However Do You Want Me... || Chenford / The Rookie

Part 1

Lucy is surprised when Grey calls her into his office after roll call and even more surprised to find Tim already waiting for them both.

She hasn't seen as much of Tim since his promotion, and she feels a strange flightiness in her stomach at the sight of him — a mix of nerves and excitement that she quickly writes off as a natural reaction to being unexpectedly reunited with a familiar face.

Sergeant looks good on him. He's let his stubble grow in a bit, and Lucy can't help but think that it really suits him with the way it makes his brilliant blue eyes pop even more than usual and accentuates the chiseled contours of his jawline.

She flashes him a curious smile, and he nods at her in acknowledgment before they both turn their attention to Grey.

"I'm sure you're both wondering why you're here, so I'll cut to the chase. Have either of you heard of the Hometown Heroes Challenge?"

"The reality competition show?" Lucy asks as Tim snorts in derision, leaving no question as to his opinion of the television show.

Grey nods, "Good. Well, then you know that each year the show sets up in a new city and casts a variety of first responders for the season — firefighters, EMTs, lifeguards —"

"Police officers," Lucy chimes in, unable to curb the growing enthusiasm in her voice.

Grey glances at her in amusement, "And, yes, police officers. And as you may have guessed, they are filming in LA this year. One of the producers contacted the LAPD and requested that you two specifically join the cast for this season."

Tim looks horrified as Lucy's jaw drops open in surprise.

"Us? Why would they want us?" Tim glances toward Lucy before turning back to Grey in disbelief.

"Apparently the producer caught you two on the documentary we did last year; she felt that your dynamic would be perfect for this season of the show, and, frankly, given the demographic they typically cast — young, single, conventionally attractive — it's really not all that surprising."

"Young?" Lucy mutters, before bouncing up onto the balls of her feet with excitement.

Tim casts a brief glare in her direction, looking like someone has just told him they are on the brink of yet another missile crisis. "No way. Absolutely not. Sir," he hastily tacks on at Grey's arched eyebrow.

"Now, Sergeant Bradford, of course we can't order you to participate in a reality TV show, but you are thought of as a leader in this department, and, as such, you are expected to set an example for your colleagues. But if you're unwilling to participate, I guess we'll just have to let the children's hospital know not to count on the infusion of cash they were expecting to come from Hometown Heroes. As I'm sure you're aware, participants compete to win money for their chosen charity or non-profit institution, and the LAPD has selected the children's hospital as the beneficiary for its participants."

"Oh come on... There's gotta be someone else."

Grey shakes his head, "The show knew who they wanted before they even approached the Brass; this is out of my hands. And not to pressure you both, but the producer I mentioned, Lisa, is out in the bullpen waiting to meet with you and walk you through logistics. Filming starts at a house in Malibu later this week, with international travel anticipated as the competition progresses. So we really do need an answer right away."

Lucy is smiling ear to ear at the idea of all the fun, exotic, adrenaline-filled adventures the show will entail, but her smile dims as she takes in Tim's still grouchy expression. Can't he see that this is the opportunity of a lifetime?

"Whatever," he grumbles, "It hardly seems like much of a choice, sir."

***

Tim doesn't get any less grumpy as the week progresses, the hours ticking by until they are due at the Malibu house for filming to kick off. So much so that Lucy wonders if his sour mood might hang over the entire experience like a dark cloud. She even decides against asking him if he wants to share a car up to the house in Malibu with the realization that the trip out there might be the last moments of solitude she'll have for weeks to come.

Lucy stops short when she enters the house, or, more accurately, mansion, her bags in tow. She hesitates in the foyer, immediately overwhelmed by the mass of beautiful people and thumping music, not having expected the party would already be so far underway at 2 PM on a Sunday. The floor-to-ceiling accordion doors of the open-concept living space are wide open to the pool area and the participants have wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity to flaunt their flawless bodies in barely-there swimwear.

Lucy resists the urge to turn and flee back out the way she'd come in, not sure why she had expected anything less than the wild partying she herself had seen aired on the show, but somehow she had expected they might have some time to settle in and get to know each other before filming officially begins the next afternoon.

She instinctively scans the area for Tim; he'd texted her that he'd arrived at the house a half-hour earlier. She does a double-take when she spots him. He's leaning back against the bar by the pool, beer in hand, and looking so casually relaxed in his plain white t-shirt, swim trunks, and flip-flops that Lucy has to question whether he's arranged for a reality TV doppelganger to take his place, because there is no way that this is the same Tim that had non-stop groused and whined about having to spend weeks of his life surrounded by drunken idiots and unnecessary drama.

He tosses his head back to laugh at something someone in the group says, and Lucy feels a strange twinge in her stomach as she observes how surprisingly comfortable he appears to be amidst the chaos of the house. It's not that she's never gotten glimpses of this side of him, but she finds herself now almost lamenting how much of their interaction — their relationship — has been defined by the tightly wound TO version of him.

A bronzed guy with a perfectly chiseled upper body and toothpaste commercial dimples approaches her, "Hey there, can I help you with your bags?"

Lucy gives him a distracted half-smile, unable to tear her eyes away from Tim as he glances down at a busty blue-eyed blonde that belongs on the cover of Sports Illustrated as she steps closer to him and places a flirty hand on his chest.

Dimples follows her gaze, sucking air between his teeth before giving Lucy an empathetic smile. "Is that him?"

Lucy shakes herself, turning her attention back to Dimples. "Is that who?"

"Your partner? Your ex?" Dimples shakes his head, "I can't say it's going to be easy for any of us, but you can't let them see you sweat."

Lucy narrows her eyes in confusion, an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach as his words sink in and the theme of a prior Hometown Heroes season flits across her memory — Battle of the Exes. "My... ex?" she asks uncertainly, hoping she's heard him incorrectly.