Chenford: it's 5'o'clock somewhere

will you stay?

Kojo was very excited, to say the least, to be released from his prison. Luckily, he'd managed to go without any accidents. Tim moved his food and water back into the kitchen as Lucy supervised him in the backyard. 

Well what now? Lucy contemplated as she watched her furball of joy chase a yellow butterfly and watch forlornly as it flitted over the wall out of his reach.

Indeed, what now?

Walking back inside, she found Tim already on the couch. She hesitated before sliding onto the end opposite of him, keeping some space between them. With all the chaos that had been "yesterday" she hadn't had enough space in her mind to consider their proximity or how unlike "them" their interactions had been. To be fair, dealing with a drunk and unhinged Tim Bradford was extingent circumstances.  But now her mind was too empty and she was sharply aware of how unprofessional "yesterday" would be considered in the eyes of their superiors. Or even how different it'd be considered as far as their tentative friendship extended. 

Tim appeared unbothered. Or at least it seemed that way. She could tell by a tinge in his tone that morning that he had heard her. And he had believed her. Which, was the most important thing she cared about. But now she couldn't tell what was running through his mind. She was just so tired, physically and mentally and there was just so much involved she couldn't think. 

She also needed a warm shower and a good nap so things really needed to wrap up here. 

"Tim, I- are you okay?"

He knew what she was asking.

Had he really listened to everything she had said last night? Had he really taken it on? Was he really going to recover? Was he really going to go back to his old self? Maybe not the same. But no, things wouldn't be any different.

The monster was dead.

The terror of becoming his father was loosening its grasp.

He had people who cared about him.

He had people he cared about, including her.

Especially her. 

Of all the people, though it was an admittedly tight group, she had been the one sent to find him. That meant he wasn't the only one who thought she was something special that had come into his life. She had found him drowning and pulled him out. She saved him. And it wasn't the first time. 

Would it continue like this? Them just always being there for eachother, saving the other at each turn? It would. Unless they did something about that. It was not an aspect he wanted to lose or sacrafice for anything else. Still, he had started wanting more. And after "yesterday" it morphed into more than a want. It became a need. She, in more or less terms, made it clear she at least cared. The extent of that was... unclear to him. Mostly because he chose not to take a page out of her book and overanalyze her every word and look. 

She had never failed to be there for him.

She always knew what to say and how to say it.

And he didn't want to lose the light she brought to his life. He wanted more of it.

"Yes." Yes, he was okay. 

A cross of uncertainty and mild relief drew in her features. "Well, I-if you don't mind, I'd like to go, you know, home. Take a shower, take a nap-"

"Will you stay?" There was such a weight to his tone she knew, she just knew, he was asking for more than this moment?

"What do you mean?"

He appeared to struggle with his words. She could see the concentration on his face. There was so much to say, so many ways to say it, and so many ways it could come out wrong. After a few seconds, he gave up on words. He stood, closed the short space between them, leant forward, cupping her quizzical face between his warm calloused hands and pressed her lips to his own. 

It wasn't shocking or unnatural by any means or terms. It was him. It was her. It was them. Their every moment, their every emotion, their every ounce, culminated and pressing into this one action. The safety, the consolation, the peace, the security they would seek out in eachother. All packed into this one movement. The weight was incredible but it was the lightest they had ever felt. 

He broke away, breathlessly stating, "That is what I mean."

"Okay. I'm in."

"Really?" he asked incredulously. As if he hadn't just kissed her within an inch of her being, undoubtedly confirming everything she had been wondering.

Softly, she smiled. "Really."

"Might want to call Grey again, we might need another day."

"Oh really?" The tone had definitely changed.

"Really."