AN: I've had an extremely hard week but I'm glad there's a place where I can come and write to get away from it all. I'm also grateful for the people who enjoy reading my story as it develops. I'm also super glad for Grey's. I can always get lost in an episode and forget about how bad my day was.

I'm thinking there's only about five more chapters left in this story, including an epilogue of some sort. I want to know if you want to see some type of sequel or not. I had an idea for a surfer type story but I'm not sure when I would get to start it. Tell me what YOU think or would like to see.

Such a long note…sorry. Hope you enjoy the chapter! :)

Chapter 20

"Robbins, we've got something big."

"What is it? You know you interrupted a very personal moment." I settled my hand against my hip.

Alex looked to me then Callie. "It's only for the Army's ears as of now." His gaze went back to Callie.

I took a small walk with Karev to his truck. "What's this about?"

"The CDC released a statement about their progress in finding a vaccine."

"And…"

"They've found a cure."

My heart dropped and I almost fainted right there.

"Well, they've found a vaccine that stops the symptoms. It can't be used on people who are already infected and have the disease. You have to read it." He hopped in his truck then back out with a few wrinkled pieces of paper.

On the paper was a scribbled message from what Alex calls the "boss" who runs the camps in Texas and must have handed these papers out.

As I skimmed the letters, I noticed a very important part.

The first to receive this vaccine will be the camps of survivors taking refuge in the state of Texas.

My jaw drops as I stare back at Alex. "We get the vaccine first?!" He just nodded with a grin on his face. I jumped up and wrapped my hands around his neck. He was stunned at first but offered a tap on the shoulder after I embraced him.

"Um… What's this all about?"

We both turned to Callie. I put an arm around my fiancé's waist. "Callie, they fou…"

"It's nothing." Alex pulled me close and whispered into my ear. "You can't tell her. Plus, we might not even get the vaccine soon or survive long enough to see it."

"Then why tell me?"

"I was keeping you in the loop. This is official business and we can't risk it getting out or spreading around."

"Fine, fine." I turned my attention back to Callie. "I'll uh… I'll tell you later.

"Okay…"

I grabbed both sides of Callie's hip and pulled her as close as possible. "You want to go tell our friends?"

"Of course! Wait, does Aria know?"

"Yeah, she was the first person I talked to about it. I think everybody knows about it except….Derek, Meredith, Bailey, my mom…"

"Whoa, your mom doesn't know? You didn't talk to your mom about getting engaged?"

"I'm sure she'll be thrilled." I leaned in to kiss her as she smiled and kept leaning in until she lost balance and was leaning back in my arms. I pulled a rose from my back pocket and stuck it between my lips.

Callie began to laugh in my face so I stood her back up. When she finally caught her breath, she spoke out. "I'm not sure if I find that extremely cheesy or cute." She grabbed the rose from my mouth and held it to her nose before walking towards the passenger's side of Alex's truck.

"It was cute right?!" I yelled and ran after my soon to be wife.

We arrived back at the hotel too soon especially after Callie saying "yes". Lexie, Aria, Meredith, and Jo surrounded her and gasped at her cheap toy ring.

"I'll get her a real one." I said, pointing towards the group of women across the patio.

"How long will that take?" Mark asked over my shoulder.

"I'll found one eventually. Did you hear the news?"

"Yeah, we're getting the vaccines soon." He grinned sadly.

"What happens after we get the medicine though? Do we stay here or…?"

"We have to go state by state and clean out the ones who are already infected then clean the bodies up… It's a long process but if this 'cure' works, the U.S could be back on its feet in the next five to ten years. That's not including other places around the world that could be infected."

"Damn. After all this hard work, we still have so much ahead of us."

"Yep." Mark tipped his water bottle up then left to fill it up again.

I made my way to April and Jackson who were standing outside their room. "Hey guys."

"Hey, Robbins. You hear the news?"

"I did."

"What news?" April interrupted.

"Uh…" Jackson stumbled to come up with an answer.

"…Callie said 'yes'."

April gave me and Avery a confused look. "Yes, of course I heard about it. Are you guys planning to have a wedding?"

"I think we want to wait and see where things take us first."

Avery nodded to thank me for recovering his mistake. I began to look around and realized someone very important was missing.

"Avery…where's my mom at?"

"She said she wasn't feeling good so she went to the Clinic to see Bailey."

I sat my cup down. My mom never gets sick and when she does, she hardly ever goes to the doctor for meds. I picked up the pace as I made my way to Callie. When I reached her, I took both her arms and moved us backwards away from the excited group of girls. The grip of my hands on her arm grew tighter as our eyes met.

"Arizona… wha… what are you doing?"

"Mom went to the clinic and said she was feeling sick."

"I'm sure she's okay. People get colds all the time."

"You don't understand. My mom never complains about being sick and she only goes to the doctor when she absolutely has to."

"That's what I'm saying; she must have a crappy cold or something."

"You don't know her. I'm going to check it out." My voice grew more serious with every word.

"Do you want me to come with you?" I could tell she was trying to think of something to calm me down.

"I… I don't know." I ran my fingers through my messy blonde hair.

"Let me grab my coat and we'll go, okay?"

"Okay." I whispered.

Callie ran into our room and back out with her coat on. "Come on." She tugged me into her side as walked to the clinic.

When I saw the doors of the clinic, I broke away from Callie and ran inside to look around frantically for any signs of my mom or Miranda.

"Over there." Callie pointed out Bailey in one of the patient rooms. We waited patiently before she walked out.

"Bailey!" I spun her around quickly.

"Arizona! I figured you would come soon."

"Where's my mom and what's wrong with her?" The more she held back, the more I wanted to shake the words out of her mouth.

"Arizona…"

"Oh god….no." I stumbled back a few steps.

"No, no, listen. She came in and she wasn't feeling good with a high temperature. I'm not sure what it is yet, but I gave her some fluids. She's resting for now."

"Where is she?" It was almost a demand for the doctor to tell me.

"She's in one of the safe rooms."

"Safe room?!"

"Wait." Callie stepped in. "What's a safe room?"

"It's for people who have symptoms to the rabies disease. It separates them from everything and everyone else. You think she has the disease?" I looked at Bailey with tears in my eyes.

"I think she ate something an animal with the disease may have gotten into, or that's all I could think of. It's not air-borne and she didn't get a bite from someone."

"Bailey… let me see my mom."

"I can't do that Arizona. I'm not even allowed to go in without a hazmat suit."

"No, this isn't happening. They've found a cure! They've found a cure and we're the first ones to receive it. She can make it that long can't she?" Everything came out hurried and left me out of breathe.

"I don't know. It depends on how long it takes the vaccine to get here and how progressed her sickness is."

Callie looked between us in disbelief. "There's a cure?! They've found a cure?!"

"You're not supposed to know about it so just hush." She was taken back, but knew it was an important matter. "If we get the vaccine, would it work?"

"I… I'm not sure. Even if we give her the vaccine, we don't know if it'll work in her case."

"I don't care. Where is she?" The doctor looked to the ground. "What room is she in?!" I pounded my fist on top of a table.

"Last one on the left. You have to wear the suit that's placed on the outside of the room."

"I'm not wearing a damn suit." I left the conversation to find her room.

I felt Callie try to grab my arm, but it was no use.

When I reached my mom's room, I opened the plastic doors that was used to separate the patients. On a small cot in the corner was my mom. Her skin was an eerie pale color and her hair was frizzy. She had an IV stuck in her hand and a heart monitor plug, tagged to her chest. I cupped my hand over my mouth as I moved closer to her side.

I dropped down on one knee. "Mom?"

Her eyes fluttered open to look at me before closing again. "Arizona?"

"Yeah, it's me, mom. Doctor Baily said you weren't doing so great."

"You need to get out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling sick?"

"You seemed so busy with other things, dear. I didn't want to bother you."

I nodded to myself as tears fell from my face onto the floor. "I uh… I have something to tell you."

"What's is it, dear."

It was so hard to talk to her wile her eyes were closed and drool dripped from the corner of her mouth. "I asked Callie to marry me." I closed one eye in anticipation of her disapproval.

"Oh. That's very sweet, but aren't you a little young?"

"Mom, I proposed with a toy ring, I don't think we're moving too fast."

"Good, that's good." She patted her hands together on top of her stomach.

"They found a cure. This disease or whatever…they have a vaccine to keep the virus from spreading when it enters the body. Our camps are going to be the first ones to get it. If you can hold on long enough for me…"

"Honey, don't worry about me. If it's my time to go…"

"No!" I stood up and wiped the water off my cheeks. "I' going to make sure you get that drug and soon. I lost dad and I lost Tim; I'm not losing you too."

She smiled with her eyes still closed and I placed a kiss on my hand then transferred it to my mom's cheek.

"I'll be back soon."

As I stood to leave, I took one more glance back and realized what I had to do.

I turned the corner to see Callie leaning against the table with her arms crossed. Once she saw me approaching, her legs pushed off the table so she stood straight up. I just shook my head as it hung.

"I'm going to Georgia to the vaccines. At the pace they're delivering it now, we'll just lose more people. We can't waste any more time."

Bailey's face was emotionless, but I could tell she wasn't opposed to my idea.

"No."

I looked to Callie, totally taken back and in shock.

"I will NOT let you go back out there. The last time you left this camp, you came back with a hole in your side and a dead brother. I won't have a dead Arizona."

"I don't want a dead mother!"

Callie's eyes widened as I yelled in her face. I walked out of the clinic and power-walked into the hotel patio. I banged on everyone's door and made noise on anything I could find to get people's attention.

"What the hell, Robbins?" Mark walked out into the haze of the setting Texas sun.

"Listen! I'm going to let Derek instruct on how to examine our food. The disease is somehow making its way into our food supply. The vaccine is taking too long and we need it now. I'm taking a couple of choppers to Georgia to the CDC and pick it up. You can join if you want or stay to help he camps out. Go Derek."

I could tell he was surprised that I put him on the spot but I knew he could handle it. "Okay guys, let's start with our coolers and the kitchen in the hotel. Check to see if the package is still intact. Also, make sure you…"

Derek's voice faded as I went into my room to pack an overnight bag.

"Arizona?" Callie followed me into the room.

"What?!" I turned around and stopped packing.

"Can you just sit down and rest for a minute? I know you're hurting right now, but you can't just run away. We… you just asked me to marry you." I could hear her voice start to shake.

Once I saw what I had done, I dropped everything in my hands and ran over to her. "Callie…"

"No, I understand it's your mother and before, it was your dad. Do you ever think about how I feel when you do these things?"

"Of course I do." I slowly walked up and took her hands in mine. "You are the one thing that is constantly on mind, no matter where I'm at or who I'm looking for. You are always on my mind Calliope."

Callie lifted my shirt and traced the scar that runs up the side of my stomach. Both of her hands soon found their way under my shirt and lightly ran over the huge scar covering my back and shoulders. "Can you just slow down? I don't want you going out so soon and I think you need time to think this over before you leave."

"There's nothing to think about. I have to get the vaccine for these people, not just my mom. Our camp needs this." I could feel the steam role out of my ears as my mind spun. When Callie's touch became softer, chills overcame me and all my thoughts stopped.

"At least give us the night, you can leave in the morning."

I couldn't resist saying yes with her hands sliding over my back and sides. "Okay." I whispered.

"I love you." She leaned in and wrapped her arms around me for a hug.

"I love you too." I stepped back from our embrace. "I'm going to form a plan with the guys and see what we can do." I walked out of our room, leaving Callie as she sat on the edge of our bed.

I was surrounded with the best the military could have, excluding my brother and my father. We had all agreed the vaccine would take too long if we just waited. The plan was, we would go by air to the border of Georgia then travel to Atlanta by foot. The choppers would make too much noise and we didn't want to attract any more to the big city than there already was.

The people going would be me, Jackson, Mark, Alex, and a few of the other guys who watched over the Amarillo camp. Derek agreed to stay with our group at the hotel. Out of everyone, I trusted Derek and Jo the most to watch Callie when I was gone.

After our meeting, we walked back to the hotel to turn in for the night. I slowly opened the door to find my girl snug in bed with a candle left burning by the door so I could see.

I slipped under the covers and pulled Callie closer to me, stirring her awake.

"Hey." She said in a groggy voice before turning to face me.

"Hey."

"You make a plan?"

We both kept our voices soft as our noses met in the middle. "Yeah, we're leaving in the morning."

Callie leaned back and opened her eyes to examine me. I could see the sadness and worry in her face as thousands of horrible possibilities entered her mind.

"Don't." I whispered while taking her cheek in my hand. Tears leaked out the side of her eyes and bumped into my fingers. I kissed her, trying to convey as much love and passion as I possibly could.

Callie silently rolled on top of me and ran her hands up both of my sides, pushing my shirt up and soon forcing me to raise my arms above my head. Once my shirt was gone, she laid her head against my stomach only for a quick second. She planted a kiss above the rim of my pants and made her way up to my chest. Our lips finally met and continued to move together as her hands unbuttoned and unzipped my pants. Her hands fell inside my jeans and cupped my ass before moving down to my thighs, sliding my pants off along the way. I lifted my hips up to help while working on Callie's shirt and bra prior to flipping us over so I could kiss my way down her neck. Soft moans, some including my name, vibrated deep in her throat as her nails dug into my back.

Saturday, October 4th

A bright ray of light hit me in the face through the dirty hotel curtains. I tried to cover my face with the blankets, but was disappointed when I turned around to an empty space in the bed. Sounds of rustling bags and the smell of hot coffee rattled my senses. I sat up, making sure to hold the blanket over my naked torso.

"Callie?" I saw the love of my life packing a bag with her clothes and food.

"Good morning. I made you a cup of coffee." She pointed to the cup on the nightstand.

I went to take a sip and realized it had no sugar or cream. We must have ran out because Callie knows I hate my coffee black. "What are you doing?" I finally left the bed and grabbed some clothes to slip on.

"Packing."

"Uh… why?"

"I'm going with you."

"What?"

"I'm going with you to get the vaccines."

"No, you're staying her with your sister and Jo and Derek."

"Jo and Derek are going too. I talked to them this morning and they agreed to tag along."

"What?!" I went over to where she was packing and yanked her arm. "You're staying here, you hear me? What about your sister?"

"She can handle herself and a baby. Miranda is going to be right down the road at the clinic, she's fine."

"Calliope, I'm not letting you…"

"I'm going Arizona." She looked me in the eyes before taking her bag and leaving our room.

After I dressed myself, I stepped out to the patio ready to go. "Who said Callie and Jo could go?" I announced firmly.

"I did. We can use them." Avery answered with April at his side.

"What if they get hurt?"

"What if you get hurt?" Callie rebutted.

"They're just going to slow us down, trying to make sure their asses are protected."

"Uh, I think we can hold our own weight thank you very much." Jo gave me a look to kill.

The choppers landed near the clinic, cuing our time to leave had come.

I shook my head and grabbed my bags with anger. "Let's go." I moved my way around Callie and Aria hugging it out at the entrance. I was too angry to say goodbye to anyone myself.

I met with Avery in the first chopper and gave him a dirty stare. "What were you thinking?!"

He gritted his teeth. "I was thinking about how we could use their help and how much hell you would be putting Callie through again."

"And you don't think she'll go through hell where we're going? It's going to take everything we have to get to Atlanta!"

Before he could respond, Callie, Jo, Derek, and Mark lined up then filed in. I refused to make eye contact with Callie as the choppers took off. I kept my gaze on the moving trees beneath us the entire trip and had no clue we were already near our drop-off.

We were in a small neighborhood with rows of houses lined to perfection. The group suggested taking this route instead of the highway were we were exposed and exiled from any places for supplies.

Sunday, October 5th

Sweat poured down my face as we hiked down another small forest God had planted in the middle of nowhere, Georgia. Most of us were on our last sip of water including me and the food supply was down to just enough for the day which told us we needed to stop sometime soon.

"We're lost. We're fucking lost in some place near Atlanta with no food and no water. I thought you guys knew where we were going?" Avery slurred to the guys in the front of our group.

"We do. We're almost there." They waved back to Avery, implying for him to shut up.

I stumbled a few more steps before dropping my bag and collapsing on my back.

"Hold on, man down!" Mark shouted as he made his way to my side.

Callie bent down and wiped my face with a small handful of water then tried to give me her bottle. "Here, drink some." She lifted it up but I shoved it away.

"That's your water, you keep it."

"Arizona, I'm not arguing with you."

I looked into her eyes which were filled with love and protection. She tipped the bottle again and I sipped enough water to hold me over.

"Hey!" Mark walked up to the two soldiers leading the group. One had his face deep in a map, but not after Sloan chopped it away in one swift hand motion. "Hey! This is fucking ridiculous! We have soldiers suffering from dehydration and hunger back here. We did not come on this mission to die from weak shit like that. We're talking about our strongest soldiers falling because you guys have no clue what you're doing!"

"Listen…"

"I'm not listening! You get us to a store, lake… something before I put a bullet in your head right here!"

"Sloan!" Avery ran to push Mark away from the other troops.

"We shouldn't be too far from the small town on this map then we'll head right into Atlanta." The soldier announced, picking up the map.

Callie rubbed my shoulders as I sat against a tree. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, let's keep moving." Callie and Jo help me to my feet as our group moved forward.

"Look." Mark pointed through the trees and over a small hill. In the distance was a gas station placed next to a couple fast food joints.

I hobbled along with Jo and Callie who were carrying my heavy equipment.

Once we made it to the streets, we snuck around a few wobbling infected and into the gas station. I made my way to the bathroom ahead of all the others and turned the faucet on. It made funny noises before water finally spat out and started flowing from the spout. Thank god, water.

I turned my head so I could fit my face under the water to where it fell straight into my mouth and down my throat. I was so caught up in getting a refreshing drink, I didn't acknowledge the person walking up behind me. In my head, I figured it was Callie or Avery coming to check up on me.

A moan formed behind me and my stomach dropped before I could even turn around. I spit out the remaining water in my mouth when I became face-to-face with an infected in the tiny bathroom corner. My instincts kicked in and I went to grab my hatchet from my side but froze when I felt an empty space. It must have been with the bag Jo offered to carry. Shit.

I threw my forearm up at a gapping mouth in my last efforts to defend myself.