Tim's POV

All Lucy had been saying for the last three days is how concerned she was about Will and Tamara. She begged me to warn him to let her go, thinking I could get to him. There was one issue with that I really didn't want to tell Lucy. I thought they were a good match. Age gap is kind of weird, sure, but me and Chen are ten years apart so yeah. But, they both went through trauma in the last, and I think it might be why they connect so well. Will had friends he knew since he was a kid die in his arms overseas, and Tamara had been living on the street for two years before Chen met her. One thing with that though: Will told me he hadn't told Tamara about Afghanistan and I haven't heard shit from him about Tamara's time on the streets. Maybe they were worried about what the other would think, which from an outside view seemed kind of ironic. Shit, I just realized something. Lucy being concerned about their age gap might just be a reflection of her own concerns. Is she worried that I'm a decade older than her? Now we're gonna have a fight about it, fuck.

Even as these thoughts rolled through my head, Chen was laying right next to me in bed, still not awake. I carefully rolled out of bed, not to alert her, and I walked into the kitchen. I always thought the apartment was nice, but I planned on asking Lucy to move in soon and this place wasn't exactly the best. And, my place wouldn't work cause it's one bedroom and I know Lucy's going to be bringing Tamara with us like she's our little puppy. Now that I think of it, it would kind of be weird if Tamara followed us. Some kid just creeping up on her twenties living with a couple our age? It seemed pretty weird. But, Chen saw Tamara like a little sister who needed her help, and I knew I wasn't going to get her to move in without Tamara. Unless, Will asked Tamara to move in first. I mean, that could work. And, speaking of the devil, Tamara walked into the living room a minute later.

"Morning, Tim," she said, still groggy. "If you need me to go back into my room…"

"It's fine. Actually, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

A look of surprise bore on her face. "You're not popping the question, are you? I mean you've only been dating for a few months and her parents are probably a better ask than me. You should definitely talk to them first, but I'd wait a few more months. Like seriously, who asks that soon?"

I rolled my eyes at her rant, then put a hand on her shoulder. "Tamara, stay with me. I'm not asking her to marry me. I just needed help with something."

"Oh. What is it?"

"I think me and Chen are moving in together soon, and I find it kind of weird if I mean someone like say—you—we're living with us."

"Don't like me that much, Tim?"

"Tamara, it's not that. Just, you have to admit it would be kind of weird."

"I'm just pulling your leg. I also kind of thought it was weird. Do you have any idea how I can get her to just go without me? I mean I thought of asking…"

"Will," I chimed in, knowing we were on the same page.

"So you agree?"

"I do. Now, you should probably figure out how to ask Will to let you move in."

"Wait, Tim, what if he doesn't want me to?"

"I'm fine with taking you in, even if it's a little weird. Just—just—look for alternatives in the meantime, okay?"

"Okay. Tim, I'm gonna make some breakfast real quick. Want anything?"

"Just some coffee's fine. Lucy probably wants eggs when she wakes up, if it's not an issue."

"On it. What are you up to?"

"I'm going to see if I can get you an in with Will."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"By calling in a favor. Just give me a few."

So, I opened my phone and called Will.

"Why you calling so early," his voice answered.

"Remember that no questions asked favor I did you back in February? I'm cashing it in."

"Right now? Just tell me what you want."

"I need you to offer Tamara a place."

"No way in hell. I'm not offering that till we're good and ready."

"That's not how 'favors' work, Will. I get to choose what I use it on."

"I'm drawing the line at my relationship, Tim."

"Then can you arrange for her to find a place to stay?"

"Is she irritating you that much?"

"No, Will, it's just I want Lucy to move in, but she won't leave Tamara alone. So, if she has a place to stay, then I'm golden."

"Tim, I'll have to think about it. But, it wouldn't be such a bad idea with the p…" his voice trailed off.

"With the what?"

"Nothing, Tim. Look, I'll think on it. See you at work."

"Bye, Will." I hung up.

"So," Tamara asked sweetly.

"He said he'll think about it. But, there is something on my mind. He was talking about a reason it might be a good idea, but cut it off. You two are hiding something. Tamara, what's going on?"

"Nothing. I'm sure Will will come through. So, anything new with you?"

"I'm a cop, Tamara, and you're changing the subject way too fast. So, tell me what's going on or I'm waking Chen and telling her something's wrong with you."

"Fine. Me and Will, well, we're kind of having a—baby."

I looked her in the eyes with surprise. "Oh that's, um, that's interesting." I started to choke on the air in my throat. "That's great…"

"I know it's not the best situation, Tim. Plus, it was an accident. I forgot to take birth control for a few days and bam, pregnant. Just please don't tell Lucy?"

"I don't think anyone could get that out of me with a gun pointed to my head. I should probably wake Chen for work."

"Yeah, you probably should."

So, I walked back into the room and awkwardly kissed Chen on the forehead. I felt like Will knocking up Tamara shouldn't be my biggest problem, but the whole thing pretty much kicked me off my feet. And the fact she had gotten pregnant so easily, I mean Chen wasn't using birth control and we'd been ditching protection recently. The entire thing was just an awakening.

Chen's POV

I woke up to Tim standing over me, running his rough hands through my hair.

"Morning, beautiful," he said.

"Good morning," I croaked. "Is it time to get up already?"

"Yeah. Take your time, though. We don't have to be in for an hour, but I want to talk to you about something."

"Okay, just give me a minute to get up."

"Of course," Tim said, then he walked back into the living room.

I got up and pulled some clothing on, and when I walked into the living room, Tamara and Tim were awkwardly standing on opposite sides of the area.

"I made you some coffee and eggs," Tamara directed at me.

"Is something going on," I asked, suspicious of the discomfort.

Tim sighed and stood up. "We need to talk, Lucy, in private."

So, I followed him back into the bedroom, leaving me curious. "What's up, Tim?"

"I have a few things to talk about. First, I think—either you should go on birth control, or I start using condoms again."

I was confused. "Why? We agreed it'd be fine if we stopped using them."

"Some recent events brought up concerns about pregnancy."

I was completely lost now. "What events?"

"The person asked me to keep it private."

I now knew what was going on, and rage nearly blinded me. "Tamara's pregnant, isn't she?"

"Lucy—I wasn't supposed to tell. Please, don't push her yet."

"Fine, but I'm talking to Will at work and her after."

"Just don't mention me, please."

"I won't. You said there was other stuff you were wanted to talk about."

"Are you worried about our age gap? I mean, you complain about Will and Tamara's ages a lot, and I thought it might reflect—us."

I closed my eyes for a moment, shaking my head. "No, I'm not worried about our age gap. It's different from Tamara and Will. Both of us, we're in established positions and such, but Tamara, she's barely out of high school. That's why I'm worried."

"Thank god; I just wanted to make sure. One more thing. How'd you feel about moving in with me?"

I softly smiled. "I'd love to, but you don't have enough room for Tamara; I can't leave her here on her own."

"We have a solution: Will and Tamara are considering moving in together, with everything going on."

I started shaking my head again. "They are moving way too fast."

"They will work everything out. They have my total confidence. So, will you consider it?"

"Yes, Tim, I'll think about it. We should probably get ready for work now, though."

"Yeah. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yes." We dressed and headed out to Tim's car, Tamara staring as we walked out the door.