A/N: Please vote! It really does help, and it lets me know that you like my story, giving me more motivation to write. I appreciate comments as well. Thanks for reading!
LUCY
It's 7:00 am, and I'm in the kitchen making a bagel. I feel a warm pair of arms hugging me from behind. "Hey," Tim says, kissing me on the cheek before resting his chin on my shoulder.
"Hey." I smile. "Did you sleep okay?"
"I slept next to you, so I slept great."
"Oh, really?"
"Mmhm."
I finish spreading the butter on my bagel and turn around, leaning against the counter. I take a bite from my bagel, making sure to give Tim a seductive look as I do it.
"Damn, woman. How is it that you somehow find a way to make everything you do sexy?"
I just smile, grabbing his hand as I guide him towards the couch. When we get there, I push him down before clinging on top of him.
Straddling him, I begin to pepper his neck with kisses, whilst using my hand to stroke his hardened member.
"Ahh, fuck, Lucy. Do you have any idea what you do to me?"
I bite my lip and palm his cock. "Oh, I think I have some idea."
"That's all for you, baby."
"Damn right, it is," I whisper, working to unbuckle his belt.
"Are you sure Tamara won't hear?"
"Her door is closed and she told me that she is planning on sleeping in. We should be fine."
"Well, then, by all means," Tim says as he helps me finish unbuckling his belt. I toss it to the floor.
I am about to go for his jeans, but I am stopped when my vision briefly goes white, and I feel dizzy.
"Woah," Tim steadies me. "Are you okay?"
"What? Uh, yeah, I'm fine." I rub my temples. "Just a little dizzy."
"Any clue why?"
"I'm sure it's nothing. I am a little tired, so that's probably it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I say, standing up.
"If you're sure," Tim says as he rises to his feet. He gives me a soft kiss. "You have work today, right?"
I nod. "Yeah."
"How long is your shift supposed to be?"
"Like twelve hours, I think."
Tim's eyes widen. "Lucy, if you're feeling off, I don't think a 12-hour shift is a very good idea. Is there any way you could talk to Sergeant Grey, and maybe see if you can have a shorter shift? Or see if anyone would be willing to cover for you?"
I shake my head, making my way to the bedroom. Tim follows me. "No, with the whole Aaron situation, we're already stretched thin."
"But since Aaron is out, you don't have anyone to ride with."
I sigh, taking off my robe so I can get dressed. I begin changing into my uniform, starting with the pants. "Yeah, so?"
"So, you are feeling light-headed. If you absolutely insist on working today, a 12-hour shift no less, you should at the very least have someone with you, just in case."
I pull on my shirt, and then the top layer, working on the buttons as I look at him. "I'm telling you, Tim, I'm fine."
I reach for my badge on the nearby dresser, but stumble when I suddenly feel dizzy. Tim jumps to steady me. "No, you're not fine."
"I'm just tired. I'm still going to work today, so don't try changing my mind."
Tim sighs, running his hand along his jaw. "Fine, we'll compromise."
He walks across the bedroom towards the nightstand on his side of the bed. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Tim doesn't answer me. He grabs his phone and sits on the side of the bed. I silently watch him as he taps at his phone before bringing it to his ear.
TIM
I wait as the phone rings until finally, the other line picks up. "Hello?" she asks groggily.
"Bailey?"
"Yeah? Tim, is that you? Is everything okay?"
"Uh..." my voice trails off as I glance over at Lucy, her arms crossed as she looks at me with narrowed eyes. "For certain definitions of okay."
"What does that mean?"
"Look, Bailey. I can explain later. Right now, I really need to talk to Nolan. Why'd you answer his phone?"
"John is still sleeping. I can wake him, though."
"Thanks."
I hear some hushed voices on the other end of the line followed by some shuffling before Nolan speaks.
"Hello?"
"Nolan, I need a favor."
"Good to talk to you, too, Tim."
"Look, I'm sorry. It's important."
"What's going on?"
"Lucy's feeling a bit dizzy, and she's insisting on working today. But since Aaron's out, she'd be alone, and I don't want to risk it."
"You want to know if I can ride with her?"
"Yes, please."
"No problem. Celina has the day off today, anyway."
"Thank you, Nolan. I appreciate it."
"You got it."
I hang up the phone and meet Lucy's eyes.
"What's going on, Tim?" she asks.
"I want you to be safe. I don't think you should be riding alone for a 12-hour shift when you're like this."
"I'm just a little tired, Tim. I don't need a babysitter."
"Please. I'll be able to focus better today knowing I won't have to worry about you."
Lucy sighs, putting on her badge. "Fine. Who am I riding with?"
"Nolan. Celina's off today, so it works out."
She walks over to me and rests her head against my chest. "I promise you, I'm fine. But regardless, it's nice to know how much you care about me."
I hug her and place a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Lucy."
"I love you, too, Tim."
LUCY
I arrive at work an hour later, and Nolan is already waiting for me by our shop.
"Shouldn't we grab our gear first?" I ask him.
"Already done." Nolan shrugs, handing me my body-cam.
I put the body-cam on. "Thanks for doing this. Tim's just being overprotective. I'm fine."
"If you say so." I begin to head towards the driver's side, but Nolan stops me. "I'm driving. Whether Tim's being overprotective or not, you're my friend and so I care about you. I don't want you behind the wheel when you're feeling off."
I roll my eyes as I get into the passenger seat. "Fine. Whatever."
Ten minutes later we're out on patrol. Nolan hands me a small brown bag. "Bailey wanted to bring you this."
"What is it?" I ask, opening the bag to reveal a blueberry scone.
"It's your favorite, right? Bailey wasn't sure."
"I love blueberry scones. Tell Bailey I said thanks."
"Will do."
I bring the scone up to my mouth, but drop it when a horrible smell fills my nose.
Nolan glances at me. "Is everything okay?"
"It smells awful! Is it a different brand or something?"
"No? It's the one from that bakery near the station. I thought you liked their scones."
"I do, but they must have switched their recipe or something because it smells terrible."
"Let me smell it."
I hand Nolan the scone and he sniffs. "It smells normal to me."
"You seriously don't smell that?"
"07-Adam-07, please respond to a call at 2409 West Lake Street. We have a 245 in progress as well as a possible 217."
"07-Adam-07. Dispatch, show us responding." I say into the walkie.
"Assault with a deadly weapon and assault with the intent of murder? That's going to be an intense call. Are you sure that you're up for this? The shift has barely started and you still have twelve hours to go."
"Nolan, I'm fine. I can handle this."
"If you say so," Nolan says, switching on the lights and sirens.
We arrive on the scene within three minutes. The house is quiet.
"Nolan, you take the side, I'll come in from the back."
"Copy."
We separate and I head towards the back of the house.
I begin to feel a little queasy, likely my bagel from this morning disagrees with my stomach. I glance around, trying to locate a trash can.
Once I find one, I sprint over and gag as I vomit. I stand up slowly and wipe my mouth.
I sneak into the house through the back, meeting up with Nolan in the dark dining room. The blinds are closed.
"Something isn't right," Nolan says.
I open my mouth to reply when I hear a soft thud from a nearby closet. I glance at Nolan before running over to the closet. I throw open the doors and see a very small woman. She looks malnourished. Bare skin and bones. I can barely tell, but she looks to be Filipino.
A/N: I do not speak Tagalog/Filipino, so I cannot guarantee that this is accurate, I used Google Translate, and the dialogue is for storytelling purposes to help make the scene more raw and real
"Mangyaring iligtas ang aking sanggol." she says. Please save my baby.
"Anong baby?" What baby?
She looks down and I notice that she is sitting in a pool of blood. A small baby looking weak. It's still attached to the umbilical cord, and the placenta hasn't been delivered.
"What is it?" Nolan calls.
I press my radio. "Dispatch, this is 07-Adam-07 requesting two RA units to our location STAT."
Nolan comes up behind me. "Oh, shit."
He runs off and returns seconds later with the med kit. I go to cut the cord when the mother goes limp.
Nolan checks her pulse. "No pulse. Lucy, I'm going to start CPR. You get that baby to safety."
"What about the placenta?"
"We can worry about that later."
I nod and cut the cord, wrapping the baby up into a towel, before running out of the house. The neonatal medical supplies are still in the shop.
The baby still has a pulse, but it's weak. His skin is blue.
"Hang on, little guy. I've got you."
I open the door to the back and place him down. I start by covering him in a heated blanket to warm him up.
It's hard to tell why he's so small. He may be premature. Or maybe he's malnourished since his mother was.
I begin to do light chest compressions and place the smallest mask on his face.
"Come on. I'm not giving up on you."
Then, I hear the relieving sound of his cry. He's alive. I leave the mask on but stop compressions, as his heart, at least for now, is beating on its own. Some of the color begins to return to his face.
Twenty minutes later Nolan comes out. He doesn't say anything. He only speaks into his radio. "Dispatch this is 07-Adam-07, we only need one RA unit. We need a forensic team as well as a coroner unit sent to the scene please."
"No." I look down at the little boy. "As far as we know, this boy is now an orphan."
Soon enough, the ambulance arrives on the scene. Bailey and her partner hop out of the ambulance and rush over to me.
"What happened?" Bailey asks.
"We found the mother, severely malnourished, in a closet. The placenta wasn't even out yet. I tried to save the mother but she died." Nolan says.
"Is the baby a premie?"
"I'm not sure. He's almost definitely malnourished too, but he could be a premie. I had to perform CPR." I said.
"You saved his life, Lucy."
"Please keep me updated as best you can."
"Will do," Bailey says before she takes the baby into the ambulance. After it drives away, Nolan and I get into the shop and head back to the station. We've got a case to solve.
Soon enough, we are in the briefing room with Sergeant Grey and Detective Harper. We just finished filling them in.
"So what do you think happened?"
"It's a strange case, that's for sure." Nyla says. "But I had a hunch, and I found something interesting."
"What is it?" Nolan asks.
"We found the weapon in question. The DNA we found proves that the attacker was the baby's father."
"What if this is a case of severe domestic abuse?" I ask. "Or what if she was kidnapped and held captive? Starved?"
"All very possible theories," Nyla says. "I'll keep you updated."
"Chen, you are dismissed for the day." Sargent Grey says.
"What? Why?"
"It has been brought to my attention that you're feeling a bit under the weather."
"Seriously Nolan?"
"John didn't say anything."
"Wait, Tim? That little-"
"He was just worried about you." Sargent Grey says. "You're dismissed. That's an order."
I grumble and storm out of the station to my car.
JOHN
Something isn't right. Lucy is acting strange. I decided to go get some advice during my lunch break.
I pull up in my truck to Angela and Wesley's house. I hop out and knock on the front door. Wesley opens it.
"John? Is everything okay?"
"Uh, maybe. I'm not sure. Is Angela home?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I need to talk to you guys."
Wesley nods with a look of understanding. He opens the door wider. "Come on in."
I walk inside and follow behind Wesley to the living room where Angela is.
"John? Are you okay?" she asks.
Wesley sits down beside her and I sit in an armchair across from them.
"It's Lucy."
"What about her?" Wesley asks.
"I think something's wrong."
Angela shifts in her seat. "How so?"
"She's been acting really weird. Tim asked me to ride with her today because she's tired and dizzy."
"Huh. Tim wouldn't ask unless he is genuinely concerned."
"Bailey had me bring Lucy her favorite blueberry scone. But when Lucy went to eat it, she said it smelled terrible. But it smelled fine to me. It's from the same bakery she always gets it from."
Wesley and Angela exchange a look before Wesley clears his throat. "Have you noticed anything else?"
"She's had a bit of a short fuse. Oh, also, on a call earlier today, I thought I heard gagging and retching, but I couldn't tell where. When I saw Lucy a bit later, I saw some sort of weird, small, beige, gunk in her hair."
"I think I know what's wrong. Can you stay here and watch our kids while Wesley and I go out?" Angela asks.
"Sure, but what is it?"
"I'd like to confirm my suspicions first. We'll be back in a couple of hours." Angela says, leading Wesley out of the house.
QOTC: If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?