Title: Looking Back
Characters/Pairings: Archie/Diaz, mentions of Gates, Chuny, Officer Friend, later Kovac and Abby
Summary: Short oneshot, ArchieDiaz, an AU retrospective look.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own. Though I'd love to - Morris is adorable.
She remembers the day they met, telling him to call her.
He can recall the way her head tilted back as she laughed in the cafeteria.
Talking to Gates was the first real recognition of just how different this was.
Good natured teasing by the officer and the rest of the staff followed.
Then there was the shooting and the heart stopping moment when he realised who it was on the gurney.
She woke up and was told the story by a chatty nurse who was fixing her IV.
He entered and smiled, she saw the relief wash across his face.
Three months later and the news that her father is dead.
He goes back home with her and holds her hand during the service.
They have a favourite restaurant where they know the waiters by name.
One year and seven months later they take their first dance, joined later by a tall dark-haired man and a woman she recalls from the ER.
Two years and three months after their first meeting, she is offered a promotion. Not in the city.
The nerves about telling him, the easy way he smiles and says "OK".
Friends help with the packing and then they drive.
The house is older now but the veranda is still their favourite place.
He looks down on her with happiness.
This feeling can't be surpassed.