AN: Hi again! I know I left my other fic, "Special Kind of Hell" on a major cliffhanger. I promise to update that one soon. This idea wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it out. I apologize if it's something that you couldn't ever see happening, or if someone has already written one like this. I tried researching information on this subject, and it seems like it would work. Of course I don't know the law all that well, and there are lots of little things in the small print.

This isn't a story about the case, but of the lives of Sharon and Andy.

This is set after 3x11

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Major Crimes.

When Sharon invited Andy to go Christmas shopping with her the week before Thanksgiving, she had expected maybe a few awkward moments between them, maybe an occasional arm or hand brush, and maybe had even secretly hoped for something more. They were just friends after all.

She had expected to get most of her Christmas shopping done so she could enjoy the rest of the holidays, she had expected to have a good time, she had expected to go home that night laden down with gifts and a smile on her face.

What she hadn't expected was to shoot someone. To murder a mob boss. To spend the rest of the night in the precinct giving her statement while Andy gave his in another room.

She definitely hadn't expected to get married the next morning.

XXX

Sharon sighed tiredly as she sat back in her hard, uncomfortable chair and pulled her glasses off to rub her eyes. They felt like sandpaper, and she didn't know when she was going to be getting sleep anytime soon. She had given her statement hours ago, but they had told her to stay where she was and that they would be back.

She was being treated like a criminal.

She wished she was in LA where officers she knew would be conducting the investigation, but she and Andy had decided on a whim to drive a couple of hours south to San Diego; just to get out of the city that they worked in every day.

Sharon checked her watch for what seemed like the 100th time and saw that it was well past two in the morning. They had closed all the blinds in her room so she couldn't see into the precinct or outside, and she was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

She laid her head down on the table and closed her eyes. She might as well try to rest her eyes while she waited. When she had given her statement about what happened, she had told them who she was. That she and Andy were both police officers, and that she was a Captain. They hadn't cared. That much was obvious by now; she hadn't even been allowed access to her phone yet.

As she sat there with her head on the table, the door finally opened. She sat up with a frown on her face and straightened her hair as a man who she hadn't met walked in and sat down in the chair across from her. "I'm Captain Black. I've just been briefed on the incident. I apologize for how long you've had to sit in here, but there are some problems."

At Sharon's raised eyebrow, he continued, "We've learned that the mob has put a hit on you, but above law they're also trying to get you charged with murder."

She shook her head. "It was self-defense. The cameras in the st-"

The Captain held up his hand and interrupted her, "There were no cameras in the store. There were no other customers, and the lone employee has claimed that they were in the back and didn't see anything. In fact, the only witness to the shooting was your Lieutenant, Andy Flynn."

She sighed. Of course. "Then why are we still here? I'm sure Lieutenant Flynn has told you what happened, and that it was a clear case of self-defense." He shook his head. "He told us what happened, but even after both of your statements, I'm positive the family's lawyer will try to take you to court. They'll put you and your Lieutenant through the wringer."

Sharon leaned forward even further with her hands on the table. "You have to be kidding me, Captain. This is ridiculous! I want to talk to Andy." When Black opened his mouth to protest, she glared at him, using her best "Darth Raydor" look. "Now." After a moment, he nodded with a sigh. "I'll give you ten minutes with him."

She shook her head, her glare still in place. "No, I want you to let us go. If you're not going to arrest me, then you have no right to hold me, and you certainly don't have the right to hold Andy. As a Captain myself, I know the rules. No playing hardball. No lying to me. We don't need your protection. I. Want. To. Go. Home."

Captain Black blinked in surprise, then swallowed a little thickly. "Well we don't have enough to arrest you. Yet." He paused, looking at her intently, then said resignedly, "I'll go get your Lieutenant." He stood up before she could rant at him some more and walked out without another word.

She knew they couldn't say anything important in this room, so she stood up and shrugged her blazer back on to wait for Andy. As soon as he walked in, she couldn't help the small smile that stole over her face. He looked as tired as she felt, with his hair disheveled and his shirt untucked, but he was a sight for sore eyes.

Before he could say anything, she looped her hand through his arm and turned him around. "Let's get out of here."

"But-" he sputtered, a confused look on his face. She continued dragging him towards the front, where their badges and phones would be. "We can talk later, Andy. I'm not under arrest, so we're free to go." He stopped resisting and went along silently, letting her lead him without protest.

They exited the building with two badges, two cell phones and one gun, and stopped under the lights of the San Diego Police Department sign. Andy groaned. "I'm sure my car is still down at that damned store." She nodded, not ready to give in to defeat yet. "We'll hail a cab and stay in a hotel tonight. I need to call Chief Taylor and Rusty first thing in the morning, and you'll need to call Provenza and update him about the situation."

He nodded tiredly and pulled his phone out to request an Uber. They stood in silence as they waited, neither of them wanted to be out in the open, or to discuss anything that happened where someone could be listening. For all she knew, someone was targeting her at that moment.

Five minutes later, a Prius (shocking) pulled up to the curb. The driver got out and opened the door for them, then closed it after she slid in after Andy. After he told the driver their destination, she scooted closer to Andy and put her head on his shoulder. She was emotionally and physically exhausted, and she had just brought this whole mess down upon both of them. Obviously it hadn't been on purpose. She hadn't set out that day to kill someone.

But somehow, someway it had happened; and now Andy was involved too.

She smiled a little when Andy allowed his head to rest on hers, and was almost asleep when they pulled in front of their hotel. After paying the Uber driver, they trudged inside tiredly, not even caring that there was only one room left (because of course there was). As they fell into the one bed, neither one of them bothering to take anything off besides their shoes and her glasses, Sharon's last thought was about how she hoped they would be able to get out of this mess soon.

Hopefully before Christmas.

XXX

Sharon awoke to sunlight streaming into the room and Andy's soft voice coming from the corner as he talked to someone she assumed to be Provenza. She yawned and tried to straighten her hair a little as she raised her arms above her head. She was still in the exact place she had fallen asleep in, apparently not moving once the entire night.

She started listening to Andy's side of the conversation, not quite awake enough to make her own phone calls. He hadn't noticed that she was awake, as he was sitting in a chair facing the open window.

"No, no, no, no, Provenza. No way. She would never go for that."

"Of course I do."

"I know it would protect both of us and our interests."

"Are you sure that's even legal?"

Sharon stopped listening and slid her glasses on. Andy was only confusing her, and she hated being confused before she had her morning caffeine. As she walked over to the coffee maker and dumped in the grounds (she really wanted tea, but coffee was her only choice), she turned a couple minutes later to see that Andy had ended his phone call and was sitting there staring out the window with a contemplative look on his face.

"Andy?" She asked softly, hoping not to startle him.

He jumped a little anyway, then turned to her with a look that she couldn't decipher.

"What's going on?"

He cleared his throat. "I just had an interesting conversation with Provenza. He has an idea." When he didn't continue, she put her hands on her hips and sighed. "Out with it, Andy."

He scratched his neck, obviously looking for something to do with his hands,"Well..uh..you see. He thinks we..uh..shouldgetmarried."

She was glad she wasn't drinking anything, or it would have ended up all over the floor. After a few uncomfortable beats, she said, "And why does the good Lieutenant think that?"

Andy stood up and approached her, his hair even more disheveled than last night. "Well..uh..since it's a mob boss' death we're dealing with here, they'll probably make sure that the case will go to trial, and add to the fact that I'm the only witness..." He paused, grimacing, as if the last sentence was causing him actual pain to say. "...If I married you, I wouldn't have to testify against you. Then they wouldn't have a case."

She stood in stunned silence for countless seconds. He had a point. A damn good one too.

No way could she allow him to do this for her.

She shook her head. "No way, Andy. We'll find another way."

He stepped closer. "I didn't think it was a good idea at first either, but it makes sense. They'll make me testify and use every word I say look bad for you. Those damn lawyers are good at making people and situations look worse than they are. Assholes."

She turned her back on him and poured herself a cup of coffee with shaking hands. She didn't want her second marriage to be one of convenience. She didn't want to be pitied or felt sorry for. She wanted it to be for love. Something she never had in her first marriage.

But what other choice did she have?

It was either let Andy marry her, or take a chance that the case never goes to trial. But could she really take that chance? The mob had connections. She could draw a judge who was paid off by the them to sentence her to life in prison or worse.

Why was she even hesitating?

Because she was beginning to have feelings for the man who was currently standing in front of her with a wrinkled shirt and hair sticking up every which way. She didn't know when these "feelings" had started, but she wanted a chance to find out where those feelings went. She wasn't sure if that would happen if they got married.

Before she could say anything else, Andy stepped even closer, his voice quiet."I know this is a lot to take in. I'm willing to do it if you are. I want to protect you, and if we have to get married for me to do that, then I'm Ok with that."

She felt tears well up in her eyes and quickly turned back around to put some creamer in her coffee. Anything to avoid letting him see her cry. Now wasn't the time for that. She took a long drink of her now cooled coffee and turned to face him, erecting her vulnerable walls up once again. "You realize there isn't a statute of limitations on murder, right? We could never get divorced."

He nodded, "I know that, Captain. I still want to do it."

She felt tears well up again, but she ignored them and looked up at him. She couldn't think of any other option that didn't include going into the Witness Protection Program. "Ok, Andy. Ok."

She could see him almost sag with the burden of what they were about to do.

"Before we do anything, I need to inform Chief Taylor of the situation."

He nodded, avoiding eye-contact. "I'm going to go take a quick shower."

She stepped aside as he passed her, trying not to think about how she was probably going to be married to him within the next hour or so, and pulled out her phone to call her supervisor.

She wasn't looking forward to this conversation.

Or the one with Rusty.

XXX

Twenty minutes later, Andy walked out freshly showered to find Sharon sitting in the same chair he had vacated earlier. She wasn't talking on her phone or doing anything else besides staring out the window.

"Captain?"

After a few moments, she turned her head to look at him. "Andy, if we're going to be married, then you need to call me Sharon."

He nodded dumbly, not wanting to disturb the odd calm that had permeated the room. When she didn't say anything further, he cleared his throat. He really wanted to know what she was thinking.

"How..did it go with the Chief?"

She hummed a little, a close mouthed smile appearing on her face. "About as well as could be expected."

He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Yelling. There was a lot of yelling."

Andy rolled his eyes. "It's not like it's your fault that ol' Tiny tried to kill you."

She nodded in agreement. "He reluctantly approved us to go ahead with our plan. He told me in no uncertain terms that we had to be back to work tomorrow, and that if this "marriage" affected the team in any way, he would transfer you to another division."

He opened his mouth to protest, but she held up a hand. "Don't worry, you know he's all bark and no bite."

"Did it go any better with the kid?" Andy folded his arms and leaned against the TV stand; a picture of calm on the outside when in reality it was like a war zone inside.

She sighed. "He understands. We'll just leave it at that."

"That good, huh?"

When she didn't answer, he looked down at his wrinkly clothes from the day before. "If we're going to get married, don't you think we should at least dress nicely?"

She rubbed her neck tiredly and sat back in the chair. "Let's just get it over with, Andy."

"Oh, uh. Ok. Well I called the courthouse and made an appointment for noon today. Apparently they aren't very busy at the moment. We'll have to get our license, then they'll perform the ceremony."

She closed her eyes and nodded.

He watched her for a few more moments, the burden of what they were about to do obviously weighing heavily on her, then went over to the hotel phone to call the front office.

If he was going to get married, he could at least shave.

XXX

Two hours later found them standing in front of a judge about to be confirmed to be married. She was terrified, but was doing her best not to show it. Not only had they "bought" a witness, but they had purchased a pair of simple gold bands so they had something to exchange during the "ceremony".

After the rings were exchanged and the "I dos" had been said, the judge confirmed them married.

They weren't even asked to kiss.

As they signed their marriage certificate, she couldn't believe what they had just done. No friends, no family. Just them, the judge and the witness.

How were they going to make this work?

So does this sound like something you guys would want to read? I'm not sure if there's interest. If there is, please review and let me know. Again, this will be about Sharon and Andy trying to navigate married life, not about the case that go them there. Thanks for reading!