(no subject)
Title: Ready For A Fall (25/?)
Author: Chelle Storey-Daniel
Rating: NC17 (in dirty, dirty ways)
Pairing: Addison/Mark FINALLY!!, 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 chapter has many inside joke references that some people may not get. The person that *needs* to get it (*coughAdriancough*) will. :)
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty One
Twenty Two
Twenty Three
Twenty Four
*~*~*~*~*~
If I fall along the way
Pick me up and dust me off
And if I get too tired to make it
Be my breath so I can walk
If I need some of your love
Give me more than I can stand
And when my smile gets old and faded
Wait around I'll smile again
-Rob Thomas
*~*~*~*~*~
Alex and Callie ate in almost total silence, with the television for company. Their easy banter when he had come home had been replaced with uncomfortable tension that seemed to set in the moment they filled their plates. He watched her when he knew she wasn’t aware of it and was happy to see that she was actually consuming something. He looked at the television every time she glanced his way, though. She didn’t want him to worry about her food so he refused to mention it or voice his elation that she was actually eating.
The football game was the most boring thing Callie had ever seen. Alex seemed to like it so much that he had changed the setting to picture in picture so he could watch it and another game at the same time. She could feel herself developing attention deficit disorder as she glanced back and forth between the two games. After eating half of her dinner, her belly was stuffed and she carried her plate to the kitchen, where she raked what was left into the garbage disposal and turned it on.
Maybe it was the sound of the disposal destroying what was left of her dinner or maybe it was stress of the day finally catching up with her, but something snapped. She turned and glared at Alex, who was still watching the game like it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. "Are you going to talk to me about today or what?"
Alex chewed his food slowly and swallowed before he spoke. "I thought we did."
"No, we did not. We didn’t address any of it. And we have to, Alex."
"Okay. Let’s talk."
She looked at him.
He looked at her.
"Say something," she finally told him.
"I think that the disposal is finished."
She finally realized that she had left it running and turned, shutting it off. The commentator on the television announced that someone had just run for fifty yards and Callie’s heart was beating hard enough that she felt like it was her. "Can you say something, anything, that is not so fucking obvious?"
"You’re not going to bait me into a fight with you. You’re *obviously* not getting it so there it is."
Drying her hands on the dishtowel, she walked into her bedroom and grabbed her robe. A hot shower would have to erase the tension because Alex clearly wasn’t interested in doing it.
Pulling the bandage off her arm, she tossed it in the trash and looked at the bite. It was still a little red and would definitely leave a scar, but it looked better. Adjusting the taps, she stripped off her clothes and stepped under the scorching water. She let it beat against her shoulders, against the top of her head, and it was so hot that her tears felt cool against her cheeks, betraying her once again.
Callie didn’t cry. As a rule, she avoided it like the plague, but over the past few months she had been painfully reminded that she had ducts and an abundant supply of agony to fill them. Girls like Izzie cried. Over everything. Callie was nothing like Izzie so she was officially cutting off the waterworks and would not be going there again. Her talk with Cam earlier had been the quintessential light bulb moment over her head. She had spoken all her truths to her brother, but since they were one in the same, she had spoken it to herself. And she had listened with the same intensity that Cam had listened. Angrily drawing her hand across her eyes, she forced the lump in her throat to go away and set about scrubbing her body.
Callie Torres was a lot of things, but she was not weak. Circumstances that she had orchestrated had left her weak and on her knees, but she was firmly on her feet now. She’d never be weak again. Or a victim. Because Mark had been right about that. He had been right about everything he said. She had been a spineless, cowering, victim of her own stupidity. She used a long loofah on her back and arched against it, feeling her spine. It was still there, it was simply dying quietly from lack of use.
She had a few things to say to Alex Karev and she didn’t give a damn if he was engrossed in a football game or if ... he was stepping, naked, into the shower.
"Hey." He reached around her and turned the hot water down significantly. "If this is just because I went to the Chief and tried to save your career then maybe you should try to remember that I almost lost you before I really found you. Anything I said to him was because I knew I was falling for you and I wanted to keep you safe."
Her brown eyes found his and every horrible thing she had been planning to say left her brain and the only thing her spine was currently doing was tingling. She said, "It’s okay. I know." The second the words left her mouth she groaned and leaned her head back against the shower wall. "That’s not what I meant to say."
"What did you mean to say?" He seized the opportunity and kissed her throat.
"I meant to say that I’m mad as -"
His hands moved to her hips and he pushed his knee between hers. "You’re mad as ... what?"
She bit her lip as he moved his thigh higher, pressing against her center. "Hell."
"And you’re not gonna take it anymore?" Alex looked at her, his expression serious. "You’re gonna take it, Callie. Right now."
Before she could protest, he reached down and grabbed her behind the legs, letting them fall over his arms as he slid her up the wall a little. She was completely open to him and he drove inside her without preamble. He buried his face against her neck as he slammed into her several times and breathed a sigh of relief when she wrapped her arms around him and kissed the side of his face. He lifted his head and kissed her, hard.
He came a moment later and let her slide back to her feet. Taking the shower head down, he cleaned her off, then let it fall to the floor as he buried his face between her thighs. She tugged his hair roughly and he enjoyed every second of it. When she came, he slowly got to his feet and looked down at her. "Do you need to say anything else to me, Elvira?"
She shook her head, her eyes hooded. "No."
"Okay then."
Callie watched him step from the shower and grab a towel. The door to the bathroom clicked shut a few minutes later and she closed her eyes. She had been planning to tell him that she would rip his tongue out if he talked about her to the Chief again, but it was a very talented tongue and she’d be the one dying without it. It would probably be very tacky to put an obituary in the paper for her spine, but she had no chance in hell of having one where Alex was concerned. She finished bathing and wrapped a towel around her body.
While she combing her hair, he opened the door. "You’re off work tomorrow, right?"
She nodded.
"You want to come have lunch with me?" He grinned at her. "Not because I want to make sure you eat, but because I can’t do a twelve hour shift and not see you."
She slammed her comb down on the vanity and said, "Could you please stop making it so damn hard to be pissed? I want to be pissed!"
"Good luck with that, baby." He pulled her into his arms and kissed the scowl off her face. "People who want to be pissed are generally unhappy. And I’m not letting you go there again."
"You’re not pissed at me?"
"No, I’m enraged, Callie. You told me the other day that you weren’t going to run anymore, but that’s what you did. Straight to the liquor store. You barely made it there alive from what Mark says, but I’m not gonna say the things to you that I want to say because I’m not that cruel." He shrugged. "Actually, I am that cruel. Just not to you, but I can be and I will if you don’t -"
"No. No, say it. Whatever it is."
"I’d rather you imagine it. Because you know that’s worse."
"Like when your mother tells you to wait until your father gets home?"
His expression changed and the twinkle in his eye was gone in a flash. "No. Nothing’s really worse than that."
Callie’s eyes widened and she brought a hand to her mouth. "He - he didn’t just hit your mother."
"No. He didn’t just hit my mother." Alex shook his head. "And having a fight with someone when your emotions are still kinda raw is counterproductive. It’s not gonna solve anything, Callie, and I’m not doing it."
Despite her solemn vow in the shower that crying was out the question, the look on his face caused her to break. It was a welcome relief to be crying for someone other than herself. She threw her arms around him and held on tight. "I love you, Alex. And I’m sorry."
"I know, baby." He hugged her. "Just ... could you try to remember that someone loves you, too, and it kills them a little when you do things like you did today."
"I will."
"Let’s go to bed." Taking a step back, he kissed her. "And stop crying. I hate when you do that."
"God, at least we have *that* in common." She dried her face and followed him into their bedroom. He had already pulled the cover back and she took her towel off, letting it fall into the floor. She caught him looking and raised a brow. "What are you staring at?"
"Everything. Absolutely everything."
She smiled and watched him pull his shirt off. "I know the feeling."
"You’re about to feel a lot more."
*~*~*~*~*~
Mark followed Addison into her room and watched as she pulled the ivory clip from her hair and laid it on the dresser. He walked to the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water and when he turned to hand her one, she was sitting on the edge of the bed. He could see the way her shoulders were shaking and he put the bottles down and sat beside her. She sniffled and leaned her head against his shoulder, drying her eyes.
"She could have died."
"Yes." He rubbed her arm. "She could have, but she didn’t."
"Because of you. That’s twice now that you’ve saved my best friend’s life."
"She’ll be okay. She will." Mark kissed her on top of the head. "Let’s order room service. What do you want?"
"Are you going to stay and eat with me?"
"Is that okay?"
"I’m so tired of eating alone." Addison sighed. "I have breakfast alone. Callie doesn’t eat lunch. And I come back here and order something every night and try to talk to the damn delivery person for as long as I can."
"Why don’t you go get a bath and unwind a little and I’ll order something."
"Not the chicken thing. I don’t like it."
"Not the chicken thing," he repeated, getting to his feet. He watched her rummage in the nightstand for her very unsexy flannel pajamas and smiled a little as she disappeared behind the door. He had lived with her for two months. Those ugly pajamas were a sign that Addison was not open. At all.
It took close to forty five minute for their dinners to arrive and she had still not emerged. He set it out on the table and knocked on the door. There was no answer so he tried the knob and was relieved that it wasn’t locked. She was asleep, bubbles covering her as she steam rose around her face. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub and watched her for a while. She had piled her hair on top of her head and her face was scrubbed clean. She looked young, vibrant.
"Addison?"
When she didn’t reply, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. She smelled like fruit and he knew that it was her favorite body wash from Victoria’s Secret. He had always loved the scent. He reached down and flipped the stopper, letting the water drain. The sound of it woke her and she looked up at him. The garden tub had a hand held sprayer so he turned the water on, adjusting it and then rinsed the bubbles from her skin. She had obviously boiled herself to death because her skin matched her hair.
"Cold." She shivered as he put the nozzle away and helped her to her feet.
Mark wrapped a towel around her and when she stepped from the tub, her feet slipped on the water that had splashed out while he sprayed her. He caught her, smiling down at her. "I got you."
"Yeah, you do." She put her hand on his cheek, loving the way his stubble felt so familiar and good against her palm. "Always."
He bent his head and kissed her. Somehow her towel slipped from his fingertips a moment later and he felt her skin, molded his hand against her rounded backside and it was enough. He lifted her against his body, urging her to put her legs around him. She didn’t have to be coaxed and he smiled at her as he turned and walked into the bedroom with her.
"You’re *not* winning," he told her as he fell onto his back, leaving her on top of him. "This is mutual."
She nodded and kissed him again, her tongue circling his, dancing and teasing. Sitting up, she let her hair fall down around her shoulders and moved to his chest, kissing the hard planes of muscle that she exposed as she unbuttoned his shirt. Taking her time, she moved over every inch of his arms and chest and he finally groaned in desperation and flipped her onto her back.
Within minutes, he was standing naked before her and she looked at him, unashamed of the fact that he took her breath. She sat up on the edge of the bed and wrapped her hand around his engorged cock, pumping it, running her thumb over the tip. When she looked up at him, she saw that his eyes were closed. Smiling, she slipped her mouth over him and strained to take him as far into her as she could. He was large and hard, but she made the most of it.
"Oh, God," he growled, his hands tangling in her hair. It had been so long, too long. As she let him fall from her mouth and he watched her lick a trail around the head, he almost came right then. Breathing hard, he eased away from her and shook his head. "You’re killing me."
"I didn’t even hum yet. I've heard that it’ll practically render you unconscious."
Torres was *definitely* a good friend, he thought. With a wicked smile, he flipped her onto her stomach and covered her body with his, kissing the nape of her neck, then lower down her spine. He lingered at the soft curve of her back, nipping at her flesh until she was wriggling beneath him. She whimpered his name and he said, "Hush. And keep your hands above your head."
He slid further down her body, biting the plump roundness of her backside before he urged her legs apart slightly and slipped his finger into her. Her hips bounced and he heard her hiss as he added a second digit. She was slippery, wet with need and they had only just begun. He let his fingers pump in and out of her, but ignored her clit. He could see by the way she undulated that she was trying to find friction on the comforter and it amused him to no end. He lifted her hips to stop her and watched as she fisted the cover in her hands.
She was being patient, not demanding, but he knew that he was working her into a frenzy. He pulled his hand away and eased her hips back to the bed before he kissed lower on the backs of her thighs. As his tongue darted out to taste the silkiness of her flesh, he kneaded her backside and she arched up against his touch. He moved to the back of her knee, his tongue flicking it the way he knew she longed ... and then her hand snaked between her legs and he narrowed his eyes.
He popped her, hard, on the ass and she cried out in shock. "Mark!"
"Keep your hands above your head."
"Then stop teasing me!"
He kissed her leg again and again he saw her polished fingers move against her clit. He pretended not to notice for a while, but when he heard the change of her breathing, he slapped her backside again. She came so hard that it stunned him, leaving his mouth agape. He stood and looked down at the red hand prints on both cheeks of her perfect ass and realized that she had *definitely* been hanging out with Torres too much, but he wasn’t going to complain.
Bending down, he ran his tongue along the marks and moved a hand between her legs again. Her pussy was still clenching when he slipped a finger into her again and he smiled when she moaned and pushed back against him. "You liked that, didn’t you?"
"Shut up."
"Who knew? Who knew that Addison Forbes Montgomery liked to be spanked."
"Shut. Up."
"I could do it again."
"I could let you."
She moved to her knees, daring him by wiggling back and forth. Instead of smacking her, he pulled her backwards and thrust into her. They both cried out, drowning out the sound of the other, but they didn’t need to hear it to know that it was perfect. He barely moved at all, he simply gripped her hips and pushed her forward, then yanked her back against him again. He wouldn’t last long. Not with her doing the things that she was doing with her muscles.
He reached around her slender hips with both hands. Holding her open with one, he twisted her clit with the other, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. She reached down, gripping his wrists and arching back against him. The change deepened his penetration and sent him over the edge. He took her with him and her nails brought blood as she clawed at his arms.
He held her back against his chest as she hung like a rag doll in his grip. Smiling, he traced her ear with his thumb and whispered, "Happy now?"
"When I can think again ... I’m sure I’ll say yes."
He sucked on her earlobe and felt her clench around him. "It’s too soon to be thinking anyway."
Addison gasped when he flipped her onto her back and moved inside her again, slower this time. She bit her bottom lip as he pushed her aching backside against the cover. It was an incredible feeling and one that she’d be buying Callie lunch for out of gratitude. "Mark?"
"What?"
"Is ‘making love’ always so violent and dirty?"
He glared down at her. "No. I’m about to show you what dirty is."
"After that I’ll show you what a hummer is. And you can punish me for not showing you sooner."
His dick throbbed so hard that it was almost painful. "Your pillow talk has vastly improved while you were celibate."
"So has my technique." She grinned up at him. "Want me to show you a move that will make your toes curl?"
"I dare you."
She showed him.
They had their dinner for breakfast.
*~*~*~*~*~
Taking a deep breath, Callie knocked on the door of her parent’s suite. It was early and she hoped they were awake. The construction had begun on her property that morning before the sun had come up and Alex had laughed at the colorful words she had spouted from underneath her pillow. He had left a cup of coffee on the nightstand and kissed her thoroughly before he left for work. She gave up on sleeping in when she heard someone yell ‘timber’ and a tree crash to the ground.
Lifting her hand, she knocked harder and her mother yanked the door open, glaring out with bleary eyes. "You better be dying, Calliope!"
"Where’s Daddy?"
"Sleeping. It’s what normal people do at this time of day."
"It’s almost seven thirty. Can I come in?"
"You’re not bleeding. You’re not crying. You’re not bruised or in any apparent pain so go to Cam’s room until I wake up."
"You are awake."
"No, I’m not. This is my subconscious you’re talking to and it doesn’t care that you’re family. What it cares about is rest."
Callie walked past her mother and crossed her arms over her chest. "What did you do last night?"
"Unlike you, I do not advertise my sex life or -"
"No! Ewww! No! Never refer to a sex life as yours! You don’t have sex! Especially not with my dad!"
Melana closed the door and smiled at her daughter. "And if you were an immaculate conception I would have converted to Satanism. What do you want, honey? I’m tired."
"Why are you so tired? Without details that will potentially scar me for life, please."
"I had an epileptic attack late last night that was very draining."
"Oh my god! Are you okay? How bad was it? Did you-"
"I’m fine. Just ... exhausted." Melana motioned for Callie to sit down at the table and took the seat beside her. "Cambyses told us about yesterday. I’m not even cognizant enough to yell at you yet, but I will tell you that your father, that man that I don’t have sex with, was driven to tears because of you. As much as I love you, sweetheart, if you do that to him again I’m going to wring your neck."
"I get it. I really, really get it." Callie reached out and took her mother’s hand. "People love me and the things I do are not just to myself. You guys feel it. I’m selfish and I have to stop."
Melana blinked. "Take that up a few octaves and throw in a death threat and that’s pretty much what I was going to shout at you."
"Alex told me without the shouting. It was still loud and clear."
"I know that having your mother like your boyfriend is usually a kiss of death, but I do like him. I feel good leaving you here with him. I would *not* have felt good about leaving you here with George. You know why I say that?"
"Why?"
"Because if you truly loved George at *all*, then you wouldn’t have given your self respect or dignity a second thought when you made the decision to stay with him. True love erases any doubt or concern about whether you should stay or go." She reached out and cupped her daughter’s face. "And at the same time ... true love never, ever *gives* you self doubt or a reason to think that you’re not good enough. You are an incredible woman, Callie. Don’t let anyone steal that truth from you again."
"I won’t." Callie hugged her. "And anything incredible about me is just a reflection of you."
Mel closed her eyes and smiled. "Why don’t you go talk to your father before you make me cry."
Callie got to her feet, not letting her mom see that her own eyes were wet. She eased open the bedroom door and saw that her father was lying on his back with his arm flung out across her mother’s pillow. The book she had given him was on the dresser and she picked it up, tucked it against her chest and crawled into bed beside him, her head on his arm. "Daddy?"
Raphael awoke with a start and gazed down at her. "Are you okay?"
"I’m fine." She put her arm over his chest and squeezed. "I just thought I’d wake you up with a story. The deal is, though, that I tell you one and you have to tell me one in return."
He smiled down at her. "I can do that."
Callie took a deep breath and said, "So, there was this girl who was spoiled rotten by her very generous and loving parents. She was so spoiled that she thought it would be okay to act like a rebellious teenager even though she was very much an adult. But only in age because her actions put her somewhere between fetus and fifteen. She did horrible things to her parents ... like running away to Australia or trying to hurt herself because she was ... wrong. She was wrong and she knows that now.
"Because she knows that she has the kind of mother who, while moderately insane, can still love someone enough to make everything okay. And she’s got the kind of dad who never made her worry about what would happen when he came home and she had done something awful. And she did that a lot. She still does." She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "And she’s very sorry for taking their love for granted and for anything she may have said on the phone about not ever forgiving her father because she does. And she’s okay now. She’s just fine.
"Your turn." She avoided looking at Raphael as she held up ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’. "Do the voices."
He cleared his throat and opened the front cover. "There was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning *she* was really splendid. She was *curvy* and bunchy, as a *Torres* rabbit should be; her coat was solid black, she had real thread whiskers, and her ears were lined with pink, no ... red, I think, sateen."
"You’re reading it wrong," she said softly, smiling.
"Well, honey, I don’t know who you told me a story about, but this one is about *you*."
"Okay, then the Boy in the story has to be called Alex."
"I don’t know, kitten. The rabbit leaves the boy in the end."
"This rabbit always goes back."
"It’s very nice to see you again, Callie. I feel like you’ve been gone for a very long time."
"I’m not going again, Daddy. I think I’m home for good."
*~*~*~*~*~
After leaving her parents with a promise of dinner the following night, Callie shopped for Ava and her baby. She also treated herself to a new outfit and had her hair styled at the salon. Addison had called to let her know that sex had finally happened, Ava was awake, and the stars and planets had all aligned in her life. Callie knew the feeling. As she strolled into the hospital she felt incredible and even a ten minute apology to Sydney didn’t put a damper on her mood. The hug that Sydney gave her was nauseating and uncomfortable, but her smile never faltered.
She knocked lightly on Ava’s door and saw that the woman was alone. Smiling, Callie set the bags in a nearby chair and held out her hand. "Hi, I’m -"
"Dr. Torres. Callie, right?"
"Right." Callie shook her hand, covering it with both of hers. "How are you feeling?"
Ava pushed herself up a little and grimaced. "It feels like a samurai put his sword in my gut and twisted it. Sorta like in ‘Samurai Ambush’ when the -"
"Oh my god!" Callie sat on the edge of the bed, facing her. "That is my favorite game *ever*."
"Shut up!" Ava said. "Have you gotten past the fourth level?"
"Girl, I got past that level the first night I played. I’m obsessive compulsive that way."
"How do you do it? How do you beat the squid thing?"
Callie opened her purse and pulled out her Gameboy, which was already loaded with the game. "I’ll leave this with you and I’m not telling you *how* to do it, but go for the tentacle."
Ava looked down at the toy with a look of geeker joy. "Which one? There are many."
"The big one." Callie smiled at her. "So, I met your daughter. She’s gorgeous! Have you named her named her yet?"
"Alexandria." Ava looked up at the dark haired woman as though she were afraid it would offend her. "Uhm, Alex did save my life."
"I think he likes doing that," Callie replied. "And that’s a beautiful name. You can call her Alex or Drea or Xander or -"
"Xander is so cute. I loved Xander on ‘Buffy’."
"Get out of my head!" Callie cried. "That show changed my life!"
"Favorite episode?" Ava asked, eyeing her in disbelief.
"‘Once More With Feeling’, but I still cry every time I watch Buffy stab Angel in part two of ‘Becoming’." Callie stared off into space, clearly imagining it. "Who did you want her with? Spike or Angel?"
"Spike."
"Me, too. His name was the last thing she ever said on the show. That says a lot."
"Ooooh, I didn’t think about that!"
"Steel trap." Callie pointed at her temple. "Plus I’ve worn out my collection because I don’t have a life."
"Now that’s not what I’ve heard." Ava grinned. "I’ve heard all about you and Alex and your *life*. He came in earlier and talked non stop about you. His version of events are a lot better than what the nurses are saying, but either way I’m jealous and want to live vicariously."
Callie laughed a little. "You’re about to be living very much in your own little soap opera. Did Alex mention my idea for the news?"
"He did and I want to do it. I think Alexandria has a father out there who’s looking for us and I hope that I do too." Ava smoothed the cover nervously. "I don’t know who would recognize me, though. I don’t remember my old face, but I’ve had a lot of work done and -"
"They’ll recognize your voice. So, talk a lot and if you have any tattoos or scars or *anything* then bare it and share it."
"I like you."
"God, that’s a relief," Callie replied honestly. "I was afraid you wouldn’t and Alex thinks a lot of you so it matters. What you think."
"I overheard you telling Dr. Montgomery she should sleep with him a while back," Ava told her. "But I also heard you saying that Alex was the kind of guy who barbecues and stops messing around in his twenties and never lies to you. That didn’t *really* sound like someone who wasn’t interested herself."
"My own mother saw it before I did." Callie slipped off the bed and picked up the bags that she had brought in. "She also taught me never to visit anyone who is sick unless I come bearing gifts. There are things here for you and for the baby. When you have your national debut you’re going to look like a movie star."
"Gifts kick ass!" Ava said, digging into the packages. She exclaimed over the silk gown and robe that Callie had bought for her and squealed over the pink and purple clothing she had bought Alexandria. When she pulled out the solid red jumper that had a black skull on the butt, she said, "This is what she’ll wear for her debut! This is soooo cute!"
"And it’s big enough that it’ll fit her for Halloween, which is just around the corner."
Ava reached out and hugged her. Callie was careful with her, mindful of the fact that she’d recently had a cesarean. They gossiped a little more, talked about shows and then the baby was brought in. The nurse carried a bottle and Ava quickly explained that she was producing enough milk. When the nurse held the infant toward Ava, she shook her head and said, "Visitors first."
"Oh, I don’t have to-"
"Go ahead."
Callie accepted the baby and gazed down at her, brushing a tuft of her reddish hair back. The baby’s eyes fluttered open and she saw that they were blue. Alexandria blinked against the harsh lights, yawned, and then stuck her fist in her mouth. "You won’t get anything out of that," Callie told her, taking the bottle from the nurse.
The baby latched on, her little fists on either side of the bottle. Her eyes were open and when Ava spoke again, she turned her head a little, following the sound of her mother’s voice. "She likes you," Ava told Callie. "She won’t let anyone else feed her. She threw up on Alex when he tried."
"She’s named after him. She had to christen him."
Alex stood beside the nurse’s station, watching Callie with the baby. Seeing her like that did things to his insides that had nothing at all to do with the pretty blue dress she wore or the amount of thigh it exposed. He smiled when she laid a towel over her shoulder and lifted the baby, patting her on the back. She was a natural and she looked beautiful doing it.
Mark paused beside him and looked into the room. "Oh, it’s Callie. I was going to kick your ass for looking at Jane Doe like that."
"Look at what she’s doing."
"She’s burping a baby, dude." Mark smiled when he heard the little girl belch and Callie congratulate her. "Callie’s a family girl."
"I’m a family guy."
"Do not knock her up until the ink has been dried on her divorce papers for a very long time. Take it from me." Mark picked up a chart and looked back into the room. "That could have been me and Addison."
"Wait. Are you broken up again?"
"She aborted my child."
"Oh," Alex said, looking away. "I - I’m sorry."
Mark listened to the baby start to cry and smiled again. "We’re going to have another one. We are."
"She’s - Addison’s preg-"
"Not yet, but give me time."
*~*~*~*~*~
Callie found Alex sitting with Mark and Addison in the cafeteria. There were whispers when she walked in, but she kept her chin up and walked across the room, pausing only to greet Dr. Bailey. She could see Izzie sitting with George a few tables away and saw their heads go together as they began to talk to each other. She didn’t care. She listened to Bailey talk about the many ways they could ‘accidentally’ kill Sydney and threw her head back and laughed when Bailey suggested they do it then. She gave her friend a reassuring pat before she headed to where Alex was.
He stood up and kissed her, his hands on her hips. "You look pretty."
"You’re hopelessly biased." She kissed him again and sat down. "But thank you."
Addison had a grin on her face that was insane and dopey. Callie took one look at her and addressed Mark, "You’re gonna get caught if you have sex in the on call room behind triage again."
"How do you-" Mark began, scandalized.
"I heard you when I walked down the hall." Callie opened the soda that Alex had bought for her. "And I stood there for ten minutes to make sure that no one opened the door."
"I told you to be quiet!" Mark looked at Addison.
"I told you that I couldn’t. Not when you do that -"
"What did you do today?" Alex addressed Callie as the other two bickered. "Besides meet Ava."
"Made nice with my parents and got us sucked into dinner with them tomorrow night." Callie reached up, running her thumb along his jaw. "You look tired. Are you having a rough day?"
"I was, but it’s all good now." He leaned his forehead against hers. "Guess what?"
"What?"
"Webber hosted the meeting for Dr. Heron this morning and he made it clear that the only residents that she is in charge of are fourth years and below. So, you’re free."
"Then why does Bailey want to kill her?" Callie asked.
"Because Heron thinks that she should micro-manage Bailey’s clinic because fourth years and below work in it. She doesn’t like Bailey giving the orders in the clinic. She thinks it’s her domain, too."
"Oooh." Callie wrinkled her nose. "That’s gonna end well."
"Callie!" Addison interrupted in a loud voice.
Jumping a little, Callie said, "Sitting three feet away! Nowhere near deaf!"
"You were right about the, uh," Addison stumbled over her words and glanced at Alex, then clapped her hands together. She looked expectantly at Callie, who was clearly confused. "You know," she continued, clapping her hands again.
"I have never had a clapper." Callie scratched her head when Addison slapped her leg and gave an exaggerated shiver. "Alex, does sex make me as crazy as her?"
Alex watched as Addison made another move, this one looked like she was swatting away an angry fly. "Not at all."
Mark laughed and said, "She’s trying to tell you thank you for telling her that spanking is fun. She gets off on it."
"Oh, for God’s sake, Addison!" Callie threw a potato chip at her friend when she choked on her sandwich. "If you can’t say what you want or like then you don’t deserve to get it."
Addison was crimson and Callie looked at Mark, who was enjoying her friend’s discomfort a little too much. "Hey, Sloan?"
"Yeah?"
"I heard you were thinking about buying a hummer."
The smile faded from his face and he turned his attention to his sandwich. "Do you tell her *everything*, Addison?"
Callie didn’t wait for her to reply. "She’s my Padawan."
"And she’s my Darth Vader," Addison replied quickly.
"I can see that we have got to have a ‘Star Wars’ marathon very soon." Callie reached across the table and took her hand. "Sweetie, Darth was the bad guy. He taught the dark side."
"I know." Addison beamed at her. "He wore all black like you do and made people do carnal things with his magic light saber."
"No, that was ‘Star Whores’ and clearly you have a porn addiction." Callie bit into her own sandwich. "I have the sequel, ‘Return of the Thigh Highs’ in storage if you want to borrow it."
"Is Darth’s magic light saber in it?"
"Many times." Callie nodded.
"I’m free for the marathon on Friday."
"So am I."
Mark looked at Alex and said, "Are you off Friday?"
"I am."
Mark nodded. "I’ll bring the popcorn."
*~*~*~*~*~
Well, the plot is about to get so thick that you guys are NOT going to believe what happens. I'm telling you ... I've written parts of it and I can't believe I went there. Let's just say that Callie finds her spine and Izzie is going to feel what Torres wraith is all about. But Izzie says something to her that should *never* be said to ANY woman unless you have a death wish. Ooooooh.
Intrigue.
Y'all get ready. It's about to get CRAZY. Uhm .. craziER.
Author: Chelle Storey-Daniel
Rating: NC17 (in dirty, dirty ways)
Pairing: Addison/Mark FINALLY!!, 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 chapter has many inside joke references that some people may not get. The person that *needs* to get it (*coughAdriancough*) will. :)
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty One
Twenty Two
Twenty Three
Twenty Four
*~*~*~*~*~
If I fall along the way
Pick me up and dust me off
And if I get too tired to make it
Be my breath so I can walk
If I need some of your love
Give me more than I can stand
And when my smile gets old and faded
Wait around I'll smile again
-Rob Thomas
*~*~*~*~*~
Alex and Callie ate in almost total silence, with the television for company. Their easy banter when he had come home had been replaced with uncomfortable tension that seemed to set in the moment they filled their plates. He watched her when he knew she wasn’t aware of it and was happy to see that she was actually consuming something. He looked at the television every time she glanced his way, though. She didn’t want him to worry about her food so he refused to mention it or voice his elation that she was actually eating.
The football game was the most boring thing Callie had ever seen. Alex seemed to like it so much that he had changed the setting to picture in picture so he could watch it and another game at the same time. She could feel herself developing attention deficit disorder as she glanced back and forth between the two games. After eating half of her dinner, her belly was stuffed and she carried her plate to the kitchen, where she raked what was left into the garbage disposal and turned it on.
Maybe it was the sound of the disposal destroying what was left of her dinner or maybe it was stress of the day finally catching up with her, but something snapped. She turned and glared at Alex, who was still watching the game like it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. "Are you going to talk to me about today or what?"
Alex chewed his food slowly and swallowed before he spoke. "I thought we did."
"No, we did not. We didn’t address any of it. And we have to, Alex."
"Okay. Let’s talk."
She looked at him.
He looked at her.
"Say something," she finally told him.
"I think that the disposal is finished."
She finally realized that she had left it running and turned, shutting it off. The commentator on the television announced that someone had just run for fifty yards and Callie’s heart was beating hard enough that she felt like it was her. "Can you say something, anything, that is not so fucking obvious?"
"You’re not going to bait me into a fight with you. You’re *obviously* not getting it so there it is."
Drying her hands on the dishtowel, she walked into her bedroom and grabbed her robe. A hot shower would have to erase the tension because Alex clearly wasn’t interested in doing it.
Pulling the bandage off her arm, she tossed it in the trash and looked at the bite. It was still a little red and would definitely leave a scar, but it looked better. Adjusting the taps, she stripped off her clothes and stepped under the scorching water. She let it beat against her shoulders, against the top of her head, and it was so hot that her tears felt cool against her cheeks, betraying her once again.
Callie didn’t cry. As a rule, she avoided it like the plague, but over the past few months she had been painfully reminded that she had ducts and an abundant supply of agony to fill them. Girls like Izzie cried. Over everything. Callie was nothing like Izzie so she was officially cutting off the waterworks and would not be going there again. Her talk with Cam earlier had been the quintessential light bulb moment over her head. She had spoken all her truths to her brother, but since they were one in the same, she had spoken it to herself. And she had listened with the same intensity that Cam had listened. Angrily drawing her hand across her eyes, she forced the lump in her throat to go away and set about scrubbing her body.
Callie Torres was a lot of things, but she was not weak. Circumstances that she had orchestrated had left her weak and on her knees, but she was firmly on her feet now. She’d never be weak again. Or a victim. Because Mark had been right about that. He had been right about everything he said. She had been a spineless, cowering, victim of her own stupidity. She used a long loofah on her back and arched against it, feeling her spine. It was still there, it was simply dying quietly from lack of use.
She had a few things to say to Alex Karev and she didn’t give a damn if he was engrossed in a football game or if ... he was stepping, naked, into the shower.
"Hey." He reached around her and turned the hot water down significantly. "If this is just because I went to the Chief and tried to save your career then maybe you should try to remember that I almost lost you before I really found you. Anything I said to him was because I knew I was falling for you and I wanted to keep you safe."
Her brown eyes found his and every horrible thing she had been planning to say left her brain and the only thing her spine was currently doing was tingling. She said, "It’s okay. I know." The second the words left her mouth she groaned and leaned her head back against the shower wall. "That’s not what I meant to say."
"What did you mean to say?" He seized the opportunity and kissed her throat.
"I meant to say that I’m mad as -"
His hands moved to her hips and he pushed his knee between hers. "You’re mad as ... what?"
She bit her lip as he moved his thigh higher, pressing against her center. "Hell."
"And you’re not gonna take it anymore?" Alex looked at her, his expression serious. "You’re gonna take it, Callie. Right now."
Before she could protest, he reached down and grabbed her behind the legs, letting them fall over his arms as he slid her up the wall a little. She was completely open to him and he drove inside her without preamble. He buried his face against her neck as he slammed into her several times and breathed a sigh of relief when she wrapped her arms around him and kissed the side of his face. He lifted his head and kissed her, hard.
He came a moment later and let her slide back to her feet. Taking the shower head down, he cleaned her off, then let it fall to the floor as he buried his face between her thighs. She tugged his hair roughly and he enjoyed every second of it. When she came, he slowly got to his feet and looked down at her. "Do you need to say anything else to me, Elvira?"
She shook her head, her eyes hooded. "No."
"Okay then."
Callie watched him step from the shower and grab a towel. The door to the bathroom clicked shut a few minutes later and she closed her eyes. She had been planning to tell him that she would rip his tongue out if he talked about her to the Chief again, but it was a very talented tongue and she’d be the one dying without it. It would probably be very tacky to put an obituary in the paper for her spine, but she had no chance in hell of having one where Alex was concerned. She finished bathing and wrapped a towel around her body.
While she combing her hair, he opened the door. "You’re off work tomorrow, right?"
She nodded.
"You want to come have lunch with me?" He grinned at her. "Not because I want to make sure you eat, but because I can’t do a twelve hour shift and not see you."
She slammed her comb down on the vanity and said, "Could you please stop making it so damn hard to be pissed? I want to be pissed!"
"Good luck with that, baby." He pulled her into his arms and kissed the scowl off her face. "People who want to be pissed are generally unhappy. And I’m not letting you go there again."
"You’re not pissed at me?"
"No, I’m enraged, Callie. You told me the other day that you weren’t going to run anymore, but that’s what you did. Straight to the liquor store. You barely made it there alive from what Mark says, but I’m not gonna say the things to you that I want to say because I’m not that cruel." He shrugged. "Actually, I am that cruel. Just not to you, but I can be and I will if you don’t -"
"No. No, say it. Whatever it is."
"I’d rather you imagine it. Because you know that’s worse."
"Like when your mother tells you to wait until your father gets home?"
His expression changed and the twinkle in his eye was gone in a flash. "No. Nothing’s really worse than that."
Callie’s eyes widened and she brought a hand to her mouth. "He - he didn’t just hit your mother."
"No. He didn’t just hit my mother." Alex shook his head. "And having a fight with someone when your emotions are still kinda raw is counterproductive. It’s not gonna solve anything, Callie, and I’m not doing it."
Despite her solemn vow in the shower that crying was out the question, the look on his face caused her to break. It was a welcome relief to be crying for someone other than herself. She threw her arms around him and held on tight. "I love you, Alex. And I’m sorry."
"I know, baby." He hugged her. "Just ... could you try to remember that someone loves you, too, and it kills them a little when you do things like you did today."
"I will."
"Let’s go to bed." Taking a step back, he kissed her. "And stop crying. I hate when you do that."
"God, at least we have *that* in common." She dried her face and followed him into their bedroom. He had already pulled the cover back and she took her towel off, letting it fall into the floor. She caught him looking and raised a brow. "What are you staring at?"
"Everything. Absolutely everything."
She smiled and watched him pull his shirt off. "I know the feeling."
"You’re about to feel a lot more."
*~*~*~*~*~
Mark followed Addison into her room and watched as she pulled the ivory clip from her hair and laid it on the dresser. He walked to the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water and when he turned to hand her one, she was sitting on the edge of the bed. He could see the way her shoulders were shaking and he put the bottles down and sat beside her. She sniffled and leaned her head against his shoulder, drying her eyes.
"She could have died."
"Yes." He rubbed her arm. "She could have, but she didn’t."
"Because of you. That’s twice now that you’ve saved my best friend’s life."
"She’ll be okay. She will." Mark kissed her on top of the head. "Let’s order room service. What do you want?"
"Are you going to stay and eat with me?"
"Is that okay?"
"I’m so tired of eating alone." Addison sighed. "I have breakfast alone. Callie doesn’t eat lunch. And I come back here and order something every night and try to talk to the damn delivery person for as long as I can."
"Why don’t you go get a bath and unwind a little and I’ll order something."
"Not the chicken thing. I don’t like it."
"Not the chicken thing," he repeated, getting to his feet. He watched her rummage in the nightstand for her very unsexy flannel pajamas and smiled a little as she disappeared behind the door. He had lived with her for two months. Those ugly pajamas were a sign that Addison was not open. At all.
It took close to forty five minute for their dinners to arrive and she had still not emerged. He set it out on the table and knocked on the door. There was no answer so he tried the knob and was relieved that it wasn’t locked. She was asleep, bubbles covering her as she steam rose around her face. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub and watched her for a while. She had piled her hair on top of her head and her face was scrubbed clean. She looked young, vibrant.
"Addison?"
When she didn’t reply, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. She smelled like fruit and he knew that it was her favorite body wash from Victoria’s Secret. He had always loved the scent. He reached down and flipped the stopper, letting the water drain. The sound of it woke her and she looked up at him. The garden tub had a hand held sprayer so he turned the water on, adjusting it and then rinsed the bubbles from her skin. She had obviously boiled herself to death because her skin matched her hair.
"Cold." She shivered as he put the nozzle away and helped her to her feet.
Mark wrapped a towel around her and when she stepped from the tub, her feet slipped on the water that had splashed out while he sprayed her. He caught her, smiling down at her. "I got you."
"Yeah, you do." She put her hand on his cheek, loving the way his stubble felt so familiar and good against her palm. "Always."
He bent his head and kissed her. Somehow her towel slipped from his fingertips a moment later and he felt her skin, molded his hand against her rounded backside and it was enough. He lifted her against his body, urging her to put her legs around him. She didn’t have to be coaxed and he smiled at her as he turned and walked into the bedroom with her.
"You’re *not* winning," he told her as he fell onto his back, leaving her on top of him. "This is mutual."
She nodded and kissed him again, her tongue circling his, dancing and teasing. Sitting up, she let her hair fall down around her shoulders and moved to his chest, kissing the hard planes of muscle that she exposed as she unbuttoned his shirt. Taking her time, she moved over every inch of his arms and chest and he finally groaned in desperation and flipped her onto her back.
Within minutes, he was standing naked before her and she looked at him, unashamed of the fact that he took her breath. She sat up on the edge of the bed and wrapped her hand around his engorged cock, pumping it, running her thumb over the tip. When she looked up at him, she saw that his eyes were closed. Smiling, she slipped her mouth over him and strained to take him as far into her as she could. He was large and hard, but she made the most of it.
"Oh, God," he growled, his hands tangling in her hair. It had been so long, too long. As she let him fall from her mouth and he watched her lick a trail around the head, he almost came right then. Breathing hard, he eased away from her and shook his head. "You’re killing me."
"I didn’t even hum yet. I've heard that it’ll practically render you unconscious."
Torres was *definitely* a good friend, he thought. With a wicked smile, he flipped her onto her stomach and covered her body with his, kissing the nape of her neck, then lower down her spine. He lingered at the soft curve of her back, nipping at her flesh until she was wriggling beneath him. She whimpered his name and he said, "Hush. And keep your hands above your head."
He slid further down her body, biting the plump roundness of her backside before he urged her legs apart slightly and slipped his finger into her. Her hips bounced and he heard her hiss as he added a second digit. She was slippery, wet with need and they had only just begun. He let his fingers pump in and out of her, but ignored her clit. He could see by the way she undulated that she was trying to find friction on the comforter and it amused him to no end. He lifted her hips to stop her and watched as she fisted the cover in her hands.
She was being patient, not demanding, but he knew that he was working her into a frenzy. He pulled his hand away and eased her hips back to the bed before he kissed lower on the backs of her thighs. As his tongue darted out to taste the silkiness of her flesh, he kneaded her backside and she arched up against his touch. He moved to the back of her knee, his tongue flicking it the way he knew she longed ... and then her hand snaked between her legs and he narrowed his eyes.
He popped her, hard, on the ass and she cried out in shock. "Mark!"
"Keep your hands above your head."
"Then stop teasing me!"
He kissed her leg again and again he saw her polished fingers move against her clit. He pretended not to notice for a while, but when he heard the change of her breathing, he slapped her backside again. She came so hard that it stunned him, leaving his mouth agape. He stood and looked down at the red hand prints on both cheeks of her perfect ass and realized that she had *definitely* been hanging out with Torres too much, but he wasn’t going to complain.
Bending down, he ran his tongue along the marks and moved a hand between her legs again. Her pussy was still clenching when he slipped a finger into her again and he smiled when she moaned and pushed back against him. "You liked that, didn’t you?"
"Shut up."
"Who knew? Who knew that Addison Forbes Montgomery liked to be spanked."
"Shut. Up."
"I could do it again."
"I could let you."
She moved to her knees, daring him by wiggling back and forth. Instead of smacking her, he pulled her backwards and thrust into her. They both cried out, drowning out the sound of the other, but they didn’t need to hear it to know that it was perfect. He barely moved at all, he simply gripped her hips and pushed her forward, then yanked her back against him again. He wouldn’t last long. Not with her doing the things that she was doing with her muscles.
He reached around her slender hips with both hands. Holding her open with one, he twisted her clit with the other, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. She reached down, gripping his wrists and arching back against him. The change deepened his penetration and sent him over the edge. He took her with him and her nails brought blood as she clawed at his arms.
He held her back against his chest as she hung like a rag doll in his grip. Smiling, he traced her ear with his thumb and whispered, "Happy now?"
"When I can think again ... I’m sure I’ll say yes."
He sucked on her earlobe and felt her clench around him. "It’s too soon to be thinking anyway."
Addison gasped when he flipped her onto her back and moved inside her again, slower this time. She bit her bottom lip as he pushed her aching backside against the cover. It was an incredible feeling and one that she’d be buying Callie lunch for out of gratitude. "Mark?"
"What?"
"Is ‘making love’ always so violent and dirty?"
He glared down at her. "No. I’m about to show you what dirty is."
"After that I’ll show you what a hummer is. And you can punish me for not showing you sooner."
His dick throbbed so hard that it was almost painful. "Your pillow talk has vastly improved while you were celibate."
"So has my technique." She grinned up at him. "Want me to show you a move that will make your toes curl?"
"I dare you."
She showed him.
They had their dinner for breakfast.
*~*~*~*~*~
Taking a deep breath, Callie knocked on the door of her parent’s suite. It was early and she hoped they were awake. The construction had begun on her property that morning before the sun had come up and Alex had laughed at the colorful words she had spouted from underneath her pillow. He had left a cup of coffee on the nightstand and kissed her thoroughly before he left for work. She gave up on sleeping in when she heard someone yell ‘timber’ and a tree crash to the ground.
Lifting her hand, she knocked harder and her mother yanked the door open, glaring out with bleary eyes. "You better be dying, Calliope!"
"Where’s Daddy?"
"Sleeping. It’s what normal people do at this time of day."
"It’s almost seven thirty. Can I come in?"
"You’re not bleeding. You’re not crying. You’re not bruised or in any apparent pain so go to Cam’s room until I wake up."
"You are awake."
"No, I’m not. This is my subconscious you’re talking to and it doesn’t care that you’re family. What it cares about is rest."
Callie walked past her mother and crossed her arms over her chest. "What did you do last night?"
"Unlike you, I do not advertise my sex life or -"
"No! Ewww! No! Never refer to a sex life as yours! You don’t have sex! Especially not with my dad!"
Melana closed the door and smiled at her daughter. "And if you were an immaculate conception I would have converted to Satanism. What do you want, honey? I’m tired."
"Why are you so tired? Without details that will potentially scar me for life, please."
"I had an epileptic attack late last night that was very draining."
"Oh my god! Are you okay? How bad was it? Did you-"
"I’m fine. Just ... exhausted." Melana motioned for Callie to sit down at the table and took the seat beside her. "Cambyses told us about yesterday. I’m not even cognizant enough to yell at you yet, but I will tell you that your father, that man that I don’t have sex with, was driven to tears because of you. As much as I love you, sweetheart, if you do that to him again I’m going to wring your neck."
"I get it. I really, really get it." Callie reached out and took her mother’s hand. "People love me and the things I do are not just to myself. You guys feel it. I’m selfish and I have to stop."
Melana blinked. "Take that up a few octaves and throw in a death threat and that’s pretty much what I was going to shout at you."
"Alex told me without the shouting. It was still loud and clear."
"I know that having your mother like your boyfriend is usually a kiss of death, but I do like him. I feel good leaving you here with him. I would *not* have felt good about leaving you here with George. You know why I say that?"
"Why?"
"Because if you truly loved George at *all*, then you wouldn’t have given your self respect or dignity a second thought when you made the decision to stay with him. True love erases any doubt or concern about whether you should stay or go." She reached out and cupped her daughter’s face. "And at the same time ... true love never, ever *gives* you self doubt or a reason to think that you’re not good enough. You are an incredible woman, Callie. Don’t let anyone steal that truth from you again."
"I won’t." Callie hugged her. "And anything incredible about me is just a reflection of you."
Mel closed her eyes and smiled. "Why don’t you go talk to your father before you make me cry."
Callie got to her feet, not letting her mom see that her own eyes were wet. She eased open the bedroom door and saw that her father was lying on his back with his arm flung out across her mother’s pillow. The book she had given him was on the dresser and she picked it up, tucked it against her chest and crawled into bed beside him, her head on his arm. "Daddy?"
Raphael awoke with a start and gazed down at her. "Are you okay?"
"I’m fine." She put her arm over his chest and squeezed. "I just thought I’d wake you up with a story. The deal is, though, that I tell you one and you have to tell me one in return."
He smiled down at her. "I can do that."
Callie took a deep breath and said, "So, there was this girl who was spoiled rotten by her very generous and loving parents. She was so spoiled that she thought it would be okay to act like a rebellious teenager even though she was very much an adult. But only in age because her actions put her somewhere between fetus and fifteen. She did horrible things to her parents ... like running away to Australia or trying to hurt herself because she was ... wrong. She was wrong and she knows that now.
"Because she knows that she has the kind of mother who, while moderately insane, can still love someone enough to make everything okay. And she’s got the kind of dad who never made her worry about what would happen when he came home and she had done something awful. And she did that a lot. She still does." She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "And she’s very sorry for taking their love for granted and for anything she may have said on the phone about not ever forgiving her father because she does. And she’s okay now. She’s just fine.
"Your turn." She avoided looking at Raphael as she held up ‘The Velveteen Rabbit’. "Do the voices."
He cleared his throat and opened the front cover. "There was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning *she* was really splendid. She was *curvy* and bunchy, as a *Torres* rabbit should be; her coat was solid black, she had real thread whiskers, and her ears were lined with pink, no ... red, I think, sateen."
"You’re reading it wrong," she said softly, smiling.
"Well, honey, I don’t know who you told me a story about, but this one is about *you*."
"Okay, then the Boy in the story has to be called Alex."
"I don’t know, kitten. The rabbit leaves the boy in the end."
"This rabbit always goes back."
"It’s very nice to see you again, Callie. I feel like you’ve been gone for a very long time."
"I’m not going again, Daddy. I think I’m home for good."
*~*~*~*~*~
After leaving her parents with a promise of dinner the following night, Callie shopped for Ava and her baby. She also treated herself to a new outfit and had her hair styled at the salon. Addison had called to let her know that sex had finally happened, Ava was awake, and the stars and planets had all aligned in her life. Callie knew the feeling. As she strolled into the hospital she felt incredible and even a ten minute apology to Sydney didn’t put a damper on her mood. The hug that Sydney gave her was nauseating and uncomfortable, but her smile never faltered.
She knocked lightly on Ava’s door and saw that the woman was alone. Smiling, Callie set the bags in a nearby chair and held out her hand. "Hi, I’m -"
"Dr. Torres. Callie, right?"
"Right." Callie shook her hand, covering it with both of hers. "How are you feeling?"
Ava pushed herself up a little and grimaced. "It feels like a samurai put his sword in my gut and twisted it. Sorta like in ‘Samurai Ambush’ when the -"
"Oh my god!" Callie sat on the edge of the bed, facing her. "That is my favorite game *ever*."
"Shut up!" Ava said. "Have you gotten past the fourth level?"
"Girl, I got past that level the first night I played. I’m obsessive compulsive that way."
"How do you do it? How do you beat the squid thing?"
Callie opened her purse and pulled out her Gameboy, which was already loaded with the game. "I’ll leave this with you and I’m not telling you *how* to do it, but go for the tentacle."
Ava looked down at the toy with a look of geeker joy. "Which one? There are many."
"The big one." Callie smiled at her. "So, I met your daughter. She’s gorgeous! Have you named her named her yet?"
"Alexandria." Ava looked up at the dark haired woman as though she were afraid it would offend her. "Uhm, Alex did save my life."
"I think he likes doing that," Callie replied. "And that’s a beautiful name. You can call her Alex or Drea or Xander or -"
"Xander is so cute. I loved Xander on ‘Buffy’."
"Get out of my head!" Callie cried. "That show changed my life!"
"Favorite episode?" Ava asked, eyeing her in disbelief.
"‘Once More With Feeling’, but I still cry every time I watch Buffy stab Angel in part two of ‘Becoming’." Callie stared off into space, clearly imagining it. "Who did you want her with? Spike or Angel?"
"Spike."
"Me, too. His name was the last thing she ever said on the show. That says a lot."
"Ooooh, I didn’t think about that!"
"Steel trap." Callie pointed at her temple. "Plus I’ve worn out my collection because I don’t have a life."
"Now that’s not what I’ve heard." Ava grinned. "I’ve heard all about you and Alex and your *life*. He came in earlier and talked non stop about you. His version of events are a lot better than what the nurses are saying, but either way I’m jealous and want to live vicariously."
Callie laughed a little. "You’re about to be living very much in your own little soap opera. Did Alex mention my idea for the news?"
"He did and I want to do it. I think Alexandria has a father out there who’s looking for us and I hope that I do too." Ava smoothed the cover nervously. "I don’t know who would recognize me, though. I don’t remember my old face, but I’ve had a lot of work done and -"
"They’ll recognize your voice. So, talk a lot and if you have any tattoos or scars or *anything* then bare it and share it."
"I like you."
"God, that’s a relief," Callie replied honestly. "I was afraid you wouldn’t and Alex thinks a lot of you so it matters. What you think."
"I overheard you telling Dr. Montgomery she should sleep with him a while back," Ava told her. "But I also heard you saying that Alex was the kind of guy who barbecues and stops messing around in his twenties and never lies to you. That didn’t *really* sound like someone who wasn’t interested herself."
"My own mother saw it before I did." Callie slipped off the bed and picked up the bags that she had brought in. "She also taught me never to visit anyone who is sick unless I come bearing gifts. There are things here for you and for the baby. When you have your national debut you’re going to look like a movie star."
"Gifts kick ass!" Ava said, digging into the packages. She exclaimed over the silk gown and robe that Callie had bought for her and squealed over the pink and purple clothing she had bought Alexandria. When she pulled out the solid red jumper that had a black skull on the butt, she said, "This is what she’ll wear for her debut! This is soooo cute!"
"And it’s big enough that it’ll fit her for Halloween, which is just around the corner."
Ava reached out and hugged her. Callie was careful with her, mindful of the fact that she’d recently had a cesarean. They gossiped a little more, talked about shows and then the baby was brought in. The nurse carried a bottle and Ava quickly explained that she was producing enough milk. When the nurse held the infant toward Ava, she shook her head and said, "Visitors first."
"Oh, I don’t have to-"
"Go ahead."
Callie accepted the baby and gazed down at her, brushing a tuft of her reddish hair back. The baby’s eyes fluttered open and she saw that they were blue. Alexandria blinked against the harsh lights, yawned, and then stuck her fist in her mouth. "You won’t get anything out of that," Callie told her, taking the bottle from the nurse.
The baby latched on, her little fists on either side of the bottle. Her eyes were open and when Ava spoke again, she turned her head a little, following the sound of her mother’s voice. "She likes you," Ava told Callie. "She won’t let anyone else feed her. She threw up on Alex when he tried."
"She’s named after him. She had to christen him."
Alex stood beside the nurse’s station, watching Callie with the baby. Seeing her like that did things to his insides that had nothing at all to do with the pretty blue dress she wore or the amount of thigh it exposed. He smiled when she laid a towel over her shoulder and lifted the baby, patting her on the back. She was a natural and she looked beautiful doing it.
Mark paused beside him and looked into the room. "Oh, it’s Callie. I was going to kick your ass for looking at Jane Doe like that."
"Look at what she’s doing."
"She’s burping a baby, dude." Mark smiled when he heard the little girl belch and Callie congratulate her. "Callie’s a family girl."
"I’m a family guy."
"Do not knock her up until the ink has been dried on her divorce papers for a very long time. Take it from me." Mark picked up a chart and looked back into the room. "That could have been me and Addison."
"Wait. Are you broken up again?"
"She aborted my child."
"Oh," Alex said, looking away. "I - I’m sorry."
Mark listened to the baby start to cry and smiled again. "We’re going to have another one. We are."
"She’s - Addison’s preg-"
"Not yet, but give me time."
*~*~*~*~*~
Callie found Alex sitting with Mark and Addison in the cafeteria. There were whispers when she walked in, but she kept her chin up and walked across the room, pausing only to greet Dr. Bailey. She could see Izzie sitting with George a few tables away and saw their heads go together as they began to talk to each other. She didn’t care. She listened to Bailey talk about the many ways they could ‘accidentally’ kill Sydney and threw her head back and laughed when Bailey suggested they do it then. She gave her friend a reassuring pat before she headed to where Alex was.
He stood up and kissed her, his hands on her hips. "You look pretty."
"You’re hopelessly biased." She kissed him again and sat down. "But thank you."
Addison had a grin on her face that was insane and dopey. Callie took one look at her and addressed Mark, "You’re gonna get caught if you have sex in the on call room behind triage again."
"How do you-" Mark began, scandalized.
"I heard you when I walked down the hall." Callie opened the soda that Alex had bought for her. "And I stood there for ten minutes to make sure that no one opened the door."
"I told you to be quiet!" Mark looked at Addison.
"I told you that I couldn’t. Not when you do that -"
"What did you do today?" Alex addressed Callie as the other two bickered. "Besides meet Ava."
"Made nice with my parents and got us sucked into dinner with them tomorrow night." Callie reached up, running her thumb along his jaw. "You look tired. Are you having a rough day?"
"I was, but it’s all good now." He leaned his forehead against hers. "Guess what?"
"What?"
"Webber hosted the meeting for Dr. Heron this morning and he made it clear that the only residents that she is in charge of are fourth years and below. So, you’re free."
"Then why does Bailey want to kill her?" Callie asked.
"Because Heron thinks that she should micro-manage Bailey’s clinic because fourth years and below work in it. She doesn’t like Bailey giving the orders in the clinic. She thinks it’s her domain, too."
"Oooh." Callie wrinkled her nose. "That’s gonna end well."
"Callie!" Addison interrupted in a loud voice.
Jumping a little, Callie said, "Sitting three feet away! Nowhere near deaf!"
"You were right about the, uh," Addison stumbled over her words and glanced at Alex, then clapped her hands together. She looked expectantly at Callie, who was clearly confused. "You know," she continued, clapping her hands again.
"I have never had a clapper." Callie scratched her head when Addison slapped her leg and gave an exaggerated shiver. "Alex, does sex make me as crazy as her?"
Alex watched as Addison made another move, this one looked like she was swatting away an angry fly. "Not at all."
Mark laughed and said, "She’s trying to tell you thank you for telling her that spanking is fun. She gets off on it."
"Oh, for God’s sake, Addison!" Callie threw a potato chip at her friend when she choked on her sandwich. "If you can’t say what you want or like then you don’t deserve to get it."
Addison was crimson and Callie looked at Mark, who was enjoying her friend’s discomfort a little too much. "Hey, Sloan?"
"Yeah?"
"I heard you were thinking about buying a hummer."
The smile faded from his face and he turned his attention to his sandwich. "Do you tell her *everything*, Addison?"
Callie didn’t wait for her to reply. "She’s my Padawan."
"And she’s my Darth Vader," Addison replied quickly.
"I can see that we have got to have a ‘Star Wars’ marathon very soon." Callie reached across the table and took her hand. "Sweetie, Darth was the bad guy. He taught the dark side."
"I know." Addison beamed at her. "He wore all black like you do and made people do carnal things with his magic light saber."
"No, that was ‘Star Whores’ and clearly you have a porn addiction." Callie bit into her own sandwich. "I have the sequel, ‘Return of the Thigh Highs’ in storage if you want to borrow it."
"Is Darth’s magic light saber in it?"
"Many times." Callie nodded.
"I’m free for the marathon on Friday."
"So am I."
Mark looked at Alex and said, "Are you off Friday?"
"I am."
Mark nodded. "I’ll bring the popcorn."
*~*~*~*~*~
Well, the plot is about to get so thick that you guys are NOT going to believe what happens. I'm telling you ... I've written parts of it and I can't believe I went there. Let's just say that Callie finds her spine and Izzie is going to feel what Torres wraith is all about. But Izzie says something to her that should *never* be said to ANY woman unless you have a death wish. Ooooooh.
Intrigue.
Y'all get ready. It's about to get CRAZY. Uhm .. craziER.