Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or M/C, but if I did, this is what would have happened after the ending of 4x14.
A/N: So, this is a tag to the end of 4x14 and what I would've liked to have seen happen after the episode ended. The inspiration for the title of the story should be fairly obvious. Enjoy!
Fine
The nurse had brought it to her after they had taken Andy to surgery. She told Sharon that Andy had asked her to give the note to Sharon right before they put him under. He'd also told the nurse to tell Sharon to find a quiet place away from everyone to read the note. The nurse had just walked away and Sharon was still at a loss over what to make of the situation. She decided to follow the directions that Andy had given her.
As she turned to Rusty, she said, "I'll be back in a little bit. Let me know when the doctor comes out," Sharon told him.
"Okay. Are you sure you're okay, Mom?" Rusty asked.
As Sharon stood up, she reached over and briefly patted Rusty's shoulder before she said, "Yeah. I just need some time to myself."
"Okay. Take all the time you need. I'll come find you when we hear something about Andy," said Rusty.
"Thanks, Rusty," said Sharon before she began to walk away and towards the exit of the hospital.
"Is she okay?" Hobbs asked Rusty.
"I think so. She just said that she needed some time to herself. A nurse came over and handed her a piece of paper right before that. Not sure what that was all about, but she seemed okay," Rusty replied.
Provenza leaned over and said, "It's from Flynn. We had a conversation after you stepped out to take that call from Slider. He must have written it before everyone got here."
Meanwhile, outside the hospital, Sharon had found a quiet spot on a bench slightly away from the entrance where she sat down and opened the note. It read:
Dear Sharon,
Not exactly how we planned on spending Thanksgiving, huh? I know you're worried about me having to have surgery, but I'm here to tell you that I'm gonna be just fine. That's a funny word, isn't it? Fine. The word that started this whole thing just over four months ago. I could have never imagined that me asking you out in the middle of the murder room on that July night and you saying fine, would lead to how much joy and happiness that our relationship has brought me over the past four months and will continue to do so for many years to come. That's right, I said for many years to come. Cause I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. Which leads me to the point of why I'm writing you this letter.
With everybody coming and going, I wasn't sure if I'd get to tell you this in person before I went into surgery, but regardless, I wanted you to know something. I love you, Sharon. I've wanted to say that for a while, but I've been too nervous to tell you until now. It's strange how situations like this can make you take a step back and realize that things like this should never be left unsaid. Like how much I love your smile and how it makes me smile every time I see it. Or how much I love the way you look in the morning before you've had a chance to put your makeup on and do your hair. Once I came to stay with you, that became one of my new favorite things. Let me tell you, it's a beautiful sight to see in the morning. Oh, and let's not forget about how I love how much you care about other people, but especially me. You let me come and stay with you not only once, but twice. And neither time did you ever hesitate to let me stay at your place. There wasn't a doubt in your mind that I was coming home with you that night after I got out of the hospital and there wasn't a doubt in your mind when I asked the second time after this whole blood clot business began. You didn't have to do that, but you did because you cared and I love you for it and so much more.
There are probably at least a hundred other reasons why I love you, but those are the main ones I was thinking of when I wrote this letter. I'll have to tell you the rest after I come out of surgery. Get ready though. Cause once I wake up, I'm never going to stop showing and telling you how much I love you.
I love you,
Andy
By the time Sharon finished reading Andy's letter, there were tears streaming down her face. His letter had been so sincere and it reminded her of those love letters you saw in old movies. It was so romantic and old fashioned and it touched her heart so deeply. So much so, that she decided she had to go do something and she had to do it now.
Sharon had returned to the waiting room a little over an hour later and about an hour after that, the doctor came out and let them know that they had successfully removed the blood clot from Andy's carotid artery and that he had made it through the surgery just fine and was being moved to a room right now. The doctor told them he'd be a little groggy for a while and probably wouldn't be fully awake until morning. Sharon thanked the doctor before she walked away.
Sharon turned to Rusty and her team and smiled as she said, "Since Andy probably won't be fully conscious until early tomorrow morning, I suggest all of you go home and get some rest. It's been a long day and you guys all deserve to spend what's left of the night celebrating Thanksgiving with your families. I just want to say one thing before you all go though. It's truly touching that all of you have sacrificed spending time with your families today to be here for mine. I can't tell you how much Rusty, Andy, and I appreciate it," said Sharon as she began to tear up.
"We take care of our own and when one of our own is down, we show up for them and their family," said Provenza.
As Sharon looked around her, everyone else was nodding and smiling in agreement at Provenza's statement.
"Thank you. All of you. Now, I mean it. Go home," Sharon told them.
Most of them began to disperse before Sharon said, "Lieutenant Provenza?"
"I'll take Rusty with me. We'll swing by your place so he can pick up some stuff. He can stay with Patrice and me," said Provenza.
"What? Mom, I'm not leaving you here by yourself," said Rusty.
"I'll be fine. Go with Provenza. You've done more than enough today and I can't tell you how proud I am of you. You sprang into action when Andy passed out and got hurt. You got him help and helped get him to the hospital. I am the proudest mom in the world today and that's all because of you and what you did to help Andy. I'm serious. I'll be fine. I'm just gonna sit with Andy and wait for him to wake up. Go with Provenza. I promise I'll call or text you guys when he wakes up or if anything changes. Go get some sleep. You can come back in the morning, okay?" said Sharon.
"Okay, but only if you're sure you're gonna be alright here by yourself," said Rusty as he moved to walk towards the exit of the hospital.
As Rusty walked off, Sharon turned to Provenza and said, "Thank you. You're a great friend and I feel better knowing that Andy has someone like you watching his back, both on and off the streets. Tell Patrice she has a really nice bottle of wine coming her way for doing this."
"It's not a problem. I'll make sure he eats and gets some sleep and I'll bring him by sometime in the morning," said Provenza as he walked off towards the exit to find Rusty.
Meanwhile, after Provenza left with Rusty, Sharon headed to the room they had set Andy up in. She sat there holding his hand in hers as she waited for him to wake up.
At some point, Sharon must have fallen asleep because she woke up to the feeling of a certain someone rubbing circles across the top of her hand. The sensation woke her from her slumber and she lifted her head up to see Andy smiling up at her.
Sharon smiled back at him as she asked, "How long have you been awake?"
"I'd say about twenty minutes or so," Andy replied.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Sharon asked him.
"I was enjoying the view. You're cute when you sleep," Andy replied.
"I doubt that. Let me go get a nurse to check you over and make sure you're alright," said Sharon.
"Alright, but only because I know it'll make you feel better," said Andy.
Sharon left to go find a nurse to check on Andy. As it was around 2am, Sharon decided to just send a text to both Rusty and Provenza letting them know Andy was awake. Once the nurse came in and checked Andy over, she assured them that everything was as it should be and told them she'd be by again in the morning to check on him.
A few tears began to stream down Sharon's face as she looked over at Andy from across the room.
"Come here," Andy said as he shifted his body towards the left side of the bed, being careful not to pull any of the wires.
As she walked towards Andy, she couldn't help chuckling before she asked, "Andy Flynn, what on earth are you doing?"
"Making room in this crappy bed for the woman I love," Andy replied.
Sharon smiled and carefully climbed into bed next to Andy, being mindful of his still healing ribs. Her head found a place against his chest, just over his heart, as his hand came to rest at about the middle of her back.
Once they got comfortable, Sharon said, "Speaking of that, we have much to talk about."
"Like what?" Andy asked teasingly.
"Well, for starters, about how that letter was the single most beautiful thing anyone's ever written me," Sharon told him.
"Go on," Andy replied.
"And how after I finished bawling my eyes out over it, I took a page out of your book and may have written a letter of my own," said Sharon.
"Oh, really?" Andy asked.
"Yes, really. I went to the gift shop and found some stationary while you were still in surgery. It took me about an hour to write it," Sharon replied.
"Well, let's hear it then," said Andy.
Sharon moved to pull a folded piece of paper out of the pocket of her cardigan before she opened it and read the letter aloud.
Dear Andy,
I wanted to let you know that I got your letter. It's amazing how two people can be thinking the same thing at pretty much the exact same time. As they wheeled you out of that room and were taking you to surgery, a certain three words became caught in my throat. I didn't say it then, but I'm certainly not going to make the same mistake twice. I love you, Andy. I want you to know that. I also wanted you to know that the further you got down that hallway, the more scared I became. Scared that you might not survive the surgery and scared that you might never know how much I loved you. It's crazy how much I love you. Who would've thought that in just four short months, I could have developed so many feelings and emotions about you that it's scary? I guess that's what love does to two people, right?
I'll tell you, there are so many things I love about you Andy Flynn. Like how caring and supportive you are when I need it. Both at work and in our personal relationship. I'll never forget that time where the two inadvertently intertwined and that was before we even started dating. So, I guess maybe it's been a little more than four months since the feelings I have for you began developing. Anyways, back to the story. We were at work late one night, and I was getting ready to do a particularly difficult notification. You were there in my office and you said, "I'll wait. In case you need me."I remember looking up at you and thinking that nobody had shown me as much care and kindness as you did in that moment…and that continues to ring true as I'm sure it always will because that's just the kind of man you are.
Or how your commitment, both at work and in life completely amazes me. With the job, you're so committed to catching the dirt bags, as you like to call them, and bringing them to justice You'll do whatever it takes to keep said dirt bags off the street and I love that about you. As much as that amazes me, your commitment in life utterly astounds me that much more. Not only are you 100% committed when it comes to our personal relationship, but you're also 100% committed in maintaining your sobriety, which can't always be easy. Especially in our line of work. I remember a particular time about a month or so ago where I was completely blown away by this commitment. You were in my office. You had just gotten back from the hospital after being thrown from that moving vehicle. You were saying how they gave you a local anesthetic, but that it was already wearing off and how you couldn't take the opiates. I remember how I looked over and smiled at you for a moment. I'm not sure if you knew in that moment why I was smiling at you, but I'm here to tell you why right now. I was smiling because I was in awe of how after being thrown from a moving vehicle, cracking three of your ribs, and being in what I'm sure was excruciating pain, you were still 100% committed to maintaining your sobriety. You knew what the risks would be if you were to take the opiates and you refused to take that risk, even if it meant that you'd be in terrible pain, and why I hated seeing you in such horrible pain like that, your complete commitment to maintaining your sobriety made me love you all the more for it.
These are just a few of the reasons why I love you. I'm sure there's many more, but my minds a bit fuzzy right now between bawling my eyes out after reading your letter and how scared I am that you might not survive this surgery and that you'll never get to read this letter and know just how much I love you.
I love you,
Sharon
After Sharon finished reading the letter, Andy pulled her closer and leaned down to place a soft kiss along her hairline. A moment later, Sharon could feel the slightest bit of moisture in her hair. She tipped her head up so she could see his face and she noticed him wiping away a few tears that had managed to escape from his eyes.
"That was beautiful, just like the woman who wrote it," said Andy as he kissed Sharon again, this time on the lips.
"I'm so glad that you made it out of the surgery fine. I'm not sure what I would've done if you hadn't," Sharon admitted.
"There's that word again," said Andy.
"What?" Sharon asked.
"Fine," Andy pointed out.
With that, Sharon looked up at Andy and smiled. She was delighted to be in the arms of the man she loved and even more so, grateful that it was at all possible for him to be holding her like this right now.
Everything was going to be just fine.
A/N: Hope you guys liked the story. As always, feel free to review and let me know what you thought of it. Thanks!
