Street was nervous. He was scared even. Yes, he had known for a while that Tan suspected something, but that he basically knew everything. That had been a shock to him, and now telling Chris… Street shakes his head to refocus. He has to tell her. If she found out he knew and didn't … that would just make everything worse.
Just when Tan had left, he had texted her and if his inner watch was right, he'd get his reply around now.
Suddenly he hears the vibration of an incoming call on his phone and sure enough it is Chris.
Now or never!
He presses the green button and tries to smile into the words "Hey, thanks for calling,"
"Is everything okay? Are you okay?" Chris immediately sounds worried.
"Stop, I am okay, but I gotta tell you something," he interrupts her as calm and even as he can while feeling like his voice is going to give out.
"What's wrong?" Chris clutches her phone and sits down on her bed. Her stomach is doing flips and she can't help but be scared.
"You were right," Street breathes out and imagines a triumphant look on Chris's face but in all reality, she is confused. "Right about what?"
Her mind is beginning to swirl. What was he trying to say?
"Tan," she can hear the shake in his voice now and she remembers the second text on her phone. "Tan sort of knows,"
Without a word Chris pulls the phone from her ear, presses the speaker button and swipes into her messages.
"I don't know exactly what's going on and how long, but I won't say a word. Just promise me to figure it out when you're back. I got your back."
"Not according to the text, I got," she finally replies with a light laugh, "but he got one thing right: we gotta figure out what we're going to do. What this means,"
Over the course of the next two and a half months, Chris and Street frequently talk and try to find a solution. Street offers multiple times to just request a transfer when he is fit for duty again, or maybe not come back to SWAT at all. Chris is dead set against any of those options. She repeats over and over again that she couldn't live with herself if she ruined his career. She voices her fears that if they don't work, their friendship is unsalvageable because of deep resentment.
Street can read between the lines too. He can guess that she is also afraid of what they as a couple would do to not only his but her reputation. More than once his mind replays one of their first conversations. "I don't wanna be the cop every other cop thinks they can sleep with!"
She is a proud woman. And that conviction is part of why he loves her.
And then the day has come. The day Luca and Chris are coming home.
Street had only yesterday taken the fitness tests and was fully cleared for duty, but without a team to roll out with, with Hondo still on leave with no word if he was ever coming back, Deac helping out in the academy and Tan actually rolling out with 50squad he had nothing to do but train.
While Street is setting up the weights for his next exercise his eyes land on the plaque on the wall, commemorating Erika. He swallows deeply and feels a wave of shame once again wash over himself. After everything, this, his first thought after seeing Erika lying on the ground, which will haunt him forever.
"Who missed us?" the loud and happy question accompanied by a slap of hand against the concrete of a pillar in the rotunda makes his head shoot up.
Chris rolls her eyes at Luca's antics. He had insisted on coming straight to HQ, although they technically had had time to go home first. He had been right; this place is home too. And the team their family.
Her eyes land on Street lifting a weight and flexing his triceps in the process. Chris can't help but smile when their eyes meet as soon as Luca interrupts his work out. She stands there a little awkwardly watching her friends hug and couldn't be more glad when Tan steps up and just pulls her into a hug too. "Welcome back," he mumbles into her ear before turning to Luca. "Wanna see the upgrades we made to Betty while you were away?"
"Oh God, what did you do?" Luca turns on his heel and heads for the garage. Tan mouths "You're welcome," in their general direction before hurrying after Luca.
Chris lifts her eyes to Street, still careful to keep some distance between them. "Hey," they say simultaneously before Street decides to ignore the tension and just hug her. "I missed you," he whispers against her ear, sending the familiar shiver down her spine.
Chris forces herself to take a step back, even if that sends a worried look onto his face. She throws him a pointed look. "We'll talk. Later," Chris can add before Lynch and Hicks call her up to the office.
The rest of this first day back, Luca and Chris spend debriefing and catching up on what they missed. One rumor worrying them the most is that 20squad is being shut down permanently. Why had no one mentioned that possibility to them?
Their way leads them to Deac, the man Chris had assumed would lead the team in Hondo's absence. It turns out the rumors were half right in the end.
With no one knowing for sure when or even if Hondo was ever going to come back after the way they had demoted him, Deac had been offered the spot of 20 David, but there was a catch: the rest of the team would be split up.
When Deac told them, Chris couldn't help but let herself be happy for a moment and sharing a glance with Street. Was this the solution? But on the other hand, she knew she'd miss working with this team every day.