready to talk reconstructive surgery options for some of Nate's patients.

"Wish I could say the same about Plastics."

"Ha. Ha. So what do we have?"

They spent fifteen, twenty minutes discussing three of Nate's patients that Mark would be doing some reconstructive work on. Then with a sigh Nate sat back in his chair, "okay I think that's it for now."

Tapping is pen on the table as Mark scanned through his notes, Nate spoke his thoughts aloud. "Sometimes it's hard being God."

"I've never had a problem with it."

Nate smiled. "I'm assuming that's because you haven't had as much practice as I have."

"Ouch."

"I had this referral come in from Florida. Vibrant, outgoing, early 40's, pervasive lung cancer… she's stage four, still a smoker; she was my Saturday appointment. I was her last shot." He shrugged, "And I don't see any options. Chemo might make the masses smaller, for a while, but, it would just extend her life, and not by much. And she's not the type to go through Chemo if it's just going to be a futile exercise."

Mark was frozen in his chair. Florida, vibrant, smoker…. It couldn't be a coincidence. "Does she have kids?"

"No, and I guess that's a blessing. But," Nate looked at Mark, "you know how you meet those special patients? The ones that remind you why you became a doctor? She's one of those. I'm giving her a death sentence and she's cracking jokes at me…, coming on to me. You never want to tell someone there's no hope, but, some people? Some people you want to be God for."

***

Mark waited impatiently at the door of Callie's apartment, having fully and completely learned the importance of being invited in versus barging in.

Yang opened the door and yelled back into the apartment, "McSteamy in the house!"

"Is Aria here?"

Callie came out of the kitchen, pink tingeing her cheeks. "I already kicked her ass for this morning."

Mark let his eyes trail up and down Callie's figure – imagining her dripping wet – before responding, "I need to talk to her myself."

"She's on a stupid Mark/Callie kick, but she didn't mean any harm." Callie started defending her sister.

Yang looked between the two of them, "what the hell did I miss? What did Aria do?"

Callie and Mar answered simultaneously.

"Nothing."

"Nothing."

Cristina narrowed her eyes and announced, "Oh, I willlll find out!"

"Aria!" Mark called out.

"McSteamy." Aria walked out of the living room, glass of wine in hand. "Always a pleasure."

"I need to talk to you."

She sighed, "Callie already bitched me out. 'I'm sorrrrrry'." She enunciated carefully, and untruthfully.

"I still need to talk to you."

Aria looked at his face; his eyes were serious and dark.

"Okay."

"Mark don't be too hard on her," Callie tried to intervene.

"I'm a big girl Cal; I can take whatever he wants to dish out." Aria grabbed her purse and followed Mark out the door.

***

Mark led her out of the apartment, and they walked down the street silently.

"So what's up chicken butt?" Aria asked lightly.

"Have you told Callie?"

"That I connived and manipulated to get you two in the same room alone this morning? She kind of figured it out on her own."

"No. That you're – sick."

Aria stopped walking; her face draining of colour. She reached into her purse, pulling out her cigarettes and lighter. With shaky fingers she lit a cigarette.

Mark tried again. "Does she know?"

"No."

"How long have you been given?"

"Three days, three weeks, three months." She looked at him with that classic Torres smile, this one a little sadder, a little more resolute. "Apparently the Reaper doesn't work on a schedule."

"And you've tried everything? Dr. Balke is a great respiratory oncologist, but there are others, Mayfield in LA, or, Alban in Dallas."

"Isn't talking about patients a HIPAA violation? Anyway, I'm done being poked, and prodded and dissected." She blew out a trail of smoke, "I just… I just want to enjoy my life. Every minute, every second that's left of it."

Mark turned to face her. "You need to tell Callie."

"I will. I'm just waiting for the right time."

Mark walked back to Aria and opened his arms; Aria stepped into his arms and let him hug her.

Here head muffled against his chest, she teased, "You know what would make me feel really good and make me want to live longer? You and Callie getting back together."

"Way to play the terminally-ill card Aria." He felt her chuckle in his arms. "… I'll see what I can work out for you."