Fritz looked tired.
Sharon noticed his drooped eyes, his messier-than-usual hair, his askew tie. She could swear the creases in his forehead looked deeper too.
She eyed Rusty pacing at the back of the room. She thought maybe she was getting a repetitive strain injury from physically resisting the urge to comfort him.
She pressed her lips together.
"We don't have the budget for that." She said sadly when paying for flight fares was being discussed.
When Mike started offering up his own money for the plane ticket, Sharon did what she had to – she reached out to Fritz for a hand.
"No Mike, I was thinking that since the federal government has an interest,"
Fritz pulled a face. He should've known that was coming.
"Maybe the FBI could–"
"You don't want her finding out we've been keeping her under surveillance."
"It's been almost nine years. I think it's possible to say that the watchful waiting part of your operation hasn't worked out," Sharon said with a slight smile. She took an odd little pleasure in occasionally challenging him. He took it in stride.
"Okay." He said. "Let me go check with my fearless leaders."
She sent him a smile as he left and gave Mike a thumbs up.
Sooner or later she'd have the whole team on her side. For now, one-at-a-time would have to do.
Sharon eyed her reflection in the mirror of the elaborately furnished bathroom. She didn't want to be here. Although the restaurant was actually quite nice, the company was not.
She'd had her fill of listening to Daniel Dunn drone on and on about his wife-to-be, his painfully boring work, and his new house. All of this while having to simultaneously withstand watching Rusty crumple himself further into his chair, push his food around the plate, and say no more than two words the entire time.
Her neck was sore from all the complacent nodding. Her face ached from the stuck-on smile she was determined to wear so long as she had to listen.
She didn't want to smile. She wanted to wring Daniel's neck.
She'd brought her phone to the bathroom with her. She whipped it out now and started texting.
Wish you were here. This is miserable. Sharon sent.
That bad, huh? Do you want me to come over later? I can be the big bad boyfriend and scare off the big bad dad. Came the reply.
Sharon smiled.
I do like the sound of you coming over. But not tonight. I get the feeling Rusty's going to need to talk. Especially since he hasn't been for the past hour.
Alright, I'll be intimidating some other time. Call me tonight?
Will do. She replied.
She sighed, fixed her hair, and steeled herself to return to what she hoped was an actual conversation between the two men – well, the two boys – at her table.
Rusty went to bed quickly after their little talk. He knew he could trust her. She knew he was going to be okay. He probably wouldn't get much sleep, but he'd try.
Sharon had poured herself a glass of wine, cozied up in her favourite sweater, and grabbed the phone as she sat on the couch. She considered it for a second, then moved to her bedroom. She didn't intend to have any conversations that were unfit for a shared space. But then intentions were sometimes secondary in her newest relationship.
It rang twice after she dialed.
"Hey there," Fritz's voice crooned.
"Hi," she said warmly.
"You made it out alive! I'm proud of you." He said sarcastically.
"Just barely. There's just something about that man that I don't like. Well there are a lot of things. But there's something else that's… off." Sharon said. "And then he couldn't even get Rusty to talk without yours truly coaching him along." She sipped her wine.
"Don't think about him right now. He's taken up enough of your evening," Fritz soothed.
"You're probably right," Sharon said. "What should I think about then?"
"For starters, you can think about me, and how much I want to be in your bed right now. Which is where I hope you are," Fritz said.
Sharon rolled her eyes but smiled.
"You are right again – you really are an FBI agent, aren't you?" Sharon teased.
"And then you can think about my hands and where you'd want them to be," Fritz said.
His voice was low and sweet, making Sharon ache for his tongue at her ear, his teeth at her neck. She closed her eyes and set the wine down, reaching her free hand down to her shirt. She moved her hand underneath the sweater and gripped her breast tightly, kneading it, imagining Fritz's strong fingers there.
"Keep talking," she said.
"I wanted to touch you all day today; that briefing was torture. I came really close to pushing you into your office and fucking you on your desk," Fritz said.
"That's an intriguing idea," Sharon husked and slid her hand into her underwear.
"I wanted to push your dress up and bend you over right there," Fritz said. She could tell he was masturbating now – she pictured him, sitting in his house, stroking himself.
"In the murder room? That would've been hard to explain," Sharon laughed lightly as she pushed her fingers inside, her brow creasing a little. She started slow, working her fingers in and out of herself, palming her clit.
"Would you let me? In your office?" Fritz asked, his breathing a little heavier.
"Hmmm, you'd have to catch me on a good day," Sharon said. "Or a very bad one." She worked her fingers faster, getting closer. She imagined his weight on top of her, inside her.
Which is about when a knock came at her bedroom door.
"Sharon? Are you still up?" Rusty called out, not opening the door (to Sharon's great relief).
"Shit!" Sharon hissed. She scrambled to make herself a little more presentable, pulled the cover up over her and clutched the phone to her chest.
"Yep, I'm still up, you can come in, Rusty," Sharon called back.
He entered awkwardly, not terribly fond of being in her bedroom, especially late at night.
"What's up?" She asked, fighting to control her uneven breath and steady herself a bit.
"I was thinking, and I don't want to like, pre-judge Mr. Dunn. I think I'll go for dinner tomorrow."
"That's very mature of you," Sharon said with a smile. She could still feel the flush in her skin. She hoped it wasn't too noticeable. Rusty nodded then donned a sly smile.
"Are you on the phone?"
"Yeah, I was just checking in on my daughter," Sharon lied.
"Oh okay," Rusty said. He turned to leave the room.
"Goodnight, oh, and tell Agent Howard I said hi," Rusty laughed as he closed the door behind him.
Sharon shook her head with a wide smile. How does he always know?
She put the phone back to her ear.
"I guess you probably heard some of that," she said.
"I heard all of it. You can tell him I say hi back," Fritz chuckled.
Sharon put a hand to her forehead.
"God! I have a teenager living with me and I'm the one that gets walked in on!"
"Speaking of which, would you like to resume or turn in?" Fritz asked.
"I think I'd rather turn in right now." Sharon said with a laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She scooped the wine glass off the bedside table and finished the last dregs.
"Sure thing. I'm not going to forget about your permission to board in the office though," Fritz said. Sharon could hear the grin. She wished she could kiss it off his cocky face.
"That permission can be denied at any time," Sharon said. "Don't think you're getting off that easily." She paused when he started laughing. "Wow, I walked right into that one. Okay! Officially time for sleeping!"
"Night, Shar."
"Night, Fritz."
With Mr. Reichmann firmly behind bars, Sharon let out a sigh of relief. The words he'd said to his daughter rung through Sharon's head.
"I'm sorry I didn't kill you too."
She shook her head and took a seat in her office chair. The rest of her division was wrapping up the finer details. Rusty was waiting at her condo where she'd probably find him making a mess of his room to find his favourite shirt or pacing the hallway and muttering to himself as he prepared to dine again with Daniel.
She smiled. She enjoyed all of the little moments with Rusty. The times when he could act his age, be himself, not be the boy who'd seen and lived through too much before he should have.
And he knew her so well now. He'd sensed right away when she'd started seeing Fritz. She'd been brighter and happier almost at once.
The FBI liaison had been working out the last letters of his divorce after being separated from Brenda for months. Over lunch one day, he'd told Sharon all about the split: the tension and the apathy that followed. It had surprised her to hear him so candidly discuss his personal life, as if he were opening up a door to her.
She'd found herself opening up too. As soon as he'd prompted her, she'd explained the messiness of her own situation: the absent husband, the separated family. It felt good to share, but it felt even better to share with Fritz.
He'd asked her out for dinner the following night. She enjoyed his quick wit and silly sense of humour. He knew how to pull her out of melancholy in an instant and she couldn't help but smile when he did. It lit every inch of her.
It had been a little awkward dating again, and especially dating someone that was a sometimes-co-worker. But at least she hadn't been the one who'd had to explain to Brenda that yes, Fritz was dating that Sharon Raydor. Fritz had informed her of that uncomfortable conversation a couple weeks ago.
She chuckled to herself as the occupant of her thoughts stepped into her office. The blinds were closed. Fritz locked the door for good measure. A couple people at work knew – Doctor Morales and Andy Flynn were sworn to silence for the time being – but Sharon was trying to keep things as under-wraps as possible. At least until she'd gotten more comfortable in her new position.
She knew it would seem like a big joke – Agent Howard trading one head of Major Crimes for another. Once again, she'd be hated for something else she couldn't control. She wasn't quite ready for that hurdle.
Fritz moved around the desk and behind Sharon. He began massaging her shoulders.
"It was nice working with you today, Agent Howard," Sharon said, relaxing as he soothed her.
"It was nice working with you too, Captain. Heading home soon?" Fritz asked.
"I am indeed. Time to play nice with Mr. Dunn again. Although I'm not accompanying the two of them tonight. Maybe they'll actually have a conversation!" Sharon said brightly.
Fritz walked around to face her and he took her hand. He pulled slightly, encouraging her to stand with him as he leaned against her desk. She rose and he slid his hands under her blazer, roaming over the shirt, over her waist, hips, and then her back.
"Did I tell you how good you look today?" He said, his voice dripping with desire.
Sharon cocked her head to the side.
"Just good, huh?" She replied.
"You look," he pulled her in close and kissed her softly. "Incredible."
Her hands wandered up his arms, coming to rest around his neck. She ran her fingers into his hair, ruffling it affectionately.
"That's better. You're not so bad yourself." She stepped between his legs and kissed him soundly, pulling his mouth into hers. He let his hands creep up under her shirt, then under her bra, gently massaging her breasts. She moaned into his mouth.
She could feel him hardening against her leg, she smiled into the kiss. He pulled away for a moment and turned them around. He picked her up by her ass and lifted her onto the desk, eliciting a little squeal from her. He went to work undoing her pants and helped her out of them, throwing them along with her underwear onto her chair behind him.
He grinned in delight to see she was already wet as he dropped to his knees and pulled her hips closer to his mouth and put her legs over his shoulders.
His tongue dipped in slowly just before he covered her heat completely with his mouth. Sharon watched him work, bucking her hips into his face a little.
He lapped hungrily, sucking on her clit and letting his tongue wander inside her.
She gripped his hair and moaned during a particularly good swipe.
"Fritz. Now," she said, knowing he'd get her meaning.
He removed his mouth.
"But I was just getting started…?" Fritz said in a mockingly offended tone.
She grinned and pulled him up by his jacket, bringing his lips to hers.
She reached down to his groin, feeling him strain against his pants, and undid his zipper.
He shucked the pants, kicking them off one leg and letting them pool at his feet. She pulled down his boxers, and took him in hand, stroking gently as she kissed him harder.
She pulled back and spread her legs wide.
"I guess that means I have permission," Fritz said.
"Shut up and fuck me," Sharon growled, turned on by her own recklessness.
He did as he was told. He dragged his cock along her folds, slicking it a bit, then guided it into her. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him in as far as she could, relishing how he filled her.
He started a slow rhythm, gently rocking into her. She wrapped her arms around his neck again.
He sped up gradually, savouring every thrust, and pounded into her harder. She reached down one of her hands to rub her clit.
"Permission to land?" He gasped between breaths.
"Stop mixing metaphors," Sharon replied and let out a breath of laughter. He slammed into her a few more times before he came and after a little more coaxing with her hand, she came too, letting him feel the aftershocks inside her.
He kissed her, slow, long, taking his time to let her taste his appreciation for her ability to let go of the rules. It felt deliciously bad to undo Sharon Raydor in her own office. Or rather, do. For a moment he remembered that this was also his ex-wife's office at one point, but he pushed the thought away.
He pulled out and cleaned himself up with some tissue, then went about assembling his suit again. Sharon grabbed her underwear and pants off the chair and stepped into them.
"Well that was… rather pleasant," Sharon said with a smirk.
"Can't disagree with you there, Captain," Fritz said. He stepped up to her and pulled her in for a goodnight kiss.
"Call me tomorrow after work? You can come over for dinner if you'd like." She said.
"Yes to both, and you call me tonight if you get… lonely when Rusty goes for dinner."
She shook her head.
"You're considering a dirty call already? Someone's impatient," she said.
"What can I say? You bring out some very depraved behaviour in me, Captain." Fritz smirked as he left her office.
Sharon sighed, this time in satisfaction. Then she checked her phone for the time and dashed out the door too. She needed to get home and wait with Rusty before he decided that running in the opposite direction of his father was his last resort.