Chapter 12 : Back to normal

She remained this night and the ones that followed. She didn't feel like coming home when he was still in the ICU. Anyway Street was soon going to the rehabilitation unit and she won't be able to remain with him then. At least not all the nights. Tabitha already told them she will talk with the nurses there to know if she could stay sometimes.

"Don't promise anything, but I'll try." She said this morning when she got out of the room, winking at them.

Chris and Street remained silent, for a while. A little embarrassed. Awkward about their situation. They shouldn't act like this. And yet, they had no wish to stay away from each other. They were like magnets. Attracted to each other. And annoyed when they had to be separated. She stood from the chair and grabbed her jacket.

"Think it's time to go to work, you know…"

"Oh yes, almost 7. You'll be late if you don't leave by now…"

"Yeah… Big day… You know work and criminals…"

"Yeah… See you tonight?" His voice broke as he asked her.

"Yeah… Yeah… End shift at 7PM. Guys told me they wanted to come to see you… Now that you're well awake and out of danger. Prepare to be teased."

Street let out a laugh. He was waiting for this moment to happen since forever. He was dying – without any bad pun – to see his teammates and friends and to share a good moment. And there was Chris. He smiled at her. His large grin worthy of the Cheshire cat.

"See you later, then." He loved when she was talking with her shy tone. He so didn't know like this. It made her even more adorable.

She left the room waving at him and ran to her car. She was not late but she was not early either. She got in her car and drove to SWAT HQ. She changed in the locker room and waited for the others in the lobby seated on the bench next to the boxing ring.

"Hey Chris, already there?" Tan just arrived. "Just give me some minutes to put my uniform."

Hondo was already here, talking in Hicks's office. She saw him when she parked her car in the yard.

Tan sat next to her. "Glad to see you around!"

"Same. I miss you guys. Even if sometimes you're real pains in the ass."

Tan laughed. "We miss you too! What's new with Street?"

"He's fine. Time for recovery and rehabilitation now. And he wants to see you. Told him you'll probably come tonight after work."

"That's a deal. I need to see his head and to crush him a little. I've missed it!"

Chris nodded, smiling. Deac and Luca joined them and started to talk. They all agreed to go the hospital after work tonight.

"Hey what's up?" Hondo interrupted the talking. "Hey Chris! Glad to see you! "

"Hey boss! Glad to be here too."

Hondo nodded at her with a little smile. "Hey Boss, you come to see Street with us tonight?" Luca asked overjoyed.

"Of course! Is he ok to see as many people at the same time?" Hondo replied with a little anxiety. They all turned to Chris who could feel the weigh of their looks over her.

"Oh yeah, yeah. Dr. Paulsen said it was fine. On the contrary, it's a good thing for Street to see people. And he's soon in physiotherapy so he needs motivation. Long way to go but Doc is very optimistic and Street is very motivated, so there's no way it goes wrong… Right?"

Her voice broke. Even if Tabitha and Dr. Paulsen had reassured her a million times, she was still scared Street would have a relapse. Completely irrational but here she was.

"Of course, he's gonna be alright." Luca yelled as he used to do when he was happy. "Our boy is a warrior and he loves to kick ass too much not to be back at SWAT soon!"

Chris grinned at him, she loved his eternal enthusiasm. "Time to roll guys!" Hondo cut the time off harshly. But he needed to brief them about the day and the mission that was waiting for them.

[…]

It had been hours since they were here. Seated in Black Betty, waiting. Scrutinizing every corner of the industrial park around LAX. They could hear the procession of the planes landing and taking off, giving their day a rhythm while they remained motionless in their vehicle.

Hondo told them about the case: they had to wait for Karlsson's men to get into the warehouse. Then they could get out of Black Betty and ran to the position they had been assigned at SWAT HQ. Once in position, they will need to be patient again and wait for the hitmen to get out of the warehouse for the deal. And then once everyone will be ready to buy guns, they will go on them like a fly on jam. "Understood?" Hondo asked as he raised his head from the map he had unfold in Black Betty.

"Clear."

The same word was repeated by each member of 20-Squad. Hondo could see in their eyes they were already focused. Karlsson's hitmen finally entered the warehouse. They all nodded to Hondo and got out of Black Betty one after the other, reaching their position. Hondo got out the last and Luca drove Black Betty at the place that had been decided previously.

Chris climbed at the top of a container while Deac took place behind a bridge's pillar. Tan got closer to the warehouse entrance and hid behind a large trash bin. Hondo supervised everyone's position from the roof. It was only a matter of time. Karlsson's hitmen got out pretty fast. Cars were coming in the far away and stopped at some meters from the men. They opened the trunk, got out guns and bags full of money. Luca confirmed the team they could intervene, he had taken all the pictures they needed.

"SWAT LAPD PD, you're under arrest. Put your hands above your heads!"

The hitmen and the buyers jumped, hearing Hondo's voice. They got out their guns and started to shoot in his direction. Tan got out of his hideout and shot one in the leg. He felt on the ground, loudly. Deac shot two others trying to escape.

"We've got company! Coming right from the warehouse." Chris warned her teammates as she started shooting at the men getting outside.

"Got it, 24-David!" Hondo replied.

Chris kept shooting at the men, allowing her team to move forwards and to reach the warehouse. She heard a big noise and then saw 60-David and 50-David Squads joined the fight. She remained on her guards till Hondo told her everything was under control and she could leave her position.

A new Karlsson's cell was dismantled. But the man had escaped again. The good news was that they found a snitch in the police station from South LA who sold Karlsson information in exchange for cocaine for his girlfriend who was an addict.

The team was debriefed by Lynch while Hondo and Hicks finished to write the reports about the interrogations of the men.

"Hey guys! What a first day for you, Chris!" Luca arrived in the locker room hell on wheels.

Chris jumped and let out a laugh. "It was."

"Ready to go our guy. " Tan was already dressed up as a civilian. He couldn't wait to see his friend.

"Two minutes, just time to call Annie and I'm all yours. Meet you in the yard." Deac left the locker room, his phone in hands.

Chris quickly changed, grabbed her backpack and rushed outside of the locker room. "Meet you there, guys. Need to go on an errand."

Hondo, Tan and Luca exchanged a quizzical look. Chris was the kind of elusive person you couldn't completely catch. They quickly prepared and joined Deac who was waiting in the yard.

"Hey! Annie's OK? " Hondo asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Just a problem with Lila's school, they are afraid of a security breach. Will go and check tomorrow morning before work. Sure it's nothing, just the director freaking out because of a raccoon. Last time, it was a weasel."

The two men laughed and got up in their cars to drive till the hospital. They parked their cars back to back and rushed to Street's room. Luca and Tan were already here.

"Hey! You started the party without us!" Hondo told as he entered the room, Deac at his side.

"Hey, boss! Hey Deac! So glad to see you all." He paused for a moment. "Chris's not here?" He seemed sad for a second.

"She'll be there soon, she had something to do before coming here. But say you're not glad to see us!" Tan answered, falsely offended.

"Ah ah ah" Jim laughed embarrassed. "No it's just I was hoping to see the whole team, but seeing you is great anyway!"

"How do you feel?" Deac asked as the father of the team he was, always benevolent.

"Better, still tired but I can't wait to start physiotherapy. I'm becoming crazy in this bed doing nothing except reading and watching TV. Seeing you is really great. Change my mind a little bit."

"What does the doctors say?" Tan asked with a serious tone.

"Dr. Paulsen is very optimistic. He told me that after all I've been through, I can only have a full recovery. Just need to be patient for some more months but it's gonna be ok."

"That's good news, really, Street. Can't wait to see you back at home. It's really empty since you're here."

"Soon, guys. Dr. Paulsen said that if I'm doing well, I'll be back at home in a month and half. And guess who's gonna do his best."

"That's my bro there!" Luca came closer and hugged Jim. Maybe a little bit too hard because Street jumped. "Oh! Sorry!" Luca told, all embarrassed.

"Don't be, just broken ribs and some stitches are still painful."

When Chris finally arrived at the hospital, 20-David Squad was with Street. They were laughing, Luca joking at Street being "unmuscular" and Street teasing him that in a few months, he "will crash him on the ring".

Chris enjoyed some time alone on her own. She needed time to clear her mind, after her first day back. After all Street had been through. To think about Karlsson hiding, about his runaway and she came with a certainty. The man had flown outside of the US. She will tell to Hondo about it later. For the moment, it was time to join the team, her friends, her family. "Hey guys, finally made it till there!"

Another day here but this time it brought here joy. She looked at the chair she was sleeping here. Tan was seated on it, not imagining a second it was her bed for the last weeks now. She will get it back later.

[…]

"Give me the remote control."

"Nope. " He laughed.

"Or change the network. I can't watch the wheel of fortune anymore. Kind of overdosing here. It's unbearable."

"Oh come on, it's fun and you learn new words!"

"Of course, you're looking at the words when you watch this game." She answered, pointing with her finger the blond bimbo who revealed the luminous letters.

"Not that you're not enjoying the view either."

"She giggled. "Not my type. Too fake, too swallow." She stuck her tongue to him. He was surprised by her playful mood. When she arrived earlier after the guys, she seemed so tired. Not that he complained about it. It was fun to see Chris laugh and joke. But he was not used to it anymore.

"Ok ok, you won. Play whatever you want to watch. Bye Cindy! I'm gonna miss you."

She giggled and stole the remote control from his hand. "Let me show you what a good show is." She tapped on the button of the remote control. He watched at her while she didn't pay attention to. She was beautiful. He knew he shouldn't think like this because he was with Molly. But Chris… She had this little thing the others didn't have. Something who made him feel like they were alone in the whole world. She turned to him.

"What?!"

"Always so friendly."

"Ohhh shut up, I'm the kindest person you know and now watch what I've found."

A Hawaii 5-0 rerun was airing. One of her fav shows. He knew this. She had told him one day. The cars, the cute actors and actresses. Hawaian landscapes. And the funny cases. He let go of watching at her and stared at the television. After all, he liked this show too. And secretely, he hoped that one day, he could fly to Hawaii with Chris…

In the corridor, Molly saw the scene. The whole scene. The moment they shared. She swallowed hard. She could feel it was more than friendship, whatever Jim or Chris were saying. Their relationship was deeper than what they thought. They might even know about it and shut it down. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She swiped them with her fingers.

It was not about anger or jealousy. It was more the pain to let go of Jim. He was a fantastic boyfriend, a sweet human being. But he was not in love with her. He liked her. He had always made felt special but she was not the woman he loved with his whole heart. This one was in the room with him tonight. As she had always been from the day he arrived in this hospital. The one who had not been afraid of him when he was tied to a machine. The one who fought for him like a lion when everyone believed he was dying. The one who loved him equally but didn't say a word about it because it was not allowed at SWAT, because it could break their careers, because there was her, Molly, in the middle.

She took a deep breath and watched them one last time. They were smiling at each other talking about the episode. Her decision was made. She preferred to go home.