Chenford: One Shot to the Heart

You Didn't See This Coming?

Her initial breakup with Tim had been...odd, to say the least. 

To say more: she had taken off two days in a row so she could have a combined total of four days off to spend drowning her sorrows in ice cream, wine, and Leonardo DiCaprio films. 

The actual part where they broke up had been amicable. They both could feel that their relationship was static. Tim had needed a lot of help remembering what being in a healthy relationship was like and she, felt like she deserved more. Not that Tim wasn't a great guy, she just didn't feel like she was in a proper relationship in the first place. Needless to say, neither was terribly upset about it. And her four-day hibernation spree was more of a perk that came with the excuse. Especially when your manager was a woman who lived for the drama. 

Months passed before she saw Tim again. It was funny to think that without her dad, there may have been no opportunity for them to even meet in the first place. She caught sight of his familiar physique through a coffee shop window. 

He was standing off to the side, coffee in one hand, phone in the other. 

"Hi, Tim," she said, approaching him.

He looked up, "Ashley, hey, how are you doing?"

"Good, I'm good. You?"

"Well, I'm not dead yet. Do you want anything? You like the espresso with oat milk and cinnamon, right?"

Their relationship, again, had never been bad. It had gone dull, to put it plainly. But there had been plenty of good to take away. One was Tim's overall attentiveness. He knew how she liked her eggs and how she took her coffee. He remembered that she was allergic to almonds and knew to have an extra sweater on hand when they would go out because she always got cold and always forgot one of her own.

"No, I'm good, thanks. I just saw you through the window and wanted to say hi." 

"Well, it's good to see you. It's been..."

"A few months. Is it your day off?"

"Yeah, thankfully, yesterday was crazy. Well, crazier than usual," he said, "what about you?"

"No, actually, I'm heading  in for the PM shift soon."

"Okay. Well, I-" *DING* He glanced down at his phone, an all-too-familiar expression crossing his features.

Lucy. 

She had been the unspoken reason for their break up. When they were together, she knew there was nothing to worry about, even if she couldn't help wondering sometimes. But that was just a fit of general jealousy that she felt affected most women in a relationship. Even with the nicest of women, Ashley always suspected them of hitting on her current partner. Lucy had supported them through some of the earliest difficulties of their relationship. Her and Tim's abnormal connectedness threw up her guard and as much as she tried to not let it affect her, she couldn't help it. But she admired Lucy for being the all-around badass that she was. And following her breakup with Tim and her post-breakup event, she found herself considering just how perfect the two were for each other. 

Lucy had been the one to convince Tim to go out to THAT dinner. Though at the time it WAS an absolute disaster, it now served as another reason in her mind, for them to get together. They were comfortable with each other, they knew each other's likes and dislikes, and they just got each other. While at the time that was not an ideal position to be in (the girlfriend seeing her guy click with another woman) she shamelessly shipped it. 

"Is that Lucy?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied absentmindedly. "Wait, how could you tell?"

She laughed, "It's written all over your face Tim. How is she? Also, tell her to text me. I lost her number and I've really wanted to hang out with her."

"Okay..? Well, she's good."

"Is she still dating that ADA? What was his name?"

"Sanford," he supplied, "and no. They called it quits...maybe a month after you and I did."

"I'm not surprised. He seemed too mellow for her. I don't think he would've been able to keep up with her."

An uneasy pause settled between them until she said, "So...how are you two not together yet?"

His head whipped up, eyes wide. "What now?"

"You and Lucy. Come on, Tim. You can't be that dense."

He continued to stare at her blankly. 

"Geez, maybe you are? Anyway. Screw regs and status. You two are perfect for each other. So please, just give it a shot."

"Ash, that's ridiculous. She's just-"

"Your partner. I know. And I know you weren't lying to me then, but you are now. To me and yourself. Listen to me. Lucy is an amazing, capable, badass, not to mention hot and gorgeous. And she is perfect for you. Don't lose her. Don't let her slip through your fingers. Cause one day, it will be too late."

He didn't know what to do with himself. She saw the time, knowing that she had to go. Placing a chaste kiss on his cheek, she said, "For the preservation of the sanity of many, I'm sure, go get your girl, Tim."

Surprisingly, it was only a few weeks before she got a text that read, Thank you. She still had Tim's number, so it wasn't hard to guess who it was from. 

Of course, she replied. Then- Wanna go for brunch and mimosas sometime?

She and Lucy did go for brunch. More than once. It became a monthly tradition as they developed an unlikely but genuine friendship. Tim expressed his concerns over them growing close. But mostly because he knew they were dishing on him when they talked. 

Their roles were reversed. Ashley was the understanding friend whom Lucy went to when she and Tim had a bad day. Or when she had a bad day in general. People who knew them questioned their friendship up and down. With Tim as the common denominator, that had to be awkward, right? But they had it all wrong. Brunch and mimosas were their common denominator. As well as being women in male-dominated professions. They also had a shared love of yoga and abstract art among other little things that just let them click. There was nothing awkward, nothing forced, nothing passive-aggressive about their relationship. While not many understood it, people like Angela and Nolan eventually reconciled with the idea of having Ashley in the same room as Tim and Lucy.

Besides, no one was a bigger supporter of their relationship than Ashley, as odd as that may sound. But if you need any more proof, when she saw the ring on Lucy's finger on one of their brunch dates, her squeals were so loud they nearly shattered their glasses of mimosa. 

A/N: Did this concept come as shock to anyone? If so, then my plan worked! In all seriousness, I had to do this in defense of Ashley. YES, she is an obstacle to Chenford. But that's no reason to vilify her. She really is sweet and until there is proof otherwise, she doesn't deserve hate. Also, I think a friendship between her and Lucy would be funny. Mostly because it would be Tim's worst nightmare. His girlfriend, *cough* future girlfriend as of now, and ex getting along like sisters. 

Also, the brunch and mimosas are a nod to my co-worker. You'll probably never read this, but that was for you, Courtney!