A/N: Hi guys, I'm back.

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Chapter 8

Sharon was in her physical therapy session when Melanine asked if she wanted to walk the halls again. The Commander was in doubt, but she needed to exercise a little and being locked in her room wasn't an option.

After talking to Susan two days ago, Sharon was doing much better. It was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she was still worried and felt a fear of what was to come. But now she knew she had someone who would help her without judging

As soon as she walked out the door, Sharon felt like she was in a Christmas movie. The entire floor was bustling, people were talking at the same time and with big smiles on their faces. Ornament was scattered and she could smell the cookies coming from the reception desk. She smiled as she was overcome with nostalgia, her sense of occasion began to rise and she wished she had someone to celebrate.

"Hey Sharon". Dr. Torres yelled and ran over to her. He had a big smile on his face and bright eyes, for a moment she allowed herself to imagine Rick in this euphoria. "I have a present for you, two actually".

"No need, Peter".

"I know, I wanted to". He held out a rectangular box with red paper and several green trees. "This one I received yesterday, it's from our friends".

Sharon stared at him in surprise, she didn't expect Julio and Buzz would take such a risk by sending her this. However, everyone knew that Christmas was her favorite date. With a smile, she took the gift with shaking hands. Peter who watched everything practically jumped on his feet.

As soon as he opened the box she came face to face with a glass angel, the pinkish object seemed to glow. There was also a note inside, and she laughed when she saw that was Julio's barely legible handwriting:

We can never have too many angels.

- Your family.

Peter was relieved and happy to see that she was thrilled, but very happy. He had talked to Susan and asked if the Commander was better emotionally. He'd never seen Susan so happy about a patient, but what could he say? He was just as involved as she was and extremely happy to see that Sharon was finally finding herself in the middle of this mess.

"Oh... it's beautiful". She sighed and wiped away a tear that had slipped, but took a deep breath and smiled. She wanted to know if Rusty had mentioned that phrase in the office. "Where is the other?"

Peter burst out laughing to see her so excited and jovial. She held out her hands and looked at him anxiously, Peter handed her the gift and waited for her reaction, the box was square and the wrapped paper was green with Santa's.

"Oh- it's so cute". Sharon couldn't contain the little-girl squeal when she saw the cup. The object was white with a red anatomical heart and only one inscription: Trying again.

Sharon hugged him tightly and smiled broadly. She could tell that this was the first time she was truly happy, without any strings attached. She knew she was prepared to return to her family, even though she knew what the consequences would be.

The day passed slowly for Sharon, she still had a smile on her face as Susan walked by with some of the decorated cookies that her mother had baked. Susan shared with Sharon while the Commander talked about her Christmas before and after living with the Major Crimes team.

At the end of the day she settled into bed and went over the whole day in her head, this was the first day since she woke up that she felt good, but the sadness was still there. Her heart tightened as she tried to imagine what her family and friends would be like, what this day would be like for them and she wondered once again if that was all worth it.

Andy woke up with a small headache, the day before they had tried to find any trace of Stroh, but it looked like the man had turned invisible. There was nothing on the restaurant cameras or anything on the traffic cameras.

Provenza dismissed everyone after he saw they weren't going anywhere. And since it was Christmas, Mason decided that they needed some rest and that they needed to be with their family, the new Chief had no idea that this would only remind Sharon even more.

Andy then got up to make himself a cup of coffee and try to calm the throbbing in his head, as soon as he entered the kitchen he stopped in surprise. His stepdaughter was there making pancakes.

"Emily?" Andy hadn't expected her to come home so soon, she'd said she wouldn't be there for Christmas.

"Hey, stepdad". She smiled and pointed to the coffee machine. "Good morning, sorry I didn't wake you up, but Rusty said you were late yesterday and needed some rest".

"Hey, I- I'm surprised. But happy". The Lieutenant couldn't deny that having her here was refreshing. Walking over to her, Andy hugged her tight.

The two were so wrapped up in the hug that they didn't hear the sound of footsteps.

"Hey- oh no... is she going to become daddy's little princess with you too?" Rick's voice made Andy turn to the young man even more surprised.

"Oh my God... Rick, you here too?" Andy kissed Emily's forehead and walked towards Rick with open arms. The young man didn't think twice about enveloping his stepfather in a crushing hug.

Rick was a hugger just like Sharon, he always liked touch and didn't have a problem expressing himself through it. Emily was a little more reclusive with people she didn't know, but as soon as she got closer to someone, hugs were also distributed.

"Hey, stepdad. How are you?" Rick released him and smiled.

"A little tired". He shrugged. "But forget this, when did you get here? And why didn't you warn me? Did Rusty get you?"

"Slow down, Andy". Emily smiled and handed him the cup of coffee he'd already forgotten about. "We arrived this morning, we wanted to make a surprise. Rusty didn't catch us, but he knew we would arrive".

"But why did you come?" Andy questioned after taking a breath. "Don't get me wrong, I loved the surprise- it's just that... I thought you were going to spend Christmas with your grandparents".

Rick and Emily looked at each other quickly and Rick sighed, they didn't want to get into that subject. It was still too painful to remember that Sharon wouldn't be with them, and spending Christmas with her grandparents and uncles was like picking at the wound over and over again.

"We thought it best not, everyone would ask how we are, and then how are you and Rusty... And we can't deal with that yet".

"I understand. Then we will stay together here." Andy smiled.

"We'll be fine." Rusty said coming back from the room. "And Nicole called saying she's coming over later, Provenza and Patrice said she's coming over for dinner and the rest of the team will come over later too."

Andy looked at Rusty in surprise, it looked like the boy had built a schedule for them. Emily and Rick had big smiles on their faces as if everything was going as planned and Andy wondered if this wasn't a ploy to distract him.

"Okay, looks like you guys have everything under control".

The day passed slowly, between tidying up the apartment, decorating the tree, and making dinner, Andy didn't have much time to grieve. However, he couldn't stop his thoughts. Even without meaning to, he could hear Sharon's laughter in the kitchen and see the glass of white wine on the counter, smell her perfume on the porch and the sound of her footsteps muffled by the socks she insisted on wearing.

The children were doing their best to be happy and he believed they were, he felt happy, but he couldn't deny the sadness surrounding his heart.

The doorbell rang and he went to answer it with a smile, at the door was his daughter with her husband and their two grandchildren. Just behind, Provenza and Patrice waited their turn to enter the apartment.

"Hey, Dad. How are you?" Nicole questioned him and hugged him tight, she couldn't go to Sharon's funeral and hadn't had time to visit him these past few weeks and this made her feel guilty. "I'm glad to see you".

"Nick, I miss you. I'm happy to see you too. Let's go, come on in". Nicole came in and pulled Dean with her, the children hugged their grandfather quickly and entered the house as well.

"I hope there's real wine and food". Provenza grunted and headed straight for the kitchen.

Patrice and Andy rolled their eyes and hugged each other quickly, she asked how he was and he shrugged and smiled sadly. At least he wasn't alone.

Dinner was good, everyone smiled and told stories and jokes. They talked about Sharon, about the future, and about the love that enveloped them as a family. They distributed gifts and compliments, and that was after midnight that they calmed down with some coffee and a classic movie on television. Provenza had struck up a lively conversation with Dean about the Dodgers game, Patrice had sat between Rick and Rusty, and the three were arguing over a cell phone app the older woman was trying to learn to use. But it wasn't until a while later that Emily noticed Andy's absence.

"Hey Nick". She whispered to another woman. "Have you seen Andy?".

Nicole looked around the room and worriedly shook her head in denial, Emily got up and went to the master bedroom. She still hadn't gone in there after her mother died, she didn't know if Andy had thrown something away or not, according to Rusty everything was as before.

The ballerina approached the door and was hesitant to knock, she didn't want to invade his privacy, but she was worried.

"Andy?" Her whisper wasn't heard by Andy and she decided to enter the room for good and the scene in front of her was heartbreaking. "Oh Andy".

The Lieutenant was sitting on the edge of the bed in Sharon's blouse, Emily could hear, now that she entered the room, his sobs. His body jerked with each breath and he pressed the material more tightly against his face. Beside him was a small jewelry box and the young woman felt her heart break as she realized that he must have bought the gift early. It was a choker with a small emerald in the middle as green as her mother's eyes.

Emily went to his side and knelt on the bed, cautiously she hugged him, Andy hugged her tight and sobbed even harder. Emily tried to be strong, but the tears came anyway and she stifled her sobs to keep him from worrying.

"Why is she gone? Why?" He repeats the phrase over and over again. Making Emily's heart clench even more.

A little while after Emily entered the room, Nicole appeared. She looked surprised, but then went to her father's side, she saw the choker and knew what had happened. She didn't know how to deal with her father's suffering, but she couldn't do anything for now. She tried to comfort him too, tears fell from her eyes and the three remained there, trying to calm down.

"She said she would be okay, she was doing so well". He spoke suddenly. "We were so happy, why did God do this? Is it some kind of punishment?"

The questions rushed through him with pent-up anger, but at the same time the pain in his voice was palpable.

"Dad, you can't think like that. You were happy, you had the opportunity to be happy".

"But I wanted more time, is that too much to ask? I just- I just wanted more time". The tears returned as did the sobs and Emily hugged him again. She was speechless, she felt the same as he did, it was like she hadn't had enough time with her mother.

Nicole didn't know what to do and got up, she said she would get some water and left the room. Emily continued with Andy trying to comfort him, trying to show him that she, like her brothers, would be there for him.

Stroh smiled at Diane and repressed the urge to stick the knife in her jugular, he thought he would be able to live with another human being for a short while without trying to murder the other person, but living with Diane was a challenge he didn't had thought. He wanted to kill the woman most of the time, but he couldn't do that because he hadn't been able to find a way to break into his brother's company without attracting attention. And he needed this woman for that.

"Are you okay, Brad? Is the food bad?" Diane questioned seeing his face.

"What? No, everything is wonderful".

"You looked sad".

"I'm just remembering another Christmas. Don't worry about me, I'm fine and I'm with you". The smile she gave was so big that Stroh was afraid she'd split her face in half.

"I'll get some more salad". Diane left the table and ran to the kitchen.

Stroh rolled his eyes and huffed, what the hell was he doing there? He could be eating at a better place, he could be with a girl younger than this woman. He needed to kill someone, that was the truth.

"Where is your daughter?" He asked suddenly. It was Christmas, wasn't that time when families stayed together?

"Oh... she's with her boyfriend. She asked if it would be okay if I stayed with you here. I said I didn't care and she went to spend Christmas with Mateo".

"Oh- a pity. I wanted to meet her".

"You will". She smiled, Stroh smiled back, he intended to meet the young woman, whether her mother liked it or not.

"How about some dessert?" Stroh spoke and grabbed his coat, he needed some air and being stuck at home wouldn't do it. He had to leave before killing Diane.

Christmas morning arrived colder than previous years, Sharon faced the cloudy dawn and smiled at the thought that suited her mood today. She was doing better these days, but the euphoria of the day before wore off quickly and she found herself thinking about her family now.

Her fears were still there, she wasn't comfortable with the loss of control she felt. But this morning what was bothering her was people's reaction when they found out she was alive and well. What if they hated her? She wasn't ready to go back to being the Wicked Witch, she didn't know how to be that woman anymore, she couldn't.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her reverie, with a small command she allowed the other person to enter, to her surprise that was Chief Pope who appeared.

"Hello, Commander". He tried to smile, but grimaced a little instead.

"Chief, Merry Christmas". She smiled, but didn't reach her eyes.

"Merry Christmas. You look better".

"I feel better". She nodded and indicated the chair that was nearby. "Do we have any news? Have you managed to catch Stroh yet?" Sharon knew better, Peter texted Julio almost daily and knew Stroh was in town with no chance of capture.

"Not yet"

"Oh..."

"Sorry to put you in this situation, but this was necessary. But we are close, we already have news of him in the city. It will be a matter of time before he misses and we catch him".

"We can't wait for him to make a mistake, Chief. He has to be arrested before then. Stroh cannot remain on the loose, he is extremely dangerous".

"Commander, I'm aware of this. That's why I came here and asked permission to let Rusty be the bait".

"WHAT?" And that was like everything was back, that whole situation with the card guy. She wanted to know if Julio and Buzz avoided this information for fear of stressing her out.

"Look, I know it's dangerous. But it's the only way to get him".

"Are you sure? Because the last time we put Rusty in this I almost lost my son". Sharon got up quickly from the bed, the dizziness unsettling her, but she ignored it and started pacing.

"I'm aware of that and we've already had this discussion with Andy, he's just as protective as you are. He used the rules against me when we had to discuss this". Pope grunted. "You trained him well".

Sharon didn't say anything, but gave him a dirty look that was best ignored. She didn't want to put Rusty in unnecessary danger, Andy seemed to agree with her, even though they were far apart they kept in sync.

"You give me your word that nothing will happen to him". Sharon stared at him steadily.

Pope swallowed hard when he looked into those eyes, there was a fury there and he was afraid something would go wrong, but he had to do this. Even if his punishment was to put up with Sharon's fury. God help him.

"Yes, you have my word that nothing will happen to Rusty. He will be safe and we will arrest Stroh".

"You better keep your word, Chief". Sharon glared at him and narrowed her eyes. "And I speak as a mother and not as a police officer".

Pope understood the threat between the lines very well, and knew he would have to do everything possible to keep the boy safe. He just stated and was about to walk away when she spoke again:

"Can you keep informing me about this?"

"Sure". He tried to be confident. "Has your stay been satisfactory?"

"I'm fine".

"Ok... I'll put our plan into action".

"Just- just take care of my son". She asked and went back to bed exhausted. Her strengths weren't the same anymore and she was tired of being tired all the time.

Sharon watched Pope nearly flee the room and had to smile, he was still uncomfortable sharing the same room with her. Perhaps the realization that she was one of the few people who was well aware of his faults and mistakes made him defensive. She liked having that kind of power.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep, the day hadn't even started and she was already exhausted. Sharon hoped this would all be over once and for all.

To be continue...