Warning: I don't have a beta-reader (yeah that hasn't changed either) and as English is not my main language I'm bound to make mistakes. I hope it's not too bad and you'll bear with me.

If you don't like, don't read. Flames will probably be ignored; constructive critics and other reviews are always very welcome. Read and enjoy.

So here we are with chapter 14. It's the day of the double date. Woot how lucky Street is. There's more plotting from both sides... Wonder who are the cleverest…

Disclaimer: Don't own, just playing around so don't sue… Belongs to CBS Studios, Sony Pictures Television and many others.

"We have every right to create our own destiny, but none to interfere in someone else's." Martin Rubin. ;)

Tan looked at the two men on each side of him as they were getting ready. A grin appeared on his lips and gave Street a light slap. His friend turned his head towards him with a deep frown.

"Tonight is the night." He simply said and Street just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, it's date night." Luca rubbed his hands together with a satisfied smile. "I made the reservation a couple of days ago. I'll go and pick up the ladies and we'll head for the nice, romantic restaurant in Santa Monica."

"You don't look as happy as Luca. Are you having second thought?" The younger officer pushed. "I thought you liked Lauren."

"Yeah, I like her, it just feels a little too much like matchmaking for my liking." His squinted eyes fell on his roommate and the older man's smile didn't falter despite his stern expression. "We didn't say anything about a romantic restaurant."

"I'm going out with my girlfriend, of course I want an Ambiance." He explained grinning at the people present and Chris couldn't help but clench her jaw in annoyance. "Oh, come on Street! You'll enjoy it. And poor Lauren knows no one here… It doesn't mean anything… just a nice evening between friends."

"You're lucky he's not running for the hills." Deacon quipped in and Tan laughed in good humor. "It's not too late, Street."

"It is too late." Luca said, suddenly a bit more serious. "No bailing out on me. Just give it a chance."

"So, you are paying." Chris wondered with humor as she pulled on her SWAT t-shirt. "Street you would be an idiot not to jump on the occasion. Make sure to take the most expensive things on the menu."

"Hey, don't give him bad ideas Chris." The way he insisted on her name, made her grin more.

"He's making you a solid… he should get rewarded…"

"Exactly, I'll do that Chris! I'll study the menu on their website during the day." Street nodded with a delighted smirk, and he enjoyed how his friend paled for a moment before shaking his head.

"Whatever… But you better behave." He simply said, deciding to ignore his friends' taunting.

"Street is always a gentleman with the ladies, everyone knows that." Deac quipped in and winked at the younger man. "But I hope your credit card is up for the task."

"Come on, guys." Hondo interrupted them with a smile. "We all have a busy day… can't spend it in the locker room. Chris? A word with you?"

"Sure Boss." She walked next to him watching as the others walked past them and left the room. "Is there a problem?"

"I was wondering how the help to Rocker for his party was going…" He started, sounding a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, I guess you heard… I hope he didn't come to you to complain." She grimaced unhappily, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "He has already changed his mind four times about the theme of the damn thing. I can't take it anymore."

"Yeah, I heard Stevens tease him about it this morning… it seems you left rather angrily last night… everyone is talking about it." He warned her and she just shook her head.

"I just told him I would not discuss the party anymore until he had decided with Val what it was going to be about. I don't have the time for their perpetual change of moods and ideas. I'm helping on my off time and I'm not getting enough for that kind of drama."

"Of course not. You were right to draw the line." Hondo smiled at her a little sheepishly. "And he wanted me to ask you if you were still helping him…"

"So, he's too afraid to ask now?" She wondered disbelievingly and the older man just nodded with a grin. "Tell him that it might cost him more, but I'm still in for now at least. And I don't know why he's in such a hurry… you're going next, we have plenty of time for his gathering. And by the way, how is it going on your end?"

"Everything is going as planned." He reassured her with a wide grin. "I'm perfectly on time and Nichelle and my dad are helping me."

"Are you ready to share with the masses what it will be about?"

"Come on you know me. You know what it's going to be…" He nudged her playfully.

"I said the masses, totally not talking about me. But you are right, let them stew for a little longer." Chris chuckled happily. "I hear there's some betting going about that too."

"When isn't there any betting here?" He joked and she laughed happily

"Right!"

"Damn!" Luca rushed into the locker room, barely holding the door for the person behind him.

"Come on, it's not that late." Tan told him with a grin.

"Yeah, but I promised the girls to come early… something to discuss with me, Melissa said…" He shrugged unhappily. "And of course, I have to get home first because I didn't think to bring the clothes I needed here."

"Yeah, that sucks…" Deac commiserated with a chuckle. "If you lived closer to my place…"

"Well, I don't…" He hastily changed into his city clothes, before slamming his locker shut. "Tell Street I'll meet him at the restaurant. He has the address and the time…"

"I'm sure he does… Even I do because you've like repeated it a hundred times." Tan joked and Deac laughed.

"Bye guys I'll see you tomorrow. And cross your fingers for tonight…"

"Luca, don't get your hopes up too much." But the older man was gone before he had even finished his sentence and he chuckled shaking his head. "By the way, where are Chris and Street?"

"I don't know about Street, but Chris is with Rocker…" Deac supplied. "You've probably heard about last night's… debacle… He brought her chocolates and he is eating his humble pie."

"Yeah, I heard… but then who hasn't?" He joked. "She should milk him for all he's got. The man is desperate, and I understand why."

"You know Chris she totally is."

"What about Chris?" Street wondered when he entered the locker room and darted curious eyes on his colleagues.

"The little spat with Rocker…" Tan provided with a grin.

"Yeah, I heard him beg when I walked next to them just now." He laughed. "Poor Rocker, and you'd think he knew Chris enough not to annoy her like that."

"Obviously not… But I see this as a good warning for everyone… and especially Stevens. He's also asked for her help." Deac reminded them and the younger officers nodded.

"Stevens is shrewd, I'm sure he's already taking notes on how to get his project going just looking at all the things Rocker is failing at with Chris." Street noted with a grin. "Anyway, I heard he promised he would provide her favorite Latte every morning for the next month."

"Ouch he is frantic then… how about their respective days off?" Tan asked as he put on his jacket.

"I didn't hear… They were probably still negotiating the finer details I would say."

"Okay. Well, I'm going home. Luca said he's meeting you at the restaurant, you have the address and time."

"Yeah, he already texted me everything three times… I'll probably get another two by the time I'll have to be there. He can be so annoying at times. He's lucky I like him."

"So romantic dinner?" Deac pushed when they were alone in the room, and he laughed when he saw Street sigh heavily. "I gather he didn't warn you about the kind of venue he had chosen."

"It was supposed to be at Melissa's place, but that… was too much of an ambush for my taste." He explained with a frown and the older man shook his head. "I never bought his 'Melissa wants to thank us for the party'. He's too obvious."

"So why are you going?" He wondered, pausing as he straightened to watch his friend.

"Luca has always been there for me…" He said with a fond smile. "He seems to attach importance to the matter… I can indulge him a little. And it's only dinner for now… on neutral grounds…"

"But in a romantic setting… I guess that would make anyone nervous…" Deac pushed and Street shrugged.

"Yeah well… Do you think I have reasons to be nervous?" He suddenly asked, darting curious eyes his way.

"What?" The older man blanched visibly to Street's satisfaction.

"I don't know… you have a weird interest in the whole evening." He pushed, tongue in cheek. "You're usually rather silent while Tan is the one to ask all the inappropriate questions. So, I'm wondering…"

"Oh no…. It's just been a while… since you last had a date." Deac stuttered uncomfortably.

"But is it a date?" He pushed, relishing in seeing his friend awkwardly trying to talk his way out.

"Well… It's a least a dinner among friends." He scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. "Luca is dating Melissa that much is a given. Lauren is very nice and extremely pretty, maybe she could become more than a friend if you gave it a chance. Well Annie is waiting for me… Go home you don't want to be late."

"Bye Deac." He chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah right… give it a chance…"

"What are you moaning about?" Chris wondered when she rushed into the locker room. "Sorry I'm late, Rocker was being a nuisance as usual."

"Don't be too hard on him, you know Val can be a handful." He reminded her with a grin.

"You're not serious… you want to start a fight or what?" When she turned squinted eyes on him, he raised his hands in defense and shook his head. "Good… When do you have to be there?"

"7:00 pm, we have time…" He said quietly with as he closed his backpack and placed it on the bench.

"We?" She chuckled. "You make it sound like we're going there together."

"Because that's exactly what we are going to do…" He grinned broadly at her.

"What?" She lifted questioning eyes on him.

"You said you'd love to be there to know what we would say and do…" When she nodded, he continued. "That's exactly what you will be able to do."

He opened his locker and retrieved a small device, before showing it to her.

"Is that a wire?" She wondered.

"One of my UC friends lent it to me. Of course, it's an older model and it was decommissioned, but it's fully functional." He gave her the small earpiece and she grinned at him. "I'll just hide the emitter on me and with this, you'll hear everything."

"Oh, that is great." She beamed at him. "Is that why you told me to wait for you tonight?"

"I thought we might get ready together at the house or your place…"

"Where is Luca?" She wondered, trying to remember what the older man had said about the agenda of the evening.

"He's driving over to Melissa's." He explained and she nodded. "He's going to pick them up and drive them to the restaurant…"

"Oh, is he going to spend the night at her place?" She grinned at him, liking where this was going.

"You stop at this detail?" Street teased.

"You have to admit it's an important one…"

"Right…" He smirked happily at the implications. "I have all the things I need to get ready in my backpack, so… your place or mine?"

"Hmm…" She looked at him considering the advantages of both options. "I live closer to the restaurant, so let's go to mine. We'll lose less time… And you can leave your bag there…"

"Of course. I totally hoped you would say that." He grinned at her.

"Annie I'm home… Hey Lila." He hugged and kissed his oldest daughter who had sprinted from the living room to greet him. "Where is your mom?"

"She's on the computer chatting with friends… I'm minding the little ones. They're still doing their homework. Of course, mine is done." She told him seriously and he couldn't help a chuckle wondering how Matt would react to being called that.

"Of course." He went to kiss the other children who were eagerly waiting for him, before he made his way to their office. Sure enough, he heard his wife's voice as she was chatting animatedly.

"Oh, you look gorgeous Melissa, Luca will love that dress."

"I sure hope so…" She chuckled happily. "Lauren is almost ready… I think she's quite nervous about the evening."

"Aww she shouldn't be." Annie reassured her. "Jim is the sweetest. Even if it doesn't lead to anything she'll have a great evening."

"And Luca chose a very romantic restaurant I heard." Deac quipped in. "Where is he by the way? He rushed out of HQ quite some time ago."

"He just called to say there's been an accident on the way and he's stuck in traffic." She sighed heavily. "I told him he should have left clothes here or at least packed them this morning…"

"Men never listen." Annie declared taking a sip of her iced tea.

"Hey, I'm just next to you." Deac's outraged outcry brought a large smile on Melissa's face.

"You are an exception my Love." She took his hand and pressed a gentle kiss on it. He moved behind her, satisfied by the nice compliment. "And in what mood was Jim?"

"He seemed a little unsure about the whole evening. I would even add, rather ready to bolt out."

"Oh really?" Annie looked positively dumbfounded at his statement and Melissa frowned unhappily. "I thought he had really hit it off with Lauren."

"I think he's getting suspicious. And I'm afraid that the questions I asked didn't help." When his wife raised an inquiring brow, he continued. "I wanted to know if he was looking forward to it and… well he thought it was strange that I was prying… Because usually I don't."

"Oh… well… We'll see…" Annie's disappointed tone made him feel bad. He gently massaged her shoulder and she melted into his touch.

"I told him he should give it a chance…" Deac added, and his wife nodded.

"Exactly, that's the only thing we can ask from him." Melissa declared with a smile. "And who knows? Anyway it's too early to say anything."

"That's the right spirit." He said and placed a sweet kiss on Annie's hair.

"Hmm yummy…" Chris grinned at him when he exited the shower stall. "I knew it would be much better for you to shower here than at HQ."

"It's not too bad there…" He noted, as he rubbed the towel, she had given him over his short hair. "But I know you like a good view."

"Oh, I certainly do." She grabbed another soft bath towel and placed it on his shoulders, before slapping lightly his naked butt. "But we sadly don't have time for that… get ready… I'll bring your clothes here."

"Yes ma'am." He chuckled when she squinted at him in a mock menace before leaving the room. He quickly but efficiently dried himself and put on the fresh underwear he had brought with him.

"Those are really nice… didn't you wear them for our first date?" She wondered as she gave him his pants.

"Wasn't technically our first date that taco stand in Venice beach?"

"Oh… yeah, I guess it was… well anyway..." She looked at him as he was buttoning his shirt and grimaced.

"What? Color mismatch?" He wondered when he looked at his reflection with a frown.

"No, it's perfect. I like that shirt… it's nice, not overkill and the color is perfect with those pants." Chris considered pensively. She patted his shoulders as she moved closer to him, watching his reflection in the mirror. She tilted her head and smiled when their gaze met. "I guess it makes it more real that you chose that outfit."

"It's a dinner." He reminded her, his eyes staring at hers in the mirror. "There's nothing real about it. I don't have that many clothes that were appropriate for that restaurant. You know my wardrobe…"

"Yeah, I do, and we certainly should improve that… But the point is that only you and I know it's not a real date." She reminded him and she shrugged trying to ignore that weird feeling at the bottom of her stomach. "So where are you going to place the wire? Those things usually go under the clothes."

"It's not a real undercover mission." He reminded her with a grin. "I was thinking I'll just place it in my jacket pocket."

"I don't know… it'll be under the table and it's likely the tablecloth or even your napkin will interfere with the sound." She grimaced prettily and he chuckled. "What?"

"Want to strap it on my chest?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and when she nodded, he started unbuttoning his top. "I suppose you have…"

"The perfect tape, of course. Turn around." She bossed him as usual and he obediently obliged. "Hold it while I cut the bandage. Two pieces should be enough. Here… it sticks just as it should."

She looked at her handiwork with a satisfied look and grinned at him.

"It's perfect, not too high, not too low." He praised her and she chuckled. "Can I button up again or do you have something else in mind?"

"I have a lot of things in mind but they all will get you late for your dinner."

"And we can't have that, or Luca will have my head." He reminded her and Chris shook her head. "If I understood well, I'm invited to spend the night here. There will plenty of time… and lots of things to do…"

"Oh, that will depend, I suppose…" She told him quizzically as she turned on her heels and left the room.

"On what?" He frowned as he watched her exit the bathroom. He followed her outside after a short while when it was clear she wasn't coming back. "Hey… what is it? I thought you were okay with me going."

"Yeah, I am. I know there is no other way for now." The way her lips tensed belied her words. She turned her back to him and retrieved his jacket. The dark blue item was soft under her touch and her fingers caressed the fabric gently. "It doesn't mean I like it."

He took the garment from her hands and placed it on the table as he took her in his arms. She sighed when she placed her head on his shoulder.

"I'm just being stupid." She finally uttered after leaning into him for comfort. "You'll have to talk to her like we said."

"I will as soon as possible." He agreed and placed a sweet kiss on her nose. "But you know that with Luca and Melissa present, it might not be that easy."

She nodded and took a step back taking him in. She felt better at the idea of listening in, but she was unnerved, pretending anything else would be a lie and rather pointless as Street was reading her like an open book.

"Okay, time to put the jacket on and go to the restaurant." She finally declared and he nodded.

"We haven't tried the earpiece yet…" He reminded her and handed her the device with a grin. "Come on, let's test. We have to make sure you hear everything perfectly."

"Okay, right." She grabbed the small object and placed it in her ear. "What is its reach?"

"It's LAPD equipment… so probably half a mile." He chuckled at her surprised expression. "Like I would have fitted you with some second range gear. We're SWAT. The newer models are definitely a lot better, but for our purposes it's more than enough I would say."

"Oh yeah definitely… So how do we test it?" She wondered eagerly

"Go to the bedroom, close the door and I'll whisper something. Normally I already switched it on." He stated and she nodded as she made her way there. "I wish we would be the ones having dinner in that nice restaurant… but I prepared something for you, so come back here and check the fridge."

"Something for me?" She smirked happily at him when she entered the living room again. He simply nodded and watched fondly as she eagerly opened the fridge. "Oh… when did you have the time to do that? I'm pretty sure this wasn't there when I left this morning."

"I stopped on my way to HQ this morning… I made a few and I know how much you like my little chocolate fudge cakes." She made her way to him and kissed him softly.

"Thanks Babe. So, is that my dinner?" She wondered as she studied the piece of pastry with sparkling eyes.

"No, I do hope you were planning on having real food…" He frowned when she simply shrugged.

"I had no real plans… I mean I didn't understand I could actually listen in…" Chris added, after licking chocolate frosting from her finger. "That'll be enough for tonight. It's absolutely perfect, thank you."

"Nah it's nothing and definitely not dinner… Then I guess it's a good thing I ordered take out for you from the restaurant I'm having dinner at."

"You can't be serious…" She looked at him dumbfounded. "You ordered food there…"

"I can't have you starving while I'm eating God knows what… And it's already paid." He added quickly when she was about to add something. "I told them it was for an improvised picnic so there should be disposable cutlery… At least that's what they said."

"Damn poor Lauren doesn't know what she's missing with you as a boyfriend." She placed another sweet kiss on his lips and chuckled. "But she'll survive… She's young…"

"I'm sure she will." He checked his watch and frowned. "We have to go, or I'll be late. So, as we said earlier if you need to say something just send me a text. I'll keep the phone in my pocket in vibrate mode. I could go to the bathroom or…"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see…" She turned around and placed the cake back into the fridge. When she turned on her heels to face him, she laughed when she saw his confused expression. "You ordered dinner I'm sure there's enough food…"

"I didn't order dessert, just an appetizer and a main course…" He added, his eyes still on the fridge.

"I have other plans with that cake." She told him with a charming pout.

"Do those plans include me?"

"Do I ever make plans that don't include you?" She wondered with a naughty smirk. "You're just terribly overdressed for them… But now let's go… people and food are waiting for us."