Story [The Rookie] Veiled Threat (Bradford, Nolan) drama ficlet with dabs of humor

A/N This piece is a preamble and interlude to Assumption, a ficlet from @Mira_Jade's Speak, Friend, and Enter thread, presently featuring The Rookie. At one point in that ficlet, Tim says that Nolan just threatened him. It is a humorous moment for which I challenged Mira to write the exchange between the two men. She counter challenged me to do so and, in addition to my introspection piece Prep Time in The Summer Olympics, this ficlet was born. It is raw and unpolished and perhaps a little OOC, but I think it came out well.

Veiled Threat


“Nolan,” Tim said, as amiable as he could. “Got a minute.”

“Sure thing, Bradford,” Nolan replied with his still dough-eyed smile. “What's up?”

“What I have to say might not be easy to hear.”

“I've never known you to mince words," John said, amusement cracking his lips. “Just say it.”

“It's about Lucy,” Tim continued, cryptically. “She-”

“Is she okay? What happened?” Nolan pressed.

Tim raised his hands to settle Nolan's rising concern. “She's fine. It's just that we...”

Nolan's face had run the gamut from amusement to concern to, now, solemn understanding.

“You're getting married,” he deadpanned.

“What?” Tim replied, screwing up his face in disbelief. “No! We're not getting in married. Wh-”

“Going to a wedding, then?” Nolan pressed. “Lopez's was enough for one year don't you think?”

“Lucy and I are not going to a wedding, either,” Tim replied, halfway between curt and confused. “Why do you have weddings on the brain?”

“Wait a minute...Lucy?” Nolan's playful charade about weddings ended abruptly. “What happened Chen?”

“Nothing happened to Chen,” Tim, easing into his armor, ready for a fight. “Chen is fine.”

“I can count on one hand the number of times I've heard you call her Lucy and each one was special circumstance. What the hell is going on?”

John chewed the inside of his cheek as he attempted to cool the unexpected flare in his temper.

“You may want to take a deep breath, John,” Tim said, adding emphasis on Nolan's first name. “Lucy says deep breathing can lower tension. You seem tense.”

“I'm fine, Tim,” John replied, after taking the suggested breath. “What's this about?”

Tim looked at his feet. For all his tough exterior, for all his harsh words, for all of his incredibly high standards, he still had a heart, he still told the truth, and he still didn't know what to say in every situation.

Tim looked up and caught Nolan's eye. “Lucy and I are seeing each other.”

“Seeing each other? What does that mean?” Nolan asked.

“It means it's serious. It means we weighed the consequences and decided it was worth it.”

“What was worth it, Tim?” Nolan said, calmly. “What is worth more than Lucy's reputation? Isn't this what she was cautioned against? Wouldn't it hurt her career? Make her a Pariah in the department? Doesn't she have enough emotional baggage?”

Tim nodded, holding John's eyes. “She does. But this isn't about what's holding her back, John. it's about how we both want to move forward.”

Nolan ran his hands through his hair and turned his back on Tim while he processed the news. He tuned back toward Bradford. “How does this move forward, Tim? Do you move precincts? Or does she? Does Jackson move out or does she?”

“That's really none of your business, John,” Tim replied, sternly.

Nolan took another breath. “No, I guess it's not. I'm shocked and not at the same time.”

“That makes sense,” Bradford conceded.

“You seem like a good man,” Nolan offered. “Not that you need my approval. I want what's best for Lucy. It was a long time ago for us. A lot has happened since then.”

“Yep. It has. You're right about not needing your approval, Nolan, but I think it means something to Lucy.”

“I'll talk to her about it,” Nolan said.

“Good.”

Nolan turn to leave, but smirked as a thought blossomed across his mind. He looked mischievously at Bradford. “Let me just reiterate: You seem a decent fellow. I'd hate to have to kill you.

Tim stiffened at the threat, but relaxed when he realized there was no malice in it.

“Just tell Lucy,” Nolan said through a smile. “She'll get it.”

 

I love this conversation how it moves from attending weddings to Lucy and Tim seeing each other because they want to move forward. You can really tell Nolan cares about Lucy.