Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Here it is as promised!

Takes place right after "Road Block"

Trigger warning: mention of alcohol abuse.

I feel it was a disservice to not have Sharon in that epi, but here she is!

Thank you to my Twitter gals, who helped me out! Smooches!

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~ERSL~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here I am running through LaGuardia to catch my early morning flight back to Los Angeles. Damn it, I knew something was going to happen, as soon as I left. I didn't expect Andy to be involved though. The way the Chief explained it me at 2:00 a.m. this morning has me extremely nervous:

"Hello." I say highly annoyed that my phone is ringing in the middle of the night, I don't even care to read the display.

"Captain?" Brenda's voice comes through the phone.

"Mm, hmm." I say.

"I'm so sorry, to disturb your week in New York with your daughter, but I think Andy needs you right now." She says.

"What?" I sit straight up in the bed. "What happened?" I say panicking.

"Calm down, he isn't injured or anything." She says. With that revelation I simmer down some, but my heart is still racing. "He witnessed a hit and run of a young girl and she died on the scene." She continues.

"Oh God!" I say. "And we believe we know who did it, but we are having issues wrapping up the case, because the accused is the Police Commissioner's wife." Brenda says.

"Oh!" I say still trying to grasp the horrible reality of the situation. Brenda interrupts my thoughts and says, "I just thought he could really use your help right now. I don't know the extent yew all's relationship, and it is none of my business, I just know he needs someone, and I think you are that someone."

"I'll be on the first flight I can find." I say swiftly. "And Chief, thank you for calling me." I add.

"No, problem, Sharon, I'm sure you would have done the same for me." She says before she hangs up.

My heart sank at the realization of what Andy must be going through. I tried calling him, he didn't answer. I tried texting him, I got no reply. I worry so much about him. I hate to see this derail his sobriety. He has worked too hard, for it. Although, I understand the complexity of the situation. Watching a young person die at the hands of some idiot, is hard. As I sit here waiting for my flight to board, I try calling again, and it goes straight to voicemail. I put the phone in my lap. My nerves are getting the best of me. My phone rings and startles me:

"Hello."

"Mom, are you okay?" Emily asks.

"Um, I'm not sure."

"Why do you have to get back to L.A. so suddenly?" She asks.

"Umm, it's a work related issue." I lie.

"Mom, I know you are lying so, out with it." Emily says sweetly.

"I'm not lying completely." I confess.

"So, how about you not lie at all, and just tell me the whole truth." She says. That darn child of mine.

"Well, ok I was planning on telling you this week, while I was in town. I, umm, am dating one of my co-workers." I finally admit.

"Oh, finally! You are getting back out there!" Emily screams, I can almost feel her smile through the phone.

"Emily." I say exasperated with her overjoyed reaction.

"What mom? It is about time! So, tell me who is it? Is he hot?" She exclaims.

"Emily!" I assert.

"Mom!" She replies.

"It is a Lieutenant from Major Crimes and that is all that I am telling you." I say.

"Oh, I knew it! It is the hotheaded one isn't it?" She exclaims loudly, causing me to pull my phone away from my ear, quickly.

"How do you know about him?" I ask.

"Uncle Gavin, has a big mouth and a very observant eye!" She confesses.

"Damnit, Gavin!" I expel.

"Ha! I knew it! So…" She starts and I cut her off, "Don't you dare!" I know what the next line of questioning is going to be.

"Ok, fine mom, spoil all of my fun!" She says.

"So, why are you rushing back to him?" She asks with no hesitation.

"Something, happened at work, and it was bad and he needs someone right now." I confess.

"Oh, gosh. Is he okay?" She inquires.

"Physically yes, emotionally I'm not sure." I say.

"Well, mom I am sure you are just the person, he needs to see right now. So, be careful. I love you and call me when you make it safely back to Cali." She says.

"I will honey. I love you, too!" I say before I hang up.

I hear the desk attendant say "Boarding." I shoot Brenda a quick text: "I'm boarding now." I shut my phone off and walk onto the plane.

2 hours later…

Damn it, today out of all days, the plane has to malfunction and we have to make an emergency landing in Dallas, Texas. Now it will be another hour before we can load onto another plan and head to Las Vegas, since there are no flights heading Los Angeles from Dallas today.

I try to call and text Andy once more and I still get no response. The longer I go without talking to him, the more worried I get. I text Emily and Brenda and tell them of my delay. As the time passes all I can do is worry about how he is holding up. I don't understand why he just won't reply to my messages.

Brenda texts back and says: "Ok. He is here at work, keeping busy so I have eyes on him, until you arrive."

"Thank you, so much." I reply.

I feel a little better. I just really wish he would talk to me. I want to hear his voice. I need to hear it, to know how he truly is. I know Brenda can't tell how he is truly doing, because he guards himself so well.

As we board our next flight. I text Em and Brenda again. I turn my phone off. As I settle into my seat, I pull out my laptop and ask the stewardess how to purchase in flight Wi-Fi. She gives me the instructions. I go to a car rental website. I will be driving from Vegas to L.A. I have had enough of airports and airplanes for the day. We land and I swiftly locate my luggage and head to the rental kiosk and pick up the keys, to a Chevy Tahoe, not my usual choice, but today I just want to get to the man I love and the man who needs me badly, right now.

I load my stuff into the car and turn on the GPS. I text Emily to let her know my plan. She replies, "No, visits to Dad's." I honestly had forgotten he lived in Vegas, after our last knockdown, drag out argument, I blocked his number and tried my very hardest not to think of him again. I hadn't told the kids about the argument, because I try not to make them biased in regards to him. Although, he makes it very hard. "No, plans to." I reply back, before pulling out of the parking lot. "Good." She replies. I call Brenda and put her on speakerphone.

"Hello, Captain." Her Southern accent comes through the phone.

"How is he?" I ask passing all of the normal formalities.

"He is as good as to be expected, Sharon. Don't work yourself up. How was the flight?" She asks trying to deflect my attention.

"It was fine. Please, be honest with me. How is he really holding up?" I ask.

"Like I said, as good as can be expected. The good news is we should have this case wrapped up by the end of the day." Brenda says.

"OK, good, I should be there by then." I say.

"Are you catching another flight?" She inquires.

"No, I'm driving. The GPS says it should take me about 4 hours or so." I confess.

"Ok, be careful. Let me know, when you are close and I will tell you where he is." She says.

"Ok, I will and thank you again, Brenda." I say.

"Yew are welcome." She says before hanging up.

Driving along the highway, I change the radio station at least 50 times. I need something to keep my mind from overloading. I eventually give in and call Andy again, hoping he will answer. He still doesn't answer. Damn it Andy, just answer the phone one time. My phone dings and it is a message from him: "The Chief, told me she told you what happened, please don't worry about me, I am ok. I will call you later, gorgeous." Damn it, now I know he isn't ok, the only time he sends a text instead of calling is to avoid me and what I may discover through his tone. I start nervously tapping my fingers on the wheel. My phone rings, and I answer quickly not reading the screen.

"Andy?" I say.

"Uhh, nope, try again, my friend." Andrea says.

"Oh, hi." I say.

"Oh, hi, that is all that I get?" She asks.

"Uhh, fine. Hello, Andrea, how are you today?" I sarcastically utter.

"That is a little better." She says before laughing.

"Seriously, what can I help you with?" I ask.

"Nothing, I was just calling to check on my friend, who is secretly dating this Lieutenant, who witnessed a tragic accident." She confesses.

"Oh." I say.

"Yeah." She says. "So how are you?" She asks.

"Um, I'm not sure." I confess.

"You sound like you are on the verge of crying, sweetie." She states.

"Your assumption is right." I confess.

"Have you spoken to him?" She inquires.

"No, he won't answer my calls, but he texted right before you called." I stammer.

"Ok. What did he say?"

"He claims he is ok, but I know he isn't and I hate that I'm not there to comfort him." I finally confess and a tear runs down my cheek. I see the California state line sign as I look out the passenger window.

"Well you are on your way to him, so just relax." She says.

"Wait, how did you know that?" I ask.

"Emily called me." She confesses.

"Oh!" I express.

I smile and say, "My daughter is something else."

"She is just like her mother, she cares." Andrea says.

We continue our conversation for another hour. The closer I get to L.A. the faster my heart starts to race. I feel my mouth getting dry. My nerves are kicking in and I start overthinking. "Sharon, breathe." Andrea says. I try to even my breaths and it starts working instantly. "Just imagine we are at yoga. Find a central point and focus." She says. My focal point is Andy. Envisioning his warm and inviting smile, calms me. Thinking about his dark caramel eyes, that become chocolate when we make love, brings me peace. "All better now?" Andrea asks breaking my trance. "Yes, I think so." I say as I merge onto CA-210. "Good." She says.

"How much longer do you think you have?" She asks. "I just got off of I-15S." I inform her. "OK, so you have a little less than hour, if traffic is good to you." Andrea says.

"Yep."

"Call me or text me when you have made it to Los Angeles County." She says.

"Sure thing." I say.

"Sharon, eat or drink something, please." She says.

"How do you know I haven't?" I question.

"Because I know you and when you worry, you forget to do so." She declares.

"Oh alright." I say.

"Just stop and get a smoothie, that way you won't break your precious eating healthy routine." She teases.

"Don't judge my eating habits! Everyone can't lay into a steak like you can!" I tease. We both laugh. Being able to laugh helps to clear my mind even more.

We hang up and as I continue to drive, I spot a local smoothie place along the freeway. I stop to get a strawberry pineapple guava protein smoothie. As I get closer to the PAB I call Brenda.

"You are right on time. He is typing up his report." She says when she answers the phone.

"Ok, I should be there in the next 15 minutes." I say.

"Good." She says before hanging up.

The closer I get to the building I feel the rest of the tension leaving my body. Now that I know I will be able to see him for myself it ceases my worry. I pull into the garage and go straight to the Major Crimes section of the deck. I locate his car and it looks like Sanchez has already left for the day, so I pull into his spot. I hop out of the truck and I text Brenda that I am in the parking garage and she replies that he is on his way down. I lean against his car. As he approaches I see that his shoulders are slumped and he looks sad. He is not ok, as he claimed he was.

"Andy." I say. He looks up and notices me. He walks swiftly to me. I walk towards him. Once we reach each other he hugs me tightly and picks me up. I can tell he really needed his friend, Sharon. But he also needed his girlfriend. As he loosens his grip and puts me down, I ask, "How are you, really?" He doesn't say anything, but I can see the pain reflected in his eyes. He is hurting and hurting badly. "How many meetings have you been to?" I inquire. "4, in the last two days." He finally speaks and reveals. "Did they help?" I ask looking into his eyes. He shakes his head no. "Did you drink?" I ask almost afraid of his response. He shakes his head no again. Whew! "Did you go to a bar?" I inquire. "Yes." He whispers.

"What stopped you from drinking?" I probe.

"You." He confesses. I look confused.

"How did I stop you?" I inquire. "You kept calling me last night. I wasn't asleep, I was at a crappy bar outside of town. When your name kept flashing across my screen, I knew I was making a mistake. So, I left, and went to another meeting." He confesses with tears escaping his eyes. "Oh, Andy. I'm so proud of you for realizing it was a mistake before it was too late." I say pulling him into firm hug. "Did that meeting help?" I whisper. "No." He confesses. "I needed you. I needed someone who understands how horrible I really feel. I need someone who wouldn't judge my tears." He says. "Andy, look at me." I say cupping his chin, "I will never judge you. I don't believe that bullshit of a man isn't supposed to cry. You are human, too. You witnessed something horrific. It is hard to process it. The things we see in our jobs is crazy and they will bring us to our breaking points, no doubt. But that is what makes our jobs so great, is that we have fellow officers who understand our plights." I say with tears stinging my eyes. "Gorgeous, you are more than my fellow officer, you are the love of my life." He admits. "An…"I'm cut off by his lips pressing against mine. The kiss is passionate but filled with so much desperation to feel something. He breaks the kiss, and steps back, I say, "It is ok, Andy. I understand and I am ok with it."

"No, Sharon, I will not use you like that." He utters as he backs further away, I grab his hand. I look into his eyes, "You aren't using me, Andy. I love you and I will do anything in my power for you." I confess as I walk up to him, as I thread our fingers together. "I know you do and would. But I can't let you do this." He says raising my hand to his lips. He presses feather light kisses to my hand. "Andy, I want to do this." I say. "But I don't want you to." He says pulling me into his arms, "All I want is a nice warm cup of coffee and to snuggle with my girl." I smile at him, and say, "I think I can manage that."

"Good, because I was starting to think I might need a new girlfriend, if you couldn't!" He teases.

I step back and slap his chest and say, "Good to see, you can still be a jerk." We both laugh. I grab his hand and walk to the truck.

"Wow are you over compensating for something, woman?" He teases.

"Is that your way of saying you want to drive?" I inquire.

"Possibly." He retorts.

God, I love this man!

TBC…

~~~~~~~ESRL~~~~~~~~

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