Chenford Season 7

Part 3 - The next morning

Lucy awoke to her alarm the following morning on the couch, covered in blankets. She looked around, confused, wondering why she wasn't in her bed and then concluded she must have fallen asleep on the couch last night and Celina didn't want to wake her. A small smile formed across her lips and she lifted herself up to go and get ready. Celina burst through her bedroom door into the main room of the apartment with a loud "Hey! You're awake! Let's have breakfast! What are you feeling, pancakes? Toast? Waffles? Cereal?" Celina was much more of a morning person than Lucy.

"Yes, all of the above," she replied, with a sleepy grin; breakfast was her favourite meal of the day, and she had woken up with a newfound sense of positivity. The breakup and aftermath had been hard on her and still was, but she was going to channel all of it into her police work and become the best officer Mid Wilshire had ever known. The girls ate together, cleaned up and headed into their separate rooms to get ready for the day ahead.

Lucy got dressed, applied mascara, blush and eyebrow gel to her face and did her hair. Everyone complimented her on her hair the day before, so she decided to incorporate yesterday's well defined curls into today's hairstyle. She curled her hair using a curling wand and put it into a low bun, leaving the two front pieces out, similar to yesterday. When she came out, Celina was ready and waiting by the door for her with an optimistic smile.

The ride to the station was uneventful. Celina picked Lucy's brain about Nolan and how to get him to give her a glowing evaluation, as it was almost the end of her probationary period; she had just 30 days left until she was out of long sleeves. Lucy thought back to her own rookie period, and how tough those last 30 days were, then realised Nolan was a lot kinder than Bradford, so Celina would have no problem getting through it. Lucy felt a pang of heartbreak in her chest, as her recollection forced her to reminisce for a second about Tim; regardless of the memory being negative, even the thought of him was painful for her at present. She shrugged it off and turned on the radio to distract her mind. They quickly changed in the locker room once at the station, and headed into roll call 5 minutes early (Celina had quickly learned that Lucy time meant being early and over-prepared for everything).

Tim's POV

Tim's morning went a little differently. His alarm woke him at 5am as promised, and he dragged himself out of bed. Kojo, from his bed in the corner of the room, slowly looked up at him and whined, as if to say "Dad, what the hell? Why are we up so early?" Tim saw this expression on Kojo's face and responded, "I'm sorry buddy, but if we're going to get your mom back, this is necessary". He got straight into the shower and scrubbed to within an inch of his life, he always was a bit OCD about cleanliness. He applied his signature cologne and noticed his facial hair was looking a bit unruly. He was always well presented and clean-cut, but had let himself go since the split from Lucy without even realising. He located his razor and shaved his face, as well as applying the moisturiser Lucy had forced him to buy a few months back, when she convinced him that taking care of his skin wasn't a girly thing to do. A small smile crept across his face as he recalled that conversation, and a sense of determination filled his mind. "I am going to get her back, if she'll even have me." He said out loud, to no one in particular. Sporting a light grey sweater and black jeans, he gave Kojo his breakfast, said goodbye and left the house.

He felt nervous on his way to the new therapist's office; it was a building just across the street from the station, and he started to worry that someone would see him. However, he pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind as he focused on what was important. He parked his truck on the street around the corner and walked into the office. Taking a protein bar from the complimentary snack station in the therapist's waiting room, he sat down and started nervously eating, waiting for his appointment. He had arrived 10 minutes early and had some time to kill. Those 10 minutes felt like hours, as he just wanted this whole process to be over and for him to have Lucy back, but he knew it was going to take some time and a lot of effort from him. The whole experience with Doctor London had made him wary and distrustful of therapists, however Lucy's words from yesterday echoed in his head: "You know that's not normal right? Don't let one bad experience tarnish the whole profession." He smiled to himself as he recalled the conversation; that was such a typical Lucy thing to say, this girl could literally be a therapist herself.