Geography of Love

by Kadi

Rated: K

Disclaimer: This isn't my sandbox, it's just my favorite place to play.

A/N: Follow up to the episode Leap of Faith 3x16. Spoilers could be contained within.

Movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention. Andy glanced up as Rusty strode past his desk. He watched him, brows lifted in question as the kid moved through the desks, headed toward his cubicle rather than the exit. Rusty didn't spend a lot of time around the Murder Room anymore. Actually, he was there as little as possible, not that Andy could blame the kid. He wouldn't want to spend his spare time there either, especially not after Rusty spent virtually all of his time there the previous year. Andy shook his head. A small smile tugged at his lips, but the sound of a soft sigh came from behind him.

He turned, and once again the file in his hand was forgotten. Andy tilted his head. Sharon stood, leaning against the frame of her open office door. Her arms were folded across her chest and her gaze followed Rusty. That was nothing new. What drew his attention, however, was the worry that he saw etched across her face. There was sadness too, and that had him taking a step toward her. Andy held the file against his stomach and moved to stand beside her.

"Sharon." He kept his voice pitched low and hoped that it wouldn't carry. "Everything okay?"

"It never ends," she said, just as quietly. Slowly, she drew her gaze away from the direction that Rusty had gone. She looked up at him, a small smile slowly lit her face. It couldn't completely chase away the sadness or the concern. "Just when I think that life is finally settling down for him, something else happens."

Andy glanced again in the direction that Rusty had gone before he let his attention move back to Sharon. A frown drew his brows together. "Did his other mom—"

"No." Sharon sighed again. She pushed away from the door frame and stood a little straighter. Her arms fell, but she clasped her hands in front of her. "This time it's the original issue in Rusty's life." Sharon stepped back, moving into her office, but she tilted her head at him to follow. She didn't have to question that he would. Sharon walked around to take a seat behind her desk. "Emma asked Rusty to meet with her the other day," she explained. "Then she proceeded to ask him to write an impact statement for the Stroh trial. Without, of course, explaining the necessity of it."

"Of course." Andy shook his head as he dropped into one of the chairs in front of her desk. He leaned forward, let his arms rest against his knees. "But you explained it to him, right?" He gestured with his hand as he spoke. "I mean, you filled in the blanks that Rios left behind?"

"I would have." Sharon leaned back in her chair. She clasped her hands together against her stomach. "Had I been there." She felt the irritation rise again at having been excluded from that meeting. "Andrea and I discussed it with Rusty, just a few minutes ago, actually. She was able to fill in those blanks for him." Sharon also trusted that Hobbs would, indeed, be having a talk with Emma about the best way to proceed with Rusty going forward… and any other material witnesses that might come along in the future. Sharon managed a small smile at the puzzled look that crossed his face. "Emma is taking advantage of the fact that Rusty is now, legally, an adult. She doesn't have to include me any more. I am no longer Rusty's legal guardian. I'm just his mother."

Andy snorted. He leaned back in his chair. "You're not just anything, Sharon." He shook his head, while his lips pursed for a moment. "So what's the kid going to do? I mean, that impact statement would go a long way to putting Stroh where he needs to be."

"Yes," she said at length. "Or it could help his cause, and Phillip Stroh could end up with life in prison, or remanded to a psychiatric facility, and that is something that Rusty should not have to bear the responsibility of." Her eyes closed. Sharon exhaled quietly, slowly. "But that is exactly what Emma has done. She has put the weight of her entire trial on Rusty's shoulders. Again." Sharon's eyes opened. They were filled with sadness when her gaze found Andy. "Rusty is trying to decide now what voice he will use. The only positive thing that I can say about it is that he does have a voice."

"He has more than that." Her sadness tugged at him. He ached for her, and the kid, and the never ending procession of crap that they both had to deal with. From the trial to Rusty's biological mother, and everything in between, she was right. It had been one hit after another, with scattered moments of happiness in between. Andy caught her gaze and smiled gently at her. "He's got you."

She hummed quietly. A soft smile curved her lips. Warmth chased away some of the sadness in her eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if that is enough," she murmured. Sharon looked down at her hands, and thought, not for the first time, whether or not she had really managed to protect him from any of his hurts.

"Sharon." His voice rumbled quietly in the room. Andy leaned forward again. His head dipped a bit as he sought her gaze. "It's enough," he told her. "It was always enough. Rusty has had you in his corner since the start. He's come this far because he had you." It was moments like this that he wanted to hold her the most. He stamped down on that urge and held her gaze instead. "You fought for him. You protected him as much as you could. You loved him. You were ready to let him go if that was what he needed to be happy and safe. You took a kid that had no future, no chance at a life beyond the street, and you gave him more than a place to sleep. How many kids like Rusty ever finish high school? Much less manage to do it with his grades? Now he's got a family, a future, and in a couple of weeks, he's starting college. You gave him that, Sharon. So yeah, from where I'm sitting, having you is enough. It's more than enough. Like you said, you're his mother."

She had to look away from him. Her eyes filled with moisture and she stared at her hands again. Sharon shook her head, and when she couldn't blink it away, she lifted a hand to cover her eyes. "You're not supposed to make me cry," she whispered, just a bit tremulously. She was touched, more than she could ever say, at just how wondrous he found the simplest job that she had ever had. Loving Rusty was easy. Rusty himself might be complicated and anything but easy, but loving him was quite simply, the easiest thing that she had ever done. She swept her fingers beneath her eyes and blinked a few more times before lifting her gaze again. "You know, if you keep saying things like that, no one is ever going to believe that you're the same hot-tempered guy that used to really love driving me crazy."

Andy laughed. "Well, how do you know I'm not just luring you and everyone else into a false sense of security?" He leaned back again and shrugged. "The whole thing could just be an act."

"Hm." Her lips curved into a smile. Her eyes were still shining, a much deeper shade of green, moist and bright. "That could be. Believe me, I had considered it." Another tear escaped and she reached up to sweep it away from the corner of her eye. "Thank you, Andy." She was reminded that she had only to love Rusty while he found his place in the world, even when it was difficult. She couldn't always protect him, but she could guide him, and she could love him.

"That kid loves you, you know?" He shrugged. "He's going to figure it out. In the end, Rusty is going to do what's right. Not what's right for you, or for him, but right. You taught him that too." Andy sighed. He tilted his head again. "But you're going to have to stop crying or the kid and Provenza are going to think I broke up with you."

It was Sharon's turn to laugh. She covered her mouth, but the sound filled the office. "Oh god." Her cheeks colored, her eyes sparkled. Sharon shook her head at him. "They are worse than a pair of gossiping little girls!" She leaned forward in her chair, eyes crinkling at the corners in amusement. "I'm sorry, but at what point did I invite your partner into my personal life?"

"About the same time I invited your kid into mine." He smirked at her. "I'm telling you, he's driving me crazy." Andy sighed. "Provenza, I mean. Suddenly he wants dating advice like I'm the expert. Has he not met me?" She was giggling at that, he watched her shoulders shake. Andy rolled his eyes at her. "Okay, it's not that funny."

"Oh it is." Sharon chuckled quietly. She rested her elbows against her desk and leaned forward on them. "I've actually met you." Her eyes danced, her worries about Rusty weren't forgotten, but the sadness melted away. "But that is beside the point," she waved a hand through the air between them. "Go back to the part where he wants dating advice. He's not wasting any time is he?"

"That's Provenza." Andy leaned forward, he pitched his voice lower. "He's only known her a month, and already he's wondering if he should bail out to keep from hurting her. I'm not sure which disturbs me more, that she's actually his age or near enough, or that he cares enough to question all of it. I will tell you this," he tapped his index finger against the surface of her desk. "He really likes this one. I can't remember a single woman he's dated in the last ten years that he actually liked."

Sharon giggled again. "Okay, I have to say it." She shifted a bit in her chair, and leaned even closer. Her teeth drug across her bottom lip. "I like this one. You know, I think the difference is, the women he usually dates are quite a bit younger than he is. There's a certain level of…" She gestured with her hands when she couldn't quite find the word she wanted. "Inequality. They weren't really partners. This one is a little different…"

"You mean she's not takin' any crap off him," Andy deadpanned. He thought about it for a moment before nodding. "I think you're right. I think that's the difference. She's opinionated, she's older, and she has got his number. She's been through hell, especially lately with the granddaughter, so yeah, he's worried about hurting her. That's gotta count for something."

"Hm." Sharon hummed quietly. She rested her chin in her hand and continued to smile at him. "I think it speaks to how much he cares, but it also speaks to a certain level of respect. This is new territory for him." Her brows lifted. "I hope you're being kind," she said at length, voice dipping toward a warning.

His jaw dropped. Andy's eyes widened. "What? Me?" He blinked at her a few times. "Kind? To Provenza?" Andy practically fell back in his chair. He stared at her. "Have you met him?"

She smiled at the way he was watching her. As though he thought perhaps she had finally lost her mind. Sharon folded her arms against her desk again. "I have. That's no reason to not be kind, Andy. He's feeling like he's out of his depth here. He needs you to be his friend, not his sarcastic, troublemaking partner." Sharon watched his eyes narrow and sighed at him. "Andy."

"Oh sure." He said, feeling that sarcasm that she mentioned. "I'll be kind. I mean, no idea where he was the last six months, when maybe I needed a little kindness, but sure thing. I'll get right on that." He sniffed. Andy looked away from her, shaking his head.

Sharon chuckled quietly. "It's what sets you apart, Andy, your capacity to care in the face of adversity." She smiled gently at him, eyes soft. "I know that he tries your patience, specifically about certain topics, but I believe you'd be doing the both of you a favor to overlook that in this instance. Turnabout is not fair play in this case."

Andy just grunted at her. She definitely knew how to spoil his fun. He was looking forward to having a little bit of that at his partner's expense, which was exactly what Provenza had done to him… more than once since he and Sharon started spending more time together. "I came in here to cheer you up," he pointed out. "Now you've managed to go and completely ruin my mood." He made a face at her. "It's going to cost you."

"Oh?" Her head inclined. Her eyes continued to sparkle at him. "What exactly is the price for my honesty?" Sharon smiled teasingly at him.

"Dinner." Andy smirked at her. "You and me, and no kids." He pointed at her. "No Provenza either."

"Alright." Before his smile could spread any wider, Sharon held a finger up between them. "If," she began, "and only if you finish your report and get it on my desk by five."

"Yeah?" Andy grinned as he stood. "No problem. There are a few good hours left before then." He started toward the door, but paused with his hand on the knob. He tossed a crooked smirk back at her. "Of course, I'll only get delayed if Provenza finally figures out where I was when I talked Bill off that overpass."

He winked at her as he left and Sharon groaned. She covered her face with her hands. Thank god, she thought, that his partner was so bad at simple geography. Or else he would have already pointed out that there was no way that overpass was on Andy's way to work… at least, not from his residence. If Provenza finally put that one together, there would be no more denying it. Not that they were actually dating.

No.

They had moved well beyond dating and straight into breakfast.

It made her wonder if he knew just how lucky he was. If she didn't love that man, she would shoot him.

~FIN