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.
A/N: Thanks again everyone! There will be one more chapter after this one. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 11
The next morning, Andy stirred in his sleep and rolled over in their bed. He reached out with his hand for Sharon but she wasn't there. He opened his eyes and adjusted to the soft lamp that had been turned on sitting on Sharon's night stand. He propped himself up on his right arm and wondered where Sharon had gone to. He listened for any noise coming from the bathroom but realized that the door was open and the light was off.
He then laid back down on his back for a few seconds before he swung his legs over the side of their bed and sat up. He rubbed his hand over his face and then stood up and stretched, trying to gets the kinks out of his back. He reached over to pick up his pajama pants that had been tossed on the floor from last night and put them on. He threw on his shirt as well. He then looked around their room to see if maybe Sharon had stepped out on their balcony but the door was shut and locked.
Andy then made his way out into the hallway and figured Sharon was downstairs as the hallway light was on down there. He took the steps one at a time, listening to hear if he could tell where Sharon was. He made his way to the first floor and saw Moxie in the kitchen wagging his tail. He knew that Moxie would be with Sharon so he made his way towards the kitchen. Sharon was sitting at the island on one of the stools, drinking a cup of tea that she made.
As Andy came closer to her, he saw her wearing his teal blue dress shirt. "Hey," he said quietly as to not startle her. She looked up at him and smiled. "Hi, I'm sorry if I woke you," she said to him as he joined her at the island. "Is everything okay?" he glanced at her and the tea box that was out. She only drank chamomile tea when something was upsetting her and she needed to relax. "My mind was thinking and then, I couldn't sleep," she told him as she took a sip of her tea.
He understood but had hoped that their recent love making after they got out of the shower would have been enough to ease her mind. God knows she wore him out last night. He reached over and touched her hand. She opened her hand and he held her hand in his. He gently caressed her hand with his thumb while he watched her sit there. "Want to talk about it?" he offered her and she looked at him.
She took a deep breath and then nodded her head. He waited until she was ready and listened to her when she started. "This whole business with Croelick has been bothering me and the fact that we don't' have enough evidence on him is troubling," she started to say. Andy knew exactly what she was going through. Heck, he went through that years ago when Croelick got out of jail on a technicality. "I can't believe I'm saying this but a guy like Croelick is going to mess up again and eventually, he will get caught. I just hope I'm there to see it and bring him to justice finally," Andy told her as he bent his head to catch her eyes.
"Is Croelick the only thing that's bothering you, sweetheart?" Andy asked her as she met his eyes. "No," she whispered and placed her cup back on the counter. She looked at his bruises around his neck and reached out with her free hand to lightly touch them. "I don't know if I can do this anymore," her voice cracked. He looked at her. "Do what anymore?" he asked as he took both of her hands in his.
She looked down at their joined hands and ran her thumb over his. "Send you out in harm's way, I don't think I can do that anymore, I don't want to lose you," and the tears started to fall again. Andy pulled her into his arms and held her. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay, I'm right here," he whispered to her as he held her close to him.
"It's part of the job, Sharon. You and I both know the risks but we do it anyway," he whispered and she nodded her head against his shoulder. "We both took an oath to serve and protect. I know the dangers, you do as well, but we still go out there every day and fight the good fight. We fight for the innocent and the ones that have no voice," he continued.
Andy held her there as her cries subsided and then asked her a question he had been contemplating. "Do you want to retire?" he asked and she shook her head no. "Do you want me to retire?" he asked and again, she shook her head no. He sat there still holding her in his arms and thought about what to say next to her.
"Sharon? Sweetheart?" he whispered and she moved her body so that she could look him in his eyes. "I'm sorry, you must think I'm a complete mess," she told him as she wiped her eyes with her hand. "No, I don't," he told her as he looked at her. "I think you're beautiful, and intelligent, and sexy as hell," he smiled as she sat there on his lap. She shook her head. He cupped her face with his hands and she focused on his eyes. "I do," he whispered and then pulled her in for a gentle kiss on her lips.
They both sat there in the kitchen for a few minutes. "I'm sorry I got your t-shirt all wet," Sharon said as she smoothed out his shirt. "Don't worry about it," he told her as he brushed her hair away from her eyes. "Do you feel better?" he asked her and she nodded. "Yes, I do, thank you," she whispered and then she stood up from him and held out her hand for him to take.
They returned back upstairs to their bedroom and Moxie followed them. Sharon climbed into bed, still wearing Andy's dress shirt and waited until Andy joined her. She snuggled against him and he held her close to his body for the rest of the night.
Later that morning, Sharon was getting herself ready for work. She was in their closet trying to find something to wear while Andy was shaving in the bathroom. She walked out with a pink shirt and her black pants suit. She held one of Andy's ties in her hand and walked into the bathroom. She stood there at the doorway watching Andy as he carefully shaved his face. The marks on his neck from him being choked were more visible this morning.
"Hey, I thought this tie would go well with my pink shirt I'm wearing," she said as she held up his tie for him to see. "Perfect," he said as he wiped the shaving cream off of his face. She walked up to him and placed her hands on his smooth face. She then traced her fingers down his jaw and then down his neck, careful not to press too hard. "Does that hurt you this morning?" she asked him and he shook his head no. He then turned around as she let go of him and put on his dress shirt. She then wrapped his tie around his neck and placed it underneath his collar and tied it for him.
He smiled at her when she smoothed down his tie and then he bent down and kissed her. They left the bathroom and Andy went to their closet to put his weapon, badge, and handcuffs on his belt. He then grabbed his suit jacket and walked out of their bedroom to join Sharon who was now downstairs. Sharon was speaking to Nicole on the phone while she was putting together some cut up fruit for them to eat with their breakfast. "Yes, we will be picking Matthew up from the day camp this afternoon. We really appreciated your help these past couple of days," she said as she moved through the kitchen.
"Okay, good. I just dropped him off with the boys and they were excited to be going on a behind the scenes tour of Dodger Stadium this morning," Nicole told Sharon. Sharon watched Andy walk into the kitchen and placed the bowl of fruit on the table. Sharon chuckled. "Well, I know of one fan who would be disappointed in not being able to tag along," she said, catching Andy's curiosity as she hung up her phone.
"What's going on?" he asked her as he sat down at the table. "Oh, well it seems that the boys along with our son, are going on the behind the scenes tour of Dodger Stadium this morning with their day camp," Sharon told him and he immediately made a pout. "What?" he said and left his mouth open for dramatic purposes. "Close your mouth dear," Sharon teased him as she gently pushed his lower lip closed with her finger.
They ate breakfast together, Andy still pouted here and there. He wished that he didn't have to go in to work today and then he could be a chaperone with the day camp. Sharon shook her head at his suggestion. "Sorry, but you are going to work today," she said as she stood up from the table and cleared her plate. He sighed as he stood up and did the same.
They headed out the door and walked to the garage. Sharon saw Rusty walking down the steps from his apartment above the garage as she walked down the path. "Morning Rusty," she said to him as he made his way to the last step. "Morning Mom," he said and then paused for a moment. "Something wrong?" she asked him. "No, just making sure I have everything I need this morning. Andrea wanted me to stop by the office this morning before I join her at court," he said as he looked through his messenger bag.
He then started to walk to the driveway and waved to Sharon and Andy as he walked. "Bye!" he said as he got in his car and drove away. Sharon joined Andy at their car. "Everything okay with him?" Andy asked her as they got in their car. "I think so, he's really enjoying this internship with Andrea," Sharon said as Andy started the car and pulled out of the garage.
As Andy drove, he couldn't help but think of why they had to let Croelick go. He was beginning to think Croelick was his white whale. Someone he kept chasing but no matter how hard he tried, he could never get him. Sharon looked at Andy as he drove and could tell something was bothering him. "What are you thinking about?" she asked him. He shook his head. "You don't want to know," he mumbled as he continued driving them to work.
Sharon looked out the window at the Los Angeles downtown skyline and then back at Andy. "We'll get him; we just need to find concrete evidence and time was not on our side with holding him," she said and then paused for a second before continuing. "And I blame myself for that, because I didn't want him out on the streets while we were trying to catch Randall, so I threw up whatever holding charge I could to keep him in jail," she continued.
"Don't blame yourself, please?" Andy told her as they got off at their exit for the PAB building. She smiled. "I won't if you won't," she told him. "We know where he's living, and we know he won't be far away," Sharon contemplated in her head and out loud. "Because he's obsessed with you," Andy muttered and Sharon threw him a look. "I know him, once he sees someone he likes, he won't stop. I don't know how many times he was found sitting on Chief Johnson's porch or in her house!" Andy told her as he pulled into the parking garage.
"It was kind of creepy he was outside our house," Sharon quietly stated and Andy placed the car in park. "Yeah, about that," Andy started to say as he scratched his head with his finger. "Next time you see Croelick, please let me know right away and not keep it some secret, okay?" he continued. Sharon nodded. "Okay," she whispered, and then they both stepped out of the car and headed upstairs to their office.
"You don't think he would show up at our house again, do you?" Sharon asked as they stepped out of the elevator. Andy took a deep breath. He thought about that, but they couldn't live in fear that Croelick would show up on their doorstep one day. They both had played that when Stroh had disappeared all those years ago, only to show up in Monterey where they had gone on a vacation after Andy's health scare.
"No, he knows that we would be on to him if he showed up there again, I think he's going to try to lay low now," Andy told her as he held the door open for her to their office. When they arrived inside the Murder Room, everyone was busy at their desks. Provenza looked up from his desk at Sharon and Andy as they walked in. "Ah, good morning Commander, Flynn," he said as he waved to them. Andy was a little skeptical at Provenza waving at them but he decided to shrug it off until he had gotten to his desk.
"Morning, Lieutenant, is there anything going on?" Sharon asked Provenza as she walked towards her office and Provenza still sat at his desk. "No, nothing unusual for the morning," he answered her and she went into her office. Andy placed his keys inside his desk drawer and walked over to Provenza's desk. "Why are you so cheery this morning?" Andy asked him and Provenza looked up from his crossword puzzle. "Cheery? I'm not cheery this morning, am I Julio?" Provenza asked out loud to the group.
Julio looked over at Provenza from his desk and gave him a strange look. "Uh, no sir, you're not cheery," Julio smirked and continued to do what he was doing at his desk. "See Flynn, I'm not cheery, must be your imagination," Provenza told him and then returned to his crossword puzzle book. Andy stared at Provenza with a skeptical look again. He then returned back to his desk and sat down.
The rest of the morning went smoothly. The team did not catch a case and by the time four o'clock rolled around, Sharon had told her team to head home. Provenza was the first one to make a move. "Great! I am out of here, Patrice and I have a little date tonight!" he said to everyone. "That's why you were cheery this morning!" Andy stated as he watched his best friend gather all of his things for the night. "Where are you taking Patrice tonight?" Mike asked him.
"Well, she and I are going to a small diner that we both love and then we'll probably go home and watch something on the TV," Provenza said. "How is that a date? Don't you do that every night?" Andy asked him as he stood by his desk. "You should talk Flynn!" Provenza yammered back and pointed his finger at Andy. "With all of your non-dates that you and the Commander had over the years before you asked her out on a real date!" he added and Andy looked at him.
"And for your information Flynn, I was happy this morning because I actually get to eat whatever I want tonight at the diner, and you know how much I look forward to doing that!" Provenza said and then started to walk out of the office. "Good night everyone!" he waved and left. Andy shook his head as he sat back down at his desk. "Night everyone!" Amy said to the rest of them as she headed out of the office.
Julio had left the office right after Amy, which left Buzz, Mike and Andy outside and Sharon still in her office. "Hey Buzz, got a second?" Mike asked him as he sat at his desk. "Cathy's working late tonight so I can show you this latest computer program if you'd like. It may help you at your next Reserve Officer training session," Mike told Buzz. "Thank you Lieutenant!" Buzz said as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to Mike.
Sharon stepped out of her office and walked up behind Andy. She placed her hand on his shoulder which brought him out of his thoughts. "Ready?" he asked her as he looked up at her standing behind him. "Yes, let's go pick up Matthew, dinner, and head home," she told him, and he stood up from his desk and took his keys out of his desk drawer. "Good night guys!" Sharon and Andy both said to Mike and Buzz as they left the office. "Night," they heard back and then walked into the hallway and headed towards the elevator holding each other's hands.
TBC
