It was pouring down with rain which you knew would make responding that much harder, the rain drowned out so much noise that responders would have to shout to be heard. It would make treating the injured harder too as it would be much more harder to see.

When you arrived on the scene your stomach dropped when you saw the sheer scale of the incident. The accident involved a truck, multiple cars and a coach which had turned over onto its side. You couldn’t work out what could have happened but the slick roads would have been a factor. 

You had yet to spot Chris but you guessed he was helping retrieve civilians from the coach that had overturned. You did spot Robert though who stood overlooking the scene and directing people. 

“ROBERT!” You shouted over the rain, carefully jogging over to him the last thing anyone needed was you slipping and hurting yourself. 

“Y/N, I’m glad you’re here” Robert shouted back “We’ve already had 3 fatalities and we don’t have enough rigs to transport people to the hospital” he explained. 

“What can I do to help?” you asked trying to block some of the rain with your hand.

“We’ve set up a triage for those who can wait to go to hospital, tell anyone you’ve got with advanced medical training to find a paramedic and pair up with them to provide support, that should allow the paramedic teams to split up and help more people” Robert explained pointing over to the tents where the triage has been set up.  

You nodded giving him a thumbs up before returning to the other police officers with advance training to pass on the message. 

The next couple of hours were a complete blur as you helped treat the injured. You weren’t sure the exact number of people you treated, but it was a lot. At one point you did see Chris who seemed shocked to see you there, he sent you an ‘okay?’ signal which you nodded in response to, even if you were finding it difficult seeing so many people injured, some with life-changing injuries. 

Eventually,  everyone who needed hospital treatment was taken in an ambulance and those with minor injuries were taken home allowing you and other officers to return to the precinct. Everyone was visibly exhausted, not only physically but mentally too. By the time you left the fatality count had risen to 6, one of them being someone you’d been helping who had taken a sudden turn for the worse. 

You felt numb by the time you arrived back at the precinct. The Captain allowed everyone to change into dry clothes and get some warm drinks before the debrief. He tried to keep it as brief as possible as everyone just wanted to get home to rest. 

“I’ll leave it there tonight, everyone get some rest and remember to seek support if you need it, if anyone needs to start later tomorrow or take the day just let me know” Your captain nodded before allowing everyone to leave. 

You made your way back to your desk, considering for a moment whether you wanted to carry on working before deciding to head home. You put away all your files before grabbing your bag and jacket. When you got into your car you sat there for a moment unable to bring yourself to start the engine and start the drive home. 

The idea of sitting at home all alone didn’t sound appealing to you, it would just allow your mind to replay the events of tonight and make you feel so much worse. You needed Chris, just to see he was okay and for him to just hold you for a little while before heading home. 

You weren’t sure if he’d even be back at the station yet or if he’d still be working to clear the scene but you decided to head there anyway. Much to your relief you could see the engine was parked up meaning they were back. The station still seemed quiet though as you made your way towards Chris’s office. 

You quietly opened the door when you heard he was on the phone with someone “Yeah ma it… it wasn’t pretty, we lost more people than we should have” he sighed quietly as he paced back and forth “I’m okay though… yeah I think she’d really appreciate that especially as she’ll be home alone” he continued, still yet to spot you, he did then turn around and spot you “actually don’t worry she’s here”

You gave him a small smile as he finished talking to his mom “Ma was asking if you’d want her to pop around” he explained as he pocketed his phone. 

“That’s sweet of her” You smiled softly, a warm feeling blossoming in your chest, you were still getting used to having a mother figure in Lisa. 

“You feeling okay?” he asked as he walked over to you. 

“Feeling pretty crap, one of the patients I was helping suddenly coded and we couldn’t get them back” you breathed out, your voice wobbling. 

“Shit I’m sorry, c’mere” he sighed opening up his arms, you instantly stepped into his warm embrace feeling protected in his arms. 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve responded to an RTC that large” you muttered into his chest. 

“Me too, we had to extract the body of the coach driver, died on impact” Chris sighed rubbing your back soothingly. 

“Shit, that’s awful” you whispered. 

“We managed to save a lot of people today though, your help was a game changer” Chris reassured you, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. 

“I just wished we could have saved more” you sighed.

“I know, we all do” Chris whispered, “are you gonna head home, my ma would be more than happy to have you or do you wanna stay here?”

“Can I stay here?” you asked looking up at him “I just want to be with you right now” you admit. 

“Of course sweetheart” Chris said softly, cupping your cheek and kissing you gently. 

You sighed into the kiss, grateful that no matter what you always had Chris to go to after a difficult day.

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Burnin' Up Masterlist / Series Masterlist / Masterlist

Even though you were exhausted you remained sat in your car for another couple of minutes just gathering the energy to move. It had been an exhausting day, not just physically but emotionally too.

Eventually, you did manage to bring yourself to climb out of the car and head inside. You made sure you were as quiet as possible as you closed the door, took off your shoes and jacket. You didn’t want to accidentally wake Chris. 

Even though you didn’t have much of an appetite you knew you needed to have something to eat. The last proper meal you had was lunch and that was over twelve hours ago. You also knew you’d just wake up hungry again in a couple hours if you didn’t and you really wanted to sleep for hours after today.

Walking into the living room you flicked on the light only to be startled by Chris startling awake from his spot on the couch. You clutched your chest as you tried to get your breathing back under control.

“Chris what the hell? You scared the shit out of me!” You complained as your heart rate finally returned to normal.

“Sorry,” he said rubbing the sleep from his eyes “I didn’t mean to scare you, or fall asleep, I was trying to stay awake until you got home” he explained.

“Why? I texted to say I’d be home late so you didn’t need to stay up” you told him, pulling out your phone to double-check you’d actually sent the code.

“I know” Chris said pushing himself up from the couch and walking over to you “I also knew tonight was gonna be a hard night and I didn’t like the idea of you getting home and being alone” he explained placing his hands on your arms.

You instantly softened hearing his reason, stepping into his embrace, burying your head in his chest as you let out a shaky breath. Chris instantly wrapped his arm around you pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head.

“Wanna talk about it?” He asked softly, rubbing your soothingly.

“Not yet, I think I’m still processing it all, I just wanna sleep but I should eat first” you sighed pulling away enough to look up at him.

“Okay, I saved you a plate so I’ll go warm it up, make yourself comfortable” Chris smiled softly, nodding to the couch. 

“Not too comfortable otherwise I’ll be asleep before you even get into the kitchen” you pointed out. 

Chris lets out a small snort of laughter “Okay make yourself uncomfortable” he chuckled.

You give him a tired smile as you sit down on the couch, sitting on the edge as you knew that if you sat too far back sleep would be too inviting. Thankfully it wasn’t long until Chris returned with a plateful of food for you, and a smaller plate for himself. 

The two of you sat in comfortable silence as you ate. Once you were finished you set your plate down on the coffee table and let out a long sigh.

“We found the body,” you told Chris.

You heard him let out a long sigh as he put his hand on the small of your back. He didn’t say anything though, he knew to just give you time to talk it all through.

“We still have to confirm it's her because there was a lot of decay but she was in the exact spot he said she was” You continued rubbing your hand over your forehead “I just… I feel so sorry for the families…. Both of them… one lost their daughter and the other has just found out their son isn’t who they thought he was” 

Chris let out another sigh as he shifted closer to you, wrapping his arm around you and pulling you closer into his side. He knew exactly where your mind was going, it hadn’t been that long since you found out your own father wasn’t who you thought he was.

You let out a shuddering sigh as you wiped away the stray tears that fell “Sorry” you muttered.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Chris said shaking his head “You have nothing to apologise for”

“I shouldn’t be thinking of him though” you pointed out looking up at him.

“It's okay, it’s natural and you always will it’ll just be easier to move on” Chris reassured you “And I know it sucks and it hurts but it means you understand what they’re going through and feeling and you’ll be able to provide them the correct support”

You sighed nodding your head “Yeah you’re right, thank you” you say looking up at him.

Chris gave you a soft smile “It’s nothing, now let's get you up to bed, you deserve it” he said as he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead.

“I don’t think I have the energy to stand” you admitted making Chris chuckle.

“Don’t you worry about that” he said with a lopsided smile before he stood up, hooked his arms around you and lifted you into his arms.

You let out a squeak of surprise before quickly snuggling into his arms. You smiled up at him forever grateful that you had him in your life to look after you after tough shifts, providing you a safe space that you never had before. He hadn’t even made it all the way upstairs before you fell asleep in his arms.

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Burnin' Up Masterlist / Series Masterlist / Masterlist

“Our next recipient went above and beyond her duties and was brave enough to show nobody is above the law, not even a police commissioner,” The Deputy Commissioner said from her podium.

She had taken on the role of acting commissioner from the moment your father was removed from office. The investigation into him thankfully didn’t drag on nor did it go to trial since he admitted to it all. The investigation had dragged up more instances of corruption and him blackmailing other officers in the force, no less than 10 former officers came forward and gave their testimonies on how he drove them off the force. He probably hopes that pleading guilty would give him a lesser sentence, you’d have to find out at the sentencing next week.

The Deputy Commissioner was a welcome change to the force and in the two months she had been acting Commissioner she had made many changes for the better. You really hoped that she would win the vote and officially become the new Commissioner.

“every officer could learn something from Detective Sergeant Y/L/N, I know I certainly have so it is my honour to present her with a medal of commendation” She continues.

A large cheer erupts from the crowd as your squad, Chris’ crew and his family all stand up to applaud you. You couldn’t stop the smile that made its way onto your face as you stood up from your seat and made your way over.

“Thank you Ma’am” you smile, shaking her hand as you accept your medal.

“your welcome, you deserve it” she smiles warmly.

Everyone continues to cheer as you make your way back to your seat, only stopping when the Deputy Commissioner cleared her throat loudly. She didn’t seem to mind though if the smirk on her face was anything to go by.

Once the ceremony was over you made your way off the stage and towards your friends and family and most importantly Chris. Your squad greeted you first, all clapping you on your back, Ben giving you the tightest hug possible. Next came Chris’ crew and then his family, his niece and nephews wanting to get a closer look at your medal.

Finally, you got through the crowds and were stood in front of Chris, who looked absolutely gorgeous in his new uniform, the gold captain epaulettes shining proudly. Jeffords had officially retired from active duty following his accident, stating that the time with his family highlighted that they should have always been his priority. So Chris was officially promoted to Captain and you couldn’t be prouder of him.

“I’m so proud of you” he grins as he leans down to press a kiss to your lips “These are for you” he says pulling a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back.

“oh Chris they’re beautiful thank you so much” You smile as you accept the flower and breath in their fresh scent.

“you're welcome, I’ve got more for you at home” he winks making you chuckle knowing he didn’t just mean physical presents.

You also had to smile because Chris’ house was now officially your home too. Even though you had been living with him throughout everything that happened with your father and the investigation, once CSI were done with your apartment Chris asked if you officially wanted to move in and you of course said yes.

“my mom has also organised a celebratory dinner at her house” Chris continues.

“sounds delicious, but I have somewhere I want to take you first,” you tell him making his head tilt slightly in confusion “It won’t take long at all, I promise”

Chris was admittedly a little confused when you asked to take a detour on the way back to his mom's, but when you directed him to turn the car down the road towards the cemetery he slowly began to understand. If he was honest he was starting to get a little bit nervous too.

Once he park up he got out of the car and walked around to you. The bouquet of flowers that he’d given you was still in your hands as you slipped your hand into his. You didn’t say a word, just smiled softly up at him before leading him into the cemetery.

The air was silent with the exception of the occasional tweet for a bird as you walked. The atmosphere felt peaceful and maybe that helped put Chris at ease as you approached and stopped at your mom’s grave.

Your hand slipped out of Chris’ hand as you crouched down and began removing the older, wilted flowers on the grave and replaced them with some from the bouquet that he gave you. You then gently brushed away some dirt and dust from the headstone and took a deep breath.

“hey mom, sorry its been a while, life’s been pretty hectic but I’m sure you know all that” you start, the corner of your lips twitching upwards as you spoke “I’ve been meaning to come for a while now and I’m sorry I kept putting it off,” you say before taking a deep breath “I just wasn’t sure how you’d feel about everything that happened with father” you admit “I hope you’re not upset, I know you loved him but I hope you're proud that I stood up to him… I think you would be”

Chris let out a shuddering breath as he listened to you talk to your mom. He’ll never get to meet your mom but he feels confident that your mom would be proud of you. Your mom was a good mom, and any good mom would be proud of what you did.

“I also wanted to introduce you to someone,” you say standing back up and stepping back, your hand finding his once more “This is Chris and I absolutely love him with all my heart and I think you would too, he’s everything I know you would want for me and I don’t know what I did to deserve him,” you say smiling up at him.

Chris smiles warmly back down at you “I don’t know what I did to deserve you” he whispers as he presses a kiss to your forehead.

He then turned his attention back to the gravestone “I’m sad I never got the chance to meet you because I know Y/N must be just like you and that means you were a pretty incredible woman” he says making you smile gently, stepping closer into his side “I hope you’re at peace and I can promise you that I will protect Y/N with my life and will never let anyone hurt her again” he swears.

He heard you let out a small shuddering breath which made his attention snap back to you. He looked down to see you looking up at him, tears brimming your eyes but with a smile on your face and a look of gratitude in your eyes “I love you” you whispered.

“I love you too sweetheart” Chris smiled as he cupped your cheek and brought your lips up to his for a sweet kiss.

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Series Masterlist / Masterlist

Chris laughs pushing himself up, forcing you to sit up with him, earning a long whine in protest “C’mon go grab a shower and I’ll have a steaming cup of coffee waiting for you downstairs” Chris says as he climbs out of bed “do you want eggs for breakfast?”

“Nah, just cereal will be fine” you yawn stretching out your back.

“Okay, I’ll put that out for you too,” Chris says as he leans in to quickly peck your lips, you mumble a thanks, smiling gently into the kiss.

Making his way out of the bedroom Chris whistles for Dodger who has been lying on the landing waiting for him. The pair of them make their way downstairs, Dodger’s tail wagging furiously as Chris walked towards his bowl. His paws tippy tapping when Chris scooped out some kibble and put it in his bowl.

While Dodger ate Chris put on a pot of coffee before grabbing your favourite cereal and setting it out for you. He then set about making his own breakfast before pouring himself a cup of coffee and letting Dodger out into the backyard.

There was a sense of peacefulness as Chris stood by the kitchen window watching Dodger run around outside. It was still silent when you made your way into the kitchen, wrapping your arms around Chris’ waist, pressing a kiss to his bare back. Chris smiles softly as he shifts and wraps his arm around you, moving you to his side so he could kiss the top of your head.

“It's such a beautiful day today” you comment quietly as you tuck yourself into his side.

“yeah it is, the weather report said it was going to be miserable” Chris hums.

“I swear the weather report is as accurate as a fortune cookie” you scoff making Chris laugh “Now you promised me a cup of steaming coffee” you remind him, looking up at him.

“I did” Chris hums leaning down to softly kiss you “Go grab a seat and I’ll make it” he promises.

You smile up at him before moving away to go sit down at the kitchen island where Chris had already set out your cereal and bowl. He makes up your coffee just the way you like it before bringing it over to you, kissing the top of your head as he sets it down in front of you.

Over breakfast, Chris asked you where you were with your current case and what your plans were for the day. Once you were done eating you cleared everything up while Chris went and got himself ready and dressed for the day.

When he came back downstairs you had already put Dodger’s harness on and were packing your bag ready to go, a smirk grew on your face when he walked over “Did I ever tell you that my favourite colour on you is Navy?”

“every time you see me in uniform” Chris grins as he pecks your cheek “Ready to go?”

“yep, got everything and Dodger is all suited and ready to go too,” you say clipping on Dodgers lead.

“Perfect, let's get moving then” Chris smiles grabbing his car keys.

On the car journey over to your precinct, you looked over the files for your current case, scribbling the occasional note as Chris drove. He could tell you were getting close to a breakthrough just by the furrow of your brows so he just let you work, keeping the music low so it didn’t disturb you.

Once he pulled up outside your precinct he gently got your attention. You quickly pack the file back away before smiling brightly over at him as you lean over the console and kiss him goodbye.

“see you tomorrow, stay safe,” you tell him.

“I will I promise, I’ll call you later if I can” he promises “Are you gonna be okay getting home to your apartment after work?”

“yeah, Benny said he’d drop me off on his way to Matt’s” you reassure him.

“Good let me know if that falls through, I’m sure Jeffords won’t mind me running out to pick you up,” Chris says reaching over to take your hand.

“Chris don’t worry I’ll be fine walking if I need to,” you tell him with a small shake of your head.

“I know but it’ll make me feel better knowing you’re safe, so please just call me” Chris presses gently.

You smile softly over at him, nodding your head “I will I promise” you smile leaning in to kiss him once more.

“Good, now you better go I can see Benny waiting for you,” Chris says nodding in the direction of Ben who was standing by the entrance to the precinct, his arms crossed with a knowing smirk.

You let out a small chuckle looking over your shoulder, both you and Chris giving him a wave “Talk to you later, love you” You smile as you look back at Chris.

“Love you too, now go before you make me and Dodger late, don’t wanna get pulled over for speeding” Chris smirks making you laugh as you get out of the car.

“drive safe” you chuckle before closing the door and making your way over to Ben.

Dodger lets out a loud whine as he watches you disappear into the precinct “Yeah I know pal” Chris sighs reaching back to pat him on the head “I miss her too”

Putting the car back into drive he pulled away from the precinct and continued his journey towards the station.

As soon as he arrived at the station Dodger went running inside to go greet everyone, making sure he got equal attention from everyone. Chris chuckled to himself as Dodger harassed everyone for pats while Chris made his way into the locker room to put his bag away and get ready to start his shift.

He met the rest of the crew upstairs in the large common room, Jimmy making himself a coffee while Paul played fetch with Dodger. Chris ducked under the toy that was being thrown for Dodger as he made his way over to the fridge to put his lunch away.

“right is everyone here?” Captain Jeffords said walking in clipboard in hand, the whole crew calling out in confirmation “Good since we’re still down a man while Jennings is on her honeymoon sunning herself and drinking pina coladas”

“sounds like you could use a vacation cap!” Paul calls out, pointing out the captain's clear jealousy, making everyone laugh.

“you sound like my wife Hawkings” Jeffords grumbled not looking up from his clipboard “As I was saying her chores need to be split out between the rest of you, so Evans you’re on dinner duty tonight”

Jimmy snorts behind Chris “It’s Italian tonight then”

Chris looks over his shoulder with an arched brow “You know I can cook things other than Italian”

“Now you’re with Y/N you can, before then it was Italian or eggs” Paul points out making Chris roll his eyes.

“I’ve never heard you complain about my pesto eggs before” Chris argues.

“yeah because food is food at the end of the day, no matter how terrible” Paul smirks.

Chris was about to argue back again, defend his cooking honour but Jeffords shut down the argument “Enough, you all suck at cooking” he huffs “Now listen up for your other chores” Jeffords continues to list off all the other jobs that need doing before passing Chris the clipboard ready to oversee it all.

It was around midday when they got their first call out to a small office fire that had started from a dodgy toaster over. It took no time at all to get the fire put out and the equipment removed meaning everyone was back to enjoy lunch at a reasonable hour.

Chris had just finished his lunch and was clearing everything up when his dad and Captain Jeffords walked into the common room, both with grave looks on their faces.

“Chief? Is everything okay?” Chris asks, the entire crew standing to attention, the tension in the room palpable.

“yes, I just need to borrow you for a couple hours,” Robert says barely meeting his gaze.

Chris glances over at Jeffords who nods in agreement, clearing his throat quickly Chris follows his dad back out of the room wiping his hands nervously on his trousers as he went. As soon as they were out of the room he could hear the crew questioning Jeffords about what was happening, he was too far away though to hear what Jeffords said in response.

“Dad, what’s happening? Is everything okay?” Chris questions as he follows him out to the FD Chief's car.

Robert doesn’t answer though he just gets in the car and waits for Chris to do the same. Letting out a frustrated sigh Chris climbed into the car and buckled his seat belt hoping to finally get some answers.

Robert remained silent as he put the car into drive and pulled away from the station making Chris even more worried “Is it ma? Has something happened to her? or Scott? Carly or Shanna?” Chris presses desperate for an answer.

“your ma’s fine, so is everyone else” His dad finally says making Chris breathe a small sigh of relief, it was only a brief second of relief though as his mind turned to you.

“what about Y/N? Has something happened to her?” he demands turning in his seat to fully face Robert.

Robert sighs glancing over at Chris for a split second before returning his attention back to the road “She’s- she’s okay” he says slowly.

“but something’s happened” Chris states trying to stop himself from being sick with nerves, you had told him you were just waiting on evidence to come back before making an arrest, what if that arrest had gone wrong and you were in the hospital right now?

“Chris…” his dad started with a sigh “I can’t tell you anymore” he admits.

Chris slumps back in his seat, his hand running down his face as he tried to process everything, tried to stop his brain from going to the worst-case scenario. He needed to know what had happened, he needed to know you were okay. Grabbing his phone he went to try and contact either you or Ben to find out what happened, but before he got the chance his dad reached over and took his phone.

“you can’t contact her Chris, not yet,” Robert says before Chris got a chance to complain.

“why not? Why aren’t you telling me everything? Dad please can you just tell me if she’s hurt or something!” Chris demands, his voice barely below shouting.

“she’s not hurt, she’s okay but that’s all I can tell you right now, I’m sorry Chris but I just need you to trust me okay? You trust me right?” Robert says with a shake of his head.

“yeah, of course I do Dad,” Chris says nodding his head.

“Good, just remember that and that I’m on your side” Robert sighs looking over at Chris one last time before returning his attention back to the road for the final time, not uttering another word leaving Chris to wonder what he meant and if you were truly okay. 

“would you rather have spaghetti for hair or mayo as sweat?” Ben asks out of the blue making your head snap up from the report you were working on.

“what the fuck did you just ask me?” you mutter in disbelief, watching as he swung boredly side to side on his chair.

“would you rather have spaghetti for hair or mayo as sweat?” Ben repeats with a small shrug of his shoulders.

You blink a couple of times, shaking your head not sure whether you had hit your head or something. You look around at the rest of the bullpen trying to spot some sort of sign to say you were actually in a fever dream, but everything was completely normal.

“why are you even asking me that?” you question still thoroughly confused.

“Because I’m bored?” Ben shrugs “So c’mon which is it? Spaghetti hair or mayo sweat?” he presses.

You roll your eyes as you sit back in your chair to contemplate your answer “Is it cooked or dry spaghetti?” you question.

“oh um” Ben mutters tilting his head as he thought for a moment “Cooked”

“spaghetti hair then, because it's still kinda hair like and mayo sweat is just gross” You grimace shaking your head just at the thought of it.

“but then you’d always have mayo on hand” Ben points out.

Your jaw practically hits the floor “You would take mayo sweat!” you gasp.

Ben laughs shaking his head “No I just wanted to see your reaction” He smirks.

“asshole” you grumble turning your attention back to the report you were working on, just as you did so an email popped up on your screen from the forensics team “Oh look they were able to enhance the CCTV footage we got,” you say gesturing for Ben to come and have a look.

Getting up from his desk and walking around, he looks over your shoulder at the new footage “Wahey it’s a perfect match, shall we go arrest him then?” Ben grins.

“yep I’ll go grab some uniformed officers now for back up” you agree locking your computer, standing up and grabbing your jacket.

“Awesome I’ll meet you down by my car,” Ben says slapping you on the shoulder before moving to grab his jacket and head off towards the elevator.

Within the hour you and Ben were walking into the grand apartment complex and making your way up to the top floor. Making sure you had uniformed officers closing off any escape routes you then knocked on the door, a tall man with dark hair answered.

“what now?” the man huffs rolling his eyes down at you.

You glance over at Ben who was already moving past the man with handcuffs ready to go “Mr Drysdale I’m arresting you for suspicion of assault, you do not have to say anything, anything you do will be taken as evidence which can be later used in court” you say reading out his rights.

The man gapes back at you shaking his head “This is bullshit, I told you I didn’t do it” he argues.

“yeah well let's see if that changes after we question you” Ben mutters as he guides the man out of his apartment.

Once you led him out of the apartment complex and into the awaiting police car, Ben turned back to you and held his hand up for a high five, one that you eagerly provided. You smiled to yourself as you climbed back into your car, you considered texting Chris to tell him the good news but ultimately decided until after you got a confession.

Back at the precinct, you made your way back to your text to collect all the evidence you needed for questioning, deciding to check your emails at the same time.

“what interview room do you want sarge?” one of the officers asks.

“um hold on one second” you call back, frowning as you open an email from the commissioner's office “shit” you mutter under your breath.

“what’s up?” Ben asks stepping closer to you.

“My father has requested an urgent meeting, in like 30 minutes” you grumble glancing down at your watch, “said he had a meeting fall through and wants a progress update”

“oh…” Ben mutters “I thought he only called you in when something was wrong” he points out his tone cautious.

“yeah but he calls me from time to time for progress updates, maybe he just considered doing it in person this time, or over lunch considering the time?” you point out.

When Ben doesn’t say anything you look over at him and see a flash of worry in his eyes before it quickly disappears and he clears his throat “Uh yeah maybe?” he says rubbing the back of his neck “What about our perp?” he then asks.

You let out a long sigh glancing around him to look at the perp who was still standing with the uniformed officer waiting on directions on where to go “Put him in the holding cell, let him sweat for a bit and we’ll question him when I get back, take your lunch break while you wait if you want” you tell him.

“Sure, do you want me to drop you over to HQ?” Ben asks, nibbling his lower lip slightly.

“Nah I’m good, I’ll grab an Uber or something, I’ve got plenty of time to get there” you reassure him with a smile, patting him on the shoulder.

“sure… we’ll um I’ll see you later then” Ben nods stiffly before giving you a tight smile as you left.

“see you later” you smile putting the file back down on your desk before making your way out, telling the officer to put the perp in the holding cell, trying not to laugh at the loud groan the perp gave hearing that.

As you got into the elevator you looked back out at the bullpen before the door closed, catching Ben watching you go, nibbling on his thumbnail as he did so. Your brows furrowed as you looked back at him in concern, you were about to step back out and ask him what was wrong but the doors closed before you got the chance.

Nibbling at your lower lip you tried to ignore the funny feeling in your gut at the life descended downwards. As the door opened you stepped out onto the street, taking a deep breath hoping the fresh air would calm the unsettled feeling in your stomach. But instead, all you got was a blast of cold wind that made you hug yourself tightly to conserve body warmth as you hailed a taxi.

The journey to Boston Police HQ seemed to go much faster than usual and soon enough you were walking through the halls towards your father's office. You considered quickly going to the bathroom to splash some water on your face since the weird feeling was still present but you didn’t really have time.

When you reached the assistant outside his office you were taken aback at the wide smile on her face. She usually didn’t pay you any attention, she was short with you and downright rude, despite clearly having a good relationship with your father.

“Hi, how are you?” She beams leaning forward as she spoke to you.

“Good thanks, you?” You say trying not to frown at how strange her behaviour was.

“Oh I’m brilliant” she grins, resting her chin in her hand.

“Great, um is my father ready?” You ask pointing in the direction of the door.

“Oh yes go ahead” she smiles waving you towards the door.

You glance between her and the door trying to work out why this all felt so wrong. But you just shook your head giving her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she was trying to turn over a new leaf.

Pushing open the door into your father’s office instantly you notice he wasn’t alone, making you silently curse at yourself and his damned assistant. But when you got over your initial shock you realised you recognised the man standing next to your father, it was Robert. The man sat opposite your father then looked over his shoulder and your heart stops when you see Chris’ stormy expression.

“Glad you could join us, now sit down” your father states coldly from his chair, pointing to the seat next to Chris “We have a lot to discuss” 

Chris was angry. From the moment he stepped into this room his fists were clenched so tight that it almost hurt having to hold himself back. This was the first time he’d ever officially met your father and he knew from the look of distaste on your father's face that it wasn’t going to be a happy meeting.

But he didn’t know exactly why he was here yet so he decided to remain silent and keep his face as neutral as possible. He didn’t want to give your father any ammunition at all.

However, when the door opened behind him and he saw the shocked expression on your face his anger doubled. His hands moved to grip the arms of his chair, the wood groaning under his tight grip. You had no clue about this meeting, it had been completely sprung on you with no time to mentally prepare.

Glancing back at his own father, his jaw clenched when he saw his dad refuse to look at him, just looking down at the floor instead. He knew this meeting was happening and didn’t feel the need to share anything.

“Chris- I- what” you muttered in shock, your body operating on autopilot as you moved to sit down in the chair next to Chris.

“do you know why I’ve called this urgent meeting?” your father asks leaning back in his chair, fingers lacing together.

You glance over at Chris for a split second before looking back at your father, your lips parting slightly as if you tried to say something before eventually just closing your mouth and shaking your head. Chris had never seen this side of you, never seen a look of terror on your face like this. You looked sick your skin was already so pale, the look in your eyes was one of a small child who was petrified.

“come on detective, look around” your father snaps making you physically flinch, Chris having to hold himself back from launching from his chair.

“ch-Chris” you managed to say weakly.

“yes, him” your father sneers over in Chris’ direction “I thought I had made myself perfectly clear about my view on his kind”

“Father let me just-“ you tried to say but your father cut you off.

“no! You had your chance and you blew it detective! I had to find out about this from Jake” Your father seethes.

“Jake- I?” you mutter shaking your head in confusion.

“yes I bumped into him a few months back now about a week after the pizzeria fire, I asked him how you were and he told me you dumped him for a firefighter!” your father grumbles shaking his head as he shot another look of disgust towards Chris “Jake was a lovely man detective, why leave him for that”

“That scumbag cheated on her!” Chris shouted unable to hold himself back anymore.

Your father just completely ignored his outburst “I didn’t believe it first, I raised you better than that but I wouldn’t be a good police officer if I didn’t collect evidence” he said reaching into one of his drawers and pulling out a large file, dropping it on the desk with a heavy thud.

You tentatively leaned forward and opened up the file, your hands shaking as you pushed photos around, your lips parting in shock. As you sat back Chris could see your eyes turning glassy as your shaking hand moved to cup your mouth.

Sitting forward so he could have a proper look, Chris thought he was going to implode when he saw what was in the file. It was countless photos of you and Chris together, dating back to before you were even together. The odd times you were seen each other on the job, or he went to visit your apartment. There was even a photo of you kissing him in the back of the ambulance.

“Have you been following us?” Chris growled sitting forward in his chair, one movement away from pouncing.

Your father once again completely ignored him “And what’s worse is that you’ve allowed him to compromise your work!” he argued as he set an MP3 device on the desk and hit play.

Chris thought he was going to be sick when he heard the sound of his and your voices playing back to him. He heard all the times you would discuss work together, the times Chris would tell you to take a break, the times you joked about a public indecency charge.

“you can’t do this” Chris muttered shaking his head “its- it’s illegal, Massachusetts is a two-party consent state”

Your father finally acknowledged Chris with a scoff “So? I’m the commissioner who’s going to arrest me?” he points out “Now I see we have two options here” your father says turning his attention back to you “You either leave him or I fire you”

“you can’t do that!” Chris shouts shooting up from his seat.

“Chris sit down” Robert finally says.

“no!” Chris growls his fury turning to his father “What was the bullshit you said about being on our side!” he demands “You knew about all this?”

“I am on your side Chris,” Robert says calmly “I just needed to confirm whether Commissioner Y/L/N was actually going to go through with his threat”

“What?” both Chris and your father say in unison.

“Well, thanks to you I now have all this evidence to pass onto the anti-corruption team,” Robert says picking up and collecting all the evidence from the desk.

“I won’t let you leave with that” your father argues.

“I don’t need to, you already sent me copies of everything for my own records,” Robert says using quotation marks around the words ‘own records’ “But of course, I’m not the victim here, Y/N is so I’ll let her decide on whether to press charges”

Your father’s eyes dart between him and his dad before settling on you “Y/N, you know deep down this is wrong, I’m just trying to protect you” he says his voice soft as he looks at you.

“don’t you dare try to fucking manipulate her!” Chris growls stepping in front of you, shielding you from your father.

Your father's soft expression turns into an evil sneer as he looks back at Chris, standing up from his desk in an attempt to be eye level with him “You do not want to make an enemy of me boy” he warns.

“yeah I’ve heard the shit you’ve done to get where you are now and guess what you don’t scare me,” Chris says his voice in a dangerous tone as he took a step closer to your father.

“I think that’s enough, c’mon Chris let's go,” Robert says interrupting the staredown between Chris and your father “Christopher let's go,” he says his tone much harder.

Chris breaks his cold stare to turn and crouch down in front of you “C’mon sweetheart let’s go” he says softly taking your hand.

As he went to guide you out of the office your father grabbed your wrist and harshly pulled you back causing you to cry out in pain. Chris instantly saw red, dropping his hand and surging towards your father, in no time at all Chris has your father pinned up against the wall, his arm pressed against your father’s neck.

“Christopher stop! Before you cause any trouble” Robert snaps grabbing Chris by the back of his collar and dragging him out of the room, his other hand gently guiding you out.

Chris’ fists were still clenched as you all walked back through the halls of the HQ, ready to swing if the commissioner decided to follow. He didn’t care less about being charged with assault.

As they stepped outside Chris instantly spotted Ben who was standing by his car, arms crossed over his chest waiting. Ben stood to attention a look of horror on his face when he saw you walk out beside Chris and Robert.

“what the hell happened?” he asks looking between Chris and you.

Chris had hoped that being back in the fresh air would calm him but Chris was absolutely furious, he was moments away from marching back into the HQ and taking a swing at your father. The only thing that stopped him was your broken voice.

“It’s true…” you muttered staring ahead at nothing “Everything you said was true… you- you were right… he’s-he’s a monster”

Chris’ heart completely shattered when he heard the pure anguish in your voice. He glanced over at Ben to see him looking at you in sorrow. Chris knew everyone here wanted you to know the truth about your father, but not like this.

“What- I- uh-“ you stuttered, your hands fanning your body as your chest heaved.

You stumbled as your legs gave out beneath you “whoa, whoa, whoa” Chris cursed as he surged to catch you, his arm wrapping around your waist to hold you up, his hand gripping yours to remind you that he was there.

It didn’t seem to be working though, your breathing was becoming more erratic, your eyes were completely unfocused. Chris’ hand moved so he could feel your pulse in your wrist, cursing when he felt how fast it was going. He knew exactly what was happening, he’d seen it so many times before at work when someone came to the realisation that their belongings and home has been destroyed.

“Shit she’s going into emotional shock” he muttered “She needs to sit down,” he said as he hooked his arm beneath your legs and picked you up.

Thankfully his dad opens the passenger door to the FD Chief’s car, allowing Chris to settle you down. Chris then cupped your cheeks trying to get your eyes to focus on him.

“Sweetheart hey, you’re okay just listen to my voice and take some deep breaths” he reassures you firmly “Like this c’mon you can do it” he presses, taking your hand and resting it on his chest so you could feel his heartbeat and the steady rise and fall of his chest.

Your gaze dropped from his face to your hand on his chest, watching as he breathed slow and deep breaths. Your eyes then found his again, the fogginess in them disappearing as you began to copy his breathing.

“That’s it, that’s perfect sweetheart,” Chris says softly, leaning in to press a kiss to your forehead, screwing his eyes shut as he tried to control his emotions. He needed to be strong right now, no matter how much it killed him to see you like this, you needed him to be as steady as a rock.

A few moments passed before Chris glanced over his shoulders at his dad and Ben “She can’t go back to work like this” he whispered shaking his head.

“Our Captain will understand, he’s never been a fan of the commissioner” Ben reassures him.

“I’ll come with you, explain the situation” Robert nods “Chris take her home and just make sure she’s okay, I’ll get your car and Dodger and explain everything to Jeffords” he adds passing Chris the car keys.

“I will, thank you Dad” Chris sighs gratefully as he takes the keys.

“It’s nothing, I’m sorry it ended up this way” Robert apologises, glancing over at you with a sorrowful and sympathetic look.

Chris just swallows the lump of emotion in his throat as he nods and turns his attention back to you “Okay sweetheart I’m gonna take you home, back to my place and we’re just gonna relax okay” Chris tells you softly.

You give him a tired and weak nod. As Chris moves to help turn you the right way in the passenger seat and do up your seatbelt for you he could see you begin to tremble as the adrenaline left your system. He reached out and took one of your shaking hands, lifting it to his lips “it's gonna be okay, you’re okay I promise” he reassured you.

He only got another weak nod in response and he had to tell himself that it was okay, this was all a natural response to what has just happened. He gave you a quick kiss on the cheek before shutting the door and making his way around to the driver’s side. He took a deep breath glancing over at you before starting the car and beginning the drive home. 

Arriving back at his place the first thing Chris did was take you upstairs to bed, you were so exhausted that you could barely walk so Chris opted to carry you upstairs. He asked if you wanted a shower or a bath, food, anything, but you just shook your head, curled up into a ball and pulled the covers up.

He let out a long sigh, gently running his hand over the top of your head before leaning down to press a gentle kiss to your temple. He promised he’d be right back before grabbing your phone and walking downstairs.

Heading into the small laundry room he had, Chris first removed the sim card from your phone and then turned it off. He had no clue whether it was just your phone that was bugged or your apartment too but he was going to take every precaution. He then buried your phone deep in a basket of towels hoping that it was enough to muffle any sound in case the bugs were still active.

He then went to go sit down in the living room, his hand running down his face with a heavy sigh. He knew he should go back up to you and just hold you, reassure you that everything was going to be okay but right now he couldn’t. He just needed a moment to just process everything himself and make sense of it all.

He knew your father was a dick, but he never expected it to blow up like this. The look of absolute horror on your face when you finally saw your father as the monster he is, will forever stay with Chris.

The more the last hour played through Chris’ mind the angrier he got. To the point that he was angry and lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear someone knocking at the door. He was only aware that it was his dad when Dodger came running in and straight over to Chris.

“you weren’t answering so I just let myself in, wasn’t sure if you were with her or not” Robert explains as he puts Chris’ car keys down on the side, Chris doesn’t respond though his jaw clenching when he remembered the look of shock on your face when you walked in, something that could have been prevented is his dad had just told him what was going on “is she okay?” Robert then asks.

That was enough to make Chris snap, shooting up from his seat making Dodger scramble back in surprise “No she’s not! And it’s your fault!”

“Chris-“ Robert starts his brows pinching together.

“no!” Chris interrupts not wanting to hear what bullshit excuse his dad was going to give “You knew what was happening! You knew what kind of monster he is! You knew he’d been spying on us! On her! And you said nothing! You could have at least let me warn her! she’s upstairs completely broken because of what happened!” he bellows.

Robert takes a deep breath holding his hands up “Chris you’re angry-“

“angry?” Chris scoffs shaking his head at his dad “I’m fucking furious!” he yells “You had a chance to stop that from even happening and you decided not to take it for whatever fucked up reason”

“I had no choice Chris” Robert argues his voice still calm, something that only pissed Chris off more.

“no choice?” Chris repeated in disbelief “No choice! You should have told us as soon as you found out!”

“Chris I’m sorry, I really didn’t want it to end like this” Robert sighs “I only got sent my copies this morning”

“so why didn’t you tell us then!” Chris argues.

“Because I need to see if he would go through on his threat, spying on an individual but using it to blackmail her is a whole other crime” Robert explains “He approached me last week about this, assumed I didn’t know and that I’d hate you dating her because he thinks I have this vendetta against him,” he says with a sigh “so I played along, I hated it Chris I really did but I knew if we wanted to take him down we needed everything we could get”

Chris’ chest was still heaving as he glared back at his father, while he was beginning to understand his father’s reasoning he was still pissed.

“look you’re angry and you have every right to be” Robert sighs shaking his head “But the person you’re really angry at is him, not me, not really anyway… you need a better outlet so why don’t you take Dodger out for a walk or something” he suggests.

Chris instantly shakes his head at the idea “No, I- I can’t leave her, not now” he says.

“Okay well just go have a walk in the backyard then, play fetch or something, I’ll stay here and if she calls I’ll come grab you” Roberts suggests.

Chris took a deep breath, he knew his dad was right about needing to just get out for a moment. He also just didn’t want to look at his dad right now, he was too angry. So he nodded and whistled for Dodger to follow, walking out into the backyard the door slamming behind him.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed outside, just pacing back and forth as he thought through everything. Dodger had stopped playing fetch with him, the pup too worn out to play any more following the anger-driven throws of the ball that went much further than usual.

His brain was just too loud, he couldn’t stop thinking of what he could have done to prevent this. Should he have insisted you told your father sooner? It wouldn’t have made much of a difference because your father already knew, he’d known before you even officially started dating. But maybe the impact would have been less devastating. Maybe doing it on your terms would have shone a light on your father’s behaviour but without completely tearing you apart.

God, he felt so stupid, he should have known. He knew enough about to father to know this would have never ended well, he should have done something, anything.

All his thinking cumulated into a noise in his brain that was just completely debilitating. He sunk down to his knees, his head falling into his hands, eyes screwed shut. His whole chest hurt as he choked out a sob, dodger ran straight over to him trying to snuffle his snout between Chris’ hands. Chris could feel himself spiralling, like a massive weight was on his chest stopping him from breathing, his entire world spinning.

He felt someone’s hands on his shoulders, he looked up expecting and hoping it was you. But instead he saw his ma’s concerned expression as she crouched down beside him.

“Ma?” Chris stutters through his tears.

“yeah, your dad called, said he was worried about you” Lisa explains rubbing his back soothingly.

Chris let out a shuddering breath shaking his head “it's all my fault ma” he chokes out “it's my fault I- I- could have- should have prevented this”

“oh no sweetie no” Lisa sighs wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer “There was nothing you could have done, nothing”

“but-“ Chris says going to argue.

“but nothing” Lisa interrupts “Stop listening to that voice in your head, it's doing nothing to help and listen to me instead,” she tells him firmly, cupping his cheek forcing him to look her in the eyes, simultaneously wiping away his tears just like she always did when he was a child “you couldn’t have changed anything that happened today, nothing at all and it hurts I know it hurts but you’ll get through it, and you’ll help her through it too”

Chris takes another deep shuddering breath “Thanks ma” he whispers.

“it's going to be okay Chris, I know it doesn’t seem like it right now but it will be and you’ll both be so much stronger for it, so when you’re ready you head up those stairs and you hold her because she’s going to feel so alone right now and you need to remind that she isn’t, that she’ll never be alone,” Lisa tells him firmly.

“I will ma, I promise” Chris swears. 

You woke to the sound of thunder rolling through the sky. Sitting up in your bed you tiredly rubbing your eyes with your fists. You crawled up onto your knees to look out of the window that looked over the bed. Looking up at the sky you watched as it illuminated, lightning dancing across the sky.

You were about to crawl back under the covers when you heard a loud noise downstairs. You frowned in confusion grabbing your teddy before climbing out of bed and making your way downstairs.

The closer you got the louder and more frequent the loud noises got. You were inching against the wall closer and closer to the living room where the noises were coming from. The closer you got you realised it was voices.

Poking your head around the door frame you saw your parent standing facing each other. Your mom was running her hands down her face as your father yelled.

“Mommy,” you said quietly, far too quietly for either of your parents to hear.

“would you just please listen to me please” your mom begged.

“no! I don’t want to hear any more bullshit excuses!” your father snapped, making your mom flinch.

“they’re not excuses!” your mom complained shaking her head “Just stop being so- so- ignorant to everyone but yourself!”

A large crash of thunder and flash of lightning thundered through the house at the exact same moment your father raised a hand to your mom and slapped her hard across the face. Your mother gasps clutching her cheek, her eyes screwed shut in pain but your cry of terror made them snap open.

She surged over towards you, scooping you up into your arms “it's okay baby it's okay” she consoles as you wail in her arms.

She rubs your back soothingly, rocking you side to side trying to stop your tears. You manage to look over her shoulder at your father. He was standing looking over at you and your mom, a stormy expression on his face that only looked more terrifying as more lightning flashed into the room. You flinched burying your head into your mom’s shoulders to hide away.

She carries you back to your room, making sure the curtains were completely closed before she settles you back down in bed. She still held you close though, shielding you from the lightning and thunder. She whispered soothing words in your ears until you tired yourself out and fell asleep in her arms. Unbeknownst to you, she didn’t leave you that night, she spent the entire night beside you making sure you were okay.

The next time you opened your eyes your mom was gone, it was still night-time and you were in a bedroom that wasn’t familiar. Rubbing your eyes tiredly you flinched when you heard a loud crash of thunder, scrambling back under the covers and covering your ears but it wasn’t enough the next crash of thunder had you crying out in fear.

Climbing out of bed you rushed out of the bedroom, you were entirely sure where to go but you soon found the living room. You then spotted your father sitting on the couch his shoulders hunched as he held a tumbler of scotch in his hands.

“Daddy” you whimpered shuffling closer to him.

“go back to bed Y/N” he mutters not looking over at you.

“I’m scared” you sniffle pulling at your cotton night dress.

“it's just a storm, go back to bed” he huffed downing the rest of his scotch in one gulp.

“Daddy please” you cry stamping your foot.

“I said go to bed!” your father roared making you flinch.

“but- but- but” you stutter as tears begin to fall down your cheeks.

Your father lets out an irritated growl standing up from the couch and grabbing your hand. He physically drags you kicking and screaming back to the bedroom that you woke up in. You begged for him to stop, said he was hurting you but he didn’t stop. He practically threw you onto the bed, not even pulling up the covers and tucking you in.

“go back to sleep!” he yelled pointing at you harshly.

“I want Mommy!” you scream your face red as tears streamed down your face.

The expression on his face turned even more terrifying and he leaned in closer “Mommy’s gone, she’s never coming back” he growls.

“no!” you cry out shaking your head.

Your father doesn’t say anything he just turns on his heels and storms back out of the bedroom. You go running after him but he reaches the door and slams it shut behind him before you can reach him. You tug on the door handle but it won’t open leaving you screaming for your dad, crying out in fear as the storm rages outside. Eventually, you just tire yourself out, curling up in a ball on the floor hands clasped over your ears, falling asleep and staying there until morning.  

The pain in your chest hurt so much as you sobbed. Your voice was hoarse as you screamed out, your hands clasped over your ears trying to block the noise out. The image of your father flashing in front of your eyes, terrifying moments from your childhood.

You felt arms wrap around you tightly, a warm embrace surrounding you. through your watery gaze you looked up expecting to see your mom but you saw Chris instead. The painful memory of today flashing through your mind, the memory of seeing your father as the monster he is, the monster you spent years denying and defending.

Your entire body shook as you sobbed, curling up more into Chris’ embrace. He held onto you tight, rubbing your back soothingly, rocking you back and forth. You could faintly hear his soothing words but you heard the wobble in his voice, you manage to look up and through your watery gaze you could see his own tears falling down his face. the sight of him hurting made your pain increase tenfold causing you to sob even harder into his chest.

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Series Masterlist / Masterlist

He glanced over at you to see you looking out the window, your chin resting in your uninjured hand. He couldn’t really see your face but he hoped, prayed that you were okay.

Returning his attention back to the road he shifted in his seat and let out a deep breath trying to disperse the negative energy that had taken hold. It was only a short while later that he heard a poorly concealed sniffle. Glancing over he still couldn’t see your face but he saw your shoulders shaking and he realised you weren’t resting your chin in your hand, you were covering your mouth to muffle the sobs.

“shit” Chris muttered as he pulled over.

He didn’t wait to see if you noticed that the car had come to a stop, he just put it in park, hopped out and rushed around to your side. As soon as he opened your door his breath caught when he saw the tears streaming down your face. Your red-rimmed eyes rose to meet his before you completely crumpled and let out a choked sob.

Chris surged forward wrapping his arms around you and holding you tight. Your arms wrapped around his shoulder as you buried your head in the crook of his neck. Your entire body was shaking as you cling to him tightly.

Chris bit his lip as the memory of that moment following the visit to your father’s office flashed through his mind. So many things were similar, you sat in the passenger seat as the weight of the world crashed onto you. The only silver lining that reassured Chris was that this time you hadn’t closed in on yourself. So even though it killed him to see you hurting like this, he knew it was good that you were expressing your emotions.

So he just held onto you, rubbed your back soothingly and reminded you that he was there and it will all be okay. Eventually, your sobs began to recede and you sit back to wipe away your tears with shaking fingers.

Chris gently cupped your cheeks and wiped away the rest of your tears for you “Wanna talk about it?” he offers gently.

You took a deep breath before swallowing “I just didn’t expect it to hurt as much as it did… does…” you sighed your gaze meeting his “I went in there expecting this outcome but.. I still hoped it wouldn’t be like this, hoped we’d be okay and I think I clung onto that hope more than I realised” you explain with a small shake of your head.

Chris sighed quietly as he brushed some hair out of your face “That’s understandable, anyone would have felt the same, people want a positive outcome even if it requires a miracle”

“I told him that it was like I became an orphan after my mom died, but now I really feel like that, I have no family,” you say your brows pinching together in anguish as you shook your head.

Chris cupped your jaw to make sure you were looking at him when he spoke “You have family, blood means nothing” he says firmly.

You remained silent as you looked back at him, your eyes searching his. He could see a hint of doubt in them which he hoped to get rid of. He knew better than to push you, he knew it was something you just had to slowly understand in your own time and all he could do was reassure you.

“ready to go home?” he asks after a few moments.

“no,” you say shaking your head “We need to go somewhere else first”

Chris’ brows furrow as he tilts his head slightly in confusion “Where?”

You turned to open the glove box and pulled out a thick file that Chris despised with every fibre of his being “I’ve put this off for too long, I need to hand in this evidence” you say looking down at the file that lay on your lap.

“Are you sure?” Chris asks hesitantly, not sure whether right now was a good time for it, not if you were still feeling emotionally vulnerable.

“yes, he knows for certain now that I’m going to, I need to hand it over before he can do damage control” you sigh shaking your head.

“Okay, we’ll go and I promise I’ll be there the entire time” he says leaning forward to press a kiss to your forehead.

“thank you Chris,” you say a smile finally tugging at your lips as you reached up with both hands to cup his cheeks and press a kiss to his lips.

Chris smiled into the kiss, his hand moving to meet yours, as he did so you hissed and pulled back a wince on your face as you look down at your wrist.

“shit do you need to see a doctor?” he asks as he gently inspects your wrist, checking for any sign of swelling or bruising “What did he even do?”

“he gripped it when I went to leave, I think it’s fine, I might have just sprained it when I pulled it from his grip,” you tell him with a gentle shake of your head.

“we should have it properly checked out and get some ice on it” Chris states shaking his head.

“we will they’ll be first aid at the precinct, but we should go,” you tell him.

Chris lets out a long sigh before nodding his head “Okay, but I swear to god the next time I see him I’m giving him a piece of my mind, I don’t care if I get done for assault” Chris mumbles.

You let out a weak chuckle “I know now c’mon” you say gesturing for him to get back in the car.

A smile tugs at the corner of his lips as he leans in to peck your lips once more before heading back around to the driver's side. He then gently took your hand and pressed a kiss to your knuckles.

You gave him directions to the precinct where the anti-corruption unit and a short while later you were pulling up outside. Chris looked over at you as you looked up at the building and let out a shaky breath.

“It’s gonna be okay, whenever you’re ready” he reassures you.

You shoot him a grateful look before glancing up at the building once more time before climbing out of the car. Chris followed you, putting his hand on the small of your back as you walked into the precinct together.

“Hi I’m Detective Sergeant Y/L/N,” you say to the cop at the front desk, pulling your badge out from your pocket “I need to speak to Detective Sergeant Fleming urgently”

The cop arches a brow studying you for a moment, glancing over at Chris before nodding his head and picking up the phone. Only a few moments later a woman with shoulder-length brown hair appears, walking straight over to you.

“Sergeant Y/L/N, how can I help?” She asks holding out her hand.

You shake it but Chris notices you wince as you shift the file over to your injured left hand “Sergeant Fleming, I’d like to report an abuse of power and police resources, I can explain more but it’s highly sensitive information” you tell her nodding down to the file in your hand.

Sergeant Flemings’ brows raise slightly as she eyes the file “Of course, right this way we can talk in one of our interview rooms” she says holding her arm out to direct you.

“Y/N needs to see a medic first,” Chris says knowing you were going to put it off “suspected sprained wrist”

“Chris I’m fine, it can wait” you argue.

“Y/N I can see it’s swollen, you need to get it checked out before it gets worse” Chris points out nodding down to your wrist which was not slightly swollen.

“Your boyfriend is right, we can have it looked at give you some ice, it’ll only take a few minutes” Fleming tells you.

Chris hears you let out a small sigh, rolling your eyes as you agreed “Fine, but we do need to be quick” you say as Chris takes the file from you.

“We will I promise” Chris reassures you, pressing a kiss to your temple before guiding you to follow Fleming with a hand on the small of your back.

Like he promised, within 5 minutes your wrist had been checked out by a medic, a compression bandage applied and a bag of ice provided. Chris could tell you were still displeased with the delay though by the heavy sigh you let out when you finally sat down in the interview room.

“So am I right to believe that file is related to the complaint?” Fleming asks pulling out her notebook and nodding to the file that was resting on the table.

“Yes, in here is evidence of Commissioner Y/L/N using police resources to spy on me and my boyfriend Chris, he then proceeded to blackmail me by threatening to fire me if I did not break up with Chris” you explain, Chris’ eyebrows raising slightly as he watched you completely shift into work mode.

It was a side of you that he hadn’t seen for a long time now and he didn’t realise how much he’d missed it. If the situation wasn’t so dire he’d probably admit that it kinda turned him on.

Fleming, who had been scribbling in her notebook, froze before looking over at you in shock “Your father? As in the head of Boston Police?” She says in disbelief.

“Yeah, he also illegally made tape recording of private conversations” you add, Flemings jaw-dropping further “The hard drive is in the file along with the photos”

“Shit” Fleming muttered sitting back in her chair “I’m sorry I’ll be right back I need to bring my Captain in on this” she says as she stands up.

Chris let out a long breath as he looks over to you as you watched Sergeant Fleming walk out. He noticed the nearly imperceivable trembling that ran through your body once she was gone, your shoulders drooping slightly.

Shifting his seat closer to you, he wrapped his arm around your waist, leaning in to press a kiss to your temple “I’m so proud of you” he whispered against your skin.

Your head bowed as you let out a shaky breath “Thank you” you whispered as you reached out to take his hand, Chris squeezing your hand reassuringly.

You leaned even closer to him, resting your head on his shoulder and closing your eyes. Chris ran his hand up and down your back as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

“It's all gonna be okay” he promises.

The quiet moment of peace was disrupted when Fleming and her Captain returned. The captain flashes you a small smile as he sits down.

“Sergeant Y/L/N, I’m Captain Hastings,” he says holding out his hand as he introduces him.

You sit back up as you shake his hand, the captain was a similar age to your father, maybe a couple of years younger. But instead of frown lines, he had smile lines indicating his age.

“So tell me everything,” he says with a small smile as he sits down.

You glance over at Chris once more, earning a reassuring nod as he squeezed your hand. You take a deep breath, squaring your shoulders once more as you get your thoughts in order. You couldn’t let a single detail slip your mind, you knew how powerful a flawless statement could be.

“I’m going to start by providing some context” you start “I have been dating Chris for a few months now when we first started dating we agreed to keep it on the down-low and professional considering my father's dislike towards firefighters, we had agreed to finally tell my father when he called the both of us into his office for a meeting without each other knowing the meaning of the meeting or that each other would be there” you explain glancing over at Chris, Fleming then asks you the date of the meeting which you easily provide “you can corroborate that with my outlook calendar, I fear my father might have wiped his, anyway when I arrived Chris and his Dad, Fire Chief Evans, were already day. My father then proceeded to inform us that he already knew about our relationship and had been using police resources to spy on us, presenting us with everything he collected” you continue nodding down to file on the table.

Hastings’ face had barely changed as he took in all the information, reaching out for the file. The room was so silent you could hear your own heartbeat in your ears as he flipped through the file and looked at all the photos. Your gaze was trapped on the photos, in any other situation they would be nice to look at. You could see the love you and Chris have for each other long before you knew it. You both looked happy and in love, a photo you’d display. But the reason these photos existed just made you feel sick”

“Some of those photos are before me and Chris were officially together and just friends and I don’t know if he’d been watching me for longer” you admit with a heavy sigh, it was a thought you didn’t want to consider, wondering whether your father has always been lurking over your shoulder “then gave me an ultimatum, leave Chris or lose my job”

Captain Hastings nods as he closes the file, breaking your gaze on them, allowing you to look back up “And what occurred today that brought you here?”

You let out a shaky breath “I went to visit him, I wanted to close the chapter and see if there was any remorse, but there wasn’t”

“And your wrist?” He asks nodding to your wrist.

“When I went to leave he grabbed me, held it so tight that I sprained it when pulling myself free” you explain, Chris shifting uncomfortably in his seat, his grip on your hand tightening for a split second as his anger slipped out for a moment.

“Have we documented that?” Hasting asks turning to Fleming.

“Yes I took a couple of photos of the swelling and bruising forming before the medic applied the compression bandage” Fleming nods.

“Good, okay this alone is enough compelling evidence for us to officially launch an investigation, Fleming can you send another detective to lock down the commissioner's office” Hasting orders.

“On it boss” Fleming nods pushing up from her chair and swiftly leaving the room.

“Of course, we will need to officially question the both of your and Chief Evans” Hasting continues.

“Why? Y/N just told you what happened, she’s a victim she doesn’t need to be questioned” Chris argues his brows furrowing.

You quickly turn to him “It's okay, it's just procedure Chris” you reassure him.

“She’s right, we have to do our due diligence if we want to be successful” Hasting adds.

Chris lets out a huff to show he still wasn’t happy about it but nods his head.

“We’ll start with you if that’s okay?” Hasting asks his attention turning back to you.

“Yeah of course” you nod.

“Good, you can wait outside until we’re ready for you,” Hastings says to Chris.

“Why can’t I stay in here?” Chris questions, his brows furrowing again.

“It's procedure, I’ll be fine I promise” you explain leaning in to kiss his cheek.

“Fine” he huffs standing up “I’ll be right outside if you need me” he promises as he leans down to press a kiss to the top of your head.

You flash him a grateful smile as you watch him step outside. When the door shuts behind him you take a deep breath hoping you could keep your nerve without his reassuring touch.

“Okay so we’ll start with the illegal recordings, do you know how he attained these recordings?” Hastings asks.

“No, but I’d guess the device was either planted in my apartment or he somehow hacked my phone and that enabled him to listen in” you answered with a small shrug of your shoulders.

“Do you have your phone on you now?” Fleming asks and you shake your head.

“No, we turned it off and left it in a box in our laundry room, Chris got me a new phone,” you tell them “and we haven’t gone back to my apartment since the meeting, the only person who went in there was my friend Detective Ben Skyes who cleared out my fridge and locked down the scene so it wouldn’t get disturbed”

“Does your father have access to your apartment?” Hastings asks as he makes notes.

“He had a spare key but he doesn’t have a key for the deadbolt which I don’t often use, only I have a copy of it, Chris gave Benny that key to lock it down” you explain.

“Okay, we’ll need those keys so we can get CSI to search for bugs,” Hastings says as he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Sure” you nod, trying not to squirm as Hastings studied you his brows slowly furrowing.

“I only have one issue, why now?” He questions making your own brows rise as you baulked “You’ve had this information for weeks now and only now have you come forward with it”

“Because my world crashed down around me when this happened” you state with a shake of your head “I was in no fit state to do so, I had to attend therapy just to feel somewhat normal and be brave enough to face this, I’m the victim here remember”

“Well in this instance you have been the victim of his abuse of power, but you might have been the beneficiary and you not coming straight forward with this makes you look suspicious, we have to investigate all avenues as I’m sure you understand,” Fleming says calmly.

You let out a quiet scoff as you sat back in your chair. Taking a deep breath you looked down as you counted to ten “I didn’t know he was doing this, what he was really like, this is as much of a shock to me as it is to anyone else, maybe more so” you say quietly.

“Of course, we are sympathetic to that” Fleming nods with a small smile.

“I’ve worked so hard to be where I am, to prove I deserved it rather than it being handed to me on a plate because my father was the commissioner, he’s often made comments that I should be further along in my career than I am,” you tell them looking better the two of them.

“Okay we do believe you, but we do still have to explore all lines of inquiry and while the investigation is ongoing we will have to ask you do not return to work” Hastings says.

“Of course, I understand” you nod “and thank you for pursuing this”

A smile finally returns to Hastings’ face “It's what we do”

They continued to question you for the next half an hour before letting you go and starting the questioning on Chris. When you stepped out Chris was over to you like a shot and wrapped his arms around you. His large hand cradled the back of your head and you buried it in his chest.

“You okay?” He murmured as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

“Yeah,” you sighed pulling back enough to look up at him.

A small smile played on his lips at your honesty “Good, any tips for me?” He smirks.

You chuckle “Just tell the honest and brutal truth,” you tell him knowing just how much he’d enjoy ratting out your father.

“It will be my pleasure, I’ll be back soon I promise just let someone know if you need me” he tells you, running his hands up and down your arms.

“I will thank you Chris” You smile softly, reaching up to press a soft kiss to his lips.

You watched Chris step away and follow Sergeant Fleming back into the interview room. Once he was gone you move to sit down in the chair he’d vacated, letting out a deep breath as you rested your head back against the wall and closed your eyes.

Even though the precinct was buzzing around you, the room felt silent as your mind began to wander away from you.

You felt a sense of peace that the end was near, your father if he had any sense he would just admit to it and plead guilty. He might get away with not getting any jail time, maybe a suspended sentence. He would lose his job either way and the force will be better off without him

You also felt a sense of dread, what if your father had already done enough to cover his tracks? What if he managed to use his influence to convince others to back up any lies he created? You began to wonder how many times you might have actually benefited from his corruption without knowing, what if you weren’t as good of a detective as your thought.

But mostly, you just felt lonely. You knew that you had Chris and his family, you knew that you had Benny and the firefighter crew. But that was different. They all had a family to call home to, presents to buy for during the holidays, and to rely on in times of need. You had no one. No family. Any children you had will have no grandparents or aunties or uncles on your side of the family. It would always be just you.

Your eyes snapped open as the room suddenly felt overcrowded, the air stagnant. You rub your chest as you tried to take some deep breaths. Your eyes dart to the interview room door, it couldn’t have been that long since Chris went in there. You didn’t want to disturb, you knew crucial information could be forgotten or missed out with every distraction. You just needed air that's all.

Pushing yourself up from your seat you tried to ignore the shaking in your legs as you made your way outside. You welcomed the blast of cold air as you stepped outside. Your hand braced against the wall as you took a few steps away from the door to get out of the way of others. Once far enough away you leaned back against the wall and closed your eyes once more, breathing in the air and calming your nerves.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Chris says suddenly, placing his hand on your shoulder and startling you.

You blink a couple of times as you come back to your senses, shaking your head to clear some of the fogginess “Yeah… I just wanted some air…. Are-are you done already? It’s been what 10 minutes? I thought you’d be at least half an hour”

Chris’ brows furrow in confusion “I was talking to them for over 45 minutes” he muttered.

“Oh…” you mutter rubbing your forehead, you must have been lost in your thoughts much longer than you realised.

“What’s wrong? You’re shaking” he says rubbing your arms soothingly.

“I-“ you start before letting out a long sigh “I know I’m doing the right thing but I hate how final it all is, doing this is putting the final nail in the coffin, cutting that last tie and leaving me with no family at all, it just makes me feel lonely”

Chris sighs quietly “C’mere” he mutters as he wraps his arm around you and pulled you into his embrace “I know you don’t believe it right now and I’ll do everything I can to help you believe it but you will never be alone” he promises as he kisses the top of your head.

You let out a shuddering breath as you melted into his embrace. Sniffling back your tears. You wanted to believe him you really did, but right now, staring at the facts, you just couldn’t.

You were sat in a cafe you had never stepped foot in before, slowly swirling your straw and watching the boba swirl around in your tea. It was a beverage you didn’t really understand the hype over, it was nice, but you still preferred a frappe.

But Ben had insisted you try one so here you were. He had turned up at the house completely unannounced, stating it was time for a bestie day out. Something that was no doubt suggested by Chris. A week had passed since you had turned over the evidence on your father and you were still down in the dumps about it. Chris had been his usual supportive self, lending you his shoulder to cry on. You had talked to your therapist but you still just felt shitty and alone.

So it was really no surprise when Ben turned up, insisted you put on your favourite sundress and slapped on a bit of makeup before dragging you out of the house. You had to admit the retail therapy had been a nice distraction, especially when you found the best sweater for Chris which you were excited to see on. That man looked amazing in sweaters and you couldn’t wait for sweater weather to truly arrive.

But it really didn’t take much for your mind to go back to the case and your father. To his credit, Ben didn’t look too annoyed when you asked “Have the squad been questioned yet?”

He swallowed his sip of matcha tea as he nodded his head “Yeah, yesterday, I have to say it felt weird being on the other side, made me question my own interviewing techniques” he admits.

“Yeah, they were brutal…” you sigh recalling how shitty you felt when they started questioning your motives “I hope we’re not like that when questioning people”

Ben vehemently shakes his head “Oh no way are we like them, I guess they have to be hard like that because they’re interviewing cops who know their way around the whole process”

You hum nodding your head “Yeah I guess so… wouldn’t harm them to do some victim handling training though” you mutter shaking your head as you take a small gentle sip of your tea.

“Boba tea really isn’t your thing is it” Ben smirks as watches you hesitantly drink.

Your shoulders drop and you give up and push the cup away “No it's not, I keep worrying one of those balls is gonna hit the back of my throat and make me gag” you admit.

Ben snorts “Poor Chris” he comments with a shit-eating grin.

“Real mature” you state shaking your head at him, but even you couldn’t stop the grin that grew on your face.

“There we go” Ben smiles back at you “Got a smile eventually”

You shake your head at him but your smile doesn’t fade “Thanks Benny, I really needed that”

“It’s what besties are for” he smiles softly before glancing at the time on his phone “We should probably head back to yours now” he says standing up and downing the rest of his tea.

“Sure, what’s the plan?” you ask following him over to the bin the dispose of your cups.

“It's a surprise” he winks as he links his arm with yours and walks you back towards the car.

“Let me guess? Wine and a movie?” You say knowingly, but all Ben does is tap the end of his nose.

A short while later Ben was pulling up outside the house. You grabbed your bag of shopping before making your way up to the door. When you got there you paused and turned around to see Ben still hanging back by the car.

“hey you coming or what?” you call out to him.

“yeah just gotta grab something from the trunk, go on ahead” he calls back waving you off as he opened the trunk of his car.

You wait for a moment for him but he seemed to be taking forever and you really just wanted to get your shoes off and relax. So you did as he said and went ahead and opened the door.

The entry hall was unusually quiet, by now Dodger would be wiggling around at your legs to welcome you home. But there was nothing.

“hey we’re back?” you called out as you dropped your keys into the small dish “Chris?” you call out again when you heard no response.

He must have taken Dodger out for a walk or were both in the backyard and couldn’t hear you. To find out you made your way towards the living room which had the best view of the backyard in the house.

As you rounded the corner into the living room you were caught by surprise, finding the room full of people. Chris’ family, his firefighter crew, your squad and other friends.

“surprise” Chris grins as he walks over towards you and presses a kiss to your cheek.

“what- what are you all doing here?” you mutter in shock glancing around at everyone.

“I know you’ve been feeling down about the whole situation with your father and how lonely it has made you feel,” Chris says as he gently takes your hand “So I thought if I got together everyone who loves you it might make it easier for you to understand that you’re not alone, you’ll never be alone” he explains.

You felt your heart swell in your chest as you looked up at him and then at everyone in the room. There were so, so many people here, more than you’d ever expect and they were all here for you.

“Chris… this is…” you stutter as tears well up in your eyes “Thank you”

You could see Chris’ eyes turn glassy as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his embrace, pressing a kiss to the top of your head “Anything for you sweetheart” he whispered “And I had a little help” he adds when Ben walks in.

You pull out of Chris’ embrace enough to look over at Ben “You sly bastard, no wonder you made me dress up” you chuckle as you wipe away your tears.

“there was nothing sly about it, I did say we were coming back for a surprise” he points out with a smirk.

You just roll your eyes at him before smiling up at Chris. He smiled back down at you with so much warmth and love it made you tingle from head to toe. You realised in that moment that even if this room was half as full as it was now it wouldn’t matter because you had Chris’ love and that was the only love you truly needed. Reaching up your cupped his cheek and guided his lips down to yours for a soft kiss, one that made the rest of the world disappear for a moment. Or at least until someone, most likely Scott, cleared their throats loudly.

“let's get this party started shall we?” you smile looking back out at everyone “I was promised some wine if I remember correctly” you smirk over at Ben.

“Coming right up” he grins.

As he goes to move past you towards the kitchen you hold your arm out to stop him for a moment “I love you Benny” you smile.

Ben smiles right back at you “Love ya too” he says as he presses a kiss to your cheek.

Soon enough a glass of wine was in your hands and you were out mingling with your friends. You went and spoke to your squad, you hadn’t realised how much you had missed them until now and you couldn’t wait to return to work and see all the hijinks in person instead of just hearing about them. You also apologised for the fact they’ve all had to be questioned in relation to your father and they all told you that you had absolutely nothing to apologise for. They even commended your bravery in doing so saying that they would have struggled to come forward.

“We all deeply miss you though and I know I can’t wait to have my favourite detective back,” your captain says earning a chorus of complaints from the rest of your squad “Okay, okay, favourite Sergeant” he corrects, sending you a not so sly wink.

“thank you sir” you smile bashfully “I am looking forward to coming back and jumping straight back into it, so I hope you assign me a good one when I get back, none of that easing in bullshit” you tell him making him laugh.

“Sure, just let me know what you need” he promises.

Once you had caught up with your squad you made your way back over to Chris who was hanging out with the rest of his crew. All of which were informing Jeffords about how Chris was doing as Acting Captain.

“Jeffords it's lovely to see you, how’s the hip” you greet as you sit down next to Chris only to get pulled over onto his lap.

Jeffords smiles at the both of you as you wrap your arm around Chris’ shoulder and relax into him “Good, still sore but recovery seems to be going well, at least it’s a good excuse to put off redecorating for the next year or two”

“I’m sure Clara is thrilled with that” Chris smirks as he takes a sip of his beer.

Jeffords shrugs “I will probably get back to it soon, despite the injury the time off has been a good time to reassess, and staring at the old wallpaper I can understand why she wants it gone” he chuckles.

Chris nods “Yeah even though I was a bit miserable I really enjoyed spending time with my family, especially my niece and nephews” Chris nods, his hand running up and down your back slowly “And by the end of those 7 weeks I was happier than I ever expected” he grinned over at you, you smile back at him as you lean in to kiss him.

A couple of hours later you had found yourself alone in the kitchen, just cutting up some cucumber and carrot sticks for the kids since they were starting to get hungry. You were just finishing up when you heard the door open and both Robert and Lisa walked in.

While you knew that their relationship with each other as friends was really good, you were still surprised to see them walking over to you as a pair.

“hey sweetie do you mind if we have a quick word,” Lisa asks gently.

Your brows furrow slightly as you quickly wipe your hands on a spare cloth “Yeah sure, what’s up? Is something wrong?” you ask them.

They both smile warmly back at you “Nothing is wrong don’t worry” Robert reassures you.

“We just wanted to let you know that we’re both gonna be there for you like parental figures if you need it” Lisa explains once again making your heart swell with emotion.

“Really?” you whisper.

“of course, you’re family now so if you ever need us for advice or help just ask, even if it’s Chris that’s the problem,” Robert says smirking at the end.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at that last bit, you knew they’d both done some serious ass-kicking to get Chris to realise his mistake when he let you go and you were glad they had your back. the more you thought about it the more you realised they had already been acting like your parents, like when Lisa looked after you when you were ill and was a shoulder to cry on after a long day. Robert had become a protective figure when dealing with your father and had taught you things like any other father would normally do.

“thank you, I’m sorry it took me so long to realise you guys have been there for me for a while now” you apologise “Although I do now have a sneaking suspicion that it was you who let down my tire” you smirk over at Robert.

“I plead the fifth,” he says with that same cheeky grin that Chris has.

“but thank you, it really means so much to me, Chris is really lucky to have you guys are his parents” you continue, smiling warmly back at them.

“and now you do too, now c’mere” Lisa smiles opening up her arms for a hug.

You eagerly accept the hug, allowing all the remaining stress and sadness go as she wrapped her arms around you. You felt Robert rub your back soothingly as well which almost made you cry. This is what you had been missing since you were 5 years old and you finally had it.

By the time everyone made their way home it was late at night and you had found yourself sitting out on the back porch steps gazing up at the stars. Many of which you could easily identify thanks to Chris and his lessons. You had your wine glass in hand as you sat and just enjoyed the peace and quiet. Weeks ago silence would have unnerved you because it left you too much space with your thoughts, but now it was peaceful and you felt good.

You were just about to head back inside as it was starting to get a bit chilly when you felt a blanket being placed around your shoulders. Looking up you found Chris standing above you, Dodger standing beside him.

“hey you okay?” he asks as he sat himself down beside you, Dodger trotting down the steps to lie down in the grass by your feet.

“yeah I’m good, just admiring the stars” you smile “They’re very beautiful tonight” you add as you look back up at the sky.

“not as beautiful as you” he says making you snort with laughter.

“very cheesy Evans” you chuckle shaking your head at him.

He just gives you a lopsided smile as he shrugs his shoulder “Can’t help it if it’s true”

You smile back at him warmly. You noticed how he was tucking his arms into his sides against the cold. So you shift closer to him and shift the blanket that was around your shoulders so you could both huddle beneath it. your head resting on his shoulder as you sip on your wine.

The two of you remained like this for half an hour or so just listening to the crickets sing and watching Dodger run around the garden after the fireflies. The both of you laughed when one landed on Dodgers snout and he didn’t know what to do.

Despite everything that had happened in the past few weeks, at this moment you felt so unbelievably happy like all the weight that had been on your shoulders was finally gone. you knew that you had some more tough times ahead of you, especially if the case against your father goes to trial, but you felt confident that you could face it. you felt like you had gotten back to who you were before everything blew up, the version of you from that time down in cape cod which was definitely the calm before the storm in hindsight. Actually, you were a better and stronger version because you are happy now, you aren’t afraid of your father anymore and you have one hell of a family in your corner.

“thank you for putting all of this together today, I feel so much better because of it,” you say reaching out to take his hand, your fingers weaving together.

“It's nothing, I just wanted to show you that you’ll never be lonely, we all have skeletons in our families, and even a family that could look perfect from the outside could have issues,” Chris says softly “Nobody is perfect and the people who say you can’t choose your family are wrong because you can choose who you consider family so even though you’ve lost your father, you’ve gained so many others”

“many of which are because of you, you’ve opened my world up so much more than I could have ever imagined, your family is my family and your friends are mine to the point that I don’t think I could imagine a life without any of you” you admit with a small shake of your head.

“I don’t think I could picture a life without you either, you’ve made me such a better man, helped me face my demons, I owe so much to you,” Chris says quietly.

“looks like we’re in agreement then” you hum as you rest your head back on his shoulder “We have to stay together forever”

Chris lets out a small huff of a laugh “Like I’d ever let you go” he smirks “I’d steal your handcuffs and use them to keep you with me”

“kinky” you comment making him throw back his head and bark out a loud, warm laugh.

He wraps his arms around you and pulls you into his lap so he could nuzzle his head into the crook of your neck “You are trouble” he murmurs as he presses a kiss to your neck.

You laugh as he continues to press kisses to your neck, shifting so you could face him your gaze meeting his. As you gazed into his eyes all you could see was pure, unfiltered and unconditional love, the kind of love you knew was reflected back in your eyes as you smiled at him. Your hand move to cup his cheek, thumb gently brushing over his beard before tracing the outline of his lips.

“I love you so much” you whispered.

You felt his lips twitch upwards “I love you too, so so much” he murmured back.

His hand reached up, his finger hooking beneath your chin as he tilted your head back. your hand slipped to cup his jaw as he leaned in, his lips brushing gently across yours before he kissed you deeper. Kissed you in a way that made sparks fly between the two of you, fireworks erupt in the sky. The kind of kiss that would make your leg pop if you were stood up. The kind of kiss that touched your soul and spoke in an old language that could only be translated to pure, unbreakable love. Love that would stand the test of time and weather any storm that came its way. Now and forevermore.

A/N: Welp this rollercoaster of a series has come to an end... I'm not crying you're crying! This was the most unexpected amazing thing to ever happen and I have you lot to thank! This series grew to mean so much to me and I found myself relating to the character more than I ever expected so firefighter!chris will always have a special place in my heart.

Sharing is caring so please reblog if you enjoyed this and maybe even leave a comment to make my day!

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