A/N: Wow, guys! Thank you for such amazing reviews you left on my first Major Crimes Fic! I know you wanted more for that Fic but I don't think I'm going to write anymore. I'm better at writing short stories than I am writing multi-chapter (I suck at those!). But here's another one and I sincerely hope you enjoy it! Arggh, I re-read my last fic and there were so many little mistakes - I'm so sorry for that! I hope this one is a bit more cleaned up!

Spoiler Warning for 3x17, and 3x18/3x19.

Disclaimer: Not my toys, I promise I'll put them back!

- # Major Crimes # -

He loosened his tie as he followed behind her, the silence dragging behind them and choking him. They waited and entered the elevator, not one word was spoken between them. He desperately wanted to say something to her in an attempt to lighten up the air around them but he knew anything he'd say right now would have no effect. He could feel that she was lost in her thoughts and sadness painted its own portrait on her face. He opened the door to the parking garage for her, rendering a small smile from that was riddled with melancholy.

As she stepped out, a cold draft of wind greeted her and chills ran down her spine. With each step that she took closer to her car, she prayed and prayed that Andy didn't park beside her this morning. The silent tension and the quiet grinding of his jaw she heard in the elevator gave him away and she knew he wanted to speak, but dared not to. She was thankful he didn't. If he said something, she would break. She felt the pressure building up in her throat and she picked up the pace. She walked in front of him, the sound of her heels echoing behind her. She cursed silently as he continued to follow her. You had to park there.

As soon as he noticed that she picked up the pace, he shook his head at himself for allowing it to come to this state – her running away from him. But he knew he had trapped her with his car parked perfectly parallel to hers. He walked slightly quicker though, fearing that she might just bid him a simple goodnight before driving away and closing herself off.

When they reached their cars, he stopped her before she could put her keys in her car door. He gently put his hand on her forearm, gingerly nudging her to turn around but she was tense and rigid. With a low, soft voice, he urged, "hey, Sharon." He was relieved when she did turn around to face him, and for a brief moment, he was glad that she looked him in the eyes. He saw the raw emotion through her moist, green eyes. He also saw her swallow the lump in her throat and he ached for her. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her, and for once, just protect her from everything even though she was perfectly capable of protecting herself. Once again, he urged, "Come on, talk to me."

With him looking at her with such intensity, she suddenly felt her knees buckle. She had to divert her eyes away from him and dared not to look at his face again, and good Lord she did not have enough strength to keep looking him in the eyes. She felt the pressure intensify behind her eyes and another lump forming in her throat, threatening to constrict her from inhaling any oxygen. It was incredibly hard to breathe and the air around her felt heavy, and thick with tension. The confines of the parking garage were pressing on her, like the walls had mobility and decided to meet. She felt trapped and she had nowhere to run with her car behind her and his solid body just merely three feet in front of her.

She told herself that she's going to bite her lip or look down at her shoes. She might even clench her fist, or just leave without an explanation. But she promised herself – she wasn't going to cry. Not one single drop will be allowed to escape the prison of her eyelids. She knows, she knows that when she starts, she might not be able to stop. She vowed that if he asks if she was okay, she'd say she was just fine. It was just going to take an act of God to keep the first tear from falling down.

It struck him that she was probably scared as hell, especially with what happened today with Stroh and it didn't help that she was probably exhausted. He saw her head bowed, and her lips firmly pressed together. Then he found that his feet were not complying with the commands of his brain as he saw them stepping forward. He gingerly approached her, giving her time to back away and room to breathe. The last thing he wanted to do was add to her burden of ache and pain. When he saw that she didn't move, he took another step forward and reached for her forearms and gently wrapped his rigid fingers around the soft fabric of her blazer. He said quietly, just barely above a whisper, "It's me."

He carefully tucked her red tresses behind her ear, smiling softly at the small pair of diamond earrings he gave her at the Christmas party in the murder room. They had a glimmer to them, a glimmer he missed in her eyes. He took another step closer to her but she still didn't look up at him. He sighed quietly with his brows furrowed to the center. It pained him to see her this way but he also felt lucky as hell to see her not running away or dismissing him. It meant she still trusted him, even if it was the smallest amount of trust. He brushed the side of her cheek with his thumb and murmured lowly, "Hey, it's just Andy".

She heard him the first time and she heard him the second time. His low, tenor voice echoed through her chest and created a mess of a symphony inside. Her stomach started to grind in knots, leaving her feeling slightly nauseous with the pain it was causing. With his hand still gently caressing the side of her cheek, she bit her tongue as she desperately tried to keep that promise she made to herself. She was not going to let him see a single tear fall from her face; he didn't need to see that. He doesn't want your baggage.

She still didn't look up at him as her head remained tilted away from him. He took in a breath of courage, which prompted his thumb and index finger to gently wrap around her soft chin. He tilted her head upwards and said, "look at me." He waited and he was thankful for the small pause in between where her eyes finally looked into his. They were wet, glossed over with a heavy coat of moisture. He heard her let out a small sob that shot right through him. He urged softly, "You don't have to be so brave all the time."

That was the end.

That was the end of her promise. She felt the warm saline tear slide down her right cheek and then her left cheek. The release was so powerful and in that moment, she felt so weak against the current of her tears. They kept rolling and she felt slightly light headed from them. Her lungs were scratching all over to try to get every ounce of oxygen from the air around her. Her knees felt weak and just as she was about to sink to cold cement floor, she felt him pull her against his solid body. His hand was clenched in her hair and the other was rubbing up and down her back. She hated revealing herself to him, it made her feel weak, helpless, and out of control. Pathetic and useless.

He heard her purse drop to the floor along with her keys, the sound of clashing metal echoing in the air around them. It sang to him and rang in his ears. It sounded beautiful to him; it meant that she was latching on to him. He felt her hands wrap around him and clenching the back of his jacket, holding onto him in case she collapsed. She was trembling in his arms so he held her tighter. It was the most natural thing that occurred to him; he doesn't want to let her go. Tears were rolling down her face and he could feel it go through the thin cotton material of his white dress shirt.

He didn't care.

She cried and trembled until every single ounce of energy was burned in her system. She didn't want to move away, it felt so good to be wrapped up in his arms. For once, she felt safe. She mumbled against his shirt, "I just…" She started, but a pocket of air caught in the back of her throat and she started to choke. She inhaled a broken breath and she managed to mutter, "I…. just wish he doesn't have to deal with this anymore."

He swallowed hard; seeing his Captain fall apart at the seams in his arms was not something he had pictured. But he had to remind himself that the Captain was a human too, and it just so happens that this human was Sharon. It's just Sharon; the woman whom he takes to movies, dinner, and the Dodgers' game where it was so windy that her old baseball cap flew away and they had spent a good five minutes chasing it around. The same Sharon whom he took home to his family. The same Sharon he wishes he could call his but couldn't. He swallowed again, and this time he felt his voice threatening to break. He whispered, "I know."

She heard him swallow hard, and it weakens her to know that she's in the arms of someone who truly cared. She can't remember the last time someone had care for her because she would be the one doing all the caring. It was how she taught and how she was raised.

But this.

This was something different and she needed to cherish it. Like he said before, it's just Andy. Not the Lieutenant, not the subordinate. This was just the same Andy who took her to the movies, dinner, and the Dodgers' game where he accidently grazed her hand. The same Andy who didn't want to tell his family about the true nature of their relationship. The same Andy; everything he is was everything that she wished Jack was. She murmed, "He doesn't deserve any of this. Stroh or Jack's drinking."

He knew that she mentioned Jack's infamous return last week but in that same Captain Raydor tone as if everything was fine. As if she knew all along. He sighed quietly, wanting to punch something as the rage tore through him. He didn't understand why this woman had to deal with so much. Sometimes he wanted to scream at everything and everyone upsets her. He just wanted to tell them to leave her the hell alone for once. But he's been in Jack's shoes before, and just because he's clean now, it doesn't mean he doesn't miss it. He couldn't lie to himself, he can't swear that he's never thought about the warm, bitter liquid sliding down his throat. However, unlike Jack, he's got his kids is his heart all the time; it enforces his sobriety. And now he's got someone else to think about as well.

He strokes her hair again, lost in feeling dissapointed in himself. He was amazed at how silky her hair felt as he threaded his fingers through the strands, and then it dawned on him that he would probably never feel it again. A rush of saddness flowed through him but he managed to whisper, "you don't deserve it either. He's going to be just fine, Sharon."

"You don't know that"

He let out a pent breath, closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. He whispered softly to her, "Yes I do." He continued to rub her back – even strokes up and down with the palm of his hand. She wasn't trembling as much anymore and he let out a breath of relief to know that she was starting to calm down but hasn't fully quite yet. He adds, "because you're his mother."

"I just want it to be over."

She wanted it all to be over. Stroh, Jack's drinking - the chaos of her life. She wanted to be done with Jack and she thought she was when he signed his named next to hers. But she knew she never would be and never will be done with him. He will always be there because they had once created a life together. A life where he was all that she was living for, and where his dreams were hers and her dreams were his, and in a pure gown of white, she vowed she wouldn't love anyone else. A life where they created children's laughter that trailed down the hall, tiny footsteps and pages of stilled memories wrapped in cellophane. And then as time went on – it was just a ring on her finger where the gold turned cold. It was a life that she could never be done with. But goddamn it, why can't he just leave her alone and let her be free of him. And now Rusty has to see him like Ricky and Emily once saw him.

"It will be, Sharon. It will be"

She pulled away, she had to after he said that. She wanted to hold onto his words and engrave them in her head so she could tell herself that yes, indeed, it will be over soon. At least Stroh will be. She just hoped that her boy will be okay. By all means.

He missed the warm contact from her as the cold air wrapped around him. He let out a soft, pent breath and so did she. There was a moment of silence in between them and they just looked at each other, the pause not awkward or uncomfortable at all but rather intimate. The closeness that he felt between them made him realize how much he needed this woman, how in the world he managed to go on without her, and how in hell would somebody ever leave her.

He leans against his car and crosses his ankles, fisting his hands in the pockets of his trousers. His head bows, his brows crinkle, and his lip purses. He's thinking. But he's lost without direction. He thinks about it. But he couldn't, he couldn't do reach out to her now for himself. But he wants to. He needs to. A rumble echoes through the garage as he clears his throat.

"You probably didn't eat yet, huh?"

"Well…"

He sees her head hang lowly and tilted to the side. Beneath her glasses, he could see the guilty expression on her face. He smiled which turned into a crooked grin. He chuckles softly. "So I'm going to take that as a 'no'" he says as he brushed away the remains of her tears and she blinked quickly with a small upward turn of her lips. She let out a barely audible giggle but he could see it in the slight tremble of her shoulders.

"Well why don't you call Rusty and tell him we'll pick him for dinner as well. The three of us?" He offered; he just wants to be with her, and he would like the kid to be there as well because he knows that the boy was all she could think about right now. Then he saw her lean against her car, with her hands in the pockets of her blazer and her ankles crossed in front of her. "Wanna try that new place down on Sunset? It has burgers, the kid likes burgers right?"

"Actually, he's with sleeping over at his Provenza's. Something about teaching him how to work the ... Play Station…" She began with hand doing small circles in the air and her brows furrowed slightly to the center, trying to articulate her thoughts. She pursed her lips but then admitted failure, "…. The Play Station Thing. So he could play with Patrice's grandkids."

He heard her softly sniffle and saw a small tear still on the side of her cheek. He reached out and gently brushed it away with his thumb, garnering a faint smile from her. His lips turned upward, gingerly smiling at the fact that he was so goddamn lucky to be standing with her and just her – Sharon, a woman that someone else stupidly threw away, a woman who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and yet, gives herself up for others. He looks at her and asks, "Oh, so how about dinner then? Just me and you? Like Friday nights?"

She suddenly found interest in her shoes, looking at the gloss of her black heels with no particular intention at all. She mentally took in a breath of courage but even with her hands fisted in her pockets, they were slightly trembling. A wave of nerves washed through her body, leaving her knees feeling slightly weak again. She pressed her lips together and her head slightly tilted to the side.

He eyed her carefully. The dim light of the parking garage mixed with the slight draft coming in from the outside, he wondered why she looked so goddamn adorable right now. Was adorable the right word? Wonderful? Cute? Amazing? Well how about 'beautiful'.

"Uh… I…" She started but she spoke too soon as if her voice had a mind of its own. She looked up at the ceiling for fraction of a second and she blinked quickly, gathering her thoughts and tried to carefully phrase them.

"I…." All her life, she was a rather introverted person, sometimes locking herself with her thoughts and feelings. In her youth, and especially after Jack left, she enjoys drinking coffee alone, eating alone, running and walking alone. She finds something utterly satisfying in it. It gives her time to free her thoughts and let them run away, it gives her time to think and room to breathe. When your dreams are all shattered and the kids are all grown, you don't know what to do. You don't know where to run, or where to go. Because the world doesn't stop for your broken heart.

And once you've learned to be lonely and lonely is the only thing you know, it begins to feel like home and becomes your comfort zone. Once you've learned to be without someone, you settle for the silence of an empty bed. But sometimes when she sees those young couples in the coffee shop, a woman with her lover, or mothers with their small children, she realizes something. Although she likes being alone at times, she doesn't fancy being lonely.

"Sharon, what is it?" He asked with concern lacing through his words and brows creasing towards the center. He pushed off the car and stood up, taking a step towards her. He waited for her response but he received nothing. Panic sprang through him and caused his mind to race. His first instinct was that he had said something wrong. He knew that she had distanced herself from him lately after the whole misunderstanding; he still blames himself for it even though she said she had forgiven him. Did he ask for the return to normalcy too soon? Who was he kidding. Nothing was normal with them.

He was relieved that she relieved the compressed stress and pressure, being glad as hell he could be there for her. It was the least he could do for all she had done for him. But then he saw her look away for a brief moment and he reached out to gently take hold of her small wrist. For the first time ever, he realized how small and soft her wrists were in his large, rough hands. He pulled her slightly towards him and looked at her, asking, "You okay?"

Tonight she was feeling a little bit different. A small shock of confidence and courage ran through Sharon Raydor – the plain, simple woman with the raw heart and not Sharon Raydor the police captain. At that moment, in front of him was just a genuine woman standing in the empty mask of her power suit. And in that moment, she felt a little bit stronger, little bit braver and little bit more feminine. She has been unfair to him lately and she knew he tried so much for her. There was a distance between them these few weeks and she secretly wanted the discrete touches, those meaningful glances and those conveying smiles to come back. But she also found herself feeling utterly guilty that she shut him out like that; he had given and offered her so much while she didn't want to accept it.

She breathed in a little breath and held it in. She wasn't good at this; it's been a long time. She's always been a mother, a sister, a daughter, a friend, but God, it's been a long time since she felt like she was someone else's. She wasn't going to lie to herself, she missed that. She breathed in again, looked at him and she noticed that his eyes were the shade of peanut butter in this lighting. She swallowed first, then slowly let the words escape from her mouth, "well, according to Rusty I make a really good lasagna. I..." She bit her tongue, and she felt her hands slightly shiver. Oh God, help me.

A shudder ran through her body and her stomach tied itself into an anxious knot. Well, this is different. For the first time, in a long time, she felt nervous. In a barely audible whisper, she said, "I could make that for us, if you like."

He sensed the nerves on her and he mentally chuckled to himself. He found it semi-amusing that this woman forged of iron was standing in front of him with only the smallest smear of courage in the department of dating. He saw the colour return to her face and her cheeks slightly rosy from the cold night. The glimmer was slowly returning to her eyes and he knew when it fully returned, it would put those diamond earrings to shame. He took this small opportunity to play with her, although he'd feel guilty as hell if she reacted negatively. He hoped she wouldn't so he quipped, "I don't know."

He said it in such a serious tone without even the slightest grin on his face. When he saw her tense, eyes shooting wide open and backing away, he had to pull her back to him. He chuckled softly and let a goofy, crooked grin paint his face. His hands slide down from her wrist and he laced his fingers through her, marveled at how wonderful it felt for her small hand to fit in his. He squeezed them gently, whispering, "Because I also make a really great lasagna."

"But I would love to see if Rusty's right".

She was startled for a moment, fearing that he rejected her when she had taken all this courage and strength to welcome him. Her cheekbones rose and her eyes glistened slightly as she smiled at him. The warmth of his hand in hers fulfilled a craving she didn't know she had until now. She felt him pull her closer to him until she rested under his chin. She took in the moment to actually breathe – to breathe in the scent of him. It made her slightly light headed and she realized how good it felt to have his arms wrapped around her. It felt good to have something that the woman in her needed. The warmth of a man.

His face was nuzzled in the tresses of her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo mixed with the subtle scent of her perfume. God, he could stay like this forever; with her small frame pressed against him and her hands wrapped around his middle. He said a silent prayer, thanking God that she allowed him to do this. He felt goddamn lucky and for the first time in the longest time, he felt unbelievably happy. She made him feel like he was worth something. He let out a breath, a small sigh of contentment and relief.

She pulled her head back slightly and arched her neck upwards. She looked up at him and he looked down at her with such intensity that it made her knees quake.

She let her eyes close.

He let his head inch forward.

- # THE END # -

A/N: Since the last Fic was so heavy, I ended this one on a good note! Yay! It's a little shorter but I hope you still enjoyed it!

Hope you all had a great time reading it. As always, I love feedback and I love reading your reviews. And, thank you, Ezgi for encouraging me to write!

I want to thank: SharonFan1986, bwie66, ColeMax, leveragus, chattympc, Most Bossy Robin, leverageobssessedgrifter, deborahgar2009 and, Guest Reviewers for leaving such wonderful reviews on my last piece!

PS: All mistakes are mine, I didn't have a Beta

You guys are awesome,

- J