Chapter Text
Tim didn’t mean to start the club. He was just trying to fill his mornings after Max started preschool. He retired from the LAPD after their second child was born. It was clear from day one that Lucy was going to climb the ranks all the way to the top, so after he was injured in a Metro raid, he decided to retire so she didn’t have to choose between family and career. Being a full-time dad kept him plenty busy, especially with four young boys, but once they were all in school he was lonely.
It started with him checking in on Nevin. He’d kept tabs on him over the years and his business was thriving. It didn’t hurt that it was still the preferred coffee shop of the Mid-Wilshire Division. While there, Tim ran into a few of his former colleagues and they got to chatting about the good old days, and he missed the camaraderie. So the next morning, after dropping Max off, he texted Grey to see if he wanted to meet for coffee. The older man retired a couple years before Tim did, as soon as Lucy was ready to take over as Watch Commander, and Luna would often send him over to the Bradford house to “help” with the boys. (For all her begging Wade to retire, she quickly got sick of having him under foot.)
The men met up at Tim’s favorite coffee truck and sized up the current pool of patrol officers, many of whom started well after they had retired. The next morning they met up again, this time at a Starbucks not far from the station. As they surveyed and people-watched, Nolan stopped in to pick up a mobile order for Bailey. He’d retired just a few months prior, and though he was enjoying it, he was often lonely with Bailey always working and Amy now in middle school. So the men invited him to join them the next day, where the rotation found them at Gina’s, a little bakery frequented by many of the higher-ups in the LAPD (and a favorite of Lucy’s).
Their wives thought it was cute and constantly teased them for getting together to “drink coffee and spill the tea,” and dubbed them the Grumpy Old Men’s Club. Tim grumbled about the nickname, but it wasn’t long before they were all referring to their morning get-togethers as club meetings. Grudgingly, they added Smitty to their group. Or rather, Smitty added himself. While not technically retired, he still works part time at the station. Lucy has always been fond of him so she finds menial tasks for him to do when he feels like working. He’d heard about the club meetings from Lucy and figured out their rotation. He kept showing up and insisting on keeping the minutes of the meeting and eventually the other men just stopped fighting it.
They became well-known in the Mid-Wilshire District, with everyone memorizing their rotation schedule and many officers stopping to chat with them, even if they’d never worked with any of the men in the group. So today, when they were forced to change up their routine due to Gina’s being closed, nearly every person who walks through the door at Starbucks stops by to express their surprise at the Grumpy Old Men being spontaneous.
“How do you spell your name, Callaghan?” Smitty squints at the rookie’s name plate, carefully documenting her and her TO’s presence.
“Smitty, this isn’t a real club. Nobody is reading these minutes,” Nolan scolds, annoyed. The Boy Scout has become less patient since he has a moody teenage daughter at home, and frankly, it makes him much more tolerable.
Tim rolls his eyes, “And you once told me you were allergic to paper.” He glares pointedly at the notebook in the older man’s hand.
Smitty waves them off, continuing to write. “You’ll thank me one day when something memorable happens at one of these meetings.”
“It’s coffee, not the Yalta Conference,” Grey snaps. Tim and Nolan stifle a laugh.
Grey and Nolan are sitting on the bench facing the door, and look up when they hear it open to see one very angry Lucy Bradford who is about to crash their Starbucks breakfast.
“Incoming.” Nolan whispers and Tim looks up to see his wife. She looks mad and he thinks back on his morning to figure out what he did to prompt this. Lucy was off to work early today, a quick meeting before a doctor’s appointment (her annual physical); she’s very involved and attentive with the kids, but being a Captain keeps her busy. He got TJ, Lucas, and Alexander to the elementary school on time with clean clothes on and fresh breath. He even made sure their outfits were coordinated. Max was dropped off at preschool on time with no tears. The house is clean and a load of laundry is in the wash. Whatever set her off, it must be work-related.
“Timothy Alexander Bradford!” Lucy growls out. Smitty tries to run, but she grabs him by the collar, shoving him back down next to her husband. Tim gulps as the three men with him chuckle, but they quickly shut up when Lucy turns her glare on them.
“Hey baby,” he coos, trying to diffuse the ticking bomb. “What’s wrong? The boys got off to school–” he’s cut off when she stops in front of him and slaps him upside the head.
“ Ow! What did I do?” Tim winces as the other two men move further back in their chairs. Smitty cowers, trying not to catch the backhand of his very angry captain.
“What did you do? Seriously!” Tim shrugs because he can’t figure it out. With four kids, four boys at that, sometimes his memory can be foggy. He really is thinking hard when he feels her slap his arm.
“Lucy, you have to give me a clue. All the boys are fine, the house is clean. I’m gonna make your favorite dinner and you can relax tonight.” He reaches for her hand, threading their fingers together. “You’ve been working so hard, babe.” Lucy shakes her head, glaring at her husband of twelve years.
“YOU GOT ME PREGNANT! AGAIN!” she yells, attracting the attention of everyone in the shop. Tim swears he can hear a record scratch from somewhere behind the counter.
“I told you we’d want to remember these meetings,” Smitty says quietly to the other men.
“Your super sperm keeps on winning Timothy!” Tim’s face goes wide at her confession and Grey and Nolan quickly scatter to the adjacent booth as Lucy realizes her surroundings. “I thought we were done with this,” she says, defeated. He gently pulls her to sit next to him, on the opposite side of Smitty.
“How far along are you?” Tim asks gently, covering his head.
Lucy chuckles. “I won’t smack you again,” she leans over to kiss his cheek, backing her promise. “You seriously got me pregnant again,” she whines. “Obviously, birth control is no match for your seed,” Tim wants to laugh but decides against it, worried she’ll go for his balls next. “So you are getting a vasectomy,” she says with no room for argument. He wisely agrees.
“I know this wasn’t in the plan, but this baby is our little miracle. We thought you were done after Max because of everything that happened.” She nods. It had been a complicated pregnancy with a scary emergency delivery, and the doctor said another pregnancy was unlikely. “And five kids is a lot, but if anyone can handle being a kick ass captain and the best mom there is, it’s you. I’m here to support you in every way you need it.” Lucy smiles, melting against him.
“Thanks for reassuring me. The mood swings are coming in hot already, so I should have known, but life’s just been hectic.” He nods in agreement. She’s been heading up a new mental health initiative within the LAPD, so neither thought anything of her feeling more tired than usual. “I’m twelve weeks already. My stomach has been bloated and my boobs hurt, but I thought my period was just delayed due to stress. How did I not realize how late I was?” Nolan and Grey peek over the booth to see if it’s safe and she smiles. “You can come sit. I won’t hurt you. At least not right now.” The men slowly move back to the bench they vacated earlier.
Smitty goes to speak. “I think you’re glowing, Cap. I mean, sure, there’s more of you to love now–” Lucy growls and leans over her husband to claw at him, but Tim holds her back.
“Listen, you don’t need to get arrested for killing Smitty. He was just leaving.” Tim shoots him a pointed look and he finally scampers away.
“We need you here every day to get rid of him.” Grey says in wonder and Lucy laughs.
“I’ll just make him work the drunk tank,” she says conspiratorially, then looks at the other men sheepishly. “Look, I’m sorry to crash your Grumpy Old Men’s Club meeting, but can I please steal my husband?”
Both men nod. “Congratulations,” Grey says, standing to pull her in for a hug. “Luna will be thrilled to have another grand baby to spoil.”
After shaking hands with Grey and Nolan, Tim wraps his arm around Lucy’s waist and guides her out. They have a lot to talk about.
“We’re really having another baby,” he says when they’re cuddled up on the couch. Lucy just bursts into tears. “What’s wrong?”
“I thought we were through this. I finally feel like myself again.” She drops her head back against the cushion. “I’m in my forties, Tim. My body is already not like it was; I’m tired all the time and I won’t bounce back as quickly. And yeah, you’re home, but there’s so much already put on you. I feel like I’m already failing as a wife and mother.” She hangs her head in her hands and Tim holds her close.
“You’re not failing, Luce. You’re incredible. Your strength amazes me every single day. And don’t worry about me, I love being a stay at home dad and I’m excited to add another to the pack. We got this. We always do, okay?” She nods, but still doesn’t seem convinced. “Yeah, our hands are full, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He rubs his hand up and down her back soothingly.
“I’m so nervous; I wasn’t captain last time. I’ve worked so hard to get here. How can I give five kids plus my job plus you enough love and attention?” Lucy chews her lip, her nervous tell.
“The same way you’ve been doing it with four kids. I’m so proud of you, Lucy. You just keep kicking ass and let your trophy husband worry about everything at home.” She giggles, burying her face against his chest. Tim smiles, knowing she’s finally warming up to the idea. “I really hope we can finally get our little girl,” he places a kiss in her hair. “Of course, I’m happy either way. We make cute kids and I wouldn’t change our life for the world.” Lucy lifts her head, looking into his eyes.
“We do have cute kids. And they’re pretty amazing.” She leans up to kiss him, a chaste peck on the lips. “I don’t care either way. You’re a hot dad, and I love seeing you with them.” She takes a deep breath before asking, “You promise you don’t regret retiring?”
Tim cradles her face, his look serious to match his words. “Not for a minute. You deserve all of this Lucy. I had my time, it’s your turn to keep on shining, baby.” Tim can’t help but place a soft kiss on her lips, and smirks as he pulls back. “You think I’m a hot dad?”
“Tim, look at you and look at me. I’ve gotten chubbier and my boobs sag, yet you seem to get sexier as you get older.” Her hands begin to wander, finding their way into his jeans, and Tim lets a quiet moan slip.
“First of all, you’re fucking gorgeous, Lucy. You’ve given me four healthy baby boys and we’ll have another one soon, there’s nothing sexier than that.” He kisses her deeply, gently thrusting his quickly growing erection into her hand, proving his point. “Second, we have a few hours before we have to pick up the kids, let me show you how much I love you.” Tim stands, pulling her with him and guiding her to the bedroom. They make good use of their rare alone time, with Tim taking extra care to thoroughly worship Lucy’s body.
~~~~~~
As expected, the boys are excited to have a new sibling. What is surprising is that they all agree on wanting a little sister, so Tim and Lucy do a gender reveal at twenty weeks. Everyone cheers when the pink balloons float up from the box. Tim cries (sobs, really) at the thought of finally having a daughter. As the oldest and most like Tim, TJ takes on the role of fierce protector throughout the pregnancy.
At thirty-seven weeks, Lucy goes into labor at home. They know from experience they don’t have much time, so they rush to the hospital, but she still delivers on the side of the road. It turns out, much like her daddy, their daughter is impatient. It’s a fortunate thing Tim has had training in delivering babies, but still Lucy wanted to kill him. Having to deliver one of his huge babies without drugs was never on her bingo card. Once she sees little Audrey Rose’s face, though, she immediately forgives him.
Lucy goes back to work when Audrey is four months old, so Tim straps the baby to his chest and brings her to the club meetings. They appoint her as the club vice president, and she becomes everyone’s little princess. Everyone dotes on her, from the Grumpy Old Men to the other officers and even the baristas. With an overprotective dad, four older brothers, Grandpa Wade, and half of the LAPD as honorary uncles, poor Audrey will never get a date to the prom, but she will never know a minute without love.
Every day after the club meeting, Tim takes Audrey to visit Lucy at work, and he doesn’t hate how turned on she always gets seeing him in dad mode. Thankfully, Tim had his vasectomy, so he cashes in on her appreciation every chance he gets. (They’ve even made good use of her office while the baby makes her rounds throughout the station, but that’s nobody’s business but their own!)