Chapter Text
Adriana Enriquez had been working with Lucy Chen for all of three days when she saw something visibly shift.
It was subtle at first. The younger sergeant had walked in bright-eyed and bushy tailed for her first shift on nights since moving up from P1, and her first shift as a sergeant, no less. After that first day, Lucy seemed less enthusiastic about coming to work the following two days.
But after that, there was a light in her eyes that hadn’t been there before - and didn’t leave. Not when she had to clear the board every night by herself. Not when she had to check on the Dream Team five times a night to make sure that they were actually awake. Not when she got caught in a shoot-out by herself.
(She was really annoyed about that one, though).
Not when she wrote blue page after blue page on every single member of the Dream Team for a week straight. The light didn’t dim. Not once.
It was a week of Chen’s barely hidden smile (and swollen lips at a specific time of morning) before Enriquez finally figured out what the cause of her unshakable happiness was.
Or rather, who.
Lucy had been in her office following a post-shift debrief. Explaining how, exactly, she got her uniform torn.
(She took down 3 120kg men by herself with no backup, leaving with barely a scratch).
Lieutenant Grey walked in first, nodding at Lucy and then at her.
“Chen. Enriquez.”
“Sir.” They both responded simultaneously.
On his heels was Sergeant Tim Bradford. Enriquez didn’t know Bradford well, but had heard good things. He was former military. Known for being a hard-ass. An excellent TO by all accounts. Did 14 years on patrol before a short stint in metro, only to return to patrol as the supervising sergeant.
Enriquez watched as Tim took his place beside Lucy. She turned to look at him, her mouth ticking up at the corner as he rested his hands on his duty belt, the same way she did. He returned the smile.
“Sergeant Bradford,” Lucy said softly.
“Sergeant Chen,” he responded.
Their shoulders grazed together.
Huh, was the first thing Enriquez thought. They’re close.
“Apologies, Lieutenant, I’m just finishing up the after-action reports.” She said, looking up at him.
“No worries, Enriquez. Take your time,” Grey replied. “I just came in a little early to talk through a couple of things with this one.” He gestured to Tim. “But, Chen, it’s a good thing you’re here, too, because this affects you as well.”
“Sir?” she asked, looking between Tim and Grey.
Tim’s smile only got bigger as he looked at the sergeant beside him.
“Well, Chen,” began Grey. “You’ve got someone new to report to.”
She looked at him, shaking her head in confusion. “What? I–“
Grey put out a hand to silence her.
“Sergeant Bradford is taking over as Watch Commander, as of tomorrow.” Lucy turned to face Tim, her smile massive, then back to Grey. “Which means that you’ll be taking over as roving supervisor on the day shift.”
Lucy looked taken aback. “Wait, really? I’m back on dayshift.” She looked up at Tim, and her voice softened. “And you’re Watch Commander now?”
Tim was practically beaming. “Yeah, Luce. We’re back to normal again.”
Lucy returned his expression with equal fervour, her hand reaching out to squeeze his arm, as she replied, “I’m so proud of you, Tim.”
It was then that Enriquez put the pieces together.
Tim and Lucy were together.
Not just together. In love.
Their staring was only interrupted by Grey, who cleared his throat, rolling his eyes at the pair. “Chen, you’re end of shift now. Bradford, be back in five minutes. Enriquez and I need to discuss logistics.”
They both smiled, and were practically vibrating with happiness as they walked out of the office in step with each other. Lucy grabbed Tim’s hand, dragging him down the hallway.
Enriquez watched them for a moment, before turning back to Grey. “What logistics do you need to discuss, sir?”
“Nothing. Bradford and Chen were making heart eyes at each other. It’s been so much worse since she’s been on night shift. After five minutes they’ll be back to normal.”
“Right.”
Grey was silent for a minute, before turning to her.
“And,” he added. “Sergeant Miller will be taking over from Chen on the night-shift.”
Enriquez nodded.
True to his word, Bradford was back in the Watch Commander’s office within 5 minutes, his face noticeably more flushed, lips swollen. Enriquez watched as Lucy walked past, face the same as Bradford’s.
They weren’t…were they?
She looked up at Grey. He seemed to take no notice, just continued to rattle off instructions to Bradford as she packed up her stuff and headed out, waving to both of them.
She managed to catch Lucy in the locker room.
Lucy was just pulling on her sweater when Enriquez walked in, pulling open her locker and pulling out her go bag.
As Lucy collected her own bag, pulling her hair to one side so she could swing the strap of her bag over her shoulder, she smiled to Enriquez, saying goodnight. Good morning. Whatever it was that it was meant to be.
“Chen?” Enriquez called as Lucy began to walk away.
“Yeah?” she asked, turning around.
“Congratulations.”
Lucy smiled, dipping her head in that way she did when she was unable to accept praise.
“Thank you Sergeant Enriquez. I’m really happy that I got to work with you for this period of time, no matter how short. I’ve learnt a lot from you.”
Enriquez smiled. “I’m glad, Lucy. And listen, as a fellow female sergeant, if you ever need advice, mentoring, or even just to complain about people, I’m here. Or if you have questions about sergeant-related business. Although I’m sure your boyfriend will be able to help you with that.” She raised an eyebrow.
Lucy looked a little shocked, her mouth dropping open a little. “How–how did you…”
“Lucy. I may be old but I’m not blind. You think I don’t notice you sneaking off at 7am every morning and coming back with swollen lips?”
Lucy blushed, looking down at the ground, keeping silent.
“He’s it, isn’t he?” Enriquez asked, softer now.
Lucy smiled softly, and then met her gaze again. “Yeah. He’s everything.” She paused before continuing. “He, uh, broke my heart a few months ago because of some complicated personal stuff, but he–he really put in the work to make it right. He went to therapy, he earnt my trust back, he waited and took everything at my pace. He’s…he’s it.” She let out a breath. “Sorry, I know that’s a lot and it’s personal and that’s–“
“Lucy. Relax. We’re off the clock now. I’d love to hear about however much you want to talk about. You seem really happy.”
“Right. Sorry. I am, happy, that is, we are. So, so happy.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. We, uh, just moved in together. Got back together a week ago, and all my stuff is at his house–our house, now–in boxes.”
“That sounds really exciting.”
“It is, it is. It’s weird though. I’ve lived at my apartment since I was a rookie. I…have a lot of memories there. With a girl who’s basically my little sister. With my friend Celina, who I live–lived–with until I moved in with Tim. With Tim. That’s where…well that’s where I kissed him for the first time. It was kind of fake. I don’t know. And then with…Jackson.” Her voice cracked on Jackson’s name.
“Jackson West?” Enriquez asked quietly.
Lucy just nodded.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you knew him.”
“We, uh, we lived together for all of our rookie year, and then up until he died right after we became P2’s. He…he was my best friend.”
“That’s hard.”
“Yeah,” Lucy replied absentmindedly. “I’m sorry, this was a lot.”
“Don’t be,” she laughed. “I know this is complicated, but it’s a good thing, Lucy. Try to stay in the good.”
Lucy smiled, brushing a single tear away. “Yeah. Yeah. I will. Thank you. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you around, Sergeant Enriquez.”
Enriquez nodded. “And Lucy?” she called. “Call me Adriana.”
Lucy beamed as she walked out of the locker room.