Chapter Text
The Whole Run
Sergeant Athena Grant was already dressed in her uniform, a cup of coffee cooling on the kitchen counter at the station, but she was smiling like a teenager on her first date. She leaned against the window, watching the early morning Los Angeles light break through the blinds as her cell phone vibrated.
“Good morning, Captain,” she said, her voice soft.
“Morning, Sergeant,” Bobby Nash’s voice was warm and slightly rough from sleep, a sound she had grown addicted to. “Just wanted to confirm: I didn’t just dream that you told me you loved me, right?”
Athena chuckled, picking up her coffee. “No, Captain, that was very much real. You’re in for the whole run, remember.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Bobby’s voice held genuine reassurance. “And are we still on for meeting your kids? Are we going for a big activity or something casual?”
“Well, you know Harry is already beaming because he knows you’re a firefighter, and he’s hoping to work his magic to get a fire truck invite. He’s excited.”
“And May?” Bobby asked, the question laced with caution.
“May is more cautious,” Athena admitted. “She wants to know if you make me happy. She understands that this is serious for me, and she’s ready, but she's watching.”
“So no grand gestures then,” he mused. “No surprise appearances on a fire truck.”
“Definitely no fire trucks this time,” Athena said firmly, walking toward her patrol car. “How about we organize a barbecue at the house on Saturday afternoon? Casual, easy, and no pressure to spend hours at a restaurant.”
“That sounds perfect,” Bobby agreed instantly. “I can cook, obviously. I’ll make my famous chili—though I might need to make a mild version for the kids, unless they like some heat like their mother?” he teased.
“The kids are fine with spice, but honestly, Bobby, no pressure on the meal,” she stressed. “Just being there is enough. I just want them to see you, see us, together.” She took a deep breath.
“I know,” he said gently. “And I’m ready.”
Athena’s smile widened as she slid into her patrol car. “You do the chili and the barbecue, and I’ll handle the side dishes and the kids. Text me the grocery list after your shift. Love you.”
“Love you too, Sergeant. Stay safe.”
Athena ended the call, the feeling of anticipation settling warmly in her chest. She put the car in drive, ready for her shift, but now every siren seemed to herald not just an emergency, but the approaching Saturday.
Of course, the universe had other plans and that morning, during their shift, L.A. had been hit with a 7.1 earthquake causing disruptions all around the city. Both dealing with their own chaos and with the lines down, Bobby and Athena had gone all day without reaching each other to see if the other was all right.
Finally, when Athena was back home to their kids, Bobby’s call went through. She had just got dressed in her house clothes after a shower when the phone rang on the table. As soon as she saw his name on the screen, she discretely glanced at her ex-husband Michael and then went out to the patio to have some privacy. The kids were still in the sitting room shelving books away.
“Hey. How's my man?” She asked, leaning against the back of the chair.
“I need to see you.” Came the short reply.
She chuckled. “I need to see you, too, but I have to feed these kids and the roads are still a mess.”
“I need to see you. Can you come out front?” he abruptly ended the call and Athena eyed at it, startled. She still briskly made her way outside. She beamed as soon as she saw standing there in her yard, a goofy smile on his face as he waved at her.
“You came all this way just to see me?” She swung her hips as she walked closer to him.
“I would've walked if I had to.” He bridged the last gap between them and soon they were into each other’s arms.
“Hey”
“Hey”
Athena closed her eyes, melting into his embrace.
“You know what? I thought about knocking on the door, but I figured that wasn't the best way for your kids to meet me the first time.”
She chuckled, “Yeah, that's probably wise.” They had a plan for a reason.”How was your day, honey?” She had heard something on the radio, but she wasn’t sure where the 118 had been sent to.
He sighed. The exhaustion of the day catching up on him. “Oh, pretty standard.” He looked down at what she was wearing: her comfortable clothes that she would wear also when she was staying at his place after a long shift. “I like your outfit.” He smirked, remembering the last time he had peeled her clothes off her.
She chuckled, but soon looked at him lovingly. “I was worried about you all day.” She ran her hand up his arm.
“Yeah, I was worried about you, too.” His eyes were not able to hide how smitten he was. ”It was nice, having something so important to worry about. I had to work hard to put it aside to get the job done.” He paused, thinking about his long lost family. “I haven't had that in a long time.”
They heard the door open and quickly turned their heads around and saw Michael walking towards them. “Excuse me, what is all of this silliness?”
Bobby slowly approached him and put his hand out. “Hi. I'm-I'm Bobby. We met a while back at Hen's party.” It was embarrassing to meet his girlfriend’s ex-husband.
“Of course,” Michael nodded.
“Yeah, Bobby just came to check on me.” She said softly not knowing how her ex would react to finally meet the man who had stolen her heart.
Michael had known that it was Bobby who Athena went to meet outside. After consulting the kids, they decided it was time someone went to get them.
“And you have him standing out here after the day he's probably had.” He smiled. “Bobby, please, come inside.”
“Uh, no, thank you,” Bobby tried to get away. That was not the plan, it wasn’t supposed to go like this. “but maybe another time.”
“Nonsense. I already set your plate. And, uh...the kids are excited to meet you.” He added in a conspiracy voice. And he was already making his way back inside.
Bobby didn’t know what to do, he looked at Athena putting the ball in her court. It was up to her to decide if she was ready to have both her worlds collide.
She smiled and put her hand out for him to take as they embarrassingly followed Michael.
Bobby stood on the threshold, a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved blue shirt feeling entirely too casual for what was about to happen. This wasn't the carefully planned barbecue; this was chaos, exhaustion, and the official introduction to May and Harry, orchestrated by Michael.
He looked down at his shoes, taking a calming breath, and squeezed Athena’s hand before dropping it. She gave him a look of quiet encouragement.
“Here we go,” Michael announced, leading the way into the living room.
Harry and May looked up from the sofa where they were still trying to stack books. They instantly stopped what they were doing, their eyes fixed on the man in the doorway—the famous Captain who was dating their mother.
"Kids, this is Captain Bobby Nash," Athena announced, her voice calm and proud. "Bobby, this is my daughter, May, and my son, Harry."
Bobby stepped forward and knelt down slightly, offering a genuine, slightly tired smile.
"It's a pleasure to officially meet you both," he said warmly.
Harry, still riding the adrenaline of the day, pointed a finger. “You’re the Captain, right? The one who runs the 118 with Hen?”
“That’s me,” Bobby confirmed. “The one who makes the famous chili. And yes, I work with your mom’s best friend, Hen.”
May, ever the cautious and observant teenager, remained reserved, crossing her arms slightly. "Mom said you make her happy."
“She is correct,” Bobby said, looking straight into May's eyes. “I care for your mother very much. And I hope that one day, you’ll be able to see that for yourselves. But right now, after the day we’ve all had, I just want to make sure you two are okay.”
"We're fine," May murmured, seemingly satisfied by his direct answer.
"Are you going to stay for dinner?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Michael already set a plate for him," Athena cut in.
"I did," Michael confirmed, walking back from the kitchen, the scent of a slow-cooked meal—something comforting and familiar—drifting into the living room. "I figured the two people who were working all day to keep this city from falling apart deserved a proper meal. I just finished heating up the pot roast."
Bobby was utterly floored. He stood up slowly, looking at the easy domesticity of the scene—the ex-husband, the children, and Athena all waiting for him. This was beyond the unexpected.
“I guess I’m staying for pot roast,” Bobby conceded, the corners of his mouth finally twitching upward into a tired smile.
“I guess you are,” Athena replied, squeezing his arm. “The whole run, Captain? That includes the awkward, chaotic, post-earthquake family dinner nights.”
As they entered the kitchen, Bobby saw that Michael had laid out five cloth napkins and five plates around the table. It was clear this was a planned, if emergency, family meal. The seating arrangement felt significant: Athena at the head of the table, leaving Bobby to sit on her right next to Micheal while the children sat across from them.
Michael served a generous portion of pot roast and vegetables onto Bobby's plate. "Eat up, Captain. You look like you need it."
Harry immediately leaned toward him. "Did you have to cut anyone out of rubble?"
"Harry!" Athena warned softly.
"It’s okay, Athena," Bobby said gently. "Today was a long day, Harry. There was a lot of rubble, and yes, we helped people out of it. My team is very good at what they do." He took a bite of the food, pausing. "Michael, this is excellent."
Michael gave a proud nod. "Thank you. Old family recipe."
May looked at Bobby then, her tone more serious than her brother's. "We saw the news. Was that building you were at—the one that was tipped over? The hotel?"
Bobby looked at her, impressed she'd been paying attention to the details on the news. "The Hollywood Palm Hotel, yes. That was us. The 118 spent a long time there today."
Harry gasped, eyes wide. "That was so cool! Did you go all the way to the bottom?"
"Some of my team members had to go all the way to the top, actually," Bobby explained, patiently placing his fork down. “While some of us had to climb down to rescue people trapped inside." He met Athena's gaze across the table, his words clearly meant for her, too. "Unfortunately, at one point we had also lost Hen behind some rubbles.”
Athena gasped. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine.” Bobby reassured her. “It was dangerous, but we secured the building, and we got everyone out. Our job is to make sure everyone, including our team, gets home."
Athena made a mental note to call her best friend soon.
May finally smiled, a small, genuine expression that melted the last of her reserve. "That’s good. Mom worries enough."
Harry swallowed a mouthful of roast. "So, when can I see the fire truck?"
The question, asked with such perfect timing, made Athena groan and Bobby laugh.
"We can talk about that once the dust settles, Harry," Bobby promised. "Maybe when I host that barbecue for your mom."
It was past ten o'clock when the last of the plates were cleared. Michael had been surprisingly helpful, even taking the children upstairs to make sure they had everything for the next few days while the school would be closed. Athena and Bobby handled the dishes. When Michael finally appeared, carrying his jacket, he paused at the kitchen entrance.
“Thanks for dinner, Michael,” Athena said warmly.
“My pleasure, Athena. Captain, it was good to officially meet you.” Michael offered a genuine nod.
“You too, Michael. And thank you for dinner. Seriously, it was the best meal I’ve had all day,” Bobby replied, leaning against the counter.
“Keep her safe, Captain,” Michael said, his eyes lingering on Athena, a clear demarcation of their new, complex reality.
“Always,” Bobby responded, his gaze steady and serious.
Once the front door clicked shut, the silence in the house felt heavy, yet soothing. Athena sighed, leaning her head against the cool wood of the kitchen cabinet.
“Well,” she whispered, turning to face Bobby. “That was… definitely not the plan.”
Bobby smiled, a tired but utterly smitten look on his face. He walked over, gently pulled her away from the counter, and wrapped her in a light embrace, careful not to press too hard against her weary body.
“It was better than the plan,” he murmured into her hair. “The plans, they’re always a little stiff, aren’t they? This was real. This was fire and chaos, and a protective ex-husband serving excellent food.”
“You know they like you,” Athena whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. “May was watching you the whole time. You answered her questions seriously, and you defended my honor against Harry’s enthusiasm.”
“I just told them the truth,” Bobby said, pulling back to look at her, cupping her face in his hands. He ran his thumb across a faint, lingering smudge of dirt near her hairline. “They’re great, Athena. They’re smart and curious, and they clearly adore you.”
The air felt thick with exhaustion and unspoken relief. Athena’s eyes searched his, seeing the raw vulnerability beneath his composure—the cost of today’s heroics, compounded by his fear for her.
“When you couldn’t reach me… what did you do?” she asked softly.
Bobby let out a slow breath, the smile gone. “I kept running calls, but I kept the radio turned up. Every time a unit checked in, I’d listen for yours. When I heard about the traffic pile-up on the I-10, I honestly thought about leaving everything and coming and get you.”
She laid a hand over his heart, which was finally beating at a steady, calm rhythm. “I know that feeling, Captain. That’s how I felt, seeing that hotel on the news, knowing that it was you and your team running in there.”
“It was nice, having something so important to worry about,” he repeated the words he’d said earlier in the yard. “Knowing that someone was waiting for me to get home, someone who cared more than just ‘Am I going to make it to the firehouse dinner?’ I haven't had that… since before everything.”
Athena didn't offer empty platitudes. She simply rose up on her toes and kissed him deeply, a kiss of pure, grounding commitment.
“You’re home now, Bobby. And I’m here. And we’re both safe. That’s all that matters.”
He broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. He knew he should leave, let her rest and get back to her children, but pulling away felt like the hardest task of the entire day.
“I should go,” he sighed, finally stepping back. “They need their mother, and I need a long, hot date with my bed.”
Athena smiled, taking his hand and leading him to the front door. “I know. Thank you for showing up tonight, Bobby. Thank you for being my Clark Kent, even when it was chaos.”
“Anytime, Sergeant.” He leaned down and gave her a final, tender kiss. “I’ll call you the moment I wake up tomorrow. Get some rest.”
“You too, Captain. Drive safe.”
She watched him walk to his truck, her heart full, before locking the door and heading down the corridor, eager to check on her children and finally surrender to sleep.