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Tim ends up cashing in that dance four times.
After their first dance, Angela cuts in and demands a dance from her man of honor. "You owe me one too, Bradford. Sorry, Lucy."
Lucy holds her hands up. "No, he's all yours. My feet need a break, anyway." She gives Tim an almost-wink and slips away into a dance with Lila.
Tim watches as the sparkly material of Lucy's dress disappears, and finally looks at Angela as she eyes him suspiciously with her "detective eyes". She's about to say something, Tim knows. The past year and a half have been just offhanded remarks about how Lucy's different from other rookies Tim's trained, and as much as Tim would love to deny it, he knows his best friend as well as she knows him. The conversation is going to happen, and Tim will not let Angela be the one to instigate it when she'll hold it over him until Jack's married with two kids. "Just say it, Ang."
Angela does not hesitate. "Since when do you dance with rookies?"
"Not a rookie anymore, Lopez," Tim answers, immediately realizing that: 1) it's the dumbest answer he's ever given anyone, and 2) he didn't deny dancing with Lucy.
As a detective, Angela catches him dodging. "So you did dance with her. Explain. How'd you get her to do it willingly?"
"I'm a pretty scary-"
"Oh, spare me your tough T.O. act, Tim. Chen made you soft years ago." Tim's eyes drift over to Lucy taking a selfie with Lila. "Hey, eyes over here." Angela snaps her fingers, turning Tim's attention back to her. "Oh God, you are smitten with that woman."
Tim scoffs, the sound foreign to him (and by default, Angela). "I am not." The right side of his nose scrunches as he says it, and Angela effortlessly spots his tell.
"Don't lie to my face, Bradford. You've never looked at someone like that, not even Isabel. You look at her like she's the ocean and you're desperate to drown."
"I do not," Tim says firmly, his nose scrunching again.
Angela gives him a oh, spare me look. "You have feelings for her, Tim. Denying it makes it worse. Trust me, I've been there." Tim watches as Angela's gaze quickly flickers to Wesley. Realization suddenly strikes as she turns back to Tim. "You love her, don't you?"
Tim lets himself look at Lucy again, her presence a shining beacon in the darkness of their jobs. "Of course I love her, she's my partner."
"Finally you admit it. But she's not just that, Tim," Angela says. "She's your lifeline. You've never, ever told me you needed me until she was taken. And I have never seen you crying, not even close, until that day. You were seconds from breaking down in front of me, Tim. If we hadn't found her, you probably would be somewhere in a therapist's office right now nursing a broken heart. And with that, suck it up, be a man, and go tell her."
"Lucy has a boyfriend," Tim tries weakly, trying to force the idea of Chris fucking Sanford out of his mind.
Angela laughs, though it's more of a sarcastic chuckle that Harper would use. "Please. Sanford's been out of the picture for a week now. Speaking of significant others," she looks up at Tim with a scrutinizing expression. "Please tell me you and Ashley are done."
Tim nods. "Two months ago."
"Great. You're both single. Go get your girl." She lightly shoves him away before heading back to Wesley.
"I am cutting in," Tim announces as he slips in between Aaron and Lucy's dance.
"Oh, take her, sir. She's good and I'm horrible at dancing," Aaron responds, leaving and letting Tim take Lucy's hand in his.
Lucy gives Tim a sly smile. "Taking more than you asked for, Tim. A dance, I remember you asking for, was already given to you."
Tim can't stop the smile that spreads across his face. "Well, it's either you or Smitty."
"I'm your last resort, huh?" Lucy asks, mock offense written all over her face. "Maybe I should just let you dance with Smitty."
"That's no way to treat your sergeant," Tim says playfully.
Lucy laughs, and Tim lets her spin out before catching her back in his arms. "Well, you wouldn't get anything done without me, so that's counterintuitive."
"True," Tim concedes. The lights above them twinkle as they brighten Lucy's wide eyes. Beautiful, Tim thinks. "So how was riding with Nolan today? And Macer, I heard."
"It was..." Lucy pauses to find the right words as they sway to a slower song. "Well, it was nothing compared to riding with you, for sure."
Tim lets his grin widen. "Well, I'm honored to be the high bar set for riding partners."
Lucy rolls her eyes. "Whatever."
On the stage, Grey calls for everyone to circle around for pictures, and Tim lets Lucy's hand go.
He swears he sees a flash of disappointment in her eyes before it's replaced with a warm glow again.
"Why don't you marry Lucy already?" Lila asks from out of nowhere. She and Tim are standing at a table, watching people slowly start to leave. "I mean, you're in love with her."
"I'm-" Tim chokes on his drink. "We're not together."
Lila narrows her eyes curiously at Tim. "Really? Oh! Are you two-" She lowers her voice. "-secretly together? Are you not allowed to be boyfriend and girlfriend? I promise I won't tell anyone."
Tim laughs a little. "We're not together, Lila. Believe me, if we were..." He looks out into the night as Lucy hugs Angela and Wesley good night. "I would be over there with her right now."
"You guys looked like you were having fun dancing earlier," Lila observes, and God, she sounds so much like Harper with the accusatory-yet-gentle remark.
"We were," Tim says softly.
"You should ask her again." Lila gives him a confident smile.
"There you are!" Lucy walks over, her heels in her hand. "I got Silas to play Enchanted for Harper and James, and we have to watch."
Tim and Lila exchange a quick look before he stands up. "Well, we should dance to it too. After all, it is a Speak Now song."
Lucy's beam is brighter than the moon shining down on them.
"Lucy!" Tim jogs over to her, stopping her just before she gets into her car. "Wait."
Lucy turns around, curiosity in her eyes. The exact same look she gave him almost a year ago when she twirled around to respond to Tim's call out for her, seconds before he quickly asked her for a dance and scurried off. "Yeah, what's up, Tim?"
"Dance with me." He stops himself before he reaches for her hand.
"Now?"
"No, I mean, unless you want to?" Wow, real great there, Timothy.
Lucy laughs. "Am I witnessing the apocalypse? Tim Bradford stumbling over his own-"
Tim cuts her off by softly touching her cheek to face him directly with his hand. His fingers slowly tip her chin upwards to meet his eyes. "I mean, Lucy, dance with me. Literally, figuratively, metaphorically, everything. Figuring things out as we go, like how we always do."
"I'd like that," Lucy says, smiling and biting her lip shyly. "But under one condition."
"Anything," Tim responds.
Lucy smiles, wider. "Dance with me? Now, I mean."
"I thought you'd never ask."