Chapter Text
Tim was sitting with Nolan, doing paperwork and polishing off the rest of his tacos when his phone rang.
A quick glance showed no caller ID and a random phone number.
He was just going to ignore it, but something told him not to.
“Bradford.” he grumpily answered.
The person on the other end was breathing heavily and shakily.
“Ok. What the hell is this? Some kind of stupid prank call or something? I’m hanging up.” he grumbled.
A stifled gasp and choked back sob stopped him.
Tim’s annoyance melted into genuine concern and worry.
“Who is this? And how’d you get this number?” he asked.
“T…Tim.” the voice on the other end finally whispered.
His heart plummeted.
“Lucy? Lucy. What’s wrong? Where are you? Send me your location. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
There was nothing but silence on her end. Silence and sobs.
After what seemed like an eternity, he heard her take a couple shallow, shaky breaths.
“I’m…I’m in my car. In the parking garage at the station. I can’t…I…I just want to go home…but…I don’t think I can drive right now. Please. Can you just…I need you.”
Her breath hitched. She was barely able to get words out and as soon as she finished, her body was wracked with sobs again.
“Nolan. I’ve gotta go.” was all he could get out before taking off running through the station towards the garage.
As soon as he stepped through the door he had eyes on Lucy’s little Nissan Rogue with the bright orange roof, parked right next to his truck as usual, and was in a full-sprint towards it.
What he found nearly shattered his heart.
She was sitting, frozen in place, buckled in, one hand on the steering wheel, body shaking like a leaf, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, eyes puffy and filled with fear.
He gently opened the door, careful not to startle her and slid into the seat next to her, his legs hanging out the open door, as he reached over to unbuckle the seatbelt before wrapping his arms around Lucy and pulling her into his body, head buried in his chest/shoulder area.
Lucy clutched to his shirt, holding onto him desperately as if he were her personal lifeline.
The only other time Tim had ever seen her like this was after pulling her from the barrel and literally breathing life back into her.
He gently ran one hand through her hair, the other rubbing gentle circles around her back.
Burying his chin in her hair, he softly whispered.
“I’ve got you. You’re ok. I’ve got you. Just breathe.”
Her entire body continued to shake, but her breaths gradually grew more steady.
“Hey. Talk to me Luce. What happened?” he pleaded.
Lucy tried to speak but no words came out.
Tim took her hand and squeezed it.
“Look around and tell me 5 things you see.” he whispered.
She hesitated a moment, sucking in as much air as she could before lifting her head and glancing around.
“Uh…you, your truck, the moon, that little ant crawling up the wall, and…the scarf Tamara left in here yesterday.” she softly muttered.
Tim placed his hand on her forearm, gently caressing it with his thumb.
“Good. Good. Now, what are four things you hear right now?” he continued.
Lucy closed her eyes, her breath hitching slightly again as the darkness overtook her.
“Sirens in the distance, you breathing, my car running, a dog barking somewhere on the street.” she murmured, her voice still no more than a breathy whisper.
“Ok. 3 things you can feel.” Tim nodded.
“My hair on my neck, your hand on my arm, and the air conditioning blowing on my skin.” Lucy gulped.
“You’re doing great Lucy. Now tell me 2 things you smell.” he instructed her, his voice as low and soothing as possible.
She just sat there. Tim could tell she was getting overwhelmed again and was on the brink of shutting down.
He laid a hand on her shoulder, using the other to gently redirect her gaze to him.
“Just look at me Lucy. Keep your eyes on me, take a few deep breaths and tell me two things you can smell right now.” he repeated, gently but firmly.
A few tears spilled down her face again, but she quickly wiped them away.
“My lavender-vanilla and sage car freshener and your body spray…which is somehow both woodsy and beachy but also fresh…it’s actually really nice.” she finally said, a slight grin crossing her face as she took in Tim’s scent, which was oddly comforting and safe.
“Um…did you really just say I smell nice? Weird flex, but ok.” he chuckled.
Lucy cringed.
“Ok. First of all, that is the absolute wrong usage of that phrase. Please, for the love of god…never say it again. But yes, you do smell nice. It’s not weird, just an honest compliment.” she giggled.
“What? I am insulted Officer Chen! I’m very hip and cool!” Tim gasped, feigning shock.
“The fact that you just said the words hip and cool, literally just makes you seem even less ‘hip and cool.’ You know that, right?” Lucy teased.
“Mmhm. Yeah. Ok, whatever. Now, do you want to tell me why you called me? Or why I found you in your car, almost completely shut down having a full-blown panic attack? And why do you have a new phone number?” Tim finally asked.
“Um. I had to change my number yesterday after work because I gave it to a guy I was dating a couple weeks ago and then we broke up a few days ago and he wouldn’t stop calling and texting…I thought I had texted you.” she explained.
“Ok…that clears that up, but you haven’t told me why you were having a panic attack in your car. I’ve never seen you this bad before, except after…you know.” he sighed.
“Just give me a second. I’m getting to that. But before I tell you…promise me you won’t kill Nyla, ok?” Tim nervously nodded in agreement, “Ok. Good. So you know she did an undercover training ‘crash course’ of sorts with me today, right?”
Again, Tim nodded.
“I passed with flying colors, obviously. But after shift was over and we clocked out, I was walking to my car and…” Lucy hesitated, willing the hot tears welling in her eyes, away. They cascaded down her cheeks anyways as her voice began to tremble again, “…and Nyla had me kidnapped. A buddy of hers that was helping with my training today, grabbed me, threw a bag over my face, and shoved me in a van. I had no idea that it wasn’t real. I woke up with my hands zip tied and my legs bound…Nyla was tied up too, and she was gagged and this buddy of hers dumped what I thought was gas all over her body and threatened to set her on fire. He said she’d blown our cover and he was going to kill us both if I didn’t tell him and give him what he wanted. God Tim, I was so scared…I thought it was Caleb all over again. All I could think about was being thrown back in the barrel and buried alive again. And then He took his mask off and Nyla sat up and just smiled.” she was now crying, borderline sobbing again at this point, wrapped in Tim’s arms, trembling, “She said it was a final test. She wanted to see how I’d react to the situation. She thinks I’m fine. I told her I’m fine…but, well, here I am, sitting in my car, 2 hours past shift.”
There was no hiding the fury and rage on Tim’s face.
“SHE DID WHAT?!?!? Does she have any idea how badly that could have gone? For Christ’s sake, it’s not even been 6 months since your kidnapping! WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE THINKING?!? I swear…when I see her tomorrow…” he fumed.
“Tim. Remember. You promised not to kill her. She was only doing her job…as questionable as that test was. It was also fairly sound logic, you know? Now I know how I’ll react if I get kidnapped while undercover.” Lucy sighed.
“You’re…you…you still want to go undercover? After everything? You just said how terrified you were when Nyla and her friend kidnapped you. I saw the state you were in, not 15 minutes ago…you completely shut down. How are you possibly going to handle it if you actually do end up being kidnapped? No one’s going to be there if you have another panic attack…I’m not going to be just a phone call away.” Tim asked, stunned and bewildered.
“Yes. Of course I still want to go undercover. If this happens again, then I’ll handle it. I’m a grown-ass adult. And if I do actually get kidnapped again, I know you’ll find me, just like you did the first time. So just trust me, ok? I’ll be fine, I promise. And I’ll have Nyla as my case officer…and she’s already said if she sees any signs of trouble, she’ll pull me from the operation immediately. It’s going to be ok Tim, I really believe that.” she tearfully grinned.
“I’m sure you do. But I’ve seen how bad these UC missions can go. And I don’t want to see anything happen to you, because I…I lo…care about you too much. And I’ve also seen how stubborn you are and I know that if this is truly what you want, then there is no stopping you. So just know, I’ll be here, waiting for you, when you get back. I’ll always be here for you Lucy. But you better damn well promise you’ll come back to me, ok? Because if I have to come save your ass again, I’m gonna be really pissed.” he chuckled, “Now, it’s getting late, and you told me I’m an old man, so I’m gonna go home and go to bed. You ok to drive home now?”
“Yeah. I’m good. And the same goes for you, I don’t want to have to come save your ass either, so…at least try to behave while I’m gone! I’ll be back before you know it, ok?” she smiled back at him, “You think I could at least get a parting hug before we both head out though?” she asked.
Tim gazed into her glimmering brown eyes, tears welling in his.
“Of course. But you can’t tell anyone. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m going soft.” he softly grinned, stepping from the car and helping Lucy out as well.
He pulled her into the biggest, warmest, coziest, safest embrace Lucy had ever experienced, and the tears began to flood out from both of them.
“Bye Luce. Be safe. I love you.” he whispered.
A brief jolt of shock surged through Lucy before she simply whispered back,
“I love you too Tim. I’ll see you when I get back. And I will come back to you.”
They lingered in each other’s warm familiarity for a few moments longer and then parted ways, already counting down the days until they would meet again.