Disclaimer: Since I still do not own the show or the characters, I also do not own the sentences and pieces of dialogue you might recognize. I only used them to serve this story.
A/N: This is a OS collection, each chapter can be read independently
"Ending up doing CPR to a kitten…" were the words that caught Andy Herrera's attention as she was about to exit the shower room.
"Who told you that story?" she asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.
"Hum…Those guys, hanging out with your dad in the beanery? The guy's name is Charlie, I think." He said, pointing at the door behind him with his thumb over his shoulder.
Andy thanked him and quickly made her way to the beanery.
"Uncle Snuffy? Uncle Charlie?" She exclaimed, clearly surprised to see them there, sitting at the table, joking around with her dad, Maya and Miller. "Good to see you!" she said as she hugged both men. Charlie made a comment about her looking more and more like her mother, so she stopped to smile sweetly at him, but from the corner of her eye, she saw that someone else was sitting there.
"Captain Lawrence! It's so good to see you!" she said as she made her way to him. "What are you guys doing here?" she said as she hugged the former captain.
"Well, I thought I'd get the whole gang together, you know." Her dad said.
"Yeah, what's left of us anyway." Snuffy added as the others joined in, talking about him looking like death. It had generated a pregnant pause. Miller and Bishop were not sure what was happening. Dean was looking at Maya, who had her eyes fixed on Andy, waiting for her reaction. The heavy atmosphere suddenly disappeared as the old men started laughing, which made Miller and Bishop sigh in relief. Just then, Andy heard a familiar voice coming from behind her.
"I heard there were some legends in the house." Robert Sullivan declared as he made his way into the room.
"This is Robert, our Battalion Chief." Andy introduced him as he came to stand beside her. As the words left her mouth, Andy realized the mistake she had made. "I mean, Robert Sullivan, our Battalion chief." She tried correcting herself, but as she looked around to the people around her, she understood that it was too late. Maya was looking questioningly at her with a raised eyebrow, Miller's face was…well she could not describe it, but it was priceless, and she would have laughed if she was not so embarrassed. Her uncles had pulled their poker faces on, as her dad was giving her a pointed look. She locked eyes with him a second, as if she was telling him 'Yeah I know, I screwed up'. Finally, she glanced quickly at Robert who was looking at the ground, hands deep in his pockets. She was not sure if it was because of the heavy silence or because he just had to go but, from the corner of her eye, she saw him turn around, grab an apple and leave.
Andy was about to open her mouth to try and change the uncomfortable mood in the room, but she was saved by the alarm going off.
The next few hours were a blur. The fire had spread fast in the storage unit and soon enough, the crew was stuck in this maze, unable to find the exit thanks to the smoke and the paths blocked by the fire. At some point, Sullivan had decided that he had to go in to get them out, but he had ended up trapped with Herrera. Suddenly, the smoke had started to dissipate, and when they had finally made it out, Andy quickly discovered that her dad had sacrificed his own life to save them. She could not remember what had happened after that moment. She could not remember how she had gotten back to the station. She did not remember when she had taken that shower or how she had gotten dressed. She could not even remember when or how she had ended up in the chief's bunk, but that's where she was now, sitting on the bed, dressed in her casual regular clothes.
Andy felt exhausted. She could not believe her dad had just died. He had gone up on that roof and he had sacrificed his life so that her and the rest of her crew, her family, could live. She felt the tears burning in the back of her eyes. Letting out a strangled sob, she moved to lay on her side, pulling her knees to her chest. Closing her eyes, she let the tears stream down her face, barely able to control her sobs. Grief and sorrow took over her body so much so that she did not hear the door open and footsteps approaching her.
Robert had debriefed with Dixon for a couple hours, trying to come up with a valid explanation as to why he had broken protocol. Then he had gone back to the station to talk with his team, wanting to give them as much support and comfort as he could, though he could not stop thinking about Andy, and the fact that she was nowhere to be found.
It took him another hour to finally be able to get to his office. His mind was going a hundred miles an hour. He had not seen Andy ever since he had made her leave the storage unit. Since they were still keeping their relationship a secret, he had not been able to give her all the comfort he knew she needed. When he had seen the baseball cap sitting on the truck, his eyes had immediately found the back of Andy's head. He had wanted to go over to her and hold her close, to shelter her from the pain that was going to overwhelm her, but he could not. He could only watch as her friends tried to approach her, but she ignored them. She had grabbed the cap, put it in one of her pockets and turned back around, ready to get back to work. Robert remembered that, in that moment, their eyes met and, for the slightest second, her impassive look switched to pain and love, and he had tried to convey as much love and support as possible. It was a good thing they had created that silent language with their eyes. However, that moment only lasted a second as, soon enough, she was back to work stance, gathering the few courage she had in her to not run into her husband's arms.
Sullivan was thinking about all that over and over again. He mechanically switched the lights of his office on. Head bent down, phone in hand since he was about to dial Andy's number, he did not notice that the door to his bunk was opened, which was unusual since he always closed it. He was about to press the call button when he finally registered the soft muffled noise that filled the room. He looked up and saw that the door to his bunk was opened. As he had been standing in the middle of the room, it only took him two big steps before he was in the doorway of his bunk, one hand on the wall.
His heart broke at the sight of his wife curled up on his bed. Her whole body was shaking as she was trying to hold back the sobs.
"Oh, Andy…" He said as he slowly made his way to the bed. He sat beside her, gently rubbing her back. The only reaction that got him was her reaching a hand to grab the arm closest to her and pulling gently on it to invite him to lie down next to her.
Of course, Robert complied immediately. He toed off his shoes before moving to lay behind her, spooning her close, his chest flat against her back, his arms wrapped as tight as possible around her. He held her while she cried, whispering a few soft tender words in her ear, and dropping kisses on her head as he nuzzled her hair.
After a few minutes, her sobs turned to sniffles.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, her voice hoarse and broken as she spoke.
"Hey, no. You have nothing to be sorry for." He replied in that soft voice he only used for her.
"I didn't mean to cry here…" She hiccupped. "I wanted to go home, but I don't want to go to Jack's and…"
"Hey now." He calmed her with a soft yet firm voice. "You don't have to explain yourself. For better or worse." He said as he kissed the back of her head once again.
"I know." She answered. "I can't believe he's dead." She added after a short pause. She had barely finished her sentence that she could feel her throat tightening, tears flowing once again down her cheeks. She burrowed herself closer to her husband, seeking as much comfort as possible. Of course, he did not disappoint as he pulled her even closer, his hand moving up and down her arm in a soft caress.
They stayed in that position for what felt like forever, Robert giving as much comfort as he could without really speaking. At some point, he heard her breathing start to even so he moved his head over hers, trying to see if she was indeed asleep.
"Andy?" he called softly. He got no answer, so he tried to call her name again a couple times. Third time was the charm because he felt her shifting a little against him.
"Hmm…What?" she mumbled sleepily.
"We should probably…" his voice trailed off as he heard some noise coming from his office. He also heard Andy let out a soft "humph" as she burrowed into him once again, ready to fall back asleep. He was so focused on her he forgot for a second that he had heard some noise, not feeling like moving anymore. By the time he remembered, which was literally two seconds after having focused on his wife, it was already too late.
When he looked up at the doorway, he was met with three very surprised people. Actually, surprise did not even cover half of what those persons were feeling. In that moment, it was as if time had stopped. They all looked at each other. The three people were staring at the scene in front of them, mouth agape, as Robert kept his mouth closed and stopped moving his hand up and down Andy's arm. After what seemed like forever, he cleared his throat, and bent down to speak softly in his wife's ear.
"Hmm, Andy?" he murmured.
"What now?" she mumbled half asleep.
"Hmm… Maybe you could wake up."
"Don't wanna, Robert." She said as she pulled the arm he had around her closer to her chest.
"You have to, though." He said in a slightly louder voice.
"What, no. Lemme sleep." She murmured back; eyes still tightly shut.
"OK, you give me no choice." He stated, still holding her tight against him. He laughed a little though when he heard her quiet sound of disapproval. It was as if she was saying 'What are you talking about', without needing to actually say the words. "We have company." He whispered into her ear.
That finally got her attention. Though her body as not quite ready to move yet, she somehow managed to open her eyes. Shock, fear and confusion painted her face as she took in the aforementioned visitors. That sight had her body wanting to move away from Sullivan, but the man had other ideas as he pulled her back to him. He was holding her in position so tight that she momentarily broke eye contact with their uninvited guests and turned her head to face him.
"What are you doing?" she exclaimed in a hushed tone.
"I think they know." He shrugged.
"Yes, but it's no excuse!"
The group of people chuckled at their banter, though they were still in shock. Their laughter made the couple turn back to look at them. Andy's and Sullivan's eyes grew wider as they saw Miller take a 10$ bill out of his pocket.
"Pay up!" Maya exclaimed, holding her hand out so he could put the money there.
"Damn, you were right." He said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"What? You had a bet going on?" Hughes blurted out.
"Yeah…" Miller started, as Maya nodded.
"Since when? How come you never told me! Do the others know?" Vic asked.
"Wait…You bet on us?" Andy asked as she and Robert moved to sit on the edge of the bed. While the others had been talking to each other, Herrera had managed to convince him that she was fine enough to at least sit. However, he held onto her, keeping their joint hands clasped tightly together on her lap.
"Yes, we started that today."
"You never said a thing." Vic said.
"Yeah, we didn't have time for that." Miller said, sobering up as he looked at the ground. Of course, they all stopped laughing and smiling, remembering what had happened that day. Though they had just had a good laugh and bicker, they had still lost their former captain, a family member, quite literally so as far as Andy was concerned.
"Why the bet though?" Andy asked, eyes shining with tears.
"You know, this morning before… Before we got that call." Maya started, but she chocked on the last words. She felt responsible for Pruitt's death, and just thinking about the good time they were all having barely a few hours before made her hurt even more.
"You slipped, Andy." Miller continued for Bishop. "You introduced the chief as Robert. No one ever calls him that…Except for Chief Ripley, but…Sorry Vic, I didn't mean to." He said as soon as the words were out as it made her gasp when he mentioned their late chief. "But, yeah only people who are really close to him call him that…We just connected the dots and bet." He finished his explanation giving Andy an apologetic look.
"Oh…" She said in realization. After all that had happened, she had completely forgotten about that. "I guess that one's on me then." She said to Sullivan with a half-smile, turning to look at him.
"It's fine, don't worry about that." He smiled at her. "Now, Bishop got her money, secret is out so, maybe it's time for all of us to go home." He said getting to his feet. Since he was still holding Andy's hand, he pulled her up too, but made it so he was still standing close to her.
"Others don't know though." Vic said as they made their way out.
"Oh, new bet!" Miller exclaimed.
"What you want to bet on that too?" Andy said, still finding this amusing in the middle of all her mixed emotions.
"Yeah, I mean you and chief, that's pretty big gossip if you ask me." He defended himself.
"I never saw that coming." Vic said to emphasize his point. "So, Miller, what did you have in mind?" She then asked.
"I bet they will never find out by themselves, and I bet it will take them some time."
Maya and Vic agreed on the terms on the bet and soon enough they were all gathered in the hall at the entrance of the station. They stopped there, all looking at each other, Maya, Vic and Dean shifting uncomfortably on their feet. Andy and Robert were still holding hands, standing close to each other. Andy had thought about letting go in order to make things less weird for her friends, but she could not resolve herself to do so because she needed his comfort. She needed to somehow feel that she was not alone in this.
"So…I guess we'll see you tomorrow." Maya said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had settled around them.
"End of the week." Sullivan corrected her.
"What?" Andy looked up at him, clearly surprised.
"You need some time, Andy."
"Yes, but you have to work. You need to have Maya's back." She stated.
"I'm not letting you go through this alone."
"No!" Maya talked at the same time as her chief.
"No, I'll be fine." Andy countered.
"I don't need protection." Maya told her best friend. "I'll manage. I don't need your help chief. You stand by her." She continued, looking at Sullivan.
"You sure, Bishop? I could drop by." He offered, though deep down he hoped she was seriously asking him to stay with his wife.
"Confident, chief. I can manage Dixon." She said in a firm voice.
"But, no Maya…" Andy turned to look at her face.
"I'll be fine. You just lost your dad, Andy. And I feel responsible and you need your boyfriend to stand by your side, to support you."
"This one's on me though, Bishop." Sullivan said quietly. "I abandoned command."
"Stop." Andy said in a soft yet firm voice, just as Maya was about to answer. "It's my dad's fault. He would have gone on that roof anyway." She said, barely holding the tears back. "I guess I'll see you guys later." She finished as she opened the exit door, pulling Robert behind her.
Miller, Bishop and Hughes watched them as they left. They watched still a bit amazed as their chief put an arm around their friend, seemingly pulling her close, then bent down to kiss her head. They watched as they disappeared from their view, then turned to look at each other.
"I can't believe you guys didn't tell me about this." Vic said in disbelief.
"We just found out today." Dean defended them.
"Actually, we only found out at the same time as you did. We just spent half of the day speculating because of that slip up this morning." Maya explained.
"Well, it sure spices things up around here." Vic said as they made their way out of the station.
"Yep." Miller said, popping the 'p'. "We're not telling anyone though. I want to make money out of it."
The girls laughed at that. It had been a horrific day. A day they wished they could all forget, but at least there was one thing that managed to somehow brighten it up.
As Battalion Chief Robert Sullivan had said, they both stayed out of the station for some days. On the fifth day, he made an appearance, but only in the morning. Vic had called him several times, begging him to come and do a photoshoot for the calendar she had set herself on making to fund Pruitt's funeral. After that, he had not come back until Andy's first day back. Though most of the team found that suspicious, Maya, Vic and Dean helped him cover, saying he had a few things that needed taken care of with Dixon, and in other stations.
Things were quite eventful on Andy's first day back. When she had woken up that morning, she was not sure if she was ready to face the whole station. However, she also knew that she could not stay cooped up in that apartment any longer. She loved her husband, but he was starting to suffocate her with love and comfort. Though a part of her loved it, she also knew that she needed to face the outside world. She needed to move on with her life, and get back to work, if only to get some air and stop feeling so sad.
She had spent all shift with Jack who could not stop himself from asking questions. It started early, when he made her spill the bean about where she had been sleeping the last two weeks. Though she could have just said that she had been at Sullivan's because they were dating, she decided to tell him the whole truth. She had told him that they had gotten married, but she regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth because, though three other people knew about her dating the chief, they did not know about the wedding yet, and she felt bad for them. As the day went by, she confessed a few fears to Jack. For some reason he was trying to make her escape her wedding, but it actually pushed her in the other direction. By the end of the shift, he had helped her realize that she loved her husband. It had made her face her fears, fears such as what people would think of that rushed wedding, what they would think about her marrying her chief, about her getting married while she was grieving. She was now well aware of what people would say about her or her marriage, but she could not care less because the bottom line was that she loved her husband, no matter what.
By the end of the day, she could not wait to go home. However, she still had to go through that Spaghetti dinner. She knew that everyone had worked hard to pull this dinner together, and it was all for her dad's funeral. Andy was grateful for her friends, but she just wanted to go back to her husband, whom she had not seen all day and she was missing him a little. She was lost in all these thoughts as she proceeded to add some salad to her plate. She was brought out of her musings by the live version of the man who was haunting her thoughts.
"Dixon knows." He said in a low voice, bending his head close to hers.
"Knows what?" she asked turning slightly towards him.
"Everything. You. Me. Us. The drugs. He knows." He stated as he grabbed the spoon in the fruits bowl and added some in her plate. "It's all over. No one loses their job."
"Are you serious?" Andy asked him in total disbelief, exhaling loudly.
"And he also approved your father's line of duty funeral." He added, looking straight into her eyes, a small smile forming at the corner of his lips as he waited for her reaction.
"Oh my god, Robert, that's amazing!" She breathed out, smiling up at him.
He could not take his eyes off her as she talked, and he could not stop himself from sliding a hand across her back. His smile grew bigger at her reaction while she could not take her eyes off of him. She was falling in love with him all over again, so when he leaned in, she did not hesitate and met him halfway, sealing their lips together. It felt like the kiss only lasted a couple of seconds, but apparently it was enough for the rest of the room, or at least those sitting at the closest tables, to notice them.
"Pay up!" They heard Miller's unmistakable voice say.
When they pulled apart, Robert's hands were on her waist while hers were on his chest. Feeling the red creeping on their cheeks, Andy suddenly felt vulnerable. She risked a glance at him and saw that he was smiling down at her. She smiled back at him, blushing even more as she hid her face in his shirt. She felt him clear his throat, ready to speak, but no words came out his mouth.
"Tell me I didn't just saw what I think I saw?" Travis said.
"Yeah you did." Vic said, turning around in her chair to look at him.
"When did that happen?" He asked her, pointing a finger in direction of the couple.
"I…" she started.
"Wait! You knew?" He exclaimed.
"No!"
"Yes, she did." Dean told him from where he was sitting, at the same table as Vic.
"I did not!" She said turning to face him. "I just learnt it a few days ago!" She continued as she turned around once again to look at Travis.
"Yeah, now pay up. I was right." Dean said as he held out his hand, palm facing up, waiting for the money to lend there.
Robert and Andy watched as their friends bickered, but they were also aware of the other people in the room watching them. However, they were still surprised when someone actually talked to them.
"So, when did that happen?" Travis, who had had enough of no one answering his question, decided to ask them directly, talking that much louder to make sure that the whole barn could hear him.
Andy opened and closed her mouth a couple times, but no sound came out of it. She both wanted to run far away from that barn, and yet she knew that she would not have gone far since she was already in the safest place she had, which is her husband's arms. Since her head was resting on his chest, she could hear Robert's heartbeat pick up as he cleared his throat.
"Ok, so I guess the secret is out now…" He said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "I have some news."
"No kidding." Jack snickered, which earned him a sideway glance from Travis, who was sitting next to him. However, Robert could not hear him, so he kept talking.
"First of all, I want to let you know that thanks to you, we got the funding for Captain Herrera's Line of Duty funeral." He waited a bit as everyone clapped, though he could see that they waited for more gossipy news. "And yes, you did just see me kiss that woman." As he felt Andy's fear emanating from her body, he turned his eyes away from the audience and fixed them on hers. He quickly read into her eyes, looking for her approbation before going on with his speech. He found that approbation buried deep inside, lost in a wild mix of fear, love and apprehension.
"And I kissed that woman because I love her. And what husband wouldn't want to kiss his wife." He concluded, bending down to kiss her once more.
That last sentence had everyone shocked.
"Your what?" Travis said.
"I thought you were just…dating!" Miller explained.
"Oh no, they're married alright." Jack interrupted.
"You knew?" Travis exclaimed, turning to look at him.
"She told me…eventually. This morning, and only because I kept asking why she had not set foot into the apartment in two weeks."
"Oh, yeah and you didn't think to tell us?"
As they kept bickering, Andy and Robert were suddenly face to face with Vic.
"Really? You guys got married?"
"Yes…" Andy answered, not knowing where that conversation was going.
"And I suppose you got married before that night we discovered your secret, right?"
"Yes, but…" Andy started, but was quickly cut off by her friend.
"You could've told us!" Vic said.
"I'm sorry…"
"I guess you forgot because of… You know." Vic said. "But I'm happy for you."
"Really?" Andy asked shyly.
"Yeah…I mean when you know you know… I wish Luke and I had been that smart." She said, tears burning in the back of her eyes.
"Oh, Vic…" Andy said as she disentangled herself from her husband, moving to wrap her arms around her friend, pulling her into a comforting hug.
As the two women hugged, Sullivan smiled down at them, his hand still rubbing his wife's back.
Between the comfort brought by her husband soft caress and the reassuring hug she gave Vic, Andy knew in that moment that, even if things turned bad, even if she was still grieving and not feeling quite like herself, she had the best support system in the world. Her friends would probably need some time to adjust to that new development, and she would have to get used to being bossed around by her husband, not that that would change much, except now she knew who really was the boss between them. But here, in that station, was her whole family, and she was perfectly happy with that.
Special thanks to the Surrera Sanctuary, you girls are inspiring! You are the best!