John had a hand around her wrist, breaking her hold by instinct before the rush of words from her mouth ended. "Whoa. The enthusiasm is welcome, but word of advice? Grabbing edgy people who go around armed? Not recommended for good health. You're lucky I like you," he added with a smirk to soften the rebuke a touch. "You know, you should probably know where Eric is and who he's with when he's out. The point of putting people in pairs both in the field and at home is to keep everyone safe. Can't do that if you don't know where he is or if he's alone, which he shouldn't be. So, what have we got here?"
Setting his bags down by the wall, he kept his rifle over his shoulder as he crossed to inspect the piles on the bed next to the empty duffel. "Alright, first things first, water bottles, MREs, spare uniforms, extra boots, ammo, all those go in the bag since they're required. Roll your clothes, like this." He took one of her shirts and showed her how to roll it. "Saves space and even wrinkles less. You can also put smaller things inside the roll to keep them from getting lost loose in the bag. Pill bottles, thumb drives, toothbrush, things like that." Putting the shirt in the bag, he nodded at her. "Your turn."
John left her to pack the required items into her bag and went to his own. From the messenger bag he kept his tech gear in, he pulled out an empty external drive. "Here." He tossed it on the bed. "Told you I'd get you one so you can transfer your stuff from your laptop's hard drive. Everything should fit on that. Nightly back-ups of whatever data you've got should mean you can ditch the laptop without worry when we go."