Lucy's Little Secret || Chenford / The Rookie

Part 2: Lucy

The text from Tim is an unexpected (but welcome) surprise. Just the sight of his name popping up on her phone reminds Lucy how much she misses him and leaves her lamenting how little they've been able to see of each other since she started working undercover.

His request to see her with little notice isn't unusual though — Tim's not much of a planner when it comes to anything social and with the unpredictable state of Lucy's schedule, she's become pretty much the same. So they trade off reaching out on occasion, rolling a die that the other might actually be available at the same time.

"Lunch at the taco truck?"

"Grab a drink?"

"Up for a run?"

"Hike with Kojo?"

And so forth until they happen to get lucky, but so far their batting average is nothing to brag about.

"I'm working. Not sure how late I'll be..." she texts back in response.

"That's fine. Come over whenever you're off. Doesn't matter what time."

Lucy is pleasantly surprised by the response, but curious about the urgency. Tim is no one, if not someone that lives and dies by his routines, and she knows he's generally in bed by 10. But she also can't deny the trill of excitement that is forming in her stomach at the idea of actually being able to see him in person after weeks of missed connections.

"Are you sure? It could be really late." Then follows up with, "I'll bring pizza?" so he'll know she is game for a late night if he is.

"You better — see you tonight."

***

It's past midnight when Lucy shows up at his door, pizza in hand as promised. She's been debating whether or not this is really what Tim meant when he said, 'Doesn't matter what time,' since placing the pizza order 30 minutes earlier, but, then again, Tim is not one to say something he doesn't mean, so here she is.

Lucy can hear Kojo's excited bark as she waits for Tim to let her in. When he pulls the door open wearing only a pair of basketball shorts, Lucy has to process how he can look so sleepily adorable and ridiculously hot at the same time, before she manages an apology. "I woke you up. I'm so sorry, Tim — I shouldn't have come. It's way too late..."

He takes the pizza box from her with one hand, using the other to grab the inside of her forearm and gently pull her into the house. "No — I'm glad you did. I told you it didn't matter how late," he says, his voice still laced with sleep. "Just give me a minute. Make yourself at home — beer's in the fridge," he directs as he sets the pizza on the kitchen island and heads for his bedroom, presumably, and somewhat disappointingly, Lucy thinks, to pull on a shirt.

She bends to greet Kojo who, of course, has become the most well-behaved dog on the planet under Tim's care, and is patiently waiting, tail thumping, for his hello pets.

By the time Lucy has grabbed them each a beer and set them up to eat on the living room floor in front of the coffee table, Tim had made his way back into the living area. She straightens from where she is again fussing over Kojo, curious as to whether Tim will shed some light on why he needed to see her.

More awake now, he flashes her a quick smile, "I've been thinking about that pizza since you texted." He takes in Lucy's UC outfit — crop top, capri cargo pants, and a denim jacket. The cut of the crop top is the only aspect of the outfit that's slightly more daring than what she would normally wear. She suspects he is relieved to see that what she's working on at the moment doesn't appear to involve a pole or a corner.

Realizing he's not going to just come out with it, Lucy smiles back and moves to situate herself in front of the coffee table, "Let's eat then!"

Tim drops down next to her, and as his shoulder brushes hers, Lucy briefly wonders if he's sitting closer to her than normal, and then promptly dismisses the thought, given how prone she is to overanalyzing all things Tim Bradford.

Lucy takes a bite out of her slice, chewing slowly, before her impatience wins out. She turns to look at Tim. "What was so urgent that you had to see me tonight?"

He swallows his own bite of pizza, taking a swig of beer before responding cryptically, "It's not anything urgent per se, just something I thought we should... address... that's waited long enough."

Then he catches her off guard by abruptly changing topics, "Let's play one of those dumb question games you like so much... I'll go first."

Lucy stares at him in disbelief, wondering who has possessed the body of Tim Bradford. "What? Are you serious? You hate those games..."

"Hate's a strong word... anyway... if you don't want your shot at asking me anything—"

"Okay, okay," Lucy hurriedly agrees, still confused by his out-of-character proposition, but too attracted to the idea of peeling away more Tim Bradford layers to push her luck for an explanation.

"All right, first question, tell me about... one of your fantasies."

Lucy chokes on her beer, sputtering as she tries to process the question. He's looking right at her with his normal Tim intensity tempered just slightly by a tiny spark of something almost... playful? Maybe even a bit... devilish?

Clearing her throat and coughing a few more times as she recovers from her near-death beer-drinking experience, Lucy stutters, "F-fantasy? Er... um... I don't... um..." Her mind feels somehow like it's both blank and that thoughts are also running through it at 90MPH as she struggles to figure out how exactly she is supposed to answer a question like that.

Finally, she offers weakly, "You already know about that time I fantasized about tormenting my ex with roaches and clowns at his wedding... that was a fun one... oh and the helicopter part too..." Lucy can feel her cheeks heating as she rambles, still completely floored by the unexpected question from Tim Bradford, of all people.

Tim's smile briefly grows, "That's... not the type of fantasy I'm talking about... let's see maybe I'll get a little more specific. Tell me about... any romantic...," he clears his throat before continuing, "shall we say, inclinations... involving someone at work."

Lucy's brow crinkles in confusion as she bites her lip, trying to figure out what the hell Tim is talking about.

There are a number of things to blame for the next thing that comes out of her mouth: her exhaustion after a long shift; the fact that she is so close to Tim Bradford that she can feel the warmth radiating from him, his woodsy scent somehow comforting and familiar, while also causing her pulse to skyrocket as he gazes at her with that playful intensity; and, of course, her sheer confusion about this Tim Bradford look-a-like that is asking her about fantasies and romance and acting nothing like the Tim Bradford she has known for three years.

And then it hits her. And maybe it's also a little of her own guilt over having kept this secret for so long — the act of hiding it even bigger than what was hidden — that leads to her blurting it out before she can stop herself. "Look, Tim — if this is about Nolan, then I was going to tell—"

Tim's face changes immediately, the playful glimmer disappearing, making it clear to Lucy that this was, in fact, not about Nolan, but that now it most definitely is about Nolan.

"Nolan?!" he asks, staring at her with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

"Uh, y-you weren't talking about Nolan? Clearly, you were not... I — uh..." Her head is spinning trying to make sense of exactly what the fuck is happening.

He wasn't talking about Nolan. If he wasn't talking about Nolan...

Her stomach bottoms out as the pieces gradually start to click together — the comment about waiting long enough, the playful glint in his eye, a fantasy about someone at work...

No... NO... this can't be happening.

Tim is frowning deeply, confusion and hurt briefly flicker over his face before he skillfully masks any hint of vulnerability from his expression. "You and... Nolan?! " he repeats, dumbfounded.