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“C’mon, let’s go home.” Tim says as he helps Lucy stand up and pull her into a hug.
He knew what she was experiencing was shock. He knew it would take her a while to come back. He knew because he’s been there, and he plans to support her in every way he can while she deals with this.
After he pulls away from her, she kind of just stands there. He knows what she needs but still wants to make sure she’s okay with it.
“Do you want me to help you change?” She just nods her head.
Grabbing the clothes from her bag, he carefully takes off the gown, almost immediately noticing a bruise on her hip. He knows now isn’t the time to ask her, so he’ll save it for later.
First, he helps her put her shirt on, which got a little wince. Then came her leggings, she held onto his shoulders as she stepped into them. After she was dressed, he grabbed her hand and her bag and they walked out to his truck.
After helping her step up into the truck and getting her buckled, he ran over to the drivers side to hop in. Before he started driving, he looked over at her, grabbing her hand.
“Luce, I have to run by the station to drop off my belt, do you want me to drop you off at home first?”
“No, I don’t want to be alone.” His heart broke at that. He gave her hand a squeeze before leaning over to give her a kiss on her forehead.
“Okay, I’ll be quick I promise.” He turns his attention back forward so he can start driving, still holding her hand.
After the quick drive to the station, he parks his truck and looks over at her once more.
“I’ll be right back out baby. Then we can go home and get you in bed.” She just nods her head and gives him a weak smile.
He’s glad he doesn’t run into anybody, because quite frankly he’s pretty sure he’d go off on somebody. He’s disappointed, to say the least that nobody has checked on Lucy. He knows it’s been weighting heavy on her as well, as she’s made comments of people being distant towards her since the exam.
He gets rid of his belt and quickly grabs his bag before rushing out the door. He’ll change at home, all he’s worried about is making sure Lucy is okay.
He gets back into the truck and Lucy is looking down at her hands, fidgeting them. He knew that meant she was panicking, even if she wasn’t showing it on her face.
Careful to not startle her, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She briefly looked over at him but then back down at her hands.
“Baby, I know you might not believe it right now, but it’s going to be okay.”
“How? I shot a man and he might not survive?”
“I know, but you can’t go there. You can’t let your mind think those things. We’ll get through this.”
“But how?” She has tears rolling down her face.
“I’ll be here for you every step of the way. I’ve gone through this a couple times and even though it never gets easier, you will make it out on the other side.” He wipes some tears from her eyes before grabbing her hand again.
After the tears stopped, for now, he began driving home. He still had his hand in hers. She was pretty sure that was the only thing keeping her grounded. Who knows what she’d do if she didn’t have him.
After they made it home and he put his truck in park, he looked over and saw Lucy still looking down at her lap. He sighed before getting out and running over to help her out. She took his hands and was now standing in the driveway.
At first, he honestly didn’t know if she would be able to walk, as she was just standing there.
“Do you want me to carry you in, baby?” He asks quietly, but loud enough she can hear.
“I think I can walk.” She starts moving towards the house, still holding his hand.
After getting up to the front door, he has to let go out her hand to unlock the door. It isn’t until he hears a few barks that he realizes Kojo will probably be exactly what Lucy needs.
It’s almost like the dog senses something is wrong, because instead of his usual excited jumps, he calmly comes up to Lucy and allows her to reach down and pet him. She gives him a little smile, something that Tim hasn’t seen all night and that makes him smile.
After she stands up from petting him, she looks at Tim. Without any words, she’s immediately in his arms letting the tears fall freely. He’s pretty sure he couldn’t hold her any tighter even if he wanted to.
“What do you need baby?” He asks her against her forehead.
“You.” She replies. He gives her another kiss on her head while rubbing her back.
“You hungry?” He asks after a little bit. She just shakes her head. He knows she should probably eat something so she can take her meds, as tonight is definitely going to be a rough night but decides to leave it for now.
“Do you want a bath?”
“Only with you.” She says quietly.
“I can do that. Let me get you sitting on the couch while I get it ready.”
“No, I want to come with you.”
“Okay baby. Let’s go.” He pulls away from her, holding her hand while walking to the bathroom.
After getting the bath ready, he helped her out of her clothes before getting undressed himself. She was already in the tub but sat forward to he could sneak in behind her.
She immediately closed her eyes and leaned her head back on his chest. Tim knew she’d talk when she was ready, so he was patient.
“I could’ve killed him.” She says quietly with a shaky voice.
“You could’ve, but you didn’t. You had to take the shot, Luce. If you didn’t, you probably would’ve died.”
“What if they find the shot wasn’t justified? What if he does die?”
He can tell she’s starting to get worked up so he takes his hand and places it on her DOD tattoo. He’s the only one allowed to touch it but it always brings her back when he does.
“Babe, I know this is hard and you’re going to go through every possible scenario in your mind. But, you have to not worry about the ‘what ifs’. He’s off the streets because of you and you’re here, safe with me.”
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
“You don’t need to thank me, I’ll always be here to help keep you afloat.”
She doesn’t say anything else but rather relaxes into him further. They sit like that for a few more minutes before the water starts to get cold and he suggests they get out.
He helps her out, holding a towel for her to dry off. After they’re both dry, they make their way to the bedroom where he grabs her one of his shirts, some sleep shirts and some panties. By now, she’s able to dress herself so he leaves her to it and gets dressed for bed himself.
She gets into bed quietly, while he goes and makes sure the house is locked up and to let Kojo out to do his business. By the time he gets back into the bedroom with a glass of water for her to take her PTSD meds, she’s already dozing off. He hates that he has to get her up, but tonight of all nights isn’t the time to miss them.
“Luce, baby. Here take your meds and you can go right back to sleep.” He says giving her a kiss on her forehead.
She grumbles but sits up enough to take it and immediately lays back down. Tim sets the glass down before getting into bed himself and pulling Lucy into him. She settles into him and almost immediately dozes off again but not before telling him how thankful she was for him.
“Thank you for being there and taking care of me. I know you said I don’t need to thank you, but nobody has ever put me first. Even if I was going through something horrible, everyone always somehow made it about them. You just… you’re different in the best way. I love you.” She says, followed by a yawn.
“I’m sorry people have treated you that way. But you’re allowed to feel scared, mad, confused, anything you want. But just know I’ll always be here to hold you, wipe your tears and support you in whatever way I can. You don’t have to deal with this, or anything else ever again alone. We’ll deal with it, together.” He gives her head another kiss.
He can feel her steady breathing and knows she’s asleep so he soon drifts off into his own sleep.