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“It’s called a lunch break for a reason,” Angela comments, sitting down across from Lucy at the table with her tray. “You can rest, you know.”
“I’m not working,” Lucy responds, not looking up from her phone.
“If you’re writing more notes, you don’t need to,” Angela tells her before popping a few fry’s in her mouth. For a couple of days spread out over the last few weeks, Lucy had been taking turns shadowing Angela and Nyla. “You’ve shown you’re more than capable on the job.”
“I’m not.”
“Lucy,” Angela says again, a little more firmly this time, trying once again to pull the officer away from the device in her hand for more than a few seconds.
Lucy finally glances up at Angela, a sheepish smile on her face. “I’m not… I’m just looking through pinterest and maybe some other websites.”
Angela arches an eyebrow, a fry stopped in mid air between her plate and her mouth.
“You know Nolan made us all do that whole secret santa thing,” Lucy explains, mentioning that night at Nolan’s and Bailey’s for a Thanksgiving dinner when they all drew names out of a hat.
“Christmas is still weeks away,” Anglea states with a shrug. She wouldn’t say it’s a non important holiday; but she also wouldn’t say it holds that much weight - though she knows what she’s getting Wesley already, and she doesn't need to stress about her own secret santa.
Not to the extent that Lucy clearly is, that is.
Lucy just hums in response, turning her gaze back towards her phone.
“Are you over-thinking what to get Tim?” Angela questions, causing Lucy to drop her phone. She continues to stumble before she leans over and picks up the device from where it fell on the ground.
“No one said I got Tim,” Lucy protested when she was sitting up right again, a little too quickly for it to be believable.
“You just did,” Angela cocks an eyebrow and smirks at the way Lucy’s eyes widen.
Lucy sighs as she sets her phone on the table. “I just… Maybe this sounds a little crazy; but I want this gift to be perfect. I want it to be meaningful.”
“You’re right. It is a little crazy; but also kind of sweet,” Angela reaches for her cup and takes a long sip before responding. “But this isn’t even your first Christmas together.”
“It is the first Christmas where people know , though,” Lucy reminds her, shoveling some fries into her mouth.
“As if the two of you were that good at keeping the whole thing a secret anyway….But I’m not sure that changes that much, Chen,” Angela says, placing her cup back on the table. “Look, does Tim need anything?”
Lucy arches an eyebrow.
“Or has he dropped any hints about wanting anything?” Angela continues, ignoring the look on Lucy’s face. “There’s not really a right or wrong gift. Don’t stress yourself too much - it’ll come to you.”
They’re thankfully allowed to finish the rest of their lunch, before Angela gets a call about heading to a crime scene.
“Timothy,” Angela says, after trying to get his attention for the past few minutes still to no avail. She sighs, walks forward, and shuts his laptop.
“Hey!” Tim shouts, leaning back in his chair to look up at her.
“Metro’s been unusually light the past couple of days,” Angela says as she crosses her arms. “I know you’re not doing anything that important unless you’ve magically fallen into the midst of a case.”
“I could,” Tim replies. “Or I could have been trying to get caught up on paperwork.”
“And were you?” Angela challenges him, arching an eyebrow.
“Well, no,” Tim says exasperated, inner locking his fingers together and leaning them on his now closed laptop. “But I could have been.”
Angela just rolls her eyes.
“What are you even doing here anyway?”
Angela holds up the papers she’s holding. “Actually caught a case that Metro may be a little interested in…but don’t change the subject, Bradford.”
“A case seems more important.”
“Not with your attention elsewhere it doesn’t,” Angela walks forward and perches on the edge of his desk, reaching over and taping his laptop. “Now, what the hell were you doing?”
Tim lets out a breath and the next words out of his month are more a mumble and meshed together. “Nolanssecretsanta.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nolan’s damn secret santa,” Tim repeats with a huff.
“It’s got you in a rut too, does it?”
“I am not in a rut,” Tim defends, pulling his hands away. “I’m simply just trying to figure out the right gift.”
“So you’re in a rut,” Angela says again. “Does it have anything to do with who you got?”
“The whole point of a secret santa,” Tim explains as she levels her with a Bradford look . “Is that it’s secret? I’m not telling you who I got.”
“I think Lucy will be just fine with anything you end up getting her.”
“Lucy’s not my – I didn’t,” Tim splutters, trying and failing to cover his tracks. “How did you even figure it out?”
“One, you are too damn easy Bradford,” Angela says, holding up a finger. “And two,” she holds up a second finger. “I’m a detective…kind of in my job description to know things.”
Angela slides off of his desk and tosses the manila file she was holding onto his laptop. “I’m going to give you some advice….it doesn’t matter what you get her.”
“That’s great advice by the way,” Tim responds, dryly. “Maybe you should be a life coach.”
“I’m just saying that whatever you end up getting your girlfriend ,” Anagela tells him, pointedly. “She's going to like it.”
“Wait a second, you said ‘too’,” Tim says, his hands freezing on top of the file. “Who else is in a rut because of this damn thing?”
Angela just shrugs. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Is it you?”
Angela scoffs and waves him away. Though the irony that both Tim and Lucy got each other is not lost on her. “Please…Mine is easy; but do not change the subject, Bradford.”
“I said what was on my mind, and you gave me so kind of advice,” Tim tells her, reaching for the file that’s on his laptop. “And now I guess we can get to the reason you came in.”
Weeks pass and Anglea doesn’t say much about the secret santa - to either of them; but she does still send jabs Tim’s way every now and again. Then suddenly, it’s the weekend before Christmas and the day of Nolan’s party.
Angela finds Tim at the drink table in the corner of Bailey and Nolan’s, tucked away by the window. “I see it went well?”
“What?” Tim half says, half yells in response; because at that exact moment, Celine decides to pick up the karaoke machine, because of course Nolan has a goddamn karaoke machine at a Christmas party. She eventfully spots Wesley joining Celine and doesn’t fight her eye roll.
“The Secret Santa,” Anglea says, louder so that he can hear her over the music.
“It went fine.”
Angela shoves her shoulder into Tim - a light bump, just jostling him a little. “Just fine, Bradford?”
“Do you want me to say that you were right?” he quips, taking a sip from his beer bottle.
Angela just shrugs. “Well, if I was then maybe,” she turns to look at him. “Are you going to tell me what you got her?”
“Nope,” Tim responds and there’s a smug look on his face. After a moment he finally caves though. “But you were right.”
“Thought so.”
Angela pulls her own beer out of the cooler and pops the top before leaning against the way next to Tim. She gives him a once over as she takes a sip.
“What? Tim asks, exasperatedly.
“I didn’t even say anything.”
Tim waves his hand towards her, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve got that look …. The Lopez one.”
Angela laughs at that; but doesn’t say anything immediately. More than glad to let Tim stew for a little bit. But after a few long minutes, she finally relents. “You look good… happy even.”
Tim’s gaze falls on something across the way and Angela follows it to see Lucy laughing at something Bailey says. She turns back towards Tim and sees a love struck look on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. “Exactly my point, Bradford.”
Tim shakes his head and turns towards Angela. “You say that like it’s some bizarre thing.”
“It’s just different…It’s nice actually.” She doesn’t say why though, doesn’t need to. They both know exactly what she means, what she’s alluding to. “Good to know that big mean and scary Sergeant Bradford still has a soft side.”
“I am not scary or mean,” he protests.
Angela scoffs. “Yeah, tell that to all of the rookies.”
Lucy walks over then, sliding up next to Tim, a smile on her face and Angela sees a new bracelet on her wrist; because doesn’t comment. She just leaves them with a merry christmas and walks away to find Wesley.