They were sitting at the table, takeout boxes scattered all over, eating Chinese this time. Rusty had plans with Gus, so they opted for takeout at her place instead of going out for dinner. They had hoped for a relaxing home-cooked meal, but once again a case disrupted their plans. Something else, however seemed to have disrupted Sharon's mood. For much of the evening Andy had done the talking. Not that he minded, but Sharon seemed, for lack of a better word, off. She listened to him, even participated in the conversation, but he could tell by her far away looks and somewhat tense posture that she wasn't fully into it.
As he got up to clear the table (she had given up on insisting to do it herself months ago, therefore remained seated), he decided to just ask. "So, care to tell me what has you so distracted?"
She looked up at him, now unceremoniously dropping the empty boxes into the trashcan, and sighed.
He chuckled, walking back to the table, "That bad, huh?" he said, as he resumed his seat next to her.
"I received a call from Sharon Beck today," she told him in a tone clearly indicating she was anything but happy about it.
"Wow, we haven't heard from her in a while, she in trouble again?"
Again she sighed. That did not bode well, he thought.
"She wants to come see me at work tomorrow." Sharon told him, her gaze directed at him although Andy thought she was looking through him, behind him, definitely without really seeing him.
"Oh," he straightened in his chair. "Did she tell you what she wanted?"
"No, whatever it is, she said she would prefer to address it in person." He could tell she was holding back an eyeroll and was still gazing through him.
"Does Rusty know?" he prodded.
She refocused now. Her attention finally fully on Andy. She shook her head. "No, I haven't told him yet."
This surprised Andy. For a second his eyes narrowed looking at her. She told Rusty everything. There were no secrets between them. Not if they could help it, that is. Instead of dwelling on that, he said, "Yet?"
"I would like to find out what she wants before I tell him anything. I know she's been clean for a while now and that Rusty has been keeping in touch with her." she told him. "I also don't think she told Rusty about wanting to see me. I'm sure he would've mentioned something if she had," she continued, a slight frown forming on her face.
"You think it has something to do with your deal?"
She shrugged and cocked her head. "Could be."
"Well, we'll find out tomorrow, won't we?" he said, suddenly getting up again and offering her his hand.
She looked up at him, then down at his hand. "I suppose we will," she replied, taking his hand and getting up as he tugged on hers.
"Good. We'll deal with it then," he told her as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Now, I think you mentioned something about wanting to relax?" He nudged her forwards, towards the couch.
She smiled and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder for a second, following into his step. "Yes, I do remember something about that." When he let go of her to sit on the couch though, she remained standing, a mischievous smile gracing her features.
He narrowed her eyes at her. "What?"
"I don't remember it involving my couch." And with that she sauntered off towards the bedroom.
He sat there flabbergasted for a moment, but then shook his head, and quickly, ignoring his protesting knees, got on his feet to follow her. He mumbled something sounding very much like "wicked" and "witch" just before reaching and pulling her towards him for a kiss.
Rusty wasn't home, they'd get to the bedroom eventually.
"So, how did it go with Rusty?"
They were sitting at a diner near his place waiting for their orders. They hadn't seen much of each other after Sharon Beck's visit. They only shared a moment right after she left when Sharon told him the news. They were forced to focus on the case afterwards. With that being over though, they finally found time for each other.
"As was to be expected," she told him, making herself more comfortable next to him in the booth. "He is dead set against it at the moment."
She almost smiled, and he knew it was because Rusty's reaction was just so... Rusty.
"At the moment?" Andy's voice took on an amused note.
"I," she took on an amused tone as well, "gave him something to think about. I also told him he'd be seeing his mother tonight at the condo."
"Ouch. That must have gone over well," Andy told her, looking at her with a somewhat puzzled expression. She was completely at ease. Relaxed. Too relaxed, he thought. It also explained why they were heading over to his place after dinner. Rusty needed some space.
She sobered for a moment. "Mhm, but it's necessary. This is something he has to face now. As much as I am here to offer support, I cannot deal with it instead of him." The way she inflected the word instead tugged at his heart. If she could and if it was best for him, she would deal with it instead of him, he knew.
She looked like she had more to say and was just gathering her thoughts, so he remained quiet, arching an eyebrow at her, urging her to continue. "I honestly don't know what to think about it myself. I told Rusty as much. But I do believe it's important to think about what is best for the baby, and the mother." With that she shrugged and took a sip of her water.
The words escaped him before he could stop himself. He was simply too surprised. "How come you're so," he waved his hand at her, "blasé about this?"
She snorted at him, nearly spilling her water. "Blasé?" she arched an eyebrow at him. "Really?"
"Okay, okay," he deflated, "not blasé, but so, uh, relaxed about this?"
She laughed this time and ran her hand over his tie, before looking up at him again. "I am not relaxed about it." she said at length. "However, I know there isn't much I can really do right now. I'll share some of my thoughts with Rusty once I know what they are. Having Rusty talk about this with his mother is the first step. We'll go from there."
Andy still looked at her as if she had grown another head. "Oh, stop it." She gave him a stern look. "Honestly, right now I am just relieved that it isn't really bad news. I had all kinds of scenarios in my head when she called. It could have been much worse and you know it."
His features softened and he took the hand that a moment ago was on his tie. "Yeah, okay, you're right." She smirked at that. He gave her a look, but continued, "So, we're not worried about Sharon Beck's pregnancy?" His tone indicated a but coming, although he waited for Sharon's response first.
She could melt at the way he so nonchalantly talked about them worrying. It was always we with him. Never I. Not anymore. Instead she nodded looking at him, not sure what was on his mind. "But we do worry about how Rusty is dealing with this?" he finished his thought.
She smiled again, a sad shadow crossing her face this time. "Yes. He's angry with the situation right now, I think. We'll talk when he cools off. I want him to see all the implications of this before he really makes up his mind about it." She smiled again when she added, "Whatever the circumstances, he's got the opportunity to be a big brother now. I wouldn't want him to miss out on that without ever even considering it."
"Spoken like a true mother," he told her, pulling her hand up for a soft kiss.
The waitress came with their orders then, and with that, they let go off the topic of Sharon Beck for the time being.
After dinner they were walking hand in hand back to Andy's car, parked a couple of blocks away, when Sharon's phone buzzed. They slowed their gait so she could fish it out of her purse. It was Rusty. She had texted him earlier while Andy was taking care of the bill, asking him if everything was okay. She assumed Sharon Beck would have left by then.
I guess. Don't worry. Gus is coming over after work. Won't be bored. Enjoy your evening. See you tomorrow. it said.
She smiled at the text.
"I guess he's okay, then?" Andy asked noticing her expression.
"Well, I basically got an essay for an answer, so I think he'll survive."
"Good," he said, gripping her hand more tightly and pulling her closer to him. They fell into a comfortable silence. It felt nice being able to just be for a moment.
"You know, I wish I could've just punched that guy today." Andy broke the silence after a while.
She flashed a look at him, brows drawing together in confusion for a second before realization set in. "And his lawyer, too," she said.
"The lawyer?" his head shot back down to size her up.
"Yes, he told me, my moral values aside, those girls only got what they asked for." she practically scoffed in derision, as if repeating his words were an altogether new insult.
"Idiot," was all he said as he pulled his gaze back in front of him.
Silence enveloped them again. When they reached his car, Andy about to open the passenger side door for Sharon, he let out a soft chuckle. Sharon turned to him, a smile tugging at her lips, even if she didn't know what had him chuckling. "What's so funny?"
He grinned this time. "You wanting to punch someone."
Her lips spread into a full blown smile. "Well, I have my moments," she said shrugging a shoulder innocently.
"Oh, I know you do." And with that he opened the car door for her to slip inside. Before closing the door though, he leaned into the car to drop a kiss to her smiling lips.
She watched him, amused, as he walked around the car and sat behind the wheel. He slanted a look at her before turning on the ignition. "You know, with this whole Sharon Beck ordeal, I guess he'll be spending less time freaking out over our house hunting now." He offered her a crooked grin, "So that's something."
"Oh," she laughed at him while shaking her head. "You keep telling yourself that, honey," she said, her hand coming up to caress his cheek. "He'll let us know more about that soon enough, don't you worry."
"Well, I am worrying now," he huffed, finally pulling out of the parking space and pointing the car home.
Whoa, thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming. If you have any particular wishes or ideas, I'd love to hear those, too. Anyways, hope you liked this. I like the idea of a supportive Andy. It's usually Sharon doing all the supporting, so having Andy be the one this time, in his own unique way (you know, being there and being himself), feels like a nice change of pace. I always think they kind of have the topic of addiction covered, so I doubt that would be a burning issue between them when it comes to Sharon Beck. *shrugs*
Also, I apologize for any mistakes, be it typos or something worse. Not a native English speaker.