Submerged

Wade Grey stood in front of the large group of officers and FBI agents that had been assembled for a critical operation. It was his job to brief them on the raid at the shipping docks on the ocean surrounded by large metal boxes, open water, and large barges. He never minced his words; he was careful to lay out the dangers they would face with dangerous weaponry and terror suspects scattered amongst the shipping containers, all willing to shoot first and die for their mission. He doled out assignments for where everyone was meant to infiltrate the docks from all sides and hopefully corner their suspects to apprehend them without any casualties. To end his instructions, he said, "Gear up and be safe."

As agents and officers alike peeled off to equip and prepare themselves for the operation, Lucy Chen sought out Tim Bradford, who was walking a few paces away from her until she caught up to him and said, "Hey, I'm sorry for falling asleep on you yesterday."

"It's alright," Tim replied with a half smile.

"No, it's not. You put so much effort into making all of my favorite things, and we were talking, and I closed my eyes for only a second."

"You were tired. Night shift's tough. I get it."

"Stop being so understanding. I totally ruined your peace offering. You should know, when I woke up, I had some sea bass, and it was perfect."

"Good."

"What were you saying when I fell asleep?"

"It's not...we don't have to talk about this now."

"But I want to. I was gonna text you, but I figured it sounded important enough we should talk about it face to face."

"We're about to kick off an operation."

She sensed his apprehension, so she reached for one of his hands and squeezed it as she murmured, "Tim, whatever it is, just say it." Her pleading eyes were enough for him to give in in an instant.

"I sorta started saying everything yesterday in your apartment, but I'll try it again now that you're awake. Alright, here goes." He exhaled, knowing he was starting to shake. Luckily, her kind eyes and her soft touch gave him the encouragement he needed to be vulnerable. "I sorta forgot the whole speech I planned out, so bear with me here as I get through all the things I want to make sure I tell you." She gave his hand a squeeze; she was clearly able to tell he was struggling. "First and foremost, there's no universe where I would ever want to be without you. And I'm so sorry I hurt you. And believe me when I say all my therapy has shown me that I'll do everything I can to be a better man for you. And I know I want you back. And I know I would never hurt you again the way I did before. I've been putting the work in with my therapist, and we don't have the chain of command thing hanging over our heads anymore, so now feels like the perfect time to get back together." He blew out a breath, relieved he had laid out everything that had been weighing heavily on his heart, and she only blinked, possibly still processing. "Uhh...I guess I'm not sure where you stand. Not that I blame you for that, but I cooked all of your favorite foods, because night shift is brutal, but also because I was hoping a full stomach might make you more willing to tell me how you feel."

"How I feel? Tim, You broke my heart. The scar is so deep it might never fade."

He hung his head low and shut his eyes, feeling defeated.

"But," Lucy continued, and his head shot back up showing how eager he was for any sign of hope, "but there's no universe where I would ever want to be without you, either."

Exhaling as something settled inside of him, he felt the beginning of a smile play on his lips. "Yeah?" He asked softly for validation.

"Yeah," she confirmed and took a half step closer to him, "but I need some assurances. We can't get back together unless you know you will never break up with me again. You have to be really sure. If we do this again, it's forever."