Author's note: Hey everyone!
This author's notes are going to be long so if you want to skip ahead to the chapter this is the short version: Thank you so much for coming back! Only 2 more chapters left after this (excluding the epilogue). You can now follow me on twitter if you want to SurreraFeels. The first part of this chapter is at the beginning of 2X13. The last part takes place after 2X14.
As always, hope you enjoy and drop your thoughts if you want to!
Now for the long detailed version if you want to be updated about where this project and others are headed.
I have gotten a lot of comments saying you want me to update more both this fic and Daughter. I am so glad you are so passionate about my works, believe me I couldn't be happier. But you have to understand that I am an Uni student, which means I have a lot on my plate right now. For this reason, most of the chances are there will not be a new chapter of Daughter next week. There will be a new chapter of Alive for sure, which I will post toward the beginning of the week, and I will try to post a new Daughter by the weekend, but I make no promises. Believe me when I say I am doing something that has to do with fanfiction in every single free moment I got (and sometimes during classes LOL).
I hope August will leave me more free time for writing.
As for longer chapters (Which I also seem to get a lot), I am trying to make them longer, but at the same time I am doing what I think is right for the story. Everything I write, I write in a way that would make me enjoy the story as a reader, and not feel like it is just going on and on endlessly. This is also addressing the fact that this story is ending.
As to future projects- There is a Surrera one shot challenge thingy I am taking part in. I have written 5000 words, then decided it was crap and to start over (a thing that I haven't started yet), which obviously sets me way back and is time consuming.
But the most important thing is! I have a new fic idea. It is very visual, and as such I am looking for someone who draws fanart to collab with. I know it is a long shot, but if you are a fanartist, or you know someone who is and might be interested, please leave me a comment with the user name for Insta\ Twitter\ Tumblr for me to check out, or you can DM me on twitter ( SurreraFeels) or on tumblr ( itsfalloutgirl). You can DM me regardless, I am more than happy to be friends! I don't have a fan insta page since I am a writer not an editor.
That is everything! OMG this was so long thank you for reading and hope you enjoy!
"I have a surprise for you." Sullivan states. He appeared out of nowhere just as Andy was about to leave, blocking her way out of the turnout room. He has one of his hands held behind his back, the other leaning against the door frame, and a very smug smile on his face.
"If you plan on giving me those chocolates my dad bought for us all in Hawaii, then yes they are disgusting, and no I don't want them. I am sorry, you are stuck with them, and you have to pretend to like them."
Andy lifts her head up and tries to walk out of the room, yet she bumps head first into Sullivan's tall form denying her exit.
She frowns at him before he asks. "So you don't want to see what I have for you?"
"What is it?" Andy asks. Great, first her father gets on her nerves, and now Sullivan comes at her in a whole wrong way.
He brings the item back from behind his back, revealing the new box of Lucky Charms he had been hiding, and shakes it in Andy's direction. "I thought you might want to do some emotional eating, and I can listen to you rent about your father if you want me to. I mean, as long as there isn't a call, I have nothing better to do."
"You know me too well." She snatches the box of cereal out of his grip and rips the top lid open. She opens the inner beg, and slides her hand as deep into the box as she possibly can. Her hand comes out full with the sugary goodness, and she shoves it into her mouth in a very unladylike move.
Sullivan can't help but laugh, and she gives him a crooked look, asking "What?" with her mouth still full of the sweets.
"Nothing. Sometimes you can be so cute, with those cheeks filled with food that is usually targeted towards children. It makes me forget that the woman in front of me is the same woman who has a firm opinion on practically everything, that she is the strong firefighter that saved my life and earned a medal of valor for that."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's me, Andrea Herrera, a woman full of contradictions." She swallows hard. "Now can we get back to my problems, please?"
"I am all ears." He says, and slides his back against one of the lockers, until he sits on the floor, his legs stretched forward. She does the same, and in a moment they are seated closely next to each other.
If a stranger had seen them, he or she might have questioned their proximity, their legs tangled together, but their friendship is close like that. A friendship between two people who have seen each other naked, quite literally, tends to be that way.
"I just don't get him." Andy admits, shoving her hand back into the clear bag. "He was single for so many years, and I thought he had made peace with it or something. Maybe because he was so in love with mom, he just thought he couldn't find anyone to compare. I thought he was one of the people who believed in one big, great true love, and when death does this love apart, there are no second chances."
Andy slams the handful of Lucky Charms to her mouth, and for a long minute the only sound in the room is of her chewing on the crunchy cereal.
"And then he decides to sell his house, my home, the house I grew up in. And he meets this woman, Reggie." Andy stops and throws in an eye roll to emphasize her distaste, just for good measure, as if he didn't know Herrera is not the biggest fan of the woman her father is currently seeing. "And he leaves everything, puts his life on hold and flies with her all the way to Hawaii. They have known each other for two whole minutes, and he takes a spontaneous exotic vacation with her!"
"Are you done yet?" Robert asks as he inserts his hand into the box.
Andy hits him playfully on the back of his hand, and he pulls it back empty.
"That's mime!" Andy protests.
"Yeah, but I gave it to you. I thought we could eat it together, I didn't mean for you to inhale the entire thing all on your own!"
"Too bad, Andy doesn't share food." She quotes the iconic line, and it makes him giggle. "And as for your question, no, I am not done, nowhere near it actually. Do you think she is after the money he is going to earn from selling the house?"
"Hardly." Robert answers honestly, and tries to reach toward the box, only to have Andy pull it away from him once again. "She is a real estate agent, Andy. I don't think she would do such a thing, which could really hurt her reputation and her career. And if she was after a client's money, I am sure she has clients with much more substantial fortune than your father has."
"Do you think he has a post cancer crisis? Like a midlife crisis, but he is driven by the fact that he has learned the hard way how short and unexpected life can be?"
"Do you really want to listen to what I think?" He asks, and when she nods he continues. "I think that your father is finally finding a place in his life where he is happy. And I think you would have been happy for him, if you didn't feel the need to question his choice of sexual partner, like he did to you."
"Hardly." She retorts with the same words he used just a moment ago. "And I wish I haven't told you about that particular conversation."
"Too late for that." He shrugs. Robert is about to say something more, but the lights go out, probably a sign of a near by death coming from the station's generator.
Roberts uses the distraction to reach a hand into the box and retrieve a handful of the sugary cereal Andy was so reluctant to share.
Andy throws a death glare in his direction, one that he cannot see in the darkness, but he can certainly feel. If human eyes could burn in their gaze, he would already have a scar on his forehead.
The light turns back on a few seconds later, and Andy discovers Roberts has already started to munch on the little pieces in his hand.
"You only eat the marshmallows!" She observes.
"They are the best part." He tries to justify his actions, as he plops the last marshmallow into his mouth, leaving him with a handful of boring, normal cereal.
"I know, but you can't do that!" Andy insists. "It is against the holy rules of the Lucky Charms! They sell the marshmallows separately just for that purpose!"
Robert rolls his eyes at her earnest."OK, OK, whatever you say, princess leprechaun."
Andy puts her hand back into the box, and as she pulls it out she throws a couple of pieces in Robert's direction. It hits right on his left cheek, and he flinches back.
"Oh, you are so on." Robert promises as he aims the cereal pieces left in his right hand and uses them as a weapon. When he is out of ammunition, he tries to reach into the box she is still holding in order to arm himself back up. She is pulling it away from him, which makes him lose his balance and fall on top of her.
The sound of their laughing stops, and it's replaced only by the sound of their heavy breathing. Their faces are close, so close he has to lean in barely and inch in order to kiss that smug smile off of her face.
And oh, how he is tempted to kiss her.
He almost does it, almost takes the step he had been on the brink of making for six months now, but then they both hear someone coming into the turnout room. They get off of each other, shaking the invisible dust off of their clothing.
The people who came into the room don't talk, but they are definitely engaged in some kind of activity because Andy can hear the sound of two bodies slamming into each other coming from the direction of the entrance.
"We should definitely take that imaginary vacation to somewhere with a beach." She hears a voice saying, raspy from shortness of breath. Chief Ripley?
"Andy, I am so sorry." Robert says, and what does he have to apologize for? "Hey, Luke!" He yells in the direction of their invaders.
And then she sees them. Vic and Chief Ripley wrapped up in each other in a way that leaves no room for doubts. Her hands are grabbing his collar, and their lips look swollen from kissing.
For a long while the four of them just look at each other, before Andy pushes the half empty Lucky Charms box into Robert's chest and rises up on her feet. She walks to the exit, bumping intentionally into Hughes' shoulder as she murmurs "Hypocrite".
"Excuse me?" Vic asks, walking after Andy into the front entrance to the station. They both talk quietly, neither of them want to make a big deal out of the fact she is doing someone who outranks her.
"You heard me loud and clear. You gave me a hard time about sleeping with the captain, while you were knocking hips with the chief of the entire fire department? And it never crossed your mind to confide in me, even once? How long has this been going?"
"Since Miller's birthday party." Vic answers honestly.
"I can't believe it."
"I was afraid you were going to resent me. Because I got to have the relationship, to keep it somewhat healthy, while you had to give yours up because it threatened your job and messed up with your feelings." Vic looks down, fumbling with her fingers.
"Sullivan and I never had a relationship. It was all about sex, and never about dates or meeting my father. Of course I would have been happy for you, if you only gave me the chance."
They look at each other while the alarm starts to go off, mentioning the location of a minor in distress, and Vic has no other way to describe what she sees in Andy's eyes other than disappointment.
"Well, you got the exact same thing you thought was coming. Thanks for the vote of confidence." Andy spits as she runs toward the barn, followed by a slumped shouldered Victoria.
The two female firefighters are two busy with their feelings towards each other, each hurt by her friend's deeds and actions, to notice the captain and the chief standing at a safe distance, watching the scene unfold from afar.
"What do you think they were talking about?" Lucas asks as Sullivan goes through the content of the cereal box, trying to find another marshmallow to pop into his mouth. After he finally finds the desired piece, he offers the box to his best friend, who rejects the offer with a look of horror on his face and a disgusted "No, thank you."
"Suit yourself." He shrugs, looking for another colorful piece. "And I have absolutely no idea."
"The women of this station." Ripley sighs.
Sullivan hands the box to his best friend and heads in the direction of the truck, ready to go on his mission. Just before he disappears, he turns around, as if he remembered something of utmost importance, and says "You have no idea, Luke. You have absolutely no idea."
Andy scrubs the inside of the elevator. She grips the rug with so much force her knuckles turn white, and the detergent burns the skin of her palms, yet she doesn't care.
She wipes and cleans over and over again, even though hardly anyone uses the elevator in the fire station, so it couldn't have gotten that dirty since the last time anyone bothered to mop it. The smell of chlorine gives her a tad bit of a headache, or it might be the sound of the coffee bags exploding under the high temperatures of the fire still buzzing at the back of her mind.
It was sheer luck they all got out of there alive.
"Andy." She hears Sullivan's voice coming from behind her.
"What?" She snaps. It comes out harsher than she intended, but he is the person to interrupt her furious train of thoughts, so he gets lashed out at. Even if for a change, he is probably the only person who did nothing to tick her off this last couple of days.
"Nothing, I just wanted to know how you are coping with everything. It was not a simple call." He steps into the elevator and presses his back to the mirror she was just vigorously cleaning.
"You are stepping in the spot I just got done." She huffs, and for some reason, her captain finds the fit she throws his way fairly amusing. He smiles at her crookedly, and when he adds nothing more she says "Well, Warren is here as well, and I am sure this call has been hard on him too, so why wouldn't you go ahead and check how he is feeling?"
"Oh, I am sure Warren is fine." He laughs again, which earns him the dirty cloth Andy throws in his direction.
"You know, you should really stop throwing random objects at people whenever you don't approve of what they have to say." He hands her back the rag, and she starts to scrape the invisible mark on the mirror by the spot he is leaning against, just to make her point.
"Well, I was channeling my anger in different directions," Andy points at the few bottles of cleaning supplies standing next to her feet. "Until you interrupted me. So if you want this elevator clean, please leave." She glares at him.
"I didn't quite think you were the type to clean your emotions out." He confesses.
"Really? So what did you think I was doing when I was angry? You know, in order to avoid punching someone in the face?" She questions, and drops the cleaning equipment down to the floor. She knows she won't be cleaning much anymore.
"Well, you used to jump my bones." Andy blushes at that, feels the heat rising to her face. "And then when you couldn't do it anymore, I saw you eating an entire box of those cereal you love so much in one sitting. Alone."
"Do you have a point, other than to make fun of my stressing habits?"
"Look…" He starts, and as he talks he moves toward the entrance, and for one moment, she thinks he is actually about to leave her to her own devices. "I know that I am the reason for your anger most of the time. And I also know that more often than not, your fury toward me is justified, to some extent, anyway. So I know that right now, this isn't the case." Sullivan pushes the 'close door' button, then hits the 'stop' right after.
Andy stares at him confused.
"We are not leaving this elevator until you get whatever it is off of your chest." Robert calls.
"No way." Andy decides, but as she is trying to push him away and press the key that makes the elevator run again, she is faced with resilient resistance. He blocks the keyboard with his body, and she knows well enough she doesn't stand a chance against him.
"I am all ears." He declares.
"What if Ben will need us? Or there is a call?" She tries to count the reasons as to why being stuck with him in the tiny space is a very bad idea.
"Well, Warren is so busy studying for Medic One, I seriously doubt he will even notice the Queen of England walking into the station with a full marching band accompanying her." Sullivan tries to dismiss her excuses, and for the first time since she saw Maya and Jack all over each other, she cracks a genuine smile. "And if there will be a call, we will hear it. We are not stuck in here, we are just hanging out."
"I am claustrophobic." She holds down to her last straw, which makes her captain burst out laughing. "What?"
"Nothing, just that the notion is so absurd it might be the best thing I have heard all year. Andy, you have been stuck in a collapsing apartment, a sewerage, a garage under lock-down, and even though you have not always dealt with the situation the way I expected you to…" Why does he always have to use every chance he has to criticize her? "You have always done what you thought was right, and never once lost your temper."
"Fine." She finally admits. "I am not really claustrophobic."
"So what is it? Your dad again?"
"My friends. Or at least, who I used to call my friends. You know, when we were doing whatever it was that we were doing." She waves her hand in the air theatrically between them, emphasizing she doesn't really have to add anything in order for him to know what her meaning is. "I opened up to them. I shared with them, I stood up and defended Maya, even though it cost me a great deal. I trusted them enough with my deepest secret, and not once I doubted they would take it with them to the grave if it was necessary."
"Sound as if you have a strong friendship." Robert comments, as he steps closer to Andy's direction. He knows her well enough by now, to be sure she is not going to flee now she has finally opened up to him.
"We used to be, there was a time when practically nothing that could tear us apart. I am just so upset with them keeping things from me. Like they felt a need to hide their relationships from me. Do you think I can't be happy for other people? Do you think I am so self absorbed?"
"I think you are one of the most honest and loyal friends I have had the pleasure to have." He admits, and it is true, every word of it.
"So why couldn't they confide me with their secrets? Maya and Jack, of all men and women." Andy rolls her eyes.
"I thought he was your ex. Do you still feel something for him?" There is a green eyed monster rising inside of Robert when the idea pops into his mind.
"What? Jack? No!" Andy is quick to dismiss, which in some unexplainable way, makes Robert stand down, releases the tension in his shoulder blades just a bit. "You know, there is just an unwritten girl code. You don't double dip, Maya said that herself a long time ago. And don't even get me started about Vic."
Sullivan has to shake his head in order to delete the ugly picture painting in his mind, unwelcomed, unwanted. The image of the woman he loves lying in the arms of another man. Gibson should thank his lucky stars for not being around him at this moment, Robert thinks to himself.
"Vic is just a firefighter, and Ripley is the Fire Chief of Seattle. He outranks her by a thousand ranks, to say at least. And yet she still gets to have everything she wants..."
"Is this really about them not telling you?"
"It is just all so…" Andy mutters. She doesn't finish the sentence, yet she kicks the bundle of cleaning supply standing on the floor in front of her. The bottles and containers all fall like bowling pins, yet it does nothing at all to ease the rage she feels inside of her. "And now Maya is at the coffee factory, doing something, working, helping, and I am here, stuck on aid car duty. With everything going on this past couple of days, I am sure this day won't end until some kid will pee all over me."
"Hey." Robert is quick to react. He holds her wrist lightly with one of his hands, and stands closely behind her, barely touching.
They are two bodies searching for a way closer to each other.
Two pieces of magnet unavoidably attracted toward each other.
Two souls desperate to find a way to become one again.
"Whatever it is you are feeling. I know I can't possibly understand, but you can transfer some of your anger, and your sadness, and the betrayal you feel, to me. Lay it all, give everything you got, I am known to be a pretty tough guy."
Andy turns around, lifts her head up to meet his eyes. She holds onto his bicep, uses him as her anchor. Their faces are oh so close, their breaths mixing together.
All she has to do is stand on her tiptoes, and they will be kissing.
And oh, how she is tempted to kiss him.
"Herrera!" She hears Ben calling from outside, searching for her. His voice penetrates their bubble and brings them rudely back to planet earth, back to reality. For a moment it feels strange, a voice that doesn't belong in a world where only the man she loves and she exists.
But their moment is cut short nonetheless, and she is quick to straighten herself, to look somewhat presentable, and not as if she felt every emotion that a human being can possibly feel over a span of exactly five minutes.
She walks over and presses the 'open door' sign, and as the door slides they both find a confused Warren standing in front of them.
"What were you two doing inside of the elevator, of all places?"
Both Andy and Robert mumble in embarrassment, trying to find any reasonable explanation as to why the both of them were closed together in the tiny space.
"Never mind." He dismisses. "We don't have time for that."
"Warren, what's wrong?" Sullivan asks, and he is all captain again, not a trace left of the empathic friend who wanted her to take some of her burden on his own shoulders.
"Miranda called. It's Ripley. He was brought in by an ambulance to Grey Sloan.
More author's notes: Hey. Just dropped by again to say thank you, and to say I would really love to do a colab with someone who does Surrera fanart. So please DM me( SurreraFeels on twitter, itsfalloutgirl on tumblr) or leave me your users to check out if this is something you might be interested in.
Thank you so much!