DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.
A/N: Thank you to all of the reviewers of this story so far! I really appreciate your kind words.
Chapter 21
It was midnight and Andy was still awake. He could tell that Sharon was having some sort of dream as he held her to him. "Sweetheart, you're okay," he whispered in her ear as she started to thrash her arms. She woke up when she heard his voice, trying to catch her breath. Her chest was heaving and her arms were shaking. "Sharon, it's okay," he kept repeating in her ear and rubbed her back gently. Sharon looked at him and closed her eyes. She then took her hand and grabbed her shirt at her chest and started to pull it away from her body. She was sweaty.
Andy sat her up with him in bed. "Does your chest hurt you?" he asked concerned. She shook her head. "No," she said, barely above a whisper to him as she continued to rub her chest, all the while still trying to breath normally. "Sharon, look at me," he said to her as he placed two fingers under her chin. She swallowed hard and then finally looked up at him. She was finally able to catch her breath. "I'm sorry," she muttered to him. "You have nothing to be sorry about, it's okay," he reassured her as they sat there on their bed.
A few minutes later, Sharon got up and headed towards the bathroom. "Where are you going?" he asked her. "I need a shower," she simply said and closed the door behind her. Andy watched her walk into the bathroom. Once she closed the door, he stood up from their bed and walked over to their balcony window. He looked outside at the pitch blackness of the night. Here and there, street lights illuminated the sky. He heard the shower turn on. His heart was telling him to join her in there but he knew she needed some time alone in there. He needed to find Ally Moore and once he did, he was going to make sure that she never threatened Sharon again.
Ten minutes later, the shower was still running and Sharon was standing underneath the spray. She never thought that Ally Moore would be coming after her, seeking some sort of revenge after being caught. Sharon also thought that Ally Moore would not get out of prison for good behavior, especially on a murder charge. She would need to ask Andrea what exactly happened with that case and who was the assigned attorney. The water felt good hitting her back. "Sharon?" Andy's voice came from outside the shower door.
She opened it, with the shower still running and found Andy standing there with no shirt on. "Are you going to join me?" she asked him as he stood there. "Do you want me to?" he asked. She nodded and held her hand out for him to take. He quickly got undressed and stepped into the shower with her. He held her as the water beat down his back and she reveled in the warmth of his body.
Friday morning came and Sharon found herself tangled in the sheets with Andy. She opened her eyes and saw him looking back at her. "Morning," she said to him with a smile. "Good morning," he said and leaned in to kiss her. "I love you," she said to him as they broke their kiss. "I love you too," he said as she propped herself up on one elbow while running her finger down his arm.
"Did you sleep okay after the shower?" he asked her as he ran his fingers up and down her arm. "I did, thank you for helping me," she said to him in a sultry voice. He smiled and gave her his famous grin which always brought a tingle through her body whenever he flashed it to her. Their alarm went off, breaking the moment the two were sharing. Andy reached over and hit the snooze button. He then pulled Sharon down with him and she laid her head on top of his chest. Now he was rubbing her back with gentle strokes.
They laid there together until the alarm went off again. "Hmm, I don't think I like that alarm very much," Sharon sighed as she started to move off of his chest. "I'm not too fond of it either right now," he whispered to her as he didn't want to let her go. She leaned down and kissed him. "I'm afraid we have to face this day," she said after she broke their kiss. Andy sighed as he stopped rubbing her back and reluctantly let her go.
They both got up and went about their morning routine to get ready for work. She was surprised when she went downstairs that Rusty was already up and sitting at their kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal. "Morning," she said to him as she walked towards the refrigerator. "Morning," he replied. "I hope you don't mind but I helped myself to a bowl of cereal," he said as he continued to eat. "Not at all, Rusty," she said to him as she poured herself a glass of water.
Andy had woken up Matthew after Sharon had gone downstairs. "Hey buddy, rise and shine," Andy said to him as he opened the blinds on his windows. Matthew woke up and rubbed his eyes. "What did mommy get in the box?" he asked Andy as he got out of bed. Andy looked at him as he gathered his school uniform. "Oh, um, it was something to do with the case that we are working on," Andy said quickly as to not alarm Matthew. Matthew looked at his father for a few seconds and then turned around and headed into the bathroom to get ready for school.
Andy then went downstairs with Moxie following him. "Hey, morning Rusty," Andy said to Rusty as he passed through the kitchen on his way to the back door to let Moxie outside. "Morning," Rusty said to him and then watched Andy leave. "Are you two gonna tell Matthew what was in the box?" Rusty asked Sharon as she gathered the toast from the toaster and placed it on her plate. Sharon turned around and paused for a second. "I don't want to alarm him, and besides, he doesn't need to know what was inside, it might creep him out," Sharon stated as she sat down at the kitchen table.
"It kind of creeped me out last night," Rusty said as he finished his cereal. "See, even more reason not to tell him," Sharon said. "Not to tell who?" Andy asked as he made his way back into the kitchen. "I was just asking Mom if you were going to tell Matthew what was in the box," Rusty explained to Andy. "Oh, yeah, well he already asked me this morning when I woke him up," Andy said as he poured himself some cereal.
Sharon looked over towards him at the island. "What did you say to him?" Sharon asked. "I didn't go into detail, just that it was something for our case we are working on," Andy explained. "I figured we didn't want to alarm him, bad enough the kid is freaked out by the wildfires that are occurring here," Andy said as he sat down at the table. "Wildfires?" Rusty asked. Sharon shook her head slightly.
Just then, Matthew came down from upstairs all set for school. He sat down at the kitchen table. "Morning sweetie," Sharon said as she ran her hand through his hair. "Morning," Matthew mumbled. "What would you like for breakfast?" Andy asked him. Matthew shrugged his shoulders. "Cereal," he said. Andy stood up from the table and went to the pantry to get out Matthew's cereal box and then grabbed a bowl on the way back to the table. "Here you go," Andy said as he poured him a bowl of cereal. "Thank you," Matthew said and then poured the milk in the bowl himself and started to eat.
Moxie sat down next to Matthew and was waiting for him to drop anything onto the floor. Andy made Matthew his lunch for the day and placed his lunch bag in his backpack. "Are we leaving Moxie here or taking him to doggie day care today?" he asked Sharon as she was putting away her dish from breakfast. Sharon thought about it quickly. "I think he would be safer at doggie day care then here home alone," she said, and looked at Rusty as he stood up from the table. "I need to go pick up the coffee order for everyone now, so I'm going to take off," he said to Sharon and Andy.
"Be safe and have a good day!" Sharon said to Rusty and then watched him walk out the door. She took a deep breath and sighed. "He'll be fine," Andy said to Sharon as he passed behind her to get the dog's leash. Sharon gathered her bag and held out Matthew's backpack for him to take. The four of them left the house and Andy locked up the back door. Matthew took Moxie's leash from Andy and walked the dog to the car in the garage.
Sharon stopped halfway and Andy stopped with her. "What is it?" he asked her, as he looked at her face. She had a concerned look, which in turn, made Andy have a concerned look as well. "I just, uh, have an uneasy feeling, that's all," she said to him. Andy nodded his head and understood her. "Nothing's going to happen. The house is being watched. Matthew has someone at the school watching him. Rusty has someone at the DA's office, and you have me," Andy said to her, and they started to walk towards the car again.
"She's got to have someone else helping her," Sharon said to Andy. "Maybe, but we can figure that all when we get into work," Andy said as he held her door open and she climbed inside. Matthew and Moxie were already sitting in the back seat. She gave him a smile and he returned her smile as he closed her car door. He then proceeded to the driver's side and once inside, started the car and drove Matthew to school.
Sharon and Andy dropped Matthew off at his school. Andy nodded his head at one of the SIS officers stationed outside of the school as they walked Matthew over to the school's entrance. That officer got on a radio and notified Lieutenant Cooper that Matthew had arrived. "Have a good day, Matthew," Sharon said to him as she bent down to be at his level. "I will," he said in reply and walked in the school with the rest of the kids. Sharon watched him go inside and Andy watched her as he stood next to her.
"Sharon, we don't even know what she's going to do. She may not even go after Matthew. It's just a precaution," Andy said to her as they walked back to the car. "I know," Sharon said as she climbed back in the passenger side. Andy then drove Moxie over to the doggie day care place and took him inside. He insisted that Sharon went with him inside as he didn't want to take any chances.
Meanwhile, Ally Moore quietly approached Sergeant Samuels as he made his way towards the PAB building. "Mac!" she called out to him as she held a box in her hands. "Shit, Ally, what the hell are you doing here?" Sergeant Samuels said as he looked around the area and made sure no one saw them. "I need you to make sure she gets this box in her office," Ally said and handed him the box she was holding. "Ally, I can't be helping you. When you called me regarding those two guys to see if they were arrested, that was all I could do," Sergeant Samuels said to her.
Ally looked disgusted. "Oh come on Mac! You hate her too! Don't you remember what she did to you when she was in charge of FID?" she said to him, and jogged his memory. "Yeah, she demoted me from Lieutenant to Sergeant. I didn't forget that," he said as he started to walk away. Ally grabbed his arm. "I need your help!" she said and shoved the box in his arm. "What's in it?" he asked her as he glanced down at the box he was now holding. "A present to go with the one I gave her yesterday at her house," Ally said. "Don't worry, it's not a bomb or anything like that," she reassured him.
Sergeant Samuels looked around the area where they were standing. "Look, there's an all-points out on you. If you are seen here, I won't be able to do anything," he informed her. Ally looked at him. "Just make sure she gets this, that's all I'm asking Mac!" Ally told him and then walked away. Sergeant Samuels then continued walking into the employee entrance of the PAB and went up to the ninth floor. As he exited the elevators, he didn't see anyone in the hallway so he made his way towards the office of Major Crimes. He punched in the key code at the door and walked through, noting that no one was in their office at this time. He then placed the box outside of Commander Flynn's office and got out of there quickly.
After dropping Moxie off, Andy and Sharon then head towards the PAB building and after their commute, pull into the parking garage. Andy parked their car and turned off the engine. He then glanced over at Sharon. She still looked uneasy and that bothered him. "You okay?" he asked her and rubbed her hand gently. She closed her eyes and nodded her head yes. "We've been through this before, right? And we always get them," he said as he continued to rub her hand. She took a deep breath before she opened her eyes.
She then opened her car door and stepped out. Andy did the same and met her on the other side of the car. They walked hand in hand towards the elevators and stepped inside. They exited on their floor and headed towards the Murder Room. Andy opened the door for her and she stepped in front of him. As she walked inside the office she saw Provenza and Julio standing at an empty desk close to her office. They were staring at something.
"Morning gentlemen," she said as she got closer to them. Provenza looked at her with a blank look on his face. "Commander, it seems you have received another box, here at your office," he said to her and then Sharon looked at the box that was sitting on the empty desk. Andy came up behind her and looked over her shoulder. "What the hell?" he muttered under his breath. "Did you open it?" Sharon said as she cleared her throat. "No, not yet ma'am," Julio stated as he put on a pair of gloves. Sharon took another deep breath and rubbed her forehead.
"Where's Mike?" she asked Provenza as she looked around the room and didn't see anyone else there. "He's at the forensic lab trying to get a trace from the gift you received last night," Provenza told her. "This is getting to be ridiculous; did anyone see anybody drop this box off?" Andy asked them. "The box was here when Julio and I entered the office, Flynn!" Provenza told him. Tensions were running high again. "Gentlemen," Sharon said and tried to calm her Lieutenants down. "Let's open the box," she told Julio and he took his knife out and cut it open.
The box looked like the same box she had received last night at their house. When Julio opened it, there was tissue paper inside just like the last one. He moved the paper aside and in the middle was the rest of the dead rat. On the rat's body was a picture of Sharon with a line going across it. There was also a note inside. Julio picked up the note and handed it to Provenza. Provenza grabbed it with his handkerchief, looked at Sharon, and then read the note out loud.
"Sharon Raydor, or should I say Flynn now. Can't believe you'd marry a subordinate officer, after all you preached about when you were in charge of FID. You married the one man who gave you so much trouble on a daily basis; don't think I forgot about all that, Captain. I thought you would enjoy this present as it matches what was delivered to your house last night. You humiliated me in front of my colleagues and I am doing the same to you. Henry and Marvin were stupid to get caught. I'm not. I learned my lesson after nine years in jail," Provenza looked up as he was done reading the note.
"Don't touch any more, bring it to Mike down at the lab and see if they can pull anything off of it," Sharon said as she placed her hand over her mouth and walked into her office. Provenza and Andy both looked at each other as Sharon walked away. "We need to find her," Andy said to Provenza and then walked over to his desk and took off his suit jacket, laying it over the back of his chair and then he entered Sharon's office. Provenza walked over to his desk and picked up his phone. "Yeah, give me the desk Sergeant," he said in the phone and looked up to watch Sharon and Andy in her office. Meanwhile, Julio took the box with the rest of the rat down to meet Mike at the lab.
TBC