Disclaimer: This is AU. I do not own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy. I just manipulate them to my will. Also, any line or phrase or setting that seems remotely familiar from any other show, movie or book, also not mine.
AN: Arizona and Callie share a bed together, but no fun stuff happens…or does it? Will they make it to their destination free of any problems? Let's find out. Enjoy!
Chapter 25 – The Scare
…where is she? That is my minds first conscious thought. I bolt up, eyes still foggy, and look to my left. All I see is an empty side of the bed, sheets pulled back. I place a hand on the crinkled sheets. …cold. She's been up for a while. Grabbing my gun, I move to the shut bathroom door and knock. …Nothing. Knock again. ….Nothing. Having watched the woman for over a month, I know she is pretty rough around the edges in the morning.
"Dr. Torres…." I call. Still nothing. Slowly, I crack the door and when I hear no water running or moving around, I raise my gun and bust the rest of the way through. ...Empty. My stomach starts to knot. Back out in the front room, I see the glass bottle alarm system has been moved. …no, Calliope! You didn't! I shove my feet into my shoes, grab my credentials and fly out the hotel room in just my black suit pants and white tank top. Our motel is one of those where the doors open directly into the parking lot. A quick scan and I see nothing. Its early morning, and there is a slight chill in the air. …why did you do this Calliope?
Gun in my right hand, I move through the parking lot and to the street. Looking up and down, I try to think where Callie would go. …why..Why the… Ok, settle down Robbins. Just find her… One more scan of the street and my eyes land on a little diner about a half a block down. …there. Food…Coffee…that's where I'll find Callie…hopefully…. I take off at a flat run and come barging through the front door, gun still in my right hand. About a dozen people turn and face me, then I am met with the business end of three guns. Apparently this diner is where local sheriffs deputies come to grab coffee and chill. …great.
"DROP IT!" One of the deputies screams.
Raising my left hand but maintain a firm grip on my own firearm, I reply "FBI. Lower your weapons." My tone is firm and commanding.
"Drop your fucking gun, now!" Another man screams over me. Glancing around the room I see the dark brown eyes of the doctor. Her face frozen in fear.
"I'm going to reach behind me to-" I start to reach for my credentials but am cut off.
"You move and I put a bullet right through your chest." Another officer screams. The entire diner is frozen, watching the stand off. I can tell that these officers don't get a lot of action, so when a person comes barreling through a door with a gun out, they over react.
"Come on fella's… lets just all-" I try to calm them but its not working.
"Drop it. NOW." A guy starts inching forward. Rolling my eyes, I send a death glare to Callie who is still watching this whole thing and slowly place my gun on the table next to me then move away and raise my hands. Immediately, I am face down on the dirty tiled floor of the diner, hands being forced behind my back and cuffed.
"Wait! …Wait…" Callie comes running forward as the officer hauls me back up to my feet.
"We got this ma'am." The guy brushes the Latina off as he starts to frisk me, at which I resist.
"Keep fighting, bitch, and I'll charge you-" The officer starts to say but I cut him off.
"Back pocket!" I yell at him, our eyes meeting. Slowly, he reaches to my back pocket and pulls out my credential wallet. Flipping it open, the color drains from his face. He looks between me and my picture. "Like I said, FBI." I give all three of them a hard glare. The other two still have their weapons drawn at me. "Lower those damn guns and release me before I have the three of you striped of your badges." I spit at them. My hands are quickly freed and my gun handed back over.
"Sorry, ma'am. We didn't-" One of them starts stammering.
"Save it." I spit at them. Turning my glare to Callie and I can see guilt flash across her face. She starts biting at her bottom lip, waiting for the lashing she is about to get. I open my mouth to start but she beats me to talking.
"I know! Ok? … I know. But…you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you. I just came here to pick up some breakfast for us then I was going to straight back to the room." She says in one breath. I have to replay the sound she just made in my head a couple times to be able to break down the string into comprehendible words.
"Order's up, honey!" The large woman from behind the counter puts two bags on the counter. Callie drops some bills in front of her and grabs the food, then turns to me, waiting for my lecture.
Looking around, I can see we still have an audience. Slipping my gun into the back of my pants, I hiss "We're not done with this." Then back up to the rest of the restaurant, I say cheerily "Sorry for the interruption folks…" I lay down three one hundred dollar bills on the counter and say "…everyone have some coffee and a piece of pie on me." Opening the door, I motion Callie out of it. We walk back to the room in silence. Waves of relief and anger alternate through my mind. Slipping back into the room and locking it behind me, I brace against it, taking a few deep breaths before turning and facing the woman who has become my own drug of choice.
"Arizona-" She starts.
"Don't." I spit, then turn to face her. "You know what I'm going to say, right?" She nods. "So I'm not going to say it. Just….don't do it again." I grab one of the bags of food and open it. Silently, we each eat our breakfast, stealing glances at each other across the rickety table between us. After eating my fill of eggs and hash browns, my eyes lock onto the doctors. …why does she torment me so? …what is it about her? …its like…like I was made for her. Like we were suppose to be together but… how can we? …I'm suppose to protect her, how can I protect her if I can't keep my eyes off of her.
Callie stirs me from my internal struggle. "We getting back on the road today?"
Shaking my head to clear my mind, I stand and say "Yeah… we got about 10 more hours until we get there so... I'm going to take a shower. …Can I trust that you will stay here? …Or do I have to chain you to that post we talked about?" She rolls her eyes at me and mumbles something in Spanish which I take as 'yes, I will still be here'." Grabbing the pair of jeans and t-shirt I bought, I head into the bathroom. As usual, I let the hot water melt away my stress. The hot water searing my nerve endings, setting me on fire. Then instantaneous ice cold water shocks me to the core, trapping the energy of the steam within my pores. …Clamp it down, Robbins. Get your emotions in check. You can't be with her. The sooner you get that through your mind, the easier this will all be.
Soon we are back on the road. I had to ditch the plates I was using and changed them out with the last set of fakes I had in my bag. North Dakota…that's where we are going, and the North Dakota plates that now adorn the commandeered Jeep will make us blend in even more. During one of our fill ups, I clean up the inside of the car and make it somewhat presentable.
The sun starts to set, and I get more and more anxious the closer we get to our goal. Finally, I see the sign that says Devils Lake, North Dakota. I breathe a sigh of relief. …we made it. Passing through the sleepy town and on through, we continue about 25 miles until I turn off the paved road and down a gravel drive way you wouldn't see unless you knew it was there. Callie immediately perks up, having been silent most of the day again.
"Are we here?" She asks, not even knowing where 'here' is.
"Yep, we're here." My headlights shine through the dense forest one either side of the long gravel entryway. About a mile of driving through the twisting path, we emerge into a large clearing. A house sticking out of the snow covered ground. The sun is barely peaking over the horizon, giving the entire view an orange glow. Pulling up behind a beat up old ford pickup truck, I turn off the car and wait.
"Who's that?" Callie asks nervously as a tall, broad, well built man of around 55 years old steps out onto the gravel driveway, shotgun in hand.
"My Dad." I say softly, taking a deep breath to prepare myself to face the most authoritative figure I know.
"Does he always greet guests with a shotgun?" Her eyes trailing up and down the waiting man.
"Yes. …Wait here." I tell her and slip out of the car, my hand instinctively resting on my gun at my right hip. The twenty feet between me and my father seem like a mile. It's been a couple years since I've seen him and I'm nervous. "Hey Dad." I say as I stand in front of him. He gives me a hard glare, looking me up and down like a drill sergeant inspects his soldiers. Finally, I pass inspection and his face breaks into a warm smile.
"Zona…" He breaths out, giving me a pat on the shoulder. It's been years since he's actually hugged me…five in fact. I came here when I was recovering from my injury I sustained in Iraq. It was a rough couple of months. I turned into a monster and I scared him off. But slowly, we are getting closer again. I know he still loves me; he's just not comfortable showing physical affection yet…or again.
He glances towards Callie still in the Jeep. "She in trouble?" He asks.
"Yeah…she is. …And we need a place to hide out for a while." I answer. "I know I should have called but… I couldn't. There was a leak and I… I had to go-"
"AWOL." He says firmly, always the military man. "You went off the grid with her? …Against your commanders direction?" His tone makes me quake but I push down the uneasiness in my voice.
"I promised her father that I would protect her with my life. And I intend to do that." I stare straight into his blue-gray eyes. The same eyes that use to make me cry when their hard gaze set their sights on me. "I brought her here because it's quiet and peaceful… and I know the area. …But if you don't want-"
"Zona, of course you can stay." He says warmly. I motion of Callie to join us. She slips out of the car and walks tentatively over to join us.
"Dad, this is Dr. Callie Torres. …Dr. Torres, this is my father, Daniel Robbins." I introduce the two of them.
"Mr. Robbins…" Callie greets him, extending a hand.
He takes it and replies "Please, call me Colonel. …And it's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Torres."
"Please, its Callie." She says sweetly back, sending me a look as well. …it's still Dr. Torres.
"I hear you are in some trouble Callie, and looking for a place to lay low." My dad says as he adjusts the large gun in his hand. "You are welcome here. Zona and I will make sure you remain perfectly safe." He says with a genuine smile. Barking is heard and soon, three large, purebred, german shepards come rounding the side of the house and straight towards us. Callie screams at the large pack of dogs barreling towards her and jumps behind me.
"Hey boys!" I say cheerfully, kneeling down to their level. Soon, three tongues are attacking me and I stand back up so I don't get slobbered to death.
"Zona…give our guest the tour. I need to get back to work." My dad says, leaving us to it.
"Yes, sir." I reply. Turning to Callie, I introduce her to our pack of hounds. "No need to be afraid. They don't bite…unless told to. That one is Jack Daniels…the smaller one is Jim Beam… and the pure black one is Johnny Walker." She gives me a questioning look and I explain "We didn't name them. They are all retired police service dogs. …They were all trained together and named together. Apparently their trainers were drunks or something but… they are the best guard dogs you will ever find." I say as I give each one a rub around their necks. "Come on… I'll give you the tour."
I show her around the house. It's decorated like a log cabin, comfortable and warm. A fire place on the main floor in front of a worn in couch. The kitchen isn't anything to write home about, but it works. Upstairs is split in to two sides. You walk up the stairs and can either take the landing to the right, where there is the master bedroom and bath. Or to the left, to the smaller bed room with an attached bath. That was the room that I stayed in for months while I was healing, both physically and mentally.
Walking through the door of the second bedroom, I say "And this is where you will be sleeping. …The bed is more comfortable than it looks. And this side of the house gets a little chilly at night so there are a couple blankets in that chest…" I point towards the hope chest my grandmother and mother gave me for my 18 birthday, days before I enlisted in the Marines.
"Where's your mom?" She asks, looking out of the window into the great emptiness of the North Dakota wilderness.
"Boston." I say flatly.
"Vacation or something?" She pushes.
"No… my parents are divorced. My mom lives in Boston. My Dad lives here." I say, checking the supplies in the bathroom. When I return to the bedroom, Callie's warm brown eyes are on me.
"I'm sorry…" She says sadly.
Brushing off the still sore topic of my parents divorce, I continue "I'll take you into town tomorrow to pick up some supplies and more clothes. Definitely going to need some warmer things and a jacket out here. But I'm exhausted so I'm going to sack down for the night." I move to the door, but stop as Callie calls after me.
"Where are you sleeping?" She asks.
"The couch downstairs is a fold out. I'll make that up." Turning back to the sad face and kind eyes of the doctor, my heart breaks a little. "You can relax here, Dr. Torres. You're safe now." Johnny noses his way into Callie's room through the crack in the door. I point to him and command "Johnny…stay. Watch." He knows his job now is to keep watch over the stranger. He doesn't know who she is, but she is now under his protection and he is always ready for a job. Looking back up at the woman I so badly want to be able to hold close to me and whisper in her ear that I have her, that I will protect her, I say "Good night, Dr. Torres."
"Good night, Arizona." She replies. Closing the door, I move back down stairs and start making up the fold out couch. My dad comes trudging back in as I'm unholstering both of my weapons and placing them next to me, and setting my shoes at the edge of the bed so I can slip them on in a second if I need to.
"How bad is it?" He asks.
"It's serious. …They attacked a safe house and injured two of my agents to get to her. The third was the leak, at least on my team. She's dead now. And I had to shoot…I don't even know how many people, just to get her out of there." I look up at the face of my father. "If this is too much for you Dad, we'll leave. I don't want to make any trouble for you here."
"Don't be ridiculous, Zona. …She's obviously important to you. And you know I would do anything for you." He says with a smile and it makes me blush. "…Are you two…." My dad doesn't finish the sentence. He knows I'm gay. Though he doesn't know exactly why I was pushed out of the Marines, he still thinks it's because of my injury, but I know he has had some inklings.
"No…Dad. We aren't. I'm her bodyguard. …That's it." I say, laying down and pulling the covers over me.
He moves to the stairs and flicks the light switch, sending the entire lower level into darkness. "Does she know that's it?" He asks as he ascends the stairs and heads off to bed.
…if only that wasn't it.
AN2: So Arizona and Callie are safe…for now. Will Arizona finally crack?