AN: Hi guys! I hope you're doing alright. Thank you one more time for reading and for your nice reviews!
Trigger warning: This chapter is about Pruitt's funeral, neither the service nor the speech are written in here, but it's still a funeral.
The day of Pruitt's funeral had come and Andy was a wreck. As much as she had tried to, there was no possible way to be prepared for something like that, and without Sullivan by her side, she hadn't been able to get up from bed yet. She was still lost in her thoughts, when her phone beeped with a message from Miller wondering how she was. She smiled at it, thankful for having him to support her through the whole week, which had been one of the hardest she had experienced since her father's death. Andy quickly answered it and finally got up, concluding that she would definitely be late if she didn't begin to get ready, just as she checked the time on the screen. When she left the bathroom after her shower, she was already crying for a few different reasons, and the day had barely started.
Once she had tried on half of her wardrobe, and not feeling in the mood to put on her uniform, she decided on a simple black dress that she had never worn before. Her choice was probably weird, but she didn't care, as she certainly didn't want to assist to her father's funeral like she was another one of his colleagues. Even though she wasn't fully aware of it, Maya's words in the gym the day she was going through Pruitt's things still resonated in her head, and had caused her an unconscious need to stand out from the rest of her teammates. Despite knowing they were also sad, which actually made her be deeply touched by how many people had loved her dad, it bothered her that some of them might think they were grieving the way she was.
It wasn't even close.
After putting on some makeup, she opened the bedside table drawer to get her wedding ring. She had never used it, but in that moment she needed a remainder of her husband, who she missed more than ever. The truth was that, besides the little scene in the spaghetti dinner and in Herrera's case not even then, neither of the two had wanted too much attention focused on their marriage. Andy in particular, didn't have any desire to be diminished into "the chief's wife" role, instead of being valued by the hard work that had always characterized her, so they both had left their gold bands stored out of the limelight.
Once in the church, she sat between her mom and tía Sandra, who had decided to escort her in that difficult moment for her, although Andy wasn't too comfortable with the whole situation. However, she appreciated that she wasn't the only family member present, since the son-in-law was nowhere to be found. Luckily for her, everyone thought that his absence was due to his little plight with the department. She looked around, not sure of what she wanted to find, and saw Emmet, who had attended too, despite not being on the department anymore or in good terms with Travis, either. She also saw his father's friends and, of course, her team, most of it anyway, and frowned. Where was Miller? Had he missed the whole procession?
A few days ago, she maybe wouldn't have noticed him being late, but now, he had become her rock and she was missing him. She tried to hide her nervousness and increased heart rate, turning around and dropping her eyes to her lap, where she had her hands unconsciously clenched into trembling fists. "I'm here, m'ija". Elena reassured her, taking Andy's right hand into hers, which turned out to be surprisingly soothing.
A few blocks from there, a rushed and now freshly dressed Dean, whose first uniform shirt had been spoiled by his sick baby in the last minute, was trying to arrive at least in time for the service. When he finally reached the front door, after stopping for a second to take a breath, he entered distractedly and run into someone inconspicuously standing at the end of the church. "Sorry, I didn't see… Chief?? Uh..Hi." Miller whispered, surprised at the sight of his former Battalion Chief with a cane and civilian clothes. "Hello, Miller. Go take your sit." Sullivan answered serious, but in a kind tone. "Sir, due respect, I think she'd like you to…" Dean started, still speaking in a barely perceptible voice. "It's better this way, believe me." "No, it's not, she's devastated, she misses you terribly, and she might...she's sorry." "What? You all know?" Robert cut him, a bit embarrassed. "No, just me. Look, I'm gonna go there, but you...just talk to her." Miller simply said and left, when he noticed some of the people in the last rows of seats staring at the exchange.
As soon as the funeral finished, Dean made his way towards Herrera. "He's here." He whispered to her, once he had reached her and checked that everyone else was out of earshot. She gave him a questioning look, and when her friend nodded confirming what she was thinking about, she rushed outside to search for her husband. Miller was right behind her, but Sullivan was long gone. Andy sat on the lower steps of the stairs at the front door and Dean did the same. "I talked to him, briefly." He told her and she stared at him, eyes wide open, expectantly, words still not coming to her. "It was a short conversation, I told him to talk to you. I don't know if he will, but I said you were sorry and..." Herrera was desperate to know more. "And? Was he ok? Was he..?" "He looked fine, probably sad." Dean said quickly. "He was using a cane, but he looked like he was doing alright, no signs of… you know." It was her turn to nod, and she sighed afterwards, feeling some sort of relief. She tried to distract herself playing with her ring, having some touble to hold back the tears, but she managed to articulate a couple of words, hoping that it would be enough to convey how grateful she was to him, for everything.
"Thank you"