Life's A Game We're Still Learning How to Play 7/?
Apologies for the short updates, I'm still writing in between revision for my exams, but good news! The last one is on Monday, so I'll have more time to play around with this storyline and flesh it out a bit, meaning longer updates!
Thanks for all the comments so far! Anyway, I'll quit yacking and let you read...
7 - Help me to play this one right…
“Cristina!” Callie called, trotting to catch up with her at the door of the hospital.
“I’m busy Torres, some of us have our boards to revise for!” said Yang, hoping to avoid another interrogation about whether or not she had seen or spoken to Erica again.
“Cristina, please,” Callie pleaded, turning big puppy dog eyes on her former flatmate. “An hour, that’s all I’m asking. I need to talk to someone who understands. Someone who isn’t Mark.”
“If I fail I’m blaming you,” sighed Yang. “And you’re buying me a drink.”
Callie nodded, quickly trotting along behind the shorter woman. “Thank you!”
*
“So what, you’re this worked up over whether or not to call her?” asked Yang, struggling to see what the dilemma was.
Callie nodded vigorously.
“Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t you?” She held a hand up at the tirade she saw coming, silencing the Latina. “Call her, what harm can it do? If there’s nothing there, there’s nothing there. Or, you might find out you work great as friends again…” she trailed off, taking a sip of her drink. “Or you find you should never have let her go, and then at least you can tell Arizona the truth rather than avoiding her.”
“I haven’t been avoiding her,” started Callie.
Yang raised an eyebrow.
“Okay so I haven’t been with her every hour of the day. I’ve been busy…”
The younger woman sighed. “Callie…”
Callie blinked back tears. “I can’t stop thinking about her. I thought I was over this, that I had dealt with it. That sometimes, when I compared her and Arizona, that I was only doing it because she was all I had to compare with, but…When I saw her that day, things came rushing back, everything came rushing back…” she sighed, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “I don’t know if I can hurt Arizona like that.”
In a rare show of female understanding, and knowing how much of a tactile person Callie was, Yang reached across the table and took her hand. “Callie, every time you keep mentioning this, you always say you don’t know if you can hurt Arizona…It sounds to me like you already know what you need to do.”
Callie nodded, uselessly wiping at her tears. “What do I say? I mean, who do I talk to first?”
Yang shrugged. “I can’t answer that one. You know what you’re feeling, or not feeling and for who.”
“I hate being me sometimes,” breathed Callie. “I screw things up at every turn.”
“Then don’t screw this up again,” said Yang with conviction. “Especially not when I really want to take her offer.”
“You really want to work with her?”
Yang nodded. “I think I do. I’ve always wanted the chance to make my mark and I really think she’s giving it to me. And I think this time, we might even be able to work together without wanting to take a ten blade to each other.”
“Has she changed?”
“You keep asking me that, Callie. Why don’t you find out for yourself?” She downed the rest of her drink before standing. “I will say one thing. I get it now.”
Callie frowned.
“You always said to me, ‘It’s Erica’ and I get that now. She’s not just Dr Hahn, she is Erica, and to get along with her, that’s who I need to treat her as.”
Callie smiled, glad the younger woman finally got it. Really got it. “And here I thought the only way you two would see eye to eye was if I stood in front of her and lifted you up.”
Cristina chuckled. “Yeah, a year ago I would never have believed it either.” She paused, bag in hand. “Callie, Erica is coming by tomorrow to talk to me about my salary. If I was to bring her here, you could always drop by on your way home.”
Callie smiled a watery smile. “Thank you.” Yang wasn’t one to give anyone an easy way out, and Callie was more than grateful to be on the receiving end of this one.
“Alright, just don’t tell anyone. Can’t have them think I’m into being all ‘nice’ these days,” replied Cristina with a smirk before walking off, leaving Callie to plan how exactly she was going to break her news to Arizona. Or if she even should. What if she met with her only to find out she had moved on, was happy with someone else… As selfish as it seemed, she didn’t want to end up alone in all of this.
Thanks for all the comments so far! Anyway, I'll quit yacking and let you read...
7 - Help me to play this one right…
“Cristina!” Callie called, trotting to catch up with her at the door of the hospital.
“I’m busy Torres, some of us have our boards to revise for!” said Yang, hoping to avoid another interrogation about whether or not she had seen or spoken to Erica again.
“Cristina, please,” Callie pleaded, turning big puppy dog eyes on her former flatmate. “An hour, that’s all I’m asking. I need to talk to someone who understands. Someone who isn’t Mark.”
“If I fail I’m blaming you,” sighed Yang. “And you’re buying me a drink.”
Callie nodded, quickly trotting along behind the shorter woman. “Thank you!”
*
“So what, you’re this worked up over whether or not to call her?” asked Yang, struggling to see what the dilemma was.
Callie nodded vigorously.
“Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t you?” She held a hand up at the tirade she saw coming, silencing the Latina. “Call her, what harm can it do? If there’s nothing there, there’s nothing there. Or, you might find out you work great as friends again…” she trailed off, taking a sip of her drink. “Or you find you should never have let her go, and then at least you can tell Arizona the truth rather than avoiding her.”
“I haven’t been avoiding her,” started Callie.
Yang raised an eyebrow.
“Okay so I haven’t been with her every hour of the day. I’ve been busy…”
The younger woman sighed. “Callie…”
Callie blinked back tears. “I can’t stop thinking about her. I thought I was over this, that I had dealt with it. That sometimes, when I compared her and Arizona, that I was only doing it because she was all I had to compare with, but…When I saw her that day, things came rushing back, everything came rushing back…” she sighed, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “I don’t know if I can hurt Arizona like that.”
In a rare show of female understanding, and knowing how much of a tactile person Callie was, Yang reached across the table and took her hand. “Callie, every time you keep mentioning this, you always say you don’t know if you can hurt Arizona…It sounds to me like you already know what you need to do.”
Callie nodded, uselessly wiping at her tears. “What do I say? I mean, who do I talk to first?”
Yang shrugged. “I can’t answer that one. You know what you’re feeling, or not feeling and for who.”
“I hate being me sometimes,” breathed Callie. “I screw things up at every turn.”
“Then don’t screw this up again,” said Yang with conviction. “Especially not when I really want to take her offer.”
“You really want to work with her?”
Yang nodded. “I think I do. I’ve always wanted the chance to make my mark and I really think she’s giving it to me. And I think this time, we might even be able to work together without wanting to take a ten blade to each other.”
“Has she changed?”
“You keep asking me that, Callie. Why don’t you find out for yourself?” She downed the rest of her drink before standing. “I will say one thing. I get it now.”
Callie frowned.
“You always said to me, ‘It’s Erica’ and I get that now. She’s not just Dr Hahn, she is Erica, and to get along with her, that’s who I need to treat her as.”
Callie smiled, glad the younger woman finally got it. Really got it. “And here I thought the only way you two would see eye to eye was if I stood in front of her and lifted you up.”
Cristina chuckled. “Yeah, a year ago I would never have believed it either.” She paused, bag in hand. “Callie, Erica is coming by tomorrow to talk to me about my salary. If I was to bring her here, you could always drop by on your way home.”
Callie smiled a watery smile. “Thank you.” Yang wasn’t one to give anyone an easy way out, and Callie was more than grateful to be on the receiving end of this one.
“Alright, just don’t tell anyone. Can’t have them think I’m into being all ‘nice’ these days,” replied Cristina with a smirk before walking off, leaving Callie to plan how exactly she was going to break her news to Arizona. Or if she even should. What if she met with her only to find out she had moved on, was happy with someone else… As selfish as it seemed, she didn’t want to end up alone in all of this.