Sharon was still laying in the tub while watching her daughter standing in front of her. "You look skinny… too much baby," she pointed Emily the towel hanging behind her "Is Peter feeding you enough?" Sharon knew her daughter wasn't a great cook and thankfully her soon-to-be husband Peter found it rather interesting and a good hobby when he wasn't working. The few times Sharon had visited them in New York, he always offered to cook for her, and it was very hard to leave and go back to precooked food and pizzas.

"First of all he doesn't feed me, I'm not a baby anymore, Mom… and second I need to look good in my dress, in a week after the wedding, I can eat like a pig, in the limits needed for me to keep dancing on that stage without making a hole in the floor!" Emily handed her mother the towel helping her to get out the tub.

As soon as Sharon had securely covered her naked body, she launched her arms around her daughter's shoulders, without even stopping the drops falling from her hair. "Umm you smell like chocolate and vanilla. Can I eat you, mama?"

"I'd rather you not, but we can buy something. What about Chinese food and a movie?" she placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead

"Gone With The Wind?" Emily didn't even wait for an answer and loosening from her mother's grip she ran to the living room to grab the DVD. It had always been their movie. They knew every line by heart. It was that movie for any occasion, for consoling a broken heart or cheering good news, they'd always sit there eating and watching and repeating lines together. It had started one night of 20 years ago after a loud and brutal fight with Jack, that had ended with him leaving and Sharon sitting on the sofa with a pillow in her arms, trying to suffocate the tears of pain. The kids were locked in the room and didn't try to go out during the fight, eventually Ricky had fallen asleep when Emily put her headphones to his ears and told him to listen to music and it was going to be over soon. She lived that scene many times in her life, and she was three years older than Ricky, so three more years of fights. They never had stopped and with years passing they became always more brutal. Few times she had heard a distinct sound of a slap and found her mother trying to cover her face saying it was all right and sending her to bed. Many of the times she heard them screaming she had wanted to run into the room and scream too, to stop the fighting and screaming, that it was scaring them, but Sharon always told her to never leave the room when she heard them fighting. That night in October, after she heard the slam of a door all that followed was silence and the sound of the heavy rain outside. Ricky had fallen asleep already and Emily slowly opened the door to check if it was over. Once again, she had found Sharon on the sofa with her knees to her breasts and her head laying on them, sobbing and shaking. "Mom?" She had called to her but didn't get an answer, so going to the kitchen she put two napkins, two spoons and a can of chocolate ice-cream on a tray and went over to her mother. She placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the sofa and went to the TV to place a dvd in the player. Sharon had watched the whole scene in silence, when her daughter went back sitting next to her, she gave her a spoon and a napkin and after setting the ice-cream dish in her hands she had snuggled on her Mom's side putting her head on her shoulder. Neither Emily or Sharon said a word that night, just watched the movie and ate their ice-cream, from time to time Sharon had placed a kiss on her temple and Emily had smiled each time.

Hours later, after Emily had closed her eyes and covered her ears, as she always did when the little girl dies jumping with her horse. and she had gone mad at Scarlett for going behind Ashley instead of enjoying Rhett who was a lot more charming and funny to her saying, Sharon looked at the watch realizing how past her bedtime it was and urged Emily to go to bed. "Is Andy coming over tonight?" Emily asked innocently wondering where he had been the whole time since she arrived.

Sharon swallowed those words and they tasted so bitter in her throat. She cleared her voice "No, he's not coming," and closed it fast hoping Emily wouldn't ask for more information about this matter.

"Okay, so there's no problem if I sleep with Mommy?" she seemed quiet and not suspicious of anything and her request put a sweet smile on Sharon's face. There had been times that Emily had given her a very hard time, especially in her teenager years, but she could also be so sweet and recalling of that little girl who looked for her attention every time she was dancing.

Emily knew since the age of 6 she wanted to be a ballerina, she literally said to her Mom "When I grow up I want to dance like a princess, Mommy" and so Sharon had looked for the best ballet school to register her as soon as possible and get her started. She was very young, and Sharon had bet she would have given up pretty soon. After that little gap of a couple of months in which she wanted to kill her brother to have Mommy all for herself, she got so passionate about being a big sister to the baby that she declared she wanted to be a pediatrician when she grew up. The year after, when one of her friends was given a shiny beautiful puppy for her 4th birthday, she decided she wanted to be a vet. At 5 she desired to put the bad guys behind bars like Mom and then at 6 she was a ballerina. Her mind was very creative and had a variety of colored ideas on her future, none of them lasted long enough to be taken in consideration. None but dancing. When she started, her teacher had told Sharon from the beginning she had a true talent and passion and that, if well followed and trained, she was going to be a leading star in the business. Pretty soon she was moved from the beginners group to the medium level and by the time she was 12 she was already in the advanced level, being the youngest of that group. Emily surely had the passion and showed charisma and grace in her moves; any time she wasn't at her ballet class she was still dancing, while setting up the table, or washing the dishes she used to do her exercises, many times Sharon had found her doing breathing exercise while making her homework's and she would never sit down on the sofa with them as they watched a movie, but on the floor with her toe and stretching her legs. That one time Sharon had bought tickets for them for a ballet show, she knew that it was going to be Emily's life dream job and that she would have done anything to pursue that dream. Contrary to Ricky who had yawned the whole time of the show and asked, "When can we go home Mommy?", Emily had a light in her eyes. She didn't say a single word for the whole length of it and when it was over she was so hyper about everything that she wouldn't stop talking of it instead, making it very hard then for Ricky to fall asleep with all her little screaming here and there in two or three words of a sentence.

When it was time to turn off the lights, Sharon gave Emily a kiss wishing her goodnight and Emily hugged her from behind. After few minutes of silence, Emily broke it "Mom?" Sharon mumbled, "Tomorrow you're going to explain me what happened with Andy," it was clear that Emily knew, she couldn't have hidden it for too long, and it was not going to be easy to explain, but she could not avoid it anymore.

Turning on the other side, Sharon took Emily in her arms "Goodnight, baby!" Emily smiled falling asleep in her Mom's hug like she was 3 again.

O-O-O-O-O

When Sharon woke up, Emily was laying next to her in the most awkward of positions that made her put hands to her mouth not to let a laugh loud get out. It was 4 am and for the night they had spent it was probably too early to wake her up. She silently walked out the room closing the door behind her and decided to make a good breakfast for her baby. Before walking to the kitchen she stopped by Rusty's bedroom to check if he had come back home last night and found him laying on his stomach with the pillow covering his head and an arm pending from the side of the bed. Her children slept in the most unusual ways. She moved his arm up the bed and fixed the blankets curled around his sides hoping not to wake him up.

It wasn't a habit for Sharon to cook a big breakfast, normally she would have taken just a coffee while Rusty had his cereal and milk and then run out to work, but this time it was something special for her little girl being there. Walking on tiptoe to the kitchen she reached the fridge and opened the doors: eggs, milk and butter was all she needed, but her sight went again on that plate sitting there alone on a shelf. She stopped reading that note again and a little tear wet her cheek. Sharon inhaled the smell from it, pretending it smelled like him and seeing him preparing it with love and care for her. It was a matter of seconds, she decided she couldn't let it hit on her again, she had to be stronger and with the plate solidly firm in her hand she threw the contents into the garbage. It was her week with Emily, probably the last one they would spend alone because now she was going to a new life, new things, a husband and maybe children in the future. Everything was going to change for her and in a little part for Sharon too. She had to admit that her baby wasn't little anymore and it was time for her to step aside and let her fly even higher that she had done already. While sobbing a little to these thoughts and mixing them with happy memories of her young years, she hurried to make this breakfast in time to have a shower and go to work.

O-O-O-O-O

When Emily woke up it was almost 7.30 am. She slowly moved her hand on her side but she found only an empty spot. She checked the watch and couldn't believe how early it was and how her mother managed to be up already. She went to the kitchen yawning and calling her without any response. When she entered the room her eyes opened wide to the table set in front of her: pancakes and three different bowls with syrups and two different types of chocolate creams. Behind the plate a paper note

Good morning my beautiful princess. Mommy had to leave to get the bad guys behind bars, but couldn't without first serving a decent breakfast. A little treat for my little baby. Come by during my lunch break and we'll have something together. Eat everything, it won't make damages for this time. Mom loves you so much, to the moon and back. Bon appétit!

No one served meals better than Sharon did and Emily knew it. When they were kids, Sharon really cared for having breakfast every morning with them, sitting at the table and reminding them the good manners and all they had to do for having a satisfying and worthwhile start of the day. In the beginning it had seemed funny and interesting, but with years passing Sharon was always more tired, having to take care of everything. Ever since Jack had left them she was becoming more and more tired, and from her part Emily was growing into a beautiful independent woman who didn't want to listen to her mother's advice anymore and preferred to do on her own thought, even if resulted in being wrong. At the first possibility of a job elsewhere, she didn't think twice to go away and start her new life thinking it was all she desired, but every year she was away from her mother, she had realized how much she missed even those things she hated the most like her suggestions and discussions on good manners.

Sitting at the table, Emily wondered where to start, syrup or chocolate? And which chocolate? Or maybe both? And what about Rusty? Did she have to wait for him too? At the same time she couldn't avoid thinking that her mother had managed again to vanish before they could talk about what happened with Andy, and it was very smart of her, but she couldn't escaped it at lunch, she needed to know, if not from her mother then she would have to go to Andy to discover.

"Hello" a soft and still sleepy voice came from behind her. She turned to find Rusty still rubbing his eyes to wake up.

"Hey little brother, want to have a bite?" she invited him to sit and eat with her. As much as everything seemed appealing and tasty, Rusty had his routine with milk and cereals in the morning and he did really enjoy that stability in his days, but he didn't mind to spend some time with his sister. He had spent more time with Ricky in the past years since the adoption, and with the impending wedding and his role in all the ceremony, he thought it was about time to know her better and personally, not only from Sharon's words or Ricky's jokes.

He sat in front of her with his cup and his things and started to pour cereal in it "So, are you nervous for your wedding?" he asked.

"Oh no that's gonna be just fine, tell me. What's going on between Mom and Andy?" she really didn't care for more than information and she was sure Rusty knew something.

"Did Sharon tell you something is wrong?" Rusty replied vaguely and never looked her in the eyes.

"No! But I'm smart enough to notice that he hasn't been here the whole evening or night, not a call, she never mentioned him and also in the wardrobe there's a whole side that is completely empty and Mom's clothes are all on the other one. So what's happening? They broke up?" Last night, in the small time Sharon took to get dressed, between ordering the dinner and putting the DVD in the player, Emily found the time to investigate and started with the wardrobe. Just a few days before Sharon was talking to her about Andy so enthusiastically that she couldn't believe they broke up.

"They had a fight and…" Rusty took a deep breath "Andy went away screaming." His tone was low and a little sad, like realizing that he may have been right about that.

On the contrary, Emily was angry. Her temper was for sure a thing she inherited from her father, really nothing could get on her nerves. Right now this was it. Her instincts screamed to get dressed and run to Andy Flynn's house to scream a thing or two to his face, but her mind reacted quickly suggesting that if her mother found out then she would have been in huge trouble and, at a week before her wedding, it may not have been the right call to make.

O-O-O-O-O

As programmed with her mother, Emily dedicated the morning to some dancing exercise and then went visiting Peter's mother to make a few adjustments to the wedding, all in time to reach Sharon for her lunch break. She was determined to discuss this Andy thing with her and understand what happened and how things were.

Arriving to the precinct she stopped in the big hall lost. The last time she had been at work with her mother she was 15 and it was all different and also not pleasant at all. That morning Sharon had received a call from the headmaster of Emily's school to be informed that her daughter had been found in the bathroom with a cigarette in her hand. She had sworn she wasn't smoking but only keeping it for a girl from last year but they hadn't believed her. Her mother was infuriated with her for both the embarrassment and the idiocy of her action. During the whole car ride she hadn't said a word or even looked at her. By the time they had arrived to her office she had chained her to a chair with her look and only said "If you move from here, your next house will be a college in Switzerland where the word fun is not even pronounced in any of their speaking languages." Normally Emily knew she would never have done such a thing like sending her so far from her, but she hadn't dared to find out if her mother was bluffing or saying the truth. She had spent the whole rest of Sharon's shift sitting on that chair, in silence, with her mother in front of her and side looking at her if she dared to even breath louder than expected.

For what Emily could remember of that experience, being at work with her after that accident, was actually like a Luna Park. The return home had been even worse.

"Hello, where can I find the Major Crimes division? I'm looking for Captain Sharon Raydor, I'm her daught…" the lady behind the glass separator wasn't even looking at her.

"Sign here, here's your visitor card, elevators are there, 9th floor…" she was speaking so fast that Emily kept repeating her words all the way through the elevator and when entering it she panicked not remembering the number and had to repeat all over again before hitting 9.

"Hello, I'm Lieutenant Provenza how can I…" the man opened his eyes wide "You cannot be little Emily Raydor, are you?" he surprisingly hugged her and smiled.

"She's not little anymore, Lieutenant," Sharon came out of her office and walking to her daughter she smiled before to place a kiss on her temple "My little baby has grown up into a beautiful woman. Mike, you remember my daughter?" Every time Sharon introduced her children to other people you could see the light of pride sparkling in her eyes. She would show them like prizes she won.

"So what brings you down here?" Provenza was still smiling and shaking her hand.

"I was hoping to steal my Mom away for some lunch and… other stuff, if you're not too busy working?!" Emily had planned to bring her mother to her last fitting for her wedding dress, but Sharon didn't know about it yet. It had been surprisingly hard for her to set this wedding without her help because her future mother-in-law had been nice willing to help, but many times Emily had to calm her own tempers and get into compromises, which wasn't her specialty, it was her mother's and she would have loved to have her there doing it. She had to compromise on the cake, on the food, on the music, on pretty much everything but she was firm on the wedding dress. That was her call to do and no one else.

"Well it's been quiet here actually, but I've some paper work to do and it'll take a few hours still if we can…" Sharon was interrupted immediately.

"Captain, I'm not going to offer this another time so you better take the deal now, I'll finish the paper for you," it was really incredible to believe that Provenza had just offered to do extra paper work, when normally he would give his own to Flynn, instead. May it be Emily present there or an incoming sickness hitting his head, Sharon didn't wait him repeating a second time and grabbed her stuff. As much as she loved her job, and writing papers reminded her of the old times in the IA where everything seemed less complicated than now, she desired some time with her daughter more than ever.

O-O-O-O-O

Sitting at the table, after a lunch with laughs and fun facts on Sharon's working place and Emily's preparing for the wedding, they were enjoying a coffee "Okay, Mom. It was a beautiful time together and everything, but now we need a serious talk. I noticed Andy wasn't at work and I know something is going on, so without rounding much around it, what happened?" Emily's determination reminded of Sharon her young self. She wouldn't give up on something until she knew all about it. Her daughter was really like her for this, and she wouldn't push or insist with questions, she would let her talk free about it but she had to explain.

Taking a deep breath Sharon let out few words, "He asked me for some time, and I'm afraid it means that we broke up!" Her eyes were looking down, at her hand moving the spoon right and left to melt the sugar in her coffee. She didn't want to meet her daughter's eyes, she didn't want to see any expression on her face and she was scared of hearing Emily's response. In the past, Emily had expressed concern about her relationship with Andy, not because she didn't like the man, but because her mother had been alone for so long that jumping into a relationship with a colleague could have been good and bad for her.

"Okay that's the shortest version of an explanation I've ever heard, I'd like to hear the whole story. Or if you prefer we can drive to his condo and I'll hear it from him, whichever you prefer," the look in Sharon's eyes made her understand she hit the right button. The idea of Emily facing Andy petrified her. Her daughter could be very persuasive and excessive at times, and to defend or protect the ones she loved she would have gone for the excess for sure.

Taking a deep breath Sharon started to go back with her mind, two night ago. It was chilling outside and Rusty said he would have stayed with Gus so they took the occasion to spend a quiet evening together home, with a nice casual dinner and a movie on the couch. She hadn't been drinking much, because she never did when Andy was there, as a form of respect to his fight against his addiction. After washing the dishes and cleaning the table they had sat to watch a movie, under a blanket into each other comforting hug, "I will go short on here as there's no need for details." Sharon was a little embarrassed to talk of her sex life with her daughter. One thing leading to another, they moved to the bedroom. It hadn't been the first time, but it had been different this time. More intimate, more passionate, more like making love than satisfying a physical need. And when she woke up in the morning, she found his side empty and thought for the worst, but he only was in the kitchen making breakfast. Some smooching and subtle smiles and then everything went messed up when he said those three words, for the first time, and left her speechless. He said it, clear and loud enough for her to listen to all his passion in them, and she wasn't prompt to respond. Instead, she went with reasoning again and explaining why she wasn't going to respond the same, not because she didn't feel love for him but because of being scared it was too soon to say it. And from there Andy went mad, because rightfully after almost a year, she was still scared and insecure about them and mentioning Jack as the reason why she was so scared to love again, only made him madder. He couldn't stand to be compared to him. He was not Jack, he had proved it enough times and still she felt she couldn't let herself go completely and let him love her as she deserved and as he wanted to.

"He went away slamming the door and told me that he's probably not the one I want." Sharon was sad, realizing she had handled that badly, and repeating it hurt even more.

There was a lot of words Emily would have liked to say, a lot of yelling she would have liked to do, to Andy, but she knew better than this and knew that right now screaming wasn't the solution. Right now her mother needed some distraction, and she had the perfect idea in mind. "Come with me, it's time to go!"

Sharon didn't know where her daughter was taking her, and during the drive Emily made her close her eyes not to see where they were going or stopping by. "Just a few more steps, Mom!" Emily was leading Sharon by her hands through the door. It was a shop, that was evident to Sharon by the bell ringing at the opening of a door, she tried to understand where by the smell or noises around but she was clueless. Emily made her sit down on a soft and comfortable sofa chair. "Just keep them closed, okay?" she made sure Sharon wouldn't open her eyes and ruin her surprise.

It passed a good amount of time before Emily finally told her to open her eyes. What Sharon found took her breath away, standing in front of her was Emily in her wedding dress. "Oh my… Emily it's…" she stood up and went around her to see it clear. The silk chiffon of the gown fell gently from her hips laying down on the floor, the sweetheart neckline to underline her body's features but softly masked from the fabric of lace that covered her shoulders till down the forearms and closing into a silk strip on her waist. Emily hadn't chosen a pure white color but instead an ivory one, and it looked perfect on her skin and contrasted beautifully with the darkness of her hair.

"Do you like it? The moment I saw it I knew it was going to be mine. I feel so pretty in it!" Emily started to twirl a bit to make her gown rolling right and left.

A tear fell down Sharon's left eye and she wiped it away "You are gorgeous in it, baby. And I'm so proud of you."

Sharon wrapped her arms around her daughter's waist and put her chin on her shoulder, closing her eyes to enjoy the moment at its fullest. Emily hung to her mother's arm and started to swing in her hug. "Mom," Sharon sighed while her eyes were still closed and her body swinging "You should tell him you love him!"

Silence came and it put a space between the two of them, Sharon knew Emily was right, and Emily knew she chose the right moment to say it. It was just hard for her mother to let go of the anger and the fear of being cheated on again, of being left alone and hurt. This time it was also different because he worked with her, it would have created a very difficult and awkward situation at work for which one of the two had to leave the division, just like had happened with his week off. Andy was not sick, he didn't want to see her after that morning. It had been incredibly hard for Sharon to sit at her desk and watch his empty space, the chair under the desk and no one turning around and smiling at her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a voice took their attention, "Well I didn't know they make wedding dress also for dancing hippos!"

To Be Continued…