It was almost 2am when Andy finally made her way back to Dean's place. After dinner with Maya and Vic and drinks on Vic and Travis' front porch she felt better. It had been way too long since they'd had a girls night. She was quiet when she entered, but Dean was a father now and sleeping lightly was his new norm so he heard her. Looking at the clock, he shook his head and rolled over. He was all for having a good time, but Andy seemed to be practicing avoidance pretty hardcore these days. If she wasn't working OT at the station she was sleeping till noon and watching trashy reality TV on the couch all day. He wanted to help his friend, but he was also tired of having a house guest and she didn't seem to be that interested in going back home.

Collapsing into bed, Andy thought back to her conversation with her two friends earlier in the night.

Flashback...

"You've been at Dean's for weeks, Andy." Maya said. "Don't you think it's time to go home?"

"Ugh..." Andy said, taking a drink of her beer. "You had to go and bring that up didn't you?" The look on her face screamed annoyance.

"What? We can talk about my relationship with Theo and Maya's newlywed bliss, but you thought you'd be spared." Vic joked a little, but Andy didn't crack a smile.

"We're just concerned, that's all." Maya said. "You won't even talk to him, Andy."

"I just...don't know what I could say at this point. Every time I think about it or the times that I've tried, I just get angry," Andy said. "I get that you guys are okay with what happened, but I'm not. I can still follow his orders at the station even if I don't agree with him." Andy took a sip of her beer and gave her friends a determined look.

"But you're married. This isn't some random guy you're dating. He's your person, Andy. And if you won't talk to him, how will you ever work things out?" Vic asked.

Back to the present...

As Andy laid in bed that night, Vic's question haunted her. She knew deep down that her and Robert would never survive what was going on, if she couldn't figure out how to talk to him. Why did everything have to be so complicated? So much about their relationship was so good, but it just seemed they were destined to keep facing challenges at work. And if she couldn't trust him to consider her in the decisions he was making or include her...how could they ever move forward?

It was well after noon when Andy finally stumbled out to the kitchen. Despite sleeping late, she still looked tired. As she emerged, she saw Dean snuggling what appeared to be a sleeping Pru as he paced on the back deck. Placing her cup under the espresso drip, starting the machine, she stared out the door looking at him and got lost in her thoughts. Before Robert she'd never imagined having kids, but being with him had opened up so many possibilities that she hadn't considered before. Watching Dean with Pru, pricked at her heart as she thought about what it would be like to watch Robert snuggling their own son or daughter someday.

There was no denying that she missed him. Even angry with him, she could admit that. She'd grown used to falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat, waking up to his kisses, playful banter as they got ready in the morning, heading into the station and coming back home together. It had been bumpy at first, with him as a Probie, but they'd found their rhythm. He respected her leadership and she asked for help when she needed it.

"Late night?" Dean said jokingly as he walked through the open doors and startled Andy from her daze.

"I wasn't too loud was I?" She asked, genuinely concerned. Andy was grateful that Dean had let her stay with him. It had been an amazing distraction to be keeping him and Pru company.

"Nah...not at all. Pru has ruined me. I could be in a dead sleep and if I hear a noise that I think might be her, I'm awake." Dean said with a gentle smile. He placed his sleeping daughter in her playpen.

"Well, that's good." Andy said, taking a sip of the magical caffeinated elixir. Realizing what she said she corrected herself. "Not that she's ruined you...just that I wasn't too loud."

"So how was girls night?" Dean inquired with air quotes. He asked knowing Andy would mention Vic & Theo along with Maya & Carina. Though it pained him to think about Vic in a relationship with Theo, she seemed happy from what he could tell. He also knew it was his fault...he'd handled the whole, her moving out thing so poorly and waited too long to come clean about his feelings. He wasn't sure what he would do, but he knew he couldn't just wait around. It was time for him to get back out there.

"Well... obviously COVID still has things pretty buttoned up," Andy said, "so we ended up doing BYOB and on takeout Vic & Travis' front porch. It was a good time though. Maya is still in the happy just got married bubble and Vic & Theo are doing good. Her parents seem to like him."

Dean nodded a bit, unable to fake enthusiasm around hearing Vic and Theo's relationship was going swimmingly. "So what about you?" He asked.

"What about me?" Andy replied, feigning ignorance.

"You & Robert? I mean... has anything changed? Have you at least talked to him?" Dean said casually. He was trying to remain Switzerland. Not squarely supporting either one exclusively. He supported Andy by giving her a place to stay and listening if she needed it and he supported Robert with a periodic update on how Andy was doing. He felt bad for the guy. It seemed he had the best intentions, but despite his efforts Andy was holding on to her anger fiercely.

"Nothing's changed, Dean." Andy said firmly. "I've not made peace with what he did and I don't know how I possibly can."

"What does that mean, Andy?" Dean questioned her. From everything he'd seen, she was a woman in love. I mean anyone with eyes could see she and Robert loved each other. He was warmer, happier, friendlier and she was calmer and more grounded. It hadn't exactly made sense at first, but as the team had gotten to know Robert on a more personal level over these past few months, they'd started to see what brought them together.

"It means..." Andy racked her brain for something to say. "I don't want to do this right now, but no nothing has changed for me." She finished off her coffee and dropped the porcelain espresso cup in the sink.

"Okay," Dean said and shrugged his shoulders a bit. "I'll back off...and I'll admit, I'm not the best person to give love advice, but Andy... you two love each other. And you've already made it through some of the worst things two people can go through. Are you really going to let a job title or career move be the thing that ends your relationship?"

Andy barely acknowledged Dean's rhetorical question, but eventually squeaked out. "I guess time will tell."

Dean had gotten a text from Maya and Vic earlier that morning that said after last night, they were pretty sure Andy needed a nudge to go home and start reconciling with Robert. Apparently, he'd been too good of a host and she was very comfortable. They devised a plan to get the two of them in the same place, with a baby as a good peacekeeper thinking that just might get them talking. So, when Andy emerged from the guest room a while later, he asked her to take Pru to the park and she happily agreed.

Robert paid for his coffee and made his way down the cement path towards the park. It was a bit odd to get a text from Dean asking him to meet him at the park, but he got ready and went anyway. He assumed Dean just wanted to get out of the house with Pru. It was a beautiful summer day in Seattle. COVID protocols were still in place so people were masked and social distancing, but at least able to get outside in the nice weather.

It had been a lonely couple of weeks. He'd spent weeks quarantining alone, when he and Andy were separated, but once they'd gotten back together and she'd come home, they had been inseparable. Aside from work, meetings and the occasional hang with Ben or Dean, he was back to doing most things solo and he didn't love it. He missed his wife. As he walked, he couldn't help but think back to their last day off, before the shift that sent everything into chaos.

Flashback...

"You're exhausted," Andy said as she looked up at her husband and brushed her fingers down the side of his cheek. They were standing in the kitchen at home after getting off work. "It was a helluva shift." They'd had 2 calls before being dispatched to a 3 alarm rager that took forever to put out. Add in a few hours of overtime and both of them were ready for bed.

"Definitely exhausted," Robert replied as he leaned in closer to his wife, "but not too tired to take you to bed." Robert closed the distance and captured her lips in a steamy kiss.

Naked, lying chest to chest, Andy couldn't help see how Robert looked at her with such adoration. She flushed under his gaze, thinking about how he made her feel like a love-struck teenager. Her heart swelled and it was hard not to get overwhelmed by the emotion of it all. "I love you," she whispered.

Robert brushed a kiss across her lips and replied back, "I love you too." Lightly he fingered the gorgeous golden locks that framed her face. He rained kisses on her eyelids, nose and cheeks, driving her a little crazy in anticipation before again taking her lips in his. He was so in love with this woman. There was nothing he wouldn't give to make her happy. They made slow sweet love that morning. No more words spoken, none needed. Their hearts and bodies had the only conversation necessary.

After a long nap, the happy, sated couple made it out of bed, hit the showers and ate Chinese take out from the cartons. The world was still closed down now, but when it opened back up, they wanted to go on a honeymoon.

Back to the present...

Robert looked around for Dean and Pru near the play area where he said they would be. It didn't take long to spot Pru, she was a happy giggly child, just barely walking on her own, but trying to be independent no less. Immediately, he noticed Dean was nowhere in sight, but sitting on a large blanket with toys spread out and a stroller nearby was none other than his wife. Her wild curls blew in the wind slightly. She wore denim cut offs that showed off her gorgeous legs and a v-neck t-shirt. She looked relaxed and happy. Andy hadn't spotted him yet and was laughing at something Pru had just done. Just the sight of her, the thought of their fight and how long it had been since they slept in the same bed made his heart ache. Taking a deep breath he slowly approached and as if she could sense his arrival, she turned towards him.

"What are you doing here?" Andy asked with exasperation in her voice as she got up into a standing position. The happy, carefree smile that was just on her face had evaporated.

"Dean asked me to meet him here." Robert said calmly despite being annoyed by her instant attitude. In the beginning he got it. He could understand why she was behaving the way she was, but the longer it went on the more immature it started to seem. Why couldn't they just talk?

"I don't know why." Andy said and rolled her eyes. As soon as the words left her lips, she knew they'd been set up. Looking across at Robert's face, she could see he'd just drawn that conclusion as well. "Now that we know we've been set up, you should just go." Andy added.

"Or I could stay and we could finally have a real conversation, like adults." Robert quipped back.

"What are you trying to say, Robert? That I'm acting like a child?" Andy asked in a harsh whisper.

"You're obviously not a child, Andy...but I think we can both agree that avoiding me, not talking to me, doing literally nothing to try and sort this out isn't the way mature people handle problems in their relationships." Robert said matter of factly.

She scoffed under her breath slightly. "And you're suddenly an expert on relationships now?" Andy questioned rhetorically, her head shaking just slightly. "You really should go."

Robert could easily admit that he missed his wife, he was frustrated with how things were going and he was also tired. He didn't feel like he'd done anything wrong, no one else on the team was upset with him, he'd done everything in his power to make things right with her, but she wouldn't even talk to him. What more could he do? "If that's what you want, I'll go. But eventually...I'm going to get tired of waiting." Robert turned to leave.

Hand on her hip, Andy replied sassily. "And what is that supposed to mean?" She watched Robert turn back towards her.

"It means that even though I love you, I'm not going to beg you to come home, Andy. Because I shouldn't have to." He took a breath before continuing. "We're married and couples fight, but that doesn't mean you walk away. The only way we fix this, the only way we figure out how to move forward is if we talk. It's been weeks and all you're doing is pushing me away. You haven't told me what exactly I did to deserve your anger or what I can do to make it better and I'm just... I'm tired. I'm a good husband. Not perfect, but good. I don't deserve this." There was a hint of hurt in Robert's eyes despite a predominantly steely disposition.

Andy felt her heart rate increase at his words. Anger and frustration pulsed through her, but she felt something else too. Fear. Had she taken things too far? Would Robert decide he'd had enough and end things himself? The fleeting emotion didn't change her response though and she replied sarcastically, "By all means, please do make this about you. You say, you don't deserve this? But what about what I deserve, Robert?" Andy looked at him with indignation. Pulling herself back, she knelt back down to Pru. She wouldn't argue in front of her. Without looking up at him, she calmly replied, "I'll let Dean know you dropped by."

Robert pivoted on his heels and walked away. Taking the final sips of his coffee, he tossed the cup in a nearby recycling bin before texting Dean one word and the exploding head emoji. "Seriously?" Dean didn't reply.

Back at the House Boat...

"It didn't go well," Dean said into the phone to Vic and Travis who were on speaker. "I got a text from Sullivan that just said 'seriously' with the head exploding emoji."

"Calm down," Vic said with a slight snicker in her voice.

"Yeah, I mean...maybe it wasn't as bad as you think." Travis tried to reason.

"Oh no...I'm pretty sure it was bad. You know how you can ask someone if they're okay and they say, 'I'm fine' but you just know they aren't. You know they're actually really upset. This definitely has that kind of energy." Dean blurted out. "Andy will be back anytime. Any suggestions?" He asked.

"Well, remember that Pru will be there so she can't hurt you physically," Vic said in an amused voice.

"Or do too much yelling," Travis added with concealed laughter.

"I'm serious guys..." Dean said. "I love Andy, but I'm ready to have my place back to myself and she really does need to work things out with her husband."

"Okay, okay..." Vic said in a more serious tone. "You're just gonna have to tell her the truth. We all know that Andy is beyond stubborn... and when she has dug her heels in on something it takes herculean levels of convincing to get her to move or change her mind. But it really is past time for her to face the music. So tell her that. It's time for some tough love." Vic felt good about her advice.

Andy and Pru stayed at the park a while longer. She'd really grown attached to the little girl over the past month. With both of them having absent mothers, she felt she understood Pru in a profound way. What was sure though, is that the little girl wasn't lacking love in her life. Dean had stepped up to the plate and been every bit the father she needed and deserved to have, plus she had all of A-shift behind her too.

As she placed Pru in the stroller, packed up the little girl's toys and blanket, Andy couldn't help but think about what Robert said. While she didn't like that he basically called her behavior childish, she knew he was right. They were never going to move past this if they couldn't talk about it. The problem was... she didn't know exactly what she would say. Her reasons for being angry felt valid, they felt real and big, yet he didn't seem to be interested in acknowledging that. And more than anything, she just kept wondering if maybe this was going to be the thing that would break them. Which was an outcome that felt impossible to face. Her and Pru made it back to the houseboat just as Dean was wrapping up his phone call.

"Not cool, Miller, not cool!" Andy said in a harsh whisper as she walked through the door with a sleeping Pru in her stroller. She had fallen asleep on the way back, no doubt exhausted from a few hours outside.

Dean pretended not to know what Andy was talking about, "Whatever do you mean?" He kept his face neutral, but when Andy shot him a look that said, 'are you kidding me?' He shrugged his shoulders and replied. "Look, I had to do something. We're all worried about you? About both of you."

Irritation evident, Andy replied. "Great, so now all my friends are talking about me behind my back." She shook her head a bit as she faced her friend.

"It's not like that and you know it..." Dean hummed and hawed a moment before speaking, uncertain of exactly what he should say. Taking a deep breath and praying a silent prayer he went for it. "I'm gonna say some things you won't like."

"Okay," Andy replied with a hand on her hips and hard eyes.

Dean had some thoughts in his mind about how she was hiding and needing to "face the music" like Vic said, but just as he was about to speak, like an answer to his silent prayer, he heard Pruitt's words. "When JJ left, I was spiraling out. I tried to get Pru to take formula and a bottle, but all she did was cry. So I called your dad. He came over, calmed her down and got her to eat." Dean said with a gentle smile.

"He always was good with babies," Andy said softening.

"When she finally got to sleep he gave me the best advice of my life and I'm gonna tell you what he said." Dean looked across the room and took a glance at his daughter still asleep in her stroller. He loved that little girl more than anything in the world and couldn't imagine what his life would be if he had actually followed through with his considerations. "He told me, when you're on the fence everything is hard." Dean did his best impression of Pruitt. "If you're not sure about keeping this baby, every time she cries it's gonna be painful. But once you decide that you're all in, love replaces the fear. Then when she cries, she's just crying."

Andy didn't know why hearing her dad's words about babies made her eyes water, but they did. "So you're telling me I need to decide if I'm all in on my marriage." She interpreted.

Dean nodded his head gently. "When you're all in, Andy, a fight will just be a fight. It'll be something you two work through, get past and move on from because that's just what happens in marriage." He knew Andy wasn't big on emotion, but here she was tears pooling in her eyes. He was fairly certain they'd had a breakthrough. "It's time to stop hiding. It's time to let go of the anger. It's time to face this thing head on. You run into fires for a living. You can do this."

Andy nodded as she wiped away her silent tears. "Thank you, Dean." She breathed deep and knew what she needed to do.

"So...I know you're not big on hugs, but I'm gonna hug you right now." Dean said, as he swallowed her up into a bear hug. Andy was family and he was grateful that he had words of wisdom from her dad to pass on to her, when she needed them most.

A few moments later, Andy headed into the bedroom that had become her safe haven, went to the closet and pulled out the duffle and suitcase she'd brought with her. It was time to go home. She emerged from the bedroom about an hour later and found Dean feeding Pru. She kissed her head gently and gave Dean a pat on the shoulder. "I don't know how I'll ever repay you for...well all of it. But I'm grateful." Andy said.

"We're family. Family takes care of each other." Dean said with the warmth of brotherly love. Andy made her way to the door and just as she was about to head out, he said, "If it truly doesn't work out and you can't work through it, you know you always have a place here. But something tells me... the two of you are meant to be. You'll figure this out." With that, she left the houseboat.

Andy sat nervously in her car clutching the steering wheel of her crossover. She'd been parked in front of their apartment for nearly 20 minutes and hadn't willed herself to go inside yet. Despite the truth of Dean's words, she still didn't know exactly what she would say. She still felt betrayed, but despite all of that... she knew she loved her husband and couldn't imagine her future without him in it. Getting out of the car, grabbing her bags she made her way inside.

To say Robert was surprised would be an understatement. He was coming down the stairs dressed in workout clothes when the front door opened. He had planned to take a run and get his mind off of the exact person standing in front of him right now. Skipping pleasantries he asked, "What are you..."

Interrupting him before she lost her nerve, Andy jumped in. "They don't tell you in the fire academy that you'll lose more than you'll win. They don't tell you that on pretty much every call, the odds are stacked against you." She ran a hand through her wild curls and took a deep breath. "It kind of feels like the odds have been stacked against us from... the beginning. " She shrugged her shoulders a bit. "We've had more LIFE happen to us in the first six months of being together, then some couples have over the course of a decade. The blows just kept coming and I got tired. Tired of fighting, tired of weathering storms and I just started to wonder if maybe we're just not meant to be. Maybe all the obstacles are just too big." Andy swallowed back the emotion in her throat as she spoke. "The problem is... I can't imagine my future without you in it."

Robert didn't need to hear anything else. Wordlessly, he moved from the bottom step to the landing and pulled Andy into a passionate kiss. Pulling away eventually, he cupped her cheeks, looked into her eyes and said, "I love you. Let's talk."