It was a rare quiet evening at the station. The kind of evening that made Lucy Chen appreciate her job even more—the city was peaceful for once, and the squad room buzzed with light banter instead of chaos.
Tim Bradford leaned against his desk, scrolling through his reports with his trademark frown. Lucy had been watching him out of the corner of her eye, trying not to laugh at his intense focus on what seemed to be a spreadsheet error.
"Tim," Lucy finally said, tilting her head toward him, "how long have you been staring at that screen? Did it insult you or something?"
He glanced up, his brow furrowing even more. "There's a discrepancy in the equipment logs, and I'm not letting it slide."
Lucy rolled her eyes, pushing away from her desk. "You know what you need? A distraction."
"I don't need—"
Before he could finish, she grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the breakroom.
"Lucy, seriously," he grumbled, but there was no real protest in his tone.
The breakroom had been redecorated recently, and Lucy had stashed away something special: a tiny indoor plant she'd been secretly growing. It sat on the windowsill, a bright pop of green against the beige walls.
She picked it up and presented it to Tim with a proud grin. "Meet Officer Sprout. Our new morale booster."
Tim stared at the plant, then back at Lucy. "You brought a plant to work?"
"Yes! Look at it—doesn't it just make you feel better?"
"It's a plant, Lucy."
She pouted, cradling the pot like it was a prized possession. "Well, Officer Sprout is officially part of our team now. And you're in charge of watering him."
Tim opened his mouth to argue but then paused, noticing the way Lucy's eyes sparkled with mischief. He sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. But if it dies, it's not my fault."
"It won't die," she said confidently, placing the plant on his desk.
Over the next few weeks, Officer Sprout became a squad room mascot. Lucy would leave Post-It notes on Tim's desk reminding him to water the plant, and occasionally she'd sneak in decorations—a tiny badge, a miniature police hat. Tim pretended to be annoyed, but Lucy caught him once, adjusting the hat so it sat just right.
One day, Tim walked into the station holding a second plant. Without a word, he placed it next to Officer Sprout on Lucy's desk.
She looked up, surprised. "What's this?"
"Backup," he said gruffly. "Can't have Officer Sprout going solo."
Lucy grinned, her heart fluttering at the small but thoughtful gesture. "Looks like Officer Sprout has a partner."
Tim nodded, a rare smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, just like us."
