Chapter Text
Lucy walked towards Sergeant Grey's office, slightly terrified.
During roll call, he'd partnered Jackson up with Officer Parley and had instead asked her to come to his office afterwards. She, Jackson and Nolan had exchanged looks of confusion and concern, having no idea what was up, and as the other two went out for the day, she walked towards the office.
Opening the door, she saw Tim, even though it was his day off, and Detective Lopez, and relaxing slightly as she saw him, she asked, “Tim?”
Arms crossed, he nodded reassuringly at her, and Lucy relaxed slightly, but Sergeant Grey walked in before he could say anything.
“Detective Lopez here -” he said while walking to his desk “- has found someone who is finally willing to testify against Elias Bouras, well known Greek mob boss responsible for countless hits on his enemies, and some on his friends. The problem is that Mr Bouras went into hiding two and a half years ago.”
Lucy nodded, having absolutely no idea where this was going, and turned to the heavily pregnant Detective Lopez as she continued.
“We have a pretty comprehensive list of his aliases which are based all over the world but there are so many that it’d be a waste of our time to track down every one.”
“Okay…”
Lucy looked at Tim who was standing behind Lopez, but when his face gave away nothing, she looked back at the sitting detective who chuckled slightly at her confusion.
“Elias’ wife, Aurelia, owns a cafe here in LA and though she’s not involved at all, we suspect she might know where her husband is, but she refuses to cooperate with police, never violent, but always rude, which, unfortunately, we can't arrest her for.”
Lucy scoffed, if they arrested everyone who was rude, the cells would be overflowing in less than 10 minutes, but she turned her attention back to Sergeant Grey as he spoke.
“I have been informed that you’d like to be UC when you’re qualified to test?”
Lucy stood still, making sure none of her nervousness was showing and forcing herself not to look at Tim.
“Yes sir.”
Nodding at her, he said, “I know that you have gone undercover to help Detective Harper before, but this will not be as intense, just a simple mission to find information.”
Lucy nodded, and he continued.
“Obviously this is not a test to see if you are qualified for UC work, but when you test later, we always take into account the opinion of the junior officer’s former T.O. and so Officer Bradford will be in the surveillance van with Detective Lopez to see how you manage it.”
Not being able to hold in her smirk, Lucy said, “Officer Bradford knows first hand how amazing I am at undercover work,” and looking at Tim, she saw that he was shaking his head but holding in a smile of his own.
Letting out a light chuckle as she turned back to Sergeant Grey, she instantly collected herself as she met his raised eyebrow and mumbled, “sorry sir.”
He studied her for a moment, and looking at Tim and then back to her, said, “well regardless of Officer Bradford’s first hand knowledge -” Lucy fought the urge to blush, why did that sound slightly dirty? “- we realised that, while Aurelia Bouras was rude and unhelpful to every officer she spoke to, man or woman, she was slightly less rude to Detective Lopez here and it was concluded that it was because she's pregnant.”
Lucy slowly nodded, having an idea where this was going.
“Because Aurelia has had eight children of her own -” wow that was a lot “- that makes sense, and to give you a fighting chance to get the information we need, you’ll be going undercover as a pregnant woman.”
“Congratulations Officer Chen -” Lucy turned to Lopez who had a grin on her face “- you got pregnant without doing the fun part of creating a baby.”
Lucy smothered a laugh, and ignoring Tim’s eye roll, turned back to Sergeant Grey as he cleared his throat.
“Thank you for that Detective Lopez,” he said unimpressed, and turning back to her, he returned back to the point, saying, “we can give you a few days to build up a relationship with her in order to get the information, but we’d prefer to get it sooner rather than later.”
Lucy nodded, and looking her in the eye, Grey asked, “do you think you're up for it, Officer Chen?”
Holding in the urge to smile, Lucy nodded.
“Yes sir I am.”
And so, around an hour later, Lucy found herself walking towards Aurelia's cafe, hair out to hide the comm in her ear, a recording mic expertly hidden into the neckline of her maxi dress, and, to top it all off, a fake pregnancy belly protruding out from her front.
It was smaller than Detective Lopez's real one, but still quite obvious, and when she'd first come out with it on, Tim had laughed and said, “looking good Chen.”
The surveillance van was parked a few streets away, so Lucy had to walk the rest of the way on foot, and crossing the street, she once again had to stop herself from fiddling around with the fake pregnancy device. It was really quite strange having a suddenly huge belly that she had to pretend was normal.
Shaking it off, she reached the cafe, and quietly said, “about to enter.”
“Copy,” came through the comm in her ear, but due static that suddenly came on, she couldn't tell who had said it.
Entering the cute, light and airy cafe, she walked up to the counter where Aurelia was standing. She was a short old woman who, in Lucy’s opinion, shouldn't have been standing behind the counter on account of the mean, sour look on her face.
Putting a smile on her own face however, Lucy brightly said, “good afternoon!” and when she got a muttered hello in response, she asked, “can I sit wherever?”
Grabbing a menu, Aurelia said, “follow me,” and started walking away, not checking to see if Lucy was following.
Rolling her eyes as she followed, Lucy saw that only two tables were occupied, one with a man and woman and another with a group of four teens, and at the latter table was a waitress who looked to be in her late thirties or early forties.
Aurelia stopped at a cute square table, putting the menu down, and Lucy was about to try and engage her in conversation again when a loud and sharp static seemed to explode in her head, and though she just managed to stop herself from cursing out loud, Lucy couldn't help her wince.
Aurelia looked at her sceptically. “You okay?”
Lucy managed an apologetic smile and said, “unfortunately I have a bit of a headache right now.”
Aurelia frowned, eyeing her stomach, then looking back up said, “sit. I will get water.”
Lucy nodded as she gently lowered herself down onto the chair, playing her role as a pregnant lady, and when Aurelia walked off, Lucy rubbed her forehead as she pulled out her phone, about to text Tim, when he got there first.
What happened?
Your comm and mic just went offline
She quickly typed back.
comms just fizzed out
The three dots moved around on her screen for a few seconds before his reply came though.
Can’t get them back on right now but we need to record any conversation
Another text immediately followed it.
Abort mission?
Lucy paused before answering, looking around the cafe first. Only two other tables were occupied, meaning Aurelia wouldn’t be too busy, and therefore Lucy would have more time to try and talk with her.
conditions pretty good rn
we should go on with it if can
Tim’s response came just as Aurelia came with a glass and a pitcher of water.
Ok. I’m coming
“Here,” Aurelia said, giving her the cup and putting the pitcher onto the table.
Lucy gratefully took it from her, and after a few sips sighed and said, “thank you, it’s helping already.”
Aurelia nodded, still not smiling, and took out a pen and pad of paper.
“Order?”
Refusing to let the other woman’s mood effect hers, Lucy smiled and said, “I’m actually waiting for someone else to join me,” and as Aurelia grunted and tucked the pad and pen away, Lucy looked around and added, “this is a beautiful cafe by the way, do you own it?”
Aurelia made a noise of confirmation, seeming slightly impatient to leave, but Lucy smiled and continued.
“It’s truly quite something. Do you run it by yourself, or is it a family business? I only ask because my friend -”
“I need to go to the kitchen,” Aurelia said, cutting her off, and she turned around and walked away.
Lucy stared after her.
Okaaay then, not the friendliest of people.
Looking around to make sure no one’s eyes were on her, Lucy quickly took out her comm and chucked it into her bag. They weren’t the most comfortable to wear, so if it wasn’t working, there was no point. Looking around again to make sure no one had seen, she drank her water and with the other hand, picked up the menu, pretending to read it while she came up with a plan to try and get through to Aurelia, but as the door to the cafe opened, she put it back down, smiling at Tim as he walked in, slightly surprised when he smiled back. Not that Tim was a cold person, he was far from it to those that knew him, but she was used to half grins and smirks, not full on smiles.
But his actions did make sense, they were now both undercover, so as he came by her table, she grinned up at him.
“Hey you.”
He rolled his eyes at her bubbliness, though his face was still soft, but before he could say anything to her, the waitress came over as he sat down next to her.
“Hi! What can I get you two?”
The woman seemed to have similar features to the Bouras family, though much friendlier than Aurelia, so thinking that they could maybe get something helpful out of her, in order to spark conversation Lucy said, “I'll have an iced brew and a -” she shook her head, “- oh, no, I should probably actually have tea or something,” she added, putting a hand on her stomach while scanning the menu.
The waitress warmly laughed.
“Yeah… that was one of the rules I had trouble following while I was pregnant.”
Lucy looked up at her with an inquiring smile.
“You have kids?”
With an exaggerated sigh, she replied, “yeah, I have four.”
Lucy didn't have to fake amazement. As an only child, she couldn't even imagine having three other siblings or her parents trying to deal with that many kids.
“Wow. Respect to you.”
Laughing, the woman nodded towards Lucy’s stomach and asked, “your first?”
Gliding her hand over her belly as she'd seen many pregnant women do, Lucy nodded and said, “yeah it is,” making sure to put excitement and slight apprehension on her face.
The woman smiled, saying, “being first time parents is slightly terrifying I'll admit -” Lucy chuckled and heard Tim doing the same next to her “- but I'm sure the two of you will get the hang of it in no time.”
Lucy smiled warmly in response, hiding the fact that her mind was suddenly thinking and planning.
The woman seemed to think that she and Tim were together, and considering that they hadn't had a chance to come up with a cover for him yet, that'd work just fine, but needing to make sure that he went along with it and didn't try and correct the other woman, Lucy took her hand off of her belly started tapping Tim's hand under the table.
He moved his hand out from under hers, only to put it on top, holding her hand against his thigh, and as he curled his hand over hers, he spoke to the woman as if nothing was happening.
“I'm sure we’ll get the hang of it, but I hope it's sooner rather than later,” and after a pause he added, “we try to listen to the advice everyone gives us, but it seems like everyone has their own version of what to do and how, and think that only their version is right.”
Lucy nodded along, acting as if she understood exactly what Tim was describing, when in reality she was confused.
Where had all that come from?
But she couldn't dwell on it for long because the woman scoffed.
“The one piece of advice I'm going to give to you is to not listen to anyone's advice. Trust me. It creates unnecessary stress that you just do not need.”
Lucy and Tim chuckled and she replied, “now that is advice that I'm more than happy to take.”
The woman laughed, and shaking her head as she pulled out her notepad and pen, said, “here I am chatting away when I still haven't taken your order. What would you two like?”
Tim lightly squeezed her hand, letting her know she should go first and Lucy thought for a second.
They needed to build a relationship with this woman in order to have any hope of getting information out of her, and the way to build a relationship of any kind was trust. Showing a person that you trusted them made them trust you more, and Lucy knew that she could use that here.
It would be a very small action, and the woman might not even realise it for what it was, but her subconscious would.
Trusting the woman to give her something nice, Lucy asked, “what tea would you suggest?”
She knew that she'd made the right call because the woman smiled before turning her head slightly to look at the menu, and after going over the options for a few seconds, said, “well our matcha and our chai are well liked, but not the best for pregnancy, so I'd suggest something like -” her eyes landed on one item “- our raspberry, ginger and lemon balm tea.”
Lucy hummed, that actually sounded pretty good, but at the same time Tim lightly chuckled.
Smiling at her then looking at the waitress, he said, “she's going to love that. Not only have you got one of her favourite flavour combinations, raspberry and lemon, but Lucy here constantly tells me about the health benefits of ginger.”
The woman laughed, saying, “well clearly I made the right choice,” but Lucy turned to Tim, the hidden confusion in her eyes softening as she met his knowing smile.
He was exactly right on all the points he'd made.
Knowing this was the perfect time to play the loving partner, she removed her hand out from under his, and wrapping it instead around his bicep while leaning against him for a second, said, “you know me so well.”
The smile stayed on his face as she pulled away, faint amusement twinkling in his eyes at the reference.
“Too well.”
The woman looked at them, a soft smile on her face, then turning to Tim, asked, “and for you?”
Looking over the menu, he said, “I'll just have a black coffee thanks.”
The woman nodded, and as she wrote it down, asked, “and anything to eat?”
She and Tim shared a quick look. This woman seemed to be more than happy to talk to them, and so to try to get information out of her or from Aurelia, they needed a reason to stay longer.
Tim put a soft hand on hers, lightly squeezing it again, and after scanning the menu, something came to mind.
Turning to him, she asked, “you've never had baklava, right?” and when he shook his head, quickly hiding the surprise in his eyes, she turned to the woman and said, “we'll have a plate of baklava please.”
She smiled, nodding while writing it down.
“Smart choice, especially if you've never had them before, and, if you don't mind me saying so, we make a pretty good baklava.”
Lucy smiled, and looking up from her notepad, the woman added, “I'm Ana by the way.”
Because Tim had used her actual name before, Lucy smiled and said, “I'm Lucy, and this here is my partner, Tim.”
Ana smiled warmly at the both of them before saying, “let me go put this order in. We're not busy right now so it shouldn't be too long.”
Lucy and Tim nodded, and as Ana walked away, they turned to face each other.
Lucy raised an eyebrow, making sure to keep her voice low.
“How do you know all that stuff about child raising advice?”
It suddenly hit her that he and Isobel might've considered having kids at some point and she might be bringing up memories he'd rather have hidden, but his eye roll relaxed her instantly.
“Angela's in my ear, you know.”
Aaaaah. That made sense, and thinking it could be helpful, asked, “does Detective Lopez have any tips for me?”
“Angela?” Tim asked into his mic, and after a pause he rolled his eyes, and looking back to her said, “nope, she thinks you're doing just fine.”
Lucy nodded, then asked, “so, because you’re here undercover with me, does that mean you’re going to take over the questioning?”
Tim shook his head.
“I know this is for Lopez’s case, but I’m still evaluating your undercover work so you’ll be taking the lead on this one.”
She smiled.
“Good to know,” and unable to help herself, she played with her empty glass as she quietly muttered under her breath, “after all, we all know that I’m the better UC from the two of us.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tim turn to her.
“You say something, Chen?”
She looked at him with innocent eyes.
“Did I?”
He shook his head at her but she could see the lightness in his eyes, and she was grinning as Ana came over to them with two cups on a tray.
“A raspberry, ginger, and lemon balm tea for the lady and a black coffee for the gentleman,” she said as she put the drinks down in front of them.
Lucy smiled up at her, and picking up the mug, took a sip of the light pink tea.
She hummed in approval as she looked up at Ana.
“This tea is amazing.”
Ana beamed back at her.
“Well I’m glad I chose it for you,” and tucking the tray under her arm, added, “let me go grab that baklava for you two.”
They nodded as she walked off, and taking another sip of her tea, asked Tim, “you wanna try some? It’s really quite amazing.”
Tim made a face.
“Raspberry, lemon, and ginger in a tea? No thank you -” Lucy rolled her eyes “- I’ll stick with my black coffee thanks.”
Lucy shrugged, and after taking a long sip, said, “well, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.”
Tim pointedly took a sip of his coffee and Lucy shook her head as Ana reappeared with a plate of baklava. As she placed it onto the table, Lucy’s mouth watered at the smell of honey and the golden flaky dough.
“This looks amazing.”
Ana chuckled, saying, “I’m glad you think so,” and looking at one of the other occupied tables then back at them, said, “I have to go refill their water but then I’ll be back to see what you guys think of it -” she turned her gaze to Tim, “- especially you.”
He laughed and nodded, and as Ana walked away Lucy picked up a piece and took a bite, almost moaning at how good it was.
Talking around the food in her mouth, she said, “Oh, this really is amazing.”
She turned to Tim, who was eyeing her slightly skeptically, and after swallowing her bite, said, “seriously, try one.”
He picked one up and took a bite, and she stared, eyebrows raised, waiting for his reaction.
Rolling his eyes at her enthusiasm, he swallowed and said, “yeah, it’s pretty good.”
With anyone else, she would’ve wanted a much more enthusiastic response, but this was Tim, and if he was admitting that it was pretty good, that was enough for her.
Finishing off her first piece in a few more bites, she reached for another as Ana came back over.
“How is it?”
Quickly swallowing, Lucy smiled and said, “it’s amazing, seriously,” and as Ana smiled at her and turned her gaze to Tim, he added, “yeah, this is pretty darn good. Can’t believe I’ve never had it before.”
Ana chuckled.
“Well I’m glad that I could change that!” and looking around the cafe and then back to them, she added, “we’re pretty empty right now, and I’ll admit to loving a good chat, so if you don’t mind me asking, would you like some company?”
Lucy held in her excitement and said, “yeah, we’d love that,” but glancing at the kitchen area then back at Ana, added, “but we don't want to get you into any trouble with your boss.”
Ana laughed, brushing away her concern as she pulled out a chair.
“My boss is my mother -” Lucy excitedly patted Tim's leg under the table “- she won't fire me, and like I said, we're pretty empty right now.”
Once again holding her hand still against his leg, Tim replied, “well, we'd love the company.”
Ana beamed at them as she sat, and as Lucy took a sip of her tea, she asked, “how do you manage four children?” and when Ana laughed in response, Lucy added, “it's a genuine question. I don't even know if I'm ready for one.”
Laughing lightly, Ana said, “mentally, having the first child is always hardest, and honestly nothing can prepare you for that experience,” and seeing what was presumably fright on both their faces, she chuckled and added, “though what can come slightly close, and what my husband and I actually did before our first child, was get a dog.”
Lucy couldn’t help her burst of laughter, and looking at Tim, saw that he had a smile on his face as well.
Clearly they were more prepared for this undercover work that either had thought they’d be.
Turning to Ana, Lucy chuckled and said, “we do actually already have a dog, an adorable baby called Cujo, but we hadn’t planned it out like you said,” and shaking his head but with warmth in his eyes, Tim added, “honestly, we didn’t plan to have a dog at all. Lucy here got Cujo on a whim,” and turning back to Ana, he rolled his eyes and said, “imagine my surprise when I came home to find a dog I’d never seen before, and Lucy frantically trying to salvage the ripped and eaten up couch.”
Ana burst into laughter, and seeing the looks of guilt and embarrassment on Lucy’s face, only laughed harder.
“That must’ve been one hell of a surprise!”
“It certainly was,” he replied, but Lucy heard faint amusement in his voice, and smiled as he playfully bumped his shoulder against hers even though she had been quite horrified at seeing the mess Cujo had created in hers and Jackson’s apartment.
Mirth still on her face, Ana asked Tim, “you didn’t try to get rid of the dog after that?”
Lucy turned to face him, interested in his answer considering he’d ended up actually adopting Cujo.
He just shrugged.
“Clearly, in a short amount of time, Lucy had already gotten attached to him, besides, it’d be cruel to try and return a dog you’ve already promised a home to.”
Lucy couldn’t help her warm smile at Tim, knowing that he wasn’t making that up just for their cover story.
Also knowing that she’d probably never get the chance to tease him again in a situation where he couldn’t complain, and because it was true and seemed like something a loving partner would actually say, Lucy wrapped an arm around Tim’s, and grinning, said, “he acts all macho and tough, but Tim here is one of the sweetest, softest people I know.”
Tim huffed, shaking his head, but leaning away from him, Lucy could see warmth in his eyes, and she knew it wasn’t lost on him that she was taking slight advantage of this situation.
She grinned.
Shaking his head, Tim looked from her to the smiling Ana and said, “yeah well, that may be true, but I was happy with knowing it was Lucy’s job to clean up the mess alone -” Ana chuckled “- and besides, Cujo actually listens to me. Lucy spoils him so he knows he can get away with bad behaviour with her.”
Lucy feigned offence, but Ana’s laughter had them both looking at her.
“I guess, when the baby comes, you’ll be bad cop,” she said with her eyes on Tim, “and you’ll be good cop,” she added, turning to Lucy.
Lucy turned to Tim, sharing a smile at the irony of Ana’s words, but they turned back as she added, “though considering how easy it was for you to convince him to keep the dog, he might be the good cop simply because he won’t be able to say no to his kid.”
Lucy burst into laughter.
No matter how much of a hardass Tim was, she could actually see that happening, and judging by the half huff, half sigh from Tim, it seemed like he reluctantly thought the same.
Looking at her for a moment, he turned to Ana and said, “as much as I’d love to say I wouldn’t be a pushover, if they’re anything like their mother, I don’t think I’d be able to say no to them.”
Lucy turned to Tim, a smile on her face. It was a very sweet thing to say, though obviously a lie created for their cover. Tim was more than happy saying no to her.
But clearly it did its job because Ana smiled sweetly at him, then turning back to her, asked, “do you have a lot of friends who have kids?”
Making a face, Lucy said, “I wouldn't say a lot, but yeah I have a few,” and from her side, Tim added, “I’ve been there when she and her friends who are moms were talking about giving birth, and I have to admit -” he nervously chuckled “- it was scary.”
Lucy laughed, knowing he was talking about the conversation between Angela and Harper on her last day as a rookie, but she couldn’t help but add, “you think it’s scary? I’m the one who actually has to go through it!”
Tim opened his mouth but Ana got there first.
“Right?! With my second child I wanted to do a home birth but my husband was completely against it because he was terrified, but I was like hey! You’re not the one who has to push a large watermelon sized thing out of a gap the size of a hair tie!” Ana said while animatedly gesturing the sizes.
Lucy burst into laughter, she really liked this woman, and turning her head, laughed even harder at the slight look of horror on Tim's face.
She nudged his shoulder, and though he scowled slightly when he saw she was laughing at him, she could tell he didn’t actually mean it.
Turning back to Ana, and having a feeling she knew the answer, Lucy teasingly asked, “out of curiosity, where did you end up having your second child?”
Ana laughed, and with a wink, said, “in the comfort of my own home.”
Lucy couldn’t help but laugh again, and turning to Tim, Ana added, “I know I said I wasn’t going to give advice, but you need to hear this. When it comes to the delivery, let Lucy here do whatever the hell she wants, however the hell she wants.”
Tim held up his hands in mock surrender and said, “that’s what I was going to do regardless, but I’ll definitely make sure of it now,” and lowering his hands, he added, “trust me, I get it. She’s doing all the heavy lifting for the pregnancy so I’m helping out wherever I can, whether that means not opposing any of her plans or doing all the nappy changes.”
Ana laughed and muttered, “smart man,” and Lucy couldn’t help but look at him with a warm smile. She knew he was just playing the role, but she also knew that that would be what he’d actually do if he was ever a dad.
Tim turned, his eyes warming as he met her smile.
Lucy just knew that he’d be a great dad if he ever chose to be.
Looping her arm through his, Lucy looked at Ana with a smile and said, “I knew he was a smart man when I chose him.”
Tim huffed out laughter, a mixture of pleased and embarrassed, and the teasing amusement in Ana’s eyes turned into a warm smile.
“I have a feeling the two of you will be great parents together.”
There was a sincerity in her words, like she genuinely believed that her and Tim would make amazing parents, and for some reason, the thought made her cheeks heat up, something that definitely wouldn't happen if they actually were together, so as she and Tim thanked Ana, she unlooped her arm from his under the pretence of grabbing another slice of baklava.
Trying to subtly veer the conversation towards parents, after Lucy took a bite, she said, “question,” and when Ana nodded at her, she asked, “the advice that everyone seems to agree on is that a support system of people is a life saver, especially in the first few months or more, and pretty much all the moms I’ve talked to have said that their parents were lifesavers during that time -” Lucy reached for her cup “- would you agree?”
Ana nodded as Lucy took a sip.
“Yeah, a solid support system is always such a huge help,” but sensing something in Lucy's tone, she tentatively added, “have your parents passed away?”
“Oh no, thankfully they’re alive and well,” Lucy hurriedly said to reassure the other woman, but putting her cup back down, she added, “but we're not… we're not that close at the moment.”
She fiddled with the handle, not needing to put much effort into acting this part. Feeling two sets of eyes on her, but feeling Tim’s a bit more intensely, she stared at her half finished tea as she continued.
“We had a… disagreement… about something in my life, something that they have to make peace with, and I feel like they might do that once the baby is born so they can be in their grandchild’s life, but at the same time -” she tightened her grip on the handle “- I don’t think I should be holding my breath waiting for that to happen.”
Tim reached up, gently taking her hand off the handle and intertwining his fingers with hers, gently squeezing, and even though Lucy knew he was just playing his role as a loving partner, she drew comfort from his touch regardless.
She squeezed back, looking at him with a sad smile, but the genuine sympathy and steadfast belief in her that she saw on his face made her think that he wasn't just playing a role, that he actually meant it all, and that meant so much to her, filling her need for support and approval that her parents refused to fill, and knowing that, some of her pain melted away.
Showing vulnerability to someone showed that you trusted them, in this situation, further solidifying a relationship with her and Ana. So while Lucy knew opening up about her personal life would encourage Ana to do the same, it was still a lot, and obviously she would’ve done it if it’d been just her, but it was immensely comforting to have Tim’s touch grounding her.
Lucy turned her attention to Ana, but kept her hand in Tim's, and the other woman smiled sympathetically at her.
“My mother is tough -” she lightly chuckled, “- though that's putting it lightly, but ultimately she has a good heart and she's always here for me, you know?” Lucy and Tim nodded understandingly, and making a face, Ana added, “that's a lot more than I can say about my father though.”
Lucy made a sympathetic face, encouraging Ana to continue, and she did.
“My father is… let's just say he's not the greatest of friends with the law -” Lucy held in the urge to scoff, that was an understatement “- and he abandoned his family, instead running off to live on one of the like 6000 islands in Indonesia.”
Excitement filled Lucy, and presumably for the same reason, Tim lightly squeezed her hand, but she forced herself not to show it. It wasn’t Elias’ exact coordinates, but it was definitely a solid start, but she forced herself to focus as Ana kept talking.
“He left after my third child was born, but even before then, he didn’t help much with the three he was there for, but regardless of his support, my children, if you don’t mind me saying so, are pretty great.”
Lucy and Tim chuckled, and smiling, Ana continued.
“What I’m saying is that, as long as you surround yourself with people who love and support you, it doesn’t matter what their relationship is to you -” she made a face “- if that makes sense.”
Lucy nodded, “yeah it does,” and smiling at the other woman, she added, “thank you, I think I really needed to hear that.”
Ana smiled reassuringly at her as Tim, giving her hand one last squeeze, gently pulled his hand out of hers to take a sip of his coffee.
Lucy had been described by many as a touchy feely person, she loved human contact, but there was something about Tim’s hand in hers that felt like… more.
More warm, more comforting, more grounding, and the loss of it, for a strange second, made her feel weirdly empty.
Shaking it off, Lucy looked at Ana, and with a smile, jokingly said, “one way your father could make it up to you is by paying for a family vacation to whatever island he’s at, and have him babysit the kids while you and your husband have a relaxing holiday.”
Ana laughed, and shrugging, said, “hey, that wouldn’t make me forgive him, but it would definitely be a step in the right direction,” Lucy and Tim laughed, and smiling, Ana added, “I have no idea exactly where he is right now, but maybe I should try and find him just for that.”
Disappointed, but not showing it, Lucy laughed lightly as she took a sip of her tea, listening as Ana told a story about the vacation she and her family had just gone on.
Tim suddenly put his hand on her thigh and she had to force herself not to jolt, but pushing past the initial shock, she realised that he made an okay hand gesture, then a closed fist.
Lucy smiled at him, letting him know she got the message, and he pulled his hand back up to grab a piece of baklava as she turned back to Ana.
The okay gesture was the tactical sign for ‘message received’, and the closed fist meant ‘understood’.
As Tim commented on Ana's story, Lucy feigned interest, but her mind was on the message. What she understood from Tim’s response was that, because he actually had Detective Lopez in his ear, that she had heard what Ana had said and that it actually helped narrow down his location.
At that realisation, the disappointment from before evaporated and she paid attention to the conversation.
“…and then my eldest, ignoring our warnings, cannonballed into the pool, splashing every single sunbather around him.”
Lucy laughed and was about to reply when the front door of the cafe opened, and seeing two women walk in, Ana stood up with an apologetic smile.
“If I stayed and talked now, I think my mother would actually fire me -” Lucy and Tim laughed “- so I’m going to have to excuse myself from your lovely company.”
Lucy smiled warmly at the other woman.
“It was genuinely really nice chatting with you,” and next to her, Tim added with a smile in his voice, “it really was.”
Ana beamed back at them.
“Likewise, and good luck with everything, though I don’t think you’ll need it. I have a feeling you two are going to be absolutely amazing parents!”
Ignoring the light fluttering that seemed to come up in her stomach everytime Ana sincerely said that she and Tim would be amazing parents together, Lucy laughed and said, “Thank you! That means a lot,” and with a final smile for them both, Ana walked off towards the women who were standing by the counter.
Lucy turned to Tim, and finishing off his coffee, he said, “I think you’re the only person that could match Ana’s bubliness and... enthusiasm.”
She couldn’t help her chuckle at the slight look of disdain on his face, but knowing he wasn’t genuinely annoyed by it, she finished off her own drink before saying, “well, we certainly wouldn’t have gotten the information in a day if it had been up to you.”
Tim turned to her with a scoff.
“I definitely could've gotten that information by myself.”
Laughing, Lucy reached for the last slice of baklava, and when she raised an eyebrow at Tim and he gestured for her to go ahead, she grabbed it and asked in a low voice, “So Detective Lopez got something?”
Tim nodded, and matching her tone, said, “Elais has two aliases based in Indonesia, so Lopez is contacting the local authorities to get them to check them out.”
Swallowing her last bite, Lucy grinned and said, “a good day's work.”
He nodded, and seeing that everything was finished, he stood, pulling out her chair as she did the same.
Getting up, careful not to bump the pregnancy belly into the table, she turned around and looked at him with a teasing grin.
“My oh my, what a gentleman!”
Tim rolled his eyes.
“After the stern talking to I got from Ana, if I didn’t help you out, she might contact her father just to use his connections to get rid of me.”
Lucy burst into laughter, and grabbing her bag from the back of her chair, said, “hey, that could be a way to get his exact location right now.”
Tim laughed, shaking his head, and they walked towards the counter which was currently manned by Aurelia, her expression unchanged, with no sign of Ana anywhere, meaning she was probably back in the kitchen.
Smiling at her, Lucy said, “the food was really amazing!”
The older woman nodded, still no smile on her face, and forcing herself not to roll her eyes, Lucy opened her bag to get her purse when Tim said, “I got it,” and paid for them both.
Lucy hid her surprise, afterall she wouldn't have felt that way if they'd actually been together, but she made a mental note that, if it was possible, to go undercover with him more often. He really was quite a gentleman while undercover.
Thanking Aurelia, who nodded but didn’t smile in reply, she and Tim left, and she had to force herself not to react as he put a light hand on the small of her back while ushering her out of the door.
He was just playing a role, nothing more.
Lucy shook off the slight feelings that had slowly been making themselves known in her mind. They were only there because she and Tim had to play a couple and they were just the lingering feelings from that.
Nothing more.
They crossed the road, walking further away from the cafe, and in efforts to go back to their normal relationship, Lucy stared silently at Tim, waiting for him to compliment her on her undercover skills.
He kept walking, unbothered, but after a few moments, noticed her gaze and looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
It was miniscule, but there seemed to be a teasing glint in his eyes, and Lucy just knew that he knew exactly what she wanted, but when he stayed silent, instead turning back to face the front, she threw up her hands and said, “you’re not going to say anything?”
Shrugging while facing the front, he said, “yeah, you did okay.”
Lucy’s mouth fell open and she stared at him while walking.
“Okay?! I was AMAZING back there!”
Tim shrugged, walking with his hands in his pockets, but seeing his faint smirk, Lucy grinned as she turned back to the front.
“You’re just jealous that I’m a natural at making friends, and that I can make them feel at ease and get information from them without them even realising it.”
“Hey, I get it, you’re a chatterbox. You certainly don’t have to tell me that.”
Lucy feigned outrage, but a side glance at Tim showed a hint of a smile on his face, and though he was trying to hide it, she knew him well enough by now to know that he was proud of her.
She turned back to the front, not being able to help the grin on her face.