She was finally home. Home never felt so good and so lonely at the same time. Thankfully, Rusty had dropped her off at home and gone out for the evening. She wasn't sure if he really had plans or not, but at least he had the insight to realize she wanted to be alone. Their drive home was quiet; she asked him about his classes and Gus, but otherwise, he didn't ask much about her trip. Her trip was something she didn't want to discuss.

Sharon had thought about going into work the next morning, but she had her schedule cleared for the rest of the week. With it just being Tuesday evening now, she thought about it and decided to take this time off for herself. She had no plans, but she also couldn't remember the last time she'd taken any time off. Even if she did nothing, yes, she needed this time to just think and be alone.

Provenza must have spoken to Rusty or at least exchanged text messages with him because an hour later, she received one from him. It was late, but Provenza texted her, "Glad you are home safely. I'll be home Thursday night and will be off Friday as planned." She'd told him that was fine, and then, that was it. No more calls, no texts, and for that, she was thankful.

She spent the next couple days enjoying the peace and quiet, although, she wasn't sleeping well. Nothing was settled. She wasn't sure what to do. Rusty, bless him, was in and out a lot. The two ate together, but he kept the conversation light. She wasn't sure who'd given him advice, but she appreciated it. In fact, the only one who continued to text her like normal, even if their conversation was dancing around the problem at hand, was Provenza. Sharon got a good laugh Thursday afternoon as Provenza sent her a text from the plane, "These idiots sitting around me decided to eat fried fish sandwiches on the plane before takeoff. What kind of moron does that? I almost wish you were sitting here because at least you know decent snacks!"

Soon, it was the weekend, and with that, Sharon knew she had to face work on Monday. She tried to snap out of her state, whatever that meant. She spent Saturday running some errands and stocked up on groceries. She knew that she'd been neglecting things around the condo and wanted to do better. Trouble was that she just didn't have the motivation or energy, but they did need to eat. She knew Rusty would appreciate the food, and it did fill the day. She just wasn't interested in much of anything. Sunday, she attended Mass, something she enjoyed, and then, she drove down to the beach where she spent over an hour slowly walking and thinking. Normally, she might have gained some clarity from this, but she didn't. At least she'd had a lovely afternoon in the California fall weather.

Sharon got herself ready for bed earlier than normal, but she really didn't want to sit up and watch television with Rusty, not tonight. Besides, she was waiting on a call from Fritz. He'd been covering down for her while she was gone, taking notes in meetings, and the two were going to go over any details prior to the morning. Fritz was headed out of town himself, to a conference, and he had an early flight. She wanted to be ready-ready for bed and ready for the call to end her day.

When her phone rang, she didn't think anything of it, not even the random number, but she was shocked at the voice on the other line.

"Ahh, Sharon, please don't hang up, please," he said.

Sharon closed her eyes and pulled the phone away from her ear. It wasn't coming from his cell, but she rolled her eyes, thinking that like everything else, he could have changed that. She let out a long breath, not realizing she was holding it, and she shook her head, intent to get off the phone.

"I'm not interested in-"she started to say.

"Look, I'm sure you don't want to talk about this mess. Look, I just wanted to call, to ask about your day, to ask how the kids are. Provenza told me Nicole is pregnant, and I can't get her to speak to me. I know," he sighed. "I know I've messed up. I don't want to rehash anything. I just called to say I'm thinking of you-always am, but I wanted to know how everyone is doing?"

Sharon wasn't sure what to say. She wiped a tear from her eye. She missed his voice, the calmness of it-well, calm most of the time until he was clearly irritated with people, especially Provenza. There was now silence. She wasn't sure what to do with the silence. She wasn't sure how to answer. Finally, she let out a long sigh, sat back against her headboard, and she rubbed her hand over her forehead, frustrated and not sure what to say.

"Rusty is, ahh, fine. Emily is busy with her show. Ricky has some new girlfriend and finally cut his hair. Nicole mentioned Nathan is traveling for work, and Nicole is doing okay, tired, but okay," she stated, trying to keep the facts simple.

"Thank you," he said, letting out his breath. "All good to hear."

"Nicole is due December 15," Sharon admitted. "That's all I really have to say."

"Did you go to church today?" Andy asked.

"Yes," Sharon replied, not really sure where things were going with this line of questioning. Even that was unusual for her, as being a detective, she always had an idea about a line of questioning.

"Work?" Andy asked.

"No," she said, quietly. Her phone alerted her to an incoming call, and at a glance, she saw it was Fritz.

"Fritz is calling. I have to go," she told him.

"May I call later this week?" Andy asked.

"Ahh, what? I need to go," Sharon told him. "Whatever," she waved her hand.

"Thank you, Sharon. Have a good week," he told her.

Sharon shook her head and switched over to her call, "Fritz? Yes, okay, ahh," she said, trying to grasp what had just transpired. She wasn't sure what had just happened, but that brief call had rattled her. She had no interest in speaking to Andy further right now, but why had he really called?

"Sorry, Fritz, I was distracted. Please, go ahead," she said, shaking her head and picking up her pen to get down to business.