1x07: The Ride Along

***

"Crap." Angela muttered as a reminder went off, she was meeting Talia for breakfast.

"What's up?" Talia asked, taking a sip of her coffee and tilting her head in confusion.

"It's Hunter's birthday today and I don't know what to get her. I can't get her anything with tiger's eye gems because someone else already does that and I would love to know who it is." Angela said. "Sapphires are another favourite of hers and she's got a necklace with her name and sapphires decorating the name, I wonder who got that for her."

"It could be Bradford," Talia suggested and Angela looked at her, prompting Talia to continue. "Well, they've known each other since they were eighteen so it makes sense that he knows her favourite gemstones." Talia explained.

"That makes sense. She won't tell me if I ask and neither will Tim but it wouldn't surprise me. I mean that man somehow has money that I didn't know he had." Angela said.

"He's probably got a savings account." Talia suggested. "It's probably named MHP, Money for Hunter's Presents." She also joked.

Angela laughed. "I think I'll just make a reservation for dinner at Hunter's favourite restaurant and pay for it." Angela said shaking her head as she and Talia got up to go. "So, why'd you take today off?" Angela asked.

"I heard rumours about a ride along today and knowing Nolan's luck, he's gonna get stuck with it." Talia said.

"If it's true and Hunter gets stuck with it seeing as my sister's an overachiever and is a trained TO. She'll come kick your ass after work, so be prepared for that." Angela advised.

Talia chuckled. "Yeah, I will, don't worry." She reassured her friend.

***

Hunter arrived at Tim's at around six thirty, knowing he'd already be awake considering that they were in the army years before, they're body clocks had adapted to waking up at five in the morning.

"Hey." Hunter said walking into the kitchen, Lexi was still asleep. So Tim and Hunter stayed as quiet as possible.

"Hey, happy birthday." Tim said.

"Thanks." Hunter said and just like he always did Tim slid her the present that he bought her, something she'd never buy for herself. Hunter opened the box and grinned widely seeing a tiger's eye watch with sapphires on the hands. She looked up at Tim. "I take it you got White to reinforce it like the G-Shock watches we can wear?" She asked him.

"Do you even need to ask?" Tim replied.

Hunter chuckled and noticed batter in a measuring cup. "Are you making pancakes?" She asked him.

"Of course I am." Tim replied, he stood up and poured the batter onto the pan, and within thirty seconds, Lexi came out of her room dressed and ready to go. "And she's woken up by the smell of pancakes."

"What can I say? You make the best pancakes," Lexi shrugged and turned towards Hunter. "Happy birthday," her eyes narrow on the watch that was on her wrist. "Nice watch." Hunter hummed in thanks as Lexi walked towards the fridge and grabbed blueberries.

"Lex, how many pancakes do you want?" Tim asked looking over his shoulder at the red head who was leaning against the counter eating the blueberries. "And stop eating the blueberries from the packet." Tim narrowed his eyes.

"I'll just buy you more and I'll take three." Lexi said shrugging, Tim raised his eyebrows as he turned back to the pancakes and then lowered them as he cooked more pancakes. "By the way I'll be home late tonight." Lexi said.

Hunter and Tim both turned to Lexi at the same time, staring at her with the same intense 'why?' look on their faces. "What are you doing?" Hunter asked.

"Geez, relax. I'm staying late studying for my exam." Lexi said, rolling her eyes.

Hunter and Tim exchanged a similar look. "Fine but you're home straight after." Tim said.

"Yes, dad." Lexi said rolling her eyes and grabbing the maple syrup and her pancakes. "Once again you've outdone yourself with mom's presents." Lexi called over her should as she sat down on the couch.

Hunter and Tim shared a look, both wondering if Lexi realised that she'd referred to them as mom and dad and both found themselves wondering if the other found it strange, Hunter personally liked it, it felt normal even though she and Tim aren't dating.

Hunter sighed and stood up, grabbing her keys. "Tim and I are gonna go, don't be late." She pointed at Lexi who raised a hand in acknowledgement. Hunter rolled her eyes. "She better not be meeting anyone." She muttered under her breath.

The raven haired woman glances at Tim who's also grumbling under his breath. Also, wondering if Lexi was meeting someone and lying to them about it knowing how protective Hunter and Tim were of her it wouldn't surprise either of them.

Hunter and Tim drove to work in their respective cars and walked into the building.

***

"Detective Lopez," Hunter looks at Grey as she walks into Mid-Wilshire, she was heading towards the women's locker room. "I need to talk to you before roll call." Grey moved aside so that Hunter could step into the office.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Bishop's taken a sick day, Wrigley's taken a personal day and 'cause you're the only other person here that I trust that's also trained a TO you'll be taking Nolan today." Grey explained.

What could Hunter say, she was an overachiever, Army, Law School and LAPD Academy (around the same time she had to add, with LAPD not long after she graduated law school), along with getting the Tap for detective and taking the TO exam before taking the detective's exam.

"Yes sir. Something tells me there's something else going on and you're gonna torture Nolan with it and that mean's you're gonna torture me with it too." Hunter said, eyeing her boss suspiciously.

"Get ready for the day and then head to roll call." Grey said chuckling, Hunter frowned at him, wondering what was going on. "Nice watch by the way." Hunter looked down at the watch and then walked out the room.

***

"Where the hell did you get the watch?" Angela asked incredulously, the watch Hunter had tiger's eye as the watch's face with sapphires on the hands, sapphires were another favourite of Hunter's and Angela knew for a fact that the watch personalized by the buyer who knew Hunter really well.

The watch also looked like it had been given the strength of a G-shock watch so that way it could withstand every day battering's it goes through, Tim almost certainly bought it because he knows someone from the army that reinforces day to day watches and that means the guy knows Hunter meaning it would probably get done for free.

"A friend." Hunter said shortly.

Angela grumbled under her breath as the two sister's got ready.

***

"All right, grab your seats," Grey said as he walked into the room, meaning the officers talking amongst themselves and those still standing took their seats, Grey walked up to the podium. "Officer Talia Bishop's taken a sick day, so Detective Lopez, you get officer Nolan, meaning Officer Lawrence you'll be riding with Smitty today," Grant rolls his eyes but nods. "A special day here at Mid-Wilshire. In fact, we're gonna start off by playing a game I like to call "What is a patrol officer's least favorite assignment?" Officer Lopez, why don't you get us started." Grey suggested.

"Easy. Guarding a dead body." Angela said.

Hunter and a lot of other people agreed. "Solid one. Officer Bradford?" Grey questioned, turning to Tim.

"Canvassing in the rain." Tim said.

"Yep, that's just the worst." Grant agreed.

"Lawrence?" Grey asked.

"Cleaning out the drunk tank or driving the drunk wagon, both of those things are just nasty." Grant said.

"Without a doubt," Grey agreed before turning to Hunter. "Lopez."

"IA checkups. It's just demeaning, not to mention when it's about unsolicited relationship rumours." Hunter said. The other veteran officers in the room all murmured in agreement, they'd all been subjected to AI checkups because of relationship rumours.

Grey walked back up to the whiteboard and started writing on it. "And yet, for me, the absolute worst is the VIP ride along." He said.

The other officers groan at that and Hunter muffles a scream in her hands, it reminds Tim of Chandler from FRIENDS after both Hunter and Lexi made him watch.

"Why? That sounds like fun." Nolan said, sounding confused.

"Detective Lopez, would you like to inform your temporary Boot why the ride along tops my list?" Grey asked.

"Because if anything happens to your VIP, you're screwed. So, you take the lowest of low-risk calls. It makes a 12-hour shift feel twice as long." Hunter explained.

"Plus, you're trapped in a car all day with an entitled prima donna coated in body spray." Tim added.

"Officer Nolan, you want to take a guess why we're playing this game?" Grey asked.

"Because you're giving me the VIP ride along?" Nolan questioned, sounding slightly dejected.

"No." Grey lied.

"Really?" Nolan asked, perking up.

"No. You absolutely got the ride along," the other officers laugh while Hunter once again muffles a scream with her hands. "He's waiting in the Captain's office for you now." Grey said.

"Sir, is it too late to ask for a sick day?" Hunter asked.

"Yes, it is." Grey said.

"Uh, who is this VIP, anyway?" Nolan asked.

"No clue, Nolan." Hunter said in response.

"Richard Payne." Grey said looking at the paper he bought in with him.

***

Hunter and Nolan walk up to Zoe's office and catch what seems to be the start of a new conversation. "What movie is that?" Zoe asked.

Hunter and Nolan walk in with Nolan speaking. "It's Trading Fire. And if Five is half as good as Four, I will be a happy man." He said.

Zoe turned to Hunter who shrugged, she didn't like the Trading Fire movies, they had nothing to do with real police work. "Mr. Payne, meet Detective Hunter Lopez and Officer John Nolan. You'll be riding with them today." Zoe said introducing the two.

"It's a pleasure." Payne replied before looking at Hunter. "I didn't thin Detective's did patrol work."

"Hmm. Personal choice." Hunter said, scowling, she didn't like Payne and she'd barely met him, he seemed very entitled.

"I am such a huge fan." Nolan said.

"Oh, I'm so excited to be riding along with the oldest rookie in the world." Payne said looking at Nolan.

Hunter bit back a laugh. "I don't uh, well, I wouldn't say world." Nolan said, sounding slightly offended at what Payne had said.

"Don't sell yourself short, James." Payne said to Nolan.

"John." Nolan corrects.

"Captain, once again, thank you so much for allowing this. I know the rules of the ride along. I'll be happy with whatever level of calls you give us." Payne said turning to Zoe.

"I appreciate that, but we will make sure that you get to see some action." Zoe lied.

"Great. Great." Payne leaves the room.

Zoe turns to Hunter and Nolan. "He does not get anywhere near danger. Is that understood?" She asked them.

"Yes, ma'am." Hunter and Nolan walk out of the office and meet up with Payne.

"It is such an honor to be the one -" Nolan was saying.

"So, what's it gonna cost me to get to see some real action, huh? And don't forget I have what they call "stupid money."" Payne interrupts Nolan and pulls a wad of cash out of his pocket.

"If you don't put that away, this ride along is gonna be over before it even starts." Hunter then walks away down the stairs.

***

Lucy walked to the kit room where Tim was waiting for her with the warbags unzipped. "S-Sorry. The battery was dead, so they had to find us another shop, and then I had to put gas in it. But we're ready to roll now, so -" Lucy trailed off as she zipped the warbags up.

"You know, when I was a rookie, I got here two hours before roll call to get the best shop from motor pool, re-wash it, and load the gear." Tim said looking at Lucy.

"Is this the cop version of walking five miles in the snow?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"This isn't story time, Boot. I'm reminding you how easy you have it." Tim said.

"Understood, sir. Thank you for all your support." Lucy replied.

The Holding Cell Clerk comes into view looking for someone when he sees Tim. "Officer Bradford, Sergeant Grey wants to see you in his office."

"Get the shop set up. I'll be right back." Tim said.

"Here you go." The quartermaster said handing the weapons to Lucy.

***

Payne was sitting in the back adjusting his bulletproof vest while Nolan was driving seeing as Hunter allowed him too. "Does this vest make me look fat?" Payne asked.

"What, are you kidding? You look like you're ready to star in Trading Fire Five." Nolan replied.

Hunter rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I've been training with these Special Forces guys." Payne said.

"Oh, the same guys who trained Tom for the last movie? I watch all the behind-the-scenes videos." Nolan said.

"Wilshire units, we have shots fired, MacArthur Park." Dispatch said over the radio.

"Let's go to that. Guys, let's go to that. I've got Lakers tickets with your name on them if you say yes." Payne said leaning forward in his seat.

"Tempting but I already have Lakers tickets, so no." Hunter replied.

"Jonah, can you help me out, please?" Payne asked Nolan.

"Me? Um, sorry. The T. O. dictates which calls we take." Nolan said.

"7-Adam-20, possible 459 at 910 Seabright Place." Dispatch said.

"What's a 459?" Payne asked.

Hunter ignored him and picked up the radio. "7-Adam-20 responding." She said.

"What's a 459?" Payne asked.

"Real, authentic police work." Hunter replied.

"Yeah." Payne said.

***

"Come in." Grey said. Tim comes in and Grey shuts the door.

"That's not a good sign." Tim comments glancing back at the door.

"No, it's not," Grey stands in front of his desk and crosses his arms. "Look, there's no easy way to say this. I was just notified that detectives made a drug bust. I recognized the suspect's name. It's your ex wife." Grey said.

Tim sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "What's the charge?" He asked.

"Possession with intent to sell." Grey replied.

"They're bringing her in?" Tim asked.

"Yeah. I don't know all the details yet, but I wanted to warn you," Grey's voice grows distant. "So, obviously, this is a complicated situation, but know that the department has your back. Whatever you need, just ask, okay?" Grey said to him.

"Yes, sir." Tim replied.

***

Payne, Hunter and Nolan are walking towards a house. "Really? We passed up a shoot-out for this?" Payne asked.

"Well, the neighbors reported hearing disturbing noises. That could be serious." Nolan replied.

"Huh. Doubtful." Payne scoffed.

The three of them walk along the long driveway to the house. "Listen, you want to see the difference between New York cops and L. A. ones, right?" Hunter asked.

"Yep." Payne replied.

"Well, New York has 40,000 officers policing their streets. L. A. only has 9,000 operating in a city twice its size. We see a hell of a lot more action every shift." Hunter said.

"Yeah, you never know when that action's gonna happen. Some of these "smaller" calls can get ugly fast. Matter of fact, just to be safe, you should really just hang back," Nolan holds out a hand. "To be safe." He said.

Hunter knocks on the front door and it falls open a bit. She and Nolan draw their weapons and enter the house cautiously. "LAPD!" Hunter yelled.

"Police!" There's a pile of mail on the floor just inside the door. The house seems to be empty, but Nolan hears something in another room and signals Hunter that he's going to investigate. "Lopez." Nolan whispered to Hunter. Nolan enters a room where an old movie projector is spinning, the film end flapping. He sees the back of someone's head, someone seated on the sofa facing the screen. "LAPD. Show me your hands." Nolan moves around and finds a decaying body on the sofa.

"Oh, she's been there a while." Payne comments.

"And no one noticed." Nolan said looking up at Hunter with a concerned face.

***

Tim is sitting in the briefing room alone when Lucy enters. "Hey, what's, uh what's going on? What did Grey want? Are we going out?" She asked.

Tim looks over her shoulder; she turns to see Isabel being escorted into the precinct by two detectives. As they pass by Grey's office he steps out. "Detectives. After you drop off, can you come back and see me?" Isabel looks over and sees Tim who's posture tenses up and he swallows. "Thanks." Grey said.

***

Grey and Tim are in the office when Det. Vestri and Det. Wolfe enter. "Hey." Grey said.

"You have an issue with our arrest?" Vestri asked.

"No, just looking for more details on this one." Grey replied.

"We assisted on a DEA task force, tracking a heroin distribution network. They flagged a car known to make drops for them. We pulled over the suspect and found four grams, individually wrapped, which means intent to sell." Wolfe said.

"Isabel isn't a dealer." Tim said.

"How do you know?" Vestri asked.

"Officer Bradford and Isabel were rookies together." Grey said.

"So she's a cop?" Vestri asked.

"Was. Undercover narcotics. Another division. Been off the job for three years." Tim replied.

Vestri's face dawned with realization. "You used to date."

"She's my ex wife." Tim said.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Fact of the matter is she's in pretty deep with some heavy dealers. Being arrested with that kind of weight, she's looking at one to three in county." Wolfe replied.

"I know that, but she doesn't even own a car. You bother to check the registration?" Tim asked.

"Doesn't matter. She was the one driving." Wolfe replied.

"Look, this is not something that we can make go away even if we wanted to. Your ex wife's gonna need a lawyer," Vestri turns to Grey. "And your officer needs to figure out where he stands. Is he a cop or a suspect's ex husband?" He asked.

"Thank you." Grey said.

"Yeah." Vestri replied. He and Wolfe exit.

"He's right. Listen, why don't you take a personal day, all right? Make some phone calls." Grey suggested.

"It's not necessary." Tim said.

"They need to process her. Then they're gonna wait for her lawyer to show up, and then they're gonna sweat her in interrogation. You won't get a chance to talk to her for hours. So if you don't take a day, that means you're going back on the street. You have a problem with that?" Grey questioned.

"No, sir." Tim replied.

"Okay. Go back to work." Grey said.

***

Hunter, Nolan, Payne, and the crime scene techs are at the scene of the unattended death. Hunter and Nolan are on their phones with different parties. "Yeah, her name is Crawford. Collette Crawford. Just looking for any relatives or family friends." Nolan was saying.

"Latanaprost. L-A-T-A-N-A-P-R-O-S-T." Hunter said at reading medications.

"Could you check again? Uh, there has to be somebody." Nolan said.

"Hey, can we go? Psst. Can we go?" Payne whispered to Hunter.

Hunter removes the phone from her ear. "No, I need to get a Natural Causes Death Certificate issued first, and to do that, I need to go through all the medications with the medical examiner." She said.

"Well, can I just pay them to do it so we can go?" Payne asked gesturing to the crime scene techs.

"No, you can't just throw money at your problems to make them go away. That's not how life works." Hunter replied.

"Maybe not your life." Payne muttered.

"Nolan." Hunter said.

"Uh, yeah, okay, thank you," Nolan ends the call and speaks to Payne. "Okay, look, I-I get this isn't exciting for you, but it's important, and I know I, for one, will sleep better tonight knowing that we took care of Ms. Crawford's remains personally." He said.

"Can I give you a note?" Payne asked Nolan.

"A what?" Nolan asked coufused.

"You're coming across a little earnest. Just try throwing it away a little more." Payne said.

"Throwing it - You do know I'm a real person, right?" Nolan asked.

"Yeah, Nifedipine." Hunter said to the medical examiner.

"God, she's just so beautiful. She'd never be a leading lady today, though. Not unless she lost 30 pounds and had a nose job. That's the trouble with this business. It's so superficial." Payne comments looking at photos of Collette when she was young.

"Yes, well, you could buck that, you know. You have the power to hire whoever you want." Nolan replied.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But, you know, audiences expect a certain look from my films. You know, I wouldn't want to disappoint them." Payne said as he looked at more photos.

"Thank you," Hunter ends the call. "Yeah, well, there is definitely a dark side to auto-paying all your bills." She comments.

"I couldn't find a single relative or family friend to claim the body. That's so heartbreaking." Nolan said.

"Doesn't surprise me. People forget you fast in this town." Payne replied. Hunter and Nolan shared a look.

***

The three are back in the shop with Nolan driving. "I'm just saying New York cops would've, you know, shown me a little bit of a better time by now." Payne said.

"If you're unhappy with the quality of your ride along, please feel free to request another unit." Hunter said.

"Look, I'm not happy. You're not happy, either. You don't want to be taking these low-risk calls any more than I do." Payne replied.

"Honestly, I don't think you could handle high-stakes calls.' Hunter replied.

"Oh, yeah, is that a challenge?" Payne asked.

"No, just an observation. I've seen one of your movies." Hunter replied.

"What, you didn't like it?" Payne asked.

"It was fine. It just had nothing to do with real cop work or the fact that you got everything related to the army wrong, even though your main character was in the army, you didn't do any research." Hunter replied.

"You know about the army?" Payne asked.

Hunter didn't answer and Nolan glanced at her. "She's not going to tell you anything else, so I'd stop while you're ahead." He advised Payne.

"7-Adam-20, we have a 415 at 9386 9th Avenue." Dispatch said.

"What's a 415?" Payne asked.

"Family disturbance," Nolan looked at Hunter. "Probably just a loud argument." He said.

"It's not that far from here." Payne replied.

Hunter picked up the radio. "7-Adam-20 responding."

***

They roll up to a house where several people are standing in the front yard. There's a pan on the ground with burned pancakes in it and a large young man is roaming around shouting in frustration while the others try to calm him down.

"Yeah." Payne said happily.

"No!' Tyson could be heard yelling through the windows of the shop.

"Relax. Everybody makes mistakes, bro. It's cool. Just chill." Malcom said.

"No! Go!" Tyson yelled.

"Ty." Tyson's mom said.

Tyson groans.

"Yo, you're scaring her, man, come on. Everybody makes mistakes. Just chill." Malcom said to Tyson.

There's a smoke alarm going off loudly.

"Finally, some action." Payne comments.

"You, stay." Hunter said to Payne.

"No!" Tyson yelled.

"Ty, Ty, it'll be okay." Malcom said trying to calm his brother down.

"Shut up!" Tyson yelled.

"Everybody, put your hands where I can see them." Hunter said.

"Go. Go." Tyson said groaning.

"Hey, back off. We don't need you here." Malcom said to the cops.

"Go!" Tyson yelled.

"Hey, Ma, I told you not to call the cops." Malcom said turning to his mother.

"No! No! Go away!" Tyson yelled.

"Yo, they gonna shoot him!" One of Tyson's brother's yell.

"Nobody's shooting anybody." Nolan said.

"Go!" Tyson yelled.

"Everybody, put your hands where I can see them now." Hunter said.

"Go away!" Tyson yells and then groans.

"Now," Tyson raises his hand; he's holding a large kitchen knife. "Knife!" Hunter yelled, she and Nolan draw their weapons.

"Put the knife down! Sir, drop the weapon now." Nolan said.

"No! No! No! No! No! No!" Tyson yelled.

"Wait, wait, wait!" The other brother's yelled.

"Put the knife down! Put the weapon down now!" Nolan yelled.

"I need you to put the knife down now." Hunter said.

"Don't shoot him. Don't shoot him." Malcom tells Hunter and Nolan.

"Tyson, it's okay. Put down the knife, please." Tyson's mom said.

"I did bad. Tyson did bad." Tyson was sating.

"Sir, we are just here to help you, but we can't help until you drop that knife." Nolan said.

"Go. Go!" Tyson yelled.

"He doesn't understand. Please. He's not gonna hurt anyone. He's only a child. He doesn't know how big he is." Tyson's mom explained.

"Look, I won't let you hurt him." Malcom said getting defencive.

"I need you to step back now." Nolan said.

"Everyone, take it down a notch!" Hunter yelled, trying to make her voice heard.

Tyson was groaning.

"He got confused. The alarm," Tyson's mom's voice broke as she spoke to the two cops. "I-I shouldn't have yelled at him."

"Could somebody take care of that alarm?" Nolan asked. One of the other men goes inside and shuts off the smoke alarm.

"I'm sorry, Momma, I'm so sorry." Tyson said.

"It's okay, baby. I know you didn't mean to hurt me," Tyson's mom's voice broke. "I know!"

"I burnt the pancakes. I burnt the pancakes." Tyson said.

"Looks like you didn't flip them in time." Nolan comments seeing the burnt pancakes on the ground.

"I forgot. I forgot. I forgot!" Tyson said crying.

"I do that sometimes, too. You know? Forget when to flip them. You want to know a little trick? How to know when to flip 'em?" Hunter starts speaking softly as she moves towards Tyson. "You remember the little bubbles on top? Hmm? When you see those little bubbles on top, you know it's time. Okay?" She continues in a soft tone. "Okay. I need you to put down the knife, Tyson. Now. Okay?" Hunter asked him.

Tyson looks at Malcom, who nods. Tyson drops the knife on the ground and Hunter and Nolan move quickly to handcuff Tyson.

"Sorry." Tyson said.

"It's okay." Tyson's mom said crying.

"It's all right." One of Tyson's other brothers say.

Nolan puts the handcuffs on Tyson.

***

"Isn't public urination usually a citation?" Lucy asked.

"You need to brush up on your California Penal Code. Section 314. Indecent exposure is a misdemeanor subject to six months in jail." Tim said to her.

"Hmm. Indecent exposure requires an offended party." Lucy replied.

"Plenty of offended families living in the apartment building across that alley." said Tim in response.

"Mm. Respectfully, sir, that'll never stick." Lucy replied.

"It doesn't matter. Start processing." Tim replied.

"Hey. Do you want me to give you a shout if I see the detectives?" Lucy asked Tim noticing how he was looking at Isabel's cell.

"Yeah," Tim said to Lucy and then turns to Janssen, the Holding Cell officer. "Open cell three for me." He said.

***

Tim enters the cell where Isabel is sitting. "I screwed up." Isabel said looking up at him.

"You think? How bad is it?" Tim asked.

"It's a solid arrest." Isabel replied.

"Who's Carson Holland? The car you were driving is registered to him. Is he your boyfriend?" Tim asked.

"Sometimes." Isabel shrugged.

Tim felt nothing when she said that seeing as she'd divorced him three years prior. "Okay, you have to tell them the drugs belong to him." Tim said.

"We both know it won't matter. I was in possession. Isn't there something you can do?" Isabel asked him.

"What?! They won't drop the charge. It's connected to a DEA case. This is real, Isabel." Tim replied.

"It's gonna get worse. Because tomorrow, they're gonna have a warrant to search my apartment." Isabel said.

"What will they find?" Tim asked.

"Carson stashed a kilo of heroin in my heating unit." Isabel admits.

"Are you -" Tim was about to shout and then lowered his voice to a whisper, "are you that far gone? Why would you let him do that?" He asked.

"All right, I will not be able to plea out of this. So, i-if I go to jail, they're gonna find out I was a cop, and I'll be dead," Isabel stands up. "Please, baby," Isabel places to hands on Tim's chest causing him to move back slightly. "Go - Go to my place. I need you. If you help me, it'll be different, all right? I'll go to rehab. For real this time." Isabel said.

"You're just saying that. And I'm not your husband anymore. You can't call me that. You haven't been able to call me that for three years." Tim informed her as if she'd forgotten.

"No, no, this is different. I ca- I can be different. Please help me. Okay? Please." Isabel begged Tim.

***

"7-Adam-15 requesting an additional unit for a 51-50 hold." Hunter said into her radio, allowing Tyson to lean on the hood of the shop.

"Hey, y'all can let him go now. Momma not pressing no more charges." Malcom said to Hunter and Nolan.

"That's right." Tyson's mom said.

"I'm sorry, but we have no leeway here. An assault was committed." Hunter replied apologetically.

"But we're not taking him to jail. A doctor will evaluate his needs. Depending on the diagnosis, he may even qualify for a facility." Nolan tells them.

"We can't afford that." Tyson's mom said.

Payne is hovering nearby, recording video on his phone. "Hey, what you doing, brah? What the hell you doing? Put that camera away, brah." Malcom said

"No, no, no, it's okay. I'm I'm a director. This is - This is so compelling." Payne explained.

"Compelling?" Malcom asked.

"Rupert, put the camera away." Nolan said.

"What, you think my brother's pain is entertaining? Huh?" Malcom asked.

"Step back. Step back." Nolan said, noticing how Malcom and two of his brothers were rounding on Payne.

"Put the camera away." Malcom ordered Payne as he walked towards him.

"Step back. Hey." Nolan said.

"You don't hear me, brah? I said put the camera away! You think I'm playing with you?" Malcom asked Payne.

"Hey, guys, you do not want to escalate this." Hunter speaks up.

"No, no, no." Tyson said to himself, shaking his head.

"Take it back." Nolan said to the others as sirens wail in the distance.

"I'm scared." Tyson whimpered.

"It's okay, honey. It's okay, T. It's okay. It's okay, honey. Don't worry." Tyson's mom said trying to reassure her son.

"I'm scared." Tyson said once again.

"Hey, it's okay, T. I'm gonna come visit you. I promise." Malcom said calming his brother down.

"We're gonna take care of this." The mom said.

"Okay. Come on." The cop with the shop for the 51-50 hold said trying to take Tyson away.

"Hey, I'm talking to my brother," Malcom snapped at the cop before looking at Tyson. "I'ma come visit you, I promise." He said.

"No. Just wait -" Tyson's mom tried to say.

"I'ma come see you, T." Malcom said speaking directly to Tyson.

"Wait in the car while we finish up." Nolan said to Payne who walked off.

"You're gonna be all right." Another brother said.

"No, I -" Tyson's Mom starts crying and one of her other sons comforts her.

"Hey, stay strong, okay? I'ma come see you." Malcom said to his brother as Tyson was taken away.

***

"I was very clear, yet you brought our VIP into an incredibly volatile situation." Zoe said as she walked to her office, Hunter and Nolan trailing behind her.

"It was unintentional. We had no idea from the call how dangerous it was gonna be." Hunter said, defending her actions, knowing full well if Payne hadn't been recording it could all have been avoided.

"And that is the only reason that I am being pleasant right now. You're dismissed." Zoe goes into her office as Payne comes walking up to Hunter and Nolan.

"Crazy day, huh? Um, did you guys get in trouble?" Payne asked.

"No." Hunter said bluntly.

"Good. Look, I-I'm having a little thing at my place tonight, and I would love it if you'd come." Payne said to Hunter and Nolan.

"I'm gonna call it a day. Thanks." Hunter walks away.

***

Hunter's in the women's locker room, having finished getting changed when Lucy comes up to her. "Hey, Lopez?" She asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" Hunter asked, untucking her hair from her jacket.

"I'm sure you know Isabel was arrested today?" Lucy asked, Hunter nodded. "I know she and Tim are divorced but I think he's gonna do something stupid and I was thinking you're the only person who can convince him otherwise." Lucy explained.

Hunter sighed. "I haven't seen him all day. But I can try, I can't make him do anything but I can indeed talk to him but the rest is up to him. He's got to make the decision not to do something stupid to save the ex wife who abandoned him," Hunter said under her breath before sighing. "Thanks Lucy, good night." Hunter said.

"Thanks, goodnight, Lopez." Lucy said as she started leaving.

"Hunter, outside work." The raven haired woman corrects.

Lucy smiled and turned around and walked out, while Hunter grabbed her phone and keys. She looked at Hunter's location, seeing as the two had shared their locations with each other and Lexi, they also did the same with Lexi.

When the two met Lexi and started fostering her within a few days, got her a phone and made sure they could see her location it was more a safety feature than it was to spy on each other, but Hunter's heart dropped when she realised Tim was at Isabel's apartment and she raced to her car.

***

Tim sneaks up to the door of Isabel's apartment, picks the lock, and lets himself inside, closing the door quietly. He turns on the lights and looks around, turns on a lamp and sees a picture frame with a photo of him and Isabel before their wedding. He picks it up and looks at it for a moment, then puts it back on the counter where he found it. He kneels down in front of the heating unit and pries the lower part of the cover off, then sighs as he pulls out a hefty brick of what must be heroin.

***

Tim walks back to his car and is about to get in when he sees Hunter getting out of her car nearby. "What are you doing here?" Tim asked her.

"No, what are you doing here?" Hunter asked, throwing his words back at him.

"Look, you're out of your depth on this." Tim tells her.

"Look, I've been friends with you for eighteen years, I served four tours with you, I was your second in command for tours, three of our four tours," Tim was a staff sergeant, making him the squad leader and Hunter was a normal sergeant meaning Tim outranked her and she became his second in command. "You project the rogue cop thing, but you are always on the right side of the law." Hunter reminds him.

"If you came all the way over here to psychoanalyze me, you wasted your time." Tim snapped.

"No, I I came here to remind you that you'll regret helping her. Because it's not gonna change her. But it'll sure as hell change you. And if you help her, it'll sure as hell change our friendship." Hunter informs him. Tim just turns away and gets in his car, Hunter sighs and does the same.

***

After making sure Lexi got home by nine, as was the unspoken rule while it was school term, Hunter just stayed in her apartment and didn't text Tim at all that night and he didn't text her either.

But Hunter had to remind him helping Isabel would ruin him but that's all she could do, Tim and Hunter were as stubborn as each other but Hunter knew when to back down, as did Tim but with both of them being stubborn they both knew it was easier to give up rather than trying to make the other do something.

***

Tim and Hunter were at the kit room, both signing something out. Hunter looks at Tim. "Tim, last night -" Hunter was about to say.

"Didn't happen. That clear?" Tim interrupted.

Hunter opened her mouth to remind him that she wasn't a boot and that she outranked him but decided against that, knowing that being brusque was his way of saying 'we don't ever talk about this again'.

"Hey, I got some bad news." Grey said walking up to Tim and by proxy Hunter.

"Can't be worse than yesterday." Tim comments turning to Grey.

"See, I'm afraid it can. Detectives executed a search warrant on your ex-wife's apartment this morning. They found a kilo hidden in the heating unit. She's with her lawyer now. I'm sorry, Tim." Grey said apologetically.

Grey walks away and Hunter turns to Tim. "You did the right thing." Hunter said to Tim.

"Not for Isabel." Tim replied before walking off.

Hunter followed him. "It's her fault, not yours and not mine. She's the one who stuck the needle in her arm, not you or me. Remember that." Hunter said nothing else and walked off in the opposite direction.

***

Isabel and her lawyer, Wesley Evers, were sitting in an interrogation room with Wesley sitting across from the blonde. "So, the kilo bumps you up to a major trafficker, which means you're facing 10 to 20 now. Now, you were a decorated officer who got addicted on the job. We could try to use that." Wesley said to Isabel.

"I went down the rabbit hole after I got hooked. They could've investigated me for half a dozen things. Instead, they brushed it under the rug and fired me quietly," Isabel made small gestures with her hand that still had her wedding ring, even though she divorced Tim, to try and explain. "I'm nothing but dirty laundry to them. Now they've got a clean shot, they're gonna take it." Isabel said to Wesley, she was upset that it had come to this but she only had herself to blame.

***

"I heard you were the life of the party last night." Hunter comments as she and Nolan patrol.

"Did Rupert tell you that?" Nolan asked, glancing over at Hunter.

"No, I heard it from the midnight shift. So, was it any fun?" Hunter asked him.

"No. Uh, it was... interesting." Nolan said, he wasn't quite sure how to describe it.

"I find the whole Hollywood thing depressing. All that energy spent on stuff that just doesn't matter," Nolan's cellphone starts ringing. "Oh, hey, here's your BFF now." Hunter comments.

"Oh. You can get that." Nolan said seeing as Hunter let him drive.

"Hey. Rupert. Tell m-" Hunter started to say.

"Help! They're trying to kill me." Payne interrupted Hunter and then took a quick breather. "You've got to come." He said.

"Rupert?" Hunter asked.

"My office." Payne said.

"Rupert!" Hunter yelled, she switched on the sirens.

"His office is on the studio lot." Nolan tells her.

"Dispatch, we have a possible 207 at Beverly Oaks Studios." Hunter said, grabbing the radio.

"John, are you still there?" Payne asked quietly.

Hunter rolled her eyes. "Course the one time remembers your name, he's being chased by people who want to kill him." She muttered.

"Rupert?" Nolan asked, sending Hunter a look.

"I think I lost them." Payne states.

"Rupert, are you okay? We're on our way." Nolan said to him.

"I've locked myself in the prop room." Payne tells them.

"What's going on?" Hunter asked, not very impressed.

"I kept thinking about what happened yesterday, so I reached out to Tyson's brother. Look, at first, everything was fine, but then when I offered him money to pay for a facility, he got really angry. He started to hit me, and then his friends -" Payne started to explain.

"Down here!" A man yelled, it was muffled however.

"Oh, God - " Payne lowers his voice to a whisper. "His friends -" Payne paused his sentence.

"Which way?! Come on!" One of the men yelled.

"- wanted me to open the safe in my office, but I managed to get away." Payne continued whispering.

"Where'd he go?" Rajon could be heard asking in the distance.

The door rattles, telling Payne that the men are trying to break in. "Oh, God. John, help. Help!" Payne yelled as the men break into the prop room. "No, no, no, no, no!" Payne screamed.

The call disconnected "Damn it, lost him." Hunter said.

***

The patrol car, with another following, barrels into the Beverly Oaks studio lot. A guard runs over to show them the way.

"His office is in that building." The guard said.

They get out of the shop in front of the building just as Payne is being dragged out by Rajon and his friends.

"Stop! Police!" Hunter yelled at them.

"Don't move!" Nolan yelled.

Shots are exchanged, and Rajon falls to the ground wounded as Malcom runs off with Payne.

"Aah!" Rajon yelled in pain.

"Go get him." Hunter ordered Nolan.

"On it." Nolan replied.

"Cuff him and call it in! Hands behind your back." Hunter said to another cop that was there as well.

Hunter and Nolan run through the backlot looking for Malcom. They run past a tram full of tourists with their tour guide. Hunter and Nolan then split up.

***

Hunter enters a large warehouse/set and searches it, eventually coming upon Malcom, who is holding PAYNE as a human shield at gunpoint. "Malcolm, stop! Your mother's suffered enough. You're only making it worse." Hunter said to him.

"So what? You gonna be my savior now, too? Huh? Like Mr. Hollywood here? Offering me money to make himself feel like a hero?" Malcom asked.

"To put your brother in a facility." Payne corrects. Hunter groaned in annoyance at Payne.

"Yeah, and what happens when that runs out, huh? How we supposed to pay for your fancy-ass facility and meds? You gonna give us money for next year and the year after that?" Malcom asked.

"I told you, we'll work it out." Payne said, trying to save his life.

"Work it out? Like it's that simple, huh? Like my brother's just gonna be fixed now that you're here to save the day." Malcom said, sounding offended.

"Malcolm, he doesn't understand." Hunter said, trying to calm down the other man.

"Oh, and you do?" Malcom asked Hunter coldly.

"No. God, no. I've never been in your shoes, I've got family who've been in your shoes. But, I-I can't imagine what it's been like for you and your mom to have to care for your brother, to make sure he doesn't hurt himself, that he can never be alone. Then to have this poster child for entitlement call you up like that?" Hunter scoffed.

"Hey." Payne exclaimed, offended.

"Shh!" Malcom hissed loudly at Payne.

"It's gotta be infuriating. But this, Malcolm, this this helps no one. This only hurts your brother, and I know you don't want to do that. So, come on. Let's put the gun down and let's just end this, okay?" Hunter suggested as calmly as possible.

Malcom is lowering his gun when Payne grabs it and wrenches it away from Malcom, knocking him to the ground. "I got it! I got it!" 

A cop appears on a catwalk and sees Payne with the gun in his hand. "Drop the weapon!" He yelled.

"No!" Hunter yelled and before she gets a chance to explain the cop shoots Payne, who falls to the ground. "No! Come here." Hunter runs over to Payne to render first aid.

***

Nolan's talking to Payne and Hunter's waiting for him when he comes over, Zoe shows up. "He's gonna be all right?" Zoe asked.

"Paramedics seem to think so." Hunter replied.

"Good, then I don't have to wait to yell at you about getting your VIP shot." Zoe said coldly.

"Well, technically, the ride along was yesterday, so -" Zoe shoots Nolan a look that makes him wish he was dead and he decided to take his own advice and quit while he was ahead. "Never mind." He said.

***

Vestri and Wolfe are escorting Isabel to the garage when they spot Tim hovering nearby. "We're transferring your wife to county. Arraignment will be tomorrow." Wolfe tells him.

"Ex wife," Tim corrects, not missing the regretful look at flashed across Isabel's face. "Can I get a minute with her?" Vestri and Wolfe step away, with Vestri taking a seat on one of the benches. "I'm sorry." Tim said.

"I needed you, and you weren't there." Isabel said.

"It wouldn't have fixed things." Tim argued.

"You don't know that! Now you never will. We're done here." Isabel called to the detectives and they took her away, Tim watches them go, looking dejected.

***

Tim is sitting alone in his car, lost in thought, looking depressed. Hunter and Angela open the doors and get in, Hunter in front, Angela leaning over the back seat. "What are you doing?" Tim asked.

"Hanging out with you." Hunter replied.

"Look, I appreciate the thought, but I'd rather be alone." Tim says, not looking at either sister.

"Too bad." Angela replied amused at that statement.

"I'm not gonna talk about it." Tim said stubbornly.

"You don't have to." Hunter said, grabbing Tim's hand.

"But we're gonna be here if you change your mind." Angela tells her friend adding onto what Hunter was saying.

"So what do we do now?" Tim asked.

Hunter and Angela shared the same look and spoke at the same time. "Drink." This caused Tim to chuckle slightly and smile.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I forgot that the Rookie was created in 2018 but released in 2019, so I've accidentally made it 2018 and then in this episode I made it 2019 like the show, so, whoopsies.

I had to find a way to add Hunter into this episode, also, yeah Hunter's a major overachiever and if the show can ignore timelines, so can I with Hunter's law school and LAPD thing that's been mentioned.

I've got a perfect plan for episode eight, because like I've said, this is about Hunter and her relationship with Tim, so that means she and her partner take calls that Nolan and Talia do in the show.

I know that Tim served in the army and I'm not sure how many tours he did but they way he said (to Lucy) "At your age, I'd done two tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, the second in charge of a squad of 10 soldiers." To me it meant he'd done four tours all up, two of Iraq and two of Afghanistan.

I could be wrong but that's my head cannon, also, I don't know much (if anything) about the US army, I know that a staff sergeant is in charge of a squad of ten soldiers (because Tim mentioned it) and I did research, which is how I know a sergeant is below a staff sergeant which is why I made Hunter a normal sergeant and Tim's second in command, make sense?

If anyone served in the army or knows about the US army, feel free to tell me and please correct me.