A Series of Unfortunate Events

Chapter 7

A/N: In case you all are wondering, I repeated the last line of chapter 6 kinda of like a recap.


"My independence was something I had to develop because Jack kept leaving and now it's ingrained in me, which makes it difficult for me to allow people to help even when I need it," she admitted in a low voice.

"I can understand that, but look… Mom, I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you. I'd be way more wrecked if anything happened to you, than I am about…" He swallowed the lump in his throat, "about my other mom. Let's face it , I lost her a long time ago to her addictions and her boyfriends. She was getting better and we were doing better but still I didn't entirely trust her, you know?" Sharon nodded to let him know she understood. So Rusty went on, "with you it's different. You've shown me the true meaning of unconditional love from the beginning. You made the words love and mother really mean something to me." Rusty swallowed back the emotion that was threatening to overwhelm him. Sharon's face was awash with tears as well, she moved toward him to hold him in her arms to comfort him.

Andy anticipated their need to hold each other and moved to take Bella away from Rusty, so Sharon could put her arms around him. He took the baby, who had finished her bottle , into the kitchen to start her bath and get her ready for bed. Meanwhile, since the kitchen wasn't that far away from the couch he could hear Rusty and Sharon still talking.

"Mom, when Andy and I were in the RACR room and the bomb went off and you were at the cemetery, and we didn't know whether you had survived. The feeling I had then… was… well... I can't quite describe the devastation I felt," he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Then the next day when you guys were at the PAB, and the other bomb went off. Again, I didn't know whether or not you'd survived, and then again in the hospital when you were so sick… those feelings were hundreds of times worse, than what I'm feeling now. I can survive my other mother being gone, but I couldn't survive losing you, Mom... I'd want to die too," he said in a small voice.

Sharon hugged Rusty to her, one hand smoothing his hair. The other rubbed up and down his back, but then as the full meaning of his last three words echoed in her head she pulled back, took his chin in her hand and made eye contact with him to emphasize her words. "Russell Thomas Beck, don't you dare even think that! I know it feels like you wouldn't want to... go on, but... you... you would survive! In fact, if I have taught you anything, if I mean anything to you, know that surviving after I'm gone is something that I expect you to do! Because if you just rolled over and died emotionally or gave up on your dreams and aspirations, just because..." Sharon swallowed back her tears. Her voice became low and raw as she tried to convey how strongly she felt, as she continued, "because I died... then the last five years… (swallow) would be like it never happened! (swallow) Everything we've been through together, every hurdle we've crossed. All your accomplishments... All of mine with you would… all mean nothing! Do you understand? I can't believe that you would even think of curling up and dying because I died. Oh My God! Rusty! At least, the Rusty I know and love is very strong. You'd have to be strong to survive what you lived through before I came into your life! From the moment I first saw you in the interview room with Brenda, I knew that you were a survivor! That you were strong. You were strong before I came into the picture and you are even stronger now!"

He shook he head in disagreement. "Well... I didn't feel strong, Mom." He looked into her eyes, "When you were in the hospital and you were so sick, I didn't feel strong, I felt like my insides were being torn apart." His eyes and voice became shaky and full of tears.

Sharons eyes closed, not able to bear to see the pain in her son's eyes. She felt badly that he and the rest of her family had to go through that terrible time. In her mind's eye she remembered back. The day of the bombing at the PAB was pretty much a blur, but she remembered some things. She remembered being slammed against the wall by the force of the explosion and she remembered her thoughts as she hit the wall were of Andy and Rusty simultaneously. Oddly enough, her older children only briefly came to mind. Not because she didn't love them, she did, very much and she knew they loved her, but they had been on their own for years, they would grieve and she hated that for them, but they would be able to move on. She had worried about Rusty, would he be okay? Would he grieve and then move on? She had hoped he would eventually be okay, but now she realized that he was much more fragile and much more attached than she could have imagined. Then there was Andy, she knew the love of her life would grieve for a very long time and blame himself. At that moment in time, all she could do was say a prayer that they would lean on each other, and then everything had gone black. She had thought that was she was a goner.

But then she had woke up, after only a few seconds of being unconscious. The first voices she'd heard were Amy 's and Provenza's. "Captain? Captain? Wake up, Captain!" Amy's and Provenza's voices sounded panicked.

"Calm down you two, I think she's coming around," said Mike Tao. As usual, Mike's voice was calm and soothing. Although there was a bit of a break in it that revealed how truly rattled he really was.

"Andy? (Cough cough) where's Andy? Is he alright?" She had asked. In that moment she had forgotten where he was, and in truth just wanted to see him.

Amy looked to Tao to answer their Captains question " He's at the the courthouse, Captain. Remember? He got the guy! He's the reason you had time to figure out where the bomb was. He's a hero, and so are you! If it hadn't been for the two of you, things could have been a lot worse." She waved the idea that she was a hero away impatiently and struggled to sit up.

"No, don't move, Captain. There are EMT's on their way. They are going to want to put a neck brace and..."

"Lieutenant Tao, please help me stand up. I do not need to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I'm sure there are people with injuries much worse than mine that could use an ambulance but not I." She glared when his extended hand didn't help her up but kept her in place.

Mike laid his hand on her shoulder to keep her sitting still. "Ma'am, with all due respect of the fact that you are my ranking officer you were slammed against the wall! You could have internal injuries," he pleaded.

Provenza added his two cents. "Captain, It's a rule..., that you wrote by the way, that states you need to be seen at the emergency room if you are caught in something like this. Not to mention that Flynn will have my hide if anything happens to you!"

Sharon had to smile. The idea that Provenza of all people would gang up on her with Mike to remind her of the rules about being seen by the paramedics would have been laughable five years ago. "I know Lieutenants, and as you both pointed out, I wrote those rules. I'll have Andy take me, I promise, Mike. As I said before, I'd much rather someone who really needs an ambulance use it and it doesn't say anything in the rules about having to go to the hospital by ambulance. As long as I get seen the same day as the incident or at least the first 24 hours. Now has anybody let Rusty and Andy know I'm alive?"

"I'll get right on that, Captain," Amy had said and started texting right away. Unfortunately the bomb had caused all the cellphones to be glitchy and they only worked intermittently, only allowing people to receive calls, not call out. Andy had finally gotten through to Provenza who handed his phone to her.

When she had finally actually seen Andy she was being supported by Julio as they walked through the doors of the PAB out into the blinding sunshine. As she had walked through the wreckage that was the ninth floor of the PAB towards the stairwell, Julio had taken over captain watch. Mike had stayed upstairs to help with other injured officers and civilians that had been caught in the blast. Sharon had become more and more aware that her back and legs hurt as if she'd been walking in six inch stilettos all day. Julio had seen her wince several times and then when she had almost stumbled over some office debris and had cried out involuntarily. He had offered to walk with her as they descended the nine floors worth of stairs. By the time they reached the ground floor, she was leaning on him pretty heavily.

Amy and Nolan were helping Provenza who was fussing with them all the way to the ambulance where he was forced to sit and be examined by the paramedics. Julio helped this Captain over to the EMT s and then after they were both checked for concussion and obvious injuries they were implored by the paramedics to be seen at the emergency room. Julio then handed her over to Andy who had been waiting impatiently, till they crossed the barrier the police and emergency vehicles had set up. Once they cleared the barrier, Andy had taken her from Julio. He gently gave her a hug and a long lingering kiss, literally speechless with relief, that he was holding her in his arms again. Sharon was so relieved to see Andy, and be held and kissed by him that she had not chastised him for the PDA.

Since their cars were in the parking garage down the street, and he knew Sharon wouldn't have it in her to walk that far, he had called for an Uber ride, while he was waiting for her to get downstairs. It arrived just as they were finishing their kiss. Then he had ordered the driver to take them straight to the nearest hospital.

However due to fall out from the bomb at the PAB the emergency room was so busy, she had not been seen for over four hours

Then a very young cocky resident intern had pronounced her, good to go home after only a cursory exam. Saying that as far as he could see she had some bruising, but she shouldn't have any lasting effects. He had also said to take it easy that night, but that she could probably go back to work the next day but on desk duty, for a couple of days then to see her doctor in a week for a follow up. Andy had asked why they weren't going to X-ray her and the resident had said the X-ray machines were only being used for the more serious cases. Of which she wasn't one in his opinion, since she had come on her own instead of using an ambulance she must not be too bad off. Andy had almost taken his head off right then and there. Sharon had patted his arm and given him "the look " and shook her head slightly that meant "don't make a scene" and "calm down."

The next day she had gone into work and been promoted to Commander, by the new chief, and the day after that she woke up unable to catch her breath, and running a high fever. Andy had had her rushed to the hospital in an ambulance that time, not wanting to take any chances. He had held her hand the whole time. The medics in the ambulance and at the hospital had tried to make him leave the room when they were hooking her up with oxygen, heart monitors, IV's, and a catheter, but he had insisted on staying and had stood his ground. She knew he had sensed her fright, and wanted to be there for her like she was for him during his health crises and she had been frightened. Very frightened, probably more so than when she was caught up in the bomb explosions. The feeling of breathlessness alone, had been terrifying. Then the fact that for some reason she was hyper aware of every noise going on around her. The beeping and hissing from the various machines she was being hooked up to, not to mention the pain of the IV as it was placed in her hand rather roughly, she thought. Then the feel of the catheter as it was being placed, again rather roughly, as they hurried to get her stabilized.

The voices of doctors and nurses shouting orders at each other had sounded deafening. She had never been more aware and grateful for Andy's love and support than in those moments in the hospital. He had never left her side except to go to the bathroom or when forced to by Mike or Nolan or Julio. Even then he had made sure that Sharon was never left alone. She had been told that Rusty, Emily, Ricky and even Nicole, had been beside themselves as well.

"Mom? Mom? Are you okay? Where did you go?" Rusty asked worriedly.

"Wh… what? What?" she asked, confused for a moment.

He shrugged not knowing another way to describe what had just happened. "Sorry, Mom you went away, you know like in your mind."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Rusty, I was just remembering that terrible time when I was in the hospital, and I want to say that I'm so very sorry that you had to go through that Rusty. I know it was hard on all of you," she said sadly.

"Yeah, it was really hard for me to see you so sick, not knowing if you'd get better, but it was even harder on Andy. I know you don't feel like you need to be, "taken care of," but let Andy take care of you sometimes. It will help him even more than it will help you. He... he was wrecked too, you know? I thought he was going to have a stroke when you were in the hospital. The emergency room intern that let you leave the hospital showed up one day outside your room. Andy saw him and practically took him apart…" After the words came out of his mouth he realized what he'd said and looked at Andy with a deer in headlights look on his face. "Oh, sorry Andy! Didn't mean to out you."

"Don't worry, Kid, she knows." As he spoke Andy finished drying Bella and put on her diaper, her onesie t-shirt and some socks on her tiny feet. He then handed her over to Sharon, making sure that she was able to hold on to her before he let go, and then turned back to the sink to clean up.

TBC…


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