When Tim walked out of Grey's office, one look was enough for Lucy to understand to follow him. He opened the door to interrogation room #3, making sure no one was standing behind the tinted glass.
" What's going on? "
" We need to talk... "
" Uh ? "
Tim sat on the table in the middle of the room, facing Lucy.
"I'm going undercover in an hour."
" You... what? "
" You know I can't tell you more... "
" For how long? "
" I don't know. "
" Back-up? "
" North Hollywood."
" Nobody from here? Tim, no... I—"
" It'll be fine. Grey will get daily updates."
" Which will only consist of whether you're still alive."
"It'll be fine..." he said, standing up and moving closer to her.
"The minute you stop giving signs of life, no one will be able to stop me..."
"I know," he replied, pulling her into a hug. "That's why everything will be fine."
"Hm."
And for once, Tim forgot his no-PDA-at-work rule while in uniform. They stayed like that for a few minutes before parting.
"It'll be fine. I love you, hm," he said, brushing her cheek.
"I love you. Be careful."
Before leaving the room, Tim kissed Lucy one last time.
Lucy felt her heart tighten as he disappeared down the hallway. Normally, it was her who left, her who said goodbye, him who was her back-up, and her who put her life on the line more than usual. But today, she had to face the other side of it all. Today, she was the one worrying, the one watching the other leave without knowing when he would return. Most of all, she was the one unable to be there, even from afar, to watch over him—or to trust anyone else enough to do so.
No, today she watched the man she was hopelessly in love with walk into the unknown, with strangers, while she was left behind.
The first few days were relatively easy, always ending with a quick affirmation: "Everything's fine," from Grey. Lucy would thank him, knowing she wouldn't get any other information.
WEEK 1.
When she closed the door to his place that evening, the silence became heavy, suffocating. She hadn't planned to spend so much time here, without him, but Tim had sent her one last message before turning off his phone the day he left, asking her to take care of Kojo.
But being here, without him, engulfed in a chilling silence, only brought back the memory of that night—when Tim had abruptly left her apartment and disappeared for 36 hours. Was this really any different? Tim could be anywhere, in Los Angeles or Chicago, just asleep or being beaten to death in some room.
She quickly shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. Tim was fine, everything was fine, he was fine.
WEEK 2.
Why was it so hard for her to compartmentalize her thoughts? Two weeks. Two weeks with no updates other than "Everything's fine." Lucy had to trust. After all, what else could she do?
