Graduation Day

"Hello, earth to Tim, did you hear a word of what I just said?"

"Huh?" he asked irritably, glancing over at Angela as he finished fixing the tie on his dress uniform.

"You didn't, did you?" she said, putting her phone down on the table before crossing her arms and fixing him with a very intense stare. "You haven't taken my advice I see."

"Lopez, what the hell are you talking about?" he asked, shaking his head in confusion, wondering how early 'pregnancy brain' started to take effect in people, because she was making absolutely zero sense.

"I'm talking about Lucy, you dummy," she shot back. "Jackson tells me you two have been giving off a really weird vibe this week, acting super jumpy around each other, and here you are, on the day of her graduation, zoning out like no one's business. You haven't figured out what to do about her, have you?"

"Jackson told you?" Tim said incredulously, glaring at her. "With all that kid's been dealing with this month, and this is what he's concerned about?"

"He cares about Lucy," Angela shrugged. "And I know he's not the only one," she teased, smirking at him.

"Ange, it's not that simple," he said, shaking his head, wishing this conversation would end.

"Except that it is, Tim," she said, suddenly serious. "She makes you happy, and after all the shit you've been through the last few years, you deserve to be happy. Plus, in T-minus 1 hour, she will no longer be your rookie, so, problem solved."

Tim opened his mouth to argue, but he sensed it would be falling on deaf ears. Thankfully, Sargent Grey saved him from having to talk about this any further, as he summoned the training officers to follow him to the front of the room. Even though Angela was technically a detective now, after everything that had happened with Stanton, it was unanimously decided that she would attend the graduation ceremony as Jackson's official T.O.

Taking a seat next to Angela, he glanced across the aisle at Lucy and Jackson, who were currently smiling over something on Lucy's phone. As if she could feel him watching her, Lucy lifted her head, meeting his gaze. Tim felt his world narrowing, the background noise fading until it was just the two of them, staring at each other. Tim could practically feel all the unsaid words floating in the air between them, threatening to choke him. Jackson hadn't been wrong in his observation of their dynamic lately; ever since the night they spent laying next to each other, they hadn't quite been able to figure out how to exist normally together in the daytime.

The voice of the Mid-Wilshire captain came over the speakers as the graduation ceremony began, effectively breaking their staring contest as Lucy re-directed her attention towards the stage. Letting the captains familiar opening words wash over him, Tim's mind wandered back to his current dilemma. If he knew Lucy (and he did), he knew she wasn't going to wait much longer after her graduation to talk to him about their status. The thing was, Tim was pretty sure that she wasn't going to like what he had to say. Hell, even he didn't like it, but it was the right thing to do. If word got out that Lucy was dating her former T.O., it would start rumors that she had slept her way through training, branding her in a way she could never escape from. As messed up and inaccurate as it would be, sadly Tim had seen it happen before, and he would never subject Lucy to that kind of misery. It was better if he kept her at arm's length, for her career's sake. Except, the annoying little voice in his head said, not for the first time, that's not the real reason you're staying away. You're just making excuses because you know she could be the real thing, and that terrifies you.

Thankfully, Tim was saved from having to listen to his conscious any longer as he and Angela stood to face their rookies, lifting their right hands to mirror Lucy and Jackson, completing their official swearing into the LAPD. He and Lucy locked eyes again as they both recited the code of honor, and Tim could see the pride shining in her face, which he knew was mirrored in his own. He had never trained a more deserving rookie than Lucy, and she had more than earned her place. She had been right in the audiobook she recorded for him; she was the best rookie he ever trained.

After the ceremony, he begrudgingly posed for a few pictures with Lucy that Angela had taken upon herself to capture. Even though he griped about it, he was secretly happy to have a photo of the two of them. Before he knew it, Lucy was swept up by her family, and Tim stepped aside to return the favor for Angela and Jackson as Lopez handed him her phone. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket as he finished, finding a text from Lucy that said:

'We're heading out now, feel free to stop by whenever!'

'I'll be there in an hour or so, I have some things I need to finish up here,' Tim replied, before quickly typing out another message.

'Congrats Boot, you made it'

'Not your boot anymore' she replied almost immediately, adding a winky face emoji at the end.

'But thank you, congrats on your last day as a patrol officer, Sargent Bradford. Take as much time as you need.'

Heading towards the locker room for the last time, Tim tried to commit everything to memory as he made his way through the precinct. This building, and all the people in it, had shaped him into the cop he was today. He had experienced countless hours of happiness, anger, heartbreak, fear, and even joy within these walls. These memories, whether good or bad, were ones that he soon didn't want to forget. After changing back into his street clothes, he took his time emptying his locker, placing all of his items into his duffel bag one by one.

"Officer Bradford."

Tim turned to find Sargent Grey standing at the door to the locker room.

"Sargent Grey."

"I wanted to make sure I caught you before you left. It's been an honor working with you Tim, and I wish you the best of luck as Sargent. My door is always open if you need anything, you are always welcome here."

Tim nodded his appreciation as he replied, "Thank you Sir, I can only hope to be half the Sargent you are."

Grey smiled, striding forward to shake his hand. "I have no doubt you will be, and more. Now, don't spend all day in here, you have lots to celebrate- and that's an order."

Tim huffed a laugh and said, "Yes Sir," as he bent to pick up his duffel bag. Taking a deep breath, Tim took one last look around before following the Sargent out the door. Raising his hand in farewell to his former colleagues as he passed their desks, Tim made his way to the parking garage, feeling more confident that this wouldn't be the last time he would be stepping foot in this place. Getting into his truck, he turned on the engine and put the truck in reverse, figuring it was about time to face whatever was waiting for him at the Chen residence.

As he pulled onto the street Lucy had given him for the address, he immediately was able to locate which house was theirs. Although she had told him she was only having a few close relatives and friends over, the driveway was already filled with cars, and they were overflowing onto the side of the street. Finding a spot to park his truck, he sent Lucy a text letting her know he had arrived, and wondered what he had gotten himself into. When she had invited him, he felt like it would have been rude to turn down an invitation from her parents, but now he was wishing he had made up some kind of excuse. Tim didn't want to meet half of her family today, just to turn around and try his best to keep his distance tomorrow. Sighing, he slammed his door shut, and told himself he was leaving the first chance he got.

Walking towards the house, Tim recognized Lucy's dad, who was currently pulling a bunch of groceries out of the back of a Camry. The older man glanced over and spotted Tim making his way towards him.

"Officer Bradford," he called in greeting.

"Can I help you with those?" Tim offered, gesturing towards the bags.

"You sure can," the older man said, practically dropping them into Tim's arms. "I told her we didn't buy enough on Thursday, but 'no' she says, 'we'll be fine.' Now look who has to run to the store in the middle of a beautiful Saturday, during my daughter's graduation party, to grab everything I said we were going to need in the first place."

Tim smiled sympathetically at the man, not knowing how else to respond, and wishing that Lucy would magically appear any second now to rescue him.

Unfortunately for him she didn't, so he ended up trailing her dad into the house. The smell of something delicious hit him as soon as he walked through the door.

"I think Lucy's in the backyard with her cousins," her dad said as they made their way towards the kitchen. "Try to escape as quickly as you can," he added, dropping his voice to a whisper as they entered the room.

Tim shot the man a slightly alarmed and questioning look as he placed the bags on the counter. Lucy's mom, who had been stirring something over the stove, turned around when she heard them come in.

"David Chen, Officer Bradford is our guest, he should not be carrying our groceries!" she exclaimed, pointing the wooden spoon in her hand accusingly at Lucy's father.

"He offered to help," Mr. Chen said defensively, opening a drawer to grab a pair of tongs. "I need to start the grill." And with that, he walked out of the room, leaving Tim with Mrs. Chen.

"Now, Officer Bradford, do you know how to stir a roux?" she asked, her wooden spoon now pointing at him.

"I uh, I think so?" Tim replied automatically, wondering what fresh hell he had wandered into. He wasn't sure what he signed up for before arriving, but it definitely wasn't cooking in the kitchen with Lucy's mom.

"Great," she said, shoving the spoon into his hand. "Keep an eye on it for me will you? I need to get these prepped," she said, taking a few vegetables out of one of the bags.

Feeling like he was moving in a trance, Tim did as he was told, stirring the simmering liquid, and covertly pulling out his phone to shoot Lucy another, more desperate text.

'Your mother is making me help her in the kitchen, where the hell are you?'

"So, Lucy tells me you're leaving the precinct for a Sargent's position," Mrs. Chen said as she pulled a cutting board from one of the cupboards.

"Yes, I start at the West Bureau on Monday."

"Congratulations. Lucy speaks very highly of you, and she doesn't speak highly of just anyone, so I'm sure you're a good fit for that position of power."

"Thanks," Tim said awkwardly, not really knowing how to interpret that statement. He knew the Chen's weren't too thrilled with Lucy's decision to become a cop, seeing as they weren't the biggest fans of cops to begin with, so he supposed that was as close to a compliment as he was going to get.

"I seem to remember her worrying that you were going to leave for a Sargent's position in the middle of her training, about a year ago. It was nice that you were able to stay, unlike Jackson's training officer."

Tim turned to look at her in surprise, and found her staring back at him. He hadn't expected her mom to know about his previous job offer, let alone remember it over a year later.

Continuing to fix him with a look, Mrs. Chen continued, "We also never got to thank you for everything you did for our daughter when she was taken. Especially staying the night at the hospital with her when we were unable to make it back from our convention until the next morning. That was very… thoughtful of you," she said, her intonation on the word thoughtful suggesting that it wasn't quite the word she was looking for.

Tim was getting a growing feeling that he was being interrogated, but interrogated about what? There was no way Mrs. Chen knew about his feelings for her daughter… did she?

"Mom! What are you doing?! Leave Tim alone, he's not here to help you cook!" Lucy exclaimed from the kitchen doorway, and Tim had (almost) never been so relieved to hear her voice.

"I was just thanking him for getting you through your rookie year safely Lucy," Mrs. Chen said innocently. "No harm done."

"Well he's coming with me now," Lucy said, striding forward to snatch the spoon out of his hand and giving it back to her mom.

"It was nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Chen," Tim said with relief. "And you're welcome, although most of the credit belongs to your daughter, she knows how to take care of herself." And with that, he turned to follow Lucy as she made her way towards the back door.

"Thanks for the save, you were only, I don't know, 15 minutes late," Tim hissed at her in a whisper as they stepped outside.

"I know, I'm sorry, I had put my phone down to play a round of cornhole, and I just read your messages a minute ago. What did she, flag you down from the driveway or something?"

"No actually, I ran into your dad in the driveway, who had me help him carry in the groceries."

"What?!" Lucy squawked, spinning around to look for her dad as if she was about to yell at him too. "Seriously they are so embarrassing, I'm sorry about all of that."

Tim just nodded, finding himself at a lack for words for what he had just experienced.

"You okay?" she asked, tilting her head up to meet his eyes.

He frowned in response, not really sure what she was asking about.

"With saying goodbye to Mid-Wilshire and all," she clarified softly.

"Yeah, Grey said I'm welcome back anytime, so I'm good," he said gruffly, not wanting to get into this with her, especially not here.

"Okay," she said, but she didn't sound convinced.

Thankfully she let it drop, and instead invited him to team up with her for another round of cornhole with her cousins Elliot and Kim. Naturally he and Lucy won, and as much as he tried to remind himself not to enjoy this too much, he couldn't help but have fun when he and Lucy were able to tackle something together, work related or not. After their victory, a few of Lucy's friends showed up right as the food was done, and thankfully one of them happened to be Jackson. After grabbing a plate, Tim made his way over to sit with the other graduate.

"Hey Tim," Jackson said as he slid over to make room for Tim on the back steps.

"Hey, congrats Officer West. I wasn't sure about you at first, but you didn't turn out to be half bad."

Jackson shook his head, but his smile told Tim he understood he was only kidding. "Thanks man, I honestly don't think I would have made it without you and Lucy backing me up this last month, I can't thank you enough for that."

It was Tim's turn to shake his head as he replied, "That was all you West, I should have taken you more seriously in the beginning, I'm truly sorry about that."

Jackson shrugged and said, "You came through in the end, and I know you would again. I'm glad a Sargent like you is going to be at another precinct in L.A., it makes me feel hopeful for the future."

They ate their meals mostly in silence, both watching Lucy as she floated between groups of people, smiling and laughing with them while she ate her food. She looked so happy, and Tim couldn't help but feel guilty for the pain he was going to cause her later. Suddenly losing his appetite, Tim put his plate down, thinking this would be a good time to leave. The longer he stayed, the harder it was going to be for him later, and Lucy seemed too busy to even notice he was gone.

"I'm probably gonna take off," he said to Jackson, putting his phone in his pocket, and checking the other one for his keys. "Gotta let Kudjoe out."

"Yeah, otherwise you're gonna find him eating your Letterman's jacket," Jackson said mournfully.

"That was painful to witness," Tim agreed sympathetically, imagining how he would feel if Kudjoe ever did that to his prized jacket.

"You gonna say goodbye to Lucy?" Jackson asked as Tim started to back up the steps towards the house.

"She seems busy right now, I'll talk to her later," Tim said casually, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Jackson nodded slowly, taking a breath before saying, "Look, I know it's really none of my business, but…"

"You're right, it's not," Tim interrupted, fixing him with his best T.O. glare. Sure he liked the kid, but they were nowhere near close enough to be having this conversation. Tim barely let Angela get away with it, and she was one of his closest friends.

"Fine," Jackson said, holding up his hands in surrender. "But as Lucy's best friend, it's my obligation to warn you that if you hurt her, you're gonna pay for it, Sargent or not."

Tim raised his eyebrows at Jackson's threat, but had to give him credit for his loyalty to Lucy. He was glad she had friends like him, who would go to bat for her if need be. "Fair enough," he replied, nodding goodbye before slipping back into the house. Thankfully, Lucy's parents were nowhere to be found, letting Tim make his way to the front door undetected. He felt like he should probably thank them one more time for his invitation and for the meal, but there was no turning back now. Walking to his truck, Tim looked forward to having a quiet night of watching football with Kudjoe, which would hopefully take his mind off of his Lucy dilemma, if only for a night.

As it turned out, his quiet night of not thinking about Lucy was cut short when she showed up at his door at half past nine, looking pissed as hell.

"Hi," Tim said in surprise as he stepped back to let her in, thinking, 'here we go.'

"You left without saying goodbye," she said accusingly as she stepped into the house, leaning down absentmindedly to say hi to Kudjoe without taking her eyes off of him. "But that's what you're going to say, isn't it? I've seen it in your face all day."

Putting his beer down on the kitchen island, Tim turned around to face her. "Luce," he said softly, running a hand over his face. "I just, I don't think it's the best idea."

"You don't think what's the best idea?" she asked, frowning at him. "I'm not asking you to marry me or anything, I just… I don't want to lose you Tim. You're more than just my T.O.; you're my friend, and maybe you could be more than that… I don't really know yet, but I want to try and find out."

"I know, that's what I don't think is such a good idea."

"And why is that?" she replied forcefully, crossing her arms.

"Because, I don't want anyone thinking you made it through your rookie year because of any special treatment from me. You're too good a cop to labeled like that. I don't want to put your career in jeopardy."

"First of all, that's not your decision to make, it's mine," Lucy said. "Second of all, nobody we work with would ever believe for a second that you would do that. And third of all, I'm sick of this sexist bullshit that says guys can go around dating whoever they want without jeopardizing their careers, but girls get branded forever. It's time for things to change."

"That may be true, but it doesn't mean that it will."

Lucy rolled her eyes, stepping forward to plant herself right in front of him, their difference in height causing her to tilt her head up to meet his eyes.

"So that's it then, you're just gonna walk away, after everything we've been through?"

Tim could hear the challenge in her voice, and knew she wasn't buying what he was trying to sell. He supposed he should have expected it; she knew him way better than that.

"What are you so afraid of?" she asked softly, taking another tiny step towards him.

Tim couldn't help but react as her words hit too close to home, breaking their staring contest as he glanced away.

"Tim," she said, her voice softening even more. "Last week, when I was… spiraling," she said, waving her hand by her head, "if I'm being honest, even if Jackson and Nolan hadn't been busy that night, you still would've been the one I called. You make me feel safe, and supported, and happy, at least, when you're not throwing some ridiculous Tim Test at me," she said, smirking. "And I don't want to just throw that all away because of what some people might think at work."

Tim was trying to stay strong and stick to his resolve, but with her standing this close to him, admitting that she wanted him, and only him, during one of her darkest moments, it was getting harder and harder to remember why he was so against this to begin with. Instead, he found himself getting lost in her pretty brown eyes, and thinking about the fact that all he would have to do was lean down slightly to capture her lips with his.

"I survived being buried alive by a serial killer," she continued, oblivious to his current train of thought. "Those things usually have a way of putting things into perspective. And if that experience has taught me anything, it's that I don't want to live my life in fear anymore Tim, because life is way too short for that. But the question is, do you?"

There it was again, that mention of fear. While Tim Bradford had been called many things in his 38 years of life, a coward was never one of them. If Lucy wasn't afraid of the consequences, then why should he be? Feeling like he was about to make the most reckless decision (or best decision, he would think looking back years later) of his life, Tim leaned down, brushing his lips ever so slightly against hers, and was surprised by the jolt of pure electricity that ran through him at their contact. They stood there for a moment, frozen, their lips mere centimeters from each other, too afraid to move and break this fragile bubble they had just created.

Tim wasn't sure who ended up making the first move, but all the sudden their lips were crashing together, and her hand was snaking around the back of his neck as he pulled her closer to him. Their mouths moved together in sync as they drank each other in, and Tim wasn't sure he had ever tasted something so good. After a few minutes they finally broke apart, both trying to catch their breath as they stared into each other's eyes.

"So," Lucy said breathlessly, a smile that could put the sun to shame breaking out over her face. "Does that mean you changed your mind?"

Tim huffed a laugh as he shook his head, failing to keep a smile of his own from spreading across his face. "I guess that's my way of saying that I don't want to say goodbye either," he said, leaning down to press a gentle kiss against her lips.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Lucy teased him, before a more serious look crossed her face. "Are you sure about this Tim, because 5 minutes ago you seemed like you had made up your mind."

"Maybe I decided that you were right, life is too short for worrying about what might happen someday in the future."

"Mhmm. Wait, what was that first part again, about me being right?" she asked, her eyes dancing.

"Just shut up and kiss me Chen," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Yes sir," she replied, before rising up on her toes to bring her mouth back to his, and Tim decided that yes, she truly was the best rookie he ever had the pleasure of training.

AN: Thank you to everyone who has commented, favorited and followed this story for just about a year now, your support has meant more than you know! :) Here's hoping Lucy's actual graduation on the show will bring us one step closer to making Chenford happen for real!