AN1: Okay so, this was an update I've been very much looking forward to posting. My writing is inspired many times by things In my life, and this is one of those chapters that I hold close to my heart. I don't want to spoil anything, so definitely make sure you read the AN at the bottom!

DISCLAIMER : All characters belong ( unfortunately ) to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. Though they didn't use many of these characters to their full potential, I will do my best to do so.

ARIZONA'S POV

By the time I reach the transport van Alex, Callie, and a few other volunteers have already started to unload the dogs. I smile at the scruffy looking middle aged man wearing a baseball cap and holding the clipboard. He looks like he could use a shower and a shave, but he has a friendly smile. "Hi, I was told you needed my signature a a few forms?" I reach my hand out to shake his, he wipes his stained hand on the front of his plaid shirt before taking my hand.

"If your the one in charge, then that is correct." he says as he hands me the clipboard and pen. I take them and quickly read them over. I sign my name and hand everything back over to the man.

"Alright give me one sec to put this back in the van and I'll grab all the records for you. We weren't able to get much information on this round, they were all from an area that got hit the worst by the hurricane." he turns and opens the front passenger door. As he leans over, I have to bite back a laugh. His shirt has risen up on his back, showing off his pink and purple boxers that has kittens and unicorns all over them. Oh. My. God.

I clear my throat before saying, "okay, that's fine. Just give me what you have. We're vaccinating all of them anyways as a safety precaution."

All I get is a grunt in return as I hear what sounds like the man arguing with someone. I watch as he struggles with something in the van, and I swear I hear him say something about a "damn cat." he lets out a yelp and yanks his hand back.

"Umm sir? Everything alright?"

He turns back around to face me with one hand holding a folder and the other held tightly against his chest. I look at him quizzically, but I don't comment.

"sorry 'bout that," he says with a small chuckle, "here is everything we have." I take the offered file just as Alex walks by and tells me that he was about to unload the last dog. We watch silently as Alex leans in the van, picks up the black toy poodle, cradles it to his chest, and walks back inside while quietly talking to the scared pup in his arms. Alex puts on this tough guy mask in front of people, but he's really just a big 'ol softy on the inside.

Turning back to the transport driver I smile and say, "Well I guess I'll let you head on out of here. Thank you so much for assisting with all these hurricane rescues, without people like you, there's no telling how many innocent animals would have died out there."

The man just smiles and nods at my words. We stand in awkward silence for a few seconds before he starts to speak, "Umm ma'am?"

"You need me for something else?"

I watch as he nervously pulls his hat from his head and scratches the back of his neck, he opens his mouth to speak, but let's out a loud yelp instead. He starts slapping his back, yelling "GET OFF YOU DEMON! GET OFF!"

what the hell?

I'm pretty sure the man's gone crazy. I'm seriously about to turn around and make a run for it. Then the man turns his back to me, while still yelling and slapping himself, what I see stops me dead in my tracks. I can't help but let out a loud laugh. There is a cat clinging to the back of his shirt, swatting at him every time the man's hand comes within reach. oh my god! This has to be the funniest thing I've ever seen! Finally catching my breath, I walk closer to the duo and gently pull the cats claws from the man's back. As soon as I have her safely tucked to my chest, she nuzzles my arm with her head and she begins to purr. She sounds like a little chewbacca! So cute!

"Thank you! That damn cat has been driving me nuts since we left Texas!" he says while glaring at the cat in my arms. I laugh when the cat turns to look at him, lets out one long feeble meow, then immediately nuzzles back into my arms and continues to happily purr.

"What is she doing on a dog transport anyways?" I ask as I smile down at the cat. She has the prettiest blue eyes. They contrast so perfectly with her light colored fur. She's considered a Calico. A "Dilute Calico," if you want to be specific. She's white, with patterns of faded black, gray and tan all over her body. I can tell she's is an older cat, just by her physical appearance. Her fur is not as thick, or silky and smooth as it no doubt once was. I can also tell that she has lost muscle mass, and judging by how prominent her hips are, she has suffered weight loss.

Nevertheless, she's still a beautiful creature.

The man reaches out to gently pet the cats head, and sadly smiles at me, "Unfortunately she had nowhere else to go. There are so many kittens that have been rescued and fostered..and as you can see, Wendy here is no kitten. She may be as Feisty as one, but she's actually fifteen years old….. She was the first rescue I made with my team in Houston."

I wonder if he would mind if I asked what it was like out there… I've always wanted to go out and help during natural disasters, but by the time I was old enough, I was busy with college and… stuff.

I sadly smile at the man, as I continue to love on Wendy and ask, "what was it like out there? What's this sweet girl's story?" I was enamored by this sweet girl the moment she cuddled in my arms. She has to be something special for this man to want to save her so badly.

"I can answer both of those questions by telling you Wendy's story, if you have a few minutes to spare." he replies with a smile.

"I think I can spare a little time!" I probably shouldn't, I know it is more than likely a mess inside….but I'm curious.

"Alright well, I guess I'll start from the beginning. It's a sad one though, so don't say I didn't warn ya."

I nod in acknowledgment and he starts his story….

"I found her on one of the first search and rescues that we did. I was on this little fishing boat with two other men... We wanted to be able to carry as much as we could with us, so we came up with a plan, but we needed supplies. It worked out pretty great that one of the guys on my team, just so happened to own a local hardware store down the street from our teams meeting spot. We made our way to his store. Unfortunately, it was hit by the hurricane, but lucky for us, the water inside the building was low enough for us to wade through it. So we waded our way through the store, gathering up things that could come in handy during the rescue, as well as the supplies we needed to build a makeshift trailer to pull behind our boat. We were able to make it large enough that we could haul a lot of extra supplies, have room for several crates for the animals, as well as any stranded folks, we might come across needing a ride to safety...

We were just one of several search and rescue teams that went out that day. Each team had designated areas to search, and because we could carry more supplies and occupants, we were assigned to a location that was further than most the other groups. So, after about an hour long boat ride from where we started, we were paddling down the main street of what was left of one of the richest neighborhoods in Houston. The first house we got to was a brick two story house that was halfway under water. The top story was completely destroyed. Two trees had fell on it, collapsing part of the roof, and the wind had took down the rest, except a small portion of the roof on the left side. It was the worst we had seen so far. The closer we got, the more my heart broke….um, we were pretty close to the house when we heard a loud cracking sound, and we watched as the remaining part of the roof collapsed. We realized that there was no way we could risk getting off the boat and climbing through the debris after that, it was just too unstable. We rowed the boat in as close as we could get to the house, to at least scan over what we could see to make sure there wasn't a living person or animal that we could save... we're looking and hollering out, asking if anybody could hear us, when I hear a cat crying. When we spot her, she's frantically scratching at part of a fallen wall. I'm able to reach out and grab her, and when I do and hand her off to the guy next to me. I turned back to look at the house, and that is when I see what Wendy was trying to get to... I see a leg sticking out from under the debris. Me and the guys were able to move what was on top of the woman to uncover her. Her body... it was so mangled and bloody. She um, she was laying on what looked like an end table, her left leg was in an ungodly position, and ah, one of the table legs was uh- w-was sticking out of her abdomen." He shutters and takes a shaky breath, " I knew she was gone, but I checked for a pulse anyways, and there wasn't one. No more could be done at the time, so we covered her body with a tarp, tied a red flag to what was left of the chimney, and called in the location of the casualty, so the state authorities could come remove her body...We left the scene with tears in our eyes, and the next few hours of searching was done with not many words spoken between us. What we all saw that day, will never be unseen. I will never be able to put into words what I felt that day… I have nightmares almost every night." He stops talking, so he can get himself together. He's getting emotional, and I can most definitely understand why.

I don't even know what to say. That is horrific, and I couldn't imagine what it must've been like for those three men.

"I am so sorry you had to see something like that. It was heartbreaking and emotional for me, just to see the destruction of the land and properties on the news… I can't imagine…" I trail off my sentence, no more words need to be said, because well, what him and the other rescuers saw….it's unimaginable.

Clearing his throat he nods his head, "that's all I have to say about that… so, when we finished searching out assigned areas, we headed back to what we called "Home Base" with Wendy and three puppies. After getting them all checked out by the volunteering veterinarian, I'm walking over to the building that is housing all the rescued animals, when this woman stops me. She asks if we had found that cat in the neighborhood called "River Oaks." I told her we did, and asked if she knew the cat. She informed me that she did. She said her family was from that neighborhood, and that the cat belonged to her elderly neighbor. She went on to tell me her neighbor and the cat's name, and how much she adored the older woman. She told me that, her friend had adopted Wendy fifteen years ago, a month after her husband had passed away, and they had been inseparable ever since. That cat you're holding, was spoiled to no end my her owner. The lady told me that Wendy had more accessories than her thirteen year old daughter! She used to follow behind them when they went on their morning walks around the neighborhood, and she basically ruled the house. Oh man, she went on and on, telling me story after story about this cat. She was so happy to see Wendy, that I hated to give her an answer when she asked if I could tell her how her neighbor was doing. I wanted to cry right along with her when I told her that her friend hadn't survived. After consoling her, I asked if she would like to take Wendy in. She wanted to, but her family had just lost everything they owned so she couldn't. After that, we parted ways and Wendy was placed up for adoption. I went by as often as I could to check up on her. Three weeks had passed, and Wendy was continuously overlooked because of her age. The shelters were filled to the max, and they needed space, no kill shelters were suddenly open to the idea of euthanizing. When I went into pick up this lot of dogs for transport, I went to spend a few minutes with Wendy. I'm holding her and she's purring, then the woman running the shelter walked up to me, and told me that Wendy had been scheduled to be euthanized that afternoon. I wasn't about to let that happen, so with Wendy in my arms, I walked to my van, climbed in, and drove out the gates, determined to find her a home."

I open my mouth to speak, but before I get the first word out, I'm cut off as he takes Wendy from my arms, holds her against his chest, and gives her a kiss atop her head. I smile at the sweet scene before me. Poor guy, he's worrying himself to death. My mind is made up. I- my inner monologue is interrupted when the driver starts to ramble...

"I haven't had any luck so far, as you can see. I just don't get it, Wendy is a great cat! If my wife wasn't severely allergic, I would keep her….You're my last stop, and I don't know what to do. I can't take her back to the shelter… Over those three weeks she was at the shelter, I started to really enjoy my time with her, ya know? She was my few minutes of joy in all the misery after the devastation of the hurricane. The first few days she was there, were rough ones, but she adjusted nicely. She's got such a friendly and outgoing personality." he chuckles and continues to ramble, "but since she's been on this trip with me, I've learned that there are quite a few sides to her... and she makes some very odd sounds sometimes!" he looks down at Wendy, "Don't let this calm demeanor she's got going on right now fool you, she has got serious spunk to be as old as she is. She is so spoiled! When she wants your attention, and you're not giving it to her, she will catch an attitude, and meow at you, and smack you until you give her what she wants. She struts around like she owns the the place, I think she truly believes she is in charge. She loves dogs, but if she's not in the mood and they get in her personal space, she'll reach out and give em a couple of bops on the head. I think my favorite is that she loves to sneak up and cuddle with you, anywhere and anytime. She is so playful despite her age and loves to run around chasing this little laser pointer I have. Whenever I have to get out of the van, she sits in my seat waiting for me to get back, and if i'm pumping gas, she'll stand up with her front Paws on the windowsill watching me. Then when I get back in the van, she always greets me by nuzzling me and a quiet little meow….."

I am certainly amused by the rambles coming out of this very manly, man right now. You can tell that he is no stranger to manual labor. When I shook his hand, I noticed they were rough and stained. He has very muscular arms, and he's in pretty good shape. Yet here this guy stands literally gushing with adoration for an elderly cat with an attitude. He's still talking about the cat..andddd he really just used a baby voice to tell Wendy "what a good girl she is." I have to stop him.

Smirking, I wave my hand in front of his face to get his attention. He blushes. Oh dear lord.

He mumbles a quick "sorry," and clears his throat before saying, "well now that I've made a total ass of myself, I guess I'll be going." and points his thumb over his shoulder toward his van.

Just as he turns to walk away I say, "I'll take her."

He stops, looks at me with wide eyes and asks, "what?"

"I would like to adopt Wendy. If you're okay with that." I answer with a smile.

It takes him a few seconds to understand what I just said, then suddenly his eyes light up, and the biggest smile is on his face. "Really?"

Popping my dimples, I nod my head, "yes, I would actually really love to give her the forever home she deserves!"

"I am going to hug you now." he says as he leans in, and wraps the arm not holding Wendy, around my midsection. Next thing I know, I'm being lifted off the ground, and I'm spinning in circles. I let out a squeal and a laugh when he starts talking again. He reminds me of Tim...

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I swear you are an angel sent from Heaven!"

Ten seconds later, we're still spinning, I'm still laughing, and he's still singing his praises….Until we hear a throat clearing behind us. I'm suddenly put back on solid ground. I give the man one of my best smiles, and he gives me a wink before we turn our attention to the person breaking up our moment.

Oh shit….

AN2: There is two very important facts I want to point out about this chapter. The first being, my grandfather is actually a volunteer for "Disaster Relief" which is a group that travels to provide help for communities after a natural disaster hits. He spent two weeks in Texas after Hurricane Harvey hit. When I was younger, I went with him after Hurricane Katrina hit so I've seen first hand what these volunteers do... I just want to take this opportunity to give my thanks to anyone who may have spent time volunteering after a natural disaster has hit; and even though this is very late, to anyone who was hit by Harvey, I hope you all made it safely and without loss.

The second thing I want to point out is "Wendy" is real. At my job we have a few cats that are "live in." They were either rescued or surrendered to us by their owner and instead of rehoming them, they just live at my work. Wendy was rescued when she was a kitten by my manager, and had been living there long before I was employed by the company. she stole my heart during my interview, she was my "Wendy baby. From that day on. The way I described her in this chapter, is an exact description of the real Wendy. She was one of a kind... Sadly, we lost Wendy in May 2017 when she was 20 years old. She was and still is one the my favorite things about my job. (Debating on posting a picture on twitter of my sweet girl, let me know if that something you all might be interested in) With that said, I would like to dedicate this chapter to her. I love and miss you Wendy Baby!