I've been holding on
Don't know why
Love's not for everyone
But I still try
Holding On - iann dior

Charlie did go home two weeks later, as agreed. It was less tearful than when she was going to go home the first time, but still warm. Brenda called her brother Bobby and had a long conversation with him about Charlie, which started with raised voices and ended with her going home alone on the plane. Charlie hugged Brenda extra hard for the bit of freedom she got her.

Unbeknownst to Brenda and Fritz, she texted and asked if Sharon could come say goodbye, and the Captain met them at the airport.

"Captain Raydor," Agent Howard drawled, fingers tucked in his belt loops and side-eyeing her. "Didn't know you'd be joining us."

She gestured to Charlie, who hadn't seen her yet; off getting a snack with Brenda before her flight. "She texted me."

He nodded tersely. Raydor could never get what his problem with her was, if he could somehow tell she had an insatiable attraction to his wife, but knew that not only was it preposterous and impossible, but just her paranoid cop brain being allowed to take the stage.

When Charlie came back her smile widened and she threw her arms around Sharon. "You came!"

"Of course," Sharon replied, patting her back.

Charlie stepped away with a wide, genuine smile. "Thank you, for everything. You're great."

Sharon smiled at the teen's awkward but genuine attempt. "You're very welcome Charlie. And remember, if you ever need me…"

She waved her phone. "I know, I know. Got you here."

Brenda watched them interact with a soft, fond smile. Fritz rolled his eyes and huffed a little. "Well, since you have company now, I might as well get to work," he murmured to Brenda, who turned to him incredulously.

"Fritz," she looked over at Charlie and Sharon, who were looking at them now, trying to hear while trying not to be obvious. She pulled him off to the side. "Fritz, we drove here together. How am I supposed to get to work?"

"Why don't you catch a ride with Captain Raydor," he suggests, but it doesn't at all sound like a suggestion.

"I couldn't put her out like that," Brenda whisper-yelled at him. "Fritz, you are so not fair. If Charlie had texted her and she didn't show up you would be rallying for her head."

He scoffed. "I'm not fair? We're here dropping your niece off at the airport two weeks after I initially wanted to."

"You suggested it!"

He shook his head and walked off, leaving Brenda standing there looking tired and worn. Charlie and Sharon pull her into a seat gently.

"Aunt Brenda… is everything okay?" Charlie asked hesitantly.

Brenda delicately wiped under her eyes and tried not to sniffle. "Yeah, honey. Yeah."

Sharon gave her a look that said she wouldn't be dropping this. They waited until Charlie's flight was called and sent her off with hugs and kisses and well-wishes. An extra tight hug from both Sharon and Brenda and a forehead kiss from her Aunt.

And as soon as she turned to leave, a strong but gentle grip grabbed Brenda's wrist. "Brenda, what happened?"

"Let me go, Sharon." Despite her best efforts, her voice shook.

"Tell me what happened," Sharon replied, pulling her closer.

Brenda took a deep breath. "Fritz… went to work..."

"And left you here?!" Sharon snapped, and Brenda flinched at her tone. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm not angry with you."

"He didn't really leave me here," she argues weakly.

"Do you need a ride to work, Chief?" Sharon asks, biting the bullet. The Chief's cheeks get even redder, if possible.

"… Yes, but if it's too much trouble I don't mind taking a taxi at all," she replied under her breath.

"I won't hear of it. Come on, Brenda," Sharon tugged her by the hand now, and didn't let go until they reached the car. It was warm and soft.

Sharon expected her to explain why he left her there, but how does she explain her husband's ridiculous micromanipulations when he's feeling particularly petty and childish? It's embarrassing. And instead they ride silently together, with Sharon sending her inquiring looks every five minutes or so with her looking straight ahead, sunglasses firmly on.

Sharon reaches over, her fingertips just barely ghosting over Brenda's arm, and she exhales sharply. Brenda doesn't hold her hand, exactly, but she grabs onto the other woman's fingers, seeking comfort and stability.

And then Pope calls her into his office where Sharon is waiting, withdrawn and nervous, to tell her about her concerns about Ally Moore.

Frankly, after getting up at the crack of dawn to send her niece back to Georgia, she jumps at the sight of Sharon Raydor in Pope's office, leaning against the wall. She could barely get the smell of Sharon out of her nose as it was after riding in her car to work, it clung to her clothes and was distracting her from the paperwork she was trying to organize before she got called into his office.

"So, what about this is a Major Crime, Chief?" Brenda asks, perplexed.

"Well, we were hoping you could pursue this with discretion," Pope said with a tone that left no room for discussion, his hands folded on the desk.

"Has she filed a criminal complaint?" Brenda asked, Sharon sighed. "I'll take that as a no. I cannot interview the husband unless there's been a criminal complaint, but I can meet with Ally Moore, document what there is to see, and we'll look at what we can do from there."

They all nod and she stands to leave. Pope calls out to her as she leaves, "discretion, Brenda!"

"Got it! Treading lightly," she threw back over her shoulder.

Sharon followed close behind, her statement in her hand. "Chief,"

"Yes, Captain?" Brenda doesn't slow down. She needs a coffee and to get this started.

"Chief, I was wondering if-"

"Of course you'll be involved in this case, Captain," Brenda interrupted, stopping short and turning to face Sharon. "I would never keep you from this case in any way. I will do everything I can to find the truth," she said honestly, earnestly.

And find the truth she did. She watched with every revelation - and took every snapped remark and curt jerk of the head, every glare and every demand and accusation - how it broke Sharon down and then she rebuilt herself. How Sharon became steel again, after she tried to help someone in need. How she put herself back together by the end of the investigation.

And then she finds herself desperately in need of that type of stability when Will tells her about Fritz's promotion offer, hurt that he didn't tell her. Instead of letting the sting set in, she swallows her tears and keeps going. Just keeps her head forward and one foot in front of the other.

When all is said and done and Sharon reveals Moore's real motive for killing her husband, Brenda opens her candy drawer and watches Sharon take just a Hershey's Kiss, watches her savor it; the chocolate melting on her tongue just a tiny bit of indulgence that she desperately needed after the week she's had.

Thinks about calling Sharon later when she's standing in the aftermath of the argument her husband and her have about his job offer, and instead she cries in the kitchen while he leaves for a meeting. Stares at the plate he broke like it's going to clean itself up. Doesn't hiss or flinch when she cuts her hand open on it, just washes the shallow cut with water and finishes placing the pieces in the trash before finding a bandaid and curling up in the guest bedroom for the night.

chapter title from tear myself apart by tate mcrae