Drew slapped at his bedside table, his eyes still closed as he tried to find his phone and silence the vibration. He strained his neck to see if he had woken his husband, hearing a sleepy murmur and felt the bed dip as he adjusted before cuddling into the doctor's shoulder then falling into a deeper sleep.

Drew yawned as he unlocked his phone, smiling to see that Bri had sent a text. It had been three days since Bri had been admitted to the hospital. At first, she was apprehensive to message the doctor, worried that he was just being nice to the poor foster kid but Drew had quickly reassured her that he had meant his offer and was more than happy for her to talk or text him any time of day. Now though, she would send through memes she found funny, tell him about the rumours she heard from the nurses on her ward or pretty much anything that popped into her mind and Drew cherished every message. Drew had sent her some photos when he had mentioned his dog Major, the overgrown puppy was more than happy to pose when Drew bribed him with some bacon. Also, a few photos of Rick and himself as she had been curious about him, the doctor had been worried at first. Scared of what she might think of a same-sex couple, it had been extremely underwhelming when Drew explained he was married to a man which she replied with a shrug of her shoulders then asked to see more photos of Major.

Drew squinted as he tried to read the message, he quickly dimmed the brightness and laughed quietly to himself when he saw the text.

Message received 4:30 pm: Bri

'What does Turkish Delight even taste like?'

Message sent 4:30 pm: Drew

'I'm not too sure, google says it is a soft gel-like sweet usually flavoured with rose water.'

Message received 4:31 pm: Bri

I hope I'm lucky enough to try it someday

Drew frown at the response before a thought occurred to him. He was planning on heading to the hospital early today anyway, Bri was complaining of being cooped up in the hospital room and he had offered to wheel her around the car park; it wasn't much but she jumped at the offer. Drew quickly searched the web for a place in San Antonio that made authentic Turkish Delight, a few minutes later he found an old fashion sweet shop that was a half-hour drive. If he left soon, he would have time to make it there and back with time to spare for their walk in the sunshine.

Drew leaned over to place his phone back on the bedside table when he felt Rick's hand circled his waist. The doctor tried to gently pry his hand away so he could get out of bed but his husband just held on tighter.

"Go back to sleep," Drew whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the other man's forehead. Rick didn't need to be at work until 7 pm so he could still catch some shut-eye.

"Stay in bed," Rick countered, lazily pulling the other man against his chest and buried his face in his neck.

"I can't, I have to go to this candy shop before work." Rick lifted his head and gave Drew an adorable sleepy glare.

"Candy shop?" Rick asked sounding more than confused, "is that code for something?"

The doctor chuckled at the other man before telling him how Bri was reading his favourite book 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' and how she had never had Turkish Delight. Rick pulled the blanket over himself, grumbled tiredly as he closed his eyes complaining that he had been deployed to Turkey before and had homemade Lokum, it had tasted like his grandmother's perfume mixed with potpourri.

"Well, it's a good thing it's not for you," Drew sassed back, swinging himself from the bed before going to the walk-in closet to find a fresh pair of scrubs.

"If you're going to a fancy candy shop, can you get me some Raspberry White chocolate Bullets?" Rick asked hopefully, Drew stepped back into the room with a smirk on his face.

"You don't find it ironic that your favourite candy is liquorice bullets? And you're a cop? And you were a highly trained Marksman?"

Rick yawned as he nestled his head further into his pillow before giving Drew the middle finger. Drew chuckled at the childish man as he sat down next to his husband, tucked him as he adjusted the sheet around him and kissed him sweetly.

"Go back to sleep, I'll call you on my break at work- yes I'll get your damn candy," Drew assured when he saw Rick about to interrupt. They shared a few more sweet kisses before Rick tried to fall back asleep while the doctor headed to the shower ready to continue with his mission to the Candy store across town.

It had been a lovely time in the sunshine, Brianna lighting up as he showed her the Turkish Delight; swore that she wouldn't sell out to the Ice Queen in return. Drew would have loved to stay longer as they walked around the parking lot but the blonde started to wheeze and cough, so he wheeled her through the group of protesting nurses and up to the Paeds ward to start her Percussion Therapy. Once she was settled in, he left her in the care of the nurses and went down to the ground floor to the ER; it was hard to resist the urge to kiss her forehead when he said goodbye.

As he stepped out of the elevator, he felt the ground shake along with the booming sound of an explosion. He plastered himself to the wall as he crotched against it and shield his face. He tentatively searched around for the source of the commotion before he noticed some nurses helping patients and did a quick once over on them to make sure that no one had any serious injuries. As he worked on the patients, he asked one of the nurses if they could make sure Bri was safe upstairs only to be told that the floor had been shut down and secured.

A quick video call from Bri, he was quickly assured that she was terrified but stable for the meantime and he could focus on his other patients affected by the blast.

At 11:30 pm one of the SWAT members found Drew debriding a wound and pulled him aside. It was Ford, one of the men from Rick's platoon and handed him a radio on a secure channel. The doctor normally liked to keep himself busy when Rick was working, he didn't like to dwell too much on what he was doing on the front line and the immense danger he put himself in. The sound of crackly static came through the radio followed by Rick's deep voice laced with concern. Drew quickly assured him that he was fine and so was Bri though he didn't ask, the doctor heard the smile in his partner's voice as he let him know that he would drop by after work.

Drew looked at his phone, 7:35 am; his shift officially ended half an hour ago but he can't pull himself away from Bri's side. How this little girl had managed to worm her way into his heart already really blew his mind. As he watched her sleep he reflected on their previous conversation, he was tasked with letting Bri know that her lungs were shutting down a job he wouldn't wish on anyone but heartbreaking news he didn't trust anyone else to deliver.

He expected tears, a tantrum or even screaming but she was stoic, unbelievably wise beyond her years. How she managed to stare deep into Drew's soul and tell him she wasn't afraid to die because it had to be better than her life had been, it had nearly torn him apart. Bri spoke of a better place, somewhere reminiscent of Narnia, somewhere they didn't have Breathing Treatments, a place where no one was ever sick and she was ok with dying.

But Drew couldn't accept it, he was going to bust his ass to get her on every and any donor list, call all of his contacts and request to whoever would listen then tell the people who wouldn't listen. Bri just smiled sadly at him, asked if he could read to her as she was feeling tired and Drew was more than happy to oblige.

The doctor stared at her in wonder, how could someone so small be so brave? So enchanting? So wise? So… loveable? God, he wanted to adopt her.

"Woah," Drew breathed, adoption. He knew he was ready to look after Bri and he wanted nothing more but was he ready for that commitment? Was Rick?

"Hey," speak of the devil. Rick walked quietly over to him, pulled up a chair next to his husband and handed him a takeaway cup of piping hot coffee.

"I love you," Drew professed, taking a long pull of the scalding liquid, enjoying the burn as it slid down his throat.

"Me or the coffee?" Rick asked, placed the cardboard cup tray on the table as he retrieved his own. He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced at the strength of it realising he had given Drew the wrong cup, he went to swap it when he noticed that the other man had already drunk half the cup. "Jesus you're gonna burn your throat at this rate."

"I'll manage," Drew rasped, watching the monitors slowly beeping above the bed. Her oxygen levels were terrible, he knew she would be on a ventilator full time soon and it would only continue to break his heart. "how'd you find me?"

"Molly," Rick replied, taking the lid off his coffee and dumping all the sugar packets he was given into his cup to try and save it. He looked at the little girl before him, sleeping peacefully; she was beautiful. He noticed the well-worn copy of 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' on the bed next to her which bought a smile to his face, he had thought about buying Drew a First Edition of the book when he told Rick how much he loved it but when he looked it was upwards of $10000; Drew told him it was the thought that counted.

The doctor placed his free hand on Rick's thigh, his eyes not leaving the monitor.

"I don't want to foster Bri anymore, I want to adopt her," Drew said resolutely, no room for discussion. Rick's take away cup froze halfway to his lips and he slowly turned to his husband, unsure of how to proceed. Before he could respond, the blood pressure monitor picked up slightly and Drew's eyes immediately switched to the young girl before them, her eyes slowly fluttering open as she awoke from her slumber. The blonde rubbed her eyes tiredly, yawning as she looked over at the two men, confusion clear as she assessed Rick.

"How are you feeling sleepy head?" Drew asked, straightening up from the chair and quickly assessing the IV, making sure everything was still in perfect working order before he took a seat on the bed. "Bri this is Rick."

"Hi sweetheart," Rick greeted as non-threateningly as possible. He regretted now not changing out of his work clothes before coming to the hospital, while his tactical gear was gone along with his gun, he was still in all black. His tight black tee practically screaming SWAT across his back and on his chest, his tough leather laced-up boots covered in dust from the explosion earlier and the long night and tiredness associated with it made him look meaner than he was.

Bri continued to stare at him hard, her glance not scared more… curious? Rick couldn't be sure.

"Drew says you have a robot leg, is it true?" Bri asked sceptically, sounding like she didn't believe the doctor at all, the blonde looked at his leg as though she was trying to see through the material of his pants.

"Bri!" Drew reprimanded incredulously, couldn't believe that was the first thing she asked him but they both startled when Rick let out a hearty chuckle.

"Ah, yeah something like that. Do you want to see it?"

"Yes!" Rick smiled as he folded his right pant leg up to reveal his prosthetic limb, to think it felt normal to him now considering how life-altering it had been only a few years prior. Bri crawled to the side of the bed to get a better look, she was enraptured by it as she had never seen anything like it before. "I bet you could outrun Drew with your leg."

"He wishes," Drew scoffed.

"Easily," Rick preened, ignoring the other man.

"It would be easier now because Drew ate the rest of my Turkish Delight," Bri explained with a playful sneer. Rick laughed jovially and reached out to high five her which she happily did.

"We are going to get on so well kid," Rick told her before he even realised what he had said. Drew felt pride swell in his chest as he watched the pair interact, he was worried that Rick might not form a bond with Bri or not fall in love with her as easy as he had but now as he watched them joke and poke fun at his expense he knew he had nothing to worry about.

Soon an orderly brought in Bri's breakfast which she thanked them for before they left, the blonde lifted the cloche and stared in disappointment. Rick rose from his chair and looked at the meal, picking up the toast and hitting it on the tray table.

"What is this? It's hard as a rock," Rick frowned, looking at the pathetic excuse for food.

"It's not the worst I've had since I've been here," Bri shrugged, uncapping the bottle of milk and pouring it into the uncooked oats.

"Can we take Bri out for breakfast?" Rick asked Drew.

"Really?" Bri asked excitedly. Fumbling momentarily, Drew didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. Bri had declined dramatically since their stroll around the car park, he didn't want her away from her medication and the ventilator if she needed it. Plus, at this stage, she was on the verge of becoming immunocompromised, if someone so much as sneezed or coughed in her direction they could cause irreversible damage. Rick was looking at him with so much glee and hope that he hated that he had to crush it.

"I'm sorry but you can't leave the hospital, its too much of a risk for you to be out of a sterile environment. I'd have to call Nina your caseworker as well, it would be a lot of paperwork for her to allow us to take you somewhere since we don't have any legal guardianship over you, but-" Drew quickly took her hand squeezed it reassuringly when he saw her bottom lip drop into a pout. "what if Rick and I picked something up and we all came back here instead?"

"I'd like that but… I don't have any money to pay for it- "

"Don't be silly," Rick assured as he stood next to his husband and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Drew's paying, I never feel bad about spending his money."

"Who said I'm paying?" Drew scoffed much to the amusement of Bri, he squeezed Bri's hand again before standing from the bed. "think over what you want and text me, even if its ice cream and pizza ok?"

"Ok." Bri smiled at the two of them before they walked out hand in hand.

As they started heading towards Rick's truck, the officer's mind crept back to their earlier conversation. Drew climbed in the passenger seat and stared at the other man as he hadn't started the ignition.

"Drew," Rick started tensely, a frustrated sigh escaping him as he dragged a tired hand through his hair. "you can't just spring something like that on me, ok?"

"The adoption thing?"

"Of course, the adoption thing!"

"Why, do you not like Bri?"

"No, she's great it's just, - "Drew took his hand and squeezed it encouragingly when he noticed that his husband wasn't angry just flustered. "Adoption is a lot different than fostering and I don't mean any disrespect to Bri but she has some complex needs due to her illness that I don't know how to help her with. I don't know the first thing about Cystic Fibrosis Drew!"

"Hey," Drew cooed, wrapping his arm around Rick's shoulder and pulled him across the space of the seat into a reassuring hug as Rick was almost hysterical. "I will be there every step of the way to help. Bri knows all about her condition and I think she would love to be able to help you with it; she would be so grateful that someone wants to spend time and get to know her. Yes, it will be a big responsibility but that kid is a fighter and she needs people in her life that are there for her, I know that we are perfect for the job."

"How do you know?"

"The way you were interacting with her? I've never heard laugh so freely before; you easily assured every worry she had. Rick, you noticed little things that people have often overlooked, you wanted to take her to breakfast because you saw the tiny little frown she had when she saw the hospital meal- "

"Anyone would have done that- "

"No, they wouldn't have, you did it because its just one part that makes you so incredible." Drew professed, placing a hand on the other man's cheek and gently stroked it. "we will get through this together ok? It won't be easy but I know that she is worth it, that you will be an amazing father and you deserve to have this chance."

Rick pressed his lips against Drew's and melted into the kiss, it was slow and calming, everything he needed in this one private moment.

"Can you drive?" Rick asked, the night's events and the emotional rollercoaster of the morning finally catching up with him. The doctor nodded, pressed one last long kiss on the other man before climbing out and into the driver's seat while the other man slid over. As they drove away from the hospital, Drew didn't comment when he saw Rick rub a tear from his eye or the shaky breaths he heard. As they were nearing the café, the officer silently placed his hand on Drew's thigh and gave him a watery smile.

"Ok, let's adopt Bri."

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