From Black & Blue to Loving You
Summary
When Captain Zoe Andersen gets punched in the face, on her ride along with Rookie Officer Lucy Chen, it results in Lucy being worried sick for her Captain. As a result, Lucy is adamant on checking up on her Captain until she knows she is okay, meaning the 2 headstrong women spend a lot more time together. Due to this, Lucy's and Zoe's feelings for each other grows stronger, but will they admit how they feel to one another?
-xXx-
Author's Note: (Sorry, it's a bit of a long one!)
I initially came up with the idea to write about the developing relationship between Rookie Officer Lucy Chen and Captain Zoe Andersen whilst watching Series 1 Episode 10 – Flesh and Blood. It was nearing the end of the episode where I saw a miniscule chance of there being a connection between the 2 women, whereby there could have been the opportunity for it to lead to something more. Alas, we were not granted much on-screen development between the 2 ladies; hence, the birth of this story! This story will mostly follow my own course of events; however, it may feature some plot from the actual TV show. In my rendition, Zoe doesn't die (oops – sorry for the spoiler, if you were unaware!). Also, in case you were unaware, dear reader, I am not American – I am English – and so, I am unfamiliar/unaware of most Americanisms/American ways. Thus, if anything seem a little off, blame it on the fact I have never been to L.A. (but, I would love to once this whole "global pandemic" is over!) and I do not really know much about living in the States or the folk who live there.
I aim to update this story on a weekly basis - every Sunday... hopefully! Please, feel free to read and review - reviews and comments are greatly appreciated and I will be grateful for any writing advise/tips anyone can give me!
Anyhoo, without further a due, let the story begin! It begins half-way thorough Series 1 Episode 10, just before Zoe gets punched in the face.
-xXx-
Chapter 1: A Fist to the Face
As the Rookie Officer and the Captain arrived on scene, they were presented with the situation of 2 civilians arguing over a parking spot. Of all things, Lucy thought, a parking spot is surely not such a calamity worth having the cops called out to resolve! But, then again, this is L.A., she conceded, nothing is straight forward here, or in this line of work, for that matter!
Approaching the 2 men shouting at one another, Andersen took charge, "Hey, Hey, Hey, fellas, what's the issue here?"
More shouting broke out between the 2 men, each one's voice raising to try to drown out the other's, all in attempt to explain the situation, pinning blame on each other.
"The game's about to start! I've got the beer in my trunk! I saw the spot first; I pulled in! Then, this jackass pulled in front of me!" one young man, wearing a baby blue football top – with the number '18' written on the chest – yelled.
"Oi, no, you don't, it is my daughter's 5th birthday, today! I have the cake in my car! I have to get her cake to her party! I was there, in that spot first, and this ass cut me up!" the slightly older man bellowed.
The 2 men surged towards each other, flailing their fists at one another. In the nick of time, the Captain stepped between the 2, separating them before anyone was injured. "That's enough, gentlemen! That's enough! Behave yourselves, otherwise you'll both find yourselves being arrested!" commanded Andersen. As she stepped away, "Officer Chen, would you mind detaining the father? It's just so we can separate the 2 of them," the Captain said in a softer tone, towards the Rookie.
Just as Lucy was detaining the older man, putting his hands behind his back, he spoke. "Jackass!" the angry father snarled at the younger man.
The football fan turned and growled, "What did you call me?"
"You heard, Jackass!" the older man spat.
At that, the younger man launched for the other man, drawing his fist back and readying to plant it squarely to his face. Lucy realised the situation unfolding around her, quickly, to avoid anyone being hurt, she pulled the detained man to the side, swiftly following suit, as Lucy knew she was in direct firing line. And so, she did what only was natural, what was only human nature, she followed her instinct, she ducked. Ducking to avoid the fist hitting her face, she was unaware of the Captain's presence behind her. As the fist collided with Andersen's unsuspecting face, Chen's stomach dropped. Shit, shit, shit, she thought, I was told to do one thing, one thing above everything else, to keep the Captain safe and unharmed and now I've gone and let her get punched in the face! Shit! This is it; I've lost my job! The Rookie continued to chide herself.
Quickly, Lucy sprang into action, pouncing on the football fan to detain him. As she looked up, meekly casting a glance towards the Captain, she could already see the redness of imminent bruising taking uphold on her left cheek. As Andersen rose her left hand to gently touch her own cheek, Lucy noticed her grimace in pain slightly. Crap, she must be really hurt… shit, she though, sighing in dismay.
Continuing to look at Andersen, with worry evident on her facial features, Chen's heartbeat leapt. She was scared, yes, of course, she was afraid this was going to end her career. Plus, the adrenaline coursing through her veins was also contributing to her raised heartbeat. However, the gut-wrenching feeling of worry overwhelmed Lucy. She knew that Andersen was more than capable of handling herself, but Lucy couldn't knock the feeling of being so concerned for the Captain. And then, there was this other feeling. It was something Chen had been feeling ever since she had first met Andersen. But, recently, especially since this ride along began, this morning, she couldn't shake this feeling. Lucy couldn't name it, she didn't know what it was, she didn't know what it meant, and she didn't know how to feel about it. Chen didn't even know if she liked this feeling. But, one thing Lucy did know, she didn't want the feeling to go away; she just wanted to know what it was.
Whenever the Captain looked at her – especially, with that twinkle in her eyes when she was smiling or laughing – Lucy's knees grew weak, her stomach felt as though there were butterflies doing a salsa dance in it. Her heart fluttered and she couldn't stop herself from smiling whenever she thought of the Captain or looked at her. And, that was another thing, Andersen had been occupying more and more of Officer Chen's thoughts. She just couldn't fathom out why.
It was throughout the course of Andersen's ride along that she grew to enjoy being in her presence more and more. Chen found comfort in her words, enjoyed being able to talk to someone – unlike, how she was afraid to make a mistake when usually paired with her T.O. Bradford – and she felt appreciated and less like a failure. It provided her a sense of belonging, and made her feel something else, something she wasn't quite able to put her finger on, something she was sure she shouldn't be feeling – especially, not for the Captain. She liked the Captain, of course, but only as much as anyone else… right?
She found the Captain beautiful, of course, but anyone with eyes could see that. Chen felt empowered to be more, to be a better cop because of her. She felt in awe of her, a slight hero worship, if you can call it that. Andersen, also, made her incredibly nervous, not just because she is the Captain, but because of these new-found feelings Lucy possessed for her. Plus, Andersen is absolutely breath taking; so, who wouldn't nervous around someone so strikingly good looking?
Regardless, Lucy was adamant she would remain professional. Whatever it is, it can be overlooked and be moved on from, was Lucy's internal mantra to herself, it will not impact upon me or my career. Little did she know, those feeling wouldn't go away, but only grow stronger.
Glancing once more at the Captain, who gave her an affirmative nod – both, saying she was okay, as she notice the worry written on Chen's face, as well as saying that the young man needed to be loaded into the back of the patrol car – caused Lucy to leave her thoughts be, for the time being, and focus on the situation, and her job.
Once the bloke was firmly detained in the back seat, with his football shirt now tinged with green grass stains, resultant from Lucy tackling him to the floor, Andersen started the patrol car's engine, beginning the journey back to the police station. As the vehicle began to pull away, all the young Officer could think was, please, please, please, let the rest of the day go by without her being hurt… again!
Chen, turning her head to the left, looked at Andersen, who was driving, with her anxiety levels rising. When they reached some traffic lights, the Captain shifted to look a Chen, smiling so it reached her eyes and giving the Rookie a cheeky wink before facing the road once more, setting off on their journey to the station after the light turned green. At that, Lucy's heartrate soared, but her anxiety dissipated, and a huge grin broke out upon her perfectly sculpted lips.
-xXx-
As the day neared its end, as well as Lucy's shift, she couldn't fight the urge to speak with the Captain. She had to, had to make sure she wasn't about to lose her job, lose her career before it had even begun. She had to make sure she was okay.
A quick knock on Andersen's open office door alerted the Captain to the presence of someone waiting to speak with her. Lifting her head from her left hand, which was holding an ice pack to her bruised left cheek, she looked up from the paperwork on her desk, smiling unguardedly at the Rookie.
"Hey, Captain Andersen, I hope I am not interrupting anything, I just wanted to speak with you for a moment," Lucy began.
"No, come in," Andersen replied politely, readjusting her seating position in her office chair to face Chen more squarely.
Lucy quickly followed the request, entering the office as instructed. As she moved to stand in front of the desk, she could clearly see the prominent black and blue bruising spreading across the smooth, perfect skin of Andersen's cheek, just beneath her left eye, even in the dim lighting of the office.
Looking expectantly, with softened eyes, at the now plain clothed Rookie, Andersen spoke, "Something on your mind, Boot?". Normally, Lucy would tense at the use of the term 'Boot' being directed at her, as Bradford tended to use it as more of an insult or derogatory term, however, the Captain used it as more of a term of endearment – as it was spoken more kindly, even with a slight twinkle of mischief to Andersen's eyes.
"Err…," Lucy stammered, "I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed you riding with me, today; not only did I learn a lot about being a cop but I learnt a lot about how to be a better cop." Shifting nervously, Lucy pulled her denim jacket more snuggly around her slight shoulders, as if to muster up some more courage, "And, I guess, I just wanted to say thank you and that I hope I haven't put my job on the line, due to the whole punch to the face thing," she finished, pointing at her own left cheek with her index finger, highlighting the area where Andersen's bruising was.
Chen's face was adorned with a nervous smile, with her gaze shifting to anywhere but on the Captain, to finally focus on her own Vans, until Andersen spoke.
The Captain's smile grew as she watched the Rookie, "Officer Chen," at that, Lucy's head snapped up to face Andersen – who's smile only grew at Lucy's reaction – the Captain continued in a soft but firm voice, "Do you know why I chose to ride with you, today?"
"No, ma'am, I don't," Chen replied nervously, trying her hardest not to make it obvious her stomach was doing backflips, due her shyness around the other woman.
Leaning forward to rest her crossed forearms on her glass desk, Andersen replied, "I chose to ride with you because I see a great amount of potential in you, Officer Chen; I see that you have the potential to be one of the best Officers here at the LAPD. And quite frankly, especially after today, I am honoured to have you under my command. You should feel proud of yourself, don't doubt your abilities – as I know you do." She paused before saying, "You impress me, Officer Chen"
Looking taking aback, with her mouth agape and mimicking a fish, as she stumbled to form words let alone a coherent sentence, Lucy grinned, a full, unabashed, grin which lit up her whole being, not just her face. "Err… thank you, ma'am, I, err, don't know what to say," Lucy stammered out, still quite nervous, not believing what Andersen just said.
Andersen chuckled at the Rookie, not cruelly, but amused at her antics. "And, don't worry, your job is safe… for now, " she joked. "Seriously, please don't worry about me, it was only a small punch, I promise, I am fine. The bruising makes it look worse than what it actually is!" replied Andersen, who was looking at a still very worried Chen.
Scrunching up her face, as she was a little embarrassed still, Lucy responded, "I am really, really, sorry about that, I shouldn't have ducked, I should have been the one to get hit, not you, sorry."
Chuckling, again, this time softening her eyes more and relaxing into her chair back, taking her forearms off of the glass desk's surface, "Look, Officer Chen, it wasn't your fault, I promise, you did what was only human nature, you ducked to avoid injury; I guess, I was just a little rusty after being in this office for so long and not out on the streets."
Grinning, Lucy quickly responded, "Well, I'm sure the Chief wouldn't mind you going out on patrol more frequently, if you ask. Besides, I'd love it if we could have more ride alongs together." It was only after her response left her mouth did she understand what she had implied. God, how can I be so stupid!? Why did I offer to spend more time with this woman, this gorgeous, incredible woman who makes me so unbelievably nervous and feel all these funny things? I can't get enough of her, it's like a drug, she's like a drug, I just can't quit, but I can't trust myself not to be a stuttering idiot around her, Lucy rambled to herself. You're going to come off like a needy puppy!
Gazing at the Rookie, Andersen's smile beamed, but she quickly schooled it to be more reserved, taking up a slightly more professional stance, "Well then, Officer Chen, we shall just have to wait and see, but I would definitely love for that to be possible."
Down casting her head to, once again, focus upon her Vans, Lucy attempted to avoid the Captain's eyes, trying her hardest to prevent a megawatt smile from erupting onto a face. "Me, too," replied Chen more quietly, occupying her hands by fidgeting with the sleeves of her jacket.
"Officer Chen," began the Captain, causing Lucy's head to, once more, snap up to meet the Captain's eyes, "good work, today," she finished, giving another smile to the Rookie, indicating that there little meeting was over, as Andersen shifted her gaze to face the paperwork on her desk, once more.
As Lucy turned to leave the Captain's fairly spacious office, she looked over her shoulder saying a quick "thank you, again," and displaying a gracious smile upon her beautiful facial features.
However, it was at that moment, the moment when Andersen looked up from the paperwork, on her desk's surface, towards Chen's petite form in the office doorway, that Andersen's left nostril began to bleed before she could even utter her response to Lucy's words.