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Between getting caught in the fire, Tim’s confession, finding out Seth lied… again, and worrying about James and Nyla; Lucy was absolutely drained. She somehow mustered up enough strength once they finally got back to the station late that night to take a quick shower. She was still covered in soot and smoke and couldn’t wait to wash the day away.
Tim had stayed close to her all day. Whether it was intentional or not, Lucy definitely welcomed it. She knew he was terrified of losing her in the fire, and seeing James being rushed into surgery only amplified that. For both of them.
Because of the time, day shift officers were long gone and night shift was already out on patrol so the locker room was empty. Lucy made quick work of her shower, throwing her hair into a quick braid before getting dressed.
She knew she should go home. She knew it would feel good to lay in her own bed after the day they had, but she knew there was no chance she’d be able to sleep tonight. No chance she wouldn’t have at least one nightmare.
On her drive home, she made the quick decision to head towards Tim’s house. So much was going through her mind. Of course she still loved him. Of course she still wanted to be him. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t terrified.
Almost dying with Tim under the fire blanket was eye opening enough. But then seeing what happened to James and how Nyla was, really put things into perspective.
She wants Tim to know how she feels. She’s ready to open up to him. No guarantee where things will go after that, but she’s ready.
Parking her car in front of his house, she opened her door and stepped out into the cool evening air. She could hear Kojo barking as she got closer to the door, bringing a smile to her face. If nothing else came of tonight, at least she’d get to see her best boy.
Before she even reached the patio, the front door swung open. Tim was standing there on the other side in a pair of sweats and a red Henley.
Seeing him like that, Lucy could almost immediately feel herself start to blush. Trying to hide it, she looked up at him and smiled as she finally reached the door.
“Hey. What’s going on? Are you okay?” He asks with a concerned look on his face.
“Yes. No. I don’t know,” Lucy shakes her head, unsure of what even to say.
Tim motions for her to come inside. Once she does, she closes the door and looks down at her again.
“Lucy, what do you need?” She knows he’s asking because he cares.
“You,” she says quietly but honestly, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Okay, what can I do for you?” He reaches out and places his hands on her shoulders.
“A hug.” She doesn’t even have to say anything else. He quickly wraps his arms around her and holds her close. She has always felt the most safe in his arms.
“I almost lost you today,” she says into his chest.
“I know. I almost lost you, too,” he says into her hair.
She lifts her head up only to look up at him. He loosens his grip so he can look at her, too.
“I do too, you know,” she says shyly.
“You do too what?” He asks with a smirk on his face.
Before she can respond, she playfully smacks his shoulder, earning a chuckle from them both.
“I still love you too.”
“It’s okay if you don’t, Lucy. I know what I did to you, and I would understand if you don’t feel that way about me anymore.”
“No matter how hard I tried to ignore my feelings for you or to try to stop loving you, I couldn’t. And today… today was a lot,” she looks down trying to stop herself from getting emotional.
“It was a lot. Definitely put a lot of things into perspective.” Tim agrees.
“What I said in the hospital about my priorities being clear, I wasn’t just talking about my career.”
“I know,” he wasn’t being smug, but he knew exactly what she meant.
“Look. We still have a lot to talk about, and you have some explaining to do, I don’t want to live another day without you knowing how I feel. I don’t think I’m completely ready yet to be us again, but I think I will be soon,” she looks up at him with a shy smile.
“This is all at your pace, Luce. I’m all in, you’re it for me. You’re the love of my life and nothing, nothing will ever change that. Today definitely feels like it amplified all of those feelings, but they were always, and will always be there. I’ll be here whenever you’re ready. You let me know when you’re ready for that third first date,” he winks.
“Third, and last first date.” She adds, smiling, of course making him smile too.
Their little moment was interrupted by Kojo nudging their legs, with a whimper.
“Guess we’ve been ignoring him for too long,” Tim sighs.
“Oh come here boy!” Lucy crouches down and starts loving on the dog.
“Hey Tim?” Lucy asks as she’s petting Kojo.
“Yeah Luce?” He looks down at her.
“Can I stay here with you tonight? I know I’m going to have nightmares and I know I’ll feel safest with you,” she asks nervously.
“Of course you can stay. You can stay here whenever you want, you know that. I wasn’t going to push, but I feel more comfortable with you here after today, too.”
Lucy just smiles at him before turning her attention back to Kojo. Tim can’t help but stand back and watch with a smile on his face. It was going to take time and more work but he was going to get the love of his life back.