Laying in bed for several hours now, she couldn't help but think of him. She knew it couldn't work out, oh yes, she definitely knew it. And knowing it wasn't enough apparently because everyone around her seemed to believe it too and wouldn't miss a chance to mention it - "You're not meant to be with this guy, he's not the right fit for you", she could still hear them say.

Yet, despite all the advices and the current situation, she couldn't let him go. He was under her skin, attached to every cell of her body. How strange a feeling. Was it possible to be convinced that things would work out eventually even though everything seemed hopeless? Was it lying to herself to let part of herself keep believing? At the moment, these questions just seemed to have no answer.

The alarm clock rang and all of a sudden, she remembered.

"Honey, I can't find my shirt. Have you seen it?

- What shirt?

- You know, the one I bought during our stay in Chicago… the blue one with the white thingies around the collar.

- Jack honey I don't know! I wash, iron and fold your clothes, the least you can do is find your things by yourself."

Why did he have to be a third child for her to take care of… Now she had to get up and face her life. It was what it was, that's what the alarm clock reminded her every morning. She was trapped in that marriage and the worst of it was probably that she ended up doing this to herself without anybody's help, not even Jack's.

Her life was a mess, absolutely, but Sharon couldn't be anything but thankful for her two children that meant the world to her. Without them, she wouldn't be able to go through this every single day.

Good for her, the kids were up already and running errands while she tried to pick a matching outfit for both of them. They didn't like that much but she loved dressing them in a very similar way while keeping a distinguished style for each of them.

This morning, Jack wasn't drunk for once and was able to drop the kids at school while she would head, on time today, to FID quarters. Although she didn't feel passionate about it, her job was the place where she could find some peace, feel safe from her marriage, safe from Jack's moods, from his alcohol breath. At least, in her office, she could pretend like she was normal. It was also the space where she let her imagination blossom and allowed herself to daydream just a tiny little bit… after all she was too close to him no to…

Sharon had always pictured herself with him ever since they met a few years ago. It seemed like every look they'd exchange was deep, intense and promising. No one could deny how handsome and charming he was. But to her he was beyond that. She had a feeling about him. They met at a Christmas gathering and nothing could be weirder. Neither of them were ready for that meeting. A few months after that, they had a short episode but nothing too serious. Sharon was to blame she knew she was the one creating the distance. She was scared of things messing up, she was afraid to spoil her chance with him which actually made it even worse. They lost contact for a few years.

They came across each other about 5 years later and both of them had changed for the better… older and wiser, not to mention hotter! Again she met his eyes several times and found in them the soulmate she didn't know she was looking for. This time it was different, it was serious. She had found the love of her life and she was sure of it.

"Sharon!" she heard someone call for her which took her out of her thoughts.

- Yes? Sharon stood up at her desk to politely greet Chief Pope.

- I needed to see you about this new case…

- Of course, have a seat! What can I do for you Chief?

- Actually you could be the perfect person for this mission. Chief Johnson's unit has a leak… Pope seemed worried.

- Oh my god! It looks serious. Are you sure about that?

- Unfortunately, there's too much information ending up in the press's hands for it to be a simple coincidence.

- What do you need me for? She was glad to finally feel useful.

- I need you to discretely investigate the Major Crimes' team.

- Chief, how would I do that discretely? She felt like this mission was going to be a hand full because you couldn't really say Sharon and Brenda got along too well.

- I'm going to announce Chief Johnson that you're doing a random check if the rules are being religiously respected in their cases. After the recent complaints about their methods, it can only be justified.

- With all due respect sir, don't you think… it's going to seem a little condescending?

- Well Sharon, the rules are the rules, aren't they?

- Of course, but…

- Good! I count on you Captain! You're on duty from this minute on. I'll let you get back to work now so that you can go downstairs ASAP!

- But… Chief… when are you announcing this to them? I can't ramble in the middle of the murder room without them expecting me…

- Right! I'm heading there right now! Pope left without giving her the time to add anything else.

No time for her daydreaming anymore, Sharon was now on a new mission and not a small one. She never talked for more than 3 minutes to Brenda and from what her colleagues said about her, she was a lot to deal with, even a bit of an anarchist when it came to the rules. The positive thing in all this, was that she now had a tremendously good opportunity to spend time with the Major Crimes team members. She would get to see him even if it meant admiring him from afar since she had spoilt all her chances to live a happy ending with her soulmate.

Major Crimes was visibly expecting her because everyone was looking at the hall focused on the sound of heals approaching. The look of disappointment when they could finally see who was coming was almost priceless. If only she cared about them. All she could or wanted to see was him. But… he was missing. Was he avoiding her? Where was he? He was supposed to be there with the rest of the team.

As she fully identified everybody, she nodded to each of them:

- Lieutenant Provenza, Detective Sanchez, Chief Johnson.

- G'morning Captain, said Provenza with his grumpiest face. Obviously they weren't too happy to welcome her in their team for a few weeks.

- Is it just the three of you?

She knew her dumb question would make her seem stupid, because she knew exactly who was in the team for the very good reason that she had had a bunch of them several times in her office. She could even wait for them to give her the information but who cares, she just wanted to ask about him without letting anyone know.

- No, Lieutenant Flynn is out on a mission for a few hours and Lieutenant Gabriel is with him in case he needs some help, answered Chief Johnson with impassibility. Sanchez is off for a few days.

- Oh I understand.

Sharon hesitated for a minute and still asked.

- When are they coming back? I mean, I'm just asking because I assume we're supposed to wait for them to start working on this new case together…

Provenza froze when he heard the word "together" and she knew why. Nobody appreciated her much in this unit or in any unit by the way. She always made it seem like she didn't care a bit about what others thought of her but the truth is she's a human and needs to feel wanted and appreciated just like anybody else. She had only accepted to come because she would have the opportunity to see him. She craved him although she knew only too well that she couldn't have him. Not mentioning that he probably wouldn't take her back anyways.

A few hours later, the last two members of the Major Crimes unit finally arrived. She put on her impassible face to make sure no one would figure out how excited she was to see him. Moreover, she was married, she had no right to be as happy as she was around another man.

- Hey everyone! We got everything we needed from the… he suddenly stopped in his tracks, surprised to see her among his team members. Captain Raydor…

- Lieutenant Flynn…

- Hi Captain, added Gabriel.

- Hi! I hope your mission was alright. We were waiting for you to begin.

- Yeah… As I was saying… we got all we needed from Texas Police Department. Turns out our victim was a young man called Evan Davis from England and currently living in a relative's house temporarily.

- Sorry to interrupt Lieutenant, where's Lieutenant Tao?

- Right here, Captain, thank you for asking… and back to what you were saying, Flynn, that's very odd… this identify doesn't match the data I found in his phone.

- What do you mean? Reacted Flynn, confused.

- I mean that according to his phone, he's not that Mr Davis you mentioned. His name is, or should I say.. was, Matthew Cunningam from South Carolina.

- How's that possible? His fingerprints were analyzed by the Texas Police and they assured me it matched this identity 100% according to their data base.

- Maybe he changed his identity…? Said Brenda, suddenly jumping back into the moment. She had been observing the interactions without bothering to answer.

- Or was in the witness program…? Added Sharon, trying to catch up with everyone and probably trying to impress her forever crush a little too.

- Here's what we're gonna do: Lieutenants Tao and Gabriel – you explore all the information you can get about this Matthew Cunningam. Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza – you explore the identity of Evan Davis and see if he has family here that we can question. And… Captain Raydor… Maybe you can team up with them… said the Chief pointing out the troublemakers of the unit.

- Oh! I thought we'd be working together…

Secretly, she couldn't be happier but she had to made it seem like she wasn't.

- Sorry Captain, I'm meeting Pope in half an hour and won't be around so soon after that. I'll let you start and I'll see you later.

A few minutes later Brenda left, Tao and Gabriel were working together in a corner of the murder room, assisted by Buzz who was video tracking the victim a few hours before he died.

However, Flynn and Provenza were talking with each other, quietly sat around Flynn's desk, when Sharon came up to them and announced once again a bad news: she would be working with them on Mr Davis' identity. She got an eyeroll from Provenza, obviously, but Andy didn't answer, he just pushed a chair backwards as to invite her to sit with them. Her cheeks almost flushed at the gesture.