DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting, real life seems to get in the way sometimes... The words in italics are Andy's memory from the previous night. Thank you for the great reviews!

Chapter 4

Leo had Sharon sitting down on one of the chairs so that he could keep an eye on her. They had taped Sharon's wrists together so that she couldn't use her hands. "Hey, wait a minute!" Leo said as he glanced back over the other people who were sitting in front of the tellers. He then glanced at Sharon. "Where's your kid?" Leo asked her. "What kid?" Sharon said to him and Leo slapped her in the face. One of the hostages yelled "Hey!" and started to move but Leo pointed his weapon at the person. "Leo!" Rico shouted at him and then grabbed his arm.

"The kid she was with is missing" Leo said to Rico as he jerked his arm away. Rico looked at Sharon, who now had a cut on the side of her face from Leo's slap. His ring had cut her and she was bleeding. "Alright, where's the kid you were with, Commander Sharon Flynn of the LAPD?" Rico asked her as he stared at her face. She didn't say anything to him. "If he's hiding in here, I'm going to find him, and then I'm going to make sure that he sees his mommy suffer" Rico said to her, in a low voice. Sharon swallowed and stared back at Rico. "What would your husband think?" he added as he gestured to her ring on her left hand. "Does he like you being in charge?" he sneered and Sharon kept looking straight ahead. "Maybe he's LAPD as well?" he said almost quietly as he touched her face with his hand.

"Now, I'll ask you again. Where's your kid?" Rico said close to her face. Sharon looked at him. "He's outside, with the police" she said calmly. That pissed Rico off and he slammed his fist onto the table that was next to them. Andy watched the whole thing unfold as he blocked out the commotion coming from inside the van. He held his breath as he watched Sharon get slapped. He watched as Rico walked up to her and touched her face. He balled his fists at watching that sight. He needed to get her out of there. Then when Rico slammed his fist on the table, Andy jumped up.

Chief Howard saw this. "Lieutenant?" he said to Andy. "We need to get her and them out of there, now" Andy said to him. Chief Howard walked over to where Andy was now standing. "Listen, I'm giving you a courtesy by staying in here, I can have you leave and stand outside with the rest of your squad, and Matthew" Chief Howard said to him as Andy looked at him and then glanced at the monitor.

"Andy, she's not going to like it if I have to tell her that instead of rescuing you, Sharon, I had to restrain and keep an eye on your husband" Chief Howard said and that calmed Andy a little down. "I know what you're going through, remember I'm married to Brenda, and all of her stunts she pulled when she was in charge of you guys" Chief Howard said. Andy nodded. "Sorry" he murmured. Andy looked over his shoulder as Provenza came back inside.

Chief Howard then went back to figuring out the plan for rescuing Sharon and the rest of the hostages. Provenza walked over to Andy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I haven't told any of the kids about this but I'm sure it's on the news already" Andy said to him. "You're probably right, I did see a news van out there. At this point, I think we should hold off. When she's safe and back with us, then tell them" Provenza said to him as he gave him a concerned look. "I'm fine" Andy said to him and then focused on the monitors again.

Truth be told, Andy wasn't fine at all. He was scared to death for Sharon. He needed to get her out of there, quickly and safely. Matthew needed her, her kids needed her still, and he needed her. Boy did he need her. He thought back to their conversation last night while they laid in bed together.

Andy was running his fingers up and down Sharon's bare back as she lay on top of him. She was exhausted from work and after the two of them made love, she rested her head on his chest. "I love you so much" he said to her, barely above a whisper.

Sharon hummed and smiled into his chest. She kissed him. "I love you too, Andy" she said to him as she continued to lay there with him. She turned her head so that her ear was now on his chest as she placed her hand on his left shoulder, and traced the scar from where he got shot.

"I think we need to designate someone as a guardian for Matthew, in case something happens to the both of us" she said to Andy. Andy let out a deep sigh. "Who would you want it to be?" he asked her as he continued to run his fingers up and down her back.

"We could ask Nicole and Dean if they would be willing to do it, the kids all go to the same school and Matthew gets along great with them" Sharon said to him as she shifted and moved closer to his face so that she was looking at him. "I think they would be honored, we can call them tomorrow and invite them over for dinner tomorrow night if they are available" Andy said to her as she moved her body over him. She smiled at him and lowered her head to kiss him.

Andy's thoughts were interrupted by movement on the monitor. Rico looked at the clock inside the bank. The hour deadline was coming up and he was getting restless waiting as he paced around the floor. He didn't want to have to deal with keeping a cop with them as he knew that if something happened to her, they would all be dead. Rico walked over to where Sharon was still sitting, across from him at another desk, being watched closely by Leo.

"It's almost time, do you think your friends at the LAPD were able to get me everything I wanted?" Rico said to Sharon as he leaned down to her. Sharon didn't answer him. He touched the cut that was on her face from when Leo had hit her. She jerked back. "Sorry about that, Leo has a stubborn streak in him. Hate to see a pretty face like yours be ruined" Rico added.

Sharon watched Rico as he stood in front of her and bent down so that he was in her face. Just then the bank phone rang and Rico answered it. "Chief Howard of the LAPD, I hope you are ready as your deadline is up" Rico said to Chief Howard over the phone. "We have a private plane waiting for you at the airport" Chief Howard said as he watched Rico on the monitor.

"Good" Rico replied. "I need to know how the hostages are doing inside" Chief Howard asked him as he motioned for an officer from SOB to come over to him. "Your hostages are fine, LAPD. What about the rest of my demands" Rico insisted as he turned around to face the windows. They had closed the blinds when they had entered the bank so that no one could see inside the building.

Chief Howard placed the phone on mute. "Do the snipers have a shot?" he asked over the radio. Andy watched what was unfolding inside and held his breath. "Negative" an officer said over the radio. Chief Howard then unmuted the call. "We will have transportation available for you in about 20 minutes" Chief Howard said to Rico. "20 minutes, sorry but that's not good enough" Rico said over the phone and nodded to Leo. Leo walked over to Sharon and grabbed her by the arm, standing her up.

"What are they doing?" Andy shouted as he watched Leo grab Sharon. "Rico, what are you doing? There's a lot of commotion in the background" Chief Howard said to him as he watched the monitor as well. The hostages were shouting and Mac stood in front of them and pointed his weapon at them. "Shut up! All of yous" he said to them.

Leo stood there and pointed his weapon at Sharon's head. Andy's heart stopped as he watched, tears started to form. "I told you, something was going to happen if my demands were not met on time and that your precious cop was going to be the first one" Rico said. "Wait! We're getting your ride to the airport, we have met your demands" Chief Howard said trying to reason with Rico.

Rico gestured to Leo who then lowered his weapon from Sharon's head and then pushed Sharon back into the chair she was sitting on. "I know you have video so you saw what was going on. I wanted you to see that in order for you to understand that I mean business" Rico said calmly to Chief Howard and then he hung up. "Who the hell is this Rico guy?" Andy said as he let out his breath he was holding and turned to Chief Howard. "I'll go grab Mike and bring him in here, we'll figure out who this guy is, Chief" Provenza said as he squeezed Andy's arm and then walked out of the command center.

"If you don't do something soon to get her out of there, safely, I'm going to go in there myself" Andy said to Chief Howard. "Look, the plan is that when the transportation arrives, we get them to release all of the hostages, which they will do except for Sharon, he's already said that" Chief Howard explained to Andy. "When that happens, my officers will move in and move all of the hostages away from the area" he added and Andy didn't like where this plan was heading. "Another team will come up when the robbers and Sharon walk out, and the snipers will take all four of them out" Chief Howard said. "And what if they kill Sharon in the process?" Andy stated.

"You got a better idea, Lieutenant?" he said to Andy. Andy thought for a second. "I'll be their driver to the airport, set up a team there and when they get out to get on the plane, I'll grab Sharon and your team takes out the robbers" Andy suggested to him. "So we just let them walk out with Sharon as a hostage?" Chief Howard asked as he shook his head. "Too many things can go wrong with that scenario" he added. Andy walked up to him. "Too many things can go wrong with this scenario you've come up with!" Andy said and pointed his finger at Fritz.

"We have better control over the first scenario" Chief Howard said looking at Andy. He could reprimand him for questioning a superior officer but he understood where Andy was coming from. Just then, Provenza came back inside with Mike. Mike was carrying a laptop and placed it down on the table.

"Chief, Andy, meet Enrique Gonzalez, aka Rico. He was in jail a couple of times for larceny, the last one being aggravated robbery, he served seven years. That's where he met Leonardo Sullivan, aka Leo. He was Rico's cellmate at LA County State Prison in Lancaster" Mike stated to them. "What was Leo serving time for?" Andy asked as he looked at the computer over Mike's shoulder. "Murder homicide, served five years" Mike said and Andy shook his head in disbelief. "Great" Andy mumbled as he turned to watch Sharon on the monitor.

"This is Michael Rams, aka Mac. He was also serving time in Lancaster for aggravated battery. He was there for two years" Mike said as he pulled up another picture. "That's the driver that I pulled out of the car" Andy said to them. "Donovan Miller, two years in Lancaster for involuntary manslaughter. He was driving a car and hit someone" Mike said as he turned around to face them. "There's four guys inside, Tao" Provenza said. "So who's the fourth one?" Andy asked. "We don't know. I ran his picture against known inmates from Lancaster as that seems to be the connection with everyone but I didn't come up with anything" Mike stated.

"Sir, transportation is here" an officer from SOB stated to Chief Howard. "Alright, I want everyone in position" he said to the officer and the officer radioed everyone. "They got nothing to lose" Andy reminded him as he called the bank again. "I know" Chief Howard replied as Andy watched Sharon still sitting there. He knew they were going to take her with them, he'd just hoped that this plan was going to work. Andy knew he couldn't sit by and watch everything unfold. He looked around the command center van. Everyone was focused on the phone call and the monitors.

Rico answered the phone. "Your transportation is here, but first I need you to release the hostages" Chief Howard said as Rico watched Mac walk over to the blinds and peek through them to see the car. "They got us a limo, Rico" Mac said as he laughed as he walked back to the group.

"Okay, Chief Howard, I will release the hostages one by one, but your cop will have a gun to her head as this is happening, one false move and I won't hesitate this time" Rico stated and then hung up the phone. "Okay, everyone get ready, the hostages are coming out, one by one" Chief Howard said in the radio as he watched the monitors.

Meanwhile, Andy slipped out the command center door with one of the SOB officers. Andy had put a vest on and had his weapon drawn. He was going to be there with the officers who were tasked with rescuing Sharon from the robbers. He'd promised Matthew that he would rescue Sharon, and he wasn't going to back down on that promise. He just had to trust Chief Howard that this plan of his was going to work.

"Where's Andy?" Chief Howard turned around to look at Provenza. Provenza and Mike both looked at each other. "He's not cleared for field action yet!" Chief Howard said in disgust as they saw Andy on the monitor embedded with members of SOB.

"He's going to give me a heart attack!" Provenza mumbled as he saw Andy outside the bank. "Let's focus on the operation, we can reprimand him later, Chief" Provenza added as he was going to shoot Andy himself, if this all worked out.

The bank door opened and one by one, the hostages walked outside. They were met by patrol officers and members of SOB and taken over to the side of the building for their safety. They saw Sharon being moved inside the bank. The SOB officers, along with Andy, were hiding alongside the bushes of the bank, waiting.

Once the area was cleared from the hostages, Chief Howard called over the radio for the snipers to take position. "You have the green light" he said over the radio as they watched. "Copy" they replied. Everyone was quiet in the command center as they saw the robbers, along with Sharon start to head towards the door.

As Andy waited on the side with SOB, he knew that he was going to face some sort of disciplinary action. He didn't really care about that, he needed Sharon to be safe and he needed to be with the team that was tasked to do just that. He heard in his earpiece that there was movement coming out of the bank. He waited and watched as he saw Mac and Leo come out first. Rico was holding Sharon to him and had his gun under Sharon's chin. Sharon looked unbelievably calm at the moment. He knew at that moment what Sharon must have felt when Johnny held him hostage a few months ago.

The fourth guy came out and they started to make their way over to the limo that was waiting for them. The snipers got the four men in their scopes and one by one, picked them off. They were careful to make sure Sharon was not in the way and the robbers didn't even see it coming. Mac, Leo, Rico, and the fourth guy all dropped to the ground, dead from the head shots.

"Clear!" someone yelled out and Andy ran over to where Sharon was standing in the middle of the robbers. "Sharon!" he yelled and she turned around to his direction. He enveloped her in his arms and pulled her in close to him. "Oh god" he said as he held her.

He moved her a little back from him to get a better look, making sure that she wasn't injured from anything. There was blood splatter on the side of her face from Rico and he quickly wiped that away with his shirt sleeve. "Andy" she whispered and he shook his head. He fingered over the cut on her face from when Leo slapped her.

Chief Howard ran out of the command center and went towards where the two of them were now standing, away from the dead bodies. "Sharon?" Chief Howard said as he looked at both of them. "I'm okay, Chief. Thank you" she said as Andy held her. There was an ambulance on site. "You and I are going to have words, Lieutenant!" Chief Howard said to Andy and pointed his finger towards him. "Yes sir" Andy said as he led Sharon over to where the ambulance was located.

"Andy what did you do?" Sharon asked him as he held her. "I may have disobeyed a direct order to stay in the command center" Andy said as both Provenza and Mike walked out to join them. "Commander, are you okay?" Provenza asked her and then glared at Andy. "I'm okay, Lieutenant" Sharon answered, still in shock from the process.

Provenza started to say something to Andy but Andy held up his hand at him. "I already know" Andy said to him as he and Sharon continued to walk towards the ambulance. Provenza shook his head and threw up his hands. He then followed them to meet up with the rest of the team.

Mike led some officers inside and they brought out the belongings of the hostages. Mike had grabbed Sharon's purse and brought it over to where Andy and Sharon where located. "Thanks Mike" Andy said as he took the purse from him. "Anything else you might have left inside the bank, I'll be sure to bring it by" Mike said as he then headed back to the bank. As Mike walked back towards the bank, he grabbed the fingerprints from the fourth unknown guy before the medical examiner's office took the body away.

Provenza walked over to where Julio and Matthew were located. "Is it over?" Matthew asked Provenza as he opened the car door to let Matthew out. "Yes, Matthew. Your mother is safe and with your father by the ambulance. I'll take you over there now" Provenza said to him as they walked towards the area.

Sharon was sitting on the back step of the ambulance as she was being treated by a paramedic. Andy took a knife and cut the tape off of her wrists, careful to not pull any hairs out. "You can wash that with soap and water a couple of times to get all the glue off" the paramedic told them as he cleaned the cut Sharon had on her face. He also wiped the other side of her face with an antiseptic cloth from where the blood splatter was.

"Mom!" Matthew cried out as he got closer. He started to run towards them and Provenza let him as he was not going to chase after the kid. "Matthew, oh Matthew!" Sharon said happily as Matthew came up to them. The paramedic was done with Sharon's cut and moved out of the way so that Matthew could hug Sharon.

"I'm glad you are okay" Sharon said to him. "I was so scared. I didn't want to leave you there with the bad guys" Matthew said, crying into Sharon's shoulder. "I know, but you were very brave sneaking out like I told you to do" Sharon said as Matthew moved in front of her. "I'm very proud of you" she added as she wiped his tears and Matthew smiled a little bit.

"Flynn, why don't you take your family home and we'll settle this Monday morning, after your doctor's appointment" Provenza told Andy as they watched Sharon and Matthew interact with one another. "How much trouble am I in?" he quietly asked Provenza.

Provenza looked at his friend and for the first time that morning, he finally saw relief in his eyes. "Don't worry about it for now" Provenza said and patted him on the back. They watched Sharon stand up and Andy held out his hand for her to take. "Let's get you home" he said to her and led her to his car.

As she sat down inside and Matthew got in the back seat, she turned to Andy. "What about my car?" she said as he stood by the car door. Andy looked over at Provenza. "One of us will drive it to your house" he said to her and Sharon handed the keys from her purse over to Provenza.

"We are staying here to process the scene and then we'll bring your car back" Provenza added as Andy closed Sharon's door. "Take care of her Flynn" Provenza said and pointed his finger at Andy. Andy nodded as he got in the vehicle and drove the three of them back home.

TBC