Sharon smiled as she entered her office and saw the large, festively wrapped box sitting in the middle of her desk. Today was her last day before going to Utah to spend Christmas with her family. For the last five, she'd come into her office to a gift, each box bigger than the last. She looked in the desk drawer where she'd stashed the other gifts – they'd ranged from a coffee mug with a gun handle to a gorgeous black pearl necklace with matching earrings.
She watched as the rest of her team slowly trickled into the Murder Room. Everyone was early today – that was the deal they'd made with Taylor to ensure the squad got out by noon to start their Christmas holiday. She considered the box for a moment before moving it to the chair opposite her desk and sitting down to finish the paperwork from the case they'd caught yesterday, and wrapped up in record time before leaving for the day.
She was signing off on the arrest when Andrea Hobbs briskly knocked on her open door before coming in.
"Perfect timing, Andrea. I was just finishing up." She closed the folder and handed it across the desk when she saw the DDA eyeing the still-wrapped box.
"Secret admirer you haven't told me about?"
"Secret Santa, at least. I've been getting them all week."
"And you have no idea who they're from?"
"There hasn't been a card with any of them."
Andrea didn't press the fact that Sharon didn't really answer her question, instead asking "Are you going to open this one?"
Sharon hesitated, caught, when Andrea sat in the remaining empty chair. "Close the door." The attorney quickly obeyed, then almost giddily placed the box back on the desk before reclaiming her chair. Sharon untied the silver-blue ribbon around the box and slowly folded it, then used a fingernail to carefully tear the tape before removing the wrapping paper in one piece. Both stared open-mouthed at the simple brown box, the Louis Vuitton name printed in a darker shade on top.
"It can't be. Can it?"
Sharon chanced a glance through her office window. Only Flynn and Tao remained, and neither seemed to be paying any attention to the two women. She pulled off the top and saw a plain white note card sitting on top of the protective bag.
Sharon,
I thought this one seemed more your style. Merry Christmas.
There was no signature, and the card wasn't handwritten so she couldn't use the penmanship to determine who had written the note. She slowly pulled open the drawstrings and pulled out a gorgeous brown leather handbag. It wasn't covered in the famous Louis Vuitton logo pattern; rather, it had a single gold LV logo on the front clasp. The card was right. This bag was much more her style than the one she'd reluctantly handed over during the "Shangri-La" case several months before.
Sharon could see the moment Andrea figured out who the gifts were from; Sharon herself put it together at almost the same time. She could feel her cheeks start to burn as Andrea smirked at her, holding the note up for closer examination.
"So… anything you want to share?" Sharon stammered for a moment – something that was completely unlike her – before Andrea continued. "What exactly happened at that wedding he took you to?"
"I never even told you about the ballet." She smiled sheepishly at Andrea's surprised gasp. "It's actually much more innocent than it sounds," she added, but didn't explain further as she glanced into the Murder Room again. Flynn was now alone at his desk; even with his back to her office she swore she could see him smirking. It was something in his posture.
Andrea caught her staring at the lieutenant and barely stifled a laugh. "Fine, I suppose it's none of my business. But can I offer some advice?" She picked up the file folder that had been dropped at the edge of the desk and looked thoughtfully at the woman she considered a close friend. "Don't wait too long." She grinned as Sharon finally tore her eyes away from Flynn. "Have a good Christmas, Sharon." She left the office with a small wave.
Sharon replaced the lid on the box and put it in the chair in the corner of her office – out of her line of sight – and tried to focus for the rest of her shift.
She didn't take another break until she heard a light knock on her door. "Captain? It's almost noon. I don't want you to miss your flight." Andy Flynn smiled shyly at her as he stood in the doorway.
"Thank you, Lieutenant." She returned his smile and started putting away the remaining items on her desk. "Wait, Andy," she called to him as he turned to leave. He hesitated, still in her doorway. "Can we talk about the gifts?"
"What gifts?" He tried his best 'confused puppy' look at the question.
Sharon opened her desk drawer and pulled out the gifts one at a time, smirking at the coffee mug, before crossing the room to the latest gift and adding it to the pile. "This is too much. I can't accept it."
"Sharon—." He hesitated then started again. "Look, Sharon, I'm not trying to pressure you into anything. That's not what this was about. I know that between Rusty, and work, and everything… you have a lot on your plate. But I wanted to do something nice for you, especially after what happened at the ballet."
"I already told you we were okay."
"It's not okay. I allowed you to be blindsided. And to be honest the more I let Nicole and Eileen believe we were a couple, the more I liked the idea." He grinned for a second as he noticed her shocked expression. "Look, keep the gifts. I want you to have them."
"In that case, thank you." She smiled shyly at him as she gathered the gifts to take them home. Andy picked up the box and followed her to the elevator. They rode to the parking garage in easy silence. "I'll call you when I get back?" she asked after everything was loaded into her car.
"I'll be waiting." He smiled at her again before walking to his own car.
If you're curious about the bag Andy bought, search for Capucines on the LV website. I spent a lot of time deciding which one was perfect.