5x05: The Fugitive

***

Tim walked into the kitchen where Lexi was sitting at the island table reading, she glanced up at him and smiled slyly. "So, where are you going?" Lexi asked for the third time that night, eyeing Tim's navy blue button up shirt, blazer and black pants.

Tim sighed. "Out." He replied evenly before walking out and grabbing his keys for his truck and walked over to it, opened the door and starts the truck, driving away from the house.

Lexi narrowed her eyes and watched from the kitchen window before grabbing her phone and opening Angela's contact but ultimately decided to call call Grant, wondering whether or not Hunter was going out as well.

*** 

Hunter walked out into the main apartment area, Grant looked behind from the couch at her, she was wearing a black dress, red lipstick and black heels with a red handbag to contrast the blackness.

Grant frowned deeply. "Where are you going dressed like that?" He wondered.

"Out." Hunter replied.

"Uh-huh, with who?" Grant questioned.

"What does that matter?" Hunter asked.

"Because I would love their name to do a background check and make sure they're not a serial killer, we don't want a repeat of 2020 where you got kidnapped." Grant deadpanned.

Hunter smiled at her friend, since Aaron had started riding with Tim, she had been riding by herself but soon enough, she and Grant were going to start riding together again. "Grant, I'll be fine." She said before grabbing her car keys and walking out of the apartment.

Grant's phone starts ringing and sees that it's Lexi calling him, he answers on speaker. "Hey, what's up?" Grant asked her.

"Did Mom happen to leave the apartment?" Lexi asked.

"Yeah, she did, dressed up too. Why?" Grant asked.

"Cause Dad just left looking like he was going out." Lexi answered.

Grant nods thoughtfully for a moment. "I'll swing by and pick you up if you keep checking their locations, we'll try and spy on them from across the street." Grant said.

"Alright." Lexi agreed.

***

Hunter looked up when she saw Tim walking over seeing as she lived closer to the restaurant that he did. "Hey, so you know that Lexi and Grant are spying on us in Grant's car, right?" Hunter asked, smiling as he sits down.

"Oh, I know." Tim said, nodding his head, the two were at Ravenna like they were when Lucy and Grant made bets with them. "I'm gonna get the fillet, you?" He asked, glancing at the menu.

"Pasta," Hunter smiled. "I remembered the last date we had here was much less awkward." Hunter comments.

"That's because we had made bets with Lucy and Grant, this is the first date we've had without bets since 2007." Tim replied.

Hunter smirked slightly. "No kidding." She replied. "And that was more awkward than this so second times a charm for our second first date, if that made any sense." Hunter said.

Tim opened his mouth to reply. "Are you ready to order your drinks?" Tim and Hunter looked up, hearing a voice and noticed a waitress had walked over.

"Uh yeah we're both driving though so we need non-alcoholic drinks." Hunter said, she did a quick glance at the drinks menu as the waitress nodded. "I'll take a Coke Classic." She said.

"Me too." Tim said and the waitress nodded and walked off eventually she came back with their drinks and then they ordered food before continuing to talk.

***

Lexi and Grant were, like Hunter said, watching the two of them from their cars. "Okay, so we now know they're seeing each other, why not just tell us?" Lexi asked, looking at her uncle in everything but blood.

"'Cause Tim's in her chain of command, he's a sergeant and she's a detective if that makes sense." Grant replied, glancing over at the red head.

"Oh, Dad mentioned how Mompez mentioned to him that she wanted to be a Detective Sergeant, how would that work with Dadford being a Sergeant?" Lexi questioned.

"There wouldn't be any chain of command but Hunter would probably move back with the Detectives, seeing as a DS doesn't work patrol, she might continue to do UC work however as you know she's been thinking about going back." Grant explained.

Lexi nodded her head in understanding. They watched as Tim and Hunter ate in silence. "Reckon it'll get less awkward?" Lexi asked Grant.

Grant nodded. "As time goes on, absolutely." The two continued watching like people going to the zoo and they watched as Hunter and Tim both stood up. "Oh shit, we gotta go." Grant said, quickly putting the car in drive.

***

The next day Tim's walking through the bullpen vaguely listening to Grey about the Sergeants breakfast, Tim was more or less thinking about his date with Hunter the previous night. "We should let Marshall pick every restaurant for all the sergeant's meetings. Did you try that breakfast sandwich?" Grey asked.

"No." Tim deadpanned.

"Well you missed out," Grey comments as the two walked past Smitty, Grey turned to him. "Hey, Smitty."

Smitty turned to the two sergeants. "Yeah, Sarge?" He said.

"You can't park your personal vehicle in spots designated for marked units." Grey said.

"The RV isn't my vehicle, it's my house," Smitty made his fingers into a hashtag. "#VanLife."

"You can't park your house in marked spots either." Smitty just shrugged and walked off, Grey turned to Tim. "Any chance he retires soon?" He asked.

"You aren't that lucky," Tim deadpanned, Hunter walked over to them, staring at her blank phone screen. "What?" Tim asked, noticing her deep frown.

"Mami was attacked, Angela's with her in the hospital." Hunter explained.

Grey and Tim both had all their attention on Hunter. "What happened? Why was Emilia attacked?" Tim questioned, having known Hunter for 21 years he was close with the entire family well at least the Lopez siblings and their mother and by extension Jack his and Hunter's godson and Wesley.

"Angela's talking to her now and will get back to me when she has more information." Hunter replied.

"Well you two should get back on patrol while you wait to hear back." Grey said.

***

Aaron and Tim were patrolling. "So, you and Ashley still together?" Tim side eyes him. "I haven't seen her around since before you and Lopez went undercover, speaking off I haven't seen Chris since then either."

Tim doesn't answer, he gets distracted especially when he sees someone stealing from a store. "Burglary. 10:00," Aaron looked over as Tim picked up the shop radio. "Control, 7-Adam-100, we got a burglary in progress. 4-9-1-9-2 Figueroa. Send additional units." He flicks the siren.

Tim and Aaron get out of the shop after parking it, Tim points his gun at the suspect. "Hey! Show me your hands!" Tim yelled.

The suspect starts running, Aaron grabbed his radio and chased after Tim who was running after the thief. "Foot pursuit. White adult male. Black hoodie, jeans, headed south." Aaron said into his radio.

Tim managed to tackle the thief to the ground. "Get off of me!" The thief yelled.

That's when Tim felt a sharp pain shoot through his back and stands up quickly placing a hand on his back. "Aah! Oh!" He yelled in pain.

That's when Hunter made her way over, having arrived with Grant, Hunter starts cuffing the thief. "It's okay. I got it, I got it," she glances at Tim and frowns. "Are you all right?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just, uh, tweaked my back on the takedown. Oh!" Tim groans again.

Hunter looks at him. "You're not fine. You're in agony. We're taking you to the hospital." She said.

***

Tim, Hunter and Aaron walked over to Nolan and Celina, Grant following after them they were in the waiting room at the reception desk. "Agh," Celina and Nolan turned to the approaching officers after talking with hospital guards. "Nolan." Tim said, holding his back.

"You all right?" Nolan questioned.

"Yeah, uh, fine. What -- What's the lockdown status?" Tim asked.

"Uh, we got, uh, everything checked off the list, but --" Nolan was saying.

"No, call Grey and tell him Tim is not here as a supervisor. He's here as a patient." Hunter interrupted.

"I told you, I'm fine. Agh!" Tim yelled in pain.

Hunter grabs his arm. "Oh, my God." She huffed in annoyance.

Tim lowers himself into a seat in the waiting room. "Ohh, okay. Okay, I'm not fine. Get me a doctor." Tim said.

"I'll go." Grant said, sharing a look with Hunter before wandering off.

That's when Emilia Lopez appeared seemingly out of nowhere and looked at Tim. "Mijo, ¿qué te pasó?/Mijo, what happened to you?" Emilia asked.

Tim and the others all looked over at Emilia. "Tweaked my back during a takedown." Tim replied.

Emilia frowned deeply and sat herself beside Tim, that's when she noticed Hunter. "Mija, there you are." She said, switching to English.

"Mamá, ¿qué haces fuera de la cama? Angie dijo que fuiste atacada y ahora está hablando con nuestros hermanos, ¿qué pasó?/Mom, what are you doing out of bed? Angie said you were attacked and now she's talking to our brothers so what happened?" Hunter asked, speaking in Spanish.

"Ah, I'm fine, I once worked an eight hour shift with a broken wrist." Emilia said, waving Hunter off.

"Mom, last time Angie and I heard that story it was a six hour shift with a sprain." Hunter replied with her arms crossed.

"Point is, I'm tougher than I look." Emilia replied.

"I know how tough you are, but I need you to tell me what happened seeing as Angie's talking to our brothers." Hunter deadpanned.

"Nothing. I don't want to freak you out." Emilia said, lying.

"I'm a cop and I was a soldier. Nothing freaks me out." Hunter said.

"I was on my way to see Angie, Wesley and baby Jack when a big man grabbed me. I whacked him with my purse. He threw me down." Emilia replied.

Hunter narrowed her eyes at her mother. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I'm sure it's a misunderstanding." Emilia said.

"Mom." "Emilia." Tim and Hunter said at the same time.

Emilia sighed. ""Tell your son he's out of time."" She said.

Hunter and Tim shared a look. "Out of time for what?" Hunter asked.

"I don't know. That's all he said." Emilia replied.

"Which son?" Hunter asked.

"I don't know! It has to be a misunderstanding. Your brothers are all such good boys." Emilia replied.

Hunter frowned. "My brothers used to stuff me and Angie in a pillowcase each and drag us around the neighborhood for fun." Hunter deadpanned with her arms crossed.

"And look how tough it made you. They did you a favor." Emila said before standing up, she looked over at Tim. "Cuando descubras qué te pasa dímelo primero, Mijo./When you find out what's wrong tell me first, Mijo" Emilia requested to Tim before walking off.

Emilia walks past Grant and a doctor that he's found. When Hunter's phone rung, she checked out the contact before answering it and walking somewhere quieter. "Angie, what's up?" She asked.

"It's Cruz, Angela gave me her phone to call you, she said you'd want to know." Cruz said.

Hunter frowned. "Know what?"

"I got a loan for college classes. I'm getting my bachelor's in accounting. I didn't want to say anything in case I couldn't hack it because I know what you think of me," Hunter looks down looking guilty, being so close in age with Cruz they were the closest out of all the siblings but Hunter distanced herself from him after he got a drug addiction. "And I know I screwed up a lot. I know you have no reason to trust me. But whatever's going on, it's not me."

"I should've been a better sister, so I was thinking what if tomorrow for my day off you and I go out for lunch?" Hunter suggested.

"Yeah, I'd like that." Cruz said on the other end.

Hunter smiled. "Good, well I better go, I have a call to make." Hunter said before hanging up and calling Lexi. "Hey, Red, it's me seeing as you're still on leave until the department shrink clears you can you come down to the hospital and hang with Tim? Great." Hunter hung up and Tim had already disappeared.

***

Hunter had cleared floor three and heading towards the elevator, pressing the button and grabbing out her radio as she waited. "Floor three clear. Heading to four." Hunter stepped into the elevator and pressed the  button for four.

***

Lexi was sitting in Tim's hospital room talking with him. "So how the hell did you manage to see the department shrink?" Tim questioned seeing as Lexi wasn't a cop and was a ADA.

"Grandpa Wade pulled some strings, also known as yelling at her until she caved in but she might be leaving I hear and being replaced with someone else, I only hope she clears me before the new shrink arrives." Lexi said.

Tim looked over at Lexi who had a magazine in her lap, peering closely at her face trying to get some expression. "You know you didn't have to come here." He comments.

Lexi laughed. "Sure I did. I mean I'd rather be here than stuck at home, no offense to Kojo of course." She replied.

That's when Hunter appeared in the doorway. "Hey, I bet you two are having much more fun than I am." She comments.

Lexi and Tim glanced over at Hunter. "What are you doing?" Lexi asked curiously.

"Searching for a shooter." Hunter deadpanned, she turned to walk away and continue her search.

That's when Tim piped up seeing her turn to walk away. "So, what's going on with Cruz, I heard he was the one you were talking to." Tim said.

"He's getting his bachelor's in accounting. He didn't want to say anything in case he couldn't hack it because he seems to know what I think of him, if I'd been a better sister maybe he would've got cleaner because I think he's innocent in all of this." Hunter said.

"It's not your fault," Lexi said, Tim and Hunter looked over at her. "You're a cop, you both are and you both know addicts only get clean when they want too, like aunt Issy did." Lexi said.

That's when Tim spoke up. "You didn't. We forced you to get clean."

"I was twelve, you had to make the choice for me otherwise I'd never have gotten clean." Lexi replied.

"And we forced you to get clean a week ago when you're an adult." Hunter added.

"I'd OD'd so it was better that you made the choice for me and it's why I called Issy afterwards." Lexi replied.

Hunter stepped into the room as the doctor walked in himself. "Hey, Doc, what's the word?" Tim asked.

"When we took that bullet out a few years back, there was a-a fragment that was too complicated to remove." The doctor said.

Tim nodded. "I remember." He said.

"Bullet?" Lexi asked.

"I was shot, you remember that." Tim said, Lexi nodded and picked her magazine up again.

"It was Lucy's first day, but I saved his life by dragging him for cover." Hunter added.

Tim looked at Hunter who was smirking. "Back to the fragment."

"The pain you're experiencing is because the fragment has migrated closer to your spinal column and is pressing up against a nerve. We'll need to do surgery to remove it." The Doctor explained.

"Okay. Uh, when?" Tim asked.

"Well, I mean, hold on," Hunter spoke up, she looked at the doctor. "Wh-What are the risks?" She asked.

"Well, we are talking about the spine, so... yes, it's risky. But it's laparoscopic. So if all goes well, he'll be home by dinner." The Doctor said.

That's when Lexi's ears pricked up and she once again placed down the magazine. "If?"" She asked.

"I know it's scary, but leaving the fragment in place is much riskier." The doctor explained to Lexi like she was a child.

"Don't speak to me like I'm a child, I'm nineteen." Lexi snapped at him.

"Well, then we do surgery. Thank you." Tim said and the doctor walked out.

"Uh...I'm gonna get back to the search," Hunter walked out the room and finished searching before heading to the elevator and grabbing her radio. "South wing is clear. Headed to north," the elevator opened and Grey was there lookin like he was about to pass out. "Sir. Are you...?" Suddenly Grey falls to the ground. "Oh, my -- Oh!" Hunter kneeled down beside him. "I -- I need help over here!" Hunter yelled.

***

Later, Tim was laying beside Grey who was in another bed groaning in pain. "I'm really glad I avoided eating the sandwich." Tim comments, Lexi laughed.

Grey glared at Lexi. "Shut up Rose-Alexandra, it's not funny." He said.

"It's a little funny." Lexi replied, not looking up from her magazine.

"Marshall can never pick the breakfast place again. Never," Grey groaned again. "Oh, no."

That's when Hunter appeared in the doorway again. "Looks like you're better of than he is and you might not be able to walk again." Hunter said, smirking with amusement.

"Glad my pain is entertaining for you." Grey comments when he realised something. "Oh, God." He said, groaning in pain.

That's when Lexi went on high alert. "Should I call the nurse?" She asked.

Grey shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no," he looked at the raven haired cop. "Hunter, you need to get back to the station immediately." He said.

Hunter frowned in confusion. "What? What? Why?" She asked.

"Because if we're both out of commission..." Tim was saying.

"Based on seniority..." Grey added.

"Smitty's in charge." Hunter realised. "Oh no, no, no." Hunter raced out the room.

***

Hunter returned to the station in time to see Smitty letting someone leave early. "Smitty. Smitty! Hey! Wha-- What's going on?" Hunter asked.

"Acting Sergeant Smitty." Smitty replied.

"Right. Why is Casey Curtis leaving the station?" Hunter asked.

"End of shift time off. When you're in charge, you can let all your friends go home early." Smitty replied.

"But we're short today. You know how many units are attached to the hospital event, right?" Hunter asked.

"Self-care is important." Smitty replied.

"Smitty --" Hunter tried to say but Smitty walked off.

That's when Hunter saw a car pull up and two men get out, she recognized them from her brother helping former drug members, Bone, Carmody and someone else that Hunter didn't remember the name of. "Get out!" Bone yelled.

"All right!" Carmody yelled in return.

The two started dragging Carmody over and Hunter cut them off. "What the hell is going on?" Hunter asked, ready to call Angela.

"We caught the guy who beat up Father Lopez's mother." Bone answered.

Hunter grabbed out her radio. "Angie, it's Hunter I've got some of Damien's drug dealer friends saying they know who beat up Mom." Angela walked out to the three of them. "While you deal with this I'm gonna convince Smitty to stop letting everyone leave early." Hunter turned on her heel and walked inside.

***

Lexi sighed. "Anybody else hungry? Probably not the best time, right?" She asked, placing the magazine down.

"I'll pass." Grey replied.

Lexi looked at Tim. "I'm just gonna grab something from the cafeteria." She said.

Lexi stood up and headed towards the door. "Be careful, there's an active shooter out there." Tim said, pointing at Lexi.

"I know," Lexi reached behind her and took her gun out of her waistband. "Hence the reason I've got my gun with me," Lexi places it back, once again covering it with her jacket. Tim gives her a look. "Don't worry, I have my conceal carry permit with me." Lexi said before walking out.

Grey looks over at Tim who looked in deep thought. "She's one of the best surgeons in the country." He said.

"I'm not worried." Tim lied.

"It's okay if you are." Grey said.

"Eh, it's just a little spinal surgery, you know? Might be fine. Might be paralyzed for life. Excited to find out which," Tim flicked off the blanket and sat at the edge of the bed. "I'm gonna go stretch my legs while I still can," he stands up. "Agh."

"That's the spirit." Grey said.

"Mm," Tim walked into the hallway and nods at the shooter. "Hey."

Tim noticed the blood stains on the scrubs and tries to get him against the wall but the shooter shoves Tim against the wall and he slides down. "Agh. Agh! Agh!" Tim yelled. Grey walked out and but the shooter manages to get on top of him as well.

The doctor appeared and held Tim's head in place. "It was the shooter." Tim said.

"Don't try to move." The Doctor said, allowing a nurse to hold Tim's neck in place so that he could get him to surgery.

"I can't." Tim said.

That's when Lexi appeared, holding three hot drinks for after she crouched down beside Tim. "What happened?" She asked.

"The fragment must've shifted towards Tim's spinal cord, and that's what's causing his paralysis." The doctor said.

Tim glanced over at Lexi with his eyes. "Can you tell my sister, please?" He asked.

"Yeah." Lexi dug through her pockets and stepped into the room to call Genny.

Tim glances at Grey. "Hey, do not tell Hunter. She's got enough on her plate.

"We need to get you into surgery stat." The Doctor said.

"Agh!" Tim yelled as Grey stepped into the room.

***

Hunter walked over to the kitroom where a bunch of patrol officers were ready to hand their gear over and knock off. "Jan. Where's everybody going?" Hunter asked.

"Pool party at Mario's." Jan replied.

"No... No. Uh, we don't have the staff for that. Y-You have to stay." Hunter said.

"Well, Acting Sergeant Smitty says we don't." Jan sassed.

Hunter sighed. "Okay, guys, listen up. I need your help. We have two sergeants out of commission in the hospital right now and a murder suspect on the loose. That search has us spread pretty thin. We need all hands on deck right now. I'm sorry, but the pool party, it has to wait."

Jan looked at the other cops. "You got it, Lopez. Let's go, guys. You heard her."

The other cops murmured in agreement and filtered off back to their shops when Smitty appeared out of nowhere. "So, does this mean you're in charge now?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." Hunter said.

"Cool. I'll be in the breakroom. Being in charge is exhausting." Smitty said walking off.

***

Lexi was sitting in Tim's hospital room as he woke up. "The doctor said they got the bullet fragment. There's nothing to worry about." She said.

"That's great. I never thought I'd be so happy to feel pain in my life. You looked exhausted, go home." Tim said.

Lexi shook her head. "No."

"Someone needs to watch Kojo." Tim replied.

"Then I'll stay until Mom gets here." Lexi replied, Tim smiled at her.

***

It was getting late, Hunter was sitting in Grey's office when a phone rings, she picks up the desk phone. "Uh, Watch Commander's office. Sergeant Grey is unavailable. End of shift is denied and --" Hunter was hung up on.

Grey walked into the office just as Hunter glanced down at her own phone seeing a missed call from Grey. "Hey, there you are. I was just calling." He comments.

"Hey." Hunter said.

"So, how'd it go?" Grey asked.

"It was great. It was..." Hunter and Grey both start laughing.

"I just spoke with the Communications Supervisor. Said you did a masterful job managing calls with half the normal staff." Grey said.

Hunter stands up. "Hmm. Thank you. I am so ready to give you your job back." She steps out from the desk and Grey steps into the desk.

"Understood." Grey replied.

"Good night, sir." Hunter said, taking her paperwork and stuff that Grey handed her.

"Good night." Grey said.

Hunter hesitate before walking out and turns to Grey. "Sir, I'm thinking of taking the Detective Sergeant's exam and after that returning to the Detective's and back to UC work." Hunter said.

Grey starts smiling. "I've been waiting for this day to come since you returned, Hunter."

"Good," Hunter turned to leave again before turning back to Grey. "Oh, uh, how was Tim's laparoscopic?" She asked.

Grey's smile fades slightly. "Yeah. Um... He ended up needing emergency spinal surgery." He said.

***

Hunter walked to Tim's hospital room, having knocked off, she walked in and noticed Lexi sleeping in one of the chairs. "Are you okay? Uh, why didn't anyone tell me?" Hunter asked.

"No, I'm -- I'm good. I'm good. Doctor said I'm gonna make a full recovery. And I told everyone to keep you in the dark." Tim admits.

'Why?" Hunter asked.

"I didn't want you to worry." Tim said.

"So, just to be clear -- You thought you might be paralyzed, but you were worried about me?" Hunter asked with a smile.

"You know what? Slow your roll, Hunter. Clearly, I misspoke. I was worried about the station. And I knew you'd be too concerned about me to take over for Smitty." Tim replied.

"Mm-hmm." Hunter said.

"I heard you saved the day, though." Tim comments.

"Being sergeant's not so hard. I don't know why you're always complaining." Hunter said.

"Really? Just smooth sailing?" Tim asked.

"No," Hunter scoffed. "It was awful. How do that many things go wrong in one day?" Hunter wondered.

"That wasn't even a particularly bad day." Tim said. Hunter glanced at Lexi and then the empty chair beside her and sat down. "What are you doing?" Tim asked.

"I'm keeping you company seeing as Red here's asleep." Hunter replied.

"You don't have to do that." Tim said.

"Yeah, I do," Hunter scoffed. "I'm dating you and you know that I'd do it anyway." Hunter replied smiling at him.

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

Here's Lexi's relationships with everyone (for s1-s5, will probably be updated for s6-s7).

Tim Bradford and Hunter Lopez: Adopted parents/Mom and Dad/Mompez and Dadford.

Genny Bradford, Angela Lopez, Wesley Evers: Adopted Aunts and Uncle/Wesley, uncle by marriage to Angela/Angela adopted aunt by relationship to Hunter/Genny adopted aunt by relationship to Tim.

The Lopez brothers: Adopted uncles by relationship to Hunter.

Jackson Evers: Adopted cousin by relationship to Angela and Wesley.

Wade and Luna: Adopted Grandparents/Grandpa Wade/Grandma Luna.

Emilia Lopez: Adopted Grandmother/Grandma Emilia by relationship to Hunter.

Sean Del Monte, John Nolan, Lucy Chen, Grant Lawrence, Quigley Smitty and the rest of Mid Wilshire Station: Adopted aunts and uncles.

Tamara Colins and Silas March: Best friends.

Lexi switches between Mom and Dad and Mompez and Dadford when referring to Tim and Hunter.

Episode 10's date will still be awkward because they'll've been in a relationship for a little longer than they have in this episode and in this one they're outside in episode 10 they'll be inside and at a different restaurant.

Now the only people that know Tim and Hunter have broken up with Chris and Ashley is Angela, Grant and Lexi along with the two themselves.

So far it's just Grant and Lexi that know Tim and Hunter are dating but neither will confront the two of them respectively until episode 12.

What are your thoughts on the date? I couldn't exactly think of anything to write for them.