Chapter Text
Tim Bradford was a man who knew what needed to be done and when. He was speaking to Kojo’s daycare to verify they had his kennel ready for the week they’d be gone. All the utilities were taken care of and the house locked down except the front door. The fridge was cleaned out, the washer and dryer also, to make sure nothing spoiled. He’d packed his suitcase and left Lucy to pack with directions based on the weather alone.
“…yeah, thanks. Yes, we’ll be bringing him within the next thirty minutes.”
Lucy came into the living room with her suitcase. “I may have overpacked.”
Tim nodded as he hung up with the daycare, “good, because you can never have enough.” He leaned down to kiss her, “are you ready?”
“When’s our flight leave?”
“Around two, but LAX is a nightmare so getting there four hours early is a necessary.”
Pushing her hair back, Lucy said something honest. “I’ve never flown before.”
“You have your passport?”
Lucy tapped her backpack, traded from her usual purse or duffle. “So I guess we’re going international if you’re double checking my passport. The only reason I have it is because of that op in Baja. Thank god for Garza and his team getting it at extremely short notice, I don’t know how he did it.”
“We are going international and it’s somewhere you’ve been wanting to go for a long time.” Tim grabbed her suitcase and his, “go ahead and get Kojo.”
“Do we have everything?” Lucy asked, “is everything turned off and the alarms set?”
Tim pulled the leash from the wall and held it out. “Everything is taken care of. I made sure of it.”
“Ok.” Whistling softly, Kojo got up from his bed and went to Lucy. “Hey boy, let’s get in the truck. You’re going to daycare for a while.” She rubbed the dog down as she hooked his leash on.
The drive from Kojo’s daycare to LAX was full of Lucy trying to guess where they were going since she had a laundry list of places she wanted to go. Tim only held her hand and shook his head at her efforts. It was amusing seeing the love of his life try to guess where they were going, because she was wrong every time. He had a plan, he made it thoroughly, and with a little help from Aaron regarding their flight, they were going somewhere Lucy would be in tears over. Especially when someone she knew would be in the same city and she’d be seeing after years apart.
Parking in long term parking, Tim got their bags and made sure the truck was locked down. Lucy pulled on her backpack and followed him, “I can’t wait, we’re at the airport so tell me.”
“Ten minutes, Luce.” He spoke softly. “Just ten minutes.”
It took a bit to locate their airline desk because where Tim had been told to go by Aaron was a fractionally wrong. Signs finally directed them to the Singapore Airlines desk and Lucy got excited. She’d always wanted to go to Southeast Asia and her excitement was partial giddiness. Grasping his free arm, Lucy spoke in that overly excited voice he loved. “How’d you know I wanted to go to Singapore?”
“We’re not going to Singapore.” Tim looked at her, “we’re just using the airlines because it was the one that Aaron helped me book using his family’s billions of miles points. American operated airlines suck and I didn’t want you uncomfortable during the long haul flight. I am setting you up to be spoiled for your first flight so all the ones that follow will be mundane.”
Lucy let her hand drift to her belly, “next time we go somewhere, we’ll have our baby with us.”
“That’ll be interesting.” Tim kissed her head as she leaned against him, arms around his own. “I hear flying with babies are toddlers is an experience one never forgets.”
“If Celina says they’ll be like me, that means they’ll take direction well and not cause issues.”
He pushed their suitcases forward as they moved forward also. “You do take directions well, that’s the truth. However, you also have a penchant for being dramatic.”
“Hmm, well maybe they’ll get your quiet, observational temperament.”
“I have to confess something.”
Lucy looked at him, “what?”
“I don’t care about the order or how far apart they are, but I’d like at least one daughter. When I’ve pictured kids, I’ve always pictured a little girl begging for me to play with her. Whose eyes are exactly like her mother’s soft brown and hair pulled back in a braid I attempted and failed at.”
“I’d like that too.” She hummed softly and leaned her head against his arm. Only seconds later, she inserted reality. “However, that’s on you. So have a talk with your reproductive system regarding that request.”
Tim found himself laughing because Lucy could always make him laugh no matter what was said. He loved her and her wit, tenacity, compassion, argumentativeness. “I’ll get right on that.”
Getting to the counter, they pulled out their passports from Lucy’s backpack. “Welcome to Singapore Airlines, are you checking in?”
“And picking up our tickets.” Tim stated, “I have the confirmation code.” He unfolded a paper after retrieving it from his pocket. “Last name Bradford, B-R-A-D-F-O-R-D.”
The woman took their passports and the paper before nodding, “any baggage?”
“Two.” Tim pulled the suitcases closer to the desk, his bag going to the floor.
“I have you traveling from Los Angeles to Hong Kong with stops in Tokyo and Singapore. Departing today and returning on October eleventh.” The woman stated, “you’re going to be in First Class 1A and 1B, an adjoining suite.” She started printing out the tickets. “You can put your first piece of luggage on the belt.”
Once the baggage was taken care of and tickets printed, they took their passports. Lucy’s expression was shock and surprise. “Hong Kong, we’re going to Hong Kong?”
Tim nodded, “we are.”
“My nana lives in Hong Kong.”
He put a hand on her back, “and she’s expecting us. We’ve been putting this together for weeks now. I contacted her about a visit and some restaurants and places to visit. It turned into a non-negotiable stay at her place and a demand I marry you soon so not to dishonor you.”
Lucy laughed softly, “that sounds like her.” After a minute, she turned to him. “Wait, she said the eleventh, that’s two weeks not one.”
“I know, that was a surprise. After Grey showed up at the office, I figured a week wasn’t enough so we negotiated and I spoke to HR about extending the vacation. It was easy enough to get the airline dates switched via Aaron’s mother’s secretary.”
TSA was easy enough to get through due to their tickets and being in first class and after that they found the airline’s lounge, sitting down to wait on their flight. Lucy ordered some food and a drank a few glasses of water. Tim, ever a workaholic, checked in Sergeant Williams as he was the acting watch commander on the weekends. With knowledge the station and division were well, he texted Genny and his mother to let them know he and Lucy were going to board their plane soon.
“Thank you.”
Tim looked up to see Lucy watching him, “for what?”
“For the vacation, for organizing it so I can see Nana.” Lucy reached out and squeezed his hand. “I’ve been telling myself I’m going to visit her year after year but it’s never happened. I feel horrible since I promised to visit when she moved back to Hong Kong after years in the States. It was more affordable for her medically and socially to be back home instead of the US. It’s been ten years and I still have failed to visit.”
“I know.” Tim reassured her, “you’ve told me so many times since we met and so I figured I could give you that as an anniversary gift.”
Lucy nodded, “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Tim leaned in and kissed her before pulling back. “Go ahead and finish eating, you’re eating for two. How much water have you drank?”
“Between waking up and now, at least six bottles. That’s the max I should be drinking daily, between four and six bottles, that’s what I remember Angela saying she had to drink. I did some preliminary research online and got some good early pregnancy advice with actual backed up evidence. My OB will probably have to put me on iron pills due to my vegetarian and pescatarian diet, no red meat. Probably some vitamins also. For now I’m taking prenatals until I see the OB.”
Tim rubbed her back, “let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.” Lucy smiled, “I’m good at asking you for help.” After a moment, she motioned to his phone. “What does your mother and Genny have to say?”
“You can read the texts.” He put his phone on the table beside her, “I have to use the restroom anyways.”
“Okay.”
As he left, Lucy read the texts that Joy and Genny had with Tim. His mother said he was an outstanding partner and it was clear he loved Lucy. Genny had complained about how she wished her ex would have done something similar. A glanced towards where Tim went, she pulled her own phone out and sent a text to the two women. She had Genny spoke at least three times a week and somehow it ended up that she and Tim’s mother had text conversations at least once a week. Tim’s phone call with his mother turned into a video call that Lucy hijacked at least once a month.
Celina had texted her asking where she was going so she told her the destination and how Tim arranged it with her grandmother. Suddenly it switched threads and Lucy found it was the text group conversation with Celina, Harper, and Angela. She had to put her phone on silent due to the conversation’s many exchanges. Harper was asking about her grandmother so she explained why her grandmother moved back to Hong Kong after nearly forty years in the US. Angela was asking about whether she had morning sickness and not to deny she was pregnant because Angela suspected two weeks before. That started another conversation about first trimester advice and Lucy accepted it and texted back a few things she was doing.
“Alright, how are you doing?” Tim sat back down.
“Angela knows I’m pregnant, she suspected two weeks ago.” Lucy said while holding up the device for him to see. “They’re giving me a ton of advice right now.”
Reading a few of the texts, Tim shrugged. “I thought I was just imagining things when I thought your breast size got bigger. She’s not wrong, you’ve complained a lot about your bras being tight.”
Thinking about it, Lucy realized he was right. “Huh, how did I miss the signs?”
“Overworking yourself.” Tim watched her go back to the conversation, knowing she’d stop talking to the group once they were on the plane and in Hong Kong. Her plate was empty and water glass nearly downed to completion. “Are you still hungry?”
“I’ll eat on the plane.” Lucy said as she read through the texts. “Angela says I should walk around if possible on the plane.”
Tim took his phone back and put it in his pocket. “The plane is huge so I doubt you’ll have trouble walking.”
“I hear airline seats are uncomfortable.”
Tim reached for his own glass of water. “We’re flying first class, baby. Aaron offered to gift the miles when I asked about Non-American airlines. He said they had billions of miles between various airlines and when I refused, he booked the flights for us and sent the confirmation email.”
“We owe him.”
Tim nodded, “yes we do.”
“Are you upset like you were irked by the flowers?”
“No, because without him doing this we’d be in economy and knowing you’re pregnant, I’m grateful now. I don’t want you uncomfortable.”
Lucy just stared at him. “Okay, I’m a little surprised. I knew you’d be supportive of me when I was pregnant but this is next level. Tim Bradford is attentive and supportive and while it seems like you’re wrapping me in a bubble, I know you’re not doing so.”
He motioned to himself, “you’re going to be doing the most housing and growing our baby. You’ll have all the symptoms of pregnancy and have to go through labor. I’m picking up everything I can, it’s the least I can do.”
“God, I love you.” Lucy leaned forward and kissed him. When they parted, their foreheads rested together. “Best fiancé ever, hands down I got the best guy around.”
“I’ll remember to tell you when I make you incredibly angry.”
Lucy rested her hand on the back of his neck, running her fingers through the short hairs there. “So I guess this is an anniversary trip and our honeymoon all in one.”
Tim thought about it before he spoke. “Unfortunately. Baby means expenses so we have to tighten our budget more than before. We’ll make it work, even if I have to take on more hours.”
“Does this mean I can paint the nursery? You’ve vetoed all the other walls of the house but we never discussed the nursery.”
“We’ll see; if we do, it’ll be a color we both pick out. A soft blue or green, nothing wild.”
“Okay.” She rubbed his leg, “now I need to pee so excuse me.” As she rose, his hand stayed on her back.
“I’ll be right here.”