Sharon quickened her pace and urged those in front of her to do the same, so that she could get them, herself included, to safety. Then it happened all too fast. Lieutenant Capra was yelling to pull the dogs back and to get the robot out there. Sharon briefly looked back and then boom, the bomb went off. The impact of the blast sent her backwards and she landed hard on the ground.
Andy, Rusty, and Andrea all watched in horror as they not only lost sight of Sharon, but of everyone, as the cemetery became engulfed in a cloud of thick, dark smoke and debris. Nothing was visible. Andrea jumped up out of her chair, as they all stared at the screen and listened to the chopper pilot relay that there had been a confirmed explosion at the cemetery.
"I'm gonna need additional units, rescue ambulances, uh you know just send everybody at this point, this looks bad" said the pilot.
Of course it looked bad, but hearing the pilot say so himself shook Andy to his core. Then Rusty, his lip quivering, said those three words that were no doubt on all of their minds. "Mom, where's mom?" he asked worriedly, as his hand went to the back of Andy's shoulder. Andy put his hand on Rusty's in an effort to calm him, even though he was far from calm himself. Andy wished to God he had an answer to Rusty's question.
" Do you have a visual on your end, any movement?" asked Andy.
"Negative Lieutenant, we're seeing whatever your seeing. The smoke's too thick" said the pilot.
"Were going to find a place to land and assist however we can" said the pilot.
"Copy that, I'm sure they need all the help they can get" said Andy.
Andy turned and started out the door, with Andrea and Rusty chasing after him.
"Andy, slow down, where are you going?" asked Andrea, trying to keep up with him. Though, she was sure she knew exactly where he was going.
" Where indeed?" asked Chief Davis stopping in front of them.
"Excuse me" said Andy, trying to keep things as calm as possible.
She stayed right where she was.
"From what I understand Lieutenant, you haven't been medically cleared for field work, so I'll ask again, where do you think you're going" said Davis sternly, as she crossed her arms.
"Look, I really don't have time for this crap" said Andy, starting to lose his patience.
Andrea put her hand on Andy's arm in an effort to calm him.
"Another bomb just went off and there's no telling how many people are injured or worse including my team, and my Fiancé, so if you must know 'Chief' I'm going down to the cemetery to help in any way that I can" said Andy, glaring at her. "So again, excuse me" he said, once again trying to get past her.
"Well as the Superior officer, you answer to me, and you are staying here, is that clear Lieutenant" said Davis, staring him down.
Andy was just about ready to snap and Andrea saw that. " Allow me Andy" she said stepping forward.
"Okay, Chief Davis, I'm only going to say this once, you need to get the hell out this man's way, before I move you myself" said Andrea glaring at her.
Davis just chuckled.
"I'm sorry did I say something funny. Well since it appears that you don't understand simple English, I'll put this in words even you can understand. The Mayor is a friend of mine, and he is on my speed dial. Do you really want me to call him Chief, because that might make your chances of getting the Assistant Chief job very slim" said Andrea.
"Are you really sure you wanna go there DDA Hobbs. Might not be a very good career move" quipped Davis.
"Try me" said Andrea. "Oh, and just remember that pulling rank shit doesn't work on me, because I don't work for you" said Andrea, grinning triumphantly.
The two women glared at each other for a minute.
Chief Davis then stepped aside.
"Wise decision Chief" said Andrea as they made their way past her.
Rusty turned around briefly and gave Davis the finger before heading out with Andrea and Andy.
Andy pushed the elevator button in rapid succession, as if willing it to go down faster.
"Andy, take a breath, you're not gonna do Sharon or anybody else any good if you have another heart attack" said Andrea, hoping to calm him down.
Andy ran his hand across the back of his head. " I know Andrea, but how can I calm down. All I keep thinking about is if Sharon wasn't so concerned with my health I could've gone out there with her, with the team and.." said Andy.
"And what, Andy, what could you have done?" asked Andrea.
"I could've been there with her, I should've been there" said Andy.
"That wouldn't have stopped the bomb from going off Andy, you know that" said Andrea.
" I know" said Andy. "But I didn't even tell her goodbye, I didn't hug her or kiss her, I didn't tell her to be careful, and I didn't tell her how much I love her" said Andy starting to tear up.
"I didn't…" he stopped. "God Andrea, what if she's hurt, what if she's.. " he stopped again.
"Andy, don't even think like that. We don't know how close she was when it went off, she could be perfectly fine" said Andrea.
"Yeah and she might not be" said Andy.
It was then they remembered Rusty's presence in the elevator.
They both turned and looked at him, immediately noticing the tears in his eyes.
"Rusty" said Andy.
Rusty took in a shaky breath and through his arms around Andy.
Andy was surprised, but none the less he wrapped his arms around Rusty. He knew that whatever he was feeling, he had to be strong for Rusty, because even though Sharon was his Fiancé and he loved her more than anything, she was also Rusty's mother, the woman who had completely turned Rustys' life around.
The elevator doors open and they all headed quickly to Andy's car. Andy fumbled with his keys. "I'll drive" said Andrea.
"Andrea, I can manage" said Andy.
"I'm not asking. Sharon will kill me if she knows I helped spring you from desk duty and then allowed you to drive under emotional duress, so keys please" she said holding out her hand.
" Fine" said Andy handing them to her. Andrea started the car, Andy got in on the passenger side and Rusty got in the back.
" Rusty, when we get there, stay in the car with Andrea" said Andy.
"But" started Rusty.
"No buts, I don't want you out there and Sharon wouldn't want you out there, so please just stay in the car when we get there" he said.
"Okay" Rusty huffed.
"Alright, let's go" said Andy. Andrea put her foot on the gas and they headed quickly to their destination.
Sharon opened her eyes, and it took a second for her to fully grasp what had occurred moments ago. Her lungs burned from the smoke, her ears were ringing, and her head was pounding. She slowly sat up. Her hand flew to her head. She winced and pulled her hand back. Her fingers had blood on them. That can't be good she thought to herself. She slowly tried to get to her feet, which wasn't easy, as she felt a wave of dizziness hit her, but she managed to steady herself, only then feeling the pain in her ankle. She hissed in pain. Every part of her body ached, but all she could think about was her team and making sure they were all ok and accounted for. The smoke had started to dissipate somewhat, but she was still having some trouble seeing.
She turned around and noticed Lizeth coming too, thankful that Ortiz hadn't succeeded in killing, who they assumed was his primary target.
"Lizeth, are you okay?" asked Sharon.
"I think so, my arm hurts pretty bad though" she said holding her right arm.
"Okay, just sit tight, I'm sure Rescue will be here soon" said Sharon.
She was just about to start calling out for her team , until she heard her name being called.
"Captain" came the voice.
"Over here" she said, and soon Provenza came into view.
"Lieutenant" Sharon managed in a raspy voice.
"Captain, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"I'll manage" she coughed. " Where are the rest of the team, how many casualties?" she asked.
"I don't have an answer to that right now" he said. "But I'm sure they're sending in the calvary as we speak" said Provenza.
He noticed how unsteady she seemed to be and offered her his shoulder to lean against.
It was then they saw Wes, Amy, Mike, Julio, and buzz headed towards them.
Sharon let out a sigh of relief at seeing the rest of her team. "Captain, Lieutenant" Amy yelled as they quickly made their way over to them.
"Lieutenant, you good?" asked Amy.
"I'll live, are you guys ok" he asked.
"Just a little banged up, but relatively unscathed" said Buzz.
"Ma'am are you alright?" asked Julio, concerned by Sharon's appearance.
"I'll be fine" she said.
Julio wasn't so sure of that but he took her at her word.
"Now that we're all accounted for, we need to get a casualty count and help with wounded" said Sharon.
"Right" said Sykes and they headed off to do as Sharon had instructed them.
Sanchez started by talking to Lizeth and trying to calm her. It was then they heard the wail of sirens approaching.
Provenza once again turned his attention back to Sharon.
"Captain I think we should get you checked out" he said.
"Lieutenant, I appreciate the concern, but I'm alright, I'm sure there are more pressing matters" she said.
Provenza knew how stubborn this woman was but he wasn't giving up that easily. He was sure she would have words with him later but he did what he had to. " Sharon, you have a nasty looking gash in your head and you can barely stand, so forgive me, but it wasn't a suggestion" he said authoritatively.
Sharon looked at him shocked.
"Now you are going to get checked out even if Julio and I have to carry you" he finished.
Sharon glared at him for a moment, but then sighed. "Okay, but we are going to talk about this later" she said sternly.
"Yes Ma'am" he said. " Can you make it over there" he said nodding in the direction of one of the ambulances.
"I think so" she said as took a step forward. The pain radiated through her ankle and up through her leg and she let out a wince.
"Julio, help me" he said.
Julio made sure Lizeth could stand on her own and then got on the other side of Sharon.
Together they helped her walk, slowly towards one of the ambulances. She gritted her teeth, as each step caused her ankle to feel like it was on fire.
Andrea was coming up on the cemetery, but there were so many rescue vehicles and police personnel, she couldn't get as close as she would've liked.
Andy opened his door and proceeded to get out.
"Andy" said Andrea.
"You two stay put, I'm going to find Sharon" he said.
Andrea nodded. It was all Rusty could do not to jump out of the car and go with Andy, but he knew that Sharon wouldn't want him to be out there.
Andy took off as if he was running a race. He made to where some officers were blocking off the scene. One of them stopped him and he quickly flashed his badge. "Lieutenant Flynn, Major Crimes" he said.
"Go ahead Lieutenant" said the officer.
Andy ducked under the tape and took off running towards the multitude of ambulances. "Sharon" he started yelling, trying to spot her. As he got closer to where the blast had occurred, the words of the chopper pilot were on his mind as he got to see firsthand the severity of the situation. "Sharon" he yelled again.
Julio, and Provenza had nearly made it to one of the ambulances with the injured Sharon, when they heard a familiar voice. "Do you hear that sir?" asked Julio.
"Is that…" Provenza started as they turned around and saw Andy. "Eeegods, as if we don't have enough injured people, the idiot's gonna give himself a heart attack" said Provenza.
"Lieutenant what.." started to ask but then her eyes fell on Andy. She sighed.
"Lieutenant over her" yelled Julio.
At hearing Julio's voice Andy spotted them, and when he saw Sharon he sprinted towards them as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Andy, what…" she started, but he stopped her.
"Sharon, oh my God" he said searching her over for injuries. He cupped her cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear away from the gash on her forehead.
"Gentlemen, give us a minute please" said Sharon.
Julio and Provenza looked at each other and then at Andy and Sharon. "Let's give them some privacy Julio, I'm sure they have a lot to talk about" said Provenza. Julio nodded and the two of them went to help the rest of the team.
Andy pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and put it to the gash on her forehead, trying to clean away some of the blood. She tried to put most of her weight on her uninjured ankle. "God Sharon, I thought that…" he stopped as tears started to invade his eyes.
"Andy" she said softly, pulling his hand away from her forehead and squeezing it reassuringly. Her other hand went to his cheek. "Andy, I'm right here" she said.
"I know, but when that bomb went off, I…I was terrified that I'd never see you again" said Andy as more tears spilled out.
He pulled her against him and held her, running his fingers through her hair.
"I'm sorry you were worried, I know what that's like" said Sharon.
"Sharon, we're getting too good at worrying" said Andy.
"It would seem so" she sighed. Then she broke the embrace. "Speaking of worrying, what the hell were you thinking leaving PAB, when you know you're not cleared for active duty, and running like that, you could've had another heart attack" she said in a more serious tone.
"Sharon…" Andy started.
"And I'm sure Chief Davis is going never going to let me hear the end of it, I mean.." she said before he stopped her.
"Sharon" he said.
"What" she said, clearly frustrated
"You talk too much" he said.
"I beg your par…" she got out, before Andy put his lips on hers and kissed her passionately, not caring who saw.
At first she was going to protest, but truth be told it was exactly what she needed after the day's events and she was sure it was what Andy needed as well.
She snaked her arms around the back of his neck and deepened the kiss. At that moment she felt like they were the only two people there and the world around them just melted away. They finally broke apart. Sharon leaned her forehead against Andy's and put her hand over his heart.
"Sharon, I love you, so much" said Andy.
"I love you too Andy" she said softly.
"That's a relief" said Andy smiling.
Sharon winced as her good leg was giving out on her causing her weight to shift to the injured ankle.
This didn't go unnoticed by Andy.
"Sharon, what's wrong, where are you hurt" said Andy worriedly.
"It's just my ankle, I think it might be sprained" said Sharon.
" Why didn't you say anything, God we've been standing her all this time, while you're in pain. We need to get you checked out now" said Andy.
"Andy, I'm sure it's not that bad, please calm down" said Sharon. She went to put an arm around his shoulder for leverage, but Andy had other plans.
He took her completely by surprise as he lifted her into his arms.
"Andy, what do you think you are doing, you shouldn't be lifting me" she said, relieved that the pressure was off of her ankle, but worried about Andy's health at the same time.
"Sharon, you're hurt and if I can stop you from being in pain, even just briefly, that's what I'm going to do, so please stop worrying about me for a second and let me help you" said Andy.
"Alright" said Sharon as she laid her head against Andy's shoulder.
He carried her the rest of the way over to the ambulance.
"What've we got here?" asked the paramedic as Andy sat Sharon down.
"It's my ankle, I think it might be sprained" said Sharon.
"Alright, I'll have a look at it, but first let's get that nasty looking gash taken care of" said the young, female paramedic.
Sharon smiled at the young woman.
"Looks like there's some wood splinters in there" said the paramedic.
Andy frowned.
The paramedic grabbed a pair of tweezers from her bag and carefully picked the splinters out of the gash.
Sharon winced.
"Sorry" said the paramedic. "I'm going put this disinfectant on it, fair warning it might sting" she said.
"Noted" said Sharon.
"Alright, here we go" she said as she applied the disinfectant to the gash.
Sharon gritted her teeth in response to the stinging sensation as Andy grabbed her hand.
The paramedic finished cleaning the wound and put a bandage on it. "I've done what I can do for now, but the bottom line is you're probably going to need stitches" she said.
Sharon sighed and looked at Andy.
"I'm going to check you for a concussion just to be safe, it's usually the primary injury in these types of situations and I'm going to check your breathing too, ok" said the paramedic.
"Ok" said Sharon.
The paramedic felt around the back of Sharon's head. " You've got quite a bump on the back of your head Captain" she said. She pulled out a small flashlight. "Alright follow the light for me please" she said as she shined the light into both of Sharon's pupils. "Pupil reaction appears normal, but that bump does prompt some concern. Can you tell me what day it is Captain?" she asked.
"Yes I know what day it is, April 5th 2017" said Sharon, a little frustrated.
"Okay good" said the paramedic. Then she grabbed her stethoscope and put it on Sharon's chest.
"Okay just breath normal Captain" she said. Sharon did as she was told. "Ok, good, now deep breath and cough for me" she said moving the stethoscope to Sharon's back.
Sharon again did as she was instructed.
"Ooh" said the paramedic.
" What's wrong?" Andy asked worriedly.
"That cough concerns me" she said. " Captain, I'm going to give you a little oxygen just as a precaution, ok" she said.
"Ok" said Sharon wheezing a bit.
The paramedic grabbed an oxygen mask and put it over Sharon's nose and mouth. "Okay, now just breath and relax while I have a look at your ankle" she said. "Which one is it?" she asked.
Sharon pointed to her right ankle.
The Paramedic rolled up Sharon's pant leg and took off her boot to get a look at her ankle. "It's definitely swollen, and that's not a very pretty color" she said. " Can you wiggle your toes for me please" she said.
Sharon was able to do that without too much effort.
" Was she able to put any weight on it?" asked the paramedic.
"She was walking on it earlier, but not without help" said Andy.
"I know it might hurt Captain, but can you can you try moving you ankle up and down" said the paramedic.
Sharon did so, but the movement made her wince in pain.
"Good news is I don't think it's broken, just badly sprained, but I do think you should go to the hospital and get it checked out along with your head, just as a precaution, and they might wanna do an x-ray of your lungs to be on the safe side" explained the paramedic.
"I'm going to go ahead and wrap it up" she continued.
Sharon nodded.
It was about that time that the rest of the team joined them.
"How are you doing Captain?" asked Sykes.
Sharon took the oxygen mask off of her face. "I'm a little banged up but I'll heal Amy" she said.
"Good, you had us all worried there for a second" said Amy.
"You have no idea" Andy chimed in, still holding on to Sharon's hand.
"What can you tell me?" asked Sharon.
"At last count there are at least 12 injured, but the majority of them are minor" said Mike.
"What about casualties?" Sharon asked.
"That's the good news, none yet but Lieutenant Capra was hurt pretty bad, and they don't know if he'll make it" said Mike.
"Damn it" said Sharon. Then she calmed herself somewhat. "Okay here's what I want from everyone. I want you all to go home and hug your loved ones and let them know that you're alright. I want you to change your clothes and eat something, take a short nap if needed, and regroup at PAB in 2 hours, understood" she said.
"Yes ma'am" they all said in almost perfect unison.
They all headed towards their cars. Amy came rushing back soon after carrying a pair of crutches with her. " Captain I thought you could use these" said Amy.
"Thank you Amy" said Sharon, smiling.
"And you just happened to have those in your car" said Andy looking at Amy strangely.
"Well you can never be too prepared right" said Amy, shrugging her shoulders.
"I guess not" said Andy.
Amy headed back to her car.
"Well Captain, you're all set and please promise me that you'll take my advice and go to the hospital just to be safe" said the paramedic.
Before Sharon could reply. Andy chimed in.
"Oh don't worry, she will" said Andy, giving Sharon a stern look.
"Well it sounds like you're in good hands Captain, so this is where I leave you" said the paramedic.
Andy helped Sharon to stand and set the crutches for her height.
"Thank you" said Sharon.
"No problem Ma'am, just doing my job" said the paramedic. "Oh and don't forget this" she said, handing Andy Sharon's right shoe.
Andy shook the young woman's hand. "I hope you get your guy" she said and then started packing her equipment up.
" Can you manage?" asked Andy.
"Well, it's been quite a while since I've had to use a pair of these, but I think I'll be alright" said Sharon, smiling at Andy.
" Okay, well Andrea had to park the car a ways back because of all the chaos" said Andy.
"Andrea came with you?" asked Sharon.
"Uh yeah, she actually insisted that she drive because she figured you'd be upset because of what happened with Chief Davis and she didn't want you to be twice as mad for letting me drive under emotional duress" said Andy using air quotes.
"Wait, what happened with Chief Davis?" asked Sharon, with a shocked look on her face.
"I'll fill you in later for now let's focus on getting to the car, because Rusty really needs to see his mother" said Andy.
"Oh God Rusty, was he in RACR with you?" asked Sharon.
"Yeah he was" said Andy.
She sighed and was on the verge of tears. "He shouldn't have had to see that, God, he's probably terrified" said Sharon.
"We both were, but he'll be alright once he sees you for himself" said Andy.
Finally they made it to the car. As soon as Andrea saw Sharon and Andy approaching, she quickly got out of the car and threw her arms around her neck. "Sharon, thank God, are you alright?" asked Andrea. "I will be Andrea. The paramedic said that my ankle is badly sprained, I might have a possible concussion, and I'll probably require a few stitches, but I'm alive" said Sharon.
"Yes you are, thank God" she said.
They heard the back car door open and Rusty practically jumped out of his seat.
"Mom" he said, his lip quivering and his eyes filling with tears. He ran around the car and threw his arms around her. "I thought… I thought you were.." he said breathing heavily.
"Rusty listen to me, I'm right here, I'm a little banged up, and I know it's a little scary, but I'm alive" said Sharon, trying her best to comfort her terrified son.
" Don't ever leave me" he said.
"I'll always be here for you Rusty" said Sharon.
" We should get going, we need to run your mom by the hospital to get checked out and then we've gotta get back to PAB" said Andy.
Andrea got back in the driver's side, Andy helped Sharon settle into the back seat with Rusty, and got in on the passenger's side himself. Andrea put the car in gear and they were on their way.