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Chapter Text

Lucy Chen found her shift on patrol to be quiet, but for several weeks as she rode side by side with Tim Bradford, every single shift was quiet; not necessarily due to a lack of calls, but more so because of how time between calls became eerily quiet. A charged quiet. An uncomfortable quiet. A suffocating quiet. A quiet they had never experienced together before THE kiss. The one she told her roommate, Tamara Collins, was meaningless. The one that was for work. The one that re-defined the best kiss she had ever experienced. The one that proved to be completely unnecessary, because Hajek did not call Jake Butler, Tim’s doppelgänger, to engage him in what was meant to be their undercover operation before he got arrested for committing another crime. One kiss and everything Tim and Lucy had built between them toppled over and was replaced by the kind of quiet that was filled with boundless feelings neither had the nerve to express.

Tim, who used to love work, dreaded sitting in a shop next to the person who was once his confidant that turned into the only person he could not discuss something pretty important with. For the millionth time, he thought he had mustered up the courage to broach the topic of what had been unlocked because of their kiss and glanced over at Lucy, then he opened his mouth in the hopes the words would come, but he was interrupted by a dispatcher alerting them to a nearby call via their radios. Lucy gave him their signature almost imperceptible nod they exchanged when presented with a call to confirm that they were going to respond, and then she spoke into the radio to tell the dispatcher their decision. While they were having trouble communicating in every other regard, when they were working, their shorthand or wordless expressions still functioned properly- a small miracle all things considered.

When they arrived at the unassuming Dunne residence where they had been called to, Tim opened the door and Lucy walked in first with quiet feet and guns drawn. The living room was the initial room they entered. At the sight of two bodies, they exchanged a look and searched the rest of the house for who could have hurt the victims, but there was no sign of anyone.

“I didn’t see a kid,” he stated the obvious.

“Kid’s room but no kid means they could be at school,” she theorized, since their exploration of the house did indicate a child lived in the residence but was not, thankfully, present for the attack.

“Or abducted by whoever dropped those bodies.”

“Always such a pessimist,” she teased with a smirk.

He returned her small smile with one of his own. Sometimes, they experienced fragments of the relationship they used to have before their kiss created such a rift between them, and he craved extending those rare seconds for as long as possible, so he did his best not to say or do anything to disrupt her beaming up at him and the way her soft, fond voice flooded his veins. A knock at the front door interrupted their moment, and they snapped back to their high alert on the job demeanors.

She saw a familiar face through the peephole, so Lucy returned her gun to her holster before opening the door. “Hi, Nell.”

“Lucy? What are you doing here? I saw a squad car out front and thought I would see what’s going on,” Nell Forester explained then adjusted her thick black rimmed glasses.

“This house is an active crime scene. I can’t let you in right now. I’m sorry,” she apologized.

“Active crime scene? Are the Dunnes okay?”

“I can’t say,” Lucy responded plainly.

“What am I supposed to do about Fiona?”

A little girl peeked out from where she was hiding behind Nell’s leg. She had to be about three years old based on her size with big bright blue eyes, long brown wavy hair, a green bow in her hair, and a multicolored floral dress. Lucy bent down and gently said, “Hi, I’m Lucy. Are you Fiona?” The child only nodded meekly. “It’s so nice to meet you. I love your bow.” With a tiny curl of her lips, Fiona reverently touched the ribbon in her hair. “It’s green. Is that your favorite color?”

“I don’t know,” Fiona answered and took a step closer to Lucy.

“That’s okay. You can always think about it. My favorite color is yellow.” She felt Tim standing behind her, so she pointed at him and said, “This is my friend, Tim, and his favorite color is blue.”

“I don’t have a favorite color. I’m a grown man,” he pointed out.

“Your favorite color is blue. You wear it all the time.”

“Our uniforms are blue.”

“I meant off duty.”

“Well, I wear it, because it makes my eyes pop.”

“Did you seriously just say that?”

“It’s true.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

Fiona giggled. “You and your friend are funny.”

“He sure likes to think he’s funny,” Lucy joked.

The forensics van arrived, so Nell asked, “Can we take this conversation to my house? I’m right next door.” She did not want the child to see her house fill with unknown police personnel who would be poring over every corner of the building.

“Lucy, you go with Nell, while I coordinate the scene,” Tim directed.

“I can stay,” she offered.

“No, you can take Nell’s statement and make arrangements for the kid.”

She appreciated the chance to spend some more time with Fiona, so she went over to Nell’s house. Fiona climbed up on a chair at the kitchen table and went back to coloring as she had been doing before they left while Nell gestured for Lucy to follow her down the corridor to still watch the little girl from her periphery as they had a private conversation.

“What happened to Mark and Gloria?” Nell asked of the couple that owned the home they had just left.

“They’re gone,” Lucy answered sadly. “Do you know if they have parents or siblings that can take Fiona?”

“No, but it doesn’t matter. Fiona can’t go with them. She’ll go back to Social Services. The Dunnes were fostering Fiona, and it’s only been a couple of months since she was placed with them.”

“Fostering her?”

“Yeah, Fiona has been in the foster system since she was born. Apparently, she was left at a fire station as a baby and has bounced around group homes ever since. The Dunnes were the first family to foster her.”

“So, now that they’re gone, she’s back to endless foster homes,” Lucy presumed and eyed the little girl focusing on her drawing. Her heart ached for such a young child to be without a family.

“It might not be such a bad thing. Mark and Gloria are…I mean were…nice people, but they’re always busy. I feel like I watch Fiona more than they do. I’ve traded for night shifts on dispatch to take her for days at a time.”

“That’s awful.”

“No kidding. Look, I love kids, but Ellroy and I don’t want any of our own. It’s fun to hang out with her during the day, but when she’s sleeping over every night for a week? It’s a little much.”

“Have you reached out to Social Services?”

“I’ve tried, but they’re overwhelmed, so I help out with Fiona when I can. I saw the shop outside, which is why we went over, but I have to leave soon. I picked up a shift at a restaurant. Gotta do something now that I can’t work as many hours as a dispatcher. I might have to quit and find a new full time job, but that’s not the problem. Right now, I’m worried about the fact that that little girl doesn’t have anywhere to go. I have to get to work.”

“Tim and I can call Social Services, and we’ll take her back to the station to watch her until then. Does she have a favorite stuffed animal or a blanket that we can bring with us to make her more comfortable?”

“Not really. She’s been bouncing around a lot of homes, and the Dunnes haven’t gotten her anything she’s formed an attachment with, but Fiona really loves coloring and singing.”

“We can work with that. Thank you.”

Nell went over to Fiona and said, “Hey, Fi, you’re gonna go with my friend, Lucy, okay? She’ll hang out with you for a while.”

“Is the funny one hanging out with us, too?” Fiona wondered.

“He sure will,” Lucy promised then muttered under her breath, “But, I’m not telling him you called him ‘funny’. We are NOT inflating that man’s ego.”

Nell gasped when Fiona took Lucy’s hand as she tended to be shy around strangers, but it was clear the little girl warmed up to her rapidly.

“Wait, Lucy, I haven’t finished my drawing!” Fiona said.

“Let’s take it with us,” Lucy suggested.

Nell handed the piece of paper to the child with a smile. “I hope I can see you soon, kiddo.” She feared that she would never see Fiona again, and that was heartbreaking.

Tim noticed the way Fiona grinned up at Lucy as they walked together hand in hand, and that scene was utterly adorable. 

“Fiona is coming with us to the station,” Lucy announced sweetly.

“I’ll let Harper and Lopez take over the scene, and then we can go,” he replied and went into the house to confer with the detectives. By the time he returned to their shop, he watched Lucy and Fiona laughing in the backseat. “What’s going on in here?”

“We’re talking about our favorite animals, and Fiona like bears. I like dogs better, but bears are cute, too,” Lucy shared.

Tim started driving the car while listening to Fiona’s adorable impression of a growling bear that left her and Lucy giggling.

“What’s your favorite animal, mister?” She asked.

“Oh,” Lucy spoke for him, “Tim’s favorite animal is a chicken.”

“It’s NOT!” He shot back.

“You act like one sometimes,” she teased.

Fiona was laughing too hard and pretending to cluck like a chicken to notice the moment. “Tim is silly,” she said between chuckles.

“He sure is. He’s a silly goose! Maybe that should be his favorite animal. What do geese sound like, Fiona?”

In response, Fiona began to quack, and Tim was unable to resist the urge to snigger.

Seeing him happy for the first time in weeks brought some levity to the new normal kind of tension in their shop; a darling little girl had that effect on the strain on their relationship.

“Fiona,” Lucy said, “I hear you like singing. Do you have a favorite song?”

“Not really.”

“Okay, do you want to share my favorite song with me?” The child nodded excitedly, so Lucy began singing “You Are My Sunshine” over and over again until Fiona learned all of the lyrics and sang along.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

Tim went to the station’s break room where Lucy and Fiona were camped out at a table coloring together. His face showed her he did not have good news after placing a few calls to which Lucy gave him a small frown of understanding then gestured for him to join them.

“Fiona, why don’t you show Tim what you drew,” Lucy suggested.

“This is you and Lucy. You’re in blue, because that’s your favorite color, and that’s Lucy in yellow, because that’s her favorite color,” Fiona explained as she pointed to the figures in her drawing.

“Wow,” he said with a smile. “This is amazing!”

“Doesn’t Lucy look pretty?” Fiona wondered after giving special attention to ensuring she captured her radiant smile.

“She always does,” he replied, pointedly looking over at Lucy.

With three words and his piercing blue eyes, she had a swarm of butterflies wreaking havoc in her stomach. The reason it was difficult to be around him after discovering how he tastes was there was now a level of complexity to their dynamic in that every time he said something sweet, or kind, or complimentary, especially directed at her, Lucy wanted take his face in her hands and kiss him until her last breath. Her fingers itched to do just that as he looked upon her while holding Fiona’s drawing in his hand so carefully as if it was the most precious piece of paper in the world.

Fiona yawned, and he was quick to offer, “Do you want to take a nap?”

“I’m not tired,” she lied and then yawned again.

He pointed to the couch. “I think you should take a nap right there.”

“Will you still be here when I wake up?” She wondered.

“I won’t leave your side for a second,” Lucy promised.

“Tim, too?”

“Sure, kiddo,” he agreed easily, which was apparently enough to convince her to curl up into a tiny ball on the couch and tuck her arm under her head for a nap. He took off his windbreaker and draped it over her.

Lucy had no idea how much she would love watching the usually tough and scowling Tim Bradford soften around a sweet little girl, but if she was not attracted to him before, she sure was after witnessing him interact with Fiona. She stroked Fiona’s soft, thick hair to soothe her enough to sleep, and she realized that the little girl had her hair, his eyes, and a light dusting of freckles just like her; it was a perfect mix of her and Tim in a child. Though Lucy had never allowed herself to fantasize about that kind of future with him before, Fiona was like a physical manifestation that would most certainly fuel her dreams of Tim beyond the delicious fantasies of kissing him over and over again. 

“She’s a great kid,” he noted at a whisper as he admired how similar the sleeping child was to Lucy even in that both of them tucked an arm behind their head before going to sleep, which was an odd thing he learned about Lucy, but after riding together as long as they had, he collected countless random facts about her.

“Yeah, she really is,” Lucy agreed lowly. “I hope her social worker can place her with a good family. What did Social Services say when you called them?”

“Her social worker is named Madison Tait, and she’ll come by when she can to take Fiona to another group home,” he shared unhappily.

“Another one? Fiona said she hated the group homes. The reason why she doesn’t have anything special is that everything she’s ever owned has gotten stolen or ruined. You should’ve heard her tell me how she can’t wear bows in a foster home or some other kid will pull her hair or another girl will take them.”

“The poor kid is three and a half and has already had such a tough life. She keeps getting bounced around from foster home to foster home because of overcrowding. The Dunnes were the first family to want to take her.”

“And they weren’t exactly saints. Apparently, they haven’t been the most attentive parents. She deserves so much better.”

“I know, but there’s nothing we can do. The foster system is overrun with kids who don’t deserve the circumstances they’re in.”

“Maybe I can’t change the whole foster system, but I want to help her.”

He took one look at her besotted expression and knew. “Don’t tell me you fell in love with her.”

She mused, “How could I not? Fiona is so precious, and doesn’t she have a beautiful name?”

“Don’t get too attached.”

“Too late.”

He swallowed hard, hating to be the one to tell her, “Lucy, the second she leaves this station, you’ll probably never see her again unless you arrest her like plenty of other foster kids who commit crimes.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Look at Tamara. She was a foster kid that stole your car.”

“Tamara lived a tough life before she came to live with me. I don’t want Fiona to suffer the same fate.”

“What are you gonna do? Have her move in with you?” Tim suggested sarcastically with a scoff. He did a double take when she seemed to be genuinely considering it. “Lucy…”

“Rachel used to work in Social Services in L.A.. She would know if it’s possible.”

“You can’t honestly be considering this. Are you really ready to become a mom? When your mom wanted you to freeze your eggs, you said you didn’t even know if you wanted kids.”

“I didn’t, okay? Some far off future raising a kid that I couldn’t even picture was tough for me to imagine, but Fiona is real. She’s right here with her love of coloring, and bows. She’s got beautiful eyes and loves to sing. She’s adorable, and sweet, and has the cutest laugh. I can’t imagine ever having a better kid than her.”

He saw her point. “I’ll admit, she’s great, and you two get along, but being a mom is a big responsibility.”

“You don’t think I can handle it?”

Tim did not even blink. “I know you’ll be a great mom someday.”

Her heart stuttered due to the compliment. “Thanks. I’m gonna call Rachel and get her take on if it’s even possible. Mind watching Fiona while I step out?”

“Sure.” He gazed upon the small, angelic child and had to admit that he had never been so taken by a kid before, but she was special. Of course Lucy would want that unique little girl to be hers. When she returned to the break room, there was a fierceness in Lucy’s eyes he rarely saw, and he knew that whatever Rachel had said to her had been disappointing; he would have asked for details, but she started speaking before he got the chance to utter a single word.

“Because I’m a cop, Rachel says Social Services would give me Fiona as an emergency placement as soon as today,” Lucy started with.

“Th-that’s great.”

“It would be, but the problem is, that’s only possible if a child is going to a two parent home meaning it would be super hard to foster her or adopt her as a single mom, but if I was married, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“But, you’re not married.”

“Not yet.”

His blood ran cold as he blinked a few times. “You’re going to ask Chris to marry you?”

Lucy’s boyfriend, Chris Sanford, had completely escaped her memory, which was not a good sign, but unimportant in the moment. “No, I’m asking you.”

“Asking me what?”

“I’m asking you to marry me.”

Tim thought he must have misheard her. “What?”

“Do you need me to get down on one knee or something?”

“Y-You can’t ask me to marry you.”

“Why not? It’s just a piece of paper. It wouldn’t have to mean anything. Come on, Tim, it’s the only way I can foster her.”

He was about to absolutely object to such a terrible idea, but her pleading eyes, as always, gave him pause.

“Please,” she begged as she clapped her hands together. “If you won’t do it for me, then do it for Fiona.”

Tim’s eyes flicked over to the little girl then back over to Lucy. How was he supposed to deny both of them? He could barely believe the words coming out of his mouth: “I’ll marry you.” It felt impossible and completely opposite to everything that had passed between them leading to an awkwardness they had never known before, which was why he felt the need to add the caveat, “For Fiona.”

Chapter Text

Lucy’s breathing hitched when she heard Tim accept her marriage proposal, because she asked him to MARRY her, and he said he WOULD. “I-I…thank you,” was all she could manage to sputter out.

“It’s for Fiona,” he repeated to ensure there was no miscommunication.

“Yeah. Right. We wouldn’t need to get married if it weren’t for her.” She looked over at Fiona who was still sleeping peacefully on the couch of the station’s break room. “We need to come up with a plan.”

“Oh, sure. You’ll need to get a dress, and I’ll need a tux, and-”

“Not for the wedding, Tim. I’m talking about Fiona.”

“Yeah. For her. Did Rachel give you any direction about that?”

“She said we have to talk to Fiona’s social worker.”

“Madison Tait. That’s her name,” he supplied again.

“Each social worker is different, but I’m thinking if we tell Madison that we promise we’ll get married really soon, maybe she’ll let me take Fiona home tonight.”

“We’ll see, but if it’s not that simple, I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

“I know it goes completely against your nature, but can you please think positively just this once?”

“You’re right. Alright, so what else do we need to do, since we’re taking Fiona home?”

She looked up at him gratefully for being so optimistic to appease her. “We have to plan a wedding.”

“When are we gonna do this?” He referred to their wedding as “this”, because his heart could not at all handle the fact that he was marrying Lucy.

“As soon as possible. I mean, we’re telling the social worker it’s happening soon.”

“Soon. Right.” He felt his knees wobble. Tim’s phone rang, and he almost dropped it when he read who was calling. “It’s Ashley,” he announced the caller. They exchanged a look to indicate that both of them had momentarily forgotten they were in relationships with other people. “What do I tell her?”

“Crap,” she muttered. “I-I don’t know.”

He declined the call. “We have to come up with what to say to them.”

“They deserve that. I guess our wedding should wait until after we’ve told Chris and Ashley that we’re getting married.”

Our wedding. She said “OUR wedding”, and he had to stuff his hands in his pockets to conceal how they trembled. “So, I’ll talk to Ashley after shift, and you tell Chris.”

“Maybe we should do this together.”

“Together?”

“It was my idea to ask you to marry me. The least I can do is tell your girlfriend.”

“She’s probably not gonna take it well.”

“We can’t exactly keep it from her.” Unlike the practice kiss they shared to prepare for an undercover asssignment that never happened; neither told their respective partners about that. “I’ll explain that it’s a completely platonic marriage. Is that crayon on your uniform?” She brushed the waxy yellow stray crayon smear off of his shirt where it had settled but did not stain. “Okay, so let’s go to dinner after shift with Chris and Ashley. Oh, do you want to try out that barbecue place you’ve been talking about?”

“Ashley hates barbecue.”

“Who hates barbecue? Whatever. Scratch that then.”

“Let’s just go to the food trucks.”

She nodded. “That could work. I’ll do all the talking to try to reason with them.”

“We’ll see how it goes.” He shrugged.

Smitty walked into the break room and saw that a little girl was sleeping on his favorite couch in the station, which slightly annoyed him, but the kid was cute. “Bradford, Chen, this woman is here to see you guys. Please tell me she’s gonna take the kid sleeping on my couch with her.”

“Be nice,” Lucy hissed and then regarded the other woman lowly so as not to disturb Fiona’s slumber, “I’m Lucy. You must be Fiona’s social worker.”

“Yes, I’m Madison,” she introduced herself and offered to shake Lucy’s hand.

Madison was a lovely woman; she was tall, thin, looked to be in her late thirties’, had short brown hair, and a model-like beauty to her features. Lucy liked her immediately. “It’s nice to meet you. This is Tim.”

“Pleasure,” Madison said and shook his hand.

Lucy eyed Smitty, who took the gesture as an indication that he should leave the break room, so he did, then she glanced up at Tim; he gave her a curt nod of support without a single trace of hesitation on his face. “We want to talk to you about Fiona.”

“I think we should talk in the hallway,” Tim suggested and jerked his head in the direction of the sleeping child; she did not need to be privy to a custody discussion.

Madison nodded and left the break room with Tim and Lucy following behind her. They stood in the corridor next to the door that Lucy left partially ajar to keep checking on Fiona, which Madison thought was sweet. “I heard about the tragedy with Fiona’s foster parents. I’ve been working to place her in a group home, and I just got her a placement. What else do we need to talk about?”

Lucy swallowed and puffed out her chest confidently, “I, we want to foster her.”

“As an emergency placement?” Madison wondered.

“Whatever it takes to bring her home with us as soon as possible.”

“First responders are perfect emergency placement foster parents,” Madison noted. “Have you ever done it before?”

“No,” Tim answered.

“There’s a bit of paperwork we’ll need to fill out and some documentation we’ll need, but it shouldn’t take long,” Madison replied. “I’ll ask your boss for your personnel records. We need to ensure that there isn’t anything concerning in those files that would make your home unsafe for a child. I’ll need copies of your birth certificates and your marriage license, too.”

“Well…” Lucy kept her face neutral. “Tim and I aren’t married yet. We’re getting married very soon, though.”

Madison’s shoulders drooped, all of the excitement about placing a child with a loving family instead of a group home evaporated. “Our policy is clear. We can’t put any kid in an emergency placement unless the couple is married.”

“Can’t you make an exception? We ARE getting married and really soon.” To make her point, Lucy took Tim’s hand, which was a very odd sensation that she could not truly process given the circumstance.

Grey cleared his throat as he approached them.

Tim’s blood ran cold; he did not want Grey to find out about their marriage scheme, especially by overhearing a discussion with a social worker.

Madison sensed the tension but did not address it. Instead she said, “Once you’re married, give me a call, and we can discuss placing Fiona with you. Until then, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more to discuss. Take my card.” She handed it to Lucy with a sympathetic smile. “We should wake up Fiona, so I can take her to her next group home.”

Lucy gazed at Fiona, and her heart was on the brink of shattering. Thankfully, Tim squeezed their joined hands, which was the support she needed. “I’ll do it,” she murmured.

Madison, Grey, and Tim waited in the hallway where they could see Lucy bend down in front of the couch.

She rubbed Fiona’s forearm as she whispered, “Hey, Fiona, it’s time to wake up.” At first, she only stirred, and then she opened her bright blue eyes, and Lucy’s chest was close to bursting. She had no idea she could love someone so much and so fast, but she knew she absolutely loved Fiona. “Madison is here.”

“No!” Fiona whined. “I don’t wanna go!”

“You have to. I’m so sorry, but you have to.”

“Can’t I stay here with you and Tim?”

Lucy was unsure how she managed to keep from crying, and then Tim was right there by her side as if he flew over. She felt his warm hand on her shoulder to calm her.

“Hey,” he said in his gentlest voice. “Listen, Fiona, I know you don’t want to go with Madison right now, but she’s gonna take you to a really nice group home, and Lucy and I will come visit you really soon.”

“You’ll visit? You promise?” Fiona asked.

Tim lowered himself onto his knees to be at eye level with her. “Absolutely. Lucy and I really like hanging out with you. Plus, you’re the best at animal noises out of everyone we’ve ever met.”

Fiona chuckled as she sat up and crossed her legs on the couch. “I don’t know what all of the animals sound like.”

“We’ll learn together,” Lucy suggested. “Tim definitely doesn’t know that many.”

“He’s a silly goose,” Fiona said with a snicker, since that was what Lucy had dubbed him earlier in the day.

“Yeah, he sure is,” Lucy confirmed. “And, he’s right. We’ll come visit you.”

Fiona exhaled, accepting her situation. She reached up in her hair and tried to use her small fingers to pull her bow out.

“What are you doing?” Tim asked.

“I can’t wear bows in the group home,” Fiona explained. 

Lucy gingerly untied it from her hair and handed her the green ribbon.

Fiona shook her head. “You can have it.”

“But green looks pretty on you,” Lucy replied.

“Tim says you always look pretty. Bows would look pretty on you.”

He could see the pain in Lucy’s eyes and carefully took the ribbon out of Lucy’s hand. Without a word, he did his best to tie it around her bun and make bow like tying his shoelaces. “There. Lucy will keep it for now, but only for now. You’ll get to wear bows again soon.”

Lucy had wanted to kiss Tim a million times since their first one, but each other instance paled in comparison to that second where he looked upon her with a kindness that brought her heart to the edge of combustion after a gesture so sweet that would have caused her legs to give out had she not been kneeling. The only reason she did not actually kiss him was because Fiona launched herself into his arms before Lucy got the chance to move.

He huffed from the sheer force in which such a tiny person slammed herself against him, but he hugged Fiona back quickly. “Everything’s gonna be okay,” he whispered to her while staring at Lucy, since the message most certainly needed to be shared with both of them.

Lucy watched a smile start to take over Fiona’s face, and she felt better. “Okay, we should get your coloring stuff packed up.”

Fiona shoved everything into her backpack save for the drawing she made of Tim and Lucy, which she handed to her. “This is for you.”

“Really?”

Fiona nodded.

“Thank you. I love it.” Lucy had never seen any piece of art that she treasured more.

Madison was touched by the whole exchange, and she hated to break up the moment. “It’s time to go.” She gestured for the little girl to take her hand, and Fiona did so with a pout.

Lucy wanted to stay strong, so she remained perfectly still as Fiona started walking away until she turned around and ran back to her to hug her legs. She bent down to embrace Fiona fiercely. “I’ll miss you, sweetie.”

“I miss you, too,” Fiona responded then waved at both of them before racing over to Madison.

Grey waited until the social worker left with Fiona, and then he entered the break room before shutting the door behind him for a semblance of privacy with Tim and Lucy. “You’re getting married?” Was what he started with, because ever since overhearing such an important announcement, he had not stopped thinking about it.

Tim and Lucy flashed matching clueless looks, because their shotty planning did not include how to address the fact that they WORK together.

“I’m happy for you two, obviously. I figured we’d have this conversation soon enough, but I wasn’t prepared for it to happen so soon.” Grey’s mind spiraled in a million directions. “Now that I know, you have to stop riding together immediately until we file all the necessary paperwork, and then there’s the chain of command issue, but…I have a migraine, so I can’t think about any of that right now. Let’s focus on better things. When’s the wedding?”

Lucy could tell that Tim was too stunned to speak, so she did. “S-soon, sir. Soon.”

“You haven’t set a date? Guess that explains why I haven’t been invited,” Grey responded. “You know Luna and I will be there regardless.”

“Thank you for your support,” Lucy said as evenly as she could.

“I’ve had my suspicions, but I didn’t want to push either of you to open up. I figured you’d come to me when you were ready. I didn’t even know you got engaged.”

“W-well, that was more of a recent development,” Lucy replied, since that was not a lie.

“I understand that you’ve been playing this close to the vest. We can talk more about it later. I need some aspirin. Congratulations,” Grey regarded them happily then left the break room.

For a stretch of time, Lucy and Tim stared at each other wordlessly until he broke the silence. “S-so that happened.”

“Yeah,” she breathed. She refused to point out that Grey was not surprised to hear that they were planning on getting married, which was something she would address inside of her brain when she had a few moments to herself.

“What now?”

“Text Chris and Ashley. They need to know, too.”

“Grey said we’re engaged.” Despite the fact that he had a GIRLFRIEND, he was warm all over at the thought of Lucy being his fiancée. They kissed one single time, and since then, his imagination ran wild as he thought about what it might be like to do that again; never had his mind hurtled towards something so astronomically improbable as an engagement let alone a marriage, but his imminent future included THEIR wedding, and his boss made a valid point that since they agreed to marry, he was technically engaged to Lucy. Tim would have thought such a development would be difficult to fathom, but it felt right; his heart liked the idea of having such a future with her, and he had not allowed himself to admit that before, but that all changed when Fiona came into their lives.

“That’s what typically happens before there’s a wedding.”

“I didn’t get you a ring.”

Her lips curled. “It’s a paper marriage, Tim. You don’t have to get me a ring.”

“But now I look like a jerk that didn’t get you a ring.”

“Technically, I asked you to marry me, so I’m the jerk that didn’t get you a ring,” she joked.

“You’re not a jerk. We’ll add it to the list of things we need to figure out.”

“That list is getting pretty long.”

“No one said being a parent is easy.”

“This isn’t even parenting yet.”

“It’s all part of fostering Fiona.”

“Adopting,” Lucy corrected him. “I want to foster her until I can adopt her. That’s my goal.”

His lips parted in surprise. “Wow.”

“Do I sound like I’ve lost my mind?”

“No, I think it’s great. I meant it when I said you’ll make a great mom.”

“Thanks. You were awesome with Fiona, too.” She touched the ribbon he had tied into her hair. “That was really sweet of you.”

For some reason, he felt inclined to trace a finger along the bow over the bun on the back of her head, bringing them to stand quite close with his pointer finger over hers on the ribbon. “You do look pretty in a bow,” he murmured. When had he become the man that paid her such compliments and touched her without thinking? Probably around the time his lips met hers, which sparked a slew of emotions he had never felt before and could not successfully snuff out.

She was fairly sure her skin was flushed from head to toe as she zeroed in on his lips. Lucy tried to rationalize that she could give him a simple “thank you” kiss like the ones in old movies. It would be nothing more than that. All she knew was that her mouth itched to meet his, and after the onslaught of fondness he showed Fiona, a child that looked like a mix of THEM, she just had to do it. One quick “thank you” and otherwise meaningless kiss. Her lungs emptied as she stood up tall on the balls of her feet and watched as confusion flashed across his face, and then he was still, bordering on calm. He looked ready. It was microscopic, but he bent his neck a small degree. Tim was moving towards her, too. There were only a few centimeters left, and as badly as she wanted to bridge that gap expeditiously, her whole body was ill prepared, moving at a snail’s pace to brace for impact. When she kissed him the first time, she did so without really thinking, but now she knew what it would feel like. She could anticipate how exactly her stomach would be set aflutter and her blood would fizz. She was aware it would make her come a little undone. Lucy could hardly wait.

The break room door swung open, and Tim jumped back from her, because apparently, that was what happened when he was kissing her or about to do so- doors opened and ruined their moment. He tried to chastise himself for trying to capture her lips. They were supposed to get married for Fiona. They were NOT supposed to KISS.

Acting as casually as she could for the sake of the officers that entered the room without any knowledge of what was about to transpire, Lucy awkwardly said, “I’ll, uh, I’ll text Chris.”

“I will, too…I mean, I-I’ll text Ashley,” Tim replied. Because shift was almost over, he decided to attack the mountain of paperwork on his desk, since Grey said they could no longer ride together, and scribbling onto pages mindlessly had the potential to help stop him from spiraling about the fact that he had agreed to marry Lucy and help her foster a child, and of course, the almost kiss that shook him to his core. His eyes kept wandering over to her where she was completing her own stack of forms, looking completely neutral as if in the span of one shift everything had not changed. He had almost tasted her lips again. That was all he could really focus on- the memory of her soft, full lips fitting with his. Tim did not even realize that he changed out and was standing outside of the station mere paces away from the food trucks when Lucy tapped his forearm and stared up at him.

“You okay?” She wondered; she noticed how his face had been positively blank since they left the break room.

“All good,” he lied.

“Let’s do this,” she said more confidently than she felt and strode over to the table by the food trucks where Chris and Ashley had already sat down. Lucy subtly pushed her chair closer to Tim’s solely because she needed his strength to have their discussion. 

After everyone exchanged greetings, Chris asked, “What’s going on?”

Lucy assumed that in the moment, the right words would come, but there was no perfect way to explain the situation. “I’m adopting a little girl named Fiona, and Tim is helping me.”

“Congratulations, Lucy,” Ashley said. “But, how is Tim helping you?”

“Well,” she paused and met Tim’s gaze, then she looked back at Chris and Ashley seated across the table from them and said, “We’re getting married. It’s really just a clerical formality. I can’t be a single woman and foster to adopt Fiona, so he’s marrying me on paper.”

“I can help in other ways, too,” Tim volunteered as he made eye contact with Lucy. “I like Fiona. She’s a great kid. I wouldn’t mind watching her or taking care of her if you don’t mind.”

“Really?” Lucy grinned at the kindness of the offer.

“Of course. I’m the only silly goose she knows.”

Lucy giggled. “That’s true. She really does like you, and I would really appreciate your help with her any time.”

“I’m sorry,” Ashley interjected, interrupting the sparks flying between her boyfriend and Lucy. “Tim, you can’t marry someone else and date me.”

“Agreed,” Chris chimed in.

“It’s not like we’ll be really married,” Lucy tried to clarify.

“Uh, in the eyes of the law, you will be. I’m sorry, Lucy, but you can’t marry Tim,” Chris said definitively.

“I can’t leave Fiona to grow up bouncing around from group home to group home. I want her to be my kid. I want to be her mom!” Lucy shot back insistently.

“So marry Chris. Don’t involve my boyfriend,” Ashley stated, sounding aggravated.

“That’s not necessary,” Tim said quickly. He was sickened by the thought of Lucy marrying Chris. “I can do it. I really don’t mind.”

“But, we do,” Chris responded and gestured between him and Ashley.

Lucy should have known Chris and Ashley would not take the plan well, but she naively hoped.

Tim could read her face easily and lightly brushed his knee against hers then spoke on their behalf. “Lucy and I are getting married for Fiona. That little girl is the priority here, and I hope you guys can understand that, but if you can’t, that’s on you.”

Ashley blinked a few times to process his unusually firm statement. “Are you trying to say you’re picking Lucy over me?”

“I’m picking Lucy and Fiona,” he amended.

Chris could tell what Lucy chose from how she beamed up at Tim, but he asked anyways, “You’re picking Tim over me, aren’t you?”

“And Fiona,” Lucy said. “At the end of the day, we’re doing all of this for Fiona.”

“I’m sorry, Tim, but this weird arrangement just won’t work for me. I’ve put up with so much because of you two, but not this. I can’t. I’m done,” Ashley said then shot up from her chair before strutting away without a second thought.

“Don’t do this,” Chris pled, trying to appeal to his girlfriend.

“She wants to be a mom. You should support her,” Tim replied.

“Lucy can be a mom to our kids that we have eventually. She doesn’t need to foster a kid right now. It feels fast,” Chris tried to rationalize.

“If you met Fiona, you would understand. I-I can’t explain it, but she’s the one. She’s the kid I want.”

“She’s great,” Tim agreed quietly with the same awe-strticken lilt Lucy used when talking about the girl that captured their hearts in a short time.

“You’ve already made up your mind,” Chris stated matter of factly, taken aback by Lucy’s choice.

“I did.”

He could not bear to look at Lucy anymore, so he made eye contact with Tim. “I hope you and your wife on paper and adopted kid are happy together.”

Tim narrowed his eyes at him and assured, “We will be.”

Chris shook his head and left without another word.

When Lucy opened her mouth, Tim put a hand up. “Don’t apologize. It’s okay.”

“I totally just ruined your life,” she replied apologetically.

“Ashley and I weren’t gonna work out long term anyways. It’s okay.”

“I thought you said you could see yourself married to her.”

“She never wants to get married or have kids. I was fooling myself thinking we had a future together.”

“I’m still really sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s worth it…for Fiona.”

“For Fiona,” she agreed.

“Now, I’m starving, and I’m sure you are, too, so what are you thinking? Burgers?”

“Sounds perfect.”

“I’ll order some and be right back.” 

Surprisingly, Lucy felt at peace with her break up with Chris, and Tim seemed to feel similarly about the end of his relationship with Ashley. When he returned to their table with food in his hands, he gave her his usual warm smile; there was not even a trace of sadness on his face.

He blew out a breath as he took his seat then distributed the burgers and beers that he had purchased. It was hard to address the elephant in the room, but they had to eventually. “So…we can’t do anything else for Fiona until we get married.”

“Yup.”

“Which means, we sorta have to plan a wedding.”

“It doesn’t have to be a REAL wedding. We can go to the courthouse.”

“We have to treat it like a real one, or we run the risk of Social Services finding out the marriage is a fraud, which would ruin our chances of fostering and adopting Fiona. We both know how intense that process can be, and we have to pass every test.”

“You’re right. Guess we have to start planning a convincing wedding, and we have to move fast.”

“I agree. Good thing I remember everything we did for Angela’s wedding. We planned that in a couple of days.”

“We had a lot of help,” she reminded him.

“It should be easier this time around.”

“Probably.” She lifted up her beer and said, “I would like to make a toast.” When he quirked his eyebrow at her, she said simply, “To Fiona.”

“To Fiona,” he repeated and clinked the neck of his bottle of beer with hers. They kept their eyes locked on each other for a while, their bottles still touching, frozen. Only when Lucy pulled back to bring her beer to her lips did he do the same as he wondered what his drink would taste like on her tongue.

She swallowed her beer then launched into planning mode. “Okay, let’s start with the guest list. Apparently, Grey and Luna are coming.”

“Plus Angela, Wes, Thorsen, Harper, James, Tamara…”

“And Nolan.”

He rolled his eyes. “And Nolan can come, too,” he surrendered. “The most important thing we need to decide on is the venue.”

Lucy was amazed at how methodically Tim went through the list of basic wedding details they needed to decide on, and just as everything else was with them, they were in complete agreement about every single choice to be made for their intimate gathering. They had a few action items to take care of in the morning, but it took no time at all to plan a wedding. It was almost TOO easy to marry him as if it was something she was meant to do. After dinner, they slowly ambled over to the station’s parking garage as silence fell between them until Tim stopped with her in front of her car. “Thank you for doing this for me. I don’t know how I’ll ever pay you back for doing me such a big favor, but I really appreciate it.”

“Give Fiona the best home for the rest of her life, and we’re square,” Tim responded kindly.

She did not want to press her luck after the last attempt at kissing him failed and the first time they kissed went awry, so she took in the sight of him for an extra moment and then got into her car.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧  

Tim was not really sure how to say it, so he decided to approach Angela at the beginning of shift as she stepped out of her car in the parking lot and blurted out, “I need you to be my Best Woman.”

“I’ll always be the best woman,” Angela replied smugly.

He blew out a breath. “I meant like my Best Woman at my wedding.”

She almost dropped her travel coffee mug. “You asked Ashley to marry you?”

“No,” he responded with utter revulsion. “I’m marrying Lucy.”

Angela practically choked on air. “You WHAT?”

“It’s for Fiona.”

“Who’s Fiona?”

“The girl Lucy wants to foster and adopt. She needs a husband to be able to foster Fiona, so I agreed to help her out, and I need you to come to the courthouse and be our witness when Lucy and I get married.”

“I’m sorry. I think I’m missing something. Lucy’s got a boyfriend, and you’ve got a girlfriend, but you’re going to marry each other to adopt a kid together?”

“Fiona isn’t going to be mine. I’m doing Lucy a favor, so a sweet kid isn’t stuck in the foster system anymore. She’ll be a great mom to Fiona. That girl’s whole life is about to change for the better.” He forgot to mention that Chris and Ashley ended their relationships a few days before, because truly, it was inconsequential.

“Wait, Fiona isn’t going to be yours, but you’ll be on all of the documents as her foster parent?”

“Correct.”

“Are you planning on being present in the kid’s life?”

“If Lucy needs my help, sure. I like Fiona. She’s a special kid.” A special kid that reminded him a lot of Lucy.

“So, you’re going to be helping out to raise a kid while being casually married to your partner that you’ve been harboring feelings for for God knows how long?” She could not believe what he was telling her.

“I told you I don’t have feelings for Lucy.”

“We both know that was a lie. You’re literally signing up to make a family with her. Why would you do that unless you had feelings for her?”

“She asked.”

Angela laughed. “She ASKED? That’s your excuse? Said the man who told me he would never marry again unless he knew it would work out. The same guy who can’t wait to be a father. Lucy asks to make a stop at her favorite coffee shop on patrol, and you tell her ‘no’. I would think for something as serious as marriage and becoming a parent, you would say ‘no’ if you didn’t secretly WANT to be a father to Fiona and be with Lucy.”

“It won’t be like THAT,” Tim insisted. “We haven’t really ironed out all of the details, but Lucy and I aren’t gonna be together or anything. She doesn’t even want to be with me, okay? She just needs my signature on a couple of documents including a marriage license. Which brings me back to asking you to be my Best Woman at our wedding. It’s tomorrow.”

“You’re marrying Lucy TOMORROW? I wouldn’t miss seeing that for the world.” She smirked.

“I’m sure you have a million more questions, but I gotta talk to Lucy,” he said and left Angela’s side to stop Lucy before she entered the station. He caught her moving out of the corner of his eye and was eager to get to her as soon as possible.

“Damn, I should invite my mom to this wedding. Her telenovelas aren’t this good,” Angela muttered.

“Hey,” he called to her to stop her.

“Good morning,” Lucy replied happily, because she WAS happy for reasons she could not fully explain to herself.

“I know we’re inviting everyone today to the wedding tomorrow.” He could not believe those words came out of his mouth. “So, I got you something.”

She watched him chew his lip nervously, and she found it adorable. When Tim slid his hand into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled a ring box, her lungs collapsed. “What are you doing?”

He opened the ring box and held it out for her. “I don’t want to be the jerk that didn’t get you a ring,” he explained sheepishly. “I didn’t know what to get. I figured since you always wear that ring that’s an oval, this ring should have the same shape.”

The only ring she always wore was her moonstone ring. The one he used to find her. The one that saved her life. The one he returned to her with the same meekness years prior. Lucy could not believe he was actually giving her yet another ring in the exact same way, but where the moonstone one was her salvation, the new one was her future. A future that could only exist because of him. “It’s, it’s beautiful,” she spoke at a whisper, admiring both the immensity of the moment and the beauty of the diamond ring he had purchased for her. “I-I…you really didn’t have to get me one.”

She was right; he did not need to buy her an engagement ring for a paper marriage, but he WANTED to, so he seized the moment and went to a jewelry store to purchase one for her with visions of her wearing HIS ring dancing in his head. Tim took her hand and shakily slid it on where it looked perfect on her finger. It would be impossible to explain what provoked him to buy her a ring to wear for a marriage that was supposed to be nothing more than a contract, because if he did tell her, he would have to share his feelings, and that seemed harrowing, so instead, he said, “It’s for Fiona.”

Fiona was not the one now sporting a diamond ring, and both he and Lucy knew that, but that did not stop her from gripping his hand and murmuring. “Right. For Fiona.”

Chapter Text

Lucy could not recognize her hand every time she looked down at the diamond ring Tim bought for her. It was simply stunning. She hated removing it to change into her uniform and missed it the second she had to take it off of her finger. Fellow officers around the station congratulated her all day, and she appreciated all of the well wishes while trying not to process the fact that no one seemed surprised about her upcoming nuptials. Tim only met her gaze from across the station a few times throughout shift. It was strange to go out on patrol without him. She missed him, she realized, but they made a worthy sacrifice for Fiona with the added bonus of her sporting a marvelous engagement ring she could not wait to put back on when her shift ended so much so that she barely resisted from dancing around the locker room after slipping it back on. Lucy got home from work after glancing at her newly bejeweled finger at every red light, but when she entered her apartment, she shoved her hand into her pocket. “Hey, Tamara,” she greeted her.

“Hey! Angela texted me with a million questions. Sounds like everyone knows about your wedding tomorrow.”

“We told the people that are invited. We’re keeping it low key.”

“How come?”

“We’ve been over this,” Lucy reminded her. “This is a paper marriage. It’s not a big deal.”

“Right,” Tamara scoffed sarcastically. “It’s just a paper marriage to the guy you’re secretly in love with.”

“I’m not secretly in love with him.”

“Oh, so you told him how you feel?” She wondered coyly.

“It’s not like that. This is all for Fiona.” Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out to see a text from Tim.

Tamara’s eyes flew open, and she pointed at the diamond Lucy was wearing. “Is THAT for Fiona, too?”

Her cheeks heated up. Lucy really wanted to conceal the ring from her roommate for a bit to avoid her barbs and sarcasm, but nothing could be kept a secret for too long between them. “Yes. Tim and I both agreed everything is for her including this ring.”

“It’s gorgeous.”

She beamed. “It is. Tim has great taste.”

“Good to know your man has taste when it comes to buying you jewelry in the future.”

“He’s not my man.”

“Oh, he sure is.”

“He’s not, and don’t say anything like that when he stops by later.”

“Tim is coming here?”

Lucy nodded. “He texted and asked to come by to talk to me for a few minutes about tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, as in the wedding?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s there to discuss?”

“I don’t know, but I said he could come over.”

Tamara quirked her eyebrow. “Is he spending the night?”

“No!” She sputtered out, but after dreaming about Tim staying in her bed more than a few times, it would have been nice to realize such a fantasy.

“It’s okay if he does. I’ll stay in my room, so I don’t interrupt you guys again.”

“There won’t be anything to interrupt.”

“Mhm,” Tamara hummed, not believing her. She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and moved towards her room; her progress was interrupted by a knock at the door, so she answered it and announced, “Lucy, your husband-to-be is here.”

He knew he would have to get used to it, but being Lucy’s husband was surreal. “Hi,” he murmured. 

“I’m locking myself in my room and wearing headphones. Have fun, lovebirds,” Tamara said, far too amused at the sense of deja vu from the last time she found Tim in her apartment with his tongue down Lucy’s throat.

“Just ignore her. I think she’s being annoying on purpose,” Lucy said. She read the storm in his eyes and asked, “Are you okay?”

“We’re getting married tomorrow,” he replied, still not at all believing how their circumstances had changed from dating other people to marrying each other within a week.

“Are you getting cold feet?”

“No, but…,” he made the mistake of glancing at her lips and losing his train of thought.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“Uh, no, I…can we sit down?”

“Sure.” She pointed in the direction of the couch, but he shook his head and went to sit at one of the stools abutting her kitchen counter, so she followed suit.

“We’re getting married tomorrow,” he repeated himself.

“I think we’ve got the whole plan in place, right?”

“Yeah, Tamara put out the tables in my backyard, and I picked up my suit.”

“Great.”

“But, there’s the whole wedding part.”

“We can apply for a license at the courthouse and use it right then, and I picked up the rings today.”

“I know, but…,” he gulped, “we’re gonna have to…we’re…” he tried to motion with his hands and knew he would be unsuccessful just as he was the previous time he tried to avoid expressing the same sentiment verbally, so Tim resigned to allow the words to fly out of his mouth, “we have to kiss.”

Throughout all of their planning and discussions about logistics, Lucy had completely forgotten about THAT part of the ceremony. “Oh,” she breathed. “Do you think we need to practice?”

“We did last time, and that was to pretend to be a couple, but tomorrow, we’re getting MARRIED. That’s way more serious. We need to be really convincing.”

She nodded. “Right. Especially since we’ll be in front of people who really know us. So, we need to practice more.” 

“Exactly.” Selfishly, part of him wanted any excuse to kiss her again and send his world spinning backwards on its axis like the first time, but he was also genuinely thinking about maintaining their cover as a married couple. “For Fiona.”

“We can’t foster to adopt her if no one believes we really got married, so this is for her.”

“It is.”

She leaned in, and then felt awkward, so she quickly pulled back and suggested, “Should we stand?”

He hated how similar it felt to the first time, because that was interrupted just when things were heating up. “Yeah, we should.”

Lucy went to her feet and waited like every second stretched on far too long that Tim was not kissing her, because the second he made the suggestion, it was all she wanted. She watched his Adam’s apple bob as if he kept nervously swallowing while rising from his stool and staring at his feet while he kicked their seats under the counter unnecessarily, so she cupped his cheek and stroked at his jawline where the beginning of his stubble roughly made contact with her thumb. “It’s just a kiss, Tim.”

“I know.” He finally met her eyes, completely enraptured by her gentle touch on his skin. 

“And, it’s for Fiona.”

“Fiona,” he whispered.

“We have to be convincing for her.” She omitted the fact that it was something she really wanted, too.

The last time, his kiss proved to be lackluster if hers in response was any indication, so he most certainly did not want to disappoint again. “Don’t move this time,” he requested lowly and wet his lips. She had hesitated and pulled back asking for another minute before their previous practice, and he was ill prepared to feel that withdrawal once more. Gingerly, he cupped her chin to tilt her head slightly, and then he bent down. Tim could practically taste her eagerness when she gasped into his mouth and met his lips with a soft yet fiery pressure. He wanted to keep control to prove he was a better kisser than his first impression made, so he drove his tongue into her mouth and felt her jaw slightly relax, submitting to him.

Lucy thought she might be falling right down into the earth’s core within a second of her lips slotting with his. He was hot as magma where his mouth and fingers touched her, and maybe the tectonic plates had shifted around them; that would have explained how the entire world seemed to change during their second, even better, kiss. Tim’s heart was pulsing underneath her other hand where it rested on his chest, and she loved feeling tethered not only to his mouth but to HIM. If everything else shifted in the world around her, he would be the same. He would always be her Tim.

He dug his fingers in her hair and kissed her harder, making her lightly moan into his throat. If that was his last moment alive, he would have been FANTASTIC, or great, or magnificent, or some other word that had yet to exist, because he was experiencing something for the first time ever in the history of the universe; Tim was in the middle of a perfect kiss with Lucy who was matching his enthusiasm every second, whose lips flawlessly molded to fit his, and whose hands were driving him wilder the tighter she gripped his shirt and the side of his face.

She cursed her lungs for emptying, but when she finally had to pull away to breathe, she cradled both of his cheeks as she inhaled deeply in the microscopic space between them. Her glassy gaze met his, and he looked just as stunned as she felt; they most certainly did not need any help convincing anyone considering Lucy fully persuaded herself in that moment that she might be slightly a little in love with him. It was absolutely unnecessary, but she rose up tall to crash her lips against his and pulled his head down with her when she reverted to standing firmly on the ground for no other reason than she was nowhere close to finished kissing him- she wanted MORE. Tim nibbled at her lip, which made her whimper, and she knew he most certainly did not object to another even deeper kiss that went far beyond any practice for a paper marriage ceremony considering how she explored his mouth with her tongue in a manner that was definitely not appropriate for a courthouse wedding in front of some of their friends. Lucy lost her balance and stepped back, and he moved with her, keeping their mouths fused together. She took another step backwards, and his hands dropped to her waist.

Tim was curious enough to touch her somewhere beyond platonic territory, and their life altering kiss was the perfect excuse. He squeezed her as he drew her closer, and she made the most delicious sound that vibrated through both of their chests. She broke away, and he watched her for a second then chased her lips once more. With every pause to what was becoming something longer and more involved than a simple kiss, she took a step back, and he followed.

Every part of her body seemed to be moving mindlessly, since her brain could not conjure a single thought, yet her lips found a rhythm with his; her fingers traveled over his back, and his chest, and the nape of his neck like she was mapping every part of him she had ever yearned to touch; and her feet were taking her somewhere unclear to her, but as long as he went with her, she did not care about a final destination. All that mattered was that he kept kissing her, and thankfully, he did.

For some reason, Lucy seemed to be tugging him along somewhere, and he was confused until he heard her back make contact with the wood of her closed bedroom door. Tim pressed her tightly against it with his whole body and thought he might faint, or perhaps that was the lack of oxygen.

When he withdrew his mouth and took his face too far away from hers, Lucy blinked a few times before glancing behind her for confirmation that subconsciously, she was bringing him towards her bedroom. She touched the handle of her bedroom door with the other still on the back of his neck, caressing the shortest hairs, and she asked, “Do you wanna come in?”

He went to her house to practice being convincing for their wedding the following day. He had NOT entered her apartment thinking anything like THAT would happen. “I shouldn’t.”

She opened the door and took a half step to stand right on the threshold like she was dancing on the cusp of a very dangerous edge. A very dangerous yet equally alluring edge.

Tim paused. There was no good reason to enter her bedroom; they were not in a REAL relationship, therefore everything else they had done was for Fiona, so sleeping together would be a selfish decision purely fueled by want. His eyes caught on the engagement ring on the door handle. HIS ring that he gave to her. A ring that was unnecessary for a paper marriage, but he purchased it anyways for selfish reasons. What would be the problem with doing one more little selfish thing in their quest to adopt a kid? After huffing out a breath, he stepped inside, making her mouth curve upwards for a fraction of a second before she captured his lips.

Lucy could not believe she was acting so irrationally, but he kissed her countless times after dreaming about wanting his lips to live with hers forever, and her heart drove her to invite him inside of her bedroom; if she could never have a real relationship, a real marriage, and a real life with Tim, she was going to make the most of the opportunities afforded to her, so if all she was given was one night, Lucy was going to take it.

He definitely heard someone rapping at the front door, and her little huff indicated he had not imagined the sound.

“Ignore it,” she whispered when she felt Tim’s lips still. Thankfully, he obeyed and went back to unraveling her with his mouth until the knocking seemed louder and more forceful. “I really don’t care who it is.” Lucy played with the hem of his henley and looked up at him, waiting for his permission to remove his shirt.

Someone started POUNDING on the door, and then Chris’ voice came through, “Lucy! I know you’re in there! I just wanna talk!”

Tim, for the first time the entire evening, took a giant step away from her and shook his head.

“I’ll get rid of him,” she muttered unhappily. “Don’t go anywhere,” she requested with a small smile and pecked his lips before leaving her bedroom and closing the door behind her, leaving Tim in her room alone. Lucy went to the front of her apartment to greet Chris, who she hoped would get the message that he was unwelcome in her home when she only slightly opened the door to look out at him in the hallway.

“We need to talk,” Chris said. “Can I come in?”

“I’m, uh, I’m busy,” she answered and shielded the rest of her apartment from him as if there was evidence of Tim’s presence all over when aside from where he was hidden in her room, the only other traces of him were on her body like his touch still lingered everywhere his hands had been, and her lips still tasted like a mix of theirs together.

“Wes said you’re getting married tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Then, this can’t wait. Don’t marry Tim. I’ll marry you. I’ll help you adopt a kid or whatever you want. I don’t care.”

“You’ve never even met Fiona.”

“I’ll learn to love her anyways.” He dropped down onto one knee in the middle of the corridor and pulled out a ring box. Unbeknownst to Chris, he was the second man to show her one of those within the same day. “Marry me, Lucy. I didn’t think we were ready for this step yet, but I’ll take it with you if that’s what you really want.”

She swayed. “You broke up with me a few days ago.”

“And now I’ve changed my mind. Come on, don’t leave me hanging like this.” He slightly shook the ring box hoping to get an answer.

Lucy felt guilty, but in her mind, there was no other response, “I’m marrying Tim.”

“Why? Why does it have to be him?”

“I want to do this with him. Tim has been by my side through a lot. I trust him more than anyone.”

“You can’t be serious.”

She nodded. “When I asked him to marry me, he agreed without hesitating. He only sees me as a friend, but he said he would marry me for a kid I fell in love with when you rejected the idea of adopting Fiona right off the bat.”

“It was all so sudden.”

“To Tim, too, and he’s marrying me anyways.”

“I needed more time to process.”

“This may not have been the most conventional reason to break up, but I think it’s a sign that we weren’t meant to be. I’m sorry, Chris.”

He stood from kneeling and shut the ring box, feeling foolish about trying to make a romantic grand gesture that completely failed, and gulped. “I guess it really is over between us. I don’t know how you plan on making it work with Tim, but…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She cut him off to ask.

“Get real, Lucy, you know you two don’t make sense.”

“Why? Because he’s handsome, and smart, and a super accomplished sergeant? I helped him pass that test.”

“No,” Chris winced. “I meant because he’s so…set in his ways.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“You’re open minded and actually NICE.”

“He’s nice.”

“To whom?”

“Me.”

“That’s one person.”

“And Angela,” Lucy added, which did not seem to persuade him. “He’s also great with Fiona, and that’s all that matters. I’m marrying Tim whether you can believe it or not, and you and I are done.”

“He doesn’t even love you.”

“But, he’ll love Fiona, and that’s more important to me. I’ve gotta go. Last minute wedding stuff to do. Bye, Chris.” She began closing the door before he could manage to respond. She let out a deep breath and then sashayed into her room to find Tim sitting at the edge of the bed. “Hey,” she said low and sultry.

“Did Chris really just ask you to marry him?” Tim asked despite having overheard the entire conversation.

“He did.”

“And you told him ‘no’?”

“I’m marrying you tomorrow. We’ve been over this. Now, where were we?” She inched closer to him with a growing smirk.

He stood up and pointed out, “Lucy, he was your boyfriend up until five seconds ago.”

“Chris broke up with me days ago.”

“Because of Fiona, but if he’s willing to foster her…”

“He isn’t. You heard how he talked about our little girl. Fiona isn’t special to him. She’s special to us.”

“But, don’t you love him?”

Though it weighed on her heavily to admit that even after months of dating, her heart did not feel so strongly about him, she told Tim the truth, “No. He’s great in so many ways, but he’s just not…”

He raised his eyebrows at her, wondering why her voice trailed off instead of finishing that sentence. “Not what?”

She looked down at the engagement ring Tim gave her, which was the most beautiful one she had ever seen even after looking at the one Chris presented to her, and with her eyes diverted, she softly replied, “He’s just not what I want.”

“Which is what?”

“The best for Fiona, and that’s you.”

“I wanna be a part of her life in any way you’ll let me. My involvement won’t stop after the wedding.”

“You won’t be forced into being involved. I’ve already roped you into marrying me.”

“I don’t mind. I like Fiona. When you two need anything, aside from a husband on paper, I’ll be there for both of you.”

“Thank you,” she replied gratefully even if she had assumed that was the case based on what he previously said, and put her hands on his biceps. “Before we were interrupted…,” she took a step into his space then continued, “I think we were here. Actually, you weren’t so far away,” Lucy angled her head upwards while pressing up tall onto her tip toes. She moved closer and closer to his lips and noticed how he had yet to move. Through half lidded eyes, she stared up at him, registering his hesitation easily.

“We shouldn’t,” he said yet again but even quieter than he did when Lucy initially invited him into her bedroom. She looked up at him expectantly like she knew his restraint was dwindling, and he was fighting every instinct to take her into his arms and set her on her bed mere paces away.

“I think we should,” she voiced her disagreement but made no attempts to get closer.

“We shouldn’t,” he repeated himself firmly. “For Fiona.” She looked like she did not comprehend what he was saying, so Tim clarified, “I’m gonna help you and Fiona for the rest of my life. I don’t want things to get confusing between us. Let’s get married tomorrow and leave it at that.” He heard himself; he realized how strange it sounded to talk about raising a kid together and getting married yet drew the line at sleeping together, but there were only so many boundaries he could create before feelings spilled over.

“But, we’re getting married tomorrow,” she whispered brokenly as if that was enough impetus to resume their plans to climb into her bed together. She caressed his cheek as her expression begged him to reconsider; both of them wanted to sleep together; that was clear. They were SO close to something she so desperately wanted that words could not even express.

“For Fiona,” Tim reminded her, because Lucy would never actually marry him out of love for him. Maybe she lusted after him a little, but there was no way a woman like her could love someone like him enough to actually want to spend the rest of her life with him. “We’re getting married for Fiona.” 

“I know.”

“We should get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow at the courthouse.” It pained him to move even a muscle in the opposite direction from her, but he had to try.

She took his hand when he stepped away from her. “Hang on,” Lucy stopped him. “You can’t kiss me at the wedding like any of the practices. That would be too much.”

“You’re right,” he agreed and went back to her within a second. Tim pushed her hair out of her face and gazed at her for a moment, savoring what would likely be the second to last time they would ever kiss, and dropped a quick peck to her lips.

She furrowed her brow at him. “Seriously? Again? We’re getting married. It should be better than that.”

“Okay, okay,” he whispered. “I’ll try again.” He covered her mouth with his own for a few chaste seconds that Lucy seemed dissatisfied with when she pulled him back in for a bit longer before breaking their kiss.

“Something like that would be better,” she suggested as her nerves tingled.

“I got it.”

“Do we need to try it again to make sure you’re ready?”

He very much appreciated the opportunity to taste her lips again, but he knew where that would lead. “We’re ready,” Tim responded.

It was too optimistic to assume he would take her up on her offer, but she was proud of herself for trying. “All that’s left to do is get married then.”

He nodded. “Never thought it would happen again.”

“I have faith you’ll find someone you love enough to get married again…for love not just a piece of paper.”

What if he had? What if Lucy was the one he loved; after all, he was already planning on marrying her, and the feelings for her he felt but never wanted to name were quite akin to love. “Maybe,” he said with a shrug and finally walked out of her room. Tim stalled at the front door, wanting to say more, but not sure exactly what. He opened and shut his mouth a few times before landing on, “Good night.”

“Night.” She stared at his lips and the way they curled as he stayed in her doorway. Lucy wondered what gave him pause, but his face gave no indication of what was churning in his mind. He offered her a half smile and left. After she shut the door, she leaned against it heavily due to the oncoming wave of dizziness brought on by everything that transpired between her and Tim in her apartment and everything else that ALMOST happened.

Tamara poked her head out of her room and said, “Wow, you guys are a disaster.”

“How much of that did you hear?” Lucy wondered with a pout.

“All of it.”

“I thought you said you were going to put on headphones.”

Tamara grinned. “I lied. Can you blame me? You two are so juicy.”

Lucy rolled her eyes.

“You two kissed again like A LOT,” Tamara stated.

“How did you…could you hear us?” Her blush deepened throughout her entire body.

“No, I heard that you were awfully quiet for a REALLY long time after saying you needed to ‘practice kissing’, which is the dumbest excuse ever. I figured you were making out like horny high schoolers.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

Tamara quirked her eyebrow. “Oh, please. I bet you hardly came up for air.”

“We’re very committed to our cover. If we aren’t convincing enough, we might lose our chance to foster Fiona, which is the first step towards adopting her.”

“And being in love with him really helps sell the cover.”

“I’m NOT!” She insisted.

“Woah, I’m not judging you. If it makes you feel any better, I think he’s in love with you, too.”

Her ears perked up. “Why would you say that?”

“What kind of guy would marry his friend to help her foster a kid? A man in LOVE.”

“I don’t know, and it really doesn’t matter anyways, because he was right when he said he didn’t want things to get confusing between us.”

“When did he say THAT?”

“In my room.”

“Oh, right, when you went into your bedroom for more PRACTICE.” Tamara held her stomach as she laughed. “You really are my favorite idiots.”

“You better get all of this out now, because I need your support tomorrow,” Lucy begged.

“I promise to be very supportive of your totally platonic wedding that you need to have before you can raise a kid together,” she replied sarcastically.

“Please, Tamara. If you won’t behave for me, can you try for Fiona?”

“For Fiona. Sure, since that’s the excuse you two keep using.”

“It’s not an excuse.”

“Keep telling yourself that, but we both know that you’re marrying Tim tomorrow, and it’s not just for Fiona.”

Lucy bit her lip unsure what to say; she wanted to believe that all of her choices were purely driven by her desire to become Fiona’s mother, but Tamara did make a fair point.

Chapter Text

Tamara saw the distinct crease in Lucy’s forehead as she curled her hair. “What’s got you so stressed out?”

“I’m getting married today,” Lucy stated the obvious then froze to look at herself in the mirror, because she was getting MARRIED within a matter of hours.

“But, if it’s just for a piece of paper, what does it matter what you look like?”

“This is all for Fiona.”

“I thought you said the social worker wouldn’t allow her to come to the wedding.”

“Yeah, Madison said she can’t take Fiona out of the group home for that kind of visit. I tried to tell her that her parents are getting married, so Fiona should be there, but-”

“Did you just refer to Tim as Fiona’s ‘parent’?” Tamara’s eyebrow arched with intrigue.

“I know I’ll be her mom, and Tim will play a part in her life, too. He wants to be involved, and I’d love that. Can you check my hair? I don’t know if it looks right.” She angled her head to show Tamara a patch she could not see.

She examined her coiled locks. “Your hair looks perfect. I’m confused…if Fiona isn’t coming to the wedding of her ‘parents’, then how exactly is getting all dolled up something you’re doing for her?”

“This wedding needs to look believable, okay? No one can suspect the real reason we’re getting married, or we might lose our chance to foster her.” She wrapped another strand of hair around her curling wand as she worried at her lip.

“Oh, and what’s the real reason you’re getting married? I’ve got my theories.”

“Your theories are all wrong. I’m not in love with him.”

“I didn’t even have to say it, but it’s written all over your face right now. You care about this wedding, because you love him.”

She set her curling wand down, having finished styling her hair. “I’m ignoring you until I finish putting my makeup on.”

“Are you gonna wear lipstick? I don’t think you should, since Tim will just kiss it right off of you.”

“It’s going to be one little kiss at the end of the ceremony,” Lucy insisted.

“So all that practice last night was for nothing?”

If nothing else, the practice kisses yielded burns on her body that lived beneath the surface of her skin like Tim branded her everywhere he touched and certainly her lips that felt like they were permanently marked by him. Like they belong to him. Like they were his and only his to kiss. Lucy wished that was the case; if she could, she would kiss him a million times, but there would only be one more opportunity to let him claim her mouth, and it was fast approaching. That was what she was stressed about; her last chance to taste him was coming too soon for her liking, and then there would never be another excuse to kiss, especially like they had the night before. How could she live for the rest of her days with lips marked for Tim that never got to taste him again? Would it drive her mad? She tried not to think about it as she applied her makeup, but she was already in mourning. What other couples deem as their first kiss as man and wife would be hers and Tim’s last kiss…unless she could come up with another reason aside from the now overused “practice” excuse.

Tamara kept all other jabs to herself to be supportive as Lucy requested the night before, so she silently helped zip up her floor length white gown with long, gossamer sleeves, a generous v neckline, and a flow to the skirt that made her look ethereal. “You look amazing.”

Lucy smiled at her while eyeing her own reflection. “Thanks. There weren’t a lot of last minute options, but I think Tim will like it.”

“I’m sure he will.” It took every shred of restraint not to point out that Lucy should not care what Tim thinks of her appearance.

Because Lucy’s hands were trembling, she asked Tamara to drive them to the courthouse. The second they reached the foot of the marble steps leading to the historic building where she and Tim would be married, her entire body completely stopped functioning with her heavy heart in her throat. She was hyper aware of her engagement ring on her finger and turned it around a few times nervously. There was no way she could go through with the wedding. It was an insane idea. She could not possibly allow herself to be linked to Tim in yet another way. Lucy started to twist her body away from the courthouse, and then she felt him like a ray of light piercing through heavy clouds. Her eyes snapped over to him at the top of the stairs standing there with his one hand over the other. He was waiting for her, she realized. She could have shaken her head or signaled in some other way that they should cancel the wedding, but her body began moving towards him as if her previously malfunctioning organs only whirred to life because of the sheer force of their magnetic attraction to one another that brought her up the stairs two at a time until she was right in front of him.

He outstretched his hand and asked, “You ready?” When she placed her palm on his, his knees wobbled; for a second, he could tell she had her doubts, and so did he, but they all evaporated in an instant once they had a small piece of one another to hold onto.

That was all it took. Touching him and hearing his voice grounded her. Lucy softly yet confidently replied, “Let’s do this.”

As they waited in line to obtain their marriage license, he kept holding her hand, since that seemed to calm her, and he did not want her getting scared and running away. Though an unthinkable concept a week prior, once Tim had processed the plan, all he wanted to do was marry her like it was his destiny finally revealed to him after years of going through life blindly. Once they had their license, he gave it to Tamara so the only thing he had in his grasp was Lucy like he was afraid she would float away. As they sat and waited for a judge to become available to marry them, he looked at her, really looked at her, and caught a glimpse of something green in her hair; tying back a few of her curls was Fiona’s satin ribbon. “Are you wearing that for Fiona?”

She smiled, because of course he noticed. “I wanted our girl to be with us in spirit today.”

“I love it, and I love our girl,” he murmured in awe, because he could not believe it. “I’ve always wanted one.”

“Really? I thought you would want three boys.”

“No, I would rather have three girls.”

“I want at least one boy.”

“Having one boy wouldn’t be so bad,” he considered.

“You haven’t even gotten married, and you’re already planning for babies. How cute,” Angela teased as she joined them.

“I did ask her to behave,” Wes felt the need to disclose.

“When Grey gets here, can you and Tamara keep the sarcasm to a minimum?” Lucy pled.

Tim stroked his thumb on the back of Lucy’s hand to soothe her. “We’ve got nothing to worry about. We practiced,” he assured her quietly.

“How much practice?” Angela wondered, wholly amused.

In Lucy’s honest opinion, they had not practiced enough, but instead of saying so, she looked up at Tim and asked for final confirmation in her most timid voice, “You’re sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yeah,” he assured with a soft smile. “This is for our girl.” He was still reveling in having a girl.

“I have a feeling I’m gonna get REAL sick of that excuse,” Tamara muttered under her breath.

“Same,” Angela agreed.

Wes lightly elbowed his wife with an expression that desperately urged her to be a bit kinder to their friends who were getting married to foster and adopt a young orphan with no other family; at the core of their choices was something noble that should have earned Tim and Lucy some grace.

“There’s the happy couple,” Luna beamed as she walked over with Wade at her side.

“Hi, Luna, hi, Grey, thanks for coming. I know it was short notice,” Lucy greeted them warmly.

“There’s no such thing as short notice when it comes to love, and I just love weddings,” Luna replied happily. “When Wade told me you two were finally tying the knot, I was thrilled.”

With a hand over her mouth to conceal her chuckle, Tamara had to turn away, because Luna said “finally” as if she assumed they had been together for a long while, which to be fair, they definitely acted like it more often than not.

Nyla and James arrived with bright smiles. When James sat down in the waiting area next to Wes, he whispered to him, “I thought Tim was dating a blonde…uhhh…I forgot her name.”

“Shh,” Wes shushed him, “We need to pretend Ashley never existed. As far as anyone is concerned, Tim and Lucy have been madly in love for a while and can’t help getting married right this instant. At least that’s what Angela told me to say if someone asks.”

“Nyla tried telling me the same thing earlier,” James corroborated. His eyes flicked over to how Tim and Lucy were holding hands and gazing at each other as if no one else existed. “I guess no one will doubt that.”

Luna sensed her husband’s agitation and tired to soothe him, “Stop worrying. You’ll figure it out. You always do.”

“What’s the problem, sir?” Angela inquired.

Grey attempted to hide his inner turmoil, but he was struggling. “I’m doing everything I can to get Tim moved to a different department, because he can’t be in the same chain of command as Lucy. There aren’t a lot of options.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll take it. Whatever it is, I’ll take it,” Tim promised.

Grey pursed his lips. “It’s a desk job.”

“No, no, I’ll transfer stations. It’s the least I can do,” Lucy insisted.

“If you transfer stations, then we’ll hardly see each other,” Tim said then looked over at Grey. “I’ll take it. Thank you for your help.”

“Tim-” Lucy tried to object.

He squeezed their joined hands. “I don’t mind taking a desk job for you.”

“You mean for Fiona,” she corrected him.

“For both of you.”

She opened her mouth to say more, but then hers and Tim’s names were called. It was time.

Their group walked into a small room with a judge standing at a podium in front of a collection of chairs. Once they faced the podium, the judge directed Tim and Lucy to join their hands. 

As Tim faced her while clutching her tightly, he took a step closer to her as she did the same. She seemed to be holding her breath, and frankly, he was barely breathing, too, but not because of the fact that they were getting married, since he was more than ready for that, but it was her beauty that made his lungs stop. Lowly, he said, “You look really beautiful.”

She tried to fight her mouth’s reaction to stretch into a smile, but it was a losing battle. “Thanks. You look handsome.”

He smirked back at her and held her gaze.

Lucy tried not to think about the weight of participating in such a ceremony; if it was all just meant to be something on paper, getting married should have been meaningless, but it was important to her, since she knew that he held her heart captive. She was marrying her best friend in the world. She was entering a formal union with him after feeling so tethered to him for ages. After all those moments when she read his mind, basked in his little smiles, felt his skin brush against hers, heard their laughs mix together, shared secrets they had never told anyone else, and narrowly survived situations because they had each other, they were making a formal commitment to each other that in some ways, they were already living. After being asked by a judge if she would take Tim in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and be true to him as long as she lived, she choked out, “I do.”

He saw a tear slide down her face and moved into her space to wipe it away. All of her emotions were so clear on her face, and he was equally moved in a more reserved way. As Tim cradled her cheek to ensure he could catch any other tears if she cried more, he spoke to the judge while squarely looking at Lucy, “I do, too. You don’t have to read through it all again. I do.” She flashed him a watery smiled that made his chest feel tight.

Tamara handed them their rings, which felt like an interruption of whatever was happening between them.

Lucy could barely hear the judge’s words as she slipped the ring on Tim’s finger and instantly missed the loss of his hand on her face when he did the same.

He knew what was to come next. His moment. His last opportunity to kiss her. Waiting for “you may now kiss the bride” felt like torture despite the pause between exchanging rings and those words only being a few seconds, but when he was finally given the chance, Tim wrapped an arm around her waist while another glided along her neck until settling at the back. He used his hold on her to dip her suddenly, making her breathing hitch. In a fluid motion, he bent forward and kissed her as passionately as he could.

She clung to him not out of fear that he would let her fall but because she wanted to ensure he kept holding her. Lucy felt lightheaded the second his lips were on hers, and it was a sensation that did not ease the longer he kissed her in a commanding way that dizzyingly made her yield to him.

For the first time, no one was going to interrupt them. Tim could take his time, so he did; he only stopped when he felt her gulp in desperate need of air. Once he set her back upright, she blinked at him in surprise, which made him grin. He loved that he was able to knock her off balance.

“That looked a little too convincing,” James whispered to Wes, who nodded in agreement.

As everyone clapped, Lucy kept smiling dumbly, because if that was to be their last kiss ever, it was a damn good one.

Grey’s woes about helping the couple change jobs were forgotten as he cheered on the obvious happiness Tim and Lucy shared.

When they stepped out of the courthouse, Tim pointed out another surprise, which was a white limousine waiting outside.

Lucy squeezed his hand as she gasped. “You rented a limo?”

“You said you liked the one Nyla and James had at their wedding.”

“I did say that,” she confirmed, moved that he remembered such a detail, and just like the limo at Nyla and James’ wedding, there were cans tied to strings attached to the back bumper. “I love it.”

He was pleased that he made her so happy that she excitedly tugged him along to get into the car.

“Congrats, guys,” Smitty said from the front seat of the limo.

“Smitty?” Tim asked, not at all believing who was driving their car. “What are you doing here?”

“After I gave you the name of my cousin’s limo company, I told my cousin I would take the gig, since you didn’t invite me to your wedding,” Smitty explained.

“We kept it small,” Lucy justified.

“I was a little hurt. I’ve been a fan of your relationship since the beginning. I’ve even started crocheting baby booties for your future kids,” Smitty replied.

“Th-thanks,” Lucy stuttered and looked up at Tim.

“Whatever. Do you guys want some privacy?” Smitty answered his own question by raising the panel separating the driver from the back of the limousine.

She giggled. “You asked Smitty for help with our wedding?”

“I was in a bind,” Tim tried to explain.

“You didn’t have to go through the extra trouble.”

“Worth it.” Her happiness was priceless to him. “How do you think we did back there at the courthouse?”

“I think it went well. Angela knows the truth, but Grey and Nyla seemed convinced. I will say…that kiss…we didn’t practice THAT,” she pointed out.

“Did I…uh, was that not okay?”

“No, no, it was good…I mean, it was convincing.” She was right the first time.

“That’s good.” 

Smitty dropped the panel and interjected, “Are you guys talking back there?” He could barely hear their voices from the front seat, but he knew they were having some sort of discussion instead of relishing in their newlywed bliss as expected.

“Do you mind?” Tim inquired, annoyed.

“You just got married, and you’re TALKING? I’ve seen more heat between you two in the parking garage. How come you aren’t trying to get it on back there? It’s a big limo,” Smitty said.

“Are we supposed to be hooking up in here?” Lucy murmured.

Tim shrugged.

“Well, he thinks we should be,” she whispered. “So, we should.”

Tim looked at her cluelessly.

She clicked her tongue and grabbed his face to pull him towards her with the distinct sound of the panel rising back up being the last thing she heard before Tim lowly moaned into her mouth. They kissed for a few glorious seconds, then Lucy pulled away before falling back in the seat to give herself the space for her heart to even out its galloping rhythm.

He could have silently sat in the limo with her, or he could take advantage of their situation. “Hey,” he said quietly. “What if Smitty looks back here again?”

“Oh,” she breathed.

Tim tentatively held her cheek. Where she showed confidence in committing to the performance, he was not thinking about convincing some foolish coworker when he bent towards her; all he could think about was just how badly he wanted to kiss her again. 

She covered his hand with hers where he was so lightly touching her face. He stared at her lips with visible doubt setting in the longer they kept breathing in time while not exactly meeting each other’s eyes. “Kiss me,” she rasped to urge him to bridge the tiny gap between them. Lucy’s request was not veiled behind the excuse of “for Fiona” or even citing Smitty as a reason the way Tim had; no, she wanted him to kiss her just to kiss her, effectively drawing out the last reason she could ever have to taste him.

Because she asked so nicely, Tim captured her lips with a sigh of contentment. He coaxed her mouth open with ease as he was growing more familiar with how to move with her. They slotted together like puzzle pieces. Their tastes mixed together to create the most enchanting elixir. A simple kiss could never make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, but Lucy could do that plus make goosebumps erupt all over him. Tim took a risk by dropping his hands to her hips, but he wanted to touch her absolutely everywhere. With the soft fabric of her wedding dress underneath his fingers and the cool metal of her rings against his neck, he was reminded that they had gotten married. No matter the reason, she was his wife, and she was going to foster a kid with him, and she was kissing him; everything was perfect. 

“We’re here,” Smitty called through the panel once he parked; he had lowered the small separator for a fraction of a second to glance at them during the drive and saw what he had expected to see in the first place- their mouths fused together, their hands grabbing each other, and a fierceness to their kiss that compelled him to raise the panel yet again. 

It was cruel to withdraw from Tim after getting lost in him, but the window of opportunity had closed; they had to go back to a platonic relationship she was not ready to revert to. At least when he stepped out of the limo first, Tim took her hand to help her out afterwards and kept holding onto her for the walk through his house into his backyard where their small wedding reception was being held. Tamara had done a beautiful job setting a long table adorned with plenty of candles and string lights hanging above them; Lucy could not have asked for anything more if it were a romantically prompted wedding.

Luna gushed over the simple yet dreamy scene, “Oh, this is all so lovely.”

“Tamara did most of the work,” Lucy explained.

“I was happy to do it for two people so madly in love,” Tamara responded with a knowing lilt to her voice.

“Have you taken any pictures yet? You have to take pictures,” Luna said and motioned for Tim and Lucy to stand together. They posed for a few shots side by side, and then she urged, “You can get closer.”

Angela and Tamara were so entertained by the whole situation. “You got anymore schemes up your sleeve for this wedding?” Angela wondered.

“Just wait,” Tamara replied smugly.

“I’ve got an idea, too,” she said with a mischievous grin.

The guests sat around the table with the bride and groom smushed together at the head of the table, forced to invade each other’s personal space thanks to Tamara’s purposeful placement of each setting. Angela tapped her knife against her champagne flute as was customary to do at weddings to request that the bride and groom kiss.

Wes gave his wife a disapproving look twinged with delight.

Nyla joined in to clink her own glass as well just for fun. 

Lucy pressed a kiss to Tim’s cheek to play along without making him uncomfortable.

Tim, however, was disappointed. “I think they want a real kiss,” he said to her in a gravely voice before caressing her lips slowly. He hoped someone would tap their glass again at some point during their lunch.

Because there was a trace of her lipstick smudged on the corner of his mouth, Lucy wiped at his face with a smile thinking about how Tamara had been right when she had suggested forgoing applying any to her lips having predicted that Tim would kiss it away. 

Grey was almost done with his meal when he noted, “It’s a wedding. Someone should make a speech.” Since no one else seemed prepared to say anything about the couple, he rose to his feet and said, “I don’t want to take credit for bringing these two great people together, but I guess I made this happen. To be fair, I don’t think I’ve ever been so successful when playing the Training Officer match game before and probably never will again.” Everyone chuckled. “It’s been an honor to see your love grow, and I couldn’t be happier that you got married today. I speak for everyone here when I say that we all wish you a long and happy life together. Congratulations!”

Everyone lifted their glasses to toast the couple then Angela and Tamara started clinking their flutes with silverware.

Lucy cupped Tim’s jaw and barely pressed her lips to his at first, but luckily, he deepened their kiss.

Tamara slinked away from the table to get a speaker and place it outside before pressing play on a specific song. “I think it’s time for the bride and groom to have their first dance.”

Angela almost started clapping wildly, because that was a great idea, but Wes squeezed her thigh to stop her.

Tim stood up and outstretched his hand to silently ask Lucy to join him. 

She gave him a fond smirk as she got to her feet. They took a few paces away from the table, and instead of assuming a proper form for dancing, she melted into him, resting her head on his shoulder and looping her arms around his neck. “I didn’t know she was gonna do this. Sorry,” she apologized, her voice hushed.

“I don’t mind,” Tim assured her as he kept her close. They hardly moved to the music, but he liked that they shared what was essentially a long embrace. The chorus of the song floated into his ear, and it sounded familiar. “Where have I heard this song before?”

“We…” she lifted her head up to look at him. “This is the song that was playing the first time we…practiced.”

He could not remember much about the first time they kissed aside from Lucy overloading his senses and the fact that they were interrupted, but the song helped color in the memory. “Oh. It’s nice.”

“Yeah, I like it.” Thanks to the moment associated with it, “Love Survive” had become her favorite song.

Angela, ever the troublemaker, clinked her glass again for good measure.

Tim snickered as he crashed his lips against Lucy’s. It was laughable that their friends were trying to irritate them, but he savored each chance to kiss her, and with her matched enthusiasm, Lucy made it clear she felt the same way.

When the song ended and everyone finished their meals, Tamara thought it would be fun to tap her glass one final time.

Lucy held Tim’s face to ensure their truly last kiss would go on for as long as possible while she wondered if she could clink a glass whenever she wanted to get him to kiss her at any random moment when she was craving his taste a little more than usual. She dreamed about kissing him almost every night. She imagined how he would touch her and breathe into her mouth while simultaneously taking all of the air out of her lungs. Within twenty-four hours, Lucy filled in the blanks that dreams could never reveal, or perhaps she was still asleep and between their time in her apartment, the ceremony at the courthouse, the slow dance, and every single kiss throughout, she was having the greatest and most vivid fantasy she had ever experienced. The one aspect that confirmed everything was real was Tim’s dopey-eyed look when she stopped kissing him; Lucy could not have pictured that kind of expression on the face of the man who was more likely to scowl than smile. Her blood whooshed faster when she saw how he was equally effected by every time their lips touched. 

The way she grinned at him made him positively dizzy. He was struck by the realization he had feelings for her after the fateful night they shared their first kiss, and a wedding plus a few more kisses later, he knew he was in trouble. He knew he was in love with her. Being in love with her compelled him to do anything to make her happy including marrying her and getting her one more wedding gift.“I,” he cleared his throat, “I have a surprise for you.”

“Another one?”

“Yeah, but we have to make a stop first.”

“Where?”

“I just said it’s a surprise.”

“Do I get a hint? Should I change?”

“No, don’t change.” His eyes tracked over her body in her snowy gown that made her look even more angelic than usual.

His stare burned her so deeply he was singing her nerves. “Fine, then you have to keep your suit on, too.”

“Okay.” Tim said then regarded their friends, “Alright, Lucy and I are gonna head out.”

“Starting your honeymoon already?” Nyla inquired playfully.

“Let them celebrate,” Grey said. He patted Tim on the back then gave Lucy a hug. “As your wedding gift, I just got a text back from a friend, and you don’t have to take that desk job, because I got you a spot on Metro.”

“Metro? Really?” Tim was shocked.

“We can get all the details ironed out next week. Since neither of you put in a request for time off for your honeymoon, I took care of it. Enjoy your week off,” Grey told them happily.

Luna embraced the newlyweds before following her husband out of Tim’s backyard.

Nyla and James said their goodbyes and exited as well, then Angela reached into her purse. “I didn’t have time to wrap your present, since this wedding was so last minute, but this is for the marathon I’m sure you’ll be having.” With a wink, she handed Tim a large box of condoms.

“You’re so bad,” Wes said with a chortle then gave her an adoring smile; he loved his devious wife.

Tamara gave Angela a fist bump for a job well done. “I should’ve thought of that.”

Lucy rolled her eyes even as she blushed. “Can I have my surprise now?” She asked Tim.

“Yeah, we’re leaving, and Tamara’s wedding gift for being very…Tamara today is that she has to clean all of this up…and walk Kojo,” Tim instructed.

“I hardly did anything,” Tamara tried to say.

“You earned it,” Tim shot back before taking Lucy’s hand and leading her through his house over to the driveway where his car was parked.

“That was a tough but fair punishment. You’re gonna make a great dad someday,” Lucy complimented him warmly. She squeezed his hand before releasing it; she did not want to draw too much attention to the fact that he had touched her only in front of people who knew their secret, because he was welcome to hold her hand whenever he wanted.

“Fiona deserves a good one,” he replied. “I know you don’t want me to be her dad…”

“I didn’t say that. I fell in love with Fiona. I want to be her mom, but I didn’t think you’d want to actually be her dad.”

“Why not? I’ve told you I want to help out. I’d fully co-parent her if you let me.”

“You would?”

“Definitely. She’s OUR girl.”

“She is. You know, I would be a lot less scared about becoming a mom if I didn’t feel like I could rely on you.”

“There’s no one else I’d rather raise a kid with. We always make a good team.”

“We really do.”

He grinned at her for a moment then said, “Okay, hop in. It’s surprise time.”

She had no idea what to expect, but she did not at all predict that they would pull up to a house in the middle of a street. She flashed him an inquisitive look, but he only jumped down from his truck. They went to the front door, knocked, and waited until a woman appeared in the doorway.

“Hi, Mrs. Crowne? I’m Tim Bradford. We spoke on the phone. We’re here to see Fiona,” he said.

“Lucy!” Fiona called when she saw who was at the door then took off at a run to greet her.

At first, she hugged her leg, but Lucy wanted a real hug, so she knelt down and opened her arms for a proper embrace. “Hi, sweetie. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too,” Fiona replied as she squeezed.

Lucy and Fiona looked so happy that Tim’s heart threatened to burst. “Hey, kid.”

“Hi, Tim!” Fiona said, still clinging to Lucy. Then, she honked like a goose. “Silly goose! You’re a silly goose!”

“I sure am,” he said with a chuckle.

Lucy lifted Fiona up to bring her closer to Tim. She was wearing a purple dress that was two sizes too big for her and no bow in her hair.

“Pretty dress,” Fiona complimented as she smoothed her hands over the white shoulders of Lucy’s gown.

“Thank you,” Lucy replied.

“You always look pretty. That’s what Tim said,” she remembered.

“She does, but today, she looks extra pretty,” Tim corroborated.

“The best part of my outfit is my hair.” Lucy turned her head to show Fiona the green ribbon tied at the back.

“You’re wearing a bow!” Fiona was so happy to see it.

“I’m only holding onto it for someone really special to me,” Lucy assured, having every intention of returning the ribbon to the little girl eventually.

“No bows for me anymore,” Fiona said, frowning for the first time since Tim and Lucy had arrived. “Some of the older boys break my crayons. I don’t want them to break my bows, too.”

“Who breaks your crayons?” Lucy wondered.

“Lucy,” Tim whispered in warning. They exchanged a look to silently communicate that they both knew a group home could not be a perfect living situation, but Fiona seemed clean and well fed, which was not always a guarantee in the foster system.

From where they stood in the foyer, Tim could see and hear at least ten children, and he could not wait until they could take Fiona home where she would be the only one to be loved and cared for by two people who would do anything for her.

“It’s okay,” Fiona sighed. “We watched a good movie today with a princess.”

“Oh, really? A princess? Do you like princesses?” Lucy wondered.

“I do! Are you a princess?” Fiona wondered.

“She looks like one doesn’t she?” Tim butted in.

“Does that mean you’re a prince?” Fiona asked.

“Let me tell you a little secret,” Lucy said at a stage whisper, “Tim is even better than all the princes in all the stories.”

Fiona giggled. “He’s the silly goose prince.”

“That better not stick,” Tim grumbled.

“I kinda like it,” Lucy joked.

The foster mother began to tap her foot impatiently from where she was watching Fiona interact with Tim and Lucy.

“We have to go, honey,” Lucy said unhappily.

“Already?” Fiona asked.

“We’ll be back,” Tim promised.

“Yeah, we will.” Lucy held her tight. “We love you so much, Fiona.”

Tim offered her a soft smile. It was hard to say goodbye to her and leave her in the group home again when it was only a matter of time before they could take her home, so he reminded himself they would be together again soon enough.

With one last hug, Lucy set Fiona down, already missing having her in her arms. It came on so fast, but she knew without a doubt that she was her daughter. To muster up the strength to walk away, Lucy intertwined her fingers with Tim’s, and they waved together before exiting the house. In need of extra comfort, she went to Tim for a hug instead of climbing into his truck. “Thank you for my surprise.”

“Oh, that wasn’t your surprise. That was our pit stop,” he said.

“I don’t need any other surprises. That was perfect.”

He saw her eyes well up for the second time that day. “We told Madison we were getting married today. She already reviewed our personnel files, and she has all the other information about us she needs. We’ll get to take Fiona home within the next few days,” he reminded her.

“I can’t wait.”

“Which is why I have a surprise to show you.”

They drove to yet another house, but instead of knocking, Tim pulled out a key and unlocked the door himself.

Lucy was so confused, then she heard a sound and wanted to move towards the suspicious noise.

Tim knew only one person could cause that ruckus, “Hey, Nolan, we’re here!” He said loud enough for his voice to carry to the second floor. He inclined his head in the direction of the stairs to direct Lucy to ascend them with him.

She followed as Tim guided them into one of the rooms where John was putting away his paint brushes.

“Looks great in here,” Tim said.

He wiped his brow. “I’ve been painting nonstop. Wow, you guys look great. Congrats on the wedding. Sorry I missed it, but as you can see, I’ve had my work cut out for me here.”

“What’s going on?” Lucy had to ask, since she seemed to be missing a key piece of information.

“You still haven’t told her?” Nolan questioned, which earned himself a dirty look from Tim, so he snapped his mouth shut and sped out into the corridor.

Lucy noticed that the room had been freshly painted a light shade of green. “This is for Fiona, isn’t it? You’re moving here?”

“No, you’re moving here. Nolan painted your bedroom a color literally called ‘Sunshine Yellow’ that I thought you would like, and he’s got a few more things to do around here, but it’s a brand new house, so it doesn’t need a lot of work,” Tim explained.

“I can’t afford a house like this.”

“But, we can. Together.”

“Tim…”

“You can’t take a kid home to your apartment, Lucy, and my house doesn’t have another bedroom, so I looked for any houses in this specific area, and this seller was highly motivated to close the deal fast.”

“This specific area?”

He nodded. “We responded to one of our first domestic calls in this neighborhood. You said you wished you could live around here with your family someday.”

“I…yeah, I did.” That conversation happened years prior, but he remembered, because he showed he remembered everything about her.

“You deserve to have the life you want, so I already closed on it, and I’ve had Nolan painting every spare second to get the house ready for Fiona. We’ll need to buy furniture, but I figured we could take our honeymoon time off fixing this place up for you two.”

“Aren’t you gonna live here, too?”

“There are four bedrooms, so I can stay whenever you want me to, but I don’t want to overstep.”

“You would help me buy a house and not even live here with us?”

“This is how I can help co-parent. We aren’t that far from my house. I can be here in less than twenty minutes if you ever need anything.”

“But, Tim…”

“I haven’t asked for anything since you asked me to marry you, but I’m asking for something now. I want you and our kid to live here. Please.” He removed the spare key from his suit jacket and pressed it into her palm. “Do it for Fiona.”

She turned his hand over and traced his new wedding band with her thumb. He had agreed to marry her and bought her a house. Lucy replied, “You don’t have to beg me to live in my literal dream home. I mean, this place is gorgeous, Tim, and it’s so big.”

“Fit for a princess, right?” He asked coyly.

“Does that mean a certain silly goose prince will live here with us?”

“I don’t want that to stick.”

She grinned. “It’s pretty cute…You still haven’t answered my question.”

“No, I’ll stay in my house and let you have priority custody of her.”

She did not even try to hide her disappointment. “We have to set up a bedroom for you, so you can stay over whenever you want.”

“Deal.”

Lucy caged his hand holding the house key between both of hers and brought it to her heart. “Thank you, Tim. This really means a lot to me. I know you did all of this for Fiona, but I appreciate it.”

“I would’ve bought any house in a good school district for Fiona. I bought this one for you.”

She focused on his tie to avert her gaze. “I thought we were only doing things for Fiona.”

“Not today,” Tim said.

The weight of what he was insinuating hung heavily in the air between them; not every kiss or hand hold was in Fiona’s name; not every second of the whirlwind of passion throughout their day could be attributed to the pursuit of fostering their beloved little girl. While Fiona was a catalyst to bring them closer together, they indulged themselves the entire day and acted on their own desires. Lucy did not expect that; she thought her feelings for him were wholly unrequited, but she should have known. She should have interpreted something from the way he held her close during each practice kiss, how the glint in his eye when he gazed upon her was unlike anything that shone through while looking at anyone else, how he went into her bedroom the night before with the intention of having an evening that would be driven by lust instead of for their soon-to-be-daughter’s sake, and especially the fact that no sane person would agree to a marriage proposal on a whim, but he did. Just like when solving a case, the evidence was mounting, and she was finally seeing what it meant. There was a chance Tim might have feelings for her, too. Lucy was stunned by that unfathomable realization. She had no idea how to move forward co-parenting with a man she cared for deeply who might harbor similar feelings, but they would have to figure it out for Fiona.

Chapter Text

Tim noticed that Lucy was extra silent for the drive from their new house over to her apartment. When he parked outside of her building, he only glanced at her for a second before asking, “Are we good?”

“Y-yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t we be?” She inquired in response.

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

“You bought me a house.”

“I did.”

“And you said it wasn’t just for Fiona.”

“That’s true.”

She tried to speak a few times, and he must have sensed her hesitation, since he turned his head to look at her. Softly, she said, “I thought we could tell each other everything. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I wanted it to be a surprise. I know it’s not a real marriage, but I wanted to give you a wedding present.”

“I’m not talking about the house…I’m saying…you could’ve told me about…” Since realizing Tim had feelings for her, she was struggling to not only accept it but also to comprehend why he had not expressed those feelings before. Then again, since she failed to do the same, Lucy decided to dismiss the topic of conversation and said, “Never mind. I guess we should talk about getting furniture for the house.”

“An army buddy of mine owns a furniture store. I had him come over the other day to take measurements. He’ll show us options that fit in each room. All you have to do is pick what you like.”

She was pleasantly astonished yet again. “You really thought of everything.”

“You and Fiona should have the perfect house, plus we don’t have a lot of time to prep before we can take her home.”

“Madison said she’ll stop by within the next few days to have us sign some forms. I should text her our new house address, so she goes to the right place.”

“Great.”

“We’re really doing this, aren’t we?”

“It would be totally okay if you were scared about becoming a parent. Hell, I’m super nervous.”

“What do you have to be nervous about? You’ll be a natural.”

He swallowed hard a couple of times as he snapped his eyes forward to look at the street. Brokenly, he asked, “What…what makes you think I’ll be any good at it? Being Fiona’s dad? Being anyone’s dad?”

“Tim,” she murmured and twisted the top half of her body while leaning over the center console to get closer to him. She knew he was listening and desperate for answers even if he continued to avert his gaze. “Tim, you are the greatest man I’ve ever known, and you may be tough, but you’re fair, too. Not to mention the fact that I know how much love you can give someone when you really care. Plus, you’re the most loyal person I’ve ever met. I mean, Angela asked you to be her Man of Honor, and you helped her plan her wedding without complaining. I bet when Fiona asks for anything, you’ll do it no matter what. You’re so incredible that she’ll love you. Anyone would love you-” Lucy had to bite back from saying more out of fear that she might reveal how she felt about him beyond anything platonic. Still, it was enough for him to look back at her.

Apprehensively, he asked, “Really?”

“Really,” she promised. His vulnerability, whenever she saw glimpses of it, was something she treasured, knowing he was reserved with almost everyone else. “I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else, because I trust you more than anyone in the world.”

“That’s sorta what you said to Chris when he proposed.”

She shook her head. “I could never imagine myself raising a kid with him.”

“Why not? He’s a solid, nice guy.”

“I know, but he’s just not…you.”

Taken aback by her comparison of him and Chris, Tim had to take a minute for replying as coolly as he could,  “Don’t act like I’m some gold standard for parenting when I’ve never had a kid before.”

“You’re the gold standard for a lot of things.” She realized she had said too much, so she did what she could to backtrack her words. “I mean like as a cop, too…aside from me, obviously. I’m a great cop, too.”

“Well, yeah, only because I trained you.” She gave him a look of disbelief, and he rolled his eyes. “I’ll pick you up at 9AM to go to the furniture store.”

“Sounds like a plan. Thank you for the million things you’ve done for me today. Seriously.”

“No problem.” He smirked at her when she gave him a warm, appreciative smile. In his mind, his main task for the day was to kiss her countless times, and no thanks were necessary to do THAT. Unexpectedly, she kissed his cheek before unbuckling her seatbelt; it was quick and light, but it still made his blood rush. Tim watched her step down from his truck in her beautiful, white wedding dress and almost pinched himself to confirm he was actually awake.

Lucy walked up to her apartment grinning and spun around in a circle feeling lightheaded once she set keys down and kicked off her shoes.

“Back already?” Tamara asked from the living room couch. “Was Sergeant Zaddy underwhelming in bed? I would not have expected that.”

She clicked her tongue. “We didn’t sleep together.”

“Why not? You’re married now.”

“On paper to foster Fiona.”

“And you kissed for the first time ‘for work’. Come on, you’ve used weak excuses before. I’m surprised you didn’t pull a stunt like that to get into bed together tonight.”

“We’re not…I…I’m not gonna sleep with him.”

“Maybe not tonight, but I’m sure it’ll happen eventually.”

“W-why would you say that?”

“I watched you two today.”

Lucy’s cheeks flushed. “Maybe I got a little carried away.”

“A little? Luna wanted to bet how soon before you conceive, and Angela and I wanted to place our own bets.”

“You and Angela know why we really got married.”

“Exactly,” Tamara replied and pursed her lips.

“No one is conceiving and NOTHING is going to happen. We have a kid to think about.” She leaned against the kitchen counter and twirled a strand of her hair around her finger as she beamed. “He likes me.”

“Duh.”

“I mean he LIKES me. Tim likes me,” she certainly could not contain the wonderment in her voice when saying so. “H-he married me, and he bought me a pretty ring, and he picked out the perfect house for us, and-and he didn’t just do it for Fiona. He did it for me.”

“Yeah, he sure did. Duh.”

“Stop saying ‘duh’.”

“I can’t help it. It’s been painfully obvious forever.”

She felt her hot cheeks. “I didn’t know. It wasn’t painfully obvious to me before…oh my God he LIKES me.”

“How much longer are you gonna freak out like a teenager?”

Lucy exhaled deeply to recollect herself. “I have to pause my freak out, because we need to talk.”

“Uh oh.”

For a moment, she paused, struggling to come up with the right words. “Fostering Fiona is something you know I’m really passionate about, and I want to raise her in the best way I can, which means giving her more space than our apartment.”

“So you’re moving out. Yeah, I know,” Tamara interjected.

“How did everyone think about this before I did? This has all been happening so fast. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re helping a younger version of me. I’m glad a kid won’t grow up on the streets because of you.”

“I don’t want you to feel abandoned.”

“Abandoned? No, I’ll be over all the time, and I’m happy to give you the friends and family discount when I babysit Fiona.” Lucy’s eyes welled up, so Tamara got to her feet and went over to wrap her in a hug. “We’ll always be family,” she assured.

“Always,” Lucy agreed as she squeezed her tightly.

Tamara let Lucy hug her for a few minutes, and then she stepped back to say, “Don’t worry about rent. I already talked to a friend from school, and she’ll take your bedroom.”

“Wow, that was fast.”

“You’re about to be a mom. There’s going to be a kid running around here really soon. Things are about to change.”

“They really are.”

“Which means…things can change with you and Tim.”

“That’s such a bad idea. Things already feel like they’re changing.”

“Because you just found out Tim likes you?”

“I can’t believe it,” she swooned while gathering up fistfuls of the skirt of her gown to twirl around. “I should probably change out of my wedding dress.”

“The wedding dress you wore when you married the man you’re in love with,” Tamara reminded her smartly.

“Nothing you say will ruin my mood right now.” Lucy grinned wildly while sashaying into her room. When she removed her dress and undid the bow in her hair, she looked down at her finger that had both an engagement ring and a wedding ring. She contemplated removing them, since they were unnecessary pieces of jewelry for a paper marriage, but she decided to keep them to walk around wearing a piece of Tim wherever she went.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

Lucy spent an extra long time picking out the perfect casual outfit to wear furniture shopping with Tim. She checked herself in the mirror to ensure her jeans fit just right. She tied and re-tied her hair in a ponytail until it looked perfect. She adjusted her rings to ensure they were straight. For a final touch, she swiped some shiny gloss on her lips that he was not going to kiss for any reason that day, but she could dream. It was 9AM, and she knew Tim was outside waiting for her, so she scurried downstairs, and there he was in his idling truck. She hopped in and flashed him a dazzling smile. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” he replied warmly.

She took in the sight of him speechlessly before she wondered, “Can we go get some cof-”

“Coffee?” He pulled out one of the cups in the cup holder to hand it to her.

Without tasting it, she knew without a doubt he bought her her usual order having already predicted that she would need some caffeine before a busy day. The way Tim held out her coffee with a small smile was like seeing him for the first time; how had she never noticed his affection for her before? How had she spent so long not knowing how felt when it was, in fact, quite obvious between his kind gestures reserved for her, the way his lips curved when looking at her and no one else, and the way he knew her better than anyone. Lucy’s chest felt tight and warm in only a manner caused by him like he had a unique way of inspiring her heart to grow so big it threatened to burst. “Thank you,” she responded softly and covered his hand on the cup with hers.

As a strong man, Tim would never back down when facing a horde of armed people or so much as blink in the face of a bomb, but he was powerless when it came to Lucy. If she wanted to hold his hand on a cup of coffee while gazing at him forever, he was not going to stop her. 

“What’s the game plan?” She casually asked while her hand was being heated up by his where it rested beneath hers. Though it was a bit obvious to keep touching him, she was still processing the realization  that he had feelings for her.

“Th-the game plan?”

“For furniture shopping.”

“Oh,” he swallowed hard, “right, I was thinking we start with bedroom sets and then the living room, since those are the most important, and we see what else there’s time for today, and if we have to go back tomorrow, that’s okay, too.”

“Fiona’s bed first.”

“Definitely, and then yours.”

“And yours.”

“That’s not as important.”

“You’re her parent, too. You need to feel comfortable in the house, so you get a room, and that’s final.”

He smirked. “You sounded like a real mom just then.”

“Did I?” Her stomach swooped between his words and that look of pride on his face.

“Fiona doesn’t know how lucky she is to have you.”

“And you…and Tamara, who has offered us a discount on her babysitting services.”

“Plus, the whole station.”

“Our girl has an army behind her.”

“I would expect nothing less for our kid.” He noticed he leaned closer to Lucy at some point, and given their new proximity, it would have been too easy to kiss her. Tim wondered where a UC practice or clinking glass was when he needed them? 

She fought every fiber of her being begging to taste his lips even though they were RIGHT there. “We’ve got a lot to do. I guess we should go.”

He withdrew his hand from her coffee cup and turned to the steering wheel as evenly as he could despite the fact his heart was galloping so loudly he was certain she could hear it. Once they reached the furniture store, Tim saw how Lucy was vibrating with excitement as if kitchen tables could be thrilling. She wore a huge smile on her face as she pointed at everything she wanted, and he did not even check the price tag, because for that joy alone, it was worth it. Aside from being summoned to sit on the couches to test them with her, she pointed to each piece of furniture she wanted and asked him if he liked it, too; Tim’s response was the exact same every time, “It’s perfect.”

It was perfect that she could so easily pull beds, tables, and chairs together to make a home so effortlessly.

It was perfect to behold her unbridled excitement and glee like nothing else he had ever seen before.

It was perfect to build a life with her even in such a limited capacity.

What he found to be perfect was not any piece of furniture, since he could not form a real opinion on coffee tables and dressers, but being with Lucy and making her happy was nothing shy of utter perfection. Once they signed all of the documentation for the furniture to be delivered the following day, she pulled Tim into a hug, and he concluded it was money well spent.

“Can we get dinner on the way home?” She mumbled into his shoulder while clinging to him tightly.

“We’re not too far from that sushi place you’ve told me about a million times.”

“Sushi? Really?”

“You like it.”

“You don’t.”

“Not true.”

She rocked out of his embrace to look up at him. “Since when? We had sushi maybe three times my rookie year.” 

“But, we had it a ton when you were my Aide.”

“I was on a sushi kick for like a straight month. Sorry about that.”

He shrugged. “It grew on me.”

“Seriously?”

Her disbelief made him insist, “I don’t hate EVERYTHING.”

Lucy smiled. “I didn’t say that. I just know how particular you are.”

“I like what I like, and that includes sushi.”

She knew he liked her, too, so using “sushi” to veil the question, she asked, “Do you think you could stop liking sushi? Could you have it one day, and it’s great, and then the next, you don’t like it anymore?”

Her odd inquiry gave him pause, but he answered honestly, “If I like something, I’m not gonna change my mind on a dime. I hardly ever try new things, so me liking new food doesn’t happen very often.”

“That’s true…so, it’s a big deal to like…sushi?”

“Why are you asking me so many questions about sushi?”

She hesitated. There was no easy reply to formulate, so she bit her tongue and walked out of the furniture store into the fresh air that burned her lungs.

“Lucy?” He followed her outside feeling guilty for doing something wrong, but he had no idea what he had done. “Lucy?” When she spun around, she looked upset for some unknown reason.

“I’m…I’m trying to ask…I guess I want to know…” Her phone rang, and it was Madison. “Why is Fiona’s social worker calling us at night?” Tim showed he was as clueless as she was, so Lucy answered on speakerphone.

“Hi, Lucy, I’m sorry to call so late,” Madison said into the phone, noting the evening hour was an unusual time to reach out to potential foster parents. “There’s a problem with Fiona. Can you come to St. Joe’s hospital?”

When Tim and Lucy looked at each other, they knew that both of their hearts had stopped. Their little girl was in the hospital, and they needed to get to her quickly.

Chapter Text

The second Madison reported that Fiona was in the hospital, Tim and Lucy felt a kind of fear they had never known before. Anxiously, they climbed into his truck and peeled out of the furniture store’s parking lot to get to St. Joe’s as quickly as possible.

Without really thinking, because rational thought could not withstand the worry for Fiona, Lucy reached for Tim’s hand for comfort, and she gripped it tightly while remaining perfectly silent for the entire drive.

He was navigating the streets as quickly as he could, but it did not feel fast enough. He wished he had sirens to turn on to reach Fiona faster. Finally, after a painstakingly long time, they arrived at her hospital room where she looked so small in the comically large hospital bed when she was such a tiny girl.

“Oh my God,” Lucy said, thinking she might collapse when she saw tubes sticking out of her little hand and machines connected to her. Madison tried stopping her from entering the room, but she shouldered past with determination. “Fiona? Are you okay, honey?”

“Lucy!” Fiona exclaimed brightly, overjoyed enough by receiving a visitor that she forgot about her hospitalization for a moment. “Hi, silly goose!” She greeted Tim as well.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Lucy asked and searched the room for any sign of a chart or details about her condition.

“My tummy hurts,” Fiona explained.

“Your tummy hurts? I’m sorry,” Lucy apologized.

Madison provided a better explanation, “It seems Fiona has food poisoning. One of the kids called 911 when they saw how sick she was feeling, and she was brought here for care. It’s not severe, but any emergency call from a foster home initiates certain protocols.”

“Who would poison her?” Lucy wondered, and then another woman appeared in the hallway who she recognized as Fiona’s foster mother that she only knew as Mrs. Crowne. She turned on her heel and barreled into the hallway to angrily snap, “What the hell did you to our girl?”

“I-I didn’t mean to,” she tried to explain.

“Fiona is in the hospital!” Lucy pointed behind her, and Tim took it as an opportunity to hold her forearm.

“I want her out of that group home. Fiona will be safer with us,” Tim said gruffly and definitively.

“That’s why I called. A hospital visit is grounds for an emergency placement of a foster child. Once she gets discharged in the morning, you can take Fiona home if you’re ready,” Madison chimed in.

Both Lucy and Tim knew they were not ready considering the new furniture had yet to be delivered to their house, but they would figure everything out for her.

“We’ve been planning this since we met her. We’re ready,” Tim assured on their behalf. When Lucy gave him an appreciative smile, he curtly nodded at her.

“Okay, so the protocol is that we require an overnight stay for observation to ensure there are no other health concerns that pop up, then a full examination by a doctor that I’ll be present for, and then I have to interview her privately to ask about her experience in the group home. After we complete all of that and Fiona gets discharged, you can come back to the hospital and take her home,” Madison informed them.

“Come back? We’re not leaving Fiona and coming back later. We’re her family,” Lucy insisted. She refused to leave Fiona’s side for even a second, so she went into the hospital room with Tim in tow. “Hey, Fiona, can we get anything for you?”

“You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be okay,” she promised sadly.

“Well, actually, we want to talk to you about that,” Lucy began then her eyes flitted over to Tim for a second before resuming looking at Fiona and telling her, “Tim and I think you’re the most special girl in the world, and we would love to foster you, so we would live with you, and take care of you, and tie bows in your hair, and color with you, and talk about animals all you want. How would you feel about that?”

“I would live with YOU?” Fiona wondered and pointed at Lucy, who nodded, then she dragged her finger over Tim, and he nodded as well. “Really?”

“Yeah. Would that be okay?” Lucy asked.

“For how long before I move again?”

Tim bent lower as he smiled at Fiona. “Actually, Lucy wants to be your mommy.”

“I’ve never had a mommy before,” she noted.

“Lucy will be the best mommy in the world, and you’ll live with her forever. No more moving. What do you think about that?” He asked.

Fiona’s wonder-filled expression gave way to whoops of happiness. When Lucy lunged forward to wrap her in her arms, Fiona’s loud voice boomed in her ears, and she was on the brink of crying. Tim put his hand on her back for support, and a few tears slid down her face. She pulled back to meet Fiona’s bright blue eyes and almost collapsed. “We love you so much,” she whispered.

“Don’t be sad,” Fiona said at the sight of how Lucy was crying.

“I’m not sad at all. I’m actually really, really happy,” Lucy responded tightly.

“Oh, okay.” She was slightly confused but did not press for more information.

“What can we do to make your tummy feel better?” Tim asked.

“Can you teach me animal noises?” Fiona wondered.

“Uh oh, animal noises? Don’t get scared when I sound like a lion,” he warned lightly then did his best impression of a lion with his teeth bared and a loud “grrrr” that made Fiona giggle.

Madison stayed outside in the corridor watching as Lucy lowered herself to sit up on the hospital bed next to Fiona as Tim tried to animatedly impersonate animals for her amusement, and Madison knew she was witnessing the forming of a family, which was a sight she never tired of seeing.

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When Fiona’s eyes grew heavy, she cozied up against Lucy and sighed.

“You’ve had a big day. I think you should sleep,” Lucy suggested. Fiona merely nodded and grabbed at Lucy’s stomach as she relaxed into sleep almost immediately.

Tim helped cover both of them with the thin blanket as his lips curved to match Lucy’s smile. “I guess marrying me was worth it to get her,” he whispered as he admired Fiona.

She noticed how his thumb traced over the new wedding band on his ring finger that would require time to grow accustomed to. Perhaps it was the exhaustion, or the overflowing of emotions of their day, or the fact that she was still reeling from realizing his feelings for her, or due to the fact that Tim made his intentions clear after showing her the house he bought her and in fairness it was her turn to do the same, but she said lowly yet confidently, “It would have been worth it even if it wasn’t for Fiona.”

He was not at all sure how to respond to that in his wholly stunned state, but he tried until Madison walked in the room, because it seemed Tim and Lucy were not done being interrupted amidst life altering moments.

“Okay, now that Fiona is asleep, I’ll take over,” Madison said.

“We’re spending the night. We’re not leaving our kid,” Lucy replied protectively.

Tim knew he would have to get used to seeing her maternal instincts take over, but until such time, he found it positively attractive. To punctuate Lucy’s alluringly assertively made point, he sat down in one of the chairs at Fiona’s bedside.

“As cops, you can leave her in our custody for the night, and we can get all the emergency placement paperwork sorted in the morning, because as far as we’re concerned, she’s already our girl, and we’re staying,” Lucy shot back as quietly and firmly as she could to make her feelings clear without waking Fiona.

He had been dedicatedly searching his brain for weeks wondering when he started to feel something for Lucy that was deeper than friendship without being able to yield a clear answer; their first kiss magnified something in him that had been blooming for a while without his notice, and gaining that awareness did not bring about any clarity of how it started. All he was certain of was that witnessing Lucy as a mother multiplied his feelings by a thousandfold. Tim knew undoubtedly that he was madly in love with his platonic wife and coparent of their daughter, and he had no way of controlling his heart, especially when Lucy was in full fledged mom mode.

“Alright, I’ll come back in the morning,” Madison said in surrender before leaving.

Lucy turned to Tim when they were alone and asked, “Was I a little too aggressive?”

“No,” he scoffed. “She was being dumb if she thought we would abandon our daughter in the hospital.”

“Our daughter,” she breathed; it was the first time either had called Fiona that particular word aloud, and it hit her in the chest with the weight of such a small yet important milestone.

“She is, isn’t she? I know it’ll be official once we sign stuff, but-”

“Tim,” she cut him off softly as she beamed, grateful he was not close enough to kiss him in an effort to shut him up. She reached around Fiona to gesture for his hand, which thankfully he gave to her in a second. “She is our daughter.”

After ages of wanting to be a father, the day had arrived so unexpectedly, given the fact that he could not have predicted he would come to share a child with his former rookie, but he finally had a daughter, and he could not have been happier. Tim silently clutched Lucy’s hand and stared at Fiona until he became overcome with emotion.

She squeezed his hand tighter when she saw his eyes fill with water as it was the only way to comfort him with Fiona peacefully sleeping against her. Lucy had seen Tim on the brink of tears before but never were they tears of joy, and she was moved that she contributed to inspiring such a strong emotion out of a usually stoic man.

He cleared his throat in an effort to compose himself and stood, unfortunately releasing his hold on Lucy, and he said, “We didn’t get dinner. I would, uh, check if the hospital cafeteria has sushi, but I don’t think it’ll be as good as what we were planning on getting, so maybe I’ll look for sandwiches. You like sandwiches, well, not on rye bread, but you like other sandwiches.”

Unsure how much longer she could allow him to continue bumbling like a fool, Lucy grinned and interjected, “I’m not hungry anymore. I just want to be with Fiona.”

“Yeah, yeah, that works, too,” he agreed and sank back into the plastic seat he had previously occupied.

For being one of the smartest people she knew, she loved that Tim was sometimes a total idiot. An adorable total idiot. “I’m gonna try to sleep,” she murmured then kissed the top of Fiona’s head before shutting her eyes, though her grin remained plastered on her lips for a while longer.

Since he was not tired at all, he watched Lucy and Fiona until his mind rewound through the excitement of the day as he watched Lucy pick out furniture happily, then she held his hand for the drive to the hospital as if their fingers were always meant to be perfectly intertwined together in need of either comfort or connection, and then he got to make his daughter laugh, which was music to his ears. However, what really struck him was what Lucy said about marrying him: “It would have been worth it even if it wasn’t for Fiona.”

He thought her intentions behind everything were for Fiona as that was what she had said at every turn, but with one sentence, Tim was rethinking everything from whether there was deeper meaning for Lucy behind the kisses they shared on their wedding day aside from pretending for Grey’s sake, to how she had become distant since the practice kiss only meant for an undercover operation that fell through, to inviting him into her bedroom during the second night they practiced kissing which turned far more intense than the first time, and even the fact that she asked him to marry him in the first place. His train of thought was only temporarily paused when nurses came in to check on Fiona, which was how he kept time- after eight visits from a nurse, Tim knew he spent the entire night trying and failing to understand what was happening between him and Lucy, and then she stirred until her still-sleepy eyes opened and immediately snapped over to meet his.

“Tim,” she husked, her voice rough from disuse yet still somehow fond as the beginning of a smile tugged at her lips.

“Good morning,” he said, which earned him a warm grin he had seen a million times and never gave a second thought about. The kind of smile only he ever received. The one he was treated to for so long without appreciating it as something special. The grin she never flashed at Chris or even Fiona. Tim’s chest constricted as he finally translated what every small thing he had been analyzing and reanalyzing all night truly meant thanks to the smile that confirmed it all: Lucy had feelings for him. Lucy LIKED him more than a friend. Lucy was fond of him in a way that was not platonic. Lucy had been harboring feelings for him for some indeterminate amount of time yet did not say a word. They easily agreed to share a child for the rest of their lives yet neither was able to express how they felt, and Tim was certain that upon fostering their daughter, he was about to lose his chance to ever be with Lucy, since a kid changed his priorities; dating and breaking up with the person he was going to raise a child with would become messy for their daughter, and it was not worth the risk. Heavily, he found a little solace in the fact that it was a worthwhile sacrifice, because he would do anything, even give up the opportunity to pursue Lucy, for Fiona.

Chapter Text

Tim started his day looking at Lucy and Fiona curled up in the hospital bed together, and that made his heart leap. “Good morning,” he said to Lucy when she woke up.

She smiled back at him. “Good morning,” she replied to his greeting of the day and was about to try stretching when she felt Fiona cozied against her, and upon glancing at how she was still sleeping, her heart threatened to burst at the way she woke up with Fiona and him in her sights.

“Did-did you sleep okay?” He asked, his whole body shaking internally in a way he hoped to conceal.

“Yeah, did you?”

“Mhm,” he hummed.

She knew he did not so much as blink for longer than a millisecond let alone sleep, but she let him lie. “Is something bothering you? Well, aside from the fact that our daughter is in the hospital?”

Between realizing that Lucy had FEELINGS for him and the fact that she referred to Fiona as “our daughter”, which were two things he was still trying his best to get used to, his brain could barely process the basic function of breathing let alone composing a reply.

“Tim?” Lucy whispered as she lifted her head up higher in alarm. “Hey, I know it’s scary, but it’s just food poisoning. She’ll be okay.” Lucy dropped a kiss to Fiona’s forehead.

“R-right, yeah,” he finally said.

Fiona stirred and rubbed at her eyes before seeing Lucy. “Lucy,” she murmured.

“Morning, sweetie,” Lucy responded. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” she sighed as she clung to Lucy’s warm and soft body. Then, her empty stomach rumbled. “My tummy sounds like a lion,” she noted with a giggle.

“I don’t know if you can eat yet, but we can get you some water.”

Tim sprung up onto his feet to get to the water pitcher on the windowsill and poured a glass of water for Fiona. He offered it to her with a smile. “Here you go, kiddo.”

She sat up and accepted the cup. “Thank you.” Fiona drank her water and reached for Lucy again. “Did you mean it when you said I would live with you?”

“Yeah, of course we did. Tim already painted your bedroom a pretty green. We don’t have everything set up yet, but we’ll make sure you feel comfortable in our house,” Lucy explained.

“Green? Really? For me?”

“Yeah, green just for you. We hope you like it and the bed we picked out for you.”

“Oh, the furniture delivery! That’s today!” Tim realized.

“I don’t know when Fiona will get discharged. We might have to push back the delivery by a day.”

“Fiona needs to sleep in a bed tonight.”

“She can take mine in my apartment, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Or, I can ask Nolan to take care of it.”

“You trust Nolan?”

“He knows the house well. He’s been there almost as much as I have since I bought it, and he’s a contractor, but just to be safe, I’ll make sure Bailey goes with him.” He looked down at Fiona. “I’ve gotta make a call, and then I’ll be back. Make sure your mommy stays out of trouble.” Fiona beamed at him, and it was the kind of incandescence he had only ever seen on Lucy’s face; it was uncanny how similarly they looked and acted despite not sharing a shred of DNA. He dialed John once he was alone in the corridor.

“Tim, hey, I’m headed to the house now. I want to take some measurements to build a bookcase for Fiona,” John said.

“I’m sure she would love that. Thanks. Listen, I know you’ve already done a lot, but I was wondering if you could do me another favor. Lucy and I are with Fiona in the hospital. She’s got a little food poisoning, but she’ll be okay.”

“Still, it’s scary when your kid is in the hospital. I hope she feels better soon.”

“Yeah, me, too. The reason why I called is that we’ll be here for a little bit longer, and our furniture is scheduled to be delivered later today.”

“I’ll already be at the house, so I don’t mind making sure all of the furniture gets delivered to the right rooms. Actually, Bailey’s got the day off. I’ll get her to tag along.”

“That would be great.” Tim appreciated that he did not even have to ask for a woman’s presence.

“Last time we talked about getting the house set up, you mentioned wanting to buy some books, toys, and clothes. Did you manage to pick up anything?”

“No, everything’s been happening so fast. We didn’t expect this emergency placement to happen, but we can take her home tonight.”

“You didn’t even have a honeymoon. You just jumped into having a baby.”

Tim looked down at the wedding ring on his hand. “Who needs a vacation when everyday with Lucy is an adventure,” he noted with a smile.

“You two really are something,” John sniggered. “I didn’t realize how serious you guys were, and all of a sudden, you’re married and fostering a kid? Wow. Well, regardless, Fiona is a member of our family now, so I’ll reach out to our friends to see if anyone can help get some more stuff. How old is Fiona?”

“She’s three, but she’s a little small for her age. She likes bows, drawing, animals, the color green, and she mentioned princesses the other day, and-and I don’t know I’m sure she likes other little girl stuff.”

John nodded. “Say no more. We’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks, we’ll stop by the house when we can. Bye.” Tim hung up and blew out a breath of relief. He saw Madison walking down the hallway, so he waited for her to step in front of Fiona’s hospital room. “Hey, Madison, we need to talk,” he said quietly then peered through the window into the room to see Lucy and Fiona sitting together.

“Good morning, Tim. What’s going on? Has Fiona’s condition changed?” Madison asked.

“She’s fine. Listen, I know Lucy came on a little strong last night, but she was right. I want a full investigation into the Crowne house done. Fiona got sick, which means they weren’t taking care of her the way they should’ve.”

“Apparently, one of the older kids tried cooking something and failed, but I understand. We’ll be doing interviews with all of the kids and extra home inspections. I promise. But my main concern right now is Fiona. A doctor needs to do a full check up on her to make sure she’s completely healthy, and then I’ll have to interview her in private. One on one. Let’s go into the room and talk.” Madison lead the way into the hospital room and smiled at Fiona. “Hi, Fi, it’s good to see you happy.”

“I like Lucy,” Fiona explained. She never felt more comfortable with someone so quickly, and she absolutely adored spending time with her.

“Then, I’m glad she’s going to foster you. I know Tim and Lucy can’t wait to take you home, but a doctor has to come by and take a look at you, and then you and I need to talk, which means Tim and Lucy have to leave for a bit,” Madison said.

“We went over this yesterday,” Lucy reminded her. “We’re not leaving her.”

“It’s protocol. It’ll only take a few hours. Grab a bite to eat. Make sure you’ve got everything ready to take Fiona home. By then, we should be done here.”

Lucy non verbally checked with Tim, and he seemed apprehensive but accepting of the direction they had to follow. “Fine, but we won’t go far.” She looked down at Fiona and frowned. “Tim and I have to step out of the room for a little, but Madison will stay with you. We’ll be back really soon to take you home.”

“How soon?” Fiona wondered, since she was not happy about being away from Lucy and Tim.

Tim crouched down and pointed at the window outside. “See how the sky outside is really bright? When there’s a moon in the sky instead, you’ll be home with us when you see it.”

Fiona nodded and repeated, “The moon.”

“Yeah, we can look at the moon together at home,” Lucy assured her.

“Okay,” Fiona agreed even as she continued to squeeze Lucy’s hand tightly.

“Can I get a hug before I go?”

Without hesitation, Fiona wrapped her arms around Lucy’s midsection as best as she could.

“Oh, thank you. We love you so much,” Lucy murmured into her hair then slid out of the hospital bed.

Fiona wiggled and hopped down from the bed, too. The monitor connected to her held her back, but she waved her arms to get Tim’s attention. “Hug for you, too,” she said as she beckoned him closer.

He grinned as he got down on his knees to embrace her. Hugging Fiona was one of the best sensations in the world aside from the realization that Lucy has feelings for him, which was something he was unsure he would ever be able to accept. When he looked over Fiona’s shoulder to see Lucy’s grin, he felt weak, overcome with all of the love he was receiving.

Lucy outstretched her hand to help Tim stand up and then kept her hold on it as they waved goodbye to Fiona. Though it was only temporary, she hated saying goodbye to their little girl, so for extra strength, she kept their fingers interlaced for the walk through the hospital and the parking garage back to Tim’s truck. As she climbed into his tall car, she guessed, “I bet Fiona will love sitting up so high in your truck.” Her eyes widened as she remembered something. “Oh my God, the car seat we bought is at my apartment, and I haven’t even figured out how to install it. We can’t take her home without a car seat.”

“Glad we already picked out a car seat and a stroller,” he replied. One of their days after shift was spent in a kids store perusing their options to be prepared. Tim went around to the truck bed and opened the box at the back of it to pull something out. “I bought another car seat for me. I figured if I was watching Fiona, I should have one, too.”

“Of course you should. I wasn’t even thinking. I should’ve told you that day to get one. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. We hadn’t exactly established how this was going to work.”

“Well, I’m glad we did, and it looks like you’re already proving to be a really great dad.” She stepped down from the passenger seat to open up the door leading to the second row of the truck. “Okay, let’s see if we can figure out how to clip this thing in.”

He opened the packaging then pulled out the seat and the instructions. “Looks easy enough,” he presumed.

Tim was studying the diagram with one of his signature frowns Lucy found so adorable, and she had an overwhelming desire to kiss him, but she refrained. Barely. But, she did. “Alright, I’ll try.” She hopped onto the step side and bent into the back seat before setting the car seat down and trying to secure the clips correctly, but for some reason, she was unsuccessful, so she tried again and again. “Why is this so complicated?” She groaned.

He could not see into the cab of his truck, but he was also distracted by the fact that he was staring at Lucy’s backside. It was hard to pay attention when she was naturally so distracting.

“Uh, Tim? A little help?”

“Yup, yup,” he sputtered out awkwardly and joined her on the step side. He crouched over her to reach into the back seat as well and looked at the instructions. His first attempt was a failure, but he persisted.

“If we can’t even figure out a car seat, how are we gonna raise Fiona right?” She wondered, the stress getting to her head.

“Can you hold this while I do the other side?” He asked, partially distracted by the task at hand. Their years of being in sync paid off, and they heard simultaneous clicks of success. “There, we got the car seat figured out. We got this, Lucy, because we’re doing this together.”

She twisted her neck to look at him. Since he was standing right behind her, his face was close enough that she could feel his breath against her mouth, and she shuddered. Of course, finding themselves flush against each other only made it worse, and her pulse skyrocketed. They remained frozen; eyes locked, his back pressed to her front, and shallowly breathing in time, but neither said a word or made any effort to move. There was a time when the care she felt for him was a small seed buried under dirt and easy to conceal, but with time came rain and sunlight to nurture the seed, and soon roots began to extend down deeper into the earth, but all of that development was so far underground she could conceal it and even try to forget about it for days on end, but then he kissed her, and a sprout shot up beyond the surface. Lucy thought it was small enough to be unnoticeable, especially when the tension between them afterwards casted shadows over everything. Yet, plants just like feelings, can be unyielding, so the sprout endured until she asked him to marry her. Tim let her vent about her concerns about fostering Fiona, he picked out an engagement ring for her, he stood with her as she pushed around every stroller model for a “test drive”, and he even bought her a house. In those conditions, it was no wonder the first blooms appeared, and their wedding day brought on another growth spurt. The tiny seedling turned into something beautiful and not as easily concealable, and also certainly equipped to thrive as time went on. Basic biology dictated that continued exposure to Tim would work more effectively than the sun, so her feelings were definitely going to flourish out of control.

Tim finally had the wherewithal to step down from his truck to get some distance from her, but she hopped down and ended up in his space yet again. 

“Should we…should we shower and change?” She rasped.

“Right, I’ll drive you home and pick you up an hour later. By then, we should be able to get our daughter and take her home.”

Lucy felt dizzy with excitement. “I can’t wait.”

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Both Tim and Lucy were buzzing when they returned to the hospital where Fiona was waiting at the edge of the bed.

Madison was pleased to report, “Fiona has been fully evaluated, and now I’m happy to say you can take her in your care. We’ll be in touch for a home inspection, family interviews, and welfare checks, which is a little different than the usual fostering process where we would do all of that stuff before placing a child, but this is technically an emergency placement, so we’ll operate differently. Please be flexible. We all want what’s best for Fiona, so we need to work together.”

Lucy looked up at Tim and agreed, “Yeah, together is the only way this will work.”

He lifted the corner of his lip at her.

Madison always looked to place kids in good homes, and she knew the best homes were the ones with loving couples as the head of the household. She wished she could place a million kids with a loving couple like Tim and Lucy. 

“Are you ready to come home with us, Fiona?” Lucy wondered.

Fiona quickly hopped down from the bed with a cheer.

Lucy bent down and said, “Before we go anywhere, you’re missing something.” When Fiona looked confused, Lucy grabbed a strand of her brown hair and tied the green ribbon around it that she had been keeping safe since the day they met. “I told you I was only holding onto it. It’s yours again.”

“Yay!” She touched the ribbon reverently.

“Now, you look perfect, and we can go home,” Lucy told her gleefully.

Together, Tim and Lucy walked with Fiona between them holding their hands. They wound through the corridors and rode down the elevator, and then they reached Tim’s truck. 

He scooped Fiona up and said, “Okay, let’s get you in your seat.”

“Big car!” Fiona noted.

“I knew she would like how tall it is,” Lucy mumbled with a smirk. Watching Tim fasten their daughter into the car seat was so adorable, and maybe it was partly due to her massive crush on him that would make anything he does adorable, but how could she not swoon at their little girl smiling at Tim while he carefully secured her in place?

For the drive home, he kept glancing beside him at Lucy where he could see her wedding and engagement rings on the hand resting on her thigh and Fiona, who was easy to see through the rearview mirror; he had a family in his car for the first time ever, and it was an incredibly important moment to him.

Lucy wanted to be the one to take Fiona down from the car seat, so though she struggled, she succeeded, and was able to carry her girl in her arms up to their new house.

Tim opened the front door for them, and he was taken aback by the commotion inside. Almost everyone he worked with was busying themselves in the house. Grey and Luna were stowing glasses and plates in the kitchen cabinets, James and Wes were arranging throw pillows on the couch in the living room, Nyla and Angela were organizing all of the toys and clothes they had purchased in Fiona’s bedroom, Tamara was setting up Lucy’s bedroom, and Bailey and Nolan were sorting out the furniture for what they assumed was a guest bedroom.

“What’s going on in here?” Lucy wondered as her eyes fluttered around the chaos that she could see.

“Oh, you’re home!” Grey grinned. “Everyone! They’re home!” He called to the rest of the house, then he was the first to step into the foyer. “Hi, you must be Fiona.”

Fiona waved at all of the new faces coming close to her and greeting her sweetly. “So many people live in this house,” she gathered.

“No, sweetie, they don’t live here. They’re our, well, they’re your new family, and it looks like they wanted to be here for you,” Lucy tried to explain as her eyes started to water at the beautiful display of love shown by her family.

“We heard you needed some help getting everything ready for the newest addition, so we all pitched in to get you stuff to help you get settled. I know there’s still plenty to do, but we’ll stay all night if we have to,” Grey said.

“Thank you. All of you,” Tim replied appreciatively.

“Don’t mention it. This is what family is for,” Angela responded, having known the generosity of their family when she needed everyone’s support before.

Fiona nestled into Lucy shyly as everyone went back to busying themselves with tasks.

“Hey, honey, why don’t we show you your new room,” Lucy suggested and went towards the stairs but paused when she did not feel Tim right behind her. “I said ‘we’, Tim. Come on.”

They ascended the stairs and opened a door to reveal green walls. The light mint color was all that was familiar to him; everything else had been completely transformed with white furniture filling up the space, colorful bins set out in a corner and overflowing with toys, and a closet full of clothes.

“It’s green!” Fiona exclaimed.

“Yeah, I told you Tim painted it green for you with Uncle John’s help,” Lucy explained. She saw Nyla and Angela stacking books on top of the dresser and said, “Wow, this is a lot of stuff!”

“Trust me, kids need so much stuff for being such tiny humans,” Nyla said. “I’ve got two girls, so I knew exactly what to shop for. Angela really went to town on toys.”

“I can see that,” Tim replied as he surveyed everything.

Lucy set Fiona down to walk around and explore the space for herself. “What do you think? Do you like your room?”

She spun around and around as her grin grew. “Wow!”

Tim and Lucy giggled.

“Welcome home,” Tim said to her as she continued taking in the room.

“Okay, it looks like our family is doing a lot of work around the house. Can you help, too?” Lucy inquired.

“Yeah!” Fiona replied.

“Great! Let’s go!” Lucy said.

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Eventually, everyone left with the promise to return the following day to keep helping, and the house felt oddly quiet with only the three of them padding up the stairs to get ready for bed. Lucy helped clean Fiona up and change her into a new pair of pajamas before leading her into her cheery, green room.

“What normally helps you fall asleep?” Lucy asked.

“I don’t know. I just close my eyes,” Fiona answered.

“You don’t read a story or sing a song?”

“No? But…do you have a story about princesses?”

“I’m sure we do. Go get comfy in bed, and Tim and I will pick something out.” Lucy went over to the dresser to rifle through the book selections, and then she grabbed his wrist before whispering, “Since it’s Fiona’s first night here, can you stay over?”

“Sure. If that’s what you want.”

“It is.” She looked up at him through her eyelashes hoping he understood she really wanted him to stay.

“Okay.”

“Great.” She picked up a book with a castle on it and snuggled up next to Fiona on the mattress. When Tim stood near the foot of the bed, she asked, “Fiona, don’t you want your daddy to join us?”

“He’s my daddy? The silly goose prince?” Fiona wondered.

“Yeah, he sure is. The best daddy in the world,” Lucy said fondly. “Squeeze in here,” she summoned him.

Though only a quarter of his body fit on the small twin sized bed next to Fiona and Lucy, he was grateful to join them.

As Lucy opened the book, Fiona looked across the way out of her bedroom window and pointed, “Look! The moon!”

“Yeah, we told you you’d be home with us by the time the moon was in the sky,” Tim reminded her.

Fiona clapped her hands with glee.

“Ready for story time?” Lucy asked.

Fiona nodded enthusiastically then rested her head against Lucy’s bicep as she read to her in a soothing, calm voice. Her eyes grew heavy before the happily ever after at the end of the book was reached. She saw the bright moon, then Lucy’s even brighter smile before getting a kiss good night from her parents, who pulled the soft blanket over her snugly. Fiona had never felt so loved and safe in her entire life, so she fell asleep almost instantly.

“Good night. We love you,” Lucy murmured before leaving Fiona’s bedroom with an overwhelming warm feeling taking over her body.

Tim knew it was time to part ways, because his bedroom was on the other side of Fiona’s room from Lucy’s, so he gave her a final grin, since no words could truly capture how amazing it felt to have a first taste of his very own family. He stepped into the guest room meant for him where John and Bailey arranged the bedroom furniture.

Curious about how the room looked, Lucy poked her head in and scrunched her nose. “They didn’t put sheets on the bed.”

“I don’t mind,” he responded.

“Where’s the bedding? Do we even have a blanket for you?”

“Guess not.”

“You can’t sleep like this.”

“I’ll take the couch, then.”

“And hurt your back? No, you’ll stay with me.”

“With you?”

“You picked a king sized bed for me. I’ve got plenty of space. It’s fine.” She tipped her head in the direction of the doorway to get him to follow her out. When they stepped into Lucy’s new room, she was appreciative for Tamara’s very meticulous set up of the space; she transported so much of her bedroom from her apartment into the room, except the furniture was different. Tim helped her select a set with two nightstands, two dressers, and a big four poster bed much like the one in her apartment only nicer. She dragged her finger over the white comforter as her heart raced; she volunteered to share a bed with Tim without really thinking about the fact that she would actually be spending the night. In bed. Next to him. Tentatively, she slid under the covers and waited for him to do the same until she shuffled around to get comfortable. He was oddly quiet as he settled in, so they laid back staring at the ceiling both totally awake and neither attempting to sleep. To diffuse the tension, Lucy moved onto her side and told him, “Today was amazing.”

“I know.”

“We have a daughter. It’s official.”

“It is.”

“This all feels so unbelievable in the best way.”

“Yeah.” He felt an uncontrollable smile playing at his lips as if his muscles were spasming from all of the happiness of the day’s events.

“I couldn’t have done any of this without you. Actually, I wouldn’t want to do anything of this with anyone else.” She reached out to touch his arm.

“Me, too.” If Tim had not been horizontal, he would have fallen back unconscious in that moment.

“Today made me wonder…if it wasn’t for Fiona, would we get to have something so perfect?” She thought aloud.

“We never have to find out.”

“I’m really thankful for you and for Fiona. Good night,” she said instead of shuffling over to kiss him, because she found herself wanting to kiss him yet again, and yet again, she held back from doing so.

Because he failed to sleep the night before, he tried his best to close his eyes, but he was in bed next to Lucy for the entire night, so sleeping was certainly not an option. Then again, sleeping would lead to dreaming, and his dreams had never been as perfect as his new reality.

Chapter Text

Warmth. All Lucy could feel as she started waking up was heavenly warmth, so she hummed happily as she kept her eyes shut and snuggled up in her bed; only her pillow felt hard, and she felt shallow, steady movement beneath her like the rise and fall of a chest, and then she heard someone breathing. She shot her head up when she realized she had been sleeping on someone, and then after a few blinks, she realized she had been sleeping on Tim. Blushing furiously, she stammered out an apology, “I-I’m so sorry.” He seemed unfazed and completely awake as if he had remained in the exact same position for a while until she arose.

“It’s alright,” he replied lowly. He recalled the exact moment when she began shifting towards him in the middle of the night, and he might have scooted towards her greedily; his intention was to feel her beside him in his half awake state, but when she fully moved to drape her arms over him and throw her legs across his as she cozied her head into his chest, Tim grew dizzy. He hoped the way his heart was thumping unnaturally did not wake her, and thankfully, she did not seem to notice if her deep breathing was any indication. Trying not to smile, he kept still to ensure Lucy was perfectly comfortable as she slept on him until morning.

“When everyone comes back to help us settle into the house, I’ll go out and buy you some bedding, and I’ll make sure it’s all fresh and clean before tonight.”

“You want me to sleep over again tonight?”

She deflated. “Oh, if you don’t want to stay-”

“No, of course I do, but I think maybe we’ve got bigger things to worry about other than my bedding. Let’s make sure Fiona is all set up.”

“But if you don’t have your own bed to sleep in tonight, then we’ll have to share again,” she pointed out. She looked down at how the bottom half of her body was still wrapped around his, and their torsos were still mostly pressed together as they carried on their conversation with only their heads as far apart as she could crane her neck.

“I don’t mind,” he shrugged. There was something empowering about figuring out that she had feelings for him, too, as if it was an invitation to be more open about liking her.

As butterflies swarmed everywhere beneath her skin, she practically melted, and then she saw the bedroom door crack open when Fiona poked her head inside, which had the potential to cause her to burst from pure joy. “Morning, honey,” she greeted her daughter.

“Hi!” Fiona replied happily as she ambled into the room.

“Did you sleep okay?” Tim wondered.

“Yeah,” she assured as she gripped the side of the mattress trying to figure out how to climb up.

Lucy hated to peel herself off of Tim, but she did so to pick Fiona up and set her on the bed where she could drop a kiss to her forehead. “Do you like your new room?”

“It’s green,” was her gleeful response, since that should have been enough reason to love her bedroom.

“Your Aunts Angela and Nyla brought you a lot of stuff for your pretty room. Make sure to say ‘thank you’ today when you see them, okay?” Lucy said to which Fiona nodded intently.

“Okay, kiddo, I say we get dressed and get breakfast,” Tim suggested then sat up.

“We need to go grocery shopping,” Lucy added to her mental list while Fiona crawled into her lap.

“Relax, Luce,” Tim whispered soothingly. “Fiona’s home. Let’s take the win.”

“You’re right,” Lucy agreed.

“While your mommy showers, let’s change,” he suggested before scooping Fiona up into his arms and getting out of bed with her.

Once she was alone in her bedroom, Lucy fell back onto her mattress and covered her eyes instead of getting up, because between waking up cuddling with Tim and seeing her daughter, she was a bit overwhelmed and needed to take a minute to quietly make happy sounds and collect herself before facing the day.

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After eating breakfast as a family at a nearby café, Tim did not turn back towards Lucy and Fiona’s house. “I need to go home and pick up more clothes,” he explained.

“Pack enough for the next few days at least. Grey gave us time off for our honeymoon. You might as well stay with us for that long.”

“There’s a lot to set up in the house. What if we don’t get a chance to worry about my room for that long?”

She bit back from smirking as her pulse raced. Since he had been open the possibility, Lucy replied with, “I don’t mind,” just as he had that morning in a casual tone that did not betray how much she would love the chance to sleep beside him again.

He watched her in his periphery while still trying to focus on driving, and though her expression was not quite readable, he could feel heat burning in her eyes. They were silent for the rest of the drive, but he could sense everything she almost said, so he pondered if that had happened before; maybe he failed to notice when Lucy refrained from saying more in the past, but if only he had been paying better attention to sense what was on the tip of her tongue. Tim was seeing her in a completely different light; every word, every smile, every change of her voice all communicated something in a secret language that he had just discovered how to translate. He arrived at his house, and though he used to find it perfectly good before, he now hated that his home was not one he shared with Lucy and Fiona, but he tucked that thought away and instead lifted Fiona out of the car and took her inside. When Kojo raced to the front door and Fiona squealed and wiggled in excitement, Tim made necessary introductions, “It’s time for you to meet my dog. This is Kojo.”

“KOJO!” Fiona shouted as she reached out to pet the dog.

“Be nice and gentle with him, okay,” Lucy coached.

Fiona smoothed her hands over the dog’s back and was treated to him licking her face, which made her giggle.

“Looks like they get along,” Tim deduced easily when Fiona sunk onto the ground to be comfortable as she continued to pet Kojo.

“We should bring him with. If you’ll be with us for the next week, we should take care of him, too. There’s no reason to have a dog walker take him out and bring him back an empty house.” As if Fiona was not adorable enough, watching her and Kojo become fast friends was an entirely different level of cuteness.

“Yeah, besides, our daughter loves animals, so I’m sure she’ll love having one around.” Tim crouched down to speak with Fiona. “Do you mind if we bring Kojo to live with you?”

“He can live with us?” Fiona asked, fascinated by the prospect.

“Sure, if you don’t mind adding even more madness to our house,” Lucy responded.

“Yay! Kojo can share a bed with me, so he doesn’t take up too much space,” Fiona suggested.

“He’s got a dog bed, and that’s where he’ll sleep, missy,” Lucy stated plainly.

“Why? You share a bed with Tim, so I can share a bed with Kojo,” Fiona explained her logic.

As much as Lucy wanted to correct her daughter that she was not meant to share a bed with Tim every night, hence the existence of his own room, she only replied, “I worry you won’t sleep and just bark together all night.” That seemed to be an invitation for Fiona to make barking sounds that Kojo responded to, and then Fiona laughed in amusement that she was communicating with her new favorite animal.

Even if the barking would induce a migraine, Tim was pleased to see Fiona’s joy.

“I’ll watch them. You pack,” Lucy finally said when she realized that both of them were staring at their daughter and the dog.

He frowned as he stepped away, but he understood they had plenty to do and could not spend the day simply gazing at their daughter.

Fiona was adamant that Kojo was buckled into the seat next to her instead of stowed in a kennel for the drive, and she held onto one of his paws to keep him close even with her car seat separating them. Once they arrived at her new home, she tried to tell Kojo on the walk up the driveway over to the front door, “Okay, Kojo, this is where you live now. Our new house is great! My room is green, and you can see the moon from there, oh, and we have lots of room to play.” When Tim opened the front door to reveal that their home had been taken over by their extended family for a second day in a row, she felt the need to inform Kojo, “This is our family. There’s lots of them. Be nice to everyone.”

Both Tim and Lucy stifled a laugh as they overheard Fiona. It was sweet how quickly she was starting to adjust to her new reality, and they only hoped she continued to be happy living with them.

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Conveniently, Lucy did not find any time to step away and purchase bedding for Tim’s bed, so after reading Fiona a bedtime story, telling her for the millionth time that Kojo was not allowed to share her bed with her, and kissing her goodnight, she murmured to him in the hallway, “Looks like you’ll have to stay with me again.”

“That’s alright.”

“I will try to stay on my side of the bed.”

“Okay,” he replied noncommittally. To his surprise, he re-entered the bedroom after changing for bed to find that she was placing pillows down the middle of the mattress. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure I don’t end up going to your side tonight,” she said as she placed the last pillow down in a neat row.

He huffed then proceeded to remove them one by one.

“Why are you moving those?” She wondered, to which his only response was to stack all of the pillows on the bench at the foot of the bed.

“There’s no reason to have so many pillows,” he grumbled once the final one was out of the way.

“What if I get close to you in my sleep again?” She asked. She was hoping the wall would keep her subconscious from embarrassingly acting out her desires.

“I don’t care.”

“Since when? You used to tell me how you didn’t want Ashley to stay over, because she wanted to cuddle at night, and you hated it, and she was your girlfriend. I’m your...” Her eyes caught on her wedding ring, but she refused to call herself his wife. She was only his wife on paper. Struggling to find a title that fit properly, Lucy’s voice died in her throat as she stared at him for help.

“We both know it’s a little different with us,” he said instead of finding a word to describe her. She was beyond a friend, but also not his girlfriend, and only his wife in a legal sense, so he settled for the next best thing.

Though she hoped he was referring to what was between them that neither had yet to properly verbalize, she chose to skirt that particular conversation and replied, “I am the mother of your daughter, I guess.”

“Yeah, that’s part of it,” he agreed quietly.

Her blood burned in her veins. Maintaining eye contact became too difficult, so she hung her head low and shuffled into bed. When he slid between the sheets from his side but scooted in closer to the center, she wanted to ask if he was trying to encourage that she move towards him, but she kept her mouth shut and tried her best to sleep, yet it was impossible when he was right there with his welcoming warmth and thinly veiled choice words that drove her insane. After turning his words over and over in her head leading to her restlessness, she decided to press him about what he said. Hoping he was asleep, Lucy looked over at him and asked, “What’s the other part?”

Tim made a sound of confusion as he turned onto his side.

Whispering in the late evening silence, she wondered, “You said that you don’t care if I happen to get close to you when I’m sleeping, and you said part of it was because of Fiona, but what’s the other part?”

So quietly, almost inaudibly so, he replied, “I think you know why.”

Though not totally unexpected, his words knocked the air out of her lungs. While thinking about the fact that he had feelings for her tended to make her giddy for a few moments, in the darkness of night in a bed together in a new home with their daughter down the hallway, all she felt was fear. “We can’t...”

“I know,” he whispered. Fiona added a complexity that they needed to be cognizant of. “But we can still sleep next to each other for our week off while we’re getting situated. No pillows between us.”

“After that, it’s back to before. It’s the right thing to do for Fiona.”

“It is. For Fiona,” he agreed with sadness tinging his voice, because ensuring their somewhat platonic relationship remained intact for the sake of raising their daughter in the most stable way was what was best for Fiona even if his heart yearned for Lucy. Tim had sacrificed his own happiness countless times in his life but never for a cause as worthy and worthwhile.

She reached out to rest her hand on his shoulder. “Until then?”

He shimmied until his side brushed hers. “Whatever you want,” he said quietly, hoping the eagerness in his eyes would be enough to influence her to settle against him as she had the night before.

“You sure?” She asked in a broken voice. When he gave her a small nod, she carefully slid her legs to slot with his while shuffling until she was comfortable. Every muscle in her body relaxed as if every fiber of her being was trying to still and dissolve until she could mix her cells with Tim’s into a never-ending jumble that made it impossible separate them. During the day, she chased her daughter around and worked tirelessly to create a good home environment for Fiona, but at night, she gave in to her craving to have any shred of Tim that she could have, so she indulged herself by curling into him to drift off to sleep in comfort then greeted the day with his warmth before getting out of bed and putting him at arm’s length once more.

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Because of the most perfect week of family time, Fiona time, and Lucy, Tim was in a permanent state of bliss he had never experienced before in his life. He had everything he could ever want, and nothing could be more incredible. He knew all too well that all good things must come to an end and nothing felt more final than when he returned to the house after taking Kojo out for his morning walk, and he saw Lucy holding a laundry basket in her arms about to take the stairs. He took it out of her grasp to carry it for her before even managing to ask, “What’s this?”

“Your new bedding for your room,” she answered bitterly.

Cold all over, he swallowed and took the stairs two at a time before depositing the basket in his room. He hated feeling marooned in his own bedroom despite it being mere doors away from hers. Lucy’s had a bed they shared for an entire glorious week. Lucy’s was where he spent every night actually enjoying cuddling, because he was cuddling with her. Lucy’s had a bed that smelled like her. Tim was already missing not spending the night with her, and his stomach churned.

“We agreed,” she reminded him, noting how he frowned while averting his gaze.

“I know.”

“After work today, I’ll get your room here finished. I want you to stay whenever you want. You don’t need an invitation.”

“Right,” he responded tightly.

She looked at his bare mattress and never wanted to cover it with a sheet to ensure he would spend every night next to her, but she had been greedy enough with a week of perfectly warm nights listening to his breathing and feeling his whole body beneath her fingers. It was time to find a new normal as coparents. Lucy encircled her fingers around his wrist to urge him to look at her, and when he did, she saw a sadness shining in his eyes that she shared. In a move that was not necessarily platonic, she stood up tall and kissed his cheek, and her lips lingered on the rough, stubble-covered skin. Still in his space, she momentarily got lost in his gaze and the thrum of electricity when he was in her proximity. No one could elicit such a visceral reaction from looking down at her through hooded eyes, but Tim could. It took every ounce of strength to fight the currents crackling and pulsating as if begging her to get closer. “Fiona,” she eventually breathed. “We should wake her up.”

Tim watched Lucy leave his room then go wake Fiona up with a bright smile and soft, sweet voice. He decided to cook breakfast to make himself useful, and then he heard the light, quick steps of Fiona racing down the stairs. “Careful,” he called over his shoulder before fully looking at her.

Fiona went to Kojo and gave him a hug, then she ran over to Tim and tugged at his pant leg. Once she got his attention, she held up a white ribbon in silent question.

Lucy, who had descended the stairs far slower than her daughter, explained, “I told Fiona that her daddy could tie her bow today.”

“Me?” He asked. When Lucy nodded, he gave her an appreciative look before dropping down onto his knees. “I’ve never done this before.”

“We can practice on Kojo,” Fiona suggested.

“He doesn’t need practice. He can do it,” Lucy said confidently.

Even though it was unfortunate he could no longer spend his nights holding her, Tim appreciated that he had her strength and support to empower him even as he struggled to tie a bow around Fiona’s ponytail. “There,” he said as he admired his handiwork.

Fiona touched the ribbon, and without seeing it, she lit up, because she had a bow in her hair tied with care. “Yay!” She cheered.

“Now that you’ve got your bow, it’s time for breakfast,” Tim said before lifting her up and placing her in her booster seat.

A knock at the door pulled Lucy’s attention away from her family, and she answered it with a relieved grin. “Oh, Nell, thank you so much for coming.”

“It’s really no trouble,” Nell responded as she entered and took in the place. “Wow, your house is beautiful.”

“Thanks. We’ve been cobbling everything together all week with the help of pretty much everyone, and now it’s time to get into some sort of routine. With all of the work around the house we’ve been doing, Tim and I haven’t had a chance to look for a nanny, but like I said when I called the other day, we’ll pay you like a nanny whenever you’re free, and I swear we’ll hire someone full time, so we aren’t asking you to watch Fiona everyday.”

“Actually,” Nell began then sunk her teeth into her lower lip, “I’d like to apply for the job. Fiona is a great kid, and I told you they’ve been cutting my hours at the station, so I’ve been thinking about getting a new job anyways. Besides, with so many changes happening all at once in her life, Fiona could use some stability.”

Lucy exchanged a look with Tim to silently communicate what to do before she replied on their behalf, “That’d be fantastic.” She went over to Fiona and bent down to be at eye level with her. “You remember Nell, right? She’s your old neighbor.” Fiona meekly nodded. “While your daddy and I are at work, Nell is going to watch you, okay?”

“No,” Fiona refused.

“Sweetie, we have to go to work,” Lucy tried to reason with her.

“No!” Fiona repeated louder.

Lucy’s gaze flicked over to Tim for assistance, so he took it as an invitation to provide his own explanation calmly, “You remember how we met. We went to your old foster house to help your old foster family. That’s what we do as a job. Your mommy and I help people. We love spending time with you, and we will when we get home, but during the day, we need to help everyone that needs us. You understand that, right?”

Fiona grabbed Tim’s hand tightly. “Gloria and Mark go to work, and they never play with me.”

Nell understood Fiona’s dislike for Tim and Lucy leaving for work was rooted in her previous foster home where those foster parents were always working and could not make time for her. “Tim and Lucy don’t work like Mark and Gloria did. They have time to play with you.”

Tim added, “Before you came along, when I left for work, Kojo wouldn’t have anyone to play with, so maybe when your mommy and I are at work, you can play with Kojo and keep him company, and then we can play as a family after work. How does that sound?”

“Kojo doesn’t work with you?” Fiona wondered.

“No, he stays home. He can stay home with you now,” he replied. “You won’t even miss us when you’ve got each other.”

“Can Kojo nap with me?” Fiona inquired.

“Only for naps,” Tim answered.

“Can Kojo draw with me?” Fiona asked.

“He can watch you draw and give you slobbery kisses when you finish,” Lucy said.

“Okay,” Fiona sighed, since the responses she received were satisfactory.

Tim used his eyes to silently ask Lucy if their first negotiation with their daughter was a success, and she smiled, so they considered it a win.

“We’ll be back right after work, and you can tell us everything you did with Nell all day,” Lucy told her before dropping a kiss to the crown of her head. “I love you. Bye, Fi.”

He lifted her small hand still wrapped around three of his fingers and kissed the back of her hand. “We love you. Bye.”

Fiona’s frown slightly lessened, but it remained as Tim and Lucy collected their travel mugs and work bags. Then, Kojo sauntered over and licked at Fiona’s ankle to bring a grin back to her face.

Tim could feel how Lucy was frozen in the doorway, unable to leave as she stared at their daughter. He ran a hand up and down her forearm lightly and whispered, “She’ll be okay without us for a few hours.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be okay,” she murmured.

“You got me. Kojo is Fiona’s partner in crime. I’m yours.”

“As of today, we don’t even ride together anymore.”

“I’ll still be at the same station as you.”

“That’s not the same.”

He heard Fiona giggle, which made him grin reflexively. “I think this is better.”

“Yeah,” she replied lowly, his eyes burning into hers in a way that made her head spin. “It is.”

“Are you gonna kiss her like in the princess movies?” Fiona questioned when she noticed the way Tim and Lucy were standing close together.

“Should I?” Tim asked his daughter as he held Lucy’s gaze.

“Yeah!” Fiona cheered.

He cupped Lucy’s chin to tilt her head back as his smile grew wider. “You heard her,” he said before making quick work of bridging the gap between them and capturing her lips gently.

Fiona clapped as her parents kissed, and though it was a lot longer than the ones in the princess movies, she was amused the entire time.

When Tim pulled back, his mind foggy, he waited for Lucy to open her eyes and read her reaction. She seemed a bit overcome in the moment, but the unmistakable tug at the corners of her mouth made it clear she enjoyed that as much as he did.

Lucy did not even mind that she was blushing. She waved and said, “Bye. I love you,” one more time to their daughter and walked out of the house with Tim right behind her. Instead of taking her own car to work, she went to the passenger side of his truck and climbed in. Once they were both seated, she wanted to clarify, “That kiss was for Fiona. It had to be.”

“Okay. For Fiona,” he pretended to agree, but their eyes betrayed them.

Chapter Text

After taking a week off of work, Lucy wanted to look forward to going back into the station, but she was driving next to Tim while still a bit heady after their kiss. It was a really good kiss. The kind that made her feel tingly from head to toe. Because her mind was wholly preoccupied, she barely spoke for the entire trip to the station.

Once they parked at work, Tim turned off the engine and sat back in his seat. Staring straight ahead, he asked, “Are we good?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” she assured him and turned towards him even if he was completely averting her gaze. “I already miss Fiona, though.”

“I‘ve got her laugh replaying in my head on a loop,” he shared as he began to smile. “Hers sounds a lot like yours, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She’s the best kid in the world.”

She swooned at the sound of the affection in his voice. “Wow, she’s only been ours for a week, and you already love her.”

“Of course I love her. How could I not when she reminds me of you?” He asked without thinking, the bliss of new fatherhood mixed with kissing Lucy still a fresh memory both polluting his brain.

Surely, Tim was not implying that he loved Lucy. His feelings for her could never be that deep.

He realized how his statement could have been interpreted and froze, because he had feelings for Lucy, but it was definitely not love…right? His face burned as he tried to meet her eyes, and when she seemed equally stunned, he was at a loss for what to do.

Understandably so, she was caught off guard by his word choice, so she took the necessary time to recollect herself then cleared her throat before saying, “We don’t want to be late for work.”

Wordlessly, he stepped down from his truck, and he remained tight lipped for the elevator ride. Just when he was about to say something about how he hoped she had a good day or another equally awkward sentiment in the wake of his previous words, Aaron Thorsen practically pounced on them for an enthusiastic hug.

“Congratulations, you guys!” Aaron said. “I can’t believe you finally got married! I’ve been waiting for this for so long! I know you were keeping it small, but I think I should’ve been invited to the wedding.”

“I should’ve been invited, too. I love weddings,” Celina Juarez chimed in as she approached them. “I’m really happy for you guys. Obviously, you’re the cutest couple at the station, and it’s really amazing that Tim finally overcame his fear of commitment and married you.”

“What?” Lucy wondered.

“Celina’s got it all wrong,” Aaron told them. “I know you were waiting to go public until Tim got a promotion. We all know both of you respect the chain of command too much.”

“Hey, guys, congrats!” Jan said with a smile. “Smitty showed me pictures of the wedding.”

“Looks like everyone is congratulating the newlyweds,” Angela surmised as she sidled up next to Lucy.

“Wait, Angela, you’ve known Tim and Lucy the longest. Do you know why they’ve waited so long to get married?” Celina inquired.

“That’s an interesting question. That implies that they’ve been together for a while,” Angela said then turned to look at Tim to pointedly add, “with feelings they’ve told each other about well before deciding to foster a kid together. I can only guess what’s taken them so long is that they’re both idiots. Really big idiots.” She punctuated the last few words to really accentuate her point.

Aaron beamed. “I don’t really care what the reason was. I’m just glad you’re married now. Do you have any big plans for tomorrow?”

Lucy tilted her head in confusion. “What’s so important about tomorrow?”

“They have a point,” Celina said. “I guess for the first year as newlyweds, every day must feel like Valentine’s Day.”

“Aww, that’s so cute,” Aaron mused.

“I’ll bet they’re going to do something special tomorrow, though,” Angela said and smirked at Tim and Lucy as she asked, “So, what do you have planned for Valentine’s Day? If it’s something sexy, I can watch Fiona for you.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to meet Fiona, and I’m great with kids, so I can watch her any time,” Celina volunteered.

“See, you’ve got so many babysitters, so you two can have a special night to yourselves anytime,” Angela pointed out suggestively.

Tim was hoping Lucy in her infinite ability to come up with cover stories for undercover operations would be able to save them in their time of need, but she was wide-eyed and stunned just like him.

“Bradford! Your training starts now! Let’s go!” Lieutenant Pine barked.

“I gotta go,” Tim stated the obvious as he stepped away.

“Hold on,” Aaron stopped him. “We missed it at the wedding, so can you kiss Lucy for us here?” Aaron requested.

Since there was no time to argue or make an excuse, Tim leaned in to give Lucy a quick peck, but he may have stayed on her lips for a moment or two longer just because it was hard to break away from her.

“No, Aaron wants to see how you kissed her at the wedding. You gotta recreate that one,” Angela instructed with a Cheshire Cat grin.

He wanted to kill Angela, but when he caught Lucy’s eye and read the unmistakeable eagerness in them, he forgot about everything else and reached for her as he stepped into her space. Tim snaked an arm around her waist while his other hand cupped the back of her skull, and for a split second, he stopped and held his breath in tandem with her. All the electricity in the world thrummed between them, and then they let out shaky breaths together, their eye contact communicating just how much they wanted to kiss each other again, and then he dipped her in a fast, easy movement like he had done it a thousand times. Lucy’s face started pinking up, but beyond that, her mouth curved up at him, which he exchanged for a moment, and then he bent forward to crash his lips against hers. She took control immediately, driving her tongue into his mouth and moving unyieldingly as if she wanted to devour him. Tim would have let her do it. He would let her do anything to keep kissing her. Only when his empty lungs burned with a need to be refilled did he pull back but kept holding her.

Lucy drew a continuous circle with her index finger at the base of his neck where his shortest hairs grew as she grinned widely. She was glad he had already taken care of sweeping her off her feet, because she was unsure she would be able to stand properly anyways.

Someone whistled in the distance. That was the only reason Tim’s eyes flickered away from her, and the rest of the world that had fallen away returned. He helped Lucy stand, flashed her a smile, let his hands drop away from her, and walked towards the part of the station where Metro congregated.

Once Tim left, Lucy could breathe, and see, and hear again, so she saw that a large group of officers had gathered around and were clapping, cheering, and whistling. She bowed her head in thanks as if she was at her final curtain call at the end of a performance and hastened into the women’s locker room.

Angela waited until she joined Lucy in the locker room to release the loud cackle she had been holding in. “That’s quite the paper marriage you’ve got there,” she commented between chortles.

Lucy rolled her eyes as she opened her locker. “Can you go easy on us? Tim and I are in this really delicate place right now, and we need to be careful.”

“Delicate? That’s an interesting way to describe it.”

She struggled to pull off her blouse, so she huffed and abandoned her task for a second to tell Angela, “I know he likes me…as more than a friend. I figured it out, and he’s gotta know by now how I feel, because even when I tried going to sleep practically hanging off the mattress to make it harder to get to him, I ended up cuddling with him by the middle of the night.”

“You slept together? In the same bed?” Angela asked, amused.

“I guess we didn’t buy bedding for his bed, so it was the only comfortable place for him to sleep,” Lucy explained as if that sounded like a reasonable excuse.

“Tamara is smarter than I give her credit. She was the one that returned his duvet,” Angela came clean then blew out a laugh. “So, did anything happen in that bed? It was your honeymoon, after all.”

“No,” she replied unevenly despite the single syllable of her response. “We just slept…but, he let me hold him all night, and I kept pretending I was still sleeping to stay snuggled up with him for a little longer, because he’s so warm. Did you know he’s really the perfect kind of warm? And this morning, he kissed my head like that was something we did, and he was warm, and he smells so good, and…” She leaned her back against the locker next to hers. “God, I’m so screwed.”’

“I’m not following.”

“We have a daughter to worry about, and it’s a big adjustment for her to get used to us. We need to focus on creating a routine for Fiona and raising her right. We don’t have time to figure out what’s going on between me and Tim.”

“Dating is never easy, and with a daughter, it’s even harder,” Nyla piped up after having heard enough of the conversation from the other side of the lockers. She walked around to look at Lucy and advised, “Your kids have to be your first priority and your heart second. James and I were trying to figure each other out while still making sure our kids were always our main focus. It was so much harder than dating Donovan when our only worry was if it was too soon to talk about moving in together. I get why you’re scared.”

“That’s why I bought him new bedding, and I already washed it so no one can return it this time. He needs to sleep in his own bed, and we definitely need to stop kissing.” Lucy brought her hand up to the corner of her mouth while that heady feeling brought on by Tim persisted. “I didn’t think there was such a thing as a perfect kisser, but he sure is one.” She could have melted into a heart-shaped puddle if she kept thinking about all of the ways that he was positively perfect. “God, I’m so screwed,” she repeated with even more anguish.

“From where I’m standing, your situation is pretty perfect. You’re already married; you’ve got a kid; and you know you like each other. Those are all of the hard steps. The falling in love part is the most fun, and it’s the easiest step, especially since it sounds like you’re halfway there.”

“What if we break up? What if we give it a try, and he realizes he wants another blonde, gorgeous girl like Ashley? What if we can’t stop arguing, since we certainly do that a lot, and we can’t make it work? What if I fall harder for him, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever get on the same page as me emotionally, so we drift apart before eventually crumbling? What if the sex is bad? What if-”

Nyla put a hand up to stop Lucy’s mental spiral. “I can see you’ve clearly thought a lot about this.”

“Only every second that I’m not worrying about Fiona,” Lucy answered as her face pinched in agony. “Look, risking our friendship would be difficult enough, but now that we have a daughter, we have to be extra careful. It’s not worth the risk.”

“I get it,” Nyla responded sympathetically. “Donovan and I slept together one night so long after the divorce. I thought for a second that maybe we could give it another shot, but the second I thought about Lila, I squashed that idea real fast. I’m glad I did, because I love my life with James so much, but more importantly, I made the right decision for my daughter. You’re Fiona’s mom now. You’re the one that has to make those hard choices for her now.”

Lucy nodded solemnly. “Then it’s settled. Tim and I are staying friends for Fiona.”

Angela pursed her lips but stayed quiet as Lucy changed into her uniform and left, but the second she was alone with Nyla, she said, “I don’t think they can stay friends. You’ve seen them all week. Every second we’ve been helping them get their house together, they looked at each other like smitten kittens when they weren’t swooning over Fiona.”

“I guess time will tell.”

Angela agreed, “Time will certainly tell.”

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Tim hated to admit it, but he loved Metro more than patrol after only training with the team for a few hours of his morning. During his first break, he was instructed to set up his office, so he packed up his belongings into a cardboard box and carried them up the stairs.

“Hey, it’s your husband,” Aaron pointed out to Lucy when he saw Tim on the other end of the corridor. “I’m still getting used to saying that. I bet you are, too.”

She actually had never referred to him as her “husband”; that felt surreal despite the rings she constantly wore on her finger. “Hey, what do you have there?” She asked Tim as he neared.

“I’m moving into my new office,” he explained.

“Oh, can I see?” She asked excitedly.

He stepped forward until he reached the right door, and he shouldered through first.

She poked her head inside and noted, “It’s cozy.”

“It’s tiny,” Tim countered.

She started to smile. “I love it.”

“Your new closet is bigger.”

“True, but I think your office is perfect. I’m really glad you got this promotion.”

“Grey only got it for me because of us.”

“Who cares? It’s all politics anyways, and besides, I bet you fit right in on Metro.”

“It’s not bad,” he undersold it.

She could see the glint in his eye. “I’m really happy for you, Tim,” she murmured.

“Thanks,” he responded softly.

“Yo, Bradford,” Mad Dog shouted. “Pine just told me you got married last week. Did you and that Chen chick split?” He only then noticed that Tim was talking to Lucy and Aaron. “When did you guys get a divorce?” He asked as he waved a finger between Tim and Lucy.

“No, they just got married, Mad Dog,” Aaron corrected him.

“What? No, they’ve been married forever,” Mad Dog insisted.

“It feels that way, doesn’t it?” Aaron responded.

“Lucy and I got married last week,” Tim clarified, which was a sentence he had trouble saying, because it felt like an impossibility yet also his reality.

“Then how come I thought you two were married for all these years?” Mad Dog asked.

“I was married before,” Tim supplied as an option, which made Aaron’s jaw drop in surprise, since that was new information for him.

“No, I know when you called it quits with the chick from Narcotics. Ever since Chen came here, it’s always been you two. I could’ve sworn you’ve been hitched this whole time.” Mad Dog scratched his head in befuddlement. “Me and all the guys said the same thing, you know. So I guess, good for you for finally tying the knot. I don’t know what made you wait so long, but it’s all good. Finish setting up your office fast. Pine said we can practice breaching drills. Those are my favorite.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Tim replied.

Instead of addressing the fact that absolutely no one was surprised to learn about her and Tim getting married and actually received comments about how long it took them to make it down the aisle, Lucy decided to say, “Aaron and I should head back out. You can grab lunch with us later if you’re not too busy.”

He was about to accept the invitation when he remembered something. “I can’t make lunch today. I have to go somewhere. Maybe tomorrow.”

“No problem,” she responded; she could read that he was keeping something from her, but she did not want to press.

Aaron followed Lucy down the stairs before suggesting, “If you take my jet tonight, you can spend your first Valentine’s Day as a married couple dining at the top of the Eiffel Tower.”

“We’re not going on a dinner cruise in Miami, or going to Martha’s Vineyard to make our own wine vintage, or a ride in a submarine off the coast of Texas, and we’re definitely not going to Paris. As much as I’ve loved all of the suggestions, I really think a quiet dinner at home with our daughter is all I need for Valentine’s Day.”

“Fine, so what are you getting him?”

“Oh,” she breathed. “Before we go back on patrol, can we run an errand?”

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

Finally, it was the end of shift, which meant Tim could take a breather after a long first day of his new job. Once freshly showered, he exited the locker room to find Lucy waiting for him.

“Ready to go home?” She asked.

He flashed her a half smile, because he was certainly thrilled to be going home with her.

“Bradford, wait up,” Pine called after him. “Are you leaving?”

“Uh, yeah,” he answered, confused, since it seemed obvious.

“It’s your first day. New guy usually buys drinks for everyone afterwards,” Pine said.

“Sorry, I can’t tonight,” Tim replied. “I’ve gotta get home to my family.” He was still amazed that he had a family, but he did, and he did not want to miss a single second with them. “Let me know what kind of tab you rack up, and I’ll pay you back tomorrow.”

Pine shrugged and walked away.

“You could’ve gone out,” Lucy said to him lowly.

“We promised our daughter we would get home as soon as we could, and we’re going to keep that promise.”

“You’re right.” She was more than pleased to walk into their house as quickly as possible, so they drove fast and walked through the front door, instantly feeling a sense of peace. But peace was rare in a house that included a three year-old.

“Lucy! Tim!” Fiona squealed as she hurried to the foyer from the living room. 

Tim picked his daughter up into a hug. “Hey, Fi.”

Kojo scurried over right behind her, and Lucy laughed when she saw two green bows tied on each of his ears. “What happened to Kojo?”

“I gave him bows, too,” Fiona explained. “We’re best friends, so I wanted him to have bows. Tim doesn’t have a lot of hair, so maybe we have to give him a tiny one.”

“Do I get a bow?” Lucy asked.

“You can have one of mine,” Nell offered when she walked over sporting a rainbow of different ribbons tied into her red hair. “Fiona gave us makeovers today.”

“I can see that,” Tim replied.

“Dinner’s on the stove. I need to hurry home and change. Ellroy and I celebrate Valentine’s Day the day before, since he says there’s too much pressure on February 14th, and that means I can stay late with Fiona tomorrow, so you two can go out and do something just the two of you,” Nell said.

Lucy wanted to know why suddenly everyone was so concerned about how she spent a holiday with her paper husband. “That’s not necessary. We just got Fiona. We want to establish a routine.”

“Do you want me to cancel our reservation for tomorrow?” Tim wondered.

“You made reservations?” Lucy asked. “For the three of us?”

“The place I picked doesn’t have a kid’s menu, so no, I got us a table for two.”

“What about Fiona?”

“I texted Tamara, and she said she would take care of her.”

“You made plans for just us?”

“Was I not supposed to?”

Lucy wanted to answer that question honestly, but with Nell and Fiona in the room, she decided not to speak about it further. “I bet Fi drew ton of pictures today while we were at work. I’d love to see them.”

“You guys can look at all of the masterpieces Fiona made. I’ll see you all tomorrow. Good night,” Nell regarded everyone before leaving the house.

Fiona proudly held up each of her drawings and described them in great detail for Tim and Lucy to enjoy, and she got to eat a delicious dinner afterwards. Sneakily, she made sure to drop a few pieces of her chicken on the floor to share with Kojo, who she really wanted to cuddle with. “Please, can Kojo stay in my bed tonight?”

“No, Fi, only for naps. You’ll keep each other up all night, and you need your sleep,” Lucy replied.

“But he can’t see the moon from his bed.”

Tim promised, “Kojo can see the moon in the living room.”

“He’s my best friend.”

“I know it doesn’t seem fair, but everyone’s sleeping in their own beds tonight,” Lucy said and reflexively looked to Tim, because they, too, were being separated for the night.

“Are we going to have story time again tonight?”

“We sure will,” Tim guaranteed.

“Can Kojo stay for the story? He likes princess books, too.”

“Okay, he can stay for story time, but your mommy is right that he has to sleep downstairs.”

“What if he gets scared?”

“He’ll come up to my room, and I’ll keep him safe,” Lucy responded. “Do you get scared at night?”

“Not anymore. Aunt Angela checked everywhere for monsters the other day, and she said we don’t have any.”

“We don’t have monsters. Only a silly goose,” Lucy teased as she nudged Tim with her elbow.

He pretended to look offended, but his expression faltered when Fiona laughed. “Alright, munchkin, we need to get ready for bed. Let’s go.” She honked like a goose for most of their nighttime routine, and he found it wildly hysterical. “You have the same sense of humor as your mommy,” he noted.

“I hope that’s a compliment. I think I’m funny,” Lucy said when she entered Fiona’s adorable green bedroom that had transformed in a week.

“Only sometimes,” he fibbed. “Okay, Fi, pick the book you want Mommy to read to you.”

As everyone was huddled on Fiona’s bed, including Kojo who curled up by her feet, she grinned and not just because of Lucy’s dramatic reading of “Rapunzel”. She really loved her new family and how even when they worked, they still had time to play with her. “Are you going to work again tomorrow?” She asked.

“Yeah sweetie, but we’ll come home right after,” Lucy promised. 

“Okay, can we read the same book tomorrow?”

“We can read it as many nights in a row as you want. I love story time with you.”

“Me, too,” Fiona agreed. Once her parents rose from her bed, she quickly kicked at her covers to hide Kojo beneath them.

“Kojo can’t sleep in your bed tonight,” Lucy told her.

“He already left,” Fiona lied. Kojo, since he did not like his hiding spot, barked. “Shh,” she hushed him, but Lucy pulled the blanket back to reveal the dog, foiling her plan. Once she was snugly tucked in and given good night kisses, she felt too tired to come up with a new scheme to get Kojo to spend the night in her bed, so she shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Lucy went into Tim’s bedroom and started putting the fitted sheet on his mattress without a word.

“Are you mad at me?” Tim inferred based on how Lucy was acting.

“I haven’t said anything.”

“You don’t have to.”

She furiously finished with the fitted sheet and moved onto draping the flat sheet over the bed. “You made reservations for us to go on a date,” she muttered.

“It’s not a date. It’s Valentine’s Day. Everyone seems to care what we do, so what if the social worker asks? I figured we should be thorough.”

She stopped worrying about his bedding to look at him squarely to ask, “Did you actually make those reservations for Fiona or…some other reason?”

“Which answer gets you to stop being mad at me?”

Lucy groaned and laid out his comforter then fluffed his pillows. Once his bed was made, she turned to him and quietly said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go out for Valentine’s Day, but I’m not exactly innocent. I got you a present.”

“I got you one, too.”

“Can I open it?” She asked brightly.

He tucked away the new lesson he learned that she could stop being mad at him in an instant if he got her a present. That could come in handy. “Tomorrow when it’s Valentine’s Day, I’ll give it to you, so don’t go looking for it.”

“I won’t.”

“You sure about that?”

“I swear I won’t. I’m not always causing trouble like Fiona.”

“She is trouble, but that was pretty cute how she thought she could hide Kojo from us.”

Lucy giggled. “She’s smart for her age.”

“That doesn’t bode well for her teen years.”

“Oh, please, she doesn’t have to outsmart you. You’re such a pushover.”

“Am not!”

“You almost let her keep Kojo in bed with her tonight even though that’s against our rules.”

“I like seeing her happy…and I like seeing you happy, too.”

“Do you want to make me happy right now and give me my present?”

“Not yet.”

She sighed. “Fine, I can wait until the morning. Good night, Tim.”

“I didn’t say I would give it to you in the morning,” he said as she spun away.

“But you will,” she shot back happily. Lucy always loves receiving presents, so at the promise of receiving one from Tim, she was almost too excited to sleep and was buzzing as she got dressed the next morning. She thought she heard distinct giggles, so she followed the sound downstairs where Tim and Fiona were making breakfast. “What’s going on down here?”

“Happy Valen- what’s the word?” Fiona asked.

“Valentine’s Day,” Tim told her. 

“That’s a big word,” Fiona noted. “Tim says it’s a day about love, so Happy Love Day, Lucy!”

Lucy went over to plant a kiss on her daughter’s cheek. “Thank you, honey. Happy Love Day to you, too.”

“Tim said I could wear a green bow today, because I love green.”

“I think you look perfect.” Lucy twirled a lock of Fiona’s hair around her finger.

“Actually, I think both of you are missing something,” Tim said. He removed the fully cooked pancake from the pan and went to the front where his jacket was hanging. He removed two boxes from the pockets and presented them to Lucy and Fiona. He had spent his lunch break the day before preparing for Valentine’s Day, which was last minute, but he was pleased with what he purchased.

“For me?” Fiona asked.

“Yeah, open it,” Tim urged.

She did and then gasped. “IT’S A BOW!”

“It is,” he confirmed. “So you’re always wearing a bow,” he explained.

Lucy almost fainted when she saw the gold bow-shaped pendant hanging on a chain in a box. “It’s so cute.”

“I wanted to get something for both of my valentines,” he said.

“Can I wear it?” Fiona requested.

Tim helped her put the necklace on and asked, “Do you like it?”

She launched herself into his arms and embraced him tightly. “Thank you, Tim.”

“You’re welcome, Fi. Lucy, you should open yours, too.”

When she did, she blinked rapidly, because he bought her an absolutely beautiful gold, circular pendant with a diamond in the middle. “Did you…did you pick this out for me?”

“I did.”

“By yourself?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“You buy your nephews gift cards for Christmas.”

“I like you a little more than my nephews.”

“Are you you secretly good at giving presents?”

“Does that mean you like it?”

“I love it.” She gathered her hair and threw it over one shoulder. “Can you help me put it on?”

He took the velvet jewelry box out of her hand, brushing his fingers over hers as he did. Tim stood behind her and held his breath as he draped the necklace across her neck.

Lucy’s heart completely stopped when his fingers ran over the delicate skin at the back of her neck. She almost leaned into his touch, but then he secured the necklace in place and stepped back.

“Pretty!” Fiona complimented.

“Yours is, too.” Her eyes darted over to Tim. “Thank you,” she said sweetly. “You should open your gift.” She went to her work bag in the foyer and pulled out a small bag. “It’s not as pretty as my necklace, but I hope you like it.”

He accepted the bag, removed something wrapped in tissue paper, and opened it to reveal a frame.

“It’s our first family picture. I thought it would look good on your desk at work,” she said.

“This is…,” he swallowed down the emotion creeping up his throat, “amazing.”

“Let me see,” Fiona requested.

Tim scooped his daughter up with one arm while the other hand held the frame to show her the photo. “Do you remember last week when you were helping your mommy plant some flowers in front of the house and Aunt Tamara wanted to take a picture of us?”

“Yeah! I got dirty!” Fiona recalled with a laugh.

“We all did, but it was a fun day,” Lucy agreed. “Our family isn’t perfect, but it’s our family. I never want you to forget that.”

“I love it,” Tim whispered.

“Love Day is the best! I want to tell Kojo about Love Day!” Fiona said then wiggled until Tim set her down so she could zoom over to her dog.

Tim stared at Lucy, so touched by his gift, and he saw her wearing his necklace and his ring, and he was rendered completely speechless in the best way; at least she seemed similarly with the way she warmly smiled at him without saying a word either. Though barely audible, he could hear Fiona tell Kojo she loves him over and over again between kisses, and he would have turned to watch them, but Lucy had captivated him so fully his eyes were glued to hers.

At the sound of the doorbell ringing, the spell was broken, and Lucy had to walk away from the distracting orbit of Tim. She expected to find Nell outside, but their visitor was someone else. “Rachel?”

“Lucy! Hey!” Rachel Hall greeted her gleefully.

“W-what are you doing here?”

“Surprise! I’m your new social worker!” Rachel said.

Chapter Text

“Surprise! I’m your new social worker!” Rachel announced as she stood outside of Tim and Lucy’s house.

“What? I thought you lived in New York,” Lucy responded. She never expected to see her on her doorstep.

“I have so much to catch you up on,” Rachel replied. “Mind if I come in?”

“Oh, of course.” She forgot her manners in her stunned state, so it took her a second to stand back to welcome her friend inside.

Rachel immediately scanned the house for first impressions as was part of her job. She looked over at the warm living room and then followed Lucy into the kitchen where Tim was standing over the stovetop. Even with his back turned to her, she recognized him. “Hi, Tim.”

He heard the familiar voice and paused before pivoting to face her. “Rachel, h-hey, what are you doing here?”

“She’s Fiona’s new social worker,” Lucy retold the news she had only been informed of moments before. “Rachel, can I get you some coffee? Tim just made a fresh pot.” She began pouring a mug even before hearing an answer.

“I would love some,” Rachel replied. She glanced at a little girl who must have been Fiona sitting on the ground hugging Kojo and whispering to him. “Is that Kojo? I’m glad you still have him.” Lucy handed her the cup of coffee with a grin that did not reach her eyes, which was unusual, but instead of commenting on it, she said, “Thanks.”

“Not sure he’s mine anymore. Fiona says he’s her best friend,” Tim said with a half smile. When Lucy went to his side, she wrapped an arm around one of his as she dropped her head to his bicep. He wanted to ask what she was doing, but he also liked it and did not want her to stop touching him. “You,” he cleared his throat, “you’re Fiona’s social worker now? How did that happen?”

“When Lucy called to ask me about Fiona, I was actually contemplating moving back to L.A.. My fiancée got a job offer here, and we weren’t sure we would move unless I found something I loved. I was reminded of how much I loved working with Social Services when I talked to you, Lucy, so I called my old boss, and she hired me back over the phone. I was given a few cases to start with, and when I saw your name attached to one, I was glad to work with you, but the one thing I didn’t expect to see on your application was that you’re married? We talked about being single and fostering, and you didn’t correct me.”

“Oh, I didn’t mention Tim and I are together? Must’ve slipped my mind,” Lucy lied smoothly.

“Your file says you two just got married. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. We’re really happy,” Lucy said and flicked her gaze up at Tim, who smirked at her.

“I was a little shocked when I read that, honestly. When did you two get together?”

Lucy went with the only true answer, “It feels like it’s been forever.”

Rachel was more than a little surprised to see the softness in Tim’s gaze as if she was seeing a completely different person than the man she used to date.

“Are you almost done making breakfast, babe?” Lucy asked him.

He blinked, because she called him ‘babe’ so naturally, and he loved it. “Just a few more pancakes, baby,” he replied to try out the term of endearment for himself. She pressed a kiss to his shoulder before stepping away, and he wanted to draw her back in and ask her to show him some more casual tenderness, but instead he focused on making pancakes.

“So,” Rachel said to get their attention, “I came by for a surprise visit to tell you that I’ll be working with your…family. I know it’s a holiday, so I don’t expect to conduct interviews with everyone today, but I wanted to get some background from you guys and then speak with Fiona for a few minutes.”

“The most important piece of background you need to know is that Fiona is our daughter now,” Lucy stated firmly. “We met her and instantly fell in love, so we’re fostering her to adopt her eventually. Put that in big letters on your report so there’s no confusion.”

“I love to hear that,” Rachel responded happily. “I’ll need to get Fiona’s take, too. Can’t wait to formally meet her. She sounds like a special kid.” Her eyes tracked the little’s girls movements and heard her cute laugh.

Lucy beamed as she glanced over at Fiona hugging Kojo tightly. “You’ll absolutely fall in love with her. She’s the best kid in the world.”

“I can’t wait to talk to her and have our initial interview,” Rachel responded.

“Fiona, honey, can you come here and meet someone?” Lucy requested.

“But it’s Love Day, and I love Kojo. I haven’t finished telling him how much yet.” Fiona giggled when Kojo licked her face happily.

“You can play with him in a few minutes. Please, come here and say ‘hello’ to our new friend,” Lucy requested.

“I don’t need anymore friends.”

“Fi, please,” Tim requested more firmly.

“Can I bring Kojo with?” Fiona wondered, unwilling to abandon her best friend.

Lucy could not believe the foolish negotiations she had to make with a three year-old, so she replied, “Yes, you can bring him the ten steps over here on this side of the kitchen.”

Since her demands were being met, Fiona stood from the ground. “Okay, come on, Kojo. We need to make a friend. Don’t worry you’re still my best friend.” She walked over as she scanned the visitor in her house.

Rachel bent forward and grinned. “Hi, Fiona, I’m Rachel. I’m your new social worker, and I’m friends with Tim and Lucy.”

Fiona eyed her unsure. “This is Kojo.”

“I’ve actually met him before. Hi, Kojo,” Rachel said.

Kojo gave her a short bark of greeting.

“I don’t want a social worker anymore. Lucy says I can stay forever,” Fiona told her.

“Well, I need to make sure it’s a good home for you, or we’ll find you a better home.” Rachel replied.

Fiona glanced at Lucy for confirmation. “No! It’s Love Day, and I love my green room! I’m not leaving!”

Lucy went to her and gently assured her, “You’re not leaving, honey. Rachel didn’t mean that. We love you, too.”

“Tell her to leave,” Fiona pouted.

“She’ll leave in a few minutes. First, she’s going to ask you a few questions, and I want you to tell her everything she wants to know,” Lucy coached her.

“Can we go to your bedroom and talk?” Rachel requested.

“No.”

“Fi, it’ll only be like five minutes,” Tim tried to reason with her. “Please, go talk to her.”

“Can Kojo talk to her?”

“You can go together. I’m sure Rachel won’t mind,” Lucy said.

Fiona blew out a breath. “Kojo, this is Love Day, but I don’t love talking to these people. You have to tell her everything.”

“I need you to talk, too,” Lucy told her. When Fiona seemed less than pleased, she lifted her into her arms. “Let’s go up to your room with Rachel. You’ll really like her. She’s super nice.”

“No,” Fiona pouted as she buried her head in Lucy’s neck.

Rachel followed Lucy carrying Fiona and Kojo trotting right behind. They ascended the stairs and walked into an adorable green room. “You have a pretty room.”

“I love green,” Fiona said begrudgingly.

Lucy set Fiona down on the side of the bed and looked at her squarely to say, “Your daddy made you pancakes, and you can eat them when you’re done answering Rachel’s questions, so the sooner you tell her everything, the sooner we can have breakfast.”

“Love Day is ruined,” she whined.

“No, Love Day isn’t ruined. It won’t take long. I’ll bet Rachel wants to see your pretty necklace and your drawings.”

“I love my necklace.” She tapped on the gold bow-shaped pendant resting on her chest.

“Yeah, I love your necklace, too. Your daddy got it for you, because he loves you so much.”

“He loves you, too,” Fiona said and pointed at Lucy’s necklace.

Did Tim love her? Perhaps platonically? There was no time to ponder her relationship with Tim in that moment. “I’ll be right downstairs.”

Fiona grabbed her hand. “Don’t go.”

“She needs to talk to you alone, but Kojo will be next to you the whole time.” She could read Fiona’s trepidation. “How about I stand right outside, and when you’re done, I’ll give you a big hug?”

After thinking about it for a few seconds, she resigned, “Okay.”

“Okay,” Lucy repeated her before kissing her forehead. “Thank you for being a good girl.”

Rachel took one of the small chairs next to a craft table in the corner of the bedroom and dragged it over while Lucy exited the room. “Alright, Fiona, I want to hear from you about living with Tim and Lucy.”

“I have all the bows in the world, and I have Kojo. Kojo can sleep with me when I nap, but I can’t hide him at night. The moon comes to my room at night when we read princess books. Tim is a silly goose prince. He sounds like all of the animals. Lucy is the best! I’m never leaving.”

Lucy tried not to eavesdrop, but hearing Fiona talk about their family warmed her heart.

Tim finished making all of the pancakes then went upstairs to check on his girls. “What’s going on?” He asked at a whisper.

“Rachel is asking Fiona a ton of questions. I didn’t think she would be so thorough in her first interview. We haven’t prepared for this,” Lucy replied nervously.

“Fiona doesn’t need to be prepared to talk about living with us. She’s happy here.”

“Yeah, I keep hearing all of the different ways she’s told Rachel that, which is a good thing.”

“We have nothing to worry about.”

“She asked about you and me, and I didn’t know what to say. We’ve got to get a cover story together.”

“You gave her a great answer. Relax.”

“She has the potential to take our daughter away from us if we aren’t perfect. We have to convince her we’re married.”

“We signed the license, Luce. We’re married,” he reminded her as if either of them could forget.

“Yeah, but we have to act like it.”

“How? You’re going to hold onto me every time she shows up?”

“Was that not okay?”

“It was fine.”

She pursed her lips. “I don’t think that was enough. She knows both of us really well. We have to make her believe we’re, you know, married.”

“Aside from the legal document from the state of California?”

“Can you please take this seriously?”

“I am.” He let out a dry laugh. “What do you think we’re supposed to do to act married? Should I kiss you?” He suggested jokingly.

“Do you think that’ll work?”

Her serious expression was amusing. Instead of teasing her, Tim stepped into her space. If she was giving him an opportunity to kiss her, he was going to take it. “We can try.” She nodded, and he took it as an invitation to cradle her face and capture her lips. Instead of starting slow, both of them moved enthusiastically the second their lips touched. He backed her against a wall in the hallway to stretch his whole body over hers to make the most of their time with their tongues tangled together.

She dug her fingers into his back as she held him to her desperately. There was no feeling in the world quite like getting carried away with him.

It was a risk, but he let his hands shift lower on her hips, and she moaned into his mouth in response. Tim absolutely loved being convincingly married to Lucy when it resulted in such bliss.

Fiona’s bedroom door opened, which was the only reason Lucy detached from Tim. Fiona teetered out looking upset and shooting her hands up into the air in silent request to be picked up.

Lucy scooped her into her arms and embraced her tightly. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” When Fiona only whimpered and hugged her back, Lucy turned her gaze to Rachel, immediately angering, and questioned, “What did you say to her?”

“I just told her that I want to make sure she’s happy, or we’ll place her in a different home. She said she didn’t want to move again, though.”

“Because she’s not moving again,” she snapped. “Don’t say that to our daughter ever again.”

Tim put a calming hand on Lucy’s back. As attracted as he was to her mom mode, he did not want her to be upset when Fiona needed their support.

Lucy’s voice softened as she murmured into her daughter’s ear, “Your daddy and I love you so, so much, Fi. I won’t let anyone take you away from us.” She rocked side to side until Fiona felt more settled. “We have pancakes downstairs. Pancakes for Love Day. Let’s have breakfast together as a family. How does that sound?” 

Fiona slowly nodded but could not say a word. When she was placed in her booster seat, Lucy tried walking away, so she took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Sweetie, I have to say goodbye to Rachel, since she’s leaving now. I’ll sit next to you in a second, okay?” She lifted Kojo off the ground and set him in Fiona’s lap. “Here, play with him for a minute.”

Once her daughter was wholly distracted, she walked towards the foyer and waited for Rachel to join her as she crossed her arms.

Tim recognized that expression, so he went to Lucy’s side as back up.

“Honestly, Rachel, you need to be careful what you say to our daughter,” Lucy started with both quietly and firmly. “She needs to understand we’re not another foster home. We’re her parents. We’re going to adopt her.”

“There are a lot of steps between now and then,” Rachel stated the obvious.

“And we’ll take them, because she’s ours.”

Tim chimed in, “Lucy and I want Fiona to feel like this is permanent. Years of being fostered means she’s stayed under a lot of roofs, but we’re her permanent family now. You can’t say anything different to her.”

“Understood. I’m sorry,” Rachel apologized. “I really am looking forward to working with you guys. I want what’s best for Fiona, and I hope it’s you guys.”

“It is,” Tim shot back, leaving no room for debate.

“You know I’m rooting for you two. I’ll make the next part as painless as possible. I’ll come by for another surprise visit, and we’ll have a chance to really talk about Fiona.”

“We’re looking forward to it,” Lucy said even if she was panicking.

“So I know today is a little bit different. What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?”

“Tim made a reservation for us to have a romantic dinner together. Someone we trust will be watching Fiona while we’re out, though,” Lucy answered, which made Tim tilt his head at her curiously, since they had previously discussed cancelling those reservations. Then, he smirked, because he was looking forward to their evening together alone.

Rachel smiled. “That sounds wonderful. My fiancée and I are going to dinner, too.” She checked her watch. “I’ve got a lot of work to get done if I want to make our reservations. We’ll be in touch soon.” She added loudly, “Bye, Fiona.”

Lucy hurried back to the kitchen table where she removed Kojo from Fiona’s lap then asked, “Are you okay, honey?”

“I don’t want to leave,” she pouted.

“You’re not going anywhere. Your home is with us. Always. Now, let’s have pancakes your daddy made.” 

Tim served their food and within a few bites, Fiona was smiling again, and she even laughed at him when he made a growling bear sound after getting dressed. When Nell arrived, he said to his daughter, “Okay, Fi, your mommy and I are going to work, and then we have to go somewhere special just for her. Princesses like your mommy sometimes go to special restaurants for fancy dinners, so that’s where I’m taking her tonight after work, but don’t worry, we’ll be home for story time.”

“For princesses? Wow!” Fiona was amazed.

Then, it was his turn to be amazed when he watched Lucy walk down the stairs in a mid length black dress. “Yeah, wow,” he said, stupefied by her beauty.

“Is this okay for dinner tonight, or is it too much?” Lucy wondered as she looked down at herself.

“You look…perfect,” he breathed.

She blushed.

“Hey, Fi, should I give your mommy a kiss for looking so pretty?” Tim asked coyly.

“Yay!” Fiona cheered.

Tim pulled Lucy by the waist flush against him and grinned as he lowly said, “Even though you look amazing, this is for Fiona.”

“Oh, is it?” Lucy asked, not at all believing him.

“Definitely,” he lied obviously and covered her mouth with his.

Lucy’s cheeks burned when he pulled away.

“Have so much fun tonight. I’ll wait here until Tamara comes to take over. Say goodbye to your parents, Fi,” Nell said.

Lucy had completely forgotten anyone else was around for a second, but once everything got back into focus, she realized she had interlaced her fingers with Tim’s and she was unwilling to let him go, so she dragged him over to Fiona to give her a farewell kiss. “Bye, honey, I’ll see you for story time. I love you.”

“Bye, love you,” Tim added.

“Bye! Happy Love Day!” Fiona responded with a wave.

“Happy Love Day!” Lucy replied, overjoyed, before walking out of the house with Tim.

In order to have a private conversation, he waited until he and Lucy were in the truck and driving to work to ask, “Why’d you change your mind about going to dinner tonight? Was it because of Rachel?”

“Of course! She asked what our plans were. We had to do something romantic like normal married couples.”

“No other reason?”

“What other reason could there be?”

He gripped the steering wheel tightly and deflated. “Never mind.”

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Lucy took an embarrassingly long time to understand why Tim was gloomy for the drive into work. She tried to speak to him a few times during shift, but his whole Metro team was busy with a raid, so her first opportunity to speak to him was at the end of shift when she went up to his office. “Hey,” she said timidly as she stepped inside then closed the door behind her. Her eyes immediately found the frame she had gifted him that morning. It was the only personal effect on his desk.

“I’m finishing something up, and then I can change for dinner,” he replied.

“Can we…can we talk?” She took a big step closer to his desk. “Actually, I need to talk, so can you listen?” He hummed to indicate he was paying attention even as he continued to be hunched over and completing some paperwork. “We worked Valentine’s Day together when I was your rookie and last year as your aide, but this is the first time we’re actually spending Valentine’s Day together in a real way, and that means a lot to me.” She saw pain flash across Tim’s face. “I know you didn’t make reservations tonight for Fiona…at least not totally for her.”

He set his pen down and finally made eye contact with her. “No, I didn’t. That’s the truth. I didn’t.”

“You wanna hear my truth? I’m scared to go out with you tonight just the two of us. I think we both are. I don’t know if I’m more terrified that it’ll be amazing or a total disaster. Either way, I shouldn’t have said that I only wanted to go to dinner with you to convince Rachel, because that’s not true. I want to go to dinner with you, because I want to go to dinner with you.”

“Not just for Fiona?”

She shook her head.

He stood from his desk and walked around it to come face to face with her. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know if you’re being completely honest with me.”

“There’s one thing I haven’t mentioned yet, I guess.” She stepped closer to him. “I didn’t put this dress on for Fiona.” Lucy ran her index fingers down his arms slowly enough to make his breathing hitch. “I wore it for you,” she told him silkily and watched his eyes darken. “Now aren’t you glad you kissed me because I look pretty?”

“I said amazing, too. You look amazing. That kiss was for Fiona, though. She cheers when the prince and princess kiss in the movies, so I did that for her,” he said lightheartedly.

“And earlier today when Rachel was interviewing Fiona?”

“That kiss was for Rachel’s benefit,” he lied terribly.

She wound her arms around his neck. “Good, because we can’t kiss just because.”

“No, you’re right. Not even because it’s Valentine’s Day.”

Lucy shook her head as her smile widened. “I prefer calling it ‘Love Day’.”

“Are there different rules for Love Day?”

“Hmm, well, Fiona was pretty affectionate with Kojo all morning in honor of Love Day. Stands to reason…” She stood up tall and kissed him softly. The way he smiled back at her made her dizzy.

“I like Love Day.”

“Me, too. Go change. I don’t want us to be late.”

“Give me five minutes.”

She loved that he wore a suit for her. “You look handsome,” she complimented him when he walked out of the men’s locker room.

He knew he was starting to blush. “Come on,” he said to draw attention away from the color of his cheeks.

Lucy did not ask where they were going to dinner. She would have been fine with a food truck, but when they arrived at a nice seafood restaurant, she was shocked. “How did you get reservations here?”

“Someone owed me a favor,” was his reply.

“This is a really nice place.”

“Don’t act so surprised. You couldn’t believe I picked out that necklace for you, either.” His eyes dropped to her collarbones where her necklace was hanging. She wore two pieces of jewelry he gifted her, and that made him happy.

“You surprise me all the time, but it’s a good thing.” Her heart fluttered when he pushed her chair in for her and was a perfect gentleman sitting across the table from her. Naturally, she felt the most important topic of conversation was their daughter and wanted the night to start with her, “Listen, Rachel mentioned today that she’ll be coming for another surprise visit in the future.”

“We don’t need to worry.”

She winced. “I hate to ask this. I know it would be such an inconvenience, but at least until the surprise visits are over, can you stay with us every night?”

Though she acted like it was such a big request, he felt the exact opposite. “Nowhere else I’d rather live than down the hall from our daughter.”

“I really appreciate you being so understanding.”

“Trust me, it’s better for me. I can’t imagine going back to my house after spending so much time with my girls. My house is so much quieter.”

Her heart raced at the way she was referred to her as one half of “my girls”. She loved being his. “You like the quiet.”

“Not anymore.”

“Since when?”

“Since you.”

“You mean Fiona.”

“No. You. I haven’t had a silent shift since you came along.”

“You used to say it was annoying how much I talked.”

“I haven’t said that lately.”

Her mouth curved when she realized, ”No, you’re right. You haven’t.”

“I can change.”

“Yes, you can. You’re not as set in your ways as I used to think.”

“Well, you’re a good influence.”

She felt warm all over at that compliment. “Okay, so you have to tell me what favor you cashed in to get us reservations at one of the best restaurants in the city on Valentine’s Day on such short notice.”

“It’s actually a funny story…,” he said and launched into telling her about a man he met on patrol that soon became a friend.

Lucy appreciated that even after knowing each other for so long, there was still plenty to discover about each other, and it made her feel like their relationship would never turn stale. He always knew what could make her smile, and she could manage to make him laugh any time. Though she feared their Valentine’s Day date could have been strange, it was completely comfortable like every meal they shared together. She actually hated when it came time to leave the restaurant, because she was having such a great time. When they climbed back into his truck, she covered his hand on the gear shift to speak to him before they began their journey home. “Thank you for tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better Valentine’s Day or Love Day.”

“Yeah, the food was great.”

“I’m not talking about the food. Funny how we add a kid to the mix and everything still feels the same. We’ll still be us no matter what.”

He loved that they were a family and an “us”. “Yeah, I guess we will be.”

She pecked his cheek and grinned. “Let’s go home to our girl.”

Tim was more than happy to go “home” to their “girl”. He had never known what it could feel like to have everything he wanted actually come to fruition, but suddenly, his life was a perfect dream. He had Lucy by his side, and they drove together to a wonderfully warm home where they went up the stairs to see their incredible daughter climb into bed with a huge smile for them.

“Did you like the special princess place?” Fiona asked.

Lucy flashed Tim a confused look, so he took over answering the question, “Your mommy was the prettiest princess in the whole special princess place, and we had the best time celebrating Love Day together.”

Tamara was delighted to see how Tim mused about Lucy. “I thought Fiona and I had the best time ever, but it sounds like you two had a lot of fun, too. I’m guessing the fun isn’t over for the night for you two, though.” She winked.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “It’s time for story time,” she said in lieu of dignifying her joke with a response. “What book did you pick?”

“‘Rapunzel’!” Fiona said excitedly.

Tamara stepped out of the bedroom to finish cleaning up the mess of craft supplies on the kitchen table.

“You really like that story, huh? Well, I’m happy to read it to you every night forever if you want.” She cozied into bed next to Fiona and waited for Tim to join them before she read the book to their daughter. Once story time was over, she asked, “Did you have a good Love Day, Fi?”

“I love Love Day! Love Day again tomorrow!” Fiona requested.

Tim turned to Lucy and said, “I wish.” He gave his daughter extra good night kisses then Lucy did the same, and they left her room together. He stood in the corridor and wanted to say something about their date, but when he heard Tamara’s movements on the floor below them, he decided it was not the right time. Instead, they went into the kitchen to ask Tamara, “How was Fiona tonight?”

“She was great,” Tamara replied. “At first, she mentioned that someone came by talking about taking her away, so I assumed that was her social worker, but I calmed her down.”

“Fiona got a new social worker who happens to be an old friend of mine and Tim’s ex, and she popped by for a surprise visit, which rattled her, but she seemed better after breakfast,” Lucy said.

Tamara quirked her eyebrow. “Wait, wait, wait, Tim’s ex is your new social worker? Woah! Tim, what was it like seeing her again? Are there still sparks?”

“No!” He replied, his tone making it clear how absurd that idea was. “Rachel and I ended things after she moved away, but we weren’t right for each other anyway.” He made eye contact with Lucy. “You know I’m not still into her, right?”

“I’m pretty sure I know who you’re into now,” Lucy responded slyly.

“Duh,” Tamara said. “About time you figured it out.”

Lucy locked eyes with Tim and spoke to him, “We’re putting Fiona first. Today was Love Day. That’s all.”

Tim nodded somberly.

“Oh-kay, I’m leaving before you two make me want to scream. Bye.” Tamara gave them a final wave and exited the house.

“We should get ready for bed,” Lucy suggested before smoothing her hands down the sides of the dress she was still wearing.

He let her go upstairs while he thought about how he had a perfect day that started and ended with his family. His family. His family was not just a daughter but also the mother of his daughter. Lucy was part of his family, too. Tim barreled into her bedroom where she had just walked out of her en suite bathroom with a freshly clean face and pajamas. Even without the nice dress and styled hair, she still looked just as beautiful. He would have said that if he was in the mood to talk, but he went to her with a mission in mind. Tim gathered her in his arms and crashed his lips into hers.

Lucy let herself kiss him for only a few moments before she resumed control of her body and wrenched away from him. “What are you doing?”

Although his logic dictated it was completely reasonable to act on his feelings for her so openly, he was having trouble finding the words. When he opened his mouth to attempt to communicate his motivation, he heard a loud shriek coming from down the hall.

Tim and Lucy’s hearts stopped at the exact same time as they bolted over to Fiona’s room where she was screaming.

Fiona kept shouting, “No! No! No!”, as she cried and thrashed in her bed.

Lucy woke her up with a gentle shake and pushed Fiona’s hair out of her face. “It’s just a bad dream, honey. Wake up.”

When Fiona opened her eyes, she started wailing.

Kojo must have heard her, too, because he raced into her room as well.

Tim had never seen her get so agitated before, so he shuffled into her narrow bed to pull her close. He noticed that she had wet herself because of her nightmare, but she was too worked up to get cleaned and changed, so he held her as she let out the rest of her tears and relaxed slightly. “Can you tell us about your bad dream?”

Fiona turned her head to find Lucy and outstretched her hands instead of talking.

Lucy lifted her out of bed and took her into her bathroom to freshen her up and help her put on a new pair of pajamas in the hopes that she would finally speak about her bad dream. “Do you think you would feel better if you slept in bed with us?” She asked, and Fiona nodded, still not talking.

Tim had changed the sheets on Fiona’s bed while Lucy took care of their daughter, but he was glad that they would not be leaving her in bed alone again given how the sound of her cries still echoed in his ears. He wanted to be there for Fiona for the rest of the night, and that seemed to be what she wanted, too, when they all filed into Lucy’s bedroom, including Kojo.

Lucy set Fiona down in the center of the bed then sat up next to her as she combed her fingers through her daughter’s hair. “I have bad dreams sometimes, too. It helps when I talk about them. What happened?”

Fiona shifted onto Lucy’s lap and hugged her stomach as she brokenly said, “I don’t wanna go! I want you to be my mommy!”

Lucy was on the brink of tears. “I am your mommy. You’re not going anywhere. I know what Rachel said sounded scary, but she didn’t mean it. Is that what you had the bad dream about?”

Fiona nodded. “I want you to be my mommy!”

“I am. I am,” she whispered as she hugged her tightly.

Since Fiona had no more tears left to cry, she could only gaze at Lucy and manage to say, “You’re my mommy.”

“Forever,” Lucy whispered. She slid down into a laying position to get comfortable then Fiona shifted until she got situated on top of her.

Tim shuffled into bed and went to Lucy’s side where he could keep both of them close and quietly support them with his arm banded over them.

Kojo jumped onto the mattress to curl up into a ball at the foot of the bed.

Fiona felt loved and safe enough to fall back asleep, and the last word she sighed as she drifted off was a faint “mommy.”

Lucy wanted to jump for joy. “She called me ‘mommy’,” she whispered proudly to Tim.

“She did,” he confirmed with a smile.

“We can celebrate tomorrow…and talk, too. Everyone needs their sleep. Good night.” She rested her head on him to ensure he felt part of the family cuddle, since they all needed each other for the night. Everything else could wait until the morning.

Chapter Text

When Lucy woke up, she did not want to move a muscle between Fiona sprawled out on top of her and Tim laying next to her and holding her close. Even Kojo was there rolled up on the foot of the bed. She had her whole family together, and she considered calling in sick to stay in bed in that exact position for the whole day.

“Hey,” Tim rasped when he opened his eyes. She gave him one of her beautiful soft smiles he absolutely adored, so he gently pushed her hair out of her face to get the best view of it. Only slightly, she tilted her head into his touch, which made him impossibly happier. He glanced down at Fiona and asked at a whisper, “Do you think we should pretend we’re sick and stay home?”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” she replied. “When we wake her up, we’ll see if she needs us to be with her for the day.”

“She was so spooked last night.”

“We were here for her. That’s all we can do,” she assured him.

“I’ll call Rachel today and tell her she can’t talk to our daughter like that ever again.”

“Only after I give her a piece of my mind.”

He snickered. “I would expect nothing less.”

Fiona started to stir, and then she felt soft, warm arms around her and kisses being dropped to the crown of her head. She opened her eyes as she giggled, “It tickles.”

“It tickles? Are you ticklish?” Lucy asked jokingly and set Fiona down on the mattress between her and Tim before tickling her stomach to earn her light, adorable laughter as her whole body shook.

Kojo woke up to the sound and scampered over to lick Fiona’s face and join in on the fun.

Tim wished he could record the moment and keep it captured forever.

“How are you feeling today, sweet girl?” Lucy asked.

“Okay,” Fiona replied. She wanted to try the word on the tip of her tongue, so she added with a grin, “Mommy.”

“Is that your mommy?” Tim asked as he pointed to Lucy.

Fiona giggled and nodded before wrapping her arms around Lucy’s midsection. “Mommy,” she said proudly.

“I’m your mommy,” Lucy confirmed; perhaps the first time Fiona said it, it was fueled by fear and a need for comfort, but in the light of day, Fiona said it happily. “And I love you so much. You know who else loves you a lot?”

“Kojo,” Fiona guessed.

“Well, yeah, but also your daddy.” Lucy looked up at Tim, who was beaming. Every fiber of her being adored him; it struck her in that moment that the sheer enormity of her feelings for him could only be rivaled by her love for Fiona. “Do you want your daddy to help you get dressed for the day, or do you want him to make you breakfast?”

“Princess breakfast!” Fiona requested excitedly.

“Uhh, sure, Fi, I’ll make you princess breakfast,” Tim responded even if he had no idea what that would include. He tried rolling away to get out of bed, but Lucy took his hand.

“Can princess breakfast wait a minute? I need a few more minutes of cuddles,” Lucy requested with a pout.

He was more than happy to oblige, so he curled onto his side to get close to Fiona and reached across to hold Lucy by her waist. Even if he would be late for work, it would be worth it to savor extra time with his girls.

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Lucy barely held back from laughing as she watched Tim try to cut strawberries in some fancy way to make scrambled eggs and fruit look like “princess breakfast”.

“Don’t make fun of me,” he said when he felt her judging him where she sidled up to the kitchen counter next to him.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Your face says it all.” He tried to look annoyed, but her smile was too contagious that he had to mirror it.

“Bow, please,” Fiona asked as she waved a yellow ribbon in Tim’s face.

He abandoned the task of preparing breakfast to take the ribbon out of his daughter’s hand. “Yellow? I like it.”

“It’s mommy’s favorite color,” Fiona explained then spun around so Tim could have better access to her hair.

“Yeah, it’s definitely your mommy’s favorite color, and you’re your mommy’s favorite person.” He had his tongue between his teeth while he struggled to tie her hair into a ponytail then added the bow, but he was successful. His gaze flicked over to Lucy to silently receive her approval, but she was too busy cutting strawberries into flowers. “How did you do that?”

“ClipTok. I can show you sometime,” Lucy answered, then she noticed Fiona’s bow. “Wow, Fi, your daddy did a great job! Your bow looks so pretty!”

“Two bows,” Fiona said as she wrapped her hand around the bow-shaped pendant that was gifted to her on Love Day.

“You’re right. You’ve got two bows both from your daddy, and he made you princess breakfast!” Lucy showed off the very well plated food to her daughter and saw how she lit up. Every extra second of effort was worth it to see her happy.

“Princess breakfast for mommy, too,” Fiona insisted.

“Of course. Your mommy always deserves princess breakfast.” He added at a mumble to Lucy, “I can’t do that thing you did with the strawberries, though.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it just the same. Thank you. Fi, say ‘thank you’ to your daddy for making us our perfect princess breakfast.”

“Thank you,” Fiona chirped.

Tim set all of the breakfast plates on the table for what was quickly becoming one of his favorite parts of his day; having the opportunity to start his day with his family was so much more special than when he would spend his mornings on long walks with Kojo and quiet breakfasts by himself.

“Mommy! What’s that?” Fiona asked as she waved a fork with a strawberry around.

“That’s a strawberry,” Lucy answered while trying not to grin too widely at the sound of her daughter calling her “mommy”.

Fiona tried saying it a few times and struggled, but she finally pronounced “strawberry” correctly, which earned her a round of applause from her parents. After breakfast, she followed Lucy into her bedroom just so she could ask a million questions and add “mommy” to the end of them.

Ever so patiently, Lucy answered her daughter’s incessant questions while randomly catching her eye on something gold in the mirror’s reflection- the necklace Tim gave her. Her Valentine’s Day present that he thoughtfully selected just for her. When she finished getting dressed, at a slow pace due to Fiona’s endless stream of questions, there was a knock at her bedroom door. “Come in,” she called. Tim entered as Lucy was fixing hair, and the memory struck her- the night before after their perfectly amazing Valentine’s Day date, he barreled into her bedroom and kissed her without preamble. Before they could discuss how he took her by surprise, Fiona had her nightmare, and their whole evening changed yet again as comforting their daughter became their priority. She had gotten so wrapped up in family snuggles in the morning and having breakfast all together that she had completely forgotten about that. However, once she remembered, Lucy knew she would have to discuss it with Tim…eventually. First, their focus was on Fiona, so she quietly asked him, “Do you think she’ll be okay without us today?”

“She seems fine.”

“Mommy! Look!” Fiona yelled as she started jumping on Lucy’s bed.

“Be careful,” Lucy warned and rushed over to her.

“Let her have a little fun,” Tim tried to reason with Lucy.

She resigned to keeping her arms out to catch Fiona in case she did not land one of her jumps. “We’re gonna be so late,” Lucy muttered, since they should have left, and yet they were in her room watching their daughter have fun hopping on the mattress.

“Worth it,” Tim replied; he would welcome disciplinary action for constant tardiness if every morning was too incredible to cut short for something as frivolous as work.

Lucy caught Fiona midair and set her down on the bed in a seated position.

“Mommy! I was a bunny!” Fiona complained.

“I know, honey, and you’re a great bunny, but your daddy and I want to talk to you about last night when you had your bad dream. Are you still upset about what Rachel said?” Lucy wondered.

“You’re my mommy. I said so. No more moving,” Fiona spoke defiantly.

“That’s right. Would you be okay if we went to work for a little?”

She sighed. “Okay, but can we draw animals when you come home?”

“Absolutely! I want to show you how to draw a bird that’s green!”

“Green bird! Yay!”

Lucy turned her attention to Tim, who had been silent, and saw that he also concluded that Fiona was doing much better and could stay home with Nell without incident. “Guess that means we’re headed to work. Nell should be here any minute, so let’s go downstairs to see her.”

Nell walked in just as Fiona was trotting down the stairs. “Hi, Fi!”

“Hi, Nell,” Fiona waved to her.

“Did you have a fun rest of Love Day with your Aunt Tamara?”

“Aunt Tamara is the best!”

Tim crossed his arms. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”

“How was your Love Day?” Nell wondered.

Lucy looked to Tim before answering for them, “It was…incredible.”

Nell was pleased to see the smiles they exchanged. “You two are just too cute,” she swooned. “Don’t worry about this cutie. Fiona and I will have a great day, and we’ll see you later.”

Tim gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead goodbye.

“Bye, sweetie,” Lucy said. “We love you.”

Fiona only frowned a little when she responded, “Bye, mommy! Bye, Tim!”

Lucy took his hand for the walk out of the house then paused in the driveway to look up at him and promise, “She’ll start calling you ‘daddy’ soon. It can take a while for a foster kid to adjust to a new family, but she adores you.”

“It’s fine,” he replied. “Let’s focus on the fact that she warmed up to you enough to call you ‘mommy’. That’s a big step.”

“Right? It feels huge.” Overwhelmed with glee, she launched herself into Tim’s arms and hugged him tightly. “I can’t believe it.”

“I can. It’s no surprise she wants you to be her mom. You’re amazing.” He held her as long as she wanted to stay in his arms, which was for several long moments, adding to his fantastic morning.

“She does want you to be her dad, too. I know it,” she said while gripping his biceps and staying in his space to prolong the hug even if she had taken a half step back from him to catch his gaze.

“Fi lets me make all of the animal noises, and-and she likes when I tie her bows.”

“You’re very good at tying her bows. That ponytail today was perfect.”

He grinned unabashedly. “She seemed pretty happy about it.”

“And she loved your princess breakfast. Just like I thought, you’re the best dad.”

“I make plenty of mistakes…especially when it comes to you.”

Lucy worried at her lip. “We don’t have to talk about last night right now. This morning has been…so perfect, and selfishly, I want it to keep it that way.”

“Yeah, okay, of course. Let’s go to work.”

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Lucy walked over to the food trucks during her lunch break to find someone unexpected sitting at a table. “Tamara. This is a surprise.”

“Hey, I had some free time, and I know you normally grab lunch around now, so I figured I could hang out with you for a bit,” Tamara explained herself.

“Wow, you must really miss me.”

“I’m not ashamed to say that it’s not the same without you.”

“Yeah, my house is definitely different without you as my roommate. Fiona keeps me up like you used to, and she comes into my room without knocking like you, but she doesn’t steal my clothes.”

“What about your other roommate…you know…your husband?”

“He’s alright,” she replied casually but her lips gave her away as they curved upwards.

“If I ever light up about a boy the way you are right now, tell me. I don’t want to be a stubborn idiot like you.”

Lucy flashed her a rueful smile, then she checked their surroundings to ensure no one could hear them. At a whisper, she told her, “I’ve never been on a better date. I mean, it was perfect.”

“You did come home super happy, but then again, I could always tell when you hung out with Tim after work because of the whole lighting up like a Christmas tree thing that you’re doing right now.”

“I’m not that obvious,” she disagreed.

“Don’t worry, Tim is just as bad. When you got home last night, I…I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so happy.”

“Well, the food was amazing. He got us reservations at this awesome restaurant, and I thought if we ever did go out on a date…not that I thought about it a lot,” she was quick to add, “but I thought it could be…awkward, but it was so easy.”

Sarcastically, Tamara shot back, “You mean spending time with the guy you see more than anyone else was easy? Who knew?”

“It could’ve gone badly.”

“And what if it did? Would that really matter when you both know you like each other? You can always have a do over date to make it right with the right person.”

“Honestly, I’ve been so scared, and I keep saying that for Fiona’s sake we shouldn’t do anything, but…he kissed me last night.”

“Oh, and what was his excuse this time? Fiona wanted you to reenact a princess movie? Or was it work again?” Tamara offered with a scoff.

“No, he showed up in my room and just…went for it. It was pretty hot, actually.”

Tamara quirked her eyebrow. “Wow, nice going, Bradford. Wait, are you a Bradford now, too? I’m not really sure what the rules of your paper marriage are.”

“I’m not changing my last name. I think ‘Chen-Bradford’ would be pretty cute, but I wouldn’t change my name for a paper marriage.”

“Might not be for long if he keeps kissing you like he did last night.”

“After going on the best date, and the way he kissed me, and then when Fi had her nightmare, he was the perfect dad…I woke up this morning looking at him, and I thought…would it be a bad idea if we went for it?”

“FINALLY!” Tamara cheered far too loudly, which made Lucy shush her. “Sorry,” she whispered and noticed how fellow officers seated at other tables around the food trucks had turned their gaze towards them.

Lucy felt her cheeks burn.

“Keep going,” Tamara urged, wanting to hear how Lucy came to such a conclusion after being vehemently against pursuing a relationship with him.

“If I ever have another kid, I realized there’s just no way I find a better father for them. I’m thinking about my potential future kids.”

“Right. It has nothing to do with the fact that you’re so gone for him.”

She bit the inside of her mouth to try to keep her face from giving her away. “It’s very rare to find a guy I could be happy with that could also be an incredible dad to my kids. When I see him with Fiona, I…I always knew he would be a good dad, but he’s…oh my God, I watched him tie her bow this morning, and he was making this adorable face while he was doing it, and he made her so happy.”

“You mean seeing him with your daughter only makes him even more attractive? Who knew Officer Zaddy had skills like that?”

“Don’t mock me.”

Tamara’s expression turned serious. “You’re right. So, what are you gonna do?”

“I think I’m going to ask him out on a date. Just be straightforward. I’ll tell him that we’re already a family, and as much as I tried to fight how I feel for Fiona’s sake, I think Fiona would be happy if her parents were actually together.”

“Not that she would notice a difference. She told me about your princess kiss on the morning of Love Day.”

Lucy pursed her lips before continuing, “I want it at all with him. I want to wake up next to him when he’s so warm and cuddly, and I want to watch him make our daughter princess breakfast, and yeah, I want him to kiss me for no reason. I think…it could work. Our date yesterday proved I don’t really have anything to worry about.”

Tamara clapped her hands together. “This is the best news! I mean, sure, this should be the beginning of your relationship, and you’re already married, have a house, and have a kid, but hey, you got there eventually.”

She saw the movement out of the corner of her eye, and her heart stuttered. She knew it was Tim without really seeing him, and when he came into focus, he walked right over to her with a sweet smile.

“Hey,” he greeted her and put a hand on her shoulder. “I was trying to make it to lunch on time, but Metro can be so unexpected.”

“That’s okay. I haven’t eaten gotten food yet. I saw Tamara, and we got to talking.”

“Stay in your seat. I’ll get you a burger.” He finally caught a glimpse of Tamara, who seemed to be vibrating with joy. “I’ll order you something, too. What do you want?”

“I’ll take a veggie burger.”

“Pickles like Lucy?”

“No,” Tamara said with a scrunched up nose.

“I don’t really like pickles, either,” Tim responded. “She eats mine for me.” He jabbed his thumb in Lucy’s direction.

“You might be a pickier eater than our daughter,” Lucy replied.

“She’s not actually a picky eater. She didn’t like eggs until it was part of her ‘princess breakfast’,” Tim pointed out.

“Are you saying you’ll eat pickles if I tell you that’s what silly goose princes eat?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I can’t believe that nickname is sticking around.”

“It’s cute.” 

Tim smirked as he rolled his eyes. “I’ll get our lunch.”

Lucy hummed as he walked away. Her eyes might have scanned his backside as he moved but only for a moment. Then, she snapped her head back to Tamara and asked quietly, “Okay, so he took me to a really fancy seafood restaurant last night. Where should I take him to dinner?”

“Do you think that man really cares?” Tamara asked. She glanced at him to find that he was staring back at them. “He likes you so much you could feed him a candy bar and sit in the grass in your backyard, and he would have the best time ever.”

“I want it to be perfect. I’ll think about it.” Lucy met his gaze across the way as he waited in line to order their food, and she knew her face showed how she was swooning, but she did not even try to school her features.

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Tim was glad to have lunch with Lucy even if Tamara joined them, because he missed Lucy for the first half of his shift as if he had not gotten enough of her that morning. As time was ticking down to the end of shift, he was looking forward to going home to his family. The only thing getting in his way was Grey, who caught him in the corridor and asked, “Hey, how was your Valentine’s Day?”

“Lucy and I had a nice night. Thanks for recommending that jewelry store. I got her and Fiona necklaces.”

“Good work. Sometimes, you need to get presents for the women in your life so they know how much you appreciate them. Plus, Luna never says no to a new bracelet,” Grey said with a laugh.

“My girls clearly like jewelry, too.”

Grey loved seeing a glimpse into Tim’s happy life after not hearing enough about the development of his relationship with Lucy. “How’s life as a parent treating you?”

Tim grinned. “Fiona is amazing. Everyday with her is really…special. She was jumping on the bed like a bunny this morning.”

“Everything changes with a daughter, doesn’t it? Suddenly, she’s the most important person in the entire world. I was terrified of being a dad, and I know I’ve screwed up with Dominique a million times, but it takes focus and practice, and you’ll find your way.”

“Any advice so I don’t screw up?”

“Kids need love, structure, and attention. Put her first, and give her as much time as possible, and she’ll forgive when you do inevitably mess something up.”

“Will Lucy forgive me when I mess up?”

“To love is to forgive. If she loves you, you’ll be fine.”

Although Tim appreciated Grey’s wisdom, it made him reflect on himself, how his life had been altered, and what that meant for him and Lucy. Grey said she could forgive him if she loved him, but Lucy’s feelings for him were not so strong; she LIKED him, but there was no way she could LOVE him.

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Lucy snuggled into Fiona’s bed with Tim, and they read a book about a koala that went on an adventure before tucking their daughter under the covers and giving her good night kisses. Life with a three-year-old was quite eventful, so she was pretty exhausted when she left Fiona’s room, but she had to talk to Tim, so she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and lead him into her bedroom where they could speak privately. “We need to talk.”

“I know,” he replied with the beginning of a wince. “I messed up last night, and I know I’ll keep messing up, because that’s who I am.”

“That’s not true,” she disagreed.

He shook his head and took her hands in his. “Let me get this out,” he murmured before swallowing hard. “I shouldn’t have kissed you. I shouldn’t have…I wasn’t thinking about…” He was struggling to find the words. “I love our daughter. She doesn’t love me yet probably, but that’s okay, because I love her, and she makes me really happy. She’s an incredible kid, and she’s so resilient after everything she’s gone through, so she might be able to forgive me when I screw up with her, but you…I know I would screw up with you.” His voice started to shake. “I know I’m not good enough for you. I’m nowhere close to being worthy of you.”

“That’s not true,” she interrupted him to say.

“It is,” he insisted and released her hands, allowing them to drop away. “I don’t want to make a mistake and hurt you. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.”

“No relationship is perfect, Tim.”

“You deserve someone so much better.”

“There isn’t better.” She took a large step towards him where she was close enough that she had to drop her head back a bit to maintain his gaze. “You’re amazing. That’s why I want you.”

He had figured out she had feelings for him, but she had never verbalized it so clearly. Between the adoration in her eyes and the fondness in her tone, it was almost too clear that it made his head spin.

Lucy placed her hand on his heart. “I want to give us a try.”

“It’s not worth the risk. We’ve gotta focus on Fiona, and I can only manage to mess up with one of my girls. I can’t also disappoint you.”

“You could never disappoint me.”

“I will. At some point, I will.”

“You’re too hard on yourself.”

“I’m being realistic. It would be bad enough to hurt the second most important person in my life, but you’re also the mother of the most important person in my life. What about when I do a wrong thing and hurt you? What if I break us so badly that it effects our kid? She’s been through enough. We need to give her a stable home.”

“You know, I’ve been scared, too, but I don’t want to be anymore.”

He shook his head and so painfully, he croaked out, “I can’t, Lucy, I’m sorry, but it’s better this way.”

She took a chance and cupped his cheek; thankfully, he did not pull away. “We’re already a family. This might be easier than we think. Love Day proved that.”

“Nothing in my life is easy.” He smiled bitterly. “I care about you and Fiona too much that I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt either of you.”

“Would you have wanted to try if we…if we didn’t have Fiona?”

“I don’t know what I would’ve done, but we do have Fiona, and I have to do what’s right for Fiona…and for you.”

“This doesn’t feel like the right thing.”

“It does to me,” he told her honestly.

Her eyes burned with tears and barely resisted from crying when the bedroom door opened and in teetered Fiona. “Hey, honey, are you okay?”

“Mommy, can I sleep here?” Fiona asked.

“Of course.” She dropped to her knees. “Did you have a bad dream?”

“No.”

“Is something wrong?”

Fiona could not properly explain her wants other than, “Hugs!”

“I’ll change into my jammies, and your daddy and I can give you all the hugs you want.”

Tim whispered, “I think she wants cuddles.”

“Like mother, like daughter, I guess,” Lucy said with a smile. “Do you mind cuddling with us tonight?”

“Try and stop me.”

When Lucy climbed into bed and Fiona immediately cozied up on top of her, she turned her neck to Tim, who shuffled into bed until he was right next to her, but it was not close enough, so she moved until her head was resting on his chest, one arm was holding Fiona, and her legs were tangled with Tim’s. In a matter of minutes, Fiona’s breathing deepened, and Lucy knew she was asleep. She made eye contact with Tim and whispered, “This feels really right to me.”

“Lucy…”

“I won’t force you to do something you’re not comfortable with. I want you to know that as terrified as I am, I’m open to taking that risk for you.”

“Not for Fiona?”

“This, us being together, could be good for her, but we’ll find a way to be great parents to her no matter what. I’ve been thinking we’ll be like Nyla and Donovan and have some strained relationship where our daughter suffers, but you and me are different. We went on a great date and came home to take care of our daughter. We were a good team all day, because we always make a great team.”

“I know that.”

“Promise me you’ll think about it. You don’t have to give me an answer tomorrow or even next week. I just want you to think about it and make a decision whenever you’re ready.”

“I would never ask you to wait that long.”

She kissed him as high on her jaw as she could reach and assured him, “I would wait forever for you.”

Chapter Text

Before Tim was fully awake, he could smell Lucy and feel her everywhere. He muttered her name as he opened his eyes, and there she was cozied up with him the same way she had been when they fell asleep. Fiona was snuggled on top of her making his girls an easy enough pile he could wrap his arms around and hold as long as he wanted to.

“Tim,” Lucy sighed when she registered what was happening.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Good morning,” she smiled. “Guess what? We have the next two days off.”

“We should do something special as a family.”

“Do you want to go to the park for a few hours today?”

“Sounds good.”

“But can we stay in bed for a little longer? I love family cuddles.”

“Are you sure it’s not just because you’re not a morning person?”

“I am a morning person!” The look in his eyes forced her to amend her statement. “Okay, I’m a morning person after coffee. That still counts.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Are you trying to say you’re a morning person?”

“I actually am.”

“Since when are you more chipper in the morning?”

“Since when am I chipper at all?”

Lucy blew out a quiet laugh. “You’re right. I guess maybe you are a morning person.”

“Kojo isn’t a morning person. I gotta take him for a walk.”

“Can’t you let him out? I don’t want you to go,” she pouted as she rubbed her cheek against the soft material of his t shirt.

“I guess I could stay a little longer.” He had no desire to move a muscle anyways. Tim took a risk allowing his fingers to dance on her shoulder in an unnecessary way that was purely selfish. “Should we…,” he lowered his voice even more, “should we talk about last night?”

“You’re willing to stay in bed AND talk about your feelings? Who are you and what have you done with Tim Bradford?”

He pursed his lips.

She turned serious. “Okay,” she murmured. “I meant what I said last night. Think about it.”

“We agreed everything was going to be for Fiona.”

“I know, but I changed my mind. I’m allowed to do that after we have an absolutely perfect date. Actually, the whole day was perfect because of you. I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

“How come you aren’t more scared?”

The simple answer was how they were curled up together in bed with their daughter. “Nothing could make me happier than right here and right now with you two. Being scared can’t take away my happiness.” She watched him swallow hard. “I’m not telling you all of this to rush you.”

“I’ll…I’ll think about it.”

She shimmied as carefully as she could to avoid waking Fiona while also moving up Tim’s body. “You know what helps me think?” She rasped against his lips.

He could read her mind and agreed with a grin, “It’s worth a try.”

Fiona woke up and laughed at the sight of her parents kissing. “Princess kiss! Princess kiss!” She said happily.

Lucy let her daughter wiggle around, even when she kneed her in the stomach, until she was standing on the mattress and dancing. “Okay, I think we’re done cuddling for the morning,” she stated the obvious.

Tim shook his head and drew her flush against him. “Let her tire herself out for a few minutes.”

Fiona was moving to a rhythm in her head, and Lucy was so warm and comfortable that she conceded, “A few minutes.”

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By the time Tim finished his best attempt at breakfast, though his cut strawberries were not nearly as perfect as Lucy’s, he heard familiar footsteps moving in his direction. “Hey, munchkin, it’s breakfast time!”

“No, it’s bow time,” Fiona corrected him. She handed Tim a light green ribbon and requested, “Bow, please.”

Lucy noticed how his fingers moved even quicker and with more precision than the day before. “Wow, your daddy is really good at tying your bow.”

“Thank you,” Fiona beamed. “I’m wearing green, and my bow is green.”

“I can see that. Is that what you’re wearing to the park today?” Tim asked.

“We’re going to the park?” Fiona wondered excitedly.

“I was waiting to tell her until after breakfast, so we could give her the news free from distraction,” Lucy explained.

“Sorry,” he apologized with a wince.

“Do you like the park, honey?” Lucy wondered.

“I like swings, but I haven’t been on a swing in forever.”

“Well, today, we’re going to change that,” she assured her daughter.

“No breakfast! Park! Let’s go to the park!” Fiona requested.

Lucy flashed Tim her most pronounced “I told you so” expression, to which he gave her an apologetic half smile until he came up with a better idea. “Hey, Fi, I’ll give your mommy a princess kiss if you start eating your breakfast.”

She took the fork in her hand and pondered her options as if it was the biggest decision she could ever make before stabbing a strawberry with her fork and taking a giant bite.

He cupped Lucy’s cheek and smirked at her growing smile. “We have to deliver our end of the bargain.”

“You’re the one that made the deal with Fiona.”

“I sorta need your help with this one.”

“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood.”

“Oh, is that right?” He teased. She hummed, which made his grin stretch so much his cheeks hurt, and when he finally kissed her, it was uncoordinated and ruined by their smiles, but he loved it nonetheless. Even if he was still afraid and unsure he should take the risk to be with her, every second with her felt so unbelievably perfect.

As he continued to hold her face and give her an adorably soft look, she said, “I should start eating my princess breakfast.”

“I’m not done giving you your princess kiss.”

“Tim,” she tried her best to protest, but she was not very convincing. “I guess if it’s for Fiona.”

“No, this is for me.”

“For you?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No,” she said plainly. “It’s really not.” To reward him for his honesty, she claimed his mouth until she ran out of oxygen. Heady and tingly all over, she pulled away to eat her breakfast with an unshakeable grin.

“Park time! Park time!” Fiona begged as she showed that she had devoured everything on her plate.

“I need a few more minutes. I haven’t finished my breakfast,” Lucy tried to reason with her.

“Park! PLEASE! I want to go to the park! I want to swing!”

“It’s my fault we didn’t eat when we should have been,” he replied apologetically.

Lucy flashed him a smile. “I’m not sorry.”

After they ate their meals and put on their shoes, it was time to drive to the park.

Fiona was unfamiliar with the park they went to. It was bigger and more colorful than the one her former foster parents had taken her to a couple of times. “Kojo! Look! It’s a park!” She told her dog.

Tim stayed near the benches as Fiona and Kojo scampered around looking at all of the different areas to play. He snickered as his daughter pointed apparatuses out and spoke to their dog as if she was explaining everything to him. “She’s funny.”

“She’s the best kid ever,” Lucy swooned. “We got lucky.”

“We didn’t get lucky. You knew from the beginning. You saw how special she was when all we knew was that she likes coloring.”

“You trusted me. You went along with my wild idea.”

“It’s been fun.”

“Mommy!” Fiona called. “Mommy! Look!”

Lucy went over to her. “Do you want to sit on the swing?” Fiona nodded wildly, so she lifted her into the bucket seat on the swing. “I’m going to give you a little push. Are you ready?”

“YEAH!” Fiona was already enthusiastic even before her swing began to move.

Tim could have watched the scene in front of him forever; Lucy happily pushing their daughter to propel Fiona up high enough in the swing that she laughed and cheered.

“Mommy! Look how high I’m going!”

“I see! You’re so high!” Lucy replied.

“Higher, Mommy!”

“Okay just a little higher.”

Tim laughed when Kojo began to chase the swing, going back and forth next to Fiona as though he could catch up with her. Selfishly, he considered himself to have the best family; Lucy and Fiona both had infectious smiles and melodious laughs that made everything else he had ever experienced in his life feel microscopic compared to the sheer amount of joy they inspired in him.

Even as her arms tired from constantly pushing Fiona in that swing, Lucy welcomed the ache, because her daughter was happy, and that was all that mattered. Only when Kojo fell asleep at her feet and the sun moved in the sky did Fiona seem to be done swinging.

“Okay,” Fiona stated definitively. “We can go home now.”

“That’s it? You don’t want to go on the big slide or have your daddy help you with the monkey bars?”

“No, we should color now,” Fiona replied.

“Alright, sweetie. We’ll go home and color.” Lucy looked over at Tim, and they silently communicated that though they did not fully understand the whims of their daughter, they wanted to be supportive. 

Tim came up with an idea after they returned home and started eating lunch. He asked his daughter, “You know, Fi, I’ve gotta go to the grocery store to get some food. Can you come with me?”

“You don’t have to take her with you,” Lucy responded.

“Why not? She’s my kid, too.”

“I know, but she can be a handful solo.”

“You deserve a little time to yourself. Relax while we go shopping. We won’t be gone that long.” He looked over at Fiona and said, “Let’s get our shoes on. I promise we can color when we get home.”

“Can Kojo come with?” Fiona questioned.

“No, he’s tired,” Tim answered. 

“Kojo likes the store, too.”

He felt it would be irrelevant to point out that Kojo had never been inside of a grocery store, so he merely said, “Mommy wants to hang out with Kojo. Can you share Kojo with your mommy?”

She frowned as she considered his words.

Lucy thought she looked like Tim when he was deep in thought, and she had to swallow back from giggling.

“Oh-kay,” Fiona sighed. “Can I drive?”

“Not for a couple of years, but we can get a treat at the grocery store.”

“I want chocolate.”

“Your mommy loves chocolate, too.” He flicked his gaze over to Lucy thinking how it was preposterous that their daughter was not biologically theirs yet so similar to Lucy.

“Can we get chocolate for Mommy?”

“Of course.”

“Can I wear my bow?”

“You sure can.”

“We can go,” Fiona agreed, more enthused about their plans.

“She drives a hard bargain,” he mumbled under his breath.

Lucy quirked an eyebrow at him. “Says the guy that bartered with princess kisses to get Fiona to eat earlier.”

“Princess kiss! Princess kiss!” Fiona said gladly.

Lucy shrugged nonchalantly as if they had no choice but to acquiesce to her ask.

Tim gave Lucy a lingering kiss and saw her smile when he pulled away. There was a mischievous glint in her eye, and he swore that she purposefully chose her words to ensure Fiona would give them an excuse. Though clinking glasses like on their wedding day was not an easily replicable way to get to kiss Lucy, he discovered that Fiona saying “princess kiss” worked just as effectively. He had to mentally file that away for future use. “Enjoy your alone time,” he murmured to Lucy as his eyes flitted around her face.

Just as the front door closed and her family had left her and Kojo alone in the house, Lucy began to miss them. When she heard someone knocking, she was relieved thinking that they had returned, but instead of Fiona and Tim, it was Tamara on her stoop. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“My new roommate is so much more boring than you are,” Tamara reported before shouldering her way into the foyer. “School drama is nowhere near as exciting as all the people you meet on calls, and your life with Tim is fascinating. So tell me, how are things going with you two? Have you asked him out yet?”

“I tried.”

“Don’t tell me you chickened out.”

“No, I told him I want to be with him. We didn’t get to the date part, but that’s because he asked for more time.”

“More time? What does that mean?”

“He’s scared. I get it. It would be a big risk.”

“Does it bother you that he’s scared?”

“This is Tim we’re talking about. I would be surprised if he wasn’t, and besides, he’s been…well, today especially, he’s…” Her grin took over her entire face. “He’s been so good. He’s not even home right now. He took Fiona with him to the grocery store to give me some time alone.”

Pointing at her expression, Tamara commented, “That smile isn’t because of alone time.”

“If this is how it’ll be while I wait, then I don’t mind at all.” She thought about how he held her in bed in the morning, and kissed her just to kiss her, and allowed her a few moments of peace.

“Still, doesn’t waiting suck?”

Lucy touched the gold pendant hanging between her collarbones that Tim had given to her, and she glanced out the window to see where they had planted flower bushes as a family shortly after moving in. “We planted something together, and it’s growing every second of everyday. I’m not really waiting. My feelings will grow like those flowers will outside, and we’re growing together even when I can’t see a change, or even if he doesn’t notice.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“When we started our home improvement project of planting those bushes outside, Fi was confused and asked where the flowers were, since that’s what I said we were planting. I told her they would grow soon enough and the best things take time. That’s me and Tim. It’ll take time for the flowers to come, but I don’t care.”

“Wow, I’ve known that you like Tim, because it’s obvious even to the people in outer space, but it’s nice to actually hear you talk about it instead of being in total denial like you used to be.”

“Kids change things. Did I tell you he’s moving in? I know he’s more so doing that for Fiona and the home inspections, but he agreed to stay here for a while. Crap, we have to go to his house and get more of his stuff.”

“That can wait. What can’t wait is my serious need for caffeine. Mind if I make some coffee?” Tamara walked further into the house where she navigated the kitchen and located the machine to brew some. As the coffee maker whirred to life, she turned to Lucy and asked, “So, can I sabotage the guest room with your permission this time?”

“No! It’s okay if he sleeps in his own bed. Well, last night Fiona wanted to cuddle with both of us, so we were all snuggled up together, but it won’t be like that every night, and I don’t need Tim to sleep next to me all the time.”

“Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?”

“He’s so warm,” Lucy admitted, the mesmerization clear in her tone. “And we fit together when he holds me.” She popped her own bubble of bliss to be more realistic. “That doesn’t mean we need to sleep together every night. Only when Fiona needs the extra love and support.”

“Or we can come up with one of your dumb ‘for Fiona’ excuses to get him to share a bed with you. That man won’t be able to resist you for long if you spend hours next to each other.”

“You do realize we used to patrol together. We spent hours next to each other in a shop.”

“At home in bed is different. For one, you don’t have duty belts in the way. I can’t imagine it’s easy to hook up while wearing those things.”

“I wouldn’t know, but Metro wears different belts, and those cargo pants look easier to take off than the polyester uniform ones. Don’t get me started on those t shirts. He looks so good in them.”

Tamara smirked. “Is this what the inside of your brain used to be like before you decided to be honest?”

“Shut up!”

“I think I see a little drool right there.” She pointed to the corner of her own mouth as she teased.

Lucy rolled her eyes and twisted away to wipe at her mouth in case she truly was drooling.

“I’m happy for you,” Tamara said seriously. “I know it’s not exactly perfect, and you’re waiting for flowers to grow or whatever the metaphor was, but you seem lighter, and that’s a good thing.”

“Thanks. It feels really nice.”

As she poured out two fresh mugs of coffee, she asked, “Wanna watch some real housewives?”

“Yes! I need a break from princess movies,” Lucy said, but she certainly did not want a break from princess kisses. They settled in the living room and turned on an episode, but before the end, the front door opened, and in raced Fiona.

“Kojo! The food store is so big!” Fiona reported enthusiastically as her dog ran over to greet her. “There’s lots of food. Some have silly names.”

Lucy stifled her giggles as she listened to her daughter share what seemed to be her first ever grocery shopping experience, then her eyes snapped up to Tim of their own volition; he was the only person whose pull was strong enough to draw her attention away from Fiona. He was standing tall with his shoulders tight, and he was holding something behind his back instead of bags of groceries. “Where’s all the food?”

“I’ll bring in the bags in a minute, but first,” he revealed what was in his hand with a shy smile.

Flowers. He was holding out a bouquet of flowers he must have purchased at the store for her. She rose to her feet and asked, “Are those for me?”

“I asked Fi to pick out the flowers, but I wanted to get them for you as a thank you…for what you said last night.”

“They’re beautiful,” Lucy swooned as she admired the yellow roses he bought for her. She covered his hand holding the bouquet, and her thumb brushed over his skin mindlessly as she gazed at him.

“Just like you,” he said lowly.

Tamara could not believe how in sync they were; without knowing it, Tim bought her flowers right after Lucy said their feelings were growing like flowers.

Lucy stood onto her tip toes to peck his cheek in thanks.

“Oh, come on, Lucy, the guy just bought you flowers. I think that earns him a real kiss. What does Fiona call them?” Tamara asked knowingly.

“Princess kiss,” Tim answered at a whisper before tilting Lucy’s chin up and meeting her lips slowly.

She was starting to get used to the way her body buzzed when she made contact with him, and that only made her want to chase the feeling even more. “I should put these in water.”

“I’ll get the rest of the bags.” He left and returned with an armful of groceries and sidled up next to Lucy at the kitchen counter where she was finishing cutting the stems and placing the blooms in a vase. He checked to see that Tamara, Fiona, and Kojo were playing on the floor far enough away, but he still whispered right in Lucy’s ear, “Just so we’re clear, those are for you and only you.”

She pressed her lips to his softly and replied, “And that was for you.”

Chapter Text

When it was time to take Fiona upstairs to get ready for bed, Lucy stopped in the kitchen to sniff the yellow roses Tim had bought for her then flashed him a smile before following her daughter into her bathroom.

Tim cleaned up dinner and went into Fiona’s green bedroom where he occupied his usual spot on her bed in preparation for nightly story time.

“I want to read a book about animals!” Fiona requested enthusiastically as she bounded over to her bed. “Kojo, come on, you need to sit down. It’s story time!” The dog obeyed and settled at the foot of the bed as he did every night.

Lucy perused the book options and selected one about a family of fish to read to her daughter. Fiona interrupted to ask questions about fish, and thankfully, Tim was able to Google the answers to the few they did not know.

“Fishies are so cool,” Fiona concluded at the end of the story.

“You know what’s cool? Going to sleep. Good night, Fi, I love you.” Lucy pulled the covers over her daughter before dropping a kiss to her forehead.

“Good night. Love you, munchkin,” Tim said and kissed her forehead, too.

“I love you,” Fiona replied quietly before turning her head towards her pillow as her tiredness took hold of her.

Lucy waited until Tim shut Fiona’s bedroom door behind him and they were alone in the hallway. At a whisper, she swooned, “She said she loves us.”

“That was the first time she’s ever said that,” Tim responded, pride and emotion warming his whole body.

“I can’t believe it,” she replied as she pressed a hand over her heart to ensure she was still alive.

“She loves us.” He was in awe.

Lucy pulled him into a hug as she barely held back from crying tears of joy. “Our daughter loves us.” The wave of joy was enough impetus to loosely hold onto him as she rocked back to look into his eyes and request, “I know we’ve established our sleeping arrangements, but can we make an exception for the night?” He bought her flowers and kissed her so many times throughout the day, plus their daughter said she loves them, so she felt emboldened enough to ask for something she desperately wanted.

“Do you think Fiona wants to sleep in bed with us again?”

“I’m not asking for Fiona.”

“Oh,” he breathed. 

“Is that…I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have overstepped.”

“You didn’t. I’d really like that, too.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

“Pressured? Lucy, I may not be sure it’s a good idea for anything to happen between us, but that’s doesn’t mean I don’t wish it could.”

“You do?”

“Was that not obvious?” 

“I mean, I figured…I…you haven’t exactly been clear. That’s why I asked you about sushi.”

He confidently strutted into her space then hooked his finger under her chin and gently tilted her head up as he slyly smiled at her. “I don’t know what sushi has to do with any of this, but you know I’m a show you kind of guy, right?”

That sexy, gravely voice of his made her knees weak, and how his lips hovered over hers almost touching but not quite electrified her bloodstream.

“We shouldn’t,” he whispered desperately as he tried to rein himself in.

“You gave me how many princess kisses today and suddenly you’re shy?” She challenged him in her eagerness.

“This is different.”

“Because we don’t have an audience?”

“Because there’s a lot to show you.”

Lucy was unable to stop herself from making a noise low in her throat.

He brushed his nose against hers and took a deep breath before meeting her gaze to search her eyes and ensure there was zero hesitation; she looked up at him with a warmth tinged with lust, and that was enough.

Though she expected him to capture her lips hungrily, his mouth was soft and earnest in its movements, and his hands were light on her hips. She backpedaled into her room while they kissed; it was nothing like the first time she lead him to her bedroom during a make-out session. Tim was so tender with her she could have fainted, and they went into a room of their house they lived in with their daughter. Everything was different and so much better. She sat on her mattress and whined when he disconnected from her. Lucy reached out to grip his bicep and pled, “Don’t stop now.”

“I’m scared,” he admitted. Her shoulders hunched forward in response, and he felt awful.

“You really think you’ll hurt me? You won’t.”

“I will. I should go back to my room.”

“Nothing else has to happen tonight, but I really don’t want to sleep in a different bed away from you. Please.” He left her room, and her heart splintered. Lucy dragged her feet into her bathroom to change into comfortable pajamas and wash her face. When she walked out of her en-suite bathroom, she was surprised to see Tim under the covers. “I-I thought you left.”

“To get ready for bed.”

“Oh.” She went to the side of the bed where he was occupying and dropped a kiss to the crown of his head before traversing to the other side.

He watched her settle in so far away from him, so he asked, “What are you doing?”

“Going to sleep.”

“You asked me to come here, and you want to sleep all the way over there?”

“I don’t want to spook you.”

“Come here,” he said.

Without Fiona on top of her, she could curl into him cozily. “Am I…is this too much?”

“No, this is nice.”

She held his midsection and stared at the material of his shirt as she murmured, “I would be okay even if you did hurt me. For the record, I don’t think you would, but if you did, I’d be fine.”

He zeroed in on the very unremarkable ceiling to make it easier to be honest with her. “I thought I liked you before. I don’t know when it happened, but all of a sudden, you stuck out like everyone else is in black and white, and you’re in color.”

“That’s an old guy thing to say,” she chided.

He grinned. “I knew you would say that.” He felt her giggle shake her body against his, and it was almost tempting enough to look at her, but he resisted to carry on, “The colors get brighter everyday I see you with our daughter. You’re incredible with her.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“You are,” he responded with certainty. “Just when I think I couldn’t want you more, you read Fiona a bedtime story, or make her laugh, or something else, and I-I can’t even explain it…it feels impossible.”

“Impossible in a good way or impossible in a bad way?”

He tilted down to peck the top of her head. “Good. A really good way.” The smile forming on her face brought one to his own. “But it also means I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t lose me. We have a kid together.”

“A kid that loves you.”

“She loves her daddy, too.” He swallowed, and she felt it. “I know she hasn’t called you ‘daddy’ yet, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t see you as her dad. She’ll come around to saying it.”

“What can I do to convince her that I’m her dad?”

“You don’t have to do anything special. Keep being a terrific dad. She’s getting there. Be patient, okay?”

“You’re right. I can be patient.”

“That’s how I feel about you.”

“Lucy…”

“Would feeling more settled with Fi convince you that you have nothing to be afraid of with us?”

“Maybe, but it doesn’t change the fact that I mess everything up.”

She inclined her head to meet his eyes. “Mess up with me. Parenting is constantly messing up and trying to do better the next day. It could be the same with us.”

“You’ve got no quit in you,” he noted fondly.

“Not when it comes to you and me.” She scooted up to meet his lips softly. “I’ve never felt like this before,” she whispered over his mouth. “And it’s not going to go away no matter how afraid either of us are.” Lucy watched him think, the gears so obviously turning in his head as he kept quiet. “You bought me flowers today, and when you kiss me, I feel it. It’s giving me the confidence to even have this conversation with you right now after being terrified for so long.” Every brush of their lips brought on a stronger conviction that they had the kind of connection worth fighting for. 

“You could meet someone better. Someone who makes you happier. Someone who can be a better father to Fiona.”

“Don’t say that. You’re her dad, and you’re her only dad. I’m not going to keep you trapped in this marriage after we adopt her, but we’ll always be a family.”

“I’m not trapped.” He lowered his voice, “I’m not trapped.”

“Neither am I.” Flying would not feel as freeing as unburdening herself. “See?”

“See what?”

“How good being honest with ourselves and each other can feel.”

“You want me to be more honest?”

She nodded, her interest piqued.

“I’m exhausted. Our daughter is exhausting.”

“Fine. Message received.” Lucy made herself comfortable against him and shut her eyes. “This conversation is paused not over.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything else from you.” He smiled. “Night.” Sleeping allowed him to wander around fantasies where he was fearless, and worthy, and undeniably perfect, but waking up reminded him that the woman in his arms was deserving of a version of him that did not exist. He was honored that despite being wholly flawed, Lucy wanted him if how she clutched him in sleep was any indication.

“Hey, good morning,” she greeted him happily when she opened her eyes. Clearly, he had been awake for a bit and in quite the contemplative state. “What are you thinking about?”

“You,” he answered truly.

“Me? What about me?”

“Everything. How’s that for honesty?”

His voice sounded so unabashedly fond that her stomach fluttered. “I like it. Thank you.”

“What do you want to do today after we stay in bed for a little longer, ‘cause I’m assuming you don’t want to get up yet.”

“It’s not my fault you’re so warm and perfect for cuddling with.” She rubbed her cheek against him and smiled.

He chuckled. “Okay, so after cuddling, what do you want to do? Should we go to my house and pack a few things?”

“As excited as I am for you to move in, I want to do something fun as a family again. I love family time.”

“I agree. We can do whatever you want.”

“Let me think for a second.” She strained her neck and asked with a smirk, “Wanna help me think?”

The morning prior, she said that what helped her think was kissing, and though he knew she was just looking for some affection, he did not mind as long as he was clear with her, “I’m still scared.”

“I know, and I’m really proud of you for admitting that to me. I could tell that wasn’t easy.”

“Easy enough to tell you but only you.” He glided one of his hands up and down her back. “I don’t know how to be around you right now because of that fear.”

“Why don’t we try to act on our feelings for a little while?  I think both of us have kept things bottled up for long enough, and now with Fiona in the picture, we don’t have the energy to hold back with each other. At least I don’t. I want to be able to ask you to sleep in bed with me when I need it, or kiss you just because, and I want you to do the same.”

“Doesn’t that sound confusing?”

“No, it sounds like we’re in a relationship, because we are. We’re raising a kid together and living together-”

“And we’re married,” he felt the need to remind her.

“And we’re married,” she repeated with a smile, every cell in her body lightening up. “You’re scared of us being together, but let’s see how easy it is to grow together. The toughest part of our day should be negotiating with our three-year-old and not keeping how we feel from each other.”

“I’ll make a mistake, and I’ll hurt you.”

“You didn’t hurt me yesterday. I know you were being more open about your feelings then, weren’t you?”

“I was,” he confirmed.

“You’re a show you kind of guy, so let’s show each other for a little while and see what happens. If you ever want to pause like we did last night, then we can pause.”

“Are you…are you sure about this?”

“I want to be with you however I can have you, because I swear to you, my life has never been more incredible than it has been since we met Fiona.”

“That’s because we have a kid now.”

“Some of the best moments have been just you and me. Let’s show each other how good we are together. Let’s show each other that we make a great family. Let’s show each other that we can let go of being scared.”

“If I do something wrong…”

“We can get through it. We can get through anything.” She caressed his cheek. “Please?”

How was he supposed to refuse that kind of offer when it was everything he ever wanted? “Fiona comes first, though.”

“Absolutely.”

“Us figuring this out can’t get in the way of raising her right as a team.”

“I agree.”

“We have to be really honest with each other.”

“I have no problem doing that. I have no problem doing anything for you.” She watched emotions flicker across his eyes as he seemed hesitant to accept her decision. “You’re worth it, Tim. You always have been, and you always will be.” Lucy could tell she had rendered him speechless, so she pecked his cheek and shut her eyes to silently be there for him and hold him as he processed everything she said for a long while until her bedroom door flew open and Fiona raced into the room.

She climbed onto the bed and landed on Tim’s other side, so he was sandwiched by his girls, and then she made elephant noises at him that certainly interrupted the serenity that had been hanging over him and Lucy before her arrival. “Good morning, Fi,” he rumbled and ruffled her hair.

Lucy greeted her daughter with a grin, “Morning, sweetheart,” then she had an idea, “Why don’t we go to the zoo today? Fiona loves animals.”

“I love animals!” Fiona confirmed.

“Do you like the zoo?” Tim asked her.

“I don’t know what that is,” she admitted.

“You’ll love it,” Lucy promised. “We’ll go after breakfast.”

“Can I wear a bow?” Fiona wondered.

“You can wear a bow in your hair and the bow on the necklace your daddy gave you.” 

Fiona touched the pendant around her neck. She never let her parents remove it before bedtime, because she always wanted to be wearing a bow.

Lucy could not force her daughter to remove her necklace when she refused to take off the one Tim had gifted her. “I guess we should start our day. Let’s go brush your teeth.”

“Can Kojo come with?” Fiona asked. “I miss him.”

“Your daddy has to take Kojo for a walk.”

“Kojo needs to brush his teeth not me, and he needs my help to do it.”

“Both of you need your teeth brushed. Come on.” Lucy scooted out of bed then picked up Fiona to set her down on the ground as Tim rose to his feet as well.

Dissatisfied with her mom’s answers, she pointed at Tim and asked, “Are you going to brush your teeth?”

“I brush my teeth everyday when the sun comes up and then again when the moon is in the sky just like you,” he assured her.

“Why?”

“If I don’t brush my teeth, then I can’t give your mommy princess kisses.”

Lucy pulled him down by grabbing the collar of his t shirt and whispered, “That’s not true.” She kept her eyes locked on his as she waited for him to smile at her, and then she kissed him sweetly. Lucy let him go and bent down to look at her daughter and explain, “You know why you have to brush your teeth? Because if you don’t, your mouth will feel icky, and then you won’t like how your food tastes. Princess breakfast isn’t yummy unless you brush your teeth. That’s the secret. After you get ready for the day, which includes brushing your teeth, you can give a Kojo a hug before breakfast.”

“Okay,” Fiona gave in and left her mom’s bedroom to start her morning routine.

Tim smirked after Lucy as she made her way to the door.

She eyed him and asked, “What?”

“You’re a really good mom.”

For a moment, she remembered what Tim told her about how seeing her as a mother made his feelings for her grow, and Lucy blushed as she exited the room.

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After Tim took Fiona out of her car seat, he noticed that her bow needed straightening, so he adjusted the ribbon, then asked, “Are you ready to see the zoo? It’s got lots of animals like we talked about in the car.”

“I want to see all of them!”

Lucy loved her daughter’s enthusiasm. “Let’s see them all.” She took one of Fiona’s hands and Tim took their daughter’s other one to walk with her between them. “Oh, look, there’s a children’s zoo.”

“That’s all farm animals. Fi wants to see the big ones,” Tim said on his daughter’s behalf, and she nodded in agreement.

“Big animals! Big animals!”

“Alright, alright. Over there it looks like there are snakes. We can’t go by them. Your daddy is afraid of snakes.”

Fiona giggled, thinking it was absurd, yet in her compassion, she conceded, “No snakes today.”

They walked past the snake section to look at the next area. She saw a sign and reported, “Oh, look, they’ve got a special exhibit for black bears!”

“Woah!” was all Fiona could say, since the bears were so big and even fluffier than she had ever seen in a picture. She ran up to the wooden fence separating her from the animals and tugged at Tim’s hand holding onto her. “Help me make animal noises! We need to say ‘hi’! They have to know we can be friends.”

Tim indulged his daughter by growling with her until she started laughing in amusement, then he scooped her up and held her. “They’re looking at us. Let’s wave at them.”

Lucy understood what he meant about how seeing the other be a great parent made them even more attractive. She could have pounced on him like a puma in that moment.

“Can we go play with them?” Fiona asked.

Tim had predicted that question and already had his response ready, “We have to stay behind the fence.”

“I think they want to play with me.”

“They only like to play with their own kind, but we can watch them.”

Fiona pointed to the closest bear that was also the smallest one and asked, “Can we take that one home?”

Tim explained, “That’s not how a zoo works. It’s not a pet store.”

“What’s a pet store?”

“Somewhere I’m not taking you anytime soon, or I’m sure we’ll come home with something that will make your mommy very mad at me.”

“Mommy, can we get a bear?”

“Bears need to live in big places,” Lucy tried to reason with her.

“My room is really big,” Fiona said.

“Not big enough. Look how the bears are playing around! They can’t do that at home with us.”

“Bears give good hugs! I love hugs!” 

“Your daddy gives the best hugs. We don’t need a bear when we have him.” Lucy said as she placed a hand low on Tim’s back.

Fiona asked again, “Are you sure we can’t take a bear home?”

“Very sure, honey, but we can come back and visit the bears another day.”

“I want the bears to be my friends.”

“We can stay as long as you want with your new friends,” Lucy agreed.

As Fiona waved at each bear and made little growling sounds to send messages to them, Tim read the plaque describing the bears, and then he saw a paper sign on the side. Upon scanning it, he said “Luce, look at this.”

She followed his eye line and read the paper, then she gasped. Lucy pointed to the smallest bear frolicking energetically and said, “That little one is a new baby bear. She was just born a few weeks ago, and guess what her name is? Fiona!”

“That’s my name!”

“I know!”

“Wow! Hi Fiona!” Fiona greeted the bear that shared her name happily.

Lucy loved to make the connection. “She’s a baby bear named Fiona like you’re our baby bear named Fiona.”

“Can we please keep Fiona? She wants to be with me, because my name is Fiona.”

Tim told her, “We can’t take a baby bear away from her mommy bear and daddy bear.” He pointed to the little bear playing with two larger ones he assumed were the parents. “See how the baby bear is happy with her family? That’s like us. Your mommy and I never want you to be away from us, or we wouldn’t be happy. We’re a family. Besides, we only need one baby bear named Fiona? and we’ve got you.”

Fiona smiled that she was a baby bear with her very own mommy bear and daddy bear that love her. “I’m a baby bear, too.”

“You sure are.” Tim held Fiona as they watched the bears for a long while before moving onto the next section of the zoo. Each and every animal made his daughter’s eyes light up, and that was why the zoo felt so magical; his little girl’s wonder and awe at every turn was unlike anything else in the world. By the time they made it all the way around the expansive zoo and were at the aviary, which was the last part, he decided he would visit every single day off to see her joy.

“Ready to go home?” Lucy asked.

“Can we say goodbye to the bears? They’re my friends,” Fiona said.

“Sure. One last stop,” Lucy acquiesced even if her feet ached.

Tim snuck off to the gift shop while his daughter growled her farewells. He went back to her and sunk down onto his knees to show her that he bought her a stuffed black bear. “Here, Fi, we can take this bear home.”

Fiona hugged the bear with a huge grin. “We can?”

“That’s your own baby bear like you’re ours,” Tim explained.

Fiona launched herself into his arms and embraced him as she replied, “Thank you, Daddy. I love you.”

He was grateful he was on his knees, because he was about to fall over.

Lucy cried a little and sniffled at the way Tim was positively beaming. She did not interrupt the moment and stayed quiet as they exited the zoo and got into their truck.

On the drive home as Fiona cradled her bear, she vibrated with glee. “You’re my daddy bear and mommy’s silly goose prince.”

“He sure is a prince,” Lucy agreed before taking Tim’s hand from the center console and bringing it to her heart.

Fiona could not wait another second as she barreled through the front door of her house and made a beeline for Kojo to show him her new bear. “I have a new baby bear like me! Isn’t she cute!” Kojo licked the stuffed animal, and she laughed. “I have so much to tell you about the zoo. We didn’t take any of the other animals home, but I saw so many. Do you know how big bears are? And so are elephants, and…”

Tim walked up behind Lucy and wrapped his arms around her waist then rested his chin on her shoulder so that they could watch their daughter talk about her day at the zoo with Kojo. There were no words that could come close to the feeling of being overjoyed, and grateful, and something else he had never even experienced before, so all he could do was hold onto Lucy and nuzzle her neck.

“Pizza or leftovers? I don’t want to look away from Fi for a second, and I don’t think you do, either, Daddy,” Lucy pridefully murmured his new title he had earned. “She really, really loves her daddy.”

“I can’t believe it,” he whispered.

“Told you to be patient.”

“You were right.”

“Might not be the only thing I’m right about.” She was talking about them, and he knew it.

He brushed his lips over her cheek next to her ear and told her, “I’m starting to see that.”

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Fiona made sure her new bear had a good view of the pictures in the book during their bedtime story, and then she held her stuffed animal while she was being tucked in. “Good night, Mommy and Daddy,” she said.

“Good night. We love you,” Tim responded. His hands were shaking when he walked out of her bedroom. Once Lucy joined him in the hallway, he embraced her and spun her around before burying his head in her hair.

She had never seen him so happy before, and she loved it. “You’re the best dad in the whole world.”

He tried to speak a few times, but it was hard to find the words. He eventually landed on, “Thank you.”

“For what? I didn’t do anything.”

“You gave me a family.”

“We made this family together.”

He kissed her forehead and let his lips linger on her skin. Tim realized that he was holding her hand despite not recalling when that happened, but he liked it.

She kept their fingers interlaced as she stepped away from him. There was some resistance from him when she expected him to ease his hold on her to allow her to leave. Lucy’s expression changed into a silent question. He shook his head at her slightly, and she knew Tim wanted to spend the night with her.

He cupped her cheek and kissed her lightly. The way she batted her eyelashes at him compelled him to go for another deeper one. Tim lead the way into her room, hands tightly clasped together, and then he turned to look at her. Her lips were parted and her eyes were hopeful enough that he leaned in close to her face but paused.

Breathlessly, she asked, “Do you want to stop?”

“I don’t think I’m strong enough to stop right now,” he husked.

Lucy lowered herself onto the bed and scooted as far into the middle as she could while their fingers remained entangled. Sitting up tall, she gazed at him patiently. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

He made a sound, relinquishing the last shred of his control that seemed so frivolous to hold onto in the moment. Tim got onto his knees to meet her on the bed. Gingerly, he held her face. “You know you’re all I want,” he whispered. He captured her lips gently as they fell back together. His fingers danced over her side then under the material of her shirt as their kiss intensified. She moaned lightly into his mouth in a way he could taste her desire. Tim’s lips traveled away from hers and down to her neck as he bunched up her shirt to splay his fingers over more of his stomach. Like when she slept curved into him, he felt how her fingers gripped the base of his skull and the small of his back.

“Tim,” she shuddered when he darted his tongue out over the hollow of her throat.

He hummed.

She raked her fingers through his hair as he pulled her shirt up to expose her whole stomach. “You can take it off.”

His mouth went dry; he looked past the haze fogging up his periphery to really read her face.

“You can take it off,” Lucy repeated herself.

Tim sat up on his heels and took his time to drag her shirt over her chest without breaking their eye contact. She was on her back beneath him, her hair fanning out everywhere, and flames crackling in her gaze. He wanted to remember how beautiful she looked just for him. She lifted her hands up to help him take her top off, and his blood whooshed.

“Mommy! Daddy! My baby bear wants hugs!” Fiona proclaimed as she barged into their room.

Nervously, Tim dropped Lucy’s shirt back down just in time for their daughter to clamor onto the mattress. “Hugs, huh?” He saw Lucy’s slight disappointment, which he shared, but their daughter was always their priority as they had established a million times.

“This family really does love hugs,” Lucy said, amused. She expected Fiona to go to her, but instead her daughter settled on Tim, so she threw her body across theirs as best as she could.

Having his daughter cuddle up with him was a great consolation prize if he could not spend his evening taking Lucy’s clothes off. He saw how Lucy was wide awake even after Fiona fell asleep on him. “You should sleep,” he said quietly.

“So should you.”

“I’m sorry about Fi interrupting. How come someone is always getting in the way of us?”

“We can’t catch a break,” she chuckled before lowering her voice an octave to say, “But maybe on another night, we can pick up where we left off.”

The promise in her tone was enough to make his head spin. “I’d like that. This whole acting on our feelings thing is really good for us.”

Lucy nodded. She wondered if it were not for Fiona, how far would they have gone? How deep were their feelings? How much had they been holding back? How intense was their connection that they hardly ever allowed themselves to give into? It was hard to sleep when those questions swirled in her mind, and Tim was awake because of the same thoughts.

Chapter Text

Tim felt kicks to his sides, and then he opened his eyes.

“Daddy! Daddy! You’re awake!” Fiona said.

“Sure am, kiddo,” he replied, his throat dry, but he was happy. She called him “daddy”. He was still getting used to it. He checked his watch and noted, “It’s early. Why don’t we go back to sleep?”

“Can we walk Kojo?”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“No! Come on, Daddy!”

“Okay, shh, let your mommy sleep.” Tim saw Lucy was fast asleep, so he brushed a kiss to her forehead and shimmied away. He looped his arms around Fiona and got out of bed holding her. Once they were out of Lucy’s bedroom, he suggested, “Let’s walk Kojo in our pajamas. How does that sound?”

“Yay!” Fiona cheered and clung to him and her stuffed bear as they descended the stairs.

He helped her put on moccasins then wore his own sneakers before securing the leash to Kojo’s collar. 

“Where are we going on our walk?”

“A few blocks around the neighborhood, and then we’ll go back home to change.”

“Do we sing to Kojo?”

“Uh, you can if you want.”

“Can we go to the zoo again?”

“Not today.”

“Please!”

He wanted to give in. He wanted to do anything she asked, because she called him “Daddy” with an adorable smile. “I wish, but your mommy and I have to go to work today. You’ll get to spend the day with Nell.”

“I like when we’re together more.”

“Me, too, but we’ll be home by dinner.”

“Can we have hugs after?”

“About that,” he watched Kojo stop and circle a fire hydrant. Because they had a few seconds, Tim bent down to look at Fiona and say, “sometimes, your mommy and I hug…alone.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s…she’s my princess, and princes and princesses spend time together just the two of them.”

“Oh, does that mean we can’t have hugs tonight?”

Her disappointment made him change his mind. “Yes, we can have hugs tonight if you want.”

“Yay!” She cheered. Fiona found that walking with Kojo was not very special, but she did sing to him as they made their way through the neighborhood, and that was fun, plus, she held her dad’s hand, and he told her she had a pretty singing voice. When they returned home, she could not wait to share the events of her morning with her mom, so she bounded up the stairs and bursted into her parents’ bedroom. “Mommy! Guess what!”

Lucy woke up to the sound of Fiona’s voice, but her brain was still foggy as her daughter retold the events of her walk. “That’s great, sweetie. I’m glad you had fun with your daddy. Let’s go to your bathroom.” She let Fiona leave her room first, and she stayed behind to take Tim’s hand. “I missed you this morning.”

“I’m sorry. Fi woke up with a lot of energy, and she asked to walk Kojo. I figured at least if she came with, you could sleep a little longer.”

“The whole reason I like staying in bed is to be with you, but thank you for doing that anyways.”

“Next time,” he guaranteed and lifted their joined hands to kiss the back of hers. He rushed through his morning routine then made breakfast just in time for his girls to join him in the kitchen.

“Daddy, can you tie my bow, please?” Fiona requested.

He did so with a smile Lucy was happy to see.

“Daddy, can you give my bear a bow, too?”

“Sure.” He never thought he would ever find himself tying a ribbon around the neck of a stuffed bear, but he did so with glee and was rewarded with a kiss to his cheek from his daughter before sitting between his favorite girls to share a meal.

Lucy enjoyed breakfast with her family with a thought rolling around in her head. She kissed her daughter goodbye then dragged Tim out of the house with her. She sat in the passenger seat of his truck and tapped her foot until Tim backed out of the driveway. “Did you call me YOUR princess to Fiona?”

He had to think back and realized, “Yeah, I did,” which caused her eyebrows to shoot up. “It’s a concept she understands. She loves princesses. It was the only way I could talk about us to her.”

“Why did you even say that to Fi?”

“She said she wants to join us in bed tonight for hugs, so I thought it was a good time to tell her that we might want to hug alone sometimes.”

“Oh, really?” She flirted. “You want to hug alone with me?”

“If I could get you alone for more than two seconds, yeah.”

“Good to know.” Lucy waited until they parked in front of the station to point out, “You have me alone right now for more than two seconds.”

He leaned over the center console and kissed her lightly then said, “I can’t be late.”

“That was so lame.”

“It was three seconds, which is more than two seconds.”

“You think you’re so smart,” she shot back, annoyed.

“I’m sorry. I have a team to lead.” He hopped down from his truck in his haste.

She pouted, hating that he left her quite dissatisfied. “That was your worst princess kiss yet,” she said to his back.

He glanced at his watch and knew he would be late if he stayed in the parking lot any longer, but he ran back to her, took her face in his hands in a fluid motion, and claimed her mouth for more seconds than he could count. “There. Is that better?”

“Much better.”

He smirked. “I’ll see you later.” Though it barely began, Tim knew he was going to have a good day.

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Lucy was having what she would deem to be a good day until she caught sight of someone entering the station. Rachel. Since she had become Fiona’s social worker, she said some concerning things to her daughter, and Lucy wanted to confront her about it.

Rachel greeted Lucy as she approached her. “Hey, Lucy, good to see you.”

“We need to talk,” was her cold reply. She jerked her head in the direction of the break room for a semblance of privacy, and thankfully, it was empty save for them. Lucy was about to speak when the door swung open and in walked Tim. “Oh, good, Tim, you should be here for this, too.”

He saw Rachel then stood at Lucy’s side knowing what she was about to say.

“We left a message with your office, but you haven’t gotten back to us, so consider this conversation you returning our call. You gave Fiona a nightmare,” Lucy began, anger already flaring. “You told her she might live with a different family, and she freaked out!”

“It’s my job to prepare kids emotionally for the realities of the foster care system. It wasn’t personal.”

“Wasn’t personal? She sobbed in my arms. Our daughter thought she was going to move away from us any second, and let me tell you, that’s never going to happen. She’s ours.”

“Most emergency placements aren’t permanent,” Rachel replied in her defense.

“Ours is, and as her permanent and only mother, it’s my job to protect her, which means you better not say anything like that to her again. Don’t you dare make her doubt that we’re her parents and traumatize her any more than you already have.” She took a step closer to Rachel as her tone grew fiercer.

“I’m sorry, Lucy. It was never my intention to traumatize her. Most of the other kids I work with don’t form attachments with emergency placement foster families that quickly.”

“Most kids aren’t Fiona, and most foster families aren’t us. You’re dealing with a special kid, and you better act like it.”

“Every kid is special.”

“Not like our daughter.” Lucy stepped into Rachel’s space and lowly added, “Most of the families you work with don’t know how to make a formal complaint about a social worker, but I do. If you so much as utter another word about our kid leaving our family, your superiors will hear about it. Got it?”

“Slow down, mamma bear, you don’t have to threaten me. I’ll be more cognizant of what I say to Fiona about her potential future,” Rachel assured. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be,” Lucy replied emphatically then she felt Tim cup her elbow, and she softened enough to amend her reply to, “I mean, apology accepted. Sorry, when it comes to Fi, I get a little protective.”

“A lot protective,” Tim corrected her.

Lucy looked back at him to find that he was smirking. “Do you have anything to add?”

“Yeah,” Tim said before glancing at Rachel, “I know you’re doing your job, but do it while doing right by our kid. She’s our kid. We got married to foster her.”

“What do you mean by that?” Rachel wondered.

He worried he gave away the reason for his and Lucy’s marriage, but when Lucy opened his mouth, he knew she would cover for them expertly.

“Tim and I were going to have a big wedding in a couple of months, but when we met Fiona, and we fell in love with her, we decided to get married sooner at the courthouse to take custody of her. I called you, remember? You were the one that told me that I couldn’t have fostered her as a single mom, so we didn’t want to waste time not having our daughter with us,” Lucy answered.

He thought she must have previously prepared that answer, and he was seriously impressed with her lie.

“You gave up a dream wedding to have a courthouse one? Wow, that’s some serious dedication,” Rachel said.

“It was pretty perfect, actually,” Lucy responded as she met Tim’s gaze. “I got the best groom, and we had our friends with us. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

Rachel observed how they beamed at each other. “How did I not see this before? Please tell me you weren’t in love with each other like this when I was in the picture.”

“We never would’ve dated while I was his rookie,” was Lucy’s response, and she had no idea why she shared that truth.

“You could hardly stand me back then,” Tim reminded her.

“Maybe at first but not by the end,” Lucy shared.

“On our last shift together, you told me you had feelings for me only to say it was a joke. Remember? You were trying to prove you could do undercover work.”

“Nyla taught me that the best way to lie is if it’s close to the truth.”

“So you were being honest?” He wondered.

“Maybe a little,” Lucy admitted.

He looked down at her, amused. “That prank of yours didn’t work out too well for you. Ended up blowing up in your face like baby powder.”

“What do you mean?”

“You ended up married to me.”

“Sounds like a successful prank to me.”

“Yeah?” He asked almost too softly for anyone to hear, but Lucy heard him and gave him a slight but certain nod.

Rachel was adjusting to seeing them in a whole new light as a couple, yet they seemed so similar to the versions of them she used to know with their easy banter, communicative eyes, and sometimes, lack of personal space. “Okay, so I think we’re all clear on how to move forward. I won’t talk to Fiona about placing her somewhere else unless I deem your house to be unsafe for her, or you don’t take all of the necessary steps.”

“We will. You don’t have to worry about us,” Lucy promised with her fierce tone returning in full force.

“I hope you’ll do great and get to adopt Fiona,” Rachel said before walking out of the break room.

Once Rachel left, Tim eyed Lucy as her face eased.

“Guess my maternal instincts came in fast,” she murmured bashfully.

“It’s hot,” Tim admitted.

“You’ve mentioned that.” The tantalizing flames dancing in his eyes looked like the kind she would welcome burning her skin. She ran her hand up his arm as she considered what to do next to feel that kind of intense heat.

His mouth curled upwards when he recognized that look coupled with how her lips were parted. He leaned in then whispered, “It’s okay if you want to kiss me. I’m not the only one that’s supposed to act out our feelings.”

She did not want every heat-filled moment between them to turn into a kiss; that seemed like pushing the nebulous boundaries of their relationship. Yet, the more she thought about it, the more she wanted it. Lucy shot up onto her tip toes…

And then the break room door opened.

Smitty shuffled in and quickly gathered what had been happening before he arrived. “Oh, you don’t have to stop on my account. I was in your limo on your wedding day.”

“You were watching us?” Tim asked.

“I took a peek like any good limo driver would. I was playing a part.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Bye, Tim.”

He reached for her wrist. His thumb caressed the thin skin over her pulse point as he requested, “Can we get lunch together? Just the two of us?”

“Are you asking me on a date?”

“No, it’s lunch,” Tim restated his ask.

“Sounds like a date.” She strutted out of the break room knowing Tim would follow.

“Women like when they get their way. You should try it sometime,” Smitty suggested.

Though it was unsolicited advice, Tim knew it was sound. He picked up the pace to catch up to her and take her hand as they continued to walk towards the food trucks across the street. “This isn’t a date,” he clarified. “Our first date can’t be at the food trucks.”

“It’s not our first date.”

“W-w…was there another first date I wasn’t aware of?”

“Love Day. You took me to a romantic restaurant. You told Fiona it was a special princess place. That makes it a date.”

“I didn’t know that was a date.”

“You made reservations. We got dressed up. We had a great time. It was a date. Probably the best date I’ve ever been on.”

“It was a nice restaurant.”

She could not believe he was still missing the point. “Didn’t we already go over this? The restaurant isn’t why I had the best time. It’s you.”

He smiled. “Grab a table. I’ll get our food. Want tacos?”

“Yeah, can I have my usual?”

“Wow, you sound so married,” Angela commented on the part of the conversation she overheard. Tim groaned and walked away, but she went with him to order her own tacos. “What’s your wife’s usual?” She asked.

“None of your business,” he snapped.

“Are you getting territorial? Trust me, no one’s taking her from you.”

“Let me know when you’re done mocking, so I can ask you a real question.”

“What’s the real question?” She wondered, intrigued.

“You’ve got a kid, so how do you manage to get any time alone with Wes?”

“Alone time? Timothy Bradford, are you trying to put the moves on your wife?”

His cheeks pinked up as he checked their surroundings. “Will you keep it down?”

“This is amazing news. I have to text Tamara. We’ve been plotting this development for ages, but last time we talked, Lucy told Tamara she wanted to ask you out, but you weren’t ready.”

“Of course she told you two,” Tim grumbled. “Can you answer my question before you run off to tell Tamara?”

“Fine,” she huffed then told him her perspective, “I love my son, but he takes all my time and energy. Wes and I don’t get a lot of alone time. Maybe we will when Jack goes off to college.”

“So what do you do?”

“What do you want to do?”

He looked over at Lucy sitting at a table smiling at everyone that passed by her. “I like trying to get lunch with her. We don’t ride together anymore, but I still want to see her at work.”

“That’s sweet, but I know that’s not the alone time you’re talking about.”

“I’ll take what I can get.” He paused their conversation to order his and Lucy’s tacos. After he paid, he said to Angela, “Thanks for nothing.”

“Hang on, I didn’t give you my best piece of advice.” Angela put out her finger to request Tim give her a minute to order her lunch, then she whispered, “Closets at work and laundry at home are your best bets.”

“Closets at work?”

“It’s not so bad. Wes and I kinda like it, actually. And laundry at home is good, too. The machines are loud enough to muffle any other sounds, there’s a door to the laundry room that locks, and if you give your kid something to do to distract them, you can sneak off in there for long enough. The added bonus is you cross a chore off your list. Win win.”

Tim frowned as he considered her advice on the way over to join Lucy for lunch.

She was wholly amused by the most recent development in the Tim and Lucy saga. Knowingly, she walked past their table for two and playfully said, “Have fun.”

“What is she talking about?” Lucy inquired.

“Ignore her,” Tim responded, annoyed, and set a hand on her thigh. “So, I noticed we haven’t found any time to move me in ever since you asked me to. Are you having second thoughts?”

“Of course not. I’m looking forward to you being all moved in. It’s been hard to find the time, but why don’t we swing by your place after work and get a box of stuff to bring back to our house? We can take everything else on our next day off.”

“Days off should be family time like how we went to the park and the zoo.”

“Packing can be family time. That is how we spent our whole first week together as a family, and it was great.”

“Yeah, it was,” he agreed. “Hey, do we have any laundry to do?”

“We’ve got a three-year-old. There’s always laundry.”

“Perfect.”

“I just washed a load of your clothes yesterday when we got back from the zoo. Did I miss something?”

“No, don’t worry about it.” He took a bite of his taco around a growing smile.

Lucy wanted to point out Tim’s hand had not left her thigh, and she only ate her lunch with one hand so the other could rove over his arm. There was a time when she was only afforded small brushes against his skin, but because their circumstances changed, she could do as she pleased. When she was about to make a comment about how he seemed just as comfortable touching her as she felt about him, his phone buzzed.

He read the notification and reported, “I’ve gotta go.” He pecked her cheek before standing up and pulling away from her.

“Thanks for our date,” she said with a smirk, and he did not correct her; he only smiled back.

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Tim had never been happier to leave the station than when he did so with Lucy’s arm linked with his on the way out. “Did you have a good day?” He asked as they ambled towards his truck.

“Yeah, Aaron and I rode together. He asked me a hundred questions about you almost like Fiona does,” Lucy answered.

“Except, our daughter is a toddler, and Aaron is supposed to be a grown adult.”

“I like when I get questions about you.”

“Why?”

“You’re one of my favorite topics,” she answered sweetly, which made him blush in that adorably surprising way she never expected him to ever react, but he did when she flirted with him in certain ways; even after knowing each other so well for so long, there were still things they were learning about each other, and it was a fun mystery to uncover.

He listened as she went on about her day until they stopped at his house, the old one he used to live in before he had a wife and a daughter, where he took over talking about his raid with Metro while gathering a bag of clothes. By the time they were back on the road, they were done debriefing about their time apart and laughing about something ridiculous. Tim opened the front door to their house, his true home where his family lived, and allowed Lucy to walk in first.

Fiona rushed over to greet them. “Mommy! Daddy! I drew a hundred bears today!”

“You did? That’s amazing!” Lucy replied.

“Can we draw a hundred more, Daddy?”

Tim abandoned his clothes to scoop his daughter up and easily agreed, “That sounds like fun.” If he were being honest, he would agree to any request she made when she added “Daddy” to her ask. He loved hearing his new title so much.

“I have to show you! I drew ones in all of the colors, and I drew black ones, too. My baby bear is a black bear, so I wanted to draw more like her.”

“Did you draw any yellow bears for your mommy?”

“Yeah!”

“Any blue bears for me?”

“So many!” She reported giddily and wiggled to request to be set down. Once her feet were back on the ground, she went to the kitchen table to gather up a big blue bear she had drawn. “This one is for you, Daddy!”

“I love it,” he said and dropped to his knees to get a better view.

“She asked me to write ‘Daddy’ on it,” Nell added. “That’s a new development.”

“We’re gelling as a family more and more everyday,” Lucy mused.

“I have an office at work. I would love to put this up on one of the walls, so everyone can see this really pretty drawing.”

“You have more! I made lots for you! Kojo helped! He picked the blue, because blue isn’t my favorite color, but I think Kojo likes blue.”

“I didn’t know our dog had a favorite color.”

“We’ve still got plenty to learn about everyone in this family,” Lucy noted.

Tim wanted to ask what she was insinuating, but Fiona tugged him by the hand over to the kitchen table to show him all of her artwork.

“How was she today?” Lucy asked.

“An angel like she always is. She told me all about your trip to the zoo. It sounded like a lot of fun. I can take her back to the zoo someday by myself if you’d like,” Nell offered.

Fiona heard Nell’s words and shot up. “No! No! No!” She insisted as she went over to Nell. “I can’t go to the zoo with you. I have to go with my daddy. He makes the good animal noises. He can talk to the animals and tell them we can be friends. You can’t make good animal noises. I have to go with my daddy.”

“Okay, sweetie, your daddy will take you to the zoo next time,” Lucy promised, noting how her daughter was noticeably agitated by the idea of spending time with animals with anyone else.

“You can take me back to the zoo, right, Daddy?” Fiona asked.

“Of course, I’ll take you back to the zoo sometime,” he promised. “We can see the bears, and the tigers, and the lions.”

“No snakes! You don’t like snakes.”

“You’re right. I don’t like snakes, but your mommy doesn’t mind them. One time, we saw one at work, and she handled it without getting scared at all.”

“Woah!”

“She’s amazing,” Tim said fondly as he met Lucy’s gaze to receive a smile in response.

Nell gathered her belongings and regarded the family, “Time for me to go. See you all tomorrow.”

Fiona waved goodbye to her nanny then asked her parents, “Can we draw together?”

Before Lucy could reply, Tim did.

“Actually, your mommy and I have to do some laundry. Can you draw some more bears for us while we do that?” Tim asked.

“Okay!” Fiona agreed. She was set back into her booster seat and busied herself with selecting a color for her next drawing. “Kojo? Pick!”

Lucy thought it was odd that Tim seemed so interested in laundry, but she went upstairs to collect a hamper of Fiona’s clothing and returned to the laundry room where Tim was waiting for her empty handed. “Do you want to wash some of the clothes you just brought over today?”

“No, I’m good.”

“You’re acting weird,” she commented and loaded the washing machine with a load of Fiona’s outfits. Once she pressed the start button, she heard the click of the lock on the laundry room door. “What are you doing?” She asked.

He explained, “I found some time for us to be alone without anyone interrupting.” He stepped right up to her but kept his hands at his sides as he contemplated how to approach expressing himself as she had asked him to.

“In the laundry room?”

“Does it matter?”

“This is less romantic than our date today.”

“You really want lunch to be considered a date?”

“If I can manage to have you one on one without a work emergency taking you away or a kid jumping onto our bed, it’s a date, and we’re good at dating.”

“Are we?”

“Yeah, we’re good at a lot of things,” she told him slyly as she gripped the collar of his flannel shirt.

“I think we can get better at other things.”

“Like what?”

He lifted her up to deposit her onto the laundry machine then stood between her legs. “How we spend our alone time,” he husked then kissed her ferociously.

She was quite certain the flames in his eyes earlier had traveled down to his lips and were scorching her endlessly; it felt even better than she expected to be consumed by him. Lucy loved that just like fire, he was swallowing up all of her oxygen and replacing it with heat.

Tim wanted to make their few minutes of alone time count and give her all of the affection, attention, and desire he had been previously holding back. He did his best to be cognizant of the fact that they could not spend all night in the laundry room, but he only realized how carried away he had gotten when his fingers had managed to hike her shirt up, and his palms were gliding higher and higher on her midsection. He rocked back as he tried to catch his breath.

“Let me guess, alone time is over,” she presumed, trying not to complain.

“Fi is waiting for us.” He saw her look up and felt her comb her fingers through his hair that she must have ruffled. “You should know, that kiss was for Fiona.”

She paused the task of fixing his hair, squeezed her legs that had ended up wrapped around his waist, and was about to object when she watched a smile take over his face. “That’s not funny! Don’t say that!”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he apologized mid-chuckle. He used his hand on her jaw to tilt her head up, and he softly told her the truth, “That kiss was for me.”

“Definitely for me,” she disagreed; she was sure he knew how much she had wanted to taste his lips all day.

“I kissed you. It was for me.”

“You beat me to it. I was about to kiss you. It was for me.” Lucy captured his lips for another moment to prove her point. While they were still learning about each other as their relationship evolved, she found that certain aspects remained the same like frivolous arguing, except she discovered a new method to convince him she was right and end their bickering in an oh so delicious way.

Chapter Text

Tamara approached the table where Lucy was seated near the collection of food trucks and said, “Hey!”

“Hi!” Lucy greeted her. “If you keep stopping by here at lunchtime, people will start thinking you want to become a cop.”

“A cop? No way. I want to make real money,” she scoffed.

Lucy rolled her eyes.

“So, why aren’t you eating?” Tamara wondered.

“I’m waiting for Tim. He does this cute thing where he makes sure we have lunch together everyday that we’re both on shift, but even though today is his day off, he promised he would come by anyways. Isn’t that sweet?”

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what again?”

“Swooning like a teenager over him.”

“Am not!”

“You’re blushing.”

“I’m not! She felt her cheeks and confirmed they were warm. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“How sweet that you’re in love with your husband and the father of your daughter.”

“No one is in love,” she replied shakily.

“Mommy!” Fiona yelled the second she saw her mom. She shimmied so her dad would set her down.

“Hi, sweetheart!” She said as her daughter raced over from the parking lot, and then she bent down to pull Fiona into her arms.

Tim saw how happy Lucy was to embrace their daughter, so he gave them a moment, and then when the hug was over, he invaded her space, cupped her chin to angle her head up, and kissed her softly and slowly. “Hey,” he husked, his face a whisper apart from hers.

“Hi,” she responded with a growing smile.

“Umm, hi, I’m here, too,” Tamara interrupted.

Tim waved at her while Fiona went over to give Tamara a hug.

“Aunt Tamara! Hi! Look! Daddy said I could bring my baby bear and Kojo to visit mommy!”

“Hey, Fi! Wow, you brought the whole family.” Tamara noted with surprise as the little girl settled in her lap.

Lucy had not even noticed Tim was holding Kojo’s leash. “Thanks for bringing the whole family,” she whispered to Tim before bending over to pet their dog.

Tamara stifled a giggle when she eyed Tim checking Lucy out.

Lucy shook her head when she caught Tim staring; there was something so unmistakable about the glint in his eye that made her want to launch herself into his arms and kiss him senseless. She ran her index finger over the space between his collarbones. “I really do appreciate this.”

“I wanted lunch to be just the two of us, but Fi wanted to see her mommy, and then she asked if Kojo could come with, and-”

“And you can’t say ‘no’ to our daughter for any reason.”

“I told her ‘no’ last night when she asked for ice cream for dinner.”

“You gave her ice cream after she finished her burger.”

“I wanted ice cream, too.”

“You’re bad,” she said fondly with a smile.

He kissed that grin until he was wearing the same one. “I’ll order us lunch. You stay here with Fi and Kojo.” He placed the leash in her hand then used his thumb to brush over her wrist to linger on her skin for a few seconds.

Once Tim had walked away, Tamara gathered, “Looks like the laundry room has been good for you two.”

“W- how do you know about that?” Lucy wondered bashfully.

“Angela and I talk about you guys. We’re very invested in you two.”

“Tim and I don’t need either of you meddling.”

“Hmm, are you sure about that? Our meddling has gotten you sharing a bed, hooking up in your laundry room, and your whole wedding day was epic because of our meddling. You’re welcome.”

“Wedding! I want to go to a wedding!” Fiona interrupted.

“Your mommy and daddy had the best wedding,” Tamara said.

“I saw Mommy’s wedding dress. She looked like a princess.”

“Yeah, your mommy looked like a princess, and she was so happy she married her prince. The man she loves.”

Lucy narrowed her eyes at Tamara.

“Daddy’s a silly goose prince!” Fiona said.

Tamara giggled. “He’s definitely a silly goose. You know, sometimes, silly gooses need reminders. You wouldn’t want your daddy to forget to kiss your mommy, so do me a favor and remind them about princess kisses, okay?”

“You’re unbelievable,” Lucy muttered.

“I’ll tell them,” Fiona promised.

“I think you’re my favorite kid in the whole world.”

Tim returned with arms full of food and began distributing it when Fiona spoke up.

“Daddy! Daddy! Princess kiss!”

Lucy’s cheeks burned.

He tucked the strands that had fallen out of Lucy’s bun behind her ear and lowly asked, “Why would I say ‘no’ to my daughter when she always asks for things I agree with?”

“Tim,” she whispered harshly as her pulse skyrocketed, and then his lips were on hers; she wondered if she would ever get used to the rush that even minimal contact elicited. Tamara was wrong when she accused her of loving Tim, but there was something incredibly strong between them.

Fiona clapped in amusement. “Yay!”

Tamara encouraged her, “Keep it up, kid. Your parents need all the help they can get.”

“What is she talking about?” Tim asked Lucy.

“Don’t pay attention to her,” she answered dismissively as she scooted her chair close to Tim’s. She appreciated her regular lunches with him, but she also valued spending time with her whole family, especially when he slid his hand onto her thigh and interlaced their fingers under the table. Expressing themselves was a dream come true for her with every touch and even how he looked at her differently. He took their mundane lunches they had shared a million times and turned them into something special simply through his small acts of expressing himself to her in his quiet yet clear ways. As they were finishing their meals, their perfect lunch ended when Rachel went over to the food trucks.

“Lucy! Tim! I was just about to call you. I’m stopping by your house tonight for an interview and a surprise home inspection. I wanted to give you a heads up,” Rachel said.

“That’s great,” Lucy replied as sweetly as she could despite her rising panic. Thankfully, Tim was right there taking her hand to ground her.

When Rachel walked away, he leaned in to whisper in Lucy’s ear, “Please, don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

“There’s so much to do before tonight,” she replied back just as quietly.

“I’m home for the day. I’ll straighten up.”

“Straightening up around the house isn’t the problem. We have to straighten up our story.”

“What story? We’re getting interviewed by Rachel. She already knows us.”

“As coworkers. Not as a married couple or as parents.”

“I guess we could make out on the couch while she tries to ask us questions,” he suggested playfully.

“That’s not funny,” she shot back despite expelling a giggle.

“I’m being totally serious. You can do that thing you did in the laundry room last night where you put your hands in my back pockets, and she won’t have any doubts about us.”

She laughed as her whole face and neck turned red. “You’re terrible,” she said as she allowed him to pull her close.

“We should try it. It’d be fun,” he suggested with a smirk.

“Save that thought for the next time we have laundry to do,” she promised as her eyes darkened.

“I love laundry.” He rubbed her arm as his expression turned serious. “Please, don’t worry about tonight.”

“She could take our daughter away from us if we aren’t perfect, so we have to be perfect.”

“You always are,” he said honestly before dropping a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll see you at home.”

Lucy squeezed his hand for a few more seconds then hugged Fiona for a little longer than usual and tried not to stress about Rachel’s fast approaching visit. 

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Tim expected Lucy to barge into the house after shift and start acting frantically, and yet she still managed to surprise him with her harried state.

Fiona followed her mom up the stairs to her bedroom and climbed onto the bed. “Mommy? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, my love,” she lied. “I need to do a few things in my room. Can you draw in the living room for a while?”

“I want to stay with you.”

“Fine. I’ll be right back.”

Tim caught up with Lucy as she carried a stack of his clothes from his room into hers. He took everything out of her hands then asked, “What are you doing?”

“Moving you into my room.”

“Why?”

“It’s a home inspection, Tim. She can’t open the drawers and see that your stuff is in a different room, or she’ll think we live in separate rooms.”

“All of this isn’t really necessary, is it?” She gave him a severe look, so he surrendered, “Okay, it’s necessary. I’ll help.”

“Daddy? What are you doing?” Fiona asked as her dad hung up suits in the closet.

“I’m putting things where they belong. You know how your mommy and I tell you to do that with your toys? I have to do the same thing with my stuff,” he explained.

She hopped down from the bed. “I can help! Mommy says I do a good job putting my toys away.”

“You sure do,” Lucy agreed. “Can you help me put your daddy’s socks in this drawer?”

“Okay!”

Tim found it amusing that his girls were moving at lightning speed to bring all of his things from the guest bedroom into Lucy’s room. If he were being honest with himself, he really loved his belongings mingling with hers like they were a real couple. After they finished in Lucy’s room, they looked at Fiona’s room, which he thankfully had cleaned before she arrived, and yet she still busied herself with tidying things up that were perfectly fine. “Would you quit fussing?”

“We have a lot riding on this,” Lucy explained while making sure that none of the books on Fiona’s shelves were askew.

He grabbed her hands and stepped around to make eye contact with her. “I know you’re worried something could go wrong, and so am I, but having our friend as our social worker is a good thing. She knows us both really well, and she trusts us. All of these interviews, and inspections, and the paperwork are all to make sure a social worker gets to know us and trusts us to do right by a kid. We don’t have to work very hard to convince Rachel of that, so please, step away from Fi’s room, and let’s sit on the couch and relax until she gets here.” He could tell her concern persisted, so he requested, “Fi, can you come here and give your mommy a hug? She’s stressed, and a hug would help.”

“Hugs! I love hugs!” Fiona said and sped over to her mom with open arms.

Lucy got onto her knees and gathered her daughter into her embrace, and for a second, nothing else mattered; she was holding Fiona, and her worries disappeared.

Tim could tell she eased a bit when Fiona ran out of her room to find Kojo but not enough. He sighed. “Would going over our story help?”

“Yes. Okay, so-” The doorbell rang, and her eyes grew wide.

“We can do this,” he assured her.

She nodded and took his hand to walk down the stairs together. Before touching the door handle, she took a beat and gazed up at him to softly request, “Can you, umm, can you hold my hand during the interview?”

“There are other ways to convince her why we got married.”

Lucy was nervous to clarify but even as her lungs faltered, she requested as clearly as she could, “It’s not for the interview. It’s for me.”

He tried not to smile too brightly as he replied, “Okay then.”

Rachel was greeted by Tim and Lucy warmly, and it was odd how it did not feel odd to see them as a couple; aside from the way Tim would not let Lucy’s hand go for even a second as if he felt it was his sacred duty to grab on to her, they were exactly how she remembered them with the eyes that silently communicated to each other, how they sat a little too closely together on the couch just as she recalled they used to invade each other’s personal space, and of course, the easy banter between them as they answered questions about parenting Fiona just as they used to talk about their day with her. “Now that we’ve covered the Fiona centric questions, I want to talk about you guys.”

“What about us?” Lucy asked then held her breath.

“It’s protocol to ask about the relationship between parents. We want to make sure the parents create a loving household for their child, and that starts with how you two treat each other.”

“Tim treats me like…well, Fiona would say ‘princess’, but I would say with the utmost amount of respect, and trust, and vulnerability, and I couldn’t be more grateful for him,” Lucy mused.

“How lovely is that?” Rachel swooned. “How about you, Tim? How would you say Lucy treats you?”

“Better than I deserve. She’s so patient how she puts up with me.”

“I don’t put up with you,” Lucy insisted. “I’m happy with you. I promise.” She saw the sadness in his eyes and moved towards him on the couch to look up at him squarely. “I’m happy with all of the progress we’ve made.” He was silent but clearly digesting her honesty with an expression that was gratitude mixed with inner turmoil.

He remembered that Rachel was in the room. “I’m still a pain in your ass, though, right?” He asked to diffuse the tension.

“Only when you say ridiculous stuff like when you told me that I fold towels the wrong way.”

“You do.”

“I don’t.”

“You do, and you know you do, because now you’ve started folding them the right way.”

“No, I started folding them the way you like to make you happy.”

“Oh,” he blew out and watched her offer him a sweet smile.

“Sorry, guys, do you mind if we get back to the questions?” Rachel interrupted. They nodded, so she continued, “Recent marriages do tend to raise a red flag for our office, but you mentioned last time I was here that you were planning on getting married later, but you changed your wedding plans to foster Fiona, is that right?”

“Foster to adopt Fiona,” Lucy corrected her.

“Yes, that’s been notated,” Rachel confirmed. “So, is that true?”

“Definitely,” she replied.

“I’m a little surprised. When I knew the both of you, things were so different. I mean, sure, some things are the same, but…I don’t know. If you told me we would end up here back when you were a rookie, and you were her Training Officer, I would’ve laughed at you.”

Lucy forgot what she had rehearsed, but she met Tim’s gaze and found a new, honest answer, “Sure, you could see it as unexpected, but looking back now, it feels like we were put on a path that lead us here. Together. With an amazing family and a great life. Like flowers, we’ve grown together, and we’re growing together all the time as parents, and a couple, and a little family unit, and I think that’s really beautiful.”

Tim had no idea what to say, emotion making it hard to speak or even see. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her in thanks, but he settled for bringing up their joined hands to his mouth to kiss her knuckles and flash her an appreciative smile not just for her wonderful answer but for everything.

Rachel scribbled a few notes, then said, “Okay, Tim, I’d like you to answer my next question: How would you describe your marriage?”

“Uhh, like-like flowers, yeah, Lucy said it perfectly.” He looked for approval from Lucy who seemed less than pleased with his response. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t have the same way with words that you do.”

“At least say you’re happy with me,” Lucy urged.

“Well, of course I’m happy.”

“You didn’t say that.”

“He didn’t have to. I can tell,” Rachel responded, then she shut her folio. “Okay, that’s enough questions. I’d like to take a look around.” She was lead into the kitchen where Fiona was doodling at the kitchen table with Kojo next to her seemingly helping her with her drawings, then they went around the main floor where the only oddity was how quickly Tim guiltily shut the door to the laundry room as if he was hiding something, but the room seemed perfectly generic. When she went upstairs with the family, she browsed all of the bedrooms and bathrooms and gave special attention to Fiona’s.

“Fi, do you want to show Rachel any of your favorite books or maybe your favorite toys?” Lucy asked.

“No,” Fiona pouted as she clutched her stuffed bear.

“What about your baby bear with the pretty white bow your daddy tied on her today?”

“No,” Fiona hid her bear behind her back. “I’m not leaving! I’m a baby bear, and I can’t be taken away from my mommy bear and daddy bear. We’re a family,” she repeated what her dad told her at the zoo as they watched the bears in their enclosure.

Lucy bent forward. “I know, honey. You’re staying. Rachel isn’t here to take you away.”

Rachel dropped to her knees to be at eye level with Fiona and assured, “I love that you love your family. I think your mommy and daddy are fabulous. I didn’t mean to scare you. My job is to make sure you’re well taken care of here, which it looks like you are.”

“I’ve never had a family before. I want this one,” Fiona said definitively and marched over to tug on her dad’s hand that was not holding Lucy’s. “Daddy, tell her about the family of bears at the zoo.”

“How about I tell her when I walk her out? It’s time for us to eat, so Rachel is going home,” Tim responded. “Go help your mommy set the table for dinner.”

“Are we having ice cream for dinner?”

“No, we’re having what Nell made, and maybe afterwards we can have ice cream.”

“Can Kojo have ice cream for dinner?”

“He needs his dog food. Ice cream isn’t healthy to have for dinner, but it’s okay to have for dessert sometimes.”

“Do bears eat ice cream for dessert?”

“No, they never have ice cream.”

“That’s not fair. We should bring them ice cream next time we go to the zoo.”

“Sure, munchkin,” he agreed to her absurd request.

“You can’t help yourself, can you?” Lucy murmured fondly.

“I like making our daughter happy,” he defended himself.

“Who knew you would be a push over dad?”

“I’m not a push over.”

“You’re a total push over, and it’s so sweet.” She squeezed their interlaced fingers and smiled at him. “Come on, Fi, let’s go downstairs.”

“Can Kojo come with?”

“Of course.”

“I want to hold your hand. Daddy made it look fun.”

Lucy sadly let go of Tim to offer her hand to Fiona. “Anything for you.” Tim pressed his palm into the small of her back, and she blinked her eyes up at him to thank him for finding a way to keep showing her support like she requested. She descended the stairs with her daughter to heat up their dinner.

Rachel could tell from the way Tim had his chest puffed out that he was about to say something once the corridor was empty, so she waited for him to speak.

He gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists before saying, “Go downstairs and tell my daughter you’re not taking her away from us. I know you can’t make promises, but you have to say that. I don’t want her getting spooked.”

“That’s completely against protocol.”

“Screw protocol. I don’t want her having nightmares.”

Rachel understood, so she walked over to the kitchen, hunched forward in front of Fiona, and said, “I’m not here to separate you from your family. I know it probably feels super special that you’ve found your family now, and I’m not here to ruin that. There’s no reason for you to get scared every time I come that I’m here to take you away. I’m an old friend of your mommy and daddy’s, so let’s think of my visits as friends hanging out.”

Fiona looked up at her mom. “She’s your friend?”

“She is,” Lucy confirmed.

“Daddy still has to tell her about the family of bears at the zoo.”

“Your daddy will tell her. It’s a great story to get her to understand our family.”

“Except the bears don’t have a dog. Can they get a dog at the zoo?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to look into that later.”

“Daddy will get them a dog.”

Lucy’s eyes snapped over to Tim. “If anyone were to get a family of bears their own dog, it would be your daddy.” She mouthed the words “push over” to him, and he shrugged, not at all denying the allegation.

Fiona, having received satisfactory confirmation, piped up, “I guess you can come back.”

“Thank you for the invitation,” Rachel responded and bowed her head respectfully.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Red.”

“I have a red bow you can wear. Daddy can help you tie it when you come over next time.”

“Oh, thank you. I would love that. It was great to see you again, Fiona.”

Still cautious, Fiona partially hid behind her mom’s leg as she waved goodbye to Rachel.

Tim escorted her out of the house as he had promised. When they reached her car, he said, “Thank you. I hope what you said did the trick. If Fiona gets another nightmare, I don’t know what Lucy will do.”

“She was a little terrifying last time I talked to her,” Rachel recalled.

“That’s because she’s a great mom. She would do anything for our daughter.”

“It sounds like you would, too.”

“Of course I would.”

“That makes you a great dad.”

“Lucy says so all the time,” he bragged, appreciating how she always told him that even if she also mocked him for being a push over in the same breath.

“You two are…I go back and forth from being totally surprised to thinking it makes perfect sense that you’re together.”

“We don’t really make sense. I’m not good enough for her.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is, but she has a way of making me forget that every time I make her smile.”

“You’re definitely doing that a lot. Thanks for the time tonight. We’ll be in touch about next steps.”

“Thanks. Bye, Rachel.”

“Bye.”

He turned on his heel and paused when he saw that Lucy was standing in the doorway. “How much of that did you hear?”

She gestured for him to walk over to her then wound her arms around his neck. “All of it,” she answered before surging up to kiss him fiercely. Tamara accused her of loving him, and even if she staunchly disagreed, it felt so close to that emotion it was almost dizzying. Lucy pulled back and found his eyes. “I meant what I said to Rachel.”

“Me, too.”

“Don’t say you aren’t good enough for me.”

“We both know I’m not.”

“If I get Fiona to say it, would you believe her? She can clearly get you to do anything, so she might be able to get you to understand that my life with you is better than I could’ve imagined.”

“Because we have Fiona.”

“No, it’s because I have both of you. If I have to say it a million times, I will.” She ran her finger over the short hairs on the back of his neck and suggested lowly, “Or I could find a way to show you tonight in bed after Fiona goes to sleep.”

He swallowed hard. “I think we should stick to the laundry room. I-I wouldn’t want us to get…carried away.”

“Okay, we don’t have to do anything outside of the laundry room.” In the laundry room, his hands traveled all over her, and he kissed her endlessly, but they stopped at the removal of their shirts, and he seemed too unsure about going any further; she supposed his apprehension had more to do with the fact that their daughter was in the other room, but it seemed his fear was what stopped them. She gave him a nod of understanding and re-entered the house with him. Tim threaded their fingers together, and she said, “You don’t have to keep holding my hand now that Rachel’s gone, but thank you for doing it while she was here.”

“What if I want to?” He wondered. “Fiona said it looks fun, and it is.” Lucy made a happy sound as she beamed at him, and Tim forgot for a moment that he was imperfect; it was getting easier and easier to see himself through her eyes; desired when she gave him a heated stare, adored when she looked at him fondly, a good father when she blinked up at him with pride, and worthy when he made her smile so brightly it reached her eyes. He loved that his daughter was taking after her mother in that regard; Fiona looked up at him lovingly when she settled into her bed next to him for story time, affirming that he was worthy of being her dad. She rested her head on his chest and giggled at the funny parts of the book Lucy read, and when the story was over, Fiona flashed him a tired smile. “Good night, Fi, I love you.”

“Good night, Daddy, I love you, too.”

The words were nice to hear even if they were unnecessary.

Lucy, however, could never tire of hearing her daughter tell her that she loves her, and it brought on a warm, fuzzy feeling that was like floating on air. To spread her happiness, she waited until she was outside of Fiona’s bedroom with Tim to kiss him. “Good night,” she whispered.

“Good night,” he replied, and there were those bright, brown eyes gazing at him with joy and adoration that were easy enough to get lost in.

She wanted to invite him to spend the night with her just to sleep, but she did not want to push him, so she settled for planting one more good night kiss on his lips and slipping into her bed alone. Just when her eyelids had grown too heavy, and her mind had mostly shut down for the night, Lucy heard her bedroom door open, and she smirked thinking it was Tim; but when she glanced at the doorway and could not see him, her eyes snapped down to find Fiona. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“I want hugs,” Fiona requested.

“Get in here,” she said and waited until her daughter crawled up the mattress to envelop her tightly. “I love giving you hugs.”

“Can I have hugs from Daddy, too?”

“Yeah,” she replied, then she realized that Tim was not in bed.

“Where’s Daddy?”

Lucy sat up. “He’s…wait right here.” She padded out of her room and over to the guest room where Tim was sleeping. She sat down on the mattress beside him and rubbed his side until he opened his eyes. “Hey, sorry to wake you,” she murmured.

He was at first glad to see her, then he was alarmed. “Is Fi okay? Are you okay?”

“We’re both fine. She asked for hugs from both of us. Mind joining us?”

He asked for clarification, “No nightmares?”

“No, nightmares,” she answered with the beginning of a smirk. “Guess we did good today, well, you did. I don’t know what you said to Rachel, but it worked.”

“You answered all of her questions really well. I just told her to say whatever she needed to so our daughter wouldn’t get spooked by another visit from a social worker.”

“I knew you would be amazing, but you still surprise me with every parenting choice you make.”

He straightened into a seated position. “Is that your formal evaluation of me?” He asked smartly, noting how she used similar wording to his final rookie evaluation of her.

“Definitely. What’s your formal evaluation of me?”

“The best mom our kid could ever ask for, and the best person I could ever ask for.” He dropped a kiss to her nose.

“When you say stuff like that, it’s no wonder I can’t keep my hands off of you half the time.” She tracked her eyes over his face and followed his line of sight to see that their fingers found their way to each other and tangled together on the bed. “Sorry not sorry.”

He chuckled. “You don’t have to apologize to me.”

“Mommy? Daddy?” Fiona called.

“Crap, our girl needs us,” Lucy remembered, and they scrambled out of his bed as quickly as they could to get to her.

Fiona snickered when she saw her parents. “Daddy, where did you go?”

“Nowhere. I hear you want hugs.”

“Yeah! Hugs!” She said excitedly before being sandwiched by her parents. “Hugs are like Love Day. I love Love Day.”

“Hugs are for everyday not just Love Day,” Lucy responded.

“That’s nice,” Fiona replied with a yawn and shut her eyes.

Lucy reached over her daughter to touch Tim. “Thanks for coming in here.”

“Any time,” he murmured.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Any time? Don’t tempt me.”

“I won’t say ‘no’.”

“You never say ‘no’ to Fiona.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘no’ to you, either, if you asked me to sleep in here. Just the two of us. Just to sleep.”

“Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

“I wouldn’t mind doing anything for you.”

Lucy grinned at him, not even trying to conceal how giddy he made her feel, and then she realized how he held onto her hand once more like their fingers had magnets pulling them to each other; she quite liked the simple and undeniable attraction between them; it was a welcome development in their relationship, or maybe it was something they always had but denied for far too long.

Chapter Text

Because Tim and Lucy were assigned the night shift, they slept in late, well later by five minutes before Fiona woke up and jumped around the bed singing some song only she knew the lyrics to.

“Honey, can we please lay down and snuggle for a few minutes? I’m still tired,” Lucy pouted and patted the space her daughter had previously occupied between her and Tim.

“I want to sing!” Fiona replied happily as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

“You have such a pretty voice, munchkin,” Tim complimented her, and she blushed the same way Lucy did when she received praise.

“Thanks, Daddy,” she giggled and twirled around on the mattress.

“Okay, snuggling for two it is,” Lucy surrendered and shimmied over until she was curled into his side and kissed his shoulder.

“I had no idea you were like this,” he said as he snaked his arms around her midsection.

“Like what?”

“This,” he looked down at the lack of space between them.

“I like cuddling with you and Fi.”

“Fi is making up a song about Kojo and jumping over there.”

“Well, I also like cuddling with just you,” she murmured sweetly before tilting her head back to silently request he press his lips to hers, and thankfully, he did. “Since we’re not going into the station until later, I was wondering if we could do some laundry today.”

“I don’t think we have anymore dirty clothes,” he responded with a chuckle.

“Are you saying you don’t want to do laundry?”

“I’m saying we might not have anything to else to wash, but I would like to find something, because I definitely want to do laundry with you.”

“Good.” She grinned.

“Mommy? Do you like hugs because you like Love Day?” Fiona asked.

“No, sweetie, I like hugs from your daddy and you, because both of you give the best hugs.”

“Wow! The best hugs!” Fiona replied with awe.

“Yes, the best hugs. Your daddy is the best at so many things, but he’s gotta improve on other things.”

“Like what?” Tim asked playfully.

“Don’t worry, we’ll practice in the laundry room later,” she whispered her assurance.

He could not want anymore more than Lucy with her dazzling eyes, mischievous smirk, and warm body against his. In truth, it was impossible for him to imagine desiring someone the way he always felt around her; there was a time when he was able to tuck away his feelings for her, but that had certainly changed.

She could tell his mind was working, so she asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“You.”

“Why me?”

“Fi,” Tim called to his daughter, “Did you know your mommy is a princess?”

“You told me. I remember,” Fiona said seriously.

“And what do princesses get?” He asked his daughter while ogling Lucy.

“Princess kiss! Princess kiss!” She cheered.

“She said it,” he husked and brushed his nose against Lucy’s before meeting her eyes. “You know what we have to do,” he said smugly.

“Unbeliev-” she tried to say, but then his lips cut her off in the best way. She hummed into his mouth and swept her hands over him to reach his face while trying not to get too carried away. His tongue scraped the inside of her cheek, and Lucy had to pull back, or she knew she would lose control, but the second her mouth detached from his, Tim tried chasing her lips. “Okay, okay,” she rasped. “We have an audience.”

“A very captive audience that cheers every time I kiss you, which is pretty great.”

“You’re so unbelievable, which is what I was trying to say a minute ago.” She tried to sound annoyed, but she was too happy.

Fiona resumed singing and hopping around on the bed to entertain herself, so Lucy had the opportunity to point out, “I like this new side of you.”

“Being a dad?”

“Being so happy.”

“How could I not be? I’ve got the greatest girls in the world.”

She had swooned before in her life but never as intensely as she did around him like she had unlocked a whole other level of a heart-fluttering and blood rushing reaction because of him and only him. “If you keep saying stuff like that, I’ll have to ask for more princess kisses.”

“You said it. You know what we have to do now.”

“Tim!” Lucy clicked her tongue, and then she felt his slither into her mouth.

“Mommy! I have to go potty,” Fiona announced.

Lucy broke away from Tim, their moment over. “Okay, let’s go together.” She gave Tim a sympathetic half smile then picked her daughter up from the bed. “To be continued in the laundry room,” she said before leaving the room.

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Tim made sure Fiona had a full stomach from breakfast, all of the crayons she could need, her baby bear next to her, Kojo on the other side of her, a stack of paper to color, and then he took Lucy’s hand before explaining, “Your mommy and I have some laundry to do. Can you color for us until we get back?”

“What should I draw?” Fiona wondered.

“Anything you want. I’m sure we’ll love it.”

“Okay, I want to draw animals!” She said excitedly.

“We love your animal drawings,” he assured before dragging Lucy into the privacy of the laundry room. “Oh, shoot, I didn’t think of anything to wash.”

“Forget about laundry, Tim, we need to talk.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” He watched her bite down on her lip, which was usually his job when they were alone. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no, I…I was thinking about the interviews and the microscope we’ll keep getting put under.”

“Were we not convincing during our last interview?”

“I’m pretty sure we were, but Fiona is inevitably going to get asked questions about us.”

“And you think that I’m too much of a push over that Rachel will say that I’m a bad dad?”

“Of course not.” She looped her arms around his shoulders. “You’re an amazing dad. It’s just that last night, Fiona came into my room asking for you. I covered for why you weren’t sleeping next to me, but if she comes into my room again, and you aren’t in bed…she might say something about it next time she talks to Rachel, and then Rachel will find out we sleep in separate beds, and then it’s a quick leap to finding out why we got married.”

“Let’s not panic. It’s a simple fix. We just have to sleep in the same bed…for Fiona this time.”

“But last night, you said you would sleep next to me if I wanted you to.”

“And? You mean to tell me you would want to sleep next to me every night if we weren’t trying to be convincing for Rachel?” He scoffed. He expected her to laugh or at least smirk, but her face turned severe. “Oh, you’re serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious. I moved you into this house and my room for Fiona, but I’m asking you to stay for me.”

“For you? You’re sure?”

“Even if our daughter wants bedtime hugs from us every night, I want to have those three seconds alone with you before she runs in…unless we lock the door.”

“And deny our daughter hugs? No chance.”

“I forgot. You’re a push over.” She rolled her eyes then giggled.

“Okay, I’ll agree to stay moved into your room-”

“Which makes it our room,” she cut him off to say.

“Our room,” he murmured happily. “I’ll agree to stay moved into our room if you promise you don’t try making walls of pillows again.”

She smiled and blushed. “Then there’s nothing to stop me from being cuddly all the time.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Are we converting you into a guy that likes to snuggle?”

“You and Fi could convert me to like anything.”

“Are you a push over when it comes to me, too?” She wondered coyly.

“Maybe.” She snickered in response so he lifted her up with the intention of depositing her on the washing machine when a pain surged through his back making him seethe and set her down again.

“What just happened?”

“It’s nothing. Where were we?” He grabbed her by the waist and tried picking her up again, causing him to wince.

“That’s not nothing. Are you hurt?”

“I’m good.”

“You’re not good. You look like you’re in pain. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“My back hurts a little, but I think it’s from picking up Fiona so much.”

“Something doesn’t feel right about this. You have a piece of shrapnel in your back.”

“You remember that?”

“Of course I do. It’s from the day we met.” It felt a bit sentimental that a piece of the day they came into each other’s lives was embedded in him as a symbol of just how much of a permanent fixture they were in each other’s lives. “We have to get it checked out. I’m taking you to the emergency room.”

“Luce, no, we get to spend a few hours with our daughter. Let’s focus on her.”

“Your health is important for her, too. She needs a dad that can keep up with her. If you won’t get your back looked at for you, do it for her…and for me.”

She guilted him effectively even before she flashed him her pleading eyes. “Okay, okay, call Tamara and ask if she can come by.”

“I can do that. Also…let’s not tell Fi about you going to the hospital yet. I don’t want to freak her out.”

“Agreed.”

“Looks like laundry room time will have to wait.”

He frowned as he pondered, “We could always leave in a few minutes.”

“No, I’m officially worried about you. Come on.” She clasped his hand and refused to release it as she called to make arrangements for Tamara to come over, for the twenty minutes it took for her to arrive at their house, when she said goodbye to their daughter as evenly as she could without giving away her alarm, for the drive to the hospital, and while they sat in the waiting room.

Tim tugged at their interlaced fingers to get Lucy’s attention, since she had been so quiet and distant since leaving the laundry room. “Don’t worry.”

“A little late for that.”

“I’m sure I just pulled a muscle.”

“The doctor will tell us what it is. My gut’s telling me it’s serious.” She tried not to let her desperation show, but it was hard to control her emotions. “Maybe it’s nothing, but I just got you and everything I could ever want. I’m not ready to lose that.”

“You’ve known me as long as I’ve had this shrapnel in my back without a problem, which is a while. What are you talking about?”

Her eyes dropped to their joined hands on his thigh then back up to his face. “I’m talking about this recent development.”

“I like this development.”

“Me, too, which is why we’re here to get you checked out.”

“Okay,” he gave in without any further objection. Her concern compelled him to agree to the x-ray, and MRI, and blood panel per Lucy’s requests, and he sat quietly as the doctor went over his options after definitively diagnosing that the shrapnel had moved and was impacting his spine. Tim did not even dare to butt in as Lucy asked a hundred questions about the procedure. She cared about him, refreshingly so, which made getting a surgery less daunting.

“Do you want to see Fi before the surgery?” She asked as she squeezed his hand tightly. They had their first moment alone after a stream of testing, and nurses, and doctors, and it was hard not to jump into the hospital bed with him and hold him.

“No, but I’d like to see her after.”

“I’ll call Tamara once you’re in surgery.” She gave away her fear by the broken way she said the last word.

“Don’t worry. The doctor said we detected the movement early, so we came in before the shrapnel moved anywhere dangerous, and by “we” I mean you. This surgery is less risky because you made me get checked out today, so thank you.”

“The only thanks I want is you pulling through.”

“I will.”

Lucy really had resisted as long as she could. She had been so good about sitting at his side and intertwining their fingers while attempting to remain calm, but her resolve melted away, so she launched herself into the hospital bed and flung her body across his. “You have to pull through,” she mumbled into his neck as she held him.

“I know I will, because I’ve got you and our daughter waiting for me.” With a little effort, Tim redirected her face so that he could kiss her sweetly for a few long moments. “Thanks for worrying about me,” he said when they broke apart but their faces remained close. “It’s almost as sexy as the mama bear thing you do.”

“Really? That’s a turn on?”

“Definitely.”

She felt warm all over. “But I’m not even trying to be sexy. I’m just being myself.”

“Exactly. Why do you think it was hard to ride with you after we prepped for a UC operation we ended up not going on?” He felt the incredible transition from sitting beside her in a shop to having her curled into his side, and he absolutely loved the change.

Knowing he was referring to their first kiss, she blushed even more furiously. “How come you didn’t say anything?”

“I didn’t think you could ever want…you’re a pro when it comes to undercover. I thought that kiss didn’t mean anything to you.”

She replied back instantly, “That kiss meant everything to me. After that, things I couldn’t understand started making sense, and I was scared, but at least I knew for sure that I have feelings for you.”

Despite her being honest about her feelings before, he found it special to hear her say it so openly. He almost asked her to repeat herself, but then she scraped her fingernails over his scalp as she looked at him lovingly, and in one simple act, Tim felt everything in her heart, and it rendered her speechless.

“Can I hold you until they take you away for surgery?” Lucy whispered her request.

He nodded silently while one of her hands rubbed his back and the other remained on his head. She was radiating so much affection through her fingers that his eyes watered. Nurses entered the room, which should have felt like an interruption, but Tim hardly noticed them.

“Guess they’re wheeling you away now,” she whispered. Lucy brought her forehead to his and looked at him squarely before quietly promising, “You’re gonna be okay. I really believe that.”

“I will for Fiona and for you.”

“Good.” She smiled and kissed him as long as she wanted even if she kept the nurses waiting. It took so much effort to unwrap herself from him, and when she finally did, she leaned over the bed and pecked his temple. “I’ll be right here when you wake up, babe.”

Despite the fact that he was about to go into surgery, Tim was completely at ease because of her.

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Fiona clung to Tamara as she was carried into the hospital. “What are we doing here?”

“Your mommy and daddy are here. They’ll explain everything,” Tamara said. She checked in with the front desk and giggled when the nurse said something she could not wait to tease Lucy about once she stepped into the waiting room. “Hey, I was told I could find the patient’s wife in here,” she greeted Lucy with an amused grin.

“Give me my kid,” Lucy responded unhappily and outstretched her hands to embrace her. “Hey, Fiona.” She pecked her face once she had her daughter in her arms.

“Why are we in the hospital?” Fiona wondered cluelessly.

“Remember when we came to the hospital when your tummy hurt, and then you were given medicine? Your daddy’s back hurts, and he needs some medicine to be okay. He’ll he just fine in a few days. Don’t be scared.”

“I want to help Daddy. He made animal noises when my tummy hurt. That helped.”

“That’s a great idea, sweetie. When the doctors let us see him, you can make him feel better with animal noises. If you want to give him a hug, you have to be really gentle, okay? Nice and soft around Daddy for a bit. He needs time to get better.”

“Can he still tie my bows?”

“I’m not sure, but I can tie your bows until he’s better.”

“Will Daddy be sad if he doesn’t put my bow in my hair? I know he likes it.”

“Of course he likes putting your bows in your hair, because he loves you, and he loves seeing you happy the way bows make you happy.”

“Does Daddy want a bow in his hair?”

“You’ll have to ask him, but knowing how much of a push over he is, he’ll probably agree.”

“Where’s Daddy now? I want to talk to him.”

“He’s with the doctors. You can see him soon.”

“Daddy will let me see him now. I’m his baby bear.”

“I know you are, but we have to wait a few minutes. How about you draw some pictures for your daddy, and you can show them to him when he’s done with the doctors.”

“Okay,” she sighed.

“We can get ice cream before we start coloring,” Aunt Tamara offered.

“Should we get Daddy some ice cream?”

“Not right now, but I’m sure we can get him a treat later.”

Fiona felt uneasy about returning to the hospital and not being able to see her dad immediately. She requested, “Mommy, I need a hug.”

“You can have as many hugs as you want.” Lucy held her daughter tighter to her. “Everything will be okay,” she promised. “You can see your daddy soon. He’ll be so happy to see you. Until then, your Aunt Tamara and I are here, and we love you so much.”

The way her mom stroked her hair and squeezed her brought her some assurance. “I love you.”

Tamara remembered when she was an orphan living on the streets; she would have given anything for the family Tim and Lucy provided to their daughter; it made her greateful that one less kid like her would have to struggle alone. “Let’s go, kid.”

Fiona went with her Aunt Tamara, but she looked back at her mom until she was out of view.

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Tim heard a machine beep, then he felt a weight in his hand.

“I think he’s waking up,” Lucy whispered and bent over his side. “Tim, can you hear me?” She looked into his glazed over and half lidded eyes and smiled. “Hey,” she murmured. “You’re awake.”

He cleared his throat and blinked past the haze of the anesthesia that lingered in his body.

She lightly cupped his cheek. “The doctors said everything went perfectly. You’re gonna be okay.” He only curled his mouth upwards at her, so she pressed her lips to his forehead and let out a heavy breath she had been holding in since they decided to go to the hospital. “I’m so glad you’re gonna be okay.”

“Daddy! Daddy!” Fiona called. She was limited due to her Aunt Tamara holding her, so she wiggled to be set down, but she was not being released fast enough. “I have to say ‘hi’ to Daddy!”

“Our girl has been worried about you,” Lucy whispered to Tim.

“Like mother like daughter,” he replied with a scratchy voice.

She chuckled and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Sorry not sorry.”

“Daddy!” Fiona said and was finally brought close enough to his bedside to see him properly. “Are you okay?”

“All good, munchkin. You and your mommy need to stop worrying,” he said.

Lucy cautiously slipped into his hospital bed before nuzzling his neck and breathing in his scent. “I think we have every right to worry about you until you’re discharged in a few days. Just to be sure, we’re not going anywhere. Well, for now. I’m sending Fi home with Tamara in like an hour, so she can sleep comfortably.”

“Can she stay?” He requested. “I want both of you to stay.”

“We did say we would start sharing a bed every night from now on, but I didn’t expect it to be a hospital bed.”

“If it’s too uncomfortable, and you want to go home-”

She shook her head. “I’m exactly where I want to be.” She gave him a quick peck and a relieved grin.

Tamara was genuinely curious if they realized how much of a couple they had become. Their paper marriage was becoming more real every time she saw them together.

“You know what I think your daddy needs, Fi? Hugs,” Lucy thought aloud and gestured to bring her daughter to her chest so that both of them could be molded into his side.

“Hugs everyday!” Fiona cheered. “I like bedtime hugs.”

“What are bedtime hugs?” Tamara wondered.

“I get to hug Mommy and Daddy all night,” Fiona answered.

“Does she do that a lot?” Tamara asked Lucy.

“A few nights here and there,” Lucy answered, “Why?”

“Fi,” Tamara inquired, “did you share a bedroom with lots of kids when you lived in foster homes?”

“Sometimes. It was noisy.”

“Was it noisy when you lived in your last foster home?”

“No. It was quiet. I don’t know if Mark and Gloria were home,” Fiona answered.

Lucy’s heart broke. “Someone will always be home with you, Fi. You don’t have to come in our room and check. We wouldn’t leave you home alone, okay, sweetheart?”

“Promise?”

“We promise,” Lucy replied and tried not to cry; her daughter’s previous foster parents made her feel abandoned all the time, and that was heartbreaking. “Bedtime hugs are always okay, though. We love giving you hugs all the time.”

“Bedtime hugs make me feel better,” Fiona shared and petted her dad’s arm. “Bedtime hugs today are for Daddy.”

Tamara saw how adorable they looked together as a family and tiptoed out of the room to give them an evening of healing bedtime hugs.

Chapter Text

Fiona was decidedly not happy, so she put her hands on her hips and looked around the hospital room as she made her feelings known, “I don’t want to go home! I want to stay with you!”

Lucy tried to reason with her, “Your daddy will be in the hospital for a few days getting tests done and talking to doctors. During all that time, you can be home and play with Kojo to keep him company.”

“What about my bows? Daddy ties my bows!”

“I know, but the doctor just said this morning he can’t really move for the next day or two, so he can’t tie your bows.”

“Can you do it?”

“What about Nell? You love Nell.”

Tim frowned and whispered, “Go home with her for the morning.”

“I’m not leaving you alone for a second,” Lucy refused.

“Please, our daughter needs you,” he begged. “I don’t want our relationship to get in the way of our kid.”

“This isn’t about our relationship. It’s about you being in the hospital.”

“Would you be here if we weren’t…what we are?” He had no idea how to describe their relationship.

“Of course I would, because I care about you.” She glanced at Fiona and sighed, “And I care about our daughter more. I’ll take her home and help her get ready for the day so she can have some semblance of her routine, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Don’t worry. There are plenty of doctors and nurses here to take care of me.”

“None of them will worry about you like me.” She bent down to be at eye level with her daughter. “Okay, Fi, say ‘bye’ to your daddy. We’re going home together you and me.”

“Can’t daddy come with?”

“He has to stay in the hospital.”

“Why?”

“Because he hurt his back, remember?”

“I want him to come home now, too.”

“Sorry, Fi, I wish I could come home with you,” Tim apologized. “It’ll only be a few days, and then I’ll be home again.”

“How many days? I can count.”

“Seven.”

“Seven!” Fiona exclaimed. “Mommy, we can’t have Daddy away from the house for SEVEN days! That’s so many.”

Lucy sat down at the edge of Tim’s bed by his hip and motioned for her to get close enough, so she could be picked up and placed in her lap. “Fiona, honey, I know this is really scary. Your daddy is in the hospital, and he’s not feeling well, but this place will make him feel all better really soon. Until he’s fixed up, he’ll have to rest and lay down, so he won’t get to do the things he usually does, but it’s only for a little while. While he’s in the hospital, you can come for a few hours to see him, but I don’t think you’ll have a lot of fun in this room if you’re here all day. When your daddy and I go to work, you spend the day with Nell playing with all of your toys, and going outside, and petting Kojo. We still want you to have all that fun like when we’re at work, and then you can come by afterwards.”

“What about bedtime hugs? If Daddy isn’t feeling well, he needs bedtime hugs.”

“Okay, you can stay every night for bedtime hugs.”

“Can Kojo come?”

“Dogs aren’t allowed in hospitals.”

“But he’s my best friend.”

“I know, sweetie, so you can stay home with Nell and hang out with him for a while before you come to be with us like around the time we usually come home from work.”

“Just like work? So not too long?” Fiona wondered.

“No, we don’t have to be apart for too long. You have to keep being gentle around your daddy while you’re here, though, okay? It’s important you remember that.”

“I’ll remember.”

“Of course you will. You’re such a good girl.”

Fiona beamed at the compliment.

Lucy kissed the top of her head. “Alright, let’s go home.”

Tim could not really move much, but he felt Fiona crawl up to his chest and hug him.

“Gentle,” Lucy warned.

“I’m good,” he said; his daughter was giving him some much needed love, and he welcomed it.

Lucy set Fiona down before leaning over Tim to really scan his face. “Are you sure you’ll be okay if I leave for a few hours?”

“Yeah, don’t worry.”

“Didn’t we already go over how I have a right to worry?” She pecked his forehead. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I won’t need anything.”

“Hmm,” she hummed, “I can think of one thing you need.” Dramatically, she turned to Fiona and asked, “Hey, Fi, what do princesses get?”

She furrowed her brow, “Mommy, Daddy can’t get a princess kiss. He’s a silly goose prince. That means he gets a prince kiss.”

“A prince kiss, huh? I think I’d like that.” Lucy said knowingly before bringing her lips to his fiercely even if it was only for a few moments. She grinned down at him and tucked some of her hair behind her ear to keep it from falling in his face.

“I might need another one,” he replied.

She snickered. “I don’t know. I think it’s up to Fiona.” She saw her daughter smiling in amusement at them. “Do you think I should give your daddy another prince kiss?”

“Yeah! More prince kisses!” Fiona cheered and twirled around.

Lucy obliged, giving Tim another kiss. “I see what you mean,” she whispered so only he could hear, “giving our daughter what she wants is pretty fun.”

“Don’t tell me she’s going to have two push over parents,” he said with a laugh.

“Maybe. It wouldn’t be so bad.” She flashed him a smirk and stood up from his bed. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Daddy! I love you!” Fiona called over to him as she waved.

Lucy took her daughter’s other hand to walk her through the hospital. “You’ll see him really soon, but first, we’re driving home.”

“Can I drive?”

“No, you still can’t drive. You have to wait until you’re sixteen years old to drive.”

“Sixteen? That’s so many years! I’ll be SO old!”

“Considering I’m close to double that age, ouch,” she muttered under her breath.

“Are you sixteen?” Fiona asked.

“No, I’m older than that.”

“You’re old?”

“Well, I like to think I’m pretty youthful for my age.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“All that matters is that your daddy is older than me.”

“So is Daddy old?”

“No, I would never date an old guy again. Thankfully, that phase of my life was short and way in the past.”

“What does that mean?”

“That means that the only man I ever want to have in my life is your daddy.” She stopped walking and gasped.

“Why are we stopping?” Fiona wondered.

“I just…I just said that out loud. Oh my God!” She scooped her daughter up and spun her around one time as they both giggled in the middle of a hospital hallway. “Fi, do you know what this means?” Her daughter’s clueless expression urged her to repeat herself, “I want to be with your daddy forever. Not just until those papers are signed. Forever! As in the only one. I mean, I guess I’ve felt that for a while now, but I haven’t let myself say anything like that. I haven’t been honest about it. Obviously, I’m still scared, but this is a good thing. This is growth. I have to tell him, but it can wait until I come back.”

“Mommy? I’m not sure what’s happening.”

“Nothing, but also everything,” she answered and squeezed her daughter. “I couldn’t be happier.”

“Yay!” Fiona cheered, despite being slightly confused; her mom’s joy was clear, and that was what mattered.

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Tim did not mind being alone in his hospital room, but everything was brighter and better when Lucy returned to him.

“Sorry, Fi asked me to double check that her bow was tied ‘just like how Daddy does it’, and then she wanted to change into blue for you, and then she asked me to read a book to her, since we didn’t read one before bed last night. What did I miss here?”

“My surgeon came by to check on me and dropped something off.” He did his best to point to the table pushed to the foot of his bed where a plastic cup had been set.

She lifted it to inspect it before realizing what it was. “Is this the part of the bullet they removed from your back?”

“Yup. The doc said I could keep it as a trophy.”

Despite the victory of his successful surgery, she could not help but be emotional about seeing what had become a piece of their history be removed from his body; that piece of shrapnel represented them, and it was embedded in him the way they were enmeshed in each other, so to see its removal was like the end of an era.

“Can I see it?”

She held it out close to his eyes when she noticed that the bullet may have been removed, but he still had a piece of metal to represent how they were linked together: his wedding ring. Lucy took solace in the fact that he still had a tie to her that she wanted him to keep forever; she thought about that as she threaded their fingers together.

He noticed how her eyes began to water. “Don’t cry, Luce. I’m totally fine.”

“I know,” she replied tightly. “This whole thing is making me think…” To bide her time, she sank down onto the hospital bed next to him and cupped his cheek. “Tim, earlier I said something to Fiona, and I don’t want to scare you when I tell you, but I think in the spirit of expressing ourselves, I should say that…” She bit down on her bottom lip as she pondered the best way to phrase the realization she made hours before.

“Tim! Are you okay?” Genny asked when she barged into the hospital room. “Oh, hey, Lucy.”

“G-Genny, this is a surprise,” he replied.

“Lucy texted. I’m surprised the hospital didn’t call me. I thought I was your emergency contact. So…back surgery? Fill me in.”

He explained as quickly and succinctly as he could what happened, and he noticed that Lucy let his hand go and moved to sit in one of the chairs at his bedside. He ended his story with, “Have I mentioned we have a daughter now?”

Genny was so stunned she had no idea what to say, so she spent a few seconds looking between her brother and Lucy to check if either of them would start laughing or give away any notion that they were joking, but their expressions remained serious.

“Her name is Fiona. She’s three years old, and you’ll absolutely love her,” Lucy shared.

“Three? How do you have a daughter that’s already three? Were you two together and didn’t tell me?”

“No, we fostered her. We met her on a call, and it was instant. We’ve felt like a family pretty much ever since.”

Tim saw her beam at the way she called them a family and outstretched his hand to her.

“You’re supposed to keep movement to a minimum,” Lucy warned.

“Come here,” he requested and smiled when she held his hand again.

Genny caught sight of her brother’s wedding ring and exclaimed, “You got married!”

“We had to for Fiona,” he explained.

“For now,” Lucy added, which earned her matching raised eyebrows of confusion from both Bradfords. “Reasons change,” she elaborated meekly.

“You’re married to each other? What about Ashley?” Genny wondered.

Tim hated that it took an extra long minute to remember who Ashley was, but as a new father, he had a lot occupying his mind of far greater importance than an ex-girlfriend. “We broke up. She couldn’t accept that Lucy and I needed to be married, or we couldn’t foster our kid, and we want to adopt her eventually, so it just made sense to sign the paper to get our kid.”

“I’m sorry, I’m still not really sure I’m following…you two got married to adopt a kid together?”

“Yes,” Tim and Lucy answered at the same time.

“And you’re parenting this kid together?”

“Yes,” they replied in unison.

“How exactly does that work? Does Tim get her on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other weekend?”

“No, we live all together,” Tim said.

“How long are you planning on living together?”

“As long as Lucy will let me live there,” he answered.

“I asked you to move in and to stay already. I meant that permanently,” Lucy responded.

“Permanently? You didn’t say that.”

Her stomach lurched. “Would you not have agreed to stay moved in if I said that?”

“Of course not.”

“Of course not?” She parroted his choice of words with concern coloring her voice.

“I meant of course not as in I definitely would’ve agreed to stay moved in with you if you said it was a permanent offer.”

She softened immediately. “Oh.”

“Hang on,” Genny interrupted, “you live together, you’re raising a kid together, and you got married, but you aren’t together?”

“We are,” Lucy said.

At the exact same time, Tim replied, “It’s complicated.”

“Which one is it?” Genny inquired.

Tim looked up at Lucy with apprehension. “Our daughter is our priority, and she’s the only one I can stand to disappoint. I can’t let you down, too, you know that.”

“I thought we were doing better since we started expressing ourselves,” Lucy responded quietly.

“We are, but…I’m still worried.”

“Now you’re the one that needs to stop worrying,” she said softly as her lips curled.

“Looks like I’m not the only one that needs to figure out what’s going on here,” Genny assessed. “As a teacher, I’ve seen the toll it takes on kids when there’s trouble at home. You’re fostering a child that you plan to adopt. That’s huge. Being a parent isn’t easy, and it’s a million times harder if you two aren’t on the same page, because I promise, the decisions only get more difficult as they grow up.”

“We’ve always worked well together. I’ll never doubt our ability to coparent,” Lucy said firmly.

“That coparenting looks different if you decide not to be together anymore.”

“I don’t want that to happen,” Lucy insisted to Genny then dropped her gaze to Tim laying in the hospital bed and repeated herself quietly, “I don’t want that to happen.” He looked like he had a thought on the tip of his tongue, but it was clear he was struggling to say it, so she told him, “We can talk about it later.” 

Genny felt a shift in Lucy’s demeanor; it was subtle, but it was enough for her to notice, but everything changed a few hours later when a little girl with a high pitched voice raced into the room.

“Daddy! Mommy!” Fiona said excitedly as she bounded in. “Aunt Tamara let me drive!”

“She WHAT?” Lucy asked, positively alarmed.

“Relax,” Tamara insisted. “The car was parked in your driveway, and I let her move the steering wheel while I made vrooming noises. Your kid’s going to drive with a lead foot. I can already tell, and I love it.”

Lucy lifted her daughter up into a hug. “What happened to you not driving until you’re sixteen?”

“Aunt Tamara said I could drive now!” Fiona replied. “Can I drive Daddy’s big car?”

“We can talk about that later. Right now, I want you to meet another aunt. This is your Aunt Genny. Can you say ‘hi’?”

“Hi, Aunt Genny! I’m Fiona!”

“Nice to meet you, Fiona,” Genny responded and caught a glimpse of Tim smiling out of the corner of her eye.

“I have a big family,” Fiona told her.

“Do you?” Genny wondered, amused.

“Yeah, they came home with me when we moved in. We have a big, big house, and I have a green room with lots and lots of books.”

“That’s amazing. Do you like living with your mommy and daddy?”

“My mommy is a princess, and she’s the best in the whole world! She sings to me, and she reads to me, and she gives me lots of hugs! And my daddy ties bows so good. He can talk to all the animals in the zoo. He helped me make friends with bears! I love him so much!”

“Wow, they sound pretty amazing,” Genny noted.

“I didn’t have a mommy and daddy before, but now I do, and I love them.”

Lucy stroked her daughter’s hair, then her attention was pulled to something odd. “Uhh, Tamara, why is your bag moving?”

“Oh, I totally forgot!” Tamara admitted then opened her tote bag enough so that Kojo’s head stuck out. “The kid asked me to bring him by for a while, and I couldn’t disappoint her.”

“That breaks like every rule of a hospital!” Lucy scolded her.

“He doesn’t shed. He’s practically hypoallergenic,” Tamara pointed out as if it was no big deal that she smuggled a dog into a hospital room based on the whims of a three year-old.

“Mommy, Kojo told me he wanted to see Daddy while he’s sick, too. Can we hug Daddy?”

Lucy hoped Genny did not judge her too harshly when she placed her daughter on Tim’s stomach while Tamara set Kojo down on his calves. “Tamara isn’t our daughter’s nanny. Our nanny is very responsible and reliable.”

“I’m responsible and reliable,” Tamara interjected.

“You brought a dog to a hospital,” Tim shot back as if though there was no other explanation required.

“Daddy, he missed you!” Fiona pouted.

“It’s okay, Fi, thank you for bringing him,” he acquiesced. “He’s not staying for bedtime hugs, though. Aunt Tamara is taking him back to her apartment to walk him tonight and tomorrow morning for the stunt she pulled.”

“That’s fair,” Lucy agreed.

“You’re both such parents,” Tamara groaned.

“I’m impressed,” Genny commented.

That little victory made Lucy pretty happy; hearing validation from another mother felt so crucial. She thought that despite the initial shock, Genny seemed to accept all of the news rather well, and that made all the difference.

When it got late, Tamara hid Kojo in her tote bag once more and left the hospital room with Genny.

Lucy tucked Tim in before positioning herself on the bed with him. “Are you okay?”

“Are we okay?”

“I meant about how we’re laying right now. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“That’s fine. Come on, Fi, time for bed.”

“Story time! Can we read a story?” Fiona requested. She went into her backpack her Aunt Tamara had packed for her and pulled out the first book. “Let’s read this one.”

“Perfect. I love story time,” Lucy said. Despite it feeling a bit different with how they were huddled together in a hospital room instead of Fiona’s bedroom, it was still lovely quality family time, and that was all that mattered. 

Fiona was yawning before the story was even over after a long, busy day with Nell and then the excitement shared with Aunt Tamara, so she was ready to sleep rather quickly.

“Good night, Fi. We love you,” Lucy murmured as she kissed her daughter’s head and noticed her how her eyes were already drooping closed. She was unable to sleep; she was wide awake staring at Tim, and when he finally met her gaze, she frowned.

“I know we need to talk,” he whispered. “It’s late, though.”

“Tim…”

“You’re pissed at me, aren’t you? I’m screwing things up.”

“I was just going to say that I’m glad Genny came by to see you and to meet Fiona. I’m not pissed at you.”

“How could you not be? We’re not on the same page.”

“That’s bound to happen every once in a while even for people as in sync as we are. I get it.” She kissed his cheek. “By the way, you’re not screwing things up. You need to cut yourself more slack. We’re learning how to be parents and how to be together all at the same time. Nothing will go perfectly.”

“At least I know not to let our kid drive.”

“You totally would’ve done what Tamara did if you had come up with it first.”

“That was a really good idea,” he admitted, hating that he had not come up with such a response to every time their daughter asked to drive.

She snickered and requested, “Speaking of good ideas, can I give you another prince kiss now?”

“Definitely,” he agreed, and though there was a slight twinge of pain when he craned his neck down to her, it was worth it to feel her lips molded to his for a few minutes.

Lucy slowly brushed her fingers through his hair as her face turned serious. “We’re going to figure this out for the sake of our family.”

“For our family,” Tim repeated with all of the reverence that word deserved.

She kissed him once more to bid him good night then settled in to sleep; perhaps she should have been concerned about the future of their relationship per their differing answers to Genny, but her mind had already been made up with her feelings that she confessed to her daughter; all she needed to do was wait for him to come to the same conclusion, which was something she had no issue being patient about.

Chapter Text

Being discharged from the hospital felt miraculous to Tim; he could not wait to resume his normal life and be home with his family on a big bed instead of crammed into a much smaller one. He even let Lucy drive them to their house, since she asked to; all of her worrying was rather sweet even if it was unnecessary.

Lucy walked with him through the front door and did not hear the sounds of their daughter. Her pulse skyrocketed for a moment before Nell appeared.

“Hey, Tim, how are you feeling?” Nell asked.

“A lot better,” he answered.

“But he’s still not at one hundred percent. He needs to rest at home for three more days, and then he can try lifting heavy objects,” Lucy recited the discharge instructions.

“That’s great,” Nell said then sneezed.

“Are you alright?” Lucy wondered.

“I don’t know. I started feeling congested about an hour ago. I finally got Fiona down for a nap, and I was going to make myself some tea to see if that would help.” She sniffled.

“Nell, if you’re feeling sick, you should go home and rest. We’ll be home for the day. We can be with Fi.”

“Are you sure?” Her question was cut off by a sneeze.

“Very sure. Go home.” Lucy watched Nell pack her things then exit the house all while sneezing the entire time, then she looked up at Tim and suggested, “You should take a nap, too.”

“I’m not tired.”

“You need to be resting.”

He went into the living room and lowered himself onto the couch to show he was listening. “Okay, I’m resting now.”

“Good. Can I rest with you?” He nodded in reply, so she sat down on the same cushion and curved into his side in a way that had become second nature due to all of the long days cuddled up on the hospital bed. She had to drop her head back to meet his eyes. “We can try sleeping in bed if you want.”

“I don’t need to sleep. I’ve been laid up all week.”

“This is all part of your recovery.”

He gingerly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear then traced it until he curled the end of the soft, chestnut piece of hair around his index finger. “My recovery probably would’ve sucked if you weren’t there everyday, so thank you.”

She smiled instantly. “I’m glad I could be there for you.”

“You didn’t have to take the week off of work, though.”

“Grey said he understood and told me I could take off as much time as I needed to until you were ready to come back to work, too.” She ran a hand down his chest soothingly. “The station isn’t the same without seeing you, anyways.”

“It’s still weird that we don’t ride together. At least having lunch together feels like old times.”

“Not exactly like old times,” she countered considering how tactile their lunches had become. “Even better.” 

He grinned at her. It was so easy to be captivated by her warmth and beauty that he almost forgot about everything else…almost. Truthfully, Tim struggled to effectively define their relationship- every fiber of his being wanted her endlessly, but the voice of doubt in his head held him back. His sister helped them to identify that while Lucy was fully invested, he was not prepared to do the same. At least she was patient with him. So patient. She did not bring up the topic once for the rest of his hospital stay, since she could so clearly tell his inner turmoil had not settled enough for that discussion. She offered him constant quiet affection without drawing attention to it like dramatically asking their daughter if a “prince kiss” would be a good idea. “I really don’t deserve you,” he muttered.

“Don’t say that. It’s not true. You would’ve done the exact same thing for me.”

“I’m not talking about taking off from work to be with me. I’m talking about…everything.”

Lucy caressed his cheek, noting how his stubble had grown after days of not shaving. She liked that she knew so well what it felt like to touch his cheek that she could gauge the roughness of the coarse hairs there in relation to how many days since he last shaved. “Let’s go upstairs to our bathroom and clean that stubble off of your face.” She rose to her feet and outstretched a hand to help him do the same, but he remained seated.

“We need to talk about this. We said we would.”

“Maybe I don’t want to right now.”

“Since when are you the one that avoids things?”

“Since I know what you’re going to say!” The words flew out of her mouth harsher than she intended, and she swallowed hard as if she could inhale the words back into her throat to erase that they had ever been uttered. 

“You do?”

“Why do you think I’ve been walking on eggshells with you for days, Tim? Why do you think I can barely let you go for even a second?” The anguish in her voice was hard to conceal. “I know what you want to do now, and I can’t go back. I can’t.” Her eyes burned with all of the tears she had been holding back bubbling up to the surface.

The pain on her face propelled him to stand immediately and hold her forearms. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’ve just been thinking that…what if it’s the right thing for us?”

“It’s never the right thing to rip flowers out of the ground before they get the chance to bloom.”

“What does that mean?”

Quiet giggles floated into their ears, and they turned their attention to the stairs. Lucy took them two at a time to reach Fiona’s room. Upon opening the door, she found her daughter in bed with her arms wrapped around Kojo as he licked her face while wagged his tail. “I thought you were napping.”

“Mommy!” Fiona said. “You’re home!”

“I’m home and so is your daddy.”

He walked through the doorway having moved at a slower speed and scowled at the sight. “This doesn’t look like a nap.”

“I tried sleeping, but Kojo wanted hugs. We give hugs everyday not just Love Day.”

“And this is why Kojo is only allowed to be in bed with you during nap time,” Lucy pointed out. “You need your rest, too. I’m taking Kojo out for a walk, so you can sleep.”

“You walk Kojo? I thought only Daddy did that.”

“Most of the time, yes, but your daddy needs to rest, so he’s going to stay here, and I’ll take Kojo.”

“The doc said I can walk around like normal,” Tim reminded her.

“Can you take it easy for one more day?” Lucy requested.

“For one more day,” he agreed without argument to at least give her something she wanted.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“I’m not tired. I can walk Kojo,” Fiona offered.

“You want to come with me?” Lucy asked.

“Daddy lets me sing to Kojo. Will you let me sing to him?”

“Of course. I’ll even join in.”

“Yay! Come on, Kojo, it’s walk time!” Fiona sprung out of bed as the dog hopped off of the mattress right behind her, and they excitedly bounded the stairs to locate his leash, leaving her parents behind without a second thought.

Since they were alone for a moment, he really wanted to say something to her, so he mustered up all of his courage, yet his voice was still quiet when he uttered, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t,” she whispered brokenly. “You don’t get to put a stop to everything without me having the chance to say my piece, and now isn’t the time for that.”

“Luce-”

She cut him off by surging up to kiss him, a pleading one, a desperate one, a fierce one. If their kisses were going to be numbered once more like on their wedding day, she wanted to make them count and hoped her lips could beg for his mercy when they slotted with his, since using her words had not been so successful.

All of the air evaporated from his lungs when he looked into her eyes; she was so hurt he could hardly stand it. Tim had wanted to avoid inflicting pain, yet he managed to do so anyways. His whole body felt heavy, consumed by guilt and agony for breaking her heart. If it was the right course to take as he had believed- why was it so painful?

Lucy thought he might say something, but then she decided she did not want to hear him speak another word out of fear for what could come out of his mouth, so she strutted away. “Do you have your shoes on, Fi?” She asked as evenly as she could regardless of how her heart was breaking.

“I want to wear the green ones!” Fiona said and kicked her feet in the air to show that she had successfully put on one of her green sneakers. Thankfully, her mom helped her with the other, then she put on a pair of shoes, and they walked out of the house. “Can I hold Kojo’s string?”

“This is called a leash. I have to hold it, because it’s a grown up thing, but you can hold my hand.”

“Daddy makes it look fun when he holds your hand,” she said as she placed her palm is her mom’s soft one.

Lucy tried not to cry thinking about how Tim might never hold her hand again.

“Mommy? Are you sad?” For the first time, she was not smiling as she usually did, and that seemed rather odd.

“A little,” she lied, because if she were being honest, she would admit that she was devastated.

“Why are you sad?”

She paused mid stride and dropped to her knees. “You know what would make me less sad? Can I have a hug?”

“I love hugs,” Fiona replied before throwing her arms around her mom as best as she could.

Hidden by their embrace, she allowed a few tears to trickle down her cheek, then she swallowed back the rest and let her daughter go. “Thank you, sweetheart. I really, really needed that.”

“Yeah, hugs are the best.”

“They sure are.” She stood back up and dusted off her knees. “Alright, what kind of songs do you usually sing to Kojo?” That question launched Fiona into a one woman concert singing for several blocks. When Lucy knew the song, she joined in, but most of the lyrics and melodies were ones her daughter seemed to compose in the moment in an adorably creative way. The only interruption was when her phone rang with a call from Angela. “Hey, Ang,” she answered.

“Hey, how’s Tim?” Angela inquired.

“Good, yeah, he’s good. He refuses to rest even though the doctor said he still needs to take it easy for a few days, but you know how stubborn he is.”

“See, when I say that, I sound annoyed, because I am, but when you say it, it sounds like it’s one of his best qualities.” The endless fondness Lucy had for Tim was so obvious and also so easy to tease her for.

“Oh, I don’t think it’s one of his best qualities right now.”

“What did he do?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“With me or with him?”

Sadly, she responded, “With anyone.”

“Okay, let me help. Bring Fiona over for a play date with Jack. I’ll drop her back off at your house after dinner, and you can go anywhere you want for all that time.”

“And leave Tim home alone?”

“He’s a big boy. Tim can handle a few hours by himself. You clearly need some alone time.”

“That does sound nice,” she admitted. “What would I even do?”

“For most moms, it takes years to get to the point where they don’t know how to be alone and not worry about their kid for a few hours. You learn fast. Get a pedicure, or a massage, or take a walk, or drive around. Anything to shut your brain off for a while. Sex also works for that, but I have a feeling suggesting that right now would make you hang up on me.”

“And you would be correct,” she said then blew out a breath.

“You’re officially invited to my wine nights with Nyla where we vent about everything over bottles of red. We do it pretty much every other Wednesday.”

“I definitely need that.”

“Welcome to the club. I’ll see you when you come over later.”

“Bye.” She ended the call.

When Tim heard his girls return home, he arose from where he had nodded off on the couch and went to the foyer. “How was the walk?”

“Kojo loves my songs,” Fiona bragged.

“That’s because you have such a pretty voice,” he said.

“Fi, keep your shoes on. Can you go upstairs to pack some toys in your backpack? We’re leaving for a play date really soon,” Lucy instructed to which her daughter enthusiastically went up the stairs cheering. Quietly, she added for Tim, “Angela offered to host a play date, and I agreed to it. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Does that mean…are we going to…?”

“No, I’m sorry, but I can’t have that conversation with you right now. My emotions are all over the place, and I need to clear my head for a while. There’s leftovers in the fridge you can have for dinner. I’ll be back home for Fiona’s bedtime.” She made it two steps away from him before he took her hand, and she was too weak to do anything other than spin around to face him. 

“What can I do?”

“Listen,” was her simple request. “I know how stubborn you are, but please, when I am ready to talk, actually listen to everything I have to say.”

“I can do that.” For all of her patience, she earned at least his ability to be receptive.

“Thank you.”

He lifted their joined hands to lightly peck her knuckles, and the slightest bit of a smile formed at the corner of her mouth. “Go on and clear your head. I’ll drive Fiona to Angela’s house.”

“No, it’s on the way to where I need to go. Besides, I don’t trust you and our daughter in a car right now. She’ll probably swindle you into letting her actually drive and not that pretend thing Tamara did the other day,” she joked.

His shoulders shook with a silent laugh. “You’re probably right.” He released her hand and let her resume with whatever he had stopped her from doing moments before. When she returned to the foyer, she had a tote bag over her arm, and Fiona had a seemingly empty backpack. 

Fiona sunk down onto the ground, unzipped the main compartment of her backpack all the way, and instructed, "Okay, Kojo, get in the bag like you did for Aunt Tamara."

Lucy had to swallow back her chuckles. “Honey, you can’t take Kojo with you on your play date. I thought you were going to pack some toys.”

“I was, but then I remembered that Kojo would miss me. He’s my best friend in the whole world, and I don’t want to be away from him.”

She bent down to meet her daughter at eye level and said, “I understand. Believe me, I do, but Kojo will be waiting at home for you to get back.” She was struggling with missing her own best friend despite him standing a few paces away from her.

“Can he give me bedtime hugs tonight?”

“I don’t think anyone is having bedtime hugs tonight,” she muttered under her breath. “I’ll think about it. Say goodbye to Kojo and your daddy.”

“Daddy, please, can Kojo give me bedtime hugs tonight?” She begged.

“Both of us have to listen to your mommy,” he said, his double meaning made clear from the emotion shining in his eyes.

“Okay,” she gave up. “Bye, Daddy, I love you.”

“I love you, too, munchkin.” He gave her a hug and watched Lucy approach him apprehensively. Tim tried flashing her a smile, but all of the unspoken words between them were hard to overlook, so their farewell was silent and heavy, then, he was alone in a house with Kojo, a sensation he had not felt in seemingly ages, and it only took a few minutes to hate it.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

After shift, Grey had time to make two stops on his way home. Once finished with the first one, he proceeded to his second, which was a house call. He knocked on the front door of Tim and Lucy’s house and was surprised that Tim himself was the one to answer. “I thought you were resting.”

“I’m getting sick of resting,” Tim grumbled and stepped to the side to welcome Grey into his home. “Can I get you a drink?”

“No, I’m good. I’m not planning on staying for long. Luna’s got book club, but it should be wrapping up soon. I wanted to pop by and see how you’re doing.”

“All good, sir. I’m ready to go back to work.”

“We’ll let the doctors in charge of clearing you be the judge of that. Lucy’s been texting me everyday to tell me how you’re doing and says you’ve been improving every single day.”

“Has she?”

“That wife of yours is pretty spectacular.”

“She is,” he knew. He clenched his fists and tried not to look as upset as he felt.

“I have to admit, I didn’t know about you two at first. I guess I hadn’t noticed that you were together. Luna did, though. She came by to pick me up from the station one day and immediately said you make a great pair.”

Tim grinned at that.

“Of course, I panicked,” Grey divulged. “Fellow officers at the same station shouldn’t really date, but Luna told me look the other way, because she said you never looked happier, and she was certainly right about that. She was also right on your wedding day. When we were driving from the courthouse to your old house, she told me you two have a beautiful love between you, and I couldn’t agree more. Good thing I didn’t get in the way when I found out about you all that time ago.”

Love. Tim’s chest constricted hearing that one word.

“Sometimes, you just have to listen to your wife. I’m glad I did. Your life will be better for that,” Grey advised.

“I promised her earlier I would do just that, actually.”

“Good. As you should.” He noticed Tim’s glum look; one that had not been on his face in a while. “Is something wrong, son?”

“We’re adjusting.”

“Need some marriage advice?” When Tim only shrugged, Grey said, “If you think you’ve done something wrong, you probably did, so apologize. I told you ‘to love is to forgive’. She loves you. She’ll forgive you.”

“Probably not this time.” He wanted to say it was impossible that Lucy loved him, but given the fact that they got married, he did not want to give away the reason for the wedding.

A thought occurred to him. “Let me get something from my car.” He scurried out to the driveway, took something from one of the groceries bags of items he purchased during his first stop on his way home, and re-entered the house with a smile. “Here. Sometimes, when I shop for groceries, I pick up a bouquet of flowers for Luna to let her know I’m thinking of her, so I got some today. Sounds like you’ll need these more than I do. Flowers really help with apologies, and if you screw up badly enough, get her some jewelry.”

“She does like flowers. Thank you.” He played with the plastic wrapped around the bouquet as he considered a question he was interested in asking. “How do you make it look so easy to be a good father and a good husband?”

Grey scoffed. “Easy? It’s anything but easy. It’s a lot of work, but it’s all worth it. Once you find the person you’re willing to do all that hard work with, everything, even the tough days, is a little more manageable. That’s what you and Lucy can do for each other.”

“I’ve hurt her, and I’ve screwed up, and I know I’m going to disappoint her. She doesn’t deserve that.”

“Luna will tell you that most men have women they don’t deserve. I have a wife like that, and that’s okay. Be the best version of yourself for her and your daughter, and you’ll manage to make them happy enough that things will work out. It’s worked for me for almost thirty years.” Tim still seemed ill at ease. “Look, you will inevitably disappoint her and make all sorts of mistakes, because that’s life. All you can do is apologize and do what you need to do to make things better.”

“What if what makes things better is me taking a step back?”

“Lucy doesn’t want that.”

“She should.”

“I’m not sure I’m the person that could convince you of that. You might have to hear it in her own words, but I’m pretty sure she’ll tell you you’re being a fool for thinking that.”

“Probably ‘idiot’. She’s called me that before,” he recalled as his lips curved upwards.

“An idiot then. That’s what she’ll call you.” He chuckled. “You two are something special. I’m happy you’re not hiding your relationship, so I can say stuff like that now.” He eyed his watch. “Luna should be home soon. I’ve gotta go, but I’ll see you at the station once you’re cleared.”

“Thanks for stopping by.”

“Any time.”

In truth, Tim felt uneasy even after hearing Grey’s advice; he was aware that speaking with Lucy would be the only way to move forward, so he put the flowers in a vase and set them on the kitchen counter in a spot she would hopefully see when she walked through the door and bided his time until Lucy and Fiona came home. Fiona arrived first, utterly exhausted.

Angela walked Fiona into the house and instead of exchanging niceties, reported, “Lucy’s mad at you.”

“I know,” he replied unhappily then bent down to pick his daughter up, which made his back feel slightly achy, but it was worth it. “Hey, Fi, how was your play date?”

“Awesome! Jack showed me his really cool trucks, and I taught him how to draw a bear,” Fiona shared.

“That’s great. It’s time to start getting ready for bed.”

“Where’s Mommy?”

“She’s coming home soon. Let’s put on our pajamas.”

“Can Kojo come with?”

“Absolutely. Thanks, Ang.”

“Beg and grovel so Lucy forgives you. You’re not going to get a better woman.”

“I know, I know.”

She glanced at the vase on the counter and said, “The flowers are a nice touch. Not all hope is totally lost.” Angela flashed him a somewhat impressed smirk and left their house.

By the time Tim had successfully completed Fiona’s nighttime routine, Lucy arrived in her bedroom with sparkling eyes.

She gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead to greet her then squeezed Tim’s hand but did not say a word until Fiona was settling under the covers on the other side of the room. “Thank you for the flowers. I saw them right when I walked in the door. They’re beautiful.”

“They’re a small apology,” he said simply.

She brought their intertwined fingers to her chest as she stepped closer to him. “It didn’t feel small to me. It means a lot. Flowers just feel like such a good symbol for our family, you know?”

At last, she resumed beaming at him after days where her gaze had lost its luster. “Whatever you say,” he replied with a smile as she swooned. “Where did you go?” He asked quietly.

“I went to the beach to read. I thought the fresh air and the waves would ground me.”

“Did they?”

“I only read about one chapter of that book. All I thought about was you.”

“Sorry for ruining what was supposed to be relaxing for you.”

“You still haven’t ruined anything. I got clarity. That’s what I needed. We can talk about it some more after story time. Fiona comes first.” She released his hand and grabbed a princess storybook.

“Always.”

Lucy scooted into bed next to her daughter and ran her fingers through her freshly brushed hair. “Did you have fun with your cousin Jack today?”

“I had the best time! I drew lots of flowers!”

“You did?”

“I drew SO many, and I brought them home to give them to you.”

“What are the chances both of my favorite people would give me flowers on the same day? You’re really good at giving special presents just like your daddy. Did anything else happen?”

“Aunt Angela and Uncle Wes kissed in front of me. Why don’t you and Daddy do that?”

“We kiss in front of you. What are you talking about?” Lucy asked, a bit surprised considering the whole “princess kiss” and “prince kiss” concepts gave her daughter such amusement.

“I don’t remember.”

“What about the princess kisses?”

“That hasn’t happened in forever. Aren’t you and Daddy happy? The princesses and princes kiss when it’s the happy part of the movie.”

Since Lucy paused, Tim took over answering, “No one could make me happier than you and your mommy. I promise. How about we read our story?”

Grateful for the segue, she opened the book and began to read to Fiona. When the story was over, Lucy tucked their daughter in tightly, bade her good night, ensured Kojo scampered out of the room so as not to disturb Fiona’s sleep, and walked all the way to the doorframe of the adorable, well curated green room. She waited for Tim to approach her, then she shot up onto her tip toes and pressed a kiss to his lips before turning off the bedroom light and shutting the door with their daughter’s clapping still audible in the background; Fiona was clearly pleased with her parents’ kiss. Once they were alone in the hallway, Lucy felt the need to explain herself, “I’m sorry about ambushing you back there. That kiss was for Fiona. You heard her say she doesn’t think we’re happy because we hadn’t kissed in front of her in days. What if during the next interview with Rachel, Fiona mentions that we don’t kiss? That would be bad.”

“Are we supposed to kiss every night after story time in front of our daughter, so she doesn’t forget we kiss?”

“I don’t know if I can agree to that right now.”

“Not even if it’s for Fiona?”

She thought about how painful it would be to experience a daily taste of him after they broke up, and it seemed unbearable under any other circumstances, yet, “If it’s for Fiona.”

“Okay. Good night kisses for Fiona. We can do that. Now, it’s time to talk for us.” He jerked his head in the direction of their bedroom and lead the way. He gestured for her to sit down, but she shook her head and nervously played with her sleeve while worrying at her lip, visibly agitated, so he remained standing and urged her to unburden whatever was weighing on her. “I’m ready to listen.”

There were a few possible ways she thought about starting to share what was on her mind, but nothing would have been more direct or more genuine than the words that cascaded out of her mouth, “Please, don’t pull away now. We’ve come so far, and I want to keep growing. I want you to make mistakes with me. I don’t need things to be perfect. Hell, life would get pretty boring if things started being perfect all of a sudden. We’ve known each other for years. I know you better than I know myself, and I know you feel the same way about me. There’s no part of you that’s too broken or imperfect for me. I know that. We’ve seen each other on some of the worst days of our lives and been there for each other. All the doubting and the self loathing that makes you want to quit on this relationship so soon is just so Tim Bradford to want to destroy anything good you have in your life, because you don’t think you’re worthy, but guess what? I’m the mother of your child. I’m tied to you forever. There’s no getting rid of me, or cutting me out of your life, or quitting on us that will stop that from being true. A lot has happened in a short amount of time. We got married, we moved, we have a kid now, and there’s so much chaos in our lives that has been uncontrollable, and the one thing I’m glad I can’t control and have to listen to anyways is my heart, and it’s telling me I want to be with you more than anything, and I think you feel the same way, so please, stop being an idiot and give us a real chance.”

“You called me an idiot,” he noted fondly.

“After everything I just said, that’s your big takeaway?”

“No, but I knew you would say that. The other stuff, no, that…was…” He was rendered mostly speechless; out of anything he anticipated she would say to ease his mind, she surpassed it by even addressing the doubts he had not even managed to voice and so succinctly saying everything he really needed to hear.

“See what happens when you listen?” She asked lightheartedly and dared to move towards him.

“I listened. I really did. Can I talk now?” She nodded, so he proceeded, “I’m really sorry I’ve been so afraid. How do I make things better now? Because that’s how we move forward. I apologize for being an idiot, and then I do what I have to do to make our relationship better.”

“Better? Are you…you don’t want to give up on us anymore?”

“After a speech like that, how could I?”

She thought she might just burst with joy. “Come here,” she reached for him and yanked him against her for an uncoordinated but no less enthusiastic kiss. “You’re serious?” She asked when she pulled away, needing to hear confirmation once more.

“Very.”

For anyone else, it might have sounded absurd for a husband and wife to agree to be in a relationship, but for Lucy, it was one of the greatest decisions they had ever made, and one they clearly did not make lightly. “I really thought I would have to be more convincing.”

“You can say anything else you need to say, and I’ll listen, but you already convinced me. I had to hear it from you.”

“I still want to take things slow to make sure our daughter stays the priority.”

“Of course.”

She hugged him. She just had to squeeze him tightly and allow her body to thank him in a way words could never elaborate. “Thank you for not giving up on us,” she said, muffled by how her face was pressed into his shoulder.

“Thank you for being you.”

After holding onto him for a few more moments, she pulled back and kissed him one more time before sashaying into their en suite bathroom to start her nightly routine. There was something so incredibly domestic and intimate about brushing their teeth next to each other and moving around while making eye contact via the mirror like a real couple, and then she remembered that they were. 

He decided not to waste time with the pretense of starting on different sides of the bed and meeting in the middle, so he shuffled to the center of the mattress and held his arms out expectantly for her. What he had not anticipated was how she leapt onto the bed with a giggle and threw her body over his. 

Laying stretched out on top of him with a huge grin, she sighed gladly. “Can I make a request?” He hummed to indicate he was listening. “Can I get another good night kiss, but this time it’s for me?”

“For you? Definitely.” He angled his head up to capture her lips, and she made a happy sound that turned into a moan when she deepened their kiss momentarily before breaking away. He saw her smile and wanted to commit it to memory how she was hovering above him and practically vibrating with joy; making her so happy helped reinforce the idea that even if he was unworthy of her, he could still be good enough to make their relationship work. Tim gripped her hips and flipped their positions quickly. He stared at her for a moment, eyes taking in her face. “Can I have a good night kiss? For me this time?”

“For you? Definitely?” She whispered fondly, repeating his own words back to him, and gave him the kind of kiss that left them both breathless and a little hazy. Wholly satisfied, she situated herself to lay completely on top of him comfortably, just because she could, and shut her eyes.

“You don’t even have to ask. You can have bedtime hugs.” He slowly rubbed her back and savored the obliteration of personal space in a rare moment where it was just the two of them in bed.

“This isn’t for me,” Lucy replied. “These bedtime hugs are for us.”

She was right as she tended to be; both of them needed the whole evening of closeness as reassurance that despite and because of everything, they were exactly where they needed to be.

Chapter Text

The sunlight filtered through the curtains cheerily, the kind of morning light that made the world seem as happy as Lucy felt. She down at Tim, who she was still laying on top of, and her chest warmed. He looked so peaceful, the hard lines of his jaw and the perpetual tension in his shoulders softened by sleep. She could not help the smile that stretched across her lips. It felt surreal, like she had entered a different universe, one she never wanted to leave, because the night before, they finally agreed to confront the feelings they had been dancing around, buried beneath layers of uncertainty, friendship, new parenthood, and fear. Tim had accepted that their connection was worthy of exploring, and nothing could have made her more giddy than that. Her heart gave a happy little skip just thinking about it. She wanted to wake him to share the joy buzzing in her veins, so she gently brushed a stray lock of hair from his forehead.

He did not so much as stir.

Emboldened by his stillness, she leaned in and pressed the softest kiss to the corner of his mouth. He twitched but did not wake. She grinned, her gleefulness bubbling up as she pressed her lips to his cheek then his temple. When he still did not open his eyes, she started to pepper his face with kisses from his jaw, to his nose, to the curve of his brow.

“Luce,” he muttered, his voice gravelly and low, a sound that made her stomach flip. His eyes remained closed, but there was the faintest hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Good morning,” she teased, her voice light and playful as she brushed her lips along his scruffy jawline.

His eyes cracked open, bleary and unamused. “Is this how it’s going to be every morning? Snuggles and this?”

“Get used to it.” She settled her chin on his chest, her grin widening when he reached up to rub the sleep from his eyes.

“You’re extra chipper,” he grumbled, but there was no real annoyance in his tone. His hand fell to rest lightly on her back, a gesture so easy it made his body thrum.

“I’m happy,” she admitted. “Aren’t you?”

His gaze softened as he looked at her, and for a moment, quiet stretched between them, heavy with unspoken feelings. Finally, he nodded. “Yeah, I’m happy.”

Lucy felt her cheeks flush, the sincerity in his voice warming her from the inside out. She wanted to say something clever, something to lighten the moment, but before she could, Tim’s hand slid up to cradle the back of her head, pulling her down for a kiss that was unhurried and deep, the kind that made time feel irrelevant. She melted against him, her fingers curling into the fabric of his t shirt as her heart hammered in her chest. When they finally broke apart, she stayed close, their noses touching. “I really, really like waking up like this,” she whispered breathlessly.

He smirked, his thumb sweeping along her jawline. “It’s not so bad.”

“Oh, you love it,” she shot back, grinning.

His eyes crinkled at the corners as he chuckled, the sound deep and warm. “I do.” They stayed like that for a while, tangled up in each other to savor how their bodies felt like they were two halves of a whole with their mouths slotting into place confirming how real and right their connection was until the bedroom door flew open and in ran their favorite person.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Fiona shouted happily and tugged at the bedspread to help herself climb up to plop down next to the pile of limbs that were parents had made.

Lucy smoothed her daughter’s messy brown hair and pushed it out of her face to admire that bright smile of hers. “Good morning, my love.”

“Good morning!” Fiona chirped and clutched at what she could of her mom’s shirt.

“Good morning, kiddo,” Tim said, his tone softening in a way that always made Lucy’s chest ache.

She scrunched her nose and asked, “Did you have bedtime hugs without me?” Given the way her mom was sprawled out on her dad, it looked that way.

“It isn’t bedtimes hugs without you, sweetie. I just really like holding your daddy.” She reached out to encircle her daughter’s side and added, “Almost as much as I love holding you.”

“Hugs are fun, but I’m hungry! Can we have pancakes?”

Lucy laughed, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. “Pancakes sound perfect. Tim, can you make us pancakes?”

“Anything for my girls,” he replied easily.

Fiona giggled, and Lucy felt her heart swell. She had everything she ever wanted piled into her bed- love, laughter, and a little family of their own.

“Yay! Pancakes! I have to tell Kojo!” Fiona cheered and scrambled out of bed.

Lucy would not let Tim move away. She shut her eyes, nuzzled his neck, and whispered with an endless grin, “I’m so happy right now.”

“Are you? I hadn’t noticed,” he responded sarcastically, earning him a playful whack to his chest. More seriously, he cupped her chin to look into her eyes and softly said, “I’m happy you’re happy. That’s all I want.”

“You know what would make me really happy right now?” She asked then answered her own question by claiming his mouth with a gleeful hum.

The only reason they broke apart was because they heard a loud clatter on the first floor, so they sprung out of bed and rushed down the stairs to find Fiona holding out two pots to Kojo.

“Do you know how to make pancakes, Kojo?” She asked her dog.

“What is going on in here?” Lucy asked. 

“I wanted to help make breakfast,” Fiona explained.

“You know, I would love your help, munchkin. Let’s make the batter while your mommy picks up the pots on the ground we don’t need.” He scooped his daughter up and set her down in a seated position on the counter.

“Be careful with your back,” Lucy warned.

“I’m fine,” he assured her.

As great as it was to hear his genuine tone of voice, what really made her feel better was his soft eyes locked on her. She wondered if they changed to a different shade of blue just for him and Fiona. His girls. She could swear he looked at them differently, and she loved it. Lucy gathered the pots and pans Fiona had managed to pull out of the cabinet within a second and washed them as she caught glimpses of Tim flipping pancakes and Fiona sitting beside him clapping each time he did it successfully. The day had just begun, and it was already perfect. The warmth in her chest had not faded since she had woken up. Her lips still tingled from his kisses, and every time their eyes met, her stomach did a little flip just like the pancakes. She was content watching him make their family breakfast, then sitting at his side around the kitchen table to enjoy their meal together, then leaning in to devour his lips as a compliment to the chef. “Thank you for the pancakes,” she whispered lowly against his mouth.

“How come you don’t kiss me like that when I make princess breakfast?” He asked.

“Because we weren’t together, but now we are.” She really did her best to not sound overjoyed about that fact, but it was hard enough not to dance around and celebrate the recent shift.

“We are,” he agreed quietly with a nod.

“Uh oh,” Fiona said guiltily and pointed to the ground.

Tim bit his lip when he noticed that Kojo had an accident on the floor. 

“It’s okay, Fi. We can clean it up in a second. Don’t touch it,” Lucy directed and sprang up from her chair to gather paper towels and tackle the mess.

“Shoot. I forgot to take him out for a walk this morning. I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “I got a little distracted, and I-I wasn’t thinking, and-”

“Don’t worry about it. I got distracted, too, remember?”

He distinctly recalled she was the reason all other thoughts escaped his mind other than how amazing it was to hold her sleep warm body against his while exploring her mouth endlessly.

“This is a worthwhile price to pay for this morning,” she guaranteed as she sprayed some cleaning solution on the hardwood floor.

“I’ll take him out now, so he doesn’t have another accident. Come on, Kojo, we’re going for a walk.”

“Me, too! I want to walk Kojo with you!” Fiona chimed in.

“Sure, kiddo. Put on your sneakers, and we can go.” He did not care that they were still in their pajamas on a Sunday morning.

Lucy swiped at the floor and frowned. “Wait. You’re both leaving?”

He quirked an eyebrow, his mouth twitching upwards. “It’s just a walk, Luce. We won’t be gone long.”

“But…” She could not help but pout.“It’s our day off. I wanted all three of us to spend it together.”

He chuckled under his breath. “We’ll be back before you even have time to miss us.”

“Too late,” she mumbled.

Fiona clapped her hands excitedly. “Let’s go, let’s go!” She beckoned for Kojo to follow her until they were both standing so close to the door it would be impossible to open it.

Tim grabbed the leash hanging by the door, but then he decided to meet Lucy on the ground and pecked the top of her head. “Family time will resume when we get back. Think you can hold down the fort while we’re gone?”

Lucy sighed dramatically, but her lips curved into a smile. “Fine, but don’t be gone too long.”

“Where are your shoes, Fi? You can’t go outside barefoot,” he said when he noticed his daughter had not followed his instruction about wearing her sneakers.

“Kojo doesn’t wear shoes, so why do I have to?” She wondered.

“Dogs’ feet don’t get cold, but people’s feet do. Your mommy’s get cold every night so I’m learning. Go, put on your shoes.” He slid his own on then clipped Kojo’s leash to his collar.

“Are you complaining? It’s a circulation issue.” Lucy inquired.

“No, I’m definitely not,” he promised fondly, since the only reason he knew what temperature her feet changed to was because she clung to him all night, and that was an irreplaceable feeling he could never complain about.

Fiona wiggled one of her feet in the air to show off how she had finally listened. “Shoes are on! We can go!”

“Okay, you have to hold my hand the whole time,” he told her, and she nodded up at him seriously. On his way out the door, he winked at Lucy and swore she inhaled sharply at that.

She did, and her knees wobbled, too.

“Can I sing to Kojo today?” Fiona asked her dad.

“Of course, he loves your pretty singing voice,” he answered and smiled as she started making up songs to serenade their dog with. Their walk was going well until his phone buzzed in his pocket. He released his daughter’s hand to take it out and look at the screen. He read a calendar notification that gave him pause:

Mother’s Day.

The words on his phone glared back at him like an accusation. How had he forgotten? His pulse quickened as he shoved the phone back into his pocket. It was Lucy’s first Mother’s Day, and she deserved something special, yet it had escaped his mind, and he was walking the dog like it was any other Sunday.

“Daddy? Fiona tugged on his hand, looking up at him with her wide blue eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot something really important. Do you know what today is?”

She furrowed her brow in concentration, but she had no idea what the correct answer was. “Pancake Day? We had pancakes.”

“Yes, we sure did, but actually, it’s Mother’s Day, which is a really special holiday where we celebrate all of the mommies.”

“Mommy’s Day?” She wondered, unsure if that made sense.

“Exactly. It’s Mommy’s Day. It’s like Love Day only we give all of our love to your mommy.”

“Does that mean extra hugs?”

“It does.”

“Does she get a present? She got a present for Love Day.” She tapped on her bow-shaped pendant she received on Love Day as an example, and also because she really loved her necklace.

“Usually, yes, but that can wait. What else can we do that’s special for your mommy?”

“She loves flowers!”

He knew he had given her some the day before, but it was a good idea.

Fiona saw a patch of daisies ahead and went over to pick them. “We’ll give these to Mommy!”

“She’ll love them. Let’s walk back home to give them to her.” For the rest of their jaunt, his mind raced as he considered how to fix Lucy’s Mother’s Day that had begun disastrously.

Lucy heard the door fly open then little feet pad past the foyer into the kitchen as she put the last dish from breakfast in the drying rack. When she spun to look at Fiona, she was shocked to see her proudly holding up a handful of daisies.

“Mommy! Happy Mommy’s Day! Here are flowers, and now I want to give you a hug,” Fiona said.

She wanted to faint from the cuteness. She bent down to embrace her daughter tightly as she shut her eyes. “Thank you so much, honey,” she told her appreciatively.

“You like the flowers?” Fiona asked when she stepped back.

“I love them. What I love even more is that I’m your mommy. I wouldn’t be celebrating Mommy’s Day this year if it wasn’t for you.” Her gaze shifted to Tim, who stood away from them with his hands in his pockets, watching her with an expression that was almost shy.

“We, uh, thought you deserved something special,” he explained, his voice low.

“I don’t need anything.”

He finally crossed over to her and took the daisies out of her hands before offering, “I’ll put these in water.”

“Can I draw something special for you?” Fiona wondered.

“I would love that, but only for a few minutes before we go upstairs to change out of your pajamas,” Lucy beamed. Once her daughter was out of ear shot gathering her coloring supplies, she sidled up next to Tim where he stood at the sink with his head hanging low. She lightly trailed her finger down his spine and whispered, “You seem upset.”

He exhaled shakily and shut his eyes tightly. “I’m so sorry I forgot about Mother’s Day.”

“You gave me flowers and Fiona drew me flowers yesterday, plus I got a little time to myself. That sounds like Mother’s Day to me, so we already celebrated.”

He shook his head. “You’re the reason we have this family, Lucy. You deserve everything.”

She bent the top half of her body over the counter to see him better. “I already have everything. Don’t sweat it.” She kissed his tight jaw and saw that he still looked visibly upset. “You and Fi are my gift every single day, and I’m so grateful. I woke up this morning thinking everything was perfect, and I still do, and you should, too. I’m going upstairs to get dressed with Fi. Grab a shower, and then we can have family time.”

Tim swallowed hard while his stomach churned as he internally kicked himself for making a mistake. Once he showered and threw on a plaid flannel shirt, he knew that his stomach would not settle until he righted his wrong.

Lucy poked her head into their bedroom and announced, “Fiona just asked to bake cookies. Come downstairs when you’re ready to join us.”

“Actually, I…”

She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms where she stood in the doorway. “You’re going to get me a Mother’s Day gift, aren’t you?”

His shoulders stiffened for a moment before he sighed, caught. “You deserve something, Lucy,” he said, finally meeting her gaze. His voice quieted, tinged with regret, when he added, “I should’ve planned something better. With the surgery and being in the hospital, it slipped my mind, and that’s not fair to you. This is your first Mother’s Day. It’s supposed to be special.”

Instantly softening, she reached out and grabbed hold of his forearms. “Tim,” she said gently, her voice steady despite the warmth rising in her chest. “You don’t have to do anything. This morning with you and Fiona? That was already more than I could’ve asked for.”

His lips twitched into a small smile, but there was still a flicker of guilt in his eyes. “It doesn’t feel like enough.”

“Are you kidding me?” She stepped even closer until there was barely an inch between them. Her hands slid down his arms to interlace their fingers, and she focused on how perfect their hands looked together. “You’ve already given me more than enough. I wouldn’t have a single part of our amazing life if it wasn’t for you. This house, our daughter, this family, you and me…I sometimes catch myself thinking that this can’t be my life. My life can’t be this perfect. I couldn’t possibly be this happy, but I am.” Lucy met his gaze, and she felt like she might explode in her elation. “Can I ask for one thing for Mother’s Day?”

“Sure. Anything.”

“Can I have a kiss?” She requested softly as if she had not found reasons to meet his lips so frequently throughout the morning.

He let out a breath, the tension in his back easing. “I guess, since I said anything…” He claimed her mouth until he was out of breath. A bit dazed, he tucked some hair behind her ear delicately and murmured, “I’ll be back in an hour.”

“You just gave me what I asked for.”

“Since when do you turn down gifts?”

Pouting, she said, “Since I want to be around you as much as possible today.” Lucy stood up tall to ghost his lips as she smirked. “I don’t know if you remember, but we decided to give us a real chance, and I couldn’t be happier.”

“You’ve only said you’re happy a million times today, so this is all news to me,” he chided and gave her another messy kiss as their grins grew.

“Mommy! Daddy! Kojo and I want chocolate chip cookies!” Fiona said from the hallway. “Come on, Kojo, let’s find chocolate!” She hurried down the stairs quickly with her furry best friend by her side.

Lucy pulled away from Tim quickly and pivoted towards the door. “Fi! Don’t give the dog chocolate!” She called after her in alarm and descended the stairs two at a time to catch up with her daughter before she could manage to feed their dog something poisonous to him. A few minutes later as she finished gathering all of the ingredients needed for cookies and carefully instructed that her daughter could not feed chocolate to Kojo, she felt Tim walk into the kitchen before she could see him out of the corner of her eye. “You really don’t have to go,” she told him before he could say a word.

He crowded her against the counter with his front pressed to her back and his hands settling on her hips as if it had become second nature. “I do.” He brushed his lips over her neck and felt the quiet and sharp intake of her breath. “But you’re making it really hard to leave.”

“Good,” she responded smugly before spinning around in his arms and meeting his gaze with blazing eyes demanding more affection before he left, and since he knew her so well, he obeyed her nonverbal command and covered her mouth with his own.

He broke their kiss only for her to pull his face back down  in a move that obliterated his restraint. All of that time with their lips slotted together was making him dizzier than their wedding day, and he considered hauling her into the laundry room for another deeper taste instead of walking away. Though there was no real frustration in it, he groaned, “Luce, you’re killing me here.”

She saw that their daughter was beaming and clapping, so she wondered, “Hey, Fi, since it’s Mommy’s Day, and your daddy is leaving me,” she ensured their was dramatized agony on “leaving”, “don’t you think I deserve another princess kiss?”

“Princess kiss! All the princess kisses for Mommy on Mommy’s Day!” Fiona cheered.

“Don’t get her involved,” he muttered, knowing she would only encourage Lucy.

“You heard her.” She grabbed the collar of his shirt. “You have to give me a princess kiss. It’s for Fiona.”

“Since it’s for Fiona…” His voice trailed off in favor of bringing his lips down to meet hers for a soft yet heated kiss.

“Now one for me,” she requested, her tone a bit needier than expected, and she hummed into his mouth when he obliged.

He was wildly amused by the new clingy side of Lucy he was seeing; he liked knowing that after keeping their feelings buried for so long, she was wildly eager to express hers like a flower exploding open once it bloomed. Because he never wanted that flower to so much as wilt, Tim was willing to give her every last kiss she wanted even if it meant his lungs would never fill properly again. “I’m actually leaving now.”

“Fine, go,” she dismissed him unhappily. “We’ll be here baking cookies without you. You better be back in time to try to calm down Fi while she’s hopped up on sugar.”

“I have a feeling I’ll get hopped up on sugar later, too,” he joked with a wink, since he anticipated she would want more affection when he returned home.

“Well, it’s Mother’s Day, and I’m a mom now,” a fact that still sometimes made her heart skip a beat. “So, let me have this one day of extra sugar? Please, for me?” She begged, knowing she might have been more amorous than usual but was too giddy to hold back.

“No,” he replied, which made her seem to hold her breath. He went back to her in a large step and quietly yet hungrily said, “I don’t want only one day of this. That’s not enough for me.” Tim brought his lips to her temple in a surprisingly soft gesture despite the desire singing his nerves. He flashed her a final smile and walked out the door feeling lighter than ever, unburdened.

She wondered if there was a stronger sensation than swooning, because that was what she was experiencing as so many butterflies flapped their wings inside of her with such intensity they could lift her off the ground and carry her through the air. Her Mother’s Day had been going perfectly, and she only hoped it would continue.

Chapter Text

Tim walked back into the house to the sight of Fiona sitting in Lucy’s lap on a kitchen chair as they worked together to draw something. “How are my girls doing?” He asked and dropped matching kisses to their heads.

“Daddy! We made cookies, but we didn’t make them with chocolate, because Kojo can’t eat chocolate, and he’s my best friend, and I want to share with him, and now Mommy is helping me draw a mommy bear for her! I put yellow bows on the ears, so you can tell she’s my mommy,” Fiona shared enthusiastically and lifted up her drawing to point to the ribbons.

“That looks amazing, munchkin,” he complimented her. “Can I borrow your mommy for a sec?”

“Are you giving her a present now?” She asked as she hopped down from where she was seated on her mom.

“Sure am.” He took Lucy’s hand to prompt her to stand. He faced her, and his grin turned lopsided. Wanting to craft the right explanation, he let out a long exhale to settle himself. “I can’t thank you enough for being the best mom to our daughter and being the reason I finally have a family. You deserve the entire world for that, but since I can’t give you that, I can give you this.” Tim pulled the box out of his pocket and held it out for her with a sheepish expression.

Before she even touched the square box in his hand, she cupped his cheeks and murmured, “You and Fiona are my entire world, and nothing could mean more to me than that.”

“So you don’t want your present?” He asked teasingly to add some levity before he melted.

“Well, since you already bought it, I guess I should keep whatever it is.” When she opened the square box, her mouth fell open. “Tim…it’s beautiful.” It was a thin gold bracelet with a sparkly diamond on the dainty chain. As someone who had always worn and loved simple jewelry, she appreciated that he knew her taste.

He took it out of the box and carefully fastened it to her wrist before swiping his thumb over her pulse point and turning her hand over. For an unexplainable reason, Tim loved seeing Lucy wear his jewelry between his necklace, his rings, and the new addition of his bracelet like she had little tags on her body that communicated to the world she was his. That was why he was so adamant about always wearing his wedding band; he wanted to be hers, too.

“You might have to slow down on buying me jewelry. I’ll run out of places to put it all on my body,” she said with a giggle, feeling his eyes rove over the pieces he had given her.

“Considering you’ve got two wrists,” he replied and held them both, “and two ankles,” he glanced down to her feet, “and ten fingers,” he ran his thumbs over her knuckles, “and a long enough neck for at least three necklaces,” he traced the space between her collarbones where the necklace he gave her always sat, “I think I’m good for a while.” He might have become a little obsessed with buying her shiny tags that allowed him to claim Lucy as his.

“I thought you weren’t big on giving presents.”

“What made you think that?”

“You give your nephews and your sister gift cards every Christmas. Plus, I’ve never heard you buy anything so nice for any of your girlfriends.”

He usually was bad at gift giving, but it was easy with Lucy, and her reaction plus how she enjoyed everything he gave her was priceless. “You’re different.”

“Being the mother of your daughter has a lot of perks.”

“It’s because you’re you. Not because of Fiona,” he made it a point to clarify.

She was surprised for only a second before she felt that weightless feeling surge through her again, and she had to look down to check if her feet were still on the ground or if she had finally begun to float. She took the half step to bring her whole body flush to his and tilted her head back in preparation. “Don’t make me ask when you know what I want right now,” she whispered, her lust lacing every word.

“Maybe I want to hear you say it,” he shot back to toy with her, smirking.

“I’ll get Fiona involved.”

“Don’t you dare.” He wound one arm around her hip as the other hand cradled her face. “I don’t even want to pretend that this is for Fiona.”

“Sweetheart, keep coloring. Your daddy and I have to do some laundry,” Lucy directed to her daughter without breaking eye contact with him.

“Okay, Mommy. I want to draw you another bear,” Fiona said and climbed into a chair at the kitchen table. Sometimes, she did not understand what her parents were saying, but she could always tell from their body language that they were happy like the princes and princesses at the end of the movies and storybooks as if they were living in a perpetual happily ever after.

Tim zeroed in on Lucy’s lips as he blindly directed her by the hand on her hip with him into the laundry room. Before he could even close and lock the door, he felt her mouth collide with his hungrily. He moaned as he surrendered to her, just happy to taste her enthusiasm. When she slipped her hand into his back pocket, he reached for her wrist and made contact with the cool metal of her new bracelet. His bracelet. Tim let her keep her hand there, reminding himself how much he loved that she was finally all his.

Distantly, Lucy heard the doorbell ring and hoped she was imagining it, but when she also heard Fiona announce that somebody had arrived at their house, she grunted. “We always get interrupted,” she whined.

He wondered if he could whisk her away for a long weekend for just the two of them behind doors that locked with their phones turned off and decided he would look into it as a birthday gift.

Lucy wiped her mouth that still tasted like Tim and answered the door. “Tamara,” she greeted her. “Hey!”

“Happy Mother’s Day!” Tamara responded and held out a plastic container filled with cupcakes. “I made these for you.”

“That is so sweet of you. Thank you.” She tried to step to the side to welcome her friend in, but Tim was unmovable behind her.

“Am I interrupting something?” Tamara questioned.

“No,” Lucy answered.

At the same time, Tim replied with, “Yes.”

Lucy flashed him a look of slight irritation. “Of course not,” she insisted and successfully moved out of the way so Tamara could enter their home.

He huffed in annoyance and resorted to grabbing Lucy’s waist possessively in a way that made her chocolatey eyes darken for a split second. If he was not going to get her alone, he was still going to hold onto her; perhaps Lucy was not the only one becoming clingy.

Tamara was amused to see the physical contact become so natural for them as they explored their coupledom, but she chose not to draw attention to it for once. She went into the kitchen and smiled at Fiona. “Hey, kiddo!”

“Hi, Aunt Tamara! I’m drawing a bear for Mommy’s Day!” She shared.

“Awesome! I don’t know how you have so much paper to draw on.” The amount of drawings Fiona produced was impressive.

“Daddy brings me home new paper all of the time. He loves my pictures.”

“Sure do,” Tim agreed, which for some reason resulted in Lucy leaning into him.

Tamara set down her cupcakes on the counter and registered the daisies and other mixed bouquet set in the same corner. “You’re running out of vases,” she noted.

“I know,” Lucy beamed.

He spoke into her hair, “I can always buy you more.”

“Stop,” Lucy chuckled, and she felt his grip on her tighten.

Tamara bit her lip instead of noting their coziness and popped open the box of cupcakes she brought. “Can I give Fiona one?”

“I think we’ve hit our sugar limit today after baking cookies,” Lucy answered.

Tim whispered in her ear, “You’ve hit your sugar limit already? Here I was looking forward to tonight.” He had plans to kiss her endlessly while laying in bed tangled up together.

She blushed as she found his eyes. “You’re so bad,” she muttered, her joy causing her lips to curl.

“You started it.”

“No, you started it last night.”

“What happened last night?” Tamara asked coyly, unable to resist from providing commentary.

“None of your business,” Lucy replied firmly.

He glided his hand up to her waist and decided, “I’ll take Fi into the yard with Kojo, and you two can talk, since I’m sure you want to tell her.”

“I don’t have to say anything if you don’t want me to tell anyone,” she replied quietly.

“Need I remind you two that you’re married, so literally in the eyes of the law and according to the whole station, you’re already together,” Tamara pointed out.

Lucy knew she was right, yet the newness of her most recent development with Tim felt sacred enough that she was fine keeping it a secret if he wanted her to.

“Tell her. Apparently, she and Angela have teamed up to get us together. If nothing else, it’ll stop them from scheming,” Tim said, wishing he could be annoyed with his friends, but he had Lucy under his fingers, so there was only so much unhappiness he could feel at the moment.

“We had a thirty-nine step plan!” Tamara complained.

“That seems a little excessive,” Lucy responded.

“You’re both so stubborn, I thought it would have to be a forty-nine step plan.”

He rolled his eyes and moved away from Lucy. “Fiona, put some shoes on. We’re going outside to play fetch with Kojo, and then I’m going to tell you about how your aunts are troublemakers.”

Lucy reached out and caught him by the wrist before he could get too far. “Wait.”

He arched an eyebrow but let himself be pulled closer. “What?”

She rose up onto her tip toes and pressed her lips to his softly. “Even though you’re just going outside, I still needed one.”

“What happened to your sugar limit?” He flirted.

“That doesn’t exist around you.”

He grinned. “You sure about that?” He asked lowly.

“We might have to test my limits sometime,” she shot back dangerously.

“There’s a kid in the house,” Tamara reminded them.

Fiona’s ears perked up at a mention of her, and she stopped putting on her shoes to look up at the adults, but she could not follow the conversation. Then, her dad kissed her mom’s forehead, and she smiled. “Extra kisses for Mommy’s Day!” She assumed the extra affection for the day was brought on by the holiday, and it gave her so much joy to witness it. She practically stumbled over her  feet as she rushed over to her mom to tug her hand until she leaned over so that she could plant her own kiss on her mom’s cheek.

“Thank you, honey,” Lucy replied appreciatively.

“I love you, Mommy.”

Cloud 9 did not seem high enough; Lucy was overcome with glee between hearing her daughter call her “mommy” and Tim’s hands on her. “I love you, too.”

Tim secured the Velcro on her daughter’s shoes and directed her, “Go get Kojo. I’ll be outside in a sec.” He assumed correctly when Lucy pecked his lips, delaying his advancement towards the backyard. “You good now?” he teased, his voice low.

She nodded, grinning like a teenager. “For now.”

He snickered and finally walked out through the sliding patio doors.

When the door clicked shut, Tamara flopped onto the couch. “Okay,” she said. “Spill.”

Lucy feigned ignorance, though the way her fingers absently toyed with the bracelet on her wrist gave her away. “Spill what?”

She noticed the bracelet and pointed to it. “That’s new. Is that from Tim?”

Admiring the gold chain, she smiled uncontrollably. “It is,” she admitted, her voice dipping into something softer, more vulnerable. “He got it for me for Mother’s Day.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “For Mother’s Day, huh?” She leaned forward. “That’s not just a paper marriage move. That’s a ‘you mean something to me’ move.”

Lucy laughed, a bit shy. “I know.”

“And?” Tamara prompted, her grin widening.

She hesitated for only a moment before the words spilled out. “We’re…together now. Officially.”

As she straightened her back, her face changed into a look that was equal parts amused and incredulous. “You mean you’re really together now? As in you’re done pretending everything is for Fiona?”

She flushed as she nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. “Yeah. Being a parent is exhausting enough that I just couldn’t hold back anymore, and we agreed to start expressing ourselves, but Tim was too afraid to make things official until last night.”

“Finally! Nyla owes me ten bucks.”

“Why?”

“I bet her and Angela you would hook up within six months of getting married. Angela said you wouldn’t last a week, and Nyla thought you would wait longer. I have to text them.” She reached into the pocket of her jeans for her phone.

“Put the phone down. You didn’t win your little bet, which is ridiculous, because you shouldn’t have a pool going for when Tim and I sleep together.”

“Some people bet on sports, but I prefer to bet on other idiots playing a different kind of game.”

“You’re not funny.”

“Neither is this whole situation. If you didn’t hook up, what happened?”

“We agreed to work on our relationship and make it better.” Realizing something that made her heart swell, she said, awestruck, “I think that makes me his girlfriend.”

“You forget you’re his wife.”

Lucy clicked her tongue. “We’re married for Fiona, but this…,” she tapped the pendant gifted to her from Tim around her throat as her lips curved, “this is for us. We want to go slow and make sure Fiona is our focus every step of the way, but it feels amazing to go from sitting next to him in a shop wishing for more to having way more than I could’ve dreamed of.”

Tamara stopped her teasing to be supportive. “I’m happy. I mean, I don’t know how much slower you can go without moving backwards, but it’s something, and that’s really good.”

“I can’t stop saying it today, but I am so happy!” She mused. “Like, really happy.”

“You deserve it. Both of you do. That’s why I’ve been giving you so much crap.”

She blew out a laugh. “Oh, is that why?” She wondered playfully.

“How about I make it up to you by babysitting one night, so you and Tim can go on a date.”

“We go on a date every shift when we have lunch together.”

“I’m talking about a real date.”

“Those are real dates!”

“You don’t dress up and go somewhere fancy. You literally eat at food trucks almost everyday, which is the same thing you used to do when you were partners.”

“But he does this thing where he won’t stop touching me the whole time, and I get all of his attention, and it feels so amazing. Besides, he doesn’t need to dress up when he looks so good in his Metro uniform.” She thought about his tight black Metro t shirts and cargo pants that were unfairly complementary of his frame, and her heart picked up its pace.

“Are you drooling?”

“I’m not,” Lucy objected and hoped her mouth had not betrayed her by watering.

“How you haven’t jumped his bones yet is beyond me.”

“Did you not hear me say we were taking things slowly?”

As if on cue, Tim walked back into the house with Fiona and Kojo in tow. His eyes locked onto Lucy’s with softness at first that then switched to ravenous in a blink.

“Slow? I’m pretty sure he’s trying to take your clothes off with his eyes right now,” Tamara mumbled under her breath.

“Mommy! Mommy! Kojo jumped so high to catch the ball for me!” Fiona said enthusiastically.

“How cool! Let’s give him a treat for being such a good boy,” Lucy offered.

“Tamara, can you go into the kitchen and help Fi feed Kojo a treat? Only one,” Tim requested.

“Daddy, he earned more than one treat,” Fiona advocated.

“Fine, two,” he agreed easily.

Once Tamara and Fiona were out of earshot, he joined Lucy on the couch and told her, “You know what Fiona told me outside while we were playing fetch?”

“What’d she say?” She wondered as her finger mindlessly drew circles on his thigh.

“She told me we’re like a happily ever after at the end of her books.”

Grinning, she practically melted. “That is so cute.”

“Sorry it took us so long to get here.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. We’re here now, and that’s all that matters.” She leaned in to brush her lips over his quickly. “Also, that means we probably shouldn’t kiss so much in front of her.”

“The other day, we weren’t kissing enough, and now, it’s too much?”

“I don’t know. I’m not exactly a parenting expert.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re pretty great at it.”

“So are you. She adores you, you know.”

He smiled; though he knew that piece of information, reminders were nice to hear.

“Probably almost as much as I do,” she added lowly as she stroked his chest over his heart, which made him grin wider.

Tamara took one step towards the living room, and Fiona took her hand.

“Wait until after the princess kiss. It’s the best part,” Fiona murmured so as not to interrupt her parents.

Lucy giggled, since her daughter’s attempt at whispering failed, and she could hear her voice clearly across the way. “I think you’re supposed to kiss me now,” she actually said quietly just for Tim.

“I’m getting mixed messages.”

“Okay, forget it,” she gave up and sat back.

“Hang on.” He bent forward to make up for the new gap between them and captured her lips sweetly. “Is everyone happy now?” He asked with fake annoyance and saw how his daughter and Lucy were wearing matching smiles. “Alright, I’m going to start on dinner,” he announced as he rocked back.

“You already made breakfast, and Fi and I had leftovers for lunch. I can cook dinner.”

“It’s Mother’s Day. You relax. I’ll take care of it.”

“We could always order takeout, and you could stay right here.”

Her hands and those desirous eyes almost made him cave. “I want to do something special for you. Stay here.” His gaze flicked over to his daughter. “Hey, kiddo, do you want to give your mommy some hugs while I cook something special?”

“Something special for Mommy? I want to help,” Fiona volunteered with hopeful eyes.

Tim stood from the couch feeling how Lucy held onto him until he was out of reach and traversed the space into the kitchen until he could stand right in front of his daughter and pronounce, “You can be my sous chef.”

Fiona’s face lit up even if she had no idea what that meant. “What’s a sous chef?”

“Someone who helps the head chef,” he explained. “It’s a very important job.”

“I can do that!”

“Perfect. Let’s get to work.”

Tamara returned to the couch and commandeered the remote. She turned to Lucy and inquired, “What do you want to watch?”

“My family,” was her honest, delighted answer.

Tamara rolled her eyes, only the slightest bit irritated until she reminded herself how special it was that they had such a beautiful family to enjoy. For mindless entertainment, she turned on a house flipping show as Fiona’s giggles floated in from the kitchen.

Lucy’s gaze kept straying from the screen to the kitchen, where Tim moved around with ease while finding small safe tasks for their daughter to accomplish to keep her entertained. Every so often, he caught her watching him and flashed her a quick, crooked smile that made her heart flutter.

Tamara, ever observant, noticed the silent exchanges and chortled. “I think you’re officially obsessed with each other.”

“I can’t help it,” she replied, unable to deny any accusation. “God, it’s so hot how good of a dad he is,” she mused, positively smitten, then her eyes grew wide. “Did I just say that out loud?”

“You did but not loud enough. Hey, Tim, she said it’s so hot how good of a dad you are,” Tamara called over to the kitchen.

He sent her a keen look back that made Lucy hold her breath. Then, he leaned over to his daughter and asked, “Hey, Fi, can you give something to your mommy for me?” He kissed her cheek and helped her off the counter.

Fiona ran across the way to enthusiastically give her mom a kiss on the cheek as she giggled. “That’s from Daddy,” she said.

Tamara thought she had never seen anyone more infatuated in her life than Lucy, and it made her laugh.

Lucy requested, “Can you go give this to your daddy?” She pecked her daughter’s cheek as she laughed even louder.

Fiona sprinted to the kitchen and pulled on her dad’s hand until he hunched over so that she could give him a kiss on his cheek before explaining, “That’s from Mommy. I like this game!”

“Me, too. We can play again some other time. Right now, you need to wash your hands, because dinner is ready.”

When Tamara joined them at the table, she heard Fiona’s cheerful voice, saw Tim and Lucy’s smiles as their hands could not stop reaching out to each other, and felt a warmth that seemed to be wrapped around the whole room. For all of their faults, missteps, and stubbornness, Tim and Lucy had created a priceless family that she was grateful to be a part of in a small way. So, she decided to stop mocking and teasing for the rest of the night out of the kindness of her heart, yet that did not stop her from leaving Tim with some important parting words on her way out the door. Severely, she looked him in the eye and said, “Lucy’s waited longer than she’ll ever admit for this, for you. Don’t mess it up.”

The weight of her words hung in the air for a moment, and Tim nodded, his usual confident demeanor giving way to something more thoughtful. “I won’t,” he promised quietly.

Satisfied with his answer, she gave him a nod of approval, a final wave to Fiona, and a smile to Lucy before leaving their house with her stomach full of good food, and her heart full of love.

Tim looked to Lucy and told her, “I’ll clean up and get Fiona ready for bed. You can have a few minutes to yourself.”

“Just because it’s Mother’s Day doesn’t mean I can’t help,” Lucy objected. “You wash, and I’ll dry the dishes.”

“You never listen.”

“Why would I ever listen to you?” She asked smartly and made her way to the sink.

“Kojo, did you give Mommy a hug and a kiss for Mommy’s Day?” Fiona asked to which the dog licked her face. She shot up from the kitchen floor and tapped on her mom’s leg to get her attention. Once her mom leaned down, she kissed her cheek and said, “That’s from Kojo for Mommy’s Day. You’re his mommy, too, right?”

Lucy was unsure how to answer that question, since technically, the dog was Tim’s, but he also became a family dog. The ownership of Kojo had become rather nebulous.

“She is,” Tim answered and handed a pot to Lucy for her to dry. “She’s the best mommy Kojo could ever ask for…or you.”

Her lips itched to make contact with his skin, but Lucy held back for the first time all day to silently show him how touched she was based on her expression.

After that, quiet fell over the kitchen save for the clinking of kitchen utensils and running water as Tim and Lucy worked together to finish the dishes while Fiona, half asleep, rested her head on Kojo’s back where he had shut his eyes and nodded off in the corner of the kitchen. Tim extended a freshly washed wooden spoon to Lucy, and as she took it from him, her hand brushed over his. She smiled up at him, a quiet intimacy in her gaze that made his chest tighten. He could not remember the last time he had ever felt so at ease, or so wholly at home before he started living under the same roof as her. The second she returned the spoon to its rightful spot, he went to her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

“What are you thinking about?” She had to ask due to how his eyes were shining differently than usual and the way he held her while staring.

“How lucky I am.”

“Me, too,” she replied hoarsely, emotion making it hard to speak. There was nothing in the world quite like having him and her daughter. She brought her forehead to his as her eyes fluttered close. After taking a few deep breaths, she whispered with quiet wonder, “Thank you for a perfect first Mother’s Day.”

“Sorry it was all so last minute.”

“I don’t care. I’m happy. Don’t beat yourself up for forgetting. A lot goes on around here. It’s endless chaos. There’s always a mess to clean up, and laundry to do, and more debating with a three year-old than I expected, but we make it through all of it, because we have each other. Think about that every time you think you’ve made a mistake.”

He framed her face with his hands and left a lingering kiss to the crown of her head. “I will,” he guaranteed in an effort to help their relationship move forward instead of staying stuck in his doubts.

She pulled away because of how late it was and gingerly picked her daughter up, who had completely fallen asleep. Lucy carried Fiona up to her room and dressed her in pajamas like she was putting clothes onto a rag doll.

“Mommy,” she whispered exhaustedly as she felt a shirt being buttoned in place over her heart.

“I’m going to brush your teeth, and then you can go back to sleep,” Lucy murmured. When they finished in the bathroom, she set Fiona down in her bed and carefully untied her bow before brushing out her brown, straight hair. Since her daughter was so tuckered out, she apologized, “No bedtime story tonight, sorry, my love, but I’ll read you an extra book tomorrow.”

“That’s okay,” Fiona sighed. “I saw the happily ever after today.” And with that, she allowed herself to slip into a deep sleep.

Just as they agreed, Tim took Lucy by the wrist to bring her into the doorway and gave her a goodnight kiss before turning off the light in Fiona’s room and pulling her with him into the hallway.

“She was already asleep. You didn’t have to do that,” Lucy pointed out.

“We made a deal, and if that’s the only the goodnight kiss I’m getting tonight, I’m going to take it.”

“That’s definitely not going to be your only one,” she assured.

He did not even have a chance to form a reply before she hauled him toward their bedroom with a determination that sent his heart racing. “Luc-” he began, but she cut him off with a firm pull, shutting the door behind them once they were inside. He tried to speak again, but then she surged up to capture his lips fiercely. Tim’s hands found her waist instinctively, holding her close as he submitted to her kiss. For a moment, he forgot about everything except for her; all that mattered was her warmth, her touch, her everything. But Tamara’s words echoed in his mind, pulling him back to reality. Gently, he broke the kiss and took a second to take in a breath that seemed to be an invitation for her to try going back to his lips. “Lucy, wait,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, like he was afraid of disturbing the fragile perfection of the moment.

She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, concern flickering in her gaze based on his tone. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he assured her quickly, his hands settling on her hips. “It’s just…I don’t want to ruin this by not saying what I need to say.”

“You’re not going to ruin anything, so talk, and I’ll listen.”

He swallowed hard, considering what would be the right words to use. “I know you can practically read my mind, so it probably goes without saying, but you mean a lot to me, and I think you mean more to me everyday at this point, which is why I’ve been scared of this.” Her thumb stroked his cheek, grounding him in a way that only she could. “It’s not you,” he continued. “It’s me. I’ve spent years convincing myself I’m better off pushing people away. But you-” He broke off, his breathing stuttering. “It’s impossible to push you away. I’ve tried, and I can’t. Not that I want to anymore.”

“Good, because that would ruin my whole new happy mood I’m in.” She said quietly and watched as the slightest bit of a curve tugged at the edge of his mouth.

“I don’t want you to ever stop being happy if I can help it. Look, none of this has happened in the right order. It’s been a bit of a mess, and I haven’t exactly handled this right every step of the way. Have I mentioned I really can’t push you away?” His gaze dropped to her lips. She was overwhelmingly magnetic, and he wondered how he managed to resist her as long as he had. 

The want in his voice made her stomach liquify.

He stopped thinking about sucking on her bottom lip and went back to explaining himself, “What I’m trying to say is, I’m working on not being so scared, and I want to get better at telling you stuff instead of just…” His hands gripped her tighter as he gulped.

“You mean verbally expressing yourself instead of just physically expressing yourself?” She supplied.

“Right. That’s what I meant. This isn’t coming out right, is it?”

“You’re doing great.” She pecked the tip of his nose.

“Don’t distract me,” he tried to whine, but his growing smile made that impossible.

“Sorry, keep going. I’m listening.”

He exhaled. “Where was I? Umm…oh, it wasn’t fair to you when I kissed you but wouldn’t tell you how I felt. You deserve both the physical and the verbal expressions. I think that’s the only way both of us will stay happy, so that’s what I want to work on.”

She paused, searching his eyes to gauge if he had anything else he wanted to communicate to her. When he was quiet for long enough, she asked, “Was that everything?”

“Pretty much…unless I forgot something. Am I forgetting something?”

“No, that was way more than I could have expected. I’m really impressed and also honored that you’ve been so honest with me. I know vulnerability isn’t easy for you, and it means a lot to me that you are around me.” She lovingly smoothed her hands over his shoulders to help release the last bit of tension he was still holding in. “If that’s the relationship you want, then I have a question to ask you.” Lucy took a beat knowing it was an important moment, one she never wanted to forget. “Timothy Bradford, will you be my boyfriend?”

He exhaled unevenly, relief washing over him like a tide. At first, he smiled speechlessly, then he found his voice to blurt out, “Y-yes!” Though to anyone else it might have seemed peculiar for a wife to ask her husband to be her boyfriend, to Tim, it meant everything. “That makes you my girlfriend,” he noted giddily as if he had never been in a relationship before. Then again, he had not been in a relationship with Lucy before, and that was a special distinction.

She leaned in and brushed her nose against his, the corners of their grins lightly touching. “I sorta already told Tamara I’m your girlfriend, so I’m glad you didn’t make me a liar.”

“You assumed I would say ‘yes’?”

“A girl can hope.” She rocked back to see how his eyes had lightened in hue in his joy. “Since we successfully had the verbal expression part of the night, any chance we could move onto the physical part?”

He checked that the door remained closed, which meant that Fiona was probably not planning to appear in their room in need of bedtime hugs, so he merely replied with a husky, “Come here,” and drew her close eagerly. Somehow, without their lips separating for even a second, they made their way under the covers and wrapped their limbs around each other.

As their mouths and tongues worked over each other, so did their hands- running through hair when the kiss was slow and deep, digging into sides when it grew fierce, and cupping faces reverently when it turned tender. They only broke away when the last of their energy trickled out of their bodies. 

Lucy made herself at home in his side and whispered, “Thank you for everything you did today for me.”

Tim hummed with satisfaction as he fell asleep holding her with the taste of her lips still on his tongue.

Chapter Text

Tim sat at his desk, staring blankly at the open case file in front of him. He drummed his fingers against the metal surface, willing himself to focus. It should have been a productive morning. He had plenty of work to do and many distractions to keep him occupied, but his mind kept wandering.

To her.

He exhaled sharply and leaned back in his chair, since his brain was too preoccupied to even pretend to do anything else. The memory of Lucy’s lips against his sometimes soft, sometimes wild, and always genuinely enraptured lingered like a brand as if his mouth had been marked by hers and would forever only belong slotted with hers. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her and felt her, but his imagination would never be enough anymore. It was after they had only kissed once for “work” that Tim indulged himself in a few rare daydreams about what it would be like to taste her again. But that would not satisfy him any longer, especially since Mother’s Day the day before when he finally let himself admit everything in his heart, and she accepted his feelings and fears so lovingly, it was like a switch had flipped. He had always felt drawn to her at varying degrees, but now it was different. Now he did not have to pretend for even a second that she occupied his mind constantly. Like a prayer answered, he heard her voice in the hallway. Pushing back his chair, he stood abruptly. He did not have a plan exactly, but his feet carried him to the door of his office before he could overthink it. “Chen,” he called, his voice firm enough to cut through the low hum of the usual goings on of the station.

She looked away from Aaron, startled by that specific tone she had not heard in a while filled with authority and sternness in a single syllable. “Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you for a second?”

Her brow furrowed in confusion, but she nodded. She smoothed her hands down the sides of her pants as she approached his office.

He held the door open for her and let it close behind them while he stared at her backside until she turned to face him, and suddenly, he was unsure what to do like there were too many options afforded to him, and he wanted to exercise each and every one.

“What’s up?” She searched his face, curious but unconcerned.

Tim did not answer right away. Instead, he reached out, his fingers finding her wrist. Her skin was warm beneath his touch, and his thumb brushed lightly over the spot where her new bracelet belonged that she only removed because she was on shift. A bracelet, much like the wedding ring she kept on during shift, that was a tether between them.

“Tim?” She prompted, her voice softening as she stepped closer. “Is this about this morning? Are you actually mad I couldn’t kiss you because Fiona asked for me? I’ll make it up to you later.”

He went to her while also driving her back a few paces in one fluid motion with the desk catching the backs of her thighs as he guided her against it. When he did, he looked at her, then dropped his mouth to her neck to suck on the skin without warning.

Her eyes widened as she expelled a half laugh half moan. “Okay, what’s gotten into you?”

“You,” he answered lustfully.

“What about me?”

His hands found a comfortable spot to settle low on her hips, and he dug his fingers in there, then he used his nose to push away the collar of her uniform shirt to get to a spot even lower on her neck. “I can’t stop thinking about everything about you.”

With an admission like that, she craned her neck to give him better access as she sighed. She knew her cheeks were flushing, and her heart was fluttering, and she was happy to feel him show her how much he wanted her. Still, she could hear people walking by his office, which thankfully had the blinds shut and the door closed, yet, it was a bad idea, “We’re at work,” she whispered, hating how her voice sounded more desperate for him than for following the rules.

That was enough to pull him off of her, but he did not move too far from her face. “I know,” he replied with anguish and his hands drifted towards the buckle on her duty belt. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I want you.” He dipped his head and captured her lips slowly at first, like he was savoring the taste of her, which was how he had wanted to start his morning before their daughter woke up early and asked for her mommy, which left him frowning in bed alone. Then, he had barely gotten to give her a quick peck with breakfast, and at a red light during their drive into work, and when he walked her over to the women’s locker room to change for the day, which all equaled to wanting her even more, so he deepened their kiss and fumbled to remove her duty belt before setting it aside so that he could bring his hips flush with hers, unwilling to have a centimeter between them.

She had to admit she had been quite lovestruck the day before, and he went to her for every kiss she wanted mostly without complaint, so she chose to oblige and let him take control of the speed and pressure while she made happy sounds and curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt to hold onto him for dear life while he positively unraveled her. When they finally broke apart, her breathing was uneven, and her eyes glassy. She rested her forehead against his, and a small, breathless laugh escaped her. “Okay, what are you doing? Because this is very un-Tim-like behavior,” she pointed out teasingly.

He chuckled as his hand slid up her back delicately. “Un-Tim-like, huh?”

“Very,” she confirmed, though the smile on her face betrayed her amusement.

“I actually think this is very Tim-like.”

“How so?”

As he finally moved up to cup her skull, he explained, “I’m more of an actions guy than a talking guy, and there’s a lot of to show you.”

“No, we’re balancing both, remember? So you have to use your words, too.”

While one hand still held the back of her head, the other moved down her neck until his index finger lightly tapped on the space between her collar bones where the necklace he bought her always rested. “I’m really happy that you’re mine now.” He covered the skin he was smoothing his finger over with a kiss, then pressed his lips to the inside of the wrist where his bracelet belonged, and finally a delicate one one where her engagement ring from his sat just claiming all of the spots where he marked her as his to cherish, his to spoil with gifts, his to care about, his to celebrate, his to take care of, his to coparent with, his to kiss, his to fall asleep next to, and his to appreciate every second of the day. If only his mouth could communicate that with words.

“That’s why you brought me in here? Aww, babe,” She swooned because of his simple yet sweet explanation, how he looked at her, and the soft way his mouth brushed over her skin so fondly. “You can kiss me when you’re happy any time.”

“And there’s more,” he added with more hunger than he could control. “You’re all I want, you know.” His eye flickered around her, unable to settle on any one part of her when every centimeter of her that he had seen and touched was perfect. “And I want you all the time.”

Her knees buckled. Being wanted by him was like a dream come true and also something entirely more special. Her gaze roved over his body, too. “I want you in this uniform. You have to take it home sometime.”

“Really?” His surprise caused his eyebrows to shoot up.

“The tight shirt? The cargo pants? It’s working for you, Bradford.”

He chuckled darkly. “Good to know.” His fingers ran over the dip of her waist. “So, since I’m wearing the uniform you like so much, and you said I can kiss you when I’m happy any time, does that mean…?” He bent down to bring his face close to hers and gave her a smirk.

“We should probably get back to work,” she said, though she made no move to pull away.

“Probably,” he agreed yet gathered her tightly in his arms.

“You’re impossible,” Lucy grumbled, feigning annoyance, but seeing him smile caused her face to mirror his.

“Only when it comes to you and Fi,” he admitted softly.

Her heart swelled at that. There was something about the way he looked at her like aside from their daughter, she was the only thing that mattered in the world, and she was too weak to care about the trivial fact that they were at the station when the priority was getting to feel and taste his desperation, so she initiated their kiss that he quickly took over with her favorite kind of ferocity.

A sharp knock at the door pulled them apart, and they both froze. He stepped away from her sadly, and his hands fell to his sides when he never wanted to be apart from her for a second. “Come in,” Tim called, his voice steady despite the tension that still hung in the air between him and Lucy.

The door opened, and Angela poked her head in to find more than one person occupying the office. “Oh, am I interrupting something?” She asked knowingly.

“Of course not,” Lucy lied.

Since it was his best friend that came upon them, he outstretched his hand to take Lucy’s. “Actually, you were.”

Pleased with his honesty, Angela responded with, “The joint patrol and Metro briefing is supposed to start any minute, but I guess I can stall and give you five.”

“Thank you,” he responded for the two of them. He waited until his office door was shut, and he was back to being alone with Lucy to frame her face with his hands and wondered, “Where were we?”

“Seriously?”

“We get interrupted all the time, but we were given five minutes. I say we take them.”

“That’s five more minutes than we got this morning, so come here.” She covered his mouth with his and purred, overjoyed that being on the same page with him and a lot of communication could lead to something so extraordinary. “Hey, just so you know,” she breathed when they eventually broke apart, “You’re all I want, too, and I do want you all the time even when you aren’t wearing this uniform.”

“I already knew that,” he responded smugly.

She playfully whacked his chest. “You’re supposed to say something more romantic, not be an ass.”

He presented her with an end of her duty belt for her to put it back on and lowly said, “Speaking of asses…” His eyes dropped lower on her frame, and she blushed.

“Don’t start. We have to go downstairs.”

He grabbed her elbow to hold onto her for another second. “Fine, I’ll stop for now, but this is to be continued later.”

“Is this what you felt like yesterday?” She wondered, focusing on how darkened his eyes were. She had been the one initiating a ton of affection on Mommy’s Dady, and she seemed to be getting a taste of being the receiver of such boundless desire.

“You were worse.”

“Was not.”

“I’m not complaining. I liked it.”

“Noted,” she murmured with a grin and finished securing her belt around her waist in the hopes that no one would be able to tell what they had gotten up to in Tim’s office.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

Tim looked around for Lucy at the station since the moment she walked out of his office when he had to keep his distance from her to be professional, but then he saw her walk into the supply room and caught a shimmer of metal out of the corner of his eye that he recognized as the wedding band on his finger that tied her to him. Keeping his distance was overrated and unnecessary, even if it was in the name of professionalism, so he rushed into the supply closet behind her and turned the lock. “Hi.”

She paused her search for sticky notes, and her voice caught when she saw the exasperated longing on his face. “What’s going on?”

He bounded right into her space, knocked the sticky notes out of her hand, then tugged her closer as he bent his head. “I’m losing my mind,” he complained. He kissed the spot behind her ear then his teeth grazed along the shell of it.

As her lungs faltered, she gripped his forearms. “Tim,” she managed, her voice catching somewhere between surprise and amusement, “didn’t we already go over this earlier this shift?”

“This shift is endless,” he groaned and kissed a line across her face.

“We still have a few more hours. Can’t this wait?”

“No, Luce, it can’t. How am I supposed to go from being around you one day to barely seeing you the next?” He sucked on the corner of her mouth until she smiled.

“Someone woke up a little thirsty,” she wriggled her eyebrow at him as she teased.

He pulled back to try to explain the drive that was clouding his judgment for the day. “I guess I’ve gotten used to you being stubborn in the morning. Those few minutes in bed with you make all the difference apparently.”

“Hmm, so no more complaining when I refuse to get out of bed before getting some cuddles in?”

“Absolutely not.” He pulled her against him, his arms wrapping tightly around her as he buried his face in her hair. “Since I didn’t get to hold you this morning, I want to hold you for the rest of shift.”

Her heart melted as she wound her own arms around him comfortably. She closed her eyes, leaning into him and inhaling his familiar scent. “Tim,” Lucy murmured. When he hummed as his reply, she added, “I love this.”

“Me, too.”

“I’m not just talking about us,” she said and pulled back only enough to find his eyes. “I hate to say I love whatever this…craving is. The right thing for us is to try to keep this under control at least at work, but I have no idea how to stop, and it doesn’t seem like you know either.”

A slow, confident smile curved his mouth. “Since when do we have to stop?”

She ran her fingers through his hair as she grinned. “Oh, is that how it works now?”

“That’s exactly how it works.”

Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she stepped back, her hands trailing down his arms until she caught his wrists. “If that’s the case, then come here.” She backpedaled slowly, pulling him with her until her back met the wall. His body followed hers instinctively, closing the distance between them until he was pressed against her. She tugged his face down, her lips finding his in a kiss that was slow and heated in a blissful way.

No matter how many time he got her under his fingers and captured her bottom lip, it was something to savor, especially since he learned that kissing her was one of his favorite activities ever. There was something about how they came together like halves of a whole and moving in tandem like the partners they always operated as that made expressing their connection so unique.

Everything faded away as the rest of the world ceased to matter. It was just the two of them with their hearts pounding in sync and their breaths mingling as they lost themselves in each other.

And then the handle on the door jiggled.

She smirked, grateful her boyfriend had the wherewithal to lock them inside and keep everyone else out.

What neither of them planned for was that the one person that came upon the locked door also happened to be the one person with a key.

Grey stepped in and crossed his arms over his chest. “Not you guys, too,” he grumbled, since he hated stumbling upon a growing number of couples not so smoothly escaping into the supply closet for a few heated moments.

“Uh, sir,” Tim started, his voice carefully neutral, though his ears burned red, and took a step between his boss and Lucy to silently take all of the blame for their tryst.

“Save it, Bradford,” Grey replied while holding up a hand. “I’ve seen enough.”

Lucy was well trained in coming up with cover stories, so she was quick to compose one, “We were just-”

“Yeah, I can see what you were just doing,” Grey interrupted, his tone gruff but not unkind. “Look, I’m happy for you two, really. I’m glad you’ve told everyone you’re together, and I was thrilled to watch you two get married, but maybe save this for when you’re not on duty?”

“Uh, yes, sir,” Tim assured with all of the confidence he could muster before making eye contact with Lucy for the briefest second, and it was enough to make his shoulders relax.

Grey shook his head and exhaled heavily. “At least go into Bradford’s office if you can’t help yourselves. We all need the supply closet.”

Lucy rested her head against Tim’s bicep as she beamed. “Yes, sir.”

Grey pursed his lips at them, trying not to smile to maintain his authority, before turning and walking away while muttering something under his breath about “lovebirds on my shift.”

As the door clicked closed behind him, Lucy looked up at Tim with bright red cheeks. “Well, that was mortifying.”

“Why does this keep happening to us?” Tim groaned.

“Maybe we suck at timing,” she suggested.

“Or maybe you’re just too irresistible,” he offered alternatively and pecked her forehead. 

“Cheesy,” she called him out.

“I mean it. You’re making it really hard to focus on anything else.”

Her smile softened, and she reached up to cup his face, her thumb brushing lightly over his cheek. “You’re not exactly making it easy for me either.” They stood there for a moment, the tension easing into something quieter, more tender. “Then again, nothing about what’s happened between us has been easy, so I wouldn’t expect that to change now even when everything else has.”

“I don’t know. Things are pretty easy now.”

“We have a chaotic three-year-old at home.”

“Yes, and she’s as perfect as her mom, who is the easiest person to be with.”

“Even though we’re constantly getting interrupted, we hardly have a second alone, and getting to this point has taken a lot of work?”

“It’s especially because of all of those reasons. We wouldn’t want to fight so hard to be together if we didn’t know it was worth it, and it is.”

“Totally worth it,” she agreed and met his lips happily.

And had to wrench away an instant later when someone opened the door.

“Oh, geez, we need an ‘occupied’ sign on this door,” Smitty commented when he realized what he had walked into. “I won’t stop you from getting it on, but maybe lock the door first.” He stepped out of the closet as quickly as he entered it.

“Smitty totally just ruined the mood,” Tim said, embarrassed.

“Do you think he’s the cure to our cravings? Should we invite him over sometime, or maybe I should try riding with him from now on.”

He snickered and looped his arms around her. “There isn’t a cure for me,” he knew, since his previous statement about Smitty ruining the mood was false as that feeling only lasted a few seconds before the onslaught of lust returned to his veins and compelled him to ghost her lips.

“We have to learn how to figure this out at some point to keep our jobs.”

“Yeah, we should listen to Grey. Come by my office later and lock the door behind you.”

“Tim,” she tutted and took a huge step away from him.

He thought she was about to walk away, but she only locked the door again before returning to him for an even longer and deeper kiss she wanted to enjoy until the chaos of their shift pulled them apart again.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

The drive home was a nice kind of quiet as Tim held the steering wheel with one hand while the other rested lightly on Lucy’s thigh. He glanced at her occasionally with a tiny smile tugging at his lips whenever he saw her scanning the streets, since a cop’s work was never done. When he parked in the driveway, he squeezed the hand on her thigh to keep her in the cab of his truck for a second. “Before our chaotic three-year-old makes sure we don’t have a second alone-”

She was right there slamming her mouth against his, since she read his mind and felt the same way. “God,” she sighed and beheld his freshly kiss swollen lips, “I don’t even care that I can’t stop craving you.” She stopped herself from going back to him for another kiss, but only narrowly. “No, we’ve got a kid waiting for us. We’re getting out of this car and going home right this instant.”

“You act like you can’t kiss me in front of Fiona when we both know she’ll just clap.”

“Do you want to watch a princess movie with her after dinner and recreate the kiss for her?” She had come up with that particular idea to steal more kisses from Tim in a time before he gladly gave her as many as she wanted.

He snickered. “That sounds perfect.”

Once inside the house, the sound of Fiona’s giggles floated down the stairs from her bedroom. Tim and Lucy exchanged a knowing smile as they slipped off their shoes and made their way toward her room. When they peeked inside, they found their daughter sitting cross-legged on her rug with Kojo, Nell, and her stuffed bear arranged in a semi-circle around her with plastic teacups in front of each of her friends.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Fiona exclaimed, her face lighting up as she jumped to her feet the second she saw her parents. She ran toward them and threw herself into her dad’s arms first before reaching for her mom.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Lucy said, crouching down to pull her into a warm hug. “Looks like you’ve been having fun.”

“We had a tea party!” Fiona declared proudly.

“That’s quite the guest list,” Tim said with a smile.

Nell stood and brushed her hands on her pants. “She’s been a delight as always,” she reported. “I’ll head out now and let you all have some family time.”

“Thanks, Nell,” Lucy replied warmly.

“Of course. See you tomorrow!” Nell responded with farewell waves.

When Lucy returned her attention to what was happening in Fiona’s room, Tim was sitting cross-legged on the rug with Kojo curled up beside him as Fiona tried to balance a tiara on the dog’s head.

“Mommy, can we have cookies?” Fiona asked. “They go great with tea.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow, sensing that it was not the first time that day she made that request. She crouched down to daughter’s level to study her face. “Cookies? The ones we made yesterday for Mommy’s Day? How many have you already had today?”

She averted her gaze from her mom. “None?” She tried, but the way her voice went high revealed her obvious fib.

Tim bit down on his lip to keep from snickering, and Lucy fought to keep a straight face. “Fi,” Lucy said, her tone mock-serious. “I think you’ve had enough cookies for today.”

Her shoulders slumped dramatically, and she let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “Fine,” she grumbled, flopping onto the rug beside Kojo. “Sorry, buddy, no more cookies today.”

“Let’s get ready for dinner, everyone.” Lucy coaxed everyone out of the green bedroom that was her favorite space in the house. “And when we finish dinner, we can watch a princess movie.” 

“Oh, yay!” Fiona cheered, her previous loss of a sweet treat forgotten upon knowing the evening’s plans, so she ate every morsel on her plate in record speed and hoped she could encourage her parents to eat faster, since after all, a princess movie was promised, and she could not wait. To speed up the process even more, she tried to take her plate to the sink. Thankfully, her dad lunged forward to help her do it the right way, since her little arms could not reach all the way inside.

As Lucy wiped down the counters, Tim suggested, “Go to the TV and pick our movie. We’ll be right there,” to his daughter. Instead of rinsing off plates and loading the dishwasher like he was supposed to, he snatched the cookie jar off of the top of the refrigerator and took a cookie out. Acting like a thief sneaking towards their target under the guys of night, he crept into the living room and presented it to Fiona. “Because you’re such a good kid, you get one more for the day, and only one more.”

“Thanks, Daddy” She responded happily as her face lit up.

Lucy walked in just in time to catch her daughter’s first bite of her cookie. Her hands went to her hips, and she gave Tim an annoyed look.

He went to her with a smile that he hoped would make her see his side along with his explanation of, “I know all about how bad cravings can be.” He snaked his arms around her midsection to hold her.

“Oh, do you?” she asked knowingly.

“Absolutely,” he replied and inclined his head. “In fact, I might have one right now.”

The way his eyes were warm and teasing made it hard to stay mad at him for his pushover ways. “Is that so?”

“Mhm,” he hummed before kissing her.

“Cookies are so good! Here, Kojo, I saved you a piece.” Fiona held out the last bit to her dog.

“You can’t fight a craving that long when it tastes so good,” he murmured to Lucy lowly.

“I can’t stand you,” she whispered fondly.

“Good thing opposites attract.”

She rolled her eyes and left his embrace to divert her attention to their daughter. She got comfortable in the middle of the couch with Fiona curling into her one side and him leaning against her other. As much as she craved Tim, she also craved time as a family happily enjoying the love they planted that grew every single day, so she appreciated that her days were filled with plenty of time to indulge herself with two of her favorite things.

The final scene of the movie ended, and Tim took Lucy’s hand to stand up with her in front of the couch. “Fi, do you think I can give your mommy a better princess kiss?”

“Yeah! Do it!” She insisted, since their recreations at the end of the princess movies had become her favorite part of each viewing, and she applauded as her parents shared a special moment that made her believe that even if her only memories of the first few years of her life were not filled with the magic and beauty of the epic love found in her favorite books and movies, her parents showed her every single day that love was no fantasy; it was a huge part of her new reality and one she would always celebrate, because the alternative was so much lonelier. Thankfully, every time her mommy and daddy kissed, she was reminded that she would never be alone or without love ever again. As her mom helped her change into her pajamas, she asked, “Is everyone’s mommy a princess like you?”

“No, Fi, your mommy is special,” Tim interjected through the bathroom door, since he had walked up the stairs after letting out Kojo just in time to hear the question.

“Get in Fi’s bed. We’ll be there in a minute,” Lucy called back to him before he continued to fawn over her enough that her craving for him would return in full force.

He obeyed as he tended to, and Kojo hopped up to the edge of the mattress to assemble for story time as well.

Fiona’s giggles echoed down the hallway as she burst out of the bathroom. She raced into her bedroom and made quick work of getting in her bed. “Daddy! Daddy!” She said, snickering. “Mommy told me to give you this!” She sat up tall on her knees and planted a loud, exaggerated kiss on his cheek.

His lips curled. “Thank you for delivering something really important to me. Do you think you could help me send a really special one back to her?”

“I can do it!”

He peppered her face with kisses, making her squeal with laughter as she squirmed and squirmed until he thought he had given her enough. “Alright, alright. Your turn. Go deliver those to your mommy.”

At that moment, Lucy appeared in the doorway. She stood there to watch two of her favorite people grinning at each other in a certainly not scarce sight but one that never failed to make her chest warm. “Okay, it’s been a long day, and someone has had a lot of sugar, so let’s get story time started.” Expertly, she selected a story about bears that she knew was a quick read and settled in on her side of the mattress, but before she could open the cover, her daughter launched herself at her and clung tightly around her neck.

“Mommy! These are from Daddy!” Fiona exclaimed before showering her mom’s face with kisses just as her dad had done to her.

Lucy laughed. “Thank you for doing a good job of sending that message.”

Though she would consider her parents to be quite happy people in general, she had noticed a bit of a shift in the house, and it was, of course, welcome, and also worth asking about. “Why are you and Daddy smiling so much now?”

Such a question was easy for Lucy to answer. Her hand instinctively touched the pendant of her necklace, a simple but meaningful gift from Tim that helped her to feel him constantly. She glanced over at him, and their eyes met in a shared moment of understanding. Her mouth quirked into a grin before looking down at her daughter and brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “Well, sweetie, it’s because we have everything we’ve ever wanted. How could we not be happy when our family is so perfect?”

Fiona beamed at that, clearly pleased with the answer. Her mom leaned down and kissed her cheek, but before she could turn to pass it along to her dad, Lucy shook her head gently.

“No, honey,” Lucy said with a soft laugh. “That kiss was just for you.”

Perfectly content to receive an expression of love all her own, she sank back into her pillow to signal that she was ready for story time.

Much to her surprise, Lucy actually managed to make it through the whole book before Fiona’s eyelids drooped shut. She pressed another kiss to daughter’s forehead and lowly said, “Goodnight, Fi, I love you.”

Tim bade their daughter goodnight, too, then joined Lucy in the doorway. He loved that they made an agreement to share a goodnight kiss every night in front of Fiona for some distant reason he forgot about. He captured Lucy’s lips happily then rocked away to see a distinct expression on her face. “What?”

“She’s pretty much asleep.” She did not even have to look back to know that their daughter was experiencing a sugar crash.

“A deal is a deal.” He flicked off the light, but he could still make out how Lucy was smiling, so he leaned in for a goodnight kiss of his own that was loving and a bit longer to give him time to taste her happiness like it was its own flavor.

They retreated to their bedroom and got ready for bed while gazing at each other’s reflections in the mirror, which was a distracting yet welcome way to wind down at the end of the day. Lucy sashayed out of the bathroom knowing he would be right behind her, and she went under the covers in the middle of the bed with her hands instinctively reaching for Tim.

He nestled his head into the side of her neck and draped his arm and leg across hers.

They only inhaled and exhaled as they enjoyed being snuggled together for a beat, but they were both quite restless, since their craving for each other had certainly not subsided for the night. “Babe?” Lucy husked.

Babe. It was a new term of endearment he thought she merely slipped into a previous conversation, but when she repeated herself hours later, he could not help but think that she came up with a term of endearment for him like the adorable girlfriend that she had become. He cradled her closest hand against his chest then nodded. “Yeah, babe?” He tried it out and hoped to see her reaction, but she kissed him so quickly the next thing he could see were stars exploding behind his eyes. She shuffled until she was on top of him, and he decided he would have to come up with something sweet and permanent to call her in the hopes it would elicit such an eager reaction every single time.

Her hands slid under his shirt and mapped out his bare chest, making herself dizzy, then he moaned into her mouth, and she might have collapsed if his kiss was not breathing so much life into her.

Until they had to stop when their bedroom door was opened and in padded Fiona.

“I brought my baby bear for bedtime hugs,” Fiona announced and made her way onto her parents’ bed in time for her mom to get off of her dad, so that she could rest on her mom’s chest.

“Bedtime hugs are always the best,” Lucy said as she lazily combed her hand through her daughter’s silky brown hair. At the expense of giving up a night of being wrapped up with just Tim, she was able to have both of them in arm’s reach, and that was worthwhile.

Fiona’s head shot up, preventing her from from drifting off again. “Wait, I almost forgot. One for Mommy,” she said and leaned up to plant a kiss on her mom’s cheek, “and one for Daddy,” she added and strained to reach her dad’s cheek to give him one as well. “I wanted to give you kisses from me.” All of that excitement zapped the last of her energy, so her head dropped heavily onto her mom, and she fell asleep instantly.

Lucy looked over at Tim, and they silently communicated that they had accepted that they might always get interrupted, but neither cared with cravings that kept them going back to each other to gladly steal special moments whenever they could.

Chapter Text

As Tim busied himself in the kitchen making breakfast, he felt a subconscious smile stretch across his face, and he looked outside to see that the sun was shining brightly. He was happy. The world was happy. All was going so well he thought he was dreaming. The sound of small, hurried footsteps pattering on the stairs made him glance over his shoulder just as Fiona came bounding into the kitchen with Lucy close behind, and he decided that if he was dreaming, he never wanted to wake up.

“Daddy! Can you tie my bow, please?” Fiona requested and held up a green ribbon.

“Of course. That’s my job,” he replied before taking the ribbon and expertly tying it after many mornings of practice. “There,” he said when he admired his work. “You look so pretty.”

“Thank you, Daddy!” She beamed and went over to the corner of the kitchen where Kojo was sitting.

Lucy poured herself a cup of coffee as her heart swelled watching how Tim was such a great father in all of the little ways just as she had suspected. She took a sip, enjoying the warm caffeine coating her throat, then abandoned her mug to slide an arm around his waist as she rested her head on his shoulder. “It never gets old watching you with her.”

He gave her a smirk, but before he could retort, she leaned in and kissed his cheek, then she pecked the spot just beneath his jaw, her lips brushing his skin in a way that sent a shiver down his spine. “Luce,” he warned lightly, though his voice lacked any real bite.

“What?” She asked innocently into his skin, her arms moving to circle his waist. She pressed her lips to the side of his neck, clearly enjoying how his stoic demeanor faltered when she got close. When his mouth start curling, and so did hers.

“I’m trying to cook breakfast here,” he pointed out while shaking the spatula in his hand.

“Breakfast could wait if you called in sick,” she countered and nibbled his earlobe until his breathing hitched. “You’re really going to work and leaving me home alone all day,” she husked.

“You won’t be alone.” He looked over at Fiona giving Kojo a belly rub and said, “You’ve got them.”

“But I’ll miss you,” she pouted, unconcerned with how needy that sounded. “We haven’t had an opposite shift in so long.”

He was honestly already dreading being at work knowing his family would be home without him and that he would not see Lucy a single time at the station all day. It sounded agonizing, especially when he had been stealing kisses from her in the middle of work quite recently.

She saw him start to frown and leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth. “I know you’ll miss me, too.”

Tim set the spatula down and took the pan off of the burner before turning enough to face her then reached up to hold the sides of her neck. “Yes, of course, I’ll miss you.” When she smiled at that, he captured her lips deliberately even if it was only for a few moments, since they had a captive audience.

“Mommy and Daddy have more princess kisses than the books, Kojo. Isn’t that fun?” Fiona asked her dog. “We have the best family if they’re better than the princess books.

Lucy almost fell over at her daughter’s words. “Did you hear that?” She whispered lowly to him. “We have the best family.”

“We sure do,” he confirmed quietly and pressed his lips to her forehead. No, he never wanted his dream to end.

“You do realize that now that she said that, you have to give me a princess kiss before you leave for work.”

“I was already planning on it,” he shot back playfully. “But, now I have to give you two.”

“Two? Why?”

“One for Fiona, and one for me.” His hands drifted slightly lower on her waist in a way that was becoming more comfortable as he was growing more familiar with running his fingers over her body. Despite the fact that they were mostly clothed each time, he felt closer to Lucy with every passing second that he was learning the slopes and contours of her frame.

“Make it three. I want one for me, too.”

“They’re all for you,” he tried to reason, then decided, “Three works.”

Satisfied, she grinned as she let him go. “Sit down, Fi, it’s time for breakfast.” When she took the seat next to her daughter, she mindlessly curled a finger around her daughter’s bouncing pony tail adorned with a bow. “So, your daddy is going to work today, but I’ll be staying home with you. What do you want us to do together?”

“Why can’t Daddy stay home, too?”

Lucy gave him a pointed look as if to communicate that she was not the only one wishing he would remain with his family. “I’m sorry, honey, but he has to work. Don’t worry, we can have fun without him. Do you want to go shopping for new story books?”

“More books? I can have more books?”

“Of course you can. Reading is super important. I’m going to start teaching you how to do it by yourself like a big kid.”

“I don’t want to,” Fiona rejected the idea.

“Why don’t you want to learn how to read when you love books?” Tim asked.

“Reading is your job. I don’t want to read!”

Lucy could tell she was getting agitated, so she bent down closer to her daughter and gently said, “Reading is a good thing. You’ll need to learn how.”

“Why?” She whined.

“Because reading is a big part of the world around us everyday. You’ll need to read to be a big kid.”

“I don’t want to.” She crossed her arms and pursed her lips with disgust.

“Mind solving this particular mystery while I’m at work?” Her asked under his breath to which Lucy nodded, and then he changed the subject to, “Will you guys be going to the park without me?”

“The park! The swings! I love the swings!” Fiona said excitedly, her previous frustration immediately forgotten.

Lucy was proud of Tim that he successfully distracted her for the duration of breakfast by discussing other topics, then all too soon, it was time for him to leave. She grinned at the way he so effortlessly gathered her in his arms in the foyer and claimed her mouth in a swift, knee-buckling way that left her humming. “That one was for Fiona,” she murmured.

He snickered. “This one’s for me,” he rasped before kissing her reverently and pulling away. Tim bent down to peck his daughter on the forehead. “Be good for your mommy. I love you.”

“Bye, Daddy! I love you!” Fiona replied.

Just as Lucy was about to object on account of their previous agreement to three kisses when he only gave her two, she felt him quickly grab her and dip her slightly in one fluid motion that rendered her breathless even before his mouth met hers in an unhurried way like he was planning on them being molded together forever.

He was rather proud of himself when she let out a quiet purr, so he could not help the smug smile playing at his lips. “That one was for you,” he husked and searched her unfocused eyes. Tim helped her back to standing upright, and he blinked hard to test if he was awake; just mere months prior, he never could have imagined getting to kiss Lucy like that without chastising himself for having those kinds of thoughts about his partner, but she had become his girlfriend and the mother of his child, so he could do exhilarating things with her including chase her lips softly for one last taste before leaving.

“What was that one for?” She asked, not complaining about the extra affection whatsoever.

“I don’t always need a reason, you know.”

A smile took over her whole face as her heart fluttered, because he was absolutely right. “No, you really don’t.”

“Bye,” he said and waved at his favorite girls on his way out of the house not exactly pleased to be going to work away from them but still glad to know that after shift, he would be back in their home full of love for another mundane yet perfect night, because he was wide awake and living a whole new life where he had a girlfriend, and a daughter, and the kind of happiness only remotely possible in his dreams before Lucy asked him to marry her and foster their kid together.

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Though he tried not to let it show, Tim went over to the food trucks unhappily knowing that he would be quickly getting some food and eating it in his office alone, since he could not have his usual break with Lucy. He had begun to look forward to their daily lunches; it was their only guaranteed time alone where he could give her his undivided attention and lean in to see her smile up close while smelling her perfume mixed with sweat and her shampoo. Before her, he never was one to miss a partner, but whenever she was not around, he felt her absence so viscerally. As he stood in line at a burger truck, he thought he was daydreaming when the sound of Fiona’s giggle floated in his ear, then he heard Lucy’s voice.

“Hey, handsome, any chance you can buy us some burgers, too?” Lucy asked at his back.

When he spun around, he saw his family- Lucy holding Fiona in her arms with Kojo’s leash around one of her wrists. “W-what are you doing here?”

“Mommy wanted to surprise you,” Fiona said. “She told me you would be happy to have lunch with us. Are you happy?”

“Very,” he answered without needing a moment to think or fake a smile, because he was not lying. Because his life was not some solitary endeavor anymore where he felt like he was devoid of everything good. When people asked how he was doing, he used to have to fib, but lately, he genuinely grinned when he said he was “great” or “happy”, because he was.

“We’ll grab a table. Looks like you’re next in line,” Lucy said instead of pointing out the adorable soft smile on his face that used to be worth noting but was becoming his default expression around her. She pecked his cheek and walked over to an empty table to set it up for her family. She arranged the chairs, wiped off the table top, and tied Kojo’s leash to the back of her seat in time for Tim to join them with their food.

He scooted his chair to be close to Lucy like he always did during their shared lunches and lifted Fiona from her seat to sit her in his lap to have both of his girls within arm’s reach. “Thank you for coming for lunch.”

“Mommy said she missed you. I told her about how I draw when you’re not home, so I can show you when you get back, but she didn’t want to draw,” Fiona shared.

“Our kid is tattling on me,” Lucy muttered. “I did already tell you I was going to miss you.”

He took her hand and squeezed it. “It’s not the same without you here.”

“Daddy! We got five new books! Can you believe it?” Fiona told him enthusiastically. “One has bears on the front, and one has a princess, and one has a silly goose. I got that one for you.”

“She asked if it was a story about her daddy,” Lucy chuckled.

“When you learn how to read, you can tell us what the silly goose story is about,” Tim said.

“I’m not learning how to read,” she objected.

“Oh, we’re still on this,” Tim whispered under his breath. He saw that Lucy was clueless, so she must have tried to pry and was unsuccessful. He rubbed his daughter’s back and asked her nicely, “Munchkin, how come you don’t want to read?”

“Because I don’t want to!” Was Fiona’s emphatic explanation.

“Why not?” He pressed.

“Because.”

“Come on, Fi, you have to tell me why. I want to know, because maybe you’ll change my mind, and I won’t want you to learn how to read either.”

She eyed her dad curiously. With a fair point like that, she elaborated, “Learning means no one would read to me, but story time is fun. Don’t you have fun when Mommy reads to us?”

His stomach flipped upon understanding her reasoning. “I sure do. Your mommy is really great at reading, and I know she loves reading to us every night. Even if you learn how to read, we can still have story time together. It’ll be just as fun if you read to us. And you can have story time with Kojo when we’re not home. Don’t you want to read to Kojo and have more story times with him?”

Fiona flicked her bright blue eyes to her mom for confirmation. “I can have story time even when I learn how to read?”

“Every night for as long as you want, sweetheart. Story time is one of my favorite parts of my day,” Lucy assured her. “And your daddy’s right. I’ll bet Kojo would love if you read to him when we weren’t home. He loves story time, too.”

“I can read to Kojo, but you have to read to me,” Fiona bargained.

“Okay,” Lucy agreed, unwilling to further negotiate with her daughter.

“Okay,” Fiona repeated. “Teach me how to read.”

“After lunch, we can start,” Lucy said.

“Wait until I’m home. I’m not missing this,” Tim disagreed.

“Learning how to read can wait until your daddy is home with us.”

“We can go home now,” Fiona decided.

“You have to finish your lunch, and your daddy has to work for a little bit longer,” Lucy explained to which her daughter frowned. “But you’ll be reading to Kojo soon enough.”

“What kind of books does Kojo like to read?” Fiona wondered.

“He loves princess books and books about bears, obviously, but I think he really likes stories about silly goose princes, too,” Lucy answered smartly.

“Funny,” Tim grumbled, but his annoyance barely lasted a second before Fiona’s laugh changed his demeanor.

“Uncle Wade! Uncle Wade!” Fiona shouted when she saw him appear and hopped down from her dad’s lap to race into one of her favorite uncle’s arms.

Grey chuckled as he scooped her up. “Hi, Fi.”

“Uncle Wade! I got new books today with Mommy! One’s about Daddy! It’s got a goose on it.”

With Grey distracting their daughter for a moment, Tim leaned in to Lucy and settled his hands on her thighs. “Our daughter wanted to be illiterate for the rest of her life because of you.”

“I’ve read plenty of studies about the importance of reading to kids, and I was right.”

“Too right.”

She smirked and closed the minuscule gap between them to brush her lips over his, lingering for a second longer than expected, and pulled back. “Thanks for getting through to her.”

“It’s a team effort. Sometimes she opens up to you, and sometimes she opens up to me.”

“Good thing we make a great team,” she whispered fondly as she interlaced their fingers on her leg.

“We do. You knew we would be good at this.”

“Did you have your doubts?”

“I knew we could handle the kid part, but I had my doubts about being able to keep my hands off of you,” he rumbled.

“Your instincts were right about that.” She wanted to look down at how he was completely in her space with his legs slotted between hers and all of his fingers splaying over her, but his magnetic gaze was impossible to break away from.

“Is that a problem?”

“Oh, the biggest problem,” she lied obviously and dropped her forehead to his before taking a deep breath to inhale the moment. “I never want you to stop,” she added so quietly she could hardly hear her own voice as she stared at him through her eyelashes.

“Good. I never want to.” He absentmindedly traced the wedding ring on her finger that he was starting to wish she would never remove, not that he would say something so bold to her at such an early stage in their relationship. “Theres’s, umm, something I wanted to talk to you about, actually, but it’s not about us.”

She sat back slightly. “Okay, what’s up?”

“We’re talking about teaching Fiona how to read, and that’s a big first, but I’ve been thinking about another one…it’s one of the only good memories I have with my dad…” He worried at his lip, suddenly feeling self conscious, until he remembered who he was talking to and shared, “I want to teach Fi how to ride a bike. I still remember my dad teaching me, and it was a good day. I want our daughter to have that, too.”

“I think that’s a great idea.”

“Yeah?”

“Absolutely. I can Google some good bikes with training wheels later, and maybe we can pick one up after shift within the next few days. On the next day that we’re off together, you can teach her.”

He smiled as warmth filled his whole torso. “Thank you for letting me do this.”

“We’re not our parents, Tim. You know that. We’re going to do things differently, and we’re going to give our kid a better life with way more love than we had growing up. These are the moments we need to remember that.”

“I know.” He saw the glint of her bracelet out of the corner of his eye and ran a finger over the cool gold. “Our kid is really lucky to have you as a mom.”

“And you as a dad.” He gave her a bashful smile that she just had to kiss off of his face until a small body ran into their legs. “Fi,” she breathed.

Grey was a few paces behind her and noted, “She’s a fast one.”

“I know. We’re always chasing after her,” Lucy replied with a giggle and helped her daughter sit in her lap.

“You lucked out with a great kid,” Grey said.

“We know. She’s the best,” Tim boasted.

Grey left them to finish their lunch as a family, but he made sure to catch up with Tim as they re-entered the station together. “I’m proud of you, son,” he told him, his voice filled with heartfelt admiration.

“For what, sir?” Tim wondered.

“For not giving up on building a family. You had me worried there for a while.”

“I did pretty much give up, but…Lucy’s a good influence.”

“She always has been. Why do you think I paired you two up in the first place?”

He stopped in his tracks. “You assigned her as my rookie for ME?”

“Well, I figured you could teach her a lot, but all of her evaluations at the academy described how driven and positive she was for all of training. I hoped she could rub off on you.”

“Guess you were right.” He could not help but smile slightly.

“I always am,” Grey replied smoothly with a self satisfied grin and went over to his office.

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After cleaning up breakfast, Tim cleared his throat and bent forward to talk to his daughter, “Fi, your mommy and I have a surprise for you.”

She lit up immediately. “A surprise? I love surprises! What is it?”

“Put on your sneakers and wait with Kojo by the front door until we tell you to come outside.”

As she nodded to indicate that she was taking his instructions seriously, she said, “Okay, Daddy.”

Lucy took Tim’s hand and could practically feel him vibrating with excitement in an uncommonly sweet way. She went with him to the driveway and paused for a moment to admire the joy on his face. “You’re so cute,” she mused.

He rolled his eyes but did not say a word. He removed the tarp covering the mint green bike that had been concealed in the back of his truck. Lightly, as if their daughter could hear them, he set it down on the pavement, adjusted the handlebars with white streamers Lucy insisted on adding, and straightened the white wicker basket affixed to the front.

“Don’t forget this.” She reached in to take out the matching light green helmet and assured excitedly, “She’s going to love it.” He was smiling so widely the lines on his face were extra pronounced, so she dropped little kisses along them as she grinned. “This is going to be great.”

Tim blew out a breath and called, “Okay, kiddo, you can come on out now.” The front door flew open and out bounded Fiona with Kojo in tow.

“A bike!” she squealed, coming to an abrupt halt in front of it. Her hands flew to her cheeks, and she looked up at her parents with an expression of sheer wonder. “Is this for me?”

“It’s all yours, Fi,” he said and crouched down so he was at her level.

“Look! It’s green!” She observed. “It’s green, and it’s for me?” When her dad smiled and nodded, she threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Daddy!” she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

“We also got you a matching helmet,” Lucy added and held it out.

“Can I still wear my bow?” Fiona wondered.

“Of course. I’ll fix your hair.” She pulled her daughter’s brown hair into a lower pony tail, retied her bow, then secured the helmet on her before stepping back to see her. “You’re so cute!”

“I thought I was cute,” Tim whispered.

“You both are.” Kojo barked, so she added, “And Kojo is, too.” Lucy snapped a picture of her daughter then asked, “Do you want to try out your new bike?”

“Okay,” she replied, not so confidently.

Tim understood her uncertainty, so he set the bike down in the middle of the sidewalk on their street right outside their house and beckoned for his daughter to go to him. “Alright, munchkin,” he said, crouching down to adjust the strap on her helmet. His voice was calm and soothing, the way he had learned to talk to her when she was nervous. “Let’s take it slow. You’ve got me right here, okay? I won’t let you fall. Can you get on for me? Hold those bars and swing one leg over. We’ve got this.” He helped her position her little legs on either side of the seat then moved her feet onto the pedals.

Fiona chewed her bottom lip, and her small hands gripped the handlebars tightly. “What if I go too fast?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

He reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder as his stomach clenched. “That’s what I’m here for. I’ll be holding on the whole time, and if you feel wobbly, just tell me. We’ll figure it out together.”

Lucy’s heart fluttered seeing the care Tim was putting into making Fiona feel safe; gone was the once icy cold man that called her “boot” and in his place was a gentle father kindly encouraging their daughter to face a scary first.

Fiona nodded hesitantly. “Okay,” she said softly, her voice still unsure.

Tim grinned. “That’s my brave girl. Let’s give it a shot together. I’m right here.” He straightened up and planted his hand on the back of the bike seat. “To get moving you need to push your feet on the pedals. We call that pedaling. Pedal, pedal, pedal,” he directed, and she did. The wheels wobbled slightly, and she let out a small squeak of fear. “Whoa, whoa,” he was quick to say and stopped the bike. “You’re okay, munchkin. I’ve got you.” He leaned down so she could see his face. “Hey, you’re doing great. It’s okay to be a little scared. It means you’re trying something new, and trying new things is what big girls do.”

“What if I fall?”

“You might fall, but I’m not going to let you get hurt. That’s what dads are for. I’ll always be here to keep you safe.”

She renewed her grip on the handlebars and nodded to communicate she was ready to try again, and he gave her a smile that made her feel more comfortable.

“That’s my girl,” he said, his voice full of pride. He gave the bike a small push. “Just keep pedaling your feet. I’ve got you.”

As Fiona began to pedal, her legs moved tentatively at first, but she felt her dad behind her to put her at ease, which increased her speed and comfortability. 

Lucy captured pictures of Fiona’s concentrated face, Tim jogging beside the bike, and Kojo chasing after them.

“You’re doing it!” He said as Fiona pedaled a little faster. “See? You’re a natural!”

She let out a small, surprised laugh. “I’m riding!” She exclaimed, her voice filled with wonder. “Daddy, I’m doing it!”

“You sure are. You’re doing great,” he encouraged her. For a brief moment, he let go of the seat, his hands hovering nearby just in case. His daughter did not even notice, since her focus was entirely on the path ahead. He kept running alongside her as his heart pounded both from the physical effort of keeping up with her and the sheer joy of seeing her succeed. He glanced over at Lucy running to keep up on the other side and saw tears brimming in her eyes while snapping pictures.

“Good job, honey!” Lucy cheered her daughter on.

Fiona grinned at her mom, and the bike wobbled, so she let out a startled gasp impulsively, but then her dad was right there to steady her.

“I’ve got you, munchkin,” he reassured her. “You’re okay. Just keep going.”

Her confidence was bolstered by his quick reaction. She pedaled a little farther before the bike was brought to a stop for her, yet she still felt the adrenaline of riding coursing through her veins.

“What do you think, kiddo?” He asked, his blue eyes searching her face.

“It was fun!” Fiona exclaimed. “Can we go again?”

“Of course. We can keep going as long as you want.”

“Wait, wait,” Lucy said before Tim could push the bike off again. She embraced her daughter and told her, “I’m so proud of you. You were so brave.”

“I have Daddy, so I’m not scared.” Fiona tugged on her dad’s sleeve. “Can we try again, Daddy?”

“Of course, kiddo. Let’s go.”

Lucy could not help but cry joyfully, overcome at the sight of Tim and their daughter bonding in a special way with matching huge grins. They had grown so much as a family, and she could not help but appreciate every bit of progress and beautiful shared moment. He jogged alongside Fiona again, his voice encouraging and steady as he coached her. Lucy took another picture, wanting to capture the moment forever. She could not stop smiling as she watched their daughter pedal more and more confidently.

When she was stopped and her bike was turned around to go back home, she saw Kojo’s wagging tail then eyed the wicker basket on the front of her shiny green bike. Her face lit up with a thought so dazzling it practically burst out of her. “Daddy, can Kojo ride with me in the basket?”

“Are you sure about this? Kojo’s a pretty big boy,” he explained.

“Please! He’s my best friend! He wants to ride on the bike, too.”

He sighed, already defeated. “Alright, munchkin. Let’s give it a try.”

“You are such a pushover, Tim Bradford,” Lucy teased. “It’s adorable.”

He merely shrugged at the reputation he had earned and carefully lifted and set the pit bull mix in the basket. Surprisingly, Kojo settled in with minimal fuss, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth as if he, too, was thrilled about the new adventure.

Fiona pet her dog on his forehead and told him, “We’re going to have so much fun, Kojo, and don’t worry. We’re not gonna fall. Daddy’s here to keep us safe.”

Lucy took picture after picture of the scene unfolding before her: a determined Fiona with her little legs pedaling, a cautious Tim walking alongside her with one hand hovering near the bike seat, and Kojo wagging his tail from the basket. She knew tears were streaming down her face, but she paid no attention, since she was too focused on the wholesome family moment that was impossible to look away from.

As Fiona wobbled down the block, Tim stayed close, his hands ready to catch her at the first sign of trouble, but the bike held steady, and his daughter’s giggles rang out as she picked up speed. Kojo barked once, a sharp, joyous sound, as though he was sharing in her excitement.

“I’m doing it, Daddy!” Fiona called out, her voice full of awe.

“You’re doing amazing, munchkin! Keep going!”

“Great job, sweetie!” Lucy encouraged a bit brokenly because of the tears.

Fiona beamed, her confidence growing with every pedaling motion. “Kojo likes it, too!” She told them, and he barked his confirmation. As she pedaled down the block and back again, her laughter echoed in the quiet neighborhood. Every wobble was met with her dad’s steadying hands, and every triumphant stretch had her mom cheering her on. Finally, she came to a stop near their driveway, her cheeks flushed with exertion and happiness. “That was so much fun!” She said, climbing off the bike and throwing her arms around what she could reach of her dad. “Thank you, Daddy!”

He crouched down to embrace her better and kiss the top of her head. “You’re welcome, kiddo. You did so good today. I’m so proud of you for being so brave.”

She took Kojo out of the basket and hugged him close. “Did you have fun, buddy?” She asked, and he licked her face. “Let’s get water. I’m thirsty.”

As their daughter made her way into the house, Lucy wound an arm around Tim’s to slow his progress back inside. “She’s going to remember this day forever,” she said softly, her voice full of emotion.

“Yeah,” he replied, his tone carrying a weight of gratitude. “I will, too.”

She pecked his cheek and murmured, “You were amazing with her.”

He shrugged, his face slightly pinking up. “Just doing my job.”

“Being a good dad isn’t just a job, Tim. It’s who you are.” When he seemed unsure, she gave him another kiss on his cheek and whispered, “You’re incredible.” They stepped into their home, but she kept holding on to him for a few more seconds.

Though more water ended up on the floor than in Kojo’s bowl, Fiona set it down to hydrate her dog before getting her special green cup to fill it.

As Tim wiped up the mess on the floor, Lucy complimented her daughter, “You were so good on your bike!”

“Can we ride my bike again tomorrow?” Fiona wondered.

“I think your daddy’s going to need a nap first,” she joked, since his face was red with exhaustion.

He chuckled, since he was tired, but he was so happy that he hardly noticed. “Any time, Fi, as long as you’re happy.” He was willing to bond with his daughter whenever and however she wanted; his energy level was irrelevant.

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Lucy thought she might be floating when Fiona successfully read the words “The End” on the last page of the book during story time, since two firsts in one day was the most pleasant kind of monumental. She tucked her daughter under the covers snugly, swept her hair out of her face, and quietly said, “I love you so much. Good night, honey.” She pressed her lips to her forehead with a smile.

“Good night, Mommy. I love you.”

Tim gave his daughter a peck on her temple and told her, “Good night, kiddo. I love you.”

“I love you, Daddy. Thank you for my bike.”

“You’re very welcome. You’re a natural.” He walked with Lucy to the doorway, cupped the back of her head and captured her lips for something longer than their usual quick good night kiss for Fiona’s sake.

She certainly did not complain about the extra passion no doubt fueled by his boundless happiness, so she flicked the light off in her daughter’s room, shut Fiona’s bedroom door, and stepped into the corridor with his hands still on her. Lucy stayed quiet, her eyes feasting on the joy on his face.

He dropped his hands to her waist and pulled her close. His grip on her tightened as he pressed his face into the curve of her neck, breathing her in for several seconds. “Thank you,” he finally whispered brokenly into her skin.

“For what?” She inquired as she smoothed her palms up and down his back.

Tim swallowed and gave her another squeeze before pulling back only enough to meet her eyes. “For today. For everyday. For giving me…everything. For her,” his voice caught, and he looked at her even more sincerely when he added, “For being you.”

She held his face gently, her thumbs brushing over his cheekbones. “I’m the one who should be thanking you. You’re everything she needs. Everything I need. Everything we need. I wouldn’t want to raise a kid with anyone else.”

His eyes slipped closed as her words washed over him. The emotions of the day seemed to flood through him all at once. He hugged her tightly again, burying his face in her neck as if he could physically hold onto the moment. “I can’t believe I’m not dreaming,” he said roughly and shuddered when her lips brushed along the side of his face lovingly. For a while, they just stood in the hallway holding each other as she kept kissing his skin.

“Let’s go to bed,” she finally rasped and backpedaled towards their room while they clung to each other and held each other’s gaze. “You know, you’re kind of an overachiever for a dad. Three is the earliest kids can learn how to ride a bike.”

“What can I say? Our girl is advanced.”

“We’ve got a smart kid.”

“A smart kid that wore us out today.”

He realized they made their way to the middle of their bedroom. “I‘ll wait up until you get ready for bed.”

“You’re tired. You were running after Fi on that bike all day.”

Instead of using his words, he slotted his lips with hers to assure her that she was worth staying awake for a few minutes. Since he had already changed and cleaned up while Lucy was taking care of Fiona’s nighttime routine, he cozily settled into their bed in his sweatpants and a t shirt and sat up against the headboard to ensure he did not nod off.

She stepped out of the en suite bathroom while nervously playing with the sleeves of the oversized sweatshirt hanging off of her body. “Hey,” she said, her tone more sultry than she anticipated.

“Is that…mine?” His old L.A.P.D. sweater looked breathtaking on her.

“Do you mind?”

“N-no, no, not at all.” She crawled onto the bed right on top of him, which made him hold his breath as his eyes roved over her like he was looking at her for the first time. He really liked seeing her in his clothes while wearing his jewelry.

“Should I have asked first? I’ve wanted to borrow your clothes for weeks. I keep seeing all of your hoodies in our drawers, and I thought-”

“Really,” he cut her off, his voice husky, “I like it.” As she pressed her chest to his and settled her hips against his, he let out a soft exhale. His hands instinctively found her waist, and he bunched up the material of his sweater on her in search of a trace of her skin. The sight of her in it made his heart stutter in his chest. She always looked beautiful, but there was something so special about her wearing his clothes that made his chest tighten in the best way. “You look…perfect.”

Her cheeks flushed a soft pink at his words, and she bit her lip. “Okay, that’s good, because I’m not planning on giving it back anytime soon.”

“Fine by me,” he replied with a small grin as his thumb absentmindedly brushed against the warm, soft skin of her hip. “You can have all of them if you want.”

She raised an eyebrow while playfully smirking at him. “All of them, huh? Are you just saying that because you like seeing me in your clothes?”

“I do.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and remarked fondly, “You’re kind of perfect.”

“Am not,” she replied somewhat self consciously with a dry snicker.

“You are,” he confirmed softly and tilted his head to caress her lips softly. Groggy, he had to break away. “Sorry, I’m really tired.”

“Me, too. I think that’s parenthood.” She shimmied down his body so her head could rest on his shoulder. “You’re perfect, too,” she breathed as she held him tight.

“Definitely not.”

Lucy lifted her torso up to meet his eyes. “Tim, you are perfect…at least for me.” Because she knew he was about to object, she shut him up with an adoring, deep kiss then sighed against his mouth as she smiled at him for a second before cozying herself up where she could hear his heartbeat and be enveloped by his warmth.

The way she looked at him, and kissed him, and even how she touched him made Tim believe there was a chance he could be perfect, at least in her eyes, and that somehow made him even more endlessly grateful to be with her while also reaffirming that she certainly was both perfect and perfect for him.

Chapter Text

Lucy hustled from one room to the next with a cleaning rag in one hand and a basket of toys in the other. Tim leaned casually against the kitchen counter as he watched her whirl around the house like a tiny hurricane. He knew better than to suggest she relax, since she could never do so, but he did think she was overdoing it. “You know, the house is fine,” he pointed out as she fluffed a throw pillow on the couch for a second time.

“Fine isn’t good enough,” she replied. “Everything needs to be perfect for Rachel’s visit.”

He walked up behind her and wound his arms around her hips before murmuring, “You and our daughter are already perfect, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Flirting isn’t gonna work right now.”

“I’m not flirting. I’m stating a fact.” His hands glided up to the hem of her top to gently push it up enough for his hands to slide over her warm stomach as he pecked her cheek. “This house is perfect because you two are in it. A toy on the ground won’t make a difference.”

She stepped out of his embrace to bend over and pick up one of Fiona’s blocks that had escaped her notice before. As she tossed it in the basket of other toys out of place, she glanced back at him and caught sight of how he was checking her out. “Tim,” she warned. “That look isn’t going to work right now.”

“That look always works,” he countered smugly and went to her in one large step. Delicately, he swept her hair off her shoulder and grinned down at her. “Have I mentioned you look so beautiful today?”

“We don’t have time for this,” she whined, since every instinct was screaming to allow her to fall under his spell.

“Daddy!” Fiona called as she jumped down the stairs with Kojo by her side. “Mommy says we have to look nice today, so can you tie a bow on my baby bear to look nice, too?”

“I sure can, kiddo, but first,” he replied, then he began to ogle Lucy. “Don’t you think your mommy looks so pretty today?”

“She always looks pretty,” Fiona said.

“That’s right. She always does, but I think she looks extra pretty today.”

Lucy tried to twist her face into an annoyed expression, but her lips could not stop curling. “Don’t you dare.”

Tim carried on, ignoring her. “Don’t you think I should give your mommy a princess kiss for looking extra pretty?”

“Princess kiss! Princess kiss!” Fiona cheered.

He lightly cupped the sides of Lucy’s face as he smirked, feeling victorious. “You heard her,” he rumbled before capturing her lips and feeling the precise moment her mouth yielded to his.

“We have so much to do,” she said when she eventually broke away.

“I can tell you what’s at the top of my list,” he replied slyly as his eyes dropped to her frame.

She shook her head. “Cut it out. I’m putting Fiona’s toys away.” She left his embrace and went over to her daughter. “Hey, honey, can you help me put your toys away?”

“Can Kojo help, too?” Fiona wondered.

“He sure can. Everyone is going to help make sure this place is super clean including your daddy.” She gave him a pointed look, snatched the toy basket off of the floor, and went up the stairs with her daughter to ensure her room was fully organized. Then, she made her way into the laundry room. As she bent over to load the washing machine, she heard the distinct click of the laundry room door locking. She turned to see Tim’s mischievous smirk. “Babe, we can’t,” she said more for her own need than his, and yet her feet carried her closer to him and her arms reached out to hold onto his.

The glint in her eye made his pulse race. “You’ve been running around all morning. I thought you could use a break.”

“I don’t have time for a break,” she protested as she angled her head up to bring her face closer to his.

At first, he did not say a word and merely looped his hands around her waist to draw her close, then she gave him that look that he knew well. The one filled with desire. The one tinged with lust. The one that always signaled she wanted to get lost in him. “Make time,” he husked and pressed a slow, deliberate kiss to her lips.

“Tim,” she mumbled against his mouth.

“Five minutes,” he murmured back before his lips brushed against hers in a way that made her exhale in surrender.

“But Rachel-”

“Isn’t here yet,” he finished for her, tilting his head to kiss the corner of her mouth. “And the house looks amazing. You’ve done more than enough. Also, you look amazing. Is this a new shirt?”

She tried to think of another argument, but it was difficult when he trailed his lips down her jaw to the sensitive spot just below her ear. Her breathing hitched, and she hated how easily he could unravel her resolve.

“We haven’t had a lot of time to ourselves lately,” he said, his voice dropping into that low, gravelly tone that made her knees weak. “And I miss you.” He reached up to play with the first button of her blouse while he quirked his eyebrow a silent question.

“How can we live and work together, and we still miss each other?” She wondered, because she felt similarly.

“Because we don’t ride together at work, Tamara keeps coming to lunch, which is supposed to be our only alone time, and our daughter wears us out by the time we go to bed.”

“You’re the one that fell asleep while I was trying to kiss you the other night.”

“I’m not the only one that’s been exhausted.” He popped open the first button of her shirt, then his index finger glided over the small amount of skin it revealed. “But I’m not exhausted right now.”

“Neither am I.” She worked on unbuttoning her shirt from the bottom while he started from the top, and they met in the middle to help her shrug off her blouse.

His gaze dropped to her mostly bare midsection. He tried not to stare, but he was barely afforded a view of so much of her skin.

Every time his eyes turned ravenous, her heart stuttered. “Babe,” she rasped. “Please,” she begged.

He was unsure what exactly she wanted whether she was requesting his mouth or his hands, so he went with both. He pressed his palms to the small of her back and crashed his lips to hers.

She switched their positions and let him pin her to a wall then commanded his mouth as his hands asserted their dominance on her chest. Lucy whimpered when she struggled to breathe, but she would not dare stop kissing him. Whenever his lips were not on her, she missed how their mouths molded together, how his fingers burned deliciously into her skin, how thrilling it was to swallow up the small noises he made when he got carried away, and how hungry his hands would become when he touched her for long enough. She hated how much she missed feeling their chemistry when their busy lives kept them apart. Tim had to pull away slightly to breathe, so she took the opportunity to admit, “I’ve missed you, too.” Lucy met his unfocused gaze causing every single one of her nerve endings to thrum, begging for more electricity. “You’re such a bad influence,” she panted as her eyes darkened.

He fused his lips to her shoulder while grinning. “You’re welcome,” he mumbled into her skin and pulled her bra strap to the side.

Getting carried away was easy enough to do as they proved just how much they missed each other by the intensity of their kiss. They became so engrossed in each other that the sound of the doorbell startled them.

“Crap,” she breathed. “Rachel’s here.”

He picked her shirt up off the ground and handed it to her. “I’m really starting to hate how often we get interrupted.”

“They’re not interruptions. We can’t expect to spend every second together alone,” she reasoned as she buttoned her shirt back up.

“A guy can dream,” he responded and pecked her lips.

“We need to leave.” She combed her fingers through her hair to tame it. “Go answer the door. I’ll grab Fiona.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. When she reached to unlock the door, he encircled his fingers around her wrist to bide his time until he could take the large step into her space and kiss her one last time. He pulled away smiling. “I know we don’t always have a lot of time to ourselves, but it’s always worth it.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.” She grinned and leaned in to him but stopped herself at the last moment. “Nope, I can’t.”

“Why not?” He asked smartly as he followed her out of the laundry room.

“Fi, sweetie, can you come downstairs?” She called at the foot of the stairwell and spun around right into him.

“Why not?” He asked again, urging him to answer.

“You know we have trouble stopping sometimes,” she responded lowly. “Go answer the door. We can’t keep Rachel waiting.”

“Fine,” he surrendered and walked away from her, dissatisfied with the abrupt end to their time together.

Rachel set foot into the welcoming Bradford house and smiled. “Hi, Bradford family!”

“Hi, Rachel,” Lucy went to the foyer to greet her. She touched her daughter’s shoulder to comfort her where she was hiding behind her leg.

“It’s good to see everyone.” She bent forward to be at eye level with Fiona and softly said, “Hi, Fiona.”

Fiona kept her mouth shut and further hid behind her mom.

Lucy gave Rachel an apologetic look.

Tim had his own idea. “Hey, Fi,” he spoke to her calmly, “Remember how we said Rachel is our friend? Can you be nice to her because she’s our friend?” Fiona continued to shield herself with her mom’s body.

Lucy bent down and smoothed a hand through her daughter’s hair. “Hey, honey, can you do me a favor and give something really important to your daddy for me?” She pecked both of her cheeks, and since it was not enough, she added kisses to her forehead and her chin, too, until her daughter started grinning. “Can you go deliver those?”

“Okay, Mommy,” she agreed and narrowly avoided Rachel for the few paces over to her dad. “Daddy, I have something important to give you from Mommy.”

“Something for me? What is it?” He asked and scooped his daughter up to give her access to his face where she dropped the same kisses as her mom had. “Oh my goodness, thank you, kiddo.” He pecked her nose to make her snicker. “Now can you say ‘hi’ to Rachel for me?”

Fiona sheepishly waved then dropped her head to her dad’s shoulder.

“Sorry she’s a little nervous,” Lucy apologized.

“It’s okay. It happens,” Rachel replied with a shrug. “Can we start with the home inspection?”

“Of course. You’re welcome to look everywhere.” Lucy gestured to the living room as it was closest, then she saw Tim whisper something to Fiona.

“Hey, Fi, can you walk with Rachel for the tour? I need to give your mommy a really important princess kiss, so I need you to distract Rachel. Can you do that?” He asked her quietly.

“Yeah, I can do it!” Fiona volunteered, her confidence restored, and she wiggled until she was set down. As she was mission oriented, she finally had the strength to walk up to Rachel and say, “We’re walking together for the tour, because my Daddy said so.”

“Okay, well, I’m glad you listen to your daddy,” Rachel responded then began to scan the living room.

Lucy gave Tim a sideways look as he went to her. “I heard you,” she said lowly.

“Our daughter is my perfect partner in crime to make sure I get to kiss you whenever I want,” he noted feeling quite proud of himself.

“We’re in the middle of a home inspection,” she reminded him even as she wound her arms around his neck.

“This is how we convince Rachel we’re together.”

“Oh, so this isn’t selfish?” She inquired knowingly.

“Definitely not. It’s not like I think we didn’t get to finish what we started in the laundry room or something,” he lied obviously.

She opened her mouth to form a retort, but he moved quicker and captured her lips.

“The princess kiss is the best part,” Fiona told Rachel.

“I see,” Rachel replied. She thought they looked so natural together like two halves of a whole. She could not believe there was a time where they were not together when they made so much sense as a couple.

“Don’t bother them,” Fiona whispered in that loud way only little kids can manage. “They do it a lot because it’s the happy ending of the story.”

“A lot, huh?” Rachel chortled. “That’s sweet. Can you show me the kitchen?”

“Daddy makes me a princess breakfast everyday in here,” Fiona explained as she toddled over.

Lucy rocked away. “Can you behave?” She asked Tim, trying to sound annoyed, but there was no way she could be upset with so much serotonin coursing through her veins.

“I’ll stop,” he agreed and put his hands up in surrender to peel them away from her, but the second Lucy had stepped far enough away from him, he reached out to snatch her hand and hold it in his for some semblance of contact.

Trying to sound even, Lucy prompted, “Fi, did you show Rachel where Kojo’s water bowl is?”

“It’s over here on the floor!” Fiona indicated. “Sometimes, Daddy let’s me come with to walk Kojo like an adult, and I get to sing to Kojo when we walk, because Daddy says I have a pretty singing voice, and when we come home from walking, I get to help with Kojo’s bowl and fill it up with water all by myself.”

“We’re so proud of you when you take care of Kojo. You do such a good job,” Lucy mused.

“Mommy, I wanna hold your hand, too. Daddy always makes it look so fun.”

Lucy offered her free hand to her daughter as she beamed. “I really love when your daddy holds my hand, but I love it even more when I get to hold yours, too.”

“Yay!” Fiona cheered.

“Psst,” Tim fake whispered to Lucy. “Can you pass this to Fiona?” He asked and pressed a kiss to the back of Lucy’s hand.

She flashed him a grin then bent down to kiss the back of Fiona’s hand before saying, “That’s from your daddy.”

Rachel made a note that the Bradfords were easily the sweetest family she had ever seen. She moved onto the laundry room and noticed how Tim’s ears turned noticeably pink when she poked her head in. “Everything looks fine here. Do you have any issues with the washer or dryer?”

“Nope, no issues,” he replied quickly. “Nothing to see here. We should probably move on.”

Lucy bit back a grin; if those walls could talk, they would speak about all of the stolen kisses and heavy moments shared in that innocent looking room where they could be alone. The memories flooding to her mind warmed her cheeks.

“Mommy and Daddy do a lot of laundry. It’s an adult job, too, so I can’t do it, but they’re always happy about it,” Fiona shared.

Rachel did not know anyone who was happy about doing laundry, but she did not pay that thought much attention and instead ascended the stairs. She took special attention to eye every nook of Fiona’s bedroom, which was safe, well organized, and filled with cheer just as the last time. The last stop was Tim and Lucy’s bedroom.

Tim opened a few of the dresser drawers and motioned to them. “We both live in here,” he said. “You can check.” He was so proud of the fact that though his clothes were haphazardly shoved in the room in preparation for their previous home inspection, he had officially moved in since then.

“I can see that. That’s nice,” Rachel said, unsure why he called attention to that.

“Lucy sleeps on that side of the bed, and I sleep on this side.” He indicated as if Rachel cared.

“Oh-kay,” Rachel responded awkwardly and filed out of the bedroom. She crouched down to Fiona’s level and asked, “Fiona, can we talk in your room together for a few minutes?”

“No,” she was quick to reply and hid behind her mom again.

Tim had anticipated that reaction, so he got down on his knees and tried to explain to her, “Listen, munchkin, Rachel isn’t going to talk to you about moving away again. You’re not going anywhere.”

“I’m not leaving!”

“No, you’re never going to leave us,” he confirmed. “Your mommy and I love you so much. You’re our baby bear, and you’re a big part of our family. Rachel isn’t going to separate us, okay? She just wants to get to know you better so we can all be friends.”

“I already have friends. I have Jack and Kojo. They’re my best friends. And I have a big family. I don’t need anymore friends.”

“Can you please talk to her anyways, munchkin?” He requested gently.

“Kojo can go with you,” Lucy added. “And you can hold your baby bear to show her.”

“I want you to come, too,” Fiona requested.

“We’ll be waiting right outside, and we’ll give you big hugs when you finish talking to Rachel,” Lucy offered instead.

Fiona put her hand on her hip and eyed Rachel with uncertainty. “My mommy and daddy said I’m not leaving, so you can’t take me away, and I’ll only be your friend because that’s what my mommy and daddy want.” With that, she strutted into her room.

“Okay, someone’s in a sassy mood today,” Lucy noted, somewhat shocked by her daughter’s attitude.

“She gets that from you,” Tim murmured.

“I’m not sassy,” she disagreed.

“You’re so sassy,” he replied and cupped her chin to tilt her head up. “But I like it,” he added happily and kissed her lightly.

Lucy chuckled. “Hold that thought I want to eavesdrop.”

He rolled his eyes, but curiosity won out, so he joined her in pressing their ears to the door to listen.

Rachel started with an easy question. “So, Fiona, how do you like living here?”

“It’s the best! I have my own room, and I get all the bedtime hugs I want, and my best friend, Kojo, lives here, and I have the best Mommy and Daddy ever. They love each other a lot.”

“How do you know they love each other?”

“The princess kisses,” she said as if it was obvious. “I ask for them all the time, and they do it, and Daddy always gives Mommy a big smile.”

“How sweet,” she mused. “Do you love them?”

“Yeah, I love them so much! I love that we have breakfast together all the time, and they let me wear bows, and they read to me, and they taught me how to ride a bike, and they make me so happy everyday!”

Rachel giggled. “That’s great. And do you like how they take care of you?”

“Oh, yeah!” Fiona nodded vigorously. “Daddy makes the best princess breakfast, and he ties my bows perfectly, and Mommy sings songs when she brushes my hair. And every night, we have story time all together. I love story time, because Mommy and Daddy cuddle with me and read me all the best books.”

“Is it different from your other homes before?”

“My other homes weren’t nice. I didn’t have a mommy or a daddy, and I didn’t wear bows, and I didn’t have a dog. I’ve never had my own room, but now I have a green one, and green is my favorite color! I have the best home in the world.” Kojo licked her face, and she laughed. “Kojo is the best part of living here other than Mommy and Daddy.” 

Tim had heard enough, so he stopped trying to listen in on the interview and instead rested his chin on Lucy’s shoulder.

“She’s doing great,” Lucy whispered.

“Of course she is. She’s just like you.” He settled his hands on her hips and brought her back flush against his front. “Even without your DNA she’s so much like you.”

“I know. It’s so wild. You know she frowns like you? It’s adorable.”

“Well, I haven’t really frowned since you and me decided to give this a real shot.” His hands slowly drifted over her stomach.

She leaned back against him. “Yeah, it’s been pretty great.”

He abruptly stepped around her to meet her eyes. “Just pretty great?”

“I mean, things could be better.”

“What else can I do?”

The way his face turned completely serious made her heart skip a beat. She reached up to hold his face. “Hey, I was kidding, babe. I’m happy. Are you?”

“Very.”

“Should I ask you the question Rachel asked Fiona? How do you like living here?”

“Well, I’ve got our daughter and you under the same roof, so I’m thrilled.”

“You and Fiona are definitely the best part, but I like the closet, too. It’s really roomy.”

He smiled. “It’s funny, because when I toured houses for you and Fi, I knew you’d like the closet.”

“No you didn’t.”

“Yes I did.”

“Wow, you know me so well.”

“Too well, Lucy Chen, too well.”

She brought her lips to his, though it barely counted as a kiss because of how big their grins were. “Can I ask you something?” She wondered, suddenly becoming shy. “I love our lunches at the food trucks everyday even when other people sit with us, but I was wondering if we could go to dinner just the two of us.”

“You mean like a date?” She nodded in reply, causing his face to light up. “Yeah, I would love to take you on a date.”

“Technically, I’m the one taking you on a date. I asked you.”

“Oh, is that how we’re gonna play it? Does that mean you’re paying?”

“Absolutely not. You make way more money than I do.”

He snickered. “Fine.”

“But I’ll drive if you want, and I’ll take you home afterwards.”

“I’m in.”

“Great. Can you wear something sexy like that black dress shirt I like?”

“Do I get to pick out what you wear?”

“That depends on if you’re going to have a dirty mind.”

“I was just going to say the green dress. It’s Fiona’s favorite color, and I think it looks incredible on you.”

She blushed. “I guess I could fish it out of that big closet for our date. I’m just happy.” She brushed her thumbs over his cheekbones. “I’m really happy I have you.”

He pressed his lips to her forehead and lingered. “I’m happy I have you, too.” He pulled away and pointed out, “But I don’t know if that’s clear to Rachel. You should probably step it up a bit while she’s here.”

Lucy arched an eyebrow at the levity of his voice. “Oh, really? You think I’m not convincing enough?”

Barely suppressing a grin, he replied, “I’m just saying, we could act more like a couple, you know, for Fiona.”

It was such an obvious lie that she had to bite her lip to stop from laughing. “Oh, for Fiona. Right. You’re only thinking of her.”

“Exactly,” he lied. “You should, I don’t know, show her your bracelet.” He lifted her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist above the gold links. “Or maybe you should kiss me somewhere.” He gestured at his neck. “Just to really sell it.”

“Sell it, huh? Like here?” She ran her thumb over the spot just below his jawline, which happened to be the one she discovered he liked a little too much thanks to their time in the laundry room.

He hummed shakily.

She breathed into his skin playfully, “We should practice. We really like our practice.” She darted her tongue out on the sensitive spot, and his breathing hitched almost immediately. 

Tim slightly swayed on his feet when she kissed him hard there. She had a way of hypnotizing him with every little thing she did.

Rachel cleared her throat loudly when she stepped out into the hallway to find them having a private moment.

Lucy wrenched her mouth away from him as her cheeks darkened, yet when she casted a glance at Tim, he smirked, wholly unbothered.

“Mommy! I want my hug now!” Fiona requested with her arms outstretched.

She picked her daughter up and held her tightly. “Are you okay, Fi?” Lucy asked, trying not to sound too concerned.

“Yeah, but you said if I talked to Rachel, I could have a hug, and I wanted one.” She buried her face in her mom’s neck and melted into the overwhelming comfort of her arms.

“Good, because I really wanted one, too. I love giving you hugs.” She leaned against Tim to encourage him to join the embrace, and he did.

Rachel’s heart warmed to see the sweetness of their family unit.

“Okay, my love,” Lucy whispered, “your daddy and I have to talk to Rachel now, too. Can you color with Kojo?”

“In a minute,” Fiona replied and clung to her mom.

“That’s another thing she has in common with you,” Tim mumbled fondly. “My girls love their cuddles.”

Lucy gave him a pointed look. “Don’t act like you don’t love your cuddles, too.” She took the stairs with her daughter in her arms then eventually set her down in her booster chair at the kitchen table. “Can you color something for me?”

“Alright, but Kojo doesn’t always do a good job picking out yellows.”

“That’s okay. I’m sure I’ll love it.” She lifted Kojo up and set him on the chair next to Fiona.

When Tim sidled up next to Lucy, he slid his hand in the back pocket of her jeans. “Come on, Luce,” he said lowly in her ear.

She smirked. “Way to lay it on thick,” she mumbled and went into his space to keep his hand on her.

“It’s for Fiona,” he explained innocently.

“You are so full of it.”

“All of a sudden that doesn’t work anymore?”

“No, I’ll allow it. It’s fun now.”

“It’s really fun.” He doubled down and slid his other hand into her other back pocket.

Rachel cleared her throat to stop them before they kissed, since they had business to attend to.

“Why don’t we sit in the living room,” Lucy suggested and pulled Tim’s hands out of her pockets since he seemed quite firm about keeping them fixed on her. “We could be a little less convincing,” she leaned in to murmur to Tim.

He gave her a sly smile. “Where’s the fun in that?”

She went to sit on the couch, curious what he had in mind, then he pulled her into his side, threw an arm over her shoulder, and dropped a kiss to her temple. She loved it; she loved when he held her and gave her any small trace of affection like it was a rarity even though it was certainly not. Lucy ran her fingers over his thighs and flashed him a warm smile.

Rachel took the armchair across from them and pointed out, “It seems like having a kid has brought you two closer even in the time since my last visit.”

“We’ve made a lot of progress because of Fiona that’s true,” Lucy agreed then turned to Tim. “But I think we would’ve gotten here eventually if our daughter wasn’t in the picture.”

“I’m glad it was for her, though,” Tim chimed in.

“That makes it mean more.”

“Not that I wouldn’t have loved our life together without her.”

“I know, but I’m grateful we’re here.”

“Me, too.”

Rachel jotted down a few notes and asked, “Okay, so now that we’ve established that you’re happy together, do you two think you’ve created a happy and secure environment for Fiona?”

“Lucy sure has,” Tim was first to answer. “She’s an incredible mom, and she makes our daughter smile and feel safe at every turn.”

“You’re a great dad,” Lucy insisted. “You make her so happy every time when you tie her bow or make any animal noses, and everyday you get better and better. I’m jealous of that.”

“Well that’s because I need improvement and you don’t.”

She scoffed. “I definitely do.”

“I wouldn’t change a thing about you,” he said with finality and sweetness.

Rachel felt a bit like she was being ignored, but she pressed on. “It’s clear she’s thriving, and seeing the two of you so in sync only reinforces that. You two really are a great team. Fiona’s lucky to have you.”

“We’re lucky to have her,” Lucy mused.

“I’m lucky to have both of them,” Tim corrected, which earned him a kiss to the underside of his jaw. “You missed.”

She chuckled. “I didn’t miss.”

“I think you did.” He wanted her to kiss his lips not his jaw.

“Later,” she promised quietly.

“All of a sudden you’re shy?”

“We’re in the middle of an interview. Can we focus?”

“How am I supposed to focus around you?” His hand draped across her shoulder lazed over her bicep fondly.

“Rachel, can you ask us another question? Tim’s being impossible.”

“Sure,” she snorted. “What’s the most rewarding part of fostering Fiona so far?”

Lucy answered as she ignored his fingers’ featherlight touch that was trying to distract her. “Watching her blossom like a flower. Seeing her feel safe enough to be herself, her funny, smart, stubborn little self. It’s incredible. Every day feels like a gift with her.”

“That’s beautiful. You’re clearly both so devoted to her,” Rachel noted with a smile.

“Well, yeah, because she’s got us wrapped around her little finger,” he replied.

“Speak for yourself. I’m not a push over. Oh, Rachel, Tim is such a push over he bought our daughter the nicest bike in the store, and he taught her how to ride it last weekend all day. I should show you pictures. You’ll love it.” She pulled out her phone and showed the screen to Rachel.

Tim sat back as Lucy had a proud mom moment bragging about how much of a natural at bike riding Fiona proved to be and how cute it was when Kojo was in the basket. He had heard the presentation at the station when she shared it with pretty much every single one of their coworkers, but he never grew tired of it.

“Isn’t she the best? I’m so proud of her,” Lucy swooned when she finished going through all of the photos she had captured.

“We both are,” he chimed in.

Rachel set her pen down. “Well, I think I’ve got everything I need for today. Thank you for being so open and for making my job so easy. You’re doing a wonderful job with Fiona.”

“Does that mean we can start the adoption process in two months? The minimum fostering time is six months, and we’re at four months now, so I think it’s time we start talking about that,” Lucy wondered.

“We have to have a few interviews to note Fiona’s progress and make sure her home remains stable, but I know you, and I know telling you to wait won’t work, so how about I get the adoption forms together and have you start to fill them out,” Rachel offered.

“Yes, please, we would love to fill out forms,” Lucy responded, desperately eager. 

“I’ll be in touch soon about the next steps, but for now, just keep doing what you’re doing. Fiona’s thriving, and it’s clear how much love she has in this home,” Rachel deduced. She closed up her notebook and gathered her files. As she reached the door, she glanced at Tim standing over the kitchen table complimenting Fiona’s art, so she turned to Lucy and said, “I love how amazing your family is.”

“They’re the best,” Lucy replied, her heart swelling. “I keep pinching myself. I can’t believe this is my life.”

“You’re lucky.”

“Sure am.”

“I’ll leave you to your beautiful family. We’ll talk soon. Bye, everyone!” She waved and walked out the door.

Lucy sighed in relief at another successful evening with the social worker and Tim was right there to hug her just because. She no longer needed an excuse or even to ask; he went to her and held her all the time, and though it was a small development among some of other larger ones, she treasured it nonetheless.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

Fiona hopped onto her mattress where her dad was lounging with her stuffed bear, and Kojo curled up at the foot of the bed. “Daddy! Can I drive yet?”

“Not yet, munchkin, but riding a bike is almost the same as driving.”

“Really? Can we ride my bike tomorrow?”

“Ask your mommy. I don’t want to be accused of being a push over.”

Lucy went to his side of the bed with the book she selected in hand and pecked his forehead. “But you’re my favorite push over.”

“You missed again.”

“Tim, we have a book to read and a daughter that needs to sleep.”

He caught her by her waist to stop her from moving. “Don’t make me say the magic words.”

“Is that a threat?”

He puckered his lips. “It’s just a little kiss.”

“I know you and it won’t be little.” To prove her point, she brought her mouth to his quickly, and he chased her lips as she expected, so she giggled and pulled away. “I told you. 

“But I don’t want water. I want you.”

She considered herself to be a strong woman, but one look in his pleading lighting blue eyes, and she had zero resolve. “I really don’t like saying ‘no’ to you.”

“Looks like you’re a push over, too.”

She went to him for another longer kiss. “I get it now why you’re a push over, because you can’t help it, and neither can I,” she whispered against his lips, making both of them smile. Lucy rounded the bed to climb in on her side. “Sorry, honey, your daddy is being a silly goose right now.”

“Daddy needs kisses. We all need kisses,” Fiona said.

“You’re right,” Lucy agreed and glanced at Tim before both of them leaned over and peppered their daughter with kisses as she let out endless, raucous giggles. Even Kojo joined in licking at her toes under the covers. When Fiona was completely breathless, they stopped, and Lucy tucked her back in under the covers. She swept her daughter’s hair out of her face as her tone changed to a serious one. “Sweetheart, before we read, can we talk about something real quick?”

Fiona looked up, her big, curious eyes bouncing between her parents. “About Rachel?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I know talking to Rachel can be a little…weird sometimes.”

Fiona scrunched up her nose as her tiny hands fidgeted with her blanket. “I don’t like it. She asks too many questions.”

Tim gave her a reassuring rub of her arm. “I know it’s not fun, kiddo, but it’s important, and you’re doing a great job.”

“And it’s almost over, sweetheart. Just a few more visits, and then it’s done,” Lucy promised.

“What do you mean done?” Fiona’s lip wobbled.

“Your daddy and I will sign some papers, we’ll go in front of a judge, and then we never have to talk to another social worker again. That uncomfortable part will be done, but we’ll be a family forever.”

“How long is forever?” Fiona wondered.

“Forever means there is no end, so there’s no end to our family. Just like how we love you forever.”

Tim put an arm around his daughter to hold her. “We do.” Somehow, his heart grew when Fiona came into his life and afforded him the ability to love her more than he ever thought possible.

“I get to love you forever, too,” Fiona chirped and nestled into her dad for some warmth.

Lucy‘s eyes burned at the sweetness. “Okay, let’s read our story before I cry.”

Fiona fought off sleep until her mom turned the last page, and then her eyes drooped too heavily for her to stay awake. She felt her parents drop kisses to her forehead and faintly heard them whisper their goodnights and I love yous. “Forever,” she breathed with the last bit of her energy.

Tim carefully slid out of bed so as not to wake her and tip toed into the doorway to get to Lucy. 

She could read his mind easily. “I know, I know, we made a deal for Fiona that we keep even if she’s asleep. Come here.” She gave him a quick peck and noticed how he did not complain or go back for more; he merely dragged his feet down the hallway to their bedroom. She changed in the en suite bathroom and opened the door to let him in to wash his face and brush his teeth at the sink next to her. Lucy watched him through the mirror until she wordlessly padded out and crawled into their bed.

“Are you mad at me?” He asked where he stood in the middle of the room, confused by the shift in her demeanor.

“Did I do something or are you just tired?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Twenty minutes ago you were thirsty, and now you’re not.” She pulled the covers up self consciously.

He stepped around to her side of the bed and climbed right on top of her with an expression full of fondness. “I’ll be thirsty for you forever, but…” he dropped down, abandoning staying up on all fours above her to take away every centimeter of space between them. “That’s the thing. You were right back there. We have forever, so I don’t have to keep acting like I only get some limited amount of time with you that I have to make the most of.”

“We do have forever if you want.” Her heart skipped a beat as she indulged herself with the possibility of a future with him that had no end.

“Of course that’s what I want.”

“Don’t say it like that. We haven’t exactly talked about the future in terms of us.”

“That’s true, but you did ask to marry me.”

“For Fiona.”

“But you’ve never said anything about divorce. Not once.”

“I haven’t?”

“Not once,” he repeated

She bit her lip guiltily. “I’m sorry. It’s not like I planned on us signing the adoption papers and then signing the divorce papers the day after, but every time I think about an end with you…I just can’t.”

“Neither can I. Not anymore. No matter how slow we take things, I can see myself always wanting to work on staying together.” He brushed his lips over her cheek. “And wanting to grow with you.” He brought his mouth to her other cheek. “And wanting to be with you in every single way.”

Maybe it was thirst before, but there was a deeper lust darkening his irises in that moment in a way that sent heat rushing all the way to her toes. Lucy raked her fingers through his hair. “Then I guess we don’t have to plan for an end. We’re starting to count down to the end of fostering Fiona, and I’m looking forward to the day she’s adopted, but I think there are no other endings. I think from here on out it’s just forevers. Forever with Fi as our daughter legally.”

“Forever in this house.”

Her throat closed, emotion making it hard to speak. “Forever for you and me.”

Tim could only kiss her in promise that forever was exactly what they would share no matter how they had reached that point, because while everything else proved to have an ending, his family with Lucy and Fiona was going to be the one thing that remained, because he knew he would fight for them until the end of time.

Chapter Text

Peace was hard to come by in their house, so Lucy enjoyed the moment where she was lounging on the couch reading a book with her feet in Tim’s lap as he pored over a case file that was bothering him while mindlessly drawing patterns on her calf, Kojo was lightly snoring where he was asleep next to Fiona, and Fiona was sprawled out on the living room floor surrounded by crayons and a nearly full coloring book. Her daughter’s tongue stuck out between her teeth in concentration as she worked on staying inside the lines. The peacefulness was so glorious, she hated to interrupt it. “My love,” she said softly as she smiled at Fiona.

She looked up from her paper, and wondered, “Yes, Mommy?”

“Have you ever gone to a hair salon before?”

She frowned in thought. “What’s a hair salon?”

“It’s a place where you can get your hair cut or styled in fancy ways. They make you feel extra pretty.”

Fiona’s eyes lit up. “Like a princess?”

“Exactly like a princess. So what do you think? Do you want to go to the hair salon with me?”

“Are you going today?” Tim butted in to ask.

“Yeah, and I’m thinking we’ll turn it into a girls’ afternoon,” Lucy explained.

“What brought this on?” He inquired.

She swung her legs out of his lap to flip over and instead scoot until she was in his space. “I want to look extra good for our date tonight,” she murmured as she batted her eyelashes at him.

“You don’t have to do anything special for me, you know.”

“I know.” She rested her hand over his heart and continued, “But I want to.”

“You’re the one that says all of our lunches are dates, so what’s the big deal this time?”

“This is dinner, and it’s going to be fancier. I can’t tell you how excited I am for a night out just you and me.”

He snaked an arm around her waist and smirked at the enthusiasm making her eyes dazzle. “I am, too.” He dropped a kiss to her forehead. “You two can take my truck for the day. I’ll go get your car serviced while you’re out.”

“You’re volunteering to get my car serviced?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because that’s so…you’re a very good boyfriend, you know that?”

“Am I, or do I just have a very good girlfriend?”

“Both,” she decided, grinning.

He chuckled. “Fair.”

Lucy slotted her lips with his sweetly before standing up. “Okay, sweetheart, let’s put on our shoes. We’re going to the salon.”

Tim took her hand. As their daughter went into the foyer to slip on her shoes as instructed, he moved close to Lucy and dropped his voice to remind her, “I hope you know you’re already beautiful.”

She blushed and was rendered speechless.

He went over to help his daughter with her shoes and said, “Have fun, Fi.”

“Bye, Daddy!”

Lucy laced up her sneakers and stepped into his space. “Thank you for going to take care of my car today. You being so sweet really means the world to me.”

“It’s what you deserve.”

“And answers like that will get you a princess kiss.” She curled her fingers in the collar of his flannel and captured his lips adoringly.

“You didn’t say that loud enough for our favorite cheerleader to start yelling for us to kiss,” he pointed out.

“I did that for me.”

“Does that mean I can get a kiss for me?”

“Only if you want one.”

He made his desires known when he covered her mouth with his for a few seconds. “If there ever comes a day I don’t want one, take me to the doctor to get my head examined.”

“We’ll see you later,” she rumbled and took Fiona’s hand to walk out of the house. As they went over to the driveway, she happened to glance at the rose bushes in the front of their house, and she stopped in her tracks. She saw the tiniest dots of red among the green.

“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Fiona asked.

“Honey, look! Remember when I told you we were planting flowers, but it would take time before we would see them?” Her daughter nodded in response. “Well now, they’re starting to grow. See the red? Those are little baby buds, and soon they’ll open up and be pretty roses.”

“I can’t wait!”

“They’re going to be so beautiful. Do you know why? Because they’re Fiona roses.”

“I’m Fiona.”

“Yeah, I know. You and those roses have the same name. I thought if we’ve got a Fiona at home that’s already growing with us, we should have a few hundred more. How cool is that?”

“So cool! Can I have a Fiona rose?”

“When they’re ready, we’ll pick a bunch of them and put them in a vase in the house for you to look at them. How does that sound?”

“Yay! Flowers are so pretty!”

“They sure are. It can take a whole year for roses to grow for the first time, but we clearly bought some very mature bushes just like how we have a mature little girl.” Lucy kissed her daughter’s cheek and grinned. “You’ve grown a lot, too, since you moved in here with us. I’m really proud of that.”

She saw her mom’s eyes well up, so her lips pulled down sympathetically. “Don’t cry, Mommy. Flowers are a good thing.”

“I know, sweetie. They’re a really good thing, and it makes me so happy. These are happy tears.”

Fiona hugged her mom’s legs regardless of not fully understanding her. “I love you, Mommy.”

“I love you, too, Fi.” She held the back of her daughter’s head for a bit, overcome by the emotion of seeing a physical manifestation of growth take shape when Lucy felt the growth in her heart and in her family every single day between seeing Fiona change and hit big and small milestones and how her relationship with Tim had blossomed, too. Budding flowers just like their budding daughter and Tim and Lucy’s budding feelings were all very good things. With a chest full of warmth and joy, she drove to the salon.

Fiona clung to her mom’s hand as she took in the rows of styling chairs, mirrors, and shelves of colorful products. “Whoa,” she whispered.

“Pretty cool, huh?” She replied.

Still unsure, Fiona tightened her grip on her mom’s hand and scanned the various chairs to try to gather exactly how everything worked. “What are they gonna do to me?”

Lucy crouched down to her level and brushed a strand of hair behind her daughter’s ear. “Nothing scary, I promise. Just a little trim to make your hair even prettier. It gets loud when they use a hair dryer, but it doesn’t hurt. And if you want, they can braid it, too.”

Fiona tilted her head, considering it. “Okay, but can you go first?”

“Absolutely.”

Once seated, Lucy gestured for her daughter to climb onto her lap, assuring her it was okay to watch while the stylist worked. 

Fiona stayed close, occasionally poking her head around to ask questions like, “What’s that bottle for?” or “Does it hurt when they do that?”

Lucy rubbed her daughter’s back to further soothe her as the hair stylist curled her long chestnut locks. When she was done, she asked, “What do you think?”

She surveyed her for a moment and decided, “You need a bow in your hair.”

“You’re absolutely right. I do.” Lucy asked her hair stylist to gather her hair in a half ponytail and tie it with a green satin ribbon. “Do you like it?”

“Pretty!” Fiona exclaimed and clapped happily. “I want my hair to look like yours! Can I do the same thing, Mommy?”

“I don’t see why not.” A booster seat was placed on the leather chair, and then she lifted her daughter up to seat her in it. “I’ll stand right here the whole time, and when you’re done, you’ll look extra pretty.” Lucy took a few photos on her phone of Fiona’s first haircut and texted them to Tim.

When she was done, she admired her hair in the mirror that was slightly shorter than it was before, and it was styled exactly like her mom’s with curls and a half ponytail tied with a bow. “Mommy, look!” She shouted and turned her head from side to side to show off her hair.

“You look like a princess.”

“So do you!”

“Thank you, my love.”

“When we go home, can Daddy fix my bow? He’s really good at bows.”

“He will love to help you with your bow. Have you ever painted your nails?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, just wait and see if you like it.”

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

Tim was greeted by melodious laughter when he arrived home. He followed the sound into Fiona’s bedroom where Lucy and his daughter were sitting at the small craft table together with their hair styled the same way and matching smiles on their faces; they had never looked more similar.

“Daddy!” Fiona said when she noticed him in the doorway.

“Hey, kiddo. What’s going on in here?” He wondered and took a few large paces into the room.

“My hands are green! They’re green!” Fiona shared excitedly.

“Your nails are green. Those are your nails,” Lucy corrected her before he could be alarmed by her word choice.

“Green, huh?” He said and moved to stand right behind Lucy. She dropped her head back and flashed him a grin, so he bent forward to press his lips to hers. “Hey, you.”

“Hi.” Lucy’s stomach was swarmed with butterflies in a matter of seconds when he walked in.

“Mommy’s are red,” Fiona indicated.

“What do you think?” Lucy inquired as she held out her hand for him to look at.

He gingerly held it long enough to kiss her knuckles and say, “I love it.” He loved the color choice but what he loved more was seeing the finger adorned with his engagement ring and wedding band as two of the clearest signs to the rest of the world that she belonged with him.

Lucy thought she might melt.

“I got your oil changed, refilled your brake fluid, rotated the tires, and the car is now washed and detailed,” he told her.

“Wow, I’ve never gotten so hot hearing about a car. I might have to find a way to thank you later,” Lucy flirted, and he merely gazed down at her slightly slack jawed with fire crackling in his eyes as they stared at each other in a charged way that could only be interrupted by the sound of their daughter’s voice.

“Daddy, can you tie my bow again? The lady at the salon did it, but that’s your job, and I don’t want to take it from you.”

He cleared his throat and smiled at her. “I would love to.” He dropped to his knees to look at her hair and complimented her, “You look like a princess. Both of you do. I can’t believe I live in the same house as two of the most beautiful girls in the world.”

Fiona giggled and Lucy barely held back from doing the same.

He finished re-tying the ribbon with a breathed out, “There.”

“Thanks, Daddy!”

“You’re welcome, Fi.”

“Can we paint Kojo’s nails, too?” Fiona asked.

“I don’t think he would like it that much,” Lucy answered, “but you can pretend to to make him feel special.”

“Okay, come here, best friend!” Fiona beckoned for Kojo to trot over from where he was lounging in her bed.

While Fiona mimed the act of painting the dog’s nails, Lucy stood up and looped her arms around Tim’s midsection carefully due to her wet nails. “I’d like to properly thank you for taking care of my car,” she said lowly.

“No thanks necessary, but I’ll take the kiss anyways,” was all that managed to escape his lips before hers were over his and her tongue plunged into his mouth. When she broke away, he breathlessly noted, “Wow, I’ll get your car looked at any time.”

“What were you so afraid of? You’re fantastic at this boyfriend stuff. Honestly, I think getting my car serviced could even be considered husband level of incredible.”

“Good thing I technically am.”

“W-well,” she had not meant to utter the word “husband”, since acknowledging their marriage was not exactly easy to do without speaking about the future and long-term aspects of their relationship outside of Fiona, so she was struggling to address it. “Technically, right.” Her phone buzzed, and she was grateful for the distraction. “Mind getting that out of my back pocket?” He quirked an eyebrow at her, and she explained, “I have wet nails.”

He did not understand how she could have her hands splayed over his backside without a problem but pockets would be an issue, yet instead of posing that question, he pulled the device out and replaced it with his hand, enveloped by the denim.

She shuddered at the swift way he made himself comfortable putting his hand in her back pocket then she read the notification where he held her phone out with his other hand for her to read. “It’s Nell,” she announced. “She texted saying she can’t watch Fi tonight, because Ellroy is under the weather.”

“Does that mean we have to cancel?”

“No, I’ll ask Tamara, and if not her, then Angela. I don’t want these hair and nails to go to waste.”

“They definitely aren’t,” he guaranteed, his eyes scanning her like he had no idea where he wanted to kiss her first but definitely wanted to make his way all over.

“You like my hair?”

“Love it.” He traced a curl as a soft smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I like when you wear your hair like this. Well, I like it all the time, but this is nice.”

“Good to know for future dates. What about the nail polish?”

“I don’t really have an opinion on that. Sorry. But for future dates, you should know what I really want is for you to be there with me.”

“That’s such a corny answer,” she teased with a chortle.

“Corny or not, that’s what I want.”

“That makes two of us,” she responded and slotted her lips with his for something that was supposed to be fleeting, but he did not let her go that easily, not that she tried very hard to pull away. Finally, she said, “Okay, I have to call Tamara. I’ll be right back.” Lucy frowned at the loss of his hand in her back pocket, then stepped out of Fiona’s room to dial.

“What’s up?” Tamara answered the phone with by way of greeting. “Is this about your date tonight? It’s tonight, right? Need wardrobe help? Oh, I can help with your hair if you want…not that Tim is the kind of guy that’ll notice that kind of thing.”

“Oh, he noticed,” Lucy assured slyly. “I went and got my hair done, so I’ve got that covered. I painted my nails, too, and he already picked out my dress for me.”

“Tim Bradford picked out your clothes? Yeah, right,” she scoffed.

“He did. He must have remembered how I looked the last time I wore that dress.”

“Is it low cut?”

Lucy thought about it. “In a tasteful way.”

“That’s why it was memorable for him. He likes your boobs.”

“You think? He’s always touching my thighs, though.”

“How are you two married with a kid, and you don’t know what he likes best about you?”

“I-I, well, it’s…”

Tamara gasped in mock scandal. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me you still haven’t-”

Her cheeks burned. “No!” Lucy interrupted, her voice louder than she intended. She immediately lowered it, glancing at the door to ensure Fiona and Tim had not overheard. “We’ve been taking it slow,” she explained.

She snorted. “How slow are we talking? I think the tectonic plates shift faster. You’re married. You have a kid. You live together. Slow stopped being an option the moment you asked him to marry you.”

“It makes sense. We’re married for Fiona. The rest of our relationship is about us, and we want to make sure we do everything right.”

“Trying to be perfect is a recipe for disaster. You’ve got a three-year-old. Toddlers are the enemy of perfection.”

“Maybe that’s true, but…” She paced the hallway as she worried at her lip. “Look, it all makes sense in my head, but saying it out loud…” She trailed off and sighed.

“Doesn’t?” She finished for her. “Say whatever you want about taking things slow or wanting things to be perfect, but it all sounds like the real question here is if you’re both ready. Once you know that, you’re good to go.”

Lucy leaned against a wall. “I think it’s time we talked about it. Our date tonight is the perfect time to have that discussion.”

“Good to hear.”

“That’s why I called. Nell was supposed to watch Fi while Tim and I went out, but she can’t come over anymore. Any chance you can take care of her?”

“Are you telling me if I can’t watch your daughter, there’s a chance your well overdue hook up won’t happen?”

“Don’t say it like that.”

“But that’s what you’re saying. Fine. I’ll cancel my plans, because I think it’s about time you get it on. Do you want Fiona to stay at my place so you two have the house to yourselves?”

“That’s not necessary. If anything, we would stay at a hotel. Fiona needs stability.”

“Are you getting a hotel then?”

“No, I didn’t say that. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I don’t know where Tim’s head is at. That comes first.”

“So I’ve noticed, which is why your wedding was months ago, and you still haven’t consummated the marriage.”

“For the millionth time, we’re married for Fiona, and we’ve been a little busy raising a kid and working full-time jobs.”

“Angela and Wes are raising a kid and have full-time jobs. Nyla and James have four kids. They make time. So, here’s the deal- I’ll babysit, but you have to promise me you don’t chicken out and talk to Tim about this whole ‘we’re taking it slow’ thing to figure out what’s going on.”

She nodded. “I won’t chicken out. I’ll do it.”

“Which ‘it’ are we talking about?” Tamara smirked in a way that was audible through the phone.

“The talking ‘it’ not the other one.”

She groaned. “When you get home, I’ll have mood music playing and rose petals on your bed.”

“Don’t you dare,” Lucy warned with a snicker she could not totally stifle. “Be here at 5:30. Our dinner is at 6.”

“You got it.”

“Thank you. I owe you.”

“I accept payment in the form of you two-”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Lucy cut her off, blushing. “I have to go.”

“Bye,” Tamara said before ending the call.

Tim saw Lucy walk into Fiona’s with an odd expression on her face. “Is something wrong?”

“No, babe.” She leaned down and cupped his chin before pecking his lips. “I’m going to put my makeup on. We have to start getting ready. Fi, honey, do you want to come with me to watch me put my makeup on?”

“Can Kojo come with?” Fiona wondered.

“Of course.”

Fiona was perched on the bathroom countertop with the perfect view of her mom painting her face with mild fascination.

“Done,” Lucy announced and inspected herself in the mirror to be sure. “Now I’ve got to put my dress on.”

“Can I wear a dress, too?” Fiona asked. “You said you’re getting dressed up tonight. I wanna feel pretty, too.”

She grinned. “Of course, you can wear a dress, sweetheart. Let’s pick out a pretty one together.” They stepped out of the en suite bathroom to find Tim straightening his tie in the mirror in the bedroom. “Don’t you look handsome.”

“Thank you,” he responded, gladly.

“Fi, go on ahead to look through your closet. I’ll be right there.” She waited until she heard little footsteps fade away then ran her hands down his front. “I really like this suit. I only asked for a black dress shirt, but you went all out.”

“I figured I should put in some effort, too.” He moved, but she rocked away.

“Fresh lipstick. I don’t want you to smudge it,” she reasoned.

“I will eventually, you know.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’ll resort to making Fiona call for princess kisses if I have to.” He dropped his lips to her neck. “Does this count as a princess kiss?”

“No.”

“Does this?” He wondered before laving over her jawline.

She sighed. “No.”

He brought his mouth to her collarbone and kissed her there fiercely.

“Not that one, either,” she breathed and directed his head to a spot just a little lower, making her knees wobble.

“Mommy! Mommy!” Fiona yelled.

“Duty calls,” Lucy said and stepped away, the heat that was rising a second before had been stamped out like cold water being thrown over flames. She went into her daughter’s bedroom where she was holding up a white dress. 

“I want to wear this one.” Fiona shook the hanger with bright eyes.

“Great choice!” She replied and helped her daughter slip into the dress and fasten the buttons on the back.

“Why are we getting dressed up, Mommy?” Fiona wondered.

“It’s a special night.”

“Special? Why?”

“We’re going to a special restaurant instead of having dinner at home.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It will be.” She glanced at her watch. “I have to go put on my dress. We have to hurry.” Lucy rushed into her room and threw on her dress. She took a moment to smooth the fabric over her hips and eyed herself in her reflection.

“You look like a princess, Mommy! I love the green!”

“Thank you, sweetheart. I hope your Daddy likes it.” She got her answer when she descended the stairs and found Tim staring back at her, completely speechless.

He heard the clicking of her heels before he saw her, and once he did, every single word in his vocabulary escaped his mind. Tim had seen her in that dress before, and yet she looked even more beautiful the second time.

“Daddy! Do you like my dress?” Fiona asked as she scurried down the stairs feeling like a princess after a day of pampering.

“Y-you look like a princess,” he answered and took her hand to twirl her around until she laughed.

Lucy wondered, “What about me?”

“What’s, uh, what’s better than a princess? You look like that.”

“Nothing’s better than a princess,” Fiona thought aloud.

“There’s one thing better than a princess. Your mommy.”

“If she looks so pretty, why haven’t you given her a princess kiss yet?” Fiona inquired.

“She makes a good point,” Tim said smugly and took Lucy into his arms.

Giddy, Lucy shook her head. “You’ve brainwashed her.”

“Sorry not sorry,” he replied and dipped her, causing her breathing to hitch, before kissing her in a way that certainly ruined her lipstick, not that he minded. He righted her back on her feet and noted how her cheeks were a shade darker. “I bought you flowers. I already put them in a vase.” His eyes snapped over to the kitchen counter where red roses stood out on the white granite countertop.

“You got me flowers again?” Lucy swooned. “I love them. Thank you.”

“Where is the special restaurant? Are there chicken nuggets?” Fiona inquired.

Lucy hesitated and exchanged a look with Tim. Fiona did not seem to realize that the evening was meant to be just for the two of them, and neither wanted to disappoint her.

He nodded. “I’m sure there are chicken nuggets, kiddo. Say ‘goodbye’ to Kojo, and then we can leave.” He added at a whisper just for Lucy to hear, “Call off Tamara. Looks like we won’t be needing a babysitter tonight.”

“I know this isn’t what we planned,” she replied, her voice hushed.

“That’s okay. Family time is always a good thing.” He pecked her cheek, which transferred some lipstick back to her, so he took care to wipe it off. “Let’s go.” He drove his girls to a nearby Italian restaurant where they were seated at a small round table in the corner.

“Mommy? Where are the chicken nuggets?” Fiona asked.

“Umm, they’re right there. See, those letters spell ‘chicken nuggets’. Let’s sound it out together.”

Tim could endlessly admire how great of a mom she was, which only made her even more attractive. He reached across the table to take her hand.

He brushed his thumb over her knuckles with a fond expression that made her heart flutter.

“Why do you always hold hands?” Fiona wondered, a child endlessly curious.

“Because we like to,” he answered simply.

“I know. You smile a lot when you do it. You make it look fun.” Both Tim and Lucy offered their free hands to their daughter, and she giggled. “It’s very fun,” Fiona concluded.

Dinner passed with laughter and plenty of Fiona babbling on and on. For once, their daughter was quiet as she ate her ice cream at the end of the meal, so Lucy took the moment to kiss Tim’s cheek. “I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.”

“Actually, she’s the luckiest girl for having you as a mom,” Tim said pointing to their daughter and caught sight of some chocolate ice cream dangerously dropping down her chin, so he lunged to wipe her face before any of it stained her dress.

For the millionth time, Lucy could not believe how absolutely fantastic Tim was as a father as if she could not be more drawn to him. They paid for the check, and she prompted to her daughter, “Let’s say ‘thank you’ to your daddy for taking us out tonight.”

“Thanks, Daddy,” Fiona chirped and shot up from her chair to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“You’re very welcome, kiddo.”

“Thanks, Tim,” Lucy murmured with a soft smile.

“Where’s my thank you kiss from you?”

“You’ll get it at home.”

He loved the promise in her voice. “O-okay.” The drive home was quiet due to Fiona succumbing to sleep pretty much immediately after being fastened in her seat. He kept one hand on the steering wheel and settled the other on Lucy’s thigh, perfectly content with the silence that was so rare in their lives. Then when they parked in their driveway, Tim gingerly carried his daughter into the house and up to her bedroom.

Lucy took their daughter from his arms and whispered, “I’ll change her really quickly, and I’ll meet you in our room.”

Since Fiona’s head was lolling, he knew Lucy could use the help, so he decided, “We’ll do it together. We always do better together.” They had needed each other on so many occasions as parents and changing their soundly sleeping daughter was one of them.

When the last button of her pajama shirt was fastened, Fiona stirred and mumbled, “Mommy?”

“I’m right here, my love. We’re going to sleep now.”

“No, no, story time first.” She rubbed her eyes, and her sleepiness was gone. “Story time, please!”

“She got a second wind,” Tim noted with a snicker.

Lucy sighed, but there was no real exasperation in it. “Okay, Fi. One story. But just a short one.”

Fiona ran to her bed and jumped under the covers before her parents could join her on either side. When her mom opened the book, she eyed the first page and asked, “Can I try to read?”

Tim and Lucy exchanged a surprised but encouraging glance.

“Of course you can,” Lucy replied.

Fiona furrowed her brow in concentration as she studied the first line. She pointed to each word, her small finger trembling slightly. “Once…” she read slowly, her voice hesitant but determined. “Once…upon…” she continued, pausing to sound out each syllable. “Upon a time…that’s it, right?”

“You did great, sweetie! That was awesome!” Lucy congratulated her and tried not to tear up, but it was hopeless, and soon enough, her eyes were wet, and Tim was right there to wipe at her face.

“We’re so proud of you, Fi,” Tim beamed, his heart swelling with pride. His daughter giggled as he rained kisses on her cheek, and Lucy joined in, wrapping them both in a tight hug.

“Your first words from a book. That’s such a big deal.” Lucy was so overwhelmingly proud.

“Can you teach me how to read the rest?” Fiona wondered.

“Absolutely,” Lucy agreed. When the story was over, completely blown away by their daughter’s reading abilities, she pressed her lips to her daughter’s forehead. “Great job, sweetie. We love you so much. Good night.”

Tim gave her his own kiss and said, “Goodnight, baby bear. I love you. Sweet dreams.”

In the doorway, Lucy turned back to look at their daughter one more time while Tim wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her softly. She chased his lips for another one.

He shut the door so they could be alone in the hallway. He pinned her to the wall and stretched his body over hers before asking lowly, “Why is it that nothing ever seems to go to plan for us?”

She laughed. “I think it’s because we’re raising a toddler. That kind of chaos is in the job description.”

“Why can’t we have one day without chaos?”

She combed her fingers through his hair and smiled. “As much as I would love that, I don’t care that we’re always interrupted and plans change every second.”

“You don’t?”

“No, because at the end of the day, our life is great. I have you, and I have Fi, and nothing else matters.” She gave him a quick kiss, and he gripped her waist, which reminded her of the serious topic she had wanted to discuss on their date when they were meant to dine alone. “There’s something I want to ask you about now that we don’t have a three-year-old listening.”

“Okay.” He sensed the change in her demeanor.

“What part of me do you like the most? I mean, like, most attracted to.”

He furrowed his brow. “What kind of question is that?”

“A serious one. Can you please answer the question?” Her pulse raced in her nervousness that broaching the subject brought on.

“I’m attracted to you. If you don’t think I am-”

“No, I definitely know you are, but I want to know what body part specifically.” She felt cold all over, unsure if she should have asked and scared to hear his thoughts.

“Your smart mouth, obviously,” he teased and pecked her lips playfully.

“Nothing else?” She asked, her self consciousness causing her voice to grow quieter.

“I like this side of your neck.” He ran his tongue over her tattoo like it was a mark indicating where his mouth belonged on her. “And this spot right here.” He brought his lips to the junction between her neck and shoulder that always caused her eyes to close when he kissed her there. Tim’s gaze dropped to her chest rising and falling at an uneven rhythm. “There are other parts, too.”

“You can show me. You can touch me anywhere,” she rasped and bowed her back to bring her closer to him.

His mouth went dry. “L-Luce,” he barely managed to choke out. He took her hands to keep them from wandering into territory he had hardly ever ventured on her skin.

She paused as her gaze dropped to their joined hands before she looked back up at him. “I know we’ve been taking things slow, and I’m okay with that. I’ve wanted us to, because we’ve known each other for a while, and going further physically is something we need to take seriously, and obviously, Fiona comes first before anything else.”

Tim nodded and swallowed hard.

“But,” she continued, her voice soft but steady, “that doesn’t mean we can’t…you know, make a little progress. Physically.”

His heartbeat quickened at the suggestion. “Soon. I promise. I just…I want to make sure we’re doing this right for her and for us. Please, don’t be mad at me for wanting to do this right.”

“I’m not mad, babe,” she promised, her tone genuine and kind. “I told you I’d wait forever for you, and I meant it. And for what it’s worth, I’m scared, too, sometimes, which is why we agreed to take things slow in the first place, so maybe sex is off the table for now, but I don’t know…,” she hesitated, but her desire won out, “We’re adults. We can fool around a little.”

“That’s what the laundry room is for.”

“What about a little more than the laundry room?”

“Like what?” His blood whooshed.

“Do you want me to show you?”

His mouth went completely dry and was blindly led to their room.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. They were alone in their room for the rest of the night, and she wanted more from him like it was a craving. Lucy spun to show him her back and requested impossibly quietly, “You asked for me to wear this dress, so can you take it off?”

His hand slightly shook when he took hold of the zipper at the base of her neck. “I really do like this dress,” he husked and brushed his lips over the spot above her zipper, making her shiver. The air in the room felt heavier the longer he dragged the cool metal down her spine. The fabric parted to reveal smooth, bare skin, and he found himself holding his breath and wholly unsure what to do.

Lucy turned to meet his darkened eyes that she locked on to as she worked to pull her dress down until it fell to the floor. She was not really scared for him to see her barely covered body, but that did not stop her stomach from twisting.

His breathing hitched as his eyes scanned her to take in every detail. She was standing in front of him in nothing but her bra and panties, and she was breathtaking.

She walked into his space, emboldened by the way his hands trembled at his sides. “I’ll get cold unless you keep me warm.”

Tim found her waist and blinked almost instinctively.

“Is this still okay?” She wondered, hoping she was not pushing the limits of their relationship.

“Very, y-yeah.”

“Not too fast?”

He shook his head. “I-I don’t think so.” He could tell from the way she was breathing and how her lips were parted that her boldness was dwindling as he proved that his frozen reaction was not what she was hoping for. “You have to know I mean it when I tell Fiona you’re pretty.”

“Do you? You told her that before we got together.”

“I still meant it.”

“You did?”

“Of course I did. You’re always beautiful no matter what you’re wearing…or not wearing.”

The tension between them thickened as they stood there, neither in a rush to break their contact. Tim’s hands roamed up her back, delicately tracing her spine, while Lucy’s fingers tangled in his hair. “So it’s not just the bow in my hair?”

“Definitely not.” He reached up to pull at it until it untied, causing her hair to cascade out of her ponytail. “Beautiful without the bow or the dress.”

She could barely hear his voice over her galloping heart when she stood up tall to kiss him reverently as he was the man who captured her heart in a tight grip she never wanted to be free from.

As he explored her mouth, his palms drifted lower and lower until she made a strangled noise he liked. Lucy backpedaled, and he went with her, and the next thing he knew, they were stumbling into bed together in an uncoordinated mess that was far from perfect yet exactly what they needed.

She giggled and outlined the corner of his mouth and the way it curled when he smiled. “See? Fooling around a little isn’t so bad.”

He let out a breathless laugh and dropped his forehead to hers with matching grins overtaking their faces. “You’re going to be the death of me, you know that?”

“You’re not allowed to go anywhere. You’re mine forever.” She flipped their positions to hover over him and keep him exactly where she needed him.

“I don’t want to.” He liked the way she said “forever”; it was what they had agreed on, and he liked the reminder. Carefully, he tucked the strands of hair that had fallen in her face, because he wanted to see her dark brown eyes clearly. “Luce,” he said hoarsely. “I can’t pick a favorite part.”

“What do you mean?”

“You asked what part of you I’m most attracted to, and I can’t decide.”

“No preference? Come on, everyone has a preference.”

“It changes depending on the day, and before you try to tell me you don’t believe me, you have to know you make it impossible to choose.” His hands traveled to her strong biceps from years on the job and months of carrying their daughter around, then he looked at the spot between her collarbones where the necklace he bought her rested when it was not dangling from her neck when she was sitting on all fours above him as she was in the moment, then his gaze settled on her chest, her even breathing giving away that he had calmed her down a bit since he undressed her. “So don’t make me choose.”

“Okay,” she agreed, her heart leaping at his choice, which was far better than she could have anticipated. “Then you can have all of me…whenever we get to that point.”

“We’ll get there. I want to make sure I’m not my dad first.”

“Tim.” Her lungs stuttered; she wondered how she had not seen his apprehension as a sign sooner. “We’ve talked about how you’re nothing like your dad, because you aren’t.”

“He was a crappy father and a terrible husband.”

“And that’s not you. That could never be you.”

“I could mess things up just like he did. I could disappoint our family the exact same way.”

“You and I both know that’s not true.” She stroked his cheek. “We didn’t get a lot of time to prepare to be married or have a kid, so we haven’t had a lot of time to process all of the feelings surrounding our pasts before we started building this future, so it makes sense for those feelings to crop up later, and-”

“Don’t talk like a psychologist right now, please,” he requested, pained.

“Right. Sorry, okay.” She dropped her lips to his forehead for some soft assurance. “You know how I know you’re nothing like your dad? Because our daughter lights up around you, and she tells me that she can only go to the zoo with you, and you’re the only one that can tie her bows, because she thinks daddies have special stuff they do with their daughters, and those are the special things she wants to do with you. Do you think she would say that if she didn’t love you? Do you think she would even call you her ‘daddy’ if she didn’t feel endlessly loved by you? That’s how you make her feel, but Tom Bradford never made you feel that way.”

He tried to digest her words with some part of him hoping she was being honest, the little vulnerable piece of him that dreamed and wished no matter how he tried to hide it away.

“I bet you want to know about how I know you’re nothing like Tom in our relationship,” she presumed based on the curious glint in his eye. “Well, for one, I wouldn’t be practically throwing myself at you right now if you weren’t someone I trusted and cared about more than anyone in the world except our for daughter.” He smiled at that. “I wouldn’t have wanted anything but a paper marriage with you if you were anything like Tom Bradford. I want to be with someone who holds me at night when I need it, and gets my car serviced without me asking, and says I’m ‘pretty’, and worries about me, and supports me, and goes along with my wild ideas, and listens, like really listens, when I talk, and that’s you. And that list was different before you came along, because you’ve shown me what I could have with someone who cares about me more than anyone ever has before.” She had not realized her eyes were burning until his thumb swiped at her cheek to clear the tears away. “God, Tim, sometimes I think I love you so much I might explode, and I couldn’t feel that way about your dad, because he could never be half the man you are. You’re that rare kind of special I would wait a million years to be with. Why do you think I’ve been so patient?”

“Uhh,” his eyes roved over the scene before him of her wearing practically nothing on top of him in bed.

She snickered. “I’ll put my clothes back on if you want me to.”

“That won’t be necessary,” he was quick to reply.

“I’m trying to make a point here, and you’re distracting me.”

He grabbed her hips to rotate them until she was laying back on the mattress, and he was above her. “I heard your point. I think you just sorta told me you love me.”

She covered her mouth guiltily as a flush spread over her face, down her neck, and over her chest, which was easy enough to see thanks to the fact that hardly any of her skin was covered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to freak you out.”

“I’m not freaked out.”

“When Ashley told you she loved you for the first time, you said you practically ran out of your date, which was at your old house.”

“That was Ashley.”

“You told me you hoped Rachel wasn’t the kind of girlfriend that, and I quote, ‘threw the ‘l’ word around’.”

“That was Rachel.”

“So what? I’m different?”

“Very,” he murmured as his stomach did something funny. “I already loved you before we got together,” he admitted without thinking, unleashing a secret that had been buried in a bottle so deep inside of him he never thought it would surface, and yet it did unexpectedly, but the second those words escaped his lips, he did not regret them; Tim had no interest in swallowing them back, or lying, or running away, or changing the subject; he was glad to give her another morsel of vulnerability that she deserved.

“That’s different. We’ve almost died a million times next to each other. Of course we love each other, but I mean it as…” She averted her gaze to the buttons on his shirt; it was too hard to keep staring into his clear blue eyes.

“I know,” he said lowly after giving her enough time to finish her sentence, but since she failed to do so, he offered her the understanding that only came from years of spending so much time together they could read each other’s minds. “That’s how I meant it, too.”

Lucy was grateful was she was not standing, or she was sure she might have fainted. “Tim…”

“I wouldn’t be scared about ruining things if I didn’t.”

“H-how, h-how, but you haven’t said anything.” The whole world turned on its axis.

“Neither have you.”

“I’ve tried in other ways.”

“Clearly.” His eyes scanned her body as he tried not to chuckle.

She wrapped her legs around his waist to bring his hips down to hers. “Are we saying…”

Tim nodded, the words stubbornly clinging to the tip of his tongue instead of being released. “Yes,” he choked out and kissed her as lovingly as he could to show her that he meant it. He only paused his efforts to pull back and meet her eyes and give her another dose honesty as he could manage. “For…forever. No matter what.”

Lucy felt tears roll down her face as his mouth slotted with hers once more, but that was insignificant when she needed to hold him as tightly as she could until his breathing, his rib cage, his heart, and his fingers were melded with hers as they remained fused together for long enough that they tested the limits of how long forever could span.

Chapter Text

When Lucy woke up, the sun had not yet risen, but her smile was bright enough. She opened her eyes to find Tim’s face right next to her. For a moment, she paused, letting her eyes drift over his resting form. The lines of his face, usually so focused, were at peace. His hair was rumpled from where she had run her fingers through it the night before. His breathing was slow and even in the way she was accustomed to hearing when he was deep in slumber. After their conversation the night before, she was practically flying. He basically told her he loved her, and that was enough to make her giddy. Her heart almost burst at the sight of his still sleeping face, and she wanted more than anything to gaze upon him for hours on end, but she knew she had important business to attend to, so she lightly brushed her lips over his stubbly cheek and carefully slipped out of bed so as not to wake him then showered and put on one of his t shirts over a pair of small cotton shorts. Quietly, she padded down to the kitchen. She went to smell her red roses that were in a vase on the counter; Tim had bought those for her for their date the night before, and she absolutely loved seeing their rich color stand out among the white and grey of their counters and cabinets.

She hummed to a song in her head as she made pancakes and took special care to clean up after herself the way Tim likes, and then she saw Kojo amble over with his tongue out and a look on his face that signaled that he smelled her cooking. Lucy doubled over and scratched behind one of his ears as she quietly assured, “Hi, buddy! I’ll give you some food when we eat, but right now, I’m taking you outside, because we don’t have time to walk you this morning. Don’t worry, I’ll tell the dog walker so she takes you on an extra long one in the afternoon.” She scooped her dog up and took him into the backyard where she gave him a quick kiss and went back inside to enact the next step of her plan. 

With quiet steps, Lucy went into Fiona’s room and approached her bed where she was fast asleep. Sometimes, it was so surreal she had a perfect little girl and was forging a life with Tim when less than a year before, she was barely speaking to him, and they had only kissed once “for work”. As she softly pet her daughter’s arm, she whispered, “Fiona, sweetheart, it’s time to wake up. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Fiona stirred, then her eyelids fluttered open. She gazed at her mom for a moment, disoriented, then recognition dawned. “Mommy?” She mumbled.

“Good morning.” Lucy smoothed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “Today’s a special day, so we need to wake up.”

“Special?” She wondered groggily.

“It’s Father’s Day! Do you remember I told you about what that means? It’s the day we celebrate your daddy and show him how much we love him and how special he is.”

Fiona’s face lit up with sudden excitement, her sleepiness vanishing. She sat upright and proclaimed, “It’s Daddy’s Day!”

“Shh shh, yes it’s Daddy’s Day!” She hoped Tim would not hear her daughter’s voice to startle him awake when she had a plan for that. “Can you help me wake up your daddy, so we can celebrate together?”

Fiona nodded enthusiastically and pulled her covers off. “Yes! I love Daddy! I want to celebrate him every day!”

“Great! Let’s go!” She took her daughter’s hand, and they raced down the hall into her bedroom. Lucy watched as Fiona wasted no time launching herself onto the bed while squealing, and she began to jump on the bed half singing and half screaming, “It’s Daddy’s Day! Wake up, Daddy! It’s Daddy’s Day!” It was like she unleashed a bomb of toddler energy on Tim, yet he barely moved no doubt because they had stayed up so late the night before.

Undeterred despite how his eyes were shut, she kept jumping and shouting about Daddy’s Day until she heard him let out a raspy chuckle then dropped to her knees. “Daddy! Happy Daddy’s Day!”

“What?” He croaked out as he truly woke up and found Lucy leaning against the doorframe with a content smile, clearly enjoying the view of the father daughter moment.

“Did you forget it’s Daddy’s Day?” Fiona wondered with her hands on her hips.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I forgot. Wow, time flies fast, doesn’t it?”

“Well, we remembered! Happy Daddy’s Day!” Fiona exclaimed and threw her arms around her dad. “I love you!”

“Thank you, kiddo. I love you, too.” As he hugged her back, he glanced at Lucy. “What are you doing all the way over there?”

“Do you want me to get back in bed with you?” She asked flirtatiously.

“It’d be nice.”

“Yeah, come on, Mommy!” Fiona beckoned.

“Come on, Mommy,” he repeated and outstretched a hand to gesture for her to stop taking so long walking over to the bed. Finally, she climbed onto the mattress at his other side, so he was sandwiched between his two favorite girls.

“One hug, and then we have to go downstairs! We have to give you your present!” Fiona said, her enthusiasm bubbling up inside of her.

“Slow down, Fi. We have to eat breakfast first, and then we can give your daddy his present.”

“Then let’s go! Let’s go!” Fiona exclaimed.

He chortled. “Alright, I’ll get started on breakfast.”

“I already made pancakes,” Lucy told him.

“You made pancakes?”

“It’s Daddy’s Day, after all.”

He smirked and cupped her cheek. “Hey, Fi, can you give your mommy and me a second alone?”

“Are you going to give her a princess kiss? I want to stay for that part.” Fiona recognized that look in her dad’s eyes and how he was holding her mom’s face.

“Sweetheart, can you go downstairs and make sure Kojo comes back inside? You can give him a piece of bacon if you leave right now and give me and your daddy a minute,” Lucy bargained with her.

For the chance to give her favorite dog a treat he would love, she was willing to leave. “Okay,” she agreed and hopped down from the bed.

Tim wasted no time bending a leg and swinging it over Lucy to end up on top of her as his lips crashed into hers the moment Fiona zoomed out of view.

She quietly laughed at how quickly he took the opportunity to claim her mouth, but he swallowed the sound as he pressed his body flush to hers. Breathless from the pressure of him on top of her and how fiercely he kissed her, she turned her head in the only space between them to give her a chance to inhale some much needed oxygen. “Happy Father’s Day, Tim,” she murmured.

His heart completely stopped. He had lost hope he would ever be celebrated on Father’s Day and certainly could not have predicted his former rookie was the reason he became a father.

“What? Do you prefer ‘Daddy’s Day’? Is our daughter going to rename all of our holidays?” She asked based on how he paused.

“Probably,” he answered as her fingers danced along his spine is a thrilling way. “It’s Father’s Day,” he said as if finally processing everything.

“Your first one.”

He nodded as all of his organs seemed to malfunction.

She combed her fingers through his hair to give him a moment. “I’m so happy we get to celebrate you all day.”

“It’s really Father’s Day?”

“Yup. Same time every year, and now we get to make the day special for you every year.”

For a long moment, he stared down at her then choked out a quiet, “Thank you.”

She smirked. “For what? My pancakes aren’t as good as yours.”

“You know why.”

Lucy softened. “I wanna hear you say it.”

He huffed then acquiesced easily, “Thanks for making me a dad.”

“Any time.” Her eyes widened when she realized what she said. “Woah, I-I didn’t mean it like THAT.”

“I know what you meant,” he replied with a grin and caressed her lips slowly.

She pulled away to correct herself, “I should’ve just said ‘you’re welcome’.”

Though her second guessing was usually quite adorable, he knew their time alone was going to come to an end any second when their impatient daughter called for them, and he wanted to spend as much of it with their tongues tangled together as he could manage, so he quieted her with a long kiss until he had to breathe.

“Wait, I mean that our girl and I have been very excited about celebrating you on Daddy’s Day. We love being the reasons you’re a dad,” Lucy shared fondly. 

He held her face. “No offense, Luce, but just shut up and kiss me until-”

“Daddy! Mommy! How much bacon can I give Kojo?” Fiona yelled up the stairs.

They sprang apart and into action. “One piece! Only one piece!” Lucy called back as she raced out of their room and down the stairs to find that her daughter fed their dog at least three pieces. “Okay,” she exhaled with relief when she thought the circumstances had been worse.

Kojo licked Fiona’s face in thanks when Tim arrived in the kitchen. “What’s going on in here?”

“Happy Daddy’s Day!” Fiona repeated for the millionth time.

“Thanks, munchkin,” he replied and scooped her up in his arms with a whooshing sound and set her in her booster seat, then he stepped around to where Lucy was serving pancakes onto plates, and she elbowed him gently.

“Go sit. Let me take care of breakfast,” she urged.

He ignored her orders and instead wound an arm around her waist and buried his face in her neck. “I’d like to think I can do what I want in my own house,” he whispered into her skin then sucked on the spot.

“I’m busy,” she shot back, feigning frustration, then her eyes rolled back when the pressure became more intense. “You’re the worst,” she muttered, but there was no heat to it.

“Mommy, does Daddy get a prince kiss for Daddy’s Day?” Fiona wondered.

“I sure do,” Tim answered for Lucy and spun her around before pushing her against the counter.

“You can get a prince kiss after breakfast. I don’t want the pancakes getting cold,” she replied.

“I don’t really care,” he husked and captured her lips as Fiona clapped.

“Tim,” she broke away to warn him when his hands had drifted too low. Lucy saw a glimmer of mischief in his eye, and she chortled. “You’re terrible, you know that?” She did like that he was getting more comfortable touching her thanks to their clearly fruitful exploitation the night before.

He only shrugged with a large smile on his face. When he noticed she did not put any bacon on her plate, because her portion was fed to the dog, he reached past her to give her one and a half of his pieces without a word.

“You should be the one having all of the bacon. It’s your day,” she said.

“Exactly. If it’s my day, I can do whatever I want.” He realized what he said and smirked as he continued, “Which means…” His words trailed off when his brought his mouth down to hers gently.

“There is a child present,” she warned him.

“A child who thinks it’s a present for her when we kiss.”

Lucy inclined her head to look past Tim and see how their daughter was watching them giddily. “What if she tells Rachel-”

“That we kiss too much?” He scoffed. “Would you relax? Let’s have breakfast.”

Fiona made a happy sound when her plate of breakfast was set out in front of her and her parents joined her at the table. “Daddy, Kojo wants to tell you ‘Happy Daddy’s Day’, too. I told him it’s an important holiday.”

“It’s not that important of a holiday,” he corrected her.

“Mommy said it is, because I have the best daddy. I don’t know a lot of daddies, but she’s always right.”

“That’s right, Fi,” Lucy agreed with her. “You have the absolute best daddy in the world that loves you more than anything, and he’s one of the best people in the whole wide world.” She saw Tim’s cheeks darken by one shade, and she loved it.

“Every day should be Daddy’s Day and Love Day!” Fiona proclaimed.

“I think that’s the best idea you’ve ever had,” Lucy replied.

He had never particularly liked Father’s Day as reminders of his own father felt like sharp cuts into his skin, but between Lucy so effectively explaining how he was nothing like his father the night before and Fiona’s excitement about celebrating him on his first Father’s Day, Tim’s mind about the holiday changed completely.

“Bacon, bacon, bacon!” Fiona chanted after taking her first bite.

“She loves bacon just like her dad,” Lucy noted, wholly amused. 

All he needed to mark the day, and really mark everyday, was breakfast as a family; it was never a boring affair due to the whims of their toddler, and he was given a daily dose of a healthy, loving family that he was proud to have contributed to.

Lucy stopped him from clearing the table as he seemed to do it on instinct. “No, no, I’ve got this today,” she said and stacked the plates before taking them to the sink. “Now, wait right here.”

He checked his watch and switched his weight to his other foot as if he was about to run upstairs to get ready for the day, since he was still in his pajamas. “We’ve gotta change for work.”

“It’ll take a minute, and before you say anything else, you’re getting a present, so just wait one sec.”

He watched as she darted into the laundry room and returned with a nondescript white box with a ribbon tied around it.

When he raised an eyebrow at her, she explained, “I figured it was the perfect hiding spot for your present, since we’re usually so…busy…in there.”

Tim’s shoulders shook with a silent laugh, then he accepted the box. A box that felt a little too familiar; a wave of deja vu struck him as he looked between the gift and the woman wearing the same smile as the last time she presented an almost identical one to him. Apprehensively eyeing it, he asked, “Is this about to explode on me?”

“Do you really think I would do something like that?” Lucy asked with a hand on her hip, but when he opened his mouth to clearly defend himself, she amended to, “Do you really think I would do something like that again?”

“No question,” was his easy answer to which her jaw dropped.

“Open your present!” Fiona insisted.

He bent forward to look at her curiously, too, “Is this a prank?”

“What’s a prank?”

“It’s something your mommy likes to do. She plays tricks on me sometimes.”

“That sounds fun!”

“Wow, you are so your mother’s daughter.”

“Hey,” Lucy cut in, “you started it.”

“I was trying to train you.”

“And I was just getting even.”

He could not help but smile at her fondly. “If this is a bunch of baby powder, you’re cleaning it up,” he said, and when she kept her face neutral, he cautiously untied the ribbon and opened the lid. For a second, he shut his eyes, but once he registered that his gift was not a prank, he truly looked inside at the contents.

“I colored it!” Fiona bragged. “Mommy helped, but I colored it.”

Tim lifted the mug that was illustrated by a hand he recognized all too well. “Bears,” he said with a smile.

“I drew us as bears. The daddy bear is you, and the mommy bear is mommy, and there’s Kojo, because bear families should have dogs, and there’s me in the middle. I’m the baby bear.”

He admired the quasi family portrait. “You sure are.” He glanced at Lucy and asked, “How-”

“I found the project online. Fiona and I colored a little strip of paper, and they printed it on a mug for you.”

“This is incredible.” He could only admire it for another second before his daughter barreled right into him for another hug, so he had to set the cup down on the counter to keep it from breaking. He hunched over to pick her up and hold her tightly. “Thank you so much.”

“You like your present? Fiona asked.

“I love it.”

“We love you.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged him tighter.

Shirtless Tim was attractive but Tim as a father? Lucy was weak in her knees seeing how much he adored their daughter and how much she absolutely loved her dad. “We should call in sick,” she suggested.

“We have to go to work,” he reasoned.

“And miss out on this cuteness all day?” She pouted.

“We don’t have a choice.”

“Fine, but we’re having a special dinner for you. We’ll go wherever you want.”

“Let’s order in some pizza and watch a princess movie.”

She had to laugh. “I never thought I would live to see the day Tim Bradford would pick to watch a princess movie.”

“I love princess movies,” Fiona volunteered.

“Yeah, I know, and I love you,” Tim said.

Lucy was near fainting.

He gave his daughter a peck to the temple and set her down. “Your mommy and I have to go to work, so we need a few minutes to change. You can stay in your pajamas until Nell gets here, because we’re running late.”

“Wait, wait! I haven’t given Mommy a hug yet.” Fiona frowned.

“Oh, come here, sweetheart,” Lucy said and picked her up to embrace her tightly. “I know it’s Daddy’s Day, but thank you for making sure I got a hug, too.”

“Hugs are for everyday!” Fiona replied.

“That’s right. They are. Make sure you give your daddy one last big hug before we leave, but until then, can you draw some more for him?”

“I need Kojo’s help.”

Lucy saw how Kojo was dozing off because of how much bacon he had eaten. “I don’t know how much help he’ll be, but sure.” She set her daughter in her chair and their half asleep dog in her lap before laying out paper and crayons. “We’ll be right back,” she promised her then took Tim’s hand for the walk up the stairs. Once they were alone in their room, she joked, “I totally should’ve given you another baby powder bomb.”

“I’ll remember that for Mommy’s Day next year. I’ll wrap up a nice glitter bomb for you,” he threatened playfully.

“You do not want to start another prank war with me.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I know how to finish them.”

He smirked. “There are plenty of ways to end one now,” he replied slyly and though he had not intended for his eyes to flick over to their bed, they did of their own volition.

“That sounds like a threat.”

“Do you want it to be?”

“I don’t know. I’m kinda tempted to see what I can get away with now.” She grinned.

“What makes you think you can get away with more now?”

It finally registered that they had moved to stand a whisper apart without either really noticing like their draw to each other compelled their feet without thinking. “I’m your girlfriend. That’s gotta count for something.” Her first prank was at such a different phase of their lives when he was her Training Officer, and she stole his money clip. It was so hard at the time to slide her hand over his belt where it was hidden. She had to stop him on his way out of the station that night and talk to him, then made sure he talked to someone else, and sneakily used the other person as a distraction to touch him. But that was then, and now she could snake her hands around his hips without needing to be surreptitious about it, and he was wearing his pajamas in the bedroom they shared while looking at her with a mixture of heat, challenge, and affection. Everything had changed since the first prank.

“Nope, sorry,” he lied obviously.

“Wow,” she pretended to be offended. “What about the fact that I’m the mother of your only child?”

He leaned in and brushed his nose against hers as his smile grew. “I guess maybe that counts for something.”

“It better. I have to pretend to like you in front of the social worker so we can adopt her,” Lucy teased as her gaze became transfixed with his mouth.

“Must be hard to pretend to like me.”

“So hard,” she chided.

“You should pretend right now,” he breathed against hers lips while he shut his eyes.

“For what reason this time?”

“For Fiona, of course,” he joked. “That child you’re the mother of.”

“Right, of course. This is for Fiona,” she whispered lightheartedly and barely had to move to kiss him for what she thought would be something as light and playful as their banter, but he surprised her with his tongue wasting no time coaxing her lips apart and bringing a welcome ferocity she liked just as well. When he pulled away, she was quick to chase his lips saying, “A little more for Fiona,” which seemed to be enough impetus for him to oblige.

Only when she tried to capture his lips for a fourth time did he stop her, “We’re gonna be so late.” He kept his hands under the back of her t shirt, which he had not even noticed had been the spot where they settled.

“You were the one that said we should go to work when I suggested we call in sick.”

“We can’t call in sick every time our kid does something adorable.”

“Says you. This is one of those reasons why I have to pretend like you.”

“You’re very convincing.”

“I think I can be more convincing if you give me a little more time,” she rasped and almost met his lips, but he took a very large pace away that caused her to lose his body heat, and she clicked her tongue at him. “Tim!”

“Find me at work later, but we gotta go.”

“I’m so glad you have an office.”

“Considering Grey would fire us if I put you on a desk in the bullpen, I’m glad I have an office, too.” He pictured setting her on a desk and kissing her in the middle of everyone on the main floor the way they did in the privacy of his office, and he smiled brighter. “It would be a memorable last shift, though.”

She giggled as she blushed, having the same vision in her mind. “The day you retire, that’s what we’ll do to send you off.”

“Perfect.”

“I bet you’ll have some sexy grey hair when you retire. I think I’ll like it.”

“You better. You’re stuck with me now.”

“Pretending to like you forever? Such torture,” she joked and took a chance by stealing a kiss, and he yielded but for only a second before he took a very large step back.

“Change,” he ordered as sternly as he could before temptation could take over.

She grumbled as he gathered a change of clothes and went into the bathroom to shower and change; she had never craved one of her partners the way she did Tim, but it was so endless that he could never really satisfy her hunger for him and only stave it off for a few hours, so she was looking forward to breaking from work midday for another taste.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

When Lucy entered the booking area with a suspect far too early on in her shift to have arrested someone, Celina stood there with her eyebrows knitted together. “Hey, Celina, what’s up?”

“It’s your daughter,” Celina answered.

Lucy’s heart dropped, and her lungs stopped working.

“She’s in the break room. Nell brought her here, because she can’t stop crying,” Celina explained.

“C-can you-”

“Yeah, I’ll take care of this guy for you.”

“Thank you.” With that Lucy flew out of the booking area and zoomed over to the break room, but even before she opened the door, she heard the distinct sound of her daughter sobbing, and her stomach felt so heavy it weighed her down for the last stretch of hallway on her way to her daughter. On the break room couch sat her inconsolable daughter clutching her stuffed bear and Nell, so she dropped to her knees and cradled Fiona’s face. “Hey,” she said soothingly. “Hey, my love, what’s wrong?”

“I-I,” Fiona tried to express herself between sobs that tore out of her throat, but it was hard to speak.

Nell explained on her behalf, “I changed Fiona out of her pajamas, and she got really upset that her dad wasn’t there to tie her bow. She didn’t want me to take his job away from him on Father’s Day, or she worried he might think she doesn’t want him to be her dad anymore.”

Lucy was relieved the issue was not more severe. “Okay, it’s okay, Fi, your daddy knows you love him, okay? I promise you.”

“Su-sure?” Fiona choked out.

“You know you’re his baby bear forever and ever. He’ll always be your dad whether he ties your bow or not.”

Her tears rolled a bit slower, but she was still unsure. “It’s…Daddy’s…Day.”

“I know, honey. I’m sure your daddy wants to tie your bow especially today. Let me see if I can find him.” She took her radio from her hip and asked into it, “Sergeant Bradford? Are you at the station?”

Angela’s voice came through the other end, “You can’t use the radios to find your husband for a hookup. Come on, you’ve got to be less obvious.”

“This is an official police channel for official police business,” Grey chimed in tightly from his radio. “Chen,” he took an audible deep breath, knowing he was going to have to update her soon enough with news he was ill prepared to share. “His whole team was just taken to St. Joe’s hospital.”

Lucy’s vision blurred immediately. Tim was taken the hospital, and she had no idea what state he was in. All she knew was that he was alive if he was rushed to the hospital…or at least she hoped so.

Chapter Text

Nell heard what Grey said into the radio about Tim being rushed to the hospital with his Metro team and watched the blood drain from Lucy’s face. “I’m sure he’s fine,” she said gently.

“Who’s fine?” Fiona wondered.

Lucy snapped into mom mode while trying not to cry. “Everyone’s fine, sweetheart. Your daddy is working, so he can’t tie your bow, but I’m not so bad at it.” She made quick work of looping a bow in her daughter’s hair then took a long look at her. “Can I have a hug?”

“Yeah, Mommy, I need one, too,” she replied and wrapped her arms around her mom for an embrace that made her feel lighter.

“I love you so much,” she whispered into Fiona’s hair then pulled away to look at her. “I need you to go back home with Nell and draw more pictures for your daddy for Daddy’s Day, alright?”

“Can’t we wait here until Daddy stops working?”

“No, not today, but why don’t you give Kojo a ton of hugs, and then you can tell your daddy about it when we get home. That’ll make him super happy.”

“Okay.” Fiona brightened and hopped down from where she was sitting on the couch.

It was always fascinating to see how little ones bounced right back after a meltdown, but Lucy was nowhere close to feeling better. She was numb and there was a ringing in her ears. All she could do was navigate the station and the drive to the hospital without thinking about anything else other than Tim. While stepping through the automatic sliding doors, she stopped breathing. She had no idea what to do or where to go. 

She was lost.

She was panicked.

She needed Tim. Only he could be her anchor when she worried so much, but he was the reason she was so concerned like her organs were all about to stop without him. Somewhere in the distance, she thought she heard his voice calling her name, and she thought she must have imagined it. Lucy turned and saw that in the waiting room among everyone else, there he stood.

Tim.

She ran and lunged herself into his arms. He was there. He was real. She buried her nose in his neck and knew that was his scent and those were his hands spanning across her back. “Oh my God,” she whimpered, and then suddenly, she was crying.

“Woah,” he murmured as she squeezed him tighter. “Luce?” As she clung to him, he held onto her and did not say another word until her breathing evened out, and he took a half step back to look into her watery eyes. Tim swiped his thumbs across her wet cheeks. “What’s wrong?”

Lucy sniffled. “What’s wrong? I thought I lost you.”

“I’m okay.”

“Don’t scare me like that again!”

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I wasn’t even gonna tell you.”

“You weren’t gonna tell me?”

“And freak you out when I’m perfectly fine?” He wanted to scoff at the absurdity, but she was too alarmed.

“You’re not perfectly fine.” She saw the cut over his eye and frowned. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“I need to wait here for news about the two guys on my team that are in surgery.”

“Come with me.” She took him by the hand, tugged him into an exam room, and motioned for him to sit on the exam table.

“Is this really necessary? My guys need me.”

“Well, I need you!” She snapped. “So let me take care of your damn cut!”

He obeyed by hoisting himself onto the exam table and drew her to stand between his open legs. “Can you forget about the cut for a second?” He asked softly. “Are you mad at me?”

“You weren’t planning on telling me you were taken to the hospital?”

“I didn’t want you worrying about me.”

“When am I not going to worry about you?” She could not stop looking at his little injury that made her stomach clench, so she stepped away and opened drawers until she found an alcohol pad and wiped at his cut. “Does it hurt?”

“No,” he answered. “I wasn’t even admitted. Am I supposed to tell you every time I get a little scrape?”

“Yes!” She responded, irritated. “I need to know these things, and honestly, you’re not allowed to get hurt ever again. Not even a little scrape.” Lucy was about to step away to discard the used pad, but then his hands settled on her hips to keep her still and force her to look into his eyes.

“The nature of the job means I’ll probably get another scrape and hell, maybe worse. You know that.”

“I don’t care. You have to be more careful.”

“Metro is one of the most dangerous teams in the LAPD.”

“Tim…promise me that you won’t let anything happen to you ever again.”

“We’re cops.”

“Promise me anyways!”

He held the side of her face gingerly. “If I make an absurd promise you and I both know I can’t keep, will you stop being mad at me?”

She averted her gaze to the wall behind him as her eyes began to sting again. “I’m not mad at you,” she said, though there was an edge to her voice.

“You sound mad,” he pointed out.

Lucy clicked her tongue. “I’m really not…I just…I heard you were in the hospital, and…” She stopped talking when his thumb caressed her cheek, which caused her to make eye contact with him once more. “I couldn’t breathe, Tim,” she admitted, and her thoughts spilled out of her, “We have a kid to think about, and what about me? We can’t live without you, so nothing can happen to you, or I’d never breathe again.”

“When we met Fiona, you were planning to raise her alone.”

“I don’t want to do that anymore.”

“Are my breakfast making skills that impressive? You know, you made some great pancakes this morning, so you really don’t need me,” he responded lightheartedly.

“Don’t joke,” she tried to sound annoyed, but the corners of her mouth curled slightly. She scanned his face to ensure she had not missed any other cuts as a tear slipped down her cheek, and Tim immediately wiped it away. 

“I’m being serious. Your pancakes were great.”

“No, they weren’t.”

He snickered. “They were a little lumpy,” he finally shared, to which her mouth fell open, so he added, “But I loved them anyways.”

“You’re an idiot,” she said fondly and wound her arms around his neck before continuing, “But I love you anyways.”

Knowing she felt that way and hearing her say so were two very different and special things in their own rights.

She registered it was the first time she truly strung those words together and not in the middle of some exasperated babbling, and based on his pause in response, she whispered while threading her fingers through his hair at the base of his skull, “I’m not taking it back. I love you,” to which he started to smile, and she leaned in to kiss him lightly as her own mouth curved.

“You better not take it back.” He leaned in to press his lips to hers for a second, then his eyes fluttered open, and he felt brave enough to say, “I love you, too.”

Lucy wanted to spin around and sing, because he actually said the three words out loud. “We really should’ve stayed home today like I said.”

“I should’ve listened to you.” He fiddled with her duty belt as he scanned her frame. “If we were home right now, you would still be wearing my shirt and one of those pairs of shorts I find too distracting. You should put those back on when we get home.”

“Since it’s a holiday, I guess I could wear something special for you. I’ll put on anything you want.”

“The shorts. I like the shorts.”

She giggled. “The shorts it is.” She dusted off some powder on his shirt that must have been from the action of the raid that had gone sideways. “How did we get here?”

“We got bad intel, and we showed up at the house to arrest this gang, but-”

“I didn’t mean here in the hospital. I meant here as in you and me.” She glanced down at the lack of space between them that was new.

“Well, maybe I should put it how I would tell Fiona- Once upon a time, I was assigned a really annoying rookie,” he teased.

“Annoying?”

“I mean, you sorta were, but I should’ve also mentioned that my rookie was beautiful, and smart, and caring, too.”

“Nice save. I’m asking a serious question: How did we get to the point where you love me?”

“The shorts played a role.”

She playfully whacked his shoulder. “Tim!”

“Okay, okay,” he relented, deciding to finally answer her seriously. “I don’t know. I don’t know exactly how it started, but I like it.”

“So you’re happy?”

“Very happy.” 

She brought her mouth to his giddily. “I figured, but just checking.”

“Are you?” He wondered.

“Of course I’m happy. But I would be happier if we weren’t in a hospital right now.”

“I’m not hurt.”

“You were bleeding.”

“It was nothing. The paramedics didn’t even touch me.”

“Good, I’ve seen how Nichols from the 119 looks at you whenever she shows up to a scene. Even though you wear a wedding ring, she still checks you out and not in a medical way, so she better not touch you. You’re mine.”

He chuckled dryly. “Relax. Nichols is nowhere close to as hot as you are.”

She blushed.

Making her cheeks flush was always fun, so he pecked all over her reddened skin smugly as she snickered until a dispatcher’s voice crackled through Lucy’s radio, and he exhaled heavily. “I should go back to my guys now that you’ve treated me.”

“I should head back to work,” she responded, trying not to sound too unhappy about that.

Before he could release his hold on her, he smirked and murmured, “The good news is I get to take you home to pick this back up.”

“You get to take me home every night.”

“Lucky me.”

She loved the sweet look on his face like he was so happy about the fact they went home together every night, which was a feeling she shared. Lucy’s eyes settled on his cut. “Your Metro team has fifteen guys, and they can’t keep you as safe as I do.”

“I don’t care. I was moved to Metro so we could have a family. If the choice is between having you and Fi at home or having you on my six at work, I’d take getting shot on the job every single day. No question.”

“Nothing is allowed to happen to you ever again. Don’t even put that into the universe.”

“You know I’m not that superstitious.”

“Just don’t say it. Please. For me.”

“Fine, nothing will ever happen to me on the job.” He tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling and asked, “How’s that universe?”

She blew out a laugh as she redirected his face down to meet hers. “Thank you.” Lucy brushed her lips over his quickly. “I’ll see you later. I love you,” she said and started walking towards the exit.

He followed her out of the exam room then took her hand to spin her around. “I love you, too,” he murmured, stepped into her space for a beat, then kissed her, causing his Metro teammates to whistle as they watched. Tim took one look at the immature men around him and bit out, “Shut up.”

Lucy waved at everyone staring at them, then flashed Tim a smile, and she walked out of the hospital feeling so much better.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

Impatiently, Lucy waited by the men’s locker room for Tim to show up to change at the end of shift, and she reached out to pull him into her arms. “Are your guys okay?” She asked, her voice muffled from where she was holding him close.

“The surgeries went well. They’ll both need to stay at the hospital to recover for a few nights, but they’ll be alright. And before you ask, my cut is fine.”

“Good.”

“Are you planning on letting go any time soon?”

“No,” she replied, sounding small and sad while continuing to embrace him.

“You’ve never reacted like this when I’ve gotten hurt before, and it’s just a scratch.”

“Well now I love you more, and we have a family. Deal with it.”

He grinned against her temple. “You drive a hard bargain.”

She squeezed him for a long minute then pulled away slightly. “Can we go home now and give our daughter tons of hugs and kisses? And then I need cuddles when we go to bed.”

“Whatever you want.” He dropped a kiss to her forehead and promised, “I’ll change, and I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” she said even if she did not want him to leave her sight for a moment. Lucy rested her back against the wall when Grey past her. “Happy Father’s Day, sir.”

“Thank you, and Happy Father’s Day to your husband,” Grey responded.

“He’s really happy about his first Father’s Day,” she volunteered as her chest warmed.

“Being a father suits him and so does being a husband.”

“He’s great with Fiona.”

“And you.”

She bit back her grin from growing too much. “Definitely with me, too.”

“Why did it take you two so long to tell me? I don’t want to be too nosy, but I could’ve helped sooner.”

“Tim and I…I don’t even know how we got here. We weren’t exactly honest with anyone because of how complicated things started.” She omitted the part about how even she and Tim had failed to be honest with each other for a long while.

“Love isn’t as complicated as people think it is. You love someone, you should be with them.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” It took her a long time to draw that conclusion, but she had reached it thankfully. Grey gave her a curt nod and disappeared into the locker room, and soon enough, Tim appeared in the corridor, so she greedily took his hand. “Hey,” she whispered and wound her other arm around his. “Are you sure you want pizza tonight? You can have anything.”

“After the day I had, I could use a night in, and besides, pizza and a princess movie will make our daughter happy, which will make us happy.”

“You are such a softy.”

He tried scowling at the accusation, but he was unsuccessful. Then again, when he opened the front door of his house, and his daughter hurtled towards him, he knew he lit up instantly and did not at all care if that made him a softy, because he loved his family.

“Daddy! Daddy! I made you so many drawings for Daddy’s Day!” Fiona said while vibrating with excitement. “I drew all the animals Mommy has shown me how to draw, because you’re good at animal noises, and I made a silly goose for you!”

“Why don’t you show your Daddy everything you drew, and I’ll be right back,” Lucy said, kissed her daughter on the crown of her head, and ascended the stairs.

Tim thanked Nell and then enjoyed Fiona’s explanations of her first few illustrations until his attention was completely diverted to Lucy when she walked into the living room wearing his same t shirt and the tiny cotton shorts she had donned in the morning. She flashed him a devious smirk and twirled around to really show off all of her skin on display for him.

“Happy Father’s Day,” she said lowly and suggestively, enjoying how his eyes tracked up and down her body.

“Can it be Father’s Day everyday?” He wondered.

“Daddy’s Day is everyday!” Fiona exclaimed.

“I agree.” Lucy smiled and went to the couch. “I already called for the pizza. Now it’s time for hugs. Get over here, you two.”

Tim went to sit beside her then dragged her body close before his daughter climbed onto the cushion on the other side of him.

“Hey, Fi,” Lucy said, “Can you help me give your daddy extra hugs? Today of all days, I’m really, really glad we have him. Aren’t you?”

“I have the best daddy.” Kojo agreed, because when he hopped onto the couch, he licked her dad’s face before settling on Fiona’s legs.

“You sure do,” Lucy agreed.

Tim was wrapped up in the arms of his two favorite girls when he pressed “play” on “Frozen”, which was one of Fiona’s favorite movies. As his daughter sang and danced, Lucy was obviously not paying attention and instead subtly nuzzled his neck, not that he minded how good it felt.

Fiona cheered when Anna and Kristoff kissed at the end of the movie, and she turned to her parents and urged, “Princess kiss! Princess kiss!”

Lucy stood from the couch and pulled Tim up to stand with her. “You picked a princess movie for you, too, didn’t you?” She asked, catching onto his plan.

“No comment,” he whispered and held her face. “Let’s not keep her waiting, or we’ll have a riot on our hands.” He swallowed up Lucy’s chuckle as he claimed her mouth happily resulting in their daughter’s clapping.

When Lucy broke away, she quietly said, “I’m really, really glad you’re alive.”

He nodded and swallowed, because he also was incredibly grateful to be alive in a world where he had her and Fiona.

“Okay, my love,” Lucy announced, “It’s time for story time. Let’s go upstairs and get ready for bed.”

“But it’s Daddy’s Day! Can’t we stay up all night? Daddy, don’t you want to watch another princess movie?”

“Not tonight, munchkin. Your mommy’s right. We need to go to sleep.”

“What happened to you being a push over?” Lucy wondered.

“Sending her to bed has its perks,” he reasoned with a quirked eyebrow that made her swallow a laugh.

Fiona frowned that Daddy’s Day was coming to an end as she was helped into her pajamas and herded into her bed for story time, but when her mom shut the book, she still clung to her dad and said, “I love you, Daddy!”

“I love you, too, kiddo.”

“Do you love Mommy?”

He was a bit surprised by the question. “Uh, yeah, of course I love your mommy.”

Fiona turned to her mom to inquire, “Do you love Daddy?”

“The only person in the world I love more than your daddy is you.”

“Is Daddy your best friend? Because I love Kojo and Jack, because they’re my best friends.”

Lucy’s heart clenched. “I had a best friend named Jackson, but now your daddy is my best friend.”

“Then how come you never tell him you love him? You tell me all the time. Why not Daddy?”

“Well, I-” Lucy had no idea how to explain the delicate and somewhat complicated relationship between her and Tim.

“Tell Daddy you love him,” Fiona prompted her mom.

Lucy’s heart skipped a beat when she looked over their daughter’s head to meet his gaze, “Tim, I love you,” she said.

“Your turn, Daddy,” Fiona urged.

“Lucy, I love you,” he told her gently in a way that made his stomach do something funny.

“Yay!” Fiona squealed.

Tim chortled. “Now that you know that your parents love each other, it’s time for you to go to sleep.”

“Okay,” Fiona acquiesced and received final good night pecks to her forehead from her parents before her cover was pulled over her snugly. She grinned as her parents kissed in the doorway of her bedroom. Whether it was a holiday or not, she was so happy to be surrounded by a big, daily dose of love that was comforting and warm.

Tim smirked as he drew Lucy in with hands low on her hips in just the right spot. “What was our daughter trying to accomplish by making us say we love each other?”

“She’s been spending a lot of time with Tamara.”

“Our number one meddler,” he grumbled.

“It would bother me more if they hadn’t helped us out.”

“How exactly have they helped us out?”

She grinned. “Your hands are on my ass right now, and you’ve told me multiple times that you love me today. Plus, I can kiss you whenever want. Whether you want to admit it or not, they’ve helped us out. Can we go to bed now?”

“Are you tired?”

“No. Are you?”

“I’ve got my hands on your ass as you so aptly pointed out. I’m definitely not tired.” He covered her mouth with his and guided her into their room happily.

She stopped at the foot of the bed to really look at him. The man she loves. The perfect dad of her perfect child. The former Training Officer she could not believe had softened into the man she loves and the perfect father. The only thing that did not fit in the perfect moment was his scrape on his otherwise perfect face. Lucy stroked the cut.

Before she could ask, he assured her, “It doesn’t even hurt.”

“Promise?”

He grinned. “I promise I can’t even feel my tiny little cut.”

She tried to look aggravated, but he was holding onto her in just the right spot to make her more docile. “Do you want me to clean it up again?”

“Do I get to take your shirt off afterwards?”

“I’m trying to take care of you.” She almost laughed, and then he pushed her onto the bed. “We have bandages in the bathroom,” she pointed out as if he was paying attention, but he was preoccupied with making himself at home on top of her. She was going to make one more attempt to get him to care about his injury, but the only sound that fell from her lips was a moan when he sucked on her neck. “You don’t care about your cut, do you?” She got her answer when his fingers rucked up his t shirt that she was wearing. “Maybe Fiona’s onto something with the whole Daddy’s Day everyday thing,” she decided as she savored the lazy way he was all over her with his lips trailing a slow path to her collarbone, and his hands taking their time to rove over her midsection.

“Sure, but I’ll make the breakfasts from now on, since my pancakes are better.”

“Deal.” Lucy hooked her legs around his hips in an attempt to change their positions, but he overpowered her, so she stayed on her back with him hovering above her. “Are you keeping me pinned here?”

“I like the view,” he explained with a smirk. Then, she squirmed. “You can’t beat me.”

“Oh, please, I can take you.” 

He had sparred with her enough times to know she could easily assert her dominance if she really wanted to. With a look that was half-amused and half-challenging, his hands smoothed up her sides and gently pressed her down. “Is that so? Because it looks like you’re pinned right now.”

“Pinned is a strong word,” she spat back, though her grin gave away how much she liked it. “It’s more like I’m letting you keep me here.”

“Bull. I taught you most of your moves. You wish you could beat me.”

“You think you taught me everything, but none of your other rookies were ever as good as me, and it’s not because you’re such a great teacher.”

“I am a great teacher.” He pressed a playful kiss to the corner of her curving mouth. “I can teach you a few things right here.” He lightly nipped at her earlobe and felt her shiver.

“Are we ready for that?” She wondered, which pulled his attention from her body to her face. Lucy watched the heat in his eyes slightly dissipate as doubt flickered across his irises.

“I am now.”

Her eyebrows shot up in pleasant surprise. “What changed your mind?”

“If today went differently…” He hated to bring down the mood and replace their flirting with something deeper, but she held his face so lovingly that he decided he should be honest with her as no one cared about him more. “All I thought about was you and Fi. I’ve got all I’ve ever wanted, and yeah, it’s been a great few months, but I want more time than that. Time with you. Ideally, quality time.”

“You get forever with me.”

“Forever could’ve ended today.”

“And I’m so unbelievably glad that didn’t happen.” She could feel the thud of her uneven heartbeat loud in her own ears. Tim cradled her jaw, and she closed her eyes knowing he was about to kiss her in a slow and adoring way that expressed all of the appreciation they had for each other and the fact that they were grateful they were still alive to build a life together.

When he finally drew back, he watched a smile make its way across her face. “I want you. Maybe not tonight. I-I want us to do it right.”

“Since when have we done anything right? We moved in together before we told each other how we feel, and we got married when everything between us was complicated.”

“It wouldn’t hurt for us to do things right starting now.”

“You’re such a softy. You could literally have your way with me, and you don’t want to, because you want us to do things right?” Her whole body felt warm and not just from how his body met hers in a comfortable and familiar press.

“I do.”

“As if I couldn’t love you more.” She reveled in the emotional surrender; being completely honest with him using her words and her body was so freeing like she had been chained in every other relationship before Tim came along and unshackled her from her insecurities, her white lies, how she used to be so selfless with partners that never cared as much for her, how honest he was with his tongue both in her mouth and when he used it to speak, how easily they communicated without words, how clear it was that he appreciated every part of her body he had seen if how his fingers roved over her reverently was any indication, how he leaned in to every hug she needed and went to her for every kiss she craved, how they could read each other’s eyes like it was a secret language only they knew, and the million other ways she finally found the perfect love she never thought she would find.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Fiona called as she raced down the hall and barged into their bedroom. She tilted her head when she opened the door, since they were sharing a curious hug. “What’s going on?”

“N-nothing,” Tim answered, flustered, and rolled off of Lucy. “What’s going on?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she explained, and her small hands gripped the edge of the duvet to help herself climb onto the bed.

“Are you okay?” Lucy asked after tugging her shirt down over her midsection then sitting up.

“No,” Fiona answered. “I think we should stay up and watch the other ‘Frozen’ movie.”

When Tim seemed to be actually pondering the suggestion, Lucy could not believe him. “No, we’re not staying up to watch another movie.” Then added “push over,” under her breath with a pointed look at him. “Either you stay for bedtime hugs, or you go back to your own bed and sleep, sweetheart.”

“Can Kojo come to bed with us?”

“Kojo is sleeping downstairs.”

“Okay, well, I’ll hug you and Daddy. It’s Daddy’s Day, you know. He should get all the hugs for being the best.”

“You’re absolutely right.” Lucy snaked her arm around him to effectively knock him back against the bed with a huff. For a moment, she gazed down at him with a self satisfied smile and said, “My turn to pin you.” She murmured dangerously in his ear, “I can teach you a few things, too.”

Fiona giggled and clamored for a spot on her dad’s other side to get comfortable. “Happy Daddy’s Day,” she sighed, and her eyes fluttered closed.

Tim barely combed his fingers through her soft wavy hair before noticing he heard her breathing more deeply. “She’s already out I think,” he reported quietly to avoid waking their daughter.

Lucy darted her tongue out to lick the mark she had made on his neck during the movie and smiled. “So…how was your first Daddy’s Day?”

“Better than I imagined,” he answered, his voice thoughtful.

“I could’ve done without you getting taken to the hospital, though.”

“Well, you visiting me at the hospital was nice. But honestly, anything is better than thinking about…”

“Your dad?” She supplied after he had been quiet for long enough. When regret flashed over his face, she stroked his cheek. “Oh, babe, you are so much better than your dad. He doesn’t get to be celebrated today. You do.”

His hand around her back dipped lower to the waistband of her shorts as he said, “I feel very celebrated today.”

“Even though my pancakes weren’t great?”

“I was actually talking exclusively about the pancakes.”

She giggled. “No you weren’t.”

“No,” he responded lowly. “I wasn’t.” He swiveled his head to check on his daughter, who was certainly fast asleep. Tim turned onto his side to face Lucy and grabbed her thigh to pull it across his leg, then his fingers danced along all of her soft, bare skin thanks to her short shorts. His lips moved along her jawline deliberately as she shuddered.

“Fiona is right there,” she whispered.

“Nothing’s going to happen.”

“Your hands say otherwise.”

“Nothing much is going to happen,” he amended, since he refused to stop touching her. “I still have a few hours left to feel celebrated.”

Since he made a fair point, she shifted until she was on top of him and her hair was falling around both of them, then determined, “You can kiss me for a while, but just kissing, and we have to stay quiet.” She cautiously glanced at their daughter who was fast asleep clutching her stuffed bear.

“I’ll be so quiet,” he promised and caressed her lips, chasing the sparks she always elicited. If he were speaking, he would have told her how much he loves her and how she makes him feel, but instead, he let his mouth express those sentiments as thoroughly as possible.

He kissed her in a way that had her curling her toes against the sheets. Lucy melted into his touch when his fingers made their way under his shirt that she was wearing. Her breathing hitched when his palms pressed into her fiercely, and it was a reminder that despite living as a family, they were still exploring what it meant to be together in more intimate ways. She practically dissolved into his warmth with every leisurely moment his mouth was on hers. At some point, she took one of his hands off of her to intertwine their fingers at her side against the mattress, because she just wanted to savor how easily their hands fit together.

They stayed wrapped up in each other for a long while, trading kisses that ranged from playful to intense, from light, breathless brushes to all consuming heated ones. He sighed as he fought his exhaustion to taste her for as long as possible until he yawned.

Lucy rubbed circles in his shoulder. “Are you tired?”

“Trying not to be.”

She could tell his eyes were starting to droop. “Go to sleep. I swear I’ll want to make out with you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” he blew out a breath, noting his exhaustion.

“Wait, can you…can you tell me you love me one more time?”

Her meekness was so sweet. “I love you,” he said with as much as sincerity as he could manage.

She tried to hide her blush by dropping her head onto the pillow next to him. “Maybe Fiona was onto something, and we should try saying that more often.”

Tim redirected her face to meet his gaze. “Are you suggesting that for Fiona or for you?”

“For Fiona, obviously, because she deserves to know that her parents love her and love each other.”

“Well, I guess if it’s for Fiona,” he agreed lightheartedly as his eyelids felt heavier.

She curved into his side and traced a heart over his chest as she watched him fall asleep. Her heart felt so tight, she thought it might burst with how much love she had for him, and she would have welcomed it, because he made her feel so unbelievably amazing.

Chapter Text

Their casual day off started rather normally until it was nap time for Fiona, and she refused to get into bed. “I’m not tired,” she insisted.

Lucy knelt down to be at eye level with her and kindly requested, “Please, honey, you need to rest.”

“But I’m not tired.”

“Kojo’s tired. Cuddle with him so he doesn’t sleep alone.”

“Can we have bedtime hugs in your bed with Kojo?”

Tim decided it was his turn to chime in, “Not right now. Please, munchkin, I’m begging you to nap for a little while, and then we’ll come wake you up.” To sweeten the bargain, he lifted up and placed Kojo in the bed on the pillow. “Just a quick nap, alright?” She seemed unmoved, and since he was not above bribery, he offered, “You can have ice cream with dinner if you nap now.”

“Can we read two bedtime stories tonight, too?” She requested.

“You drive a hard bargain,” he said, but he was willing to give her just about anything in the moment. “Yes, your mommy will read you two bedtime stories. And, I’ll even give your mommy a princess kiss right now.”

“She didn’t even mention that,” Lucy noted under her breath.

“Princess kiss!” Fiona cheered.

He pointed to their daughter with an innocent expression. “She asked for it, and you really want her to take a nap, don’t you?”

As Lucy went to Tim, she said to her daughter, “Fi, I love your daddy so much even when he’s being a silly goose.”

“Daddy’s a silly goose prince!” She chuckled.

“He sure is a prince.” Lucy held the sides of his neck and asked, “Are you happy now?”

“Not yet.”

She smiled as she surged up to kiss him.

“Now I’m happy,” Tim replied smugly, then diverted his attention to his daughter. “Alright, kiddo, can you nap now?”

Fiona sighed long and loud. “Okay, Daddy.”

“That’s my good girl,” he replied gladly and scooped her up in his arms to get her into her bed in a fluid motion. Soon enough, he had her tucked under her covers, and he was rushing out of her bedroom door tugging Lucy along by the hand.

As she stumbled along behind him into their bedroom, Lucy breathlessly whispered, “That was some solid parenting back there. Ice cream. Really?”

“It got her to sleep,” he reasoned then took her in his arms, “and now we get to be alone. Finally.”

“The house is a mess.”

He fused his mouth to her neck and muttered, “Doesn’t matter right now.”

“Since when does a clean freak like you ignore a chance to clean the house?” Her question was answered when he rucked up her sweatshirt and splayed his fingers over her sides. “Tim,” she shuddered.

“Nap time for her means I get you alone in bed.”

“But we’re not in bed.”

He swept her up in his arms, eliciting a giggle from her, and tossed her into bed in a way that made her swallow back more laughter. “Problem solved,” he responded smugly and crawled on top of her.

“That’s the kind of problem solving that got our daughter to take a nap,” she joked.

“I’ve got another problem I need to solve right now.” Tim eyed her below him then smirked. “You’re wearing my sweatshirt, and I need it back.” In truth, he did not mind if she kept every single one of his shirts and hoodies, since she looked so much better in them, and taking them off of her was fun.

“Most boyfriends let their girlfriends keep their clothes.”

“Guess I’m a bad boyfriend,” he teased.

She stopped him from pulling his sweatshirt further up and took a breath. “Babe,” she whispered, “you’re a great boyfriend. You’re actually the best.” Lucy gave him a sweet kiss and lovingly brushed her fingers over his cheeks. “I love you.”

They both knew he was only being coy, but he appreciated that she took the time to say so, then she lifted her hands up to make it easier for him to take her hoodie off.

“It’s too bad these pants aren’t yours, too,” she teased.

“Are you sure? They look familiar,” he chided, which made her giggle, because she was wearing super tight leggings that no one else deserved to own, since she wore them better than anyone else.

She lifted her hips to help him remove them before wrapping her bare legs around his waist. “We used to clean the house during nap time, or cook, or run errands-” Her list was cut off with a kiss. She could swear they were more responsible with their time before they added a physical aspect to their relationship, which thoroughly distracted them from wanting to do anything else when they had a few minutes.

“Do you really want to clean the house right now?”

“If I ever pick cleaning the house over being in bed with you, get me checked out, because something’s wrong. Now take your shirt off.” She brought his chest flush against hers, because she wanted to feel as much of his skin on hers as possible. His warm, and familiar, and comfortable skin she loved. Feeling him was a welcome reminder she was his to touch and hold onto. Lucy would sometimes forget he belonged to her after so much time of wanting him and wishing for him. She barely resisted from pinching herself when she woke up by his side like she might have been dreaming. As Tim hovered above her with hands slowly moving over her stomach while his eyes feasted on her, she asked, a little self consciously, “Would you…would you want me if we didn’t have a kid?”

Not at all expecting that question, he took a second to ensure he gave her a genuine answer, “More than anything…except maybe a kid.”

She thought she might faint. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” Sometimes, he forgot she did not see herself through the same lens he did as the strong, and brilliant, and gorgeous, and funny, and lively, and kind, and loving, and generous, and capable, and tough woman he absolutely loved. Perhaps there were not enough words, so he hoped he could use his body to express himself. He started with a simple kiss that gave way to more, since their bed was the one place she yielded to him…at least most of the time. Except when she rolled them over to stretch out on top of him, and he responded in kind by flipping their positions once more, which caused them to fall to the floor in a pile of limbs of laughter. “Are you okay?” He asked between chuckles.

“I’m fine. Are you?”

“All good.”

When he sat back on his knees, she pulled him down. “Don’t move.”

“But the bed-”

“I don’t need a bed. I need you.” She brought his face down to kiss him as long as she could. She learned to set alarms for the end of Fiona’s nap time, or she feared she might get a little too lost in Tim, so when she heard the chime, she let out a groan.

He dropped his forehead to hers as he caught his breath. “I’ll go wake her up in a second.”

“You have to put your shirt back on.”

“And you have to put…everything back on.” He ogled her as a flush spread from her cheeks down to her chest. Instead of getting off of her, he brushed his lips down a line from the corner of her mouth to her neck. 

She sighed and gripped his biceps even though she knew she had to let him go.

“I love you,” he murmured into her collarbone and kept kissing down her skin. The second alarm blared, which made him grunt as he stopped. “Okay, okay, I get it. It’s time to go.” He shifted off of her and hated that she let him out of her arms. Tim offered a hand to help Lucy stand up, and together, they redressed.

“Tomorrow during nap time, we don’t even have to bother with the bed. The floor is pretty fun.”

“Actually, I have an errand to run tomorrow, and I was hoping to cross it off during nap time.”

“What errand?”

“Fiona really likes when we take her to the park, so I was thinking of building a play set in the backyard for her. I found one that has a couple of swings and a slide that she might like.”

“I bet she’ll love it, babe. That is so sweet.” She shuffled over to him while re-fastening her bra to peck his lips. “Now, if you’re missing nap time tomorrow, how do you plan to make that up to me?”

“What do I have to make up to you? You’ll get a chance to clean the house like you want to.”

She gave him her strongest unamused look. “You and I both know I like how we spend nap time now, too, so don’t you dare take it away from me.”

He smiled brightly. “I guess I don’t have to leave during nap time if you really want me to stick around.”

Lucy nodded. “I really want you to.” She looped her arms around his neck. “Look, this part of our relationship is new, and I’d really like if we could take our time to have fun when we have a few minutes by ourselves.”

“Just admit you can’t get enough of me instead of saying all of those words.”

“Don’t make me hurt you,” she replied playfully as a laugh got caught in her throat.

He snaked his arms around her waist. “Oh, I don’t mind admitting that I can’t get enough of you, and before you ask, I’m being very serious.” Tim pecked the adorable blush where it appeared all over her cheeks until she chuckled. “I’ll go wake up Fi. I wonder how many princess kisses I’ll have to bargain with for her to take her nap tomorrow.”

“You know you don’t need to use our kid to get me to kiss you.”

“I know, but it’s fun.”

“Are the princess kisses ever for Fiona?”

“Sure, I’m glad they make her happy, but they’re more for my benefit.” He dropped his lips to hers quickly and hummed. “I really hope she’s stubborn about nap time tomorrow. I could probably get three kisses if she’s being really difficult.”

“You’re so bad. Get out of here and wake up our daughter.”

“If she refuses to get out of bed, the first thing I’m going to offer is princess kisses, so you should get your shirt on and come to her room with me before I promise to give you like ten of them.”

“That’s not the threat you think it is.”

He heard her giggle as he walked out of their bedroom, and he took a deep breath of the cheerful air that seemed to surround him in his house with more joy hanging in the atmosphere than he could ever inhale. Tim could not love his life more.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

Lucy pulled her robe tightly over her chest as she stepped out in the brisk night air. “You’ve been out here for an hour,” she called to him where he was in the back of the yard screwing two metal pieces together with a flashlight in his mouth. His only response was something garbled and inaudible, so she walked over to him in the grass and inspected his face. “How’s it going out here?”

“Building this thing is harder than I thought,” Tim admitted as he glanced down at the instructions.

“Let me help.”

“No, you should sleep.”

“If you were upstairs with me right now, you know we wouldn’t be sleeping, and besides, we always do better together, so let me help build this play set so we can get this done sooner.” As she studied the instructions, she wondered, “Why are we doing this at night?”

“Because I want to surprise her in the morning after breakfast. That way, she’ll get to swing all day.”

“She’s going to have a blast.” Though they worked in silence to assemble a few more components, she could tell he was deep in thought. “What’s on your mind?”

“I’ve wanted to build one of these in my yard for a while.”

“Your old yard wasn’t as big. It fits nicer here. Everything is nicer here, which is why…have you thought about selling your old house? I know you haven’t gone back in a long time, but I have to wonder if there’s a reason why you’re still holding onto it. Does this have to do with Isabel, or-or how you feel about us?”

“No,” he was quick to assure her. “I haven’t sold that house, because we haven’t had time to go through all my stuff. I brought my clothes here, but there are pictures, and boxes, and all types of things I’ll need to sort. We can prioritize it if you want to.”

“If there’s another reason, too, I would understand.”

“Not a single one. I had no idea it bothered you.” He set down the pieces in his hand and hunched forward to better find her eyes in the dark. “I’m not holding onto that house as some exit plan. You’re my family and so is Fiona, and this house that I live in with both of you is the only one I care about. I’ll call a realtor in the morning if you want to kickstart the process, and we’ll figure out how to get everything out of there when we can make the time.” She seemed uncertain, so he promised, “I want to do this. My home is with you.”

She ignored the task at hand to kiss him. “That means a lot to me.”

“Now that that’s settled, we’ve got a few more steps to finish to get this thing built.” Of course, Lucy was right; working together made the work faster, and when they were finished, he admired the completed product with her by this side. “Thanks for your help.”

“Any time. I can’t wait ‘til Fi sees it.” She could practically imagine their daughter’s expression, but visualizing it and seeing it were two very different things, because when Fiona stepped out into the yard and screamed excitedly as she shook with joy, nothing was more amazing.

“MY OWN SWING?” Fiona yelled and bounded over to touch it. “DADDY! MOMMY! I HAVE MY OWN SWING!”

“You sure do, kiddo. Do you want to play on it?” Tim asked, basking in his daughter’s effervescent glow that made the late night assembly worth it.

“I WANT TO PLAY ON IT FOREVER!”

“Now she’ll never agree to taking her nap,” Lucy mumbled under her breath.

“I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

“Not tonight. We need to make up for all of the sleep we didn’t get last night. So tomorrow night?”

“Have we become that couple that has to schedule alone time?”

“We’re not that boring…right?”

“I’ll sneak you into my office tomorrow at work.”

She laughed and saw that their daughter was enthusiastically telling Kojo about her play set.

“MOMMY! Kojo wants to go down the slide.”

“You have to hold him when you ride down, and be careful,” Lucy instructed.

After dreaming of watching his kid play on a play set in his own backyard for so long, it was worth the wait watching their daughter scream exuberantly as she rode down the slide countless times while Lucy clung to him with her own smile.

“Tim?” Lucy whispered. “I know you already know this, but I just wanted to say I’m really happy.” She planted her lips on his neck and grinned before turning back to watch their daughter again.

Panting, Fiona ran back to her parents and gestured to her play set. “I LOVE THE SLIDE! IT’S YELLOW LIKE MOMMY’S FAVORITE COLOR!”

He hoped his daughter’s voice would not become hoarse from all of the excited shouting. “Do you want to go on your swing now?”

“YEAH! PUSH ME! PUSH ME!”

Lucy chuckled as Tim was hauled over to the swings. She decided she could listen to her daughter’s laughter and watch how Fiona lit up around her dad for the rest of her life.

“Hi, Lucy,” a voice said.

She whipped her head around as Genny walked into the yard. “H-hi.”

“Hi, Tim!”

“Hey, Gen!” He waved at his sister, pleasantly surprised by her arrival.

“I knocked on the front door and no one answered, but I heard voices back here, so I thought I would follow them. What’s going on?” Genny inquired.

“Tim and I built Fiona a play set, and she’s having a blast,” Lucy shared. “What brings you by?”

“I haven’t seen my big brother since he got discharged from the hospital. I wanted to see how he’s doing, which from the looks of it is fine.”

“Of course he’s fine. He’s great, actually. I’ve been taking care of him.”

Noting the edge in Lucy’s voice, Genny chose to tread carefully. “I’m sure you have been. How are things with Fiona?”

“She’s blossoming with us. I tell her social worker all the time how much she’s grown emotionally since we started fostering her.”

“It’s a nice thing you’re doing. Fostering a kid. That’s very selfless.”

“Wasn’t much of a choice. I spent a few hours with her and knew she was my daughter. I had to bring her home with me.”

“How about Tim? Was he that attached from the start, too?”

“I think it took him like two days to fall in love with her, but once he did…he’s just excellent with her. I couldn’t ask for a better dad for our kid.”

“Not surprised.”

“MOMMY! LOOK!” Fiona yelled. “I’M GOING SO HIGH!”

“I’m looking, sweetie! That’s so cool!” Lucy said. “Isn’t she the cutest kid?”

“She’s adorable,” Genny agreed.

Lucy could practically hear every word she was holding back, so she simply pressed with a meaningful, “What?”

“I’m sorry, maybe it’s because I’m a teacher, but I’m worried about Fiona getting caught in the crossfire.”

“You’re worried because last time we talked, you said Tim and I weren’t on the same page, and that’s bad for our daughter. I remember. Look, I like you, Genny, but this is my family you’re talking about, and I’m very protective of them. Nothing or no one is going to tear us apart.”

Tim could not really hear their quiet conversation over his daughter’s snickers, but he knew based on the crease between Lucy’s eyebrows and that dangerous tone she was in her sexy mamma bear mode. He took a step towards her, and she found his eyes. One second, they were blazing, and the next, he must have grounded her slightly.

Softening thanks to him, Lucy added a bit more calmly. “Besides, your brother and I are on the same page now about everything, so you have nothing to worry about. We’re all good.”

“Really? That’s great to hear!”

“You’re not upset about us?”

“Why would I be upset?”

“I don’t know…you seemed a little weird when you came to the hospital to check on Tim. I thought maybe you didn’t approve of your brother and I being together, but you have to know I love him more than anyone in the world except for our daughter, and I love our life all together as a family. And I will always take good care of your brother.”

Genny smirked. “I remember when my brother mentioned you for the first time. He was trying to tell me that he hated his new rookie, but he smiled a lot. It was obvious you weren’t the pain in the ass his words tried to make you out to be. And that was back then. I barely recognized my brother in the hospital. He was recovering from back surgery. He could barely move, and yet I’ve never seen him so happy. He clearly loves you and your daughter very much. That’s amazing.”

“Oh,” she breathed, releasing the last of the tension in her shoulders. “I’m sorry if I came on a little strong.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m protective of my family, too. I get it.”

“MOMMY! I HAVE TO GO POTTY!” Fiona announced.

Tim immediately stopped the swing and helped her out of it before stepping over to hand their daughter off to Lucy like a baton in a relay race. He watched them rush inside together as he sighed gladly. Then, his he flicked his gaze over to his sister. “I wasn’t expecting you, but I’m glad you came by.”

Genny grinned at him; he was like a completely different person somehow despite how he looked exactly the same. It was uncanny. “When I found out in the hospital that you got married and fostered a kid without telling me, I realized we don’t see each other enough. How are things?”

“Good. Messy and chaotic, but good.”

“Kids will do that. How about you and Lucy?”

“We’re in a much better place now.”

“That’s what she told me.”

“Are you checking that our stories match?”

“No, I just wanna hear from you, since you were the one that seemed….”

“Scared?” He supplied to which she pursed her lips. “I was. I still am. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night terrified I’ll implode the best thing to ever happen to me.”

“You better not.”

“Lucy makes it hard to. She does this thing…it sounds dumb.”

“I want to hear it anyways.”

He smiled with awe merely thinking about it. “She moves in her sleep. If I wake up and even think about getting out of bed when my head starts telling me I don’t deserve my life with her or Fiona and I should probably run before she does, it’s like she senses it, and she grabs onto me. Even when she’s totally asleep, she can read my mind, and she knows I’m scared and tries to help me through it.” He could barely believe he had someone in his life who knew him so well and loved him exactly how he needed.

Genny beamed. “See, I would tell you to marry a girl like that, but you’ve already taken care of that.”

“We got married for Fiona.”

“Sure, but marriages change.”

“I’m well aware,” he replied, knowing the ache of a marriage that ended.

“Not just for the worse. Sure, that’s been our experience, but someday, you won’t be married for Fiona anymore, and you’ll be married for you.”

“We’ll see.”

She elbowed him playfully when his lips pulled down for the first time since she arrived. “Hey, if you love her, you can’t be thinking about the end. That’s not fair to either of you.”

“If I turn out like Dad-”

“That’s not going to happen. You’re not Dad.”

He could read in her expression that she was being honest. “Lucy says the same thing.”

“You should listen to both of us.”

“What if you’re both wrong?”

“I’m never wrong, and I have a feeling neither is Lucy.”

“She likes to think so,” he shot back in a tone meant to be one of aggravation that gave way to fondness quickly.

“Hang on, Fi!” Lucy said as she chased her daughter, who raced into the yard. “Wait, wait, wait, play time is paused until you say ‘hi’ to your Aunt Genny.”

Fiona was displeased that the enjoyment of her very own swing was put on hold to talk to a grown up, but she looked up at all of the adults, said, “Hi,” then resumed running.

“Come back here, please,” Lucy said sternly. “You have to be nice. This is your daddy’s sister.”

“Daddy has a lot of sisters.” She thought about her Aunt Angela and Aunt Nyla were the aunts she knew better and must have also been her father’s sisters, too.

“Someone woke up sassy today,” Tim noted and bent forward towards his daughter. “Can you please talk to your Aunt Genny for a minute?”

“You’re sassy like your daddy,” Genny said.

“Not you, too,” Tim grumbled.

“Agreed,” Lucy snickered.

“My daddy’s the best daddy! He gets a whole day for him called ‘Daddy’s Day’,” Fiona explained.

“That’s so cool. Did your daddy build your slide over there?” Genny asked.

“Mommy and Daddy made me my very own slide, and my own swing! I have a park in my house!”

“I can see that.”

“Do you think our house is big enough so bears can live here?” Fiona wondered.

“Not a chance,” Lucy answered, then explained to Genny, “Our daughter really loves bears, and when we saw some at the zoo, she asked if we could take them home. She still asks every once in a while if we can take them home.”

“She’s got a great imagination,” Genny replied. “Fiona, can I push you on the swing while you tell me about your favorite animals?”

“Can you push me as high as Daddy can? He makes me go all the way up to the sky!”

“I’ll try,” Genny responded with a laugh, and with that, Fiona bounded over to the swings excitedly.

“How is she so much faster than me? She has such short legs,” Lucy wondered based on their daughter’s speed.

Tim drew her into his side then joked, “Her legs aren’t that much shorter than yours.”

“Jokes like that cut down your chances of seeing of me without clothes on,” Lucy tried to threaten him even if there was no heat behind it.

He blew out a laugh and covered her mouth with his to quiet her.

“Princess kiss!” Fiona cheered when she saw her parents. “My mommy and daddy live happily ever after! They get to have lots of princess kisses,” she told her aunt Genny.

“Is that what they told you?” Genny asked.

“No, but I get story time every night. I know what happily ever after looks like.”

Lucy stifled a giggle as she caressed Tim’s cheek. “Our daughter is funny.”

“Just like me.”

“You’re not funny.”

“Then how come you’re always laughing around me?”

“Oh, that’s all pity laughter.”

“You’re a lying liar who lies.”

She rolled her eyes, but it turned into a smile when he pecked her nose.

“Daddy! Can you give Mommy a princess kiss and then push me? I want to go higher!” Fiona requested.

Tim’s face turned serious as he looked down at Lucy. “I’ve got direct orders, so I have to kiss you now.”

“You have to, huh?” Lucy inquired.

“I do. Who knew parenting was so hard?” He pretended to sound like he was being coerced into it, but his lips told the truth once he captured hers lovingly.

“YAY!” Fiona yelled.

Genny stepped back so Tim could push his daughter’s swing, and she was able to stand by Lucy. Once she no longer had her guard up, she was back to her usual sunny disposition, and they could trade embarrassing stories about her brother as they watched Fiona enjoy her afternoon. When she realized how much time she had spent chatting with Lucy, she said, “Oh, I have to run a few errands before my boys get home from school. I should go.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for lunch?”

“Not today, but maybe next time. I would love to come over again to get to know my niece better.”

“It would mean a lot to Tim and to me if you did.”

“Next time, you owe me wedding pictures, since I missed the big day.”

“We don’t have that many,” Lucy considered aloud.

“You should put the ones you do have up around the house. I’m sure your fairy tale obsessed daughter would love that.”

“She would,” Lucy agreed with a chuckle. “Okay, Fi, you have to stop swinging for lunch, and it’s time to say ‘bye’ to your aunt Genny.”

“But it’s my swing! I’ve never had my own swing before!” Fiona disagreed.

“I’ll give your daddy three prince kisses if you get down,” Lucy bartered.

“Put me down, Daddy!” Fiona changed her mind immediately.

Genny covered her mouth to hide her laughter as her niece judiciously counted her parents kisses like she was ensuring perfect quality.

“Three?” Tim rasped against Lucy’s lips after giving her the last one. “That’s not much of a negotiation.”

“One was for her to get off the swing, the next one was for her to actually want to get off the swing, and the last one was for me, because it’s super hot when you push our daughter on the swing.”

“That’s hot to you?”

“You have no idea.” She bit down on her lip as her cheeks pinked up.

He liked gleaning any new information about how to make her happy as her boyfriend, especially when all that he learned was easy enough to replicate. “Noted.”

Genny crouched down to say, “Bye, Fiona, it was great hanging out with you today.”

“Bye, Aunt Genny. Thanks for playing on the swing with me. You’re almost as good as Daddy.”

“What about me?” Lucy wondered.

“Daddy is taller, so he can get me closer to the sky,” was Fiona’s explanation.

“Even our daughter makes fun of how short you are,” Tim teased.

“Remember what I said about short jokes?” Lucy retorted.

Tim snapped his jaw shut so as not to offend her any further, because he did not want to be denied the chance to take off her clothes.

Genny hugged Lucy farewell, then let Tim walk her along the path from the backyard to the front of the house where her car was parked. She embraced her brother then inspected the truly happy glow on his face she could not ever recall seeing before. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you have anything to be afraid of with Lucy. She adores you.”

“I know, but she’s perfect, and I’m not.”

“You don’t have to be perfect to be perfect for her. Do you remember when you weren’t riding with her for a while?”

“When she finished her rookie year, she didn’t ride with me for months.”

“You were so grumpy. I thought something was really wrong, and when I asked if anything had changed, the only thing that had was that you didn’t get to see Lucy everyday.”

“I wasn’t grumpy.”

“Oh, you were, and I bet she missed you, too.”

“She was just fine without me.”

“Then how come she agreed to ride with you again?”

“For higher visibility come promotion time,” he parroted the reason Lucy had provided so long ago.

“No, because she wanted to. Both of you know you’re better together. You two thought it was a good idea to raise a kid when you weren’t together, because you know how you work as teammates, and honestly, parenting is a team sport.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“You’re perfect for each other, and you’re better together, so instead of panicking, be grateful you have her. Fiona told me you’re living your happily ever after.”

“Kids have big imaginations. We read to her a lot, and it gives her ideas,” he reasoned.

She shrugged. “She might be onto something. See you soon, okay?” Genny offered him one last smile and left.

Tim gave her a nod as she climbed into her car then went into his house where Fiona was sitting on the kitchen counter holding Lucy’s phone. “What’s going on in here?”

“Genny got me thinking about our wedding pictures, so I was asking for Fiona to pick which ones she likes the best,” Lucy answered.

“This is my favorite!” Fiona gushed as she admired the photo of her dad dipping her mom as they kissed in the courthouse dressed in their wedding outfits for a snapshot that looked just like the final page of a fairytale book.

“I don’t know if we’ll put that one on the wall down here, but how about I get it framed and put it in your room for you to look at?” Lucy suggested.

“Okay,” Fiona agreed with a grin and hugged the phone to her chest.

Tim requested, “Can I have a copy for my office?”

“Of that one?” Lucy requested clarification.

“Yeah, I like it.”

“Why?”

“No reason,” he replied nonchalantly, but he could sense she knew there was a real reason. So after lunch when Fiona went up and down the slide endlessly with Kojo in her arms, he whispered to Lucy, “I thought it was going to be the last time I would ever kiss you. That picture at the courthouse when we got married. I figured it would be too complicated if we did it again, so I was pretty sure I’d never get the chance to kiss you after that.”

“Babe,” she murmured as her heart stammered. “I was afraid of that, too.”

He smiled wryly. “Most couples don’t think their wedding day will be…the end, but I did.”

“Aren’t you glad things aren’t so complicated anymore? Genny even approves now that we’ve figured it out.”

“Were you that worried about her before?”

“At the hospital after your surgery, she didn’t seem all that happy we’re married. I made it very clear to her today that we’re good now hoping that was enough to get her blessing.”

“You don’t need her blessing.”

“She’s the only member of your family you care about. I want her to like us being together, because I’m not going anywhere.” She hugged him possessively. “Genny knows I love you, right? I don’t remember if I mentioned that or not.”

He buried his nose in her hair and grinned. “She knows.”

“I’ll call her tomorrow to tell her just to be sure.”

“Luce,” he smiled. “Believe me, she knows.”

“Good. She called Fiona her niece today. That was big. That means she’s accepting our family.”

“I knew she would.”

“Next time she’s here, let’s have her take a picture with Fiona and put it up in the house.”

“Since when do you care about pictures hanging up?”

“Genny got me thinking about it. Fiona grows like every single day. I want to have those memories on our walls, so we can all enjoy them. Look how happy our daughter is to see the wedding ones.”

“I bet if I took a picture kissing you at the station tomorrow, she would react the same way.”

“We can test the theory if you want.”

He laughed dryly but decided, “Sure, sounds fun.”

“You can bring some pictures from your old house here, too. They belong on the walls. I don’t want to erase your past.”

“I wish I could erase some parts of it.”

“Well I don’t. That’s why I love you.”

“That’s not why.”

She frowned at the wounded look flash across his eyes. “I knew exactly who you were from the day we met, and I’ve started loving you since then. Every single part of you and your past makes you the man I love so much I can’t live without you. So yes, your past, even the parts you hate, I love, and it can hang on these walls right next to pictures of the person we love the most.” Lucy waited until he digested her words and swallowed hard like he was inhaling the weight of everything she said. After giving him a soft, fleeting kiss, she said, “I’ll work on lunch. Fi, can you give your daddy a hug while I make sandwiches?”

“Hug time, Daddy,” Fiona said obediently and held her arms out in preparation for her dad to lift her off the counter. Once he drew her in, she asked, “Are you okay?”

“So much better now,” he replied, and those words had a double meaning; he was better with his daughter in his arms and better thanks to life with Lucy. “Thanks for my hugs, munchkin.”

Lucy appreciated the adorableness of her daughter and Tim together knowing that if he was ashamed of his past, at least she was sure he was proud of his future with their new family.

Chapter Text

Fiona loved being helpful, so when she was given the task of packing towels into a box, she became very focused on her job until Kojo trotted over and licked her face. She giggled as she warned, “Hey, we have work to do. Can you help me?”

“You two are doing a great job,” Lucy complimented her daughter then turned her attention back to the kitchen cabinets. “Which glasses do you want to keep?” She asked Tim where he was at her side. When he did not respond right away, she looked at him and grinned. “Stop staring at me. We’re supposed to be packing.”

“I already told you just donate everything,” he replied and snaked an arm around her waist. “You know the laundry room in this house is right over there.”

She wanted to be more firm in rejecting the offer, but she had absolutely no idea how to truly resist him. “We’ve been trying to pack up your old house for days.”

“I don’t care about this house or anything that’s in it…well, except for you and Fi.”

She placed her hand on his chest to try pushing him away, though she was unsuccessful. “I need us to finish with the house. The realtor wants to start doing showings on Monday.” Lucy had been so strong for so long, then pulled his face down close to hers. “One minute, and then we’re going back to work,” she determined before kissing him for what could have been sixty seconds or maybe more. “I think we should work in different rooms. Want to try packing your spare room?”

Instead of dignifying that with a response, he called to their daughter while his eyes remained locked on Lucy, “Hey, Fi, it’s been a really long time since I’ve given your mommy a princess kiss don’t you think?”

Lucy shook her head like she could not believe he would say that when she was not at all surprised.

“Yeah! Princess kiss! Princess kiss!” Fiona urged.

Tim took Lucy by the chin and claimed her mouth for as long as he wanted to then smirked at her victoriously.

“You’re the worst,” she whispered to him fondly.

“Am I? Can I change your mind?” He backed her against the counter as his eyes turned ravenous.

She glanced at their daughter then back up at him. “Hey, Fi, your daddy and I have to do some laundry. We won’t be gone long.”

“Okay,” Fiona replied, then laughed when Kojo climbed into the box she was supposed to be filling.

Lucy went down the hallway, kicked the door to the laundry room shut behind them, then crashed her lips into Tim’s. Being unproductive had never been more fun.

He roughly lifted her into his arms and set her on top of the dryer with their mouths fused together. She was becoming a craving he could never satisfy; every second with her made him want another minute of her soft lips on his, her hands either undressing him or undoing him, her little breathless sounds filling his lungs, and how her eyes dazzled differently when he spent enough time kissing her.

“Okay, okay,” she breathed when she registered he had been desperately pawing at her shirt for long enough to signal he wanted it removed. She pulled away the slightest bit only to tug it off then went back to slotting her mouth with his perfectly and was rewarded with his fingers digging into her flesh deliciously. She surrendered to his desires, letting him kiss her as hard as he wanted to and grab her as tightly as he felt compelled to; she marveled in how easily he could sweep her up in the winds of his passion like she was soaring on a jet stream.

Tim grunted as she harshly threaded her fingers through his hair and moved his lips to her jawline to remind her with a voice raspy with lust, “This house has a bedroom, too.” He would take having her in any position or capacity, but they would be more comfortable with a soft mattress for her to lay back on.

“What are we supposed to tell Fiona?” She wondered then trembled when he sucked on her skin a little harder.

“She doesn’t need an explanation. Give her something else to pack or some crayons.”

“We don’t have any paper.”

“Have her color the walls.”

She snickered and wrenched her neck away to find his eyes. Her first instinct was to say his suggestion was proposterous, but he was in the middle of yanking her bra off by the straps instead of unclasping the back, and she changed her mind. “Ten minutes. She can’t destroy all of the walls in ten minutes, right?”

“Put your shirt on. I’ll go out and talk to her.”

She nodded in agreement and hopped down from the dryer, then she made a resigned sound and pulled his face down for another kiss she needed. As she cradled his cheek, pondering bringing her lips back to his, she pointed out, “You realize this is why this place isn’t even close to being packed up.”

“You shouldn’t have worn these leggings today,” was his reason as an index fingers traced the outline of her thigh as best as he could.

“And what’s your excuse for all of that laundry we did yesterday?” She knew he was aware of their euphemism for hooking up in the laundry room should anyone have asked or if a certain set of three-year old ears overheard them discussing their physical activities.

“Your hair looked nice.”

Lucy scoffed. “And the day before?”

“I hated your shirt, so I took it off of you, and things sorta progressed from there,” he teased.

“You hated that shirt? Funny, it was yours.”

“That’s exactly why I hated it.”

She looped her arms around his neck and pouted. “We have to snap out of this. We have a kid to think about.”

“If you could go a day without doing something sexy, we would be fine. I don’t know how that’s possible, but I’m just saying.”

“And you wouldn’t be allowed to look at me.”

“How’s that supposed to happen when we live together?”

“Crap,” she muttered and rocketed up to stand tall and kiss him again.

“Mommy!” Fiona said. “Your phone!”

Lucy broke away from Tim to catch her breath. “One second, honey.” He dropped his forehead to hers to look at her while gulping some much needed oxygen, and she decided, “Just let it ring, Fi. I’m a little busy right now.”

“Hello?” Fiona answered the phone. “This is my mommy’s phone. Who are you?”

Rachel was pleasantly surprised to hear from her. “Hi, Fiona. This is Rachel. I’m your social worker. Remember me?”

“Yes. I don’t need to see you anymore, because I have a family now.”

“I know, but I still need to talk to your mommy. Can you put her on the phone?”

“She’s busy doing laundry with my daddy. They have lots of clothes to wash all the time.”

“Can you get her anyways?”

Fiona sighed. “Mommy!”

Tim pulled away from Lucy immediately knowing that tone meant their daughter actually needed them, so he picked her shirt up from the floor and handed it to her with a sorrowful smile.

After redressing quickly, Lucy raced out of the laundry room to find her daughter. “What’s up, sweetie?”

“Rachel wants to talk to you, but I told her she doesn’t have to.”

“We’re friends with Rachel now. She’s not going to take you away.” Lucy kissed her daughter’s temple then took the phone out of her little hand before lifting it to her own ear. “Hi, Rachel. Sorry about that. I was in the middle of something.”

“That’s okay. I don’t mean to bother you. I wanted to call and let you know that I’m coming by your house to drop off some paperwork to start the adoption process,” Rachel explained.

“Really? The adoption process?”

“We’ve still got plenty more hoops to jump through, but I figured you would want to get started. I’ll be at your house in like thirty minutes.”

“Do you mind leaving the forms in the mail slot? We’re not home. We’re at Tim’s old house.”

“Oh, I know where that is, and it’s not that far. I can swing by there instead.”

“No, you don’t have to come here. It’s okay.” Some of the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, feeling unnerved for some reason she could not exactly pinpoint in the moment.

“Alright, then I’ll leave the paperwork at your place, and we’ll be in touch when you’re ready to submit them.”

“Thanks, Rachel.” She ended the call and reported to Tim, “Rachel is dropping off adoption forms for us to fill out.”

He grinned. “That’s great.” He expected her to be happier given the news, yet she seemed troubled. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, yeah, I’ll start wrapping glasses.”

Curious how her mood had changed so quickly and seemed so suddenly withdrawn, he took her hand and drew her close. “What just happened?”

“Nothing.” She flashed him as much of a smile as she could muster, then her gaze flickered over to his old bedroom where the door was innocently half ajar.

“We’ll pack up that room eventually,” he said upon following her line of sight.

“I’m sure we will,” she replied flatly.

He did not like her expression, so he inclined his head in the direction of the bedroom and walked backwards hoping she would follow. Her first few steps were normal, but when crossing the threshold, she seemed tentative. Tim cupped her cheek and tilted her head back to force her to look at him. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, babe,” she was quick to assure him then eyed his old bed. “I haven’t been in this house in a while. Before all of the packing, I mean.”

“I didn’t exactly host parties here.”

“But Rachel used to come here. When she called, and I told her where we were, she said she remembered where you lived, and…” She bit her lip, because she knew she was being irrational, yet he seemed intent on listening to her, so she continued, “And I never got to be your girlfriend in this house, but she did.”

“We’re in this house right now, and you’re my girlfriend.”

“It’s different.”

“You’re different. This place is my past. You’re my future, and by the way, you’re the only woman I’ll live in our house with.” He kissed her forehead. “It is kind of cute that you’re jealous of some woman I haven’t thought of like that in a million years.”

“I’m allowed to be jealous.”

“Sure, you’re allowed, but it’s dumb.”

“Excuse me? My feelings are valid.”

He smiled and pecked the corner of her mouth. “They’re valid, but they’re dumb.” She made a sound of protest, so he dropped another kiss on the same spot. “I love you and only you.”

“I hope so.”

“You want me to prove it to you?”

“Not in here. Let’s go back to the laundry room.”

“W-why?”

She looked around as a smile took over her face. “I’ve got an idea, but that’s for later.” Lucy gripped the collar of his flannel and dragged him along. “Fi, honey, you can nap in the bedroom. Your daddy and I have so much more laundry to do.”

“Why do grown ups have so much laundry?” Fiona asked Kojo, but he did not offer an answer and only a quiet bark. “Let’s nap in the big bed, buddy.” She went with him into the bedroom, plopped herself on the bed, and fell asleep almost immediately after an exhausting day.

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After Tim snoozed his alarm for the fourth time, he groaned.

“Don’t leave me yet,” Lucy begged and wrapped her legs around his waist tighter to keep him stretched out on top of her on their bed.

“I have to go to work today,” he stated the obvious.

“But I don’t, so we can spare a few minutes.”

“It’s been close to twenty,” he protested, but when her tongue darted out to lick at the spot behind his ear, he huffed, knowing there was no way he was going to get away from her.

Their bedroom door swung open, and Lucy immediately dropped her limbs away from him so he could roll off of her.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Fiona said as she ran in and hoisted herself up onto the mattress. She settled next to her mom’s hip while her brain whirred. “Were you giving bedtime hugs without me?”

Lucy smoothed back some of her daughter’s messy brown hair and answered her honestly, “Yes, but it’s not because we don’t love giving you bedtime hugs, because we do.” She glanced at Tim, who seemed to be at a loss, so she sat up and looked at her daughter. “When grown ups love each other, they give each other hugs alone without their kids.”

“Why?” Fiona wondered.

“It’s a grown up thing. You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“But I’m a big kid. I’m almost a grown up.”

He covered his mouth with his hand to avoid laughing at his toddler’s comment.

Thankfully, Lucy kept her expression almost neutral to reply, “That’s true. You’re very mature for your age, so I guess I can tell you that when we hug alone, your daddy gives me kisses.”

Fiona giggled. “He does?”

“As many as I want.”

She looked between her parents, then asked her dad, “You give Mommy more princess kisses?”

“Yup. I do.”

“Oh,” Fiona replied as she thought about it. “Is that part of the happily ever after?”

“It sure is,” Lucy answered.

“Do you want to hug alone right now?”

“No, my love, it’s time to get ready for the day. We’ll go brush our teeth while your daddy takes a shower.”

“I can brush my teeth by myself now!” Fiona boasted and clamored out of bed to prove her point.

“Hang on. I’ll help you in one second,” Lucy said. She gave Tim a smug smile as he put his head in her lap. “I’m officially the better parent.”

“You just realized that now?”

“I successfully explained to our daughter what it means to hug alone. You gave her some bad explanation about me being your princess or whatever that she didn’t understand.”

Defensively he sat up and justified, “I did the best I could.”

“Yeah, but I totally crushed that, and now our kid understands we need to be alone sometimes, so take it easy at work today. I have a pretty good feeling I’ll get you all to myself tonight.”

He grinned slyly. “Can’t wait.”

She kissed him quickly, then again, and a final third time. “I’ll see you downstairs for breakfast.”

He watched her leave their bedroom and knew he was smiling like an idiot, which was a reasonable byproduct of his new reality. He went through his entire morning routine with a grin that grew when his daughter bounded down the stairs requesting for him to tie her bow.

“Thanks, Daddy,” Fiona said as she touched the ribbon, knowing her bow was perfect like it was everyday.

Lucy crowded him near the stovetop. “Looks good.”

“I’ve mastered the art of tying our daughter’s bow.”

“True, but I was talking about you.” She angled her head to silently request a kiss, which he gave to her willingly. “I like this shirt.” She smoothed her hand down his chest over the worn blue flannel.

“Do you?”

“Can I wear it later?”

“That depends.” He acted like there was a universe where he would not want to see her wearing his clothes. “Are you planning on wearing pants underneath?”

“If you come home on time, I won’t.”

“No matter what happens, I swear I won’t be late.”

“Good.” She tried giving him a quick peck, then he opened his mouth under hers, making her hum. She heard footsteps that did not belong to Tim or Fiona, so she checked their surroundings for who could have possibly walked into their house.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Tamara said when she came upon Tim and Lucy looking awfully cozy in the kitchen.

“Aunt Tamara!” Fiona exclaimed.

“Hey, kid,” she greeted her. “I see you’ve been making sure your mommy and daddy have their princess kisses.”

“I never forget, and sometimes, they even kiss when they hug alone.”

“They hug alone? Since when?” Tamara eyed Lucy, who blushed. “What have I missed?”

“We need to have breakfast before Tim heads off to work,” Lucy replied, completely changing the subject.

“Oh, I already ate, so none for me,” Tamara said.

Tim shook his head at her and set plates down in front of Lucy’s and Fiona’s seats. “What are you doing here? How did you even get in here?”

“Lucy gave me a key.”

“For emergencies,” Lucy clarified while she and her family sat down at their usual chairs at their table.

“This was an emergency. My roommate kicked me out, because,” she glanced at Fiona, then went with, “she wants to hug her girlfriend alone. Is Nell coming today?”

“No, I’m not working today, so Fi and I were planning to spend the day together.”

“Even better. Nell always gives me grief when I stop by, because apparently I mess with Fiona’s schedule? I swear I don’t.”

“Somehow, I believe Nell,” Tim replied with narrowed eyes then softened when Lucy rested a hand on his thigh.

“Tell us about school,” Lucy requested to occupy Tamara while Tim threaded their fingers together on his leg. When they finished eating, she cleared the table and stood over the sink rinsing dishes while he spoke to their daughter.

“Bye, Daddy. I love you,” Fiona said and wrapped her arms around her dad.

“Bye, munchkin. I love you, too.” He squeezed her tightly for a second.

When her dad grabbed his bag and laced up his shoes, she reminded him, “Don’t forget to say bye to Mommy.”

“I would never.” He went into the kitchen, grabbed Lucy by the waist to spin her around, ignoring the fact that the water was still running, and kissed her long and deep to render her speechless. With a glint in his eye and a ghost of a smile, he spoke in a low, sultry voice, “Bye, Mommy.”

She braced herself on the edge of the sink, wholly breathless, and blinked as he walked out the door.

Tamara waited until Tim left the house, then she asked knowingly, “So, how are things with you and Tim?”

“I’m happy, and he’s happy,” Lucy answered simply.

“That’s all you’re going to give me?”

Rising to the bait, she added giddily, “He told me he loves me.”

“Your husband loves you? Wow, what a concept,” Tamara mocked.

“Things are different with us.”

“No, things WERE different. Now you’re like any other married couple down to the hugs.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“We haven’t…we’ve been…”

“No. No, don’t tell me you two haven’t…” She gestured, since a toddler was in the room.

“We haven’t done THAT.”

Shocked, Tamara turned to Fiona and suggested, “Hey, Fi, why don’t you go upstairs and have a tea party with Kojo in your room? We’ll come play with you in a few minutes.”

“A tea party for me and Kojo? Yay!” Fiona raced up the stairs happily with her furry best friend in tow.

Tamara crossed her arms when they were alone and asked, “Are you telling me you and Tim haven’t slept together yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Why not?”

“He wants our first time to be special, which is super sweet.” 

“Special? How? Are you waiting for your first wedding anniversary?”

“I hope not. I can barely keep my hands off of him.”

“Someone’s thirsty.”

“It’s not just me. He’s thirstier than I am…mostly.” Lucy knitted her fingers together and studied them for a moment before she decided, “I can’t wait anymore, or I’m pretty sure I’ll combust. That’s it. Tonight is the night.” She began to plan rather quickly. “Can you stay here tonight with Fiona?”

Tamara asked, “If I spend the night here, where will you be?”

“Somewhere we can really be alone. Do you mind watching Fi while I go out and pick some stuff up…and get waxed.”

“Absolutely.”

“Thank you. I’ve got a lot to do starting with getting changed. Oh my God. What should I wear tonight?”

“Lace...or a trench coat with nothing underneath. Should I ask Angela what she thinks?” She pulled out her phone to compose a text.

“Don’t! I want to do this myself.” She felt her heart flutter. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”

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Fiona tip toed into her parents’ bedroom and their en suite bathroom where she saw her mom styling her hair. “Wow, Mommy, you look so pretty.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Lucy replied and finished tying her long locks into a half ponytail. She nervously inspected her own reflection as she thought about the weight of what the night would bring; it would be their last first time, which felt rather scary but also comforting given the fact that she would be sharing the milestone with him. With a nod of confidence to herself in the mirror, she left the bathroom and rummaged through the tote bag on the bed to double check she had packed everything they would need from toiletries to a change of clothes. She realized her hands were shaking, and she did not know why, but it was okay, because she knew seeing Tim would put her at ease.

After what had become too many long hours away from his family, Tim eased when he walked in the front door of his house, and there Lucy stood like she had been waiting for his arrival.

“Hi,” she greeted him quietly.

“Woah,” was his only reply as he scanned her body in a black cotton dress that ended mid thigh with a deep v neckline. “You look…incredible. What’s the occasion?” As much as he wanted to touch her, he almost felt unworthy like she looked too perfect, and he was going to mess her up somehow, so his hands remained at his sides while his eyes roved over her.

“I wanted to talk to you about that.” She caught sight of something red between his fingers. “What’s that?”

He dropped his gaze to his hand and replied, “Oh, right, yeah, I-I drove up, and I saw that our roses started to bloom. I picked one for you, because I know how much you love flowers…I should’ve gotten you a whole bouquet, though.” He held it up in the minimal space between their chests to allow her to admire it better.

“That’s ours? We grew it together?”

“You’ve done most of the maintenance, and Fiona was a big help when we planted the bushes.”

Lucy sniffed the rose and grinned. “We grew it together,” she said, her voice filled with emotion; her beautiful family had grown much like flowers- first with roots spreading underground, then stalks shooting up, next tiny buds, and finally a full bloom. She took hold of the single rose that felt like the most beautiful symbol of their development; the deep red made every other color look duller in comparison except for his ocean blue eyes. Feeling like it was a trophy, she held the stem gingerly as she looped her arms around his neck to bring them closer. “Thank you for making a family with me.”

“I should be the one thanking you. There aren’t enough words to tell you how grateful I am for you.”

“Good thing you’re a man of action,” she replied slyly and planted her lips onto his then redirected his hands from hanging loosely by his sides to settle on her hips.

Their kiss grew from there with him assuming control of the languid pace with which his tongue moved inside her mouth, taking in the feeling and taste of her like he was worshipping her. His palms stayed firmly on the spots where she placed them until he withdrew to harshly whisper between unsteady breaths, “Laundry room?” She shook her head, which was unusual, but a definitive response nonetheless, so he took a step back.

She missed his warmth immediately and pulled him close once more. “I wanted to talk to you about that…well, it’s sorta about that…it’s something for us.” She kept her eyes locked on his as she said, “I think it’s time. I feel ready, and our flowers are blooming, and I love you, so I want us to sleep together.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. Is that something you’re ready for?”

“Of course I am. Pick a day, and we’ll make it work.”

“I picked tonight.”

“Tonight?” His eyebrows shot up. “Luce, I would want us to go somewhere to be alone, which means booking a hotel, and we have to prep Fiona to make sure she’s comfortable with us staying the night apart from her, and she needs a sitter, and probably more stuff I haven’t thought of.”

“Done, done, and done. I’ve made arrangements for the perfect place for us to spend the night, and I’ve already asked our daughter if it was okay, and she’s good with it, so Tamara is babysitting.”

“How did you get her to agree to that? She even stayed the night in my hospital room.”

“Remember how I masterfully explained alone hugs to her? I explained to her that her mommy and daddy needed to have alone hugs somewhere else.”

“And she was fine with that?”

“She didn’t get it, so I lied and said we were working the night shift.”

“Lucy!”

“What? I tried, but she got lost somewhere in between me saying we needed to go to a special place and that we love each other.”

“So you’re not that much better than me at parenting. I fumbled with the hugging alone, and you couldn’t explain the sleepover thing.”

“I should’ve called it a sleepover. That’s genius.”

He smirked. “I get good ideas every once in a while.”

“Like what?”

“Like marrying you.”

She ran a hand over his heart as she admitted more clearly than ever before, “I didn’t exactly ask you with the purest intentions.”

“What are you talking about? We did it for Fiona.”

“And a little bit for me, too. I felt you slipping away. You were with Ashley, and you seemed so happy I thought you might propose to her, and I wanted…I wanted to keep you somehow.”

“There were simpler ways to do that than asking me to marry you to adopt a kid together.”

“You’re not that good with subtext and subtleties.”

His mouth fell open. “I am.”

“As much as I would like to argue with you about how totally wrong you are, we have more important things to do right now like saying goodnight to our daughter.” She interlaced their fingers and lead him up the stairs with her rose still in her other hand. When they walked into their daughter’s room, her little bright blue eyes welcomed them.

“Daddy! You’re home!” Fiona said, grinning.

“Hey, Fi, how was your day?” He knelt down to talk to her where she sat at the craft table in the corner of her room while still straining to keep his hand clasped with Lucy’s until she crouched down with him.

“Mommy and Aunt Tamara played with me all day! We went on the swings, and we colored, and then Mommy got all dressed up. Now you have to go back to work, right?”

Lucy bit her lip before answering, “Actually, honey, change of plans. Do you remember when your daddy and I had to work at night, so you had a sleepover with Jack?”

“I had so much fun! I love Jack! He’s my other best friend!”

“That’s right, and it was special, because it was you and your best friend. Well, you know that your daddy is my best friend, and we were thinking of having our own special sleepover just the two of us.”

Fiona smiled. “That sounds fun.”

“It better be, or their marriage is doomed,” Tamara muttered under her breath.

Lucy flashed Tamara a dirty look then redirected her attention to Fiona. “We’re going to have fun, but since we won’t be in the house tonight, we’ll miss you. We’ll be back tomorrow to give you tons of hugs, though, okay?”

“Can I ride my bike with Daddy when you get home?”

“I would love nothing more,” Tim assured her.

Tamara knew what Lucy was about to say. “I know her nighttime routine, and I promise to put her to bed on time.”

“Not too many sweets, either, and don’t forget to read her a story,” Lucy reminded her.

“I want a story about bears,” Fiona said.

“How about a story about two dumb cops that fell in love,” Tamara suggested.

“Are there princesses in it?” Fiona wondered.

“No, but you’ll love it,” Tamara promised. “I’ve got this, guys. Enjoy your sleepover.”

“Goodnight, sweetie, I love you,” Lucy said and kissed her daughter’s cheek.

“Goodnight, munchkin. Be good for your aunt Tamara. I love you,” Tim said and gave her a peck on the forehead.

“Bye, I love you!” She waved her parents farewell, then looked up at her aunt to ask, “What do grown up best friends do at sleepovers?”

“Knowing your mom, lots of talking probably,” Tamara answered.

Lucy could not stop looking back at her daughter’s bedroom door.

“She’ll be fine for the night,” Tim assured her.

“I know, but I’ll miss her.”

“We don’t have to do this tonight.”

“Believe me, we have to. I need to grab our bag, and then we’re leaving. By the way, I’m driving.” She admired her rose again, beaming. “We’re taking this with, but when we get back, can we pick some more? I promised Fi she could have a whole vase of her roses.”

“You got it.” He complied by climbing into the passenger side of his own truck so that she could drive then took one of her hands between his. “How long is the drive?”

“Are you trying to figure out where I’m taking you? I’m not telling you.”

“Do I get a hint?”

“You’ll know it when you see it.” She pulled out of their driveway and commenced their short drive. 

He knew the streets well enough that the route felt oddly too familiar, and then they pulled up to a house. His old house. “What are we doing here?”

“Grab the bag.”

Confused, he still listened and carried the bag with one hand while his other remained entwined with hers. “We can go to a hotel.”

She unlocked the front door and welcomed him inside first. “This is better.”

When she backed up, he could see inside that all of the half packed boxes had been pushed aside and set out on every surface were candles. There might have been fifty little flames flickering everywhere.

Lucy stroked his cheek. “I want our first time to be here. This is part of your past, and we’re closing that chapter together officially. Now I’ll be the last one here.”

“And the only one after that,” he promised.

“And the only one after that,” she parroted, her heart fluttering. She tilted her head up as he bent down, and their lips met in the middle tenderly. His irises looked different in the candlelight when she pulled away, and she loved it. “I’m really glad we’re doing something for you and me. It’s not that I don’t love doing everything I can for Fiona, but it’s good for us to still do things for us.”

“Since we met our little girl, I haven’t done a single thing just for her, and you know I love our kid, but I’m in love with you.”

As she grabbed at his flannel shirt, she blushed. “About time. It only took us getting married and having a daughter.”

“Not that long.”

“How long then?”

“We got married, Lucy.”

“You married me for Fiona.”

“Like I said, I haven’t done a single thing just for her…you’re not the only one that was a little selfish. I bought you a ring.” His eyes snapped down to her bejeweled hand still wrapped around the rose.

“For Fiona.”

He shook his head as he bit his lip. “It was easier to say that at the time, but it was for me…and you, too.”

“If the ring was for us, then was anything for me?”

“Not much. I’ve been very selfish with you. When I kiss you right here,” he brushed his finger over his favorite spot on her neck that always made her sigh, “it’s for me. When I pull you on top of me in bed, it’s for me. When I buy you jewelry,” he circled her wrist where the bracelet he bought her dangled, “it’s for me. When I touch you,” he slowly ran his hands up her sides, “it’s for me.”

“You do all that stuff for me,” she accused him with half lidded eyes due to how his innocent touch left electricity in its wake all over her.

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s for my benefit.”

“Sounds like it’s for us.” 

Tim drew her in and claimed her mouth.

He was making her dizzy, and they had barely started enacting their plans for the night. Suggestively, she asked, “Want to do something else for us?”

Their eyes met, each fully aware of what was going to happen and how they were taking a large step on their journey from Training Officer and rookie, to friends, to sergeant and aide, to better friends, to paper married, to parents, and finally reaching a version of their relationship that was better than any iteration before thanks to pouring greater honesty and openness in their soil and nurturing their love from hidden roots to a flourishing garden.

“You sure?” He asked, voice low and thick with emotion.

She exhaled shakily and carefully set down their first Fiona rose from their bushes outside of their house onto a box of clothes for donation. She stepped forward until their bodies were aligned and answered, “Positive. We’re done holding back.”

He let out a breath he had not realized he was holding in while waiting for her answer. “Yeah, we’re done with all of that,” he agreed and kissed her again more softly, yet it still felt charged. Every point of contact surged with tension that had been building for months or maybe years, and it felt so much better to be expressive than when he kept her at arms length. 

Lucy moaned softly when his fingers dug into her waist like he had done a number of times when they stole moments in the laundry room or his office at work, but it was different knowing no one would interrupt them nor would their brains tell them to stop. She pressed her palms to his chest, feeling his unsteady heartbeat pound through the fabric of his shirt. While holding his gaze, she took her time undoing button after button, noting how his heart raced faster and faster with every centimeter of newly exposed tan skin until they could work together to shrug it off and let it fall to the floor. She got to glide her hands over his torso where she was learning every plane, ridge, and even the scars. Lucy pecked his shoulder where a broken bottle had left a mark as he stared down at her so sweetly that her knees wobbled.

“Are we going to the laundry room?”

“Our first time is not going to happen in a laundry room,” she scoffed. She backpedaled, and he moved with her in lock step until they reached his old bedroom that aside from the empty closet looked mostly the same save for all of the candles on the dresser and the nightstands. “Isn’t this better than a hotel?”

He smirked. “Only because you made this place better.” He traced a stray lock of her wavy hair that he loved to touch so much.

“I wanted to be somewhere comfortable, and this place feels like you. Nothing makes me more comfortable than you.” She went to sit at the edge of the bed, her heart thrumming as she waited for him to join her.

Tim lowered himself on the edge of the mattress, feeling it dip under their weight, and placed a hand on her knee but no further. “Are you nervous?”

“Not really,” she admitted with a half smile. “It’s you and me.” They leaned in at the same time for a kiss that banished any trace of nervousness or awkwardness; it was them. She was at ease around him. She trusted him. So when he reached for the zipper of her dress, Lucy arched her back into him, urging him to keep going.

He swallowed up the way her breathing caught when his finger traced her spine, then he pulled back to check on her.

To answer the question on his face, she pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her dress, allowing the material to pool at her waist.

“Just so we’re clear,” he rasped, and took hold of the clasp on her bra, “this is for me.”

She choked on a giggle as he took his time to remove it from her; when they first met, she never expected Tim to be capable of being so gentle, but he took special care not to rush or let his lust guide him even if she could practically feel it pulsing in the air between them. He lightly outlined her curves with his index finger, and she was ready for more. Lucy crawled further up the bed until she could rest her head on the pillows while never breaking eye contact with him. She wanted him to go to her, and he read her mind.

Tim loomed over her with his palms pressed into the bed on either side of her. He worried she might tell him to stop like everything between them had been a mistake, and he was going to lose her.

His brain was clearly working overtime, so she framed his face with her hands and pulled him closer before hoarsely promising him, “I love you. I’ll love you forever.” She tugged at her dress to slip past her thighs and brought his hips down to meet hers.

With hearts and skin equally laid bare, there was no fear in sight; he had nothing to be scared of. Reaffirmed that he was never going to lose her no matter what made him bolder. “I love you, too,” he murmured, which seemed to be an invitation for her to work on removing his belt in the microscopic space between them; he would not dare to pull away to make the task easier when closeness was what they both needed more than anything else. Candlelight from the side table glinted in his periphery, but he kept his focus squarely on Lucy’s face, on the subtle quirks of her lips and the warmth in her eyes. 

“Are you gonna help me take your pants off or make me do all of the work?” She wondered, mildly frustrated their night was not progressing as quickly as she expected.

“You’re normally a more patient person.”

“We’ve waited long enough.”

He could not disagree with her logic, so he sat up to fumble with his jeans before dropping back on top of her in a way that made her half laugh and half squeal his name, so he buried his smile in her neck then kissed her there. Though it was supposed to be new terrain for them as a couple, he had been wrapped up with her enough times that it felt familiar to trail his fingers and lips over her skin even when he came upon unfamiliar spots. No more barriers. No more pent-up longing. No more invisible lines. No more secrets.

Only one last mystery to solve: how they fit together.

“Condoms are in the drawer,” she said, her voice raw from all of the tenderness he had shown her. She was nowhere close to satisfied with their contact; she needed more. “We’re finally using our wedding present.”

“Finally,” he husked, which carried a number of different meanings, and gave her a feverish final kiss- the last one before the next chapter.

The flickering candles painted them in warm shadows with tiny flames reflecting the hunger in their unbreakable stare and silhouettes casted over where they merged. Time blurred into an unhurried dance of hands and lips, though it was not perfect or choreographed, it was real even in its clumsiness. And though they spoke very little, touch and eye contact sufficed to move together over the rustling sheets to build toward a crescendo of closeness they had denied themselves for long enough.

Barely breathing for the best reason, Lucy positioned Tim’s head on her shoulder as they panted together in almost darkness as most of the candles had burned out. She raked her fingers through his sweaty hair and grinned. “Why the hell did we wait so long to do that?”

He had not expected those to be her first words afterwards, and it made him chuckle. “We had good reasons. I can’t remember them right now, but they were good.” He nibbled at her earlobe, making her purr.

“Next time, we aren’t waiting so long.”

“Next time might be tomorrow.”

She tugged at his wrist to read his watch. “Next time can be in five minutes. I have to call Tamara first to check in on Fiona.”

“Fiona is fine.”

“You trust Tamara with our daughter that much?”

“I trust you, and you trust Tamara, so, yes.”

“Maybe we should still call just to hear her voice.”

“Okay.” He slid off of the bed and rooted around for his jeans to locate his phone. As he climbed back over to her, he dialed Tamara on speaker.

“You should only be calling me if one of you is dead,” Tamara answered the call saying.

“Is Fiona asleep?” Lucy asked.

“Was it that bad? Bradford, I expected better from you,” Tamara replied.

Tim looked to Lucy for the answer, and she smiled sweetly next to him, which was good enough for him. “If our daughter’s still awake, can we talk to her?”

“How do you know…fine,” Tamara groaned and handed the phone to Fiona. “Your mommy and daddy want to say ‘hi’ from their sleepover for some reason that’s completely beyond me.”

“Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy!” Fiona shouted into the phone while putting it up to her ear. “Aunt Tamara put whipped cream right into my mouth. It was so funny!”

“That does sound funny,” Lucy replied while mentally noting she needed to yell at Tamara in the morning. “It’s late, honey, why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Aunt Tamara said we could watch another princess movie.”

Tim frowned.

“Are you having fun?” Lucy asked, hoping the answer would make him less upset.

“So much fun!” Fiona answered gladly.

“Good. You can have more fun tomorrow. Right now, I need you to go upstairs and sleep. Be a good girl for us, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy,” Fiona yawned. “Are you having fun on your sleepover.”

“Lots of fun, but we miss you,” she answered and wished there was a way to conceal the flush rising in her cheeks.

“Can Kojo have a sleepover in my bed?”

“Tonight and only for tonight, he can stay in your bed, but promise me you won’t stay up all night.”

“Promise.”

“Alright. We love you. Can you give the phone back to your aunt Tamara, please?”

“I heard. I’ll go take her to bed now, God, you’re such a mom,” Tamara said even before she could be chastised. “The kid and I wanted to chill. You can’t be the only one having a good time…Was it a good time? Angela asked for updates, and I bet ten bucks you would call to check in, so I’ve got some money to collect before you get mad.”

“Oh, I’m already mad,” Tim replied gruffly, then Lucy wrapped her limbs around him, so he exhaled and said, “We’ll deal with you later. Get our daughter to sleep. You’re messing with her schedule.”

“We’re going, we’re going.” Tamara outstretched her hand for Fiona to take so they could get off of the living room couch together. “Will I get a straight answer about how things went or not?”

Lucy could tell Tim was averting her gaze on purpose, so she cupped his chin to tilt his face towards her and said, “If I were evaluating him, I would say he passed.”

“Just passed?” He asked incredulously.

“I’m holding further comments until the end of the night.”

“But if the night isn’t over, how do you know I passed?”

“Like Plain Clothes Day. You knew I would pass before I finished my shift.”

“This isn’t Plain Clothes Day.”

“It’s more like No Clothes Day.” She settled her hand on the small of his bare back with a teasing smirk.

“Okay, I’m hanging up before this gets too gross and my ears bleed. Bye,” Tamara sputtered rapidly and ended the call.

“Just passed?” Tim repeated, outraged.

“At least you didn’t wash out,” Lucy shot back. She took the phone out of his hand and tossed it towards the nightstand.

“Do I get to give you an evaluation?”

“Sure. How’d I do, sir?”

His grading curve was a little skewed when she sprawled her naked self out on top of him. “Y-you did good.” She did not seem too pleased with his answer if the way she raised her eyebrow was any indication, so he amended to, “Great, you were great.” Her hands drifted lower on him, and he decided, “Better than great.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” She kissed him only long enough to leave him wanting more and whispered, “Since it isn’t past our bedtime, what should we do now?”

“I’ve got more to do to make sure I get a good evaluation.”

Lucy smirked. “I was kidding.”

“That’s too bad, ‘cause I’m not tired.” He gazed up at her hungrily.

“Neither am I. Don’t judge me, but I had a dream about this one time after we kissed for work.”

“I did, too.”

“You did?” He nodded meekly, which made her feel more relieved. “I can’t believe we managed to deny this for as long as we did.”

“For every day we spent holding back, I say we make up for it starting right now,” Tim proposed then captured her lips unendingly.

Chapter Text

Still mostly asleep, Tim felt light drops against his chin, his cheeks, and his neck, and then there was one to his Adam’s apple that made him hum.

“Good morning,” Lucy whispered, delighted.

He partially opened his eyes to the sight of her on top of him, light filtering through the window to hit her like a spotlight, her hair falling around them in messy waves, and aside from the sheets cocooning them, she was not wearing any clothing, and to complete the look, she was sporting probably one of her biggest smiles she had ever given him.

“Morning,” he rasped and cleared his throat.

She continued with her task of pecking every square centimeter of his face while grinning.

“What are you doing?” He asked as his stomach did something funny.

“Kissing you,” she answered, and she heard in her own voice how positively giddy she sounded.

“You missed a spot.”

Before she could ask where he was referring to, he lightly cupped her chin to redirect her face until he could slot their lips together. Lucy only allowed herself a few moments to get lost in him before pulling away and pouting, “You’re ruining my system.”

“There’s a system?”

“I wanted to make sure I’ve kissed every inch of your whole entire face.”

“You’ve done that before.”

“Is that a one time only thing?”

“No,” he smiled, “I guess not.”

“Well, now I don’t know where I left off, so I have to start all over again.”

“I have a better idea.” He grabbed her by her hips to switch their positions and pulled her legs in close to feel enveloped by her.

She squeezed her thighs to urge him to crane his neck in the tiny space between them for another longer kiss that coupled with how his fingers danced along her legs made her feel lightheaded. “I love you,” she sighed, and then his lips were back on hers. She lost track of time as their slow, tender movements allowed everything else to be forgotten…

Until she wrenched her mouth away and gasped, “Fiona.”

“She’s with Tamara, which means that for the first time, probably ever, there’s no one and nothing to interrupt us,” he pointed out. He thought they could spend a lazy morning in bed taking advantage of their lack of clothes and obligations, but she frowned instead of kissing him. “You want to go home already?”

“I never want to leave this bed,” she admitted as she raked her fingers through the short hairs of his fade, “but I miss our little girl.”

“How about we call her? Will that make you feel better?”

“Yes!”

Tim tried rolling off of her to search for a phone, but her legs firmly hooked around his waist prevented any movement. “I need to find a phone.”

“Be quick.” She did not want to lose his warmth for more than a second, and it took far longer than that, maybe even a while minute, before he settled himself back on top of her with his phone between his fingers. Once he unlocked it and dialed Tamara, she kissed him until there was an answer on the other end.

“Good morning,” Tamara said into the phone smugly. “How’s life at the love shack? Did I use that right? I looked up what old people say when they hook up, and that’s all I could find that sounded kid appropriate.”

“I’m not old,” Lucy insisted.

“You’re not, but your man is.”

Tim rolled his eyes, unsurprised by the barb.

“He’s not old,” Lucy said and gazed at him before lovingly saying, “He’s perfect.”

“Oh, boy, that’s the extra serotonin talking,” Tamara teased. “When can I expect you to return from the love shack? I still haven’t gotten an answer on whether I said that right.”

“Yes, you used that right,” Tim confirmed.

“Ah ha! So you ARE old,” Tamara replied, amused that he fell into her trap.

Lucy snickered. “Leave him alone today. We don’t know when we’ll be back. Are you okay to watch her for maybe another hour?”

“Or two hours,” Tim proposed with a quirk of his eyebrow as he looked down at Lucy beneath him.

Lucy bit her lip as her cheeks burned.

“Sure. Fiona wants to drive again, so we’ll play with my car, and then I’ll take her with me when I run errands.”

“We won’t be gone that long.”

“You have four years of pent up sexual tension all coming up right now. I don’t think you’re coming home any time soon, which is totally fine with me, because Fiona and I always have a good time.”

“No more whipped cream straight in her mouth,” Lucy said.

“Too late. We had cereal and whipped cream for breakfast,” Tamara responded.

“We need to have a serious conversation about what you do with our daughter,” Tim said.

“Later, babe,” Lucy whispered. She tilted her head up knowing that was all it would take for him to kiss her, so she smiled when his mouth met hers.

The silence went on long enough that Tamara asked, “Did you forget I’m on the phone?”

“N-no,” Lucy sputtered out. “Can we talk to Fiona?”

“Sure, but don’t believe everything she says,” Tamara warned before handing over the phone. “Hey, kid, your mommy and daddy are calling for you.”

“Mommy! Daddy!” Fiona exclaimed enthusiastically as she grabbed the device. “We lost Kojo on our walk.”

“You what?” Lucy asked, alarmed.

“I let her hold the leash, and she let it go,” Tamara explained loudly so her voice would carry through the phone. “But we got him back.”

“My best friend went missing! I was so scared,” Fiona shared.

“I’m so sorry, honey,” Lucy said sympathetically. “You got him back, though, because best friends never leave you no matter how far away they are.”

“Kojo knows not to run away again. I told him, and then I gave him treats,” Fiona replied.

“How many treats?” Tim inquired.

“I don’t know,” Fiona said. “He gave me lots of kisses, though.” She went to sit on the ground and scratch behind Kojo’s ears. “Aunt Tamara says I get to drive him to the grocery store later. That’s the big place with all of the food. Do you think she knows all of the names like Daddy?”

“She probably does,” Lucy assured her. “Are you doing okay, sweetheart? Do you miss us?”

“No! I’m having fun, Mommy! Aunt Tamara let me put on a pretty dress when we went on our walk with Kojo.”

“Did she tie a bow in your hair?”

“She can’t. That’s Daddy’s job. He has special jobs. He talks to the animals for me, and he ties my bows.”

“That’s right. Your daddy is very good at those things…and a few other things,” Lucy added the last part rather flirtatiously to make Tim grin.

“How much longer is your sleepover?” Fiona wondered.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be home before the moon comes out,” Tim promised her. “Aunt Tamara can tie your bow just this once.”

“But it won’t be as good,” Fiona disagreed.

“No one’s as good as your daddy,” Lucy agreed.

“I’m wearing my other bow,” Fiona said and tapped her gold bow shaped pendant her parents gifted to her, which was arguably her most treasured possession.

Tamara silently laughed at Lucy’s obvious innuendo. “Hey, Fi, tell your parents ‘goodbye’, so they can get back to their sleepover.”

“Not yet,” Fiona said and clutched the phone tighter. “What’s a love shack?”

Lucy was quick to answer, “That’s nothing.”

“Is it where you go on Love Day?”

“Actually, yes, wow, you’re a smart kid,” Tamara replied.

“Can we have Love Day again?” Fiona requested.

“That’s what your parents are doing right now,” Tamara answered.

“Yay! Do I get hugs?”

“I’m going to give you such a big hug when we get home,” Lucy promised. “I miss you.”

“Can I see you now?” She pressed the camera button that Nell sometimes used to video call with her parents.

“No! No! Not right now!” Tim said and ensured Lucy did not accidentally answer a FaceTime request in their state of undress. “Sorry, munchkin, but, uh, now’s not a good time for that.”

Tamara covered her mouth as she snickered.

“Okay,” Fiona replied only slightly disappointed.

“We love you. We’ll see you in a little,” Tim guaranteed her.

“We love you so much, Fi,” Lucy added. “Bye.”

“Bye, Mommy. Bye, Daddy.” She gave the phone back to her aunt Tamara.

“You’re not allowed to be mad at me, because I’m babysitting for free, and think of all of the serotonin,” Tamara reminded them to avoid being admonished.

“How come you’re always so responsible, and then when we trust with our kid, all hell breaks loose?” Lucy wondered.

“I want to make sure she has fun, and I’m not going to be another adult in her life that tells her ‘no’. I’m sure all of her foster parents were like that, and I know you’re her parents, so you have to sometimes, but I don’t. A little whipped cream, an extra movie, and playing dress up isn’t so bad.”

Lucy felt a pang in her chest as she thought about that. “You’re right. I mean, I do want you to be responsible with her, but I’m glad she has you to have fun with. Thank you.”

“No problem. I’ll happily be one of your references for your adoption.”

“What references?” Tim inquired.

“It’s on the forms. I saw it last night. Basically, you’re supposed to list people that can vouch for you as good parents,” Tamara explained. “You need three.”

“What three people do we trust to tell Social Services that we’re Fiona’s parents?” Tim wondered.

“Hello? I just said I’ll be a reference,” Tamara reminded them.

“We can talk about it later,” Lucy decided. “That’s not exactly what I want to talk about right now.”

“Is something on your mind?” Tim asked.

“Right, sure, talking,” Tamara said sarcastically. “Have fun talking. I’ll see you later…wait, Fi, remember what I told you to say when your mommy and daddy called?”

Fiona lit up as a smile overtook her face. “Princess kiss! Princess kiss!”

“You got it,” Tim guaranteed.

“No! I have to see it!” Fiona whined and pressed the button to request the video call.

“I‘ll give your mommy a princess kiss when we get home. I’ll show you then. How’s that?”

“Two princess kisses,” she negotiated.

“Just to be safe, I’ll give her three for you,” Tim said. “Bye, Fi. I love you.”

“Bye, Daddy! I love you!” Fiona replied brightly and ended the call. She clapped happily and looked up at Tamara to report, “My daddy loves my mommy so much!”

“He sure does. It made him miserable until he gave your mommy princess kisses,” Tamara replied.

“What does that mean?” Fiona could not even fathom a world before her parents kissed each other.

“How do I put this in a way you’ll understand. I tried telling you last night, but you insisted I read a book.” She collected her thoughts as she lowered herself onto the kitchen floor next to her. “Once upon a time, your mommy met your daddy at work. They helped people together as partners, and while they did that, your mommy fell in love with your daddy…or was it your daddy that fell first? I’m not really sure, actually. Ask your parents to tell you that part. Anyways, they pretended that they didn’t love each other.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re silly, and they love raising my blood pressure.”

“Then what happened?”

“Well, apparently, even though it doesn’t make all that much sense, they had to kiss for work.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, but good thing they did, because they figured out what everyone else already knew, which was that they really love each other a gross amount.”

“Then what happened?”

“You came along, and they had to stop being silly to take you home.”

“Daddy’s always silly. He’s a silly goose prince.”

“Is that what your mommy calls him?”

“Yeah,” Fiona giggled. “He’s a prince, because Mommy’s a princess, and they love each other.”

“Where were you years ago? They made everything so complicated,” Tamara groaned. “You have to keep reminding them about their princess kisses, okay? They’re not allowed to forget how much they love each other. We’ve come too far to go backwards.”

“I tell them all the time, and sometimes, Mommy gives him a prince kiss even when I don’t say anything.”

“Of course she does,” she scoffed. “Your mommy is pathetically in love with your daddy.”

“What does that mean?”

“Everyone in your house is about to be very happy for at least the next few days if not longer.”

“I’m always happy here.”

Tamara’s heart thumped. “That’s great,” she replied, her voice full of emotion upon hearing another girl find her home after struggling within the foster system much like she did but much later in life.

“Why do you look sad? Do you want a hug?” Fiona offered, then reached next to her to loop her arms around her aunt as best as she could.

“I’m not sad, kid. I’m really, really happy.” She let Fiona hug her for a moment then pulled back and asked, “What do you say we go out and have some fun?”

“Yay! You’re the best aunt of all of my aunts.”

“Let me get your aunt Angela on the phone, and then I need you to say that again.”

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Breathlessly, Tim dropped onto his back on the bed with a smile on his face.

“That was more than a princess kiss,” Lucy pointed out, not that she minded.

He used his elbow to prop up one of his sides. “The princess kiss was for Fiona, and then almost everything after that was for me.”

“Almost everything?”

“That one thing was for you.” He wiggled his eyebrow at her.

“I can pay back the favor later. First, I need coffee.”

He exhaled heavily. “Yeah, I could use some, too. Give me the biggest mug there is.”

“I’m not bringing you coffee. You’re coming with me.”

“You know how to work the coffee maker.”

“That’s not why.” She slowly shimmied towards the edge of the mattress. “I don’t want to leave you for a second, and besides, I’m sure we can find something to do while the coffee is brewing.”

Her coy insinuation was enough to zap away any of his tiredness and fuel him to climb out of bed. He jumped into his boxer briefs then lunged for his shirt, but he was not fast enough, and Lucy grabbed it first. She made eye contact with him as she buttoned it up, which was somehow a more attractive sight than he ever expected.

“Yesterday, I promised I would wear this for you without pants on if you came home on time, and then you did, but I never got around to it.”

“I got you out of all of your clothes, so I’m not complaining.” His fingers found the hem and slightly rucked it up to touch her skin. “Best thing is no clothes, but second best is when you’re wearing mine.”

“This is my shirt now, actually,” she declared.

“We live together. I can take it back whenever I want.”

“Perfect. Then I can steal your clothes whenever I want.”

“Does that mean I can steal yours off of you whenever I want?”

“I think that can be arranged.” She grinned as he flashed her an undeniable smile that made her whole body feel warm. “I really like that we live together.”

“Carpooling to work is convenient.”

She playfully whacked him. “It’s not because we carpool. I like that you’re the first thing I see every morning, and I love that you’re warm and cuddly, and I really like that we have a home that we made together. That’s really special to me.”

“I knew you’d like that house. I walked in for the tour, and I knew I was going to buy it for you.”

“As perfect as our house is, my home is with you and Fiona no matter what four walls we have around us.”

“I’m so looking forward to when she’s adopted. I hate that Social Services is judging us. I know it’s Rachel, but still. Fiona is our kid, and we’re waiting on some paperwork to make if official.”

“We’re a step closer. Submitting the adoption application is a good thing.”

“Yeah, that’s true. I wonder if we’ll have to jump through the same hoops the next time or if the process will be a little easier.”

“The next time?” She asked, amused.

“We don’t have to adopt again if you want to have another kid the old fashioned way.”

“I don’t really care where our next kid comes from. As long as you’re their dad, I’ll be happy.” She pulled his face down to kiss him then noted softly, “I’m glad we’re on the same page about having more kids.”

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

“True. We’re very good at that now.”

“We’re very good at lots of things.”

She shook her head. “Don’t start anything else until we make coffee.”

“Fine,” he groaned. Tim walked out of the bedroom and remembered that his old house was half packed with moving boxes littered everywhere. “Did we pack the coffeemaker?”

“Crap, I think I did.”

“You don’t remember?”

“How could I when you’re the reason I haven’t been able to focus?”

“I think we’ve been focused on the right things.” He smirked. It was surreal to be in his old house where a different version of him had a completely different life, which she had been a part of in a different capacity, but everything, including his address, had changed, and he was staring at his half dressed former rookie thinking about pinning her against a wall instead of drilling her on her rook book. He preferred his new reality.

Lucy chortled. “We’re going to get this place packed up eventually.” She opened a box and eyed the contents. “The sooner we do, the sooner we can sell it.”

“This place deserves a proper send off,” he said as he looked through the half packed box on a stool abutting the kitchen island. “Got it!” He pulled the coffee maker out to show it to her.

“Last night was supposed to be the send off.”

“Are we really done, though?” He wondered as he plugged the machine in.

“What are you thinking?”

He filled the carafe with water and placed a filter and beans in as he explained, “This house deserves more than one night.”

“We can’t spend too many nights away from our daughter. I could barely handle one, and that was because we really needed to do that for us.”

“I think I’ll be in the mood night or day.”

She was not following his train of thought. “In the mood for what exactly?”

He pressed the button so that the coffee could begin to brew then turned his attention to Lucy. Tim wasted no time picking her up and setting her on the counter before stepping between her legs. “I think we should say goodbye to all of my favorite spots in the house. Like this counter right here? Means a lot to me.”

“Does it?” She chided.

“Mhm,” he hummed then pointed to the living room. “And that couch? I really liked that thing. And don’t get me started on that wall over there.”

“A wall? You need to say goodbye to a wall?”

“Definitely. And the laundry room. And the shower.”

“Tim,” she scoffed. “You sound ridiculous. Those are all places…oh.”

He nodded when she connected the dots. “All the places I’m planning to give you princess kisses in,” he said flirtatiously.

“Wanna start right now?”

“I thought you said we would have to wait until after you had coffee.”

She smiled. “I changed my mind.” There was something oddly romantic about claiming his mouth in the middle of a kitchen. He wanted her everywhere. He wanted her first and foremost, which was special in its own right. Plus, his desire for her could not be contained in one room of the house as all of their time in their laundry room proved.

Though his tongue lazed over her lips, his fingers worked quickly to unbutton the shirt that was formerly his for access to all of her skin. He had spent countless hours in that kitchen cooking food, grabbing a beer from the fridge, bribing Kojo with treats, and getting glasses of water in the middle of his most sleepless nights, but no moment was better than when she pulled away, breaking their kiss, only to beam at him and express her love for him with her eyes. Words were unnecessary when he knew they felt the same way about each other. Tim pulled her closer to the edge of the counter and dove back in for another easy kiss that turned more frenzied as their bodies aligned effortlessly. Her fingers slid into his hair, tugging just enough to make him groan against her mouth. 

The sound sent a ripple of heat down her spine, which quickly became a thrill she wanted to chase over and over again.

His hands roamed with slow purpose with his palms skimming along the curve of her thighs before gripping firmly at her waist. His hands were not only there to hold her. He meant to claim her as his source of bliss for the rest of his life and no one could take her from him.

She let her head fall back to try catching her breath, but he fused his mouth to her neck, causing her lungs to continue to malfunction. Breathing could never be more important than feeling utterly consumed by him.

Tim was tired in the best way thanks to Lucy, and he loved it. He let out a husky chuckle while his teeth grazed over her jawline. “I’m gonna miss this kitchen counter.”

“You don’t like the one at home?”

“I don’t like that we don’t exactly have a lot of privacy at our home.”

“We’ll make it work. There’s always mornings before Fiona and our future kids wake up.”

His finger lightly traced the slope of her bare waist as he brought his lips close to hers but not quite touching. “You wake me up way better than coffee.” He kissed her for a long second then added, “And you taste better.”

She smirked mischievously and tugged him closer. “Good thing I don’t plan on letting you start your day without a refill.”

“Again?”

“You heard Tamara. We’re working through a lot here with all of those years we weren’t doing this.”

“She was also kinda right for saying I’m old, not that you’ll ever tell her that, but, uhh, I need a few minutes.”

“That’s okay. Kiss me until you’re ready. I just don’t want to keep feeling you.”

It was rather easy to oblige to her request when that was all he wanted, too.

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Lucy knew the only reason she managed to leave Tim’s old house with him by her side was because she really wanted to see their daughter; otherwise, she might have stayed there forever. He innocently placed his hand on her knee once they were seated in his truck, and she blushed thinking about everywhere his fingers had been on her body. “Distract me.”

“From what?” He asked.

“From thinking about last night…or this morning.”

“Or this afternoon.”

She checked her watch in disbelief. “We stayed way longer than I thought.”

“Coffee wasn’t supposed to take that long, and then coffee made me tired, so went back to bed, and then I didn’t feel tired anymore.”

“Are we bad parents for being away from our kid for more than twelve hours?”

“Relax, Luce. She’s probably having a blast with Tamara. Besides, we’re allowed to have alone time. That’s how some people become parents.”

“Well, we aren’t ready to become parents again just yet.”

Though he was not in any rush, he was curious about her theoretical timeline. “When do you think we would be ready to seriously consider having another kid?”

“We haven’t formally adopted our first one, and you’re already thinking about the next one?”

“I just wonder every once in a while what it might be like to have two or three kids running into our room to wake us up and two or three kids to tuck in with bedtime stories. That’s all.” She clicked her tongue, which was not the reaction he expected. He stopped at the end of the street, his brakes screeching. “Did I say the wrong thing?”

“Yes,” she answered and leaned over the center console. “That had the opposite effect of a good distraction,” she whispered and kissed him adoringly. “The only thing better than having our one perfect kid is having one or two more…someday.”

“Someday,” he said like a promise, and for the first time, he had a discussion about future kids with someone that actually would follow through on the plans made with him, which prompted him to capture her lips for a while.

“Let’s go home, babe,” she rasped, a bit more emotional than she realized about planning a family with him in a more thoughtful way than when they made the snap decision to foster Fiona and a more real way than their previous hypothetical discussions about some way off future with a mystery partner.

He drove her to their home where their kid lived and also where their future kids would live someday, too, and he parked in the driveway with a perfect view of their rose bush. Tim picked one after he jumped down from his truck and presented it to her.

“Our flowers are pretty much in full bloom,” she noted and sniffed the red rose. “Growth is a really beautiful thing.”

“Mommy!” Fiona shouted while running out of the house and right into her arms after catching sight of her out the window.

Lucy gathered her up in her arms and swore she had grown over night. “Oh my goodness, I missed you so much.” She peppered her light brown hair with kisses as she squeezed her daughter tightly like she could not let her slip away.

“Mommy,” she chuckled. “That tickles.”

She eased her hold slightly to look at her. “Are you sure you were okay without us?”

“Aunt Tamara let me drive her car, and we walked around the whole big grocery store, and then we got more whipped cream!” Fiona reported happily.

“So you didn’t miss us at all?”

“No. Can I get hugs from Daddy now?”

“Sure.” Lucy tried not to be offended as she handed their daughter off to Tim, who tickled her as he carried her inside. She watched Fiona laugh with him and felt fuzzy all over like usual, but there was also an undercurrent of passion that was newer and stronger than ever before.

Tamara scrutinized the way Lucy stared at Tim and had to point out, “I don’t know how it’s possible, but you love him more now.”

“He’s the best,” Lucy murmured, awed, and held onto the pendant he gifted her where it sat between her collar bones.

“I bet your husband feels the same way.”

“He couldn’t possibly love me this much.” Every drop of blood, every nerve ending, every organ, maybe even every one of her cells had been replaced with complete and utter adoration and infatuation, and she could never change back, not once it had been embedded in her DNA.

“Did you just let me call him your husband without lying and saying you got married for Fiona?”

“We…sorta talked about it last night.”

“How did you find the time?” Tamara mocked.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “We said getting married wasn’t totally for Fiona, and I’m really glad we were honest with ourselves and each other.”

“So is this officially not a paper marriage anymore?”

“I’m not saying that. We…we’ll talk about it some more later.”

“Do me a favor and don’t talk so much.”

“What? Why?”

“You’ve been pining for that man longer than Fiona’s been alive. It will do you some good to let your bodies do the talking. Don’t think and overthink so much. Let yourself be happy with him.”

“It wasn’t love at first sight. When we first met, I respected him, but I didn’t really like him, and now he makes me feel like this?” She could barely believe it, but if someone had opened up her chest, they would find his and their daughter’s names etched all over her heart. Lucy went up to him and cupped his elbow. With Fiona still in his arms, they were not as close as they had been for the night and morning, but it would suffice for a few moments. “Hey, Fi, remember how your daddy promised I would get princess kisses?”

“Three princess kisses! Hurry up, Daddy, I’m waiting.”

“Yeah, I’m waiting,” Lucy said with a playful lilt.

“She’s pushy like you,” Tim teased.

“Be quiet,” Lucy whispered harshly, and then he angled his head to kiss her torturously lightly and quickly when she wanted more.

“One!” Fiona counted. She watched them gaze at each other, so she prompted, “Another one!” When they obliged, she squealed, “Two!” And then the final one made her kick her feet with glee. “Three! Yay!”

Tim set their daughter down to draw Lucy in. “I promised Fi I would ride her bike with her, which means she’ll be extra tired. Which means…we’ll get to be alone tonight.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Fiona clapped her hands together, her hyper blood was whooshing through her veins. “Okay, Daddy, I need you to tie my bow, and then we can play, and  then I need Mommy to read me a story.”

Lucy directed her focus to Tamara to ask, “How much sugar have you given her?”

“Free babysitting. You get what you pay for,” was Tamara’s answer, which made Tim and Lucy roll their eyes in unison. Sometimes, it was scary how in sync they were.

By the time he finished tying Fiona’s green bow in her hair, he had expected Tamara to leave, but she showed no signs of making her exit, which was not unexpected, but rather sweet how Tamara had formed an attachment with Fiona. Tim held Fiona’s hand to walk together outside where the sky was darkening. “We can’t ride our bikes for long, okay?” He told his daughter.

“Okay. Can we have whipped cream for dinner?”

“You remind me a lot of when your mommy has had too much coffee.”

Though Fiona did not really understand what he meant, she giggled anyways.

Lucy volunteered, “I’ll stand on the other end of the block to turn her around so she can ride back to you.”

“The other end of the block?” Tim repeated, not exactly sure why she suddenly wanted to create distance between them.

She let him strap their daughter’s helmet on then whispered in his ear her explanation, “Being a great dad is super sexy. I’m barely keeping it together right now.”

“Hold that thought for later.”

Tamara went to stand with Lucy at one end of the block while Tim was at the other reminding Fiona how to pedal and stop. She took one look at Lucy’s besotted expression and had to laugh. “If you stare it him like that for long enough, your eyes will turn into hearts permanently like a cartoon character’s.”

“He’s an incredible dad. He’s a fantastic kisser. Best I’ve ever had in bed. What isn’t he good at?” Lucy mused.

“Making a first move, confessing his feelings for you in a timely manner, saying ‘no’ to Fi, keeping his hands off you…”

“Stop!” Lucy giggled. “I mean it when I say he’s perfect.”

“Look how fast I’m going!” Fiona yelled as she whizzed down the end of the block. Her hair blew in the air, and her smile was bright.

“You’re so fast!” Lucy complimented her and outstretched her hands to help Fiona brake. Before helping to turn her around, she bent her head low and asked, “Can you make a super special delivery for me and give this to your daddy, please?” She pressed her lips to her daughter’s cheek, which made her chuckle.

“Super special delivery!” Fiona proclaimed as she peddled back to her father. She leaned forward over the handlebars to give him his kiss. “That’s from Mommy.”

“Thank you.” His eyes snapped over to the other end of the block where he could swear Lucy’s were twinkling at him. “Can you give her this from me?” He requested and dropped two kisses, one to each of her cheeks.

“Yay! Delivery!” Fiona shouted as she biked over to her mom to bring her dad’s kisses.

Lucy blushed as her daughter gave her two pecks. “Thank you, my love. Can you send another one back?”

“Okay!” She said with an amused laugh. “This is fun!”

After the fourth kiss delivery back, Tamara put a hand on her hip and asked, “Why don’t you just go over there and kiss him? I can help Fiona turn around on her bike.”

Lucy looked over, and his gaze met hers like he knew she was seeking him out. “God, if I kiss him right now, I won’t be able to stop,” she admitted with a mix of anguish and affection. Something dawned on her that changed her whole demeanor, “I never have to stop again. You can take over turning her.”

Fiona noticed after her mom accepted her kiss delivery that she was not given another one. “You don’t want to kiss Daddy anymore?”

“I do. I really, really want to kiss him all by myself,” Lucy answered.

She frowned, since she enjoyed being their delivery system, but when Fiona followed her mom who strutted over and took her dad into her arms to give him a long kiss, her lips curled upwards.

“Were you dissatisfied by the delivery service?” Tim wondered as he blinked away the sudden little haze brought on by how Lucy expertly slotted their lips together.

“No, our delivery service is phenomenal. I just wanted to give you one by myself.”

Fiona set her feet down on the pavement to bring her bike to a stop and asked, “What about me? Can I have more kisses?”

“You’re in luck,” Lucy said with a smile and folded forward to meet her daughter’s beautiful blue eyes, “your daddy and I have a million kisses just for you.”

She laughed and laughed as her parents gave her pecks all over her face.

Tamara stood there, somewhat emotional, watching the perfect family moment. She felt compelled to take a picture and emailed it to Rachel, because all kids in the foster system dream of finding a home with a loving family, and luckily, Fiona did.

Chapter Text

When Tim and Lucy finished tucking Fiona into bed and bade her goodnight, they stood by the light switch and shared a quick kiss like they did every night, but what had changed was that once they shut the door of their daughter’s room, they crashed into each other in the hallway and kept their tongues tangled together as they made their way down the corridor, and into their own room where they made quick work of locking their door and getting comfortable on their mattress. He appreciated that their evenings together were no longer filled with quiet glances in the bathroom while brushing their teeth or settling on opposite sides of the bed anymore; he much preferred being wrapped up with her between the sheets.

She pulled away slightly but remained flush on top of him when she asked, “Are you sure you’re not tired? We had a long day at work.”

“If you’re tired, we can stop.”

“No.” She brushed her thumbs over his cheek bones. “I’ve been looking forward to this all day. That and hanging out with Fi after shift.”

“Well, now that she’s asleep, it’s just the two of us.” He grinned and silently tugged at the drawstring of her pants to silently urge her he would like to take them off.

Lucy captured his lips while their hands started working together until…

“Mommy?” Fiona jiggled the door knob that would not budge. “Daddy?”

“Crap,” Tim whispered while she rolled off of him. He went over to their bedroom door and opened it to find Fiona clutching her stuffed bear. As he crouched down, he softly asked, “Hey, munchkin. Are you okay?”

“I want bedtime hugs.” She rose her arms high so that her dad would pick her up, and when he did, she clung to him.

“Bedtime hugs with you are my favorite,” he said and walked her over to the bed. He set her down on the mattress, and she looked up at him grinning with her bright blue eyes sparkling. 

“I thought you liked hugging alone with Mommy.”

“Not as much as we love hugging you,” Lucy said and gestured for their daughter to crawl up the bed towards her.

Fiona waited for her dad to climb in next to her and nestled into his side, then she picked her head up to suggest, “Mommy says you kiss when you hug alone. You can still do that while I’m here.”

Tim snickered. “Not tonight. Let’s all go to sleep.”

Fiona wrinkled her nose, her curiosity winning out over her tiredness. “Do bears kiss?”

Lucy had to think about it. “That’s a good question.” She twisted to grab her phone and Googled it. The search results made her smile. “Aww, they do, and it’s adorable. Look.” She showed the images to her daughter and Tim.

“I love bears!” Fiona swooned.

“Me, too, now. And you’re the cutest baby bear,” Lucy mused then peppered her daughter’s face with kisses until she giggled. “Bears sleep, too, so close your eyes, please.”

“Okay,” she sighed, her energy too depleted to disagree, so she cozied up with her dad.

Lucy scooted over and banded an arm across her daughter where she could hold her close and also hold onto Tim.

“I know this wasn’t we planned,” he murmured.

“That’s okay. I love bedtime hugs with my favorite people.” She strained her neck to barely graze his lips as a their final good night before drifting off.

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Fiona shook her head as her mom brought her into her bedroom. “I don’t wanna nap!”

“I know you don’t, sweetie, but you have a play date later with Jack, and you need to sleep before then,” Lucy reasoned.

“Daddy doesn’t want me to nap. He wants me to walk Kojo with him, so we can hold hands and sing together. Kojo loves when we sing.”

“You can sing and holds hands with your daddy later. After you nap, which is something your daddy definitely wants you to do.”

“But, Mommy!”

“Your daddy will give me a princess kiss if you take your nap.”

“Oh, okay!” Fiona agreed enthusiastically.

“You’re just like your daddy,” Lucy mumbled. “Tim! Can you get in here?”

He poked his head into their daughter’s room and asked, “Is someone awake when they should be napping?”

“No,” Fiona lied obviously.

“I promised her a princess kiss, so come over here,” Lucy said and hooked her finger to beckon him.

“You know, kid, you’re the best thing to ever happen to us in more ways than one,” he said then bent forward to press his lips to Lucy’s gently.

“What about a bear kiss now?” Fiona requested.

Lucy scoffed. “What’s the difference between a bear kiss and a princess kiss?”

“You heard her. Now there are bear kisses,” he mumbled and slid their lips together for a little longer the second time.

Fiona clapped. “I like bear kisses!”

“Me, too,” Tim agreed smugly.

Lucy blushed. “Okay, we made a deal. Your turn to nap.” She pulled the blanket up high and snugly wrapped their daughter up to her shoulder. “We love you.” She brushed her lips over her daughter’s forehead and smiled as she watched Fiona shut her eyes.

Tim took Lucy by the hand and led her out of their daughter’s room. Once they were in the hallway, he backed her against a wall and captured her lips until she broke away.

“Uhh, didn’t you just get a princess kiss AND a bear kiss back there?” She inquired.

“Those were for Fiona. I want some for me.”

“How many do you want?” She asked quietly as she leaned in to bring their mouths close enough to feel his breath but not quite taste him yet. “Should we count?”

“Fiona can’t count that high.”

She smirked. “I want a few for me, too.”

“Yeah?” He husked lowly.

“Mhm,” she hummed as her pointer finger glided up to the base of his throat, making him let out a shaky breath. “See, I had plans for us last night before Fiona showed up.”

“Her coming into our room was definitely not part of the plan, but now that we know about bear kisses, it was worth it.”

“As if we needed another excuse.”

“I need more excuses, actually.”

She giggled. “No, you don’t.”

“I do.”

“Look, we get to fit more than princess kisses in when we can, but don’t get a lot of time. Fi keeps us pretty busy. I think the only time we’re guaranteed to be by ourselves is when she’s napping or when I’m in the shower, because she hates showers and only likes baths.” She paused then realized something. “Wanna try out the shower together?”

“The shower?”

She nodded as her eyes glinted with desire. “Unless you want to take that walk with Kojo right now.”

“I sent him into the yard with a new indestructible chew toy. We have about thirty minutes before he destroys it and comes back inside.”

“Perfect,” she breathed and hauled him into their room, through the en suite bathroom, and over to the edge of the shower to turn the water on before they reached for each other’s clothes for speedy removal, which was a skill she was proud to develop with him.

Tim stepped under the warm cascade of water first, then he watched her stepped in. Some droplets mingled with her hair, and he swept her long locks off of her shoulder to look at her. To watch how goosebumps appeared as her body was caught between the cold at her back and the warmth of the water falling in front of her. To see her expression change with slight trepidation. To follow droplets with his eyes as they made trails down her chest. Almost instantly, the whole world outside was gone and all that remained was the steady rhythm of the water and their shallow breathing. “You okay?” He whispered.

“All of the lights are on.” There was no hiding anything in a fully lit room and not a single sheet or article of clothing to conceal anything.

“You don’t like the lights on?”

“I…” Her eyes dropped down to what she could inspect of her frame. “Don’t stare too long.”

He cupped her chin to bring her face back up to look at him. “Why?”

“You wouldn’t get it. You’re hot, and your body is perfect like it’s sculpted, and mine isn’t.”

“I’ve got scars all over, and you still find me perfect?”

“Of course I do.”

“So why do you think you aren’t? Why do you think I wouldn’t want to stare at my very hot girlfriend?”

“Tim…” She stopped breathing when his index finger traced the curve of her hip delicately. Her eyes darted away. She felt more exposed than ever by someone who had known her well for years, and she was unsure what to do next.

He was not always the best with his words, but he wanted to try. To bide himself some time to prepare himself, he stepped over to get her loofah and squeezed out a generous amount of her jasmine scented body wash. He took a deep breath and tilted his head to catch her eye. “How about I show you the parts of you I think are perfect?” Tim could tell she was self conscious, so he ran the loofah over her chest and said, “Well, let’s start with the obvious.”

She smiled despite herself.

“I like how your arms have gotten stronger now that you carry our girl around,” he explained and steadily spread suds over both of them from her shoulders to her wrists. “And you know I love touching you right here,” he explained before bringing the loofah to her waist line. “And here.” He moved down to her hips. Tim made extra circles around the spot to really punctuate where he would grip them to bring her close. “Oh, and I think this goes without saying,” he rumbled knowingly as his hand traveled down her lower back past her hips, and she shook with a silent laugh. “Any time you wear pants, I stare here, but it’s even better when you’re wearing shorts or no pants at all,” he explained and rubbed the loofah all over her thighs then dropped down to finish covering her legs in suds.

Each stroke was imbued with the sincerity of his love, and that was what made her completely speechless the entire time. Lucy thought the list was over, but he held her gaze as he stood up and glided the body wash over every centimeter of her back, and then a slow, purposeful path over her stomach that made her shiver, and then a little lower, and finally all the way up her throat all the while with utter fondness and reverence in his expression. Thankfully, he probably had not noticed she shed a tear or two with the shower spraying water everywhere.

“I’m not going to put this on your hair, because I think you would get mad, but I love your hair,” he combed his fingers through her matted locks. “And I didn’t forget about your face.” He set the loofah aside to caress her cheeks and surveyed the slope of her nose and her freckles before deciding, “I guess I have time to kiss your whole face.”

Her heart pounded, and she choked on her own breath when she tried to reply. She knew she cried as he took his time to press lingering kisses over her forehead, down the bridge of her nose, across her chin, and around her cheeks.

“Did I miss a spot?” He asked.

She shook her head, because he had covered every centimeter of her with body wash, or his hands, or his lips. He loved her. He loved every part of her.

“Then I guess you’re perfect, and I can stare as long as I want.” He snaked his arms around her waist and decided, “But, I think touching is better.”

She softened under his touch; though all of her self consciousness could not evaporate with a single conversation, she felt more loved, and seen, and beautiful than she had in a long while. Lucy kissed him with something deeper than appreciation and gratitude.

When he broke away with labored breathing, he saw that a smile had returned to her face, which meant his work was done. “I’ll get towels while you rinse off.”

Lucy hooked a leg over his hip to bring him flush to her. “Wait. We didn’t do what we came in here for.”

He had almost forgotten about the initial plan, but he got on board rather quickly, crashing his lips into hers boldly and redirecting her back against a cool tile wall. Quickly, Lucy discovered she quite liked the combination of the warm water spraying from above and his even warmer body all over her with only sudsy bubbles between them while they found a synchronized rhythm they were learning to hone the more they moved together. As the water cooled and their kisses grew slower, they stayed in the bubble of desire for a bit longer to cling to each other. 

Afterwards, as she watched Tim towel off, she blow dried her hair, so she could not hear anything, not that she needed him to speak to know what kinds of thoughts his darkened eyes were expressing.

He walked up behind her and momentarily turned her blow dryer off to husk into her ear, “We’re definitely doing that again.”

“We can wake up a little earlier tomorrow.”

“I thought you liked staying bed with me in the mornings.”

“We just found something I like almost as much.”

He grinned into her cheek and gave her a peck there that was far more innocent than anything else they had done in the preceding forty five minutes.

She rested her back against his front, ignoring the task of drying her hair in favor of being held by him, and her eyes slipped closed. For as long as they could, they stayed together, quietly breathing in time with their heartbeats syncing. The silence was so unusual and rather nice, but all of that peace and quiet ended when they heard quiet giggling and barking mixed together. “Fiona’s up, and she found Kojo.”

“I’ll help her pack for the play date while you finish with your hair.”

“Yeah, its getting gross and frizzy. I’ve gotta fix it,” she assessed in the mirror.

“I think you look beautiful.” He caught a glimpse of their wedding rings in their reflection and grinned as he threaded their fingers together then lifted their joint hands up to his mouth to drop a kiss over her knuckles.

She knew what he was doing and smiled. A little emotional in the moment, she only beamed at him, but that was enough to communicate her feelings effectively. With one last brush of his lips over her forehead, he walked out of the bathroom to wrangle their energetic three year old. Just when she was about to resume her blow dryer, she heard his low, loud laughter, the kind that was rare until their daughter came into their lives; sometimes, she forgot to appreciate that care free sound, but not  in that moment. She waited until the chuckles subsided to rush the process of finishing her hair, then she stood in the doorway of Fiona’s room to check in on her and ask, “What was so funny?”

“Our daughter managed to get Kojo into her backpack and tried to hide it,” Tim reported with mild amusement.

“Ever since Tamara gave her the idea, she’s been trying to perfect it.”

“And today was the day she did. I was so proud of her, I almost let her take him with on the play date.”

“Tim!”

“I said ‘almost’. She’s picking which blocks to bring now, which means we have another minute or two.”

Before she could ask how he planned to spend those, he fused his mouth to her neck, and she blew out a laugh that turned into a moan. His hands roamed over her in mostly modest territory, and she chuckled. “Babe, babe, you have to go.”

Fiona smiled and held out her packed backpack, ready to leave, but she would not dare to interrupt her parents. Finally, her mom got her dad to stop, and when both of them looked at her, she asked, “Is that how bears kiss?”

“No,” Lucy blurted out as her cheeks pinked up.

“Those are just for your mommy, because she likes kisses everywhere, and I love making her happy,” Tim said.

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“Your daddy is so silly,” Lucy tried to explain, and then he wound his arms around her slowly. She half heartedly tried to swat him away even as she moved closer to him. “You need to put your shoes on.”

“I’ll put my shoes on. You can let Daddy give you another princess kiss,” Fiona volunteered, and squeezed past them in the doorway. She heard her mom’s quiet laughter as she descended the stairs then looked up from the main floor to find her parents pecking each other’s lips between giggles, and she knew she would never tire of having so much love in her house.

Lucy eventually peeled herself away from Tim, but he chased her down the stairs and gathered her in his arms, making her squeal. She knew exactly what he wanted, so she conceded, “One more, and then you really have to go.” He technically obliged and slotted their lips together for only a few seconds, but then he did not release his hold on her and instead drifted his hands lower while looking at her with adoration tinged with lust. She decided he deserved another kiss, and another, and another, because he was holding her in just the right way wearing an irresistible expression. “Angela is waiting for you and Fi. You’re going to be late.”

“I don’t mind. Do you, Fi?” He looked to his daughter who was swooning at them. “Should I give your mommy a princess kiss, a bear kiss, or both?”

“Both!” Fiona screamed with delight.

“Your hands need to go into pockets first. We’re not getting carried away right now.”

“Okay,” he replied smoothly and slid his hands into her back pockets then pressed his chest to hers just in time to feel her breathing hitch.

“You’re such a smart ass,” she snickered that was swallowed up by her princess kiss then her bear kiss, which were completely the same, but pointing that fact out seemed meaningless. “I can’t stand you,” she said fondly. Lucy ran a hand down his chest and whispered, “We’ll get a few hours to ourselves at home while she’s with Angela, so hurry home, babe.”

“I thought you couldn’t stand me,” he replied playfully.

“Change my mind when you get back.”

He smirked as his hands lingered in her pockets for a few moments longer then gave her a long farewell kiss. Before she could object, he explained, “That was for me. Do you want one?”

“I’ll collect it when you get back.” She stepped away from him to encircle her arms around her daughter’s small body. “Have fun on your play date. I love you.”

“Bye, Mommy. I love you.”

Fiona took her dad’s hand for the walk to the tall truck and said, “Thank you for giving Mommy so many princess kisses. It’s so fun.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” He bent forward and quirked an eyebrow conspiratorially before whispering, “I love giving your mommy lots and lots of princess kisses.”

She laughed. “I won’t tell her.”

“Keep up the good work, munchkin. The more princess kisses the better.” Fiona nodded in agreement, then he scooped her up, opened the door to the back seat of his truck, and secured her in her car seat.

Angela peered through her window as Tim pull up, so she went to the front door to greet them. “Hey, Fiona.”

“Hi, Aunt Angela! Did you know bears kiss?”

“I did not know that. How about your parents? Do they kiss?” She asked and casted a glance at Tim.

“All the time!” Fiona mused. “My mommy found her silly goose prince, and we all live happily ever after.”

“Is that right?” Angela smirked. “Jack is so excited to show you his new sand box. Go on in and play.”

“Bye, Daddy. Give Mommy a princess kiss when you get home.”

He folded over to give her a hug. “Bye, Fi. Have fun.” She only squeezed him for a second before she spun around and zoomed into the Lopez Evers house to greet Jack.

Angela made a show of checking her watch. “Were you late because getting toddlers out the door takes forever, or was it because you were kissing her mommy? Or was it more than kissing?”

“Tamara told you,” he grumbled.

“You should’ve been the one to tell me.” 

“It’s private,” he sputtered out as his timid excuse.

“Fine, you don’t have to give me details, but I hope things are good in that department, because she’s the last person you’ll ever have sex with. If you try running away now, I’ll kill you, and she’ll never let you go.”

“I know she wouldn’t.”

“You didn’t hear her in the locker room after you got married when she was so in love with you and so scared about it. Lucy wouldn’t have taken things that far if she didn’t know for sure.”

“We’ve talked about it.”

“Good. Having difficult conversations isn’t fun, but it’s a part of marriage, and before you give me your line about how you’re only married ‘for Fiona’, save it.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “So things are REALLY good in bed.”

“This isn’t about that,” Tim said; because their blossoming relationship had more to do with the emotional development rather than the physical, but the physical part was only getting more enjoyable considering he could smell Lucy’s jasmine body wash all over him. “I told her the truth about why I married her in the first place, and she was thinking the same thing.”

“Oh, so you two established you were being total liars and acting like you were being so selfless putting on a show to foster a kid when you were madly in love with each other the entire time? About time!”

He would not have put it that way, but she was right. Instead of saying so, he explained, “It’s Lucy, okay? I can’t…I can’t do the wrong thing with her. She’s too important. Even before our daughter came into the picture. But now…the risk is too high.”

“I get wanting to be careful, but I gave you the tip about laundry room hook ups a while ago, so what took you so long?”

“Taking things slow has been the right move. Plus, it’s not easy to start a relationship with a kid in the mix, especially now that things have…progressed, and I can’t be alone with Lucy as often as I want to, because our daughter interrupts things without knowing.”

“Well, that’s your fault. If you two weren’t so stubborn, you would’ve already been together before Fiona came along. I’m glad she did, though. God only knows how much longer all of us would have had to wait for you to get your heads out of your asses.”

Hating to interrupt, Wes came to the doorway and said, “Sorry, but Fiona wants to show Jack her blocks.”

Tim realized he was holding her little shiny green backpack packed for their play date and handed it to Wes.

He accepted it and replied, “Thanks, and congrats, by the way.”

Tim looked at Angela with horror and betrayal. “You told him?”

“You have a wife. You know that you don’t keep things from each other,” was Angela’s explanation.

“Not to mention we’re both very invested in how things are going for you guys. I saw you holding hands while having lunch the other day and took a picture to send to Angela, since she missed it.”

“Oh, that was adorable.”

“Are you two done? Lucy’s waiting for me at home,” he snapped back.

“I’m sure she is,” Angela responded with a smile, and refused to point out that his sentence would have been bizarre to utter even a year before; things had certainly changed with Tim appearing in her doorway holding a little girl’s backpack and his former rookie sitting in the home they shared expecting him to arrive any minute. “The only question is whether she’s wearing any clothes.”

His eyes grew wide, because he remembered he walked out of the house when she was only wearing a skimpy satin robe. “I’m heading home. Don’t let Fiona have too much sugar, and don’t interrogate her for information about us.”

“We won’t have to interrogate her,” Wes said. “Fiona just told Jack how her mommy and daddy kiss every night after they say ‘goodnight’ to her.”

“That’s for Fiona, so if Rachel asks her about our relationship, she can say we’re together. We came up with it when we weren’t. Fiona can’t lie to a social worker, and we wouldn’t want her to, so instead, we convinced her that Lucy and I are a couple by doing certain things in front of her.”

“Why do you keep doing them now that you’re actually together?” Angela inquired, since he was not making a lot of sense.

“Lucy likes it,” he half lied. She always smiled into their little kiss in Fiona’s bedroom before shutting the light off; he merely left out the part that he always grinned, too.

“I bet she does. You can pick up Fiona up in a few hours. We’ll take care of feeding her dinner. Have an afternoon delight…I meant delightful afternoon.”

Wes elbowed his wife and wanted to tease her for her commentary, but that was a good joke, so he let it go.

Tim drove back home as fast as he could and found Lucy in their living room folding clothes and not in a state of undress, but she had not changed into something else, so she was still only wearing that thin robe that did nothing to hide her curves. “Hey,” he greeted her quietly.

“Hey. Drop off go okay?”

“She ran right into the house to hang out with Jack. She doesn’t have the same attachment issues anymore, thankfully.”

“Good. Want to help me with the socks? How does Fiona have so many?”

“We get the whole place to ourselves for a few hours, and you want to fold socks?”

“Constantly doing laundry means lots of clothes to fold,” she reasoned. “If we get through this basket, we can go upstairs.”

“And here I thought you might not have clothes on when I got home.”

“I considered it, but I know how much like taking things off of me.”

He grinned. “It’s like unwrapping a Christmas present.”

She laughed and shook her head, but before she could resume the task of folding, Tim tilted her head up to capture her lips. When he tried to deepen the kiss, she pulled away. “One second. I need to finish the laundry.”

He groaned and had the patience to fold one pair of their daughter’s small socks before throwing all of the clothes back into the basket and climbing onto Lucy on the couch.

“Tim!” She tried to sound exasperated as she arched her back into him.

“I’ve got laundry to do. Can you help me?” He asked, though his tone was devious.

“We did a load of your clothes two days ago.”

“Yeah, but now I have to wash all of this, too,” he flirted and yanked his shirt off.

“Pants too?” She wondered when he reached for his belt.

“Definitely,” he replied playfully.

She giggled as she dropped to lay back against the couch. The novelty of exploring their passion for each other had not ebbed since they decided to take their relationship to the next level, and as much as she loved having fun with him, their productivity at home had plummeted. “We really have to find a balance at some point.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know we can’t hook up every time we have five minutes alone.”

He kicked his pants all the way off and settled on top of her. “The way I see it, we’ve waited long enough to get to this point. And we don’t get time for just the two of us that often.”

“What about nap time, after Fi’s bedtime, when I sneak into your office at the station, lunch at the food trucks everyday, and the other day, we stayed in the parking lot at work to make out in your car for a while.”

“It wasn’t that long.”

“Only because Grey knocked on the window and told us to do that at home.”

“That wasn’t our finest moment,” he replied with the slightest bit of guilt.

“Which is why I’m saying we need to find a balance.”

“I hope ‘balance’ isn’t code for ‘less’, because that’s not gonna work.”

“Less doesn’t work for me either. I just don’t know what to do.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“This is a really good problem to have, though. Not being able to keep my hands off of you is a very nice change.” She used to have to hold back in word and deed with only small opportunities to be expressive thanks to excuses and hard won victories, but then, honesty prevailed, and Lucy was given the privilege to truly be his and he to be hers.

“Speaking of,” he replied dangerously as his fingers danced down her sides. “Since you don’t have pockets, where am I supposed to put my hands now?”

“Wherever you want.”

He claimed her mouth and untied her robe to gain access to all of her skin, then he stopped. “Do you want to go upstairs?” He glanced at the large open windows where sun was shining through and also offered, “Or I can at least make it darker in here if I close the drapes?”

She appreciated his willingness to respect her self conscious feelings. “No, it’s okay.”

“You sure?”

“I don’t want to feel uncomfortable in my skin, or scared, or…I don’t want to feel anything but you right now.”

“Okay,” he agreed cautiously. Gently, he pulled her robe apart, eyed her frame beneath him, then whispered, “For what it’s worth, you’re perfect to me.”

Her heart fluttered, because she knew he was telling her the truth, which only reaffirmed for the millionth time that she was with the right person who loved and cherished her always, though she could not exactly say any of that as their mouths became otherwise occupied.

Chapter Text

Tim pulled Lucy against him, her sleep warm body fitting perfectly against his. She hummed to indicate that she was awake, so he rumbled, “You moved away from me last night.”

“You sure? That doesn’t sound like me.”

“I’ve noticed.” He grinned into her hair.

She hesitated. “Okay, you got me…I snuck out of bed for a few minutes before you woke up. I wanted to check on Fi.”

“Did you think she wasn’t okay?”

“I was worried about her. Today’s a big day, and I don’t know how she used to celebrate, and every time I’ve asked, she says she doesn’t remember.”

“Me, too. I would think she would’ve remembered at least her third birthday, but I got nothing out of her.”

“Does that mean we’re not doing enough for her fourth birthday?”

“Luce, if you think you’ve planned a small birthday party, I’m scared what a big one would look like.”

“I want it to be perfect. It’s our daughter’s first birthday with us.”

“Our daughter’s first birthday with us,” he repeated in awe.

She nodded with equal parts excitement and emotion making her eyes brighten, then she giggled as he pressed her head into her pillow and claimed her mouth happily. She broke away before they got too far and laughed, “Babe, hold on. We should go wake up our girl and wish her a happy birthday.”

“It’s a little early.”

“I know, but I just can’t wait.”

“Waking her up too early could make her cranky. I’ll get a head start on breakfast, and you can get dressed while she gets her sleep.”

“I can’t get dressed without you,” she whispered dangerously. “I haven’t showered alone in a week, and I’m not about to break the streak.” He made a noise low in his throat that made her heart skip a beat. “Unless, of course, you’re not interested.”

“Luce,” he rasped, his eyes communicating more than any words he could manage in the moment.

“That’s what I thought.” She sauntered out of bed knowing he would join her eventually. By the time she had turned on the shower, he was towering over her and tugging at the hem of her shirt. All she had to do was flash him a look while lifting her arms in the air for him to remove it.

His morning routine had changed quite a bit in six months from living alone to the chaos of having a family- moving into the same bedroom as Lucy, making breakfast for three people, being jolted awake by a tiny three year-old appearing in his bed, and more. He welcomed all of the changes, especially not being alone in the shower. Lucy made that particular activity a lot more enjoyable.

She put on a green sundress as Tim watched her intently, making her whole body feel flush. “Stop staring.”

“That dress is held up by bows?” Was his reply.

“Yeah. I thought it was cute and perfect to wear for Fiona’s birthday.” She lifted her shoulder to show off how the strap was two string tied together to form a bow over each one.

He invaded her space and twirled an end of a string around his finger before asking desirously, “And all I have to do is untie these to get you out of your clothes?”

“Technically,” she confirmed uneasily and gulped.

He grinned. “That’s convenient.”

“I did not buy this for you to take it off.”

“But you thought about it.”

“For like a second,” she admitted guiltily. 

He murmured in her ear, his tone dark, “I’m really good at tying bows, but I’m even better at untying them. I’ll show you later.”

“I’m sure you will,” she flirted back, then tip toed out of their room, down the corridor, and into Fiona’s bedroom in an effort to create some distance between them before they got sidetracked. Her heart swelled when she gazed upon their perfect little daughter sleeping. Lucy sat down on the edge of the bed, carefully swiped some brown hair out of Fiona’s face, and dropped the gentlest kiss to her temple. She waited for her to move then open her bright blue eyes, and Lucy melted. “Good morning, sweetie.”

“Mommy,” Fiona murmured and twisted until she could grab a hold of her mom.

“Are you still tired?” She asked to which her daughter nodded. “How about we have bedtime hugs for a few minutes?” 

Fiona nodded again as her eyes slipped closed.

Lucy scooted until she could lay down on her side next to her daughter and silently gestured for Tim to do the same on the other side. She held her daughter close and whispered, “Happy birthday, my love.”

Fiona’s head shot up, her exhaustion forgotten, “It’s my birthday?”

“Yeah, we told you last night. Do you know how old you are now?”

“Four!”

“That’s right.” Lucy looked to Tim, feeling sentimental. “You’re four, which means we love you four times as much.”

Fiona clung to her mom and buried her grin against her soft, warm chest. “That’s a lot.”

“It’s so, so much,” Lucy responded.

“Will you love me more when I’m five?”

“Your daddy and I love you more and more every single day.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the most amazing kid in the whole wide world, and we’re so lucky to be your parents.” She took Tim’s hand and squeezed it tight. “I know it’s your birthday, but you’re our present.”

“Do I get a present on my birthday?”

“Of course you do,” Tim chimed in to answer.

“Really?” Fiona could not believe it. She did not think she had ever gotten a birthday gift before.

“Opening presents is later on in our schedule. We’ve got a full day of stuff to do,” Lucy replied.

“Are you going to work?”

“No, your daddy and I took the day off to spend it with you.”

“Why?”

Lucy glanced at Tim slightly saddened that their daughter did not understand that she deserved to be celebrated. “Because in this family, birthdays are important, so we are going to celebrate you all day and do special things for you.”

“That sounds fun! Like what?”

“Well, it’s a surprise. Let’s start with breakfast. Your daddy is going to make us pancakes.”

“I love pancakes!” Fiona turned in the small space where she was nestled between her parents to find her dad’s eyes. “Can I help you make them?”

“Definitely,” he replied with a smile. “Is Mommy invited to help us?”

“Yes! Mommy makes everything better.”

“She sure does. That’s one of the reasons I love her.” He flicked his eyes over to Lucy to watch her cheeks pink up. “Come on, munchkin. Let’s go down to the kitchen.” He stood from the bed then scooped Fiona up into his arms, but she wiggled.

“Daddy, I’m four now. I’m a big girl. I don’t need to be carried anymore,” Fiona stated confidently.

“You can be carried at any age,” he reasoned.

“No, that’s for little kids,” Fiona disagreed.

He set her down, rounded the bed to the other side, and swiftly put an arm behind Lucy’s back and her knees to raise her up until she was against his chest.

“Tim!” Lucy breathed out his name in surprise.

“See, I can carry your mommy,” he said, which made Fiona giggle.

“You’ve proved your point,” Lucy replied while winding her arms around his neck.

“I don’t think so,” he shot back smugly.

Fiona laughed as her dad carried her mom out of her room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. “Daddy, you’re so silly.”

“That was very silly,” Lucy agreed as her fit hit the ground again then leaned in so only he could hear her. “But also kinda hot.”

Kojo trotted into the kitchen, and Fiona immediately lunged for him. “Hi, buddy,” she cooed and sat down to give him a better hug that earned her a slobbery kiss from him.

Tim smirked darkly. “I’ve known you for how many years, and there’s still more to learn,” he whispered in fascination as he gazed at the person he knew better than himself yet was still discovering her depths.

“You’ve figured out what I like pretty quickly,” Lucy replied knowingly.

“I’m a hands on learner, as you know, and I really like having my hands on you.” His fingers were tracing a part of her lower spine before he even realized what he was doing.

Lucy shook her head to try not to blush so furiously. His flirtatiousness was a different side of him she was enjoying getting acquainted with. “I didn’t know you were such a…,” she knew there was a pair of little eyes watching them, so she chose her words carefully, “physical person.”

“That’s a surprise to me, too, actually,” he admitted, which made her quirk an eyebrow at him. “I’m serious.” He could feel Fiona’s presence, so he lowered his voice even further and spoke tactfully the way she had, “I’ve never wanted to be so physical all the time like this. Ever.” He dug his fingers into the small of her back to cause her eyes to darken a shade like he knew they would.

“I would’ve never guessed this was new for you.”

“How about you? Is this-”

“God, no,” she scoffed. “I don’t usually see closets and laundry rooms and think about dragging someone into them, but now, well, you’re a bad influence.”

“Bad? It’s been good for me, and I’m pretty sure you’ve liked it, too, or are you that good at faking it?”

“I haven’t faked anything with you. Even when we were supposed to be pretending a while back, I wasn’t.”

“Neither have I.” He leaned in to capture her lips, glad they were always on the same page.

She broke away at the sound of Fiona clapping. “We should, uh, get started on the pancakes.”

He cleared his throat and straightened his back. “Do you want to dress her for a few minutes and come back downstairs?”

“She wanted to help you with the pancakes.”

“I know, but I’m having trouble focusing.” His eyes dropped down to her cleavage, and he wondered how he ever left the bed they shared.

She understood as he had distracted her constantly since they started sleeping together. “We won’t be gone long. Fi, honey, I bought you a new pretty dress to wear today. Can we go brush our teeth and change into it?”

“But Daddy likes when I help him make pancakes,” Fiona replied.

“You can help him in five minutes if we get you changed really, really fast,” Lucy offered alternately. “Plus, he needs to tie a bow in your hair, which means I have to brush it first.”

“I love wearing bows.”

“Exactly. So let’s go.”

He whispered under his breath, “You should’ve asked for princess kisses.”

“You’re the one that needs to focus,” Lucy reminded him. “We’ll be back in a few.”

Tim watched her walk away then opened the cabinets to gather the tools and ingredients he needed. As he busied himself with cooking, his girls returned downstairs, and he was grateful for the noise to return.

“Daddy! Look! Mommy said I can wear two bows today!” She shook her head so her pigtails could swish around.

“I’ll tie them in a second. They look great,” he replied. He poured batter into a pan then diverted his attention to his daughter who held out two green ribbons for him. He tied them expertly then saw her little green dress with bows all over. “You look so pretty today.”

“Thank you,” Fiona responded with a giggle and spun around to show off her outfit. “Mommy bought me a pretty dress with bows for my birthday! I get to wear something special for my birthday!”

“I’m also wearing something special for your birthday. Your mommy got me this green shirt.” He pointed to the forest green flannel Lucy had purchased and laid out for him to wear.

“And Mommy is wearing green, too! Everyone is wearing green for me!” She said with glee.

“Mommy is wearing green, and she looks so pretty, too, don’t you think?”

“She does! So why haven’t you given her a princess kiss?” She wondered with pursed lips, displeased her parents were lacking in the affection department.

“That’s a very good question, munchkin.” He jerked his head to beckon Lucy closer then strained his neck to claim her mouth sweetly. Gravely, he said, “It’s her birthday. I should give you another one. For Fiona, of course.”

Lucy snickered, “For Fiona,” then leaned in to suck on his bottom lip for a few moments.

“Kojo, it’s my birthday!” Fiona told her dog. “And Daddy gave Mommy a princess kiss! Today is going to be a good day! I’ve never had a good birthday before, but I have a pretty dress, and I’m wearing so many bows, and I have you!”

“She’s never had a good birthday,” Tim whispered.

“When I was changing Fi, she told me she doesn’t remember having a good birthday, and I tried not to cry in front of her.”

“Hey, that’s not the case anymore. All of her birthdays are going to be good from now on.” He ran a hand down her arm soothingly.

“I know.” She cupped the back of his skull. “Thank you for being part of this family. I haven’t said that in a while, but I feel grateful every single day for you.”

He smiled as he pecked her cheek then flipped the pancake in the pan.  

She tore her gaze away from him to enjoy the sight of their daughter playing fetch with their dog. She asked, “Can you believe we really have a daughter?”

“If you told me a year ago where we would be now, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

“Neither would I. But we really have a daughter, and it’s her birthday.” She waited until he poured some batter into a pan before redirecting his face for a long kiss she inexplicably needed.

“Aunt Tamara!” Fiona squealed and rushed over to her with Kojo in tow.

“Hey, kid. Happy birthday,” Tamara greeted her and picked her up to rest her on her hip, then she smiled at Tim and Lucy.

“We’re taking away your key. You clearly don’t understand what an emergency is,” Tim said, half annoyed, but he still tasted Lucy on his lips, so he could not be too upset.

“It was an emergency. I walked in, and I wasn’t sure you’d ever come up for air. Humans need oxygen, you know,” Tamara responded, amused.

Lucy shrugged and grinned up at Tim. “I never cared about breathing much anyways.”

“Oxygen is overrated,” he agreed with a smirk.

“You like animals, right, Fi?” Tamara asked her.

“Animals are my favorite,” Fiona mused.

“Let’s draw some bunnies that look like your mommy and daddy. I have a feeling they act like them when you’re not in the room.”

“How do they act like bunnies?”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

Fiona had to remind her, “I’m four years old now. I’m a big girl.” She turned her head to her dad where he was smiling at her mom. “Daddy, what do bunnies sound like?”

“God, I hope you haven’t heard anything,” Tamara muttered.

“We’re quiet,” Tim insisted. “And believe me, that’s not always easy.” Then, he softened to answer his daughter’s question, “Bunnies don’t make a sound, kiddo.”

“Daddy knows all of the animal noises. If he says bunnies don’t have one, then they don’t,” Fiona bragged.

“He knows all of the animal noises? That’s definitely a big reason why your mommy loves him,” Tamara joked as she went to the living room where the paper and crayons were stored. She watched Lucy stroke his cheek with a sunny smile that spread to his own face almost instantly.

“Don’t make me burn the pancakes,” he warned despite his smirk.

“I didn’t do anything,” Lucy replied innocently.

“Maybe you should leave the kitchen,” Tamara suggested. “I’m hungry. You two can go back to being like bunnies after I eat.”

“I don’t want her to go anywhere,” he replied, feeling territorial, and wound an arm around Lucy’s waist.

“Relax, babe,” Lucy said to calm him down. He dropped his chin to her exposed shoulder as he continued cooking another pancake, which made her grin. As if he had to hold her that tightly. As if she wanted to even take a step away from him.

Tamara rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Fi, help me grab some stuff from my car.”

For a long while, Tim could hardly see anything outside of the pan and Lucy, but when he was done cooking, he looked away and saw boxes and bags littering the floor. “What is all this stuff?”

“I brought some things for the surprise later, and then I got Fi some gifts,” Tamara explained as she motioned to everything she had carried out from her car.

“That looks like a lot of presents,” he noted.

“Duh. I’m trying to solidify that I’m her favorite aunt, and I’m not above bribery.”

Lucy wanted to chastise her, but she admitted, “I bought a lot of stuff for her, too. I get it.”

“You did?” Tim asked.

“We bought everything online together,” Lucy reminded him. His continued confusion prompted her to jog his memory, “We were in bed three weeks ago ordering her all sorts of things.”

“I forgot about the ordering part. I remember the bed part, though.”

“Oh my God,” Tamara groaned. She said to Fiona, “I’ve wanted them to be together for so long, but I didn’t know they would be gross.”

“Gross? What’s gross?” Fiona wondered.

“Your parents.”

“I have the best parents. They love me, and they give me hugs, and they read to me every night, and they put bows in my hair.”

“Yeah,” Tim said emphatically. “We’re great parents. We’re not gross.”

“She’s probably referring to the fact that we like our princess kisses,” Lucy explained.

“Those are for Fiona. She loves it,” Tim told Tamara. “Fi, do you like when I give your mommy princess kisses?”

“And bear kisses! I like the bear kisses, too!” Fiona chirped. 

Though her response proved the point, he cupped Lucy’s chin to bring her face up, said, “Bear kisses, too,” and kissed her hard. He pulled away somewhat dizzy, so he forgot the purpose of taking such action, not that it mattered. “Alright, breakfast time.”

Grateful for delicious pancakes she did not have to make herself that never turned out the same when she attempted them, Tamara shoveled a few delicious bites in her mouth. Then she asked, “So, what’s the plan for the first half of the day?”

“It’s a surprise,” Lucy answered.

Fiona whispered to her mom, “I won’t tell Daddy.”

“The surprise is for you, sweetie,” she replied and booped her daughter’s nose. “After we finish eating, we’re leaving the house for your surprise.”

“Can I drive?”

“Not today, but I promise we’ll have fun.”

“Yay! Are we playing on my slide? Do we get to go on my swings? Are we going to the grocery store? Are we reading books?”

“Wait and see.”

“Sorry I can’t join you. I have other super secret things to do,” Tamara said not too subtly.

Lucy asked, “When we get back, can you make sure you take a picture of us? We need more memories on the walls, and we’re all in green today.”

“That’s a great idea. I’ll take plenty to send to Rachel,” Tamara assured.

“Actually, Rachel is coming.”

“You invited her?”

“I want her to see that we’re a great family.”

Tim butted in, “I was against it.”

“You agreed,” Lucy reminded him.

“Only because you’re very persuasive.” He lifted an eyebrow as a smug smile pulled at his lips.

Tamara did not want to ask for further details about how Lucy convinced him to change his mind, so instead, she set her fork down and said, “Thanks for breakfast. I’m heading to the backyard for…reasons. Bye, kid.”

“Bye, Aunt Tamara!” Fiona waved.

While Tim cleared the table, Lucy ushered their daughter to the front door and helped her put on her shoes. There was something so sweet about seeing her be a kind and gentle mother that warmed his heart, and also the reason why he was even more drawn to her ever since they started fostering Fiona.

“Oh, before I forget,” Lucy said after tying on her daughter’s little green Converse. She went back upstairs and bounded back down with a green ribbon in her hand. “Can you tie a bow in my hair?” She asked him.

“You don’t want to tie it yourself?” He replied.

“I want the same treatment Fiona gets.” She turned around and gathered some strands of her hair to make a half ponytail then directed, “Tie that.”

“Like our wedding day,” he recalled.

Her stomach flipped. “Like our wedding day.”

Tim tied the ribbon securely then dropped his lips to her shoulder for a few kisses until she laughed. “Alright, time for our adventure.”

“Daddy! Hold my hand!” Fiona requested. Her parents always held hands, and she wanted to join them for the walk to the truck. They drove for a while as her mom sang with the radio, and she did not recognize where they were until her dad lifted her out of the backseat. “THE ZOO!”

“Are you happy we’re here?” Lucy wondered.

“THE ZOO!” She shouted enthusiastically again. “Daddy! Talk to all of the animals for me.”

“You got it,” he said. Though it was meant to be a day all about Fiona, Tim felt like he was the one being spoiled with his daughter clasping his one hand tightly while the other was intertwined with Lucy’s. He wove past all of the enclosures with his family and watched their girl’s blue eyes dazzle at the sight of each and every animal. And after taking a lap around the zoo, they stood by the bears so Fiona could wave and growl at them.

“Can we take the bears home?” Fiona begged.

“We already have you as our baby bear. We don’t need any more,” Lucy tried to explain.

“I think the bears would love to live with us.”

“Maybe we should bring a bear home,” Tim proposed, which caused his daughter to jump up and down.

Lucy knew exactly where they were going, so she was unsurprised that they went to the gift shop.

“Pick out any of the bears you want,” he said, and it was the first time Fiona let him go all day. She buzzed around the store and gathered all of her options, then she raced up to him with four bears in her arms.

“Which one should I get, Daddy? There’s a polar bear, and a panda bear, and a brown bear, and I don’t know what kind of bear this is.” Fiona showed them all to her dad.

“That last one is a koala. I think those are bears, too, right?”

“Koalas are marsupials,” Lucy corrected.

“Well, if you want the koala, you can have the koala,” Tim said to his daughter.

“I can’t decide,” Fiona responded as she screwed up her face in thought.

“Then we’ll get them all,” he chose for her. He saw Lucy raise an eyebrow at him, so he said, “It’s her birthday.”

“You’re a massive push over,” Lucy grumbled. “But I love you.” She kissed his cheek.

Fiona could barely hold all of her new bear friends as they traveled home. 

“Are you having a good birthday?” Lucy called to the backseat.

“The best birthday!” Fiona mused and squeezed all of her stuffed animals tightly.

Lucy beamed at Tim, feeling like they had accomplished their mission. Still, there were more celebrations to be had.

When Fiona dashed inside the house with all of her bears, ready to show them to Kojo, she found it odd that he did not go to the door to greet her.

Tim took the stuffed animals out of his daughter’s hands and suggested, “Let’s leave the bears in here and go outside.”

“Can you tie bows on them later?”

“Sure, munchkin. But first we need to go into the yard.”

Fiona was so looking forward to playing on her play set, but when she stepped out onto the stone patio, she found her whole family had congregated on the grass.

All of her aunts and uncles and cousins were there yelling “Surprise!”

“What’s everyone doing here?” Fiona inquired.

“It’s your birthday, and everyone wanted to celebrate and make you feel special,” Lucy explained. “We’ve got cake, and you can play with your cousins, and we can open presents.”

“That’s awesome!” Fiona shouted. She went up to everyone and gave them hugs, and she was given warm birthday wishes in return unlike she had ever experienced. 

Lucy noticed that her daughter skipped over greeting only one person, so she guided Fiona over to Rachel and instructed, “Rachel is not going to take you from your family, okay? So you can be nice to her.”

“Why is she here then?” Fiona had to wonder.

“Because she’s our friend now. She wants to celebrate your birthday with all of our family. I’m your mommy no matter what. She knows that.”

“I have a mommy and a daddy,” Fiona spoke with a puffed out chest to Rachel. “No more moving.”

“No more moving,” Rachel repeated knowing that saying anything different would have earned Lucy’s ire.

“Great, now that that’s settled, it’s time to sing for your birthday,” Lucy directed and led her daughter to one of the tables where the cake had been set out.

Fiona was quite amused that everyone sang the same song all together, and the lyrics even included her name. She loved it. She blew out her candles, and everyone applauded.

“I‘ll cut you a piece, and don’t worry, it’s vanilla, so you can share it with Kojo if you want,” Lucy said. She sliced a small piece then gave her daughter a kiss on the top of her head before Fiona balanced her plate over to a spot in the grass next to the dog. Lucy sliced up a few more pieces of cake, then Tim encircled his fingers around her wrist.

“Go sit down. I can do this,” he offered softly.

“We can do it together,” Lucy countered to which he nodded.

Bailey Nune waited in line next to Rachel for slices of cake, and they both looked on at Tim and Lucy working in perfect sync to serve everyone their piece of cake, and she decided to strike up a conversation with her, “It’s really sweet what Lucy is doing. Adopting a kid.”

Rachel nodded. “I wish I had a hundred more families like theirs to place kids with.”

“Oh, they’re not actually a family,” Bailey replied. “They got married, and they’re playing house for Fiona. I ran into Tim’s ex, Ashley, at the gym a few weeks ago, and she told me everything.”

Rachel’s jaw dropped right in time to come face to face with Tim and Lucy. A plate of cake was offered to her, but she waved a hand dismissively to instead ask, her anger flaring, “Is this true? Are you faking all of this to adopt Fiona?”

Chapter Text

Rachel did not want to let her emotions show, because she was in the middle of a lovely, birthday party, but after what Bailey said, she had to ask Tim and Lucy, “Is this true? Are you faking all of this to adopt Fiona?” She had been waiting in line for a piece of cake, but her hunger was forgotten as she waited for an answer.

Tim’s eyes immediately snapped over to Lucy, his panic poorly concealed.

Lucy, however, did not skip a beat. “Why would you even ask that?” She pushed back, her voice low and severe. “You know I love Tim.”

“It’s a serious accusation,” Rachel tried to explain.

“Woah, I didn’t mean to make some sort of accusation,” Bailey replied, trying to act innocently.

“You told the social worker that is making the determination on where to place Fiona that her current family is a sham,” Rachel pointed out.

Bailey’s eyebrows skyrocketed. “Oh, YOU are Fiona’s social worker?”

“What the hell did you say to Rachel?” Lucy bit out, her tone equally dangerous and quiet.

“I just repeated what Ashley told me, but I didn’t know Rachel was the social worker,” Bailey tried to explain.

“Tamara,” Lucy said sharply to get her attention. She plastered on a smile. “Can you make sure everyone else gets cake? Tim, Rachel, and I need a minute.” Her erratic heartbeat was loud in her ears, and the only reason she did not completely spin out of control was that Tim placed a hand on the small of her back.

“Hey,” he murmured into her ear. “It’s gonna be okay.” He escorted Lucy into the house in the hopes that she would not lunge to attack Bailey, since that would have made things worse, and he pulled her into his side once they made their way into the kitchen where Rachel joined them. “Look, this is all a misunderstanding,” he said evenly.

“Is it? That’s a serious allegation Bailey made, and apparently, some woman named Ashley can corroborate it?” Rachel replied.

“Ashley is a bitter ex,” Lucy somewhat embellished. “Tim broke up with her to be with me.” At least that was the truth.

“I see, so you’re saying her testimony would be unreliable?” Rachel gathered.

Lucy blinked, needing to think for a second, because Ashley had been informed about the adoption and the paper marriage, unfortunately. “Come on, Rachel, you know me. Would I really marry someone just to adopt a kid?”

“You love Fiona a lot. That’s clear.”

“And I love Tim. That’s clear, too,” she added.

“Some things are the same between you two. From what I remember, you two were inseparable, and could read each other’s minds, and I think you used to look at each other the same way,” Rachel recalled.

“He was my T.O.. Any relationship would have been against the rules,” Lucy tried to reason.

“So you set me up with a guy you liked?”

“I set you up with someone that I wanted to see be happy, and you’re a great person that I thought would get along with him.”

“But you two always got along better.”

“Long shifts in a shop bring people closer. Look, we’re getting off topic. This family isn’t fake. This family is real. We love our daughter, and we love each other, and that’s that,” Lucy stated matter of factly.

“I have to take this seriously,” Rachel insisted. “I don’t have a choice. I heard with my own ears that your relationship is all a lie, and I want to believe you, but I have to put you two under a bigger microscope. We can’t place kids with families that don’t actually exist. Playing house for the sake of the adoption process? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of something like that happening before, but it’s definitely a red flag.”

“What does a bigger microscope mean?” Tim asked as he tightened his hold on Lucy’s waist.

“I need to gather proof that your relationship is as you claim it to be,” was Rachel’s honest answer.

“Proof? Like what? You’re going to put cameras around our house to monitor us constantly? I don’t consent to anything we do in our bedroom getting recorded…or the laundry room,” he responded.

“Of course I wouldn’t put cameras up, but do you have pictures or mementos of your relationship you could share with me?”

“I took a ton of pictures of Fiona and Tim at the zoo today, and there are so many of us teaching her how to ride a bike,” Lucy volunteered.

“What about stuff before Fiona?” Rachel wondered.

“Both of us moved into this house. I just put my old one on the market, and she’s been out of her apartment for months. We lost a lot of stuff moving,” was Tim’s best lie. Lucy gulped, which he noticed and found suspect. 

“I might have something,” Lucy piped up weakly. “Can I…I’ll be right back.” She scurried up the steps and crept over to the small box high on a shelf in the back of her closet that she had to strain her arms to reach. Her heart doubled its speed as she smoothed her hand over the lid. Treating it gingerly, she carried the box down the stairs and bashfully handed it to Rachel. “Here’s proof,” she whispered. “It’s not much, but it’s what I’ve got.”

Rachel half opened the lid then glanced at the contents before turning her attention back to Lucy.

“There are some pictures, and little notes he’s left me on post-its, and receipts from the nights I paid for drinks, and other small things.” She felt like she had just opened her heart for all to see, and making herself so vulnerable was daunting.

“Of course you’ve saved a bunch of stuff. You’ve always been so sentimental,” Rachel remarked warmly. “This is a good start. I’ll need more evidence, but maybe I can do interviews with your friends in the coming days or weeks? I know everyone you work with, so I can trust them to be reputable, and that way we don’t have to include a vindictive ex on the record. It’s the best I can do.”

“Yeah, okay,” Lucy agreed breathlessly, her body malfunctioning. She could feel Tim’s stare burning into her, and she knew he wanted to talk about the box. But she certainly did not. “Can we get back to the party now? Our daughter probably wants to open up some presents.”

“I think I should go. I don’t want you being nervous around me for the rest of the day, so enjoy family time, and I’ll connect with the people you’ve listed as references for adoption and maybe a few others. We’ll be in touch.” Rachel gave them tight smiles and walked out of the house without another word. She did not really believe Bailey was telling the truth. She had seen first hand how madly in love Tim and Lucy were, but she had to follow protocol.

Lucy tried to make her exit to the backyard, but Tim took her hand and said, “Just a minute.”

“Tim,” she murmured, her cheeks red and hot, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“We have to. You just lied to Rachel. And when did you even have time to make fake evidence of our fake relationship before Fiona?”

“I didn’t,” was her simple admission. “It’s not fake.” She watched a million emotions flicker across his face, and her stomach lurched. “Please, don’t make me talk about it,” she requested in a small strangled voice. Clearly, Lucy had done a great job of shocking him to the extent that he released is hold on her hand, and she was able to return to the party while he stood frozen in the kitchen for several minutes before joining her in the backyard. The rest of the party passed in a blur of present opening and Fiona’s unending smile and laughter. She wanted to enjoy her daughter’s fourth birthday. She wanted to bask in the warmth of the perfectly sunny day with her family. But all she could feel was Tim watching her in a way that felt foreign. He lookedm but he did not touch like she was growing accustomed to. No casual brushes of his fingers over hers, or settling a palm on her back, or one of those other small gestures he usually made to remind her that he loved her. And he certainly did not go anywhere near her lips for the rest of the party, unfortunately. The only time his eyes being glued to her came in handy was when John and Bailey tried to leave, and Tim was right there in a few paces standing by her side like he knew what would happen next. Through gritted teeth and as calmly as she could, Lucy said to Bailey, “I’d appreciate it if you stopped talking about my family.”

“Lucy, I’m so sorry. It just came out,” was Bailey’s weak excuse.

“Well, thanks to you, we’re under even more scrutiny. I don’t even know what this’ll mean for the adoption process. We’re trying to make a family here, and you’re screwing it up.”

“Nothing’s screwed up yet,” John interjected calmly.

Lucy turned on him and roughly said, “I wasn’t talking to you.” Her eyes snapped back to Bailey. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was just talking to John the other week about how we didn’t even know you were dating, and then suddenly you got married and fostered a kid. It felt like I had missed something, and then I ran into Ashley, and she filled in the blanks for me. All of it sounded insane, but it fit, and then we showed up at this party, and everyone’s been acting like it’s totally normal that you’re playing pretend, and I don’t get it,” Bailey explained somewhat uneasily.

“We aren’t playing pretend. This isn’t a game. This is a child’s life we’re talking about. Our child. Next time you have questions about my family, don’t ask. Don’t say anything. Understood?” Lucy was so nauseous, and she desperately needed some semblance of assurance from Tim, but he only silently stood there next to her. Not touching her. Not saying a word. 

“Understood,” Bailey replied, since there was clearly no room to say anything else.

Fiona raced over to her parents and shot her arms up in the air so her dad could lift her up high. When she was nestled in his arms, she asked, “Daddy? Can I show all of my new bears from the zoo to Jack?”

“You sure can,” he replied.

“Can you tie bows on them? They’re new bears in the family. They have to have bows.”

“Of course, munchkin. When everyone leaves, I’ll tie bows on each and every one of your bears.”

“Yay!” Fiona cheered and pressed a kiss of appreciation to her dad’s cheek. “Can you come play with me and Jack and all of the new bears?”

“Whatever you want. It’s your birthday.”

“It’s my birthday! It’s so fun on my birthday!” Fiona gushed.

Though the day had its bumps, seeing his daughter thoroughly overjoyed warmed his heart. Tim almost wanted to stay up all night to continue to revel in the birthday fun, but Fiona began to crash after all of the sugar and excitement, and it was time to get her ready for bed. He needed to pass her to Lucy to kickoff their bedtime routine. It was the most eye contact they had maintained in hours; first, he met her gaze wordlessly, then transferred their daughter into her arms, and finally turned his head like there was something interesting on a plain wall in the opposite direction of her.

Getting her little girl ready for bed was a welcome reprieve where they were sequestered in the bathroom just the two of them. Lucy took special care to brush out Fiona’s hair and asked, “Did you have a good birthday, sweetheart?”

“I had so much fun!” Fiona beamed.

“Good.” She reached around to hug her daughter. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Mommy.”

She kept her lips pressed to the top of Fiona’s head as her heart thumped. She loved her daughter more than she could ever say, and all she needed in the world was Tim and their little girl. Lucy helped her put on a pajama set that was white with little bears, which happened to be her favorite, and then ushered her out of the bathroom into the sweet green bedroom she absolutely adored. “What book would you like to read tonight?”

“A princess one! I like the happily ever afters like you and Daddy.”

“Yeah, I’m really happy with your daddy and you,” she replied somewhat emotionally. She mindlessly selected a princess storybook and took Fiona’s little hand. “Can we read our bedtime story in our bed and have hugs after?”

“I love hugs! Yay!” Fiona said.

Tim caught his girls in the middle of the corridor and asked, “Where are we going?”

“Your bed for bedtime hugs,” Fiona chirped.

He knew it was Lucy’s idea without meeting her eye, but once he had, he was certain she was the one that wanted them to cuddle in bed for the evening based on the pain coloring her features, and he would never deny her that.

Cozied up between her parents while she listened to the soft timbre of her mom’s voice as she read a story was Fiona’s favorite way to end every day, especially on her birthday. She blurted out the words she knew how to read, especially an enthusiastic, “The End!”, which mad story time even more fun.

Lucy raked a hand through her daughter’s hair, shut the book, and murmured, “The difference between the books and this family is that there is no end to us. We love you, and we’re your parents forever. Okay?”

“I know,” Fiona responded mid yawn.

“Good night, my precious girl. We love you so much,” Lucy whispered and pecked her daughter’s cheek.

“Good night, kiddo. We love you,” Tim added and fondly rubbed Fiona’s back. He watched as her eyes fluttered closed then how her breathing deepened shortly after. He chanced a glance at Lucy, who was pretending to be asleep. He was unsure when he became so familiar with what she looked like sleeping that he could easily tell she was faking, but she was. Trying to get her attention, he tapped her hand, but she did not so much as stir. Their conversation would have to wait until the next day. Until then, he was alone with his thoughts.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

Fiona kept turning between her parents, unsure which to wake up first, and then her dad tickled her out of nowhere, and she burst into louder and louder giggles. “Daddy! Tickles!” She said.

“Are you ticklish?” Tim asked knowingly and continued until his daughter’s face turned red from laughter.

Lucy heard their daughter and felt her thrashing around beside her, and she opened her eyes to something she had seen on many different mornings, yet it was special all the same. Her family. Her happy, beautiful family. The family she did not even realize how badly she wanted until she got them. “Morning,” she croaked out through a rough throat.

“Mommy! Are you ticklish?” Fiona asked.

“No,” she answered.

“Yes, she is,” Tim corrected with the ghost of a grin, and then he looked at Lucy, and his heart skipped.

“Doesn’t matter,” Lucy replied as happily as she could manage, the day before flooding back into her mind and weighing heavily on her, “We need to get moving. I have to go to work today, but your daddy will be with you at home, since he’s not on shift.”

“Can we see you at lunch?” Fiona requested.

“I don’t know, honey, it’ll be a busy day,” Lucy replied. “But I know you and your daddy will have a lot of fun without me. We should change out of our jammies now.”

“You don’t want bedtime hugs in the morning?” Fiona asked, since she was so used to her mom trying to stay in bed for as long as possible.

“Not today.” She climbed out of bed then scooped her daughter up into her arms to bring her into her bathroom.

After a few minutes of helping her wash her face and brushing her teeth, she noticed, “Why aren’t you singing?”

“Oh, sorry,” Lucy apologized quietly and sang the first song that popped into her head while running the brush through her daughter’s locks. She felt like she was a million miles away with no way to get back into her own skin. Operating on auto pilot, she finished Fiona’s morning routine then brought her along into her bathroom to go through her own. Finally, she ambled down the stairs into the kitchen. Tim was making their eggs. He seemed perfectly fine. She was freaking out, and he was so casually cooking breakfast.

Fiona got confused. Her mom was acting rather strangely. Not singing. Not smiling. Not begging for bedtime hugs. And then she watched her parents for five whole minutes as they navigated around the kitchen without so much as looking at each other. “Daddy? Daddy? You haven’t given Mommy a princess kiss today!”

“You’re right,” Tim agreed. He turned the stovetop off and turned on his heel. Lucy looked to be rather withdrawn like she had since their conversation with Rachel. He took a step towards her then another. She did not move away, but she was not exactly grinning or going towards him. “Can I?” He asked at a low whisper, and she barely nodded, so he pressed his lips to hers gently with featherlight pressure, and then pulled away. She did not try to deepen their kiss or lean into it. She just stood there frozen, and it made him feel sick.

Fiona clapped; despite how she was accustomed to a little more love in their princess kisses, at least it was something, and that was enough. Still, her parents were so quiet. It was odd. “Did I do something wrong?” She eventually asked instead of taking another bite of her breakfast.

Lucy was quick to tell her, “Absolutely not. No. I’m just tired. You are and have always been amazing. Don’t worry about me.” She gave her daughter another kiss on the head. “I should get going. I love you.”

“Tell Daddy, too. And give him a bear kiss. That’ll make you feel better,” Fiona urged.

Ever the meddling little girl, Tim smiled at her fondly before he stared at Lucy. The way she played with her keys. How she clutched the strap of her bag. The fact that her eyes were unsettled, flickering around without really looking at him.

Nervously, Lucy approached him then tentatively cupped his cheek and met his gaze for a fraction of a section before she refocused on his lips. “I do love you, you know,” she whispered and gave him a soft, lingering kiss before stepping away without making eye contact again.

He hated how she walked away. He hated that they were in this state of uncertainty with Fiona and then there was the box he could not stop thinking about. Time with Fiona, which included taking Kojo for a long song-filled walk, coloring together, and letting her have one too many treats could not shake the gnawing feeling in his gut. Tim knew he had to do something.

‧‧‧‧‧‧‧ ✿ ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ 𐙚 ‧ ᰔᩚ ‧ ✿ ‧‧‧‧‧‧‧

Lucy had not expected Tamara to be lounging in her living room when she got home. “Hey,” she greeted her weakly, her energy and her confidence zapped for the day.

“Hey. Tim called and asked me to come by and pick up Fiona. We’re going to get chicken nuggets and then try out this new frozen yogurt place where there are like a million toppings, and all of it is unhealthy. Fi’s gonna love it,” Tamara explained while getting to her feet and meeting Lucy in the middle of the room.

“Fi or you?”

“Both of us probably.” Tamara grinned. “He’s getting her changed, and then we’ll be out the door. Don’t worry, you two will have the house all to yourselves to hug alone or whatever it is you tell Fiona. I personally like saying you act like bunnies.”

“I don’t think there will be any hugging. I think he wants us to talk about what Rachel said at Fiona’s birthday party.”

“What did she say?”

“Bailey accidentally let it slip that the reason Tim and I got married was for Fiona.”

“That bitch,” Tamara grumbled.

“Yeah, well, now we’re under this bigger microscope now. We were so close to the finish line. We applied for adoption. We were supposed to be that much closer to making her our daughter officially, and now we’re under some more scrutiny. I don’t even know how we’ll manage,” Lucy complained and rubbed at her temples.

“What kind of scrutiny?”

“Rachel needs proof that our family isn’t a sham and that Tim and I aren’t just married on paper.”

“What kind of proof?”

“She’s going to interview people to get their take on our relationship, and…,” she took a deep breath, “and I gave her the box.”

Tamara’s jaw dropped. “The box? Your secret love box?”

“Don’t call it that.” Lucy blushed.

“When I accidentally found that box when I was trying to borrow some shoes, you freaked out, beause it’s your secret love box. You brought it here when you moved in?”

“I didn’t know what else to do with it.”

“You could’ve thrown it out. You have full access to him now. Why do you still need dumb scraps of paper?”

“They’re not dumb,” Lucy defended herself. “I couldn’t throw it out. That’s part of our history.”

“In a convenient little love box,” Tamara teased.

“Shut up,” Lucy scoffed, feeling lighter for the first time all day. “I’m so embarrassed about it, and Tim got totally weirded out when I gave Rachel the box. I don’t even know how to talk to him about it.”

“He loves you. Maybe he’ll be flattered that you made a love box for him.”

“Or he‘ll never touch me again and think I’m insane.” Her mental spiral was cut short by the sound of loud little footsteps scurrying down the stairs.

“Mommy! You’re home!” Fiona shouted.

“I sure am. How was your day?” Lucy asked and sunk down onto her knees to wind her arms around her daughter.

“Daddy pushed me so high on the swings! I almost touched the sky!” Fiona shared.

“That sounds so exciting. I’m glad you had a good day.”

“I have so many presents from my birthday. Daddy let me play with all of them.”

“Wow, you’ve been busy. Are you too tired to hang out with your aunt Tamara?”

“No way! She promised me frozen yogurt. That’s like ice cream but better. That’s what she told me.”

“It sure is. I don’t know how we’ll get you to sleep afterwards, but I hope you have a good time.”

Tim took cash out of his money clip and handed it to Tamara. “That should cover your dinner and whatever. Get her home by 9, and please, be on time. We have her on a schedule for a reason.”

“Fine, I’ll be on time,” she sighed and outstretched a hand for Fiona to take. “Come on, kid. Let’s hang out.”

“Can I drive your car?” Fiona wondered.

“As fast as you want,” Tamara confirmed and held back from giggling when Tim scowled and Lucy looked concerned. “Chill. You’re both such parents.”

“Bye, Fi, we love you,” Lucy said and blew her a kiss.

Fiona waved as she walked out of her house with her favorite aunt to go on an adventure.

Tim shoved his hands in his pockets and waited, hoping Lucy would start the conversation, but instead they stood in silence and avoided looking at each other for long enough.

She thought he might say something, and then suddenly, he walked out of the house without a word. As quickly as he left, he returned with a Fiona rose in his hand. She managed a light giggle at the sight of it despite how anxious she was feeling.

“I know you’re scared about what Rachel said,” he whispered as he presented it to her.

“Of course I am,” her voice broke.

“We have nothing to worry about. Our friends will back us up, and we’ve grown into a real family. Surely anyone will see that no matter the level of scrutiny.”

She gripped the rose tightly due to her fear, then hissed.

“Did a thorn get you? Let me see.” He opened her hand to find a tiny drop of blood. “I’ll get a bandaid.”

She sucked on her finger to stop the bleeding. “It’s fine. It’s fine. Unlike everything else.”

“Lucy…”

“I’m terrified about losing our daughter, Tim.” She stared down at the rose thinking about their growth and how she wanted more than anything to keep cultivating it. “She’s our girl. I need to be the one to read to her every night, and brush her hair, and remind her that she’s loved. I need to be her mom.”

“You are, and you always will be. This extra investigation stuff isn’t gonna prove anything. Look, if we had been dating before we got married, we would’ve had to keep it quiet, because of the chain of command issue that wasn’t resolved until our wedding day, so we can claim that we kept it a secret and that’s why there isn’t a lot of proof or anyone to really corroborate the timeline of our relationship.”

She tilted her head. “That’s a brilliant excuse. I…I hadn’t thought about that.”

“It came to me last night in bed when you were sleeping…or not really sleeping.”

She worried at her lip, feeling caught that he had noticed. “I wanted to talk to you last night, but…the box sorta weirded you out. I could tell.”

“I got the feeling you don’t keep boxes of memories of all of your friends.”

Lucy’s blood rushed. “Just you,” she murmured.

“How long?”

“A while,” was all she wanted to share, but then he bent his head to catch her eye, and she folded, “From right after I finished my rookie year.”

Tim’s eyes widened. “That long?”

“Don’t judge me,” she spat out. She wanted to run and hide.

“You never told me. Not once. In all that time, you could’ve said something.”

“What was I supposed to say?”

“The truth.”

“I didn’t even know…I didn’t even understand or maybe I didn’t want to admit it to myself.”

“Admit to what exactly?” He tried to coax more information out of her gently.

She let out a shaky breath then played with her engagement ring instead of looking at him. “We used to spend every second of every day together, and then we stopped. Just like that. I wasn’t ready to let you go. That’s how the box got started. I used to be jealous of Nolan that he got an extension on his rookie year. He hated feeling like he was being held back, but I didn’t see it as a punishment. I wished that was me. I wished we had more months of riding together, but we didn’t. I only got to see you after work or before, and that wasn’t enough. I thought it was because I was having trouble of letting go of being a rookie or change in general, so I held onto receipts and other small stuff…and I never stopped.” Lucy dared to gauge his facial expression and noted the creases on his forehead. “Are you mad at me?”

“It sounds like you had feelings for me,” he noted, his tone accusatory.

“M-maybe I did, but I wasn’t ready to face it. Why’s that pissing you off?”

“We wasted so much time, because I didn’t know. I wasted time being alone and-and with Ashley when I could’ve had you. If you had told me, we could’ve gotten married when we did and not for Fiona. Rachel would be drowning in proof, because our relationship would’ve been real.”

“You’re mad because you would’ve wanted us to be together sooner?”

“Is that so hard to believe? We’re good together,” he replied gruffly.

She shot back, “I know. I was the one trying to convince you to give us a shot in the first place…Why are we fighting about this? We’re together now.”

“Finally,” he groaned and pulled her face towards his for a searing kiss that as far as he was concerned was about making up for the plenty of lost time that he could have had her like this. As his tongue explored her mouth, he knew that no amount of time with her would ever be enough, but at least they had an endless future that they could spend with their lips molded together without any personal space, or buried feelings, or secrets between them.

Lucy broke away eventually and asked between shallow breaths, “Are you still mad at me?”

“If I answer ‘yes’, can we go upstairs so you can properly grovel?” He asked with a playful smirk.

“You could’ve said something, too,” she pointed out.

“Fine, then I’ll grovel first.” He dropped his head to suck on her neck.

“Shouldn’t we be talking about this investigation stuff?” Her eyes slipped closed; he was a little too good at derailing their conversations when he put his mouth on her.

“We want to prove we’re really together, don’t we? Let’s generate some proof.”

She held his chin to redirect his face before they got too carried away. “I’m still scared.”

“There’s nothing we can do other than keep being a family, which includes you and me being a couple.”

Lucy momentarily looked at her rose then flung her arms over his shoulders. “I don’t regret making that box, but I’m really glad I used to have receipts and now I get flowers. Talk about an upgrade.”

“That’s what happens when you tell me how you feel.”

She grinned. “You wanna know how I feel right now?” He only hummed in response. “I feel like I really love you.”

He slotted their lips together slowly to communicate his feelings then used his words, “I love you, too.” As his fingers danced down her sides he added, “And I know we’ll make it through this. She’s ours, and no one will take her from us. But to be sure, let’s make some proof.”

“Are you suggesting having is sex is for Fiona?” She blew out a laugh at the absurdity of his terrible excuse.

“For the sake of keeping this family together. These are the lengths I’m willing to go to for our family,” he so obviously kidded.

“My hero,” she fired back sarcastically. Lucy ran her hand down his arm until she could interlace their fingers while her other hand still clung to her rose. “I don’t want to pretend right now. Not even as a joke. I love you and I’m with you not for Fiona. I love our daughter, and I would do anything for her, but us…this…it’s not just about her. I loved you before we met her. I would’ve married you even if Fiona didn’t exist. If any social worker asks, that’s what I’ll say, and it’ll be the truth. That box proves it.” She leaned in until their mouths were a whisper apart to rumble, “And what’s about to happen in our bed is going to generate more proof of that.”

Tim was a little dumbfounded, so he followed her up the stairs wordlessly and thoroughly enjoyed the proof; everywhere her hands traveled, every time their eyes locked, every kiss both short and long, and every second their bodies were connected made it perfectly clear how deeply she loved him, and he matched her enthusiasm to express that he felt the same.

Chapter Text

Lucy gave Fiona an extra peck goodnight when she tucked her in, and when she stepped into the doorway, she pulled Tim close and kissed him gently once and then a second time before turning off the bedroom light in their daughter’s room and getting ready for bed.

Tim expected what was going to happen once Lucy crawled onto the mattress and burrowed herself into his side; she broke down crying, staining his t shirt with her tears just like she had every single night for a week. All he could do was wind his arms around her and comfortingly rub her back. “We’re not gonna lose her,” he whispered into her hair.

“You can’t know that,” Lucy replied, sniffling.

“We haven’t heard anything about this bigger investigation into us for an entire week. Maybe Rachel was lying, or maybe she’s got our back and there won’t be one.”

“She said at our girl’s birthday party that Social Services was going to put us under a bigger microscope. Rachel wouldn’t have said that if she didn’t mean it.”

“Maybe that box you gave her changed her mind?” He offered weakly, not exactly believing that to be the case, but he hoped.

Lucy picked her head up to look at him with a furrowed brow. “You and I both know that box isn’t going to change anything.”

“I don’t know. It’s nice.” He smirked and teased her, “What did you say Tamara called it? Your secret love box?”

She giggled as she blushed. “Don’t make me laugh! I’m worried about Fiona.”

He pushed her hair out of her face and gingerly tucked a few strands behind her ear. “Fiona is ours. We’re going to go to a courthouse some day, and we’ll sign a piece of paper that says ‘Fiona Chen’, and we’ll come home and laugh about all of this dumb social worker drama, because none of that matters.”

“I don’t think her last name should be Chen anymore.”

“We agreed while we were planning the wedding that was going to be her last name.”

“But we weren’t actually together then. Maybe it should be Bradford.”

“I love my Chen women, so I like Fiona Chen.” He caressed her lips. “Actually, I don’t care what her last name is. I’ll love her just the same.”

“Me, too.”

He saw her eyes well up again and cooed softly, “Hey, Luce, hey, our daughter isn’t going anywhere. Not even for college. I think she should live at home. I don’t want her bringing boys back to a dorm.”

“You’re being such a dad.” She gave him a watery smile.

“I am her dad, and you’re her mom, and that’s not changing.” He wiped at her face. “We’ll get through this as a family.”

She nuzzled his neck and settled against him again, but instead of crying, she was grinning. “We’re a pretty great family.”

He smiled humbly, appreciative that he had an exceptional family that he shared with her. “We are.”

“I love you,” she murmured into his skin and pressed a kiss there.

“I love you, too,” he replied. Tim could never take for granted falling asleep with the woman he loves most in his arms regardless of how many nights in a row she molded herself into his side. He thought of her and how he had been doing his best to lift her spirits when she kept crying every night about Fiona, and that was what prompted him to confront Rachel when she stopped by the station the next morning. “Hey,” he called after her. “My office,” he said firmly and began taking the stairs knowing she would follow.

Rachel crossed her arms once she stepped foot in his office, hating that she felt like she was being summoned. “If this is about the investigation-”

Though Tim was casually leaning against the front of his desk, his jaw was tight when he cut her off, “For some reason, my kid can’t wait to drive. She won’t be able to for like eleven years, but she can’t wait, and I’m gonna teach her. I’m looking forward to it, actually. And some day, she’s going to get her heart broken by someone who never deserved her in the first place, and Lucy is going to be there to pick up the pieces like she’s done for me a million times. And even though it’s going to suck to see my daughter upset, I’ll be glad to know she has Lucy to help her through it.”

“Okay…what does that have to do with anything?”

“I’m saying I’m happy. Really happy,” he felt his lips curl as he continued, “saying those words out loud used to make me think I would put a curse on myself and ruin everything, but I don’t feel that way anymore. I’m happy today, and I know in eleven years when I teach Fiona how to drive, I’ll be happy again, and when I watch Lucy be an incredible mom to our daughter for the billionth time, I’ll be happy again, too. This happiness doesn’t have an expiration date. I can’t put a curse on it. The only one that can take it away is you.”

She exhaled. “I’m not trying to take away your happiness.”

“Lucy can’t sleep. For the last week, she’s been crying in my arms in bed every single night. She’s panicking that you’re going to take our kid away from us, and there’s nothing I can do but hold her and tell her it’ll be okay, even though I’m not sure it will.”

“If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear.”

“Lucy worries about everything. That answer won’t work on her. Look, I get following protocol to make sure every kid gets placed with the right family, but there’s gotta be a better way. Please, Rachel. You’re hurting Lucy, which takes away from my happiness, all because of a dumb protocol that we both know is irrelevant here. Fiona has a good family. We’re good for her.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Maybe we can ask a few more questions during the adoption interviews and gather all of the information at once. It might take some of the pressure off.”

He let out a deep breath. “I’ll take it. Find Lucy and tell her. She’ll want to hear from you. Make sure you say enough to get her to stop crying at night.”

Rachel nodded, then she watched as he stepped towards her slowly, yet there was still something so threatening about his movements.

As evenly as he could, he warned her, “I don’t care what kind of history we have. If you get either of my girls upset again, you’ll regret it.”

“You’re not supposed to threaten your social worker.”

“And you’re not supposed to be threatening my family, but you are.”

“I’m following protocol.”

“Some things matter more than protocol, Rachel.” He was aware he was puffing out his chest and giving her the hardened expression he tended to give suspects in the interrogation room, but he could not find it within himself to care. 

Wordlessly, she exited his office knowing there was nothing more she could say.

Lucy saw Rachel descending the stairs and approached her with a hand on her stomach that was constantly churning. “Rachel, hey, any update about-”

“I’m going to do everything I can to make the adoption process go smoothly regardless of any additional investigation into your relationship.”

Her eyes darted between the stairs and Rachel then deduced, “You just talked to Tim about this, didn’t you?”

“Yup. He made it very clear that I need to make this as painless as possible for you, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

She softened. “I’m really sorry about him. He can get a little overprotective, which makes him a good dad.”

“What about as a husband?”

“He’s a fantastic husband.” That was a rather foreign word to use to describe Tim, but she had to adjust while they were under a microscope.

“Not surprised, but it’s good to hear you say it even when he’s not around. By the way, that box you gave me is at my office. Do you want me to give it back to you?”

“Yes,” Lucy replied a little too quickly. “I…yes. It’s silly, but I want to keep it.”

“Here she is,” a voice said happily.

Lucy’s heart stopped when she saw him. The documentary producer she had been interviewed by a few times before. “Oh my God. Are you starting your documentary today?”

“Yes. Didn’t you see my email?” The producer inquired.

“I’m sure I did, but it completely slipped my mind. I’m so sorry.”

Rachel found it odd that two people were setting up a chair and lights in the middle of the bullpen while two others were getting a camera situated. “What’s going on here?”

“We’re filming a true crime documentary,” the producer answered.

“About what?” Rachel wondered.

The producer was too excited to explain, “Tim and Lucy, two cops, arrested two criminals who look just like them, and get this, both couples are together.” He turned to Lucy. “Your Watch Commander told me you and Tim even got married. Congratulations.”

Lucy smiled. “Thank you.”

“We have a lot to catch up on, so why don’t you take a seat in front of the camera, and we can dive in,” the producer prompted.

Lucy gave Rachel a weak wave before a Production Assistant clipped a microphone to her chest. She settled into the chair that was a little too high up and admitted, “I’m a little nervous.”

“Why? You’re an old pro at this point,” the producer responded as he settled into his seat behind the camera.

“I-I know, but, you know, the other documentaries, they weren’t about...me.” She checked to ensure she had not missed the placement of a second chair. “You’re not interviewing me with Tim this time?”

“No, I thought it would be valuable to hear from you separately.”

“O-okay.”

“So, how did you first meet Jake Butler?”

“A case. My old roommate, Tamara, bought a car at a police auction, only to find drugs hidden inside. So, we traced that back to Jake and arrested him.”

The producer sat forward in his chair. “Which brings us to the elephant in the room.”

She smirked. “Right. Yeah. The whole look-alike thing. Jake and Tim definitely have a strong resemblance.”

“And what about his girlfriend?”

“Sava. Yeah. It’s scary how similar we look.”

“What was it like finding out that a criminal couple looks like you and your husband?”

“Uhh…a little strange to say the least, but you have to expect the unexpected on this job.”

“Speaking of unexpected,” the producer said, “is it true that you and Tim were planning on going undercover as your doppelgängers?”

Lucy nodded. “Tim went undercover once as Jake, and while undercover, we got a lead on some bigger criminal activity that would’ve required both Jake and Sava, so Tim and I prepped to go undercover together.”

“How exactly do you prepare for an operation like that?”

Instantly, her brain flashed a memory of the night she and Tim kissed for the first time. The way he held her in her living room and how neither wanted to stop their hungry exploration of each other’s mouths, but Tamara had interrupted. “Studying the people we go under as, getting a story straight…that kind of stuff.”

“Did you agree to use any parts of your own personal story of your relationship with Tim?”

“No. It didn’t fit.”

“How so?”

She smiled. “Tim and I…what we have…we’ve spent years building to this point. Jake and Sava were hot and heavy from the moment they met.”

“How do you know that?”

“We interrogated both of them and gathered some information about them, their backgrounds, and their relationship with each other. All standard questions.”

“After all that prep work, why didn’t you end up going undercover?”

“Criminals aren’t known for being reliable. Plans fell through.”

“I have to say,” the producer ignored his notes to comment, “I’ve interviewed you and Tim a few times over the years for different documentaries, and you two weren’t even together as far as I was made aware, and suddenly, you’re married. Because you are married, right?”

“Yes. We’re married now.”

“When did that happen?”

“About six months ago.”

“So you’re newlyweds? That’s exciting. How long were you dating before then?”

Lucy’s eyes flitted between the camera, the production crew, and the producer. “Do we have to talk about that?”

“The odds of you and Tim coming face to face with lookalike criminals are already astronomical, but for both couples to be together is fascinating. I’m more than a little curious.”

“My relationship with Tim isn’t being investigated for this documentary. We already have to deal with Social Services.” Her stomach felt queasy thinking about an interrogation by someone else.

“Social Services?”

Tim bounded over to Lucy, ignoring the fact that she was with the documentary film crew. “Interview’s over. I need Chen.”

“What’s wrong?” Lucy asked him softly.

He eyed how everyone was staring at them, so he replied, “Not here.”

“Excuse me,” she said kindly and went with Tim into the roll call room. She used a hand to cover her microphone to ensure their conversation would be private and looked at him expectantly.

“Nolan and Celina responded to a missing-persons call. It was Sava. Jake’s missing.”

“What?”

“I was gonna head over to investigate. Thought you would want to come, too.”

“Of course.” Lucy stepped out of the roll call room and approached the producer, careful to stay behind the camera, and explained, “Tim and I need to work on a case. Sorry have to cut this short.”

“I’m not,” Tim snapped, his disdain for the whole process made clear by the scowl on his face that only slightly lessened when she touched his forearm.

Quickly, she removed the microphone attached to her uniform and went to the sally port to get into the passenger seat of a shop while he climbed into the driver’s side. For the first minute of the drive, she was quiet and so was Tim, but then she piped up, “So they’re making a documentary about Jake and Sava.”

“Yeah. It’s so dumb, and I know you’re gonna say you love this kind of stuff, so you don’t mind wasting part of shift being interviewed, but we’ve got better things to do than sit around talking about a case.”

“As much as I’ve loved the other documentaries, this one hits a little too close to home. The producer asked about our relationship, since he finds it fascinating that Jake and Sava look like us and are together, too. I dodged his question about when we started dating. I didn’t know what to say.”

“Say nothing.” While he was trying to remain focused on the road, their discussion slightly pulled his attention away from navigating the traffic-filled streets. “Look, we can tell Social Services that our relationship was a secret, because it was against protocol at the time, but we can’t admit to that in front of a camera for a documentary. That’s a public admission of breaking the rules, and some higher ups could use it as leverage to fire us and maybe even Grey, since he’s our supervisor.”

“I know…even though it isn’t true, we can’t tell anyone in the LAPD about how things started with us. They’ll have to report to Social Services that we got married for a piece of paper, and we’ll lose Fiona, but Social Services is bound by confidentiality, so they can’t say anything to the LAPD. We have to keep our story straight depending on who we’re talking to. We’ve gone over this.”

“This documentary isn’t gonna throw a wrench into things. We just have to avoid questions about how or when we got together no matter how they push.”

“I wish we were being interviewed together. That would make this easier.”

“Shut them down like I have during the other documentaries.”

Lucy blew out a laugh. “Yeah, no, I’m not gonna be that rude.”

“It’s not rude,” he disagreed. “We can’t afford to slip up in front of a camera. What we’re doing is protecting our family. We can do that.”

“Damn right we can,” she agreed and caught his eye to share a bright smile with him. The kind she could not have imagined coming so easily to his face until they started dating. “You know, talk about a blast from the past. I was asked about that operation that fell through. It’s too bad we didn’t end up going undercover.”

His grin turned devilish. “I don’t mind. I got what I wanted out of it.”

She snickered. “Is that right? You know, if we went undercover as Jake and Sava, we probably would’ve had to kiss for the op. What a missed opportunity.”

He gently pressed on the brake pedal as they approached a red light and slightly turned towards her. “I’ve kissed you more times this morning than we probably would’ve had to while undercover. Not to mention what we did in the shower.”

As her cheeks warmed, she tilted her head in thought. “Guess we got what we wanted out of the undercover operation that never happened.”

He took in a breath and returned his attention to the road just in time for the light to turn green. “We haven’t talked about undercover in a while.”

“What happened between us made things awkward for a while. I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“I don’t mean our prep to go undercover together as Jake and Sava. I meant undercover in general.”

She was fairly certain she knew what conversation he was trying to have, so she quirked an eyebrow at him and concluded, “You want to know if I would want to go undercover again.”

“It’s not a matter of ‘if’, Luce. I know that’s your dream. But with us working on adopting Fiona, I’m not sure this is a good time for you to go under.”

“My dream’s changed, Tim.” Lucy did not care that they had an investigation to conduct. “Pull over for a sec.”

He knew whatever she was about to say would be serious if it warranted bringing the car to a stop, so he was unsure he wanted to listen to her, but he did as she asked, and then she wasted no time taking one of his hands between both of hers.

“I love you, and I love Fiona more than undercover work,” she started with. “I don’t want to go on some long operation that takes me away from our family for weeks. It would be hard enough to try to be away from you for that long, but Fiona, too? I couldn’t do that. Not to mention she would totally freak out. Undercover work won’t make any sense to a four year-old.”

He looked at her squarely, mustering up the necessary confidence to say something that made his chest ache, “I don’t want you giving up something you love. If you want to go undercover, I’ll support you. You deserve that much.”

She brushed her lips over his knuckles then brought their joined hands to her heart. “I appreciate the support more than you know, babe. But my mind’s made up. I won’t let work get in the way of watching our daughter grow, and you and me? I don’t want to miss out on a second of that, either. There’s nothing wrong with my priorities changing.”

“What about your career?”

“I can still be a detective. Nyla and Angela have families and are great detectives.”

“True.” He searched her eyes. “You could change your mind.”

“I won’t.” She leaned over the center console and kissed him long and deep. “For that alone, I’m happy to give up undercover.”

“For me?”

“Of course for you. My job could never be more important to me than you, and that’s that.” She sat back and set his hand down in her lap. “I said everything I needed to say, so we can keep driving now.”

He shook his head at her fondly and switched gears out of park.

As she stared at him while they drove, she quietly admitted, “I was jealous of Sava. When we brought her in for questioning, I remember being jealous she was with Jake when you and me were dating other people.”

“And now?”

“Now I can’t imagine being jealous of anyone,” she answered. She was certain that no love that could ever grow between other people would ever come close to the garden blossoming between her and Tim that flourished into something more and more beautiful by the day. 

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When Lucy walked into her house, she ignored the task of removing her shoes and mindlessly discarded her bag somewhere on the floor in her quest to find her daughter where she was in her bedroom sitting at her craft table. She pulled Fiona into a hug and squeezed her tightly. “Hi, honey,” she sighed as she held her.

“Mommy, guess what? Nell brought me a book about turtles, and now I know how to draw one,” Fiona shared.

“That’s great, sweetie.”

When Tim caught up with her, he let his shoulders sag as he watched Lucy cling to their daughter. “Luce, are you still rattled?”

“Of course I am. I’ll probably have nightmares,” Lucy responded and continued to embrace Fiona.

“Extra long hugs mean you’re sad,” Fiona knew. “Why are you sad, Mommy?”

Lucy pulled away to study her daughter’s perfect face with her dusting of freckles and gorgeous blue eyes. “I had a tough day at work, but you always make me feel better.”

“You should hug Daddy, too. You smile when you hug Daddy.”

“I do, because I love him lots and lots, and I never want to be apart from him.”

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing,” Lucy answered instead of explaining her complex feelings. “You can go back to drawing turtles. I have to see Nell out and talk to your daddy for a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay, and then can we play together?”

“Definitely. We haven’t dressed your daddy up for a tea party in a while. We should do that again.” She flashed him a look as her grin turned smug.

“Yay! He can wear a necklace, and a tiara, and the feathers,” Fiona planned.

“Perfect! I need more pictures of him with feathers and a tiara,” Lucy muttered, and though she thought her voice was quiet enough, Tim gave her a look of aggravation that communicated that he had heard her. “We’ll be right back.”

Nell left Fiona’s bedroom first and briefed Tim and Lucy in the hallway, “No problems today with Fi. She got a little cranky before her nap, but she hasn’t had a meltdown or even said she misses you guys in a bit. That’s progress.”

“Great progress,” Lucy agreed. “She’s been adjusting really well.”

“I’m not an expert on kids, but I knew her before when she lived with the Dunnes, and I’ve seen a huge difference between now and then. She’s happier, she’s more enthusiastic, she actually asks for things like water, and she’s been a brighter kid in general.”

Lucy looped an arm around Tim’s and smiled. “That’s all we want to hear. Do you mind repeating all of that to Social Services when you get interviewed as part of the adoption process?”

“Absolutely. I know it’s easier said than done, but don’t worry too much about all of this adoption stuff. Your social worker would be a complete idiot if she thought Fiona would be better off with another family.”

“Thanks,” Lucy replied, wishing that was enough to calm her constant worry. For a second, she pushed down all of her concerns about the adoption, because she met Tim’s gaze, remembered everything that happened during their shift, and shot up onto her tip toes to gather him into a hug.

“You gotta stop freaking out,” Tim said.

“I saw Jake dead in a dumpster a few hours ago. It’s understandable that I’m still panicking,” Lucy explained.

Tim wound his arms around her in return and could only manage to give a tight smile of farewell and thanks to Nell before Lucy started pressing kisses all over his neck and cheeks, and he began smiling. “I’m not Jake,” he pointed out, but she kept planting her lips everywhere on his face with a tight grip on him.

She brought her mouth to the corner of his and whispered, “I’m thrilled you’re not. I’m so glad you’re alive. Have I said that to you lately?”

“Luce-” Though he was about to point out she was acting irrationally about the discovery of Jake’s body, she captured his lips, and talking became irrelevant as her fierce kiss expressed everything that could not be explained with words.

When she needed to breathe, she brought her forehead to his while catching her breath and panted, “For a second, it was like I lost you, and I never want to experience that again, so let me process for a little. I guarantee you’ll enjoy all of the processing.”

“Does the processing include me taking off your pants later?”

She smiled. “What do you think?”

“Then, yeah, it was a lot seeing Jake like that, and I’ll be here to comfort you however you need.”

“How selfless,” she spat out sarcastically, mildly amused. Her phone buzzed, so she checked the notification and summarized it aloud, “Rachel texted. She said her colleagues will be conducting interviews with all of our friends about us and Fiona this week, and it’s going to be part of the adoption process, so we don’t have to repeat anything. This is good. It means our friends don’t have to answer the same questions twice, and maybe it means we’ll get to adopt her sooner.”

“We can’t know how long all of those steps will take, but the interviews are supposed to be key, so if they happen sooner, then maybe it’s a good sign we won’t have to wait too much longer to make all of this official.”

“Should we prep our friends? I mean, don’t you think we should go over cover stories and all of that before they get interviewed?”

“Angela will get interviewed with Wes, and for once I’m glad he’s a lawyer, because he’ll make sure their answers are careful. I’m not worried about them. We can’t prep Grey, because he can’t know the truth. Besides, Luna has him convinced we’ve been dating for ages, so he’s fine. And Tamara, well, she’s a bit of a wild card, but I’m not sure she would listen if we tried to prep her.”

“You’re probably right.” She exhaled. “I think that’s some good news after the day we’ve had.” Lucy framed his face with her hands. “I’m so, so glad you’re alive.” Instead of giving him the space to reply, she pulled his head down for a desperate kiss.

Nell was leaving when a film crew showed up at the front door and explained that they were going to interview Tim and Lucy about a case they worked, so she let them in and stood in the living room as they set up their equipment and some chairs. The producer seemed ready to get started and was clearly going to ask where Tim and Lucy were, so she answered his question proactively, “They’re upstairs. They should be down in a second.”

Curious, the producer, walked over to the stairs, looked up, and saw Tim and Lucy kissing on the floor above. He silently gestured for his cameraman to join him and capture footage of the moment while remaining as still and as quiet as possible like he was trying to film animals in their natural habitat in a manner that would not spook them. “We’re gonna win awards because of those two,” he mumbled under his breath.

For some reason, Tim felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, so he withdrew from Lucy and took in his surroundings. Out of his periphery, he saw it. The camera. “What are you doing?”

“We’re here for your follow up interview,” the producer explained. “We didn’t get your final thoughts after the case wrapped up. Officer Nolan gave us your address and said you wouldn’t mind if we stopped by.”

“Can’t this wait until tomorrow?” Lucy asked.

“Sorry, we’re on a tight deadline. I’ve got follow ups with everyone else involved in the case, and we only have a week to get everything done,” the producer explained.

Lucy exchanged a look with Tim, a wordless way of unhappily agreeing to acquiesce. “This can’t take long,” she said on their behalf.

“I’m gonna talk to that producer before we start. I don’t trust him,” Tim murmured just to her and took the stairs down to the first floor. Quickly, he went to tower over the producer and glared at him with icy eyes. “Alright,” he said gruffly, “if you ask a single question that pisses Lucy off, you’re packing up. If she doesn’t want to answer a question, move on, and if you bring up Jake’s death to exploit Lucy’s reaction, I’ll kick your ass and make sure your precious cameras capture it for posterity.”

“Yes, sir,” the producer replied, and then he caught movement that made him turn his head. Lucy was descending the stairs, which was expected, but he thought his eyes were deceiving him when he saw her holding hands with a little girl. He blinked several times, but sure enough, the little girl did not disappear, which meant she was not imaginary.

“I’m gonna set Fiona up to color in the kitchen where we can see her, and then we can get started,” Lucy said.

Fiona, uneasy around strangers, wrapped an arm around her mom’s leg.

Lucy bent forward and quietly told her, “Like I said upstairs, these are some people your daddy and I have to talk to about work. We only have to answer a few questions, and then they’ll leave.”

“What’s that?” Fiona wondered and pointed at something large.

“That’s a big camera. We’re answering questions on camera, and then they’re going to turn it into a movie.”

“A movie? Are you gonna be on TV?”

“We are.”

“I want to be on TV, too. Can I be on TV?” Fiona asked excitedly.

“Honey, I-”

“I don’t see why not,” the producer cut in to answer. Tim’s expression turned more severe, so he was quick to add, “I won’t ask her any tough questions. I swear.”

“Can Kojo come, too?” Fiona wondered.

“He can sit on the floor by us,” Lucy decided. She guided her daughter over to the living room, hopped up onto one of the chairs, then picked Fiona up to place her in her lap. “Kojo,” she cooed and clicked her tongue until the dog’s ears perked up. He was lounging in his dog bed in the corner unbothered by all of the commotion. “Come here, buddy,” she beckoned, and he trotted over, circled a spot on the carpet beneath her chair, then sat down.

After Tim gave the producer and the rest of the crew one last look of warning, he went to his chair beside Lucy. She smoothed her hand over his thigh, clearly having noticed how on edge he was.

The producer cleared his throat, settled into his seat, and decided he had to ignore his original plan for the course of the interview. “I can’t believe there’s another elephant in the room to address, but-”

“I love elephants!” Fiona exclaimed. “This is what they sound like,” she said before making her best elephant impression.

Already charmed by her, the producer grinned, “Wow, you’re good at that.” He noticed how Tim’s demeanor had completely changed in a matter of seconds, and Lucy smiled brighter, too. “I should’ve known you had a kid. There’s always been something between you two. I didn’t know it was a kid, though. Neither of you mentioned that you’re parents before.”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “No, no, no, she’s not some secret love child or anything.” She knew her cheeks had darkened by several shades. “We met Fiona on a call a few months ago and fell in love with her pretty much immediately. We’re fostering her right now and applying for adoption. Fiona, can you say ‘hi’ to the camera?”

“Hi! I’m Fiona!” She waved at all of the people staring at her then looked down. “And that’s my best friend, Kojo. He’s the best dog in the world. He can’t eat chocolate, so we give him other treats, and then he gives me slobbery kisses.”

“Nice to meet you, Fiona. How old are you?”

She held up four fingers proudly. “I’m a big girl now. I’m four. I went to the zoo for my birthday. I love animals so much! My daddy helped me talk to all of them! I wanted to give most of them hugs except for the one with the big mouth. What’s that one called, Daddy?” She outstretched her arms and opened and shut them together to model after the animal’s jaw that she was referring to.

“It’s called an alligator,” Tim told her.

Lucy felt it was prudent to add, “Fiona was not allowed to give any zoo animals hugs. We make sure she’s always safe.”

“You two are certainly qualified to do that,” the producer responded. “Fiona, do know what your parents’ job is?”

“Well, mommy’s job is to help me put my clothes on the right way and not backwards, and sing to me, and read to me my bedtime stories, and she teaches me how to draw. Daddy’s job is tie my pretty bows.” She turned her head to show off the ribbon in her hair, “and he walks with Kojo, and he makes princess breakfast, and he doesn’t let me fall when I ride my bike.”

Lucy knew that was not what she was being asked, so she reframed the question, “What about when we go to work? Do you know what we do at work?”

“You help people!”

“That’s right.”

“Mommy and Daddy help people, and then they come home, so we can play. I have my own slide, and my own swings. I only share them with my other best friend, Jack. I have my own park. Isn’t that cool? And I have every princess book in the world. And I have so many bears. Mommy said the big ones at the zoo can’t live with us. I think we have enough room, but Mommy said no. Daddy didn’t say no. He wants bears to come live with us. Right, Daddy?”

“I don’t think so, munchkin,” Tim replied diplomatically.

Lucy added, “We’ve got one baby bear that’s all we need.”

Fiona pointed at her family to explain everything to the people behind the camera. “I’m a baby bear, and that’s my mommy bear and my daddy bear. We’re a family and families stay together.”

Lucy smiled into her daughter’s hair.

The producer inquired, “Do you think your mommy and daddy love each other?”

She nodded dramatically. “They live happily ever after now, because my mommy is a princess, and my daddy is a silly goose prince, so my daddy gives my mommy princess kisses everyday! Daddy says Mommy gets princess kisses when she looks pretty, and Mommy always looks pretty, so Mommy gets lots of princess kisses and bear kisses. Bears kiss, and my mommy and daddy have bear kisses, too. Everyday. And when they think I’m sleeping, they even kiss when they turn out my light.” She giggled upon divulging that secret.

“That’s really nice. Are they always happy together?”

“Yeah! Mommy makes Daddy smile all the time, and they hold hands cause its fun. I told you they live happily ever after now.”

“Sounds like you have really special parents.”

“The best!” Fiona agreed, which earned her a quick peck on the crown of her head from her mom.

“Now Fiona-”

Tim interjected, “Are you with Social Services or something? We’re already gonna have to go through that inquisition another day. Can we stick to talking about the case and getting this interview over with?”

“I’m sorry,” the producer apologized. “Guess I got a little excited that you have a daughter. You’re newly married, and now you’re fostering a kid all of a sudden. That’s a lot at once.”

“Your point?” Tim shot back.

Lucy threaded their fingers together to soothe him. “What Tim is trying to say is that we’ve gone through a lot of changes recently, but it’s all lead to some really beautiful growth that we’re proud of. Now that we’re going through the steps to adopt Fiona and make her ours officially, we’re a bit on edge. They’re going to ask us a bunch of questions about our relationship along with how we parent our daughter, and then our friends are getting interviewed, too, so also being interviewed by you is a lot.”

“Understood. Then I’ll keep this short. I want to know more about your dynamic.” His eyes darted to their hands. “I gotta get used to you two wearing wedding rings. You’re married. You got married, and I had no idea. So, I hate to sound like Social Services, but what are the pillars of your marriage?” The producer questioned.

“Can’t we stick to the case?” Tim snapped.

“Wait,” Lucy said looking to him with a bit of trepidation, “this could be good practice for our interview. This documentary is much lower stakes than talking to the people that will determine our daughter’s fate, so maybe we should entertain this for a few questions. It might make me less stressed about the adoption stuff.”

Tim wanted to object, but he much preferred to appease her, “Okay, then how would you answer his question?”

She had to contemplate her response before softly saying, “Trust is a big one. I trust him more than anyone else in the world, and I know he feels the same about me. Love, of course. Communication. And of course, honesty.” Tim snorted, so she whipped her head in his direction. “What?”

“Honesty, really? You didn’t tell me about that little box of stuff you were holding onto, because you had feelings for me you didn’t tell me about.”

“And you didn’t tell me about your feelings in all that time, either,” she pointed out with a smile. “I had to figure it out by myself.”

“You’re a good detective already,” Tim complimented her.

The producer interrupted, “I’m sorry, I think I’m missing something. What box?”

“It’s not important,” Lucy replied dismissively then returned her attention to Tim. “We’re very honest with each other now. That’s all that matters.”

For a beat, the producer watched them flash soft smiles with eyes that expressed utter adoration for each other, and then he asked, “What’s it like being parents?”

“Amazing…and exhausting,” Lucy answered to which Tim nodded.

“It’s not an old man’s gig,” the producer agreed.

Tim narrowed his eyes at him. “I’m not old. Anyone would be tired chasing a four year-old around all day.”

“You train with Metro, and you’re still not in shape enough to raise a kid?” The producer wondered.

“He’s definitely in shape,” Lucy spoke for him as her eyes dropped to Tim’s abs, which she could perfectly picture despite how they were covered by a shirt, and Tim gave her a smirk.

“Let’s go back to you two,” the producer redirected, “Does it shake you at all the fact that your doppelgängers’ relationship was so dysfunctional?”

Taken aback by the inquiry, Lucy’s lips parted. “That’s an unfair characterization. It wasn’t dysfunctional. I mean, Jake cheated with Sava’s best friend after trying to cut her out of a big money deal.”

“Fair enough. But that doesn’t change the question.”

“What are you implying? That-That we might suffer the same fate, because of a couple of people who looked a tiny bit like us that were misfits?”

“I think it’s a reasonable question.”

He furrowed his brow. “You’re working too hard. Okay, I-I get it, alright? You’re invested in a certain answer, because it makes for a better documentary. But we are not Jake and Sava, okay? I mean, they are criminals whose lives were based on deceit. O-Of course that duplicity infected their relationship. But...,” he locked eyes with Lucy, “we are in a very different place.”

“Because you’re married and you have a kid, you think things are different?”

“That plays a role,” Lucy chimed in, “but Tim and I have walked into almost certain death with only each other to rely on to survive, and we’ve made it through. I was really scared about becoming a mom, but I knew that I could do it with him by my side. That’s the difference. We’re better together, and we know that. I’m not sure the same could be said for Jake and Sava.”

“Do you think that guarantees that your relationship will succeed where theirs failed?” The producer inquired.

“Look, the thing you learn early on as police officers is that your future is never certain,” Tim answered.

“Excuse me?” Lucy shot back at him with an edge in her voice. “I’m the mother of your child, and you’re not sure we’ll make it?”

“No one can predict the future,” he reasoned.

She was a bit disappointed that he did not share her confidence, but that did not dissuade her from saying, “I don’t need to see the future to know I am never letting you go. We’re a family, and we always will be. You better come to terms with that.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Okay,” he responded sweetly in the face of her resoluteness.

“You don’t think Jake and Sava made those kinds of promises to each other?” The producer prodded.

“S-sure, maybe, probably,” Lucy thought aloud, “They were missing something, though. They had quite a bit of…passion in that relationship, but they didn’t plant any roots together.”

“Are you saying you and Tim don’t have any passion?” The producer asked.

Tim sat up, ready to charge, but Lucy squeezed their joined hands. “What the h-”

Lucy cut him off before he accidentally swore in front of their daughter. “We’re not lacking in that area of our relationship,” was her even keeled response, then she tilted her head at Tim to calm him down.

“What areas would you say you are lacking in then?’

“Family time, because we get interrupted like you’re doing right now,” Tim bit out.

Lucy held back from snickering but only barely.

The producer, immediately flustered, questioned. “Uh, oh, does that mean…”

“Yeah, we’re done,” Lucy said noting how Tim scowled.

“Sorry,” the producer responded and motioned for his team to start packing up. “Thanks for your time, and it was great to meet you, Fiona.”

“I can’t wait to see me on TV!” Fiona said. “Can you make sure Kojo is on TV, too?”

“We got footage of him,” the producer promised as he rose from his chair.

“Oh, wait, you can’t end the movie yet!” Fiona realized and tugged at her mom’s shirt. “Mommy, every movie needs a princess kiss.”

“I’ll give your mommy one after they leave,” Tim guaranteed.

“No, Daddy, now! That’s how movies end!” She insisted.

Tim saw out of the corner of his eye how the producer was smiling, and he almost wanted to deny his daughter’s request simply to ensure the producer was unhappy, but then both Fiona and Lucy gazed at him, and he crumbled. Ever the push over.

“A small one,” Lucy decided, if only to appease their daughter and craned her neck towards him. He delicately pressed his lips to hers, and it was enough for their daughter to clap happily.

Tim pulled away, admired Lucy for a long moment, then turned to the film crew. “Okay, get lost now. It’s family time.”

Lucy clicked her tongue at his gruffness, but she was a bit surprised they had not been kicked out sooner.

The producer helped to ensure all of the equipment was hastily packed up as he observed Tim, Lucy, and Fiona in the kitchen busying themselves with dinner like no one else was around. They made a truly beautiful family, he realized, and so that became a topic of all of his interviews with the other officers of Mid Wilshire throughout the week amidst his inquiries about Jake and Sava.

Grey grinned widely into his reply, “I would much rather talk about Tim and Lucy than the painting.”

“I’m sorry about the painting, dear,” Luna said and welcomed the change of topic, which caused her to smile. “Let’s focus on Tim and Lucy. I cried during their wedding. It was simple and small, but it was so romantic. There’s something so beautiful about how much they love each other, you know. We’ll tell you anything you want to know about them.”

“There are some gaps in my knowledge,” the producer admitted, “Can you tell me when they got together?”

Grey pursed his lips, so Luna spoke for them, “As coworkers, I think it was important that they kept things quiet for a while, and we respect that. The station is full of gossips. There’s no need for everyone to know their business. Honestly, I think you’re asking the wrong question. What you should be asking is how they are together, which is adorable, and with their daughter, too?” She made a swooning sound. “They are the cutest little family. We’re thrilled they’re married and have a little girl. It just goes to show good things like their relationship can’t stay a secret forever. Oh, Wade, tell them how great of a dad Tim is.”

The producer listened intently, more invested in hearing about Tim and Lucy rather than Jake and Sava, which was the intended subject of the documentary. Some did provide better insight than others.

Nolan merely shared, “I see them come to the station and leave the station together every single day, and I can’t count how many times I’ve caught them making out in their car.”

Celina nudged him with her elbow where she was seated next to him. A grin played at her lips as she amended for him, “They’re so cute. As long as I’ve been working here, I’ve only ever see them be madly in love with each other. They weren’t public yet, but I figured it out almost immediately. Their auras complement each other, which is proof, you know, that they’re together.

Aaron Thorsen had not exactly been excited about participating in the documentary filming, but once asked about Tim and Lucy, he brightened. “Oh, they’re the greatest couple of all time. We’ve got a lot of great love stories in this building. I personally hear all sorts of stuff about everyone, but Tim and Lucy are epic. They don’t even talk with their words sometimes. They just look at each other. Like they’re telepathic. Oh, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Tim can be a little bit of a grump sometimes, but not with Lucy. How cute is that?”

Nyla found the entire interview rather amusing, so by the time she was asked to comment on the nature of Tim and Lucy’s relationship, she giddily laughed as she shared, “Those two idiots have been secretly in love with each other since I met them. At the end of my first shift here, I asked someone how long they were dating.”

The producer inquired, “How long ago was that?”

“Years ago when Lucy was still his rookie.”

“That’s a long time. I will say, I’ve picked up on some chemistry between them during our interviews over the years.”

“You’re not Sherlock Holmes. Everyone has seen it. We didn’t really talk about it before they went public, but we all knew.”

“Why didn’t you talk about it?”

“They were in denial, and they’re both really stubborn, so it was no use trying to confront them about it. But now everyone knows they’re together, and if they didn’t, well, we’ve all seen them walk out of Tim’s office tucking their shirts back in at some point. Wait, don’t put that in the movie. I don’t want them to get in trouble.”

Wes had been providing his legal expertise pertaining to the case of Jake and Sava throughout his interview with Angela, and he felt the need to be mindful of the law when asked about Tim and Lucy. “We didn’t have to know the nature of their relationship until they filed their relationship with Human Resources, which they have done. As far as I’m concerned, that’s when it started.”

Angela glared at her husband for being so stiff with his response.

The producer wondered, “Are you saying they haven’t been together that long?”

Angela chimed in, “We’re saying timelines don’t have to make sense. All that you need to know is they’re good together. They’re a great couple and even better parents. Jake and Sava don’t come close. Sure, they look alike, but Tim and Lucy…I’ve seen them together since the moment they met. Things between them were rocky at first, but I figured out pretty quickly that they were always going to end up exactly where they are now- married with a kid and sometimes a little too happy that it’s gross. Ask Tamara. She knows what I mean.”

Tamara grimaced when the producer shared Angela’s comment with her. “Oh, they can definitely be gross. Sometimes, they’re a little too in love, but Fiona gets a kick out of it every time.” She sat back. “Actually, maybe you can help me figure something out, see, I’m convinced Lucy fell first but Tim fell harder. They haven’t confirmed it for me, but I lived with Lucy. I know her pretty well. Some people hold a candle for someone. That girl held a whole candelabra for that man before they got together. What are your thoughts?”

“I…uh,” the producer had to ponder the question. “I think it’s hard to tell. From everything I’ve heard, they’ve really grown together.”

“Lucy loves using a flower analogy to talk about her and Tim. It’s pretty boring, so I only half pay attention when she brings it up, but basically, she says the same thing. They’ve grown a lot, and they’re definitely solid, which is good because they have a daughter now. Fiona is a pretty cool kid, and Tim and Lucy are exactly the kind of parents she deserves. They give her a stable home filled with love and support, and I have no doubt in my mind that Tim and Lucy will always make sure that little girl feels safe and cared for, which isn’t a guarantee in the foster system. The day Fiona gets officially adopted, she’ll be the luckiest kid in the world whether she knows it or not.”

As much as the producer appreciated most of the answers when he asked about Tim and Lucy, the one that he was certain would fall to the cutting room floor was Smitty’s.

Smitty dead pan explained, “They’ve been dating since Lucy was his rookie. I haven’t been able to confirm the theory, you know, but I’m more observant than people realize. Two people don’t look at each other like they do if they aren’t secretly carrying on a relationship, and if you notice, they’ve always looked at each other the same way. Always. Coincidence? No. They’ve been secretly shacking up and only pretending to date other people. They’ve made these elaborate schemes to throw people off the scent. But I know the truth. For all we know, Fiona is biologically theirs, and they’re pretending with this whole adoption thing to keep up with the pretense that they haven’t been hooking up since the beginning. Come to think of it, they might tell me the truth. I’m sort of their favorite cop in the building. They both really look up to me. I think if I asked, they’d tell me the truth. Yeah, I think they’d do that for me.”

Chapter Text

Fiona never needed an excuse to go to the police station where most of her aunts and uncles worked, so she was excited about her mom walking her into the building. She started waving at everyone immediately whether she recognized them or not.

Lucy clasped her daughter’s tiny hand, and as Fiona tugged, she said, “Honey, this way. We have to find your daddy.”

“I want to say ‘hi’ to everyone.”

“After. I really need to find your daddy.”

“Why?”

She was a bit on edge, so she let out a breath and bent over to look at her daughter to admit, “I have this feeling that I need to see him, and I don’t really know how to explain it. It’s just a gut feeling.”

“Does that mean we’re surprising Daddy?”

“We are. Can you make sure you give him a really big hug as part of the surprise?”

“I love hugs!”

“Me, too.” Our of the corner of her eye, she saw Angela and asked, “Hey, have you seen Tim?”

“Not really,” Angela answered. “I think he’s’ been holed up in his office all day.”

Lucy nodded. “It’s been a rough week.”

“You didn’t come to our mom wine night last night. We could’ve talked about it.”

She shook her head. “There’s nothing to really talk about, you know? All this waiting just sucks.”

“At least the interviews went well,” Angela offered as brightly as she could. “That documentary team asked us pretty much all of the same questions Social Services, did, so making that dumb movie was great prep. We didn’t lie either time just so you know.”

“I’m glad the interviews went well at least. That helps.”

“Doesn’t look like it.” She studied Lucy’s expression that was less than sunny, which greatly concerned her.

Lucy exhaled, and her eyes dropped to her daughter, who was smiling and eyeing both of the adults, utterly clueless yet somehow happy. “We have the best kid in the world. I haven’t lost sight of that no matter how stressed out I’ve been.” She grinned at Fiona. “Let’s go find your daddy in his office and give him lots of hugs.”

“And kisses! I can deliver a kiss to him for you,” Fiona offered enthusiastically.

She pressed her lips to her daughter’s cheek and said, “Give that to him for me.”

“Yay!” She cheered and dragged her mom along as she went to the stairs and took them as fast as her legs would carry her. Once she reached the second floor, she started shouting, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”

Tim’s ears perked up at the sound of that distinct, high pitched voice, and his lips twitched upwards immediately. His office door bursted open, and then there was Fiona rushing in with a huge smile on her face.

“Daddy! Surprise!” She screamed.

“Shh, shh, Fi, people are trying to work,” Lucy said, as she had been trying to shush her daughter for the entire run down the hallway.

“That’s alright,” he replied and wheeled back in his chair, then hunched forward as he opened his arms, ready for his little girl to charge right into them, which she did so with a giggle. He squeezed her tightly, feeling a sense of relief that he could still manage to hold his daughter, which was a thought he hated having. Trying to wrap his head around the idea that his girl was not going to always be his made his heart break, but Fiona hugs made those negative thoughts go away for a while.

Lucy’s stomach felt heavy watching them together and seeing the way he clung to their daughter desperately, so she waited, giving them as long as they needed.

When her dad let her go, Fiona announced, “I have a special delivery!” She stood up high on her tip toes to give him a big kiss on the cheek and chuckled. “That one was from Mommy.” She gave him another one. “And that one was from me!”

He fully grinned; his daughter knew exactly how to brighten his day just like Lucy did; though they were not biologically related, Fiona had a lot in common with Lucy, and he loved to see their similarities in all of the small ways and some of the bigger ones like how both managed to bring him light even on his darkest days.

Knowing that no matter how he grinned with their daughter, who to be fair could make anyone happy, she knew there was something behind his eyes that was deeply conflicted. Lucy peeked out into the corridor and saw Jan. “Fiona, come here, honey,” she beckoned for her daughter, then she asked Jan, “Hey, do you mind taking her to see her uncle Wade?”

“Hi, Uncle Jan!” Fiona greeted him.

“Can you go with your uncle Jan to see your uncle Wade?” Lucy requested sweetly.

“Okay! I love Uncle Wade!” Fiona agreed. She took her uncle Jan’s hand, grinning up at him, and then waved at her dad. “I love you, Daddy! I’m so glad we could surprise you today.”

“Me, too, munchkin,” Tim rumbled then heard as she skipped and giggled down the corridor with Jan.

Lucy busied herself with the mounds of paperwork on his desk. She stacked as much as she could to make some space as she explained, “My gut told me I needed to see you. From the looks of it, you’ve been locked in here all day, which tells me it’s something big, so my gut was right.”

“Metro Liaison Sergeant isn’t as glamorous as people think it is,” he replied.

She sat down on the edge of the desk and retorted, “I have a different theory. Something’s up with you. Can you tell me what it is?”

He scooted towards her in his wheeled chair as he contemplated what to say. “Luce, I’m good.”

“No, you’re not.” She studied his face for any and all signs of vulnerability, waiting for him to fold, and it took a long minute for him to open his mouth.

He exhaled loudly as his shoulders slumped like he was both physically and emotionally unburdening himself. “You’ve been crying about the adoption, and I’ve been worried, too.”

“And you’ve been trying to keep it together for me,” she presumed to which he only blinked, but that was enough confirmation. “Oh, babe,” she sighed while cradling his cheeks. “I’m so sorry I’ve been so caught up in my own fear that I haven’t checked in with you.”

He turned his head to kiss her palm. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. We carry the load together. We worry together, so forget about me. Let’s talk about you. What’s running through your mind about the adoption stuff?”

“Everything. I’ve wanted to be a dad for so long. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted something so badly before, and you found our kid, and you let me be her dad. I’ll always be grateful for that. None of it was how I planned it, you know. I never thought of adoption or having my kid come into my life so unexpectedly.”

She joked, “To be fair, most people probably don’t expect their friends to ask them to marry them to foster a kid they met on a call one time.”

He smiled. “True.” His eyes darted over to the framed picture on his desk of his family. With pain lacing every word, he said, “I can’t lose her. I can’t go back to not being a dad.”

“I wish I could make you a promise. I wish I could look into the future and report back that we’ll be fine and our daughter will never be taken from us. But I can’t. The only promise I can make you is that we are gonna get through this together. You and me.”

“What if…,” his heart clenched just thinking about it, “what if we don’t work without Fiona? Then I’ll lose you, too.”

“You could never lose me. Timothy Bradford, I am yours until the end of the time and then for an eternity after that. You won’t lose me. No matter what.”

His lungs faltered, so his reply came out weakly, “You can’t make that kind of promise.”

“Of course I can. I’ve never loved someone so much I wanted to keep sticky notes from you telling me to fill out paperwork just because I love looking at your handwriting, but I have a box of those. I’ve never loved someone so much that what made me sad on our wedding day was not that it was my first wedding, and it was a lie. No, it was because I thought it would be the last time I would ever have an excuse to kiss you, and you know I really love kissing you. I’ve never loved someone so much I practically begged them to be with me, but I begged you to take a chance on us. I’ve never loved someone so much I’ve been willing to wait for them. Through everything. But I waited for you, and I would’ve waited another million years if that’s what it took for you to be ready. I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you, and I never will.” She observed how his eyes welled up, so she leaned down to kiss his forehead gently. To add some levity she added, “You’re so stuck with me I don’t think I’ll be able to sign the divorce papers once Fiona is legally adopted.”

“Lucy…”

“I’m kidding. We agreed to be married until Fiona was fully adopted. I wouldn’t hold you hostage like that. You’ll  just have to marry me again when we’re both ready to take that step in our relationship.”

“Would you still feel like this if they took Fiona away from us?” Though that possibility was heart shattering, he had to ask.

“The only way we could even remotely survive that is if we stayed together.”

“I can’t…I picture Rachel carrying Fi out of our house for good, and it’s like my mind goes blank after that. I can’t picture living after that.”

“Come here.” She pulled him in bringing his cheek to her stomach thanks to her being taller for once where she was seated on his desk, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder while the other hand cupped the back of his skull. There was a heavy silence no comforting words could fill, because there were no guarantees to make. All they had was each other to cling to during such turmoil, so that’s what they did. They held each other for some indeterminate stretch of time as silent assurance of their togetherness regardless of the other uncertainties.

Grey eventually knocked on the door, though he did so cautiously. “Are you decent in there?” He asked, because that was a question he had to utter ever since Tim and Lucy’s relationship was made public upon marrying- a small price to pay for their relationship coming into the light.

Tim straightened his back, pulling away from Lucy, and frowned slightly, since he hated pulling away from her. “Yeah,” he replied curtly.

Lucy slid off the desk just to ensure no one would have any suspicions about their very innocent conversation in the office.

Grey only had one foot over the threshold into the office and announced, “This little one said she’s hungry, and I was going to take her to the food trucks, but she told me she came to have lunch with her parents.”

“That was the plan. Do you want to join us?” Lucy offered.

“No, I think time as a family is important. Go on and enjoy your lunch together.” He could not help but smile as Tim and Lucy each took one of Fiona’s hands to walk as a unit, which was what he loved most about their family; they were tight knit and loving, and that was what he said to Social Services happily.

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Tim did not have the right words of thanks for how Lucy made him feel after he got home from work. Her palm was pressed to his thigh for the entirety of dinner. Then, she suggested they watch a movie, and he knew it was so Fiona could sit in his lap, and she could curl into his side for maximum comfort. Lucy kept dropping her lips to the side of his neck randomly during the movie as her arms remained firmly wound around his shoulders in an endless hug. Maybe Fiona had caught on or she had been secretly instructed before he arrived home, because she was huddled with him during story time and practically shouting in his ear as she read all of the words of the book that she knew. The damage to his ear drums was worth it. Without the right words, he hoped that when he drew Lucy against him where they stood in the doorway of Fiona’s room and kissed her sweetly that she understood how grateful he was for her providing him some much needed comfort.

Lucy flicked the light off in their daughter’s room, shut the door, and whispered in the hallway, “What else can I do for you?”

“I don’t need anything else,” he answered.

She interlaced their fingers. “Babe, I know that your dad told you to bottle your feelings and that a real man doesn’t show emotion, but that’s crap. You want to cry? Cry while I hold you. You want to scream, I’ll listen. You want to fall apart, you fall apart with me, and I’ll put the pieces back together. Do you understand? Because that’s how I want things to be from now on.”

“Okay,” was all he could manage to say.

She searched his eyes, noting the unmistakable softness, and gave him a half smile. “Okay.” Brightening, she mused, “Now, did my kiss get lost in the mail? Because I sent you one earlier, and you didn’t send one back.”

“I didn’t?” He pondered aloud playfully.

“Our kid is a very reliable delivery service, so it seems to me like you forgot.”

He held her cheek to tilt her head to the proper degree, and murmured, “Let me make it up to you,” before slotting their lips together. While some enjoyed being wrapped in a warm blanket, there was no greater source of solace for him than Lucy. All she had to do was smile, and he softened, and one embrace made the walls he built around his heart shake. When he used to think about his family, Tim could only be grateful for his sister. His real family became his coworkers, and they were there for him well enough. But as he dressed in his pajamas, he eyed a framed picture of him and Lucy on their wedding day kissing in the courthouse, and his heart felt warm reflecting on how his family situation had greatly improved. In the next frame on the dresser was him and Fiona when he was teaching her how to ride a bike, a moment of personal pride for him. “When did you put pictures in here?”

“They’ve been in here for months,” she answered. “You just noticed?”

“Guess so.” He turned on his heel to find Lucy in sleep shorts and one of his t shirts, which reminded him why the rest of their bedroom seemed to blur around him when she came into view.

“Do you like the pictures? I can change them.”

“They’re perfect like you.”

She giggled, disbelieving his little charming comments still made her heart skip a beat after months of them being together. “Get in bed, mister,” she sassed.

“Yes, ma’am.” He had expected her to throw her limbs across him once she slid under the covers, but instead, she lay flat on her back and pulled him on top of her until his head was resting right over her heart, then she held him in place by wrapping her arms and legs around him. He did not have to ask. He knew why she was holding onto him differently than usual.

“Tim?” She spoke lowly while her fingers lazily combed through his hair. He hummed, so she said, “You know that I don’t see your feelings as weakness, right? I like when you share them with me.”

“I know,” he replied and bit his lip. “I didn’t want to add to your stress. You’ve been pretty freaked out.”

“Can you blame me?”

“Not at all.”

“I don’t care how stressed out I am, though. There’s always room for your feelings. Just tell me from now on. Got it?”

“Got it.”

She craned her neck to brush her lips over the top of his head. “Good. For a second there, I thought you forgot I love you.”

“Not possible,” he mumbled as he nestled into her chest, perfectly content with her enveloping him.

Lucy grinned, more than satisfied by his answer. She thought aloud, not really sure where her logic would take her, but knew she wanted to share with him, “We’re bad at waiting around. We’re good at taking action. This feels like playing defense, and that’s just not who we are. Maybe we should go on offense.”

He furrowed his brow. “As much as I appreciate the sports analogy, I’m not really sure how we can go on the offense with the adoption process. We did our interview and our friends did theirs. Now we wait to see if they think we should move to the next step, and there are a million more steps after that, which we only get to if they think our relationship was convincing enough during the interview.” He sucked in a breath before he spiraled any further.

“See, this is the problem. We keep thinking about all of the steps, and the waiting, and what could go wrong. We need a perspective shift. We need to appreciate our family instead of panicking about how we could lose it.”

“How do you suggest we do that? Take our daughter to a non extradition country and live there forever?”

“If we moved to Colombia, our daughter’s Spanish would be flawless. I’m sure we could find a good school for her there.”

He snickered. “You’ve considered it, too, it sounds like.”

“Only every night. But since that would be considered kidnapping, and we could never come back to America, that’s a last resort. I’m thinking we do something less extreme tomorrow.”

“Like what?”

“What’s something you’ve always wanted to do with your kids that we haven’t done with Fiona?”

He answered without having to think, “A ball game. I’ve always wanted to take my kids to their first baseball game.”

She smiled. “Sounds perfect. That’s what we’ll do tomorrow.”

“We have work tomorrow.”

“Not anymore.” She reached for her phone on the nightstand. “We’re taking a sick day. I’ll text Grey to let him know, and then I’ll give Nell the day off.”

“Are you serious?”

“Sure am. Do you know if it’s a day game or night game tomorrow?”

“Day game.”

“Perfect.”

He picked his head up to see how she was typing furiously. “Luce, we can wait until we have a day off.”

“No, we need family time now. We’re playing offense tomorrow. Besides, we could all use a sick day.”

Across town, Luna was about to chastise her husband for looking at his phone in bed when it was late, and they were supposed to be sleeping, but then she saw the lines pull at his face. “What’s wrong, Wade?”

“Lucy just texted,” Grey reported. “She said that she and Tim aren’t feeling well and aren’t coming in tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“They’re not actually sick, Luna. I saw them at the station today, and they were perfectly fine.”

“Maybe it’s stuff with the adoption.”

“No, Lucy would’ve said that. She knows they can be honest with me about the process.”

“So do you think something else is wrong?”

“I don’t think so.”

“They could be playing hooky to have some fun. We used to do that all the time when Dominique was little.”

He smirked. “We did. I almost forgot about that.”

“Maybe we should call in sick tomorrow, too. We could have a day all to ourselves.”

“Not tomorrow. Two of my best officers who also happen to be the only people I can trust to run the station won’t be there, but maybe the day after we could have our own sick day.”

“If you’re feeling really nostalgic, we could ask Tim and Lucy if we can borrow their daughter for a few hours and take Fiona to that water park Dominique used to love.”

“That would be nice.”

“Yeah, and it would secure us as Fiona’s favorites. Angela and Wes think it’s them, but we can beat them.”

“Any day of the week,” Grey assured her confidently. “We’re definitely gonna win.”

While Lucy was scrolling on her phone browsing for tickets to the Dodgers game, she saw a text pop-up, and summarized it aloud for Tim, who was half asleep on her chest. “Hey, babe. Grey and Luna want to take Fiona to a water park the day after tomorrow. That’s so sweet.”

“Not sweet,” he mumbled tiredly. “There’s a bet at the station. Everyone’s trying to compete for Fiona’s favorite aunt and uncle.”

“Tamara has favorite aunt in the bag.”

“Angela’s convinced she can win, and Nyla thinks James’ cookies will get them the top spot. It’s a dumb competition in my opinion.”

“Is it dumb because we can’t participate?”

He frowned. “No one’s pointing out we’re her favorites out of everyone else.”

“Except for maybe Kojo.”

“We can’t compete with a dog.”

She chuckled. “We’re her parents. Her only parents. We already won.”

“We did,” he agreed as exhaustion threatened to pull him under.

“I think it’s cute our family is making a competition out of bringing our daughter into the fold.” She paused for Tim to respond, but there was only the sound of his heavy breathing. Just to be sure, she checked and noted how he had fallen asleep. “I love you,” she whispered with a smile, and then resumed looking for tickets.

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Tim heard Fiona stomp down the stairs for breakfast before he could tear his gaze away from the eggs cooking in the pan. When he did glance up at her, she was frowning. “What’s wrong, munchkin?”

“Mommy picked my bow for today, and it’s not green,” Fiona explained grumpily while waving a blue ribbon.

He recognized that deep, royal blue as Dodgers blue, which was a gesture he appreciated. He lifted his daughter up, set her on the counter, and turned off the stovetop, since breakfast could wait a few minutes. “Do you know why your mommy picked blue?”

“No! My favorite color is green,” she replied.

“I know. Blue is the color of the Dodgers. They’re my favorite baseball team, and your mommy wanted you to wear blue, because we’re going to a baseball game today for me. Have you been to a baseball game?”

“What’s that?”

He grinned. “I have a lot to teach you, kid. Don’t worry. You’ll love baseball. It’s my favorite sport to watch.”

“Are there princesses?”

“No.”

“How about animals?”

“As mascots, so it’s not like the zoo, but it’s fun. I promise you’ll love baseball just like I do.”

“So I’m wearing blue for you?” She deduced.

“You don’t have to wear blue for me. We can tie a green bow in your hair.”

She shook her head. “No, no, Daddy. I want to wear blue for you! Is it Daddy’s Day again?”

“It’s not. We’re just having a family day. How does that sound?”