A/N So. . . I've had this mostly complete for quite a while. I didn't post because canon happened and while I do love a good AU, I can't necessarily write one. Oh, well, mediocre AU it is!

I'm not trying to make money on this, so no one sue me, please. The OC is mine.

Proceed at your own peril. I hate unfinished fics languishing in my favorite pairings but I can't promise you this isn't going to continue to be one such fic. I think I have some more still rattling around up there, but it may take another year to get it out.

This would be set somewhere around late April 2014. None of last season has happened and there were no frequent dinners shared by Sharon and Andy after the first Nutcracker.

Paperwork had failed her. There just wasn't enough. Sharon had already cleared her inbox. Emails had been answered, phone calls returned. The the last necessary report for Chief Taylor had been filed at least ten minutes ago.

She'd been in earlier than usual, having not slept particularly well the night before but feeling a restless energy that needed to be focused on something. Something other than half-remembered dreams of stormy seascapes and slow dancing with an unseen partner that had invaded what little sleep she had been able to get.

The paperwork should have kept her busy until mid-afternoon but she'd gone at it with a laser-like intensity she hadn't expended on the stuff since her days back in FID. She glanced at her wristwatch, 11:08. She almost hoped for a case. Almost.

It was Friday. She knew that Mike had plans for a weekend getaway with his wife and Amy's family was in town. Provenza had even invited Rusty to go with him to the Dodgers game tomorrow. A case now would, most likely, ruin everyone's weekend. "Particularly the victim's." she mumbled to herself.

Sharon opened her desk drawer to see if the contents needed to be straightened when her stomach growled rather spectacularly. Perhaps it was the memory of the same drawer once filled with candy and foil-wrapped pastries that had triggered the response. She realized then that she was hungry. She'd had half a bagel and some coffee much earlier this morning. Rusty had offered her some leftover pizza, but She wasn't any more tempted by the cold mega-meat monstrosity (plus olives and jalapeños) this morning than she had been when it was still relatively warm the night before. A shudder ran through her at the memory of the greasy pizza, "I really need to talk to Rusty about what a vegetable actually is."

"I'm sure he'll enjoy that conversation immensely, Captain." Sharon jumped as a voice interrupted her private musings. Lieutenant Provenza stood in her office doorway looking at her with a slightly bemused expression on his face. "Buzz is going to go get lunch for everyone from the bistro down the street. Anything you want?"

"No! I mean, yes!" Sharon shook her head to gather her thoughts.

Provenza didn't say anything. He had no idea what had caused it, but a flustered Raydor was fun to watch.

Sharon took a breath and ordered her thoughts before continuing, "I mean, Lieutenant, that Buzz doesn't need to go get lunch. I'll do it." She shrugged nonchalantly, at his questioning look before continuing, "I'm not busy at the moment and I know Buzz and Mike are updating software. I can go get lunch."

Provenza's eyes widened in surprise for a moment. "You? You never do the lunch run." He cast a quick glance at the empty desk just outside her office. "Well, not alone, anyway." He stepped fully into her office, now eyeing her suspiciously. "You've been awfully quiet, holed up in here all morning. What's going on, Captain? "

Sharon nodded agreeing with him, "I have been in here all morning, Lieutenant." She purposely ignored his question, "You know, I really wouldn't mind some fresh air." She retrieved her purse from a low drawer, stood and began to make her way around her desk.

Provenza didn't budge, even as she quickly walked past him. "Well, if it's fresh air you want you're not going to get much out there." He waved a hand at the windows behind her desk indicating the smoggy haze that hung over the city.

Sharon stopped short just before reaching the door he'd come through. She turned and looked out at the brown-tinged sky. She fixed him with a no-nonsense gaze then raised an eyebrow and went for the big guns. "My treat, Lieutenant."

He continued to eye her suspiciously. Something was definitely off with her, but he wouldn't push her just yet.

"Well, if you insist, Captain." He stepped toward the door as well and with a dramatic wave of his arm indicated that she should go ahead of him. "I'll take a patty melt on rye and make sure they use red onions. Kettle chips for the side, but only if they're fresh. Oh, and some of that watermelon gazpacho they do."

Sharon sat at a small table with the remains of an iced tea while she waited for what had turned out to be a sizeable lunch order. She hadn't quite arrived there ahead of the lunch rush and was now thirty minutes into what she was told would be a twenty minute wait. Nevertheless, she was happy for the diversion that getting out of the office provided.

She had exchanged a few texts with Emily who happened to be on her own late lunch break and sent another to Ricky asking him to call when he got a chance. She'd received a text from Rusty reminding her that they were still out of like, everything and reassured him that she would go shopping before coming home.

She was going over her grocery list, head bowed over her phone, as she wondered if Rusty thought she was actually going to buy Cap'n Crunch simply because it somehow appeared on said list. She smiled to herself remembering how happy she'd been when Darth Raydor had replaced that particular moniker. A memory from her FID days of a scowling Provenza asking who's berries she'd come for this time elicited a quiet chuckle from her.

"Sharon?"

Still smiling at the memory, Sharon looked up to find another smiling face. This one belonging to Andy's daughter.

"Nicole!" Sharon got up from her seat and was quickly pulled into a hug by the younger woman. "It's good to see you. How are you? How are Dean and the boys?"

"I'm good. Dean and the boys are wonderful. We're all still adjusting to married life, but it's going better than I'd hoped." Nicole answered as she released Sharon.

As Sharon stepped back from Nicole she noticed another woman standing just behind her. Nicole followed Sharon's gaze over her shoulder and grinned at the statuesque brunette . "Oh, Sofia!" Stepping closer to the other woman, Nicole continued, "Sharon this is Sofia."

The other woman offered a pleasant smile and an outstretched hand, "Sofia Roselli, it's nice to meet you."

Sharon took in her appearance. She was young, probably in her mid-twenties. Sharon quickly cataloged Sofia's obvious physical attributes; long, thick hair, perfect skin that practically glowed, and enormous, dark eyes. She was wearing a maxi dress that revealed only her toned arms and shoulders and the perfectly painted toes of one sandal-clad foot peeking out from beneath the hem of the flowing dress.

This was the woman she'd seen with Andy last night. Sharon was caught between the niggling curiosity that demanded she find out what this beautiful young woman was doing with her lieutenant and a dread of knowing what she was pretty sure she really didn't want to know. She gripped the proffered hand, and smiled her best neutral smile, "Sharon Raydor. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Roselli."

Nicole began to finish the introduction, "Sofia is dad's-"

Sofia released Sharon's hands and waved dismissively at Nicole. "Oh, don't even try to explain it," she cut in laughing lightly. "Family. Let's just say we're family and leave it at that. I'll be a Flynn soon enough and that'll make everything way easier."

Sharon's eyes widened somewhat and her smile slipped to a pained smirk at hearing that last bit of information. Yep, definitely didn't want to know. She mentally chided herself for venturing out of her office at all today.

Sofia interrupted Sharon's thoughts, "Wait! Are you Captain Raydor?" She didn't wait for an answer before going on, "Andy has told me so much about you!"

"Has he?" Sharon responded to Sofia's statement with a tight smile while her hands awkwardly sought the pockets that the blazer she'd chosen today didn't have.

"Oh, yeah. He's always talking about work." She turned to Nicole while rolling her eyes, "The man seriously needs a hobby. We'll have to work on that."

Sharon took the opportunity to look toward the bistro's take-out counter. She was hoping that she could make her escape before gaining knowledge of just what kind of hobbies Sofia had in store for her lieutenant. "I think I'll go check-"

She was interrupted by the tall woman. Sofia's impossibly large eyes somehow grew larger as she asked, "Did you really shoot a guy in the face with a beanbag gun?

Sharon was caught off guard. Her hands flailed briefly as she tried to downplay the incident, "Oh, well that was a bit of a fluke. It was a lucky shot... recoil."

"Luck had nothing to do with it. She nailed that dirtbag right between the eyes."

All three women's heads turned abruptly toward the grinning newcomer approaching from behind Sharon. "Captain." Andy nodded in greeting before moving past Sharon to embrace his daughter. "Hey, Sweetheart!" He leaned in and kissed Nicole's cheek. "I'm so glad you could make it."

Nicole smiled warmly at him, "Any time, Dad."

Sharon was glad to see the easy affection between Andy and his daughter. Andy released Nicole and stood between the two younger women with a hand on each one's back. "I see you've met Sofia, Captain."

Sharon nodded. "I have." As Sharon faced the three of them she was feeling more and more anxious to remove herself from the situation.

Andy turned slightly to Sofia, "Sorry that took so long. I had to circle the block before a parking spot opened up out back."

Sofia quirked an eyebrow at him, "I thought you had some super-stealthy spot that no one knew about."

"Almost no one." He glanced at Sharon with a slight smile playing at one corner of his mouth. "Turns out someone parked there today."

"Hmm, Dad and his parking spots." Nicole shook her head at Andy, "You know, it wouldn't hurt to walk a bit more." She smiled then turned to Sharon, "Our table's almost ready. Would you like to join us, Sharon?"

Sharon made a conscious effort to keep her tone even and give no sign of the distress that offer caused her. "No, I can't. I'm just waiting on the lunch order to take back to the office. It really should be ready," She glanced at the take-out counter once again, "any moment now."

Andy eyed her suspiciously. "You never make the lunch run."

"So I've been told."

He looked around the small restaurant. "Is someone else here with you?"

Sharon crossed her arms in front of her chest. "No, I came on my own. I don't need my hand held through the simple act of getting lunch for my squad."

Andy stood straighter and his hands fell from their current resting places to his sides. Sharon was ready for an outburst or, at least, a sarcastic remark, but he only looked at her with a strange mix of annoyance and concern on his face.

An awkward silence fell over them until a nearby server caught Nicole's attention, "Oh, hey, our table's ready." She pointed to a table across the small dining room.

"Oh, good, I'm starving." Sofia stepped toward Sharon, "It was nice to meet you, Captain."

"It was nice to meet you too, Ms. Roselli."

"Please, call me Sofia."She smiled for a moment, glanced at Andy then fixed Sharon with an earnest gaze. "Listen, thanks for letting me have Andy. I don't know what I'd do without him right now."

All Sharon could manage was a tight smile and a nod.

With that, and a quiet goodbye from Nicole, the younger women made their way past Sharon to their table.

As Sofia passed, Sharon saw it. The sizeable bump had been well hidden while she was standing relatively still. Once Sofia was in motion, the flowing maxi dress was not nearly as effective at concealing her swollen abdomen. Now Sharon couldn't not see it. That explains the hair and glowing skin.

Andy hadn't moved and she could feel him looking at her but had trouble taking her eyes off of Sofia until she and Nicole were seated.

"Listen, Captain," the pique in his voice was obvious, "I wasn't saying that you couldn't-"

"Raydor."

Sharon turned, once again, toward the take-out counter and nodded at the server holding her order ticket. "Ah, finally." She feigned nonchalance as she picked up her purse then turned back to Andy and indicated Nicole and Sofia with a nod in their direction. "Lieutenant, you should join them. I need to get back to the office. Have a nice lunch." The relief that ran through Sharon as she walked past him toward her escape was more than a little disconcerting. She quickly made her way to the waiting food.

"Sorry that took so long, ma'am. We've had a run on the gazpacho today, this is fresh, " the server patted the insulated cup with the offending substance, "I'm really sorry about the wait."

Sharon eyed the two boxes of food making sure everything was there. "That's alright." She assured the young man as she lifted one of the boxes. "I'm parked out back, I'll be right back for the second box. Thank you."

Sharon made her way out the restaurant's back entrance toward her car where she placed the box securely on the back seat. The sound of footsteps behind her had her instantly alert and reaching for her purse as she quickly turned.

"It's just me. Don't shoot." Andy stood a few feet away with the other box of food in his hands.

Sharon's surprise was quickly replaced by annoyance. The adrenaline now coursing through her made her words terse, "You didn't need to do that."

"I thought you could use the help since you're out being the lone ranger." He smiled, but it was a tight, closed-mouth smile and his tone had been tinged with sarcasm.

Sharon reached into the car and placed her purse on the console between the front seats then slowly turned to face him fully. Keeping her voice calm and her tone low, she addressed him, "You know, Lieutenant, I somehow managed to make it this far into adulthood, not to mention to the rank of Captain in the Los Angeles Police Department, without a sidekick." Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that she was being unnecessarily harsh with the man, but she continued nonetheless, "I do not need your help. I am perfectly capable of handling this on my own. "

Andy's own temper finally surfaced. "Yeah, well, somewhere along your climb to the rank, you forgot what it was like to have a partner! Trust me, Captain, I know you don't want your hand held and I have absolutely no interest in being you're sidekick. But maybe, every once in awhile, you should realize it might be nice to have someone else around," he pointedly raised the box in his hands, "to share the load."

This hadn't happened in years. He'd shown no sign of animosity toward her since her first day as the head of Major Crimes. Normally, she'd soothe him with a hand on his arm or his name spoken quietly when his temper flared. Now, she made no move. They stood facing each other. Both were ready to fight. He was coiled and tense, his expression drawn into a near-thunderous scowl. She had taken on a seemingly relaxed but certainly defensive posture with her arms once again crossed in front of her chest. Her face was set in a practiced expression of impassivity.

They stared at one another for what felt like long minutes. Finally, he let out a sigh and his ire seemed to leave with the expelled breath. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't clear my time off with you. Provenza said you were in a meeting." He looked briefly toward the restaurant then back at Sharon, "I really don't need all of today, I can come in later this afternoon."

"No, no." Sharon's own anger was pushed aside with a shake of her head. "It's a slow day. We're all just catching up on paperwork. You don't need to come in." She brought one hand to her hairline and briefly rubbed her temple before pushing some hair behind her ear. "And you didn't do anything wrong. Proper procedure was followed. I wasn't available."

Andy held out the box for her to take. "This one should probably go on the floor, it's got liquid and I don't trust the looks of that lid."

She noticed the flimsy lid then nodded as she took the box and placed it on the floor of the car. When she turned back to him, the warm look on his face made her insides clench with that familiar feeling she'd been trying to escape all day.

"How far along is she?" The words were out before she realized it.

Andy raised his eyebrows at the sudden change of topic. "Oh, um, about seventeen weeks." He looked down, rubbing the back of his neck as he continued. "She, uh, she had some health issues when she was younger. The doctors weren't sure she'd ever be able to have kids, so for her to get pregnant without, you know, trying is kinda shocking." He took a deep breath and puffed out his cheeks as he exhaled. "She had an appointment the day before yesterday and the doctor was concerned about something he didn't really elaborate on, said it could be nothing and he didn't want to stress Sofia. He ordered an advanced ultrasound but she couldn't get one until this afternoon so I've been doing my best yesterday and today to try and keep her mind off the what-if's. Nicole wanted to be there for her too, so she's coming along."

"Are Nicole and Sofia close?"

"Oh, yeah! Have been since they were little and playing dress-up together. I'm glad Nicole's not upset by the whole thing, she and Dean have been trying for a while now. Sofia needs her support."

"Ah, well, I remember how frightening pregnancy, especially the first one, can be." I'm glad you're there for her."

Andy smiled softly, "Well, it's been a long time since I've had someone to take care of. It's a little overwhelming but I'll muddle through."

"I'm sure you'll do better than you think." Sharon nodded toward the restaurant, "You'd better get back in there."

"Yeah."

Andy took a step back as Sharon closed the rear door then moved to open the driver's door. She looked up and saw that he hadn't gone any further.

His voice was quiet and a little rough when he spoke. "For the record, Captain... Sharon, there's not much that I don't think you're capable of. But," he broke into a wide grin, "you know, Buzz, he's got the whole getting lunch thing pretty much down to a science. The rest of us," he shrugged "have to go in pairs."

Her own bark of laughter caught Sharon off guard. She pursed her lips briefly. "Yes, I knew I was in trouble when I saw the second box." She gave him a pointed look, "I could have managed alone though."

He smiled his crooked smile and nodded. "I know you could have," his smile softened a bit, "but you don't always have to."

With that, he turned and made his way back inside the restaurant.

Sharon watched him for a moment then sank into the driver's seat of her car. She briefly rested her head against the steering wheel and took a deep breath.

Andy was going to be a father, again.

She sat up and shook her head as she turned the key in the ignition. She couldn't imagine starting over with a baby at this stage in life. Rusty was an amazing unexpected gift, but a baby? Sharon shuddered at the thought of 2 a.m. feedings and diapers and the never ending piles of laundry created by a baby.

Apparently, her Lieutenant was getting married again too. The pang of emotion that the thought evoked had her clutching the steering wheel tightly. She couldn't think of him like that. He wasn't her lieutenant. He was Lieutenant Flynn. That was all.

Sharon made the quick drive back to the parking structure for the PAB and parked without much conscious thought. As she opened the back door of her car the thought of carrying the boxes of food down the street and back up to Major Crimes was suddenly a rather daunting one. Movement in her peripheral vision had her turning, again reaching for her purse until she saw Detective Sanchez jogging toward her.

"Need a hand, ma'am?"

Sharon's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh. Yes, I'd appreciate the help." She smiled a bit sheepishly, "It is a little more than I expected."

"That's what usually happens when the Lieutenant isn't paying, ma'am." Julio smirked knowingly then reached past Sharon to retrieve the boxes.

"I guess I hadn't given that proper consideration." She looked around suddenly a little confused, searching for Julio's car. "Did you come down to get something from your car, Julio?"

"Uh, no, ma'am. Lieutenant Flynn called. He said he ran into you and that while you were perfectly capable of handling it on your own, maybe you might like a hand with the boxes."

"Did he?"

"Yes, ma'am. Those were his exact words."

"Oh, well thank you, Julio. I really do appreciate the help."

"No problem, ma'am." with that, he set off back toward the Major Crimes offices.

Sharon hesitated a moment before reaching for her phone. She composed and sent a quick text message. Not necessary, but appreciated. Thank you.

The reply came as she was nearing the main entrance to the PAB. What are friends for? You're welcome.

She stopped and stared at the text message. What indeed?

Sharon had thought she and Andy were friends; maybe even heading toward close friends. Yet, she had no idea that he was even dating, let alone engaged and expecting a baby. What did that say about her as a friend? She resolved then and there to make more of an effort to be a true friend to Andy. If he was happy, she'd be happy for him.

That familiar feeling crept up again. She shook her head dismissing it before it could take hold. She had nothing to regret.