A/N This ended up being the final chapter, I hadn't planned on it but it seemed like a good place to wrap things up. I hope you guys like it! Thanks so much for all your comments and kindness. It is much appreciated!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer- I don't own any of them, they belong to Shonda and ABC.

Chapter 4

Callie entered the hospital, noting the warm and friendly architecture, which was rare within a hospital. There were live plants in every corner, lush and green, a sign that life was budding in this hospital. People didn't come here to die, they came here to live. It was very different from Seattle Grace's white cement tiled floors and walls. Looking up at the directional chart on the wall, she found the Cardio floor. She hoped that's where she'd find Erica and figured it was worth a shot. From there she made her way over to the elevators on the back wall, took another deep breath, and pressed the button. Even the elevators were welcoming with oak wood covered doors, accentuated by a gold trim. As soon as she hit the button, the doors opened. She stepped in and pressed the number five. Seconds later she was in the middle of the fifth floor. She scanned the hall for some sort of movement or a nurses station. As if on cue, she saw Erica hastily making her way down the hall, with her head down, obviously reading a chart, while making her way to her destination, Right then, a part of Callie wanted to tuck tail and run. She knew Erica would not be happy to see her, at her job, her brand new, no one knows me here, job. Callie swallowed and stepped into Erica's path.

Clearing her throat, she managed to get out the word "Erica"

The blond stopped dead in her tracks and looked up from her chart so quickly, Callie was sure Erica would get whiplash.

Through gritted teeth, Erica demanded. " Callie, What are you doing here?"

Callie looked down at her feet before raising her eyes to meet Erica's. "I wanted to talk, and well you weren't and aren't answering texts, emails, phone calls or anything else so I decided to come to you.."

'You decided that here, where I work, where I leave my personal life outside the doors- because we all are well aware of the mess that occurs if you drag your personal life into a hospital- was an appropriate place to attempt to engage me in conversation? Sure Callie let me just tell my patient who is scheduled for emergency surgery in twenty minutes to hang on, so that I can have a conversation with you" Erica rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Erica if you are busy it can wait, I am here and I am not going anywhere. I came here because you left me no other choice. I don't have an address, but I did know where you were working. You were supposed to call me, you never did so that's why I am here.." Callie said in a matter of fact tone.

"Well I am busy, and I will be busy for the rest of the day. You can sit in the waiting room if you want, or go back to Seattle. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other" after uttering the cold statement Erica turned around and headed in the same direction she had been heading before Callie stopped her.

Callie watched Erica's back getting farther away from her and something inside her snapped. This was not happening again, " Dr Hahn, I am trying here. I know you are busy but I suggest you make time, and find a room for us to have a quick consult!"

Erica obviously flustered by Callie's loud demand, in front her colleagues stopped, turned around and without saying a word grabbed Callie's sleeve and pulled her down the hall into the nearest on call room.

"Callie so help me if you ever try anything like this again, I will see that security drags you out of this hospital and you are never allowed back within its walls again" Erica angrily spit out.

"Do you understand me?" Erica continued. "I have never mixed my personal life with work and I won.,."

"Erica!" Callie interrupted, "Shut up and shut up now! I drove five hours to talk to you, five hours and you treat me as if I am an annoyance? You treat me like you feel nothing and the thing is, you feel so much you are terrified. You spend your life harboring those walls. Well guess what, I am here to tell you that, you, Erica Hahn are worth fighting those walls.. You deserve to be happy and I know you were happy with me, so you go ahead and push me away, all you want because I am not going anywhere. I'll be in the waiting room at the end of your shift. I won't beg, Erica, I won't. But I will be in the waiting room at the end of your shift. I hope that I know you well enough to know that you'll meet me there. Callie grabbed the handle on the door, and gave Erica one last hard glance and made her way to the lobby.

Erica sat down on the cot and placed her face in her hands, and quietly let a few tears fall. What Callie had just said and more importantly the lengths that Callie had gone for her-no one else had ever done. In all her 41 years, no one had ever cared enough about her walls to try to plow through them. The way she treated Callie was more than embarrassing. She never ceased to be amazed at the ease in which she was harsh. She took a deep breath, shook off the tears, and remorsefully headed to surgery.

At just before seven pm Callie entered Sacred Heart once more. Her eyes held a quiet fear. She was so afraid Erica wouldn't be there. That she, Callie Torres, had made so many mistakes with the woman, that there would be no getting through. If what she had said and done, didn't bring Erica to the waiting room, in a few short minutes. Then there was nothing she would ever be able to do, to tear down the walls that Erica fought so hard to keep.

When she arrived in the cardio waiting room, Callie took a sweeping glance, No, Erica. She took a deep breath and sat down. Hoping beyond measure that Erica would show up. Callie watched the clock on the wall and literally counted along with the second hand as it moved around the clock. Tick-tock tick-tock, wasn't there a nursery rhyme that said something about tick tock and a mouse and a clock, she thought to herself.

"So are you planning on staring at that clock all night or are you ready to leave? Erica asked in a soft tone.

Callie turned to see Erica standing there, with her hands in her lab coat pockets. She breathed a sigh of relief, and said "no, just wasn't sure what to expect, but I am ready.."

"Ok then come on, I guess we'll just go to my place and order take out, so we can talk comfortably," Erica said gently.

The two women made their way to Erica's car in silence.

"You just want to ride with me, and I'll bring you back, here to your car?" Erica asked.

"Yeah thats fine, I am horrible with directions, anyway"

Erica got in the driver's seat and unlocked the door, Callie got in and the women continued their silence.

"Here we are Erica said, as she flipped on the lights"

"Um Erica there's no furniture available to sit on, there are boxes everywhere?" Callie observed.

"I haven't had time to unpack, or the energy for that matter. The bedroom is unpacked though, there's a TV and everything in there. Just, here, step over these and I'll order the take out. Chinese is still OK right?" Erica asked.

"Its fine with me" Callie replied, suddenly very nervous. She had Erica willing to actually talk and not run. She couldn't run from her in her own home, well not one in which Callie wasn't familiar with. What she would say to her, she wasn't sure. Sighing she headed back to the bedroom and sat down on the unmade bed. Erica grabbed her take out menu, called and put in their order.

"He said about forty five minutes, have you eaten anything today?" Erica asked softly.

"No I didn't, I couldn't find any food establishments and ended up getting lost, by the time I found my way back to the hospital, your shift was almost over." Callie said as she plucked invisible lent off her sweater.

"Well, I have some chips in the drawer over there to tie you over, if you want."

"No its fine I'll wait, I am not really that hungry right now, anyway." Callie replied continuing to pluck the nonexistent lent.

Erica, took a breath and reached over and grabbed the hand that was responsible for picking invisible lent. "Callie, look at me, I am sorry for the way I treated you earlier, I had no right. I just- what you said in that room, you were right. I don't do anything with people easily. Relationships, apologize, befriend, all of it is very hard for me. So those walls, they are there. And you hurt me, I don't get hurt. So you are right I am scared."

" Callie stared intently at Erica, and cupped the older woman's cheek in her hand, "Its OK Erica, its OK to be scared, but I am here, I want this, I want us. At least for us to have a fighting chance. When I am with you, I am understood, you get me. You get me in ways that no one ever has and I was an idiot,to play with that the way I did. You are my best friend and were my lover. Do you know how hard that is to find? After you left and I got hit in the nose by the patient, I laid there on the floor, so exhausted, and so filled with remorse. Erica I have never been as exhausted as I was after you left. I was deep down inside exhausted, and all it took was for you, to show up on my doorstep that night, to bring me right out of it. So yeah I am here, and I am going to fight for us, hopefully by your side.

Erica placed her hand over Callie's hand on her cheek, "I – I don't know what to say, what I feel for you, is more than I've ever felt. I just, I am scared, as those words left her lips, Erica began to sob, in her whole life Erica could count the times on her hand, she had cried with such emotion and now two of those involved Callie Torres. Callie pulled the older woman into a tight embrace and rubbed small circles on her back. "Its OK Erica, I can't promise to never hurt you again, because I am human. I am going to mess up, but I can promise that I am here, I am here and I am ready to love you, if you'll let me."

Erica broke the embrace and drank in the women before her. The beautiful, raven haired, woman. The woman who had just asked to love her. The woman who had really and truthfully fought for her. "Callie, you, are glasses, I love you and have loved you since, well I don't know for how long, but you have my heart. Those walls were to keep me from falling apart, not to keep you out. The truth is you were never locked out. I just locked myself in. This is so new to me, but I want you, I want this. and I want there to be an us. I don't know how we'll work it out, but we will I will fight just as hard and right by your side for as long as you'll have me."

Callie leaned in and kissed Erica passionately, with every ounce of emotion she had felt since Erica had left. Pausing for breath, Callie whispered, "that sounds good to me."

Erica picked up the phone.

"Who could you possibly be calling, at this very, well, this very intense moment?" Callie whined.

"I am canceling our take out order, I don't think we'll be needing it." Erica smirked.

Callie barely waited for Erica to hang up the phone before she was straddling the blond Cardio Goddess. Erica again took in the dark haired beauty, "I did miss my best friend, Callie, really I did, But I've missed this just as much, You are beautiful in every sense of the word." Erica pulled her close and kissed Callie breathless. The two of them, made love that night until they both fell asleep tightly embraced in each other's arms. Though neither knew what tomorrow would bring, they did know that they'd be facing it together.

The end.