undeserving of you.

II

greys sloan memorial hospital
7:08 am.
callie's POV
—
as i rush through the front doors of the hospital, bailey immediately spots me and gestures me over. as i'm walking towards her, i notice a beautiful hispanic woman standing next to her. she has black hair with dyed auburn colored tips, and beautiful tanned white skin. freckles decorate parts of her cheeks and her nose. hazel eyes drift towards me, and her mouth curves into a smile. but her clothes completely throw me off. she's wearing a cute red blouse that ties into a knot just above her bellybutton and black white striped pants decorated with a fancy plaid pattern. silver hoops dangle from her earlobes, and i realize that the tops of her ears are pierced with diamond studs. her heels are a velvety cherry red, with straps over the top of her foot and over her toes. my breath stops when i see her ID. the lanyard has "DMH" sewn all over it, which i know for a fact stands for the department of mental health. her ID says she's valentina sampino, a doctor and a therapist, along with a pretty picture for an ID picture.

i think i might have zoned out at some point, because i blink at doctor bailey's fingers snapping in front of my face and her saying, "earth to calliope torres?" i blink rapidly and shake myself out of it. i avert my attention back towards bailey's face, curious to hear what she has to say. out of my peripheral vision, i notice that valentina has a small, sultry smile and her eyes are looking me up and down. i gulp. "calliope torres, meet valentina sampino. she has just been transferred from staten island to work here." valentina sticks out her hand for me to shake, and i gladly grab it. "new york? that's an interesting place to transfer from," i say randomly after our hands pull apart. valentina shrugs and giggles. "it is, but i looked into the statistics of greys sloan memorial hospital and i thought you guys could use a psychologist. or a therapist. whatever you want to classify me as." i laugh reflexively. like way too much. i feel like a white girl.

miranda's brows furrow, and she looks at me with some skepticism. i shoot her a look that says, 'you can ask questions, just not here and not now.' bailey sighs and suggests that i should show valentina around since out of everyone, i usually have the slowest days. i agree without hesitation, and bailey can't wipe the stupid smirk off her face. i want to slap her, and i would've if valentina wasn't standing there looking all pretty. bailey whistles and walks the other way. valentina's eyebrows are raised, and she chuckles. i roll my eyes and gesture for her to follow me. i show her all the floors and the crew — meredith, lexie, april — all of them. they give her a warm welcome (thankfully) and let us go on. after we're done, we collapse onto chairs in room 502, the room of a man who has been in a deep coma for a week.

"so how are you liking the hospital, doctor sampino?" i ask her. valentina waves away my mannerly name for her. "don't bother. call me valentina. or val. or tina. anything along those lines." she giggles again. ugh, she's so cute! what the hell. i'm really falling for someone who can read my feelings just by scanning my face. "alrighty then, you can call me callie. or cals. that's what doctor bailey always calls me. and some of the crew, but hardly anyone calls me calliope besides my parents," i tell her. she nods. a look of thoughtfulness crosses her face. she leans her elbow against the cushion of the chair and her head onto her fist. "calliope. that's an interesting name. it's beautiful, too. just like you." she smiles, causing immediate butterflies in my stomach. it catches me off guard. i find myself smiling like a demented idiot. "uh, thanks, i guess. no one has ever really told me that. when i introduced myself to mer and all of them, they acted like calliope was just another name. i thought they'd react differently, but it didn't really matter, i guess."

valentina sits closer, making my heartbeat speed up. "did you want them to react a certain way?" she asks, her voice soft and angelic. i let the thought ponder. after awhile, i shake my head no. "i guess not. i'm actually not sure why i expected such a different reaction. maybe that was what went along with my anxiety but hey, you're the psychologist here." she laughs. "i am trained to know a lot about the human mind and the way it works, but then again, i don't know everybody's mindset and their thoughts, let alone their motives and feelings. plus, you do admit to carrying a bit of anxiety. we both probably have the same answer, but tell me, why do you think you felt anxious during that moment?" she asks.

i inhale deeply. "well, it was my first day as an orthopedic surgeon, and i didn't want to, excuse my language, fuck things up, you know? i wanted to give off a good first impression, good and positive vibes. don't get me wrong — i'm well respected here and i'm thankful for it. it's just the fact that i didn't know how the rest of my life would go on from that point, which led to the feelings of anxiety." valentina nods sympathetically. a glint in her eyes lets me know that she is completely aware of how i'm feeling.

my hand is resting on the arm rest of my chair, the palm facing upwards toward the ceiling. valentina takes her chance and threads her fingers through mine. she closes her hand, securing an empathetic hold, and i feel my own closing around hers. her eyes read my gloomy face. her head tilts, and her mouth makes a grim line. "a breakup. a departure from love," valentina says, breaking the silence. i squint my eyes, hoping i didn't hear what i just heard. i sit up, making sure our hands keep intact. "uh . . ."

"it's arizona, isn't it?" valentina questions, surprising me again. "arizona? wait, how do you even know about her?" i ask, completely thrown off guard now. valentina looks at me as if i were a bit slow. "people talk, cals. and based off everyone's talk, arizona is well known. and well respected, just as you are. but if she hurt you enough to the point where you had to let her go, she's not worth being sad over. of course, you both had amazing moments together, and judging from your sadness, you both were really in love. well, at least you were." i feel my throat closing. i look down nervously. valentina places her other hand over mine. "hey, it's okay to feel the way you're feeling. i know i make a lot of people uncomfortable, so let me know whenever you want to drop a topic and we'll stop." i look back up. valentina's eyes glitter with understanding and empathy. i feel tears well up in my eyes, the feeling of them hovering just over the waterlines, daring to fall down my face. "thank you," i tell valentina, only moving my lips, because i can't find my voice right now.

valentina's face takes on a cute pout and she disconnects our hands. she spreads her arms to her sides as an indication for a hug. i warmly accept it and i sink into her arms and let myself cry and sob and i let my nose run and snot disgustingly. i'm bawling, and valentina rubs her hand through my hair while whispering, "shh, shh, it's going to be okay. you're going to be okay." that, of course, makes me cry even more. we break apart after ten minutes and she asks me if i need some air. i shake my head, knowing that we've taken up more time with the hospital tour than needed and bailey might suspect that we're making out in an empty stairwell or something.

"no, no it's okay. we better head back to the lobby. bailey is going to think that i showed you more than the hospital," i tell valentina. it takes her awhile to get it and when she does, she raises an eyebrow and smirks. i roll my eyes and punch her shoulder playfully. "in your dreams," i mutter. "come on! let's head to the elevator." valentina gathers her purse and follows me into the elevator car. i press the button for the lobby and wait for the doors to open. without warning, valentina snakes an arm around my waist and embraces me again. i let my head lean against her chest, letting her know that i'm accepting the embrace. the elevator doors finally open, and a ticked off bailey is standing by the front desk, tapping her foot.

valentina and i cautiously walk out, careful to approach miranda who looks like she wants to bite our heads off. well, mostly mine.

"WHERE have you two been? it's been two hours, and hospital tours are only suppose to last for one." miranda somewhat cools her tone and then looks from valentina and i. her eyes widen. "oh, no. y'all didn't do anything funny, right?" now we both roll our eyes. "mir, you're gross," i grumble as i walk away for a tissue.

miranda laughs, then turns to valentina while i'm noisily blowing my nose and attracting unwanted attention. i walk back in time to hear miranda ask valentina, "can i talk to you alone just for a few minutes?" valentina turns towards me. "would that be okay with you, cals?" i nod agreeably. "of course. you two do you." "it'll just be for a couple minutes!" valentina says as i drop into a lounge chair. "yeah, yeah. i'll be out here if i don't get paged!" i watch the two of them disappear into arizona and i's favorite stairwell.

god, i have to stop thinking about her.

a/n — hey guys! that was a lengthy chapter. it almost reached 2k words! anyway, i really liked writing it, and i think valentina and callie have a thing for each other👀you'll find out more as you keep reading. friendly reminder—drink water and stay hydrated! ily💗

- angie <3

[ TOTAL WORD COUNT: 1751 ]