COMMANDER SHARON RAYDOR. I have been periodically reminding myself of this wonderful development ever since the episode aired. And since that is what is predominantly on my mind, of course I'm first tackling that in my little add-ons.

There have been plenty of gaps for a nice Shandy scene so I plan on filling some of those later, but until then, I'll leave you to these. As always, I would love to hear what you think of them. :)

A special thanks to MajorCFan who's become a bit of a sounding board for me and who never refuses to help me out with these.

They were puzzled. Moments after escorting her to the office, Howard showed up again and threw them a, "See you, guys!" over a content grin before strutting away.

Andy frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Julio shrugged. "No clue, Sir."

"I'd say it's down to Mason and the Captain," Amy offered, shrugging a single shoulder and returning to her task.

"Huh," Andy let out, nodding before going back to work as well.

Forty-five minutes passed without Sharon returning. They could have been done twenty minutes ago, but per unspoken agreement all of them were dragging their feet. More boxes of things to sift through awaited them in the wrecked murder room, but none of them were willing to leave just yet. Pure impatience and flat out nosiness kept them rooted to their spot, hoping Sharon would reappear soon and bearing good news.

When it was clear they could do little more to continue stalling, Andy lifted their anticipatory silence. Looking at the corner they last saw their Captain, he said, "This is starting to make me nervous."

"What is?" Provenza's voice reached them from behind Andy.

Turning around they saw both him and Mike approach, each carrying a half full box.

Nolan was the one to answer. "The Captain's spent the last," he glanced at his watch, "forty-five minutes in the Assistant Chief's office."

Provenza's eyes widened and he put down his box. "She got the job?" He sounded rather hopeful.

Andy shrugged and sighed. "No idea."

Mike tilted his head in front of him, depositing his box next to Provenza's on the desk. "We're about to find out," he mumbled.

They all whirled around to see Sharon and Mason shaking hands, both wearing what looked like genuine smiles on their faces. Sharon nodded to something he said, and with that he took his leave. They all exchanged slightly anxious looks when Sharon took a breath and squared her shoulders before turning in their direction and starting to walk over to them.

Sounding positively incredulous by the fact that she had said nothing even though she was well within earshot, Andy threw his arms out and impatiently asked, "So?"

"What's the verdict?" Nolan chipped in.

Coming to a stop in front of the yellow tape separating them, a huge smile spilled over her features. She shrugged and, sounding like she had not a single care in the world, she said, "He is running off to a meeting, but Assistant Chief Mason," she carefully enunciated Mason's new rank, "will stop by later to formally introduce himself."

The team was dumbfounded for a moment and it was Buzz who, trying to look on the bright side, finally said, "Well, at least it's not Davis." He glanced at his team who all almost begrudgingly nodded in agreement.

"I know you didn't want the job, Ma'am," Julio said, in a quiet, low tone of voice that made way to disappointment, "but that should have been your new title."

"That's very kind of you to say, Julio," Sharon smiled at him, "but," she chanced a glance at Andy who was frowning, and a raised eyebrow joined her smile, "I am incredibly happy with how things turned out."

"You're still our boss then?" Amy asked hopefully.

"Yes, Amy," Sharon nodded, still smiling, "I am."

"What about Howard?" Andy finally asked. He still looked less than pleased with the latest development.

Sharon shrugged. "Returning to his old post."

"And it took nearly an hour to fill you in on that?" Provenza asked sarcastically.

"Actually," her tone of voice suggested she did not exactly appreciate his sarcasm, "Chief Mason and I discussed a few more things, Lieutenant."

Provenza folded his arms across his chest. "So," he sounded very unimpressed, "how many changes can we expect around here then?"

Sharon let her gaze travel down the hallway before she said, "A few." She pinned a now defiant-looking Provenza with a pointed look. "And not that many of them bad."

He scoffed but made no further comment.

"What's that, Captain?" Nolan asked, eyeing the little box she held clasped between two palms.

"Oh," Sharon dropped her eyes to the object. "One of the good changes, I think." There was a happy undertone to her words. "One that will involve you," a smile that she was clearly trying to fend off, sneaked its way onto her lips, "getting used to addressing me as something else."

Her team all frowned and exchanged puzzled looks, but it was Andy who put the pieces together first. They had talked about it actually, so it was no surprise that he did. Sharon having stopped expecting that particular career step, was one of the reasons why she didn't feel too keen on fighting for the Assistant Chief's position.

"He didn't," he said in disbelief.

She nodded, smiling almost giddily at him. Waving the box through the air, she replied, "He did."

"Did what?" Nolan asked, but Andy stole Sharon's attention by immediately making his way under the tape and unceremoniously relieving her of her neat, little box to open it.

Ignoring Sharon's slight frown, he inspected its contents and his eyes grew wide for a moment, before he grinned and looked up at his team. He turned the box around for them to see and wiggled an eyebrow at them.

"Commander Sharon Raydor," Julio let out, impressed.

There was no doubt about it. Sharon was giddy with happiness even if her expression held a healthy amount of disbelief about the unexpected turn of events. She folded her hands in front of herself and awkwardly drew her shoulders together. Her only word of confirmation left her on almost a squeal. "Yes!"

Amy moved under the tape as well then. Pulling her promoted boss into a hug, she said, "Congratulations, Commander Raydor!"

Her colleagues followed suit, offering their own set of congratulatory hugs or handshakes.

"Or Commander Flynn," Mike said, shaking her hand when it was his turn.

"Or Commander Flynn," Sharon confirmed, throwing Andy an amused look, who just shook his head, grinning.

Provenza stayed back behind the tape, even though the rest of his division had now huddled around their newly announced Commander.

Sharon looked at him and once he met her eyes, said, "I'm afraid that view," she tilted her head in the direction of her office, "is still mine to admire."

He momentarily narrowed his eyes at her, but finally nodded, offering a proud-looking smile, too. "If anyone deserves it, Captain," he shook his head, "I mean," he bowed his head, "Commander, it's you, Sharon."

Her return smile turned watery, and touched, she let out, "Thank you, Lieutenant."

"We should celebrate, Ma'am," Julio said, looking at Andy in search of support; he was still holding Sharon's stars.

He nodded, closing the lid and turned to Sharon. "We definitely should," he agreed over a grin. He offered her back the box and when she reclaimed it, he trapped her hands clasping the box now between his and asked in challange, "What do you say?" Smiling proudly at her, he added, "Commander?"

She smiled back and carefully extricated her hands out of his, facing her team with a slightly apologetic, yet determined look on her face.

Before she could say anything, Andy spoke again, knowing where she would be going with that. "Come on," he playfully bumped a shoulder against hers and eyed her box again. "You didn't exchange your sense of occasion for those, did you?" he asked. "Because, if you did," he shot her a bland look, "please, return them," he added, making the team chuckle.

Even though she shook her head in amusement rather than displeasure, Sharon resolutely said, "My first order of business as Commander will not be playing hooky."

Julio chuckled. "Playing hooky," he mumbled.

Sharon shot him a look over a quirked eyebrow but got distracted when Provenza suddenly all but yelped, "There it is!"

Seven heads turned around to look at him in surprise only to find him cradling his bobble-head. They half expected him to start petting the thing.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"Nothing, Lieutenant Gollum," Buzz answered, grinning.

"Gol-what?" Provenza looked at him in irritation.

"Uh, Gollum," Mike eagerly started, "a major character in Tolkien's 'The Lord o-"

Not letting go of his precious bobble-head, Provenza waved a hand at him, effectively shutting him up. "I don't wanna know."

While they all laughed at their grumpy Lieutenant, Sharon circled back to Andy's earlier question. "As for my sense of occasion," the words left her on a pointed look and an amused smile in his direction before she refocused on the rest of her squad, "I would be more than happy to celebrate." Everybody perked up at that but she raised a finger and their faces immediately fell. "Later," she smiled, "because I would like to be able to do so once I know repairs on our murder room can commence. So, unless you want them to just throw away our salvageable things," she flicked her hand at them, "I believe you have some sorting through to do."

Admitting defeat for the time being, the team begrudgingly agreed and slowly filed out of the hallway.

Sharon, and Andy who lingered behind for a moment, chuckled when they heard Provenza mutter, "A Commander for barely five minutes and she's already a..." the rest of his words were lost on them as he turned the corner.

"Go," Sharon waved a hand at Andy, ushering him away as well. "The sooner we're done here," she raised an eyebrow at him when he scanned the hallway with interest, but it did not thwart her from finishing her thought, "the sooner we can all celebrate."

"Okay," he said without protest and before she could thank him, he caught her off guard by pressing a kiss to her lips. She was caught between a frown and a smile when, within a second, he pulled back, grinning smugly. Before she could admonish him, he shrugged and not sounding too apologetic, said, "Sorry." When he added, "But congratulations were in order, Sharon," her frown disappeared, making way for a proper smile.

Shaking her head at him, she softly said, "Thank you." She gave him a gentle push then. "Now go back to work, Lieutenant."

He grinned and started walking away on a mock salute. "Yes, Captain." His step faltered and he corrected himself, "I mean, Commander."

She chuckled at his retreating form, then, giving her box one more look, made her way down the hall to return to work herself.

...

Sharon was surprised to run into Howard in front of Mason's office the next day. She was glad that she did, however. The previous day he had been out of the building before she could talk to him.

"Oh, hi," Howard grinned, "Commander."

"Hello," Sharon replied, then pointed at Mason's door. "Coming or going?"

"Uh, going." He sighed. "Caught a case last night, had to clear something with our new Assistant Chief. You?"

Sharon shook her head. "Just dropping this off," she waved a stack of papers in front of him, "with his secretary." She added, "I'm glad I ran into you, actually."

A smirk settled on his features, clearly guessing why. "And why's that?" he asked anyway.

She looked at him indulgently. "Thank you, Fritz," she said, cutting straight to the chase.

"I didn't do anything, Sharon," Howard said. "It was all Mason." He tilted his head knowingly. "Cleared it with the Pope himself."

Sharon pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. "And Chief Mason did not ask for your input on this?" The underlying sarcasm in her question gave away the answer she expected.

Howard chuckled. "He may have mentioned it," his voice went up in pitch slightly, "and I may have said that that promotion was long overdue, but," he turned more serious, "you didn't get it because of me."

Sharon smiled. "I know. Still," she nodded, "thank you." When he looked like he was about to argue, she quickly added, "For your support."

"Not a problem, Commander." He shifted on his spot then leaned in a bit and lowered his voice. "So, did you run into Winnie Davis yet?"

Sharon shot him a brief wide-eyed look, but then laughed quietly. "No, Chief, not yet."

He straightened. "Good," he said on a mischievous smile. "Still have the chance on maybe being there when she hears of this."

Although she chuckled, more seriously, Sharon said, "She knows by now, I'm sure."

Howard waved her off. "Right, but still," he tilted his head to the side, "it would be nice to see her thrilled self talk to you in your new capacity." He smirked. "In person."

Sharon suppressed another chuckle, but smiled nonetheless. Shaking her head at him, she said, "It was nice seeing you." She patted the side of his arm and made her way toward the secretary. "Good luck with your case, Chief."

He laughed, but said, "Good luck with your repairs, Commander!"