Set between the first and second seasons.
Sharon pried her eyes open when she heard her phone ringing late Friday night. For most parents, a ringing telephone in the middle of the night was cause for alarm, but Sharon knew the most likely cause was that her team had caught a case. Usually, Lt. Provenza was capable of leading the initial investigation and would fill her in the next morning, but occasionally there were circumstances that required her presence.
"Captain Raydor," Sharon mumbled, yawning and trying to clear her head.
"Hello, Captain, sorry to wake you. We caught a murder, and, well...We need you."
"Text me the address. Be there as soon as I can."
Sharon put on just enough makeup to avoid frightening anyone, brushed her hair out, and changed into jeans and a sweater. She quickly left a note for Rusty and left. Upon arriving at a mansion in one of the ritziest neighborhoods in LA, she got out of her car and went into the house in search of her team. She was surprised to find Tao uncomfortably holding a screaming baby, looking relieved to see Sharon, and Provenza looking over some notes, trying to ignore the baby.
Sharon momentarily forgot that her role at the crime scene was that of a LAPD Captain rather than a mother. Her maternal instincts kicked in and she took the baby, who seemed to be four or five months old, from Tao. She held her close and bounced gently, talking softly to the baby and stroking her hair, which was a pale blonde fuzz. The baby's sobs died down almost immediately and Sharon realized her diaper was wet. Spotting a changing table in the corner of the living room, she quickly changed the baby and zipped her fuzzy pajamas back up, but didn't replace the sack-like garment the baby had been zipped into just yet. What even was that thing? Baby necessities had changed a lot since Sharon's children were babies. She resumed bouncing the baby and patting her back until her eyes began to close. Once the baby was sleeping comfortably on Sharon's shoulder, she suddenly remembered her purpose for being at the crime scene and realized for the first time that the rest of the team was missing.
"Oh! What's going on? And where is everyone else? Where are the bodies?"
"Standard case of husband comes home, catches wife with boyfriend, turns gun on the tramp and her side dish and then himself. A neighbor heard the gunshots and called 911. We finished processing the scene, so I sent everyone home to get some rest. Except for Tao, who lost a round of 'not it' to hold the baby until you got here."
Sharon rolled her eyes. "My presence was required to call DCFS?"
Provenza looked embarrassed. "Oh. Right. Of course. I actually meant to do that. I was trying to decide whether I needed to notify you that a baby was found at the crime scene when I realized that you had a couple of these things of your own, and could probably get here faster than DCFS, so I called you. I figured you could deal with this thing until someone from DCFS could get here, but I completely forgot to call them after I hung up with you."
"You had a couple of 'these things' of your own, lieutenant."
"Yes, but I also had a wife for when they were screaming. As did Tao."
"Unlike you, my babies actually liked me. Other people's babies are a different story, though," Tao clarified. "I'll call DCFS," he said, reaching for his phone.
Sharon looked down at the adorable baby sleeping peacefully in her arms. She couldn't bear to have the baby juggled from her to an emergency foster assignment and again to a relative once the parents' families were discovered. Something Cynthia had told her during the Daniel Dunn drama with Rusty played in her head. Foster care is, by definition, temporary. Well, in this case, that was going to be of good use to her. It would be fun to have a baby around for a while until the parents' will (hopefully) and family were tracked down.
"Actually, I'm still licensed for emergency foster care. I'll call Cynthia to make sure I can take her until we figure out who will gain custody of her, but I don't think it will be a problem." When Sharon hung up with Cynthia, Provenza and Tao were recounting how the baby was discovered and laughing.
"Once I saw the changing table and realized there was probably a baby in the house and remembered that Flynn was the one I sent to look around upstairs, I couldn't get up those steps fast enough. I got there just in time to hear him scream like a little girl. Of course, by the time I got to him, the baby was also screaming," Provenza said. "And there was a little machine blaring white noise loud enough to wake the dead. The baby probably slept right through three gun shots."
"And then he came down the stairs holding the baby away from him like it was a bomb," Tao said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.
"I hate I missed that," Sharon said, laughing. "I have to wait for Cynthia to check out the baby and write a report, but you guys should go home and get some rest. Were you guys able to find any information on family members to notify?"
"No," Tao said. "The baby's parents would be each other's next of kin, so we don't have a time frame in which notifications have to be made. We'll come back in the morning for a more thorough search. And what about a car seat? And formula?" Tao pointed out. Sharon had figured she could send Rusty out first thing in the morning for formula and a few bottles, but she probably wouldn't have thought about a car seat until she got to her car with the baby and had nowhere to put her.
"Oh! Um..."
"Both vehicles are in the garage. Surely there's a car seat. I don't think anyone would have a problem with you borrowing the car seat until the baby is placed with a family member. Same with a bottle and formula. Take the bottles and formula," Provenza suggested. "These things are necessary for taking care of the baby and it's permissible to remove them from the crime scene," he continued, keeping Sharon's love of the rules in mind. (A/N: I have no idea if this is true, but I didn't want to get bogged down in the 'getting the baby from the crime scene to Sharon's apartment' details).
"I'll go check the cars. The car seat probably has a base, and I'm trained in installing them properly, so I'll put it in your car," Tao spoke up.
Sharon looked confused. "A what? And my keys are on the table beside the front door."
"I'll show you before you leave. I'll need to show you how to move the seat in and out of it, anyway."
An hour later, Cynthia's report was done and Sharon was home with the baby. A pack and play had been set up in the living room, presumably for when the baby took naps downstairs, so Cynthia had suggested that Sharon take that for Harper to sleep in, as well as some extra clothes, diapers, and baby wipes for the next few days. Sharon had found a document from a pediatrician's office with the baby's name on it in the kitchen. She set up the pack and play in her bedroom, zipped Harper back into the sack thing she had been wearing before, and gently lay her down. She stirred, but got comfortable and was soon sleeping again. Sharon was more than happy to get back in bed. Her team would work on finding family members or friends and confirming that no one else had been involved in the murder the next day and had promised to only call her if they had any problems or had new information.
Sharon woke at 7:30 on Saturday morning, alarmed at first when it was a baby's cries that woke her up. She thought she was dreaming before she remembered the events of the night before. She got out of bed and gently lifted Harper out of the pack and play and held her to her shoulder, gently patting her back.
"It's all right, honey," she soothed. "It's scary waking up in a strange place, isn't it? I bet you're ready for some breakfast." Sharon changed Harper's diaper and carried her into the kitchen to get a bottle. Once the bottle was empty, Sharon dug through the diaper bag she had found at the crime scene the night before and found a few toys. After spreading a blanket on the floor and setting the toys out, she lay Harper on the blanket with the toys. Sharon poured a cup of coffee and turned the TV on while Harper happily kicked her feet and grabbed at her toys.
Rusty stumbled into the living room at 9:30, stunned to see Sharon still in her nightgown with no makeup on. "You're up early," Sharon commented.
"Yeah, I could have sworn I heard a baby crying this morning. I kept trying to go back to sleep, but-whoa! Where did that baby come from?"
"I got called to a crime scene last night. Both parents died and we couldn't find any information on family members or a will, and I'm still licensed for emergency foster care, so I decided to bring Harper home for a couple of days until we know who is going to take her."
"Cool...Can I hold her?"
Sharon looked at Rusty in surprise. This wasn't the reaction she was expecting. She had actually been dreading Rusty waking up and seeing the baby all morning. "Sure. Actually, would you mind keeping an eye on her while I change clothes?"
"Yeah, go ahead." When Sharon returned to the living room, with makeup on and dressed in jeans, a tank top, and a cardigan, Rusty was leaning against the couch with Harper lying on his knees, laughing hysterically as he made faces and silly noises at her. The baby wipes and a rolled-up diaper were on the floor beside him.
"You changed her?" Sharon asked, her surprise growing, as she picked up the diaper and tossed it in the garbage.
"Yeah. I was going to throw that away when I got up. For such a tiny baby, she sure can drop a load. But we got all cleaned up, didn't we?" Rusty said cheerfully, turning his attention back to Harper. "Aww, is someone s'eepy?" He cooed, when Harper started whimpering and her big blue eyes started looking heavy. Sharon went to take Harper from Rusty, but he stood up, turned her on her side, and gently swayed as she snuggled into his arm. A couple of minutes later, he sat on the couch and looked down at her as she slept in his arms. He looked up and caught the look of bewilderment on Sharon's face. "What?"
"I am clearly missing something. How are you so good with babies?"
"My mom and I lived with one of her friends for a while when I was in middle school, and she had a baby about this age. She and my mom both drank and did drugs all the time, so I pretty much took care of the baby. I had to break into their drug money while they were passed out to buy diapers and formula. I had no idea what to do at first, so I used a computer at school to look up how to take care of a baby for the basic stuff, but I learned how to keep him happy. DCFS ended up taking him after Mom and I moved in with Gary, but I haven't thought about that kid in a long time. I hope he's okay."
"That was very sweet of you. There's a portable crib in my room when you're ready to put her down."
"Thanks. I want to hold her for a few minutes, if you don't mind."
"That's fine with me. We can spoil her all we want to, since we won't have her for very long."
As if on cue, Sharon's phone rang. "Lt. Provenza. Any news?"
"Yes. We found an attorney's card at the crime scene, so we called the attorney at his home, hoping he had a will for the baby's parents on file. He did, and Harper's custody was left to the husband's sister." Sharon sighed in disappointment. She knew this was going to happen, and she didn't want to keep Harper for longer than a few days, anyway. Did she? No, probably not. But she was hoping for at least a couple of days with her, as she had stolen Sharon's heart immediately.
"Okay. So when is she coming for Harper? I can keep her for a couple of days if she needs to make arrangements."
"She doesn't want Harper. Apparently, she wasn't on speaking terms with the parents and has her own children, and she doesn't even care to see the baby. She said that neither parent had any other family, but we're working to confirm that. It makes sense, though, since the parents left the baby to someone with whom they hadn't spoken in several years. You should probably speak with Cynthia about finding a permanent placement."
"Not just yet. I'll wait and see if any more family members turn up." They said goodbye and hung up.
"Will Harper have to go to foster care?" Rusty asked, his eyes wide.
"I hope not, but the only family member we've been able to find, and whom was granted custody in the event of both parents' death, doesn't want her."
"Oh." Rusty looked sadly down at Harper and stroked her hair as she slept.
The wheels in Sharon's head were turning. "Rusty...If it were up to you, what would you do if we didn't find any other relatives for Harper?"
"Keep her," Rusty said quickly. "I know you're too busy for that, though. And it takes, like, money and crap to take care of a baby."
"I actually think I agree with you on keeping her. So, if we don't find any other family, it's okay with you if I have her permanently placed with me?"
"Definitely."
"All right. I'll call Cynthia and update her."