A/N Thank you all for you reviews and hope you enjoy this chapter. I have written it as an end chapter to the story but haven't ruled out this story coming back with a follow on/ add-on set a few months or even years down the line. Leave me some review and let me know what you all thing please.

Chapter 7.

On waking Merri looked at the clock and saw they had both been asleep for about 5 hours. She had never felt so happy in a long time. Cuddling deeper in to Chris's arms she was a little surprised when her ass rubbed against Chris's groin and she felt him twitch at the contact. She didn't realize she had that effect on him so shifting again she wiggled her ass again causing more friction between her backside and what was now becoming a very large erection. She was about to wiggle again when a hand came and rested on her hip holding her still.

"You will be the death of me if you don't stop that now" Chris growled in her ear taking her by surprise.

Lying still, she hadn't realized that Chris was a wake. Feeling a little embarrassed at being caught she felt her cheeks flush. Chris leaned forward and after kissing her neck he raised his head and looked over her shoulder so he could see her face. Feeling him lift slightly see turned her face at the same time and they came within inches of each others faces.

"Good evening, did you enjoy you afternoon snuggle? also do you feel better now after earlier today" Chris whispered since their faces were so close together.

"Good evening to you thank you I do feel better but that is due to my afternoon snuggled with a very amazing man who also seemed to really enjoy his afternoon snuggle".

" I can't help it if the women who I woke up with is a beautiful, amazing, sexy and who take's my breath away every time i see her".

Watching the affect his words had, he smiled when Merri went slightly red again. Looking at the clock he realized how late it was and the rumble from his stomach also reminded him it was time to get up and eat.

"Come on time to get need feeding and so do I so let's get you downstairs and we will take it from there" Chris said as he placed a kiss on her cheek before getting up.

Coming round the bed still wearing only his boxers he help Merri sit up then pulled her to standing. He noticed the wince as she stood and realized she was overdue her pain medication. That was the first thing to do when they got down stairs. She went to grab the crutch but he moved it away and picked her up to carry her downstairs. When they got to the foot of the stairs he walked in to the lounge and placed Merri on the couch.

"Do you want anything from up stairs as I need to go get your other crutch" Chris asked as he started back up the stairs.

"Bring my bath robe out the bathroom please,it's a little chilly down here" Merri shouted.

Chris went and grabbed the bath robe and the crutch and came back down. Passing her the bath robe he went it to the kitchen and after grabbing the medication bag off the counter he filled a tumbler with water and went back in to the living room. Merri took her tablets and sat back waiting for them to take effect as her leg now throbbed. Taking the bag and tumbler back in to the kitchen he glanced at the clock, 6.30 pm so 30 mins till tea arrived. He had arranged it earlier when he came to put the bags in the car at the hospital as a surprise. After making coffee he went and sat on the couch passing Merri her coffee and noticed she was looking at the clock.

"Am I boring you with my company or are you expecting someone?" Chris asked with that mischievous grin on his face.

"No I could never get bored of you it's just ...well...my secret admirer said he would treat me to a meal tonight" she answered looking slightly awkward.

"If that's what the man promised then I am sure he will do just man would ever let you down if he could help it" Chris said trying to help her feel better.

After drinking their coffee Chris looked at the clock and noticed it was now 7 pm. Reaching forward he removed the coffee cup from Merri's hand and stood up placing the cup on the table. Coming to stand in front of her he stretched out his hand for her to take and help her stand up.

"May I escort you to dinner my lady" Chris gestured with his arms for him to carry her.

Merri blushed and nodded as she let Chris pick her up and carry her towards the kitchen. As they entered the kitchen Merri glanced around as there was no lights until her eye's fell upon the dinning table over on the far wall. There on the table was a candle lit dinner for 2 with a bunch of red roses and a card. Walking to the table he placed Merri on the floor but stood with his hand resting on the small of her back. Her face was a mixture of shock,delight and surprise. Pulling the chair out for her to sit Merri shuffled in to the seat and Chris sat down opposite her. Merri was speechless at it all. How on earth had he done this when he was sat with her? Looking at the roses she noticed they were the same as she had received earlier in the week. Looking at the card then at Chris he nodded as if say yes she could open it. Picking up the card and opening the envelope she pulled the card out and opened. What she read in side took her breath away and for the second time that day she was reduced to tears.

" My dearest Meredith, since you come in to my life you have brightened my world in so many way's. Seeing you give's me a reason to get up in the morning. I come to work knowing you smile will make my heart skip a beat. You have no idea how much my world changed the day you came in to it. I never expected to feel like this about anyone. When you were hurt I swear my world ended. I would have given anything to swap places with you. Even when I saw you in the hospital I still could not help feeling I had let you down for not stopping you from getting shot. After we talked you made me realize that no matter what I did or did not do that day I can not always protect you. As you said when you go to work alongside me every day you take the risk of being hurt of worse. That is when I finally admitted that I could not spend another day hiding behind the pretence we were just work partners. You have been and always will be so much more. In the past 2 days we have become closer than I ever dreamed possible. I just hope that we can face the future together as more than just partners as you hold the key to my heart, Lots of Love C XXXX"

After reading the card a few times to let the words sink in Merri looked across the table at Chris. She still had tears running down her face but she wasn't crying as much as before. Chris had sat silent the whole time just watching Merri and trying to gage her reaction. He still wasn't sure what to do or say so he reached his hand across the table hoping he hadn't blew everything. If she didn't take it then he would know that she would not break her golden rule. Hanging his head he closed his eye's and waited.

Slowly Merri reached across the table and intertwined her fingers with Chris's. She watched as his head shot up and his eye opened at the same time as a huge smile broke out across his face as their hands linked. That was all he need,getting up from his chair he walked round the table and bending down beside Merri he leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was slow and tentative to start as they each explored the other's lip's. Then tongue's darted out to taste and teeth nipped and before either knew it there tongue's were tasting each other's mouth's and dueling for ownership of the other. Pulling apart when the need for air grew to great they broke apart panting trying to catch their breath. Chris moved back slightly saying

"Maybe we should continue this after dinner or it will be cold if it's not all ready" not being able to stop himself from laughing.

Merri nodded and Chris went to sit back down. Once sitting he looked across at Merri who had her cutlery in hand and was starting to eat. Picking his own cutlery up he started to eat as well. The meal was amazing and they both cleaned their plates. Once the main course was finished Chris got up and cleared the plates in to the sink. Before sitting back down he grabbed the desert out the fridge and placing it on the table he passed Merri a spoon to have the first taste. He was about to sit down when he changed his mind and picking the chair up he placed it next to Merri's and sat down. Picking up the other spoon he took a piece of the cake. The next piece of cake he picked up on the fork he looked at it and looked at Merri. Using his fork he feed the piece of cake to Merri. Merri smiled and returned the favour until they were in a routine of feeding each other cake and on the the odd occasion ending up with cake or cream on the other's nose. When they had finished the cake the placed their forks down and sat content for a few minutes. It was Merri's turn to break the silence as she reached across the table and passing his wine glass to him she picked up her glass of juice

"A toast to us, may today be the start of many more like it".

They chimed glasses and took a drink. Setting their glasses back on the table they both went to stand at the same time. Chris was up first and was holding Merri's hand to help her stand. They stood facing each other and before either said another word they heard a knock at the front door. Merri out of instinct yelled that the door was open and to come on in. It was the she realized the predicament they were in. She was sat in her bath robe and poor Chris was wandering around in nothing but boxer's. Well there was not much they could do about it now as in walked Loretta and Dwayne. They both looked at Merri and then at Chris who turned an amazing red colour, before he quickly excused himself. Dwayne and Loretta looked at one another smirking at the scene in front of them when Merri spoke

"You can both take that look off your faces, this is not what it look's like. Well okay it is but not like that. I give up before I need a shovel to dig my way out of this hole I am now in".

All 3 of them started to laugh just as Chris came back in wearing his sweat pants and t-shirt.

"What did I miss? sounds like it was fun by the way you are all laughing. Anyone want coffee when I am here" Chris asked the room at large as he put the kettle on and opened the cupboard to get cups out. All 3 chimed yes so Chris set about making 4 coffees. Loretta stepped forward coming to stand next to Merri who was still stood at the table.

"Should you not be resting that leg instead of doing exercise and standing round on it" Loretta said looking at Merri.

"Yes I should be but we had just had dinner and were on away to the lounge when you knocked" Merri informed her.

When Chris finished making the coffee he passed around the cups leaving his on the bench with Merri's.

"Come on let's take these in to the lounge and we can get this one off her feet and sat down" Chris inclined his head towards Merri.

Without a second thought he walked up to Merri and scooping her up he carried her in to the lounge. Coming back he picked their coffees up and chose to ignore the smirks between his boss and friend as they followed him in to the lounge. Letting Dwayne and Loretta sit down he sat down on one of the chairs as Dwayne sat in one chair and Loretta was on the couch next to sat talking about everything and anything to keep off the subject of Chris and Merri. Merri looked over at Chris and Chris nodded his agreement.

"To put you both out of your misery I have found out who my secret admirer was but I guess you both know that. Also by the look on both your faces you all ready know who it is" Merri told the 2 people who were now both staring waiting for her to finish.

"When I found out that my secret admirer was none other than my best friend and partner I was shocked as he was the last person I expected it to be. Yet over the last 2 days we have both learnt a few tough lessons in life which have brought us closer together. We will be taking things slowly to start with and see where it leads us but as things stand we are both very happy together".

Looking over at Chris she saw he had smile on his face that went from ear to ear. They both looked at Dwayne at the same time as he was their boss and had the power to throw a spanner in the work.

"To save you asking I am happy that your both happy but if I find it affects you work it will be a different matter, got that" Dwayne said looking between them both and they nodded.

After another half hour off talking both Dwayne and Loretta said it was time to go as they both had work to do tomorrow un-like some. Everyone laughed at this as Chris escorted their friends out. Locking the door when he shut it he walked back in to the lounge to find Merri yawing and sleepy looking. Going in to the kitchen with the dirty coffee cups he returned with a tumbler of water and Merri's pains meds. Making sure she had them down he told her he would take the dressing's up with them and check her leg when she was lying on the bed to make it easier.

Carrying her up stairs he took her to the bathroom and came back in to the bedroom to wait for her to finish. When she opened the door he was at her side instantly helping her get to the bed and lie down. Placing all the things he needed on the bed he steeled himself to change the dressing. He had not had a close up look at the wounds so had no idea what to expect. Since Merri had not bothered with any pants he got straight down to business. Peeling the front dressing off he looked at the wound on the front of her stood out bright red against her pale skin. The wound was about 3 cm and more square than round. He looked up at Merri who was watching him and it broke her heart to see the look of pain and anger that flashed across his face. Lifting her hand up she placed it on his shoulder and squeezed it in an attempted to remind him that she was okay and it was not his fault. He nodded and carried on cleaning and applying a fresh dressing. When he was done she rolled over and he started work on the back dressing. This wound was a lot bigger than the front as the bullet ripped through the skin as it exited. This one had to be at least 6 cm round and the edges were rough. They had done a good job repairing the skin but he still felt a tear come to his eye as he applied the ointment and dressing. Merri rolled back over and saw the tear that was rolling down Chris's cheek before he had a chance to wipe it away. He stood and walking to the bathroom he discarded the rubbish in to the trash and came back in to the bedroom to see has pulled the blankets back and climbed in to bed. He stood still not sure if he should sleep in the spare room or join her in bed.

"I have shared my bed with you once today and don't intended to change that arrangement any time soon so get in" Merri said smiling as she watched him strip back down to his boxers and place his keys on the bedside table.

Looking at the keys she noticed a new key chain that looked very familiar. Sitting up she lifted the keys off the table to get a better look. There sitting on Chris's key's was the other half of the split heart pendant and key. Looking over at Chris she smiled and them frowned. Seeing the frown and what was in her hand he knew straight away was she was thinking so he left the bedroom and headed downstairs. Returning a minute later carrying the small box that contained her necklace.

Climbing on the bed with the necklace he waited till she sat so he could place the necklace round her neck and fasten it up. He could not resist the urge to place a few kisses along her neck and up her throat. Instinctively Merri reached up with one hand and placed it on the back of his head as if holding him in place. After a few more kisses and Chris's groin waking up he decided to stop as Merri was in no fit state to get carried away and have any sort of fun yet. When he stopped and lay on the bed Merri let out a sort of strangled groan at the loss of contact. Turning to face him she pulled herself over so her head rested on his chest. He wrapped his arm round her shoulder and pulled her close. They lay like that till he felt her drifting off to sleep. Turning to face Merri he placed a kiss on her nose as he wrapped both arms round her and pulled her up against her chest.

He lay still holding the women he loved in his arms. It had been a while since he got to wake up with a women in his bed never mind his arms. He knew that this was it for him,he never wanted anything else. He feel asleep with yet another big smile on his face knowing when he woke he got to start the next chapter that his life.