Goldrush

Lucy struts into the bullpen, coffees in hand for her team. They take their coffee rota very seriously and being known to spill the odd order here and there, she is happy that today is not one of those days. “Mornin’, got your coffee coming right up”. She walks up to Kai’s desk first, handing him his usual, a flat white. “Thanks Luce, I’ll give you five stars today!”. Lucy tilts her head and just glares at him facetiously in response.

She enjoys the banter she has with the guys. They’ve become family to her since moving to Hawai’i almost two years ago. The added risks that come with the job helped them gel quickly and she would do anything to protect them, and knows they would do the same for her. She was used to being around big brothers at home in Texas as well, so in some ways she was thankful that her newfound work-bros brought her the same comfort as ones she left behind.

She hands Jesse his coffee and before she can tease him for the new mug she spies on his desk, an obvious gift from Kai, he meets her eyes with an earnest look. “Boss wants to see you by the way”. Lucy somewhat manages to hide her nervousness. “Not that late am I?” She jokes. Sensing Jesse wasn’t joking she just nods before her eyes round the room to focus on Jane Tennant, working at her desk in her office.

Lucy bonded well with Jane after arriving at NCIS. She took the young texan under her wing and helped carve her into the capable and accomplished special agent she is today. However, Tennant is still her boss and Lucy never wants to let her down, so a meeting alone in her office did get the agent’s heart racing slightly more than she cared to admit.

She knocks on the glass door and steps inside. Tennant welcomes her with a smile, “Morning Lucy, have a seat”. Lucy holds out Tennant’s coffee, and immediately begins apologising for her slight lateness. “Before you say anything, I know I’m late, I’m sorry, I had a hectic morning”. She shakes her head nervously. “That’s not an excuse” she continues as Tennant closes the door to her office and rounds her desk to sit opposite her. “Well I wouldn’t even have known you were late if you hadn’t just told me” Tennant admits.

Lucy immediately feels embarrassed, her mind racing as to what else she could’ve done wrong to have required Tennant to need to speak to her alone. Did she file yesterdays paperwork incorrectly? Had she gone too far with teasing Alan? Because she was pretty sure it was just innocent workplace banter. Her mind racing a million miles a minute through endless possibilities, none of them good.

“You’re not in trouble” Tennant’s words immediately causing her nerves to settle but leading to even more confusion in the young Agents mind, which she fails miserably to hide on her face. Her mouth open and eyes staring blankly. “Then why’d you shut the door?”. Lucy wonders if her knowledge of Tennant’s interrogation tactics has blinded her to the prospect that this is just a casual SAC to SA catch-up.

Tennant clears her throat as Lucy takes a seat. “You were just awarded the special agent afloat position aboard the Ronald Reagan…congratulations!”. Lucy’s face goes one step further in betraying her inner thoughts. Her eyebrows raise in shock, as her jaw drops to the floor. She is rendered speechless. She feels her pulse race as the reality of this situation floods her mind. Suddenly her palms feel sweaty as she grasps her coffee cup tighter than before.

“Well how?” She questions her boss with a bewildered look on her face. Her body tenses subconsciously, as she questions how what she’s hearing is even possible. “When I applied last year they turned me down”. She applied last year after having a slight quarter life crisis. She didn’t regret applying, but at the time her thoughts and feelings were in a very different place. She felt stuck, she feared she’d become too comfortable in her work at NCIS. Everyone on her team has experience outside of NCIS whether it was law enforcement, marine corp or CIA, and Lucy felt as though she lacked in some areas of her work. After speaking with Tennant she settled for applying for a special agent afloat to help further her NCIS career and at the same time, prove to herself that she could face her phobia and step outside of her comfort zone.

She was turned down for the position almost 6 months ago and has since taken it upon herself to work through her problems on her own terms. She has started taking swimming lessons, and hates to admit it, but she is even beginning to enjoy it. She has also taken on additional roles at work to build upon her skills, and even began coaching a local high school’s cheer-leading squad in her free time. The benefits of being a flyer in college never left the agent, and neither did her love for the sport and the camaraderie that comes with it. So suddenly the idea of losing her new-found comforts seems very daunting to the young agent.

Tennant straightens her posture as she explains the situation to a still rather dazed looking Lucy. “Well there was a medical emergency with the current agent, who had to be evaced”. Lucy doesn’t quite believe the words that were coming out of her bosses mouth. “So, your name popped up to the top of the list as a replacement”. Lucy’s stomach turns and she’s suddenly lost her appetite for the coffee in her hands. She thinks about her next words very carefully before speaking. She doesn’t want Tennant to think she’s ungrateful for this opportunity. It’s just life is a little different now.

She decides not to say what her brain was thinking, which leads to Tennant putting the puzzle pieces in Lucy’s brain together. She always has a way of comforting Lucy and could read her like an open book. She’s aided Lucy through many unfathomable firsts. Her first attack, her first fist-fight and of course her first kill. These situation’s are an unavoidable part of the job and Tennant knew that all too well. “I know it’s not easy leaving your life behind, even just temporarily”. Jane opens up to Lucy about the struggles of her past and the pain of leaving her kids behind to go abroad on missions. The agent can’t help but feel somewhat guilty. She doesn’t have a wife or kids to leave behind. She could never pretend to comprehend just how hard that was for her boss. However she appreciates the moral support and knows the team will have her back throughout all of this. That thought alone makes her heart slow a few paces.

“This will be good for your NCIS career”. Tennant understands Lucy is career driven and her bulldog spirit is one of things she loved most about her when she hired her to join the Pearl team. Lucy nods, accepting that she isn’t going to let this become something she regrets. Instead she promises herself in that moment, as she breaks a smile for the first time since landing in Tennant’s office, that this would be a real career making mission and she isn’t going to let herself or her team down.

———

“They want you in Singapore next week”. The conversation replays in Lucy’s head all day. The case they are pursuing slightly helps to take her mind off things for a few hours. However, once she is back at her desk in the bullpen, it all comes flooding back. Singapore next week was not on Lucy’s bingo card when she woke up this morning, but she’s a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and she is ready to try and convince herself that it will be good to set sail on this new adventure, figuratively and literally.

As she’s heading home for the evening she finds Ernie waiting for her by her car. “Well well well, if it isn’t our very own Agent Afloat” he teases. Lucy knew this was coming. “Sorry Luce, I tend to use humour to cloud breaching a difficult topic…so, how do you feel?”. Lucy takes a deep breath. She isn’t even sure in herself how she feels. In fact, she is currently trying to neglect feeling and instead opting for just doing. “You mean being the sole NCIS agent on an aircraft carrier, all that power and responsibility”.

She isn’t sure whether she’s trying to sell the position to Ernie or herself more at this point. “All that fear of falling over-board” Ernie remarks with a smug look on his face. “I’d get over that” Lucy exclaims as she jokingly jabs Ernie’s arm with her fist. He just laughs off her comment like some evil disney villain. Lucy points at him, her dark eyes glaring at Ernie’s jovial expression. “I can’t tell if that laugh is good or bad?”. Ernie gives in, breaking a smile. Looking at her with an affection he reserves only for his best friend.

Lucy gathers her thoughts, and takes a breath. “C’mon you gotta have some advice for me”. She knows Ernie isn’t here to make fun of her. He is a wealth of wisdom, and someone Lucy has become accustomed to taking her problems to. It’s Ernie who bought her that first swimming lesson after all. “You know me, I have an opinion on everything!”. Lucy raises her eyebrows. She really loves Ernie, and has learnt many of his brilliantly outlandish opinions over the past twenty or so months. From how the boba straw is the superior type of straw, to why karaoke is about much more than just singing.

She can’t decide if he’s more of a fatherly figure or brotherly figure in her life, but mostly she’s just glad he’s in her life. “You’re Lucy Tara, and you my friend can do anything you set your mind to”. That’s it. That’s all the young Agent needs to hear to put her rippled mind and torn heart at ease. “Plus it’s only four months Luce, trust me I’ve had many relationships last the same amount of time and it’s practically insignificant on the grand scheme of life”. Lucy chuckles. Ernie is a bit of a hopeless romantic. The most thoughtful guy, with a kind heart and big brain. Just maybe a bit too…sticky.

He also enjoys involving himself in Lucy’s love life, much to her own disapproval. Truthfully there hasn’t been much in the way of love for Lucy since leaving Dallas for the tropical paradise of Hawai’i. Ernie has convinced her to try a few dating apps, but the swiping and messaging first is all too performative for Lucy’s liking. She does go to her neighbourhood bar on the rare occasion that she has a weekend free from fighting crime. But even then it never goes past a few dates with women that she thinks she feels a vibe with. In her own mind Lucy blames her work. The unsociable hours, the lack of structure and most importantly the added risk of danger.

But even through his wacky dating analogy, Lucy takes comfort in hearing Ernie’s words. “You know that I think you’re super and smart amazing right?”. She steps forward and and reaches up to wrap her arms around Ernie’s neck.

What’s four months at sea anyway?…