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Before.
Lucy knows something is going on with Tim.
He’s been behaving oddly ever since she told him that Celina thought Rodge was going to propose. He had several dinners with Lopez in the same week, he was continuously coming up with excuses not to carpool to work, he was spending time searching for random things in a shop when they had a convict on the loose, and the icing on the cake was the random conversation with a mailman who had no mail.
She lets it be, though. Even after all they’ve been through, she’s not worried. She trusts him more than she’d ever imagined she’d be able to after the breakup. She knows he won’t hurt her the same way again. And anyway, this isn’t distant, self-sabotaging Tim. No. This is quirky Tim, bad-liar Tim, the same guy who left her in Nolan’s guest room because he panicked about his Valentine’s Day gift and tried to go book a trip to Paris, according to Genny.
Her birthday is coming up, as well as what would be one of their anniversaries (if they even knew when exactly they were counting from anymore), so she figures he’s got something on his mind, planning something or buying her a gift.
Asking her to take a walk on the beach probably should’ve clued her in – for all the times they’ve joked about his hate for the beach – but she likes the idea too much to press him.
And despite it all, when he pulls out a ring box and goes down on one knee – despite the fact she should’ve put all the clues together to have seen this coming, she’s totally taken by surprise.
It all suddenly makes sense – he’s been acting odd because he’s been planning a proposal.
But she can’t think about that now: all she can do is watch in awe as he spills his feelings and emotions towards her as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. Not only is he able to tell her how he feels, he’s been able to identify and be in touch with his feelings. It’s the one thing she’d asked of him before they got back together – to be a better communicator. And he has been, in all the ways that count. And now, here, it’s like the final piece of the puzzle has fallen into place.
He talks about how she’s healed him. But he’s healed her, too: he’s the first person who has ever loved her for exactly who she is even when she’s so different from him, the first person who has ever fought for her, the first person who has ever worked on himself to give her what she needs, the first person she’s ever been able to trust fully and completely.
When the yes comes out, it’s without a doubt, without hesitation, instant, and confident.
During.
Just his luck that his proposal turns into a kidnapping.
He’d spent all this time fixated on a ring, the location, how to do it, and it was all ruined in seconds anyway.
They don’t know where they are, how many people are actually holding them captive – if it’s just the two from the beach or if there are more, how long it’s been, or really anything other than Tim had just proposed and now they’re locked away in some dark, damp place.
Tim knows this is about him. Everett had promised him he’d regret not taking his bribe – and now, he almost, almost wishes he had. Well, not that he had taken the bribe. But he almost wishes he’d just turned the other way and let him go.
Not because of him, of course. But because of Lucy. He would never sacrifice his integrity for himself, but he would for Lucy.
Lucy. He looks over to her, considers his plan of action.
“Lucy, if it comes down to it-“
“No.”
“You didn’t even let me finish.”
She shakes her head, clearly confident she knows what he was going to say. “No, Tim. You’re not going to self-sacrifice yourself for me, okay?”
He shakes his own head, indicating her doesn’t agree. “It’s my fault we’re here. It’s me that Everett has a problem with. If I can get him to spare you by-”
She interrupts him. “You think you doing something that leads to me getting out of here without you, with your ring on my finger, will spare me?”
“You know what I mean,” he retorts softly as he shifts, grimacing from the pain his body is feeling. “You have nothing to do with this.”
“Yes, I do, because you’re my fiancé. We’re in this together. I said yes, remember? It’s our life now, and we’re spending the rest of our lives together whether it’s fifty years or two more hours.”
He blinks, processing her words: harsh, but real.
Tim is calm for a moment, processing her needs and weighing them with his own. “I won’t do something to purposely sacrifice myself,” he agrees, although he hates letting go of the idea, of the thought he has some way to save her, “but I also won’t sit idly by and let something happen to you if I can help it. I will try and protect you, but not intentionally at the expense of myself.”
“Well, that’s fine,” she agrees, locking eyes with his, her stare steady and deep. “Because, likewise.”
Tim nods, and he notices that she seems to relax when she realizes that he’s not going to push that her safety is more important than his. He means it. Though he wants to, though he knows he would immediately bargain himself to save her life, he knows that’s not what she would want. So, yeah, if he has to fight for her, he will, but not with the intent of giving himself up for her.
He wants those fifty years, too, after all.
“We’re still alive,” Lucy points out carefully. “If they wanted us dead, we would’ve been dead by now. He wants us alive for whatever reason.”
“Leverage, probably,” Tim reasons. “Two LAPD sergeants being held captive? He’ll try and bargain our release to get his charges dropped or reduced. That’s what he’s upset about in the first place, that I didn’t take his bribe to let him go.”
“So, that gives us an advantage because he needs us alive. We don’t try anything rash, we keep calm unless there’s immediate danger. We don’t know where we are or what we’re up against and right now there are too many unknowns to try and escape. So, we keep the status quo, let them think we’re going to be cooperative, until we know more. Because at the same time we’re also at a disadvantage, because they have both of us. And they only need one of us for leverage. We do something to piss them off, they might hurt one of us to get to the other.”
Tim nods, and though neither of them says it, they both know Lucy is the one they would hurt because that would be the biggest revenge on him. And he’s not going to risk that.
“Yeah. Okay. Agreed.”
“Plus, the more we bide our time, the more likely the team can figure out where we are.”
Tim sighs, realizing. “They’re not going to notice for a while. They all knew I was going to propose, even my mom and Genny. They’re going to assume we’re off celebrating and ignoring the world.”
“But they have to notice when we don’t show up for work,” Lucy notes. “Or, didn’t show up? I have no idea how long it’s been.”
“I… took us off the schedule for the next two days,” Tim admits, looking down shyly and Lucy raises her eyebrows. “I wanted to spend time with you after I proposed.”
“Well, that’s not great. Sweet. But not great.” She thinks it over. “Regardless, they might reach out to them if they really want to use us for leverage.”
Tim nods. He doesn’t want to say the other thing that’s on his mind: if it’s not for leverage, it’s because Everett now knows who Lucy is to him. If he didn’t already, now his accomplices witnessed their proposal. If he wants payback on Tim, what if this whole thing is to use Lucy to get to him?
He prays it’s not that.
“Or, nosy Mrs. Grant will hear Kojo barking and tearing up the place and start snooping around.”
“Oh. Kojo,” Lucy laments, thinking of their dog all alone at home, helpless.
“He’ll be okay for a while. He’s got enough water and his automatic feeder.” With the unpredictability of their jobs, he’s always been prepared for a situation where Kojo may be left alone longer than intended. “Genny knows to go for him if something ever happens to me.”
Those words seem to hit hard and they sit in silence for a while, each of them seemingly lost in their own thoughts before Lucy cuts through it.
“Tell me about the ring,” she says softly.
Tim looks down at her left hand, then back up at her, recalling the proposal that suddenly feels like it was a lifetime ago.
He was such a fool, trying to make it perfect when in the end it went so horribly wrong anyway.
“What?”
“I know there’s a story there,” she says with a little chuckle. “I’m now realizing that Rodge probably wasn’t ever really asking Celina about what type of rings she liked, especially judging by your over-the-top reaction when I told you that story.”
Despite their current circumstances, Tim lets out a huff of laughter. “I told her not to ask you. But then I guess the opportunity presented itself, so she did anyway. When you told me, that was the moment I realized she’d gone ahead and asked,” he admits. “I was terrified you were going to figure it out.”
“My question is, how did Celina even know?” she asks. “I don’t particularly see you telling her about your plans.”
“Oh, god. Everyone knew. Everyone. I told Genny. She told my mom. Then I asked for Lopez’s opinion on the rings. She called in Harper, Aaron, and Celina when I turned my back. Then Celina – who knows how many people she told. Nolan and Miles definitely heard from her. Then of course, Rodge, Bailey, and Wesley found out. From there it spread through the station fast. I mean it worked out, though, because Aaron hooked me up with his ring guy. Oh, and my mom showed up with my grandmother’s ring she wanted me to use, but there is no way in hell I could give you that thing.”
Lucy gives a little smirk. “It couldn’t have been that bad.”
“Just wait until you see it. Mom left it with me so we could give it to one of our daughters one day.”
“Oh.”
“It’s an antique,” Tim adds. “Your ring, not my grandma’s. My grandma’s was actually fake. But anyway, the jeweler chose some selections based on what I told him about you. This one was owned by a couple who were friends for many years before they fell in love. Made it through the hard times and spent fifty years together.”
“That’s beautiful,” Lucy whispers, her thumb tracing over the ring thoughtfully.
“And since then, it’s been hidden at Angela’s house, Emmy put it up her nose, and it was also lost in the back of the supershop-“
“Right,” Lucy suddenly understands.
“Angela found it. But not until after I had Nolan and Juarez scour the entire crime scene covered in broken glass looking for something shiny.”
“How did you lose it so fast?” Lucy asks with a laugh.
“I took it out of the box and put it in my uniform pocket-“
“Tim,” she chuckles and groans, and he can’t help but smile at seeing her amused given their situation.
“I know, I know. I was a mess. I was so nervous. I tried so hard to make the proposal perfect. I kept putting it off because I was waiting for the perfect moment, figuring out what to do, carrying that ring around just in case. And then, it was ruined anyway.”
“It was perfect,” Lucy insists. “We won’t let this ruin it, okay? We’ll learn to separate this whole situation from the proposal, as hard as it may be.” Tim nods, and he doesn’t say it, but he knows she can read his mind anyway. If we ever get out of here alive. “Because we will. We will get out of here, because we’re a team, and so far our track record of getting out of situations together is one hundred percent. We will figure this out.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I took you to the beach.”
Lucy shakes her head. “They would’ve found us anywhere, Tim.”
“It’s me that Everett is trying to get payback on.”
“Because you didn’t take his bribe to let him get away.”
“I’m a sergeant, I should’ve done better. I was distracted and I didn’t even see the threat coming.”
“Neither did I,” she adds. “And I am, too. There were no obvious signs.”
“I was... so nervous about making sure everything went perfectly and so happy after you said yes. I would’ve noticed them otherwise. They’d probably been following us the whole time. I should’ve seen the syringes in their hands. Should’ve realized that they were approaching and getting way too close to us after congratulating us.”
“You have nothing to feel guilty for, Tim. Because you were distracted because you wanted to give me the perfect proposal? Because we were happy and in the moment? Because Everett chose to target you because you didn’t take a bribe and let him off the hook? None of that is anything to feel bad about, those are good qualities. Our life isn’t always going to be perfect. We can plan and plan for everything to go right and things will still go wrong. This is the first challenge of our impending marriage and we will get through it.”
Tim nods. “I love you. More than anything.” Suddenly, he feels like he’s back under the fire tent, feeling like he has to confess his love to Lucy just in case.
“I know that. I love you more than anything, too,” she says, returning the sentiment this time. “But we’re going to get out of here, and we’re going to get married. How about this? Every time you start to doubt that, close your eyes and imagine me in my wedding dress on our wedding day. Visualize it. Because it will become reality.”
He can only hope.
After.
Lucy wakes up and slowly regains consciousness.
Relief floods her when she opens her eyes and sees the ceiling of their bedroom, in their house.
Safety.
She turns to her side, looks for Tim, but sees his side of the bed empty.
The sun is out and shining, so she’s not surprised he’s up and about – even post kidnapping, he sticks to his 5am wakeup routine.
That’s Tim Bradford.
That’s the man she’s going to marry.
Her future husband.
Now that they’re home, and safe, she finally has a chance to think about all of that and realize it’s really happening: they’re going to get married.
She yawns and rubs her eyes, sitting up and groaning when she feels the pain in her body, the aftermath of the abduction still lingering. They’ve been home for a few days now, they’re through the worst of their physical injuries, but the reminders are there in aches and pains, cuts and bruises.
“Hey,” she says softly, sliding into the kitchen where Tim is making coffee.
“Hi,” he returns with a warm smile. “How you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Still sore, but it’s not as bad. You?”
“Me too,” he replies, and she can see he actually does look like he feels better than he has in days. “The blinding headache has started to subside.”
“I’m glad. Maybe now I can finally stop obsessively watching you for worsening concussion symptoms.”
“We sure have a lot of fun,” Tim deadpans and Lucy lets out a little laugh.
“This whole thing was horrible, not going to deny that,” Lucy says carefully. “But, I also feel so much closer to you. Which I didn’t even know was possible.”
Tim’s face softens a bit.
“We went through this together and honestly, I’m proud of us. The way we were willing to fight to protect each other, how you listened to me when I said I didn’t want you to immediately try and sacrifice yourself for me. How we worked together to get out of there. And it’s a different experience to share your trauma with someone, you know? You get it. You were there. We understand each other’s experience like no one else does.”
“I feel that too,” he admits, voice soft and tender.
“What kind of wedding do you want?”
The non sequitur throws him. “What?”
“You’ve been married before, does that impact your feelings?”
“I just want to marry you,” he says softly. “Wherever, however… I want to do whatever you want to do. Because this is going to be your only wedding.”
Lucy lets out a little laugh at that. “I want to get married.”
Tim quirks an eyebrow and looks at her left hand, pointedly. “I thought we already established that.”
“I don’t want a big wedding,” she continues. “Especially now, after everything. I just want to marry you, to get a start on the rest of our lives. I don’t want to waste time, I don’t want anything to happen to either of us without ever getting to be your wife. I was thinking, what if we did something small? We find a beautiful place and pack up and go for a drive, bring along Genny and your mom and Tamara and Angela. I’ll still get a dress, of course. You can wear whatever you want. We exchange vows and go out for a nice dinner and send everyone home while we stay behind to celebrate our wedding night.”
Tim’s eyes are soft. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Yes.”
He grins. “Good, because that sounds absolutely perfect to me.”
“Yeah?” he nods. “And the money we save on a huge wedding, we put towards the honeymoon that we absolutely deserve. Somewhere far away, somewhere beautiful, for at least two weeks.”
Tim laughs. “Okay. Anywhere you want, on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Not the beach.”
Lucy snorts. “Okay, yeah. Valid.”
“I can’t believe this is what it took to get you to agree with me about the beach.”
“I mean, I do think we have to eventually make new beach associations, so that we can take our kids.” She can see the words surprise him, in a good way. “They’re going to be LA kids, they’re going to want to go to the beach. But I’m not going to tempt fate with a wedding or honeymoon there, not after this. Okay, now, I need to know your opinions on wedding dresses. Every time you closed your eyes, what did you see?”
Tim shakes his head, determined. “No. I don’t want to sway you. You choose whatever kind of dress you want.”
“I will. Just tell me. Please. It’s important to me, after this whole experience. Healing, in a way. At least tell me one feature you pictured?”
He doesn’t have to hesitate. “Your back. Every dress I imagined you in, it accentuated your back.”
“Hmm,” she hums, smiling to herself, knowing he’s always been interested in her back since he admitted what seeing it in Vegas had done to him. Now, it reminds him of when he was figuring out his feelings, and always pleased it wasn’t forbidden anymore. “Yeah? Okay, I can work with that. We could do a low back, or an open back…” she bites her lip in thought. “Are you okay if I invite your mom and Genny to come dress shopping with me?”
“Of course,” he answers instantly, and she knows just a few years ago that wouldn’t have been the case.
“They’re going to be my family.”
“Yeah,” Tim says softly. “They are.”
She’s excited about that.
She’s excited to have a sister-like figure, to have a mother-in-law who receives her with more warmth and approval than her own. She’s excited to have Tim be her husband and be able to live out the rest of their lives celebrating holidays and milestones with his family, and the family they’ll create. For Tyler and Austin to be the big cousins to their kids.
For the first time in his life, Tim’s letting his mom in. She’s since found out that she was there when he chose her ring, along with Angela, which she knows is a huge deal. His mom finally gets to know him, and get to share in his life. He’ll finally be able to have his mom there for all the important, and simple moments. His relationship with Genny has also grown so much more open since Lucy had first met her. She’s happy that Genny will finally be able to celebrate the holidays and life with both her mom and Tim and her boys. She knows holidays were always a tense time for them growing up, but with his dad out of the picture now, the three of them can create happy memories together to replace the bleak childhood ones.
And she gets to be part of it, too. She gets to have a sister for the first time in her life, having been an only child. She gets to be an aunt. She gets to laugh and have fun and love and be loved by them, too. Holidays were very formal when she was growing up, and she has a feeling that being part of the Bradford family, holidays will be very different.
It thrills her as she realizes – no matter if she changes her name, or hyphenates it, or keeps it as is, she is becoming part of their family.
And, she’s ready to start it as soon as possible.