Undercover Love

Six

POV: Lucy

When Tim opened the door to his apartment, I got a face full of dog as Kojo leapt onto me, licking my cheek intensely.

"Kojo, down." Tim commanded but he didn't listen, he was insistent on trying to knock me off my feet.

"Hey Kojo! I missed you, boy." I greeted him, scratching his ears, which made him abandon his mission of tackling me to the ground and replace it with trying to get more ear scratches.

Tim was stood watching, scowling slightly at his failed attempt to get Kojo off me.

"Hey, you want a drink?" he asked, wandering over to the kitchen.

His apartment hadn't changed since I had last been here. The living room consisted of a couch and that was pretty much it. Being back here reminded me of Jackson's death, when Tim had comforted me.

A mountain of emotions came rushing back into me, although I had worked through my feelings about Jackson, when I thought of him it was like a weight was crushing my ribs. I took a deep breath and let the feelings flow through me, before pushing them away again, guiding them gently into my subconscious.

That night was also the night Tim and I shared a moment. I had almost gone into his bedroom to do who knows what. I hadn't thought that far ahead but his phone rang before I could figure out what I was doing. I wondered how things might be different if his phone hadn't have rung, but I didn't dwell on that thought long.

"Uhh yeah I'll have a beer." I answered, some time after he had originally asked and then got distracted by Kojo.

He walked over to the fridge, grabbing two beers and throwing one to me. We sat on the couch with Kojo next to Tim on one side and me on the other.

"Do you ever think about Jackson?" I asked suddenly, with him still on my mind. Tim looked taken aback, clearly not expecting me to have mentioned him.

"Yeah, of course, he was a good cop. I miss seeing him around." he said after considering my question for a few moments. "Do you?"

I thought about giving him the short answer, but ultimately decided against it. I think I needed to talk about him, just for a few moments.

"I miss him so much, Tim. He was my best friend and..." I started to say as the weight was placed back on my ribs, crushing me from the inside, restricting my breathing.

Tim put his arm around me, pulling me close. "We don't have to talk about him, Lucy. But we can, if you want, or you need, I will just listen." he told me comfortingly, stroking my hair gently.

"I just wish I got the chance to say goodbye." was all I could say as I moved closer to him, allowing myself to be vulnerable.

"I understand." Tim replied, continuing to stroke my hair. I hadn't really seen this side of him much, it was nice. I could tell he cared about me, even before we got together.

I thought back to when we were undercover, when we were in the plane and one of the guys mentioned how Rosalind had escaped. Tim had grabbed my hand, not as part of his character, it was real, it felt real.

Tim Bradford cared so deeply about people. It was part of the reason I fell for him. Even though he had a weird way of showing it, I knew he did. I could see it with Isabel, I knew how much he cared for her. I just hoped he cared for me the same way, because I was feeling things for him that I had never felt before.

"What do you want to do?" I asked, wanting to move on from this conversation, which Tim seemed to notice.

"Well we need food right? Should we cook or order in?" he replied, reaching for his phone as he predicted my answer.