There was no question Provenza was a good friend. Andy knew that and was grateful Provenza was covering for him while he waited for Gavin. It was 4:45, and Gavin had sent him a text message saying he was still at the courthouse. Andy was ready to shake down the guy when he walked into the coffee shop. Sharon had moved. Andy couldn't get it out of his head, the idea she'd left town with his daughter. He sighed. Legally, yes, he knew Sharon could do that. He'd given up the rights to his daughter, but he never thought she would leave. He felt like things were left unsaid, that things were still a mess, and with all that in mind, he needed to speak to her. His life was a mess, a total mess. He had a sister sick with cancer. He had an ex-wife who nagged him constantly about anything she could. He had kids who barely wanted to spend time with him. He had a Sharon problem, and he had a kid, a baby, he'd held ONCE. ONE TIME. He knew almost nothing about her, and he was desperate for more.

If there was a bright spot, it would have to be his interaction with Nicole, and even that was still strained. "Bright spot" might be pushing it, but she had at least contacted him recently. He'd met with the kids to tell them about their aunt, and Nicole had been very concerned. Nathan had listened, but he'd then just thanked Andy for the information. Nicole had called him twice since then, wanting to know how Angela was doing, and if he could find a bright spot in this mess, it was that. He hoped, in time, that he would improve his relationship with his older daughter. He sighed thinking about that, his older daughter, because, yes, he had two of them. Neither one knew of the other, and there was a distinct possibility neither would ever know of the other. He couldn't imagine a world without Hannah in it now. Yes, he'd screwed up big time. He knew it, but he had been rationalizing it by telling himself he would see Sharon constantly at work, and with that, he would see Hannah. Provenza had hit a nerve when he'd pointed out that, possibly, Andy saw a fairy tale in the mess, but even Andy knew now that wasn't going to happen. Right now, though, he needed answers.

Andy couldn't stand waiting any longer. He stood, collected his things, and he moved outside. It was brisk, which wasn't surprising. It was December in California, and while not cold, it was brisk. It was now after 5:00. Gavin was really late, and Andy just wanted an answer, one single answer.

He started to pace in front of the coffee shop, the bitter coffee almost hard to swallow. He had lost count for the day; he thought this was the fifth cup of coffee, but it might be the sixth. Right now, he was wired and knew it wasn't just from the coffee.

"Lieutenant Flynn," he heard and spun around to see Gavin casually walking toward him. Andy wanted to shake the guy; here, he was in a personal crisis, and Gavin was walking slowly toward him, not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle on his polished suit.

"Gavin! What is going on?" Andy walked toward him gesturing as he did. People watching the two might have thought Andy was ready to throw a punch. Gavin paused, frowned, and he reached into his suit jacket pocket where he pulled out a long while envelope. The envelope had been folded in half, but Gavin unfolded it and nodded for Andy to take it.

"That's from her. She asked me to give that to you when she moved. She moved almost a month ago now, and quite frankly, I'm impressed you've kept your distance. I even told her that. She might not tell you, but I know she appreciated you giving her the space she wanted. I can't imagine, even now, that it's easy to just see your own flesh and blood and walk away. I know you are a decent guy, Lieutenant. Sharon is my best friend, and I hope you understand I won't break her confidence and tell you where she's gone out of state."

"She's teaching, isn't she?" Andy blurted out, as he stared at the white envelope now in his hand. He glanced up at Gavin, who was clearly shocked with that question. "You don't need to answer. The expression on your face tells me I'm right. Yeah, you didn't think I'd know that, did you? Sure, she and I had an arrangement, an agreement, but we talked. We talked a lot for several days, and I know there's more there. She's a total train wreck. You can even tell her I said that because it's true. She has major commitment issues, is a control freak, is ridiculously smart, and we can now add calculating to the list."

Gavin raised his eyebrows at Andy and pursed his lips. He then clasped both hands over his briefcase handle and gave a single nod to Andy, "You do know her, better than she thought," he said and continued to nod. "Look, I didn't open that, but I am guessing, knowing Sharon, she told you that she and Hannah are going to be just fine."

"I have some paperwork for her," Andy blurted out again, and this time, Gavin narrowed his gaze in a challenging tone. Andy noted it, and he quickly held up his hands in defense. "No, it's nothing like you think. I'm not going after her for Hannah. This is about Hannah, though, or it could be. My sister is sick," he said quickly and looked to Gavin for a reaction. Gavin just narrowed his gaze, trying to follow.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied.

Andy nodded and continued, "My sister would be or is Hannah's aunt. She's sick, cancer," he explained. "Going back, it seems to run in the family, several generations with a few different cancers, some might have been the same, but," he sighed and shook his head. "Let's just say that due to family factors and just medical science in general, I don't have a complete picture of the cancer history for my family, but I want Sharon to know. Hannah should know for her future. I've made copies of her records, my sister's records," he clarified. "My sister gave me a copy of her reports, and I've given one to each of my kids. Hannah is still my flesh and blood," he eyed Gavin. "I want her to have this medical information, please," he finished and looked to Gavin.

Gavin sighed and shook his head, "Look, you know she's teaching. That's impressive. It's not that she wanted to run away," he paused when Andy zoned in and stared at him even more. "Okay," he threw up his hands, "she did run. I can give her that paperwork."

"No," Andy shook his head. "I believe I'm at least owed a talk with her, about this," he gestured in the air. "Wait, she's out of state. She went back to Arizona, didn't she? I remember she said she didn't want to be near her parents-like not in the same city, but she did want to be closer to them. I'm guessing she would want Hannah to know her grandparents while they are still alive," he nodded to himself. "They are in the Phoenix area," he nodded to himself, recalling the information.

"Honestly, Lieutenant, I'm not sure Jack even knows that much," Gavin started to chuckle. "I am one-impressed she shared that much with you, and two-impressed you remembered."

"Told you, there was something about her, and I'm a detective. I remember details," Andy nodded to him again. "Fatal attraction," he enunciated. "That's how Provenza and I have described it. I want Hannah to get this information. So, she's teaching in Arizona, Sharon is?" he nodded as he asked.

"You're a detective," Gavin looked to him. "You've figured out this much from just the initial clues you have, but you'd better believe if you break a single law trying to find her, we will come after you."

Andy ran his hand through his hair, trying to recall more information. He shook his head as he did so, "She mentioned the extreme heat bothered her. Did she go north?" Gavin's eyes widened, and Andy pointed at him. "She did. You, Gavin, have a terrible poker face. Just tell me the city. Sedona? Flagstaff? That's what I can think of off the top of my head, but I'll become an Arizona geography guru if I need to over the next day or so."

Gavin reached and patted the envelope, "Sounds like you have a start. I'm leaving now."

"Are you going to tell Sharon?" Andy asked. Gavin met his gaze.

"I'm going to tell her you have the envelope. That's it. I'm trying to stay out of this as much as possible, but you two both try to put me in the middle. Hannah is a priority, and I see she is to you. When you find her, and I believe you will, I suggest you start with flowers and coffee, Lieutenant. I know you aren't some danger to Sharon. I would be more concerned if you were. Look, I'm not the detective, but I realize you aren't going to back off until you put eyes on the two of them. That's your deal. Whenever you go-and wherever you go, start with flowers, the kind from a flower shop, not just ones from a grocery store. Get her tea or coffee; she will drink both, but find somewhere to do at least that. She will find it hard to turn you away if you show up with a couple things she enjoys, even if you take flowers to sweet little Hannah and tea to Sharon. Best of luck, Lieutenant," he nodded and then, he started walking down the street. Andy watched him walk for a few moments before it dawned on him he had the envelope in his hand. He looked at it. The envelope looked slightly worn, and it had been folded in half until Gavin gave it to him. He rand his hand over it, and he noted there was no name on the front. Obviously, it was clear this was to be delivered to him. He looked around, trying to decide what to do and finally decided to go back inside the coffee shop where he could read it.

At this time of the day, the shop wasn't terribly busy. It was that rush hour time now, and most people were rushing home, not rushing out for coffee. He found a table in the corner and sat, flattening the envelope almost as if that would change anything inside. He finally opened it, and he pulled out two things. The first made him smile. It was a picture of Hannah, one that was at least a month old he guessed if Sharon had left him this envelope when she moved. Hannah was sitting at an angle in her bouncy seat, and he noted she had on a bunny sleeper, one he remembered buying because it had white fuzzy bunny feet, just as this outfit did. He had no idea if that was intentional, the outfit in the picture, but he was glad to see that Sharon had at least kept the clothing. He also smiled and ran his hand over the picture, over her head. She had dark hair, a decent amount of it too, and he could see her dark eyes. Her coloring was very light, making her dark hair stand out even more. Her hair was smooth and flat on her head, not like some babies he'd seen where the hair was going in a thousand directions. She looked long, at least to him, and she was thin. That didn't surprise him; he didn't' expect her to be a big chubby baby after she'd been small at birth. He smiled at the photo. She was gorgeous, and Sharon had captured a great moment. Her eyes were open, and she'd been looking at the camera. He put that down, reluctantly, and he opened the note, noticing it was handwritten.

Dear Andy,

I must admit, it sounds odd writing that, Andy, because to me, even through this mess, I've tried to keep it professional as Lieutenant Flynn. I realize you are more than your job, just as I am more than mine, so with that, I will leave it at Andy.

If you are reading this, it means you know I've retired and moved. Gavin has given you this note, and by now, hopefully, I'm settled with Hannah. She and I are fine, just fine. I'm grateful to have her, and I will raise her to be a strong, independent young woman just as I did with Emily. I want to thank you for giving her up, for letting me have her. I can imagine that while it looked easy enough that day, it's probably been increasingly harder and harder for you to accept. It's for the best. You and I were nothing more than a convenience to each other for a few nights, and that should not tie us together for the rest of our lives. It won't now. Hannah and I are ready to start a new chapter.

I enclosed a picture because in all my reflection, I realized it was unfair of me to not even give you that much. I saw you at the condo; I know Provenza was distracting me, so you could spend time with Hannah and take her picture. After you left, I realized I owed you at least that much. There she is, my sweet Hannah. She's a delightful baby, and even though I didn't want you to hold her, I realize now I was being selfish. Thank you for handling it so gracefully when I could not do the same.

I would also like to apologize for everything, for my behavior with you. I know I was difficult, and I am sorry for treating you so badly. For so long, I was upset with my pregnancy, while also fiercely protective of the innocent baby we created. I didn't want to lose her when I was pregnant, but if it makes sense, on some level, I also didn't want to have her. My feelings were all over the place. I resented you for "doing this to me," and yes, I realize WE were both involved in the process. I was mad at myself for being vulnerable, for starting our mess in the first place, even if, briefly, it felt good to just live. I want to live my life, to enjoy life, and she's now part of that. Quickly, at least by the time I heard her heartbeat in the doctor's office, I realized I couldn't live without her, that one of the best things to ever happen to me in my life was so unexpected and unplanned. Know I will take care of her, and I will love her with everything I have. She will grow up knowing she is loved. I expect there will be a day she will ask me about her father, and I'll tell her he was a police officer. That time is far in the distance, so I have time to think it through, but know I won't paint you in some awful light. I simply won't. When she's older, if she pushes me, I'll tell her the specifics, but that is something again I will address when and if she asks.

I hope life treats you well. I hope you find what you want and are happy. Hannah and I will be happy. Thank you for allowing that. Thank you for the greatest gift I didn't know I wanted.

Sharon

Andy sat for a moment and stared at the letter. He read it again, and when he finished, he was irritated. He shook his head and started talking to himself, "Fine, just fine! She will grow up knowing she's loved! Yeah, I love her too, Sharon!" he exclaimed and quickly lowered his voice when he drew the attention of a couple others in the coffee shop. He quickly crumpled the paper and instantly regretted it. He smoothed it back out and tried to undo what he'd just done to it, the damage visible now. The letter was a mess, and instead of trying to smooth it more, he sighed and just folded the thing. He pulled out his wallet and put the letter inside. The picture, though, he looked down at it again and couldn't help but let out an audible grunt at the sight of his beautiful baby girl. The picture, he would protect with his life, just as he wanted to do to the actual baby in it; he wanted to protect her, but he also knew that part of protecting someone was at least knowing where they were.

He was drawn out of his thought when his phone rang. He pulled it from his belt clip and nodded. Provenza. He ran his hand through his hair as he answered, "Provenza," he sighed.

"Well?" he asked. "What did you find out? I'm dying here, Flynn. You didn't call me to tell me."

Andy sighed, "Gavin wouldn't tell me, but it's what he didn't say, or at least what I said that gave me a lot of information."

"Flynn! Stop talking in code! What does that mean?" Provenza yelled at him.

"Hey! Stop yelling!" Andy yelled back. He raised his hand in apology to the few people still inside the coffee shop. "What I mean is that I started going back over the conversations I've had with her, and I put together that she's teaching criminal justice or whatever somewhere in Arizona, the north part. Gavin wouldn't confirm or deny that; actually, as I said it, he told me something about being a good detective or whatever, but that's where she is. She's teaching in Arizona."

"Arizona?" Provenza asked. "Really?"

"Her parents are from Phoenix. She mentioned not wanting to live right there by them, but knowing her, she would want Hannah near her grandparents. Sharon said her parents were getting older and needing more. Believe me, I get that," he sighed.

"Well, now that you have narrowed it that far, what makes you certain you can actually find her? It's still like a needle in a haystack," Provenza told him. "I mean, you aren't that good of a detective."

"Ha, funny guy," Andy snapped back at him. "I'll find her. I am going to start by searching for schools, for departments, and I am confident I will find her. Then, I'm going there to talk to her. She owes me that much."

"No, no," Provenza told him. "You aren't doing that alone."

"Great, fine," Andy gestured with his hand even though he was on the phone. "Come with me. That's fine with me. I'm going to talk to her."

"Someone needs to make sure you aren't arrested and thrown in jail," Provenza grumbled.

"I'm going go to go home and start my search. As soon as I can find her, I'm out of here, whether you come with me or not," he explained.

"Now, listen, Flynn," Provenza told him and continued, "let's think this through right now. We still have work this week. We're on call for the weekend. I'm not saying don't go. She's been gone, what a month already? Collect your information, and if you have everything by Monday, we will go then. We are off Monday and Tuesday; we can do that much."

"Fine," Andy said crisply. "Listen, if we aren't in the middle of a mess Sunday night with work, I might just leave then. I really need to get to them and see Hannah," he sighed.

"Flynn, go home," Provenza told him. "Actually, go to a meeting, and then, go home. Do your detective work tonight, get some rest, and we can talk more tomorrow."

"Provenza, don't try to talk me out of this. I want some answers, and I want to get this information to Sharon for Hannah. I have to know where they are," he sighed and again ran his hand through his hair.

"I already told you I would go, Flynn. I know there's no stopping you," Provenza said. "Use your skills and get to work."