Chapter Text
“Hey, Lu baby. You wanna go with me and the kids today?” Angela asked when Lucy picked up her call. It was the first day off they had shared in a few weeks and Angela really wanted to spend time with her girlfriend and her kids.
“Sure, are we doing anything special?” Lucy asked, looking at the clock above her dresser, seeing it was only a few minutes after eight in the morning. Tim had left a couple hours before to head to work and she had curled up in his vacated spot on her bed and been reading a book on her phone.
“Nah, I figured we could just go shopping and have lunch.” Angela said, pulling a couple sets of clothes out for Jack while he sat on his bedroom floor playing with a wooden puzzle he had gotten from Nyla on his birthday. Emmy was strapped to her chest, still fast asleep after having eaten.
“Okay! I can be over there in an hour, if that works?” Lucy said, already trying to decide what she should wear, or wondering if she should text Tim and ask him to choose for her.
“Yeah, that sounds good, babe. Just wear some comfy pants and a t-shirt in case we want to try clothes on, and you know the kids will get your clothes dirty anyways.” Angela said, knowing how messy her kids, especially Jack, could be.
“Okay, see you in a little bit Ang. Love you.”
“Love you too, baby.” Angela said, hanging up the call and putting her phone in pocket on the side of her leggings. “Alright, Jack! Let’s get dressed, Aunt Lucy will be here soon.”
After Lucy arrived and helped load the kids into Angela’s car, the little group headed towards downtown, with Angela wanting to look for some cute clothes that would be suitable for work but also accommodate her pumping at work. Lucy was just excited to spend the day with Angela and the kids.
They visited several stores with Angela finding several cute tops and a couple dresses to wear at work. Lucy just browsed and watched when Angela decided to try something on. Jack, who was strapped into his stroller, was happy with Lucy’s phone playing Bluey. Angela had offered to grab the double stroller from her trunk instead of the smaller one that Jack was currently settled in, but Lucy was more than willing to put on the baby carrier and snuggle Emmy close to her chest. She loved babies, especially Jack and Emmy because they were so sweet and she loved their parents, which was a plus.
As Angela ducked into the bathroom at the restaurant they had stopped at for lunch, Lucy got them a table and ordered an iced tea for Angela and a Sprite for herself. Jack had finally fallen asleep in his stroller so Lucy made sure his seat wasn’t in the aisle and carefully rolled it back and forth with her foot. Emmy was still strapped to her but she knew Angela would need to feed her in a little bit so she carefully undid the clasps on the side of the carrier and eased Emmy into her arms. The little girl was looking up at her with big blue eyes that matched her father’s, and a look of concentration that Lucy knew came directly from Angela. Lucy looked up and noticed Angela walking back from the bathroom and smiled.
“Here, Lu. Let me hold her while you go use the bathroom, then you can feed her. Sound good?” Angela asked her. She had pumped and brought bottles for Emmy because, while she was not shy about it, she didn’t always want to breastfeed in public because people were judgmental.
“Yeah, umm… if the waiter comes back will you order for me?” Lucy asked her quietly. Angela knew that Tim usually ordered for Lucy and she felt a flash of guilt for not thinking about the fact that Lucy preferred to have advanced notice of new restaurants so she could look at the menu and make a selection with no pressure or get Tim to help her. Lucy watched the emotions flit across Angela’s face for a second before putting her hand on her girlfriends on top of the table. “Hey, what’s going on in your head?”
“I’m sorry,” Angela said quietly while looking down at Emmy. She took a breath and then looked up to see a concerned look in Lucy’s eyes.
“What are you sorry about, love?” Lucy asked, gently.
“We didn’t plan where we were going to be eating lunch so you didn’t have time to figure out what you wanted to eat and I know that’s what you usually like to do with Tim.” Angela said, looking into the honey-colored eyes of her girlfriend, trying to convey an apology that Lucy felt was wholly unnecessary.
“Ang, I didn’t worry about it because I knew I could trust you to order for me.” Angela gives her a startled look.
“Wait, you trust me to order for you? Luce, that’s Tim’s thing.” Angela said, her voice full of shock.
“Oh, well if you’re not comfortable doing that, it's fine. I can text Tim and ask him to do it.” Lucy said, worried she was pushing the detective to take a step in their relationship that she wasn’t ready for. Angela saw the worry flash across her face and the frown that settled on her face.
“No, it's not that. I just thought you didn’t want anyone but Tim to do that. You know,” Angela leaned in and whispered, “because he’s your Dom.” Lucy’s face softened.
“Angela, if I were to break a rule right now, what would you do?” Lucy asked her, pretty sure she knew the answer already.
“Depends on the rule, but most likely when we got home it would be corner time and a spanking, or I’d talk to Wes and Tim and see what they thought. Why?”
“Because, you silly woman, that answer proves that you’re my Dom too. You have been since we started this. Same with Wesley. Now, I’m going to pee, please pick me out a nice meal,” Lucy stands up and leans down, her mouth beside Angela’s ear, “Mistress.”
Angela follows Lucy with her eyes until the younger woman is out of sight, then she shifts in her seat to soothe the throbbing between her legs. Lucy doesn’t often use that honorific with her, something she’s only done a handful of times when they were in the middle of, as they had all jokingly come to call the, naked times. When Lucy came out of the bathroom a couple minutes later, Angela had ordered their lunch and was munching on some fried pickles that she had ordered as an appetizer. Once Lucy had settled back into her seat she reached out for Emmy, who Angela happily passed back to her. The little girl was just starting to get hungry and began turning her face towards Lucy’s chest, mouthing over the fabric. Angela and Lucy just laughed as Angela grabbed a bottle from the bottom of the diaper bag, a small part that was cooled by freezies.
“Here ya go, Luce. Oh, and she likes to have a blanket pulled up around her face so take this too,” Angela said as she threw a light blanket over Emmy's top half and across Lucy’s shoulder. Lucy snuggled the little girl closer, holding the bottle under the blanket as she rocked lightly in her chair. The air around them was peaceful, despite the noise of an afternoon in LA. They made small talk about some of the cases they were working on, Lucy had been helping the detectives out more and more at Sergeant Carradine’s request. He could see how talented she was, even if she wasn’t too keen on doing undercover again for a little while.
Just before their lunch came out, Emmy finished her bottle and needed to be burped. Lucy lifted her onto her shoulder and turned her chair a little away from the table so she had a better angle to pat the baby on the back. It was then that Angela noticed an older lady watching them with intense scrutiny. Angela bumped her foot against Lucy’s, causing the younger woman to look up at her. Lucy caught the look on Angela’s face and when Angela directed her eyes over Lucy’s shoulder, Lucy stiffened a little. She adjusted Emmy in her arms after she burped and surreptitiously stood up under the guise of bouncing the baby to get her to go to sleep. When Lucy finally looked at where Angela’s eyes had been directing her to, she was startled to see her mother looking back at her. She must have gasped out loud because Angela immediately stood up, laying her hand on Lucy’s arm, ready to pull her, and Emmy, behind her.
“No, it’s okay. It’s my mom.” Lucy said quietly. Her mom’s eyes were full of disdain, a look that Lucy was used to seeing in small doses, but normally not so out in the open. “Let’s just sit back down and eat.” Angela could hear the sadness in Lucy’s voice.
While she had never encountered Lucy’s parents, Jackson had told her what happened between Lucy and her parents when he and Lucy had made P2. He hadn’t intended to tell her, he just wanted to ask her if she thought the chain he got to go with Lucy’s Saint Michael pendant was pretty enough. After a little prodding he had told her that his parents had bought the pendant for her, more specifically his dad, because Lucy’s parents didn’t agree with her choice of being a cop and had hurt her feelings just after they had passed such an important milestone of completing their rookie year.
At Lucy’s prompting, Angela sat back down. Their food arrived and she requested a high chair for Jack, who had woken up and was looking at the chicken finger she had ordered him like he was going to climb out of his stroller. After getting Jack situated in the high chair, she adjusted the stroller seat to make it so Emmy could lay down while they ate. Lucy carefully laid the baby down, kissing her head and brushing the hair off her forehead, then she sat back down and began picking at the sweet potato fries Angela had ordered for her.
“Eat, Lucy.” Angela quietly prodded across the table after watching the younger woman pick up and drop the fourth fry in a row.
“ ‘m not hungry.” Lucy mumbled. She had taken to propping her head up with her chin in her hand as she picked at the fries with her other hand. Angela took a moment, seeing the pain and stress in Lucy’s eyes and remembering that Lucy had said she was her Domme, along with Tim. So she pulled out the voice that she only used when they were at home.
“Lucy, you can either eat now or we can box it up and you'll eat it at home on a sore butt. Now, what’ll it be?” Angela said quietly as she leaned across the table a little. Lucy’s eyes shot towards her as she glanced around the room, trying to make sure no one heard the other woman. “I’m serious, Lucy. Eat. Now.” Angela gave her one more strong look before glancing back to see Jack holding a whole chicken finger in his pudgy little fist. Angela watches Lucy out of the corner of her eye, silently daring the younger woman to disobey her. Angela carefully nudged Lucy’s foot under the table and a minute later, Lucy picked up her fork and skewered a piece of the salmon on her plate.
They ate in relative silence as Angela and Lucy both helped feed Jack and themselves. Angela kept glancing over Lucy’s shoulder and could see the other woman’s mother glaring in their direction anytime she looked up. Angela kept thinking in her own head that she couldn’t understand how any mother could treat their child the way Lucy’s mom had treated her. She knew about Lucy’s childhood, about how her parents expected perfection and for her to follow their plans exactly as they had set them out. She knew that while they had never physically abused Lucy, at least as far as her girlfriend had admitted, they were cold and harsh, emotionally abusive, and unloving towards their only child. The more Angela thought about it, the more she wanted to get up and give Vanessa Chen a piece of her mind, but she stayed seated for Lucy’s sake, finishing their lunch in more uncomfortable silence.
Once their plates had been cleared by the waiter, Angela scooped Emmy up and handed her back to Lucy who began to put the baby carrier back on her body. Angela was acutely aware of Lucy’s mom staring at them more intensely, her cop eyes clocking how the older woman was watching their interactions. Once Emmy was situated on Lucy’s chest, the younger woman placed a light kiss on top of the baby’s head, smiling at the way the little, blue-eyed girl looked up at her. Angela watched with a smile and reached out and touched Lucy on the arm, indicating she was ready to go.
Lucy walked out ahead of Angela, who was maneuvering the stroller through the tables and chairs. Lucy turned around and waited on the sidewalk outside and when Angela got outside beside her, handed her the bag she had been carrying so Angela could hang it across the handles of the stroller. It was at the moment that Lucy’s mom stood up and stomped out of the restaurant behind them. Angela felt Lucy stiffen under her hand and saw the way something in her eyes shut down, and that was before Vanessa had even opened her mouth.
“Lucille.” Vanessa said, disdain practically dripping from her mouth. She was eyeing Lucy up and down.
“Mom. Can I help you with something?” Lucy said, her hand protectively covering the back of Emmy's head. Lucy was suddenly very glad that Angela had helped her strap Emmy in facing her instead of looking out at the world.
“Can you help me? Yes, you can explain why you haven’t called your father or me to apologize.” Vanessa said, crossing her arms in front of her. Angela was really glad she wasn’t eating or drinking because she knew she would have choked on anything that had been in her mouth at that moment. She saw a spark in Lucy’s eyes, a look she would swear she had seen in Lucy’s eyes the day they arrested La Fiera when Lucy had gone undercover the first time. It was a look of fear, anger, and determination.
“Apologize? What for? You and Dad said I was no longer your daughter and that you wouldn’t consider changing your mind until I, what was it you said? Oh yeah, stop playing dress up as a paid bully and sleeping my way through the department. I think you even tossed in there that I should’ve seen Jackson’s death as a wake up call that no person with a soul is actually cut out to be a cop. Did I get all of that right, Mother?” Lucy was breathing hard, knowing she only had the courage to say this in front of Angela. If she had run into her mother without someone, she would have folded immediately.
“How dare you speak to me that way?” Vanessa screeched. Angela didn’t have time to pull Lucy back before Vanessa placed a resounding slap across Lucy’s cheek. Angela watched as Lucy froze. Lucy couldn’t react. Angela realized then that this wasn’t the first time Mrs. Chen had laid her hands on her daughter. It only took Angela a minute to put herself between Lucy and her mother, grabbing Lucy’s hand and placing it on the handle of the stroller as she pulled her t-shirt up a little to expose the badge on her hip.
“Mrs. Vanessa Chen, you are under arrest for assaulting a police officer and child endangerment.” Angela grabbed her wrist and spun her, looking back at Lucy.
“WHAT? You can’t do that! I didn’t do anything! And it is Doctor Chen to you!” Mrs. Chen shouted. Angela ignored her, keeping her eyes on her girlfriend. The only thing Lucy had moved was her hands to hold Emmy closer to her in a protective move.
“Lu, there’s a spare set of handcuffs in that cubby between the cupholders, hand them here.” Lucy was still frozen so Angela reached out and tapped her thigh lightly. At the light touch Lucy hopped into action and handed Angela the requested cuffs while pulling her phone out of her back pocket.
“Dispatch, this is off-duty Officer Lucy Chen, badge number 28537. I need officers to 6425 Wilshire Avenue. Assault of an off-duty police officer.” Lusy said into the phone as Angela cuffed her mom and made her sit in one of the seats on the patio of the restaurant. Lucy hung back, handing Jack her phone to watch Bluey as they waited for dispatch to send officers. Nolan and Celina showed up as the officers and Lucy couldn’t help the look of shame on her face as Nolan asked Angela what the story was. When Angela recounted how her mom had slapped her, Lucy felt tears prick at her eyes. She couldn’t look up and meet Nolan’s gaze and she knew he understood. He had heard a few of the fights with her parents when they were all in the academy, and even though he had never met her mom, he didn’t like her very much.
“Officer Jaurez, can you please place Mrs. Chen in the back of the shop?” Nolan said, guiding the woman by her elbow so that Celina could lead her to sit in the back of the shop. Celina nodded her head and ignored Vanessa’s protests and complaints that she was Doctor Chen and they had no right to arrest her.
Angela pulled Nolan to her a little so she could whisper in his ear and ask for an ice pack for Lucy’s cheek. There was already a bright red handprint and she knew the sooner they iced it, the better it would be to prevent the bruising and swelling. Nolan nodded before stepping to his shop to grab a disposable ice pack. He broke it and handed it to Angela who smiled at him gratefully.
“Lucy and I will meet you at the station so someone can take our statements. Can you see if Nyla can do it?” Angela asked him quietly as she started wrapping a fabric napkin around it. He nodded, squeezing her arm in comfort for a moment before turning around and getting in the shop with Celina. She turned to see Lucy still standing there, looking smaller than she had in a long time. “Lu, baby? Let’s head back to the car and then we’ll go to the station. Nolan’s gonna get Nyla to take our statements, okay?” Angela spoke carefully, but was worried about reaching out to touch her until the younger woman had acknowledged her with a slight head nod.
Angela led them back to the car a few blocks away and while they loaded the kids in the car she sent a text to Tim and Wesley and told them to meet at the station, making sure they knew no one was injured but telling them it was important. She knew Lucy would need all of them to get through the next few hours.