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The morning started out good, great even. Lucy woke up surrounded by warmth. Tim was completely wrapped around her, head in her hair, breathing her in. She could tell that he was still asleep, which she was thankful for because the brass had been on his neck lately and he’s been getting no more than 4 hours a night.
Lucy turned her head and pressed her lips to his chest, she didn't want to move, all she wanted to do was soak this all in and lie in bed all day with her boyfriend. Unfortunately, that was not an option, they both had jobs, real important jobs which demanded their presence, meaning opting for a spontaneous day simply wrapped in sheets and each other was not an option.
So in an attempt to wake Tim up in a less violent way than any alarm could offer, she begins to kiss her way up his chest. Starting at his chest, and slowly making her way up to his collarbone, then neck, and cheek, until she finally reaches his lips. The second her lips touch his she hears a content sigh, one that you only release when you’re properly rested and exactly where you want to be.
One kiss turns into two, which turns into three until Lucy pulls back to mutter a sleepy “Good morning”. At her words, Tim instinctively tightens his hold on her, slowly moving his thumb in a circle along her waist. His reply comes out soft, still laced with sleep, “Morning baby”.
“Did you sleep okay?” Lucy asks, hoping that despite the pressures he’s experiencing as watch commander, he can still slow down every once in a while to relax. “I always sleep better with you next to me” he says, punctuating his response with a soft kiss against her lips.
A small smile draws on Lucy’s face as she replies “Me too. I love you”.
“I love you more” he says with a grin across his face.
And not one to be outdone this morning, Lucy gears up to argue, but just as she prepares her retort she is silenced by a kiss upon her lips. “I know you would love to argue that you love me more, but if that were to happen we would never get out of bed. And unfortunately we have to get ready to go to work” Tim adds as he maneuvers them so that they’re both sitting up waiting to untangle from their sheets.
Lucy, officially mourning her peaceful uninterrupted morning, groans in response, which only results in a laugh coming from her boyfriend.
“Go shower Luce, I’ll make breakfast so it’s ready when you’re done” he says, pressing one final soft kiss to her temple. Leaving Lucy with the sounds of sheets rustling as he gets out of bed and heads into the kitchen to fulfill his promise.
In an effort to spend just a little more time with her boyfriend, Lucy quickly showers and decides that she’ll just do her makeup in the car. She makes her way out into the living room, on her way to the kitchen, as she instantly spots her boyfriend, hovering over the stove, still in his pajamas, flipping pancakes. A smile forms on her face, there’s just something so special about seeing such a domestic version of Tim, her former hardass T.O., a man who never shows his soft side to anyone but her. It’s something she took for granted the first time around, but now that she has it again, she’ll never let this go.
After a minute of her admiring him, his gaze lifts and meets hers. He smiles as he says, “They will be ready in a minute, but for now you can just sit down and pick at the berries”. At the mention of berries her eyes finally turn to their kitchen hightop bar, only to see an assortment of fresh strawberries and blueberries in a bowl between their empty-waiting plates.
She quickly makes her way over, and plops a blueberry into her mouth. She’s immediately hit with a sweet flavor, telling her that they are perfectly ripe. A quiet content moan escapes her lips, and she sees a sly grin cross Tim’s face as he places two pancakes on her plate.
“Stop smiling,” she retorted, but she couldn’t help but smile herself.
“What? I’m not allowed to smile at my own girlfriend anymore?” he asked with mock offense.
“No, you are, but only when your thoughts are appropriate for the last 20 minutes we have before we have to go to work” she answered.
Tim, committed to the act, huffed as he sat down next to her, prepared to eat a quick breakfast before he had to go change. But Lucy, determined to get rid of his fake, but cute sulking frown, leans in next to him to kiss the small residual strawberry off the corner of his mouth from his apparent “quality-control” as he likes to call it, leaving him with a soft “I love you”.
“I love you too”.
—
Once they arrive at the station they separate, beginning their practiced daily routines. Lucy enters the locker room and is greeted by the familiar faces of her friends.
Celina spots her and immediately states, “You’re glowing!”
And typically Lucy would deny this, hoping that Celina would let it go. But this morning was perfect, absolutely perfect, and she would be a complete liar to tell Celina otherwise.
“This morning was a really good morning” she says, with a slight blush to her cheeks just thinking back to how she woke up.
Right away Celina’s eyebrows shoot up, thinking that said good morning had something to do with Lucy and Tim’s remarkably active sex life. But Lucy quickly reads her expression and says “No, no! Not that! I will tell you later, but it was just a good morning” with a slight smile on her face as she turns towards her locker to begin getting ready. Doing the same, Celina simply ends it letting out a quiet “Mhm”.
Slowly all of the seats in roll call fill, with a few last minute stragglers, but Lucy is not focused on them. All of her attention is going towards her boyfriend, the way his muscles are flexing while he’s writing something she’ll probably have to know later on the board. Once he turns around his eyes catch hers, the feelings of this morning still reminiscing. He gives her a subtle smile, one that was just for her, before he steps up to the podium to debrief for the day and hand out assignments.
After Tim has concluded roll call and everyone is scurrying out of the room, Lucy finally stands up and walks over to the podium where he stands.
“Excuse me Sergeant Bradford” she says teasingly. At her words, Tim looks up from his clipboard and meets her eyes before he responds, “Yes, Sergeant Chen?” with a grin on his face, then adds “Did you need something?”
Lucy shakes her head, “No, no. I just wanted to say that I hope you have a good day”
At that Tim smiles, “Well then, I hope you have a good day too Sergeant Chen. I’ll see you later?”
“Of course”, Lucy says, turning around and leaving him to his work.
—
The door to the shop closes and Lucy buckles her seatbelt and turns on the shop cameras. Celina is next to her in the passenger seat, currently typing something on the issued computer about the leftover calls from night shift. Once Lucy pulls out of the garage, she hears Celina clear her throat, trying to get her attention.
“Yes, Celina?” she replies.
“I was just wondering if you were still going to tell me what has you glowing this morning. Your aura is so bright, it's almost blinding” Celina playfully responds.
Lucy laughs, “Sometimes I think I should be concerned with how invested you and Angela are in my relationship” she says, but then adds, “It was nothing crazy, it was just very sweet and domestic. It reminded me not to take any of it for granted, because I had this before”.
Celina nods, “Sometimes the best lessons come in the worst ways, but I can confirm that you two are incredibly cute and absolutely perfect together”.
“Okay okay, lets do our jobs” Lucy says, smiling brightly.
—
A while later, well after lunch, they get a call in for a 2-11 in progress at a downtown city bank, code 3. Immediately Celina responds and Lucy presses on the gas. Once they arrive there are at least 2 other units there waiting outside. One of the officers informs Lucy that the armed robbery has turned into a hostage situation as there are at least 8 civilians inside the building.
As supervisor on the scene, Lucy begins to give out commands, calling for SWAT and hostage negotiators to arrive on scene.
As she is talking to the Sergeant in charge of the SWAT team she hears a familiar voice behind her talking to the negotiators. She excuses herself from the fellow sergeant and turns around to see Tim on the scene.
She’s walking over to the tent he’s standing under as she sees the negotiators walk away discussing something that she can’t hear.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Lucy asks.
Tim looks at her and smiles, “I thought I could help out on scene”.
“Oh okay, well I just let SWAT know what the plan was and I’m just going to go talk to the negotiators to let them know when they’ll be ready” Lucy confidently responds.
And as if Lucy’s tone went right over Tim’s head, he easily responds, “No need, I already let the negotiators know how we’re going to handle this and on my way here I was in contact with SWAT’s sergeant”.
“What?” Lucy asks, taken aback by how completely he’s taken over the scene after only being here for 5 minutes. “Um, why did you do that?” she adds.
“Having two supervisors on scene is better than one, especially with such a heavy response” he says calmly.
And deep down Lucy knows this is true, but she also knows that with Tim here, he will be the default supervisor. It’s not like she minds having a second supervisor here, it’s nice to have someone to run ideas by; but this was a huge scene, bigger than most things that she's run by herself, and so what if she wanted to prove to herself that she could do it.
Unfortunately, this is not the time to start an argument with her boyfriend about him taking control, so instead she just pushes it down for later.
“Okay, well is there anything you want me to do?” she says absently, trying her best to not take this personally…it's not working.
“Not yet, you can just go over to Juarez and Nolan, and let them know that the negotiators are setting up contact now, but be ready to move in after SWAT breaches if anything goes wrong” he says.
Lucy nods quickly and turns around to go over to Celina and Nolan, attempting to outrun the feelings currently creeping in her mind.
Once she reaches them Celina instantly notices the look on her face and asks, “Hey what’s wrong”. But since she’s trying not to think of the feelings, Lucy immediately dismisses the sentiment and says, “Nothing is wrong, Sergeant Bradford just wants me to inform you all that negotiations are happening now, but be ready to breach with SWAT should anything go wrong”.
But by the look on Celina’s face Lucy can just tell that she knows something is wrong. Celina nods and says “Okay understood” with slight hesitation laced in her tone.
As Celina turns back to Nolan to continue with their conversation, Lucy makes herself look busy, letting other people know what is happening until she gets waved over by Tim.
Once she’s made her way over she starts, “Yes, Sergeant?”.
Hearing her tone, Tim narrows his eyes in slight confusion to what’s happened. However, since the negotiators have just gotten the suspect on the line, he doesn’t have time to ask her what’s wrong.
“The negotiators have started” he states, ready to walk over to the computer setup with her.
Lucy nods curtly, simply wanting to get this day over with. As they walk over to the tent where the negotiators are she can feel Tim staring at her, but she doesn't want to talk about this now, they have jobs to do and this was the last of their problems at the moment.
“Okay lets get this thing started” Tim says.
—
Later once they get back to the station, Lucy’s control over her irritation has significantly diminished. So once Tim calls her into his office, she takes a deep breath, hoping that they can just wait this out until they get home.
“Hey”, Tim says as she walks in.
Afraid the irritation will seep through her voice she just plasters a small smile on her face, hoping it's enough to convince him she’s fine. However, his next words do little to help her case.
“Can you fill out this paperwork regarding the scene earlier, I need the supervisor’s point of view” he says as he hands her a stack of forms.
If there is one thing that she knows, it’s that she was not the supervisor on that scene. She arrived on scene, commanded and confidently led for 30 minutes until her boyfriend–who also happens to be her Watch Commander–arrived on scene and took everything over under the guise of needing two supervisors for such a large event. She didn’t let it get under her skin then, well not completely, but now, he’s asking her to take care of the paperwork for a scene she didn't even lead.
Honestly, she’s not even sure he understands what’s wrong. Deep down she knows he’s just trying to delegate. He’s busy, gets virtually no sleep at night, and has someone who is perfectly capable of managing the work. But for some reason, he didn’t think about that earlier, instead he just took charge without giving her a choice, without letting her prove that she was just as capable as him.
So yeah, she’s surprised when she hears his question, “Um what?”.
Still holding the paperwork in his hand he says, “The paperwork Lucy”.
For whatever reason, hearing her name snaps her out of her daze. She quickly nods and takes the paperwork from his hand. But just as she goes to turn around and go back to her desk she hears his voice again.
“Lucy, are you okay?”
It stops her, his voice is laced with concern, and she knows he means well, but at the moment she’s just so annoyed by what happened that she just responds quickly and leaves.
“No, Sergeant. I am not okay.”
—
The ride home was silent, completely silent. Typically Lucy is the one to put on a playlist or find a radio station to listen to, but the second that she got into the truck she just looked out the window, avoiding all eye contact.
Tim thought about asking her what was wrong, but he figured that he should give her a bit of space, she can come to him when she’s ready. He knows communication is important, but he also understands that something he did today must have upset her to the point of not wanting to talk, so he’s just going to give her some time.
By the time they reach the house not a single word has been said. The second that Tim puts the truck in park is also the second that Lucy gets out of the vehicle and makes a beeline for the door.
Tim gets out of the truck and grabs his backpack from the back seat, hoping that the 30 minute car ride was enough time for Lucy to cool down so that they can talk. But once he gets to the door and sees that she didn’t wait for him so that they could walk in together, he knows that this is a bit more serious than he thought.
He opens the door and calls her name, hoping that they can talk.
“Luce?”
No response. He hears some rustling in their bedroom and considering the empty living room and kitchen–aside from Kojo who Genny dropped off earlier–he assumes it's her. He starts to walk towards their bedroom and stops once he gets to the open door.
She's standing over her side of the bed grabbing her pillow, charger, and the throw blanket that lays at the bottom of their mattress.
“Luce? What are you doing?” he asks, confused and concerned that it looks like she’s packing for a trip he’s not invited on.
“I’m sleeping on the couch” she states, not even bothering to look at him.
Dumbfounded by the words that just left her mouth, the only word Tim manages to get out is, “What?”
“I said I’m sleeping on the couch” she reiterates, holding everything in her arms, obscuring her face due to the size of the blanket.
“I heard that, but why baby? The bed is more comfortable for two people” he reasons as she’s walking past him.
“No, Tim. I said I am sleeping on the couch, not we are sleeping on the couch. I need space” she says.
Watching her as she creates her makeshift bed, he decides that he needs to get to the bottom of this because he really does not want to sleep without her. He takes a step towards her, hoping that she won’t move away from him, “Okay baby, can we please talk? I just want to know why you are upset.”
“I am upset Tim because when you arrived on scene earlier you took over. And I mean completely took over, not ‘we need two supervisors on scene’ type of take over, but a ‘I have been doing this for years’ type of take over. I had the scene under control, I was the supervisor on scene, and then you came in and took it out from under me. And then the worst part… the worst part was that once we got back to the station you just handed me the paperwork and asked me to fill it out as if I was the only supervisor on scene, as if I did anything more than repeat your words” she stated, becoming more irritated as she retraced her day.
“Lucy…”
“It’s not even the paperwork Tim, it's just the fact that you didn’t let me handle the scene even though I am literally Roving Supervisor. I know you’re used to being the supervisor on scene, I don’t blame you for that, I just need space” she breathes out.
Tim looks at her, really looks at her, trying to read what was underneath the surface; and all he saw was just someone who was frustrated, not mad. The space she requested, even if it would kill him, he would respect, he had no desire to make this worse than it was, and he loved her, he would do anything for her. Anything.
“Okay Luce. I love you, good night.”
“I love you too, good night Tim.”
—
Kojo’s snores are all she can focus on, that and the fact that she desperately wishes that she was in bed with Tim. No matter how upset she is with him, she loves him, she really really loves him and she doesn’t want to be apart from him. But she made her bed–literally–so she must lie in it. She let her feelings get the best of her, frustrations that could’ve easily been dissolved had she just let him speak.
She turns again, hoping that she can get somewhat comfortable enough to just fall asleep and get to the morning as quickly as possible. In her fight with the blankets and Kojo who has taken up residence on the couch, leaving her with minimal room, she doesn’t even hear the bedroom door creak open.
It’s not until she feels a soft hand on her shoulder that she realizes that she’s not alone anymore. She turns around, her eyes meeting his, both clearly exhausted and miserable from their current situation.
“Luce… I know you’re mad, and I respect that. I shouldn’t have taken over the scene like that, especially not when you were right there doing a perfect job handling it yourself. I am sorry I did that, and you have every right to be upset.”
Lucy just stares at him, lightly breathing but still somewhat shocked that he’s even come out here in the first place.
But before she can say anything he continues, “But I once told you that I’ve spent enough nights without you, and I don’t want to do it again, especially not by choice.”
Lucy looks at him, and she thinks that she knows where this is going, but she’s taken by surprise when she feels him lift her up off the couch, blanket and all, and starts carrying her back to bed.
“Tim!” she yelps.
“I cannot sleep without you, so you can be as mad as you want at me, but please just be next to me while you do it. I promise I won’t touch or bother you, I just want you next to me, always. I love you.”
As she settles her arms around his neck she whispers, “Okay baby.”
Once they get into the bedroom, Tim gently places her on the bed. The sheets on her side of the bed are already open, clearly having planned this out. Removing the blanket and pulling the comforter up to her chest, he presses a tender kiss to her temple before saying “I love you”, and moving over to his side of the bed.
Climbing into the bed, Lucy notices that he’s incredibly careful not to touch her or pull her closer like he typically would. And while Lucy from an hour ago might’ve appreciated or even demanded this, Lucy now, the one who is no longer upset and simply misses her boyfriend, cannot let this stand.
Once he’s lying down, eyes closed but certainly not sleeping, Lucy looks over at him. The stress lines that were on his face earlier have slowly dissipated, not completely but at least enough where he won’t give himself hypertension.
Having had enough of the distance, Lucy moves over to him and places her head on his chest. The movement immediately makes his eyes shoot open, unsure of what he’s allowed to do. He promised not to touch her, but she’s literally laying on him, and the temptation to just put his arm over her waist and pull her closer was unbearable.
Noticing his hesitation, Lucy turns her head and places a kiss on his shirt-covered chest while she whispered to him in the dark, “I love you too”.
Feeling an immediate rush of relief wash over him, he places his arm across her waist and kisses her hair, just enjoying the smell of her shampoo and the closeness of her as they both drift asleep.
—
Lucy awoke similar to how she had the day before, surrounded by Tim, and she couldn’t be happier. Although today she was not the first one to wake up, she could tell by Tim’s breathing that he was awake, and she would bet he had been for awhile.
She lifted her head from his chest and met his eyes, blue as ever yet still swimming with slight worry.
“Good morning,” she mutters.
“Good morning baby,” he responds.
“Tim…”
“No, Lucy. Let me go first please?” he asks, waiting for her nod. Once she does he continues, “You were completely right yesterday, I should not have taken over the scene like that. You are a completely capable Sergeant, one of the best I’ve ever known, and I do not want to be the person who makes you doubt that in any way. I am sorry for how I handled the scene, I promise I’ll do better.”
Surprised by how conclusive his apology is, all she can muster is “Wow”.
But when she sees his face she realizes she should’ve said more because he looks slightly panicked, so to quickly shut that down she rises up to press her lips to his. Once she pulls back, she puts her forehead to his and mumbles “Thank you baby”.
Eventually she lays her head back on his chest and says, “Thank you for apologizing. I am sorry too, I should’ve just talked to you about it instead of letting it simmer, and instead of saying I was sleeping on the couch without explanation I should’ve explained what I needed”.
“It’s okay Luce, we’re both learning, we’ll both make mistakes, all that matters is that we don’t give up when communicating becomes hard. And we didn’t, we gave space, but not too much space that we began to fall through the cracks. But all that matters now is that I love you and I really don’t want to spend any nights without you”.
“I love you too, and I agree”.
“Perfect, now what would you like for breakfast?” he asks, tightening his hold on her while he peppers small kisses across her cheeks, nose, and lips.
“Mmmm, I’m thinking pancakes” she says inquisitively despite the fact that she’s “thinking” pancakes nearly every morning.
Tim laughs and finally says, “Of course you are”.