"Hey, hold on, don’t leave again" Officer Tim Bradford, Tim, called after you as you were about to leave the police station. Tim rarely worked the front desk, but since he and Lucy had been assigned there for a few days, that’s where he was.

Even with how rarely he was there, he noticed something about you. Pretty much every officer who’d ever taken front desk duty had. You were the quiet kid who, for no obvious reason, sat in the waiting area. Sometimes doing homework, sometimes just sitting there.

Always after school hours. And whenever someone asked if you needed help, you’d give a short answer and leave quickly. Most people thought nothing of it, some joked you came for the snack bowl, until Tim started paying closer attention.

More accurately, he noticed you seemed uneasy, tense, as if something wasn’t right. The way you kept your head down, wearing a turtleneck even in LA heat, didn’t go unnoticed.

You’d caught Tim’s observant gaze and quickly began to pack your things. "Kid, hold on" he said, reaching out instinctively, and that’s when your shoulders stiffened.

You flinched.

Tim froze. Something about that reaction hit close to home. He’d seen it before, a sign of someone who’d been through a lot He realized then why you might always come here. The station felt safe, a place where the bad things from home couldn't reach you. Maybe you didn’t know how to ask for help, so you simply came to a place no one could bother you without being swarmed with cops. Every day, after school. Sometimes you even nodded off until someone from the night shift woke you.

"With me" Tim said, not realizing it came off a bit stern, but Lucy, ever the calm one, stepped forward. "Why don’t you come with us, yeah? We’ve got food and drinks in the break room. Let’s have a quick chat, alright?" she added softly, lifting her hand where you could see it, before resting it lightly on your shoulder.