So sorry for the delay in getting this last chapter posted. A serious case of writer's block, plus having absolutely no time to devote to writing – but finally, it is here. I hope that you enjoy it. Thanks for the encouragement to keep going – it was always going to happen, I just had to find that inspiration again. I do hope to start another fic soon, so keep on the lookout!

This is the final instalment for this fic, and it is a rather long one. This chapter contains some dialogue from the episode "Undercover", created by John Hugginson and John Banas. I hope that it was worth waiting for.

Disclaimer: I do not own City Homicide or its characters.


8.

When they arrived at Homicide headquarters later that morning, they found Burns standing alongside Waverly and Jarvis in the briefing room. The crew were all pleased to see Nick and Jennifer back in one piece, and were especially pleased to see with their own eyes that Jen was okay.

It became apparent from what Burns was saying, that Abbott and Hartono were planning an attack at a public venue and that the attack was imminent.

Nick felt Jen shudder beside him, and knew that she was thinking about how close she had come to death.

Jen could sense Nick tensing. She knew that he wanted to get Abbott personally. They had a score to settle and Jen knew that Nick wanted to be the one to settle it. She could understand why, but it frightened her. She was scared of Nick getting hurt, but she was also scared of what he might do to Abbott – not that Jen didn't want to see Abbott get what was coming to him, but she didn't want Nick to get into any trouble, jeopardise his job; because she knew that Nick could lose control. She had seen it, with Burns. He could be so gentle and loving, and yet she had also seen a different side to him – a dark side, a propensity to fly off the handle when filled with rage. She was not frightened of him – she knew that Nick would never hurt her, he would never lay a hand on anyone that he cared about; but she knew that he had some difficulty in holding back when he was really angry and she thought that one day, it just might get him into strife. And Abbott had wronged him, and Nick was angry.

She needn't have worried. When Nick brought Abbott down later that afternoon, in the bowels of a major sporting ground, he was filled with rage and had wanted to do damage, but Duncan and Allie had his back. They were there to take control, calm him down, and Abbott and Hartono were both brought in with little fuss. It was over.

That evening, as Nick and Jen walked towards the elevators, relieved at having been given a few days off, Jen suddenly felt anxious, unsure of what to do. She didn't want to let Nick go, not a second time.

They stood facing one another inside the lift. Nick, pleased that it was over, but feeling a dark cloud descend over him, thinking that this was finally the end for he and Jen. No more undercover work. Back to reality. Back to colleagues, working side by side. He had lost her again.

"So. Finally you get to sleep in your own bed."

Jen glanced over at him. She would not miss her chance again. "Yeah. But it'll be strange without you there." Was that suggestive enough, she wondered? Would he take the bait?

As the lift doors opened into the underground carpark, she shyly suggested dinner at hers. To debrief.

Nick, who still wasn't one hundred percent sure what this meant for them, accepted. He didn't need to be asked twice.

Nick drove, and on the way to Jennifer's they stopped to grab some takeaway.

Jen opened the door to her home, and Nick dutifully followed her to the kitchen, where he placed the bag of takeout food on the bench.

"So – where are your plates?" he asked.

Jen pointed to an overhead cupboard, and Nick got out two plates.

Jen stood solemnly in the kitchen, watching him. Her entire body tingled with anticipation, as she reached out to Nick and grabbed hold of his arm.

He stopped and looked at her. In her eyes, he saw longing.

She reached out to stroke his face. "Nick" she whispered.

They moved closer together until their bodies were touching.

Nick put his arms around her and pulled her close against him. She looked up into his eyes and then kissed him. Their lips touching, finally, seemed to send an electric surge through her. She groaned softly against him and pushed her lips hungrily against his.

His mouth left hers and he planted small feather light kisses upon her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks, before moving down to nibble lightly at her neck.

Her one good arm was around his neck, pulling him further towards her. His hands ran leisurely up and down her sides, over the curve of her hips.

She moaned against him, shuddering in anticipation of what was to come. She was eager to remove the physical restrictions between them, but with only one useful arm, she was finding it difficult.

She pulled back from him, placed her hand against his chest and she stared deeply into his eyes.

"Nick" she whispered hoarsely. "Take me to bed".

He smiled at her. "Well, I would, but I've only been in your bedroom once. I'm not sure I can remember the way..."

Jen laughed softly and led him to her room, their takeaway dinner left on the kitchen bench, forgotten, their hunger replaced by a different kind of hunger, one that wouldn't wait.

Nick untied Jennifer's sling. Her arm was extremely sore, but with the sling removed, she was not as restricted, and could at least move it.

Nick unfastened the button at the back of Jen's blouse and lifted it carefully over her head, mindful of her injured arm. He looked at her appreciatively. Smooth, lightly tanned skin, pert breasts encased in white satin with lace trim. He ran his hands down her bare sides, and then slowly undid the zip of her trousers, letting them fall over her hips into a crumpled heap around her ankles. She stepped out of them and stood before him, not at all self-conscious, but feeling confident, loved and wanted.

She desperately wanted to feel his skin against hers, so she began to undo his tie, as he started to unbutton his work shirt. Her hand ran slowly over his chest, enjoying the feel of his taut muscles, and she moved her hands to his belt, unbuckling it, and trying to free him of his pants.

With all of their clothing removed, they lay together on the bed, Nick over her, his hands resting either side of her head. Jen tenderly stroked his cheek and they stared deeply into one another's eyes.

"Jen.." He felt choked up, as though he couldn't speak, and that one word was full of emotion.

"I know" she said, kissing him tenderly. "I know".

Their hands roamed one another's bodies gently, their mouths planted small kisses on each other tenderly. They murmured one another's name and they held tightly to each other, as they moved together in unison, scarcely believing that they were finally together.

Over and over again, they kept reaching for one another, never wanting to be apart. Even in exhaustion, their hands sought each other out, needing to feel close, connected.

As it started to creep towards morning, they finally fell asleep, wrapped around each other, completely content and blissfully happy.

Later that morning, Nick awoke and lay looking at the woman draped across him. He smiled to himself and lightly stroked her hair, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. He couldn't believe that it had finally happened, that he was here with her now. For so many years, he had imagined this moment, had imagined being with Jen; and now it had finally happened and it had been better than anything he had ever dreamed.

Jennifer stirred, and opened her eyes to find him gazing adoringly at her. A huge grin broke out over her face. "Morning" she mumbled quietly.

"Morning."

They kissed slowly, the memory of last night still fresh on their lips, on their skin. Jen thought that she could probably do with a nice hot shower, and hoped that Nick would join her, to scrub her back. She giggled at the thought.

"What?" he asked.

She looked up at him, her eyes smiling. "Nothing. Just...why did we wait so long? I can't believe that we never did this before now."

Nick tightened his hold around her. "Mmmm. Don't know. But I think it was worth the wait, don't you?"


The night before they were due back at work, they lay together in Jen's bed. The last few days, they had hardly left one another' s side. They had talked, they had laughed, they had made love, they had gone for runs together, they had cooked together, watched movies together...it had been blissful, and neither wanted it to come to an end, although they both knew that things would be different, once the pressure of work was back upon them.

Jen lay with her head on Nick's chest, her fingers lightly tracking a path up and down his arm.

He stroked her head, pushing the hair out of her eyes, feeling that this was the most natural thing in the world.

"So" Jen began. "Tomorrow the madness begins again."

Nick knew that she concerned about how they would handle working together, and being in a relationship. She had only brought it up a couple of times, but he could tell that it was troubling her.

For all her zest and spark, Jennifer was essentially a good girl, who wanted to do the right thing. He knew that she didn't really like to break the rules, unless it was absolutely necessary.

Nick didn't share her concerns, however; he thought that they were adult enough to be able to work together without it being an issue; and secretly, he kind of liked the idea of sneaking around. So, Nick found himself changing the subject every time Jen brought up the issue of them working together whilst having an illicit affair. He thought that it was sexy, not a worry at all, and he just wished that she would relax about it.

He knew how to get her to relax. In the last few days, he had discovered a lot of things about Jennifer. How to get her to relax, how to get her to laugh, how to make her melt into his arms.

He had started to think about a future with her – things that he had almost given up on. Marriage, kids. He had never really been a player, but neither had he wanted to settle down with anyone before. But Jen was different. He could easily see himself married to her, having kids with her, growing old with her. He felt overwhelmingly happy every time he thought about the future.

Jen, on the other hand, was starting to feel torn. She was so happy – the last few days had been great, and she couldn't remember a time when she had been this happy or this content; but at the back of her mind was the niggling thought about work, and what to do about it.

She knew that if things were serious between her and Nick, that one of them would eventually have to leave Homicide.

Jen had always been career focussed. Her job had been her life – she had never had anything else. She had given up on finding "the one", and having kids – well, she thought that she was probably getting to an age where it might not happen at all if she didn't hurry up. So Jen had thrown herself into work. If she couldn't have a family life, then rather than dwell on it, she would make sure that she was the best damn detective in Melbourne – she would go places, pave the way for other women in the force.

Now, everything had been turned upside down and she was in inner turmoil. How had this happened? She had fought Nick for so long, fended him off by maintaining her distance, and now...well, that had all just gone out the window. And she couldn't be happier, and that was confusing the hell out of her.

Jen moulded herself against Nick's chest, breathing in his masculine scent, enjoying the feel of his body beneath hers. Maybe some things are better than a career she thought to herself.

She felt his arms tighten around her and she sighed happily. Her feelings for him were so strong. She had to keep fighting the urge to say "I love you". She didn't want to put herself out there like that, didn't want to turn him off, push him away, make him run a mile. So the words remained unspoken.

He kissed the top of her head. She lifted herself up to look at him. So mouth-wateringly handsome, so strong, so protective...Butterflies danced in her stomach, the way they do when you are in the throes of new and exciting love.

She looked deep into his eyes, and saw only adoration and contentment staring back at her. She smiled at him, that smile that lit up her entire face, made his heart melt every time he saw it.

And then they kissed, Nick feeling as though he were the luckiest man on Earth, and Jen, pushing her fears aside, believing with all her heart that they would make this work, that somehow, they would remain in this bubble forever, that everything else would fall into place.

Both completely content, deliriously in love. This was meant to be.

THE END