"100 shifts." The captain announced as the 4 boots stood in her office.

"Listen, not a lot of rookies make it to this point in their probationary year."

"It's a reason to celebrate." The captain added onto sergeant Grey's words.

"But not too much."

"For your first 100 shifts, your training officers have been there to guide the way. Not today." Andersen continued hoping that someone would figure out what today for a day was.

"Plain clothes day." Jackson answered and the captain nodded. "That's right, Officer West. Very good."

"I'm sorry, what's plain clothes day?" Lucy asked, not understanding what would be happening today.

"Your T.O.s will be out of uniform, riding with you in strictly observational capacity." Wade explained to her. "They will not advise, assist, or help you in any way. Every decision will be yours to make." The captain added.

"Does this mean i finally get to choose where we eat for lunch?" Nolan asked, internally excited about picking a place he liked. "Yes, Officer Nolan. For all intents and purposes today.. you are alone. And that should scare the hell out of you."

"This will be a true measure of where you are in the learning process. And your performance today could have a profound impact on your career path in this department." The captain stated making every rookie nod.

"So, any questions?"

"Uh, yes, sir. What happens if we get into real trouble?" Lucy asked and Wade shrugged. "Deal with it. And if you can't, your T.O. will step in."

"But make no mistake- if that happens, you will be judged. That's it. Good luck out there."

<<<<>>>>

"Are you guys as excited about this as i am? We finally get to call the shots." Nolan asks, his voice filled with excitement.

"I know right." Lucy agreed with him as the four rookies began walking down the stairs.

"Whoa, slow down. You two realise that 20% of probationary officers that wash out of the program do it during Plain Clothes Day." Jackson began but Zara and Nolan cut him off.

"It can't be that bad, J."

"Don't tell us that! Why would you tell us that?"

"Motivation." Jackson answered as they now saw their T.O.s at the end of the staircase waiting for them.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Angela questions and then she winks at Zara who winks back making Tim roll his eyes.

"Please, they're just as green as they were yesterday." Talia replied looking at Nolan. "What are you looking at, Boot? I'm not even here." Tim exclaims as he sees Zara staring at him.

"Let's go get our gear." Jackson suggests and everyone turns around and begins walking.

"My wash out numbers three. What about you?" Angela asks Talia, the T.O.s were walking right behind them.

"Same. I bet Tim's is up in double digits by now."

Zara turned around at the words, god no.

"Damn straight, i've had 11 rookies bounced from the program during Plain Clothes Day. Looking to make it an even dozen today. What about you Ryan?" Tim then turned to his best friend who shrugged. "I stopped counting at 5."

Zara and Lucy looked at each other while the conversation behind them was still going.

"Do not listen. They're just trying to psych us out." Nolan reminded his friends, grabbing two bags.

"Already making a mistake." Talia hummed as she saw the second duffel bag. "If we're not here, why get two kit bags?" Angela questioned the oldest rookie who turned pale.

"We're supposed to have two bags, just in case they have to take action." Jackson helped Nolan out who flashed him a thankful smile.

"First mistake avoided." Tim started knowing that Ryan would end his sentence. "So many left to make."

Talia and Angela chuckled before the four T.O.s began walking away.

"This is going to be a very long day." Nolan muttered and Zara rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it."

<<<<>>>>

"What are you doing?" Zara asks Tim as she sees him holding a paper in his hands, her name written on it while she stuffed the duffle bag into the trunk of the shop.

"Filled out your evaluation." He responded nonchalantly. "But we haven't even left yet." She exclaimed and slammed the trunk lid shut.

"Yeah. I already know how today's gonna go."

"No, you don't. You're just trying to get in my head. But it won't work." She mocked him as she pretended to get into the passenger seat opening the door just to walk over to the drivers seat.

"If you're not here then i am driving, right?" She winked at him and he rolled his eyes before getting into the passenger seat making her grin.

"Don't open it until end of shift." He handed her the envelope and she stared at it for a few moments.

"Whatever you wrote in here, i'm gonna prove you wrong." She told him and he nodded his head sarcastically. "I knew you'd say that. it's in there." He motioned to the letter and she bit her inner cheek.

<<<<>>>>

"First time you've let me drive ever since i crashed the car." She stated as she sat behind the wheel, Tim next to her. "I'm not here, boot." he reminded her and she internally scoffed.

"Right. Of course, sorry." She grinned and then suddenly her attention was on a man, who had a video camera in hand.

"Why would a guy from the power company need a video camera?" She asked out loud, not necessarily thinking about it before turning the car around.

She now turned her attention to see what exactly he was filming and when she saw a blonde teenage girl, she almost lost it. "That sick bastard. He's filming her." She muttered pressing the button to let the police siren chirp.

The old man saw that and now looked onto the ground, not filming anymore as Zara slowly drove the car over.

He then began walking away, acting as if the siren wasn't meant for him, making the brunette even angrier.

"LAPD, stop!"

She pressed onto the gas, tires screeching as she now saw the man running. She opened the door, slamming into him, making him fall onto the ground groaning.

She got out of the shop and when he tried to stand up she pushed him back onto the ground. "Hands behind your back." She cuffed him and then pressed his face onto the hood of the police shop.

"I didn't do anything!" He protested and now the footage of the girl changing was pushed into his face.

"Yeah, well, your camera says otherwise. Do you even work at the power company?"

"Lawyer." Was all he said.

"Yeah, you're gonna need one." She told him, now seeing Tim standing opposite her as she pulled her radio out. "7-Adam-19, show us one in custody, 3rd and Arden. Did you include this arrest in your evaluation, Bradford? Watch your head. Get in." She made sure the criminal got sat into the car before flashing a fake grin at her lover.

<<<<>>>>

"Just got off the phone with dispatch. My suspect, Todd Collins, is on parole for a 261. He's a tier 3 sex offender and a 290- violent-habitual. That's a pretty good arrest, huh?" Zara said as she shut the trunk lit, then stepping over to Tim who was on his phone, leaning against a car.

He silently stared at her for a few moments and she rolled her eyes when he looked away. "Okay. Uh, let's see, i've got my victim's statement, seized my suspect's phone, canvassed for witnesses. Yep, we're good to go."

She grinned but when she saw his expression, she knew she forgot something. "What?" She asked him, her smile disappearing immediately.

"Didn't say anything." He shook his head, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "But you're giving me the look." She replied pointing her finger at him.

"What look?"

"That Look. Am i missing something? Wait, don't answer that." She summed up and he rolled his eyes. "Wasn't going to." He mumbled and she chuckled. "Good. Because.. I made a solid pinch here."

He faked a smile his phone chiming before he pushed himself off of the blue car walking towards the shop.

"Alright, let's go."

<<<<>>>>

Zara had led her first arrest of the day into the holding cell. "Inside. Yeah." When he attempted to speak she shut the door in front of him, locking it.

She looked around, her eyes searching for Tim. When she noticed that he wasn't there she pulled out the envelope that he had given her in the shop.

She couldn't resist to look into it so she opened it, with a little struggle she got it out and her smile dropped when she saw the words.

I said after your shift!

"I know everything you're gonna do, Boot. Just like i knew you wouldn't process all your suspects property." She heard the voice and turned around.

"What are you talking about? I took everything Todd Collins had- wallet, camera, phone, keys." She pointed out motioning around with her hands.

"Mm-hmm. So tell me, how did Peeping Todd get to where you arrested him?" He asked and she looked at him like he was dumb. "He drove. Like i said, i have his car keys." She pushed the paper back into the envelope.

"But not his car. Most child sex offenders have a network with other offenders. They share videos of their sick desires, which leads to other victims. Other suspects. Where do you think they keep his cornucopia of evidence?"

"In their cars." Zara realised, now feeling like she was the idiot out of the two of them, but she quickly shook that off.

"That's right." He quietly said and her eyes widened. "..In case parole officers search their houses." She added and Tim stepped closer to her, his arms crossed over his chest.

"His car is a treasure trove of evidence. Other crimes, more victims, DNA- evidence we may never have obtained otherwise. And you just left it in the street."

She took a deep breath and rushed past him. "W- um.. He was fiddling with his phone the entire time he was running." She muttered under her breath, speed walking over to the yellow lockers, which held the belongings of the arrested.

She opened his, and took the bag out, searching for his phone.

Cops got me- get my van.

Was the thing she read making her shut her eyes, that was what she had missed. "You recall seeing a van, Boot?"

"There was that blue van. That work van. It was right there!" She exclaimed angry at herself.

<<<<>>>>

The tires of the shop screeched as Zara stopped the car, jumping out and immediately looking around for the van, just for it to be gone.

"Control, we need a reverse directory on a vehicle registered to Todd Collins." Zara spoke into the radio, taking the note book ready to write down the informations of the van.

"7-Adam-19, subject owns a blue '98 Econoline, E-350 van with California plates, six-Paul-Charlie-Ida-zero-nine-three. It shows the vehicle was impounded from your location an hour ago."

At the end Zara frowned. "What?" She whispered not understanding how all of this could've happened, her realisation came quickly the moment she saw her T.O.

"You had the van impounded?" She asked him, even though she already knew the answer to that. "Once it was clear you overlooked that detail." He answered her and she pushed down the urge to roll her eyes and race her voice to a very unprofessional level.

"But then why did we race over here?" She asked again, stepping closer to him waving her hands around in the air.

Zara was stressed and all of it was Tim-motherfucking-Bradfords doing.

"So you could discover your own mistake. That's what todays all about, Boot." He replied nonchalantly as if he wasn't driving her insane.

"Wha- And it's just a bonus that you get to humiliate me?" She threw back, her face already red from the whole panicking.

"Don't blame me for the fact that you let yourself get rattled by one dubious look. You make it out here and find yourself riding solo, these streets will test you in ways you didn't think possible. The only way to survive is to control your environment at all times." With that he stepped over to the passenger side and got in.

Her jaw was clenched and she would've said something back but right now the only words that could've left her mouth would've made sure she got fired, and she wouldn't let Tim have that pleasure, despite the two having an on-off thing.

"You're pretty talkative for a silent observer." She stated after she had taken a few moments to cool off.

<<<<>>>>

Zara and Tim got out of the shop, seeing a barking dog behind a fence. "Hello? LAPD. Anyone home?" She called out loudly, hoping that the home owner was actually at home.

Tim watched her every move as he leaned against the shop, his arms crossed over his chest. "Hey, girl. It's okay." Zara muttered as she leaned down onto the dogs level, it growled at her making her step back.

"Not exactly what i meant by control your environment." Tim reminded and Zara scoffed. "Good thing you're not here today." She mumbled quietly so he wouldn't hear her words.

"That dog barks all the time." A red head next door exclaimed who was cutting the bushes. "Ma'am, do you know if the dog's owner is home?" Zara asks and the neighbour nods.

"Shut up! Shut up, Missy!" A man stepped out of the house, walking towards the officers, his dog hadn't stopped barking making him throw dirt onto her.

"Hey, whoa. There's no need for that." Zara exclaimed, she hated seeing animals or people get abused, and what he was doing almost made her go spiral.

"Honey, she's my dog. I can treat her however the hell I want." He replied and Zaras brows furrowed.

Not if i call animal control on your ass, old man.

"Sir, we've received a complaint about your dog." Zara came straight to the point hoping to get away from this conversation and the animal abuser.

"And i wonder who made it!" The man said loud enough for the neighbour to hear. "Emma, you called the damn cops?!"

"Your dog's a menace. It's just bark, bark, bark- all day long." Emma responded, her voice raised showing off her anger.

Zara sighed and looked around before turning back to the man. "It's a dog. It's kind of their thing." He threw back and Zaras tension was wearing thin with all this yelling and Tim's staring.

"Uh, ma'am, just step aside. I'll handle this. Sir, you need to try to keep your dog from barking." At the beginning she spoke with Emma who seemed pissed off but didn't say anything, at the end she turned back to the man.

"No problem. I'm good at making bitches shut their mouths."

If looks could kill, the two would both be dead.

Zara decided to not jump over the fence and wipe that smirk off of his face with her fist.

"Have a nice day, sir." She said, turning around to leave and then the dog began barking again.

"Shut the hell up." He growled, throwing dirt onto the dog again. "Hey! stop kicking dirt at the dog, or else." She now stood face to face with him again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... or else what?" He asked and that's when Zara lost all that control. "If i have to come back here, or even get a whiff that you're abusing this animal, I will make you my personal project. Do you understand?" She threatened her voice low as she watched the mans face.

She turned to walk to the drivers side of the shop, her face bitter. "I'd say i controlled that environment."

<<<<>>>>

The two had been called back to the station, for whatever reason, and now they entered Sergeant Grey's office. "Sir. Dispatch says you wanted to see us." Tim spoke pushing his hands into his jeans pockets.

"Yeah, shut the door." Wade motioned towards the wide open glass door and Zara closed it right after so no one could hear their conversation.

"You know, I remember my Plain Clothes Day. It was a long time ago, but i remember it. Desperate to make an impression. My T.O. watching me like a hawk. But the pressure got to me, and i made all kinds of mistakes- stupid ones, too. And completely out of character. Which is why, Officer Brown, I sympathise with your situation." He talked and Zara didn't understand what it was about. "Sir?"

"We got a rude conduct complaint against you from, um.. a Rodney Acker. He said you verbally threatened him to get his dog in line, or else."

"i told him to keep himself in line." Zara protested and the Sergeant sighed.

"Any way to cool this guy off, sir?" Tim asks, glancing at Zara whose heart was racing.

"I tried but he's pretty dug in. He wants to make it formal, so Internal Affairs has been notified. Captain Anderson is in meetings all day, but she wants to talk to you at the end of shift."

Zaras eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets.

Fucking shit.

"Uh.. sir, what kind of disciplinary action am i looking at?" She asks, hoping that it wasn't too bad. "Don't get ahead of yourself." Tim exclaimed his arms crossed over his chest like always.

"She should know. Threatening a civilian is a serious offense for any officer, but to do it as a probationary employee? Even a minor infraction can have a serious impact." Grey explained and Zaras brows furrowed. "How serious?" she immediately asked.

"Worst case scenario, you'll be my 12th rookie to wash out on Plain Clothes Day." Tim stated and Zara cursed under her breath.

<<<<>>>>

"Zara, they're not going to kick you out of the program over this." Nolan said, hoping to stop or ease his friends worries.

"I don't know. I mean, you should've seen Sergeant Grey's face. It was literally utter disappointment." Zara replied as she held her soda in her hands.

"He gives me that look every day, and i'm still here." He reasoned and Zara scoffed.

<<<<>>>>

"If brown threatened the guy, why didn't you step in and sort it out?" Talia asked Tim, the two eating a few tables away from their boots.

"It's Plain Clothes Day. That'd be cheating. You know i'm a man of principles." He answered her question nonchalantly although on the inside he was worried about what might happen to Zara because he didn't step in.

"Yeah, but they could terminate her." Talia emphasised on the word and Tim shook his head. "Come on, i'm not gonna let that happen."

"Thought you were a man of principles?" Talia mocked his words from earlier. "And contradictions." He added thinking about the entire situation.

Worst case scenario might also be a good one.

If Zara would get bounced from the program the two wouldn't have any troubles of being together, well.. other than the problem that she got fired.

And he knew that if she would get fired, the chances of them being together would plummet to zero.

So he couldn't let that happen.

"You think he's back to soon?" Talia asked Tim, motioning at the detective that she had saved a few days ago.

"No such thing as too soon." He replied glancing over at the man who was eating alone. "Tim, drop the macho act. The guy lost his partner in the line. Some cops never recover from that. I'll be back." Talia got up from her chair and began walking towards the man leaving Tim alone with his thoughts.

<<<<>>>>

"Alright, enough of this pity party. This morning was a complete disaster, which can only mean the rest of this day will be better. Did i just jinx myself?" She exclaimed putting on a happy act.

"Little bit, yes. Listen, Zara, a cop as good as you, they're not gonna let you go down over this." John replied and she sighed when she thought about the poor dog that was stuck with the old man.

"You know what really pisses me off? It's not just that i might lose my job. It's that cute dog. She's just stuck with that monster." She spat the last word before taking a sip of her soda.

"I know." John nodded and she shot him a smile before getting up from her seat. "Anyway.. see you."

<<<<>>>>

The shop pulled up at the house, Zara looking at tim when she parked it and turned the engine off. "This man filed a complaint against me. We shouldn't be back here." Zara sighed and Tim nodded.

"You're right. You shouldn't be here. I'm fine."

"Aren't i supposed to be making all the decisions today?" She asked him with her eyebrows raised and Tim just nodded again. "You are. And right now, you've decided to let me save your job."

"Tim, it means a lot to me that you care about my future as a cop, but this is-" She began but he cut her off. "Relax, boot. I simply believe that if you're gonna get fired, it'll be because of me, not some asshat's rude conduct complaint." He replied taking off his seatbelt and she followed his movements but he stopped her with his words.

"Stay here."

He got out of the shop and slammed the door shut behind him while Zara watched anxiously.

"He better not fuck this up." She muttered under her breath while leaning back in her car seat.

Zara then saw the dog in the backyard, right next to the garage suspiciously walking around making her frown.

She so intensely watched it that she hadn't even seen Tim approaching, only when the door opened and slammed back shut she was pulled out of her monumental trance.

"How'd it go?" She asked him while not diverting her eyes from the dog. "Drive." He demanded while putting on his seat belt.

"Uh- hold on." She muttered before taking off her seatbelt and stepping out of the car, with a roll of his eyes he followed her to the back of the car where she already had the trunk open.

She took a pair of binoculars from the war bag and looked through it, trying to see what the dog was so obsessed about. Zara saw a red liquid that resembled blood staining the garage door, making her frown before handing the binoculars to Tim.

"Is that blood?" She asked him and waited for his answer while he checked. "Could be blood. Could be something else." He answered still looking at the stains.

"But it could be blood. Which gives me PC. I can search that garage." She said taking back the binocular to look again.

"Look, if you're wrong, he'll claim you're retaliating against him. You'll definitely be fired, and he'll just add another zero to his settlement check with the city. Smart move here is to walk away." He explained and she looked between Tim and the garage unsure of what she'd do next.

"So what's it gonna be, boot? It's your call." He added and seconds later she threw the binoculars back into the bag and zipped it up, shutting the trunk before walking towards the gate to his property.

The chain she carelessly put to the side and stepped foot inside, Tim right behind her. The man saw the two through the window making him watch them with wide eyes as they were on their way to the garage.

Zara saw him following their movements from inside their house, also going into the direction of the garage.

The dog was whimpering and scraping at the wood. "Missy, what's going on in there?" Zara asked the dog as she stepped over and at the same moment the house door was ripped open by the angry man.

"No, don't open that!" He yelled at Zara who completely ignored him and opened it to see a dead body, his neighbour with scissors stuck inside of her throat.

"It was an accident. She- She got in my face. She just wouldn't shut up!" He exclaimed trying to talk his way out of the situation, Zara approached him with big and fast steps. "You're under arrest."

He attempted to take a swing at her which she quickly dodged, he grunted as she grabbed him from behind. "Get on the ground. Get on the ground!" She ordered and successfully managed to get the man on the ground. "Alright." He groaned.

"Hands behind your back. You're under arrest." She cuffed him with the dog practically barking into the mans face while Tim approached the body of the woman. "Shut up, Missy!" He yelled at the dog who didn't listen.

"That's a good dog."

<<<<>>>>

Zara anxiously waited for the captain to stop talking on the phone to someone who probably was part of IA.

"End of shift, boot. Don't you want to open your evaluation?" She heard Tim asking behind her which made her turn around.

"Why? The captain is probably gonna fire me, so what does it even matter now?" She replied and Tim scoffed. "Just do it." He ordered and she reluctantly pulled out the letter from her back pocket, opening it.

The paper rustled while she opened the evaluation. "Officer Brown second-guessed every decision she made." She read out loud, completely annoyed with herself and that sentence.

"The whole point of me doing this was to get under your skin." He stepped closer and she rolled her eyes at his words. "Congrats, you did it, want a trophy?" She sarcastically asked.

"Yeah, until the end. Because when it really counted, you didn't hesitate. You put it all on the line, and you made the right call. Which really pisses me off because now i got to rewrite the damn thing." He snatched the paper away from her before tearing it into shreds.

She looked back into the captain's office to see her walking towards the door, she sighed before turning her attention back onto her T.O.

"Tim, what's gonna happen to me?" She asked and before he could answer the door was opened.

"Officer Brown, step inside."

She nodded her head and walked into the office with no words. "You told Mr. Acker, and i quote, 'i will make you my personal project.' Nice. Kind of retro. Very 1990s Rampart scandal." The captain stated as she walked back into her place behind the desk.

"I'm sorry, ma'am." Zara apologised but the captain cut her off. "In today's LAPD- especially in my house- we don't threaten people. Not even the murderers."

"Yes, ma'am. Those words do not reflect the officer i am or the one i wish to be." Zara replied politely.

"Fine. You may go." The captain answered and Zara was unsure if this was a 'you may go, see you tomorrow' or a 'you may go, you're fired.'

"Ma'am? So, i'm.. still in the program?" She asked and the captain replied to her question multiple seconds later. "Internal Affairs reached out. They wanted my take on this complaint. I'll recommend that they close it out based on the circumstances."

"Thank you, ma'am." Zara thanked, immediately feeling relieved. "Don't. Because if you ever let this job down again, i will not hesitate to put you on a career path far away from the LAPD. Do you understand?" The captain cut her off and Zara nodded her head at the question.

"Dismissed."

Zara approached the door and opened it but stopped when she heard the captain speak up. "Officer Bradford! Your turn."

<<<<>>>>

"Sucks you didn't get a crack at your fathers record." Lucy said to Jackson who simply shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter. Yeah, breaking records and making the most arrests- not why i became a cop. You?" He turned his attention to Nolan who had been staring at Lucy the whole time.

"Me? I'm in it for the wool pants." He answered making the group laugh. "Great for winter, horrible for summer." Zara added smiling happily.

"Okay. Now it is time for our 'to me' toast. To me, no longer being crushed by my fathers shadow." Jackson lifted his glass into the air.

"To me, not having to apply to be a mall cop in the morning." Zara was the next one to lift her glass. "To me, for having a great day with no trouble." Lucy added holding her glass up and the three now waited for Nolan. "To me.. Honestly, guys, i got nothing. Unlike Zara, i had a perfect day."

"Thats an insult to me." She scoffed as the other two rookies laughed before clinking their glasses together. "Cheers." After that they emptied the shots within a few seconds.

"Alright, now, if you'll excuse me, I got something i gotta do." Zara remember and pulled out an envelope out of her bag before walking into the directions of their T.O.s.

She cleared her throat before speaking up, the attention of the four now being on her. "Before i leave, Officer Bradford, I just wanted to give you this. It's my evaluation of you." She sweetly faked a smile before letting him take the envelope.

"That's not how it works, Boot." He replied and she shrugged. "Yeah, well, if you don't read it, don't." Right after that was said she turned around and walked away.

"You gonna open it?" Angela asked Tim, a grin on her face, Tim was already ripping open the envelope.

Zara saw it and rushed back faster to her three friends. "Hey, guys, get your stuff together. We gotta go now. We gotta go. Lets go. Lets go." She motioned sith her hands and the threw began packing their stuff before leaving quickly.

"What is it?" Talia asked as she watched Tim read through a small paper. "Their bar tab." He deadpanned and looked at their table to see that they were already gone.

Ryan, Angela and Talia were all laughing as they watched Tim's reaction to him getting pay back.

"That little.."

<<<<>>>>

new chapter!!

im really sorry for yall having to wait 3 months for an update and i promise im gonna try to update more regularly.

anyways i hope you enjoyed this, lmk what you think :)

byeeee💕

-nicole

5100 words