Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lucy Chen needed a win. The last few weeks of her life had been some of the worst. Not only had she quit her dream job, but her boyfriend dumped her, her washer and dryer both died on the same day, and she locked her keys in her car. Three. Times. In one week.

And now, she was locked out of her house in the pouring rain.

She had quickly come to the conclusion that locks and keys were simply out to get her, but really she had no one to blame for those mishaps but herself. Things just kept getting worse - bad days turned into bad weeks, turned into a bad month. She knew she should be grateful because really, all of her problems were first world. People are being abused, kids are starving, and families are being torn apart, and here she is crying and throwing a pity party over being locked out of her house.

Sighing, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed the non-emergency phone number that was still in her recents. She thought about busting the window out, but the windows were taller than her five foot four inch frame. There was nothing for her to stand on to even try. Besides, the house belonged to her elderly aunt and neither of them could afford to repair a window right now.

Lucy took shelter from the downpour in her car, scrolling on her phone as she waited for someone to be sent out. She spent her time scrolling through job listings, begging, pleading with the powers above to send her something. Anything at this point. Her credit cards were maxed out, her savings depleted. She had a waitressing job at a sushi restaurant downtown, but at the end of the day she was always left wanting more. She stopped her scrolling as a police car pulled up, parking on the opposite side of the street. She hopped out, still soaking wet from the rain.

“Hi!” Lucy exclaimed as the officer climbed out of his car, running across the street with an umbrella. “I’m so sorry to bother you with this. I’m just… kind of dumb.”

“It’s not a problem,” the officer spoke, holding his hand out to Lucy as he covered both of them with his umbrella. “I’m Officer Bradford… Tim, I mean. Just call me Tim. And you are?”

His hand was rough against hers, his handshake firm.

“I’m Lucy,” she was the first to release from the handshake. “Do you think it’s possible to get in without breaking the window?”

“Totally,” Officer Bradford said with ease, reaching for a tool from his belt. “All I need is like… thirty seconds.”

He slid a key shaped object into the gap between the door and after a few wiggles, the door popped open like it was never even locked. Lucy jumped for joy, and without realizing it she had thrown her arms around him.

“You’re my savior,” she grinned from ear to ear, feeling him stiffen and push away. “Sorry, I just… I needed a win today. Seriously, thank you so much. I owe you.”

“Just doing my job,” the policeman flashed a small smile at her, holding his hand out. “You should keep this. I hear you have an affinity for getting locked out of things.”

As Officer Bradford ran back to his car, she looked down at the piece of metal in her hand. And as he drove away, she realized her hand was still wrapped around the handle of his umbrella. She had grabbed it while he was unlocking her door.

Well, shit.

Chapter Text

The sun was shining, birds were singing, and Lucy had a job interview. Today was going to be the day her luck finally turned around. She wanted nothing more than a clean slate; to leave the past in the past. 

Lucy felt like nothing more than a failure. Four years of schooling and a shit ton of student loan debt, she felt like she had nothing to show for it. It weighed so heavy on her soul, still grappling with the realization that her dream job was anything but. She still wrestled daily with her decision to leave. She missed it daily, her job, but didn’t miss the added stress, anxiety, and exhaustion. 

Again, that was in the past. She was ready to move forward, and that started today with her job interview. A friend of a friend had told her about a nannying job and put her into contact with the person hiring. Lucy loved kids. From babies to teenagers, they all had such a special place in her heart. She didn’t know why she loved children so much, but she had always gravitated to them ever since she was a child herself. Maybe it was the fact that when she was seven, her mother had another baby and Lucy felt that more often than not, she was the child’s mother. 

Lucy was shaking with nerves as she stared at her appearance in the mirror. She often described her sense of style as Miss Frizzle meets Rachel Green – quirky yet sophisticated. She wore a black skirt that fell just above her knees, topped with a chunky blue cardigan with sea creatures on it. She wore tights and mary janes – her lucky ones. She had a closet filled with shoes, but every positive moment in her life it seemed like she was wearing her favorite mary janes. She wasn’t about to screw with fate now. 

Lucy really wasn’t sure what the job entailed, but she did know it was for a 7 month old baby. She had emailed her resume and references over to the guy hiring – all she knew was that his name was Timothy. She was meeting him at a coffee shop just a couple blocks from her house for their interview, already riddled with nerves at the thought that she might actually soon have a new job. 

On the drive over, Lucy gave herself a mental pep talk. No matter how much she told herself that she would ace this interview, it didn’t stop her hands from shaking or her chest to feel less heavy. She played her Badass Bitch playlist, deciding to let Beyonce do the pep talking for her. She had to land this job. If she didn’t, she could always go back to her previous field… but that was her very last resort. Just the thought of that almost sent her into a panic attack.

Outside of the coffee shop, as she struggled to parallel park, she imagined Timothy, the guy interviewing her. She just knew he was shaking his head, deciding in the moment that he would never let someone who couldn’t parallel park, take care of his child. That was one thing she hated about LA - the parking. Normally she’d go out of her way to find a normal parking spot, even if it meant having to walk a block or two, but today she didn’t have the time.

Lucy was a ball of nerves as she walked into Cafe Java, the smell of freshly ground coffee overwhelming her senses. Soft, mellow music sounded throughout the small cafe, drowning out the sound of espresso machines and chattering customers. She looked around the crowded cafe, wishing she had used some of her super sleuthing skills to figure out what Timothy at least looked like. She scanned until her eyes landed on the man with a baby carrier strapped on his chest. He was scrolling on his phone, a stack of papers sitting in front of him. He was waiting for someone. He was waiting for her . 

When their eyes met across the room, she realized it wasn’t her first time meeting this man at all. She had met him just a few days earlier in the pouring down rain.

Officer Tim Bradford.

Chapter Text

Tim Bradford almost rolled his eyes as Lucy Chen walked over to him. He knew who she was - the girl that has a knack for locking herself out, but Jesus Christ. Did her sweater have crabs on it? And whales? His best friend always tells him to stop judging people before truly meeting them; that had always been a bad habit of his.

He sighed and waved her over, knowing he needed to give her a chance. The hiring pool was slim to say the least. He wouldn’t trust just anyone with his kid and when he thought he found someone worth it, their background check came back with parking tickets or car crashes and in one case, kidnapping. One even had an active warrant out of Idaho for, get this murder. So yeah, he was being careful, but he could never be too careful when it came to his daughter; his pride and joy.

“Officer Bradford!” The cheery woman sat across from him, smiling from ear to ear. “I didn’t realize it was you that was looking for a nanny!”

“How could you?” Tim deadpanned, probably a little too serious for the occasion. “And it’s Tim. Just Tim.” 

He could tell Lucy was nervous. Really, he was nervous too. Any business that involved his daughter was serious business. One wrong decision… he shook the thought from his mind. He couldn’t think like that right now. He was here to interview someone that one day soon may be caring for his daughter; feeding her, giving her baths, protecting her…

“What’s his name?”

Lucy’s feminine voice interrupted his thoughts. He stared at her with curiosity. He had already run a background check on her, obviously. Everything came back clean, other than a single late payment on a credit card. No speeding or parking tickets and no car crashes, although her parallel parking could definitely use some work. She had a long history of working with kids,  all the way back to when, if his math was correct, she was fourteen.

“Her,” Tim corrected, the baby letting out a small coo in her sleep. “And it’s Rosemary, but I call her Rosie.” 

For a brief moment, Tim completely zoned out. He thought back to simultaneously the best and worst day of his life. Where he gained a daughter, he lost a wife. Everyday, he carries that pain and guilt with him like a vest. He had made progress since that day, but the wound was still so fresh. He had been putting it off for months, hiring someone to help him, but he couldn’t anymore. After Rosie had been born, the department collectively came together and gifted him all of their time off. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him. He was able to spend five months at home with his daughter as they learned how to navigate life together, just the two of them. He had slowly started working again, bouncing the baby between friends, his mother-in-law, and his own mom when she actually made herself available. There were days when Rosie even came to work with him and he caught up on paperwork with her strapped to him instead of patrolling. Thankfully, there was always paperwork to be done and the overhead had been more than understanding of his situation. 

“Tim,” Lucy’s voice broke his trance, bringing him back to present time. He never lets himself get lost in his thoughts like that. “I was just asking if you wanted to start the interview?”

Really, he already knew everything he needed to know about Lucy Chen, and she was a good fit. A perfect fit, really. Deep down, he knew she was the one. Still, he wanted to hear her life in her words. 

Lucy folded her hands in front of her as Tim started looking through the papers in front of him. She assumed it was her resume and references, and she was sure he had run a background report on her. He probably had her social security number and credit score there, too. 

“Just tell me a little about yourself,” Tim started, taking a sip of his coffee. “Whatever you want.” 

God, where would she even start? She felt like she had a pretty uninteresting life. She didn’t have any special talents or hobbies to talk about. She was just Lucy. 

“Well,” Lucy trailed off, awkwardly laughing. “I just turned twenty-seven, although I’m sure you already knew that. I actually, uh, hate coffee, so that’s why I didn’t get a drink. But the smell of it is one of my favorites. My favorite color is pink, but…” 

“Why did you quit teaching?” 

She was taken aback by the way Tim cut her off mid sentence, finally asking her the question that had been hanging between them since she sat down. It’s the question that everyone wants the answer to, really. You spend your whole life dreaming of being a teacher and when you finally become one, you quit after less than three years. She had never come out and told anyone the real reason as to why she left her dream job. It weighed heavily on her chest every day, wanting to escape from the cage it was locked in. So finally, after months of keeping it in, she let it free. 

She knew that being a teacher wouldn’t be easy, especially kindergarten. She loved all kids, but the toddlers had a special place in her heart. They were finally able to genuinely learn things and she loved to watch them soak up knowledge and lessons like a sponge. She decorated her classroom in shades of pink and yellow and orange, sprinkling in smiley faces and encouraging quotes. She had built a reading corner filled with books that had been gifted to her by friends and family and fellow teachers. She had twenty toddlers between the age of four and five rely on her every day for six and a half hours every day. She was their protector and their guardian. She was responsible for making sure they got the most knowledge out of every single day, whether it was simple math and spelling or learning how to tie their shoes. She loved it. 

Until she woke up one morning and just… didn’t.

She had spent four years in school and over fifty thousand dollars getting a degree, just to completely hate her job by the second year. It wasn’t the children’s fault, absolutely not. It was the fact that every time she turned on the news, more people were gunned down at school. In their classroom while learning how to count. She was willing to die for her students, absolutely, but what weighed her down the most was that she shouldn’t have to be willing to die. She was there to read to her kids, not shield them from bullets. After worrying about dying all day at school, everyday she came home to an empty fridge. Her third month of employment, the electric company cut her lights off. She was paid pennies. No, she didn’t become a teacher for the money, but she was going to bed hungry more often than not. She was relying on school breakfasts and lunches to get her through. Through it all, she kept a smile on her face until it was physically impossible. 

That was the day she put in her notice. 

Tim was moved by the way Lucy spoke of her former job. Her voice dripped with passion about her love for teaching and children, and he only hoped that he sounded that way when he talked about being a police officer. He understood where she was coming from, in a way. Over the last few years, he had responded to well over a dozen school shooting calls. Many of them had ended without any casualties or injuries, but he’ll never forget seeing teachers and students barricaded in their classrooms, using books, backpacks, and even other bodies to shield their own. It was calls like that that he found impossible to leave at work. No matter how many times he sees it, it never gets easier, so he could only imagine how Lucy felt. 

“Let’s talk about the job itself a little bit,” Tim stacked the papers in front of him, making sure all the edges aligned. “I just want you to know what you’d be getting yourself into.”

Lucy nodded eagerly – maybe too much. So far, she liked Tim and could see herself working for him. He seemed like a nice enough guy. 

“When I’m at work,” Tim started, absentmindedly rubbing the top of his daughter's head with his thumb. “You’ll be the sole person responsible for Rosie’s wellbeing. Her life will be in your hands. For that, if you are the person I choose for this job, you will be compensated greatly.” 

It had taken Tim a long time to come to terms with the fact that he needed help – help that would be around twenty four seven. He could afford it, after receiving his wife’s life insurance money along with years of investing and saving his money, things had finally paid off for him. 

“You’ll become Rosie’s live-in nanny,” he watched as Lucy’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “You’ll move into my home and live with us. Whenever I’m at home, you’ll be essentially off the clock and can do whatever you please. I’m usually home every night by six, but there will be times when you may not see me for, I don’t know, two or three days.” 

Lucy suddenly felt overwhelmed. She hadn’t known the job would require her to move in with, well, a stranger. She knew she had nothing to worry about, he was a cop after all, but still. She thought this was just like an afternoon nannying job. 

“While taking care of Rosie, you’ll also be required to do other chores involving her,” Tim took another long sip of his coffee. “You know, doing her laundry, washing her bottles, going out and buying anything she may need.” 

Lucy’s head began to swim as Tim continued to talk. She would be moving into a strangers house. Rent. Free. In California, especially LA, a month's rent is like, a million dollars. 

“There will be absolutely no drama,” Tim’s stern words cut through her thoughts. “No ex boyfriend drama, crazy friend drama, or estranged mother drama. My daughter's safety is my number one priority in this life. If and when you move into my home, anything in your past is to be left at the door.”

Tim continued to ramble on and for a moment, she felt like a child being scolded. She didn’t know why, she thought maybe it was just his tone. After that, they fell into a comfortable conversation. Tim asked Lucy how she felt about police officers and being in a home with guns. If she knew CPR (she did) and if she knew how to swim. In return she had so many questions for him, but didn’t even know where to start. She knew she could handle it, but she had so much information to digest. She felt like she should be taking notes. 

“Hey,” Tim said, his voice soft as if he was trying to erase the worry on her face. “I want you to know that I don’t expect perfection. I screw up every single day, as a parent and police officer. It’s life. At the end of the day, all that matters is that Rosie is safe and healthy, and after speaking with you… I think you’re the perfect fit for the job.” 

There was something calming about Lucy, silly sweater and all. After being in her presence for almost an hour, Tim felt… warm. Peace surrounded him and the heaviness on his soul seemed to ease a little. For the first time since Rosie was born, he felt like maybe they would be okay. As if on cue, Rosie began to wail. Tim, without thought, pulled his upset daughter from his chest and thrust her over the table to Lucy. 

“Now is the real test,” he said, watching the woman take his daughter from his hands. “Make her stop crying.” 

Rosie was a relatively calm and quiet baby. It’s like she knew that her dad was overwhelmed and most times had no idea what he was doing. Over the last seven months he had learned so much about himself and about Rosie, and they were finally beginning to understand each other. They had to, really. They were all each other had. 

Lucy stared down at the crying baby in her arms. Her eyes were so big and blue – it was clear she got that trait from her father. She felt eyes from all around the cafe on her as she stood and cradled the baby in her arms. Tim didn’t offer her anything to help soothe the child, so she did was she had always done to calm a child. 

She began to sing. 

Tim’s eyes didn’t leave Lucy as she began to walk his daughter all around the cafe, quietly singing the lyrics to Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Something weird happened in his chest as he watched her and slowly, heard his daughter's cries quieten down. His daughter had never instantly taken to anyone like that. She was much like her father in the way that it took her a while to trust people. When Lucy returned to the table, his daughter was fast asleep in her arms, her tiny hand wrapped around Lucy’s index finger. Tim raked his fingers through his hair in awe, amazement, and shock. 

“When can you start?” 

Chapter Text

Lucy Chen had her entire life packed up in her car. It had only been a week since she accepted the nannying job and it felt like she had lived a hundred different lives since then. It had taken her a week to get everything squared away – from legally changing her address to helping her aunt find a new tenant, which really hadn’t been that difficult in LA. There’s always someone looking for a cheap place to live. 

Lucy’s life as she knew it was about to change forever. She was moving into a nice house in a nice neighborhood, and would be getting a very nice paycheck. Every week. She would be making over double what she made as a teacher, and she would essentially have no bills. She did feel a little weird about living in someone’s house and not at least paying something towards rent and utilities, but Tim had assured Lucy time and time again that all of that would be included in her job. 

It was overwhelming in the best possible way. For the first time, well, ever, Lucy wouldn’t have to worry about having enough money to fill her fridge. She wouldn’t have to worry about the price of gas and late fees on her credit card. Hell, she could actually pay off her credit card. 

Lucy felt out of place in Tim’s neighborhood. She wondered how he could afford it on a police officer's salary. She knew that in such a nice part of town in an even nicer neighborhood, this home would easily run well over a million dollars. There was even a cul-de-sac – something she had only ever seen on her favorite tv shows. 

At times she still worried someone was going to jump out from behind a bush yelling “you’ve been punked!” because everything seemed a little too good to be true. Things like this didn’t happen to Lucy. She was the one who always got the short end of the stick, dating all the way back to her childhood. She had to make peace with it at a young age, that she wouldn’t ever get birthday parties or the last piece of pie or new shoes at the start of every school year. As a kid, she really couldn’t remember ever even taking a warm shower. Once her siblings finished, because they always went before her, she was always the one that got the cold shower. She didn’t have a bad childhood – no, not at all, she was just… forgotten. A lot. She learned to not let it affect her and pretend like she didn’t care. She didn’t want to bother her family with herself. In a family of seven, Lucy had to learn how to be alone. There was never enough room for her, she felt like. Even when she graduated college, her family got the dates mixed up. She’ll never forget the feeling of utter loneliness as she looked out amongst the crowd and realized no one was there for her. After walking across the stage, while her classmates hugged their families, took photos, and went out to dinner, Lucy went home and sat in the dark. When she called her family, they didn’t pick up. It was later that she learned there was a Chen family reunion that day and no one stopped to think why Lucy didn’t show up. 

So yeah, she had a completely valid reason to be cautious and guarded. 

Blowing out a deep breath, Lucy finally got up the courage to step out of her car. She slung her backpack over her shoulder, the old bag filled with her necessities. She wondered if she should have even packed up as much as she did, but there were just some things she couldn’t get rid of no matter how hard she tried. Tim said she didn’t need to worry about furniture, but she couldn’t just throw away her vintage blue velvet couch. It was literally her prized possession. 

“Did you really strap a couch to the roof of your car?”

The voice made her jump, and she turned around to see Tim walking down his porch steps. Nerves swallowed Lucy whole as she took a step back, examining her handiwork for herself. There would probably be a couch shaped dent on top of her Subaru, but it would be worth it. 

“It’s vintage,” Lucy crossed her arms over her chest, staring up at Tim. “She’s been with me since I started college.” 

“She?” Tim deadpanned, looking both confused and amused. “You gave your couch a gender?”

“And a name,” Lucy beamed, reaching up to run her fingers across the leather fabric. “Her name is Heather.” 

Lucy felt oddly comfortable around Tim. They had spent a good part of the last week texting and occasionally calling each other, just checking in and seeing how things were going. It was important that they got to know each other, even if it was just a little. They would be living amongst each other and in each other's space, after all. 

Tim was excited about the prospect of no longer having to struggle by himself. He liked to think of himself as a good dad, at least he hoped he was, but he couldn’t do it by himself anymore. He desperately needed help, and that help had come in the form of a five foot, four inch woman who was wearing overalls and named her couch. 

He had taken the day off from work to get her unpacked and settled in his home. He was a little nervous about sharing a living space with her, but he kept reminding himself that he wouldn’t be seeing her a lot anyways. 

“Let me give you  a tour and then we’ll start unpacking,” Tim instinctively reached out and took her backpack from her. “I’ll take this. Follow me.” 

Tim took pride in his home. He had bought it after he first joined the LAPD – it was a fixer upper. He spent almost two years and every day off rehabilitating it, bringing it back to life. What started as a shell of a home was now the home of his dreams, the home where he was raising his daughter from the ground up. 

Rosie was swaying back and forth in her swing, having drifted off to sleep before Lucy arrived. Rosie, at seven months old, was in her easy stage of life and Tim was grateful. She normally slept close to twelve hours a night, and spent her day sleeping on and off. It had worried Tim at first, but the pediatrician had reassured him that it was completely normal. Kojo, Tim’s dog, was on the floor next to the swing, right next to his best friend Rosie. The two had been inseparable since the day Tim had brought Rosie home from the hospital. He knew that if God forbid he wasn’t around to protect Rosie, Kojo would without a doubt step in and do the job for him. 

“Did you decorate this place yourself? It’s really cozy.” Tim watched as Lucy trailed her fingers across the cashmere blanket draped across the back of his couch. 

The comment made his heart unfathomably heavy. He thought back to when he asked his then fiancé to move in with him and gave her full control of turning his bachelor pad into a cozy home. He hadn’t told Lucy the story yet, although he knew it would eventually come up. He dreaded the day it did. He missed his wife every single day. Learning how to breathe without her had been the hardest thing Tim had ever endured. Her memory was etched into every surface of his home, reminding him that she was gone. 

“Something like that,” Tim answered Lucy’s question, refusing to unpack it. “Your bedroom is here on the left.” 

Lucy stepped inside the spacious bedroom in awe. It was so big, and it was hers. What looked to be a queen sized bed sat in the middle of the room, topped with a simple white duvet and throw pillows. There was a bench at the end of the bed, a couple blankets draped across the top. The theme of the room was very beige and neutral, not really her style, but she would never complain. She had a vanity and a dresser and even a tv facing the bed. She felt like a kid in a candy store as she pulled open the door on the left side of the room, revealing a spacious walk in closet. 

“Oh my god,” she gasped, taking in all the space to hang her clothes. “This is too much, Tim. Are you sure?” 

She almost felt uncomfortable having this room for herself. At her old home, the one she rented from her aunt, her bedroom was nothing more than a bed, a dresser, and a tiny closet. She had resorted to buying plastic containers to hold her clothes in, but now they all would get to hang together like a happy little family. 

“Of course I’m sure,” Tim sat her backpack on the bed, taking a seat on the bench. “This is your room. If you want to change any of the decorations, feel free. Your bathroom is right across the hall.” 

Lucy was in complete and total shock. She felt like she needed five to seven business days to process this. All she wanted to do was throw her arms around Tim and thank him, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t appreciate that today. Tim seemed like an incredibly kind man, but a tortured one. She could see storms brewing behind his eyes and she didn’t want to push her luck. She had suspicions of what happened to him – she saw a photo of him and a blonde haired woman in his living room, but decided to mind her business. He seemed to be very closed off, only giving Lucy bread crumbs into who he was as a person. She was okay with that, though. She was just here to take care of his daughter when he couldn’t. Everything else didn’t matter. 

After completing the tour of his home, Tim and Lucy began unpacking her car. She didn’t have a lot of stuff, mostly just clothes, so Tim’s job was easy. He still didn’t know what he was going to do about that damn blue couch. When Tim heard Lucy’s stomach growl, he suggested they take a break and grab some lunch. 

“Will you grab Rosie for me?”

Lucy knew that it wasn’t a question. She had yet to interact with the baby - she had been napping since she arrived. It was time she got acquainted with her new best friend, Rosie Bradford. She knew in the back of her mind that Tim was testing her, a Tim Test if you will.

“Hi, beautiful,” Lucy crouched down at the baby swing, pressing the off button. “It’s me, Lucy. Do you remember me?” 

The baby girl kicked and cooed as Lucy scooped her up from her swing, her tiny hands immediately reaching for Lucy’s hair. For a moment, as she held Rosie, she took a moment to just stare at her. She was wearing a onesie with unicorns on it, a pink bow clipped in her hair. She was as cute as a button, her blue eyes as bright as the LA sky. 

“Do you want some lunch?” Lucy continued to talk to the baby, bouncing her in her arms. “What’s your favorite food? I bet you like… bananas!”

The baby let out a loud giggle, revealing two teeth cutting through the bottom of her gums. She felt an overwhelming sense of protectiveness for the child as she bent down to place her into her carrier. 

Tim watched from the doorway as Lucy buckled his daughter into her carseat carrier. The pair had instantly clicked, and Lucy had fallen right into the role of caring for Rosie. For a brief moment, he felt a smile stretch across his face. Maybe, just maybe, they were finally going to be okay.