Chapter Text
Tim Bradford had finally settled into sleep in his bed, after a long, hard shift at work. As always, his phone was on silent on his nightstand, though many of his contacts were set up to be able to go ring through his silencer; Angela Lopez, Sergeant Gray, Lucy, and for some reason, Lucy's 'puppy', Tamara Collins.
So when his phone rang around eleven pm, he was frustrated to be woken up, but urgently reached for the phone, answering without glancing at the caller ID.
A soft voice was heard over the phone, "Bradford, um are you busy?"
"Tamara?" Bradford sat up and turned on his bedside lamp, "Yeah, what's up?"
"Sorry to call so late, Lucy wasn't answering her phone." her voice wavered as voices argued behind her, "Could you come get me?"
He put the phone on speaker, so he could throw on clothes while talking to her, "Where are you? What's going on?"
"Um, I'm at my cousins, he kicked me out, but my stuff is still inside."
"I'll be there in ten. Are you okay?" Time scooped his phone up, shooting a quick text to Lucy, then grabbed his wallet, badge and gun from the safe, heading for his car.
Tamara hesitated, before answering with a "yeah, I'm fine" in a voice that implied the opposite."Just stay outside, okay."
Tim pulled his truck to a stop, parked diagonally across several apartment spots. His eyes scanned the buildings, quickly spotting Tamara huddled underneath a staircase.
She smiled gratefully as he headed over, though her upturned face immediately sent a surge of protectiveness through him. Her lip was busted, and she held one arm tight across her body. Tamara had a scrape across the side of her face, slowly dripping blood down her neck and shirt.
"Hey, Bradford." she mumbled, trying to draw her hair over her face.
He pushed her hair back, his voice suddenly gentle, "None of that, T. What the hell happened?"
"His skanky girlfriend is tired of me being there, and he got drunk and listened to her." she shrugged, "Guess he wants to keep my stuff as rent."
"Did he hit you?" Tim asked, trying to gage if she was concussed through her eyes.
"Nah, I was practicing makeup for halloween, and kinda got carried away." Tamara deadpanned, only an eyebrow raised.
Tim rolled his eyes, ignoring the teen's sarcasm. "Chen will be here soon, then we'll get your stuff."
"Didn't know you were a tattle-tale, Bradford."
"It was self preservation if anything. Lucy finding out you were hurt and I didn't immediately tell her would not be pretty."
Tamara shrugged, "if you say so..."
She leaned back against the wall, absentmindedly scratching at the drying blood on her neck.
A small car came squealing into the parking lot, Lucy flying out of it before it even seemed to stop. She immediately spotted Tamara, and had her arms wrapped protectively around the girl.
After a hug that seemed to last forever, Lucy pulled away. "Why didn't you call me? What were you thi-"
She froze when she noticed Tamara's various injuries. "Did your cousin do this? That bast*rd" Her wrath turned to Tim, "Why isn't he in handcuffs yet? You just standing here after my girl asked for help?"
Tamara froze at the well-meaning outburst, drawing in on herself.
Tim gave a pointed look to Lucy, drawing her attention to her teenager trying to make herself as small as possible in the tense situation.
"Oh, Tam, I'm so sorry." she reached out for another hug, relief softening the sudden tension when Tamara leaned into her. "I shouldn't have started off with so much. Are you okay?"
Tamara's voice was muffled by Lucy's hoodie, "I'm okay, I'll be able to find some place to stay, it's just all my clothes and school stuff is inside, he won't let me get it."
"We can help you get it." Lucy rubbed her back, "Do you need to come and show us what stuff is yours, or?"
"Yeah, it's kinda spread across the apartment."