Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Are you sure you are going to be okay?” Lucy asks Tim. He nods his head looking down at Ava. The baby looks back at him, blue eyes wide and alert. 

“Yes. Ava and I will be just fine.” Tim says reassuringly. Lucy blows out a breath, she was going back to work today and Tim was staying home with Ava. 

She felt like she was ready to go back, and she was excited to go back but she made that decision a week ago and while she was confident about it then. She was having some mixed feelings about it now. 

“Are you sure?” Lucy asks again. “I can stay home for a few more days.” Tim shakes his head, and gives her a soft kiss.

“Luce, you need this. You need to get back out there. We have both been in this baby bubble for the last three months.” He says. “I’m so proud of you. And you are a great mom. And we will both be waiting for you when you get home.”

Lucy blows out a breath and she wonders how Tim always knows what to say. She looks at Ava, and then back at Tim. 

“I pumped last night and put it in the refrigerator.” She says. “Do you—” 

“Lucy,” Tim says amusement lining his voice. “We will be fine. You don’t want to be late for your first day back.” 

“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you want to get rid of me.” She grumbles as she picks up her bag, her pump (because she would have to pump at work), and her car keys.

“Oh yes.” Tim says teasingly. “Ava and I are plotting on how to prank you.” Lucy rolls her eyes and adjusts her bag on her shoulder. 

“I’m sure you are. I go through 12 hours of labor and she ends up looking like you and being a daddy’s girl.” Lucy says. Tim huffs out a laugh and kisses Lucy. She presses a kiss to Ava’s head, and then turns around and walks out the door. The faster she could get out of there and get to work, the faster she could get back home.

***

The first few hours are fine but emotional for Lucy,  she does have to escape to Tim’s office to pump of course.

She is a little stressed out, and she feels all her emotions rushing up whenever she thinks of Ava and Tim.

Her baby girl. 

How could she just leave her baby?

She knows this is good for her, being back at work but she still misses Ava. Her sweet little face, her little noises and the way she looks up at Lucy when she nurses. It’s like Lucy is the person she trusts most in the world and even if she’s so tiny—she just knows. 

Lucy sighs softly, and tries to get it together for the sake of herself. She is on desk duty for a week before she goes back out and she’s fine with it. She is just catching up on some of the cases that she missed when she hears someone approaching her desk. 

She doesn’t bother looking up right away, instead she just keeps her eyes on the paper in front of her. 

“Excuse me,” a familiar voice says. Lucy freezes in her seat, as she slowly turns to look up. She sees Chris Sanford standing there glaring at her.

“Chris.” She says stiffly. She had seen Chris around the station here and there over the years, he knows she’s married to Tim and she’s sure he knows she just had a baby with Tim. Although he’s a dimwit, he didn’t even know she didn’t want to buy a house with him.

“I need to talk to you about a case.” Chris says his eyes still on her face. Lucy sits up straight and narrows her eyes at him. 

“What case?” She asks a little curious. Her last case had been weeks before Ava was born which was over three months ago.

“A domestic violence case. It happened around two months ago.” Chris says. Lucy frowns at him, she wasn’t even working two months ago. “There are some loose ends—”

“Hold on,” She says holding up her hands. “I wasn’t even here two months ago. I was on leave.” Chris shifts on his feet, his eyes still narrowed.

“No,” He says. “This was your case. And you did a shit job. The abuser got out of—”

“No.” She says standing up, and glaring at him. “It was not my case. I was on maternity leave two months ago. Today is my first day back.” 

There’s a long silence, as Chris continues to glare at her. “Well it seems you are slacking at your job then.” He says.

“I’m sorry.” She snaps. And she’s had about enough of Chris for a lifetime. Once a dick, always a dick. (And it wasn’t like his was that impressive).  “How about you try and push a baby out of your body? How about you try and be in labor for twelve hours?” 

Chris gapes at her, and she hears someone behind her. “Lucy.” Another familiar voice says except this one is one that she wants to hear. She turns around on her heels and sees Tim with Ava strapped to his chest. She’s fast asleep, her tiny fist clutching Tim’s shirt.

“Oh hi.” She says. “What—” She hears Chris clear his throat behind her, and she groans loudly looking up at the ceiling wondering why the hell Chris couldn’t just leave her alone. 

“What?” She snaps turning back to face him, although she really doesn’t want to. “I told you I wasn’t here two months ago. That wasn’t my case.” 

“Just because you are a mom now doesn’t mean you get to half ass your job Lucy.” Chris says. “I will be keeping this in mind for next time.” 

Lucy growls, and steps forward so she’s in Chris’s space. She hears Tim say her name but she ignores him. 

“I didn’t half ass anything. And me having a child doesn’t have anything to do with this. I don’t know why you are doing this, I don’t know if it’s because you have a pea sized brain and can’t get it through your head that I never loved you or wanted you.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. She could feel herself starting to leak, and this really wasn’t the time. “But you are the asshole, you are coming after me for no reason except for your own personal opinion of me. You are not doing your job. If an abuser got out of jail, that is on you and whoever had the case. Not me.” 

“Luce.” Tim pulls her back and she turns around to face him. He has a concerned look on his face, and then he glares at Chris his hand protectively on Ava’s back. “Do you need anything else Sanford or are you done harassing my wife?” 

“She just needs to do her job and what do you have that I don’t?”  Chris asks hotly.

Lucy could name several things that Tim had. Self awareness was one of them. Tim just glares at Chris, and steps closer to the man. He still has his hand on Ava’s back as if he’s protecting her from him. 

“You are an idiot.” Tim says. “You have no respect for anyone but yourself. She told you she wasn’t here, so this is not on her.” 

Chris glares at him, and Lucy looks around the station. No one is looking their way (thank goodness). The last thing she needs is for someone to see her freak out on Chris, on her first day back. 

Although he did bring this on himself. 

Lucy pulls Tim back not keen on having him or Ava near Chris. 

“You need to leave Chris.” She says. “Now. You had no right to come here and harass me.” Chris opens his mouth, but he shuts it. And then he’s turning on his heels and storming away.

Lucy falls back into her seat and buries her face in her hands. “Lucy,” Tim says lifting up her head. “Come here.” Lucy lets him pull her up, and she follows him to his office. He shuts the door, and then sits her down on the sofa. 

“Are you okay?” 

“I need to pump.” She mutters. She grabs the pump off the sofa and hooks up. It’s silent for a few minutes. The only sounds is the pump, a calming sound to Lucy when she feels like she wants to crawl out of her skin.

“Lucy, why was he here?” Tim asks. Lucy looks up at him, and she relaxes a little when she sees Ava’s little face. 

“I don’t know. He wanted to ask me about a case I wasn’t even on.” She says. “He’s a dick.” Tim snorts and nods his head in agreement. 

“Why are you here?” She asks not that she minds. She needs him and Ava after that encounter. Tim was the calm after the storm.

“I thought I would surprise you and take you out to lunch.” He says. “And then I saw Sanford and—”

She takes the pump off and reaches her arms out for Ava. Tim laughs and pulls the baby out, putting her in Lucy’s arms. 

Ava coos a little and then snuggles down into Lucy’s chest. “I miss her.” She says. “And it hasn’t even been a full day. How am I suppose to do this? I feel like I’m failing her by not being there with her.” Tim smiles at her, and sits next to her reaching out to squeeze her hand.

“Lucy, you are an amazing mom.” He says. “I know this is hard, but you can do this. You are not failing her baby. You are doing everything right.”

Lucy leans down to kiss Ava on top of the head. “By the way your dick is a lot better than Chris’s.” 

Tim raises his eyebrows at her looking confused but also smug. “Thank you?” He says. She grins at him, and then stands up still holding Ava.

“Now about that lunch—” She says. Tim laughs softly, and puts his hand on her back. 

“Lunch. And then you can get back to work and then come home to me and Ava.” He says. Lucy hums because that sounds perfect. 

She knows she will still miss Ava and Tim. She knows it won’t be without its challenges but tomorrow was a new day. And she would always have Tim and Ava to come home to. 

And that’s something she could live with.