Love Never Fail Us

By Kadi

Rated: M

Disclaimer: This isn't my sandbox, but it is my favorite place to play.

A/N: The idea for this came to me a while back. I began this story before the conclusion of season 3; I think we can all agree I've covered the Stroh subject enough. For the purposes of this, you draw your own conclusions to what has happened to him. I'm choosing to repress.

Warning: Adult content and Character Death (not a regular/core character). The loss of a loved one can come upon us in the most unexpected, and yet mundane fashion. Whether we have walked away from that person, or they have walked away from us, the heart is not a switch. It does not stop caring because of absence. Birth, life, and death, it is all about growth and how it shapes us, and those around us, and what we find in its aftermath.

Special thank you to the always awesome beta deenikn8 and of course to the wonderful twin & partner in crime kate04us. It was the twin who found the title for this in the song Love Never Fails when it reminded her of this story while it was still in progress. Isn't she the best?

Note: This is shorter than the last one, and 7 chapters are already completed. I will release them as the editing is finished. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Love does not delight in evil

Love - will always protect

always trust and always hope

and it will persevere

love rejoices in truth

Love never fails, never fails

I promise you

My love will never fail

And I will give to you

Faith, hope, and love

-Jim Brickman & Amy Sky

He knew that it was going to be a long night the moment he opened the door. That didn't stop Gavin from stepping aside and holding open the door to his downtown, high-rise condo. His brows rose in askance as she breezed past him. She didn't even bother to say hello. Gavin's lips pursed. He tried to think back to the last time that she bothered to drop by and found their recent social interactions to be very lacking. They had met for lunch, once, the previous month, and occasionally they would text. Aside from that, Gavin was coming up short on the instances in which his friend seemed to actually remember that she knew him.

He tapped his fingers against his still open door and watched her stride across his living room. "You used to call first," he snarked, and finally pushed the door closed with a flick of his wrist. "What if I was busy?"

"You're not." Sharon dropped her purse on a chair. "I need sex." There were an incredibly few people in her life with which she could discuss anything, and Gavin was one of them. Her mother and sisters, including her brothers' wives, were also in that group. It was a very small group. She was still limited on the things that she was willing to discuss with Emily, but as her daughter got older, they became closer. This would certainly not have been one of those topics. No, this was a Gavin conversation.

He rolled his eyes at her. She was feeling melodramatic. He could sense it in the flare with which she spoke, and the way she tossed her hair over her shoulder before looking at him. There was an air about her, one of irritated desperation. She was probably the only person he knew that could pull it off. Gavin strode toward her. He lifted her purse from where she had discarded it and placed it on the table behind the sofa. "Yes," he stated simply, and with no small amount of sarcasm. "I'm sure that you do, but we've had this conversation sweetie. There are a lot of things that I will do for you, Sharon, but you are not one of them."

She snorted quietly. Sharon rolled her eyes and turned on the spot. "Oh shut up." She walked across the room, the liquor cabinet and bar that were situated just beside the double, glass balcony doors that afforded Gavin one of the best views in the city. She had tried, many times, to talk him out of the condo, and buy it for herself. He wasn't budging and she didn't blame him. The liquor cabinet was a mix of mahogany and marble. While Sharon opened it and began to sift through bottles, searching for a specific label, she continued to speak. "I don't want you, Gavin. I know that is damaging to your ego, but there you have it." She made a triumphant sound and lifted the bottle of gin. Sharon gathered a few other items from the well stocked cabinet, including a martini shaker. She turned and set it all out on the bar before retrieving a pair of martini glasses.

"I see." She was looking for alcohol. She was in a particularly bad mood if she was in the mood for that, Gavin realized. Typically she was a one or two glasses of wine girl, but there were moments when a dirty martini or a fun and fruity margarita was desired. When she went for the martinis, she was feeling especially naughty, and if he was able to get a margarita in her hand, then it was a matter of fun and laughter. Gavin walked over to the bar and took the gin out of her hand. "Alright, I'll play along. You want our lieutenant, but knowing you as I do, you're probably being stupid and stubborn. But yes, do, go ahead and tell me how much better you are for him than I am."

They traded places. Gavin took over mixing the martinis while Sharon moved around the bar and slipped onto one of the stools. Her nose wrinkled. "I don't want him anymore. You're welcome to him. Right now, all I want to do is drink." She rested her elbows against the surface of the bar and leaned against it. "Then maybe, if I'm lucky I can forget about idiots that have less balls than I thought."

Gavin's brows shot into his hairline. From behind his dark, designer frames, his eyes widened. He whistled at her and lifted the martini shaker. "My, my, you are feeling moody aren't you? You know, sweetie, there are only three things that have ever made you this vicious." His eyes narrowed as he studied her. "Being pregnant, horny, or sick." Gavin reached across the bar and lay a hand against her forehead. "Well, you're too old for one, and you don't have a fever, so I'm going to go out on a limb and call it for option two."

Sharon glared at him. "Gavin." She sighed. He knew her too well, that was the only problem with them. He had no qualms at calling her on just about anything and everything. Although, it was also the reason she was there. Her mood would take very little in explanation. Gavin would just know. Sharon shook her head and held out a hand. "Less talking, more drinking."

He laughed as reached into the cooler beneath the bar for a jar of olives. "Oh I see. I can have him, but you're going to distract me by whining about him. Yes, yes, go ahead," he teased.

Sharon wasn't particularly listening to him anymore. She let her chin fall into her hand and watched as he mixed and poured the martinis. She accepted hers and took a grateful sip. "I really don't get it Gavin. I understand that it has been a few years, but it hasn't been that long. I've done everything I know to do." Being legally separated, but technically still married to Jack all those years had not meant living like a nun. Relationships were out of the question, but she had friends. Like minded individuals with the same requirements, closed mouths, and no expectations. That had fallen by the wayside when she brought Rusty into her home. Suddenly there just hadn't been time, and she hadn't thought much about it. Now she was thinking about it. She was thinking about it a lot, but the difference was, she wasn't married anymore, technically or otherwise, and a relationship was no longer out of the question. Sharon sighed and blew a stray lock of hair out of her face. "What is even wrong with him," she continued. "I wore the red Valentino, Gavin. With the Jimmy Choo stilettos. He hardly even looked at me. Six months ago, he would have looked."

Gavin fought a smile. He poured himself a drink and watched as she stood, gesturing with one hand and holding the martini in the other. Yes, the Lieutenant would have looked. He was surprised to hear otherwise. In fact, he had been witness to said looking. It had his head tilting in question. "What did you do to him?"

Her eyes narrowed. Sharon glared at him. "Why do you always ask me that? I haven't done anything to him. Yet." Her lip curled. She walked over and took a seat on the sofa. "Last weekend when we drove up the coast for Nicole's birthday, I wore jeans, and those boots you picked up for me in Milan last year. The brown ones with the heels. Not even so much as a second glance. I'm throwing everything I have at him, I just don't know." Her lips turned down into a small pout. "I've been completely friend-zoned. He doesn't even look at my legs anymore, Gavin. I could count on him to let me know if my skirt was too short or not by how long it took to get his eyes above my waist, now I think I could walk into the Murder Room pantless and I doubt he would notice." She drained her glass and held it out to him as he walked past. "Really, maybe you would have better luck at this point."

He rolled his eyes at her as they traded glasses, his full and untouched martini for her empty glass. He turned to walk back to the bar. "Maybe I would," he snarked. The loss of his drink would not go unpunished.

Sharon tipped her head back against the sofa and sighed. "It's just not fair. I saw him first."

"Did you?" Gavin walked over and took a seat on the sofa. Now that he had a glass in hand, he angled himself sideways to face her. "See him, I mean. Did you see him at all, and maybe that is part of the problem?" His brows lifted. "You can be incredibly single minded when you try hard enough, not to mention superiorly focused. Now all of a sudden, you think that you see him, and what is he meant to do? Come to heel just because you've snapped your fingers?" Gavin sipped his martini while he considered his next words. "He's a man, Sharon. He's not a puppy."

Her jaw dropped. She stared at him. "I know that!" Her green eyes flashed indignation. "Of course I know that, it just happens to be the problem. Now that I can acknowledge that he is a man, he's gone and become absolutely clueless. I've done everything I can, Gavin, short of actually throwing myself at him. In case you've forgotten, my hands are a little tied here. There's only so much that I can do. I'm his boss. I can't just… I'm limited in what I can do. If one of us is going to make a move, it has to be him."

He watched her lean her head back and close her eyes. Gavin sighed. "Yes, okay, you're right about that. Has it occurred to you that maybe he… I don't know… decided to move on?"

"I don't see how," She said dully. Those were exactly the thoughts that had crossed her mind. "If he's not at work, he's with me. When would he have time to date? He's too busy not dating me." Sharon drew a throw pillow into her lap and sighed. "I have to say, I'm a little lost here. He seemed interested enough, and now…" She shrugged. "Nothing. It's like he's there, but he's not there." Her shoulders slumped. Sharon drained the glass and placed it on the coffee table in front of them before drawing her legs up and leaning sideways on the sofa. "It seems oddly familiar, actually. Like I've been here before." She hugged the pillow to her chest. "It feels like I've been exactly here before, except we're not married, he's not drunk, and we're not about to go broke because he's gambled away our entire savings. He's just stopped seeing me."

Suddenly, the snark had given way to sadness. Gavin reached down and combed his fingers through her hair. "I think you might be reading too much into it. You've never compared them before. Refused to, as I remember it. Now I think you are because the other one has been making an ass of himself." Jack had fallen off the wagon, quite spectacularly, and his struggle to get back on it was a bit pathetic. Suddenly he realized that he had a wife, only she wasn't anymore, and he was taking his time at coming to terms with that. "You're getting morose darling." He handed her his martini. "I think it's time for you to stop thinking at all and just keep drinking."

"This won't solve my problems." Sharon sighed as she lifted it. "They'll all still be there in the morning." When he tried to take it back, she swatted his hand. Sharon looked up at him with a small smile. "That doesn't mean that I'm going to give it back."

"Of course not." Gavin rolled his eyes at her. "I forgot who I was dealing with, sweetie. Well, drink up. There's more where that came from."

Sharon leaned up on her elbow and pulled the olives out of the glass. "That is exactly what I was counting on." She pulled them off the stick with her teeth and chased them with a long sip. "Just keep pouring. I don't want to think about anything. I am done. For just one night, I'm shutting off everything. In an hour, if I can still remember my name, I'm going to be utterly disappointed in you."

"I can't have that." Gavin swung up from the sofa. He walked over to the bar and began mixing again. "One forgotten name coming right up. Just remember, in the morning, when you're miserable, you asked for it."

"Oh shut up and mix." Sharon placed the now empty glass on the coffee table and lay her head back down. "I'm wallowing here."

"Yes you are," Gavin muttered. He shook his head again. It was going to be a long night. These moods didn't strike often, but when they did, they came on strong. She was morose, irritated, and a tad desperate. Not that he could blame her, not entirely. He could understand where she was coming from, the doubts and fears, and even her hesitation. She was emotionally burned once, and now that she was ready to put herself out there again, there seemed to be no reason to do it. Making that decision would not have been easy for her, especially at her age and with the available dating pool. It wasn't as if she had a lot of time and options, and honestly, he didn't think that she wanted either. She wanted the familiar, the comfortable. If she wanted to play the field, he knew that she certainly could, and with some success. She was not an unattractive woman, even at her age. Especially at her age.

She wanted someone that she could trust, someone that she had feelings for. She wanted the man who had slowly inserted himself into her life and her heart, and made her dare to think that the possibility of more still existed. Now he seemed to be playing hard to get. Gavin wasn't sure that he understood all the ins and outs of that relationship, but he had seen and heard enough over the last year or so. He kept in mind what he knew of both of them while also keeping an eye on Sharon.

Gavin ordered dinner and over the course of the next two hours, they both managed to drink their fair share of martinis. She slowed down after those first few, they both did, and dinner helped. They talked some more, although they avoided the subject of any of the men in her life. They laughed, they planned a shopping trip, and in the end, Sharon still managed to fall asleep on his sofa. She was laying on her side, still hugging a throw pillow, and legs curled toward her chest. Gavin dropped a throw blanket over her and began picking up the refuse left behind from their drinking binge and take-out.

After cleaning up, he stepped out onto the balcony with his phone. He considered the lights of the city, from the many high-rises that surrounded his building, and the passing cars on the streets below. He tapped his phone against his palm for a minute. With a sigh, he scrolled through the contacts until he found a familiar name. It was late, but not absurdly so. After three rings, he heard a gruff voice answer.

"Flynn."

Gavin had only a second to think through his opening salvo. He rested a hand against his balcony rail and shifted his weight so that his hip was leaning against it. Suddenly, he smirked. "Lieutenant. It's Gavin, and before we go any farther, I have a few important questions for you. Are you gay?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. It lasted the space of a few beats before Andy replied, voice sounding both annoyed and confused. "What the hell? Is this a joke?"

"Not a joke." He tapped his fingers against the balcony rail. "This is actually very important. I need you to think. If you're not gay, then are you otherwise impaired, damaged, or impotent in some way?"

Andy sighed. His jaw clenched. "Gavin, are you drunk?" He couldn't imagine any other reason why the lawyer would be calling him, specifically with this line of questioning.

"Quite possibly, or else I would have thought better of having this conversation." Gavin turned and leaned against the railing. He gazed inside his condo and at the sleeping woman on his sofa. "You see, Lieutenant, and I think I should probably call you Andy at this point because we're going to get just a little bit personal. The thing is, I have a somewhat intoxicated woman sleeping on my sofa right now, and it's rare that she lets herself get that far gone but she wasn't exactly feeling all that terrific tonight. She'll probably kill me when she finds out I've called you, but the problem is, she's throwing everything she has at you right now, and getting absolutely nothing in return. As I see it that means that you are either gay, damaged, or incredibly stupid. At your age, there's nothing to be ashamed of, we either need to get you out of the closet or get you some pills. Now, if you're being stupid, that's a different matter. I can't fix stupid, and just let me be clear here, punishing her, for some perceived injustice on your part, by suddenly pretending to be completely disinterested would be very, very stupid. I don't believe you're blind, Andy, so which is it?"

He was met with silence. It seemed to stretch, and then there was a sigh. Andy pinched the bridge of his nose. It wasn't hard to figure out which woman he was talking about. There was only the one that the two of them had in common. Andy swore quietly. "I'll come and get her," he decided, and figured it was best if he didn't address anything else that the lawyer had said.

Gavin's lips pursed. That was the correct response, in a round about sort of way. "What makes you think that you have the right?" He stepped away from the rail and began to pace the length of the balcony. "This isn't the first time that she's fallen asleep here. I think I know how to take care of Sharon. Probably better than you do, at this point. You're the reason she's here." Gavin smirked when he heard another sigh. "I thought she was insane. When I realized that she likes you, I thought she was out of her mind. That isn't to say that you aren't attractive, you are, believe me, you've been the subject of several conversations of that nature and not necessarily with just Sharon. When I compared you to the ex-husband, she shut me down. She has never compared the two of you, not until tonight, and not in the way you might think. No, she compared her current relationship with you, to the one that she had with him… when he stopped seeing her."

"Listen, Gavin…"

He cut him off. He wasn't ready to hear it yet, and he wasn't finished. "No, I have more to say. If you've changed your mind, the kind thing to do would be to just tell her. Let her spend her time finding someone who might actually appreciate her, now that she's free to do so. Otherwise, wake up! Do you understand that she's doing as much as she's capable of? I don't mean personally, I mean legally. You work for her, idiot, and she can make herself available to you but she cannot express interest or otherwise approach the situation with you in any blatant manner! You're going to have to man up here, but don't be surprised if you get a chilly reception."

"Can you shut the hell up for five seconds?" Andy rolled his eyes. He already had his keys in hand and was leaving his house. "I don't remember you being this chatty before." He groaned. "Gavin, it's not disinterest, alright? That's all I'm going to say about it. The rest is none of your damned business. Now where the hell do you live?"

"Give me one good reason why I should tell you," Gavin shot back at him.

Andy ground his teeth together. "I work for her," he said. "You're right about that, and she's worked hard to get where she's at right now. Plus she's pretty damned important to me. I didn't want to blow it. I wanted to be sure." He unlocked his car and got in behind the wheel. "Now, where the hell am I going?"

Gavin clucked his tongue at the biting tongue. Then he was reminded that the Lieutenant had always been a bit impatient, and for some reason, Sharon was fond of that. He rolled his eyes. She was a goner. He made a point of filing that fact away for later teasing, and then he rattled off an address for the other man. "Just don't take too long, I think she's waited long enough for the men in her life to get their acts together." Gavin hung up on that happy note. He was rather pleased with himself for getting the final volley, even if he would probably pay for it later. He strode back into the condo and dropped his phone on an end table. Then he sat down to wait.

He didn't have to wait for very long. It was a matter of only a half an hour before the doorman downstairs was buzzing, requesting permission to let the Lieutenant come upstairs. Gavin was waiting at the door when he arrived. He stepped aside and let the other man in, but noted that he looked a bit concerned. "Over there," he waved an arm toward the sofa.

Andy turned where he stood and his eyes swept the room before settling on her. She was curled into the blanket and her hair was obscuring her face, but it was Sharon, and more at peace than he had seen her in a while despite what Gavin had said of her mood. He sighed quietly as he walked over and knelt down in front of the sofa. He reached out with a finger and drew her hair aside, only to tuck it behind her ear. "Sharon," he spoke quietly, and smiled when her eyes fluttered and she gave a soft hum. "Sweetheart, it's time to go." She only hummed again, but offered no resistance when he slipped an arm beneath her and drew her into a sitting position. Andy stood and drew her with him; he was reminded again at just how small she was in build, no matter the size of her personality. His back and knees still protested when he lifted her into his arms and cradled her to his chest like a child.

"Hm." She hummed again. Her face moved into the crook of his neck. Sharon sighed as her arms slipped around him. She settled comfortably against him, and let her nose nuzzle at the underside of his jaw. "Andy," She whispered his name, and let herself sink back into slumber, content with where she was.

He frowned as he stood there. She seemed to relax completely. Andy closed his eyes and turned his head to the side. His lips brushed the top of her head. He had been reticent to pursue this. He knew that he cared for her, and he knew that he wanted her. His attraction to his friend went back long before either of their children had ever called them out on it. She was a beautiful woman, but at the time, he had known or at least thought that she was well out of his league. He was a blue-collar kind of guy with a lot of baggage in his past. He was a drunk who managed to screw up all the good things he'd ever had in his life. His job was about all that he'd had left, along with a handful of friendships. He was still trying to piece together his relationship with his kids, and things were a lot better there, but that didn't mean that he was any good for her.

She had lived this life. She had the drunk of a husband who had blown her life apart. She had raised her kids without their father and she knew all of the excuses, all of the hurts, and all of the ways a man like him could completely shatter her. Why the hell would she ever want to take a chance on someone like him?

As he had gotten to know her better, the one thing that Andy came to realize was just how big a cheerleader for the underdog she was. Her life could have made her cynical, and instead, it made her believe in the existence of hope. She had hope that people could change, that they could turn their lives around, that there was a happy ending on the horizon. She was a realist too, and she didn't sit around waiting for those things.

She was also a hell of a lot of fun. The lady knew how to have a good time. His blue-collar roots didn't even seem to faze her. Put her in front of a ball game and she wanted beer on tap and the most fattening nachos that she could get her hands on. She was as happy at a picnic in the park, playing with Nicole's stepsons as she was at the fancy French place she liked to talk him into taking her to occasionally, when they were out for one of their dinners.

He had fallen for the laughing woman with the wildly blowing hair that let a pair of boys tackle her on the beach. They kept telling people that they were friends. No one seemed to believe them. Was it any wonder, when they spent most of their time together? He hadn't lied when he told her that he didn't want to tell Nicole that they weren't together. She had just misunderstood his reason. He wanted the reality of it. He wanted her.

There just seemed to be a number of obstacles in their path. First it was her marriage, and he realized early that she used it as a safety net. Once that was gone, he'd held back, not wanting to rush her. She was only recently divorced, and he didn't care how long she was separated. He knew Sharon now, and he knew that it had been hard for her to take that step. Hope, again, that things would change. Closing the door on it had hurt.

He wanted to give her time, and somewhere along the way, she had become his best friend and he couldn't say for sure, but he sensed that maybe that was true for her too. It was in the way that she would text him, even when she was out with Gavin, telling him about something they had seen or done, or making a note of something that they should do together. She would call him, if it wasn't too late, while she sat on her balcony and talk about the fact that she was at her wit's end with Rusty and whatever was happening between them at the moment. Usually it had to do with the fact that his other mother had upset him in some way, and rarely because Rusty had upset her. Although, she was a mother to a teenage boy. They argued, just as teenagers and their parents argue. God only knew how devoted those two were to each other, but they were human, and sometimes the condo was just too small.

When Rusty had agreed to the adoption, she had called him. It was late, and he'd already been in bed, but he hadn't minded it. She was crying, but she was happy, and he was going to be hers. Andy had reminded her, quietly, that he was already hers. She was just making it official.

There was a brief period when he thought that their friendship was over. She was upset with him, over Nicole's misconceptions and his participation in it. He had stayed away from her, as that seemed to be what she wanted. She'd gone out of her way to stay away from him just before the ballet, so it stood to reason that space was what she wanted. He gave it to her. He hadn't spoken to her unless it was necessary. It was hard as hell and went against his usual impatient nature. In the end, though, it paid off.

She came by his house on a Sunday morning. It was just as if nothing at all had happened. She brought coffee and pastries from the place that they both liked, and proceeded to make fun of him because he still hadn't done anything about his overgrown yard. He'd been talking about trimming it back and doing the mowing for two weeks. He stared at her, in her jeans and t-shirt, drinking her coffee and tearing off bits of a gooey cinnamon roll in his kitchen. He might have been a bit overly brusque when he'd asked her why she was there, but she had looked at him, and smiled warmly. "You don't just drop your friends because they're idiots."

He couldn't say that they had gone on from that moment as if nothing had changed. It had. There was a new awareness between them. If she thought that he wasn't cognizant of when things changed, she was mistaken. He knew when her interest shifted; it was perfectly clear to him when she realized her own feelings. Andy just hated that his refusal to acknowledge it had hurt her in some way. He just… well, he hadn't wanted to hurt her. He just needed to figure a few things out.

Andy thought that he was no good for her, but she saw something in him. He wouldn't insult her by discounting her feelings completely. What Andy had done was make sure that he knew what he was willing to risk to be with her. What would he give up for her?

She was his boss. Like he'd told Gavin, she worked too hard to risk it all on him. She might not think it was an issue, and she might be right about that, but Andy had to make sure that it didn't become one. He had to make a choice, and he had to know, before he let things go any farther that the choice would be Sharon.

Gavin watched him as he stood there. He seemed lost while his mind drifted. One thing was evident. He wasn't seeing any disinterest. Quite the opposite. He rolled his eyes. Only Sharon could manage to complicate something so simple. Sometimes he just didn't know what he was going to do with her. Gavin walked over and stooped to pick up her shoes. He hooked the straps around the Lieutenant's fingers with a smirk. "You forget those, she'll kill you." Then he walked around and picked up her purse. He took a great deal of pleasure in working it onto the big Lieutenant's shoulder. "Now then, don't you look fetching."

Andy glared at him. "Gavin." He sighed rather that finish his statement. "She'll call you," he said instead. He started toward the door with Sharon in his arms and paused there for Gavin to open it for him. He ignored the way that the other man was smirking as he left the apartment.

After he made it to the elevator and they were closed securely inside, Andy sighed. He couldn't take her home. She wouldn't want Rusty to see her this way. He looked down at the woman in his arms. That really only left him one alternative. Andy shook his head, but he grinned. It was not how he'd imagined getting her into his bed for the first time.

This was certainly going to prove interesting.

-TBC-