Ultimatum

Sergeant Tim Bradford looked up when he heard the door to the women's locker room slam open against the wall.

Out Celina stormed looking like she was about to go murder someone.

"Juarez!" He got up from his desk, making his way over to block her path. In the corner of his eye, Tim saw Nolan come out of the bull pen with Bailey following close behind with confusion written on both their faces.

"Celina, what's wrong?" Nolan stopped his rookie, trying to read the situation.

"With all do respect, sir," Celina turned to Tim with her murderous glare. "I'm on my way to kill your in-laws."

Tim stared at her with a puzzled expression, then glanced down at his wedding band. "What happened?"

"Lucy is in the locker room sobbing because of a text her mother sent her."

"What did it say?" Bailey asked, clearly concerned.

"She wouldn't tell me, but it's bad."

"She's in the locker room?" Tim felt his heart rate picking up.

"Yes, sir, but-"

Tim didn't wait for Celina to finish her sentence. He took off to the women's locker room, pulse pounding in his ears. All he could think about was Lucy.

He hastily looked away from the other occupants and zeroed in on his wife. She was sitting in the back corner, curled up in a ball, shaking with silent sobs.

"Luce?" He asked gently, kneeling down next to her to touch her shoulder.

Lucy whimpered and leaned into him.

Tim maneuvered her into his lap and wrapped his arms protectively around her and slowly started rocking her, kissing her hair and softly shushing her like one would with a newborn baby.

It was probably an interesting sight to everyone else in the locker room, especially since Lucy was missing her shirt.

"Lucy, do you want me to help you finish getting changed?"

She sniffled and nodded her head then slid out of his lip to go sit on the bench.

Tim grabbed her shirt and shoes before turning around to help put them on.

Lucy was silent the entire time except for the occasional sniff.

He pulled her shirt over her head then tied her shoelaces, all while she hugged herself.

Gathering her items into her purse, Tim hugged her against his side and steered her out the door and into an empty office. Closing the blinds, he went to sit next to her, only to have Lucy climb into his lap again as he sat down.

"Hey there Boot, what happened?" He inquired gently when her crying had finally calmed down.

"My mom texted me." Lucy's voice wavered and new tears formed in her brown eyes,

"Can I see?"

She nodded and reached for her phone, shakily handing it to him.

Tim had to re-read the text several times before the message fully registered in his head.

"Is she serious?" He wasn't sure if he was shocked, angry or horrified. Probably all three.

"She seriously gave you an ultimatum?! Divorce me, leave the police force and go back to school or you'll never see them again?" Tim scoffed in disbelief. "Juarez better get in line."

"What?" His wife asked, furiously wiping away her tears.

"Celina said that she was going to murder your parents, but I'm gonna go tell her she'd better get in line." At this point he was seething, his vision literally red.

Lucy touched her hand to his cheek, and Tim felt his gaze immediately soften. Hugging her closer, he pressed a kiss onto her forehead, his anger temporarily sedated.

"I just can't believe they'd do that," Lucy finally muttered. "I'm happy! Isn't that the only thing they should care about? Me being happy?"

Tim thought for a moment. "Yeah, yeah it should be."

"I love my job, and I'm married to the person I love and who makes me happy! Why can't they just accept that?!" She exclaimed, her voice breaking again.

"Lucy, you don't owe them anything," he started slowly. "They've been dragging you through the mud since day one. They didn't even come to the wedding. If they care so little about you, then they have no right to be a part of your life."

"I know, but-"

"But nothing, Boot," he whispered. "They don't deserve you."

Lucy slowly nodded, wiping away a stray tear. "Can we go home? I really just want to go to bed."

"Yeah, let's go." Tim replied, helping her stand.

"Don't you need to change?" She asked, drying off her face.

He looked down at his uniform. "Wait here."

Running to the men's locker room, Tim changed in record time, hurrying back to the office where Lucy was when Angela stopped him.

"Bradford, is Lucy okay?"

Tim gazed past her before nodding. "Her parents are just being jerks. I gotta go." He jogged back to the office to find Lucy staring at her phone screen, looking like she had no idea how to respond.

"Hey," he carefully took the device out of her hands, turning it off and throwing it into her purse. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah." Taking his hand, she stood up and went to his side and hugged his waist."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked out and towards the parking garage, sending murderous glares toward anyone who tried to approach them.

The drive home was quiet, and Lucy barely made a sound when they walked through the door.

She scratched Kojo's ears in greeting before going to their bedroom to change.

"Come on Kojo, outside." Tim could hear the water running from down the hall, and he felt the anger in him rise up again.

His childhood wasn't pleasant, but the fact that someone's parents could be that cruel…

He sighed and shook his head. They'd have to deal with it in the morning. Letting Kojo back in, Tim made his way to the master bedroom where he saw his wife curled up under the covers with her back to him.

"Come on Kojo. Lucy needs some cuddles." He whispered to the dog.

Without hesitation, the mountain bull mix leaped up and immediately snuggled up next to his mom, giving her several licks making Lucy giggle and rub his ears.

Tim quickly changed into his sleep clothes and brushed his teeth then joined his wife in bed. He pulled Lucy against his chest and kissed her hair, urging her to go to sleep.

He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping that things would look better in the morning.

He woke up to Kojo's soft bark before jumping off the bed following the doorbell ringing.

Glancing at their clock, it was seven in the morning on their day off. Who in their right mind would be here this early?

Tim carefully untangled himself from Lucy without waking her and slid out of bed to follow his dog to the front door.

Yawning, he didn't bother looking through the peephole before opening the door, but oh, he wished he had.

Lucy's parents were on the porch steps glaring at him while he processed his shock.

"Mr and ?" He said slowly, his body tensing for a fight. Behind him, he heard Kojo growl quietly.

"Where is our daughter?" Patrick Chen demanded, not even bothering with manners.

"Sleeping." He replied, rising to his full height and effectively blocking the doorway.

"Well, wake her up! We're here to take her!" Vanessa snapped.

Tim stared at his in-laws in disbelief. "Lucy isn't going anywhere. Do you seriously think after all the crap you two put her through that she'd choose you?" Fury swelled up in his chest and his vision returned to red.

Kojo growled again, louder this time, putting hesitation in his in-laws' eyes.

"Have a good day." Tim forced out. He went to close the door, only to be stopped by Mr. Chen's foot. Patrick forced the door open with an anger filled scowl.

"Where is our daughter?!" The older man barked.

"If you take one more step I'm going to arrest you for trespassing!" Tim snapped, his patience running low.

"And we'll have you arrested for holding our daughter against her will!"

"If you think for a second that that would stick"

"Tim?" Lucy's soft voice stopped him mid-sentence. "Who're you talking to?"

"Go back to bed, Luce." He replied softly, knowing it was no use. Her parents were looking for a fight.

"Lucy Chen!"

He winced at Vanessa's shout.

"Mom?" Lucy walked up behind him, peering around her husband, grasping his hand for support. "What're you doing here?"

"Grab your bags, Lucy. We're leaving."

"I don't have any bags." She replied after a short pause.

"Why not?" Vanessa, again, demanded.

"I didn't pack any," his wife's voice grew stronger and more steady. "I'm not going with you."

The look on her parents' faces made Tim want to put himself in front of Lucy. The amount of rage in their expressions left him ready to throw hands in him and his wife's defense.

He knew Lucy wouldn't even want to think about hitting her parents, but to him, her parents looked like they had other ideas.

"We are your-" Patrick started to say before Lucy snapped.

"No, you're not! You haven't been my parents since I joined the academy!"

Vanessa made an exasperated sigh like she was trying to explain something to a toddler. "Lucy, don't you think it's finally time to end this silly-"

"Shut it!" Lucy practically shrieked.

Tim stared at his wife, dumbfounded as her parents did the same. He'd never seen her raise her voice like that. Ever.

"You won't listen to me! You never listened to me! I hated school. I was unhappy!"

Tim quietly scoffed, a hint of a proud smile gracing his lips.

"Being a cop, that makes me happy. I love my job. I'm married to the man who makes me happy. I have a safe home to go back to, friends who I consider family and others that I know I can completely rely on. Isn't that what any parent could want for their child?"

Tim squeezed his wife's hand, ready to jump in if she gave the word.

Patrick seemed to recover from his stupor first. "He is ten years older than you!"

"And?" Lucy's voice was filled with hurt, anger, betrayal, and disappointment. "I love Tim," her voice had gone quiet once more. "I love my life, what I do, and the people I know."

Her mother looked like she was about to say something, but Lucy held up her hand. "All you've ever done since I became a recruit is drag me, my life, my friends, and my husband through the mud. Why would I choose to spend the rest of my life with the people who've constantly put me down and insulted me and my career?

Lucy's parents had gone silent, both staring at the ground in what looked like shame.

"Mom, Dad, I love you both and I always will. But I don't want to see you again unless you've come to apologize. Until then, please leave or else Tim and I will arrest you for trespassing and harassment. Good bye."

Tim closed the door, no foot to stop him this time. He turned to see his wife, not surprised to find tears in her eyes. One look and she broke down.

He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her hair and swaying her back and forth while Kojo whined and nudged their legs.

"Come on." He gently urged her down the hall and into the living room to the couch.

Kojo sat at the end of the couch, his head tilting in concern.

"You did a good job, Luce. I'm proud of you." He whispered, stroking her hair.

Lucy nodded. "It still hurts."

"I know. On the bright side, we don't have work today."

She gave him a watery laugh and wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"What'd you say to popcorn, Grey's Anatomy and a jealous dog today?"

"Sounds perfect."