Three days later, Lucy finished up her virtual meeting with one of her clients from New York and closed her laptop. She felt good that the woman she had been helping was making great progress in being an independent, single mother.

Feeling like the air in her office was getting a little stuffy, Lucy went to open the small window that was next to her desk. She made a mental note to ask Tim about helping her install a ceiling fan. In the few days that he had been helping her fix up the house, Lucy had been impressed by just how handy he was and at how at ease she felt with his presence.

As she opened the window, Lucy caught a glimpse of Tim walking from his truck to the back of his house with a toolbox in his hand. He didn't notice her in the window, but she certainly noticed him. He had on a white T-shirt and Jeans. The shirt showed off his muscular arms and Lucy licked her lips As Tim unfortunately disappeared from view, Lucy was about to sit back down at her desk to type up some patient notes when she saw an unfamiliar car pull up and park in front of the house. Curious, Lucy continued to watch. A moment later, a very familiar face stepped out of the driver's seat. Lucy's jaw dropped. It was Chris. She flew out of her office and down the hall out the front door. She made it outside before Chris had even gotten to the door.

"Hey babe," Chris said as Lucy closed the front door behind her. She did not want him in her house. He was wearing his usual gray suit with a navy blue tie. Lucy guessed he had just come from court. Since he didn't own a car, she realized he must have rented the car to drive up to see her.

"Don't call me that," she replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

"Why?"

"Because I miss you."

"Go home, Chris."

"Let's talk."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"I disagree," Chris said.

"We have talked. We spent hours talking before we broke up. We want different things. And that's ok."

"I want you."

Lucy took a deep breath. "I don't want you," she stated simply and she knew that she hurt him. That wasn't her intention, but she knew she had to be straight with him.

"Babe…"

"I said don't call me that," Lucy warned.

"We were together for three years."

"And I think we both know that we weren't really meant for each other, Chris."

"You agreed to marry me!"

"I shouldn't have said yes. I am sorry about that. But even you have to admit that we never had that passion, that need for each other that two people should have."

"I can't admit that, Lucy, because it's not true. I do have that passion for you."

Lucy shook her head. "No you didn't. And that's ok. It's ok to admit that we weren't right for each other."

"Stop saying that!" Chris shouted.

"What about Alex?" Lucy asked, keeping her voice calm. She had no interest in getting into a shouting match with him.

"What about him?"

"You said you don't want a child."

"I lived with him before. I can get used to the idea that you've adopted him and he'll be in your life forever, I guess."

"You guess? And in my life forever? Chris, whoever I end up with, if I end up with anyone, needs to be completely onboard with having a child. And to whoever that person might be in the future, Alex will be in our life. Alex is my son."

"He's not. I mean, legally, yes, he's yours, but…"

"Go home, Chris," Lucy said more forcefully.

"No. Not until we talk!"

Chris stepped forward and reached his arm out to grab Lucy by the hand.

"Hey!" Tim yelled. Both Chris and Lucy turned to look at him. He was standing to the side of the house, obviously having just walked over from where he was in the backyard.

"Who the hell is this?" Chris grumbled, dropping Lucy's hand.

"My name is Tim and I think she asked you to leave."

"Is he the guy you're screwing now?" Chris asked.

"That's none of your business," Lucy snapped.

"We've been broken up for less than a month after three years together and you start sleeping with someone else? What's that teaching your son, Lucy? That his mom is a whore!"

"Hey!" Tim yelled. "You don't talk to her like that. Now she asked you to leave."

"What are you going to do about it if I don't?" Chris asked.

Tim was inclined to punch the man in the face, but he knew that wouldn't solve anything. And Tim remembered Lucy saying that he was a lawyer. The last thing Tim needed if he ever wanted to be able to go back to work was an assault and battery charge.

"We're over, Chris," Lucy stated. "I don't know how many different ways I can say that. Go back to New York. Don't contact me again."

"You know what, you can have her," Chris said to Tim. "She wasn't that good anyway."

Lucy managed to hold herself together long enough for Chris to get back in his car and walk away. She wasn't sure why his words hurt her so much. Perhaps because she was faced with the reality that she had stayed in a relationship for three years that wasn't right and she had no one to blame but herself. As soon as his car was out of sight, Lucy opened the front door and went inside the house. Tim followed her.

"That guy's an ass," Tim stated, closing the door behind him. Lucy had made her way to the kitchen and was filling a glass with water. Her back was to him, but Tim could see that her hand was shaking. He walked up behind her and took the glass from her hand. Lucy put both of her hands on the counter to steady herself. Tim couldn't really see her face, but he knew she was trying hard not to cry.

"I don't know why I'm letting him get to me," Lucy said, slowly turning around. Tim wanted to wrap her in his arms and whisper that everything was going to be ok in her ear. He could see on her face just how hurt she was and he wanted to make that hurt disappear. "I don't have any feelings left for him. I just…for him to say those things about me…"

"You're feeling this way because even if there was no spark between you, someone you once cared about and who said they cared about you just said some hurtful things about you. That's never easy."

"You're right."

"You know, towards the end of our relationship, my ex-wife had gotten so deep into her undercover work that she became addicted to drugs. She wasn't the same person I had fallen in love with. I hardly ever saw her, but when I did, she would lash out and say some pretty awful things to me and about me. It was her way of pushing me away."

"I'm sorry," Lucy said, putting her hand on his arm. "That must have been pretty hard for you."

"Ending things…letting go…it's never easy for anyone."

"Now you sound like the therapist."

Tim smiled. He was a little surprised at the words that were coming out of his mouth. He wasn't usually the type to talk things out. But Lucy brought out that side of him. She made him feel like it was ok to share and be vulnerable.

"And listen, if you want me to set Chris straight, I may know a few moves that could scare him away."

"While I appreciate that, I don't think the LAPD would appreciate one of their sergeants getting prosecuted for assault and battery," Lucy pointed out. "Chris is a lawyer remember."

"True, but I have friends in LA that would back me up."

"Are you close to your coworkers?" Lucy asked.

"I am, yeah. It sounds corny, but Mid-Wilshire is like a family."

"Mid-Wilshire?"

"That's the precinct we work in."

"Tell me about them," Lucy prompted.

"You want me to tell you about my friends?"

"Yes. Distract me from my horrible ex. Wait, before you do that, do you want some wine? I could use some wine."

Tim glanced at the clock on the stove beside Lucy. It was almost one o'clock, which meant they had another two hours before Alex got home. And even though it may have been frowned upon by some to drink in the middle of the day, it had to be five o'clock somewhere.

"I guess one glass wouldn't hurt."

"Glasses are in the cupboard above the sink," Lucy said as she opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of white wine. Tim retrieved the glasses while Lucy uncorked the wine. She filled the wine glasses half full and put the wine back in the refrigerator. She handed Tim a glass.

"Thank you," he said.

"It's a beautiful day out," Lucy suggested. "Let's sit outside. I could use some fresh air."

Exiting out the french doors that led to the patio with the newly stained pergola, Tim and Lucy sat on two folding chairs with a plastic tray table between them.

"I'm sorry, I really need to get better outdoor furniture," Lucy remarked.

"You moved in less than two weeks ago. You've been busy with a kid, work, and renovating a house. I think folding chairs are more than acceptable."

"Thanks," she said, sipping her wine. "So, tell me about your friends."

"Ok," Tim said, thinking about what he wanted to tell her. "There's Angela, I've probably known her the longest. She's a detective now and a damn good one. She's probably the toughest person I know."

"Any sparks flying there?" Lucy asked, sipping her wine.

"With Angela? No. There never has been sparks between us. She's just a really good person who I'm happy to say has my back in any situation. Besides, she's happily married to a defense attorney. And she has a son."

"Who else works in Mid-Wilshire?" Lucy prompted.

"Well, there's Nyla Harper, her partner. Another badass woman I would trust with my life. Then there's John Nolan. He was a forty year old rookie."

"A rookie? At forty? Really?"

"Yeah, he decided to start his life over again and join the police force. He took a lot of flack for it in the beginning, but he's actually a really good cop. He's good at connecting with people and talking to people. You two have a lot in common in that regard. Gray is our commanding sergeant. He's solid and fair and is the glue that holds us together. Then there's Jackson. He's…"

Tim trailed off. Jackson wasn't alive anymore. Jackson was gone and it was Tim's fault.

"He was your rookie," Lucy said quietly. "The one who was killed."

"Yeah."

"Sometimes I forget that he's not still out there on the streets doing his job."

"That's normal. And it's ok to talk about him."

"He was a good kid. He was a legacy."

"A legacy?"

"HIs dad was a cop. Jackson wanted to prove to his dad that he had what it takes to be a cop in LA. He would have been a good cop."

Tim rubbed his back. Lucy noticed immediately.

"He would have been a good cop because he had a good cop training him," Lucy said.

"How come you never tell me it's not my fault?" Tim asked, although not accusatory.

"Do you want me to say that?"

"No. I got so tired of people telling me it wasn't my fault."

"Tim, I've worked with cops all over the NYPD. It's a dangerous job. People die. Other cops see their friends killed in action. It's not easy for anyone. And there's no shame in feeling bad or taking the time you need to heal."

"Being here is helping me heal."

Lucy smiled. "Good."

Tim ran the back of his hand over his eyes. "I'm supposed to be cheering you up after that ridiculous confrontation with Chris, not the other way around."

"It's ok."

"It's not true what he said, you know. You're an amazing person, Lucy. You're smart and resourceful and clearly a good therapist. Not to mention you're an incredible mom. For the record, I think you're worth it."

"Thank you for saying that."

"Look at us. Two people sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves."

"Sometimes that's part of the healing process," Lucy stated.

"Yeah, so is laughter and having a good time. I have an idea," Tim said.

"Oh?"

"Let's all do something fun tonight."

"Fun? What did you have in mind?"

"Well, Tyler told me about this arcade in town that supposedly has some old school games. I guess it's all the rage with the kids at school."

"Alex mentioned the arcade to me yesterday. One of their classmates had his birthday party there last year and told the boys how they have an original Pac-Man machine," Lucy said. "I didn't even know Alex or anyone his age knew what Pac-Man was."

Tim laughed. "Why don't I text Genny and we can all go tonight? The boys can have some fun and we can enjoy some grownup conversation and laugh and put all of this negativity out of our minds."

"That sounds really nice."

"Good. And I am an expert at Pac-Man."

Lucy laughed and Tim smiled at her.

"Oh really?"

"Yup."

"Well, that I have to see," she said with a laugh.

Taking a sip of wine, Tim realized just how much he loved hearing her laugh.