Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He’s fine, because of course he is. Tim Bradford could never be taken down by something as trivial as anaphylactic shock. After a couple of weeks, he comes back to work.

Talia leaves for the ATF. Angela grabs dinner with her on her last night with the LAPD, and Talia tells her that there was no future for her there with a letter of reprimand in her file. 

She’s probably right, but Angela feels a pang of melancholy at one of her friends going. Talia says she’ll keep in touch, but Angela takes it as more of a goodbye than a “see you later.”

It’s hard to stay in the dumps, though, because Wesley moves in with her. He agrees about not wanting to be apart, and it’s so hard to repress the excitement she feels for the future when she looks into his beautiful blue eyes. 

It’s not all smooth sailing, at home or at work. Angela will be the first to admit she’s a bit of a slob, and…Wesley is not, it turns out. 

Tim is mad at Lucy, or at least putting distance there, for some indecipherable reason that he won’t talk about, though he still stands up for her when the rookies get their test scores back. She tries to pull out of him what could possibly have gone wrong with him over the past couple of weeks. And she knows it’s him, because Lucy treats Tim the same way she has for the last few months, with a sort of fond, exasperated admiration.

Angela corners Tim in a hall outside the roll call room. “You look worried.”

“I’ve never had a rookie score that low on the exam,” he says, crossing his arms.

“There’s a first time for everything.”

Tim gestures impatiently at her, arguing, “No. Officer Chen is a natural-born test-taker. Nolan didn’t even finish college. Plus, Chen had me for her TO. Nolan had Bishop.”

“Really? You’re gonna smack-talk her when she’s not here to defend herself?” Angela raises her brow at him. She doesn’t miss that it’s the more formal “Officer Chen” now again. 

“You’re right. It’s not the same.”

She can’t resist bragging on her own rookie. “Even if she was here, you’d still be fighting for second place.” 

Tim makes a face, and it takes Angela a second to realize that it’s directed at Lucy, who’s come up behind her in her short sleeves. “What are you doing?”

“What?” Lucy asks, clearly befuddled.

“My rookies wear long sleeves and ties until the last day of probation.” 

Tim does have that rule, though he occasionally relaxes it around the nine-month mark. Frankly, Angela’s surprised he isn’t with Lucy, as she’s clearly gotten under his skin in a way none of his other rookies have. 

“Yeah, but Sergeant Grey said—”

“Grey is not your training officer. I have complete discretion over the training of my boot, and that includes uniform. Okay? So go change back into your long sleeves. And don’t forget the tie. Now, boot,” he snaps when Lucy just looks at him incredulously. 

Lucy turns, but Angela thinks she catches an eye roll before she walks away. 

Angela looks back at Tim. “What was that about?”

“What? You know I make rookies wear long sleeves.”

“Yeah, but normally you’re not so harsh about it,” Angela says, silently adding that it’s especially true with rookies he calls by name. “Wanna try again? What happened?”

Tim just looks at her, his face carefully blank. “Nothing.”

They have to leave, so she can’t press more. By the next day, something seems to have settled between Tim and Lucy. He’d even put in a rush order on a pink jersey with the number 81 on it, seeming to accept that Lucy might have gotten the low score on the exam. He might poke fun at her even if he was upset, but making shirts to do so? Things are clearly in friendly territory again.

Jackson ends up being the one with the low score, which is another blow to her pride on top of her fight with Wesley, but Tim is nice enough not to gloat when he tosses the jersey at her. Jackson is held back, and Angela’s upset, but mostly for him. Somehow, her boot has become her friend.

She and Wesley reconcile, deciding to hire a maid, and for a time, she gets a little lost in the giddiness of being in love. 

Angela wishes she could say that things get easier. Life is better than ever, but certainly not easier. 

She manages to convince Lucy to let Jackson move in with her. To be fair, it hadn’t taken much, since Lucy and Jackson were best friends, and the idea of one’s best friend living with Smitty? Horrifying. Angela had let out a sigh of relief at Lucy’s quick agreement; Jackson was a friend, and she didn’t want him to end up becoming a complacent schmuck like he would if he just let life keep happening to him.

Not long after that, Angela finally arranges for Tim to officially meet Wesley. Apparently, they’ve met in court a few times, but they’ve mostly ignored each other. Tonight, they go out to a restaurant she’s been wanting to try, an upscale Indian restaurant that’s been getting a lot of attention. 

It’s…awkward. 

Honestly, she shouldn’t be surprised. Tim isn’t shy, but he’s so reserved that it usually takes a while for him to warm up to people, and vice versa. First impressions are NOT his forte. And Wesley, while she loves him, can be abrasive at first, and he’s been nervous about getting to know one of her best friends since they got back together. 

They get their wine before Angela has to break the silence. “Wesley, Tim doesn’t bite. Tim, while Wesley doesn’t typically watch a ton of sports, he likes hockey, and he’s in a fantasy football league. Discuss.” She stands up, heading to the bathroom. God, she hopes her two favorite men can find a way to get along. 

She takes her time in the bathroom, leisurely walking back. She’s surprised to see them in intense conversation, and while her dread initially dissipates when she hears it’s not an argument, it turns to annoyance when she approaches the table and hears them.

“—in the shower,” Wesley says. 

Tim shakes his head. “You think that’s bad, one time when we were going to a game, I found a half-eaten torta from at least a week before in the trunk. What the hell was it doing in the trunk?”

Angela clears her throat. “I’m back.”

They both jump in their chairs and straighten. Tim manages to school his expression, but Wesley looks at her nervously. She thinks about lecturing them, but can’t help laughing as she sits. 

“I completely forgot about that torta. I had gotten it from the place next to the grocery store, and…” 

The night ends up being fun. She doesn’t know that Wesley and Tim will ever be besties, but she’s grateful that they seem willing to try to befriend each other for her sake.

It shouldn’t surprise her, but it does. Wes and Lucy get on like a house on fire. 

It’s only a couple days after her moderately successful dinner with Tim and Wesley, and she comes into the station near the end of the shift so she can start Jackson on doing their paperwork. Angela brightens when she sees her boyfriend standing in the bullpen, his briefcase slung over his shoulder in that way she finds inexplicably cute. She pauses when she sees him in animated discussion with Lucy at her desk, ostensibly working on paperwork of her own for the day. 

It’s not jealousy that she feels—she’s confident in how she and Wes feel for each other—but it does make her feel something. She turns to look at Tim, who is at his desk.

He has his headphones in, and keeps glancing over at Lucy and Wesley, and he has a soft smile on his face. After another minute, Tim notices her and takes out the headphones, motioning with his head for her to come over. 

“What’s up with my boyfriend and your rookie?” she asks, and she immediately wants to swallow her words, because there’s a petty edge there that she doesn’t love. 

Tim gives her a sidelong glance and snickers. “Calm down, Lopez. I think they’ve moved to the topic of government-funded mental health initiatives, but what really got them going was an article they’d both read on over-incarceration.”

She deflates. “Oh.”

“Come on, you can’t actually think…”

“No, no, I just…I don’t know. She’s pretty and smart, and—”

“She is, but so are you, and Wesley? I’m pretty sure he loves you if he’s willing to tolerate the shower grilled cheese sandwiches, Ange.” 

She finally smiles and looks down at him, where he’s looking up at her with patient amusement. “I’m kind of an idiot, huh?” 

“Only sometimes,” he quips.

“Oh, shut up.” 

He leans back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. “Why would I, when this conversation is just so much fun?”

She rolls her eyes.

Tim chuckles, and Angela looks back at him. “Seriously, Lopez, I think your boyfriend wants to adopt Chen as the sister he’s never had. I’ve had to listen to them gush about legal issues and you, so it’s been a long evening.”

She swats at his arm. “What are you even still doing here?” 

“Eh, I’m waiting to sign some things for Chen.”

“And I repeat…what are you doing here? Don’t you usually bully her into hurrying or come in early to do it?”

“I’ve got an audiobook I’m listening to for the sergeant’s exam,” he explains with a shrug, “and I’d just be doing that if I were home, so who cares?”

She finally looks at what his headphones are attached to, and she cackles when she sees a circa 2009 MP3 player. “Oh my god, Bradford, you know you can listen to audiobooks on your phone, right? Though I guess it’s surprising enough you’re not listening to it on cassette tape.” 

He rolls his eyes, but his cheeks turn pink. “Go say hi to your boyfriend and tell him to file adoption papers for Chen later. She needs to finish up.”

Since that’s exactly what she wants to do, Angela just waves her hand in his general direction, ambling over to Wesley. 

He sees her when she’s just a few feet away, and his face lights up in a way that removes the last of her doubts. She leans into the arm he wraps around her as soon as she reaches him. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself” 

Angela turns to Lucy. “And how’s it going here?”

Lucy gets a guilty look on her face. “I’m almost done with the paperwork, Wesley was just mentioning—”

“Don’t worry, Lucy,” Angela cuts in before the younger woman can devolve into full rookie-panic, “I’m off the clock, and I’m not your TO.”

Lucy slumps with relief, “Thanks, Officer Lopez.”

“Please, for the love of god, call me Angela or Lopez when we’re not on active duty.” She smiles to soften the command.

“Got it,” Lucy says, smiling back. 

“We need to head out, but maybe Wesley can give you his number, in case anything legal comes up with any of your cases.”

“Of course,” Wes adds easily, handing Lucy his phone with a new contact option.

“Text me, and let me know what you think about Good and Mad when you have a chance to read it,” she says, “and have a good night, you two.” 

She and Wesley bid her farewell, and Angela turns to wave goodbye to Tim, and she catches him darting a glance over at Lucy, a look that she’d call fondness on his face if it were anyone else. 

Huh.

Wesley takes her hand, and they head out into the night. Angela forgets about the whole thing until a few weeks later.

Maybe it’s training Jackson, building a life with Wesley, or her burgeoning girl-crush on Nyla Harper, but Angela somehow misses that Tim is seeing someone.

It shouldn’t be a shock. He’s been divorced for a few months. He hasn’t, to the best of her knowledge, gotten laid in at least two years. He’s attractive and also not immune to attractive women. 

The woman he walks into the station with is lovely, if not what she’d thought Tim’s type was. Then Angela laughs, realizing she really only has a sample size of one for knowing what his type is. 

Angela walks over, sticking out her hand as she approaches the woman. “Hi, I’m Angela, one of Tim’s best friends in the world.”

“Tim’s told me about you! I’m Rachel,” she says with a smile, shaking Angela’s hand. 

Tim rolls his eyes and is on the verge of saying something when Rachel places a hand on his forearm and looks over Angela’s shoulder. “I see Lucy—I needed to talk to her about a couple things. Have a great day,” she tells him, kissing his cheek softly. 

“You too,” Tim says with a nod. 

“It was so nice to meet you, Angela,” Rachel says, turning to her quickly with a smile.

“Likewise,” she replies, still a little dazed, turning to watch Rachel leave and go to Lucy. 

Shit. Lucy. With her pretty damn obvious crush on Tim. 

Perhaps that accounts for how thrown she is when Lucy sees Rachel and brightens, the two women embracing. They break into chatter and wander off, leaving Angela standing next to Tim, utterly confused. “Huh?”

Tim elbows her. “What?”

“You have a girlfriend. And she and Lucy just hugged.”

“You’re just stating facts, Lopez. Now, if that’s all, I’m going to head to roll call.”

“Oh, no you don’t, Bradford. Were you going to tell me you were dating someone?” she asks, a little hurt, though she tries to hide it.

Tim seems to realize that and winces. “Sorry, I was going to. I-I just wanted to make sure it was actually a thing before I did.”

“And it is? A thing?”

“It’s…it’s new and pretty casual, but yeah.”

Angela nods, then frowns. “Lucy knows. How does your boot know before I do?”

“Well, considering she set us up, it would be hard for her not to know,” he says.

She’s gobsmacked. “Lucy Chen, your rookie, who you frequently refer to as annoying, set you up with someone. How does that even happen?”

Tim mutters something, a flush stealing over his cheeks. 

“What was that?”

“There might have been a bet involved.”

Angela punches his arm. “That’s why she’s in short sleeves. Oh my god.”

“Yes. Now, can we please go to roll call?”

“Only as long as you agree to bring Rachel to dinner with me and Wes sometime soon,” she says, smirking at him as she adjust to this new, strange reality where taciturn Tim goes out with women who are friends with his rookie that she’d have sworn he had…tension…with. Huh. 

“Fine. Now let’s go. Jesus.”

It ends up being literal months before they get that dinner, between one near-tragedy or another, and by the time it happens, Angela is left liking Rachel but feeling a little sorry for her, too.

The end of the world goes very, very differently than Angela would have thought it would, had she ever bothered to imagine it. 

She wishes she had more time. As she hurries to help the people of Los Angeles, to try to stop a bunch of teenagers from jumping to their deaths because of some bullshit actor cultist, she thinks about what could have been.

Making detective someday.

Marching down the aisle with Wesley.

A bunch of children with her eyes and Wesley’s smile. 

Thousands of dinners with her family, the one she was born to and the one she chooses every day. 

Then…the world doesn’t end, except it nearly does for her. Wesley gets stabbed by a fucking nutcase, and he almost dies. 

He doesn’t, though. The sheer joy and relief Angela feels when they tell her that Wesley will be okay has her in tears, surrounded by all the people from Mid-Wilshire that she cares about. Jackson is wrapping her in his arms, only releasing her to let Lucy hug her tight. 

It will be okay, she thinks, meeting Tim’s eyes across the room, his smile at her relief a gentle balm to her spirit. 

Angela isn’t particularly surprised when Lucy comes over on one of her days off to help out with Wesley. Lucy had sent over several containers of soup right after Wesley had gotten home from the hospital, and Angela ended up crying into one of them about (a) how delicious it was and (b) how thoughtful her friends were.

She hugs Lucy, showing her inside. “Are you sure? He’s been crabby lately.”

“Totally. You need a break, and bad patient or not, I will make Wesley talk to me about what he thinks about the judicial reform articles I sent him.”

Angela laughs. “Better you than me. But, seriously…thank you. I love him, but I need to get out of the house or I’m gonna go insane.” 

“Go. Get a mani/pedi, get some groceries, and you’ll feel better. I’ll hold down the fort here, and I promise I’ll only annoy him, like, 5% as much as I annoy Tim,” Lucy jokes.

“I won’t settle for anything less than 10%.” 

“Deal.”

When Angela gets back later, she hears Wesley and Lucy deep in conversation at the dining table. 

“So they’re not getting divorced, then?”

Lucy laughs. “No, and I meant to thank you for that. You scared them back into the bonds of holy matrimony, and I’m so grateful. You have no idea.”

Wesley pauses before replying, “They’re…they’re, uh, really something, huh?”

“Yeah,” Lucy says quietly.

“Well, look, if you ever need, my mom will totally adopt you. She loves Angela, and I had no idea she was just yearning for a daughter. Two daughters? She’d be ecstatic.”

Angela finally announces her presence, walking over to Wesley to wrap an arm around him and give him a quick kiss. “Hey, guys. And Lucy, Patrice would be all about that. You should definitely take him up on the offer.”

“I’m not sure I need another parental figure giving me shit about my job or love life,” Lucy says with a laugh. 

“Eh, Patrice is cool about the cop thing. No promises about the other, though. Ooh, I could always set you up with someone.”

“Angela,” Wesley warns, exasperated, but she ignores him. Her brothers wouldn’t be a good fit; Lucy can do better than both of the available ones, much as she hates to admit it. Maybe—

Lucy shrugs. “I don’t know if I have time to be dating while I’m a P1.” 

“That’s bull. You need a distraction, someone pretty to take your mind off of things. Someone to make you exhausted in a good way.”

Wesley smiles. “Oh, is that what I am, a pretty distraction?”

“You’re so pretty, but I’m a P3. You get the upgrade to partner,” Angela jokes, winking at Lucy.

“Oh, so is that how it works? Distractions for P1s, P2s get boyfriends or girlfriends, and you can get a partner at P3?” Lucy giggles.

“Exactly. Again, happy to do my part to help you find a good distraction. No cops as a distraction, since you just end up talking about work.”

Something flashes in Lucy’s eyes, but it’s gone before Angela can decide whether to ask about it. Lucy smiles, saying, “Officer Bishop gave me that talk when I started, believe me.” 

Angela makes a mental note to text Talia, but waves her hand dismissively. “You have to take Talia’s takes there with a grain of salt. It’s not mine to share, but she had her own experiences that colored her advice.”

“Noted.”

Lucy leaves after dinner, and Angela bids her farewell, still running through a list of her acquaintances for someone who’d be a fun time for Lucy. 

She turns back to Wesley, who seems lighter for having had a chance to spend time with someone who isn’t her or his mother (someone who isn’t smothering him with love). She smiles. 

Everything will be okay.

Jackson and Tim have the audacity to get a commendation for what they get up to while she’s out on leave, but she can’t hold it against them. Especially after the ridiculous day she has with Jackson and the not-so-accidental accident Tim is involved in. 

Afterward, she and Lucy meet up with them at the food trucks to celebrate them (and Nolan’s birthday, which they learned about from Grace). The boys are in their dress blues, holding their plaques as Lucy takes picture after picture. 

“Get it,” Angela teases. 

Jackson laughs, and Tim does his best to look curmudgeonly, but Angela can tell he’s holding back a smile. “Alright. Okay. Yeah. That’s enough.”

“I told you, I need to get pics for Rachel,” Lucy says, turning the camera to focus on Tim.

Angela is smiling, heart warm, and she decides to give them a moment, so she turns to Jackson. “Come on, boot. Buy me a beer.” 

They walk off and get their beers, Tim and Lucy just a little bit behind them. She and Jackson wait for the other two to get their drinks, then follow as Lucy makes her way to one of the picnic tables and sits. Tim sits down close to Lucy, and after they toast Nolan, he leans over to whisper something in her ear. Lucy laughs, leaning even closer to whisper back. Tim grins at her.

She knew, at least on a subconscious level, that Tim cares more about Lucy than anyone else he’s trained, but watching them have fun and whisper who-knows-what together? They’re friends and reasonably good ones at that. 

Friends who sit just a little too close, especially when one of them is dating the other’s friend. 

She smiles but raises an eyebrow, and she catches Jackson’s eye. He glances down at their two friends and raises his own eyebrows, widening his eyes at Angela. 

When she finds him later before he and Lucy head home, they leave Tim and Lucy chatting with Nolan, Grace, Ellroy, and Nell. 

“So…what’s that?” Angela asks with a laugh, discreetly gesturing at the two. Lucy is in animated conversation with Nell, but she reaches over and grabs Tim’s arm, turning to face him. Tim rolls his eyes at whatever Lucy is saying, but Angela can tell he’s amused. 

Jackson huffs. “Oh, you mean Lucy’s crush? Or what looks like him flirting back?”

“Uh, yeah. What the fuck.”

“I mean, he’s hot, but the training officer thing? Nope. With all due respect,” he quickly adds, smiling at her. 

Angela smirks. “Yeah, I was super worried you had a crush on me, West. Thanks for easing my mind,” she says. She lets the quiet sink between them before she continues, “Does Lucy have a thing for him? I thought she did, but then setting him up with one of her close friends…”

“Yeah, I think the desire to wear short sleeves made her temporarily insane. And maybe she’s over it, but she used to have a thing for him, for sure.”

“Hmm.”

Jackson takes a deep breath. “He—I know he’s one of your best friends. But he won’t do anything to hurt her, will he?”

Biting her lip, she looks over at her rookie, her friend. Tim would never intentionally hurt Lucy’s feelings, but unintentionally? She can’t lie to one of the people that loves Lucy the most, so she doesn’t. 

She watches Tim lean over, bump Lucy’s shoulder and say something that makes her head tilt back in laughter. Tim smiles back, shaking his head. 

Angela thinks, perhaps, the situation will work out okay eventually. 

But she hopes Rachel hasn’t gotten too attached. 

It’s not okay. 

Angela stays at the station after her shift, waiting for Wesley to finish up with a client. She stands next to Tim and Lucy, and the tension is thick between them. Not the possibility-laden tension of the past few weeks and months, but an angry tension. She watches a child confess to murder. She’s about to ask why it’s made them upset with each other, but then Wesley comes out, pale as a ghost. She takes him home, sits vigil while he sleeps restlessly. 

Wesley is not okay, and he starts distancing himself from her. 

It’s anxiety, and it’s not about her. She knows that, but it doesn’t make it any easier. 

Then the whole Rosalind Dyer debacle starts, and Angela comes home from one of her most brutal shifts yet to find Wesley unconscious on the couch, his meds and an empty bottle of bourbon on the table next to him. 

He’s not sure if he was trying to kill himself, and Angela’s heart breaks. She isn’t sure she can live in a world without Wesley, and if Wesley doesn’t want this world? Fuck.  

She calls in the next morning, intent on figuring out something, anything, she can do to help him. 

She’s on the couch next to Wesley, googling inpatient psychiatric treatment programs nearby, when she gets a call from Tim. Tim doesn’t usually call; if he is, then either something big is happening at work, or something has gone terribly wrong. 

“What’s up?”

Tim’s voice is panicked. “Hey. Lucy’s been taken. I need you.”

Bile rises in Angela’s throat, but she swallows against the rising horror she feels. 

They knew Rosalind was making a play, and they took her protege’s intended victim. Of course the killer took someone else. But for it to be Lucy? God. Oh God, please no, she prays.

“On my way.” 

Tim hangs up, and she rushes to grab her weapon. She tells Wesley to get dressed. He offers to stay home, but Angela can’t let that happen. “No, Lucy’s in trouble, and I want you with me so I don’t have to worry.”

Wesley freezes when she mentions Lucy. Lucy, who is his friend too, who, more than anyone else in her life, has tried to welcome him. He shakes himself, standing. “Okay, give me one minute.”

Angela’s fairly sure she breaks several traffic codes rushing to the station. When they arrive, she spots Tim in the bullpen, sitting next to Jackson, working the tip lines. That’s not Tim’s favorite at the best of times. But now? He’s vibrating out of his skin, and he stands as soon as he spots her and Wesley. “Hey, thanks for coming in.”

“Of course. Grey’s got you on tip lines?” She respects their watch commander, but this…this is a bad call for someone like Tim, who is bound to be worried about his partner. 

“Nothing says, ‘We got squat,’ like listening to the public,” Tim says, no levity present in the quip. He looks over at Wesley and asks, “Day off?”

“Yeah, something like that. Can I help?” God, she loves Wesley. In the depths of his own despair, he wants to try to help someone else. 

Tim crosses his arms. “What’s your tolerance level for cranks and asshats wasting your time?”

“I’m a public defender.”

“Have at it,” Tim says, and motions for Angela to follow him. 

She does, making sure Wes gets settled in.

“This is useless. We should be out on the streets, kicking down doors.” 

Her heart aches for Tim, so she tries to be gentle. “Whose doors?”

“I don’t know, but I-I can’t just sit here,” he says, stalking off down the hall. 

“Wait up!”

He slows but doesn’t stop. “I’m fine. Just blowing off steam.” He’s not fine, not even a little bit.

“I get it, but you gotta get your head in the game.”

“I don’t need a pep talk.”

“Then why’d you call me? Clearly you need to get something off your chest.”

Tim sighs, but it releases none of the tension in his shoulders. “Look, sh-she wanted to go home. Okay? Go to bed. I told her that she should focus on something else. She went out with Caleb because I told her to,” he says, nearly in tears. 

She shakes her head at him. “You couldn’t have known.”

“But I should have! I’m a cop. I was standing this close to the guy. Okay? Right across from him, and I never saw him coming. But she did, though. Sh—some part of her didn’t feel right about this whole thing. She hesitated. And I-I pushed her right at him.”

Angela wants to hug him, but she knows he won’t appreciate that. Still, the guilt and self-loathing in Tim’s blue eyes, the clenching of his jaw…it hurts. She’s desperate to find Lucy for Lucy’s own sake, but if they don’t? Icy dread takes hold of Angela, knowing that if they lose Lucy, Tim will lose some deeply important aspect of himself, and she’ll lose her best friend. 

Tim goes to the break room after that to down another cup of coffee and to take a moment to breathe. While he’s gone, Harper and Nolan check in with a lead. It’s thin, but she has an idea. Wesley can help. Wesley, with everyone he’s defended, will know someone who can tell them how to find the guy who’s been smuggling contraband between Rosalind and Caleb. 

As soon as they get a name, Tim leaves with Jackson to go follow up. 

Later, Jackson will tell her how insane Tim went. How his desperation made him cross lines that Jackson doesn’t think he regrets. How defeated he was when what they thought was the last lead fell through. How he smiled, hope restored, when Jackson came up with an idea to track credit card purchases. 

Wesley comes up with an idea, too…one that eventually leads them to Rosalind. Between that and the intel Tim and Jackson come back with, Angela tracks down Rosalind’s family farm in Kern County. 

Harper and Nolan start driving in their shop with an ambulance and half the LAPD following behind, and the rest of the team boards the LAPD helicopter. Tim isn’t sitting next to her, and she’s glad. She can’t look at him right now, not as he grows increasingly worried and desperate. Not when breaking could further jeopardize Lucy’s chances. 

They arrive and disembark, Nolan rushing out to tell them that Caleb is dead. He has a video from inside the barrel, and Angela almost vomits. “Can’t even tell if she’s still breathing.” 

She exchanges a look with Jackson, seeing the dread she feels mirrored in his eyes. Grey orders them to spread out and look.

She goes, and so does everyone else. An indeterminate amount of time later, she hears a sound that makes her stomach clench and her heart squeeze: Tim yelling that he’s found her. When she makes it back, she sees Tim digging through the dirt with his bare hands, prying the lid off the barrel. 

He’s frantic as he tells them, “Come on! Here she is. Help me. Let’s get her.”

They pull her out, Tim doing most of the work. 

Nolan looks over at her, and Angela gulps, her throat dry. 

“Give her some room,” Tim cries. 

She hopes he doesn’t hear Grey ask in a whisper whether Lucy is breathing, or Jackson’s broken “no” in response. 

If he does, he ignores them. While the desperation in his eyes when he registers that Lucy isn’t breathing claws at her, it doesn’t stop Tim. He performs CPR, then starts doing chest compressions. 

As the minutes drag on, Tim getting increasingly tired, Angela’s heart sinks. She glances over at Harper and sees the same hopelessness on her face. 

Then. 

Then a miracle happens.

Lucy draws in a deep breath. She’s alive, and Angela nearly slumps over in relief. 

Lucy glances around in confusion, then starts sobbing. She curls into Tim, who is already reaching for her. 

Tim pulls her into his arms, holding her close. He cradles her like she’s the most precious thing in the world to him, tear tracks visible on his face as rocks her back and forth. He brushes his lips across the top of Lucy’s head, and while Lucy probably doesn’t feel it, it shakes Angela to her soul. 

Her best friend loves Lucy. He’s not just her training officer or even just her friend. He’s her partner, a man who would have been gutted beyond repair if they had the worst happened and they found her any later. 

Neither she nor any of the other people at the scene try to remove Lucy from Tim’s arms. Jackson looks wrecked, too, so Angela goes over and takes his hand, and they slump together against one of the gnarled trees. 

The ambulance arrives, and no one argues when Tim insists on riding to the hospital with her. No one exchanges knowing glances or makes faces, they simply accept it, and accept that this is something he needs to do. 

She rides back in a shop with Grey, Jackson, and Armstrong. When they arrive at Shaw Memorial, one of the nurses at the front desk sees their dusty uniforms and immediately directs them to the waiting area where Tim is sitting alone. 

Angela walks over and takes the seat next to him. She doesn’t say anything, but she reaches over and places a hand on his back. He tenses but then makes a concerted effort to calm down. 

She doesn’t know what to say to him right now, but fortunately, the doctor on call comes out and walks up to their group. She asks, “Are Mr. Bradford or Mr. West here?” 

“Yes,” they reply as one, standing up. 

“I can share more about her condition, if you’d like to come this way?”

Jackson shakes his head, clearing his throat. “No, uh, we—she would want everyone here to know,” he says, glancing at Tim as if to confirm. 

Tim nods, swallowing.

“I’m happy to tell you that physically, Ms. Chen should be fine. We’re still running tests, but she doesn’t seem to have a brain injury or problems from oxygen deprivation, and that was our biggest concern. She woke up for a while and was lucid, but understandably upset. We’re keeping her sedated for now, but I anticipate a full recovery.” 

Most of the group collectively lets out a sigh of relief. Tim, though, is frozen in place, a helpless look on his face. 

Angela glances at him, then turns to the doctor. “Thank you so much. When can she have visitors?” she asks, gesturing at Tim.

The doctor’s eyes soften. “Well, visiting hours end at 7 for most of you and will start again tomorrow at 8, but since Mr. Bradford and Mr. West are listed as her emergency contacts, either of them can stay.”

Tim and Jackson eye each other, Tim clenching his jaw and preparing to argue. Angela takes his arm. “Hey. Listen, why don’t you let Jackson sit with Lucy while I take you back to your place to wash up and change clothes?” she asks, glancing over at Grey in question. Grey nods, and Angela continues, “You can come back later so Jackson can go home, but it’ll probably be a while before Lucy wakes up—” the doctor confirms this with a nod, “—and you don’t want to be like this when she does.”

Tim just looks at her, confused. 

She picks up one of his hands. There’s dirt caked under his fingernails, and the nail on his ring finger is torn, jagged. “I’ll take you home. You need to clean up. Wash your hands, take a shower, and change your clothes. Then I’ll bring you back, and you can stay as long as you need.”

“Okay,” he says. 

Jackson agrees to all of this with a nod.

Angela gets an Uber for her and Tim, and they head to his house. She texts Wesley on the way, telling him to drive her car to meet them at Tim’s.

Wesley is already there when the rideshare drops her and Tim off, and he embraces Angela. She resists the temptation to collapse into his arms, pulling back. He pats Tim’s back, saying, “Hey, man. I’m so glad you all found her. Everything going to be okay?”

“She will be,” Tim says hoarsely. 

They head inside, and Tim goes straight to the shower. While he’s getting ready, she turns on his coffee pot and raids his fridge. After grabbing a snack for herself, Angela goes to the pantry and grabs some snacks and puts them in a bag for Tim to take with him, along with a few things like a phone charger and a book.

It’s less than an hour later when he emerges from his room, carrying a travel pillow that he holds up. “So I don’t hurt my neck.”

“Good call. You ready?”

“Yeah.”

“Wes’ll drive us over, and you can take over for Jackson, okay?”

Tim nods. “Thanks, guys.”

The drive back to Shaw goes by quickly (though not as quickly as if she’d been driving), and they head back up. Jackson had sent a group text with the room number, and they met him there. 

Lucy lay there, so still. Her bruises and gashes looked so much worse under the fluorescent lights. Tim gasped, and Angela, from where she was standing behind him, put her hands on his shoulders and gave him a gentle shove. “Go on.”

Jackson looked up, giving a sigh of relief. “You’re back.” He stood, leaving the chair next to Lucy for Tim, who took it immediately. Turning to Angela, he said, “Alright, so I called Lucy’s parents. They didn’t answer, so I left a voicemail. I’ve tried texting too, but…”

Angela swore. “Wow, they’re dicks.”

Jackson shrugged.

“Good call, though. Are you gonna stick around, or…?”

“I…let’s go get some dinner. We can bring some back for Tim,” he says, gesturing to the man in question.

Tim didn’t respond. Angela looked over and saw that he’d taken Lucy’s hand, holding it lightly. He was looking at her like she was the sun, like she was a miracle, and Angela felt herself tear up. Exchanging a look with Jackson, she found him equally emotional. He swallowed, and they left the room. 

A couple hours later, they brought him some takeout from the nearby Vietnamese restaurant, and he thanked them. She knew from looking at him that there was no way she or anyone else could convince him to leave, and Jackson didn’t even try. 

Angela walked over, kissed his forehead, and bid him farewell. He gave her a distracted goodbye, and she went out to walk back to the waiting car with Jackson. “You need a ride home?”

“Nah. I-I think I’m going to go over to Sterling’s.”

“Good. Make sure you get some rest.” There was nothing like life-affirming sex after a day like today, but she knew when Jackson crashed, he was going to crash hard. Hell, so was she. 

She and Wesley were quiet on the way home, and they went to their bed. After they finished hungrily making love, Angela took a shower. She emerged to find he’d changed their sheets, and she hugged him before settling in on her side. 

After a while, Wesley turned to her, reaching for her hand. “Can’t sleep?”

“Nope. I keep thinking about Tim and Lucy.”

“That—that’s my worst nightmare. Something like that happening to you.”

“Same for me, baby.” God, the thought…if Tim was so distraught when he and Lucy weren’t even dating, she couldn’t even imagine— 

He reached out, pulling her half on top of him. “You think she’ll be okay?”

“Probably eventually, yeah.” It would be hard work, but she wouldn’t be alone for it. “I’m worried about Tim, though.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. He-he’s not the kind of guy to open up.”

“Not with us,” Wesley says, hesitantly adding, “but I think he does with Lucy. So if she’s okay…”

He’ll probably be fine eventually too, as long as Lucy is. “Yeah.”

Her eyes are getting heavy, and as she settles in with her man, she thinks that they’ll probably all be okay.

Angela finally drifts off to sleep.

Tim blows off her attempts to talk over the next couple of weeks. Oh, he responds to her texts, but he ignores her phone calls, and he all but runs off whenever she tries to start deeper conversations at the station.

Jackson tells her, too, that Lucy is distant. She goes to all her medical and therapy apartments, but she isn’t the same as she was. Instead of sitting and laughing with him during meals, or begging him to tell her details of his dates with Sterling, she keeps to herself. She keeps him apprised of her whereabouts via text, and she talks to him, but there’s no joy to it. 

Angela wishes she could do something for both of them. 

She’s on the verge of staging an intervention for Tim, who she at least has some pull with, when Harper comes to her after their shift with a question.

Angela admires Harper, but they’re not close by any means. She knows that she and Tim switched rookies today. She’d looked between Tim and Lucy when Grey announced it, and Lucy’s look back at Tim had confirmed that it wasn’t per Lucy’s request. Tim had nodded but seemed sad. So…it was Harper.

She’s pulling on her shirt after showering when Harper approaches. She nods.

Harper nods back, then says, “Listen, I requested the swap with Bradford today, and I’m looking for some insight. Thought you might be able to help.”

Well, color her intrigued. That said, she refuses to commit to anything before she gets the lay of the land. “Oh?”

“It…it didn’t really go well. Look, I know Bradford is one of your best buddies, and I hear you and Lucy get on well,” she says, hesitating before continuing, “and I don’t want to step on any toes or imply anything. I-I’m just asking. Is there anything going on between Bradford and Chen?”

I wish I knew how to answer that, Angela thinks, trying to come up with an explanation.

Harper seems to take her silence as an affirmative and swells with indignation. “She’s his rookie, and she is vulnerable right now more than ever, and—”

“I don’t think anything has happened between them, not like that,” Angela cuts in. 

Harper lets out a breath, gesturing for her to continue. 

“Look, I’m not saying there aren’t feelings there. You were there, and so was I. But I know Tim, and he…he wouldn’t take advantage, not like that.”

“Is…is there a chance they’re involved, that maybe Lucy started it? I just…that would change how I approach training her this week. How I-I can help her.”

“I’m sure,” Angela says, and she is. “Tim Bradford may be an ass sometimes, and he doesn’t tell me nearly as much as I wish he did, but I know he has his code. He would never go against his code or policy by getting involved with one of his rookies.” Taking a deep breath, Angela continues, “No matter how much he cares. And he does care for Lucy. A lot. Maybe—well, never mind. My point is, he cares about her too much to risk her well-being and career like that.” 

Harper gives her a searching look, then lets out a breath. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“Hmm.”

“But that means I have to go with plan C for helping Lucy, and I need your help.” Harper explains the plan, and Angela agrees after minimal hesitation and a quick text to Wes. 

So a little while later, after Lucy’s had time to shower after her shift, Angela follows Harper to intercept her in the women’s locker room. She overhears their conversation as she rounds the corner.

“Oh, but you’re not going home,” Harper says.

“Ready?” Angela asks, smiling at Lucy. 

Harper turns and smiles at her, “Almost.”

“I’m-I’m sorry, ready…ready for what?”

“We have plans. Girls' night.”

Lucy’s face shuts down a little. “Oh, I get it. You’ve seen that I’m fine on the job, but you’re still not convinced?” She’s so much more aggressive than she normally is, and Angela’s heart twists at how not fine she is.

“No, that’s not it. We just thought it would be fun,” Harper says. 

Angela is ready to do her part. “But if you’re not up for it…” She and Harper exchange a look, feigning a willingness to walk away. 

Lucy cracks, and her response is almost the Lucy from before. “Oh, wait, no, I am. It’s…You guys have just never asked me out before. But that’s great. Uh, cool. So where are we going? A bar? Club?” She lets out an awkward little laugh, and the only thing stopping Angela from going over to hug her is her feeling that Lucy wouldn’t appreciate that right now.

The drive is silent, but it’s not long before Harper pulls into the hotel parking lot where the speed dating event is happening.

When Lucy walks in and sees the big, pink signs, she almost bolts. Harper manages to stop her, explaining, “You were right. I have never gone on a date with a serial killer, and you have.”

“And that would make anyone question their judgment,” Angela adds, a pang going through her, knowing that Lucy will never be as fearless as she was before, nor as willing to jump into even good things. 

“Yeah, sure, but, uh, this is—”

“But nothing. Look, you can never truly know that you are fine until you know that you can trust your judgment again,” Harper says with a sigh. “So we’re here in this controlled environment with zero stakes so you can meet and evaluate a succession of men.”

Angela looks around at the crowd, and it’s so very LA, in the most annoying way possible. “If you can even call them ‘men.’”

“Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do here. And actually, it’s fairly psychologically sound, but this…this is unnecessary.” Lucy is still looking for an escape, and it hurts that Angela can’t give her that, not without taking away an opportunity for her to work through some of her demons.

“Well, then it’ll just be a great story for tomorrow,” Harper says.

“You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“I am just real committed to getting you to say ‘yes.’” 

Angela raises her eyebrows at Lucy in a challenge. 

Lucy smiles, giving in. Angela sags in relief, pulling out her flask. Then Lucy says, “Uh, oh, no. If I’m doing this, so are you guys.”

It’s so tempting to say no, but as Lucy pleads her case, she’s the most herself she’s been since before December 9th. So both she and Harper acquiesce.

All told, it’s not going poorly. Angela has the time of her life terrifying Silver Lake yuppies who have pointless office jobs, and it looks like Lucy is making an effort. 

Then time slows down, and she watches as the guy Lucy has been talking to reaches for a piece of lint on her sweater. She can see Lucy panicking, springing into action, but there’s no way for her or Harper to make it over to them before Lucy executes a perfect takedown of the guy. She’s so lost in instinct and fear that it takes both her and Harper to calm her down and bring her back. Lucy releases the guy, stepping back in horror. 

Angela…well, she’s more pragmatic. She helps the guy up, but this guy should know better. “You know, you really shouldn’t touch a woman without asking, but, you know, we don’t need to make a thing of it, right?” 

When she’s let the guy go and soothed him, Lucy is out the front door. Angela rushes to catch up with Harper and Lucy. 

On the way back to the station for their cars, the silence is tense in a way it wasn’t before. As soon as they pull into the parking lot, Lucy is out the door, muttering that she’ll see them tomorrow.

Angela sighs, knowing that the next day will be brutal for all of them. 

And it is, at least at first.

She walks into the bullpen, and Tim spots and starts striding toward her. “Hey. You seen Nolan?” 

This is not going to be fun, but she has to tell Tim. If he finds out elsewhere, he’ll be pissed. And frankly, if last night was any indication, he might be the only one who can get through to Lucy to help her deal. He needs to know. “Not yet. Hey, Lucy had a bit of a moment last night when we were out.”

The irritation on Tim’s face shifts into concern and even a little panic.

“It’s-it’s not a big deal. She’s fine,” Angela says, rushing to reassure him.

“What the hell is Harper doing?”

“Helping. Don’t get all ‘Tim’ on me. I just thought you should know.” God, she loves him, but the way he tries to intimidate his way through a problem when there’s not a quick solution…

He deflates. “Lucy’s okay.”

“She will be.” She has to be. 

“Alright. Thanks for letting me know.”

Angela squeezes his arm before they part ways, and she sighs. At least Lucy has people in her corner trying to help. Tim is obviously willing to move mountains for her, and it’s not just Angela and Harper in her corner. Everyone at Mid-Wilshire likes Lucy and is rooting for her, and even Wesley and Rachel—

Rachel. 

Shit, Angela thinks, I had fully forgotten she existed. 

Rachel does still exist, though, and she and Tim are still together. 

It’s the end of January before they finally make good on their plan to have dinner together, the four of them. Angela suggests that Tim bring Rachel over for dinner, and he hesitates before telling her that Rachel is a vegan. 

They pick a restaurant instead, a trendy one that specializes in vegan and gluten-free options. 

Tim…Tim is miserable. He hates food like this, pretentious places like this.

But he likes Rachel. And honestly, Angela gets it. She’s not just beautiful and smart, she’s caring and kind. She’s fun. If things were different, she would be rooting for them.

But Angela saw Tim’s face when he thought Lucy was gone. She saw the relief on his face as Lucy climbed into his shop the first time afterward, glimpsed his smile through the window when they passed him heading out of the station. And she sees his face now whenever he and Lucy are deep in conversation. She sees the care, the humor, and even a softness that she’s only seen him show one other woman—Isabel. 

Rachel could be a saint and a pin-up girl in one, and it wouldn’t change the fact that she and Tim have an expiration date. Even if Lucy weren’t a factor—and Angela is certain he’ll do everything he can do to convince himself she’s not—veganism would be a dealbreaker. She just can’t see him forgoing his steaks or rearranging his life around someone who has such a different perspective on life. 

For now, though, she’s happy to toast to Tim’s good showing on the sergeant’s exam. 

“Nice work, Bradford. Just make sure you don’t forget your lowly friends on patrol once you move up.”

Tim winks at her. “No promises.”

Rachel reaches over and pats his arm. “Seriously, that’s great. You were, what, tenth out of 140?”

“Eighth, actually,” he says, clearing his throat. 

“Nice, man,” adds Wesley. “So what does that mean? Do you have to wait for a position to open?”

Something flickers in Tim’s eyes, but it fades before Angela can follow up. “Thanks. And yeah, I have to wait for a position. With seven people ahead of me, it could be about six months or so before something opens that I have a shot at.” 

“Not bad. You get to finish training Lucy then, right? She’s only got a couple months left, if I remember correctly.”

Tim nods, smiling. “Yep. Looks like she’ll be my last rookie.”

Rachel’s eyes tighten, but she smiles along with him. “A good note to end on.”

“So, you thinking about sticking around Mid-Wilshire?” Angela asks, trying to redirect the conversation. Just because she doesn’t think Tim and Rachel will go the distance doesn’t mean she wants any awkwardness right now.

“I’d like that. Hopefully something will open up.” 

Rachel gives Tim a long, searching look. “You wouldn’t leave if something amazing came up somewhere else?”

He shrugs. “I probably would think about it, but I like where I am.”

Angela watches Rachel’s face fall, but she masks her reaction quickly. 

The rest of the evening passes enjoyably, but Angela can’t help but wonder if it would be even better if the woman sitting next to Tim were Lucy Chen. 

A couple of weeks later, Angela is yawning in the shop, bemoaning the night shift. Napa and her upcoming vacation with Wesley are worth it, but it sucks. 

Wordlessly, Jackson hands her a large cup of coffee. 

She won’t say the word out loud, but it’s fucking quiet. What the hell are the criminals of L.A. doing tonight? 

“Please tell me something entertaining before I fall asleep at the wheel, West.”

Jackson snorts. “I have a hot new boyfriend.”

“I know, because you won’t shut up about it, boot,” she says, rolling her eyes.

He’s silent for a moment, and then he brightens. “Remember Lucy’s dog?”

“The one you were bitching about? You told me she got rid of it. Er, found a new home for it.”

“Yeah, but I found out who gave the dog a happy new home.”

Angela is intrigued in spite of herself. “Oh?” Jackson raises his eyebrows and smirks, and realization sinks in. “No! Tim? Really?”

“Really.”

“Oh my god.”

Jackson cracks a grin, and she can’t help smiling back. “And I found out because after not telling me who adopted Kojo, I happened to get a look at her lock screen the other day.”

“Please tell me it’s Tim, shirtless, playing frisbee with the dog.”

“You thought of that way too fast, but I’m going to let it go on account of the fact that I also would have looked at that longer. Respectfully.”

“Listen, Wesley has nothing to worry about, but I can acknowledge that my best friend is very nice to look at,” Angela says with a laugh.

“Sadly.”

“So what was the lock screen?”

“Tim is smiling at the camera with an arm wrapped around the dog. It’s cute and disgustingly wholesome.”

She shakes her head. “Yeah, somehow that’s worse than if it were a horny pic.”

He waves his hands in front of himself dramatically. “It really is. So, yeah…extremely normal behavior from Lucy and Tim. Nothing to see here.”

The funny thing is, it is pretty par for the course for them.

Before she knows it, she’s engaged to her best friend (her apologies to Tim and Gretchen both, but Wesley is her person) and trying to figure out how to have a decent wedding without going insane. Or completely alienating her mom or Patrice. 

It makes sense, then, when Angela realizes she hasn’t talked to Tim about much of anything other than work in a while. She’d gotten drinks with him and Rachel a few weeks prior, and he’d congratulated her with a hug upon her engagement, but that hardly constituted catching up. 

She’s sitting at a table with Jackson, Tim, and Lucy, with Jackson trying to make light of their stupid, idiotic day with that jackass tech bro who’d almost derailed her career because he couldn’t keep lines of data straight. 

Jackson thinks the whole thing is funny, but quiets down when Lucy only gives him a half-hearted laugh along with a reproving chuckle. Between that and Tim’s glare accompanied by crossed arms, he starts to lose his smile. Angela ends his laughter with a pointed look. 

“Sorry,” Jackson says, standing, “and on that note, I’m going to head out tonight. Sterling’s coming over and we have big plans to watch a forgettable movie.”

Angela had already planned to invite Tim out for dinner and drinks, but now she turns and considers Lucy. With a pang, she realizes neither she nor Wesley have seen her socially since the ill-considered speed-dating outing. That, combined with Jackson’s complaints about Lucy third-wheeling (even though he and Sterling pretty much always camp out in his and Lucy’s living room—where is she supposed to go?)...well, she feels for her. 

“Bradford, Chen, you want to go grab a bite? My treat.”

Tim nods. “Sure, as long as you promise not to talk for more than 15 minutes about wedding stuff.” 

Angela looks expectantly at Lucy, who gives her a small smile but shakes her head. “I, uh, I actually have plans, sorry.” 

Tim’s head turns sharply towards her. Angela watches as he gives Lucy an almost soft, questioning look. Lucy blushes, but she gives Tim a subtle nod.

“Alright. ‘Night, boot, and don’t keep those plans waiting,” Tim says.

“Thanks. And thanks for the invite, Lopez. See you all around.”

“See you, Lucy.”

Tim watches Lucy leave, and she watches Tim. After Lucy’s gone, Angela turns to Tim and asks, “What was that about?”

“Hmm?”

“Lucy. And her plans.”

“Contrary to what people seem to think, I don’t manage her social life,” he says, rolling his eyes.

“Who all thinks that? Wait. First tell me where she’s going. You totally know.”

“Fine. I don’t know for sure, but I think she’s going on a date.” A flash of vulnerability crosses his face, but he rapidly covers it with irritation.

Interesting. “Huh. Big step.”

Tim shrugs. “It’s probably not a big deal. It’s just Emmett.”

“Emmett Lang? The firefighter?” Angela asks, impressed. 

Tim nods, definitely irritated now.

“He’s hot. And decent, for a firefighter.”

“That’s what I told her.”

“You told her he’s hot? Unexpected, but I support you.”

If looks could kill, she’d be toast right now. “I’m hungry. I’m going home if you’re going to keep—”

“Oh my god, calm down,” Angela interrupts. “You down for a burger?”

“God, yes.”

They drive separately to the little hole-in-the-wall burger joint they’d been to a few times. It’s not long until they’re sitting at their table, eating their burgers and fries. 

“What have you been up to?”

“Not getting engaged and getting the tap. Congratulations on that last one, by the way. That’s so great,” Tim says earnestly.

She smiles. “Thanks. I’m excited, you know? A year ago, I couldn’t have imagined this would be my life.”

Tim’s face falls, and she curses internally. Her life might be wildly better than she could have imagined a year ago, but in that same window, Tim’s had his entire life turned upside down. “Sorry,” she offers, “I didn’t mean…”

He waves her apology aside. “I know. And I’m happy for you. I’ve just got a lot on my plate right now.” 

“Everything okay with Rachel?” He does seem distracted and a little off lately. And since he’d seemed relatively unbothered by Lucy possibly having a fling with a hot firefighter, that was probably it.

Tim lets out a short, unamused chuckle. “Well, she’s moving to New York City in a couple weeks, so there’s that.”

“Shit. Really?”

“Yeah, apparently she got her dream job.”

Angela thinks back to when they got dinner and some of Rachel’s reactions make more sense now. She thinks she knows the answer, but she has to ask anyway: “Did you know she was interviewing?”

“Nope.”

“Jesus. And you met her dad not that long ago, too, right?”

“Yeah,” he says, letting out a sigh. “I thought maybe we were getting more serious, but I just…I don’t know, Ange.”

She feels a prickle of guilt; she hasn’t asked him once about how that went, or more about Rachel in general. “Did it not go well?”

“Her dad warmed up to me.” Tim seems to be struggling with whether or not to add to that statement, so she decides to help him out.

“But?”

“But…he also told me that she’s got at least a 50% chance of carrying the gene for Huntington’s disease, and she won’t get tested for it.”

Oof. That has to be rough, especially for a guy like Tim Bradford. Angela’s always seen him as the settle-down-and-have-kids type, but…well. She’s about to offer a grimace, when anger takes her by storm. “Wait. Lucy didn’t tell you? Why the fuck did she set you up with—”

“Chill, Lopez. Lucy didn’t know either. It was a surprise to both of us.”

Well, fuck. Now she owes Lucy an apology too, even if it’s not a verbal one. “That sucks.”

“Yeah.” After a pause, Tim tells her, “She asked me to move to New York with her.” 

Angela coughs, nearly spitting her water at him. “But you hate New York.”

“I checked, you know. With Grey. If it was possible to do a lateral move…”

“And?” Shit. Has she been completely misreading things between Tim and Rachel, between Tim and Lucy?

“It’s a no-go. I’d have to start over. I’d be Nolan.”

“Oh,” she says carefully before asking, “do…do you love her? If you do, it might be worth it.”

Tim hesitates, biting his lip. “I care about her.”

“Of course, but…”

He rubs the side of his face. “I can’t do it. And you and I both know that with our job, long distance doesn’t work.”

“It doesn’t.” It sucks, but it’s a fact of their lives—if a cop’s partner can’t reassure themselves they’re okay physically after a rough, dangerous day, it starts to fall apart. “So you’re breaking up with her, then?”

“I guess so,” he says with a grimace. 

Her heart aches for him. “You know you deserve to be happy, right? You’re allowed to want things for you, Tim. I want you to be happy, and I’m not the only one.”

Slowly, Tim nods. 

The next couple of weeks pass in a blur. She finds out something that will change her life (and Wesley’s) forever, and she can’t even focus on it at first, because they have a dirty cop in their midst. Grey taps her to take charge of the investigation. It’s a dream come true professionally, but the sting of, even for a moment, believing that Nolan could betray them all like that hurts. Angela quickly realizes there’s more afoot, but it clouds what should have been a happy moment for her and Wes. 

Investigating Nolan and his house takes its toll on Tim and Lucy, too. Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones, but she nearly cries seeing how at odds they are with each other. Lucy insists that Nolan is innocent. Tim, cynical as he is, can’t let himself believe it. 

Lucy is right, and she can see the younger woman spoiling for a fight when they realize Armstrong is the one who was dirty all along (and that’s a blow in and of itself, but she has to put that away to deal with later). Tim doesn’t give it to her, though. He makes a face, but Angela can see the relief he feels at having been proved wrong. Lucy softens, and as they walk off together at the end of the shift, she finds herself again hopeful that Tim will find some comfort in Lucy’s gentle warmth. 

Tim is only her TO for another month. Angela can’t wait to see what happens at the end of that.