#therookiemidseasonmadness

[myrandomfandomramblings]

New chapter, New contact names - a Chenford fanfic

As soon as the LAPD rookie graduation ceremony finished Tim had to run to the bathroom. When he returned to the Mid-Wilshire station table it was nearly abandoned, it’s previous occupants now roaming the hall mingling with their fellow officers. The exception was Lucy who sat by herself looking at what Tim realized was his phone. 

“What are you doing?” he asked retaking his seat beside her.

“Changing my contact,” she replied, not looking up from the screen.

He reached over and took the phone from her hands. “Now that I’ve finished your training you’re just cutting me out of your life. That’s cold.” he joked. 

“I’m not deleting it. Just changing my name,” she countered as she grabbed for the phone. “I know you have me in here as Boot and I’m not your boot anymore.” She smirked as she won the tug-o-war and got the phone back.

Tim rolled his eyes but let her keep his phone. “How’d you get into my phone anyway?”

“Your password’s literally just your badge number with the number of your favourite football player added to the end: 3483116,” she answered smugly. “It really wasn’t that hard to guess considering your two favourite things in the world are football and being a cop.”

“You know me too well,” Tim said shaking his head.

Lucy meanwhile had found herself in his contacts under ‘Boot (Chen)’. It was between ‘Boot (Bennett)’ and ‘Boot (Diaz)’ which is exactly why she felt the need to change the contact. She refused to just be another one of his former rookies. They were friends and she wanted it to stay that way even when they were no longer spending everyday together. 

She replaced ‘Boot (Chen)’ with ‘Lucy Chen’ and began adding ‘(the best rookie you ever trained)’ but unfortunately that was over the character limit so she backspaced and decided on a new tactic: emojis.

“What are doing?” Tim questioned looking over her shoulder at the string of emojis she had added: ‘🥇👮🏻‍♀️📚📼🐶📱🍔🍟🏨💍 💉🦠🍾🚓’.

“Making sure you’ll still remember who I am now that it doesn’t say ‘Boot’,” she teased. “I’m the best rookie you ever trained,” she continued, pointing at the corresponding emojis as she went (🥇👮🏻‍♀️). “I recorded books on tape for you (📚📼) and gave you my dog (🐶) and you’re always making fun of me for spending too much time on my phone (📱). You bought me a veggie burger (🍔) and fries (🍟) to the hospital (🏨) after you saved me when I was kidnapped and buried alive by finding my ring (💍). I thought about adding this one (🛢) but that seemed like too much. And as if that wasn’t enough to go through during my rookie year, I was also stuck with a used needle (💉), you were infected by a strange virus (🦠), we survived a false missile alert (🍾) and we crashed the shop at least three times (🚓). You were also shot on my first day but there wasn’t an emoji for that,” she finished, looking up at him.

“As much as I’ve loved reliving our time together I don’t need all these emojis to remember you,” he said, softly taking his phone from her hands. “Just two,” he added erasing the mass of emojis and replacing them with his own (☀️💪🏻).  

When Tim thought of Lucy he thought of sunshine and strength. He had never met anyone who was so resilient and tough yet so full of warmth and light… and love. He could have easily added a heart emoji but he didn’t want it to be misconstrued.

“There,” he said turning the screen towards her.

“I like it,” Lucy confirmed ducking her head to hide her glistening eyes and flushed cheeks.

“So Boot, how will I know you won’t forget me. I seem to recall my contact name in your phone was ‘Ofc Bradford’. That’s not very personable.”

“Not your boot anymore. And you don’t have to worry I’ve already changed it.” Lucy unlocked her phone, opened Tim’s contact then handed it to him.

His contact was simply ’Tim 👮🏼‍♂️🐕🏈’. Lucy had changed it that morning as she was getting ready for her graduation ceremony. He was no longer Officer Bradford her TO but Tim her friend and she was oddly excited about that distinction.

Tim just nodded and handed her phone back with one of those rare smiles of his that would be barely perceptible to anyone else but that Lucy now knew so well.

——-

Later that night Tim sat on his couch with Cujo, watching Sports Center, when his phone dinged to notify him of a new message from ‘Lucy Chen ☀️💪🏻’. He smiled to himself before opening the message. It read “Thank-you again for everything. I think our story’s pretty great so far” followed by the the string of emojis she had initially added to her contact (🥇👮🏻‍♀️📚📼🐶📱🍔🍟🏨💍 💉🦠🍾🚓). As Tim thought about how to reply he began looking through the emoji console and couldn’t help but wonder which could be added to their story next. After all, they were just getting started.

[crose84]

Prompt for Chenford : Tim's views on PDA

I think is meant as a headcanon prompt and not a fanfic one? Although, there’s probably a fic in here somewhere too. 

Tim is okay with PDA, not gross or obnoxious level PDA, but hand-holding, kisses, an arm around Lucy’s shoulder - yes. It’s something he gets more comfortable with the longer they’re together. The caveat being, never at work and in the early stages never somewhere where it’s likely they’d run into other cops. They’re comfortable and happy, and it’s not a secret they’re together (well, maybe in the beginning), but he’s always going to want to take care to protect her reputation as an officer.

[universallongings]

Hello, a chenford question! How do you think the ship will evolve once Lucy is no longer Tim's rookie? What's your best guess? (Is this a headcanon question? I don't know what that is lol). I think Tim will be the first to realize his feelings but Lucy will make the first move (in a distant future..). Idk he's so stoic I think he wouldn't act on it if he thought it would harm her carreer.

This is a great question! Realistically, I think it’s going to take a LONG time for them to finally get there (unless the show does some kind of time jump at some point, which I could honestly kind of see them doing—jump to two years in the future when Nolan is a TO, Jackson and Lucy are more established in their careers, and maybe Tim is a sergeant at Mid Wilshire now, and with Lucy being established in her path and a couple of years removed from being his rookie they could expedite the relationship without  the “stigma” on Lucy). But if the show continues with its “real time” storytelling, I can see it being a true slow burn, with both of them having these moments of coming close to figuring out their feelings but backing away—a real push and pull for a while. I think Tim is closer than he realizes already. He knows he cares about her more than he’s ever cared about a rookie and probably more than he should care about a rookie. But I think it’s going to take a while for him to actually allow himself to fully feel and accept what’s already happening. 

I could see something with Rosalind happening that forces him to kind of confront that what he feels for her is different (or even just continuing this undercover storyline). And as for Lucy, I think she already knows to some extent that he cares about  her more than he’ll admit, and she likes it. But I also think she’s not necessarily letting herself think too much about it either because he’s still her T.O. I have a feeling not riding together every day is going to force them to admit they miss each other, and that’s going to lead to them possibly spending more time together outside of actual work hours (that way the show still gets to capitalize on their chemistry too). 

Ultimately, when (yes, when) they finally get together, I think it’ll be Lucy putting herself out there because that’s what she does but leaving it up to Tim to make that last move and finally kiss her. And because we’ll all have been watching Tim work through his feelings (I foresee a “Tim almost admits his feelings for Lucy but she starts dating someone else” story at some point), we’ll know that he’s going to take that leap and go all in. 

Alternately, I could also see a scenario where after a really stressful/near-death experience, one shows up at the other’s house and kisses them without saying a word. But maybe that’s just because so many of my slow burns have finally gotten together that way. ;) 

[xisheppard]

That smile! It just makes it all better.

[myrandomfandomramblings]

A Chenford fanfic - in which Lucy and Tim dance at Angela’s wedding

Angela and Wesley’s wedding had gone off without a hitch due in no small part to Tim’s work as ‘Man of Honour’. Now his job was done and all he had to do was “go have some fun. Enjoy the rest of the night.” That had been a direct order from the bride herself. However, Tim had enjoyed having a role, a purpose, making sure his best friend had the special day she deserved. Now he didn’t know what to do with himself, so he sat alone at his table. 

Throughout the rest of the reception the table had been full, occupied by Sergeant Grey and his wife, Jackson, Nyla, Nolan, and Lucy, but they had all quickly taken the dance floor when that part of the evening had begun. Tim on the other hand had insisted he didn’t dance and stubbornly stuck to that every time Lucy returned to the table for a drink and tried to convince him to join her and the rest of their friends. Tim had no desire to do the Macarena, YMCA, cha-cha slide or whatever other weird dance moves they were rocking when the song didn’t provide instructions. He was pretty sure he saw Nolan do the sprinkler, Jackson do the worm, Lucy do the running man and even Nyla get in on the absurdity with some disco moves. And that was all just during the last song. 

When the song changed, so did the vibe and the moves. It was a slower song, ‘Lover’ by Taylor Swift, Tim thought. Although he didn’t know how he knew that and definitely would deny it if anyone asked. Everybody on the dance floor had now grabbed a partner. Most of the couples were either closely pressed together simply swaying on the spot or doing the classic square step pattern as they carried casual conversations. The exception was Lucy and Jackson who appeared to be improvising an elaborate dance routine that involved very exaggerated facial expressions and an excessive amount of spinning and dipping each other. Tim rolled his eyes but couldn’t fight the small smile tugging at his lips. The reason for the over-the-top performance became more clear to Tim as the night wore on. 

Every time a slow song came on Lucy would grab a new partner:  one of Angela’s brothers, Nolan, another one of Angela’s brothers, Nyla, and every time she would step on their feet so many times that by the end of the song they were limping and she was beet red, apologizing profusely.  She even managed to give the second brother a bleeding nose when she abruptly looked up from her feet and her head collided with his face. So when the next slow song came on, John Legends’s ‘All of Me,’ Tim found himself standing up from his seat and walking towards the dance floor. He couldn’t handle anymore secondhand embarrassement. 

Tim had taken dance lessons to prepare for his first dance with Isabel. That felt like a lifetime ago but he was confident he still remembered the basics of the Waltz and he was determined to teach Lucy and make her the best dancer there. After all, he had yet to find something she didn’t excel at given the chance to learn especially when he was the one doing the teaching. 

It didn’t take him long to find Lucy. Unsurprising, considering, if he was being honest with himself, he hadn’t taken his eyes off her all night. She was once again dancing with Jackson but this time they were in proper hold and it appeared Jackson was trying to teach her how to not step on her partner’s feet. 

“Mind if I cut in?” Tim asked as he approached the pair. Their shocked expressions suddenly made him self-conscious. What had he been thinking. Before he could really overthink it Jackson was leaving, saying something about having to use the bathroom anyway, and Lucy’s hands were on his shoulders.

“I should warn you,” Lucy said looking up at him, “I appear to have to left feet. I’ve been injuring my dance partners all night.”

Tim placed one hand on the small of her back and took her left hand in his other. “I’ve noticed,” he smirked, “and I’m here to help. Do you trust me?” 

She gave him a questioning look but nodded.

He spent the next couple minutes slowly guiding her both with his body and voice. “Step forward with your left foot. Your other left. Good, now forward and to the right with your right. OK but on a diagonal, you don’t have to go forward then right. Now bring your feet together. Ow! that was my foot. Left to right, not right to left. Now left foot back. And right back and to the right. Now feet together again, right to left. Good and now we are back where we started and we just repeat. Left foot forward…” 

Lucy was just starting to get it when the song ended and ‘Party in the USA’ came on. Tim went to let go of Lucy but she held him where he was.

“I’m just starting to get the hang of it. We can’t stop now,” Lucy stated, “please stay.” She fixed him with those puppy dog eyes he couldn’t say no to so Tim obliged and continued coaching her. 

The only problem was the pump-up pop beats that the DJ was currently favouring were significantly louder than the slow song they were initially dancing to, which meant Tim found himself pulling Lucy closer and leaning down, practically talking right beside her ear so his instructions could be heard over the music. Even when she no longer needed the verbal cues they stayed that close, caught up in their own little world as they moved in unison. When another slow song finally came on, ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran this time, Tim felt Lucy tense like this was some sort of evaluation. He squeezed her hand and whispered in her ear. 

“You’ve got this, and I’ve got your back.” He felt her relax and they quickly fell back into the now familiar routine. When the song ended she pulled away from him slightly. 

“I did it. An entire slow dance and I didn’t cause a single, even minor, injury,” she beamed, staring up at him clearly proud of herself.

Tim smiled and shook his head. “Only because you had such a great teacher.”

Lucy rolled her eyed and playfully pushed his shoulder. “So what’s next?” she asked.

“Next?”

“Yeah, I got the walk in a box thing down but there’s got to be more to it than that. Show me the cool moves Tim.”

Tim didn’t think twice about fulfilling her request. They spent the rest of the night in each others arms as they slowly mastered more and more steps. When the DJ announced the final song of the night it was 3 am and they had the entire dance floor to themselves. 

Shania Twain’s ‘From This Moment On’ began playing, and they glided around the dance floor like they were dancing on air, perfectly in sync. They stepped and spun and dipped and swayed as Tim tried to memorize every moment. The way Lucy’s eyes shone when they met his and the little smile that played on her lips. The playful laugh that escaped her when he lifted her off the ground. The feeling of her hand in his, of her head on his shoulder and her breath on his neck. The warmth of her body pressed against his and her familiar scent overwhelming his senses. Then the song ended and the beautiful trance was broken. Tim drove Lucy home. She thanked him for a wonderful night and neither of them ever mentioned it again. At least not for another couple years when they finally addressed what had been building between them and started dating. Then dancing became a common part of date night and a few years after that they got to show off their moves at their own wedding.

[crose84]

It's Lucy's birthday and she just wants two things: a nice Italian dinner and to wear a hot dress for a fun night out with her friends.

OR

Tim helps Lucy celebrate her birthday.

[crose84]

Hey! I came across your headcanon and fics, I was wondering if you could write one of Lucy denying that she’s cold so Tim gives her his jacket? One that takes place when they’re on a date? Thank you!

Hey! Here you go, I hope you like it!

Better at the Ballpark 

Lucy had just sat down in the blue plastic chair when she realized what she’d left in the truck, her sweater. She was fine now, but when the sunset she’d be chilly. Not that she’d admit it to the man in the seat next to her. He’d only reminded her a dozen times to bring the damn sweater. 

Tim put his beer in the cupholder on the seatback in front of him and wrapped an arm around Lucy. He’d been looking forward to bringing her to her first Dodger game, “nine innings, we only play the bottom of the ninth if the Dodgers are losing. We go to extras if the game is tied after the bottom of the ninth. A strikeout is three strikes, foul balls only count as strikes for strikes one and two, a walk is four balls. Kershaw is pitching for us tonight, so if he’s on, we should see strikeouts, ground ball outs, and not a lot of walks. The Cubs have Jake Arrieta going for them, and when he’s on, he’s dominant.”

She took a sip of her beer and looked around the stadium noticing the large sections of empty chairs, “where is everyone? You said the Dodgers were good this year.”

“It’s LA, people come late and leave early to avoid the traffic.”

“Are we going to leave early?” She asked, already knowing the answer.

He just glared at her, “real fans don’t leave early, Lucy.” 

She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder, “can we make out if the game is super boring? Like if we’re losing 12-0?”

~~~

Lucy found herself rising with everyone else as the Dodgers recorded the last out in the top of the seventh. The Cubs had unfortunately scored two runs off Kershaw to take a 2-1 lead. Tim was studying the scoreboard, analyzing where they were in the batting order for the bottom of the inning. She took the opportunity to quickly run her hands up and down her arms trying to ward off the chill. 

“Cold?” He asked, catching the movement out of the corner of his eye.

“No,” she answered stubbornly. 

Tim rolled his eyes and unzipped his Dodgers hoodie, wordlessly handing it to her. 

She slid her arms into the hoodie, appreciating the way his scent lingered on the fabric. “Thanks,” she stretched up on her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips.

The final out recorded in the bottom of the ninth, Lucy took Tim’s hand and followed him out of the stands. “So that was baseball.”

“We lost,” he said glumly.

She shrugged, “I still had fun.” As the game wore on she found herself swept up, cheering when Tim did, groaning at plays that disappointed him. “I guess we’ll have to come again.”

Smiling, he let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her, pulling her close against his side as they walked to the truck. “Anytime.”

[myrandomfandomramblings]

Angela’s “Baby Shower” - a The Rookie Fanfic

At 35 weeks pregnant Angela was over it. She was sick of always having to run to the bathroom.  She was done with the fogginess in her brain interfering with her work. She was over the sore back and hips and feet that came from carrying an extra 30 pounds in her abdomen and she was tired of being so tired after being unable to find a comfortable sleeping position. But mostly she just no longer wanted to feel so different. She hated being too exhausted to go out with her friends after shift and even if she was feeling up for it she always had to get water while everyone else got their cocktail of choice. She was frustrated at being unable to bend down easily when investigating crime scenes and having to rely on others to find all the evidence. She also disliked the attention she got because of her pregnancy. Everybody always seemed to be looking at her belly, asking her when she was due, how she was doing and cooing about the joys of parenthood. She was excited about the baby and couldn’t wait to meet her little bundle of joy but she also craved normalcy, to just feel like herself and be a part of the group instead of sticking out like a sore thumb. So when Wesley pitched the idea of a baby shower to celebrate her and their little one, yet to be born, she vetoed that idea fast and hard. When she shared her reasoning her Fiancé nodded.

“I understand where your coming from but you actually gave me a really good idea for a baby shower that I’m sure you’ll love. Do you trust me?” he asked.

She had nodded and agreed to let him throw her a baby shower with the caveat that she could pull the plug at anytime.

Which brought them to the day of the baby shower, a Saturday, two weeks later.  

Wesley had kept the entire thing a surprise so Angela was thoroughly confused as she watched him unpack a number of crates and garbage bags from the truck and bring them into the downtown park where she sat.

“What is all this?” She asked. 

“You’ll see,” he replied giving her a wink. “Once everyone gets here.”

20 minutes later everyone was there. Lucy, Jackson, Tim, Nolan, and Harper. Grey wanted to come but had to work.

“Welcome everyone,” Wes announced, “today we will be competing to see who is the most badass pregnant person.” At this point everyone including Angela was looking at Wesley like he had grown a second head but he pushed on. “There will be three challenges: an escape room, laser tag and a contraction simulator and you will be divided into two teams. Angela as our guest of honour you get to pick your two teammates.”

“Nyla and Lucy,” Angela said immediately. She still didn’t really understand what they were doing but she had the feeling girl power was the way to victory.

Lucy and Harper excitedly moved over to Angela, giving each other high fives.

“Guess that means we’re a team,” Nolan said draping his arms around Jackson and Tim’s shoulders.

“Great,” Tim replied rolling his eyes. Angela wasn’t sure if he was mad because she didn’t choose him or because he wasn’t on the same team as Lucy either way she was looking forward to kicking his butt.

“OK now the last thing to do before we start the competition is to pregnify everyone,” Wesley stated.

“I feel like I should make some sort of joke about how babies are made but I think I’ll wait to see where you’re going with this,” Nolan offered.

“First everyone put one of these on,” Wesley said as he reached into a garbage bag and brought out a handful of wrap baby carriers which he handed out. Once everybody had theirs on he opened the lids of several storage containers.

“Now everyone, come grab a balloon and put them in your carrier.”

“Wow these are heavier than I expected. What’s in them?” Jackson asked as he lifted a balloon out of the tub.

“They’re full of water and some sand,” Wesley answered, “and they each way exactly 30 lbs, the average amount of weight gained in pregnancy. I weighed them myself.”

“Is that why you asked me where the scale was the other night?” Angela asked

Wesley confirmed before moving on. “Next everyone grab a hoodie to put over your bundle of joy,” he said opening another garbage bag.

“It’s at least 80 degrees we don’t need hoodies,” Tim complained.

“It’s to replicate the heat generated by a growing baby,” Wesley replied, “plus I had a lot of fun with them.”

Tim rolled his eyes but obediently put on the last hoodie.

All the hoodies were bright neon colours (Lucy pink, Harper purple, Jackson green, Nolan yellow and Tim blue) and had pregnancy announcements written on the front in thick black letters: ‘Baby on Board’, ‘Coming summer 2021’, ‘Eating for two’, etc. 

“There’s one for you too if you want it Ange, but you don’t have to wear it,” Wesley said. “Now the last thing, well things,” he added bringing out a bottle of Benadryl and stack of medicine cups, “since I can’t give you brain fog I’m just going to make you drowsy. Everybody take a medicine cup and wash it down with one of these,” he said opening a cooler lid to reveal a stack of 1L water bottles, “the whole thing.”

“I’m going to have to pee so bad,” Lucy joked as she started to drink her water.

“That’s the idea,” Wesley replied.

They spent the next 20 minutes finishing their waters, waiting for the Benadryl to kick in and admiring their new ‘bellies’.

Angela laughed as Jackson yelled “belly bump,” while running then jumping towards Lucy who met him in the air before the force knocked them both off their feet. She laughed even harder watching them try and fail to get up on their own until Wesley came to help them. She happily accepted a belly bum from Jackson once he had taken them down a notch (or several) as did everyone else but Nolan who was excessively protecting his fake fetus, shielding his stomach with his arms and body whenever anybody approached. Angela watched her friends, thoroughly entertained by their antics. She was especially enjoying the effect a visibly pregnant Lucy was having on Tim.  He was constantly stealing glances at her and when she smoothed her hoodie over her stomach and asked him how she looked his cheeks flushed and Angela was pretty sure she heard him stutter. This was confirmed by Nyla who had come up beside her and after a quick poke at Tim started reminiscing about her own pregnancy with Lila, which got the two woman talking and comparing notes. She was vaguely aware of Lucy who had taken her phone out and was now taking pictures and videos of everybody but didn’t fully turn her attention back to the others until Wesley said it was time for the first challenge: the escape room.

They walked to the escape room place which was only about a block away with minimal whining and a lot of perplexed looks from passers by. Once they got there they split into their teams and went to their respective rooms. The girls’ room was sorcerer’s lair themed and overall they got through it pretty smoothly. They had a few bumps in the road: by 20 minutes in they were all crossing their legs trying to hold their pee, Lucy fell asleep once while sitting at a table trying to decode a message and Nyla debated trying to use one of the magic wands in their room to pop her balloon. “Now I remember why I only had one. This was not easy,” she said as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor. But overall they worked together really well and had a lot of fun just talking about anything and everything as they solved all the puzzles and escaped the room. 

 When the girls were done, after a quick trip to the bathroom, they joined Wesley in the control booth to watch the guys via video and they seemed to be having a much harder time.  Jackson was trying to decode the message Lucy had but was becoming visibly more and more frustrated as he rubbed his temples and verbally demanded and pleaded with his brain to work. Nolan was trying to bend down to open a trap door (Angela had opened theirs with a broom handle) but couldn’t quite reach it without nearly falling over. After many failed attempts he eventually used the chair as a support bar to lower himself to the ground then push himself back up once the door was open. Meanwhile Tim kept swearing under his breath as he accidentally knocked various things off shelves and tables with his fake belly when he forgot how far out it reached. Luckily one of the things he knocked off opened when it hit the floor to reveal a key they needed to escape the room, which Nolan was able to retrieve with his new chair technique. Shortly after, Jackson succeeded in decoding his clue and from there they proceeded to finish the room pretty quickly and easily.

After another bathroom break they headed to the food trucks for a quick lunch where they mostly sat in content silence as everyone happily shovelled food into their mouths. This silence was only punctuated by the occasional comment that was either gloating or trash talk or by Tim barking “What are you looking at?” at people eyeing the group.

Next they headed to laser tag. Which Wesley had booked privately, so they had the whole place to themselves. The rules were simple every time you shot a member of the opposing team your team earned a point. First team to 30 won. Everybody seemed to have a good time. Angela laughed at her friends as they tried to sneak up on or out run each other, both techniques that were being significantly impacted by their fake pregnancies. Nolan at one point declared that the more aggressively you waddled the faster you could go and spent the rest of the game darting around like a mad penguin. He was ultimately successful in getting 6 points for his team using this technique which was significantly more than the 1 point he got before implementing it. Jackson on the other hand found a good hiding place in a high traffic area and would shoot the opposing team anytime they came by. Although initially this strategy was very successful and he quickly racked up 10 points, once the ladies realized their vests always lit up red when they passed that area they made a plan and were able to all find and corner him in his hiding spot. By the time he got away they had got 10 points themselves. Tim tried to use a lot of the same techniques he used at work or at paintball but unfortunately for him, although  they were efficient Lucy knew all of them and was able to use that knowledge to her advantage. The girls took a different approach and worked more as a team. They used some techniques from work and also had fun designing and implementing crazy plans, including one of them acting as bait to lure the guys in and the other two blind-siding them. When all was said and done the guys won 30-29. The girls attributed this to Tim and Nolan’s height advantage. They were able to see over all the obstacles but it could also be that the girls were having a little to much fun making elaborate plans that weren’t necessarily the most practical (the gun tricks looked cool but significantly decreased their shooting accuracy). Nonetheless, Angela had the greatest total points with 16. 

Following laser tag everybody was really happy but also extremely exhausted and they outright refused to walk the ten minutes back to the park despite the fact that because they were downtown it would take twice as long to drive their in traffic. While everybody went pee again Wesley walked back and brought the van. 

“I call middle row,” Harper yelled as Wesley pulled into the parking lot. 

“Me too,” West added. 

Angela took the passenger seat which left Nolan, Lucy and Tim to squeeze into the back row. Because Lucy was the smallest she was forced to take the middle seat but it didn’t seem to matter to her as she fell asleep almost immediately and spent the 20 minute ride leaning against Tim, head on his shoulder. They woke her up once they were back at the park but only after they had taken a couple pictures. 

Once they all got out of the van Wesley told them they could take off their hoodies and fake bellies. Tim and  Nyla quickly took off their stuff and helped Wesley set up for the labour simulation. Meanwhile the three newly minted P2’s goofed around. Nolan pretended to be giving birth taking quick breaths and squeezing Lucy’s hand as he pushed his balloon out the bottom of the carrier where Jackson caught it. Then working together the three of them lifted the balloon above their heads and belted out ‘The Circle of Life.’ Following the end of their song they too quickly shed their layers then went to join the rest of the group gathered in front of a folding beach chair that had been set up. 

“Alright everyone welcome to the final and tie-breaking event,” Wesley announced.

“Tied?” Angela questioned. “We beat the guys by at least half an hour in the escape room and they only beat us by one point at laser tag. We are winning.” 

“That’s not how this works babe. But don’t worry because you will be sitting this one out because you have to go through real labor in a couple weeks, I will be taking your spot and I will make sure your team wins.”

“You better,” Angela replied teasingly.

“Alright this is the labour simulator,” Wesley explained holding up a small device, “We stick these electrodes to your stomach and this machine will deliver electricity which will result in fake contracts that range in intensity from 1-10,” he pointed to a dial on the machine. “According to the instruction book 1 is like mild period cramps, 4 is Braxton-Hicks contractions, 8 is full blown labour and 10 is just full blown torture. Whichever team can tolerate the highest combined score wins. Oh and tolerate means experience that setting for at least ten seconds without ripping the leads off your body. Any questions?” When everybody shook their heads he continued. “Who wants to go first?”

“I will,“ Jackson offered making his way to the chair. Wesley stuck the electrodes to his abdomen then he was ready to go. 

He jumped initially on the first setting since he had no idea what to expect but after that he was pretty calm just clenching his jaw as the pain was increased. That is until he got to 6.

“Can I hold somebody’s hand?” he asked, “That’s a thing, right?”

Both Lucy and Nolan immediately stood up.

“How about two hands,” Nolan suggested seeing this.

“Even better,” Jackson replied intertwining his left hand with Nolan’s and his right with Lucy’s. 

This was enough to get him through 7 and 8 as he channeled all his pain into his friends, crushing their hands, but one second into 9 and he immediately pulled the leads off.

“Great job Jackson,” Wesley said as everyone patted him on the back, “Who’s next.”

Lucy went next and didn’t so much as flinch until 5 at which point she decided she was going to try meditation. This helped her through 6 and 7 at which point she too wanted hands to squish. Although both Jackson and Nolan offered, Lucy’ teammates decided it was their job. Between crushing her friends hands and focusing on her breathing she got through 8 rather easily. She clearly struggled more with 9. Jackson, Nolan and Wes were counting down. “Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven,” Angela felt Lucy’s grip loosen in her own. She was going to pull off the leads that is until Tim spoke up, “Come on Chen. You’ve got this. You’re strong,” he said and Lucy’s grip tightened back around Angela’s. “Three, Two, One, Done.” Everybody cheered as Lucy released her team mates hands and opened her eyes. “Sorry team but that’s enough for me I’m not trying 10,” she said as she removed the electrodes from her stomach.

“You did great,” Angela said and patted Lucy’s shoulder.

Tim went next. Rather than closing his eyes he fixed his glare on the machine in Wesley’s hand as if he could intimidate it in to giving up.  He also refused to hold anyone’s hand and instead gripped the armrests of the chair. By the time he got to 8 he was gripping so hard he broke the arm of the chair but still some how managed to maintain a near neutral expression throughout the entire experience. At this point Lucy insisted on holding the hand that had broken the chair. When he pointed out that he was worried he would hurt her she stubbornly grabbed his hand in both of hers, “I’m strong, remember.” With Lucy’s help Tim too made it through 9 and like his former rookie decided to end it there.

Harper went next. Although she was clearly in pain she was able to do 10 by focusing on her breathing, holding her friends hands and thinking about Lila. 

“How did you do that?” Jackson asked awe in his voice.

“When I was in labour with Lila I had contractions that were at least the intensity of 8 that lasted a minute each for like eight hours. One ten second one is a piece of cake.”

“You didn’t have an epidural?” Nolan asked

Harper shook her head, “I was being stubborn. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”

“You’re very impressive, but I have nothing to prove to anyone. I’m getting an epidural,” Angela offered. 

“You do what’s right for you,” Nyla replied patting her friend on the back, “ You’re going to do great.”

Nolan went next. He was practically jumping out of the chair by the time it got to 6 and at 7 he was writhing around so much he actually managed to tip the chair over. The fact that he ended up in a tangled mess on the ground was probably the only reason he made it through 7 without ripping the electrodes off. He did his best on 8 but despite having everyone around him either holding his hand or holding him down he only made it five seconds.

“OK the guys got 7+8+9 that’s 24. We already have 19 so all you have to do is get through 6 babe,” Angela said to Wesley.

It should have been easy. The pain wasn’t that bad, but it was in his abdomen and it was just a little too similar to the pain he experienced when he was stabbed. He was starting to get flashbacks but he wanted to do this for his fiancé, the love of his life and mother to his unborn child. He was going to do this for Angela even when she told him it was OK, that she understood, that he didn’t need to push through this trauma for her but he wanted to. So despite the fact that his whole body was pale, we was dripping with sweat, dizzy and short of breath with tears streaming down his face he pushed through his ten seconds at 6 with steely determination. At this point Angela pulled off the electrodes for him then pulled him into a hug. All her friends wrapped themselves around the couple and they stayed like that until Wesley was feeling better. 

“I didn’t get any prizes so bragging rights will have to be enough,” Wesley admitted.

“The day was prize enough,” Lucy offered, “I had a blast, we should do stuff like this more often.”

“Does that mean you’re not going to rub it in?” Jackson asked.

“Not a chance,” she replied.

“How about because we won we get to meet the baby first?” Nyla suggested.

“That’s fair,” Angela agreed, “but what do I get?”

“Presents,” Nyla said handing Angela her baby shower present. 

After Angela opened her presents which mostly consisted of clothes and books and toys for the new baby everybody headed home to get some rest.

“Thank-you,” Angela said giving Wes a quick kiss, “For today. I really needed it.”

And she meant it. She had been feeling alone, helpless, and inadequate. But today reminded her about all the people who love her, about the strength that comes with working together. It reminded her that it’s ok to be imperfect, stressed, struggling but also to be goofy, to let loose and have fun. After today she finally felt like her self again and that woman was going to be a great mother.  

[xisheppard]

Rookie Day

He used to love Rookie Day. It's Christmas and the purge in one. He took pride in immediately intimidating every rookie that came through the door. He always had too, until her. Lucy had changed everything. How could so much be exactly the same but your world still feel upside down?

Here he was standing in front of the same lockers,  putting on the same badge getting ready to sit in the same room where it all began.

This time though Lucy wouldn't be there looking over her shoulder searching for his face. He wouldn't be able to watch her tuck a stray hair behind her ear before eagerly making a note in her tiny pad.

Today was a new beginning, a new rookie to break. He found that it all just left a sour taste in his mouth. He didn't want to sit next to someone new and quiz them on procedure or wonder if they could handle themselves in a fight.

He wanted... he wanted her.

The thought hit him like a ton of bricks. She was the best rookie he had ever had. She had been his partner, always there even when he thought he didn’t want her to be. She was his friend helping him overcome his past and setting him on the path for his future. But now she was on her own path.

He slowly sat down on the bench behind him as he realized what he wanted. His phone vibrated beside him, her face appearing on the screen as it had since her graduation day months ago.  He claimed that she had put it there and he couldn't figure out how to take it off but the truth was he liked having it there. He looked at the photo a second more before answering.

“Bradford”

“Hey, Happy Rookie Day! He or she hasn't washed out already have they?”

He gave a soft chuckle “No, not yet but I’ve got all day.”

“Oh my gosh Tim, please give whoever it is a chance, they may suprise you.”

"Yeah I doubt that."

"Mmm... you okay Tim? You sound UnBradfordy.

He smirked against the phone "Whatever that means...I am fine. Just ready to get this day over with."

"That eager to see me huh?" We are still on for drinks right?"

They had agreed to meet up after his shift with the newbie. Likely she was hoping for a Tim Bradford compliment where he compared how much better she was than the new rookie. For him though it was a chance to see her one on one, something that didn't happen often anymore. Now though he needed more than just drinks. He would gladly give her compliments to keep her close. He knew what he wanted.

"Tim, you still there?"

"Lucy, will you go to dinner with me?"

"Sure we can get dinner. Ooh you wanna try the new taco truck, I think.....

" No Lucy, I mean dinner where we dress up, I pick you up at your place, take you to a nice restaurant, and walk you to your door at the end of the night."

She was silent so long he thought she had hung up. Just as he began to check the phone she spoke.

" Two conditions. First I need you to say it."

" What, say what?"

" I need you to call this what it is. I need you to be clear with me Tim."

" Yes, yes I will."

He sighed of course she wouldn't make this easy for him, when had she ever?

" Lucy will you please go on a date with me?"

He could hear her smile in her voice. "What was your second condition?"

"There must be the possibility of a goodnight kiss."

"No doubt."

"Okay then, I will be ready at eight."

"Eight it is."

" I hope you have a great day Tim.

" It is much better now. See you tonight."

He stared at the phone as the call disconnected. He did it. He asked her out. If he had known it would be that simple he would have long before. He just had to get through today and then he could see where their future could go.

He stood threw all his stuff into the locker and checked that he was completely put together. He had a rookie to break. He slammed the locker shut and headed out passing other officers just coming in.

Noticing his smile one asked "What has you so happy Bradford?"

"It's Rookie Day!"

[xisheppard]

How do you think they celebrated after winning? We all know team Bradford wins. I like to think that Jackson, Nolan, Lopez and Harper try to get in on the fun. When they want to play guys vs girls, Tim is having none of it. "Lucy's my partner!"

Tim: "You ready, Boot? Remember. No mercy."

Lucy: "Got it. You're having fun, aren't you?"

Tim: "No. On me. Go!"

(1x18)

[xisheppard]

Chenford King

[xisheppard]

This song reminds me of them so much!

[xisheppard]

[xisheppard]

Can we please have more night patrol conversations??

[xisheppard]

I love how Lucy asks questions. Tim is always teaching. I think we see more teaching with him and Lucy than the other TOs and rookies. He really cares about making her a good cop. He tells he what to look for and gives her ways to remember(Dear Method). He explains the consequences of an action but let's her make the decision that she can live with. Lucy is a sponge ready with her notepad to catch it all.

Season 3 has brought an even more confident Lucy. You can see that she believes in herself and is comfortable in her job and with Tim. She has no problem telling him what she will and won't do. That comes from having a good teacher.

[xisheppard]

Eric Winter acted the hell out of this scene. So much control, you almost see him thinking "come on Lucy" as he gives her CPR. That gasp as she comes to. It is just so good!