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.
Chapter 6: Vest messages.
November arrived and had almost gone, with Andy and Nick's wedding approaching closer every day and with the end of November, there was a new wave of snow in the city, making the whole place look more magical. However, underneath the surface of that beauty, there was a surge of violent crime and drugs. The day-shift had been going quite smoothly until a police officer had been attacked and, in that second, everything had changed. Andy had not been scheduled to be on shift today, but she, like Chloe and Dove, were called in, because as many officers as possible were needed.
This mission involved gangs and arms deals, so a certain level of danger was to be expected and this was made very clear to them, especially considering one of their own had been attacked in broad daylight. Andy and Nick hadn't had the chance to see each other, because, as soon as she had arrived, she had gone to the locker room to get changed.
As she, Gail and Chloe were changing, Chloe said, "You know, Nick has a tradition from his Army days. Some of his Army buddies did it. Whenever we go on missions like this, he writes a few notes, prayers, or messages in his vest, just in case. I'm going to do it, anyway." Chloe started to write a prayer into her vest.
Andy paused for a couple of seconds, then looked at her engagement ring and, in an instant second, with the threat of this kind of danger, she decided to put it around her neck on a chain. She did not want to take off her engagement ring. She and Nick knew how much they loved each other, but, if the worst happened, she would have wanted him to see her love for him in writing and she was almost certain that her fiancée was doing the same thing, but for her. She sat down on one of the benches and wrote something for Nick, for the worst-case possible scenario. She also wrote a note in there for her mother, saying that she was glad that she was back in her life.
Meanwhile, Nick was doing the same as he was sitting down on the bench, writing a message for Andy, just in case anything happened to him. He loved her more than anything in the world, and, just in case anything happened to him, he wanted her to have that in writing. In Afghanistan, when his friends in his platoon had been writing messages in this fashion, to their loved ones, or prayers, he had had no-one to whom to address his messages, but it was different now, because he had Andy, a woman he had fallen madly in love with and, finally, she had started to fall in love with him and, more recently, agreed to marry. God-willing, in less than a month, they would be husband and wife and he would be the luckiest guy in the world.
Chris and Dove were following Nick's example and writing messages to their families, so Sam was very confused when he saw the three of them writing things in their vests. As a Detective, he wasn't going out on the streets, nor were Tracey or Marlo, but he still wanted to know what the three officers were doing. His three former rookies. "What are you guys doing?" Nick remained focused on writing his message to his fiancée and waited for Chris or Dove to answer Swarek's question and Chris gave him his answer, but sounded slightly awkward about it and Nick rolled his eyes at this; Andy and Sam had resolved their issues the night Nick and Andy had become engaged and so had Nick and Sam, so there was no need for any bad feeling, or, at least, as far as Andy and Nick were concerned. To everyone's surprise, Sam didn't say anything else, but just walked out of the room, but they all focused on finished their messages before they put on their vests and prepared to leave the station.
Chris and Dove were partnered, Andy and Gail and Nick and Chloe and Nick was not surprised when, before leaving the station, Chloe ran over to Dove and they hugged and said some private words together before they walked over to the respective partners. It was snowing outside and Andy wondered if it would be snowing on their wedding day, but she hadn't seen Nick for 12 hours and she wanted to see him, before they went their separate ways on this threat-high day, like they always did before their shift.
Luckily, as she and Gail were walking out to their car, Gail suddenly decided that she wanted to call her girlfriend, Hollie, and Andy spotted Nick and Chloe, who had been slightly delayed by Chloe's talking to Dove before they left. "Nick!" Andy called as she ran into his arms and whispered, "Be careful. I love you."
Nick smiled at her and kissed her quickly before he whispered back, looking into her eyes, "Love you too. I'll see you later. Promise." He kissed her again, then lightly touched her arm and squeezed her finger where her engagement ring normally was, before they parted ways and Andy went into the car with Gail. From the other side of the car, Chloe had noticed that Sam had been watching Andy and Nick, but she knew that there was no point in telling Nick this and she had seen Sam looking longingly at Andy, even now that she and Nick were engaged and she was sure that everyone else had, including Marlo. She had witnessed, first-hand, the love Andy and Nick had for each other and she was a true fan of theirs.
Andy found that, in a situation like this, Gail was one of the best people to be partnered with, because of her cold exterior. She would've thought that Nick's tradition of writing messages and prayers was soppy, but it gave people comfort and Andy didn't see anything wrong with that, but she was happy to be partnered with Gail now. Gail had a very calm and cool head, unlike Andy, who was more emotionally inclined, but had tuned herself into situations like this after years of being a police officer.
Sooner than expected, Andy and Gail arrived on scene and it was their job to secure the place where their fellow officer had been shot. This made Andy feel slightly nervous, thinking it could be used as an ambush point, but Gail didn't seem to be worried and Chris and Dove's car arrived, so the four of them made their way to the balcony where another police officer had been shot. Looking around, Andy could see, from the adjutant roof, there was a good point for a sniper and Gail saw this also. There didn't seem to be anyone around there, but they kept their eyes open. At the same time, Nick and Chloe were entering a similar area, where the suspect of the shooting had been reported to be hiding and the two of them moved with assurance, aware that they were not welcome there. Chloe was glad that Nick was there, because he still carried himself like a soldier and, in this situation, she saw that as a great benefit.
After securing the scene, Andy and Gail made their way to the hospital to see the officer who had been shot whilst Chris and Dove remained on the scene as a way of trying to keep the area safe from any further attacks. "Gail, slow down. I think we're being followed." Andy was right; whenever their car slowed, so did the car behind them, but neither of them were expecting the car to the ride side of them so start shooting at them. They both drew their weapons and shot back.
At Division-15, Nick and Chloe had apprehended and had taken him back to the station and were due to join Chris and Dove when they heard, on their radios, that two officers had been shot and were on their way to the ER. McNally and Peck. Sam also heard this and grabbed his jacket and ran to his car, along with Oliver, as a way of trying to protect their fellow officers, or at least that was what Sam told himself. As this news came in, Chloe had never seen Nick as white as he looked now, so she put a comforting hand on Nick's shoulder and offered him a warm smile. "Andy'll be okay. She isn't going to leave you, is she? I'll drive. Come on." Nick just nodded and followed her.
When Andy opened her eyes, she was suddenly aware of a massive, acute pain in her shoulder and arm and she couldn't move it. The second thing she saw was that Nick was sitting in a chair next to her, with his head down, so she reached out to him. His head went up and he took hold of her hands and kissed her. "Andy, you're awake! Thank God! You were lucky, the bullet just grazed your arm and shoulder, but you'll have to wear a sling for a couple of weeks. Shaw and Swarek caught the guy."
Andy adjusted her head and asked, "Where's Gail?" When her fiancée didn't answer straight away and his eyes looked sad, she repeated, with more force, "Nick, where is Gail?"
Nick sighed and squeezed her hand. "She's in surgery. They don't think it's life-threatening." He was silent for a couple of seconds, then Andy sat up and indicated for him to come closer to him, considering she couldn't move. She pressed her forehead against his and closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, before he whispered, "I love you, Andy."
With her eyes still closed, Andy stroked his face and whispered back, "I love you, too." It was only then that something important occurred to her: Her engagement ring. "Nick, where's my ring?"
To her surprise, Nick grinned. "I have it, it's safe." He moved back onto his chair, then asked, using dark sense of humour, "How does it feel to be shot in the arm?"
In spite of herself and the situation, Andy started to laugh; there was something about him that always made her smile and laugh. "It feels great. I would recommend it." She lay back down in the bed and held Nick's hand and he told her some funny stories about his Army days.
Gail left her surgery and she fully recovered, as did the other officer. As soon as Andy was ready to leave hospital, Nick took her home and they spend their free time watching old French films. They talked about their vest messages, but neither removed them, just in case the worst ever happened and their feelings and love for each other were never going to be altered. By this time next month, they would be married, and it was sure to be the greatest day of their lives. They would always do their best to keep their promise to, at the end of every shift, come home to each other.