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“Did you hear that officer Davids from the night shift broke a suspect's nose, but it turned out he'd gotten the wrong guy? People are saying his recent behavior is because he's going through a messy divorce.”
Jackson nodded as he filled out the paperwork for their shop gear.
“Yeah. Sergeant Grey immediately put him on suspension and they’re going to investigate him.”
Lucy nodded, and grabbing one bag while Jackson grabbed the other, she said, “I’m really glad no one we work with daily is like that,” and as they started walking towards their shop, she added, “like no one would use unnecessary force on civilians just because shit is happening to them.”
Jackson smiled, ready to agree, before frowning slightly in thought and saying, “well… Tim would.”
“What?”
Lucy froze, snapping her eyes to the back of Jackson's head, having absolutely no idea why he'd think that.
“No way would Tim ever do that.”
Jackson stopped, turning around to face her, and slightly surprised by how outraged she felt on Tim's behalf, she added, “sure he's tough and a hardass, but he'd never abuse his power like that.”
Jackson seemed slightly taken aback by her intensity, but said, “usually I'd agree with you, but the thing is, I've actually seen him do it.”
Lucy froze.
“What?”
“Only once though -” he quickly added, “- when you were taken.”
Oh.
That made a bit more sense.
Lucy shook her head.
Actually it didn't.
Sure she could see Tim being impatient and worried about finding her, but breaking the rules and taking out his frustrations on civilians? Surely not.
The disbelief must’ve been clear on her face because Jackson studied her for a moment, and putting the heavy bag onto the ground to give her his full attention, asked, “if you had to pull over someone who you thought had information on a case, how would you do it?”
Lucy wished he would get straight to the point, but knowing his long winded stories and that quickest way to get through them was to go along with them, she huffed, and putting her own bag down, listed off the procedure on her hand.
“Sirens on, get them to pull over, confirm it’s the suspect, check for weapons, introduce myself and what information I want, if they answer, great, but if not, ask them to get out of the vehicle, and then if they still don’t answer after being asked a few times, arrest them for obstruction of justice.”
Jackson huffed out laughter, confusing her, and seeing her reaction he said, “yeah, you’re completely right, but here’s the thing, Tim did not do that.”
Lucy could only stare, having an idea of the direction this might be going but certain she was wrong, and he added, “keep in mind, this wasn't even Caleb, just a cog in the wheel who could help us find him.”
Lucy nodded, her eyes never leaving Jackson's face, the urgency of needing to know exactly what had happened growing in her.
“We pulled the guy over, but the moment we made visual confirmation it was the man we wanted, Tim grabbed the dude by his hair and slammed his head onto the steering wheel.”
What?!
Lucy was sure her mouth was hanging open, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do anything about it.
Surely Tim would never do that.
Seeing her reaction, Jackson nodded at her disbelief.
“Trust me, seeing him actually do it, I was even more surprised than you are right now.”
Yeah, Lucy had no doubt that was true. She prided herself on her great imagination, but her mind was truly drawing a blank trying to imagine Tim doing what Jackson was describing.
“Honestly, there’s a fair chance he broke the dudes nose just like Davids did, anyway -” Jackson shook his head, “- the entire time Tim was talking to him, he held the man's head down, threatening the dude, and given the intensity in Tim’s eyes, I can tell he would’ve happily gone through on his promises.”
Her mind whirling, Lucy slowly asked, “Tim threatened him?”
Jackson nodded, more animated now.
“Oh yeah, it was a full on threat. I don't remember exactly what Tim said, but it was basically him saying that he's responsible for life in danger and that -” Jackson held up a hand, “- wait! I remember the actual words! After the responsible bit, he said, and I quote, I will do whatever I have to to save her, end quote.”
Lucy swore her heart stopped beating for a moment, and still not quite believing the lengths her T.O. would've gone to find her, she weakly asked, “he said that?”
Jackson enthusiastically nodded.
“Word for word, and that's not all -” there was more? “- when the dude finally worked up the courage to speak to ask why he should give up the name, Tim, still forcing the guy's head down by the way, said something like because if you don't I'll pull you inside out, and to be fair that's pretty vague, but given the murder in his eyes and barely controlled rage in his voice -” Jackson let out a quick chuckle,“- definitely a violent threat that he was willing to follow through on, and given how quickly the dude told us what we wanted to know, he clearly saw it too.”
Lucy silently stared at Jackson, her mind genuinely unable to comprehend the Tim he was describing.
Fully into his story at this point, Jackson disbelievingly shook his head as he continued.
“Man, Tim was intense that day, even after we found you and got you to the hospital. Side note though,” he said, interrupting himself, “I swear to god he had tears in his eyes when we saw the video feed of you buried in that barrel.”
Lucy stopped breathing. Tim had been crying because he was worried about her?
No way. Jackson must’ve been mistaken.
Waving his hand, he continued, saying, “but anyway, when we got you to the hospital, he almost got into it with the doctor who tried to get him to leave, and Lopez had to calm him down a bit -” Jackson shrugged with a half smile, “- Tim got what he wanted though, he stayed by your side the entire night, Lopez had to bring him a change of clothes.”
Lucy’s eyes were frozen on Jackson. This was just so much to take in, so much to process and unpack, that her brain couldn’t even manage a reaction.
Jackson huffed out laughter.
“Like I said, Tim was intense that day.”
Yeah, that was certainly one word for it, and Lucy couldn’t help but think of the prank she’d pulled on Tim on her last day as a rookie.
Basic psychology would ask why, out of the endless topics she could’ve chosen, she chose to fake having feelings to prove her point.
Sure he was a good looking guy, anyone with eyes would be lying if they said otherwise, and she loved that he opened up to her and showed her his softer side when he hardly ever did that to anyone else, but did she actually have romantic feelings for him?
Lucy refused to answer that question, even just for herself.
Besides, she couldn’t let herself go down that path. Sure he wasn’t her T.O. anymore, but he was still a superior officer and it just wouldn’t work out.
But in thinking about that moment, Tim’s reaction came to mind.
She’d thought that the reason her unflappable T.O. had been so visibly alarmed and shaken had been because of surprise and awkwardness, but now, with the new information she’d just learnt, had it actually been because she’d been right about his feelings for her?
No way.
Surely not.
Right?
Lucy shook her head, trying to clear her mind. It was just too much to think about and unpack right now, so instead she focused on something that would cause her less emotional stress, though admittedly, only slightly.
“I can’t believe he assaulted a civilian… -” she shook her head, still not believing it, “- my Tim?”
Jackson raised an eyebrow.
“Your Tim, huh?”
“Mine, as in my TO,” she hastily corrected, and ignoring the look on Jackson’s face, she continued before he could say anything else. “I just, for the life of me, can not imagine my hardass, stickler for the rules T.O. completely going against protocol like that.”
Lucy had told Tim that she knew he’d do whatever it took to find her, and while she knew it was true, she’d never have even imagined Tim going to the lengths, and actions, that he did.
Jackson shrugged.
“In his defense, I never saw him act like that before, and he's definitely never done anything like it since and I don't think he ever will in the future -” Jackson paused, thinking about it, “- unless you're in danger again, then I feel like he would. But yeah, I don't know what to tell you, it definitely happened,” and looking at her with a slightly surprised look, added, “I can't believe I haven't told you all this before.”
Lucy shook her head, still in a daze. She definitely would've remembered if he had.
“Boots!”
After being called that for so long, she and Jackson automatically snapped their attention to Tim as he walked over to them, an unimpressed frown on his face.
“What are you two doing, standing around gossiping? You should be out patrolling the streets by now!”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jackson hastily nod while grabbing the bag again, but Lucy was more focused on Tim.
This was the side of him that she was used to. The Tim who told them off for running a few minutes behind schedule, who constantly kept her on her toes while barking out orders, and, above all, the Tim who was a stickler for all the rules of being a police officer.
That wasn't to say he didn't have a soft side though.
He didn’t like people knowing, but Tim definitely had a warm and caring centre, and she knew that for a fact because she’d been on the receiving end of it many times the longer they’d known each other.
But there was a huge difference between him being nice to her and him breaking the rules for her, the one’s he always so strictly followed, especially when they hadn’t been as close as they were now.
Had he really gone against his strict moral code, broken countless police laws, and risked disciplinary action… for her?
The annoyed look on his face started to fade at her lack of witty reply, and brows furrowing slightly as he looked at her, Jackson, and back to her, he asked, “everything okay here?”
Needing to confirm Jackson’s story, Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but her brain didn’t form any words.
What would she even say?
She snapped her mouth shut and shook her head to brush him off, but the growing concern in his eyes unmistakable, Tim took a half step closer to her, and looking down at her, gently asked, “Lucy?”
Why did this feel like it was too much?
Taking a step back, she shook her head and said, “I’m okay, it’s nothing.”
He was definitely not convinced, she could tell by the way his brows were slightly furrowed and his eyes soft in concern, but not ready to confront him about it or for the feelings bubbling up in her, she picked up the bag and repeated his earlier words back to him.
“We should go, we should be patrolling the streets by now.”
Ignoring his look of confusion, and was that slight hurt on his face?, she turned around and walked towards their shop, Jackson following.
They loaded up their gear, and as she pulled the vehicle out of the garage onto the street, Jackson cleared his throat.
“Well that was kinda awkward.”
Lucy sighed as she took a right turn, knowing that sooner or later she’d have to talk to Tim about it because if she didn’t bring it up, he definitely would.
“Yeah… tell me about it.”
After handling two domestic situations, helping some detectives secure a suspect, and dealing with a man who had decided that the best way to spend his Thursday morning was to scooter around his neighbourhood wearing only speedos, Lucy and Jackson were finally able to have some lunch.
Taking a bite of his sushi, Jackson said, “I know I cleaned my hands and sanitised and everything, but when we get home, I’m definitely going to shower. Trying to get that huge, drunk, naked guy into the car -” he shuddered, “- I swear I can still smell him on me.”
Lucy laughed as she ate a piece of salmon from her poke bowl. Obviously neither of them had wanted to touch the man to get him into the car, and after a quick best out of three at paper scissors rock, the task had thankfully been Jackson’s to deal with.
He frowned from opposite her, not appreciating her amusement at his situation, but before he could complain, he looked behind her and suddenly got up with his sushi in hand.
“I think I’m gonna, uh… I’m gonna ask for more wasabi,” he said, before practically scurrying away.
What?
Jackson did not do wasabi, and as she turned around, she saw Tim walking towards her, lunch in hand, and he stared at Jackson as he walked past him.
Lucy rolled her eyes as she understood.
Traitor.
Reaching her, Tim put his plate of tacos on the table, and fixing her with a look as he sat in Jackson’s abandoned seat, said, “out with it, Chen. What was up this morning, and why did West practically flee when he saw me coming here?”
Lucy sighed. She’d definitely have to talk to Jackson about the rules of friendship, especially the ones about not ditching your friend in uncomfortable situations.
Knowing Tim’s tones and expressions well, Lucy knew he wasn’t about to drop this anytime soon, so sighing again, she said, “this morning Jackson and I were talking about Officer Davids and I said how glad I was that none of the people we work with are like that or would ever do something like that.”
“Okay…”
She could tell he was confused, not understanding how that conversation explained her and Jackson’s reactions, and moving around her fork in the bowl, she continued.
“Yeah, well I said that, and then Jackson said -” she looked up at Tim who was giving her his full attention, “- he said that you would do that.”
Tim froze, looking at her with his mouth slightly open, the surprise and offence clear on his expression.
Lucy chuckled slightly at the almost comedic look on his face.
“Yeah, I know, I had the same reaction and I quickly defended you, saying that you’d never do anything like that.”
Tim shot her a grateful look and she quickly smiled at him which went away as she continued.
“But then, Jackson said -” Lucy took a bite to buy time, weirdly nervous, “- he said that he’d seen you do it.”
Genuine confusion filled Tim's face, and he opened his mouth to protest, but looking down at her lunch, Lucy quietly added, “he’d seen you do it when I was taken.”
There was silence at her words, and looking up, she saw that Tim was still staring at her, but understanding had dawned on his face, getting why Jackson had said that about him and explaining their reactions.
At his continued silence, she quietly added, “he told me -” she paused, trying to find the right words for everything Jackson had said, “- he told me how you had… acted.”
After a pause, Lucy weirdly feeling very nervous, Tim shook his head, laughing lightly, but she could tell it wasn’t his genuine one.
“I guess you guys were actually gossiping in the morning, huh?”
Lucy mustered up a smile and nodded as she ate another bite.
Clearly Tim didn’t want to talk about it, which she got. His actions that day had been completely out of character for him, and besides, he didn’t like talking about himself. But Lucy couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed, after all, this was partly about her and she just had this weird need to know his side of the story, but she also knew, pushing him to talk was going to do the opposite.
She could feel his eyes studying her, but Lucy refused to look up because she knew she couldn’t hide what she was feeling right now, not from him at least, but at the same time, she didn’t want to make him feel like he needed to talk.
A gentle sigh distracted her from her thoughts, and swallowing the bite she’d mindlessly been chewing, she looked up to see Tim still looking at her, but his face was softer, and his eyes and the corners of his mouth held a tinge of sadness.
Letting out a breath, he said, “the day you were taken… it was pretty scary,” and giving her an apologetic smile, he quickly added, “though obviously nothing compared to the day you were having.”
Lucy shot him a rueful smile.
“Definitely not in my top ten days.”
Tim huffed out laughter.
“Yeah, I bet,” she smiled at him, which he returned, but face turning more somber, he continued, saying, “I was, for a lack of a better word, I was quite worried, and it really didn’t help that it was all my fault.”
Really? He still thought it was his fault?
Lucy opened her mouth to argue, but Tim rolled his eyes and interrupted, saying, “yeah, I know what you’re going to say, Chen, not my fault. But no matter how much you try to convince me of that, or hell, how much I try to convince myself -” he shook his head, “- I just can’t make myself believe it.”
Lucy’s chest tightened imagining how much guilt Tim had been carrying around with him. She wished there was a way she could get him to understand the truth, that in no way, shape, or form, was he responsible.
Continuing, he added, “sure I am, or more accurately was, your T.O., but my job wasn’t just to teach you, it’s to make sure you’re doing okay and to protect you -” maybe she was just overthinking his reaction to the prank, she was just his rookie, nothing else, “- and it sure as hell wasn’t to force you into the arms of a serial killer.”
Lucy shot him an exasperated look.
“Tim!”
“Yeah I know, I know,” he said, waving off her exclamation, “but I wasn’t kidding when I said I can’t convince myself.”
Lucy shook her head at him, but at the same time a warmth grew in her chest. What had happened was definitely not Tim’s fault, not a single part of her thought that, but at the same time, she felt a sense of safety and security knowing that she always had a caring protector on her side, constantly watching her back, never overbearing, but always ready to help her if she needed it.
“But I don’t feel responsible just because you’re my rookie.”
Lucy’s mind came to a screeching halt.
What was he about to say?
“You…” he looked around, trying to fight the right words, and Lucy stayed silent, watching him with her heart in her throat, and finally locking eyes with her again, he softly said, “you’ve grown on me.”
Oh no.
Panic filled her, had she been wrong? Did he actually like her?
More panic filled her. Why did she not hate the idea that he might like her?
“I never thought that I'd say this considering I wasn’t too fond of you when we first met -” Lucy’s heart started pounding away even harder, “- but I… I consider you my friend, a good friend.”
The tension left Lucy’s body, and she somehow felt both relieved and a bit disappointed at what Tim said.
She quickly pushed the disappointed part away. She couldn’t let her mind go there, especially if he wasn’t, and besides, she was more than happy being his friend.
Most people would probably see his confession as underwhelming, but she knew Tim well at this point and he didn’t show or voice his affections very much, so him straight up telling her he considered her a friend meant a lot.
Besides, after all the times she’d insisted they were friends but he’d never said anything, it was good to hear him say it.
Tim studied her face, and relaxing slightly at whatever he saw there, he added,
“Which honestly still surprises me, considering you’re one of the most irritating people I know.”
Lucy burst into laughter, needing an output for the roller coaster of emotions she’d felt in the past few seconds, but also, given the softness on Tim’s face, she knew he meant it as a good thing even though his tone said otherwise.
Smiling back at her, Tim continued.
“Anyway, because of all those reasons -” he shrugged, “- I couldn’t lose you, and because of that, I’ll admit, desperation may have slightly taken over.”
Lucy knew her mind should’ve processed it by now, but Tim letting his emotions completely take over because he was worried about her?
Nope. That would definitely take a lot more time to process.
While she was in her own head, it seemed like Tim was in his, recalling his actions that day, because after making a face, he said, “I’m not proud of what I did, but I know that if, and I pray to god it never happens, but if you were ever in a situation remotely similar to that one again -” his features tightened, “- I know I’d probably do the same.”
Lucy’s breath caught in her throat.
Officer Tim Bradford, a stickler for the rules, had not only broken multiple in order to save her, but was saying that he’d do it again in a heartbeat if anything were to happen to her.
He certainly was one hell of a friend.
Eyes studying her face for a moment, he said, “I know, after everything I said, it makes it seem like I don't think you can handle yourself, but trust me, -” he grinned at her, “- I have absolutely no doubt that you can,” she grinned back, but after he smiled back, his face sobered slightly and staring intently at her, he added, “after all, you did save yourself with Caleb.”
Lucy felt the full power of the genuine sincerity and respect shining through, and her heart both sped up and froze at the intensity in them.
She knew he said he saw her as a friend, but why was this look making it seem like it was more than just that?
Lightly laughing off the emotion she refused to name, Lucy said, “you keep saying that, but I really didn’t. You saved me. You and the team.”
He huffed out laughter, shaking his head, and seeing that he was trying to find the right words, Lucy stayed quiet.
After a pause, he intently fixed his gaze onto her.
“I was beyond worried by the time we reached where Caleb had taken you, but then seeing that he died so he couldn’t give us your location, seeing the video feed of you beaten up and in that barrel, and then seeing the miles and miles of desert and having no idea where you were buried in all that?”
Tim let out a shaky breath, and Lucy had to physically restrain herself from reaching across the table to put her hand on his in efforts to comfort him. She’d thought that Jackson had been wrong when he’d mentioned it earlier, but seeing the raw emotion on Tim’s face as he recalled those memories now, Lucy suddenly believed that he could’ve been close to crying.
Tim paused for a moment, using the time to stretch out his legs, and given how small the table was, one of them ended up touching hers. Letting his leg rest against hers, he continued.
“I was going to keep searching for you, no matter what it took, but my mind had already started warning me to be prepared for the worst, and given the endless stretch of land you could’ve been buried in -” Tim let out a breath as he shook his head, “- I was losing hope fast, and I couldn’t stop myself from thinking that, when I found you, it would be your body.”
Lucy sucked in a breath.
Sure she’d survived and had managed to grow past that traumatic experience, but thinking that hit hard, especially given the raw pain on Tim’s face as he said it.
Not missing her reaction, he apologetically smiled before continuing.
“Your ring, in the endless sprawl of desert, gave us your location, meaning it was the thing that saved your life, but not only did it do that, it also… -” Tim swallowed, “- like I said, I would’ve kept searching regardless, but I had lost all hope, thinking that the worst was going to happen, but when I saw the ring you’d managed to take off -” he eyed it on her hand before looking back up at her, “- something you’d managed to do under extreme duress, for a lack of a better word, hope filled me and motivated me to search even more intensely in that spot because I just knew that you’d still be alive, still fighting to survive.”
He looked at her with a soft smile.
“So trust me Lucy, you definitely saved yourself.”
Lucy couldn’t tear away her gaze from Tim’s.
Not that she wanted to.
Tim practically never did heartfelt speeches, but boy when he did…
Lucy let out the breath she didn’t even know that she’d been holding.
It felt like she was feeling everything at once. The feeling of being watched over and cared for, the feeling of knowing you were always safe and protected, the feeling of truly being known, and there was also a feeling for Tim she wasn’t quite ready to name yet.
Warmth spread through her chest, and she opened her mouth, needing to let him know just how much this all meant to her, but before she could, Tim huffed out a self-deprecating laugh.
“You're probably annoyed with me and I don’t blame you.”
What?
Why would she be annoyed with him?
But before she could say anything, he continued.
“Here I am going on about how horrible that day was but it was you who actually had to live through it all.”
Of course he was beating himself up for having a human response.
This time, she couldn't stop herself, and reaching out, covered his hand with her own.
He looked down at her hand then up to her, slight surprise fluttering across his face, but ignoring it and any unspoken line she may have just crossed, she said, “you annoy me a lot of the time -” Tim huffed out laughter, “- but definitely not right now,” and fixing him with an earnest look, she added, “seriously Tim, it… it makes me feel safe knowing that you always have my back. It means a lot.”
Tim smiled at her. It was small, but it was soft and genuine, and sensing that they both needed a bit of levity right now, Lucy smirked as she pulled her hand back. “Besides, how else would I have found out that you consider me your friend?” she asked, putting her hand over her heart, making it seem like she was completely moved and close to tears at the title.
Tim rolled his eyes, mumbling, “and now I’m wishing I could take it back,” and grinning, Lucy asked, “so it’s official, I’m your best friend right?”
He made a face at her.
“I said good friend, not best. You think too highly of yourself, Chen,” he said, but she could see that he was trying not to smile.
She grinned.
Relaxing in her chair, but making sure not to move the leg that Tim’s leg was resting against, she asked, “so now that we’re officially friends, we have to do more friend activities like…” Tim raised an eyebrow, and the perfect idea coming to mind, Lucy grinned and said, “like we have to go and do karaoke together.”
Tim’s look of horror and his muttered, “what have I gotten myself into,” caused her to burst into laughter, and she was about to tease him about it when a voice came over her radio.
“7-Adam-14”
She saw Tim breathe an exaggerated sigh of relief, so as she pulled the radio out of her belt, she grinned and said, “you aren’t getting out of this that easily.”
He shook his head, but after grinning at the smile on his face, she turned her attention to the dispatch call, calling them to a robbery.
Tim finally pulled his legs away as she stood up, and she saw Jackson doing the same from where he was sitting with Nolan and Harper out of the corner of her eye. Tilting his head back to look at her, his expression relaxed and content, Tim said, “stay safe out there.”
Lucy nodded, smiling as she walked past him on the way to her shop, and forcing herself not to think too much about it, put a hand on his shoulder.
“You too. But don’t worry, I’m not gonna let anything happen to me -” she lifted her hand and started walking away, “- I have a karaoke night to plan.”
Lucy couldn’t help her smile as Tim’s laughter followed her.