Tell Him I Love Him

8. ...

258 DAYS

Every time Tim closed his eyes, he replayed saying goodbye to Lucy. Their last hug wasn't long enough, their last kiss wasn't sweet enough, his "I love you" came out in a quiet whisper when he should have said it over and over again loudly to ensure she heard him. But, of course she heard him, and she knows how he feels. Lucy choked out a strained "I'll love you and I'll miss you every second we're apart". Tim's heart shattered at her words, because what he needed was to keep her safe in his arms and not watch her leave the motel room with a black eye and pained expression before going even deeper undercover.

He was not prepared to tell Tamara about the depths of the new risks to Lucy's operation (or the threat to his sanity now that he would not be seeing his girlfriend as often), so Tim just kept reporting that Lucy was safe (based on his check-in texts now that in-person check-ins could not happen) and watched the housewives with Tamara.

The familiar buzz of the burner phone came twice a day every day with the simple check-in text Lucy was required to send. It was 3 dots (...), which she said was her way of saying the 3 words over and over again: I love you. He appreciated the sentiment and, obviously, confirmation that she was alive, but Tim's stomach was knotted so tightly he barely ate.

It was hard to ignore how Tim seemed different over the past two months. More on edge, bigger bags under his eyes, and despite cooking a bunch of food for Tamara, he only had a few bites before pushing his food around on his plate. Tamara had ENOUGH, so she skipped class and marched into the station on a mission to find Grey.

"We've got a problem," she started sassily as she pushed the office door open dramatically.

"Excuse me?" Wade asked. As a member of the Mid-Wilshire family, he let the young woman get away with a lot, but she just barged into his office rudely. Would he have to talk to Tim and Lucy about this young lady's lack of manners?

"Tim can't tell me what's going on, but I know Lucy isn't in contact with him the way she was a bit ago. I need you to find a way for them to see each other."

"Tamara, I know you're not a cop, and we really shouldn't even be talking about this, but Lucy is working a very sensitive case in a very delicate situation. It's not a good idea for any in person check-ins."

"Do you know how long Lucy has been under for? 258 days! That's 258 nights my best friend isn't sleeping in the other room. That's 258 dinners with just Tim and I watching housewives shows. We're running out of housewives episodes! But nothing is worse than the fact that Tim looks like he might die. The man is MISERABLE, sir. So please, can you figure something out here?" She asked desperately. Tamara thought she was starting to get Tim back to his old self again with every reunion with Lucy, but now that those meet-ups were taken away, he was visibly suffering more than before.

Grey silently began to brainstorm some sort of plan, because admittedly, for Tim and Lucy he was willing to think of something, but his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of his radio crackling with a loud and clear voice shouting.

Tamara didn't understand the shorthand used, but she understood the part where the person yelled: "I REPEAT OFFICER DOWN! BRADFORD NEEDS AN AMBULANCE RIGHT NOW!"

♢ ♢ ♢ ♢ ♢ ♢ ♢

68 days without Tim seemed like an eternity. Lucy was willing to trade anything for another motel room check-in with her boyfriend. All she felt was a deep amount of dread now that the operation was getting more dangerous, and she didn't have Tim by her side, so she touched the necklace resting between her collarbones every chance she could while trying to remember the little things about her boyfriend. The way he yelled at the TV during a football game, his long lectures about historical figures in baseball, the way he laughed when something was genuinely funny. It was enough to make her miss him just a little less for a moment.