It had been really quiet lately. Like way too quiet. And Tim was honestly the kind of person who loved the quiet. He quickly got annoyed by people who talked too much, he didn't like loud or crowded places, he rarely let Lucy turn on the radio in the shop. Lucy. That was why it had been so quiet. In the shop, in the station, in his apartment. Tim could feel her absence everywhere he went. She was a literal ray of sunshine, and Tim missed her badly when she went on prolonged undercover missions.
She had been gone for two weeks by this point. She was relatively safe— as safe as Tim could hope for at least. He still wasn't a huge fan of undercover work, but he was more than willing to support his partner in her dreams, so he would never tell her no, no matter how badly he wished she would go into a safer specialty.
Lucy was able to text Tim every so often on a burner phone, but it was rare and inconsistent. She was posing as a cook for a high-profile drug runner, and it was far too dangerous for her to have consistent contact with him. In one of her messages, she asked him to check and make sure that Tamara was doing okay, and he did. He had her number, and he took her out to coffee at least once a week to keep his promise for Lucy.
It was not that he didn't love spending time with Tamara, but he didn't want to cramp on the young-adult's style. He knew Tamara adored Lucy just as much as his former rookie adored her puppy, but he didn't want to impose himself on their relationship. He loved being able to provide a safe space for Lucy and Tamara when they came to visit or when he came to their apartment, but it wasn't normal for the two of them to spend time together without Lucy.
This pretty much was how the next four weeks went. Lucy knew this op would be long, but she didn't anticipate it lasting for much more than a month. She was exhausted and ready to go home. She missed Tim, she missed Tamara, hell, she missed riding patrol. Posing as a cook wasn't exactly a comfortable lifestyle, but this is what she signed up for, and she was not one to quit.
Tamara was feeling the drag of the long mission too. Lucy was her safety net. She had come to tell her everything that went on in her life— good and bad. She loved her, and the apartment felt lonely without her there.
At the end of the sixth week, Angela could tell that her best friend was really struggling with missing his partner. "Tim, your girl is fine" she tried to assure him. "She hasn't missed a single check-in, and she wouldn't want you sulking around the whole time she is gone." "I know, it's just..." Tim trailed off. Undercover work had already taken so much from him, and he couldn't verbalize the feeling that it might take away the best thing that has ever happened to him too. "I promise, you have nothing to worry about" Angela tried to cut off his spiraling thoughts. "Why don't we grab a drink after shift today?" She suggested. Tim nodded, knowing that, with his friend, he really didn't have a choice. "Great!" She smiled and hurried away before he could argue.
Tim's shift went relatively quickly that day. Before he knew it, he was in the locker room changing into street clothes when his phone rang. It was an unknown number "hello?" He answered hesitantly. "Hello, is this Tim Bradford?" A young man on the other end of the line asked. "Yeah, this is him— who is this?" "Hi, sir, I am a nurse calling from Shaw Memorial, I am calling on behalf of you daughter, Tamara Colins—" "What happened??" Tim was immediately standing up and reaching for his keys. "She's okay, sir, she's okay— I am calling because we are ready to discharge her, but because of a concussion, she is not able to drive herself home." "I will be there in ten minutes" Tim promised rushing out the door.
He called Angela while he started his truck. "Hey, we are going to have to reschedule— something happened to Tamara, and I have to go pick her up from the hospital." "Do you want me to call Lucy?" "No, don't worry her, I don't even know what happened, let me figure it out first." "Okay...." Angela agreed before hanging up.
