Next To You Is Where I Want To Be

Lucy found herself reflecting on times she has shared a bed with Tim...or sometimes just falling asleep next to him.

The first time it happened, Lucy was having a truly terrible shift. She had spent the last 2 days trying to cross off the ridiculous mandatory checklist of 7 different kinds of arrests she still needed or she would be held back in her training. Tim assured her they could cross everything off, but her faith waned as time ran out and not all of her boxes had been ticked off.

Grey approved them for overtime until they arrested someone for meth possession. It took hours of driving around until the call came in. They returned to the station, and regardless of how victorious Lucy felt that she had checked everything off of the mandatory list, she was absolutely exhausted!

"You've got a lot of paperwork to finish, let's go, boot," Tim ordered as he watched Lucy shuffle away from the holding cell where she had dropped off her meth possession suspect.

"I've been so worried about this checklist, I hardly slept last night. I can barely keep my eyes open right now," she groaned, and then she regretted sharing that information with Tim knowing that he would snap at her and tell her to get over it.

But, he didn't say that.

"Go to the break room couch. You can shut your eyes for 20 minutes while I get started on the paperwork," he urged. His voice was still somewhat authoritative but there was a gentleness to it she was not used to hearing.

"No, we have to turn in all of the arrest reports for everything on my checklist as soon as possible. I can stay awake."

"We can submit everything to the night Watch Commander. It's okay. Go."

She eyed him curiously. Why was he being so nice? Lucy nodded curtly and walked over to the break room. The second she collapsed onto the couch, she fell asleep.

When she woke up, she looked to her right and there he was sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the couch and his head dropped backwards on the edge of the cushion near her head. Lucy was a little surprised to see Tim's face so calm instead of twisted into a scowl. He looked peaceful. He looked KIND. He looked handsome. She tried to shake away the last thought, but his face is objectively attractive. That's a fact. A newly discovered fact, because in sleep, he is not barking orders or looking at her harshly, and she was able to appreciate the man beneath the gruffness. It was curious, but it felt a bit like she was seeing him for the first time. Lucy did not know how long she stared over at his face studying every last millimeter.

Until Tim's eyes snapped open. "Chen?" He asked, his voice was still raspy and neutral instead of the usual gruffness.

She tried to scoot away from him, but the seat of the cushion was not big enough to grant her too much distance from him. "S-sorry. W-what happened?" Lucy asked.

"I needed coffee, and while I was waiting for the new pot to brew, I just sat down for a second, and then..."

"You fell asleep. It's okay, Tim. We're only human. We need our sleep."

"I don't," he growled.

Lucy rolled her eyes, because of COURSE he would say something like that. She watched him stand from the floor, and then she rose from the couch. They were standing so close it made Lucy's pulse race. She could tell Tim wasn't breathing as he stared down at her. Their proximity was an unexpected dizzying rush, and she was unsure if she could move away if only to stop the way her heart was pounding.

Tim had no idea what was happening. One second, he was trying to caffeinate, the next he was admiring how calm and quiet Lucy looks when she sleeps. Somehow, he felt comfortable enough to close his eyes with his head close to hers on the break room couch. It was abnormal, he knew. He had never once allowed a rookie to nap while HE completed paperwork for them. Not once had Tim ever fallen asleep next to a rookie either.