Author's Notes
Massive trigger warning.. This story will deal with miscarriage, it's not discussed in a of detail, but it still may bring about some emotional triggers in anyone who reads it. Please read with caution and take care of yourself and stop reading if it gets too much for you.
Till we ain't strangers anymore
Bon Jovi and LeAnn Rimes
Three Rivers
Pairing: Andy and Rena Yablonski
It was now or never; he had to know if there was a way to save their marriage or if it was over for good. Not knowing was stressful and caused him so much anxiety that he didn't need it. There was no doubt in his mind that he still was very much in love with her, and he knew she felt the same, so he had to give it one last try before he admitted defeat.
He had just finished Kuol's transplant surgery, and while he was exhausted, it made him realize how short life was; strangely, he did organ transplant surgery all the time, and it was after Kuol was back in his room in ICU that he had that realization. Kuol profoundly affected him; seeing his outlook on life and how far he went to ensure he got the best surgeon in the United States was life-changing, and Andy was glad he could be a part of it.
So after having a couple of beers on the rooftop with his team, he knew it was time to try to find a way to put their two hearts back together and leave the broken pieces on the floor; there was just one little thing he had to do first.
That little thing he had to do was set things straight with Lisa. While he enjoyed her company and their time together, he knew it was just because he was feeling lonely and missing Rena, so he had to tell her that whatever they had had in the past few weeks was over. In his mind, he wasn't cheating on Rena with Lisa but still held guilt over being with her because of Andy's feelings for his wife.
"Lisa, can we talk?" he asked quietly after finding her in an empty ER room doing her paperwork. Hearing Andy's voice, her heart raced as she replied in a flirty voice, "Sure we can, Doctor," not hearing the change in the tone in his voice as she stood up and moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him to kiss him, but was a little surprised when he gently moved away from her. Her smile turned to a frown as she finally noticed the seriousness of his expression, "What is it, Andy?"
Letting out a soft sigh, he gazed upward to the ceiling and then back at her, giving him a moment to think his words through, "I'm so sorry, Lisa, I never meant to lead you on, but I can't continue this." She scoffed at him and shook her head as she moved to sit back down on the seat she had been doing her paperwork, "I thought you were interested in me, Andy; I thought you liked me the way I like you."
She wasn't going to make this easy for him. He moved to grab a chair so he could sit beside her, "I have very much enjoyed your company Lisa, and I do like you, and under different circumstances, maybe something more could have happened, but I'm in love with my wife, I have been since we met in the fifth grade and I don't think I'll ever fall out of love with her."
Looking down at her paperwork on the bed, she was struggling to keep her emotions under control right now, and avoiding looking at him was the one thing that seemed to be working so far, "She left you, Andy, and from what I understand, she doesn't want you back, and yet you don't seem to want to accept that."
It was a low blow, he had confided in her, and now she was using it against him, "No, I don't accept it because I know she still is as in love with me as I am with her, and I know many people will argue that sometimes love is not enough, for me, it is the most important foundation in a marriage or a relationship. You can respect someone, treat them well, be great friends, get along well with them, and have fun, but it will never work out if you aren't in love".
That's when it hit Lisa big time; he would never be in love with her the way she was in love with him. She had fallen for him even before she knew he was married. However, she had to be an idiot to have ignored the wedding ring he constantly wore on his finger; she realized the couple of times Lisa had seen Rena, she too had still been wearing her wedding ring, but when he confessed that Rena had asked for a separation, it gave her hope that maybe he would look at her the way he looked at Rena still. Now she knew it would never happen.
"So why are you even telling me, Andy? What? Do you want my blessing to go back to your wife?" her words were cold, and she was having difficulty not breaking down right now. "Lis," he replied in a gentle voice as he moved to put his hand on her shoulder to calm her, but she shoved her shoulder back roughly, effectively moving his hand away, "Don't Lis me, Andy," she hissed at him, "just go, please.. I have much paperwork to get done".
He sighed softly, unprepared for this bad reaction; they had only slept together once and been on a few dates. Still, he wasn't aware Lisa's crush had gone way back. Her desire had slowly, over time, turned into infatuation, which had turned into falling in love after they slept together that night; he once again tried to speak. Still, before he could get a word out, she said again, "Go back to your wife and just leave me alone, Dr. Yablonksi."
Sighing softly, he nodded and stood up to walk out; he turned around when he got to the door. Andy never wanted to hurt her but knew he had and felt terrible about it. He wasn't sure if Rena wanted or would take him back, but he knew he couldn't walk away without knowing, even if it meant cutting ties with Lisa and risking her not wanting to speak to him again.
After seeing Lisa, he headed straight over to the police station where his wife worked, knowing that come what may, he needed to reconcile with her, they belonged together, and he wanted to find a way to mend things.
"Hey Andy," her partner Philip called out as he walked into the squad room, still in his scrubs and leather jacket, having come straight from the hospital and not wanting to waste another moment talking to his wife. "Hey there, Phil," he smiled as he shook the man's hand, happy to see he was doing well after his surgery a few months back. He was still on desk duty but hoping to be cleared soon to return to active duty. "You are looking excellent, buddy."
Philip smiled and chuckled, "Feeling pretty good too, thanks to you, Andy; what can I do for you?" he knew that Andy didn't come to talk to him at work and that he must be looking for Rena, who coincidently had gone to the hospital to speak with Andy.
"Is Rena around?" he asked as he leaned to the right to see if she was in her office, but he couldn't see her there. "No, she isn't; she was headed to the hospital to see you." Andy nodded, sighing softly, "I'm sorry, Phil, I'd love to stay and chat, but I gotta go find her" Philip understood and smiled softly, knowing why he needed to talk to her. "Go get her, buddy."
Philip patted his shoulder as he walked past and then, as he headed to the doors, made a run for his car; Phil knew precisely why Rena wanted to talk to him, hoping that this meant that when he and Rebecca got married in a few months, Rena and Andy would be attending together.
As soon as Andy got in the car, he floored it and drove to the hospital as fast as he could safely and legally drive; he wasn't sure why Rena wanted to talk. He hoped it was a good sign but needed to prepare himself for the worst if she asked him for a divorce and what he would do then.
He wasn't sure what had happened, but after Kuol's surgery and realizing he had saved the young man's life and given him a future, he understood what he wanted for his future, and that was Rena, and included making some massive changes in his life so they could have the life they both wanted but knew couldn't have if they didn't meet in the middle.
While he loved to save people's lives and give them the greatest gift he could give someone, which was more time with loved ones and time to right wrongs or to do all the things they wanted to do but thought they couldn't, he realized that he was depriving himself and his wife of having a life, a life he had wanted when they got married all those years ago.
Andy's past and his childhood were not the best. He grew up as an only child and was raised by his Uncle Michael Zelasko after his parents died in a car crash when he was around eight. While he loved his Uncle, his mother's brother, he wasn't the best role model to be around, and he got into a bit of trouble when his Uncle forced him to become a robber.
The way Michael raised him was a little to be left desired, and watching his school friends with their families when he hung out with them. How his mate's little siblings seemed to gravitate to him because he didn't mind hanging out with them, how lonely he felt without his parents, it all grew to longing and yearning to have a family of his someday.
Meeting Rena when he was ten years old was fate, in his opinion, and while they didn't begin dating till they were in high school, he automatically had that feeling from even the tender age of ten that she was the one for him, the one he wanted to marry one day. When they married, he felt like he had married his best friend, and all his dreams had come true.
Author's Notes
This story may not get a lot of readers or followers simply because it is based on a tv show that only lasted one season with 13 episodes. However, I have become a great fan of this show and a massive fan of this ship. As such, I felt passionate about doing a fix-it-type story where these two get back together.
On the show, they are separated, but I could sense the chemistry between them and how much they love each other. Regardless of how many people like or follow this story, I am very proud of this work. I began writing it at the end of January and finished it this evening. There are ten chapters, and I may do a sequel following the events at the end of chapter ten.
I will be posting a little differently than I usually do, I will be posting one chapter a week, so it should take about ten weeks for me to post the entire story, so hopefully, this and also the fact it is a complete story may entice people to want to follow and see what happens next.
Any McRoll fans that love my McRoll stories from Hawaii five-o, I will be continuing them; I just really needed to do this story and spread my wings. Also, for any Top Gun fans, I will continue those stories I have in progress.