Context: One shot about a friendship between Vic and Sullivan that we all deserved. Takes place a bit in the future. Marina and Tremmett confirmed and may be mentioned a bit but not the focal point of the story.

Plot: After hearing a shocking revelation from Dean, Vic turns to Sullivan for clarity as he grapples with some news of his own.

"I can't do this right now, Dean."

Vic and Dean stood face to face in the middle of the firehouse. The tension was so thick you could cut through it with a knife. She began turning to walk away from the conversation when Dean responded.

"If not now, then when?"

She turned abruptly back around.

"I don't know Miller! I-"

As Vic watched Dean's face change from one of anger to one of hurt, Vic stopped her sentence. She watched as the lines on his face told a story that no words could say, how in those 4 words she had hurt him more than she could ever imagine. The volume at which she said them showed anger and frustration even she hadn't realized was building inside of her. As she began to restart her sentence, Dean interrupted her.

"No, I get it Vic. I did this to us. Come find me when you're ready to talk again."

"WAIT, DEAN!", Vic cried out.

"Look, I'm not mad. I meant it when I said come talk to me when you're ready. All I ask is that you be prepared to tell me the truth, ok?", he said calmly.

As Vic prepared to open her mouth, an unexpected lump in her throat caught her words and kept them trapped in her throat. She knew that if she tried to speak her words either wouldn't come out, or worse, she would start to cry. Since she would rather Station 19 burn down than cry in the middle of the firehouse, she chose to nod instead. Dean turned around and walked away.

Vic spun 180 degrees and tried to find the quickest route to the turnout room.

The swarm of thoughts began turning in her head like a hurricane.

Dean had told her that he loved her. In a romantic kind of way. In a go into a burning building to rescue her and put his life at risk because without her there would be no reason to live kind of way.

Her first reaction, above all else, was fear. Fear at what this change would do to them. Fear at what might happen at the possibility of dating. Marriage. A ring. Becoming a stepmom. Kids of their own. Twenty years would pass and she would watch Dean become Fire Chief as she became content with a life of just possibly being a captain. Years and years would go by and everyone's career took off except hers because the mom just "had to stay home with the kids" and all her firefighting dreams out of the window the minute she saw that positive on that pregnancy test.

Was it all worth it? The possibility of never getting to pursue her career for a life with Dean?

No, she decided. Nothing was worth her career.

As she opened the door into the turnout closet she had a head on collision with Sullivan.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry.", she profusely apologized.

"No no no, it was my fault, don't worry about it Hughes.", Sullivan said. Vic noticed that he looked distracted, like there was something huge plaguing his mind.

As he walked away, Vic debated calling out to him to see what was up.

"Hey Sullivan?", she called out.

He turned back around, with an eyebrow cocked and a curious expression on his face.

"Yes, Hughes?"

"What's up with you? You look like you could use someone to talk to."

"I'm fine, Hughes, thanks."

"Ok", she shrugged, turning to go back to the turnout room.

"Actually, Vic?",

Her head whipped back around. Sullivan only called her Vic when something was serious. He was a last name only kind of guy(at least to everyone except Andy).

"I could use someone to talk to. Can you come to the kitchen?"

"Sure, no problem. I actually would like to bounce something off someone, and Travis is out with Emmett today."

Robert chuckled a little under his breath. He had heard about all the drama between Travis and Emmett, and was happy to see them together and happy. Montgomery was a much better firefighter when he was happy.

Sullivan and Vic walked into the kitchen, where dishes were piled high in the sink. They both simultaneously shook their heads, marveling at the mess the other firefighters left.

Robert turned to Vic.

"How about I wash the dishes while you dry them and put them away while you tell me about your problem?"

Vic was slightly taken aback, although she was not sure if it was because Robert was taking a genuine interest in her life, or because he was doing the dishes, two things she had never seen before. But she decided that he might be a good listener and agreed to his suggestion.

"If you don't mind Sullivan, I'll start."

She waited for him to nod before beginning her rant.

"Dean told me he loved me. And yes I always knew he loved me but in a "I want to be with you kind of way". In a marriage and children and white picket fence even though those barely exist in Seattle and a send kids to a good school district and bake pies for PTA meetings kind of way."

"Hughes?"

"Yes?"

"When did children come into the equation? Did Miller mention he wanted to have kids with you?"

"No, not directly. He told me he wanted a future with me. That when he was 80 years old at the end of his life telling stories to his grandkids in the rocking chair, and I was right next to him making sure he wasn't lying to them. That every single morning he wanted to be able to look over and see me lying next to him. Obviously that means marriage, and the natural progression of that is children."

"So is the problem that you don't want children?"

"No. The problem is that I think I do, but I'm scared of what that'll do to my career. Listen, you're a man, and as much as we can relate in some aspects, you will never understand what it is like to be a woman with kids while trying to maintain a career. In every marriage I've seen, the mom ends up putting the most work into taking care of the children. Her career gets put on hold as she watches her husband advance the ranks. As much as I would love our kids…"

Vic stopped, knowing that if she said what she wanted to say, Robert might look at her a little differently.

Robert slowly shut off the water and walked over to Vic. He led her to the chairs at the table and put his arm around her.

"Finish your sentence, Hughes. This is a judgement free zone."

"As much as I love our kids, I'm afraid I might resent them if I never move forward in my career."

Sullivan stopped, trying to think of the best words to say to her. She was right, he had never had that fear before. Most of his fear around children was about keeping his wife safe, and he had never had to consider a pause of his career minus his brief paternity leave.

"Vic? I'm gonna be honest. I don't know what to say. But what I will say is that your feelings are valid."

He paused for a moment, wanting to tread lightly before continuing.

"But all of that, that's stuff for the future. That's on the condition that you do date Dean, do get married, and do have more children. That doesn't really answer the question now: Do you love Dean? In the same way he loves you?"

Vic paused. Whether she knew the answer and didn't want to admit it or she was still lost to her own feelings, she didn't know. So she did what felt comfortable and changed the topic.

"Sullivan, I feel like we've been talking about me for too long. What was bothering you in the turnout closet?"

Sullivan opened and closed his mouth, as if his mouth moved faster than his brain. He closed his mouth and began reaching into his pocket instead. He pulled out a pregnancy test in a plastic bag and showed it to Vic.

"Andy's pregnant", he sighed.

"With your baby?", Vic tried to joke.

It worked. Robert laughed a little bit.

"Yes, with my baby."

"So what's the problem? Didn't you say you wanted children? Haven't you and Andy been married for 2 years now?"

"Yes and yes. But wanting children, and knowing your wife is pregnant with your child are two very different things."

Robert turned to look at Vic directly.

"I'm scared. Scared about everything. Scared that Andy will walk into a fire and something will happen and I lose not only her, but our baby. Scared that I'll die and the stress of my death will cause Andy to miscarry the one remnant left of me. Scared that my child will grow up without a father and all they'll have are memories of me. Or worst of all, that I'll be around, but I won't be a good father to my children."

Sullivan paused before continuing.

"My father, Edward Sullivan, was a wonderful father. He was a schoolteacher, so he was always around, always playing games with us, helping us with school. He was a great example of what a father should be for his kids."

"So you're scared that you won't measure up to him?", Vic asked.

"It's not that I'm scared of never measuring up...I'm scared of disappointing him. If I'm a bad father, it's like everything he taught me about being a man went in one ear and out of the other. Not to mention that being a bad father would upset Andy. This isn't even taking into regard the promotion, how Andy will eventually become captain, how we might have to transfer stations, etc. There's just so much on my shoulders right now that I can't seem to get excited about my child coming into the world in 8 months."

"Have you talked to Andy about any of this?"

"No. I don't want to do anything to make the idea of motherhood scarier for her. Since her mom left, the idea of being a mom has never really been on Andy's radar. Of course she's happy, but incredibly scared, especially since Pruitt isn't here either. She needs someone to support her right now, someone whose shoulder she can cry on, and it should be me, her husband. I'm not allowed to fall apart."

"If you can't fall apart to Andy what makes you think she can fall apart to you?"

"SHE ALREADY HAS!", Robert raised his voice. "She already has fallen apart to me. About motherhood, our marriage, the temporary stop of her career. About how every time I put on a turncoat she gets so afraid I'm going to die that she considers asking me to quit her job. Or about how she can kiss the captain position goodbye if she has a lot of kids. About how she's afraid she'll become her mom and leave the kid when it gets rough. I'm just, I'm afraid she blames everything on me, so if she finds out that I'm scared, her entire support system will crumble. If I want to be half the man my dad was, I can't let that happen."

They stood there in silence for a couple minutes, the weight of his revelation sitting heavy on the room. Vic was trying to formulate the right sentence, the right words to say to her friend, as Robert sat there with his head in his hands in a very abnormal display of vulnerability.

"Robert?", she asked after a few minutes.

"Yes?"

"All of what you just said, it's very valid. But like you told me, that's all in the future. I'm gonna ask you something, and you tell me the first answer that pops into your head. Don't think, just react, ok?"

He nodded.

"Are you excited to have this baby with Andy?"

"More than anything in the world.", he blurted out.

"Then there's your answer. You want her. You want this baby. You want the ultrasounds and the morning sickness and the running to the store for food cravings and the massages and the newborn stage and seeing them off the school for the first time. Everything. You just hadn't let yourself feel it until now."

As Vic finished her sentence, Maya walked in carrying Pru,

"Hey guys, Carina is supposed to pick me up soon and Pru's babysitter cancelled, can you watch her for a bit? I can't seem to find Dean and I don't like to keep the wife waiting."

"Sure", Vic and Sullivan said simultaneously. Sullivan reached for the baby as Vic grabbed the diaper bag.

"Thanks so much guys", Maya said as she turned back around.

"What's that smell?", Sullivan asked.

He lifted up the baby and smelled her butt only to find the most horrible strain of farts known to mankind.

"Looks like someone needs a change. Hughes, grab the bag and let's go change her."

Sullivan and Vic walk into the bathroom, pull out the changing pad(Maya had begun to invest in them 3 months ago when they found out Carina had gotten pregnant) and work together to change Pru.

"When you change a baby, make sure to put a diaper over them in case they pee. Remember, they can't tell you when they're about to go.", Vic said.

"So Hughes, back to you. You never answered my question."

Vic swallowed, knowing what he was about to say and mentally willing he wouldn't.

"I'm gonna ask you a question. Don't think, just answer. OK?"

Vic nodded.

"Do you want to be with Dean?"

"Yes!", Vic blurted out. She immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, but there was no sure. They both already heard her, and there was no point in stopping.

So she didn't.

"I want to marry him, and wake up every morning next to him, and have him be in the front row when I become captain of a station. And if we have kids, we'll bring them to the fire station and show them what we do. I'm scared as everything to want him, but I do. And I don't know how to tell him."

As Vic was talking, Sullivan saw Andy and Dean walking towards the bathroom.

Robert finished putting on the diaper and picked up Pru.

Andy and Dean walked into the bathroom, looking up to find Vic cleaning up the diaper supplies and Sullivan playing with Pru.

Vic turned around with the diaper bag and saw Dean standing right in front of her.

"Miller!", she said.

Behind her, Robert signaled to Andy that they should leave.

"Yes Vic?"

"I thought about what you said."

Silence.

"And, I love you. I don't want to spend another day not being with you. Even if it's scary, and hard, and terrifying, I love you. In a go into a burning building to rescue you and put my life at risk because without you there would be no reason to live kind of way."

As Vic rambled, Dean walked closer and closer to her, and at the end of her sentence, he grabbed her face and pulled her in for a kiss.

Vic pulled away, shocked at first, before pulling him back into the kiss. Vic hand's were on his shirt and Dean's hands explored her waist and pulled her closer and closer to him with each kiss. They kept going until they stopped for air and breathed heavily, not breaking eye contact.

"I love you, Victoria Hughes."

She smiled.

"I love you, Dean Miller."

He smiled.

Outside, Sullivan and Andy were having a talk of their own. Travis and Emmett had come back to pick up Pru, so the two of them were alone for the time being.

"Andy, I have to tell you something."

"Yea?"

"...It's about the baby."

Andy and Robert took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Let me guess. You're scared?"

Robert looked at his wife, shocked. How had she known?

"Yes, but-"

"How did I know? I saw it in your face when I showed you the pregnancy test. You tried to hide it, but babe, I can see right through you."

"Are you upset?", Robert asked sheepishly.

"No," she said, caressing his face.

"Look, I know becoming a parent is scary. I'm scared too. But being scared is a hell of a lot better than not caring. Being scared means you care. It means you won't stop fighting. It means doing anything and everything for your child until the very end." Andy paused. "I've been scared every single day since I thought I might be pregnant, but I know us. I know you. I know that as long as I have you, we'll be ok. As long as we lean on each other, we'll be the best parents for this child. As long as this child is made from the two of us, we can do this."

At the last sentence she grabbed Robert's hand and placed it on her stomach. The two sat there in silence together, just imagining their future together.

"You're right, Andy. We can do this."

"Besides, look at the way you were with Pru. If there's anyone here pushing to be the next father at 19, it's you. Robert?"

"Yes?"

"Your father would be proud of you, you know."

At those words Robert shed a small tear. A very small tear, one that no one would know existed except for him.

He gave Andy a gentle kiss, and began rubbing her stomach in small, light circles.

Dean and Vic walked out, hand in hand. As they began walking away, Vic turned around to address Sullivan.

"Hey Sullivan? Thanks."

"No prob, Hughes."

Short and sweet? Yes, but that was enough for them.

The end.