A Firefighter's Secret

Travis and Vic Talk

Three days later as Travis is helping Vic start packing up her apartment. Vic knew he had something he wanted to say but he was either nervous or upset.

"Okay, what gives?" She asked as she pulled her clothes out of the closet and tossed them on the bed.

"How do you know this is the right move? I mean it's been a total of three weeks since you two went public. Are you sure?" Vic huffed as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Trav, I know you're worried and I am glad I can count on you to be worried about me but, I am sure. Lucas and I have been together for almost a year now. We waited a lot longer to go to HR than we originally planned but that doesn't change anything." He nodded.

"Okay. Can we sit? I want us to really talk. I just have some questions I didn't want to ask around everyone else." Vic nodded. They went to the living room and sat on the couch to talk.

"What do you want to know?"

"For starters, how did you two get to actually know each other?"

"We have this little diner we go to just outside of town. It had a low risk of someone from the department finding us. We did our own version of dating and getting to know each other there. We still go all the time. It's our place." She smiled and he nodded.

"Should I just give you some background on everything?"

"Like just telling the story?"

"Basically. If you still have some more questions at the end, we can go back to them."

"Okay."

"From the beginning he made sure I knew he didn't just want sex. He wanted something real. I know I have always run from commitment but this time I couldn't. For once, I wanted something real too." She smiled as memories from their time together flashed before her eyes.

"And yes, I know he's been married twice before. I know he could never cheat based on how his second ex-wife treated him when she did. She gaslighted him into thinking it was his fault and I know he still has some insecurity in that area. I know that he and his first ex-wife just weren't the right fit." Travis nodded.

"I know his parents died when he was barely 18 and Jennifer was 11. I know he immediately and without hesitation stepped up to raise her. I know that he worked his ass off to get where he is. I know he wanted to be the Chief so that he could make a difference inside and outside the department."

"Travis, he opens doors for me despite my protests. One of my favorite things he does is when he puts on some soft music, sits on the couch, and let's me just lay my head in his lap while he plays with my hair. Sometimes we just sit like that for hours. I love being able to make him cookies, brownies, and cupcakes or muffins just to see him smile because I know he has a sweet tooth."

"He has always included me in the big decisions in his life, since we got together. And I swear if this detail gets back to the team, I will know it was you, but we write each other love letters all the time. Like seriously romantic, cheesy, multiple-paged love letters."

"During our first fight we realized we both have very different ways of handling those types of things, so we wrote down some reminders to ourselves and each other to make sure we each get the space, time, and reflection that we need before we come back and sit down to actually communicate. We never raise our voices to each other because we both hate that. We are willing to go to bed without completely resolving an argument, but we never do so angrily. We also refuse to sleep separately just because we're disagreeing on something in that moment." Travis smiled and nodded for her to continue.

"I know it's weird and I know that it might be difficult to understand but I have never been happier. I have never felt as loved and cherished as I do by him. He is my one, Travis. I have a panic attack if I even try to imagine my life without him. I am not going to say I need him, because I don't. I am a grown woman who can take care of herself, but I want him. I choose him every day and I know that I am so incredibly lucky to be able to have that choice."

"Wow. Vic, I had no idea. I am so happy I get to watch you two fall more in love with each other and grow together." Vic smiled as she hugged him. He hugged her back and pretended that she wasn't getting teary-eyed over this. Hearing what she had to say reminded him of Michael and himself.

"He is my everything and I need you as my best friend to understand that."

"I can see that now. I am really glad we talked about this." He replied as Luke walked in the door with take out for lunch.

"Everything okay? I can come back." Luke said as soon as he realized they were having a moment.

"Everything is perfect, babe." Vic replied as she walked over to him. He stole a kiss from her as she went to grab some plates for them to eat.

"Okay." He looked a little skeptical but let it go. He went to sit with Travis on the couch.

"You know if you hurt her, I will come for you, right?" Travis said barely above a whisper.

"If I hurt her, you'll have to wait in line. I would never stop beating myself up over that. She is my world." He replied just as softly, and Travis nodded. Vic brought everything into the living room and sat between them. They turned on the tv and watched something random as they ate quietly.

After they had long since finished lunch, it was Travis who asked if they wanted to pack some more stuff so that they could go ahead and take some stuff to Luke's house later. With the three cars between them they could take quite a bit of stuff.

"Yeah. We got a bit distracted, didn't we?" Vic asked as she got up and went to finish packing her clothes. Luke carried their plates to the kitchen and cleaned up as Travis started packing up the pictures that they had taken from the walls earlier that morning.

Once done with the dishes, Luke grabbed another box and started packing all the dry food and canned goods from the kitchen. They were going to take all of it to a soup kitchen or shelter on the way back to his place.

They spent the next few hours cleaning up and packing before loading everything up into their cars. They had decided that once they got everything put inside the den that they were going to just eat out and Vic suggested Travis join them at the diner. Both men immediately agreed.

They got arrived at the diner about twenty minutes later and Luke led them to their usual booth where he and Vic sat across from Travis. Cam was ecstatic to see them and meet Travis. They also ended up telling him the truth about their relationship before they left promising to be back soon.