Rating: M
A/N: I'm sorry for taking WAAAAYY too long to post another chapter on this fic, I've just had quite the hectic month. Plus, I haven't had internet...no facebook, no fanfiction, no tumblr...such horrid conditions! But, I guess this is what I get for having foreign parent who don't understand what's going on. I'm sure some of you can relate to the parents who still talk about the evils of electronics and blah, blah, blah. I wouldn't have it any other way, though! I love my family.
I'm really not happy about this chapter, but it's something. :/ Thanks a bunch to ricecrispies who blackmailed me into pumping out another chapter. By the way, her fics rock. And, if you haven't given them a peek, you should!
Sidenotes: An MRE is a Meal-Ready-to-Eat. They're these gross rations in brown, air-sealed bags. This chapter also deals with the M16 qualification, easily the most important part of training. You are given 40 rounds and you have 40 pop up targets that vary in distance from 50m to 300m. You shoot in 3 different positions: On your stomach with supports for your rifle, on your stomach with no support, and kneeling. You have to shoot down at least 23 targets to pass.
Don't forget to send me some words. A reviewed author is a happy author who will crank out more chapters.
Callie grips Arizona's soft hand and pulled her towards the main part of the bay. She notices Teddy sitting with Kepner at the fireguard's desk, and quickly makes her way over to them.
"I need a favor…a small, teeny-weeny favor" Callie asks while biting her lip.
Teddy quickly notices their entwined hands and disheveled look. "What? No way, Torres. There's no way I'm letting you out of this bay so you could butter each other's muffins."
"C'mon Teds, all we're asking for is 20 minutes max outside. Please?" Arizona begged.
"Seriously, Arizona. My shift is over in 10 minutes, and then there's no telling when the DS on duty comes for a surprise check. If you're not in bed when she comes around, it's my head on the chopping block. Why can't you guys just have sex during the day like everyone else does?" Teddy harshly whispered.
Callie quipped in, "You can just say that you didn't see us leave. We'll take all the heat if something happens, we promise."
"Promise what?" A harsh, DS said as she walked into the bay. She quickly surveyed the area and looked suspiciously over at the 4 startled girls.
"Huh? Who's on duty and why the hell are you other two awake?" She demanded.
"Um, we are, Drill Sergeant. These two are just our replacements….they, uh, woke up early." Kepner managed to say while everyone else stood frozen in their spot.
Satisfied with her answer, the Drill Sergeant proceeded to count the heads and weapons in the bay. Before leaving, however, she walked up to every wall locker that had an open lock and proceeded to dump the contents of them…loudly over the floor. Very few people ever locked their lockers at night in case they needed something during the dark night.
As most of the bay woke up from the loud clatter she yelled out, "I'll be back, so clean this shit up and lock those fucking locks!" She was gone as quickly as she came.
Teddy turned to look at them with a triumphant gaze. "I never want to see you two during my fire guard shifts ever again." She strode off.
"Rain check?" Arizona smiled at Callie.
"You know it." Callie replied before making her way back to her now-empty locker. 'This is going to be a long night.'
It had been 4 days since the fireguard encounter, but neither one of them had initiated a repeat of their night tryst. They easily settled back into writing each other flirty letters throughout the day and stealing kisses in the night hours. They were both happy within their secret little bubble, but they knew their need for more was going to take over them soon.
For the past few days, they had begun their last weapons qualifications for the M16. Today was the last day of quals at the range.
'Wow, this is beyond disgusting. There's just something about food doesn't spoil for years that is just wrong' Callie thought as she spit out the remnants of the Veggie Burger MRE onto the grass. Sifting through the rest of her meal: Bread, potato sticks, and a dry, cinnamon scone. All sealed in air-tight, moisture-free brown pouches, of course!
"Mmm, the food of champions!" spoke a familiar voice that brought Callie out of her inner dialogue. Arizona plopped herself beside the Latina with great exhaustion and proceeded to lie back on the grass.
Callie took this moment to quietly look over at the blonde. Even though her uniform was completely soaked and muddied in the front, she couldn't help but smile at the adorable figure beside her. Her lop-sided combat helmet was unbuckled and her disheveled hair fell into curls framing her face. Even the small specks of mud on her chin were "aww" worthy. 'So, this is what a world-class professional soldier looks like.
"Calliope, are you listening to me?" The brunette blushed at her obvious day-dreaming.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about how gross this shit is. You wanna trade? I got the amazing Veggie Burger…" Callie persuaded.
"Hehe, no way, Jose. I got Chili Mac and you're going to have to pry it off my dead hands." She said in mock seriousness.
"Ugh, you suck. So, how'd you do, sharpshooter? Did you hit Hawkeye yet?" Callie asked.
"Naw, it was my last go and I only hit 38. At least, it's expert. How about yourself?" She spoke before she took a spoonful of cold Chili Mac.
"I passed…and, that's all I'm going to say about that." Callie hated that she had so much trouble with shooting. It was all about controlling your breathing and your trigger squeeze, but she couldn't seem to calm herself with the powerful weapon in her hands.
"Don't worry about it. When we're in the Sandbox and in Crapistan, I'll save you from the bad guys. I've got your back. Though, can you imagine that? If we were both deployed at the same time. I think the only way I could ever enjoy 130 degree weather in a combat zone is with you. I'd gladly burn some poop pits with you." Arizona smiled.
"Aw, that's so sweet." Callie said with a hint of sarcasm. "I'll go one better and definitely make you my emergency contact number. Plus, I'll even add you to my life insurance to receive a whole $10 in the event of my death or capture."
"Wow, the things I could do with that money!" Arizona mock gasped. "Fucking Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I feel so bad for the guys that can't even put down their partners down as next-of-kin or beneficiaries. It's horrible! Having to hide your life during a deployment, using different names, hiding during phone or skype calls. You should never have to hide you are when your life is in danger. It's so depressing."
"I know. You work so hard to serve your country, you give your life in the ultimate sacrifice, and they care who you're munching on. I wonder if they look over Arlington National Cemetery and dare ask which the gay ones are." Callie said sadly.
"But, you join anyway. You sign away your life for something greater than yourself. You serve selflessly, quietly, and proudly, right Calliope?" Arizona asked as she held her plastic beverage bag to Callie.
"Amen to that." The toasted.
"Robbins! Get your lazy-ass over to the ammo point!" Yelled a drill sergeant.
"Fuck me…I guess I'll see you around, Cal." She said without waiting for a response. She bolted at full speed trying her hardest not to trip over anything. Moving as quickly as possible while adjusting her gear was no easy feat for anybody.
"MOVE, YOU! Seriously, how the fuck did millions of sperm not beat you to the punch? Shit, the best part of you must have dribbled down your mom's leg…."
"Moving, Drill Sergeant!" The blonde yelled smiling as she clumsily ran into the ammo point shack.
"You know, Robbins, you remind me of a little campfire. Cheerful but not too bright." He muttered as he turned around.
"Yes, Drill Sergeant." She smiled to herself. 'Just when you think you've heard it all.'
"Blondie! Looks like you're on Ammo with me. Think you can take my load?" Mark Sloan winked as he appeared next to her holding out a few magazine loads for her. "So, what'd you do to end up in this carbon prison?"
"What do you mean?" Arizona questioned.
"Well, I'm doing this because a DS make a sex joke about my mom. For once, I actually keep my mouth shut, and he goes off on me for not defending my mom. He calls me a pussy and sends me over here. Haha, I just can't win with these guys, but Hey, at least I've got some pretty amazing guns. Care to cop a feel? Remember, it's not rape if I'm willing." He smirked at her.
"Oh, shove it, Mark." She laughed at him. Mark was a great guy, a bit on the crude side, but always a blast to hang out with.
"Ugh, it's getting so late. How many people are still left?" Arizona frowned.
"Um, about 4, I think. This is the last day for qualifying, so if they don't make it through today, they're being washed out into another company." Mark replied.
"Who are they? Do you know?" The blonde asked.
He squinted at the firing line. "Looks like Amos, Harden, Bennett, and…Hahn."
"Hahn, seriously? Oh my god, she needs to fuck this up. Imagine her getting transferred! That would be too amazing!" She turned to look at Mark, who had one eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry, Sloan, but I hate her damn guts. I just want her out of here."
"Hey, hey. I'm not judging, it's just a bit out of character for you to wish for the recycling of a fellow recruit." He smiled before looking around. "….So, why don't you do something about it?" He dared.
"What do you mean? What could I possibly do?" Arizona whispered towards him.
"Well, we do control how many bullets they get, right? So maybe you should :::cough::: you know remove a few :::cough::: from the magazines :::cough:::….just saying." He said as he walked towards the other end of the shack.
'Oh my god, should I really do this? Can I purposely sabotage a fellow soldier?' She quietly stared at the two magazines lying in front of her. 'All I have to do is slide a few bullets out of the magazine. Just 2 would be ok, right?' Arizona argued with her conscience for a few minutes trying to internally debate her conscience. After a few more minutes of staring, she finally moved to grab the two magazine holding the 40 bullets.
"Thanks, Robbins." Erica said curtly to her as she grabbed the two magazines and made her way to the last firing iteration.
"So, did you do it?" Mark eagerly asked her practically jumping up and down.
"No, she grabbed it before I could actually do anything." Arizona said sadly. 'God, why don't I ever have the balls to do anything bad? Ugh, please don't make it.'
"Geez, Blondie. I knew I should have done it myself. Well, you never know. She's missed the last 40 million times, so what's one more? She's in lane 7, so we'll hear her score when they announce them."
After the quick iteration of 40 targets was over, Arizona and Mark were eagerly awaiting the scores to sound from the radio tower. As they heard it sound to life, they held their breaths.
"Alright, this was for all the marbles, soldiers. The last iteration scores are: Lane 1 - 24, Lane 2 - 22, Lane 3 - 27, and finally Lane 4.…"
A/N: Will she make it? Dun, dun, duuuunnnn. Sorry for delaying their little personal time, but nighttime secks is a bit too risky in the bays. I'm not sure our girls have the "balls" for that sort of risk...soon, though...I promise.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal is moving smoothly. I just got my training for it. Basically, a "Don't be an asshole to the gays and deal with it" presentation. It's good to know that we need training on how to respect each other...ugh.
I'll leave you guys with some good words: Stay Classy, don't drink and drive, cover your stump before you hump (or for us gays: Don't drink and adopt), and friends don't let friends vote Republican. :)
