My first Traci/Jerry fic, be gentle please as I'm not too familiar with either's personalities hahah. Reviews are always appreciated! Enjoy :)


The Next Step

Traci leaned back in her chair and took another sip of her drink, revelling in the trail of heat it burnt down her throat. 'Sickness, was fixin' me some.' The song playing was quite fitting, she thought. 'Coughed out my heart in the last stall.' It had been a long day. Hell, it had been a long week. She ran her fingers through her long dark hair and again, leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table.

"Nash, what's crackin'?" A familiar face sat down next to her, startling her a little.

"Ah, the usual. Hard days, harder liquor." They clinked their glasses together. "What about you? What's new in Shawville?" She smiled at the way he drunkenly swayed in his chair.

"It's wonderful, really. My eldest has the lead in her school play, for fifth grade at least. She's Dorothy the elf." He smiled brightly, and quickly waved at Sam as he entered, with Andy in tow. 'Now that the damage is done.' Andy kissed Sam on the cheek and came over to join Traci, while Oliver politely excused himself and sauntered over to his friends.

"Hey girl, how are you?" She tapped Traci's hand as she pulled her chair closer to the table. 'I never miss it at all.' Emily Haines' voice flowed through the bustling bar, sending shivers down Traci's spine.

"I'm fine, I'm good. How are you? You're glowing!" Traci smiled. "Wait, are you pregnant? What are you drinking?" Before Andy could answer, Traci took a gulp of her definitely alcoholic, not for pregnant women tequila.

"I am not pregnant!" Andy laughed as Traci made a face trying to keep the liquor down.

"Aw. I got all excited there for a second." Traci smiled. "I had these visions of baby showers and little Swareks running around."

"Hey, well we get to throw Gail her shower soon! She's six months now, can you believe it?" Andy shook her head and smiled. "It's so crazy." She took a sip of her drink. "Chris said she was only eating organic now. That's gotta be fun."

"Tell me about it. Girl was difficult before, now add in the hormones and only free range chicken? We should have our own TV show." Traci laughed.

"Speaking of kids and difficult significant others, how's Jerry and Leo? You haven't really mentioned either lately." Andy tilted her head to the side.

"Oh, they're good. Jerry's got a big case running right now, he's hoping to wrap soon. Leo, he's himself. Running around all the time, I swear, he never stops." Traci shrugged and chuckled a little. "He's at Dex's this weekend, I had to ship him out. Jerry said he needed to 'talk' to me." She raised her eyebrows.

"About what?" Andy leaned in and whispered excitedly. "Do I hear wedding bells ringing in the near future?"

"Oh I doubt that. His divorce was finalized like five months ago, Andy. I doubt he wants any kind of serious commitment." She leaned back in her chair again.

Across the bar, cheers sounded as Dov and Chris faced off in an arm wrestling match.

"Men." Andy smiled as she watched Sam running around the table, coaching both of them with his beer in his hand.

"I hear that!" Traci laughed as the door opened again and a scruffy looking Jerry.

"I'll give you the table." Andy winked at Traci as she got up. "Call me after!" She whispered before she greeted Jerry and carried on towards the other rookies.

"Bye!" Traci waved goodbye before shooting a demure smile Jerry's way.

"Hey, babe." He sat down next to her and smiled as best he could. He was exhausted, she was exhausted, they both just wanted to go home.

"Hey, how's the case going?" She slid her drink over to him and he gratefully knocked it back.

"Finished, thank God. Trial, then done. Forever and ever and ever." He smiled and stretched in his chair, shaking the haggard look he had about him. "How are you doing? I'm sorry we haven't really had a chance to talk lately. I feel so, disconnected." He leaned forward and folded his hands over hers on the table.

"I'm good! I'm doing good. Just a little tired." She sighed. "Leo misses you."

"I was just going to ask about him! How is he?" Jerry's spine straightened a little.

"Whoa, there! You saw him yesterday!" She laughed. "He's good. Not too happy to be staying with Daddy and his hair dresser, but he'll make it."

"Well, see, I kinda wanted to talk to you. Well, I know you knew that, but it involves Leo too." Jerry began. "But I don't want to do it in a bar, especially the Penny. Let's get away from work for a while." He smiled and stood up, extending a hand to Traci.

"Should I be worried about this 'talk'?" She raised an eyebrow and made sure to catch his gaze.

"No, no. Well, it depends. I don't think you have to worry, but what do I know, right?" He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't realize it but his words caused an eruption of butterflies in Traci's stomach.

"Okay." She laughed nervously before turning to catch Andy's eye. She waved goodbye and mouthed 'I'll call you!' as Jerry led her out of the door. Once the two were outside, the cold air immediately surrounded them.

"Jesus, let's get out of here! It's bloody freezing." Jerry pulled her to the car, fuelled by her ensuing laughter. They reached his SUV and he led her to the passenger door. At first, he reached for the handle but much to her surprise, he changed his mind. Swiftly, he spun her around and pressed her back to the side of the SUV and cupped her face in his hands.

"Well, hello there strang – " Traci began to laugh, but was silenced by a passionate kiss from Jerry.

"Sorry. I know you don't like it when I do that in public. But I haven't really been here the past few days. I mean, I have been, but not like I should have been." He released her face. "I just missed you."

"I missed you too." She smiled back and kissed him again, trying to prolong the moment. It didn't take much for both of them to get swept away; Jerry was always working hard, earning every penny, and juggling Leo, Dex and the job took a lot out of Traci. But those silly little unplanned moments of sheer romance reminded her of what was important.

"Let's get out of here." He smiled at her and opened the door before jogging around to his side of the car and hopping in next to her.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Traci reluctantly brought up the subject, knowing she'd have to face it sooner or later.

"Well, I wanted to ask you something. But I don't really, know how." He chuckled, laughing at himself. "You're gonna think I'm an idiot if I say it wrong. I just don't want you to get, freaked out?" He decided he should stop talking before she got any ideas.

"I won't think you're an idiot, but no guarantees I won't get freaked out." She laughed.

"That's, reassuring." He laughed as he pulled to a stop at a red light. "For me, it was my wife and only my wife." Traci's uncomfortable expression told him to explain, fast. "I mean, I'm kind of a Diaz." He spat out quickly.

"You're a what?" Traci looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"A Diaz. A Chris. It's like, there's that one girl that you think is just it for you, but then she isn't. And then you meet one that you think might be, and you don't know what the hell you're doing." He rambled, trying to keep his cool.

"You're so cute when you're flustered." She tapped his cheek and turned to face the road again as he drove.

"I feel like a thirteen year old trying to get into your pants." He said as they pulled up in front of his place. Traci hadn't planned on staying the night, but she didn't exactly mind.

"Are you trying to get into my pants?" She looked at him with an amused smile tugging at her lips.

"No, no. Well, I wouldn't mind. But that's beside the point." He explained as they both climbed out of the SUV and walked up to his front door. "I just feel totally inadequate." He fumbled with his keys before Traci took them and unlocked the door with ease.

"You sound like a woman." She smiled as she put her purse down on the hall table.

"Great. Now I'm a bumbling, inadequate woman." He took off his jacket and hung it on the rack next to the door.

"Your words, not mine Mr. Barber." She laughed, leading the way into the upstairs living room.

"You know," he pulled her onto the couch with him. "This house has four bedrooms." He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I know, Jerry. How could I forget?" She laughed. "You are totally trying to get in my pants."

"We've been over this! While I would like to get into your pants, there is something else at hand here." He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple as he spoke.

"Well you need to tell me what this something else is before I pull out my old chastity belt." They both burst out laughing.

"Fine, fine." He stood and again extended a hand to her. He helped her up and laced his arm around her waist as he led her down the hallway. Coming to a stop in front of one of the three guest bedrooms, he pushed open the door. "So I think this room could masquerade as a kind of office. Yeah?" He furrowed his brow.

"You made such a big deal out of asking me if this room could double as an office?" She laughed.

"No, this is all a part of the grand plan." He said smoothly. "Now, come over here." He led her across the hall to the doorway of another spare bedroom.

"Let me guess, games room?" She said, yawning.

"You're a funny one, Nash." He stepped behind her and placed his arms around her waist. She folded her hands over his and relaxed against him, resisting the tempting sensation elicited by the muscles under that blazer of his.

"I try." She sighed.

"So, we've got a study slash office over there," he recapped. "This, would be perfect for a child's bedroom, don't you think? A certain six year old boy, actually, was who I had in mind." Traci turned to face him with wide eyes.

"You mean – " She began, but he cut her off.

"Look, I don't know how else to ask you this. Remember when I lost my notes, and I made that comment about you two?" He wasn't trying to bring back bad blood.

"Yeah, I do." She raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't see Leo for like two weeks after that. And I hated it." He put his hands on her shoulders. "Since then it's been so good with all of us, I love hanging out with him. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't hate me either." Traci's open mouth slowly started turning upwards into a smile. "My place, it's closer to his school than yours is, there's a park right down the street, that friend of his lives like two blocks over. You know, that place we took him to for a play date a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah." Traci nodded, smiling.

"Will you two move in with me?" He asked quietly, holding his breath and waiting for her response.

"Are you sure, Jerry?" She smiled sympathetically. "I know you mean well, but are you sure that you're ready for this? You and Kathleen, you were married for so long, are you sure that you want to jump into something right out of the gate?"

"Honestly," He sighed and looked at his feet. "I have no idea. I think I'm ready for it, I think this is what comes next. My gut tells me that I'm doing the right thing. But as we all know, my gut has been wrong before." He leaned back against the wall opposite Traci and slid down to the floor.

"I think your heart is in the right place, Jer." She sat down across from him. "But don't you want some time to yourself?"

"I thought I did. But I'd come home at night, and I wouldn't be able to focus on anything. All I could do was sit there and do my best not to call you and ask you to come over. We barely get to see each other at work, I don't like it. I want to see you all the time."

"Oh, Jer." Her heart melted a little as her boyfriend fell back into old habits. When he was 'work Jerry', he was very professional. He had a job to do, and he made damn sure that he did it well. Sometimes, that left him a little short on the attentive, romantic side.

But when he was regular Jerry, she felt like a princess. It always amazed her that no one had really seen that side of him, and that her friends would always look at her like she was crazy when she'd tell them about their date nights.

"So what do you think? Will you at least think about it?" He looked up at her, a little worried. She put her hand on his knee.

"Personally, I love the idea. How about we do a sort of trial period and see how you like having Leo around? It's a really, really big step when there's a child involved, Jer. Leo loves you, but he isn't the same happy little kid when its bedtime and he's not tired." She smiled.

"Well, it's not the answer I'd hoped for, but I think you're probably right." He smiled, before crawling onto his knees and leaning over hers to kiss her gently.

"When do you want us to come over?" She asked, her face mere inches away from his.

Jerry paused a minute.

"Do you think Dex would be mad if we picked Leo up tonight?"