Sharon carefully took out one of her favorite wine glasses from the cupboard and set it on the counter. Andy was getting ready for his weekly AA meeting and Rusty was spending more and more time with Gus at his apartment which left her alone most Thursday evenings. Opening the fridge she took out a barely touched bottle of her favorite wine, uncorked it, and poured some of it into the glass. Replacing the cork she put it back into the fridge when she felt a pair of strong hands on her waist.
"I'm leaving now" she heard Andy say, his hands gliding from her waist to her midsection and pulling her against him for a kiss. The refrigerator door closed and she turned to face him, giving him a few quick kisses on the lips followed by a longer, lingering one. Andy kissed her forehead before letting her go. "I"ll text you when I leave" he said as he headed towards the door.
Sharon walked with him to the door, told him to drive safe, and closed the door behind him. She bit her lip, waiting for a few brief minutes incase he had forgotten anything. Thursdays were her nights. It would piss him off if he knew what she did when he wasn't there. She had been hiding it from him, from everyone, for long enough that she couldn't see trying to tell him now. He would be betrayed. Hurt. After all of his health problems and their engagement she couldn't figure out a way to let him know. It would break his heart.
Padding into the kitchen, Sharon retrieved her wine glass from the counter and made her way back into the living room. She grabbed the remote, curled into a corner of the couch, and turned on the TV. Flicking through the screens she finally got to the DVR menu and selected the next episode of Badge of Justice.
Sharon gripped the stem of her wine glass as the opening credits for Badge of Justice started. Last week's episode had been a cliffhanger and she had been anxiously waiting all week for a chance to watch the next episode. She normally avoided shows related to police or detective work. Most shows never got procedures right or their roles were so completely different than the actual job description. The only reason she had started watching is because Mike had started working behind the scenes and she was curious to see how the show actually turned out.
Her nose wrinkled as the Badge of Justice's chief walked onto the screen. He was a bit too lax with the rules, something that in Sharon's mind would never work in the real world and his disregard for policy made former Chief Johnson look like she had come from IA. The camera panned over of the IT guy, Andrew, who was by far Sharon's favorite character. A tall, lanky younger gentleman with tight button-up shirts. He was smart and the most believable of the characters at least in her opinion. She called him her "Other Andy" and often wondered if Mike had somehow managed to suggest the name on the off chance her Andy would ever find out.
Like most episodes of Badge, the case progressed quickly and before she knew it the team was wrapping up another murder. Sharon checked the time on her phone as the closing credits rolled and a promo for next week's episode began. There was enough time to start on another episode she had saved from last season. Maybe not enough time to watch the whole thing but she could at least skip to her favorite parts. Sharon exited the current episode and was about to select another when she heard the sound of keys in the door.
Practically jumping from the couch, Sharon hastily hit the power button the TV. Her hands were shaking as she tossed the remote onto the couch and turned to face her fiancé who was walking through the door. "Hey, Andy" she breathed, taking a sip of wine, and hoping she was acting somewhere in the realm of normal.
He raised an eyebrow at her as he closed the door and tossed his keys on the table in the foyer. "Hey, Sharon. You ok?"
Sharon made a noise that was somewhere between a squeak and a 'mmhmm'. "Yeah, I'm fine" she said, taking another sip of wine. "I was zoned out on the couch and when you opened the door, it just startled me."
Andy gave her an incredulous look as he walked over to the couch. Sharon was the captain of one of the most elite divisions in the LAPD with the nickname of Darth Raydor. A woman who had charged after armed criminals countless times and even took a punch to the face to make sure a man stayed in custody. "Well, I'm sorry I scared you" he said giving her a kiss. "Not a whole lot of people showed up tonight so we ended early. I did text you though."
Shit! Sharon thought to herself. She had gotten so wrapped up in the fictional case she had missed the text notification. She could also tell he didn't believe her when she said she had been 'zoned out' either.
Andy sat down on the couch and reached for the remote. Sharon panicked and stood in front of him, blocking his view of the TV. "Since you're home early and Rusty isn't here, maybe we could…." she raised an eyebrow at him. He stared up at her, still giving her a confused look and not seeming very interested in moving to the bedroom.
"C'mon sweetheart," he said gently tugging on her hand and pulling her onto the couch next to him. "Let me watch some TV and then we can." Sharon shouldn't have been surprised. He always needed some time after he came home from one of his meetings. Andy pressed the power button on the TV and the screen lit up to display the DVR saved menu.
"Badge of Justice, Badge of Justice…." she heard him mumble as he read through the list of saved shows. Sharon tentatively set her empty wine glass on the coffee table, biting her lip as the reality of what Andy was seeing on screen slowly sank in.
"Sharon…." He said after a moment of silence. "Sharon, what is Badge of Justice doing on our DVR?" The extra emphasis of disgust on the show's name was apparent in his voice.
She swallowed. He had finally figured it out. Maybe she should have come clean with him right from the start and told him what she did while he was gone. It was too late for that now. What would her team do when her neighbors call the police and they came to investigate. She could practically hear Provenza saying "It's always the fiancé, it's always the fiancé, it's always the fiancé".
"Well," Sharon started not sure of how to explain herself. "When Mike started on the show I thought I would give it a try and I ended up really liking it" she said as she finally turned to face him. Andy's head was tilted to the side, his face was contorted into a look somewhere between disbelief and disgust. She could practically see the veins throbbing in his neck and it was almost as if she had admitted that she hated his suspender collection.
"I can't believe you would do this to me!" he finally said. "That show is a disgrace to actual police work! It makes a mockery of what we do actually putting forth work and effort, weeks of searching and hunting down dirtbags!"
Sharon sighed, "Andy, it's nothing personal. I started watching the show to support Mike and I ended up liking it! It's not a big deal."
"Does Mike know?"
"No, Mike doesn't know!"
"So who else knows?"
"No one knows," Sharon said as she rolled her eyes. "The only people I talk to Badge about are in the fandom."
"Oh its 'Badge' now?" he said, curling his lip. "And wait - the fandom? What is the fandom?"
"You know, online like with Twitter and stuff." she said, hoping to keep it vague. He was her fiancé and she would admit to a lot of things if he asked, however her fan-girling over Badge was one that she would rather keep to herself.
Andy leaned back into the couch and signed "You're like that Zelda chick. The crazy one with that room" he said as he ran a hand through his hair. He turned his head to look at her "Please don't tell me you have some secret collection or those stories."
"There might be fan fiction" she said, but quickly added "I don't write any of it" as if that made it better. She gave him a small smile, hoping that he might calm down.
"You actually read that crap?"
"Yes, I actually read that stuff and it's not all crap" she said. He was finally starting to settle down and maybe if she tapered off with some fic talk he might decide to let it go. "It's mainly about certain favorite characters and stories about them and their personal lives. Reading it is just a way to pass the time."
Andy sighed and shook his head at her. "I'm not even sure I want to know who your favorite character is" he said sounding defeated.
Sharon squirmed, "Well see there is this IT guy named Andrew…"
"You have another Andy?!"
-Fin-