A/N: Sorry for the delay, my readers, I had a bit of writer's block and wanted to get the ending of this 'just right'. Spoilers for 'Quandary' and 'Zodiac'. I miss Lina/Chris with every beat of my heart. Long live STRIS in fanfiction! I hope you enjoy the final chapter of "Dimples". (Note: Their daughter Erika appears at the end of this chapter - they call her EJ, short for Erika Joan)

My biggest fear has always been to lose Street on the job. But the morning after the night I had thrown myself at him, I realized that there was more than one way I could lose my best friend. The coldness with which he had bid me 'good night' as he went to bed alone left me reeling. I knew that he could simply choose to shut me out and not talk to me anymore – after all, I had been leading him along for years, first telling him that this pipe dream of us together was never going to happen, and then pulling him back in by telling him that I couldn't lose him either. I had made things so much worse between us by coming on to him – and I knew what I needed to do.

I never thought that I could push him away to the point where I could lose him for good while we were still living our lives because I could still see him at work. I would just be severing all contact after hours: no calls, no texts, no dropping by the house to watch movies or a ball game. The conscious decision on my part to severe personal contact felt a little bit like cutting off a limb. Yet this was the decision I made to fix the mistake of throwing myself at him – even though I knew I was overcompensating for my actions.

But Street refused to let me go. He continued to drop hints about not throwing away what we could have and as the weeks went by, he gradually wore me down to the point where our normal friendship returned, and the emotional pain of the night we almost had sex faded away.

If only our friendship was enough.

If only I didn't love him.

My feelings for Street were tearing me apart – and the growing feeling of restlessness with my career continued to overwhelm me. I felt like I was walking a razor's edge, that a tipping point, a major decision was in front of me but as yet I didn't see what it was. I could only wait for the other shoe to drop.

Then I got word that Mama Pina was in the hospital and wanted to see me.

"We deserve a chance – us. Isn't this what we've been waiting for?"

"I didn't quit SWAT for you, I quit for me. I'm sorry – I - I just don't think we're meant to be. If it was going to happen, it would have happened by now."

"You're the one who didn't let it happen because of the job – but now you're quitting that job. Now you're saying it's too late – I -I don't understand."

"It's just the truth-"

"Truth?"

"Yeah."

"You want to talk about truth? Tell me you don't love me-"

"Oh my God."

"Chris, hey! Tell me you don't love me – just say it. Look at me – look me in the eyes. Tell me you don't love me."

"I can't – I can't do this."

"Why not?"

"I – I can't do this!"

"Why – why – why – why? Hey – ok – you know what? I'm done."

I couldn't fall asleep that night as my conversation with Street played over and over in my brain. Every time my eyes grew heavy with sleep I saw his face, his eyes filled with hurt before he turned and walked away.

He said he was done – with me? With us?

I turned over, thumping the pillow under my head. How dare he corner me in the parking lot at work and demand an expression of my feelings for him after the day I had – after I told him I was leaving SWAT. He made it all about him when I needed him to be there for me. I needed my best friend-

I sighed, knowing that wasn't entirely true. I'd needed him, my best friend and the more I'd never allowed him to be. As soon as I'd gotten the news from Mama Pina that she was dying, the first person that I wanted to talk to was Street. I wanted to call him and have him meet me somewhere so I could pour out all my emotions and talk to him about the sudden epiphany I'd had about my own career. I knew that leaving SWAT was going to be one of the hardest things I'd ever done so far in my life – but when I thought about the undocumented women I'd be helping, a wave of peace swept over me. The restlessness that I'd been feeling for almost two years disappeared and I knew that I'd made the right choice. Street hadn't been a factor in my decision but now as I lay awake in my bed, I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of us.

Could we make it work with me outside of SWAT? I knew I loved him – I had admitted that to myself long ago. And I knew that he loved me, though he had never actually said the words.

Was SWAT the only thing keeping us apart – or was there more? Why was I still so afraid?

I wasn't prepared for the coldness with which Street greeted me the next day. The cold shoulder treatment continued for over a week, and he managed to completely ignore me most of the time, not even making eye contact when we sat next to each other in Black Betty.

I was sparring with Tan in the ring ten days later when Street came in and told Tan about his date the night before, how easy, and uncomplicated it had been, and the words pierced me like a knife. I knew he said the words to hurt me.

Not able to take the icy silence anymore, I tried to connect with him later in our shift. "I never meant to hurt you."

He frowned. "You must think me really stupid. You never meant to hurt me? You did, and you know you did."

"Street, that's not fair."

"Just stop. You already made me feel like a fool. We don't need to keep doing it over and over again. I'm done talking about this."

As I watched him walk away, I realized that I'd lost him – dead or alive, it didn't matter. I'd played with his emotions for years, flip-flopped on my own so many times that he'd finally grown tired of the dance, of me.

I needed to decide if I was going to let him go as well. Luca had confronted me in the locker room earlier this morning, calling me out for not wanting to get too close to someone again. I knew that he was talking about Ty and Kira, and the pain I'd felt after breaking up with them. But no one knew the simple fact that I'd never been in love before Street – and that was the risk I was deciding whether or not to take now. Because even though the pain of ending things with Ty and Kira had been awful, I hadn't been in love with either of them. I was in love with Street – and I was in agony now – would it really be better if we were together – or worse?

Street was my ride or die – and it was time to decide if I wanted to go all in. He had made it clear that he was done talking about this, that he was done with me.

But was I done with him?

"But if we can please try this again – I'd really like that," I pleaded with him later that night as I stood in his living room for the first time since the night he turned me away. "Because um – because I love you."

For a few heartbeats, he didn't answer me, and I was suddenly afraid that I really was too late – that he was done doing this with me – that I had missed my last chance to be with him. But then he spoke, and his voice was hoarse with emotion.

"I canceled my date an hour ago."

I sagged in relief at his words and as he took a step towards me, I lifted my hands to cup his face. Internally, I relived the moment earlier in the day when I had rounded the corner and found him lying on the ground, unresponsive in his tactical gear. It was only a minute before he stirred and coughed, but for that minute, when I thought he was gone, I think I stopped breathing too. Part of me felt like I had been holding my breath since then, waiting to see how he would respond to my declaration.

My breath was catching in my throat now, as our noses touched, and I lifted my mouth to his as we sank into each other. His arms wrapped around my shoulders, crushing me to his chest, and we didn't pull apart until air became a necessity. I buried my face in his neck.

"I love you," he panted the words in my ear.

"Hmm," I murmured an acknowledgment of his words, too overcome with emotion to say more at this point. I pulled back and kissed him once – twice – three times, before looking into his eyes.

He didn't look away as he began to walk backwards, leading me to his bedroom. There was no pain or hesitancy in his gaze tonight and even though my speech had been awkward, it had come from my heart, and I had nothing more to say right now. His lips covered mine as he pushed me into the wall and his hands drifted down to the buttons on my black sweater. My own followed and together we started to undo them; both of us were trembling with desire and need by this point. Street's hands left my sweater as he lifted his tank top up and over his head, and I somehow managed to finish the job of removing my sweater on my own. We came back together, skin on skin, his hands trailing down and pausing at the top of my jeans, hovering over the snap. My hands joined his but before the snap released, he lifted my arms around his neck and suddenly I found my legs wrapped around his waist and we were crashing into his room and onto his bed.

"Chris-" he panted, pulling away to look down at me.

I made a sound partway between a moan and a growl, as I surged upwards, trying to bring his lips back down to mine. As far as I was concerned, the talking portion of the evening was over and done with for now.

He turned his head and panted the words against my cheek. "Do we need – anything?"

I cupped his face and succeeded this time in bringing his mouth back to mine as I kissed him fiercely. "All I need is you. Shut up and love me."

My eyes flew open, and I stared up at a ceiling I didn't recognize before I looked down to see a muscular arm draped around my hip. Glancing over my shoulder, I smiled into Street's eyes.

"You're awake."

"I haven't been to sleep yet."

I rolled to my back. "Why?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "I guess – I'm afraid this is a dream – and when I wake up, you'll be gone."

"I'll be here when you wake up, Street. We're going to make this – us – work." I cupped his face, and he leaned in, placing a short kiss on my lips.

"Can I ask you something?"

I nodded.

"What made you change your mind about us?"

"Nothing ever changes – you always want to overtalk things."

"Chris – this is important. A couple of weeks ago, I told you that you leaving SWAT was our opportunity – our chance to be together. And you said-"

"That I didn't think we were meant to be," I finished softly, running my fingers through his hair.

He frowned. "So, what happened? I can't believe it's as simple as you thinking I died on you today-"

"That's not simple, Street!" I jerked my hand away. "You dying is nothing to joke-"

"Hey, hey, come here," he soothed, wrapping me up in his arms, pressing my face to his chest. "Hear, that? Still beating."

I grunted and for a few minutes I didn't say anything, and he let me be. I wasn't sure that I could put into words what he wanted to hear, but I knew I needed to try.

"Luca cornered me in the locker room today."

Street's fingers stopped their movement on my bare skin. "Oh?"

I nodded, not lifting my head as I continued. "I don't know how you've lived with him all these years – does he give you unsolicited advice often?"

His chest shook underneath me as he chuckled. "Only every couple of days – you'll get used to it. What did he say?"

I blew out a breath. "That he knew about us – um, our feelings for each other – and that it would be a mistake to throw what we could have together away because I'm afraid to get too close to you."

"I see."

I sat up, pulling the sheet around my naked body and stared down at him. "No, you don't see – how could you? I've never talked about it with you – or Luca – or anyone. You think - it's just because of SWAT – or losing Erika – that I haven't let myself end up here with you-"

He sat up so that we were eye to eye. "Well, isn't it?"

"No. It took me a long time to figure out – beyond my fears – that what I was feeling – I'm um - I'm in love with you, Street – and I've never been in love before."

A slow smile spread across his face, and his dimples popped out in all their glory. "Really?" His eyes widened in shock. "What about Ty and-"

I shook my head, interrupting him. "Nope, not even with the throuple. In fact, after I kissed you, I had no desire to kiss Ty-"

"Poor Mr. Ruggedly Handsome didn't do it for you anymore, huh?"

I reached out and slapped his chest, but he captured my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing each finger.

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't distract me – you were the one who wanted to talk, remember that."

"Sorry." He dropped my hand like a hot potato, flinching as it landed on his upper thigh, dangerously close to his manhood. "Go on."

"At first, I ignored my feelings because I thought they would disappear like all the other times. And you were such a playboy-"

"Hey!"

I rolled my eyes. "You know what I mean – you were chasing after all those crazy women on the apps, then your mother got out of prison and turned your life inside out, and you quit SWAT-"

He held up a hand. "Let's cut short the trip down memory lane, shall we? I'll concede that my early years on SWAT were less than stellar."

I stifled a smile and continued. "But then you turned your life around and became the best friend I couldn't live without – I've never been so scared those weeks you were undercover with Nate – when I thought you'd thrown it all away again – or so angry and hurt you didn't tell me the truth."

He pulled me towards him, and I wrapped my legs around his hips, so that I was sitting in his lap. "You know I would have if I could have, Chris."

I nodded and pressed my forehead to his, not speaking for a few moments. Sharing all this emotional truth at once was exhausting, but in a strange way, freeing as well.

"Do you remember the day I told you Ty and Kira asked me to move in with them?"

I saw the hurt come into his eyes, but I rubbed his nose with mine in reassurance and he nodded.

"We kissed that night in your backyard – and that kiss had me feeling things I'd never felt before – or since. I ran back to Ty and Kira that night because it was safe and known – starting something with you that night would have been scary and unknown."

"And now?" he whispered, cupping my face. "Is it any different now?"

I shook my head. "No – but I can't go on this way – and neither can you. Tomorrow is my last day on SWAT, so I don't have that excuse anymore. I thought I lost you today, but I didn't – and I realized that I can't live my life waiting for the day that you might leave it. That's no way to live. I'm still scared – but I'm more scared to never give us a real shot. I'm sorry for everything I put you through – and I know this doesn't excuse or make up for what I've done – but I love you." I cupped his face and dropped a brief kiss on his lips.

"Christina Alonso, I'm so in love with you." He kissed me deeply, eventually pulling back to brush our noses together again. "You do know that it's always been you, right? You've been my dream girl since the day you called me 'Long Beach'-"

My mouth fell open. "That was the second day you were on the job."

"Exactly."

"You're incorrigible," I groaned as his lips attached to my neck and started kissing a trail downward. "I only had to wait five years for you to grow up-"

"Some things are worth waiting for-" he mumbled against my skin.

I pushed the sheet out of the way and sighed in satisfaction as our bare skin made contact and he gently lowered me to the bed once again.

SIX YEARS LATER

My eyes flew open in the darkness, and I lay in bed, listening for the sound that had disturbed my rest. Our retired police dog, Zeus, that served as a combination family pet and attack dog, slumbered in his bed in the corner of our bedroom so I knew that whatever had awakened me was no threat to our family. Then the baby monitor came to life and heard the low murmur of Jim's voice along with our baby boy's and I smiled. He must have just gotten in from the airport and snuck into Nate's room to check on him. Once upon a time I would have been jealous that his first stop hadn't been to kiss his wife hello after nearly a week's absence, but it warmed my heart how much he loved his children. I had no doubt that he had already checked on EJ – but then I heard her voice come over the monitor and my smile deepened. Did they really expect me to sleep with all the racket they were making?

Zeus lifted his head as my feet hit the floor, but I gave a command and he relaxed, closing his eyes again in sleep. I patted his head and crept down the hall, hoping to catch my family by surprise. The nursery door was ajar, and I gently used two fingers to push it open further to see inside, catching my breath at the sight inside.

Jim was sitting in the rocker, holding our two-month-old son, Nate Warren Street. EJ, our three-year-old daughter, was sitting on the floor at his feet, babbling in a combination of English and Spanish. Once in a while, Jim would nod and murmur acknowledgment to her, but she didn't need it. EJ was 'reading' one of her bilingual storybooks to her papa and baby brother, pointing to the pictures and clapping her hands in delight when Jim tried to repeat a word after her. It was one of their favorite games and I covered my mouth to keep the half-laugh, half-cry from escaping. Seven years ago, before Jim and I had gotten together, I would never have pictured that this would one day be my life. Married, mother of two, and running a sanctuary house for undocumented women escaping their home countries for a better life here in the US.

I stepped into the room and Jim's eyes met mine as EJ dropped her book.

"Mama!" she squealed and flew to me.

"I hope we didn't wake you-"

I rolled my eyes as I lifted our daughter into my arms. "You know better than to try and sneak up on me after all these years, Jim Street."

He approached me slowly, bouncing Nate in his arms who was just beginning to fuss. "You've been solo parenting for a week – I wanted to give you a break-"

Nate's fussing turned to full on screaming as he got close enough to smell my milk. "Unless you have a plan to start lactating, I need to feed our son. You can find some breakfast for you and EJ."

"Yes, ma'am." He placed a short, sharp kiss on my lips as he transferred Nate from his arms to mine.

An hour later, the kids were fed, Nate was sleeping again, and EJ was watching one of the two shows she was allowed per day, while Jim and I snuggled together on the couch.

"I missed you," he breathed the words into my hair.

"Oh? When I woke up and heard you with the kids, I thought-"

"I kissed you as soon as I got in, Chris. You were dead to the world – you stirred and said my name but then rolled over instead of opening your eyes. I wanted to let you sleep so I took care of the kids when they woke up."

I shrugged. "I guess the solo parenting took it out of me this week."

"You deserve a good rest now that I'm home. Do you want to go-"

"No." My hands dug into his chest. "I want to stay here, at home with my family."

"Okay." His hands massaged the back of my neck. "Did you ever think – all those years ago when we were teammates on SWAT – that this would be our life one day?"

"No," I whispered, tilting my head back to meet his eyes. "I never dreamed back then that I could have you – and a job I love – and children –"

His dimples flashed. "You told me when you left SWAT that I got you, remember?"

I nodded as his lips met mine and I lost myself in his touch, knowing that the moment wouldn't last long.

"PAPA! Show done!" EJ cried, as she ran over to the couch and shook us apart.

I looked down at her in amusement as Nate began to cry from his nursery. Jim dropped his head to my chest before looking up at me, his pupils dilated and his breath coming in pants.

I cupped his face. "And now, you have all of us. Regrets?"

He dropped a swift kiss on my lips as he stood and swung EJ into the air.

"Not a one."

A/N: It's the END! Love to hear final thoughts - and if you have any prompts/suggestions for a STRIS story, feel free to PM me. Drop me a line and REVIEW!