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When two women walk up to the front desk with a basket of cookies for her and Bradford, as a thank you for dealing with an issue at their workplace recently, Lucy accepts it with a big smile. She explains that Tim's at court today, which is why she's covering the front desk, and she'll gladly pass it along to him. They thank her again, say their goodbyes, and that's it.
As the morning goes on, Lucy can't help but sneak one, then two, of the cookies. They're just so tempting, sitting in their cutely wrapped basket. She's sure Tim won't mind, the cookies are for both of them anyway, and he'll probably think of something stupid to say about how the pink bows are ugly. She doesn't have any reason not to indulge herself in the tasty treats.
Until about a half hour later when the two women return, frantic. It takes Lucy a good few seconds to process what they're saying - that they accidentally baked the cookies with leftover weed from one of the women's cancer treatments, and they're so sorry, and they really don't want to get arrested.
Lucy blinks. The only thing she can think is, what the fuck?
"I'm not gonna arrest you," she blurts out. She's not actually sure if they can be arrested or not if it's really a mistake, but she definitely won't be doing it right now, and that's all the women need to hear before they race out of the station, apologizing again.
Lucy's not sure how long she stands there but eventually, she realizes something's wrong. This isn't good. She ate cookies with weed in them, so that must mean that she's high.
Oh god, oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no.
She spins around, pressing her back against the counter.
She's high.
She's a police officer, on duty, and she's high.
Is her heart racing? She's pretty sure that her heart is racing.
Feeling like her body's been switched to autopilot mode, Lucy takes the basket and starts walking. She's pretty sure she passes another cop who makes a joke about her resembling Little Red Riding Hood, but she's not paying attention. Lucy gets to the women's bathroom and locks the door behind her, before looking at her reflection in the mirror.
She doesn't think she looks high, but she certainly feels weird. Lucy has to do something, she knows that. Should she call someone? Jackson and John are both on patrol right now. There's no way she can tell Sergeant Grey . . . Tim's the only one she can think of, but he's in court.
Somehow, her fingers seem to have a mind of their own. A couple seconds later, Lucy finds herself dialing Tim's number. Deep down, he's the one she wants to call.
He doesn't pick up.
Lucy huffs. 'PLEASE call me when you're out of court' she texts him, then pockets her phone and starts pacing back-and-forth. She's not sure how long that goes on for, but the never-ending thoughts flying through her head keep her distracted until her phone finally does ring.
"This better be important," Tim grunts out before she can say anything. Lucy imagines him standing outside the courtroom, frowning and maybe even holding his hand on his hips.
For a second, she blanks. How is she supposed to tell him what happened? How is she going to explain? He's going to freak out. She could get fired. Could she get fired? Is he going to tell Sergeant Grey? His ex-wife got addicted on the job and now here she is, having just taken weed. Will he believe that it was an accident?
"Lucy?" Tim presses. If she was more clear-headed, she would've detected the worry in his tone.
"It was an accident," she blurts out, needing to make sure he gets that first.
"What? An accid-are you-?" Tim starts to say, stumbling over his words.
"The woman from the other day, with the store, she brought in cookies and I ate one - okay, okay, I ate two - but they were really good and then she came in later and apologized because she accidentally put weed in them from her wife's chemotherapy and-and you know how kites are high when they're in the air? I'm high, like that," Lucy rushes out, not even realizing that she just cut him off, or that she's whispering at the end.
There's a beat where Lucy's pretty sure she hears her heartbeat thumping in her ears.
"You're what?" Tim hisses out.
"I'm high. Like-like a kite," Lucy whispers again, gripping her phone tightly. He sounds angry and she doesn't like that. "Are you mad at me?"
"I-" Tim sighs, "-No. I'm not mad at you. Where, uh, where are you?"
"The women's bathroom," Lucy says, her eyes darting around the place.
"Okay, okay. Just . . . My part in the trial is over, so I'm gonna come back to the station. Stay there, alright?" Tim instructs firmly.
"Okay," she agrees. "It's kinda cozy in here."
Tim sighs, knowing he's gonna be dealing with this for the rest of the day, and hangs up the phone.
//
Tim can't help but let his thoughts drift back to Isabel on the way back to the station. He knows it's different, and that for Lucy it's an accident, and he's not even sure why his brain is comparing the two women because one's his ex-wife and the other's . . . His rookie. Still, it just happens. He's worrying. She sounds fine. She's coherent enough to call him. Tim finds himself relieved and a little honored that she chose him, but tells himself not to think about that. He has to get his head in the game if he's going to keep Lucy from doing anything stupid.
Arriving back at the station, Tim grabs a spare bathroom key from the front desk (which is now being manned by Smitty, but Tim has enough to deal with already) and heads to Lucy. He unlocks and opens the door and the first thing he sees is his rookie curled up on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest.
"Tim!" She chirps, eyes comically wide as she stumbles to her feet and barrels towards him. Tim manages to catch her, holding her by the arms and making sure she doesn't get too close.
"Hi," he greets quickly, taking in her state. Other than being accidentally drugged against her will, she seems almost like her usual self, just way happier to see him. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Mhm," she says, bobbing her head up and down so much that she chuckles as her eyes cross. "Woahh."
Before she can sway, Tim tightens his grip, huffing as he pulls her a little closer to him. "Have you ever been high before?" He asks.
The only answer he gets is a giggle and he has no idea if that's a no, a yes, or if she didn't get what he was saying. At least she's cheered up since they talked on the phone, he thinks.
"Tim, I have a secretttt," Lucy says, grinning.
Oh no-
"I'm high," she whispers, leaning towards him. Tim rolls his eyes and is about to tell her that he already knows that, when she suddenly gasps and stumbles back. "You're my TO! I shouldn't of said that."
Tim's first instinct is to be annoyed at the sudden mood change, but everything stops when he catches the look in her eyes, how her hands fly up to cover her mouth. For a second, she looks scared of him. Usually he delights in scaring rookies, but he's never really been able to scare Lucy before. Seeing her now, it all feels wrong. She didn't want to be high, she didn't want to drag Tim away from the courtroom, she didn't want to be holed up in the bathroom.
He suddenly feels protective (okay, it's not sudden, but it definitely accelerated), realizing that he's the one she trusts to see her in this vulnerable state.
"Am I in trouble?" Lucy asks, her question muffled by her hands.
"No, you're not," Tim assures her, trying not to sound soft, even though she seems to naturally bring that desire to be gentle out of him. "The ladies who gave you the cookies might be, though."
"I already told them that I'm not arresting them," Lucy admits, slowly pulling her hands away from her face.
Tim shakes his head fondly, giving himself permission to forgo his hard-ass attitude on the account of her being high, so that means it doesn't matter. "'Course you did. C'mon, let's get out of here," he says, keeping a firm grip on her elbow as he steers them towards the door.
"Where are we going?" Lucy asks curiously, peering up at him.
It occurs to Tim that he hadn't planned this far ahead. When she called, he came. What else was there to it? Then he remembers that Sergeant Grey told him that when he was done in court, he could take the rest of the day off. All he has to do is tell a little fib that Lucy isn't feeling well (which isn't that much of a fib, considering that she keeps switching from nervous to happy and then back again) and they'll be golden.
"We're taking off from work early. Imagine it's like a half-day at school," Tim says as he leads them out. Here comes the tough part, keeping them away from people.
Lucy gaps and, for a split-second, Tim feels a piercing worry that she's scared again. "Can we go to your place? I wanna see Kojo, I miss him sooo much," she begs, tugging on his sleeve.
Tim's not sure whether this is better or worse than her being worried. On one hand, at least Kojo will keep her busy. On the other hand, should he really have his rookie coming over to his apartment? Well, he has been to her place . . . He's her superior officer, but it's not like they're dating or anything and-
Wow. That came out of nowhere. They're definitely not dating. Tim doesn't want to date her.
So then why does the image of her lounging on his couch with Kojo feel so . . . nice? Why had he panicked when he got her text? Ever since Caleb, Tim's treated her as normally as one can, but he's also been more guarded, wanting to make sure nothing happens to her. He's blamed himself for Caleb, nearly losing her terrified him, and he's wanted to be closer with her. Around her. He's wanted to almost hang out with her and now here's his chance, but she's high and he has to take care of her and what is he thinking - hanging out with her? She's his rookie, Tim reminds himself.
A rookie he's grown really damn fond of, as much as he tries to hide that.
"Tim, Tim, are you okay?"
Lucy's sweet voice makes his head stop spinning. Tim glances down at her to see that she's staring up at him, eyes big with concern and even a little cute, too-
Taking a breath is easier than he thought it'd be because she's here and she needs him right now (even though she doesn't, not really, she's Lucy Chen, she can handle anything, but he's not letting her run amok whilst high in her place of work). "Fine, just got a bit in my head for a sec," he says, looking around only to realize that they've made it back to the front desk.
Tim walks with her over to the front desk and hands the spare key back to none other than Smitty. He looks at them oddly, seeing that they've now locked elbows (which is a surprise to Tim), but doesn't say anything. After that, they go to deposit all of Lucy's gear and he clocks them both out, telling the officer that it'd be great if he could pass along the message to Sergeant Grey that Officer Chen's under the weather. With that done, Tim has the foresight to grab Lucy's car keys and slip 'em into Jackson's locker, and now they go to Tim's own car.
Throughout this time, Lucy murmurs about whatever comes into her head. Tim doesn't think much of it, lets it go in one ear and out the other, until she too realizes that they've locked elbows (which he has to smile at, because she's the one to made them do that in the first place) and begins to sing songs from the Wizard of Oz, pretending that they're walking down the yellow brick road. Tim thanks whatever higher power is out there that she's quiet enough to not attract any attention.
Once in the car, Lucy's too distracted by something she sees in the window, so Tim buckles her seatbelt for her. He gets into the driver's seat, starts the engine, and turns on the radio so Lucy has something to focus on during the drive. It works, and their ride is filled with her singing along to the music. At first, he thinks about recording her as a joke, but finds that she has a nice voice. It's not so bad to listen to and Tim relaxes (for once in his life).
When they get back to his apartment, Tim unbuckles Lucy and takes her upstairs. The moment he unlocks his door, Kojo comes running to meet them, much to Lucy's delight.
"Hi, hi, hi!" She squeals, kneeling down happily to hug Kojo and let him lick her. "Missed me, haven't you?"
Tim grins and steps inside, letting them have their moment while he puts down his stuff in his room. When he returns, Lucy's made her way to the couch with Kojo, and Tim stops in his tracks. This scene looks eerily similar to the image in his head from before. He thought it'd freak him out, but it's quite . . . cozy.
"Can I, uh, get you anything?" Tim asks, remembering that she's a guest in his house.
"Nope, all good," Lucy says, barely sparing him a glance as she plays with Kojo and pets him.
Tim glances around the room, as if he's seeing his own furniture for the first time. Lucy and Kojo are taking up half the couch. He could sit next to them, or he could sit in the armchair, or the other armchair-
"Will you sit down?" Lucy whines, tugging on his arm and pulling him into the seat next to him.
Tim's eyes widen for a second at both her touch and the movement. He gives her a slightly sheepish look, settling himself. God, why the hell is he so . . . weird when it comes to her? It's not that big of a deal, it's just a damn seat.
Still, when she lets go of his wrist, Tim feels a bit cold. He has to busy himself with something, as he realizes silence is spreading around the room. "Wanna watch something?" He asks, leaning forward to grab the remote off the coffee table. He hadn't even stopped to think about how long she was going to stay here for - until she sobers up? Then he has to drive her home, or get jackson to pick her up, or maybe she'll get a cab . . .
"Sure," Lucy says, but she seems much more interested in playing tug-of-war with Kojo and one of his many toys.
Tim turns on the T.V, scrolling through a list of movies, and briefly glances back at Lucy. It's like he can't keep his eyes away. "I'm pretty sure you're his favorite," he notes.
She looks up at him and beams. Tim swears that for a second, he doesn't breathe, not wanting the moment to go away. He knows he's seen her smile a million times before, but she's in his apartment, lounging on his couch, with his - no, their - dog and yes she's high, but she's carefree and he was able to calm her nerves and take care of her and, why does he like this so much?
"I know," she says cheekily.
Tim playfully rolls his eyes, breaths again, and continues looking for a movie.
When he finds The Wizard of Oz, he can't help but chuckle to himself. Lucy's attention is captivated by Kojo again and he figures, why not put it on. He does, and when she realizes what's on the TV, Lucy gasps happily. Damn, he really likes seeing her happy.
Tim tries to watch the movie the best he can, but Lucy keeps taking over his mind. He can't stop thinking about her, can't stop glancing at her to make sure she's okay, to watch and listen to her singing and how she narrates the movie. Tim usually hates when people make noise during the movie, but not now.
At some point, even though she's high, she notices that he's not paying attention to the movie and scolds him for it. It's so easy to listen to Lucy, so he does.
When the credits roll, he takes it as a sign that he can look back at her again, only to find that she's fallen asleep. Her head lolls back, arms resting over Kojo who is plopped in her. Tim's head warms at the sight, thinking that all the adventure today must've tired her out. Without so much as a second thought about it, he goes and grabs a spare blanket from his room. He gently places it over both her and Kojo, who stirs a bit.
"Hey," he whispers, petting the dog's head. Kojo settles back down, making Tim smile.
He looks at Lucy one more time. She's beautiful, he thinks. As much as he's tried to deny it, he doesn't want to anymore. His heart is beating with adoration. Tim's had himself convinced that Lucy is completely off-limits because he holds rank over her, and she's his rookie, but after spending the whole day with her, watching over her, he doesn't want to care about that anymore. She may be his rookie for now, but she won't always be. She's a strong, skilled, and amazing cop. She'll be a great Detective one day, if she chooses that path. She'll be great in anything she chooses.
Tim finds that he wants to be at her side during that, just like he is now. They're a team, a partnership.
He really loves that and - he's starting to realize that he's falling in love with her.
Tim knows it's very, very complicated and he doesn't even want to think about the possibility of Lucy not returning those feelings. Today, she's allowed him to be in the present, so he forces himself to focus on that for a little while. She's next to him, resting, and she's safe. That's enough. More than enough. She's more than enough.
Tim takes a deep breath and allows himself to rest, too.