A/N : Huge thanks (and hugs!) to all of the readers and reviewers of this series! This is a bigger chapter than the previous one, and teases things further in regards to Sharon & Castillo's past. Can any of you guess why Sharon hates pink flamingos? Either way, I hope you enjoy a bit of luvin' from Sharon & Marty...

CHAPTER 10

The scent of sea spray mixed nicely with the nitrogen in the air from the oncoming rain.

It was just what she needed to get him out of her head.

With any luck, Castillo had taken his leave from their table. Sharon knew the others would be worried about her. Not to mention the fact that Rusty and Provenza would be jockeying for her dessert.

She was just about to go inside.

And then he was there. Again. Right where he should not have been.

"Sharon–"

"Marty, please–"

He stopped her. One look and he stopped her, inches from his body.

"I never should have come. It wasn't fair. I knew, but you didn't." Before Sharon could reply, before she could even try to move past him, he continued, "I came only for Amy's sake, if that helps."

It did, but it didn't.

"Do you think that she- they, have any idea about us?"

Castillo huffed wistfully. "No, but I'm sure they're pretty suspicious. Two are detectives, and Rusty's a pretty bright kid."

"Oh my gods, Rusty!"

"He's going to be okay, Sharon. I think he can handle knowing about us. Just like I think he can handle going to an out-of-state university." The last part Castillo didn't need to add, but he did, because it was the truth as he saw it. "I don't really see a kid like Rusty, partying all-night and chasing girls."

Sharon hiccuped at the thought, as she felt Castillo's arms come around her and pull her into his warmth. "Rusty likes boys."

"Really?"

Sharon stiffened slightly, ready to defend her son. "Does that bother you?"

Castillo pulled her tighter before releasing her. "Not at all."

She searched her former lover's eyes, and found his words to be true. "Good."

Sharon turned towards the balcony's railing. Toward the sea. The small, late summer storm was coming ashore. It would be a relief from the heat.

"Like you, I also have an adopted child." Castillo's tone was gentle, and full of adoration. "Though we never made things legal, Kara is still my daughter."

Castillo pulled his phone from his pants' right pocket, and gave it to Sharon after pulling up the photos app and selecting his personal pictures. They ranged from those of a teenage Anglo girl with her arms wrapped around a Latino boy her own age, to that of her as a shiny new Miami-Dade police graduate, a bride to a clean-cut Anglo, and then finally- literally barefoot and pregnant.

"I've known Kara since she was a kid. A good girl, who came from a broken home and an abusive mother... she and Zak were inseparable and madly in love." Castillo paused, remembering. "They were among the first kids in the Casa Mia program, and I couldn't have been more proud of them both. When the time came, they both got their G.E.D., and went on to higher education- Zak to the U.S. Naval Academy, and Kara to–"

Sharon held up a hand, fully expecting the coming irony. "Let me guess... the University of Miami?"

Castillo blushed. "Yes. But I kept an eye on her."

"Of course you did."

They both shared a laugh, until Castillo grew serious again.

"Zak went on to fight in Afghanistan. Kara and I had mixed emotions about it, but Zak always wanted to be a pilot and do good for our country."

Sharon's heart sank. "He didn't come home alive, did he?"

"No."

"Were they going to get married?"

Castillo shrugged, and rocked back on his heels. "I don't know, really. Kara was gun-shy of the whole idea of marriage and family, but she was crazy about Zak. So maybe."

"And the other young man in the pictures?"

"You mean my British son-in-law," Castillo clarified with a laugh. "Yeah, that's Leland. He was part of England's contingent with the Allied Forces, and flew often with Zak. A little uptight, but a good man. The two became good friends, and when Zak was killed he was there for Kara. She hated him at first, for being alive instead of Zak, but then things changed, and eventually they got married."

"And now you're going to be a grandpa?"

Castillo took the phone from Sharon, and grinned like a fool. "I can't wait."

Sharon hummed at the picture in her head. "I look forward to that day for myself, as well," she admitted as Castillo's smile wattage turned up a few more notches. "Have you picked out your name? What you want the baby to call you?"

The man nodded. "Abu. It's short for abuelo, and will be easier for the young one to say."

"I like it."

"Yeah, so do I."

Sharon hesitated a moment before confessing, "When the day comes, I'm going to be Mimi."

"That's much better than Darth Raydor," Castillo declared. When Sharon laughed with embarrassment, he huffed softly and told her, "I've always thought of you more as Stands With A Fist."

The kiss happened suddenly.

Sharon reached up and placed one hand upon his shoulder, and threaded the other into his thick salt & pepper hair. She controlled the pace, fast and deep. His mustache scraped at her upper lip, as she nipped insistently at his own lower one. Their own tastes mingled as their tongues mated in dance.

"Wow."

"Yeah. Wow."

Castillo pulled back. "Missed you."

"Me too." Sharon wanted to say more, but didn't.

"I've never forgotten."

Sharon clasped her hands behind her back in nervousness. "Same here."

He stepped closer, albeit cautiously. "May I kiss you, again?"

She squeaked in affirmation, totally ignoring the fact that it was she who kissed him, first.

This time it was Castillo who was in control. With gentle force, he backed Sharon into one of the restaurant's architectural columns, one hand at her waist, the other buried in her glossy red waves. He groaned into her, claiming her mouth with his own, her soul with his, until she was limp and sated in his arms.

"I can't," she said after they parted.

"But you did."

Sharon wiped at her lips. Straightened her rumpled dress. She dared not look at him, nor the outline of his burgeoning erection from inside his well-tailored pants.

Instead she turned to face the ocean and oncoming storm.

"Yes I did," Sharon agreed. "But I have Rusty to think about. Marty, he's very fragile. I can't take the risk. My divorce isn't final, and if Jack found out about us- both then and potentially now... he's a very good lawyer, and he could find a way to make me lose custody of Rusty legally. And I can't do that. His natural mother is–"

"I know. Rusty told me."

"Of course."

"He loves you very much, Sharon. And he's as protective of you as you are of him," Castillo stated thickly, his words caught in his throat. "I just wish you'd let me in again, and be that way for you as well."

The woman hummed at the irony of his words. She had indeed let him in, once, both literally and figuratively. That was the root of the problem, and was the very reason that she could not go there again. It would only result in pain for them both.

When Sharon finally turned to reply to Castillo's statement of facts, she found him as silently gone as he had come.

And in his place– was one very curious Lt. Louie Provenza.

#TO BE CONTINUED#