Greys Anatomy is the products of Shonda Rhimes and ABC...

CHAPTER ONE:

Callie slowly opened her eyes as she heard the noises from outside gradually wake her from her slumber. She slowly stood up and stretched her aching muscles, she had been travelling for what felt like days and she wanted nothing more than to sleep for a week but she was here to do a job and sleep would have to become a distant second.

She made her way through to the 'locker room' and quickly jumped in the shower and freshened herself up. Once she was clean and ready she made her way through the tent she had slept in and stepped outside. The brightness of the sun instantly made her squirm as she squinted her eyes. The heat felt overwhelming for such an early hour.

"Torres! Glad to see you finally joined us in the land of the living!" a voice boomed at her

She turned to see Sergeant Miller walking towards her.

"Where do you want me Sir?" Callie asked

"Go through and have breakfast. We'll be giving out instructions at 07:00 hours"

Callie just nodded as she walked through to the tent that was filled with occupants all making a sufficient amount of noise. Callie quickly grabbed some food and sat down at the first table she found. She began chatting to the other men and women on her table and found that she had a lot in common with most of them. Callie sensed a real sense of camaraderie amongst the soldiers. Even though she had only just met them, they welcomed her like she had been friends for life.

Once breakfast was over they made their way outside to line up. As Callie stood waiting for her orders, she wondered how they were meant to cope with the searing temperatures. She was born and raised in Miami so she was used to the hot weather but this was already unbearable and she wasn't even dressed in her full combat uniform.

The orders were given out and Callie found that she was going out with two other doctors and four soldiers to a nearby site that had many wounded citizens of Iraq. They all dispersed to 'gear up' and re-group in 20 minutes to head off. As Callie climbed into the back of the truck she was greeted by a strong hand held out for her. The sun was blaring down but as she looked up she was greeted by an incredibly good looking, smiling blond. As Callie took the hand offered she pulled herself onto the back of the truck.

"Thanks" She smiled

"No worries. My name is First Sergeant Daniel Robbins" He said flashing her a killer smile which made her go slightly weak in the knees.

"Callie Torres – medic" She smiled back

They settled into the truck and began the journey to the site which was 30 miles away.

"So Torres, what brings you to Iraq?" Danny inquired after a short while.

"Well I heard that you guys have the best hotels here" Callie joked

"Yeah, we have some pretty good shops too" Danny smiled back.

"I just needed a change of pace. I just came from a really bad relationship and I was about to begin my residency which I really wasn't in the right frame of mind for… so I just signed up" Callie simply said

"Well Torres, I can promise you that this will be the best decision you have ever made"

"How long have you been here?" Callie enquired

"I've been stationed in Iraq for the past 5 years but I've been in the army for 10 years. I joined on my 18th birthday" Danny told her proudly

"That's incredible. Your family must be very proud"

"It's tradition in my family. We've been in the army for generations. My sister even considered joining but she's far too bright. She's a doctor too" He said nodding at Callie.

"Oh, what's her name?"

"Arizona Robbins. She's a fourth years PEDS resident over at Seattle Grace. She's an incredible doctor, the children love her" Danny told Callie proudly.

"She didn't want to become an Army doctor?"

"She works best with kids. Plus I think it would have killed my mom if she joined too"

Callie and Danny chatted the entire way to their destination with Danny telling Callie all the best ways to stay sane in the dessert.

As soon as they arrived at the derelict site and began helping the Iraq victims, Callie knew that she had made the right decision in leaving New York.

They spent three hours doing what they could to help the people that were there and then they headed back.

"You were pretty incredible out there Torres. You said that you were only just beginning your residency but you looked like an old pro to me" Danny told her as they sat in the truck in the blistering heat.

"I'm a rock star Robbins. Wait until I really get going!" Callie smirked

"A rock star? That's pretty hot" Danny flirted

Callie felt an unusual attraction to Danny. She dated women now supposedly but there was something about Danny that she was drawn to. Sure he was strikingly good looking and unbelievably charming but there was something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

A few weeks passed and Callie settled into army life. It had been relatively slow for her first week but on the second there had been an attack on a nearby area and all hands were on deck. Callie had never experienced anything like it, she was amputating limbs in the field on conscious soldiers whilst her colleagues stood over her to protect her from danger. The adrenaline rush was incredible and just what she needed to keep her mind from wandering to her disastrous personal life and the demise of her relationship with Erica.

"Hey rock star! I haven't seen you around for a couple of days"

Callie looked up from the floor she was sitting on to see Danny walking towards her. She had been busy in the medical area all day and hadn't seen many of her colleagues.

"The life of a rock star is difficult Daniel. I don't just sit about like you soldier boys. I'm a rock star with a scalpel after all" Callie smiled when Danny burst out laughing at her latest statement.

"Oh it just gets better. You make me laugh like crazy Torres" Danny said as he settled down next to her.

"So what are you up to?" Danny asked

"Just thinking, I really haven't had much chance to do that since I got here"

"Are you missing home?"

"No not at all. I'm just thinking about the mess I made of everything back there"

"We all do stupid things and things that we regret but I'm a firm believer in fate and if those things hadn't have happened back home then you wouldn't be here now talking to me" Danny smiled

Callie smiled too. She had a natural chemistry with Danny but she wasn't sure if she was attracted to him.

"Do you ever miss home Danny? You've been here for so long"

"They do let us home on leave you know Torres!"

"I know, but 10 years is a lifetime"

"I miss home of course I do but I'm here for a reason. I'm here to make things right. I'm here on behalf of my country and I love that. I keep in touch with my family and friends; in fact I just got a letter from my sister today. Her letters always make me smile"

"You guys are pretty close yeah? Is she older or younger than you?" Callie enquired seeing Danny beam with pride when he spoke of his sister.

"She's a year younger but we have always been incredibly close. In fact it was her 27th birthday last week. I made her a scrapbook of everything that happens over here and stuck in every letter she has ever sent me in 10 years, I just haven't had a chance to send it to her yet. I think that I may wait until I go home and I can give it to her in person"

"You made a scrapbook? Dorky much?" Callie scoffed

"Hey, my sister likes handmade gifts. It's not like I can just pop down to Prada and just get her a handbag" Danny defended slightly embarrassed that he had shared about his scrapbook.

"Do you think if I stay in the army for 10 years I'll turn into a big cheese ball too?" Callie laughed

"Yeah yeah! I'm sure that I'll find something embarrassing about you! Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I have an older sister Aria. We're not that close, we love each other but we never really got on"

"That's a shame. I value my relationship with my sister more than anything else. I was the first person that she came out too" Danny told Callie casually

"Your sister is gay?" Callie questioned

"Is that a problem? You're not homophobic are you?" Danny asked quickly

"No, no, no. God no" Callie said trailing off "In fact, I… I… My last relationship was with a woman" Callie stuttered out

"You're gay?" Danny enquired shocked

"No!... Yes?... I don't know…" Callie said sadly

"Wow, I thought that I was on to a sure thing" Danny said more to himself than Callie until he received a firm thud in his arm "Sorry" Danny grinned "I just felt like we had a connection, almost as if we were meant to be together. I know it sounds corny" Danny scoffed before Callie could

Callie didn't answer because she didn't know how to. She had felt the bond with Danny, the closeness and naturalness they shared with one another. Callie leaned across and slowly brushed her lips with Danny, it was soft and tender but there was no chemistry.

"Yep, definitely gay" Callie said as they pulled apart

Danny laughed "I honestly thought that we would have had fireworks"

"I think a few months ago we would have, before I discovered the female form" Callie added

"So you're a newborn?" Danny laughed out loud

"A what?"

"Somebody who just started dating women. My sister calls them newborns" Danny laughed at Callie's offended face "Okay so making out didn't end quite as I had envisioned but I still really want to be buddies with you…. Are we cool?" Danny asked

"We're very cool Robbins" Callie smiled relieved

They both sat in a comfortable silence as they watched the sun slowly fade away.

THREE MONTHS LATER:

Callie was totally gripped with Army life. She loved the thrill of everything that came with it and it was helping her medical knowledge amazingly. She was learning as she was operating and she loved that. She had made many friends during her spate in the desert but she still had her close bond with Danny. They would hang out together at every social opportunity and when they were in the field together Danny always made sure that she was looked after.

Today they were working together under intense circumstances. They had been ambushed as they tried to help a local medical centre. They were in a team of 10 but were ambushed by three times as many people as they took cover in the centre.

"Okay, we need back up now" Danny called out to his soldiers.

"I'd radioed it in Sir, back up should be here within 45 minutes"

"We don't have 45 minutes" Danny growled frustrated

Before anything further could be said or thought a helicopter flew overhead and began opening fire. They all kept cover as they wondered what was happening.

"That's one of our guys. We're good" Danny said to his team "Let's just stay grounded and get ready to get out of here"

"Here take this" Danny whispered to Callie as he handed her a gun

"Danny I don't want a gun" Callie said wide eyed

"Callie take it. I can't be worrying about you whilst I'm out there. I need to know that you have protection if anything happens"

"Are we going to get out of here Danny?" Callie asked, the vulnerability evident in her voice.

"I promise that I'll get you out alive Torres" Danny said looking into her eyes as she accepted the gun.

Just as Danny and his team were preparing to secure the area a huge explosion sounding throughout the building knocked everybody off of their feet.

Callie opened her eyes but couldn't see through the fog and dust. She coughed but knew that she needed to keep quiet until she had instructions from her superiors. She felt a huge weight on the lower half of her right leg. She tried to move but realised she was trapped under the rubble.

"Shit" She cursed to herself.

After a few minutes of silence Callie couldn't take anymore

"Danny" she hissed into the air "Danny, are you there?"

"Torres are you okay?" A weak, barely audible voice asked back.

"Kind of. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Torres you need to get out of here. They are going to blow it again" Danny said gasping for breath

"I'm trapped"

"Collins, get Torres out now" Danny said trying to sound a little firmer.

After a few seconds, Callie felt the rubble being moved from her injured leg. Once it was free she dragged herself over to Danny.

"Oh my God, Danny!" Callie said shocked as she felt tears springing to her eyes.

"Get out of here Callie" Danny said. His head was bleeding badly as was his chest. Callie looked down and saw a he shard of metal sitting through his chest and a mountain of rubble on top of his lower half.

"Danny" Callie cried as she tried to help him before he grabbed her wrists.

"Get out of here Callie. You're not supposed to die today" Danny said firmly

"I can save you Danny. I promise that I can save you" Callie said looking into his eyes.

"This was my way to die Callie. I'm at peace with it." Danny broke into a deep cough which brought up a lot of blood "I need you to do something for me, I need you to go to my sister, go to Seattle and give her these" Danny took off his dogtags and his watch "Tell her that I'm sorry that I let her down and that I love her and am so proud of her. Tell her that I wasn't scared Callie. You make sure that you tell her that okay!" Danny said firmly holding Callie's hand that was clutching his belongings.

"Danny, I can save you. Let me help you" Callie sobbed over him

"Torres, remember what I told you about believing in fate. This is meant to happen. I don't know why, but it's meant to happen. Now get out of here… and go and be somebody. You're amazing… you're a rock star" Danny said before coughing again.

Callie leaned down and gently placed a soft kiss on his lips before Collins picked her up and carried her out. Just as they were near the exit another loud explosion was heard and the remains of the building crumbled further.

"Danny!" Callie cried as Collins ran towards the help that was on the ground waiting for them….

Okay, so first chapter is done…. What do you think?

Your comments are truly appreciated…. Thanks so much for reading.

J x