"Where's Sharon?" Rusty demanded as soon as he got home.
"Ask her boyfriend," Jackson said, taking another drink from his glass.
"That's not..." Rusty pointed at the glass.
"No," Jackson stood and moved to the kitchen. "That's the one thing I can give her. I'm not drinking, this is the last of some iced tea I made yesterday. Sorry I didn't save you any."
"That's okay. So you have no idea where she is?"
"I've got an idea, sure. I just don't know where that would be. That whole gang of hers at work is like a brick wall protecting her from me. Me! I know I'm not the best husband in the world, but I'd never hurt her. Bastards," he scowled.
"So what happened?" Rusty still stood close to the door, backpack on, desperate for answers.
"She's super sensitive to caffeine, she might even have an allergy. She drank too much and didn't eat anything. She fainted, that's all. Everyone acted like I poisoned her. She was just over tired so I said I would bring her home, but no... Provenza and Flynn stopped me as fast as they could. Flynn took her. I can only imagine he took her home."
"So Sharon is with Andy?" Rusty looked visibly relieved, which only fueled Jackson's foul mood. "Then she's okay. I'm just going to call."
"Her cellphone is off. I tried it."
"That's okay," Rusty said, pulling out his phone and pushing Flynn's home number.
"Figures," Jackson muttered.
xxxxx
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," Andy flowered kisses over her face.
"Mmm..." Sharon awoke and stretched, then smiled up at him. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Only four hours. I figured you would want to get back to work and if you're going to sleep tonight you can't sleep all afternoon. Besides, we've got the guy."
"What?" Sharon sat up in the bed and leaned against the headboard.
"It's done. He rolled. I imagine Jackson had something to do with it. Provenza tells me after we left, your old man wasn't having any more of his client's crap and he laid it on the line."
"Jackson is a very good lawyer."
"That's what Provenza said. He called Hobbs in because he wanted it done right, and within the hour it was banged out."
"Provenza made a deal? Oh, I wish I'd been there to see that," Sharon laughed.
"Buzz has it on disc. We'll put it on wide screen, bring popcorn and sell tickets."
"Sounds good."
"Also, Rusty called. He was in a mild panic about you."
"Oh no, I didn't even think about him. I can't believe that."
"Hey," Andy sat down in the bed beside her and pulled her to his shoulder, "don't do that to yourself. Rusty had the rest of the squad looking out for him. He was fine. He wants to know if you're coming home tonight. I didn't have an answer for him.
Sharon looked around the room that felt almost as much hers and her own, and she shrugged. "I don't have an answer either."
"Then we leave that one open for awhile. Provenza asked if you wanted to come in to clear up paperwork. He'd started it, but you know him."
"Provenza making a deal and doing paperwork? Are the planets aligned or something?"
Flynn chuckled, "Dunno... I think this is one of those 'if you ever mention it I'll deny it to my dying day' kinds of things."
"He's earned the privilege. Okay, what time is it anyway?"
" A little after six. Time enough to put in an hour or two, but then call it a day."
"Where's my phone?" she asked, looking around.
"I turned it off. It's on the kitchen counter."
Sharon pulled her head back and looked at Andy's expression. Nodded, she said, "I see..." It didn't take much to surmise that Jackson had been calling periodically through the afternoon and Andy was keeping him away. "I can't ignore him forever."
"No," Andy sighed, "but you didn't need to be awakened, either."
"You're probably right. Okay," she said with determination and sat up straight on the bed again, "this is what I think should happen. Let's not go into the office. If the case is closed and the deal is made, I can do the paperwork tomorrow. It is technically after hours. How about we grab a pizza or two on the way back to my place, and spend the evening with Rusty. This whole deal with Jackson has been stressing him out too, and having me gone can't be helping."
"You sure you want me there?"
"Positive."
"Well, okay then," he said, getting out of bed and reaching in to pull her up.
Sharon saw the hand then got a playful look on her face. "We'll go in a while," she said, pulling him down on the bed beside her and straddling him.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
xxxxx
Across town, Rusty was flipping through channels.
"You get your homework done, Son?" Jackson called from the front door.
"Yeah..." Rusty looked at him suspiciously. "Are you leaving?"
"Just for a little while. I've got some old friends in town I haven't seen in awhile, and I figured I'd blow off some steam and get together with them."
"Are you coming back?"
"Sure I'm coming back. Like I told you the other night, this is my home too. Until I go somewhere else, I'm here for the duration."
"Okay, but you know... Andy's part of the picture, right? He's the guy. He's not giving up."
Jackson sighed, then looked up at Rusty, "Look, I'm many things but I'm not delusional. My wife is my wife in name only, and I know that. It hurts like a bugger, but I love her too much to make her even more miserable. She's coming back in a little while with Lt. Flynn, and I really don't want to be here while the three of you are looking like a happy little family."
"She's coming home?" Rusty ignored everything else Jackson said except that one little point. "She called you?"
"No... no, I haven't spoken to her since this afternoon after she fainted. I just know her, Son, and I know she wouldn't leave you here alone. She said as much to me at lunch today, that she only stays at Lt. Flynn's when you aren't here. You're here, so she'll be here soon."
Rusty watched as Jackson put his keys and wallet into his jacket pocket, then turned with a smile and waved. "Have a good night, Son. And tell Sharon not to wait up. I can let myself in."
"Yeah, we know," Rusty called from the sofa as the door shut behind Jackson.
