I'm expecting this to just be a couple of chapters...thanks to maidenpride for the idea. Rusty's wardrobe greatly improved after he landed an intership at the DA's office. Where would he have turned for clothing advice?


"You can't expect to wear that every day!" Andy exclaimed as he stood in Rusty's bedroom with him, going through his closet. After his little outburst, he heard a groan from Rusty and a chuckle from Sharon who had apparently appeared and was standing in the doorway listening to the conversation.

"What's wrong with it?" Rusty asked, a look of confusion on his face. "It's a suit. She said I'd need a suit for my internship. This is a suit. Problem solved."

"Well, yeah, you do," Andy agreed, "but, you're going to need more than one. More than two even. Rusty, you're starting an internship with the L.A. District Attorney's Office. You need to look sharp all the time. This is more than just a suit."

"Okay, really? I don't see what's wrong with this one," Rusty pointed out. "Mom, you bought it for me. It's fine, right?"

"Rusty," Sharon said as she walked further into the room, "I think what Andy is trying to tell you is that you are going to need more of a suit wardrobe. Check our closet; Andy has several suits, and I have several suits. It's called being a professional. You're going to need a collection of suits, ties, shirts, belts, shoes, even socks," she gave a small smile.

"It's just an internship. I'm still in college," he complained.

"In college, yes, but even people in college have to start looking the part. Rusty, you're at that stage of college. It was like when you testified against Stroh; you needed a suit because showing up in jeans and a hoodie, while a typical and favorite Rusty look, that's just not going to cut it," Andy explained.

"Huh," Rusty paused, letting everything sink in. "Socks too?" he complained, giving Sharon a glance.

"Socks too," Sharon nodded, smiling. "You can't go without socks or just wear white ones," she pointed down to Andy's feet, where still in his dress slacks, he had lifted his pant leg to show Rusty his dress socks and shoes. "Dress socks," she nodded at Andy's feet. "You need them. The one pair you keep now for church isn't going to work in the D.A.'s office."

"Wait, that's like a whole new wardrobe," he made a face. "I have to get a new wardrobe?"

"No," Andy patted his one shoulder, "you aren't getting a new wardrobe; you're expanding our current one. I'm not asking you to get rid of anything, well, except maybe this suit," he made a face.

"What's wrong with the suit? We just discussed the fact I need suits, and that's what you want me to get rid of? Are you ok? Still have a concussion from hitting your head last year because you aren't making any sense," he grumbled to Andy.

"Rusty," Sharon sighed, "he's helping you. Listen to Andy. He's the best dressed in the LAPD, and I'm not just saying that because I love him," she smiled. Andy turned and flashed his smile at her.

"Eeew, will you two stop? How are you making that face when we are in my room talking about suits?" he grumbled.

"Let's break it down," Andy clapped his hands together, looking at Sharon first, then Rusty. "Okay, you need four to five suits, along with some additional dress pants. You're going to need anywhere from five to eight dress shirts, just to start. We'll coordinate the ties with the shirts, same with the socks. Do you have a couple belts?"

"Of course, I have belts," Rusty rolled his eyes.

"Rusty!" Sharon scolded again. "This is Andy. Be nice. He loves you and wants to help."

Rusty gave Andy a disgusted look, and he rolled his eyes, "Belts?" Andy asked.

Rusty went to his closet and pulled out his belts. Both Sharon and Andy glanced over to them, looking at each other and nodding. "What?" Rusty asked.

"You'll need belts too. Those are fine with jeans, but you need a couple of dress belts, like this," he moved his shirt slightly to show Rusty exactly what he meant.

"I've never really had to think about all that," he said.

"I know," Andy nodded. "Your mom and I already discussed this. We knew you'd need some stuff."

Sharon, you bought me a couple suits already," he pointed out.

Sharon nodded, "I did. The one when you first came here, you outgrew that already," she smiled. "You were still growing then. You're stopped now, so we can get you some nicely tailored ones. Even then one from a couple years ago, we didn't spend a lot of money because even then, you were still growing some."

"Okay," Rusty drew out, nodding. He was starting to understand what they were saying. He wasn't against it, but he really hadn't thought about his wardrobe and his internship yet. Andrea had said a suit, and he had one. To him, it was a done deal, but he was seeing now that he was moving toward a career, and new, professional clothing was the first stop. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, you are in luck," Andy put his hand around Rusty's shoulders. Rusty didn't like people touching him, and really only let Sharon or Andy do that. Provenza wouldn't ever WANT to give him a hug or pat him on the shoulder, and aside from them, he didn't want anyone else touching him. Gus was a different story, but for now, he was okay with his parents, as he'd realized that yes, Andy was fitting into that category more and more, his parents could touch him. "Just so happens I know a couple great suit stores. Great places with good quality suits for decent prices. I do all my shopping at these places. I like to find the high-end suits at the typical detective type stores. Trust me, we can get you outfitted, even with your urban modern look you and Gus have told us so much about."

"Mom?" Rusty looked to her, seeking permission.

"Oh, whatever Andy wants to do, you should listen. He's the expert here. Now, I can offer advice on how things look-colors and such," she flashed a smile at Andy, "but, you really need him to take you. This is his area, trust me. As I said, he's the best dressed around."

Rusty glanced to Andy, "If you suggest even one pair of suspenders, I'm out of there."

Andy closed his eyes and groaned, while Sharon burst out laughing.

"Not to worry, Rusty," Andy grinned, winking at Sharon. "No need to buy suspenders when I have a whole drawer of them. You can just borrow mine," he patted him on the back, as he moved and stepped out of the room.

"Ugh, what am I getting myself into?" he groaned, as he heard both Sharon and Andy chuckle as they now both made their way down the hall.