Overtime With You

Not If, But When

It was a beautiful day in Los Angeles. The sun was shining, and the clouds were nowhere to be found. In the Mid-Wiltshire police department, officers were talking amongst themselves about different cases and activities they had planned for the upcoming weekend.
But there was one officer in specific that wasn't as happy as the others. Officer Lucy Chen couldn't focus on anything else besides the scores. The scores to the sergeant's exam she had taken a few weeks ago were to be posted today.
Lucy was sitting at Angela Lopez's desk, since Angela was out on a mission. She had been staring at the same paperwork for an hour, unable to move her pencil or think of the different details she needed for the report. It was almost as if the information had disappeared from her mind.
Suddenly, Lucy felt a presence behind her. She recognized this feeling and knew exactly who it was.
"You know! If you keep bouncing your leg on the ground, you'll make a hole in the ground!" The voice barked.
"If I don't move, I might explode!!" Lucy muttered.
"It's all going to be okay, Lucy! You're going to be okay!" The voice said.
Without another word between the two, Lucy's chair was spun around, and she was able to look at the person. It was Tim. Tim Bradford. The man she used to be in a relationship with.
"You don't know that!" Lucy frowned.
"Yes, I do!" Tim says as he leans over Lucy's seat.
"How?" Lucy asks.
"I know that because you're an amazing officer. You studied very hard for that exam. And I know you're going to get top ranks." Tim informs her.
"That's sweet, Tim! Thank you!" Lucy says, a small smile appearing on her face.
"See, there's the happy version of Lucy that I know!" Tim smiles.
"Where are the scores? It's 4 in the afternoon. They should be out by now!" Lucy asks, standing up and pacing around the room.
"Hey!" Tim yells, grabbing Lucy's wrist and pulling her close to him. "Breathe! They will be out soon!" Tim says, slowly pushing Lucy's head onto his chest.
"I can't calm down!" Lucy whispers.
"Yes, you can, Lucy!" Tim sighs.
"Tim?" Lucy mumbles and looks into Tim's eyes.
"Yeah? What's up, Lucy?" Tim smiles.
"I know we're not together...!" She whispers but stops and begins to shake her head.
"Say it! Whatever it is, I'm here!" Tim says as he lays both hands onto Lucy's back.
"Can you hold me like you used to?" Lucy asks quietly.
"Come on, let's go into an interrogation room. We can sit for like 20 minutes, and then we'll come back and see if the scores have been posted yet. How does that sound?" Tim smiles.
"That sounds great!" Lucy says, tears welling in her eyes, but a big smile across her face.
Tim nods and leads Lucy into an interrogation room, far away from the other officers. As soon as they walk in, Tim goes to the window and leans against the wall.
"Come here!" Tim says, opening his arms.
"Tim!" Lucy whispers as she walks quickly to Tim.
"I got you, Lucy! Just breathe. It'll be okay!" Tim insists, stroking the top of Lucy's head and kisses it.
"I missed this!" Lucy mutters.
"So do I!" Tim nods.
On the outside of the room, Angela and Nyla have just arrived from their mission. They had arrested a woman who tricked Nyla's mom into selling the house away. They were celebrating a success until they noticed their closest friend was missing.
"Where is Lucy?" Nyla asked as they approached their desks.
"The real question is, where is Bradford?" Angela smirked.
"Shall we go find out?" Nyla offered.
"Do we have a choice?" Angela laughed.
Nyla shook her head and they began to look around the station. They looked in the locker room, the roll call room, Tim's office, practically everywhere.
"Maybe they both went home." Nyla suggested.
"Not a chance. Lucy told me she wasn't going home until she saw the scores." Angela shakes her head. "The interrogation rooms!!"
The women quickly ran to the rooms and checked the first two. No sign of Lucy or Tim. Then, they entered the viewer's room of the 3rd interrogation room. When they looked through the glass, they saw Lucy and Tim. He was holding her in his arms and running his fingers through her hair.
"That's fucking adorable." Nyla whispered.
"It is. But how do we tell them the results have been posted?" Angela shrugged.
"Like this!" Nyla said, moving her fingers to the microphone. "Scores are in." She laughed into the mic.
With those words, Lucy and Tim jumped away from each other
"Here goes nothing." Lucy whispered.
"It's going to be okay, Luce! I believe in you!!" Tim smiled as he led her out of the room.
The four made their way to the roll call room and were 10 feet away from the list. Suddenly, Lucy froze in place. She couldn't  move.
"What's wrong, Lucy?" Nyla asked.
"I can't look!" Lucy shook her head.
"Want me to look for you?" Tim offered, moving closer to the paper.
"Yes, please." Lucy nodded. "Wait, no!!" She debated it in her head. "Yes! Please look!!" She said as she crossed her arms and took a deep breath.
Tim nodded his head before pivoting and walking right up to the paper. He refused reading down the list and kept his eyes at the top. He knew she'd make it to the top 5. And, he was right. As he read the list, he wasn't shocked at what he saw.
1. Lucy Chen
"Lucy!!" Tim smiled.
"Yeah?!" Lucy asked in a shaky voice.
"Look!" Tim motioned to the wall.
"Okay!" Lucy said as she slowly walked to the list. She read the bottom of the list and didn't find the name. That was until she made it to the top. #1?! She made it to first place?!
"I did it!" She whispered excitedly.
"Of course you did!!" Tim laughed.
"Congratulations, Chen!" Grey said as he moved closer to her. He opened his hands and gave her two of the sergeant's patches. "And you can use those privileges immediately!!"
"Wait?! A sergeant's position is open? Here?" Lucy asked.
"For the night shift." Grey applauded.
"Oh! Great!" She nodded, side eyeing Tim. "Do you think there's a way I can switch?" She asked.
"No." Grey barked. "But I'll see what I can do!" He said as he put his hand on her shoulder and walked away.
Nyla and Angela gave their congratulations before leaving the station to tend to their families. In that moment, it was just Tim and  Lucy. Standing there alone. No words were shared. Just different looks and lingering eye contact.
Lucy joking lifted her badges and shook them around, showing off her new rank. Tim laughed and shook his head, smirking at her slightly. Lucy rolled her eyes and walked away to her car, keeping eye contact with Tim until she couldn't.
"See you later, sergeant Chen!!" Tim yells as he heads to his car.
"Goodbye, Bradford!!" Lucy giggles.
She closes her car door and drives to her apartment. Unfortunately, Celina is staying at her boyfriend's place that night. Lucy locked her door and went to the fridge, trying to find something to eat.
After about 5 minutes of rummaging through her kitchen, there was a knock on the front door.
"Who could this be?" She asks herself as she grabs her gun and opens the door.
"WOW!" Tim says in shock.
"Tim! What are you doing here?" Lucy yells, putting her gun back on her belt.
"I brought food and champagne. Let's celebrate!! You made it. Welcome to the sergeant's club!!" Tim cheers.
"You're so sweet!!" Lucy giggles, welcoming him inside.
After a few glasses of champagne and lots of delicious Chinese food, the two were just sitting at the counter. Neither had said a word for a while. They were just staring at each other with the passion of a married couple.
"Congratulations, Lucy!! I knew you could...!" Tim says but gets cut off by Lucy pushing her lips onto his. He smiles into the kiss and lays his hands on her waist, holding her as close as he could.
"Don't even finish that sentence!!" Lucy whispered as she pulled Tim out of his seat.
"Yes, ma'am!!" Tim smirked, spinning Lucy around and began passionately kissing her neck.
As he did this, he slowly undid her belt and pulled it out of her jeans. All Lucy could do was gasp and smile at the touch of his lips on her skin.
When Tim got her belt off fully, he spun her back around and looked down at her. Lucy didn't say anything, she just smiled and reconnected their lips together. As the kiss intensified, Lucy pulled Tim to her bedroom and laid them on the bed.
"You want to do this, Lucy?" Tim whispered, taking his button-up off.
"Tim. Respectfully, zip it." Lucy laughed.
Tim motioned to zipping his lips before taking his under shirt off and throwing it on the floor. Lucy looked at his chest and couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes and smirking at him.
"Tell me what you want, Luce!!" Tim huffed, feeling all over her body.
"You. I want you." Lucy gasped.
Tim nodded and undid the zipper on Lucy's, before doing the same to his.
Lucy began to heavy breathe as she sees Tim's pants fall down fully.
"You, okay, Lucy?" Tim smirks.
"Yes!" Lucy whispers.
"Okay!" Tim smiles as he lays in top of Lucy and enters her slowly. All Lucy can do is take heavy breaths and gasp at every motion.
"Celebratory sex!" Lucy moans while laughing.
"Hell yes!" Tim groans as he kisses Lucy's neck.
"Speed up, please!" She begs.
"Anything for you beautiful!" Tim nods as he begins to slam into Lucy 5x harder than before.
"Tim!" Lucy cries.
"Yes, honey?" He laughs.
"I'm! I'm close!!" She whispers.
"Go for it, honey! I'm right here for you, babe!" Tim smiles as slides all the way into her.
"Tim!" Lucy cries in pleasure.
"Yes, Lucy?" He smirks.
"Don't ever leave me!" She demands while gritting her teeth together.
"What're you saying?" Tim asks.
"I think you have a question to ask me when we're done." She giggles as she finishes and so does Tim. "God, that was amazing!"
"It really was!" Tim laughs as he lays on his back next to her.
"So, what was that question you were going to ask me!" Lucy smiles as she lays on her side.
"Sergeant Lucy Chen!" Tim says as he sits up and reaches into his pants pocket.
"Tim Bradford!" Lucy laughs, looking over his shoulder. "What's that?" She gasps.
"It's for you!" He smiles.
"Thank you!" Lucy blushes, taking the velvet box out of Tim's hand. She opens the box and sees a beautiful gold necklace with a gold heart attached to a smaller diamond heart. "This is beautiful, Tim!"
"Just like you!" Tim whispered.
"Tim!" Lucy smiled.
"Lucy. You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen. Your smart, brave, confident, and just all around perfect. I'd be dumb not to ask you!" Tim scoots closer to her.
"Ask me what?" Lucy cuddles into Tim and lays her head on his shoulder.
"Lucy, will you be my girlfriend?" Tim asked softly, his voice rough with emotion.
The question hung in the air like a thread pulled tight, waiting for one of them to release the tension. Lucy blinked, her eyes wide, her breath caught between disbelief and the weight of every moment that had led to this one.
"Yes," she whispered, almost in awe. And then louder, her smile blooming. "Yes. A million times yes, Tim."
Tim let out a slow, disbelieving laugh, as if the words had healed a part of him he hadn't realized was still bruised. "You really mean that?"
Lucy nodded, cupping his jaw in her hands. "I've waited so long for this. For you. I think I always knew it was you. Even when I didn't want it to be."
That made him laugh again, more freely this time. "Yeah. You weren't exactly subtle about trying to avoid me in the beginning."
"I was trying to protect myself," she murmured, brushing her thumb over his cheek. "You... you hurt me, Tim. Not on purpose, but you did. And still, I couldn't stop feeling something for you."
Tim pulled her into a hug then, burying his face in her neck. "I know I screwed up. I was afraid. You mattered too much, and I wasn't ready to admit that. But Lucy, I'm not running anymore. I don't want to pretend I'm fine watching you from the sidelines."
"You don't have to pretend anymore," she whispered against his chest. "We don't."
They sat like that for a moment, wrapped in a quiet that felt more sacred than silence. Just the hum of the city outside, the low tick of the clock, and the sound of two hearts finally settling into the same rhythm.
Then Tim pulled away just enough to reach on top of the nightstand, producing a small velvet box. "I was gonna save this for a special occasion but tonight feels right."
She opened it and gasped, tears instantly springing to her eyes. A delicate gold necklace rested inside, its charm shaped like two hearts—one solid gold, the other a smaller diamond heart nested within. It wasn't flashy. It was elegant. Thoughtful. Intimate.
"Tim..." she breathed. "This is... it's perfect."
"You're perfect," he said without hesitation. "Let me put it on you?"
She turned, lifting her hair with trembling hands. He clasped the chain behind her neck, his fingers brushing the soft skin just beneath her hairline. He didn't pull away right away, just stood there, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder.
Lucy turned back to face him, her expression soft. "So what now?"
"Now," he said, taking both of her hands, "we start this. For real. No more pretending, no more games. Just us."
She leaned into him then, their lips meeting again—not in the rushed, hungry way from earlier, but slow and reverent. Like a vow. Like a promise made without words.
"Cuddles?" she asked with a teasing smile, even as she curled into his chest.
"Always," Tim whispered, wrapping his arms around her.
They lay down together, her head on his shoulder, their legs tangled beneath the sheets. His hand absentmindedly traced circles on her back, and hers rested over his heart.
After a few minutes, Lucy murmured, "I don't think I've ever felt this calm. Like my whole body finally exhaled."
Tim kissed the top of her head. "That's how you make me feel. Like I'm not carrying everything alone anymore."
She pulled back just enough to look up at him. "Promise me something?"
"Anything." Tim nodded.
"Don't shut me out again. No matter how hard things get." Lucy said as she put her pointer finger up.
He nodded. "I promise. And you promise me something too."
"What?" Lucy smiled
"Don't give up on me. I've never done this—like, really done this. But I want to try. With you."
Lucy smiled, pressing a kiss to his chest. "You're stuck with me now, Bradford."
He chuckled. "Good."
Their words faded into quiet laughter and a few sleepy kisses. And when Lucy finally drifted off in his arms, Tim didn't move. He just watched her, his fingers brushing her hair back gently, memorizing the curve of her smile, the peace in her face.
In the morning, there would be work. There would be awkward conversations and decisions to make. But for now, there was only this—two people who had been through hell together, finally choosing each other. Fully. Honestly. Without fear.