Work Text:
You Put Your Arms Around Me and I’m Home
Lucy sighs as she pushes the door to locker room open and heads inside to change out of her uniform. She has been on shift for fifteen hours, eight of those were spent in a standoff with a father who had shot his wife and was holding his eight year old son hostage. They tried everything to get him to give up but he had nothing left to lose and he ended up pulling the trigger, killing both his son and himself. Lucy felt sick as she heard the gunshots go off, she had to brace herself on the hood of her shop to keep from falling over as she watched Metro descend on the house. They all knew it was too late though and when she watched Tim walk back out through the front door, his face wearing a grim expression she knew exactly what had happened inside that house.
Her and Celina spent hours helping detectives process the scene which is why her shift ran over and now all she wanted to do was change out and go home, maybe take a bath and curl up in bed with Tim and forget all about this awful day. He had gotten off earlier than her and had asked her to let him know when she was heading home so she pulled out her phone to send him a quick text that she would be home in about twenty minutes then pulled her clothes out of her locker. She quickly changed out of her uniform, pulled the tie out of her hair to let it flow freely down her back then slipped her shoes on and picked up her bag then slipped out of the locker room. She walked out to her car in the dark and then drove off, turning left out of the parking lot to head home.
*******
She walks into the house, the lights are dimmed, there are candles lit and Kojo comes trotting over to greet her. She leans down and scratches his head, “Hey buddy, where’s your daddy?” She looks around and sees a vase filled with flowers sitting on the kitchen counter so she walks over and finds a note sitting next to it.
Welcome home beautiful, I know you had a rough day so I hope these put a smile on your face. Meet me in our bathroom, I have a bath ready for you to relax.
She smiles at his thoughtfulness, at the way he always seems to know exactly what she needs. She sets the note back down on the counter and turns to walk down the hallway towards their bedroom. The lights are low in there, candles lit and lining the dresser then she walks into the bathroom to the same scene, low lighting and candles spread out casting a light glow over the room. Her eyes land on the bath tub where Tim is already settled, the steam rising up, the bubbles covering him and a smile stretching across his face when he notices her.
She gives him a soft smile back and begins to undress, kicking off her leggings and her panties then pulling off her top and unhooking her bra before she steps into the tub with him and settles between his legs, her back pressing against his chest and his arms coming to wrap around her.
He presses a kiss to her hair as she settles, “Hi, I know you had a rough day and I figured you would want a nice bath to help you relax a little bit.”
She melts into his embrace, feeling the weight of the day finally hit her now that she is home and in Tim’s arms. She can feel the tears in her eyes and she sniffles a little before she begins to speak, “It never gets easier when kids are involved. I just don’t understand how someone could do that to their child. When we were processing the scene there were signs of abuse and neglect all over the house, the coroner said both the mom and little boy had bruises all over their bodies. He had been beating them for who knows how long, the woman he was supposed to love and the child he was supposed to protect. It’s just unimaginable.”
Tim’s arms stiffen around her, she knows he is reliving his childhood, he often does when they have cases like this and she knows this day affected him just as much as it did her. She places her hands on top of his and leans her head back onto his shoulder so she can look at him. “I know this was hard for you too baby, it brings up everything you went through.”
Tim lets out a deep breath, “It does. I always see myself when I work cases like this, its not easy. I just wish we had been able to get through to that dad and save the kid. I hate when we can’t save them.”
His grip on her tightens and she just closes her eyes as they sit there in a comfortable silence, breathing each other in, enjoying the warm water and trying to put the events of today behind them. It’s one of the hardest parts of the job, they see the worst of humanity day in and day out and they have to go out and do it all again the next day, they have to keep pushing through so hopefully they will be quick enough to save the next kid.
After a while the water starts to turn cold and Tim releases his hold on her and rubs his hands up and down her arms. “Let’s get out, I ordered us dinner and its keeping warm in the oven. Get some comfy pajamas on and we can eat on the couch then snuggle up and watch a movie.”
Lucy turns her body so she can press a kiss to his lips, “That sounds like the perfect night.”
Tim steps out first, wraps a towel around his waist then turns back to her with a hand outstretched to help her out. She steps out carefully and he wraps a fluffy towel around her before he pulls her in for a hug. When he pulls back he places a gentle kiss to her forehead then they turn to head to their bedroom.
They get dressed in a comfortable silence. Tim throws on flannel pajama pants and a white t-shirt while Lucy opts for one of Tim’s oversized shirts and sleep shorts. She throws her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head then they head out to the kitchen to have their dinner.
Tim pulls the takeout from the oven and Lucy lets out a little moan when she sees it is from their favorite little Italian place that she always gets when she is feeling down. “You got me my favorite comfort food?” She asks as she moves to get plates and helps Tim move the food from the containers onto them.
He smiles at her, “Of course I did. You always love this place when you’ve had a bad day so I figured it was perfect after the day we had.”
Lucy is overwhelmed with the love she feels for this man, how he knows so much about her and always knows exactly what she needs to make her feel better. She leans into his side and places a kiss to his chest through his shirt as he puts an arm around her and holds her close.
“Come on, lets sit down and eat. I’ll even let you pick the movie for tonight.”
“Really? Can we watch some cheesy rom com?” She asks her eyes widening with excitement.
Tim rolls his eyes, “We can watch ONE cheesy rom com just for tonight, it better be a good one though Chen.”
She giggles as she settles down onto the couch and places her food on the tray that Tim had set up. He begrudgingly hands her the remote and she grabs it from his hand with a gleeful expression on her face.
She flips through their different streaming accounts while they start to eat their dinner before finally finding what movie she wants to watch, Just Go With It.
“I think you’ll actually like this one Tim, it has Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. It’s so funny.”
“Alright, lets give it a shot.”
She starts the movie as they finish eating their dinner and she can tell Tim is already enjoying it and they are only fifteen minutes in. He moves the trays out of the way once they finish eating and she moves over to snuggle into his side. He pulls the blanket off the back of the couch and uses it to cover them both then puts his arm around her and they sit back to enjoy the movie.
Lucy is so comfortable snuggled on the couch with Tim, pressed against his side, the warmth from his body seeping into her that the exhaustion begins to take over, her eyelids get heavy and she can’t keep them open anymore. She closes them, telling herself she will just rest her eyes for a minute but the next thing she knows Tim is gently shaking her awake and the credits are rolling on the television.
She looks around, blinking her eyes in confusion, “What happened to the movie?”
Tim brushes a piece of hair back out of her face and tucks it behind her ear, “The movie is over Luce. You fell asleep. Although I will have to give you credit, it was a pretty good movie. But now its time for bed.”
He leans down and scoops her up off the couch, placing one arm under her knees and the other behind her back and she brings her arms around his neck and nuzzles her face into his neck as he carries her to their bedroom. He sets her down gently on her side of the bed and then pulls the covers up over her. Then he leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead, “You go to sleep. I’m going to go clean up our dinner and let Kojo out then I will be back.”
Her eyes are already closed and she mumbles something that Tim can’t quite make out so he just shakes his head and retreats out of the bedroom headed back to the living room to take care of everything.
Fifteen minutes later the kitchen is clean, all the candles have been blown out, Kojo has been out and is now sleeping soundly in his dog bed. Tim sets the alarm system and then heads back to the bedroom to climb into bed.
Lucy is sound asleep, curled up on her side, one arm tucked under pillow. Tim walks quietly into the room, slips his shirt off then carefully climbs into bed trying not to jostle too much and wake her up. He lays on his back, one arm up behind his head, the other resting on his stomach and stares up at the ceiling as he thinks about the events of the day. It never gets easier when you can’t save someone, especially when its a child, but he is grateful that he can come home to Lucy, that they can take care of each other and weather the storms together.
She begins to stir in her sleep and then she rolls over so she is facing Tim and she throws an arm over his stomach. When she feels his warm body she immediately scoots across the bed to cuddle into him. She lays her head on his chest and slots one leg between his before sighing contently.
Tim brings the arm behind his head down to wrap around her shoulder as he pulls her closer to him and places a kiss to the top of her head.
Then she speaks, a quiet whisper so soft that he almost doesn’t hear it, “Thanks for taking care of me tonight, you always know exactly what I need.”
He tightens his grip on her before he speaks, “Anytime Luce. I will always take care of you. I might not be able to keep bad things from happening but I will always be here to help you through it, whatever you need.”
She moves her hand from his stomach and places it on his face then looks up at him, “All I need is you Tim, after everything that happened today all I wanted was to come home and be in your arms. You are my home Tim, you are my safe place.”
Tim’s eyes fill with tears as he takes in her words, he looks in her eyes and sees nothing but love shining in them. He can’t help himself, he cups her face with one hand then leans down and kisses her, a soft gentle kiss that he hopes conveys just how much he loves her.
“You are my home Luce, I can have the worst day at work but the instant I am home and with you I just feel better. I’m so lucky to have you, I don’t know what I would do without you.”
She presses another kiss to his lips, “Well good thing you will never have to find out. I love you.”
“I love you too.” He moves his hand from her face to wrap around her and she settles back onto his chest, wrapping her arm back around his stomach. He presses another kiss to the top of her head as they both close their eyes and begin to drift off to sleep in each others arms.
Happy.
Content.
Home.