THIRTEEN

"Not so fast, you two!"

Andy was always annoyed by that tone, but it bothered him more than usual now that he was busy gazing into Sharon's eyes like the lovesick idiot that he was while his heart was racing a thousand beats per minute. Tearing his gaze away from Sharon, he turned his head and gave Provenza the darkest stare he could muster. The old lieutenant was shuffling toward them, car keys in hand, his jaw set in that determined way that meant that whatever he was up to, he was not to be swayed.

"What?" Andy growled, peripherally aware of Sharon's little chuckle. When on earth had she become so fond of Provenza?

Puffing with exertion, Provenza came to a stop next to them, jabbing the elevator button no less than three times.

"When I tried to signal to you to break it up with the Chief in there, I didn't mean you should go home," Provenza snapped. "Idiots."

Andy looked over at Sharon who seemed just as confused as he was. Provenza rolled his eyes in response and pointed at Sharon's middle with all the ill grace that was so typical of him.

"You've been drugged and shoved and whatnot, Captain. There is no way I am letting you go anywhere without getting checked out first."

Sharon looked up accusingly at Andy. "You told him?!" Her voice went up near the end of the sentence in a way that signaled trouble.

Before he could respond, Provenza intervened: "He did, but I already knew. It would be kind of hard to be any more obvious." He pointedly looked at Sharon's left hand that was loosely resting against her stomach. She quickly pulled it back and drew her eyebrows together in the Frown of Disapproval, a term coined by Andy during one too many conversations on "proper conduct of an officer" across her desk in FID. Somehow, however, there was less anger in the expression than Flynn would have expected. Sharon was either too tired to muster her usual Darth Raydor glare or she was secretly endeared by Provenza. The latter seemed to become more and more likely and the notion disturbed Flynn more than just a little.

Andy was not especially inclined to protest Provenza's suggestion and Sharon was unusually compliant as well, which led to the unlikely trio of them walking into the nearest hospital's reception area just ten minutes later. Without any further ado, Provenza marched past the few patients in the waiting area and presented his badge to the nurse behind the counter.

"Oh God," Sharon moaned. "Please don't tell me he is getting me preferential treatment by abusing his badge." She placed her hand over her eyes. "I didn't see that. If I had, I would have to reprimand him and I am just too tired for that right now."

"You should pass this matter to one of your minions anyway," Andy suggested pointedly. "You seem a little biased to me when it comes to Provenza lately. If I didn't know better, I would think you're getting rather fond of him."

Sharon dropped her hand and looked up at him with no small amount of surprise. "Andy, are you actually jealous? Really?" An amused smile was creeping across her face and Andy regretted his comment right away, feeling stupid.

"Don't worry," Sharon told him. "He is not my type." She shuddered. "At all."

Provenza's shout snapped them out of the silent battle of glares that had ensued and Andy saw him waving them over.

"Captain, you're up next." Provenza gestured to the nurse waiting next to him. Andy was itching to go in with her, but she didn't ask him to, so he just squeezed her hand one last time and let her go. They had grown closer over this, but Sharon was still holding back in some measure. He understood that this was something she wanted to do on her own and while he accepted it, he didn't understand it. She was ready to kiss him in front of his entire team and rest in his arms in Provenza's backseat, but she didn't want him with her while the medical staff was checking on her. It was hard for him to predict when she would allow him close and when she needed to keep her distance and that confused and frightened him. He was always afraid of making a mistake that would cost him her altogether.

"This stuff is awful, but what can we do." Provenza pushed a plastic cup of lukewarm coffee into Andy's hand and sat down heavily in one of the seats in the waiting area. Andy sat next to him and sipped the beverage, desperate for caffeine. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, his exhaustion was like a heavy blanket weighing him down.

"Thanks for ratting me out earlier," Flynn said sarcastically. "She is going to have my head for telling you."

Provenza huffed. "You should be grateful to me, Flynn. Someone had to make her come here. They have a very specialized prenatal unit here."

Flynn rolled his eyes and shook his head. "How would you even know that?"

"Google," Provenza responded, gulping his coffee down in one go. "Between our searches over the past few days, the personalized adds on our work computers will be a nightmare."

Andy couldn't help but chuckle. Provenza was not suffering it with a lot of grace, but he was clearly trying to help them.

Provenza's phone buzzed and he looked at the screen in that cumbersome way of his, reading the message he had just received. "Elliott is out of surgery. Seems like the bastard was lucky. If he makes it through the night, we can interview him tomorrow."

Andy leaned back in his chair, unsure whether he was happy or not that Elliott was likely to survive. There was some relief due to the fact that he already knew that the Chief would not allow him anywhere near the interview, because he didn't trust himself not to kill the dirtbag after all.

Silence descended upon them and they just sat there for a while, watching the sky turn pink through the window.

"Don't let her go to Boston, you know," Provenza suddenly said.

"What?" Andy was too confused to form a more eloquent response, but Provenza had obviously not expected him to.

"I know you were too happy letting him buy you drinks with her money back in the day to see it, but I remember her husband's antics and how it was for her. If she ups and runs off to Boston tomorrow, you have Jack Raydor to thank."

It was true, Andy thought bitterly. Jack had always been fun at the bar, telling the best stories, cracking the most outrageous jokes and buying the most rounds. They had commiserated over the terrible affliction of being married to the most nagging wives in the world more than once and when he thought about it today, he felt almost sick with shame. Neither Sharon nor Sandra had deserved that. He knew that now and he wondered whether Jack did, too. He thought of what Sharon had said to him back in the hallway a few days ago. She couldn't and wouldn't go back to the old back and forth she had had with Jack. A marriage like that didn't exactly make you ready for a new relationship and she had also told him that she hadn't had one since. Sharon would do anything to protect herself from further chaos and heartbreak and, being a recovering alcoholic himself and having a very similar history to Jack's, Andy understood why Sharon hesitated to open up to him of all people. He wondered whether there was any way to show her that he was not like Jack. At least not anymore. That she could trust him with her heart, but he didn't know how. He was sure that Jack had been saying the same things over and over when he had tried to get back into her good graces. He had, after all, done the exact same thing to Sandra back in the day. The only chance he had was to show her through his actions that he was steady and stable and that he would not disappoint her. The only question was whether he would have enough time to do so, because if she decided to take the job in Boston, time was up.

Sharon took longer that he had expected and Andy dozed off a little, legs stretched out in front of him, arms folded and chin on his chest. He heard Provenza mutter about having to be the one to keep watch even though he was older, but didn't care. There was nothing wrong with Provenza grumbling. On the contrary, something would have been off if he hadn't. He was woken by an elbow in his ribs and winced, his eyes flying open. Provenza was getting up and Andy followed quickly when he spotted Sharon walking towards them. He wanted to ask her whether everything was okay, but words failed him somehow.

Sharon gave them one of her guarded smiles. "Thank you for waiting for me. I know it took a while."

"As if we would leave you here on your own!" Provenza threw up his hands and walked off. "Women!"

Sharon and Andy shared a smile that meant they both knew that he was orchestrating this to give them some privacy to talk.

"I'm okay, Andy," she said. "Just a few bruises and a cracked rib. The levels of chloroform in my blood are very low, so they don't expect any long term effects. They say I must have hit my head somewhere along the way, too."

Andy let out a long breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. That didn't sound too bad. Sharon reached out and took his hand.

"I have something for you," she said, handing him another small rectangle. She smiled. "For your inside pocket."

He did notice that she was not looking at the image, but he didn't comment on it.

"So everything is okay?" he asked, his voice thin with relief. He hadn't realized how much he had been hoping for this.

"For now." The look in Sharon's eyes was unreadable and he would have liked to ask her for details, but he knew that this was not the time. The conversation was inevitable, but they were both tired and they needed some sleep.

He took and her hand and squeezed it. "Let's go home."

Andy silences his alarm, feeling as if he had just fallen asleep even though he knew that it had been at least a few hours. Rolling over, he realized that Sharon wasn't there. He sat up with a start, looking about the empty room with dry eyes. He found her in the living room with a cup of coffee in her hand and her phone pressed to her ear. Sharon's hair was wild and unruly, her legs folded into his grandma's old armchair. He paused in the doorway, his heart still racing with shock. Sharon was talking on the phone and hadn't noticed him come in, so he waited for her to finish before making his presence known.

"I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me. It was all a bit of a shock, but it's over now." She sounded so reassuring, made yesterday's drama sound like nothing more than a small hick-up in her schedule, so he guessed she was probably talking to one of her children. Sharon chuckled. "No, I'm not alone. I'm with, um, a friend." She rolled her eyes. "Maybe. Maybe that kind of friend. Don't be indiscreet." The turn the conversation was clearly taking made Andy think maybe it was not one of her children on the line after all, because he sure as well would not have asked his mother about the 'type' of friend she was staying with. Too much information, he thought, shuddering. "Yes, I'll let you know about that one very soon, okay? There are just a few things I will need to get in order here first. Thank you. Bye, Maggie."

She hung up and took another sip of her coffee.

"Is there some for me, too?" Andy asked and she looked up, surprised by his sudden presence.

"Of course there is." She smiled. "I hope you don't mind that I helped myself to it?"

Andy rolled his eyes at the unwarranted politeness on her part. "Make yourself at home already, Sharon, will you?" He poured himself some coffee and sat down opposite her. She looked better this morning. If not exactly rested, then at least not as deadly pale as she had the previous evening.

"How long have you been up for?"

"Just twenty minutes or so," Sharon said. "My phone woke me up. It was my sister Maggie."

Andy savored the bitter taste of black coffee on his tongue. Sharon didn't bother with coffee if it wasn't strong enough to knock an elephant out and he admired her for it.

"Have you told your kids about what happened already?" he asked carefully, not sure whether that was forbidden territory.

"No, but I will when this is over. I don't want them to worry unnecessarily."

He nodded. "Fair enough."

After a moment of silence, Sharon rose from her seat and walked over to the couch to sit next to him. She put her coffee down on the table next to his and leaned into his side, squeezing his hand. Andy leaned over and kissed her, the fingers of his free hand digging into her hair. Sharon moaned into the kiss and he was scared that he had hurt her, remembering her head injury, just before realizing that the moan had been one of pleasure. When they came apart, Sharon's cheeks were pink and he could not help but smile. It was really good look on her. That thing between them seemed so clean-cut, so easy and right in those moments. It made him wish for their pasts to be erased along with all the other complications along the way.

"Are you hungry? We'll need to leave in an hour. That's just enough time for grandma's paninis."

Sharon smiled. "In fact, I'm very hungry."

"And you're sure you're up for it this soon after getting up?" He didn't want her to suffer through a round of greasy paninis just to be polite if her morning sickness was rearing its ugly head again.

"No, I'm feeling fine, actually. Maybe chloroform is the cure for morning sickness."

"That was a really bad joke," Andy pointed out and she shrugged.

"Right. Maybe I have been spending too much time with you and Provenza lately."

Andy pretended to be offended and walked into the kitchen to prepare their breakfast. To his surprise, Sharon followed, refilling her coffee. He didn't comment on the large caffeine intake before breakfast because he knew they would need it in order to get through another long day.

"Chief Johnson texted me," Sharon said, leaning against the counter and then shifting, presumably because the position put pressure on one of her bruises. "Sergeant Elliott has been receiving blood transfusions through the night and has improved a lot. Apparently, he is ready to be interviewed in the afternoon."

She took another sip of coffee, not even flinching at its bitterness. Andy was impressed, because he had abandoned his cup after having half of it, too worried that his own stomach would rebel.

"I've been thinking about what he said about his mother dying and about what you and Provenza told me. He has been lying to me and to all of us for a year, Andy." She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't think he is healthy, if you know what I mean? I wonder whether his mother's death may have triggered some sort of psychosis."

Andy handed her a plate and shrugged. "That seems likely, I think. Why else would he be doing what he has been doing?"

"I feel like I should have realized that something was wrong earlier." Sharon sat down at the table and pulled some rucola out of her panini.

"Don't do that. The cheese is melted and you will make a mess," Andy admonished her and she laughed in response. It lit up her entire face and for a moment he was captivated by how beautiful she looked like that. He sat down next to her and they ate in silence for a bit. A moan from Sharon snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked over at her in alarm. Then he couldn't help but laugh, because she was clearly just enjoying her breakfast a lot.

"Oh, this is so good!" She had already made her way through half her panini and he was glad because they hadn't had bothered with food when they had come home earlier. "It probably has a million calories, but it is just amazing."

"Do you want another one after this?" Andy asked, not bothering to hide his amusement.

"No, thank you." She smiled self-consciously. "Too much food will make me tired again." As if to prevent that from happening, she finished her second cup of coffee.

Andy knew that a busy day lay ahead of them. Even though there was no reason to hide what was between them anymore, he knew that Sharon would insist on keeping things professional while at the LAPD. While he didn't want to put pressure on her, he really wanted to use their time alone to talk to her about all of the issues between them. He didn't know how to start, however.

"How do you feel about those pictures?" Compared to Boston and her pregnancy, this seemed like the least dangerous topic. Sharon lowered her fork onto her now empty plate, her shoulders suddenly tense.

"I'm sure the entire LAPD has seen them by now," she said slowly. "That is just… awful."

"I know this doesn't really help, but at least they are not very explicit. I mean, it's clear what we are doing, but all you can really see in them is your back."

"The plant behind me covers my ass and I am eternally grateful for that," Sharon said dryly. "It is embarrassing nonetheless. Just look at my face." She rolled her eyes.

Andy chuckled. "Have you seen mine? I look like an idiot."

Sharon gave a snort of laughter. "How are you making me laugh now? I am absolutely mortified by those pictures!"

Andy leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, but why really? As of this morning, I have received three e-mails congratulating me on bedding the ice-queen. All stupid idiots I've known since the academy, mind you. It seems like an awful double standard that these pictures are viewed as a trophy for me while you feel like they will ruin you."

Sharon nodded. "Welcome to the real world, Andy."

"There is no reason for you to be ashamed, you know. You have every right to screw whoever you want, wherever you want. Except I would really hate for you to screw anyone else but me."

She laughed again and hid her mouth with her hand as she always did. "Don't worry. I am not planning on doing that."

"Anyway, what I mean is that Elliott should be ashamed for taking and distributing these photos. Sure, people will talk, but you have done nothing wrong. You know, the whole 'ruining your reputation'? Your reputation isn't ruined at all. All people know now is that you have a life and really bad taste in men."

To his surprise, Sharon was laughing in earnest now. It seemed that all that coffee and sleep deprivation were loosening her up a lot and he had to say he really enjoyed that side of her. Her laughter turned into something that sounded very close to giggles now. When she had recovered, small chuckles still rocking her body, she looked up at him.

"You could be right."

"Look," he said, still very intent on making his point. "If it was Chief Johnson in those pictures, would you think any less of her?"

Apparently Sharon hadn't tried to view the situation from this angle yet. "I guess not."

"No. You would blame that scumbag that took the pictures and invaded her privacy. What I am saying is that you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of and that there is no reason why you should not hold your head up high."

"And not leave the LAPD," she said quietly, having seen right through him. He meant every word he was saying, but there was also an ulterior motive behind making her understand that this was neither her fault nor a reason to quit her job. He held his hands out in a gesture of defeat.

"And not go to Boston," he said, touching on another thing that was always in the back of his mind. "Have you responded to the job offer yet?"

Sharon nodded. "I told them that I needed a few more days to decide."

His stomach clenched. So it wasn't off the table yet. He waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't. Maybe she didn't want to share her her thoughts on the matter or maybe she wasn't even too sure what her thoughts on the matter actually were.

Now that he was at it, he decided to be bold and address the third elephant in the room as well. "What did they say at the hospital, Sharon?"

She lowered her fork and tensed, but didn't try to avoid eye contact. "About the baby?"

He nodded, suddenly too nervous to say anything else.

"They said they needed to run further tests."

"What kind of tests?"

"Well, they wanted to know whether I was tested for a blood coagulation disorder after my last miscarriage. I wasn't, so they sent my blood samples off to the lab. Results take a while, though."

Noticing the blank look on his face, she hurried to explain: "Heavy bleeding can be a result of such a disorder. And if it was, there might be ways to treat it."

"And avoid more heavy bleeding."

She nodded. "Exactly. As to everything else, it is hard to tell and subject to further testing. For now everything looks normal and there is a strong heartbeat."

Andy smiled. "But that's good, isn't it?"

Sharon cocked her head and reached over the table to cover his hand with hers, looking sad. "Andy, that doesn't really mean anything. It was the same last time. Everything was normal until it wasn't."

Andy waited for her to tell him more, but she didn't. For some reason, she guarded the circumstances of that last pregnancy very closely.

"How far along were you last time?" he asked, deciding that it was an innocent question that shouldn't upset her too much.

"Ten weeks," she replied evenly. "Jack had just left again, so it wasn't ideal."

He knew instinctively that this was all he would get from her on this, so he decided to give her some breathing space instead.

"I guess we'll need to get going soon," he said. "Chief is going to have my head if I don't get us there by noon."

Sharon nodded. "You are not wrong. I'll get dressed."

She rose from her chair and paused next to his on her way out. Then she bent down and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks for breakfast."

When she had vanished through the door and he was gathering their plates, Andy tried to imagine what it would be like to have her in his kitchen every morning. He would probably have a heart attack sooner or later if he allowed her to make the coffee on a regular basis. He loaded and closed the dishwasher, a little amused by the idea. She had her own way of loading the dishwasher he knew and she hated her order to be disturbed. God knew whether they would be compatible, both having lived on their own for such a long time. He longer than her, he thought, since Ricky hadn't moved out too long ago.

But maybe, he realized with a pang, she would soon be loading her own dishwasher in perfect adherence to her own system for it in Boston instead. It bothered him more than he cared to admit that even after everything that had happened between them over the past few days, Boston did not seem to be entirely off the table.

Patience, he knew, was the only thing that would get him anywhere with Sharon. Therefore, it was very unfortunate that he did not have too much of it.