Chapter Text
“We do mortal peril together pretty well,” he said, his words muffled by the oxygen mask.
She laughed, turning to him and peering at him above her own mask, “Shut up.”
His mask fogged up with his own laugh as the corners of his eyes crinkled up into a huge grin. They softened quickly as he shifted his head to turn to her.
“Lucy,” his voice was gentle, low and she knew exactly what was coming, “I meant what I said back there.
She shook her head, putting her hand out, palm facing outward in a weak effort to get him to stop, “No, Tim, you don’t have to…I mean…we thought we were going to die.”
“Stop deflecting Lucy,” he stated firmly, rising up to a sitting position.
“Deflecting? Someone’s picking up things from therapy,” She rolled her eyes, “Wait, what are you doing?”
He’d completely taken off his mask by then and was walking towards her.
“Tim, your mask…what…what are you-”
He motioned for her to move over and crawled into the bed with her, “Shh…”
“I..” she started, pulling on her own mask. His hand came up and held it to her.
“Leave it on, let me talk for once.”
She scoffed, but kept her mask on, letting him wrap an arm around her and finding herself instinctively curling into him.
“I never stopped loving you, you know that right?”
She nodded and he went on.
“I was just…so…broken,” his voice grew even hoarser with that last word and her hand went up to clutch at his uniform, her fingers curling around the dusty fabric.
“I know how much I hurt you and I know I ruined everything but I’ve been working on things, working on myself and I realized some things.”
She felt him shift and look down at her and she raised her head, their eyes meeting and the look he was giving her was full of so much tenderness, she briefly felt herself stop breathing, the oxygen monitor on her finger starting to beep.
Gulping in a deep breath that ended in a cough, she let him hug her to him even tighter.
“I love you,” he whispered, his lips grazing her hair.
“I love you too,” she said back, feeling a hot tear run down her face.
Well, damn, he’d made her cry after all.
“Oh my God, I’m so glad you guys are okay…uh..Sergeant Bradford? Officer Chen?” A voice squeaked out from the end of the bed and they both looked up to see Seth Ridley standing there, a shocked expression on his face.
“Officer Ridley,” Tim snapped, his mouth a grim line, “What are you doing here?”
“I, uh,” Seth’s eyes darted from Tim to Lucy and she shifted a bit into a sitting position while Tim’s arm left her shoulders. She immediately missed his warmth and shivered slightly, pulling her mask down so she could address her rookie.
“We’re okay Seth, except for the smoke inhalation…and the years of nightmare fuel.”
“Weren’t you manning the phones last I saw you?” Tim pushed himself into a sitting position at the edge of her bed.
“Yeah..but the fire’s been mostly contained and I just came to check in on my TO.”
Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, was he sweating? The creeping feeling that something was off spread like icy fingers down her back.
“I can’t believe the National Weather Service didn’t tell us that road was dangerous. Apparently the fire had just shifted right as you guys were heading down it.”
“The National Weather Service didn’t warn you?” Tim’s face clouded with suspicion as he stood up and then swayed for a few seconds, erupting in a fit of coughing and immediately dropping down to Lucy’s bed again.
“Whoa, Sarge, are you okay?” Seth rushed forward right as a nurse appeared around a curtain.
“Careful there tough guy,” She said, moving past Seth and grabbing Tim’s arm, the two helping him over to his bed. She looped the straps of the oxygen mask around his head and fitted it down over his mouth.
“Now, what were you doing out of bed?” She asked, placing the oxygen monitor onto his finger. Tim tried to move the mask off again to answer her but she shook her head, turning to Lucy instead.
“He, uh, we were…” She stuttered, trying to think of an explanation that didn’t involve them both admitting they still had feelings for each other, “Is he okay?”
“I think he probably needs some fluids, both of you would probably benefit from that. His oxygen level is fine and yours looks good too. I’ll go get the IVs ready.”
“Thanks.” Lucy placed her mask back on her face.
“My name’s Brenda if you guys need anything,” She pulled the curtains to create a more private space for them, “Say, have I met you guys before? You look awfully familiar.”
Tim and Lucy glanced at each other and then shook their heads.
“Hmm,” Brenda shrugged, before walking off to the nurses station.
Lucy turned her attention back to Seth, “Is everyone else okay?”
He nodded, “As far as I know, look I have to get back to the station, I just wanted to check on you guys.”
“Wait,” Tim pulled off his mask and Lucy was about to chastise him again for not following medical orders but she stopped when she took in the look on his face, “You said the National Weather Service didn’t warn you? Weren’t you in constant communication with them?”
Seth puffed out his chest, “I know, the fact that they didn’t let us know that the fire had shifted is unacceptable.”
Tim’s brow furrowed, “The road wasn’t safe and they didn’t tell the emergency responders?”
Seth was definitely sweating, “Yeah, it’s unbelievable right, but trust me, I’ll be following up on this. Somebody’s going to get fired over this.”
Tim’s jaw set and Lucy could tell that he knew something was off too, “I’ll follow up too, make sure that they do.”
Seth’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, “No, I, uh, don’t think that’s necessary, I put the fear of God in them.”
Lucy fought the urge to laugh out loud at his declaration. When had Seth Ridley ever put the fear of God in anyone?
Tim just stared at him, his mouth slightly open and his eyes hard.
Seth pulled at his collar, “Right, sounds good. I better get back, Grey is probably looking for me.”
He turned on his heel and walked away.
Lucy glanced at Tim and found him looking back at her. When their eyes met, she could tell exactly what he was thinking. It immediately took her back in time, took her back to the time before. Before he was the love of her life, before they had taken that plunge, before everything had just gotten so messed up. It took her back to the time when it was just them, when they were something between friends and lovers, more than colleagues but not partners. To the time she realized that she could tell exactly what he was thinking, even with just one look.
He didn’t trust what Seth was saying either.
“That fire hadn’t just shifted when we got there. I had been burning that way for a while,” her brows knit together as she slowly said the words. She was speaking more to herself but she knew Tim could hear her, “That tree fell too fast…”
He nodded slowly just as Brenda came back with the IV bags and Lucy watched her treat Tim, her hands gentle as she chided him for wincing at the stick of the needle. She felt her lips curl into a soft smile, her eyes heavy with sleep and she drifted off, not even waking when Brenda hooked up her own IV.
Her dream came swiftly, and just as swiftly, it turned into a nightmare.
She was back under the fire shelter, only this time she was alone. Tim wasn’t there with her, holding onto her, cradling her head against his.
He wasn’t whispering that they would be okay.
There was no one else, just her and the dirt and the fire raging around her.
Then it changed, the shelter shrunk down and closed in, becoming solid, the air growing still and quiet.
She was back in the barrel, back to the worst day of her life.
When the realization hit her, she started screaming, clawing her way out, her hands getting tangled in cords that hung from the top and she pulled at them, trying to get away, trying to find any way to get out.
“Lucy!”
Tim’s voice cut through her panic like a sharp knife.
“Lucy, wake up!”
She jolted awake, her hands still tangled in the cords she quickly realized was her IV tubing.
She was back in the hospital, not in the barrel and she sagged down in relief before darting her eyes over to Tim. He was standing by her bed, his hand on her shoulder, eyes full of worry.
“Are you okay?”
She rubbed at her eyes, “Yeah, um, yeah, I was just…”
“I was just a dream Lucy,” He stated, as if he could read her mind, as if he had seen it play out, projected in front of him.
She blinked, trying to rid herself of the last vestiges of sleep and sat up.
“It felt so real,” she whispered, her voice hoarse, and then looked down to see the oxygen mask dangling under her chin where she had pulled it off.
“They said we could go, we’re released.”
“Oh thank God,” she sighed loudly, just as a nurse came up to remove her IV.
Once they were all done, she swung her legs off the side of the bed and Tim stuck out his hand to help her stand up.
“I can’t wait to get home and shower,” she announced after nurse Brenda gave them their incentive spirometers and check-out instructions. Feeling around the bed, she found her phone and groaned when she realized it was dead. She sighed, “I guess I need to borrow a phone to ask for a ride.”
“I was able to get Brenda to let me borrow her phone when she was manhandling me and checking my vitals. Genny dropped off my truck and got a ride back from her boyfriend. I can give you a ride.”
“Wait, what? Genny has a boyfriend? When did that happen? I thought at the gala…”
He scowled, “She met some guy at the bar after, when she went out with Rachel. I haven’t met him but I’m trying to stay out of it because then she would feel like she could get involved in…”
His eyes darted over to her and he stopped.
“Involved in what?”
“Doesn’t matter,” he shook his head, “Look, do you want a ride or not?”
“Yes, please, that would be great.”
She climbed off the bed and followed him down the hallway. He slowed until they were walking side by side.
“Lucy, look, I know you’re tired, and I am too, but I was really hoping we could finish our conversation from earlier.”
“Which one? The one about Seth or the other one?”
“Uh…both. But mostly…the other one.”
She stopped, turning to face him, “I would like that.”
One side of his mouth lifted up in a crooked smile, “Come home with me.”
It wasn’t really a question but she knew it demanded an answer and she nodded, turning to continue their walk down the hall. A stretcher passed in front of them in a blur of blood and gauze.
“Oh my God, is that James?”