Tim Bradford, Lucy Chen: S4 Moments

Moment 15

A/N: I have no idea if there even was Chenford in the last episode. YouTube gave me nothing. But haha, I still managed to do this with almost nothing. You're welcome :)

(Grey didn't sign have to off on overtime, and they actually got to have that drink.)

Lucy POV

Whatever had happened to Tim that day must have been rough. At least, it had to have been for him to offer to buy drinks. Her shock was evident by the look she gave Nolan. In an unceremonious carpool, they filed into Las Torres's parking lot. The atmosphere was chill for a Wednesday evening, thank goodness. None of them were in the mood to deal with an overly hyped atmosphere. Tim never did in general... so... yeah. Angela and Wesley, as they had said, ducked out after one. Nyla followed shortly after saying that she "didn't want the temptation to hit," and that the club soda was "less than mediocre." That left her, Nolan, and Tim. 

They were an odd trio. Despite his growing comfort with her, Tim still shut down around others. He could carry a conversation. He wasn't anti-social or anything, it was just the way he was. It was like you had to pass through 100+ tests before he would allow himself to let go around someone. The bottom line was that whatever the connection was, it had to go beyond trust. Tim could trust Nolan with his life it came down to it. But Nolan was trained that way, same as he had. Tim respected Nolan and treated him as an equal. She sometimes thought that Tim carried begrudging respect for the sort-of older man for what he had done. They could talk football and construction easily while she was left behind in the sawdust. But Tim didn't allow himself to let go as he had at dinner the other night. With Ashley. 

She couldn't help giving a shiver of guilt when she replayed the scene in her head. How animated she and Tim had been while Ashley and her date had sat across from them awkwardly. Even though they weren't third and forth wheeling, her and Tim's animated conversation clearly made it seem so. She really tried to not think about it. But sometimes it was all she thought about. 

Amidst her chatter with Nolan and drifting thoughts, she had missed Tim getting up for another round. "So..." Nolan said suggestively.

"So..." she countered.

"Office gossip says you've found yourself in an Angela-Wesley type relationship."

She almost choked. She hadn't thought of it that way before. But it was... eerily like Angela and Wesley. She and Sanford had fought. A lot. He infuriated her. And then before she could register it, she was on a date with him. And then a make-up date for what should have been a nice evening but then turned into... well, she had really no idea. 

"Nolan, we've been on two dates. Okay, well, we both agreed that the first one doesn't count. That doesn't matter. Either way, one date doesn't mean anything. Sure he's sweet and kind and handsome, but... we haven't talked about what this means to either of us. We like each other. But is that really enough of a reason?"

"Lucy, come on. You haven't been with anyone since Emmet. I don't mean to paint it as though you are running out of time or you need to make a decision to settle down, I don't want you to take it that way. But you have what sounds like a good guy and you're uncertain about pursuing it? Even just to see if you could have a future with him? Why? Unless..."

"What?" She didn't mean to snap, but Nolan questioning her, well, anyone questioning her open-endedly put her on edge. 

He sighed. "Unless... there is someone else?"

She scoffed, playing with the rim of her tequila shot glass. "No... at least, I don't think so. It's just... Nolan, you know that there is no way I can just throw my all into relationships anymore without being fearful of getting hurt. This isn't even about Caleb. It's because of my ex who cheated on me first. Then Caleb happened. Then Emmet came along and helped fix me up enough. But he became an unfortunate victim of my fear."