Chapter Text
*Four Months Later*
As Lucy walks through the bullpen of Mid Wilshire she thinks back to the last few months. They have been challenging, busy, and healing. She put all her time and effort into studying for the sergeants exam, determined to not fail this time, determined to move forward in her career. She had taken the exam two weeks ago and was growing anxious waiting for the results.
Her eyes roam the area until they land on Tim, sitting at a desk, hunched over working on paperwork. She feels her lips twitch up into a small smile as she thinks about the last few months with him. They had agreed to be friends, to work on themselves and focus on healing while she studied for her sergeants exam. True to his word Tim had been working harder than ever, he was attending therapy, helped Lucy study, continued to train Miles, and kept showing up for Lucy in whatever way she needed. He had been the steady presence she needed these last few months to keep her grounded, to keep her focused.
The promise of what was to come had been hanging over them, her words all those months ago about him asking her out for their third first date once she got her results. The exam was over, and she was ready to jump back in with Tim, to give him a second chance, to give them a second chance.
As she stands there staring at him its almost like he can feel her gaze on him. He looks up, scans the area until his eyes land on her and his mouth breaks out into a wide smile.
Grey’s voice breaks her out of her trance, “Chen, my office now.”
She tears her gaze away from Tim and turns to see Grey standing in his doorway, motioning her over. As she walks towards his office her heart begins to race as she wonders what he could possibly need. She is pretty sure she hasn’t screwed anything up on patrol lately so the most likely scenario is the exam results.
She brushes past him and he pulls the door shut behind her. Then he moves over to perch himself on his desk as he looks at her.
“Sir, is everything ok?”
He smiles, “It’s more than ok Chen. I just received the results of the sergeants exam.”
Lucy’s heart feels like it is about to beat out of her chest at this point. If she failed this, after failing the detectives exam, she doesn’t think she can handle it. She might as well turn in her resignation because no one would ever take her seriously if she fails twice.
“Officer Chen, you can calm down. You did well, very well in fact. You scored at the top of the list.”
Lucy lets out a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding, “What? Are you serious? The top of the list?”
Grey chuckles, “Yes Chen. The top of the list. I never had any doubt. You are one of the best officers I have ever had under my command. A lot of departments are going to be vying for you now with your score but I hope Mid Wilshire will be at the top of the list. It would be an honor to have you here, Sergeant Chen.”
Lucy feels the tears well up in her eyes as she listens to Grey’s words, as she thinks about everything she has overcome to get to this point, everything she has survived.
“Thank you sir. I can’t thank you enough for everything you have done for me.”
She reaches out to shake his hand and he surprises her by pulling her in for a hug instead, “I’m proud of you Chen. Now get out of here and go celebrate. Looks like there is someone who is anxiously waiting for you.”
She turns to see Tim, still sitting at his desk, his head raised and glancing at her, a questioning look in his eyes.
“Thank you sir.”
She leaves his office and heads straight for Tim’s desk, “Are you almost done with your paperwork? I’m going to go change out and thought we could head to the food trucks for a drink.”
Tim nods, “Yeah I just need about five more minutes. I can change and meet you at the food trucks in twenty minutes. Does that work?”
“Thats perfect. I’ll see you there.” She gives him one last smile then turns and walks towards the locker room, ready to take this next step towards the future she wants.
*******
Lucy sits at the table, her knee bouncing, two beers sitting in front of her while she waits for Tim to arrive. She’s nervous, she’s excited, she’s anxious. These last few months have been healing and now it feels like she is standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to jump and hope that Tim will be there to catch her. She’s ready to risk her heart again, ready to dive back in with him because it’s worth it, he’s worth it, they are worth it.
She looks up and sees him walking towards her. He has changed into blue jeans and a light grey henley that hugs his muscles in all the right places. Lucy beams when she notices the smile on his face, the smile that he has always reserved for her.
He pulls out the chair and sits down at the table across from her, “Hey. Sorry. Paperwork took a little bit longer than I expected. Have you been waiting long?”
She pushes the beer across the table to him as she shakes her head, “Not too long. Just long enough to get us a drink and a table.”
She watches him take a sip of his beer, lick his lips then place it back down on the table. She is bursting to tell him her news so she decides to just jump right in.
“So I know you are probably wondering what Grey needed with me.”
He nods, “It looked like a good conversation based on the smile on both of your faces.”
“The results of the sergeants exam came in. And it looks like I won our bet because I definitely placed higher than you.”
He chuckles, “I never had any doubt that you would actually. You have always been an excellent test taker.”
“I actually placed higher than even I thought I would. I placed at the top of the list.”
Tim’s mouth drops open in surprise, “Lucy that’s amazing! I knew you could do it. Congratulations Sergeant Chen.”
She can’t help the wide smile that stretches across her face as she hears him say her new title. She thinks back to her rookie year, when she stood next to him in Grey’s office as he got his results and she said the same words to him, “Congratulations Sergeant Bradford.” It seems like a lifetime ago, so much has happened since that moment and somehow they survived. They were here, together, healing, thriving and working towards the future they both so desperately want.
“Thank you. Thank you for helping me study and for believing that I could do it.”
He reaches across the table to place his hand on top of hers, “Always Lucy. I had no doubt that you could do it. You are the best rookie I ever trained.”
She smiles, “The best huh? Thought I just cracked the top five?”
His face softens, “I think we both know you took the top spot a long time ago.”
She feels her cheeks flush under his praise, under the sincerity of his words, “Well it helps that I had a great teacher.”
He ducks his head, shying away from her praise just like he always does then he removes his hand before speaking, “So how about I buy us dinner to celebrate. Your choice of whatever you want from any of these trucks.”
She nods her head, “That sounds perfect. How about a veggie burger and fries? Extra pickles.”
“I should have known. Your wish is my command. I’ll be right back.”
She watches him get up from the table and walk towards the burger truck. He tucks his hands into his pockets as he joins the line and she notices his posture stiffen as he keeps alert, his eyes moving around watching all the other people around him.
After a few minutes he is moving back to the table with a tray of food and fresh drinks for both of them. He sets it down on the table, passes her veggie burger and fries over to her then unwraps his own burger. They fall into a comfortable silence as they begin to eat, exchanging a few words about their days, plans for their next days off and Lucy asking Tim advice about her next steps.
Once they have finished Tim collects all their trash, places it back on the tray and stands up to take it to the trash can. When he comes back Lucy is already standing, waiting for him.
She reaches out, takes his hand in hers and interlaces their fingers, “Walk me to my car?” She asks him with a mischievous glint in her eye.
He smiles, “Of course. Although I did park right next to yours so does it still count?”
She laughs loudly, “It still counts.”
They walk, hand in hand towards the parking lot until they come to a stop in front of their cars. Lucy turns to face him and takes a deep breath before speaking.
“So now that I passed the sergeants exam it looks like I will be out of your chain of command very soon.”
Tim nods, “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
She takes a step closer to him, “So did you have something you were going to ask me?”
Tim’s lips twitch up as he fights a smile, remembering the last time she spoke those words to him. He decides to lean in to the memory, to tease her just a little bit, “I can’t remember.”
She shakes her head, “Don’t make me hurt you.”
He takes a step closer to her, his eyes locked on hers as he takes her hands in his, “Do you want to go on a date?”
She smiles, the wide smile that lights up her whole face, “Yeah. I do.”
Tim’s smile takes over his entire face as they stand there, staring into each others eyes, both ready to jump off this cliff, together.
Tim breaks the silence, “Before you go I actually have something for you. Hold on one second.”
She watches him, a confused expression on her face as he moves to his truck. He pulls open the back door, the door blocking him from her view so she can’t see what he is doing. When he pulls back and shuts the door she notices he has one arm hidden behind his back.
He pulls out a small box, wrapped up neatly with a bow on top of it, “For you. Congratulations Sergeant Chen.”
She takes the box from his hands, “If this is a powder bomb then you can forget that date I just agreed to Bradford.”
He laughs loudly, “I promise it will not blow up. Just open it.”
She takes the lid off the box and inside, nestled in some tissue paper, she sees a small gold trophy. Tim takes the lid from her hand so she can pick the trophy up and her eyes fill with tears when she reads the words on it, 1st place.
She stares at the words for a moment before she finds her voice, “You really had that much faith in me?”
He scoffs, “Of course I did. I trained you. I know how determined you get once you set your mind to something and I had no doubt that you were going to score at the top of the list. And I was right.”
She tears her eyes away from the trophy to look at Tim. He is staring at her, his eyes filled with pride, joy, softness and love. In that moment Lucy knows, without a shadow of a doubt that she is making the right decision by trusting him with her heart again. This man who has always believed in her, even when she didn’t believe in herself. This man who has been knocked down time and time again but despite it all he is still here, still standing, still believing there is good in this world. He has worked hard to heal himself, to grow, to face his demons, and now they get to start over, they get to grow together and build the life they both have been dreaming of.
In that moment she decides she doesn’t want to wait a second longer to start forever with him. She steps closer to him, mere inches separating them now, she can hear his breath hitch as she rises up on her tip toes and presses her lips to his.
The moment their lips connect everything else fades away, in that moment its like everything rights itself. They are exactly where they are supposed to be, the path might not have been easy but it led them here, together, ready to face whatever the future brings.
Tim pulls back and rests his forehead against hers, “Couldn’t wait till our date?”
She laughs, “No. Figured it was going to be our last first date anyway so it was ok if I kissed you before it.”
“Our last first date.
Tim dips down to meet her lips again and as they connect they both feel the love, the passion, and the hope.
The hope of a new beginning, and this time there is no going back.
No running.
No giving up.
Just the two of them.
Facing the world.
Together.