The day Emily Raydor came back to LA
These are just a couple of scenes as I imagined them in my head, about why Emily came to visit her mother in LA. Is it just for fun, or is the finalizing of her parents' divorce the reason that brought her back to her hometown?
…
Hello guys and girls! I hope you like this story. I started thinking about it after the episode with Ricky, and with this whole awesome divorce thing coming up, well I don't know, this happened. No ships in this story, also not a lot of Sharon/Rusty, but a lot of mama!Raydor and some backgroundstory on Sharon, so… As I said, I hope you like it!
…
It's a typical day in LA. Hot, but not too hot to be unbearable, busy, but not too busy. The Major Crimes team is investigating the murder of a 23-year old bank employee who has been stabbed multiple times. Sykes and Sanchez are checking out the murder scene for a second time. Sharon is in her office, filling out a few files who have to do with the case, when there's a slight knock on her door.
'Come in.' She says, her eyes still on the files in front of her. A young woman walks through the door and stops in front of Sharon's desk. When Sharon looks up, her eyes grow wide in surprise.
'What are you doing here?' She exclaims. The young woman smirks.
'It's nice to see you too, mom.' Emily Raydor smiles. She looks a lot like her mother. She has the same thick, wavy hair, although a few shades darker. The same long, slim legs, and the same smile. She's a younger version of Sharon, apart from her eyes, who are the same light blue color her dad has. Sharon jumps out of her chair and walks towards her daughter, pulling her in for a tight hug.
'I'm sorry honey, it is really great to see you. But seriously, what are you doing here, I had no idea you were coming to LA?'
'Neither did I.' Emily says, releasing herself from her mother's grip. Sharon looks at her questioningly. Emily sits down in one of the seats in front of Sharon's office and continues.
'I was supposed to still have shows this week, but the director decided to quit a week early.'
'I thought your show was going great?' Sharon asks.
'Oh, it is. That's why we're stopping earlier. So that we can go on a week longer during the holidays, because that's the time more people go to the ballet.' She shrugs.
'More visitors, more money.' Sharon smiles at her daughter careless attitude.
'I guess you're right.' she says.
'Anyway, I thought, because I hadn't expected to have the week off and didn't have any plans, why not go back to my hometown and visit my mom?' She says excitedly. Sharon smiles, but when she speaks, her voice sounds suspicious.
'This does not have anything to do with the fact that your father and I are finalizing our divorce tomorrow, does it?' She asks, catching her daughter's eyes with her own. Emily sighs and the smile leaves her lips for a moment.
'Well, okay, it helped in the decision, yes.' Sharon opens her mouth to see something, but Emily goes on, the excited expression on her face again.
'But, I haven't seen you in almost two months. I wanted to see my mommy, I missed you!' She says, pouting exaggerated. Sharon shakes her head, smiling.
'I know sweetie, I missed you too!' She pulls her daughters arm slightly, indicating her to stand up. As soon as Emily is out of the chair, she pulls her daughter in for another hug. Emily rolls her eyes and hugs her back. Behind them, the door from Sharon's office opens.
'Captain, I constructed the images we took from the security camera's and… oh. I'm sorry.' Buzz is standing in the doorway, surprised to see a young woman in the captain's office. Sharon lets go of her daughter and turns to face Buzz.
'It's okay Buzz. This is my daughter, Emily.' she says, pointing with her hand to the woman standing behind her.
'It's nice to meet you.' he says, reaching out to her. Emily shakes his hand.
'It's nice to meet you too.' She smiles to him. Sharon turns her attention to Buzz again.
'Buzz, you were saying..?' Buzz looks a little startled while he tries to remember why he was in the captain's office in the first place.
'Oh, uhm, the footage from the security cams? We restored it, and some of what's on them is pretty interesting, and we thought you should see.'
'I'll be right there.' Sharon says. Buzz nods and walks back to electronics. She turns to her daughter again, an apologizing expression on her face.
'Emily, I'm so sorry, but we're in the middle of a case, and I…'
'It's okay, it's okay.' Emily interrupts her.
'Just, go to work and I'll see you tonight, okay?' Sharon smiles and nods.
'I'll see you tonight sweetheart.' She says, making her way out of the office.
'I love you!' she quickly says before disappearing into the murder room.
'Bye mom.' Emily says, smirking. She too makes her way out of the office. As she closes the door behind her, she hears the voice of the older lieutenant calling out for her.
'It's an honor to finally meet the captain's daughter! I'm lieutenant Provenza, by the way.' He says, shaking her hand. He indicates to the other two men in the room.
'This is lieutenant Mike Tao, and this is…'
'Lieutenant Andy Flynn. Mom has told me a lot about you.'
'She did?' Andy asks surprised. Provenza rolls his eyes and Emily smirks.
'It's really nice to meet all of you, but if you don't mind, I'm going now. I'm afraid I've got quite the jet lag. Guess time is a little different than it is in New York.'
…
Emily walks out of her mother's bedroom the next morning, dressed in a simple t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She grabs an apple from the counter and sits down on the couch, just as Rusty walks into the living room as well.
'Oh, hey Emily.' he says. She smirks.
'Morning little brother.' she says, causing Rusty to smile a little. He sits down in front of her, on the chair in front of the couch.
'I'm sorry.' Emily says.
'I don't think I was the best company last night.' Rusty shrugs.
'That's okay. I guess there's a big time difference between New York and LA.'
'Oh, there is. Trust me, I know that now.' She chuckles, taking a bite from her apple. Rusty grins, but his face turns serious quickly after.
'So, I guess it's pretty weird, you know, your parents getting divorced after so long.' Emily looks a little pensive and nods then.
'Yeah, it is a little weird. But it's also a good thing.' Rusty looks at her a little confused.
'I mean, I love my dad, but he wasn't a very good father and neither a very good husband. Besides, after being separated for over twenty years, I think it was about time.' She grins. Rusty shakes his head, smiling.
'Yeah, you could say that.' He wants to say more, but the clicking of Sharon's heels behind him stops him.
'Emily Raydor, how many times do I have to tell you not to eat on the couch?' She exclaims. Emily freezes in the middle of a bite in her apple and her eyes dart to her mother. She finishes her bite and gets up from the couch.
'Sorry.' she mumbles, looking guilty. Rusty bites his lip to keep himself from laughing. He fails and he giggles, causing Emily to look at him.
'Don't laugh!' she pouts.
'I'm sorry, I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one she says that to.'
'Oh trust me, I've been hearing that for years.'
'And you still don't get it.' Sharon tells her, leaving Emily to roll her eyes. Rusty smiles and looks at his watch. He gets up from the couch.
'I'm sorry, I've got to go, I don't want to be late for school.'
'That's okay honey, have fun today!'
'Bye Rusty!' Emily yells from the kitchen. Rusty grabs his backpack and as he closes the door behind him, Sharon points her attention to her daughter, who is finishing her apple and is standing with her back to her mother.
'So, I called the ballet company you're with, and they told me that instead of them quitting a week early, you took a week of for "personal reasons"?' Emily's face drops. She sighs and throws the half eaten apple in the garbage bin. She turns to her mother, who is sitting on the right side of the couch, and walks towards her.
'I knew you would check up on my story, I just hoped you would do it after I left. ' she says, sitting down on the other side of the couch.
'Emily, that is not what this is about. The point is the reason why you are here and the fact that you lied to me.' Sharon says firmly. Emily sighs irritated.
'I didn't lie to you mom, and besides, had I told you the truth, you would've send me right back to New York.' Sharon tries hard not to roll her eyes at her daughter's obvious annoyance.
'And,' Emily continues, 'We both know the reason why I came and you just don't like it.' Sharon lifts an eyebrow, feeling more concerned than angry. She wonders if this divorce may be affecting her children more than she expected.
'Could you at least try to explain why you're here, because even though you think it's totally obvious, I fail to see it that way.' Emily nods slightly, looking down at her hands laying in her lap.
'I don't want you to think that I don't agree with the divorce or anything, because I do, I totally understand why you want to divorce dad. He was a lousy father and a lousy husband, but…' Emily falls silent.
'But what, Emily?' Sharon asks. Emily looks up at her mother's face.
'But for some reason this whole thing made me think about the first time dad left.' Sharon stares at her, shocked, thinking back at that time. Emily had only been 7 years old. Jack had been drunk, they had been fighting, and Jack had left. It had taken him five months to come back. Sharon had always hoped it hadn't affected her children to much, but maybe she was wrong.
'That was a completely different situ-'
'I know, I know that.' Emily cuts her off.
'That's not what I mean.' She takes a deep breath before she continues, clenching her hands the same way Sharon does when she's nervous.
'When dad left that first time, Ricky and I were still pretty young. And you had to take care of us, do your job, keep everything together. And the whole time, you had no one to fall back on. Not for help with us, not financially. And certainly not emotionally.' Sharon's eyes turn big and she feels the tears burn behind them. She looks away from her daughter.
'And Ricky and I weren't always the easiest either, and I can only imagine how terrible that situation must have been for you, because you had to go through it all on your own.' Sharon's face has turned blank, showing no expression while she looks at the coffee table in front of her. Emily continues.
'And I also know that this is not the same thing, but I just… I don't know, I guess I just wanted you to have someone to fall back on, if you needed to.' Sharon's head almost immediately snaps back up as she hears her daughter say these words. She has never wanted to have her children to take care of her, but for some reason they had found it necessary to, she realizes. She gives her daughter a small smile.
'Emily, I don't need you to do that. I find it very sweet you came all the way over here for me, but divorcing your father is not something I am going to be upset about. I thought really well about it and I'm sure I am making the right decision.'
'Mom, I know that, that is not what I meant, it's just when you're married for so long you-' Sharon holds up her hand to keep her daughter from finishing her sentence.
'I know what you mean, Emily. So when your dad and I sign those papers this afternoon, I will feel nothing but released.' Emily turns away from her mother, nodding. Sharon looks at the clock.
'Honey, I have to go to work, but I will see you later, okay?'
'You sure you don't want me to come with you, to…'
'I'm sure. It's going to be fine, I promise.' Sharon gives her daughter a reassuring smile, before grabbing her coat and walking out of the apartment. Emily follows her mother with her eyes until she closes the door behind her, not being a hundred percent sure of her mother words.
…
It had gotten later that day than Sharon had hoped. When she unlocks the door that night a little past eleven, she can hear the sounds of the television coming her way. She smiles as she sees her daughter sitting curled up in the corner of the couch. As soon as she hears her mother enter the apartment, Emily's head turns towards the door and she smiles.
'Hey mom.' she says, while she watches as Sharon drops her keys and bag on the table and takes off her coat.
'Hello honey.' Sharon smiles, and looks through the condo's living room.
'Where's Rusty?' she asks, as she can't see the teenager anywhere.
'He went to bed almost an hour ago. Said something about a school project, I believe.' Sharon nods, and then shrugs while walking towards the couch.
'Did you find the person who killed that girl?' Emily asks, while turning off the television and putting the remote back on the table.
'Yes, we did actually.' Sharon answers, taking of her shoes and wrapping her legs underneath her as she sits down next to her daughter.
'Turns out it was her so-called best friend, who accused her from stealing her boyfriend.'
'Jealousy.' Emily says.
'One of the ten most common motives.' Sharon smirks at her daughter.
'Very impressive.'
'It's not that hard when your mom is a cop.' She shrugs. Her smile disappears and she looks at her mother with a slightly worried expression on her face.
'And how did that, other thing go?' She asks timidly. Sharon's smile disappears too.
'It went fine, I guess.' It had went fine, but it had turned out that Emily knew her mother better than Sharon knew herself. It had felt strange to put an end to a marriage that had lasted longer than thirty years, and she had found, much to her own surprise, that she was actually finding it harder to deal with than she had expected. Emily's face shows signs of disbelieve, but she doesn't say anything.
'Emily, I need you to know, that despite what I told you this morning, I actually am very glad that you came here this week to keep me company.' Sharon smiles, trying to hide the tears forming behind her eyes. Emily's face bursts into smile.
'Me too, mom.' She scoots closer to her mother, wrapping her arms around her neck. Sharon quickly pulls her daughter as close as she can. She can feel Emily smiling against the side of her neck. She closes her eyes, causing a single tear to silently roll down her cheek. She can't help but smile to herself as she buries her face in her daughter's long hair. Even though she and Jack have had a terrible marriage for a long time, and a lot of thing they did went wrong, they did make two beautiful human beings, and together with Rusty, those are the three people she loves most. Her three kids, who she knows will always be there for her and will never give up on her. She now knows, she will always have someone to fall back on.
Thank you guys so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!