So this is the last chapter in my little story. Sort of. I'm going to add an epilogue, which is already planned out and mostly written, instead of going on and on for several more chapters that, in all honesty, probably wouldn't get written with the way I've been updating. Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited and followed this story. I had a lot of fun writing it and you encouragement meant a lot to me. Thank you!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Rookie Blue characters.
"Um ... what was that about?" Emily managed to ask as they slowly walked down the street. She didn't want to be nosey but she was curious about what Andy had whispered to him when they were saying goodbye. Oliver looked at her, wondering what she meant. She pointed behind them. "Back there. What ... what Andy said to make you blush," she explained.
"Oh, uh," he stuttered, pushing his hands deep into his pockets. "She told me not to mess this up," Oliver answered awkwardly before letting out a small laugh. Emily smiled broadly and looked forward, not sure of how to respond.
They continued walking for a few minutes in silence, both beginning to feel a little nervous, now that they were on their own. Despite their growing nerves, they began to gradually move closer and closer together as they walked, until their arms kept brushing up against each other.
"So how long have Sam and Andy been together?" Emily asked, breaking the silence.
"Those two? Ugh..." Oliver grumbled with a smile, thinking about how stubborn each of them were about admitting their feelings for each other. He went on to describe how Sam and Andy's relationship slowly progressed, telling Emily how he had to continue to push Sam into realizing his feelings for Andy. "Think that's why he bugged me so much about you," he finished.
"About me? You're stalker?" she joked.
Oliver's arms then broke out in goosebumps. He knew that Emily was joking but he still felt bad about that comment and realized that this would be a perfect opportunity to explain it all. "Look, about that ..." he began timidly.
"Oliver, you don't have to explain ..." Emily tried to stop him.
"No, no, I know," he stopped and turned towards her, reaching out his hand and placing it on her arm before she walked ahead of him. He closed his eyes briefly and looked down before shaking his head and looking back up at her. "I just want you to know what that was all about." He took a deep breath and let go of her arm. "Sam had been bugging me about you ... I guess he could tell that I liked you. Anyways, I mentioned that I kept running in to you and gave you a ride home one night and he just joked and called you my stalker. He wasn't serious," he paused, trying to read Emily's expression. She didn't look upset, just focused on what he was saying. Oliver went on. "After that he kept pestering me to ask you out and then that day ... when you saw us ... he had just fnished telling me to wipe the mustard off of my face because you were standing at the gate behind me. Unfortunately, he used that unflattering nickname to let me know you were there. And when I turned around ... Well, I did say 'Oh shit,' and turn away but it was because I had that glob of mustard on my face," he remembered with embarrassment as he pointed to his mouth. "When I turned back around, you were gone. I even ran after you but you had disappeared."
Emily remembered that day and how much it had hurt to think that Oliver thought so negatively of her. As she looked at him, she saw the sincerity in his warm eyes and knew that he was telling the truth. His mouth was set in a worried line, waiting for her to respond. She didn't realize it, but her expression had turned serious as she listened to Oliver. When she saw the worried look on his face, she slowly smiled and looked down, wanting to lighten the mood.
"You ran after me?" she asked coyly, bringing her eyes up to meet Oliver's.
Oliver's face washed over with relief. "Yep. Yep, totally sprinted after you but you were gone," he admitted. "You're fast."
She smiled again, feeling flattered, and turned to continue walking, with Oliver following her lead. They kept chatting as they walked, about their familes and childhoods, surprised that they had such similar upbringings. They also got on the touchy subject of past relationships, which made them both curious and nervous at the same time. Emily told Oliver about her last relationship, which lasted just over two years and ended without any hurtful drama. She admitted that towards the end of their relationship, her and her ex boyfriend both realized that they just weren't right for each other and didn't have enough of a spark to keep them working at the relationship. Oliver could understand, admitting that his marriage ended under similar circumstances. He told Emily about how him and Zoe had slowly grown apart over the years and that his career didn't help the matter any. Deep down, Oliver worried that it would always be an issue with any future relationship he had, but being a police officer was too big a part of him to give it up.
As they continued to walk, they past by a group of loud bar hoppers who were taking up most of the sidewalk and bouncing around as they continued on to the next bar. Oliver stepped closer to Emily and protectively took hold of her hand, steering her away from the edge of the sidewalk and walked a step in front of her, sheilding her from a potential accidental run in with someone from the group. Emily held on tightly to Oliver's hand, appreciating his protective side and enjoying the fact that he was, if only for a moment, holding her hand. Once they were clear, Oliver stepped back in line beside Emily and looked over at her with a apologetic grin.
"Sorry, I just didn't want them bumping in to you," Oliver said, trying to explain his actions. He sometimes found it difficult to turn off his protective instincts as a police officer.
"No, it's okay. Thank you," she answered sincerely. She turned and looked ahead, trying to hide her red cheeks. He was still holding her hand.
Up ahead, Emily spotted the post office that was only about a 20 minute walk from her apartment and began to feel disappointed that they would soon have to say goodnight. She noticed a pizza place coming up and quickly made a decision.
"Are you hungry?" Emily asked curiously.
"Yes," Oliver groaned, admitting that he hadn't eaten in hours.
"Pizza?" she suggested.
"Let's do it," Oliver answered enthusiastically.
Oliver opened the door for Emily and waved her in, only then realizing that he had been holding her hand for the last few minutes. He let out a small, unnoticed laugh, thinking how natural and not at all awkward it seemed. They stepped up in line to order behind several people who were also out late enjoying their Friday night. Both agreeing on a slice of pepperoni, Emily ordered before Oliver got the chance when it was their turn in line.
"I owe you for the burger," she stated with a shrug when she saw the quizzical look Oliver's face.
"Guess that's fair," he answered before she pulled out her wallet to pay.
His attention was pulled down to her wallet by a shimmer of light. He looked closely, noticing a small, irrodescent, heart shaped pendent, about the size of a dime, attached to the zipper of her change pocket. He narrowed his eyes at it, realizing that it was something that he would most likely find dangling from his daughters backpack, not attached to Emily's wallet. He was surprised, not taking Emily for a girly girl. Emily looked over and noticed Oliver's focused gaze. He looked up and saw her staring back at him.
"Nice pendent," he quickly said, wanting to explain what he had been staring at.
Emily looked down, wondering what he was talking about, then saw the pendent dangling from her change pouch. "Oh that," she said, forgetting that it was even there after so long. "It was a gift," she explained.
"Oh," Oliver simply replied. He looked away, waiting for their slices.
Emily felt bad for giving him such a quick and vague answer and decided to elaborate, not wanting to come off as flippant. "When I did my final placement for college, I became really close with my placement advisor. On my last day working she gave me this, admiting that it was silly, but she said that the kids really liked me and that I'll always have a piece of their heart," she explained, looking down at the pendent and smiling at the memory of how much she enjoyed her time at that school. "It looks funny, I know, but it has sentimental value and I like keeping it with me. It reminds me why I like my job so much," she added, smiling at the man who placed their pizza in front of them.
Oliver stared at her, feeling his heart pound a little harder than usual and his chest swell slightly. The more he found out about Emily, the more he liked her. "That's not silly at all," he assured her then grabbed his slice and walked away from the counter, heading towards the high counter along the window, blocked off with stools.
Emily stared at him with an open mouth and wide eyes, her heart racing as she processed what he had just told her.
"I was fine in a few days, just a little stiff," Oliver went on after describing how he had been shot on the job. She had asked him what the scariest moment of his career was and he was fairly certain she had not expected to hear that he had been shot.
"Oh my god," she sighed, feeling a heaviness in her chest. She swallowed hard. "And you wanted to keep working after that?"
Oliver thought about it, looking at her shocked expression. Sure he had been nervous about heading back to work after it happened and Zoe was scarred every time he left for his shift after that, but he never seriously considered quitting his job. "I don't know if I could do anything else, to be honest," he answered truthfully, looking at her with a slightly furrowed brow. He had been a police officer long enough that he couldn't imagine doing any other job.
Emily looked carefully at Oliver, noticing how his face relaxed and then became almost sad. He looked away from her and continued to eat his pizza. "What is it?" she asked nervously, knowing that something was on his mind. It could have just been the memory of that incident that was bothering him, but since he had explained it like it had been no big deal, Emily had a feeling that something bigger was preoccupying him.
Oliver swallowed his bite, debating whether or not he wanted to admit to Emily what he was really thinking about. He took in a slow, deep breath, looked over at her and shook his head, giving her a small, quick grin. " 's nothing, sorry," he answered, then turned away again, telling himself to stop thinking about what was really bothering him. Truthfully, every so often, Oliver got caught up in the memory of what happened to Jerry and, not wanting to ruin the night, he decided not to tell Emily about it, just yet.
She watched him absentmindedly pick at his napkin and looked up at his face. She saw the faint wrinkles around his eyes that deepened when he smiled and how his facial hair was just starting to grow into a rugged stubble, making her smile. Emily liked the way that his hair, which she had thought was black but was a dark brown instead, was slightly spiked on top, with sprinkles of grey hair throughout. Oliver turned to look at her briefly and she caught how his eyes looked both green and blue in that particular light. Her smile deepend and looked away from him, worrying that he caught her staring at him. He really was handsome and she kept noticing things about him that she found made him more attractive.
Oliver had taken a second to try to clear his mind of Jerry and was tearing at a napkin without realizing it. He came to and turned to look at Emily, hoping that he wasn't being rude by ignoring her. When he looked at her she had been looking carefully at him and turned away quickly, hiding a smile. He quickly did a double take, wondering why she had been staring at him. Was she checking me out? he joked, then took a close look at her while he had the chance. While they sat close together and talked at the Penny, he had noticed how pretty she was and on more than one occasion his heart began to race when she looked at him a certain way, but now that they were in a brightly lit room, he couldn't help but stare at her features. Her hair looked soft and it fell down past her shoulders, framing her face. Her skin was pale but soft, and he liked that he could still see her light freckles. Emily looked up at him just then and smiled, holding his gaze for a few seconds before turning back to her pizza. Oliver saw small traces of dimples in her cheeks when she smiled and was surprised by her eyes. He hadn't been able to tell before but they were blue with a hint of grey and had the faintest orange ring around her pupil, which he had never seen before.
"Should we get going?" Oliver asked cheerfully, deciding that they should get going since it was getting really late. Not to mention wanting to break the serious mood they found themselves in.
"Yeah," Emily agreed, gathering her napkin and her last bit of crust to throw away. After cleaning up their area, they made it to the door and stepped outside, met with a cool breeze. Emily tightened her grip on her jacket collar and Oliver thrust his hands deep into his pockets, both turning towards the direction of their apartments.
"So where did you feel like going on our first date," Oliver asked after a few strides, slightly emphasizing the last words, since it felt funny to say.
Emily gave him a little shrug of her shoulder and grinned. "It's funny, I ...this kinda feels like our first date," she answered shyly and clutched onto her purse strap at her shoulder.
Oliver turned and looked at her with a smile, understanding what she meant and liking that she felt that way.
"So, I'll give you a call on Sunday?" Oliver asked, trying to figure out how to end the night with Emily.
"Sounds good," she answered, also feeling a little nervous.
They were standing outside of Emily's building, both not quite wanting to end their night but knowing that it was really late. The rest of their walk home was filled with light conversation and friendly banter and now they weren't sure of what to do.
Oliver swallowed, wondering if he should go in for a hug, and noticed how dry his throat was, only then regretting his decision to not get a drink with his pizza. "Um ..." he began, feeling bad for asking. "Would you mind if I grabbed a glass of water, before I head out," he stopped, touching his throat. "Pizza made me really thirsty," he admitted.
Emily smiled and nodded. "Of course," she answered and moved to the main door, looking for her keys.
After entering the building, they leisurely walked the steps up to Emily's apartment side by side, mostly in silence, not wanting to make too much noise that late at night. When they reached her door, Oliver stepped back, allowing Emily to unlock it then slipped in behind her as she waited to close the door. She was getting nervous being alone with Oliver, but excited as well. She took a deep breath and closed the door, placing her purse down on the ground in her closet. When she turned on the hallway and kitchen lights, Oliver was brought back to the night that they first met. He smiled, looking in the living room where he had taken her statement and remembered that, besides thinking that Emily was sweet, nothing seemed to be too memorable about that night. He thought it was funny how much had changed since that night. He watched as she stepped to the right, entering the narrow kitchen and grabbed a glass from a cupboard above the sink on the right hand side.
"Don't worry about your shoes," Emily encouraged with a wave, as she turned on the tap.
Oliver wiped his shoes on the rug at the door and entered the kitchen, stopping beside Emily next to the sink.
After letting the tap run for a few seconds, Emily filled a glass and handed it to Oliver who took it and leaned up against the counter next to the sink. He drank half of it in one breath, then exhaled loudly as he took it away from his mouth. "Thanks," he said, feeling better already.
"You're welcome," Emily answered, then took up the spot across from Oliver on the opposite counter. "So what movie do you have picked out for tomorrow night?" she asked curiously, figuring that Oliver wouldn't have much of a say in choosing since he'd be watching with three young girls.
"So far I think it might be Tangled," he recalled, remembering Brianna's request from earlier that night. He furrowed his brow quickly then smiled, realizing that his awkward and upsetting encounter with Zoe happened earlier that evening and now he was standing in Emily's apartment, feeling relaxed and happy. It's funny how things work out, he thought.
"Thats a good one," Emily replied, feeling a dryness in her own throat. She cleared it and swallowed, hoping to get rid of it.
"You okay?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah, I'm good," she assured him and smiled, resting her hands against the counter.
For a few seconds they both stared at each other, lost in a comfortable silence that either wanted to break. Suddenly, Emily's throat once again began to tickle and she figured she would grab her own glass of water.
"Think I need one of those as well," she admitted, pointing to Oliver's glass. She pushed off of the counter and stepped forward, looking at the cupboards above and behind Oliver.
In one swift movement, Oliver stood tall, his right hand sliding underneath her chin, cradling Emily's face while resting his thumb across her cheek, catching her off guard. He leaned in and placed a gentle but lingering kiss on her lips, causing Emily to take in a quick, shallow breath in surprise. Just as she closed her eyes, Oliver broke the kiss and pulled away, just barely, and took in a breath of his own.
"Was that okay?" he asked while softly brushing his thumb across her cheek, wanting to make sure that he wasn't overstepping any boundaries.
With chills still spreading throughout her body and her heart pounding high in her chest, Emily gave a small, quick nod and took in a deep breath.
"Good," Oliver whispered, then brought his lips down onto hers again, this time with more passion. He clumsily placed his glass behind him on the counter and brought his left hand up, resting it on Emily's neck. She lifted her own arms and placed her hands on either side of Oliver's waist, feeling the need to lose herself in the kiss before Oliver pulled away again.
Oliver felt Emily relax into the kiss and smiled when her hands came to rest on his waist. He hadn't planned on kissing Emily just then, but when she stepped towards him he couldn't help himself. Now, he was more than happy that he did. Her lips we soft against his own and every so often she let out a soft, almost inaudible moan that made him want to deepen their kiss.
His left hand moved to rest on the back of her neck, pulling her forward every so slightly. Emily's heart was pounding and she couldn't believe that Oliver was kissing her this way. She had hoped that when he dropped her off for the night he might give her a small, quick kiss or at least a hug, but she had not expected this at all. But in no way was she complaining.
Before she could think about it any more, Oliver pulled away again, this time, pulling his hands away as well and leaning back. "I hope that was okay," he said, almost breathlessly, again wanting to make sure that he hadn't upset her.
Emily lowered her hands off of his hips and took a small step back. "No, that was ... that was fine," she answered, feeling suddenly embarrassed. She looked up at Oliver and saw that he looked flushed and realized that she must look the same way. She smiled then, receiving a smile from him as well.
Oliver looked over at the clock on the microwave and saw that it was almost three in the morning. "Wow, I didn't realize it was so late," he said, then looked back at Emily and felt his breath catch. She looked so beautiful to him in that moment and he found it hard not to kiss her again. He cleared his throat and forced himself to speak again while stepping towards the door. "I should let you get some sleep," he added.
Emily followed him to the door and agreed that it was getting late but she worried about him walking so late at night. "Are you sure you'll be okay to walk home?" she asked with concern and stepped in front of him to unlock the door.
"I'll be fine," Oliver assured her as she pulled open the door.
Emily held onto the doorknob and smiled at him, giving him a quick nod to say that she believed him.
"Um ..." Oliver began, but stopped himself. He had wanted to say what a great time he had with her but he knew that it would have sounded too cliche and he didn't want to come off as corny. Instead, a slow grin grew across his face and he looked at her for a few seconds before speaking. "Thank Heather for me, will you?"
Emily let out a small giggle and smiled, knowing that she would have to thank Heather herself for pushing her to stay at the Penny. "I will," she added quickly.
Oliver stepped closer to Emily and placed both of his hands under her jaw, holding her gently. He leaned in and placed a quick kiss on her lips and pulled away, holding her close and smiling. "I'll talk to you on Sunday," he said softly, then dropped his hands to his side and stepped into the doorway.
"Sunday," Emily agreed, then watched as Oliver backed out into the hallway with a wide grin and waved before walking away down the hall. She closed the door and locked it, then brought her fingers to her lips with a smile, already looking forward to Sunday.
I must apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes. There are probably many of them. Please let me know what you think.
