DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, and make no money from them. If I did, I wouldn't be doing what I do now.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wrote this with the intention of posting it for last year's IDF, but I got busy with a class I was taking and didn't get it in in time. Thanks to rysler and pdt_bear the beta.
SPOILERS: The season finale of Grey's is pretty well spoiled here for any who hasn't seen the ending to last season.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.

Missing Keys and Other Things
By atsammy

 

All Erica wanted was a drink. To go home, crawl into bed with a bottle of rum and maybe some coke and just forget that the past two days had never happened. Was there enough alcohol in the world to burn the image of Yang telling her to shut up from her brain? Maybe not, but the image of Yang burning at the stake got her through the lobby of the hospital and out the door. What had ever possessed her to think that moving to Seattle Grace was a good idea in the first place? She reached into the side pocket of her purse for her keys, and then slowed as she came up empty. "No fucking way," she muttered, shoving things around as she tried to find them.

"Not now," she muttered, dropping her bag on the nearest bench and shoving her wallet around more forcefully than probably necessary. She ignored the sound of footsteps behind her, feeling her irritation level rise as her keys were nowhere to be found. She was going to kill someone if she had to go back inside that hospital again before Monday. Erica emptied the bag one item at a time, wondering where the fuck all the crap came from. She felt like screaming as she replaced everything, and felt that the murder of whatever idiot was slowing behind her might just be justified after the day she had.

"Hey, I wanted to see if you wanted to get a drink."

Callie. Ok, so maybe not an idiot. And she mentioned alcohol. Erica could live with that. Once she found her keys. "I can't find my keys," she muttered absently, glaring at her bag as if she expected them to appear in sheer terror. "I had the damn keys this morning, I put them in this bag, but I can't remember. This whole thing with Yang has got me so messed up." She poked at her wallet one last time, debating silently the likelihood of not running into anyone on her way back in to search her office.

"Erica!" She jumped at her name, having forgotten that there was someone talking to her. She finally focused on Callie. Her hair looked nice like that, she mused absently.

"What?" And, why was Callie looking at her like that? All… nervous. If she had a fight with Sloan then Erica REALLY didn't want to hear about that either.

"I'm saying something to you." Erica watched her, eyes a little wide as Callie repeated, "Just, I wanted to say… I just wanted to say…" Callie was stepping closer, and then it didn't matter what she was trying to say as Callie took her face in her hands and kissed her.

All thoughts of alcohol vanished the moment Callie's lips touched hers. It wasn't a deep kiss, full of passion and lust. It was soft, and Callie tasted like her lip gloss, chocolate and coffee. For the first time in a week Erica allowed herself to remember her brief kiss in the elevator--- that spur of the moment, fed up with Sloan and his attitude, kiss. The one she hadn't expected to set her lips tingling, a feeling she'd quickly forced down on her way home. Callie caressed her cheek, much as she herself had done a week earlier, and Erica almost whimpered at the look in her eyes when she pulled back.

Callie smiled and kissed her again. It was wonderful. Erica brought a hand up and tangled it in her dark, silky hair as she kissed back, her other hand wrapping around her back and pulling her tight against her. She was so soft, where their bodies were pressed together, and Callie wasn't still either, her hands pressing against her hips before sliding around to rest on her lower back.

Neither woman noticed the people walking past, people who were in shock at what they were witnessing (or rather, who), people who come Monday would have the best gossip to share since George slept with Izzie. Erica didn't know, didn't think about it, didn't care about anything but the softness of Callie's lips and the smell of her perfume and the feel of her skin.

When Callie's hand slid between them and inside her coat to press against her side just below her breast, Erica managed to pull away. Callie moaned softly in disappointment as the kiss broke, though they remained pressed against each other. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment, before Erica blurted out in a rush, "Why are you doing this?" She regretted the question as soon as she saw the embarrassment, the hurt flash over Callie's face, and felt her start to pull away.

Erica tightened her arms and wouldn't let her run away, not yet. "Don't… I just… Since Addison was here, you've had that thing with Sloan, and…"

"You're all I think about," Callie interrupted. "Since that first night we went for drinks and we hit it off. That never happens, with anyone. You are the one person constantly on my mind, and I didn't even realize it until Addison said… what she said, and then I started to think about it and freaked out and tried to ignore it with him, but I think about you when he's there and then you kissed me the other day and I thought maybe you were thinking about it too…"

Callie was rambling. Erica had never had patience for people who rambled, but it was somehow adorable in Callie. But, in rambling, Callie had looked away and so Erica kissed her to get her to stop talking. It was quick, but effective, and when she pulled back she traced her thumb over Callie's lower lip and said simply, "Come home with me."

Callie looked at her in dumbfounded surprise, saying only, "huh?"

"We need to talk, and I'm not going to do this with Yang eavesdropping from the next room or here in front of the hospital for the enjoyment of the night nurses, so, come home with me." She glanced up at the hospital, then to the side, her brow crinkling. "I can't find my keys," she repeated from that long ago conversation. She dropped her arms from around Callie and half turned away, picking up her bag. "I don't know where they could be," she muttered absently.

Callie grinned and pressed herself tight against her side, sliding one hand inside Erica's coat pocket. Slowly drawing it out again, she enjoyed the startled expression on Erica's face as she watched, wide-eyed. "These keys?" she laughed, holding them up dangling and jingling between them.

Erica blushed, but took them from her. "Yeah." She stepped away, looked down at her hands for a moment, and then held out her empty one. Callie slid her hand into hers and intertwined their fingers. It was nice, holding her hand, and she surreptitiously tightened her grip briefly. Callie glanced at her, a small smile on her face and squeezed back. It felt nice, holding someone's hand. Callie's hand. Better than nice.

The End

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