Welcome to another fic! This is a one shot based off Bradford's statement to Chen in episode 2x13. Set into the future, it looks at how they might get together.

Disclaimer: Anything familiar belongs to Alexi Hawley and ABC + James TW, I don't own anything.

The karaoke bar was crowded that night, overfilled with police officers from Mid-Whilshire Station, all wanting to say goodbye to one of the best TO they knew. Tim Bradford was moving onto Malibu, and more importantly, moving up to Sargent Tim Bradford.

"Okay, okay, okay guys! You all know I hate speeches, but Lopez has practically yanked me up here…" The crowd chuckles at that comment. "Anyway, here goes: Thank you to everyone for coming out here today, I really appreciate it. I will miss all of you when I'm enjoying the sun and surf at Malibu." The crowd boos then laughs at his joke. They settle down when Tim waves his hand. "Yeah, yeah. But seriously, I'm going to miss you guys."

Tim's eyes rove around the room to settle on one person in particular. He clears his throat and averts his eyes when the brown orbs stare right back at him. Getting off the stage, he shook hands with the many police officers who began filing out for the night. Angela Lopez proceeded to stand on the stage, and call out names to sing karaoke. Everyone groaned in protest, but those who were called up still agreed, knowing it was all in good fun.

"Tim." He turned around to see Grey standing there with his wife.

"Sargent. Mrs Grey, thank you for coming out." Tim stuck his hand out to shake, but was pulled into a hug by Luna.

"We're going to miss you Tim. It's not like I see you often, but you must not be a stranger, okay?"

"Of course Mrs Grey." Tim ever the military man, refused to acknowledge his superior officer's wife by her first name.

Tim turned to his mentor and now former boss. He had so much respect for the man, he couldn't believe he wasn't going to work under him any longer. "Hey Sarge. Thank you, so much for everything all these years." God he really needed to get a hold of himself and stop with all the sappiness, it really wasn't like him. On the other hand, these people were his family for how many years, and he was moving on, and wasn't going to see them anymore.

"I know you already know, but it needs to be said. Thank you for training me, mentoring me and being my friend. Everything I've learnt, and the cop I am today is because of you." Tim finished and grasped the outstretched hand Grey offered him.

"You deserve this Tim. Everything you've worked so hard towards. No one deserves it more." Wade Grey replied.

They bid him goodnight and Bradford turned to the karaoke stage. Jackson West and John Nolan were finishing up a duet, quite badly he might add, as he cringed at the attempted high notes. They were more drunkenly yelling at this point. Everyone laughed and jeered at them, all possibly equally drunk.

"Officer Bradford?"

Tim turned to see his rookie standing before him. "Officer Johnston."

"Uh, I wanted to say. Thank you for training me these last 5 months. I've really appreciated everything you have taught me. Even though you are leaving part way through my training, it's still been a life changing experience." Officer Neil Johnston was still a little intimated by his (now) former TO.

"Of course Boot." Tim used his TO voice, despite being outside of working house, but he still looked to Johnston as his rookie. Tim shook his hand and Johnston gave him a salute before leaving.

"So… What happened to Tim Bradford finishes what he starts?" Tim turned to find the pair of brown orbs he was earlier staring at, in front of him.

He cleared his throat. "Well if I wait any longer, this position will be gone and I'll have to retake the test again. Two years are nearly up."

Lucy Chen smiled and nodded at her former TO. She, John and Jackson have since finished their FTO program, and their first year of riding solo. "Well, Mid-Wilshire will be very different without you. I-uh, We are going to miss you." Before Lucy could continue, Lopez appeared at her side, dragging her up on stage.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no." She protested the whole way.

"I know the voice you have Lucy. No way you are leaving without singing." Angela pushed her on the stage and started the music.

The beginning to You and Me wafted from the speakers. Lucy glared at Angela. She had once told her that this is one of her favourite songs, for the pure reason that when she listened to it, she thought of one of the most aggravating people she knew, but had fallen for. She opened her mouth and began to sing.

No one's eyes left Lucy as her alluring voice filled the room. Tim Bradford himself was half way through a drink when he paused and heard the most angelic voice through the speakers. Just simply standing there in casual jeans and a sweater had his heart pounding away in his chest as the person he shouldn't have, but fell in love with anyway, sang.

Oh I want you, you, you,
And me, me, me forever

Lucy finished the last couple of lines to the song and gazed directly at him. She stepped off the stage as he finished his drink, and he tried to make his way toward her, but was stopped again with more 'congratulations' and 'goodbyes'. When he finally thought he was in the clear, Angela Lopez and Wesley Evers stood in front of him.

"Tim! We have to get going. I hope you had a goodnight!" Wesley held out his hand to shake. "Congratulations man, wish you the best in everything."

"Oh thanks, thanks." Tim stated, his stare fixed on Lucy, but was torn away when Angela started speaking.

"Tim, I-. It's going to be different without you at roll call tomorrow. You deserve this position so much, and I just can't believe that you're not going to be there annoying me all day. You're one of the best people I know, and you're one of my best friends. Congratulations. I'm going to miss you."

Tim pulled her into a hug. They really were best friends, and had been together, through it all, for so many years that she was right… It was going to be strange that they weren't even going to be working in the same station at all. When they pulled back, Lopez had tears streaked down her face. Tim opened his mouth to comment.

"Shut up!" Lopez shoved him away, a smile on her face.

"Well I couldn't let you leave when you were being all sappy with me can I?" Tim teased in response.

"Thanks Tim. Just don't be a stranger okay?"

Tim nodded and resumed scanning the crowd. Angela noticed and smirked, knowing what he was looking for. "You should tell her how you feel before you leave. Or before it's too late."

"No idea what you're talking about." He replied in his TO voice.

Angela, after years of being immune rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Sure. She told me she was leaving after the song. So she's probably gone home. Just don't screw it up or anything, do you understand? And... you're gone." Her words fell on deaf ears as Tim had grabbed his coat and was out the door, not really caring that he just proved his friend right.

Arriving at Lucy's doorstep, Tim took a breath before knocking. He waited and heard unlocking before coming face to face with the beautiful brown orbs… which were stained red from Lucy's crying.

"Hey… What are you doing here?" Lucy sniffled, and looked away.

"Um." Tim paused unsure what to say. "You never said goodbye."

Lucy looked around then with a heavy sigh opened the door wider to let him. Tim wandered into her apartment and took a seat on the couch. Lucy stopped at the kitchen to grab coffee for him and settled next to him.

"You never answered my question." Tim stated.

"You never asked a question." Lucy countered. However, he simply fixed her with a stare and a raised eyebrow. Lucy's eyes narrowed and she sighed again. "Fine. I never said goodbye, because… I couldn't say goodbye. Not to you anyway." She whispered that last part, which with Tim's dog-like hearing, he picked up on.

"Luce…" Tim started and tried to place a hand on her arm. She shrugged and turned away.

"You're here way too early, your party is still going, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. But I don't care because the person I want most there, is sitting here on this couch with me, clearly crying earlier." Lucy's eyes snapped to his in surprise.

"What are you-" Lucy was cut off when she felt a pair of soft lips cover hers. She responded in kind before coming to her senses and pulling away.

"No, no. Tim, no you can't do this to me. I don't… I don't understand what's going on. We had this amazing TO/rookie relationship, this mutual respect for each other, and we had each other's back 100%. And I thought it had turned into something more, but then nothing came. Then I thought you know, I was reading too much into it, just to ignore it. But then you never left. This past year, you were always around me, in my space and it must have got into my head. Because I let those feelings I have for you let it cloud my judgement of you. These feelings have just gotten so strong, they're never gong away. Now you're leaving, and you just need to leave before things get worst." Lucy finished, tears streaming down her face which she left there.

Tim scooted closer to her and reached out with one hand to tenderly wipe those tears away. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. Placing his lips at her ear, he whispered, "Do you remember when I said to you that I wasn't leaving because I finish what I start, and I hadn't finished training you yet? And I gave you some half assed answered earlier tonight?" He felt Lucy nod against his chest and continued. "Yeah, well that was partly right. But the real truth was that it was because that I was training you that I didn't want to leave." He heard Lucy's breath hitch at this.

Pulling her back, he gazed into those gorgeous brown orbs that he had constantly lost himself in over the past year, maybe longer. "It was always you Lucy. I don't know how… But since that case with Caleb," Tim's voice filled with venom at the dead man's name. "When I lost you, when I pulled you from the ground and you weren't breathing, my heart felt like it stopped. Then ever since, you had somehow just crawled your way in and made a home. I said to you that you should take your tattoo as the first day of the rest of your life… But that tattoo also signifies the day you came back to me… In my arms. God I- I love you Lucy, and I'm sorry that it took me leaving Mid-Wilshire to see that. I'm sorry it took me leaving you and not being able to see you everyday, to see that."

When Tim finished, the tears running down his face matched Lucy's. Lucy gave him a watery smile. "Look at that Boot, you made me cry."

"I'm not your Boot anymore." Lucy whispered.

"Yeah, because if you were still my boot, then I wouldn't be able to do this." Tim promptly leaned over to pull Lucy into another searing kiss.

There's my little fluff bomb all done. I was honestly rewatching the episode and when Tim said that, he kinda looked a little sheepish.

I hope you enjoyed the fic! Please drop a review/comment below. It would be much appreciated, and if you have any prompts, let me know.

Genie