I do not own Rookie Blue or any of the characters.
Set after the Proposal. AU after series 4 - Andy stayed with Nick instead of getting back together with Sam and now they are engaged. Andy/Nick.
Chapter 7: Christmas.
December arrived and, with it, the month of Andy McNally and Nick Collins' wedding. Andy and Nick had not made any plans for Christmas, so when Tracey had invited them to stay with her, Leo and her mum for the holiday, they could not have refused and Tracey invited them to spend Christmas Eve with them, too. Normally, Andy would have been with her dad for Christmas, but Tommy had gone to Montreal to visit his girlfriend and her kids and grandchildren. Christmas was Andy's favorite holiday, and she was not going to let the fact that she was wearing a sling on her arm prevent her from celebrating. As an orphan, Nick had not celebrated Christmas for years, but, since he and Andy had been together, it was a holiday which he loved, mostly because of her love for it, and even more this year, because their wedding was so close to Christmas. He was anxious about Andy meeting Finn, considering how his brother could be sometimes, but, in the spirit of Christmas, he hoped for the best.
It was Christmas Eve, so Andy chose some very warm clothes for herself; she would dress up tomorrow and she had already tried on her wedding dress, without Nick seeing it today. Her mum and Tracey had both loved it, telling her that looked quite amazing. She left their bedroom, with her suitcase for the evening, to find that Nick's rucksack was already packed and he was ready, dressed in jeans, and a big blue jumper. Laughing, Andy wrapped her arms around his neck and asked, "Are you going to bring that little on our honeymoon?"
Smiling, Nick nodded, "Probably even less." He leaned closer and kissed her and they stayed where they were, enjoying their kiss and their time together; with the nature of their job, neither of them ever took a single second for granted and they were especially excited because their wedding was getting closer and closer by the day. "Are you sure Tracey's okay with us staying there?"
Andy moved her hair so that she could pick up her bag as well as her suitcase and replied, "Yeah. Her mum has a spare room, and she wants to be surrounded by people. Tracey said Dex might drop by at some point to see Leo." She looked around, then asked, "Do we have everything?" She smirked, then added, "By the way, I told Tracey and Leo I'd cook breakfast for them tomorrow morning."
Nick just started to laugh and remarked, smiling at his fiancée, "Oh, tell me you're not serious! You can't cook to save your life."
"Maybe this is the perfect opportunity for me to learn."
The house where Tracey's mum lived was far bigger than Andy had imagined; she and Tracey were best friends, but Tracey had not lived with her mum for years, so Andy had never seen the house. Andy was missing her dad at Christmas and she knew that Nick knew this, but she was not going to allow that to spoil her favourite holiday. She always found there to be something so magical about Christmas, even after her mum had left as a child and Tracey, even though it often made her think of Jerry, also loved this time of her. Of course, Gail didn't, but Gail didn't seem to enjoy many things in life and Chris, as ever, was enthustic about it. Sam didn't like Christmas and most of the Division knew that he and Marlo had had arguments about the custody of Mya concerning Christmas.
Tracey's mum opened the front-door and invited them inside, showing them to the spare room. Andy instantly put down her bag and suitcase, before she turned to Nick and asked, "Have you realised? This time next week, we'll be married?"
"Yeah, you're not getting cold feet, are you?" He joked and smiled at her and Andy had always loved Nick's ability to make her smile, whatever the situation, so she wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning and said, "That could never happen."
Tracey welcomed them with open arms and Leo was very excited about Christmas and about having Andy and Nick there. He had known Andy for years and he adored Nick, comparing him to his Action Man, who was dressed in full military gear. Andy and Nick sat down with Tracey and Leo and had a chat, before Tracey introduced that fact that she and her mum needed to do some 'Santa shopping' and she hoped that they wouldn't mind watching Leo for a couple of hours. Leo was disappointed and went to his room. It was Christmas and he just wanted his mum there, but Andy agreed and Tracey hugged her and Nick in thanks.
Andy fell back against the sofa and admired the Christmas tree for a couple of seconds. "How are we going to get Leo out of his sulk?"
Her fiancée smiled and replied, "I think I have an idea. Come on. Just follow my lead." He kissed her forehead before he stood up and Andy threw him a look to say 'you're so weird' before she followed him. He had been very good with Christian, but, apart from that, she had never seen him interact with children.
Nick knocked on Leo's bedroom door before they entered and the child was lying on his bed, with a very sad face. Without giving the child any introduction to the game, Nick suddenly shouted, "You're trapped in the alien's lazer beem! They're surrounding you!" He started to make funny noises and pretend to be an alien and Andy laughed at him, until he indicated to her to do the same thing. "Captain, Captain- you're trapped in a lazer beem! What are you going to do? What do you think these aliens will do to you?"
Leo's bad mood was forgotten, and he jumped into action, pretending to thrase around on the bed, crying, "I must escape! I must escape. There must be a switch for the beam somewhere! I need to find it. Get away from me, ugly aliens!"
Both Andy and Nick were laughing at this point, diving into this imagery world, when Leo shouted, "I found it!" He turned the light switch on the lamp by his bed and then turned it around and pointed it at them. "Now, I'm free and you're trapped!" Nick fell on the floor, pretending to be trapped and Andy followed him, thinking that her fiancée was a big kid. Leo circled them as he said, putting on a fake, dramatic voice, "Now, aliens, I demand to know everything about your plans to invade Earth. Every single detail. This light can kill you if I tell it to, so be warned!"
As a bad alien, a leader of the alien group, Nick replied, "We won't tell you anything! Hahahha!" Andy just stared at him and rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how much fun Nick was having with this game; she wasn't quite sure who was enjoying it the most. Nick or Leo. "You see, human male," Nick continued, using a mock-baddy voice, "We can escape!" He grabbed the lamp and Leo ran away, downstairs and Nick followed, shouting in an alien language and Andy followed, laughing more than she had laughed for ages, especially when playing a game.
Nick chased Leo down to the living room, where the boy 'captured' the two aliens and forced them into surrender. The game was over, but Andy had never seen her fiancée have that much fun and the sudden thought ran through her head: He'll be a good dad. Now that the game was over, Leo was suddenly hungry, so Nick went into the kitchen to make him some food. Andy was surprised when Leo turned to her and said, "I like him, Andy. He's fun! He's a lot nicer than your other boyfriend. He didn't know how to play." Ah yes; Sam had met Leo a few times, but, whenever Leo had tried to initiate a game with the older man, Sam had not been interested. Nick, on the other hand, may have enjoyed that game even more than Leo, so Andy was quite happy with the comparison. Nick's smiles, how he always made her laugh and smile and how open he was to anything, including indulging in fictional words, were some of the reasons she had fallen in love with him and why she was going to be marrying him in two days.
The food Nick prepared for Leo was perfect and Andy had always admired how good of a cook her fiancée was and he enjoyed it and Leo loved it and he told Nick how much he loved it. He picked with his Action Man and told Nick all about him and Leo then decided he wanted to watch Elf, so Andy and Nick sat with them and watched it him. It was not surprise to either of them that Leo started to fall asleep, so Andy turned her attention to her fiancée. She rested her head on his shoulder and whispered, "You'll be an amazing dad one day." Playing that space game with Leo had been so much fun and Andy had started to imagine what it would be like to play a game like that with their own child.
Nick's reply was interrupted by a knock on the door and, because of where they were sitting, Andy left the room to answer it. It was Clare, her mother, with a young man and a young woman and Andy only had to look at them to see that they were her half-brother and sister. The children her mother had had after she had left her and her dad and, despite herself and her tendency to always see the good in people, those memories came back, including the anger that came with it.
Clare smiled and began, "Andrea, I know it's Christmas, but I wanted to introduce you to your brother and sister, so that you know each other before the wedding. This is Brody and Clara." Her mother looked at with expectation, so Andy forced a smile and invited them inside; she knew that, no matter what, Nick would be on her side. Brody and Clare looked very similar to Andy, with their pale skin and eyes, but Andy was still trying to process her feelings as she led them into the living room, where Leo was still asleep.
When Nick saw Clare and the new arrivals, he left the sofa and did his usual charming smile, introducing himself. "Clare, nice to see you again. Brody, Clara, I'm Nick, Andy's fiancée."
Brody shook Nick's hand and remarked, "Wow, Andy. Your man has a good handshake. How long have you guys been together?"
Andy was suddenly feeling very hostile, so she walked over to them and asked, "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but Clare has only been back in my life for a few years. Was it your idea to come here, or hers?" She could see the embarrassed look in her mother's eyes, and she was sure that Nick was trying to work out how to break the tension, but, right now, she did not care.
She was surprised when Clara walked closer to her and replied, "Andy, we came here because we want to get to know you before the wedding. It's the happiest day of your life and we don't want to spoil it by you not knowing us. We're family. We should get to know each other."
Just then, Tracey and her mum returned from Santa shopping and Tracey's mum, happy of the company, invited Clare, Brody and Clara to stay, an invitation which they accepted. Nick was watching Andy very carefully; even without seeing her face, he could feel her tension, but, she eventually surrendered and sat down with her half-brother and sister and Tracey joined them, in order to try to ease some of the tension. Andy was surprised with how well she, Brody and Clara connected and she wondered what it would have been like to have siblings as a child. What her life would have been if her mother hadn't left.
Nick helped Tracey's mum in the kitchen and Clare, wanting to give her children space and time alone, did the same and she took the opportunity to talk to her eldest daughter's fiancée. She liked him; he was polite, kind, extremely loyal, family-orientated, despite or maybe because of the loss of his parents so young and, most importantly, he loved her daughter and he had no problem with looking her in the eyes and telling her that. Unlike Andy's ex. "How are you feeling about the wedding, Nick? Only 2 days to go." In the corner of the kitchen, Tracey's mum smiled sadly, remembering a similar conversation she'd had with Jerry.
Taking his eyes away from the dishes, Nick replied, "I'm very excited about it, Ms. McNally. Ever since Andy and I got engaged, I've been waiting for that day and it's almost here. Neither of us can wait to be married, especially after what happened last month." He was referring to Andy being shot, along with Gail.
Clare nodded and rested her back against the counter so that she could see the younger man's face. "Yes, I know. That must have been a wake-up call for both of you." She paused, then added, "You know, the very fact that my daughter trusts you as much as she does, tell me that there's something very special about you. My daughter doesn't just trust anyone. I messed up her ideas of trust when I left. It's important you know marriage isn't always easy and, sometimes, you have to decide whether to fight or to surrender."
Nick smiled and looked at his future-mother-in-law before saying, "Ms. McNally, your daughter is the most wonderful and strongest woman I've ever met. I was in love with her for months without realising and when I finally realised, I waited, until she was ready. I love her with everything I am and I would wait hundreds of years for her and I know she would do the same for me."
There was a silence, then Clare smiled and nodded, before remarking, "You can call me Clare, Nick. We're about to be family in 2 days' time." With that, she walked away.
Brody and Clara stayed until the early evening and Nick was glad to see Andy bonding with both of them, but now Leo wanted to put things up for Santa, so they and Clare left and Clare hugged Nick and Tracey goodbye before she turned to her eldest daughter and told her she'd see her early on Boxing Day, to do with make-up for the wedding.
Andy and Nick helped Leo and Tracey organise things for Santa, then Tracey took Leo to bed and Andy and Nick sat together, with Andy smiling at the tree. Nick asked her why she was smiling, and she turned to him and said, "Because it's Christmas and I have the best guy ever by my side." She leaned closer to him and kissed him as if every fibre of her body depended on it and he returned the kiss, until Tracey came back and Nick excused himself to bed, wanting Andy and her best friend to have some time alone.
Christmas Day arrived and Andy and Nick were woken by a very excited Leo, who wanted breakfast and Andy had promised him that. Her omelette was a total disaster, so Nick stepped in and made scrambled eggs for Leo instead. It was a perfect day and, as Andy watched Nick, Tracey and Leo together, she could hardly believe that she and Nick were going to be married tomorrow, ready to spend the rest of their lives together. Her life with Nick was falling into place and it was perfect, because she had him by her side.