So I write each chapter in different parts, and they end up in different documents sometimes and I forget to combine them…

I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to post this, I've written and rewritten this chapter what feels like a dozen times and it seems to fall short every time.

Thank you to everyone who has taken time to read this story, thank you for every comment, favorite, and follow. I've always been self-conscious about my writing and I have a slight panic attack with every chapter I post but I've been slowly getting over my fears thanks to you wonderful people.

Here is the complete final chapter, and if you read the part posted originally I am sorry.

1 month later

Gail

Desk duty sucks, I answer the phone and I deal with people claiming that their lost pets require police action. I couldn't express how happy being back at work made me though, having something new to occupy my mind and my time.

"What are you going to do with this guy when you're back on patrol?" Oliver asked, walking up to me, he motion to Gunner who slept in his dog bed at my feet. "We all know that Gunner has turned into the station dog, I'll bring him in when I'm on patrol if that ever happens." I shrugged shuffling the papers on the desk for no real reason; I didn't want to talk about my potential for being back on patrol.

"You'll get there Gail, it's just taking time." Oliver shrugged, setting a paper bag next to me with a grin. "I'm off to do, my mind-numbing paperwork." Oliver laughed and walked back towards his office, I peeked into the paper bag and grinned, Oliver had brought me a bear claw and a bag of Cheese puffs.

Nerd: Dinner is tonight right?

Love: Yep. Bailey is bringing Camden, they're finally admitting that they're dating

Nerd: About time, you may beat me home. I'm processing cold case stuff for Sam.

Love: Take your time, I can deal with the masses.

I pulled into the garage at the same time my dad had turned into the driveway. Gunner jumped out of the car and ran up to him as he made his way into the garage. "Hey." I hugged him before I let him into the house; our relationship had grown so much since my accident. Gunner ran into the house before us and sat by his food bowl patiently.

"He's used to the routine." My dad laughed, rolling up his sleeves as he washed his hands. "That is for sure." I laughed, filling his bowl with food before I sat at the counter facing my dad. "How's work?" my dad asked, drying his hands. "Its work, I'm happy to be back, I want to be back on patrol but I'll take what I can get." I shrugged, watching Gunner eat.

"Any progress?" My dad asked, grabbing two beers from the fridge and offering one to me. "Not really, I have to pass the physical before I'm cleared for full duty and I can't do much, every time I try my kidney swells and my scars hurt." I shrugged hearing the garage door open. "How do they stop that?" My dad asked, sipping his beer.

The healing process been shitty from ripping my stitches repeatedly to now my kidney refusing to cooperate. It had been frustrating and grating on my last nerve. "They are talking about taking out the part of my kidney that is still in there." I muttered into my beer bottle hearing the door open, Gunner ran into the hall and waited for Holly to put her coat and bag up before demanding to be given attention.

"They put me on new medication and I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon to see if it's helping." I watched Holly's shadow in the hallway as she greeted Gunner. "Keep me updated please?" My dad asked, turning to pull food from the fridge. We hosted dinner once a month, for the most part my dad cooked while the rest of us basked in recently discovered culinary genius.

I could help but remember the events of our morning, the reason that I had shown up to work 15 minutes late, and the reason that Holly had sent me 30 texts before lunch.

I woke up with more energy than I had had since leaving the hospital, I snuck out of bed and went into the closet to change. I wanted to take advantage of my energy, it been weird for me to not feel sluggish and tired, not feeling the need to drink an entire pot of coffee to simply function normally for a few hours.

"Are you going running?" Holly asked when I reappeared by the bed, squinting at me reaching for the sheets had been kicked to the end of the bed. "I'm going to try, that being the key word." I nodded, pulling on my socks; I had stolen Holly's favorite hoodie to wear with my leggings. "Don't push yourself too hard." Holly nodded, grabbing the comforter from my side of the bed and rolling over to go back to sleep.

Holly had given up in a way, allowing me to do what I wanted because I had become hell bent on being cleared for active duty, on passing the academy physical. I made my way down stairs smiling at the sound of paws rushing down the stairs once Gunner realized I was leaving. "Ready boy?" I asked, turning to Gunner with his leash in hand; I sat on the bench by the front door and pulled on my running shoes. I clipped the Gunners leash to his collar and put my headphones on finding my running playlist and walked out the door.

I started slow a semi speed walking semi-jogging pace to warm up my underused muscles; I turned my music up and made my way towards the top of our street to the running path. I jogged for a few blocks before I opened my running app and tried to up my pace. The thing with running and scars on your side is pretty simple, the scar pulls with every stride and it hurts, I stopped to make sure that I hadn't somehow managed to break the scar and injure myself yet again.

I stood to the side of the running path for a moment, attempting to catch my breath; I had managed to run for less than 4 minutes, the pain was too much to handle. "Walking for now bud." I complained and started walking slowly, my side protested all major movement with sharp shooting pains, and I walked for a while before turning back to the house.

When I walked in the front door, I had a one-track mind, ibuprofen and water that is all I needed. "Gail?" Holly called from her office as I undid Gunners leash and kicked out of my shoes. "Yeah I'm back." I groaned rummaging through the cabinet for the pill bottle I knew Holly kept there, Gunner watched me before running into Holly's office, and I could hear him whimper before he rushed back to the kitchen.

"Do you need to go out?" I asked when he stopped next to me. "Give me a second." I muttered, grabbing a water bottle; Gunner ran back into Holly's office and whimpered again. "What's up?" I heard Holly following as he rushed back into the kitchen and laid at my feet.

"What's up Gunner?" Holly asked again before looking up at me. "Are you ok?" Holly rounded the counter and picked up the pill bottle. "I tried running; the scar on my side pulled like a bitch and it hurts." I muttered, watching her lift the hoodie to look at my side; her fingers gently probed the edges of the scar the worried frown I hated to appear on her face. "Its red, does it hurt?" Holly asked, tucking the hoodie into my sports bar, she reached into the cabinet and pulled out a tube of muscle ache cream.

"It's tender." I touched Holly's arm as she gently applied the cream to my scar. "She's fine boy." Holly muttered, glancing down at Gunner who stared up at both of us; he stood up and walked to his water bowl seemingly sated now that I had been appraised. "How did your run go otherwise?" Holly asked, pulling my hoodie down and placing her hands on my hips.

"I can't run, I walked mostly." I pouted wrapping my arms around Holly pulling her closer. I wasn't used to be limited or slow, I had made it 2 KM in 45 minutes. "You'll get it back; you just have to work up to it. You can't put on your running shoes and expect to run at your best levels after major surgery and 4 months of limited activity." Holly kissed my forehead and gently rubbed my back. "I need to pass my physical Hol. I can't pass my physical if I can't even run." I pulled away from Holly and walked towards the fridge, my frustration getting the better of me.

"Your job is demanding and you can't go back to full duty at 50%. You're frustrated and I know that you want to be back to normal and you can't rush yourself." Holly leaned against the counter and watched me down a glass of water. "If you push yourself and you hurt yourself it's only going to take longer. Take baby steps. If you try to run a 10 K in 45 minutes you'll hurt yourself." Holly's eyes followed me as I paced along the kitchen island.

"I hate this Holly; this didn't happen on the job. This happened outside of work, I was off duty and I can't work, and I can't run up the stairs without wanting to take a nap. I want to be able to lift you onto the counter again, to do my job; I just want this whole thing to be behind me." I could feel the tears in my eyes threatening to spill over, not being able to run today had only added to already overfilled bag bottle of frustration.

I stared at my feet as Gunner sat to my left and leaned into me, his ears perked and his eyes watching me. I took a deep breath before sitting on the floor; Gunner crawled into my lap and stared at me. "I know that I'm whining, that I'm acting like a child but it sucks. Everyone is living their lives as usual and I'm stuck doing therapy and talking to the doctors about the possibility of another surgery." I scratched Gunner's back before I looked up at Holly.

"Gail, I know." Holly sighed, sitting next to me as I leaned back against the cabinet. "You're not used to being limited, you're all go all the time and suddenly the brakes had been slammed down and it's taking time to speed up again." Holly ran her hand along my thigh as I tried to control my emotions.

Gunner licked my hands and watched as Holly tried to comfort me, having them both here when I started freaking out had helped more than I thought possible. Gunner sensed my panic attacks before Holly and me, he would sit near me or he would move into my lap.

"What can I do to help?" Holly asked, turning to look at me, the worried furrow between her eyebrows deepening. "I don't know." I sniffled leaning against her, needing the contact to ground me. "Ugh." I complained closing my eyes, seeing the clock on the wall. "I need to go shower and get to work. I feel better after expressing my frustration. Thank you." I kissed Holly softly before I stood up and held my hand out to her. "I'll let you know if I can think of anything." I smiled, leaving Holly and Gunner in the kitchen as I walked upstairs.

I was brought out of my thoughts by the sight of Holly coming into the kitchen, a grin plaster on her lips. "Bill." Holly hugged my dad. "Holly, how are you still putting up with this one?" My dad laughed with a big smile, it was great seeing my dad smile so much and laugh. "We are still trying to train her aren't we Gunner?" Holly laughed walking up to me. "Hi." Holly laughed wrapping her arms around me. "Hi." I laughed, kissing her quickly before Gunner tried to wedge between us. "Jealous much?" I laughed, reaching down to pet him.

"Just wait until you give me grandbabies." My dad laughed, walking onto the deck to start the grill. Holly snorted and shook her head. "I'm going to go upstairs and shower." Holly ran upstairs and watched her leave semi amused by the look on her face when my dad said grand babies.

I watched Holly from our bed as she wondered too and from our in-suite bathroom, every time she reappeared in a new state of undress. "I'm gunna go to sleep." I smiled when Holly walked out of the bathroom in her pajama bottoms and a sports bra. "I'm going to stay up a little while." Holly stopped and kissed me before walking into our closet.

Gunner laid at the end of our bed snoring and keeping my feet warm, he made sure to keep almost contestant contact with me when I slept, and he was the first to wake me from my nightmares now. I wanted to sleep, my body felt heavy and my eyes were weighted, my brain was suddenly in hyper drive though. I laid there thinking about my life until this point, how I had found my place in the world, how for the first time it felt right. It really felt like a dream, I couldn't quite grasp the fact that I had Holly, that we had made it to this point, we had a dog and a house together.

I knew that Holly was my person, the only person in the universe that I was meant to be with. I had been a horrible girlfriend in the past, with Holly; I had grown and tried my best to not repeat my past mistakes. I couldn't imagine waking up to anyone else for the rest of my life, kissing anyone else, being in anyone else's arms.

The soft footfalls of Holly coming up the stairs brought me out of my thoughts; I had been lying in bed for over an hour. "I thought you were going to sleep." Holly breathed climbing into bed, her voice soft and soothing. "I had planned on it." I laughed Rolling over to face her; I studied her features, the slope of her nose and bow of her lips.

"Are you ok, you've been kind of spacy all night?" I smiled, reaching for her hand; we fit together like puzzle pieces. The entire dinner, Holly had been quiet and distant, which was odd behavior for her. "I'm sorry; I didn't think it had been that noticeable." Holly smiled shyly as she sat up; I watched her reach for the bedside lamp before I sat up knowing that this conversation needed my full attention.

"Steve asked me when we were getting married and I freaked out because your dad brought up grandkids. We've done so much to plan out our future but haven't had an actual conversation about what we are doing." Holly's eyes searched my face; her lip worried between her teeth and her grip on my hand tightening as if I would run away.

"Did you propose? Did I miss that?" I asked; Holly's expression became confused as she shook her head slowly. "Let Steve worry about his wedding Hol." I leaned over and kissed her cheek. "If at some point we choose to get married, I'm sure that day will be one of the best days of my life. If you never want to get married and we just spend the rest of our lives together, I'll be happy." I reached out and touched Holly's cheek with my free hand, I could see the gears turning as she took in my words.

"Do you want to get married?" Holly murmured, her lips brushed against my palm as she spoke, her words barely above a whisper. "Maybe, not in a traditional fancy ball gown wedding, I've always pictured my wedding being simple and small." I wrapped my arm around Holly's waist, pulling her into my side.

"When we get married you don't want a wedding with 200 guests?" Holly asked, leaning into me, I couldn't contain the smile at hearing her say when we get married, not if we get married. "Holly I don't even want 100 people, seriously I can name 15 people I would invite to our wedding." I laughed, running my thumb under her shirt along her lower back. "If you want a wedding with 200 guests and ball gowns, I'm ok with it as long as you're ok with me being drunk off my ass through the reception." I grinned watching her smile back at me.

"A simple wedding sounds great." Holly turned the perfect crooked smile that I couldn't resist spread across her lips. I leaned forward to kiss her, uses our joined hands as leverage I pulled her closer, moaning when she moved to straddle my lap.

"I love you." I murmured against Holly's lips when she pulled back, the need for air no longer undeniable. "I love you too." She grinned, sitting back on her heals staring at me, her lips were red and swollen.

"Do you want kids?" Holly asked, reaching out to tame my hair. "I don't know." I shrugged sucking on my lower lip, I loved kids, but I had never given much thought to having my own. "I don't know if I would be good for a kid, especially right now I'm physically incapable of doing nearly everything and they may need to cut me open again. I'm mental kind of unstable because of my kidnapping and the attack, just think back to this morning. I also grew up with a mother who was more worried about her job than being there for us. I've only ever seen glimpses into what I could consider a normal parent child relationship." I ran my hands along Holly's hips, searching for the right words. "I might turn into Elaine, and that scares me." I muttered, staring down at my hands.

"Frist, you are healing and you will physically be 100% soon, and we are working on the rest you know, PTSD doesn't go away overnight. We will face everything head on ok, if you need surgery then we will figure it out together. I don't think you could turn into Elaine either, you're so loving Gail. You're amazing with kids, I've seen you with Leo and with the kids you work with. You would be a great mom, and you would look sexy pregnant." Holly touched my chin bringing my attention back to her face, her eyes were shining and she had the biggest smile on her lips. When Holly looked at me like this, I felt as if I could take on the world, she somehow gave me the strength and the confidence to at least try.

"What about you, do I get to see you pregnant?" I asked, staring at her, the way she bit on the corner of her lip and smiled wider. "Speaking logically, you have a safer job. You are at less risk of being hurt on the job at least, you can be a klutz, but that is normally only when you are at home." I laughed leaning forward to kiss her chin. "I can imagine our babies having your brown eyes and crooked smile." I let my lips brush against hers as I spoke. "It could be an issue though. If our children look anything like you I'll be the pushover parent giving them whatever they want. I'm already wrapped around your finger doing what you want, I can only imagine what would happen if there was a mini you running around." I kissed her softly, letting my lips linger for a moment.

"What if I want little pale babies with your gingerish hair and blue eyes?" Holly asked, I felt the vibration of her voice as I kissed down the column of her neck. "It's only fair that if you have a mini me that I get a mini you." Holly moaned when I sucked at the base of her neck. "Fair is fair, I guess." I muttered against her skin, using my position to push her onto her back. "We totally need to practice the whole baby making thing though." I laughed kissing her lips.

"Are we ok now, are you done freaking out now that we have our wedding and our future babies all figured out?" I asked settling between her legs, she closed her eyes and smiled. "Small wedding and little nerd cop babies running around." Holly's voice dropped into a dreamy tone before she pulled me closer. "Sounds like a wonderful life." Holly ran her hands up my shirt, her eyes opened and if felt as if they were burning into my soul.

"Sounds like a wonderful life indeed."

THE END

I hope you enjoyed the journey.

XO 3 R.