*Chen*
Lucy could literally count on one hand the number of times her feelings for her T.O had been more than evident, at least to her. There was obviously their very first shift together, when she literally saved his life after being shot. Definitely, after everything went down with Crazy Caleb and the whole being kidnapped and dying in a barrel thing... Knowing that it was Tim who brought her back, having his face and those blue eyes be the first thing she saw after death, well it changed things inside of her. I mean someone doesn't just breathe life back into you for no reason, RIGHT?
Truth be told though, what had really solidified her feelings were the events after her best friend's death. Watching Jackson get shot and actually die on that video had been the hardest thing she had ever been through. They had been friends since day one at the academy, they had been roommates, and going on without him seemed unimaginable. Truly, that video was like living her own nightmare, even after she'd already lived through what anyone else would consider a nightmare. This was so much worse.
That night, at the station, she had done everything she could not to go home. When Tim offered to have her stay with him she wanted to scream yes, but instead she told him she didn't want to impose. Sure, they had become friends, but in her current mental state all she felt like was a burden. He had done his best to reassure her that she was not, until he wore her down and she agreed.
As they drove back to his place that night, Lucy in the passenger seat because her mind was not one okay enough to drive, she tried to focus on anything else. He was her hard ass, control freak T.O. He had literally been married when she started as his rookie, to an ex UC and current drug addict no less. But, over time he'd shown his true colors, to her at least, and that stuck with her. Even his 'Tim Tests' no longer frightened her. He longer frightened her, nor did her feelings for him.
"We're here.." oh, she hadn't even felt his truck stop moving.
Without a response she followed him into the house, both of them greeting Kojo , who could obviously sense that something was wrong. All the emotions from that day had been far too overwhelming. After arguing about where each of them would sleep, Tim asked her if she needed anything. Though she felt like she was going to break, she made the semi joke of asking if he could go back in time. When he said no she could only think of one other thing.
"A hug?"
Asking for this made her nervous beyond belief. Though Tim might have been feeling bad for her, he had never been a very emotional or touchy feely person... other than when he'd held her on the ground after everything... But, was this too much? Did this cross some sort of line? They were friends after all and friends hug when sad shit happens. Right? Like a typical psych major, Lucy began to over analyze the whole situation. They had comforted one another before. This was nothing new, except it was.
'Snap out of it, Luce!' She scolded herself mentally.
Before she knew what was happening, Tim had pulled her into his strong arms. They wrapped her in a warm embrace. She felt comfort which no one else had given her. As he held her closer than he had after saving her life, Lucy felt sparks. The actual feeling of what little of their skin touched sent electricity through her body. Finally, she was receiving the comfort she had needed from the only man she needed it from.
What shocked the both of them most, was when that night didn't end at the hug...
***
That was two years ago... now it was just a memory that burned in the back of Lucy's mind. It was a memory that liked to pop up, usually at the most inconvenient times, but it always made her wonder. Since then Lucy had transferred to Metro's UC unit, working mostly the desk after passing her Detectives exam. She'd been here for one year and eleven months, and for the most part she kept in contact with everyone from Mid-Wilshire, some more than others. Mostly she talked with Lopez, Harper, and Nolan. Still, she enjoyed the thrill that this new life brought her.
This new life also included a new three bedroom apartment; one for herself, one for Tamara, and one for actual new life. Jaclyn Harper Chen, her beautiful daughter, who was now almost a year old and was the light of her life. Tamara was also a big fan of her new little sister and helped as much as she could. Lucy was thankful for all of the young girl's help and the way she never mentioned who the baby's eyes resembled.
As much as Lucy loved her little girl, she was very ready for her first day back at work after a short few days off with her girls, full of decorating the new place.
She walked in that morning in her favorite black jeans, gray blouse, and black boots, thankful she hadn't had much baby weight to lose, she was already back to her original weight. She felt confident and happy to be back as she caught up with a few people here and there. First things first was checking in with Captain McConnell before finding her partner, Detective Silver.
What she wasn't prepared for was to see her old Sergeant and T.O to be in her captain's office when she got halfway up the stairs...'Maybe it's not too late. Maybe I can turn around and run home to Jaclyn...'
"Detective Chen! My office!" Her captain's voice rang through the whole station. It was absolutely too late.. fuck. Happy Wednesday to ya'll too. I rolled my eyes walking back up the stairs, but was as professional and pleasant as a customer service robot with a stick up their ass the moment I closed the door.
"Yes sir?" I spoke to my captain.
"First of all welcome back from..." I cut my captain off with shut the hell up kind of look. At Metro they called it the Lucy Look. McConnell cleared his throat. "Just welcome back. I'm assuming you remember Sergeant Wade Grey and Sergeant Tim Breadford?"
Wait! Sergeant? Hold the fucking phone. I looked over at Tim who shrugged with a tight lipped facial expression.
"Yes sir, I remember them. Pleasure to see you both." I shook both of their hands.
"What's going on? I need to go find Detective Silver." As if Lucy hadn't seen Valeria during her mini vacation. She had quickly become one of my better friends here and had been a huge help.
"Do you remember the case you and Sergeant Bradford worked on as Jake and Sava?" It was Grey who spoke to her, as he and Lucy both sat down. Detective Chen took note that her captain and Tim remained standing. Of course she remembered the case. Angela and Harper had contacted her at Metro clueing her in on what was happening and asking if she'd be up for helping. They both knew of the position Lucy was in, being two months post giving birth. It was tough, they knew that, but Lucy agreed. It didn't take long to get it cleared with McConnell. What did take long was getting Jaclyn set up and pumping enough to freeze and have on hand for Wesley or Tamara to feed her with.
"Of course I do." Fuck she really couldn't do another out of town thing right now...
"Well, the night shift brought Jake again. And Sava has given us everything. They started working for someone new and were supposed to meet with this new boss and his girl at a club here in LA." Fucking Jake, he was so not Tim.
"Okay, so it's here in LA. You said it's one night? When?" Sava had easily been one of the harder roles she had taken because Lucy was nothing like her, but she'd also been fun for that exact reason. Lucy could handle one night, right? Even if it meant spending it entirely with Tim.
"Friday." Tim spoke for the first time. His voice was rough, harsh, and ice cold, much like it had been when she had first met him.
"So two days away?" They all nodded at me. Lucy rose from my seat. "That's all well and fine. I'll do it, Captain. Boys, can I get a minute with McConnell?" Both Sergeants nodded and left the room. Once Lucy was sure the door was closed, she continued. "A heads up would've been nice Oliver!"
"Would you have come back today if you'd known?" Okay he got me there, but I'd gotten so much better since I left Mid.
"Of course sir, this is my job." Lucy had even gotten better at lying.
"So is being a mother. Chen, as a father myself, I know it can be hard, but remember the job is not worth orphaning that little girl. Do they not know about Jaclyn?" She bit her lip. She had already been a few weeks pregnant when she started at Metro.
"Grey does. Along with Lopez and Harper. And I'd like to keep it that way.."
McConnell sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Listen, Chen, you're by far one of my better UCs and I'm not going to lose you. Just do what you need to do to get through this case and then they will be gone. Got it?" I nodded. "Good. Go." McConnell was right, not that Lucy always liked to admit it. She was pretty damn good, because she had been trained by the best. And they'd done a lot to keep her here, even through my pregnancy.
And with that she left his office, finding Tim and Grey in the hallway. "I need to go find my partner, Detective Silver. I'll meet you two in Briefing Room 3 in thirty minutes." Lucy was firm in my statement.
"Or we can just come with you?" Tim stepped forward. Oh fuck no, Lucy didn't need him falling for another blonde, especially her partner.
"Or I can meet you in Briefing Room 3, like I just said. Don't push me, Sergeant Bradford. You're on my turf now." And with that she walked away. Although she definitely heard Grey mocking Tim and Tim responding by telling him to shut up. As Lucy made my way to the lower level, she pulled my phone out of my back pocket. Hitting the group text with Nyla and Angela, she began to type.
Me: Really? Did you two know he'd be here today?
NH: He who?
AL: Who's this he you speak of?
Me: 🙄 thanks you two
Entering the lower level, Lucy found Val hovering over her microscope with tweezers. She looked up the moment she entered, her hearing skills were second to none.
"Are you sure you have an almost one year old? You look hot!" She wiggled her eyebrows up and down at Lucy as she ran to embrace her. Lucy quickly hugged her back momentarily. "Oh ya know, just a lot of morning runs with a stroller..." she responded to her comment.
"You knew he was coming here today, didn't you?" Lucy put her hands on her hips, using her best mom voice, she had been working on it a lot since legally adopting Tamara and having Jaclyn. It still made her heart happy that Tamara was cool with the adoption even though she was an adult. She suddenly looked guilty. Of course Val knew all about my feelings and everything she'd been through.
"Okay, yes. But, to be fair I had to start prep for Juicy 2.0!" Lucy laughed at her excitement. It was hard to stay mad at her. "What do you think of these nails? Are they Juicy enough???" She walked over to the microscope to inspect her work.
"Mmm, red, not blue. And make them a fiery neon red. Also a long coffin shape. Not a stiletto." Lucy gave her my best tips before dropping my bag, grabbing my badge and key card from it.
"You got it babe!" She heard Val call out as I made my way back to the elevator. Lucy got the button for floor three and took as many deep breaths as she could. But, she still wasn't a fan of small spaces.
However, as she approached the briefing room, she only wanted to run back to that elevator. 'No! Chen, seriously get a grip!' Her mental mini pep talk of sorts was all she needed to walk in there full of confidence. Her confidence did not go unnoticed by either man as their conversation stopped and attention turned to her. She took a blank black Metro notebook from the shelf by the door and sat down. Removing the pen from her ear, she put the date at the top of the page, 07/05/2023. Almost a full two years since she and Tim had slept together, well not almost, it was still a few months out... Still, she wondered if he thought about the way she did.