A/N: Just a little post ep for 5x20. The next episode will probably be nothing like this, but I had to right something to help me cope with that cliff-hanger of an ending. Thanks for Kadi219 for her fantastic beta skills. :)
Sharon was escorting Mr Luna's family away from the grave site when the sound of the bomb dogs barking reached her ears. Quickening her pace, she glanced back over her shoulder. She heard Lieutenant Capra's panicked call for his officers to pull back, to get the dogs out of there and send the robot in, but his words were cut off by a deafening rumble. With a blinding flash, the explosion ripped through the cemetery. Dust and projectiles were cast into the air; thousands of pieces of stone and wood, raining down.
The force of the blast threw Sharon to the ground and in an instant everything went black.
The radio Andy's hand crackled to life once more as Air 10 gave them a running commentary on what was happening on the ground. "Yeah, the dogs have something; they're barking." The helicopter was their only source of information – radio silence had been ordered for everyone on the ground.
"Oh my God." Andy rounded Andrea's chair and moved closer to the monitors. "What if the bomber is there?"
He watched as the officers rushed to clear the area and get to safety. He tried to locate Sharon and the team but the helicopter was too far away for him to make out specific people. The feed from Buzz's camera didn't help either, it was just a blur of black and blue as people rushed to safety.
Suddenly, sights and sounds of an explosion filled the large screen in front of him. Andrea and Rusty were on their feet instantly, joining Andy watching the unfolding scene with horror.
In that moment, a myriad of images flashed through his mind. His daughter's wedding, the nutcracker, the first time he'd hugged her, their dinner at Serve and the kiss that had followed, the two of them playing on the beach with his grandkids, the first time he'd fallen asleep holding her, when she'd told him that she loved him, the first time they'd made love. All punctuated by that moment, only a few weeks ago, when she'd agreed to marry him.
Would that even happen now? Had he lost it all before he'd ever really had the chance to experience it. Did Sharon know, really know, how much he loved her.
He thought about the conversation they had before she left. He should have told her then. The words had been on the tip of his tongue, but he'd stopped himself. That wasn't what they did. It was something they'd agreed to before they were a couple, when they were still in that transitional stage between being friends and something more. They decided that in order for them both to do their jobs effectively, they couldn't be overtly emotional when the other was heading into a potentially life threatening situation.
It had been her suggestion but he'd agreed with it. Neither would be served by being distracted, thinking about the other back at PAB, worrying. It had been left to Rusty to voice the thoughts that had been going through both their minds. A plea to be careful. More acceptable from a son to his mother than from a Lieutenant to his Captain. Even if they were exploring a more personal relationship outside of work, in that moment, that's what they were.
"Mom, where's Mom?" Rusty's voice held a note of panic and he placed a hand on Andy's shoulder.
Andy reached back, his arm blindly searching for Rusty's hand to offer reassurance. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen. Hoping, praying to see glimpse Sharon or the team through the smoke.
"Air 10, can you see anything down there?" Andy gripped the radio tightly as he waited for a response.
"Negative Lieutenant. There's too much smoke, but it looks pretty bad."
"Stay here," he ordered Rusty before turning on his heal and heading for the door.
"Wha-? Andy! If you're going down there, I'm coming with you"
Andy spun round. "No."
"But-"
"Rusty, no." Andy replied firmly. He waved his arm at the screens. "That's an ongoing situation. I can't…" He sighed. "Sharon would want you to stay here, where it's safe. So that's what you're going to do. She's not a lady I really want mad at me, y'know?" He placed a comforting hand on Rusty's shoulder, squeezing gently. "I will call you as soon as I know anything, I promise"
Rusty's shoulder's slumped, but he nodded reluctantly before turning his attention back to the monitors.
"Good." Andy looked at Andrea and inclined his head towards Rusty. She nodded. She would keep an eye on him until they had an answer about Sharon and the team.
"Hey Andy." Rusty's words stopped Andy as he crossed the threshold. "Be careful."
The first thing Sharon noticed upon regaining consciousness was the smell. The horrible, acrid smell of smoke. Slowly, light began to creep into the darkness. She blinked rapidly and winced as pain shot through her head. She waited impatiently for her eyes to focus. Once they did, however she wished she'd stayed unconscious. There was a rather large gravestone looming over her. She wondered what was keeping it from toppling down on her. She tried to shift and then she found out. That would be the other headstone, she told herself, the one that's got you pinned down.
Sharon took a deep breath but the pain in her chest, coupled with the dust from the explosion, sent her into a coughing fit that she was sure was going to kill her. She gagged and spat the dust out of her mouth, then tried slowly turning her head from side to side. Right side. A little twinge, not that bad. She turned her head to the left and pain exploded through her, radiating down her arm. Her collarbone. Closing her eyes, she panted, waiting for the pain to subside.
From a seemingly distant place, she heard someone shout her name. Her ears were ringing, but she could just make out what they were saying.
"Captain?" Captain, are you alright?" Julio ran over and sank to his knees beside her.
"Can't move," she rasped.
Julio tried to lift the stone pinning Sharon down but he couldn't shift it; the other stone had wedged it in place.
"Nolan!" he yelled, spotting the younger detective a few metres away. "Give me a hand." Together they began the process of freeing her from the rubble. "Don't worry Captain, we'll have you out of there in no time."
Sweat dripped from Andy's brow as he ran towards the scene of the explosion. He flashed his badge as he reached the outer police cordon and it was lifted for him. Minutes that felt like hours stretched by as his gaze darted around, searching for any sign of Sharon or the team.
"Flynn!"
His head whipped around at the sound of his name. He rushed towards where his partner was stood with Tao. "Where is she?!"
Provenza inclined his head to a cluster of ambulances parked up near the inner cordon. "Over there."
His heart dropped. If there were EMTs involved then she must be hurt.
Provenza gave his partner's shoulder a comforting pat. "She's okay. Well, maybe not a hundred percent, but she's conscious and she's giving orders."
"And the rest of you?" Sharon may have been his first priority but the division were like a family. He was worried about them too. He looked around, taking in all the devastation and swore quietly.
"All in one piece." Provenza could tell the younger man was torn. The police officer in him instinctively wanted to help, but the rest of him needed to know Sharon was okay. He turned his partner in the direction of the ambulances he'd indicated earlier and gave him a shove. "Go."
He watched his partner rush off to find Sharon and shook his head. This was why relationships within divisions were a bad idea. They split your focus. As much as you tried to keep it from doing so. That was just the way that the human heart worked.
Andy rounded the back of the ambulances and found Sharon seated on the rear step of the furthest one. She was wrapped in a shock blanket, the blood trickling from her temple providing a stark contrast to the ashen pallor of her face. A fine film of dust covered her hair and skin. Her left arm was secured in a sling and the EMT was cleaning the gash to her temple.
"Sharon!"
She lifted her head and winced at the pain that the sudden movement caused. Still, Andy couldn't help the feeling of relief that washed over him. He knelt down next to her and reached for her hand. Lifting it to his mouth, he placed a feather light kiss to her knuckles. She'd probably chew him out for being so demonstrative in public, but he couldn't bring himself to care about that right now. She was alive. That's all he could think.
"I'm fine Andy."
He arched an eyebrow as he looked pointedly from her sling to her head. "Is that so?"
She brushed off his concern. "Bumps and bruises."
"I wouldn't call a suspected broken collar bone and concussion 'bumps and bruises'," the EMT added with a pointed look. "A trip to the ER is in your immediate future."
Andy pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I'll text Rusty. He's worried, but I managed to convince him to stay at PAB."
"You should have stayed with him." She thought of the look on her son's face as she left, he'd been worried then, she could only imagine what a state he would be in now after watching the scene play out in RACR.
"Andrea's with him. She'll keep an eye on him." Andy typed out a quick text and hit send.
"You shouldn't have rushed down here," chided Sharon gently when she had his attention once more. He wasn't supposed to be out in the field.
"Are you kidding me? My fiancée was involved in an explosion; what else was I going to do?"
"Yes but if Chief Davis finds out…" Sharon sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She could feel a headache brewing behind her eyes. She couldn't decide if it was the result of her head injury or the thought of dealing with that woman.
Andy's eyes narrowed. "If Davis has a problem with it then, quite frankly Sharon, she can kiss my a-"
"Andy! We're supposed to be playing nice, remember…" The promotion race wasn't over yet and she was sure that Winnie Davis would use any and all cracks in the professionalism of Major Crimes personnel to her advantage. And as much as she understood Andy's worry and concern, he was being less than professional at the moment.
Andy shook his head. "If it wasn't for those ridiculous doctor's orders I'd have been here anyway."
"It's for your own good, just until the doctor is happy that your blood pressure is under control."
Andy rolled his eyes. They'd had this discussion before and it wasn't one he was going to win, but in "And how do you think my blood pressure was doing with not knowing if you were okay?"
"There, all done," the EMT announced, cutting off Sharon's response. He looked between the two of them. "You need to go to the ER to get that x-rayed," he indicated her collarbone, "but if you're still happy to make your own way, I'd appreciate it. Means I can give the other guys a hand."
"Don't worry," Andy replied. "I'll make sure she gets there."
"I will go, but only once I have finished up here."
The EMT nodded and picked up his bag, leaving the two of them alone. Sharon scooted over and Andy took a seat on the step next to her. He lifted his arm and she leant into his embrace. She needed to find Provenza and see where they were with the investigation but it wouldn't hurt for them to take a moment for themselves while the bomb squad was clearing the scene.
"How are you," Andy asked again, "really?"
"It hurts like hell," she admitted.
"The meds will kick in soon. So, I have a question…"
"Hmm?"
"Are you deliberately putting yourself in these situations so that I can experience some of what I put you through last year?"
She glanced up at him, ready to berate him for even suggesting such a thing, but seeing the mischievous look on his face, she laughed instead. An action she regretted instantly when a sharp pain shot up her neck. She smacked him with her free hand. "Don't… make me laugh… it hurts."
"Sorry. We make quite the pair."
Sharon nodded, his words unintentionally hitting a nerve. He was right. In the last year they'd spent far too much time in hospitals. His blood clot and following heart attack. Her bruised cheek – Andy had insisted she get checked out after she'd had a dizzy spell in the hours following the punch – and now this.
It did nothing but serve as a reminder of how fleeting life was. Especially in their job. They'd lost one of their own only the other day, and the death toll could have increased dramatically today if luck hadn't been on their side.
She could have died. He could have been forced to live without her.
In the hours after his heart attack, as she'd sat in the hard plastic chair waiting for news, she had promised herself that she would stop holding back in their relationship. She'd decided that life was too short. They needed to live while they were alive. It was why, when he'd stunned her with his romantic proposal, that she'd accepted straight away despite knowing there would be challenges to a church wedding.
Neither of them had been in any particular rush to set a date – both content with the knowledge that they'd get there. That they would be married eventually. But today had reinforced for her that their time was borrowed. They were not promised to see tomorrow.
As Sharon stood her legs wobbled slightly, but Andy was there, supporting, steadying her. "The sooner I get an update from Lieutenant Provenza, the sooner you can take me to the hospital."
Andy fell into step beside her, far enough away to be considered professional, but close enough to catch her if she fell.
The gesture wasn't lost on her. He was slipping back into Lieutenant mode, for which she was grateful. But there was something she needed to say before he did that. She reached for his hand and turned to face him.
"Andy, if we ever get finished tonight, maybe we can sit down and find a date for the wedding."
His brows rose in surprise. "Really?" He'd been happy to move at her pace, so he's a little stunned at her sudden change of heart. She was reacting and he didn't want her to do anything she would regret later. He ran his thumb gently over the back of her hand. "Sharon, you were almost blown up today…"
"I know, which is why I don't want to wait anymore." Tears pooled in Sharon's eyes. "God Andy, we've wasted so much time."
He reached up and cupped her face in his hands. "We can get married as soon as you want. Hell, I'd marry you tomorrow, you know that. But I'll also wait as long as you need. So yeah, we can talk about it later if you want, but maybe we let things calm down a little before we make any decisions, hmm?"
She drew her hand down his tie as she nodded. Okay."
Neither of them could predict the future. Life was unpredictable, even more so in their job, but they would make the most of the time they were gifted. Once the dust had settled, they would sit down and discuss their future. There would be laughter and teasing, disagreements and compromises, but they would do it. Together.
A/N2: Please leave a little review to let me know what you think. :)