Disclaimer : I don't own the characters !
2 months before the wedding !
On the Santa Monica Pier…
The pier was teeming with people. The stalls and attractions were overrun with laughter and smiles, whether from parents or children. The weather was sunny, and the team was using their weekend off to decompress from the last two difficult weeks they had had chasing and dismantling a Mexican drug cartel that had set up shop in Los Angeles.
The group consisted of Deacon and Annie with their four children. Of Tan and Bonnie, but without their little boy who was far too small for this outing, but who was being looked after by the young dad's mother. Hondo and Nichelle, as well as Street and Chris. Luca was alone, at least for now.
"So, when are we going to meet this mysterious Ally ?" Hondo asked, his arm wrapped around Nichelle's shoulders.
"Today, if she can free herself." Luca replied.
"It's true that since you've been with her, you no longer harp on our ears about the rules to be followed at home." Street said. "You're not asking us to turn the volume down anymore."
"Please, stop with your dirty allusions." Tan almost begged him. "And there are children here."
"I was talking about music." said Street, who was holding back a laugh.
"Mom, can we go on the Ferris wheel ?" asked Matthew, the eldest of the Kay children.
Each couple took a child with them on the Ferris wheel, each in a cabin. Lila, who was ten today, had immediately stuck to Street as soon as the suggestion that each child go with a couple was made. No one was surprised at the bond that had formed between the child and Street, since the evening he had gone to dinner with the Kay family after his breakup with Molly. The girl's progress had been substantial. After their house was stormed by retaliatory bullets, Lila was very upset and her grades in elementary school suffered.
"I know what it's like to be scared, you know ? What happened when those men fired into your house, you may never forget, but you need to talk about it. You'll see, you'll feel better afterwards."
And he wasn't wrong. Lila had opened up a lot more, and her grades had skyrocketed. Even his clarinet rehearsals were improving. The change had been a great relief for Deacon and Annie, who had thanked Street not knowing what to give him in return.
"Seriously, it was nothing. I'm glad I could help her. I don't expect anything back."
Coming down from the big wheel first with Chris, and Lila who had wanted to climb on the back of Street – who hadn't been able to say no to her, the young man saw Luca who was talking with a girl. Blonde, short hair at the shoulders, in jeans, boots and white blouse.
"Do you think it's her, Ally ?" Street asked his fiancée.
"The way he looks at her, I would say yes." replied Chris.
They waited for the rest of the group before joining the couple.
"Guys, meet Ally."
Luca put a name to the faces of the group for his girlfriend, who waved back.
"We are delighted to meet you." Annie said.
"Me too." Ally said. "Luca tells me a lot about you."
"Bad things, knowing him." Hondo teased.
"Very funny." Luca breathed.
"I hope you will be his date for the wedding." Chris said. "I would take it very badly, if he did not invite you."
"Uh, he did." Ally assured. "But we barely know each other and…"
"And you are part of the family." assured Street, who still had Lila on his back. "I know Luca well, and from the way he talks about you, I know it's not like other girls he's been dating."
"Yeah, it's less painful than usual." Deacon raised, smirking.
"So yes, you are invited to the wedding." Street said. "Right, Lila ?"
"Yeah !" said the little girl, who completely changed the subject. "Can we go eat ?"
"How about you get off your uncle's back ?" Deacon suggested.
"No !" she replied, firming her arms and legs around Street.
Street just shrugged. It really didn't bother him. Besides, Lila really weighed nothing at all. The group was heading towards the exit of the park, where there were picnic tables, when Chris's phone made her move away from the group.
"She's my aunt." she told Street. "I'll be right back."
She picked up and approached the pontoon, facing the ocean and spoke with her aunt. Throughout the conversation, Chris couldn't suppress a smile or help but roll her eyes. There was no more fervent supporter of the Jim / Chris couple than her aunt. When the young woman had asked her if she was ok with overseeing the wedding menu, which would be 100% Mexican, with a few sides for the Kay children, her aunt had immediately pulled out a notebook, picked up a pen and jotted down all food ideas she thought of, and within a week, she had visited every one of the Mexican caterers in Los Angeles.
"I'll take care of everything !" she had said to her niece.
Coming back to the present...
"Yes tia, we'll be there tomorrow, like every Sunday." Chris assured her.
When she hung up, she chuckled. The wedding was less than three months away, and her aunt never went a day without asking her how the rest of the plannings were going. If she was sure she had found the right wedding dress, if Jim hadn't forgotten to go to the tailor for any alterations to the tuxedo, etcetera etcetera... And each time, Chris reassured her by telling her that everything was under control, thanks to Annie and Bonnie. Looking down at her left hand, she stared at the ring. There were days when she thought it was just a dream, but then she met Street's eyes, and the way he smiled at her was enough to reassure her. That none of this was a dream, but reality. Someone bumped into her unintentionally as she was about to join her fiancé and his friends.
"Oh, i'm so sorry." said a familiar, distant voice.
She found herself face to face with none other than Ty and Kira. Seeing her, the couple did not hide their astonishment. When she left that polyamorous relationship, she left without even warning or breaking up properly. She had just left, taking all her things and ignoring all their calls. At that time, she had fallen in love with Kira more than Ty, but today, when she found herself face to face with them, she realized that it was none of that. She felt no twinge in her heart, no pain.
"Chris ?" Kira said. "My God, it's you. We... we thought we'd never see you again. You left without giving the slightest sign of life."
"Yeah, it had to." Chris said. "You look good. Did you finally get married ?"
"Um yes." Ty replied, taken aback by Chris' nonchalance. "You know, it's hard to find someone like you, for our couple. Maybe you could come…"
"No, no need to finish your sentence, Ty." Chris stopped her. "When I left it was because I was in love with Kira, and not with you, it couldn't work. I turned the page, and today I am happy with my fiancé."
"You… you're engaged ?" Kira said.
« Yes, by the way, I have to go." said Chris, who got a text from Jim that just said S.O.S ?
She sketched a smile. Without another look for her exes, she turned her back on them, looked up and met Street's smile and gaze. When they got close, he held out his hand to her, which she quickly took in hers.
"Who was that, Auntie Chris ?" Lila asked, still perched on Jim's back.
"Nobody." replied the young woman.
"Lila, get off Jim's back if you want to eat." Deacon told her, when they approached the group, already seated. "And don't say no."
Lila sighed, but didn't resist when her father came to pick her up from Street.
"You should say no to her sometimes." Deacon whispered to her.
"Yeah, that would give you good practice for when you have kids with Chris." Luca said.
Chris led Street to the table where Hondo and Nichelle were.
"You're okay ?" Hondo asked him.
"Yeah." replied Chris. "I turned the page."
If Street noticed Ty and Kira, so did the rest of the team. Yes, she had turned the page. Definitively. She wouldn't be planning her wedding to Street if she hadn't.
During lunch, consisting of hot dogs, fries and milkshakes – in short, only fat and sugar – Ally found herself under a stream of questions which embarrassed Luca, and made the young woman laugh, who answered at all the questions.
"Are you done ?" Luca taunted.
"There's no denying Luca, she seems cut out to support you." Street teased him.
"I get it, I made you drool every time you hosted me, and I'm sorry about that." Luca abdicated. "Can we change the subject ?"
Like saving by the bell, the team's phones rang in unison. They consulted it, and rose at the same time. The situation was serious. Deacon apologized to Annie and the children, Tan to Bonnie, etc. They ran to their cars, geared up and got into the vehicles in groups of two. Hondo/Tan, Deacon/Chris, Street/Luca.
They arrived at the scene of a hostage situation. If their team had been called during their weekend off, that meant that the guard team – namely Rocker's – was already taken on another case. Equipped from head to toe, checking their weapons and ammunition, they took knowledge of the situation, as well as the places thanks to the plan that Hicks, who had gone to the scene, showed them on a tablet.
"Alright guys, we go in, neutralize the three hostage takers and free the civilians." Hondo said. "There are no cameras inside, so we are going in blind. We are moving forward slowly but surely. Go, and be reactive !"
Arriving at the back of the building after circling the block, the team used all their gadgets to enter, tread carefully, and neutralize the hostage takers one by one. The suspects in handcuffs were taken away by the police, and the hostages were freed and examined by paramedics. No serious injuries. They were just shaken by what had just happened.
"Excellent work !" Hicks congratulated them. "Sorry to have interrupted your weekend."
They all returned to HQ to put away and clean their equipment.
"Are we going back to the pier ?" Street asked. "The girls may still be there."
"Yes, the children wanted to play again, and Annie told me that the girls stayed with her." Deacon said.
"So we go back and have fun." Hondo decreed.
They had no trouble finding Annie and company, who were helping the children win prizes at the stand. Lila was the first to see them arrive, and she ran straight down Street, shouting her name, which lifted her into his arms.
"Sweetheart, your father is going to end up being jealous." said Street, feeling a little sorry for having the girl's undivided attention.
"She knows above all that you don't say no." Annie said. "But don't take advantage of it too much, Lila."
"How did your intervention go ?" Nichelle asked, when Hondo hugged her.
"Let's say we caught the bad guys and saved the good guys." he replied.
"You'll get use to it." Bonnie said, to Ally.
"Guys, she knows what it's like not to give information." Luca said. "She's a former Marine."
"Oh, I will always be a Marine." Ally said. "Hurray !"
"I couldn't have said it better." Hondo nodded.
"You have to know how to kick ass." Chris couldn't help but ask.
"Ooh, don't even try to challenge her to a ring." Luca told him. "She's a badass."
"I opened a dojo in the center, I give self-defense classes there." Ally said. "Everyone is welcome. I have a program adapted even for the youngest. »
"I would love to learn a thing or two." Bonnie said. "Who knows, maybe it will help me ?"
They immediately exchanged number and address.
...
On Sundays, Chris and Street took advantage of being alone to lie in bed, naked, and lose each other in the throes of passion. Their mouths kissed languidly and lazily at the same time. Their hands caressed gently.
"I love the way you wake me up." Street whispered as he moved inside her.
Chris smiles. He had been roused from his sleep by her mouth closing around his cock.
"Why do you think I did it ?" She rolled him onto his back so that she was on top.
Street's hands rested on her hips, pushing back the sheet that covered her to gain better access to her butt, which he stroked.
"Come and kiss me." he ordered under his breath.
Still swaying her hips, she leaned down and captured his mouth, stroking his tongue with hers.
"I'm gonna cum soon, baby." he said to her.
He pinned her with one arm, sliding his free hand between their bodies to caress her clitoris. Chris froze, stopping to move her hips and Street took over, penetrating her frantically while stroking her pleasure button. In a cry she didn't try to hide, Chris let herself be overwhelmed by orgasm, at the same time as Street poured himself into the condom. They smiled at each other breathlessly.
"We are going to be late." she whispered against his lips.
"We don't care." he breathed as he sat up. "Just tell your aunt we're trying for a baby, and she won't blame us for being late."
Chris wanted to contradict him, but it was no use because he was right. Now that they were getting married, tia Alonso hoped to see the children's stage arrive very quickly.
"She will have to wait a bit." Chris said, as Street rolled off the bed, keeping her wrapped around him. "Can I ask you a question ?"
"Anything." he said leading them to the bathroom.
"I know that the day I will be pregnant, I will have to stay behind but…"
"But you want to know if I'm going to ask you out of S.W.A.T. and stay home full time." he finished for her.
She waited for an answer, which only came once they were in the shower.
"How can you think such a thing ?" he asked. "I would never ask you to do that. And we're not there yet, okay ?" He cupped her face. "Chris, we are focused on the present, and nothing else. We're getting married, and the rest of it, we'll deal with it as we go along, as long as we're together. We will make the decisions together."
Chris kissed him, clinging to his shoulders like a lifeline.
...
"I don't think it's useless for me to learn family recipes, every time we go to dinner at my aunt's, we leave with enough to eat for a week." Chris said.
On the kitchen counter were platters of enchiladas, tamales, and a pot of pozole.
"I think she will continue to send us home with a ton of food even when we are married." Street said. "Imagine when we will have children."
"Maybe I should ask her to stop." Chris said.
"Look on the bright side of things." Street slid behind her back and wrapped her arms around her. "Given our job, we just have to reheat the leftovers in the microwave."
"Yeah, not wrong." She spun around so she could kiss him. "If I weren't afraid, even if it's a big word, that Luca would come home unexpectedly, you know what I would let you do ?"
"I have a pretty good idea. An idea that we will have to keep for the day we have our apartment." He rubbed his nose against hers. "We can lock the door without fear of being disturbed."
Their mouths joined in a slow, tender kiss. They were so lost in their embrace that they didn't hear the door open, but they did hear it slam.
"You are no longer alone, lovebirds." Luca said.
"Yeah, that's a shame." chuckled Chris. "Hi Ally !"
"Hi uh, hope it's ok that I'm here." Ally said.
"Yeah, it is !" Chris assured her. "You'e hungry ? We brought back lots of leftovers from my aunt's."
Seated a few minutes later, the conversation quickly drifted to the upcoming wedding.
"Without Annie, we would be downright in the dumps." confessed Chris.
"Not to mention Bonnie." Street said.
"You should have gotten married in Vegas." Ally joked.
"Yeah, that's what we would have done if we hadn't been afraid of incurring the wrath of my aunt." Chris said. "Luca knows her and he can confirm it to you, it would be a very bad idea."
"The worst bad idea." Luca confirmed. "But everything will be fine. The wedding is going to go like clockwork, and we're going to embarrass Jim with our speeches as planned."
After dinner, Chris and Ally stayed in the kitchen, chatting over a cup of tea as the two men battled it out in a game of Mario Kart.
"Can I ask you if, between Luca and you, it's serious ?" Chris asked. "I know I have no right to ask you this question but…"
"Oh, I'm good." Ally reassured her. "If I hadn't followed in my father's military footsteps, I would have ended up marrying Luca, but we both had a goal. He wanted to be part of S.W.A.T., and I wanted to serve my country. A part of me always regretted that decision, but I didn't want to hurt him if I didn't come back."
"You never got married ?" Chris wanted to know.
"My relationships never lasted very long." Ally took a sip of tea. "Every time I went out with a boy, I wondered what was happening to Luca, or who he was with. "
"You never forgot him." Chris understood.
"I am happy to have found him, and to have reconnected with him." Ally said. "I just hope it's not too late."
"I've known Luca for a long time, and he's been different since you found each other." Chris told her. "And I'm glad he has you in his life right now. I was worried about the day when Jim and I will have to have our own apartment, but I see that I don't have to be. He has you."
