AN: This fic takes place just after the airport breakup so I guess at this point it should be considered AU

She stared blankly into the massive crowd ahead of her; Arizona hadn't thought this many people would show up. There must have been 100 of them. Yes, definitely at least 100 reporters, and twice as many cameras. She couldn't get away from the flashing; it was nonstop flashing in every direction she turned. Straight ahead of her was a large boom stick hovering just above her head. The runty little man running the boom stick had quick feet too because no matter what evasive maneuver she tried, he always seemed to keep up. They didn't even have the decency to prep her for this or give her a team. To say Arizona was angry would have been an understatement. At first all the pestering just slurred together into one massive blur of nonsensical utterances. Then she started to distinguish little things like her name and Carter-Madison.

"Dr. Robins! Dr. Robins!" It could have been anybody really their voices and faces were indistinguishable and unimportant.

"Dr. Robins can you tell us where you stand with the Carter-Madison Foundation? Are they still acknowledging you as an award recipient?"

She'd been given a script to memorize; it had a list of possible questions along with Carter-Madison's suggested answers. She'd spent the past two days sitting in a rather unfriendly hotel room in the ugliest part of Paris, thumbing through her contacts list and reading that script. Arizona knew it by heart now, she could read it to you backwards and forwards.

"No comment." She murmured dissatisfied with the taste of those words as they rolled off her tongue.

"Dr. Robins, can you explain some of the elements that lead to this decision?" Another reporter shouted out as he shoved his microphone toward her lips. She had the shove the mic right back at him, but there were procedures to follow.

"I think the Carter-Madison Foundation does great work on behalf of children and I was very eager to be a part of that work when they selected me as an award recipient. The political environment in Malawi has not allowed us to continue our collaborative efforts there, but we will be looking toward other alternatives."

That answer stirred the crowd a bit, there was a rush of silence as they all chewed on her words, trying to interpret them for hidden meaning. In this brief pause she was able to navigate the crowd just a little easier. She still couldn't see where the car was, and, at this rate she figured she'd be so late getting to Charles de Gaul, she'd have to book another flight. She wanted to go to Malawi and save lives, to see that turned into a major international incident was both crushing and insulting. Despite her hurt feelings she did everything she could to keep a smile on her face. She wasn't about to appear weak in front of hundreds of cameras, her father taught her better.

The reporters were slamming in to her now without regard for her physical condition or well being. Each one was jumping over the other trying to get a word in.

"What exactly led the foundation to pull out of the program in Malawi?"

Arizona thought back to the letter she'd received two weeks in to the program. It was sealed in red candle wax with the official government seal of Malawi. Arizona took extra precision to remove the seal delicately from the envelope so that it was preserved for scrapbooking. Everyone at the clinic heard about the letter and gathered around to hear what it said. They thought it would be an official commendation from the president in recognition of her three year commitment to serve the country's children. It didn't take long after she started reading for everyone to realize it was quite the opposite.

Dear Ms. Robins,

The Office of the secretary of homeland affairs whishes to inform you of several issues which have just recently come to our attention. We were informed of your participation in deviant and subversive acts which have the potential to cause harm to the national security of The Republic of Malawi.

As such we cannot allow that impressionable Malawian children be placed under your care as is prohibited by amendment 14 article five of the national constitution. Further, we suggest that you be in contact with your agency to provide you with a method of return to the United States. If we have not been informed of your planned return within seven days of the receipt of this letter, a motion will be filed in the federal court seeking prosecution. We do wish to avoid this, and urge you to be in contact at the earliest convenience

Signed

Joseph Ibris,

Secretary, Homeland Affairs

Republic of Malawi

By the time she was done reading, only those too young to understand or too sick to leave remained in the room. She could have told the reporters about that, it would have been truthful, but what good would the truth do anyone right now.

"No comment" Arizona insisted as she forged her way further through the crowd.

She thought a lot about her father after she got that letter. She thought about how he'd respond and what he'd want her to be doing. She wanted to fight for her right to be there, but she could hear her father's foreboding voice warning her not to let selfishness get in the way of the right thing. It wouldn't be right to subject sick children to political scrutiny just so she could prove a point.

As she pressed forward it became increasingly clearer to Arizona that the crowd wasn't going to break for her they'd circled in around her like a well choreographed defensive maneuver; it was guerilla interviewing at its best. One reporter was kind enough to pass a coffee along to her as they were now meandering in a snake like pattern down a Parisian sidewalk. Her face lit up at the gesture, this time with genuine perkiness, as she tucked a loose curl of hair away from her face.

"But Dr. Robbins, how did this progress so quickly? Were there any efforts made by the Carter-Madison foundation to negotiate on your behalf?"

It sounded so reasonable the way the reporter had suggested it, so reasonable because Arizona had expected that very thing, counted on it even. She was sure that once the board members heard about it they would do whatever it took to clear things up with the Malawian government. That couldn't have been further from the truth.

The day after the letter arrived Arizona sat in the office where she'd been sequestered all day for safety reasons, as she was told. She wondered what sort of safety reasons they were referring to. Was it her own personal safety, or the safety of others? Did she or they need protection from the mess outside, or did they all need to be protected from her? It was quiet in that office, the walls stunk mold and rotting building materials. The only noise came from a buzzing fly the size of her thumb. It was hideously creepy, but out of loneliness she attempted to forge a friendship with the fly. She named it Brad and asked him to land somewhere for a while so she could observe him. Surprisingly he complied, probably purely out of coincidence, but Arizona didn't care. She'd taken a pen from her pocket and drawn out a Punnet square on a napkin. Only geeks practice genetics for fun, but what else was she going to do. She'd drawn out all possible phenotypic representations for eye color and was moving on to other traits when the door suddenly and swiftly flew open. Out flew Brad and in came an orderly with a phone.

"My name is Charles ma'am, I've been instructed to deliver this phone call to you." The orderly spoke gently in a blend tone comprised of French, Dutch, and Native accents.

Charles shut the door about as quietly as he spoke, Arizona couldn't tell if he was being polite or afraid the gay was contagious. He waited in the corner of the room for her to return the phone to him, clearly she couldn't be trusted with it. She reluctantly picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Yes Hi, this is Veronica Lions calling from the Carter-Madison Foundation. Dr. Robbins, is that you?"

Arizona rolled her eyes, who else would it be?

"Yes, it's me."

"Good, I'm glad to hear you're in one piece. We've been very worried." Virginia replied with genuine relief in her tone.

"So, I take it you've been in communication with homeland affairs?" Arizona implored.

"Yes, yes. It's very unfortunate" Virginia crowed.

Arizona didn't like the connotation of the word unfortunate, but she chose to ignore it and press forward with a solution.

"Dr. Robbins" Virginia continued, "We're very sorry to have put you in this impossible situation and please trust that the foundation is doing everything it can to ensure you a safe return."

Arizona paused to catch herself up, she wanted to be sure she'd heard correctly.

"So, wait. You're not even going to try and see if I can stay?"

"Dr. Robbins I know this is hard to hear, but it is in your best interest and that of the children that the operation in Malawi be suspended until political hostilities die down."

Deep down Arizona knew she was right, but it just didn't feel right.

"What about a replacement doctor, someone that could take my place and…"

"Dr. Robbins that simply isn't an option." Virginia cut in. "The foundation selects one recipient annually and we have every intention of retaining you as our recipient."

Arizona was growing frustrated and it didn't help that the heat had suddenly spiked to a temperature befitting the roasting of turkeys. Swaet was drizzling down her face like rain down a window.

"Then I'll decline the award, I'll give it back. We made promises to every family in this community, three years worth of promises."

"Dr. Robbins we cannot send another doctor to fulfill your grant proposal, it's unheard of, and beyond that it would be a PR nightmare!" Virginia came off a bit more harsh than what she intended, but she'd finally gotten through to Arizona.

"Oh, I see. I'll inform homeland affairs of your decision." Arizona calmly said her goodbyes and handed the phone back to Charles.

She so badly wanted to look directly in to the reporter's camera and tell the world that the Carter-Madison foundation judged the potential fallout from taking the grant away from a lesbian or replacing her with a straight doctor as a PR nightmare. She wanted someone else to be as shocked and hurt as she was when she heard it the first time. But, she knew not to put her wants and needs ahead of others, or at least she tried to know it.

"No comment"

She'd finally managed to reach the cab that had been patiently waiting for her the whole time. The driver got out in a hurry and grabbed her bags in an abrasive manner slamming them into the trunk and hurrying Arizona into the back seat as quickly as possible.

"Not to worry madam, I drive like a New Yorker on fire, your flight will be made." His English was perfect, but his provincial accent was unmistakable. It was comforting to Arizona none the less.

One last reporter managed to shove his hand into the door, preventing it from closing.

"What about your love life, we're hearing reports that you'd recently ended a relationship with a fellow doctor to take this grant. Have you been in contact…"

The cabbie shoved the reporter's hand out of the door and slammed it before hopping in the driver's side and taking off like a speed demon plowing through the traffic of people with little to no concern for whether they moved out of the way.

"No comment" Arizona muttered the quiet response to herself.