A/N: This story is set a month after the events of season 3. There are a total of six chapters, and I will be trying to upload one per day. The story primarily features Emma and Andrea, but also some of our other faves as well. It can be viewed as a sequel to 'How do I solve a problem like Rios?' but you don't need to read that story in order to follow this one. There aren't any pairings featured, but I write in a way where if you want to find subtext you will - enjoy!

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Chapter One: How I Met Your Mother

Nowhere in her job description did it ask Andrea Hobbs to exchange glares with an apathetic bloodhound, yet this was her current predicament.

She had tried the usual requests of 'scoot' and arm waving, but it just gave her the appearance of a person poorly trained in air traffic control. The dog watched her sway her arms to the left and right, occasionally offering a wrinkled look of puzzlement before dropping its head back to the porch. She begun to question whether anything would entice movement from the old creature. All he did was stare at her, and intermittently pant as a way of breaking their gaze.

She sighed to herself and raised a disapproving eyebrow at the old dog as she pulled her phone from her bag.

"Don't bother, your hand signals gave you away from the kitchen."

A casually dressed Emma Rios in jeans and purple sweater opened the front door of the bungalow.

"Herbie, Herbie! Move your big butt inside right this instant," she called.

"Herbie? Like the car?" Andrea asked. She watched in wonderment as the dog shifted one old leg after the other, and waddled slowly to the door.

"Car? What car?" Emma asked, helping manoeuvre the dog's back legs through the door.

Andrea just rolled her eyes and followed them both into the kitchen.

"He looks like my Uncle Herb, so I named him Herbie."

Andrea watched the dog find a toy which he began to chew on as he unceremoniously planted himself on the tiles.

"I'm hoping your Uncle doesn't drool as much as this guy," replied Andrea, walking carefully passed the dog whose large mass had turned her walk to the table into an obstacle course.

"I'd ask what you're doing here, but the four text messages and three emails made it quite clear."

"And you didn't think to answer them?"

"I'm on leave. You might want to try it you know. Daytime television gives you fascinating insights into the human mind."

Andrea wasn't convinced. She watched Emma stretch a rubber band between her fingers. Her nails were in need of a manicure. It was something she knew Emma was particular about, and while a little leeway in professional grooming could be seen as a good thing from time to time, Emma's defensive posturing was saying something else. "When are you coming back to work?" she asked.

"Emma! You have a friend!"

Grrrrrr.

Andrea's gaze darted from the older woman that had entered the room to Herbie who was now growling at his toy.

Squeak!

"Herbie, squeaky toys are for outside play." Emma said, standing up and taking the old toy off the dog and passing him a small rope with a ball attached. He looked at the toy and then at Emma. "I bought you this one last week Herb, remember? You and Robert played with it."

He raised an eye at her and nudged the ball and rope with his nose so it rolled down the step and to Andrea's feet. Andrea leant down to pick it up and heard a glass being planted on the table next to her.

"You're Andrea Hobbs aren't you?"

Andrea looked from Emma to the older woman she assumed to be Emma's mother, then back to Emma again. She had become so distracted by the disappointed look on Herb's face that she had completely forgotten about her entrance.

"Mom, Andrea. Andrea, Mom - ah I mean Maria," Emma added.

"I thought it was you!" Maria said clasping her hands together. "She speaks very highly of you."

"She does?" the surprised tone in Andrea's voice didn't register with Maria.

Andrea looked over at Emma who was busy downing a tall glass of orange juice.

"Emma! Why don't you ask your friend Andrea over for dinner? You never bring your friends over any more."

"Oh god." Emma replied.

Andrea took the drink Emma's mother handed her and decided to busy herself by drinking it.

"Nonsense my girl. I like to meet all your friends, boyfriends... Girlfriends."

Andrea chocked on her drink causing Herbie to come to her side in concern.

"We aren't…" they began in unison, though Andrea struggled to get her voice right from choking earlier.

"She's a work colleague," Emma stepped in. "…an advisor I guess."

Andrea was finally able to cough and clear her throat, nodding at Emma's assessment of the situation.

"Oh, if that's the case then maybe you can get this lazy lay-about out of my house." Emma's mother said as she threw a dish towel over her shoulder. As Maria turned around to leave the room, Emma shuddered as she heard her mother begin to sing a very off-key version of Funky Town.

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Sharon sighed loudly as the radio skipped from one loud obnoxious sound to the next. A tranquil piano melody was how Sharon would prefer to start her day, but unfortunately she didn't have control of the radio, and Rusty was being incredibly indecisive. He generally knew what he wanted to eat, how he wanted to spend his free time, and what he wanted to wear, however the boy was extremely finicky when it came to choosing any form of multimedia. If he wasn't flicking the channels on the TV, he was jumping from station to station looking for the perfect song to listen to.

"Rusty it's almost 8 o'clock, you aren't going to find anything but ads playing until the news airs. You might as well turn the volume down or play something through your phone."

Normally he could get away with a little more channel surfing before she'd shake her head in amusement and turn the radio off. Today was different, her posture was all wrong. While she was never prone to slouching at the wheel she was never this stiff. Her arms were so tight it appeared as if her hands were almost cemented to the wheel.

"Ok Sharon, what would you like to listen to?"

While her arms remained tight, her gaze no longer seemed to be piercing a hole in the car in front of them, and he could see her eyes start to soften. "I don't suppose you have any Mendelssohn?"

"Umm I'd like to say I know who that is, but according to some people my music knowledge is quite limited. I only just got introduced to that band The Village People. Apparently they are quite well known. I don't suppose you want to listen to YMCA?"

Sharon didn't need to say anything, her eyebrows replied for her.

"You know we didn't need to take the same car today. I can drive myself to the library. I'm only going to have to take the bus home later because you'll still be at work."

"And you could always join me in the office after you're done." She replied.

Rusty sighed. He looked out the passenger window at some teenagers crossing the road. Sharon followed his line of sight and watched as he began to lean his head against his hand.

"Is it so bad that I want to spend time with you? I don't insist on driving you everyday. I like our Monday's together."

"You seem quite tense around me for someone who is enjoying themselves. Is there something I should know?"

Sharon saw the green light and put her car into gear. For the last few months she had struggled with her concerns for his safety. This situation wasn't like it was before, there was a very specific threat out there that while he seemed keen to forget, she just didn't have that luxury. Even if she wanted to move on, she physically couldn't. It didn't help that a big part of her felt responsible for Stroh's escape. She hated the thought that yet again Rusty's safety was once again threatened, and she wondered how long he could maintain the appearance that everything is fine when she was frequently troubled by disruptive dreams.

"Nothing has changed, at least nothing in regards to your situation."

He seemed satisfied with her vague response, and on some level that bothered her. He needed to be concerned. While it was important for him to live his life with a sense of normalcy, he also needed to remain vigilant. So moving on from the most pressing dilemma, she decided to ask about the other issue playing on her mind.

"So just who introduced you to The Village People?"

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"What on earth is that noise?" Andrea asked. She dropped her folder on the bench, and put her hands to her ears. "Is that disco? Is that what I'm hearing right now?" she asked Emma, watching the younger woman race to close the kitchen door. Emma's face was screwed up in disgust as she nodded and walked back to the kitchen bench.

...In the navy... you can sail the seven seas...

Now that the door was closed Andrea removed her hands from her ears and studied Emma closely. She was looking through the kitchen draws for something, and with each draw she looked through she became more impatient.

"It's my mother. She always seems to do house work at this time of day."

"To The Village People?"

"The Village People, The Bee Gees, ABBA - anything with a connection to the 70s I think. We should go. We can discuss your proposal once we can hear again. ...Ah here it is!" Emma said as she pulled out a dark red dog lead from the draw.

Andrea didn't know what was more unbelievable - Emma's mother playing loud disco music while she had guests, or the idea that Emma's dog was even capable of exercise.

"You're going to walk your dog— that dog?" Andrea asked looking over at Herbie who was licking his front paw.

The dog seemed to be aware people were talking about him, so he piped up his face in interest. Andrea tilted her head to the side to examine for herself what kind of success they would have in even encouraging the dog to a standing position. She wasn't hopeful but then she noticed Emma standing beside her jangling the lead in the dog's direction.

It was almost as if the healing hand of God had descended and woken Herbie from a long period of infirmity. His legs bolstered with an unseen energy that pushed him from the floor, and he shook his head back and forth loosening the heavy burden of age from his joints. He stood with his tail wagging, and looked back and forth between the two women. While Emma put the lead on the dog, Andrea reluctantly picked up her folder and placed it back in her bag.
"Alright, let's see how far this old dog of yours can walk."

Emma passed Andrea the lead and opened the kitchen door. "Mom, we're taking the dog for a walk, we'll be home later!"
Andrea squinted as the sounds of The Bee Gees came blasting through the door.
"Alright we can go."
"What?!" Andrea asked rubbing her ear.
"We can go now." Emma repeated.

Andrea wasn't sure why she was stuck holding the dog's lead, nor did she understand why the dog was now keen to walk. But she didn't really have much experience with dogs. The closest she'd come to owning a pet was looking after her aunt's goldfish when she was a child, and that experience didn't end well. It took Rios until they reached the neighbour's house to realise Andrea was still walking the dog while trying to balance her heavy leather tote on her shoulders.

"Oh god, sorry," Emma said, taking the lead.

Andrea looked over at Emma while readjusting the bag on her shoulders. "You know you never answered my question."

"Which one?" she asked.

Andrea knew avoidance when she saw it, and her patience was starting to wear thin.

"I want to know when you're coming back to work. I'm not exactly privy to whatever arrangement you have with HR, and you weren't exactly forthcoming when I asked the question earlier."

Herbie began to pant, and Emma ushered him over to a bowl of water left out for one of her neighbours dogs.

"I couldn't answer your question in front of my mother. I haven't had a full weeks leave since I started this job and besides, my mother needs me."

Andrea wasn't buying it. Nothing about her mother's appearance indicated a woman needing anything, except maybe a hearing aid so she'd turn down that music of hers. "Not to be presumptuous, but from all appearances your mother doesn't appear to need you."

Emma noticed Herbie had stopped drinking and gently pulled on his lead so they could continue walking again. "My mother isn't in the habit of admitting to what she needs."

Andrea took a breath and looked down at the dog again. He was still managing to walk without assistance, but she wondered for how long. "I'm starting a new mentoring program and came here today, because I need your help with it." Emma looked like she wanted to say something but Andrea continued. "The nature of our work — the deadlines, budgetary restrictions, and a whole host of other problems you are no doubt familiar with - have meant that our department has missed key opportunities in training younger DDA's in some of the least discussed aspects of our work."

Emma stopped suddenly, giving Herbie the perfect opportunity to slump on the footpath.

"What areas of training are you referring to?"

Andrea ran her teeth over the edge of her lips. "Well…knowledge of the law and local procedures are important, but the application of them requires a certain type of natural diplomacy."

"Diplomacy?" Emma looked down at Herbie and gently tugged on his lead to get him to move again.

"Well, it's just that some people are just more attuned to working with others, and some need more guidance—"

Emma loosened her hold on the lead and placed her hands on her hips. "Why do I feel like you're talking about me here?"

"Do you always think everything is about you?"

"Your tone is leading me to assume that—"

"Hold up," Andrea raised her hands. "I'm asking for your help here. You are familiar with the various departments of the LAPD, as well as the local county offices, and you have experience in dealing with their more difficult personalities…" Emma tilted her head and sighed. "…I just think, that maybe you'd like the opportunity to teach someone else what you've learnt."

Emma wasn't bothering with eye contact anymore. She had found herself looking past Andrea to her friend's garden across the street. She hadn't expected this offer, she had assumed the talk Andrea had wanted to have was going to be about Philip Stroh. In her absence it was Andrea who was left to look after that particular mess.

"Have you… have you talked to Rusty recently?" Emma asked.

"Not directly, but I get updates — he's doing fine. Captain Raydor though, she's a little…"

"Highly strung? Annoyed?" Emma tried answering for her.

"Worried, I guess." Andrea bent down and patted Herbie who seemed to perk up a little at the attention, but not enough to actually get off the pavement. "I've been trying to reduce my casework so I can focus on the mentoring program — not completely, but I do feel this is important, and I would like your help on this."

Emma looked down at Andrea who squatted beside the dog. She was pleased they had made it to the end of the block, but she also knew that the dog wasn't going to walk much further. "What would you need me to do?"

Andrea scratched the dog behind the ears and stood up. "On Monday I'm assigning a junior DDA to observe the processes of the Major Crimes department, and I'd like you there to facilitate the learning process. They're pretty green, but all the ones I've been sent lately are, and while I don't want them taking on any cases, I do want them to see how the relationship dynamics work in that department."

Emma scoffed a little at the phrase 'relationship dynamics'. "So basically you're assigning me to teach Provenza 101."

Andrea shrugged her shoulders, and tipped her head to the side.

"I'd still be working the case?" Emma asked.

"Correct. Your protege would just be there in an observers role. You show them the ropes, answer their questions, and assign them basic duties."

"Monday then." Emma repeated.

"Monday." Andrea echoed.

Herbie made a sound somewhere between a growl and a pant, and slumped his head to the pavement. In one synchronous movement, they looked down at the old dog. Andrea observed he now had the same enthusiasm for movement as he did when they first met.

Emma sighed, and looked behind Andrea. Seeing a familiar face across the road she lifted her arm and waved enthusiastically. Her friend upon seeing her nodded, and started wheeling across a red wheelbarrow.

Andrea looked between Emma and the neighbour, and nodded in greeting to Emma's neighbour as he parked the wheelbarrow beside the ageing dog. Andrea looked down at the wheelbarrow, across to Emma, then over to Herbie again. The dog didn't appear to be any more forthcoming then Emma was.

"You're going to have to lift with your knees." Emma said, bending down to Herbie's side.

Andrea opened her mouth to say something, but the dog let out his own frustrated sigh on her behalf. Taking a deep breath, she moved around the dog so she could get a better look at his face. From the behaviour of Emma's neighbour, and the enthusiasm Emma showed in their arrival, she figured Herbie's sudden drop in momentum was a frequent occurrence. Maybe the old dog could get out of the house with a little encouragement, but beyond a few houses he lacked the will to go any further.

Transporting a large mammal in a wheelbarrow wasn't exactly a situation she was familiar with outside the grounds of a frat boy residence, but she figured that the neighbourhood must be accustomed to this particular arrangement.

Bending down, she scratched the old dog's ears, and looked up at Emma.

"I'll take the front."

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...to be continued.