Second Best: A Chenford Story

Part 1 - The Station

"The famous Isobel." Nyla remarked, sitting down on a chair next to Lucy, as they peered over at her with Tim, looking happily wrapped up in conversation.

"Yeah, you ever work with her?" Lucy enquired, sounding slightly defeated.

"No, but I knew of her, first as a rockstar UC, then as a cautionary tale. Why's she back?" Nyla asked, furrowing her brow and narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Uh, an old case." Lucy responded, nodding vacantly. Nyla, noticing Lucy's fake expression, narrowed her eyes even more and tilted her head slightly.

"You okay with that?" She asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Lucy replied, slapping on the best poker face she could muster, trying to make it appear as though she wasn't the least bit threatened. "It's not a big deal, I mean he- he's over her." 

"I know that, just making sure you do." Nyla responded, arms folded and eyebrows raised at her, trying to coax out her real feelings.

"Totally, I- stop it!" Lucy laughed, playfully pushing Nyla's arm. 

As the two finished chuckling, Tamara appeared as if from nowhere.

"Okay, so I did a deep dive on Isobel." 

"Uh- what? Why?" Lucy asked, trying to ignore Nyla's questioning look, burning into the side of her head.

"I told you I was gonna do some digging, anyway, it turns out she's working with the police support network in Santa Fe, while she gets a degree in social work. And she's single." Lucy's mouth twitched at that last word, but she decided to keep the fake happy facade going.

"See, it looks like she's built a whole new life for herself, this is amazing."

"Or, she wants Tim to see she's doing well. He did say she looked good." Tamara replied, a suspicious look on her face. Lucy's cheeks felt hot, hearing that Tim said Isobel looked good; it was such an innocent statement, nothing flirty about it, but why did it make her feel so uneasy? Maybe because deep down, she knew how much history they have, and now she was single, she could easily use that history to get him back. Lucy had never really considered Isobel a threat before, but she had never been around, so maybe it was just a case of out of sight, out of mind for Tim? But now, she was decidedly in sight, which worried Lucy. The three of them looked up, as they noticed Tim and Isobel coming out of Sergeant Grey's office together. They were just close enough so they could hear what was being said, but far enough away that Tim and Isobel didn't realise they were there, or watching them. Smitty approached them, and welcomed Tim back, to which Isobel looked at him, confused.

"Welcome back? Were you on vacation?"

"No, I was on leave for a shooting. I just got cleared."

"You okay?" Isobel asked, a look of genuine concern spread across her face.

"yeah, well, mostly yeah. Lucy thinks I should start meditating." Tim replied, narrowing and rolling his eyes at that last part, leaning into her slightly and chuckling. 

Isobel sniggered and started to laugh, placing her dainty hand on his forearm while leaning closer to him. 

"I know, right?" Tim replied, laughing too, as they walked away together. 

Lucy felt a pang of hurt and rejection in her chest, the heat in her cheeks rising and getting more intense. She wondered if it was readable on her face. It was to Nyla, but she was both a detective and Lucy's friend, so nothing got past her, even if it was subtle. 

"Well, that wasn't very nice." Nyla remarked, leaning back in her chair with her arms folded, a confused look on her face.

"I only suggested it cause it works for me," Lucy responded, her voice a mumble, barely above a whisper. She felt Nyla look over at her with a look of sympathy and understanding, and quickly forced herself to snap out of it. She sat up straight in her chair, completely changing her demeanour. "I'm being silly, it's not a big deal, they're just more similar than Tim and me. It is what it is. I'll see you later, I've got to head out." Lucy announced, scrambling with her papers and getting up to walk away.