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Lucy and Tim walked down the stairs of the station, deep in conversation. Professionally they were doing much better and Tim was still her go to person when it came to anything work related. He’d always been there for her and thankfully that hadn’t changed.
“I didn’t realize how much I’d miss that money,” Lucy said sullenly.
Tim handed her the file that was in his hand as he spoke. “Five percent is more than it sounds.”
Lucy smirked at his brusque tone. “Look, I mean it’s not like I’m broke. I do have a very strict budget that I follow down to the cent. But that’s what was so great about that extra cash,” a hint of wistfulness in her voice. “It was my self-care fund.”
She longingly recites all the ways she used the extra money from her short stint as a TO. Tim listens intently, while watching her become sadder and sadder with each item on her list.
“Why don’t you take the TO exam, make this promotion permanent?” He offers, trying to be encouraging. “There’s one in a few weeks. You’ll have that five percent by next month.”
Lucy levels him with a look. Obviously she thought about that. But being a TO means training rookies. And when she thinks about that, she thinks about Seth. And just the idea of getting another rookie just like him, riddled her with anxiety. So she makes sure to tell Tim just that. Along with the notion that she doesn’t want to be distracted from studying for the sergeants exam.
He nods in understanding as they walk away but can’t resist the urge to tease her anyway. “Guess that means bye-bye cleaning lady.” He quips as they walk into the roll call room.
Lucy scoffs in annoyed amusement at his words. She wants to say something but Tim just smirks and walks to the front of the room with Grey. While Celina, a wide-eyed look on her face, asks Lucy what happened to Nancy. She brushes off the question, choosing not to elaborate and luckily Grey begins their meeting before the young cop can push any further.
Tim watches as Lucy sits down and scowls at the room full of officers who clearly did not do their homework and have no idea what Grey was talking about. His conversation with Lucy on the backburner for now.
As they get into the patrol car, Tim does as he promised and lets Lucy take the lead. Short of being able to drive, she’s calling the shots today. He drives them to their position as she adjusts the radio and makes sure they are in communication with all the teams.While she’s doing all that he plays back their conversation from earlier. The beginnings of an idea forming. He has really been trying lately, with Lucy. Small doses and all that. But with their impromptu hookup on Valentine’s Day, the wildfire, James getting shot and her washing out her rookie, it had been a while since he provided a small dose.
So while they were waiting for everyone to get into position and the operation to start, Lucy was scrolling her phone and Tim was doing the same. He was looking up spa treatments. He wanted to set something up anonymously for Lucy so she could get her massage and her facial. But he wasn’t sure how he was going to pull this off. Then another lightbulb went off. He internally fought with himself over it though. Knowing this idea may lead to mocking for days, weeks, months, even years to come.
Whatever. He thought to himself. Anything for Lucy was worth it.
He pulled up his text threads and navigated to the one name who would also do just about anything for Lucy.
To: Aaron Thorsen
Hey man, I need a favor.
Almost immediately Tim’s phone buzzed in his hand. He caught Lucy looking him up and down out of the corner of his eye, but he chose not to say anything and opened up the new message.
To: Tim
Hey, yeah I’m good. It’s good to hear from you. I’ve been good. How have you been?
Tim rolled his eyes at the sarcastic nature of the text but he supposes he could have said hello before asking for a favor.
To: Aaron Thorsen
Sorry. Hi. I need a favor. It’s for Lucy and it’s kind of time sensitive, we’re getting ready to field our team on the metro route.
To: Tim
I’m listening.
Tim then types out his message and explains what he wants to do and why he needed Aaron’s help. His plan was to make the appointment for Lucy’s next day off. Send all the information to Aaron and have him text her “out of the blue” and tell her that he’d booked them for himself but couldn’t use them anymore and offer them to her. Hoping that under the guise of ‘everything was already paid for and he didn’t want it to go to waste’ she would accept little to no questions asked.
Aaron agreed quickly, only slipping in one comment about Tim being so far gone for Lucy. Which wasn’t untrue. At all. But he wasn’t going to give Aaron that satisfaction. So he happily ignored said comment and thanked the man.
After that, things jumped into action rather quickly. Between attempting to arrest the pick-pocket, following the bus that now had a bomb on board and searching for the fake pregnant lady, Tim had almost forgotten about his request and the small dose he was doing for Lucy. When they pulled back into the station, he checked his phone and saw that Aaron had said he would send her the text tomorrow.
Lucy’s day was… exhausting didn’t seem like a strong enough word. As her and Celina traipsed into the apartment, she dragged herself to her room, muttering a quick goodnight to her roommate and shutting the door. Her plans were to shower, sleep and then sleep some more.
She laid in bed thinking back to the events of the day. It had been crazy from the minute they started following that bus. However, that wasn’t what she found herself thinking about the most. It was her conversation with Tim this morning. The teasing, the slight flirting. And then their conversation in the shop on the way back to the station. It had started as an innocent question but ended with her getting some much needed things off her chest.
Both of them had made it clear that they were not seeing other people nor did they want to. And Lucy had also let Tim know that she hadn’t fully forgiven him yet, but one hundred percent forgiveness was not as far off as he thought. She made him a deal that when that happened he could help her study for her sergeants exam.
She smiled as she remembered his words. Looking forward to it That was the last thing she remembers before drifting off to sleep.
She woke the next morning to a text from Aaron. It wasn’t necessarily weird; she just hadn’t heard from him in a while. She opened the message and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
To: Lucy
Please tell me you’re off on Friday!
It was currently Tuesday, Lucy checked her schedule and she did happen to be off that day.
To: Aaron
I am ??
She blinked wearily and sat up a little more. She watched the three dots appear and then his message came through with an attachment.
To: Lucy
Thank goodness. I booked these treatments months ago and now I have to fly to Rio with my mom for something and can’t use them. I was going to see if you wanted to use them?
Lucy read through the message and then clicked on the link. It was a spa appointment for a sixty minute massage and forty-five minute facial with a few add-ons.
To: Aaron
I can’t. That’s too much.
She sent her reply reluctantly but she couldn’t just accept something like that.
To: Lucy
Stop. It’s not too much. Everything is already paid for and if I can’t use them then I’m happy to pass them along to a friend.
She scanned the message and clicked on the link again, drooling over everything she was reading that would be included. That’s when she saw a notification from another text from Aaron.
To: Lucy
And I know you’ve been going through a lot lately. What with the detective’s exam, Tim, your rookie. You could use some good pampering.
Her resolve was crumbling but she was at least going to offer to pay him back.
To: Aaron
At least let me pay you back.
To: Lucy
Nope. Don’t even think about it. The reservations have already been moved to your name. Be there fifteen minutes early and enjoy yourself.
Lucy gaped at her phone. But she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t excited. Since losing the five percent pay bump after washing Seth out, she hadn’t been able to treat herself in a while.
To: Aaron
Thank you. I don’t know what to say. You’re a good friend Aaron! 🥹
To: Lucy
Don’t mention it.
Lucy put her phone down and got up to shower and get ready for work. She couldn’t wait for Friday.
When she walked into the building, the lights were dim and soft music filtered from the speakers overhead. She checked in at the front desk and the woman told her to have a seat, that the esthetician would come to get her soon.
She was taken back for the facial first and it was heaven. She fell asleep for part of it but it felt so good and she was able to let go of some of the stress she’d been carrying lately. Next came the massage and it was just as phenomenally relaxing as the facial, if not more. They hit all the right spots, and the pressure wasn’t too harsh or not enough. It was perfect. She walked out the massage room with her limbs feeling like jello and made her way back to the front desk to check out. Even though the two treatments had been paid for, she did splurge on some products to take home with her.
The lady rang up her items and turned the ipad around so that Lucy could sign for the credit card purchase. Except what she saw on the line above these purchases made her stop mid signature.
In tiny bold letters were the words PAID: TIM BRADFORD
She finished signing, quickly grabbed her bag and walked out to her car, the relaxation slowly slipping away. When she climbed in she just sat there for a minute. She was confused to say the least. Why was Tim’s name on her appointment? Lucy pulled out her phone and tapped Tim’s name and listened while it rang.
“Hello”
Lucy didn’t say anything right away.
“Hello” Tim said again. “Lucy? Is everything okay?”
“I need you to be honest with me,” she said and she heard the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone.
“Okay,”
“Did you set up and pay for appointments for me to get a massage and a facial?”
There was a short pause. And then Tim started stuttering. “I– it– yeah,” he conceded. “But it was supposed to be anonymous.
“And you got Aaron in on it,” Lucy chuckled.
“In my defense, he wasn’t supposed to tell you,” he explained.
“He didn’t,” she assured him. “I saw your name on the statement when I paid for the products I bought.”
“Oh.
“Thank you,” her voice was filled with awe at this man. “This is the most relaxed I’ve been in a while.”
“You’re welcome,” Lucy could hear the smile in his voice and she supposes this was his goal all along. “I just wanted to do something nice for you. It’s been a while since… well since small doses. And you seemed so bummed about losing out on your self care fund.”
She teared up as she recalled their conversation at the station a couple mornings ago. Tim Bradford was truly one in a million. He listened, he remembered, he knew how to show up and show out. Which is why it made it hurt all the more when he broke up with her. But he was slowly but surely putting the pieces back together. And this was a big one.
“Thank you,” she whispered again, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice, knowing it was useless. Tim knew her better than she knew herself sometimes and he’d be able to hear any hitch she was trying to hide.
“Anytime, Luce. Talk to you later?” He sounded hopeful.
“Yeah. Talk to you later Tim.”
Lucy smiled, shaking her head. And she thinks that maybe, just maybe, she had already forgiven Tim.