Friday

Afternoon

It was just another typical Friday afternoon in the Major Crimes division. That is, if one considers 'typical' as sitting at a desk doing paperwork, as every member of the division was doing just that. They caught only one case this week, and managed to close it in less than 48 hours. Provenza laughed about it at lunch, saying that murderers out there decided to give them some time off. But now, two hours later, they were all working on some mind-melting bureaucracy that they never have time for on an actually typical week, and it wasn't so funny anymore.

Sharon was in her office, staring at the file that was in her hands. Her eyes were seeing it, but her mind was miles away.

Her mother had called just a little while ago, saying that she was on her way to LA and would be there in time for dinner, "so, please, try to make an effort when you pick the take out." She knew her daughter all too well.

Sharon loved her mother very much, there was no doubt about that. Rose O'Dwyer was a nurturing, caring mother. Maybe a little too caring. It never mattered how old Sharon was, her mother never ceased to try mothering her. 'A mother's job is never done,' she always said when Sharon protested. But Sharon has never taken it as anything other than love. True, sometimes it could drive her crazy… if she allowed it to, which she never did. She was always in control of her emotions.

Sharon never took for granted the fact that her mother was still around at her old age. More than once, she tried to convince her to move to the LA area so they could be geographically close and see each other much more often, but she was reluctant to leave the place where she had been living her entire life.

"I've decided to grant you your wish, Sharry," Rose joked, "I'm moving to a retirement community in Orange County on Monday, and I figured we could spend the weekend before that, together." She wouldn't give her daughter any other details ('save something to talk about over dinner, honey') and practically hung up after Sharon confirmed that Rusty will pick her up from the airport if she couldn't.

Andy looked over his shoulder in his chair, trying to sneak a peek at Sharon and hoped that no one would notice. Provenza, of course, looked right up and rolled his eyes at the sight of his love-struck friend.

It didn't take Andy more than 5 seconds to notice that Sharon was distracted. He got up and took the few steps from his desk, which was conveniently closest to her office.

"Hey," he said gently, hoping not to startle her.

Sharon looked up and returned a quick "Hi," with a smile. It was an automatic reaction to seeing him. The warm feeling in her chest made her suddenly realize how comforting the sight of him was for her. She always took refuge in his eyes in tough situations at work, but now it was personal, and therefore, much more noticeable.

Andy stepped inside her office after closing the door and blocking their voices from the murder room. He knew that his squad mates were just as bored as he was and craving for something interesting to happen, but he wasn't going to be their source of entertainment.

"Is everything okay?" he remained standing.

"Uh… yes, yes, everything is fine," she motioned for him to have a seat. "I got a call from my mother, and I'm not sure whether or not to be worried."

"She alright?"

Sharon looked at him for a moment without speaking. On the surface, there was nothing to worry about, of course. On the contrary. Her mother was moving to the area, and would finally be nearby. Sharon wouldn't have to worry anymore about her being far away and alone.

"Apparently, she's moving to Orange County on Monday, and decided that it'd be a good idea to get here earlier and spend the weekend with me."

"Well, that's good, right? You always worry about her being so far away."

"Yes, of course. I just… I know her too well to not think that she's hiding something from me. She never wanted to leave her hometown before. It's strange."

Andy nodded, and a little smile formed on his lips. Sharon's eyebrows arched up as she looked at him in confusion. None of what she said was funny.

"Sharon, this is your mother… why don't you stop being a detective for a while and just enjoy her visit?"

Sharon kept looking at him. He looked back at her with every intention of being a worthy opponent in this staring match. She didn't make even the slightest movement. Her hands remained resting on the desk even though she put the file down when Andy came in. He thought she looked like a beautiful statue.

Andy reached for her hand, placing a warm palm on it. His thumb started to make small movements on her skin, making her forget for a moment what they were talking about.

"You're right, I guess. I could let it go for a while… but just until I figure out a way to extract that information from her." Her voice was low, calm as always. Andy admired the way she could make anything sound threatening in this tone.

"Okay, good," he laughed and leaned back on his chair. "So… what is she like?"

"My mother? Oh… she's easy to get along with… mostly. You either like her or you don't. There's no in between with her."

Andy waited to hear more about Rose, but Sharon seemed to be struggling to describe her.

"Are you two alike?" he thought he already knew the answer to that.

"No. I don't know. I don't think so," she said, in an unusually fast manner. She seemed anxious at this question, and Andy didn't want to ruffle any feathers.

"I'm sure you'll have a great weekend together," he smiled and got up.

Sharon watched him walking towards the door and opening it. "Hey, why don't you come for dinner tonight?" she surprised him, but not as much as she did herself.

Every time Andy's name came up in their phone calls, her mother asked her to reconsider her choice to enter a relationship. 'You don't need a man at this stage of your life. Romance only complicates things. Just focus on your career.'

It didn't help, of course, when Sharon tried to tell her mother that she was just where she wanted to be, career-wise, and that Andy was a good person.

That's why she felt the strong need to face-palm herself the moment she invited him. The last thing she wanted was for her mother and the man she loved to dislike each other. She should have let her mother settle in first, get used to the area and the people.

"Uh… dinner? Sure," Andy was anything but sure that this was a good idea, but he couldn't refuse. He returned to his desk and started to come up with things to do and say in case of emergency – or in case Rose O'Dwyer hates his guts.

Evening

The front door to Sharon's apartment opened with a kick. Sharon took a step into the darkness and sent one leg sideways, to stop the door from banging against the table behind it. Her hands were carrying enough take out to feed about five people. She knew it was way too much, but she wasn't sure what her mother would want to eat. Andy was right behind her, carrying the other half of their dinner.

Sharon placed the bags on the table and reached for the light. She closed the door as Andy continued to the kitchen. He was already on his way back before she reached it herself.

"Here, let me take these," he placed her bags on the counter, next to the rest.

"Thank you," Sharon sighed. She didn't move, her mind wandering away, while Andy unloaded the food. The silence made him look up.

"You okay?"

"They should be here any second," she removed her jacket so she didn't have to look at him.

Andy approached her from behind the counter. He placed a hand on her right shoulder as she hung the jacket on the nearest chair. It took her a little too long to arrange it on the backrest.

"Hey," he placed another hand on her left shoulder, making her face him. "Why are you so nervous? I thought you said you and your mother got along well?"

"We do…" she looked down at his chest, which was much easier than looking into his eyes while revealing emotions, "but I know that she's not telling me everything, and I'm worried about what it might be."

She shook her head and Andy felt helpless. He hated not being able to take her angst away. It felt like being paralyzed. At a loss for words, he pulled her in for a hug.

Sharon buried her face in his neck and closed her eyes. The calming effect of his arms around her was equal to a glass of good wine and a warm bubble bath. He was a much quicker way to recharge her batteries, though. She remembered what it was like, having no one by her side to support her, but she never wanted to be in that situation again. In hindsight she could see how lonely she was before Rusty, and before that day she offered to help Andy with Nicole's wedding. That's when their friendship came to life. The rest was history, really, and by this point, their hold of each other was too strong to let go.

The front door opened and Sharon took a startled step back, fixing her hair quickly. Andy straightened his tie just before Rose O'Dwyer appeared at the kitchen's entrance, with Rusty behind her. She was a rather tall, slim woman, elegantly dressed in a black, flowy dress that went all the way from under her knees up to her waist, and a dark blue buttoned blouse that was tucked inside the skirt. Her white hair was tied in a perfect bun and matched the pearl necklace resting on her chest. Her presence was impressive, powerful. It made her seem taller than she actually was. A little less tall than her daughter, but all in all, they were very similar. Andy especially noticed the color of her eyes, which was the exact shade of green as Sharon's.

It was instantly obvious where Sharon got her expensive taste in clothes from.

"Sharry!" Rose spread her arms for her daughter to accept a hug. Andy and Rusty exchanged wondering looks. No one ever called Sharon by a nickname. It was either Sharon or Captain.

"Mom, it's so good to see you," Sharon squeezed her tight and placed a kiss on her cheek before they separated. Rose caught Sharon's hand and held onto it.

"You must be the man distracting my daughter… I mean, Andy Flynn," she looked over Sharon's shoulder.

"Yes, ma'am," he smiled. Andy could always appreciate good sarcasm. "Nice to meet you," they shook hands.

"Nice indeed, but, please, don't ever call me ma'am again. Rose will do."

"How was your flight, mom?" Sharon changed the subject quickly, before Rose could make another remark about their relationship.

"Uneventful," Rose placed her purse on the table.

"That's good, isn't it?" Sharon smiled.

"Well, sure I don't like surprises. Nothing worse than not having control over things," from her tone, one might think that this fact was as obvious as the sun rising in the morning.

Andy started to think that Sharon might be much more similar to her mother than she realized.

"I know that you don't like surprises much, either, but I have two for you," Rose maintained a straight face, trying not to give away anything.

"Oh, no… what is it?" Sharon squinted at her mother, but before she could read anything on her face, two extra voices sounded to her left.

"Surprise!"

"Oh, my god!" Sharon put a hand on her heart at the sight of Emily and Ricky.

The next few minutes were a mess of salutations, hugs, kisses, and teary eyes (Sharon's, of course). Andy greeted the two and joined Rusty in setting the table. By the time they all sat down to eat, they found out that Ricky took a spontaneous weekend off, and Emily was practically kidnapped by her grandmother, despite the fact that she had to rehearse several hours a day.

"Mom, how did you pull that off? I couldn't get them to visit me outside the holiday season if my life depended on it," Sharon teased her children.

"What do you mean? I ordered them to," Rose helped herself to some rice.

Emily nodded with a smile. "She promised to come to my premiere in a month, and since I can never get you to come anymore, mom…"

Sharon opened her mouth to protest, but Rose beat her to it.

"Oh, Emily, don't say that. Your mother went to many of your premieres. There comes a time in a person's life, where the kids are old enough to be considered as a second priority."

"Mother…" Sharon used her low, threatening tone on her mother. Both Andy and Rusty thought it was quite the spectacle. They even stopped eating momentarily.

"I'm not trying to educate you, dear, I know you don't like that," Rose smiled. "I'm just saying that a woman needs to put herself first at one point, and you seem to be at that stage in life."

Sharon sighed and smiled bitterly, throwing a quick glance at the ceiling, as if asking god for help.

"So, where are you guys staying?" Rusty tried to distract everyone and give Sharon a moment to breathe. "I mean, I don't mind sleeping on the couch, but the floor is where I draw the line."

"Don't worry, funny guy," Ricky teased him, "we're staying at our dad's place."

"Oh, did he invite you over?" Sharon sounded surprised.

"He invited us to use his apartment while he's… away," the last word was said much more quietly than the rest.

Sharon kept looking at him, waiting to hear the story behind it. Ricky tried to avoid her eyes, but she was relentless.

"He went to Vegas," Emily said eventually.

"Em!"

"What? It's not like they're still together! Mom doesn't care, she's moved on."

Ricky was about to respond, probably to defend his mother, but Sharon spoke before he got the words out.

"Don't ever say that I don't care, Emily." She put her knife and fork down.

Rusty and Andy exchanged worried looks.

"But you don't, mom. You built this whole new life here, and –"

"We're not discussing this right now, over dinner. We'll talk later. Alone."

"Fine," Emily took a bite from whatever was on her plate, she couldn't even notice. By the look on her face, she had lost her appetite, but obviously needed something to do with herself.

"Mom, dad does what he wants, you know that. None of us can save him from himself," Ricky's voice was gentle.

Sharon nodded. "I just don't want the two of you to get caught in the middle of… whatever it is this time. If you need another place to stay…"

"Nah, he won't be there until Sunday evening. We probably won't even see him."

Night

"Thank you for cleaning up after dinner," Sharon said quietly and smiled at Andy in appreciation. They were saying goodbye in the kitchen, as close as possible to the fridge and to each other so that Rose – who was having a lively chat in the living room with Rusty – couldn't see them.

"No problem. Are you alright now?" he moved a flock of hair from her face and left his hand on her cheek. She rested against it with her eyes closed for a moment, placing her own hand on top of his.

"Yes. I'll sort things out with Emily tomorrow. She has a special bond with my mother, so it's always a little hard for me whenever they're together. My mother validates her."

"Well, if anyone can make anything right, it's you," Andy managed to bring her close to laughing. She wasn't entirely there yet, but he knew he would manage sooner or later. Her happiness became his top priority in the last few months, there was nothing he wanted more for her.

"I think I'll have a talk with my mother now. I need to find out the real reason why she's moving here."

"She still sees you as her girl, doesn't she?" Andy found this very amusing. No one in their personal or professional lives would ever dare to try and educate Sharon Raydor the way her mother does. He had never witness anyone being sarcastic with Sharon and live to tell about it. She never responded to sarcasm, but she always got her way with them, eventually – which usually meant jail.

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it."

"It's so funny to see at our age."

"Not so funny for me."

Andy could have sworn he saw a flash of Darth Raydor in her eyes for a second.

"Okay, I think that's my cue to leave," he took her hand and walked towards the front door. Rose was on her feet in the living room. It seemed like she was about to go into the kitchen and look for them.

"Leaving already?" she said to Andy.

"Yes, it's pretty late."

"Oh, I think it's lovely that you two are saving yourselves for the wedding," Rose placed a hand on her heart to complete the taunt.

"Mother!" Sharon opened her eyes wide in terror just when Rusty snorted from his sofa-bed. Andy was smiling, to Sharon's horror.

"Do I need to respond to that?" he knew that playing along with Rose would get him kicked out definitively, but he couldn't help it.

"Okay, you're leaving, goodnight, Andy," Sharon grabbed his arm and pushed him towards the door.

"At least give the poor man a kiss goodbye," Rose laughed. She used to be just like her daughter when it came to being intimate with a man, but as she grew old, she realized there was no time to waste on shame. Life was too short for that, and women were far too ashamed, in her opinion.

Sharon slammed the door, disobeying her mother on purpose. She felt bad for sending Andy on his way like that, but he was a martyr for the cause.

"Well, I'll call it a night, too. Sweet dreams!"

"No, mom, we haven't had a chance to talk yet!" Sharon called desperately, but Rose was already half way down the hall.

"I'm sure we will find another time for you to interrogate me, honey," she waved a hand in dismissal and disappeared from sight.