A/N: I have been waiting to write this chapter ever since I started writing this story. I have had many different plans on what exactly will happen in it, but it only took shape and form while I wrote it up. I am quite happy with the way it came out, but would love to hear your feedback about it as well.
Warning: This chapter contains references and mentions of domestic violence.
Andy looked down to the couch in the living room, where Sharon was laying, exhausted. Her arm was thrown over her face as if to shield her eyes from the light. He sat on the edge of couch and grabbed her feet, gently placing them on his knees. He smiled to himself as his fingers began to massage one of her feet, applying more pressure on the heels, knowing that the kind of shoes she liked so much were putting strain on that particular part of the foot. She let out a long hum.
"You're an angel, Andy," her voice was half a whimper.
"Said Mother Theresa," Andy grinned.
"Oh, right there," she moaned as his thumb pressed at a particular spot in her heel. Andy happily responded and rubbed the sore spot.
"You might want to consider wearing lower heels," he said as he started rubbing the other foot. A smirk spread across Sharon's face, partially hidden by her arm, but it did not escape Andy. He knew she would die before she would give up on her Christian Louboutin's. He had to admit that he liked seeing her wearing heels. She had fabulous legs and they looked even better in heels.
"Can I take you up on your offer from the morning? A soothing bath?" Sharon asked.
"Of course. I'll go fill in the bathtub for us." Andy leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips before getting up and walking to their en suite bathroom. He turned the hot water handle and chose Sharon's favorite lavender bath salt. He opened one of the cabinets where Sharon had a small stash of her favorite high-quality scented candles and grabbed a few of different sizes. He lighted them and placed them all around the room. Then he adjusted the lights in the room. When they bought the house, Sharon insisted on installing a dimmer in their bathroom, for occasions such as this. Andy thought it was useless, but later realized that the lighting could make a great difference in a room's atmosphere. He prepared their towels and added some cold water to the bathtub until he was satisfied with the temperature.
He walked back to the living room, finding Sharon in the exact same position he left her. Bending down, he lifted her in his arms and she wrapped her arm around his neck, to steady herself. He put her down when they got to the bathroom and she quickly removed her clothes and put them in the laundry basket. Andy was also undressing and she walked over to his and undid the buttons of his shirt, sliding her arms around his middle and pressing her lips against his bare chest. He stopped unbuckling his belt and wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her fatigue in the muscles of her back and the way she leaned her weight against his body. Their day at work was fairly quiet, but she did not get a lot of sleep during the previous night; in fact, she spent most of it holding Wendy who cried every time Sharon tried to put her back to bed. He tried to help, but Wendy only wanted Sharon. He was not surprised. Wendy was a very good natured and trusting child, but whenever she became sick, she would cling to Sharon and refuse to let go.
"I love you," she said against the skin of his chest. "I know that I don't say it often, so I want you to know."
"You say it every day in a million different ways, Sharon. And I love you too," Andy could feel her shoulders shaking and tightened his arms around her. "Let's get you into this bathtub," he said. Sharon raised her head from his chest and looked into his eyes. Andy captured her lips between his and quickly finished undressing.
They both sat in the bathtub, Sharon's back leaning against Andy's chest and her head tilted backwards, her nape on his shoulder. Andy's hands were rubbing up and down her sides, calming her down. Her eyes were falling shut and she started drifting asleep, feeling secure against his warm skin.
She woke up when her back hit the mattress of their bed. The bed sheet clung to her wet skin.
"Andy?" she uttered his name sleepily.
"I'm here. You fell asleep in the bathtub. I didn't wanna wake you," he slid into the bed next to her and moved a strand of wet hair from her face. She had no clue how he managed to get her out of the tub without waking her up, but she appreciated it. She buried her head under the blanket and snuggled against him, throwing her arm around his torso and falling back asleep.
The early rays of sun greeted Sharon's eyes and she stretched in bed, stifling a yawn, she reached out for the bedside table and grabbed her iPhone, not so surprised to see that it was not even 6 AM now. Placing the iPhone back on the table, she turned around in bed and let her eyes study Andy's sleeping face. He made little faces in his sleep that she found adorable. With a smile on her face, she leaned forward and captured his lips between hers. He moved in his sleep as she pressed a small kiss to the corner of his mouth and planted a trail of kisses along his jaw line. He hummed in his sleep and wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her closer to him before he let his eyes to slowly flutter open.
"Good morning, beautiful," his voice was a bit groggy. "How did you sleep?"
"I slept great," she replied.
"What time is it?" Andy wondered.
"It's five thirty," Sharon replied. "Cynthia is going to bring Wendy back at eight, so we have quite some time for this…" She drew his bottom lip into her mouth and sucked on it sensually. "And this…" She slid her hand down his body and rested it on his boxers.
"I love it when you're in this mood," Andy groaned and rolled her on her back, throwing the blanket aside. She usually didn't sleep naked, but he put her in bed straight from the shower the previous evening and he was glad for that now. She arched her back and pulled him down for a long and sensual kiss.
"I'm having some really dirty thoughts right now," she whispered when their lips separated.
"Believe me, you are definitely not the only one," Andy grinned and the mischievous glimmer in his eyes did not escape Sharon.
"Well, I'm all yours; at least until 7," she replied and winked at him playfully. Andy did not need any further encouragement. Every fiber of his being was already awake and he intended to show Sharon exactly how much he loved her.
"Let the fun begin," he declared and Sharon smiled in bliss. She loved starting her morning this way.
As soon as Sharon heard the doorbell, she put her cup of coffee down and rushed to the door. After the great start to her morning, nothing could be better than having Wendy back in her arms. Cynthia stood on her doorstep, holding Wendy's arm. The girl was crying and Sharon bent down and lifted her in her arms, immediately feeling the girl's high fever through her clothes.
"Sharon said that the visit went okay," Cynthia said as she handed Sharon Wendy's overnight bag.
"She's running a fever again. Did she take her to the doctor?" Sharon inquired.
"She said it wasn't necessary. She also said that she didn't give Wendy the medicine, so I guess things went fine," Cynthia said. "She was crying pretty badly when I came to pick her up. She will probably take some time to get used to her mother."
"If I had to guess, I would say that she was crying all the way back here as well," Sharon replied, barely able to keep the sarcastic tone out of her voice.
"She was. It's probably the fever. I'm sure you will get things under control now that she's here," Cynthia smiled. "I have to go, have a nice day, Sharon. Goodbye, Wendy." The girl did not pay attention to the social worker. Her cries became louder and more frantic. Sharon closed the door and carried Wendy to the kitchen.
"Hello, princess," Andy smiled at the girl. "How did things go for her?" he looked at Sharon with worry.
"Sharon didn't give her any medicine or take her to the doctor. She's burning up, so obviously, once again her so-called mother has done a poor job." Andy could see the frustration in Sharon's eyes. Wendy's cries were starting to bother her, especially now that she knew that the child did not receive the medical treatment that she needed. "I know, sweetie. You don't feel well." In fact, Wendy didn't smell very good either and Sharon suspected that the girl's mother did not give her a shower. "I'm gonna go and wash her. Could you call her doctor and schedule an appointment?" Andy nodded and Sharon carried Wendy to the bathroom. She sat the sobbing girl on the edge of the bathtub and started taking Wendy's clothes off. Wendy let out a loud shriek when Sharon released her small arm from the sleeve of her shirt. "I'm sorry, darling. Did I hurt you?" Wendy nodded as tears streamed down her face. "I didn't mean to. I apologize," Sharon passed her fingers through Wendy's sweaty hair. She filled the bathtub with lukewarm water and placed Wendy in it. As she leaned behind Wendy in order to wash her back, she noticed a dark blue bruise on the back of Wendy's shoulder. Wendy's arm seemed to be a bit crooked too. "Andy, can you come here?" she called out and could hear Andy walking down the hall and standing behind her. "Look at this," she pointed at the bruise.
"It looks like her shoulder is dislocated," Andy declared as soon as he saw the bruise and the weird angle of Wendy's arm.
"Oh, this damn woman," Sharon called out in despair. "I'm gonna take her to the ER as soon as I'm done washing her."
"Do you want me to call Cynthia and report this?" Andy asked.
"Not yet. Let's see what the doctor has to say." Sharon hurried to finish washing Wendy and quickly dried the weeping girl off and dressing her up in clean and comfortable clothes. "Wendy, darling, look at me for a moment," she said softly. Wendy looked at her with tearful eyes. "I know your arm really hurts, so I'm going to tie a cloth around it. It will help you feel better until we meet with the doctor, okay?" Wendy uttered a miserable 'yes' and Sharon used a shirt in order to make a sling and tie it around Wendy's neck. She then gave Wendy some Children's Tylenol for the fever and carried her to the car. Gently, she placed the girl in the child seat.
The drive to the hospital was agonizing and so was the long line in the ER. Wendy was clearly feeling horrible and she wouldn't stop crying. Sharon held her close to her and tried to soothe her, but nothing worked. It seemed like half a day has gone by before they got to see a doctor. After spending another hour and a half waiting in line for an X-ray, both Sharon and Wendy were exhausted. The doctor concluded that Wendy's shoulder was dislocated and her arm was cast. She also received some painkillers and Sharon could not be happier about it. After hours of hearing Wendy's cries, the child was silent at last.
Wendy fell asleep on the ride home and for the first time since Cynthia brought her home, Sharon allowed herself to cry. Ever since Sharon Beck disappeared with the squad's money, Sharon knew that she could not be trusted, but there was a very big difference between stealing money and hitting a toddler to the point of breaking her arm.
Dialing Cynthia's number, Sharon let out a shaky breath and threw a glance at the sleeping child in the back seat of her car.
"Sharon, is everything okay with Wendy?" Cynthia sounded concerned. "Is the fever getting worse?"
"Cynthia, I need to file a complaint against Sharon Beck for child abuse," Sharon replied, knowing that there was a great chance that Sharon Beck will lose her child again. At first, the thought of keeping Wendy away from her mother made her happy. But on a second thought, she realized that the person who was paying the price was Wendy. She knew that Wendy's arm would heal in time, but she hoped that the incident would not leave a deep scar in the precious child's heart.