FOR FAIRYTALES1981 HAPPY BIRTHDAY :) HOPE YOU LIKE IT. In the interest of keeping the two Sharon's straight Captain Sharoy Raydor will be Sharon with a capital S and Sharon Beck will be sharon with a small s. Hope you enjoy :)
Captain Sharon Raydor sat at her desk finalizing the last of reports that needed to be delivered to Chief Taylor while the rest of the team kept themselves busy organizing the boxes of evidence from their latest case. She could hear the banter back and forth between Lt. Louis Provenza and Detective Andy Flynn, and it was all she could do not to laugh out loud. Andy always knew exactly which buttons to push to send Louie right over the edge and the retaliation was usually just as priceless.
As she signed off on the last report, Sharon heard a light knock at her door. The usually bubbly Det. Amy Sykes appeared with an expression on her face that Sharon could not quite pin down.
"What can I do for you Detective?" She asked as she motioned for the young woman to enter
"Ma'am, you have a visitor," she said nervously
"Detective Sykes, Why on earth would the fact that I have a visitor be so unsettling?"
"Because it's…well…it's…" she stammered
"Well? Spit it out Detective?"
"It's Rusty's Mother Ma'am," replied
"What Rusty? My Rusty?"
"Yes Ma'am"
Sharon rose from her desk and glanced out into the squad room to see her team staring at her with both apprehension and anger in their eyes.
"Right then" said Sharon as she turned her attention back to Dt. Sykes "Where is she?"
"She's in interview room 1"
"Why is she in an interview room?"
"We thought it was best since Rusty is due to arrive here any minute," replied Lt. Provenza, who appeared in the doorway "No sense upsetting the kid until we know what she wants"
"And what exactly is it that she wants?"
"We have no idea, she just showed up here asking for you" said Andy as he peeked around Lt. Provenza.
"But why after all this time?" she asked
"That is what we are going to find out!" snapped Provenza as he turned on his heel and ran into Andy "Would you get out of the way!" he growled as he headed toward Interview room 1 with Sharon close behind.
"I believe that it would be in our best interest if I do the questioning," said Sharon as she put her hand on his arm
"Captain, all due respect, but you are the last person who should be questioning her. You are too close to the situation, and…"
"And you aren't" said Andy as he came up behind Sharon
As Sharon was about to answer, she heard the elevator doors open
"Julio, Amy, I want you to have Rusty help you take the evidence storage room" she said looking nervously down the hall "Buzz, Mike could you monitor the interview…Andy, could you call DDA Rios and find out where we stand as far as Sharon Beck is concerned, Lt. Provenza, you're with me" she said as the team quickly dispersed.
Rusty rounded the corner to the squad room, only to be ambushed by Detectives Sanchez and Sykes.
"Rusty, could you put your stuff down and give us a hand?" said Julio
"Yeah, sure…What are we doing?" he asked curiously
"The Captain wants these boxes down in storage as soon as possible, something about too much clutter"
"That sounds like Sharon," replied Rusty with a grin "Where is she anyway?"
"She and Lieutenant Provenza are conducting an interview," said Amy as she handed him a box and the three of them headed toward the elevator
Once the trio had disappeared into the elevator, Sharon and Provenza stepped out into the hall.
"Are you ready?" he asked impatiently
"Let's get this over with as quickly as possible" she replied, taking a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and heading toward the door.
sharon Beck sat in the interview room, fidgeting in her chair nervously, with a rather angry expression on her face as Sharon and Provenza entered and took their seats across from her.
"Well it's about damn time!" she snapped angrily "Where is he? Where is my son?"
"Rusty, is otherwise occupied at the moment," replied Provenza coolly
"I want to see him now, I have a right to see him, I am his family!"
"I'm sorry Mrs. Beck, but you gave up those rights when you abandoned him at the zoo," replied Sharon calmly
"That wasn't my idea"
"And was it also not your idea to tell him you were coming back for him when we sent you the bus ticket and you got off in Bakersfield, effectively abandoning him again?" snapped Provenza angrily as Sharon put her hand on his arm to calm him
"I didn't know what to say to him" she snapped back "But things are different now, and he's older..."
"Mrs. Beck, may I call you sharon?" asked Captain Raydor "As his legal guardian, I am bound, by the law, to do what is in his best interest, and I do not feel that it is in his best interest to see you at this time, but..."
"YOU BITCH! You may be guardian, but you are NOT his family. You have no right to keep him away from me, I AM HIS MOTHER!" shouted sharon
"Listen lady, and I use the term loosely, we are doing you the courtesy of talking to you rather than arresting you on multiple charges, child abandonment being the first so I would tread lightly if I were you" said Provenza thru clenched teeth
"As I was saying," interrupted Captain Raydor "Although I do not believe it is in his best interest, I will let him decide for himself"
"You do that!" snapped sharon as she leaned back and folded her arms across her chest
"We will be back," said Sharon as she and Lt. Provenza rose and left the room.
Once the door was closed Sharon let out a long sigh as she gently massaged her temples. Andy, Mike Tao, Buzz and DDA Rios all filed out of the observation room surrounding them, each with a concerned look on their face.
"Captain, what are you going to do?" asked Buzz anxiously
Sharon pushed her way thru the crowd and headed toward her office, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill the entire way. As she closed the door, she leaned back against it and let the tears fall. Her worst fear had finally come true, Rusty's mother had come back to claim him. Although, legally there was no way for sharon Beck to waltz back into his life, the fact that she was here was going to take an emotional toll on everyone, especially Rusty. He had done so well adjusting to his new life, with new friends, a new school; he had made it through the trial and was ready to begin experiencing what a normal life with people who love him should be and now SHE is here, threatening to destroy whatever happiness he has in the blink of an eye. As she thought about everything that had happened and everything that was about to happen, Sharon heard a light knock and turned to open the door to find Andy staring back at her with a worried expression etched across his face.
"Can I come in?" he asked quietly. He could tell that she had been crying as he slipped into her office and shut the door behind him
"Are you ok?" he asked
Without even thinking, Sharon melted into his arms and buried her head against his shoulder.
"THIS cannot be happening," she mumbled
Andy wrapped his arms around her and held her close as she attempted to regain her composure.
"It can and it is, but we are going to get thru this," he said as he tilted her chin up and kissed her forehead
"But SHE is his mother. All he ever wanted was for her to come back, and now she is here, sitting in the interrogation room. What do I tell him?"
"Rusty is a smart kid. Yeah she is his Mother, but YOU are his MOM and there is a big difference, and don't think for one second that he doesn't know that. He loves you as much as you love him. You have to tell him and let him say goodbye to her on his own terms" he replied as he gently caressed her cheek
"But what if..."
"Sharon, honey...He has to...no he needs to do this so that he can get on with his life without any regrets or ghosts, because God knows he has enough ghosts as it is to deal with"
"You're right," she said pulling back and wiping away her tears, "It has to be his decision"
"You want me to go get him?"
"Please, but could you take him to the conference room, it's a little less formal than my office"
"Sure" he said leaning in, kissing her tenderly
Sharon made her way to the conference room, pacing back and forth while she waited for Rusty. As soon as he walked thru the door, Rusty could tell that she was upset.
"Sharon? Andy said you wanted to see me?"
Sharon hesitated a moment before crossing the room and pulling him to her, holding him tightly before releasing him and pulling back, keeping her hands on his shoulders.
"Rusty...I have something to tell you," she said quietly
"What is it, have I done something wrong?"
"No...No nothing like that. It's about your Mother," she said as she carefully studied his face for any sort of reaction
"My Mom? Did something happen to her? Did you find her?"
"Actually, she found you" replied Sharon fighting back her tears
"What? You mean she's here?" he said with a hint of disbelief along with excitement and nervousness in his voice
"She is" replied Sharon, trying to hide her anxiety
Rusty's excitement was short lived as Sharon's words began to sink in. His mother, the woman he had so desperately wanted to find, was actually a few feet away from him, but instead of bursting thru the door to see her, he found himself staring at the woman he had come to think of as his mother, searching her face for the answer as to what he should do next
"So she wants to see me? I mean she actually WANTS to see me?" he said hesitantly
"So it would seem," replied Sharon softly
"What should I say to her? I mean what does she want?"
"That is something you will have to ask her yourself"
"You think I should talk to her?"
"Rusty, what I think doesn't really matter right now. The question is what do you want?"
Sharon could tell that Rusty was struggling with his decision and happened to glance out the door to see Andy and Lt. Provenza desperately trying not to be obvious as they listened to the conversation. She motioned for them to come in while Rusty was deep in thought, contemplating his decision.
"Rusty" said Sharon, drawing him back to reality "Have you made your decision?"
"Yeah, I think I have" he said as he turned to face them, "You know what? I don't need her anymore. I have a family, right here, you all taught me that, and I like my life just the way it is. She may be my Mother, but you, you're my Mom now, and the team is my family, so if it's all the same to you, I would like to keep it this way. Lieutenant, if you don't mind would you tell my Mother that I'm sorry, but I don't want to see her"
"Anything you say kid" replied Provenza as he headed toward the door "You want to come with me and maybe once this "Family Business" is over we can go pick up some burgers?"
"Yeah, sure, I'll be right there" he replied as he turned and flashed Sharon a wide grin before he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug "I love you Mom" he whispered in her ear
"I love you too Rusty" she whispered back as a tear slid down her cheek "I love you too"
~fin~