Victor comes home from work a few days later and sees Bonnie closing an envelope at the kitchen table.
"Hey, dinner is ready in a sec" she smiles at him and points to the oven timer. She notices that his eyes are trained onto the envelope.
"This one is for you. Just in case," Bonnie explains softly while staring at her hands.
Suddenly Bonnie feels Victor standing right in front of her, and his fingers carefully lift her chin up. When he can see her eyes, Victor leans in and places a featherlike kiss onto her lift before hugging Bonnie close and whispering, "Thank you, but I hope I'll never have to read that." into her ear.
Deep down inside, he feels the burning desire to show Bonnie how much this means to him, but aside from pulling off one magical date night, he has no idea. The one thing that is absolutely clear, though, is that she is perfect, and she deserves a perfect night.
Victor gets pulled out of his thoughts when a dishtowel lands in his face. "Stop dreaming and get to draining the noodles," Bonnie orders.
A few weeks after that night, it just happens to be Valentine's day. Victor is nervous, and while he studies his reflections, every little thing his friends said today runs amok in his head.
Was his plan wrong? Would Bonnie really expect a ring tonight?
His phone stops his train of thought, reminding him that he has to leave. Their shift had run over, and therefore he'd have to meet Bonnie at the restaurant. The first thing not going to plan.
When he arrives there, he can see Bonnie waiting. She looks breathtakingly beautiful. "Sorry for being late. Have you been waiting long?" he mumbles against her lips. "No, but I am hungry," Bonnie replies with a smile and places her hand on top of his. "I am looking forward to a nice evening. Just the two of us."
There is a sparkle in her eyes that leads to a million butterflies taking off in his stomach, and it feels fantastic, but they're also still is that lingering doubt or fear in the back of his mind.
No, the absolute last thing he wants is to end up on that dingy sofa at Luca's place. He tries his best to push his doubts and fears away.
Their sushi dinner is delicious, and during their short walk toward the beach, Victor just revels in their closeness. Bonnie has her arm dropped around his hip, and her head leans lightly against his shoulder.
Victor's heartbeat speeds up when they get closer to the dune behind which he has prepared the final surprise for tonight.
Somehow Bonnie feels his nerves and squeezes his hand reassuringly. "Is everything okay?" she whispers into his ear, a little concerned, but before Victor can even attempt to answer, Bonnie stops walking and freezes into the spot.
A carefully draped picnic blanket is just a short distance away, with the slightly oversized teddy bear placed on top. The red velvet bow just completes the picture.
Bonnie turns slowly to search for his face.
"Surprise," whispers Victor, and immediately after, he feels Bonnie's lips on his. "Thank you," she sighs against his lips.
Their time together is mainly spent laughing and doing very little fighting. He would lie if he said that was a problem. It is his saving grace on some days to have the mental image of a smiling Bonnie. Every time he feels like losing it, her face helps him get back to himself.
But today is a different day. Today he is very worried about the beautiful blonde that shares her life with him.
She had been complaining about an upset stomach last night and went to bed early. This morning she had even more problems. She had woken up with a slight fever and was on her way to see the doctor.
A kick to his ribs has Victor gasping for air.
"Hey, something wrong? Where were you with your thoughts?" Street asks and holds out a hand to help him up again.
"Sorry," he grimaces at the movement, "I was thinking about Bonnie. She's at the doctor's right now."
"Oh, everything okay?" his friend asks, concerned, and hands him a bottle of water.
"I hope so. She was a little queasy..." the next part gets stuck in his throat when he notices the smirk on Street's face.
"No, Street," Victor continues while holding out a finger before Street can voice his suspicions. "She also has a fever and is therefore simply sick,"
"If you say so," is Street's reply in a singsong voice that drives Victor up a wall. And it also gives him the kick in the butt to push himself and kick his friends as$ in the next endurance test Hondo throws at them.
They had been challenging each other from day one and became great friends who trusted each other over time.
"Let's go another round. Or are you tired?" Victor finally addresses Street again with raised eyebrows.
Street calmly takes another sip from his water and then takes off, shouting, "Last one to finish their run, washes Betty!"
After a long and exhausting night shift, Victor is on his way home. Due to the rising sun, the sky is glowing in multiple red and orange hues, but he can't enjoy that beauty—all he wants in his bed.
As he walks into the apartment, the smell of fresh croissants and coffee wafts around the space, and no matter how tired he feels, breakfast with Bonnie is always a good thing.
He walks farther into the place, and when he gets closer to the living room Pink's 'Please don't leave me' blasts out of the stereo.
Victor leans into the door and observes Bonnie setting the table and singing with the music.
After her stomach bug last week and Street's stupid insinuations, he had been scared for a moment, but he realized he actually wanted everything with her.
When Bonnie twirls around and sees her boyfriend leaning in the doorway smiling softly, she turns the music down and walks over.
"Morning, do you still have some energy for breakfast, or should I pack it up?"
Victor grabs her hand and spins her around before pulling her close for a kiss. "Breakfast sounds, and smells, amazing. And just for the protocol: I'll never leave you." he ends his promise with another kiss to her hairline before walking hand in hand to the table.
It has become their little tradition. Whenever he was on late shift, he'd prepare breakfast for Bonnie that day, and the next morning he'd come home to a full spread. They've become a perfectly well-oiled machine in that regard. And that thought in his head just becomes more prominent with each and every day. He won't let her leave anytime soon.
But life had a new test for them.
He had been very quiet when coming home. He knew Bonnie had had friends over and probably needed her sleep just as much as he did. Their shift had run over, and he was only looking forward to spending his free weekend with Bonnie. Breakfast in bed and then maybe the beach. Just the two of them.
His apartment looked a little too much like Luca had been staying over, but he knew that Bonnie needed the distraction and company, especially if his shift ran over.
But what happened the next morning, when reality caught up with him, was more like an ice-cold shower than the happy weekend he had imagined.
His head is racing. How many of those gummies had he eaten? It didn't really matter. One positive drug test, and he could kiss his career goodbye.
Had Bonnie never listen to him? Not once? Didn't she understand?
When the SWAT All Hands Page comes, his world just crumbles even further. He is glad to be able to get out of the apartment before he says anything stupid, he can't take back, but that page also means he has to go to Hicks and fess up.
At HQ, he almost immediately hears why they all got called in and feels even worse now. Now he wouldn't be able to help get the guys that put Deac and his family in danger.
After his meeting, he walks deep in thought through the corridors. Still pondering how he could've been so wrong about Bonnie. Should he never have trusted her?
He runs into Street. Somehow the last person he wants to meet but also after a second thought the perfect person to ask.
But first, he has to admit what happened and that he has to face the standards board now.
Street employs an immediate defensive rant and even makes him smile for a second. His buddy always had been somewhat the black sheep, but he had changed, and somehow he believed him: Street for sure had had less contact with the Standards Board than he would have now.
Before they part ways, Street actually has to work the case, and Victor hurts himself, uttering the final thought that has been playing on his mind all morning: "Maybe there is a reason why I haven't introduced Bonnie to my mom..."
It hurts thinking that and that his hopes of a future have been crushed, but this thought shouldn't be the last of his emotional rollercoaster.
Bonnie shows up at his side throughout the hearing making his head spin just a little bit more.
He knows he loves her, but is there really a future for them?