Family - Chapter 6

by Kadi

Rated: T

The holiday season was shaping up to be decidedly different from the previous year, for more than one reason. For one, there was a complete lack of police protection detail, and secondly it had only been the two of them last year. At Thanksgiving, life was still pretty up in the air. There was no Flynn, at least as far as their personal lives were concerned, and aside from phone calls and video conferences, Rusty had never laid eyes on Richard and Katherine Raydor - much less any of the rest of Sharon's family. He was also just a foster kid who's mom had skipped out on him, not once, but twice.

A year later he was a college student free to live his own life and the adopted son of a recently married woman with a very large family that was descending upon them for the long holiday weekend. At least in part. The family as a whole would be gathering at Christmas, as they did every year, at the Cavanagh's time share in Park City. Although it still remained to be seen if Sharon's side would be joining them. She wanted to take Rusty and Andy, but a couple of factors were still up in the air for them. Whether or not they'd have to work the holiday was a big factor, they wouldn't know until almost the last minute whether or not Major Crimes would have the holiday free. Then there was the state of Katie's health. They didn't know from one day to the next if she would feel up to making the trip. At present, her schedule indicated that she would be off the chemo for a week at Christmas, after finishing her final round.

The treatments were getting harder on her. Rusty reflected on that as he stepped into the living room and found her curled up beneath a blanket in the large recliner. Sharon was with her. He knew that she had taken the week off, ostensibly because they were hosting her parents for the holiday and through the weekend, but he also knew that the treatment on Monday had been the strongest yet. Two days later, she was only just starting to feel moderately better.

Rusty had come home directly after class. The university closed at noon for the holiday, and he knew that they were expecting Sharon's parents at some point after that. He eased into the living room and nodded at her. "Hey," he kept his voice down when he noticed that Katie was asleep.

"Hi honey," Sharon closed her book and smiled up at him. "So that's it, three whole days off, not including the weekend."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Then it's going to be crazy busy when I go back. Ricky says the first finals are brutal, but it won't be so bad next time. I guess everyone freaks out the first time, so I am fully prepared for a total meltdown." He walked into the kitchen and returned with a soda. "I've totally scoped out the best places to get drugs on campus, and if that doesn't work out, I know some guys."

Sharon glared at him. "That's not even funny, Rusty."

"Who's joking?" He grinned at her and dropped down onto the sofa. "I thought you could show me how to roll one out." He smirked deviously at her.

"You are a rotten child," she said, shaking her head.

"You knew that when you decided to keep me," he chirped. "Don't look surprised now."

"And you knew that I was perfectly capable of making your life miserable when you decided to stay," she drawled. "So watch it."

Rusty grinned at her. "How is she doing?"

Sharon sighed. "Better. It's been a rough couple of days. She'll be okay."

"Good." Rusty rested his chin in his hand. "Because if she barfs on Flynn's chair again, he's going to flip. The head might actually come off and spin around. We're talking total exorcist action, forget the stuff that she was spewing."

Her eyes narrowed while she studied her adopted son. "Rusty, is there some reason that you're attempting to test my mood," she asked at length.

"Provenza misses you." He smirked. "I got a text this morning. He even offered me ten bucks if I would bug the crap out of you for him. That's like, a thousand dollars in Provenza bucks. So he must like, really, be missing you. Naturally, I said I'd do it for free. Did it work?"

"It did actually," She rolled her eyes at him. "It's not me that he's missing. It's his having to do all the paperwork." It was Sharon's turn to smirk deviously. "Time sheets are due prior to the holiday, and I might have… left them for him to turn in. Along with a few other items."

"I thought it might be something like that," he laughed quietly. "You're just a little bit evil, you know that?"

"Hm. I do. It can be fun. The trick is choosing your moments wisely. For example, the Lieutenant contacted you rather than me. He understands that I've taken this time off to spend with my sick child, and is actually respectful enough to refrain from disturbing that. When I go back on Monday, it will be game on. Until then, he's going to suffer."

"Yeah, there's just one little problem with all your reasoning," Rusty pointed out. "He's going to make Flynn suffer too. Guilt by association, the association of being married to you."

"Oh god no," Sharon snorted at him. "He'd make Andy suffer with him anyway, it has nothing to do with me. It's just how they work."

"They're a little weird," Rusty admitted.

"Tell me about it." Sometimes she felt as though there were three people in her marriage, but to love Andy was to accept all of him, including his quirky friendships. Just as he had accepted hers. "Any plans for your break," she asked, changing the subject.

"None," Rusty decided he liked it that way. "I think I just want to hang out by the pool and do absolutely nothing." The nights and mornings were getting cooler, but the days were still pretty temperate. "I don't know. Now that I can go anywhere I want, I just kind of like being at home. Is that weird?"

"Normal." Her smile softened. "It isn't as though you've become a recluse. You go out with your friends. But you've also been working very hard, and it's normal to want to rest and relax, especially with finals right around the corner."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too, Sharon." He glanced at his watch. "When are your parents getting here?"

"In a couple of hours," she said. "Rusty, I know that I've asked a thousand times, but you really don't mind giving up your room for the weekend?"

"I really don't," He made a face at her. "I'm camping out in the living room, not in the backyard. It's not a problem." He paused for just a moment. "Just as long as you don't do something insane like go skinny dipping in the pool, I'll be fine."

"I don't know, the backyard is looking like a better option," She sniffed.

Rusty laughed as he got up. "Sharon, relax. I'm going to go up and get some stuff out of my room and finish getting it ready for your parents. You're being a little spastic."

"Try a lot," Katie mumbled against her mother's shoulder. She blinked her eyes open and sketched off a weak wave at her brother. "Seriously spastic. We're actually nearing the land of neuroticdom."

"Shush you. I will not be maligned by both of you at the same time." Sharon combed her fingers gently through her daughter's hair. Worries that it would fall out had so far, not come to fruition. It was, however, limp and stringy. Her daughter was pale and entirely too thin, and when she wriggled closer, Sharon made note that her doctors needed to adjust her thyroid medication again. It was hard to get it at the right dose with the fluctuations in her weight and the chemo regimen. She either ran lethargic and too warm, or too cold, but it was always difficult to tell which symptom was a result of which cause. She waited for Rusty to ascend the stairs before her gaze dropped to the girl curled up beside her. "Want to try some lunch?"

"No," Katie buried her face in the soft fleece of the blanket again. "I think I'll wait."

"You have to eat," she said gently. "It doesn't have to be a lot, but it needs to be something."

"I know," Katie sighed. "I'm just not hungry right now. I'll eat in a little bit. Right now I just want to sleep. I don't want to be a zombie when Gram and Grandpa get here."

"Okay baby," she continued to rub her scalp, but closed her eyes against the sudden sting of tears at her daughter's plaintive tone. "Go back to sleep. We'll just lay here a little longer."

"Hmm. Okay." Katie closed her eyes and snuggled closer.

When Patrick and Miranda Cavanagh arrived a few hours later, Katie was awake again. She had showered and changed, and that had given her a bit more color. Her hair had a bit of its previous, blue, luster back. While she had nibbled at an apple, she still hadn't eaten much else.

The Cavanagh's dark sedan was parked alongside Sharon's when Andy pulled into the drive much later. He had missed dinner, but his wife was, quite thankfully, very understanding. He ran a hand over his face before getting out of the car and walking toward the house. There were two things that he knew, he didn't like his partner in charge, and he really missed his wife at work. Andy loosened his tie as he stepped into the house and dropped his keys in the tray on the table by the door. The lights in the lower level of the house were still on, and the hour was at least not too late. When he had spoken to Sharon a couple of hours before, it was to tell her not to hold dinner for him, and with any luck he'd be home soon.

Andy shrugged out of his jacket and dropped it on the back of his recliner. He lay his badge, gun, and phone on the bar before glancing into the kitchen. "Hey babe."

"Out here," Sharon's voice filtered in from the open patio doors. She smiled when he stepped out onto the patio. "I see you made it. I just knew I was going to end up getting a call from Elliot."

"It was a very near thing." He walked over to shake her father's hand. "Sir, ma'am."

"I think we've had this conversation a few times already," Miranda told him. "It is Miranda or mom."

"Yes ma'am." After greeting them he turned to his wife. "Hi." He cupped the back of her head and leaned over to press a soft, chaste kiss to her lips. "I miss you," he said emphatically.

Sharon laughed. "Really?" She smirked happily up at him. "Can I get that in writing?"

"In triplicate if you want it." He folded himself into the chair beside hers. "Sweetheart, believe me, I'm not above begging."

She hummed. "I won't let it come to that, I promise."

She was smiling, and there was a lightness in her gaze that was indicative of the joy created by having her parents visit. Andy saw beyond that, however, to the drawn, frayed edges that she was carefully trying to hide. Beneath the makeup and the smiles, she was pale, and there were tired smudges beneath her eyes. It was evidence of the sleepless nights. She was thinner than he had known her to be, and it was all a matter of worry and fatigue. For the last two weeks he had been trying to get her to take the time off, time she had in abundance, to stay home with Katie. She resisted it, felt torn and guilty for leaving the team shorthanded and equally as torn and guilty for not being at home with her daughter. The holiday had presented the perfect opportunity to push past her stubbornness. She relented, finally, and as much as he missed her, he knew this was where she wanted to be, as much as it was where she needed to be.

He reached out and his fingers brushed her hand. "Where are the kids?"

Her chin moved into her hand and she smiled at him again. "Rusty went up to shower. Katie went up a few minutes ago."

His thumb swept the back of her hand. It was imperceptible, barely noticeable, but her voice hitched slightly when she spoke of her daughter. When her gaze immediately shifted, moving back to her parents, he knew it was to hide the darker gleam of concern that flickered across her face. Andy sighed quietly. For only a moment he felt like calling her on it, but that was a testament of his own frustration, and he stamped down on it. He turned his attention to her parents instead, relaxing marginally when she turned her hand over beneath his and their fingers laced together. "How was the drive down?"

"Not too bad," Patrick had exchanged a look with his wife. There was no one to blame but themselves, but they'd allowed themselves to be put off for too long. The atmosphere surrounding their daughter and son-in-law was entirely too strained. It was much different than they'd encountered only a couple of months ago when the couple drove up at the end of the summer. They should have come sooner. "Traffic wasn't horrible until we reached the city."

"Otherwise, we quite enjoyed it," Miranda agreed. "We've been admiring what you two have done with the place. As I understand it, Sharon was considering redoing the landscaping on the front, but was afraid you might throttle her in her sleep if she mentions the words landscape or remodel again anytime soon."

With her blue eyes sparkling, all mischief and amusement, he was reminded again that his wife was very much her mother's daughter. Beside him, he heard his wife's laugh. From the corner of his eye, he watched her relax again. Her hand squeezed his and he flashed a grin at his mother-in-law. "She was out of control for a while. I was beginning to think it was some odd form of revenge. I'm really not fond of contractors..."

"That'll teach him," Miranda laughed.

"I thought so!" Sharon glanced at him with a wide smile. "I just kept thinking to myself, oh, leave a wet towel on the floor will he? Let's see what we can do about painting the dining room..."

"Forget to unload the dishwasher?" Andy looked skyward, feigning a truly aggrieved state. "She had everything pulled out of the laundry room and completely redid the whole thing. Put off mowing the lawn for a couple of weeks? I come home and there is a very large hole in the ground."

"Now Sharon," Patrick shook his head at his daughter. There was a gleam in his eyes. "The man works hard all day. He should be able to walk in his front door and not worry about having a bunch of strange men running around the house."

Her lips pressed tightly together. Sharon's voice hitched. "Then I suppose now is a bad time to mention that I want new cabinets in the kitchen?"

Andy gave her a near desperate look. "Can't I just build you a house? I have an idea... you go find a spot. We'll build it how you want it, you can deal with the contractors and just let me know when it's time to move in."

She pouted at him. "But I like this one."

He looked skyward and sighed. "Fine." Andy waved a hand at her. "Get the cabinets."

"Amazing isn't it," Miranda told her husband. "She's been doing the same thing since she was about six months old to get exactly what she wants... and it's still working."

Patrick was laughing. "At some point, son, you're going to have to learn how to say no."

"Yeah?" Andy smirked at him. "How has that worked for you?"

"I didn't put a timestamp on it," he pointed out with a grin. "When I get it figured out, I'll be sure to pass it on."

"Now Patrick," Miranda smirked. "No meddling."

"Honey, that's not meddling," he stated. "That's helping a man out when he truly needs it." Patrick braced his hands on the arms of his chair. "Now, as much fun as this is, this old man is off to find a place to lay these old bones down. It's gotten late on us."

Miranda glanced at her watch. "Yes, and I'd like to be up early. Breakfast will be my treat."

"Mom," Sharon was already shaking her head. "You don't need to do—"

"You'll not argue with me, Sharon Flynn," she stated firmly.

"Yes ma'am." She rose from her seat when her parents did. "Good night, mom."

"Good night, honey." If she held her daughter a little longer than was necessary, neither of them gave it any mind.

Patrick lay a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, then accepted the kiss that was pressed to his cheek. "Good night, Sharon. Andy."

"Patrick, Miranda." He lay his hands on Sharon's shoulders as her parents moved in to the house through the open patio doors. Rusty had appeared and was ensconced on the sofa with his laptop. Andy tugged his wife back and kissed the back of her head. "Okay?"

With a hum and a shrug she turned and slipped her arms around his waist. She tipped her head back to offer a warm smile. "Much better now." He cupped her head in his large hands and placed a kiss to her brow, then the tip of her nose before tucking her against him. So simple a thing, but it was what she had needed, his arms to hold her. "Did you eat?" She asked quietly. "I put something aside for you."

"No, I came straight home," he admitted. His hands moved up and down her back and into her hair.

Her lips curved upward. Sharon lifted her head again, but stayed in the circle of his arms. "How did things turn out?"

Andy sighed. "Well, unless there are any major breaks, we're going to pick it up again on Monday. Taylor didn't want to fork out overtime and holiday pay when we've barely got anything to go on right now. The on-call Robbery-Homicide team will handle anything else that comes up, unless of course… well, you know."

"I know," she nodded. Anything they couldn't handle, or that which was deemed too important by Taylor or Pope would be sent to them, and they'd be called in, holiday weekend or no. "Let's not borrow trouble. You're here now." She took his arm and tugged him with her toward the inside.

"Hey kid." Andy ruffled his hair with a smirk as they walked past the sofa. "So, I hear you got offered a little side job today."

Rusty snickered. "Well, I didn't want anyone to have to see a grown Provenza cry, and so close to the holidays too. It was all in the spirit of giving."

"Yeah? How did it go?" Andy smirked knowingly.

"I was amused by the attempt," Sharon said. "A little touched by the sentiment. I'm considering getting him something. Since he's missed me so."

Andy shook his head. "Just let me not be around, okay? I know that look, and it's never a good thing." Her evil chuckle followed her into the kitchen. "At least she can't send us to anger management and sensitivity training anymore," he muttered as he followed her.

"Wanna bet?" Sharon smirked as she opened the oven and pulled the covered plate from inside. She set it on the table while Andy poured himself a glass of iced tea.

"You're an evil woman." He told her. "Just keep in mind, I have to come home to you after those classes."

"Oh, it isn't you that I would send," her eyes glittered.

"By all means then," he waved a hand at her. "Carry on."

Although she chuckled, Sharon eased into a chair across from him. "What did he do?"

"What didn't he do?" Andy shook his head. "Let's not worry about it. Talking about Provenza is not how I want to spend my evening with you."

"Hmm." She rested her chin in her hand and smiled at him. "Good answer." The corners of her mouth twitched. "Very good answer. For that, I am willing to forgo the new cabinets."

Andy grinned. "Well, never let it said that I can't be taught."

"Now see," Katie wandered into the kitchen. "It's these kinds of things that make it hard to keep an appetite. How is a girl supposed to eat with the two of you going all googly-eyed at each other all the time."

The lines around her eyes became deeper. Sharon glanced at him, and then away. There it was again, that flicker of worry that she had attempted to hide earlier. When her lips pursed and her head tilted, Andy's eyes narrowed. He leaned back in his seat and studied his stepdaughter. "You know, I felt that way earlier. While I was trying to have lunch, and Buzz was making googly-eyes at the text messages that he was getting." Andy watched her make a circuit of the kitchen and finally get herself a bottled water. "Turns out, your mother is trying to fatten me up again. Come take some of this off my hands." He slid the plate toward her.

"Maybe in—" Katie looked at him and stopped. Her mother she could put off. She hadn't hit that wall yet of how far she was willing to bend. Katie truly didn't have much of an appetite, and her stomach clenched painfully at the though of putting food in it. The hard look she was getting from her stepfather, however, reminded her that he didn't have her mother's patience. Katie drew a breath and walked over to take a seat.

Sharon tugged her bottom lip between her teeth as she stood and retrieved a second plate and silverware for her daughter. Afterward, she stepped back behind Katie and pressed her fingers to her lips. She smiled gratefully at him. "I'm going to go and run a bath," she said. "It's been a long day." Sharon drew away from them and made her way up the stairs.

"She's freaking out a little bit," Katie said quietly. "If you want to go up there, I promise to eat. You don't have to babysit me."

"Are you kidding?" Andy drew his plate back toward him after transferring half to Katie. "I worked all day. I'm starving." He picked up his fork again. "Eat," he instructed.

"Aye, aye." She grinned and speared a piece of steamed broccoli.

Silence descended on them. Andy ate in silence, while keeping one eye on his stepdaughter. "She worries," he said finally. "It's her job. But you're right, you don't need a babysitter. You've got 'em anyway. We're tryin' here kid, not to push too hard, but it ain't easy."

"I know." Katie pushed the food around on her plate. She chewed on the corner of her lip. "It's making me crazy too. I just want to go back to the way things were."

He glanced up at her and his jaw clenched. His chest constricted. So much like her mother, right down to the way her gaze flickered toward him through her lashes and how her voice hitched, growing deeper with emotion. "Yeah," he said softly, "I know. Going back isn't always possible. Sometimes, you just gotta push through." When she looked up at him again, green eyes bright with glistening tears, Andy shook his head. "Give me that." He took her plate, and his, and moved to the sink with them. "I think we can do better than this."

"What do you mean?" She turned in her chair to watch him, and drew her legs up, folding them beneath her, indian style. "Andy?"

"You'll see." He opened the freezer and looked for a moment, moving items aside. Then he reached in, all the way to the back, and came out with a carton of ice cream he had hidden. From the fridge, he took a container of strawberries, and the milk. "Do not tell your mother," he warned, even as he took down the blender.

Katie laughed. "Dessert for dinner, are you kidding me? My lips are sealed!" She watched him scoop ice cream in to the blender, and then toss in the strawberries and milk.

When the sound of the blender brought Rusty into the kitchen, Andy held a finger to his lips and took down a third glass. A few minutes later, he was filling them with strawberry milkshakes.

Rusty watched him hide the ice cream again and laughed. "She totally already found that, you know that right?"

"Yep." He smirked. "Just like I found the chips she's got hidden in the back of the cabinet. Don't ask."

"You guys are weird," Rusty wandered out of the kitchen again, this time with his shake.

Andy just shrugged. He put the shake in front of Katie and tilted his head. "Better?"

"Way." She smiled brightly up at him. "Thanks."

"It's what I do." He reclaimed his seat.

"Good job," she said sincerely.

"Thank you." He pursed his lips. "Now if you could just get your mother to quit remodeling the house…"

The giggling filtered up the stairs. Sharon eased the bedroom door open and listened. She could only barely make out the familiar timber of Andy's voice between rounds of laughter. She leaned her head against the door frame and smiled. She hummed quietly and shook her head. "That man," she whispered. After another moment, she stepped back inside and pressed the door closed. She would leave Katie in Andy's very capable hands. Already she could feel some of the weight lifting off her shoulders…

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Katie rested her chin in her hand and regarded her stepfather. Their milkshakes were long since finished. Rusty was watching a movie in the living room, but Katie and Andy had remained in the kitchen.

Andy arched a brow at her. "Do your worst." He leaned forward in his seat and rested his arms against the table, hands clasped loosely.

"You moved pretty quick with mom. Did you ever feel like it was moving fast?" She tilted her head at him, trying not to laugh when his lips pursed. "You've said that you knew mom was a packaged deal, but I'm afraid it was a pretty big package."

"Nope." His dark eyes sparkled. "I was worried that if I didn't hurry up, she'd come to her senses."

Katie giggled. "You've said that before."

"It's true. I was terrified that she was going to wake up and realize that I was just some…. moron chasing a skirt that was way out of my league, and still is." He shrugged. "So far, so good. It's all the remodeling," He gestured at the house. "The paint fumes keep her confused. When she runs out of projects, I'm screwed."

"You don't really believe that?" She stared at him incredulously. "Mom is nuts about you. I can't remember when she's ever been happy, not like this. Andy."

He shook his head. "You know, you're more like her than you think." Andy tapped his fingers against the table. "I know I'm lucky. I screwed up my life in more ways than I can count, and coming back from that… it's still a struggle. But you don't think about yesterday, and you don't think about tomorrow. Think about today. Don't worry about fast or slow, worry about right now."

"Right now kind of sucks," she admitted in a small voice. She chewed on the corner of her lip again and looked up at him through her lashes. "I want it to be tomorrow."

"I know." He stood up and rounded the table. He cupped her chin and smiled down at her. "Tell you what, let your mom worry about you. I'll worry about her. You can think about tomorrow if you need to. But don't forget to think about now too. Deal?"

She gave him a warm, soft smile. "Deal." Her small hand curled around his upper arm. "Who worries about you, Andy-shaped-dad?"

"That's the upside to a pretty big package." He tugged playfully on a lock of blue hair. "It just means we've got all the angles covered. Okay?"

"Yeah." She unfolded from the chair, stiff from having sat on one position too long.

"Going up?" He nodded his head toward the stairs.

"Not yet. I slept most of the day. I think I'll check out the movie." She winked. "Torment the baby brother. I've been getting a little lax. His ego is out of control again."

"I've noticed that." Andy flipped off the lights, gathered his badge, gun and phone from the bar. "Don't stay up too late," he told them both, and then pointed his phone at Katie. "I expect you to get that situation under control," he said, gesturing at Rusty.

"Yes sir!" She sketched off a sloppy salute. She watched him disappear up the stairs and then flopped down beside Rusty.

He squinted at her, suspicious. "Yes?"

"They've gone to bed," She pointed out unnecessarily. "Did you download it?"

"I did." He smirked. "You want to watch it?"

"Is Bruce Willis bald, sexy, and waiting for me to find him?" She made a face at her brother.

"You are disturbed," he told her. "You do get that, right?"

"I have so much to teach you," she sighed.

"Please don't." Rusty pointed the remote at the AppleTV box and queued up the first season of Game of Thrones for her. It had not appealed to either of them previously, but they had caught a few episodes quite by accident, late at night while Katie was unable to sleep and Rusty was studying. Rusty did not get dancing. Katie was hopeless at chess. This they could share. When she laid down with her feet tucked under his leg, he sighed. "Girls," he muttered.

Upstairs, Andy found the bedroom lights dimmed. The lamp on his side of the bed illuminated his path from the door to the bathroom. He paused at the dresser only long enough to get rid of his gear before sliding quietly into the bathroom to get cleaned up and changed. When he eased in to bed several minutes later, he found his wife not quite as sleep as previously believed. She rolled toward him and curled against his side. "Hey." He pushed his fingers into her hair to rub the back of her head.

"Hmm." She draped an arm across his middle and wriggled closer. "I love you."

He pressed his lips against the side of her head. "I love you. Sleep, Sharon." He felt her relax against him, and let his hand drift to rub her back. When he glanced down, he could just make out the color of his favorite Dodgers t-shirt. Andy smiled. It looked better on her. He continued to slowly rub her back, and occasionally his hand would move in to her hair, fingers gentle against her scalp, until he felt her grow completely slack against him. It was only then that he allowed himself to relax.

The following morning Andy went out early for a meeting, and on his way home, he had three calls from his wife with things that had not made it on to a grocery list and were needed. "You have no idea how much I actually love you, that I'm here right now, and not in a cell." Andy dropped the plastic bag containing the items his wife had forgotten to buy prior to the holiday on the counter and gave her an aggrieved look. When she laughed, he shook his head. "Sure, go ahead, laugh at my pain. Holiday shoppers are brutal. I couldn't even find a good reason to pull my gun out. There I was, just another poor husband, whose wife forgot the marshmallows for the yams." As he passed her, his hand landed lightly across her backside, making her laugh again. "You owe me," he told her.

"Next time, I'll make Rusty go," she cooed sympathetically. "Poor Andy. Did you get everything?" She leaned past him to open the bag.

"Yeah," He huffed another exasperated sigh. "After two stores, because it is actually Thanksgiving, and the shelves are getting a bit bare, and there was no way in hell I was going out again."

Her lips curved in to a smile. "Okay, you made your point. You are tormented beyond all reason to be married to such a horribly forgetful person. I'll make it up to you later."

"Oh yeah?" He leaned his hip against the counter and regarded her with a half grin. "So sending me out into this insanity should rate the red one, I think."

"You were already out in this insanity," Sharon pointed out. "The blue one."

He pouted at her. "Two stores."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh alright. You big baby."

He moved behind her and curled an arm around her waist. His head bent and his lips found her neck, above the collar of her light sweater. Andy settled a hand against her hip, the other found the hem of her sweater and lifted it. His fingers danced across the smooth expanse of soft skin above the waist of her jeans. When she leaned into him with a sigh, a grin curved his lips. A throat being cleared was enough to draw his attention away from the graceful column of her neck. Andy lifted his head and found his father-in-law striding across the kitchen to refill his coffee cup. "At least it wasn't Rusty this time."

Sharon laughed and pushed him away from her. "If you're not going to help me, go find somewhere to sit and behave yourself."

He held up his hands and moved around the trolley pulled into the center of the kitchen to see what all she had laid out. "I'm helping, I'm helping."

"Dad, can I get you anything else?" Sharon's attention shifted to her father.

"No, just getting a refill." He smirked as he stirred in cream and sugar. "I need the added fuel, Rusty's gone to bring down the chess board. This time…"

"He's been practicing," She warned.

"So have I." Patrick winked at her and wandered out of the kitchen again.

Sharon exchanged a look with her husband. They both shook their heads before turning their attention back to dinner preparation. "Nicole called, she and Jake will be here with the boys later."

Andy frowned. "I thought they were driving down to see his folks after they left her mom's."

"Jake's sister just had a baby, so his parents decided to drive up to Bakersfield to spend the holiday with her. Apparently at the idea of having two young boys running around her house all day, Amanda began to twitch. She told Nicole that she and Tom just couldn't break their plans for the evening… so…"

"We get them for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Amanda did it to herself." Andy smirked happily. His daughter had planned to split the two holidays between her parents, so as to keep the peace. "I love it when a plan comes together… and she can't pin it on me."

"Exactly." Sharon smiled. "So naturally when Nicole called this morning and just let it slip that she'd be at home this evening… I had to invite her."

"Naturally." Andy shook his head. "I love how that wicked mind of yours works."

"Hmm… Well, after talking to Nicole, I might have called Tony and extended the same invitation." Her eyes glittered deviously. "He's working tonight, but he'll swing by before he goes on shift and have something to eat."

"I knew you were going to be trouble." He shook the potato peeler he held at her. "The first time you chewed me out for brawling with a suspect, I just knew it…"

Her lips pressed together, but she continued to chuckle. "Yes, and twenty years later, how is that working out for you, Lieutenant?"

"I like trouble." He winked at her. "Especially when it struts around on those little, black hee—" He laughed when the dishtowel glanced off his shoulder.

"Peel," she ordered with a smirk.

"Bossy witch," he muttered playfully, but went back to work. Andy glanced up at her and found the corners of her eyes crinkled with amusement, and laughter dancing in her green eyes. He grinned and shook his head. Trouble had worked out for him just fine.

Well after dinner had been served and consumed, Ricky and Jake had taken the boys out back to work off their excess energy on the jungle gym at the far side of the yard, beyond the pool. Andy and Rusty finished cleaning up the kitchen, and found Sharon and Katie once again ensconced in his recliner with a blanket - his stepdaughter's energy reserves finally spent. Miranda and Nicole had moved out to the patio, chatting quietly while they watched over the boys.

Andy was brewing another pot of coffee when his father-in-law appeared beside him. "She wore herself out pretending to be okay for her grandmother. She frets you know," Patrick stated.

"That's what I hear." He took down an extra mug and offered it to the older man. "It's been a rough few weeks, but they're doing okay," he said, including his wife in that.

"Yes," he nodded slowly. "She's willful, gets it from her mother. Stubborn, gets that from the Cavanaghs. You can be patient, but when they dig their heels in - and they will dig their heels in, you're going to have to dig yours in deeper."

Andy chuckled. "Yes, believe me, I know." He turned to lean back against the counter with his cup. He could just see beyond the frame of the kitchen door, his wife and stepdaughter curled together in his chair. "Thing is, I'm pretty damned stubborn myself. I don't like to give in."

It was Patrick's turn to chuckle and nod. "Good thing too. Girl needs someone to fight with," he said of his daughter. "Can't let her have her way too often."

"Ah, well, we're in luck." Andy lifted his cup. "I always did like getting scrappy with that one."

"So the story goes." Patrick had heard quite a few of them since the first time he'd met this man his daughter loved. "Miranda and I are heading out to Park City in a couple of weeks. You'll keep an eye on my girls?"

Andy's chest tightened. He nodded once. "Yes sir." The jury had been out on him, he knew, until that moment.

"Good, that's good." Patrick nodded. "I'm going to see what the boys have gotten up to. We'll get the little ones tossing around a ball yet."

"Good luck," Andy chuckled. "They like to twirl."

"So did Katie," Patrick winked at him. "You should see her play football. That girl can be mean."

Andy wandered out behind him to lean against the open patio doors. He shoved a hand into the pocket of his jeans, lifted his cup to his mouth with the other. He glanced over when someone joined him in the doorway. "Hey kid."

Rusty had both hands shoved into his pockets. "Weird, yeah? Last year was… different."

"Yeah." He nodded slowly. He'd been alone, hoping for the chance to see his kids. He remembered ending up at a diner with Provenza, the both of them grousing about the nature of the holiday and what a waste it was. "I think different covers it."

"She wouldn't let her kids come last year. It was just us," Rusty said, then his nose wrinkled. "Us and the guards."

Andy chuckled quietly. "Still not missing those guys huh?"

"Not so much." Rusty smirked. "So… what about you? Miss it? The rest, I mean. This used to be a nice, quiet place."

It was Andy's turn to smirk. "Not so much." His brow arched. "What about you, kid," he parroted back. "Used to be a nice, quiet, small little condo downtown."

His eyes darkened, briefly, as he thought about the condo. But thoughts of that reminded him of why they'd left it. At least at first. Before all that, it was just a peaceful place, the first real home he had. "Sometimes," he admitted. "When it gets really crazy around here I think about what it used to be like when it was just us. But for the most part, not really."

"That's pretty normal," Andy told him. "Given anymore thought to next semester?" The kid had been working on the decision of whether or not to move into the dorm, or continue living at home while he attended school.

"I'm going to stay around here," Rusty said. He slanted a look at Flynn and shrugged. "She frets, you know?"

"I know." Andy slanted a look back at him and they both grinned. "We can't have that."

"Nope." Rusty leaned against the opposite side of the door. "She'll get all spastic, start rearranging the house, start yelling at people at work. It's better this way, trust me."

"You're probably right," he said, suppressing the urge to smirk. He slanted a look at the kid again and shook his head. He wasn't ready to leave yet, they'd suspected as much. It was just as well, they weren't ready either. He still needed looking after. So they told themselves. When little Devon called to him, Rusty moved out into the yard with the others. Andy remained where he was, keeping silent vigil.