His Sense of Occasion
By Kadi
Rated K+
Disclaimer: Not my sandbox, but I do like to play in it!
A/N: This is what happens when kate04 begs for fic while I am under the influence of cold medicine. Enjoy darling!
Takes place following episode 4x15, so spoilers to that point, but not really an episode add-on.
The problem was not that Andy did not enjoy the time that he spent with Sharon and Rusty, because he did. The issue was exactly as he had outlined to Patrice. He didn't want to be a burden to her, or her kid. Things with Rusty were getting better, but he could see that the kid was still struggling with their relationship. Although, lately, Rusty's reactions seemed more normal. At least to him they did. He couldn't blame the kid. If it were his mom Andy knew that he wouldn't want to be standing around while some guy was putting the moves on her. There were some things that you just didn't want to be witness too, especially where your parents were concerned. Andy was trying to keep all that at a minimum for Rusty's sake, and for Sharon's too of course. The easier it was on the kid; well it went without saying that it was easier on Sharon too. Andy really didn't have a problem with all that. Rusty was a good kid. He had a good head on his shoulders. Sure, he could be a pain in the ass at times, but what teenager wasn't?
He and Rusty had gotten to know each other better while working on the Slider thing. The kid was really vested in finding out why someone like Slider did the things that he did. Andy just didn't want to see him get burned by it. Dirt bags like Slider were usually all the same. Still, he could see that it was important to the kid. There was this small part of him that wondered if Rusty was doing this, in part, to figure out more about why his biological mother acted the way that she did. He didn't think that Rusty would find his answers in Slider of all people, but who was he to stop him? This journalism thing was shaping up to not be such a bad deal for Rusty, especially with the transfer to UCLA coming up in a few weeks. Being on Medical Leave like he was, Andy hadn't really had a whole lot else to do but help him out. He really hadn't minded. The way that Rusty was approaching it was pretty interesting, he had to admit, and if he was able to give the kid some pointers using everything that he knew, why the hell not? Besides, he had figured something out during the last couple of weeks that they had been working on it. Like mother, like son, they could work pretty well together even when they didn't completely agree.
Sharon had really done great with that kid. Spending so much time alone with him Andy was able to see it better. Rusty had picked up parts of her personality, things that he learned since coming to live with Sharon. That wasn't to say that he couldn't still be the little sarcastic brat that he was when they first met him. No, that guy was still in there. It was just in the way that it was tempered now. It was more amusing than frustrating and while he had always liked the kid, Andy had come to learn that he really liked the young man that the kid was becoming too.
At the same time, they needed to get their lives back. All of them. His and Sharon's relationship was not about her taking care of him. He appreciated it, more than he would probably ever be able to tell her, or Rusty, but that was not the point of their being together. Andy wanted to be with her, not be a burden for her. He knew that she was only doing this because she cared, and if he was honest about it, that made him love her all the more. There was even a small part of him that had considered, just for a moment, taking the place at the convalescent center. Sharon would never hear of it, though. He had even mentioned it, just to test the waters, and her eyes flashed in such a way that he immediately pushed the idea aside.
Now here he was, back at Sharon's condo, and back to sleeping in Rusty's room. At the moment the kid had the room occupied. He was working on his Slider story, and Andy didn't mind. He didn't really intend to go to bed until Sharon got home. The team had caught another case, but it was getting late. She had sent a text to Rusty a couple of hours ago stating that she wouldn't be much longer. Andy was expecting her home at any time, but he wasn't exactly twiddling his thumbs while he waited. He found a comfortable spot on the sofa and had lain down with several pillows piled beneath his back and head. It wasn't an uncomfortable spot. He had argued when they brought him back here the day before that he could sleep on the couch. There was no reason for Rusty to give up his room for another week, or however long he would be there. Sharon wouldn't hear of it. Neither would the kid.
While he was thinking about how he came to be back there, Andy's gaze drifted. It landed on the Christmas tree in the corner of the room. The white lights were sparkling cheerfully at him. He had lowered the lights in the outer rooms of the condo so that the illumination from the tree would fill them with its gentle light. Sharon and Rusty had pulled the tree and other decorations out of storage while he was still in the hospital. A fully decorated condo had greeted him upon his return. None of them would ever be able to fault Sharon for her sense of occasion, especially where Christmas was concerned. He knew that she loved it. It was her favorite time of year, and had been since she was only a girl. She tried to teach her children that sense of excitement and wonder, but as they had gotten older, they celebrated in their own ways. Rusty, who had come to her late, just smiled indulgently and went along with whatever Sharon asked of him.
Andy had to admit that he didn't mind any of it. If he were at home he wouldn't have bothered putting up a tree. He didn't see the need when it was just him. He would end up at Nicole's for Christmas, if he was well enough by then, or with Provenza, depending on what happened as the holiday got closer. His daughter was still out of the country, so that was looking less and less likely. Andy was used to spending the holidays alone, however. This year, though, there was another option. One he was only just beginning to entertain. Sharon had spoken of Christmas as though it was a given that he would be with her. Andy had no objection to that, but it had been a long time since Christmas was something that he could look forward to.
Despite how much he had wanted to go home, and how ready he was to get back to the way things were before... he had to admit, he did kind of like having Sharon and Rusty around all of the time. Being here with them now, with the holidays getting closer, it was kind of nice. Watching the lights from the tree dance filled him with a sense of hope that he hadn't dared allow himself to feel in a very long time.
As he watched the lights from the tree twinkle, a grin tugged at Andy's lips. He pushed himself off the sofa and moved closer to it. The lights caught the ornaments and angels, made them glow and sparkle. It was probably not since his own kids were little that he had bothered with putting up a tree. Back then he would have chosen some small thing with blinking, multi-colored lights. Not the tasteful white lights that Sharon decorated with, enhanced by the muted silver and gold of the ornaments and ribbons that filled her tree, or the majestic white of the angels that seemed to float on the branches. Andy reached out and touched one of the lights. He shook his head. The kids had liked the blinking lights. He could remember many a night spent with Nicole and Charlie, long after they were supposed to be in bed, just the three of them watching the tree while Vicki pretended that she didn't know that he was letting the kids stay up after bedtime. Those were happier times.
A brow quirked and before he could change his mind, Andy decided to indulge in that memory. His body ached and his joints creaked, but he sat himself on the floor beside the tree. Then he lay down so that he could gaze up at the lights from underneath it. His neck ached a bit at the angle, where his healing incision was, but he shoved an arm beneath his head and that helped. He gazed upward and decided just to enjoy it, being where he was. Sharon wanted to take care of him and there would be no changing her mind. Soon enough he would be back on his feet again, and then, well, then he'd have to remind her that he wasn't a patient. Andy was looking forward to that. Until then he let the simple peace of watching the Christmas lights wash over him.
Finding Andy on the floor was enough to have Rusty's heart jumping into his throat. He almost lunged forward until he realized that the other man wasn't laying sprawled, as he had been in the bathroom that morning, but rather his feet were crossed at his ankles and he appeared to be... comfortable? Rusty stood where he was for a moment; he was mostly waiting for his heart rate to return to normal, but also he was trying to figure out what the Lieutenant was doing. When he didn't feel quite so panicked, Rusty walked forward and peered down at him.
"If Sharon finds out I let you fall again, we're both going to be in it," he said.
Andy tilted his head to the side to peer out from beneath the tree, but grimaced when his neck pulled painfully. "You know, you didn't let me fall the first time, so I think you're probably fine." He let his head roll back to his original position and shrugged. "Didn't fall this time, though, so we're both off the hook."
"Yeah, figured that." Rusty shoved his hands into his pockets. "The whole lack of a bleeding head kind of gave it away." His brows drew together in a puzzled frown. "What are you doing?"
"Looking at the lights." Andy shifted where he lay; the floor was starting to kill his back, but he wasn't ready to get up yet. "They look a little different from down here." He glanced up at Rusty again but the kid was still staring at him as if he had lost his mind. Andy rolled his eyes. "I used to do this with my kids when they were little." He shrugged again and admitted, "Guess I'm thinking about a lot of things lately, you know, that I used to do. Must be the whole almost dying thing."
"That can do it," Rusty agreed. How many times had he almost died over the last couple of years? He looked at the tree for a moment before he gave in and lowered himself to the floor. Now he was just curious. Either the lights really did look different or Flynn was out of his mind. He was leaning more toward the latter. Rusty stretched out on his back and stared upward. There was at least a good arm's length between himself and the older man. His head tilted. Finally he sighed. "I don't get it."
"You're looking too hard." Andy smirked. "Just gaze. Give it a minute."
"I think you're nuts, but okay." It was never something that he would have said before, but they had spent a lot of time together recently. Rusty lay there for a few more minutes. His attention was drawn by how the lights flickered off the inside of the tree and the ornaments that filled the outside branches. After another moment his gaze drifted, until he wasn't really looking at anything in particular. The lights seemed to glow and soften, and when he tilted his head just a bit, they flickered a little, kind of like candles. It was oddly relaxing, almost hypnotizing, but without the uncomfortable heat from being surrounded by that many candles. "Okay," he decided. "Still kind of nuts, but I get it."
"Smart ass." Andy sighed, but he was smiling.
"Takes one to know one," Rusty remarked easily. Things with the Lieutenant only seemed to get uncomfortable when his mom was around. Then it was all about the smiling, the kissing, and gross. He didn't so much mind them anymore, not as a couple, Rusty had come to figure out that the Lieutenant was not out to hurt either one of them. He just didn't want to see it. "Are you sure that laying down here is such a good idea?" Rusty slanted a look at him. There was a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I mean, aren't you supposed to be using that orthopedic thing for your back, and this can't be good for your knees…"
Andy's lips pursed. He continued to stare at the tree above them. After a moment, he sighed. "Rusty… there comes a point in life when you begin to realize a very important fact."
His brows rose at the serious tone in the Lieutenant's voice. "What is that?"
The older man's head rolled slowly. He pinned Rusty with his dark, serious gaze. "That the teenagers in your life were put there purely to aggravate the hell out of you."
Rusty stared back at him. His eyes were wide as he waited for some important revelation or another. His mouth twitched. He snorted a laugh and grinned widely. "You're welcome."
Andy watched the kid return his gaze to the tree and shook his head. "One of these days," he muttered and let his own eyes return to their previous light gazing.
"What? You'll admit that your back is killing you?" Rusty continued to grin. "It's not your fault. Just, after a certain age, some things start to go… Like sense of style."
"What?" Andy's brows drew together in a frown. "What is wrong with my sense of style?" No one had ever complained before, and certainly not Sharon. "What the hell are you talking about? I will have you know—"
"That jogging suit. Really?" Rusty made a face at him. "Where did you get that? Like, seriously? That was the ugliest thing that I have ever seen in my life. What were you even thinking?"
Andy's face screwed up in annoyance. He turned his gaze back to the lights and huffed. His bottom lip jutted out. "Your mother picked that out," he muttered unhappily. He agreed, it was absolutely hideous. He never would have worn it if Sharon had not brought it to him. Which surprised him, her style was usually pretty spot on. He hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings so he had worn it, but he had hated it.
"Oh my god. Really?" Rusty blinked at him. Then he started laughing again. The Lieutenant had puffed up and was looking really uncomfortable. "Your girlfriend is picking out your clothes? And you're letting her? Man. What happened to you?" If anyone had asked him a month ago if something like this would ever happen, Rusty would have laughed himself silly, much as he was doing at the moment. He could never imagine the Lieutenant letting anyone tell him what to wear or how to dress. The fact that Andy was usually so steadfast and opinionated was one of the things that had worried Rusty when the man first began dating his mom. Now that he knew him better, he appreciated that about him. Or at least, he had until about three seconds ago.
"Look," he gestured with his hands. "It's not a big deal, okay? I'll never wear it again. I guess she just grabbed the first thing she saw that looked like it would be comfortable to wear home from the hospital, that's all." He huffed again. "Let's just forget about it, okay? That's what I am going to do." It was at the bottom of his bag and he was going to forget that it even existed. As soon as he got home, it was going in the back of his closet, to be forgotten, forever.
"Fine." Rusty continued to snicker. He could agree that Sharon was pressed for time and had been under a lot of stress lately. That explanation made sense. "If she gets you a tie for Christmas it's game on," he added, with one final chuckle.
"God almighty." Andy pinched the bridge of his nose. "Rusty." He glowered at the boy. "It's not that funny."
"Sure it is." The boy pushed both of his hands behind his head to serve as a pillow. "Don't worry. If she goes anywhere near the men's department while we are shopping, I promise to steer her away from anything in beige." When the Lieutenant groaned, Rusty grinned widely.
"You don't have to have so much fun with this," Andy muttered. He supposed this was the price that they had to pay, dating with a teenager around. Rusty had found a way to get even with them, or at least him; for all the awkward and gross moments they had forced him to live through.
Rusty laughed again. Yeah, he really did, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. Instead he tilted his head to the side and looked up at the tree again. "Okay, this is great, but maybe we should move now. Sharon is going to be home soon. She'll have a fit if you're on the floor."
Andy's sigh was deep and rumbling. There was enough concern in the boy's tone that he knew that Rusty really meant well, but here they were again. He didn't need anyone hovering over him. He appreciated everything that they were both doing, he really did, but he wasn't an invalid. "She will get over it," Andy decided. "I'm good right here." He uncrossed his legs and shifted a bit, then crossed them again. "So how is the thing with Slider going?"
He appreciated that Andy mostly refrained from calling him a dirt bag, at least when he was around, but Rusty knew that Andy wasn't completely convinced that Slider, or Greg, as he wanted to be called now, might not have been completely in control of the things that he had done. Rusty cut a look at the other man. He wasn't just putting him on or changing the subject, he was interested in the story that Rusty was trying to build around Slider and his trial. Rusty thought about it for a moment. He had a few concerns about the way things were going with Slider at present, and maybe Andy was the one to talk it over with. He was still on Medical Leave, and as Rusty had learned, the other man wouldn't try to blow any smoke up his butt about it. He opened his mouth to do just that, but the front door opened. Rusty sighed as Sharon came in to the condo. What he had to say would keep. He could bring it up again over breakfast. After all, he was still the Lieutenant's chief Flynnsitter.
She was not prepared to find her son or her boyfriend lying on the living room floor, but that was exactly where they were. It was enough to give her pause for just a moment, but she only arched a brow at the pair of them as she approached the Christmas tree. If it were not for Rusty, she might have given in to the moment of fear that washed over her at seeing Andy laying on the floor. Instead, she clasped her hands in front of her and stood between their feet. "Do I want to ask?"
The question was posed just carefully enough that both men looked at each other. Rusty's brows shot into his hairline. Andy's lips pursed. The younger of the two shrugged. He was not going to be the one to explain it to her. Andy shook his head. He peered out at Sharon and offered a crooked grin. "Ask what?" Andy watched her eyes narrow. His grin turned to a smirk. "We're just two guys hanging out. What are you doing?"
Sharon looked between them. The innocence on Rusty's face was entirely too over done. She shook her head at them again. "Never mind." Whatever it was, they both appeared to be just fine. She turned on her heel and walked toward the hall. "I'm going to change. Have you both eaten?"
"Eaten?" Andy rolled his head toward Rusty. "That's that thing where we take food out of the big cooling machine and heat it, right?"
"Or we pick up the phone and ask the person on the other end to bring it to us," Rusty replied.
"Funny." Sharon called back. "Very funny." She huffed a sigh at them. She reminded herself that she wanted them to get along. Now they were. She could not complain about the way in which that was happening, even when it was at her expense. "Would one of you like to tell me which of those two activities that you engaged in?"
"There's leftover pizza," Andy told her and grinned when she huffed again. She would not appreciate the fact that he was eating junk food, not when his doctor had him on a strict diet, but she would find out later that they had made the pizza rather than ordering it, and that it was mostly vegetarian on a whole wheat crust. For now, he was going to enjoy letting her stew.
Sharon rejoined them after she had exchanged her pantsuit for a comfortable pair of yoga pants and a knit top. "Light gazing, hm?" It was all that she said as she sat down between the two men in her life and leaned back to lie beneath the tree. "I used to do this with Emily and Ricky."
"Yeah." Andy shrugged. "I was thinking about Nicole and Charlie." His head rolled and he let his gaze drift to the woman beside him. Her eyes caught the soft glow of the tree lights and sparkled happily. There was an almost wistful expression on her face. He knew that her mind had turned inward, just as his had earlier.
"Hm." Sharon hummed thoughtfully. Ricky was going to New York for Christmas this year. Emily was in the middle of a show that would not end until just after the New Year. It looked as if it was only going to be the three of them for the holiday. She hummed again as she rolled onto her side and settled with her head against Andy's shoulder. The condo was going to feel dreadfully empty once he finally went home; that was something that she knew was going to have to happen soon. In another few days Andy would be well enough to be back on his own. The idea of his being alone was still a little frightening after everything that they had been through recently, but Sharon knew that he would be okay. He was recovering well. In so many ways their lives had been put on hold throughout this ordeal, but in other ways, those that were so very important, life had surged forward. Sharon could not imagine her life without him now. It was going to be difficult, getting used to the idea of coming home and not finding him there, waiting for her. She knew that he needed to be independent, though, and that he needed to be back on his own. She wanted that for him, but she would miss him just the same. "It's cool down here on the floor," she said gently. She would worry about him too.
Andy drew a breath and let it out slowly. "It's not too bad." His arm wrapped around her. He drew her closer and let his hand slide up her back to play with her hair. It should aggravate him, the way that she hovered. It didn't. If their positions were reversed, Andy knew that he would be doing the same thing. "Maybe we'll just give it another minute," he said instead, and let his lips brush the top of her head.
Rusty rolled his eyes at them. "Geez." That was his cue. He rolled out from beneath the tree and stood up. "I'm going to finish up my editing. I'll be done in fifteen minutes." That was his way of telling them that he would be back soon and that they shouldn't get too carried away. It was something that Rusty knew would probably happen anyway, but he had to try.
Sharon burrowed closer into his side. Andy was comfortable and warm, but the floor was hard beneath them. She wrinkled her nose at that, but he seemed so content to stay where he was. She let her gaze drift upward, toward the tree. "What were you thinking about?" She asked carefully.
"Nic and Charlie." Andy continued to comb his fingers through her hair. "The fact that I'm usually alone for the holidays. How much better this year is," he added quietly, "despite everything else that happened." This time last year he was wondering if they would still be friends, much less if anything deeper would ever come of it. He wasn't going to complain about the difference that twelve months had made in his life.
"I wouldn't let you be alone at Christmas," Sharon reminded him, "even without the over the top head wound." Her lips curved into a smile. She tipped her face up and kissed the curve of his jaw.
"Oh well." Andy offered an exaggerated sigh. "Now she tells me. You couldn't mention that before? It would have saved us both a lot of time, and not to mention the ringing I still have in my ears from the Doc. Geez woman." His hand cupped the back of her head. It made his neck ache like hell to do it, but he dropped a kiss onto her lips. "Missed you today."
"Me too." That was the hardest part, she thought. Sharon was getting a little tired of looking out of her office and finding his desk empty. It wasn't only that they were short-staffed while he was out, or that she didn't get to see him as often when they only had the evenings to spend together. She missed his insight. She missed how he always seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, sometimes even before she was fully aware of it herself. Sharon missed having someone around that could finish her sentences, no matter how frustrating that might get for the others. She missed her partner. "Just one more week," She reminded them both. "Then you can come back." He would be on light duty, and Sharon knew that he would hate it, but he wouldn't be stuck waiting around at home anymore, listening to the police scanner and watching the news, and wishing that he was in the thick of it.
"It will be okay," Andy promised. "Sharon, the clot is gone. Everything else is almost completely healed. Even my head is fine." There was still some residual bruising from the fall, and the headaches came and went, but that was fading more each day.
"I know." Her hand slid up to rest against his chest. "I still worry." It was only because she loved him. "I guess you are not the only one who needs a few more days to finish getting over everything." Sharon lifted her head and let it rest in her hand. She smiled down at him. "It will be nice to have someone else around to keep up with Lieutenant Provenza." There was also Julio, who seemed to hover, like he was waiting for her to fall apart any second. She wouldn't, and they knew better, but it hadn't stopped the Detective from worrying. Much like she kept worrying about Andy, she supposed. "He has taken it upon himself to heap all of the aggravation that he normally saves for you on Buzz. I have no idea how much longer I can keep the two of them from an all out war, so really, the sooner you are back the better for all of us."
Andy grunted in response. He could just imagine. He traced the curve of her cheek with his thumb. "I'll do what I can." He was sure that his doctor would release him to go back after he saw her for the follow-up at the end of the week. Andy pulled her back down and wrapped his arm around her again. "Right now, I'm kinda enjoying where I am." Even laying on the floor didn't seem so bad with her soft body nestled against him.
"Hm." She snuggled close. "When you put it that way." Her gaze drifted to the lights again. "I would have the kids make wishes. When they were little they believed that the lights were magical, since that was how I learned what they wanted from Santa. Later it was just a matter of tradition."
"Yeah." Andy agreed. "I did that with Nic and Charlie." It was always Vicki's job, since he knew that she was nearby listening, to write it all down. Sometimes they could make all those wishes come true, and sometimes they couldn't. It didn't matter, the kids were always thrilled, and it kept the magic of the season alive for them. Andy wound a lock of dark hair around his finger. "What about you? What do you want? Make a wish."
A slow smile curved her lips. "I already have what I want." Her children were happy, all three of them. Emily and Ricky were chasing their dreams and building their own lives. Rusty was doing well in school and finding his path with his talents in journalism. Then there was Andy, healthy and recovering, and still in this world with her. What else could she possibly ask for? That was everything that she needed or wanted.
Andy looked down at her. He found her eyes sparkling back at him; the happiness in them had chased away the worry that filled them during the previous few weeks. It was good to see her smiling again. He pushed her hair back from her face and drew her into another slow kiss. "Me too," he said against her mouth.
It didn't feel as if more than a moment had passed. They must have lost themselves, as they so often did these days. Although, if he was asked, and Andy knew that he wouldn't be, he would say that making out underneath the Christmas tree was a great new tradition to start. He must have been the only guy in the condo thinking that, however, because the next thing that they were aware of was a plaintive groan. "Dude! Really? That's my Mom!"
Sharon started to pull away from him, but Andy held her closer. This time he didn't let her wriggle away just because Rusty had caught them. It was something that the kid was going to have to get used to, and more often than not these days, his protests were teasing. There was going to be a definite advantage to getting back to his own place, though, Andy thought. No more interruptions. Maybe this year he would even put up a Christmas tree. He was even thinking of getting one of those really thick, plush area rugs to go underneath it. He could imagine that it might look a little odd, but it was going to feel great. He just had to get Sharon underneath it.
Andy let her go with some reluctance, and when she helped him up off the hard floor he allowed it. He winced as he stood. The floor was definitely not the best idea he had recently, but it had been worth it. He rolled his shoulders and straightened his back. Rusty and Sharon were already discussing how their respective days had gone. Andy took that as his cue to make his quiet retreat down the hall. They had settled into something of a routine in the time that he had been staying here. Sharon would want to spend time with Rusty, but she would find him again before she turned in for the night.
Before he moved too far down the hall, Andy stopped and looked back. The light from the tree was still casting a soft glow in the outer rooms. Sharon and Rusty were seated on the sofa, and he took just a minute to enjoy the way it set off the highlights in her hair and made her smile seem just a little bit brighter. Yes, he thought. He was definitely putting up a tree. Just as soon as he got home, now that he had a reason to. There were a lot of things that he needed to be celebrating right now, but he would start with the holidays. With being happy that he was here to see another Christmas. His girlfriend wasn't the only one with a sense of occasion. They would get to that, though, soon enough. For now he would continue to enjoy having this time together. One day at a time, that was all that any of them had, and all too soon it could come to an end.
Andy didn't need to wish on lights to know what he wanted. It was the same thing he asked for every night before he closed his eyes. One more day to keep breathing. One more day to keep putting dirt bags away. One more day to keep loving this woman in his life, and to know what it was to be loved by her in return. One more day in this wonderful life. What else was there to ask for? What else could he want?
Andy stopped just inside Rusty's bedroom and looked around. Okay, so one more day in this wonderful life and to get back to his own place. He could not wait to sleep in a room where Tom Cruise was not staring back at him in bad vampire makeup. He didn't think that was too much to ask for. As Andy stared at Rusty's vintage Interview With a Vampire poster he sighed. He amended his previous request just a bit. Please god, let him go home soon.
~FIN