DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.
Chapter 8
Matthew was playing in his room when Andy came up the stairs to find him. "Hey," he said as he walked into Matthew's room. He was playing with his Batman toys. "Hi! When did you and Mom get home?" Matthew asked as he put down his Batman figure and looked at Andy.
"Not too long ago," Andy said and sat down on the chair in his room. "What did you and Ricky have for dinner?" he asked him. "Tacos," Matthew said and continued to play. "Did you and Mommy solve your case yet?" he asked.
"No, not yet kiddo," Andy sighed and Matthew looked up at him. He grabbed a figurine and went over to where he sat. "This is Mr. Freeze," he told Andy and showed him the figure. "Did you find the freezer yet?" Matthew asked.
"Uh, we have some possibilities but we are going to check them out in the morning. And please, don't mention anything about that to your mom, okay?" Andy told him. "Okay," Matthew shrugged his shoulders and went back to playing. Andy sat there and watched him for a while.
Sharon made her way upstairs after talking with Ricky and found Andy in Matthew's room. "Hey Matthew," Sharon stepped into his room and made her way to where Andy was sitting. "Hi Mom," Matthew stood up and gave her a hug. "How are you doing?" she asked him. "I'm tired," he yawned as he went back to play with his toys.
Sharon continued her way to Andy and sat down on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. She wrapped her right arm around his shoulder and kissed the side of his head. She leaned her head on his and they watched Matthew together for a few minutes.
"Sweetie, Ricky is going to hang out with you tomorrow morning so Dad and I can go to work and hopefully solve our case soon," Sharon told Matthew as he picked up his toys and placed them in a bucket in his room.
"Yes, he's going to be here for two weeks!" Matthew said excitedly as he climbed into his bed. Matthew looked around his room. "Where's Moxie?" he asked, yawning again. "I'll bring him up if he doesn't come up soon, okay?" Andy told him as he and Sharon stood up from the chair and tucked Matthew in his bed.
"Good night Matthew," Sharon kissed his forehead as she placed the blankets over him. "Night buddy," Andy said and closed the door halfway as they walked out to the hallway.
Sharon sighed as she made her way across the hall to their room. "I'm going to see where Moxie is and then I'll come up here and give you your foot massage that I promised you," Andy whispered and stopped her from entering their room, grabbing her waist as he pulled her to him.
She reached up and captured his lips in hers, kissing him softly. "I'll be waiting," she whispered to him and retreated into their room, leaving Andy in the hallway.
He quickly made his way downstairs and went into the family room. He saw Ricky watching the TV and Moxie was sitting next to him as he was getting petted. "Sorry Andy, is the TV too loud?" Ricky asked as he grabbed the remote control.
"No, not at all. I was just looking for Moxie because Matthew was wondering where he was," Andy told him. "Oh, I didn't know the little squirt was in bed already," Ricky said and stopped petting Moxie. Moxie looked up at him and then at Andy. He climbed off the couch and started to go up the stairs.
"Hey, I'm sorry my Father hit you in the jaw," Ricky told him as he stood up from the couch and turned the TV off. "Oh, uh, yeah, believe me I wanted to deck your dad that night but it wasn't the right thing at that time, with your mother and Emily's performance," Andy trailed off.
"Don't worry Andy, there's been plenty of times I wanted to punch him as well," Ricky stated as he walked out of the family room towards the kitchen with his empty glass. Andy followed him. "I understand why you would want to, believe me, every time I see him, I want to do the same," Andy confessed to his step-son.
"Mom wouldn't appreciate that though, unless you were provoked," Ricky stated, placing the glass in the sink and turned around to face Andy. "Yeah, well he did throw the first punch and I punched him back, but before it could get uglier, Dean and Rusty stepped in and," Andy shook his head.
"Good night Andy, oh and I don't think I've ever told this to you, but I'm really glad that my mom is happy again. It's nice to see that and I'm glad you're the guy that brought that back to her," he said and went upstairs leaving Andy in the kitchen.
Andy knew Emily would probably be home in an hour. Rusty had checked in earlier on everyone when he had come home two hours ago. He stood there in the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. As he drank that he heard the water running upstairs. 'Sharon must be in the bathroom getting herself ready for bed' he thought to himself.
He thought about what Ricky had said to him, about how he was glad that Sharon was happy now. A lot had happened with their family in their first year of marriage. If he was honest with himself, he had brought that happiness to her before they were ever married, or officially dating. Back when she was in charge of FID.
Andy placed the now empty glass in the sink and left a few lights on for Emily when she got home. He headed upstairs to join Sharon. As he made his way up the stairs, he stopped in Matthew's room and saw that Moxie was now laying on Matthew's bed. He smiled and closed the door.
Ricky was in the other guest room and that door was closed. Andy went into their bedroom and saw Sharon was already sitting on their bed in her silk lavender robe. She always looked gorgeous as Andy stared at her. "Wow," he muttered as he came closer to her.
She smiled at him and scooted closer to the edge of the bed. "Are you ready for your foot massage?" he asked in low voice. She nodded and he turned to close the door. He moved to the bed and knelt down beside her legs, grabbing her left foot in his hands and started to massage her foot.
Sharon relaxed and leaned back into the pillows behind her. "That feels really nice," she told him. "Well, I'm happy to oblige, Commander," he told her, smiling as he did.
After Andy was satisfied with the foot massage he gave her, he started to get undressed and ready for bed. Sharon joined him in the bathroom and wrapped her arms around his waist as he faced the mirror. She ran her hands up and down his chest.
"Sharon," he said her name in a low, cracked voice as he closed his eyes. "You are so tense," she said, running her hands on his back now focusing on his shoulders and back. "You need to relax," she told him, whispering that to him as they stood there.
"Is it this case?" she asked as she continued to rub her hands on his back. Andy just stood there, trying to not get carried away as Sharon moved her hands. He turned around in her arms and she looked into his eyes.
"Is it a cumulation of everything that's been going on the past week?" she asked and he leaned down and captured her lips in a deepening kiss. He didn't answer, instead he backed her into their bedroom and guided her to their bed. Gently scooting her back, he continued to kiss her as he caressed her body with his hands.
She continued to kiss Andy as he caressed her body, leaving no skin untouched. She rolled him onto his back and straddled him. "You are so beautiful," he whispered as he looked up at her. "I love you," she told him and kissed him.
Early the next morning, Sharon woke up and reached her hand for Andy but only found cold sheets. "Andy?" she asked but no one answered. She glanced at the clock and it was 2:33 in the morning. She put her glasses on and got out of bed.
Wrapping her silk robe around her body, she made her way into the hallway and down the stairs in search of him. She checked the den and the family room but didn't find him in either room. She walked into the kitchen but he wasn't there either.
She noticed feeling cold air coming into the kitchen as she stood by the island and knew where he was. She made her way to the back door and noticed that it was slightly open. Usually that would alarm her but she saw the outside light was on and saw a figure sitting on the bench swing.
She saw a blanket folded up in the laundry area and grabbed that before she headed outside to sit with him. She opened the screen door and it creaked, announcing her presence to Andy but he didn't move. She walked around and joined him on the bench swing.
He saw she wrapped a blanket around her and knew she had woken up because he wasn't there providing heat to her body. "Did I wake you?" he asked her as he wrapped his left arm around her shoulders.
"I was cold when I woke up and reached for you, but you weren't there," she told him. "How long have you been out here?" she asked as she felt his hands. They were cold but he wasn't wearing anything more than a t-shirt and pajama pants. She couldn't understand how he could be comfortable like this on a cold December morning in LA while she was freezing and had a blanket wrapped around her.
"I don't know, maybe a half hour?" he grumbled as he held her close to him and warmed her. "What's wrong?" she asked him as she snuggled into his neck and shoulder. He sighed before responding to her.
"I know I've seen that guy before, but I can't remember where," he muttered. "Where have you been the past couple of weeks?" she asked, trying to help him remember. "The mall, Mathew's school, the PAB, the restaurant across the street, the ballet," he rambled off and Sharon moved her hand to the front of his chest.
Her hand was cold and it was seeking out the warmth from him so he moved his free hand and enveloped hers. "You're freezing, let's get you back inside," he muttered to her and started to get off the swing.
He helped her up and enveloped her in a hug. "I'm sorry I woke you," he whispered into her ear, which sent shivers down her body as he wrapped his arms tighter around her. They both walked back into the house and he closed the door, locking it and joined Sharon in the kitchen.
She was still wrapped in the blanket that she had grabbed and waited for him by the island. "Sit," she told him and gestured to the kitchen table. "I'll make you some tea or something first to warm you up," he offered but she shook her head no.
He sat down and she joined him, reaching across the table for his hand and ran her thumb over his knuckles. "Let's think methodically about this," she started to tell him and he nodded in agreement.
"That guy looks familiar to me," he muttered again as he looked at Sharon. "Okay, so who did you interact or see when we were at the mall?" she simply asked. "The sales clerk at the jewelry store, but that was a woman," he began to tell her.
"The barista guy at the coffee shop but he was younger than him," he added. "Right, I remember that guy, he looked to me to be in college," Sharon agreed with him and continued to rub his knuckles.
"Anyone else at the mall?" she asked and he thought about it before he told her no. "Andy, you only ran into two people at the mall?" she wondered as she looked at him. "What? I knew where I wanted to go to get you your present, and I waited for you at the coffee shop," he shrugged his shoulders.
"Okay, how about at Matthew's school?" she asked, moving on to the next location. "Any of the parents or teachers?" she added. "No," Andy shook his head. "Walked in, saw Matthew and we walked out," he told her and paused for a moment. "The janitor was in the hallway, cleaning the floor, as we left," he thought back.
"The janitor?" she asked and he nodded. "Is that where you saw him?" she asked him to confirm. "I don't know," he answered her and she could tell he was just simply frustrated with this. "Okay, okay, sometimes they post school staff on their website, we could take a look and see," she suggested and stood up.
He followed her into the den and she turned on the computer and waited. "Sorry," he muttered into her hair as he took a deep breath. She closed her eyes as he did that and turned around in his arms to hug him. They stayed like that for a good minute or two before the computer was ready.
Andy opened his eyes and saw the computer screen was up and running so he cleared his throat and Sharon moved from his embrace and started to open the internet explorer icon. She typed in the address of the school's website and pressed enter.
She moved the mouse over to the school staff and clicked on it, which opened a new screen. She scrolled down past all the teachers to the staff. "Here we are," she said as she stopped scrolling. A different person's picture showed up under custodial staff. "That's not him," Andy stated. "But that's also not the janitor I saw that day," he added as he pointed to the picture on the computer screen.
"Well, both the school and the office are closed now for the break," Sharon sighed as she closed the laptop computer and turned to him. "Let's go to bed, I'm sorry we wasted time on this already," he told her and held out his hand for her.
She wrapped her arm through his as they walked back upstairs. "It's not wasting time if it will help us solve the case," she whispered to him as she didn't want to wake any of the kids. They made there way back into their room and he closed the door.
She took off her robe and draped it over the chair in the room as Andy watched her. She moved to the bed and climbed back in, under the covers. "Now, are you going to keep me warm until we have to get up for real?" she asked in a sultry voice. Andy swallowed as he joined her. "Yes ma'am," he smiled and climbed into bed, wrapping his arm around her side so that she was snuggled into him.
TBC