Chapter 11

Sharon woke up at 7:30 and found the space next to her empty. For one fleeting moment, she thought that Andy might have gone home but as she sat up, she noticed his overnight bag still on the floor and his clothes from last night hanging over a chair. Sharon padded out of bed and took a quick shower. She hastily dressed for work and packed up her things. She'd have to leave by ten if she wanted to make it to the station on time.

When she arrived downstairs, Sharon was greeted by the delicious aroma of coffee and breakfast. Sam was up and so were Rusty, Elle, and Ryan. Rusty and her son were locked head to head engaged in a game of chess. Samantha was talking with Charles whom both she and Sharon had known since they were little girls. Charles had been the family butler but to Sharon and Samantha, he had been so much more than that. He was more a father to them than their biological father had ever been. He had fixed their scraped knees when they were little girls, offered a shoulder to cry on during the trials of adolescence, and been a constant touchstone during their adulthood. Samantha and Sharon had made certain that he always had a place with one of them even after his retirement. Charles was family. He was a tall gentleman with silver hair and bright cornflower blue eyes. He had a dimple on his left cheek that appeared when he smiled—which was often. Even well into his eighties, he was still an attractive man—and sharp as a tack.

Sharon greeted everyone, walked over to Charles, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You're still the handsomest man in the room," she told him.

"Merry Christmas, Miss Sharon." Despite both Samantha and Sharon's insistence that he drop the "Miss" part, Charles still addressed them this way-although it had become far more a term of endearment than a formality.

"I missed you at the party last night," she said warmly.

"I went to see my great-nephew and his family," explained Charles. "And now I get to spend Christmas here with all of you." He gave Sharon's hand a squeeze.

"Can I do your hair, Sharon?" Elle asked her mother-in-law.

"Sure, honey." Sharon turned back to Charles. "You've met Rusty?"

Charles nodded. "He's giving Ryan a run for his money over there."

"Sharon, we've decided that we're kidnapping Rusty," announced Elle as she began brushing Sharon's long copper colored hair. "You got called into work unexpectedly and Rusty shouldn't spend Christmas alone. Andy said that he'll drive you back. Rusty can stay with us for the night and drive back in the morning."

"Well…if Rusty wants to," said Sharon.

"He has no say in the matter," laughed Elle as she began twisting Sharon's hair into a neat French twist. "He's kicking my husband's sorry butt at chess. One more win and it will be two out of three. Glorious victory!"

"Thanks for your wifely support. I haven't played for a while," Ryan defended himself. "And I was up all night."

"We've all been up all night," piped in Samantha. "Speaking of which, I think I might need more coffee. Andy makes the most delicious cappuccino. You didn't tell me he was so good in the kitchen, Shar."

Andy came into the room as if on cue. He had two steaming cups of cappuccino in his hands, one of which he handed to Samantha and the other he gave to Sharon. Covered in frothy bubbles and dusted with cinnamon and chocolate—it indeed smelled delicious. Andy and Sharon brushed hands during the exchange of the coffee cup and Sam noted inwardly that there was something in the room a hell of a lot hotter than Andy's cappuccino. It was good to see her sister so happy, sharing such a strong connection with someone—after all of those anemic years spent married to Richard Raydor. It had been Samantha's idea to invite Rusty to spend another day. Her purpose was twofold. She thought that Sharon and Andy might enjoy a little alone time and she really did want to make Rusty feel like part of the family. After all….he was a part of it.

Elle put the last few pins in Sharon's hair and studied her handiwork. "Tres chic!" she grinned, giving Sharon a hand mirror. Sharon smiled appreciatively and thanked her daughter-in-law. Elle's mother had left shortly after Elle was born so Sharon's presence in her life had been especially important. Sharon put down the mirror and looked around the room.

"Where's Kate?"

There was a moment of quiet. "Oh, sweetie, Kate went out for a drive. She'll be back in a little while," Samantha said vaguely.

"A drive? On Christmas?" Sharon's expression was incredulous. "What aren't you telling me?" Her voice was sharp.

Ryan looked up from his chess game. His face was sympathetic when he glanced over at Sharon. "She went to go visit dad—at the clinic." He left out the part about himself and his sister having a rather heated argument about her going.

"I see," Sharon said quietly. There wasn't much that she could do about it. Kate could make her own choices and if she wanted to spend a few hours on Christmas with her father, no one could stop her. It saddened Sharon though that her husband's influence was so strong and she couldn't help but wonder if she could have done something differently along the way. Sharon sighed softly. It seemed that lately she and Kate took two steps forward and three steps back at every turn.

Rusty won the third round of chess to Elle's delight. "Hand 'em over, Sam," she ordered.

Samantha handed her a large bag of chocolate covered espresso beans.

"I can't believe you bet against your own husband," grumbled Ryan pinching his wife as he watched the exchange. "Thanks for your good faith, Auntie," he added, nodding at Samantha.

"Yeah…well, that's the last time I bet on you."

Elle cackled and popped three espresso beans into her mouth. "Chocolate AND caffeine. I'm going to be so wired!" She smiled brightly-only it wasn't exactly just because she had won the bet. She couldn't help but notice how Andy's free hand rested lightly over Sharon's as he munched on his croissant. They were awfully cozy. In all the years that she had known Sharon, she had never seen her look as intimate with Richard as she did now, sitting next to Andy Flynn.

Samantha proposed a few rounds of Pictionary for whoever was interested in playing. Board games were a family tradition, especially around the holidays. They paired up into two teams: Andy, Sharon, and Rusty against Elle, Ryan, and Samantha. Both teams fought vehemently over Charles but he opted to remain impartial, to keep score, and to observe.

Sharon's turn to draw came up while Rusty and Andy guessed. "No wonder why you never did much drawing on the murder board," teased Andy as he peered at her dilapidated stick figure. This earned him a quick glare over the tops of her glasses.

"On the outside looking in," suggested Rusty. Sharon shook her head.

Andy tilted his head to the side as he scrutinized her drawing. "Peeping tom," exclaimed Andy suddenly. "Voyeur!"

"Time's up, kids," squealed Samantha.

"Peeping tom," huffed Sharon shaking the drawing at Andy. "It's a window washer."

"If that's a window washer, what is he holding in his hand?" asked Andy.

"It's a cloth to clean the windows!"

Samantha snorted. "I'm with Lieutenant Flynn. That certainly doesn't look like a cloth." Six pairs of eyes peered intently at Sharon's drawing. Even Charles couldn't hide his amused smile.

Elle was laughing so hard she had to cover her mouth. "Sorry Sharon. I love you with all my heart but your window washer is a total perv."

"You people are terrible," laughed Sharon. "With your minds in the gutter."

"Hey, you're the one that drew it," said Samantha.

Andy pocketed the drawing and leaned over Sharon's ear. "I am so going to pin that up at my desk at work."

"Behave yourself," she whispered back.

"Now what fun is there in that?" he answered.

Samantha's team easily won the game. By the time they finished, it was time to open presents. Unfortunately they had to rush a little bit because it was getting later and Sharon had to leave for work. Rusty was eager to stay and Sharon was thrilled to see not only him having such a good time, but the rest of the family, too. There were hugs and kisses all around before Sharon and Andy left and plans were made to get together again shortly after the New Year.


Andy drove himself and Sharon back to L..A. With the holiday, traffic was extremely light. He glanced at her sitting next to him and couldn't suppress a smile while his hands gripped the steering wheel. Sharon saw it and answered with a smile of her own. Nat King Cole crooned "I'll Be Home For Christmas" from Andy's radio.

"When's the last time you saw your son?" Sharon asked, "if you don't mind me asking."

"I see him at weddings and wakes, maybe an occasional family gathering. About a year ago was the last time. Joe is older than Kara so he has more memories of what an asshole I could be. I never hit the kids—I don't want you to think that it was anything like that. But I was a lousy drunk, to just say it like it is. I cared more about what was at the end of a bottle than I did about my children. I don't want you to have any illusions about me, Sharon. I was a bad alcoholic. It's funny how we swear that we won't be like our parents. I swore I'd never drink like my father did and yet that's just how I ended up."

Sharon nodded. "I swore I'd never let anybody control me like my father did and look whom I married. Richard did it differently, all underhanded tactics and manipulation. But the end result was the same. I think it's hard to see all of those deep wired patterns because we're just too close to them. Thank goodness for maturity and experience."

"Your parents are no longer living, correct?"

"That's correct," replied Sharon. "Yours?"

"Yeah….both passed."

"Andy, I think it's really wonderful that you keep trying with your son. It can't be easy to continually put yourself out there like that. It says a lot about your character and about how much you care about your kids."

"Thanks. I won't ever give up. Maybe someday I can prove to him that I've changed. I'm really grateful that I was able to mend things with Kara and that I get to spend time with my grandkids."

"I'd like to fix things with my daughter, too," Sharon said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Let's hope the new year brings some progress for both of us, hmmm?" She brushed her hand against his knee and their eyes met.

Andy dropped Sharon off at her apartment so that she could drop her things off and take her own car to the station. He helped her bring her bags in. Walking out together, they stood in the vestibule of Sharon's apartment and he turned to her, brushing her arm with his hand.

"Still want to come by for dessert after work?" His voice was casual, undemanding-but his eyes were hopeful. "I know how it is….I know it could be a late night for—"

Sharon stood up on her toes and stopped his words with a slow kiss, both hands on either side of his face. "You can take that as a yes," she told him earnestly, mouth still very close to his. She began to pull away but not before she murmured a heartfelt "I love you." To the casual observer it might seem like a quick declaration. But it wasn't. She'd been falling in love with him by degrees for years, over sips of coffee, over haphazard lunches on the run, in the moments when they'd look at one another over a case file and come to the same conclusion. It was the smallest things—that damned toothpick and his little boy smile, the way he could make her erupt into a hearty belly laugh with one well-chosen, perfectly timed dry comment. It was the bigger things, too—his unfailing support no matter what the crisis and the fact that he'd given up a position that she knew meant a great deal to him to pursue a relationship with her. She loved him for countless reasons but they all brought her to the same destination. To him.

And Sharon Raydor knew with unequivocal certainty that with Andy Flynn was exactly where she belonged.