I am new to all of this still, but after posting my missing scene I started to have a few more ideas about stories. I also found some really random things on pinterest that started a few dialogue sequences in my head so I decided to jot them down and here we are... This is definitely super rough and I apologize. I am still trying to figure out how to explain things without it just coming out as "word vomit". So, this is a story idea kind of set the day of the wedding as a reflection on a few key points in their past that led them to where they are now. I hope to have a bit more figured out in terms of my story telling by future posts, but I want to go ahead and post to get it out there. Also, thank you to all of the kind reviewers from my last story. I do not know what I was expecting but I was definitely surprised by the support.

Into Something More
Chapter 1

Her hair and makeup were done, the girls had stepped out to get dressed, and she had thankfully been given a moment alone. She stared up into her reflection and smiled contentedly to herself. Her mind began to wander through the last few stressful days and the crazy case. Then she began to think of everything else that had led to this day, 'My how far I, well we, have come,' she mused to herself. Twenty years ago she never imagined she would be here ready to walk down the aisle again, at this age, and least of all to the once hotheaded bane of her professional existence. Her small grin turned into a true smile as she continued to survey herself in the mirror remembering their many interactions over the years. It was hard to believe that what had begun as all out screaming matches at crime scenes had become something so much more.

Uncapping her pen she opened the vanity drawer and pulled out a page of their new stationary. She ran her fingers over the newly embossed monogram at the top- their initials in exquisitely scripted golden font. Letting out another calming sigh, she beamed once again as she lightly gripped the pen as she began to compose her note to her future husband.

"To My Best Friend,
I am sure I am not the only person surprised by the turns our life has taken. Never would I have expected to be sitting here today about to say "I do" to you in our church in front of our friends and our family. But, truly I could not be happier and would not change a single thing about our lives, because everything has come together to get us here, to today.
I would not change one word, one tear, one insult, one case, or one date or non-date of our story (even though now I think I can admit that perhaps those non-dates were in fact a little bit 'datey'.) I am so thankful our paths crossed and continued to cross over the years. Yet, I cannot stop thinking about those early days and then how those moments slowly turned into this, into something far more than work colleagues and far more than a simple friendship. Imagine what that kid you were riding with that night back in the nineties would say now…"

-Late 1990s-
It was another scorching July evening in Los Angeles. Sharon had been awoken in the middle of the night to an alert that her presence was required in the field. The call out continued to describe that she would be needed to address a disciplinary action for an inebriated robbery homicide detective who had gotten a little too aggressive with a suspect. Why Flynn always seemed to get into trouble on the evenings she was on call was beyond her, but such was her life, apparently. She quietly grumbled over her luck that in every avenue of her life, confrontational men with alcohol issues continued to be present in what seemed like every aspect of her life. Even more upsetting was the fact that this situation apparently could not wait until the morning. Sharon would once again have to leave her children in the care of her saintly neighbor, just in case they awoke before she returned.

While Emily was almost ten and very mature for her age, Sharon could not simply leave a note and hope for the best. Ideally she would be able to rely on her husband, but she had long ago given up counting on having any kind of spousal support when it came to any aspect of her life. Jack had left again sometime just after the holidays. This time taking along with him the kid's Christmas money from their grandparents, the new necklace he had brought her, and the little bit of trust Sharon still had for him; as well as her hopes for a happy future for the family they had begun together. Yes, she was done with him, no longer hoping for a supportive husband, but still holding out some hope that one day he would be the father her children deserved. Until that day she would rely on help from her friends, her neighbors, and her church in order to keep her job and to keep her children happy, healthy, and hopefully mostly unharmed from the actions of their father.

Sharon walked into the bathroom to rinse her face and return her thoughts to the task at hand. She quickly finished dressing, choosing to forgo her usual pantsuit for a simple skirt and breathable blouse with light sweater, and gathered her things. Sharon also took a moment to leave a note for Emily, just in case something happened before she returned. She let out a shaky breath, her sweet girl had had to grow up faster than Sharon would have liked, but together their small family was making it. Sharon placed the note by the phone, where it would be easily found and went to gather her things. Holstering her gun and grabbing her keys and badge she did one last mental check for everything she needed and then she left the house locking the door behind her. With any luck this would be handled quickly and she would still be able to make it home in time take make breakfast and to drop the kids off at school.

The scene was not too far from their apartment. She was surprised it only took fifteen minutes to travel the five miles, because even at this hour there was no predicting traffic and construction in the city. This was another pro to living closer to downtown; she was not only able to get to work faster but also to the majority of the scenes she was called out to. While she would have preferred to continue to raise the kids in their house in the suburbs it just was not going to happen in her present situation as a single working mother. So, she had found a place closer to work and also close to a local parish that was connected to one of the top schools in the area. Choosing to see the positives in each decision she continued her short drive to what was inevitably not going to be added to her list of pros of the job, or pros for this particular time in her life.

While she enjoyed her job, getting called out at this hour was definitely not her favorite aspect. Especially when that call was to wrangle in rogue officers, or in particular, this rogue officer. She was beginning to doubt if she had the strength to continue to go toe-to-toe with Flynn. He seemed to be trying to win some kind of award for most punitive write-ups while still holding a job. Sharon was not sure if another assigned anger management or sensitivity training session would work for the man. If she was being honest with herself she was not sure even sure if he cared about his future with the department enough to 'get better,' and she was almost done with trying so hard to get through to him. In attempt to clear her mind to the task at hand she let out a long calming breath as she pulled her car up to the scene. Turning off the engine she took one last moment to collect her strength and shake off the thoughts the other stressors in her life were causing. Sharon then unclicked her seatbelt and confidently stepped out of the car.

He felt her presence before he heard the first click of her heels on the pavement or the echo of the car door slamming shut. His fellow officers stood more attentive and everyone appeared to be trying to find something more to do in order to look busy. He glanced to the kid he was riding with tonight and noticed the man's eyes were fixed just behind Andy's left shoulder. It did not take his advanced detective skills to know it was Raydor who had been called out to handle the situation. Just as he was formulating some clever way to address the woman he heard her take in a shallow and deliberate breath, "So, are you going for the idiot of the year award, or are you simply this…" Before she could finish her line he quickly turned.

Almost losing his balance, but cutting the distance between them with two long and purposeful strides he sneered back, "Why are you worried about losing the title?" He smiled to himself as he swore he saw a flash of deeper anger cross her eye before she quickly collected herself once again. He had caught her off guard and for that he was mentally patting himself on the back. A minor win for the night, even if the evening ended up taking worse turn, he could at least have that small victory. Before he could get too excited she advanced toward him and within seconds she was standing directly in front of him, eyes ablaze and complexion beginning to darken. Thinking to himself that she would almost have been attractive if it not for the fact she was an evil witch he momentarily lost focus on their battle of words.

Dropping her voice to a more menacing level she countered, "Well Detective, I will be sure to have it shined up for you." She took a steadying breath and turned her face slightly to the side, dropping her tone to a slightly higher, almost playful, pitch, "But where would we deliver it? Because obviously you have decided to once again risk to step outside the line, and this may actually have been you last shot at keeping your job." Taking a step back she turned her attention to the kid at the patrol car, "Officer, what happened here?"

A little terrified at being addressed by the Sergeant, the young officer took a moment to try to stand a little taller, "Um, me? I mean um sorry ma'am," he looked towards the Detective, "Um I, well Detective Flynn and I were just taking a routine call, ma'am." He took a moment to clear his throat and to take a step toward Raydor. "We were called out to handle a domestic, but by the time we got here they had nearly finished it themselves. Maybe it was just too hot to argue," he finished with a shy grin at an attempt to calm the situation between the FID Sergeant and the Detective. His small attempt at humor appearing to have no affect on the mood he continued, "Detective Flynn here decided he would try to distract them further by getting them to yell at him, and then the guy had had enough and took a swing at him. After that, um, I do not know exactly, but I grabbed the wife as she attempted to also jump on Flynn and by the end, um, the other car was driving by and was able to help us out of our situation," pointing toward the second patrol car the officer finished his statement and waited.

Taking a moment to try to understand how something so simple had come to such a stupid end she responded, "Okay, then I suppose we will deal with that in time," turning her attention back to the scene, "Are they pressing charges?"

"No ma'am," the younger man replied, "The man got in a good one and said that was all he needed. The wife is also not pressing charges against the husband, so everything is good."

Sharon let out a low snicker, "Good? Everything is good?" She rounded on the officer, "You think that it is good that Flynn lost his cool and got into a brawl on the side of the street?" Advancing on him as she gained momentum in her speech, "You think it is good that an obviously hung-over detective was out on patrol and then made the asinine decision to engage with a civilian as if they were in some kind of arena?" The younger man said nothing, as he attempted to shrink into the side of his vehicle to avoid the rest of her verbal assault regarding his lack of judgment. "Get in your vehicle and go get started on your paperwork, we will address your inability to properly judge a situation at a later date." Looking back to Flynn and then back again she stepped toward the younger officer and continued, "Next time you will not let anyone, no matter who they are to ride along with you after they have been drinking." The kid dropped his head, but before she would let him off of the hook she forcefully barked out a single word, "Right?" The kid jumped a little, but shook his head in the affirmative. She returned the nod and then pointedly cut her eyes toward his vehicle as a silent command that she was done with him. He got in the patrol car and directed it back toward the station leaving Flynn behind to accept his fate.

Now that she had dispensed with the audience she turned quickly on her heel and walked the few steps back to Flynn. He had lost some of his earlier bravado, but was still attempting to stand his ground while observing the exchange. Prepared to continue their war of words she was taken aback by the scene in front of her. The gravity of his situation had apparently begun to hit him, and if he had not already begun to feel sick about the situation, he definitely was at this point. He let out a defeated breath and turned to sit on the curb, head in his hands, realizing he had possibly lost the only thing he had left in his life. If this had been any other night he would have continued to stand his ground and defend his position against the "low-life" he had been forced to "handle". However, Andy did not appear to have any fight left in him; he simply looked crushed. His usual confidence was gone; he was just a man sitting there with no fight left.

Unsure of her next move for the first time in a while, she slowly crossed over to where he was seated. She stood next to him for a moment and then decided to sit on the curb a few inches away from him. "Andy," she whispered in a much calmer tone than anyone at the office was accustomed to hearing, "What is going on with you? This is not you." She took a moment to see if he would respond and when he did nothing but continue to stare at his hands she continued, "Andy, I do not this to be the end of your career. You are a good cop." Pausing for a moment, "Or at least you are when you do not let your drinking interfere with your judgment, what were you thinking tonight?" Andy remained silent and unmoving. Sharon looked over to him, and sighed as she stood up to collect her things and prepare to take him back to the station to sober up. She mentally groaned at the paperwork ahead for her, but he was obviously not willing to help himself, so what could she do but continue on with her job and hope for the best.

Before she reached her car door she heard him grunt as he prepared to stand. She looked back to see him steadying himself and then gathering himself to follow. Just as she was about to tell him to get into the backseat she heard him let out a choked sigh as he simply said, "They left."