It Hasn't Been Long Enough

Callie sat down in the surgery waiting room next to Emma. Pete was in the seat across from her, with Andy and Joe sitting next to him. Emma looked over at her and smiled.

“What are you doing here?” Pete asked her.

When Callie didn’t respond, Emma looked over at her and asked, “Really, why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in there for Patrick’s surgery?”

“No,” Callie said simply. “I’ve known Patrick for too long that it could compromise the surgery. So, they made sure I had the day off so I could sit here and wait for Patrick to come out. They knew that I wouldn’t get any work done anyways.”

Pete just looked at her wondering why she would reply to Emma but not to him. Pete tried to make conversation with Callie, but she appeared to not want to talk to him.

Callie hadn’t talked to Pete very much since he had got here because she knew that if she did all of her old feelings would start rushing back, and she just wasn’t ready for that. So, instead, she decided just not to talk to him.

After a little while, Joe and Andy decided to go to the cafeteria to get food for everyone. Once they got up to leave, Pete looked over at Callie and decided to try to attempt a conversation one more time. “So, are you still a big Blackhawks fan?” he asked. When they had dated, Callie used to watch every single Blackhawks game, and she would go to at least ten or so games every season.

Callie glanced up at him and promptly looked back down without saying anything. Pete had had enough and asked her, “What is your problem?”

“What?” Callie asked immediately, looking up at Pete.

“You haven’t said anything to me all day. I think you’ve maybe said five sentences to me since I’ve been here,” Pete said, getting louder and angrier with every word.

“What do you want me to say, Pete?” Callie retorted “That I still love you? That I never stopped loving you? That for the past four years all I’ve wanted is for you to call me? That the night that I broke up with you all I wanted was for you to follow me and tell me not to give up on us? That ever since I saw you here all I’ve wanted to do is this?” She then proceeded to stand up, walk over to him, and lean down, pressing her lips onto his.

After a few moments, she pulled away from him. Her eyes went big as realization washed over her. Not knowing what else to do, she spun around and left the waiting room. On her way out, she ran directly into Joe and Andy who were coming back from the cafeteria.

“Hey, is everything okay?” Andy asked her as he saw her rush out of the room.

Callie just shook her head. “Is it Patrick?” Joe asked.

“No,” Callie told him. “I’m sorry. I just need to get some air,” she said walking away toward the door that lead outside.

Emma walked out of the room a couple of moments later. “Have you seen Callie?” she asked Joe and Andy.

“Yeah. She just went out there,” Andy said pointing toward the door she had just walked out of.

“Thanks,” Emma said. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

The guys nodded, and Emma walked out the door. She looked around and saw Callie sitting on a bench. She walked over and sat down next to her. Callie looked over at her. “I’m a complete idiot,” she told Emma.

“You’re not an idiot. You’re in love,” she replied with a smile.

“Why did I tell him all of that? Why did I kiss him?” She looked at Emma. “He doesn’t love me anymore. He just stood there while I kissed him. He didn’t kiss back. I’m such an idiot.”

“You’re wrong. He does love you,” Emma told her.

“What are you talking about?” Callie asked. “Didn’t you hear me? He just stood there!”

“He loves you. I promise you that. He was probably just in shock,” Emma explained.

“I don’t believe you. I guess the good news is that once this surgery is finished, Patrick probably won’t have to stay here too much longer, and I won’t have to face Pete.”

“You think that’s good news?” Emma asked. “Wait, that’s not what I meant. I mean it’s good news for Patrick, but you think it’s good news that you won’t see the guy you love anymore?”

“Why would I want to see the guy I am in love with when he doesn’t love me?”

“I already told you. He loves you. You just need to give him a chance to tell you how he feels. Now come on. We should get back inside before the surgery’s done. I want to be in there when the doctor comes and talks to everyone,” Emma said.

“Okay,” Callie said getting up and walking back into the hospital with Emma.

When Callie walked in, she avoided Pete’s gaze, and just sat down. Not even thirty seconds later, Dr. Shriver came in to talk to everyone.

“Is he okay?” Emma asked.

Dr. Shriver was quiet for a moment before he responded. “Yes, Patrick’s fine. He’ll be waking up in the next half an hour or so. There is a bit of a problem, though,” he told them.

“What?” Emma asked immediately.

“We found that taking out part of the lung is not going to get rid of all of the cancer cells,” Dr. Shriver told them. “We’re going to have to follow up with at least one round of chemotherapy.”

“What does that mean?” Pete asked.

“It means Patrick’s going to be here a lot longer than expected,” Callie answered, thinking that her plan of getting rid of Pete quickly had just been shredded to pieces.