an/ I was so happy with all the reviews I received on the last chapter. You all went into detail so much and I really like that it is just as much fun as the writing itself. You pointing out what you liked was so nice to read and they were all huge compliments for me. All swriously boosting my swlf esteem so I can't thank you enough for that!

Also a big thank you to all the guest reviewers, and Vicci, Amy and Rick, it is nice to see familiar names and I do appreciate you all taking the time to leave me a review. Also a big thank you to the guest who was grateful for the frequent updates this time around, you made me smile! I know I was terrible at it in the past and I can't guarantee I can keep this up but right now I'm doing my best to at least update evrey Wednesday. For me it is already Thursday and I was planning to have this chapter up already hours ago, but RL got in the way. Still taking the time to post it though, I'm sure it is still Wednesday somewhere ;)

Last night has been MC's last episode, I still have to watch the last two. I know this is not the way most of us would have liked to see the story end. But it did and now it is up to us to learn to love this series again, to reclaim/retrieve the joy we had watching this ship develope, reading and writing the fanfiction. I still enjoy this ship very much and I want to rewatch TC and MC again with all the joy I had watching it the first time. I want to continue writing and I can honestly say I find so much joy in writing the parts of this series. So MC has ended but this series is not ending, not for a very long time to come. So please will you all join me in learning to love the series again? I love this fandom so much, so many amazing people, lets stay active.

Okay that said, all mistakes left in the story beneath are mine. The characters are not mine they belong to you know who, so far the disclaimer.

Still rated M, because I rather overrate than underrate. Hope you will enjoy!

Chapter six

Hamilton watched from his office into the murder room. They were all busy, working on different cases. There wasn't a day in sunny Los Angeles, that went by without someone being murdered. One more gruesome, than the other. He didn't envy Flynn and Elliot. They were working on the hardest case of the moment. A child, the murder victim. Back in the day he had a child murder case. Those were the cases that broke you as a cop. It had caused him to drink too much, escape in the rich liquid that warmed your stomach and numbed your mind with a haze. Unfortunately it had also caused him and his wife to grow apart. He hadn't know how to talk to her about his job. What he saw. There was no way you could describe the murder of an innocent child.

Even now he couldn't stand looking at the photographs on their pin board. They were too graphic, too brutal. He watched Elliot pinning down the papers underneath the pictures. Her neat handwriting telling him in red, that for now the parents were their prime suspects. It was a difficult case. No one wanted to suspect the parents of a murdered child.

Methodically Elliot wrote down all the evidence and facts they gathered in the last few days, under Flynn's watchful eyes. A smirk appeared on his face. He still heard Flynn's objections ringing in his ears. The summary, that he wasn't partner material. All it took was the right partner though.

Elliot had a calming effect on him. In no time at all she had earned his respect. He couldn't put a finger to it, but Flynn behaved different when Elliot was around. She put some sort of spell on him. He would be lying if he'd say he wasn't happy with someone who was able to tame a man like Flynn. He had tried for so long and given up in the end. If anything the man would not listen to him, no matter what he did, but for some reason Elliot could make him listen to her. One look and he'd be back in line. He had threatened him with everything, to fire him or suspension, but nothing had impressed the man.

Hamilton watched Flynn's body language. He was relaxed, listening to everything she had to say. Every now and then adding something, pointing her at wherever he had something to add.

Something was different in their interaction with one another. Like now. Flynn got up from his pose, sitting on her desk, standing close to her. Now and then his hand on the small of her back. He was touching her more often lately. The look in his eyes different whenever he looked at her. Elliot looked more radiant than ever. They seemed closer together.

Sharon pinned down the last paper on the pin board. Leaning back against Andy's hand on the small of her back, as she looked over the board, trying to determine whether there was something they forgot. She looked at Andy as she felt his thumb stroking her back. A smile curled on her lips, the moment crudely interrupted by Hamilton's voice sounding from the office.

"Elliot, Flynn, my office."

They both looked over their shoulder, pulled back into reality, looking quizzical at each other, while Hamilton turned around and walked back into his office.

Andy pulled back the chair, offering the place for Sharon to sit down. Hamilton raised his eyebrow at all this courtesy. Andy didn't even see it. When Sharon was in the same room with him, he had only eye for her. As a lovesick puppy he looked from his chair towards her.

Sharon felt Andy's eyes burn on her skin. She knew her cheeks flushed, no matter how hard she tried not to, especially in front of their Commander. Sharon tried to be professional, but she was too much in love. She couldn't hide it. She couldn't withstand Andy's touches. At first she had believed she would manage to keep it from the work floor. Tell Andy to touch her at home. But she failed miserable. She liked the feeling of his large hand on the small of her back. It fit perfect, like it had always belonged there. How could she deny that?

Nervous Sharon bit her lip. She didn't like the way Hamilton looked at them. They were breaking the rules, she was very much aware of that. If anything she knew the rules by heart. She never had been the kind of girl who liked breaking the rules, so this situation was making her nervous. Their relationships was against regulations. They hadn't really talked about it yet, they agreed to focus on their relationship first, before they would make it public. She hoped this wouldn't be the topic of their conversation. That would be so embarrassing. A weird feeling settled in the core of her stomach. Fear of consequences. She didn't want to be transferred, she didn't want to be partnered up with someone else. Sharon knew she wasn't loved within the department. She couldn't think of anyone she trusted more than Andy, she didn't want to be separated from him. Her heart began to race in her chest.

Andy sat casually down in his chair. One leg draped over the other, finally shifting his attention from Sharon to Hamilton.

"I'd like an update on the Jensen case. I saw you suspect the parents…"

Andy tilted his head a bit, pursing his lips. "For now."

Hamilton looked at Elliot, who stayed quiet. It was hard to look inside of their mind most of the time, but not now.

"You just wrote it down, but you don't believe either one of them killed that little girl, do you Elliot?"

"No, I don't."

"Why not?"

"All the evidence points in their direction. I just don't believe they did it. "

For as long as Hamilton knew her, one thing was clear, she had an infallible gut instinct. He looked at Flynn. He was a bit more skeptic than his partner.

"Are there any other suspects?"

"No, not at this point." Andy almost sighed, he wished there was. Sharon seemed so sure, but he couldn't let go of the parents so easy.

"What's your next step?"

"We're going to have another talk with the parents. Try to get a timeline. See if one of them can come up with an alibi, which is complicated. We have the time she went missing. We don't have an exact time of dead."

"You already spoke to the parents?"

"Yes, but the mother was medicated when I spoke to her. That's why we want to return to their home. Ask them a few more questions. See if we can find some other suspects to add to our list."

"Sounds like a good plan to me."

Hamilton surely didn't want to have their job. They had to deal with two parents in mourning for their little girl. Parent who were potential suspects.

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They were on their way to the Jensen home. Using their time to drive over ,to go over the questions, they wanted to ask. They both agreed on not asking them to come to the station. Last thing they would want was for them to feel like suspects. They would lawyer up and their window of opportunity would be closed. They still had too many questions to be answered.

"We're going to question them separate."

"Hm-mm. Will you speak to the father? You accompanied him to the morgue. Father to father?"

Only Sharon would see him in the vulnerable role as a father of two children. To the outside world he was this tough Robbery/Homicide Detective. Father to father would be the right approach. His normal act of the aggressive interrogator would do no good, and Sharon knew that exactly.

"Sure."

"I hope the mother will be lucid enough to talk to."

"She might be in shock, Sharon."

"She has the key to some of our questions. We need her to talk to us."

"I'm sure you can manage to get through to her, hon."

Andy's hand squeezed her thigh. While they were in the car, Andy wouldn't hesitate to show her his affections. Without the watchful eyes of their colleagues around, they were carefree, allowing to let themselves feel.

Sharon sighed, while being with Andy, life seemed so simple, but it was anything but uncomplicated. This wasn't how she had envisioned their first months together, madly in love, but weighed down by this horrendous case.

Andy looked over at her. She seemed so occupied, this case was a heavy burden on her. It was her first child victim. He would have to make sure they wouldn't be completely engulfed in this case. Make sure that there was time for some normality as well, like their blossoming love. "Your place or mine?"

"I don't care as long as you'll stay."

Andy smiled. They hadn't spent an evening apart. Somehow she always seemed to fall asleep in his arms and he wasn't able to let go off her. He loved watching her sleep, or waking up next to her in the morning. Sharon was the most beautiful sight asleep. So calm and serene. Angelic. Such a contrast to the nightmares she'd have. One night he'd pull her tight against his chest, rock her, kiss her, coaxing her back to a peaceful night of sleep. Other nights she'd be in a sheer panic, completely out of it and he'd just be thankful he was there for her. He still had no idea what brought them on. It was an unspoken topic between them. She didn't have to persuade him to stay.

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Sharon walked upstairs. Roger Jensen hadn't been thrilled about her wanting to talk to his wife again. According to him his wife was too vulnerable, too upset, too unstable. The doctor prescribed her anti-anxiety medication. They had to talk to her though. She'd decide whether she was up to answering some of her questions or not.

The room was dark. The closed curtains shutting out Los Angeles sunny weather. The bed somehow an ominous presence in the middle of the room. Her eyes had to adjust to the darkness, suddenly surrounding her. They blinked a couple of times, before she got a clearer image of the room and its occupant.

Ireen Jensen was on the bed. Her arms clutching a stuffed animal. Burying her nose in it, to inhale its scent. Her eyes fixed on an unknown destination in the room. Even in the darkness, they looked blank. Like her soul had left her body, taking the light in her eyes with it.

There hung an eerie kind of mood in the room. The darkness quick surrounding her, trying to swallow her hole. It was so quiet she only heard her own heartbeat and it was beating loud. She wanted to get out of there, as the room seemed to get smaller by the minute, walls closing in on her. No matter how she felt, she couldn't get out, she couldn't escape that darkness, there were questions to ask.

Andy sat down, while Roger Jensen impatient paced the room.

"Ireen won't get out of the bed. The doctor says she's in shock. She shouldn't be bothered with questions."

"We need to ask these questions to find the murderer of your daughter, sir."

"All we want is to bury her, grieve for her, but all we hear is that her body won't be released. She's our daughter."

"We need to find her murderer. We still need our daughter's body for evidence. The more you help us, the sooner we can close this case and you'll be able to start grieving."

Roger Jensen looked so desperate. The kind of look in his eyes, resembling a haunted man. He reached the point that he didn't know how to continue his life anymore. Somehow he lost control. The pacing stopped and he seemed to calm down. That was better. Andy needed him calm, to have a sensible conversation with him. Roger buried his face in his hands.

"It's like I haven't only lost my daughter. It feels like I've lost my wife as well."

"Finding the answers will help the both of you deal with your loss."

Andy waited in silence, until Roger looked back up at him.

"Who was the first person to report your daughter missing?"

"My wife. She must feel so guilty. Ally was playing in the garden. She believed she looked for butterflies in the bushes. Ally loved butterflies."

Andy saw the distant look in Roger's eyes. He could imagine a bit how it must feel to lose your child. His children hadn't died, but disappeared from his life in another way.

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Sharon felt a bit eerie, being in Ireen's room. As she looked so completely out of it, she was afraid to do more damage with her questions, than she would do good. What should be morally allowed? Swallowing she made a few steps towards the bed.

"Mrs. Jensen?"

There was no response whatsoever.

"Mrs. Jensen? I'm Officer Elliot from the LAPD. I was here before. I've come to ask you a few questions about Alice."

Sharon begun to feel really uncomfortable, as she suddenly heard a hoarse voice not much more than a whisper.

"Ally…"

"Yes.."

Trying to be patient and kind, Sharon walked towards the bed a bit more, bending through her knees to be on eye level with Ireen Jensen.

"Ally's dead.."

"Yes, I'm so very sorry. We want to find her murderer, but we need your help to do so."

"I thought she was playing.. .What kind of a mother am I?"

"You believed she was safe in your back garden."

"This is a good neighborhood… I wanted our baby to grow up in a good neighborhood. That's why I began working as a surgical nurse. Roger still has his student loan to pay off."

Sharon nodded. At least the mother was talking now.

"When you were at work, who took care of Alice?"

"We have a nanny…Dory… Dory Bakersfield."

Hmm….that was surely someone to talk to. As a nanny she must know the family well. Be able to tell them things the parents weren't keen on sharing.

"She looked after Ally since she was a baby. She adored her. Ally did as well… I wouldn't have left her if… I'm not a bad mother."

It was half a question, her tone of voice desperate. Sharon's hand reached out for her under arm and stroke it in a soothing movement.

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Andy contemplated Roger's information. So there was a nanny. Why not that day?

"Mrs. Bakersfield wasn't present the day your daughter disappeared?"

"No, not that day. Ireen was at home, so it wasn't necessary."

"Why didn't your wife go to work that day?"

"Ireen changed her schedule."

"Why 'that' day?"

"The last month. Ireen wanted to spend more time at home with Ally. She wanted for us to have dinner together, instead of living separate lives. My practice is doing well, there was no reason why Ireen couldn't cut back on her hours at the hospital…. We were even thinking about having another baby."

Roger's voice broke. Their family, their life was destroyed. For now he couldn't offer anything to fix this. Maybe this family would be broken forever. These were the hard cases.

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Sharon settled underneath his armpit, moving as close to him as she possibly could. She liked cuddling up to him. For now that's all that it had been. Cuddling, kissing, peacefully sleeping in each other's arms. In the beginning they agreed to take it slow, even if they had come so close that day on assignment.. and now most of the time they were too tired. Andy felt reluctant anyway. In this aspect he might even be a bit old fashioned. Her parents probably didn't even know about this relationship yet. At work they tried to keep it quiet. Their feelings might be out in the open, but that didn't mean matters became less complex.

Her finger traced patterns on the white cotton fabric of his t-shirt. Her ear close to his chest, listening to the steady drum of his heartbeat. Silence surrounding them. She didn't mind the silence. It was calming the turmoil in her mind. Even though it was Sunday tomorrow, they had agreed to talk to Dory Bakersfield. She wanted the remaining part of the day to be a true Sunday. Dinner at her parent's house. It had been a while.

"Andy?"

"Hmmm…"

"I was thinking…."

"No more talk about work. Tomorrow we'll have that talk with the nanny and the remaining part we'll take the day off."

"Sounds good to me. I'd like to have dinner at my parents' house. They haven't seen me in a while."

"Oh.."

He had hoped to spend the day with her, but he could understand she'd want to see her parents. Sharon was very close to them, he would not want to keep her away from them.

"You haven't spent a lot of time with them yet. I want them to get to know you."

Andy's body stiffened. Apparently she had been including him in her plans. Just the idea of it though. He'd feel awkward. It would have to happen one day at least if he wanted a future with Sharon. So there really was no way around this.

"Honey they won't bite."

Sharon's smile couldn't help him relax.

"It's not your first dinner together."

No, it was not. She didn't have to remind him. That last dinner he had with her parents wasn't such a success. If this was her idea of warming him up to the idea, it wasn't working. He cleared his throat.

"Have you already told them…?"

"That we're coming? They won't mind."

"No I mean about well you know…"

Sharon's eyebrows wrinkled confused.

"You know…"

Why was Andy all cryptic all of a sudden? "No, I'm afraid I do not know."

"About us. Have you already told them about us being together?"

Andy studied her, reeling over the fact she might want to drop that bomb during dinner tomorrow. That couldn't be more wrong.

"Uhm no. I thought we might tell them together tomorrow."

"I don't believe this is something you should spring on them Sharon."

Last thing he wanted was for this to become awkward during dinner, or for Sharon to become disappointed. If her father was anything like their last dinner together, Sharon would be hurt and he didn't want that to happen. He didn't want her to be in pain, especially not because of him.

Andy seemed so nervous about this. It was absolutely ridiculous, but was it up to her to tell him that it was? She didn't want him to feel awkward. The point was that her parents would get to know him. they wouldn't if he couldn't be himself.

"Alright. How about I will go to church tomorrow, meet up with them, tell them about how happy I am."

Her smile was amazing. She truly looked happy. Her parents must see that too, right? That should speak for him, give him some credit. They would want their daughter to be happy.

"And then we can go to dinner together. I really want them to get to know you. You are the one, Andy. "

It was impossible to deny her anything. And denying her this wasn't possible anyway. This had to happen one day. His lips planted a tiny kiss on her forehead, before he sought her eyes again. His fingers caressing her cheek. "I love you.. I want to do this right."

Sharon snuggled up closer, holding on tighter. Now he had her, he didn't want to lose her again. She was the one for him too. The one he wanted to grow old with, have babies with. For that he would have to convince her parents that he was the right guy for her. He couldn't make any mistakes or Sharon would be the one to end up hurt, and that was something he had silently vowed to avoid.