The next week passed quickly, but only because the team caught two cases back to back. One dealt with a victim the team had tagged as a "bag of bones," a victim they found no one seemed to like. Sharon kept work very professional, changing back to calling Andy by lieutenant all the time. The team took note, but no one dared to say anything. The two were working, and they were getting along, at least on a professional level, so it was left alone. Provenza noted the name change as well, but he was also a bit preoccupied with Patrice moving into his house. Sharon had noted his relationship seemed to be somewhat normal with Andy. Sharon would never ask him to pick sides; she knew there were two sides to every story, even hers with Andy. She'd as much told Rusty the same thing. None of this was one-sided; she knew that, even if she felt what Andy had done was almost unforgivable. She also knew Provenza was fiercely loyal, even if he tried to hide that quality trait. Provenza was doing his best to juggle things with Sharon and Andy, and she knew he was doing a decent job of it.
Once the team wrapped up the first case, they ended up only having 24 hours before they were hit hard with a second case. During that time without a case, Sharon finally agreed to have dinner with Andrea who had been pestering her for a few days. Sharon gathered word had traveled to her friend, and this was her way of reaching out.
The team was just about done filing their paperwork on their bone case, and Sharon glanced up to see Andrea walking to her office. She gave her a warm smile, and then she glanced out to most of the team, most because she refused to look toward Andy's desk. As Andrea walked closer to the door, Sharon gestured for her to enter.
"So, finally, we have time to get dinner. I'm starving," Andrea smiled at Sharon as she put her briefcase on the table and sat down in the adjacent chair. "We are still going to dinner, aren't we?"
"Yes," Sharon nodded in her direction. "I'm just finishing up. The team is finishing up," she gestured to the room. Andrea followed her gesture, and her eyes moved toward a particular lieutenant whose desk was close to the office.
"I see he's still alive,"she gave a nod.
"We can be professional," Sharon said sharply. Andrea raised her eyebrows at Sharon.
"I think, no, I know you are a better person than I am. I would have, well, let's just say that I might have done something that would have landed me in here, just as the suspect," Andrea nodded.
Sharon sighed and put down her pen, "It's more complicated than that. I know everyone wants to just pretend this is black and white, but Andrea, I did my part in this too. What he did is awful, but I was wrong too."
Andrea raised her eyebrows at Sharon, "So, you've discussed this with him?"
"What? No!" Sharon exclaimed. "I tried to fix this, and that uncovered what Andy did. Since then, I've barely spoken to him aside from giving orders for the case. I am not ready to deal with Andy Flynn. At work, I can be professional. He's one of my lieutenants, but that is all. What we had, or I should say, what we could have had, it's not happening. Too much damage has been done on both our parts."
Andrea listened as she nodded, "So, if I told you I had a colleague in mind for you, a nice, charming man, you might consider letting me set you up with him?"
Sharon's face grew flushed as she looked down at her desk, and then she looked again out toward the majority of the team. This time, as she turned her attention back to Andrea, she give a quick glance to Andy. She then looked back at Andrea, "I'm not sure I'm ready for anything."
"You won't know unless you go out with the guy. What do you have to lose? He's a nice guy, a lawyer, and yes," she raised her hands in defense, "I know you don't have a good track record with lawyers. This guy, he's a nice guy."
Sharon raised her eyebrows, "If he's such a catch, why aren't you pursuing him?"
"Mix work with pleasure," she frowned and shook her head. "No, that's just not a smart move." She looked up to Sharon's sad face and quickly recovered, "I'm sorry; that was insensitive. I didn't mean anything by that, but I just don't date anyone in the office. If I did, he would be a top candidate. Come on-one date," she encouraged her.
Sharon bit her lip and shrugged, "I haven't been out with anyone," she sighed as her mind drifted.
"I won't get into details, but I'll let him know this is a big deal for you. Please, let a friend help," she offered.
Sharon stood, "I suppose you can tell me about him at dinner. Let's go. The team reports will be on my desk in the morning. Tonight, I need to think about my future and not obsess about my past."
Sharon's dinner with Andrea was the stress relief she needed on one hand, but on the other, she was now worried about a pending date with this Eric guy from Andrea's office. Andrea was going to work out the details and put the two in touch with each other. Her evening was short, as she was awakened just after midnight with another case, this one, tough from the start, as she learned that two officers had been gunned down. She barely took any time getting ready, knowing that a case such as this would require the team to put aside any personal feelings as they dealt with the deaths of fellow officers.
Sharon arrived at the solemn scene less than an hour later. Chief Taylor, himself, had called to tell her Major Crimes would be given the case and to reiterate the importance of the matter. Sharon had listened, and as much as she wanted to tell him off for the call, as if reminding her of the sensitivity and importance of any case, she listened and told him she would be right there. She found her team all standing quietly awaiting her arrival and was surprised to find the bodies had yet to be removed from the scene. As she was guided onto the scene, she sensed the team had fallen in behind her, and she was keenly aware Andy was right behind her.
The next few minutes were hard for everyone at the scene. The team stood quietly as the fallen officers were given their proper send-off. Sharon felt odd with Andy standing near her. On one hand, she wanted to tell him off, to move as far away from him as possible, but on the other hand, she was glad he, of all people, was the man standing beside her. It offered her an odd level of comfort. As the team dispersed to start working the case, Sharon struggled with her emotions. She tried putting herself in the shoes of both the fallen officers and their families. She thought of the family members who would be on the receiving end of the dreaded news, the news of a deceased love one. Sharon struggled with that; she fought back the tears. She hated the idea of her own children ever getting that news, and until recently, even Jack would have been told if the worst would have happened to her. She hated that idea, that her children could ever get news like that, but yet, as a police officer, it was always a reality she understood. She knew with all the emotions of the current situation, both the case and her personal life, that this was jut hitting her hard. She thought of what her own mortality would do to the team; it wouldn't be easy, and as mad as she was with Andy, she knew he wouldn't do well ever with news like that. Maybe, she told herself, that was one reason he'd stuck almost by her side through the whole crime scene.
Sharon also thought of dealing with fallen officers as she was now, as the commanding officer. She thought about the heartache of losing one of her own, and as she thought of that, her mind wandered to Andy. She hated the idea of anything happening to any of her own officers, and she almost let her emotions get the best of her with that thought. Somehow, her mind kept drifting to Andy, to his smile, and then to Nicole. Sharon thought of having to tell Nicole awful news like other children of the fallen were going to hear today. Maybe it was due to the fact she knew Andy so well, but the thought made her sick.
Nonetheless, she had a case to solve. She also had emotions to keep in check, maybe even more than normal. She was tired, and she was saddened by all the circumstances. Knowing all that, Sharon tried to push emotions aside. Professional. She needed to remain professional. She'd solve the case, and somewhere in all that, she'd answer the message she had from Eric, Andrea's friend about getting dinner, a date, she rolled her eyes as she clarified it in her mind. One lesson she had learned was that she couldn't keep relationships of any kind, on hold indefinitely.
