Secrets (Never to be Told)

Chapter Twenty-Three

A few weeks later, Lucy was finally cleared for duty. The concussion lasted a while, but it didn't damage anything to be concerned of.

Tim still hadn't taken her out on a date but given that she was bed-ridden for the past weeks, there wasn't really anything he could do except help with her nausea and medication.

She had just changed into her uniform, when she was called into Sergeant Grey's office. "Officer Chen." Wade greeted her with a smile. Lucy smiled back at him, now taking the woman standing next to him into view. "Nice to meet you, officer Chen. I'm Detective Misha Porter, I work in undercover training in Sacramento."

Lucy felt her heartbeat pick up. Harper had told her about Detective Porter and the training. "I've heard of you, nice to meet you as well." She smiled at the older woman.

"I'm here to recruit you. Despite your short time on the force, you've worked impressive cases undercover – even as a rookie." Lucy's gaze switched between the woman and her sergeant. "When do classes start?" "Next Monday. It's last minute, but we've had another candidate fall out."

Wade stepped forward. "I'm more than happy to approve this if you want this. Take a night to think about it."

She barely remembered saying her goodbyes to Detective Porter. There were only three words roaming her thoughts until she got to the garage. Recruiting. Undercover. Sacramento.

It was one hell of an opportunity, and she would be stupid to pass it up, and yet she was hesitating.

Her shift on patrol wasn't extraordinary. A few parking tickets, one arrest for public urination – before she knew it, she found herself back at the station to get changed and clock out.

"Hey" Angela's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She hadn't even noticed that she was walking by the detectives' desks. "Oh, hey." Lucy passed her a smile. "What got you so gloomy?" Angela sorted a few papers but kept their eyes locked. "Undercover Training in Sacramento." Lucy sat on the edge of Lopez' desk. "Oh wow, congratulations! But that's good, isn't it?"

The younger woman sighed, fiddling with her duty belt. "I don't know. I guess?" Lopez raised an eyebrow. "When is it supposed to start?" "Monday, Three weeks." Lucy got up again, hooking her thumbs in the loops of her pants. "I can't just leave but it would also be stupid of me not to go." She sighed again. "I'll just have to think about it."

She waved goodbye to the older woman, unbeknownst that Angela was already texting Tim.

Lucy returned to her apartment in silence; Hailee was with Tim who had his day off. She dropped her bag onto the counter and allowed herself a glass of wine to think.

Should she go? Could she leave Hailee with Tim? What if he had something important to do?

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by a notification that popped up on her phone – it was from Tim.

Be ready at eight. A debt is owed, right?

-- Tim

Lucy's mouth pulled into a smile. Placing the glass of wine on the small table in front of her, she quickly typed out her reply. Finally, a date with Tim!

She emptied the glass in one swift motion before heading to her bedroom, taking out all of her outfit options and laid them out on her bed. It took her about an hour and a shower to finally decide on a dress to wear, adding last touches with jewelry just as someone knocked on her apartment door.

Lucy opened it with a smile, being met with Tim in a dress shirt and a black suit jacket, the first button left open. He was holding out a bouquet of roses, smiling back at her.

"Hi" She invited him in, taking the roses and looking for a vase to put them in. "Good evening, m'lady."

Tim waited until she turned back at him, the roses neatly placed on her counter. "Shall we?" He stuck out his arm, waiting for her to clink into it. "Always."

She followed him out the door and to his truck, enjoying the comfortable silence on their way to the restaurant.

It didn't take long to get from the parking lot to a secluded area in the restaurant. He ordered their drinks and waited for her to choose her food before leaning back into the cushion, smiling at her.

"So, how was your day?" Lucy propped her head into her hand, looking at him. "It was good, Kojo was really happy to see Hailee." Tim told Lucy about how he picked up Hailee from school, the canine making it very clear that he was excited to see the girl as well.

Lucy giggled, thanking the waiter who had brought their wine. "Lucky you, patrol was boring." She bit her lower lip, she should tell him, right?

"Do you know Detective Porter? She works in Sacramento?" Lucy took a sip of her wine, fingers fidgeting with the hem of the tablecloth.

Tim nodded. "I do, actually. She trains the future of the undercover agents." He couldn't tell her that Lopez already told him about the recruitment. "I heard getting recruited by her personally is like receiving a golden ticket." Now that's something he picked up from Harper – she'd gotten both, Porter's recruitment and a golden ticket.

"She came in today, asked me to join the undercover training in Sacramento." There it was - the elephant in the room. Lucy looked up at him, scared of what he might say. He was quiet for a few seconds, but then smiled widely. "That's great! You should do it, it's one hell of an opportunity." He took her hand underneath the table. Lucy sighed, "but what about-"Tim cut her off, "don't worry about Hailee. She can stay with me, of course. You focus on your training; I take care of our daughter." He squeezed her hand softly, "We'll make it work, I promise."

She scooched closer, her knee brushing his as she pulled her hand from his touch. "I know." She nudged his knee lightly. "I think I just need to learn that I don't have to do everything alone anymore." Lucy smiled at him – or more specifically, at his lips. "You've got all of mid-wilshire behind you as your support system," Tim started, leaning down, stopping just inches before his lips touched hers. "Especially me." He closed the gap between them, pressing a soft kiss onto her lips as he lifted her chin upwards.

Lucy enjoyed the dinner-date, his kiss lingering on her lips long after it happened. After they finished their meal, Tim dropped her off at her apartment, and perhaps that's where she should've just said goodbye in good old first-date-etiquette, but instead she invited him in.

Perhaps it was the wine roaming through her body or simply pent-up lust, but as soon as he'd closed the door behind them, she pulled him down for a kiss, her fingertips cradling the sides of his neck.

Tim rested his hands on her hips, steering her towards the counter and lifting her up to place her on it.

Her hands were quick to pull down the jacket and letting it fall to the ground, fingers back to unbutton his shirt before he knew it. "I usually don't sleep with a guy on the first date." She mumbled as she pushed the shirt off his shoulders as well.

"You slept with me even though it wasn't a date. I don't think basic dating rules apply to us." Tim latched onto her neck, placing soft kisses all over it.

It was all Lucy needed before letting go of her rational control over her body and let the lust take over, letting him take her to her bedroom before she fell apart under him just from him caressing her nipples.

And for the first time that day, her mind was freed from Porter, Sacramento, and the Undercover Training.