2x12: Now and Then

***

Hunter's staying at Tim's house until the nightmares stop and that might be awhile. Hunter dabbed concealer over the tattoo that Jake had given her, hearing the buzzing in the back of her mind.

Her eyes filled with tears as flashbacks race through her mind, that tattooing, the burial, singing her death song, she took and shaky breath to calm herself down and walked to her wardrobe to choose what she wanted to wear to work.

***

Angela and Wesley were sitting in the kitchen talking to Tim who was making everyone coffee while Lexi was sitting at the end of the island kitchen table looking between the adults. "How's she doing?" Wesley asked.

"She made Dadford run out for concealer at 6:00 am." Lexi piped up, swiping one of the waffles Tim had made before Angela and Wesley arrived.

"Well, I can't say I blame her. Walking around with a serial killers brand tattooed onto your skin and never being able to listen to your favourite song again because it triggers you, I can't even imagine." Angela said, taking the icing sugar and placing some on her waffles.

"How long before she can get it removed?" Lexi asked Tim.

Hunter entered the kitchen. "Four weeks, two days, nine hours." She recited remembering what the doctor told her, she was wearing a sweater over the top of her singlet, trying to pretend the tattoo wasn't there.

Angela stood up and pulled her sister into a hug, making sure to avoid the hip where the tattoo was before she moved back and grabbed her sister's shoulders, Hunter avoided her sister's gaze as tears pooled in her eyes again. "Hey, so for your first day back," Angela sat Hunter down on a stool beside Tim who was standing up. "Tim made waffles!"

Hunter laughed at her sister's joy at the concept of waffles and she wiped her nose before grabbing one waffles and picking at it, she doesn't notice Angela, Wesley, Lexi and Tim all share worried looks when Hunter looked up at Tim. "Can you, uh, can you make sure no-one claps in roll call?" She asked.

Tim and Angela shared a subtle look before Tim looked back down at Hunter. "I can try but you know what they're like. You and Chen survived being buried alive by serial killers, the cops are gonna want to show you both respect," Hunter stares Tim down. "But I'll see what I can do." He said quickly.

Hunter smiled. "Good, now someone pass me the maple syrup." She said to Tim, the four of them noticed that Hunter's happy attitude wasn't fully real but none of them said anything and Tim just handed Hunter the syrup.

***

Nyla and Tim are walking and talking in the bullpen. "Hey, so, what's your plan?" Nyla asked.

"For what?" Tim questioned.

"Officer Chen. I'm sure you've got some Alpha strategy, to get her "back on the horse." So, what is it?" Nyla wondered.

"Your standard input overload. Force her to push through dynamic engagements. Hone in her fight-or-flight response." Tim said.

"So basically get her into as many fights as possible." Nyla deadpanned.

"I'm gonna remind her that she's a cop, not a victim." Tim said.

Nyla and Tim pause walking so that they can face each other. "She knows she's not a victim. Look, Chen doesn't need to fight, she needs to make peace with the voice inside of her head telling her she's never gonna be safe again." She said.

"Okay, I've been training rookies a lot longer than you. I know what she needs." Tim said.

"That's ego talking. What happened to Chen and Lopez is every woman's worst fear." Nyla said to Tim.

"I'm aware of that." Tim said.

"But you have never lived that fear. It's clear that you have her best interests at heart. I'm just asking you to consider, whether she might be better served by someone who has been through what she has been through." Nyla said.

"And that someone's you," Nyla nodded. "Okay. I'll tell Grey to make the switch." Tim agreed.

***

Angela was talking with Grant in the bullpen. "You're a trained TO, right?" Angela asked him.

"Yeah." Grant pointed to the strips on his sleeves, he became a trained TO to replace TOs that are out for the day a bit like Wrigley, he wasn't that interested in actually training rookies so he was a reserve TO.

"Good, you're training West today." Angela said with finality.

"Wait, what?" Grant asked walking beside Angela.

"You're training West for the week, I'm gonna tell Grey to make the switch." Angela shrugged making a detour to Grey's office.

Grant steps in front of Angela, stopping her from moving forward. "Why am I training West?" He asked.

"Because I want to see how Hunter reacts on the streets today." Angela replied.

Grant placed a hand up. "Angela, you can look at my bodycam footage but a sudden switch in who Hunter rides with will just mess with her head even more, you know this." He said. Angela shifted uncomfortably. "You don't want to see how she reacts on the street. You want to make sure that you're not dreaming this, that you're not dreaming that she's alive." Grant realised.

Angela swallowed and nodded. "She's my sister. I'm supposed to protect her and I didn't." She said her voice breaking.

Grant shakes his head. "I disagree. Hunter can protect herself, I will inform you of how she goes and you can watch the bodycam footage. Deal?" Grant asked Angela.

Angela nodded and the two walked off to the roll call room in silence.

***

Hunter and Lucy both hesitate before entering the roll call room, the two of them shared a look before walking in and the assembled cops in the room beside the ones that knew they didn't want applause, applauded for them. Hunter and Lucy race to their seats, embarrassed at the attention.

"Sorry, I tried." Tim apologised.

"Yeah, you're dead to me." Hunter deadpanned.

Grey walked into the room. "Welcome back, Officer Chen, Detective Lopez. How're you both feeling?" He asked the two women.

"Can't wait to get on the streets, sir. Just get back to normal." Lucy said.

"Can't wait to get back to work. I was going stir-crazy sitting at home all day with nothing but puzzles and TV to do." Hunter called out.

"So glad to hear that. We're gonna mix things up a bit. Chen you're gonna be riding with Harper this week. Which means, Nolan, you and your ride-along are with Bradford." Grey said walking back to the podium.

"Sorry, wait. What? Ride-along?" Tim asked caught of guard at that, Hunter laughed, the first genuine laugh that she'd had since she was kidnapped which made Tim happy knowing that she took amusement in Tim's annoyance.

"Which brings us to Officer West. Tell me, son, you enjoy the red carpet last night?" Grey asked Jackson.

"What? H-How did you know - I was at a red carpet?" Jackson asked.

"LAPD Media Relations sent me a link." Grey turns on the monitor to show a TV clip.

The TV clip features Jackson standing on a red carpet at an event with his boyfriend, Sterling Freeman. "And now some hot goss from Hot Suspect star Sterling Freeman. TV's favorite cop has been hitting the town with real-life LAPD Officer Jackson West. Looks like these cops should call the fire department, 'cause it's getting hot in here."

The cops laugh and heckle Jackson. "Okay. Yeah, no, no, no, keep laughing. I also gained 10,000 new Instagram followers overnight, so." Jackson trailed off.

"West, the only followers you should worry about are your superiors. Think about us next time you're out on the town." Grey said.

"Yes, sir." Jackson replied.

"All right. That's it. Stay safe out there." Grey said.

Tim, Grant and Hunter comes up to Nolan as the group disperses. "Nolan, two things, Lawrence and Lopez will be attached to our calls with us," Nolan nodded at that. "Second thing, you scheduled a ride-along without clearing it with your TO first?" Tim asked.

"No, sir. I cleared it with Detective Harper. She said it was all right." Nolan said.

Nyla smirks at Tim over her shoulder. "'Cause she knew she wasn't riding with you today. All right, so who am I saddled up with?" He asked looking back at Nolan.

"Uh, it's my future daughter-in-law, Abigail, over there. She's considering signing up to the Academy." Nolan said.

The four of them look at Abigail through the window. "She's like nine pounds. And I'm not interested in chasing tame calls today." Tim said.

"Uh, no need to. I think Abigail would benefit from seeing the harsh side of police work." Nolan states.

"You don't want her to be a cop." Hunter said.

"I'm merely concerned about her suitability. So perhaps we should show her what she'd be signing up for?" Nolan suggested.

"No problem. Scaring rookies off the job is my specialty." Tim, Nolan, Grant and Hunter all approach Abigail, who stands and sticks out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Abigail."

"My name is Officer Bradford. You'll address me only as Officer Bradford. Do you understand?" Tim asked sternly, Abigail nodded. "You sign the liability waiver?" He asked.

"Yes, sir. Officer Bradford." Abigail said.

"Good. Then you understand you could be injured, maimed, paralyzed, burned, or killed during this ride-along." Tim said.

"I mean, yeah, sure." Abigail shrugged.

Tim turned slightly, pointing to Hunter and Grant, Hunter was standing close to Tim with a hand on her back as a way to stay calm. "This is Detective Lopez and Officer Lawrence, that's what you will call them. They'll be attaching to calls with us today," Abigail nodded in understanding. "We're not tour guides. We're the police. We drive towards the sound of gunshots. So, if that's gonna be a problem, you should bail out now." Tim advised.

"No problem at all. Let's go find some gunshots." Abigail said.

***

Tim and Nolan along with Abigail, Hunter and Grant had also attached to the call, Hunter deciding that she needed to have Tim by her side until further notice, have arrived at a crime scene where a body is covered with a tarp. The M.E., Dr. Solomon Lowell, is making notes over the body.

"If you really want to be a cop, first thing you need to come to terms with is death In all its forms, Stay here." Tim said to Abigail

Tim, Hunter and Grant go over to speak to Lowell while Nolan and Abigail wait behind the caution tape. Tim beckons Nolan and Abigail over and they join him, Hunter, Grant and Lowell. "We got a jumper. Did a header from the roof." Tim said.

"You really don't want to see this." Nolan warned her.

"No, I kinda do." Abigail said.

"If you're gonna hurl, kid, do it over there." Tim told her.

Abigail is more curious than repelled as she peers at what's under the tarp. "Huh. I'm not even sure what I'm looking at." She said.

"Impact velocity tends to turn people into pinatas. Five stories onto asphalt, and it's limbs akimbo. That's his left leg. That's his spine." Lowell said, pointing out what Abigail can see.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I see now." Abigail said.

Hunter looked up at Lowell. "We got an I.D.?" She asked, feeling a little more comfortable than she did in roll call this morning.

"Yeah. Heston Dayton, 22." Lowell said.

"You thinking homicide? Suicide?" Grant asked.

"I won't know until I do an autopsy. And even then, it might not be clear, given the state of the body." Lowell said.

"Have you notified next of kin?" Tim asked.

"Not yet." Lowell replied.

Tim, Nolan, Grant and Hunter all exchange a look. "Okay, let detectives know that we'll take care of it," Tim turned to Abigail. "C'mon." The five people walked away.

Abigail was speaking with Nolan as they returned to the shop.

***

Nolan and Abigail are walking with Tim, Hunter and Grant through the trailer park, looking for the victim's next of kin. "Hey, I-I just wanted to say I'm sorry about before, at the crime scene. I wasn't thinking about the family." Abigail said.

Hunter looked at her. "We get it, but listen. What we're here to do is awful. Death notifications always are. You spend the drive over dreading it. Trying to come up with words that will somehow soften the blow. Knowing that there aren't any. This boy lived here with his mother and his sister, and what we're about to tell them has the potential to destroy lives." She said.

Tim also turned to Abigail. "There's no shame in waiting in the shop if you're not up for it," Tim knocks on trailer door. "Police!"

"What? What'd he do this time?" Mrs. Dayton asked.

"Ma'am, I'm Officer Bradford. This is Officer Nolan, Detective Lopez and Officer Lawrence. Can we come in?" Tim asked.

"No." Mrs. Dayton declined.

"Ma'am, I think it's best if you let -" Nolan was saying.

"Just tell me, what Heston did." Mrs. Dayton said.

Hunter sighed and spoke. "We regret to inform you that your son was killed this morning." Hunter deadpanned.

"What?" Mrs. Dayton asked.

Ellen Dayton comes up behind the cops. "What's going on? Mom?" Ellen asked.

"Your brother's dead." Mrs. Dayton told her daughter.

"No." Ellen shook her head.

"I'm afraid so." Nolan said.

"What happened?" Mrs. Dayton asked.

"He fell from a building in downtown. It's possible he jumped." Hunter said.

"No, he would never do that. N-N-Never." Mrs. Dayton goes back inside; Tim, Hunter, Grant and Nolan follow her as she pours a glass of wine.

"Do you know what he was doing downtown?" Tim asked.

"No. I hadn't seen him in a couple of days." Mrs. Dayton said.

"You asked what Heston had "done now"? What kind of trouble was your son into?" Hunter asked.

"Just hanging around with idiots." Mrs. Dayton said.

"Anybody we should talk to?" Tim asked.

"Guys?!" They all heard Abigail yelled.

The four cops emerge from the trailer to see what's going on. "What the hell did you do?!" Ellen yelled at a man.

"What?" The man asked.

"It's your fault he's dead!" Ellen yelled.

"What the hell are you squawking about?" The man grabs ELLEN and pushes her away, face down on the hood of the car. 

Abigail steps in and kicks him between the legs. "Hey, leave her alone!" 

Tim restrains Ellen as Nolan cuffs the man, Hunter and Grant watch on. "Hey. Here. Ma'am, ma'am, calm down. Who is this guy?" Tim asked.

"He's the reason Heston's dead!" Ellen yelled.

"What are you talking about? I just talked to him this morning." The man said, sounding confused.

"Get up," Nolan hauled the man up and grabbed his ID. "7-Adam-15, can you run a name for me? Everest Jones, born 02/01/96." Nolan said into his radio.

"Wait, he he's not really dead, is he?" Jones asked.

"Yes, he is, if you know anything about it, you need to tell us right now." Nolan said.

"Dude, I don't know anything." Jones replied.

"Liar!" Ellen lunges at Jones again but is kept back by Tim.

"Hey, hey. Do you have a specific accusation?" Tim asked.

"No. But ever since Heston's been hanging out with this loser, he's been getting himself in trouble." Ellen snapped.

"7-Adam-15, first name Everest, last name Jones. Priors for criminal threats and brandishing a firearm."

"You're under arrest for assault and battery." Hunter said to Jones.

"They attacked me." Jones argued.

"Detectives will come by later to talk to you and your mom. If you have any questions, give me a call." Tim said.

As the officers put Jones in the shop, Ellen goes over and speaks to Abigail before Nolan walked over and spoke to her as well.

***

Tim and Hunter come over seeing Abigail and Lucy hugging. "What the hell is this? I let you run around with Harper for half a day and you start hugging people on duty?" Tim asked.

"Don't listen to him. He's all bark. I gotta pee." Abigail exits the area.

Lucy turns to Tim, smirking. "All bark? She is not buying what you're selling."

"That's because I don't hold her fate in my hands. Heard you dodged some bullets." Tim said.

"Yeah, a few. What, are you keeping tabs on me?" Lucy asked.

"Look, if you need anything, you let me know." Tim said, he was saying to both Hunter and Lucy.

Hunter, who was listening but was speaking, placed a hand on Tim's arm causing him to turn to her. "You got a time machine?" She asked.

"I wish I did." Tim sighed.

***

Tim and Nolan are coming off shift. "Hey. Where's your ride-along?" Tim asked.

"Oh, Henry came to pick her up. They're crashing a wedding in Malibu to see if they like the place." Nolan said.

"Well, let her know I thought she showed some solid instincts today. And she's clearly got some fight in her. So, I'd be happy to put in a word when she turns 21." Tim said.

"That's very nice of you. You should know she's got a little trouble in her past, you know. She knows that's gonna make the road a little harder for her, but she's committed." Nolan told him.

"Okay, what kind of trouble?" Tim asked.

"Ex-boyfriend put some revenge porn on the Internet when she was 17. She kind of torched his car." Nolan said.

"She'll never be a cop." Tim said.

"She knows she handled it the wrong way. She did a ton of community service." Nolan said.

"Doesn't matter. The law sees it as an incident of domestic violence. That's a hard pass at the Academy."

"There's gotta be something she can do-"

"There isn't. It's a shame. She seems like a good kid." Tim said walking off.

***

Hunter and Lucy are both changing quickly, their tattoos are starting to show through the concealer that they both had, they wanted to get home as soon as possible. Hunter and Lucy had gotten closer over their shared trauma of being buried alive and going on dates with serial killers.

The two women didn't say a word to one another and closed their lockers and turned to go, jumping when Nyla appeared out of seemingly nowhere. "You two not gonna shower?" Nyla asked.

"Uh, I'm gonna do it at home." Lucy said.

"Same." Hunter replied.

"Oh, but neither of you are going home." Nyla said.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"Ready?" Angela questioned walking over.

"Almost." Nyla replied.

Hunter and Lucy shared a confused look. "I'm, I'm sorry, ready? Ready for what?" Hunter asked.

"We have plans. Girls night." Nyla said.

"Oh, I get it. You've seen that I'm fine on the job, but you're still not convinced?" Lucy asked.

"No, that's not it. We just thought it would be fun." Nyla lied.

"But if you're not up for it-" Angela trailed off.

"Oh, wait, no, I am. It's - You guys have just never asked me out before. I know you guys and Hunter go out for drinks, but that's great. Uh, cool. So, where are we going? A bar? Club?" Lucy asked.

***

Nyla, Angela, Lucy and Hunter walk into a room set up for, and advertised for, speed dating. "Oh. Uh, this is a joke, right?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, hell no." Hunter goes to leave but Angela places a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back beside Lucy.

"You were right. I have never gone on a date with a serial killer, and you and Hunter have." Nyla said.

"And that would make anyone question their judgment." Angela added.

"Yeah, sure, but, uh, this is-" Hunter scoffed.

"But nothing. Look, you can never truly know that you are fine until you know that you can trust your judgment again. So, we're here, in this controlled environment with zero stakes, so you can meet and evaluate a succession of men." Nyla said.

"If you can call them "men."" Angela said.

"Look, Lucy and I appreciate, what you're trying to do here. And actually, it's fairly psychologically sound, but this-- this is unnecessary." Hunter said, Lucy nodded in agreement.

"Well, it'll just be a great story for tomorrow." Nyla said.

"You are not gonna take "no" for an answer, are you?" Hunter asked.

"I am just real committed to getting you two to say "yes."" Nyla said.

"Okay. Fine. Yes." Hunter and Lucy relented.

"Great. We will be sitting over there, having just some BYO." Angela said taking a swig from a pocket flask.

"Uh, oh, no. If Hunter and I are doing this, so are you guys. Can't have a control study without independent data. Otherwise how will we know that our judgment is sound?" Lucy mused.

"She's got a point." Nyla said.

"Don't make me and Lucy pull the buried alive card." Hunter deadpanned.

"Screw it, I'm in." Angela said sharing a look with Nyla.

***

"You ready?" Nyla asked as the four women observed the room.

"Uh - Can I?" Angela hands Hunter the flask full of alcohol, she took a swig and then handed it to Lucy who also takes a swig and hands it back to Hunter who handed it back to Angela. "Mm. Thanks. Okay, let's do this." Hunter said.

Hunter was sitting at a table basically interrogating a man while Lucy asked the exact same things as she did. "Do you ever have any intrusive thoughts?" Hunter asked.

"Uh." Mr. Nice Enough started to say when Hunter interrupted him.

"Did you have any early behavioral issues? How would you describe your relationship with your mom? And would you submit yourself to a full background check? If not, um, why?" Hunter shot out the questions in quick succession.

"Uh, yes I would submit myself to a full background check." Mr. Nice Enough said.

"Okay." Hunter said as the timer went off.

Lucy and Hunter smile at their "dates" as they rise and Angela and Nyla look on from a distance.

"This has actually been really interesting. I feel like I learned something about myself." Mr. Nice Enough said.

"That's great." Hunter said.

"Oh, you have a string coming -" Mr. Nice Enough reaches for a stray thread hanging from her sweater and immediately Hunter flashes back to her experience with Jake. 

Next thing she knows, she has Mister Nice Enough on the floor with his hands behind his back and Angela has rushed in to help her while Lucy had done the same with her date so Nyla goes to help her.

Hunter stood up and took a step back before practically running out of the hall and calling Tim before she had a full blown panic attack. "Hunter, what's wrong? Where are you?" Tim asked hearing Hunter's quick breathing. Hunter didn't answer so Tim tracked her phone.

Tim pulled up with his truck and grabbed Hunter's shoulders to get her to look at him, he could hear Angela looking for her sister and Tim knew that she had something to do with the reason Hunter was a speed dating place.

"Okay, lets go." Hunter followed Tim and sat herself in the passenger seat as Tim got in the drivers seat, Angela had seen the truck pull away and knew the number plate and knew that it was Tim's which meant that if Tim knew Grant would also know and Angela and Nyla were gonna get it tomorrow, those two men were very protective of Hunter and Lucy.

***

The next morning Angela runs into Tim in the bullpen. "What the hell were you and Harper thinking?" Tim asked her skipping over the pleasantries.

"Look we thought it might help Hunter and Lucy and it was going well until Mr. Nice Enough and Mr. Other Nice Enough tried to pull loose threads off Hunter and Lucy's sweaters, causing the two to pin the men to the floor. I ran to Hunter and Harper went to Lucy." Angela explained.

"Okay and that's what prompted Hunter to call me in a panic because she'd never done that before." Tim sighed.

"The two of them almost broke the men's arms." Angela smirked.

"Okay, and I'll be keeping an eye on her today, she's attaching to my calls until she's ready." Tim said.

"Good." Angela said walking off.

Tim manages to catch Nolan. "Nolan, I got something.

"Me too. Who goes first?" Nolan asked.

"I do. Listen, Medical Examiner called. Heston Dayton wasn't a jumper." Tim said.

"Pushed?" Nolan asked.

"More like tossed. He was dead before he left the roof. Strangled. Weirdly, he also had acid burns on his forearms, less than a week old."

"Well, funny you should say that. I looked up the arrest records for Everest Jones. His burglary charge was for stealing drain cleaner, which contains sulfuric acid." Nolan said.

"Which is used to cook meth." Tim said.

"You think they were cooking it in the trailer park?" Nolan asked.

"No, we'd have smelled it." Hunter said walking over with Grant.

"So, what now? We bring the detectives up to speed?" Nolan asked.

"Not yet. Let's go to Everest first." Tim said.

***

Nolan and Tim are in the shop with Grant and Hunter following in theirs. "How's Hunter going?" Nolan asked.

"She's getting there. Nearly broke someone's arm because they triggered her last night while she was out with Harper, Lopez and Chen, apparently Chen did the same." Tim said.

"I think Lucy'll get better after she gets the tattoo removed and I don't know Hunter as well as you and the others but I feel like she'll be better as well when her tattoo gets removed." Nolan said.

"You think because it's physical, it's worse? Tragedies always leave scars. Only some of them you can see and most of Hunter's scars are PTSD from the wars were participated in." Tim said.

Nolan opened his mouth to ask Tim about Hunter's DSC medal, he wanted to know if what Rosalind told him was true but decided against it there was a reason Hunter and Tim kept it to themselves.

They pull up a short distance from the entrance to the trailer park. A truck has pulled up to block the driveway. "Well, that can't be good." Nolan said as he saw the motorists.

Hunter and Grant also saw what was going and grabbed Hunter grabbed the shop radio. "We saw two Dead Bastards leaving the park when we pulled in there yesterday. Can't be a coincidence." Hunter said.

"Let me guess - They sell a little meth?" Nolan asked as picking up the radio.

"A lot of meth." Tim corrected.

"And they wouldn't take kindly to a couple of idiots, trying to cook and sell in their territory." Grant said.

"So, they chuck Heston off of a roof, come back by the park to do the same to Everest, but leave when they see us." Nolan said.

"Yeah, but now they came back to finish the job. Confiscate any product or cash they find on site." Grant said.

"So, what's our next move?" Nolan asked.

"We call in the cavalry and hope nobody gets killed while we're waiting." Hunter called it in and the four of them move to their positions.

"7-Adam-15 and 7-Adam-20, in position for recon. Stand by for tactical assessment." Tim said over his radio as the four cops parked their shops in covered positions and then exited them.

"Roger that. We just landed at the staging area around the corner. SWAT's mobilizing, but I'm not sure we can wait around for them to land. Set up an OP and then report back to me." Grey said.

***

Nolan, Tim, Grant and Hunter carefully moved through the trailer park, hiding behind one of the cars as they see Everest exit out of his caravan trying to get away from the guys trying to kill him as two other Dead Bastards tear apart his car when four of them exit his trailer and kick him in the back sending him to the ground before he gets dragged back into his caravan.

Tim, Hunter, Grant and Nolan shared a look before Tim grabbed out his radio. "Sarge, this thing is going south fast. I definitely don't think we can wait for SWAT."

"Copy that. You four proceed to target." Grey said.

Nolan, Hunter, Grant and Tim start moving forward slowly, Nolan looks around a corner and does a double take. "That's my truck."

"What?" Tim asked.

Nolan looked over at the other four cops. "I lent it to Abigail and Henry, to go take a look at wedding venues."

Hunter looked over. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes. They must've come here to see Ellen. Abigail was talking about her last night." Nolan said.

Hunter grabbed out her radio. "Sarge, we got a new situation."

***

Hunter, Nolan, Tim and Grant manage to end up at the end of the trailer where Heston's family live, Nolan and Hunter both look through the mesh and noticed Ellen and her mother, along with Henry and Abigail sitting on a couch with two Dead Bastards in front of them, one of them holding a gun.

Hunter grabbed out her knife that she has for self-defence and cuts the mesh, leaving a big enough hole for either herself, Tim, Grant or Nolan to get through. "We're in position." Tim said into his radio.

"All units Green Light. I repeat, Green Light."

Hunter climbed through the window and into the trailer, she quietly grabbed her gun before moving a door to look through into the living room when the floor creaks, she quickly hides behind one of the doors and one of the Dead Bastards walks in and Hunter tases him before throwing him to Tim, Grant and Nolan to cuff.

"What the hell are you doing back there?" Hunter heard the boss ask.

Hunter throws her smoke grenade in which then explodes, Henry covers Abigail while Mrs. Dayton covers her daughter, the Dead Bastards boss started firing shots blindly when Hunter managed to tackle him to the ground.

"Clear?" Tim asked as he and Nolan and Grant walked in.

"All clear. Here." Hunter handed the Dead Bastards boss of to Grant, while Henry, Abigail and Nolan hugged. "7-Adam-19, two suspects in custody. Code 4." Lucy said over the radio.

"Code 4." Hunter said into her radio too.

***

Hunter was in the gym beating up a punching back, not noticing Tim standing in the background watching her. She wiped her tears with her tank top, revealing the tattoo and she looked over seeing Tim. Hey."

"You got no quit in you, do you, Hunt?" Tim asked.

"No, I get that from you. I spent my time training with the guys in the Army trying to beat you." Hunter said.

"No, you came to the army that way. It's what made you so aggravating when we first met." Tim said.

"I'm taking that as a compliment." Hunter said.

"It was meant to be. You have a good night." Tim said, turning to leave.

"Yeah, you too." Hunter said.

Tim started walking out when he turned around again. "You know I got half a dozen scars. Bullet wounds, knife wounds, broken bottle. Then there's the ones you can't see Isabel's addiction, a dad, who would tune me up on the regular which you know all about, the wars that we fought in. And whether I like it or not, they're a part of me."

"I-I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it, but this is different, different to all my trauma from the wars, to my scars I got from fights. I was tattooed by a sadist who etched my day of death into my skin." Hunter said, her eyes filled with tears and her voice broke as she spoke.

"Okay, but you didn't die. Okay? You lived. And now he's the one in the ground. But I'm not trying to tell you what to do with it. Okay? Burn it off, keep it, whatever gives you peace. All I'm trying to do, is give you some hard-won perspective. You can choose to see that tattoo as your greatest failure. But I see it as proof that you're a survivor. It wasn't your day of death, Hunter Lopez. It was the first day, of the rest of your life. And no one can take that away from you." Tim said.

"Thanks." Hunter sighed.

"You're welcome." Tim replied.

Tim turned to walk off when Hunter called out to him. "How did you find me?" She asked.

"You saved yourself," Tim brings Hunter's tigers eye ring out of his pocket. "With this, according to Lawrence, Chen did the same with her ring." Tim threw Hunter her ring and she caught it. "You and Lawrence responding to your own calls tomorrow?" Tim asked.

"Probably." Hunter said.

"If you get overwhelmed you call me no matter what I'm doing." Tim said.

"I'll be holding you to that." Hunter said.

"I'll see you at home." Tim said.

"Good night." Hunter replied, Tim nodded and walked out, Hunter returned to punching the bag.

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This was a really good episode, I like how they didn't just brush Lucy's trauma aside even in season 5.