Chapter Text
It took a few more minutes before Tim and Lucy went downstairs and joined Genny in the kitchen. She was standing on a chair, searching for something in the cupboards.
"Gen, what are you doing?" Tim asked, startled.
"Calm down, big brother. I remember Mum hid something around here. You were already overseas by then." A moment later, she pulled out a tin can.
"I knew it," she said triumphantly, climbing back down.
"Dad tore up the family photo albums the night before. When he fell asleep, Mum salvaged what she could and hid them." With that, she opened the can and pulled out a stack of old photos. Some were missing corners, others had been repaired with tape. Carefully, she spread the pictures out on the table.
Lucy immediately recognized the little boy in one of them as Tim. His features were unmistakable. She picked one up. The photo showed Tim in his swim trunks, arms crossed in front of his chest, his face irritated.
"That's how he still looks when he's angry," Lucy laughed, but then noticed Nox flinch. Tim audibly inhaled, took the picture from her hand, and placed it face down on the table.
"If you want the pictures, Genny, take them. I don't want any of them," he said sharply. Lucy placed her hand on his arm and stroked it gently. His sister seemed to sense the change too, because she gathered up the photos and put them back in the box. A tense silence fell over the room.
“Do you think we have a chance of selling the house without investing any money first?” Genny asked, as if she hadn’t noticed the change in him. Nox, despite the obvious glint in her eyes, was reserved and kept hiding behind Tim, Lucy, or Quilin.
“We’ll probably get significantly less, but I don’t want to spend any more time here than absolutely necessary,” Tim replied in a hard tone reminiscent of the old Tim, long before Lucy came into his life.
“Okay. I could call John; he’ll probably have some insight. And he’s bound to have some useful contacts,” Lucy suggested.
“Good idea. Thanks.” With that, Lucy left the room. Quilin watched her go but decided to stay seated next to Nox, who was trembling slightly.
“I can imagine how hard this is for you,” Genny whispered, stepping up beside her brother.
“You can’t. You know I love you, but you can’t. And I’m glad about that,” he replied, his voice hard.
“You’re right, I can’t, and I owe it all to you. You protected me from him and gave me a better life. It should have been Mum’s job, but you did it. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that. And yet, I’m sorry. That you had to go through all that because of me.” With that, she pulled him into a hug.
“For years, I felt guilty about it, Tim.” They were still in each other’s arms when Lucy re-entered the room.
“John will come by tomorrow after his shift,” she said simply, and knelt down to scratch Nox and Quilin behind the ears.
Genny’s gaze drifted out the kitchen window into the small, overgrown, and unsightly garden. Clearly torn, she pressed her tortoise to her chest.
“It’s difficult for both of you, for different reasons, and it’s remarkable that you’re still trying to find a solution together,” Lucy broke the silence.
“Perhaps the best thing is to let the numbers speak for themselves. Have the house appraised and then decide how you want to proceed. I know Tim will feel better if he has something solid to rely on, and Genny will then have the certainty that she made the right decision.” Two pairs of eyes fell upon her, both filled with gratitude.
As Lucy parked Tim’s heavy truck in front of his house, his exhaustion was evident. The impressions of the past few hours weighed heavily on his shoulders, and Nox, too, had shrunk to the size of a cat.
“I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but you’ve been so strong today, Tim. What you did was important for closure,” she said softly, gently placing her hand on his arm. Without looking up, he nodded weakly and got out of the truck. Once inside, he stared blankly for a moment and then collapsed heavily onto the sofa. Suddenly, Lucy was standing beside him; he hadn't even heard her footsteps. She handed him a bottle of water from his refrigerator.
“I know you’d rather be alone with your thoughts right now, but I’m just a phone call away, no matter how late it is, okay?” she asked, her car keys glinting in her hand. Again, he only managed a nod. As she leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead, Nox whimpered at his feet. Lucy knelt on the ground beside the wolf and kissed her head as well.
“I know, Nox. Quilin and I aren’t leaving you either, we’re just giving Tim some space, he needs it.” Startled, the wolf jumped to his feet and shook himself as if she’d dumped a bucket of water on him.
“It’s okay, Sweety,” Lucy whispered, stretching out her arms. Nox immediately took a step forward and melted into her embrace.
“I love you too, Nox,” she whispered again, this time so softly that even Tim couldn’t hear. But the warm feeling that spread through him told him what she must have said.
"Thank you for today," he managed hoarsely, and her broad smile met his eyes.
"You'd do the same for me," she replied, pulling the door shut behind her.
Now he was alone in his house, which suddenly seemed much emptier and more lifeless than before. Lucy could bring energy to these rooms simply by being there, and without her, it felt more like a storage room than a home.
Nox began to whine at his feet.
"I know, I miss her too," he reassured his wolf. But he knew that she gave him the chance to sort out his thoughts, and he could do that best alone. Offended, Nox turned his back on him, trotted to the large sliding door that led to the terrace, and sat down in front of it, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
The next day, fog lay over the rooftops of LA when Lucy entered the station. A quick glance at the officers bustling about the rooms and she realized something was different. Quilin looked around the room, puzzled, and his gaze fell on Abakus, who wasn't perched proudly on Grey's shoulder as usual, but sitting on the edge of a desk with a frightened expression.
"What happened?" Lucy asked Nolan, who was about to slip past her.
"Angela and Jackson got themselves into a sticky situation," he said quickly and continued on his way. Before she could ask anything else, Grey was already beckoning her closer.
"Chen, I was just about to call you. We need all available hands on deck. Briefing in ten minutes."
Quilin wagged his tail impatiently until Lucy had finished putting on her uniform, his heart racing in unison.
"Okay, for those of you who don't know, about an hour ago Officers Lopez and West were dispatched to a noise complaint, and since then, there's been no trace of either of them. Initial investigations indicate that the house they were called to belongs to a family who have been under FBI surveillance for years on suspicion of human trafficking. I need all available units to locate them," Grey announced. The next moment, the door burst open and a stressed-out Tim entered the room.
"Thanks for helping us out on your day off, Bradford," Grey greeted him.
"Always, sir," he said, sitting down next to Lucy, who briefly placed her hand on his thigh under the table. The brief gesture calmed his racing heart as well as hers, and both Nox and Quilin visibly breathed a sigh of relief. While the superior officer showered the group with strategies, the panda and the wolf snuggled close together under the table, burying their heads in each other's fur.
"That's all for now. Go out on the streets and find our missing colleagues. We won't give up until we find them," Grey finished.
"Hopefully alive," Shmitty added quietly, but not quietly enough, earning a very angry glare from Grey, while Lucy just flinched violently.
She didn't know what she would do if she lost Jackson.