„So, how did you guys like the house you looked at today?" Rusty asked. He was sitting down at the table with Sharon and Andy, who both had the rare spare time to have dinner before midnight with him at home.
Andy just shrugged his shoulders and between bites, Sharon said: "It wasn't exactly what we were looking for. I don't think you would have liked it either."
"That's too bad", Rusty stated. He still didn't really understand, why the two even felt the need to move. Sure, it was a little more crowded with three adults in the condo, but they barely were home all at the same time anyhow and even when, it worked.
"I know what you're thinking", Sharon sighted, "but I would prefer a place with at least one spear bedroom for when Ricky or Emily or anyone else comes by."
Rusty nodded. Sure, until Andy moved in, her kids simply slept on the empty side of her bed. But clearly, that side wasn't empty anymore.
They finished eating in comfortable silence and even though it was only 8:30pm when they were done, while putting the last plate into the dishwasher, Sharon said: "I think I'm gonna go to bed."
"Sure. It was a long couple of days", Andy smiled sympathetically. It was true, they had caught a rough case and the entire team had been suffering from sleep deprivation. Sharon walked over to Rusty, who was still seated at the table, working on something on his laptop, and gently padded him on the shoulder for a moment.
"Thank you for dinner", she said.
"Of course", Rusty turned around shortly so that they could see each other in the eyes, "sleep well."
Sharon hummed and just when she made her way to the bathroom, the doorbell rang.
"Urgh", Sharon sighted loudly. Andy and Rusty looked at her questioning and she shrugged her shoulders, hinting, that she didn't know who it could be.
Andy was concentrating on whatever he was watching on TV and Rusty was lost in whatever he was working on when they both were interrupted by Sharon hissing: "Oh my god." They turned around again so that they could see what she saw. It wasn't a pretty view.
"JACK!" Sharon exclaimed.
"I know, I'm sorry", Jack murmured. For a moment, nothing happened. Sharon kept staring at her ex-husband, while still holding on to the front door. Everyone else was obviously waiting for her to do something. Andy slowly got up and walked towards Sharon. He stood still about a meter behind his girlfriend.
Finally, Sharon took a deep breath in: "You need to go to the hospital. Whatever happened to you, I don't think I want to get involved. Are you capable of getting yourself a taxi or do you need help with that?"
Not only Andy and Rusty were surprised by her reaction, but also Jack. Sharon barely turned Jack away, not because she still had feelings for him, but because she didn't want to make things harder for Emily and Ricky.
"I can't go to the hospital and I don't need a doctor. Sharon, I need you", Jack said quietly and then looked and Andy, "not as my wife. But as a cop and as the mother of my children."
"Ex-Wife", Andy murmured annoyed.
But Sharon didn't hear because her heart shad topped for a second before she hissed: "What do Ricky and Emily have to do with this?"
She meant the bruises that were covering Jack's entire face and probably the rest of his body, the swelling of his right eye and nose, his dirty and ripped apart clothes.
"I'll explain. Will you just please let me in?"
Sharon turned around and looked at Andy and Rusty. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathed in and out deeply before stepping to the side so that Jack could enter their condo – which he did limping. Wordlessly Sharon got the first aid kid and motioned Jack to sit down on the armchair in the living room. She cleaned the cuts in his face rather ungently, well aware that Andy and Rusty were watching her every move. When she finished, Sharon asked with clenched teeth: "Are you sober these days or do you want painkillers?" She knew the answer even before Jack said anything.
"I'll get them", Rusty offered and quickly got them from the bathroom.
"Thank you, Rusty", Sharon thanked him when he handed Jack the pills and a glass of water.
"Yeah, thanks", Jack murmured.
"So?"
Sharon sat down at the couch while Rusty and Andy stayed in the background, wanting to give the two some space but ready to jump in if Sharon needed.
"So", Jack repeated, "I got into some trouble."
"No kidding. Cut to the chase Jack, what do the kids have to do with you getting into a fight?"
"I didn't get into a fight. I was attacked."
Sharon tilted her head a little, pondering whether or not she should give her ex-husband the benefit of a doubt. She had been lied to too many times.
"Look, I made a couple of bad decisions", Jack finally started to explain.
"Your bad decisions don't happen to have anything to do with poker?"
Jack looked at his hands: "Well, I was playing, but not even at high stakes."
"I don't want to hear it, cut it short."
Just years ago, in situations like these, Sharon would have reacted entirely different. She would have listened to his problems, thought about what she could do to help so that the kids would never have to hear about it. But not only was she truly exhausted and had been looking forward to hours of sleep all afternoon long, she was also more than done with Jack's dilemmas.
"All you need to know is probably that I lent money from the wrong people for the wrong reasons."
"And you can't pay it back", Sharon murmured and Jack shook his head.
"Right."
Sharon raised her eyebrows and gestured for him to keep talking.
"The guy that gave me the money started threatening me because I can't pay him back. You are looking at the results of his threats."
Sharon kept her eyes closed for a couple of seconds and shook her head. She had heard that story so many times from her ex-husband now, she knew it by heart.
"I'm not going to give you the money. Your financial chaos has no longer anything to do with me."
"I know. But this is different."
"Different how?"
"When they were done with me today, they threatened to go after Ricky and Emily if I don't get the money by next Friday."
"That's in a week", Sharon murmured.
"I'm well aware of that, thank you detective", Jack grunted.
Sharon got up from the sofa and rubbed over her face with one hand.
"How serious are these guys you are dealing with?"
"Have you looked at my face?"
Sharon looked at the beaten-up man with her Darth Raydor look.
"How dare you? How dare you come here, beaten to a pulp, endangering my children due to your bullshit gambling and still talk as if everything is a joke?!" Sharon hissed without raising her voice. Her heart was beating fast though and the anger inside her almost made her want to aim a punch at his bloody nose herself. She did her best to keep her emotions under control and didn't even listen to what Jack said. She sat down on the other armchair for a moment and buried her face in her hands. Sharon started to realize that her ex-husband had – once again – put their children in immediate danger. She took a couple of deep breath in order to get a clear head again. She needed to be able to think. Fear for her children's life wouldn't help. More than anything, she needed to get the situation under control.

Andy and Rusty, who have stayed out of the conversation now both made their way in the living room. Rusty stood still behind the couch while Andy walked towards Sharon and laid a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. The gesture meant more than thousand words.

Thank you for reading this first chapter! I hope you liked it, feel free to leave a review or wishes you might have for a storyline that involves Jack. Updates might take a little while.