6x03: Trouble in Paradise

***

Hunter was sitting on the couch with a bunch of papers and highlighters when Tim walked in. "Hey, did you get any sleep?" He asked.

"I will sleep when I pass this exam." Hunter said.

"Yeah. I don't think you're gonna sleep more after you make detective sergeant although you'll be staying on patrol I'd imagine," Hunter gives a slightly nod. "Besides, you're pregnant you need sleep, I'm surprised you haven't collapsed yet," Hunter gives Tim a look and he sits on the couch beside her. "How's it going?"

"I feel pretty good about my knowledge. I mean, the written portion was easy. But the oral exam is what is literally keeping me up at night. I mean, the test is so subjective. If even one person on the panel has it against me, I mean, it's over." Hunter ranted.

"And you think Lieutenant Primm still hates you?" Tim asked.

"Yes, he's an asshole, I ran into him the other day." Hunter said nodding her head.

"OK. You can't control Primm. You can only control you," Tim grabs the highlighter. "And now it's time for you to step away from the highlighter." He starts trying to take the highlighter out of Hunter's hand.

"Wait," Hunter starts trying to pull the highlighter back. "No, no, no, no, no," unfortunately for Tim only the lid of the highlighter came off meaning Hunter able to use it either way. "That's exactly right, though. See? Because I can only control me, so I just need to be perfect." She said.

"You can over-prepare." Tim said.

She shakes her head, some hair falling out of the messy bun she'd thrown up. "No, that is an idea that lazy people created." Hunter replied.

"No, I've seen it happen, OK? You get in your own head. You just need to trust yourself and then let it go." Tim said.

"Yeah, I don't think I can do that." Hunter replied.

"All right," Tim sighed. "I'm gonna take a shower." Tim said.

"Right now?" Hunter asked Tim.

"Yeah." Tim stands up and walks to the ensuite bathroom adjoining to the bedroom.

Hunter watches him go. "Well-- Hmm, maybe I could take a break." She said to herself before standing up and following Tim.

***

Hunter was with Smitty in the briefing room. "The murder scene exception is the misbelief that when a crime scene is so heinous, you are allowed to go around the search warrant." She said.

"Correct again. Next question. What is my favorite leisure activity?" Smitty asked.

"Um, excuse me?" Hunter asked.

"You know, am I more of an outdoor or indoor cat?" Smitty asked.

"Smitty, please just read from the cards I gave you, OK?" Hunter requested.

"Look, you asked me for my advice."

Hunter scoffed. "I did not!" She exclaimed.

"And my advice is, you should do a little research on Primm. Find out his likes, his dislikes, favorite hobbies. Then you can take that knowledge and score some bonus points." Smitty said.

"Why did I come to you?" Hunter asked herself under her breath.

That's when Tim appeared. "What's going on here?" He asked.

"I'm helping Hunter study for her detective sergeants exam." Smitty replied.

"Smitty." Hunter said warningly.

"What happened to not over-preparing?" Tim asked her.

Hunter points at Smitty. "It's Smitty. Is it even really helping?" She asked.

"What?" Smitty asked.

"Nothing, don't worry you're still my favourite lazy cop," Smitty smiled and Hunter turned back to Tim. "I just need a few minutes."

"No, you need to take a break. I got Celina today. Come on. You're riding with us." Tim replied.

"Oh! Well, that actually sounds kind of fun," Hunter turned to Smitty and gathered her things. "Thanks Smitty." Hunter then just walked out.

"I've done all I can do. The rest is up to her." Smitty said to Tim.

"Right." Tim nodded and walked out.

***

Celina, Tim and Hunter had arrested a shoplifter who'd had a wound on his head and arm, he'd forgotten who he was as well and now the three cops and shoplifter were at the hospital as he'd puked on Celina meaning he probably had a concussion.

***

The next day the three cops were in St. Vincent's Hospital and walked over to Luna who was the front desk doing something. "Hey, Luna. How's the new job going?" Tim asked.

Luna turned to the three of them. "Energizing, mostly. Being a patient advocate is rewarding." She said.

"Um, we're actually here to check up on a patient that we brought in yesterday. He claimed to have amnesia." Hunter said.

"Right. The John Doe in 415. I have called other hospitals, homeless shelters, rehab facilities-- anything I can think of. No one has reported him missing."

"Do the doctors think he'll get his memory back?" Celina asked.

"Probably. But brain injuries can be tricky, so it could be a few months." Luna replied.

"OK. Thanks. We'll go talk to him." Tim said, he and Hunter walked off while Celina hung around to speak to Luna.

***

Hunter and Tim stepped into the room, turning the TV off as they go. "Hey." Hunter said.

"Mm. Did you find something? You know who I am?" The shoplifter asked.

"I'm afraid not. Look, we contacted Trusted Security. They have never heard of you. And we can't find a Jonathan Knight matching your description in California." Hunter explained.

"Well, I have been thinking about it. And I think the only rational answer is that...I'm a spy."

"Not my first guess." Tim deadpanned.

"No. No, it makes sense. It's a cover identity. I was probably infiltrating a high-rise full of government secrets. Maybe I got poisoned. That's why I threw up. You know, like radiation poisoning or something?"

"Yeah, you know, let's not jump to conclusions. You probably threw up because you're concussed." Hunter deadpanned.

"Korea. North Korea. Wait, it's all coming back to me now. I--I was targeting North Korea. And I had a partner, and we were on a mission. Do you know where he is? He could be in danger. We need to find him." the shoplifter said.

"Um, do you know your partner's name or when you last saw him?" Hunter asked.

"No."

Tim and Hunter shared a look. "OK, we're on it. We'll get back to you." Tim and Hunter walked out.

"Any chance he's right?" Hunter asked once the two were outside the room.

"We ran his prints. If he worked for a three-letter agency, it would have set off alarms." Tim said.

"Yeah. I mean, maybe. But the way he talked about his partner, that felt real. Maybe there's some kernel of truth there." Hunter replied.

"You saw the news. He's just repeating the last thing he saw on TV." Tim deadpanned.

"Maybe there's some memory that's surfacing, and he just can't make sense of what it really means." Hunter said.

"Maybe. Regardless, there's not much we can do until he starts to remember more." Tim said.

"Mm." Hunter hummed in agreement.

***

Tim and Hunter returned to the station where Celina was talking to Aaron in the bullpen. "Boot! I'm about to hang a bell around your neck, 'cause I keep losing you. You get that paperwork all done?" Tim asked.

"Oh, yes, sir. Is there anything else you need before I end my shift?" Celina asked.

"What do you think?" Tim replied.

"I--" Celina was saying.

That's when Hunter jumped in. "You are all done. Clock out. Good work today."

"Thank you. Good night." Celina walked off.

"Good night," Hunter turned to Tim. "Would it kill you to give her some acknowledgment?" She asked.

"I'm trying to help her become a good cop, not boost her self-esteem." Tim replied.

Hunter and Tim start walking and talking. "Yeah, but when you're teaching someone, it's important to tell them what they're doing right as well as what they can improve upon." Hunter said.

"Yeah, it sounds like a good plan if you're going for mediocre." Tim deadpanned.

"Have I not softened you at all?" Hunter asked.

"No but it sounds like Lucy's softened you up a lot." Tim replied, Hunter laughed. "Plus the pregnancy's giving you feelings." Tim whispered.

"Oh absolutely." Hunter agreed.

***

The next day Hunter shot up surrounded by highlighters and papers from the night before. "What time is it?" Hunter asked Tim who was standing in the doorway of the bedroom and Hunter grabbed her phone. "Oh, my God, it's so late."

"You needed to sleep." Tim said.

Hunter looked at Tim. "No, I should be studying."

"Ah, take the morning off. Don't you feel better?" Tim asked.

"You know, I do," Hunter smiled at Tim. "Thank you," Hunter's phone chimed and she looked at the message waking her up even more. "Oh, my God. My test is in 20 minutes!"

"What? How?" Tim asked.

"They moved it up!" Hunter replied quickly getting out of bed.

***

Hunter walked into the test place and up to the front desk. "I'm Hunter Lopez, and I'm here for the detective sergeants exam." Hunter said skipping all the pleasantries.

The receptionist, Friar, checked the computer. "Lopez."

"Mm-hmm." Hunter hummed.

"Right. Take a seat. They'll be with you in a few hours." Friar replied.

"Um--no, um, but I got a text from them. They said that they needed me right away." Hunter said.

"What can I tell you? Over there. They'll get to you when they get to you." Friar replied, Hunter looked over and saw a bunch of other people waiting as well, which told Hunter that she was going to be last, especially with Primm on the panel.

***

Tim was walking through the bullpen. "Hey," Tim paused and allowed Grey to catch up with him. "How's she doing?" He asked and the two men kept walking.

"Celina or Hunter?" Tim asked.

"Both." Grey replied.

"Celina is making progress. I think she's riding with me again today. Hunter's in the test now waiting her turn. I'll be glad when this is done, although she's informed that she wants to be a DS on patrol and you know why."

That's when Celina walked over to the two of them. "Hey, I did some research on the security badge our John Doe was wearing. The company patrols dozens of businesses in LA. He kept talking about North Korea, right? Well, one of the office buildings is in Koreatown, just a few blocks from where we found him."

"Why the fake badge?" Grey asked.

"The company has a diamond exchange on the fourth floor." Celina said.

"And you think he was gonna rob it?" Tim asked.

"Exactly. I think something went wrong. He got injured and lost his memory." Celina said.

"Not any better ideas. Let's go check it out." Tim walks off.

"Great work." Grey comments.

"Let's go, Boot." Tim called out and Celina followed after him.

***

Tim and Celina arrived at the building. "All right, so which wall is the diamond exchange behind?" Tim asked Celina.

Celina points at a wall. "That one."

Tim and Celina enter the room and looked the wall over. "OK. So it looks like he tried to break into the diamond exchange through a shared wall, fell through the ceiling, knocked himself out instead." Tim said.

That's when someone knocks on the wall from the inside. "Is someone there?" someone asked.

Celina and Tim shared a confused look. "Hello?" Celina asked.

"Hey, man, get me out of here!" A man yelled from the wall.

"Police. Someone in there?" Tim asked.

"Help me. I'm stuck!" the man coughs as the wall is broken into. "Thank God you found me. I knew Roger wouldn't leave me behind. I knew it. I just wish you got here five minutes earlier... before I drank my own urine." He said. Celina and Tim just stared at him.

***

It was nighttime by the time Hunter was called in and she was dozing in her sleep as being pregnant was exhausting. "Detective Lopez." Primm called.

Hunter walked in. "Took you long enough." She grumbled.

Primm looked visibly surprised at Hunter's abrasiveness, she certainly wasn't what he'd remembered when he last met her but that was before she became a Detective and was only a P2. "It's been a long day, so let's just get right to it. What would you do if a member of the press wanted access to a crime scene?" Primm asked.

"The press are allowed closer access to a crime scene than the general public. It is acceptable for the press to enter a crime scene if and only if they are not going to disturb the evidence or endanger themselves."

"Let's talk about the importance of not disturbing evidence. Recently, you--you failed to secure a crime scene." Primm reminds her.

"I did." Hunter rolled her eyes wondering why Primm was bringing this up.

"And?" Primm asked.

"The sprinklers went off. Which meant critical evidence was literally washed away. I recovered what I could, and I worked with the DA to make the case as strong as possible. But I made the most of it." Hunter deadpanned.

"It sounds like you're almost glad you lost evidence." Primm comments.

Hunter scowls deeply. "Of course not," Hunter scoffed. "But I couldn't change it. And I didn't let it knock me off my course. I tracked my suspect, and I got a full confession." Hunter deadpanned.

Hunter was relieved when she was able to go and because of how exhausted she was, she didn't know Smitty was there, he was planning on making sure Hunter got a good score because she deserved a score in the top five at least because then she had a chance of getting promoted.

***

Tim and Celina arrived at the station for end of shift. "You did good work today, Boot. Paid attention to details, thought outside the box." Tim comments.

"Thank you. I couldn't have done it without my training officer." Celina said.

"That's a good answer. But day's not done yet." Tim said looking at the stack of paperwork on the desk.

"Right, right," Celina looks at the paperwork and back at Tim. "But you know, this could be a little more manageable with the help from my T.O."

"Don't mistake my compliment for kindness. Police work isn't supposed to be manageable. Good luck." Tim said.

"Yes, sir." Celina said and Tim walked off, noticing Grey waving him over to his office.

***

Hunter watches Grey post the results of the detectives sergeants exam, she peers closely looking closer to the bottom not seeing her name only to find that she's placed 5th out of 20 candidates. Hunter grabbed Grey's arm. "Uh, sir, Primm hates me, how the hell did I rank 5th?" Hunter asked.

Grey looked at Hunter for a moment. "I don't know but I do know that you'll be wanting to be a DS on patrol, right?" Grey asked, Hunter nods. "Well then in a few months time you'll be a DS on patrol." Grey shrugged and walked back into his office.

Hunter turned around and saw Smitty watching her with a smile on his face before wandering off to the breakroom again, Hunter smiled and walked out of the station.

***

Hunter walked into the house and laughed happily when she saw a 5st trophy that used to say 1st. "Oh my god," she laughed and looked at Tim. "You really thought I was gonna come in first?" She asked.

"Of course I did." Tim replied.

The two sat down on the couch. "I'm sorry for disappointing you." Hunter said.

"You could never disappoint me." Tim replied.

Hunter smiled and Tim kissed her head while she looked at the trophy. "This is cute." She said looking at Tim.

"I did a good job." Tim said smiling at Hunter.

"Yeah, you did." Hunter said and she placed her head on his shoulder as Tim turned on the TV.

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I told you y'all'd love me for Hunter's scoring and I've implied that Smitty had something to do with it, think what you will about it.

Lucy should've become detective but the writers seem to enjoy torturing her and breaking her heart.

Last update unless I can update tomorrow, we're evacuating as soon as possible, cyclone's already started to hit, we've all ready got winds and rain.

Also, unless anyone has any ideas about how Hunter and Grant can be added into episode 4 of s6 I'll probably just skip it.

Hope you enjoy.