Part 1/2

Sharon was having a sweet dream, smiling in her sleep. She couldn't remember what or who it was about, but she definitely felt the disappointment when the sound of her iPhone woke her up so rudely.

It got worse when Provenza told her she had to come to the office ASAP, because Sanchez lost his temper again, and this time, it was bad.

"Your old friends from FID are gonna be all over him soon." he said.

Sharon didn't think twice. She jumped to her feet, knowing that she must speak to him before they do, and after throwing on a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, she stormed out of the apartment. Rusty would probably assume correctly that she had to go to work, and in any case she was planning to text him an explanation of her whereabouts later, at a more decent hour, when it was not so early in the morning.

The roads were open and quiet. Nothing disturbed her but her own, fast beating heart. To her delight, she got to the office quicker than she thought she would. When she entered the murder room she immediately spotted Sanchez in the conference room with Sykes, Tao, Provenza and Flynn. They were all talking around him while he was sitting with a sealed face without looking at anyone. It seemed to Sharon like he was about to explode, although he obviously already did.

Provenza was the first one to spot her as she approached the conference room. No one from FID was in the vicinity yet and she wanted to take advantage of that situation and give Sanchez some much needed guidance.

"Captain." Provenza came out of the conference room, followed by Flynn, who closed the door behind him. The three stood together, looking worried.

"Tell me what happened and do it fast." she said quietly.

"We got a call about a dead body in Julio's neighborhood…" Provenza considered for a moment what was important for now and what wasn't. "To make a long story short, his mother's best friend was murdered… by her grandson."

Sharon shook her head in disbelief, but there wasn't time for details now.

"Whom Julio knows, of course," Andy continued the story. "He was very upset when he found out who the victim was, especially after seeing his mother all hysterical about her friend. So he confronted the suspect…" He couldn't find the words to describe what happened later.

"And?!" Sharon pushed. She had to know in order to find a way to help Sanchez.

"The suspect's in the hospital now." there was compassion in Andy's eyes as he looked at her. Sharon felt a fuzzy feeling, like a sweet dip in warm water. She could keep looking in them forever, but had to shake herself out of it. "So, now what?" he asked.

"Now I go in there and tell him what to do when FID arrive. If they get here before we're finished, do whatever you can to keep them outside the conference room." She opened the door and entered the room, asking everyone but Sanchez to leave. As she sat in front of him, he didn't move his eyes from the same spot he'd been staring at ever since she got there. She felt both sympathy and anger toward him. He looked like a child who'd done something very wrong and was now waiting for his punishment, accepting his bitter fate.

Sharon felt strong, mixed urges to hug him and slap him over the head simultaneously, but there was no time to dwell on what she was going through. Her heart skipped a bit when she saw through the glass walls that the two FID officers had entered the murder room.

"Ah, good morning, officers," Provenza said with a fake kindness, as he approached the entrance to the murder room, followed by the rest of the squad. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm Captain Eric Lane, and this is Sergeant Greg Rogers. We're from FID, we're here about Detective Julio Sanchez."

"Well… This is Lieutenant Flynn –"

"Nice to meet ya," he gave them a fake smile.

"And Lieutenant Tao –"

"Hello!"

"Detective Sykes…"

"Hi, there." she tried to smile without showing how nervous she was.

"Yes, nice meeting you all. I need to speak to Captain Raydor right now." Eric Lane knew every trick in the book, and more importantly, he knew Captain Sharon Raydor. She was instructing Detective Sanchez as they spoke and he didn't like the idea of it. No one knew the rules better than her, and those who knew the rules, knew how to bend them in their favor too.

"Wait! You haven't met our Buzz yet!" Provenza pulled Buzz' arm to get him closer to them. "He's in charge of all the techy… stuff."

"Great." Lane took a step forward but Andy rushed to block his way.

"So, you used to work with Captain Raydor?"

Lane seemed surprised by the question. "I was the head of another division inside Internal Affairs, but yes, our paths crossed many times on different investigations. Now, if you'll excuse me –"

"What was she like back then?" Sykes played along, trying to sound enthusiastic. Eric Lane's surprised expression faded at once. His face was now covered with dark clouds of indignation.

"Look, if you don't step aside and let me through, I will launch an investigation on the entire squad for –"

"There's no need to get upset," Sharon appeared behind Provenza and Flynn – whom were standing in Lane's way – and they moved aside quickly, allowing her to pass. "My detectives are just very welcoming, Eric."

"Eric?" Andy frowned. He didn't mean to say it out loud, but them being on a first name basis took him by surprise and awoke something inside of him, a stinging sensation. Sharon turned to look at him and it took her a moment of confusion before she spoke.

"That's his name." her tone was calm as usual, but a little reprimanding as well.

"Yes, it is. And if I find out that you're hiding valuable information from FID, you'll be seeing it at the bottom of a complaint."

"Who investigates Internal Affairs' complaints? Super Internal Affairs?" Tao made a little joke but no one laughed. Provenza rolled his eyes.

"You know me better than that, Eric," Sharon maintained her icy tone. There was no telling if she was amused or angry at him. Andy rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly at the sound of Lane's first name again.

"I don't know, it's been over two years since you left IA… people change. It is nice to see you, though." Lane started to walk towards the conference room, intentionally rubbing his shoulder against hers as he passed by her. Rogers followed him without saying a word.

Sharon watched them until they entered the conference room and closed the door behind them.

"Now what?" Provenza asked.

"I told him not to say a word before he gets a lawyer. Anyone knows a good one?" she looked around, but no one spoke.

"I might know someone who knows someone." Tao said hesitantly.

"Well… I don't know about a good lawyer, but you know a lawyer… you can ask him." Provenza treaded carefully around mentioning Jackson's name.

"That's not necessary," Andy burst into the conversation. "There are tons of lawyers out there, we can –"

"Can anyone," Sharon cut him off mid-sentence, "tell me exactly what happened?"

But at that exact moment, Rogers emerged from the conference room and stood a few yards away from them. He looked around, as if very interested in the desks and chairs around the murder room, but it was obvious to everyone that he wanted to hear what they were saying.

"How about a coffee?" Provenza asked and Sharon nodded.

"Lieutenant Tao, do you think you can talk to that… someone who knows… someone?" Sharon asked quietly. He nodded and walked away to his desk. She turned back to Provenza and signaled him with her head to follow her to the break room.

Andy joined them without waiting for an invitation and Buzz returned to the electronics room. Sykes looked around in confusion for a moment and then went over to Tao's desk to help.

"Okay, now tell me what happened." the three stood at in the middle of the break room and talked in low voices.

"When we arrived at the scene… it was awful. I mean, the suspect – only 18 years old – was standing over his grandmother's body with the knife in his hand. He just stood there like a statue." Provenza started but Andy cut in.

"When Sanchez entered the room – that's when it blew up. He started yelling 'what did you do?' at the suspect. He got in his face, yelling."

"Did he hit him?"

"No… well, not at first. But then this idiot launched at him with his fist. Sanchez ducked so it wouldn't hit his face, but then –"

"Then he lost his temper. And I mean lost his temper. It took three of us to restrain him. He kept hitting the guy." Provenza was notably upset remembering the situation. He was worried about Julio's future, like everyone else.

Sharon closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. She saw it coming from miles away, why didn't she do anything? She might have been able to prevent it.

"Could you, please, inform Chief Taylor about everything? We don't want him coming here later to tell us how angry he is for not knowing about it sooner."

Provenza rolled his eyes at the thought of seeing Taylor right now, but went nonetheless, muttering 'sure'.

Andy examined her face as she was deep in thought, unaware of his gaze. He felt frustrated that she was always blaming herself for things. He wanted to put his palm on her cheek and comfort her, but instead he just moved to stand in front of her and she looked at him.

"Are you blaming yourself again?" he asked gently.

"I… I saw the signs when he previously burst out, but I didn't read them right. I should've done more than just order him to calm down. He needed help."

"He still does, especially now, so let's not waste time on blame. He didn't hit first, so that's something, right?"

Sharon nodded. That was the only ray of light in the story. She leaned against the edge of the table behind her and folded her arms.

"Good, so there's hope. Let's hang on to it and not place blame on anyone." He continued to look at her, waiting for her response, but she didn't say a word for a while. Suddenly, she smiled.

"What unexpected optimism on your behalf." she was pleasantly surprised.

Andy arched his eyebrows and then smiled too. He admitted inwardly that he was just as surprised by himself as she was. He was usually the impatient pessimist, but now he needed to cheer her up and it wasn't hard at all, being positive, when it was for her.

After a few seconds of staring at her, smiling, he thought she might be uncomfortable by his gaze and looked away.

"So, uh… you and this Lane guy are friends?" he tried to make it sound like a casual topic of conversation.

Sharon frowned in confusion, wondering where he was going with that question, but before she could say anything, the same person he was talking about entered the break room.

"Well?" she asked, knowing the answer in advance.

"He wouldn't talk. Says he wants a lawyer. That was your doing, of course," he stood right in front of her, causing Andy to move aside reluctantly, and she remained half sitting, half standing.

"I advised my detective to consult with a lawyer, yes. I haven't forgotten yet how the FID work."

"I should be offended," he smiled at her, "but I'm really happy to see you again, so I can't."

Sharon looked at him for a moment, trying to decide what his intentions were. His flirting wasn't anything new to her. He used to do it every time they saw each other in IA. They were both married, but she liked it because he never crossed the line. Nothing beyond the occasional compliment or a craving stare.

"How's the wife?" she asked, trying to throw him off.

"Gone," he said happily and she arched her eyebrows, smiling at his light tone. "Yeah, best thing we've ever done with our marriage."

"Congratulations, then," she said, amused.

"And how's Jack?"

"I… have no idea," she hadn't spoken to him in a while. Having him in her life was something she'd been avoiding for a long time now.

"Still married, huh?" he sounded disappointed and Sharon nodded.

Andy cleared his throat on her right, but she was focused on the man in front of her.

"So, I don't stand a chance."

"What do you mean?" she knew exactly what he meant, but this little game was fun. She couldn't remember the last time someone flirted with her like that.

"Well, what are the odds you'll agree to have a drink with me?"

"Oh, please. This is so inappropriate," Andy couldn't hold it in anymore. He felt like hitting the guy straight in the face. Sharon turned to look at him, surprised once again. He was looking at Lane, angry.

"Andy…" she started but he still wouldn't look at her. "Would you go and see if Tao has found a lawyer yet?"

Silence. Andy and Lane appeared to be having a staring match.

"Your Captain asked something," Lane said eventually. As opposed to Andy, he looked amused by their little silent battle. "You people are very protective of each other."

Andy kept staring at him for a moment. Sharon thought he was about to hit him and her heart skipped a beat. There was no getting out of hitting a FID officer. But a second later, Andy left without saying a word.

Lane waited for him to get out of sight, and then waited a few seconds longer, to be sure.

"You flirt with him, too? Now I'm offended."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on. I'm good at my job. And I'm great at observing interoffice relationships. The guy's head over heels for you."

Sharon snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. We're friends. That's why he's being… protective, as you said."

"Ridiculous? Is it so farfetched, the idea that someone is interested in you?" he smiled at her again, squinting, knowing how embarrassed she was from that whole conversation.

Sharon gave him a little, concerned smile back. Suddenly, the weight of his words felt real, like rocks in her stomach. Could he be right? Andy and her had become much closer lately, but was it more than friendship?

"I'm not surprised, though, that you're oblivious to this," Lane continued when she didn't answer, "you were always too invested in your cases and in other people's issues to notice what was going on in your own emotional back yard. It's kinda cute, actually." He took a step towards her and she got on her feet quickly, as if she was just awoken from deep sleep in an abrupt manner.

She looked at him, frowning, without really seeing him. It all landed on her at once. Suddenly, the way Andy looked at her, the gentle way he talked to her… him always being on her side, asking for her help with personal issues… it all fell into place like pieces of a puzzle being put back together into one, perfect form. The big picture of their relationship.

"I…" finally, a sound came out of her. For a moment she feared she was too shocked to remember how to speak. "I don't have time for this right now. One of my detectives might lose his job."

"See? Putting other people's issues in front of yours."

"Captain, the lawyer Tao found is on his way," Andy rushed back into the break room and it seemed like he was very much eager to be back in there. Both Sharon and Lane stared at him, the latter with a rather amused face – knowing that he had just stirred the center of the pot that was the Major Crimes unit, which gave him a little advantage over them.

"What's going on?" Andy frowned at them.

"Nothing." Sharon and Lane said together, which made Andy understand that something was definitely up.

"I was just about to ask your Captain out once this investigation is over." Lane said, half joking, half hoping she would really consider it.

Andy had no idea whether or not he was lying, but he felt like punching him in the face in any case. Sharon didn't mind his flirting, but not with Andy around, now that she saw him in a different light.

"That's not funny." she said, avoiding Andy's eyes.

"Anyway, I need to have a little chat with Rogers before we proceed with our evil plan to ruin your lives. Excuse me." He gave Sharon one last mischievous smile before leaving the room, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"What a jerk." Andy muttered as he came closer to her.

"Wait." She sent her hand forward and he stopped abruptly.

"What's wrong?"

But Sharon couldn't move. She was suddenly overwhelmed by the need to touch him. It appeared that Lane had woken a monster inside of her.

"I – nothing. I'm just stressed, sorry." She lowered her hand and he came closer.

"You sure? I don't think I've ever seen you like this, and it's not even the worst situation we've been in." His tone was careful, hesitant.

Sharon looked away, nodding, and tried to tell herself that Lane was imagining things. She had too many issues to deal with as it was.