Work Text:
Tim paced back and forth in the living room. Kojo hot on his heels for about two minutes before settling on his bed. Forgetting that his owner was acting like a complete lunatic. He was fidgeting and muttering to himself when he heard the knock at the door.
He lets out a low curse, making his way to open it. He wasn’t surprised by who was standing on the other side. Because she’d called him. Minutes after Lucy had left this morning. Earlier than normal because she had a parent meeting before school. Otherwise he would have said something. Or maybe he wouldn’t have. Because they had only been dating for a few months and he hadn’t exactly told Lucy about Isabel yet. That he’s divorced or any of the reasons for said divorce.
“Hey,” he says curtly before moving aside to let her in.
“Hi, Tim. Thanks so much for meeting with me.” Tim watched as Isabel took in the space around her.
He had moved shortly after their divorce was finalized. There were too many memories, good and bad, attached to that house. And he didn’t need something that big anymore. What was he going to do with all that space when having a family seemed out of reach after that. It wasn’t until recently that he started thinking maybe he needed something a little bit bigger. Lucy. She’d changed everything for him. It wasn’t until her that he’d started thinking about having a family again. Sure they’d only been dating for three months but Tim… he saw a future with her. He saw everything with her. A wedding, kids, the proverbial white picket fence. He smiled briefly before remembering the other person in the room. “No problem Isabel. You sounded pretty desperate on the phone.”
She nodded, eyes still roaming the living room. Tim watched as she spotted the pink fuzzy blanket draped over the couch. As well as the framed pictures of him and Lucy on the end table and the entertainment center.
“So you’re living with someone,” Isabel noted, turning to face him.
“No. Not exactly. Lucy– my girlfriend doesn’t live here. She just stays here sometimes because it’s closer to work for her.” Isabel nodded and her eyes darted around the space again. Tim didn’t care for the surly look on her face. “What did you need help with Isabel?” His voice hard.
She sighed and took a seat on the couch, looking a little too comfortable for Tim’s liking. “Right. Okay so one of the undercover ops I did way back when was working for the Teska family.”
Tim had heard of them and they weren’t anyone you wanted to mess with. He listened intently as his ex-wife explained that while undercover she had gotten close to Teska’s daughter Dara. And late last night she had received a call from her through one of the old messaging services. She says how frightened the girl sounded and was worried that she might be in some real trouble.
“And since I’m not a cop anymore…” she trailed off.
He understood what she was asking without her actually saying the words. “You need someone who can help put feelers out?”
“Frank Teska’s doing a stint in prison. We arrested him at the end of the op and then between the raid on his properties and the debrief, I lost track of Dara and we lost contact. It’s been almost eight years. And if she’s reaching out to me I think she might actually be in danger. Last I heard, she was living with her uncle who had taken over his brother’s “business”.”
Let me grab my stuff and we can head into the station. I’ll call Angela on the way and fill her in and then she and Nyla will be able to help us more.
“Angela?” Isabel repeats and he can hear the disdain in her voice. Tim knew Isabel never really liked Angela. He’s not sure if she felt threatened or what. Angela tried for his sake to be civil but after what happened all bets were off and that dislike became very mutual.
“She’s a detective now. Nyla’s her partner. They–”
“I’ve heard of her,’ Isabel cut him off. “She’s kind of a living legend in the undercover world.”
“Yeah well. Now she’s a detective. And a damn good one. So is Angela. They’ll be able to help more than I can. If it comes down to someone needing to go undercover, Harper can do it.”
Isabel goes to protest. She wants to say that she can do it. That she should do it. But Tim doesn’t give her the chance. “You don’t have a badge anymore. The brass isn’t going to let a civilian go undercover if it comes to that.
She stays quiet and Tim takes her silence as acceptance. He pulls his gun and badge from his safe, grabs his keys and ushers Isabel out the door so he can set the alarm. They climb in his truck and head for Mid-Wilshire.
The ride is quiet. An awkward quiet. Once upon a time, she was the one he shared everything with. And he thought he was that for her. Oh how wrong he was.
“So what does she do?”
“Huh?” Tim’s broken from his reverie by Isabel’s question.
“Your girlfriend. You said she stays at your house sometimes because it’s closer to work. What does she do?”
“Oh. She’s– um, she’s a teacher. Kindergarten.”
She let out a quiet huff, followed by a patronizing hum.
Tim turned to look at her, his eyes fiery with anger at the condescension radiating off her. “What was that?”
“What?” She asked, now trying to act innocent.
“That little ‘hmph’ you just gave. If you have something to say just say it.”
“A teacher Tim. Really? Is that enough for you? You like action and challenge. What does a Kindergarten teacher know about that?”
Isabel’s hand flies out to brace against the dashboard, stopping herself from flying forward as Tim swerves the truck to pull over on the side of the road. He flicks on his hazards and puts it in park. “Excuse me?”
“I’m just saying Tim–”
“No. No. You left me Isabel. You don’t get to ‘just say’ anything. And how dare you pass judgement on Lucy. You don’t even know her.”
Her eyes are wide, clearly not expecting this reaction out of her ex husband. She didn’t think he would defend someone else that fiercely.
“Sorry,” she mutters but it’s far from sincere.
Tim shakes his head, already regretting agreeing to help her. “I’m going to take you to the station and read Angela and Nyla in. And once this is done and over with, we’re done.” He shifts the car into drive and waits until it’s safe to merge back into traffic.
When he pulls into the parking lot of the station he doesn’t even wait for Isabel to get out and follow him. He stomps straight into the station and toward Angela and Nyla’s desks.
“Woah Bradford. You just got here. How can you be this heated already?” Angela jokes, staring at her computer screen. When she looks up she grimaces. His face tells her, he’s not playing. She hears some rumblings coming from the front entrance and when she looks behind her best friend, she sees the one woman she never thought she’d see again. “What is Isabel doing here?”
Tim proceeds to fill her and Nyla in on the conversation he had with Isabel this morning. He goes to change into uniform and when he gets back, the three women are sitting at the table. Angela has a video call queued up with Frank Teska. Isabel is out of view behind the laptop. He watches as the detectives ask questions about Dara and Frank does his best to give them any information he has. Which isn’t much.
They end the call and Nyla walks away with Isabel in tow. Both of them talking about where to go from here.
“How are you doing?” Angela asks, coming to stand in front of him. “It’s been what? Three years?”
He just nods. His eyebrows wrinkled in displeasure.
“She came to your house?”
His eyes shoot to the Latina woman and he gives a subtle shake of his head. “How’d–”
“She was all too eager to make sure I knew,” Angela rolls her eyes and so does Tim. “How did she do meeting Lucy? And vice versa for that matter?”
Tim grimaces and he curses Angela for being such a good detective because she knows. Immediately. “Tim…” she says hesitantly.
He doesn’t say anything. But he doesn’t have to.
“She wasn’t there? When she came over?”
“She had to leave early this morning for a parent meeting.”
Angela eyes him suspiciously.
“It was a coincidence. I swear.”
“So you texted her or something to tell her that your ex-wife was stopping by?”
He stays quiet once again, but his gaze drops to the floor. He winces when she hits him on the shoulder.
“TIM! Lucy– she knows… right? She knows about Isabel…” her words start to slow down when she sees the look on her friend's face. “She knows you’re divorced right?”
Tim bites his lip and just shakes his head.
“You are an idiot. What the hell have you been waiting for?”
“I was going to bring it up so many times,” he raises his hands in mock defense. “I swear. But every time it just didn’t feel like the right time. I didn’t want to ruin the moment. And I don’t know how she’s going to react. I mean what if it's a deal breaker for her? And I mean it’s not like I was expecting her to call me and ask for help on a case. Or show up at my house.”
“Tim. Dammit for someone so smart you can be so stupid sometimes. Any idiot can see how ridiculously into you Lucy is. She’s not going to run because you have a past. You have to tell her. You cannot let this go on any longer.”
“I know! I know,” he promised, rolling his eyes.
“Today Tim!” Angela shot back. Her face was serious and Tim was a little afraid of her. They met up with Nyla and Isabel who had an idea where Dara might be and were concocting a plan to go in and get her.
They drove to the motel in pairs. Tim and Angela in one car, parked inconspicuously at the far end of the lot. Isabel and Nyla were in the other, watching the building for any signs of the girl. They listened in as the two UC’s worked on their backstories in case they were needed. When they spotted Dara crossing the parking lot and looking over her shoulder, they stepped out of the car and followed her inside. When she got to the door of her room, she turned around fiercely ready to swing on whoever was following her. She had her hand raised but quickly put it down and pulled Isabel in for a hug.
“Nikki! Oh my god. I wasn’t sure if you got my message. I think some of my uncles' men are after me. I was never the most appreciative house guest when he took me after my dad was arrested.”
Nyla ushered them inside the room when she spotted two men coming from the right and another man and a woman coming from the left. As soon as they got inside and locked the door, Nyla pulled her radio that was hiding under pant leg and radioed Tim and Angela filling them in on their position and current situation.
Dara was confused to say the least and getting angrier by the second. “What the hell is going on? Who are you guys?”
Isabel looked at Nyla but threw caution to the wind when she answered. “We’re both… well she’s a cop, I’m retired. That’s not important right now. What’s important is keeping you safe. Do you have anywhere you can go where you’ll be safe? Somewhere you can lay low until we get a handle on the men your uncle sent after you?”
Nyla glared in her direction, but stood near the door, listening for any commotion on the other side.
“No… I… wait Nikki so all that time…”
“Look. Yes. And I’m sorry. But we really don’t have time for this. We need—”
Her words are cut off by shots being fired through the door. The three women dive out of the way and run out the open balcony door. Nyla is first to hop the fence followed by Dara who is coaxed by Isabel. They run toward the beach where they are met with two of the men from the hallway earlier closing in from each side.
Nyla ducks behind a palm tree while Isabel keeps a protective hand on Dara while they keep running. Nyla fires off a few shots, but it’s useless. Then all of a sudden Tim comes out of nowhere, and tackles one of the men. His partner shoots his gun which just barely grazes Tim’s arm. Luckily Angela is able to subdue him. The other two come running out of the building but run in the opposite direction after seeing their friends being arrested.
Once they are cuffed, backup and an RA are called. Angela sits with Tim on the back of the rig while the paramedic patches up his arm. “You were lucky,” the young girl says.
Tim just nods and stares across the lot where Isabel is talking to Dara. Or more like Dara is yelling at Isabel. She tries to reach out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder but the younger woman jerks away.
“She had to know revealing that they were cops wasn’t going to have the ideal end result with her,” Angela says. “She’s the daughter of a criminal kingpin,” she points at Dara and then at Isabel. “And she’s the reason he’s locked up.”
All Tim can do now is watch on as Dara walks away. Isabel watches after her before making her way to where they were sitting.
When she reaches them, she looks at Tim first and then Angela. Silently trying to convey to the other woman that she’d like a minute alone with Tim. To which Angela responds by getting more comfortable and shooting her a challenging glare.
Isabel rolls her eyes and turns to Tim again. “How’s your arm?”
“I’ve lived through worse. I’ll be fine.”
“Good,” she smiles at him. “I’m glad. And thanks again for your help.”
“I didn’t really do much. Angela and Nyla did all the hardwork.”
Angela smirks at her and waits for a thank you from her that never comes.
“Yeah well,” she says and then rocks back on her heels like there’s more she wants to say.
“I meant what I said this morning Isabel,” Tim reminds her.
Her face falls slightly and Tim’s not sure what she was expecting. If she was expecting that she’d waltz back into his life after three years and the hell she put him through before that and win him back. If that was the case, Tim actually feels sorry for her. “Bye Tim,” she shakes her head slightly and walks away.
Angela gives a sarcastic wave behind her back and Tim can’t help but chuckle a little. “What did you tell her this morning?”
He blows out a breath, running the hand of his uninjured arm down his face. “She saw some of Lucy’s things at my house. She asked if she was living there and actually seemed surprised by it I guess. Or angry. I don’t really know. Then she asked what she does and when I told her she was a Kindergarten teacher, she presumed to know what I wanted or needed. Then she basically said that Lucy wasn’t good enough for me.
Angela scoffed. She had half a mind to hunt Isabel down and tear her a new one. But she knew there was no point.
“So I pulled off to the side of the road and told her that she doesn’t know Lucy and she was done judging her. And that when we were done with this, we were done.”
“Good for you,” Angela clapped him on the back. “So…”
“I know Ange. I’m going to tell her. Today. I’m going to pick her up from work and put it all out on the table.”
“Good. But don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Tim managed to get the rest of the day off due to his injury. As mild as it was, he was happy because now he could pick Lucy up and they could spend the rest of the evening together instead of him having to go back to work for a few hours. So at 3:15 he parked in her school’s staff parking lot. In the empty spot next to her car. He waited for her to come out of the doors and then he got out of his truck and leaned against the back where she could see him.
She was walking with a coworker, who noticed him first and was leering a little too long. It wasn’t until she didn’t receive a response to whatever she was saying that Lucy looked up and spotted Tim. She broke out into a huge grin and speed walked toward him. Clearly disappointed that Tim was taken, the coworker she’d walked out with wished her goodbye and walked to her own car.
Lucy wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned up to kiss him, letting her bag fall to the ground. It took her a second after pulling away to notice the bandage wrapped on his arm. She brought her fingers up to it and brushed the white cloth. “What happened,” she murmured.
“It’s nothing. Just a little graze,” he says and takes her hand, kissing her knuckles. But her face falls and her eyes fill with worry. He knew the word graze would freak her out.
“Tim. A– a graze. Like you were shot?”
“Hey, hey, hey! I was not shot Luce. I swear. It barely touched me. I didn’t even have to go to the hospital. The paramedics cleaned and dressed it right there on the ambulance.”
She narrowed her eyes for a moment, trying to assess if he was telling her the truth. They hadn’t been together that long but he’d tried to downplay his injuries before. And she was getting better at reading him. She saw nothing but sincerity in his eyes so she relaxed.
“Alright,” she says finally. “So, not that I’m complaining because I’m always happy to see you. But what are you doing here?”
“Well,” he starts. “There are some things I need to talk to you about,” he watches as her anxiety returns, though she does her best to hide it. “And I thought maybe we could go to dinner or pick something up and take it home.”
“Okay,” her voice comes out shaky. “Yeah that sounds nice. Is it okay if we pick something up? I really just want to get into comfy clothes. It’s been a long day.”
“Sure baby. Whatever you want.”
She smiles at his use of the pet name. “Oh wait. What about my car?”
“Leave it. I’ll bring you to work tomorrow.”
She smiles at that and climbs into the truck. She’s nervous. Nothing good usually comes from “needing to talk”. She plays with her fingers as Tim drives, picking at her nails. He reaches over and places his hand on hers and gives them a reassuring squeeze.
When they get home, Tim handles the food while Lucy changes into a pair of lounge pants and one of his oversized shirts. He loves when she wears his clothes.
He puts the plates on the island and they dig in.
“So…” they said at the same time.
“Go ahead,” Lucy insisted.
“Alright,” Tim took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. “First things first. What I’m about to say does not change how I feel about you in the slightest. I–,” he pauses, pursing his lips, knowing it’s too early for those words. “I care about you a lot. And I really think we have a good, solid thing going here. Am I right?” He wants to make sure they’re on the same page.
“You’re right. But please spit it out already because you’re starting to scare me.”
“Okay. So I need to tell you that… I’m divorced. It was messy a–and chaotic and I promise if you want to know the whole story I’ll tell you. But I just needed to get that off of my chest.”
Lucy stares at him, gaping. “That– that’s what you needed to tell me?”
“Yes?” he asks in confusion.
She shoves his good shoulder and lets out an incredulous laugh. “Jesus Christ Tim we need to work on your delivery. You scared me.”
“I’m sorry. Wait so you’re not mad that I didn’t tell you right away.”
Lucy looked at him, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “No,” she said simply. “Why would I be?”
He shrugs. “It’s kind of a big thing to leave out.”
“We all have a past, Tim. You don’t have to share everything all at once. That would take the fun out of getting to know someone and learning new things about them.”
At that he smiles and leans in to kiss her.
When she pulls back from him, she searches his face and he looks like he has more he wants to say. “Is that it?”
Tim hesitates for a minute but he needs to put it all out there. He loves what he’s building with Lucy and he doesn’t want a small white lie now to come back and bite him in the ass. “No actually. It’s not.”
“What? Do you have a secret kid I don’t know about?” she jokes and Tim barks out a laugh.
“No. Not that I know of anyway,” he does his best to look pensive even though he’s smiling. “No. So the reason I—,” he stopped trying to collect his thoughts. “This morning… after you left. My ex wife… Isabel… called me.
Lucy’s eyebrows shot up at that and Tim reacted quickly. “She needed help on a case. She’s no longer a cop and didn’t have access to the resources she needed to help the person she was trying to help.
“Okay,” she drawls.
“And then she said some things and I told her that after this, we were done. With each other,” he added quickly, realizing how that might have sounded. “Before today we hadn’t even spoken in almost three years.”
Lucy sits quietly for a moment. She’s contemplating everything her boyfriend just told her. Tim watches and the longer the silence goes on, the more anxious he gets.
“I swear, babe. We’re over. It was over way before our divorce. And while I thought maybe down the road we’d be able to have some sort of friendship, she proved today that that is not the case. She’s out of my life for good. I promise.”
Lucy nods and then faces him. “I believe you.”
“You… you do?”
“Of course. You’ve never given me a reason not to,” she puts a hand on his knee and squeezes lightly. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“I thought maybe you’d be mad. Or maybe even… not… want…” he can’t even bring himself to finish the sentence.
“Oh, Tim,” she rises from her seat at the island and spreads his legs apart so she can stand in between them. Her arms come to rest around his neck and she rests her forehead against his. “I like you Tim. A lot. Like a lot, a lot.” She smiles and Tim blushes ever so slightly. “I’m not going to run for the hills because your ex wife comes back. “And no promises that I won’t have to fight her in the future, now that you’ve told her you’re done with her. But I’m in this Tim. I’m so in this.”
He wastes no time, leaning in to kiss her, their dinner temporarily forgotten. “Me too. I’m all in.”
All in!