Chapter 4

Chris is just curling up on the sofa, and Billie settles in next to her when her phone starts ringing. When she sees Luca's name on the screen, she reaches for the device immediately. "What's wrong?" leaves her mouth in place of a hello. They all are probably worried about Street right now. Chris feels still raw from the shock of Hondo filling them in, and the way Street just insisted on finishing his eval.

Street had just left after the final test. He hadn't even stuck around to hear his results.

And now, three days later, he still hadn't come back in. Luca had barely seen him, and now….

"I don't know he again, just left on his bike, but he is not with Buck. I checked," Luca rambles out, and Chris frowns.

It's already dark out, and Erika is working the night shift. She can't really leave Billie alone, but there is one spot she can think of he might have gone to.

"Do you have an idea?" Luca asks and Chris at first just nods before remembering they are on the phone. "Maybe," she mumbles. "I'll let you know if I find him."

After hanging up, Chris pulls on her shoes and gets Billie ready. Driving out to San Pedro, Chris just hopes he really is sitting in the parking lot of Lookout Point Park. A place where he can see both his homes. The city he grew up in and the city he finally found a family.

Remembering the first time Street opened up about this place, Chris has to swallow past a lump. He always had tried to show her he was more than the cocky young cop she had met that first day. Her mind is swirling.

Yes, she absolutely despises Karen for various reasons, but most of all, for what that woman always put her son through. Not the being in prison part, even if there had been better solutions for getting away from her husband too, but the way she always had manipulated Street and, in some ways, made him screw up his best chances.

Chris grits her teeth while gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. She wouldn't let him screw up his shot at SWAT. Not because of Karen's death. A death as predictable as the sunset.

When she finally pulls up onto the parking lot, she can see Street perched on his bike, looking out over the harbor. He doesn't even turn his head when Chris pulls up.

She leaves a protesting Billie behind in the car and slowly climbs out of her truck. This time Street looks at her. It's too dark to really see his expression, but Chris can guess by the tone of his voice.

"What are you doing here?" he grits out.

"Looking for you. Luca is worried," she replies. She wants to add she is worried, but somehow that doesn't feel right.

"You found me," Street replies and turns his head for a second.

They both are at a loss for words until Billie barks loudly, making Chris wince.

"You brought Billie? " Street questions while getting off his bike and walking over to the truck. Chris just tilts her head and observes what's happening.

The moment Street pulls open the passenger side door Billie greets him with a soft bark and a lick across his face. Why could the dog show him so easily how much she had missed him? Still frozen in her spot next to his bike, Chris watches how Street lifts Billie out of the cabin and onto the bed of the truck before climbing up himself and then looking at her expectantly.

Street even holds out his hand to help Chris up.

"Thanks," Chris mumbles, surprised, while plopping down next to him. Billie pushed between them and curls up with her head in Street's lap.

"How are you?" Chris finally dares to ask, and Street shrugs. "I don't know."

He lets out a bitter laugh. "I mean, I feel guilty for feeling relieved. And angry, " Street's voice cracks, and Chris instinctively reaches out.

"I know we haven't been close, but I know you were too good for her, and you did everything you could for her. You have nothing to feel guilty about."

Street pulls his hand free and lays it on Billie's head. The dog had poked his thigh a few times, demanding pets.

"What if I ignored her too long?" he muses quietly before clearing his throat. "Don't answer that. I know how you feel about all of this. But good news, I passed the PFQ, and if the doc's sign off on my liver, I am good to go."

Chris again reaches over and covers his hand. "Congratulations. Do you know how long until the doctors will sign off on you?"

"Scan is in a few weeks, until then, it's paperwork and tech support for me. But I get to work starting next shift," Street explains.

Again a silence blankets the air around them, but it feels lighter this time.

"Can you stop scaring Luca into calling me?" Chris blurts out, startling Street a bit. But in the end, he nods and lifts his eyes to her. "Thank you for finding me. And just being here, "

„What are friends for? "Chris quips before realizing what she said there. "We are still friends, aren't we?" Street muses while glancing over and then adds a quiet "Thank you."

They part ways shortly after because Chris has to work in the morning and they both struggle with words to figure their situation out properly