‘Tis the Damn Season

Firstly, I just want to thank everyone for the support for this fic. Some of the comments have really made my week and I appreciate all of them so much!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter and that the wait after the cliffhanger wasn’t too painful!

PS The middle pic could be a shot from a scene in this chapter!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37003822/chapters/96572724#workskin

'Tis The Damn Season is back

After a hiatus that got a bit out of hand, I am finally posting again! Uni deadlines got the better of me but I am officially finished! I am now determined to post all of this fic before the adult world steals me away! This chapter is a bit longer, and also one of my favorites! Thank you to everyone who has left kudos and comments, they really encouraged me to return to posting again!

This is very random but do we have any idea how old Tim is??? Or like any more on his backstory??

Dear anon, the timeline is a mess, it is better not to think about it or your brain could explode. As for his back story I do hope we learn more about it.

‘Tis the Damn Season

An earlier chapter this week to help us through the rest of the hiatus. In this chapter, Lucy meets an old friend and ends up stumbling across something she will soon wish she had never seen.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37003822/chapters/93097300

‘Tis The Damn Season

Huge apologies for the delay but Chapter 2 is finally uploaded! I have changed my mind about the Sunday schedule due to having many deadlines and work commitments this week and not wanting to let people down. Instead, I will do my best to post weekly, although the day might not be consistent, just until life settles down into some sort of normal routine again. I hope you understand and thank you very much to everyone for your kudos, comments and reblogs!

On the bright-side... I hope you like this version of Tim!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37003822/chapters/92690689

‘Tis The Damn Season

I’m back with a new fic! Uni is still a stress but this has been fun to write. First chapter is up already and more will be posted every Sunday evening between 10pm and 12 am GMT. I hope it helps people get through this mini hiatus!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37003822/chapters/92323765

Damn this was cute 😍

chenford week prompt day 1: sneaking around

~ 4.3k words, rated T

also I’ve been missing Pitch so much again that I think I made Angela and Tim’s friend Mike Lawson 🤷🏽‍♀️

Let’s leave We can’t! We just got here. So? They won’t miss us, it’s packed. I think our FRIENDS would miss us. I’m very miss-able, ty. 😉 Another 20 minutes ok? Fine 😘😘😘😉😉😉🍻🥰🥰🥰 Lucy slips her phone into her pocket, looks up to catch Tim’s gaze a few tables away. His face gives away nothing but she swears she can see a twinkle in his eye, maybe notices him eye her outfit appreciatively, gaze passing over her long hair that she’s left down in waves, before he turns back to Angela, Harper, and another TO from the neighboring division. Because they’re not supposed to be eyeing each other. They’re a secret.

Which is hot in its own way. The stolen looks and sly glances, the torturous countdown until they can finally be together and touch and kiss and get their hands all over each other. Staying perfectly professional all day at work and then ripping each other’s clothes off the second she gets to his place.   She was the one who mentioned they should keep it between them while their relationship was still new, and Tim had readily agreed. But it’s been more than a month now and he hasn’t said anything about telling anyone, not Angela, not Harper, or going public at their usual cop bar after work so everyone is clued in. Lucy tries not to take it personally, knows he might need some time before declaring to the station he’s seeing his former rookie in a romantic sense. And she’s sure she is thankful for the reprieve from any sly comments or knowing looks, whatever assumptions people will draw written all over their faces when they look at her. But the thing is, she’s prepared for them, even steeled herself against them the second she decided to be with him, when she finally let those butterflies in her stomach fly free the moment he kissed her. Only Jackson knows because of course, if she’s spending nights away from her bed, her roommate is going to notice. It was only logical to clue him in and make the secret keeping a lot easier on herself, and to enjoy his reaction since he said he’s shipped it for like, eight months now. Not to mention the knowing glances he can toss Tim’s way which annoy the hell out of the senior officer. (“I just don’t like a rookie knowing my business.” “Former rookie. And would you rather I leave every night?” “… Fine. He can know.”) But maybe Tim’s not ready to officially go public yet. Which, is fine, she can wait as long as he wants. That’s not what’s important, what’s important is them and this thing they’ve embarked on, and spending time together and being with each other, crystal clarity dawning on them more and more that this is who they want to be with for a long, long time. But she sure wishes she could just walk over and sit by him, lean against him, maybe hold hands under the table because she knows he’s not a PDA kinda guy. Maybe flirt a little and slip out early with a lame excuse with all their friends knowing exactly what they’re up to. She’ll just have to wait a little longer for that. She sits squeezed into a booth with Nolan and Bailey, with Jackson at her side so she doesn’t feel like a third wheel. Thankfully going through Henry and Abigail’s wedding decor choices makes for great entertainment and she barely even notices by the time their first drinks are empty. “I gotta get going, but I’ll get refills,” she offers. “What, already?” Nolan says. “Come on, we’re off tomorrow.” “I know, but I’m meeting a friend,” she says vaguely, ignoring Jackson’s sly smile and moving towards the bar when she sees an opening in the crowd. “BRB!” ~~~ “Who’s that guy flirting with Chen?” Tim tells himself he turns to the bar at a normal and totally reasonable speed, but maybe he’s kidding himself because he swears his neck hurts from turning at the speed of light. Sure enough, Lucy’s at the bar waiting for refills talking to some tall brown haired guy who is looking a little too animated to just be exchanging pleasantries or directions to the bathroom. He knows Lucy’s chatty, but what the hell could they be talking about for so long, two strangers at the same bar.

There’s no need for so much unnecessary chatter. “Oh, that’s Paloma’s cousin,” Angela says, craning her neck around Tim to look at the man in question. “She said he’s bunking with her a few weeks until he finds a place. He’s hot. Chen should go for it. Girl needs to get some.” Their friend Michael just snorts into his drink, used to Angela’s comments from them all being rookies together. Tim just shakes his head at her, frowning for a reason that Angela doesn’t know yet. Angela rolls her eyes, assuming it’s because she’s commenting on people’s sex lives again, or lack thereof.

“What?” She shrugs. “Don’t be such a prude, they’re not our rookies anymore. Plus, I know you guys are friends. If no one else is going to ask her out,” she gives Tim a pointed look, “then he should.”

“Yeah, Bradford, you guys are friends,” Harper echoes from across the table, amusement dancing in her eyes, a knowing smile on her lips as if she’s daring Tim to challenge that statement. Harper was Tim’s point of contact when Lucy was UC on that op when she’d missed her check-in, he knows she probably read too much into his panic and protection for his former rookie. Well, she read into it absolutely right but he’s not gonna tell her that. “I- let’s- this is why I need you around more, Mike, so we can talk about the Rams instead of people’s private lives,” Tim emphasizes, knowing he’s deflecting and hoping it works. Thankfully, Michael isn’t at the same station as them to have a stake in team chenford and falls for the bait. “Hey, you’re welcome to come drink at our bar, buddy, the best chili fries in the state.” Angela points at him. “They are good. But our beer’s better.” “It’s not better, Ange,” Michael says, offended. “It’s so better, isn’t it, Tim?” Tim just nods, staring at the television installed on the opposite wall and pretending to be very interested in the local weather report, mostly so he can keep Lucy in the corner of his vision. She’s got her platter of drinks from the bartender by now but Paloma’s cousin, whoever he is, just keeps chatting and Lucy keeps smiling and nodding. “Ooh, he’s gonna check out her ass as she walks away, look!” Angela says with a laugh. And sure enough, they all watch as the stranger smiles one last time at Lucy, watching appreciatively as she turns and walks back to her table. Michael shakes his head in mock disappointment. “What can I say, we menfolk are a simple people.” “Ain’t that the truth,” Angela laughs, pushing aside her empty drink and reaching for her phone to text Wes. “He’s wearing a necklace,” Tim comments, shaking his head in disgust, remembering the derogatory comments his former drill sergeant would bark about men and jewelry and it absolutely not allowed in boot camp. “Surfer,” Michael snorts, and he and Tim share an amused look. “So? That’s cool, maybe she’s into laid back beach dudes,” Angela says, coming to Paloma’s cousin’s defense for no good reason other than to annoy him. “You army guys wear dog tags.” Tim glares at her, offended and annoyed at the comparison. “That’s completely different.” “Sure it is, Bradford, whatever you wanna tell yourself.” Harper still has her gaze on Tim, her wise eyes thoughtful as if she can read right through him. “Chen’s great, she deserves a great guy, surfer or not. Been a few months since she and her boyfriend broke up, right?” Angela nods, filled in on all the precinct gossip like usual. “Yeah, the professor. Jackson said it just fizzled after she got shot.” “Probably not man enough to handle being with a cop,” Nyla says harshly, her opinion of said ex-boyfriend very clear by the tone of her voice. “You know that’s right,” Angela agrees with a look of solidarity at Nyla. “Okay, Wes is out front. Be responsible, guys, make good choices. Nice seeing you, Mike.” ~~~ Tim’s not sure how he and Michael make it over to the former rookies’ table but somehow they have. It’s the last place he wants to be considering he wants to get the hell out of here and be in bed with Lucy (or on the couch, or against the wall, he’s not specific about the first round once they step foot inside the house), but at least this puts him in her vicinity even if they’re resolutely avoiding eye contact. Nolan had stopped Michael to introduce himself, saying he looked familiar, remembering that they’d run into each other once at a crime scene. Of course, who hasn’t this guy met in the area considering how damn old he is? But sure enough, with the former rookies is where he’s standing when brown haired surfer guy with a necklace makes his way over to the table, his eyes locked on Lucy.

“Hey, Lucy,” he says warmly, a little too warmly for a complete stranger if Tim has anything to say about it, “Paloma and I are headed out, but uh, call me sometime. I’d love to make dinner for you at the restaurant.” He holds out a business card with a number scrawled on the back, waits until she has no choice but to take it. “G’night.” With a passing nod to everyone else at the table, he takes two steps back, eyes still locked on Lucy, then disappears in the crowd.

“He wants to make dinner for you?” Bailey repeats, tone excited and overjoyed in that over-the-top way girls are for one another at every little thing. “I- not for me in particular! He’s a chef so he makes dinner for the whole restaurant, obviously,” Lucy explains, shaking her head in embarrassment as all eyes at the table are on her. She pointedly ignores Tim’s steadfast gaze from where he’s standing behind Jackson, eyes darting between Nolan and Jackson, pleading silently for her friends to save her from the unnecessary attention. “A man who cooks real food,” Bailey sighs dreamily, “yes, please. “I cook,” Nolan says quickly to his girlfriend, “everyone here can cook. Well, wait, can you, Michael? I know Jackson can’t.” When he opens his mouth to argue, John says, “Something made out of real ingredients, Jackson, not out of a box.” “Boxed food is still real food!” Jackson argues. “Are you good enough to be a chef at a restaurant in Los Angeles?” Bailey questions, then smiles triumphantly when Nolan falls quiet with no response. “That’s what I thought. So,” she turns back to Lucy, waggling her eyebrows, rubbing her palms together in animated excitement, “when are you going to text him? Definitely not tonight, too soon.” “Way too soon,” Nolan agrees. “Yeah, Luce, when are you gonna text him?” Jackson joins in on the teasing, having too much fun at his friend’s expense, very aware of Tim’s looming presence over his shoulder. And how he can do nothing about it without ‘fessing up.   “I-I’m not calling him!” Lucy looks around at everyone at the table, her gaze quickly meeting Tim’s, catching the way he’s staring at her, expression completely blank. He takes a sip of his beer when she catches his eye, and she quickly looks away in case the others catch her lingering. There are supposed to be no lingering glances, remember? “All I did was talk a little about the restaurants I’ve eaten at since he’s new to the area. That’s it. Nothing more.” “No harm in calling,” Nolan says gently, that overly friendly smile on his face that usually puts the person at the receiving end of it at ease. Lucy is not at ease, though, not right now, not with this conversation, not with Tim’s intense stare on her. “I mean, you are single. And he’s not a cop.” Bailey makes a face and releases a sound of disgust. “Ugh, two cops in a relationship. That sounds horrible.” Seeing the panic on Lucy’s face, Jackson quickly intervenes, “Hey, what’s wrong with two cops being together, huh? It can work.” “Really? Do share which cop couple is making it work, Jackson,” Nolan says sarcastically. “I-um,” Jackson shares a frantic look with Lucy at being cornered, then quickly looks up to the newcomer at the table for help, “hey, Michael, what’s your wife do?” He gestures toward his ring finger, having seen Michael’s wedding band. 
“She’s a librarian. Sorry.” Jackson grimaces. “There is one cop couple at our precinct-“ “See?!” Jackson says quickly, gesturing towards everyone at the table. “But they just got divorced after four years, so.” “Oh.” Jackson exchanges an apologetic glance with Lucy and decides to help by switching gears entirely. He happens to glance at Tim, catching his eye inadvertently and Michael sees the look. “And, well, Tim’s another statistic about cop marriages. Sorry, bud, but the rooks asked for examples, good or bad.” Tim’s jaw clenches, his eyes focused on the wooden table in front of them, and Lucy is sure she’s going to burst into tears of frustration and embarrassment any moment now.

Tim was right. They should’ve snuck out half an hour ago when he’d told her he’d had enough socializing for the night. He was right, he is always right.

“Anyway,” Jackson says frantically, drawing Lucy’s gaze to his, nodding supportively at his friend, “that’s one precinct in all the world. Hardly enough evidence for a scientific study, I’d say. Um, so Lucy and me are definitely invited to Henry’s wedding, right, John? I figured we could split a gift.” “I’ll walk you out,” Tim says to Mike, and the two make their way to the exit. He looks back at Lucy before he opens the door, giving her the subtlest of nods to join him before he steps outside. She grabs her purse, and fishes out her keys, gets ready to make her excuse to leave. ~~~ When she lets herself into Tim’s house, Kojo greets her enthusiastically, directing her to the couch so she has no choice but to slip off her shoes and sit down to cuddle with him. She lets out a sigh of relief at being out of that bar, away from that conversation, and wonders if she and Tim will talk about it tonight, or just brush it aside in that way new couples do when they don’t want to get to the ugly stuff just yet. She’d just been talking to the guy about restaurants, she had no idea it’d turn into such a thing and turn the whole night sour. “I have got to stop talking to strange men in bars, Kojo,” she tells the dog, and he makes a sound like he agrees. “I was just trying to welcome him to LA, jeez.” When she looks up, Tim’s making his way out of the bedroom, changed into sweats and a threadbare t-shirt, water bottle in one hand as he eyes her with a soft smile on his face. “Hi. Hey. Um... you left the door unlocked.” “Yeah, figured you were a few minutes behind me.” He makes his way to the couch and sits down next to her, leaving a few inches of space, not touching or reaching for her. She feels the immense gap in those few inches and tries to blink back the sudden rush of tears, to school her face from showing the spasm of hurt she feels. God, she may have dabbled in undercover but when it comes to him, to this, she feels like she’s constantly wearing her heart on her sleeve, her emotions written all over her face. The conversation in the bar is literally taking up space between them. So, Lucy does what she does best - she talks her way through it. “Sorry. About earlier, at the bar.” Tim’s gaze turns to her, blue eyes solemn as he listens. “I wasn’t- I didn’t know he was going to ask me out. We were just talking restaurants while I waited for drinks, that’s all.” “You don’t owe me an explanation,” Tim says slowly, and her heart falls. Oh. But she wants to explain to him, she wants him to know. They’re together, aren’t they? Of course they are. She’d want Tim to explain if some woman at a bar dropped off her number. She knows he wouldn’t call, he’s too honorable for that, but she’d still want to hear it, to feel reassured and confident as they begin this relationship they’re embarking on. Doesn’t he want the same? Doesn’t he trust her the same way? Does he think she would call or that it’s okay if she does because he’s not serious about this? Does- She takes a deep breath, tries to calm the barrage of thoughts running through her mind, tries not to regret coming over to his place. But clearly she’s not in the best headspace she could be in, and she should probably go mope in the comfort and security of her own bed, wait for Jackson to come home so she has someone to overanalyze and agonize over this with. “I should go,” she says quietly, avoiding his eyes and giving Kojo a few last cuddles. “I’m more tired than I thought.” She only manages to take two steps when he’s grabbing her arm and tugging her towards him, both of them standing and facing each other finally after a long day of staying professionally apart. Lucy wants to wrap her arms around him so bad, just hold him tight and snuggle into his soft t-shirt but she’s not sure exactly what to do, if she should. “Lucy? Hey, did I say something wrong?” “No, no,” she says quickly, shaking her head to avoid his eyes. “You sure? I just meant-“

“I’m not going to call him!” It blurts out of her before she can stop herself, and she watches as he stops talking instantly to listen closely. “Of course not. We’re together. I just couldn’t say anything in front of everyone since you don’t want them to know about us yet. Which is fine! I’m not rushing you, I just don’t want you to think I’m-“

“Wait, wait, hold on.” He does that thing where he physically shakes his head a little as if he can clear it that way, rearrange the neatly organized way he used to store his thoughts before an infuriating and honest rookie came in and jumbled up his bland, boring world. “What do you mean, me? You’re the one who doesn’t want everyone to know.” Lucy stares at him, dumbfounded. “What?” He stares at her like she’s crazy and not keeping up on purpose, like this is a test and he refuses to fail. “You said you didn’t want people to know about us yet. Remember when-“ “Yet,” she emphasizes loudly, underlining the invisible word in the air with her hand just in case he’s missing the importance she’s giving it. “As in, not right at the beginning when it was new and we were in a fun, secret bubble about it. But it’s been over a month now, and you-“ “I know how long it’s been,” Tim snaps, crossing his arms over his chest in defiance, “but you were  the one who said it, so I was waiting for you to tell everyone.” Lucy stares at him, eyes narrowed like he’s saying all this just to annoy her, like he’s the one making this a Tim Test. But he’s serious and intent as he looks at her, so she finally relaxes, can truly feel the stress escape her body as she releases a little huff of disbelief. “I was waiting for you to tell everyone.” Tim snorts in amusement, shaking his head at her as if this is all her fault. He reaches out, pulling her into his side, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “You and your brain,” he says fondly. “Hey, don’t blame this all on me!” She smacks his chest playfully, glaring at him when he looks down at her. Finally, like she’s wanted to all night, she wraps her arms around his broad chest, her hands meeting behind his back, holding tight and vowing not to let go until she has to. She just doesn’t want to let him go. “It takes two to communicate, you know.” “I’m well aware, but figured since you love to hear yourself talk, you’d do the majority of the communicating.” Her jaw drops open in offense, a gasp escaping her even as he simply grins. Oh, he thinks just because he’s smiling and his eyes are twinkling, that he’s going to get away with that, nope, no way. “Excuse you, just because I excel at the fine art of conversation doesn’t mean-“ Suddenly she’s swallowing her words and humming in surprise as his lips meet hers. Then there’s no need to talk anymore, just a need to kiss, because they haven’t kissed all day and that’s just too damn long. Lucy stretches on her tip toes, squeezing him tight where her arms are looped around him, moaning at the way he kisses just like he does everything else in his life - with skill and precision, with attention to detail, with excellence. His big hands cradle her head gently, his tongue probing against her lips, sweeping the corners of her mouth like he’s trying to find all the secrets she hasn’t shared yet. “Tim,” she murmurs, clutching the fabric of his shirt, pulling away when she finally, annoyingly has to breathe. She rests her forehead against his own, thankful he’s leaning down so she doesn’t have to stretch up as much anymore. “I missed you.” “I missed you too,” he whispers, dropping one more fierce kiss on her lips, hands still holding her face like he doesn’t want to let go. He smiles at her, fingers tracing the apples of her cheeks, his lips still close enough to brush against hers every time he speaks. “And I know you’re not gonna call him. I know we’re dating. I know this is good. And we can tell everyone. I’ve had the relationship declaration form for weeks, just need you to sign.”

“You have?” Lucy perks up at that, smiling at him in outright giddiness. “Okay, I’ll sign. Sooo, next time someone asks me out,” she runs her fingers up his strong arms, wraps her arms around his neck, leaning all her body weight onto him deliberately so he has to adjust his stance and catch her in his arms, “I can say you’re my boyfriend?” She can’t stop smiling, the giddiness radiating through her, giving her more of a buzz than all the beer in the bar could’ve.

Tim scoffs at the term, can’t help but feel a little too old for it, what with a divorce under his belt and creeping closer to forty than he’d like, but he won’t say anything to dim the smile on his girlfriend’s face right now. “Go ahead. And stop being so damn nice to people while you’re at it.” “Yeah, I mean, one of ‘em could be a serial killer or something,” she jokes, chuckling when Tim glares at her, still not quite amused with her serial killer jokes. Lucy ignores him, continuing to smile and not letting let him dampen her good mood. “And I can tell all my friends?” Tim nods offhandedly. “And put your picture up in my locker?” He snorts. “You have a picture of me?” “Uh, I have tons,” she declares, sounding offended as if he thinks she hasn’t been documenting their whole journey together. “You and me and our dog.” “My dog,” he corrects even as she rolls her eyes at him. “Sure. Go ahead, plaster my face all over your bedroom wall.” “Ew, you’re not in a boy band, I said locker,” she corrects as if that makes all the difference. “And,” she hesitates, looks up at him shyly, making him pay closer attention, “I can sit next to you at the bar sometimes? Hold your hand?” Tim fails to hide a smile, marveling at how he got so lucky, thanks Grey once again for pairing him up with the hotshot rookie whose spirit he didn’t end up breaking after all, she’s the one who actually fixed him. He drops another lingering kiss on her mouth, lips moving to her ear to tell her, “I’d be honored. Though my hands might be wandering if you look as good as you look tonight.” He lets his hands run through her long hair, down the back of her blouse, cradling the curves of her ass and pulling her into him, grinding her closer so she can feel exactly how much he likes the casual look. “Can we go to bed now?” He doesn’t wait for an answer, just resumes kissing her, turning her body towards the bedroom, shuffling her along the hallway. “Tim,” she moans again, arching her neck back so he can feast on her tattoo, trembling as he backs her up against the wall and his big hands slide under the fabric of her blouse, cupping her heavy breasts. “Tim,” she repeats, “can we still make out in your truck when we have opposite shifts?” He chuckles at her question even as he appreciates the way she looks, eyes glazed with lust, lips swollen, gaze intent as if the answer might be anything but yes. “Hell yeah, I like that part.” “I like that part too,” she tells him quickly. “I like all the parts so far.” He bites his lip to try and stop smiling, but he fails at it completely, so he bends close to kiss her softly, capturing the moan that escapes her when his hands slide up and down her waist. “I like all your parts too, babe.”

The Night Sky

Tim and Lucy have a heart to heart as they admire a rare sighting of the stars.  “You can almost see the stars from here,” Tim noted, trying to make some sort of conversation. He had enjoyed silence on a shift until a certain boot made that impossible. And that quickly made him expect the noise - look forward to it - and now he now missed her constant chatter.

 Lucy looked up at his words, “Yeah you can, there must be less light pollution up here.”

 Tim nodded, “You know I didn’t see the stars properly until I was 16.”

 “What?!”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32614849

The Concussion

Lucy comes to Tim's rescue when he gets injured during a call and it forces them to face some truths.

  The tension between them, a tension which was ever present at this point, seemed to rise around them like a gas cloud, making the air thick and hard to breathe. Tim briefly wondered if it was his knock to the head causing the effect and if that would make more sense.

“You okay, Tim?” Lucy asked, making her way towards him and reaching out her hand to touch his wrist. He flinched at the touch as though she had burned him.

The last time she had touched him, her hand had brushed his wrist to test the waters. It had risen from there, from the respectable contact, to touch his cheek, and then, hypnotized by the look in her eyes, by the stunning dress she was wearing, the alcohol making him brave, Tim had kissed her.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32598163

The Dress

Tim learns that there are perks to Lucy going undercover every now and then.

“That a new dress?”

“Might be.”

“Do you get to keep it?” he asked, as his hands traced the bare skin of her back. He let his fingertips run up and down her spine in the way he knew she liked and as he predicted, she almost purred in response.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32572963

The Promise

Tim and Lucy are faced with another emergency alert, but this time their lives are very different. How does Lucy's pregnancy change things this time round? 

They kept the kiss brief for the station, but Lucy felt one of Tim’s hands leave her shoulder and land on her belly instead. She felt tears spring to her eyes.

“I love you,” she told him as they broke apart.

“I love you too.”

With a last smile that didn’t meet his eyes, Tim turned and was gone.

Lucy replaced her own hand where his had been on her stomach.

It was a hoax. It had to be.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32560834

The Fuck Up

When Tim returns late for work, Lucy knows immediately that something has went wrong 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, go back to sleep.” Tim apologized before she could speak.

Lucy shook her head, her hand coming up to rest against his chest, “Tim, did something happen?”

Tim closed his eyes, no doubt in an attempt to hide his emotions from her, but Lucy knew him too well and they both knew it was too late for that. “I fucked up,” he confessed instead.

Lucy’s hand trailed up from his chest to cup his cheek, her thumb rubbing the stubble that he had rebelliously been letting grow since his promotion. “How?” She asked.

Tim sighed and leaned into her touch, “I can’t tell you.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32529649

The Promotion

Tim and Lucy are still trying to navigate their new relationship, and keep it a secret from their friends, when Tim earns a promotion that leaves them both unsure of where they stand.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this drunk, what happened?”

Tim pulled back slightly and counted excuses on his fingers, “Shots. Angela and Nyla decided this was my promotion party. Shots. I’m not as young as I once was. You.”

He seemed satisfied with the explanation and slumped back into her. Lucy on the other hand was not.

“What do you mean, me?”

“You spent the night looking all sexy and singing and giving me those looks and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32511517

So I completely forgot to do this but better late than never. Thank you very much for the tag @literali1110

Name or preferred nickname: Emma/ Em

Pronouns: she/her

What's the story behind your username: Not very exciting but I made my tumblr as a young teen obsessed with Harry Potter and Remus Lupin is my favorite character. 72 is my favorite number.

General location: Scotland

Tell us something cool about you in real life: In order to get my degree I get to write about all my favorite shows.

Favorite Chenford moment: 2x11 will always be the number one spot because it was the moment I gave in and joined the fandom rather than casually shipping. But a close second is the ‘Save me a dance’ scene. We got Tim checking Lucy out and I could write an essay on that pause before he asked her to dance.

Moment that made you start shipping them: I liked them from the pilot but I didn’t let myself really, truly start shipping them until the season 1 finale. You don’t do a door scene like that for no reason.

Favorite character who isn’t Lucy or Tim: Jackson and then Nyla

Favorite Chenford headcanon: Hmmmm this one is hard. Tim is extra cuddly. We know hes a softie at heart but I think Lucy will be surprised at just how soft he really is.

Do you write fics/make gifs/make vids/do something else cool? You’re awesome! Share your stuff: I write fic on Ao3 under the name ghostfox11. Hunted is my most popular. I also have some one shots on here!

Fic you’re rec’ing the most right now: This one is hard because I haven’t been reading as much recently. I’m behind on both, but Inevitable and Under Fire are stories that come to mind.

Tag another Chenford fan to fill this out: If you see this and no one has tagged you in it but you want to do it then take this as your invitation! Tag me in it and I’ll edit this post to tag you!

If you watch “Safety” again, Lucy wants to be like Harper. She specifically mentions Harper’s work in undercover. And Harper tells her to not be like her because Harper is thinking about all she nearly lost. But after Lucy proves herself with that bomber and even does a tiny bit of undercover work for it, Harper says if Lucy wants to be like her she should go for it. But that Lucy should be better than her.

All of this happens before Lucy is abducted. So I disagree with the idea that Lucy wants to go undercover just to avoid her trauma. There were aspects of her liking undercover work before everything with Caleb. And I can’t remember the episode but I know there was a point where Lucy said she couldn’t imagine staying on patrol forever. She wanted to do something other than patrol. Whether that was being a detective or something else. So if anything, going head first into undercover work is trying to prove to herself that what she went through with Caleb didn’t change her irrevocably, didn’t deter her from her dreams, but it’s not necessarily trying to hide from it.

Lucy is different from Harper, Isabel, and Mac. For one thing, she doesn’t have a family/marriage that she is committed to while working undercover. Yes, she has friends she really cares about. And she is doing a lot to help Tamara. But she doesn’t have that permanent responsibility that she has to take on while doing undercover work. She doesn’t have to split her focus. She is single. She hasn’t made a commitment to anyone. She doesn’t owe anyone anything. This is something she can do for now and decide to move on from it later should she ever want to settle down. Part of undercover work is as much as you have to hide a part of yourself from the people you are trying to bring down, you also have to hide a part of yourself from the people you love. And that is not conducive to a good relationship. That is why we saw all of those examples of people in undercover marriages fail.

Now should something happen where Lucy is ready to decide to commit to Tim (God willing), I think she’ll realize that the best way for their relationship to work is complete honesty and undercover work doesn’t help with that. Which by that point, she may have already decided to move or be willing to move on or hell, maybe they’ll even find a way to beat the odds and make it work.

But I’m not going to treat Lucy like she is somehow betraying Tim by choosing to do this work just because he doesn’t like it when it is something she really wants to do. Especially since they haven’t made any romantic commitment to each other yet. And I don’t buy into the idea that this is out of character for her. She likes the excitement of police work. And undercover work is probably the most exciting and dangerous police work there is. If she wants to do it, then I want to see her succeed at it for as long as she wants. And like I mentioned above, there was a hint of it long before this season so it is not out of nowhere.

And I think the aspect that Lucy wants to do undercover work while Tim has issues with it is the perfect element of tension in their relationship. It proves the writers are putting thought into going somewhere with this ship. They are using something that is organic to the characters for issues to arise and keep the relationship interesting. Not the kind of “we have to find arbitrary reasons to keep these characters apart or break them up every few episodes” interesting. Just honestly interesting storylines that they will work through and be stronger than ever because of it. They are setting them up for something. Not just leaving them alone and deciding they might pick it up later if they so choose. Because honestly, if they didn’t want to cause tension in the Chenford relationship for future story ideas, they could have literally given Lucy any other career path. But no, they chose the one career path that Tim has issues with. If they didn’t do this with this very purpose in mind, then they are the type of people who can shoot wide and still manage to hit the target. And I’ve never known a TV writer to be this random. If you’ve ever taken a course in writing television, everything is very precisely planned out. From individual episodes to seasonal story arcs to some creators having a detailed plan of the entire series (though I doubt that’s the case for The Rookie). I’ve known some storylines to be very badly written, but timeline problems aside, The Rookie writers aren’t bad writers. They handle their storylines very well.

This is so true. Is it any wonder hes so...beige?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how much character growth we’ve seen from everyone on the Rookie in the last three seasons/one year; everyone but Nolan.

He’s the exact same now as he was when the show started, the only thing about him that has changed (apart from girlfriends) is that he has pivoted from wanting to be detective to TO. That’s it.

Angela Lopez has changed her whole life; she’s changed jobs, she’s in a real relationship and she’s having a baby. Being Jackson’s TO made her a better cop, and a better teacher. Jackson already told her how much of an impact she made on his life, and he’s signing up to be a part of her baby’s life.

Jackson West’s whole character was torn down and rebuilt. He questioned himself, his father, his ability to be a cop, and what it means to be a cop and a person of colour. He’s faced personal struggles, issues with both his parents and he’s answered the question about why he’s there.

Nyla Harper joined at the halfway point and she’s grappled with what her life looks like when she’s not the hotshot. She’s nearly lost her daughter, and her marriage has collapsed. Nyla had to learn how to be part of a team again.

Lucy Chen showed up her first day as the hotshot who made an arrest on her way into work. She looked death in the face and came back. Her kindness and openness were both tested, but she remembered why she picked this job. Lucy grew in ways that changed her. She’s more observant now. More sure of herself. More determined than ever.

Tim Bradford was in the middle of a personal crisis when the show started. So stuck in his own head that he couldn’t picture a life not on patrol, or how to let Isobel go. Because of what he lived through, Tim is ready to move on. He’s ready for more. He believes in himself now, in a way he didn’t when the show started. He understands himself better now.

For all the inconsistencies and weird timelines, this show really commits to character growth. That’s where it shines.

In defense of the trailer

Disclaimer: I totally understand why some people are hurt or angry and view it as bait. I think I am just very lucky in my fandom experience that these sort of things are more teases in my eyes because I’ve never had the ship not go on to get together.

This may be controversial but I actually love that they did the trailer the way that they did. It created such a great buzz on social media, including with Eric and Melissa too and that in itself was a joy. The ratings are also up this week and I’m not saying its definitely related but I do think it helped.

It also shows that they are more than aware of the chenford love. I do think that they knew we wouldn’t fall for it. It was too out of the blue and chenford aren’t there yet. However, they are playing to us and that means more content for us.

Knowing that the scene was coming also changed how I viewed the episode. It was more obvious that it was fake, whereas if we didn’t know it was coming, there would have been just that hint of doubt thanks to Melissa’s excellent delivery. This way I could laugh at Eric’s facial expressions and just enjoy the moment.

It’s a moment that will definitely get called back to when these two finally get together. And that will happen. I am sure of it. As long as ABC keeps picking us up for new seasons that is because this is a slow burn people... there’s gonna be more lows that will make that final high all the better!