A picture is worth a thousand words…

By Kadi

Rated T

Disclaimer: I enjoy the show, but it isn't mine. I'm simply borrowing the characters and themes.

Possible Spoilers - S2 E18: Return to Sender part 1.

A/N: Based upon the previews we were given of episode 2x18: Return to Sender part 1. In one of the scenes, there were pictures of Rusty and Sharon pinned to a wall. It made me wonder… if Sharon is being followed closely enough that there are pictures going all the way to Season 1 (one of them looked like it came from Citizen's Arrest), then just how often was she being followed?

This is just a little scene that I would like to see take place at some point during or right after that episode.

"Did we get everything from the suspect's apartment?" Sharon strode through the murder room, heels clicking against tile. She glanced up from the file in her hand, it was the preliminary investigation notes. The squad was unusually quiet. She looked around at all of them. "What?" No one seemed to want to make eye contact. "Okay," she said at length, drawing out each syllable. "Would someone like to tell me what it is that I missed?"

Several looks were shared among the members of the team. Tao wasn't moving. Amy slumped down further in her seat. Sanchez shifted in his own and cast a look at Provenza, who kept his head bowed. He shook his head and refused to move. Sanchez muttered under his breath and stood up. "We have it all, Captain." He walked over to the box that was still sitting on Provenza's desk. He reached into it and took out a simple blue folder. "It's probably better if you just see for yourself."

Sharon looked at each of them again before she took the folder. She sighed as she flipped it open. They were all acting incredibly strange and it was beginning to worry her. With good reason, she realized just seconds later. There were several photographs. She flipped through several of them, mostly of Rusty, until she reached the first photo of herself. There were photos of her jogging, shopping, moving between the station and her car. There were others at crime scenes, going back a year.

"Oh no…" Sharon reached the first which, she realized, would have been the cause for all the tense silence. Herself, in a red party dress, leaning against a wide, white column at the arboretum where Nicole's wedding had been held. Andy stood beside her, and as she recalled, it had been innocent enough. His hand had been on her back, but from the angle of the photo, it looked as though his arm were around her.

Anxiety knotted her stomach. Sharon's jaw clenched, and it was a concerted effort not to grip the folder so tightly that she bent it, or the photos inside. She sighed quietly as the next photo showed them dancing. Sharon remembered that moment, his hand had slid a little lower than necessary, so that it rested more against her hip than the small of her back. She remembered the smile, and the way his eyes danced with mischief when she stared at him until it rose to a more appropriate level. He had rumbled a quiet Oops against her ear, to which she had just rolled her eyes. The photo, however, had caught the mischief in his gaze and the amusement in her own, the second before the hand returned to where it belonged.

Sharon sighed quietly when she turned the page and found another. This one was taken a few days later. Rusty was going stir crazy. It was Andy's turn for witness amusement, but he'd asked Sharon to tag along. It was a sunny, fairly comfortable Saturday afternoon. They'd gone to a little beachside seafood place, and the day was mild enough they'd sat outside. Naturally, Rusty wasn't in the picture. It couldn't be that simple, it needed to look less innocent than it really was. Instead they had Sharon in a pair of jeans and a form fitting blouse, head bowed and smiling, while Andy leaned close, gesturing with one hand while he spoke. What the observer couldn't know was that he had been pointing out the not captured argument going on several yards away, on the beach, between a guy who had just been busted by his girlfriend (or wife) and his date - and the beach cop trying to break it all up. Andy had been mimicking the argument from all three sides, and Rusty, had stepped away with his phone to answer a call from Kris.

There were several other such incidents. Easily explained away, but in looking at them now, it was simple to see how someone might get the wrong impression. That was especially true when they stopped being so innocent and Sharon had to admit that she was looking at the visual evidence of a relationship that she was struggling to keep discreet, for the simple fact that her personal life was not open for discussion, debate, or exploration.

The mortifying flush of heat rose up her neck to her cheeks when she found the one from the night of the ballet. She could fully admit that the little blue dress was probably shorter than it needed to be, and Andy hadn't complained, although that was probably the point. That was also the night she instructed Andy to stop with the pathetic excuses and just ask her out if that was what he wanted. Otherwise, stop taking her friendship for granted and start telling her the truth. The shock in his gaze was simply adorable. She hadn't left him on very stable ground that night, and with good reason. She needed him off his game that night, and it had worked. Sharon wasn't sure which of them was more relieved.

Naturally, it was the last photo that was the most incriminating. Sharon couldn't explain that one. It made her cheeks flush bright red with embarrassment. Andy was certainly kissing her against the side of his car. Unfortunately, each of the photos was digitally time stamped and that one was from just a few nights ago. She exhaled loudly. "Damn."

"AA meeting my ass," Provenza muttered, interpreting her expression correctly. "I don't recall that being in the list of twelve steps." His partner had begged off dinner with him that night because he said he needed a meeting.

It was either the worse sense of timing in the world, or the best. Sharon wasn't sure which, but Andy strode into the room at that moment. She didn't know if she wanted to face them alone, or with her usual backup. Andy wasn't paying attention to her at the moment, though, and she just wanted to chunk the folder at him.

"Morales is ready for us." Andy had his attention on his notepad. "You know, this whole thing just seems weird to me. Anyone else think it was way too easy? I'm all for easy, but this one just doesn't feel right." He stopped in front of her and looked up. The wide-eyed, almost panicked expression on her face and the near annoyance he saw in her eyes made him frown. "What?"

Sharon slapped the folder against his chest. She decided on annoyance. It would help a lot more than getting worked up in a fit of panic. Besides, this team could smell fear. They'd eat her alive if she let them. She saw his eyes flash in response and folded her arms across her chest. Her lips pursed and she waited while he flipped through the evidence. A single eyebrow arched when she saw the moment he realized exactly what.

"Oh." Andy closed the folder and handed it back to her.

"Hm." She smiled slightly. "Exactly."

"Well…" He scratched the back of his head. "Look on the bright side. It wasn't Rusty that ratted you out." Her other brow lifted and he almost cringed. Andy could almost imagine the alert alarms blaring their warning that he'd best back pedal, quickly. "Us?"

Sharon scratched her forehead, slowly and turned with some reluctance back to the rest of the team. "I will say this one time, and one time only. Then we will never discuss it again. At least within the confines of our work. There have not been any rules breached, my immediate superior is aware, and that is all you really need to know." She handed the folder back to Detective Sanchez. "I would appreciate it if these would stay off the board, as I prefer my private life to be just that. Do make sure they are logged into evidence, but we can do without adding them to the display."

"All of them?" Andy took the folder back from Sanchez and opened it again. He held up the photo of them dancing at the wedding. "I kind of like this one. The one that photographer guy took for Nic wasn't nearly as nice."

"Andy." Sharon simply looked at him. It would be adorable if it weren't so embarrassing. She wasn't sure why she wasn't tempted to throttle him more often. Probably because he was usually being pretty sweet at the same time he was being incredibly infuriating.

"Okay, fine." He shook his head as he gave it back. "I'm just sayin'." He shoved his hands into his pockets and tilted his head at her. "We done here? Morales is waiting. I seem to recall you being in a hurry earlier."

Sharon's eyes narrowed. She strode past him, heels clicking a little louder than usual. It was a sure sign of her annoyance. She wasn't quite stomping, but it was pretty close. "By all means."

Andy's eyes rolled skyward before he turned to follow her. Maybe he'd get Buzz to make a copy of it later, when she wasn't looking.

The team watched them go. Sykes looked mildly confused. "That's it?"

"That's it." Sanchez shrugged. "For us anyway. I think Flynn's in for it."

"Serves him right." Provenza sniffed indelicately. "He couldn't tell me? Discreet is one thing, but he couldn't even tell me?"

Sanchez looked at Tao. The other man shrugged. "Uh, sir…" The younger detective leaned forward against his desk. "Would you tell you about it? You know, if you were Lieutenant Flynn?"

Provenza snorted at him. "Well of course not. But I'm not going to tell him that."

"On the upside…" Buzz stood up and walked over, wallet in his hand. He dropped the bills in front of the Lieutenant. "You called it."

"That's right." Provenza smirked. "Pay up." He scooped up the twenty dollar bill and snapped it, then waved it at the others. "Let's have it. Time to buy Flynn-the-flying-monkey a matching broom…"

The elevator was too slow in arriving. Sharon decided that she couldn't really direct her ire at Andy. It was hardly his fault that their personal lives were now, quite literally, on display. Instead, she glowered unhappily at the closed elevator doors and watched as the numbers above slowly changed. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she didn't tap her heeled foot, but it was a close thing.

She felt Andy's approach before she heard the soft, familiar, footfalls. The muscles in her neck tensed, primarily from the effort of not looking at him. She slanted a sideways glance, and saw in her periphery that he stood casually, completely at ease. His hands were clasped in front of him. He looked at her, and Sharon's chin lifted a fraction. When the elevator doors finally opened she sprang forward, almost bolting into it.

It was, thankfully, empty. Sharon moved to the far back before she finally turned. The toes of her right foot twitched, but she refrained from tapping it while she waited for Andy to saunter inside at a much more relaxed pace. Once inside, he turned and tapped a knuckle against the basement level. The doors gave a quiet creak and moved, slowly, closed. Then the elevator lurched slightly and then started it's downward motion.

Andy waited the space of three heartbeats before he stepped back from the door and turned. He caught Sharon when she moved into him, hands covering her face. Her head landed against his chest and she groaned loudly. He settled a hand against the back of her head, the other lay against her back, rubbing gently. Her shoulders were shaking, and for just a moment he was concerned. Then he realized that she was laughing. He looked skyward and sighed. "You gotta be kidding me."

Sharon snorted and curled her fingers into his shirt. "You didn't see them. Oh god." She lifted her head, and looked at him, eyes wide. "I thought Buzz was going to wet himself. I typically try to be just a little bit nice to my own team, and I thought I was going out of my way to be easy to get along with… but the looks on their faces… Andy!" He was laughing at her.

"Oh yeah, you're a regular kitten alright." He reached out and flipped her hair back over her shoulder. "Really?" Andy shook his head slowly. "At the risk of you throttling me later, babe… you can be damned scary. Mostly to other people. You got to remember, it hasn't been so long ago since you were on the other side. We know what you're capable of. Consider it… a healthy dose of respect."

"Respect?" Sharon's eyes narrowed.

"Sure. You know… don't poke the bear." Andy pulled her close when she reached out to smack his shoulder. He laughed quietly and folded his arms around her. "That's okay, I like the bear. Hey." He tipped her chin up and studied her face. She seemed more or less alright, a little shell shocked maybe. "Okay?"

"Hm." She hummed softly. "It was going to happen sometime. Right?" Sharon shrugged. "I would rather it not be part of an ongoing investigation… with physical evidence, seen by my team, several SIS officers, uniforms, and oh god…" Her head fell against his chest again, this time without the amusement. "So much for scary."

"Nah." He grinned while stroking her back again. "You're still plenty scary. They'll never say a word. Wrath of Raydor. Damned frightening. I've been on the receiving end enough times."

"Enough times," she repeated slowly. Sharon lifted her head again. "That leads me to believe that it was in some way lacking, given the difficulty you had in learning your lesson."

The alert sirens were going off in his head again. They screamed danger! Danger! Andy's lips pursed. "I'm hard headed," he said. "Takes me longer than most."

"Mmhm." The elevator was slowing down. Sharon stepped away from him and clasped her hands in front of her. She exhaled quietly. "I suppose we should at least be… relieved… that it's out there now?"

"That's one way to look at it." He turned to face the doors again. "Good news is, Sanchez will bury those pictures so far down in the evidence, someone will have to go digging to find them." Andy fell silent for a moment. His head tilted. "Better news is, our photographer had lousy timing. Ten minutes earlier, and that might have been a much different picture."

Sharon whimpered. "Andy. Please. Stop helping." The doors opened and she walked out ahead of him.

"Well, it would have been." He followed her, smirking only slightly. "Imagine the looks on their faces then." When Sharon stopped and turned slowly, he dropped the smile. "See." Andy pointed at her face. "Scary."

Her eyes narrowed. "Andy…"

"I know, I know." He held his hands up in front of him. "Stop helping." Andy turned her around and gave her a little nudge toward the morgue. "It's not that bad. It had to happen sometime, remember. At least it's out there now, and you can stop being so paranoid every time we go out. The kid can relax and stop worrying that he's going to let it slip and you're going to freakout. I don't think you could get anymore freaked out. Well, you could, but this is me… not helping anymore."

Sharon huffed a sigh. "I'm not listening anymore." They stopped outside the morgue and she shook her hair back. "Okay, so, you were saying something about this being too easy?"

He saw the shift, it came with the familiar tilt to her chin. Sharon receded, and the Captain was back. "Right. So… I don't think this is our guy. It's too easy. Doesn't fit the profile. Or I'm just not ready for us to let our guard down yet."

"Okay…" She nodded as he filled her in. "Well, let's see what Doctor Morales has to say and find out if you're right…"

~FIN