Erin smiled as she closed her eyes and turned her face up to meet the sun. It was a perfect day in Los Angeles, and this park that she had stumbled upon in her wanderings was off the beaten path enough where she could feel like she was lightyears away from the hustle and bustle of the busy city she had found herself living in.

An almost discontented sigh slipped from her lips as she let her thumb rub across the infinity scar on her wrist. She had known that it would be a permanent reminder of what she had endured, but there were times when it just reminded her of everything that she had left behind. Sure, she was just beginning to rebuild her relationship with her children, as they had decided that they wanted to speak with her after all, but there were still times that she missed David so much that it was like a physical ache in her chest. Shaking her head, she opened her eyes and stared into the hazy blue sky and counted the clouds rolling by.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I join you?"

Erin looked up into warm green eyes and found herself drawn into a gaze that seemed to speak of everything that she had been keeping bottled up inside over the last three years. "It's a public park," she replied, hating that her voice sounded so sharp and standoffish. Still, the woman smiled gently as she sank down onto the lawn next to her, setting a basket on the ground in front of them.

"I was supposed to meet my partner here, but there was a last minute emergency with his daughter," the woman explained as she opened the basket and took out a two bottles of water, handing one to Erin. "I'm Sharon, by the way. Sharon Raydor."

"Erin Strauss." Giving her real name to the woman seemed the right thing to do in that moment, and she extended her hand, giving Sharon a small smile when she shook it firmly. "It is a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yes," Sharon replied as she began to pull out foodstuffs and spreading them out a little. "Feel free to take anything that looks appetizing. My son, Rusty, won't eat any of this, it's a little too froufrou for him."

Erin laughed lightly as she picked up a strawberry tart and began to nibble at it. "And your partner doesn't find it too fancy?"

"He indulges me, sometimes too much. And you? Do you have a partner?"

Erin couldn't stop the tight look that passed over her face, and she pursed her lips together as Sharon reached out and touched her hand softly, giving her a comfort that she hadn't realized she was craving until that moment. "I haven't really made that many connections here, yet. And there are hurdles to my getting close to anyone."

It was probably as close to the truth as she could get, but she still felt a rush of guilt at having revealed so much. Sharon tilted her head to one side as she regarded her carefully, and Erin took a larger bite of the tart, needing to put some distance between them in that moment. "Well, I don't know if I can help you jump over those hurdles, but I'd love to be a connection in your life."

The hopeful part of Erin's heart rejoiced at the offer, but her more pragmatic mind immediately took over, analyzing the offer. "We've only just met."

"True, but you look like someone trustworthy. And I need someone that I can talk to outside of the precinct."

There it was, the law enforcement connection, and Erin stiffened a little as she mentally withdrew from Sharon. "I see."

A flash of hurt flickered over Sharon's face as she bent over her sandwich, focusing solely on that. "Or did I read you wrong?"

"I don't know. Did you?"

Their eyes met, and Erin tried to keep from tearing up at the slightly lost look that Sharon quickly covered up. "I hope not."

Releasing a deep breath, Erin held out her wrist, revealing the infinity scar there. "Does this mean anything to you?" she pressed, hoping that Sharon would know nothing about it.

Cool fingers lightly traced the mark, and Erin let her eyes slide closed as she waited for Sharon's next words. "No. Should it?"

Opening her eyes, she met Sharon's glass green eyes once more and slowly shook her head. "Not right now, no. So, what do you do at the precinct?"

Sharon relaxed a little, a tiny smile curving her lips upwards as she leaned back a little, staring at the horizon. "I'm actually the captain in charge of Major Crimes." Erin swallowed the gasp that threatened to escape her lips. "And that bit of knowledge unsettles you. Are you in some sort of trouble?"

She shook her head. "Not any longer. But there are still some things about my past that I can't talk about. I really want to stay here this time." Erin knew that the woman was sharp, and that she would pick up on the undercurrent in her words. Sure enough, the light of comprehension lit her gaze, and she nodded before reaching out once more and squeezing Erin's hand lightly. "Thank you for understanding."

"Of course." They fell into an easy conversation and soon the hours melted away. "I'm afraid that I have to go now, I'm meeting…actually, you know what, why don't you come along with me. Andrea would love to meet you, and I have the feeling that you could use another friend in the city."

Erin wanted to refuse, since she knew that it wasn't entirely safe for her to do so, but there was something so inviting about the prospect of expanding her group of known associates beyond her handler and her hairdresser. "I suppose that would be nice. Where are you meeting Andrea?"

There was a slight pause, and Erin was immediately on edge, wondering just what was going through the other woman's mind. "There's a nice bar a few blocks from here. We could walk if you'd like. And yes, I did pause, and I know that you picked up on that. I'm assuming that it comes from your previous line of work. Your face is sort of hard to forget, and a frenemy of mine was quite perturbed by that incident."

She sucked in a shallow breath as she bit her lip and quickly stood, needing to put some physical distance between them. Sharon was quick to follow after her, and Erin blinked hard before glancing at her once more. "I had hoped that people would forget about that. After all, it was my greatest failure. But, I would really like to meet your friends. I need to expand my circle here some. At least I'd be safe with someone like you."

"There is that, since I have been known to shoot perps with the beanbag shotgun." They both grinned in unison, and suddenly Erin felt like everything was about to finally start going right with her life. She had waited such a long time for this day to come, and she was not about to let it go.