Chapter 1

It's been a year since Chen had graduated from being his 'boot'. It had also been a year since she had jokingly confessed her feelings for him, and he had stuttered like an idiot until she put him out of his misery. The truth is, he did have, and still had, feelings for her too, but under the pressure of professionality and appropriateness, he wasn't sure how to respond. One part of him wished that he had confessed right then and there, but he knew that it would have been wrong of him. He was her TO, her mentor, and it would have been unfair of him to put her in such a position. The other part of him was grateful he hadn't, because it was clear that Chen didn't have feelings for him, if she had been willing to joke about it, hysterically laugh even. Or, so he thought.

Of course, he missed her by his side as he watched her graduate and move up the food chain. They still saw each other at the station, on calls, even at their friendly hangouts at the local food truck stop. They were friends, and the harmless flirting still lingered between them. The teasing, playful nudges, and sweet moments continued, and it gave Tim hope that maybe someday, their friendship would evolve into something more. But until then, they were just colleagues, and friends on the side.

As he was sitting in the briefing room, at 8 o'clock on a Wednesday morning, he thought back to last week, when he and Chen had stayed at the neighborhood bar, drinking a beer and Tequila on the rocks respectively, long after their other friends had left. He had teased her, and she teased him back, just like old times.


"So, Officer Bradford," Lucy said, with a drunkenly delirious smile, "how is the new boot doing?"

He smirked. He knew that she was fishing for compliments about how great she was as a rookie. And to be fair, it was true. She was the best rookie he had ever had. But he wasn't about to indulge her.

"He is doing just fine." He said, and took the last swig of his beer. "Ten times more competent than you were." He teased, giving her his signature smug look. She secretly loved it.

The bottle made a hard clunking noise as it made contact with the counter. Tim himself had been pounding back the beers all night, and it was starting to get to his head. He could tell because all he could look at, and think about, were her lips.

Lucy, unsatisfied with the answer, pouted and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why is it so hard for you to admit how awesome I am?" She playfully questioned him, as she ran her hand up his forearm. Tim stiffened at her touch, but relaxed as he began to relish in it.

It was confusing for him. He questioned whether he had been right or not about her having feelings for him. But, it was moments like this that he never wanted to end.

Once Lucy took the last sip of her tequila, and was about to flag down the bartender for another, Tim stood up and held his hand out to her, despite the wanting inside him.

"Let's get you an uber home. We both have work tomorrow and you can't do the job with the sick hangover you are about to have if you have another drink." Tim gave her a stern look, stern enough that even a wasted Lucy recognized that he wasn't playing around.

Lucy took his hand, slid off the barstool, and stumbled with him towards the door, gripping his hand so tightly that his fingers began to hurt. She nearly walked right into the table in front of her.

Fuck, she was more drunk than he thought. There was no way he could let her get in an uber, by herself, with some creep who would be more than happy to take advantage of a barely conscious, attractive woman.

Tim brought her out and planted her on the brick planter outside the bar. He pulled his phone from his back pocket in order to request the uber. He debated whether or not he should keep an eye on her overnight, and just take her to his place. But he knew that the situation didn't warrant that. She'd be fine if he just dropped her off at her apartment. Afterall, Jackson would be there to look after her.

Within minutes, 'Alex' pulled up in his Honda Civic.

"Alright Chen, time to go home, let's get in the car." He said, as he pulled Lucy up from her comfortable seat on the planter. She groaned and pouted, in that cute way that he had grown to appreciate, would see in his dreams later that night. Tim helped her climb in the car, and he got in behind her.

"We have two stops." He told the driver, just as Lucy began to lean against him and rest her head on his shoulder. Tim exhaled, relishing the moment.

As he climbed into his bed that night, Kujo by his side, he thought back to that moment. He slept well for the first time in weeks, savoring Lucy's touch.


Tim snaps out of it as the rest of the crew enters the briefing room. Chen sits two rows ahead of him, and he just gets a short glimpse of her neck before Sergeant Gray enters the room and begins the daily briefing.

"Alright," his voice bellows in the room, "because our rookies are taking their exams today, we will be sending out TOs out with different partners. We will be reuniting Chen and Bradford, Nolan and Harper, and West will be riding with…"

He pauses and directs his eyes to the door. Lopez enters, in uniform and grinning from ear to ear. Her three months of maternity leave had just finished up, and she was dying to get back into the action. What better way to spend her first day back than with her favorite rookie?

Applause echoes through the room as Gray announces detective Lopez's return. Even Tim lets a grin burst through his tough exterior. He is thrilled to see his friend.

Lucy turns around and smiles at him. Her heart flutters as she eyes Tim up and down. He looks exactly the same as he did on their first day riding together. She finds it oddly comforting that he is a constant in her life.

She also wasn't sure how to process these feelings she had for Tim. At first, she understood the relationship. He was her (hardass) mentor, and she was his mentee. He was the teacher, and she was the student. Then it evolved into a sibling adjacent relationship, where Tim was the older brother, more than willing to push Lucy's buttons. But, it all changed after she was abducted. Tim became her shoulder to lean on, the person that supported her, but most of all, her friend that understood her. He helped her process her feelings, and overcome the trauma she had to endure. The feelings she had for him had grown stronger, maybe she even loved him. But, she wasn't ready to admit it to herself, let alone to Tim.

That's why she was so surprised when she began to confess her feelings to him, that last day of being a rookie. She told herself that she was just confessing to prove a point - that she could 'lie' to Tim and prove to him that she was capable of deception. But, another side of her was curious to see his response. When he gave her the deer-in-headlights look, stammering like an idiot, she wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

Was he terrified because he didn't know how to let her down easy? Had she made everything up in her head? Had the flirting and teasing been harmless? Or, had he been terrified because he felt the spark between them too, and it would jeopardize both their careers?

She was glad that she had taken the opportunity to test him, the conversation (nee argument) had proven to be the perfect segway, but she was left with more questions about their relationship than before.


Neither of them listen to the rest of Gray's remarks.

Lucy strolls over to Tim, hands on her belt and swaying her hips.

"Hey, Partner!" She gives him a playful nudge on his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. Is it possible that he has somehow gotten even hotter than when she saw him last week? The uniform sculpts his body so well. Lucy is forced to tear her eyes away from his body and look him in the eye.

"Getting the old duo back together, huh." Tim gives her a neutral look, but she can tell that he is smiling with his eyes, even with the hard exterior.

"Don't look too happy about it, Officer Bradford," she bites the inside of her cheek, "we can't let emotions distract us from the job, remember? I seem to recall you teaching me that." She says, giving him a shy smile.

Tim rolls his eyes at her, but smiles on the inside, knowing that it's going to be a good day.

"Lets go get our gear, boot," he adds in, all too pleased, fully aware that it ticks her off when he calls her that.

In the car, Tim is in the driver's seat, and Lucy is in the passenger seat. The morning has been relatively uneventful. The break they take for a morning snack is the highlight of both of their days so far. They are about to turn onto 54th Street when the call comes in.

"All units in the area, be advised that we have multiple reports of an active shooting at Franklin Middle School. Unknown number of shooters, expect multiple injuries"

Tim and Lucy dart a glance at one another, in the split second before Lucy grabs the radio.

"7 Adam 19, show us responding."

The sirens are turned on and Tim presses his foot on the gas, as they race towards the school. They ride in silence, the sound of the siren overwhelming both of them. Tim presses on the brakes, hard, and they jerk forward. Any other day, Chen would have called Tim a bad driver and complained about her whiplash, but all that she can think about is getting inside. Adrenaline rushes through her, and she can feel the blood rushing through her veins.

She fumbles for the door and races to the back of the car to get her weapon. 2 more police cars surround the school. They quickly don on additional vests and grab extra rounds of ammunition for their guns. Tim looks to her with a pale face,

"We need to get inside. You stay close to me, you got it?" He says, sternly. He won't take any shit from her right now. Lucy nods, swallowing.

She nearly jumps as she hears at least 10 rounds being fired, probably from a semi-automatic weapon.

They quickly make their way towards a side door to the school. It is eerily quiet, except for the sounds of gunfire inside. The door is unlocked, and Tim opens it slowly, his weapon drawn. The bangs of gunshots grow louder, and Lucy realizes that a shooter is approaching their location. They have to get inside and take cover.

They walk in, it's a narrow hallway, with 10 doors on each side, probably classrooms, and what looks to be a cafeteria to their right. The sound of gunfire is louder from the right. Tim motions for them to make their way to the cafeteria. Lucy nods, her fingers around the trigger of her gun. There are two doors in the entrance of the cafeteria, Lucy slowly pushes it open, and is surprised to find that upon first glance, it doesn't seem like anyone is in here. The gunfire they had heard has ceased, and the only sounds Tim notices is his heart beating and Lucy's shallow breathing.

Tim and Lucy make their way in, clearing the area. No one is underneath the tables, nor is anyone behind the serving stations. They silently communicate to each other to check the kitchen. They slowly enter the dark room. The lights have been turned off, so Lucy relies on her gun's flashlight to illuminate the space ahead.

They both take cover behind a refrigerator and begin to move into the space. The kitchen is a long, narrow room, with equipment on one side, and food prep areas on the other. At the back of the room, there is a metal table, under which a dark figure is hiding.

Tim hears a brief rattle of a pot in the second before hearing a gunshot. Time slows down for him.

"Lucy" He cries out, as he watches in slow motion the red flame of gunfire emerge from the weapon and make their way painfully slowly towards her. He immediately returns fire, striking the gunman first in the leg, and then his chest as he topples over.

Turning to look at Lucy, his heart stops as he notices that she has been struck against the linoleum floor. A pool of blood is surrounding her, but she remains conscious, with a panicked look in her eyes. She brings her hand up to her neck, where she feels like she has been set on fire, and realizes that it is wet. In the darkness, even she knows that her hand is covered in her own blood.

"I-I've been shot" she says, looking at Tim, longing for him to make her feel safe.

He rushes to her side and drops to his knees, noticing that she has also been shot in the chest, but her vest captured the bullet.

"You are gonna be fine, boot," he tries to remain calm and reassuring, but he can't even begin to convince himself of that.

"Don't call me boot" she groans

"Okay, Lucy, I'll make you a deal. I won't call you boot if you promise to make it through this." He pauses, "you are going to be fine, you just gotta stay with me, OK?"

Before she can make any effort at responding, they hear more gunfire. Fuck. There is at least one other shooter. They aren't safe.

Tim makes his way to the body of the shooter, and confirms that he is deceased. He radios for help.

"7 Adam 19, Officer has been shot, conscious and breathing," he says, but then turns away from Lucy, "but losing a lot of blood, send an aid car immediately" he whispers.

"Lucy, we have to hide, we aren't safe here, there is still at least another gunman"

He grabs a rag off of the counter and presses it into her neck, trying to stop the bleeding. Then he notices the other hole in her pants. She has also been hit on the side of her thigh. Tim knows that it won't be long before she bleeds out. The pool of blood around them is growing.

"Tim," Lucy starts, but he shushes her.

"Don't talk. You need to save your energy" Tim says, but his voice is faltering. He thinks back to the last time her life was in jeopardy. When she was on the verge of death, but he had brought her back from that barrel. He still remembers the panic and devastation he felt as they were racing to find her.

"Look, Tim," she chokes, "I'll be fine. You have to go. This school is full of kids who need your help." She tries to wave him off as she presses her hand against the rag Tim is holding against her neck, but she starts to cough up blood.

"Didn't I tell you to stop talking," he says, exasperated.

His eyes dart around the room for a covered spot he can drag her to, because they are sitting ducks in the wide open like this. He eyes a pantry at the opposite end of the room. He'll have to drag or carry her there, because there is no way that she can walk. This, all the while more gunfire can be heard in the distance.

"You hold that rag tight, okay?" He orders, as he scoops her into his arms. Blood drips onto his hands as he quietly brings her into the pantry. It's a tight space, but offers some protection with the door and large metal shelves. It's their best bet to wait here for help. He prays to God that Lucy doesn't bleed out. More bangs are heard, this time slightly closer than before.

He lays her down on the floor, and grabs a rag next to him to press against her thigh.

"Stay with me, Lucy," he pleads, "help is on the way, okay? Stay with me."

Lucy's eyes flutter as she hangs on. Her breathing is more even now. It's a bad sign. This time the bangs are even closer. Even Lucy, who is bleeding out, recognizes that it's only a matter of time before they'll be under fire again.

"Tim, we both know how this ends. You need to get out of here, and protect those kids."

"I won't leave you here to bleed out!" He hisses, exasperated.

Lucy starts to protest, but it's getting harder for her to stay awake. More blood pools around her.

"Stay with me, Luce, You have got to stay with me."

Tim presses the rag into her harder, and radios for help again. It's been exactly 3 minutes since Lucy was shot. Her eyes keep rolling to the back of her head. He is trying to calculate how much time he has to get Lucy to an ambulance when his thoughts are interrupted with the sound of gunfire.

Fuck, they are in the cafeteria. He rationally knows that he has to leave Lucy, and find a better vantage point from which to attack. But he can't just leave her, she is bleeding out in front of him, and there is almost no likelihood of someone finding them in time. He has to figure out how to do both. Keep Lucy alive, and neutralize the shooter.

Think, Bradford, think.

He quickly brings Chen's hand to the rag he has been holding on her thigh, and the other to her neck, telling her very seriously to put pressure on it, though he knows that she is weak and losing energy quickly. He tries to tuck it under her to create a tighter hold. Lucy nods.

He grabs his weapon from his holster and pushes the door to the pantry open. He scans the area, the shooter doesn't seem to be here yet. He steps out, closing the door behind him, saying a silent prayer that Lucy is still alive by the time he gets back. If he gets back.

Tim gently walks towards the entrance of the kitchen, and takes cover behind a wall. He glances over the edge, and begins to hear faint footsteps in the distance. They're coming. He trains his weapon at the entrance of the cafeteria, determined to get a shot off before they come any closer to him.

He wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead, not aware that he now has a streak of Lucy's blood there. Tim tenses as the gunfire grows louder. Then the cafeteria door rattles, and opens slowly. He tightens his grip on the trigger, ready to pull it in a split second.

A figure enters, dressed entirely in black with a mask covering their head. He is carrying a rifle, an AR-15 by the looks of it. But it is drawn over his shoulder, with just a pistol drawn.

Tim fires, hitting them in the arm and then the chest. The gunman cries, and attempts to return fire. Tim fires again, this time, aiming for the skull. The gunman collapses against a cafeteria table, blood dripping off the edge.

Tim doesn't take a second to catch his breath after he realizes that the gunman is dead. He rushes back to the pantry to find Lucy. His heart drops in his stomach when he realizes that her eyes are closed.

"Lucy!" He pleads, shaking her, willing her to wake up. Her eyes flutter open slightly. He calms momentarily, but knows that this is not looking good.

"You have to stay awake. You need to stay with me, you got it?"

He then radios to let everyone know that a second shooter is deceased, and that there are no other sounds of gunshots. He hopes that this means that Lucy will get into an ambulance soon.

"Tim"

"Yeah, Lucy?" He responds, pressing down on the rags covering her wounds.

"I-I need to tell you something." Lucy knows that it's now or never. She can't think of a better time to tell him, especially if the answer is no, because then she might die anyway. She feels a bit stupid for that being one of her thoughts as she knows it might be one of her last.

Tim looks down at her expectantly.

"I think I love you." She gulps, trying to push the words out.

Tim freezes for a second, remembering the prank in the shop a year ago. He nearly confesses his feelings too, but stops, when he remembers how this could damage her career. But it was now or never.

"Lucy, I think I love you too. But you need to stay with me, OK?" He pleads.

Lucy manages a smile, before her eyes close again. Tim shakes her again, but this time she doesn't wake up.

Fuck.