A Bed of Regret
by Kadi
Rated K+
Disclaimer: Not my sandbox. I'm just playing in it.
A/N: Spoilers for all of season 5. Follow-up to 5x13. Absolute crack!fic. I've gotten to the point where I have to laugh about it. Enjoy!
He didn't know how many circuits that she had made around the waiting room now, but Provenza had been watching her as she paced. He had arrived, along with the rest of their team, only minutes after the ambulance deposited Flynn into the Emergency room at St. Leo's. Sharon had appeared as he was trying to get information, looking pale and frazzled, and incredibly irritated. The paramedics had allowed her to ride in the ambulance with Flynn, but the medical staff had summarily removed her from his side.
She wasn't his wife.
He had given her a questioning look when she joined them. The Captain had simply shrugged. She took a seat in the waiting room, back straight and body held stiffly. "I'm not family," was all that she said.
There was enough of a hitch in her tone to make all of them wince. For just a moment, Provenza thought he might have to hold Julio back. The younger detective had bowed up, looking angry and as if he might just force his way into the emergency room and remedy that problem himself. Provenza wondered for a moment whether or not he really wanted to stop him if he did.
Instead, they had flanked her. Provenza sat on one side, Julio on her other. They waited.
It only lasted fifteen minutes. She was up and pacing. He tried to stop her, get her to sit again. She did, just not for very long.
Rusty arrived soon after her first circuit around the room. Provenza got her to sit down and explain to the boy what had happened. They didn't have any other information, but she could give him the bare bones of it. That lasted, possibly, half an hour. Provenza let her pace for five minutes before he started to rise. It was Rusty that stopped him.
"Don't." It was all the boy said. His gaze never left his phone. If Provenza thought that he was not paying attention, he was wrong. "It's what she does," Rusty said quietly. "She'll lose it if she doesn't move. Don't worry unless she stops walking."
He stared at the boy upon hearing that. Then he thought back. Provenza recalled the previous winter, the long surgery and yes, she had done a lot of pacing then too. He hadn't really thought about it much at the time. Provenza sighed now. He leaned back and kept one eye on the Captain as she moved around the waiting room. She paced. Time ticked away. They all waited.
They waited for news for almost two hours. Requests for information went unheeded. Simply telling the emergency room clerk and nurses that they lived together was not enough. Neither Sharon nor Rusty was able to reach Nicole, and Charlie wouldn't answer for one of them anyway. Vicky, Flynn's ex-wife, was out of the country on a second honeymoon with her husband to celebrate their anniversary. They were stuck.
Provenza wasn't really aware there was a problem until he felt Rusty, who had taken Sharon's seat beside him, went stiff. He was slumped in the chair, foot resting against his knee, phone in his hand. He was scrolling through pictures on one of those idiotic social-whatsits and seemingly unaffected. His body became rigid, though. His thumb stopped scrolling. Provenza looked over, a scowl on his face, and saw that Rusty was not looking at his phone. His eyes were focused across the room and his jaw was clenched. Provenza followed his gaze and his brows screwed together in a puzzled frown.
The Captain had stopped pacing. She was standing in the center of the emergency room, arms still folded tightly around her body, but was no longer moving at all. Her gaze seemed to be focused on the floor, but her eyes were unseeing. While he watched her, her lips parted and a look of horror crossed her face. She turned on her heel then and before he could draw his next breath, she was marching across the room. Not in the direction of the double doors that lead into the emergency room, but to the exit.
"Go."
It came from the boy beside him. Provenza looked at him again. "What?"
"She won't want me," Rusty said. "Go."
Julio hadn't even waited to question it. He was already on his feet and following her. Provenza was much slower. He still wasn't sure this was a situation that he should get involved with. They walked a fine line, him and the Captain. Actually, he wasn't sure that she would appreciate any of them seeing her like this. The thing was, they were really all she had right now. Actually, a lot of the time, they were all any of them had.
You're not family. That was what the hospital staff said. They were idiots. Of course they were.
He found them on a bench around the east side of the building. It was out of view of the emergency waiting room and the parking lot. Provenza sat down on her other side. Shoulder to shoulder on the metal bench, the three of them sat. It took a minute for her to speak. "I said no."
Neither of them replied. Provenza looked across her and shared a look with the younger detective. Julio simply inclined his head and waited.
"He asked me to marry him." Sharon drew a breath and let it out slowly. "I said no."
"Ma'am…" It was Julio that started to respond. He stopped when she shook her head.
"I know. I have been terribly selfish." She was staring straight ahead. Her arms were no longer folded around her body, but rather, this time her hands were clasped tightly together in her lap. "I keep asking him to wait. Until the divorce is final. Until Rusty is ready. I put him on hold for months, and then I insisted that we take everything slowly. When he brought up the subject of living together, I put it off until he simply wouldn't let me anymore. Then I was the one dragging my feet. I honestly thought that it would take longer to sell his house. Of course, after they closed on it, he had nowhere to go. What was I going to do? None of the houses that we've looked at together were right, because I was trying to buy more time. Of course, moving him in with me was the right thing to do. Even crowded into the condo like we are, there has been no hurry to find a house together. We are together, and things are working out. I thought that he would be perfectly happy with that. Apparently he was. Every time that he thinks that we are on solid ground, I pull it out from under his feet." Her eyes closed. "I said no," she said again, this time in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
Provenza sighed. Julio shrugged at him. He scrubbed a hand over his face while he tried to think of something to say. "Not everyone has to get married," he attempted, and knew that it sounded lame.
Sharon's head turned. She looked at him sadly. "No they do not."
"You're catholic." On her other side, Julio shrugged again. "You can't get married like you want to, so you don't know if you want to get married at all. Your husband didn't die, you got divorced. You don't want a legal, civil union. You want a real one."
She looked away from both of them. Sharon stared straight ahead again. "I called it a stupid piece of paper. I told him that was all that it would amount to for both of us now. We are both divorced. It would make buying a house together a lot easier. We argued. He's been furious with me. Frankly, I deserve it. He's not wrong." She sighed. "That was before the Darnell trial, and Chief Taylor, and everything that has followed." Sharon shook her head. "This is all my fault. We didn't resolve it; he just did what he always does. He sucked it up and he is going along with whatever I want." She could sense that they were both about to speak and shook her head. "No, it is. I have allowed it to fester."
She was keen on blaming herself. Julio and Provenza exchanged another look from over the top of her head. The younger man shrugged, yet again. Provenza frowned. He nodded once and returned his attention to the Captain. "You know," he said, "Flynn is an idiot. I warned him about all of this. It's not your fault that he lost his man-card."
Sharon sighed. She started to shake her head, but Julio interrupted her before she could speak. "I don't think so," he said quietly. "She's right." He drew the Captain's gaze to him. "It's all your fault. The guy wants to get married. He's been following you around like a puppy for… a lot of years now," he said, instead of actually counting them. "Do you have any idea how much crap he takes from everyone? Now he's getting it at home too?"
Good cop, bad cop. It was the only way that they knew how to approach a situation that was beyond the both of them. What else were they supposed to do? Comforting her was Flynn's job, and well, he wasn't exactly around at the moment. "Well if he doesn't like it," Provenza pointed out, "he didn't have to keep chasing her." He shook his finger at Julio. "He chased her. We all watched it. On top of all that," he continued, "I bet he's not taking his pills. You know, they don't mix well with certain other medications... " He gave them a knowing look and a nod.
Julio looked like he was about to choke on his own tongue, but he ploughed on anyway. "No sir, they don't, but whose fault is that? She strung him along for all those months, so now he's got to be able to keep up. For what? The guy sold his house. He's been working his ass off to find a house for her and her kid, and it's not good enough? Don't even get me started on Rusty either," he said, shaking his head. "Flynn has taken nothing but crap from that kid the whole time they've been together, and she let it happen. He changed his whole life for you, and what, the guy wants to give you a ring and you can't suck it up long enough to say yes? No wonder he had a heart attack."
She had covered her face during that last exchange. Provenza wondered if they had gone too far. He placed a hand on her back and felt her tremble beneath it. He cast a concerned look at Julio. The younger man's eyes were wide. That wasn't what he was going for. He opened his mouth to speak, but they both heard the snort before either of them could react. Provenza's eyes narrowed. He leaned down to try and see her face. "Are you…"
Her hands dropped. Sharon pressed the back of one of them to her mouth. Her shoulders were shaking. She was laughing at them. She shook her head. "That might have been more successful if I had not watched it a thousand times." Sharon dropped her arms and wrapped them around herself again. "I do appreciate the effort, however."
Julio shrugged again. "We try to be our best." He nudged her shoulder with his. "He will be fine. He was conscious the whole time. He's been getting regular checkups since the clot. If anything was wrong, they would have found it already."
"I have been trying to make myself believe that," Sharon admitted quietly. "His six month checkup following the surgery was only a few months ago. He had a full workup, including a stress test. I cannot believe that if there was something wrong that it would happen this quickly."
Provenza was nodding slowly. "Julio is right. Whatever it is, I'm sure…." he trailed off with a shrug. Because he really didn't know and he didn't want to be wrong. Instead he inclined his head at her. "Did you really say no?"
Sharon sighed. "Lieutenant…" She wanted to go back and not say all of that. Sharon shrugged. "I did. Obviously that was a mistake, or I would be with him right now and not wondering what is happening."
"But you said no?" Provenza was stuck on that. Julio was snickering. He ignored him. "He went back and forth on that damned ring for three weeks! He drug me into look at it every single time, and you said NO?"
Her eyes widened. "There's a ring?" When Julio snorted a laugh she looked between the two men. "What? I haven't seen a ring…" She sat much straighter. "Are you telling me that this is more than just an attempt to test the waters and find out if I am interested?"
Provenza blinked at her. "You said he asked!"
"He asked if we should discuss it," Sharon replied, "and in the world of Andrew Michael Flynn that would have counted as a proposal, if I had agreed. He never mentioned having a ring. I told him that I didn't need a piece of paper-"
"Stupid piece of paper," Julio reminded her.
"To know what he and I mean to each other," she continued, "or that we intend to have a life together."
"You said no." Julio supplied.
"Correct." She huffed at both of them. "He bought a ring?"
Provenza's lips pursed. He looked away from her. "I was right the first time. He's an idiot."
Julio snickered. "It's a nice ring too."
Her eyes widened. "You've seen it?"
"We all have," he admitted. "He didn't trust Provenza."
"Which I am still offended by," the older man said. "I've bought a lot of rings in my time."
"Wait." Sharon held up a hand. "You are telling me that Andy bought a ring, and not only have I not seen it, but my entire division has?"
Julio shrugged. "Not just us." Her eyes narrowed at him. "It was Rusty's idea for him to take one of your other rings, even though you don't usually wear them, to make sure it was the right size."
"I thought that was Amy?" Provenza looked around the Captain again.
"Rusty," Julio told him. "Amy was the one that said he should get the traditional gold and not platinum." The Captain was looking at him, still appearing to be very confused. "You're a traditional person," he pointed out.
"That's right." Provenza nodded. "Patrice thought that was a good idea too. Mike went with him to make sure the stone was good and not some knock off or something." He grew silent for a moment. His voice softened as he added, "and he talked to Taylor about it too. He wanted to make sure it wouldn't be a problem. Getting married is a little different than just dating."
"We've just been waiting for him to actually do it," Julio said.
"No one expected that he would be this stupid." Provenza rolled his eyes heavenward. "All of that, and he didn't even show you the ring."
Her mouth was hanging open. Sharon was looking back and forth between the two men. She really did not know what to say. "I…"
"Sharon."
Her head whipped around. All three of them turned. Andy was standing nearby, arm in a sling, looking tired, but in otherwise good condition. Rusty stood just behind him, holding the bag that had his suit jacket, suspenders, and other personal belongings. His tie was gone and his shirt was wrinkled, as were his pants. She stood up and walked toward him. Her confusion had given way to her worry. "What are you doing out here? What happened?"
When she was near enough, Andy laid a hand on her arm. "Just a bum arm. It was nothing." He watched her eyes narrow and her lips purse. "Pinched nerve and some bruising. Looks like an old injury got aggravated."
Rusty rolled his eyes. "He hurt it when he fell in the bathroom last year. They were so focused on his head and the clot, no one noticed it."
Andy sighed. "I pinched a nerve. So I was right, I twisted wrong the other day and pulled a muscle. The swelling is pressing on the nerve. It will be okay. I just have to take it easy for a few days."
Sharon studied him closely. "So it wasn't a heart attack?"
"Nope." Rusty rocked back on his heels.
Her son was being entirely too gleeful, considering everything else they thought was happening. Sharon frowned at them both. "What else?"
He grimaced. Andy looked down. "We need a new bed," he muttered.
"I'm sorry," she took a step closer. "What? I didn't quite hear you."
Andy sighed. "We need a new bed. There's a problem with my neck…"
"Scar tissue from the surgery," Rusty supplied helpfully. "It's the way he's been laying. Your mattress is too soft. Everything is all tense, so it made the shoulder issue worse."
Sharon didn't say a word. She simply walked around both of them and headed toward the parking lot. She assumed that was where Rusty would have parked. He was going to need to take her back to the office so that she could get her purse and her car. Or perhaps she should just stay at the PAB, she wondered. It would save time. She should take herself to booking and just get it over with. Mainly because when she got him home she was going to kill Andy Flynn.
Julio had watched the whole exchange with an amused expression. "I'm glad that you're okay, Lieutenant."
"I'm not." Provenza strode toward him. He smacked his good arm with the back of his hand. "Next time, have the decency to have a real heart attack. Idiot."
Andy turned, fast enough that he grimaced in pain and grabbed his shoulder from the action. "Thanks a lot," he scowled after his partner. "Cranky old son of a b-" he stopped and looked at Rusty when the boy snickered. Andy scowled at him. "What?"
"Nothing." Rusty turned to follow his mother. "Guess she should've just called Tempurpedic, that's all." He wasn't going to tell everyone that they had already gotten a new bed because the old one creaked too much, and there were some things that he refused to have to hear. Rusty couldn't help smirking about it, though. "Hey," he turned, walking backwards. "So should we broaden our search options for the new house?"
"Why?" Andy's eyes narrowed. He was trudging along behind the kid. Damn his shoulder hurt. They had given him something for it, but he was limited on what he could take, and it was already wearing off. All of the poking, prodding, and tests hadn't helped. He also had a sinking suspicion that the kid was about to make one of those smart-assed comments that always pissed him off.
"Just, you know," Rusty shrugged at him. Under the parking lights his eyes were sparkling merrily. "I wondered if we should get something with hand rails in the bathroom."
Andy stopped walking. "What the hell is wrong with you people?" He flung his good arm as he spoke. "I thought I was actually having a heart attack. I could have really died. And you're making jokes?" He flung his arm up in frustration again and turned. He walked off toward the front of the hospital. "I'll take a damned cab home," he decided.
"Rusty, stop making fun of Andy." Sharon's voice came from a few rows over. She was leaning against the side of her son's car. "Andy, get in the car."
He stopped walking and scowled in her direction. She simply returned his look with an impassive expression. Sharon pointed at the car. Andy's head bowed and he walked over to do as he was told. He stopped beside her. "Damned comedian," he muttered.
"Yes. I know." She ran her hand down his arm. Sharon stepped close. Her arm slipped around his waist and her face turned into his neck. She exhaled a shaky breath. "I thought…"
"Me too." He turned his face into her hair. He wrapped his good arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "I'm sorry." Andy knew that he had frightened her. Frightened all of them, and himself too, and not for the first time.
"So am I," she whispered against his skin. Sharon inhaled again. "I didn't mean to break you," she whispered.
Andy let go of her. When he looked down, she was smirking at him. "You can both go to…" He bit off the rest of that statement. He growled unhappily and stepped away from her. Andy walked around the car and pulled open the back passenger door. He folded himself into the car and slammed it closed behind him.
Rusty snickered as he joined her. "I thought we weren't supposed to make fun of him?" He didn't know what she said, and probably didn't want to, but Rusty could guess."
Sharon shrugged at him. "I wasn't. Not exactly." She took the bag of personal belongings from her son and slipped into the backseat of the old Volvo beside Andy. She waited until Rusty was situated in the driver's seat before speaking again. "Alright, gentlemen. Let's discuss this ring that you have both apparently decided that I need…"
There were twin sighs. They both slumped in their seats. Their heads hit the head rests behind them. "Oh crap," they both moaned.
FIN