Title: Aftermath
Author: nightowl8240
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The characters created by James Duff and Michael M. Robin and belong to TNT.
Summary: The aftermath of the day was neither celebratory nor sorrowful; just full of need and something elusive that both women are afraid to define. Set after 7.10
Notes: Let's be honest- so many of us want to see Sharon Raydor drunk. This is my version, reviews greatly appreciated.
"Ah don't know why ya wear such tight shoes if they make your feet hurt so much. You would look good in any shoes" Brenda says her voice sounding very twangy. She says it very seriously, not looking up from slowly rubbing Sharon's bare foot. Having a drunk Chief Johnson giving her a foot massage was not the way she envisioned ending the day yet Sharon Raydor cannot seem to remember why this was a bad idea.
Sharon looks around for Gavin, ready to send a message of panic (and arousal), when she sees him in the same position that he has been for almost an hour. There has been a revolving pool game with now Flynn and Gavin going head to head. Gavin and Andy seem to be the only people staying sober tonight; Brenda has offered to pick up the tab, ensuring everybody celebrating with her always had a drink in their hands.
At first going Ricky's Bar and Grill seemed like a good idea. Ricky's, a well-known bar a couple blocks from the precinct, was a favorite cop hangout. It has always been a trusted place for officers to come and unwind from a hard day. So, when the Chief announced unexpectedly that she wanted to take everyone out for drinks, nobody seemed too upset apart from Agent Howard's tightening of his lips. All of Major Crimes felt that the deserved a night out.
Sharon herself had been tight with stress and worry for the past weeks, afraid of what the outcome of the trail would be. Because even though Sharon did not always agree with the Chief's methods (something that she has always been vocal about), she did not want this woman to lose the career that she cares so much about. And even if the organized and controlled FID training that was in her screamed that Chief Johnson was a liability to the LAPD, the blue blood of a cop told her that Brenda Leigh, "The Closer" tried the hardest to bring the people of LA justice. Sharon could see that it was because Brenda cared so deeply about the victims in her cases that she took such large risks.
But somehow Sharon found herself in a semi-secluded table with far too many drinks in her system to keep her tongue from coming loose. "I like my shoes," says Sharon in a voice tinged with defense. "They make me seem powerful."
Brenda giggles as she brings her drink up to her mouth, causing some to spill over the glass. Sharon feels her body warm up with embarrassment and looks down at her own many empty glasses.
Brenda gives her a smile and continues stroking the soft skin of Sharon's feet. "Ah never thought ah would have the chance to see you relax around me. Ever since Ah heard Gavin saying your name "Sharon" so close-like, on account of you two knowin' each other so long and all, Ah knew that I wanted to really see the real you."
Brenda holds the Captain's legs close and leans forward, saying in a loud whisper "Wanna know how I did it? Gavin and Ah have been trying to get ya drunk all night". Sharon tries to sit up straight giving Brenda a sloppy glare.
"What?" Sharon says sternly. But Brenda just giggles, leans back and puts Sharon's legs back into her lap.
"Ah thought that everybody deserves a couple drinks and a chance to unwind." The blonde gestures to her team with a large, vague hand movement. "Look how relaxed everyone is. Tao and Buzz are talking about…something with computers, Gavin is kicking Andy's behind in pool, and everyone else is watching sports. And you" she says, drawing out the word looking Sharon straight in the eyes "are getting a chance to loosen up with a lovely massage."
Sharon raises her eyebrows as she stares into the warm brown eyes. Brenda holds Sharon's gaze for a brief moment until her eyes become watery and the Chief turns her gaze away. It was then that Sharon decided that she needed to make her questions known.
"Brenda Leigh," she says, the name sounded and wonderful on her lips. "I mean, Chief. I can't help but wonder why you decided to take everyone out for drinks. You have had an exhausting day filled with a near miss with death and prison. Yet you wanted us all to get drunk in a bar? You were so…fervent about us all going out. Even though for awhile you seemed pretty happy with the just the cake at the office. And now even though you hate me, you are touching my feet." Sharon feels too warm in this bar. The TV is blaring, her brain is a little cloudy and her body feels the heat caused by the massage and the alcohol.
Brenda's hands still on Sharon's pale feet as she avoids Sharon's piercing look. She is quiet for a moment but then let's out a choked "What do ya mean? Ah am just celebrating."
Sharon's mind immediately sharpens and she asks "Without Agent Howard? Did something happen?"
Brenda looks up from Sharon's feet and meets green eyes filled with concern. The Chief has a look on her face that is a mixture of sadness and fear and tears begin falling from her eyes. Brenda stands with a jolt, sways greatly, then puts a shaking hand to the wall to balance herself. "Ah need to go to the bathroom" she says as she snatches her drink from the table.
It takes too long for Sharon to put on her ridiculously tall Jimmy Choos and by the time she is able to get up, Brenda has already made it across the crowded bar. Sharon pushes herself off the chair and is thrown off balance by Gavin's strong hands grabbing her shoulders.
"Gavin" says a panicky voice that Sharon can't believe is her own, "I need to see my Brenda Leigh. Something's wrong with her."
Gavin looks over his long time friend and realizes he needs to take control of the situation. "OK, listen up honey. While it is true I have been trying to get you to lighten up at work, hence the excessive hard liquor, you need to remember that she is married. Married! Even though I could see the sexual tension between the two of you from the moment you were in a room together, you cannot take advantage of a drunk girl!" Sharon's eyes become almost comically large and she looks around frantically before putting her finger to his lips.
"Gavin! Shhhhhh!" Sharon says in a loud whisper, leaning a little too close to him. "You know I want to keep my private life private! So be quiet! They already call me the Wicked Witch of the West, I don't need the word Dykey thrown in there!"
Sharon stops for a minute and chuckles as if what she just said caught up to her. "Gavin listen, I need to go help her, there is a reason why she wanted to go out tonight and it's not good or celebratory."
Gavin looks at the woman that he has known for years and can tell by the slight slurring of her words that she is more drunk then he thought. He was worried that her co-workers would see that her finger has been on his lips for the last two minutes and were becoming curious but luckily they were all absorbed in their own conversations. He grabs her arms in hope that she will see reason. "Listen to me, I don't want you to do anything you regret."
A throaty laugh comes from her lips and she takes his hands in hers with a wide goofy grin on her face "Do you think I regret the way she was touching my legs? No," she says seriously, "no regrets on my part."
Gavin watches Sharon walk unsteadily toward the restroom and sees that Andy Flynn has witnessed the whole exchange. He has known Sharon as long as Gavin has and while they haven't been on good terms in a while, he knows how this would probably end. Gavin exchanges a worried glance with his fellow pool player. Andy scratches the back of his neck and remarks quietly "I sure hope they know what they are doing."
Sharon knocks on the restroom door a little frantically, worried that she has left Brenda alone for too long. When she hears a strangled, choked sob on the other side of the door, she doesn't think twice and swings open the door. Brenda is grasping the edge of the sink with tears flowing down her face and sobs tearing through her chest. And while Sharon knew that Gavin's advice was a good thing to follow, she just had to comfort this woman in some way. She grabs Brenda's thin waist and pulls her toward her. Not only does Brenda not fight the embrace but she clutches to Sharon with a desperate strength. Sharon feels her neck becoming wet with Brenda's tears and her own stomach clutching hearing the anguished sobs.
"Shhh it's alright" Sharon mutters calmly into the blonde's ear as she rubs the small of Brenda's back. "I know this lawsuit was hard, but it's over now." This makes Brenda cry harder and increase her hold on the Captain's toned body, as if all her repressed feeling were finally coming out. And while Sharon still wanted her answers, even her drunken mind knew that she had to calm the southern woman down. Sharon rocked her back and forth, listening to the pained sobs becoming quieter and smelling the flowery sent of her soft blonde hair. Brenda eventually quieted down and sat down on the toilet, composing herself. Sharon took the glass that Brenda brought with her, downed the rest of the potent liquor, and filled it up with sink water to give to the blonde. Brenda drank slowly with a shaky hand and Sharon started to stoke her hair.
"Goldman is going to file another suit against me, a federal one. This time he is trying to establish a pattern of…questionable behavior." Brenda swallows thickly but is determined to carry on. "So this must mean there is a leak. And Ah'm afraid that Goldman might actually have a case against me."
Sharon doesn't seem to take long to process the news because her response is quick, her voice is full and deep with emotion "If there is a case, then we will fight it. You are not alone; there are many people who are supporting you."
Brenda lets out a sound that is a cross between a laugh and a sob and stands up suddenly. "Who? Someone who Ah'm closest to, probably someone sitting in this bar right now, is sharing all of mah dirty laundry! And Fritzi didn't even notice how Ah was feeling, he was just upset Ah wanted to go to a bar. Heck, you were the only one who noticed anythang wrong with me." Brenda's voice has gotten extremely high pitched and twaggy and Sharon reacts impulsively, pressing her lips to Brenda's. And suddenly, the warmth that was there has turned to fire and they are burning, burning with pain and desire. Brenda's tongue is trying to dominate Sharon's mouth and Sharon hands are grasping at Brenda's toned body. Brenda moves her mouth to Sharon's neck, pushing the Captain against the tiled wall and sucking beneath the chestnut hair. Sharon is making breathy gasps as the blonde's lips touches her neck.
Sharon feels like she is in some dirty fantasy. She has acknowledged her attraction to the Deputy Chief soon after they met but did not think much would come of it, besides some occasional naughty daydreams. There didn't seem much more then raw tension between them until Sharon profiled her for becoming Chief of Police. It was then that she saw Brenda in a whole new light. Instead seeing Brenda's love for her job as obsessive, she saw it as passionate. She saw the sensitivity that Brenda had for every victim that the Chief tries so hard to hide. She saw how Brenda made Major Crimes such an effective team, perhaps some could call it a family. Yet Sharon tried hard to ignore her feelings and continue on her life as normal. But as their true fights became less and less and playful banter became the replacement, it was increasingly harder. Sharon thought less about fucking Brenda on her desk but more about waking up next to Brenda, having breakfast together.
Then when the lawsuit was filed, Sharon realized that she cared about Brenda more then she thought. There was a deep concern for the Chief that wouldn't go away. It wasn't just desire anymore, wasn't just attraction which was a thought that scared Sharon greatly.
But as Brenda sucks on her neck while unbuttoning her shirt, Sharon can't seem to remember why she was ever scared of this. Her hands are just feeling the soft blonde hair through her fingers while Brenda tried to engulf Sharon completely. Brenda's hands grope her Captain's full breasts cover with black lace and Sharon is giving throaty hums and then little sensual whimpers. The sloppy movements and the messy kisses were results of the drinking and to Sharon it felt oh so wonderful. The aftermath of the day was neither celebratory nor sorrowful; just full of need and something elusive that both women are afraid to define.
A loud knocking on the door startles them and Brenda quickly jumps away from Sharon. "Hello?" Gavin's concerned voice is muffled by the door "Sharon? Brenda?"
Brenda looks at Sharon as if she was woken by a trance; shocked, confused and suddenly feeling too sober. Breathlessly, she says "Ah'm sorry" in a voice laced with despair and panic and opens the door. Gavin's face greets them, all pinched with worry, especially seeing Sharon leaning heavily against the wall with her shirt undone. Brenda is too afraid to see what Sharon looks like so she doesn't give her another glance as she leaves the small room. She doesn't know if she's afraid of seeing Sharon's face full of emotion or if she's afraid that she will completely break Fritz's heart by fucking her Captain Raydor in the restroom of a bar. And if she's entirely honest with herself then she's also afraid that by leaving Sharon hurt and alone right now she will break her own heart and she's doesn't know if she can fight Goldman while feeling so broken.
Gavin lets the teary-eyed blonde pass and shut the door as he makes a beeline for Sharon. She was looking at the closed door with an expression that was a mix of confusion, hurt, concern and even something tender. "Let's get you dressed" he told her softly as she continued to look where Brenda had been.
Sharon's green eyes snap at him, a person who truly knew her as Sharon and not Captain Raydor. She opens her mouth and asks in a heart-rending voice "Why did she leave? Was it me?"
Gavin began carefully rebuttoning her shirt and said "Honey I'm so sorry. I'm going to drive you home, you're really drunk. I should have watched how many drinks Brenda gave you."
Sharon's body which was lax against the wall began to tremble and her voice came out rambling and quivering. "Oh my God, I think I kissed her. Oh my God, I kissed Brenda Leigh Johnson, a superior married female officer." Green eyes become wet with tears of confusion and grief and Gavin quickly takes hold of the situation.
"Sharon, you need to pull yourself together so I can take you home. Andy's taking Brenda home and you two can talk tomorrow. Right now, you have to get yourself under control so you can walk past the boys and get to my car."
Sharon nods shakily and Gavin just hopes that she can keep it together until they reach his car. He knows Sharon always tries to have tight control over all her emotions and he knew that alcohol would make her lose some of that control.
"Oh Sharon," he says in a voice filled with sorrow as he smoothes her hair kindly, "I didn't think you liked her so much. I just wanted you two to get along easier."
Sharon pulls away from him and greatly staggers over to the mirror above the sink and attempts to fix her mascara. "I don't thinks she will ever want to see me again."
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