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.

"Oh, get over it. He's a cute little thing. And we're not talking about him anyway. We're talking about me and...and stupid Caroline Fanning." Callie groaned out, stabbing her cake quite forcefully.

"Caroline Fanning is no Callie Torres, though. I'm absolutely positive." Mark smiled, trying his best to make the woman in front him smile too.

"Caroline Fanning is better than Callie Torres." Callie sniffled. "Caroline Fanning is the best, and Callie Torres is-"

"Callie Torres is as good as it gets." Mark insisted, not so much as letting Callie finish her sentence. "I guarantee Dr. Hottie doesn't even compare. You're hot as hell, Torres, and you know it. Quit moping."

"I'm hot as hell." Callie repeated, nodding happily. "I'm hot. Caroline Fanning is...is...screw Caroline Fanning!"

Mark nodded in agreement, happy to see Callie's self-confidence begin to rebuild itself.

But the self-confidence was popped like a balloon when Callie's entire face scrunched up and she began to cry again. Mark wasn't sure if the woman just happened to be really emotionally unstable tonight or if she had just happened to have a few too many glasses of wine.

"Callie."

"Arizona wants to screw Caroline Fanning." Callie cried, piggybacking off of the words that she had just spoken prior. "And nobody wants to screw Callie Torres and...I'm gonna be alone forever!"

The woman proceeded with her sob-fest, and Mark decided to ignore the girl and continue on with his house work. He had a feeling that if he continued to talk with Callie about her feelings, it would be a seesaw back and forth between "I'm hot as hell!" and "I'm so ugly!".

Maybe the wine needed to leave Callie's system. If it wasn't the wine that was having such a prominent effect, then the woman really needed to see a therapist.

Callie's crying made for some particularly awful background noise as Mark proceeded to unload his dishwasher. The man was completely overstressed, and he wanted to scream when there was a knock on the front door.

As of lately, the only knocks on the door have been from either Callie or Arizona coming over to visit, usually to bitch about each other.

Callie's crying would reach an unhealthy severity if she saw Arizona in such a vulnerable state, and Mark had decided to just ignore the knock. Hopefully Arizona would take the hint. Callie's crying was so loud, he hoped she would hear the woman and go away.

But another series of knocks against the oak wood rang out loudly, and Mark groaned as he threw his dishtowel down on the counter, ready to tell Arizona off.

Mark didn't think it was fair that he had to be the middle man in the midst of this separation. He was tired of the "Arizona said, Callie said" gossip. It felt so unnecessarily dramatic, like the battlegrounds of high school. Why couldn't two adult women calmly and rationally discuss things on their own?

Mark wasn't met with a familiar blonde head of hair as he opened the door, but rather a familiar brunette head of hair tied back in a ponytail. The brunette strands belonged to the social worker Mark had grown familiar with.

And there was another brunette head of hair, belonging to somebody much shorter than the social worker. This shade of brown was a whole lot darker than the lighter brown belonging to the social worker. The dark brown hair wasn't pulled back by a ponytail holder, but rather it hung down loosely in front of a very timid girl's face.

And the last head of hair was the lightest of them all as well as belonged to the shortest of them all. The caramel-like curls didn't hang in front of the girl's face as her sister's did. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, putting two bright red eyes on blatant display, a clear indication that the smallest girl had been crying.

"Hi." Mark spoke slowly. He was incredibly confused, and he found himself looking to Octavia for some sort of explanation. "Uh...what's-"

Calypso let out a loud cry as she entered Mark's apartment, clinging onto the man's leg as she sobbed violently.

Octavia shed a sympathetic smile as her sad eyes scanned Calypso. "It's, uh...I think it's just been a rough couple days for all of us. May we?"

Mark realized that the woman was asking for permission to come in. Mark opened the front door even wider, stepping aside as he scooped up the crying little girl.

"Did...something happen?" Mark was hesitant to ask. He wasn't quite sure why Calypso was crying so intensely on his shoulder, why Octavia sounded so sad, why Daisy had her head hung like that.

"No, no, nothing, uh..." Octavia trailed off, seeming a little concerned about the grown woman crying at Mark's kitchen counter. She quickly averted her eyes, deciding that was none of her business as she flicked her attention over to Mark. Octavia had always been a particularly stubborn woman, so the words "I'm sorry" always felt like concrete coming out of her mouth.

Octavia cleared her throat, looking down at her blazer, brushing away imaginary folds that she knew weren't there. "It would seem I owe you an apology, Mr. Sloan."

Mark only nodded, saying nothing so as to let the woman speak her mind as he held a sobbing child on his hip.

Octavia pursed her lips before sighing, eventually giving in. "I'm sorry for the way I acted. It was unprofessional. But you have to understand, given the information at the time that you were abusive, I had to-"

"Somebody said that?" Mark was seriously appalled as well as seriously offended. "Who? Who said that?"

Octavia looked hesitant. She didn't want to be rude and ignore the man, but she wasn't legally allowed to disclose that information.

"A placement needs to be made." Octavia spoke slowly as if speaking to a toddler, Mark feeling tenfold more offended. "We can begin to explore other options, but...uh..."

Mark had been confused about the situation, but he figured he knew what was happening now. This was sort of like a final goodbye.

"They're going somewhere else?"

Octavia nodded slowly. "Presuming, of course, you don't want to offer your hospitality for the second time, and-"

"They can stay." Mark hoped he didn't sound too desperate, deciding to clear his throat and act a little more nonchalant. "Or whatever. But they can stay."

There was silence for quite some time. Calypso was still crying loudly, her body racking with sobs as she trembled.

Daisy felt uncomfortable. She shifted from foot to foot as the adults conversed. She had sort of been hoping they could just go back to the holding facility for a while, but of course not. All Octavia ever wants is the girls off of her hands, and that made Daisy annoyed.

"Okay." Octavia let out a gentle sigh, a relieved smile taking on her face as if that was the point she had been trying to get Mark to come to. "Okay. That settles that then. I'll be by sometime next week for a home visit. I hope, uh...certain issues resolve themselves?"

The distasteful glance over in Callie's direction made it very evident what Octavia was referring to, and Mark couldn't help but sigh at his still crying friend, Callie's sobs mixing with Calypso's.

"That situation will resolve itself. I promise."

"Good." Octavia nodded. Her eyes were stuck on Daisy this time as she spoke. "And I do hope you all will talk. There's clearly some things that need to be talked about."

The frown on Daisy's face seemed to deepen as her cheeks noticeably reddened, and Mark frowned. He wasn't sure what the woman meant, and he wasn't sure why Daisy looked so flustered.

Octavia explained nothing, leaving Mark to think about what she possibly meant. The woman said her goodbyes to the two girls, leaving a quiet apartment.

Or...quiet in terms of conversation, at least. Calypso was still crying intensely, as was Callie.

Daisy didn't say anything, wincing at all the loud cries before she turned and timidly walked down the hallway, one foot in front of the other.

Something was wrong with Daisy, that seemed to be evident.

Mark would figure that out later. But presently, the man couldn't help but laugh at the situation unfolding.

"Why are you crying? This is a good thing, this is a happy thing." He tried to remind the six-year-old in his arms.

But Calypso was far too wound up to come down so easily. He wasn't sure why the girl was so upset, and he decided to bring the small crying girl over to the other crying woman.

"Callie."

Callie seemed to have reached the point of no return. She was completely unresponsive as she shut her surroundings out and cried, and Mark had zero hope for her.

"Callie."

Nothing. The unresponsiveness was alarming.

Calypso's curiosity seemed to take over as she lifted her head to peek over at the woman. Calypso reached to wipe the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater, sniffling as she surveyed the sight in front of her.

"Callie's sad." Calypso's voice cracked as she spoke, as if exhaustion was taking a major toll. "And...and I'm sad. Two sad Cals."

Callie looked up at Calypso's words. She seemed sort of majorly confused, as if she hadn't registered any of the conversation Mark had just had with the girls' social worker.

Callie merely reached for Calypso, wrapping her in the biggest hug that Calypso had ever received. "Oh my god my child."

Calypso was far more entranced with the plate in front of the woman, her dimpled grin poking out. "Is...is that cake? Because I like cake a lot. I can help...if you need help with your cake."

It was eight o'clock, and Mark didn't want to object that it was far too late for the sugary dessert. This was too good a moment to ruin.

Calypso sniffled again, smiling widely when Mark retrieved a fork for the girl.

The kid dug in happily, frowning as she took note of Callie's splotchy tear-stained face that looked similar to her own. "Why were you crying?"

"I, uh...I don't really know." Callie frowned, not at all wanting to go into depth about the insecurities that were flooding her brain.

Calypso nodded slowly. "Me too. I...I don't know why I cried. My heart's sad."

Mark frowned at that. He had never quite heard an analogy like that before, he had never heard an organ personified like that. "Your heart is sad?"

Calypso couldn't describe it. She had far too much on her brain.

Daisy is sad, Calypso knows that factually. And whenever Daisy is sad, naturally, Calypso is too.

And Calypso had been so worried about the placement situation, the anxiety she'd experienced had been unreal. Octavia had sat her down and explained the niceties. Calypso couldn't get too upset if Mark decided he didn't want the girls staying with him. That was just the way things worked, and Calypso would have to get over it for their next placement.

But...but they were staying! At least for the moment being, and that was enough to make Calypso's heart as happy as ever.

Besides, there was cake, and who could ever have a sad heart in the presence of cake?

"Mhm." Calypso nodded as she confirmed Mark's question. A small smile took on her face as she scooped up a forkful of icing. "But I feel better."

Calypso was engrossed in the cake, Callie was engrossed in Calypso, and Mark figured that was as good a time as ever to excuse himself and disappear down the hallway.

The dim light from Daisy's lamp illuminated her entire bedroom, shedding light over the girl currently unpacking her things from her suitcase.

Mark grinned at the sight of Thomas, the cat completely stretched out as he knead his claws against the blue threads of Daisy's comforter. "You've got a friend helping you unpack."

Daisy jumped a little, not noticing Mark had made an appearance. She was a little confused about what he had meant until she noticed that the man's gaze was fixated on the gray cat situated on her bed. "Oh...yeah, he's...he's a big help."

Mark grinned at the sarcasm, noticing the perfectly folded clothes situated in color-coded piles on the girl's bed. "Do you need help unpacking?"

"I'm good."

Mark nodded. Daisy seemed to be doing her own thing, and Mark wasn't quite sure what to say. "Okay, well, uh...I'm glad you're back."

Daisy only nodded. Because truthfully? She wasn't quite sure she was glad to be back.

Calypso was glad to be back though, and that made Daisy happy. As long as Calypso was happy, Daisy didn't really care where they were.

Besides, Mark's place happened to be much warmer than the holding facility, and Daisy figured that was a pretty great thing. She couldn't stand another restless night on those concrete beds, she couldn't stand another day of Calypso moping about the facility. Things felt right, even if Daisy was still slightly anxious.

Silence had taken over, and Mark figured maybe he should just leave Daisy alone for the time being. He was ready to turn and leave when a thought crossed his mind.

"Hey, uh...you wouldn't happen to know who called and said that stuff to Octavia, would you?"

Mark figured he knew who had called, of course, but he wanted to hear Daisy's thoughts on the matter.

Daisy felt her heart sink. Mark would be so angry if he knew Daisy had called social services on him. Just because she got a little freaked out? She could foresee Mark getting angry, or at least fairly annoyed, and Daisy didn't want that.

"What do you mean?"

Mark only shrugged. "I don't know. She said that somebody called about me being...I don't know. I don't know who would do that."

"Yeah, that's weird." Daisy's voice wavered in a totally unconvincing way, and she had never in her life wanted to slap herself so badly than she did in that exact moment.

Daisy's fidgeting made Mark that much more sure that Daisy had called on him, which didn't anger him as much as it did just make him sad. Did she really dislike him that much?

An unbearably stiff silence filled the room yet again for quite some time.

"I'm sorry. If I freaked you out with the yelling, I know it upset you. So I mean, if you did call, I-"

"I didn't call on you." Daisy spoke firmly, and Mark knew the girl didn't want to discuss the subject any further.

The man merely nodded, deciding to leave Daisy for the night. Maybe with some time, there would be more talk. Maybe tomorrow morning would be better.

"But..if I did call...you couldn't be angry with me." Daisy's words stopped Mark from walking out of the room any further. Daisy took a shaky breath, seeming as uneasy as ever. "I'm...I'm not saying I did, I'm just saying...you couldn't be angry with me, because...you are really scary when you yell."

Mark nodded at the confirmation of what he thought he already knew, giving a sad smile as he continued to walk out. "Goodnight, Daisy."

Daisy let out a quiet sigh as she was left alone with her piles of clothes still yet to be folded and put away. She felt as stupid as ever, and she wished she wasn't so emotional.

But Mr. Walter had been there. Daisy swore she had seen him, and she swore that something bad was happening.

Daisy tried to let her thoughts go, not wanting an excess build up of worry right before she was about to go to bed.

She looked at the small cat curled up against her pillows, and she couldn't help but smile. As much as she wanted to dislike the cat, she had missed Thomas a whole lot.

The cat had somehow managed to knock over Daisy's perfectly folded pile of red clothes, though, and Daisy felt as if her hatred was ready to start back up at square one.