Chapter Text
The only thing bigger than the ring on Lucy’s finger when she comes back to work after a couple of days off is the smile on her face. Jackson points it out first, but Tim thinks it feels a little bit like cheating, because there’s no way she hadn’t told him the minute it had happened. Still, it sends everyone flocking across the bullpen to look at the sparkling diamond and offer their congratulations.
Tim follows the group, absently squeezing Lucy’s shoulder and offering to meet her and Jackson for lunch. It’s been close to a year and a half since she’s been partnered with him every day, but they’ve stayed close. If anything, they’re closer now than they were before, since their time together isn’t department-mandated anymore. Now they’re grabbing lunch on shift, or a drink or three after, or a Saturday morning run with Kojo, just because they enjoy each other’s company.
Other than maybe Angela, it’s the best friendship he’s got right now.
Which is why he hasn’t let himself do anything stupid to ruin it. Something like, say, interrupting one of Lucy’s stories about whatever grand romantic gesture Emmett pulled off this week, and telling her that he's been gone over her since she was still his rookie. There are so many reasons it wouldn’t have worked then, starting with the whole rookie-thing, ending with how recent things still felt with Isabel, and everything in between. He’d dated her best friend, saved her life (and worried about a rescue romance if he’d started anything right after).
Then she’d started seeing Emmett. Emmett the firefighter, who respected her boundaries and brought her bagels and flowers on her mornings off, and one time, surprised her on a scene by pulling a lollipop out of his uniform pocket and slipping it into her palm when he didn’t think anyone was looking.
Except Tim had been looking. Because Tim is always looking at Lucy. Because he’s been wrapped up in her orbit longer than he cares to think about.
It would never work out between them, not then and not now, but it’s never stopped him from wondering what it would be like if it did.
And now she’s showing up at work, a shiny new diamond on her finger, and Tim has to smile at her like any good friend would, pretend like it’s not killing him inside.
He thought he’d found mercy when Grey started roll call, but Metro needs an extra body today, and Jackson raises his hand before Grey can even ask for volunteers. The sergeant scratches something down on his clipboard, then nods.
“Alright, West, you’ll report to Captain Markowitz today. Chen, how about you and Bradford partner up again, see if you still know everything he taught you?”
“Yes, sir,” Lucy nods, peering over her shoulder at Tim as Grey releases them all to the streets. She smiles at him, and the knot that’s been building in his stomach twists a little tighter.
Today, of all days, Grey wants them to get the band back together?
“Nice rock, Boot,” he says, falling into step with Lucy as they head for the garage. The words come out harsher than he intends, but from the way she’s still staring at her finger, Tim doesn’t think she notices.
“Thanks,” she smiles at him as she fastens her seatbelt. “I had no idea he was even thinking about marriage, you know? But he took me out for dinner last night, and for a little walk around our favorite park – you know, the one with the wrought iron bridge? And that’s where he asked. He … he said I make him more happy than anyone else he’s ever known, and the only way he could be happier would be if he could call me his wife.” Her ring catches the sunlight through the windshield and casts tiny rainbows across the dashboard. Lucy stares at the reflections as she smiles wistfully through teary eyes.
Dammit, Tim fights back an eye roll as he starts the car. That’s a perfect proposal speech.
"He’s a lucky guy,” Tim says, and means it maybe more than he’s meant anything else since Lucy asked him about Emmett for the first time. “And you are going to make one hell of a bride.”
Dispatch attaches them to a call almost the second Tim radios them into service, so at least he has that to focus on for a little bit. It’s nothing too extreme, but he listens carefully to the burglary victim, takes detailed notes as he asks about the make and model of the stolen TVs and video game consoles. Lucy talks to his wife, finds out about some designer handbags that have disappeared, and her grandmother’s engagement ring.
He catches the way Lucy’s gaze flickers down to her own ring, shiny and new, but already just as precious to her as something that’s been handed through generations. And why shouldn’t it be? It’s a special piece of jewelry, from the man she loves.
Tim remembers picking a ring for Isabel, close to 15 years ago now, the shiny gold band with a tiny stone laid in flat, small and smooth enough that she could wear it at work without risking any sort of damage or injury. He’d never been one for wearing much jewelry of his own, but the matching ring had felt like an extension of himself for so long that he’d had to get used to not seeing it every time he looked down.
Sure, the rings hadn’t been much, but he was barely out of academy, scraped together everything he could to promise a future for the two of them. It hadn’t been enough, though. Not in the face of everything the world threw at them, everything it threw at Isabel and she threw right back at Tim. He’s not sure he’d want to be married again, after how the first one had ended, left him wounded and jaded against the idea of “forever.” But he’s pretty sure he’d try, for Lucy.
If only Emmett hadn’t beaten him to the punch.
It’s probably for the best, though, Tim thinks as they climb back into the shop. Lucy deserves everything she wants in the world. And if that means marrying Emmett, then Tim will stand by and be happy that she’s getting the future she deserves.
Except that turns out to be easier said than done, because Lucy spends most of the rest of the shift gushing to him – there's no better word for it, but he’s had plenty of time to think of one – about all the ideas she’s had already. She knows what venue she wants; half of the words she’s saying go over Tim’s head, but he catches something about al fresco ceremonies with drapes and ivy, an intimate gathering and twinkle lights.
It’s not like the venue matters anyway; Lucy will be the most radiant thing there. She could get married on the surface of the sun and still be the brightest view in the room.
Tim buys lunch, just like he’d promised, and keeps listening while Lucy walks through every dream wedding she’s ever planned, dating back to middle school, if he followed her timeline correctly. A couple of times, he chimes in with stories from his own wedding, the months he and Isabel had spent planning the perfect day to commit to themselves and each other. It had been perfect, he remembers even now: the sun shined on the boardwalk, she’d worn a flowy white sundress and he’d remembered to have his suit dry-cleaned after his most recent court appearance. They’d gathered with a justice of the peace and their friends and family, kept the vows simple and to-the-point, and he’d bent his bride over his arm to kiss her in front of everyone.
He remembers it fondly, like he remembers most of the rest of the marriage. He still loves Isabel; a part of him will always love her, even though he knows that it’s for the best that they went their separate paths in life.
Just like he knows part of him will always love Lucy, even if she’s another man’s wife.
The rest of the shift passes smoothly, once Tim is able to ignore the despair bubbling up in his gut like the world’s worst case of indigestion. He invites Lucy to grab a beer after work, like they’ve started doing every so often, but is secretly grateful when she turns him down so she can go out for dinner with Emmett. As much as he loves spending time with Lucy, tonight, he wants to drink his beer at home, alone with the dog Lucy had dropped into his life.
(Kojo only stands as tangible proof of the indelible marks she’s left on his world. She’s almost everywhere he looks, in some form or the other, but it’s most obvious when he sees the dog curled at the foot of his bed and rolls his eyes as he halfheartedly tells him to get down and lay on his own pillow. He’d never even considered getting a dog until Lucy asked if he knew anyone who’d be open to rehoming Kojo. It had been the easiest thing in the world for him to agree to, just for the way her face lit up when he said she could come visit anytime.)
So he does just that, puts his feet up on the coffee table and rests a bottle on one thigh. Kojo drops his head on the other, seeming to sense something off about Tim’s mood, and he scratches his ears idly.
“I know, buddy,” he says, even though he knows Kojo a) doesn’t know what’s going on, and b) wouldn’t understand what ‘engaged’ means if he did. “But she’ll still come see you, I promise.”
He hopes it’s true; after all, Lucy has been dating Emmett this long and still hung out with Tim and Kojo plenty. There’s a spot for her in Tim’s life, however she wants to fill it, as long as she wants to be there.
No matter how much it hurts him.