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Tim Bradford did not expect this to be so hard. Ever since he and Lucy started talking about kids 3 had been the dream, 2 the wish and 1 what they would have been happy with. Neither sugarcoated that they both weren’t young anymore. Yet, somehow they ended up with 4 children and all under 6.
Their oldest was 5 years and 7 months old. Elenor was a bright and curious child. To her parents' misery she was scaringly fearless and able to wrap everyone around her finger. She was Lucy’s carbon copy, though her eyes were unique. Elenor has bright amber-colored eyes that sparkle with her mischievousness. She’s a good big sister. When Lucy was pregnant again Elli was still too young to understand what was going on, but she seemingly got that she had to be more careful with her mom.
Viola and Lilian were a surprise.They had just started trying for baby number two and expected it to take way longer. Lucy was 39 at the time and Tim 49, their ages were a huge factor and working against them. Yet Lucy fell pregnant earlier than expected. The pregnancy got confirmed by Lucy’s OB at 9 weeks. At 20 weeks the technician discovered that there was a second baby who had hidden behind their sibling. Suddenly the pregnancy became more complicated than it already was.
Lucy hated everything about the precautions and restrictions. It’s not that she didn’t want what was best for her babies – she was very aware of how they were doing – she just hated that despite having no issues she got treated like there was a huge Damocles sword hovering above her. She was fine, yet she had a tighter schedule at the OB’s office, was pulled from the streets earlier and everyone told her how dangerous this pregnancy could be for her and the babies. Some people even had the audacity to tell her if she’d end up with one of the twins it was a good outcome.
In the end Lucy had been so fed up that Tim intervened and made sure she could at least deliver the twins the way she wanted. He stood up for her and made everyone at least try to make it possible. Knowing how to look like a Grumpycop came in handy.
The first few weeks with the newborn twins were pure chaos. They thought they had some advantages since they already did the whole newborn thing once. It’s not like they had to start from anew. They had the basic baby stuff, knew all the tricks for changing diapers, and sleep training them. Lucy knew what she needed while breast feeding, how to hold the baby and how long and frequent the feeds should be.
But two babies at the same time came with several other challenges and on top of that they had a two year old toddler at hand.
From one day to another it was two parents against three babies. Lucy and Tim both wanted to be better parents than they grew up with and put in all the effort to be that for their children. Between the high demands at work and the excessive desire to give their kids the best life, they almost forgot themselves.
It has been a hurtful revelation that they got lost in being a parent that it was about to hurt their family.
But they corrected themselves and found the balance again.
Tim enjoyed watching his younger kids' personalities grow. Viola was a whirlwind. The amount of times she fearlessly tried something, almost giving him and Lucy a heart attack were endless. She was an active little girl, walking weeks before Lilian and her motor skills were fascinating. Now, at almost 3 and a half years, she loved riding her bike – the faster the better. She loved running up and down the hills whenever they went hiking and she was constantly throwing a ball for Kojo.
The elderly canine enjoyed the tumult at home. He was protective of the kids but it was also becoming physically difficult for him to hold up with them. Nonetheless, he’d bloomed with each child that was added to the household.
Lilian was the quiet one. She was the exact opposite of Viola. Tim and Lucy didn’t know who was the one hiding but if they had to bet they’d say it had been Lilian.
Lilian loved colouring and books. The more colorful things were, the better it was. She was obsessed with animals. Tim secretly called her his Disney princess. When they are hiking it’s her that magically attracts all the wild animals. The first time a deer came up to her Tim was frightened, and the baby wild boar that was trotting alongside his 2-year-old one day almost killed him. She also finds injured animals constantly and wants to treat all of them. Tim became quite skilled in nursing squirrels and different kinds of birds back to health. Lucy loved this too. She and Lilan shared a special bond. While Viola was all daddy’s girl, Lilian was a mommy’s girl.
And then there was Luca. He was the only one of his kids with blond hair. His curls were a surprise. They both had expected to have yet another child with Lucy’s hair. But no, Luca was Tim’s carbon copy. The same eyes, the same nose and the same cheeks.
A year and a half ago Lucy had told Tim that she always expected to have three pregnancies and while she adored the twins, she felt robbed with that pregnancy.
Tim was immediately on board to at least try to conceive one last time, but he also told her that this wasn’t supposed to pressure them. If it happened it was good – if not it was great too. They already had an amazing family.
Lucy’s pregnancy with Luca had been a breeze. Tim was nervous from the moment he learned that he’ll be a boy dad after all. He took a few therapy sessions to work through his fears, which had been a good call since Luca turned out to look exactly like him as a baby.
He was now seeing the face of an innocent child that was a version of him living a life that he should have had on a daily basis. Tim wasn’t jealous, he was grateful that he could give his son the childhood that he was supposed to have, but it brought up some scars and it hurt.
His therapist said that his mind was acknowledging the wrongdoings of his upbringing and by recognizing them he’d make sure that his son wouldn’t have to live through it. And if his son had a healthy and happy childhood all the pain that was coming up again was worth it.
At 12 weeks old it was hard to tell what kind of person Luca will be, but Tim knew that he’ll grow up as the happiest, and well protected young boy. He knew that his sisters will teach him to be kind and compassionate. He will show his son that feelings are an important part of life – good and bad feelings. And he knew Lucy will show him nothing but love. So will he.
Strapping the baby to his chest he tried to sooth his son’s relentless crying. It was Lucy’s first day back at work and Luca was missing his mom. He couldn’t blame him, he was missing her too.
With four children Tim had decided to take off for a longer period to be at home with the kids, he also cut his hours. Lucy had teased him that he was doing a soft retirement, but he was oddly content with that. His children matter more.
Looking at the clock he got confirmation that it was time for Luca’s bottle. Lucy had pumped so that she could continue breast feeding Luca. But Luca didn’t like the bottle much. Every attempt had failed and today was the ulterior test if it would work. Tim understood that Luca could sense his distress so he first calmed himself down, preparing the bottle became a meditation practice. Then he sat down and positioned Luca the way he preferred to take his feeds and offered the nub to Luca, but the baby wouldn’t latch. Gently, he trailed the newborn’s lips hoping to trigger his intuition. Nothing worked, Luca continued crying and Tim’s frustration grew.
Now time was working against him too. The latest pick up time for his girls was 1 p.m, so he had to get them from daycare.
“Okay, Luca, you won. We’ll fetch your sisters on the way and you get to see your mom so that you can have the real thing.”
Throwing some things for Lucy into the diaper back, he grabbed everything essential and was out of the door within the next three minutes.
When the twins arrived he had traded his truck for a minivan. He was a proud family man.
He strapped the newborn into his car seat, which was a well practiced step by now. After handling the chaos twins, one son was a breeze.
Once he was done he took his place behind the wheel. Luca was still crying and whimpering.
Only when his siblings hopped into the car he briefly stopped.
Chatter filled the car, each of his girls wanted to tell him from their days.
Coming from a family where talking about the day or, god-forbit, feelings, it was special to him. His children felt encouraged and safe enough to talk to him about everything. Elenor had entered the why-phase recently and it baffled him what her little brain could come up with.
Lucy had the patient of a saint and would answer every question with the same calm seriousness. Tim tried his best, but sometimes her questions were just too ridiculous to not react to that and sometimes she would just hit the right nerve.
“Daddy,” Elenor begged for his attention by dragging out the word in a high pitched voice.
“Yes, dear.” Tim tried to stay calm despite his stress level. The twins were giggling, Luca still crying and Elenor’s tone told him he was in for another round of Whys.
“Why is Luca crying?”
“He is hungry.”
“Why is he hungry?”
“He hadn’t had lunch yet since he didn’t like his meal.”
“Why don’t you just tell him to eat it? You tell us too.”
Wow, way to get cornered by an almost 6-year-old, Tim thought.
He exhaled loudly, “he can only eat mommy’s milk, and he doesn’t like to eat it from a bottle, so we are going to visit mommy at the station.”
That caught Lilian’s attention. “Mommy,” she squealed in delight and clapped her hands.
“Mommy’s working,” Viola remembered and crossed her arms in protest.
“Mommy,” Lilian repeated, unimpressed by her sister's objection.
“Why is mommy working?” Of course, Elenor took that as a cue. He and Lucy had agreed that they always would answer honestly and never shut her questions down.
That’s why he explained to his 5-year-old that grown-ups had to work for a living. He even told her the part about how he could have gone back to work too, but that he wanted Lucy to succeed and therefore she needed him to support her, which meant he'd be at home with Luca for a while.
They arrived at the station and Elenor luckily stopped asking questions. She was too determined to find either her Aunty Angela or Smitty.
The Bradford-Chen spawn was well known at the station. They were basically growing up there. Everyone loved them.
Everyone was happy that Bradford and Chen had figured it out and were the proof that marriage between two officers wasn’t doomed to fail.
Everyone knew about their rough patch, but were also aware that they had overcome that and became a unique team. Sometimes it felt like their life was the station’s favourite show.
After being abducted, everyone was particular about making sure that their wedding went without any disruptions. Everyone was invested in ensuring there were no other abductions or injuries.
Even Smitty made sure that everything went smoothly. With the search for the two abducted Sergeants, he had put in overtime for the first time in over fifteen years, and for their wedding he had volunteered for a shift. But of course Smitty had still been Smitty and made Angela almost commit murder when they were running leads to get Chen and Bradford back and Smitty’s first reaction had been to ask fascinated what it was with them and abduction at wedding related events.
Smitty redeemed himself by finding a crucial lead.
When Lucy was pregnant with Elenor, everyone wanted to support her – they all doted on her, and Lucy would blame Tim for it even though he had nothing to do with it. Everyone loved Lucy.
Needless to say that when Baby Bradford was brought to the station for the very first time, everyone was in awe.
Angela had teased Tim for doing the Dad-walk because he was overly carefully carrying her carrier.
Lucy blamed the pregnancy brain that she had shared with Angela that after she had been five days over her due date Elenor’s birth was most likely triggered by sex – roleplay sex.
“He wouldn’t agree with me that he is going to be a boot at being a father, so I made him agree.” Lucy had told her and almost made Angela spit out her soda. From that day, Angela called him boot whenever she was annoyed with him or wanted to tease him.
Elenor was Mid-Wilshire's princess, and so were her siblings. Viola might argue that she was a knight rather than a princess and Luca, well he was the prince.
Despite knowing the rules for when their parents took them to the station, the kids never really cared for those – their colleagues were too much enabling their disobedience.
So as soon as they entered the station, Elenor and Viola started racing to Angela’s desk. At least Lilian stayed at his side while he carried Luca, who was crying again.
Tim made sure that Elenor and Viola were with Angela before he walked over to the Watch Commander's office, which was now Lucy’s.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go see mommy.“Eager to see Lucy, Lilian grabbed her father's hand and followed him to the office.
“Mommy,” she exclaimed the second she saw her mom through the glass door.
Lucy had already moved from behind the desk. Luca’s crying was impossible to miss and for her it was even more so since her mommy spidey senses had alerted her. She had felt the milk come in, the familiar tensing was clue enough for her that her baby was around and needing her.
“Oh my babies,” she greeted her kids. Pressing a kiss onto Lilian’s head, she took Luca out of the bodywrap, gave Tim a quick kiss and moved to sit at her desk. She lifted her shirt and got the maternity bra out of the way, so that she could nurse her baby. “How was daycare?” Lucy shot Tim a look, silently communicating that she loved him and was happy he was here.
“It was alright. I drew a pig-... uhh… a pig-eon."
“That’s great, baby.”
The moment Luca was positioned at her breast, he latched on. The crying stopped instantly and silence filled the office.
A moment to breathe.
“Go to Angela?” Lilian asked after a few seconds of no one talking. She saw that her mom was preoccupied with Luca anyways, so why not spend time with her Aunt who’d always give them candy.
“Sure, I'll bring you. I need to ask Angela something anyway.” Tim told his daughter and threw a questioning look at Lucy. “Do you need anything? The energy bars are in the diaper bag.” He placed the bag down next to her and kissed her temple, watching his son eat contentedly.
Tim took Lilian's hand and walked towards Angela's desk.
Nyla and Angela were entertaining Viola and Elenor or probably it was the other way round. His girls never knew when to shut up and usually spilled some tea to Angela, who’d use this as ammunition against him.
Angela and Nyla were inseparable, calling themselves the cop moms. Ever since Lucy had joined the moms’ club, the three of them were like sisters and would go out on a girls’ day once a month.
Their group grew even closer. The kids grew up as if they were cousins.
Wanting to create something special too the three men started meeting up on those girls' day nights. Wesley, James and he would gather with all their kids at one of their houses and enjoy the daddy-children time.
3 men and at least 5 kids, now with Luca 6 – not counting the adult children.
The age span was wild.
Lyla was the oldest, she was 20, but she enjoyed the family time with all her cousins, so she made sure to be there for each of those gatherings. James’s boys from his first marriage were 18, and would be there occasionally too.
Then came Jack, who was 13 now and started to dislike it. He’d rather spend time home alone playing with his playstation than enduring the chaos and annoyance the little kids brought to it. Emmy and Leah were enough and they were 10 and 11. The Bradford-Chen kids were the worst, they brought all the craziness to the mix.
With 5, 3 and 3 years and now a newborn, Jack really didn’t know what to do with them and they would always cling onto him.
“And then Mommy told Daddy that it’s almost sad that they got rid of his babymaking abilities.” Elenor sat on Angela’s desk and was animatedly telling her something. Tim heard the end of her storytime, which had Angela eye him with a smirk on her face.
“Oh, did she?” Angela asked more directed to Tim than to Elenor.
But Elenor didn’t catch the jab against her dad and eagerly nodded.
Elenor had started to be more aware of her surroundings and it took some getting used to for the couple to be more careful with their flirting and touching.
Even after four kids, they still felt this huge attraction towards each other.
Within the last few months, Eleonor had told Angela several things that the Detective would use to tease Tim with. And Angela was definitely learning more about the couple than she should.
A few months into Lucy's last pregnancy, when the hormones made her a horny mess, she had pulled Tim into their garage to get him alone for a few minutes. In the hectic, Lucy apparently forgot to put her bra back on and of course Elenor found it. She’d told Angela that she found one of mommy's boobythingis between the rice packages on their storage shelf in the garage. Of course, Angela knew what this meant.
“Good decision. You two would end up with a whole football team otherwise. Horndogs!” Angela started to comment on what she just learned and added: “You are a good guy, Bradford.”
“Our family is complete and Lucy has done all the difficult stuff. This was the least I could do.” Tim just shrugged. He’d always told Lucy that once they were done he’d get the vasectomy so it wasn’t all on her.
Viola was leaning against Tim’s legs, holding his hands and playing with his fingers. She truly was a daddy’s girl. Lilian had climbed onto Nyla’s lap when they arrived at the detectives’ desks.
Elenor on the other hand still sat on the table and blinked with her eyes. “What’s a horndog, Daddy?”
Tim gave Angela a pointed look. “It’s a name that your Aunt uses to tease me and Mommy.”
Never lie to your kids, but some questions were just not appropriate to answer so a version of the truth had to do enough.
“Oh Tim,” Miles approached him. “Good to see you. I’m working on a case and it’s connected to the Manningfield case. Can I ask you a few questions?
“Uh, sure. Can I leave them here?”
“Sure, Aunties Nyla and Harper and Bradford spawn time,” Angela cheered. “Who wants chocolate?"
Tim rolled his eyes, but thanked Angela for watching them.
He was gone for 20 minutes when Nyla knocked at the door. “Sorry, Bradford, we caught a case and have to leave.”
Tim only nodded, but was preoccupied. This case wasn’t an easy one and it still haunted him. There had only been two people who threatened him on the job that he took seriously.
The first person was Heath Everett. At first he’d brushed the threats off and underestimated his powers. He’d learned the hard way that some things had to be taken seriously.
The second person was Allison Maningfield. They suspected her for using her wine import company to smuggle endangered animals. But she was slippery and there was nothing to pin her down at first. Tim was the one to find something to pin her down – discovering her criminal schemes were running way beyond animal smuggle.
When he had taken her into custody, she told him to watch his every step, that he wouldn't be safe again. A wine branch in a package sent to his home was enough for Tim to go the extra mile for his family’s safety.
This was four months ago. Now Miles was having trouble with Allison Managingfield’s neighbour. He was another rich guy with connections to South Africa. He stopped him in a traffic stop and saw a tortoise on his passenger seat. After checking if it was indeed an endangered kind, he fined Jenkins, who accepted it and gave the animal up without protest. Yet something set Miles’s alarm bells off and he discovered a connection between the neighbours.
The three girls stood at the door to the roll call room. Left by Angela and Nyla, they sensed that their father wasn’t paying attention. Elenor was the one to whisper to her siblings, “Come on, we’re going to see the puppies.” She guided her siblings out of the room, past their mother's office and down the corridor to the K9 unit.
Tim saw them move to Lucy’s office, which was enough to calm his preoccupied mind.
Elenor knew the corridors of Mid-Wilshire by heart. It was just one big playground to her - even now that she was able to read the signs that only staff were allowed to enter didn’t faze her.
No one would care.
“Hey Bradfords,” Smitty cheered to them and held the door to the restricted area open for them.
“Hi Smitt! How is Fred?”
Apparently, Smitty was a magnet to raccoons and one day Fred appeared at his mobile home and stayed. The kids grew up believing that Smitty had a pet raccoon. To Tim and Lucy’s dismay, Viola had begged them to get one for her twin sister.
In the end, it was enough for the kids that they were allowed to visit Fred.
“Good, good. He stole my steak yesterday.”
Viola giggled, “was hungry.”
“Yes, Miss Viola, Fred was hungry. But I was hungry too.”
“Aww.” Elenor commented and Lilian chimed in: “Puppies!”
“Yeah, let’s go. Bye, Smitty.”
Without further explanation, the oldest Bradford kid pulled her siblings with her.
They walked past the booking area. Elenor knew that this part and the armory were off limits.
The small corridor led to a few offices. There was Pine’s office where they usually would get stickers, but her door was closed, so she was out. They were on another mission anyway.
“Puppies!” Lilian was suddenly overly excited and picked up her pace, running in front of her sisters. The occasional barks had ignited a fire within her. Skipping the last few inches to the swing doors that led to the kennels, she was way ahead of Elenor and Viola.
Sergeant Piers knew the three Bradford-Chen offspring well. Piers had been at Mid-Wilshire for 35 years now. Next year he’ll finally start his retirement. In any other unit the 67-year-old man would have been in retirement for years, but this was his family. The dogs were his babies and there was no one at home. He’s never been married or had children. He had thrown himself into work and work gave him so much. Besides having a task in life, Mid-Wilshire was his chosen family.
The Bradford spawns were so dear to his heart.
He’d been here for all of Lucy’s journey. Piers had been the first person from this station ever to talk to her. He’d been the officer at the front desk to whom she reported her first arrest. That woman impressed him from day one. Watching her grow and become this exceptional officer, all while finding the love of her life and starting an amazing family, made him happy.
“Hey girls.” He saw them the second the doors swung open. Lilian’s enthusiasm put a smile on his face. He knew that the little girl would love the new puppies-in-training and especially his problem child, Odin.
Odin was a 7-month-old Malinois and one of the 3 chosen puppies from a litter of 5. He was an eager little dog, curious and sly, but his mischievousness was becoming an issue.
Yesterday, he was supposed to learn how to pick up a scent, but was more interested in the treats than his task. The dog put all his focus on how to get the food. In the end, he managed to trick Piers by pretending to be hurt, only to grab the treat pouch behind his back. But what concerned Piers more is that the Malinois seemingly wasn’t able to bond with any of the K9 handlers.
“Puppies,” Lilian giggled and waited impatiently at the kennels for Pierce to open the door.
“You are really just like your mother,” Piers chuckled. “She even had been thrilled about crocodiles and tigers.”
“Mommy pet a tiger!? And a croc-i-dile!?” Violet was in total awe.
She was just as eager to finally cuddle the dogs as her sister, but this new information made her want to try cuddling a tiger or crocodile too.
They all loved dogs – animals in general. Usually it was forbidden for anyone else beside the K9 handlers to pet the dogs. They weren’t meant to get too friendly with strangers. Yet the Bradford kids were an exception to that rule. Some of the dogs were meant to aid rescuing persons and this included children so it was crucial for them to know kids. When the kids demanded to see the K9 dogs, Pierse carefully introduced them to the dogs in service and then when he had two new puppies he’d involved it into the dogs’ training. TIm and Lucy were aware of everything and they had taught all their children to accept all animals’ boundaries.
Opening the door for the girls, he watched them become calmer. They knew that they couldn’t just bolt into the kennel.
Viola was the first one to enter the area. She crouched down and let the dogs come to her. Elenor and Lilian were following her and copying her move.
Piers watched them and how happy the dogs were about the attention. Then something happened that took away his breath and made him a little sad at the same time.
Odin, the untrainable puppy, walked straight up to Lilian, sniffed her and then climbed onto her lap to cuddle his face in the crook of her neck.
Lilian just cooed out and hugged the dog tight. The dog that was not able to let anyone in fell in love with Lilian Bradford and claimed the little girl as his.
It only confirmed his suspicion that Odin wasn’t fit for duty and it breaks his heart to know that this dog had no future on the force.
“Hey, where are the girls?” Lucy traced her hand over his shoulder. She stood behind her husband, holding her sleeping son with her other arm.
Tim’s eyes grew wide. “I thought they were with you.” The panic surged up and was already thick on his voice. He was not accusing her, but he was freaked out.
Lucy, on the other hand, knew that they were safe at the station and was a little bit more levelheaded. Everyone knew them and they’d be just with one of their many aunties or uncles – or grandparents.
“So, it’s you who keeps losing our kids after all. Hmm.” Lucy teased him with a self-satisfactory glint in her voice and stopped him from jumping up from his chair. It calmed Tim down. She was right, they were just somewhere at the station, probably wrapping some of their co-workers around their tiny little fingers.
“Only because you keep letting them get away with it.” Tim tried to turn this onto her, but he knew his wife and was expecting her response when she shot back at him.
“Oh, you’re easy to talk, Mister. Who let the kids camp in our backyard three days ago because they claimed Kojo needed a camping trip? They were so tired afterwards that they were exhausting.”
Tim was soft with his girls and he was an amazing father. He always wanted what was best for them.
“I just don’t want them to feel left out because of the attention Luca still needs.”
Lucy understood him, they both tried to be the kind of parents they never had.
“I know, babe.” She placed a kiss on his head and squeezed his shoulder. “Are you done here or do I need to hunt down our little maniacs by myself?”
Tim shot a questioning look at Miles. “Sure, I have everything I need to know. I will keep you in the loop.” Miles promised and Tim immediately jumped up to search for his three troublemakers.
He held his arms out, offering Lucy to take Luca. Lucy passed the still sleeping baby into his arms, where the boy nestled into his father's chest, drooling all over his shirt.
“We start at the kit room and work our way through the units?” Lucy introduced her battle plan.
“Fine with me.”
The first stop at the kit room was at least informative. Smitty had been assigned to it ever since Lucy had a heart-to-heart with him and they agreed that he’d try to put in the bare minimum of work. He just had been too tired of people to be out on the streets or at the front desk. Ever since he worked in the kitroom, he was reliable.
“Oh, Bradfords,” he greeted them. “Oh, and the little one.”
Smitty loved children, he was absolutely heartwarming with the babies and he totally had a soft spot for the Bradford siblings.
“Did you see our girls, Smitty?” Lucy asked.
“Oh yeah I saw them.” Smitty focused on the baby in Tim’s arm.
“Where, Smitty?” Tim got impatient.
Smitty's eyes never left Luca, “Oh, uh, at the doors.”
Tim waited for a beat if the other man would provide more information, but had made the plan without his wife, whose patience had run out.
“For god's sake, Smitty. What door?”
“Uh, to the restricted area.”
Lucy huffed out. “Great! Thanks Smitty. And next time when you see them wandering around alone, tell us.”
Without further comment, Lucy and Tim walked towards said door.
Lucy opened the door for Tim. “So, we just check if they are with Pine or Piers?”
“Yep,” Tim agreed, while Luca stirred on his chest. The baby blinked his eyes a few times, followed by a big yawn. Before the first whimper escaped his mouth Tim stroked gently over his back. “Hey there bubba, did you have a nice nap?”
Lucy took a look at her husband and her son and it put a big smile on her face. She was really living the perfect life.
Tim was an amazing husband and father and he really was her ride or die. They had built such a beautiful life and their children were like the most perfect little miracles she’d ever could dream of – even when they were troublemakers.
Luca stayed calm and rested his head against Tim. With big eyes he looked at his mother. “Oh my baby,” Lucy cooed and tickled his feet when she saw how her son was focusing on her.
They had stopped right before Pine’s office. Lucy knocked on the door and opened it after the Lieutenant indicated that it was okay to come in.
Lucy stuck her head through the door. “Oh, they are not with you.” It's a statement, not a question.
“Who, the three musketeers? No, they are not here. I just came back.”
“Then they’re probably at the kennels. Have a nice day.”
Lucy turned around to Tim. “K9 it is,” she told him and guided him in the other direction with a gentle push to his waist.
They walked the corridor and already heard the elated barks and childish giggles.
Lucy stopped Tim before they entered the room. “Now, put your poker face on, Mr. I bounce-boots-for breakfast. They are cute, they have my nose scrunch and your smile, but they are still in trouble for sneaking away.”
“I know,” he protested but Lucy threw him a stern look. “I know.” He repeated and made sure to have his grumpy cop expression. But Lucy and he both knew it wouldn’t stay. The second he’d see his girls, happy and playing with the puppies, he’d turn into the biggest marshmallow there is.
Lucy opened the door and revealed the three girls, cuddling and playing with the three puppies-in-training and the other two K9s. Soft giggles filled the room.
“Oh, hey,” Piers greeted them and the second he recognized the look on the Sergeants' faces, he added, ”They didn’t ask for permission to come here?”
“No.” Tim’s answer was short. “Elenor, Viola, Lilian,” he called them with a stern voice.
The three snapped their heads around. Elenor and Viola knew they were caught and stopped in their tracks, only Lilian was obviously unimpressed – too amazed by the new puppy.
“Daddy, look what Odin can do.” Lilian got off the floor, the dog immediately sat in front of her, watching her like a hawk. The 3-year-old girl giggled and held a flat hand out in front of her body. The dog immediately lay down, his eyes still fixed on the girl. His tongue hung out of his mouth while he was panting with excitement. Then Lilian turned her hand in the air so that the palm was facing up. Odin rolled onto his back, his legs in the air. When Lilian started wiggling her fingers, the dog started pedaling with his legs in the air like a beetle on its back.
Unaware of the surprise and astonishment that was written all over the K9-Sergeant's face she continued to direct the malinois through positions. The young dog followed her every move. It was not like they were able to train before, the dog and the toddler just had a unique bond – the dog anticipating her moves and happily following her directions.
“Odin is not trainable,” Piers revealed to the parents of that little girl currently handling said unfit dog. “He wasn't even able to build a connection to any of my handlers.”
“Oh.” Tim gasped, totally in awe of his girl. Lilian was the calm one, the one whose talents hadn’t stood out yet. But apparently she was a dog whisperer. And it dawned on Tim that their family might get a new member after all.
Lucy understood Piers's statement too. Unfit for duty meant the LAPD couldn’t keep the young dog and she also knew that those breeds usually were pretty particular about who they were fixated on.
She saw how the dog put a smile on all her babies’ faces and she saw what special bond Lilian and Odin shared.
“Good boy,” Lilian praised the dog, who made leaps of joy as a result. Odin was so profuse that he licked Viola's face and poked Elenor with his snout, making all three girls laugh joyfully.
The other dogs in the kennel were confused about what was happening. They either dug away to safe distance from the spectacle, inspecting it with a critical eye or tried to jump in on it. But it was a special thing between the three girls and Odin.
Odin slowly calmed down and leaned into Lilian’s side. The dog reached her chest and was almost double her weight, so the little girl swayed a little when the dog leaned onto her, but she just put her weight onto the dog, who gladly accepted the cuddle.
Tim watched Lucy slowly walk into the kennel. Odin tracked her with his eyes and his ears stood up.
“Hey,” she crouched down and the dog stretched his neck to sniff her hand that she offered. Odin took a look at Lilian, who was grinning at him, then at the other two girls who stood right beside the woman. Lilian tapped his back and the dog calmly walked over to Lucy. He put his paw on her legs and poked her hand with his nose, begging for cuddles.
“Oh, you are a good boy.” Her voice stayed low and calm and the dog sensed that she meant well.
“You’re convinced,” Tim asked half-amused, half-resigned.
Lucy only looked up from where she was sitting and he saw it in her eyes that their family would grow by one dog.
Tim blew out an exhale and followed his family into the kennel and knelt down. Odin was surprisingly careful with Luca. Sniffing his feet, he tried not to disturb the tiny human. The small gurgles and noises had him interested but not alerted. Tim used his one free hand to stroke through the dog's fur. Odin sat in the middle of all Bradford-Chen family members and enjoyed his life.
“He’s a Malinois,” Tim argued.
“I know.”
“He needs a lot of attention.”
“I know, but look,” she pointed at Odin, who rested his head on Lilian’s lap.
Tim took in a deep breath, taking in the picture in front of him.
“Kojo.” It was his last concern. It was difficult to have such an important conversation in front of the kids. He knew the second they sensed that taking home Odin was an option, they’d relentlessly beg.
“I’m okay with extending my current work situation,” Tim told Lucy so she would know what was going on in his mind.
It took her entirely by surprise. She blinked at her husband. “As in indefinitely?”
“There are things that matter more.” It was an answer only she understood. He meant that their children’s happiness was so much more important than his job. They were financially stable enough to manage on Lucy's salary and his pension.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Let’s take them to the park so that we can see how Kojo and Odin get along.”
With that, Elenor’s ears perked up. “Are we keeping Odin?”
Tim just smiled at her. She was too damn sharp for her age.
“We’ll take him to the park to see how Kojo and he get along.”
Lilian's interest in this particular conversation spiked the second she heard the words Odin and home.
“And then we take him home? We play the whooooole day.” Lilian exclaimed.
“Only if he and Kojo get along.” Lucy warned them, but they were already celebrating.
“Odin, we take you home.”
It was no surprise to anyone that Odin and Kojo got along really well.
Kojo was calmer than Odin, but they completed each other. Kojo taught the eager Malinois to be the perfect family dog and Odin challenged Kojo to be more active again.
Odin turned out to be a perfect addition to their chaos.
He made Elenor learn responsibility – she learned that some rules mattered.
Odin would stop Viola from some of the mischief she was up to or tried to make sure she was safe when she did yet another daring thing.
Lilian was Odin’s favorite, he revealed a side of her that amazed both her parents. She was so empathic with the Malinois that she was able to teach him almost anything. Though Lucy had no proof, she was sure that Lilian had taught him to soothe Luca when he was crying.
When Luca started to pull himself up, Odin would always make sure to stay right behind him.
Odin guarded the kids and always was in tune with their emotions. It was astounding.
The dog adored Tim, he sometimes looked up at him as if he’d hung the moon. Lucy teased him and asked Tim if she got competition, and Tim would always make sure that Lucy knew she was his number one.
Lucy was amazed by Odin's emotional intelligence. Her job was challenging, emotionally draining from time to time, and managing a demanding full-time job and four little children could be exhausting. So whenever she felt down, Odin was there for her and when the kids needed entertainment but neither parent felt up to it, he’d step in.
Odin might not have been planned, but neither was the rest of their life, and they wouldn’t change a thing.