Finn is relieved to know that Dean and Seth were going to be okay. The medical team had said they had suffered some beatings and were a little shaken up, but with some help, they were going to be fine. When Dean got home that night, Roman was filled with solace as he hugged his best friend tightly, thanking Finn for all his help.

Walking into work immediately the next morning, Finn is met with an eruption of applause by the staff.

"Wh-What's all this?"

"For solving your case," Charlotte answers as the applause dies down and she walks with him to his office. He notices an envelope in her hands.

"I didn't do it alone."

"That's right. But for right now, take the love in. I wanna talk to you."

His office is empty of anyone and before Finn could ask where Seth is, she confirms that he is out getting coffee with Bayley.

"What's this about, Chief Flair?"

"I know I said that if you had involved yourself in the case after you were pulled from it, I would suspend you. I am here to say that your suspension will not happen."

Finn raises his eyebrows but nods for her to continue.

"I am also here to say that I owe you an apology. Both to you and Dean Ambrose. I was under so much stress by the community and frustrated by the lack of progress that I didn't listen to you when I should have. And it's because of that I nearly lost you and Seth. I almost put an innocent man in jail for crimes he did not commit."

"It wasn't your fault that-"

She stops him. "No, hear me out. I am the chief of police. It's my job to know everything that goes on here. And I should have done more. I shouldn't have been so hard on you, considering I pulled you away from your absence. And maybe I should've given Detective Rollins more chances to prove himself as a great investigator. But all that is going to change now. The department has already sent out an apology to Dean Ambrose, but if he would let me, I would feel better if I said my apologies to him face to face."

"I think he would like that," Finn smiles.

"Good. And going back to talking about you..."

Charlotte takes the envelope she has and passes it to Finn. He opens it and once he reads it, looks up to Charlotte who has a sad grin across her face.

"Yes, it's your leave of absence. It's already signed by me, so you're free to go back on your leave. If you want it."

Reading over the paper over and over, Finn shakes his head and rips the paper in two.

"Thanks, Chief. But I'm not leaving." Charlotte looks shocked but Finn chuckles. "Yes, I said once I solved the case that I would leave again. And yes, the pain of losing Elias will always be with me. It's going to be in all of us for a long time. But I'm not going to let the grief control me anymore. Being back has reminded me how much I've missed the excitement of work. How much I love catching dirtbags. How much I've missed all of you. I love being a detective, Charlotte. I don't think I'm giving up on it for a while."

Grinning wide, Charlotte stands up and offers her hand. "Well then...I officially welcome you back to the team, Detective Finn Balor."

He shakes her hand. "Good to be back, Chief Charlotte Flair."

When she exits the office, that's when Bayley and Seth enter, laughing with cups of coffee in their hands. Seth's head is still bandaged from yesterday's events, but he fought to be at work today. They both greet Finn with a group hug.

"There's our hero!" Bayley exclaims. "How are you feeling today?"

"Honestly...the best I've felt in a long time. How're you holding, Seth?"

"Still a bit shaken from everything, but I think in time I'll be alright. You did it, Finn. We finally found them."

"Speaking of, what's going to happen to them?"

Bayley nods. "With the evidence we got on them, plus practically saving you guys in the nick of time, they're definitely going to be labeled as guilty. Braun Strowman is also going to be charged. Sounds like they could get life imprisonment. Sami is doing a lot better too. Doctors said he should be cleared to go home tomorrow, but he's really looking forward to coming back to work soon."

The two detectives only nod in response and stay quiet until Seth speaks up. "Elias would be proud of us. Proud of you, Finn."

"Thanks, Seth. I hope Elias and the rest of those victims can rest easy now. Same goes for the victim's families."

Bayley suddenly looked sad. "So now that the case is solved...does that mean you're leaving again?"

Finn smirks at them. "I don't think so. I just informed Charlotte that I'm back. For good this time."

Seth widened his eyes. "You're serious, man?"

"Y-You're staying?"

"I'm staying."

He's suddenly swept up on his feet and hugged by both of them, Bayley and Seth shouting in celebration.

"I knew you'd stay! I knew it!" Bayley cheers with glee.

"Welcome back, Finn. It's gonna be more fun solving cases with you around."

Finn giggles. "Well, I'd like to stay and celebrate with you two, but I have to go see someone."

"Ooh, you gonna go see your boyfriend?" Bayley teases.

"As a matter of fact, yes."

The two just laugh as Finn walks his way out of the station. It was good to officially be back.

Finn will never get tired of the butterflies in his stomach when he sees Dean. Feeling well-rested, they entertain themselves by cuddling on the couch for what feels like almost an hour now. Finn doesn't care, he just wants to be close to him. He could hear Dean's soft chuckling and opens his eyes.

"This the first time you actually relaxed in months?" Dean asks.

"Forgot how much I missed it."

Dean pulls him up more so he can plant a kiss on his nose. "I'm still mad at you for how scared you got me yesterday."

"That makes us even then. Now you know how I felt when you went to see Braun alone."

They both laugh and Finn is lost in his lips again and has never felt more happy than he did in this moment. When they seperate, Finn looks into his eyes and smiles.

"I love you."

Dean is surprised by the confession but it only makes him smile back.

"I love you too."

"Mm, I guess Roman wasn't lying, then."

"Oh god, what did he tell you?"

"That you were falling in love with me. Turns out I was feeling the same way."

"I'm glad you waited until now to tell me."

"I plan to tell you many more times from now."

They hold each other and Finn feels content with everything surrounding him. Dean and Finn didn't have to talk about the case or Elias or Dean's sister. They didn't have to talk about the hardships to get to this moment. For right now, they could just have one another. Just them. They earned their right to be happy again, for themselves and for each other.

Getting back to that investigation was the best decision Finn had ever made.

The End~