I started this chapter with the idea of maybe a few more in mind, but as it so happened, this became part one of the ending.

Special thanks to ColeMax for making this free of my errors :)

Side note: I'm going to be starting a group of one-shots for our favorite couple. I have a few prompt requests already, but the more the merrier! Submit them on my tumblr (akmarceau-writing) or leave them in my PM.

Thank you all for your constant support and as always:

Enjoy!

Part 1

When Sharon arrived at her condo it was dark and stuffy. Carelessly, she tossed her keys into bowl in the foyer and opened the sliding doors to the patio. The city below offered a source of noises to fill the silence. Sharon paused for a minute as she looked at the city; car lights, streetlights, and store lights wound down wide roads, slithering like a serpent.

"Hi," Rusty said as he observed her from the kitchen. "Can I make you a — a tea or…?"

"Tea would be lovely," Sharon said with a smile.

"Are you back for good? Did you catch the guy?"

Sharon shook her head slowly, "I'm only here for the wanted to do a day trip back here, but there was some business that had to be dealt with."

"How's your roommate?" Rusty asked with a little smirk as he placed her teabag in the mug and set it on the bar countertop for her. Sharon smiled softly against the mug as she took her first sip.

"He's tidy," was all she offered. "What are you doing still up?"

"I was finishing up a vlog entry," Rusty said.

"How is it coming along?"

"I think I have more questions than answers. Gus is able to solve one, but then two or three new ones pop up."

"That's what happens," Sharon said quietly. She took care of her mug and teabag before closing the patio doors. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning?" Rusty nodded.

"Night, Mom."

Sharon smiled.

Even with Rusty in the condo, there was something off. It didn't quite feel like home anymore. The familiar decorations and all of her little touches did not bring nearly enough comfort to her. Sharon's bathroom— filled with all her normal lotions and potions— wasn't the same as the bathroom as the one she had been using for the past week. She climbed into the shower regardless and let the warm water soothe her tense muscles.

It's said absence makes the heart grow fonder, but her dull condo was nothing compared to the fake, comforting house she and Andy shared.

Morning came quicker than Sharon expected and by nine, she was barely ready to leave. She had missed Rusty's departure for his morning classes, but had found the note he had scrawled on his way out. Promises to call later that evening and hoping she would solve the case quickly laid plainly on the paper.

Sharon had managed to make herself a cup of coffee before there was a knock on the door.

"Good morning," Sharon greeted with a small smile. She stepped aside as she let Andy enter. Andy's slumped shoulders and grim face told her the morning was anything but good.

"What is it?"

"McCarty's called when I was at the office last night. Vicki's body appeared in their driveway. They played the part properly, called the police— they had no hesitation this time around. But then the said they couldn't investigate it. I brought it to Chief Taylor who said that the Feds could do something," Andy shrugged lightly. Sharon sighed and offered him a fresh cup of coffee. He took it with a slight nod. "But they insisted again that they could not investigate it even though they said they would handle the bodies. Anyways, Major Crimes got deployed and arrived earlier this morning to start processing. Taylor said we should get back as soon as we could, too."

"Something's not right with those people," Sharon offered with a sigh. "I'll be ready in ten minutes, let me change." She gestured her hand over her pajamas as she made her way back to her bedroom.

"I can wait," Andy said with his signature grin.

"That's my wife," Logan Williams stated firmly, barely looking up from his cellular device to make the point.

"Sir," Julio tried, "I'm going to need to ask you a few questions."

"Why aren't you asking them? Her body wound up in their driveway," Logan said aimlessly pointing in the direction of the McCarty's house.

Provenza took a deep breath and pulled hat from his head. He curled the edge of material in his hands and let out a sigh before shaking the hat and replacing.

"Can we arrest him now?" Buzz asked in a stern, but pleading voice.

"Other than giving zeros shits about his dead wife, we have nothing on him," Provenza said. "Poor woman, to put up with an idiot like that for so long…" The older lieutenant shook his head.

"Buzz!" Tao called, "Over here."

"Glad you could finally join us," Lisa seethed in greeting as Andy exited the car and went around the front to open the door for Sharon.

"I'm sorry, are you suddenly finding yourselves over your head?" Sharon asked dryly. Sharon shot a glance in the direction of her team. They had everything properly secured and there was a white tent over what must be Vicki's body.

"Well, not only did we call this in last night, but your team seems to be the incompetent ones. They've been here for more than enough time. I bet they could have dug their way out of a hole with this long. I don't know what they're expecting to find," Lisa said defensively.

"Evidence probably, you know, to catch Logan Williams? A serial killer by no small notion," Andy snapped. Sharon patted his shoulder softly.

"When we agreed to cover the highway and you agreed to cover the bodies, I had falsely assumed exactly that. Why are we suddenly doing both? Because, if so, I would really like the reports on all the other victims and any notes you may have," Sharon said flatly. She moved towards the tape to see what was going on. Julio's eyes flickered from Logan Williams to hers, but he made no obvious signs of recognition. Good. Provenza and Tao did the same. Amy nodded in her direction, but her move was blocked from Logan Williams view by the white tarps around the tent.

Vicki's body was face down on the pavement, bruised, bloodied, and dirty.

"We could very well arrest you for her murder. As it is that you are as responsible for this as Williams is," Sharon said firmly when she saw Lisa walk up besides her. Her hand instinctively reached for the tape, but she pulled it back before she lifted it over her head.

Buzz looked in her direction before going back to filming. A second later, he saw her hand on the tape.

"Captain!" He called out. "I think we found something."

Sharon stood still. Her feet had moved unconsciously at her rank, but again she managed to stop herself from giving too much away.

Logan Williams on the other hand had seen every second of it. The rest of her team froze too; as if it matters weren't bad to begin with.

"Let's go," Andy said quickly. He grabbed her arm and they started back to her house. Logan Williams's eyes trained on her every movement.

Once their front door closed tightly behind them, Andy let out half a sigh.

"He's done it. What's the extraction plan?" Andy asked.

"Did you read the file at all?" Sharon asked.

Andy shrugged, "Skimmed through it."

"We're fine. I think we could still be of use here," Sharon argued.

"We're no use if he kidnaps or kills one of us," Andy gritted out through a clenched jaw.

"That's an extreme, Lieutenant."

"Well, Captain, we're no use if Logan Williams freaks out, packs up, and leaves. We need to do justice to those women he brutally assaulted. And to do just that, we need to leave," Andy looked her over for any sign of a changed mind. "Captain, think about it."

"I have," Sharon said with finality, "we will stay until Logan Williams is in handcuffs. If you have an issue with that, Lieutenant, then file a complaint with Assistant Chief Taylor." Justice barked lazily at Andy before trailing behind Sharon into the kitchen.

Andy ran a hand through his hair then down his face. He headed up to the spare bedroom where the monitors were set up and took his normal place.

"I, um," Sharon started gently, "I made some dinner."

"I'll be down in a minute. Don't wait," Andy said not looking away from the screens. Logan Williams was moving up and down the stairs in the images of his front foyer. He looked to be packing.

He waited another second before he left the screens and headed the down stairs.

"Here," Sharon said as she placed the plate in front of Andy.

"Logan Williams is packing," Andy said as he took both his plate and hers to their kitchen table.

"We'll call the team and have them prepared for his movements. I'll get the Chief to convince the McCarty's to hand over their investigation into the other victims of Logan Williams," Sharon paused for a moment before she came to the table. "Andy, you're right. I don't think there is much we can do anymore." He nodded with a soft smile.

"Let's eat first. That idiot won't be leaving unless he has every last item in that house."

"Thank you," Sharon whispered, her hand resting lightly on his bicep for a moment. His eyes held hers, searching for something she only hoped he would find.

"You're table, my dear," Andy said as he held out her chair.

"You called her Captain," Provenza said seriously. "I give it an hour or so before we get a call about their extraction."

"It was a slip, Lieutenant, I really didn't mean for it to be said," Buzz stressed.

"You compromised the whole investigation. There will be no more undercover surveillance, and unless you have special gadgets that can gauge interactions between Williams and other, then its done. Another murderer runs loose."

Amy clenched her jaw, but made no move to interrupt.

"I'm going for coffee. You better hope that the Captain and Flynn are still alive and able to call," Provenza said.

Buzz scraped his teeth and looked around the murder room.

"Thanks for having my back there," he muttered. Tao shrugged softly and Julio eyed him cautiously before turning back to his paperwork.

"I just got off the phone with Assistant Chief Taylor, he would like us back in Los Angeles by tomorrow afternoon. He will contact the FBI for further information regarding the previous victims of Logan Williams," she sighed uncharacteristically. Andy turned and watched as she leaned against the door frame to their surveillance room. "I'm going to start packing."

"I'll walk you to your door," Andy said quickly. Sharon's green eyes met his for a second before they turned back to the burner phone she was still holding. "I can put that back. I've got a little more to see to here."

Sharon nodded, "Don't stay up too late. There isn't much more we can do." Her ivory hand grasped the brass door knob loosely. Her eyes met Andy's again as his hand brushed against the one that was still holding the phone.

"Get some sleep," he said softly. His lips brushed against her cheek fleetingly. Sharon stood still, her eyes following the movements of his mouth. His brown eyes sought her tell-all green ones; asking silent permission. Andy leaned in closer, hesitating for a second and allowing her time to move, if she so chose. Her lips met his first, he was sure of it. But his tongue was outlining her slightly parted lips first. With a breathy moan, Sharon's lips parted farther and accepted his prodding tongue into her mouth. Her hand slipped from the doorknob and cupped his cheek. His arm slid around her slip waist as he tugged Sharon closer to him.

"Sharon," he whispered as he painstakingly backed away from her lips. Her eyes were slow to flutter open. Her dazed gaze fell on the thumb that delicately brushed at his cheek.

His lips landed on hers one more time, just because he could. "I'll let you go." When she started to shake her head no with puffy, pursed lips, he amended himself. "I mean, I'll let you sleep." Her hand dropped to his shoulder as she raised herself onto the balls of her toes to place a deep kiss on his lips.

She pulled back with a bright smile on her lips and thoroughly distracted glint in her emerald eyes.

"Okay. See you in the morning," Sharon said. Andy pecked her lips once last time, then finally released Sharon.

"See you in the morning."

The airy drapes in her room fluttered lightly as a breeze swept through the parted windows. Sharon walked slowly to her bed, turning down the covers and beginning her nightly routine. Her clothes piled in the hamper, her hair was twisted up into a careless ponytail, and she slipped on her pajamas.

Sharon made her round in the bathroom and applied her lotions. She started packing her makeup and nightly items, leaving the rest to place in the morning after she used it. Sharon laid out her outfit for tomorrow before packing her clothes.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the master bedroom. Everything seemed to be in order.

The curtains moved again.

Oh, Sharon thought. I wanted to take that picture…

She moved towards the nightstand on the other side of the bed where a framed picture of her and Andy was placed. It was one of the many photos that wasn't posed. She figured Amy or Julio must have taken it at some point on the roof of her condo. The fireworks in the sky reflected over the pool in the background. Sharon and Andy had managed to find a free lounge chair and decided to share it. Andy had a leg on the chaise and one of the ground, while Sharon's were crossed on the length of the chair. She remembered it to be a tight squeeze, but with her body flush against Andy's side and her head resting comfortably on his shoulder, she hadn't minded one bit. If they had been younger, her hips would have been slimmer and both of them would have been able to share the lounge chair. But then again, if they were younger, it wouldn't have been as deep of a connection between the two of them as it was now. She would not have the fear of relationships that Jack had left her, and she certainly would not have had Andy wait so long for her to gather her mind.

She never really needed a man, and she never thought she would. But there was something comforting to having Andy around to be a partner and companion. They were equals. Something she doubted she and Jack would have ever achieved.

She removed the picture from the frame and climbed over the bed to her side. Sharon crossed her legs and examined the picture. Their smiles shone just as bright as the firework from the Dodgers Stadium in the background. Her eyes crinkled happily, Andy's arm draped between the chair's back and hers.

Sharon's feet landed on the carpeted floor as she reached of the book on her nightstand. She examined the picture one last time and smiled a mirror of the one she had in the image before tucking it into the front cover of her book. She reached to turn out the light.

"Move a muscle and I make your torture last longer than the others."

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