#worried tim bradford

[saralayne]

This Love ~ Part 7 🩵💜

Dadford

As the wedding was right around the corner. Lucy and Tim have an important conversation with Tamara. After, Tamara finds herself in a dangerous situation and Tim steps up to the plate in a big way.

The wedding details had all been taken care of. Everything had fallen into place. Lucy had found the perfect wedding dress. She was due to go in for her final fitting in a couple of weeks. Life was less stressful now that the details were all in place. It was happening in a mere 6 weeks. Tim and Lucy could not be more excited.

One thing had been on Tim’s mind as the wedding approached. Tim had been living with Lucy and Tamara for a year now. They had become a little family with Tamara and Kojo. Tamara was an adult now. She was a full time college student studying to become a lawyer. Lucy’s puppy as Tim had always called her and she had become his puppy as well. He thought of Tamara as his and Lucy’s kid. The young girl had wormed her way into his heart and he would do anything for her. They would have family dinners together. It felt right. They were a real family. It wasn’t conventional as Tamara was a full fledged adult now. It didn’t take away from the fact on how much Lucy and Tim loved her. Even when they would have children or their own in the future. Tamara was always going to be their first kid. Tim had heard that adoption was possible for even adults. All he wanted was for Tamara to be their family, officially.

As Lucy stepped into Tim’s office to have lunch. There were occasional times they were able to spent a little more time together at the station. They kept it professional, of course. It was just a time to chat and have a bite to eat together.

“Hi Sergeant Bradford”

“Hi Officer Chen”

“I brought us some lunch from the food truck” chuckled a Lucy

“Luce. I want to talk to you about something that has been on my mind for a while now. We were so consumed with the wedding. I wanted to wait for a good moment. Now that the wedding is all planned and set”

“Tim. Babe. What is going on?”

“So, this might sound crazy but hear me out. I did some research. I found adult adoptions are real and actually happen quite frequently”

“Tim. Oh my gosh. Are you saying what I think you are saying?”

“I am. Luce she is our kid. It may of been unconventional how she became our kid. But she is ours. I want it to be official. I want her to always feel that she is our family. Even in the future when we bring children into this world. I never want Tamara to feel like she is not ours as well. I don’t know how she will feel about this. I just really want this for our family”

“Tim, you are such an amazing man. You’re right. She is our kid. There is nothing I would love more than to have Tamara as ours in every sense. I know she is going to feel honoured. Let’s talk to her as soon as possible and then we can start the process”

A few days later. They sat down to dinner with Tamara. They had made Tamara’s favourite meal. Spaghetti.

“OK. You two are freaking me out. Make my favourite meal. You look nervous. Is something going on? You are kinda scaring me”

“There is something we want to talk to you about” muttered Tim “Tamara, you have always been Lucy’s family since the beginning. I know I joked about it. Since even before Lucy and I got together you wormed you way into my heart as well. Since living here, Lucy and I are about to get married. We. I, want us to be a family officially”

“Ok. Of course I consider you and Lucy family. Oh and Kojo as well”

“Yes and that’s great. We would like to make it official. I would love Lucy and I to formally adopt you. I realize you are an adult. But we want you to officially be our kid. Our daughter”

Tamara had tears streaming down her face.

“I-I can’t believe this. I don’t even know what to say”

“You could start with yes” whispered Lucy

“YES. OF COURSE. So you would be mom and dad?”

“Yes. We would be. If you’re comfortable calling us that” added Tim

“This is something I have wanted my whole life. To feel loved and wanted. Lucy, you gave me a home and stability when I had nothing. Dadford, you have always been there for me even when I annoyed you. You were always a dad figure to me. Nothing would make me happier than to have you both. As my mom and dad”

“Good. It’s settled then. Lucy and I will start the process and paperwork as soon as possible. Now, let’s finish eating. You and Lucy can pick some ridiculous reality show for us to watch”

About a week later. Tim had hired a lawyer. The paperwork was easy. Tamara was an adult, so it wasn’t complicated. Papers were signed. Tamara was officially their daughter. She even surprised Tim and decided to change her last name to Bradford. Tim was floored when Tamara presented the paper showing her new name. Lucy was going to become a Bradford in a month. They were now a real family.

Tamara had been spending nights at the library. She had final exams coming up. Tim didn’t like her being there at night. As a cop for many years now, he has seen things. The thought of her walking to her car late at night alone drove him crazy. Lucy would try and calm him. “Babe, she’s always got her cell on and pepper spray that you stocked her with” truth is Lucy also didn’t like Tamara walking alone at night but she knew Tamara was an adult and they to let her be just that.

Lucy was out with the girls. Planning Lucy’s bachelorette party and final details with the wedding. Tim was having a nice, relaxing evening at home. Just him and Kojo watching a Rams game. Tim’s phone started vibrating “Hello”

“Is this Tim Bradford?”

“Yes it is”

“This is Dr. Scott calling from Shaw Memorial”

At first, Tim thought something had happened to Lucy. His heart plummeted.

“We have a Tamara Bradford here. She came by ambulance. She is your daughter?”

“Yes she is. I-I she ok?”

“According to Tamara she was attacked walking to her car. She has a concussion and an arm fracture. Some bruises and lacerations over her face. She fought hard. She must of been taught well” Tim couldn’t help but venture a smirk. “The police are here to take a statement but she wanted you to be called as you and her mom are police?”

“Yes, we are”

Tim was grabbing his keys and running out the door.

“Tamara is very traumatized and is not wanting to give a statement”

“I am on my way. You can tell the officers I will handle this. I am going to call her mom right now, my fiancée. We will handle this. Please tell Tamara I will be right there”

Tim tried calling Lucy. They were out at a spa resort for the night and had told Tim she would not have great cell service. Tim left a voicemail.

“Hi baby. Listen T was taken to the hospital after being attacked walking to her car. She’s ok. I talked to the doctor. I am on my way to the hospital now. Please call me back as soon as you get this. I got her, babe. Talk to you soon. I love you”

Even though Tim had been assured Tamara was OK. He wouldn’t feel good until he saw for himself. Running through the doors at Shaw Memorial to the front desk. “Hi. I’m Sergeant Tim Bradford. My daughter Tamara Bradford was brought in. I would like to see her now” as the nurse looked down at the computer. She brought Tim back to where Tamara was. As he walked into her room. There had been so many times he had been in this very area of Shaw. It had never felt like this. His daughter. Now she was his daughter and there is no feeling like this helpless feeling. Thinking about what could have happened. Tim reminded himself he couldn’t think that way right now. He had to be strong for Tamara.

Tamara was sleeping. Bandages all over her face and a cast on her left arm. Tim took a seat in the vacant chair

“T I’m here. Your gonna be ok, kiddo”

A hoarse voice whispered “dad”. Everytime Tim heard that, his heart completely melted.

“Hey, hun. How are you feeling?”

“I’m OK. I can’t believe this happened. I have never been so terrified. I am so sorry”

“Hey. Stop it right now. You have nothing to apologize for. The only thing that matters is your OK”

“I’m so glad you’re here. I know I need to make a statement. I am just scared and wanted you or mom with me. Both my parents are cops, there is no way I was going to tell strange cops anything”

“Don’t worry. T. I will take care of that. Get some rest now. I called Luce but she is at the spa with Angela and Nyla and they don’t have good cell service. I am sure she will call as soon as she hears my voicemails”

“I know”

“Ok. My girly. I am going to go out in the hall for a few minutes. You get some rest. I will be right here when you wake up”

Tim was pouring a cup of coffee. His phone dinging. As he saw Lucy’s picture flash across his screen.

“Hi. Baby. How are you?”

“Tim. I just got your voicemail” Lucy’s voice was trembling. “Tam. I-Is she ok?”

“Luce. Babe. She’s ok. I promise. She is resting. She wanted to wait for one of us to be here before she gave a statement to the police. She is shook for sure but she’s ok. We will get her through this”

“Tim, you were worried about her walking alone at night from the library and look what happened. I am so sorry I didn’t take your concerns seriously”

“Baby. It’s ok. We couldn’t have foreseen something actually happening. The only thing that matters is that our girl is ok. No one is to blame for this except the scumbag who messed with the wrong family. He will regret the day he ever laid a hand on our daughter”

“God, I love you. I’m on my way home”

“Luce. It’s your spa weekend with the girls”

“Tim. I don’t care. Our daughter is what’s more important, not some girl time. Angela and Nyla as mothers of course understand my need to come home. I will see you soon”

“See you soon. Drive safe. Get home to us”

Tim entered Tamara’s room just as she was waking up.

“Hey kiddo. How are you feeling?”

“I feel better”

“I just takes to Luce. She is on her way home. Just in time to take you home. I just talked to the doctor and he feels comfortable discharging you. Heal and rest at home. That is going to be the best medicine”

“Whatever you say, dad”

Tim took Tamara home. Lucy arrived home not long after. Kojo was all over Tamara, not letting her out of his sight. The family of four laid out on the couch watching movies. Tim was determined to find this attacker who dared to lay one finger on his kid. He would most definitely get justice. However, for now the most important thing for him was to be with his family.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[whumpypepsigal]

The Rookie s06e09: “What are you doing?”

[watmalik]

Can I bring to your attention that Tim didn’t even change into his civvies?! I JUST KNOW when he heard the news man bolted to see his girl.

[theflyindutchwoman]

6.09 | The Squeeze

[americaswritings]

Tim's eyes caught hers and for a moment she felt breathless under the weight of his steel blue eyes. "Boyfriend?" "I said partner", she clarified, knowing fully well what it would sound like to everyone else other than cops. "If I recall correctly, I'm your superior", Tim pointed out. "No sign of amnesia then."

Prompts: "You told me to move on" & Tim asks Lucy to lay with him in the hospital bed and she says no because she doesn't want to hurt him. Tim says "you could never hurt me" and "please, I need you"

[karihighman]

The Rookie 6x09 promo photos ©️DGE / ABC.

[timothyslucy]

"i have nightmares" 🥺 (about picturing tim lying dead somewhere)

"i've spent the last 36 hours imagining you bleeding out at a variety of los angeles landmarks" 😭🤧💔

[paceywittters]

chenford + 'how the hell are we getting ourselves out of this one?'

Tim swallows and glances over at her, his lips twitching into a scowl for a moment before he neutralizes his expression. He can’t frown at her when she’s bleeding like that.

He sighs, crouching down next to her and adjusting her hands, pressing them down over the wound so she’s got actual pressure on it. He doesn’t allow himself to notice just how hard his hands are shaking. Doesn’t allow himself to notice how hard hers are, either. “Look at me,” she whispers, her tone harsh. “Right now, Tim.”

He listens, looks down at her face and feels his throat go tight. "Hi, baby."

Lucy furrows her brow at him and he can tell she's trying to fight a smile. "Hi," she returns, her voice clearly a little shakier than she wants him to hear. "Talk to me. What's the plan?"

Tim slides one of his hands over hers lightly, ghosting his palm over her knuckles. They're sticky with blood and he feels a thick, wet swath of it graze along his skin. He presses his lips together. She's bleeding more than he'd like, but not so much that he thinks it's catastrophic.

Still, the ambulance is at least 10 minutes out and they aren't cleared to move, yet. As if on cue, a loud crumbling emanates through the narrow stretch of the hallway they're trapped in and a piece of drywall lands next to Tim's boot, scuffing the side. He pushes it out of the way, away from Lucy.

This was supposed to be a quick stop-off to question a suspect before they grabbed lunch together. He was supposed to be picking french fries off her plate and casually telling her about all the things he had planned for them to do over the weekend in her incredibly empty apartment. Instead, the suspect had fled after pulling a knife on Lucy and his shitty fourth-floor walkup had started to collapse in on them.

The building, which Tim's pretty sure should be condemned, is going to come down any minute now and they need to be out of it by the time it falls. How that's going to happen, Tim has no idea.

"Baby," her voice is light, pulling him from his thoughts. "What's the plan?"

He knows she's asking for him, not for her. Lucy has a plan already, and he's sure it's a decent one. It's not what he's going to go with, because he's also sure it involves him leaving her, but it's probably decent. "The plan," he says softly, trying to keep the rest of his body still as he reaches down and brushes her hair out of her eyes, "is for you to keep up the pressure, and for me to get us out of here." Lucy frowns and he frowns back at her, albeit teasingly. "What?"

"Real plan," she urges, then sucks in a sharp breath, pressing her hands down into her skin further. The wound is just beneath her ribcage which makes the bleeding that much heavier. "Give me the real plan, please. Ambulance is how far out?"

He glances down at his watch. "Nine minutes," he casts his eyes towards the bleeding, then back up at her face. "You think you have nine minutes in you?"

"I'm not the one who can't last," she teases, and his chest tightens. "I have more than nine minutes in me, I promise."

Tim nods, looking back over his shoulder out the half broken window, straining to see if he can catch a glimpse of flashing lights or rescue vehicles. "I could do a lot with nine minutes," he murmurs, grinning when he hears her laugh. "What?"

"You planning on proving that to me later?"

"I've proven it plenty," he huffs, another crackling sending waves through the air and leaving the ground unsteady beneath this feet. He shuts his eyes and feels Lucy's leg tap against his ankle.

"Breathe," she whispers, and as much as he wants to tell her he'll breathe when they're on solid ground, he listens. "There you go."

"When did you become the voice of reason," he sighs, dipping down next to her slowly, so he won't fuck up the equilibriums of the building that he swears to god is swaying beneath them. He wonders if part of it is just his body reacting to hers, his head swimming because she's unsteady, because there's no way they're this unstable.

Lucy hums quietly. "Well, I was born in June of 19-," Tim cuts her off with a laugh and he watches as her face twists up into a smile, a real one. "We're going to be fine. I'm going to be laid up on your couch by this time tomorrow."

"My couch, huh?"

"Don't tell," she looks around conspiratorially, trying not to smile. "Your couch is more comfortable than mine."

He stares down at her, his face hard. "How much blood have you lost," he asks, serious, before cracking a smirk. He peeks out the window, then settles down next to her as carefully as possible, sliding one of his hands over hers and pressing down a bit further on her wound. "Can I tell you something?"

She hooks one of her bloody fingers around his thumb, squeezing it gently. "Anything you want."

He leans down slowly, as careful as he can, brushing his lips against her hairline. "You're the most important person I've got," he murmurs, his free hand slipping into her hair. "Even with your bad taste in furniture."

Lucy exhales a slow breath that hitches into a laugh by the end, another piece of drywall lands too close to her head for his liking. Tim smiles, kissing her gently and letting himself linger before he sits back up, admiring the smile on her lips, her eyes still closed. "You've at least cracked the top five, at this point," she hums up at him as he hears sirens hurdling toward them in the distance.

[she-ismysun]

Two Weeks of Chenford 2024

April 16th - Sinking

I’m not much of a writer but these prompts were really speaking to me. So I figured I’d share the draft of what I had written for today. Thank you @chenford-prompts

This takes place in the in the days right after Tim leaves their date night in 6x05

———

I’m Sinking and You’re The Reason

She's sinking further into her bed at night. Further into her thoughts. “He’ll be home in the morning,” she thinks to herself. “There’s nothing to worry about. Whatever it is, he’ll loop me in on it in the morning.”

Her phone is still in her hand and she brings it back up to her face to check the time. She hardly got any sleep worrying herself to tears. Not since he suddenly ran out. 12 hours have passed, and there is no sign of him. She can’t bring herself to get up of her bed.

She calls his cell and it goes straight to voicemail. That crushing feeling in her chest returned. Is he okay? Where is he?

It’s like she’s chained down to this bed with worry. With dread. It wraps around her wrists and ankles. Getting heavier and heavier. She knows she couldn’t keep checking her phone and it gets harder as the weights of worry make it heavier to lift her hand up.

If Jackson were here, he would’ve dragged her up and out of bed already. They would be on the couch watching crappy television or going on another one of his ridiculously long runs. He’s not here though. No one is. There’s no one here to help lift these weights.

“I’m sinking further into my bed, further away from my life. I’m sinking and you’re the reason.”

———

please be kind to me. I’d like to revisit this and flesh it out some more but it was painful enough to write. Cathartic though because I am Really Going Through it IRL

[saralayne]

Take Care Of Your Girl🩵💜

Lucy is sick. Tim finds out they are not that good at a secret relationship. Tim takes care of his sick girlfriend.

Tim and Lucy had been together for a few months now. Still, keeping it a secret while at work. Always keeping it completely platonic at work. The running joke around Wilshire consisted of everyone absolutely knowing they were a couple. Tim and Lucy thinking they had everyone fooled, everyone including Smitty knowing they were dating, not just dating but all in. To be fair, they were relatively good at keeping it professional. All their friends and colleagues had seen their feelings way before they got together, long before Tim and Lucy had realized how they felt. They all understood why they were keeping this secret, there were complications to both of their careers. A betting pool was going around at when the cat would finally come out of the bag. Lucy was a front runner for spilling. So it was a bit of a surprise when it was Tim who blew the whistle on their relationship.

Tim and Lucy had spent a rare night apart. Grey had asked Tim to do a couple night shifts as an acting Sargent. That night had been insanely busy. He barely had time to take out his phone. Regardless, he wasn’t going to bother her as she had to be at work in morning. Since getting together if they by chance spent a night apart, one was always calling or texting one another to at least say goodnight. It had become normal for them. So, Tim didn’t like not hearing from her through the night, it felt unnatural. On numerous occasions through the night, he started typing a text message to his girlfriend but then quickly deleted his first sentence. The last thing he wanted to do was interrupt her sleep. Not only for her well being but also as a police officer she needed to always be on her game. A big part of that was her being rested for work. He knew he would at least get to see her in the morning and maybe a quick conversation. That alone would get him through the night.

In the morning, Tim was seeing his co workers and friends arrive for the day shift. He had paperwork to finish. As he would look up from his paperwork scanning the room for Lucy every few minutes. No Lucy. That was weird. He must of missed her. She was probably changing into her uniform. Walking into roll call to give everyone a report from night shift, still no Lucy. She was never late. A part of him was feeling worried. He walked up beside Grey.

“OK everyone. We are working a little short today. Chen has called in sick and no replacements were available”

Tim’s face went blank. Lucy must be sick to call in. Her perfect attendance was an annoyance to Tim back in the day. Her always being a perfectionist. Tim, gathered himself and provided a report on what happened during the night and what needed to be followed up on.

As Tim was walking out of roll call room. He heard.

“Oh Timothy, I brought you some breakfast. Come meet me at my desk”

Tim loved his best friend Angela. As much as he appreciated her gesture, he had a feeling with the sarcastic tone she had more to say to him. As he sat down with his friend. Angela had a permanent grin.

“Ang. What is your deal? Is there something you wanna say?”

“Bradford. Who do you think your fooling?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw your face when Grey announced Lucy had called in sick. You had that worried look. Like a worried boyfriend look”

“OK. Ang. Yah I was worried. Lucy is my friend and it takes a whole lot for her to call in sick. So, sure I was worried. I would be just as concerned if you didn’t come into work”

“Yeah right, Tim. Your my friend so I’m going to tell you the truth. Everyone and I mean all of us know you and Lucy are more than friends and have been for a while now. There is even a betting pool on who, you or Lucy will slip up. You two aren’t fooling anyone. The looks across the room, little touches, and well the fact that you have been blissfully happy for months now. It’s a dead giveaway. Yes, Grey knows too and is in on the bet”

Tim knew he was busted. There was no point denying it anymore.

“Well. Guess you and everyone has us all figured out. OK. Yes. Lucy and I started dating a few months ago. We are trying to kept it on the down low for obvious reasons”

“I’m so happy for you Timothy and FINALLY. Took you long enough”

“I know. Now that we have been dating for a while. I ask myself…why the hell it took us so long to get here. She makes me so damn happy. I love that girl with all of my heart”

“Get out of here and go take care of your girl”

Tim found himself sitting in his truck. A little shocked at what Angela had confessed to him. He chuckled at the fact that him and Lucy were obviously very bad at hiding their relationship. As he pulled out of Wilshire go see his girlfriend. Something about taking care of Lucy while sick gave him butterflies.

Lucy had woken up the night before at 1am sick. Very congested, sore throat, fatigued, and a elevated fever of 101. She felt like she had been steam rolled by a truck. She had thought of calling Tim to let him know she was sick but with all the medication it had slipped her mind. She was now laying on the couch with one of her true crime shows. Her body was rittled with aches and chills.

Lucy, hearing a knock at her door. Slowly pealing herself off the couch. Feeling lightheaded. As she opened the door. There stood her boyfriend.

“Chen, anything you wanna tell me?”

“Why the hell didn’t you text or call me and tell me you were sick?”

“I’m sorry Tim. I meant to but with all the meds and feeling like death, I forgot. And besides I don’t want to get you sick. Us, both being off work might get people talking”

“We will talk about that later. Lucy that doesn’t matter. If your sick, I your boyfriend am going to take care of you because I love you. Making you soup, tea, rubbing your back. Anything I can do for you. Nothing in this world would keep me from taking care of you”

“Smooth Bradford. Honestly, we have only been together for a few months and didn’t really want you seeing me feeling like I’m knocking on deaths door”

“Lucy. You, still even sick look beautiful. So beautiful.”

“I may of hit the jackpot with you, Tim”

“You have that backwards, Lucy. I am the one who hit the jackpot. Now lay down and rest. Let me take care of MY GIRL”

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

5x5 | 6x4

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H

W O P E Z

Y'ALL THE S T R E S S I WAS UNDER WHEN ELIJAH SAID YOU'RE GONNA WISH YOU KILLED ME

AND JUST

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

But also like :DDDDD I always LOVE me some new Wesley trauma :)))

Anyway Angela S L A Y Y Y Y E D :DDDDD

Also she looked amazing in that outfit that she fought Elijah in lol

Anyway Y E S S S S S S S S S S S THEY TOOK HIM D O W N

She literally BEAT HIM INTO THE GROUND :DDDD

Heck yeah, we deserved that SO MUCH :DD XD

Also the little wopez hi earlier in the episode 🥰🥰 and that scene at the end :'DDD your honor they're a d o r a b l e and I love them SO much <333333 :'))))

BUT T H E N

ELIJAH

ROOMS

NEXT

TO

O S C A R ???!!??!!!??!?!???

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

That's everybody who's tried to kill Wesley right there!!!

I mean technically Elijah's had people try to kill Wesley as well but yk lol

And also. yk. CRAZY PEOPLE

XDDD Besides their relation to Wesley!!!

AOUGH but honestly I'm here for the drama

Not for a W H I L E though because while I'm all for Wesley, and Angela of course, storylines, we need a break from Elijah for a bit xDD

Anyway YEAH and also Chenford being ADORABLE this episode and Celina being BETRAYED (feeling betrayed anyway) this episode lol, wild times XDD honestly a stellar episode

Oh and I'm glad Nolan was careful with how much he told Celina and all that :)) and passed it over to the detectives a fair amount lol, we love it when our heroes aren't always the only hero xD

And poor Aaron with that kid attempting to steal his password XDD it was funny though lol

And me: ahhh so then they're getting Elijah and FEDS is getting Abril :DDD

Me two minutes later: VOEJSUCBSLPSAMDJNS G I R L-

XDD Oh btw Nyla holding that over her head xDD? She slays, we love her so much <333

Anyway YEAH that episode was so amazing and I absolutely LOVED IT :DDDDDDDD

[watmalik]

The guy noticed the tablet on the floor and grows suspicious of UC Lucy. Melissa finished saying her lines earlier than everyone else based on bts… SEASON FINALE CLIFFHANGER WITH ENDANGERED LUCY? I NEED YOU.

[fluentmoviequoter]

The Better, Hidden Half

Requested Here!

Part 2 Here >

Pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!wife!reader (takes place in The Rookie 1x20-2x1)

Summary: Tim doesn't tell just anyone that he's married. When he's quarantined and his life is threatened by a fatal virus, he asks Lucy to call you, and ends up showing everyone what you mean to him.

Warnings: angst, fluffy comfort at the end, spoilers for episodes 1x20 and 2x1 (this is basically a rewrite, but still includes a brief reference to the suicide line from Tim). reader stress cleans?

A/N: The anxiety/stress cleaning bit is completely self-indulgent; sorry. I tried to manipulate Tim's conversations with Lucy to make them sound more platonic (I don't know if it worked though). I absolutely love this idea and had a ton of fun writing it!🤍

Word Count: 3.9k+ words

Tim Bradford is a man of few words, and he keeps his life separated into two distinct areas: work life and personal life. He tried to bring the two together once, but hated the constant worry that someone from his work life would threaten to hurt people in his personal life or worse, act on their threats. For that reason, for his family’s safety, Tim keeps his life separated, and only a choice few have been chosen to be trusted with a glimpse of both sides of Tim. Angela, Wade, and on occasion, Bishop, see a side of Tim that doesn't exist when he's at work.

✯✯✯✯✯

“How is she?” Angela asks, sitting beside Tim for roll call.

Tim rolls his eyes, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. “I trained her, I’m sure she did fine. Better than your golden boy boot, anyway.”

Angela smiles and leans in to whisper, “Didn’t mean Chen.” She turns her attention to Jackson, calling, “80 might be the passing grade, boot, but if you don’t get at least a 90, you should turn in your badge on general principle.”

Tim leans forward to add, “Officer Chen, I will take it as a personal insult if you get anything less than a 93.”

“Yes, sir,” Lucy answers. “Have you figured out what you’re going to do with all your new free time? Might I suggest a book club?”

Angela elbows Tim under the table, and he glances at her quickly, giving her a displeased stare which only makes her work harder to hide her smile.

“What are you talking about?” Tim asks.

“You know, after I pass, there won’t be any more daily evaluations to write.”

“Whether I evaluate you daily or weekly, I will continue to judge you every minute. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

As Grey enters, Lucy turns to Nolan, who whispers, “I can’t believe he’s single.”

“Tell me about it,” Lucy replies, rolling her eyes. “Evaluating a wife daily would cut into his ‘man of honor’ time.”

They silence as Wade directs the TOs to only take easy calls while the rookies finish their last shift before their exams. When Tim assures that he follows direct orders, he keeps his eyes straight ahead, knowing that Angela and Bishop are ready to tease him the moment he looks in their direction.

✯✯✯✯✯

7-Adam-19, silent hold-up alarm activated at Madame Megan’s psychic shop. 2417 Vine. Code 3.

Tim and Lucy enter the back room, taking control of the situation quickly, and he dials in once again to being a cop. Not a family man or anything of the sort. Just a police officer.

As Lucy walks out, and the (fake) psychic hits on Tim, he can only think of one thing. Excusing himself from the room, with a lack of grace that is unlike him, Tim lets his mind wander for just a moment. He thinks of a promise he made, a vow he took, and then his focus is back on his new case, a missing person discovered by a phony Hollywood psychic.

✯✯✯✯✯

Miles away, you are trying to focus on work, though you find it much harder than Tim to simply push your family and your personal life from your mind at a moment’s notice. Fiddling with your necklace, you refrain from grabbing your phone, wanting to text the only person on your mind. Oblivious to the dangers Tim is learning about from the CDC and Homeland Security, you sigh and clench your hands into fists before attempting to focus again.

Before you make any progress on starting the project awaiting your attention, your phone rings. Tim’s name appears on your screen, and you rush to answer, dread filling you. He never calls while he’s working, and you immediately expect the worst. Surely if it were something terrible, Angela or Wade would call you. If Tim is calling, that means he is okay, he is alive.

“Hello?” you ask, releasing a sigh when Tim says your name.

“Are you alone?” he adds, his voice strained.

“Yes. What’s going on?”

“I need you to stay where you are or go straight home. There’s a terror cell with a biological weapon; we’re doing everything we can to find them, but I need to know you’re safe.”

“Tim- yeah, of course. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I- I really can’t say anything else. Not about what we’re doing. Call me if you need anything. Anything at all, okay?”

“I will. Be careful, Tim. I love you.”

“I love you.”

Your phone beeps as the call ends, and your hand finds your necklace again, one finger slipping into Tim’s wedding ring. He leaves it with you each morning, taking it back with gentle touches and loving kisses when he returns each night. Today, all you can do is trust that he is good at his job and that he will protect you and the rest of LA, and then come back to you.

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim and Lucy approach one of the possible addresses in the search for newly discovered members of the terror cell.

“Man. And here I thought that test was gonna be the hardest part of my day,” Lucy muses.

“Best case scenario, it’s tomorrow’s problem,” Tim points out. His thoughts, however, are stuck on you, especially when Lucy asks what the worst case is.

“Took you long enough,” the man, Peter Langston, says as he opens the door. “Bag’s in here.”

“Sir, we’re here about the bus you took from Phoenix,” Tim explains.

“No kidding. I called you about the bag.”

“And what bag is that?”

“I thought it was mine on the bus. I picked it up by accident.” Tim follows Langston into a bedroom as he continues, “Noticed as soon as I got home. Called right away. Still took you guys like six hours to get here.”

“Uh, sir, we’re not here about a bag.”

“So, you don’t have mine? My computer’s in there… I went through this one for an address, and all I found was some weird science equipment.”

Tim glances back at Lucy, who calls for the task force at the mention of ‘weird science equipment.’

“Sir, did you touch anything in there?” Tim asks, pulling gloves on.

“Yeah, I cut my finger going through it looking for an address. Some kind of broken vial.”

Tim’s eyes widen and his breath catches as the man raises his bloodied finger, adding that it hasn’t stopped bleeding since it was cut. Hemorrhaging, Tim knows.

“Everything okay in there?” Lucy calls.

“Yeah. Just stay out there,” Tim demands.

The man coughs, and Tim flinches as blood lands on his neck and up onto his jaw. Looking down at the blood on the man’s shirt, Tim’s mind forgets the divide between work and personal life. He takes the initiative to lock Lucy out, slamming the door on her to keep her safe, but his true concern is you. If something happens to him, who will look out for you? Who will be your shoulder to cry on? In a moment, as the reality of the situation dawns on him, Tim thinks like a husband, and he begins to regret keeping you, his wife, hidden for so long.

“Tim, no!” Lucy yells, but she steps forward too late.

Tim is on the other side of the door, a new division created as others are dissolved.

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim finds baby wipes on a nearby changing table, wiping the blood from his skin as he lies to Langston, telling him it will be okay and distracting him with meaningless treatments to combat the “bad case of the flu the police were warned about this morning at roll call.”

Langston disappears into the bathroom in search of cold medicine, and Tim walks to the door to ask Lucy, “Everything all right out there, Chen?”

“Uh, yeah. The CDC’s on their way,” she responds. “Hey, you need to come out of there.”

“That’s not gonna happen. Got to keep this contained.”

“Tim-“

“It’s gonna be alright, boot.”

Tim knows that Lucy is concerned about him, and he is similarly concerned for her. He feels responsible for her safety as his rookie, but his thoughts toward her are completely and totally different from his fears concerning you, driven by love rather than mutual respect and duty.

“You keep your head in the game, okay?” Tim encourages Lucy. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

As Tim looks at the blood-covered wipe in his hand, he thinks of you, and how you’ll respond to the potential notification that he didn’t make it, taken from you by the very thing he tried to protect you from. He turns his attention back to the sick man feet away from him before his thoughts spiral. Tim needs you, so he needs to focus and survive.

✯✯✯✯✯

While the CDC is arriving at the house and quarantining Tim and the infected man, you are pacing in your shared bedroom. Memories of you and Tim exist in every inch of this house, and every moment that goes by without an update increases your worry. Walking into the closet, you find one of Tim’s recently worn shirts, changing into it before picking up the remote to distract yourself. With Tim’s pillow clutched to your chest, you try to laugh at the ridiculous sitcom on the screen, but it doesn’t work as well as you hoped.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Officer Chen, you want to tell me what happened?” Dr. Morgan asks, dressed in full hazmat gear as she enters.

“Yeah, uh, the bus passenger mistakenly grabbed the wrong bag, and the virus must have been in it because he coughed up blood on Tim,” Lucy explains.

“Did you get any blood on you?”

“Uh, no. I was out here. Tim immediately closed the door.”

“Smart man.”

Tim hears Dr. Morgan’s comment and clenches his jaw, knowing you would disagree entirely. At least in this case.

“Hey, doc,” Tim greets, standing against the door.

“How you doing?” Dr. Morgan inquires.

“Fine. But Mr. Langston’s struggling a little.”

“Can you describe his condition?”

“Yeah. He, uh, started coughing blood about 20 minutes ago. Now he’s got a pretty wicked nosebleed.”

“Why aren’t they coming in? Where’s my ambulance?” Langston asks.

“It’ll be here any minute. Just… stay put. Save your energy.”

Lucy interrupts to ask, “Where’s the vaccine?”

“Still in the air,” Dr. Morgan says. “Should land in the next hour or so.”

Scoffing, Lucy argues, “You can’t make Tim wait in there. He might not be infected.”

“Sorry. Quarantine rules exist for a reason.” Dr. Morgan turns to the door and asks Tim, “Officer Bradford, do you mind if I put you to work while you wait?”

“You want to know what’s in the bag?” Tim knows digging through the contents is dangerous, but waiting without doing anything won’t increase his chances of getting home to you.

“Yes, I do.”

“Copy that. Chen, I’m gonna turn on my body cam. You can monitor it from out there.”

“Okay. Please be careful,” she responds.

Tim hears your voice in his mind, telling him the same thing. He trusts himself to listen to you more than his rookie.

“All right. Here we go,” Tim says, using his baton to open the bag.

“Wait. Wait. What is that bottle?” Dr. Morgan wonders.

“Looks like the delivery device,” Tim guesses, raising it carefully from the bag. “It’s a misting fan.”

Dr. Morgan calls Homeland Security with the new information on how the terrorists are planning to spread the virus. As Tim continues searching the bag, failing to find identification or target information, Lucy sees Langston raising a chair in the mirror and yells for Tim just before he is knocked unconscious.

✯✯✯✯✯

Your house is as clean as it has ever been. Using your nervous energy and anxiety-fueled need to move, you clean each room in an attempt to keep your mind from worrying about Tim. You could call someone and ask for an update, but they probably can’t tell you anything. The only comfort you have is knowing that Angela and Wade would call you if you needed to know something. The silence is deafening, but it’s also a good sign.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Tim? Tim!” Lucy continues, growing concerned at the lack of reply.

Tim opens his eyes, moving backward quickly when he sees a puddle of blood running toward his face. He sees Langston standing across the room, mumbling about needing to get out as he tries to break the window. Tim tases him as he stands, and Lucy’s concerned yells continue. Covering his face with his shirt, Tim handcuffs Langston to the bed, shuffling backward as Lucy demands his answer.

“I’m okay! I’m okay!” he replies, breathing heavily. “Well, that was fun.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Tim chuckles. “Kind of depends on your definition of the word.”

While Lucy tells Dr. Morgan to get the vaccine, and the LAPD sends patrol units out to find the other terrorist, Tim keeps his eyes on Langston, but his mind is on you. He should ask someone to tell you and find a way to let you know what is going on, but part of him knows that you are separate from this for a reason. You’re likely worried enough without knowing that Tim’s chance of being infected rises with each moment.

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim watches Langston die, unable to do anything as he begs for help and convulses. Imagining himself in Langston’s place, Tim decides that he has to do something. He can’t go out like that, he won’t, but more importantly, he can’t leave you wondering. If Tim dies today, he is not dying without talking to you one last time, showing everyone around him that you are the best part of him.

He leans against the door in silence until Lucy says, “Hey, I, uh- I just checked with Dr. Morgan. The vaccine���s minutes away.”

“You know, you’re good at a lot of things – lying isn’t one of them,” Tim replies.

“You think I’m good at things? Can I get that in writing? … How are you doing? Are there any symptoms yet?"

"I’m sweating like a pig. But it’s probably because it’s 100 degrees in this room.”

Tim sighs just before Lucy assures, “It’s gonna be okay. I really believe that.”

“I’m sure you do. But if it isn’t-“

“Don’t think like that. It’s-“

“If it isn’t,” Tim repeats. “I’m not going out the way my man Pete here just did.”

“What are you saying?”

Tim sighs again, realizing what he said. He would never leave you like that; he’s a fighter. “I need you to do something for me, Chen.”

“Anything.”

“My- my wife is probably worrying herself sick right now. If this doesn’t end like you think it will, can you tell her that I fought to get home to her? Just- just keep an eye on her if anything happens. Wade and Angela, too.”

“Wife?” Lucy asks softly.

Tim smiles, glad to talk about something other than himself or the virus released in the room with him.

“Yeah. We eloped a while back; Grey, Lopez, and Bishop were there.”

“You’ve never mentioned her.”

“I keep her separated. She - everything in my personal life – would be at risk if there wasn’t a divide there.”

“I get that. What’s she like?”

Tim says your name, closing his eyes and picturing you as he tells Lucy how beautiful, kind, and loving you are. “She’s my better half. I don’t- can’t imagine not going home to her.”

“I promise, Tim. I’m confident you will go home to her, but… I promise.”

“Thank you,” Tim says quietly.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Please tell me that’s the vaccine,” Lucy says when Dr. Morgan returns.

“It is,” she answers quickly, walking toward the door quarantining Tim. “Stand back, Officer Chen. You’re not wearing protective gear.”

“Yeah.” Lucy steps back, hoping Tim is okay, and that he gets to go home to you.

“Officer Bradford, it’s time to let me in,” Dr. Morgan calls.

Tim opens the door, greeting Dr. Morgan before answering that he’s not feeling too bad. She tells him that she’s going to administer the vaccine. “It’s experimental, right?” Tim asks.

“That’s correct. So, we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens. Maybe nothing. Maybe you grow horns. But for now, I’d say you might’ve dodged a bullet.”

Tim looks at Lucy to ask, “Can you get Lopez? Ask her to call for me?”

Lucy nods, pulling her radio out to contact Angela. She knows that Tim will need you, no matter how the vaccine works… or doesn’t.

“Lopez,” she says, sighing before saying, “Tim wants to know if you can call his wife.”

“Of course,” Angela answers. “She’ll be at his side, even if I have to go get her in the shop.”

Lucy smiles at Tim, and he sighs as Dr. Morgan administers the vaccine. There’s more hope surrounding Tim now, but the fight may not be over yet.

✯✯✯✯✯

When you see Angela’s name on your phone, you consider not answering. Biting your bottom lip to hold your tears in, you answer.

“He’s okay,” Angela begins.

You sigh in relief, a few tears breaking free anyway. “Thank you, Angela.”

“The vaccine is experimental, so they’re taking him to the CDC for observation; you can visit with the proper protective gear. Do you want me to come pick you up?”

“I’ll meet you there.”

“See you in a few. And, just so you know, he didn’t call me.”

“Who did?”

“His rookie.”

Angela reminds you that she’s happy to pick you up if you want before ending the call. Tim mentioned me, you think. Then you wonder whether or not that’s a good thing.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Hey, I heard you guys saved the day,” Lucy says, exiting Langston’s house to meet Nolan, Jackson, Lopez, and Bishop.

“It was a group effort,” Jackson corrects.

“Glad you’re okay,” Nolan expresses.

“Me too,” Lucy sighs. “I- I mean that you’re okay, too.”

“How’s Tim?” Angela asks.

“I think he’s gonna be all right. Now, 24-hour observation at the CDC.”

“I’ll bet my pension he just told doctors Tim Bradford does not ride in a wheelchair,” Angela jokes as Tim walks out.

“Only way I’m leavin’ out of here is on my own two feet,” Bishop imitates.

“Don’t you guys have paperwork to finish?” Tim retorts.

Tim looks at Lucy, nodding his thanks before continuing to walk toward the car waiting to transport him to the CDC. He stops suddenly in the yard, growing dizzy before he falls backward onto the grass.

“Officer Bradford!” Dr. Morgan yells.

Lucy, Angela, Bishop, and Jackson run toward him before the CDC holds them back. Someone calls for an ambulance, and Angela backs away to make a call.

✯✯✯✯✯

“What happened?” you ask, answering Angela’s second call.

“Meet us at Shaw instead of the CDC,” she says.

You can hear yelling in the background, and repeat, “What happened?”

Angela says your name, unyielding as she says, “Shaw. I’ll meet you there.”

You inhale deeply, turning toward Shaw. Knowing that you have no chance of beating an ambulance escorted by police cars, you grip the steering wheel, hoping that Los Angeles traffic has grace on you, and you make it to Tim’s side quickly.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Tim better make it,” Jackson says.

“He will.” Angela knows that he’s a fighter, but she also knows that losing him will destroy you. He has to make it for himself, for the police department, and most importantly, for you.

In the ambulance ahead, Tim goes into anaphylactic shock. Lucy helps the paramedics and glances at Tim’s left hand. The line where his wedding ring sits is barely visible, but she whispers for him to keep his promise, to keep fighting.

Once the ambulance and the police cars enter into the hospital parking lot, Nolan notices a woman with a gun, alerting the officers surrounding the ambulance before the firefight starts.

Lucy covers Tim in the ambulance as the paramedics assist him as well as the injured medics. Nolan shoots the woman in the shoulder, but his gun jams as he moves closer to her.

Tim opens the ambulance door, downing the armed woman on a surge of adrenaline. Stepping onto the ambulance driveway, he asks Nolan if he’s okay.

“I should have reloaded on the move,” Nolan mutters. “You?”

“I should’ve taken yesterday off,” Tim answers.

“Alright, Officer Bradford, let’s go,” a nurse says, pushing a wheelchair to his side.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Angela!” you call, jogging to her side.

“Don’t freak out,” she begins, but your eyes widen when you see the bullet holes covering, well, everything.

“Where is he?”

She nods, leading you around her shop. Tim is standing beside Nolan, arguing with a nurse.

“I can walk. Clearly, I’m fine,” Tim argues.

You don’t think about how many people are watching as you walk to Tim’s side. He turns toward you, his eyes softening when he sees you.

“Get in the wheelchair,” you demand.

Tim sighs but does as you say. Nolan and Jackson look at each other in shock, and Lucy smiles as she says, “His wife.”

✯✯✯✯✯

When you walk into Tim’s hospital room, he looks like he’s been waiting for you.

“I’m sorry,” he begins.

“For what? Not listening to the nurse?”

Tim chuckles as he raises his left hand, pulling you to his side. “No. I’m sorry for not showing you off more, for never telling people about us. I worried you; I know I did, and you don’t deserve any of it.”

You lean forward, running your fingers across Tim’s jawline as you smile. “You don’t have to show me off. I know why you do it, Tim. Being a secret, being separated and safe, I get it. What I don’t like is not knowing if you’re okay.”

“I don’t want the separation anymore. You are my entire life, and- I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I’m not risking this again. The idea of not making it home, leaving you alone, with no one knowing you or how much you mean to me… that was terrible, and I’m sorry.”

Pursing your lips, you lean toward Tim and look into his eyes before scanning your eyes over his face.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Trying to figure out where the Tim I know went.”

Tim smiles, moving over in the bed and tugging you against his side. He taps your necklace before raising your hair away from your neck. You unclasp your necklace, sliding Tim’s wedding ring off the chain. Tim lays his left hand in your lap, and you put his ring on slowly before kissing his hand.

“I love you,” Tim says.

“I love you. And I accept your apology, even though I didn’t need it.”

“Ready to meet the rest of my-“

“Friends?” you fill in, smiling.

“Colleagues,” Tim finishes, shaking his head as his arm tightens around your waist.

“Thank you for making sure Angela called me.”

“How clean is the house?”

You laugh, pressing your face against Tim’s shoulder. He knows you well, and though you didn't know what was truly at stake over the last few hours, you did miss him.

“Hey, Mrs. Bradford,” Wade greets, smiling as he leads a small crowd of officers into the room. “I have some rookies here who don’t believe someone would marry Tim.”

“I changed my mind,” Tim replies. “Get out.”

You elbow him gently, smiling as you stand. “It's much easier when he doesn’t tell people. No association to him.”

Tim laughs behind you, and after shaking hands and introducing yourself, you return to Tim’s side: where nothing can hurt you, everything is safe, and you’re the most important thing in the world.

[justabigassnerd]

A Different Man

Pairing - Tim Bradford x reader

Word count - 5,241

Warnings - inaccurate hospital scenes, mentions of needles, drugs, medicines, angst, fluff

Summary - after an incident with Lucy, Tim wonders if it's time to be honest about his marital status

A/N - hey y'all I'm back with another anon request which I hope I did justice! we all know I love writing for my pookie Tim so I had a blast writing this. I won't ramble but as per y'all please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If it was up to Tim, he wouldn’t be at work right now. But the Vice President chose to visit Los Angeles meaning he had to go to work when he would rather be relaxing at home. Now, Tim was patrolling LA with his rookie Lucy Chen, keeping a careful eye on their surroundings as they drove around. Eventually, the duo are directed to a homeless encampment where Tim makes an announcement that all the people living there have to pack up and move so that the stretch of road they were living on was going to be used for the visit. As they all packed up their belongings, a fight broke out between two women and Lucy was quick to step in yet her best efforts still got her caught up in the tussle, when the women dragged each other, and Lucy, to the ground, Tim was quick to step in, handcuffing one woman while Lucy got up and handcuffed the other. As Lucy got to her feet, Tim glanced over at her, stopping when he noticed something.

“Chen. Stop. Don’t move.” He instructs, watching as she looks at him confused before following his gaze down to the used needle sticking out of her thigh. At that moment, it was like Lucy could focus on nothing but the needle and all the diseases it could bring if it had actually embedded in her leg. Noticing Lucy’s distant gaze, Tim instructs other officers to take both women away so he can focus on making sure Lucy is okay and gets taken to the hospital.

“I didn’t see it,” Lucy mutters, looking up at Tim with a terrified expression.

“I have to pull the needle out. Stay still.” Tim says, feeling bad upon seeing the expression on his rookie’s face but he knew he couldn’t show any signs of worry because that would only panic her further. Tim pulls on a pair of gloves and grabs a box to put the needle in and he crouches down alongside Lucy, carefully extracting the needle from her leg and trying not to react when he sees the small traces of blood on the tip of the needle from where it had clearly made contact with her leg.

“What’s the protocol for when an officer is exposed on duty?” Tim then asks, straightening up after putting the needle away. He already had a good idea of how worried and panicked Lucy was and he needed to keep her focused on her job to stop her from spiralling. When he clocked that Lucy wasn’t focused he calmly gained her attention and got her to tell him what it was they needed to take as next steps. Lucy wasn’t used to Tim being so calm and gentle towards her but she appreciated it nonetheless.

“Where’s the nearest hospital?” Tim asks after Lucy tells him what protocol is for an incident like this.

“Shaw Memorial,” Lucy replies, getting a nod in return from Tim before he turns to another officer, making sure they know to keep an officer posted in the area while he takes Lucy to the hospital. Tim drives Lucy to the hospital and when he’s parked the shop, he escorts her to the first nurse desk he can find, letting her approach the desk herself.

“I need to get my blood tested. I got stuck with a used hypodermic needle.” Lucy says, trying to keep her voice steady as the nurse begins to look around, apologising before he grabs a clipboard, holding out to her.

“Just fill this out for us and take a seat in the waiting room. A doctor will be with you shortly.” Gino says with a friendly smile.

“You must be new. She’s got a weapon, so what if someone tried to grab her weapon? The hospital protocol dictates that an armed officer be seen immediately. So set her up in a room right now and find a doctor.” Tim says, an authoritative tone to his voice as Gino straightens up, nodding nervously before leading Lucy and Tim to a private room so she can safely fill out her information and wait for a doctor while he goes to grab one. Gino heads straight to your office, knocking on the door and entering with permission.

“Gino, what can I do for you?” You ask with a sweet smile, removing your gaze from your computer to Gino.

“Doctor Bradford, there’s a police officer who’s been stabbed with a used needle and needs bloodwork done,” Gino explains, watching as you nod, shutting off your computer and getting up from your seat.

“I’ll go and get acquainted with my patient if you could get the equipment I need. And Gino? Please call me y/n, Doctor Bradford is too formal.” You say with a slight chuckle as you follow Gino to the door of your office.

“Sorry.” Gino apologises as you both step into the hallway.

“No harm done.” You say dismissively, waving your hand loosely, turning in the direction of the room Gino tells you your patient is in.

“Oh just a heads up, the police officer's partner is a really grumpy guy,” Gino warns, and at the warning, you had a feeling you knew who was going to be in that room.

“Hi, I’m Doctor Bradford.” You introduce yourself as you walk into the room, smiling sweetly at the woman sitting on the end of a bed, not missing how her eyes flicked between you and your husband who was standing across the room, his arms across his chest.

“B-Bradford?” Lucy asks, eyes widening slightly as Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes at Lucy’s miraculous mood switch.

“Yes. Tim’s my husband.” You say with a soft laugh as you pick up the completed form from alongside Lucy, eyes scanning it and inputting the information into a file for Lucy.

“Sorry, that was so rude of me. I’m Lucy Chen. I’m Officer Bradford’s rookie and I just didn’t know he was-”

“Chen,” Tim said simply, making Lucy stop talking, apologising as she relaxed slightly.

“Don’t apologise Lucy. In fact, excuse me one second.” You say, walking over to Tim, taking his hand, leading him to the corner and glaring at him.

“What?” Tim asks, looking at you, confused.

“Do you seriously talk to everyone like that? Even the rookie’s you’re teaching?” You scold, watching as Tim sighs lightly.

“I gotta be tough. That’s my way of teaching. It’s how I learnt in the Army and how I learnt when I joined the force.” Tim says, explaining himself.

“I get that Tim but in the hospital? The poor girl is probably terrified and thinking of all the worst-case scenarios possible. Just tone it down a little.” You ask, eyes flicking over to Lucy who was wringing her hands nervously, eyes flicking all over the room as she takes deep breaths. At your words, Tim lets out a soft sigh, nodding lightly.

“Okay. I’ll tone it down for now.” He agrees quietly, getting a nod in response from you and a soft squeeze of the hand before you drop it focusing back on Lucy just as Gino enters the room with all the stuff you need to draw blood.

“Thank you, Gino.” You chirp happily, taking the tray from him and beginning to prep yourself.

“You can go back out to the desk, I’ll page you when I need you to run this down to the labs.” You then say, glancing over your shoulder to smile at Gino who nods and exits the room.

“He’s new, isn’t he? He didn’t know the rules about what to do when an armed officer needs to see a doctor.” Tim says, sidling up alongside you as you pull on gloves, sitting on a stool in front of Lucy and rolling your eyes.

“Yes, he’s new. I take it you were the one who made sure he knew the protocol?” You say glancing over your shoulder at Tim before focusing back on the needle as you prep it.

“I think he would’ve found a room for me if Gino hadn’t corrected himself,” Lucy says with a soft laugh.

“That doesn’t surprise me. Tim’s always been one to find his own solutions to things.” You say, smiling fondly at the many memories you have of Tim fixing situations himself when he wasn’t satisfied with the options he had.

“You must have some great stories about Tim,” Lucy asks, making your eyebrow rise as you catch on to what she was hinting at.

“What kind of story would you like? I’ve got some good ones from when we first started dating.” You say, making sure the needle is in Lucy’s arm and drawing blood.

“Hey, no.” Tim attempts to cut in and you just hold a hand up, silencing him quickly which makes Lucy giggle at how quickly her training officer was silenced. At first, Tim pulled a slight face behind your back when you held your hand up, but when you looked over your shoulder and blew him a little kiss, Lucy saw how quickly Tim melted at the gesture. Even if he was trying to be his normal, tough self, she could see how he had a huge soft spot for you.

“Tim, could you go and get Gino for me? I’m almost done. Ooh and could you grab me a snack from the vending machine?” You say sweetly, smiling over your shoulder at Tim before you pop one of the last vials of blood into the holder.

“You better not start gossiping the moment I leave.” He says lightly in response, a small smile on his face as he crosses over to you to give you a quick kiss on the top of your head before exiting the room.

“I’ve never seen him act like that before,” Lucy says as you finish putting things away before focusing on cleaning Lucy’s arm and giving her a cotton ball to put on the puncture wound to stop any extra bleeding.

“Seen him act like what? A big softie?” You ask jokingly, smiling at Lucy.

“Well I mean he was nicer than he usually is when the needle first pricked me but he’s like a whole different person with you. He actually listens to you for starters.” Lucy says, explaining herself while she thinks of the man who had put her through so many Tim Tests.

“This conversation doesn’t leave this room, okay? He’s a tough nut to crack but he’s strict because he knows you can handle yourself. He wants you to be the best police officer you can be. I’m not involved in the work aspect of Tim’s life. He likes to keep it that way and I just guess he feels he doesn’t have to put up a front when he’s with me.” You explain with a small shrug. You remembered what Tim had been like when you first met. He was closed off and it took you a while to even talk to him enough to form a friendship, and then it took another year and a half before you both had the courage to act on your romantic feelings for each other. Before Lucy could reply, Gino entered the room again to take the bloodwork to the labs to be run through tests to see if the needle infected Lucy with anything. After Gino left and there was still no sign of Tim, you continued to chat with Lucy.

“It’s nice to see him so relaxed with you. It’s like he’s a whole different person with you.” Lucy says, smiling softly.

“That’s the Tim I’m used to. I’m sure with time he’ll learn to be a little less military towards you.” You say softly, smiling at Lucy who nods lightly.

“I hope so. There’s only so many Tim Tests I can handle.” Lucy says with a gentle laugh.

“Oh, he’s told me all about them. I don’t think I would be able to handle them.” You say with a chuckle, and before either of you can say something else, the door opens and Tim enters the room.

“You took your time.” You tease lightly, swivelling around on the stool to face him.

“The nearest vending machine didn’t have your favourite so I just kept looking until I found one that did,” Tim explains, holding your favourite snack out towards you while you smile softly, taking it and standing.

“You didn’t need to do that. I would’ve been fine with anything.” You say softly, smiling up at Tim who smiles back.

“I wanted to,” Tim says, his voice matching yours in softness as he pulls you closer for a kiss.

“Aw, you two are so cute!” Lucy gushes as you pull away from the kiss, giggling lightly as Tim looks over at Lucy.

“Chen, this doesn’t leave this room,” Tim warns, pointing a finger at her as she frowns, caught out in her plans to tell Jackson and Nolan.

“Okay fine. But I need to go to the restroom.” Lucy says, standing and crossing to the door. You bid her a quiet goodbye before turning to Tim.

“I should probably go back on my rounds. You and Lucy are welcome to keep using this room until I get her results from the lab. I’ll come back when I have the results, promise.” You say to Tim, taking his hand and squeezing it softly while your other hand tucks the snack Tim had bought you into your pocket.

“Take care of yourself, won’t you?” Tim asks softly, trying to hide his worry. He knew some patients could get rough with doctors and he always worried about whether someone was going to hurt you.

“I’ll be okay. We have security and if I really need help, I do have my handsome, strong, police officer husband around.” You say softly, your smile widening slightly as Tim raises an eyebrow, hands drifting down to your waist.

“Handsome, huh?” Tim teases, moving to kiss you again as your hands move to his shoulders, one hand resting on his shoulder while your other moves around to the back of his neck, cupping it as you deepen the kiss before your brain kicks in and reminds you of what you’re supposed to be doing.

“As much as I’d love to stay here with you. I have to go. I love you.” You say after pulling away from the kiss. You wished you could stay with your husband but you knew you had a job to do.

“I love you too,” Tim says, giving you one last quick kiss before letting you leave the room so you could go on your rounds.

You visit the various patients that you need to check in on, checking their progress and giving out advice that they need to aid their recovery. You loved checking in with your patients. Sure, there were some who were permanently grumpy and barely acknowledged you or the work you and the nurses were doing for them, but the majority of your patients were sweet and made the job worth it. As you finish up with a patient who was in recovery from a surgery they had the day before, you exit into the hallway and see a few nurses gathered by a door as they cart a woman out on a gurney. You head towards the gathered group and just as you approach the room, Tim and Lucy step out of it.

“What happened? Are you both okay?” You ask worriedly, reaching to grab Tim’s shoulders, eyes scanning him worriedly, checking him over for any injuries.

“y/n, I’m fine. We’re both fine.” Tim says softly, reaching up to his shoulders to gently lift your hands off, holding them in his hands and squeezing softly.

“What happened?” You ask, eyes flicking between both Lucy and Tim waiting for an answer.

“I bumped into this woman in the restroom, she told me about her brother who had been involved in a car accident and after she left I noticed a bottle of bleach on the floor. She was going to inject her brother with it to kill him. She claimed he wouldn’t want to live like how he is now but I just couldn’t let her go through with it so I had no choice but to tase her.” Lucy explains, her voice was shaky as she recounts the events.

“Is everyone okay?” You ask, glancing behind Tim at the room.

“The patient is being checked over now but thanks to Officer Chen’s swift actions, the sister never pushed the plunger,” Tim says, smiling over at Lucy who smiles back weakly.

“I was just doing what needed to be done,” Lucy says with a shrug.

“Look, Grey’s called me back to the station,” Tim says, looking between you and Lucy.

“Do you need me to come with you?” Lucy asks, looking up at Tim who shakes his head.

“No, you stay here and wait for your results. I’ll come back when I’m done. If you need anything I’m sure y/n will help you.” Tim says as you nod.

“Of course. Lucy if you need anything at all while you’re waiting, just shoot me a text.” You say pulling your notebook out of your pocket and scribbling down your phone number to hand to Lucy who takes it with a nod.

“Thank you,” Lucy says gratefully, tucking the paper away in her pocket before you both look over at Tim.

“I’ve got to go. I love you.” Tim says, giving you a quick kiss and hug before turning to Lucy.

“Chen, take care of yourself.” He then says, patting her shoulder before excusing himself, heading down the hallway and disappearing around a corner.

“I said it to Tim earlier but you’re welcome to keep using the room Gino put you in until I have your results.” You say softly, reaching to rest a hand on Lucy’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze before quietly excusing yourself so you could continue your rounds until the lab results came back.

As it pushes into the afternoon, you finish your rounds and take care of some appointments you had booked for the day and eventually you get paged by the lab and you head down, picking up Lucy’s blood test results and reading them over before heading back to the room Lucy had been using. However, when you entered the room it was empty, so you walked to the waiting room to see if she was there and you soon found her sitting alongside another police officer.

“Officer Chen.” You say softly, getting Lucy’s attention as she shoots out of the seat, the other officer following suit, resting a supportive hand on her shoulder.

“Yes?” Lucy says watching you as you smile softly.

“I have your results. Would you like to follow me to my-”

“No, sorry, can you just tell me now please?” Lucy asks, cutting in and watching carefully as you nod, eyes moving down to your clipboard to flip through the paperwork.

“So your initial tests came back negative for any viral infections like HIV or hepatitis. But your bloodwork indicated the presence of a staph infection.” You explain, seeing how Lucy relaxed at your first sentence before she grew worried again.

“What does that mean?” Lucy asks, her eyebrows furrowed as she worries about what it could mean for her future.

“It just means we need to get you started on some intravenous antibiotics right away. Some strains of staph infection are drug-resistant so we’ll monitor the wound for any abscesses or cellulitis.” You explain to Lucy, watching as she releases a big breath before turning to the police officer standing behind her.

“Go. I’ll call Tim. He’ll be here for you by the time you’re out.” He says softly before Lucy pulls him into a hug, thanking him quietly before she releases him and turns to you with a small smile and nod.

“If you just follow me.” You say, gesturing with your head for Lucy to follow you to your office which she does and while you settle in your office chair, Lucy eases herself down on the chair opposite your desk. You copy the bloodwork data onto Lucy’s file and print out a prescription, informing her of how to best care for her wound, when to take her medication and where she can pick it up from. After talking her through everything and checking Lucy’s wound over just to be sure it was okay for now, you stood in front of her with a small smile.

“I’ll walk you out, I’m sure Tim’s here now.” You say softly, leading Lucy back to the waiting room where Tim was waiting, rising from the seat he was sitting in when he noticed the two of you approaching.

“Hey, is everything okay?” Tim asks, looking down at Lucy who nods, finally able to relax for the first time since the incident.

“Everything’s good,” Lucy replies, smiling at Tim who nods lightly, a small smile of his own on his face.

“If you have any concerns about anything Lucy, you’re free to give me a call whenever.” You say, making sure Lucy knew that you’d help her no matter the time.

“Thank you for everything, Doctor Bradford.” Lucy thanks you gratefully.

“Please, call me y/n.” You say with a small laugh, not missing how the police officer stood behind Tim gasped lightly with widened eyes as he realised what Lucy said.

“Sorry, did you say-?”

“Yes, she said Bradford. Tim is my husband.” You say, moving to stand next to Tim, taking his hand in yours as you smile up at your husband.

“If I find out you and Officer Chen have been spreading this around later Officer West, I will put you both through the most intense Tim Tests I can think of and it’ll have you questioning whether you want to even continue in the LAPD,” Tim warns lowly.

“Jackson and I would never do that,” Lucy says quickly, standing up for her friend as you sigh lightly.

“Tim, surely you’re tired of dancing around everyone. I don’t mind if people know about me. In fact, I’d like to get to know your colleagues. They’re part of your life too.” You say softly, turning to face Tim as he mirrors your actions.

“Are you sure?” Tim asks quietly, watching you nod.

“I’m sure, Tim. I’d love to get to know the people you work with. I’m your wife and I would like to be more than just a secret.” You admit, watching as Tim’s eyes drop to the floor briefly before looking back up at you. You understood why he had been so hesitant to tell people about you, he was worried that he’d somehow get involved in a case involving a dangerous person which could put you at risk. But you were capable of making your own choices, and you knew that even if you were at risk, knowing Tim’s work friends would make you feel safer.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to keep you safe.” Tim mutters softly, taking your hands in his.

“Don’t apologise. I know you wanted to keep me safe and I appreciate that. But you can’t hide me forever.” You say, squeezing hands softly and reaching up to press a kiss on his lips.

“Okay, I’ll stop trying to hide you,” Tim replies after you pull away from the kiss, his smile soft as you glance over to Jackson and Lucy.

“I think you two are safe.” You say with a laugh watching as they exchange a quick fist bump.

“I won’t give you any Tim Tests yet,” Tim says, releasing your hands and turning to face the two.

“You won’t give them any unless it’s part of training.” You say, nudging Tim in his side as he lets out a small grunt of pain at the jab.

“Does that mean we can tell Nolan?” Lucy asks, testing the waters and watching Tim’s reaction carefully. When you hear Tim let out a small huff of a sigh, you speak up.

“You can tell Nolan but only Nolan. Let Tim do the rest.” You say. You didn’t know who Nolan was but you could only guess he was the third rookie that had joined the LAPD alongside Jackson and Lucy.

“What she said. Anyone else knows before I tell them, you know what the punishment will be.” Tim says, raising an eyebrow as both Jackson and Lucy nod hurriedly, aware of what Tim Tests he could potentially put them through.

“I should probably get back to work.” You mutter, noticing the time on the clock behind the nurse’s desk.

“Yeah, I’ve got to take Lucy back to the station,” Tim says with a nod, pressing a quick kiss to the top of your head.

“I’ll see you when I get home.” You whisper softly smiling up at your husband before watching him leave with Lucy following close behind while Jackson stays put.

“I know you have to get back to work but it’s honestly incredible how different Tim is with you,” Jackson speaks up quickly, catching your attention as you laugh softly.

“Funnily enough Lucy said a similar thing.” You say with a soft laugh as you shrug, making Jackson let out a gentle laugh of his own.

“I won’t keep you. I should probably find my TO.” Jackson says, nodding with a soft smile as you smile back.

“If your TO is Angela, tell her I say ‘hi’ will you?” You say, beginning to back away and shooting Jackson a quick wink when his jaw drops before turning around and making your way back to your office to continue with the rest of your shift.

By the time your shift came to an end, you were just about ready to drop. It had been a long day and when you got home you were greeted by Tim who pulled you into his arms almost the moment you walked through the door.

“Tim. I love you but I need a shower.” You giggle as you feel Tim press a kiss to the top of your head.

“I’ll get dinner sorted then.” He replies softly, releasing you from the embrace and letting you go off and shower and change into something comfier. By the time you had finished showering and changing, you could smell the dinner Tim was preparing.

“It smells good.” You say as you enter the kitchen, sidling up alongside Tim and winding your arms around his middle as he turns the stove off.

“I could’ve had a career as a chef.” Tim jokes lightly, welcoming your embrace. When you release Tim from your embrace so he can finish up the food, you begin to grab some plates and cutlery for when Tim is ready to plate up the food. Once the food is plated up, you sit at the table and eat your dinner, conversing the whole time. When you finish your meal, you both tidy away everything before retiring to the sofa, cuddling into each other while Tim finds a tv show to put on in the background.

“Are you really okay with telling people about us? I feel like I put you on the spot.” You mumble, resting your head on Tim’s chest and looking up at him.

“I’m more than okay with telling people about us. You’re right. You deserve to know my colleagues, and I don’t know how much longer I can go hiding you. You deserve to be shown off.” Tim replies, squeezing you tighter as a smile crosses your face.

A week later, you pulled up outside the Mid-Wilshire police station, parked your car, and stepped out. You headed into the building with a smile as you met Tim in the reception area.

“Hey.” He greets you with a smile, capturing your lips in his for a soft kiss as he pulls you into his arms.

“That’s a nice welcome.” You say with a smile as you pull away from the kiss.

“Only the best for you,” Tim mutters softly.

“You big softie.” You say with a laugh as Tim rolls his eyes.

“y/n!” You hear Lucy’s excited voice say as she rushes over to you, hugging you close as you reciprocate the embrace, smiling widely.

“Hey, Lucy. How have you been?” You ask. Since Tim had started telling people about you, you’d met various people from Mid-Wilshire station as you swung by the station every so often but Lucy had been the one you’d formed the closest friendship with.

“I’ve been doing well! But between you and me I think you need to stop by more. Tim’s always happier after you visit.” Lucy says, muttering her words lowly so Tim doesn’t hear her as you laugh lightly.

“Well, hopefully, these make everyone a little happier.” You say with a smile, holding up the bag of various cakes you had gotten from a bakery you and Tim frequented.

“Oh yes! I knew there was a reason you were my favourite Bradford!” You hear Jackson exclaim as he approaches you, making you laugh as you hand the bag to Nolan who also joins the group as you glance over at Tim who rolls his eyes and shrugs at Jackson’s comment.

“Everyone’s going to love that you’ve done this. You and Tim have been talking this bakery up for a week now.” Nolan says, opening the bag enough to peek in at the goodies inside.

“I just got things I thought everyone would like.” You say, watching as the three rookies take it in turns peeking inside the bag and trying to figure out what each thing is. As you watch them discussing their theories quietly, Tim walks up alongside you, wrapping an arm around your middle and tugging you into his side.

“I can’t believe I have to share you with all these guys now,” Tim mutters, and this time it is your turn to jokingly roll your eyes.

“Well, just remember, I married you. So you don’t need to worry about someone ‘stealing’ me away.” You joke, leaning into Tim’s side.

“It’s relieving to hear that.” Tim jokes in return, chuckling lightly.

“I hate to do this so soon after arriving but I need to head back to the hospital. I don’t want to see any of you guys in there as patients. Got it?” You say, pointing at Tim and the three rookies who all nod hurriedly before you turn to face Tim.

“Stay safe out there.” You whisper before giving him a soft kiss.

“Always,” Tim replies after you pull away, letting you say your goodbyes to the rookies before walking you out to your car and giving you one last kiss before watching as you get in your car and drive away to head back to work.

Since you had made friends with the people he worked with, Tim found himself more willing to be friendly with those around him at work. Most of the time he was still the tough training officer that everyone was used to, but you had taught him not to burn all his bridges too soon, and that it was okay to have friends at work.

And with you making the effort to know those he worked with, Tim was sure he fell in love with you all over again.