Fandom: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Title: When It's Right
Characters: Tim Bradford, Lucy Chen
Pairing: Chenford
Rating/Warnings: PG. Het. Love. March Madness 2023.
Summary: Tim and Lucy spend some time together one night, while she has a broken leg. Chenford.
A/N: From now on, my fics will no longer be beta'd by other people. I'm going to use a spell checker, grammar checker, and a punctuation checker to check my works. Any errors that remain are my own. Thanks to anyone who reads, reviews, likes, bookmarks, or follows.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Rookie or anything you recognize and I don't claim to. I make no money writing this story.
Words: 1,188 without title and ending.
A/N 2: In celebration of finishing season 1 of The Rookie last night, and having already developed a love for Chenford, I've decided to write a Chenford fic tonight for March Madness. I'm 4 days behind, so will also be posting 3 other fics about various couples tonight. [Written 3/15/2023.]
March Madness 2023 Prompts:
Day # 12: Visit
12/31: *When It's Right* Chenford
Although he'd been her TO 4 years ago, it didn't change one simple fact: From the moment they'd met, Lucy had been attracted to Tim. Sure, he'd been a big mouth insufferable know-it-all for that first year, but things were different now.
Tim stood on her porch with a six-pack in hand and a grin on his lips. "Thought you could use some company, Rook, so I've come to visit. You've gotta be bored being stuck on desk duty for 2 months, and stuck at home every night, while on crutches with a broken leg."
She smiled at the sight of him and his words meant everything to her, even though they were simply words a friend might say. Only, things between them were more than a little friendly. "Come in, please." She said and shifted on her crutches.
He walked into the house, and then motioned for her to go sit down. "Go, sit. I'll get the door. You shouldn't be on that leg too much. You're already on it way too much at work as it is. I brought an action flick and we're gonna order some burgers soon."
Lucy chuckled. "You've just got everything planned out, don't you? You show up, not knowing if I've got plans, bring beer that I can't have. You tell me that we're ordering out dinner instead of just suggesting it, and then you start being bossy. You realize that you're not my TO anymore, right?"
Tim smirked. "Don't pretend you had plans, Rook. Nolan's out-of-town visiting his kid, and he's the only friend you've got. You know, you're really kind of a loner. You should get out more. Anyway, I'm here now, and I've officially salvaged your night from boredom and misery."
She rolled her eyes at his words. "I might've wanted a quiet night to myself, you know." At his look, she made a face at him. Her eyes dropped to the floor and then she sighed dramatically, as if putting up with him was some kind of chore, which it really wasn't. "Okay, fine. Yes, I'm bored out of my freaking mind. Now, what do you have in mind for a movie?"
He held up a hand in a 'hold on' signal. He took one beer out, set it on a coaster on the coffee table, and went and put the rest in the refrigerator. Then, he returned, sat down, smirked and said, "Yippee-Ki-Yay, mf'er!"
Lucy burst out laughing when he quoted the most well-known line from all the movies. "Oh, my God, that's hilarious! I love the Die Hard movies! I have to admit that I'm kind of surprised you're a fan of the shoot-'em-up movies, and that McClane is a cowboy when it comes to him following the rules, when you're a stickler for them."
Tim said, "You'd have to be an idiot not to like Bruce Willis in those movies." After he spoke, he took a drink of his beer, set it back down and then pulled out his cell phone. "I'm gonna call and order dinner now. Two burgers, one vegetarian, gross, and one with everything on it. Two fries, a Dr. Pepper, and I think that's it. Did I forget anything?" He asked and pulled his wallet and then credit card out.
She said, "Uh, yeah, you forgot to let me pay for my food." She was surprised by what he said next, but smiled at his words. Each time he did something kind, it reminded her of just how much she cared about him and had for a while now.
He shook his head. "You're not paying tonight, I'm paying. Gotta make sure my favorite Rook eats a good meal, not some twigs and berries crap." He placed the order, read off his credit card number and then hung up and put his credit card and wallet away, several minutes later. "Delivery is in 30 minutes."
Lucy sat there in silence as she looked him over. Things had changed between the two of them over the years. Surre, he still gave her a hard time sometimes, but she knew it was because he was trying to teach her, trying to keep her safe. She knew he cared about her. She cared about him, too. Something inside of her had been waiting, telling her to make a move when it's right. Tonight felt like the right time. "Hey, Tim." She said and when he looked at her, she motioned for him to come closer.
"Yeah, what is it, Rook?" He asked and then moved closer to her on the couch a few moments later. He was surprised but not complaining when she leaned in and their lips met. He sighed softly and moved even closer when he felt one of her hands cup the back of his head. After several moments, he pulled back and look into her eyes. "I shouldn't have done that."
She said, "Why not? You're not my TO anymore. We're partners now, and Sergeant Grey doesn't care if we get together. He just said not to let it impede the job." She sighed softly, and not for the first time, wished that he wasn't such a stickler for the rules, or, well, his version of the rules. "No one said we couldn't do this."
Tim said, "You know what happened with my wife. That didn't end well. It took me a long time to get over her. I don't want anything like that to happen to you. I won't survive it happening a second time."
Lucy gave him a sad smile, reached out, and took both of his hands into hers. "What happened with Isabel wasn't your fault, and I'm not her." She said the last part softly. "You can't keep comparing me to her. It's not fair. We're not the same."
He nodded and then looked at his watch. "Food should be here any minute. I'll get it." He said and got up, just as the doorbell rang and then there was a knock on the door. He crossed the living room, walked over to the door, unlocked it, and opened it. He paid the delivery person, tipped them, and thanked them, and then shut and locked the door once more.
She said, "We should really talk about the kiss. I don't want things to be awkward between us. I don't want it to ruin things between us." She admitted to him a few moments later, and then fell silent and waited to see what he was going to say.
Tim carried the food over, set it down on the table, and said, "There's no need for things to get awkward. I've wanted to kiss you for a long time but I didn't want to risk crossing that line and making you uncomfortable."
Lucy smiled and said, "I'm not uncomfortable. Now, let's eat."
He nodded at her words and then said, "Good, and agreed." A few moments later, he took out the food and separated everything for the two of them. He handed her her drink, and they began to eat, while he turned the movie on.
The end.