The week seemed to go by at a snail's pace. Lucy tried to focus on seeing her clients and giving them her undivided attention, but she found her mind constantly wandering off to thoughts of Tim. She wanted to kiss him again. To taste his lips and feel his arms around her.

Tim was having the same trouble concentrating. His first gun safety class went well. Chip even asked him back the next day to talk to a bunch of new recruits about what they could expect in their rookie year as a police officer. It certainly wasn't like the police work he did in Los Angeles where gangs, drugs, and weapons were prevalent around almost every corner, but he enjoyed being back in a police station.

During the times they weren't working, Tim and Lucy continued to work on the house. They had made so much progress, though, that there weren't as many things to work on. Tim started painting the exterior of the house so it would be all one color while Lucy and Alex had started a small vegetable garden in the back near the pergola. On so many occasions, Tim had sat back and watched in awe at how good of a mother she truly was. He hoped he would be half as good of a father someday.

Alex and Tyler had a baseball game Wednesday night. Lucy and Tim sat with Genny in the stands, cheering for the boys. By this time, Lucy had asked Genny to watch Alex so she and Tim could go on their date and Genny was ecstatic. Anyone with working eyes could see there was a spark between Tim and Lucy. They sat just a little bit closer to each other on the bleachers and neither of them could stop smiling. Ashley came over at some point to say hello, but Tim quickly dismissed her politely. Genny was pretty sure even she got the hint that something was going on with Tim and Lucy.

After what felt like an eternity, Friday evening finally arrived. Lucy dropped Alex off at Genny's at 5:30. So happy to be hanging out with his new best friend, Alex didn't know where his mother was going and he didn't care. He was just happy to be able to try playing Tyler's new video game. Genny offered to keep Alex overnight, but Lucy insisted that it wasn't necessary. She was extremely interested in spending the night with Tim, but she didn't want to rush into things. Genny told her to call if she changed her mind.

Upon returning home, Lucy tried on every dress in her closet, which admittedly, wasn't many. She finally settled on a little black dress. After all, a woman couldn't go wrong with that, right? It was sleeveless and had a high neckline, but the back of it scooped down low to her mid-back. It fell straight down just above her knees. Lucy took out the only pair of high heels she owned out of her closet and put them on her feet. She prayed they weren't going to be doing a lot of walking because she wasn't sure how long she would last in them. Leaving her hair down and her makeup a little heavier than usual with a dark, smokey eye and red lips, Lucy made her way down to the living room just in time for the doorbell to ring. She went to the front door and opened it. Tim was standing in a black blazer and black pants with a dark blue button down shirt.

"Wow," he said, looking her up and down. "You look stunning."

"Thank you," Lucy said, blushing just slightly. "You're looking very handsome yourself."

"Thanks."

"You came to the front door," Lucy noted.

"It felt a little weird coming in the back for our first official date. And, these are for you," he said, handing Lucy a dozen red roses.

"They're beautiful. Thank you. Let me just put them in water and then we can go."

"Sounds good."

Lucy brought the flowers into the kitchen and grabbed a vase from a cupboard.

"So where are we going?" She asked as she filled the vase with water.

"One of the guys at the station recommended a place by the water."

"By the water? Fancy," Lucy said, returning to where Tim stood just inside the doorway.

"A guy's gotta make a good impression on the first date," Tim stated.

"So far, so good," Lucy told him.

"Good. Then let's go."

As they made their way to Tim's truck, he, of course, opened the door for her. They shared casual conversation on their way to the restaurant about how the painting of the house was coming and about how Alex's team was doing in Little League. When they arrived at the restaurant, a waitress seated them outside with a view of the beach and ocean. The sun had almost set, casting a magnificent glow over the restaurant.

"This is beautiful," Lucy said, looking around.

"Yeah, it is," Tim replied, staring directly at Lucy.

She smiled at him as they sat and ordered a glass of wine.

"So, how's it been spending some time this week at the police station?" Lucy asked.

"It's been good. I mean it's only been a few days and I'm only there for a few hours, but it's nice to be back with other police officers. Chip runs a good station."

"I'm glad to hear it. Any anxiety coming up for you after what happened?"

Tim shook his head. "No. I think it's actually helping me heal. But, our last two weeks of the gun safety course include going to a range and taking some practice shots."

"Does that worry you?" Lucy asked, concern in her voice.

"I haven't heard a gun go off since I was shot."

"That might be difficult to be around that sound," Lucy said.

"Yeah, it might be." Tim smiled and shook his head a little. "I don't know how you do this."

"Do what?"

"Get me to open up to you. My mandated shrink in LA tried for multiple sessions to get me to admit what I just admitted to you."

"You have to find someone to trust. Someone who you know won't judge you. And here is your safe space. You know you won't be in jeopardy of losing your job if you tell me the truth."

"You are my safe place," Tim stated. "You bring out the best in me, Lucy Chen."

She smiled. The waitress brought them their glasses of wine and took their food order. Lucy ordered the sea bass while Tim went for a steak.

"Tell me about your family," Tim prompted. "You never talk about them."

"There's not much to tell," Lucy told him. "I was an only child. My mother immigrated here from China when she was a little girl. She met my dad, which was quite a scandal in the family because he wasn't chinese. My grandparents never had much of a relationship with them once my mom announced that they were getting married."

"That's too bad," Tim said.

"Yeah," Lucy said with a sigh. "It was a different time back then."

"Were you close with your parents?"

"My dad and I were pretty close. My mom and I had our differences," Lucy admitted. "She wanted me to get married and start a family. Don't get me wrong, she was happy I became a therapist, but I think she thought I would give it up to raise a family."

"Where are your parents now?"

"They died in a car accident about ten years ago," Lucy said.

"I'm so sorry."

"I had just moved to New York and my mom wasn't happy about that. We hadn't really been talking when I got the call about the accident."

"That must have been tough."

"It was. I'd like to think that even though I didn't do the whole family thing in the way that she would have wanted, that she'd still adore Alex."

"I'm sure she would," Tim assured her. "He's a great kid. And you are a fantastic mom. I have a feeling she'd be very proud of you. Any mother would be."

"Thanks. What about your family? Besides Genny, that is?"

"Well, my dad was a real son of a bitch. He died about a year back. He used to…I don't know how to explain it…test me."

"Test you? What do you mean?"

"Like, when I was a kid he would drag me out to the middle of the woods with only a compass and tell me to find my way home. Told me it was the only way I'd ever learn anything important."

"That's horrible."

"Yeah. I learned about what kind of man I didn't want to be from him."

Lucy reached across the table and put her hand on his.

"You're nothing like him," she assured Tim.

"Thanks. My mom is a good woman. She put up with his crap for way too long. But when Genny and I got older, she finally got out of the relationship. I think she stayed for us."

"Are you close with your mom now?"

"Not as close as I should be. She lives in Florida in a little retirement community."

"You should call her," Lucy suggested.

"I should."

"Tell me more about your life in LA," Lucy prompted.

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know. Are you one of those guys who goes surfing every weekend?"

Tim chuckled. "No. I hate the beach."

"How can you hate the beach?" Lucy exclaimed with a little laugh.

"All that sand. All the dead bodies."

"What dead bodies?"

"Do you know how many dead people and decaying body parts there are out there in the middle of the ocean?" Tim countered.

"And yet you brought me to a restaurant on the water," Lucy pointed out.

"Oh, I like looking at the beach from afar," Tim explained.

Lucy laughed. "It's funny because Genny told me that before she became this big powerful business woman, Ashley worked her way through college as a lifeguard."

"Add that to the list of reasons why she and I would never work."

"And what else is on that list?" Lucy asked.

"The number one thing on that list is that I'm totally interested in somebody else."

"How interested?"

"Very interested," Tim said. He went to lean over the table to kiss her when the waitress arrived with their food. Sheepishly, Tim sat back down. Their second kiss would have to wait.

As they both began to eat, Tim noticed a younger couple sitting a few tables away from them. The woman had her head bowed a little and seemed to be cowering in her seat. The waiter took away an empty beer glass and whiskey glass from the table while handing the man another shot.

"Is everything ok?" Lucy asked, noticing that Tim was noticing something.

"Yeah, I just don't like the situation going on behind you."

"What's going on behind me?" She questioned without turning around. Lucy didn't want to bring attention to them.

"Maybe nothing. Or maybe a guy getting a little too drunk and scaring the woman he's with."

"Should we do something?" Lucy asked.

"It'll probably blow over."

The minute Tim said the words he saw the man lunge across the table and slap the woman across the face. She cried out, practically falling off of her chair.

"Hey!" Tim yelled, jumping up from his chair. Lucy did the same.

As Tim approached the man's table, the man picked up one of the steak knives at his place setting.

"Knife!" Lucy called so Tim would be aware that the man had a weapon. Tim was unarmed. He wasn't used to being in that situation.

"This doesn't concern you, man," the man warned. His speech was slurred and he wobbled a little as he took a step closer to Tim with the knife outstretched in front of him. The woman was still in her seat, gripping her cheek and crying.

"Put the knife down," Tim ordered.

"Shut up!" The man yelled.

"I called 911," a waiter said from behind Tim.

With the sound of the waiter's voice, the man with the knife became distracted enough for Tim to rush at him. He tackled the guy, easily getting the knife away from him. Lucy kicked it out of reach from anyone and went over to the scared woman while Tim managed to flip the man onto his stomach and got his arms behind his back. Lucy began to console the woman while they waited for the police to arrive.

A few moments later, the police arrived and soon after the man was being led away in handcuffs all while Lucy was holding some ice cubes wrapped in a cloth napkin to the woman's face. Lucy had noticed bruising on the woman's arms. Some looked like they had been there for a while.

"We'll need your statements," one of the police officers said to Tim.

"Yeah, of course," Tim replied, accustomed to the procedure.

"Ma'am, you'll have to come downtown and give a statement," another officer said to the woman.

"I don't…I can't…" the woman stuttered.

"I'll go with you," Lucy offered. She gave Tim an apologetic glance that they would be cutting their date short. He nodded at her, completely understanding. One of the many things he found so attractive about Lucy was how much she wanted to help people.

"Alright then," the second officer said. "Let's all get going."

"I'm sorry about ruining our first date," Lucy said as she walked by Tim.

"Just means we'll have to have a really good second one."

Lucy smiled and Tim watched her leave.