Stris - SWAT

Part Eight - 'Overthinking'

Hey guys, hope you have been staying safe and enjoying this fanfic!
This chapter I tried to use some motivation from a recently released behind the scenes video from S5 filming for Luca, Chris and Street.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

- Kate 💜🦋

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(Chris' POV)

After my phone call with Street on my run yesterday, I couldn't shake the feeling that my first shift back was going to be the exact opposite of what I expected when I returned from TLI.

I knew i was excited to get back to the team, to show everyone my new training.

To see Street. Try to work us out.

In the back of my mind I was hoping to figure everything out before I returned to work.

That early morning drive to HQ had my mind racing, the sun rose and my body tried to shake the impending uproar that was going to meet me.

My coffee sat in the cup holder next to me, downed before I even made it to work.

I needed to follow the rules on SWAT, because even the slightest tiptoe out of line, my position gets put under a microscopic lens.

I initially wanted to make sure Street and I weren't going to keep anything from our teammates for longer than we should.

We can't be a team and a family with secrets...feelings that could affect our job.

And this news about Hondo....

We need to worry about getting Hondo his command back on 20-Squad.

We can't afford to throw our feelings into the mix when we should be focused on Hondo right now.

Street and I were going to have to really keep this low key, and be there for our team completely.

As much as it pained us.

But that's how I deal, I leave my own problems alone and deal with someone else's.

When I'd finally pulled into the parking lot, I sat in my car for an extra five minutes.

Breathing in. Breathing out. Overthinking.

I took one last deep breath and climbed out, slowed my steps as I walked through the entry hall.

I felt a strong hand had clamped down on my shoulder and it shook me out of my thoughts.

"Hey, Chris, ready to kick some ass today?", Luca asked, after gently shaking me by my shoulder then letting go.

I turned my head toward Luca and gave him a small smile as he began to walk beside me through the entryway.

"As ever", I responded, and reached upwards as I readjusted my TLI cap on my head.

"I'm pumped to see the team again, it's been too damn long" Luca said enthusiastically, "don't tell me you're not pumped to see everyone again, Chris?", he added.

After nodding my head and agreeing with Luca, "of course", my eyes scanned across the now open spaced HQ, leading into the gym area.

They landed directly on Street, just a little further down the hall, he wore his SWAT training uniform and held some dumbbells above his head and was completing a rep, his face screwed up with the pressure of each lift.

The person I wanted to see the most.

But also the one to try to avoid today, we cannot afford to blow our cover.

This Hondo situation comes first. Get the team back in order, then we can figure us out.

Once again caught up in my thoughts, Luca yelled, "ahhh, look who came in early to fit in a workout", as we grew closer to Street standing next to the dumbbell rack.

Street heard Luca and turned his head to see us walk toward him, lowering the dumbbells and reached forward to place them back on the rack.

Street smiled, his hand reached up to grab Luca's outstretched handshake, which then pulled in for a pat on the back.

"I gotta be ready to kick ass once Hicks clears me, I've been training everyday here", Street said to Luca as he stepped back.

Street's eyes now met my own as Luca moved to the side of us.

Street's dimples popped out as he gave me a tight-lipped grin.

"Hey Chris, glad to be back at work?", Street asked and leant in for a quick hug.

"Ready to go", I answered, short and sharply, as we both connected, my hands around his shoulders for a few seconds.

I had noticed his hands on my lower back had lingered for a slight moment longer than necessary, and I stepped backward to break the tension possibly happening in front of Luca.

Street leant back to meet my eyes again, his own eyes quickly fluttered in a second down to the ground beneath us and back, with a hint of dismay. 

I know I'm acting kind of shut off but it's the only way I'll trust myself to not let anything about Street and I become uncovered.

I mean our team is trained to see through peoples bullshit, they will see it a mile away if we started acting differently.

Luca then went to cut back into our conversation but Hicks rounded the corner and spotted the three of us.

Hicks' nodded his head toward us, "Luca, Alonso, great to have you back, we got a team meeting in the comms room, immediately".

Luca, Street and I are shared a quick glance toward each other and fell into step behind Hicks until we reached the comms room, where Tan and Deacon were already leant against the middle desktop, arms crossed against their chests.

"Alright 20-Squad, I'll make this quick....You may notice that Hondo is not present for today's shift...." Hicks began.

I guess it was true then.

Hicks started the meeting with absolutely no sign of Hondo.

We were a man down. A leader down.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter! 💜🦋