- Hey Charlotte! Are Emily and Ricky here?
- Hey sweetheart, you're home already!
- Yeah! Hum… so… are Emily and Ricky here? he wanted to go straight to the point.
- No, Sharon picked them up already a while ago, why? she was playing dumb, it was obvious.
- Really? I was supposed to get her back from the hospital… how did she get here?! he tried hard to seem detached, he didn't want to hurt his wife's feelings by acting way too concerned by another woman.
- Does this really matter? She just came here, got her stuff and left with her kids. That'll probably be very good for our children, they've been so much calmer ever since they left, she smiled satisfied.
- What are you talking about Charlotte? Yes, of course this matters! Her husband just tried to kill her and her children! Who cares if our kids are calmer?! he managed to control himself before saying anything he'd regret.
- Honey! I just don't understand why you always seem to care so much about her life? I think I have the right to expect a little more interest and concern for our own family…
- Okay, you know what, you're right! In our private life, yes! you can expect interest and concern from me, but we're talking about my job now and someone else's life! I know exactly what you mean and I have no time for this conversation right now. Don't expect me for dinner.
He left before he'd say more than she was ready to hear. Andy knew only too well he definitely had to fix this situation as soon as possible and tell his wife the truth – his heart had never belonged to her and there was nothing she could do about it. Charlotte didn't deserve such crap husband and he felt guilty beyond words. Nonetheless, he had to finally be honest with her and with himself. They shouldn't have to live an unhappy life just because they had children together.
At that precise moment, there was no time for overthinking, he had to find where she was and he needed to talk to Sharon.
The team had been very busy all day. They had some evidence of Jack's presence in their house and, lucky them, he left them with a quite large collection of clues leading them up to where he might be. For now, he was still out there and presumed pretty dangerous, unpredictable even.
- Hi everyone!
- DDA Hobbs! It's been a while! Chief Johnson was truly surprised to see her around.
- Tell me about it! How's the case progressing? she said, curious.
- We found some solid evidence, now we still need to find the jerk… thankfully he left a hand full of clues! Answered Provenza.
- He's getting more and more dangerous though… Andrea was worried and she was right to be.
- How's the Captain? We've been so busy that we haven't spoken to her in days… Brenda was embarrassed not to have contacted the Captain Raydor during her stay in the hospital.
- Well she's holding up pretty well if you want my opinion! Peter and I took the three of them in for a few days but she'll definitely need way more to get away from that creep…
- Sure, Lieutenant Tao took care of it already! Everything's set for the beginning of next week. You'll have to drop them here and we'll take it from there.
While Chief Johnson was being very factual about the situation, DDA Hobbs was truly concerned as they were talking about her best friend. It would be awfully difficult to see her leave but she knew it was necessary and for her own good. The rest of the team seemed split in half, one part of them feeling detached and still seeing the Captain as their great enemy, while the other part of them couldn't help but feel sorry and compassionate about how terrible her life had been the last months.
- I can see Lieutenant Flynn is not here… please thank him for me! He was very helpful to Sharon, I mean the Captain and I'm sure it meant a lot to her.
- Oh really? Sure I'll give him your message then…
- Thank you! One more thing: when should we bring the Captain and her kids in, exactly?
- In two days, that would be Monday in the early hours of the morning. We want to do the transportation when the city is still in the dark to prevent any unwanted watchers.
- Of course, I'll tell her. Have a good evening everyone! Nice to see you again!
Andrea left the Murder Room, head low with sadness. She had only two days to enjoy her best friend's company before she'd leave for an undetermined time.
Waiting at the elevator, she was already thinking about what they could do together over the weekend so that the last days here would be memorable. She loved enjoying their company, especially the children's since she didn't have any on her own. A small smile curved the corner of her lips up at the memory of the kids dancing in her living room earlier.
While the elevator beeped letting her know it was here, she got out of her thoughts and was about to get in when Andy appeared disoriented behind the doors. He looked like he had been running.
- Hey Andy!
- Oh Andrea, it's you! Sorry I barely recognized you… I'm a bit in a rush right now…
- Of course! Looks urgent! I don't wanna slow you down… she hesitated in sharing Sharon's message since it didn't seem like the best time for him.
- Nice to see you again though! I'm just looking for…
- Sharon?
- You know where she is? I've been looking for her for like hours… I'm really worried right now!
- Oh…! I thought she called you… I picked her up at the hospital earlier and she's staying at my place until Monday.
- Oh right! Thank God, she's safe! You can't imagine how worried I was…
- Yeah you did look very worried there, how nice of you to feel so concerned about her safety…! she was surprised and suspicious about his behavior while still being very happy that at least one member of the Major Crimes division truly cared about her.
- I do. By the way… do you think it would be possible for her to call me over the weekend? I really need to talk to her…
- You know, she's truly thankful for all your help, really… I'll ask her if it's possible but… I guess she'll have a lot to take care of before Monday… I hope you understand… Oh I gotta go I'm sorry! See you around!
Her last words being suppressed by the elevator's doors, he was very confused and not sure he had understood what she meant by that. At least, he now knew where Sharon was and gave her the possibility to contact him. Hopefully she would and they'd be able to fix this whole situation. Now that his mission was over, or at least on hold for now, he was probably supposed to go home to his family though he wasn't much inclined to do it. Of course, it was unfair to his poor kids, just willing a normal life with a mom and a dad that would love each other… he didn't think much of that when he married Charlotte hoping to find a replacement to Sharon.
Getting home that night, he spent time with his beautiful and smart children, he truly loved them. Charlotte was right, he hadn't cared enough about them over the past months. He was being selfish and thinking only about his love life and forgetting about these innocent little kiddos that never asked for anything. After all, maybe he just had to arrange things with their mother to provide them with a stable family. Doubts were invading his thoughts and he didn't know what to do anymore. He waited 10 years to finally be honest with himself and confess he would never stop loving Sharon who was the love of his life. He knew that would never change. But then things were so complicated and so many innocent people would have to get hurt for them to be finally reunited that he didn't even know anymore if it was worth it after all. Did he really have the right to put his own happiness before his children's?