Once again everyone was gathered together in the small courtroom awaiting the outcome that would determine the fate of their entire division. As they were waiting, Fritz caught himself stealing a few too many inappropriate glances in the direction of one autumn mane spilling over a violet suit jacket. He knew he should be paying more attention to the judge once he entered the room, but found the opportunity to study the captivating creature beside him so unguarded too great a temptation to forgo. His excitement at the possibility that this nightmare could all be over today was tempered by the grief he felt at the loss of this woman's camaraderie. There would be no need for them to steal secluded moments of each other's time, commiserate over shared frustrations, or triumph over new found epiphanies. He knew it was for the best, and for now just contented himself with catching glimpses of the graceful lines of her profile, the curve of her lip, the artful creases at the corner of her eye... He could almost forget how infuriating she could be when she wasn't getting what she wanted. Although, if he were honest with himself, he found that a little charming as well.

"Before my ruling, I'd like it known that whatever crimes Mr. Baylor may have committed; he was entitled to be tried in a court, not the streets of L.A."

Fritz's attention snapped back to the present and, at the hint of troublesome news, he instinctively reached over and grabbed onto Sharon's hand. He held it tightly on her thigh as the judge continued his speech. She stiffened in response; eyes drifting down to their joined hands, mouth slightly slack. Her intention to retract was interrupted by the intensity of the words being spoken to the room and all focus shifted to listening intently as it sounded like they might be in serious jeopardy. Petite fingers unconsciously squeezed back at the hand clutching her on her lap, eyes wide with anticipation, pulse speeding as she willed the judge to come to a favorable conclusion.

"Mr. Goldman, the lack of evidence supporting the central thesis behind your pleading leaves me no choice but to grant the defense its motion for summary judgment. Case dismissed"

Sharon's hands flew to her face and covered her mouth as elation flooded her thoughts. The younger woman turned to gauge her reaction, almost as if to make sure she had heard correctly herself. It seemed too good to be real. The blond smiled at her in appreciation as she noted the look of sheer happiness on her behalf covering the Captain's features. The older woman's eyes stung with the briefest of unshed tears at the onslaught of joy, relief, and something... else. Something not entirely altruistic that she couldn't admit even to herself, hands still clasped over her face in a bundle of nervous energy.

Outside in the hall, everyone took turns exchanging hugs and clapping each other on the back, basking in their unified relief. "Everyone back to Major Crimes for a private celebration," Chief Pope announced discreetly.

Once safely huddled together on their own turf, celebratory joviality and champagne were shared all around. Lt. Flynn called everyone's attention to pay tribute to their savior, "Everyone - to Gavin!"

They all reverberated, "To Gavin!"

"Congratulations, Chief," Sharon approached her exhausted co-worker, drink in hand.

Chief Johnson looked on the Captain with a combination of gratitude and a little guilt. She knows she's been impossible to deal with through most of this ordeal, especially to this woman. Sharon could be a complete pain in the ass, but she had to acknowledge that she has had her back every step of the way, even when it wasn't in the department's best interest and even when Brenda was doing everything in her power to make the woman's job more miserable and difficult than it already was. "Listen, I-I just wanna thank you… for standin by me. I know it hasn't been easy."

Sharon was a little taken aback by the Chief's humbled declaration. "Chief, if ah, our job was easy no one would put up with either one of us," she conceded. "You're no more difficult to deal with than I am; I mean that as a compliment." As she worked to strengthen the uneasy truce between herself and the feisty blond in front of her, her rib cage tightened in on her lungs.

"Well, thank you… Sharon. I'm very grateful to you, I really am."

Confliction cracked her voice and she nodded gracefully. "You're welcome," she choked thickly. She knew what she had to do and she had to do it post-haste.

She looked around to blink back a few threatening tears at the finality of her decision and swallowed hard at the prospect of completing her next mission. Excusing herself from the chief's company, she headed over in Fritz's direction to lure him away from the group just long enough to tell him she was ending their friendship and any attempt at communication outside of work would not be reciprocated. She doesn't even know how this all snuck up on her and wonders briefly if it snuck up on him just as surreptitiously and why he hadn't been working harder to push her away. What was he hoping would come of this anyway? This is why she always kept people at a distance, especially colleagues. Working together towards a common goal of such importance, it was easy to pretend that was the sole source of the passion and focus in their meetings and around each other. Now that the impending threat was gone, the true nature of their feelings about not having each other's companionship bared its flesh and refused to be denied or lied to any longer. The prospect of losing this man's friendship pained her grievously, but she didn't trust herself to remain his friend and leave it at that. Tears were bound to fall eventually, better now than after they've done something they'll both regret.