Lucy has had to face quite a few head scratchers before, but she had never expected Tim to turn down the offer for the Sergeant's position so that he could finish her training. After all that time he had spent studying for it (not to mention how long it took her to make those books on tape for him), she was sure he was going to take it! She hated the thought of trying to do the job without him, but knew it was where his career was headed eventually, so... she assumed it was a no brainer.

She didn't want him to turn down the job because of her. There were always other training officers, after all. But there was that lingering thought in the back of her mind that he had done it so he could keep an eye on her and make sure she remained safe. That he was afraid another Caleb would come along and snatch her up again if he wasn't around. Lucy knew she wouldn't be stupid enough to let it happen twice, but... Tim should know that too, right?

There was also something else that she wondered. She knew it was probably just some ridiculous fantasy, but she had got the feeling that he stayed because... he needed to be around her, just as badly as she needed him there. Whether it was just friendship or something more, they had a connection that few could understand and even fewer are lucky enough to find. Ever since she'd convinced him to stop enabling Isabel and send her to rehab, she'd helped him shed all of that weight off his shoulders and finally warm up to all of those around him that cared about him. She was scared if she wasn't there, he'd bottle all of that back up inside of him and become cold again. And ever since she'd been abducted, he'd been her rock, her anchor. She was scared that if he left, she would be pulled away by the tide. She still had so many repairs that needed to be done, and without him, no one could help her from sinking. So, for whatever reason it was, she was thankful he stuck with her, because without eachother, that sea of depression would have eventually swallowed them both.

Since they'd met, and even more so since she'd had that sex dream about Tim, she couldn't deny her attraction to him. But it was much more than physical now. He had to be feeling it too! There was an electricity between them, whether it was a look that lingered a bit too long or small gestures that were becoming more frequent, it was undeniable. Somehow, she felt the heat rise with every one - a hand on her shoulder, his fingers trailing down her arm, rubbing her knee, massaging her neck - all more intimate spots each time... she swore he had to be doing this on purpose. And every time his fingers touched her skin, her mind traveled back to those words he'd said that night.

"Tim Bradford finishes what he starts."

It was her day off, but Jackson hadn't been so lucky. She was home alone. It seemed like she'd spent hours trying to find something to keep her entertained, but everything was boring. There was nothing to do, and she had this nervous energy stuck with her all morning that she just couldn't shake. Honestly, she'd been on edge ever since she had that dream. So, she decided that Lucy Chen should finish what she started... before Jackson had rudely interrupted.

She took off her shorts and undies before she laid out on her bed. She kept her thin tank top on as her fingers grazed over the fabric and gently squeezed her nipple and began going through a recap of it in her mind (and yes, she still remembered every single detail of it, even if it happened a month ago).

She remembered how soft his lips were as they kissed, him licking and nibbling all over her body. The forceful way he grabbed her hips, moving her just where he wanted... and the way his fingers felt, rough yet gentle. She remembered him knelt down in front of her, trailing his lips up her thigh, teasing her, going achingly slow...

Her hand trailed lower so she could begin drawing her finger lightly over her clit... then unpaused, continuing her story. She imagined his eyes looking up at her with hunger, a question hanging in the air between them. She knew he was asking if he could continue, and she granted him that as she grabbed as much of his short hair as she could and pushed his face into her pussy. He laughed a bit before his tongue ghosted over her, and she threw her head back with a loud groan.

"Tim, please."

He moved his tongue so achingly light, but it was driving her wild. Barely tracing along the edges, soft circles and faint flicks followed by small, languid kisses making her so desperate for more. Panting to get a breath, she tugged his hair harder and pushed herself forward. And although he knew what she wanted, he wasn't going to give in that easily. He wanted to tease her, to make her beg for it.

Gently blowing a steady breeze against her swollen clit, he asked, "What do you want?"

"More."

He lightly blew again, watching her back arch off the bed as only the subtle gust of air made her feel like she might fall apart. He grinned proudly as he asked, "More what? Tell me. Be specific."

"Harder... Faster... Fuck, I want you to savor it, like I am the last thing you know you will ever taste."

He groaned, feeling his hardened cock twitch at her answer, and began eagerly lapping her up, his tongue moving expertly with every fast movement. It felt like he was trying to memorize every inch of what was in front of him. He then pushed two fingers inside her gently and curled them slightly to find that spot inside her that made her eyes slam shut and her mouth open wide in a silent scream of pleasure, pumping them faster with each thrust. She could feel it slowly building - muscles convulsing, fireworks exploding behind her eyelids - the finale was seconds away!

But, like a curse had been casted upon her, she was interrupted yet again... This time by Tim, himself.

She was trying to control her breathing as she answered her phone, still lightly panting as she greeted him, "Hey. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. What are you up to?" he asked, mischievously, "Sounding a bit short-winded there, Boot."

"That? Oh, you know, I was just... uhh-exercising!" she replied, "Yeah, you know... sit ups and... push-ups and, uh... all that fun stuff. So, what about you? Enjoying your day off?"

"Eh, I was just sitting around, kind of bored, and then I realized that I'm a total jerk and I had never thanked you for making me those cookies a while back. You were right, by the way; they were great with coffee."

"Took you that long to figure out you're a jerk?" she joked, "Well, even though it took you weeks to say it, you're welcome... and I told you so."

"Anyway, I was kind of wondering if... you know, as a proper way to thank you... if maybe you wanted to go... get some coffee right now? Maybe lunch?"

She panicked. Tim Bradford could not be asking her out right now... could he? I mean, he seemed pretty nervous - definitely more nervous than usual - so did he intend for this to be a date? Or was she reading too much into it? Yes, they worked together, and been by each other's sides when a lot of bad things happened, but... the two of them had never really hung out in a casual setting or shared a meal alone like this before.

And almost like he was reading her mind, he said, "You were the only person that I knew, for sure, was not at work right now, and I'm fucking starving. Now... come on, Boot, you're not really going to make me eat alone, are you?"

"No sir." she replied, with a blush, before asking, "Just... give me about a half an hour to shower and change?"

"I'll be there in twenty minutes, and you'd better be ready." he commanded.

She had never reacted that way when he (or anyone, really) had used that tone with her before, but something about the sound of his voice just then... oh man, she was aching to have him dominate her. Besides, she couldn't deny that she was still turned on from her previous activities, yet again not getting the release she had wanted. But she actually had to bite her lip to stifle a moan from escaping, as she said, "Yes sir."

When he picked her up, she expected them to go to some taco truck like they did for lunch every day. But when he pulled up outside of an upscale Mexican restaurant, she was glad she had not worn jeans and a tee shirt like she planned. She decided if this would be her only date with Tim Bradford, she would at least look good.

But as they walked in, she wondered if she'd still gone too casual with just a sundress, as she looked around the room at all the business suits and designer handbags. Hell, there was a lady sitting across from them whose purse cost more than her rent.

They were given their menus and sat in an awkward silence as they read them over. She was worried about what she should choose. What he would choose. Since the place was fancier, was she expected to use the utensils? I mean... how would you even use a fork on a taco!? And... which one of them was paying for this? Are these guys seriously charging twenty-six dollars for a fucking ceviche appetizer!?

Breaking her out of her daze, he said, "I hear they have great margaritas."

"You trying to get me drunk, sir?" she joked.

"I just remembered... you, you know, like tequila and all."

"Oh, that's right. You're a whiskey guy, if I recall correctly. Typical." she scoffed, "By the way, thanks for telling me that we were going somewhere nice. I could have tried out this new dress I bought."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think to tell you." he said, "But... you look amazing."

"Yeah, you do too." she smiled.

"Thanks." he replied as he smoothed out the collar of his light blue button-down shirt, and added, "I know."

They both laughed as the waitress came up and took their drink orders. She decided to listen to him and go with the margarita, and he got a beer, which came out pretty quickly. The alcohol was helping her calm down some and just enjoy being there with Tim. It was nice being in public like this again, and not having to worry. She could finally sit down and have a drink without almost having a panic attack.

By the time their food came, she was ordering another round but, ever the responsible one, Tim had switched to water since he was driving. Their conversation was becoming more comfortable, talking about funny moments they'd had before they knew one another, and funny moments they shared together. It was nice... considering how dreadfully she thought this whole pseudo-date might go. But sadly, it had just made her desire for the real thing to grow stronger.

They hadn't talked much about their coworkers, but out of nowhere, he asked, "So, I have to know... what was your first thought when you started the academy and saw Nolan sitting there?"

"Honestly? I thought he was the teacher." she admitted, chuckling at the memory, before she began quickly rambling, "But then I realized that if he were the teacher, why would he be sitting all the way in the back of the class, acting so nervous around everyone? You know... unless it was a test of some sort, maybe trying to see who would figure it out first... but then he could have been..."

She was interrupted by Tim laughing so loud, it had startled her. He began mumbling apologies through shallow breaths, as he tried desperately to control it and calm himself down.

"Oh, that's just too good. I'm sorry." he said, "Anyway, how'd you react when you found out he was a student?"

"Mostly, I was just... intrigued. I wanted to know why the sudden change - like, did he just wake up one morning and think this was really something he was meant for or if it was just some midlife crisis thing? So, one day, I went up to him and asked. He told me the whole story and ever since then, it was the three of us. Jackson, Nolan, and I realized that basically everyone there was rooting for us all to fail - Nolan because he's old, Jackson because he's gay, me because I'm a woman - so we decided to band together and stick it out." she said, before nervously admitting, "But then Nolan and I sort of dated for a bit, and that was a huge mistake because things got kind of awkward afterward..."

"You and Nolan?" he asked, "But that's just... he's so..."

"What? Old?" she replied, "Because he's only a few years older than you, Tim."

"Well, good thing I'm not trying to date you then, isn't it, Boot?"

"I guess..." she replied, dejectedly.

She hadn't realized the words had slipped from her lips, but she was pretty sure he had noticed it. When he wasn't one hundred percent on something - whether it was something he swore he knew but couldn't piece together or if it was something he thought he might have heard - his eyes would squint, and his head would tilt to the right. Which was the way he was looking at her now.

She was about to come up with some kind of excuse, when she heard that familiar tune coming from the speakers. Louis Armstrong's trumpet, Ella Fitzgerald scatting lightly, and then those lyrics... the words that she never wanted to hear again...

'Stars shining bright above you... Night breezes seem to whisper 'I love you'... Birds singing in the sycamore tree...'

"...Dream a little dream of me." she finished, voice quivering and eyes glazing over.

When Tim recognized what was happening, his eyes went wide. He ran around the table and snatched her up into his arms, almost immediately, and pressed her head to his chest, trying hard to help her block out the sound.

"You're okay. I've got you." he whispered, as he dug in his pockets for his wallet and slammed a bill down onto the table, not caring whether it was a ten or a hundred. He then guided her to standing as he escorted her out of the restaurant. Before she knew it, she was sitting on the tailgate of his truck and his hands were running gently through her hair and over her arms, trying to calm her any way he knew how.

His touch was helping bring her back to reality. She could tell he was worried, and although she should be more concerned for herself right now, she felt the need to reach out and comfort him.

"I'm sorry I ruined our... lunch." she said, almost using the word 'date' instead.

"Hey... it's okay." he replied, tucking her hair behind her ear as his thumb began slowly stroking her cheek. Their eyes were glued to each other's, and she wanted nothing more than to stay in that moment, but he continued, "It wasn't your fault. I didn't think they'd play that type of music. I assumed since it was a Mexican restaurant, it would be the stuff you normally hear at places like that. I'm really sorry, Lucy. I feel awful."

"Hey, it's not your fault either. But, um..." she started, not wanting to break apart whatever was happening between them in this moment to ask, but... she had to know, "How did you know? About the song?"

His eyes closed, understanding then how badly he'd screwed up by mentioning it. His hands dropped to her shoulders as he took a step back. She could tell he didn't want to, but he told her, "After Caleb was killed, we found his phone still recording. I knew there was a video, but... A few days after I went back to work, I was walking by as the detectives were watching it. Why they had the door open, I'll never know. But I heard your voice, and... I just froze. It was some reel they were making to show the judge of all the... worst parts of it. And I heard you screaming, I heard the needle buzzing, I heard you singing that song and... I should have just walked away. But something inside me had to know... if there was something you weren't telling me. Or if there was something you didn't know about... I just, I needed to see if he'd done anything else." he confessed, "I never wanted to see that footage, I swear... And, god Lucy, I wish I fucking hadn't. I'm so sorry."

She saw tears falling from his eyes, and as badly as she wanted to pull him into her arms and tell him it was okay, she couldn't. She scooted back into the bed of the truck, as far away from him as possible. She knew she shouldn't be so mad, because if their roles had been reversed, she probably would have done the same thing. Yet she couldn't help but feel... violated, exposed. He had seen a part of her no one was meant to. And all of that was on a hunch that she'd been keeping the truth from him. After all this time, didn't he trust her? And after all that time he had to say something about this... could she trust him?

"What else did he do, Tim? What did you see?" she asked, and he tensed up, "What!?"

"Maybe this isn't the best place to be talking about this."

She knew he was probably just feeling uncomfortable, having people that were walking by able to hear what they were saying... see him cry. But she didn't care. She wanted the truth, demanding as she said, "No, screw that! What the hell is it? You're scaring me!"

"He didn't do anything, okay! He didn't!" he yelled, "It was just... it was fucking traumatic for me too, okay? I saw that look in your eyes the moment you thought that it was over. I watched you take your last breath in there, before I found you."

"Then why'd you watch it, huh?! You could have just walked away, so... why!?"

"Because I needed to know how long you were..." he stopped before he'd said the word ('dead'), and corrected himself, "...how close I was to losing you, to failing."

She doesn't understand it. She's not sure she ever will, but she accepts that as an answer anyway, because she knows that's probably the best she'll ever get out of him. What he's feeling, she's not sure what to call it, or if there's even a word for it at all because 'guilt' just couldn't cover it. So, no, she doesn't understand it... but yeah, she gets it.

Besides, she knew one of them would see that footage eventually, and if it could have been anyone, she's sort of glad it was Tim. She knows he won't share anything to anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. It doesn't make her any less infuriated with what he'd done, though.

He drove her home and walked her up to her apartment. She tried to say goodbye at the door and send him on his way, but knowing Jackson would be stuck at work for another two hours or so, he insisted on staying for a while.

"I'm fine, Tim. Nothing's going to happen to me, okay?" she growled, still obviously irritated.

"Listen, I don't care. Whatever excuse you want to throw at me to try and make me leave, it's not going to work." he snapped back, "I am not going to leave you alone right now."

"Tim, look, I understand that I have a lot of damage, I do. But I'm mending the cracks, I'm trying to fix it. Back at the restaurant, that was just a bad moment, but I'm alright now. I swear."

"And I am here to make sure of that." he replied, not budging.

Enraged with it all, she yelled, "I'm not fragile, okay!? So, stop treating me like I am! How can I be strong about all of this if you won't ever let me?"

"Do you really think that's how I see you after all of this? As some little weakling?" he asked, affrontedly. "Well, you're wrong. Lucy, you're one of the strongest people I know!"

"Then treat me that way!" she replied, loudly.

He paused for a moment, seeing what she was doing, "If you expect me to say 'Fine, I will!' and race out of here, that's not going to happen. I already told you; you're not going to manipulate me into leaving. Now, pick a movie while I look for something to drink, and hopefully, Jackson will be back by the time it's over... But no horror movies or anything like that! You need to pick something you can shut your brain off to and enjoy, you get me? I don't care if it's freakin' Xanadu."

"Or you could ask instead of ordering me around. You're not my boss here, sir."

He grabbed a couple of sodas from her fridge and groaned loudly, then replied sarcastically, "Fine. Ms. Chen, will you pick a lighthearted comedy for both of us to watch this fine afternoon? Pretty please with fucking sugar on top?" He handed her a drink and collapsed onto the couch next to her, "Listen Lucy, whether you want me here or not, this isn't just about you being okay... I need to know you're okay."

So, she sunk down onto the couch, accepting her fate. They watched some Ryan Reynolds rom-com that neither really paid attention to, until Jackson called and said he'd be late tonight. And Tim seemed to accept that as his fate, deciding that Lucy appeared to be okay enough for him to finally leave, although she could tell he was reluctant.

She knew, though, that if he stayed, they would just keep fighting and it would just make it harder for her to focus on how to get passed what should really be upsetting her right now and forget about him. So she let him go, knowing she'd cry herself to sleep, and most likely dream of him again that night.

...Shit.