I do not own The Closer or any of its characters, or its settings. The FID team is of my creation, as is Captain Raydor's backstory, but the rest belongs to the lovely folks at TNT.
Chapter One
LA Times, 14th June 2010
Today the Los Angeles Police Department move into their new building at 100 West Street, a multimillion dollar complex that is state of the art. It is hoped that with this new building, the officers will be able to better prevent the crime waves that fluctuate in the Californian city.
It's not only a new building that the LAPD are going to get, but they will also soon be having a new Chief to lead them; after the retirement of Wendell Berrill in March. The forerunners of the race are thought to be the two Assistant Chief's of the LAPD, the Director of Support Services, Julian Brody and the Director of Operations, Will Pope.
Julian Brody is a veteran of the LAPD, having grown up in the Valley. He rose from the Academy and worked in Vice and the Gang Unit before moving into office based fields. He has thrived in the new base of operations, proclaiming it a "triumph for the LAPD".
Will Pope hails from Michigan, and has worked for the LAPD for twelve years. Before then, he worked as Assistant Chief in Washington DC. As Assistant Chief he has helped several community projects, making the police more accessible to the public. He calls the new building "the future of policing."
However, despite these warm and positive words, it has not all been positive in the LAPD. As the Times revealed two years ago, Pope's creation of then "Priority Homicide" was not working to fully suit the needs of the ordinary person. Despite the revamp of "Major Crimes", there has still not been the success one hoped from that division.
But it is not only Pope who has had his failures at the LAPD. In 2001, Wendell Berrill created Force Investigation Division, the first of its kind to investigate LAPD officers who are at fault of unlawful use of force. In 2007, after several years working with FID, Captain Sharon Raydor was placed in charge. She heralded several convictions of crooked cops, and worked with an expert legal team to make sure the public felt safe. Although not all the police officers working in the LAPD liked the new system, it was certainly a triumph and greatly admired by the public. However, all the good work FID had generated fell apart in the February of this year as the previously celebrated Captain was brutally attacked by one of her own officers, a fact not publicised by the LAPD.
Time will tell who a select group, including the Mayor, decide to run the LAPD. It will be an interesting race with several strong characters and where the officer loyalty lies will no doubt be the final nail in the coffin.
X
"You get your application in?"
Will looked up from his breakfast to see his son watching him. Tommy was dressed in casual clothes, ready for another day job searching in LA. He already had two jobs - working as a part time mechanic for one of Sharon's friends, and babysitting Caitlin and Brendan when Will had to put in the hours. Which was growing less and less, he now had full weekends to spend with his kids which he loved.
He frowned at his son and reached across for another slice of toast. "Yeah, about a month ago."
"Don't seem very enthusiastic."
Will sighed, not sure how to explain himself. It was complicated, but ever since Sharon left he had been trying to concentrate more on his children than anything else. No dates, no women, no sex and he had never been happier. He went home at a reasonable hour unless something was going on, and he and Tommy cooked Brendan and Caitlin dinner. Last weekend they had all driven up to Disney Land. Will was trying to work out if Chief was something he wanted. If he could stay as Assistant Chief, take care of all three of his kids then he would be happy. However, things had grown worse between him and Julian Brody and Will had come to the conclusion that unless he was made Chief, he would be out of a job.
"It'll all work out, I'm sure." Will finished his breakfast and fiddled with his son's collar, much to his amusement. They had never had that father and son moment, fiddling with collars before baseball games, senior proms. Will sighed sadly - at least they had a chance to get to do that now. "I've got meetings until two today, and then we're both going together to see Caitlin's teacher. Don't be late. Got your bus pass?"
Tommy pulled it out of his pocket. "Yeah I have. I'm going to swing by UCLA on my way home, if that's okay."
Will's response was stopped as Caitlin and Brendan, ready to start their last week at school, bounded down the stairs. He did a spot check of their lunches and their books and pointed them to the car. He squeezed Tommy's shoulder and found his briefcase. Uniform today, when he looked in the mirror he could see only that. No man at all.
"Don't sneak into the criminology lectures again."
"They don't know anything. They don't even know what transferred intent is," Tommy grinned. Will shook his head, once again making a mental note to never bring home any case files.
As the two men said goodbye, and Will got in the driver's seat of the car to take his kids to their school, he thought about how much his son had grown up over the past year. Last summer he had welcomed a sullen teenager into his home, ready to start his first year at Harvard and completely cut ties with his father. His faux suicide attempt and what happened with Sharon had made him grow up extraordinarily, and now, having turned nineteen, Tommy was interested in the way of the police force, and was finally becoming part of a family. Things were finally calm in his life; he only wished he had Sharon to share it with.
X
Brenda Leigh Johnson was looking at an empty desk, and wondered whether she could stop anyone from sitting in it. They were moving into the new building today - all last week they had spent packing up everything in between the case they had been working on. Provenza had bought his desk at police auction, meaning that had come with them from Parker Centre. Brenda continued to walk around, seeing what people had brought.
Tao had brought discs and pictures of his family. She opened the bottom drawer and pulled out the alcohol he gave to the lab techs to speed their results along. Provenza's desk was an exact replica. Gabriel's desk was pretty bare, all business like. Sanchez had photos of his family, but that was about it. Moving over to the side, she looked at the desk of the former FID team members who had joined her team after Brody had disbanded the department. Tony had pictures of family, and one of the team: just the three of them. She could see from jagged edges that some part of it had been cut, most likely the part that had held Jimmy Beatie. Claudia had cigarettes, more family, and a drawer with a tennis ball, two random keys and a horror film buried underneath paperwork. Simon had magazines, pictures of him and Claudia and a little snow globe.
There was one desk, directly opposite hers that she hadn't let anyone take. She moved the seat out and sat down. It was cold. She placed her handbag on the desk and pulled out her small purse. Out of the back, she pulled a ring and placed it down on the table. Provenza had given it to her after he had seen Flynn for the last time, fearing he would lose it. Everyone else seemed to take the departure of Flynn and Raydor in their stride. She hadn't talked about it with anyone else, but the only person who seemed to think Flynn was coming back was her. Even Provenza had stopped leaving things on his desk.
"Sorry Chief, we finished the new tour but everyone is in the break room. I can come back if you want."
Brenda looked up to see Tony Williams, Sharon Raydor's former second in command. He was looking at her sadly. "It's fine Lieutenant. Just mulling on ghosts. Shouldn't really have ghosts, it's a new building."
Tony pulled his chair over to join her. "Only the ones we bring with us." He looked at the lone ring sitting on the desk; he recognised it as Flynn's. "I don't talk about it with Simon and Claudia, I think they're trying to move on but it's hard. This new building will help. But every time my phone rings or my doorbell goes, I'm hoping it's the Captain. I've kept her name plate, just in case."
She nodded, looking at the ring in front of them and remembering seeing the thin piece of paper on her desk. Andy Flynn's resignation letter. She could feel tears starting to fall, but Tony already had a handkerchief ready for her. "You know, I am so happy that you three are here. Bit of laughter, it feels odd without having "Flynn and Provenza"."
Tony smiled before standing up, hearing people start to move outside. The new hybrid team was coming back to their new office. Brenda joined him, but remembered to pick up Andy's ring from the table. He wondered, for a moment, whether she would put it on her own hand. But she just slipped it in her purse.
"You know the best thing about being here, Chief, is that there is a really nice sweet shop just a road over. I'll give you directions when we have a free minute."
As the new and improved Major Crimes rolled into their new office, Brenda tried to smile. Everyone took their seats, talking about the new building. There was still an empty desk that Provenza eyed wearingly, but didn't say anything about. She gave a weak smile before moving into her new office and closing all the blinds.
X
He had always liked the roof of Parker Centre; it was a good way to look out over the city. The new building certainly had its benefits too, and the sight from the roof was one of them. Sighing to himself, he was taking a quick lunch break up there to just get away from everything. The new building was spectacular, and he knew that Sharon had never stepped foot in it. He didn't have to see her face, or them kissing in his office. But everything felt cold, harsh. Like a morgue.
"Thought you'd be giving a press conference with Assistant Chief Asshole down there," Brenda announced, taking off her heels to stand next to Will on the roof. She had gone to find him in his office, but his secretary had told her he was up here. Down below, they watched as Julian Brody talked about the new building, and laughed with the reporters.
"Do you think if we threw a dime on his head we'd get him?"
"Certainly kill him."
Brenda watched as Will pretended to mull it over. He noticed the heaving box by her feet. "What, did you bring your entire house to work with you?"
She shook her head, and Will noticed she was blushing. She just managed to lift it and pulled open the lid. Will didn't think he had ever seen so much candy in his entire life, at least not that wasn't in a shop of some kind. Will stuck his hand in and pulled out some Reese's cups before Brenda put the lid back on it. He handed one to her and they continued to watch Brody.
"So, how are things with you and Fritz?" Will asked, pretending as if he cared. He loved Brenda, considered her a close friend but he still didn't like her husband, and knew the feeling was mutual. It had become worse over the last few months as Brenda, perhaps feeling guilty for the way she had treated Sharon and FID, had begun to spend more time with Will and his family to keep his mind off of things.
Brenda wrinkled her nose. "Fine, I suppose. We've got therapy after work tomorrow."
"Therapy?"
"Couples counselling. The therapist loves Fritz, she has problems with me."
"Yeah, putting work ahead of your family is usually seen as such a positive thing." He noticed the look that Brenda gave him, and the slap to his arm. "Yeah I know I was the worst, but losing Sharon and nearly losing Tommy made me revaluate some things."
"You're not going to let Brody win, are you Will?"
He finished his last cup and took a drink of the coffee by his feet. "No, I'm not Brenda. I can't, I made a promise to Sharon that I was going to try for Chief, and I damn well am. Unfortunately, Brody has the support. The two people that I really trust - trusted - were not exactly popular with the rest of the force."
Brenda nodded, and decided that helping Will could extend further than just occasional dinners and going to see random films at the cinema. "Leave it to me Will, I'll drum up support for you, I promise." She thought about Tony, and wondered who he knew. He was certainly becoming an ally. "What have they done about FID?"
"Nothing yet, will be the new Chief's jurisdiction. Right, talking about that I have another meeting. Want me to carry your candy box down?"
"I'm good, Will, thank you."
As Will gathered his belongings Brenda kissed him on the cheek and watched as he headed off of the roof. Below, Brenda saw Brody making his way back inside. She took one of the melted chocolate bars and threw it down over the roof. She licked her fingers clean as Brody examined the gunk on his suit in distaste.
X
The meeting had run on longer than expected, but eventually Will had picked up Tommy and they had headed to the school. Will sat in the waiting room nervously, running through the day's events in his head. Moving was always stressful, and moving the entire LAPD was turning out to be a nightmare. Everyone had issues, everyone had gripes. Only Tommy gripping his wrist brought him back to the world of the sane. He hadn't found any new jobs, but he had done some hours at the garage and had a little oil on his cuff. Brendan and Caitlin were playing in the grounds with an afterschool club, oblivious to the little meeting. They were here to meet Caitlin's teacher, and Will was all over the place.
"It'll be fine, don't worry."
Tommy was right. Caitlin's teacher came out, and Will smiled. Anna Bradley was very pretty, a little quiet but with eyes that missed nothing. Tommy also grinned at her, but noted that the short skirt and low cut blouse were more for his father's benefit than his. Tommy appraised her - she was younger than Sharon, probably didn't carry any baggage and there was no ring on her finger. But Tommy could see where it would lead as it had done countless times before - inevitable divorce as the long hours put strain on the relationship. Talking to cop friends of his Dad's and his father's own background told him that a job on the police force didn't come without its downsides.
"Would you like to come in?"
The classroom was a little bare, but it was the end of the school year. Caitlin would be moving up grades, and usually the teachers offered a parents evening a little earlier in the last term. However, Will had missed it due to a killer stalking shop keepers and Brenda's budget requests. Miss Bradley offered them both seats and some water, but Will declined.
"Mr Pope, it's finally a pleasure to meet you." Will didn't miss the vaguely disguised sarcasm in her voice. Work came first, or it had done. Even then, he had been more concerned with Brendan's bullying; he hadn't thought there was anything wrong with his daughter.
"Same here. So what did you want to see us about?"
Bradley shifted closer and Tommy smiled at the amount of cleavage on show. "Now I know I'm not Caitlin's teacher anymore, but I want to make you aware of the change in her over the last few months. She's been quiet, withdrawn and she's been sitting on her own a lot of the time. I thought she might be missing her mother, she was like that when she first started but she said that wasn't what it was about."
Will nodded, he had noticed that both his children had become a little quiet over the last months but then so had Tommy and himself. All of the Pope's were feeling the loss of Sharon Raydor. "I was dating someone the kids really liked, but it ended, sadly."
"So you're single now?"
Tommy had to stop his smile, and Will jogged his elbow. This was serious; he didn't need Tommy making suggestive ideas. Although Will wasn't blind, and he knew when a woman was dressed to flirt. It had happened a few times in the playground - a single, handsome guy with kids was a draw to single mothers. But Will, after seeing the damage done to Tommy, had always been reluctant to get kids involved. If he had been his old self, Anna Bradley was just his type.
"I'll talk to her. I didn't realise she had been that upset, thank you for bringing this to my attention."
On the ride home, Will ignored all of Tommy's suggestions that Anna Bradley was into him. He was more concerned about his two younger children. All he had told them was that Sharon had left because of work, nothing more. Now he wondered how much to tell them and what would make them upset. Hell, just thinking about what happened made him upset.
He was inside, making a cup of coffee when he heard Tommy with his siblings. Will went upstairs to see what was going on in Caitlin's bedroom and found the two young ones on the bed and Tommy kneeling on the floor.
"Miss Bradley said you were upset at school. What's up Caitlin?" Tommy asked gently, trying to get an answer. Will had wondered who she would open up to more - even Brendan had started becoming closer to his big brother now he had calmed his ways.
Both of the children looked sad, and Will could see his own face in the mirror splayed out on his sons - a feeling of sadness and uncertainty about what had happened. Eventually Brendan spoke. "Did Sharon leave because of us?"
Will's heart sank. He heard Tommy ask why, but he already knew, should have realised. When Estelle had left him, they had done the usual thing with the kids. Mommy and Daddy love you very much, it's nothing to do with you why we're not together, we just don't love each other as much anymore. However, all that had been a crock as Estelle had gone off to San Francisco with her new husband, barely seeing the kids. No wonder they had been so upset when Sharon had left.
"Mommy's new husband didn't want us, so she left."
Not for the first time, Tommy cursed Estelle. Both children looked so upset, and Will couldn't bear it any longer. He moved into the room and sat on the bed next to Caitlin, where both of them started to hug him. He kissed Caitlin's head and held them close, reaching out for his son's hand to grip. It was just them now, no one else. He had to tell them the truth now.
"Sharon didn't leave because of you at all. She left because one of her officers hurt her, nearly killed her and she couldn't…" Will struggled to put it all into words. "She needed some time by herself; she couldn't cope with what that officer had done. He had been a friend of hers, and he had betrayed her."
Caitlin buried her head into her father's shoulder. He held her, rocking her gently on his knee. "So is she going to come back? She's okay, right?" He could hear the tiny thread of hope in her voice, and could hear Brendan's head stir on his shoulder.
Will knew he couldn't deal in maybes, couldn't promise and then not deliver. As he thought the words through in his head, he realised he had to accept them too. "Sharon's okay, she's much better. But, no, she's not coming back. She's got a new life now, and so do we. As much as it hurts, this is how it is and we'll have to deal with it. It's best for everyone, even though it's tough."
The children nodded, and then held their father for a little while longer. Eventually, they left and went to play with their toys. Will retreated to his office, and after a while Tommy came to see him. He was looking at one of the rare pictures of him and Sharon. Tommy passed him a cup of coffee and Will took it gratefully.
"She's gone, Tommy, and I don't know what to do. I'm cried, I've hit things. But she's gone, I realise that now."
Tommy left his father alone, before bringing up the last tub of Ben and Jerry's they had in the freezer. It was Phish Food, and he didn't understand why he could hear soft laughter followed by a couple of choking sobs. He decided to leave him be, and put his two siblings to bed. Sleep came late, but eventually it did. He didn't see his father watch him sleep and smile.
X
It was getting late and Brenda was still in the office. She couldn't go home to Fritz, not yet. As she looked out of her office window, she saw that there was a light on at the spare desk. Gone were the days that she would work late, struggling for one more lead and she would see Andy Flynn sitting in his place, feeling exactly what she was feeling. Gone were the days of "Get Stroh" signs on department aims - Brenda had binned that sign last week, finally resigning herself to that going down to the cold case department.
"I'm going home, Chief," Tony announced, leaning out of her doorframe.
She may have hated the FID team, loathed their practices but working in Major Crimes the three Detectives had been a god send. They each had different ways of working - Tony was more out of the box thinking, but still methodical. Simon and Claudia bounced ideas off of each other, and even surpassed Flynn and Provenza for getting into trouble. They had gelled well with her boys - and after all why wouldn't they? They all had something in common, the grief of losing a team member.
Tony was the most noticeable after all this time, but at least he had a distraction to help him through.
He had thrown himself into his family life while Brenda had no such thing - Fritz was working more hours and with Kitty gone the house was empty. Nothing to distract her other than dead bodies. Then she reflected back on her conversation earlier with Will. She wanted him to be Chief, not that idiot Brody who was no doubt dousing his suit in club soda. She had decided to help him out by getting him support, and it may be the distraction she needed.
"Tony, who do you want to be Chief?" Brenda asked, out of the blue. Tony looked at her for all of a second before replying.
"Definitely Pope. Even before the whole thing with Brody, I still would have picked him. I mean, I know he had his faults but in the last year he grew. He's a good guy - pity he doesn't have much support."
Will didn't have the support he needed to be Chief - Brody had Central and Narcotics and probably Vice in his pocket. She ran through in her mind who would want to support Will. Maybe Traffic, some of the smaller divisions would help him and the Gang Unit certainly supported him. Taylor probably would, he and the rest of the Robbery/Homicide boys had joined their fractured alliance, after all two of their former colleagues in Raydor and Flynn had gone.
"If you got some Deputy Chief's on his side, that would help," Tony commented, rummaging in his pockets for his car keys. "Hey, Chief - you got a Ding Dong? I'm starving."
Brenda reached into her drawer before tossing Tony a chocolate. She thought about his suggestion. There were ten Deputy Chief's in the department including her, and Brenda couldn't immediately think of anyone who would help her out. He gave a small wave as he headed out and headed home. Deciding she might as well as go home too, she packed up her desk.
LAPD HQ was quiet. As Brenda moved through, she saw a light at the end of a corridor. Looking at the plate next to it, she discovered it was the home of Internal Affairs. Moving down the corridor, Brenda realised the light was coming from the empty offices of FID. She pushed open the door and was greeted by the emptiness. Standing against a wall was a figure, and upon closer inspection, Brenda realised that the tall figure was Deputy Chief Stephen Mitchell. She had never had much to do with him, the head of Internal Affairs. But they knew each other by reputation.
He saw her and gave her a faint smile. "Whole place is empty. Never used."
It was an amazing office, and no doubt the FID team would be able to figure out the whiteboards, the monitors. People were squabbling for space in the new building, all clean and brand new. They already had a graveyard right in the middle. No wonder there were ghosts. As Brenda looked around, she spotted a metal plate lingering on an empty desk. She moved over and examined it; it was the same shape and size as the introductory plate for Internal Affairs. It was a memorial plate for the officers of the department who had died. Down the bottom was Sharon Raydor's name.
"You know she's not dead," Brenda stated and Mitchell nodded, his eyes sad. It had never occurred to her that the people in IA were close, but they must be considering the rest of the LAPD hated them. She hadn't realised others might be missing Raydor just as much as the three lieutenants in her office.
"I know, but she might as well be. We'd still have lost both of them, and probably Will as well. He loved her, you know. I've known Sharon Raydor for over six years, and I'd never seen her so happy." Mitchell joined her at the plaque, his meagre smile fading away. "You know Brody won't let me put this up? I haven't asked Will…I don't think reminding him is a good idea."
"Brody. Every time I hear that name I want to hit something."
"He ended up with some crap on his suit today. Was rather amusing."
Brenda smiled. "I wondered where that chocolate had gone."
Mitchell laughed, and beckoned Brenda into the empty adjoining office. No one sat in the empty chairs, instead they both stood. Mitchell stuck his hands in his pockets. A complete ghost town, the bare lights giving an eerie feel to the place. It had only been a few days before when Brenda had stood in the empty offices of Major Crimes in Parker Centre and felt the exact same way.
"I am so proud of this department - so proud. And Sharon Raydor was an incredible officer, despite all the crap that's been thrown at her. Brody has started building a new team, but thankfully I will get final approval. And it's not coming for a while."
"She's not coming back."
Mitchell turned around and smiled at her. "You think Andy Flynn is going to return? You're saving a desk for a man who is gone, who will never step foot back here. I don't see how this is any different."
Brenda agreed it was not. "Who told you about the desk?"
"No one. On the tour I looked in and saw the lone desk, empty like a tomb. Like this place."
She kept looking at the office and realised the cold, hard truth. They had all thought that moving from Parker Centre would be a good thing that they could leave their ghosts behind. What they hadn't realised was that they had brought them all with them, to hold up in the halls. Not the ghost of what had been, something infinitely more dangerous. The ghost of what could have been. Will and Sharon as a couple, known to all and happy for it. Andy Flynn by her side, solving crimes. FID here, working to keep the integrity and the honour of the LAPD intact. All dust, and fantasies folded away.
"I have a theory that Brody was involved with Webster, but I can't prove it. Will's a good man, a good officer but I don't think he truly wants to be Chief, not anymore."
Brenda rested her hand on Stephen's arm. "He needs support. And unfortunately no one here much likes me."
"You think they like me? I'm the Chief Inspector; I'm the devil, Chief Johnson." He chuckled. "It's strange how you and Sharon never became friends." Mitchell grinned before giving Brenda his hand. "I'm Team Pope. Give my assistant a ring later this week and we can discuss our plans. I know if Will is Chief, he'll do right by this department. And that's good enough for me."
Brenda smiled and squeezed his arm before moving outwards. As she got out of the building and faced the three block walk back, she noticed a figure sitting on the benches. She almost thought it was Flynn but then she realised it was Tony, sitting alone. He gave her a final wave as he walked to his car, he must have known that she would find Mitchell. Psychic - almost like Andy Flynn could be sometimes in knowing exactly how she was feeling. She dug around inside her purse until she found Andy's ring. She wasn't ready to give it up. She took off the chain she wore, and slipped it down.
Andy Flynn had been the reminder in her life to keep it straight, that sometimes you had to let things go and sometimes cling on. She had finally let go of Stroh, not wanting to bring that ghost with her. But there was one thing she wasn't ready to let go of just yet.
She walked to her car.
X
Another day, another case. Another lunch time spent eating at the desk he should have had, in the new FID offices. Claudia and Simon didn't come down here; they called it a ghost town. But Tony liked it, even if it was a little morbid. Like leaving a flower by the edge of the plaque, which he had done again. He had not expected his wife to understand, but she did. The power of a team was very strong.
He had just finished his sandwiches when the phone in the office started to ring. Sighing, he decided to pick it up. It was probably Claudia or Simon asking for help in the new and improved, dust free cold case department. Which was, ironically, the hottest room in the building.
"Hello?" Tony greeted, picking up the phone from the office that should have belonged to Sharon Raydor. He didn't like being in here, he couldn't feel anything from the room and it made him sad. No posters of New York, no warmth that he got from her. Just an empty room.
"Hi Tony." A pause, a little sigh of happiness. "They let you take over? Good choice. I bet you're doing great."
Tony didn't need to struggle to figure out the voice, but his brain wasn't registering the information. After what he had told the Chief the other night, he couldn't imagine that what he had been hoping for the past four months was coming true. But it was. "Hey Captain."
He could hear faint city sounds in the background, but he didn't press her for any information. He knew she wouldn't tell him anything, she hadn't told anyone where she had gone to. "Hey yourself. So - you all okay? Honestly?"
He could tell her a million things. About Brody, about how they and Major Crimes had wrapped up the Webster case and he was now behind bars for a very long time. How Simon and Claudia had moved in together, how they were now working with the Chief and her team. But he couldn't seem to voice any of that. "We're all okay, we're not…" He couldn't do it. He couldn't tell her the truth and let her know how everything was broken. "We're all good. Don't miss you at all."
He heard Sharon Raydor chuckle on the other end of the phone. It was a sound he had never thought he would hear again, and he gripped the chair as anger ripped through him. They had been a family, and Jimmy had smashed that to pieces. Everything had been perfect, and now it was just life. "Good, because I don't miss you either."
"Tony?" cried a voice from outside which Tony decided was definitely Deputy Chief Mitchell. He asked her to hold on, while he waited to see what he wanted. After helping decide on screws, Tony raced back to the office, hoping to talk to her again. But the dial tone rang heavily in his ear.
"You okay Tony?" Mitchell asked, coming into the office and noting that he was having lunch here for the third day in a row. He didn't want to have a conversation with Tony about it, not when he was feeling the exact same way.
"Yeah I'm good. I'm okay."
That afternoon, ignoring Brody's objections, Tony and Mitchell screwed in the plaque. Tony put the flower from earlier in front of it, smiling to himself. He couldn't have lunch by the desk he would have had forever, the Chief couldn't save Flynn's desk until everything was all change. He had to finally do right by his team, his family - what was left of it. Before Mitchell went away, he asked about the chance that he could lead FID. Legacy - it was all about legacy and preserving what had gone before.
Will walked past the plaque later on that afternoon. He traced the letting with his finger, and smiled sadly as he thought about the last time he had seen Sharon, on his steps. Her words about a mourning period, about moving on. She hadn't wanted him to grieve for her; she had spent a lot of time doing that with her father and knew what a waste of a life it was. When he got back to his office, he found Anna Bradley's number and called her to thank her again for help with Caitlin. The last stage of grief - acceptance and moving forward.
Time to move forward.