Lucy blew out a slow breath as she adjusted her uniform top. She smiled softly as her fingers ran over her nameplate. She traced the B slowly, movingly slowly over the rest of the letters before placing her hand over her side, hoping that she wouldn't have to run after any crazy suspects in the LA streets. She slammed her locker shut and slowly made her way out of the locker room. She ran into Jackson on her way to roll call.

Jackson grinned as his partner in crime made her first appearance at the station in weeks, "Welcome back Lucy. I've never been so happy to see you," he lowered his voice before continuing, "I had to deal with ticket toting Wrigley in the month you've been gone."

Lucy rose an eyebrow and shrugged, "You learn to deal with him."

Jackson smirked and shook his head, "Come on, look who you're talking to here. I don't do traffic tickets; I want action."

Lucy hummed and took her seat as she slid her phone out. She turned toward Jackson to show him the picture of Zeus. "Tim and I got a little addition on my month of medical leave."

Jackson rose an eyebrow and smirked, rubbing his hands together, "You guys having a baby?"

Lucy rolled her eyes shaking her head, "No Jackson, Tim and I are not having a baby. We got a dog."

Jackson tried to sound excited as he looked on at the picture of Lucy's puppy. He grinned as he swiped past a picture of Tim cuddling up to the dog on the couch. He passed the phone back to Lucy and grinned, "How did you manage that one? Talking Tim into getting a dog with your crazy schedules."

She grinned and batted her eyelashes and Jackson shook his head facing forward as Grey walked into the room.

Grey scanned the room and nodded slightly as he saw Lucy. He cleared his throat and his deep voice boomed, "First I want to welcome back Officer Bradford from her small vacation," he paused, nodding in her direction, before continuing, "You have a nice welcome back gift from the public Bradford. We have all hands on deck; downtown LA is ours to patrol today. They have some kind of parade for the fair going on. Horses will be there as well. Any officers know how to handle horses?"

Lucy glanced around the room and eyed Tim who crossed his arms and stayed silent. She rose an eyebrow, knowing that Tim grew up on a ranch and handled horses well into his early twenties. She briefly wondered why he wasn't saying anything until Grey's voice boomed through the room again, "Alright I guess we'll play the matching game. Bradford, Gibson, Lopez, Sanchez, West, and Bradford take downtown where the horses are being groomed and mounted. Everyone else we'll do a grid work up for the surrounding areas for crowd control and surveillance."

As the officers began to move through the room Jackson smirked before eyeing Lucy, "You think Tim will be cool with horses?"

Lucy's mind flashed back to a night when they had just began dating. Tim had revealed that he wasn't an LA native like she had assumed; he knew the city's hot spots so well. She had smiled softly as his voice took on a hint of southern drawl as he explained that he grew up on a cattle ranch in Texas and rode bulls in the rodeo to put himself through college. She secretly liked when he called her darlin' in the Texas twang he hid perfectly. She shook herself when Jackson raised the question again. She nodded as she shook her head that yes Tim would be cool with horses. She sighed as the small group made their way to the garage and gathered up all of the equipment they would need for the shift.

Tim sighed as he pulled out of the garage and maneuvered the squad car into the busy streets towards the activities downtown. He nervously toyed with his wedding band as he was at a stop light. He ignored Gibson's questioning gaze as he pulled in behind West and Lopez. He eyed the crowded streets before pushing open the door, eyeing Gibson as he went.

He went around to the trunk and popped it open as he handed an equipment bag to his rookie, "Put the heavy duty vest on Gibson. Who knows what's going to happen today with the crazy crowd; make sure you have enough ammunition in case we have a shootout; and make sure you have an extra can of pepper spray. We might need it."

Gibson nodded as he tightened up his vest and double checked that he had what his TO mentioned. He glanced around and noticed Lucy doing the same from the other car. He turned back to Bradford with a raised eyebrow, "How do you relax knowing your wife is in potential danger just like you, every single day?"

Tim halted his movements for a split second and glanced over at Lucy before slamming the trunk, glaring at Gibson as it shut with a bang, "I don't."

Tim marched over to Lucy, West, Lopez and Sanchez before surveying the crowd. He turned back to the small group and rose his voice above the noise, "I think we can split up with our partners and do crowd control for a bit. Officers from other divisions are here, so if we need to communicate use our radios and call signs."

The group nodded before splitting up for the morning. Tim, Gibson, West, and Lucy was walking the outer perimeter where some of the horse trailers were parked when a loud commotion tore through the crowd. Tim scanned the area and realized it was a frightened horse trying to break from the loud crowds. On instinct, from years of horse wrangling on his family ranch, Tim dove into the crowd and chased the horse until he was in reach of the reigns. He jerked them so that he was face to face with the large animal. He quickly realized he was saddled, so with muscle memory, he mounted the horse quickly. He applied the right amount of pressure in the right spots and steered the horse away from the crowd.

When they were by the horse trailers he soothed the large horse with a stroke of its mane. His voice soft, taking on a southern drawl, "It's alright darlin', you're okay sweetheart," He paused as his fellow officers slowly came up to him, but turned back to the horse, "Ssshhh. It's alright. You just have to stand right here with me."

Jackson's eyes were wide as he took in Tim on the horse. He shook his head when he heard Tim take on a southern drawl. He shook his head before stepping forward, "We called the director and they have a list of all the horses in the parade; they're trying to contact the owners now so they can get the horse on their trailer."

Tim nodded as he continued to sooth the horse. He eyed Lucy who was watching him with bright eyes. He inwardly groaned, knowing that seeing him on a horse would bring up his family and his hometown. He shoved that thought away as Jackson crept closer.

"Step back West, you'll only spook her and we don't need that."

He watched as Jackson stepped back and quickly made sure no one else was around. Tim was broken out of his thoughts as a small group of men come forward as if they knew the horse. He took in the men and did a double take as a familiar man stepped forward. He watched as the man tipped his hat at Lucy and Angela before stepping up to the horse. His sun kissed hand stroked the mane and his eyes traveled up and widened when they locked onto Tim.

His southern drawl sounded foreign in the city streets of LA, "Are you Timothy Bradford?"

Tim rattled his brain and tried to place the face to the voice, but came up empty. He shook his head and rose an eyebrow, "Whose asking?"

The man laughed and shook his head, as if amused by his response and grinned up at him, "Still as snappy as ever, must work really hard to hide the southern roots kid," he paused and rose an eyebrow, smirking up at Tim before continuing, "I know I've aged a bit since you saw me last, but damn kid I can't be that unrecognizable to ya; Jimmy Ackers, your daddy's neighbor."

Tim let his eyes rake over the older man's face and suddenly he remembered him from his childhood. He laughed lowly before nodding, "Jimmy. I'm surprised to see you up here in LA," suddenly Tim's mind flashed to his mom and dad and he sat up straighter on the horse, "Nothing's wrong down home is there?"

Jimmy quickly reassured Tim that everything was fine before eyeing him a bit more critically. He took notice of the wedding ring and smirked, "I see you finally settled down," he laughed before raising an eyebrow, "a bit surprising considering everything. You once said you'd much rather be wild and free. Marriage wouldn't be in the cards for you; only thing you wanted was that damn rodeo."

Tim tightened his grip on the reigns of the horse and breathed out slowly, "Things change, Jimmy," he breathed out again and motioned down to the horse, "I can take your horse to your trailer if you want, I've got her calmed down enough."

Jimmy scratched at the stubble on his chin and grinned, "I bet you do. Just bring her on this way and you can help me load her in the back."

Tim nodded as he clicked his tongue, ignoring Lucy, Jackson, and Angela as he went. He trusted them to handle the crowds until he got back. As he followed Jimmy across the parking lot towards the horse trailers his mind wondered to home. He inhaled the scent of horses and his mind went to his old barn where he used to groom his old horse Ranger; the feel of hay on his hands; his mom's tea and homemade cooking. His mind briefly flashed to the color red and the sounds of bulls snorting in the pens. He shook the thought as he slid off the horses back and handed the reigns to the owner. He stood and watched the horse get loaded in the trailer before he cleared his throat.

He was surprised to be pulled into a hug by the older man. He hugged him back and inhaled the comforting scent of horses and hay. He pulled back and grinned, his voice taking on a southern drawl on its own accord, "It's really good to see ya Jimmy, even if it is a bit surprising."

Jimmy chuckled and ran a hand through his long gray hair, "Yea well, we have a horse show and we thought we'd make a bit of a trip out of everything; figured we'd swing up in the big city before making our way back down towards the south."

Tim nodded, breathing in again, "Anything new down home?"

A chuckle was his response, "Naw. Same old ranching town, same old people, doing the same old thing that's been done for years."

"Ranching."

Jimmy chuckled again, "That's right. I'm glad to see you still remember something from home. You and your city lifestyle now."

Tim pursed his lips and his lips moved to a frown. He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair, "After the rodeo and what happened with Izzy, I had to leave to get over it. I couldn't look at mom and dad and pretend everything was okay Jimmy; it wasn't."

Jimmy grunted before his eyes moved behind Tim. His lips curled into a sad smile, "Does your wife know about the rodeo and why you really left home? Izzy?"

Tim shook his head, "She knows about the rodeo for the most part," he suddenly felt his chest constrict at the thought of home, "I haven't told her about Izzy; it happened years ago. I'm not some ranch hand or some cowboy Jimmy. That part of me is gone."

Jimmy stared at the tall man that he watched grow up and grimaced. Even hundreds of miles away, the ghosts of his past haunted him. He shook his head and placed a hand on Tim's shoulder, "You need honesty in a marriage Tim; even if it's painful to relive. You need to bring your wife home; give her your whole story. Not just the parts from LA."

Tim sighed and shook his head. He opened his mouth, but was cut off by his radio crackling to life. He listened as Lucy's voice blasted through asking for assistance. He nodded to Jimmy, his voice taking on a rough edge, "Tell mom and dad I say hello."

Jimmy sighed before checking the back of the trailer was locked, his voice carrying out over the distance between them, "Sure thing kid."

Tim sighed as he ran off, from his past and towards Lucy in the crazy crowd. After a few maneuvers and loud commands they had the crowd back under control. Tim surveyed the area across the parking lot and his eyes took in Jimmy leaning against his trailer. He sighed as he felt his eyes on him, burning holes in the back of his head. He placed a hand on Lucy and gently pushed her towards the parking lot where their cruisers were. He was pulled out of his thoughts at Lucy's questioning gaze.

Her voice was soft in the space around them, "That guy you helped with the horse, how do you know him?"

Tim sighed, running a hand through his hair, dreading the discussion, "He was my neighbor growing up. He was the kind old man that all the kids went to for candy during Sunday services; the old man who knows how to fix almost anything when it comes to farms or ranches."

Lucy grinned, happy for the opening into Tim's life before LA, "What is he doing all the way up here in LA?"

Tim shrugged, "Horse show I guess; I didn't ask much," Tim breathed in deep, suddenly feeling a bit homesick for the first time in years. He shoved it off as seeing someone from home for the first time in years. He took a deep breath, knowing that he might regret what he was about to say, but knowing if he didn't do it now, he never would, "When we get back at the station maybe we could put in for some vacation."

Lucy rose an eyebrow and grinned, knowing what Tim was about to say, "What would we be doing?"

Jimmy's words sounded in his mind as he smiled softly, his voice sliding into a drawl, "Taking ya home to meet my family."

Lucy grinned, suddenly excited to get away from the city, "As long as you talk like that while we're visiting, I may not want to come back home."

Tim grinned, suddenly picturing Lucy on the back of a horse clinging to him tight as he took her across his family property. He pulled Lucy into a hug and inhaled her soft scent, not wanting to let go. His voice took on a rough edge as he locked eyes with her, "While we're there, I have a few things I want to show you," his mind flashed to Izzy and his parents, "Some of it isn't so pretty, Lucy. You need to remember that I had a life before moving to LA."

Lucy smiled sadly and placed her hand on his cheek, sensing that he needed a bit of reassurance, "We all have a past Tim. Some of us it's a bit darker than others," she ran her fingers down his jaw and let her fingers run down his shoulders, towards his hands, gripping them in her own, "Its okay Tim. Whatever you want to tell me, won't change the fact that I love you, so much."

Tim sighed, grateful for a bit of reassurance, "Remember that when I bring you home."

Lucy nodded, reached up on her toes to kiss his cheek. Suddenly, she couldn't wait to get back to the station.