4x16
Another approach -a little more dramatic than the last one- of how the season finale could continue. Thank you for reading!
Andy had gone straight home -well, it didn't feel like home when she arrived there after the wedding- to pack a bag and left without telling her husband, who hadn't arrived yet, where she was going. She didn't want to disturb Maya on her really short honeymoon, so she didn't even ask her to stay with them. She knew her best friend wouldn't mind but, with Covid-19, Carina had to get back to work soon and it felt wrong to take that away from them. And that's how she found herself living with Gibson again.
Weeks passed that turned into a month and Herrera still hadn't talked to her husband besides work related stuff. No matter how many times Sullivan had tried, she always had the same answer waiting for him, "I need time, Robert". It was killing him, she never specified how much time she needed or if she was going to tell him when that time ended. One day he got sick of it all, he took a shower, got dressed and went to find her.
"Hey, I've heard Andy is here. Can I talk to her?" He wondered, once he arrived at his destination.
"No" Jack simply answered. "Gibson, I would appreciate it if you didn't interfere in my marriage. Just tell her I'm here." Robert said, calmly.
"I can't do that"
"It won't take long. I just need two minutes with her, Gibs-"
"She's not here right now. But if she doesn't want to talk, don't press her." He advised him.
"Yeah, that's not your decision to make." The captain replied, starting to get annoyed.
"I know, it's hers and she doesn't want to talk." Jack retorted, equally displeased. "Look, I have nothing against you, I just know she doesn't want to be with you right now. The best you can do is give her time to think if she wants to get back to you and if she doesn't, respect her." He continued, honestly.
"What are you insinuating?"
"I'm not insinuating anything." It was true that Gibson hadn't agreed with the marriage when he first heard about it, but he had come a long way since then. He didn't want to meddle in their relationship or torture the man in front of him, he had been there, but he was pretty well informed of Andy's point of view in the matter.
"You are. You're talking like our marriage is over. We just had a fight, a big one, but it was just a fight."
"That's not how she sees it." When Sullivan refused to believe him, the lieutenant told him what Andy had confessed to him after the wedding. To say Robert was surprised was the understatement of the year. He would have never imagined that his wife had all those doubts about them, about him, but he trusted Gibson. It was obvious he wasn't trying to hurt him, that was what he had thought at the beginning of the conversation, but all he was seeing now was his wife's friend trying to protect her. But it did hurt, it had inflicted an unbearable pain to him. His heart was broken, and he couldn't do anything about it. She didn't want to talk or be with him, so all he could do at that point was to wait. Wait for her to decide - what had Jack said?- if the fear to lose him was bigger than the fear to change her whole life to be with him. Not that he thought she had to change anything to be with him, but apparently, she did. She had projected their issues into a piece of advice for Jack, so she might think so. What had he done so wrong? He didn't mean to hurt anybody. He had tried to save the station, the jobs they all loved. He certainly hadn't offered his wife or Jack as the solution to the problem, but he didn't think McAllister had accepted it anyway. After all, the Chief had dismissed her before their talk. Was that really the end of their marriage? The one thing he was sure about was that he didn't want it to be and that he couldn't stay to find out.
Two weeks later, nothing had changed and it had become extremely hard for Sullivan to be close to her wife, knowing what he knew. One day, after shift, he asked for an appointment with the Chief. This time, he had the whole speech prepared, McAllister wouldn't catch him off guard again.
"Nineteen is functioning perfectly and their response time is excellent. It's one of the best stations in Seattle and it is like that thanks to the team we've built. You don't want to jeopardize that."
"Ok Captain, what do you want?"
"I want you to make Herrera the captain of Station 19."
"I get where you're coming from, she's good but she can also be reckless and impulsive." McAllister answered, getting back to the paperwork he had in front of him. "She's grown a lot, she's focussed, more experienced and you're not going to find anyone in the whole department more dedicated to the job." Robert continued, his heart breaking again at the thought of the woman he loved. After a little bit more convincing, the fire chief gave in. "Ok, but what about you? There's no way I can make you Battalion Chief right now, there's no-"
"I'll transfer back to Montana." He interrupted his superior, decisively. If he couldn't be with Andy, there was nothing holding him in Seattle. Ripley was gone and Ben was the only one talking to him at the station, he was lonely and miserable. Moreover, he was afraid, afraid of relapsing, now that he didn't have her by his side.
The Chief wasn't too happy about his departure, but complied anyway. Not that he had much of a choice. As Robert had asked for the transfer to be effective immediately, McAllister had to visit the station to give them the news.
The next shift, the team was gathered around the table for breakfast, chatting and joking around, when the Chief came.
"Morning nineteen" They greeted him back, confused by his unannounced presence. "I have some news for you." Maya, who after some strong arguments from Robert's part had kept her job and her lieutenant position, looked at Andy, nervously, not sure of what to expect. The rest were concerned as well, but remained silent. Nobody had noticed their captain's absence, because he had stopped joining them for meals a few weeks back, so they didn't anticipate the following announcement. "Not so long ago I was ready to close this station, let go some of you that I didn't think were worthy of this job. However, your former captain didn't agree and made a case for you all." He paused to check the form he was carrying. Former captain? "These past few weeks your time response has gotten even better, so I'll gladly admit that you've proven me wrong. You haven't caused me any more trouble and I hope it remains that way." He glared warningly at Bishop and Miller. "This said, Bishop, you're not on probation anymore, but you'll stay as a lieutenant, as well as Gibson. Station 19 will remain open and you, Herrera, are the new captain." He finished, but nobody said anything. Looking at her dumbfounded friend and guessing what she might be wondering, Vic intervened. "Sir, what happened to Captain Sullivan?"
"He requested a transfer." Andy was still speechless, so this time Warren was the one asking. "To which station?" The Chief stared at them, surprised that nobody knew about Robert's intentions. Wasn't he married to Herrera?
"He went back to Montana"
Once the Chief left, Maya found Captain Herrera at her husband's old office, the one that had also been her own. "Did he say anything to you?" She wanted to know, but Andy just shook her head. "Are you ok?"
"Does this mean I'm divorced?" Herrera asked, rhetorically. "You need to file for divorce, in order to be divorced." Bishop tried to counsel her most definitely shocked friend. "Do you want to be?" She inquired, when Andy didn't respond.
"No!" The latina retorted, as if it was so obvious. "Then why would you avoid him for weeks?"
"I asked him for some time. You're saying he got tired of waiting?" She worried, reorganizing the desk compulsively. "I never said that, but he probably thought you didn't want to get back together." Maya explained and Andy stopped what she was doing. "And he left without telling me?"
Bishop couldn't help feeling for her friend. She knew she loved her husband, but the days passed and she hadn't talked to him, which had banished her hopes for a reconciliation. "Andy, you didn't want to talk to him. I thought you were ready to move on, we all did. He probably thought so too. It's been a long time."
"We've lost him." She realized, trying to hold her tears.
"I know" That's all Maya managed to say.
"No, we've lost him." She repeated, taking a seat and resting her hand on her belly, wiping the single tear running down her cheek with the other.
A/N: I'm not obsessed with Andy being pregnant or anything, but I think she is. Not that sure anymore after the season finale though, but the signs in the previous episodes make me believe that she is.