Ohhh another update :) My muse is having another creative stint. Riiiight, thank you urbandaily, lieutenantflynn and Whas'up for the reviews on the last chapter, and I've just realised I've completely neglected everybody who has favourited/story alerted this *facepalm* so huge thank you to all you folks on the interwebs who have done that :)


The room was getting smaller, she was sure of it. Sharon paced slowly from one side of the murder room to the other counting each step she took. She knew it was stupid but she could almost feel the walls closing in on her, she needed to get out. She could feel them watching her; they probably thought she was loosing her mind, maybe she was.

The shrill ringing of the phone on Provenza's desk broke through her self-imposed bubble of solitude but she paid no attention to it until he hung up and spoke loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, "That was the hospital. Seems our Sleeping Beauty has finally woken up."

Sharon stopped her pacing and leaned against Flynn's desk. Brenda looked up from the file she was studying and removed her glasses, hanging them off the front of her cardigan, "Any idea when we'll be able to go over and talk to him?" she asked him.

"The doctor I spoke to says they won't feel comfortable with him having any visitors for the next couple of hours." He answered apologetically, "Although they did say that he confirmed he is Antonio Dominguez."

Brenda scratched lightly at the top of her head, contemplating the next step she should take, "Alright then, Detective Sanchez, if you wouldn't mind going down to the Cold Case department and collectin' the files on Jack Raydor's murder, please? Thank you so much." She asked in her polite, honeyed Georgia drawl. Sanchez dipped his head in acknowledgement and moved to pull his suit jacket off the back of his chair.

Sharon stepped forward and cleared her throat, "Excuse me Chief, you won't find the file there." Sanchez paused his movements and looked to the Chief for instructions, Brenda swivelled on her heel to pin a glare on Raydor.

"What exactly do you mean by that, Cap'n?" she placed her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow. Sharon chewed lightly on her bottom lip and smoothed down her skirt.

"I moved that particular file to my office, Chief." She replied, avoiding eye contact with the other woman. Brenda frowned and released a quick sigh, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"And why would you do that, Cap'n?" Sharon straightened her posture and crossed her arms across her chest, a posture Flynn instantly recognised as her going into defensive mode.

"To be honest with you Chief, I wasn't particularly fond of the idea of my husband's murder file being forgotten in the back of a Cold Case storage locker!" her words were laced with ice, gaining volume as she continued, "At least if it's in my office, there is someone there who is still looking for anything new, anything overlooked, just anything that could lead to a conviction!"

The room fell silent, everyone momentarily shocked by her outburst. Sharon took the opportunity to attempt to control her raging emotions, closing her eyes and concentrating on the fleeting calm and quiet that had to descended upon the room to slow her breathing. She swallowed back her anger, knowing perfectly well that it wasn't the chief's fault, of course it didn't help that she wanted to wring her neck on the best of days.

Flynn could see Sharon's small form tremble as she fought to control the myriad of emotions that were assaulting her. Standing from his chair he pulled it into Sharon's visual range as an offering. She studied it briefly before discreetly shaking her head and offering him a tight yet appreciative smile. Brenda ran her hand across her forehead, flicking a stray strand of hair away from her eyes, "Alright then, Cap'n Raydor, why don't you head down to your office and retrieve it for us, seeing as you know where it is." She said not unkindly.

Sharon let out a small sigh of relief, willing at this point to do anything to get away from the stiflingly claustrophobic atmosphere of the murder room even for the briefest of moments. Flynn snagged his jacket off the back of his chair and announced that he would go down with her, to which Brenda responded with an absent minded 'mhmm' and a nod as she buried her nose back in the file in her hand.

Lightly placing his palm in the small of her back, Flynn led Sharon away from the scrutinising gazes of the rest of the squad, feeling her relax more the further away they got. They didn't speak until they were bundled into the elevator, where Sharon fidgeted with her hair, tucking it repeatedly behind her ears and brushing it over her shoulders.

"You didn't have to come with me, Andy." She mumbled quietly, wringing her hands together in front of her, absently aware that he had let to remove his hand from her back.

He glanced down at her and gave her a small smile even though she was looking straight forward, concentrating intently on the glowing numbers above the elevator door, "You saying you don't want my masculine prowess to help you carry those heavy boxes?" She looked up and briefly met his gaze and he felt proud that he made a shy smile etch itself across her face.

"I can't say they'll be needed, it's one box and I'm pretty sure Provenza's ninety year-old mother could carry it." She smirked.

Flynn chuckled and waited for her as she stepped out of the elevator when the doors rattled open, "And I'm pretty sure Provenza doesn't have a ninety year-old mother."

Sharon glanced over her shoulder as she walked towards her office, "Yeah well, you get the point." Flynn grinned and shoved his hands into his pockets as he followed her past the FID officers, paying no attention to the glares Joe and Peter sent his way while Natalie snubbed him entirely after greeting Sharon warmly.

When they were safely in the seclusion of her office, Flynn hiked a thumb over his shoulder, "I don't think they like me very much."

Sharon chuckled as she pulled a set of keys out of her handbag and flicked through them until she found the one she wanted, "Can you blame them?" she scooted around him and unlocked a metal cabinet, "You can be a bit of a jackass." She said as if she was telling him the sky was blue and the grass was green while bending down to pull out a cardboard box and putting it on the floor.

"So how come you like me?" he grinned boyishly at her, revelling in the delicate blush that coloured her cheeks.

She locked up the cabinet and threw the keys back in her bag, "I never said I liked you." She smiled coquettishly and brushed her hair back away from her face.

Flynn took a quick glance around to make sure nobody was watching and strode briskly towards her, "yeah right" he growled, planting one hand firmly on her hip and the other at the nape of her neck and pulling her roughly towards him, eliciting a surprised yelp from her as his lips met hers in a heated caress.

Before she had a chance to process what was happening fast enough to be able to reciprocate, he broke away from her and moved just out of her reach, crossing his arms across his chest and smiling smugly at her. Sharon could feel herself beginning to blush furiously, which only widened his smile, "Shut up, Flynn." She glared at him.

Andy moved his hands back into his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels, "I didn't say anything." He said, his voice victorious and his eyes twinkling.

Sharon placed both her hands on her hips and tried to make herself look as imposing as possible, remembering the days when her children were still short enough to be intimidated when she disciplined them, "Maybe not, but I can almost guarantee you were thinking something entirely inappropriate."

He took a small step forward and shrugged, "Only how I'd like to do that again," he replied nonchalantly.

Sharon flung her hand out and pointed a finger at him to make him stop from taking another step forward, "Don't you dare!" her words tempered by the hint of amusement he could hear in her voice. He held his hands up in surrender and smirked at her, "You followed me down here so you can at least make yourself useful and grab that box." She told him pointing to the forgotten cardboard box.

"Thought you said my masculine prowess wouldn't be needed." He reminded her.

Sharon shrugged and pointed at the box again, "You're here so I might as well take advantage of you." She arched an eyebrow to tell him she wasn't joking. Deciding it was best to simply do as he was told, Flynn bent down to pick up the box, groaning when his stiff and sore muscles began to protest again. Sharon quickly stepped to his side, "You okay?" she asked him, her concern evident.

Flynn nodded and stretched slightly, "Fine, just still a little sore after Saturday."

Assured that he wasn't about to collapse, Sharon took a step back out of his personal space, "Really?"

He nodded again and looked at her, "Yeah, why? Aren't you?" he frowned when she smirked and shook her head lightly, "How'd you manage that?"

"I've been skiing enough times to know that a hot bath afterwards does wonders." Flynn shook his head in disbelief, "You should try it some time."

At this he scoffed and let her lead him out of her office, "I would but I'm not a girl," when she stopped in her tracks and whipped around to glare at him, he amended, "woman, sorry." Sharon rolled her eyes and continued on her way back up to the Major Crimes murder room.

When they arrived Sharon saw that Agent Howard was back from speaking to some of his colleagues and was lounging around by a spare desk studying the file that Brenda had been perusing when they had left. He nodded politely to her and Flynn and smiled when Flynn dropped the box he was carrying on Provenza's desk, smirking at the disgruntled lieutenant.

Brenda looked over from where Tao was trying to over-explain something concerning Jennifer Masters' laptop to the completely clueless deputy chief. Taking their arrival as a way to duck out of her computer lesson, she waltzed over to the box and immediately started digging through the files, pulling out photographs and reports.

Fritz joined her and took a file that contained photographic copies of fingerprints that had been collected at the warehouse by SID eleven years previously, "I'll give copies of these to my guys, see if they can get any hits of them, if you didn't back then, we might be able to now." Sharon smiled appreciatively.

After a few minutes of rooting through the box, Brenda looked up to see Sharon and Andy practically twiddling their thumbs, "It's goin' to take a while to sort through all this, why don't you two take Sergeant Gabriel and go to the hospital. By the time you get there ya'll might get a chance to have a little chat with our friend Domino."

Flynn was surprised at her obvious inclusion of Sharon, and when Sharon looked at him and met his eyes he could see that she was too. Shrugging at each other they began collecting their things, "Sure thing, Chief," Flynn said, pulling his jacket on as he trailed Sharon towards the door, calling "C'mon Gabriel" over his shoulder.