~I Will Always Love You~

A/N: This idea was inspired by the summer finale episode. I also wove in the words from the song "I will always love you." Written by Dolly Parton, sung by Dolly and Whitney Houston. I also added some lines from one of my favorite movie musicals The Best Little Whore House in Texas. Such an angsty but happy ending in that movie. Who wouldn't want to be swept away by Burt Reynolds? Oops, I think I'm showing my age;)

Disclaimer: I own nothin' of Major Crimes. Sadly, nothin'!

Definition of Interlude:

1: a usually short simple play or dramatic entertainment

2: an intervening or interruptive period, space, or event: interval

3: a musical composition inserted between the parts of a longer composition, a drama, or a religious service

'I will always love you.' Those words should have made him feel ecstatic but instead, they caused his heart to break.

Andy had been getting released from the hospital and was looking forward to going home. He knew Sharon was busy with work and hadn't been able to see him yesterday. She had only been by to see him once the day before. She had stopped in on her way home from work. He didn't know where all this was coming from, but if Andy knew Sharon, and he did know her very well, then she had been putting too much thought into what had happened to him. She was probably a little freaked out at the moment. What she had told him played over and over in his mind. It wasn't something he would soon forget, if ever. He could tell from her voice that it was coming from a dark hurt place inside of Sharon.

These last few months were starting to take a toll on her until she finally broke. He knew it would happen. Andy had been trying to be there for her, but there were things she was holding back. For one, they didn't see eye to eye on killing Darnell. Andy thought it was one less scumbag idiot on this earth. He told her she had done the right thing by stopping the moron before he killed more people. However, Sharon was feeling more guilt for not feeling guilty over shooting a human being, for killing someone's son more than anything. The conflict of it all was tearing her apart. He had tried to help, but he couldn't get her to talk to him much about it. She did seem to be doing better after going to confession. Though after what she said to him today, he knew she was taking everything upon herself, and now he was paying the price too.

Thinking of what happened earlier sent Andy's thought there once again. He could hear her voice echo in the sparse hospital room. "I can't do this. I'm sorry Andy, I'm glad you are feeling better but I can't do this anymore. You knew something was wrong that day in the office and I'm sure you knew the day or days before that, and you still didn't say anything. I've been through this before with Jack, with him keeping secrets and look where that got me."

"So that's it, just like that?" Andy asked as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"A pinched nerve? Did you think I didn't see you hurting? I was just waiting to see if you would tell me. Being sneaky, that's much more you. Don't want me to worry? We've been over this and I'm not asking you to change, Andy. Just involve me. Don't keep things from me because you think I'd worry. How did that work out? I'm worrying a lot more now." Sharon walked from wall to wall of the small plain white cold room pacing; she couldn't look in Andy's eyes so she watched her steps. "I know you don't have a place to stay since you sold your house, so Provenza said you could stay with them or Nicole has room."

Andy was trying to recover from the shock and hearing his daughter's name caused his head to snap up quickly as he asked shocked and a bit annoyed that Sharon would involve his family in their personal matters. "You talked to my daughter about this, about us?"

"Yes, Andy, Nicole, and I talk a lot. She's a great young woman. She doesn't know exactly what's going on. I mentioned that it would be a good chance to have some father-daughter time." Sharon got back to the matter of why she came today by saying, "I've put in for the promotion that Chief Pope has been bugging me about." She laughed a nervous laugh. "I didn't get Commander like he had promised years ago, guess I might skip right up to Assistant Chief."

"Congratulations Sharon." Andy's voice was solemn as he said, "they are suggesting, strongly suggesting, that I take medical retirement."

"I know I heard that from Chief Pope." Sharon looked at him sadly then nodded, "I agree you should take it, or they will have you sitting behind a desk until you do retire. Andy, this is your third health incident now at the LAPD, two of them within months of each other. I'm not sure you'll ever be cleared to go back into the field."

Andy shook his head and with a bit of snark in his voice, he asked her, "Do you even care what I do?"

She could hear the contempt in his tone but understood where it was coming from. "Of course I care about what happens to you, Andy. I always will. I just can't..." She couldn't say it.

"You know this is your choice, Sharon. I will do what you want. I'll be out of the office for another week anyway, so we won't be seeing each other. After that, I can get the rest of my stuff from your condo." It hurt Andy to say her condo since he had really been feeling like it as home to them both. He guessed it was just something else he was wrong about.

"I had it all packed up. Rusty took it to Lieutenant Provenza's last night." She wouldn't look at him as she replied.

"Well then, I guess you made your choice already. Sharon, maybe when you aren't feeling so hurt we could talk?" Andy sat up straighter in the bed, he was dressed and ready to leave but there was no reason to move since he had to wait for another ride.

Sharon paced the chilly room again with her arms crossed in front of her creating an armor to help let her say what she needed to say. "Andy, we did talk after your blood clot remember. You were dizzy and not feeling right but you didn't tell anyone. Then you fell hit your head causing the blood clot to move that much closer to your brain. You almost died that day, Andy. Do you not understand that? It almost killed me to see you like that, to see your blood all over Rusty. You promised me that you wouldn't keep secrets from me anymore. Secrets kill a relationship."

He lowered his head with a frown. Andy knew she was right. He had once again kept important information from the woman he loved. Though he did it not to worry her, his good intention didn't matter. He had messed up a good thing. He knew he would, it's what he always did. If things were going well, leave it to ole Andy Flynn to somehow find a way to screw it up and things were going really well with Sharon. Until now. He tried one last tactic, "it turned out to be only angina brought on by stress and anxiety."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Sharon paused her pacing and stared at him in disbelief. Did he really not hear what he was saying? Maybe she had to explain how that made their situation worse. "Andy, how long have you been with the LAPD?"

"A long time, I'm sure you know exactly how long. It's all in my file that you've gone over thoroughly in your IA days. Why?" Andy asked confused.

"Why because in all those years, have you ever had stress or anxiety brought on by the job or home life?" Her arms were now crossed over her chest waiting for his answer.

He smirked at her question, not sure where she as going with it. "Of course, I've had stress, everyone does. Sharon, what are you getting at? What does this have to do with us?"

"Enough stress to cause this?" She tapped her own chest with the palm of her hand. "Even when you were drinking or going through marital problems? Maybe going through your divorce brought on chest pains?" When Andy shook his head, she answered out loud for him. "No? Oh so did battling your ex-wife for the right to see your children ever cause stress and anxiety so bad that it put you in the hospital for days?" Sharon's voice got deeper with each word she spoke. "Can you at least answer me?"

He could see where she was going with this and hesitated to answer but he said quietly, "No it didn't, but Sharon I still don't see…"

"Me," Sharon poked her chest hard, "it was me. You didn't have any of these problems until we got together. I'm the catalyst for all your worry and health problems."

Andy couldn't hold back any longer and loudly said, "Sharon, no! You can't really believe that. Anyways, I had high blood pressure and passed put before we dated."

She held her hand up to stop him, "but not before I took over the division. I put too much burden on you right from the beginning. Even on that first day, you had to go against your team and longtime friends to have my back. That was the start of it all."

"They just needed to give you a chance, to get to know you. That's all and see how well it's all worked out. We are a family." Andy said trying to hold in his frustration.

Sharon continued as if Andy hadn't spoken. "I've been making you wait for years. That couldn't have been easy. It must have been hard for you, dealing with a woman that was so into her own life. Someone so completely self-absorbed in her own problems that she couldn't see what she was doing to her best friend. I didn't even know we were dating for a year. A whole year, Andy, not until my son pointed it out to me. I now see all the hints you tried to give me over that time, but I never got them." Sharon started her steps again. It was hard to stay still when she needed to get so much out.

He watched her begin to pace again and told her honestly, "I didn't mind. It meant I got to spend that much more time with you."

Sharon knew Andy would try and talk her out of it, but she had to convince him that this was best for him. "Then there was selling your house and looking for a new place, with none that we could agree on. Except for one that you're beautiful, young and blonde realtor Heidi died in. I was relieved that the house had toxic mold. I always put off moving forward because I panicked that we were moving too fast, even after we have known each other longer than most marriages last."

"Sharon, you are piling everything in one lump. All that was spaced over time." Andy tried to explain why for her. "It was time I was willing and happily giving you. It didn't add worry to my life, you've only made it better."

"Next stress. Us actually living together." Sharon couldn't stop the smile as she thought of the time shared at their, no her condo. With a shake of her head to clear her mind and get it back on track, she continued, "as nice as it has been. It's still been hard to adjust to. We managed when you were injured before but there was no intimacy involved then. We were focused on getting you better. Now..."

Andy stood up to protest but got dizzy and had to hold on to the rail at the end of the hospital bed. Sharon was quickly coming to his side but he waved her off. "I'm fine." He said gruffly. He was getting mad, but when he looked at her watery green eyes he could see that this was costing her too. He stood up straight and stated, "I beg to differ here, Sharon. We might not have been sleeping together but we were committed to each other by then. A relationship doesn't have to include sex to be intimate." He stepped closer to her as he added, "that has never been my goal. I've always wanted more than that with you. There was something deeper, stronger between us."

Sharon looked at him as if she didn't believe him. What man would say that? She thought. A good man like Andy Flynn, that's who would. Most men were after one thing, but not Andy, and that was the main reason she needed to let him go. She was hurting him be being with him. Sharon shook her head and stepped backwards as he spoke again. "You didn't add any stress to my life, I was glad my house sold so fast. You weren't ready and my not having a place to stay might have forced things faster than you would have liked. I know you like to think through everything, to have a plan." Andy paused a moment to think, "No, I think I'm the one adding stress to your life, pushing you out of your comfort zone. That's what is bringing on all your worry and panic."

"No, Andy, I am your stress factor. I bring on your anxiety. I'm causing you pain by being with you and I can't do this to you anymore." Sharon saw he was about to interject but before she let him stop her, she quickly continued. "If I should stay, well I would only be in your way and so I'll go, and yet I know that I'll think of you each step of my way."

Andy couldn't believe the words she was saying. He could hear her speaking them but it didn't sound like the woman he had known for so long. "Sharon, don't do this. I'm sure you're worried and it's been a hell of a few weeks. We've all been through a lot and you've been through even more."

"I love you, Sharon." She didn't seem to be listening to him so Andy held on to both her shoulders and looked her in the eye as he asked, "didn't you hear what I've said?"

She backed out of his arms, "I did. Andy, I love you too, for a long time now, but I've thought about this and as much as I'd love for this to work, I know deep down in my heart it is not ever going to. Sometimes love isn't enough." Sharon placed her hand on his cheek as she spoke, "it hurts me to see you hurt and it's too hard for me to send you out in harm's way. There were so many times I thought I lost you. I should have gone with my instincts. Then to almost lose you because you won't be truthful to me, or even to yourself when you know something isn't right. I knew from the beginning it wouldn't work."

Taking a step toward her, Andy voice shook as he said, "we can make it work; you just have to give it a chance."

She had made up her mind, but regret was still heard in her voice as she said, "bittersweet memories are all I'm taking with me. Good-bye, please don't cry, we both know that I'm not what you need. I will always love you. I hope life, will treat you kind and I hope that you have all that you ever dreamed of. Oh, I do wish you joy and I wish you happiness but above all this, I wish you love. I love you, I will always love."

He could tell from the tone of her voice and her body language she wasn't going to listen to anything he said right now. There wasn't much he could do to convince her otherwise when Sharon was in this frame of mind and he was exhausted from all he had been through. So Andy chose to be quiet and let her have her say, maybe they could talk when everything wasn't so raw and emotionally painful.

Even the whispers of her voice echoed in the now eerily quiet room as she spoke. "When you get back to work if they let you back to work that is, I'll be moved into my new office. You had told Taylor before..." Sharon wrapped her arms around herself as she looked at the window and thought about how much she missed her boss. They had run-ins with each other but who didn't when they worked together in a high-pressure job for so many years. She swallowed the lump in her throat before trying again; "you had told Taylor before we could always go back to being friends. Andy, I'd like to stay friends. You are my best friend, but I can understand if you don't want to do that."

She got no reply from him and as the silence filled the room again. She knew this was hard for him to accept and wanted to give him his space, so Sharon turned from the darkened LA skyline, picked up her purse, the trench coat she had taken off when she got there and made her way to the door. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. She paused to look back, with a watery smile she said one last time, "Andy, know I love you, I will always love you." With that, she stepped out the door and pulled it closed behind her. She leaned against the door for support; she wiped away the warm tears that now freely fell on her cheeks. Standing up iron-rod straight, Sharon then made her way down the hallway and out of the hospital lobby. Her heart broke more and more with each step she took away from Andy.

~TBC~

A big thank you to my beta lissanne and who brainstormed with me to help come up with a title.