Second Chances
Pt 2/2

Their hand-me-down case was perfect. Not only did they come in at a regular office hour but they got to leave at one too. Between those two times they had solved a murder, confirmed a deal with the DA's office, and even done most of the essential paperwork. It was as close to an open-and-shut case as they had come in a good while.

Provenza was as happy as a cat with a pilfered mackerel. Less admin, no running about town and home early: what more could a person ask for? He had thrown on his jacket and slid out of the door at the first point possibility sporting what looked disturbingly like a smile.

Andy was slower to part, as he made a convincing case of having to clean his desk. He nodded his goodbyes to the rest of the team while keeping an eye on Sharon's progress. She was still making calls to the DA's and putting away the paperwork. When she went to her cabinets and got out her purse and a soft woollen cardigan, Andy took it as his clue to get ready to leave too.

They agreed to drive in separate cars and met at the restaurant's front door. After greetings, a quick peck on the cheek, Sharon turned to reach for the door. Before her hand landed on the handle, Andy pulled her back by her elbow.

"Sharon, before we go in..."

"Yes?"

"This is not a date."

"What in the—" She snorted, and pulled her cardigan tighter around herself. Despite the wide smile he could see her confusion.

"I'm not letting you blame me for never planning things through."

His sincerity stopped her for a moment. Then she shook her head, reached for the door and walked in. "Two, please," she said to the waiter.

"I'm being serious here," Andy continued from behind her, his tone a little frantic. "This is not, nor was it ever, a date."

"Okay, if you say so," Sharon answered as the waiter led them to a table and handed her a menu.

"We are having dinner as, um, as friends," he said accepting a menu of his own. "We are just grabbing a bite to eat, okay? Two people winding off after a long day at work, nothing more?"

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't need to know that," Sharon said from behind her menu. "Sit down and let the waiter go."

Andy shot her a frown before nodding to the waiter who looked somewhat perplexed. "Sorry. I'm just making a point here."

"That's alright, sir. Anything to drink?"

"Sparkling water. Times two. Thanks."

Andy looked at Sharon, then slid next to her in the booth. She hummed contentedly.

"You're not paying me any attention."

"No, I'm not," Sharon affirmed. "I've learned over the years that the less I interrupt the quicker you get it out of your system. Which makes things that much easier for everyone involved."

"There's nothing to 'get out of my system'! I'm simply pointing out that this is not a date and therefore I can't be held responsible for planning things, which leads to me not being at fault when things go south. Which they eventually do."

"No?"

"No!"

Sharon folded the menu and looked at Andy. "Why would you think things will go south?"

"I don't know, Sharon. Because they always do?" She frowned. "Name me one date we've had that I didn't fuck up."

"I'd like to point out two things." She tilted her head from side to side. "Well, maybe three.

"One, if this is a date, this is our second date." Andy tried to interject, but she kept going, "Two, whether or not this is a date, I planned it. I wanted barbecue."

"Oh yeah, you did." Andy gave a satisfied nod.

"Three, you don't fuck things up. Not everything turns out badly for you."

"Wanna bet?"

"Well, you did get me to date you," she said and nudged his shoulder.

That seemed to get the wind out of his sails. He relaxed, leaned back and slipped his arm around Sharon's shoulders. "That I did."

"Though," she said with a pout, "maybe that's what you meant by things turning out badly for you, since you don't want this to be a date. Maybe my hopes for a second date are all in vain."

"Nah, I think you've convinced me to take a risk." Again he was interrupted, this time with the waiter appearing with their waters and taking their orders. Andy barely glanced at the menu, settling on the first vegetarian option his eyes landed on.

"Speaking of future dates," he said after the waiter left, "when were you thinking of handing in that memo?"

She stilled for a moment, then started playing with her glass. Sharon had thought this conversation had been closed, so she hadn't expected him to bring it up again. She felt a little prickle of unease, but tried to quash it.

"Oh, erm, I did it this morning."

"Oh. Didn't you think I would've come with you?"

"I didn't need you there, Andy."

"I see." He took a sip of his water and looked around the restaurant. The mood was quiet and cozy, the booths separated by screens and fake plants.

"I thought it was my responsibility," she said quietly.

"How do you figure that, Sharon? Don't you think we're both in this?"

"I thought you didn't think we were both in this." She breathed in deeply, exhaled to calm herself. "No, this was a work matter. I made the choice to make it easier on both of us by doing it swiftly and efficiently, without any bickering."

"I don't bicker!"

She shot him a look. "With Taylor? Please."

"Alright, alright. There might be a point in that."

"Thank you."

"A miniscule point, I might point out. But I'd like to have it on record that I do want to offer my support, however insignificant it is. I could have walked you up at least, or something."

Sharon smiled. "Noted." Perhaps she should have handled it better, but in her mind it had been so clear-cut. Perhaps they were just having teething problems and would soon slot into their new normal. Perhaps, she thought, they should start communicating better. So, she sidled closer and added, "And appreciated."

Andy patted her shoulder and left his arm resting there even when the waiter came in with their food. Sharon didn't move away either, but chuckled silently under her breath. The waiter ran through their tiny dishes and chitchatted with Andy. When she finally moved on, Andy turned to look at Sharon.

"What?"

"I don't think she's buying your point here." She wagged a finger between them. "This whole 'not a date' thing."

"When has a woman ever taken me seriously anyway?"

"Oh, poor you," Sharon said dismissing his grievances. She patted his chest for good measure before turning her attention to tasting their feast. They started grilling their mains, and shared a comfortable silence while their booth filled with sizzling sounds and delicious scents.

Only when their plates were filled with the first round of food did Andy get back to their earlier conversation.

"You told Taylor," he stated as a lead-in. "What did the asshole say?"

"Andy! That's our boss you're talking about."

"Sorry." He paused to take a bite of his tofu. "So what did that totally useless asshole say?"

Sharon laughed, shook her head. "He thought is was an elaborate ruse. Or, rather, I think he wished he could think it that." She picked up a strip of meat and savored it for a time. "I believe everybody knows. Or thinks they do." She groaned and hid her face in her hand.

"Yeah," he agreed, "But thinking isn't knowing."

Sharon bowed lower and hid in both of her hands. "Don't."

"Hey, I'm not." Andy leaned closer, placed a hand on one of her wrists and gently caressed it with his thumb. "Look," he whispered in her ear, "were we both a little cluess? Sure. Did we get past it? Yah. Whether we did or didn't, is it anyone else's business? Hell no. It's me and you, Sharon. Everyone else can go hang with their thoughts."

Sharon laughed, a little rueful, and met his eyes from behind her hair. She studied him for a moment, then turned a wondering smile on him. "How do you always know how to make me feel better?" Andy shrugged. Sharon pressed the back of her fingers to his cheek. "It is very noble of you to say, we, were clueless..."

"We were!" he argued, "I was too busy letting everybody know that we were dating or weren't dating or what to man up and ask you out."

"But had you, I wouldn't have. I was a—"

"— a married woman, yes, yes," he rolled his eyes. "We've all heard that spiel before."

"Nevertheless," she said, "it was true."

"Yeah," he said, wholly unconvincingly while speared some kimchi. "So, the asshole was alright with it?"

"Alright enough." Sharon didn't even bother commenting on the title. "There isn't much he can do, not right now. We have to be professional, and we have to take a seminar—" at which Andy groaned. "Yes, my thoughts exactly. Still."

"Can't we just point out you've made that crap and I've sat through it plenty of times already?"

"Andy, I don't think that would help our case..."

"It would help me," he retorted a little petulantly.

"I'm sure. But for some odd reason Taylor isn't big on things that help you out."

"Which further proves you the man is an idiot."

Sharon rolled her eyes. Even at her age male relationships escaped her. She understood that the friendship Andy had with Taylor had taken an irreparable hit years ago, but she also knew that they had gone out since then. But she was smart enough to keep her wonderings to herself, so she moved on. "And then there's the fact that I'm going to hand you and your magnificent file over to someone."

"That was expected, no hard feelings." He shrugged, then waited for her to notice his leer. "Though that's not the only thing that's magnificent about me..."

Sharon snorted, then dissolved into a fit of laughter. "You," she choked, "are terrible."

"You open the door, I'll walk through it." He grinned, and ate a bit of his tofu. "Which," he pointed out, "shouldn't come as a surprise. I did promise to flirt with my girlfriend."