AN -

Well hello you lucky lot another post already, I havent been able to sleep for over 24 hours and as a result I have been writing this fic for the past 23 hours, only stopping to force some food into me and have a shower, other than that I have been sat working on this fic and am currently writing chapter 43. I'm pretty wired from lack of sleep and buzzing with idea's and I have to admit, this story is NOT turning out how I expected it to, it has completely taken a life of its own.

It was meant to be a Calzona fic (DONT WORRY IT STILL IS I PROMISE) but as I have introduced some of our favourite characters and a few original characters, its just kinda spiralled and is now having love interests for other characters (some from the show, some original pairings) and into their back stories and side stories and a whole twisted web of fandom. as a result this fic could end up being ALOT longer than my usual fics lol. Oh well, Its keeping me from the boredom of being home all day every day whilst im sick.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who is reading this. The silent readers, the foreign readers who arent reading this in their native tongue, the reviewers and the pm'ers. I appreciate every single one of you, writing for me is a form of therapy as well as a hobby. I write for myself and if I think it makes the cut then I will share it with you guys, I currently have about 8 other fics on the go that need some reworking but you may see them one day.

Thats it from me, as always please take a second to review, and if you do please mention where in the world your reading from, I'm really intrigued as to where you all are from. I'm writing this from the UK.

AL xx

-oOo-

After dinner was finished, Callie made her way around the house securing it up for the night. She had made a good headway at making sure the estate was safe and that there was no infected able to wander around, but she didn't want to be complacent. It was better to be safe than sorry. Once the house was secured, she made her way to the back garden and let Axel outside, sighing when she spotted several piles of poo on her once perfectly manicured lawn. She made her way to the pantry and grabbed a carrier bag and a pair of latex gloves before making her way back to the garden and collecting Axel's deposits.

In the meantime, Axel charged around the garden, peeing on Callie's perfectly pruned plants much to Callie's annoyance. She loved that pooch but my god could she throttle him if he kept destroying her beloved garden.

Once the garden was tidy, Callie made her way inside and smiled at the two children asleep on the couch in the open plan lounge.

"Is there anything you need us to do before we turn in?" Derek asked, hoping that the Latina would say no. He was dead on his feet and he hadn't done much since they arrived at the estate.

"No, everything is locked up tight, were safe for the night but in case anything does happen, my car is in the garage and the keys are in the bowl on the side table in the hall. Get the kids out of here. Oh, and the key for the land rover at the wall is in the central console"

"Thank you, Callie, because of you these people get to sleep well tonight with full belly's, I cannot thank you enough for that" Derek said, holding his hand out for Callie to shake. She took the hand and shook it firmly with a smile.

"It was a no brainer... the second you brought the children out the decision was made" Callie laughed softly. "Seriously though, if you guys decide to move on tomorrow, I will do what I can to provide you with enough food and water to last a few days. There's plenty of food to be had in the neighbour's houses that I haven't touched yet"

"Your too kind, if you don't mind, I'm going to go to bed, I feel like I haven't slept for days and I'm about to drop" Derek admitted.

"Go on and get some sleep" Callie ordered, laughing as Derek stumbled towards the sofa bed in the living room where he and Mark would be sleeping.

"Callie, would you mind if I brought the mattress out here? I don't want to leave the kids on their own" Arizona asked feeling cheeky.

"Oh of course, here let me help" Callie grinned at the impish smile on the blonde's face. The two women set about moving the mattress and bedding into the lounge and had their tasks completed within five minutes.

Addison had curled up in the spare room that they hadn't stolen the mattress from, Fiona was zonked out in Callie's bed, Mark and Derek had taken the sofa bed leaving Callie the loft again, her back ached just at the thought of sleeping on the hard floor again.

"Sit with me for a while?" Arizona asked as Callie made her way towards the loft hatch. She turned towards Arizona and saw the pleading look on her face and couldn't say no, as she made her way back towards the blonde, she saw those dimples pop on her cheeks and she couldn't contain her smile. "Thank you for being there today when I needed a friend"

"Don't worry about it... sometimes we all need someone to just listen" Callie offered.

"Tell me about you... who is the real Callie?" Arizona asked in hushed tones, aware of the sleeping children a few feet away.

"Well... in the old world I was a landscape architect and landscaper. I would redesign people's gardens then most of the time do the work myself. It was hard work, especially at the beginning but I loved it, and I was damn good at it. My family, as you know, are in Miami... that's where I grew up. My dad is a hotel chain owner and my mum was a Miami house wife. I grew up with money, but with money came the pressure to do something big, be something big. My dad wanted me to be a doctor and I thought about it for a lot of years, I had decided I would go into orthopaedics but when it came down to choosing, I couldn't do it, my heart lay with gardening it always had. So, I studied landscape architecture and design and in my spare time I had a job doing landscaping which mainly consisted of cutting grass and clearing up rubbish, but I loved every second of it and was in my element doing it which just pushed me further. Once I graduated, I decided to stay out here in Seattle, set up my own business and never looked back" Callie glanced to the blonde to find her listening raptly and blushed slightly that she had rambled so much information about herself to a complete stranger.

"Did you do your garden?" Arizona asked in a soft voice.

"I did, it was the first thing I did when I built this house, before I even decorated or moved the furniture in, I dug up the crappy garden the builders had left and did a complete overhaul" Callie offered proudly.

"Well, it's beautiful. I lived in an apartment complex that a few other doctors lived in, it was fairly decent sized, two bedroomed, but it was a five-minute walk from the hospital so it was ideal. I didn't have a garden but I did have a roof terrace which held a few barely surviving plants" Arizona scoffed at her admission.

"Did you say that you're a marine's daughter?" Callie asked, already knowing the answer because Arizona had told her earlier but she was eager to learn more about the blonde.

"I am, Colonel Daniel Robbins, third generation Marine, making my brother Tim a fourth generation Marine. I grew up all over the country, well the world really. We did two tours in Germany, one in Hong Kong and one in Cyprus, the rest was stateside. Because we moved a lot, I didn't have many friends so Tim and I stuck together like glue. He was my best friend; he was two years older than me but never made me feel like the annoying little sister. I knew from a young age I wanted to be a doctor, I studied for it my whole life and getting accepted into John Hopkins was one of the best days of my life. I moved away from my family, but we stayed tight. I would call Mom and Dad every other day and Timmy and I would talk whenever he had phone privileges. We were just a tight family... anyways, I finished John Hopkins at the top of my class, and moved to Seattle Grace to do my residency then was made head of paediatrics about three years ago"

"Wow, your ambitious then... and competitive" Callie smiled.

"Yes and yes. Not that it's going to do me much good with the way things are now" Arizona frowned.

"Hey... you don't grow up the daughter of a Marine and not come out of it with skills that will be useful in this new world surely?" The Latina asked.

"We used to go camping every summer wherever we were based in the world, Tim loved it but I absolutely hated it, despised it to the extent that I haven't been since I left home. I suppose somewhere in my head is some survival skills amongst all the medical jargon that probably means nothing now" Arizona sighed.

"You know, in this new world, Doctors are going to be one of the most important commodities that there is. Don't shoot yourself down" Callie rested her hand on Arizona's shoulder and smiled as the blonde rolled her eyes playfully. "Are you not tired?" Callie asked the blonde; she could see the exhaustion in her facial features but it was like the blonde was fighting it.

"A little" Arizona offered but a yawn gave away her truth.

"I should go and let you sleep, will you look after Axel for me, I don't think I could get him into the loft" Callie asked as she got to her knees and began to rise.

"Don't be silly, sleep here. There's plenty of room for two and it will be a lot more comfortable than sleeping in a bag in the loft" Arizona offered.

"Are you sure?"

"Callie, I slept in a van with no privacy or comfort with seven other people for days. Sharing a bed with you will be perfectly fine" The blonde smiled softly.

"Well ok then. I guess we are bunking" Callie scoffed at herself. She lifted the duvet and snuggled under the blanket, smiling as Axel jumped on the bed and instantly settled at her feet, that damn dog was too cute for its own good. "You don't mind if Axel joins us?" Callie laughed as the dog sighed in contentment.

"No, he's fine... Night Callie. Thank you for everything today" Arizona said around yawns.

"Night Arizona" Callie murmured as she closed her eyes and tried to not think about the fact she was laid next to the woman she was seriously starting to crush on.

-oOo-

Callie awoke the next morning at five on the dot, a habit that was hard to break but this morning something was different, as she clenched her hand into a fist she felt something soft against her fingers. She blinked her eyes open to be met by a head of blonde hair that smelt like her own shampoo. Then it dawned on her that she was spooning somebody. As the sleep fog dissipated, it dawned on her who she was spooning, it was Arizona.

She tried to retract her body slowly and carefully so as not to awake the slumbering doctor but the paler woman tightened her hold on the brunettes arm. Callie couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face, it felt perfect to wake up wrapped around Arizona... it felt natural and heavenly and she wondered, not for the first time, if this beautiful creature was sent to her estate just for her. She certainly felt a natural connection with her then she remembered that today the group would be deciding whether they were to stay or go and it dampened her spirit. She pulled her arm free from Arizona's grasp and rolled onto her back, staring at the white ceiling above her, she wondered what it would be like if the group left her back to her isolation, perhaps if they decided to leave she should go with them, but that wouldn't be fair to Axel. She could leave him plenty of food and water and let him go wild but the thought of not having the pooch as her companion didn't sit right with her.

As if sensing that Callie's thoughts were on him, the border collie stirred and jumped from the mattress, making his way to the patio door and spun on the spot before pawing at the door. Callie raised from the bed and padded quietly in the wake of the dog, she opened the door and laughed to herself as Axel dived out of the door and relieved himself happily.

Once he had finished his business he trotted into the house and over towards his food container. As Callie followed him, she heard the blonde rouse and turned just in time for her to blink her eyes open.

"Good morning" Callie whispered.

"What time is it?" Arizona asked groggily as she stretched out her muscles.

"Just after five. Sorry if I woke you"

"What are you doing up so early?" Arizona asked as she sat up in on the mattress and rubbed at her eyes.

"Force of habit, I'm used to being up before the sun" Callie admitted as she carefully poured some of Axel's food quietly into a bowl so not to wake the sleeping children. She put the bowl down on the floor and smiled as the dog tucked in, there was no way she could leave the mutt alone. But would he fare well in the back of a van for God knows how long. Was it even fair to him?

She set about making a large pot of coffee, enough for all of the adults, keeping an eye on the blonde who appeared from underneath the blanket wearing a pair of shorts and an oversized tee, both of which she liberated from Callie's wardrobe. Callie had to make an effort to not allow her jaw to fall to the floor as those long pale legs came into view, her shorts lifting as she reached up to the sky to stretch out her back.

Arizona glanced at the Latina and saw her ogling her and felt a little bit more optimistic about Callie's sexual orientation. Although she had slept with her fair share of 'straight' women, no straight woman looked at her like that, the chocolate eyes oozed with attraction. She had awoken half way through the night to check on Ben and Millie and found the brunette wrapped around her, half asleep she had eyed the kids then snuggled back into the warm embrace behind her and fallen asleep soundly.

Within half an hour, with the smell of coffee, eggs and bacon in the air the adults congregated towards the kitchen sleepily. Callie greeted them each in turn until her table was full, she pulled the remaining bar stool over to the table before serving up the breakfast.

After waking up the children, the group of nine sat chatting about trivial things whilst they ate. Once finished, Callie excused herself to go about her morning chores and to leave the group chance to discuss whether they would stay or go. She felt anxious about the prospect of being left alone again, everyone in the group seemed lovely, she hadn't had much chance to talk to Fiona or Jim yet, but the surgeons all seemed to be good people, and with the world as it is, she needed to be surrounded by good people.

An hour later she entered the kitchen to grab a glass of water to find eight somber faces. Her heart sunk. It looked like the group was going to leave and was struggling with breaking the news to her.

"We've come to a decision" Derek finally broke the silence as Callie poured her water from the fridge, she let go of the lever and turned to the group giving them their undivided attention. "So, we discussed everything you and I discussed yesterday about the jobs that needed doing around the estate, that we would have to pitch in and follow your lead. Everyone agreed that we would be better off here, behind the walls you have built. Fiona has decided that she wants to head out on her own. She has family a few suburbs over that she wants to track down, if that doesn't pan out, she will head back here... if that's ok with you?"

"Of course... and we can set up a car and some supplies for Fiona... I don't mean to be rude but is she fit enough to go on alone?" Callie asked cautiously.

"I feel fine now I have a full stomach and aren't dehydrated... truly, I will be fine out there. I will keep my head down and stay out of trouble" Fiona offered, thankful that the group were willing to let her go on without them but sad that she would be breaking the group up, but she had adult children, she had a young grandchild that she wanted to find, needed to find.

"When will you leave?" Callie asked, glancing at the others faces and detecting that they already knew the answer.

"This afternoon, If I'm not back in five days... I would say not to expect me back" Fiona forced a smile onto her face, a brave smile, but forced none the less.

"Are you ok with us staying?" Addie asked Callie after a few moments of silence.

"More than, you all seem like great people, and I would love to have you all here. I think this morning we need to branch out into the houses either side of this house. I have secured them and have the keys for them, we should be able to gather enough food and weapons for Fiona plus some for us" Callie began thinking out loud. "There's a car in the corner house's garage, it's not a big thing but big enough for you. We will have to check how much fuel is in it though"

"If you get me the key, Mark and I will head over there and make a start" Derek offered as he raised himself from the table. "Fiona, you might want to grab a shower, it could be your last chance for a while"

"Thanks Derek" Fiona smiled tearfully.

"What can we do?" Addie asked as she began clearing away the empty cups from the table.

"Do you want to scavenge in the house next door for supplies, that's where Axel was found so keep an eye open for dog food and bits too please?" Callie offered.

"Sure, Arizona... Will you join me?" Addie asked, not wanting to be alone.

"Sure thing. Jim will you watch Ben and Millie?" Arizona asked.

Once everyone had tasks, they set about getting changed into their freshly laundered clothes from yesterday and set to washing Callie's clothes that they had changed into so they had spares ready. Then they set to their tasks. Callie stood in the kitchen looking at the pile of dishes and sighed. "Come on Axel, the dishes can wait till later, lets go check the wall"