A Story of Us
by Kadi
Rated T
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. It's just my favorite sandbox to play in.
Chapter 11
Sleeping in Sharon's bed did not become an every night occurrence. Andy still went home to his own place more times that he didn't. If he was with her and it got particularly late, she would take his hand and draw him upstairs with her. They had not been together again, physically, since the morning in the shower. Sharon was tired, and she was stressed, and feeling entirely too emotional about everything that was happening in her life at present.
A shift happened between them, however. Their evenings were not only relegated to her house. He found that she was spending time with him in his small bungalow. She would curl up with him in his wide, old recliner or lay on his sofa with her head in his lap while his fingers combed through her hair. She was making a conscious choice to try and be there for him, just as he had for her. Andy appreciated the sentiment, but it wasn't needed. He let her do it, however, because it was what she seemed to need.
It felt normal, right somehow. As though what they had was becoming more of a normal relationship. If she happened to be too tired to drive home on the evenings that she was with him, Andy took her to his bed and spent the night with her curled against him.
Most often, in his bed or hers, he woke with Sharon curled against his back. She was a heat seeker and would scoot just as close as she could. No one would probably ever believe him, Sharon Raydor was a born snuggler. It was cute, the way that her nose would wrinkle when he moved away from her. She would sigh or hum and seek him out again.
It was not her snuggling which had woken him tonight. They hadn't seen each other in almost a week. He was on another case, and she had a few items of her own that required attention. He knew that she had another meeting with her lawyer, but Sharon didn't like to talk about that. He wouldn't press her on it either, she would tell him when she was ready. She also had a doctor's appointment that week. She had come to his house, frustrated and worried, because her doctor was placing her on an early maternity leave. Her blood pressure was too high. She had the rest of the week to get things in order for her team, and then she was done until after the baby was born.
He knew that she was feeling helpless. She didn't like being out of control. There was nothing that she could do to wrangle the situation back into something manageable. Here she was, more than seven and a half months pregnant, closer to eight than she wasn't, and if she couldn't get her stress levels under control, her doctor had threatened her with bed rest.
But she had missed him. She looked just a bit shy when she admitted that. It had been a long week for him and he was spent, but he ordered dinner for them, and later he drew her into the shower with him. They hadn't had sex, but he had washed her hair and she had washed his back. Then he put her in one of his t-shirts and tucked her into bed. He told her about their case, and the dead ends that kept creeping up just when they thought they were getting somewhere. Sharon promised to go over it with him in the morning, to sit down with him and let him talk her through the whole thing. She told him that an objective eye might find something that they'd missed. Then she grinned at him, she wasn't an elite detective, but she did okay.
Andy said they would see about that. He was going to put her through her paces. He joked that he'd make a homicide detective out of her. Maybe he'd get the Chief to hire her. They had both laughed at that, and with his hand combing slowly through her curling hair, they both relaxed and drifted off to sleep.
He was used to the soft hums and quiet sighs that came from Sharon throughout the night. It was unusual, however, to wake up and find her curled away from him. Andy rolled and reached for her. He drew her back against his chest and settled with his face tucked against her neck. When she groaned and tensed against him, he stroked his hand down her arm. His hand moved around her to rest against her stomach and he felt the muscles tighten beneath his hand. Her sharply in drawn breath had his head raising and alarm settling inside him.
"Sharon?" He reached for the lamp and blinked when light filled the room.
"I know," she said tightly. "I was hoping it was just the Braxton-Hicks. I've had a few of those." This felt decidedly different, however. It was much deeper, and a low dull ache had settled across her abdomen. "I wasn't going to wake you if it was just the other," she said.
She was pale. Her eyes were pained when she lifted her gaze, and there was fear etched across her face. His hand stroked her stomach. Her contractions felt all too real to him. "I'll get dressed," he said, much more calmly than he felt. "It might still be the false labor. We'll go find out, it'll be fine."
Sharon swallowed hard and shook her head. Her eyes closed as a tremor worked its way through her. "My water broke right before you woke up," she whispered. "It's not false labor, it's happening." It was much too soon. She didn't have to say it.
Her skin felt too cool to the touch for his liking. Andy swept a lock of hair behind her ear and pushed their blankets back. "Let's go. We'll get you dressed. You'll call your doctor on the way." He rolled from the bed and reached for the pants he discarded earlier. He pulled them on with quick, jerky movements. He didn't want to think about what her having the baby this early would mean. She had several weeks to go, more than a month, but it couldn't be that early. This was just not a situation that he could make okay for her.
"Andy."
Her voice was low, panicked. When he turned, he found her seated in his bed. Her eyes were wide, and in the dim light from the lamp, they looked almost black. He watched her hands fist in the sheet beneath her, but his gaze was drawn to where she was staring. There was blood smeared on her thighs, mixed with the amniotic fluid, and it stood out in stark contrast to the paleness of her skin. He stared at it for a moment, stomach dropping and heart wrenching. "The hell with it," he said. He reached for her, drew her off the bed and into his arms. He lifted her as though she weighed nothing and carried her through the house. He grabbed his keys, wallet and badge from where he'd left them and then he carried her to his car. He wasn't going to wait for an ambulance and he wasn't going to waste time getting her dressed.
Andy settled her in the passenger seat and rounded the car quickly. He used his siren, and he didn't give a damn if it woke his neighbors. He drove with one hand and settled the other against her stomach. Hers was gripping his wrist tightly. Their only saving grace, the only light in the panic, was Joey still moving beneath their hands. This baby that was already named and already loved. This child whose nursery was now completed and decorated. The door to that room even bore a carved, wooden sign which read Joey, painted in blues and greens and yellows. The shower gift from the Chief and Agent Howard.
He didn't tell her that it would be okay. He couldn't lie to her. Instead, Andy looked at her as her grip on his arm loosened and he realized that she was too pale beneath the street lights. He noticed her breaths coming in thin, shallow puffs and her head beginning to dip. He saw the dark liquid coating her thighs and felt his own breathing become labored. His chest clenched. His stomach worked itself into a tight knot. He felt the baby move beneath his hand again, and realized that Joey was still alive, but his mother was slowly slipping away.
"Sharon look at me." His voice was raw, rasping in the car, and hard to hear over the sound of the siren overhead. Her eyes fluttered but he didn't think she really saw him. "Sharon!" Her lips were pale and her fingers were cold as they slipped away from his wrist. Her head rolled against the headrest of the seat, and she stared at him, but she was unseeing. "I love you." He thought perhaps her lips twitched, but her eyes closed and her head slumped.
What followed could have only been described as detached chaos. He felt like he was watching it all, rather than experiencing it. He almost ran another car off the road, and by some miracle, managed to make it to St. Catherine's Hospital without killing both of them. His car screeched to a stop in the ambulance bay. He bellowed for help as he rounded the hood and pulled open the passenger door. She was limp when he pulled her out, unconscious and unmoving in his arms. He was met at the door, the personnel alerted by his siren and squealing tires.
Sharon was taken away from him. He was left standing, light headed and unable to breathe as she was whisked away from him. When he looked down at himself he realized that his t-shirt was smeared with red, and so was his arm from where he had slipped it beneath her legs to lift her. Andy turned away from the emergency entrance. He stumbled toward the curb and leaned heavily against the hood of his car when he bent, struggling to draw air. His stomach rolled and he turned toward the street just in time to empty its contents on the pavement.
He was going to lose her. He was going to lose them both, this woman and this child that he loved. Because surely as he had fallen in love with the mother, he had started to think that maybe it didn't need to be a lie. Jack didn't want this baby, but he did. He could be the father that they had pretended to the world that he was. His best friend wasn't ready to accept his heart, but he could give her that, a father for her child. Really, wasn't he already? He put together the nursery, and he rubbed her feet and her back. He soothed Joey to sleep when he was too active and his mother needed to rest. She joked that he only listened to him. So honestly, who were they kidding here?
He was going to wait until Joey was born to talk to her about that. He didn't want to give her one more thing to worry about. Now it was too late. It didn't matter. He was going to lose them both.
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Andy looked up when a woman in scrubs that he didn't know approached him. He lied to the NICU staff after he found out that Joey had been taken there and was, by some miracle, still alive. He told them that he was the father and flashed his badge for good measure. Sharon's doctor would know the truth, though, and he imagined she was going to kick him out and probably call Jack. What would become of this tiny creature then, he wondered. This boy that was four pounds of fighter and hanging on in a world that was only going to be cruel to him. His jaw clenched as he drew his hand away from the inside of the incubator. He looked at her, and realized that she was drawn and tired. His heart twisted painfully. "Is she dead?"
"You must be Andy." She smiled weakly at him. "She told me about you. Told me about this," she nodded to the tiny infant in the incubator. There were wires and tubes. He was small and his lungs were not fully developed. He was strong, however, and doing the best that he could for having been born so early. She clasped her hands in front of her and sighed. "I'm Doctor Sheila Nelson. I'm the OB that has been treating Sharon throughout the course of her pregnancy. She and I discussed at her last appointment that if anything happened to her, she wanted to be sure that I would be able to speak to you. If somehow her husband ended up involved, she didn't want you to be shut out. She's in recovery right now, but she's still in critical condition. The pregnancy put a lot of stress on her system, specifically on her heart. I don't know how much she's told you about her condition lately, but I had already removed her from active duty. I was prepared to put her on bed rest if we couldn't get her blood pressure under control. It has weakened her, but what happened tonight was a complication that could have happened to anyone. The bleeding was a result of a placental abruption. I understand you drove her here yourself, if you had waited for an ambulance to be dispatched, the end result would likely have been different for both of them."
Most of what she said sounded like garbled noise. Andy was focused only on the part where she informed him that Sharon was still alive. He rested a hand against the top of the incubator and drew a thin, shaking breath. "She's alive?"
"Yes." Doctor Nelson inclined her head at him. She offered a comforting smile. "We were able to get the bleeding under control, and if she continues to do well, I think she should recover fully." Her gaze moved to the baby and she watched him. "He's got a long road. The specialist tells me that he thinks he has a good chance."
"Yeah," Andy looked down at him. "That's what he told me. He uh…" He shook his head, found that he felt a little light headed. Andy drew a breath. "Everything looks good except the lungs. They're going to watch him, do what they can." His relief trembled through him. "Can I see her?" He looked at the doctor again.
"Not yet." Sheila shook her head. "In the morning. We'll be observing her over night. For now I would recommend that you get some rest, Lieutenant. It's been a difficult night. You won't do either of them any favors if you collapse."
Andy stubbornly shook his head. "I'm not leaving." His gaze went back to the baby. "His mom'll kill me if I leave him alone." He would stay, until Sharon could join him. One of them should be there.
"I'll leave you to your vigil then," the doctor said. "But do try to get some rest. The days ahead are going to be long." The baby was not out of the woods yet, and his condition could easily take a turn for the worst. She had seen it too many times with other patients.
"Yeah," he said. "I'll keep that in mind." He would sleep when Sharon was able to hold her son in her arms. Andy sat back in the chair that had been drawn beside the incubator. His hand slipped into the hole in its side. Long arms and long legs, Joey was going to be a tall one, just as they predicted. He was tiny, however, and it was painful to look at him. Andy couldn't tear his gaze away. His finger tip stroked the tiny fingers, long like his mother's. "Did ya hear that, kid? Ma's doing alright so far. Maybe we'll get to see her soon. I think you're going to like her. She's really something." The baby's fingers curled around the tip of his finger and he knew it was reflex, but Andy smiled anyway. "Maybe you remember me too. I'm the guy always telling you to cut it out, well now I'm telling you to keep it up. Hang in there, son, your mom needs you to keep fighting."
He resolved not to leave him, but there were phone calls which needed to be made. Andy stepped out only long enough to take care of those. He didn't know who he would call first, but he began dialing and found himself talking to the Chief. He requested personal leave, and apologized for that since they were in the middle of a case. He told her about Sharon, and the baby, and then he insisted that she not come down. There was nothing that anyone could do right now. He wouldn't even be able to see Sharon until sometime in the morning. She gave him his leave and she wished him the best. Andy had a feeling he'd be seeing her as soon as the sun was up.
Next he called Emily. Her number was still in his phone and he realized that he should have called her before, but all he would have done was worry her. Now he could at least tell her that her mother was in recovery and her brother was hanging on. He had no way of getting in touch with Ricky, but Emily promised to do it. She said that she would make the other calls that needed to be made, but then she told him that she wasn't calling her father. If her mother wanted him to know, she would have to make that call herself.
Andy didn't imagine that would be happening anytime soon, but it did remind him that Jack was still a problem. Now that Joey was born, it would be simple for him to arrange the paternity test. The last thing that Sharon needed right now was for him to use this to get the upper hand in their divorce. She needed to concentrate on getting stronger and getting well, and being a mother. She couldn't fight Jack too. Actually, Andy imagined that she probably could, but he wasn't going to allow her to.
He made one more phone call before he went back to sitting with Joey. He called Mike Tao. He asked him to do a little digging into Jack Raydor's business practices. Nothing too in-depth, nothing which would raise any flags. The other man hesitated, but when Andy explained that Sharon was unconscious and he needed a way to keep Jack out of the picture until she could deal with him herself, he agreed. Tao was a whiz, if there was anything that Jack had done that Andy could use against him, he'd find it. Andy was counting on that.
He spent the rest of the night keeping an eye on Joseph Flynn, that was how he had instructed them to fill out the card on the incubator. Sharon might change that when she was conscious, and she was welcome to, she could do whatever she liked, he decided, as long as she was there with him to do it. In the meantime he held on to Joey's hand and willed the boy to be stronger. He willed him to live. But he didn't have to will him to fight, he was already doing that.
He was his mother's son.
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"You look like hell." Those were the first words out of Provenza's mouth when he approached Flynn later the following day. His clothes were wrinkled, his hair was mussed, and he had a definite five o'clock shadow going. On top of that, his eyes were tired and his face was drawn. He was seated in the waiting room with a cup of coffee in hand. Provenza carried a file which he dropped into the seat beside him. "Tao sent that."
Andy glanced at it and nodded. "Yeah, thanks." He ran a hand over his hair again. "What are you doing here?" He squinted up at him.
"You had a kid." Provenza wondered if he had hit his head at some point during the night. He shook his head at him. "Where else am I going to be?" He moved over and sat down in the chair on his other side. He leaned forward, arms on his knees. "How is she?"
"Still out of it," Andy shrugged. "She woke up for a few minutes this morning, but she's still pretty weak. The pain meds are keeping her under. Her kids are in there with her right now." He sighed and focused his attention on the coffee in his hand.
Provenza nodded slowly. "How's the kid?" He glanced over at his partner and took in the tired, slumped shoulders.
"Hanging in there." He let his head rest against the wall behind his chair. "He's not on a vent, they said that's good, that he's handling the local oxygen instead. I don't know what it means. He's little. He needs his mom."
"He's got his pop." Provenza shrugged. "One of two is better than none." He leaned back alongside his partner and sighed. "I can't stay. We're getting close to something. The team is going to drop by as soon as we wrap up the case. I just wanted to bring that. Tao really didn't have to do anything, just typed in a couple of queries and let it run." He waved a hand, he never understood how Tao did anything that he did.
"That's alright." Andy shook his head. "Sharon wouldn't want a fuss. Concentrate on the case. Then get some rest. We're not going anywhere." His back and shoulders were aching, but he didn't care.
"You're one to talk." Provenza snorted at him. "Go home, take a shower. Shave for crying out loud. The bearded look isn't for you buddy." He studied him for a moment longer. It wasn't in him to make false platitudes. "They're going to be okay. The wicked witch doesn't let anything get her down and the Devil's Spawn can't be stopped. He's a Flynn, it means he's a stubborn ass like his old man." Provenza reached over and slapped his shoulder. "It'll be fine."
"He's not mine." Andy's head rolled on his shoulders and he looked at his partner. "Joey, he's not mine. We weren't even together until a couple of months ago." His gaze moved back to the ceiling. "It was my idiotic mouth opening before my brain could catch up. We were just friends. She only went along with it to stall the son of a bitch while we could figure something else out. Then things just kind of… changed."
"You don't say." Provenza smirked at him. "What am I? Stupid?" He rolled his eyes at him. "You know something, you're an idiot alright. Does it matter when you started sleeping with her? You claimed him didn't you? You're here. The two of you are doing… things I never want to think about. Do the woman a favor, Flynn, get your head screwed on right before she wakes up and knocks it off your shoulders."
Andy shot a surprised look at him and then he barked a short laugh. "You didn't say anything." He leaned forward and let his elbows rest on his knees. "If you knew, why didn't you say something. What the hell was that baby gift about? You knew he wasn't mine, and you got that anyway?"
"The way I see it, you're acting like he's yours. It's only a matter of time before you pull your head out of your ass and stop lying about it. For that matter, sooner or later, she's going to wake up and smell the baby daddy too. I'm never going to understand what you see in her hell, I'm not sure what she sees in you either. It's not my business and I just don't care, but anyone with eyes can see that whatever you've had going on has made you both happy. She's been different, or maybe she was just herself and we were able to see it. Doesn't matter either. I still don't like her. Doesn't mean I want anything bad to happen. That doesn't mean I'm going to go flapping my jaw either." Provenza pushed out of his chair. "Go see your son, then go home and take a shower, maybe get something to eat. Tell the Witch we're pulling for her. Those damned kids running her division don't know their asses from Adam."
Andy snorted quietly. "You mean there could actually be something worse than Darth Raydor?" He grinned, somehow feeling a little better for having come clean with one person. The one who knew him better than most others and saw beyond all his bullshit to the truth of the matter.
"Yeah," Provenza smirked. "A bunch of little mini Darths that don't have the first clue." He ran a hand over his hair. "I'll see you, alright?"
He sighed and nodded. "Yeah, alright. I'll be around. I might run home for a few minutes, but I won't leave them for longer than I have to. At least her kids are here to keep an eye on things."
"Good, that's good." Provenza nodded. He tapped the other man's shoulder again before he left. He wondered if maybe the lovesick idiot was in over his head, but it wasn't for him to say. Who was he to define the terms of a family. There was nothing for it now, except to all do the best that they could.
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Andy peeked in on Sharon before he followed his partner's advice. She was still unconscious, but he told her kids his plan. Emily and Ricky were pale and drawn, worried about their mother and their little brother. He promised them that he would be back. Then he went back to the NICU to see Joey. That little boy was still hanging on. He hated to leave him, but there was something else that he needed to do too.
Andy had flipped through the file that Provenza brought him, and he thought he might just have what he needed to put Jack Raydor out of Sharon's life for good. Andy made a call before he left the hospital. He asked for a favor, but he needed a couple of hours.
He went home and showered. He shaved and stripped the sheets off his bed. He bundled them into the garbage and then he found a clean pair of jeans and a fresh t-shirt to put on. When Andy left his place, he drove across town to Sharon's house. He packed a bag for her, filling it with her favorite pajamas, and the toiletries she would need for an extended hospital stay. Then he added things she might need for Joey, a blanket, a camera. Anything that might make her feel better about this situation. He didn't know when they'd get to take the little boy home, probably not before Sharon was released, but she could have something of his anyway.
Afterward, Andy drove back downtown. He met his friend in the lobby of the law firm where Jack Raydor was currently working. He handed the file to Agent Howard as they strode through the lobby. "I don't want to act on it," Andy said, "but I do want to make him think we will if he doesn't back off."
Fritz's brows rose as he read quickly through the information. It was sketchy at best, but enough for a warrant for a more intense look. "Someone has been a naughty boy," he said. As they stepped into the elevator, he slanted a look at Flynn. "Does she know you're doing this?"
"Nope." Andy shrugged. "Right now she doesn't know anything. She's not conscious. When she wakes up, the husband won't be a problem anymore." His brow arched. "That's my plan anyway. He doesn't know, and I don't want to tell him. His kids didn't call him, and if Sharon wants him involved, she's got to reach out to him herself."
"You know she might not appreciate this," Fritz held up the file. They were essentially crossing a line to influence her ex-husband to lay off by threatening legal action. It was a murky line, but a line nonetheless.
"She probably won't." Andy didn't care. He was going to do the best he could to protect her, and if Sharon didn't like that, then he didn't give a damn. "I'm not really doing it for her." The doors to the elevator opened again before the other man could think too much on that. Andy stepped out and strode down the hall.
Jack Raydor wasn't expecting them, but that didn't matter. They both flashed their badges and got past the receptionist. When they strode into his office, he stood from behind his desk. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here."
Andy's lips peeled back in a mean smile. "Oh, I'm not really here. I'm just tagging along. You see, I wanted to watch the fun. This is my good friend Agent Howard from the FBI. He's the one that's going to talk to you."
Fritz tossed the file in his hands onto the desk. "It's come to my attention that you've been harassing a member of the LAPD. Now, in my capacity as liaison between the LAPD and the FBI, I take a special interest in a lot of the officers that I work with daily. When I saw this, I decided that maybe it was time to use that position to it's very best advantages. You see, I've got some friends in the RICO division. I'm wondering what they would think if I gave them that."
"You're bluffing." Jack reached for the file. "Sharon put you up to this. She can't win in the divorce so she's going to bully her way out of it, is that it?"
"If you're talking about Captain Raydor," Fritz said, "I've not informed her of my findings. Strictly speaking, I don't have a lot of dealings with FID. I have worked alongside her in the past, but really, it's my wife that spends the most time with her. If my wife knew that I had come across that and not done anything about it, I would have to deal with my wife." Fritz placed his hands on his hips and shrugged, "And I try never to have to deal with my wife, Mr. Raydor."
"So this is what you're going to do." Andy leaned forward, hands braced on the desk. He could see that Raydor was reading it, and he was believing them if the way he blanched was any indication. "You're going to sign the divorce papers. You're going to stop coming after Sharon's money. You're going to stay the hell away from her, and the hell away from my son. If you don't, then my good friend at the FBI is going to have no choice but to drop your name into a RICO investigation. Now, you could go ahead and take half of Sharon's money, but the RICO investigation would freeze all your assets. Then you'd lose it all, and possibly your freedom. Of course, that's if your new girlfriend and her family don't get rid of you first." It was Jack's dealings with his influential new girlfriend and some work that he had done for that family which had tipped Andy's hand. They had ties in the mob, on both coasts.
Jack glared at him. "So that's your play. Your darling Sharon can't win because she's not as perfect as she would like everyone to believe. So you're going to bully a win for her." He slapped the file down onto the desk.
"I wouldn't call it bullying." Andy straightened and looked at Fritz. "Would you call this bullying?"
"No." He shook his head. "I'm just trying to be helpful. RICO investigations are so unfortunate. No one wants to have to deal with that. I've never been a fan, personally. They get messy. Everyone's finances get frozen, then the whole family gets looked at. The kids would probably have to leave school for the duration. It's just… not kind. Then of course, what happens in a lot of these is that the Mob families involved start cutting their losses. They get rid of any threats. Next thing we know, Major Crimes has a new body and my wife is coming home late again. I just don't like it when that happens."
"Especially when half of Major Crimes is off the case due to personal involvement or just being suspects." Andy sighed. He shook his head. "That would be unfortunate. We all kind of like Sharon, it'd be hard to prove that one of us didn't do it. There's the obvious connection of her being my girlfriend, mother of my child, and then there's my team. I think it's the legs. She's got really great legs, you know."
"I've noticed." Fritz replied. "They are very nice legs."
"Yeah, so are your wife's," Flynn replied with a smirk. The two of them turned their attention back on Raydor. "So what's it going to be?"
His teeth ground together. "Her lawyer will have the damned papers by the end of the day," he said. "She can keep everything. I just want out." He pointed a finger at them. "No child support. Our kids are grown and…" He glared at Andy. "The other one isn't mine." He doubted that was true, but he wanted the hell out of it.
"Good choice." Andy scooped up the file. "Don't forget to make that call now. We don't want to have to come back."
"Public arrests are so expensive." Fritz turned. "I will be back, Mr. Raydor, if you don't keep up your end of the bargain. I will bring a RICO team with me, and we will turn every office on this floor upside down." At the door, he smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant look. "I don't think your employer would like that."
"She'll get the damned papers," he gritted out. "Get the hell out."
"Gladly." Andy pushed through the door and let it slam closed behind him. The easy part was done. Jack was taken care of. The hard part still remained. He would have to tell Sharon what he'd done.
Back in the elevator, Fritz cut a sideways look at the other man. "He's not yours, is he? The baby."
Andy's gaze moved slowly to him. He stared steadily back. "He is now."
