I was so overwhelmed by the season premiere - it was amazing and everything I needed it to be and more. This is a one-shot based on the progression of Will and Natalie from Cold Front (2x14) to Speak Your Truth (3x01) - so don't read on if you haven't seen the premiere and don't want it spoiled!

The next chapter of my other fic "Only You" should be up soon!

As always please leave reviews and let me know what you think - of this piece and the season premiere!

"Are we Will? Are we just good friends?"

Not that she would ever admit it, but she had almost burst into tears. Standing face to face in the room where he had once kissed her, where she had held him while he cried, where they'd argued, laughed, where the foundations of what they had had been built.

For him to say that they were just good friends was almost like a punch to the stomach. It knocked the wind from her, yet from somewhere she summoned composure, gave a nod, and agreed.

By the time she reached the door she was biting the inside of her cheek in a bid to keep the tears at bay. They almost spilled over when he tried to call her back.

"No you're right – we're good friends. Night Will."

The realisation that she might feel something more for the man who had become her best friend had almost been unwelcome. He was her boss, someone who had her back not only at work but also with personal things – and she was there for him.

Split from Clarke she had started to notice the bubbles of excitement she felt when Will caught her eye, smiled in her direction or just walked into the room. She recognised the warm feeling that spread through her when they laughed together, the familiarity in the comfortable way they talked. She tried to ignore the tingles when he innocently brushed against her, the electricity she felt between them as they bantered back and forth.

But for Will to tell her that it was all one sided, that all they were was friends, just as she had come to the realisation that perhaps they weren't and maybe, just maybe she was okay with that; was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Come on."

She'd looked behind him for Nina and she knew he'd seen her look – but he didn't explain his girlfriend's absence. Instead, he held out a hand towards her in invitation. She only hesitated briefly before reaching towards him.

As their hands joined she tried to ignore the spark of electricity she felt, just taking advantage of this offer of a dance. Her heart almost exploded as his hand slid around her waist as they danced, he pulled her flush against him as they moved to the sound of Bruno Mars and she tried to focus on her breathing as their faces came only inches apart. The feel of his breath on her neck brought a flush to her chest that she prayed her top and the lighting kept hidden, but there was no hiding the huge smile on her face – or his.

She briefly considered how Nina might feel if she were to arrive late and see her boyfriend in the arms of the woman she admitted to being jealous of – but she couldn't bring herself to properly care. For that moment, for that song, she was going to enjoy having Will Halstead to herself.

As the first bars of a slower number began to play, she fully expected Will to pull away, to laugh and offer to buy her a drink with an arm slung around her shoulder. All he did was pull her closer – and willingly she went, pressing her chest to his, sliding her arms around his neck as his found home on the small of her back. They swayed together, her head on his shoulder, his cheek resting atop her head, to the sound of Ed Sheeran.

A perfect four minutes and twenty-three seconds.

"When you left, you knew about me and Nina. But I didn't get a chance to tell you why I broke up with her."

The night had been cut abruptly short as the news of Dr Charles' shooting made its way to the party and she had barely time as their slow dance ended to bid the red headed doctor goodnight never mind ask where his girlfriend was.

She'd gone home to relieve Helen for the evening, resolving to ask during their next shift.

However, the next morning he wasn't there. She thought he'd just started early and was upstairs in the ICU or had gone with a patient to the cath lab, which was why he'd missed the briefing from Ms Goodwin on Dr Charles' condition (stable but critical) and the news that his attacker was currently on a 72-hour psych hold under heavy sedation.

When several hours had passed and she still hadn't seen any sign of him, she went looking for Maggie.

"Maggie," she sidled up to the nurse, making a show of handing over some patient notes in an attempt at nonchalance, "you haven't seen Will have you?"

"You haven't heard?" Maggie asked, eyebrow raised and a hand on her hip.

"No?" She could see the look of disbelief on her friends' face. "Maggie I have no idea what's going on."

"Had to take the day to move his stuff."

"Move his stuff?" She wasn't catching on, much to her friend's amusement. "Move his stuff where?"

"Out of Nina's apartment." Maggie watched Natalie's face carefully. "He broke up with her last night."

"Last night?"

"I thought with the way you two were dancing together that you were the first to know."

"No." It came out as a whisper. "I had no idea."

She'd gone to see Sharon at the end of her shift, claimed that what had happened to Dr Charles had gotten her thinking about how much time she spends with her son, how tomorrow isn't guaranteed and that she needed to take some time. It was partially true, Daniel being shot had reminded her that she wasn't entirely safe at work, that anything could happen and she might never see her baby son again.

More to the point, her head had been racing all day. Hadn't she commented not twenty-four hours ago on how happy Will and Nina looked? Hadn't he agreed? Why had he broke up with her? Was it something to do with her? Is that why immediately afterwards he'd sought her out at Noah's party – because now he was free to act as he wanted?

Now that he was free of his relationship with Nina, did that mean he would take back what he had said? Was he going to concede that there was more between them than just friendship? Was this going to be the start of something?

And wasn't this what she wanted? Hadn't she caught herself in a daydream about what it might be like to be with Will? To be in a relationship with him and how he would be with her son?

Owen. Her baby needed her but in the absence of his biological father he also needed a male role model in his life – and with her own dad two thousand miles away and Jeff's dad even further, there was a definite need for one. Could Will be that for her son? Would he even want to be?

It was all too much. She needed time and space to just think – and mostly breathe. So she quietly let Maggie and April know she was leaving for a while and the following morning she boarded a flight to Seattle, her son held tightly in her arms.

It felt so good to get away, to reconnect with her parents, her brothers, to embrace the freedom to just relax. She tried her best not to overthink or overcomplicate and enjoy the attention her dad lavished upon her and her son and the quality time she got to spend with her mom. Yet in the end, her mother forced her hand.

They'd gone a walk together, through the woods near the house they'd lived in since Natalie was five, Owen was sat atop her dad's shoulders and the pair had pressed on well ahead. Kate considered her daughter carefully, not wanting to push too hard, she linked her arm through her daughter's and squeezed.

"So are you going to tell me what prompted this?"

"Prompted what?"

"Don't try that with me – you know I mean this extended vacation you and Owen are on."

"I just, needed some time away from Chicago." She sighed at her mother's raised eyebrows. "To spend time with Owen and to, I don't know, try to get some perspective."

"On?"

"A lot of things have been happening. I just, got overwhelmed and needed to get away."

"Not to be intrusive – is this about a guy?" Her mother had never been one to shy away from things.

"Mom." Nat started.

"Y'know, it's been over two years, sweetheart. Jeff would never have wanted, or expected you, to live the rest of your life alone."

"I know it's just – it's complicated." Natalie sighed. "I don't want to jump into anything. It's important that if I move on I move on to someone who understands the kind of responsibility of having a child – and ideally someone who wants to help me raise my son, who can love him as well as me."

"And you're worried that this guy won't want to be involved with Owen?"

"I just don't want to force the issue."

"From what Helen's told me, that shouldn't be an problem with your friend Will."

Nat startled. "How did you –" She almost choked. "What has Helen said?!"

"She told us all about Will the day we came to meet Owen – she joined us in the cafeteria when he came to visit you. About how he supported you through the pregnancy, how he fought to stay with you when you were in labour but she forced him out."

"She did what –"

"It's all by the by now, darling." Kate waved her daughter down. "I saw the way he was with you and Owen when you were leaving the hospital and I know he came to visit often enough when we left. I assume this is the man you're worrying about forcing your child upon?" Natalie struggled to find her next words, as her mother continued. "It doesn't really sound like you've got too much to worry about, does it?"

"I mean, you and Helen gossiping is more than slightly concerning."

"I think the only thing stopping you from moving on is you." Kate stopped in front of her daughter and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Why don't you give Will a chance?"

Two weeks later, she flew home.

"It was because of the feelings I have for you – and those feelings haven't gone away."

It had been a rough day. The woman who had lost her husband in the car accident before she could tell him how she truly felt had hit home a little too hard. What if something happened to Will or he moved on before she could find it in herself to be honest with him? After her conversation with her mom she had resolved to tell him – but it had to be at the tight moment.

And then he'd said those words. He had, has, feelings for her. Romantic feelings. He doesn't see them as just good friends. He broke up with Nina because he felt something for her.

He'd been so eager to insist that he didn't expect anything, that he didn't want any kind of response. He just wanted her to know how he felt. All she could think about was the way it felt to be in his arms as they danced, the way she had felt when she seen him that morning for the first time in months and the way his eyes had lit up when he seen her – it made sense now.

He had started to leave when she decided, screw it, no time like the present.

Tonight, she was going to kiss him.

"My um, my sabbatical, the things I needed to think about? It's you."

He'd gone to walk away but she'd stopped him, floored him. His heart was pounding in his ears. He was the reason for her sabbatical? He'd assumed it was connected to the shooting of Dr Charles, that it had been another stark, unnecessary, reminder of the fragility of life. So, when he heard she'd taken extended leave, he wasn't entirely surprised. He had assumed she wanted to spend more time with Owen, reconnect with her family in Seattle – he would never have guessed that it had something to do with him. He might have been a little upset she'd not said goodbye, given him a chance to explain his break up, but he wasn't angry with her like he might have been in the past.

He just missed her. A lot.

He wanted to say something, to clarify what the exactly she meant by that, but she'd barely let the dumfounded expression settle on his face before she was kissing him.

Her lips were as soft as he remembered, the same perfect fit on his. The feel of her hand on his neck burned, warmth spreading right down to his toes. Her hair tangled around his fingers, the feel of her chest pressed against his, every nerve ending in his body was alive. This was what he had been waiting for, this is what he had been dreaming of for months, years even.

When they broke apart, flushed and breathless, her face was alight with the most beautiful smile. She linked their fingers and he grazed his forehead gently on hers, as Natalie exhaled slowly and looked into his eyes.

"There are very few people I care more about too."

Please leave reviews!
Is anyone else just DYING from the last 64 seconds of that episode? Because I swear I shed tears.