It was on day seven that everything changed for Callie. She woke up at her normal six in the morning and rolled over on her bed, it was the first night she had felt safe enough to sleep in her bedroom and her back thanked her for it. She sat up in the bed and smiled as Axel looked at her excitedly and wagged his tail. She had tried to get the dog to sleep on the floor but had given up after two hours of continuously telling him to get down and so now the pooch slept at the bottom of her bed, close to her as always.
As Callie spun to put her feet on the ground, Axel took off like a shot towards the kitchen where his food bowl sat. Laughing at the subtle hint from her new friend, Callie made her way into the kitchen and flicked the electric kettle on to make a coffee then set about feeding the excitable dog. Once Axel was fed, she made herself a bacon bun and devoured it whilst sipping at the hot java.
She took a slow shower, basking in the heat of the water, then dressed slowly. In the past four days she had cleared two of the three sections of the estate and decided that she would take the day off from house hunting and would check the roads to see that her barricades were still in place and secure.
Electing to walk the short distance to the main road she called Axel and he obediently followed, she crossed the carpark opposite her house towards the roundabout that led to the main road and inspected the cars, they were all still in place and the road looked untouched from how she had left it.
Nodding in approval, axe in hand, she climbed over the end car using the wall to guide her over and laughed as Axel jumped on the sedan boot and looked at her expectantly. She patted her leg and he jumped down and sniffed at the car tyre before cocking his leg and relieving himself.
Callie set off walking towards the pedestrian entrance that she had boxed in when a humming met her ears, it sounded like a vehicle, but she couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. Suddenly she was filled with fear, the vehicle could hold anyone which included somebody or somebodies dangerous. She jogged back towards the first wall and yelled for Axel to follow her. She was about five meters away from the wall when the van came into view. She was trapped like a rabbit in headlights, she pumped her feet faster to get to the wall as Axel overtook her and charged ahead.
The van began to slow down, the driver obviously having seen her before it sped up again and screeched to a halt in front of the wall. She was stuck. There was no way she could get over the wall now, not with the van cutting her off and Axel ran to her side, his behind touching her knee, as he began to growl at the vehicle.
It was a white transit van, with three people sat in the front cab. The passenger window opened and a man with perfect hair and gore all over his face appeared from the van. He waved and smiled a charming smile which seemed to only ease Callie's fear until her senses kicked back in and she realised that she didn't know these people and was outnumbered three to one.
"No need to be afraid, we're not here to harm you. We actually need your help" The man called over to her and Callie couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Something about the man seemed friendly and although she was still cautious, her gut told her that she could trust the man.
"What is it that you think I can help you with?" Callie asked, placing her palm on Axel's back to settle his growling. The dog instantly relaxed but stayed by Callie's side.
"Everything actually" The man laughed softly. "We've been on the run for days and we're almost out of juice. We need somewhere to stop until we can get more gas"
"Where are you heading?" Callie said as she took a few steps closer to the van.
"Away from the city. It's overrun with infected, and we barely managed to escape. We have more passengers in the back of the van. I know it's not the time to be trusting of strangers but is there any chance that you could help us. We have women and children with us" The dreamy man said hopefully.
"How many of there are you exactly?" Callie asked hopefully. There were other survivors. She wasn't alone anymore. As if hearing her thoughts Axel glared at her, she could almost hear his thoughts too 'what the hell am I, chopped liver?'
She ruffled the hair on his head affectionately and scoffed at herself. She had been alone that long she was starting to lose her mind.
"Three men, four women and two children" The dreamy interrupted her internal thoughts. "How about I ask everyone to exit the van so you can see, we truly mean you no harm?"
"Yeah... yeah that would be good" Callie admitted.
The three men exited the cab. The driver rounded the van and opened the door and Callie heard several people exit the van before they rounded the passenger side and came into view.
"We have come from a hospital in the city" The dreamy looking man explained as he urged his companions to join him at the front of the van.
"A hospital?" Callie said hopefully.
"Seattle Grace, it fell days ago and we barely made it out alive. Sorry, I should have introduced myself, I'm Derek, Derek Shepard"
Callie's heart sunk. Seattle Grace was the hospital on the news from that first day on the news. She forced a smile to her face and offered her hand out for Derek to shake "Callie Torres" Derek took the offered hand and shook it warmly, the man had a good handshake, she couldn't deny that.
Once the rest of the group had arrived at the front of the van Derek took it upon himself to introduce his fellow survivors. Starting from left to right "This is my best friend Mark Sloan" Derek pointed towards a handsome man with salt and pepper hair, he smiled roguishly towards her and winked almost flirtatiously. Callie internally rolled her eyes as the arrogance rolled off the man, she instantly decided that he must be a surgeon. Only surgeons and pilots had that kind of self-esteem.
"Next we have Jim, our designated driver" Derek pointed to a short, geeky looking guy. Callie picked up on the fact that Derek hadn't offered a surname which made her think that the good-looking leader didn't know the man before the fall. Jim offered a nervous wave which made Callie smile softly. She knew this kind of guy, she had been friends with people like him at school when she was a complete nerd, long before she grew into her body and self-esteem.
"This is Addison Montgomery or Addie for short" Derek pointed at a tall red headed woman who offered a tired smile towards Callie, again he offered a surname which made Callie think the beautiful woman was a colleague of his, she was wearing dark pink scrubs and Callie wracked her brain to try and work out what that meant but gave up, if she allowed these people to stay she would soon find out their story. "And she's holding the hand of little Millie" Callie glanced down towards the short brunette who was hiding behind Addie's legs, she offered the little girl a big smile but the small girl who had to be around ten, just hid further.
Derek offered an apologetic smile towards his host before continuing with his introductions, "This is Fiona" he pointed to a late fifty-something ginger woman who provided the Latina with a broad smile and a little wave. Again, Callie noticed the lack of a surname, she wondered whether this woman was a patient or a family member of a patient.
"This little fella is Ben" Derek said as he ruffled a young lad's hair, he wasn't quite a teenager yet wasn't quite a child either, Callie placed him around ten or eleven.
"And lastly this is Arizona Robbins" Derek waved his hand towards Arizona as if presenting her to Callie, she glanced at the woman, she was a bit shorter than herself, had dirty braided blonde hair and was wearing dark blue scrubs. Callie guessed that this woman had to also be a surgeon because of the scrubs but she didn't have the arrogant air about her that Derek and Mark had. She could already tell that underneath the dirt, gore, grime and grease there was a beautiful face.
She took in the eight people, each of them looked tired, thirsty and hungry and the look on Ben and Millie's face tugged on her heart strings. She couldn't refuse these people entry into the estate. They looked harmless and she was a good catholic woman, despite her sexuality, she had to help them.
"Well, I guess you'd all better come on in. I will move the car in front so you can pull the van through. Hang left at the first roundabout and right at the second roundabout and pull the van into the carpark directly on your right. My house is the second house in, I will meet you there" Callie said with a warm smile, she knew she had made the right decision when she saw the relief flash through each of the eight faces.
"Thank you so much" Mark smiled warmly, Callie could just tell that in the old world, that smile had charmed many women.
"Come on let's get off the road" Derek said seriously, he didn't like to be stopped in one place for too long, from experience that always led to nothing good.
Callie jumped the wall of cars using the actual wall to help her across and laughed as Axel beat her across and stood looking at her expectantly. She dug into the treat pouch and tossed the excited pooch a biscuit. She opened the range rover car door and urged the dog inside then followed as she grabbed the keys from the central console and threw them in the ignition and turned the engine over. She reversed the car back until the front bumper was clear of the car adjacent to it and watched the van pull slowly through the gap before picking up speed and sped out of sight. She replaced the range rover and sealed the gap in the wall then jumped out the car and called Axel.
Once both had vacated the vehicle, Callie jogged towards her house and arrived just in time to see the final occupant of the van exit, the woman that Callie remembered as Arizona grabbed Millie by the waist and lifted her down from the back of the van before crouching down to her height and saying something to her before hugging her tightly.
"Hungry guys?" Callie asked after waiting for the group to gather at the back of the van.
"Honestly, we are starving. We ran out of snacks two days ago" Addie announced without shame but not in an arrogant way.
"Well come on in and get settled, I have cold water straight from the fridge while I cook you something" Callie said as she started walking towards the house beckoning the newcomers with her. They followed her dutifully and entered the house behind her. She guided them into the open plan kitchen, diner and lounge and motioned for them to take a seat at the six-seater dining room table. She grabbed two of the bar stools from the breakfast bar and positioned one at either end of the table making enough room for the eight people.
"Any allergies?" Callie asked conversationally watching as Axel made his way around the table greeting each of the members of the group.
"No, please don't go to too much trouble" Derek was the one to speak after watching everyone shake their heads in the negative.
"Nonsense, you're the first company I have had in days. It will be nice to cook something for someone other than myself and the mutt" Callie laughed as she watched Axel bring a smile to Millie's face as the dog licked at the young girl's face.
She set to grabbing a soup pan from the cupboard which she filled with pasta and water and set it to boil. Next, she searched the cupboard and found several jars of sauces. Deciding she would make a few different dishes, she set to work trying to ignore the deafening silence from the new group who sat awkwardly at the table.
Once the sauces were on to heat and the pasta was up to boil, Callie set about emptying her cupboards of glasses, when she had nine odd pint sized glasses she began to fill them all and placed them on a tray which she carried to the table and began handing them out to people. Once everyone had been served, she grabbed her own drink and sipped at it as she made her way back into the kitchen.
"There's more water in the fridge, the electricity is still on at the moment so help yourselves while it lasts" Callie offered, smiling to the group hoping that she could coerce them into calming down a bit and being a bit more comfortable in her home. It had been that long since she had human contact, she was unsure what to say or do.
"So, where is everyone else?" Derek finally asked to break the silence.
"There is no one else... it's just me" Callie admitted nervously hoping that it wasn't a mistake to trust these people, this group which outnumbered her and could easily overpower her. When she saw the looks pass between the group, she decided that she needed to say more. "I have been clearing the houses around the estate but all I have found is infected people so far... and Axel... it's been pretty lonely. I was starting to think I was the only survivor left until your van pulled up"
"I'm so glad we found you, we have been running on fumes for about twenty miles. We were at the point where we were thinking we were going to have to walk until we found somewhere" Mark admitted and the rest of the group nodded.
"So where exactly were you heading?" Callie asked as she began draining the pasta in portions before adding it to each sauce in turn.
"Anywhere where we could find a slice of safety" Addie spoke this time; you could tell from her accent that she grew up with money like Callie but also like Callie she wasn't stuck up with it. Callie instantly felt like she had found a kindred spirit.
"Well, I can't guarantee you safety, but it's a lot safer in here than it is out there... It may be a bit cramped but you guys are welcome to stay here for as long as you would like" Callie offered as she began stirring the sauces.
"If it's ok with you we will spend the night here while we decide what to do moving forward" Derek asked without consulting the rest of the group which solidified Callie's earlier assumption that he was the leader of the ragtag group.
"Of course, no pressure. This place has four bedrooms in it. I have a bed made up in the loft I can sleep in tonight which leaves four bedrooms for you to split between you, there is also a couch over there" Callie pointed to the lounge area "and a double sofa bed in the living room"
"Well, I have to admit that not spending the night in the van does seem really appealing" Mark offered, glancing around at the nodding faces of his group.
"God that thing stinks, I would take the night in a pig stye over another night in that tin can" Addie scoffed.
"Well, I think that's settled then" Derek smiled. "Let's eat this delicious meal that Callie has graciously made us and then we can discuss sleeping arrangements"
"Grubs up" Callie announced, motioning with her hand for the group to come up to the kitchen to grab some food. "Bring your glasses and top them up"
The group sat and ate quietly, Callie electing to sit at the third bar stool at the breakfast bar, turned towards the group and studying them silently. She couldn't keep her eyes from gravitating to the blonde woman who she knew was called Arizona Robbins and that was it, there was something about the blonde that Callie couldn't quite put her finger on but she knew that she wanted to know more than just the womans name.