Chapter Text
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP...
Squinting your eyes and rolling over, you grabbed your phone and hit snooze before pulling the blanket over your head, not wanting any part of having to wake up and get ready for work. You reached your arm out to the empty space next to you and sighed.
It had been well over a month since you last saw Flip before you were released from the hospital. Bringing your arm back to you and lifting the blanket away from your face, you let the morning light shine in, holding your hand up to study the ring on your finger. Just looking at it made you feel better about having to wait for him.
Getting Hopper acclimated to CSPD and helping him get settled was keeping Flip busy back in Colorado and while you understood the delay, Christmas was tomorrow and you wanted to spend it with him. He promised over and over that he would be with you tonight but at this point, it seemed like it might not happen.
Groaning out of frustration, you brought yourself up and out of bed, heading over to grab clothes for the day. You had cleared space for him in your closet and dresser weeks ago and just imagining his clothes hanging up and touching yours gave you butterflies. But seeing the emptiness instead next to your garments all by themselves made you depressed. You should have waited to make room.
Once you were ready for the day, you hurried into the kitchen to pour coffee into a travel mug, shouting a quick thank you to Sara who brewed it before she starting getting ready for the day, too. She probably didn't even hear you over the running water from the shower but at least you tried.
Grabbing your phone from the counter you noticed a text from Flip.
"Morning baby. Call me when you see this."
Taking a deep exhale, knowing it was probably a call to tell you he was too busy to make it into town tonight, you reluctantly dialed his number and brought the phone up to your ear.
"... yeah... yeah, and you'll need to make sure Ron knows, too, he can fill out the paperwork..."
He was clearly in the middle of a conversation when he answered the phone so you waited for him to greet you before speaking.
"Hey, babe. Sorry bout that," he said, voice sounding tired and dull.
You wondered if he had slept a full night since everything happened. You knew he was dealing with some post-traumatic stress since you were also experiencing flashbacks, usually at night.
"Hey, honey," you said, sweetly, trying to uplift him. "Does daddy have good news or bad news for me?" you chuckled in an attempt to be cute.
The sound of him smirking followed by a subtle growl into the phone made you smile.
"I'm gonna try my best to get there tonight. But things are a little crazy over here." he sighed deeply. "One of our officers got shot last night during a routine stop and the piece of shit coward took off on foot and is probably hiding out in some fuckin' sewer like a rat. So we gotta find him."
You tried to contain your disappointment, not wanting to stress Flip out even more so you just rolled your eyes to yourself, bit your tongue, and told him it was fine. You wanted so badly to feel his arms around you again but alas, what's another night away from each other at this point.
"I'm sorry. I know you're being easy on me. I know you're pissed."
If anything, it made you smile knowing that he had come to learn your emotions so well.
"I miss you," you said, walking over to grab your purse and keys. "And when you finally do get here, I'm never letting you leave again."
He let out a devilish laugh. "I'd love to see you try to overpower me, sweet thing."
You paused before opening the front door. "That sounds like a challenge."
You didn't know it because you couldn't see him but Flip bit his lower lip and narrowed his eyes, imagining you taking control of him. He missed you more than he could ever articulate into words.
"I love you," he said, softly into your ear.
"I love you, too."
____________________________________________________________________________
Flip had spent the last month and a half working alongside Hopper, helping him move, getting him acquainted with the department, and showing him around town. Rick's quickly became an after-hours pit-stop for them before calling it a night and heading home.
Home.
Flip's cabin wasn't the cozy place it used to be for him. There were too many traumatic memories tied to it which pissed him off because they would overshadow the fond memories of you. Like when you pulled into his driveway for the first time as he watched from his porch, heart racing at the mere sight of your headlights peeking through the trees down the driveway. Or his last night with you before you moved when he walked in and saw you standing in his kitchen, wearing only his flannel.
He found it increasingly more difficult to sleep in his own bed, knowing how Mandy deceptively made herself comfortable in it the night she drugged him. He still didn't know for sure if she was lying or if he really did fuck her that night. He wanted to believe that it was all a well-planned out lie just to keep him under her evil control. But he would never know what exactly happened. The truth died with her.
Flip would pass out most nights on his couch, in his clothes, tossing and turning all night, unable to subdue the mental stress of the last few months. He was struggling without you in major ways. His health was shit, his patience was running thin and now he wasn't sure if he would even see you on Christmas all because of some ass clown criminal who was on the run.
What should have been a three week transition period to get moved out of Colorado Springs and into his new role at Salt Lake, turned into five weeks and counting. It was no one's fault, in particular, just the Captain's orders to make sure the CSPD unit was fully functional again after everything that happened.
Flip knew Robert (aka Chief) Bridges was still out there, somewhere, being tracked down by the FBI. He assumed Bridges wanted his head on a stick having killed his one and only daughter. Running into Mrs. Bridges in the supermarket a week ago certainly didn't help his anxiety. He had heard from around town that she was in divorce proceedings but Flip didn't keep his guard down around her. He knew that the whole family was deeply troubled. The look of fury in her eyes when she glared at him was enough to send chills down his spine.
He needed to get the hell out of Colorado Springs.
"Goddammit! This fuckin' thing," Flip said, hitting the coffee machine with his hand. Ron walked into the break room and took note of Flip's demeanor.
"Did it break again?" Ron asked, examining it from the sideline as Flip roughly handled the machine.
"It's a piece of shit, like everything else in this damn place," he vented, shoving his mug over to the sink and sighing in frustration.
"Chill man, you've been on edge all week. Just go grab a cup from the cafe down the road," Ron suggested, inspecting the machine and trying to fix it.
"It's not about the coffee," Flip leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. "It's Christmas Eve and I should be on a plane right now." he continued, gesturing with his hands. "I swear to God, if I find this fucking asshole tonight, I'm kicking the shit of him."
Ron smirked and nodded. "Yeah, I think we all are so you'll need to get in line. Nobody is happy about having to go on a manhunt on Christmas," he said while unplugging the machine and plugging it back in. "But... hopefully... we find him quick and then everyone can go home. Including you." Ron made a 'ta-da' motion with his hands as the machine started back up.
"Fucking finally," Flip said, grabbing his mug and patting Ron on the arm. "You must have magic hands."
Ron arrogantly brushed his shoulders off and did a spin. "That's what the ladies tell me."
Flip rolled his eyes. "What ladies? The ones you play Bingo with?"
Ron lifted his brow at Flip. "Don't knock it till you try it, my man. I've met some wild ones at the Bingo hall."
Flip couldn't contain his laugh. "Hard pass. I've got a hot mama waiting for me in Salt Lake," he poured the coffee into his mug. "Who, by the way, will have my ass handed to me if I don't make it there tonight," he smirked at the thought of you being angry with him. Not that he ever wanted to upset you on purpose, but he loved how cute you looked when you were mad.
"Fair enough. More tail for me to chase." Ron said as he moved his hips side to side, mischievously.
Flip gave him an unimpressed look as Ron did his ornery little dance. "Jesus, put that shit away," Flip replied, shaking his head.
"You can't put moves like this away." Ron proclaimed as Flip shook his head and walked out of the room, leaving Ron alone, still dancing.
Two hours later Flip, Ron, Hopper and the rest of the unit scoured through a forest area believed to be where the runaway criminal could potentially be hiding out. It was just shy of dusk so everyone had flashlights, scanning back and forth over the somewhat melted snow and wet leaves on the ground.
Flip paused and bent down, studying what he thought looked like a footprint in the muddy snow. He scanned the area, holding his flashlight up to search the area around him. He saw Hopper off in the distance and a few other voices of cops chatting nearby. He brushed away some leaves on the ground around it and found another print and another. He quietly followed the trail which led to a ditch and sewer drain. He looked over his shoulder and whistled to Hopper, flashing the light at him to gain his attention, signaling that he may have found something.
He stepped down into the ditch and drew his weapon, holding it out in front of him with one hand as it rested on the other holding the flashlight ahead. "CSPD..." he warned approaching the drain tunnel. "I know you're down here, you fuckin' rat."
Hopper wasn't far behind Flip now, stepping down into the ditch to provide back up.
A figure stepped out from the darkness of the tunnel and Flip shouted, "Hands up, motherfucker!"
The unnamed person held up their hands to surrender and Flip aimed his gun and the flashlight onto them.
Mandy's face beamed back. He squinted his eyes and blinked several times trying to correct his vision. But it was still her. He froze, unable to move or speak, staring into the eyes of a dead woman.
Hopper shouted from behind and pushed past him tackling the figure to the ground and cuffing them. Other officers started piling in as Flip stood like a statue, breathing heavy, trying to understand what he just saw.
Hopper looked up at Flip and noticed from his expression how he was in a completely different reality. Pulling the criminal up off the ground, Hopper led him out of the tunnel. Flip looked at the face once more and saw a man this time. The one they've been hunting down.
Hopper handed the criminal off to another officer and placed a hand on Flip's shoulder. "Hey man, you alright? You hesitated big time. Like you saw a ghost or something," he said, disengaging his weapon and putting it back into its holster.
Flip took a deep breath, eyes still looking ahead where he saw her. "I...uh....yeah. I don't know. Sorry."
He didn't want to admit out loud that he just hallucinated and saw the woman he killed staring into his soul.
He just needed sleep, he told himself. Sleep deprivation was making him see things. That must be it. He would be able to finally rest easy once he was in bed next to you again.
____________________________________________________________________________
It was nearing 7 PM and still no word from Flip. You started packing up your belongings, feeling defeated and wondering what else you would try to busy yourself with on Christmas Eve.
Wine, cookies, TV. All of the above.
Jack started packing up too and you glanced over at him. "Big plans tonight?" you asked, wondering if he would also be alone.
"Uh, yeah, actually. A date," he said with a cute grin.
"Oooh, a Christmas date? Wow... sounds pretty serious," you nudged, hoping he would share more information. You had no idea he was dating but you weren't surprised. He was a catch.
"Um, I dunno. Maybe. It's our third date now so...," he put his blazer on and adjusted it, still smiling. He looked happy, which made you happy, even if you were about to be alone on Christmas and passing out with cookie crumbs all over yourself.
"Nice. The third date is usually when you know for sure," you shrugged, giving him a hopeful look.
"Oh, you mean, the third date is when you finally have sex?" He joked back.
Feeling embarrassed, you gazed down and back up at him. "Yeah, I suppose it is."
There was a long pause.
"Is he coming?" Jack asked, breaking the silence.
You shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal out of anything. "Maybe. I haven't heard yet."
Jack nodded and gazed down to his feet with a sigh.
"Well, Merry Christmas," he said, walking over and lightly touching your arm before leaving.
"...Merry Christmas," you replied as he walked away, leaving you alone in the mostly empty unit with the exception of the cleaning crew. Everyone else had gone home early to be with their families.
Two hours later you were sitting curled up on your couch, staring dead ahead, mesmerized by the colorful Christmas lights on the tiny tree that you put up in the living room. Sara was visiting family for the evening so it was just you, your wine, and A Christmas Story on the TV.
Your heart was heavy as you held your cell phone loosely in your hand, waiting for a buzz, a ring, the screen to light up... anything.
You checked the time again... 10 PM. You dialed Flip's cell and waited for him to answer. It rang several times before his voicemail picked up and you hung up, without bothering to even leave a message.
Holding the phone in your hand, you stared at it and chugged the rest of your wine.
Letting the phone drop into your lap, you held up your hand to observe the ring again. It glistened from the soft lights illuminating the room from the Christmas tree.
It was an 8-hour drive. If you left now and drove all night, you could at least see him on Christmas morning. Looking at the time again, then your ring, then the TV, you abruptly tossed the throw cover off of you and sprinted into your bedroom to pack an overnight bag.
You rushed to put anything within arms reach into the bag, not paying too much attention since time was ticking away. The sooner you could leave, the sooner you'd be in his arms again. And that was all you wanted for Christmas.
Bolting into the living room, you shut the TV off, put your shoes and coat on quickly before doing a brief scan of the place, feeling satisfied to leave it.
You swung the front door open, bag over your shoulder, and out of breath when you were stopped dead in your tracks.
Flip stood at the threshold wearing a red and white fluffy Santa hat. He looked at you doe-eyed as he held up a carton of eggnog with one hand, then seconds later held up a bottle of dark rum in the other hand, giving you a sinful grin.
"Ho, ho, ho," he said in his deep, seductive voice.
You exhaled sharply, feeling a huge weight being lifted from you, dropping your bag to the floor and wrapping your arms around his neck.
He put his arms around you, still clutching onto the restitutions he brought.
"You're here," you said, voice muffled into his neck. You pulled back and kissed him sweetly, finally feeling his full, soft lips pressed against yours again after weeks and weeks of nothing but phone calls. Slowly you both released the kiss and stared into each other's eyes.
"Of course I'm here. I'll be damned if I leave my fiancé alone on Christmas," he smiled as you felt the butterflies return to your stomach that you missed so much. You pulled him inside the apartment by his coat collar and he followed without a fight.
He kicked the door shut behind him with his heel, tossing the items he was holding onto the couch so that he could finally touch you. His hands found your face first as you both kissed each other wildly, then they moved to remove his coat.
You took your coat off next, followed by your top and pants. Neither of you had undressed faster in your lives, hands roaming all over as you clung to the places you missed most on each other.
Pulling on Flip's undone pants to guide him closer, you pushed on his bare chest to sit on the couch. He collapsed down onto it with a crooked grin, watching as you positioned yourself between his knees in only your bra and panties.
"God, I've missed you," he said, reaching down to pull out his fully hard length and gripping it in his large hand.
You licked your lips and slowly lowered yourself to your knees, placing your hands on his thighs to assist you along the way. His breath hitched at the sight of you on your knees for him.
"I've missed you, too, daddy," you said, reaching over to wrap your dainty hand around his thick cock, replacing his grip with your own as he moved his hand to run his long fingers through the tendrils of your hair.
You slowly stroked him as you both gazed into each other's eyes.
"I can't wait to make you my wife," he whispered, lips parted as his breath picked up.
You bit your bottom lip, feeling like a girl who just fell in love for the first time.
Gradually and with your eyes locked on his, you moved your mouth closer to him, lightly licking the head of dick at first, teasingly. You watched as his eyes lit on fire, completely enthralled in your every move on him.
Bringing your mouth down you trailed your tongue from the bottom of his shaft to the very top before covering the tip with your lips, causing him to twitch from over-stimulating his nerve endings.
"Fuck," he whispered. "So fucking good to me," he praised, stroking your hair.
All at once, you took as much of him into your throat as you could, encasing his length with your hot, wet mouth. A deep groan escaped him as you pulled up then back down again, letting your hands assist you with the entire length.
He was so hard for you, and you wanted nothing more than to show him how much you missed him. You bobbed your head up and down as he clasped your hair in his hand, watching you suck him off.
He began bucking his hips up to meet your mouth and you moaned into him. The vibrations sent him into overdrive and he lifted you off of him, unable to contain the urge to be inside of you.
"Come here, baby," he said in a deep and urgent tone, pulling you onto his lap. " I need that pussy."
Straddling his hips, you clutched the sides of his face as he held his dick upright, wetting the tip of it for you with his saliva before rubbing it against your folds. You lowered yourself onto him and both of you let out a gasp from the initial sensation, pausing to feel the mutual tightness and throbbing against each other.
"I love you," you whispered against his parted lips as you began to move up and down. "You make me so happy."
He crashed his lips onto you for a deep kiss before releasing it. "I love you," his voice strained as you moved a bit faster. "I love everything about you," he said, holding you close and burying his face into your cleavage, kissing and sucking.
You threw your head back and bounced even harder, feeling every inch of him stretching your walls as his thick cock opened you wide. Your moans became louder when you felt him thrust upwards, grabbing your hips and taking control. He leaned back into the couch to leverage himself better as you writhed on top of him. His face strained, his chest swelled from tensed muscles as he worked to fuck you harder.
"Oh my god ... Flip... yes...right there, baby," you moaned, gripping at your tits as you bounced ferociously on his cock, feeling your walls begin to clamp down on him.
He growled in response, not able to hold his overdue orgasm back any longer. "I'm gonna fuckin' cum, baby... I want you to cum with me." He pressed his lips together trying to hold out for you.
"Fuck yes, give it to me..." you moaned.
You felt it building more and more and just as your peak hit, the warmth of Flip spill out inside of you as he grunted loudly. A flash of ecstasy hit, your body trembling as your orgasm shot through your veins. You pulled him close into your chest, holding onto one another as you seductively rocked your hips back and forth, letting yourself come down from the long-awaited release of pleasure.
Holding each other in the aftermath, breathing heavy, Flip brought his gaze to you and placed a soft kiss on your lips. "Merry Christmas, sweet thing," he whispered while grinning.
"Merry Christmas..." you brushed his hair away from his face and placed a soft kiss on the tip of his nose. "...Daddy."
He was finally home. And now you could finally begin your life with one another.
Quietly... peacefully...together.