𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬↠The Rookie

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝔀𝓸

Flowers, that was the first thing Dolly saw when she opened the door, February 14th, Valentine's Day, her first one without Tim, red roses greeted her sight. She smiled softly at the sight of the red roses, the sweet fragrance filling the air as she took in the gesture. She looked at the note to see who'd sent them, curious as to whether or not Tim had actually gone to all this trouble.

She sighed with relief as she found the note, Tim really was a good man, even if he'd hurt her so badly, this was one small gesture that made her remember all of the good things about him. She'd really not expected him to do anything like this given their recent interactions.

But she knew what they meant, they were also a birthday gift. Yes, as ridiculous as it sounded, Dolly was born on Valentine's Day, coming into the world silently, with no kicking or screaming, just with a tinge of blue due to lack of oxygen and a ridiculous name, Dolly-Mae.

She chuckled softly to herself, shaking her head as she read the note, smiling softly at just how he could still bring her such joy even through the heartbreak she was feeling. These roses were like an olive branch, an effort to reach out even if they hadn't spoken in days, it was a little gesture that meant more than the cost of them ever could.

This year there was no elaborate breakfast, no jewellery, no kisses or poorly wrapped presents, but just a bouquet of roses and Ralph to greet her.

She smiled softly as she set them on the table by the entrance and sat on the couch, picking Ralph up off of the sofa and placing him in her lap with a warm expression. Just the simple presence of his furry little body was a comfort to her and was exactly what she needed after the weeks of stress and emotion that had led to this point.

She held him as they sat in silence, his breath warm against her chest as she ran her hand through his soft fur. It brought her a sense of tranquillity, despite the chaos that had been going on for weeks and being just a bit overwhelmed.

Dolly knew her dad would call soon, that's all she had, her and her dad, and that's how it'd always been, Freddie Sutton had always been a stern man, a lawyer in the DA's office, but for him, Dolly was his whole world, with his wife leaving him alone with their 2-month-old daughter, they were all the other had.

She'd grown up with her father and that was that. She'd always known that this wasn't how other families were supposed to be, but that didn't mean they weren't happy together. She loved her father and he loved her immensely, there was no greater bond than that.

But it was clear this was where her fear of abandonment stemmed from, an avid people pleaser, that was Dolly's problem, something Tim had picked up on throughout their marriage, how she'd apologised every time they argued, even if she wasn't at fault. Always the same 5-year-old girl asking if it was her fault that her mother left.

She had a tendency to blame herself for anything and everything, a habit that was still sticking around to this very day. Despite all of his issues, Tim had never seen the real extent of these problems until they came to a head during their marriage.

That was one of the reasons Tim shut himself off, she was so pitiful, so distraught and apologetic, so sorry for something that wasn't her fault, and he couldn't look at her face, to know how much she was hurting.

It was his fear of seeing her hurt that drove him away, seeing her pain was something that he couldn't handle. As much as his actions might have hurt her, he'd rather he was the one hurting than seeing her upset. In some strange way, it was a way to try and protect her.

Maybe the flowers were his way of apologising, maybe a birthday present, or maybe it was a simple Valentine's Day gift, either way, it was his way to show that he still cared for his wife, his Dolly.