"Are you ready to sit up?" Andy asked, still holding her hand.

"Yes, I think so." Carefully, Andy, Mike and Patrice helped Sharon into a sitting position. Provenza walked back into the living room to find several patrol officers, Chief Taylor and Chief Howard just arriving on the scene.

After a few more minutes of sitting on the floor, Andy helped Sharon to stand and got her settled in leather wingback in the corner of his bedroom. Knees cracking, he knelt beside her still looking her over to make sure she was okay. "Ma'am?" Sanchez questioned from the doorway of the bedroom. "Chiefs Howard and Taylor are here and FID is on the way. Lieutenant?" Julio looked directly at Andy, "Chief Taylor would like a moment with you."

"Tell him, I'll be a minute." Andy groused, still not tearing his eyes from Sharon.

"Andy…" Sharon reached out and gently placed her right hand on his cheek. "It's fine. Go. I'm fine."

Andy shook his head, catching her arm he noticed the gauze around her right wrist had fresh blood beginning to show through it. "No…No…I just found you…on the floor unconscious…I need a minute…Damn-it!...We…need…a…minute."

Sharon moved her hand under his chin and forced him to look at her. His eyes were dark and full of concern. "I am fine. What I need... is for you to distract Taylor and Howard and whoever else is out there long enough for Patrice to help me pull myself together. And when all of this is over, we…" She caressed his cheek, keeping her clouded green eyes on his, "Andy…we can have more than just a minute. Okay? Can you do that for me, Lieutenant?"

Sharon could see the regret and sorrow in his eyes as he nodded his head, "Yes Captain. I can do that." As he started to stand, he leaned forward and placed a soft, chaste kiss to her forehead. Not turning back, he quietly followed Sanchez out of the bedroom.

Leaving Patrice and Sharon alone in the bedroom, "What can I do, Sharon?"

Sharon carefully stood and started toward the bathroom, with Patrice not far behind. "I need to get cleaned up and try to do something with this hair."

Patrice watched as Sharon limped into the bathroom. "You're limping worse than you did this morning. Did you re-injure you ankle?" Taking Sharon by the arm, she guided her to the tub and had her sit on the edge.

"I think I just irritated it when I was squatting behind the door. It's fine."

Patrice looked down at Sharon and rolled her eyes. Kneeling, she pulled Sharon's foot into her lap and began examining it. "We really need to ice this ankle and your shoulder, but I guess there is no time for that now. If I wrap it in the ace bandage Margaret left, you should still be able to put your shoe on and that will certainly give it more stability. How are you really feeling?" Patrice pushed the bathroom door closed and retrieved the ace bandage from the linen closet.

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, sure…Headache, Dizziness?" Sharon nodded slightly at Patrice's question. "Nausea?"

"Some, but nothing I can't handle." Sharon looked at Patrice hesitantly, "I hate to ask, but can you help me brush out this messy hair. I'm not sure I can raise my arms up."

Ten minutes later, Sharon stood staring at her reflection in the mirror. She guessed she didn't look too bad, considering. She didn't bother with any make-up. Her hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders; it looked nothing like it would on normal work day but it was better than the messy bun from before. Patrice had wrapped her ankle and also placed one Band-Aid slightly above her right eye brow and two others on her neck. She still wore the black tank and leggings from earlier but now covered them with a long grey cardigan and her black flats. The most uncomfortable addition to her wardrobe was the sports bra she insisted on wearing despite protest from Patrice. With her new shoulder injury it took them both an extra few minutes to get the dang thing on. One thing Sharon was sure of, getting the offending bra off would be easier, even if she had to ask Andy to cut it off her.

A soft knock to the bathroom door, brought Sharon out of her reverie. Patrice stepped across the room and opened the door to an apologetic looking Amy Sykes, "I'm sorry Captain, but Sergeant Staples is here to speak with you and Taylor wants a word before you sit down with FID."

"Okay, thanks Amy. I will be right out." Turning to Patrice, "They are going to have some questions for you as well. If it will make you feel more comfortable, I can insist that they allow Detective Sykes to sit with you."

"I'm comfortable either way. I don't really have that much to tell."

Sharon smiled and patted Patrice on the arm. "Alright then, let's go get this over with."

~~~~~~~sasasasa~~~~~~

Fritz Howard very rarely felt uncomfortable, but this morning was an exception. He should be half way to DC by now, not standing in Andy Flynn's living room, waiting to brief Caption Raydor on everything that went wrong. To say that County and the Sheriff's Department fucked up would be putting it mildly and he had Taylor to thank for sanctioning him to deliver the news. He had watched Flynn a few moments earlier as he calmly spoke to Chief Taylor, the grief evident in his eyes. He was amazed at how well the hot tempered Lieutenant was holding it together; Captain Raydor definitely has been a good influence on him. Howard still found it fascinating that the Captain and her Lieutenant were officially together, but Brenda didn't seem to be surprised at all when he passed long the office gossip about their relationship. He stood back and watched as Provenza came over once Taylor was finished with Flynn and quietly escorted his partner outside to the back patio. Provenza returned alone seconds later and nodded to Sykes who quickly made her way down the hall to the back of the house.

Minutes later Chief Howard looked up to find Amy Sykes returning to the living room with two women following slowly behind her. When he quickly realized that Captain Sharon Raydor was one of the women coming toward him, he could help but draw in a ragged breath. The first thing he noticed was Captain Raydor was not wearing her glasses and he didn't think he had ever seen her without them, giving her face a much softer look and her eyes were like a window to her soul he thought. It was the also the first time he noticed how small she actually was in stature and in build. She seemed so different in her power suites and high heels. Her hair hung in soft curls over one shoulder, her face was pale and slightly bruised. Her eyes were tired, yet filled with concern and maybe even pain he thought. Chief Taylor stepped forward and placed a hand on her lower back causing her to jerk ever so slightly and he quickly removed his hand. Provenza was beside her a flash, the look of irritation evident on his face.

Nodding slightly at Provenza, Sharon stepped closer to him and further away from Chiefs Howard and Taylor before she spoke, "Chief, I need to know what happen. How did Simmons escape and also have access to a weapon?"

"Captain" Chief Taylor spoke up, "If you will, it really was just a comedy of errors."

"Ye Gods!" Provenza huffed, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep him from punching the idiot.

Sharon gently patted Provenza on the arm before returning her attention back to Taylor, "Chief, I can't imagine any circumstance in which I might find any of this funny. Things could have ended very badly had…"

"Captain, you misunderstood…"Chief Taylor tried to interrupt.

Holding her hand up to halt his talking, "Chief, do not interrupt me, I'm not finished here." She turned slightly, "Chief Howard, I assume you are here to give me the details I need."

Chief Howard nodded uncomfortably, "Yes Captain. I paid a visit to County and the Sheriff's Department before I came here. After Simmons came out of surgery he was placed in a wing at County that housed no other patients. The doctors didn't expect him to wake up for several hours, but apparently they judge that incorrectly. After he regained consciousness, apparently he was able to slip his cuff and..."

"Hold on, you're saying cuff as in singular? There was no ankle cuff! What kind of idiots are running that place!"

"That is what I am saying Lieutenant, cuff as in a wrist cuff only. As for the weapon, at the time he had one guard on him…a…ah…" Howard paused running his fingers through his hair, "a security officer with the hospital that had only two months of experience. The officer had been on the job for fifteen hours and fell asleep, she didn't wake up until the officer from the sheriff's department came to relieve her and by that time Simmons was long gone."

"Captain," Chief Taylor spoke up once again, but was silenced once again by Captain Raydor's hand.

"Save it Chief." Shaking her head with regret, "I don't even want to hear it. Now if you will excuse me, I think I have an appointment with my friends from FID." Turning, Sharon slowly walked across the room to the adjacent dining table, thankful to sit for a moment while she waited for Sergeant Staples to be finished with Patrice.