Disclaimer : I don't own the characters !
L.A. !
The honeymoon was over. Reality was reasserting itself. Night had fallen when the plane landed. It was really late, and Chris longed to get back to her bed. They won't go back to work until the day after tomorrow, in order to recover from jet lag too, the sooner they got home the sooner they could sleep. Collecting their luggage, the newlyweds found Luca and Ally, who had come to collect them.
"Welcome home, you two !" Luca told them.
"Thanks mate." said Street, who yawned.
"Wow, I think we better bring them back." Ally said.
They had hardly left the airport, after five minutes, when the couple seated in the back of the SUV fell asleep, Chris's head on Street's shoulder.
"How do you think they will react ?" Ally asked, in a low voice.
"Hopefully they'll be too tired to argue." Luca said. "At least until tomorrow."
He parked twenty minutes later in front of a residence. He turned off the engine, unbuckled his seatbelt, and turned in his seat to wake the sleeping two.
"Wake up guys, we've here !"
He got out of the SUV and went to take the luggage from the trunk, helped by Ally.
"Where are we ?" asked Street, who had gotten out of the vehicle. "Luca !"
"We'll let you know when we're inside." said the latter.
Street exchanged a puzzled, sleepy look with Chris, but they followed Luca and Ally anyway. They passed through a small gate accessible by a beep, the same for the front door of the building.
"Luca…"
"Be patient, buddy !"
The elevator took them to the fourth floor. Luca ushered them into an apartment. A wide entrance, leading directly to the dining room open to the kitchen on the right. Street immediately recognized the couch that was supposed to be in the living room of their house.
"Okay, explain yourself now." Street said. "What are we doing here ?"
Luca and Ally exchanged a smile, and Luca handed the couple a bunch of keys. Street grabbed it, lost.
"As you forbade us to give you anything as a wedding gift, we acted behind your back and we all contributed." Luca said. "This place is your apartment."
"What did you say there ?" Chris said.
"With the guys, we wondered what we could offer you that you couldn't refuse, and we all agreed." Luca said. "We save you from going through the classifieds and we spent two months, without your knowledge, looking for the best apartment for you, and here it is. Two bedrooms, a bathroom with a large shower, and there is a dressing room in the large bedroom. I'm leaving most of the furniture to you, and I've sold the rest. And I used the money from the sale of the house to advance two months' rent."
"Eh ?"
The newlyweds looked at each other, this time fully awake.
"Hold on, are you telling us that you plotted behind our backs to find us an apartment ?"
"Exactly !" Luca said. "Listen buddy, from the moment Chris and you got serious, we knew very well that one day or another, you would be leaving to start your life. When you got engaged, it was only a matter of time before you had to move out, and in the meantime I've reconnected with Ally. This apartment is your new beginning as husband and wife, and it's well within your means, we've checked."
"I thought we were going to put up with each other for a while longer." Street said, a lump in his throat.
"Hey, we're a family. We work together every day, and you're gonna put up with my bad temper for a long time." Luca said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But, it is time that we each move forward on our own. You with Chris, and me with Ally. Accept this gift that we give you with the team, you deserve it."
"I didn't know you were such a trickster." Street said. "Taking advantage of our absence to put everything in place. »
Luca laughed, and the two men hugged.
"We filled the fridge and cupboards for you." Ally said. "All your clothes and things are put away, and your cars are at HQ. The guys didn't want to risk someone trying to steal them. »
"And my motorbike ?" asked Street, who had gone back to Chris.
"It's also at HQ." Luca said. "There is underground parking in addition to that of the residence. Okay, the apartment papers and the second set of keys are on the kitchen counter with your mail. Don't ask how, we made all the address changes, all you have to do is change Chris's name."
"In other words, you have chewed up the work for us." said the bride.
"It's not a big deal." Luca said. "We're leaving now, I'll pick you up on wednesday at seven a.m to take you to HQ. In the meantime, rest, you look like two zombies straight out of the Walking Dead."
Street rolled his eyes. Once Luca and Ally were gone, Street locked the door with a sigh.
"I'm way too tired to comment." Chris said.
"The same." Street said. "Let's go to bed and we'll talk about all this tomorrow morning."
They made a detour to the bathroom anyway, and the shower was very large, indeed, and they stayed there longer than expected. All their things were folded up and put away in the dressing room. Street put on boxer shorts, and Chris put on a black babydoll. To get the bed made and smelling this good, their friends had to get everything ready while they were on the flight home.
The next morning !
Chris woke up alone in bed. At first, when she opened her eyes, she wondered where she could be, not recognizing the room she was in, before remembering that she was in her new apartment. A smell of coffee dragged her from the bed to the kitchen after a detour through the bathroom.
"Hello, my love ! »
"Hello !" she answered in a still sleepy voice. "What time is it ?"
"Nine and a half." Street turned off the hotplate. "Slept well ?"
"Yeah, although I was a little disoriented when I woke up." she admitted.
"I know, it's the same for me."
He carried two plates of scrambled eggs and bacon to the living room table, which was already laid out with plenty of good things to eat. Chris's buxom body, deliciously attractive in her babydoll, pressed against his.
...
She had visited the apartment after breakfast. A little more awake than the day before, she couldn't deny the obvious. Their friends had chosen very well. Standing in the middle of the empty second bedroom, she sighed. Her husband's hands wrapped around her.
"What do you think about it ?"
"I will need time to adapt, but I love this apartment." Chris said. "Although it kills me to know that they got together and did everything for us."
"I know what you're feeling." Street breathed. "I thought about paying them back, but the more I think about it the more I think they might take it very badly, since it's supposed to be a wedding gift."
Chris had thought about it too, without any possible way out.
"This room will be perfect…" Street's voice grew lower and softer. "…for our future baby."
She smiled and felt more relaxed. Especially since Street was stroking her belly. She turned in his arms.
"Is it going to become an obsession, or what ?" she amused herself.
"I don't know what you're talking about at all." he said before lifting her into his arms. She wrapped herself around him. "How about we go back to bed ?"
"We have our bags to unpack." she reminded him.
"We have all day for that." he said, leading them back to their brand new room. "We didn't have time to baptize the bed, at least in this new room. And the whole apartment, in fact."
"And we have all the time in the world for that." she pointed out.
But she didn't stop him. Lying on their bed, they kissed slowly, taking the time to enjoy this last day of tranquility before heading back to work. Chris snaked her hands down his back, reaching for the only part of her husband's body that was obscured by just a pair of boxer shorts. She slipped her hands in and grabbed them. Perfect. Muscular. He mumbled something about the condoms in their travel bags. Chris burst out laughing.
"That's why we should have taken care of our luggage before thinking about sex."
Street sighed and was about to get up from his comfortable position, when Chris pulled him back against her.
"But we don't care." She licked his lip. "Kiss me, pretty boy !"
The kiss was deep. He kissed her with all his soul, while she lowered his underwear.
"Are you sure"?"
"I am."
She let herself be undressed. He entered her without any protection. He moved inside her. Slow and long penetrations that made the moment last. Their hands caressed each other, their mouths kept finding themselves in languorous, hungry kisses. The orgasm hit them, and Street came inside her.
"I…sorry I…"
She stopped him, putting a finger to his mouth as they both gasped.
"I… (she kissed him) …don't (kiss again) …care." She dug her fingers into his chestnut hair, which had grown out slightly. "I love you, Jim Street."
"I love you !"
…
Their day passed far too slowly, so they took the opportunity to unpack and Chris did several laundry.
"I still can't believe what they did." Street said. "We have enough to eat for at least three weeks."
"Could we thank them by inviting them to dinner ?" Chris offered. "We just need a bigger table."
"Are we going to invite everyone at the same time ?" he asked.
"We will take turns." she replied. "We can say Luca, Ally, Hondo and Nichelle first. Then we bring Deac, Annie and the kids. You see what I mean."
"Yeah, that could do it." he said. "We should invite Buck, too."
"We will invite them all." she assured. "What if we sit in front of the TV ?"
Luca & Cie had even thought of getting them the cable for their comeback. What a bunch of weirdos ! The young married couple spent the rest of their day huddled on the couch, in semi-darkness watching movie after movie until dinner time. Fatigue caught up with them very quickly and they went to bed just after dinner.
"Maybe I should sell my bike."
Lying face to face, Chris frowned. She turned on the bedside lamp and looked at her husband in disbelief.
"You want to sell your motorcycle, when it took you months to pay for it ?"
"We do a job that is dangerous enough that I do not add to it when we want to have children ?" he said as he sat down. "To tell you the truth, I've been thinking about it for a while. Why foolishly risk my life with a bike ? And I will also have to change my car and…"
"Time out, babe." She knelt on the bed. "I'm not pregnant yet, and just because we're having kids doesn't mean you have to sell your bike. For the car, okay, but it's mine that we'll change, and we'll keep yours for work. But don't sell your bike. I know you'll miss it."
"I think more about my safety and that of my family before my little pleasures." he said.
"No, the discussion is closed." Chris turned off the lamp, and lay back, patting the space beside her. "You don't sell your bike, and we'll change my car when the time comes."
The next day !
It was their big comeback to HQ. Luca had come to pick them up, as agreed. Everyone they met greeted them and congratulated them once again on their marriage. They hadn't been able to invite everyone, but that didn't change the fact that they were all happy for them. Chris and Street changed into their uniforms. Luca left them after putting on his.
"We're going to have to train, since we spent the week hanging out." Chris said.
"Um, but I loved hanging out with you." he said, pulling her to him. "I still see you in a bikini."
She laughed as he kissed her.
"Hmm, I'm going to have to get my hair cut." she said, pulling away.
"Why ?" he complained.
"Because I'm more comfortable working with short hair." she says. "But here's what I propose to you ; I promise to let my hair grow out when I get pregnant, and I won't cut it until I get back to work. What do you think about it ?"
"Deal !" he abdicated, still grumbling.
She rolled her eyes and took his hand. They met the rest of the team in the great hall, and were greeted with big hugs.
"We're happy to see you again." Hondo said. "So where were you ? Luca didn't want to telll us anything."
"Even them don't know where you took me ?" Chris wondered, looking at her husband.
"Nobody knew about it." said the latter. "I took her to the Bahamas."
"Just that !" Tan said. "You must have done this months in advance."
"It was necessary." Street said. "Uh, we want to thank you for the apartment. You guys are completely nuts and we feel a little uncomfortable for…"
"Hey…" Deacon cut him off. "It made us happy, so accept this gift without thinking of anything else."
"That's why, once we get our bearings, we'll invite you to dinner to thank you." Chris said. "But we'll do it several times."
"It's up to you." Hondo said. "Come on, to the shooting range. We'll see if this week spent in the sun has rusted you."