Lucy ran through the hallways of the hospital. There was no one around. She was the only one there. And everything was white and sterile. Too white. There was no color. Rounding the corner into a hallway, she sprinted towards his room. When she got to the doorway, she could see him. He was on a gurney, bleeding from a hole in his chest. Bright red blood, the only color in the room, was pumping out of him, soaking the white linens on the gurney and was dripping onto the floor. No one was there to help him. Lucy opened her mouth to yell, but no words came out. She tried to enter his room, but she couldn't. It was as if there was an invisible wall that she couldn't penetrate.

"No!" Lucy screamed, sitting up in bed. She looked wildly around. She was at home in bed. It had been a nightmare. A nightmare where Tim had been shot and she could do nothing about it because she couldn't get to him.

Lucy pushed her matted hair away from her face. Her body was covered in a thin film of sweat. Her sheets and blankets were tossed every which way. It had definitely been a tumultuous dream. And Lucy didn't need a dream interpreter to know what it meant. He was a cop. His job was dangerous. He had already been shot once and there was always a strong likelihood that it could happen again. And she lived across the country from him. If they broke their rules and talked about someday and tried to make a relationship work once he returned home to Los Angeles, she would never be able to get to him on time if he was injured. The thought of that broke her heart.

Lucy leaned against her headboard, letting her body and her mind calm down. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths.

She was falling for him. That much was clear. It had been ten days since they had taken the boys out to the food trucks. That had been their last official outing together. But seeing as how he was living in her backyard and was still helping her with some home renovations, they did spend some time together. But things had been hectic. Tim had been going to the police station more and more to help with things here and there. Lucy had taken on more clients who had been referred to her. Tyler had the flu for a few days so Tim stayed home with him so that Genny could continue to work. And of course they were trying to keep their relationship a secret from Alex so there was no PDA when he was around. But that didn't mean they weren't able to sneak in a stolen kiss from time to time. But in the back of her mind, Lucy kept thinking about how he would be leaving and she kept reminding herself not to fall in love with him, but that was difficult when he was such a good man.

Sighing, Lucy looked at the clock. It was 5:13. Knowing she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep, she got out of bed. She put her hair up in a messy bun and took a quick shower before changing into black leggings and a tunic-length light blue shirt with pink stripes running across it. She brushed her hair, letting it naturally curl at the bottom before retreating downstairs. She was still thinking about Tim and wondered what would happen if she walked the couple of yards across her backyard to the guest house, but she shook that thought away. She had just told herself that she needed to stop falling for him. Finding her way into his bed wouldn't solve that problem.

So Lucy decided to focus on something else - baking.

When Tim woke up, his clock read 7:12. He smiled, thinking about Lucy. She had been the first thing he thought of every morning for almost a month, including well before they had gone on their first date. Tim's smile disappeared, though, when he realized that that meant he had only five months left on his leave. That meant only five months left with Lucy. Initially, when Grey had told him the news, that amount of time had felt like an eternity, but now it felt entirely too short.

Getting out of bed, Tim showered, shaved, and threw on a pair of Jeans and a navy blue Tshirt. He left the guest house and headed towards the French doors in the back of the main house, hoping that he and Lucy might be able to sneak in a few minutes of alone time before Alex came downstairs. Seeing Lucy in the kitchen, Tim just watched her for a moment. He felt like he could just watch her forever and never get tired of the sight. When Lucy turned away from the oven, she saw him in the doorway. She beckoned for him to come in and he did.

"Good morning," Tim said. "It smells amazing in here."

"Fresh baked blueberry muffins," Lucy told him, taking the muffins out of the muffin tins and placing them on a platter.

"You made muffins? This morning? What time did you get up?"

"I couldn't sleep," Lucy explained. "So I decided to bake."

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I just…had a lot on my mind."

"Anything or anyone in particular that you were thinking about?" Tim asked flirtatiously, walking over to her.

"Maybe," Lucy teased.

"Where's Alex?" Tim whispered, his face extremely close to hers.

"Still upstairs," she breathed.

"Good."

Tim wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him. He crashed his lips down to hers and he kissed her longingly. Her hands roamed his back and his tangled in her hair. They kissed like they couldn't get enough of each other. It certainly beat the quick kisses they had been exchanging for most of the week.

When Lucy heard Alex's footsteps on the stairs, she reluctantly disentangled herself from Tim. Hoping her cheeks weren't too flushed, she ran a hand through her hair to straighten it out and busied herself by grabbing a plate from the cupboard.

"Hi mom, hi Tim!" Alex greeted as he plopped down at the kitchen table.

"Hey, bud," Tim said, ruffling Alex's hair.

"Is Tyler feeling better?" Alex asked. "I miss him at school."

"He is," Tim answered. "He'll be going back today."

"Yay!" Alex cheered.

"I made muffins," Lucy told Alex, putting a plate with three muffins in the middle of the table. She dished out three smaller plates in front of each chair.

"Yes! Best day ever! My best friend is back and mom made her special muffins!" Alex exclaimed.

Tim laughed, seriously impressed by how excited a seven year old could get over the simplest things.

"I'll get the coffee," Tim offered, putting his hand briefly on Lucy's back as he walked by her. It was a movement Alex didn't even notice, but it made Lucy smile.

The three of them sat down to eat their muffins. Alex chatted about the after school sports program he was going to be in that afternoon and Lucy listened intently as he jabbered on about soccer and something called hula huts. Tim sat back and realized how much he liked waking up to breakfast with a family.

When breakfast was over and Alex had brushed his teeth and Lucy had given him his lunch, the bus pulled up. Lucy watched Alex get on the bus from the front door and waved goodbye to him. When the bus was out of sight, she went back into the kitchen where Tim was doing the breakfast dishes.

"You don't have to do that," Lucy said.

"You baked. I can clean."

"Thank you."

"So, I am leading a study group session with a bunch of new recruits today at the station, but, if you don't have any clients this afternoon, I thought we could…"

"It's Tuesday. I don't take clients on Tuesdays so I am free this afternoon. And I have an idea for our official third date."

Tim dried his hands on a towel hanging from the handle on the oven door and walked over to where she was putting the muffins in tupperware. He put his hands on her waist and she turned to him.

"It doesn't happen to include a bed and a lot less clothes, does it?" He asked.

As much as Lucy wanted to say yes, she knew, based on her dream, that she had to pump the breaks just a little.

"Ah…I…I just…"

"I'm sorry, " Tim said, sensing her hesitation. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"No, you didn't. I just need more time. I mean, technically we haven't even made it through a date by ourselves yet."

"You're right."

"Maybe today, date number three, will be our lucky day," Lucy said with a smile.

"Let's hope so. What did you have in mind?"

"I think I'll keep it a secret for now."

"Oh really?"

"Mhmm…I have some errands this morning and you have your study session at the station. But Alex won't be getting home until four thanks to his after school sports so how about I swing by the station to pick you up at twelve?"

"A secret date. I like it. I'll be there."

"Good."

Looping an arm around his neck, Lucy stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

At exactly 12:00, Lucy pulled her car into the parking lot of the police station. Tim was waiting outside for her talking to a young, blonde woman. When he saw Lucy's car, he gave the woman a high-five and climbed into the passenger side of her CRV.

"Hey," Tim said as Lucy backed out of the parking spot she had pulled into.

"Hey. How was your study session?"

"Good. I think the new recruits are ready for the exam next week."

"Is that who you were talking to?" Lucy asked. "One of the new recruits?"

"Yeah, that was Peyton."

"Mhmm."

Tim glanced over at Lucy. "She's 22 and engaged. And, for the record, I am not that guy. I am a one woman, never cheated on any relationship I've ever had kind of guy."

"Good to know," Lucy commented. "For the record, same for me."

"I'm glad that we got that cleared up," Tim said. "And since we're talking on the record and I brought up relationships, maybe this is unfair of me to ask since I'll be leaving eventually, but…"

"But you want to know if we're exclusive?"

"I wouldn't blame you for seeing what other fish there are out there in the sea who actually live in Connecticut," Tim admitted. Even though the thought of Lucy seeing another man made his blood boil, Tim also had to give her that chance. He was, after all, going to be leaving.

"I'm not interested in any other fish in the sea," Lucy said. "And I believe in being exclusive. I'm not one to date around."

"Ok, good. You know, it's too bad I am leaving in a few months because we are really good at communicating."

Lucy let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, too bad."

Tim realized his comment brought down the atmosphere in the car. He hadn't meant to keep bringing up that he would be leaving.

"So where are we going on this third date?" He asked, trying to bring up the mood.

Lucy pulled into a small park and parked the car on some grass.

"This is just part one," she said.

Tim looked around and saw one, beaten up, old food truck sitting across the field. A big red sign painted on the side said Tacos.

"I asked around about the best taco place in the area. I know LA is famous for their good tacos. I was warned this place might not look the greatest, but that they're the best in town."

"I'll be the judge of that," Tim said, getting out of the car. As they walked across the field, Tim grabbed Lucy's hand. She smiled at him. It felt good to be out in the open together. After waiting in a short line, they each ordered and found a picnic table in the shade nearby. Tim took the first bite.

"Well…" Lucy prompted.

"I'd give it a solid B plus," Tim said.

"I'll take a B plus!" Lucy exclaimed.

Tim picked up the taco and held it out to her. Lucy wrapped her lips around it and bit down. Cheese, lettuce, and other toppings began to spill onto the picnic table and Lucy and Tim laughed.

"Someday I'll have to take you to the best taco place in LA. It's right down the street from Mid-Wilshire."

"Someday?" Lucy questioned.

"Right. I'm not supposed to use that word."

An awkward pause hung between them.

"Let's just finish lunch and move onto part two," Lucy said.

Tim nodded. He needed to stop saying the wrong things. They ate the rest of their meal mostly in silence. When they walked back to Lucy's car, they didn't hold hands.

It was a short, somewhat awkward drive, to their next destination. Tim was a little surprised when they pulled up to a huge warehouse. He had no idea what they were doing there.

"This isn't the part where you're secretly a serial killer and you drag me to your lair to kill me, is it?" Tim asked.

"You'll just have to go in and find out."

Lucy got out of the car. Tim followed her. When they approached the door, Tim saw where Lucy had taken them. There was a sign on the door. 'American Paintball'

"Paintball?" He asked excitedly.

"Well, I figured shooting at each other would be a fun third date and I thought maybe having a paintball gun in your hand and shooting it would be good practice before having to pick up and shoot a real one in front of your gun safety class."

Tim didn't know what to say. No one in his entire life had ever put so much thought into something just for him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I overstep? I…" Lucy began, suddenly very worried that her idea wasn't such a good one.

"No, no," Tim assured her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "This is incredible. You are incredible for thinking of it."

"Ok, good. I don't want to push you if you're not ready."

"Oh, I am always ready to shoot paintballs at somebody. But you better watch out, I'm a pretty good shot."

"We'll see," Lucy said with a smile. She went to open the door.

"Hey," Tim said. "Thank you for this, really."

"You're welcome," Lucy said, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly. "Now, come on, I want to see how cute I look in the gear."

Tim laughed, knowing full well that she would look amazing.