Notes: Slowly closing the space between chapters! Enjoy everyone!
Sharon sighs as she drapes her blazer over her arm and makes her way down the street to the Parker Center. She'd been in court all day and was enjoying the chance to stretch her legs even though her feet were slightly aching in her heels. She looks down as she texts Andy that she was done and ready to head home, waiting to see if they were going to be able to ride together. It had been a few weeks since his stunt with the bomb threat, but she was finally starting to calm down. His 'grounding' was almost over and she was hoping that he wasn't going to let his friend to lure him into anymore shenanigans, but that was only if she was going to be totally naive about it. Provenza and Andy had been friends longer than she had known him, and from what it sounded like they'd always manage to get into some kind of situation if they spent too long in each other's company. Apparently Andy's move to Priority Homicide was to be considered spending too much time together.
Her phone beeps a few moments later with a reply saying that he would be ready to go in 10 minutes if she wanted to wait. She texts him back that she would be sitting on one of the benches outside and would see him soon. She manages to get one to herself as she leans her back against the building and sighs softly as the sun hits her face, closing her eyes. They open again after a few minutes when she hears a pair of heels approach before they begin to walk away. She winces at the bright light before putting her hand over her eyes to see who had approached her.
"Chief Johnson?" Sharon calls as she notices the bright floral skirt swinging. The blonde pauses and turns around, a smile plastered on her face.
"Mrs. Flynn, I hope I didn't disturb you," Brenda says as she steps closer again. Sharon's eyes widen slightly at being called Mrs. Flynn instead of Captain O'Dwyer this close to work. She could only determine that Brenda still didn't know that she actually worked at the department.
"Of course not. I was just waiting for Andy to get done for the day," Sharon eases into a smile, "I've been in court all day so I thought I'd take a few minutes to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air."
"Case go okay?"
"It did," Sharon nods, "It did. Was there something I could do for you?"
"I...I suppose I just had a question for you, but now I'm realizing it might be a little prying."
"Prying?" Sharon questions.
"Yes," Brenda sighs.
"Well you're always welcome to ask, though I can't promise I'll answer," Sharon grins.
"How did you...when did you...kids?" Brenda manages to stutter out before shaking her head. This was stupid. How could she ask one of her subordinate's wives about this.
"How did I know when I wanted to have kids?" Sharon sums up from the choppy question as Brenda nods.
"Yeah."
"I've always wanted to have a family of my own. Ever since I was a little girl," Sharon answers, "But for some people it can be more timing than necessarily whether or not they want to do it."
"How did you know it was the right time?"
"Emily I had been waiting for for years. After that they were surprises to put it lightly. But none of them any less wanted," Sharon laughs softly, "It's not for everyone though. I've met people who have kids because they think it's what they're supposed to do. Sometimes they find out that they did really want it, but more often than not it doesn't seem to end up that way."
"Right," Brenda nods.
"There's nothing wrong with not having or wanting kids. There's nothing wrong with not liking them either," Sharon assures her as she notices the look in her eyes, "Trust me. And if you're on the fence you're always welcome to babysit."
"No!" Brenda jumps and practically shouts, "No, thank you. I mean."
Sharon laughs softly and looks past Brenda with a smile when she sees Andy walking over. She leans her chin up and accepts a kiss from her husband as she wraps her arm around his waist in greeting.
"Hey, Chief."
"Headed out for the evening, Lieutenant?"
"Yeah, I left some files on your desk."
"Thank you," Brenda nods slightly, "You two have a good evening."
"You too, Chief," Andy says before Brenda continues to make her way into the building, "What were you two talking about?"
"Nothing, she was just asking about the kids," Sharon tells him before pressing another kiss to his lips, "Ready?"
"Yeah," Andy nods and the two of them head for the parking garage, "What do you want to do for dinner tonight?"
"Do you mind cooking?" Sharon asks as she leans into him, "I know there's some chicken in the fridge, I'm sure you could wrangle something together."
"Sure, I'll cook," Andy smiles and kisses Sharon's head before opening the car door for her, "Long day?"
"Just spent it entirely at the court house," Sharon tells him as she climbs in, "Three cases I had to testify in got called up. All on the same day."
"That sounds awful," Andy tells her after walking around to the other side of the car and getting in.
"It wasn't terrible, just a long day," Sharon replies, taking his hand in hers and stroking her thumb over his knuckles. She leans her head back and closes her eyes as he starts to drive, dozing slightly until they get home. Sharon follows Andy inside and kisses the back of his shoulder before heading down the hallway towards their bedroom. She takes her makeup off and rakes a comb through her hair before changing into a t-shirt and a pair of leggings. Going out to the living room, she collapses onto the couch and sighs happily as her body sinks into the cushions. She starts to doze off again before starting awake after realizing the house was too quiet, "Did we forget the kids?"
"No, they're getting rides home today. Should be home in the next hour or so," Andy replies as he checks his watch.
"Oh thank god," Sharon mumbles as she drops back down and closes her eyes, intent on taking a short nap. She manages to get a decent nap in, waking up when she starts to smell food and hears voices in the kitchen. She slips off of the couch and stretches out before padding into the kitchen where the kids were helping Andy with dinner, "Hey you guys."
"Hi Mom," Ricky wraps an arm around his mom and gives her a quick squeeze. Sharon kisses him on the cheek before wrapping her arms around the twins and giving each of them a hug hello.
"I think we'll be done here in a few minutes," Andy tells his wife with a smile, "If you want to set the table."
"Sure," Sharon nods and pushes up on her toes to kiss his cheek before grabbing plates out of the cupboard and heading into the dining room. She gets the table set as Andy finishes dinner, sinking down into her seat as he carries out the main dish and Drew carries out a giant bowl of salad. She takes the bowl from the boy and thanks him for helping before starting to serve herself, "This looks delicious. Thank you all for cooking."
"It's just chicken picata," Andy says as he takes the salad bowl and helps Libby to some of it before serving himself.
"Still, it looks delicious."
"Well thank you," Andy smiles at her before handing the bowl over to Ricky. The five of them have dinner together, Ricky loading the dishwasher while Sharon and Andy help the twins with their homework for the evening. Once they're done the twins go to watch tv as Sharon packs the homework away in their bags, checking for any notes and emptying out their lunch boxes. She puts the dirty containers into the dishwasher before pulling out new ones and packing their lunches for the next day. The containers go into the fridge and she wipes the kitchen down, turning the lights off as she leaves the room. Ricky slaps at his mother's hand as she playfully tugs on his hair, pulling his head back to look at him.
"You packed your lunch right?"
"Yeah," Ricky nods.
"And emptied out your other containers?"
"Yeah."
"Promise?"
"Promise," Ricky nods, slapping her hand away again. Sharon lets him go and pats him on the cheek before continuing down the couch and sinking down next to Andy. She rests her hand on his leg and squeezes his thigh as she leans into his side.
"Comfy?"
"Very," Sharon grins at him and winks. Ricky gives up on watching tv with them after a few minutes, heading to his room to work with his computer and do his homework. The twins continue to watch tv until Sharon notices Drew's eyes drooping, looking at her watch.
"Alright you two, time for bed," Sharon tells them, realizing it was getting close to their bed time. She pushes herself up off the couch and nudges them both with her feet, "Come on. Brush your teeth, make sure your clothes make it into the hamper. I'll be in in a few minutes."
"Okayyy," Libby grumbles before pushing herself up. Drew yawns as he does the same, the two of them trudging off down the hall. Sharon sighs softly as she watches them go before looking at her husband, "What about you, you ready for bed?"
"Mmm, I could hit the sack," Andy nods after some thought.
"Okay," Sharon smiles, "I'll get them settled and then join you."
"Sounds like a plan ma'am," Andy grins. Sharon winks at him and heads down the hall to check on the twins. She gets them both tucked into bed and closes their doors before checking on Ricky, finding him leaning over a math text book.
"Hey sweetie."
"Hey Mom," Ricky lifts his head and smiles at her.
"Calc?" She asks.
"Yeah," Ricky sighs and closes the book with a piece of paper keeping his place, "We have a test later this week."
"You feel good about it?"
"Yeah kind of. I was just looking over some stuff."
"Well don't stay up too late. You guys don't have to go in early, but still..."
"Dad taking us in?"
"Yeah, he has a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning so he's going into work late."
"Is anything wrong?" Ricky asks with a concerned look on his face, turning to face his mother more.
"No, no, it's just a physical," Sharon smiles to reassure him. She steps into the room and presses a kiss to the top of his head before wishing him a good night and closing the door behind herself. She makes her way to the bedroom and smiles at Andy as she pushes the door closed. Frank was curled up next to him and Lyla was stretched out on her side of the bed, "Doesn't look like there's too much room for me here."
"That does look like an issue," Andy grins before ruffling the dog's fur to get her attention, "Lyla go to bed."
The dog lets out a sigh before getting up and moving to the bench at the foot of the bed, sprawling out there. Sharon smiles and turns off the light as she climbs into bed.
"Mmmm, warm sheets," She sighs as she settles. She sits up on her elbow and looks over at her husband as he reads the sports section of the paper, "You ever feel like we only meet up in bed?"
"Only meet up in bed?" Andy asks as he tosses the paper to the side.
"Yeah, like the only time we really get alone time. To talk and things," Sharon says, "I mean we go to bed at the same time as our nine year old twins."
"We have tiring jobs," Andy replies as he pulls her closer, dislodging the cat from his lap.
"We do," Sharon nods and snuggles closer to him, "We're old."
"We're not old."
"Are too," Sharon retorts, "Remember when we used to stay up until 11, and actually accomplish things after the kids went to bed."
"I do. We don't have to go to bed," Andy grins.
"Do you have some plans I don't know about?"
"I could," Andy presses his lips to hers in a deep kiss. Sharon hums and kisses him back, her arms wrapping around his neck. She presses her body against his and pulls her mouth back grinning at him.
"You always have these plans."
"Well I keep telling you, if you would stop being so beautiful..." Andy laughs as Sharon hits him in the stomach.
"I'm serious."
"So am I," Andy says as he pecks Sharon on the lips, "Shar, we used to spend that time up figuring out how we were going to pay our bills and make it to the next month with some kind of savings. Or fretting about something else. We don't need to do that stuff anymore, which leaves much more time for what I'm suggesting."
"You're still grounded," Sharon reminds him, biting his jaw.
"Oh come on," Andy groans, rocking his hips into hers, "Consider it a physical battery test. Make sure my heart's up to snuff."
"Oh stop," Sharon shakes her head with a laugh, "A physical battery test?"
"Mmhm," Andy hums, leaning in to attack her neck, "I'll even say please."
"Mmmm," Sharon hums back and sighs as she leans into his touch, "You are trouble, boy."
"You like trouble," Andy replies as he nips at her pale skin.
"I suppose I can lift your suspension," Sharon replies, pulling his head back and pressing her lips to his. She laughs as Andy rolls her onto her back, reaching out to turn off his light.
In the morning, Sharon smiles brightly at Andy as she comes out of the bedroom ready for work and finds breakfast ready on the table and the kids already eating and dressed.
"You didn't have to get up early to do this," She tells him as she wraps an arm around his waist.
"Well you did the heavy lifting last night," Andy grins and winks at her, pressing a kiss to her forehead so he doesn't mess up her lipstick.
"You think you're funny don't you?"
"I think I'm hilarious," Andy tells her before putting a plate in her hand, "Now eat."
"Thank you," Sharon replies as she takes the plate and goes to join the kids. Once she finishes eating she fills up her to-go cup and kisses the kids and her husband one last time, "Good luck at your appointment, let me know how it goes."
"I will," Andy nods, assuring her with a smile.
Sharon doesn't end up hearing from Andy all day except for a text that they had started a new case around lunch time. She doesn't see him until they run into each other in the parking garage a couple days later. Andy was headed for his fleet car and she was headed for their car, ready to head home for the night.
"Hey stranger," She calls out. Andy turns and smiles at her, stopping as he lets her catch up.
"Hey beautiful," He replies as she gets closer.
"Case going okay?"
"Yeah, just running out to follow up on some leads."
"How was your appointment the other day?" She asks.
"It went fine," He shrugs, scratching behind his ear and rolling the toothpick across his teeth.
"Andrew..."
"It did!" Andy insists, "It went fine..."
"But..."
"But...my cholesterol was a little high. And I could stand to lose a few pounds. It's not like I'm going to drop dead tomorrow."
"Don't joke about that," Sharon says as she swats at him a glare in her eyes, "Well I'm assuming you're going to be ordering out for dinner tonight, how about a salad instead of a burger hmm? We can talk about this later."
"I'll be fine," Andy tells her, "But I promise I'll try to remember to order a salad."
"You will order a salad," Sharon points her finger at him before heading towards her car, "I'll see you in the morning."
"Night," Andy waves, waiting for her to head off before getting in his car.
[TBC]
