Tim paid no attention to the speed limit on his way to the hospital. It didn't dawn on him until he was finding a parking spot that the nurse on the phone had referred to Tamara as "his daughter" and that he was almost positive that Tamara had Lucy listed as her emergency contact, not him. He was thankful that the nurse reported that she was okay, because he was certain that Lucy would kill him if anything happened to her puppy.
Tim hurried to the entrance of the ER. "My name is Tim Bradford, I am here to see Tamara Colins" "relation to patient?" A middle aged woman briefly stopped typing on her computer to look over at a frazzled Tim. "Daughter— she's my daughter" Surprisingly, that phrase didn't feel weird coming out of his mouth like he thought it would. "She is in room 204, it's around the corner and to the left" the woman instructed pointing to where Tim should go. He thanked her and hurried to Tamara's room.
When he got there, he saw the young girl curled up in a ball with an innumerable amount of blankets piled on top of her. "Tam?" Tim said hesitantly as he entered the room. It was dark, and he couldn't tell if her eyes were open or not. "T-Tim?" A shaky voice broke out from under all of the blankets. "Hey kid, yeah, it's me" Tim walked closer. There was a chair next to the bed, so he sat down and pulled himself closer to her bed. "You came" she sighed in relief. Tim was confused "of course I came" he reached over and smoothed out a blanket over her shoulder. "Kiddo, what happened?"
"I.. well..." Tamara sighed almost like she was embarrassed "I haven't really been feeling good lately, like upset stomach, shivers, aches, headache, throwing up, the whole bit, but I had a really important test today, so I went to go take it, and I did" she paused "I mean, I don't know how well I did, but I took it, and when I stood up to turn in my test, I passed out, and they told me I hit my head against the desk next to me" she let out another sigh "and now I am here." "Oh kid..." Tim gave her shoulder a squeeze "I am so sorry that happened" he said earnestly. His stomach clenched the way it did when Lucy left for an undercover op, somehow this little teenager had wormed her way into Tim's heart too, and he hated seeing her so weak and sick.
"But, Tam, we just got coffee two days ago, why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling good?" Tamara paused "I don't know, I guess I just didn't want you to worry, or maybe I thought you would be annoyed..." Tim frowned, "Kid, I care about you, and I would have taken care of you. I am sorry if I ever did anything that made you think differently." Tamara burst into tears which took Tim back. That was the last thing he expected out of her.
Tim's heart broke. "Come here, kiddo" he said softly and helped her sit up and lean into his arms. He hugged her tightly, still feeling her fever radiating off of her head. "What's going on, Tam?" He asked the young girl. It took her several moments to respond. Tim gradually felt her sobs quiet and her shaking become less noticeable. She sniffed and wiped at some tears that hung on her cheeks. "I just don't know why you and Lucy care about me so much" she admitted not looking up at Tim.
He let out a sad breath "Tamara we LOVE you" he said firmly. He pulled back so he could look into her eyes "Lucy and I love you, so much— not for anything you did or can do, but we love you for who you are." She was silent, so he continued, "When I look at you, I see a bright, funny, independent, brave, young woman, and I am proud that you consider me to be like a father to you— even if it is only for an emergency contact." This caused Tamara to crack a small smile.
She threw her arms around Tim "I love you too, Tim, and I really miss Lucy" she admitted. Tim nodded "Me too kid... let's get you home."
Tim drove Tamara back to her and Lucy's apartment and walked her up to the door to make sure she was steady. "Do you want me to stay?" He offered. She shook her head at first and then paused. "Would you?" She asked timidly. "It's felt so lonely in the apartment without Lucy, and I just..." "Of course, Tam, I am sure Lucy wouldn't mind if I stayed in her bed" he chuckled.
But they were both shocked when they opened the door to find just the person they missed so dearly. "Lucy!" Tamara practically yelled and rushed forward. Tim barely could back away fast enough before Tamara bulldozed him over to get to her rommate. "Hi!" Lucy laughed softly pulling the young girl in for a hug. Tim watched as the two women embraced and felt a calmness in his chest that he hadn't felt for over a month and a half. "Oh, oops" Tamara giggled and backed up "your turn, Dad" she laughed as Tim rolled his eyes at her and pulled his girlfriend in for a hug.
"Tam, are you okay?" Lucy questioned as she and Tim pulled apart. "Oh, yeah, I am okay now" she sighed quietly looking down at the floor "Tim took care of me." Lucy gazed over at Tim who gave her a small smile. "Did Angela call you?" He asked "Yeah, she figured I would want to know about Tamara's accident, and the op is pretty much over anyway" Lucy pulled Tamara back into an embrace. "I am so glad you are okay, but I want you to rest— really rest— for the next few days" "I will" Tamara agreed with a sigh.
"And you," Lucy reached her arm out towards Tim, "thank you for looking after my girl while I was gone" Tim grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled both of the girls into his arms "our girl" he corrected her earning a smile from both of them.
our girl
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