I know, I know, a lot of people took the fact that Emily and Ricky appeared in LA for a Christmas episode and the fact that Park City was never mentioned again after The Closer episode to mean that Sharon's parents either weren't living anymore or that they weren't well enough to travel and that Park City wasn't a thing anymore. The writers couldn't even remember (and couldn't be bothered to read the scripts for the three other episodes one of them had appeared in to see if it had been mentioned yet) the birth order of Emily and Ricky, so I'm not trusting "implied canon" anymore. I don't see the writers having enough interest in Sharon's character to think it through enough to use the omission of Park City to imply anything. They probably just forgot that it had ever been a thing. :) Either way, no one knows, and this is fanfic, so it doesn't matter :) :) For the purposes of this story, everyone is alive and well and happily ever after.
Your reactions to the Words With Friends material in A Better Ending shocked me (in a good way!), so I added a little more here. I'm sorry if it's overkill for some of you.
The Friday before Christmas, Sharon, Andy, Ricky, and Rusty flew to Park City to spend Christmas with Sharon's family. Ricky had driven down on Thursday evening to avoid so much flying. In the last few years, Sharon had gotten in the habit of not going until Christmas Day or the day after because of Major Crimes's tendency to catch a case right before Christmas, but her radiation schedule didn't allow for that this time. They were luckily case-free, though, so they were able to keep their Christmas plans. Sharon was going to miss being able to hang around for a few days after Christmas and not have to rush back, but they still didn't have to go back until early Tuesday afternoon. Sharon had been able to schedule her radiation appointment for Friday morning, delay Tuesday's appointment until later that evening, and didn't have to go on Christmas Day, so they would still have a nice long weekend.
Sharon shifted in her seat at their gate, trying to get comfortable as they waited to board. After having a radiation treatment on Thursday afternoon and again on Friday morning, she was more tired and her skin was a little more irritated than usual. Andy wrapped his arm around her and helped her lie against him. "Not exactly luxury seating, huh?"
Ricky was catching up on his Words With Friends correspondence on his phone, and Rusty watched as he started to make a move against Sharon. "Put your other 's' at the end of that. You don't want to just play 'test' against Mom."
Ricky studied his screen. "I need to get rid of all of these consonants, but I don't want to use both 's'es yet, either."
"You'd rather use both of them now than have Mom turn that into 'testicles,' I promise. She'll do it, and it's just as disturbing as it sounds."
Ricky wrinkled his nose. "Gross! Mom! God."
"Wait, Mom doesn't play gross words against you? That's not fair!"
"Haven't been able to yet," Sharon murmured from Andy's shoulder. "And that's a word! I'm not breaking any rules." She played for points, but if there was an opportunity to get a lot of them and freak one of her children out at the same time, she took it. Like they were any better. The games between Ricky and Rusty were more about who could play some variation of 'fart' more times rather than actual points.
"I need a beer," Ricky grumbled. He'd been trying to avoid the overly-inflated alcohol costs of the airport bars, but his resolve was wearing down. He dug his wallet out of his pocket and left in search of a watering hole. He returned several minutes later with a bottle of Blue Moon for himself and a small plastic cup of white wine for Sharon.
"Hmm, thanks, honey." Sharon accepted the cup and took a sip. She was tired, but she was still wound up from the long week and fighting through the holiday crowd of the airport, and she knew it would help her relax a little.
They boarded a little while later, and Sharon's eyes were closing before the plane left the gate. Next thing she knew, Andy was gently patting her cheek. "Hey, Sharon, wake up. We're about to land, and I didn't want it to scare the hell out of you when we hit the ground."
"It's 34 damn degrees outside," Rusty muttered from the other side of her. "That'll wake you up."
Sharon yawned and pried her head away from Andy's shoulder. She just wanted to take her bra off and go to bed. Once they were off the plane and had their luggage, she turned her phone back on, texted her sister that they had landed and would be there soon, and dug her winter coat out of her carry-on while Andy picked up the keys for their rental car. "I'll go get the car from the rental lot and pick you guys up at the door," he offered when he came back. Sharon could drive from the airport to her parents' timeshare in her sleep by now and usually drove when they came to Park City, but driving in the mountains was the last thing she wanted to do. She was grateful Andy had recognized that and taken charge instead of her having to admit that she didn't feel like driving.
It was getting dark by the time they got on the road, and driving at night always reminded Sharon of when she'd started entertaining the idea of her and Andy dating. Any time they went to dinner after work or a movie or something after Rusty had pointed out that they were "dating," she was more aware of their interactions than she had been before. She didn't really want to date anyone. Not long-term, anyway, and a fling with a coworker was never a good idea. That was what she had loved about doing things with Andy as "non dates." She didn't feel the need to try to impress him or anything, and they could just talk like friends. When one of them had a wedding or some event they had to go to that would be easier with a "date," they had each other for that without actually "dating." She was actually relieved one morning when Andy came to work, unshaven and in the same clothes as the day before. He'd obviously been with someone who was probably a couple of decades younger than her the night before, meaning he wasn't any more interested in dating than she was. Rusty was just jumping to conclusions. Provenza shattered that image a couple of days later when she overheard him telling Tao that Andy had been up all night with a guy he sponsored through AA who was on the verge of falling off the wagon, not with another woman like she'd assumed.
That night, they had gone to dinner and he'd driven her home, with her car being in the shop. She'd felt a little awkward since they'd all gone to The Nutcracker, and Andy was picking up on that, so he didn't push her when she grew quiet as he drove her home. Instead, he turned the radio up to break the silence. A couple of songs and a few commercials later, Sharon's mind was in overdrive.
When the road gets dark
And you can no longer see
Just let my love throw a spark
And have a little faith in me
And when the tears you cry
Are all you can believe
Just give these loving arms a try
And have a little faith in me, have a little faith in me.
When your secret heart
Cannot speak so easily
Come here darlin'
From a whisper start
To have a little faith in me
And when your back's against the wall
Just turn around and you will see
I will catch, I will catch your fall baby
Just have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me,
Have a little faith in me.
Back in the present, Sharon thought about that night as they drove. When he dropped her off, he'd said something along the lines of there being no pressure from him and that the ball was in her court. If their friendship turned into something more, fine, and if it didn't, that was fine, too. At the time, she had no idea that their friendship would lead to marriage a couple of years later.
Despite Sharon's own decorations at home, it never felt like Christmas until she got to Park City. The aroma of dinner cooking, the loud greetings from her family, the familiar Christmas music playing, and the smell from the Douglas Fir in the corner of the room lifted her spirits considerably when they got to the house. "Let me see that baby," she said, making her way to her nephew and his wife. Their baby had only been a couple of weeks old when she and Andy got married, so they hadn't been at the wedding. She'd seen pictures of the baby, but she hadn't seen him in person.
"Well, hey, Aunt Sharon," Ben commented. "Remember me? Your nephew?"
"Shut up and give him to me."
"Well, I'd be offended if I wasn't used to it. Mom and Dad have been the same way since he was born, and I've gotten the same treatment from everyone else since we got here. This is the first time I've held him all day." Ben carefully transferred the baby to Sharon's arms. "I mean, I expected that from you guys, but Mimi and Granddad were disappointing."
"Honey. Once you have a baby, you lose even the grandparents' attention. Hi, by the way." She gave him a hug and kissed his cheek before doing the same with his wife. "Hi, Anna. Have you been feeling okay?"
Anna nodded. "I had no idea there was a market for pads with ice packs in them before I had him, but once I got past the need for those, I've been okay."
"Oh, my god, those things were a lifesaver," Sharon agreed. "But look at this precious little baby!"
"I know." Anna kissed the top of his head. "So worth it." A few minutes later, the baby started whimpering and turning his head toward Sharon. "I better fix him a bottle before he really gets turned up." Anna warmed up a bottle and handed it to Sharon. Carter turned away from the bottle and back toward Sharon a couple of times, like he wanted to nurse.
"Sorry, kid, but Aunt Sharon has nothing there." Sharon shifted him in her arms and tried to get him to take the bottle.
"I may need to go nurse him. He doesn't like bottles at home, but he'll usually still take one. Being in a new place with so many people around...Oh, there he goes."
Sharon looked down and saw that Carter was taking the bottle, but he was looking up at them like he'd been betrayed. "Ricky didn't like bottles, either. Emily didn't discriminate. She'd take it any way I'd give it to her. But when I went back to work after I had Ricky, I had to send a t-shirt I'd leaked into to daycare with him so he'd take his bottles."
"Ewwwww, gross, Mom!" Ricky and Rusty complained at the same time.
"Please, that's nothing," Ben spoke up. "I've had to hear about crap like that for months, now, and it's usually worse than that. If I have to suffer, so do you guys."
"I'm so glad I don't do that as much anymore," Anna said, ignoring the guys. "For a couple of weeks after he was born, I'd wake up in the middle of the night soaking wet."
Sharon nodded. "I had to sleep with towels under me for the first few weeks after Emily and Ricky were born."
After dinner, everyone migrated to the porch and sat around the fireplace. Sharon had gotten a second wind when they got to the house, but she was getting drowsy again and was the first to turn in. She really just wanted to take her bra off more than anything, but she knew it wouldn't take long to fall asleep. The affected area of her breast was bothering her more than usual and felt like it was badly sunburned. After telling everyone goodnight, she went inside to get ready for bed. As she crawled under the covers, she groaned to herself when she realized she'd forgotten to apply the cream she had for her more uncomfortable days. She'd been keeping the area clean and moisturized like she was supposed to, but she hadn't needed the cream yet. She was drifting off when she sensed Andy standing over her. "Hey, did you put the cream on? I could tell you were uncomfortable."
"No. Forgot," Sharon squeezed her eyes more tightly shut when the lamp beside the bed turned on.
"Here, I've got it." Andy pulled her covers down, lifted her nightgown, and gently applied the cool cream.
Sharon still hadn't opened her eyes, and she felt Andy's hand on her forehead a minute later. "I'm fine, Andy. Just tired."
"Okay...Do you need anything?"
"No. Thanks, that feels a lot better."
Andy kissed the top of her head, pulled the covers back over her, and turned the lamp off. "I'll be in soon."
After going to bed before 9:00, Sharon woke up soon after 6:00 the next morning. The good nights' sleep had helped a lot. She felt much better. She put a pod in the Keurig, got a couple of blankets, and took her cup of coffee out to the porch and turned the gas logs on. After sipping her coffee and enjoying the view of the lake and snow-covered mountains for a while, she could hear Carter crying. She went inside and put a cup of water in the microwave to warm a bottle up for him before stepping lightly into Ben's and Anna's room.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Anna mumbled.
Sharon remembered those late night and early morning hours of being woken up by a screaming infant and wanting to cry herself from being so tired quite well. She stood beside Anna and lightly tapped her cheek. "I've been up for a while. Why don't you let me give him a bottle, and you can go back to sleep for a couple of hours?"
"You're the best," Anna murmured, pulling the covers over her face, so Sharon took that as a yes and found the diaper bag before gently lifting Carter from his portable cradle.
"Come on, sweet boy," Sharon cooed. "We'll get this bottom changed while your bottle warms up." She carried him into the kitchen, got the cup of water from the microwave and put a bottle from the refrigerator in the cup of hot water before taking Carter into the living room to change his diaper. As she cleaned him up and taped a clean diaper on him, she remembered how she'd hated changing Ricky for the first few days after he was born. He'd looked mutilated after being circumcised, and she was usually too busy getting Vaseline in his diaper to remember to point him down as she put a clean diaper on him, and he'd peed on her more than his diapers for the first few days. Once the bottle was warm, Sharon sat outside by the fire with Carter wrapped up in a blanket and fed him. He grinned and cooed at her for a while after he ate before going back to sleep. She remembered Emily and Ricky being their happiest in the mornings at this age, too.
Later that morning, Sharon was talking to her sister and Anna in her and Ben's bedroom as Anna nursed Carter. "Have you still been watching Badge of Justice?" Anna asked. I normally would've been a little sad that you guys have to leave on Tuesday before it comes on, since I'd finally have a chance to watch it with you. The final season has been terrible, though. I'm only watching the rest of the episodes because it'll drive me crazy if I don't see how it ends."
"I'm the same way," Sharon answered. "The writer threw a tantrum because the show got canceled and killed Sherry off for no reason. It didn't even make sense! He could've at least given her death a purpose for the show instead of killing her off with something that doesn't kill most people with it, and if it does, it takes a lot longer than a couple of months after the diagnosis."
Anna nodded. "I know, right? My uncle is a cardiologist, and I made him watch the episodes between the diagnosis and her dying. He laughed hysterically and said 'yeah, that doesn't happen.'"
Sharon rolled her eyes. "I thought the 'season we deserved' meant that we were finally going to get some more personal background on Sherry. It really meant 'I have to drop hints that she's dying as a courtesy, but I'm going to repeatedly call this the season loyal fans deserve so people will have false hope and keep watching.' I saw the same signs everyone else did that she was going to die, but it seemed too obvious and made absolutely no sense. The 'season we deserve' ended up being the worst season of the whole series. By far."
A/N: I shamelessly stole the "threw a tantrum" terminology from Kadi and the idea of Sharon watching Badge of Justice from CommanderRaydorSass. I'm probably going to continue the Park City material in the next chapter, but I wanted to see what y'all thought about this chapter in case I got some inspiration for it. :). Also, I haven't forgotten about Emily. She's coming later. Thanks for reading! Y'all are awesome.