Chapter 2

Lucy's eyes slowly blink open as she tries to comprehend her surroundings. She can hear the sound of machines beeping and quiet chit chat. She can tell that she is in a bright room, and the fluorescent light above her hurts her eyes. She's in a bed. She tries to lift up her hand, but is surprised to find it pinned down. It's Tim's head. He had fallen asleep on her. He is dressed in his civilian clothes. The movement spurs Tim awake.

"Lucy!" He exclaims, a rush of adrenaline running through him. He jumps up and sits next to her.

"What," Lucy tries, her mouth parched as she tries to get the words out, "what happened?"

"Let me get you some water first." He grabs the plastic pitcher by her bedside, and pours it into a cup. He hands it to her, and she takes it gratefully before taking a sip. The water feels refreshing and cool on her dry throat.

"Lucy…" He pauses, "You were shot in a mass school shooting."

It comes flooding back to her. Suddenly, she realizes the stinging pain in her neck and hip.

"Is everyone okay?"

Tim pauses. He isn't sure what to say.

"5 dead, 15 injured." he says, quitely.

She inhales sharply. She's about to ask if that includes any of their own, but Tim answers it for her.

"Nobody else from our station was hurt."

Lucy takes a deep breath. For the first time since she was taken to the hospital, Tim really looks at her. There is a large bandage covering her neck, and her long hair falls around her face. There are dark bags under her eyes, which look like they are sinking into her face, and her skin is too pale. Even so, she looks beautiful.

Lucy tries to sit up, but she winces, feeling a stabbing pain in her chest. She recalls a bullet hitting her vest and knocking her to the floor. She wonders why she didn't realize it earlier.

Tim looks at her with longing. She had been unconscious for two days after she recovered from surgery. The past 48 hours had been absolute hell for him, and it wasn't until now that he felt able to exhale.

The two minutes he waited with an unconscious Lucy in the pantry of the school were the longest minutes of his life. When paramedics came in, he didn't even realize it at first. All he could focus on was the sound of his heart racing. It wasn't until Lucy was on a stretcher that he snapped back to reality.

She had coded in the ambulance too. But Tim felt numb throughout it all. He had already resigned himself to the fact that Lucy was going to die. There was another close call in surgery, but she had pulled through.

He still wasn't ready to allow himself the privilege of no longer worrying about her, though. Even though he knew that she was a survivor, a fighter, a warrior, Tim felt like the universe was bound to be working against him, that happiness wasn't something that was reserved for him.

The silence in the hospital room is uncomfortable. Both Lucy and Tim not knowing what to say. They simply stare at each other, until Tim opens his mouth to speak, but then stops, unsure. Lucy raises her eyebrows, beckoning him to say something.

"I'm really glad that you're okay." He sincerely says, finally.

"Me too." She says, quietly.

The silence falls over them again. Their confessions the last time they were together loom over them. Lucy meets Tim's eyes and bites her lip.

"So… What now?" Lucy asks softly.

"You'll be in the hospital for at least a few more days. Then you need a couple weeks of recovery at home before you can return to duty." He answers.

"That wasn't what I meant." She says, looking down at her hands.

"Oh." Tim pauses for a few moments. "I don't know." He finally says.

Lucy looks around the room and the hallway outside her door to ensure that no one is listening in on their conversation.

"I know that the intensity of that... situation…. we just went through can…" Lucy stops, trying to find the words that accurately convey what she wants to say. "It - It can distort our emotions. So if you want to take it back… I won't hold it against you or our friendship." She says, bringing her eyes up to his.

Tim wants with all his being to tell her that he has felt this way for a while, but he is still hesitant. What if this ruins their friendship? Her career? Hell, his career too?

Lucy looks at him expectantly.

"I don't want to take it back." He finally says. "But… I also don't know where we go from here. I used to be your TO. I don't want this to get in the way of your future."

Lucy takes a deep breath, processing his words. He really does love her, but that didn't mean that they would get to have the fairytale relationship. They had to acknowledge their place in the real world - where there would be all types of barriers to their relationship - HR, public opinion, and of course, their careers, in which they put their lives at risk everyday. Lucy sitting in a hospital bed was an ever present reminder of this.

"Tim, I think we need to give this a shot. If there is anything that this experience has taught me, it's that our time on this earth is finite. I know that I will regret it if we don't explore this."

Lucy looks at Tim, his face unreadable. Just once, she wished that Tim would be more expressive, so she could even have a hint of what is going through his mind.

Tim is about to speak but he is interrupted by a uniformed West and Nolan entering the room. Both are carrying flowers and stuffed animals. Jackson also has a duffel bag draped over his shoulder. Tim immediately puts some distance between him and Lucy, much to her disappointment.

"We heard you were awake! How are you feeling?" Nolan says warmly, placing a large stuffed teddy bear next to her.

Tim briefly wonders how they know that she is awake, he hadn't had a chance to tell anyone yet. Maybe a nurse had walked past while they were talking and contacted Jackson or John?

"I feel like I've been shot." She says with a slight smile, trying to lighten the mood. She is happy to see them, but Lucy needs to know what Tim is thinking. She steals a quick glance at him, and is not surprised to see a neutral face looking back at her.

"We brought you some things from home." Jackson says, as he places the duffel bag at the end of her hospital bed. He pulls out her iPad, her pillow, and a few sets of her pajamas.

"Oh my gosh, thank you guys. I really appreciate this." Lucy is touched, she has great friends.

Tim senses that his presence is not needed here, and he quickly gives Lucy a nod as he goes to wait outside.

"No problem, we are just so glad you are alright. You gave us a scare!" Nolan says.

"Were you guys also at the school?" Lucy asks.

"We got there after both shooters were already neutralized." John says, glancing at Jackson.

"Can you guys tell me what happened?" Lucy asks, "Tim didn't tell me very much."

There is silence, before John responds.

"Two men targeted the school. We still haven't been able to figure out a motive because they have no connection to the school. Most of those who were shot were in the front office, and the nearby classroom. Luckily, most of the students and teachers were able to hide in the theatre, which the shooters didn't get to because you and Tim stopped them. Several of the 6th and 7th grade students were on a field trip during the shooting. " John pauses. "It could have been a lot worse." He says in a grave voice.

Lucy nods and swallows, the gravity of the situation weighing on her heavily.

"We need to get back to patrol, but we just wanted to come check on you." Jackson says, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tightly.

"Thank you, will you come by later too?" She asks.

"Of course, we'll bring take out." John says, giving her a smile.

They exit the room, and acknowledge Tim, who is standing in the hallway. He enters the room once more, and sits at the edge of her bed. He takes a deep breath and looks at her. He has known the answer to this question looming over them for a while, long before Lucy was put in harm's way, again.

"You're right. I want to explore what this could be too." Tim says.

It takes a minute for it to dawn on Lucy. They were really going to do this.

"Do we need to tell anyone at work?" Lucy asks.

Tim pauses. The painful memories of his relationship with Isabel surfacing. At least with Isabel he wasn't her superior, they were equals. He knew how this would look to everyone else, with him being older and having a higher rank than her.

"I think we need to explore what this could be… in private." He finally says. "It's a big deal for a TO to date his rookie, even if we didn't become involved at the time. We should know for sure that this works before we bring it to the department."

Lucy bites her lip. It makes sense, but she is also a bit disappointed that Tim doesn't want to show their relationship publicly yet. But it's fleeting as she realizes that what she has waited for for so long is finally happening.

"Okay." She says, after a beat. They stare at each other for a moment, disbelief catching them off guard.

"I've kind of wanted to do this for a while." She says, giving him a sheepish grin.

"I won't lie and say that it's never crossed my mind either." Tim responds, giving her a rare smile. Lucy notices the glimmer in his eyes as he looks at her.

"So, when's the first date?" She asks.

Tim looks down for a second, thinking. Lucy loved the way he looked in this moment.

"How about you find a movie on your iPad, and I'll go get snacks from the vending machine. I'll take you on a proper date once you get outta here."

"Sounds perfect." She's finding it difficult to hide her wide smile.

Tim gets up and Lucy tries to lean forward to grab the iPad at the end of her bed, but the bruise in her chest catches her off guard once more.

"Woah woah woah," Tim says, stopping her. "Let me get that for you." He hands her the iPad.

"Thank you." She says, biting her lip to stop the smiling. She feels giddy.

Tim nods and heads out of the room.

Lucy settles into her bed, and begins looking through her apps to find something. She has to say that this feels like a test. A signature Tim Bradford test. Probably nothing too work related, and nothing too romantic. Definitely nothing with musical numbers, and nothing sad, they have had enough of that lately. It definitely has to be a comedy. She debates whether Bridesmaids would be appropriate, but she deems it too 'wedding-y'. She settles on a classic, Anchorman.

Tim returns shortly after with an armful of snacks and drinks. He closes the door to her room and pulls the drapes over the window facing the hall. He motions for her to make room in the bed and climbs next to her. He pulls the tray table over to them where he places the snacks, and Lucy's iPad.

As Lucy leans her body against him, he has to admit that this feels right. Her body fits perfectly next to his, as if it was preordained. He looks down at her and nestles his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. Lucy looks up at him, and then winces, her neck hurting once more.

"Sorry," Tim mutters, and he adjusts his position so that they can look at each other without her having to move.

The movie is playing in the background, but neither of them have paid attention to it. Their eyes locked on one another.

Lucy's eyes plead for Tim to kiss her, and he obliges. He gently leans into her, holding her head still. Their lips meet, and they kiss. Tim presses his tongue into her mouth and it dances with hers.

After a minute, Tim finally pulls away. Lucy gently wipes her lip, looking at him and smiling the sweetest smile Tim could ever recall seeing.

"Wow." Lucy grins. "Not bad, Bradford."

"You didn't think I would be a good kisser?" Tim reacts with faux offense.

"I don't know, She chuckles, "I guess I just thought you would be... rougher." Emphasizing the last word with a sultry gaze.

"Oh - I can be rougher." He informs with a dark look in his eyes, that surprisingly draws Lucy in further. "I just thought I should be gentle because you were shot," his face suddenly serious but then relaxes once more.

"I trust that you'll show me that side of you once I've recovered?"

"Count on it." Tim chuckles and brings her arm around Lucy's head, settling in once more to watch the movie.