1x03: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

***

Hunter was sitting at Tim's island table on her laptop scrolling through apartments. She looked over at the deed that was sitting on the table, she'd signed her house over to her tenants, the Blakes family.

The paper that Morgan and her husband, James, signed was them allowing Hunter to give them her house without selling it, although they thought it was just the lease renewal paperwork, Hunter then went to her lawyer and got it all organized, having printed out a deed with their names on.

She knew that she couldn't keep living with Tim and it had been a few weeks since she returned and she knew that her tenants couldn't move out and she wouldn't ask them too, so here she was browsing apartments with at least two bedrooms.

Hunter was yet to tell anyone, including Tim, she knew he'd understand but she wanted to get the apartment before doing anything else, she needed to check the apartment out as well. She sighed and stood up.

Hunter walked over to the hook she'd placed her keys on and grabbed the deed and an envelope, she planned to just place it in the mailbox at the Blakes house before she arrives at work. 

***

Hunter pulls into the Mid-Wilshire carpark, having delivered the letter to the Blakes, she knew they'd be calling her and inviting her over to thank her, which Hunter really didn't want, she got out the car and grabbed her go-bag.

***

She walked into the women's locker room, opening her locker, her eyes fell onto a photo, it was of her, Tim and Isabel at the academy, Angela was the one taking the photo, meaning the ones below were of Hunter, Isabel and Angela and a photo with Angela, Tim and Isabel and a photo with Angela, Tim and Hunter.

She removed her necklace that had her name, Tim got it for their anniversary during their rookie year, it would've been a year since they got together and she'd never took it off unless she was in uniform, Hunter also removed her ring, it was a tigers eye ring that Tim bought for her birthday a few years before. She put her uniform on and adjusted her badge.

***

Tim's standing in front of Grey's desk in his office. "So, how you feeling?" Grey asked.

"Good. Everything okay with my green slip?" Tim asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're medically cleared to return to duty," Tim starts to turn towards the door when Grey speaks again. "Which means it's time for the "so you got shot" speech. I only give it to officers wounded on the job."

"Lucky me." Tim drawled.

"Yeah, lucky you," Grey stood up and walked around his desk and stood in front of Tim. "So, you came in this morning thinking everything goes back to normal now, you can just flip a switch, and the trauma you suffered will go away. It won't. But you're trying to muscle your way through. That's what I did. Trust me, it didn't go well." Grey explained.

"I didn't know you got shot." Tim said, slightly shocked at that.

"My last year on patrol. Spent two weeks in the ICU. Rushed back thinking I could put it all behind me, but it doesn't work that way." Grey said with his arms crossed.

"I understand. I promise I'll I'll take it slow." Tim said.

"Okay." Grey replied, sounding like he didn't actually believe him.

***

Hunter walked into roll call, sitting herself beside Talia and Angela, leaving Tim's seat empty, Tim enters the briefing to great applause and cheering. He steps over to his chair and finds an inflatable orthopedic pillow on the seat, picks it up and pops it with his pen, Hunter laughed at that. "I know that was you, Hunt." Tim said, Hunter just grinned at him.

"All right, all right, all right. Settle down. Settle down. Let's get to it. You ready, Officer Nolan? 'Cause once again, we start with you." Grey said as he walked to the front of the room.

"I'm flattered?" Nolan said, although it was more like a question.

"Don't be. Yesterday, a four-man crew disguised as zombies knocked over a cash advance near Pico and Robertson. So, Officers Bishop and Nolan were able to apprehend two of the criminals, while the other two escaped. Somehow, Officer Nolan managed to let a civilian steal ten grand in already stolen cash. Luckily, CCTV captured our thief. Still waiting on an I.D." Grey said.

"Uh, he plays guitar, if that helps." Nolan said.

"Absolutely. 'Cause they always list special talents on your rap sheet," there's a knock at the door, catching everyone's attention, Captain Zoe Andersen steps into the room, Hunter bites back a grin, knowing how Zoe felt about Nolan's presence in the department and knowing how Zoe hated the way Grey hated him. "Captain. How can we help you?" Grey asked.

"First off, I wanted to welcome Tim Bradford back. If you need anything, you let me know." Zoe said.

"Yes, ma'am." Tim nodded.

"Secondly, we just got some new intel on our zombies. Turns out that they're responsible for a rash of armed robberies in the last six months, always disguised differently. Detectives want to get the two in custody to flip on their partners at large, but there is no guarantee, so don't stop hunting. Finally, we got a request for a civil standby. Turns out somebody's getting fired from a tech job. Supervisor's worried things may not go right." Andersen said.

"Babysitting a termination: a patrol officer's favorite assignment. So, who shall I bless with it?" Grey asked, rubbing his hands together, when Nolan raises his hand somewhat reluctantly. "Officer Nolan, are you volunteering?" Grey wondered.

"Just embracing the inevitable, sir." Nolan replied.

"Smart man. Get the address from Dispatch. That's it." Grey said and everyone started to stand.

***

"You sure you don't want me to drive?" Lucy asked, she and Tim had already left and were patrolling.

"Why would I want that, Boot? You think I'd go back on duty before I'm 100 percent?" Tim asked coldly.

"No sir." Lucy said.

"You'll drive when you've earned it." Tim said with finality.

"Yes, sir," Lucy replied.

***

Grant and Hunter arrive at a bank and meet up with the manager. "Oh, thank God you guys are here. He's trapped in there." the manager said with relief.

"In where? The bank?" Grant asked.

"No. In the wall," the manager led them towards an ATM. "Mike went inside to fix an ATM last night before we closed, and we forgot he was in there and left. The lock must have broke when he tried to come back out, and he's been inside all night," the manager picks up a piece of paper. "Pushed this note through the receipt slot when he heard us come in." the manager hands Hunter the paper.

"Control, 7-Adam-19 requesting LAFD to 3301 Ditmer, for a guy trapped in a wall," Hunter said into her radio before placing it back and calls out to Mike. "Sir, we're gonna get you out of there," she knocks on the wall when he doesn't get an answer. "Sir, can you hear me?" Hunter asked.

A slip of paper emerges from a crack in the machine. Hunter looks at it; it's illegible. "What's that supposed to mean?" Grant asked looking at the paper.

"Hypoxia. Go grab the Halligan out of the trunk. We can't wait for the fire department," Grant ran out of the bank to get the Halligan bar, Hunter turns towards the wall and speaks to Mike. "Sir, I need you to get low so I can open this wall up," she turns towards the bank manager. "How tall is the space behind the ATM?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know. It's pretty cramped in there. About five feet." the manager said, he sounded like he felt guilty for Mike being trapped in the ATM.

Grant brings in the Halligan tool; Hunter takes a few whacks at the wall, but it looks like she's in pain and doesn't want to admit it, she frowns, knowing what's wrong. "Why am I doing this? Grant, get in there." She ordered.

Grant takes over and gets a hole open in the wall. "Sir, are you all right?" The repairman's face appears and he gulps in the fresh air. Grant sighed in relief and spared a look at Hunter.

***

Lucy and Tim are at an unidentified location. Tim's wrapping up a report with the manager of the facility. "Call your insurance company about your property. We'll file the report, but the fact is, most cold burglaries stay cold. You think of anything else, my number's right there." Tim said.

"Hey, I'm just gonna hit the restroom." Lucy said, walking up to him and up the steps.

"Make it fast, Boot." Tim replied, he clicked the pen and placed it in his pocket.

***

Lucy enters the women's restroom, checks to make sure the stalls are all empty, steps into one and locks it. In the process of using the toilet, she removes her bulky equipment belt and hangs it on the hook on the back of the stall door. A moment later, a hand reaches over and grabs the belt, then disappears with it.

"No, no, no, no!" Lucy pulls her clothes back on and rushes out of the restroom.

***

"Hey, did anyone run out here?" Lucy asked Tim as she arrived at the shop where Tim was standing waiting for her.

"What?" Tim asked.

Lucy was pacing slightly. "Someone took my belt and gun," Lucy stopped pacing. "I hung it on the hook, and I secured the bathroom beforehand. There was no one else in there." She said.

"Did the walls of the stall reach top to bottom?" Tim yelled, as he walked towards Lucy.

"No, sir." Lucy said, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Then it wasn't secure, was it, Boot? Now your weapon is on the street because you couldn't hold your water," Tim's cell phone rings and he answers it. "Bradford. When? I-I'll be right there," he turns to Lucy. "Get in." he ordered.

"What about my belt?" Lucy asked.

Tim reaches into the car and pulls out her apparently stolen belt, hands it to her. "Get in."

Lucy moved to the passenger side and got into the shop. "What - What's happening? Where are we going?" She asked putting her seatbelt on.

"Emergency room." Tim replied closing the drivers door and putting his own seatbelt on.

***

"7-Adam-20, reports of a fight at address 3115 of West Adams, sounds like a family dispute." Nell says over the radio.

"7-Adam-20, responding," Hunter said into the radio, today Grant was driving and she flipped on the sirens. "Don't you ever wish we would have a quiet day."

Grant shrugged. "Yeah, but then one of us would say the 'Q' and jinx us."

Hunter chuckled. "Yeah, you're not wrong," that's when Hunter's phone rang, she looked at the contact and answered it, seeing contact was Morgan. "Hey Morg," Hunter went silent for a few moments. "Look, it's nothing, just expect me to stop by every now and then to use the pool." Hunter then hung up.

"What was that about?" Grant asked.

"I gave the Blakes, my tenants, my house, they own it now so they don't have to worry about moving." said Hunter shrugging.

***

Hunter and Grant pull up at the scene and park their shop, seeing two men fighting. "LAPD! Break it up!" Hunter shouts as she and Grant make their way over to the two men. "I said break it up!" Hunter shouts again as she moves to grab one of the guys only to be punched in the cheek causing her to stumble to the ground and hit her head on the concrete.

Grant doesn't go to check on her, knowing full well she can handle herself but one of the suspect realises what he's done and apologizes profusely. "I'm so sorry!"

Hunter shakes her head and stands up, as Angela and Jackson arrive at the scene. "You okay?" Angela asked making a beeline for her sister while Jackson helped Grant hook the men up.

"I'm fine but I need to go to hospital. Would you and West take these idiots to booking and charge them with drunk and disorderly," Hunter points to the man that Grant had arrested. "That idiot with assault on a police officer even though it was an accident and cite them for disturbing the peace and drunk in public." Angela nodded and took the man Grant had and she and Jackson led them to their shop.

Grant turned to Hunter. "Lets get you to hospital," Grant goes to grab Hunter's arm and she recoils wanting to walk on her own. "Detective Lopez, you've got a head injury that's going to require stiches, I'm taking your weight, come on." Grant said, giving Hunter no choice and reminding her that she doesn't have one. "I'll inform Grey," Hunter frowned at that. "And Tim."

"You wouldn't." Hunter challenged.

"I would and you know, so lets go." Grant said, grabbing Hunter's arm and helping her to the shop.

***

Hunter was sitting in a room getting her head wound stitched up. "That's seven stitches, take it easy for the rest of the day. You're cheek's fine, just bruised. You've got no concussion and I'm sure your partner has already informed your boss." the doctor said, smiling at Hunter.

***

Hunter walked out into the reception area/waiting room, Grant was at the reception desk flirting with nurse on duty there, Hunter clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Okay Joey Tribbiani, lets go." She said, referring to her second favourite character from FRIENDS, her favourite being Chandler Bing.

Grant rolled his eyes at the nickname when Tim and Lucy came rushing in. "Tim." "Hunter." "Grant." "Lucy." The four said at the same time, surprised that each of them were there.

Tim noticed Hunter's forehead and cheek. "What happened to you?"

"Had to break up a fight, got punched landed on the concrete, cracked my head open, got seven stitches and this one needs to inform Grey and apparently I have to take it easy." Hunter stated sounding annoyed.

"Which you're not going to do." Tim said with a raised eyebrow.

"Which I'm not going to do." Hunter agreed.

"So, what're you guys doing here?" Grant asked.

Tim moved towards the reception desk. "I'm looking for my ex-wife, Isabel." Tim said.

Hunter felt her heart sink and for some reason jealously flair up, Isabel left him, with signed divorced papers and chose the drugs over him and Hunter was the one that was there for him in another state and here was Tim worried about Isabel. For what it was worth though, Hunter wouldn't change anything about what happened. "I'm gonna sign the discharge paper and then we can go." Hunter said, grabbing the clipboard.

Isabel comes out of a treatment room. "Ugh." the blonde scoffs trying to take something off her.

"Isabel." Tim said as he walked towards her.

"I'm fine, all right? They shouldn't have called you." Isabel said.

"Where the hell are you going? You just O.D.'d." Tim hissed.

"I'm fine. They can't hold me. Let go," Tim drags Isabel into a side room, with Hunter following just enough so that she could listen after signing the discharge papers. "Stop. Stop." Isabel snapped, tearing her arm out of Tim's grip.

"Do you know how many dead junkies I've rolled up on in the last month? Seized up, blue-lipped, all alone because their buddies didn't want to get caught when the cops showed up?" Tim asked, sounding desperate to get through to Isabel about what she's doing to herself.

Hunter can feel Grant's almost judgmental stare bearing into her back. "Shut up, if this was your friends, you'd do the same." She hissed at him.

"I said I'm fine." Isabel snapped.

"You don't want to come home! Okay. I understand. But if you keep doing this, you are going to die!" Tim almost yelled.

"Save the tough love for someone else. I am not your responsibility anymore, hell I'm not even Hunter's, I never was her responsibility, so you do not get to have an opinion about how I live my life. So please stop trying to be my white knight, and leave me alone!" Isabel then leaves the room, Tim growls in frustration and punches a hole in the wall.

Hunter hearing this steps into the room, she walks over to Tim and grabs his wrist, inspecting it and his fist. "Are you okay?" She asked, before revising her answer knowing he wasn't okay. "Never mind, it's obvious you're not. Not quite sure what I can do here so I'll see you later." Hunter said, Tim nodded.

***

"7-Adam-19, report of a biker gang, drunk and disorderly at The Hard Road bar." Dispatch said over the radio.

"Are you okay to do this? We can ask for another unit to be assigned." Lucy said.

"No. I'm fine," Tim replied tersely as they pull up in front of a bar where dozens of bikers are hanging out. "How do you identify a motorcycle club, Boot?" Tim asked Lucy.

"Uh, the three rockers on the back of their jackets they show gang name, logo, and state of origin," Lucy reads the insignia on one jacket. ""Dead Bastards MC"."

"And which one of these guys is the most dangerous? See them?" Tim points out a group that doesn't have the insignia on their jacket. "Those are prospects. They haven't earned their top rocker yet, and there's only one way to get it - commit a felony in view of another gang member, which means what?" Tim asked her.

"Somebody's gonna fight us when we get out of this car." Lucy replied.

"Exactly." Tim replied.

"Shouldn't we call for backup, then?" Lucy asked.

"Where's the fun in that?" Tim gets out of the car and swaggers up to the bikers. One of them throws a bottle down and it breaks in front of his feet as they all glare at him. "Now, that's just sad. Either you're man enough to come at me or you're not. Now, who needs a felony?" Tim asked.

Lucy quickly gets out the car. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Look, I'm not gonna repeat myself. This is a one-time offer, and it's about to expire. You beat me, I won't even book you. I beat you, you go to jail, and your buddies hit the road." Tim said, ignoring Lucy.

"Come on, Jordan. You got this." someone in the biker gang said.

"Let's go!" Jordan yelled.

Jordan throws a bottle at Tim, who swats it away, and the fight begins. Lucy stands by with her hand on her holster and the bikers keeping an eye on her, she contemplates calling Hunter to yell at Tim and get some sense into him. Tim takes some hard hits but eventually gets Jordan face down on the pavement. "You lost!" Tim yelled.

"Let him go! Yeah, pig. Let's go. Come on, man! It was a fair fight!" the bikers all yelled different things.

"7-Adam-19, type change this event to a felony assault, one in custody." Tim said into his radio before placing it away.

"What the hell was that?" Lucy asked.

"Good work, Jordy!" a biker yelled.

"Patrol work, Boot. You planning on saying otherwise?" Tim asked, handing Jordan off to her.

"No, sir." Lucy replied.

***

Lucy and Tim enter Holding with Jordan, just as Grey and Talia walk away. "Get him processed." Tim ordered as he started to walk off somewhere.

"W-What about the booking approval? You made this arrest." Lucy said, causing Tim to turn towards her.

"You saw what happened. Write it up, Boot." Tim said and walked off.

"I'm gonna take any jewelry you have, any piercings, anything in your pockets, your socks, your shoes, you're gonna give them to me." Nolan was saying to Logan, the person he and Talia arrested along with his friend.

"Can I talk to you?" Lucy asked Nolan quietly, she and Nolan duck into the next room. "I'm worried about Tim."

"Why?" Nolan asked.

"He instigated a fight with a biker, wouldn't let me call for backup, could have gotten both of us killed. I think he's spinning out, trying to prove himself." Lucy said.

"You think he came back too soon?" Nolan asked.

"Maybe. He got hit with a lot of personal stuff on top of it, too, and he's not handling it well." Lucy said.

"Clearly you have to do something." Nolan said.

"Yeah, but what? Tim is my T.O. I'm not gonna narc on him." Lucy replied.

"Then you're gonna have to talk to him." Nolan said.

"Oh - It's not gonna go well." Lucy comments.

"What other choice do you have?" Nolan asked.

"I can talk to Hunter." Lucy said, that way she doesn't have to talk to Tim.

***

Tim who's in the men's locker room slams onto his locker removes his uniform shirt and then his vest, seeing a blood stain on his white shirt, he sighed before removing the shirt and looking down at the injury.

***

Hunter was talking to Angela when Lucy approached her. "Hey Chen, what's up?" Hunter asked noticing her.

"Can I talk to you?" Lucy asked. Hunter nodded, sensing something was wrong, she turned to Angela and they had a silent conversation, with Angela nodded. Hunter moved herself and Lucy to someone quieter and where they couldn't be eavesdropped on. "Something's wrong with Tim, as you know Isabel OD'd and then he instigated a fight with a biker." Lucy said, sounding worried.

Hunter sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright, I'll talk to him and text me if he goes to Isabel's apartment, assuming she lives in one and I'll talk to Grey and follow him."

Lucy nodded. "Thanks." Hunter smiled and Lucy walked off to find Tim.

***

Tim is signing NARCAN out, six doses for Isabel. "Six doses of Narcan. Throwing quite a party, huh?" the supply officer asked.

Lucy walks up to him. "Hey, biker's processed. Do we really need all that?" she asked, Tim glared at her and she shuts her mouth.

"Look, there's a bad batch of fentanyl making the rounds out there. Miller went through his entire overdose kit in two days." Tim said, slightly lying.

Lucy took her phone out and texted Hunter. With Hunter responding that she would be a few cars behind Tim knowing he'd be too distracted to notice.

***

Tim pulls up outside a block of apartments. "7-Adam-19, show us Code 6, Florence and Central Avenue." Tim said into his radio, he doesn't notice Hunter's shop pull up three cars behind him. Tim gets out of his shop and goes to the trunk and that's when Hunter exits her own shop and walks up to him.

"You're not helping her. You're enabling her." Hunter said, treading carefully.

Tim jumps slightly finally noticing Hunter while Grant gets out the shop and Lucy does at the same time. "And you know this because you're a cop?! She's gonna shoot up, okay? That's the reality. This will save her life." Tim said, showing Hunter the NARCAN.

"Addiction doesn't just destroy the addict. It destroys the family, too." Lucy said, knowing that Tim and Isabel were once married.

"Who the hell are you to tell me this?" Tim snapped.

Hunter and Grant shared a look.

"I'm your rookie. And I need you to train me, not put me in danger 'cause you can't handle losing your ex-wife," Tim looked at Hunter and Lucy sighed. "Look, at least let me or Hunter go up. If you do, it'll just confirm your worst fears. Do you really want to see how she's living, or who she's living with?" she asked.

"Paramedics said it's apartment 510." Tim said, handing Hunter his NARCAN.

***

Hunter then runs up the steps and walks to apartment 510 and knocks on the door.

Isabel opens the door slightly and as soon as she sees Hunter's uniform closes the door quickly. "Isabel, just - Wait. Wait." Hunter said, not sure if Isabel can recognize her.

"Go away. Y-You can't come in without a warrant." Isabel said.

"Isabel, it's me, Hunter Lopez," she hears Isabel unlock the door but refuses to open it and Hunter knows that bargaining won't help. "Tim's downstairs. If you don't give me five minutes, they're gonna come up here and break this door down." Hunter said.

Isabel reluctantly opens the door for Hunter.

***

She walked in the apartment, noticing how clean it looked, which surprised her for a drug addict, she looked around noticing three photos in a frame, one of the three of them as rookies, another of her (Isabel) and Tim and the last one of the three of them the day before they started the Academy.

"So, what do you want, Hunter?" Isabel asked, picking up a pair of boots that were too big for Isabel.

"Did you know your ex-husband was shot recently? We got ambushed. He took a bullet while returning fire." Hunter said.

"That's what you're doing here? 'Cause he seems fine." Isabel said shrugging.

"NARCAN, Tim signed it out. As you know it won't get you clean just reverse the effects of an OD, seeing as you spent a decade bringing junkies back from the dead with it." Hunter said, handing it to Isabel and she moved over to the kitchen table.

"Thanks," Isabel paused wondering if she should continue. "Um, he and I were never going to work you know?" Hunter frowned confused, wondering what Isabel was talking about while the blonde opened the NARCAN. "Tim was never going to look at me the way he looks at you."

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked playing dumb.

"Don't do that," Isabel shook her head. "You two had a kid together before you even became her legal guardians, Lexi was yours and Tim's even if he refers to her as 'Hunter's Puppy'. He loves you and you love him and you've both wasted enough time." Isabel said turning towards Hunter. Isabel then walks over to the door to usher Morgan out. "So, anyway."

"Uh -" Hunter said awkwardly as she made her way to the door.

Isabel stood in the door way. "Hey, um, he really got shot?" she asked.

"Yeah. Yeah. But you know Tim, he's too stubborn to die." Hunter said with a small smile.

Isabel mustered up a chuckle. "Don't come back here, either of you. There's no future here." Hunter hesitated and then nodded and Isabel closed the door.

***

Tim and Grant were leaning against the side of Tim's shop, while Lucy was leaning on the side closest to the hood, Tim, Grant and Lucy all looked up seeing Hunter walk down. "Thanks." Tim said to her.

"No problem." Hunter said with a small smile.

"I-I, uh, thought she was having an affair. Staying out late, making excuses. We didn't realize it was the drugs until the hook was in deep." Tim admitted to Hunter and the other two, with his arms crossed.

There's some more silence when Hunter speaks again. "Her apartment is pretty decent."

"Good." Tim said, Hunter hesitated for a moment and then gave him a quick hug before the four of them went to their respective shops.

***

Hunter walks into the breakroom to make herself a coffee, Jackson and Angela are already there talking, from what Hunter can see Angela has fliers from the community board. "You could be a nurse or get into I.T. There's always clown college." Angela teases as she flips the pamphlets in her hand before handing them to Jackson.

"What's going on?" Hunter asked, getting their attention as she stirs her coffee.

"The Boot doesn't have a plan B." Angela answered turning to her sister.

Hunter winced. "Boot, you've got to have a plan B, this one was mine. I'd gotten my law school degree but decided to become a cop."

"Oh, I forgot about that. Tell me, who was your favourite?" Angela asked.

"What? Who was my favourite fellow student, Wesley Evers, easy, criminal lawyer, works pro bono for criminals in Mid-Wilshire." Hunter said, she then turned to Jackson. "How do you think I got the idea for the Army after I graduated high school and how do you think Angela got the idea for the LAPD?" She asked him.

"Wait, you were in the Army?" Lucy asked walking into the breakroom, followed shortly by Tim, Talia and Nolan, Grant had gone to visit his sister for his break like he did every second day.

"Yeah, 2001 to 2007." Hunter replied, shrugging.

"She was second in command of her unit during her second tour." Angela supplied.

"Why are we talking about my past and not the fact that he needs a plan B?" Hunter asked pointing to Jackson.

Before anyone had a chance to say anything Grey walked by. "Lopezes, Lawrence, Bradford, Chen, West, the zombie robbers just flipped on their partners. SWAT's hitting the house. We're providing tactical support. Meet in the bullpen in five."

The six of them nodded and all walked out to the bullpen.

***

"All right, let's get started. Our targets are Steve Bower, Kai De Vera. Bit of an odd couple. Bower's known for at least six hard-core 2-11s, a lot of collateral damage in his wake. De Vera did two tours as a door gunner on a Black Hawk, was under the radar till she hooked up with Bower about a year ago. Remember, if anything, she's far more dangerous than he is. Sergeant Laubacher will be giving you the briefing. He's in charge of tonight's operation, so listen up." Zoe said, she then moved out of the way of the whiteboard and Laubacher moved to the spot she was in.

"Thank you, Captain. Targets are at a house in the hills over the Sunset Strip. Ingress is limited, so we'll be coming in hot. Team one will be primary entry, deploying flashbangs and breaching tools. Team two, break and rake the back glass door. Tactical support, you're outer perimeter. Sergeant Grey has your positions. We'll go through detailed assignments on the drive in. My team, let's go." Laubacher said.

"Get to it." Zoe ordered and everyone separated.

"All right," Grey said to the other people in the bullpen and then turns to his team. "See, we could do this whole thing in five minutes without flashbangs and BearCats, but SWAT has us on guard duty, so make sure they take it seriously. I don't want to be embarrassed at the next Special Ops picnic." Grey said.

"Yes, sir." Angela replied.

"We won't let you down, Sergeant." Jackson speaks up causing Grey to look at him and Hunter look at him oddly, sharing a look with her sister.

"Is there really a Special Ops picnic?" Nolan asked, when Talia gave him a look. "I didn't think so." he said.

***

Talia, Nolan, Hunter, Grant, Angela, and Jackson park near each other and get out of their cars to wait for orders. "Sucks we have to be down here." Nolan said.

"Yeah, well, get used to it. Patrol is lowest on the totem pole when it comes to operations like this." Talia replied.

"Perimeter watch is a necessary part of police work. It's nothing to look down on." Jackson speaks up.

"Is he for real?" Hunter asked with an odd look on her face.

"Yep. Doesn't have a Plan "B," though." Angela said.

"What? Well, that's just crazy." Talia said in response.

"Seriously?" Grant drawled.

"I've been dealing with this crap all day." Jackson said to Nolan and Morgan.

"You gotta have a plan "B" this was my plan "B", I was gonna be a politician," Grant got strange looks from Nolan and Jackson, neither of whom knew. "Blame my parents and older brother, then decided I didn't want to be, so I became a cop and moved to LA to do it." Grant said.

"Officer Nolan, this is your Plan "B," right?" Angela asked turning her attention to Nolan.

"Uh, more like Plan "D." First it was astronaut, then law school, then construction, then this. If this doesn't work out, I'm thinking beauty school," Angela and Hunter share the same confused look. Suddenly there's gunfire and people shouting, Angela and Hunter notice how Jackson recoils towards the Patrol Car. "Should we go up there?" Nolan asked.

"No. But we should spread out and cover the perimeter." Hunter said, she and Grant walk away; Talia, Nolan, Angela and Jackson stay near the patrol cars.

"Shots fired. Shots fired. Suspects at large." A SWAT member said over the radio.

Hunter and Grant spot someone among the trees near a fence. "Stop!" Suspects fire at Hunter and Grant, who return fire and chase after them. Grant ducks between parked cars to avoid being hit, shoots at suspects as they jump over a wall off the street. Hunter catches up and she and Grant jump up to look over the wall at the fleeing suspects. "Do we go after them?" Grant asked.

***

"7-Adam-20 in pursuit of armed robbery suspects, heading south towards Franklin." Hunter said into her radio while Grant's driving.

"7-Adam-20, what street are suspects on?" Dispatch asked.

"They're not on a street. They're running down the side of the canyon." Hunter said urgently, before placing the radio down.

"Aren't we supposed to have an airship?" Grant asked.

"En route." Hunter replied.

"God, does it ever feel normal?" Grant asked, the question that had never crossed his mind until now.

"What?" Hunter asked with a frown.

"Getting shot at, people trying to kill you for doing your job." Grant added.

"Yes, you've been a cop for eight years, you know all this stuff already. I was in the Army, did four tours, two of Iraq, two of Afghanistan, I've been a cop since 2007 as well, so yeah, people have been shooting at for doing my job since my first deployment." Hunter said.

"Yeah, I know, I know." Grant said.

"It's about as normal as taking a parent away from their kid, which I've done before. But we signed up for it all. If ever you start to get numb to it, you know it's time to turn in your papers." Hunter said.

"Why and how would anyone feel numb to this?" That's when Grant saw the suspects and he pointed them out to Hunter. "There! Just jumped the last ravine."

Hunter picked up the radio. "Control, suspects are down on the flats, heading for Western. Where's that backup?"

***

"7-Adam-19, we're inbound to assist." Tim said into his radio.

"There," Lucy spots the suspects, and they're momentarily trapped between patrol cars, then split and run in different directions. "7-Adam-19, we'll take Bower, you take her." Lucy said as she picked up the radio.

***

Hunter and Grant pull up to the hospital, where the female suspect has just run inside, and give chase.

"7-Adam-20, we are Code 6 at Saint Gregory's. We have suspect at large in the hospital." Hunter said into her radio. "Did a woman in a green Army jacket run through here?" Hunter asked the nurse at the reception desk.

"Down that hallway." the nurse said as she pointed down the hallway.

Hunter spared a glance down the hallway and turns her attention to Grant. "Get the elevators and first floor in lockdown," Hunter looks towards the nurse. "We have an armed suspect on the loose."

"We have a code grey, code grey." the nurse said speaking into the phone over the announcement system.

***

Tim and Lucy pull up behind a truck backed into an alley and get out of their car. "Flashlights on, Boot. Eyes right. I got the left side covered," there's gunfire from behind the truck sends them to hunker down up against the truck's grill. "7-Adam-19, shots fired at our location. Requesting backup and airship." Tim says into his radio before placing it away, the suspect fires again. "The good news is he's trapped. If I go over this trailer, I'll come up on top of him." Tim said, looking up.

"With all due respect, I should go." Lucy said.

"Forget it." Tim replied.

"Improvisation is a useful tool for a rookie to learn." Lucy said.

"Good. All right. You passed tonight's test. Get your ass up there." Tim said.

Lucy holsters her gun and climbs up on the truck cab, then onto the trailer, and gets eyes on the suspect, who is watching the alley. "Police! Drop your weapon! Do it now! Get down on your stomach!"

The suspect complies. Tim comes around the side of the truck to cuff him. "Hands behind your back," Tim looks up to see Lucy looking down with a smile. "What do you want, applause? Get down here," Tim then grabs out his radio. "7-Adam-19, Code 4. One in custody, one outstanding."

***

"Careful. This girl was a door gunner for a Black Hawk helicopter, not some crackhead with a 9-mil." Hunter warned Grant.

"7-Adam-08 is in place on east entrance. Additional units en route to assist in search." Nell said over the radio.

"All right, every exit's secure. We just need to flush her out." Hunter said to Grant.

"No." Grant said.

"No what?" Hunter asked, wondering what Grant was worried about.

"Every exit is not secure." Grant said looking at the unguarded door marked Rooftop Emergency Helipad. He and Hunter go through the door and out onto the rooftop; they split up and Hunter rounds a corner to see the helicopter taking off.

***

"7-Adam-15 to air support. Armed suspect has stolen medevac helicopter from the roof of Saint Gregory Hospital. Request you respond and intercept." Hunter said into her radio.

Grant is moving cautiously among the machinery on the roof when Kai De Vera comes up behind him and puts her gun to his head. "Drop your gun." Kai threatened.

"No. But I-I'll put it away," Grant holsters his gun. "Okay, okay, um, now what?" He asked.

"I shoot you and take my chances in the hospital after the cops clear out chasing the helicopter." Kai said.

"Can I offer an alternate suggestion?" Grant asked, knowing he was treading dangerous waters.

"No." Kai said coldly, still holding the gun at Grant's head.

"Look, I don't know you, okay? Just-Just what was on your BOLO. Two tours, wounded in action. Y-You're an honest-to-God American hero." Grant said.

"Who's about to put a hollow point through your skull. Still think I'm a hero?" Kai asked.

"Yes." Grant said, he sees and nods at Hunter and she fires her Taser at Kai, bringing her to the ground.

"Aah!" Kai screamed.

"Thank you." Grant said, sighing in relief while Hunter cuffed Kai.

"You're welcome." Hunter said with a smile.

***

Tim is sitting on the wooden bench deep in his thoughts, before putting his belongings away into his locker, he's about to close the door when his eyes drift to a photo, it was of him, Isabel and Lucy when they were all rookies.

Grey speaks up from behind him, snapping Tim out of his thoughts. "Hard day?"

"Yeah," Tim closes his locker and turns around to Grey. "You didn't tell me your partner got shot along with you," Grey frowns slightly. "I might have done some poking around." Tim admits.

"Dennis Rowland. Bad temper, good heart. We were together two years. Bullet went through him, hit me. I walked away. He didn't." Grey said.

"Thanks." Tim replied.

"Now, are you ready for the "So you got shot and didn't listen to me and pushed yourself too hard, but now you know I'm right" speech?" Grey asked.

"Sounds like a long one." Tim comments.

"Oh, it is. Come on. I'll give it to you over a beer." Grey said, Tim grabbed his jacket and followed Grey out, texting Hunter that he would be home late.

***

Hunter was in the women's locker room having just got changed, she put her ring on and grabbed her go-bag, when her phone chimed, she saw a text from Tim telling her he was going to home late, getting drinks with Grey.

She smiled and responded with a thumbs up, before leaving the station just as the late shift officers came in.

***

Hunter walked into Tim's house after unlocking the door and she disarmed the alarm system while Lexi was eating a meal from the freezer, seeing as Tim informed her as well that he was going to be late. "Thank god, we've got food in the freezer, seeing as we can't cook to save ourselves." Hunter comments as she opens the freezer and grabs out some frozen Singapore noodles.

Lexi laughed and turned the TV on, watching a rerun of Top Chef and Hunter joined her, knowing that it was an older season from a few years before, at least 2010 from what Hunter can tell, but they agreed to wait for Tim to watch the season they're on.

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I don't have any Authors Note to write for this chapter.