1x01:
Captain Andersen: "Officer Bradford should be getting out of intensive care today. If you have some time after your shift, I'm sure he won't appreciate it."
Tim opened his eyes slowly when he heard the small squeak of the hospital room door opening. In front of him was Chen, with a slightly apprehensive look in her eyes. Realising how pathetic he probably looked in his reclined position in the hospital bed, he cleared his throat and attempted to sit up to look more proper, but instead only caused increased pain in his injured side. He tried to hide his wince, but given the way his rookie pursed her lips together to prevent from smirking, he assumed he didn't do very well.
"What are you doing here, boot?" Bradford snapped loudly, trying to radiate an intimidating vibe even as he was lying in a hospital bed wearing a flimsy gown. Lucy smiled slightly, almost relieved to hear that her TO was still feeling healthy enough to shout at her.
"I messed up your lunch order yesterday," She started, walking towards the stark white bed in the centre of the room as Tim's hard gaze followed her, "so I thought I'd try again today."
It was only then that Tim noticed the brown paper bag clutched in her right hand. Later, he would blame the late realisation on the morphine in his system. Lucy saw him eyeing the object and continued.
She explained with a bright smile, "Cheeseburger with extra hot sauce and sweet potato fries," Then, she placed the bag on the bedside table.
"Is this your way of apologising?" Bradford said sternly, making no motion whatsoever to interact with the food.
Chen's smile wavered for a second, her confidence diminishing. Then, after a few seconds of silence, she responded cautiously, "I don't need to apologise."
"So you're saying it's my fault?" Tim said incredulously, his stern voice booming around the small room.
"No, sir." Lucy replied quickly, then paused as she thought her response through, "I'm saying it's no one's fault." The fire in Tim's eyes seemed to die down slightly, giving the rookie the confidence to continue, "Getting shot is a risk of being an officer, and feeling guilty or putting blame on others is a waste of time."
Tim continued staring intently for a few seconds then looked away, "Easy for you to say, you're not the one stuck in here." Lucy was opened her mouth to sympathise, but then stopped herself, raising her eyebrows at the man in the bed.
"Wait, was that a test?" She said, a tinge of excitement present in her words. He rolled his eyes and sighed quietly at being caught, which seemed to only fuel Lucy further, "Did I pass?"
"Doesn't really count if we're not on duty, boot." He replied abruptly, breaking their eye contact to fiddle with his IV.
"Totally counts." Lucy said quietly under her breath, smirking at her TO's disappointment at being unable to catch her out. "And did I pass the test about your lunch order?" Tim's eyeline snapped back to her, his officer mode returning in full force.
"Absolutely not." He said firmly, "American cheese is disgusting, and sweet potato fries are a stupid trend by LA hipsters."
"Okay, noted." Lucy nodded, already ruling out possible combinations of orders that she would get for him next time. She was going to get his lunch order perfect one day, she was sure of it. "But I totally passed the other test though." A smug grin came over her features. Bradford shook his head at her confidence, hating that there was nothing else he could do to deter her while he was immobilised in the hospital.
"Don't you have to go back on shift, boot? Lunch break is only 40 minutes." He snapped, folding his arms menacingly as best as he could with the multiple wires attached to his forearms.
"Yes, sir." She responded, walking towards the door, "I'll see you at work." And with an innocent smile and a perky walk, she was out of the room, leaving him alone again.
He sighed deeply at her antics. She should not be able to see through his tests or his stern façade so early on in her training. Just meant he would have to try twice as hard to break her spirit.
Thanks for reading! Any reviews/favourites would be much appreciated :)
Lou xo