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 9
Andy didn't get much sleep after they went to bed. And by the time he finally did seem to fall asleep, Sharon's alarm was waking them both up. Andy groaned as he felt Sharon shift towards her nightstand, where the alarm clock was located.
She turned around to look at him and gave him a sympathetic look. She felt sorry for him and reached her hand over to caress his face. "Morning," she leaned in and kissed him. "Morning," he muttered as they broke their kiss.
Sharon got out of bed and started to gather her things while Andy was still laying in bed. "Don't fall asleep again," she told him and he waved her off. She smiled and headed into the bathroom to get herself ready for the day.
Andy laid there staring up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Running his hand through his hair, he sat there for a moment before finally standing up. All of his muscles were aching as he stretched, and for whatever reason, his left shoulder was hurting him.
He chose to ignore the pain in the shoulder where he was shot months ago and walked into their closet. Running his hand over his face to wake him up, he looked through the many suits that were hanging up. He decided to go with his navy-blue pinstriped suit and light blue dress shirt. He turned around and grabbed a tie that matched.
While Sharon was in the shower, he moved into the bathroom and placed his clothes on the hook on the back of the door. The steam from the shower was causing the mirror to fog up as Andy was trying to shave his stubble on his face.
Sharon turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in a towel. She saw he was standing at the sink, shaving and she smiled. She always enjoyed watching him shave. As the mirror started to clear up, Andy glanced up and saw Sharon watching him.
He gave her a small smile and she returned it, and moved closer to him. She walked over to the other sink next to him and she removed the towel from her hair. He finished up shaving his face and ran his hand over the smooth skin. He then wiped his face with a towel.
As Sharon was busy blow-drying her hair, Andy moved to take a shower. As he turned on the water, he got a zinger in his left shoulder and muttered a swear word under his breath. Sharon didn't hear him because of her hair dryer and he was thankful for that, otherwise she would be concerned again and he didn't need her to be.
The pain went away as quickly as it came as he stood underneath the shower spray. When he was done, he turned the water off and stepped out, grabbing a towel from the rack and wrapping it around his waist. He took another towel and ran it over his head, drying his hair.
Sharon was almost fully dressed as she stood in front of the mirror when Andy stepped towards her. She was wearing a light blue dress shirt and black pants. "Thank you for saving some hot water for me," he muttered into her neck as he came up behind her.
She smiled and placed her hand on top of his arm as he held her. She patted his arm as he kissed her neck. "Hmm, you need to stop that or else we will be late for work and we have a busy day ahead of us," she told him and she could tell he was smiling in between the kisses on her neck.
He stopped and started to get himself ready for work as she went back to finishing getting ready herself. As he tucked in his dress shirt and pulled his suspenders over his shoulder, Sharon glanced at him and stopped. "It's been a while since you've worn that suit," she told him.
He knew about the day she was alluding to and thought of the irony with his shoulder pain coming back and him picking out the exact suit he wore when he got shot outside Travis Martin's house. "Yeah, well I thought it was time to bring this one out again," he shrugged his shoulders.
Sharon was done and walked over to where Andy was standing, tying his tie. "Allow me," she whispered and took the tie in her hands, tying it and moving the knot up to his neck, not too tight. She smoothed the tie down and looked at him.
He gave her his famous grin and she returned his smile with her own. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before he went back to their closet and placed his gun in his holster on his belt along with his handcuffs.
Sharon walked out into the hallway and headed towards Matthew's room. "You can let him sleep in," Ricky stood in the hallway and had startled Sharon. "Gee Mom, didn't mean to get you all jumpy!" he added as he watched her.
Sharon turned around and saw Ricky walking towards the hallway bathroom and she shook her head. "I just didn't realize you were up, that's all," she told him and he paused right outside the room. "What time are you guys heading to the zoo?" she asked and he shrugged his shoulders and went into the bathroom.
Andy stepped out of their room and joined her in the hallway. He gave her a look and she shook it off. "Ricky," she said and she went back to walking towards Matthew's room. She opened the door slightly and looked inside and saw Matthew was sleeping.
"Moxie," she whispered and the dog looked up from his sleeping position. "Come on boy," she told him and he got up and walked out of the room and down the stairs. Andy followed him and he let the dog outside in the backyard.
Ricky came out of the bathroom and decided to join his Mom and step-dad in the kitchen. Sharon was there making a pot of coffee for them and also cutting up some fruit while Andy was outside with Moxie still.
"Morning Mom," Ricky said and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Morning," she smiled as she continued to cut the fruit. Ricky took a piece of the melon, popping it in his mouth as he moved to the refrigerator to grab the milk.
"So, what's on the agenda for you and Andy at work today?" Ricky asked as he moved around the kitchen and sat down at one of the stools by the island. His question caught Sharon off guard and she looked at him, wondering why he was asking that.
"Uh, we're in the middle of a case, and," Sharon started to say to him, but was interrupted by the sound of Andy and Moxie rejoining them in the kitchen. "Morning Ricky," Andy moved around Sharon to fix himself a cup of the freshly brewed coffee.
"Morning Andy," Ricky muttered in between chewing on another piece of fruit. "Did I interrupt something?" Andy gave them both a quizzical look as he watched them. "Oh no, Mom was just telling me about your case," Ricky quickly answered as he popped another piece of fruit in his mouth.
"Oh really?" Andy said, amazed that Sharon would share details of their latest case. "I was just telling him that we are in the middle of a case, no details were shared," Sharon clarified on Ricky's point. She moved the bowl of fruit to the kitchen table and then placed two bowls on the table for Andy and her.
"It's not like you would dare to share any details about your cases, Mom," Ricky rolled his eyes as he turned around on the stool and got off, walking over to grab a box of cereal and a bowl for himself.
"There's a reason for that," Andy told him as he joined Sharon at the table. "Both your Mom and I want to spare all of our children from the dirtbags and psychos out there. You guys can hear it on the news later on," Andy nodded to Ricky as he started to eat his breakfast.
"Yeah, but," Ricky started, his mouth full of cereal. Sharon turned to him and gave him a scolding look. Even as old as he was, he knew that look from his mother meant business and he didn't want to press his luck anymore than he already had done.
"So, what time are you and Matthew going to the zoo?" Sharon asked, changing the subject as she ate a piece of toast. Ricky shrugged his shoulders. "Probably when it opens at 10," he said just as they all heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
Andy finished his bowl of cereal and stood up from the table just as Matthew was walking into the kitchen. "Morning," Sharon smiled at the boy as he still looked like he was sleeping. "Morning," he mumbled as he gave her a hug.
"Do you want some breakfast?" she asked him as she fixed his some of his hair that was still standing up. He nodded and sat down at the table. "Good, your brother will get things ready for you as we both have to head into work," Sharon smiled and looked at Ricky.
"All right squirt, what would you like?" Ricky asked as he stood up and walked over to the sink to place his bowl and spoon there. "Lucky Charms," Matthew answered and glanced at his parents who were now getting things together for them to leave on time.
Sharon bent down to kiss Matthew on his forehead. "Be good for your brother today, and have fun," she told him and he nodded. "I will," he mumbled as Ricky placed the cereal box on the table. Sharon ran her hand along Ricky's face. "You be good too," she teased him. "Don't worry about us, Mom," he smiled.
Andy held out a to go mug for Sharon as she grabbed the rest of her things and they both headed towards the back door. "Bye kids!" Andy winked at Matthew and Ricky. "Later," Ricky waved as they left the house.
He turned to Matthew who was now eating his cereal in between petting Moxie who was sitting right next to him. "Alright, have you been to the zoo?" Ricky asked him. "I think so," Matthew couldn't remember. "Well, how would you like to go with me?" Ricky asked. "Okay!" Matthew hurried through his cereal.
"Wait a second, slow down, the zoo doesn't open for another 2 ½ hours or so, you have plenty of time to finish your breakfast without scarfing it down," Ricky chuckled at his brother.
45 minutes later, Andy and Sharon were pulling into the parking lot at the PAB. Andy parked the car and turned the engine off. "Can you believe that guy, cutting us off like that! Where did he think he was going to go?" Andy was still fuming from the drive in.
"Andy," she said turning to him in her seat. "I mean come on! He could have waited to merge on to the road, that's what that lane on the side is for, instead he just cuts over like he doesn't care!" he went on, ignoring the look from Sharon.
Sharon reached over and grabbed his hand, placing it in hers, and gently ran her fingers over his. Andy sighed and turned his head towards her. "No one got hurt and there was no accident," she reminded him and he nodded.
"Still, we should have gotten his license plate and given it to Traffic for reckless driving," he muttered as she continued to rub his hand. "Honey, you hate the Traffic Division," she smiled, trying to get Andy to at least smile.
He grumbled something non-coherent as he continued to stare out the front window. Sharon was about to say something else, but Andy's phone started to ring. He huffed as he pulled it out of his suit jacket pocket and looked at the screen. "It's Provenza," he muttered and clicked on the button to answer.
"Yeah?" he grumbled into the phone. "Hey, are you both on your way in?" Provenza asked as he was in the break room in the office. "We're in the parking lot," Andy told him. "Well, what are you two waiting for? Oh, don't tell me I interrupted something between you two," Provenza rolled his eyes as he fixed his coffee.
"We'll be up in a few minutes," Andy answered. "Good, tell the Commander that Tao is here running the sketch in the DMV database to see if we can get a match on a driver's license," Provenza walked back towards the Murder Room.
"I'll let her know," Andy said and hung up his phone. He took a deep breath and turned to Sharon who was still watching him, still rubbing his hand with her fingers. "Sorry about earlier," he huffed and she shook her head, dismissing it like it was nothing.
"Tao is running that sketch in the DMV database so maybe we will get to know who our dirtbag is," he told her and she nodded, still watching him. "Good, hopefully we will be able to move forward in this case," she answered.
He hesitated for a moment before opening the door and starting the day. Sharon watched him and waited until he stepped out of the car before she opened her car door. He walked around and met her on the other side.
He gave her a small smile and grabbed her hand as they both walked towards the elevators.
Meanwhile, in the Murder Room, Provenza was sitting at his desk, working on a crossword puzzle while Mike was sitting across from him at his computer, running the sketch in the system. Julio was on the phone and Amy was also talking to someone on her desk phone. Buzz was reviewing footage of the crime scene at his computer.
Julio hung up his phone and looked at Provenza. "Lieutenant, I just got off the phone with Dry Ice and Storage, near the airport. They don't rent to individuals, only business that deal with food and freight," he told him.
"Okay, so that narrows it down to, what, five places?" Provenza looked at the Murder Board at the names of the places that were not crossed off yet. He heard the clicking of high-heels and knew Sharon and Andy had arrived.
"Ah, morning Commander!" Provenza turned around in his chair as Sharon and Andy walked into the room. "Morning Lieutenant, how are we progressing this morning?" she asked as she stopped in the middle of the Murder Room.
Andy walked behind her and placed his things at his desk while Provenza explained to Sharon that Mike was still running the sketch and they narrowed the cold storage facility to five places from what they started with.
"Good," she told Provenza and turned her attention to Mike, who was staring at the computer screen, willing it to come back with a positive match. "Mike, let me know as soon as you get something," she told him. "Will do, Commander," Mike gave a salute and continued to stare at his screen.
Sharon walked over to her office and placed her things on her desk. She needed to finish their budget proposal for the following year, as it sat there on her desk. She took her seat behind her desk and started to work on it again.
"Flynn!?" Provenza yelled from across the room. "What?" Andy looked at him with his arms spread out to his sides as he sat at his desk. "Well, you're real cranky this morning," Provenza walked over to Andy's desk.
"Didn't get much sleep last night," Andy muttered. "Oh, geeze Flynn! I don't want to hear what you and the Commander did that kept you up all night long," Provenza shuttered at the thought. "It wasn't like that" Andy gritted his teeth at his friend.
Provenza then gave a concerned look at his friend. "I've been wracking my brain all night long trying to figure out where I've seen that guy before," Andy sighed. Before Provenza could respond, Mike blurted out, "Holy crap! It came back to a match!"
TBC