Chapter 7

At some point in the early morning, after Sharon had readjusted the blankets over Rusty a dozen times, she relented and joined Andrea on the couch. She told herself that she was close enough to go to Rusty should he call. Besides, she had no intentions of closing her eyes, let alone falling asleep. But all good plans were lost the moment she curled her head into Andrea's shoulder. One minute she was inhaling the familiar scent of her lover, her arm wrapped around Andrea's waist. The next, her eyes drooped closed, and she felt herself drifting into sleep.

Andrea found it easier to stay awake, at least at first. With Sharon's head pillowed against her shoulder, she held her close. Sharon's arm around her waist was a familiar comfort that she had grown to love. With the sounds of the monitors beeping a steady cadence in the room, she gently stroked slow patterns over Sharon's arm, resulting in Sharon's shift in weight. As soon as Andrea felt the change, she glanced down and smiled at her lover's peacefully slumbering features. She gently eased Sharon's glasses from her face before shifting her until her head was pillowed in Andrea's lap. Sharon mumbled slightly but quickly settled back to sleep. With a small smile, Andrea hooked her lover's glasses onto her own blouse, knowing they wouldn't be misplaced.

As she gazed down at Sharon, she felt herself welling up with so much love. They had been dating for almost half a year now, and it still felt new. Every time she saw Sharon in the murder room surrounded by her detectives, a sense of pride filled her. When Sharon glanced her way and smiled, Andrea still felt the butterflies in her stomach, and making love with Sharon was the most exquisite sensation she had ever experienced. She had to admit that the difference between Sharon and her past relationships was that they had started out as friends first.

When they first met, they were simply colleagues. There were a few times Andrea noticed Sharon moving through various LAPD departments in an FID capacity. Sometimes she noticed the captain from afar moving through the halls at a quick pace, her expression one of deep concentration. Once or twice they even shared an elevator, but Andrea was never formally introduced to the auburn beauty until Brenda Lee Johnson's team was under investigation. Even though she wanted to know Sharon better, she got the vibe that the captain was all business, so she acted accordingly. Besides, even though Andrea never denied her preference for women, she wasn't known to pry. As Sharon was standoffish, Andrea felt it best to keep things professional.

If asked, Andrea couldn't say when things between them began to change or even who made the first move. She just knew that after Brenda Lee joined the DA's office and Captain Raydor took over Major Crimes, she was happy to be spending more time with the enigmatic woman. Although a great deal of their interactions were over cases and deals, they quickly bonded over their material witness. And even though Rusty Beck started out to be a royal pain the ass, she could see the captain becoming attached to the boy as if he was her own. Andrea thought it was adorable. The tough no nonsense captain, Darth Raydor to her crew, took an orphan boy in who was somehow managing to melt the heart that the officers swore she didn't have.

As Andrea remembered back to that time, a smile crossed her face. If she found Sharon attractive before, seeing her soft, nurturing side made her all the more alluring. Despite the fact that Andrea didn't know who made the first move, she was glad it happened. Break room coffee chats turned into innocent work lunches that soon became intimate dinners. Wine and giggles over shared stories of their jobs led to mutual respect and fondness. The innocent reaching for the bottle of wine caused their hands to brush one too many times until neither one of them could deny the physical attraction that consumed them. At some point one of their dinners ended with Sharon in her bed.

In the beginning, Sharon never stayed over, instead returning home so that Rusty wouldn't be alone all night. Eventually, when he noticed the time they were spending together, he suggested that Sharon invite Andrea to spend the night. Although it might have taken her a bit longer to extend the invitation, eventually it was made. Now, it was as if their lives had always been like this. Andrea had her own condo, but her weekends were spent with Sharon and Rusty. It wasn't the most ideal situation, but for now it was enough. Knowing what she knew about Jack and having met that unpleasant man, Andrea was content to let Sharon take the lead on where their relationship went.

Throughout their time together, Andrea never asked Sharon about her orientation because it didn't seem to matter. Even though Sharon was separated from her husband, she never mentioned having any relationships during the time of separation. Andrea never knew if this was because Sharon was not one to talk about other people in her life, or because she chose to be alone. Ultimately, it didn't matter if Sharon was bisexual or lesbian. The only thing that mattered was that Sharon loved her. Labels just didn't seem to be a priority in their relationship.

With a tired sigh, Andrea looked up at Rusty's prone form. Since being given morphine, he slept peacefully. The slight moans of pain were silenced by the narcotic. Even when Nurse Jones came in to wake him and ask questions, his normally foul mood was nonexistant. He'd simply answer, his voice too low for Andrea to hear, and then he'd fall back asleep before the nurse even left.

At one point she felt her own eyes begin to close, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but feel herself drifting away. It wasn't until she felt someone standing in front of her that her eyes snapped opened. Through the cloudy haze of sleep, she saw a shadow in front of her. The light from the single lamp caused the shadowy figure to dance in front of her until the sleep left her completely.

Nurse Jones had just laid a blanket over Sharon's sleeping form. When she saw Andrea awake, she opened a blanket for her. "Would you like this over your lap or your shoulders," she whispered so as not to wake Sharon up.

"Thank you," Andrea mouthed as she leaned forward and allowed the nurse to wrap it over her back. When she settled back and pulled the blanket around her arms, the nurse moved to the empty bed in the room and returned with the pillow.

"Here you go, hun. This will at least help so you don't get a kink in your neck," she placed the pillow on the back of the sofa behind Andrea's head.

"Thank you, so much!" Andrea whispered as she settled back, grateful for the new comforts that she hadn't missed before.

"You're very welcome," Nurse Jones patted her shoulder before leaving the room.

With a slight smile Andrea closed her eyes. She wondered if the prickly nurse with a bad bedside manner was prone to showing this kindness to all parents. Or maybe the gruff exterior was just a persona she displayed to the parents she didn't like, since it seemed she loved the children under her care. With a tired yawn Andrea internally shrugged. In the long run, she decided that it really didn't matter.


Sharon found herself drifting in and out of sleep. Sometimes she woke up to the gentle stroking of her lover's fingers in her hair which lulled her right back to sleep. Once or twice she opened her eyes when she heard Nurse Jones wake Rusty up to ask him questions. Mostly, she just gave in to fatigue and drifted into sweet oblivion. It wasn't until she heard her son calling her that she sat upright, her attention on full alert as she sought out the source of his voice.

In the diffused light of the room the first thing she noticed was the hospital walls, the various cartoon characters remained smiling from their spot on the wall. Before she could contemplate them, she saw the sole occupant of the room in the nearest bed. When she looked to her right Andrea was just waking up, apparently having fallen asleep sitting up. The pillow behind her head was a new addition as was the blanket that Sharon felt over her.

"Sharon?" Rusty's weak voice called to her.

"Yes, Rusty, I'm right here," she moved to stand by his bedside.

"What is this place?" he tried to look around. The bandage wrapped around his head combined with the large section covering his left eye still made him look pitiful. The bruises that covered his face enhanced the injuries he had sustained.

"Rusty, honey, you were in a car accident. It wasn't your fault, and Dr. Morales feels very positive that you'll heal from your injuries," she explained as she lightly traced the back of her knuckles against his cheek, then lightly touched his forehead.

"Morales?" his eye squinted in concentration. "I had a dream that I was, like, in Dante's Inferno, and Morales was the narrator."

Sharon smiled slightly as she nodded in the dark. Before she could say anything, he closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"Sharon, I have to pee," Rusty grimaced as he looked around himself, trying to find a way to move.

"Can you get up?" she was instantly alert, looking at the various wires that were threaded from him, to the monitors by his bed.

"I…." he tried to sit up but instead grimaced and inhaled deeply as a groan of pain escaped his control.

"Ok, just lay still, let me see if we can get some help. I don't want to remove any of their monitors," Sharon explained as she pushed the nurse's call button.

"My head hurts, and there's like, this weird sound on this side," his left hand rose from his side as his fingers pointed to the left side of his head. "How come I can't see out of my left eye. Why does my wrist hurt? And every time I try to move my leg it hurts," he complained nonstop. "God, Sharon, I feel like a dozen line backers piled on top of me," he grumbled as he tried to move, but stifled a cry of pain instead.

"I know, you broke your wrist," she explained.

"Broke my wrist?" His eye opened as he tried to look down at the temporary cast on his right wrist.

"Broken wrist, fractured ribs, ACL injury in your left knee, concussion to your head and ear drum, and we're not sure yet about your left eye," Andrea spoke next to her.

Sharon looked at her lover and gave a grateful smile when Andrea placed her glasses over her eyes, gently tucking them behind her ears. When the room came into clear view she clasped her lover's hand and kissed the back of it before returning her attention to Rusty.

"All of that?" Rusty sounded amazed. "Am I blind on this side?" he indicated the bandage over his left eye.

"They covered your eye as a precaution," Andrea explained as she lighlty touched the top of Rusty's hand in reassurance.

"Andrea? You're here too?" although she spoke earlier, he looked at her in surprise. Sharon was prepared for his lapse in memory, but seeing it first hand was distressing.

"Where else would I be?" Andrea smiled at Rusty as she gave a sideways hug to Sharon. "You got pretty banged up and were out of it. I wasn't going to leave you two here alone."

Rusty gave the closest thing he could give to a smile.

"Did someone call?" a young male nurse walked into the room. When he noticed their surprise he waved away their questions, "Nurse Jones is getting an update from Dr. Morales, so I thought I'd help. Well hello Rusty! So glad to see you awake," the young man was far more cheery than they expected.

"He needs to use the restroom, and I didn't want to remove any of his monitors," Sharon explained.

"Oh, well, that's easy to take care of. Pee or..." the nurse looked directly at Rusty as he asked the question, but Rusty cut him off.

"Pee, dude. I gotta pee," he said.

"Oh, well that's simple!" the nurse smiled as he removed a plastic container that was hanging from the bed rail. "That's what this is for, and if it was an emergency, your mom could have helped you."

"She's not my mom!" the indignation rose from Rusty.

When the nurse looked from Rusty to her, Sharon released a tired sigh and then explained, "I'm his foster mom."

"Oh, ok, well, if it was a real emergency you could still get your foster mom's help. Because when push comes to shove, it's either that, or you're going to end up with a sponge bath later. And trust me, it's not as great as one might think, especially since that task is given to the newly arrived nurse's aids," the young man explained while he was pulling the curtain around Rusty's bed closed to offer the teen privacy.

Sharon and Andrea both stepped back. A part of Sharon felt the familiar stab of sadness at Rusty's words. Intellectually, she understood his objection had more to do with his modesty, but it still hurt every time he vehemently corrected her status to strangers. She couldn't help that in her heart she was his mother. When he wasn't in school, she spent the most of the time with him. She worried about him and did her best to nurture him. Like her older children, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do to protect him, but to him she would never be his mother. Although she knew that she could never replace his mother, nor did she want to, it still stung to know that Rusty would never see her as anything more than just his guardian. She would always be "Sharon" or "Captain Raydor" to him. She would be nothing more than the protector who took him in when he became a material witness in a murder trial.

"Honey," Andrea cupped her chin and forced her to look up.

"It's alright," a familiar catch caught in her throat as she smiled at her lover.

"He loves you," Andrea whispered.

"I know," Sharon smiled weakly.

"Sharon, you know that he loves you, right?" the blonde asked again.

"I know, I know," she waved away Andrea's concern. "I'm just…." but she didn't finish. Nurse Jones walked in with her clip board and glanced at them. She walked purposefully to the drawn curtain and entered its enclosure.

"Hey, don't you, like, knock?" Rusty's groused.

"Trust me, baby, you ain't got nothin' I haven't seen a million times," Nurse Jones remained unruffled as the male nurse began to pull the curtain open.

"He's done," the man smiled at them as he took the plastic container to the adjoining restroom.

"So I see you're doing much better this morning," Nurse Jones glanced down at Rusty, then up at the monitors.

"I've got, like a killer headache and everything hurts when I move. Is that better?" he asked as the male nurse opened a few of the blinds.

"That's normal after your injuries," Nurse Jones explained.

Sharon moved back to his bedside. When Rusty glanced up at her, he squinted as if trying to focus. "What happened to you?" shock laced his words as his face scrunched up as if looking at a grotesque image.

Sharon sighed as she looked from Rusty to Nurse Jones, "I guess no more morphine?"

Nurse Jones chuckled as she hooked up a new bag of fluids, "It's about worn off. Dr. Morales is tapering him off this morning. He's scheduled for some pain relief but it won't be so strong that he won't be able to answer questions. They need him coherent for this morning's tests."

"Oh great, I'm not even at school, and I've still got tests!" Rusty groused.

"Honey, it's not that type of test," Andrea lightly chuckled as she touched his fingertips.

When he glanced at her, his lips curled into a slight frown, "What's up with your hair? What happened to the two of you?"

"I think I liked him better on morphine," Sharon smiled at her lover.

"You try sleeping on a sofa all night and see if your hair survives," Andrea teased the boy.

"Oh, by the way, moms, I brought you these," Nurse Jones turned to them after discarding the empty fluid bag in a bin. She reached into the pocket on her uniform and pulled out two new toothbrushes and sample size tube of toothpaste.

"Thank you!" Andrea gratefully took them as Sharon gave her a grateful smile.

"Most parents who care enough to spend the whole night don't come prepared. I'm assuming you're staying the day?" the nurse asked.

"I had no intentions of leaving," Sharon answered and noticed a grateful smile from Rusty.

"That's fine, I expected you'd stay. The good moms do," the nurse said and quickly cut off Rusty's protest. "Now none of your sass, young man. Any one who spends the night on a sofa by your bedside might as well be your mommas, and these two ladies did just that! Let me tell you, I've had some parents who just call in whenever they get around to it to check on their children. You're lucky to have moms who love you this much." She paused for a moment to see if he'd say anything. He smartly chose to remain quiet, so she changed the subject, "Now then, are you hungry? Do you think you can eat some breakfast?"

At the mention of food a smile crossed his lips. "I am! I mean, I think I can eat," he amended.

"Jason," Nurse Jones looked at the younger nurse.

"Coming right up! I'll get the order going and bring it to you as soon as it arrives," the young nurse smiled as he turned and left the room.

"Thank you so much," Sharon smiled at the older nurse.

"You are very welcome. Now then, if you like, you can use the family restroom out in the hall to your left, over by the waiting room, and Rusty can just sit tight until you two have a chance to pull yourselves together," she instructed, then glanced down at Rusty. "Don't you worry; they'll be back. In the mean time, just relax," she instructed as Sharon and Andrea made their way from his room.

It wasn't until they got into the restroom that Sharon realized how badly she needed this break. The restroom was not the normal community room with an isle of stalls but was instead a single toilet, mirror, sink and a baby changing table. Without even thinking about it, both women entered the facilities together.

As Sharon opened the door, Andrea dove around her calling dibs on the toilet. She didn't even wait for the older woman to finish closing the door before she had her skirt up, panties down, and was sitting down. Sharon was amazed at how fast the blonde maneuvered everything, but then realized it was speed born of desperation.

"Oh, thank God," Andrea murmured, releasing a huge sigh. She glanced over at Sharon and shrugged a shoulder, "I don't think my bladder woke up until Nurse Jones mentioned this bathroom."

Sharon chuckled and looked at herself in the mirror. The first thing she noticed was her disheveled hair and how it was plastered on the right side, the side that was laying on Andrea's lap. With a frown she tried to comb her fingers through her hair, attempting to fluff it up but eventually gave up and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She noticed how pale she looked. Whatever makeup she applied yesterday was gone or smeared. With only a shake of her head, she started the warm water and washed her face, enjoying the sensation against her skin. After, she quickly opened the new toothbrush and paste and brushed her teeth as Andrea finished up. Now feeling more refreshed, she switched places with Andrea.

"Look at that, we're already acting like a married couple!" Andrea chuckled as she washed her face, then glanced down at Sharon. Receiving a raised brow, the blonde returned her attention to the mirror, "We're already sharing a bathroom like it was any other day!"

Sharon gave a slight throaty laugh as she shook her head, "Well I think we've 'shared' enough that this is nothing. Besides, it's easier than one of us standing out in the hallway."

When Sharon returned in front of the mirror, she glanced at her reflection over Andrea's bent back while Andrea finishing brushing her teeth. With a small grimace, Sharon shook her head negatively as Andrea stepped aside, letting her wash her hands.

Andrea's brow arched with concern. "What's the matter honey?" she asked.

"Had I known I wasn't going to go home, I might have brought something other than lipstick," Sharon sighed as she dried her hands then dug through her purse for her favorite lipstick.

"Don't worry about it; you're beautiful!" Andrea smiled as she took a small comb from her purse and ran it through her golden locks. Such a simple act transformed the blonde into the beauty of the courtroom.

"That coming from someone who always looks beautiful," Sharon shook her head, then took Andrea's offered comb and tried to pull it through her thick hair, doing little except straightening up the bed hair on one side.

"Honey, you are always beautiful!" Andrea took the comb from Sharon, forcing her to look at her. At the open love in her eyes, Sharon smiled before their lips touched in a tender kiss.

"I love you!" Sharon admitted, not for the first time.

"Good! Let's keep it that way," Andrea pulled her into a hug, holding her close as her lips lightly kissed the nape of Sharon's neck, then whispered in her ear, "I love you so much, too."

"Ummm," Sharon moaned softly, enjoying the feel of her lover's arms around her.

Although neither one would have contemplated allowing themselves to go further in a public bathroom, the jarring of the door handle pulled them apart. "Come on, lover. Let's go check on our boy," Andrea smiled as she clasped her hand and lead the way from the bathroom. An elderly lady with a crooked back was bent over a walker as she stood patiently outside the door. A startled look of surprise crossed her features as she watched the two women exiting the single bathroom. Like errant school children, they smiled, nodded at the woman, and walked briskly past her, only breaking out in giggles when they were far enough away.

"Oh my God, did you see the look on her face?" Sharon felt mortified, yet amused.

"I know. You'd think we were moaning in ecstasy the way she looked at us!" Andrea commented with a wink.

Before they could laugh about the incident, Sharon saw a familiar figure in front of the nurse's station. Provenza stood in front of a taller, well dressed, middle aged man. Despite the blue balloon announcing "It's a boy!" the detective had full control of the situation and was, in her estimate, holding the man at bay.

"Now you listen here, now is not the time! I explained to your lackey yesterday in our office, you will have to wait until the Captain returns from family leave. Now you take your lackey here and slink on back to whatever hole you crawled out of! Captain Raydor and her ward do not want to be bothered by the likes of you two!" Provenza briskly ordered.

"You don't seem to understand how imperative it is that I speak with Captain Raydor," the man remained unmoving.

"And you don't seem to understand English because I've told you now is not the time," Provenza stated with a sideways grin as if trying to pull his impatience under control. The older detective's eyes remained frozen on the man.

"Lieutenant?" Sharon stepped forward.

"Oh, Captain, not to worry. I'm handling this," he nodded at her before turning back to the man.

"I'm going to go check on Rusty," Andrea's gaze went between her and the men gathered in the area.

"I'll be right along," Sharon acknowledge her lover before turning her attention to the gathering. "Exactly what is going on that it can't wait?"

"Captain Raydor, I'm here on behalf of Anthony and Melody Bradshaw," the well dressed man stepped toward her as he handed her his card. "My firm represents the Bradshaws, and we've been trying to contact the guardian of Russell Beck."

"Bradshaw?" Sharon glanced at the card and noted the firm's name before turning to Provenza.

"Their daughter, Alyssa Bradshaw, was the passenger in the Fiat. The one who passed away at the hospital," the older detective explained with a grim expression.

"Oh," Sharon's eyes grew wide in surprise before a sad frown crossed her lips. "I'm sorry. Please express my condolences to Alyssa's parents," her voice slightly broke as she imagined what she would have been like if Rusty's injuries had been different.

"Thank you, Captain. I will tell them, but I'm really here to see you. When the Bradshaws heard about your foster son's injuries, they instructed our office to transfer their daughter's trust fund to Russell Beck." He began to explain as he turned to his younger associate. The younger man, also dressed in a three piece suit, reached into a briefcase and removed a thick manilla envelope.

"I don't understand," Sharon looked down at the envelope he handed her.

"Alyssa was their only child, as you can imagine they are devastated. But even in their pain the one thing they knew was that they wanted to honor their daughter. As soon as they heard that a foster child was also injured by that driver, they felt this is what Alyssa would want," he explained as he handed her the packet. "The Bradshaws have been successful with several start-up companies and as soon they became pregnant, they set up a trust fund for the child, for Alyssa. I helped set it up myself," there was a catch in his voice as he looked away, pulling himself together. When he looked back at Sharon, she noticed the tears that gathered in his eyes. "Alyssa was my goddaughter," he said by way of explanation.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she reached out and lightly touched his arm in sympathy.

"What's important now is that they honor their daughter. You see, Captain Raydor, Alyssa was an exceptional young woman. When other students celebrated spring break, she volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. In the summers, she worked with the Peace Corps at orphanages. Even here at home, she's been a big sister for a foster child. So you can see, Alyssa was very special."

"Her parents felt that this is what she would want, the trust fund she would have received is now rolled over to Russell Beck. The only question we have for you, Captain Raydor, is that, as his guardian, you will need to work with us so that we can determine a date when Mr. Beck will be able to draw on the funds," he explained as she opened the folder and pulled out the documents.

She quickly glanced over the opening paragraph, not quiet registering it all. As soon as her eyes landed on the amount, she inhaled deeply, the shock slammed down on her like a hammer.

Next to her, Provenza was glancing over her shoulder and audibly gasped when he came to the same figure. "My.…" but he didn't finish his words. Instead he looked from her to the man, his eyes wide in surprise. As if not believing his eyes, the older detective took the documents from her and began to thumb through the pages, glancing over everything.

"Captain, depending on the date you decide, this will not be the final figure. The money is set in a trust that accumulates interest. It can only be removed at the date you specify and paid directly to Mr. Beck. Please, feel free to have your attorney look over the documents, then contact my office so we can set up an appointment," he explained. "And Captain, I am very glad that your foster son will recover," a sad smile crossed his features.

"Thank you, Mister…?" she suddenly realized that she didn't know his name.

"Bryant, Paul Bryant with Clayton, Bryant, Miller, and Brown," he reached out to shake her hand.

"Mr. Bryant," she felt the shock slowly wearing off. "But I...I don't know what to say," she took the envelope from Provenza and held it loosely.

"There is nothing to say, Captain Raydor. This is for Mr. Beck, and it will help grieving parents know that their only child's memory will be honored. Just call my office when you're ready," he explained again before patting her shoulder in sympathy, then nodded to them both and turned to leave with his associate in tow.

"Umm, Captain, are you going to, I mean, will you tell Rusty about this?" Provenza asked as they watched the attorney walking away.

"When I am able to assess the information, I'll talk to Rusty about it. But not before then," she cast Provenza a warning look.

"Don't worry; I won't say anything," he promised.