Chapter 24-What About the Future?
It was Saturday morning, and Hank had breakfast plans with Al. Erin had invited Jenna out for brunch and a day of shopping, so Hank took advantage of the time to catch up with his oldest friend.
Hank and Al made small talk, before Al jumped right in to find out the information he really wanted.
"So things seem to be going well between you and Jenna," Al said.
A small smile crept across Hank's face. "Things are really good."
"You love her?" he questioned.
"Alvin, I love her more than I ever thought I could again."
"She loves you. I can tell. She's crazy about you."
Hank nodded. "Good. I feel it. We've got a really good thing going. She's one of the best things that's ever happened to me."
"What about the future?"
Hank thought for a moment before answering. "The future...I've actually been thinking about that a lot."
"What does that mean?" Al asked.
"It means that sometime in the next few weeks, maybe sooner, I'm going to ask Jenna to marry me."
Al stared at him for a moment, surprised. "Oh wow. You really are serious."
"It's serious, Al. I love her, and I don't want to live without her. I just hope she says yes."
Al nodded. "She will. She loves you that much. When are you doing this?"
Hank shrugged. "I haven't decided. I can't wait too much longer though. I'm ready to make that commitment with her."
"I'm very happy for you, Buddy. You deserve this."
"Thanks Al."
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A few days later…
Jenna looked down at her phone to see a text alert about a shooting involving a police officer. She pulled up the news story to get the details. She was shocked to see that at least one officer was dead and possibly others shot. Her stomach dropped when she saw that officers from Hank's district were involved. "Not again," she said softly to herself.
Immediately she called Hank's cell phone. She tried not to panic when he didn't answer, and she left a message. "Hank, it's me. I saw the news, and I just wanted to check on you and your team. Let me know everyone is ok. I love you."
She choked back her tears as she hung up. She tried to calm herself down, knowing that if he wasn't injured, he was probably very busy. She would wait awhile and try again. Surely if something had happened to him, someone would've contacted her. Wouldn't they?
She tried Erin's phone, but it sent her straight to voicemail, offering her no help.
She put down her phone and went to her knees, praying out loud, begging God to take care of her love and his team.
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Three hours later, Jenna still hadn't heard from Hank. She wiped at the tears rolling down her face. She'd called several more times, left messages, sent texts, and all were unanswered. Last time there was a shooting, he called her so she wouldn't worry about him. She decided she couldn't wait any longer, so she headed to the station.
When Jenna got to the station, she immediately rushed to the desk sergeant. "Trudy."
"Hi Jenna. What can I do for you?"
"Please tell me Hank is here."
"I don't know that I've seen him lately. It's been crazy down here, but if he's here, I would assume he's upstairs. I'll buzz you up."
"Thanks."
When she got to the top of the stairs, tears of relief started falling when she saw Hank standing with several members of the unit. Hank looked up, and he was immediately concerned when he saw tearful Jenna.
"Jenna," he said, rushing over to her.
"Hank," she said as he took her in his arms.
"Honey, what's wrong? What happened?" Hank asked, cradling her face in his hands.
"I'm so glad you're ok."
Jenna buried her face in his chest, clinging to him as she cried. Hank rubbed her back as he held her close. The team watched their exchange but tried to look busy, to not let them know they were watching. Finally, Jenna pulled back, and Hank wiped at her tears.
"I'm sorry I'm such a mess," she whispered.
"Let's go talk in my office." He put his arm around her as they walked to his office together.
"Tell me what's going on?" he asked as he closed the door.
Jenna took a deep breath, trying desperately to compose herself. "I saw the news about the shooting. They said officers from this district were there and were injured. I tried calling and texting you, but you didn't answer for three hours and Erin's phone went to voicemail, so I was panicking."
Hank pulled his phone out of his desk and saw the missed calls and messages. "Jen, I'm so sorry."
"I tried Erin's phone too, but it went straight to voicemail. I'm sorry to burst in like this, but I was so scared. I needed to see you."
He sat down next to her, pulling her close. "It's ok. I understand. I'm sorry I didn't have my phone on me. I was at the scene for a little while, and we've been going a hundred miles an hour since then. I haven't checked the phone. You have every right to be upset with me."
"I was just scared," she said as he stroked her cheek, wiping at her tears. "But I'll be ok. I'm just relieved that you're ok. Is everyone else?"
"My team is fine. Several were at the scene during the shooting, but they are all ok."
"Good."
Hank leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. "I should've let you know right away that we were ok. I'm sorry I didn't. I'll do better, I promise."
"Thank you." She kissed him softly. "I love you."
"I love you Jenna."
"I'll get out of here," Jenna said, wiping at her tears. "I know you have a lot of work to do."
"I do, but they can hold it down without me for a few minutes. I just want to sit here with you." Hank pulled her into his lap and held her as she cried into his neck. Jenna held him close, breathing him in, reminding herself he was there and he was alive. Hank rubbed soft circles on Jenna's back, kissing her head, and whispering reassurances in her ear that everything was fine. He held her until her tears subsided.
Finally, Jenna pulled back to look at him. "I should go now."
"Probably. But I'm glad I got to spend a few minutes with you. Holding you always makes me feel better," Hank said as they got up from the couch. "I'll walk you out to your car."
"Ok."
As they stood in the office, unknowingly in view of the unit, Jenna leaned into him again, and he held her close for a moment. She looked up at him and kissed him as she whispered I love you.
"I love you," he said, kissing her again.
Outside of the office, Jay elbowed Erin.
"They really love each other, don't they?" Jay asked.
"They are really cute," Kim said. "It's just so unbelievable seeing Sarge like this."
"They seem like they are really good together," Hailey said.
"They really are," Erin said, smiling as she watched their exchange. "They're happy."
Hank and Jenna walked out of his office hand in hand. He looked around at his team. "I'm walking Jenna to her car. I'll be back up shortly."
"Good to see you Jenna," Erin said as she walked over and hugged her.
"You too Sweetie. I'm glad all of you are ok."
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When they reached her car, Hank pulled Jenna close and kissed her again. "My place tonight?" she asked.
"I'll be here working really late, and I don't know when I'll be finished. It's going to be a really long day."
"Ok, then I'll wait for you at your house."
"You don't have to. It could be really late."
Jenna put her arms around his waist, pulling him close. "Hank, you've had a horrible day, and things are probably going to get worse as the day goes on. I don't want you to be alone tonight. But if you don't want me there, if you want to be alone, I'll stay at my place, and we can get together tomorrow."
"Of course I want you there," he said, taking her face in his hands. "I always want you there. I just didn't want you sitting in my house all night waiting up for me. But I'd love nothing more than to have you there. Coming home to you asleep in my bed would be the perfect ending to the worst day."
"Are you sure?"
Hank kissed her deeply. "I'm sure. I'll see you sometime tonight." He kissed her again. "I love you."
"I love you. See you tonight."
When Hank walked back upstairs, Kim asked, "Sarge, is Jenna ok?"
"She's fine," he said as he started toward his office.
"Hank, what just happened? She was definitely not ok when she got here," Erin said.
Hank gave an exasperated sigh. "She saw the news, my phone was in my desk, and I didn't know she called. She came to check on us. Everything is fine. Understand?"
"Sure," Erin said.
"It definitely looked like she forgave you in the office," Adam said softly, trying not to laugh.
Hank glared at him and then looked around the room.
"We're just happy to see you happy Sarge. She's a really good woman," Antonio said.
"Thank you. Now, can we get back to work?"
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Jenna looked at the clock. It was close to midnight, and she was tired. She knew Hank probably wouldn't be home for awhile, so she decided to go on to bed. She pulled up a text to him on her phone.
'Headed to bed. Dinner is in the fridge. Wake me up before you leave in the morning. I hope you can get some sleep. Love you'
Hank smiled when he saw her text. He desperately wanted to go home to her, but he knew he had a little more work to do.
'Thanks babe. Hopefully it won't be too much longer. I'm glad you'll be there when I get home. Love you too'
A couple of hours later, when Hank got home, he quickly grabbed a bite to eat and headed to bed. He smiled when he saw a sleeping Jenna curled up in his bed. He loved her so much, much more than he ever thought he'd love someone again, and he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life loving her. He just had to figure out the best time and way to ask her to marry him. He changed clothes and slipped into bed next to her. As soon as he laid down, she rolled over and moved closer to him, as if she knew he was there, even in her sleep. He leaned down and kissed her head.
"You're home," Jenna whispered.
"I'm home," he said, kissing her head again. "Go back to sleep." She nodded as she moved to lie in his arms, her arm draped across his waist. He kissed her head again and drifted off to sleep.
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The next morning, Hank reached for his alarm, quickly shutting it off. He turned back over and snuggled closer to Jenna, who was still in his arms.
"Not yet," she said sleepily.
"I gotta get up, but you go back to sleep."
"Don't go," she whined, holding him tight around his waist. He kissed her forehead before pulling away from her and getting out of bed, causing Jenna to face plant on his side of the bed. "You just got home," she mumbled.
"We still have a lot of work to do. It's probably going to be another long day. I'm hopping in the shower and probably going to go in early."
Jenna sighed, dramatically flipping over onto her back. "Fine."
Hank smiled as he leaned back down and kissed her. "Go back to sleep."
When Jenna heard the shower start, she climbed out of bed and headed downstairs to make breakfast. She was determined that Hank was going to at least have food before he went back to work.
As Hank stepped out of the bathroom, he smelled food and shook his head. Jenna loathed mornings, but cooking was one of her love languages, and she would sacrifice her sleep to make sure he had food. He quickly got dressed and headed downstairs.
"I thought I told you to go back to sleep," he said teasingly as he walked up behind her, his hands slipping around her waist.
"You did, but I don't take orders from you, Sergeant," Jenna said, turning her head to kiss him.
He rested his chin on her shoulder. "Jen, you didn't have to do this, but I do really appreciate it."
"You're welcome. I'm probably going back to bed after this, but I wanted to make sure you ate at least once today."
"Thank you."
They had a quiet breakfast together. When they were finished, Hank glanced at the clock. "I hate to eat and run, but I need to get to the district."
"I know. It's ok. Go catch the bad guys."
"I'll do my best. Can I please see you tonight?"
"Absolutely. Your place or mine?"
"We'll see how the day goes." He took her hand and pulled her up into his arms. "I love you. I feel like I don't tell you that enough."
"You do. You do say it, and even when you don't, I still feel it. And I love you too."
Hank kissed her deeply, longing to forget the duties of the day and just stay home with her. "I'll see you this evening."
"Have a good day babe."
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After an insanely busy week, Friday night finally arrived. Hank and Jenna had no plans at all for the weekend except to spend it together. They were both exhausted from the week, with the shooting and the aftermath sucking a lot of time and energy.
Hank picked up takeout after work and drove to Jenna's place, where they had a quick dinner and then laid down on the couch together. Neither one of them spoke for awhile. They just enjoyed the silence and being in each other's arms.
Finally, Hank broke the silence. "You know, a year ago, after a week like this, Al and I would've gone out for a drink, I would've come home and had a few more, and then I would've passed out on my couch. This...this feels way better than that."
"Good," Jenna said softly. "I'm glad I can make you feel better, and I'm glad that I'm better company than Al," she said teasingly.
"Definitely," Hank said as he kissed her.
Hank held Jenna closer, finally feeling like this was the right time. He didn't think he could wait another minute. "I love you," he said softly.
"I love you too Hank. So much."
He stroked her cheek. "Sometimes it scares me how much I love you."
"I feel the same way," Jenna whispered.
"I don't...want this to end. Not ever."
"I don't either Hank."
He smiled at her, gently stroking her cheek for a moment. "Wait here," he said softly. He untangled himself from his position on the couch and walked over to his jacket, pulling out the ring box.
As he walked back over, Jenna sat up, and when she realized what he was holding, she gasped. Was this real?
Hank took Jenna's hand, sitting back down next to her as she tearfully said "Hank."
"I love you so much, Jenna. I'm not good with words, but I know that I don't want to live without you. I didn't…know it was possible to feel like this, and I never want it to end. I want to be a family with you, and I want to protect you and provide for you, and I want to have this every single day for the rest of our lives. I want to be your husband."
Hank moved to kneel in front of her, and Jenna's tears came harder. "Jenna Richards, will you marry me?"
Jenna nodded, wiping at her tears. "Yeah. I would love to marry you."
Hank stood up, taking her in his arms and holding her close, lifting her off of the ground as he kissed her deeply. "Thank you. I love you so much."
"I love you."
He took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Jenna's finger, kissing the back of her hand. "Wow," she said. "It's beautiful."
"I'm glad you like it."
Jenna looked up at him, tears still rolling down her face. "Is this for real? Is this really happening?"
Hank wiped at her tears, resting his forehead against hers. "It is. We're going to spend the rest of our lives together."
She took his face in her hands, kissing him again. "I love you so much, and I can't wait to be your wife," she said tearfully.
"I love you."
Hank sat down on the couch and pulled Jenna into his lap. They kissed for awhile, just holding each other, unable to let go for even a moment. Finally, Jenna moved out of Hank's lap and took his hand, leading him to her bed where late into the night, they celebrated the start of the rest of their lives.
After all of the pain and sadness they'd lived through, they'd both given up on ever finding someone to share the rest of their lives with. They could've never imagined what that fateful day in Jenna's bakery would turn into, and they were grateful that they took that leap of faith. This love was more than what they could've ever hoped for or dreamed of. This was forever.