Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters below – I am only borrowing them – and will not be financially benefitting from the story in anyway. No copyright infringement is intended.

Spoilers: Yep.

Summary: What if Sharon didn't get to go to the wedding..?

Author notes: Now, this story is a first from me; I have created fluff!

Written for the raydorflynn prompt 'weddings' over on LJ.

After reading a lovely fic by alexmel21, the seed was planted that just maybe, because the swimming coach was shot in front of reporters, Sharon didn't get to go to the wedding.

So, thanks to alexmel21 for inadvertently planting the seed and to akachan kami for the fabulous last minute beta work!

Cake

"Alright, straight to bed." Sharon said through a yawn as she crossed the threshold to her apartment, with a sleepy teenager in tow.

"No arguments here." Rusty skulked past her, dragging his feet as he headed up the hall to his bedroom – having spent the last few hours trying to sleep in the break room.

Sharon locked up and turned; pressing her back against the front door, she closed her eyes and savoured the silence.

Major crimes had once again become embroiled in a suspect shooting. In front of hoards of reporters, Mr Torres had shot and killed the swimming coach that molested his son, and neither Sharon nor her detectives had seen it coming. If Brenda Lee Johnson was still in charge, Peter Goldman would be banging down their door. A stickler for the rules, Sharon knew that his precious 'Johnson Rule' had not been broken – but her detectives should have seen the signs.

Rusty's letter, DDA Rios, Andy's health and of course his daughter's wedding…The team had been a little preoccupied lately – Sharon included – but it was no excuse.

They shouldn't have missed it.

She sighed; pushing herself off of the door, she hung up her beige jacket and replaced it with a comfortable black cardigan as she moved through the moonlit apartment.

Sharon opened the refrigerator and the light it emitted filled the darkened kitchen; her stomach grumbled loudly as she searched for something light to eat - she was starving. As she refilled through the refrigerators contents, she couldn't help but wonder what food might have been served at Nicole's wedding.

Sharon huffed; she had truly been looking forward to attending the wedding with Andy - she hadn't realised quite how much until the opportunity was taken away.

Andy seemed so pleased that she had offered to attend the event with him. Even though she had suggested he told everyone that she was 'his friend Sharon', they both knew what would be assumed by other guests – and that was her intention.

Sharon had attended enough weddings without a 'plus one' to know how difficult they could be; attending one with your ex and their new partner took the situation to a whole new level. She couldn't let Andy face that alone. So what if a room full of strangers thought they were an item?

But alas, the shooting happened. Even before they had left the building, their plans to be an item for the night – albeit a fake one – were foiled… Andy had attended the wedding alone.

"Another time, another place."

As soon as the words fell from her lips, Sharon stopped searching for food and stood upright - her hand gripping the refrigerator door.

'Another time, another place?' She mentally shook herself, 'Where the hell did that come from?'

Her empty stomach gurgled; the churning sensation made her feel nauseous and she swallowed audibly.

It had occurred to her today, once she had extended the offer of attending the wedding, that her reasons for doing so may not have been entirely… altruistic.

A married woman or not, if Sharon were truly honest with herself, the thought of being Andy's 'plus one' made her ache in entirely inappropriate places. It was a yearning that a good catholic wife should only have for her husband, and a Captain of the LAPD certainly shouldn't be having for her Lieutenant.

"You're pathetic," she said aloud to the empty room as she grabbed a slice of Rusty's left over pizza and shut the refrigerator door.

Her husband showing up out of the blue had shaken Sharon up - that was for sure.

Regardless of the circumstances concerning their separation – when Jackson stayed over – ordinarily, he would spend at least one night in her bed. That certainly wasn't going to happen when Rusty was in the next room.

To an outsider it may look like she was being used; but to Sharon – their arrangement gave her something she needed, something that she didn't allow herself to look for outside of her marriage.

It was convenient - and it was the one remaining thing that they still did well together.

Besides, throughout their separation - Sharon's focus had been on her kids and her career - which didn't leave much time for dating. In all that time, there had been no man that had turned her head - no man had made her question why she hadn't divorced her estranged husband.

That was, until now.

Before Sharon had the chance to explore that train of thought, she heard her phone beep in the distance; it was still in her purse which she had dropped by the front door.

'What now?'

Sighing heavily, Sharon padded through the sitting area to retrieve her phone - absently hoping that the pizza she was about to eat was only left over from yesterday.

She switched on a lamp and fished the phone out of her purse. As she chewed on a mouthful of dry and wholly unappetizing pizza, she frowned when she read the name on the display.

Lt Flynn

Sharon stopped chewing; she felt her stomach fluttering as she opened the message.

'Hey Captain, you still awake?'

She stood, frozen in the gloomily lit apartment - her phone in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other. Considering the improper thoughts that had filled her mind just moments ago – Sharon knew she should ignore the message… but against her better judgement, she took another bite of cold pizza and replied to the text.

'Case wrapped up – just getting a post-midnight snack. How was Nicole's wedding?'

Sharon shrugged; her reply was casual enough.

'There's nothing wrong with colleague's chatting late at night about things not related to work,' she rationalised.

After all, even though nobody else in the team actually knew she had offered to attend the wedding with Andy - it was never meant to be a secret.

As she turned on her heel to deposit the stale pizza crust in the trash, the last thing Sharon expected was soft rapping at her front door.

She spun around to face the knocking – but didn't move another inch. Her heart beat loudly in her chest; she already knew who was on the other side of the door and that was what scared her.

The second knock broke Sharon out of her trance and she moved forwards, bracing herself with a deep breath as she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

"Lieutenant Flynn," she painted on a smile, "what are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

Andy Flynn stood in the communal hallway, looking dapper in his tuxedo. "Hey Captain, everything's fine. The ride home brought me past here and I…" He looked down at the floor and shifted his feet; Sharon didn't think she had ever seen him look nervous before.

Taking pity on him, this time she smiled genuinely and opened the door a little wider. "Would you like to come in, Andy?"

He looked up and smiled back, "Sure, thanks."

As he entered, she shut the front door behind him - instantly plunging them into darkness.

"Times hard, Captain?" Andy joked nervously as Sharon brushed past him to turn on a nearby lamp.

She smiled tightly, "well, feeding a growing boy is expensive." It was meant as a joke, but delivered flatly as she stepped around him and signalled awkwardly with her arm to usher him into the kitchen – avoiding eye contact. His very presence in her home was making her feel like a gawky teenager.

'What is wrong with me?'

"Can I get you something to drink?" She dropped the pizza crust that she had squeezed to a doughy mess, into the trash and rinsed her hands under the tap. "I have decaf."

"Decaf would be great."

Andy hovered in the space between the kitchen and the sitting room as Sharon busied herself making coffee.

'What is he doing here?'

"So how was the wedding?" She asked, crossing her arms at her chest and leaning against the counter as the coffee brewed - finally looking Andy in the eye. The top button on his white dress shirt was open, the black bowtie hung loosely around his collar and a single burgundy handkerchief added the only splash of colour in his outfit; he really did look handsome. "You certainly look the part."

"What? This old thing?" He joked, eliciting a small laugh from Sharon as he stepped forwards to join her in the kitchen. "It was great. Nicole looked beautiful – I'm so pleased I decided to go."

"Good – I'm just sorry I couldn't go with you." Sharon dropped her arms to her sides, placing the heel of her hands on the countertop, "I really do love weddings."

"I'm sorry too." He stared at her intently for a moment then took a step closer, it was only then that Sharon noticed he was carrying a brown paper bag. He offered it up to her and she took it gingerly, a look of bewilderment on her face.

"What's this?"

"Wedding cake." He answered simply, "I figured that if you were nice enough to offer to go with me, then the least I could do was bring you some cake."

"Andy I… thank you. That's incredibly sweet…" Sharon opened the bag and saw three separately wrapped packages, "… there's three in here."

"Yeah," Andy tapped the side of the bag, "one's for Rusty, one's for you and well… one's mine."

She frowned at him; he was looking sheepish again.

"I was kind of hoping that we could eat it now… together I mean – if you're not you know, on a diet or something…"

Sharon's eyes widened temporarily, her expression softening to a smile when she saw panic registering on Andy's face.

"Not that you need to go on a diet or anything I just meant that…"

"Andy," she calmed him by placing a hand on his forearm. "It's okay; we can eat some cake with the coffee."

As Sharon turned away from Andy, she heard him sigh with relief and she smiled; it appeared that she wasn't the only one that was jittery about this little late night soirée.

She poured the coffee and placed two slices on separate side plates – handing one to Andy. "We should eat this on the balcony - Rusty's just gone to bed."

"Lead the way," Andy collected his coffee mug from the counter and followed her outside.

It was a clear night; as clear as it could be in smog ridden LA. There was a warm breeze gently blowing through the air – a welcome relief from the mugginess of the past few nights.

Andy placed his cup and plate on a small wicker table that sat between two chairs of a similar ilk. He removed his jacket and hung it over the back of the chair and after pulling on his trousers slightly, to loosen them around his knees, he took a seat.

Sharon, who was already seated, watched Andy making himself comfortable; it appeared that he was in no hurry to leave, which despite the late hour, pleased her greatly.

"It's nice out here." Andy noticed Sharon watching him.

She looked away shyly, steering her gaze out across the City of Angles. "It is," she agreed with a nod, closing her eyes and feeling the breeze on her face. "I don't get to sit out here as much as I'd like," she made a face, "paperwork."

Andy chucked and took a sip of his coffee, "The cake's double chocolate with a macadamia mousse filling." He informed Sharon as he saw her pick up her slice of cake. "It's Nicole's favourite – it's from this little bakery near Hancock Park."

"You paid for it?"

"Yeah," Andy nodded, placing his mug on the table and retrieving his own slice of cake. "And the rest."

Sharon smiled knowingly as she bit into the sponge cake; she closed her eyes and hummed in pleasure as she got a taste of the mousse filling – it was exquisite.

When she opened her eyes, Andy was staring right at her - wide eyed.

Sharon blushed. "It's really good," she offered in explanation.

"You don't say, Meg Ryan."

Sharon blushed a darker shade of crimson at his 'When Harry Met Sally' reference and swatted his arm with the back of her hand.

"Ouch," he feigned pain. "You wound me."

"Serves you right." Sharon retorted with a smirk as she returned to eating cake – this time with much less enthusiasm.

"Are your kids married?"

"No," Sharon shook her head as she swallowed some cake down with a swig of coffee. "But something tells me that the 'mother of the bride' will be paying for those weddings."

"Right," Andy finished his own cake and placed the empty plate on the table. "What's the deal with you and Jackson anyway? Don't get me wrong, I like the guy but – why are you still married to him."

Sharon should have been shocked at Andy's line of questioning. She should have told him that her relationship with her husband was none of his damn business… yet when she looked at the sincere expression on his face, she did the last thing she thought she'd do – she opened up.

"I don't know." She sighed and placed her empty plate on the table, picking up her coffee mug. "I guess in the beginning, when we first separated – I kept hoping he would change. That he'd wake up one day and quit the drink and quit the gambling; that he'd be a better father, a better husband."

"But that day never came?"

"He got sober, joined Gamblers Anonymous…" Sharon looked into the distance, staring at nothing in particular and shook her head softly, "but he was still a selfish son-of-a-bitch. He still had no time for his kids – and he never really stopped playing poker."

"It must have been hard."

"It was." She looked at Andy now, she saw pain in his eyes and realised that some of what she was saying - he had lived, but just from an opposite perspective. "We nearly lost the house – we had to sell the TV, my car…I kicked him out when my eldest was eight."

"Did he stay in touch with the kids?"

"No," Sharon said breathily, "no – he just disappeared. The kids were mad at me…" her voice cracked as she spoke; it had been so long since she had spoken about those painful times. "They didn't understand… they just missed their daddy."

"Hey," Andy leant into the space between the chairs and covered her hand that gripped the arm rest with his own. "You got them through it."

Sharon held his gaze as he held her hand; that moment seemed so fragile – like the smallest movement could shatter them both into a million pieces. They both bore emotional scars; their mid-lives thwarted by the pain of an addiction – witnessing the turmoil it caused from opposing sides.

But he had changed. Andy Flynn had gotten better – he had grown as a man, reconnected with his child and walked her down the aisle.

One thing was for sure - Andy Flynn was not Jackson Raydor.

"So why now?" Andy broke the silence, removing his hand and relaxing back into the chair. "Your kids are grown – why are you still married to the jack-ass?"

A small voice in the back of Sharon's mind said 'sex' and she almost spurted coffee though her nose just imagining how Andy would react to that revelation. Instead, she tilted her head to one side as she contemplated how best to answer his question.

"Well, we're catholic – so you know, divorce is frowned upon… but honestly I suppose it's more for financial reasons." She shifted in her seat and took another sip of coffee. "I worked very hard to get back on track. I paid for my kids to go through college, bought this place and I've even managed to keep a little back for my retirement. If I divorce Jackson - he gets half."

"You've been separated for 20 years. Get a good lawyer – you're friends with Gavin Baker, I know divorces aren't his speciality but…"

"Honey," Sharon did her best impression of the flamboyant lawyer, raising a smile from Andy. "If I had to pay Gavin Q. Baker to be my attorney – I may as well give Jackson half. Gavin doesn't do pro-bono."

They shared a smile; their gazes lingering before Sharon interrupted the moment with yawn.

"Sorry," she covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "I haven't been sleeping very well lately."

"Me neither," Andy concurred, getting to his feet and looking at his wrist watch. "But it's late; I should let you get some sleep."

Sharon nodded in agreement; even though it pained her that the night was over, they both had to work in the morning.

In silence, they cleared the crockery into the kitchen and then Sharon walked Andy to the door. Once he'd opened it, he turned back to face her.

"Well, thank you for stopping by, Andy." Sharon clutched the handle leant against the open door as she spoke, "the cake was a lovely gesture."

"Hey, you were willing to face my crazy family – the cake was nothing."

She smiled warmly at him, "Well, all the same."

Andy bowed his head and turned slightly, as if to leave, yet something stopped him and he returned to face her. "Sharon I erm…"

She looked at him expectantly.

"For what it's worth, I think you deserve better."

"I'm Sorry?" She frowned.

"Than Jackson," Andy explained. "You're an attractive, intelligent, kind hearted woman – you deserve better than him. You should be with someone that'll take care of you, that'll treat you right."

It felt to Sharon, like her heart was melting; the heat radiated through her whole body as she listened to his kind words, as she saw the sincerity in his dark brown eyes. "Andy I…"

Andy shrugged his shoulders dismissively, "Hey, I call 'em as I see 'em."

Sharon smiled. "You do, don't you."

"And you never know," Andy's expression turned serious, and he moved closer "that man, - he might be right around the corner."

Sharon squirmed at his proximity, but before she could pull back, without warning, Andy leant in and placed a lingering kiss to her cheek. His breath warmed her skin; a puff of air disturbed the wisps of hair near her ear, causing her to shiver as he added in a gravelly tone, "Or he might be right under your nose."

Sharon inhaled sharply as Andy pulled away and walked backwards down the corridor. "Just think about it," he added with a lopsided smile before turning and heading for the elevator. "Good night, Captain," he called over his shoulder as he rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

"Good night," Sharon finally choked a response to the empty corridor.

After a moment, Sharon closed the door and for a second time that night, slumped back against the wooden surface.

The end

Thanks for reading!