AN: I will be finishing up this story in the next couple chapters. I hope you've had as much fun reading it as I've had writing it. Thanks so much for reading. Hope to create more stories that you all will enjoy. Until next time!

Chapter 51: Finally

The next morning Christina woke up to the smell of bacon in the air. She sat up in the bed and looked lazily around the room. She ruffled her hair and leaned back against the headboard, still feeling incredibly tired. She cleared the sleepy film from her eyes then got off the bed and went over to the dresser. She pulled out one of Amanda's long sleeved t shirts and a pair of shorts and slipped them on. She closed one drawer and opened another, pulling out a pair of long, thick socks and pulled them on her feet before shuffling out to the kitchen. Frannie was at her bowls and Amanda was at the stove. Chris sat down at the table and pulled her feet up, resting her chin on her knees to watch her girlfriend cook breakfast.

"How'd you sleep?" Amanda asked still focused on the stove. Christina didn't think she'd realized that she was there. She smiled.

"Good" she said simply. "Really good". Amanda turned off the stove and brought three plates over to the table. One with pancakes another with bacon and another with eggs. She went back and took down two mugs from the cabinet, rinsed them then filled them with coffee. She took two plates down and brought them over to the table. She took one more trip to the kitchen to grab cream, sugar, syrup and silverware before finally settling down at the table.

"What?" Amanda asked. Chris was just staring at the food on the table.

"I'm just….a little nervous is all" she said with a smirk.

"About what?"

"About you making something other than toast for breakfast" she said finally taking two pancakes and putting them on her plate.

"Haha" Amanda said sarcastically. "For your information, I've had plenty of time to practice while you were gone".

"Oh really?" Chris asked, interested in hearing an explanation.

"Well I didn't have you around to cook for me" she said putting food on her plate. "and I was kinda over you busting my balls about ordering so much take out". Chris laughed.

"Right. So who supervised you?"

"Supervised me?"

"Yeah, you know, to make sure you didn't…. burn the place down".

"You're very funny" she said cutting her pancakes. Chris chuckled as she poured syrup over her food and began to eat. They talked about what they could get into for the day. Chris didn't really want to go out at all but she knew she had to get home at some point to check on her dad and her very pregnant sister. She decided that they'd be fine without her for one more day. They finished breakfast then got dressed, put Frannie on her leash and went to take her out for a walk. They went to get groceries and then headed back to the apartment. They put the groceries away then settled in the living room on the couch to watch a movie. Chris fell asleep with her head on Amanda's chest before the movie finished. Amanda thought she must not have been able to get any real sleep while working with Franco so she was catching up for lost time. When the movie ended, Amanda joined her for a nap. They slept all afternoon then woke up just after four thirty. Chris made a lasagna for dinner and Amanda made the bread. She said she'd keep her distance from the bigger part of the meal since she hadn't exactly graduated to cooking dinner yet. They ate together and enjoyed a nice glass of wine before putting away the leftovers and taking Frannie out for her evening walk. When they got back to the apartment they had another glass of wine while enjoying a nice, hot bubble bath together.

"So, I was thinking…."

"Uh oh" Amanda said with a smirk. Chris laughed.

"Shut up" she said splashing her. "I was thinking that I…. could move in again….with you" she said hesitantly. Amanda turned her head to look at her.

"Really?" she asked surprised. Chris nodded.

"Yeah" she said simply. "I mean Jeza was talking about moving in with Javi and his parents so she'd have more help with the baby. Robbie's a grown man. It's time for him to take care of himself and help my father more". She wrapped her arms around Amanda and kissed her on the shoulder then the neck then the cheek then finally the lips. "And I'm…. I'm ready, you know. I'm finally ready to start living my own life".

"I would love that" Amanda said happily. "Frannie and I would both really love that".

"Yeah?"

"Yeah". They found each other's lips again, sharing a loving kiss. They made their way to the bedroom and continued to make up for the time they'd lost while they were apart. Christina hadn't worried so much about another person outside of her family, while working undercover, as she had about Amanda. She'd never wanted to get back home to anyone before. But the important thing she realized is that when she thought about getting back home she didn't think of her parent's house. Of course, she wanted to get back to check on Jeza and her father and brother. They were her family. But when she thought of getting home, she thought of Amanda and Frannie. She thought of walking in the door and seeing her face, of going on walks with Frannie; of going to bed with her every night and waking up with her every morning. It felt like home already so she wanted to make it that. For the first time ever, she wanted to make a home of her own with someone she loved. There was no apprehension. Not a single ounce of fear. Finally, she was ready. Finally.

The next day, Chris and Amanda went back to Chris' house to see her family. They were happy to see her and she was happy to see them. Jeza had gotten even bigger. She was so happy that Chris had made it home in time to see her give birth. Her blood pressure had been controlled since they let her go home from the hospital but still higher than her doctor liked. They'd decided it was time to induce. She'd packed her bags for the hospital and in three days' time she'd be giving birth to a son or daughter.

"You'll still be there right?"

"I wouldn't miss it" she assured her. She'd already started moving her things over to Javi's parents house so she could go right there from the hospital and already have most of what she'd need. Sophia and Ramon had a finished basement and it was very spacious. Ramon had put up another wall to make a small nursery for the baby. The crib that their father had built and painted for the baby was already inside along with all the furniture, clothes and appliances they'd gotten at the baby shower. She was surprised by how prepared she seemed to have this baby and take care of it. She was proud of how much she'd grown up. "So you really ready for this huh?"

"Yes I am" she said definitively. "This baby is getting out of me…finally"

"You know you could've made it to forty weeks if you'd done bed rest the way you were supposed to".

"I did do it the way I was supposed to. That's why they let me come home".

"They let you come home because you actually stayed in the bed in the hospital because someone was always watching you" she corrected her. "If you'd stayed in bed at home like you were supposed to, you probably wouldn't have needed to go into the hospital at all".

"Why do you have to criticize?" she asked obviously annoyed.

"I don't know. Why do you have to be so hard headed?"

"Whatever" Jeza said while rolling her eyes. "I don't want to make it to forty weeks. I'm ready for this baby to come out". Chris was happy to be home and she didn't want to ruin the good mood by telling them about her moving out the house. She figured it'd be better to wait until after Jeza had the baby and got settled in at the new place with Javi to break the news. Then again, maybe their reaction wouldn't be so bad. Jeza had a good support system and Robbie and her father didn't really need her there anymore. And it wouldn't be like when she was working undercover and couldn't see or talk to them. She'd be able to call and visit all of the time.

"I have some news" she said deciding to go for it. "I'm going to move back in with Amanda" she said bracing herself for their reaction.

"That's it?" Robbie asked. "That's the news?"

"Yeah" she said with a nod.

"Ok" he said with a shrug.

"Yeah, that's cool" Jeza said with a smile.

"Ok" Chris said, feeling relieved. She looked to her father who was smiling but hadn't said anything. She was sure he'd talked to her later and congratulate her on her decision or ask her to stay at home. "Are you guys hungry?"

"Starved" Robbie said immediately.

"Let's order in".

"Pizza" Jeza said quickly. "The baby wants pizza".

"You want pizza" Robbie argued. "The baby wants broccoli and carrots". Jeza scrunched her nose up and frowned.

"Gross. Chris chuckled as she called the pizzeria that delivered to the house. They talked until the pizza was delivered then moved to the dining room to eat and talk more. Robbie Sr. talked to Christina while they cleaned up the trash. He congratulated her on her decision to move in with Amanda. Despite his words, she could hear the sadness in his voice.

"Of course, I want you to stay mija" he said solemnly. "You're my girl" he said touching the side of her face. "But you're all grown up now. It's time for you to leave home and have your life, start your own family. I'm proud of you".

"Thank you" she said softly, fighting back tears. She intentionally went back to cleaning up before he could move in to hug her. She had no interest in crying. They spent a few more hours at her house before heading back to Amanda's. They lounged around for a while then took Frannie out for a walk. Instead of cooking or ordering in they decided to get dressed up and go out for dinner. They talked about Christina's upcoming appointment with the department psychiatrist. She wasn't worried that they wouldn't clear her for duty. Those appointments were standard and even if she wasn't completely ready, she was ready enough to convince the doctor. They enjoyed the rest of their dinner before heading home and retiring to the bedroom. Christina never imagined that she'd be thinking about spending the rest of her life with only one person. But Amanda made her think about it. She made her want it more and more every day. Finally, she could see herself settling down, getting married, having kids. She could see herself building a family like the one her parents had built. Finally.