This Little Light of Mine

1: 𝐈 𝐋𝗼𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝗼𝐮 𝐃𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲, 𝐆𝗼𝗼𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

Bennett Marie "Bennie" Bradford was born to Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen on June 24, 2025. Lucy came into his life as his "boot" at the LAPD around eight years earlier. Over the next two years, they fell in love, moved in together, and got engaged, and welcomed their daughter, which was Bennett.

Now, Bennett's four years old. She was a seemingly happy and healthy toddler, attending preschool everyday that her parents were working. When they were home, she was home with them, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

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Three Months Pre-Diagnosis

"Bennett, slow down!" Lucy called out, after the four year old had darted across the building. "Wanna go see daddy!" the small girl exclaimed, before stopping to wait on her mother to catch up to her. "I know you want to see daddy, but you have to wait for me, kiddo" Lucy told her, grabbing the four year olds hand once she met her. Bennett giggled, before she and her mother embarked on their journey through the station to find Tim.

"DADDY!" Came the voice of Bennett, elated to see her father in his office through the window. Lucy opened up his office door, and the girl greeted her father. "Hey, Bennie girl! Are you having fun with mama?" He asked her, as she nodded. "We gots ice cream!" His daughter happily told him. "Oh boy, that must've been so fun. Are you being good for mama?" He asked. Bennett nodded once again, "Duh" she said, before giggling. Bennett walked over to Tim, where he picked her up and sat her down onto his lap at his desk. Bennett was a huge daddy's girl, and everyone could see it. Sure, she loved her mother just as much, but Tim was the one she always wanted to hang out with a little more.

Tim gave Bennett the coloring book and crayons he had stashed in his desk for the times she popped by, whether with Lucy or with Tamara. He then led Lucy out into the hall, closing the door behind them. "How was the doctor's appointment?" He asked Lucy. "It was fine. They ran tests, same old same old, but she said that it seems to be pediatric arthritis. She sent in a prescription for some type of cream for her, and just to watch her since it can spread," She told him. "As long as she's okay, then we'll make it work. Like we always do" Tim said, with a soft smile on his face. "We always do," Lucy nodded in agreement.

"How about tonight we go out for dinner? All of us. You, me, Bennie, Tamara. We can go to your favorite restaurant and have a nice dinner, and relax when we get home. We have the weekend off too, so we can find some fun things to do with Bennie" Tim said. "You know what, I think that sounds like a great idea" Lucy said.

The small family didn't typically get to go out a lot together, seeing as they work long hours, and then they have a four year old to care for as well. But, they wouldn't trade it for anything. Tim and Lucy always tried to have at least one "date night" every month, but sometimes it just didn't work out that way, and they were just fine with it. Being together was what truly mattered to them with their family.

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Tim's shift ended around 4:00 that afternoon. Once he finished up the paperwork he had, he headed home, where he was once again greeted by Bennett. Bennett's daily routine was that she would always greet him as he entered the house, their dogs Kojo and Max. They had gotten Max, a Belgian Malinois, when Bennett was born. They had him trained to be a protective dog, mainly for Bennett's (and any future children) safety. Being police, Tim and Lucy are sometimes targets in bigger cases and with bigger criminals, so their daughter and anyone with her needs to have a sense of protection, and Max does just that.

Max follows Bennett around constantly, truly her best friend. Sits and lays down with her, loves to play with her, and will bark and get everyone's attention at the slightest disturbance. Bennett truly is Max's girl, and Tim and Lucy loved it, and hey, Bennett loved him just as much as she loved her parents.

Tim scooped his four year old up into his arms after setting his bag down. "There's my princess! Did you have a good rest of your day with mommy?" He asked her, Bennett nodded her head excitedly. "Yeah! 'Cept when her put that cream on my arms, daddy! Stinky cream!" Bennett informed him, as Lucy came around the corner. "Oh yeah, she hated that. She has to put it on twice a day, so bedtime will be so fun" Lucy said, sarcastically. Tim nodded, "I'll see what I can do about getting it on her easier tonight" he told her, and Lucy agreed. Being a daddy's girl, Bennett was way more likely to do that if Tim was there and was the one doing it.

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Once everyone was clean and dressed, Tim, Lucy, Bennett, and Tamara headed out to dinner. They went to a nice, but not too nice restaurant, one that was kid friendly too. The whole family ordered, ate their dinner and dessert, and had a great time.

Before it got too late, they paid and headed back home. Tamara went to her room to study for an upcoming exam in school, while Lucy cleaned up the house and got herself ready for bed. She told Bennett goodnight and gave her a kiss, before sending her with Tim. Tim took the four year old up to her bedroom, before helping her change into her pajamas. He had brought the prescription cream with him to put on the little girl. While there was a bit of protest, Tim told her, "I know it's stinky, baby. But this will help you feel better and stop hurting so much", and she caved relatively quickly. He rubbed the cream on where it was supposed to go, before sitting down with her to read her a bedtime story. She chose her favorite, Goodnight Moon. After the book had been read, Tim tucked Bennett into bed, before he kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Bennie girl. I love you to the moon and back". Bennett smiled happily at him, "Night daddy, I loves you too!" Tim reached down and turned off her bedside lamp, while making sure her night light was on over near her door. Tim quietly exited her room, closing the door behind him, before retreating to his own bedroom, to change and go to bed with Lucy.

Tim and Lucy went to bed that night happy and thankful for everything they have in life. Little did they know that a short three months later, everything would change, and their world would come crashing down. What should've been a simple fix, wasn't a fix at all.