A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait! This is a short one, but I promise more is coming! I hope you all are still with me.

Review are loved!

Chapter 9

A knocking on her bedroom door stirred Callie out of her deep sleep. Groaning, she lifted her head off Mark's chest and looked over at the clock that was on her bedside table. 9:00 pm. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized they had slept the entire day away. The knocking persisted, so Callie placed a light kiss to Mark's chest before slipping out of the bed, and his arms.

She quickly threw on Mark's t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants before padding over to her door. Pulling it open quietly, Callie gasped at the sight of her niece. She turned to make sure that Mark hadn't woken before stepping out of the bedroom and closing the door softly behind her.

"Santana!" she managed gasped out once the door was closed, "Sweetie, what are you still doing here?"

The younger Latina looked up at her aunt and shrugged, "There was no way in hell I was going to leave you, Aunt Callie."

Callie smiled at her before enveloping her in a tight hug. Santana wrapped her arms around her aunt and relished in the warmth of her embrace. When they finally pulled back, both had tears in their eyes. They looked at each other before breaking into a fit of giggles.

"How are you holding up?" Santana asked as the two women collapsed on the couch.

"I'm fine." Callie replied with a shrug, "Really, you didn't have to stay. Your mom is probably-"

"I don't care what my mom thinks, tía." Santana cut in. "I wanted to stay. And no one, not my mom, or anyone else could've stopped me." she finished proudly.

"She is still your mother, mi sobrina. Whether you like it or not, you will have to go back home eventually."

"I know," Santana said sadly, "I'll go back. I wasn't planning on staying here forever. Seattle's too wet for me anyway, It's seriously messing up my hair." She emphasized by flipping her black locks over her shoulder. "How can you live with so much rain in one year?"

Callie shook her head and laughed, "You get used to it." she answered, "Well, you and Puck must be starving." Santana sent a smirk to her aunt and nodded her head, "How about we go out and get something to eat?"

"Sounds good to me." Santana replied standing up and holding her hands out to help Callie up, "I have to wake up Puck. He's still sleeping curled up like a damn baby." The women laughed and Callie nodded.

"I have to wake up Mark, too." she said, then looked over at her niece, sharing the same look, "Men."

"What would they do without us?" They shared another round of laughter before each Latina set off to wake up their sleeping men.

A while later, the foursome found themselves seated at a little diner that was near Callie and Mark's apartment. The tension was tense and could be felt throughout the entire table.

Puck looked around at each person's face and noticed they were all wearing the same look of sorrow. Being the nosy bastard that he was, he decided to ask on it,

"Okay," he cut through the silence that had come over them, "What's wrong with everyone this morning? You all look like you saw some kind of monster."

"Something like that." Santana and Callie answered at the same time.

With a confused expression Puck glanced from one woman to the other, "Anyone care to fill me in on what I seem to be missing?"

Santana looked at her aunt, noticing that she was in no shape to explain, she then looked up at Mark with pleading eyes, "Can you tell him?"

Mark immediately shook his head, "Sorry kid," he denied holding his hands up, "I am not the man for that job."

Sighing, Santana began to speak, "My mom showed up this morning," she watched the shock pass over Puck's face, "Well, actually, she came last night, but we weren't home. Anyway, she came to take me back home and she and-" she pointed at Callie who had ducked her head, "-aunt Callie got into a fight and now she's at the Archfield until tomorrow and she's expecting me to be there by the time she leaves tomorrow." She finished her explanation with a deep breath before taking a large gulp of her water.

After getting over his state of shock Puck nodded his head and let out a low whistle, "Woah."

"Yeah." The other three table members said at the same time.

A few minutes of silence went by before Puck spoke again, "So," he turned toward Santana, "What are you gonna do?"

"I have no idea." she said honestly.

"You have to go back with her tomorrow." Callie announced and everyone turned to face her.

"But aunt Callie-" Santana started to object but Callie simply rose her hand and stopped her from finishing.

"She is your mother, Santana. What she says, goes."

"But-"

Callie shook her head, "No buts. As much as I want you here, you belong at home in Lima." she spoke with a firm tone, "With your mother. That's final Santana." Although she hated to say it, Callie knew that this was the best for her niece. And that's all she ever wanted for her.

Realizing that she was not gonna win this battle, Santana sighed in defeat and crossed her arms over chest.

The rest of dinner was quiet, Mark and Puck both tried to engage the girls in conversation, but was unsuccessful, only getting one worded answers from either of them. They ate in almost complete silence and eventually left, each of them a little more uncomfortable than when they arrived.

Back at the apartment complex, Santana mumbled a soft 'goodnight' to Puck and scurried into her aunt's apartment. Callie slumped her shoulders as she watched Santana slam the door to her apartment before she turned to Puck and warmly bid him goodnight and also watched as he stepped into his uncle's apartment, leaving Mark and Callie alone in the hall.

Mark, who had been carefully watching Callie ever since they left the diner, noticed the trembling of her lower lip and recognized what was happening. She was about to break down. Before she could, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her tight against his chest.

Unable to hold back the tears that had been threatening to fall all evening, Callie let them flow freely as she cried into Mark's chest. Rubbing her back tenderly, he whispered soothing words into her ear, just to let her know that he was there.

Minutes passed before Callie took a deep breath and pulled away from Mark and wiped the last of her tears. With a sad smile, she looked up at him and couldn't help but melt at the love and concern that filled his eyes.

"You okay?" he asked softly, bringing his hand up to cup her face and rub his thumb across her cheek.

Callie leaned into his hand as she nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay." she reassured him, "I just wish-"

"I know." Mark cut in, knowing that she would most likely break down again if she had to finish.

"Yeah."

"It's going to be okay, Callie." he told her.

When she gazed into his eyes, Mark could practically see the vulnerability in her eyes as she spoke, "How do you know?"

"Have I ever lied to you before, Torres?" he asked with his patent, McSteamy smirk.

She shook her head with a chuckle, "Never."

"I don't plan on starting anytime soon."

Callie smiled up at him before wrapping her arms around his neck and softly pressing her lips to his. The mere feeling of her lips against his sent chills up and down his spine while his hands found her hips and caressed the soft skin there. Feeling his grip on her tighten, Callie giggled lightly as she pulled away, getting a groan of frustration in return.

"Hey!" he scolded, "It was just getting good!"

"Sorry baby, but I'm exhausted." she said with a slight pout. Mark ignored her and leaned back in for another kiss. Callie allowed him a few seconds before she lifted her hands to his chest and gently pushed him away.

"Mark, I'm serious."

Dropping his head in defeat, Mark groaned, "Fine." He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly, lifting her off the floor. Callie laughed as he set her back on her feet and she gave him a quick peck on his cheek.

"Goodnight."

Mark leaned against the hall wall and watched as she moved to her door and stopped with her hand on the doorknob before turning back to him.

"I love you, you know that?."

He grinned at her and kissed her cheek, "I love you too, Torres. Goodnight."

Callie pushed open the door and sent him a small wave before shutting it, leaving Mark in the hallway, a toothy smile plastered on his face.