"Well Owen, I cant tell you how happy I am that you are friendly faces" Jim smiled at the red head who had taken off his helmet to get a little more comfortable, his gun was still slung over his back and his hand which wasn't nursing the glass of water was resting near his side arm just in case, but he was a hundred times more relaxed than when they first encountered the squadron.
Owen glanced over at the sound of laughter to find Lexie Grey, Teddy Altman and Arizona Robbins laughing about something. Addison was sat entertaining Ben and Millie. Diaz was using the john and O'Malley was taking his turn at being on watch.
"Three vans and a four-by-four have just pulled into the estate, how would you like for me to proceed sir?" O'Malley's voice came through the walkie talkie on Owen's left shoulder.
"We are coming now, stay alert but at ease" Owen ordered. He motioned with his head for Altman and Grey to get back in business mode and follow him and he called for Diaz to speed it up. Having heard O'Malley's call through his own ear piece, Diaz ran from the toilet zipping up his fly as he ran straight into Addison.
"Oh Jesus I'm sorry Ma'am" Diaz said apologetically before throwing an apologetic glance at Hunt who just motioned with his head to follow him.
When Callie, Derek, Mark and Alex pulled into the carpark opposite Callie's house, they exited the vehicles and glanced cautiously at the newcomers dressed in urban camouflage.
"You must be Callie?" Hunt asked the Latina, who nodded her head in confusion.
"Apologies for gate crashing but we came upon your group earlier and Arizona was kind enough to invite us in for coffee" Hunt explained as he held his hand out to the leader of this ragtag group.
"Army?" Derek asked hopefully.
"A small unit, we were stationed stateside and have been travelling on foot for the past two weeks" Hunt informed him carefully. "Sorry we are not a search and rescue mission, we are off the grid now"
"No word from the government then?" Mark asked, inserting himself into the conversation as he tried not to eye the two women in uniform who were equally attractive.
"Not for a few weeks" Hunt said, still careful about what he was saying.
"What was the last news you heard?" Derek asked.
"That martial law had been instated then radio silence since about two hours after that... that was about three weeks ago" Hunt said glancing at Grey who smiled softly.
"thirty-one days sir" Grey announced.
"Grey here has a photographic memory, she has been in charge of keeping track of the days"
"Shit, it's been a month?" Callie cursed then blushed when everyone glanced at her, especially Arizona who hadn't heard the brunette swear yet. "Listen, it's going to be dark soon and we have a lot of work to do before that happens. We have secured the estate as best as we can but we don't like to be out after dark. Would you guys like to stay for dinner?" Callie offered hopefully.
Hunt glanced at the faces of his troop, each one more hopeful than the last before turning back to Callie. "A meal would be amazing, would it be too much to ask for a place to bed down for the night too?"
"Of course not, we all share my house but you guys can go next door and rest up there. If you'd like to go get set up while we empty these trucks, then we will make a start on dinner... how does sausage casserole and veggies sound?" Callie tried to contain her laugher at the excited faces before her.
"When all you have eaten for thirty days is a MRE, anything homemade sounds like heaven" Hunt smiled. "But we aren't going to let you empty these trucks by yourself. It's a lot of work so put us to use. It's the least we can do after you have offered up your hospitality"
"Really there is no need" Callie tried to decline the offer but Hunt was having none of it.
Once they had pulled the first van up to the house on the right, number five of Callie's street, that the soldiers would be sleeping in tonight, everyone got to work whilst Ben and Millie went to retrieve Axel who went absolutely berserk at seeing Callie home. After receiving a lengthy belly scratch, he made his way to each soldier in turn and sniffed them cautiously before allowing them to fuss over him.
Ben and Millie sat in the garage of number five Fitch Street shoving the boxes of food excitedly as far back as they could, they wanted to help but Arizona had ordered that there was to be no heavy lifting for either of them, so they organised whilst getting in everyone's way, but nobody minded.
They used several sack barrows they had found in various garages around the estate to move the boxes as quickly as possible and as the sun began to set, two of the trucks were empty leaving just Callie's crew-cab and the third truck. They decided they had done enough for today so locked everything up and made their way into Callie's house.
"Right, I will make a start on dinner. Why don't you guys go next door and get cleaned up. There is two bathrooms and will be towels somewhere, if you cant find any come and let me know and I will dig some out of my cupboard for you" Callie said as she dug out the key from her pocket and handed it to Owen.
The group of five soldiers left the house excitedly finally leaving the survivors alone.
"You invited a group of strangers into the estate while there was only you guys here?" Derek asked curiously once he knew they were alone.
"I didn't really have a choice Derek, they had guns pointed in our faces. I thought they were going to execute us out on the road" Arizona snapped, relaxing as she felt Callie rub her hand soothingly down her back.
"You did the right thing, there is no way you could have taken on that kind of fire power with just a baseball bat" Callie said throwing a pointed look at Derek "Are you ok, that must have been a pretty scary experience?"
"Yeah it was... I didn't have a choice, we are just bloody lucky they seem like good people" Arizona glared at Derek once more before turning into Callie's arm's and hugging her tightly. "I'm so glad you made it back"
"I told you I would be back" Callie smiled at the now more relaxed blonde.
Derek decided to give everyone some space to cool down so went and had a shower, apologising for his outburst once he returned. The group took it in turns to shower as Callie and Addison prepared the meal in four large casserole dishes, two of which she had liberated from one of the neighbours. Once dinner was in the oven and cooking, she glanced to the dining room and instantly saw an issue, there was nowhere for everyone to sit.
"Mark and Alex, could you please help me carry this mattress back into the bedroom and carry the outdoor table in, we are going to need more seats.
"I think it's time some of us moved into the corner house" Derek announced after seeing everyone struggle.
"Who is going to go?" Callie asked, her heart in her mouth that Arizona might offer to go, she had gotten used to sleeping in the blondes arms and didn't want that to change anytime soon.
"Mark, Jim, Alex and I will move next door leaving this house for the ladies and children" Derek said glancing at each of the men who nodded their agreement.
"Ok fine... go grab your things while I take a shower, I seriously stink" Callie admitted as she sniffed at her armpit and turned her nose up at the smell that met her nose.
The men had gathered their collected belongings and moved them next door and had sorted out their sleeping arrangements leaving Arizona and Addison to their own devices. Millie and Ben had decided on sleeping in the middle bedroom, Millie on the bed pushed against the wall and Ben on the mattress from the Sofa bed in the media room.
Callie exited the ensuite in her bedroom to find the room empty apart from the blonde who had her back to her as she waited for the Latina. "Arizona what's going on?"
"I wanted to talk to you... I... We... Oh god, why is it when I try and talk to you I feel like a teenager all over again?" Arizona asked.
"Maybe because you like me?" Callie teased.
"Be serious" Arizona grinned as her cheeks flushed. Callie rounded her bed that she hadn't slept in for a while and approached Arizona, completely forgetting that all she was wearing was a towel. She took Arizona's hands in her own and pulled her to sit on the edge of the bed with her.
"What's gotten you in such a tizz?" Callie asked seriously.
"Now the boys have moved out, there is plenty of space for everyone to have their own bedroom" Arizona started and Callie realised what she was saying and her heart sank, her shoulders slumped and her bottom lip protruded outwards in a pout. "What I'm trying to say is, there's enough room for me to sleep on my own now... but if its ok with you I don't really want to"
"Wait... you're not saying you want to sleep separately?" Callie asked confused.
"What? No, the absolute opposite... of course unless you want to sleep separately" Arizona quickly added.
"Ok... enough rambling and skirting the issue... Arizona, would you like to continue sharing a bed with me?" Callie asked as she squeezed the pale hand in her own supportively and looked deep into cerulean pools.
"I do, but only if you do too" Arizona answered with a lump in her throat, she really did not want for Callie to reject her when things were going so well with them, it was only this morning that they had shared their first proper kiss.
"I do too, I really really do too" Callie smiled sweetly. "Now how about you get your cute butt out of here so I can get dressed"
"Or... I could stay for the show" Arizona wriggled her eyebrows playfully.
"Perve... get out before I kiss that smirk off your face" Callie threatened.
"Is that meant to be a deterrent?" Arizona laughed as she rose from the bed, kissed the top of Callie's head and skipped from the room.
Callie glanced around her room and noticed that her normal bedding had disappeared and the bedding Arizona and her had been sharing was on her bed in its place and realised that her two female companions had been busy during her absence. She threw some clothes on quickly and made her way into the kitchen to find Addison opening several bottles of white wine.
"Are you having a party Addison?" Callie grinned as she passed her and made her way to the oven to check on dinner.
"Just making sure our guests feel welcome" Addison smiled charmingly as she poured three glasses and handed them out. "Here's to us ladies having our own space" the three women chinked their glasses with grins before taking sips of the slightly chilled wine.
"The house of trouser has arrived and we bring with us beer" Mark called out in a gruff voice as he entered Callie's house with a crate of beer in his hands, Alex following with a second crate and Jim and Derek following with apologetic smiles.
"House of trouser?" Arizona asked with an amused smile.
"It was the cleanest of all the options" Derek informed the ladies as he grabbed a glass of white wine to start his evening.
The group sat chatting about their days for around ten minutes before a knock on the front door startled them all into silence, they looked around at each other in confusion before remembering that they had company. Arizona skipped to the door to grant them entrance and smiled as the five soldiers entered looking and smelling fresher despite still being in their uniforms, they had removed their assault rifles and jackets and were now wearing navy-coloured tees, urban camouflage trousers with side weapons and utility belts. It felt less formal despite them still being in uniform.
They glanced around the room instantly noticing that another table had been brought in to accommodate them and the smells coming from the oven were divine. After handing out drinks, Hunt agreeing that everyone could have one drink and one drink only, everyone took their seats at the tables as Callie served up her food, they passed the plates down to the far end until everyone had a serving in front of them.
"This looks and smells divine Callie, thank you" Hunt smiled towards the main hostess.
"It's the least we could do to welcome you, though I would appreciate it if you don't point your guns in any of my peoples faces again" Callie said with a smile and a raised eyebrow, showing although she wasn't having a go at the soldier, she was serious.
"Yes Ma'am, I can only apologise again for that, you see we've been out there for weeks on the road. Most people aren't like you people, they aren't trying to build a safe zone, or prepare for the future, they don't have the safety of their people in mind, or inviting strangers in for a warm meal... they are feral and dangerous, they are out of control, lawless, miscreants" Hunt advised as he glanced around at his people and they all nodded solemnly.
The rest of the survivors mulled over what Hunt had said, each one more somber than the other about Hunt's description of the real world outside of their bubble.
"So what's your mission?" Callie asked after a few moments.
"There is no mission, not anymore... we are just wandering around out there aimlessly trying to restore order one rotten dangerous group at a time" Altman announced as she stared down at the food she was slowly savouring. Her eyes snapped up when she realised that she had spoken out loud and everyone was now staring at her questioningly apart from Hunt who was glaring at her unsurely. "Sorry"
"Don't be sorry Altman, your right. Something needs to give, we are out there in a hostile environment with no finish line in sight" Hunt soothed as he patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"You know..." Callie started and glanced around her group to see a mixture of apprehension and support. She looked at Ben and Millie who were looking at the soldiers like they had stars in their eyes, and to Arizona who's eyes were full of respect for the soldiers, she remembered Arizona telling her about her brother who she lost in war and her mind was made up. "You could have a home here"
"Callie thank you for your hospitality but we are soldiers, just because we have no one barking orders at us, doesn't mean that we don't have a job to do" Hunt advised.
"Ok well how about this... this place can be your home, you go out and do the work you need to do, then you come home here to some safety and home cooked meals" Callie offered.
"Hang on Callie, I'm not sure that's a good idea" Derek interrupted. "No offense to your unit Major Hunt, but if you guys are making enemies of every dangerous group out there then is it really safe for this group for you to call us home?"
"Derek, these people are making our world a safer place and all you can think about is yourself, there is a bigger picture here" Arizona complained, a small line of worry creased between her eyes.
"Robbins no one is saying that what these people do isn't admirable but..."
"No wait there, what our service men and women do isn't just admirable. They risk their lives on a daily basis to make the world a safer place for us. For you Derek, so you could drive around in your Tesla, So you could focus on becoming a surgeon instead of worrying about fascist dictators or the Taliban, or another nine eleven happening. These people sitting right here signed their lives away for their country and its people and some of them, a lot of them... they don't get to come home, their families don't get their sons back, they get a god damned folded flag that is supposed to make you feel better but every time you look at it all you see is the person that should be there but isn't, and they never will be again. So no Derek, what they do isn't admirable, it is so much more than that" Arizona rose from the table and stormed away exiting out of the front door and marching towards the wall of cars where she could get some air.
"Excuse me, I need to go check on her but we will finish this discussion when I get back" Callie said, throwing a glare at Derek as she rose from the table and followed in Arizona's footsteps, she saw a wave of blonde hair rounding the corner towards the wall of cars and sped up to catch her up. When she caught up she could tell that Arizona was genuinely upset and crying so she wrapped her arms around her waist from behind.
Arizona froze until she realised it was Callie and relaxed into the embrace. "I'm sorry" Arizona sobbed.
"You have no need to apologise, what you said back there was the truth" Callie soothed. "But I don't like us being out here in the dark, it's too exposed and not safe, so how about we take a slow walk back towards the house while we calm down" Callie asked hopefully and couldn't contain a relieved smile when Arizona nodded.
"I over reacted" Arizona smiled sadly.
"No, no you didn't. Derek was being an ass... what you said was absolutely right" Callie soothed as she wrapped her arm around Arizona's shoulders and pulled her closer.
"He's a lovely guy but he's such an egotistical prick sometimes" Arizona shrugged then felt guilty as she thought about all the things he had done to help her get to the place she was in right now. "He's a good guy deep down, he's just flawed"
"Aren't we all" Callie said softly. They rounded the carpark and noticed the smell of death in the air. "We really need to burn those bodies tomorrow" Callie crinkled her nose.
"I don't like people talking down about our armed forces, especially not after Tim" Arizona defended.
"Is that your brother?" Callie asked softly and Arizona nodded. "Do you think he would like me?" Callie asked softly.
"Oh he would love you. I would definitely have some competition on my hands. He loved women, all kinds of women, but beautiful women like you... you were his weakness. Especially with your charm, and your brains, and your generosity... you've got the whole package" Arizona smiled coyly.
"I have my flaws too" Callie returned the smile "But for the record... I think your pretty perfect too"
"Do you think Derek will be mad at me?" Arizona asked after a few moments of silence.
"Nah... and if he is who cares, sometimes he needs putting in is place. He's a typical surgeon with a typical surgeon God complex. I haven't known him that long and even I can tell that" Callie said as they stopped in front of the house. Diaz was outside the front door with a lit cigarette in his hand. He made to field strip it when he saw the two women but Arizona shook her head and motioned for him to continue.
"Thanks Ma'am" Diaz said with a smile.
"Oh please call me Arizona" The blonde smiled.
"What you did in there, that was pretty amazing Arizona" Diaz offered a sincere smile.
"It was nothing, it was just the truth. I hate that some people don't understand how much you guys sacrifice" Arizona said, smiling as she felt Callie's fingers entwine with her own, she squeezed the hand within her own.
"You come from a military family right?" He asked knowingly.
"Yeah... marines" Arizona offered conversationally.
"Well, what you did back there was very cool" Diaz offered as he took the last drag, field stripped his cigarette and placed the butt in his pocket. He opened the front door and motioned for the two women to enter before him.
"You ok now?" Callie asked as they walked slowly down the corridor and Arizona nodded with a smile.