FINE LINE - T. BRADFORD

9

"Stop hiding things from me, okay?" Lucy asks. "I love you so much girl and I only want to help you"

"I'll try," Mirana nods.

Lucy hugs Mirana tighter. "Good. Now, let's get you back out there. Tim's about to send a recovery party."

Mirana chuckles weakly. "Alright."

As they make their way back to the bullpen, Lucy offers a supportive smile, and Mirana takes a deep breath, ready to face the well-intentioned birthday celebration waiting for her.

Tim, who has been watching the entrance anxiously, approaches her with concern etched on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Mirana nods. "What did I miss?"

"Detective Nyla Harper is now Nolan's T.O.," Tim says.

"Detective?"

"Yeah, it's weird," Tim says. "I wanna know why she's here. No one takes that kind of demotion without a reason"

"Maybe Detective work was a bit too much," Mirana shrugs.

Tim gives her a worried look. "Are you sure you're okay? You seemed really upset earlier."

"I'm fine," Mirana reassures him, squeezing his hand when she notices no one is looking. "Just needed a moment. Let's get back to work."

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"You gonna tell me what upset you yet?" Tim asks as they walk through the hospital.

"I said I don't want to talk about it," Mirana replies, looking into a room where two adults are taking pictures with a young boy. "This is the room"

"Thank God," A woman says, walking out of the room.

"Uh, we got a call about an assault?" Tim asks and the woman nods.

"They just barged in and started taking pictures. My son is very sick,"

"Oh, that's awesome! Ready?" The woman says to the boy.

"What are you doing?" Mirana asks.

"Just a second," The man says, holding up a selfie stick.

"Step out in the hallway right now. Both of you," Tim orders and the two adults step away from the boy.

"What's the problem, Officer?" The woman asks.

"They broke into my son's room and started posing," The mother of the boy explains.

"Broke in is an exaggeration," The man says.

"You told the nurse you were his sister," The mother says.

"I didn't say I was his sister. I said I was a sister," The woman tries to defend herself.

"We're just trying to help," The man explains. "Bella saw a Facebook post about little Cody and his fight against cancer. She has a half a million followers on social media"

"I was just trying to draw attention to his plight. Doesn't that count for something?" Bella asks.

"Not without permission. You're under arrest for trespassing and photographing a minor without a parent's consent," Tim says.

Mirana moves behind the man and cuffs him as Bella glares at him.

"I told you this was a bad idea,"

"You need more empathy posts. Your follows are stagnant. The consultant told us to find a sick kid -" The man is cut off.

"He's not a consultant. He's your cousin, and he still lives with his mom!" Bella snaps.

"He's got his finger on the pulse," The man says.

"Okay, enough," Tim says to the arguing adults before turning to Cody's mother. "All right, I am really sorry that this happened. We will come back and get your statement"

"Honey, get back in bed," The woman says to Cody who is standing in the doorway.

Cody starts to whisper to his mother who nods before turning to Mirana and Tim.

"Is there any chance you two will take some pictures with him?" She asks.

"Of course," Mirana nods, giving Tim a pointed look as he opens his mouth to say no.

"You two sit on those chairs and don't move an inch," Tim says.

Mirana and Tim pose with the boy who has a wide grin on his face as they all make finger guns.

"This is so cool!" Cody laughs.

"Can't we get in there? Just one picture," Bella pleads causing Tim, Cody, Mirana and the mother to all turn to her.

"No!"

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Mirana takes the mugshots of the two influencers, rolling her eyes at their questions.

"Can we get hi-res copies of these?" Bella asks and Mirana sighs.

"No," Tim shuts her down before turning to Mirana. "Is it because you're getting closer to thirty?"

"No," Mirana rolls her eyes. "And that is very ungentlemanly of you to ask"

"Did you find a grey hair?" Tim asks and Mirana's jaw drops.

"Do you want me to punch you in the face?"

"No,"

"Then I would advise shutting up," Mirana says.

"Do you want to do anything tonight?" Tim asks. "Dinner or-?"

"You could do a whole Insta story. We can help," Miles offers.

"A get ready with me video for you," Bella points at Mirana.

"You posing in the outfits,"

"Both of you shut up," Mirana says, pulling her buzzing phone out of her pocket. "It's Nolan"

"Answer it,"

"Why, because you want the dirt on Harper?"

"No," Tim says unconvincingly as Mirana answer the call.

"Hey, you're on speaker. What's up?"

"Hypothetically, is it worse to disobey a direct order from your TO or to stand by and watch while they're killed?"

"How bad is she?" Mirana asks, shooting Tim a grin when he nudges her.

"Look, disobeying a direct order is a serious offence. So really think about it before you do it," Tim says.

"What's going on?" Mirana asks.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out,"

Nolan hangs up the call and Mirana slides her phone back into her pocket.

"Well, that was cryptic,"