Never Let Me Go

Chapter 2

When Andy entered the ladies' room, he found her at the sink, one hand pressed against her heart, face pale and drawn. At first he feared she might have a heart attack, but then he realized that it was most likely a panic attack. She hadn't even noticed him entering the room, nor had she reacted when he approached her. As he turned her towards him and pulled her into a tight embrace, it took her a moment to recognize him before she let him hold her. She was barely breathing, only drawing flat, hurried breaths that did little to supply her body with the necessary oxygen. Andy felt her getting heavier in his arms as she lost her grip on consciousness. Pushing her away from him far enough to give him a good look at her face, Andy shook her slightly, his voice urgent, commanding.

"Sharon, breathe! Do you hear me? You need to breathe!"

She blinked at him, barely comprehending his words. He repeated them, shook her again, pleaded with her to stay with him, until she finally drew a deeper breath, then another. Andy pulled her against him again, one hand stroking her back in a wide, gentle circle, while the other rested at the back of her neck, massaging the base of her scull through her thick mane. His cheek rested against the side of her head, lips moving against her ear in a quiet, soothing mantra.

"Just breathe. I've got you."

At some point, Sharon's arms rose to curl around his middle, desperately clinging to him, her entire body tense and trembling. He didn't know how long they stood like this until she had finally calmed down somewhat, the imminent threat of passing out gone for the moment. Putting his hands on her upper arms, he held her away from him once more, studying her face to see how she was doing. Sharon refused to meet his eyes, so he cupped her cheek and tilted her chin up to make her look at him before he spoke.

"Better?"

At her nod, he continued, his thumb brushing over the slightly smudged mascara underneath her eye, "Why don't you freshen up a little while I get our things and then I'll drive you home?"

Sharon closed her eyes, took a shuddering breath and nodded once again, reluctantly releasing him from her grip. Brushing his thumb over her cheek one last time he let go of her.

"I'll be back in a few minutes."

With that he turned around and walked out, despite his instinct to keep her close.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Everyone stared at the corner around which their Captain had just disappeared in stunned silence for a moment, until Lieutenant Provenza gave Andy a nod and waved his hand, indicating he should follow Sharon. When he hurried after her, the older Lieutenant bent down to retrieve the fallen documents, more than just a little curious what it was that they had just witnessed. Jumping into action, Amy rushed to help him, handing him the sheets, giving them only a passing glance. Sitting back in his chair, he put the pages on his desk and sorted through them. As he found the message the captain had obviously read earlier, he skimmed over it. One name caught his attention and he cursed loudly.

The others came to stand around him, trying to figure out what had him so enraged. To them, it would probably just look like an ordinary request to meet with a DDA for a chat about an old case that would be put on trial again. They wouldn't know about the Harris case and what it would mean for Raydor if he got another chance at a trial.

Now that he thought about it, Provenza remembered some rumours about DDA Stevens being investigated for some nonsense or another. If they had managed to make it stick, every conviction he had ever gotten could now be overturned if some idiot lawyer got wind of it. Apparently, Harris had found himself one of those.

He closed his eyes for a moment, ignoring the questioning looks of his colleagues as his mind went back to those frantic days almost 20 years ago. He hadn't worked the case himself, but he had been close enough to those who did to remember. It wasn't every day that Vice and Robbery-Homicide joined forces to catch a serial killer with a taste for slightly older, high-class hookers. When the investigation had run into one dead-end after another, the homicide detectives who had handled the case asked Vice for help to get someone on the streets to lure their killer out of hiding. It had worked like a charm until some moron had not been on his post and they had lost their operative, only finding her three days later and in terrible shape. The only good news had been that she was still alive and they had managed to catch the perp.

Harris had taken the deal he had been offered by Stevens, which had been too good for a guy like him, but it had saved Raydor the painful time on the witness stand – until now, it seemed. Technically taking the deal would mean no option for appeal later on for Harris. But if they really had gotten Stevens on witness tampering or whatever he may have done, all his deals would mean nothing anymore. Slapping his hand down onto his desk hard, Louie coursed once more before he faced the people around him.

"Alright, things are going to get ugly around here. There's probably not much we can do right now, but whatever you see or hear over the next few weeks will stay inside these walls. You'll help most if you do your jobs and don't ask too many questions. We may have to do some maneuvering and deflecting, but leave that to Flynn and me. Just be ready to go along with whatever we throw at you."

His last words were mostly addressed to Sykes, who had demonstrated an annoying propensity for missing the most obvious hints over the three years she had worked with them. Admittedly, she had gotten better at catching on to these things, but he didn't feel like risking anything.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on?" Mike sounded exasperated at the lack of facts, but Provenza just shook his head.

"All you need to know is that an old case just came back to haunt us. Looks like the Captain and Flynn will have to testify and it's not gonna be pretty. Just be ready for whatever may happen."

They all nodded solemnly, aware that any more questions would be neither appreciated nor answered. Provenza was usually more than willing to share any kind of gossip. If he was tight-lipped about something, it would have to be really bad. They probably didn't want to know too much about it.

Everyone wandered back to their tasks, deep in thought, and a heavy silence filled the room, only broken by the occasional shuffling of paper, the clacking of keyboards or the scratching of a pen as reports were filled out and signed.

When Lieutenant Flynn returned a while later, walking straight towards the Captain's office, Provenza got up to follow him, the papers on the Harris case in hand. He closed the door behind them and gave Andy a long, searching look before he spoke.

"How's she holding up?"

Andy sighed and closed his eyes briefly, still struggling with the feeling of helplessness at holding Sharon while she trembled and gasped for breath and tried so hard not to fall apart.

"She's hanging in there for now." Nodding at the papers in Provenza's hand, Andy asked, "Care to tell me what this is? Sharon wasn't really in a mood to talk about it."

Louie didn't bother to hide his annoyance at the entire situation.

"It's the Harris case. Apparently, they got DDA Stevens on witness tampering in some other case and Harris' lawyer got the deal tossed out because of that. He's going on trial and they need her to testify."

The words hit Andy like a fist in the stomach, leaving him breathless and reeling. He closed his eyes and turned away from his friend, facing the wall. As the full meaning of this new trial hit him, he slammed his flat hand against the wall, his shout not enough to vent his frustration.

"Dammit!"

He whirled around again, a thunderous expression on his face, struggling to keep his voice low enough not to be heard outside.

"When will all this crap finally stop, Louie? Hasn't she been through enough?"

Rubbing his hands over his face, Andy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He needed to calm down. Sharon didn't need his anger and frustration right now. She needed him to be strong for her and he would be, no matter what it took. He looked up at the uncharacteristically soft touch on his arm. The face of his partner and friend mirrored his own frustration and concern.

"I know. Now listen to me. She's a tough old cookie and she won't be alone. She will get through this and once she's said her piece in court, they'll lock this creep away forever. If there's such a thing as karma, they'll even give him the needle. I'll make sure everything runs smoothly around here. You know, run interference with Taylor and keep the team out of trouble. You look after the Captain. She's going to need you more than we will."

Andy nodded, somewhat surprised by the easy acceptance of his closeness to Sharon. On second thought, he really shouldn't be, as Provenza knew most of the details of the Harris case and despite his grumpy attitude, he cared for his Captain.

"Yeah, okay. I'll take her home. Anything in that file I need to know about right now?"

Provenza slid the papers back into the envelope and handed it over to Andy. He should have it in case the Captain wanted to look at it again, although he doubted that.

"DA wants to meet her in Taylor's office tomorrow at 4pm. Let me know if you think she isn't up to it and I'll see if I can get them to reschedule."

Picking up Sharon's purse and coat, Andy walked towards the door, following Provenza out of the office.

"Thanks, Louie. I really appreciate your help."

His only response was a noncommittal grunt as the old Lieutenant made is way over to his desk. Collecting his own things, Andy left to get Sharon and drive her home, his heart heavy but his resolve to be by her side strong.