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[Timeline: 3 weeks after Alice woke up from her coma]
Location: Mid-Wilshire Station – Early Morning
Alice adjusted the strap of her bag as she stepped through the front doors of the precinct, a breath catching in her throat as the familiar scent of brewed coffee, printer ink, and patrol uniforms hit her like déjà vu. The station felt both familiar and foreign. She didn’t remember every face, but she remembered how being here made her feel.
Alive. Needed. Real.
“Detective Hartwell, reporting for coffee duty!” a cheerful voice called out.
Alice turned, eyes catching Celina Juarez waving a Starbucks cup triumphantly in the air, her other hand carrying what looked like a protein smoothie for herself.
“You better like vanilla sweet cream cold brew,” Celina teased, handing it over with a wink. “Because I intuited that’s your vibe.”
Alice smiled. “It’s perfect.”
Lucy Chen appeared from behind Celina. “Celina’s been gunning for the ‘Best Partner Ever’ award lately.”
Celina held up her smoothie like a trophy. “Please. I’m an intuitive oracle of caffeine.”
Lucy turned to Alice and lowered her voice a little. “How’re you holding up?”
Alice gave a small shrug. “Still some blanks. Still some nightmares. But I’m… better.”
Celina leaned in. “We got you.”
---
Meanwhile — Locker Room
Angela Lopez stood beside Nyla Harper, both women watching Tim tie his boots with robotic focus.
“Bradford,” Nyla said with a smirk. “You’ve got that glazed donut look again.”
Tim blinked up at them. “What?”
Angela laughed. “You’re thinking about Alice again, aren’t you?”
Tim grumbled. “Maybe.”
“She likes you,” Angela said simply, hands on her hips. “Again.”
Nyla raised an eyebrow. “So… don’t screw it up this time.”
He met their eyes. Something raw and hopeful flickered in his.
“I don’t plan to.”
---
Later — Operation Briefing Room
The team gathered for the day’s case. Sergeant Grey walked them through the reports — multiple pharmacy burglaries, likely connected, all happening late at night and with a suspect seen wearing a fox mask.
“We’re going to need coordination between detectives and patrol,” Grey said, glancing toward Alice and Tim.
Alice looked up and met Tim’s eyes across the room. For a second, it was just the two of them.
Then Tim gave her a small nod.
She returned it.
Celina elbowed Alice gently. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Alice whispered. “Just… something clicked.”
---
Case Development — That Night
The team split up. Alice, Celina, and Lucy reviewed surveillance footage while John and Bailey canvassed the nearby clinics and pharmacies. Angela and Nyla worked intel. Aaron Thorsen cross-checked vehicle sightings.
Alice leaned back in her chair as a memory flickered faintly — a conversation in this room, laughter with Lucy, a compliment from Tim. But it was too blurry.
Still, she reached for her notepad and jotted down every detail she could.
---
Outside — Late Night Stakeout
Alice and Tim sat in a surveillance van, watching an alley behind a 24-hour pharmacy.
The silence wasn’t awkward. Just thick with unspoken things.
Tim broke it first. “Do you feel it too?”
Alice looked over. “Feel what?”
“This… déjà vu. Like we’ve done this before. And not just the work part. This. Us.”
Alice hesitated. “I don’t remember anything. But I do feel… pulled toward you.”
Tim’s voice was low. “I want you to know, I’m okay starting over. If that’s what you need.”
She looked at him. “Maybe it’s not starting over. Maybe it’s rediscovering.”
Before either could say more, the radio buzzed. “Suspect spotted. All units move in.”
Back to work.
---
After the Arrest — Precinct Rooftop
Alice stood alone at the edge of the rooftop, breeze tugging at her curls.
Footsteps approached. She turned — it was Tim, holding two cups of hot cocoa.
“Thought you could use one.”
She took it, surprised. “Hot chocolate?”
“Your old favorite,” he said. “Or at least... it used to be.”
Alice gave him a look, half-skeptical, half-warmed. “Maybe it still is.”
They sipped in silence.
And then Tim said it, soft and slow.
“You don’t have to fall for me again, Alice. But I think I’m falling for you. All over again.”
Alice blinked at him, heart stuttering.
“Then we’re both doomed,” she whispered. “Because I think I already have.”
--
Break room, Morning
Alice’s steps were still careful, calculated — like her body wasn’t sure it belonged to her anymore. But every day, every gentle nudge from Celina, Lucy, or Bailey helped her anchor herself.
Celina leaned against the side of the break room table, sipping her tea with that classic no-nonsense serenity. “You know he checks his phone like a teenage boy every time you go quiet for more than an hour, right?”
Alice turned red instantly. “Celina!”
Lucy chimed in, pretending to look busy with her mug. “She’s not wrong. He gets this quiet Tim Bradford broody face like—‘did I do something wrong?’ It’s weirdly endearing.”
Alice groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Can I be unconscious again?”
“Too late,” Celina teased, tapping her shoulder. “You’re in the land of the healing and the slightly flustered.”
---
Meanwhile, Angela leaned across Tim’s desk, waving her tablet like it was evidence. “She blushed when you handed her a pen yesterday.”
“I think she was just warm—” Tim tried.
“Tim.” Nyla gave him the stare. “She literally stuttered your name.”
Angela grinned. “It’s adorable. You better not screw it up. This is your second chance at Wonderland.”
Tim blinked. “Wonderland?”
Angela shrugged. “Just go with it.”
---
Hospital Cafeteria- Evening
That evening, Alice sat with John and Bailey in the hospital cafeteria, laughing over some old story about Tim refusing to wear a Halloween costume at a precinct party. Aaron Thorsen joined them halfway through, giving Alice an over-the-top wink.
“You know, I’ve never seen a guy do the whole ‘lost puppy’ thing so well. He doesn’t even hide it,” Aaron said.
“Why is everyone watching him?” Alice said, amused but a little overwhelmed.
Bailey leaned in, voice gentle. “Because we all saw how much he loved you. Still does. And now we get to watch the two of you fall in love all over again.”
Alice went quiet. Her hands shook slightly, but John just covered them with his own.
“One step at a time,” he said.
---
Alice's House- Night
And that night, when Tim drove her home and opened the passenger door with a small smile, Alice looked up at him. Heart hammering. Voice barely a whisper.
“Thank you… for not giving up on me.”
He paused, something soft breaking through his armor. “Never could.”
Even if she didn’t remember the beginning — the pull, the crash, the fire between them — her heart clearly did.
And so did his.
---
---
09:12 AM – LAPD Training Room
Alice sat on the edge of the observation table, watching Celina run through a simulation with a few rookies. The polished metal of her badge felt heavier than usual against her hip — like a reminder of who she used to be, and who she was trying to remember becoming.
Tim entered the room, his steps measured. The moment their eyes met, Alice straightened, heart flipping in her chest like it didn’t care about logic.
“Got a second?” he asked.
She nodded. “Always.”
He handed her a case folder — nothing serious, just a follow-up on a recovered stolen property case — but his hand brushed hers a little too long. Their eyes lingered longer.
“You don’t have to keep bringing me cases you could handle with your eyes closed,” she murmured.
“I know.”
She blinked. “Then why?”
Tim smiled, and it wasn’t the usual crooked smirk. It was gentle. Open. “Because I like the way you look when you solve them.”
Alice felt her breath catch. And for once, she didn’t run from it.
---
12:38 PM – Precinct Roof
Celina leaned against the railing next to Alice, offering her a warm thermos of herbal tea. “So… he flirts like a brick wall, but it’s working?”
Alice snorted. “It shouldn’t. But it is.”
Lucy joined them with her usual confidence. “That’s the thing about Tim Bradford. He’s all serious shell until you see the marshmallow interior.”
“You two make it sound like he’s an undercooked s’more,” Alice joked.
“Emotionally? Yeah,” Celina added.
The laughter that followed didn’t erase the cloud of uncertainty Alice still carried, but it made the air lighter. For the first time, she felt something shifting — like a thread winding itself back toward the center of her.
---
05:45 PM – Sunset Diner on the Edge of Echo Park
Aaron, Angela, Nyla, John, and Bailey joined Tim and Alice at a booth that barely fit them all. The clatter of plates and low hum of conversation gave the group a warmth that couldn’t be replicated in squad rooms or hospital walls.
Angela nudged Alice with a mischievous glint. “So, you gonna ask him to the precinct Halloween party or what?”
Nyla raised a brow. “I’ve got twenty bucks riding on her saying yes first.”
Alice looked at Tim, who raised both eyebrows in mock innocence. “Are you all in on this?”
Aaron laughed. “Of course. We’ve waited long enough.”
She looked down at her glass of water, then back up at Tim. His hand was already reaching for hers under the table.
“I don’t remember everything,” Alice said quietly. “But I know this feels real.”
He didn’t say anything at first. Just squeezed her hand.
“That’s more than enough for me.”
---
---
08:27 AM – LAPD Bullpen
“Someone got flowers,” Lucy said, holding up a delicate arrangement of moon daisies and bluebells sitting atop Alice’s desk.
Alice glanced up, blinking rapidly. “I… what?”
Celina peered at the card. “‘To Wonderland, from your favorite brick wall.’”
Tim, from across the bullpen, pretended to be immersed in a case report.
“I take it back,” Alice murmured to Lucy. “He’s not a s’more. He’s a whole damn enchanted forest.”
Angela passed by, smirking. “Just wait ‘til he gives you the matching armor.”
---
01:05 PM – Alice’s Apartment
Alice stared at her closet, frowning at the mirror. “Does this look like someone who’s getting her memory back or someone trying to seduce a cop?”
“Both,” said Celina, sprawled on her bed.
“It’s a team meeting,” Alice said.
“Sure,” Celina replied. “A team meeting where the captain is cute and clingy.”
Alice turned beet red.
---
03:32 PM – LAPD Evidence Board Room
The room was filled with files, photos, and lingering tension. The crew was following up on the last of the leads from their case. Alice leaned over the board, her fingers hovering near a string that connected two suspect photos.
Tim stood behind her, voice low. “You're sharper than ever. You might not remember all of it, but it’s still in you.”
She turned to face him. “Even if it isn’t, you believe in me enough that I feel like I can start again.”
Tim looked at her — like he was memorizing her all over again. “We can start again. Together.”
She didn’t respond. Instead, she stepped forward and leaned against him — forehead resting against his shoulder.
“I think I’d like that,” she whispered.
And for the first time since her coma, she didn’t feel like she was falling. She felt tethered.
---
---
06:48 PM – Tim’s Apartment
The golden light of dusk filtered through the blinds. Kojo’s tail thumped against the floor as he lay curled by Alice’s feet, his head resting on her sock-covered ankle.
Tim entered the living room carrying two mugs of hot cocoa — one with extra marshmallows.
“I remember you said you liked your cocoa this way,” he offered.
Alice took the cup slowly, studying him with soft curiosity. “Feels familiar. Like a fairy tale I once dreamed of.”
Kojo shifted closer, resting his head now fully on her lap.
“He really likes you,” Tim noted, sitting beside her. “He’s usually not this cuddly.”
“Maybe he knows I need it.” She ran her fingers through the golden fur. “Maybe I do.”
Silence fell. But it was a comfortable one. The kind that wrapped around them like a worn-in quilt.
Tim didn’t push. He simply sat close enough to offer warmth, and far enough to let her breathe.
“Can we stay like this a little longer?” she asked.
His smile was small but full of something that had long been missing — hope.
“As long as you want.”
---
07:52 PM – LAPD Bullpen (Later That Night)
Lucy and Celina were packing up their things when Lucy glanced at her phone. A photo came in from Alice.
Kojo sprawled across her lap. Tim beside her, grinning like he’d just won the lottery.
“She’s smiling again,” Lucy said.
Celina peered over. “And so is he.”
Sometimes recovery isn’t about remembering everything.
Sometimes it’s about choosing what to build next.
And Alice was choosing.
---