DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.
A/N: Here's the next story! This story picks up a couple of days after the events in "Heist and Hostages". Hope you all enjoy it!
Chapter 1
"I can't believe you dragged me shopping this morning with you!" Provenza grumbled to Andy as he got out of the car. "Look, Sharon wanted me to grab a couple of things for our trip this afternoon," Andy said as Provenza gave him a look. "Plus, Matthew wanted to go shopping with his favorite uncle," Andy added as Matthew got out of the car's backseat. Provenza looked at Matthew and then back at Andy as they walked into the store. "Fine, fine. Let's just get this over with," Provenza said and the three of them walked inside. Andy grabbed a shopping cart and pulled out the list that Sharon wrote for him. Provenza glanced at Andy and shook his head. "What?" Andy asked as he started to push the cart. "She has you whipped, my friend," Provenza said as they started to walk towards the fresh produce section of the store.
"Oh please like Patrice doesn't have you taught!" Andy said as he made his way over to the grapes and grabbed a bunch, placing them in a plastic bag. Andy placed them in the cart and then looked back at the list he held. "Your mom wants us to get Hawaiian buns, can you go find them for me," Andy said to Matthew and then Matthew walked over to where they were located by the fresh breads. Andy then watched Provenza place some bananas in the cart. "What?" Provenza said to Andy as he continued to get items that Patrice wanted. Andy shook his head and they continued shopping in the store.
"So, where are you going again?" Provenza asked Andy as they walked down the aisle that had the cereal. "We are taking Matthew to Disneyland and staying at one of the park's resorts. Nicole, Dean, and the kids are also coming with as well," Andy said to Provenza. "Huh, that should be fun, all those people waiting in long lines to ride rides that last 30 seconds or less!" Provenza grumbled again. Matthew looked at Provenza and so did Andy for that matter. "Are you finished?" Andy asked Provenza, annoyed.
They continued shopping getting everything on the list that Sharon wrote down and even a few other things that weren't on her list. They made their way towards the checkout and Matthew helped place all of the items on the scanner belt. "Oh, it's so nice to take your grandson shopping with you," a woman said to Andy as she was waiting to check out as well. "Actually he's my son," Andy said politely to her. "Oh, well the both of you must be very proud!" the woman said as she walked away towards another checkout lane. "What's that supposed to mean?" Provenza muttered as he watched her walk away from them. "I think she thought we were a couple and that Matthew belonged to the both of us," Andy said chuckling as he placed some of the items on the belt.
Andy paid for the items that they bought and Matthew loaded the cart back up with the bags. Andy and Matthew then waited for Provenza to finish paying for the items that he was purchasing when someone yelling caught Andy's attention. Andy looked up towards the exit and saw a man wearing a security guard uniform yelling at some teenager. Provenza walked up to Andy and looked in the direction that Andy was focused on. "Come on Flynn let's go this way," Provenza said to Andy. "No, hang on a second!" Andy said to Provenza as he waived him off. Andy proceeded towards the commotion at the other exit. "Come on Flynn, we don't have time for this!" Provenza called out to Andy who was already walking over to the security guard. Matthew followed Andy and the cart and eventually Provenza followed the both of them.
"Hey! What seems to be the problem here?" Andy said to the security guard as he walked up to the scene. "Well, it seems here that this young fellow wanted to walk off with all of this merchandise inside his jacket," the security guard stated to Andy without looking at him. Andy glanced at Provenza who caught up to him and Matthew. Provenza shook his head and pointed at the exit. Andy held up his hand and waited for the security guard to turn around. As soon as the security guard turned around, both Andy and Provenza recognized him. "Oh geeze!" Andy mumbled as he saw Jonathan Baird, aka Dick Tracy, standing in front of him. "Son of a!" Provenza started to say. "Oh, hey guys!" Jonathan said to the two of them and then looked back at the teenager he just caught.
"What are you doing here?" Provenza asked Jonathan. "What does it look like, Louie. I work here now, for a couple of years, thanks to a very well written letter of recommendation from you," he said to him as he nudged him in the arm. Provenza looked at Andy and then back at Dick Tracy. Andy shook his head and looked down at the ground. Jonathan motioned for the store manager to come over to their area and had the teenager follow the manager to another office. "Hey! So how's my favorite detective team of the LAPD?" Jonathan asked the two of them. "Just fine," Provenza said to him as Jonathan smiled at both of them. He then looked at Matthew. "And who's this little fellow here?" Jonathan asked them. "This is my son, Matthew," Andy said to him. "Well, hello there partner, I'm Dick Tracy, and I worked with your dad a couple of times!" Jonathan said to Matthew and held out his hand for Matthew to shake. "That's not your name!" Provenza yelled.
"I'm so glad I ran into the two of you this morning," Jonathan said to them. "Oh yeah, why is that?" Andy asked him as Provenza wanted to leave. "Well you see here, I've busted ten teenagers all with shoplifting within the past week," Jonathan said. "Good for you, now can we go Flynn?" Provenza said impatiently. "Hang on a second, Louie," Jonathan said to him. "He calls you Louie, too," Matthew whispered to Provenza as he grimaced. "Anyways, I think they are all connected with one another," Jonathan continued. "Shoplifting is hardly a major crime," Provenza said. "Yes, but I think this group is part of a bigger crime syndicate," Jonathan alluded. "Really? And why do you think that?" Andy asked him as he folded his arms in front of him.
Jonathan then led all three of them and the shopping cart to a back room where he had mapped out the list of what was attempted to be stolen and who did the shoplifting. "This is impressive work," Andy said as he looked over the board. "Thank you Lieutenant Flynn," Jonathan said. "Yeah, real impressive," Provenza said as he made his way towards the desk in the room. "It looks like all of the items that were attempted to be stolen were electronics, so what I would suggest, Dick, is that you contact our Robbery division and speak to someone there, I'm sure they would be willing to help you and your store out," Provenza said as he wrote down the number for Robbery and handed it to Jonathan. "Oh, I see how it is. You guys must be pretty busy then," Jonathan said disappointed.
Provenza shook his head. He was almost at the exit when Andy spoke up again. "Look, um, it's not that we are busy, it's just that Major Crimes doesn't handle simple shoplifting, that's all," Andy said to Jonathan and then started to exit the room with the cart and Matthew. "Well, it was nice running into you guys this morning! And you little fellow, it was nice meeting you. Your dad is one of the best detectives on the LAPD," Jonathan said as he made his way to Matthew and waved to them. "Dad, why can't you and Louie help him out? You always tell me that you help people," Matthew said as they were leaving the room and headed towards the store exit. "Well, you're right but, you see Matthew, our division doesn't handle that type of crime, but Louie here gave him the number to the department that can help him," Andy explained to Matthew as they exited the store and headed to the car and loaded the bags inside.
Andy hesitated and then pulled out his phone. "What are you doing, Flynn?" Provenza asked him as he got into the car. "I'm calling my buddy down in the Patrol division," Andy explained and Provenza rolled his eyes. "Hey, Richard, yeah Andy here. Hey, look, do you think you can send a patrol car over to the Target on Route 2 and Le Brea? Yeah, their head of security caught a shoplifter this morning. If you could help them out, I'd appreciate it," Andy explained over the phone. "Great, thanks!" Andy said as he hung up his phone. He turned to Provenza. "Patrol is sending someone over and we don't get in trouble for leaving the scene of a crime," he said to Provenza who was mumbling something.
Andy then got out of the car. "Stay with your Uncle, Matthew. I'll be right back," Andy said to Matthew as he headed back into the store. "Flynn! Flynn! I don't have time for this!" Provenza called out to him. "Don't be mad, Louie," Matthew said to him. "I'm not mad, Matthew. Just frustrated at your father, that's all," Provenza said. He turned around in the car. "Why don't you tell me about your trip today?" he said to Matthew.
Meanwhile, Andy approached Jonathan again. "Lieutenant, changed your mind?" he said as Andy approached him. "No, but I did help you. I called a buddy of mine and he is sending a patrol car here to your store, perhaps that can help you with this shoplifter here," Andy said as he pointed to the kid who got caught. "Thanks Lieutenant!" Jonathan said as he shook Andy's hand. Patrol did show up and after explaining what happened to the officer, Andy looked at Jonathan and pointed the officer in his direction. Jonathan waved to Andy as he was leaving the store.
Andy walked back to his car and opened his door to get inside. "Are you done trying to right the world?" Provenza grumbled. "You and I both know that if it was found out we were at the store when the commission of a crime was happening, Sharon would have us in her office yelling at why we left without providing assistance," Andy explained as he started the car.
Andy drove Provenza home after they left the store. "Matthew, I hope you have fun at Disneyland," Provenza said as Andy turned the car down his street. "Thank you," Matthew said. "Hopefully, we are able to enjoy our days off," Provenza said to Andy as he pulled the car into the driveway. "Yeah, hey do you think there's more to that shoplifting thing Dick Tracy, eh Jonathan, or whatever name he's going by, was talking about?" Andy asked Provenza and Provenza looked at him. "No, it's a simple shoplifting scheme, our good friends down in Patrol and Robbery can handle that," Provenza said as he shook his head. He then got out of the car and closed the car door, but leaned back in the window that was rolled down all the way. "Enjoy your trip, Flynn. Bye Matthew!" Provenza said as he waved and walked into his house.
Andy then drove them back home and Matthew helped him unload all the groceries from the car. As they were bringing in the grocery bags in to the kitchen, Sharon was there and greeted her boys. "There you guys are," she said as she helped grab the bags that Matthew was holding. Andy leaned over and gave her a kiss as she started to unpack the bags. "I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long," she said to Andy as he placed the bags on the counter. "Well, you know, shopping with Provenza," Andy said to her and she chuckled at that comment.
"Daddy and Louie met an old friend at the store," Matthew said to Sharon. "Oh, really?" Sharon said as she turned around to look at Matthew and Andy. "Yeah," Andy said as he chuckled and gave Sharon his smile. "Who did you run into at the store?" Sharon asked Andy. "You're not going to believe this one," he said to her as he rubbed the back of his neck in nervous fashion. Sharon stood there and waited for him to tell her. "Dick Tracy," he said to her and her eyes went wide and her mouth went agape.
"What was he doing there?" Sharon asked as she continued to unpack the groceries. "Oh, well apparently he is in charge of their loss prevention department," Andy said to her as he placed the refrigerated items inside the refrigerator. "Wow, never thought I would hear his name again," Sharon said as she placed the empty plastic bags under the sink. "Yeah, apparently he's busted ten shoplifters this past week, all attempting to steal electronic equipment," Andy said as he leaned up against the counter and watched Sharon. "Hmm, interesting," she said to him as she moved about the kitchen. "Yeah, he wanted Provenza and me to investigate this, uh, shoplifting ring he busted," Andy continued to tell Sharon. "Shoplifting is hardly a major crime," Sharon said. "Yeah, well that's what Provenza told him," Andy said as he chuckled at the thought again.
Sharon looked at Andy and folded her arms across her chest. "What did you guys do?" she asked him with her questionable glare. Andy held up his hands in defense. "Provenza gave him the number to Robbery and we left," Andy pleaded as he saw Sharon's eyes get wide. "You left the scene of a crime?" she started to say but was interrupted by Andy. "Ah, technically, no. Let me finish," he said to her and she nodded. "I called my buddy down in Patrol and had him send a car out to the store. When they arrived I informed the officer what happened and directed him over to Dick Tracey, or Jonathan, whatever his name is," Andy explained to her as he looked at her.
"You're not mad, are you?" he asked as Sharon unpacked the items for their trip. "No, I'm glad at least you have finally learned that you shouldn't leave the scene of a crime without taking some sort of action," she said. "Did you buy Matthew a new swimsuit?" she asked as she looked through the bags. "Yes," he said as he pulled it out of one of the bags. "And you said Provenza gave him Robbery's phone number?" Sharon said as she stood in front of Andy and placed her arms around his waist. She pulled him down for a quick kiss. "Yes, so that way, we can enjoy the weekend and let them handle this," Andy said to her as he held her close.
"So, you need to pack still and I need to help Matthew pack his bag," Sharon said to Andy as they broke apart. "Where is Matthew, by the way?" she asked him and he shrugged his shoulders. "I hear the TV on in the family room," Andy answered her as they both made their way to the family room. Matthew was sitting on the couch watching TV and Moxie was sitting next to him. Andy turned to Sharon and whispered to her. "I'm going to head upstairs," and then went up the stairs to pack.
"Matthew, we need to get your bag packed for our trip," Sharon said to him, stepping in to the room. "Okay, can I finish watching this?" he asked her. Sharon looked at the TV and saw he was watching a Lego cartoon of Batman. "Sweetie, you've seen this a million times," Sharon said to him. "I know," Matthew smiled and they watched the cartoon together.
Andy had asked Matthew to distract his mom while he went upstairs so that he could get Sharon's Mother's Day present into his bag without her noticing. He went into his dresser drawer and took out the long jewelry box and placed it in his duffle bag. He then went to the closet and found his suit holder and placed the tuxedo he wore at their wedding inside. He placed both bags outside in the hallway. He then walked over to the stairs. "Come on Matthew, come up here and pack your bag, please!" he called out to Matthew.
Matthew heard his dad call out to him and he jumped up from the couch. "Okay, sorry mom but I need to pack my bag now," he told Sharon as she sat there, wondering what had just happened. She had just asked him to go upstairs to pack his bag and he told her that he wanted to watch this Batman cartoon and then when Andy calls out to him he does it right away, no protesting like when she asked him. "Something's up," she said out loud as she looked at Moxie who was still sitting by the couch.
She decided to follow them upstairs to find out what she could. Sharon made her way upstairs and passed Matthew's room. She glanced inside and saw Matthew packing his bag. She decided that she would check on him later because she really wanted to find out what Andy was up to. She saw two bags in the hallway, ready to go. She stepped inside their room. "Andy?" she called out to him.
Andy stepped out of their bathroom and found Sharon standing right there. "Yes?" he answered her. She wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him in for a quick kiss. "Are you planning something?" she asked him. "Um, I told you a couple of nights ago what I was planning for tonight. That Nicole and Dean said that Matthew could spend the night with them in their room with the boys so that we could enjoy the evening," he said to her as he pulled her in for another kiss. "And that you should pack one of your evening gowns to wear, that's the only thing I can say for now," Andy said to her as he pulled away and walked over to his nightstand by their bed.
Sharon placed her hands on her hips and wondered what Andy had really planned for them this evening. It was obviously dinner somewhere at a fancy restaurant if he wanted her to bring an evening gown with her. He did tell her last Sunday that he wanted to treat her like a princess. Maybe their evening had something to do with that. She shook her head as she thought about it and then went into their closet to pick out the right dress to bring with for tonight.
TBC
