Anti-Hero | Tim Bradford

Chapter Thirty Three - Skiving

"And you're sure that's how they're connected?" Morgan questioned as Talia finished recalling the intel she had spent the early hours of the morning gathering.

"Since when have I been wrong?" Talia rebutted, slight humour lacing her tone.

Morgan smiled. "Fair enough. But I don't know how the ATFE operates. You could have lost all your standards for all I know."

Talia went to speak but was cut off by Kujo's excited barking as he barrelled himself towards the front door. The two women shot each other confused looks, only for them to be dropped as Tim's voice rang out from down the corridor.

"Morgan? You still here?" He said, making his way into the house, Kujo practically bouncing at his feet. "I saw your car outside."

"Through here," Morgan called back, moving to great him halfway. "What are you doing at home? You didn't get fired, did you?"

Tim laughed as he shook his head, leaning down to kiss his wife. He only managed a split second of affection before Talia coughed, announcing her presence.

"Bishop? What are you doing here?"

"Could ask you the same, Bradford." She rebutted, crowing her arms.

"It's my house."

"Doesn't answer my question." Talia moved past the couple, reaching down to five Kujo a quick pet as she headed towards the door, stopping before she crossed the threshold . "I'll let you know if I found out anything else. It was good to see you again."

Morgan returned the sentiment as Bishop saw herself out, her attention only flickering back to her husband once the door shut. "She had some information on why Regina Diaz did what she did. Angela asked her to look into it. But you never did answer my question... why are you here?"

"I spoke to Grey and Caradine. We both got the rest of the day off. So after your appointment, I'm taking you out. Speaking of which... aren't you meant to leave soon?"

Morgan's eyes flickered across to the clock on the wall. "Crap- yeah like ten minutes ago. I can meet you back here?"

"No need. I'll drive you." Tim held up his keys, gesturing for Morgan to lead the way to his truck.

————

Tim jolted awake as he heard the passenger side door slam shut. Instinctually he reached for his duty belt, only to find himself in his civilian gear. As he did so, he whipped his head to the side, looking for any sign of activity, only to find Morgan looking at him somewhat sheepishly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she said, belting herself up.

"Don't worry about it. I should get used to it. You have less grace than an elephant."

Morgan let out a noise of indignation as Tim chuckled, slotting his keys back into the ignition.

"I'm going to ignore that." She said, looking at the window as Tim pulled out of the parking lot. "Where are you taking us?"

"Depends."

"...On what?"

"On how romantic you feel right now."

Morgan raised an eyebrow as Tim spoke, keeping silent as she tried to figure out where exactly he was taking her. It only dawned on her when she saw his familiar smirk as he turned the truck into a familiar road.

You know, the shooting range is not quite what I think of when you say 'romantic.'" She said getting out of the now parked truck, meeting him in front of the vehicle.

"Hey, I think this is very romantic." Tim defended, holding Morgan's hand as they walked down the dreary corridor, company assigned equipment in hand. She tried not to pay attention to the flickering lights but the compulsion to comment took over.

Reaching the end of the corridor, he the door open to allow Morgan to enter the shooting room. "We had our first date here after all."

"I remember. I was so flustered I could barely shoot straight."

"No," Tim laughed, heading into his assigned area loading his off duty weapon the second he stopped moving. "You just have a crap aim."

"I do not!" She defended, reaching into her own boot to retrieve her own weapon.

Tim smirked, relishing in the knowledge that his teasing tactics still worked. "Wanna bet? 20 bucks says I shoot better than you."

Morgan raised her weapon, aiming it at the paper target before her. Carefully, she held her sim, pulling the trigger and sending the bullet flying directly into the head of the paper man. "You're on."

————-

Morgan rolled her eyes as she passed Tim the folded up bill. Quickly, he snatched it from her hand before she could change her mind. He had been floating since they had left the range, and now they had arrived back home, he didn't feel like stopping any time soon.

"It was by two points!" Morgan said, annoyance running in her voice. "You're not better, you distracted me."

"Sounds like someone's a sore loser." Tim teased. "If it makes you feel better, I'll let you pick the movie. Consider it a participation trophy."

"Consider it a participation trophy." Morgan mocked under her breath as she sat down on the sofa, Kujo cuddling up beside her. Tim looked mildly offended by Kujo's favouritism as he moved to sit on Morgan's other side.

"What was that?" He laughed

"Nothing!"

Tim hummed in acknowledgment, silently dropping the subject. Quickly he pulled out his phone to see how long the DoorDasher would take with their food.

"Thank you," Morgan said after a moment, bringing Tim's attention back to her. "For today. I had a great time."

Gently, he leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You never need to thank me for spending time with you. It will always be my pleasure."

Morgan leaned back, resting her head on his chest. Snuggling down, she pulled a blanket over the two of them as Tim fished the remote and opened Netflix.

After another silent moment, Morgan quietly spoke. "But if you ever cheat at the range again, I will divorce you."

Tim's chuckles vibrated through his chest, "Okay, baby, whatever you say.