Gods, I hate my life.
Ember sighed as she saw Bradford waiting by the Quartermaster's station.
"Would you believe me if I told you the battery died, so I had to be given another shop and put gas in it? But everything is ready so we can roll..." Ember trailed off when she saw his scowl growing deeper.
"You have no idea how easy you have it, Boot."
"Excuse me?"
"When I was a rookie, I'd get here two hours before roll call to get the best shop from the motor pool, re-wash it, and load the gear."
"So you've always been wound-up, huh? And here I thought I was bringing out the best of you." Ember smirked.
"You wanna change up your words before I make you walk all morning during patrol?"
Ember had no doubt he would do that to her, so she cleared her throat, "What I meant to say was I appreciate the wisdom you impact on me. I can only hope I'll have your support during my journey." She gave me a fake smile. Bradford growled and pointed an accusative finger at Ember, but before he could say anything, a clerk summoned him to Grey's office. He shot a look at his rookie.
"Get the shop set up, I'll be right back."
"Ember repeated his words mockingly under her breath as she received the weapons from the Quartermaster. She finally finished getting everything ready and noticed her T.O was long, so she went to look for him.
On her third guess, she found him in the briefing room alone. She stands in front of Bradford and sees his troubled look.
"Are you okay? Was wondering why it was taking you a while." Bradford looked up at Ember, but something else caught his attention as he quickly stood and looked over her shoulder. Ember turned and saw Isabel being escorted by two detectives. Bradford steps out and heads to Grey's office. Ember was glad she wasn't in that room with all the tension, and just by the look on her T.O's face informed her she was in for a rough ride, but when hadn't she had one?
_______________________________________
After a stressful patrol, the duo were back in the booking room. Ember did try to behave herself and just follow her T.O's lead, but she had to say something about their latest arrest.
"I thought public urination is usually a citation?" She asked, trying to gauge Bradford's reaction, which completely blew in her face as he went on a bender about brushing up on her California Penal Code.
"Mhmm. Not challenging your wisdom once again, but this will never stick."
"It doesn't matter. Start processing." Ember saw his expression dull a bit as he looked at one of the cells. She figured that his wife was probably in one of them and decided to do him a solid.
"I can give you a shout if I see the detectives." Bradford gives Ember a once-over as though trying to sense some form of deceit, and with some hesitant moves, quickly nods at her and enters cell three.
After a short while, Bradford walked out with his hands in his pockets, looking down. He finally reached where Ember was, lost in thought.
"Everything alright?" she raised her eyebrow.
"Let's just get this over with." he moved slowly towards their shop. Ember didn't immediately follow, looking back at cell three where Isabel was locked in. She tilted her head, wondering what the hell happened, and thought about asking her T.O, but remembered her own stance on personal boundaries, figuring it would be hypocritical of her to ask questions.
As the evening progressed, bringing in the silent night atmosphere, Bradford sneaked up the door to Isabel's apartment, picked the lock and let himself inside. As he looked around, he couldn't help but reminisce about his conversation with Isabel.
"Carson stashed a kilo of heroin in my heating unit."
Bradford was wide-eyed at his wife's words, wanting to yell, but knowing better whispered, "Are you that far gone?"
"If I go to jail, they're gonna find out I was a cop, and I'll be dead. Please baby. G-go to my place, and help me. Baby, I need you. It will be different this time, I'll go to rehab, and we can be together again, for real this time." Isabel pleaded, her voice cracking, shoulders hunched.
"You're just saying that." He let out a shaky sigh, his mind knowing not to believe her words, but his heart tugging at the possibility of getting back his wife.
"No, no, this is different. I ca-can be different. Please help me."
Bradford kneeled in front of the heating unit, and lo and behold, a hefty brick of what he assumed to be heroin. He pinched his nose, trying to process everything.
As he walked back to his car, a familiar voice caught his attention.
"Well, aren't you just a shining beacon of moral integrity?" Bradford could see his rookie leaning on her motorcycle.
"What are you doing here?"
"No," Ember kicked off her ride and marched toward the man, jabbing her finger into his chest, "what are you doing here?"
"You're out of your depth here, Boot. Go home, there's nothing here for you."
Ember put her hands in the praying mantis position and speaks calmly, "I've never wanted anything more right now, than to just grab your face," she reached out her hands and placed them on the sides of his face, Bradford not understanding what she was doing, "bring it close," she leaned his face closer to hers, and the man couldn't help but notice the little freckles littered around her nose and cheeks, and how her grey eyes shimmered to a lighter shade of blue, and how uncomfortable the way his heart was racing. He needed her to finish her sentence.
"And do what?" he almost pleaded with her, almost completely forgetting why the two were in the street to begin with.
"And..." Ember trailed her fingers toward his neck, able to feel his pulse racing, "and kneel your nose so hard, it breaks. As a congratulations on your impressive display of questionable ethics." she lets go of him, and rubs her face, exasperated with everything, but continued, "Look, regardless of you trying to project this rogue cop thing, you've always been on the right side of the law. Do you really want to risk everything just for the miniscule chance of fixing your marriage?"
Bradford was furious at Ember's audacity, he moved toward her and Ember was taken aback with his pace and took a step back till she felt his car on the back of her leg, Bradford looming over her.
"How dare you?" he snapped, "Acting all high and mighty, while being the bigger hypocrite between the two of us. Talking about minding our personal lives, and yet here you are being intrusive, nosy, and an outright busybody."
"Because you're being a dimwitted imbecile!" Ember's face turning red, eyes appearing intense and nostrils flaring, but she composed herself swiftly, knowing a screaming match wasn't going to help either of them.
"Listen," She took a deep breath, "you will regret helping Isabel. This isn't gonna change her, but it will most certainly change you." Ember appealed to him, practically begging him not to take this path in life, but felt the disappointment sinking in when Bradford just turned away from her and got into his car. Ember walked back to her motorcycle and bemoaned as she saw him driving away.
The next day, Ember sought out Bradford to sort out the mess she believed she had just made worse. The minute she spots him, Ember beelines to his side.
"Sir, about last night -"
"Didn't happen. Understood?" Bradford cut her off, and Ember didn't argue, simply nodding. Bradford was glad she didn't protest like she usually would, although a small part of him wished she did, maybe then he would have gotten and explanation as to why she felt the need to touch his face and almost close the distance between them, but before such thoughts had time to roam in his mind, Grey walked toward the duo, informing them that Isabel was with her lawyer after a kilo of heroin was hidden in her heating unit.
Ember turned to Bradford, "You did the right thing."
"Not for Isabel." The duo went about their day, and as they were about to clock out, Bradford spots Isabel being escorted to the garage to be transferred to the county. He asked for a minute and the detectives stepped away.
"I'm sorry." he apologised, feeling guilty.
"I needed you, and you weren't there." Isabel spat back.
"It wouldn't have fixed things." Bradford tried to reason with her.
"You don't know that! Now you never will. We're done here." She walked towards the detectives and they left.
Bradford, drained from last night and today's chaos, changed to his casual clothes and as he walked out of the locker room, he watched his rookie pacing, her back mostly to him.
"What are you doing here, Boot?"
Ember turned and shuffled closer to him. Her nervous demeanour was unsettling to Bradford, but she steeled herself for the much needed conversation.
"I'm sorry about how everything went today. You don't deserve any of it. However, I'm not sorry about last night. I don't care if you view me as meddling, but I won't just stand by when a friend is doing something potentially stupid."
"Who said we're friends?" Ember was offended, but she saw the smug look he was giving her. She had a coy smile as she playfully punched him.
"Wipe that smirk off your face."
"You know, I'm starting to notice a pattern." he gave her a side look and started heading to the garage. Ember, grabbing her helmet, fell into step with him.
"Pattern?"
"Hhmm. I do or try to do something stupid, you call me out, it blows up in my face, you apologise, and I say something along the lines of 'you were right, I was wrong.'" Bradford looks at Ember, who's just staring at him.
"What?"
"I'm waiting for my apology."
"Oh no, that was it." Ember was stunned at the nerve of this insane man. She realised she'd have to learn patience in a whole other way when it comes to her T.O, and simply gave him a contented hum as they reached her motorcycle.
"Well, this is me." she said, throwing her leg over the seat. Bradford sensed she still wanted to say something, but probably didn't know how to go about it.
"You clearly have something to say, so just say it."
Ember looked at him intensely, "Fine. You have been the bane of my existence from the moment you bumped into me on Rookie Day."
"I believe it was your lack of attention that caused you to bump into me."
"Shhh...you bumped into me. As I was saying, you are a vexing person who acts like he's better than everyone else, and I was ready to hate you and ask Marina to summon spirits to torment you. But the more I spent time with you -"
"You realised all your opinions on me were wrong and now find me pleasant?" he raised an eyebrow, while giving her a small smile.
"Oh no. I still find you an ass." Ember laughed when she saw him frowning, "but I've come to respect that about you. Even enjoy it, just a little." she gave him a closed eye smile.
"What else then?"
"That's it. Goodnight Bradford." Ember smirked and wore her helmet, and as she rode off, Bradford could hear her laughter fading away. The simple interaction has actually made him feel a little better, but as he neared his car, and sat there alone, he started feeling depressed again, but that didn't last long as Bishop, Lopez, and Reed got into his car.
"What are you doing?"
"Hanging out with you." Reed replied, pulling out a bag of chips and eating from it.
"Look, I appreciate the thought, but I'd rather be alone."
"Too bad." Lopez said, grabbing the bag from Reed.
"I'm not gonna talk about it."
"You don't have to." Bishop encouraged, also eating from the bag.
"But we're gonna be here if you change your mind." Reed patted his friend's shoulder, before violently ripping back the bag from the girls. A comfortable silence fell on the four, and Bradford broke it.
"So what do we do now?"
The other three look at each other smiling and yell, "Drink."