A/N: Back again, still unsure if anyone is reading. Y'all know I love angst, but this chapter DOES lead to resolution. This story will be complete soon (4 more chapters, max) and I hope that you will complete the journey with me. Thanks for all your support and bearing with me with this very unrealistically canon couple.

The silence was so thick, it was almost painful. Each click of her combination lock was audible, reverberating in her ears and amplifying her heavy heart. After nearly a week of this, Brett should have been used to it.

Foster dug through her locker quietly, not even a glance- let alone a word- for her best friend. She put her foot up on the bench with a thud to retie her boot, a quiet sigh escaping her. Anyone that didn't know the pair would sincerely think they were strangers.

"Emily…" Sylvie chanced softly, stepping cautiously closer to her partner.

"Don't," Foster breathed out without looking up, no emotion in her voice.

"It's been a week, Foster! How many times do I have to tell you how sorry I am?!" Brett squeaked sadly, more loudly than she intended.

"Until you understand, Brett! Which is probably never!" Foster spat, looking to her partner with a scowl.

"I know it was a stupid joke, okay? I understand that. But Kidd said that you and Hailey are cool, right? We screwed up but at least you fixed it," Brett reasoned, admittedly not winning a lot of points for herself.

"I could have lost her, Brett!" Foster exclaimed, allowing herself to show emotion in front of her friend for the first time in days. "I almost lost her…" she quieted, plopping onto the bench and putting her sad head into her hands.

"But you didn't, Em. The whole thing was a misunderstanding and I think you know that. She does too," Brett sat next to her friend, feeling the anxiousness emanating from her.

"She said we were okay, but we're not," Emily admitted woefully, finally looking into Sylvie's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Brett asked softly, leaning nearer to her.

"I haven't seen her since Halloween. We still talk and everything, but I feel her pulling away. I fucked up and she doesn't trust me anymore," Foster sighed heavily.

"Did she say that?"

"No. She doesn't have to. You and Casey might have pulled a stupid joke, but I'M the one who really messed up," she shook her head hard, fighting the tears that she had been suppressing.

"Talk to her, Foster. Let her know how sorry you are- how MUCH she actually means to you."

Emily rolled her eyes, sitting up straight and feigning strength. "Easier said than done."

XXX

Foster sat in the common room, overthinking as she scrolled through her phone. In the last six days, she and Hailey had only spoken on the phone three times. That may not seem extreme, but when they had gone from speaking at least once – more often twice—a day, to three times in a week, it was heartbreaking. They had spoken nearly every night before bed for the last weeks, and now not at all. Their texts seemed generic- vague and passionless and the complete opposite of everything they had previously. Foster told herself that she was just worried, catastrophizing. She wished she believed that.

"Ahem," Brett whispered, nudging Foster incredibly subtly and tearing her from her inner turmoil. Foster looked up with sad eyes to see Brett glance pointedly at the door to the common room.

Upton looked smaller and more insecure than Foster had ever seen her, and considering what they had been through last week, that was saying something. She looked around awkwardly, waving at a couple of the guys who said hi to her. She hovered there, too uncomfortable to walk across the room.

Foster was on her feet clumsily quickly, striding across the room with a palpably nervous energy.

"Hi!" Foster greeted, surprise more than audible.

"Hi," Upton nodded, voice low and withdrawn.

Emily's heart picked up its pace violently, anxiety overtaking her upon hearing the detective's tone and seeing fear in her eyes. She led the woman to the truck bay without a word: whatever outcome this had, she certainly needed it to be in private.

"You okay?" Emily asked, voice shaking as she already anticipated the answer.

"Em, I think we need to talk," Hailey breathed out, walking side by side with Foster, feet of space between them.

"Okay," Foster spat out quickly, nearly stuttering over the word.

"I just came by to see when you'd be free," Upton said casually, leaning against the ambo with Foster next to her.

"I'm free now," she said directly, eyes wide against her will.

"I mean…" Hailey huffed uncomfortably. "I kinda didn't want it to be here."

"Hailey, you know if you leave it like that, I won't be able to concentrate for the rest of shift," Emily told her, admitting weakness. "I think we need to do it now."

Upton rubbed her eyes, hard, turning to face Foster but keeping some distance.

"I don't know how to say what I need to say to you," Hailey said, approaching Foster who remained leaning against the ambulance, needing something to ground her.

"Hailey, you can say anything to me," Emily told her honestly, catching the stare of blue eyes as they became nearer.

Hailey tore her eyes away, looking nervous and afraid as she took another step closer, resting her hand on Foster's stomach and pushing the woman's back softly against the vehicle.

"Anything?" she whispered, voice shaking. Her hand remained on Foster's waist as she stepped completely into the woman's space.

Foster's breath caught. They were close enough now that she could feel the heat radiating from Hailey, the warmth of her hand rushing through her body.

"Anything," Emily confirmed quietly, causing Hailey to look up once again.

Their eyes locked, the intensity of the look more overwhelming than anything either had felt, causing their blood to warm. Upton's gaze dropped unabashedly to Foster's lips, then back to her brown eyes, which were already fogging over. Emily worried for a moment that she was hallucinating. Hailey moved forward so slowly that she wasn't positive that this was real.

Upton's lips brushed over Foster's, barely grazing- a test. The audible breath that Foster exhaled was the answer. She leaned in fully this time, kissing Foster slowly, lips meeting and dragging across each other gently, subtly. Hailey stepped back, leaving the kiss simple and sweet. Foster's eyes remained closed, heart pounding, still wondering if this was actually happening. She opened them to find Hailey staring at her face, also seemingly in awe, hand still warm on her waist.

"Say it again," Foster barely breathed out, voice shaky now for a much different reason.

Hailey smirked, relief washing over her.

When she leaned in this time, there was no hesitation. Their mouths still met softly, exploring, but when Foster's hand wove its way into the back of blond hair, the tone suddenly changed. Hailey opened her mouth slightly, just enough to reach her tongue out to brush Foster's lower lip. The sound that came from the paramedic turned something inside Hailey that she was certain no one had ever triggered before. She grabbed Foster's shirt, pulling her in closer as their tongues met, slow and torturously soft. The cold metal of the ambo against her back competing with the warmth of Hailey's mouth against her own sent Foster's mind into a foggy frenzy of sensations.

When Upton pulled away, they both exhaled fully, releasing all of the energy their fear and waiting had built. She nudged Foster's forehead gently and found they both had shy smiles gracing their features. Foster almost giggled, overwhelmed, bumping Upton's forehead back and tingling with electricity everywhere that the woman touched. She brushed the hair away from the collar of Hailey's coat, allowing her fingertips to linger on the soft skin of her throat and amplifying the surge running through them both.

Upton's face hurt from smiling so big. She was only self-conscious about that fact for a second before she was being pulled into a powerful embrace. Foster clutched the base of her neck as Upton wrapped her arms around her waist, holding them as close together as possible. Foster breathed into Upton's collar, inhaling her scent and pulling in the electricity of 'finally'. She felt Hailey smile into her hair and realized that they truly felt the same depth of this.

They pulled away from the embrace, both beaming and staring adoringly into the other's eyes, their hands remaining entwined between them.

"Call me after shift?" Hailey rasped, breathless, not tearing her eyes away from Foster's ecstatic gaze.

All Foster could do was nod and smile.

Upton leaned in, kissing Foster on her cheekbone warmly, before smiling again as she walked away.