(no subject)
Title: Ready For A Fall (21/?)
Author: Chelle Storey-Daniel
Rating: Uh, R?
Pairing: Addison/Mark, Callie/George, Callie/Alex, George/Izzie, Meredith/Derek
Summary: Sometimes it hurts to fall, but if you're lucky someone may catch you. And they may be falling, too.
A/N: This part is here to set up the party and push the plot, which is rapidly coming to a head.
Dedication: To vietangel80. For being who she is. ;)
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*~*~*~*~*~
"The best thing about loving and being hurt is that you get to know what true love really is. For as gold is tested in fire, and so will love be perfected in pain."
- Marvin Jay M. Torres
*~*~*~*~*~
Alex pulled into the hospital parking lot and looked at Callie. She had barely said three words to him the entire day and he was at the end of his rope. It wasn’t like her and he was terrified that it meant she was having second thoughts about them or about her decision to end her marriage. Every attempt at conversation he had made about the divorce papers the previous night had been met with one word answers and nothing had changed when the sun rose. The only difference was that she had stopped answering entirely and relied on nodding or shaking her head. It was driving him insane and putting a heavy ball of concern in his stomach.
He had waited while she washed her hair twice that morning. First, it turned out too curly and now it was bone straight. He had no idea how she had stripped out the curl, but it was still gorgeous and so much longer than he realized. Several wisps curved toward her face and he wanted to run his fingers through it. Shutting off the engine, he leaned across the console and did just that. "What's wrong, Cal? Are you mad at me? Did I do something?"
"No" A dull headache had been plaguing her since she had woken up and she was trying hard to keep her teeth from chattering. She was cold. It had to be nerves. "What if - what if Ava doesn’t like me?"
"She will." Alex rubbed her shoulder, which was bare, and very warm. She wore a dress she had picked up in Chinatown. It was solid black with dark purple designs and while it wasn’t girly in the least, it softened her appearance so much it was shocking. Maybe it was the dress combined with the new hair. Whatever it was, it was nice. "You’re not just worried about Ava, though. Are you?"
She took a deep breath and finally looked at him. "No, I’m not. If we were celebrities we would be on all the tabloids. What we did? It’s pretty scandalous."
"It was worth it."
"I know."
Alex moved a little closer. "Getting this over with now is better. That way we can go to the party and you won’t have to think about our first day back at work. People will see us today and be talking about someone else by the time we come back."
"Well, yeah, if you’re going to make sense, but - I don’t care what people think about me, but they’re going to think that you’re a dirty manwhore who stole someone’s wife."
"Then they’ll know that I’m the better man, won’t they?"
"You really are glass half full, aren’t you?"
"For the first time in my life I think I am." He kissed her, then frowned and felt her face. "Are you running a fever?"
"You give me fever." She trailed her thumb over his mouth, wiping the traces of her lipstick away. "I guess we should go."
Alex opened his door, then walked around to hers. She had not moved an inch and had not taken off her seatbelt so he reached across her lap and unfastened it himself. "Come on."
"I could wait here. I don't mind."
He put his hands under her legs and pulled them out of the car, then he grabbed her around the waist and slid her off the seat. Smiling, he tilted her chin. "We’re a team. If I’m going in, you’re going in. It’s us against them."
The knot of anxiety in her stomach instantly dissolved at his words. She had *always* wanted someone to say that to her. She had said it to George many times, but he never comprehended what it meant. "Us against them," she repeated. "We already beat a shark. How bad could this possibly be?"
"Now there’s the old Gothika spirit that I know and love." He closed the door behind her and took her hand. "We’re supposed to meet Addison and Mark at four to pick up her dress and -"
"Your suit."
Alex cringed. "I already have a suit."
"I’m buying you an Armani. And your tie will have red in it because my dress is red."
He gripped the collar of his shirt as if it were choking him. "I hate ties."
"I hate parties. We’re even." Callie smoothed her skirt. Her head throbbed harder and she shivered. "Is it just me or is it really cold out here?"
"It’s just you."
"I don’t feel very good," she admitted.
"Nice try."
"I’m serious."
Alex simply shook his head and led her into the lobby. The first person they ran into was Meredith. She was pulling a stretcher toward the staff elevator and she stopped pulling when she saw them. "Hey, guys!" she said, staring from one to the other. Her gaze dropped to their joined hands and she quickly added, "Uh, how was your trip?"
"Great," Alex replied with a smile. "We went to California. Disneyland was amazing."
"Lucky!" Meredith playfully punched his shoulder. "While you two were in the Magic Kingdom I was slaving away here."
"Did you have any good cases?" Callie asked.
"Multi-car pileup, construction disaster, and an aquarium worker was bitten by a sea otter." Meredith made a face. "But that stuff’s only good depending on who you ask."
Alex and Callie had looked at one another when Meredith mentioned the sea otter. They both burst out laughing and Alex pointed at Callie and said, "My favorite Martian here decided to save a lobster and it bit her. Eleven stitches later she still didn’t learn anything about wildlife."
"Ohhh, let me see it."
Callie, who had not paid any attention to the wound in days, was shocked when she turned her arm over and exposed it. It was red, puffier than it had been. "It looks like that because Jock Strap here caused me to fall, face first, into the bog of eternal stench last night."
Alex, who had been smiling, swore, colorfully when he saw the bite. "What the hell, Callie? How did you not notice this?"
She shrugged. "Because you have been very distracting?"
Glancing at Meredith, Alex said, "We’re going to make a pit stop by the clinic. We’ll see you later."
Callie said goodbye and Meredith waved, a look of curiosity and amusement firmly on her face. With a sigh, Callie said, "I really don’t need the clinic. You know what I did? I forgot to take the antibiotics. I’ll just find them and start taking them tonight."
"I’m going to recommend a shot in your ass. What were you thinking?!" Alex led her across another hallway and into the clinic. It was deserted save for Sydney Heron, Dr. Bailey, and Izzie. The three women were standing at the small station and were engrossed in what appeared to be a tense discussion.
"I don’t give a damn," Bailey was saying. "This is still *my* clinic."
"Yes, but as Chief Resident, I feel that it is -"
"You are not Chief Resident yet, Sydney," Bailey shot back. "You have a few more days before your duties begin and until they do I don’t care what you have to say."
Sydney turned, her face red, and saw the newcomers. "Alex Karev and Callie O’Malley! Oh, wait, it’s back to Torres soon, isn’t it? My goodness, apparently divorce agrees with you. If you could bottle it you’d make a killing. Come here, you. A hug is a band-aid for the soul."
Callie grimaced when the shorter woman wrapped her arms around her waist and squeezed. She met Bailey’s gaze over Sydney’s poofy hair and mouthed, "She’s Chief Resident?"
Miranda rolled her eyes and nodded, then said. "How was your vacation, Callie?"
"Fine until now. Get off me, Sydney! For God’s sake! A hug takes two seconds. This is an inappropriate grope. Get your cheek off my boobs!" Callie eventually pried Sydney's arms from around her. "Uh, Webber was, er, looking for you."
"Oh my god!" Sydney exclaimed, wide eyed. "Where?"
"He was in the elevator."
"Better go. We’re the chiefs. Two little chiefs and a lot of little Indians to manage." Dr. Heron threw her hand up and skipped from the room.
"Oh. My. God." Callie met Bailey’s gaze. "Okay, I know why *I* didn’t make Chief, but how the *hell* did she get it over you?"
"Apparently I had a child and people with children are punished around here. Unless they’re male. So, what are you doing?"
"I need antibiotics. Most like in a shot form." Callie stated simply. She was aware that Izzie Stevens was watching her every move and was looking her up and down and she was tempted to kick her. Or at the very least take off her shoe and throw it, pointy end first, into her face. She refrained, however, when Bailey went into a tirade.
"Wha-" Bailey looked at Alex. "Did you give her syph-"
"No!" Alex shook his head. "She has a bite on her arm that looks infected."
Bailey held out her hand and cursed when Callie laid her arm in it. "Dr. Torres, what did you do now? You need a padded room!"
Callie shrugged and let the other woman lead her to a nearby gurney. She hissed when Miranda pressed at her flesh hard enough to push liquid from between the stitches. "Oww! General rule of thumb is ... if it looks like it hurts then it probably shouldn’t be poked."
"Did they not give you anything for the infection when they did the stitches?" Izzie, who had followed them to the gurney, peered over Bailey’s shoulder. "It’s oozing greenish junk. A world of ewwww."
Alex saw Callie’s jaw tighten and said, "Uh, Izzie, we’ve got this under control."
"But-"
Callie lifted her chin and glared at Izzie. "That’s a polite way of suggesting that you should get the fuck away from me because I can assure you that I hit harder and more frequently than Addison does."
Bailey moved a little, effectively causing Izzie to step back. She instructed her intern to retrieve a dosage of antibiotic and waited until she was gone before she returned to her task. "This looks several days old. Have you kept it clean and covered?"
"I haven’t covered it since it happened." Callie lifted her arm and pressed at the puffy area herself. "We’re going to have to take the stitches out. You think?"
Bailey smacked her hand. "I think that you need to stop touching it! You went to medical school! You know better!"
"*YOU* just touched it."
Holding up her hand, Bailey said, "Gloves! I have on gloves!" Rubbing a betadine swab over the area, she added, "How did this happen?"
Callie relayed the sordid details and smiled when Bailey laughed at her. "What? It just seemed like the right thing to do."
Izzie returned and Bailey gave Callie an injection of the strongest antibiotic they had. Bailey immediately sent the blond on another errand, this one senseless and unnecessary, and looked up at Callie. "I think the stitches need to come out. We can always use butterflies, but we need to clean it and that’s going to involve draining some of the infection."
"Gee, that sounds so fun." Callie shivered again. "Why is it so cold in here?"
Alex laid a hand on Callie’s head again and picked up a nearby thermometer. He stuck it in her ear and waited for it to beep."Your temp is a hundred and two! You should have told me that you felt this bad!"
"I did."
Feeling like the biggest ass in the world, he moved to sit beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. He kissed the side of her head and held her free hand while Bailey numbed the bite and pulled the stitches out. It wasn’t as bad as he had feared and less than an hour after Bailey began, she had put a fresh bandage on the wound and given Callie a prescription for a strong antibiotic.
"Do not get it wet," Bailey advised. "At least for twenty-four hours. And for the love of all things sanitary could you please take better care of it?"
"I will," Callie promised. "Hey, how is the Jane Doe from the ferry crash? Ava?"
"She’s actually in surgery. Her water broke earlier and we called Addison in to deliver the baby. She’s in the gallery if y’all want to watch."
"I should take you home," Alex told Callie. "You should-"
She shook her head. "No. We’re going. Come on."
They walked out of the clinic and headed toward the elevator. Alex leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. Callie leaned her head against his shoulder and said, "Are you worried about her?"
"I’m worried about you. I - I knew something was wrong. You were so quiet this morning." He reached up and felt her head again. "When we check on Ava, we’re going back to your place and you’re taking a cool bath."
"I can’t get my arm wet."
"I know. I’ll be standing guard beside the tub to make sure you don’t. And enjoying the view."
"You know what?"
"What?"
Callie grinned up at him. "My place is pretty spacious so I’m just gonna put the offer out there and tell you if you want to live there ... you can. If it’s too fast or you -"
"I’ll pack as soon as the party is over." He kissed her, running his hand over her neck, behind it, and through her hair.
The door opened and George drew up short. He quickly stepped aside and let Mark Sloan go past him, then moved away before the *couple* had broken apart. He heard Mark tell them that they should have 'gotten enough last night' and heard Callie’s laughter. His heart had landed somewhere around his feet and he almost tripped over it. In actuality, he tripped over his untied shoelaces and fell against Izzie. She opened her mouth to say something to him, but he held up his hand and ran into the men’s bathroom, where he barricaded himself in the stall and didn’t come out.
Even after two pages.
*~*~*~*~*~
They arrived at the observatory in time to see the birth of Ava’s squirming and screaming baby girl. Every seat was taken, so Callie and Alex stood at the glass, him behind her. When he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, there were several whispers. Callie ignored them all and relaxed back against him. They watched until Addison looked glanced up and noticed them, giving them a thumbs up. When the baby was wheeled from the room, Alex pulled her along with him to the nursery where they now stood, peering at the little girl as she was examined. Grinning, Callie watched as the baby latched onto her tiny fist and began to suck. "I think she’s hungry."
The nurse swaddled her in a blanket and put a bottle in her mouth, which she latched onto like a pro. Alex shook his head. "I don’t get it. We’re the only ones here to see her. How is it possible that no one is looking for them?"
"Maybe they are. Maybe they just don’t know where to start." She gazed at the baby and then at the television across the hallway that was broadcasting CNN. "Maybe we need to take it on a bigger scale."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe Ava’s not from around here. Maybe she’s a flier, just like me."
Alex looked at her, alarmed. "You’d never think about -"
She cut him off. "We’re gonna take her story nationwide."
"How?"
Callie smiled at him. "Leave that to me."
"Hey," Addison came around the corner, pulling her scrub cap off. She looked in at the baby and then smiled at Callie, but it faded fast. "What’s wrong with you? You look different. Wait, it’s the hair. Ooooh, it *is* the hair. I like it!"
"She’s got an infection," Alex replied, still watching Callie with concern. She had said she was a ‘flier’ in the present tense.
"What kind of infection does she have?"
"She can’t take care of herself to save her life."
"What did she do?"
"Stop talking about me like I’m not here!" Callie snapped. "How’s Ava?"
"Ava’s resting. We were forced to give her a blood transfusion and there were some other minor complications so with the sedation and the pain medication she should probably wake up some time next week." Addison reached out and touched Callie’s forehead. "You’re hot. I know what you’re doing! You’re trying to get out of this party tomorrow night!"
"You caught me. I injected myself with Ebola when no one was looking?" Callie replied. "Are you still going to be able to go at four o’clock?"
"Go?" Addison shook her head. "You can’t be considering a shopping spree when you’re sick."
"I’m *fine*," Callie insisted, then looked at Alex. "I’m pretty sure I’m not contagious, but just in case I’ll wait here while you go and check on Ava."
He nodded at her and gave her a kiss, then walked down the hallway toward the recovery room. Callie watched him go and then looked at Addison. "This case really gets to him."
"This case really gets to *everybody*. Did you see how full the gallery was? No one ever shows up to watch a cesarean." Addison grinned at her friend. "You’re glowing and I don’t think it has anything at all to do with the fever."
Callie smiled. "I know it’s crazy and it’s quick and it’s insane, but the feelings I have for him are real. I’ve never felt this way in my entire life. He - he makes me laugh and he doesn’t care that I’m a freak of nature. He just *gets* it."
Addison put her arm around Callie and led her to a bench that was against the far wall. "You are *not* a freak of nature, but I’m happy that you’re happy."
"I was afraid you’d be pissed."
"No. You’re not the only one who was falling while you were gone. Mark exposed his tender underbelly and I fell hard. You know, I thought I loved him before and I said it and lived it, but ... I am so *in* love with him that it scares me." Addison folded her scrub cap and laid it on her leg. "He says he’s changed. He says that he’s a reformed slut and -"
"You don’t believe him?"
"I want to. I need to." Addison turned in the seat so she could look at her friend. "I was married to Derek for ten years and I ruined that to be with Mark. Part of me is afraid that I’m willing to believe him because I threw away my marriage for him."
Callie squeezed her hand. "I’m the last person to give advice about trust because I’m just now experiencing what it feels like to trust someone completely, but I can tell you that when I slept with Mark, it was very obvious to me that it was mechanical for him and - and his heart was somewhere else the whole time. I think we both know where it was."
Smiling, the red head said, "If I was gay I would so do you."
"If I was gay I’d let you."
Addison hugged her, holding on tight. "You’re the best friend I’ve ever had."
"Likewise." Callie wrapped her arms around her. "I *so* have souvenirs for you. Too many to carry so you’ll have to come to my house to get them."
Addy pulled away. "You’re not at the hotel anymore?"
"I bought a yacht."
"What?"
"I told you that I was embracing the money. It’s nice. We’re living out at Harbor Cove."
"You guys are moving in together?" Addison raised a brow.
"We are."
"Are you sure you want to go there?"
"I’m more sure that *not* going there would make me lose my mind." Callie grinned. "I told you, I’m a freak of nature. I jump out of the frying pan and into the fire every chance I get."
"Then I support you and your freaky, flamey ways." Addison squeezed her hand. "Are you wearing red to the party?"
"Yep."
"Since you’re matching my hair I’m going to match yours and go with black. I’m wearing black to mourn the loss of my heart and my sex life."
"When will your cycle end?"
"It’s tapering off. I fully intend for it to be over tomorrow night and after we leave your party, Mark is *mine*."
"Oooh, wanna borrow my handcuffs?"
Addison started to laugh until she saw the serious look on her friend’s face. "Wait, are you serious? You have handcuffs?"
"I also have a whip, chains, and nipple clamps." Callie bumped against her shoulder. "I’ll put a little something in the pocket of the purse I bought you in L.A. The purse, by the way, is black so if you really wear a black dress, it’ll work."
"You are a dirty, dirty person."
"Alex hasn’t even seen that side of me yet."
"What side?" Alex asked, joining them. "I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you from every angle."
Addison and Callie burst out laughing and continued to do for a majority of the afternoon.
*~*~
Addison found her dress while Callie was helping Alex find a suit. It was black and low cut and as soon as she stepped out of the dressing room to look in a bigger mirror, Mark dropped the several bags he was carrying and walked into the sacred ‘women’s only’ area to kiss her. "So, this is the one?" she asked innocently.
"This is definitely the one."
He wound up buying the dress for her and then they found Callie and Alex, who was carrying several bags himself. The girls linked arms and walked ahead of them, chattering away and Mark shared a look with Alex. "How many more stores can they go in?"
"Callie said something about shoes."
"There were shoes where we just were."
"She didn’t like those."
"We’re pack mules," Mark said, lifting the many packages in his arms a little higher. "Addison’s closet is already filled to capacity. If this keeps on they’ll need to rent storage units for everything."
"They’re bound to run out of energy soon." Alex glanced at his watch. "We’ve been at this for four and a half hours!"
"I’m starving." Mark sighed. "How are they not hungry? They’re the ones who have tried on everything they’ve seen. Surely they’ve worked up an appetite."
Alex groaned a little when the women walked into another department store. "Damn it. There are more than *shoes* in there. And the mall doesn’t close until ten."
"That’s an hour and a half away."
The smell of food made Alex’s stomach rumble. "Want a pretzel?"
"Sure."
They were sitting on a bench, enjoying the respite, when Callie and Addison emerged from the store a little later. Both women were carrying several bags and Mark shook his head. "Is this what couples do?"
"Look around, dude."
Mark scanned the area. There were several men who were clearly in the same predicament, laden with bags and *waiting* for the women to get enough. They all had the same exasperated look on their faces. And every single man in the vicinity had turned to watch Callie and Addison. The women were laughing again, oblivious to the many eyes on them. Mark took a deep breath when Addison smiled at him. "I don’t guess I really mind."
"Me either." Alex was staring at Callie’s legs as he chewed his pretzel. A second later, she sat on his lap and kissed him.
Callie pulled off a piece of his pretzel and popped it in her mouth. "Why are you spoiling your dinner?"
"Is there dinner in this plan? Because we were beginning to wonder," Mark said, getting to his feet.
Addison held out her bags and said, "Yes, Mr. Impatient. We’re going to the Japanese steak house in the food court before the mall closes."
Mark accepted the bags she held out and shot a look at Alex, who was doing the same. "Pack mules," he said again, under his breath.
"What was that?" Addison asked, already several steps ahead of him, her arm through Callie’s again.
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Is it just me or do they look like they’re tired?" Callie glanced from one man to the other. "How can *you* be tired? We’re the ones shopping! You’re just ... here."
Alex narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you see that we’re carrying everything?"
Addison put her hands on her hips. "Women get the *periods* and have to *carry* life inside of them. Men? You have no concept of PMS pain or what contractions feel like so you get to *carry* the bags. And since you’re whining about it it’s proof that you’d have a full blown nervous breakdown if the shoe was on the other foot and you actually had an uninvited monthly visitor who came without fail. So, shut up and carry the bags before I suffocate you both with one of them."
"What did I do?" Mark asked, eyes wide.
"You said ‘pack mules’. My hearing is perfect," Callie replied. "And I could make you feel what a contraction feels like by pulling your rib cage through your stomach. I’ll gladly do that if either one of you complains again."
Alex blinked and watched the duo walk off. "Neither one of them has ever experienced a damn contraction, either. You know, when they’re together they’re dangerous."
"Yet we keep following."
Smiling, Alex enjoyed the sway of Callie’s backside. "The view isn’t half bad."
"And the danger just makes it more fun."
"We’re pathetic."
*~*~*~*~*~
After eating more fried rice and sushi than a person should, Callie was so exhausted that she fell asleep in the jeep on the way back to the yacht. Alex woke her gently with a kiss and helped her out of the car. He carried the bags in one hand and kept a grip on her arm as they walked down the trail, which was thankfully lit, but not well. He didn’t like the thought of her coming home alone and made a mental note to buy her a can of mace for the nights when they had differing shifts. Maybe he could talk to someone and make sure they worked together. Anything could happen in such a remote place.
He dropped the bags in the living room and led her to the bedroom, where he felt her head again. The fever had broken earlier in the day, but he kept feeling just to make sure. She had told him that she felt bad and he had brushed it off, not believing her. It made him feel worse than she probably did and it was a mistake he wouldn't make again. He had annoyed her enough for her to threaten him if he kept feeling of her. Unzipping her dress, he pushed it down her body and then stood. She had not worn a bra, but underneath the pretty dress, she had worn a pair of boy shorts with rifles all over them. "Guns, Cal?"
"I like guns," she said with a yawn. "They have bullets."
"I’m going to go see if I find your medicine in one of the seven thousand bags I brought in. I’ll be right back."
Callie rubbed her eyes and walked into the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and washed her face. As she was drying it, she looked in the mirror. She really had lost a lot of weight. Her breasts had suffered the most. She had lost a full cup size in them, but luckily they had weathered it well and had not drooped at all. Sucking in her stomach, she frowned. Never, in her adult life, had sucking in her stomach exposed the bottom of her rib cage. It made her wrinkle her nose in distaste. She turned and looked at her back, where she usually had two love handles. She could see her ribs there, too, and there was no sign of her spare tire.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked, leaning against the door frame.
"Missing my curves."
"I never really experienced your curves, but I remember them fondly." He held out a bottle of water and a pill.
"Do you think I look bad?"
"No, I don’t. But I don’t think you should lose any more weight, either."
She swallowed the antibiotic and sighed. "Would you still like me if I -"
"You don’t even have to ask that." Alex stepped into the bathroom and hugged her. "I have liked you through it all and I’ll love you through the rest."
"That really is the most perfect thing you could have said."
Alex kissed her shoulder. "I’m sorry about today. You told me you didn’t feel good and -"
"That’s not a very good apology." She took a step back. "Nothing says I’m sorry like multiple orgasms. You taught me that and I’m ready for you to apologize the right way."
He grinned. "You need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day and -"
"Nothing makes me sleepier than sex. Lots and lots of sex."
"You win. Give me ten minutes. I’m gonna take a quick shower."
Callie walked from the room and crawled under the covers.
She was fast asleep almost before her head hit the pillows.
Alex emerged twelve minutes later, a towel around his waist. He kneeled beside the bed and watched her for a while. It had scared him, earlier in the day, when she had mentioned that she was a ‘flier’. She didn’t use the past tense, she had said ‘maybe she’s a flier, like me’. Callie had vanished for fifteen days and no one, least of all George, had known where to look. That worried him. A lot. If Callie had not invited him along for her latest excursion and had sailed Goon Docks home alone she could have died. The shark could have gotten her and no one would have known where to start looking for her.
Most people would have assumed that she had killed herself in the Pacific Ocean.
He brushed her hair back, tracing her cheek with his thumb. It scared him how much he needed her. The way his want had been replaced by need was a shock. He certainly wanted her, he had wanted to have sex with her the night they went to the movies and had the crab dinner, but now ... now he needed her. He needed to see her face when he woke up and sleep with her beside him. In nearly thirty years of life ... he had only ever needed three things: food, water, and a place to sleep. But, he needed her more than any of those things.
The moment he crawled into the bed, she murmured his name and rolled against him. He wrapped his arms around her and wondered if it was possible to hold onto someone with wings. Callie had wings. She could sail the yacht away while he was at work or pick up her plane in Los Angeles and fly halfway around the world before he even knew she was gone. ‘No’, he thought. ‘You’d feel her leaving. She’d take such a big part of you that you’d die.’
Alex slept after a while.
In his dreams, Callie was sick, sweating, and she was sailing into a storm that she didn’t make it out of alive.
He awoke just before dawn and didn't sleep again.
*~*~*~*~*~
Oooooooh, Sydney is Chief Resident.
George saw them kissing.
Alex is afraid Callie will 'fly'.
And did he have a dream or a premonition?
Oooohhhh... ;)
Author: Chelle Storey-Daniel
Rating: Uh, R?
Pairing: Addison/Mark, Callie/George, Callie/Alex, George/Izzie, Meredith/Derek
Summary: Sometimes it hurts to fall, but if you're lucky someone may catch you. And they may be falling, too.
A/N: This part is here to set up the party and push the plot, which is rapidly coming to a head.
Dedication: To vietangel80. For being who she is. ;)
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
*~*~*~*~*~
"The best thing about loving and being hurt is that you get to know what true love really is. For as gold is tested in fire, and so will love be perfected in pain."
- Marvin Jay M. Torres
*~*~*~*~*~
Alex pulled into the hospital parking lot and looked at Callie. She had barely said three words to him the entire day and he was at the end of his rope. It wasn’t like her and he was terrified that it meant she was having second thoughts about them or about her decision to end her marriage. Every attempt at conversation he had made about the divorce papers the previous night had been met with one word answers and nothing had changed when the sun rose. The only difference was that she had stopped answering entirely and relied on nodding or shaking her head. It was driving him insane and putting a heavy ball of concern in his stomach.
He had waited while she washed her hair twice that morning. First, it turned out too curly and now it was bone straight. He had no idea how she had stripped out the curl, but it was still gorgeous and so much longer than he realized. Several wisps curved toward her face and he wanted to run his fingers through it. Shutting off the engine, he leaned across the console and did just that. "What's wrong, Cal? Are you mad at me? Did I do something?"
"No" A dull headache had been plaguing her since she had woken up and she was trying hard to keep her teeth from chattering. She was cold. It had to be nerves. "What if - what if Ava doesn’t like me?"
"She will." Alex rubbed her shoulder, which was bare, and very warm. She wore a dress she had picked up in Chinatown. It was solid black with dark purple designs and while it wasn’t girly in the least, it softened her appearance so much it was shocking. Maybe it was the dress combined with the new hair. Whatever it was, it was nice. "You’re not just worried about Ava, though. Are you?"
She took a deep breath and finally looked at him. "No, I’m not. If we were celebrities we would be on all the tabloids. What we did? It’s pretty scandalous."
"It was worth it."
"I know."
Alex moved a little closer. "Getting this over with now is better. That way we can go to the party and you won’t have to think about our first day back at work. People will see us today and be talking about someone else by the time we come back."
"Well, yeah, if you’re going to make sense, but - I don’t care what people think about me, but they’re going to think that you’re a dirty manwhore who stole someone’s wife."
"Then they’ll know that I’m the better man, won’t they?"
"You really are glass half full, aren’t you?"
"For the first time in my life I think I am." He kissed her, then frowned and felt her face. "Are you running a fever?"
"You give me fever." She trailed her thumb over his mouth, wiping the traces of her lipstick away. "I guess we should go."
Alex opened his door, then walked around to hers. She had not moved an inch and had not taken off her seatbelt so he reached across her lap and unfastened it himself. "Come on."
"I could wait here. I don't mind."
He put his hands under her legs and pulled them out of the car, then he grabbed her around the waist and slid her off the seat. Smiling, he tilted her chin. "We’re a team. If I’m going in, you’re going in. It’s us against them."
The knot of anxiety in her stomach instantly dissolved at his words. She had *always* wanted someone to say that to her. She had said it to George many times, but he never comprehended what it meant. "Us against them," she repeated. "We already beat a shark. How bad could this possibly be?"
"Now there’s the old Gothika spirit that I know and love." He closed the door behind her and took her hand. "We’re supposed to meet Addison and Mark at four to pick up her dress and -"
"Your suit."
Alex cringed. "I already have a suit."
"I’m buying you an Armani. And your tie will have red in it because my dress is red."
He gripped the collar of his shirt as if it were choking him. "I hate ties."
"I hate parties. We’re even." Callie smoothed her skirt. Her head throbbed harder and she shivered. "Is it just me or is it really cold out here?"
"It’s just you."
"I don’t feel very good," she admitted.
"Nice try."
"I’m serious."
Alex simply shook his head and led her into the lobby. The first person they ran into was Meredith. She was pulling a stretcher toward the staff elevator and she stopped pulling when she saw them. "Hey, guys!" she said, staring from one to the other. Her gaze dropped to their joined hands and she quickly added, "Uh, how was your trip?"
"Great," Alex replied with a smile. "We went to California. Disneyland was amazing."
"Lucky!" Meredith playfully punched his shoulder. "While you two were in the Magic Kingdom I was slaving away here."
"Did you have any good cases?" Callie asked.
"Multi-car pileup, construction disaster, and an aquarium worker was bitten by a sea otter." Meredith made a face. "But that stuff’s only good depending on who you ask."
Alex and Callie had looked at one another when Meredith mentioned the sea otter. They both burst out laughing and Alex pointed at Callie and said, "My favorite Martian here decided to save a lobster and it bit her. Eleven stitches later she still didn’t learn anything about wildlife."
"Ohhh, let me see it."
Callie, who had not paid any attention to the wound in days, was shocked when she turned her arm over and exposed it. It was red, puffier than it had been. "It looks like that because Jock Strap here caused me to fall, face first, into the bog of eternal stench last night."
Alex, who had been smiling, swore, colorfully when he saw the bite. "What the hell, Callie? How did you not notice this?"
She shrugged. "Because you have been very distracting?"
Glancing at Meredith, Alex said, "We’re going to make a pit stop by the clinic. We’ll see you later."
Callie said goodbye and Meredith waved, a look of curiosity and amusement firmly on her face. With a sigh, Callie said, "I really don’t need the clinic. You know what I did? I forgot to take the antibiotics. I’ll just find them and start taking them tonight."
"I’m going to recommend a shot in your ass. What were you thinking?!" Alex led her across another hallway and into the clinic. It was deserted save for Sydney Heron, Dr. Bailey, and Izzie. The three women were standing at the small station and were engrossed in what appeared to be a tense discussion.
"I don’t give a damn," Bailey was saying. "This is still *my* clinic."
"Yes, but as Chief Resident, I feel that it is -"
"You are not Chief Resident yet, Sydney," Bailey shot back. "You have a few more days before your duties begin and until they do I don’t care what you have to say."
Sydney turned, her face red, and saw the newcomers. "Alex Karev and Callie O’Malley! Oh, wait, it’s back to Torres soon, isn’t it? My goodness, apparently divorce agrees with you. If you could bottle it you’d make a killing. Come here, you. A hug is a band-aid for the soul."
Callie grimaced when the shorter woman wrapped her arms around her waist and squeezed. She met Bailey’s gaze over Sydney’s poofy hair and mouthed, "She’s Chief Resident?"
Miranda rolled her eyes and nodded, then said. "How was your vacation, Callie?"
"Fine until now. Get off me, Sydney! For God’s sake! A hug takes two seconds. This is an inappropriate grope. Get your cheek off my boobs!" Callie eventually pried Sydney's arms from around her. "Uh, Webber was, er, looking for you."
"Oh my god!" Sydney exclaimed, wide eyed. "Where?"
"He was in the elevator."
"Better go. We’re the chiefs. Two little chiefs and a lot of little Indians to manage." Dr. Heron threw her hand up and skipped from the room.
"Oh. My. God." Callie met Bailey’s gaze. "Okay, I know why *I* didn’t make Chief, but how the *hell* did she get it over you?"
"Apparently I had a child and people with children are punished around here. Unless they’re male. So, what are you doing?"
"I need antibiotics. Most like in a shot form." Callie stated simply. She was aware that Izzie Stevens was watching her every move and was looking her up and down and she was tempted to kick her. Or at the very least take off her shoe and throw it, pointy end first, into her face. She refrained, however, when Bailey went into a tirade.
"Wha-" Bailey looked at Alex. "Did you give her syph-"
"No!" Alex shook his head. "She has a bite on her arm that looks infected."
Bailey held out her hand and cursed when Callie laid her arm in it. "Dr. Torres, what did you do now? You need a padded room!"
Callie shrugged and let the other woman lead her to a nearby gurney. She hissed when Miranda pressed at her flesh hard enough to push liquid from between the stitches. "Oww! General rule of thumb is ... if it looks like it hurts then it probably shouldn’t be poked."
"Did they not give you anything for the infection when they did the stitches?" Izzie, who had followed them to the gurney, peered over Bailey’s shoulder. "It’s oozing greenish junk. A world of ewwww."
Alex saw Callie’s jaw tighten and said, "Uh, Izzie, we’ve got this under control."
"But-"
Callie lifted her chin and glared at Izzie. "That’s a polite way of suggesting that you should get the fuck away from me because I can assure you that I hit harder and more frequently than Addison does."
Bailey moved a little, effectively causing Izzie to step back. She instructed her intern to retrieve a dosage of antibiotic and waited until she was gone before she returned to her task. "This looks several days old. Have you kept it clean and covered?"
"I haven’t covered it since it happened." Callie lifted her arm and pressed at the puffy area herself. "We’re going to have to take the stitches out. You think?"
Bailey smacked her hand. "I think that you need to stop touching it! You went to medical school! You know better!"
"*YOU* just touched it."
Holding up her hand, Bailey said, "Gloves! I have on gloves!" Rubbing a betadine swab over the area, she added, "How did this happen?"
Callie relayed the sordid details and smiled when Bailey laughed at her. "What? It just seemed like the right thing to do."
Izzie returned and Bailey gave Callie an injection of the strongest antibiotic they had. Bailey immediately sent the blond on another errand, this one senseless and unnecessary, and looked up at Callie. "I think the stitches need to come out. We can always use butterflies, but we need to clean it and that’s going to involve draining some of the infection."
"Gee, that sounds so fun." Callie shivered again. "Why is it so cold in here?"
Alex laid a hand on Callie’s head again and picked up a nearby thermometer. He stuck it in her ear and waited for it to beep."Your temp is a hundred and two! You should have told me that you felt this bad!"
"I did."
Feeling like the biggest ass in the world, he moved to sit beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. He kissed the side of her head and held her free hand while Bailey numbed the bite and pulled the stitches out. It wasn’t as bad as he had feared and less than an hour after Bailey began, she had put a fresh bandage on the wound and given Callie a prescription for a strong antibiotic.
"Do not get it wet," Bailey advised. "At least for twenty-four hours. And for the love of all things sanitary could you please take better care of it?"
"I will," Callie promised. "Hey, how is the Jane Doe from the ferry crash? Ava?"
"She’s actually in surgery. Her water broke earlier and we called Addison in to deliver the baby. She’s in the gallery if y’all want to watch."
"I should take you home," Alex told Callie. "You should-"
She shook her head. "No. We’re going. Come on."
They walked out of the clinic and headed toward the elevator. Alex leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. Callie leaned her head against his shoulder and said, "Are you worried about her?"
"I’m worried about you. I - I knew something was wrong. You were so quiet this morning." He reached up and felt her head again. "When we check on Ava, we’re going back to your place and you’re taking a cool bath."
"I can’t get my arm wet."
"I know. I’ll be standing guard beside the tub to make sure you don’t. And enjoying the view."
"You know what?"
"What?"
Callie grinned up at him. "My place is pretty spacious so I’m just gonna put the offer out there and tell you if you want to live there ... you can. If it’s too fast or you -"
"I’ll pack as soon as the party is over." He kissed her, running his hand over her neck, behind it, and through her hair.
The door opened and George drew up short. He quickly stepped aside and let Mark Sloan go past him, then moved away before the *couple* had broken apart. He heard Mark tell them that they should have 'gotten enough last night' and heard Callie’s laughter. His heart had landed somewhere around his feet and he almost tripped over it. In actuality, he tripped over his untied shoelaces and fell against Izzie. She opened her mouth to say something to him, but he held up his hand and ran into the men’s bathroom, where he barricaded himself in the stall and didn’t come out.
Even after two pages.
*~*~*~*~*~
They arrived at the observatory in time to see the birth of Ava’s squirming and screaming baby girl. Every seat was taken, so Callie and Alex stood at the glass, him behind her. When he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, there were several whispers. Callie ignored them all and relaxed back against him. They watched until Addison looked glanced up and noticed them, giving them a thumbs up. When the baby was wheeled from the room, Alex pulled her along with him to the nursery where they now stood, peering at the little girl as she was examined. Grinning, Callie watched as the baby latched onto her tiny fist and began to suck. "I think she’s hungry."
The nurse swaddled her in a blanket and put a bottle in her mouth, which she latched onto like a pro. Alex shook his head. "I don’t get it. We’re the only ones here to see her. How is it possible that no one is looking for them?"
"Maybe they are. Maybe they just don’t know where to start." She gazed at the baby and then at the television across the hallway that was broadcasting CNN. "Maybe we need to take it on a bigger scale."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe Ava’s not from around here. Maybe she’s a flier, just like me."
Alex looked at her, alarmed. "You’d never think about -"
She cut him off. "We’re gonna take her story nationwide."
"How?"
Callie smiled at him. "Leave that to me."
"Hey," Addison came around the corner, pulling her scrub cap off. She looked in at the baby and then smiled at Callie, but it faded fast. "What’s wrong with you? You look different. Wait, it’s the hair. Ooooh, it *is* the hair. I like it!"
"She’s got an infection," Alex replied, still watching Callie with concern. She had said she was a ‘flier’ in the present tense.
"What kind of infection does she have?"
"She can’t take care of herself to save her life."
"What did she do?"
"Stop talking about me like I’m not here!" Callie snapped. "How’s Ava?"
"Ava’s resting. We were forced to give her a blood transfusion and there were some other minor complications so with the sedation and the pain medication she should probably wake up some time next week." Addison reached out and touched Callie’s forehead. "You’re hot. I know what you’re doing! You’re trying to get out of this party tomorrow night!"
"You caught me. I injected myself with Ebola when no one was looking?" Callie replied. "Are you still going to be able to go at four o’clock?"
"Go?" Addison shook her head. "You can’t be considering a shopping spree when you’re sick."
"I’m *fine*," Callie insisted, then looked at Alex. "I’m pretty sure I’m not contagious, but just in case I’ll wait here while you go and check on Ava."
He nodded at her and gave her a kiss, then walked down the hallway toward the recovery room. Callie watched him go and then looked at Addison. "This case really gets to him."
"This case really gets to *everybody*. Did you see how full the gallery was? No one ever shows up to watch a cesarean." Addison grinned at her friend. "You’re glowing and I don’t think it has anything at all to do with the fever."
Callie smiled. "I know it’s crazy and it’s quick and it’s insane, but the feelings I have for him are real. I’ve never felt this way in my entire life. He - he makes me laugh and he doesn’t care that I’m a freak of nature. He just *gets* it."
Addison put her arm around Callie and led her to a bench that was against the far wall. "You are *not* a freak of nature, but I’m happy that you’re happy."
"I was afraid you’d be pissed."
"No. You’re not the only one who was falling while you were gone. Mark exposed his tender underbelly and I fell hard. You know, I thought I loved him before and I said it and lived it, but ... I am so *in* love with him that it scares me." Addison folded her scrub cap and laid it on her leg. "He says he’s changed. He says that he’s a reformed slut and -"
"You don’t believe him?"
"I want to. I need to." Addison turned in the seat so she could look at her friend. "I was married to Derek for ten years and I ruined that to be with Mark. Part of me is afraid that I’m willing to believe him because I threw away my marriage for him."
Callie squeezed her hand. "I’m the last person to give advice about trust because I’m just now experiencing what it feels like to trust someone completely, but I can tell you that when I slept with Mark, it was very obvious to me that it was mechanical for him and - and his heart was somewhere else the whole time. I think we both know where it was."
Smiling, the red head said, "If I was gay I would so do you."
"If I was gay I’d let you."
Addison hugged her, holding on tight. "You’re the best friend I’ve ever had."
"Likewise." Callie wrapped her arms around her. "I *so* have souvenirs for you. Too many to carry so you’ll have to come to my house to get them."
Addy pulled away. "You’re not at the hotel anymore?"
"I bought a yacht."
"What?"
"I told you that I was embracing the money. It’s nice. We’re living out at Harbor Cove."
"You guys are moving in together?" Addison raised a brow.
"We are."
"Are you sure you want to go there?"
"I’m more sure that *not* going there would make me lose my mind." Callie grinned. "I told you, I’m a freak of nature. I jump out of the frying pan and into the fire every chance I get."
"Then I support you and your freaky, flamey ways." Addison squeezed her hand. "Are you wearing red to the party?"
"Yep."
"Since you’re matching my hair I’m going to match yours and go with black. I’m wearing black to mourn the loss of my heart and my sex life."
"When will your cycle end?"
"It’s tapering off. I fully intend for it to be over tomorrow night and after we leave your party, Mark is *mine*."
"Oooh, wanna borrow my handcuffs?"
Addison started to laugh until she saw the serious look on her friend’s face. "Wait, are you serious? You have handcuffs?"
"I also have a whip, chains, and nipple clamps." Callie bumped against her shoulder. "I’ll put a little something in the pocket of the purse I bought you in L.A. The purse, by the way, is black so if you really wear a black dress, it’ll work."
"You are a dirty, dirty person."
"Alex hasn’t even seen that side of me yet."
"What side?" Alex asked, joining them. "I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you from every angle."
Addison and Callie burst out laughing and continued to do for a majority of the afternoon.
*~*~
Addison found her dress while Callie was helping Alex find a suit. It was black and low cut and as soon as she stepped out of the dressing room to look in a bigger mirror, Mark dropped the several bags he was carrying and walked into the sacred ‘women’s only’ area to kiss her. "So, this is the one?" she asked innocently.
"This is definitely the one."
He wound up buying the dress for her and then they found Callie and Alex, who was carrying several bags himself. The girls linked arms and walked ahead of them, chattering away and Mark shared a look with Alex. "How many more stores can they go in?"
"Callie said something about shoes."
"There were shoes where we just were."
"She didn’t like those."
"We’re pack mules," Mark said, lifting the many packages in his arms a little higher. "Addison’s closet is already filled to capacity. If this keeps on they’ll need to rent storage units for everything."
"They’re bound to run out of energy soon." Alex glanced at his watch. "We’ve been at this for four and a half hours!"
"I’m starving." Mark sighed. "How are they not hungry? They’re the ones who have tried on everything they’ve seen. Surely they’ve worked up an appetite."
Alex groaned a little when the women walked into another department store. "Damn it. There are more than *shoes* in there. And the mall doesn’t close until ten."
"That’s an hour and a half away."
The smell of food made Alex’s stomach rumble. "Want a pretzel?"
"Sure."
They were sitting on a bench, enjoying the respite, when Callie and Addison emerged from the store a little later. Both women were carrying several bags and Mark shook his head. "Is this what couples do?"
"Look around, dude."
Mark scanned the area. There were several men who were clearly in the same predicament, laden with bags and *waiting* for the women to get enough. They all had the same exasperated look on their faces. And every single man in the vicinity had turned to watch Callie and Addison. The women were laughing again, oblivious to the many eyes on them. Mark took a deep breath when Addison smiled at him. "I don’t guess I really mind."
"Me either." Alex was staring at Callie’s legs as he chewed his pretzel. A second later, she sat on his lap and kissed him.
Callie pulled off a piece of his pretzel and popped it in her mouth. "Why are you spoiling your dinner?"
"Is there dinner in this plan? Because we were beginning to wonder," Mark said, getting to his feet.
Addison held out her bags and said, "Yes, Mr. Impatient. We’re going to the Japanese steak house in the food court before the mall closes."
Mark accepted the bags she held out and shot a look at Alex, who was doing the same. "Pack mules," he said again, under his breath.
"What was that?" Addison asked, already several steps ahead of him, her arm through Callie’s again.
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Is it just me or do they look like they’re tired?" Callie glanced from one man to the other. "How can *you* be tired? We’re the ones shopping! You’re just ... here."
Alex narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you see that we’re carrying everything?"
Addison put her hands on her hips. "Women get the *periods* and have to *carry* life inside of them. Men? You have no concept of PMS pain or what contractions feel like so you get to *carry* the bags. And since you’re whining about it it’s proof that you’d have a full blown nervous breakdown if the shoe was on the other foot and you actually had an uninvited monthly visitor who came without fail. So, shut up and carry the bags before I suffocate you both with one of them."
"What did I do?" Mark asked, eyes wide.
"You said ‘pack mules’. My hearing is perfect," Callie replied. "And I could make you feel what a contraction feels like by pulling your rib cage through your stomach. I’ll gladly do that if either one of you complains again."
Alex blinked and watched the duo walk off. "Neither one of them has ever experienced a damn contraction, either. You know, when they’re together they’re dangerous."
"Yet we keep following."
Smiling, Alex enjoyed the sway of Callie’s backside. "The view isn’t half bad."
"And the danger just makes it more fun."
"We’re pathetic."
*~*~*~*~*~
After eating more fried rice and sushi than a person should, Callie was so exhausted that she fell asleep in the jeep on the way back to the yacht. Alex woke her gently with a kiss and helped her out of the car. He carried the bags in one hand and kept a grip on her arm as they walked down the trail, which was thankfully lit, but not well. He didn’t like the thought of her coming home alone and made a mental note to buy her a can of mace for the nights when they had differing shifts. Maybe he could talk to someone and make sure they worked together. Anything could happen in such a remote place.
He dropped the bags in the living room and led her to the bedroom, where he felt her head again. The fever had broken earlier in the day, but he kept feeling just to make sure. She had told him that she felt bad and he had brushed it off, not believing her. It made him feel worse than she probably did and it was a mistake he wouldn't make again. He had annoyed her enough for her to threaten him if he kept feeling of her. Unzipping her dress, he pushed it down her body and then stood. She had not worn a bra, but underneath the pretty dress, she had worn a pair of boy shorts with rifles all over them. "Guns, Cal?"
"I like guns," she said with a yawn. "They have bullets."
"I’m going to go see if I find your medicine in one of the seven thousand bags I brought in. I’ll be right back."
Callie rubbed her eyes and walked into the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and washed her face. As she was drying it, she looked in the mirror. She really had lost a lot of weight. Her breasts had suffered the most. She had lost a full cup size in them, but luckily they had weathered it well and had not drooped at all. Sucking in her stomach, she frowned. Never, in her adult life, had sucking in her stomach exposed the bottom of her rib cage. It made her wrinkle her nose in distaste. She turned and looked at her back, where she usually had two love handles. She could see her ribs there, too, and there was no sign of her spare tire.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked, leaning against the door frame.
"Missing my curves."
"I never really experienced your curves, but I remember them fondly." He held out a bottle of water and a pill.
"Do you think I look bad?"
"No, I don’t. But I don’t think you should lose any more weight, either."
She swallowed the antibiotic and sighed. "Would you still like me if I -"
"You don’t even have to ask that." Alex stepped into the bathroom and hugged her. "I have liked you through it all and I’ll love you through the rest."
"That really is the most perfect thing you could have said."
Alex kissed her shoulder. "I’m sorry about today. You told me you didn’t feel good and -"
"That’s not a very good apology." She took a step back. "Nothing says I’m sorry like multiple orgasms. You taught me that and I’m ready for you to apologize the right way."
He grinned. "You need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day and -"
"Nothing makes me sleepier than sex. Lots and lots of sex."
"You win. Give me ten minutes. I’m gonna take a quick shower."
Callie walked from the room and crawled under the covers.
She was fast asleep almost before her head hit the pillows.
Alex emerged twelve minutes later, a towel around his waist. He kneeled beside the bed and watched her for a while. It had scared him, earlier in the day, when she had mentioned that she was a ‘flier’. She didn’t use the past tense, she had said ‘maybe she’s a flier, like me’. Callie had vanished for fifteen days and no one, least of all George, had known where to look. That worried him. A lot. If Callie had not invited him along for her latest excursion and had sailed Goon Docks home alone she could have died. The shark could have gotten her and no one would have known where to start looking for her.
Most people would have assumed that she had killed herself in the Pacific Ocean.
He brushed her hair back, tracing her cheek with his thumb. It scared him how much he needed her. The way his want had been replaced by need was a shock. He certainly wanted her, he had wanted to have sex with her the night they went to the movies and had the crab dinner, but now ... now he needed her. He needed to see her face when he woke up and sleep with her beside him. In nearly thirty years of life ... he had only ever needed three things: food, water, and a place to sleep. But, he needed her more than any of those things.
The moment he crawled into the bed, she murmured his name and rolled against him. He wrapped his arms around her and wondered if it was possible to hold onto someone with wings. Callie had wings. She could sail the yacht away while he was at work or pick up her plane in Los Angeles and fly halfway around the world before he even knew she was gone. ‘No’, he thought. ‘You’d feel her leaving. She’d take such a big part of you that you’d die.’
Alex slept after a while.
In his dreams, Callie was sick, sweating, and she was sailing into a storm that she didn’t make it out of alive.
He awoke just before dawn and didn't sleep again.
*~*~*~*~*~
Oooooooh, Sydney is Chief Resident.
George saw them kissing.
Alex is afraid Callie will 'fly'.
And did he have a dream or a premonition?
Oooohhhh... ;)