Are We Out of the Woods?

1. The Truth

Street invited himself up into Chris' apartment after drinks with the team to celebrate Chris' retirement from SWAT. The second the front door shut, he grabbed her around her midsection and buried his head in her neck. She let out a little chuckle.

"Street, slow down," she said jokingly.

"You're right. We have all night," Street replied flirtatiously and interlaced their fingers. He stared at their joined hands and back up into her eyes. "This is just...I'm so happy," he added with a large smile.

Chris leaned in and kissed him sweetly.

"I'm happy, too," she admitted with a soft smile.

"The team seemed pretty happy for us, too," he observed.

"I meant what I said to them. This is really new, and I don't want it to be everyone's business," she reminded.

"Which makes no sense! This doesn't have to be a secret...unless you're ashamed of me," Street offered, clearly embarrassed.

Chris cupped his face. "Never. Can we just enjoy being us?"

Street nodded his head.

"Now, I believe I owe you for saving my life earlier today with that phone call," she raised an eyebrow.

"I almost forgot."

"Well, let me remind you," Chris said and kissed him feverishly with her hands still holding his face. She helped him take his leather jacket off and paid no attention to where it landed.

Street pulled her hips towards him to feel her pressed against him. She had to stop kissing him to catch her breath and pull her shirt off. She looked at him, breathing heavily, and sincerely said, "I love you. I really, really love you, Street."

"I love you, too, Chris," he replied and grabbed her hand to take her into her bedroom.

—————-

Street woke up with the sun and turned to his side. He saw that Chris wasn't beside him, so he looked around the room- no sign of her.

"Chris?" He called. He slowly got out of bed and opened the bathroom door- empty. He padded out into the kitchen and living room area, but she was nowhere to be found.

Street went back into her bedroom and saw a piece of paper on the nightstand. With tired eyes, he read:

Street,
I love you. I'm so sorry. I just really need a little space and time to adjust to civilian life. I hope you understand. I'll call you when I'm ready.

I really do love you, and I am truly sorry.

Chris

He reread the letter over and over again trying to understand what she meant. She was asking for space? And time? After everything they had been through and all the time they wasted, how could she possibly need more time? Street was so confused.

He wanted to rip the letter up, but it said the words he'd been desperate for her to say: "I really do love you". Instead, he looked for his clothes and hurriedly dressed. He was heartbroken and sad and confused, and he really wanted to get out of her place.

—————-

The worst part about being in love with Chris was that Street saw her in everything and everywhere. He'd look at his spare motorcycle helmet and wished she was wearing it. He wouldn't dare spend more time than he had to in the armory, or he would start looking around expecting her to walk in. He searched the HQ parking lot expecting to see her Jeep pull up. Every morning, he would walk into the locker room and remember when she kissed him there before she left for Germany.