A few minutes later and she was being taken care of at the closest hospital. Andy called the team while he waited outside.
- Hey Louis! I found Sharon… I mean the Captain, at her place, but she was pretty bashed up. Something happened…
- What do you mean? Shocked by her evil look in the mirror? Provenza shot back, not understanding how serious it was.
- Come on! I mean really bashed up! She has a sprained ankle, her shoulder dislocated and her face all groused.
- What happened to her?
- Her husband hit her and she fell in the stairs…
- That's crap, even for Darth Raydor!
- Stop calling her like that! It's not the moment for your sarcasm!
- Ouh Cinderella! You're all touchy this morning! I didn't know you liked dear Captain Raydor…!
- You're a nightmare! Anyways… can you tell the team we have a new case! Her children went missing and we assume her husband kidnapped them.
- I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear you say "we"… Provenza rolled up his eyes, feeling disgusted by his apparent interest in the FID gal although hiding a tiny hint of compassion for the trouble she was in at the moment.
- Hurry! I'll call you as soon as we can leave the hospital…
Andy hung up on him but he couldn't help but verbalize out loud: "he said "we" again…". This smelled like weird heart trouble.
Sharon avoided the concussion; God only knew how she miraculously escaped that despite her big fall in the stairs. Andy had been waiting in the corridor for two hours now when Sharon finally showed up in a wheelchair. He couldn't be happier to see her, her long thick hair flattering her as usual. She looked better even though she was a little pale and covered with plasters on her scratches, not mentioning the light black eye. The nurse had put a splint to her ankle, and she was wearing another one around her shoulder now relocated. She didn't seem to be in pain and it was total relief for Andy, who couldn't bear to see her suffering though he knew her pain wasn't only physical. He would take good care of her and would do anything possible to find her children as soon as possible.
- Hello, Sir! You're the husband?
- Hello! Oh… no, no, I'm just a… a colleague…
- A friend actually… said Sharon, the corner of her mouth going up as much as her scratches allowed her to.
- Good! She definitely needs a friend now! She has to keep her splints for 3 weeks and I gave her a prescription for painkillers. She can take them as long as she needs it but the pain should fade away in a few days. Of course, rest will be essential to a quick recovery knowing that she had a very bad fall and she shouldn't challenge her body in the upcoming weeks. I'll recommend the use of ice on her shoulder and her ankle in the evening before sleep. Also, I prescribed a very good cream to apply on her face so that her scratches heal faster and better. She shouldn't keep any scars but it'll still hurt for a while because her skin is very bruised and smashed in some areas.
- Thank you for all the information! I'll keep an eye on her!
Andy said it fast and sounded awkwardly happy to be the one here with her. He looked at Sharon from the corner of his eye, just to check if she seemed happy or not with his answer.
- Let me add that she absolutely needs to have company and can't stay alone during her recovery.
- Nurse, thank you for your recommendations! I think we shouldn't bother Andy with all the details. I'll manage myself. I'll get the help I need and I'll follow your orders. Andy, I think we should go now…
- Sure! Have a nice day! See you in 3 weeks Mrs Raydor… the nurse was a bit taken aback, understanding that something was up with the two of them.
Sharon was eager to leave. She hated being the center of attention and even more when she felt so vulnerable and hurt. The last thing she wanted, was Andy to feel pity for her and take care of her just because he was the one who brought her to the hospital… Moreover, knowing what she had done to him a few years ago, she would never dare to ask him such a big favor, it was too embarrassing. As always, she would find a solution and work things out by herself.
Andy took over the wheelchair and pushed her throughout the hospital to his car that was waiting outside, close to the main entrance. He helped her out of the chair and into the car, carefully holding her by her waist, tightening her hand in his. His brain was going crazy. He wanted to keep distant but was desperately attracted to her and couldn't help it. He was drawn to her as if she was the reason he could breath. Feeling ridiculous again, he silently beat himself for having such romantic thoughts for her. AND HE WAS MARRIED! God, this was going too far… he probably needed some distance to deal with this, put his ideas back into place.
The drive back to Sharon's house was silent. Not awkwardly so, but both had a lot to process and were absorbed by their own thoughts.
- Andy, I truly thank you for your help… I'm sorry you had to deal with all this. I shouldn't have gotten you involved in this and I promise I won't bother you again. I'm gonna hurry now and try to find my children as soon as possible.
- But… Sharon… the nurse said you shouldn't stay alone! I can't leave you here and let you deal with all this by yourself! I think I should stay for a while so that we can call the team and have all the help we can get to find your kids fast!
- Andy… thank you for your kindness but I can't accept.
She was trying to put some words together in order to speak her mind. She finally looked him in the eye.
- Andy, you're married… and so am I. You can't stay here alone with me. I don't want to feel responsible for any kind of problem in your relationship with your wife. And I don't want any rumors at work either. Let me handle this my own way… please? Don't make this any harder…
She was lightly turning herself towards the door to show him she wanted to get out of the car and finally go home.
Andy understood what she meant and knew only too well how right she was. He couldn't wrap himself around the idea to let her handle it her own way, alone. She needed help and comfort. She had been beaten up by her own husband a few hours ago and there she was, pretending she could face it all by herself. He didn't doubt her strength but thought that it was unfair to leave her behind just because of stupid rumors. And his wife would understand. No, actually maybe she wouldn't. He had told her about his passionate relationship with Sharon that brought him to comfort himself with alcohol consumption. He was stuck. She would never kindly accept him staying at Sharon's for 3 weeks knowing what she knew about them.
- Of course… he was demoralized, suddenly feeling like his life was a big ugly failure.
He went around the car and opened the passenger door. He caught her hand and for a brief moment their eyes met in silence. There was nothing left to say but a lot to be felt. What they felt for each other was as strong as it was impossible and they both knew it. He was the love of her life and she was his. Nonetheless, they couldn't do anything about it. It was what it was.
He was the one lowering his gaze first, feeling rejected and unuseful again. He left her on her sofa, comfortably sat with a drink and her phone on her knees to make sure she could call for help in case she needed it. As he was walking out of her house, he felt bitter, suddenly familiar with the situation. She had pushed him away, just like she had back then. His shoulders were heavy and his brain confused. He definitely needed a drink.
The team was reaching her goal because, of course, Jack wasn't difficult to make out. He was basically an unstable alcoholic, desperate to be respected despite his pathetic attitude. He wanted to bang his fist on the table to make sure people knew he wasn't only a poor drunk gambler, not even able to afford the basic expenses for his family. Sharon had the actual power since she was the one paying for everything, so he needed to make himself heard and feel important for once.
Even Sharon was aware of that, after all, he wouldn't hurt the kids – at least not physically. He wasn't like that, though his behavior the last time she saw him was quite surprising and was very new to her. She still couldn't believe it even when her bruises and her splints would remind her only too often that all this was very real. She missed her children as if air was missing from her lungs. She had spent the last week in bed rest, barely able to keep herself breathing until they would finally call her and announce her that her children were safe and sound, heading back home already.
Time seemed to be frozen.
She called the team almost every hour but they always answered the same: "Nothing new for now Captain Raydor". They were still waiting for a move from Jack, a credit card payment, a patrol identifying one of them or his car, anything. Since Sharon didn't want to go public with this, they had to work carefully and it made it all a very slow process. She wanted very much to be in the Murder Room to work on her own case, feel useful, but Andy wouldn't let her out of bed. And to be fully honest with herself, he was right because her body wouldn't make it. Her wounds hurt and so did her heart. It was all very overwhelming. She was trying to keep herself together, at least in front of Andy and the team but the only things she wanted to do was to collapse and burst into tears because this was more than she could take. A week had passed and she was still separated from her precious babies, the treasures of her life. There was a huge void in her heart and she couldn't do anything about it.