Chapter 7

Weeks roll by after Chris's transfer, and Chris and Street avoid each other at any cost. Both of them are stubborn and hurt by the other not talking to them. It had become a tradition for Chris and Erika to take Billie to the beach in the mornings so the dog could run to her heart's content and be a little more mellow during the day. And so when Chris had pulled a night shift, but Billie was already active and wanted out, Erika had taken her out for a run on the beach. As per habit, Billie was off-leash. She was pretty good at staying with them and never ran too far off. She usually would stay within sight.

Erika was a bit nervous because the beach was pretty full by mid-morning, and just as she contemplates re-leashing the active Labrador Billie suddenly focuses on someone in the distance, and before Erika can react, she has taken off.

Down at the pier, Street and Tan are just in the process of searching a car. It had been a car chase, and Tan is panting a bit. "Remind me never to let you drive again," he jokes while cuffing one of the suspects. "Admit it, you had fun," Street jokes back and starts looking through the car.

Nothing looks suspicious, but they had a tip that these two were drug runners for their main target. He leans into the car to pop the trunk before searching the front of the vehicle while Tan starts handing over their suspects. Nothing too suspicious, except a gun in the glove compartment.

Street frowns and pulls out his phone to run the gun against the names and the registry.

While he listens to the tech typing, he paces up and down on the boardwalk until a flash of fur suddenly jumps right at him.

"Hey," he pats the overjoyed Labrador on her head. "Billie? What are you doing here?" he muses while trying to calm the animal down. She is barking at him and wagging her tail but also panting. "Tan, do we still have some water in the car?" he calls out, and Tan turns around confused but springs into action as soon as his eyes land on Billie too.

Street pulls out a plastic container, fills it with water, and places it in the shade next to the charger.

"Where did she come from?" Tan asks and glances around, just like Street.

"No idea, she just ran up to me," Street mumbles and twirls his phone in his hand.

"Aren't you going to call her?" Tan motions after a minute or two. "What if Chris is already looking for her?"

"I should, shouldn't I?" Street slumps his shoulders. They hadn't talked since Chris had left for K9, and if he were honest, he didn't really know what to say now.

What if she didn't pick up?

"What?" with just one word, he could tell how anxious Chris was, and Street swallows. "Billie is with Tan and me, she found us at the boardwalk." He stutters out, and then listens intently for a response.

"Oh god, where are you?" Chris is so relieved in an instant and waves for Erika to come over.

As soon as Billie had taken off, Erika had called Chris and they had been searching for about an hour now with no luck.

Street explains where they are, and Chris's eyes go wide. Billie had run quite the distance.

She hangs up and faces Erika. "Did someone find her?" Erika asks, "Is she okay?"

"I think so. She is down by the pier. Street found her," Chris frowns and watches Erika let out a relieved breath. "Oh, thank God."

The two women hurry to grab Chris's truck and drive over.

When they pull up to the pier, only the charger is still there. Chris turns off the engine and releases a slow breath. When she jumps out of the truck, Erika's phone goes off, and she hangs back, so Chris has to walk over alone. A slow smile spreads on her face seeing Billie lying on the backseat of the charger, getting some pets from Street.

"Hey," Tan walks up. "I am so sorry she disturbed you," Chris mumbles.

"She didn't. And I am glad we found her, and she didn't get hurt," he pats her shoulder and opens the passenger door to plop in.

"Street, we gotta go. Hondo is waiting," Tan taps the roof, and Street, who had gotten out of the back by now, stands a little awkwardly in front of Chris.

"I got to," he motions, and Chris nods. "Thanks for taking care of her," she manages before Street runs around the car, and the guys drive off.

Billie whimpers softly, and Chris crouches down next to her. "Why did you run away?" she mumbles into the dog's fur.

"She is safe," Erika walks up and has the leash in her hand. "I am sorry. I won't take her running without it anymore."

"It wasn't your fault. She was so good without her leash. Now we gotta retrain that," Chris frowns and clips the lead to the collar. Billie's protesting "woof" gets commented on with laughter from the friends. "Sorry, Billie. This is for your own safety." Chris explains and heads for her truck.

Back in their apartment Billie rolls up in her bed, and Chris leans against the counter with a water. "What am I going to do with you?" she mumbles.

"You are going to love her, and she'll figure it out," Erika steps to her, "but you absolutely should invite the guys over for a thank you,"

Chris freezes up for a moment but then concedes, "Yeah, I guess I should do that."

"And it doesn't have to be simply for a thank you. We still have to celebrate you officially making sergeant and getting your team," Erika adds, and Chris gratefully smiles at her.

"Next Saturday sound good?" she asks, and Erika pulls out her phone. "Yeah, I am on call, but 20 squad is off,"