Title: Near Miss
Author:
Rating: PG
Words: 650
Disclaimer: Characters are property of their creators.
Fritz saw her first.
His eye shouldn't be wandering, and it's not, exactly, not in the usual sense of the phrase. A wandering eye implies some kind of physical attraction and that's not really what's pulling Fritz in, though Sharon Raydor is a beautiful woman.
It's a cliche, but it's her mind that attracts him more than her body: her strong will and sharp wit and the fact that when she asks how his day is going, she really listens. She has manners, this woman, and though her job is important to her, she seems to have her priorities in line.
Unlike his wife.
His wife has barely spoken with him in months except to fight or to vent her work stress to him. He used to try to take her coffee but she was rarely in her office in the mornings and even when she was, she hardly noticed when he'd walk in and leave the steaming cup on her desk.
So Fritz takes coffee to Sharon Raydor now. Not often enough to inspire suspicion among her team, but occasionally, if they overlap on a case and from time to time in between. She always smiles at him, thanks him profusely, and invites him to sit and chat and share her morning carrot muffin.
He hates carrot muffins but he always accepts a bite anyway. He has manners too.
Fritz starts to wonder things about Sharon Raydor and he knows that's a dangerous path to go down. Curiosity about her life, her thoughts, her past...her sexual orientation. He's heard the rumors but doesn't believe them, not when she walks him to her office door and then stops him with a hand on his arm before he can leave. She brushes some stray crumbs from his tie and then smooths it down against his chest, letting her hand linger for just a moment.
Dangerous.
He's a good man but he's not sure what he'd do in a weak moment. If they were in the right place at the wrong time, if Brenda had spent yet another night in the office waiting on lab results rather than coming home to bed...he's just not sure.
He should back away, he knows, but he likes taking coffee to a woman who appreciates it.
His guilt festers as he continues what he knows deep down is seduction. He's trying to woo Sharon Raydor. His coffee deliveries become more frequent and he knows he's drawing the attention of others now as he strolls the FID halls a few mornings a week. He can't stop though, and creeping thoughts begin entering his head about how she might smell, or whether she'd protest if he wrapped his arms around her one morning and just -
It's Provenza, the most oblivious of the lot, who confronts Fritz. They're in the men's room and the lieutenant breaks the restroom code of silence by saying, "you're barking up the wrong tree, Agent Howard."
"Excuse me?"
Provenza zips up and heads for the sinks. "The Captain. She has eyes for someone else."
If Provenza noticed, then the whole force knows. Humiliation rolls over Fritz, and then panic. Brenda must know too. He fears he's been caught.
Fritz stops visiting Sharon. He keeps waiting for Brenda to confront him, but she's so wrapped up in her own world, her own problems and her own people. Fritz thinks an affair must be the last thing on her mind.
The next week, Fritz ventures down to Major Crimes with a coffee for his wife. He finds her in her office, smiling and humming to herself. She's the happiest Fritz has seen her in a while, and his worry melts away. They're okay.
He fails to notice the carrot muffin on the corner of her desk.