Here are two scenes taking place after the cemetery explosion. I plan on tackling the second explosion soon, too.
Sending thanks to MajorCFan for being my beta.
Enjoy!
Andrea had gone back to her office shortly after they were told there had been no casualties. She had offered Rusty the rest of the day off, guessing correctly that he would be, despite his mother's assurances that she was alright, rather rattled. Under any other circumstance, Andy might have pushed the kid to just go back to work, tell him that there was no need, no use for him to wait on the return of his squad, but not in this case. Because, honestly, Andy was rather rattled, too. Suddenly he knew all too well how Sharon must have felt when he had been nearly blown up a few months ago. And that realization only rattled him some more.
The only thing he did do, when Rusty had gladly accepted Andrea's offer, was send him to the break room. He had been pacing a hole in the murder room floor for nearly half an hour and it was slowly driving Andy crazy. It didn't help his leg nervously tapping as he sat behind his desk either. So he sent him away to let his leg work his nerves in peace.
It was moments like these that made Andy curse his heart even more so than usual. He had, of course, also talked to Sharon. He had talked to Provenza, too. Both of them assured him everybody was alright, not counting the slight ringing in their ears. Still, he was itching to lay eyes on them and confirm that for himself. More than ever he wished he had been allowed to join them on the scene. It was a selfish way of thinking and Sharon would not appreciate it one bit, but he knew that had he been out there, Sharon would have been in his current place; as rattled as him, but at least one hundred percent safe.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Andy turned in his chair, an expectant look on his face.
Julio and Amy were at the head of the little line, and, more to calm his own nerves rather than theirs, Andy grinned and said, "There are easier ways to get yourself killed, you know."
Julio shrugged. "True, Sir, but this way we'd spare us the trip to the cemetery."
Andy chuckled, Julio's humor once more reassuring him that they were indeed okay.
They all slowly found their desks, Julio, Amy, Nolan, Provenza. Andy already knew Buzz and Mike would stay behind at the scene, but he frowned noticing one absence that he hadn't been told to expect.
"Where's Sharon?" he asked, the higher pitch of his voice giving away his sudden worry.
Provenza answered on a scowl. "Winnie Davis."
"Oh," Andy couldn't help but sigh in relief. While Davis wasn't the most pleasant of ideas, worse had crossed his mind for a moment.
"Yeah, 'oh'," Provenza muttered. "She pounced on the Captain the moment we stepped inside the building."
"They're in Chief Howard's office now," Amy added.
"That'll help solve this case faster," Andy mumbled sarcastically.
"You think?" Provenza asked equally sarcastically. Looking around the murder room, he changed topics. "Where's Rusty?"
"Break room," Andy answered, tilting his head in its direction.
"Did he see the whole thing?" Julio asked.
On a sigh, Andy said, "Yeah."
Another set of approaching footsteps prevented Julio from discussing the topic further and instead the team's attention was drawn to the entrance into the murder room. Andy would have recognized the sound of her gait anywhere but he smiled in relief only when he finally set eyes on Sharon.
He didn't even register Nolan saying in surprise, "Well that was quick." Instead he was busy looking her up and down, searching for the slightest of traces of injuries. There were only a few specks of dust on her pants and she would probably tell him her hair had seen better days, but other than that she did seem fine. She looked exhausted though and there was a slight frown between her brows which he suspected was courtesy of Winnie Davis, but it instantly vanished when she met his eyes and flashed him a smile. He had the sudden urge to just run over to her and wrap his arms around her, but she slowly closed her eyes and shook her head ever so slightly as if reading his mind and telling him to just stay put.
Confident that Andy got her message, she came to a stop in the middle of the room and faced the rest of the team. "Pack up, get some rest," she eyed all of them individually. "Until we process the scene there's little we can do."
"Does Winnie agree with that?" Provenza asked.
Sharon actually rolled her eyes and sarcastically said, "Barely." She clasped her hands together and looked them all over again. "But we are to go home and regroup in the morning. I already let Buzz and Mike know." Not waiting for a reply, she added, "See you tomorrow." and started walking to her office.
"Well, you heard her," Provenza told the rest of the squad as he got to his feet. "Go home," he added, waving a hand at them to get them moving.
When Sharon reached Andy she tilted her head toward her office as she passed him.
He instantly stood up. "I'm glad you guys are okay," he told his team, who just nodded in response. "See you in the morning," he added, then followed Sharon.
"Where's Rusty?" Sharon asked when he closed the door. She didn't take her seat behind her desk, but instead leaned against the desk's side.
Andy looked out the window, "Break r-" He spotted Rusty entering the murder room. "Actually," he said, then opened the door again to get the young man's attention by waving a hand at him, "there he is."
Noticing him, Rusty looked torn for a moment, between running to see his mother and wanting to make sure everybody else was alright. Andy chuckled when he heard his partner grumble, "Go, we're fine. I'm sure she's waiting for you."
That's all it took for Rusty to finally decide and Andy barely managed to move to the side before he stormed into the office. "Mom," was all he said, before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.
Surprise briefly flashed across Sharon's features and Andy didn't expect Rusty to react quite that violently either, but she quickly recovered and reciprocated the hug. "Hi," she said softly. Rubbing a hand soothingly over his back, she added, "I'm really fine, Rusty. Don't worry."
He grunted and squeezed her tightly once more before finally letting go. His gaze briefly lingered on Andy who was watching the display from the middle of the office, and suddenly flustered, he told her, "Sorry, but you scared me."
She trailed a gentle path down his arm. "I know, scared myself a bit, too," she said, a touch of humor to her words.
"A bit?" Andy muttered. Catching Rusty's eye, he added, smiling crookedly, "If that's not an understatement..."
Rusty chuckled, but focused on Sharon who's amused attention was temporarily on Andy. "I guess you're done for the day?" He elaborated on his question by pointing a hand at the now empty murder room.
Sharon smiled at him. "Yes, we are. Will you be heading home, too? I know Andrea gave you the rest of the day off, but-"
"How do you kno-" Rusty started asking, then turned on his spot to pin Andy with an exasperated look. "Really?"
Andy shook his head. "Nope, blame Hobbs."
Rusty rolled his eyes, then looked at Sharon who started chuckling. "You need to know absolutely everything, don't you?" he asked her. "Even when you're nearly blown up?"
She grinned. "I do," she said simply.
At that even Rusty had to chuckle. He turned to Andy and blandly said, "She's definitely fine."
Andy laughed, looking at Sharon. "Yeah," he said on nod. "But how about we go home anyway?"
"Yes," Sharon said on a sigh. "Let me just," she trailed off, walking behind her desk.
"Should I pick up some dinner?" Rusty asked Andy, while Sharon collected some papers into a folder.
"Sure," Andy said. "You know what we like." He rolled his eyes and added, "Just make sure it's nothing that'll give me another heart attack."
Before Rusty could respond, Sharon looked up from her papers and sarcastically said, "Ha-ha."
"What?" Andy asked defensively, but she just pursed her lips and went back to her task.
Rusty just laughed. "I'll see what I can do then." He walked toward the door and paused only to ask, "See you at home then?"
Sharon looked up again. "See you at home."
With that he walked out and closed the door behind him.
"You plan on packing up your entire desk?" Andy asked, watching Sharon as she found a couple more folders and neatly stacked them on top of a third.
She smiled and looked at him over an upturned eyebrow. "Just taking these with me," she said, picking up the stack of folders.
Andy smirked. "Well, as long as I get to take you with me..." He opened the door with a flourish and gestured for her to go ahead.
She gave him a bemused look but rounded her desk, the folders clasped to her side, and walked up to him. "That you do."
He grinned. "First things first though," he said, and, not giving her a chance to even look at him quizzically, wrapped his arms around her.
It was a clumsy embrace, for she struggled not to drop her folders, but she ultimately wrapped her free arm around him and relaxed into him for a few moments. That was proof enough that she was much more tired and tense than she let on.
His face buried in her hair, he took a breath and, hoping to lift the mood a bit, mumbled, "For future reference. You getting caught in explosions," he shook his head as much as he could without lifting his head, "not good for my heart."
Oh, she never appreciated his health jokes but she did laugh into his chest at this one. She looked up at him, smiling. "Let's go home."
He tightened his hold on her for a second before letting go and grabbing her hand instead. "Yes, Captain," he said.
She smiled at his over-enthusiastic tug and gladly followed his lead.
...
Andy stepped out of the adjoining bathroom and into their bedroom to find Sharon sitting up against the headboard, a manila folder lying open on her lap.
"Oh, no," he said, quickly taking the remaining steps toward the bed. He leaned over it, finding purchase on top of it with the palm of his hand, and reached over to her side to snatch the folder out of her grasp.
She glared at him. "Andy!"
"No," he reiterated, standing up. He made a show of snapping the folder shut and stored it away in the drawer of his bedside table. "We just spent two hours discussing the case." He continued even though her glare only intensified as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You're already set on our next steps." He joined her in the bed and slipped under the covers. "Steps," he looked at her pointedly but grinned when she defiantly folded her arms across her chest, "we've agreed can't be taken until tomorrow morning."
When they arrived home, Rusty soon followed armed with take out bags. They had a fairly quiet dinner and after that Sharon insisted on going over the case in search of anything that they might have missed or they might still be able to do while they were waiting for SID to process the cemetery rubble. Andy was only too glad to help. And he was as eager to catch this guy as she was, but right now, he'd much rather decompress and try to take a moment to revel in the fact that the explosion hadn't led to an entirely different end of their day.
She relented on a sigh and dropped her arms to her sides. "We are dealing with a bomber," her voice took on an explanatory note, "and if there are more bombs out there-"
"We need to find him as soon as possible, I know." He wasn't too comfortable with the idea of what the guy could do in the time they stood idle either. "But you guys could have been," he paused, "killed today, Sharon." He suddenly smirked at her and added, "What was it you said earlier today? 'Pack up and rest'?" He nudged her shoulder and gently said, "That goes for you, too."
She nodded. "There's little we can do until the scene's processed," she said absentmindedly, thinking of her earlier justification, too.
"And," Andy nodded as well, "what little we could do, we just did."
She sighed again. "You're right." She slid down the headboard to lie down on her back. "I am tired," she admitted.
He lay down as well, only he turned to his side to face her. "I know you are." He forced a grin and added, "Trying to one-up me will do that to you."
She turned her head to look at him in confusion. "One-up you?"
His grin faded into a rueful smile. "I thought trying to get myself killed was my thing. When did it turn into a competition?"
A short chuckle burst out of her. "It didn't," she argued. Growing more serious and slightly concerned, she added, "You okay?"
He suppressed an eye roll. Leave it to Sharon Raydor to worry about others after surviving an explosion herself. "You scared the crap out of me today," he said, finding an excuse to avoid her gaze by looking at his hand that started playing with tips of her fingers. "Rusty, too."
She stilled his hand by wrapping her fingers around it. When she squeezed it, he finally met her eyes again. "I know," she told him, "but-"
"It's part of the job?" Andy suggested sarcastically.
She smiled. "Unfortunately, yes."
"Yeah," Andy agreed begrudgingly. On a one-shoulder shrug, he added, "I guess I got to walk a mile in your shoes today."
Sharon suddenly giggled and he frowned, puzzled. "I'm sorry. I just imagined you in my heels," she managed, then snorted in another fit of laughter.
He stared at her in disbelief for a second then promptly burst into laughter himself. He stopped only when she suddenly turned to her side and propped herself on an elbow, completely sober now.
"Is it awful that I'm actually glad it was me out there instead of you?" Her words sounded guilt ridden, too.
It made Andy chuckle. "Is it awful that I wished it was me out there instead of you?" he countered.
She considered that for a moment. "We're both awful," she finally decided.
An amused smile lifted the corners of Andy's mouth. "Yeah?"
She chuckled and leaned forward. "Yeah," she confirmed in mock imitation before kissing him.
He deepened the kiss, rejoicing in the fact that he could. When he found himself hovering above her, he pulled back. "I wasn't kidding earlier you know," he said slightly out of breath.
Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Earlier?"
"You and explosions are a bad combo for my heart, Sharon," he explained.
The confusion lifted from her face only to make way for regret. Her gaze dropped to his chest and she pressed the palm of her hand against it. It seemed to him that a myriad of thoughts crossed her mind, but the one she finally voiced proved dangerous for his heart for more pleasant reasons.
"I love you," she said thickly, looking up to meet his eyes.
He smiled. "Then, please, steer clear of bombs from now on?" He wasn't surprised that he actually did sound like he was pleading with her.
She clasped his face between her hands and smiled back at him. "I can only promise to try."
He grunted. "I hate those kind of promises."
She chuckled. Drawing a shoulder upwards, she said, "It's the best I can do and you know it."
He rolled his eyes an grumbled, "I do, but I'm still allowed to hate them."
"You are," she agreed, then drew his face into another quick kiss.
"You have no idea how glad I am you're okay," Andy said as she let go of his face. "The team, too."
"Oh," she drawled, "I think I have a pretty good idea."
Andy shook his head and chuckled. "Right, we've put you through something like this ourselves."
"Mhm," she hummed in agreement.
"I'm even more glad I can still do this," Andy added, grinning before he leaned down to kiss her again.
She responded with fervor only for Andy to abruptly pull back and say, "Sharon?"
A bit distracted she let out, "Hmm?" She almost sounded irritated by his sudden interruption.
"I love you, too," he said, smirking.
She instantly smiled, whatever irritation there was a moment ago, vanishing with it. "I know," she said rather smugly, then snaked a hand to the back of his neck as if making sure he could not interrupt again, and pulled him down to capture his lips once again.