Author's note: I come bearing fic. I hope everyone's till enjoying this!

Chapter Nine – Callie

"Are you sure you don't want to play?" the hot peds surgeon with the butterfly scrub cap asked.

Callie took a pull of her beer before answering. She didn't want to appear too eager or desperate or anything. "No, I'm fine here. Besides, someone has to make sure these losers don't cheat," she replied, looking pointedly at Mark.

"Hey! I do not cheat!" Mark called from the next table. He'd already had a couple of drinks – fortunately he could hold his liquor, so it didn't show.

"Mark," Derek interrupted, "what about the time in freshman bio-chem?"

"That was different. I missed the lab the day before trying to get Stacey Harvey to go out with me. It's not my fault you're a lousy lab partner."

Everyone laughed. Callie was glad to see the two old friends speaking to each other again. She was also glad that Derek hadn't brought up Addison in the context of "cheating." Mark had been upset the whole time Derek was gone, not that he'd ever admit it. But Callie could tell. There was a loneliness there that neither she nor Lexie could fill. It was nice to see them reconnect.

"Okay, enough with the trip down memory lane. I'm trying to concentrate here," Alex grumbled as he poised to take his shot.

"Go get him, Alex!" Izzie – who thankfully was content to be a cheerleader – yelled from across the bar. Callie rolled her eyes. Despite her new quasi-lesbian status, the sight of perky, bubbly, blonde Izzie Stevens gave her the urge to hit something.

Callie refocused her attention on the game. She really didn't see how Alex could win. He needed one of those impossibly odd numbers. Plus his frustration was beginning to show. On his last turn at least one shot had gone wide. Then his opponent, Derek, used his turn to get to a nice even twenty. Alex took a deep breath and fired his darts in quick succession. Callie groaned. Twenty-six. Alex pulled the darts out in disgust and handed them to Cristina. Derek smiled smugly and launched one dart, got twenty thus ending the game. Derek retrieved his lone dart, winking at Meredith as he handed the darts off to Mark.

Cristina practically jumped off her stool to take her place in front of the board. She looked very serious. Callie smiled. Leave it to her uber-dedicated roommate to turn a game of darts into life or death. Mark noted the concentration of Cristina's face and tried to look unworried. But Mark gave himself away when he nervously started rotating the darts he held in his hand.

Callie knew that Mark had reason to worry. Cristina was good. As good as she was at practically everything else. Callie had played her a few times and had her ass soundly handed to her each time. It was over before Callie'd had a chance to finish her beer. This time was no different. Three swift rotations and it was over. Meredith, Izzie and Alex cheered as Cristina resumed her place at their table. George tried to give her a high five which Cristina studiously ignored.

"I can't believe I lost to Yang!" Mark practically shouted. That was odd; Mark wasn't usually a sore loser. Was the alcohol starting to kick in?

"You wanna tone it down, Dr. Sloan! I don't think they heard you in Siberia!" Joe yelled from across the room.

"Sorry, Joe!" nearly everyone yelled back. Yep, Callie thought, definitely the alcohol.

"You didn't just loose, Sloan. You were crushed," Owen observed as he took his place in front of the board.

"Let's see you do better, Hunt," Mark replied indignantly.

Owen looked at Cristina, smiling. "I really hope I get that chance."

Cristina smiled back, eyes full of challenge. "You're gonna have to get through Mer first," she reminded him.

"Of course. Meredith," Owen said politely, stepping aside so Meredith could go first.

Callie couldn't help but laugh. She was happy to see Cristina like this. She'd been so…defeated when Burke left. It was good to see her smile again. It was so hard for a person like Cristina to open up to people. Callie was mildly surprised at how quickly Cristina had taken to Owen. Not that Callie could blame her in the slightest. The guy was gorgeous. Not in the pretty boy way of Mark or Derek, of course. They were handsome in a more classical sense: the strong jaw, high cheekbones, and awesome hair. No, Owen definitely had a more rugged look, as well as the bluest eyes Callie had ever seen. If she wasn't all about the women now, Cristina may have had a touch of competition.

Okay…maybe not. Because it was clear to anyone with eyes that Owen and Cristina only had eyes for each other. Callie was pretty sure World War III could come through Joe's bar and that would still be true. She sighed. Why can't someone look at me like that? she wondered idly. Callie, focused on the game, never noticed Arizona staring at her while pretending to talk to a still ranting Mark.

"Damn it!" Meredith muttered, as Owen calmly lowered his score to zero. The elder Grey turned to Cristina. "You have to beat Derek. He'll be impossible to live with if you don't."

"Come on, Meredith, it won't be that bad," Derek replied with a knowing smile.

"Kick his ass, Cristina," Alex chimed in.

"Are they always like this?" Arizona asked as she claimed the stool next to Callie.

Callie nearly jumped a foot in the air. "Arizona! You scared me!"

"Sorry. I just thought I'd keep you company."

"Mark boring you?"

"Sloan's nice and all, but he's not really who I was hoping to talk to tonight."

"Oh." You want to talk to me? Yikes. Callie's heart sped up in a moment of panic. Think of something to say, Callie! "Um, you were good earlier. With Meredith."

Arizona laughed. "Not really. I stayed in it long enough not to get embarrassed. Darts aren't really my thing."

Callie was about to ask what Arizona's thing was when the residents' table started shouting all at once. Callie looked at them, confused. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Shepherd tried to cheat," Alex said loudly.

"I did not, Karev."

Callie got up and stood between the residents and the neurosurgeon. "Enough, all of you! Did anyone besides Karev see Derek cheat?"

Owen and Mark shook their heads. Cristina was nodding emphatically as were Alex and Izzie. George shook his head slowly but Meredith looked torn.

"Meredith?"

"Yes. No. Maybe. I was drinking my tequila; I couldn't tell."

Callie sighed. "Since no one has any definitive proof, Derek and Cristina will start over. Clean slate. That okay with everyone?"

Everyone nodded. Crisis averted. Callie resumed her seat, resolving to ignore the still-hot peds surgeon.

"Sorry," Arizona said quietly.

"It's okay, just help me keep an eye on them."

This game went slower than Cristina's bout with Mark. It went back and forth for a while. Derek was good, excellent. But, in the end, Cristina was better. Callie saw the tide turn. Derek's shots simply refused to go where he wanted them to. He was stuck. Cristina, on the other hand, just kept picking off points. When her score finally dwindled to zero, the second year resident, much to everyone's shock, held her hand out to Derek. "Well played, Dr. Shepherd."

"You too, Dr. Yang," Derek replied, mostly graciously.

So it was down to Owen and Cristina. If she hadn't known any better Callie would have sworn they'd planned this outcome. But that was silly. No one had even known about this game until a few hours ago. It was very Clash of the Titans though. Callie watched as they sized each other up from their respective tables. At least that's what Callie assumed they were doing. Then Cristina smiled knowingly and nodded once in Owen's direction. Suddenly Callie felt dirty, like she'd seen something she wasn't supposed to. Something intimate.

I wonder if Arizona has a place for me to crash, Callie wondered. Cause I don't think home will be a quiet place tonight…

UP NEXT: Cristina