In pediatrics, the rooms were much more comfortable and better decorated than the rest of the hospital. Thus, when Tim, Grace, and Robert walked into the room, they saw a space with colorful walls, comfortable furniture surrounding the medical bed, pictures of animals hung up everywhere, all illuminated by a large window.
After scanning the room, their eyes landed on the room's occupant. She was a petite blonde, quite slender, with fair skin and intensely blue eyes. The social worker ushered them towards the bed. "Rose, I introduce you to Tim, Robert, and Grace. I spoke to you about them earlier. They are your grandparents and your father. They would like to spend some time with you. Is that okay with you?" Asked the young woman, not wanting to rush her. The little girl took a detailed look at the three newcomers in turn, then silently returned to her book. Seeing that she didn't seem more disturbed by their presence, they stayed.
"Hello, Rose, as the social worker explained to you, my name is Tim. I am your dad. I am so happy to meet you. Do you mind if we sit with you for a bit?" He asked timidly. After observing him for a few seconds, she nodded her head. The three adults sat down next to the hospital bed in chairs. They were quite embarrassed and also emotional, unsure of where to start for fear of startling her. For nearly two hours they timidly discussed various things, trying to form a bond with her without pushing her to speak before she felt ready. All this time, the little girl observed them with curiosity, likely unsure of what to do with all this new information. After a while, and when they saw her start to doze off, the trio decided to remain silent.
The policeman watched her sleep, mesmerized. This adorable little blonde was his daughter. He couldn't believe it. He had dreamt of having children for so long. It was a dream come true. However, Tim would have given anything for things to have happened differently. He would have given anything for Isabel to tell him about her pregnancy. He would have done everything to help her even if it might not have necessarily worked out. At least, that would have spared Rose from suffering so much because he would never have let anyone hurt his little girl. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even hear Lucy enter the room, carrying several bags in her hands.
"Hey, what are you doing here? You haven't been waiting outside all this time, have you?" He asked, curious.
"No, actually, I took the opportunity to pick up a few things. I brought you food because I thought that none of you would want to leave this room. I also brought some for Rose in case she might be tempted more than by the hospital food, which would be understandable. Before that, I met Angela and Nyla at Isabel's apartment to bring her some stuff. I thought it might help her to have familiar things around her."
"Those are excellent ideas, very thoughtful," Grace thanked in a whisper, beginning to understand why her former son-in-law seemed to appreciate the young brunette so much.
"That's a very good idea, thank you," Tim sighed, watching her place the food on the table as well as some clothes. Lastly, the beautiful policewoman approached the bed and gently placed a cute dolphin-shaped plush toy. Under her partner's intrigued gaze, Lucy explained.
"There were very few toys and things in the apartment, and even fewer in good condition. However, this plush didn't seem damaged and was well hidden under Rose's mattress. I thought that meant she was very attached to it."
"The place where they lived… Was it that bad?" Isabel's mother asked. The two men in the room had seen enough drug addict apartments not to have to ask the question.
"Let's just say it's not exactly the best place for a child," she said timidly, not wanting to distress the bereaved mother further. Losing a child is never easy, especially under such circumstances, and Officer Chen knew that if she let all the harm the blonde had done to her daughter show, it would only hurt them even more.
For a little while, they reviewed the progress of the investigation, and the elderly couple answered their questions while eating what had been brought. About ten minutes later, Rose woke up because of the noise.
Still very quiet, she observed the people in front of her, and especially the new arrival. When she saw this, the brunette tried to approach.
"Hello Rose, I'm a friend of Tim's… Your dad… I need to tell you that I'm really sorry about your mom, and I promise we will do what it takes to find the person responsible. I thought you might be hungry so I brought some food... I also went by your house and brought you some stuff as well as this little guy who must have been feeling a bit lonely without you,"Lucy announced, putting the food on her bedside table and handing her the plush toy she had brought back.
Seeing her favorite toy, the child's eyes widened as she looked from the young woman to the plush toy several times. Then, she reached out to grab her dolphin and hugged it so tight she completely disappeared behind the small blonde's body. She continued to cuddle her toy as she lay back in bed.
The adults looked at each other, moved but also slightly saddened. The poor child clearly needed reassurance, which gave a good indication of the hell she had lived through.
A few minutes later, Lucy received a message and gestured to Tim to go out. They met Angela, Nyla, and Grey in the waiting room.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Angela asked, aware of the turmoil he must be going through.
"I feel like my head is about to explode considering everything that's happened in less than 24 hours… I have a daughter, Angela… A four-year-old daughter who is absolutely adorable but also traumatized."
"I can imagine that this must be really unsettling, but if there's one thing that's certain, it's that Rose is lucky to have you. I know you'll do everything it takes to make everything she's been through just a bad memory and that she'll have the life she deserves," Lieutenant Harper exclaimed, foregoing his usual sarcasm. He could easily imagine how disturbing it would be to find out that his ex-wife had kept so many secrets from him, and especially that she could have abused a child. The policewoman knew the damage that drugs could do, but she also knew her colleague's past and the resulting trauma. It must be very hard to imagine that his daughter had experienced the same thing.
"I'm not even sure I know how to do this. I suddenly find myself with a 4-year-old daughter and I was not prepared for this."
"No one is, son. Being a parent is just about doing your best every day and trusting your instincts, and you have excellent ones. Plus, if you need us, we're here. That's what family is for. Everything will be fine," Grey reassured him in a paternal manner.
"You're going to make a great dad, Tim," Lucy smiled as she tenderly placed a hand on his shoulder under the admiring gaze of the team who had long known that the chemistry between them was not just professional. The police officer relaxed at her touch and after thanking his colleagues for their support, they began to discuss the case.
The police were tracking down various acquaintances of Isabel and her possible dealers to compile a list of suspects, but the task was lengthy as the blonde had fallen very low. After discussing for a while, the police were joined by Tim's former in-laws.
"Visiting hours are over, the doctors told us we have to leave," Grace announced.
"What? I don't want her to be alone after what she's just been through."
"My boy, taking care of a child is a marathon, not a sprint. We all need to rest after a day like this. We can drive you home before we go," Isabel's father continued.
"You know, it might do her some good to be alone for a bit to recover. Rose has met a lot of people in a short time. She might need to digest all that, and you too, for that matter," Lucy added, knowing well that he would only let go if he was convinced it was what was best for his daughter and not for himself.
"Alright... I'm going to say goodbye to her and then we'll go home, but I plan to be back first thing tomorrow morning," he concluded before going to her room. Before coming back, the sergeant made a detour to the nurses' room to give them his phone number and ask them to notify him of any problems.
Then, he went home, still in shock from this crazy day. On autopilot, he took Kojo for a walk, fed him, and took a shower. After all this, he finally decided to call his sister Genny, to let her know she had just become an aunt. The beautiful redhead was almost as shocked as he was, unable to believe what her former sister-in-law had put her little girl through. After chatting for a few minutes, the young woman hung up, promising her brother that she would organize her daily routine and then take the first flight to Los Angeles.
Once alone with his thoughts, Tim started to get anxious. He had always dreamed of being a father, but there was a small part of him that kept wondering if he would make it, if he would be able to give this wonderful little angel who had just entered his life what she needed to grow and heal.
He had gone far into his childhood memories when he heard a knock at the door. Who could be coming at this hour? It had better be important because he was really not in the mood. The blond man got up to open the door, ready to rebuke whoever was at the door, but he immediately relaxed when he saw Lucy on his doorstep, with a bag of food from his favorite restaurant in her hand.
"Chen, I..."
"I know what you're going to say. You're not hungry, you don't want to talk, and you want to be alone, but I'm not going to let you stew in your corner completely starving after the day you've just had, so we're going to eat and talk... If you think I'm going to give you a choice, you don't know me very well," the beautiful brunette interrupted, a little anxious at the idea of crossing the implicit boundaries that governed their relationship but too concerned about his state to give up.
"You didn't have to do this, you know... You've already done a lot today," he sighed, smiling tenderly at her. It was precisely these kinds of moments that tended to make him forget that he had a girlfriend, that she was his former student, that her feelings could never be reciprocated, and that in any case, it was a very bad idea.
"I know, but I wanted to," she smiled back after he had moved away from the doorway to let her in. With the greatest ease, Lucy came in and affectionately greeted Kojo, then she went straight to the kitchen to prepare the table. It stirred him a bit to see her so comfortable in his own house, but the police officer immediately pulled himself together, afraid of going too far in his thoughts.
A few minutes later, the duo found themselves on the couch, eating Italian food, with a football match on in the background on the television.
"I called Genny! She's coming as soon as possible."
"That's a good thing. You're going to have a lot to deal with in a short time. You might need help."
"For sure. She tried to keep calm, but she was just as shocked as I was."
"That's more than normal, but Tim, I'm sure you're going to be a really wonderful dad."
"You saw how scared she looked this afternoon. How am I going to get her to trust me? After all, she has no reason to believe me when I say I'm going to take care of her. Not only have all the people she's met so far apparently taken a perverse pleasure in hurting her, but she's also just seen her mother get killed and I show up after 4 years without even knowing if Isabel has talked to me."
"Of course, it may not be easy, but just be yourself and everything will be fine. I know this kind of return to the past is never easy and you don't talk about it much, but you know better than anyone what she needs. Give her all the love and security you would have dreamed of when you were a child and everything will be fine. The rest will come with time. After all, all parents make mistakes from time to time, but that doesn't mean they're bad parents. And you can count on all of us to help if you need it. I'm not going anywhere," the young policewoman reassured.
"Thank you... I really need to clear my head to be ready for tomorrow, do you want to watch a movie," Tim suggested, much calmer than at the beginning of the evening. He would probably never admit it, but her opinion meant more to him than anything.
After all, Lucy was both the most insightful and positive person he had ever met. She had a knack for seeing the best in everyone and pushing them to always do better. It was inspiring and calming.
After a playful battle over what to watch, they settled comfortably to watch a movie. In a single day, many things had changed, which was as terrifying as it was exciting. Yet, he thought, with the support of his friends and family, and the burning desire he had always had to be a father, he could definitely do this.