A/N- I promised someone on tumblr this would be up tonight. (I'm littlefoxylove.) I hope you enjoy it (: Let me know.
"Mom?"
Sharon looked up from the sink, where she was filling the teakettle. "Yes?"
"Do you want Flynn to get anything from Walgreens? He said he's stopping there on his way home." She realized Rusty had one hand over the end of his phone, that Andy had called.
She smiled. "No, thank you. And tell Andy he doesn't need to stop there."
Rusty just raised his eyebrows on his way out. They both knew Flynn would end up coming home with a stock of Ace cold packs and ibuprofen. "She said she doesn't want anything. . ." his voice trailed away as he kept walking.
Sharon turned her attention back to the sink and sighed as she turned the tap off. Rusty wasn't much for tea, but she suspected he'd join her nonetheless. She put the kettle on the stove and reached for the high cupboard where she'd hidden a stock of cocoa packets.
"Yeah, okay. Bye." Rusty dropped into a bar chair and set his phone on the table. "He said it'll be about twenty minutes, but that he'll take care of dinner if you set it out to warm."
"Oh, I'd forgotten." She spun on one heel to return to the fridge and grimaced as her head pounded in response. Rusty must have noticed, because he was at her side a moment later, catching her elbow.
"Sit. I got it." He watched her roll her eyes and take his chair. "Which thing do you want? There're, like, three pans of stuff in here and some leftovers."
"Pick anything that looks good. Maybe one of the nine-by-thirteens if you're staying for dinner."
"I'm not going to pass free food."
She laughed slightly as she fingered the cut on her eyebrow where her glasses had dug in.
"Is this eggplant parm? Do I need to heat it?"
"Just put it out and preheat the oven."
"You're getting complacent in your old age. Time was you'd never let me touch the oven." He turned back to her with a grin that dropped when he saw what she was doing. "Don't touch it." He leaned over the kitchen bar and moved her hand away. "May I look?"
She searched his eyes, but there was only gentle concern, no pity.
He interpreted her pause as something else. "I've got some experience with this kind of thing."
A dozen memories flashed past: shovels, knit caps, his father, photos on her phone that pained her for weeks afterward. "Yes." She closed her eyes as he reached out and tried to relax as he probed her face with his fingers. He touched lightly, pressing slightly and paying close attention to the cut.
"A couple EMTs did look me over."
"Yeah, but. . . " he sighed in frustration. "I mean, it's not like I don't trust them, but-"
"Some things you need to investigate for yourself."
"Yeah."
He had been calmer than she'd expected, though she thought he might have spoken to Provenza and reined in his emotions.
She opened her eyes again and watched him. It was a strange perspective, not one she'd ever thought she'd see of him. She could remember taking care of him in the same situation, on the sofa, not the chair, and now he was taking care of her. He had grown so much.
He pulled back then. "What if I just get some Neosporin from the bathroom? I know you said it got cleaned up, but it'll heal faster with this, especially if you put some on just before bed." He didn't wait before turning for the other room.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket as she watched him go.
Kid said you don't need anything from the store. You sure?
She snorted. I'm sure.
they have Ben and Jerry's on sale.
and how much saturated fat is in that? (;
dear, I know you aren't human and don't like ice-cream like the rest of us. I was talking about froyo. this is for you.
She sent him the eye-rolling emoji.
so half-baked, then?
You will be the death of me. She paused, then erased the message. It was perhaps slightly too soon. Fine.
She set the phone down just as Rusty returned with the same white first-aid kit she had patched him up with. He washed his hands, turned the kettle off as it started to whistle, washed again, and then came back.
"There's a new Katie Couric documentary out," he said as he carefully slathered her eyebrow in antibiotic.
She turned her head and frowned slightly. "Did Andy put you up to this?"
He worked to look surprised. "What? No."
She smirked at him. "So it's coincidence that he's bought ice-cream and you're trying to feel me out about a movie? On a weeknight when I'm sure you have homework, nonetheless."
He sighed heavily. "Andrea is amazing, but the amount of stuff I have to read to keep up with her. . . But maybe Flynn and I happened to both want a night in."
"I'll believe that when. . ." she shook her head and regretted it. "When the two of you stop coincidentally wanting something that sounds suspiciously like something I like."
"So never?"
"So never."
He raised his eyebrows, closed the kit, and started making the tea. She had left mugs and a sachet of tea out next to the cocoa. "You kept my hot chocolate!"
"Your hot chocolate? Who says I don't drink it?" She kept needling him. It kept her mind off the ache in her face, and away from the emotional exhaustion from the day.
Rusty glanced over. She had closed her eyes again and had one hand curled up against her chest. As he watched, she reached for the pendant on her necklace and began to rub it between her fingers.
"Mom?"
"Mm?"
"Are you okay? Really?"
She opened her eyes to look at him tiredly. "I'll get there."
He brought the two mugs over and set the lemon tea before her. "Do you want a hand?" He paused. "I've kind of been here before."
She looked blank for a second, before realizing he'd meant a metaphorical hand. "I've been holding your hand this whole time, don't doubt that for a second."
"You were holding my hand even when I was a little shit?"
She quirked an eyebrow. "You're saying that like it's past tense."
His jaw dropped and he stared at her. "Mom!"
She took a sip of her tea and smiled. "You did ask, but yes. I think you helped me in more ways than either of us can imagine."
"It's a symbiotic relationship. I mean, you've helped me out a little bit here and there. I guess." He smiled, and cocked his head to listen to a noise. She hadn't heard anything, but he got up to move into the hall. "I love you." He hugged her gently and disappeared again.
"How's she doing?"
Rusty chewed his lip. "I think she's just a little shaken. She let me look at it, and I think it'll clear up in a week or so. It's going to hurt a lot, and it'll look worse, but it'll be okay."
"How-?"
"I got pretty good at figuring bruises out, I mean-"
"I got it. Thanks, kid."
"Yeah."
Only a few minutes could have passed, but it seemed like a while before Andy and Rusty both came back into the kitchen.
"I got a couple pints of ice-cream. There was something called "empower-mint," and I thought I might as well take advantage of the sale to break you out of your half-baked rut." He had tried, to no long-term avail, to get her to pick something other than her usual flavor. He caught her look. "Fro-yo. Sorry, it's all the same to me."
Rusty started putting the groceries away. "Yogurt is nothing like ice-cream. Please tell me you got something normal for me to eat."
"Starving the kid again?" Andy squeezed her shoulder and began working on dinner.
Sharon leaned back in her chair and watched them bicker gently as they worked.
"Is she asleep?"
Andy looked over. "Yeah, I think so."
"Should we wake her up and make her go to bed?"
"Kid, haven't you learned you can't make her do anything?"
Rusty snorted.
"Just let her sleep. We can wake her up for dinner."
"Do you still want to watch that movie?"
"The National Geo-"
"Yeah."
Flynn shrugged. "Sure."
"She said we were just coincidentally liking things she likes."
"She would. I think it still surprises her when people are nice to her."
"Really?"
"She's had the short end of the stick for a long time, Rusty, and it's been a hard year for her."
"Yeah. I just wish. . ."
"Wish what?"
"I dunno. I wish it was easier for her. She deserves it."
"She does." He paused to pull the eggplant out of the oven. "You know she's proud of you, right?"
Rusty made a noncommittal noise. "Yeah."
"She thinks you're the best thing to happen to her the last few years."
"Oh." Rusty looked over. "Wow."
"Hey, Sharon, time for bed." He shook her shoulder gently. She had slumped down against him on the sofa five minutes into the movie.
"Hmm. . ."
"Sharon, come on. The kid's already in bed."
"Whydin't you wake me then?" She slurred her words slightly, only half-awake.
"Because you needed the sleep."
"I told Russy I'd watch his documentary with him."
"He fell asleep too, so we can all rewatch it again later, okay?"
"Mmkay."
He stood up, pulling on her hand gently. "Come on, I know you won't let me carry you, so you gotta get up."
She slowly unfolded from the sofa and leaned into him once she was standing. Andy wrapped one arm around her waist and led her down the hall. "There's a glass of water and some ibuprofen on your nightstand. Don't bother brushing your teeth, okay? Just get to bed."
"Aren't you coming to bed now?" She blinked up at him.
"Do you want me to?" He didn't want to pressure her if she wanted time to herself. It would be understandable.
"Mm." She left him in the bedroom and went into the bathroom. "Your blue pajamas are in the top drawer of the dresser. I washed them yesterday."
He flipped the covers on her side of the bed back, got comfortable on his own side, and waited. He could hear the sink running, the vanity cabinet opening, and something clattering in the sink before she returned and flipped the lights off.
"You just had to brush your teeth, didn't you? No bending the rules, even when you deserve a night off."
She smiled at him and slipped under the cover. "You know me. Old Rulebook Raydor."
"You have a kid in the house still. You're not so old."
She wriggled closer and he lifted his arm up to let her settle next to him. "You're very sweet, but let's face it, we're both pretty old."
They were silent for a minute.
"Sharon?"
"Mm?"
"You're okay, really?"
"I'm okay, really." She shifted and he could hear her sigh. "It might not have been the smartest thing to do, but it worked in our favor."
"Don't do it again." He sounded unusually sharp in the quiet. "What we do is important, but not so important that you should intentionally put yourself in harm's way."
"Andy-"
"Sharon."
She was quiet again, long enough that he thought she might have fallen asleep.
"I can't promise that something like this will never happen again, but I will promise you that I won't run headlong into a situation."
He ran his hand along her back, thinking. "That's fair." He remembered the pills he'd left out for her. "Did you take the painkillers?" The cut on his head from the bathroom counter earlier that year had ached for nearly a week afterward, and he imagined Sharon felt similar.
"I took some in the bathroom. I'll get the ones you put out if I wake up in the middle of the night or anything."
"Okay. Wake me up if you need anything, okay?"
"I will." She moved again, sliding down the bed slightly, and he shifted with her. "Good night."
"Goodnight. I love you." He kissed her forehead, and felt her smile.
"Love you, too."
A/N- If everyone will take note that I don't have access to cable and didn't find a good stream so I haven't seen any of season five. . . Just the bits people have giffed on tumblr. . . Uhm, so if this is a little wonky, forgive me. And give me a link (;