Counting To Fifteen [Grey's Anatomy]

chapter thirty one - two sad cals

Daisy and Calypso had officially been gone for two weeks.

Fourteen days. Half a month.

Mark was sort of just accepting the fact that things were over. He had grown used to his role as parent, it was weird going back to being just Mark again. Having nobody to look after anymore.

Well...that technically wasn't true. Callie was a wreck, and Mark felt as though he was playing parent to the emotionally unstable girl, trying to comfort her and giving her a place to stay.

Caroline Fanning was the main topic of conversation in the apartment. Mark had yet to meet the woman, but the newest addition to the hospital's pediatric team infuriated Callie.

Callie was sat at the kitchen counter, spewing out all of her feelings over an entire store-bought cake that she had purchased for herself as well as a bottle of wine.

"She's not even that pretty, so I don't even get what Arizona sees." Callie complained as she dug her fork into the white icing, taking a mouthful. "I mean, she's sort of pretty...sure, but...but I'm just as pretty. I'm pretty, aren't I?"

"You're so pretty." Mark replied absentmindedly to feed the woman's diminishing self-confidence, just trying to do his dishes.

"I'm so pretty. God, I'm so hot. Caroline Fanning can go eat paste." Callie decided firmly, taking another forkful of her cake.

Mark was so happy when silence came over the two. Of course he wanted to be supportive and help Callie through her crisis. But listening to the woman drone on and on about the doctor Arizona supposedly had the hots for was not something Mark would say he particularly enjoyed.

Mark heard a sniffle, and he tried his best to stifle a groan as he turned and was met with the sight of Callie crying over her cake. "What's wrong?"

"This makes me a bully, doesn't it?" Callie looked to Mark for confirmation through tear-filled eyes. "I'm definitely a liar, at least, because...she's so goddamn pretty, and...and I haven't even properly met her. Maybe she's the sweetest person ever. Maybe I'm unknowingly bullying the sweetest person ever. Oh my god, I...I bully other women. I find joy in bullying other women."

Callie let out a particularly loud sob at the revelation that she had come to, laying her head down on the counter as she cried.

"I think we're done with this for tonight." Mark tried to speak in a nice tone as he pried the glass of wine from Callie's hand, taking the bottle with him too so as to cut the woman off completely.

Callie didn't even seem to notice, crying in such a way that Mark was sure she wouldn't ever stop.

"Oh, come on. I bet this Caroline girl is...ugly."

Callie shook her head as she looked up, propping her head up on her elbow. Her cheeks were heavily tear-stained, her eyes as glossy as ever. "She's really pretty. I think I sort of have a crush on her too, and...and Arizona is practically in love with her and I...hate her for it. I hate her for it."

"You know what I hate?" Mark tried to thumb onto a different topic, glaring at that stupid cat that crossed his path and padded along the kitchen floor. "Cats. I hate cats."

But even more so than cats? Mark hated when people gave their animals stupid names. Mark hated when people gave their animals human names.

Thomas was the name that Daisy and Calypso had picked out for the gray-haired menace that shredded his throw pillows.

His name was Thomas, and that made Mark hate the stupid thing even more.

And yet as deep as his hatred seemed to stem for the cat, he couldn't bear to part with him. Besides, Thomas was sort of good company.