I'm so sorry that the this chapter has taken so long to upload. It took a while to write/edit for multiple reasons; mine being the bittersweet feeling of putting an end to this story that oddly enough managed to become a surprisingly large part of my life the past few months. I owe so much of this fic's success, and completion to all of the people who have been reading along, and the awesome feedback many people gave, that i honestly wasn't expecting.
I took my time with this chapter, as I said and thought I'd add in a few tropes/ scenes that didn't get added in the process of elimination :)
I really hope you like how it ends, and I can guarantee there'll be more coming as soon as possible! Thanks for following along the past couple months! I hope you're satisfied with this last update.
Thanks for reading xo
_ chapter 10 _
The past week had really taken its toll on Andy. He honestly believed it had been the worst since the time around his divorce.
Everything appeared fine on Monday. He was spending so much time with Virginia that the days of work resulting with no identity on the killer they'd been looking for, seemed easier. Sometimes they'd go to his house, but usually it'd be hers. They'd shared a few nights cuddled on her couch watching television until she fell asleep on him.
Andy woke with a stiff neck and sore back. He remembered how he spent the night before with Virginia and when she fell asleep on him towards the end.
He glanced down at the woman curled up against him, sleeping soundly.
It was apparent that she'd rolled over in her sleep and was now facing his stomach, the fabric of his shirt bunched in her hand, her breathing slow and steady.
He brushed the hair back from her forehead and contemplated letting her continue sleeping, or attempt getting up and disturbing her.
He saw the possibility of them sharing a conversation about him spending the night once she woke, so he chose to avoid waking her just yet.
He loved seeing the other side of her that shone through when it was just the two of them. The past few weeks they'd spent together had shown Andy that she wasn't always impacted as harshly with her syndrome in every situation as to when she was in his company. He began to love spending time with her, as she'd grown more comfortable being around him. They'd built a trust that Andy highly respected; he understood that there weren't many people in her life who were lucky enough to know her like he did, who she trusted enough to allow them this close to her.
She stirred in her sleep, nuzzling her nose into his middle. He found it adorable the way she acted around him sometimes, when she wasn't playing the strict and rule abiding surgeon. When they'd first met, he never imagined that he'd end up discovering so much more about her than what she showed at work.
At the hospital she was emotionless. She had to be in order to function and get her job done. Andy understood that, but when it was just the two of them, grabbing dinner, watching a movie or just talking, he felt like he was with the real Virginia. She would laugh and poke fun at him, maybe even crack a joke once in a while, and thats the Virginia he'd grown to love.
He smoothed her hair back again, pressing a kiss to her temple. Her head stirred in his lap, as she scrunched her nose and mumbled under her breath as she woke. "Andy…"
"Hey," he said through a small smile, admiring her as her eyes slowly fluttered open and found his.
"Why are you doing here?" She asked, groggily.
He hadn't woken up with her before and hearing her morning voice was quite possibly the most mesmerizing thing he'd ever heard.
"We were watching TV and you fell asleep, remember?"
His voice was soft as he spoke, trying to keep her at peace as she slowly became more aware. She blinked a few times, adjusting to the light and remembered inviting him over the night before, and the two of them sharing a bowl of popcorn before she drifted off.
A soft hum left her lips, as she released his shirt from her hand and rolled onto her back which was stiff like his. She couldn't see him sleeping that sitting up all night could be comfortable for him. "You don't look very comfortable."
"It's fine," he lied.
He wasn't in so much pain that he couldn't tolerate it for the time being. He liked having her this close to him. He'd half expected her to wake up in a panic, asking him why he'd decided to stay or if he would leave, but she gave him no signs of discomfort.
"Did you sleep good?" He asked.
"I slept well, yes thank you."
She knew how he always hated it when she corrected him, but he let it slide this one time just because he wasn't up for an argument so early in the day.
He narrowed his eyes instead and gave her a look of disapproval. She suppressed a laugh, stealing a kiss from him before sitting up and beginning to prep for the day.
It had been an emotional rollercoaster ever since then. He could remember coming into work, just like it were another regular day, feeling like they would never find the killer. He thought about Virginia most of the time he was seated at his desk. Provenza would walk by ever so often and badger him to stop daydreaming, but he hated paperwork and everyone knew it.
He'd fallen so in love that she was all he could think about. All his daydreams were of her, and when he could see her next. He just wanted the case to be over so he could be with her, making her smile or laugh at one of his stupid jokes. He couldn't remember ever having feelings like that for someone, that were so strong they invaded your mind all the time and wouldn't leave you alone long enough to function like a normal person. Virginia had become his life in those past weeks, which had made it that much more difficult for him to get the news that Bergson was so close to her and she was helpless not knowing so.
It had shaken him to the core thinking that she could be in possible danger at that very second. The case became even more important to solve once that became apparent.
He was grateful that he'd gotten there just in time, but not soon enough. If she just would have agreed to come to the station with him that day, it wouldn't have happened. Maybe if they'd went out for lunch or if he visited her, he would have been there sooner and could have stopped anything from happening. All these thoughts ran through his head, as he continued to worry about the accident even after it was over. She was safe now. He could relax, but it only seemed that way. But things hadn't gone his way, and she had gotten hurt, fending for her life with only her medical knowledge and a blue pen.
He was waiting for her to wake-up from the anesthesia, not leaving her bed even after she'd slept through to the early hours of the morning the following day. The doctor had told him before she'd gone in for surgery that it hadn't been too serious, and she needed something done to her lower back. He didn't speak medical jargon, but he understood that she would be perfectly fine when she woke up, just sore.
Andy knew that once she woke up, she'd be in a panic and worrying about how the surgery had went, and where he was. He thought it would be best if he sat with her for when she would wake up, just for some moral support.
He sat with her bruised and frail hand folded in his, waiting for her to wake up as the hours rolled by. He was barely awake when he felt her hand twitch in his and she bolted up, screaming and shouting for help. A few doctors came running in, but it was Andy who calmed her down, telling her that she was okay and it was over. The doctors made sure she was alright, before they left the room, leaving the couple alone. He held her hand until the re-appearing pain subsided in her back, from her sudden moving.
Hours prior, a doctor had been nice enough to ask if Andy wanted a cot to be wheeled in for the night, since he wasn't planning on leaving. He may have let them believe that him and Virginia were married, but he knew that once the fatigue did take over him, he'd want to sleep and he certainly wasn't leaving her alone.
He was finally able to let go of the small fear he had that she wouldn't wake up. He smoothed back the hair from her face and tried getting her to look at him, holding her face in his hands.
He had recognized the fear in her eyes from when he walked into the OR and saw she was fighting for her life against Bergson, and there he was again being the one to calm her after and give her the reassurance things would be okay. She'd been through so much the past six hours, Andy himself had a hard time believing she was so strong to be holding on like she was. All the physically pain she was feeling and emotional damage she'd gained couldn't be easy to deal with. He was glad she wasn't alone in this.
He watched the tears roll down her cheeks, as her sad green eyes bore into his.
She couldn't imagine a worse situation than the one she'd just survived the day before, and yet here she was having to relive it again. She didn't know what she would have done if Andy wasn't there when she woke up.
She had awakened right before Andy came into the room with his gun drawn, before Bergson had been killed. It was a horrible thing that she had to go through again, just as terrifying as the first.
The first thing she wanted once she realized it was only a dream- and it was normal for someone in her situation to be experiencing nightmares, was Andy. She wanted him to hold her like he always did when she was scared. She cried his name repeatedly, trying to calm herself down, hearing him tell her again and again that it wasn't real and they were safe.
She managed to get her shaking under control. She wasn't crying anymore because she was afraid of something happening, she was crying because she felt like she needed to. It was okay for her to cry around Andy. He would understand. "C-can y-ou hold m-me?"
She didn't need to finishing choking out the words for him to stand from the chair. He carefully helped her up into a half seated position and joined her on the bed, wrapping her in his arms, cradling her head to his chest.
He understood that after all she'd been through, she just needed someone to cry on. His fingers traced circles on her back as she let out all the emotions she'd been feeling after reflecting on the accident.
_ 1 week later _
She was packing up the things that Andy had brought in for her during her stay in the hospital, when he tapped on her door before entering. She didn't know why hefelt the need to knock, but ignored it and continued to fold her shirts. "Virginia, you shouldn't be doing this on your own. You know better, the doctor told you to take it easy on your back."
She rolled her eyes at him over-dramatically, before zipping up her overnight bag. "Andy, I'm fine."
She turned around to face him. "You know that I'm fine. You've been here almost all week."
Her hands found their way around his middle and his around her waist. He gave her one of his famous defeated smiles and kissed her forehead. "You're all set now?"
She nodded her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and looking around the room to be sure she hadn't forgotten anything.
Andy pushed her out to the car in the wheelchair as she held her overnight bag to her chest. It was a weird sensation being the one being pushed instead of the one pushing.
Andy helped her into the car after she reminded him yet again that she was okay on her own. "I can't help it, y'know. I just wanna make sure you're okay? Thats all."
He buckled his seatbelt and turned on the engine. She fiddled with her hands in her lap, feeling guilty for getting angry with him helping. "I know. I'm sorry."
As much as Andy wanted to talk to her, and ask her how she was doing or how her last day had been as a patient, he felt exhausted and just wanted to go home and throw himself into bed and stay there for the next few days.
His eyes were focusing on the road when he heard Virginia clear her throat. "Andy…"
He waited quietly for her to continue, hoping she wasn't going to go back on the topic they'd shared plenty of times before when she was in the hospital about him feeling guilty for the accident. It wasn't that he changed his mind, but that he didn't want to argue with her when he was tired and would most likely end up saying something dumb.
"Did you mean it?"
He came to a red light seconds later and looked over to her in the passenger seat. She looked as if she'd been deep in thought before bringing it up and he grew concerned by her question and its meaning. "Did I mean what?"
She immediately regretted bringing it up. Maybe it wasn't the right time. He was clearly exhausted and there was still the small possibility she'd heard wrong or had misunderstood somehow.
He could tell by the look on her face that she was afraid to speak up, that something was holding her back. His hand rested on her leg as a gesture of comfort. "Hey… You can tell me."
He was growing more worried by the second. She'd grown so much more comfortable with opening up around him and trusting him the past week alone, it was odd she couldn't in that moment. He feared that something was wrong. Was it her back? Was she not telling him something? "Virginia, what is it honey?"
"You…" her voice trailed off, and for a brief moment she wasn't sure if she should finish the sentence.
"You said that you loved me."
Andy's heart stopped for a short second. She had heard that?
Her eyes scanned over to him, lights flickering across his face as he drove down the road. "When I was asleep the first night at the hospital. You said it before I woke up. You were holding my hand, and I heard you say you loved me and you hated seeing me get hurt."
He remained silent, unsure of how to respond. Everything she had said was true, and of course he'd meant it. He couldn't tell a this point what she thought of his words. Was she angry, or did she feel the same way? Andy had been trying so hard to keep their relationship from going too fast and becoming too much for either of them. He valued it too much for things to get ahead of them and down spiral. He didn't mind taking it slow, but now that she knew how he really felt, that would throw everything off.
"I uh.." He cleared his voice, before finishing his thought.
"I didn't know that you heard."
She wasn't quite sure how to take his response. Why did he not want her to hear him?
She started worrying that maybe she'd gotten herself all worked up over three words that he didn't mean. Three words that maybe just came to him in the spur of the moment that he didn't even mean. It certain seemed to her that he cared a lot about her. When she needed someone to lean on, or talk to after a long day, he was always the one there for her. He was always smiling at her, and calling her honey or sweetheart. Those weren't names that good friends called each other.
"It's alright, you don't have to say anything. I don't want you to feel pressured, it wasn't my intention when I said it."
It sounded like he meant it. He wasn't taking it back. She let him talk, not wanting to say something out of line. "I thought you were asleep, and if its best for you to forget about it, thats okay."
Why would she want to forget!? It had been the highlight of her week up to that point, and why would he want her to forget it if he meant what he said? She repeated her initial question. "Did you mean it?"
The car was quiet for a moment, the traffic around them being the only noise. "Yeah."
The rest of the ride was quiet, both of them wrapped up in their own thoughts.
Andy walked her to the door like he always did and kissed her goodnight. He wanted so badly to be invited in, just to talk to her a bit more about what had come up on the drive to her place. He understood that too much may have been said and he didn't want to push her away before he could even let her in. His hands lingered on her waistline a bit longer than usual.
His lips hovered above her shoulder. "Call me if you need anything."
She shivered from his breath against her cheek and nodded her head as she bit her lip.
She didn't want to let him leave, but needed to sort out her thoughts.
Andy walked back to his car, hands in his pockets and waiting for her to get inside before heading home.
He left her mind in a mess as she padded down the hallway to her bedroom, still thinking about what he'd said.
She woke to the sounds of her own screams for the second time that week. Once she caught her breath she looked over to her alarm clock that read 2:00 a.m. She had only been sleeping for a few hours and she was already having a nightmare. She knew that it was because of Andy's absence. Her schedule at the hospital had consisted of waking up to Andy snoring in the chair next to her, eating the dreadful breakfast they provided, saying goodbye to Andy, having lunch, sleeping until dinner, stare at the walls until Andy came back, and then eventually fall asleep with Andy there.
This time, the dream seemed even more real, but it ended differently. Virginia wasn't the one who reached for Andy's gun this time and she watched Bergson shoot at Andy before she could do anything. She watched him fall to the floor, watching the life fade from his eyes.
She told herself over and over that it was only a dream and Andy was fine. She knew it was true, but something still wasn't right. She needed Andy. It was so much better hearing him tell her that. She found that his voice itself soothed her.
She thought about it for a moment, before reaching to her nightstand and grabbing her cellphone. She dialled Andy's number and hoped he would pick up. He seemed really tired in the car, and even though she felt guilty for calling so late, she hoped that he hadn't put his phone on silent. After a few rings she heard his groggy voice, officiating that she had woken him up. "Andy… I'm so sorry I woke you up."
"No… It's fine. Are you okay?"
Her hands trembled as they held the phone to her cheek. "Yes. Well no… I had another nightmare, and I was kind of hoping…"
Before she could finish he cut her off. "I'll be over in 20."
She couldn't help but smile, already feeling a bit better talking to him and knowing that he would be there soon.
He hung up shortly after, and threw on the first t-shirt he could find on the floor, and grabbed his keys off the dresser.
She was sitting in bed with her knees to her chest, still shaken up from her last episode when she heard the doorbell and practically flew out of bed and down the hall.
She opened the door and pulled him inside, wrapping her arms around him before he had time to even say a word.
He couldn't help but grin from her desperate need to touch him. He shut the door behind him, and held her close until she trembling had gone away. "Hey.. Why don't you go to sleep now. You're probably tired too."
She was tired, but she couldn't stand the thought of him leaving just yet. He'd only been there for a few minutes and she selfishly needed to be with him in the moment.
They got under the covers and she laid her head against his chest, as he held her while she fell asleep. He figured that she must be hurting pretty bad if she hadn't even bothered him about taking off his shoes.
After some time, he assumed she was asleep, and tried to quietly sit up without waking her.
Her hand grabbed his wrist, just as he was about to take a step. "Stay…"
Her voice was sleepy, but she hadn't fallen asleep yet. He wasn't sure he could stay any longer without falling asleep. He wasn't sure if she would be okay with him staying the night yet. There was that one time she fell asleep during The X-Files, but that was accidental.
As if she had read his mind, she spoke again. "It's okay, you can stay. I want you to stay."
She let go of him after a few moments of silence, confirming he wasn't going to protest.
He slipped off his shoes before crawling back in and pulling her into his arms, with her back against his chest. He hadn't been this close before and was a bit worried she may be uncomfortable with it. He dismissed the thought when he heard a small hum escape from within her and the feel of her hands on his arms surrounding.
It was moments like that, he wanted to badly to repeat those 3 words.
The morning met her peacefully, the arms around her and steady breathing against her neck, spreading a smile across her lips. Her mind went to the night before with Andy in the car, then at her doorstep and finally him coming to her rescue at something past two in the morning. It got her thinking that maybe she'd been missing something all along. Why was it so hard for her to consider the possibility that Andy may really want to be with her?
He'd said that he loved her, and she believed he'd meant it, but she never considered her own feelings that far along in their relationship. Every time she saw Andy she got this feeling in the pit of her stomach, and it wasn't the same as the thought of public speaking or a change of plans. It was a happy feeling; she was happy to be around him. Andy made her feel like she didn't have to try and she could be herself around him. He made her feel like she could wear plaid sweaters around him, and talk about embarrassing childhood stories because she knew he wouldn't judge her.
A tear slipped down her cheek and landed on his resting arm beneath her. She had never noticed exactly how happy Andy made her. She never got emotional like this, she almost felt embarrassed by it.
"Hey… are you okay?"
She'd never met someone so endearing as Andy. How is it that he could be constantly concerned about her? "Yeah," She said with a small smile.
She twisted in his arms so their faces were inches apart, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. She knew by the look of surprise on his face that he wasn't expecting it.
Her hand covered his, draped across her middle as her eyes found his. "I love you too, Andy."
_END_
_TBC... _
Thanks to Cass for being the best beta ever.
Thanks to Sarina for the constant support.
Thanks to our idiot Duff for creating these people to wreck our lives.
And thanks to all of you wonderful people for reading!