Well, here's the next chapter. Thought you readers deserved one after making it through the season finale. Hope you enjoy it!
Rusty awakens when he hears Sharon scream. He bolts upright in bed and his eyes flash open. He looks over at Sharon and sees her sitting up in bed as well. Her knees are tucked up underneath her chin and she is looking warily at the door. Tears are streaming down her cheeks. "Sharon, you're okay," Rusty says as he wraps his arms around her. He rocks her back and forth as she cries.
Sharon lays her head down on Rusty's shoulder and tries to calm herself, telling herself that Rusty is okay. She gathers her strength and says, "I had a dream that you were shot. When you tackled me to the floor, the bullet ended up hitting you and you were bleeding out on the floor. I tried everything but I couldn't stop the bleeding. By the time the ambulance showed up, it was too late." Sharon looks over at Rusty. "I can't lose you." She pulls him into a hug and rubs the back of his head, needing to feel him to know that he is there.
Instead of backing out of her embrace once she relaxes her grip on him, he moves them into a lying position. He keeps his arms around her, finally realizing how close he came to losing her tonight. If he had continued to follow her directions, if he had come out of her bedroom one second later, if he had hesitated before tackling her to the ground, it all would have ended much differently. He would be alone and there would be no one here to care for him, no one here to love him.
"Sharon, I'm okay and I'm here. Now, let's go back to sleep. You have to go to work in the morning and you need as much energy as you can get."
"Alright," Sharon agrees with him shakily. She pulls him closer to her and they fall back asleep.
Sharon's alarm goes off at six, far too early for either of them. The first two times it goes off Sharon presses the snooze button, but by the third time Sharon is annoyed enough with it that she wakes up. She swings her legs over the side of her bed and yawns, not having gotten enough sleep. Before she stands up, she places her hand on Rusty's shoulder and gives it a shake. "Rusty, it's time to get up."
"No," Rusty groans.
"Yes, it is. Get up." Sharon stands up from the bed, happy that her strength isn't betraying her today. She turns on her bedroom light and then makes her way over to her bathroom.
While she is taking her usual morning shower, Rusty slowly gets out of her bed and then groans even though he knows Sharon can't hear him, "It's too early for this."
"I heard that," Sharon calls from the shower.
Rusty makes his way into his bedroom and then proceeds to get ready for the day.
Sharon gets out of the shower and then begins to blow-dry her hair, pulling out some in the process. Her eyes fill up with tears but she doesn't let any spill. She puts on her make-up, trying very hard to cover up the dark circles under her eyes. After she gets dressed, she opens her bedroom door and makes her way toward the kitchen. She steps over the spot where the body was laying the night before and puts coffee on to brew. She opens the refrigerator and pulls the carton of milk out. She pours herself a bowl of cereal and a mug of coffee just as Rusty comes into the kitchen. "Have some breakfast," she says as she sits down at the dining room table, beginning to eat.
By the time that they are heading out the door it is a little after eight. Sharon locks the door and then turns around, realizing that there are no security guards today to make sure that they are safe, and that she has no gun. Hopefully that was the letter writer that she killed last night.
Once they arrive at work, Rusty goes off to his corner to play chess and Sharon tells her team to send the files on the letter writer over to the officers from last night. She then walks into her office, falling down into her chair. She leans her head back and takes a couple of breaths, waiting for the next tragedy to strike. She takes one more deep breath and then makes the call to FID. Just as she hangs up the phone, Provenza, Sykes, and Flynn walk into her office.
"Captain," Sykes says. She is the first to sit down in one of the chairs in the office and then the other two follow.
"We just wanted to make sure that you're alright," Flynn says.
"Aside from being a little bit sore from Rusty tackling me to the floor last night and landing on me, I'm just fine. You all can stop worrying about me. I may be fighting cancer, but I can still hold my own in a fight. Please, stop worrying about me. Now go back to work."
"Alright," Sykes says, hesitating. She leaves the room along with Andy, Provenza hesitating by the door.
"Yes, Lieutenant?"
Provenza closes the door and turns back to look at Sharon. "I spoke with Rusty, you're not doing fine. He told me about the nightmare that you had last night and that he had to help you shoot the suspected letter writer. What's going on?" Provenza says this as he sits down in the chair in front of Sharon's desk.
"Nothing's going on; it was a one time thing."
"Sharon, I know you care for Rusty as your son. And I know that you would protect him from anything. Is there something going on that you haven't told Rusty about? Is your cancer worse than you previously thought it was?"
"Of course not," Sharon says. "It's just that, they upped my dosage of chemo that I'm getting so the symptoms are showing a lot more. That's all. That's why I needed Rusty's help last night and that's why my emotions are all over the place."
Provenza stands up from his chair and walks around to the other side of the desk. Sharon curiously stands up as well and is surprised when Provenza hugs her. "Then I think you need a hug from a friend," Provenza murmurs next to her ear.
He releases her and she whispers, "Thank you."
Provenza makes his way out of her office and goes back to work, leaving Sharon with a smile on her face.
By the end of the day, Sharon receives a call telling her that the letter writer case is closed up and that the man that she shot was indeed the suspected letter writer. They had figured out his address and found a substantial amount of evidence in Sharon's favor. She would be receiving her gun the next day. Sharon walks out of her office, gets Rusty, and they go home for the night.
Once again, reviews are loved!