I do not own Rookie Blue or any of the characters.

AU after series 4 - Andy stayed with Nick instead of getting back together with Sam and now they are married. Established Andy/Nick.

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Chapter 26: Home sweet home.

Nick had spent a month in the rehabilitation centre and both he and Andy were now feeling far more positive; he had learnt how to transfer himself from a bed to his wheelchair, how to go to the toilet and how to dress himself. It was almost time for him to leave the rehab centre and it had already been arranged there a nurse would go into their home, twice a day. The nights and the mornings were still the most painful times of day and the medication took a lot out of Nick, but he hoped that, at some point, the pain would decrease; during rehabilitation, Andy had alternated spending nights with Nick and those at home, meaning that they were both prepared. He was ready to go home now, feeling so much more independent that he had been when he had in the hospital.

Andy was glad that Nick had persuaded her to go back to work, because she had really needed it and having her friends around had been a major help. She had, under advice from Frank, had found a new home for her and Nick.

It was a bungalow, with 2 bedrooms, with a garden, very close to the station and in almost perfect condition, so that she and Nick would be comfortable there, and Jem and, most importantly, everything in the house was accessible. Andy had also found a new car that would be accessible. Nick was due to the leave the centre in a couple of days, so after a shift, Andy recruited her friends to help her with moving their stuff to this new home and Andy was not surprised when Oliver and Sam turned up, because they both wanted to help in any way that they could.

After all of their things were moved, Andy invited everyone into the garden for drinks, but she did not have any alcohol because she was going to drive to see Nick later. It was September, so it was cold, but it was quite sunny, so the garden was beautiful.

As they were sitting down, Chloe inquired, "Andy, has Nick seen this place yet?"

Sipping her glass of water, Andy replied, "He's seen pictures of it and he liked them and there's a garden for Jem." She added, with a smile. "He'll love it."

There was collection of drinks on the table which was in the centre of the garden. Chris glanced at Dove, before he asked Andy, very carefully, "Does Nick know if he's going to come back to work?"

Andy pressed her lips together and replied, "I actually don't know. We haven't talked about it. He's been so focused on recovering in hospital and then getting into rehab." She paused, before adding, "I don't know what he's going to do. I guess he'll want to go back to work."

There was a long silence and Andy knew what her friends all wanted to ask her and she was not surprised when it was Tracey who finally inquired, "Andy, how is Nick feeling now? When we saw him in the hospital, he was… quite depressed and in pain. Is he still that bad?"

Andy knew that her friends' questions were coming from good places and she also knew that Tracey had seen how she had struggled during her first shift back at work. "At first, after the bomb, he was really depressed for the first couple of days and his recovery was set back before of other injuries. But he's getting better and he's more positive now, about the fact that this is our new life. And he feels more independent now. Mornings and nights are still- hard for him, but the funny thing is that he's spends a lot of his time worrying about me, wondering if I'm ok. Can you believe that?" She paused, then added, "Seeing him in that chair for the first time was… hard, but he made a joke out of it. He was trying to make me feel more comfortable about the situation and after my first shift, when I was crying, he looked after me. He comforted me and he's the one who's paralysed."

To Andy's surprise, Sam bowed his head and just said, "Well, that's Collins all the way." He held up his bear and toasted, "To Nick Collins." It was a genuine sentiment and Andy appreciated it.

Chris also raised his own bottle of bear and added, "And to Andy and Nick enjoying their new home. May you guys be very happy here!"

Andy smiled and hugged her friends, before she turned on some music. She took a picture of all of them together and sent it to Nick, who immediately replied. He facetimed her and said hi to everyone, mostly because he felt bad because he had not been at his best when they had visited him at the hospital and he also wanted to check that Andy was happy and relaxed. She was, so he said goodnight, glad to see that she was happy.

Andy gave her friends a quick tour of their new home, besides the bedroom because she did not want to enter into a discussion around that with people having questions about her husbands. Questions which she knew were on everyone's minds, but she did not want to answer; the Dr had assured them that it would be a matter of time and, under the circumstances, with the pain Nick was in, the medication he was on and the possibility of PTSD, it was the least of Andy's concerns. As soon as everyone had left the bungalow, Andy went to the centre to see Nick and she told him all about their new home, a place which he was going to see in a few short days.

When the day finally arrived for Nick to leave rehab and go to his new home, he was so excited to be leaving; he had managed to build up as much independence as possible. The pain in his back was still a major problem, as well as the problems it caused with sleeping and eating, but he had been given breathing exercises to help to deal with the pain.

Andy wheeled her husband out of the rehab centre and immediately, he saw their new car and he turned to face her, to see the beaming smile on her. "Oh my goodness, Andy! That car is amazing!"

Just laughing at the look on his face, Andy replied, "I'm glad you like it." She kissed him sweetly before they went over to the car and Nick managed to lift himself from the chair to the car, but Andy could see how much pain that one simple thing had caused him. It was written all over his face, but it passed.

Even from the outside, the bungalow looked beautiful, as did the garden. Andy drove into the driveway and asked, "I know you've only seen pictures of this place- so what do you think?"

Despite the pain he was in, Nick reached over for her hands and squeezed them. "Andy, it's perfect! I bet Jem loves the garden. I hope he hasn't been sleeping on my side of the bed." Andy gave him her best innocent look, but he knew better and he kissed her, before whispering, "You know I need to carry you into the new home. I mean, you can sit on my knee. How does that sound?" Andy's answer was to kiss him back and it felt like such a privilege, to be able to kiss him in private, after spending so much time in the hospital and centre.

Andy was still adjusting to the fact that Nick was shorter than her when he was in the wheelchair. It was something that was very strange for her and she knew that Nick knew what she was thinking. They couldn't hide anything for each other.

When they were both out of the car, Andy settled herself on Nick's knees and he wheeled himself to the front door and Andy used the keys to open the door. As soon as the door was open, Jem ran over to them, jumping up. He had missed Nick and Andy could tell that the feeling was mutual. Laughing, Nick told Jem to sit, a command which was obeyed, then he turned his head to face Andy and rested his forehead against hers. "I love our new home. Home sweet home!"

Andy looked into her husband's eyes and she was so glad to see the shine in his eyes, something which had initially been lost after the bomb, but now, he was here, with her, and they were going to live their life together, in the best way that they could and her husband was the most determined man she knew. Smiling, she whispered back, "Home sweet home, Nick." Her lips caught his in a passionate kiss, then she put her arms around his neck and he held her close. They both made a promise to themselves, that they had to be strong for the other, because this was the beginning of their new lives together and both of them knew that it could have tragically ended in a totally different way.