A/U spin-off from 3.18 and 3.19...what if Rusty and Sharon were put in witness protection after Stroh escaped? Please remember, this is A/U, so yes, I'm sure this all isn't to "protocol" for witness protection. We're going to go with it since it's just a story...
"We're here," she whispered to him, and he slowly started to move. He turned, but instantly, he noticed it was really dark, and he was unable to see much of anything.
"Where are we?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes and sat up in his seat.
"Home," Sharon sighed, as she pulled the key out of the ignition and opened her door. That shed light into the car, and Rusty looked around, almost as if he was looking for his phone, but he quickly realized he didn't have his phone.
"Really funny, Sharon," he sighed as he looked to her. She stopped her movement and looked back to him. "Sorry," he apologized, knowing instantly what he'd said.
"Come on; the light is on," she nodded to him. Rusty glanced out his window and noticed for the first time, a light was on, and there was a house. He was waking up finally and starting to notice things in the dark he hadn't seen a few moments ago.
"Yeah, but where are we, really?" he asked as he got out of the car.
"Ohio, as they told us," she sighed. "Home."
Rusty frowned as he looked to her, but it was so dark he couldn't see her well. She knew he was unhappy; she didn't have to see the look on his face.
"It's like quiet and really dark," he said as she walked up the sidewalk and Rusty followed. Sharon just hummed at Rusty's comment. "There's like no big city lights, and I can hear things, like-what is that? Crickets?"
"Yes, those are crickets," she chuckled. "It's true there are no city lights, but you've got to forget that for now," she told him. "It's important you forget that." He just nodded to Sharon while she worked on the door lock. Once she opened the door, she entered first, just to be safe, and Rusty followed behind her.
"Well, this is different," he sighed as he looked around the small house. "It looks nothing like the condo."
"It wouldn't," she told him once she'd shut and locked the door. She moved quickly through the home while Rusty waited in the small living room area studying it. He noticed the tan walls, the simple beige couch with loveseat set, the dark brown coffee table, the matching end tables, and the rather large television. He nodded to that, impressed that at least they had a decent television. The room looked empty, though, even with all the furniture. It wasn't home, and it didn't have anything from the condo.
"It's clear," she said with a breathless sigh as she returned. She had a large envelope in her hand, and she opened it while she stood there near Rusty in the living room.
"What's that?" he asked.
"More paperwork," she told him. "I was told it would be here. It looks like all the billing information for the house, such as the water, cable, and power. Oh here," she handed him, "your phone."
Rusty frowned as he accepted the new phone. It wasn't his; his was familiar, and this phone, even if it looked similar, wasn't his phone.
"Thanks," he said with a sharp tone, "but, like, who am I going to call anyway?"
She sighed, "You'll make friends. We're safe, and that's what matters."
"You were safe before," he told her.
"We're in this together," she shook her head. "Come on; let's look around the house."
Rusty gestured to the living room, "Oh, this is warm and inviting," he said sarcastically. "Just like home. I can see the orange chairs going nicely over there. Why can't we have some of our real furniture?"
Sharon pursed her lips, "Rusty, we've been over this. In the week we've been waiting, we've been told about this. I'm sorry, but this is now our life."
"You called me Rusty," he smirked again. She glared at him and shook her head. "I saw the bedrooms back here."
Rusty followed Sharon down a small hall. The house was small, and it was old. It seemed to fit; he had been told they were coming to a small farm town, an old small farm town, about as opposite from LA as one could get. The floor creaked as he followed Sharon, and she stopped at the first room.
"This would be your room," she gestured. He looked in and grimaced, "Great, more plain colors. Tan. I think I hate tan."
"You can spruce it up. We'll have it feeling like home in no time," she offered a small smile to him. "One benefit I noticed," she said as her smile grew wider. Rusty eyed her, not impressed, even though he didn't know what she was going to say.
"Two bathrooms," she pointed across the hall. "There is this one for you, and it looks like they renovated the master and added a bathroom back there."
"Well, that just makes this all better," he smirked as he turned in a circle in his new room. Sharon stepped back into the hall, and Rusty followed. He glanced quickly into his bathroom and noted, "Oh, great, love the tan walls in here too. Is your room tan?"
Rusty moved by Sharon and walked into her room. Sharon wasn't far behind him, but she heard him start to chuckle, "Tan. What a great decorator for this place. Just great. Your bedding is even tan, Sharon."
"We're safe, and that's what matters. It could be much worse," she sighed.
"It could be a lot better," he complained. "Where's the kitchen? Houses in Ohio can't be that different. I hope there's a kitchen."
Sharon rolled her eyes, "Of course, there's a kitchen. "It's on the other side of the living room." Rusty moved ahead of Sharon again through the living room and found the kitchen.
"Sweet, at least they stocked it with food. I'm starving after today's flight," he told her.
"Help yourself," she gestured. "I'm sure there's some sort of basic start up grocery stocking they did, so whatever we don't have, I'll get in the next day or so as we get settled."
Rusty waved her off as he opened the refrigerator. He pulled out yogurt and eyed Sharon, "Basics? They put your favorite yogurt in here."
Sharon just rolled her eyes again, "I assure you that I didn't give them any specifics. They did do a sweep at the condo. Maybe they made a list from the kitchen."
"Let's see if they have my favorite cereal," he looked to her as he started opening cabinets. "Jackpot," he smiled. "At least I won't go to bed hungry."
"Hmm, you'll go to bed safe, and that's all I care," she said.
Rusty didn't say much as he looked around for a bowl and spoon while he prepared his bowl of cereal. Sharon leaned back against the counter to watch him, and she offered him a banana from the counter when he turned toward her.
"Thanks," he said, as he took it. He pulled out the chair at the kitchen table and sat. "Feels weird to sit at a round table. I'm so used to the long table."
"Yes," Sharon sighed as she sat across from him. She looked around the house. "After you eat, we can unload the car. They told me there would be boxes arriving tomorrow, more of our clothing items and such."
He just nodded as he chewed, "Good because while I might have been okay first showing up to the condo with just my backpack three years ago, I've grown attached to my clothes. I'm glad I don't have to get rid of all my clothes."
"I'm not sure if they packed everything, Rusty, but we'll make do," she told him.
"You called me Rusty again," he offered a small smile as he continued to chew. Sharon shook her head and sighed.
"I'm tired. I'll get it right by tomorrow, Chris," she enunciated his new name as she looked to him.
"So, how far from the airport are we?" he asked.
"Over an hour," she said, "without traffic," she added to emphasize that where they were wasn't anything like LA."
"Could you see anything on the drive here?" he asked.
She shook her head, "It was dark. It looked like a lot of fields. I didn't see a lot of light, so it's very different from LA."
The two were quiet as they sat. Sharon looked around her new surroundings while Rusty ate. He finally broke the silence.
"Sharon, you didn't have to do this. I mean, you didn't have to come with me. You left everything Sharon. I'm not worth that," he told her. "I would have been fine on my own."
"Let's not hash this out again. I knew what I was getting into when I said I would come with you. Witness protection isn't a fun, easy thing to do. I know what I left. Everyone around me tried to talk me out of it, but I know. My heart aches with all this. No decision would have been right in this situation. The kids know what I did, and as much as they hate it, they know I'm safe too. They are grown, and they are safe. I'm sticking with you."
"But, I'm not even your kid," he grumbled.
"You most certainly are, Rusty," Sharon stood as she moved toward him. "Legally you are, and in my heart, too. You are as much my son as your brother and sister."
"I did all this. I broke up your family," he looked away from Sharon.
"It's late; we've had this discussion for days now. Let's get our things, and we can get ready for bed. I know we're off on our sleep with the time zone change," she said. She moved to the door and started flipping switches. She smiled when one turned on a spotlight toward the garage area where their car was parked.
"Seriously, the car is tan too?" he asked as he moved from the table toward the door. He glanced out and noticed the plain car. "What is it with people here and tan?"
Sharon held back a smile as she turned to him, "I'm glad your sarcasm is intact. Come on; let's get our things. There's a security system on the house, and I was instructed how to use it before we left this morning. Let's get inside and set the alarm for the night. Tomorrow will be a new day."
The two spent the next hour getting settled. They didn't have a lot of luggage with them; they'd only brought the essentials and were hopeful more of their personal items would arrive tomorrow as promised. Once they got the bags inside, and Sharon moved the car into the garage, Sharon and Rusty both spent some time with the security system. After they had it set, Sharon put her arm around Rusty's shoulders as they walked toward the bedrooms.
"I know this isn't fair, but we are safe," she said again.
"Yeah," he sighed as he turned toward her. "Thank you."
Her expression changed, as if she wasn't following what he had said, "For what?"
"This," he gestured, "the new tan house, for sticking with me. I don't know what I did to deserve you."
"Ditto," she smiled softly at him. "Get some sleep. I'm going to get a hot shower and try to sleep myself."
"Night, Mom," he said with an exaggerated voice. Sharon smiled at him, as her eyes teared up.
"I do like the sound of that," she nodded to him.
"At least that fits you," he sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Chris?" he said.
She shrugged, "I didn't pick my name either. You look like a Chris."
"No," he shook his head again. He smiled for the first time that night. "See you in the morning." Rusty went into his room and softly closed his door. Sharon stood in the hall looking at his closed door. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she walked to her room. Once inside, she sat on the corner of the bed while she looked around at everything. She chuckled because it was easier than crying; the room was plain, but yes, they were safe.
It took her almost another hour to shower and unpack her things, but she found herself exhausted and ready to crawl into bed. Before she did, she went in search of her phone. She let out a small laugh as she looked at it. She hadn't noticed the non-descript gray case on it until now. She'd have to point out to Rusty that at least it wasn't tan. She plugged it into the charger, and as she climbed into bed, she looked to the phone resting on the nightstand. She bit her lip and fought back the tears. Normally, at this time of night, she would call Andy, or he would call her. They would talk before going to bed, sometimes for five minutes, but recently, their talks had gone on longer and longer. She wiped the tears as she realized she couldn't call him. She desperately wanted to call him and tell them she and Rusty were safe; at this point, she'd even be happy with just a text, but she knew she couldn't do that. Sharon wondered if Andy was lying in his bed, thousands of miles away, thinking of her. Right now, it didn't matter. She and Rusty were safe now, and as much as she hated it, she had to close the door on her former life.