_ Chapter 12 _
Of course Nathan and his sister Nicole had heard tons about their father's fiancee, but they were too eager to put off meeting her until the wedding. The way he had described it seemed a little too extravagant to be real, but they could hear the smile in their dad's voice when he told the story.
It supposedly happened after a party-gone-wrong. Virginia was wearing this gorgeous dress and he was wearing a dress shirt, which he never wore on his days off. He described it as a very quiet and calm setting, as they walked hand-in-hand down the beach. Apparently he knew in the moment that it was the right time, which made his son's eyes roll. It sounded like one of those romance movies Nicole would watch. Too good to be true.
After she'd shared the news and they'd talked about it for a little while, Virginia was relieved that Andy wasn't upset about it or the fact she didn't tell him right away. "I'd support you either way, but I am happy that we both see this as a good thing."
Virginia was still nervous about what he thought about it. The first time she'd brought it up, over a month prior, he hadn't rejected the idea, but he said he wanted time to think it over. She didn't want him to feel like she was forcing him into the situation. As much as she wanted a baby, she wasn't selfish like that.
The wind had died down, and it was completely silent around them. It was so peaceful, it felt like the universe was telling her something. Shortly after, it was Andy's turn to fess up.
"I've been thinking a lot about the conversation we had about starting a family, actually."
She bit her lip, and prayed she wasn't wrong for sharing it with him. Was it too soon? Would he silently resent her for having this baby, when they'd only been dating for a little over a year?
"Every day we wake up in the same bed, and we have dinner at the same restaurant every week. We have a routine around the house, you cook because I'm horrible, and I do the laundry because you hate it. I never thought that I would feel that sense of home with someone else again. But when I'm with you, it feels natural. I know it sounds cliche, but it's true. You've become such a huge part of my life, I don't think I can remember what it's like to go through a day without seeing you. I can't imagine what it would feel like not having that. I think what this baby has given me, is a sense of clarity. I know exactly what I want for the rest of my life, and it's you."
She wasn't used to hearing someone speak so affectionately about her before. The way he would look at her, made her heart melt every time. When his chocolate brown eyes would look straight into her soul and tug at her heart. She still felt the tingle in her stomach when he'd come home at night, and the sense of emptiness she felt when he left for work. It was feelings she hadn't felt in a long and time, and she'd waited a long time for it to go away, but it didn't. He kept tugging at her heartstrings every day that went by. It was the reason she agreed to go on a date with him. It was the reason she'd agreed to move in with him, and the reason why she wanted to share a family with him. She knew exactly what he meant when he said he couldn't imagine life without her.
She felt like she was going to cry again, but it was happiness. Or maybe gratitude; Grateful that she had found someone like Andy.
"Virginia, I know that you get very anxious. In fact, I'm feeling pretty nervous myself right now. And I know sometimes you need someone to lean on and I'm more than happy to be that person. I'm not good a speeches, or grand gestures, but I have an idea."
He reached into his jacket that she'd been wearing for the past hour, and pulled out a small black box. Her breath caught in her throat, and for the first time in a long time she was anxious in a good way. Normally in times like this, someone in her position would be shocked and speechless, but Virginia had imagined this so many times in her head, in so many different scenarios, she knew exactly what she would say.
He went to kneel, but she stopped him, taking him by the arm. "Andy, you don't have to kneel. You'll get sand in your pants."
He couldn't help but chuckle. "Ok."
He pulled the ring out of the box and reached for her left hand. The ring was a thin band of white gold, holding three round diamonds together. It was very tasteful, but humble. Virginia didn't wear many rings, but he knew she wouldn't want something flashy and overly expensive.
It was time for him to ask the question, and after all the times he'd rehearsed this in his head, this wasn't how he imagined it happening. "
Virginia, would you do me the honour of spending the rest of your life with me."
Her eyes were glistening with tears, as she bit her lip, holding back the tears that she thought she could avoid.
"Your wife?" Were the first words that softly, came from her mouth.
She began nodding her head, before she managed to get out, "yes" through her choked-up voice. She leaned in, brushing her nose against his and pressing her lips to his. He felt the tears dampen his cheeks as her eyes rested shut, allowing them to fall freely.
He pulled back, taking her hand in his once again and slipped the ring onto her finger, sealing their engagement.
As sweet as it sounded, his father was leaving out some major details. Like, why so soon? And what other news could he possibly have to share after that? Him and Nicole tried figuring it out on the phone the night before. Was he retiring early to be a stay-at-home dad? He did say Virginia is pretty hardcore when it comes to her job. Then they also considered maybe they were moving. Either way, he wanted Nicole to get there as soon as possible so they could find out.
She sounded like a really nice woman for their dad. He'd never seen her before but the way their father had talked about her, he wouldn't be surprised if she could walk on water.
Nathan arrived way earlier than planned and wanted to surprise him at work. He knew everyone who worked at the station pretty well because of his dad. He dropped his things off in the murder room and looked around for his father. He wasn't at his desk, so he must be either interviewing a suspect or screwing around with Provenza somewhere. Just then he saw the chief walk by, "Chief Johnson. Have you seen dad recently?"
"Oh, Nathan! It's so good to see you. My, you've grown up and you look just like your father."
It was a common reaction he got from people around the station, especially people his father had worked with while he was growing up. They all swooned over how he'd grown.
She pointed down the hall. "He's doing an interrogation with Provenza right now, but if you'd like to wait at his desk, you're more than welcome to. You aren't the only one waiting to see him."
He wasn't sure what the chief meant, but before he could say anymore, she was already halfway down the hall. He looked around the room and didn't recognize many faces, so he just sat and pulled out his phone. He was checking his Facebook when he heard the smoky voice of a woman that was growing closer. She walked right past him, giving him a view he could. not. believe. He definitely hadn't seen her around here before. Maybe she was from another division, or a lawyer.
She walked over to Provenza's desk and set down what looked like a container of cupcakes, which only gave him more thoughts of things he wish he didn't have, sitting in the middle of his father's workplace.
She bent over the desk and reached for something and he felt his eyes pop out of his head. The tight skirt she was wearing was defining her ass perfectly, making him want to see the rest. His mind was about to wander further, when a pair of legs appeared in front of him. He came back to his senses, shaking his head at the man that greeted him. "Hey Nathan, what are you doing here so early, son? I thought he had plans for dinner."
He stood up and gave his father a quick hug, trying to cool himself down as quickly as possible. "Yeah well my flight got in early and so I thought I'd come by and see you. No point sitting around at your place watching TV when football season is over."
Andy laughed and patted his son on the back. "Well I'm just about ready to go, let me just grab my stuff."
"Hey, dad before we leave." He faced the woman that had caught his attention and pointed over his shoulder,lowering his voice. "Whose that over there."
Andy looked over and was confused himself for a moment. How many women that looked that good hung out around here?
"Because I gotta tell you, she is one fine piece of-"
"Oh god, Nathan stop."
His eyes may not be as good as they were twenty years ago, but he knew that brown hair anywhere, and shamelessly the ass too.
"What? I don't mean to sound rude, I'm just saying that I would totally-"
"Nathan, that's my fiancée."
The younger man's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and for a second he was certain he'd inherited his father's high blood pressure. His hand came to his forehead and he started rubbing the back of his head furiously. "Oh my god! Dad, I'm so sorry, I had no idea."
Andy was silent, trying to get the horrible thoughts out of his head. "It's just that she looks so young from behind." He quickly corrected himself. "I didn't know that she looked." He gave up and figured he should shut his mouth before he dug himself deeper. "Nevermind."
The woman with the long brown hair and nice ass turned around and her face lit up when she saw the two. "Andy! There you are, I've been hanging around here for almost any hour waiting for you to finish up."
She walked up to the two, and Nathan tried avoiding contact as kept nervously scratched the back of his head.
"You must be Nathan Flynn. It's so nice to meet you."
She gave him a weird half-smile but it was kind of cute. Undeniably she looked good for her age, but once they were face to face her age was easier to define.
Andy had told his son about Virginia having Asperger's, not that Nathan would have treated her badly, but it was nice to be aware of, to avoid any tricky situations. It was noticeable, but he got this warm vibe from her. She seemed like a genuinely kind woman, and not the kind of soon-to-be, evil stepmother from a Disney movie.
She held her hand out for him to shake but he pulled her in for a hug instead. "We're an Italian/Irish family, we don't shake hands."
She was taken by surprised, but smiled remembering that it wasn't a stranger it was Andy's son. He looked so much like Andy, it helped her picture how he must have looked when he was younger. He definitely didn't have Andy's eyes, which he must have inherited from his mother's side.
"Why are you here so early? I haven't even started dinner, I came here instead."
She was beginning to worry, and he immediately felt bad. He held up his hands.
"Hey, no worries. Nicole isn't even here yet. I just came by to see if anybody's missed me."
He looked back to Provenza's desk, but there was still no sign of him. Too bad.
Andy turned to Virginia, surprised that not one, but two of his favourite people had surprised him at work in one day. "Hey, how'd that fancy surgery go today? Did he end up in a coma?"
"He didn't make it… but fortunately we were able to salvage a few of his organs to donate and there's a thirteen year old in the hospital that the liver will be going to."
Nathan watched the two communicate and it was nice seeing his father confiding in someone the way he did with his mom, what seemed like hundreds of years ago.
They were smiling like idiots in their honeymoon phase, and they weren't even married yet. He let them go on with their conversation, while he tried to find a way to explain to his sister that he considered hitting on their future stepmom.
Hey sorry guys, I haven't really been giving any updates on what the hell has been going on, but basically after a rough past couple months, I should be back on the ball.
This is just a short little chapter. I had a tough time uploading the full 6k character chapter last week, so I might start posting shorter updates. I hate short updates, but hopefully it'll be nicer for readers, because it'll mean more frequent posting.
Anyway, we're nearing the end of this fic which is really bittersweet for me, but I'm super excited in starting another fic, which will be my first non-short, BSG fic. I'm literally always taking requests for anything, so shoot me a message either involving this story or whatever else.
Hope you've enjoyed where I've taken the fic.
Thanks again for reading xo