DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 11

Three weeks later, the wildfire had been contained and extinguished. The team was not on call over the weekend and on Saturday, Sharon and Andy invited Provenza, Patrice, Dean, Nicole, and the boys over for a cookout and pool party. Andy was getting the grill ready as Provenza and Patrice arrived. "Flynn! You can't be in charge of the grill!" Provenza said as he walked through the back door. "Why not?" Andy said to him as he checked the burners. "Because you're a vegetarian!" he said as he sat down on one of the chairs that were set out in the yard.

"I'll have you know, old man, that I happen to be a fantastic griller. No one in this household complains about my cooking, only you!" Andy said as he tended back to the grill. Provenza just rolled his eyes as he sat there. "Besides, I'm having a turkey burger today, because it's part of my heart healthy diet that I'm on forever," he muttered to Provenza as he gestured with his hand.

Meanwhile, back inside the house, Patrice was in the kitchen helping Sharon. "What do you need me to do?" she asked her as Sharon pulled some vegetables out of the refrigerator. "Oh, well, you could slice these if you'd like," Sharon said as she handed the peppers to her. "Sure," Patrice said as she took the peppers and rinsed them under the sink while Sharon took out the avocados.

Matthew ran down the stairs and blew his way into the kitchen. "Hey! Slow down young man!" Sharon called out to him as he ran through the kitchen and out the back door. "Sorry!" he yelled back as the screen door slammed. Patrice looked at Sharon when Matthew ran through the house. "Boys will be boys," she said shaking her head and continued to cut up the vegetables into thin slices.

"How's Andy doing?" she asked as Sharon started to make homemade guacamole. "Um, he's doing fine. I went with him for his checkup last week and his cardiologist likes where he's at with his numbers. His EKG was normal and his medication that he's on seems to be working well," Sharon explained to her as she diced the tomatoes. "That's good news to hear, I'm glad," Patrice smiled and arranged the vegetables she had sliced on a platter that Sharon had laid out for her on the counter.

"And, how are you doing?" Patrice asked her. "Oh, ah, I'm okay," Sharon told her. "Your side healed up okay?" she inquired as she poured the low-fat ranch dressing into a side cup for the vegetables. "How did you know? Oh, wait, Andy informed Provenza and then he must have told you," she guessed. "Sort of, I'm sorry Sharon, I don't mean to pry, it's just when it happened, Andy asked Provenza if he could ask me if there was anything he should keep an eye out for with you, he was worried that you had cracked something," Patrice explained.

Sharon smiled. "No, my side healed fine and the bruising is almost gone, you can hardly tell anything was there to begin with," she said as she mixed all of the ingredients into a bowl. "For once, I would say Andy and I, health wise, are doing very well, for a change," Sharon added and they continued to chit chat about their husbands.

"Dad, are you and mom going to come to my game tomorrow?" Matthew asked Andy as he was still standing by the grill. "Uh, yes, we will both be there. I have a meeting tomorrow morning but afterwards, I will head over and watch your game," Andy said to Matthew as he started to preheat the grill. "When can I go in the pool?" he asked Andy. "When Avery and Colin get here, which should be soon, then you can go in the pool," Andy looked at his watch. Matthew then ran off into the yard and played ball with Moxie.

Andy took a seat next to Provenza. "So what meeting do you have on a Sunday morning?" Provenza inquired as he took a sip from his drink. "I have a meeting with my sponsor, no big deal," Andy answered as he watched Matthew play with the dog. "Is everything okay?" Provenza asked. "Everything is fine; it's just my sobriety anniversary tomorrow. Like I said, no big deal," he hesitated but explained to Provenza. "Does Sharon know that?" Provenza asked. "What is this, twenty questions?" Andy stated defensively, but answered Provenza.

"Of course she knows, that's kind of why we are having this little get together," he said. "Oh, well with her sense of occasion I was just wondering, no need to get defensive Flynn," Provenza grumpily stated as he continued to sip his drink.

Nicole, Dean, and the boys arrived at their house. Dean and the boys made their way to the back yard while Nicole stayed in the kitchen with Sharon and Patrice. "Do you need any help with anything Sharon?" Nicole asked her as she placed the special dessert she brought with in the refrigerator. "I think we're good, Nicole, thank you," Sharon said as she arranged the appetizers on the island countertop.

The boys ran into the back yard and joined Matthew there. They all started chasing Moxie around the yard as Dean made his way over to where Andy and Provenza were sitting. Andy stood up and shook Dean's hand. "Hey Andy," Dean said and Andy nodded to him. "Lieutenant," Dean said to Provenza and shook his hand as Provenza stayed sitting there. "Dean, nice to see you again," Provenza told him. "Hey boys, come say hi to your grandpa!" Dean yelled out to Avery and Colin.

The two boys then ran over to where Andy was standing and gave him a hug. "Hi grandpa," Avery said and Colin followed. "Hey guys," Andy hugged them back. "Matthew, if you want you can all go in the pool now!" Andy called out to Matthew and then Matthew ran towards them. "Come on! Let's change so we can go in the pool!" Matthew cried out and the boys followed Matthew into the house. They ran through the kitchen again.

"Hey! Slow down everyone!" Nicole called out to them as they passed everyone in the kitchen and headed upstairs. "They are at that age where they rush to go everywhere," she said as she turned around and continued to chat with Sharon and Patrice. "Yes, I told Matthew earlier to slow down when he ran through the kitchen as well," Sharon added.

The ladies continued to laugh and talk about their husbands and other things when the three boys came barreling down the stairs and started to run again through the house. "Boys! We are not going to tell you three again, the pool will still be there okay?" Nicole said to them. "Okay mom!" Avery and Colin said to her. Matthew turned to Sharon. "Sorry," he said and then grabbed some carrot sticks and brought them outside with him.

They ran over to the pool where Dean and Andy were now standing. Andy was making sure that everything was good with the water and the three boys waited patiently. Dean opened up the deck box and pulled out some pool toys for them, balls and some foam pipes. "Okay boys!" Andy said to them and they all jumped in the pool one by one. They made a huge splash that got Andy's shorts wet. "Hey!" he cried out as he laughed at what happened. Dean threw the balls into the pool and the started to play.

Meanwhile, Moxie walked over to where Provenza was sitting and laid down next to him. Moxie kept looking up at Provenza like he wanted to be petted. "I don't do petting," Provenza grumbled to the dog. Moxie kept panting and looked up at him. Provenza finally gave in and starting to pet Moxie on his head.

The three women walked outside and brought the appetizers and plates with them. There was a table outside and that's where they placed them. Patrice saw Provenza petting Moxie and smiled. She walked over to him. "I see he remembered you," Patrice said as she sat down next to Provenza. "Hmm, oh yeah," Provenza grumbled and then stopped petting Moxie. "You don't have to stop on my account," she laughed as Provenza sat there. Moxie then came around and sat down next to Patrice and she petted him. "Hello Moxie," she continued to pet the dog as he wagged his tail.

Nicole fixed a plate of appetizers and then walked over to where Dean was sitting by the pool. She offered him the plate and he took it. They sat there and watched the boys play. Sharon met Andy by the grill and brought out the hot dogs, hamburgers, and turkey burgers. "Here you go chef," she said as she placed the plate with the meat down by the table close to the grill.

"Thank you" he flashed his smile at her as he flipped the lid of the grill open and started to place the meat on the grill. That smile melted her heart. She stepped closer to him and kissed him before he placed more meat on the grill. That's when she realized his shorts were wet. "What happened to you?" she giggled. "Oh, well, the boys got me when they all jumped in the pool," he smiled at her. She smiled back at him. "Make sure you put a burger on for Rusty," she told him and he did. He then closed the grill cover and pulled Sharon in for another kiss.

"Flynn! What are we having?" Provenza called over to him which broke up the kiss he was enjoying with Sharon. "Burgers and hot dogs," he shouted back at him and shook his head. "Always the impromptu time with him," he muttered and only Sharon heard him. "That better not be a turkey burger you're making me, Flynn," Provenza came back at him. "I'll make you a regular burger, don't worry, unless Patrice, do you want him to eat a turkey burger?" Andy joked with him and chuckled.

"Oh, I think he can enjoy his regular burger Andy, but I'll have a turkey burger if you don't mind," Patrice told him as she turned around in her chair. Andy tended to the grill as Sharon made him a plate of appetizers. "I don't want you to go hungry, you'll need your strength later on tonight," she told him as she handed him the plate she just made. Andy took the plate from her and had to do a double take on what she said to him.

Andy looked down at the plate and saw her famous guacamole on there. "I love your guacamole," he muttered to her. "I know," she sauntered over to where Nicole and Dean were sitting. Patrice decided to join her and that left Provenza and Andy by the grill. "What's gotten in to you?" Provenza mumbled as he ate some carrot sticks and dip. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Sharon just propositioned herself to me," Andy grinned. "Ye gods Flynn! I don't need to hear that!" Provenza cried and threw his arms up in the air. Andy just chuckled and focused back on the grill, only guessing on what Sharon had in mind for later that night.

The kids had fun in the pool and Andy placed all of the cooked food on a plate that Sharon had provided earlier. They all sat around the outside table and Rusty came to join them. "So Rusty, how are things going at the DA's office?" Patrice asked him as they sat together at the table. "Oh, things are going fine there. Andrea's a great boss and it's interesting how much prep they do before going to trial," Rusty explained. "Well, it's good that you're getting experience for your law school," Patrice patted Rusty's shoulder.

Sharon looked at Rusty and thought something was off. She was going to ask him later if everything was alright. She then turned to where Andy was sitting next to her and listened to Provenza and him tell one of their stories to Nicole and Dean. "Yeah, those flight attendants, I knew they were bad news the moment," Andy started to say but then Sharon's eyes met his and he closed his mouth. "Yeah, sure you did, Flynn!" Provenza muttered but then realized Sharon was looking at Andy and he cleared his throat.

"On to another topic," Provenza quickly changed the story. "Sharon, I can't believe that my father and the Lieutenant here seemed to be always getting into trouble at work. How did you break them of their habit?" Nicole asked her. Sharon raised her eyebrows. "Oh, well, I'd like to take the credit for breaking their keen sense of trouble but I'm afraid I didn't do such a thing," she smiled and grabbed Andy's hand, intertwining their fingers together.

"On the contrary, Commander! When you took over Major Crimes, we were all scared of you," Provenza added. "Is that what that was, Lieutenant?" Sharon laughed thinking back. "Oh, well, uh, you eventually gained our respect," Provenza stuck his foot in his mouth and stopped talking. Sharon nodded her head and hummed. "I'll just shut up now," Provenza muttered as Andy stared at him.

"Can we go back in the pool?" Matthew asked them, interrupting the conversation. "Sure, sweetie," Sharon nodded and the boys took off again and ran towards the pool. "I'll watch them there," Rusty stood up and then followed the boys to the pool. Sharon watched him as he walked away from the table. Andy turned his head to look at Sharon. "What is it?" he whispered to her. "I'm not sure," she whispered back to him.

"Here, let's clear the table and then in a few minutes I'll bring out the dessert," Nicole offered as she stood up and started to clear some plates. Sharon and Andy started to stand up and help. "No, you guys cooked and hosted this party, you will both sit down and relax," Patrice insisted as she placed some plates on top of one another. Sharon and Andy both looked at each other and sighed while the rest of them cleaned up the table and brought everything inside the house.

"So, what did you have planned for tonight?" he whispered to her as he glanced over at the pool to see what the boys were doing. Rusty was still watching them. "Well," she smiled as she cleared her throat. "I thought you might want your pool party tonight when everyone leaves," she suggested as she ran her hand up and down his arm. He looked at her and returned his smile. "Can they leave now?" he joked and she laughed.

Dessert was brought out and everyone enjoyed the cake that Nicole had made. Provenza and Patrice were the first to leave their house. "Commander, I hope there will be no cases at Matthew's game tomorrow. I for one could use a whole weekend off!" Provenza informed Sharon as they were leaving. Sharon laughed at his comment. "Well, Lieutenant, I will certainly make an effort to not create a call out for us," she smiled as she held the door open for them. "Good night Sharon, Andy," Patrice walked behind Provenza and the two of them walked to their car and left.

"We're going to go too," Nicole said and Sharon turned around. She saw Avery and Colin already dried off from the pool with towels wrapped around them. "Thank you so much for coming today," Sharon gave Nicole a hug and then she hugged her step-grandchildren. "Good bye, sweetheart," Andy kissed Nicole on her cheek. "Bye Dad," she returned and then waited for Avery and Colin to join her outside the front door.

"Good night Dean," Andy shook his hand as he left the house and they watched them walk to their minivan and get inside. Both Sharon and Andy then turned around and saw Matthew running through the kitchen into the hallway where they were standing. "Can I watch a movie with Rusty?" he asked them as Andy closed the front door. Rusty was walking right behind Matthew. Sharon looked at Rusty and he shrugged his shoulders. She smiled at him and was glad that both Rusty and Matthew got along so well, despite their vast age difference.

"As long as Rusty is okay with that," Sharon suggested. "It's okay, I can watch a movie with him if he wants," Rusty agreed but before Rusty could join Matthew in the family room, Sharon stopped him. She was determined to find out if he was okay. "Andy, why don't you pick out an appropriate movie for Matthew to watch, nothing rated R, while Rusty and I talk for a minute," Sharon said to Andy and he nodded. "Come on Matthew, let's figure out what you can watch," Andy directed Matthew over to the family room and Moxie followed the both of them in there.

"You want to talk about what's bothering you?" Sharon asked Rusty as they moved to the den. Rusty flopped down on the chair. "Not really Mom," he shrugged his shoulders again and wouldn't look at Sharon. "Did something happen today at the library?" she asked him and he shook his head no. Sharon moved her head lower so that she would be in Rusty's eye contact. "Did you see Gus? Is that why you're upset?" she quietly asked him. Rusty huffed as he looked at her.

"I saw him with his boss from the restaurant, out walking at one of the shops in Beverly Hills," Rusty finally stated. "What were you doing in Beverly Hills?" she asked him. "I had stopped there after I went to the library to grab something to drink at Starbucks and as I was walking out, across the street, I saw Gus and his boss, holding hands," he paused for a moment and Sharon waited. "I got so angry when I saw that, it was like a punch in the gut," Rusty finished.

"I'm sorry Rusty," Sharon whispered and hugged him. "I know it was hard when you guys broke up with one another," she added as he pulled away. "Just, how was he able to move on so quickly and I'm like stuck," Rusty asked her. "Oh, honey, I don't have the answer to that. I know that it takes time and that hopefully, one day soon, you will find someone who knocks your socks off and treats you with respect and loyalty, and will always be there for you no matter what," Sharon told him. "Like how Andy is with you?" he stated, pointing out the obvious. Sharon smiled and nodded yes.

Andy walked back towards the den and saw Sharon smiling at Rusty. Rusty seemed to be in a better mood. Andy stood there until the exchange between Sharon and Rusty was finished. Rusty walked towards him. "Matthew picked out a movie and is waiting for you in the family room," he said to Rusty as he came closer to him. Rusty nodded and then continued to walk towards where Matthew was. Andy looked at Sharon and she shook her head.

"Everything okay with him?" he asked her as the two of them made their way towards the kitchen. "He saw Gus with Gus's boss today, they were holding hands and," Sharon started to say to Andy but Andy stopped her. "I see, tough for him to witness that," he grabbed Sharon's hand. "It was," she hummed and smiled at him. "I spoke to him, but I hope he will be able to get over this," she shook her head and didn't realize Andy was leading them outside to the backyard. "Well, I'm sure he will," he led her to the pool.

She looked around and realized where Andy had led them two. "I don't have my swimsuit on underneath my clothes," she informed him as he took off his t-shirt. He had worn his swim shorts throughout the day. "Oh, that's okay, as swimsuits are optional," he said with a grin and Sharon slapped his shoulder. "I am not going skinny dipping, with the boys inside the house," she scolded him. "Hey! Don't hit me," Andy pleaded to her. He looked at her hesitation and gave in. "Okay, go inside and get your swimsuit on, if you want, meanwhile, I will stay out here and make sure the water doesn't get too cold," he told her and flashed his puppy dog eyes at her.

She watched him as he got into the pool. "The water is nice," he grinned as he moved around the pool and watched her still standing where he left her. "It would be a shame to leave me here all alone while you go back inside the house," he gave her his sad look. Sharon hesitated for a second and then started taking her clothes off in front of him. Andy's mouth gaped at the sight. He couldn't believe she was actually going through with it.

"I did say that I wanted you to have enough energy for tonight, and I did promise you your own pool party," she smiled shyly, standing there in her underwear. She then slipped into the pool and joined Andy. Andy enveloped her in his arms. "I love you," he whispered in her ear as they swam around the pool together. "Have I told you that I'm very proud of you and your sobriety?" she said to him as they held on to each other. He smiled at her and kissed her on her lips. "Three weeks ago you thought differently," he mentioned to her and knew as soon as he said that, he wanted to take those words back.

She looked at him and shook her head. "I thought we were moving past that?" she said to him. "We are," he said and then dropped his head. "I shouldn't of said that," he mumbled and Sharon moved his chin up so that he was looking at her again. "What time are you meeting your sponsor?" she asked him as she slipped her hands around his neck. "Nine," he muttered as he watched her. His hands went to her back. She leaned in and kissed him, passionately this time, only breaking the kiss when they both needed air.

"I'll go straight from there to Matthew's game tomorrow, it's just a five minute meet with him," he explained to her and she nodded her head. "I'm glad your side is doing much better," he said as he pulled her closer to him. Sharon hummed as she ran her hands through his hair. They stayed in the pool a while longer. Andy had slipped her bra off but before they could get carried away, Sharon suggested that they step out of the pool before they got too cold.

Andy looked disappointed as Sharon got out of the pool. He watched her place a towel around her body and then pick up her discarded clothing. She turned around and waited for him. He reluctantly stepped out of the pool and placed a towel around his waist. The night air sent a chill to both of them and they walked back towards the house.

Once inside, they discarded their wet clothes and Sharon quickly pulled some dry clothes out of the dryer for the both of them. She got dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, while Andy put on boxers and a Dodgers shirt. They placed their wet clothes into the washer. Andy again pulled Sharon in for a kiss and as they broke apart, they were both smiling at one another. "Let's go check on the boys and then we can finish what you started out there in the pool," she suggested as she grabbed his hand and led them to the family room.

The movie was over by the time Sharon and Andy walked into the family room. Andy turned off the TV while Sharon placed a blanket over Matthew who was sleeping on the couch. Rusty had also fallen asleep as well on the other couch and Sharon placed a blanket over him too. Moxie raised his head and watched them walk around the room. He then settled into his bed that was by the TV and closed his eyes again. "They'll be fine down here, everything is locked up," Andy whispered to her as he led her up the stairs.

TBC