Their case took them through the weekend, both to solve and wrap up loose ends. After a day off Monday, courtesy of Taylor, the team found themselves back at work on Tuesday. It was a bit of a somber day; funerals were held for the fallen officers, both small and private, but the somber mood carried throughout the building. Sharon was even more of a mess, the sadness of the fallen still hitting home with her coupled with the fact that she'd agreed to a date with Eric tonight. When she'd finally spoken to him, he'd suggested the weekend, but she'd put him off with the case. His court schedule was tight, as well, so somehow, they'd come up with a casual date to a local Italian bistro after work on Tuesday. It wasn't exactly a 'sweep you off your feet' type of romantic date, but both were highly successful professionals with demanding jobs, and they'd agreed this would be a great icebreaker when otherwise, their schedules might not align for weeks.
She found it hard to focus during the day, her thoughts drifting to her evening. She hadn't been on a date in a long time, and she was a little uneasy thinking about what they might discuss. Work topics would be safe; he was a prosecutor, and she obviously understood that. She also didn't know much about him, only that he hadn't been married before; he'd always been glued to his work, but he'd mentioned to her on the phone, that he was seeing that he needed more balance in his life. That was something Sharon did understand.
The afternoon seemed to speed by with paperwork, and Sharon found herself continually glancing at her watch. She and Eric had decided on an early dinner; he had court Wednesday morning, and he'd told her he needed to prepare. That was fine with Sharon, as she knew any first date was bound to be awkward, and any expectations would be lower if both had tight work schedules. Sharon about fell out of her chair when she glanced up and saw the man of her thoughts walking into the room. She and Eric had agreed to meet at the restaurant, a short walk away for both of them. His arrival, early too, caused Sharon to panic.
She jumped up from her chair and started to her door. She knew what Eric looked like because she'd seen him in the building before and confirmed what she thought with social media. She dare say she'd stalked the man, but she had looked him up over the weekend. Sharon wasn't huge on social media either, mainly because of her job, but she did like to keep tabs on the kids. Emily often posted a lot of dancing videos, and it was a way for Sharon to follow her only daughter's dancing career.
She opened her door and heard Provenza greeting Eric. No one but Andrea knew of her date, not even Rusty. Sharon had decided it was no one's business but her own, and there was no reason to discuss her personal life unless something came out of the date.
"Mr. Nelson, we don't normally see you up here on this floor," Provenza, in his professional tone, greeted him. Sharon knew he was actually being polite; Eric, as far as she knew it, had never been in their office area.
"Lieutenant Provenza," he nodded to him, as Sharon interrupted. Eric had mentioned during their brief conversation he'd worked cases with Provenza years and years ago.
"Ahh, Mr. Nelson," Sharon called over to him from the doorway of her office. She had her hands clasped in front of her, and he turned her way when he heard her speak. "If you'd like to step into my office," she gestured to him, hoping he would keep the air of professionalism she'd just used with him. He glanced around the room to find several sets of eyes staring back at him, and he nodded to Sharon. He had his briefcase in one hand and used it to gesture to her before he started walking. Sharon caught Provenza's eye, almost looking for some sort of explanation, but Sharon was careful to not give anything away. As she turned to her office, she turned around in the direction of Andy and found he was staring at her; if she had to guess, he hadn't taken his eyes off her since Eric Nelson had entered the office.
Sharon walked in, and Eric followed. She held the door as he entered and closed it when he'd entered. Sharon gave him a nervous smile and gestured to the chairs. She walked around behind her desk, silently cursing herself for not taking a few minutes to update her hair and lipstick before he arrived. She gave him a nervous smile as she smoothed out her suit. That was another thing, she'd worn a black suit with her gray silk blouse, not exactly a 'sexy' look, but again, this was to be an after work date.
She cleared her throat, "Well, Eric, this is a surprise. It's nice to finally see you in person," she said, her voice still a bit shaky.
"I'm sorry if I have thrown you off," he said as he started to sit when Sharon gestured for him to do so, and she sat down as well. "I was two floors down, and I got done early. I'm not going to head back to the office, so I decided to take a chance and see if I could escort you to dinner from here at work."
"Oh, I see," she offered a sweet smile as she fumbled with the pen on her desk. "That would be fine, just lovely," she said as she let out a deep breath she didn't' realize she had been holding. "You know, I can just freshen up when we get there, if you don't mind," she suggested. The last thing she wanted to do was leave him alone anywhere in the vicinity of Major Crimes. She needed to get out of the building, with him, as quickly as she could.
"I realize I've caught you off guard," he started to stand. "I didn't mean to do that. I was just hopeful you weren't too busy; I'm nervous, yet excited too at the idea of getting to know you. Word around the building is you are a feared captain who works tirelessly to get justice."
"Hmm, well, that's an improvement," she said with a nervous laugh. "No, I don't want to give you the wrong impression. I'm glad you stopped by the office, and I'm not too busy. In fact, I missed lunch, so I am ready to eat."
"Great," he smiled widely at her. "So?"
"I'm ready to go. My lieutenants can handle the close of the day here," she said as she grabbed her purse. "Shall we?" She stood. Eric stood too, and he nodded to her with his briefcase.
"I'll follow you," he nodded. Sharon gave him a slight smile, and she opened her door with Eric behind her. As she left, she ignored all eyes in the room and focused on Provenza.
"Lieutenant, I will be heading out right now," she explained. She turned and closed her door to lock it as she continued to talk. Eric stood nearby with his briefcase in hand. Sharon locked the door, adjusted her purse and moved her own briefcase before she finished speaking to him. "As always, if you need anything-" she started to say before he nodded and cut her off.
"I'll call you," he nodded back.
"Thank you," she nodded in reply and turned to Eric. "Mr. Nelson, shall we walk out?" Sharon asked, hoping that the team only wondered what the two could be discussing and not wondering if there was anything more than two professional meeting. Thankfully, Eric was discreet and just nodded as he followed her. Sharon knew a set of eyes had to be staring as she walked away, and truthfully, that was one reason she had wanted to meet at the restaurant. She hadn't wanted to involve Andy, to upset Andy. Certainly, she knew how that felt, to see Andy even standing next to the young girl, not to mention anything more than that. As frustrated with him as she was, she didn't intend to hurt him. She wasn't interested in playing the jealously game.
The two were quiet in the elevator, both stealing glances at the other. Still, it was a workplace, a place where not one, but both worked, even if Eric was only in and out of the building a lot. It wasn't until they were out on the street, he turned to her.
"Are you sure you don't mind walking? It's almost two blocks, and I'd hate for you to ruin those killer heels," he gestured to her feet.
Sharon grinned, "I'm fine walking in these. I've walked further for food around here. It's early, and it's a nice afternoon, not too warm, so yes, I'm fine."
"May I?" He gestured to her briefcase, and she nodded as he took it to carry it for her. That left her hands free, which was almost more nerve wracking; she pushed her hands into her pockets as they walked.
"Looks like you have quite a team there," he started the conversation. "That's an experience bunch. I recognized several faces from working different departments around the building over the years."
"Yes, I have a very good team. We had our moments early on, but we've been together for years now, and I'm grateful for all of them. Each adds a special element to our investigations," she explained. The next few minutes as they walked, they mostly discussed work. Sharon asked him about his current case, and he explained further for his early arrival for their date. He had been prepping witnesses, other detectives, downstairs, and he was a bit nervous for his case to begin. They arrived at the bistro, and he held the door for her.
"I didn't make a reservation. I knew even with our original plan, we most likely wouldn't need one for the early hour," he explained. She nodded and entered the restaurant. It only took a few moments to be seated, and Sharon started to relax in the comfortable setting. She had been here before, not recently, but years before, she used to stop in for carry out when the kids were at home. Ricky, especially, loved Italian food, and this had always been one of his favorite places.
"Would you care for any wine? I love a glass to unwind each day," he smiled at her. She was a bit taken by surprise; she couldn't' remember the last time a man joined her in a glass of wine at dinner.
"I would," she smiled warmly. "I enjoy a glass in the evening just as you do." The waiter arrived, and the two ordered wine. As they studied the menu and shared their thoughts about food, Sharon noted he had a lot of similar tastes in food.
"This lobster ravioli looks delicious," he said a few moments later. Sharon hummed as she read the description.
"Yes, I don't think I've had that here before. I do enjoy fish and seafood. That does sound like a nice dish. I'm still thinking about getting the baked ziti."
"Ahh, yes, that looks good too," he agreed. Once again, the waiter appeared, and the two ordered, Sharon getting the ziti with Eric getting the ravioli. After they had ordered, he turned toward her. They were at a small square table, and he was sitting adjacent to her.
"Andrea has told me a little about you, and then, we talked more on the phone the other night, but tell me," he paused, "do you date a lot?"
"No," she said almost instantly. She gave him a small smile, "I only divorced last year after a two-decade long separation. Dating," she took a sip of water as she let out of nervous laugh, "hasn't been on my radar."
He nodded, "You mentioned your youngest is still at home, so I guess just a lot of teen restaurant picks lately," he chuckled.
"Oh, well," Sharon sat back, a bit surprised as she pursed her lips. "No, not all. My youngest would live in a burger dive if I allowed it, but no, I've managed to enjoy fine dining, culture, activities," she said. She thought about her statement as she said it. For the first time in a long time, or maybe even ever, she found herself thinking about all her outings with Andy. What were they, anyway? She found it awkward to describe to Eric. An outsider would see their time together as dates, but was that what it was?
"Oh," he raised a hand in defense, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply you haven't been," he paused and frowned. "I'm sorry. I am a little nervous."
Sharon gave him a worried smile, not worried about anything he had said, but suddenly, she felt this incredible dread roll over her. She couldn't explain it; she just felt like she was in the middle of a huge mistake.
"I, ahh, well, I'm not sure if Andrea told you about my ex-husband," she sighed.
He just nodded, "I know of Jack. I was opposing counsel years ago, maybe over a decade ago now."
She hummed, "Yes, more than likely, that was during one of his short-term stints at home. Jack has been a thorn in my side for years, and the last few, I've had the support of a few friends, one very good friend, to help me process Jack." Eric nodded as he listened. Suddenly, without warning, Sharon teared up as she tried to look away. She wiped her one hand, and she waved her other hand away at Eric. "I'm sorry. I don't know what has come over me, but suddenly, this doesn't seem like a good idea."
"Sharon, in no way did I mean to upset you," he tried to reach for her hand, but Sharon was unaware of that as she waved it around and wiped another lone tear.
"It's not you, really," she sighed and then let out a nervous laugh. "Oh, I sound like a bad TV movie. It really isn't you. I let Andrea talk me into this, when I'm not ready; I'm not ready at all."
"I understand divorce can be hard," he offered a sympathetic smile. She turned to him, the sorrow now in her eyes.
"It's not that. Jack is not my issue. You won't believe this, or you'll believe I'm completely crazy, but I didn't realize until just now after all this time, I've really been dating one of my lieutenants."
"Oh," he pulled back from his comforting stance and sat back. "That, I did not see. Wait, Provenza?"
"No," she wiped away another tear and turned to face him, "not Provenza. I've made a series of bad choices, and until I deal with Andy Flynn, I cannot continue anything here. I'm sorry," she said and with that, she broke into a full sob. "I can't do this." She stood and fumbled with her purse. Her hand found her wallet, and she yanked on a few bills, which she put down on the table as she reached for her bag. "I'm no shape for this. I deeply apologize. You deserve better."
Eric watched, his actions trying to catch up with what he was hearing. As Sharon fumbled for her things, he jumped up too. "Sharon, hey, listen, let me walk you back to the parking garage. I can see you have a lot going on right now, and I'm only sad I hit a nerve to upset you."
Sharon paused and looked at him. He was a good man, a good man who deserved better right now than the emotional mess she currently had on her plate. "You didn't say anything wrong. My emotions and head finally collided, and while it's too late to fix my problems, I need to work through them before I can be happy. Thank you for this. I'm sorry again," she gave him a sad smile, and he touched her arm.
"Let me walk you out. I can't have a woman leave a date crying," he gave her a small smile and a slight shrug.
