Tim slept in the guest house by himself the next night and the one after that and the one after that. Three days went by of the two of them tiptoeing around each other. Tim stuck close to the main house in case Lucy needed anything as she recovered from her injuries, but they barely talked and she mostly brushed off any of his advances to help her do things like cook or clean up or help with Alex.

Tim had thought about their argument a lot. Was it too soon in their relationship for him to change his whole life and move across the country? Would they end up resenting each other? Or was Lucy truly the one he was meant to be with for the rest of his life and moving was the best thing he could do? Those were the thoughts that plagued Tim as he tried to sleep each night. Even his back had started bothering him again on a more regular basis, which he guessed was a sign of stress.

On Saturday morning, Tim had driven over to Genny's apartment to pick up Tyler. Genny was getting ready for a day out with Greg while Tyler was finishing up a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table. Tim leaned against one of the kitchen counters, staring off into space as Genny came out of her bedroom.

"I'll be back by seven tonight," she said to Tim.

"Yeah, that's fine," Tim mumbled.

"Hey honey," Genny said to Tyler. "Why don't you go to your room and find your shoes, ok?"

Tyler did as told and Genny grabbed his empty cereal bowl from the table and brought it to the sink.

"Ok, what's wrong?" Genny asked Tim.

"What do you mean?"

"You're moping. And you haven't even made one quip about me going out with Greg today. So what gives?"

"It's nothing."

"Tim, I literally have two minutes before Greg is supposed to be here so spill."

"Lucy and I are…fighting? No, not fighting really. Just…not talking? I don't know."

"What happened?"

"I offered to move here," Tim stated.

"What?" Genny exclaimed, clearly shocked by the news.

"Yeah. After her accident, Alex asked me if I could be his dad and it got me thinking that I could be really happy here. I mean, you're here and I really think Lucy and I could have a future, you know. But, she thinks it's too fast and she thinks I'm crazy so…"

"So you had a fight."

"Yeah."

Genny sighed. "I can see it from both sides, Tim. She's a single mom who just changed her whole life and is trying to do the best for her and her son. The idea of you moving here permanently without knowing what the future holds is scary for her."

"But no one knows what the future holds. Isn't that why most decisions we make in life are leaps of faith?"

"You're right. But also consider that she was just in an awful accident. And a lot has changed in less than a week. You going off to LA unexpectedly obviously caused some feelings and then you having to come back so suddenly and making the decision to move here? Give her time, Tim. Don't give up on her. And maybe extend the olive branch."

"What do you mean?"

"The natural chemistry between the two of you shined best when you were doing something you both enjoyed. So…take her out. Do something fun. Try to get back to the way things were when you were happy. Before you were thinking about making big life decisions."

Genny's phone dinged. She glanced at it just as Tyler came out of his bedroom with his shoes on.

"I'm ready!" Tyler announced.

"And that's Greg," Genny announced. "He's outside. I gotta go."

"At some point I'd like to meet this Greg, you know," Tim said.

"Well, I'd introduce you to him today, but maybe we'll wait until you're in a better mood. Have fun today, you too. And thanks for watching Tyler."

"Yeah, of course."

After Genny left, Tim turned to Tyler.

"So, I was thinking maybe we could go to the zoo today?"

"Yes!" Tyler shouted. "Can Alex come too?"

Tim's immediate thought was to say no so that he and Tyler could spend the day with just the two of them, but then he thought about what Genny said.

"Can I invite Alex's mom, too?" Tim asked.

"Sure. You smile a lot when you're around her."

"Yeah, I do," Tim said as he pulled out his phone. Maybe spending the day out with the boys doing something fun would be just what he and Lucy needed as a reset.

Hours later, Tim and Lucy were sitting beside each other on a wooden bench while Tyler and Alex were playing on an animal themed playground inside the zoo. They had already walked through most of the zoo, seeing elephants, giraffes, lions, and more. The boys had fun making faces with one of the apes and seeing if they could jump as far as a snow leopard. They were having a great time and Tim had looked over to see a smile on Lucy's face several times, which, in turn, made him smile. Tim was a little worried that all of the walking would be a lot for Lucy's healing body, but she insisted that she was fine. The bruising on her face was still there, but was starting to heal and the cut on her arm no longer required bandaging.

They had been sitting for only a few minutes, not talking, just enjoying the nice weather and watching the boys play with some other kids when Lucy finally spoke directly to him.

"Thank you for this," Lucy said. "For inviting us."

"You're welcome."

"It's nice to be out again. And the boys seem to be enjoying themselves."

"Yeah. Thank you for coming with us," Tim said. He realized their conversion was incredibly mundane. It was the equivalent of asking someone about the weather. But it was a start of them communicating again.

"And the weather today is perfect for it," Lucy commented.

Inwardly, Tim smiled to himself. Now their conversation really did include the weather. It was time to start a real conversation.

"When I texted you this morning, I wasn't sure that you would agree to come," Tim said.

"When I got your text this morning, I wasn't sure how to respond," Lucy admitted. "But I really wanted to come to the zoo."

Tim smiled outwardly this time. She was teasing him. And it felt like a small part of them was back.

"Yeah, nothing says romance like the zoo," Tim commented.

"It is romantic that you invited me and my son out for a day trip. You care, Tim, about me and about Alex and it shows. I don't like fighting with you. And I've missed you these last few days."

"I've missed you too."

She inched her hand over to his and their fingers interlocked. It was a simple, yet powerful gesture.

"I think we should talk when we get home later," Lucy suggested.

Tim smiled again when he heard her say 'when we get home.' Her home was becoming his home and he hoped it would stay that way.

"I agree," he said.

Tim squeezed her hand before letting it go as the boys came running at them asking for ice cream cones.

The boy, of course, got their ice cream as well as some souvenirs from the gift shop. After they were done with a full day at the zoo, Tim took them all out to the arcade where they had gone before Tim and Lucy had even officially started seeing each other for dinner and some game time. By the time Tim brought Tyler home at seven o'clock, the boys were exhausted. Genny had had a wonderful time on her day out with Greg. All in all, it had shaped up to be a pretty amazing day. As Tim drove himself, Lucy, and Alex home, he glanced over in the backseat. Alex was asleep. Tim reached his hand over and put it on Lucy's thigh. She smiled at the gesture.

"It was a pretty perfect day," she commented.

"It was."

"It made me feel like we were…us again."

"Yeah, it did."

Lucy took a deep breath. "I've been thinking a lot about our fight and your offer to move here. And I know what I said before... and the fact is that I am still worried that we haven't known each other long enough for you to change your whole life, but if you're willing to take the risk then I think you should…"

She was cut off when Tim pulled into Lucy's driveway and there was a car neither of them recognized already there. It had New York plates.

"Were you expecting someone?" Tim asked.

"No."

"Do you think it's Chris?"

"I…I don't know. If it is, I didn't invite him, Tim. I haven't spoken to him since he left the hospital."

"Stay in the car," Tim instructed, his cop senses tingling. It may have been Lucy's house, but there was no way he was going to let her or Alex get out of the car until he knew exactly what was going on.

Tim kept the engine of his truck running and got out slowly. He tried to see inside of the car parked in front of him, but it was too dark out and the windows were slightly tinted. Tim wished he had his gun with him. As he got closer, the driver's side door opened. Tim stopped in his tracks ready to fight or do whatever was necessary to protect himself and Lucy and Alex. A man got out of the car. It wasn't Chris, but it was someone Tim instantly recognized.

"Sergeant Grey?" Tim said, clearly surprised.

"Hey Tim," Grey replied with a smile.

The two men gave each other a handshake and embraced quickly.

"What are you doing here?" Tim asked. "How did you even know where I was?"

"It's a long story."

Seeing through the windshield that Tim obviously had some kind of acquaintance with the man who was standing in her driveway, Lucy turned off the truck and got out. She approached Tim slowly.

"Lucy, this is my watch commander at Mid-Wilshire, Sergeant Wade Grey," Tim introduced. "Sir, this is Lucy Chen."

"I've heard a lot about you, Lucy," Grey said, shaking her hand.

"And I've heard a lot about you," Lucy replied. "Welcome to Connecticut."

"Thank you," Grey said. "I'm sorry for showing up here unannounced. It was my wife's idea."

"It was your wife's idea to come all the way to Connecticut?" Tim asked.

"We are in New York for a few days visiting our daughter at college," Grey explained. "My wife suggested I come here so that I could talk to you in person."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Lucy said, "but you'll have to excuse me. My son is in the car asleep and I should get him up to bed, but why don't we all just go inside?"

"Here, I'll carry him," Tim offered.

Grey watched as Tim went back to his truck and expertly took Alex out of the truck. Still sleeping, the boy put his head on Tim's shoulder as Tim carried him into the house with Lucy leading the way. It was obvious how seamlessly Tim had integrated into the family. He looked like a natural carrying the young boy. Grey followed them as Lucy opened the front door. Tim told Grey he would be right back as he brought Alex upstairs. Lucy stayed in Alex's bedroom, getting him ready for bed while Tim went back down to talk to his sergeant.

"I can see why you like it here," Grey commented. He was sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Yeah, Alex is a great kid."

"I don't think it's just the boy."

Tim shook his head. "You're right. It's Alex. It's this house. It's Lucy. She's amazing."

"Lopez told me a bit about her. She seems to be recovering well from her accident."

"Yeah, she's doing well. Can I get you a beer or anything?"

"No, that's ok," Grey responded.

"I'm still surprised that you're here. And frankly confused."

"I'm sure. Look, Tim, you and I have worked together for a long time and we've always been honest with each other. So I'm going to just come out and say it."

"Ok…"

"I'm retiring," Grey stated.

Tim had to let that information sink in for a moment. Those were not the words he was expecting to hear.

"Wow," he finally said. "Congratulations, sir. I have to admit that I'm surprised."

"Yeah, me too," Grey admitted. "I've been thinking about it for a little while and my wife has been pressuring me some. Taking this trip out here to see my daughter put everything into perspective. I worked a lot of long hours the entire time my daughter was growing up. As it is now, my wife takes a lot of trips to the east coast to see her by herself because I can't go with her. I don't want to miss out on that anymore. And I don't want to miss out on any more time with my wife. Frankly, I'm tired of the job, Tim, and I've put in more than enough years."

"Well, I'm happy for you, sir."

"Thank you. But I didn't drive three extra hours just to tell you that part of it."

"So what did you come here to tell me?" Tim asked.

"I want you to take my job. Watch Commander of Mid-Wilshire, which means you'd be promoted to Sergeant 2."

Tim wasn't expecting that. "What?"

"I've talked to all the upper brass. They know that you're ready for it, Tim. You're the best candidate they have to lead Mid-Wilshire. Now I know technically you're still on leave, but they got wind of all the good work you've been doing with the police station here and how you came back to LAPD to help your fellow officers. They think you're ready to take on this leadership role now. And I couldn't agree with them more."

"Sir, I…I don't know what to say…" Tim stuttered.

"Some cops work their whole lives for this position," Grey said. "I know I did. And if you have any aspirations to become Captain, this is the right stepping stone."

"It would be a good career move. But, I…I don't know."

"Well, I'm afraid you don't have too much time to think about it. I've given the department my two weeks. My wife booked us a cruise as soon as she found out I was willing to retire. We need someone to fill my spot before I leave."

"Of course, I understand."

"I know it's a lot to think about, especially considering what you have going on here, but it's a good job, Tim. Pay raise. More benefits. And you'll be in charge of the entire division."

"That's quite an offer."

"Think it over."

"I will," Tim told him.

As Tim started to think about the offer he had just been given, Lucy came down the stairs.