Chapter Text
“We haven’t even boarded yet and i’m soooo exhausted,” Lucy cried out as she attempted to lift her 48 pound luggage bag from the trunk of the uber.
Her and Tim had taken a Red-eye from LA to Seattle and had to board early this morning, meaning they were running on about 3 hours of sleep, and Lucy’s muscles were unfortunately failing her.
“Here, let me get that,” Tim grabbed the bag with only a little bit of struggle, gently placing the bag right in front of his fiance.
“Such a gentleman!” she exclaimed as he lifted his own bag with ease.
“Would have been easier if you didn’t pack the whole world, but we’ll live,” he gruffed jokingly as the cruise attendants checked in their bags.
Lucy laughed as she saw the Lopez-Evers family approaching, waving them over.
The entire group decided to take a 5-day Alaskan cruise to celebrate Lucy and Tim’s engagement. The LAPD had been extremely demanding recently, and everyone yearned for a few days away from all of the crime, so everyone jumped onto the idea without hesitation.
“Looking good, Officer Chen!” Angela, with little Erin on her hip, called out as she scanned Lucy, admiring her floor length, blue floral dress that accentuated her curves just perfectly for the occasion.
“Sergeant Bradford, looking… like a true tourist!” She gently slapped her best friend on the shoulder, leaning in and whispering, “Lucy made you wear that, didn’t she?”
Tim just nodded, worried that Lucy would hear him and deliver her 2-minute explanation as to why she and Tim had to match. It was cute the first 4 times, but he wasn’t really in the mood after his lack of sleep.
“Now, I would love the rest of the group, but I have two very fussy children and security isn’t going to be fun, so we should get going,” Angela groaned, imagining how much of a struggle it was going to be to get Erin and Jack to cooperate without hysterics and endless complaining.
“Agreed. Lucy and I will get checked in and then we can all meet to grab something to eat from the dining hall?” Tim asked, excited to finally eat a meal without being rushed by a flight or boarding.
“See you there,” Wesley acknowledged as he lifted up Jack and headed towards security.
****
“I have a surprise for you,” Tim said as they exited the elevator towards their room.
“Oh, what is it?” Lucy clapped her hands excitedly as she followed Tim, expecting some kind of Alaskan clothing, or something else small.
Tim pressed the key onto the sensor and slowly pulled the door towards him, revealing the suite room behind him, all decorated.
“Oh my god, you didn’t…” Lucy’s hand flew to her mouth as she took in the room before her.
There was a light beige sofa at the entrance, which led to a king sized bed with dressers and tables on both sides. On the bed, there were roses, Lucy’s favorite flower, in the shape of a heart with a towel folded in the shape of a dove. The room was lit by lavender scented candles and fairy lights hung from the ceiling.
“It’s beautiful,” she said softly, wiping her tears. She knew it would seem like a small gesture to anyone else, but it was everything to her.
“I saw you eyeing it on the website, and I called the cruise line to change our reservation when you had a late shift one night. And I know you’re going to say that I shouldn’t have done this and it’s unnecessary, but I wanted to surprise you,” he gently pulled her closer to him and spun her into the room, closing the door behind them.
“I want this to be the most amazing vacation you’ve ever been on, because I know your parents made them unenjoyable for you growing up. But, you’re vacationing with Tim Bradford now, so this’ll be one that you won’t ever forget,” he explained, pulling her even closer, kissing her gently. “Oh, and I got us the wifi package so you can check on Tamara, even when we are at sea,” he added, warming Lucy’s heart.
She had really wanted Tamara to join them, but she couldn’t manage to miss a whole week of classes. On the bright side though, they had a built-in dog sitter for Kojo.
“How did I get so lucky?” Lucy asked as she ran her fingers through Tim’s hair, messing up the style he spent 10 minutes on this morning. He didn’t mind one bit, and just smiled down at his gorgeous fiance with utter admiration.
“We have about 30 minutes until we need to meet everyone at the dining hall,” Tim said slyly, and Lucy knew exactly what he was suggesting. She nodded and ran her hands down his bright blue Hawaiian t-shirt until she reached the bottom, lifting it up and throwing it somewhere on the ground.
Tim picked Lucy up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He spun her around and threw her onto the bed, the beautiful flower arrangement now scattered along the bed and on the floor.
“This better be worth messing up the flowers,” Lucy muttered in between kisses.
***
“Oh wow, this dining hall is huge,” Lucy exclaimed to Tim as they walked in.
“I know, it’s packed. I hope Lopez got a table, because I am starving after…” he winked at her, and she giggled.
“Oh wait, I think I see them over there.. Oh everyone beat us here, I guess,” Lucy shrugged as she grabbed Tim’s hand, making her way over to the rest of the group.
The newly engaged couple made their rounds, greeting Nolan and Bailey, Aaron and Celina, and then Nyla and James.
“Where are all of your children?” Tim asked, as Erin, Jack, Lila, and Leah were nowhere in sight.
“We dropped them off at the kids club, it’s our vacation too!” Nyla exclaimed as she lifted up her mimosa.
“Amen to that,” Angela agreed as she clinked her glass against Nyla’s.
Lucy had always admired the bond between Lopez and Harper. Watching them joke about their work and kids filled her with excitement, as she would be joining their team as Detective when they returned back to work next week. She had scored in the top 5 a couple months ago, and there was finally an opening in the department.
Tim interrupted her thoughts as he turned to her and gently placed his hand around her lower back.
“We should get food, babe.”
***
Lunch was amazing and everyone ate enough for about 2.5 meals, filling them with energy to explore their ship.
They made their way across the pool deck, exploring the indoor hot tubs, small concession stands, and lounge areas.
“This ship is so nice,” Bailey said as they walked up to the ice cream stand.
“I’m so glad we were able to get a discount, because this was way out of our price range,” Nolan raised his eyebrows at his own fiance. He knew she had been dying for a vacation, especially one like Alaska. He knew Bailey had trouble relaxing, so this vacation was the perfect excuse to get her away from the troubles of LA.
“Amen to that,” Tim joked, mocking his best friend’s words from earlier as he grabbed his cone of ice cream.
He received a look of pure disbelief from Lucy, as he spent the entire car ride explaining how he was going to watch his nutrition, making sure to keep his buff physique on this cruise.
“What? I’m on vacation too!” He responded with a very high pitched, defensive tone.
Aaron laughed, but immediately stopped when he saw the threatening look Tim shot in his direction.
“Sorry, Sergeant, I totally agree with you. You’re on vac-” Celina cut him off before he could continue.
“Just stop talking, Aaron,” she advised, trying to contain her laughter. She was still a rookie on the force, so she was beyond happy to have been invited. Though it wasn’t surprising: Lucy always had a soft spot for her fellow female officers, and her and Celina had been growing closer recently.
****
After some exploring, everyone went back to their rooms to take a much needed nap. They barely ever traveled because of their line of work, so, “exhausted” was the understatement of the century.
As Lucy and Tim slowly awoke from their much needed slumber, their phones lit up. Tim grabbed his and briefly read through the messages.
The Cruisers
7:11 pm
| Lopez: Meet at the bar on the top deck for drinks at 8pm?
| Thorsen: Why so early?
| Thorsen: Also who named this group chat? And why?
| Lopez: Thorsen, some of us have responsibilities.
| Harper: What she means is the childcare center closes at 10pm.
| Nolan: Looked at the drink menu. Ready to go into debt this cruise.
| Juarez: At least you’re not on rookie pay, sir.
| Thorsen: We live in poverty.
| Lopez: Are you guys coming or not?
| Thorsen: Fine, but I demand a raise.
Tim silently chuckled at everyone’s messages. He might have always acted like a hard ass, but inside he secretly enjoyed the playful nature of his friends.
He looked over to see Lucy sound asleep, breathing in a perfectly consistent rhythm. He hated to disturb her, but he also knew that she would hate to miss out on drinks. Plus, she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if she slept for another minute.
Tim gently stroked Lucy’s cheek, waking her up slowly so he wouldn’t scare her.
“Hey babe,” she mumbled with her eyes still closed.
“Luce, everyone’s meeting for drinks at 8. If we wanna join, we should start getting ready,” he explained softly as opened her eyes.
“You mean you don’t think I look super hot right now?” she joked as she sat up, stretching her arms behind her back.
“I always think you look super hot,” he said playfully, grabbing onto her and pulling her up from off the bed and closer to him.
“But I doubt you want your coworkers, and the 3000 other people on the ship, to see you with your hair falling out of a messy bun,” he laughed as he circled her bun with his fingers.
This would hit a nerve with any other woman, but Lucy found comfort in joking with Tim. She loved how she never needed to worry about her looks around him, he always loved her unconditionally.
****
As they entered the bar at 8:14 pm, they were blinded by bright neon signs and color changing floor lights.
“This place is… lively,” Tim sighed as he scanned the room for their friends.
Lucy knew the control freak in him was having a borderline panic attack. He liked smaller, quieter bars, so she looped her arm through his and pointed to their friends at the bar, making sure he felt as comfortable as possible. He flashed her an appreciative glance, but it was the least she could do for him.
“We’ll take 2 beers, thank you,” Lucy called out to the bartender as they sat down next to their friends.
“Welcome, so kind of you to grace us with your presence! Should we always expect you both to be late to the party?” Angela asked as she judgingly raised her eyebrows.
“Chen over here loves to take a century-long shower, and can’t leave without blow drying her hair,” Tim explained, tucking Lucy’s blow dried hair behind her ear.
Lucy gasped, ready to shoot back, because they both loved playing with Angela’s intense disgust for PDA. “You’re acting like you didn’t get in the shower with me.”
“Disgusting, forget I said anything,” Angela waved them off and spun her chair around towards Aaron and Celina.
“So Thorsen, given any more thought towards taking the upcoming detectives exam?” She asked, trying to get her mind off of what she just heard come out of Lucy’s mouth.
“Actually Angela, I’m on a cleanse. I refuse to talk about work until we fly back to Los Angeles.”
“Ma’am, that is a bold face lie, he spent the last hour in our room reminding me of the time when he solved sooo many cases on his own a few months ago,” Celina interjected, taking a sip of her drink after.
Angela couldn’t help but laugh. After the whole situation with the masked assailants, it was nice to see Aaron and Celina back to their old selves. She knew Aaron was having a bit of trouble back on patrol, and she was glad he chose to join them on the cruise.
“So have you guys started looking at wedding dates yet?” Bailey asked Lucy and Tim, attempting to fill the silence with something other than the obnoxious punk rock music playing.
“Not yet, we are going to wait until Lucy is comfortable in her new position before we plan anything,” Tim explained, placing his hand around Lucy’s shoulder.
“We think it’s so cute that you guys are having a September wedding, though!” Lucy exclaimed. She had been so graciously asked to be Nolan’s best woman, and she was beyond excited to be a part of the wedding.
Celina saluted all of them from a few seats away, knowing she was the reason they had finally picked their wedding date.
***
After about 2 hours at the bar, everyone decided to call it a night. Tomorrow was a sea day, meaning they had all day to spend enjoying the ship tomorrow.
As Tim and Lucy were walking out, they unexpectedly ran into someone familiar.
“Sergeant Grey? We didn’t know you were coming on this cruise,” Tim exclaimed with utter shock.
“Yeah, when you all put in your time-off requests I couldn’t help look into this cruise myself,” he turned to his wife. “And Luna has been begging for a getaway, so I took the opportunity.”
“Glad to have you here, Sergeant. Enjoy your time off,” Tim shook Grey’s hand and they began to part ways, but Lucy suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned around.
“Wait. If we’re all here, who’s in charge back at the station?” Lucy questions, now very concerned for the safety of LA.
Both Grey and Tim thought for a moment, and came to the horrifying realization at the same time.
“Smitty.”
Lucy shuddered. God bless Los Angeles, she thought to herself.