Chapter Text
What on earth is she going to do?
Mould.
In her apartment building.
Enough for the whole building to need to be temporarily closed off as they work to remove it.
They have to find another place to stay for three weeks while their building is made habitable again.
Tamara was just as shocked as Lucy and asked the big question Lucy has been thinking about since she heard the news.
“Where are we going to stay?”
She spent that whole day, her day off, looking online for anywhere they could stay and quickly discovered that it’s impossible to find anywhere affordable to stay for three weeks for both of them.
Lucy was trying to come up with any other solutions because she absolutely draws the line at Tamara’s suggestion to sleep under an overpass.
“Okay look, I have work tomorrow, and I’ll ask around, see if anyone knows a place we can stay.”
Tamara nods, “The overpass is always an option.”
Lucy settles her with a pointed glare, and Tamara makes the wise decision to retreat back into her room to begin packing their stuff considering they had to be out of here the day after tomorrow.
Lucy sighs heavily and rests her head in her hands, staring blankly at her open laptop, hoping someone will have an idea tomorrow.
She closes down her laptop and decides she better start packing up everything she’ll need before it’s too late.
——
The next morning, before roll call, Lucy’s getting changed in the women’s locker room and spots Angela walking in.
“Hey Angela? This is really random, but do you know anywhere that Tamara and I could stay for three weeks.”
When Angela gives her a questioning look, Lucy sighs, “Our apartment complex has an outbreak of mould and we have to stay somewhere else while it gets removed.”
Angela grimaces, “Oh, that’s rough. I don’t know anywhere that would be affordable. I’d offer for you to stay at my house, but we don’t really have the space now with Jack.”
Lucy gives her a smile, “Of course, it’s no problem, we’ll figure something out. How is little Jack?”
They talk about Angela’s son and how cute he is as they get ready for the day. Lucy even gets to see a new photo of the little boy and it melts her heart because he really is so adorable.
——
The next person she talks to is Nolan, and she hopes that he would know some good accommodations options considering he used to be a contractor. She’s really just praying for a miracle, so that she and Tamara really don’t need to sleep under an overpass or in a dingy, unsafe motel.
She’s sorely disappointed when Nolan shakes his head. “Nothing really comes to mind, but I could do some research if you want?”
“I spent three hours searching last night.” Lucy groans, annoyed at her situation and it makes John chuckle a little, “Hey, it’ll be okay, I’m sure you’ll find something. Let me know if you need any help.”
She smiles at his kindness, he’s always been such a great guy, “Thanks, I will.”
——
After roll call, she talked to Nyla who also had no suggestions.
“If I didn’t have a baby living in my house who wakes up at all hours of the night, I’d let you guys stay at mine. But for both your sakes, I’m not putting you through that.”
Lucy laughs in understanding, “Yeah I totally get it, we’ll find something I’m sure.”
As Nyla smiles and walks back to her desk, Lucy realises that’s she’s starting to worry a little bit. She really isn’t sure where else they can stay, and she doesn’t want to stay somewhere unsafe when Tamara’s with her.
She doesn’t realise how stuck in her own head she is, because she’s shaken out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey Lucy, are you okay?”
Tim’s eyes are soft and concerned, a look she rarely ever sees. She must look as panicked as she feels.
She shakes her head again because she’s on the job and she needs to clear her mind before they go out on the streets.
“Yeah sorry, I’m good.” She can tell he doesn’t believe her by the way his eyebrows furrow, “Just got lost in thought.”
She moves to go collect their war bags and Tim joins her, picking one off the counter and letting her grab the other.
“Want to talk about it?”
Lucy looks up at him and frowns, “Talk about what?”
Tim leads them towards their shop and loads the first bag into the back of the shop, before slowly reaching forward to take the one in her hands. She easily lets him take it from her and he puts it beside the first one.
“Whatever’s bothering you?”
Lucy chuckles gently as they round the vehicle and sit in their respective seats, she quickly buckles her seatbelt as she speaks, “I thought you didn’t like it when I talk about personal stuff at work.”
He rolls his eyes playfully and buckles his seatbelt but he doesn’t move to start the car just yet, instead he turns to face her, a more serious look in his eyes.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine Lucy. But you can talk to me.”
A slow smile works its way into her face and she realises that all her earlier stress seems to have vanished. She resists telling him that he’s a sweet guy, because he’ll just try to deny it and instead tells him what she was going to tell him anyway.
“Tamara and I are getting temporarily kicked out of our apartment because they found mould in our building.”
Tim’s eyebrows rise in surprise, this is clearly not what he was expecting her to say.
Lucy gives him a resigned smile, “And we have nowhere to stay for three weeks while it’s being fixed. So I guess I’m just slightly worried about what I’m gonna do, because I promised myself I’d keep Tamara safe but I really can’t afford to stay in a hotel for three weeks. And I’m not risking a dingy motel or godforbid sleeping under an overpass—“
Tim holds out a hand, “Woah, Lucy, slow down a bit.” She nods and takes a deep breath because all of this is starting to overwhelm her.
Tim thinks for a moment and she loses her breath all over again when he finally speaks again.
“You guys could come stay with me if you want.”
Lucy searches his eyes, “I—No I can’t. I can’t impose on you like that.”
Tim rolls his eyes, “It’s not imposing if I’m the one offering. I have two spare bedrooms and an extra bathroom that you can share. I also live close to the station so getting to work isn’t an issue.”
Lucy feels her heart start to swell with both relief and overwhelming adoration for how amazing this man is.
“Are you sure, Tim? That's a big change, two extra people living in your house.”
Tim looks back down at the steering wheel and then glances back up at her with a smile, “Eh, I could use the company.”
She beams at him, her smile bright and full of pure gratitude, and he smiles back at her.
“Thank you, Tim. You really don’t know how much this means to me. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
He nods without hesitation and a stern but playful look on his face, “You’re acting like you were begging me to let you stay with me. I offered!”
She laughs brightly, finally feeling better since she received the news about the mould, “I just want to make sure you don’t feel like you have to take us in! I promise I'll pay you rent for us both, whatever you want.”
Tim rolls his eyes with a soft scoff, “I know I don’t have to do anything. And no you’re not paying me.” She opens her mouth to argue but he gives her a stern look and she quickly shuts it again, “You don’t owe me anything, I want you to come live with me.”
Tim doesn’t seem to register how that sounded because he just turns the keys to start the car, while Lucy looks out the window to hide the deep blush on her cheeks at the phasing of his words.
She knows exactly what he was trying to say, that staying with him is better and safer than a grimy motel, but her mind couldn’t help but interpret that as something else.
As they pull out of the station, Tim speaks while keeping his eyes on the road.
“When will you need to be out of your apartment?”
Lucy clears her throat and prays her blush has fully disappeared when she turns to look at him again.
“Uh—tomorrow?” It comes out like a question because she really hopes that it doesn't bother Tim and he’s still okay with all of this. He’s already doing her a huge favour and she doesn’t want to impose on him even further.
His eyes widen slightly, “How much notice did they give you?”
“We found out yesterday morning and everyone has to be out of the building by tomorrow night.”
Tim keeps his eyes on the road as he makes a turn, “Jesus, no wonder you haven’t found a place to stay. Until now.”
Lucy grins softly at his last words, before a thought comes to her, “Actually I should call Tamara and tell her about all this.”
Tim nods his head with a smile, “Yeah, go ahead.”
Lucy easily slips her phone out of her pocket and quickly finds Tamara in her contacts and presses the call button, pulling the phone up to her ear and waiting for her to answer.
“Hey Lucy, what’s up? Did you get any good suggestions on places we could stay?”
Lucy smiles softly at Tim whose eyes don’t stray from the road.
“Uh yeah, I actually found us a place to stay.”
“Oh perfect, where? It’s not too expensive is it?”
“No, no. Actually it’s free, I offered to pay, but he won’t accept anything.” She gives Tim a pointed look and he glances at her before his eyes settle back on the road and he lets out a chuckle, just loud enough that Tamara can hear it on the other side of the phone.
“Lucy, you’re not paying me a single cent, I don’t care.”
“I feel bad not giving you something in return.”
Tim doesn’t budge in the slightest, “Well tough.”
Tamara’s voice over the phone pulls her back into their conversation again.
“What exactly just happened, and who are we staying with and not paying rent to?”
Lucy just laughs softly, “It’s Tim.”
“Officer Zaddy that you work with?”
Lucy’s cheeks redden and Tim catches it out of the corner of his eyes and wonders just what exactly Tamara said that’s making her blush.
Lucy’s voice is strained but stern as she replies, not daring to look at Tim. “Yes, him.”
Tim’s now very curious to know exactly what Tamara must have said about him to get that reaction from Lucy.
Lucy clears her throat and decides to shift the conversation to save herself from further embarrassment, “Have you packed everything you’ll need?”
“Yeah almost, mostly toiletries and stuff left, but I have all my clothes ready.”
Lucy nods her head, making a mental checklist of all the stuff she’ll have to do when she gets home. “Okay perfect, I can always go out and buy you whatever you need as well.”
“Do you think Tim would be okay with me bringing our big wool blanket we use on movie nights. I love that blanket and I don’t want mould getting anywhere near it.”
Lucy smiles because she also loves that blanket. It was one of the first things they bought together when Tamara moved in with her, the both of them quickly falling in love with it because of how massive and insanely comfortable it was. It’s now become a sacred part of their weekly movie nights and girl talk sessions.
“Let me ask, one second.” She pulls her phone down from her ear and covers it with her hand as she turns back to Tim.
“Hey, can Tamara bring this big wool blanket over to yours? We usually use it on the couch when we watch movies, and I think she’s worried it’ll get infected with mould if we leave it behind.”
Tim chuckles and nods his head, wondering why they even feel the need to ask, they can bring whatever they need or want with them.
“Yeah of course, you guys bring whatever you need.”
Lucy smiles at him again, wide and full of joy.
He is so incredibly kind and understanding, she’s not sure how anybody could think any different. He may put up a tough exterior to other people but she can see how much of a good guy he is, it just takes a while for him to fully trust a person and open up. They’re long past that stage now, and Lucy really likes the guy he is when his walls are down.
She brings the phone back up to her ear, “Yeah, we’ll put it in my car when we drive over.”
“Yess! Oh, do you need me to pack anything else for us?”
“I was planning to see what we need tonight but I think we’re mostly okay.”
The radio buzzes to life with a call.
“Sorry Tamara, we just got a call, I’ll see you tonight. Bye.”
“Bye!”
Lucy quickly picks up her radio to respond, attaching them to the call and Tim starts heading in that direction.
As they drive Lucy smiles again, “I really do appreciate this Tim. I seriously owe you.”
He takes his eyes off the road for a second to give her a small smile. “Just doing what anyone else would.”
Lucy smiles to herself. “Well you’re the only person who actually offered us a place to stay, so that’s not really true.”
Tim opens his mouth to say something else, most likely trying to argue her point and she laughs, cutting him off, “Just let me be grateful Tim. You’re not letting me pay you rent, so let me at least thank you!”
He huffs softly and makes the last turn as they pull up outside a house where a couple are shouting at each other in the doorway.
He doesn’t say anything else as he starts to get out of the shop and she grins knowing she’s won.
She speaks to his back as they walk up the driveway, “Thank you.”
With his back facing her, she misses the smile tugging at the edge of his lips before he switches back to the job.