A/N: I want thank all of you for sticking with this little idea. It has kind of spiraled into something a little longer than I had in my mind when I received the prompt. I hope it is alright so far. Feel free to send me a message here, or even over on twitter (girlgonewandern). Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows on this story and a few of the older ones. I really appreciate everyone so much. Thank you for baring with me on this. I am not super comfortable with the direction my mind took this, but I am really hopeful that everything makes sense... and if it is not your cup of tea, I will hopefully go back to my regularly scheduled funny little one-shots at some point. I'm sorry. Same disclaimer about the characters and mistakes.


Conversations Overheard: Chapter 3

Andy massaged his hand into the back of his neck to relieve the building tension from the last week. As soon as one case closed they had moved right into the next. It had been another late night/early morning roll out; a critical missing of a young teen facing a very cruel world. Michelle had been missing since 7:00 the night before. A child missing for fifteen hours did not necessarily mean the worst; children did occasionally disobey their parents, or stay out past their curfews without calling. However, this time something was definitely wrong.

The timeline suggested something had occurred after Michelle had called her mother from the mall and was then nowhere to be found. Her father had described her as a 'tomboy' who had been diagnosed with gender identity disorder in the first grade. These unique circumstances added an extra layer to the number of people who could be out there to harm her, making the search even more pressing. The parents had been at odds over how to proceed, but no matter what was going on their child was still missing, or worse. The bullies, the attitude of the parents, the sometimes heartless world we live in, all were working against this sweet kid who was just trying to happily live her life.

After leaving the Brand home Andy had opted to walk down to the district attorney's office to update Rios, rather than just updating her with a phone call. The walk would not take that much longer and he was going to stop off for fresh coffee from the café at the corner. The walk would also help to clear his head, hopefully giving him the chance to think through what they had uncovered so far.

As he neared the building he looked up to see a familiar form a few paces ahead of him; Jack Raydor in a suit and tie, carrying his briefcase, climbing the steps. Andy dropped his head back and sighed sarcastically to himself, "As if this day couldn't get any better." Andy slowed as he sent out a silent prayer to whoever could be listening, hoping that the man would not turn around. He returned his eyes to the path in front of him, just as Jack reached the door. The man twisted his head to see if there was anyone behind him he needed to hold the door open for before stopping to turn all of the way around. A crooked grin spread across his face as he caught a glimpse of his old friend a couple steps behind.

"Shit," Andy muttered under his breath as the other man let the door close on itself without entering the building.

"Why if it isn't my old pal, Andrew Flynn." Jack drawled slyly. He took a step toward the man and held out his hand.

Andy stood firmly, making no move to shake the man's hand. "Jack," he choked out through gritted teeth. "Heard you were back in town."

Jack pulled his hand back to his side and with a small flourish retorted, "Yes. Staying with Sharon and the kid. Of course, she wouldn't have it any other way."

Andy bit down on the inside of his cheek in an attempt not to snap back at the man's overly cheery response. "Rusty said something about that the other day," he reasoned instead. "Something about a couple nights on the couch?"

Jack's smile faltered slightly as he loosely balled up one of his hands into a fist before tucking it into his pocket. "Yes, figured the kid needed his own room. I did not want to disrupt his routine. School is important after all. You know lots of studying. Went over a bit of Shakespeare with him last night even."

Andy cringed at the picture of domesticity his old friend was painting. He knew this was not the whole story, but it was hard not to react. "So, what brought you back to LA?" He asked. "It's been a few years since we had heard anything about you around here. Vegas finally lose its charm?"

Jack cut his eyes at the lieutenant, but kept a smile plastered to his face, "Well, just thought it would be a good time to settle down, check in on things out here. Right my wrongs and all of that."

"Or you heard about your wife's new position? Hoped it came with a raise?" Andy questioned. "Took you long enough. It has been over a year. Your connections must be slipping out here, old pal."

The fist in his pocket tightened as he took a small step forward, "Well, it may have taken a little bit longer to get me the information, but I'm reading you pretty well right now. What has changed so that you feel the need to step in and go after me? Seems like you're getting a little defensive there Flynn. I'm thinking it must be something. The Andy I knew was not really on good terms with my wife."

"Listen buddy," Andy bit out as he too took a step forward and pointed at the man. "I am the first one to recognize people change. I know what it takes to create such a mess that you lose everything. I said a lot back then. You did too, but hey, after I got my head on straight and started thinking clearly? I realized it was not the world out to get me. That I had to take some responsibility for the part I was playing in my relationships. I owe a lot of people for their faith and their patience back then. The Captain is one of those people. So, yeah, thankfully the terms have changed."

Jack rolled his eyes, "You're still an arrogant hot headed ass, people don't change completely. I can still see it, I am sure others can too."

"That may be true, but I work on it every day. And I can admit that I have my own issues. I can see that I contributed to many of the things we complained about back then. I've been making amends. Trying to make it right. My own family is still reluctant, but it's a process. My wife didn't wait around like yours did - and she shouldn't have - I didn't deserve it. Neither did you, but that's what you got. And you still don't seem to see that for the gift that was. I would do anything to have my ex-wife and kids trying to talk to me, wanting me to be around. Meanwhile, you have spent decades avoiding yours and they still seem to hold out hope for you."

"They just love me more. Could never keep Sharon away. No matter what I did." Jack goaded back. "Was never as damaged as you were, I guess. Karma and all that must have been on my side. Still seems to be working in my favor. I haven't been turned away, haven't had to return my key."

The tension between the men had almost reached a tipping point. Andy had struck a nerve, no matter how cool Jack tried to seem and he was sniping back in return. For his part Andy was angry and exhausted. It was taking everything he had not to forget about everything else and unleash on the man. Although, before he could say or do anything more about the situation, the men were startled back to reality by the sound of a folder dropping to the ground. The sound echoed under the concrete awning, giving each of them a moment to remember their surroundings.

"We'll see, Jack," Andy exhaled. "I hope for everyone's sake that you are working the program and that you are genuinely here to stay. Your family deserves that much. I mean if you're here for them, like you keep saying."

The other man turned and reached out for the handle. Without looking back he pulled the door open for himself again, "You just stick to your own business, and leave my life and my family to me Flynn. Sounds to me like you're getting a little too chummy with everyone. May be time for certain people to remember who is who in this scenario." With that he stepped through the door without holding it open behind him.

Andy stood alone on the steps silently seething. He reached his left hand up to his ear lobe in an effort to calm his rising blood pressure. "Such an ass," he breathed out to no one, shaking off the encounter. He stretched his neck from side to side and returned to his original task of updating Rios.

On the other side of the covered entry Andrea bent over to retrieve her fallen paper work. She was livid after overhearing the conversation between the two men. This whole ordeal was more than anyone had bargained for. Plus, the fact that her friend was the topic of yet another conversation between some of the men in her life was aggravating to say the least. Sharon had waited, but she was not waiting. She did not need her husband in her life; she had just not dealt with him yet. She had not had to. She also did not need anyone to come riding in to defend her, especially to Jack. Knowing her friend, she probably would also not be too keen to have her lieutenant getting involved either.

Andrea groaned as she too entered the building. She caught a glimpse of the elevator doors closing on Jack, heading to upstairs to try for an appointment. She glanced up and saw Andy rounding the top of the staircase in the direction of Rios' office. At least there would be no more interaction between the two of them today. She made a mental note to send a message to Sharon about the altercation when she returned to her office. Sometimes ignorance was bliss, but other times it was nice to at least have a heads up.

"Andrea: I forgot to text you yesterday. I saw Jack down at the courthouse yesterday morning."

Sharon rolled her eyes as she read the message. It had been a very long day, and she had just gotten home from the cemetery with Rusty. The case had been emotionally draining, and then putting on a happy face for their picnic at Hollywood Forever had done even more to wear her out. Jack's insistence on playing the happy family was becoming a bit unnerving. She had not been lying this morning at breakfast, she was genuinely curious as to why he was taking such an interest at this point in time. Shaking off that train of thought she responded to her friend.

"Sharon: Good. Maybe that will help him along the way to an apartment."
"Andrea: Don't think he was assigned to anything yet. Looks like you will be dealing with him on your couch for a little longer."
"Sharon: Of course."
"Andrea: It is more than that though. He was there... Ran into Flynn."

Sharon ran her hand over her face and sighed before clicking the phone image to call her friend. This conversation would be a lot more productive over the phone rather than over text. As soon as the call connected she stated plainly, "Well, I haven't heard anything from FID, and I have seen both of them since then. So, I assume it was at least a civil chat?"

"You could say that," Andrea reasoned. "Civil in that they are both alive. Although, the location is probably the only thing though that kept at least one of them from throwing a punch."

"Well, that's something," Sharon hummed as she pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Nothing too bad, right?"

Andrea took a moment to consider the best way to summarize the confrontation between the men. "It started out a bit, um, forced. Then there were raised voices, a little yelling, and something that looked like two animals about to rip each other's heads off." She laughed a little at the image, "Men. And they think women get emotional about things…" When Sharon merely hummed Andrea went on, "They did not know I was listening in, but at that point I decided to at least try to break their stare down. I dropped my files and that seemed to pull them back to reality. Back to the fact they were both professional adults having a very public altercation. They left after that."

"Okay," Sharon sighed. "Not too bad then, I guess. Thank you."

On her side of the phone Andrea waved her hand in the air to dismiss the idea of Sharon needing to thank her. Ignoring the comment she went on, "It was a similar thread to what we heard in the voicemail, at least on Andy's side..."

As Andrea's voice trailed Sharon tipped her head back and groaned, "Wonderful. An argument about our personal lives on the steps of City Hall. Just the kind of thing I love for everyone to know about. This is getting unreal."

"Maybe they will figure out that you do not need either one of them to fight your battles," Andrea reasoned. "Or they won't because they are macho men with their own apparent issues."

Sharon chuckled despite herself and repeated her friend's earlier sentiment, "Men. Maybe we should just set them loose with on one another. Sell tickets."

"Now there's an idea," Andrea laughed at the thought, happy that her friend was trying to not get upset over the event. "On a lighter note. Did you have a moment to try out Gavin's suggestion with Flynn about what you overheard originally? Or even with Provenza for that matter? Any kind of fun distraction, I have been hoping for something, anything."

Sharon smiled into the receiver, "No, the case was a bit tough, lots of emotions. Not super conducive to toying with those two. Although, things do seem to at least be back to normal working order with the team. As long as Jack is not in the Murder Room everything feels fine. I do think Rusty may be a little tired of our visitor though. We will see what happens with that. Jack is being a little too happy and too involved. I'm sure Rusty can sense there is an ulterior motive somewhere. I do not like that Jack is spending so much time with him. Especially since he still does not seem to want to remember his own children."

"Well, sometimes it takes something like a new place in life to look back earnestly at what you want." Andrea paused for a moment and when her friend did not respond she went on, "Maybe this is what is happening. Jack is Jack, but through this and his interactions with Rusty you can see the things you ignored for ease and security back then? Plus, times have changed. A decade or so ago it was safer to have the "married woman" persona to protect you from unwanted advances and evil rumors. The culture has not changed significantly, but there has been a shift. The times are different enough that the professional excuse of staying married to someone is not as strong."

Sharon turned slightly and paced her room, taking a moment to process everything. "The different places in life, or their evolving definitions, reminds me of something Andy said earlier."

When Andrea hummed Sharon began to detail the conversation...

"A lot of murderers fall apart when they see their victims," Andy replied as they watched the father cry over his daughter's body.

Sharon rolled her eyes, "Maybe you are seeing something you want to see, or that you expect to see, Lieutenant. His grief does look genuine."

"Yeah, genuine," Andy mocked, "Or it could just be that he is genuinely upset for the mess he has made and the fact that now he has to deal with it… and also not be caught."

Sharon hummed in response before taking a step back, "Well, every action has its consequences, good and bad. Maybe he was trying to do the right thing, but something else stepped in and changed the trajectory of his plans. Life can be that way sometimes. You get all of your ducks lined up in a row and then, bam." She paused and looked pensively through the small window in the door, "Everything you thought you had, gone."

Andy turned his gaze from the grieving father to the Captain, "Maybe not, things aren't necessarily just gone, bam. Maybe they are just moved to a different location or something. Like it is okay to move the ducks around? Then different things take shape out of what you already have created? Different ducks, but still there, to be put into rows. Forcing you to adapt and evolve, or to see things in new ways."

Sharon paused at the idea. On the surface it was a bit confusing, but he did have a point. It also felt as thoughthey were no longer discussing the grief you could experience over the murder of your child. She remained still, staring through the window, not allowing the pull of Andy's stare to completely break her concentration on the viewing.

After a moment Andy sighed and turned back to the window as well, "I'll call Mike. See if he is done with the lab tech. I will tell him we are almost done here and will meet him."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

Andy took a few steps to the side to call Mike, and let him know that they were going to meet him down the hall with the father.

"Well it does sound like good advice," Andrea reasoned. "Definitely something to consider. Who would have thought Flynn was such the philosopher?"

Sharon looked down at her hands, "Yes, something more to consider."

"I am going to go ahead and let you go," Andrea said after a moment. "I have a few things still to finish up over here and I know you have had a long day as well."

Sharon exhaled, "Yes, I have, a few actually. Have a good evening Andrea, and thanks for the information."

"You're welcome, Sharon. Have a good rest of your evening."

The line went dead and Sharon walked her phone over to her charger. She placed the phone on the bedside table and turned to get ready for bed. As she hung up her blazer she thought back to the conversation with Andy in the morgue.

After she had thanked him, she had watched him out of the corner of her eye step away to make the call. Part of her was still trying to determine the meaning behind his words, while another part was consolidating them with what she had already overheard from a few days before. Since she had taken over the division Flynn had become one of her most trusted allies; her go to when she needed back up for an interrogation, or a subtle pull back to reality.

While she was a seasoned officer, a Captain, she still had experienced a bit of a culture shock when it came to working homicides. It was definitely not like internal affairs, as Jack had pointed out earlier in the week. She had picked up on that herself very quickly. However, the transition had been made easier due to the unlikely partnership she had developed with the former bane of her professional existence. At some point the interactions had gone from arguments and mandatory seminars to helpful tips and friendly advice. Sometimes things did change, or they moved around and took on new meanings, as Andy had reasoned.

Her life was not drastically different; she had the same job, the same family, and it generally involved the same people, but they had moved around. Some people had moved into more important roles, while former key players slowly fell out of line. Key parts of her job were the same, but the tasks and titles had also changed over time. She was still around officers, many of the same ones, and instead of investigating them she was working beside them in a new way. Yes, everything was the same, but different, and it was easy to forget that while all of these things occurred she had changed as well. She had learned to adapt and to evolve to the new situations and roles, leaving her as still herself, but different from the woman at the beginning of the journey.

Recent arrivals and events had now forced her to examine her life more than she had in years. She was looking at it through the eyes of others for the first time in a while and finally understanding what her friends and family had been trying to tell her back then. That she was not really living her life if she stayed tethered to something in the past that had not followed her to the present. That in order to live her life she had to stop worrying that she was doing something wrong if she did it for herself. She knew that her marriage was something that she had held on to for too long, but in all honesty she had not yet had a reason to end it.

She had to stop worrying about how it looked and start worrying about how she felt about everything. She had not been living a life where it was really an issue. Now, she was truly enjoying her career, her team, her friends, and Rusty, so she could see that the old life was not going to fit in with the new one she had been creating. She had been betrayed in more ways than one, but had come out on top. Now it was time to guarantee that the happiness she had created with her children and career was not destroyed because of her embarrassment over her husband being thrown back into the mix. Jack was a part of her past and that would never go away, but he did not have to be a key player in her future.

The Lieutenant was right. Jack was an ass, but an ass who sometimes could be charming and caring. He was an ass and it was time to call his bluff, to see if he really was serious about restarting his life in Los Angeles. He would need to start by finding an apartment and proving he could do it. Then maybe they could have the long overdo discussion about the roles they would be playing in each other's futures. The past had already been played out. She knew who she was; she just needed to know who he was today - A changed man, or Good old Jack Raydor.

TBC