Warning: I don't have a beta-reader (yeah that hasn't changed either) and as English is not my main language I'm bound to make mistakes. I hope it's not too bad and you'll bear with me.

If you don't like, don't read. Flames will probably be ignored; constructive critics and other reviews are always very welcome. Read and enjoy.

So here we are with chapter 10. We're finally at the party as people enjoy their time, some more than other obviously. There will be one more chapter (lots of conversations I'm afraid) and maybe a little smut afterwards if people are still interested.

Disclaimer: Don't own, just playing around so don't sue… Belongs to CBS Studios, Sony Pictures Television and many others.


"We have every right to create our own destiny, but none to interfere in someone else's." Martin Rubin. ;)


Street closed the door behind him. All their friends were so engrossed in the party that no one had seen him leave the backyard. He turned around and saw Chris nervously pacing further down the corridor. In a few steps, he closed the distance between them and took one of her hands in his bringing her body closer to his. She leaned against him and sighed.

"What is wrong?" He pressed his lips against her forehead and she pushed a little away from him to meet his eyes.

"I don't know." She sighed shaking her head. "I feel…unsettled… like something big is going to happen."

Their eyes met and he frowned as he took in her expression.

"Bonnie apologized because Julian couldn't make it to the party. Did you know he was even invited?" She asked hurriedly taking in his headshake. "But I shouldn't worry because he'll be back in LA soon and we'll go on a double date with her and Tan."

"What?" His disbelieving and slightly disgusted expression brought half a smile on her lips. "Did you accept?"

"What was I supposed to say? I apparently had a wonderful day with him and we hit it off right away at their wedding."

"Who said that?"

"Luca, he said that out of the blue a few days ago when we were on armory duty. He added a few winks and grinned at me like a mad man."

"Okay… But you're not going to actually go?" He asked hesitantly and she simply shrugged. "I don't like where this is going."

"Oh I'm totally enjoying Lauren making goo goo eyes at you." She pushed him slightly away and he sighed. "And I'm not even going to mention the arm touching. You've barely exchanged ten words and she's already checking the merchandise."

"I absolutely didn't encourage her, but what could I do?" He wondered. "She's Melissa's niece and Luca's guest. I can't hardly tell her I already have a girlfriend."

"Exactly I can hardly say to Bonnie that I already have a boyfriend…" She parroted back.

"Is that some kind of trap or…"

"They are coupling us up." Chris concluded with a nod. "We thought they had doubts about us but I don't think they have even considered it. They're simply matchmaking. First there was the wedding were conveniently we were seated at one of their single tables and now during the party we organized they're bringing us discreetly dates."

"I suppose we can debate the discreet part of their endeavor. But what do we do?"

"First of all we need to go back. We've been here way too long someone is bound to notice." Street nodded. "Let's think about this and we'll certainly have another opportunity to escape to the house during the party. If not, we'll talk tonight."


When she left the house ahead of Street, her eyes quickly scanned the backyard. When they finally landed on the object of her attention. She walked resolutely towards Luca and pretended checking how he was doing with the grill.

"So how are we with the food? No risk of shortage?" She wondered looking at the three people in charge.

"Oh I'm afraid we're going to have to eat sausages more than once in the coming weeks and we should freeze part of them." He smirked at Chris and pointed at the piles of food still waiting to be grilled. "We probably were a little too optimistic."

"We're still missing a few people and didn't you say you invited some of your neighbors to come and join us a little later?" She looked around and took in that everyone was still very much eating. "I doubt most of us are finished with food. If you think you can escape your barbecue duties you have another thing coming."

"Yeah maybe." He chuckled in good humor. "Melissa could you please check where we stand with the sauces? I think I heard some people saying we were a little low on mustard and relish."

"Right away." She touched her niece's arm and smiled at her. "Stay here I can check that by myself."

The redhead nodded sweetly and Chris smiled at her when their eyes met. She discreetly sized her up. She had to admit she was cute, not really her style but the appeal for some was there. She gave out a vibe of genuine innocence and shyness, but she had seen her bolder side when she had put her hand on Street's arm.

"So you are from San Francisco?" Chris started and the young woman nodded at her question. "And you have plans moving to LA if I understood Luca correctly."

"Yes." She confirmed. "I guess I'm at an age where I'd like a little bit more distance from my parents. I'm an only child and they have always been very present. I love it but I feel like sometimes it borders smothering. You must think I'm a horrible person to complain about something like that?"

"No, not at all." Chris told her. "I can understand wanting to make a stand and be your own person."

"We compromised and now they are okay if I don't move too far away…" She admitted. "As my favorite aunt lives here. I thought about LA. It reassures my parents and me too to be honest."

"There are a lot of nice cities around here. You will find a neighborhood where you will comfortable. Give yourself time to discover the whereabouts. Don't hurry things."

"I guess it will also depend on the job opportunities I will get. I wouldn't want to live too far from I will work, I'm not too good at commuting." She explained. "I have contacted several kindergartens around here and some seem interested. I haven't much experience yet but I love what I am doing and I always invest myself to the fullest. But enough talking about me, Luca explained you are SWAT. I didn't even know that there were women in that section of the LAPD. It's quite impressive and it can't be easy to hold such a position in a man's world."

"You have to work harder than any of them that is sure." She smiled at the young woman. As much as she was ready not to like Lauren she had to admit she seemed quite nice. "You have to earn their respect and give every day your very best. But it's true for men too. A team is only as strong as its weakest link. We're a good group, this is why we wanted to organize those outings. The last years have been brutal we agreed we needed to not only share the tense moments at work but also some good ones with our families."

"It's a wonderful idea and what you have organized with Dom and James is really great." Chris wrinkled her nose at her use of their names but didn't comment. "I must say the children's activities are very well thought. Those are often forgotten in gatherings like this one. The kids are having a blast that much is sure. I have only seen happy faces."

"We tried to think about everything." Chris looked around her and her eyes fell on Street who was staring back at her with his usual grin. She couldn't help grinning back before concentrating on the woman in front of her. "It took some time and dedication. Luca and Street are not always the easiest to direct, but I must admit we had fun. And we're all glad people are enjoying the party. It makes every hour of sleep we lost worthwhile."

"You definitely should be proud. It's perfect." She exclaimed enthusiastically. "I took many pictures to show my friends. And I'm not the only one."

"Well it was good getting to know you better Lauren." Chris finally said. "I'm sure we'll see each other again."

"Thank you for making me feel welcome here." She smiled shyly. "Everyone here has been so nice despite me not having been invited."

"Nonsense you are Luca's guest and we're glad you came." Chris reassured her.

"Yeah James said the same thing." The redhead said with a fond smile.

"Yeah I'm sure he did." She whispered to herself pursing her lips.

"What?" Seeing the confused look on the young woman's face, Chris smiled. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

For a moment, she contemplated saying something but ultimately she just shook her head.

"Just enjoy your day to the fullest." She patted her arm and gave her a fond smile. She couldn't blame the poor girl for their friends' meddling.


Tan looked at Street as he was playing with Deac's and Nora's sons. The boys were having a blast and his friend too as they were playing with a giant wooden staking game. He chuckled at their antics as the boys were doing their best to make the young officer's next move more complicated. When Luca came to announce the ice cream bar had been opened, all the children deserted the playpen with happy screams and rushed to be the first served.

"They totally abandoned you." Tan said as he watched Street put the wooden block tower back in order in case someone else wanted to have a go with the game again.

"Nobody wins against ice cream." He winked at his colleague very seriously.

"The party is a blast it will be hard to top that. I think Nichelle and Hondo are next and they sounded very worried."

"You know Luca called Chris for help. She has the organizational skills of the best generals, you should have seen the to-do lists she prepared and you better follow her orders."

"That was an unfair and cheap advantage…" Tan chuckled.

"Oh don't worry. When it will her turn, we've already been informed we needed to bring our asses over to wherever she was going to throw her party. I guess it will be at her uncle Sarzo's house but who knows with Chris."

Tan looked nervously at his friend. Now was his cue. He had been driving himself mad wondering if the crazy idea he had had two days ago was even a possibility. He had spied on Street the whole day to see his interactions with everyone and mostly with Chris. He had come up empty except for the pretty redhead Luca had introduced to everyone. But as far as Street and Chris were concerned, they were behaving as usual, they had joked a few times but almost every time other people were present. The only time he saw them alone together was at the beginning of the party when Chris had issued her orders to Luca and Street and both men had followed suit without batting an eyelash.

During the team's phone call when Luca had mentioned that Street had disappeared and he had seen a disheveled Chris, Tan hadn't been able to wonder if both events could have been linked somehow. While everyone had been ready to believe Chris could fall for Julian, he hadn't bought that at all. Tan looked at his friend as he was finishing the block tower with a satisfied grin. Now standing in front of Street it seemed ludicrous to believe that his two best friends could be having an affair. But at the same time, it made so much sense.

Only he knew that Street had guilted him into handing over the key to the private dressing room because of Bonnie's matchmaking attempts. He had wondered why he had insisted so pointedly on this as reward for his suffering. Hiding away with Chris sounded like a plausible explanation. He had never been blind to Street's sweet spot for Chris, but he had always been certain that she would not allow something to happen between them. But now… Sometimes it felt like they were the two sides of the same coin. What if…

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked while he still had his momentum.

"Sure…" Street turned questioning eyes his way.

"At my wedding, you asked me to give you the key to the private dressing at the venue…" Tan finally dared and he kept his eyes riveted to his friend. "Did you use it to go there with someone?"

"Are you asking if I got frisky with someone at your wedding?" Street's amused voice made him gulp.

"I suppose I am." He finally answered and he voluntarily set his eyes on Chris who was talking with Nora. He saw his colleague follow his gaze before glaring back at him.

"Do you have someone specific in mind when you're asking me that?"

The pretty medic hadn't been able to attend his wedding as she had already had a previous engagement and both men knew that. There was no mistaking the object of his stare.

"I'm not sure I follow you." Street tilted his head and squinted his eyes as he glowered at him. "Are you asking me if I took Chris there?"

Tan gulped and losing his nerves shook his head nervously.

"Forget I asked…" He chuckled unhappily. "It was a stupid idea. I was jumping to a conclusion without thinking."

"Sure, man. No problem at all." Street said with an easy smile as he saw his friend retreat to his wife. He laughed before schooling his features again as he turned towards his friends.


Hondo was enjoying an excellent German draft by himself. The beer was just at the perfect temperature, not too cold, not too warm and he let the beverage slide down his throat, giving out a satisfied sigh. Dylan, Street's friend certainly knew how to operate the tap and how to get the best out of a keg. They had talked a little earlier and he had been amused by the passionate fervor with which the young man had explained how to tap a perfect beer. A laughter next to him caught his attention and he turned his head to find Deac standing next to him.

"You certainly seem to enjoy it." The other agent was nursing the bottled alcohol free version of the draft he was drinking.

"I certainly am." Hondo pointed at his bottle with his beer mug. "Why are you drinking alcohol free we're not on call today? One regular glass is not going to do you any harm."

"Oh I beat you at that. I already had two." He chuckled as he sat down next to his friend. "I have to drive everyone home, Annie is enjoying German white wine and by the look of it, I need to be the driver."

Hondo nodded and threw a rapid glance at their women seated next to each other. Bonnie and Nora had joined them a few minutes earlier and they were deep in conversation. They had tried to coax Melissa to join them, but their neighbor had declined explaining she still needed to help an overwhelmed Luca. She had promised to join them later and had promptly run away.

A forceful slap on his shoulder made him turn his head and his eyes met those of Rocker. The sergeant had grabbed both his and Deac's shoulder in his hands as he grinned down at them.

"So are we now talking about our little competition?" He shook them a little before taking a seat opposite to them.

"Why are you so eager to lose Rocker?" Deac chuckled. "Do you really think you stand a chance again 20-David?"

"Not so fast, sure this party is a blast but don't you dare think we don't have organizational skills. We're as good as that as you are." He warned them. "But first we have to define some ground rules of course. We can't have Chris helping you guys at each party. That would be cheating."

"That would be 20-David helping 20-David, I don't see how this would constitute cheating."

"Yeah, yeah… Still…" The other man weakly countered. "I was thinking we should organize each five parties that would count in the evaluation. Each team decides who participates and the other validates the entries. The themes are free, but mandatory. Oh and Chris can only participate once, so today was it."

"No, no…" Hondo interjected. "This is Luca and Street's party. It cannot count as Chris'. She has already planned a party. We're certainly not going to tell her she can't do it."

"Okay but then she has to help us organize one of ours. That's an unfair advantage." Rocker opposed.

"We need to ask her if she's okay with that." Deac said firmly. "I won't order her around on her down time."

"Fine with me. Let's ask her right away." Rocker stood up and waved in Chris' direction. The young woman frowned. "Hey Chris can you come over? We want to discuss something."

"Okay?" She hesitated a moment as she looked at the three men. Her earlier discussion with Street came to her mind and wondered if Rocker was also part of their little matchmaker group but the idea brought a smile to her lips. The man didn't seem to have a romantic bone in his body, but she mostly doubted he could be sworn to secrecy over that kind of matter. After a short hesitation, she nodded and joined them, sitting down next to the 50-David's sergeant.

"Rocker would like to organize a party competition between 20 and 50-David." Deac explained and laughed when he saw the surprise on Chris' face. "He thought it would motivate people to give their best and a healthy and friendly competition might be a good idea."

"I guess why not." She finally said as she looked at the three men. "Have you already decided about the rules?"

"Yeah we'll get into that level of detail later." Deac said. "First we have subject of disagreement that involves you I'm afraid."

"Rocker thinks you give us too big of an advantage and that it is not fair for 50-David." The brunette scoffed at that. "He considers this is your party and so you are not allowed to throw another one."

"What?" She shouted and turned an angry stare towards the man next to her. He had the curtesy to gulp and skidded a few inches away from her. "This is not my party. I have every intention to throw mine in a few weeks and if because of your stupid tournament or whatever that is I can't have it, you can forget your dumb idea."

She was already standing up, ready to leave when Hondo stopped her.

"We told him there was no way we would deprive you from your party." He explained. "We just need to come to an agreement."

"An agreement?" She scoffed and looked once more at the man sitting next to her. She crossed her arms to demonstrate she wasn't having any of it. Rocker gulped and turned his eyes towards the two other men who grinned at him.

"I thought that maybe you could help one of my team members like you helped Luca and Street." He offered.

"And why would I do that? I'm not 50-David."

"It would balance the chances of both teams." Rocker explained. "Are you fishing for compliments Chris? So okay you are the driving force behind this party and it's going to get the full marks I'm sure, your party is probably going to skyrocket too, so we need a little something to stay in the race, because you are too good at that."

She grinned at the rare compliment from the younger sergeant and sat down again with a pleased expression.

"Let's say I do that, what do I get from you?"

"What?" He asked disconcerted.

"Yeah Luca and Street will be my slaves for my party." She explained shaking her head. "You think I helped them with no compensation. I thought you knew me. If I help your team I want something in return."

"I can't promise anything for my men."

"Then promise me something for yourself." She countered immediately. "I'll help you organize your party, I'm sure poor Val will be thankful for my support."

"Hey." He raised a warning finger towards her.

"What?" The other man stayed silent and Chris saw how Deac and Hondo were fighting laughter.

"Okay, okay… I'll have your truck cleaned inside and outside for a whole month." He offered and she looked at him attentively. "Good, let's say two months."

She slowly nodded and offered her hand in agreement.

"Good I'll help you. And you better do a good job and I want no complaining about how dirty my truck is."

"I won't complain." He shook her hand another time.

"Good and now I leave you to discuss the finer aspects of that competition I'm sure you will reach a fine arrangement."

Rocker watched her walk away and shook his head with a sigh.

"I don't know I feel a little played." He added dejectedly.

"Need a break before we discuss some more." Deac offered.

"Yeah I think I need a beer, and a pretzel, and probably more sausages…" He abruptly stood up and made his way towards the barbecue.

"Let's hope they're not going to be called in. He won't be able to run anymore." Hondo concluded mischievously and they both laughed as they looked their colleague merrily bite into another sausage.