There's so much I wish had happened. The first scene I set on the evening before the breakfast scene and it's basically a continuation of my previous chapter, the remaining two happen after breakfast. They're in chronological order.

Scene 1

"There goes our dinner," she let out on a sigh.

She was sitting in the passenger seat of Andy's car on the way to her condo. Or their condo, she amended. He'll be moving in once he finishes clearing out his house (he had started more than a week ago) and officially hands over his keys. But for all intents and purposes, it was theirs now. She was looking through the window barely registering the blur of buildings they were passing by. The day had taken an abrupt turn with Cynthia's tragic news. Instead of heading home after finishing up with Brie Miller they had been stuck at work trying to figure out what happened to Mark's mother. Now, at nearly 11 pm she instructed the team to go home. Running on fumes would do them no good. And she had a feeling this would be an exhausting case so the more rest they got, the better.

"There's plenty of time to celebrate later." He shrugged his shoulders and threw a glance at her. "Besides, we should be used to last minute plan changes by now."

She tore her gaze away from the window to look at him. "True." A soft, warm smile settled on her face. It wasn't their first change of plans, nor would it be their last. That soon they would be heading to the same home together or would be waiting up on each other there, whether work interferes or not, however, offered her a strange, but very welcome, feeling of contentment now. Finally one plan that would not be so easy to change, she thought happily.

After dinner, they would have headed back to his house, she knew, for privacy since Rusty was home, but also so that she could help him pack up. Now it was just another plan that had to be changed. She was sure Andy must have been just as tired as she was, so she offered for him to stay the night with her. They may have to postpone their celebratory dinner, but they could still indulge in each other's company. And as exhausted as they were, they wouldn't be doing much celebrating, in private or otherwise, or any packing anyway. The condo was much closer, too.

After a brief silence she spoke up again. "Rusty will be thrilled."

He scoffed, eyes set on the road in front of him. "Well, he's had a lot more than 30 days to prepare for the possibility of my moving in." He gave her an amused look. "Practice too."

She let out a soft chuckle and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. Not counting his stay during the whole blood clot ordeal, Andy was spending an awful lot of time at the condo with her. That he had another kind of practice for them in mind, too, didn't go unnoticed either. When she spoke her voice was slightly higher than usually. "He has." She dropped her hand onto her thigh. "I think he's okay with it now. Not thrilled," she rolled her eyes, "but definitely okay with it."

"Yeah," Andy agreed and drummed his fingers over the steering wheel. Things were looking much better with Rusty, he thought. At least if Rusty opening up, and talking about moving in and Sharon Beck, was anything to go by. He didn't really worry. Sharon didn't either anymore. As much anymore, he amended.

"He's been awfully reserved lately." Sharon interrupted Andy's musings. She chose 'reserved' for lack of a better word, but suspiciously attentive, patient, thoughtful and brooding could be used to describe her adoptive son just as well. "Ever since I've told him off about those fingerprints, he's been on his best behavior."

"I'm sure he's up to something." Andy said lightly. He really wasn't, but the way Sharon talked about it had him thinking that maybe she was.

She shrugged and folded her hands in her lap. "Well, I won't worry about it until he reaches the bribing stage."

He laughed out loudly. "Bribing stage?" He raised an eyebrow at her before returning his attention to the road again.

"You seem to forget," she raised an eyebrow at him now, "as does Rusty," she pointed out, "that I am not new at this." If there ever was a trace of smugness in her demeanor it was now.

Andy was positively grinning now. "Oh, you having experience with this," he feigned a shudder as if her mothering was a force to be reckoned with, which it really was, now that he thought about it, "is not something that will ever slip my mind, don't you worry."

It was true. If there was one thing he admired about her more than her skills as Captain, it was her parenting skills. He's seen her not only with Rusty, but with Ricky too, back when they'd discussed Rusty's adoption. She could be equally intimidating in both roles, he knew.

"Good," was her only, now positively smug, response as she settled her gaze on the blur behind the passenger window again.

When they reached her building's garage Andy broke the silence. "Poor Julio. He seemed more than ready to be rid of the kid."

She hummed in response. When they both exited the car she spoke in a careful voice. "He did seem relieved." And he did, but his protectiveness kicked in the moment he realized what Cynthia's news meant for the boy. "I think he was just looking forward to the prospect of getting some rest."

Andy chuckled remembering how he fell asleep in the electronics room earlier that day. "Could be," he replied scratching his eyebrow using one hand and calling the elevator they'd just reached with the other.

"If he's learned anything from you, he'll grow to care for the boy before you know it," he added as they entered the elevator.

"I think he already has, and not because he's learned it from me," she gave Andy a pointed look. Julio was passionate to a fault, as indicated by his anger management issues. Loyal, too, and he would care for the boy because that was simply who he was. They both knew it.

"You're right." He conceded and drew an arm around her waist to pull her into a sideways hug. He smiled when she rested her head on his shoulder and circled her arm around his waist.

They pulled apart when they reached her floor and the elevator doors pinged open.

"Will you let Rusty watch the interview tomorrow?" he asked as they made their way to her condo.

"I want to," she admitted. She was reaching for her keys now. "He'll push for it tomorrow, I'm sure." She unlocked the door and opened it. Andy followed her in, disposing of his jacket while she was slipping out of her heels.

"And when he does, I might not let him just to teach him a lesson," she concluded. She was still unhappy about Rusty's blatant disregard of Buzz's wishes. Maybe this lesson would be for the best, whether she liked having to teach it or not. "And with Julio..." she let the sentence drop. With Julio entering her worries now, she felt even less inclined to having to deal with Rusty's indiscretions at the moment.

He never really knew how to support her when it came to making decisions about Rusty, especially when they were about something much more serious than this Hecht guy, so he had no response for her apart from an absent-minded "Yeah." But this was more work related than it was personal, he reasoned, and he was about to simply ask her if there was anything he could do to help when the man in question trudged down the hallway.

Sharon shot Andy a startled look that clearly meant "Did he hear any of this?" but when Rusty just said, "Hi, guys," and went merrily on on his way to the kitchen, they were certain he hadn't. Rusty and playing it cool didn't mix. He'd be fidgeting like crazy had he heard them. Would probably not even bother pretending he hadn't heard anything.

"Hi," both Sharon and Andy replied. Andy shrugged at her as she watched Rusty's back, eyes wide.

"I can try dealing with the kid," he told her in a somewhat hushed tone once Rusty disappeared from view. He shrugged a shoulder as if saying "You never know, it might just work." He wasn't really sure how he could deal with him, but he was sure he would come up with something by tomorrow. At least to help Sharon out. He hoped he would, he corrected himself.

She smiled at him, moved a hand to his shoulder, finding purchase there as she rose on her tiptoes, and leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek, her hand leaving his shoulder only to trace a path down his arm before she dropped back down to her feet. He smiled to himself; he loved the bigger height difference between them when she was out of her heels. And even though she completed the gesture by saying in a low, grateful voice "Thank you," it told him she wasn't sure he could deal with Rusty any more than he was.

Either way, they put the discussion to rest for now. They lingered in the living room only long enough to bid Rusty goodnight before turning in for the night.

It had been a long day after all.

Scene 2

He could practically hear Sharon's wheels turning. They were well on their way to work and she hadn't spoken since they got in his car and he didn't need to ask to know why. She was trying to work out a way of not using Mark the way Rusty suggested they do. He didn't like it any more than she did, but unlike her, he had already accepted that it was the fastest way for them to move their case forward. She would, however, come to the same conclusion once she takes apart all other ideas that pop into her head. When she sighed and turned slightly to face him better, he knew she had caught up with him.

"I can't believe we're going to lie to that boy." Her voice was steady but soft. She was speaking like a mother at the moment, not as his Captain.

"I don't like it either, but this is the way to do it," he said roughly. He chanced a look at her. "You know how it goes, the longer the wait the colder the lead," he added, more gently this time.

She took a deep breath and nodded, looking straight ahead on the road now. Of course she knew how it went. "Julio is not going to like it either."

He nodded, a frown settling on his face. "Yeah," he confirmed grimly.

"I'll try to figure out a way to not use Mark's name on the warrant," she said, and judging by her tone, more to herself than him. "Just in case," she added.

Just in case Julio went all papa bear and withheld his consent. He could tell that was what she was thinking. "Good luck with that." His voice indicated that he doubted even she could come up with something. But if anyone could find her way in that sea of rules it was her. That thought put a smile on his face. She noticed it and gave him a funny look.

"You have a better idea?" The edge in her voice told him she wasn't in the mood for games.

He shook his head, taking a right turn, he could see the LAPD headquarters now. "No," he gave her what he hoped was an apologetic smile, "I just remembered how much faith I've started having in you and your knack for the rules." He shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She visibly relaxed, shoulders going down fractionally, but enough for him to notice, and when she spoke her voice had lost her previous edge, "Let's hope I don't let you down then." A smile was playing at the corners of her mouth.

"So, the bribe?" he asked. The Mark issue was settled apparently.

The corners of her mouth stretched into a wide smile now and she settled her eyes expectantly on him. "Yes?" She wasn't going to straight out tell him "I told you so." but the inflection she used was all but screaming it at him.

"I think you're right," he told her matter-of-factly. They had arrived at HQ and he was in the middle of parking his car when she hummed, urging him to continue, still looking at him. "Making his case like that, sounds more and more like a lawyer to me." A note of amusement entered his voice.

She smiled again. "It does sound like that," she practically hummed the words.

He was sure she had more to say on the matter, but not just yet, not until Rusty chipped in with a word or two first, so he didn't push. He parked the car and when he slipped his key out of the ignition, he turned around in his seat and gave her a long look. "So, ready to start this awful day?"

For a second he expected her to roll her eyes at him, but then she took a deep breath as if bracing herself for exactly that, an awful day, and let out "As I'll ever be."

"Okay." Her answer didn't surprise him. He gave her a peck on the lips and opened his car door.

Scene 3

By the time they reached the murder room Provenza was waiting impatiently in front of Sharon's office door. She stopped in front of him and gave Andy a puzzled look but he shook his head and shrugged.

She tilted her head at Provenza, "Good morning, Lieutenant, is there something I can help you with?" It did not happen often that the Lieutenant waited for her by her door. Usually, he would be working on a crossword puzzle at his desk, or when a case called for it, he'd be combing through files, barely even offering a "Hello."

Andy made himself comfortable at his own desk, but shot his partner an impatient look. "Yeah, what's up, Provenza? Ran out of crossword puzzles?"

If looks could kill, the one Provenza directed at Andy would have pulverized him. He obviously wasn't in the mood to bicker just then, so instead of gracing him with what would have been anything but a polite retort, he proceeded to address Sharon, "It's about Buzz, Captain."

"Oh," she was still reeling from Rusty's suggestion about Mark and, for a second, she had completely forgotten that Hecht was due for an interview today. "Come on in, Lieutenant." She entered her office and gestured with her hand for him to follow, leaving Andy behind seated at his desk.

As she sat down behind her desk; Provenza remained standing in front of it; she asked, "Is there a problem?" He had gone through Buzz's 'novel' and informed her that everything was okay. His exact words were "It might as well have been written by you!" The removal order was filed and they agreed to interrogate him today. Interview him, she mentally corrected herself.

"Reserve officer Watson here," he gestured behind him, as if Buzz was standing right there, "thinks we should postpone the interview because of that kid now." He dropped his hands. "Mark," he added needlessly.

"Nonsense," she punctuated the word with a dismissive wave of a hand, "we can find a moment to interview him. We are perfectly capable of multitasking, Lieutenant."

"Which is what I told him." He now leaned on one of the chairs in front of him. "I think he's just nervous." His voice lowered a fraction, softened even.

"And that is exactly why you will be interviewing the witness," she stressed the last three words, even though both Provenza and Buzz were very much aware of what they will be doing, "with reserve officer Watson today." A faint smile crossed her features and her voice grew slightly higher at those last few words.

"Alright then," he clasped his hands together and straightened, "I'll tell him we're still on for today." He scoffed, "Or try to tell him," he mumbled.

He then nodded and turned to leave when Sharon's soft laughter made him give her a confused look instead.

"Something funny, Captain?"

She schooled her features. "Oh, it's just interesting how we have one person less than enthusiastic about this interview," her gaze fell on Buzz's figure, that was just entering the murder room, before she returned it to the Lieutenant in front of her, "and another one ready to jump through hoops to see it happen."

He frowned in confusion. "Rusty," he stated when it dawned on him. She just hummed. "You gonna let him watch the interview?" Andy had told him about Sharon's disagreement with the boy.

She sighed and turned her chair slightly, opening her desk drawer to take out a folder, "I don't know yet." She placed the folder on top of the desk and gave Provenza a far away look, tilting her head. "Maybe."

"Whatever you decide, Captain." And with that he let himself out of her office.

I could've gone on and on and on so I'm stopping here! But expect the next update to be a few more add-ons to this episode, because I have more missing scenes in mind for it and I need to get them out of my head.

Thanks for reading! I had a lot of fun writing these, hope you had fun reading them! :)