Her throat was sore and her head was pounding. She tried to open her eyes, but the light was too bright. She squinted, trying to peer out and gather her bearings. As she tried to move she felt sharp stabbing pain in her abdomen that made her cry out, but no noise came out. Her throat was raw and burned even more. She felt a hand touch her arm, trying to calm her. She couldn't place the voice, it sounded like a man's voice but everything was muffled and distorted. The more she tried to focus on the voice the louder the ringing in her ears became. Whoever it was pushed the hair back behind her ear and caressed her forehead, she figured it was someone familiar, someone that cared about her, but she couldn't tell who. Moments later her body became heavy and sleep tugged her away.
She wasn't sure whether it was hours or even days since she last opened her eyes. To be honest she wasn't sure when the last time she could actually see and talk and even hear. Her throat was still sore, but less so now. If she could just have some ice cubes she knew it would go away. The throbbing in her head had subsided to a dull ache, a headache that she could tolerate. She took a moment to listen, there was still a buzz in the room, but the fire alarm ringing in her ears had also lessened. All in all she figured whatever had happened, days or even weeks, she shuddered at the thought of being out that long, was improving. Slowly she tried opening her eyes once more. The lights were dim, just a reading light from across the room where a figure sat in a chair. A small smile came to her face as she thought about Andy standing vigil over her all this time, no amount of coax or negotiating would have had him anywhere else. He was stubborn, something she had grown to appreciate about him even if it did infuriate her at times. She tried to push herself up, but was instantly reminded of the pain at her side. Clearly that had not healed as much as her other injuries. This time when she yelped sound did come out, softly like an infant mewl, but it was enough to draw the attention of her guard.
He got out of his chair and immediately stepped beside her, "Mom," he said as he looked into her eyes while she tried to focus on his face.
"Ricky?" she whispered partly from surprise and partly from the raw throat.
"We've been a bit worried about you," he spoke softly as he brushed her hair to the side just as he had done before.
"Where-" she tried to choke out.
"Hang on," Ricky grabbed some ice chips and spoon fed a few to his mother. The relief she felt was instantaneous.
"Thank you," she whispered. Her voice was still hoarse and it would be for awhile, but it hurt less than when she first woke up.
"Are you in pain? Do you want me to call the nurse back in?" He asked, moving his hand from her forehead down to her arm, trying to get a read on how she was doing.
She shook her head, she didn't want to drown in the fog of narcotics again. She was in pain, but it wasn't anything that she couldn't handle, at least for the time being. "What happened?" She asked, still trying to get her bearings.
"Stroh," Ricky said as if that one word, that one name was the answer to all her questions. In a way she supposed it was he was at the beginning of it all. She gave him a nod to continue. He cleared his throat, "Well, it was just like you thought it would be. Stroh lured Rusty back up to Griffith Park, back where it all began I guess. The team followed, as you planned." Ricky stopped, unsure of whether to go on, hoping that his mom would remember before he had to say any more aloud.
She saw bits of pieces of her memory coming back, flashing before her as he spoke. She remembered looking down the valley, flashing lights from below. Nothing else came into view though, so she gave him a small pat on the hand to continue.
He rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, Rusty is fine. They weren't sure whose shot actually killed him, but well you've been out for awhile and ballistics came back and it was one of his rounds." He gave her a feeble smile, "You taught him well." Not that he or anyone else was surprised. Rusty was a good student and Sharon a good teacher, the two were more alike than they or anyone else cared to admit.
"It's over," she whispered. Finally, Stroh was dead, gone from their lives for good. Rusty was safe and it was all over.
Tears began to well-up in Ricky's eyes. He wasn't sure if he was the right person to give her the news or not. He was hoping Provenza would be here when she woke up, he would know how to handle this situation. Sharon opened her eyes after taking a moment to process the elation and relief she felt from knowing that the sociopath haunting their lives was finally gone. When she did she couldn't miss Ricky's face, even through her slightly blurred vision, she could tell something was wrong. Everything wasn't fine.
"What?" She asked, her voice quivering. Suddenly she looked around the room, wincing from the pain as she pulled at her stitches. It was late, the sky was quite dark out, but not so late that Andy shouldn't be there. "Ricky, what aren't you telling me?" Her voice was growing more hoarse, "Where's Andy?" She felt the raw emotion build up inside, tears threatening to push themselves to the corners of her eyes.
Ricky couldn't say anything, he shook his head hoping the gesture would convey the words that he couldn't force from his lips. Sharon's eyes grew wide as she watched her son fall apart before her. He began to sob and dropped his head to her hands, "I'm sorry," he choked out unsure of what else to say.
"No!" She cried out, but it sounded more like a squeak than actual words. Her eyes darted back and forth as she tried to recover the memories, tried to sort out the events of whenever the hell they happened. With a flash she felt him push her to the ground. Her side was burning hot. She felt warmth all around her. She touched her coat and saw blood. Her chest was heavy. Andy was on top of her, body limp. She reached her hand to touch him, but his eyes were glassy. It was the last thing she could remember before waking up in the hospital however many days earlier.
She began to sob silently. With her voice gone, her wails were muted. She tried to curl up in the bed, to hold herself, but the searing hot pain returned. Her jerking and thrashing motions caused Ricky to look up. He pushed the call button beside her bed, beckoning the nurse. She would need the pain medicine now to sleep, not so much from the physical pain but from the emotional darkness that was spreading over her.
Minutes after he pressed the button the nurse pushed a dose of morphine back into the IV. The result was instant, her eyes grew heavy and her thrashing calmed. Ricky held her hand until he was sure she was asleep. He wiped his face and returned to his chair, intent on watching over her. He pulled out his phone and typed out a simple message to his siblings, "She knows." There wasn't anything else to say tonight. They would have to break more bad news in the days to come. Nicole and Daniel waited as long as they could to bury their father, hoping Sharon would wake up, but days turned into weeks, and it was time to move on. Everyone needed to grieve, it was time, but it was too late for her. Ricky hoped his sister would be able to return to the hospital to handle that conversation, he just couldn't not after everything else. The love of her life was gone, her second chance at happiness. Not only had he died saving her, sacrificing himself, but he'd flown away before she had a chance to say goodbye. He shook his head as he set his phone down and watched the subtle rise and falls of her chest. Theirs was not an easy love, but it was nonetheless a great love one that would live on in time and memoriam - at least in the hearts and minds of those that knew their story.
AN: Apologies all. I just needed to write this, it needed to be done. I read the TV Wise article from James Duff and while I'm even more convinced that Sharon is going to die, I feel like Andy would be the type of hero to save her and the KID and give up himself. I hope neither scenario happens, but well we do know Duff...