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“We shouldn’t be here without backup.” Lucy whispers to Tim who just looks over at her as he flips through the papers on the desk. Lucy watches him closely, and then he looks up at her again.
“Our rookies are outside.” He says. “If they see something they will alert us.” He sounds confident more confident than Lucy feels and she blows out a breath. It’s not that she doesn’t trust the two rookies downstairs but they are new, they are still learning and even though Lucy has been training Seth he still had a ways to go.
“You never would have trusted me.” She says. Tim pauses again to look at her. A flash of hurt crosses his face.
“That’s not true.” He says. “You know I did.” Lucy shrugs her shoulders, and flips through so papers on the desk.
Anything to prove that this man who worked in the office had murdered his wife. “Lucy—” Tim says softly. “I know I was hard on you but I trusted you more than anything. You saved my life over and over again.”
Lucy swallows hard at his words, wondering why that trust didn’t stretch to their relationship, why didn’t he trust her enough to tell her what was going on with Ray. Why did he have to shut her out and then walk away like it was nothing.
He said he trusted her but could she trust him?
“Yeah.” She mutters. She feels Tim’s eyes on her and hears the shuffling of papers and his footsteps on the hardwood floor.
“Lucy—”
“You trusted me as your rookie, as your aide but not as your girlfriend.” She blurts out and then tips her head back a little.
Shit.
Tim’s mouth falls open a little as he stares at her. “You know that’s not true.” He says but his voice is shaky. “Lucy, there was so much going on.”
Lucy opens her mouth to reply when they hear Tim’s radio cackle. Tim shoots her a look as his rookie’s voice fills the room.
“Sergeant Bradford. The suspect is walking up the stairs.” Miles says. Tim and Lucy exchange a look and then they hurry out of the office. They get to the elevator and Lucy jabs at it, not looking at Tim.
The elevator doors open and they step inside. Lucy presses the button and she leans against the wall. She watches Tim closely, wondering if he will say anything. It’s not like they haven’t been getting along because they have. They have been working closely together, and Lucy has even come to him asking for advice on how to train her rookie on certain things. He had been happy to help, small doses.
She sighs softly and Tim turns to look at her with a soft but determined look on his eyes. He opens his mouth to speak but then the elevator makes a loud noise and then stops. Lucy’s eyes widen a little and Tim turns his back to her again, his fingers pressing the button.
“It’s stuck.” She says and he turns to look at her.
“It looks like it is.” He replies and then takes his radio out and presses on it but there’s no signal.
“Well—” Lucy drops to the floor and stretches her legs out. “They will realize at some point we aren’t back yet.”
Tim doesn’t say anything, instead he tries the emergency button but it doesn’t seem to be working at the moment either.
Tim turns back to Lucy his eyes going to her on the ground. There’s a long uncomfortable silence that Lucy isn’t used to with Tim and then he sinks to the floor next to her.
“I’m sorry.” He says. She looks over at him, and raises her eyebrows.
“For what?”
“Insisting we come up here.” He says. “We found nothing and now—” He gestures around. Lucy reaches over to put a hand on his arm.
“It’s not your fault Tim.” She says. She squeezes his arm and he looks over at her.
“How do you do that?” He asks. “How are you so—kind and understanding even when I—others don’t deserve it?”
Lucy chews on her bottom lip, and then takes her hand of his arm and puts it in her lap. “I don’t know. I think it comes to bite me sometimes.” She admits and she hears Tim sigh.
“Lucy listen.” He says. “I was trying to protect you and your job. I didn’t want you to be mixed up in my drama.”
“I just wanted to help Tim.” She says not looking at him. “You were spiraling. You weren’t talking to me. You were putting this whole thing above me—above us. I thought our relationship meant more than that.”
“Of course it did.” Tim says softly. “I just didn’t want to see you hurt.”
Lucy sighs deeply, and then lets it out. She understands where he is coming from. She knows everything Tim did he thought he was doing to protect her, but it just ended up hurting both of them in the process.
“She turns to Tim and reaches for his hands. He lets her and she squeezes them. “You didn’t let me choose Tim. You thought I deserved better and that was it. But the thing is—” She squeezes his hands again.
“I would always choose you. Through the good and the bad. I would do it over and over again because you are worth it.” She says.
Tim hangs his head a bit and looks at her, his eyes full of emotion. “I’m sorry Lucy.” He says. “I know I messed up. I messed everything up. I regret it and I’m sorry.”
There’s another long awkward, uncomfortable silence and Lucy still has a hold of his hands. She scoots closer to him. She situates herself so she’s looking at him, trying to figure him out.
She once told Isabel that she had him all figured out, and she knew him. But she’s not so sure anymore.
She knows he has demons, she knows he has a storm inside of him. But she just can’t quite understand why he did what he did.
“I just don’t understand.” She says breaking the silence. Tim raises his eyes to hers and tilts his head at her.
“Understand what?” He asks but she can see he knows what she’s about to say.
“Why you threw away everything we had—because why? I deserve better?”
Tim swallows and she can tell he’s working up the nerve to say whatever he’s about to say. “Because I didn’t want you to see the worst parts of me. I didn’t want to disappoint you and let you down.”
“Tim—”
“You are so good Luce. And I’m so lucky you stuck by me. You pulled me out of the darkness and I just—”
“Do you think I really would just leave you because you made a few mistakes?” She asks her voice sounding almost hard and angry. “Because you have seen me at my worst, you pulled me back from—you saved me so many times and you never left me. And I would never leave you.”
Tim takes a deep breath. “Lucy I—” He starts. “I am so sorry. For everything.” Lucy sighs and puts her hand on his heart and looks up at him.
“Tim, you are amazing. I know you have been going through stuff and—”
“I am in therapy.” He says softly. She smiles at him, she knew this, knew that he found a new therapist and he has been working hard.
“I’m proud of you Tim.” She says softly. “I just wish you would have let me help you. Because I love you Tim. I want to help.”
“Y-you still love me?” Tim asks seeming a little flabbergasted.
“I never stopped.” She says and it’s true. She tried to forget him, shoved all his gifts he got her out of sight in her closet. She put him out of her mind, tried to be stop loving him but she couldn’t.
It wasn’t possible for her to. Tim was it for her. He was everything she ever wanted no matter what.
Tim is silent for a few minutes before he’s putting his hand on top of hers. He brings her hand up to his mouth and kisses it.
“I never stopped loving you either Lucy. It was never about that.” He says and Lucy huffs out a breath.
“I love you Tim.” She says. “And I always will.” She swallows hard and leans in to him a little. He has been going at her pace, but now she was going to go at his. She knows this wouldn’t be easy but it would be a start. And she just wanted Tim by her side, in her bed back where he belonged.
“You are incredible.” He mutters and her heart skips a beat. “I love you too.”
She smiles a little bit and then leans in to press a soft kiss to his lips. He pulls her closer so she’s practically sitting on his lap.
“You are pretty incredible too Tim Bradford.” She says. “If we are going to do this..again. I need you to promise something.”
“What’s that Luce?” He mutters into her hair.
“You won’t walk away again without letting me in first. I know it won’t be easy but—”
“I promise.” He says his voice thick with emotion. “I promise Lucy. I’m not letting you go again.”
Lucy smiles and kisses him again, and this time it’s longer and it’s like everything just falls into place.
They are so wrapped up in each other, they don’t hear the doors opening or notice the two rookies gaping at them.
“I told you!” A voice says and Lucy startles looking over her shoulder to see Seth and Miles staring at them. “They are definitely a thing!” Lucy huffs out a amused laugh while Tim glares at the two rookies. He stands up and then pulls Lucy with him. They separate but Lucy doesn’t move away from them.
“You owe me $20!” Seth tells Miles. Tim’s rookie rolls his eyes at Seth and Lucy just shakes her head.
“Are you okay sir?” Miles asked. “We—”
“We are fine.” Says Tim gruffly and then he looks over at Lucy and his face softens a little.
No wonder these two figured out there was more between them.
“Thank you for getting us out.” Lucy says as she steps out of the elevator. Seth nods and he still looks giddy.
They all walk back to the shops together, Lucy’s hand brushing Tim’s and sending a shiver up her spine.
“I will see you back at the station Officer Chen.” Tim says. Lucy nods and watches him go, listening as Tim scolds Miles for taking a bet on his relationship.
Lucy climbs into her own shop and Seth gets in too. She turns him and she can’t help the grin on her face.
“Good job.” She says. Seth beams at her a little bit.
“Of course ma’am when you didn’t come out I—” He says but Lucy shakes her head.
“No. I mean on winning the bet. Sergeant Bradford is really competitive and hard to beat. No doubt he’s training Miles the same way.”
Seth gapes at her and she grins as she starts her shop, feeling lighter than she has in a long time. She has a feeling everything would be okay.
***
“Can you believe they had a bet going? On whether we were together or not?” Tim grumbles as he moves around the kitchen. “Miles said the tension was confusing. He wasn’t sure if it was good or bad.”
Lucy laughs and stops him just as he’s about to move around her. “I mean it was a little confusing.” She says. “They clearly saw something between us.” Tim huffs out a laugh and pulls her closer pressing a kiss to her lips and then spinning her around so her back is up against the counter.
“We are pretty obvious huh?” He asks softly. She nods her head and then rests it on his chest listening to his heartbeat in her ear.
They were still working things out, but they were back together and—it was amazing having him in her space again.
“By the way.” She mumbles looking up at him. “My rookie will crush yours when it comes to—anything.”
“Kind of cocky aren’t you Officer Chen.” He says. And she just laughs as he kisses her again. “I guess we will just have to see about that huh?”
Lucy laughs happily and cuddles up to him, breathing him in.
And yeah they would just have to see about that.
She knows no matter what happens with their rookies, they have each other and that’s all that matters.