The Collapse

"What's on your mind, Boot?" Tim Bradford asked, leaning back against the passenger seat of the shop as he glanced over at his rookie. She looked lost in thought as she navigated the streets of downtown L.A. Their shift had been pretty uneventful so far, and the radio had stayed mostly silent, so Tim figured it was a good a time as any to listen to Lucy ramble on about God knows what for a while.

"Hmm, oh, I was just imagining what it's going to be like when it's just me in here, now that we're only one month away from graduation," she said, returning his glance before looking back at the road.

"Who says you're making it that far?"

Lucy just shook her head, a small smile spreading across her lips.

Tim waited for her witty retort, but when it didn't come, he decided it was time to be serious with her.

"It's going to feel like your first day as a rookie all over again. You're going to be second guessing every decision you make, and you're going to be so focused on doing everything right, that you're going to miss the most important pieces of information. Which is why, for the next 30 days, I'm going to be turning the heat up big time, Officer Chen. These next 30 days are going to be the most important 30 days of your life."

"I would expect nothing less, Officer Bradford. Although I'm curious as to what 'turning up the heat big time' means for me, considering all you've put me through already."

"Oh, just you wait Boot," Tim said, looking over at her with a sinful smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be ready," she replied confidently, and Tim couldn't help but think, 'that'a girl.'

"So, once you're done torturing me, are you going back on the hunt for Sargent, or sticking with the T.O. position?" she asked, stealing another quick glance at him.

Tim took a quiet breath in as he turned to look out the window. He had been expecting this question to come up sooner or later, whether it was from Lucy or Angela. This was an ongoing internal debate that he had been having with himself for a while now. Tim felt like he was ready to move on in his career, and after all of the injuries he had sustained in the line of duty, not to mention the multiple hospitalizations he had experienced this year alone, his body was ready to move on to a less physically demanding role as well, as much as he hated to admit it. Had anyone asked him this question at the beginning of the year, Tim wouldn't have even had to think about it- it would've been a no-brainer. But now, there was a part of him that was holding back, because becoming Sargent meant he would have to leave, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he would be leaving something important, or more accurately, someone, behind. On the other hand, another part of him couldn't help but feel that it would be wrong to train another rookie after Lucy. He had clearly saved the best for last, so why ruin that?

Keeping his head turned towards the window, Tim replied, "During the gala, Gray had me talk to the Sargent over at the West Bureau who is planning to retire at the end of the month. I think Gray had been talking me up, since he already knew of my achievements. He strongly encouraged that I apply, and made it sound like I had a promising chance of landing the job."

"Oh, wow," Lucy said, keeping her tone light. Tim watched her eyes dart from the road in front of her, to the review mirror, then the side view mirror, anywhere but towards him. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and asked, "Did you apply?"

Tim suddenly felt nervous about giving her the answer. He hadn't told anyone about this yet, except for Grey, and if you asked him why, he would say it was because he didn't want to make a big deal of it. But if he was being honest with himself, it's because he wanted to avoid a drawn-out goodbye, because he wasn't sure he could handle it. And now, Tim was pretty sure that the trepidation he could hear in Lucy's voice was confirmation of that.

"I, uh…"

"7 Adam 19, we just got a call from the LAFD about an apartment building on the corner of Wilkshere and Burcaw. The structural integrity of the building has been compromised by recent construction work, and the LAFD needs immediate assistance in evacuating the building. All available units in the area please respond."

"That's only a few blocks from here," Lucy commented as she flipped on the lights. "7 Adam 19, show us responding."

Once arriving at the scene, Lucy and Tim were asked by the fire chief to clear the bottom few floors of the building, including the basement, as other first responders worked to clear the top floors.

"Make it quick Officers, those idiots knocked down a few weight-bearing walls in the middle of the building before calling us to confirm those walls were actually weight-bearing, she could come down any minute."

"This isn't stressful at all," Lucy commented as she led the way up the stairs. They had to turn on their flashlights as the power to the building had just been cut.

"I'll go left, you go right, and we'll meet back here before moving down to the next floor," Tim said, already moving towards the first door.

They quickly made their rounds on the second, then the first floor, banging on every door to make sure everyone had left. They picked up a few stragglers who weren't too happy about being forced out of their homes, even with the looming threat of a collapse. A few dogs and cats were also rescued in the process, and were now safely outside. As they made their way down to the basement, which consisted of a laundry room, gym and the electrical room, they heard the firefighters from upstairs radioing in to the fire chief.

"The ceiling on the third floor is starting to fissure, Chief," a voice said over the radio. "We're on our way down now."

"Good," he replied. "Has the building been cleared?"

"The top three floors are clear."

"My partner and I are clearing the basement now," Lucy chimed in, her eyes darting to Tim as she used the word 'partner'. "The first two floors are clear."

"Has the gas and electric been shut off?" The chief asked.

"Yes, all set," came the reply.

"Okay, move quickly Officers."

"I'll take the back," Lucy called over her shoulder as she jogged towards the electrical room.

Tim ducked his head in the laundry room and quickly determined no one was there. He looked back into the hallway in time to see Lucy dart into the gym. A few seconds went by, and Tim couldn't explain why, but all the hairs on the back of his neck started to stand straight up. Tim Bradford had been through enough shit in his life to know that if he had a bad feeling about something, it was because something bad was about to happen, and soon.

"Time to go, Boot," Tim called, a sense of urgency in his tone.

"Coming," Lucy called back as she emerged from the gym.

She made it halfway down the hallway before a noise stopped her in her tracks.

There was a loud crack, followed by and even louder boom, a millisecond pause, and then another boom. Before either of them could fully process what was happening, dust started raining down from the ceiling.

Tim locked eyes with Lucy as she started to run towards him, reading the panic that was written all over her face. Looking into her eyes, he could tell that she knew, just as he did, that there was no way they were going to make it out in time. Before he fully knew what he was doing, he grabbed her around the waist, using her momentum to propel them both into the laundry room. As gently as the situation allowed, Tim threw Lucy to the ground, rolling them in between two rows of stacked washing machines, and hoped to God they would be strong enough to hold the six-stories worth of concrete that was about to come crashing down on top of them. He felt Lucy tuck her head into the space between his neck and shoulder, and the last thing he remembered thinking was, 'that feels nice,' before the ceiling gave way and everything went dark.

"Tim, oh God, Tim. You gotta wake up."

Tim felt groggy and confused, like he was slowly waking up from a deep sleep. He could hear Lucy saying his name, but it sounded like she was whispering it from 50 feet away. He couldn't see anything, and the only thing he could feel was the deep, painful throbbing of his head. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was, and what had just happened. Willing his eyes to open, he squinted into the blackness, and was met with the terrified gaze of his rookie staring back at him, the whites of her eyes standing out against the darkness around them.

"Oh thank god, Tim, are you okay?"

What Tim meant to say was 'I think so,' but what came out was, "huuuh," followed by an uncontrollable coughing fit. As he turned his head in an effort to not cough directly into Lucy's face, his head started swimming, and he was overcome with a feeling of nausea.

"Tim, I think part of the concrete hit you in the back of the head, you probably have a concussion."

"Hmm," was all Tim could manage between his clenched teeth.

"Does anything else hurt?"

Tim took a quick mental inventory of the rest of his body, and was relieved to find that nothing else seemed to be screaming in pain.

"No."

"Okay, that's good, that's really good. Now, I know you probably don't feel like moving much, but um, you're kind of crushing me."

"My bad," Tim mumbled.

"I think there's enough room for both of us to be laying down side to side," she continued. "You can't see, but there definitely isn't enough room for us to actually sit up. These washing machines saved our lives."

Tim closed his eyes, gathering as much mental willpower as he could before gently shifting his body off of Lucy's. Once again, his head started to swim as he lowered himself onto the concrete floor next to her. After a minute had passed, Tim slowly cracked his eyes open, and found Lucy was still staring at him.

"You hurt?" he asked, coughing on all of the dust that covered them like a blanket.

"I don't think so, I was well protected. You saved us, Tim."

"All in a days work," he replied weakly. "How long was I out?"

"It's hard to tell, a few minutes maybe?"

Tim started to nod, but then thought better of it, and tried as hard as he could to keep his head still.

"So, my radio's busted, and I think you lost yours. But they know we're down here, right?"

Tim frowned at the uncertainty in her voice, and noted that her breathing had started to speed up.

"We're getting out of this alive, Lucy," he said gently. "They know we're down here, and help is already on the way. It's not going to be like last time."

"It's starting to feel a lot like last time," she admitted, looking away from him while drawing her arms up to her chest.

"Hey, don't go there," Tim said, wincing as the throbbing in his head grew stronger. "I need you to make sure I stay awake, and it's not going to be easy."

"Do you feel tired?" she asked, frowning at him.

"I feel like my head is about to fall off, and I'm thinking that maybe if I close my eyes, the pain will go away."

"Okay, well we're not going to do that. I feel like to best way to keep you alert, and me distracted from the situation, is to keep talking."

"The torture never ends," Tim muttered, but he had to agree with her logic.

"You uh, never answered me about the Sargent's application earlier," Lucy pointed out, once again not meeting his eyes.

Tim couldn't help the sigh that escaped from his lips as his feeling of uneasiness returned. "I'm not sure this is the best time or place, Boot."

"It's a good a time as any, plus, I feel like I already know your answer by the way you keep avoiding the question."

Feeling like he was about to turn down a path that he could never return from, Tim finally admitted, "Yeah, I put in an application a few weeks ago."

"A few weeks ago," Lucy echoed, her eyebrows raising. When Tim didn't reply, she continued, "Have you heard back yet?"

"I got the call yesterday offering me the job."

"Seriously Tim?" she said, the anger in her tone like a slap in the face.

"I haven't accepted yet," he said almost sheepishly.

"But you're going to, aren't you?" she shot back, finally meeting his eyes.

"I don't think my body can handle much more of patrol, clearly," he said, gesturing towards his head in an attempt to lighten the mood. But he knew without even looking at her that his half-assed attempt was falling on deaf ears.

"Did you tell anyone about this?" she asked.

"Just Grey."

"So what was your plan Tim, when Grey got up tomorrow and congratulated you in front of the whole force? Was that how you wanted all of us to find out? For Angela to find out?"

Tim suddenly found that he was the one who couldn't look his partner in the eye. He knew she was right, and he was embarrassed to admit that he hadn't even thought of that scenario. He had been so focused on making his decision, and thinking about the possible repercussions that may follow, that he hadn't even considered the possibility that his friends may end up hearing the news from someone else before he managed to tell them.

Fighting the overwhelming pounding sensation in his head that seemed to become more severe the longer this conversation went on, Tim answered honestly, "I didn't know how to tell Angela, or you, about it. Part of me wanted to pretend I wasn't leaving for as long as I could- trust me, if I could become a Sargent and still stay at the precinct I would. It wasn't an easy decision."

Lucy just stared at him, her gaze feeling like the weight of a thousand eyes. She shook her head slightly before looking away from him again, tightening her arms around her chest. As the silence dragged on, Tim was finding it harder and harder to fight the urge to close his eyes and slip into a peaceful, and hopefully painless sleep. Just when he decided a quick cat nap couldn't hurt, even though he knew better, the concrete started to shift above them.

Lucy quickly rolled towards Tim and lifted herself onto her elbows, throwing one arm over his head and bracing most of her body above his, shielding him as he had shielded her. After a few moments of silence, both she and Tim glanced up to see the slab of concrete being lifted, not sliding down.

"Is that…?" Lucy asked, before the voice of the fire chief called down from newly created hole in the rubble.

"Everything okay down there officers? Is anyone hurt?"

"Officer Bradford has an open head wound on the back of his head, but he is conscious and alert," Lucy called back.

"Okay good. We've been trying to find a way to get you guys out of there without causing anymore collapse, and I think we've found it. Hang tight Officers, help will be down soon."

The next 45 minutes may have been some of the most embarrassing 45 minutes of Tim Bradford's life. While they were waiting for the first responders to carefully pick their way down the rubble, Lucy helped Tim to sit up, which caused him to nearly black out, and involved some dry heaving. He had a very hard time sitting up unsupported, and ended up leaning heavily against Lucy, which if he was feeling any better would have bothered him to show so much weakness, especially in front of his rookie, but he honestly felt too shitty to care. That is, up until he had to be carried out of the rubble by two first responders, with one of them holding him under his armpits, while the other carried his feet. That was not a moment he ever wanted anyone to witness, especially when he couldn't fight off the nausea anymore from all the swaying.

Tim had never been happier to see the back of an ambulance, and with the paramedics hovering over him, it made it easy for him to avoid Lucy's eyes. Once they reached the hospital, he was brought into a room for observation before they transferred him to a permanent room for overnight monitoring. Tim was just getting ready to finally close his eyes when he heard a knock on the door frame.

"Hey," Lucy said, stepping into the room. "How're you feeling?"

"Less nauseous," Tim answered honestly with a shrug.

"I uh, thought you might want your phone, I grabbed it from the shop before getting in the ambulance," she said, striding forward with her hand outstretched. "I figured you had a phone call to make."

"Thanks," Tim said as he took the phone from her, searching her face to gauge her emotions. "Look Lucy…"

"No, me first," she said. "I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier, what I should've said was congratulations, that's amazing Tim, seriously."

"No, you have every right to be mad, I know I should've told you earlier. I just, I didn't really know how."

Lucy nodded and said, "I get it. Maybe part of the reason I was upset is because I don't know how I feel about you leaving." She shifted on her feet and glanced at the floor before asking, "You're still going to accept, right?"

Tim sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Well, congrats Tim, you're gonna make a great Sargent. I'll leave you to it, feel better."

As he watched Lucy walk out of the room, Tim got the feeling that this was the beginning of the end. The end of what, Tim wasn't quite sure, but he knew as soon as he made that phone call there would be no going back. After glancing at the clock, Tim sighed, figuring he couldn't put off the inevitable any longer before picking up the phone.