A Little Snow Chapter 15

Sharon arrived back at the apartment a couple hours later than she had originally planned. Still, she was not surprised to find Emily still in bed. It appeared as if her daughter had awoken at some point, but then took the opportunity for some extra sleep. Sharon smiled to herself as she moved into the bedroom and sat on the edge of Emily's bed. The shift in pressure to the mattress pulled her daughter out of her dozing.

"Mom?" She whispered groggily, "What time is it?"

Sharon smiled at her daughter's soft sleep filled voice, "It's almost lunch time."

"Seriously?" Emily wondered moving slowly to sit up against the headboard, "You really let me sleep in. Another change in tradition."

"I guess so," Sharon chuckled handing Emily the hot drink. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

Emily took the cup, her eyes dancing with excitement at the surprise treat. She caught a whiff of the peppermint and smiled, "Merry Christmas to you too, Mom. And thank you for this. Extra sleep and my favorite drink? I so love it. I am down for these new traditions, best Christmas ever."

"I think I am coming around to that way of thinking," Sharon chuckled as Emily took a sip of her coffee. "It has at least been a very memorable one." She took her eyes away from her daughter to look thoughtfully out the window.

Emily brought the cup down between both hands as she studied her mother's far off smile. "So, um, mother," she cooed. "What all have you been up to this morning?"

"Up to?" Sharon repeated pulling her eyes back to Emily.

Her daughter lifted the coffee into the air. "Yes up to. There is just one coffee. Didn't you get yourself a drink? Usually you at least get a tea. It's hard to resist getting something while you're there. So, where have you been all morning?" Emily grinned, "I know it can be pretty noisy here in the City, but I could have sworn I heard you getting ready hours ago." Sharon stared at her daughter for a moment as her mind replayed the end of her morning…

While Sharon picked up the to-go coffees Andy bagged up the extra pastries and met her outside the coffee shop. At the curb he lifted his free hand in the air to call for a taxi cab. The streets were beginning to fill up, but there were still a number of cabs accepting passengers. As the vehicle pulled to a stop in front of them Sharon nodded her thanks and handed him his sister's beverage.

Andy opened the backdoor of the cab for her and stepped to the side. "Well, um, Sharon thanks," he stammered. He held the cup up slightly in front of him. "Thanks for the getting this for Liv, but also thanks for the other stuff, like returning my phone. I am sorry my partner woke you up this morning."

"I'm sorry I answered," Sharon awkwardly chuckled in an attempt to lighten the increasingly tense mood between them. "Especially if I misspoke and put you in a strange position with him. Even if this whole vacation, holiday thing, is perfectly innocent. I mean it really is just two friends traveling together for the sake of convenience, but still I am sorry for adding to any potential stress between the two of you."

He hummed in agreement, but did not draw attention to her choice of wording. She had been growing more uncomfortable as their time together increased. The strange friendship they had effortlessly transitioned into was not something she had planned. One thing he knew about her was that she preferred a plan, or at least guidelines. This trip had them each dropping their professional, Captain and Lieutenant personas, and both the Sharon and Andy parts of their selves were somewhat unsure of how to proceed.

Sharon smiled in appreciation as he held the door for her. She stepped toward the door and he reached out to her with the hand that held the pastry bags. "Oh, wait, here," he paused dropping one of the bags into her purse. "Take this one for Emily. I know it is not much, but still I have this bar thing for Liv and we don't need them both." Sharon's eyes followed his movement toward her purse as he deposited the item. Afterward, he brushed his hand across her arm to guide her into the car. With his hand against her elbow he squeezed her arm gently and smiled, "Merry Christmas to both of you, Sharon. Really." He paused a let out a small sigh, "Is it wrong to say that I am almost thankful we ran into a little snow on the trip? This has really been an enjoyable holiday."

At the pressure on her elbow Sharon closed her eyes briefly before opening them to meet his gaze. The sincerity in his eyes had her stepping toward him. "I think I am too," she leaned into him in an almost friendly hug and when she was close she whispered, "Merry Christmas to you too Andy." As she pulled away, she slowly brushed her lips across his cheek before closing her eyes and turning into the car.

As she turned to sit, Andy stood motionless with his free hand on the doorframe. In the backseat Sharon sat forward in the seat and gave the cab driver Emily's address. The driver put the car into gear and glanced back to Andy and called, "In or out, buddy?" The question shook Andy out of his momentarily stunned state. He took a step backward as he pushed the car door closed. The cab pulled away leaving Andy alone on the curb.

In the living room Sharon delicately touched her fingers to her lips recalling the goodbye. Across from her Emily smirked, "Mom?" The younger woman leaned forward and tapped on her mother's knee, "Hey, mom? Are you going to answer my question?"

Sharon shook her head slightly and refocused her attention on her daughter. She shifted in her spot and exhaled softly, "I'm sorry, Em. What was the question?"

"Where have you been all morning?" Emily repeated. "It took you a couple of hours to get my coffee, and it seems you already finished yours…"

Sharon stood up and smiled down to her daughter, "I drank mine while I waited. It was a nice morning and I thought you would appreciate some extra rest." Emily gazed back her skeptically, but Sharon ignored the look at took a step away from the bed. "What were you wanting to do today? The sun is out and it has turned into a really lovely day. We could go to the park, or The Plaza, or back to Fifth Avenue. Whatever you want to do, I am ready for anything."

"Smooth, Mother, very smooth," Emily teased removing her covers to stand. Sharon casually rolled her eyes and moved out of her daughters way. Emily stood to cross the room, glancing at her phone on the nightstand, "I am going to get ready, maybe we can head toward the Park. We can play it by ear after that." Sharon stood by the door about to return to the living room as Emily added, "but I may also have some more questions. You seemed to go off into your own little world just now. It really makes me wonder what that early morning phone call was about?" Her daughter arched an eyebrow in her mother's direction and glided the rest of the way across her room to the bathroom.

At the bedroom door Sharon froze and pivoted slowly, "What phone call?"

"So, it wasn't a phone call around 7 this morning?" Emily probed, "were you talking in your sleep or something? Because I definitely thought you were chatting with someone."

Sharon crossed her arms loosely around her middle. "Oh, that phone call, nothing special. It was a work situation."

"A work situation in the city? Twenty-eight hundred miles from work?" Emily beamed from the bathroom door. "Must have been pretty important for you to leave the apartment right away, and then to be gone for hours..." she turned into the bathroom as her voice trailed.

A little flustered, Sharon walked across the room. She leaned against the bathroom doorframe and shook her head, "Well, it was a work situation, Em."

"Good to know," Emily smiled, taking out her toothbrush and toothpaste. "I mean it's not like you have any friends in the city you were going to see this morning." She uncapped the toothpaste and eyed her mother in the bathroom mirror. "Or at least no one you thought was your friend."

— Back outside the coffee shop —

Andy stood and watched until her taxi was out of view. He tucked his free hand in his pocket and slowly turned in the direction of his sister's place. The morning had taken an unexpected turn, and he was silently kicking himself for not reacting faster. He had been caught off guard. One second she was teasing him, another she was running away, and the next she was wishing him a Merry Christmas.

Over the years Lieutenant Flynn and Captain Raydor had had their fair share of encounters. Some of them had been more volatile than others, but all more or less innocent. Although, her describing their confrontations as schoolyard flirting had been a bit of a surprising reveal this morning. Sure he had enjoyed baiting her, maybe even seeking out a discussion or two when he was having a rough time with something else, but he had not been aware of anything more between them. She never let alone that perhaps she sensed his use of it as an outlet.

Thinking back, over the years he did enjoy the fact that she never resorted to cheap digs at his personal failures to "win" one of their arguments. She always fought fair, and that had been a refreshing change to the discussions, or situations, he often found himself in with most of the other people in his life. There were days he may have been too much, but she never faltered. She never held anything against him, and despite his argumentative nature she always stuck to the rules. She did not allow personal issues to cloud her judgment; a somewhat uncommon trait. He had always assumed she disliked him as much as the rest of the department seemed to dislike her, but that she did not care. Which was a bit silly, since she was as human as the rest of them.

Andy opened his sister's apartment and walked inside, still going over the morning's events, and the years of professional acquaintance. "You were gone for a while?" His sister's voice greeted him from the living room area as he closed the front door behind him. "I was beginning to wonder if I should worry or not."

Andy handed her the coffee, "Why would you worry? I can take care of myself, mostly." He shot her a quick grin to exaggerate his tease. "I even brought you something pepperminty and Christmassy. I bet the sprinkles melted though."

Liv smiled and took a sip of the beverage. "Oh this is delicious. Thank you, Andy." She took another sip before adding, "Merry Christmas, do you want to use my phone try the kids again?"

"That's all right," Andy waved off her comment and walked over to the sofa and sat down. "Nic texted me last night, and I was able to reply this morning. She said to wish you Merry Christmas as well... and to make sure you were nice to me."

"She said that?" Liv asked skeptically.

Andy nodded and let out a chuckle at his sister's expression. "She did. She knows how mean you can be. I told her so far so good, but I wouldn't let you pull any cheap tricks today."

"Wonderful," Liv droned. "It goes both ways though, bud, and," she paused for a moment as her mind caught up with the conversation. "Wait a second. Since when do you have your phone? The rental place would not have been open this early on Christmas morning, even in New York." Liv arched an eyebrow in his direction, "and wasn't it broken, or damaged, or something like that, from your fall?"

Andy shrugged, "Apparently the cold had only knocked out the battery. It just needed a good recharge after it warmed up." He held the phone up, "but I have it now and it is working." He tucked the device into his pocket and shifted forward to grab the television remote from the coffee table. "Want to watch A Christmas Story? That should be on one of those annoying cable stations. They still play it for twenty-four hours on Christmas."

"Sure," Liv hummed as she moved to sit on the other end of the couch. She smirked at her brother, "but that won't distract me from this conversation. I don't have to be an elite detective to see there is something you're not telling me." She held her drink up in the air, "and you didn't bring anything back for yourself. Odd, since you're a fan of coffee, you being a cop and all."

He pursed his lips for a moment and finally rolled his eyes as he sat back on the couch, placing the remote back on the table. "Apparently Emily had grabbed the phone from the back when she picked up Sharon's bag. Not a big deal, it's here now."

"Not a big deal," Liv repeated. "Well, that does sound like an innocent mistake. However, the whole thing that the phone is now back in your possession lends itself to a few more questions. If you don't explain yourself than obviously I will create an elaborate story in my mind about how it has miraculously returned to your possession. Another Christmas miracle. Of course I could just call my friend Sharon to see what's going on."

Andy rubbed his hand over his face, "There is no need to do that, Liv. Don't bother Sharon. It's Christmas. Let them have their morning together. She brought the phone over this morning to drop off downstairs and I ran into her in the lobby. It was an innocent mistake. Emily didn't know that she had grabbed it."

"And that's the end of the story?" His sister smiled, "because it has been a few hours since I heard you popping and cracking down the hall."

"Popping and cracking?" He echoed. "At least I was up and moving, and brought you something."

Liv took another drink. "You did, but there you go again avoiding my questions. Like I said, I'm not a detective, but I have my own big sister interrogation tactics and am not afraid to use them. We have all morning."

"Fine, I ran into her in the lobby," Andy revealed, "and then we went to Starbucks. Now, I would appreciate it if you would drop the subject. There is so much more going on in the world than you acting all strange about Sharon and Emily. It was a random coincidence and that's all. You do not have to keep playing this game. We rarely see each other at work, and I was not kidding about the fact that I am usually defending myself or arguing with her. That is just how it is, and this trip will probably not change any of that. We have our own lives, and even our own departments."

As Andy's rant concluded he once again reached for the remote control. He turned the volume on the television up a little louder, clearly ending the conversation. Liv sat beside him, taking in all of the information. She had perhaps taken her teasing too far, but he also was reacting in a way that made her think there could be something more going on. She sat back on the sofa and got comfortable, holding her drink in both hands and watched silently.

After another couple moments of watching the movie Liv looked sighed, "Well, I won't bother you about it again. I am sorry, maybe you're right. Maybe you two will never be friends. I do like her though, and sometimes friendships turn into something more." She paused for a moment and cut her eyes to her own phone. "What do you say to a nice walk around the Park this afternoon? The snow will not have melted in the fields. It will be a nice and relaxing recovery from last night's adventure."

With his eyes still facing forward, Andy shrugged, "Okay. Whatever you want to do, sis."

Liv took another sip and smiled, "Well, I want to enjoy your company and get out a bit. I apologize for bringing up your not friend. Maybe I am wrong, maybe you two are just coworkers and nothing more."

"Maybe," Andy hummed not looking at her. "Things sometimes change, but real life is different than holiday life. Let's just enjoy the rest of my trip, okay?"

A/N: Thanks for your patience with me on this! I got in late last night/this morning, but then my dogs still woke me up like nothing had happened... so here we are :). Thanks for your continued support. I am still beyond thrilled to read that so many of you have been enjoying this. I know I keep saying it, but we really are getting close to the end of this little prompt idea lol