A/N: Thank you all for sticking with this story and the reviews and messages. If you want you can send me a message here, or over on twitter (girlgonewandern). Also, a big thank you again to welschwitch for the prompt idea... it has helped to keep my mind from going too dark during this difficult week in the real world. Disclaimer: as always, the mistakes are definitely mine, but the characters are not.
Conversations Overheard – Chapter 4
After disposing of the torn pieces of Jack's latest nonsense into the kitchen trash she pulled open the refrigerator. Thankfully the wine bottle she had opened the other night was still there. She turned to the cabinets to secure a glad, but she stopped mid thought and set the bottle down on the counter to check on Rusty. Down the hall, his door was closed but a dim light from under the door suggested that if he was still awake he was on his computer. Deciding to not bother him this evening she returned to her original idea of a calming glass of wine, possibly even on the balcony.
She walked back to the kitchen and gathered the half full bottle of wine, her phone, and a glass from the cabinet. She slid open the door and gently closed it behind her, leaving a slight crack so she could listen for Rusty or the home phone. After she poured herself a glass of wine, she unlocked her phone and typed, "As expected the interloper has left the building." Sharon re read the text before sending it to her friends. Taking a breath she laid it down on the small table and sat down on the patio lounger.
She knew coming home to an empty condo was a possibility after bringing Jack in on the case. The possibility of him being unable to separate their personal lives from his professional responsibilities had been there when she had suggested he represent the witness. She also knew the potential to get inside his head would exist if he was unhelpful in handling his client's parole violations so they could then question him about the drive by and the Tahoe. All of these things were possible, she just was not one hundred percent sure which direction the interaction would take. Sure she knew Jack, but if he were truly there to do the right thing he would have been able to see the utility in helping his client. That had not occurred. He had brought their personal life into the interview room and she had no other choice but to capitalize on his mistake.
It was a risk, but even after his perceived failure he still could have come back to the house and discussed everything. He had not. Years of experience told her what to expect when it came to dealing with her husband, and the tiny glimmer of "maybe" left her as soon as she opened the door and saw the envelope on the table. She had picked it up and without reading his latest excuse tore it to pieces. Yes, it was time to address their relationship. He no longer needed to have the ability to take advantage of her; his final "one more chance" was gone.
A buzz from the table returned her attention to her cell phone. She assumed Andrea or Gavin were responding to the group message she had sent, but instead the words, "Lt. Andy Flynn – Mobile," popped up on the screen. Sharon set her wine down and sighed before sliding the bar to answer the call, "Yes, Lieutenant?"
"Hi Sh-," he stopped himself. "Hello, Captain."
"Hello, Lieutenant. What can I do for you?" Sharon asked professionally, hoping to prompt a quick conversation.
"Ah, nothing," Andy stammered. "Ah, sorry. I mean. Well, I was just leaving a meeting."
"And you've been attacked? Stabbed?" Sharon interrupted, a small smile creeping across her face. "Someone from your past come back to get even? Or just to steal the leftover doughnuts?"
Andy chuckled at the unexpected response, "You could only be so lucky."
Sharon reached for her wine and took a sip before chiding, "Well, I do not seem to be having an excess of that around lately, but I guess it could turn."
"You never know," Andy mused. He heard Sharon hum on the other side of the line. "So, how are you, Captain? Bit of a day."
Sharon raised an eyebrow as she examined her wine glass, "You could say that."
"Yeah," he paused unsure of how to ask his next question. "Jack left the Murder Room in a bit of a state. Just thought I would, or, um..."
Sharon took another sip, "Yes, you could say that as well, and if you're trying to ask if he's here? I would probably say that I have suddenly lost about 220 pounds or so that I'm not going to put it back on." She laughed lightly at her attempt to keep the conversation light.
"Well," Andy chuckled into the receiver. "They say with maintenance and proper attention that is very possible, but you always have to be careful with diets in general. If you're not careful with things the weight can sneak back."
"Noted," she stated. "No, as I'm sure you had guessed, Jack being Jack, decided to stay elsewhere."
"Well, I did have a feeling," Andy replied as he neared his parked vehicle. "I'm sorry, Captain."
"Don't be. No one needs to be sorry," she stated resolutely. "I don't need anyone out there to be discussing Jack. For that matter I don't need anyone out there to be sorry about Jack, or to be sorry for me. I can handle it. I am handling it. I always do."
Andy opened his car door, placing the box of doughnuts on the dashboard before folding into his seat. "Well, then I will apologize for ever thinking otherwise, and leave it at that. If there is anyone who can handle Jack herself it would be the Captain Raydor."
"Damn straight," she snorted into her glass. "And don't ever forget it. It's strange that all of the sudden people seem to think I float in on a cloud with a carpet bag just as the winds change or something, rather than just flying in on my broom."
"Touché." Andy shifted the phone, holding it between his head and shoulder so he could start his car and pull away from the church. "You would think we of all people would remember that little detail. Must be age or something, some kind of selective memory deal… Or, maybe, some of us just realized your motives were not all that wicked after all."
"So, I've finally got you all right where I wanted you all along. My massive plan to lure you all into thinking I was good and on your side all to get you all to fall in line and to follow the rules," she teased. "Best plan ever."
"Well, if that was the plan then you have most definitely succeeded," Andy grinned into the phone. "You should hear Provenza these days. All of the sudden you are no longer that woman who stole his job out from under him...I may have even heard him praise the deal process a time or two. You know if that was your plan it would have been fun to have had the chance to torture him a bit with it."
"Oh I can only imagine how that would have turned out. I know what the two of you are capable of when left alone for two long." She shrugged, "Besides, I couldn't afford to let you in on my plans, after all you were just as unruly in the beginning."
He smirked at her playful tone, "We are elite detectives, you know. You could have trusted me with your orders, I would have helped take down the old man."
"Oh really? You think it would have been a good idea for me to let you, with your affinity for finding bodies whenever you're left alone together for too long, work on this? No thanks. Do I need to remind you about the garages, the hoods of cars, the bath tubs..."
"How did you hear about that one?" He questioned, interrupting her list. "As I remember we were cleared very quickly by Elliot. He found no reason for further action, I mean no further action than a seminar or two on procedure."
"True, I was not involved directly that time. I was actually in New York that week." She recalled thoughtfully, "Emily was dancing in her first professional show, but when I arrived back at the office I of course reviewed everything I had missed. I was definitely glad to have been absent for that particular scheme. Sometimes it was better just to hear about them after the fact. You two did not do anything too awful, considering, but I was in an odd mood after I read through that case. It was, um, unique. I knew I should have attached something to that trinket I sent. Like a picture of Margaret Hamilton in full costume, or something."
"Wait, the figurine? That was you?" He questioned as he sat up a little straighter behind the wheel.
"Guilty."
"I blamed Buzz for that. Where would one even go to find a figure of a winged cow?" He asked recalling the morning a week later when he entered the Murder Room to find a small gift back on his desk with no note, but clearly a gag gift inside. "Talk about being sneaky."
Sharon shrugged lying back further on the chaise and laughed as she raised her wine glass into the air, "Success. Here I am, both wicked and sneaky."
"Apparently so," Andy joked, flipping on his blinker to merge onto the freeway.
She listened to the clicking sound over the phone as she her mind wandered to a couple years later. "It was a bit of a shock though, that first day. You know, you stepping in with the advice on how to identify with the victim." She paused and when his end of the line was silent she offered, "When you suggested using the victim's name. After Taylor and I pulled up to the scene the looks you all gave me suggested the worst, but then you surprised me by actually being helpful. You may not have been okay with the change, but you saw that we needed to work together to solve the case."
"Oh, yeah, well I figured if we were stuck with you then you at least needed to be useful." Andy shrugged as he grinned into the phone, "I mean for something other than your diligent note taking and your shadow like abilities."
"Ha-ha, very funny, Lieutenant," she chided. "I'm sure it was a shock for all of you to learn I actually could do more than read and write reports."
"I guess you could call it shock," Andy shrugged. "I would say we were also pleasantly surprised to learn that you were there to help and not harm. Years of experience had told us that you were not always on our side."
Trying not to let that little comment bring up uncomfortable memories of being an outsider she groaned, "I was always on your side."
"Well, uh, I mean that you were here to investigate the cases and not us." He stumbled over the words trying to make sure he did not hurt her feelings. "As you may have noticed though, we have not been in trouble in years. Obviously, you have some kind of special powers when it comes to that kind of thing."
Sharon rolled her eyes, "I definitely do not have special powers."
"Maybe not, but you do have a knack for knowing how to utilize everyone's individual skillsets to take on the tasks at hand." Andy was trying not to make the conversation too awkward, but he did want her to know he was being serious. Besides, it had been a long couple of weeks and a lot had been going on.
"I guess." Sharon replied as she thought back to how she had also used her knowledge of Jack's personality and ego to get the witness to cooperate. "I guess I can manipulate situations just like anyone else."
Andy shook his head, "Ah don't say it like that. You work within the rules to represent the victims, the innocents. You do your best, and it keeps everyone else doing their best as well. It is definitely something we have all noticed and come to respect."
She hummed and tried to smile, "Well, at least I have a few allies then."
"More than a few," Andy pursed his lips; thinking about the odd mood the Captain was in this evening. She sounded a bit down, as to be expected, but what he had not expected were the lighthearted moments of banter. He really did not know what he had expected when he found himself dialing her number. When the silence continued on the other line he changed the subject back to the present, "So, I mean I was leaving my meeting and I guess I was just calling to check in? I mean the whole Jack situation and all, but..."
Sharon hummed, "Yes, I guess you could call it that, a situation. But it's over. The situation has tucked tail and run, again." On his side of the line Andy drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel, not knowing what else to say. "It seems everyone knew this was going to be the case... But if for some reason this particular situation arises again it would be really nice if everyone else stayed out of it and trusted me to handle my own life. To fight my own battles."
"Noted," Andy repeated her earlier sentiment.
"Good," she reasoned taking another sip of wine. "I'm glad you didn't run into anything too tumultuous in that parking lot, but I think I am going to let you go now. It's getting late, and like you said it has been a long couple of weeks."
"Yes, nothing too tumultuous," he repeated mocking her word choice. "Both windshield wipers still securely on the car," Andy joked. "And my leather jacket seems to be undamaged."
"Well, thank God for that," she smiled. "Drive safely, Lieutenant."
"Will do, Captain." Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of the box of doughnuts and remembered another reason his mind had wandered to Jack after leaving the meeting, "Oh, and there will be doughnuts in the break room tomorrow."
Sharon rolled her eyes at that remark. "You do know that is just a Hollywood gimmick, right? Police officers and doughnuts? We do not have to eat doughnuts just because we are the police."
"I eat them because they're tasty," Andy clarified. "It is a coincidence that I also happen to be an officer. I just thought that after all of the doughnut talk during the interview today I would not be the only one craving one, and there were extras." Sharon sighed into the phone without another word on the subject. Before he ended the call he dropped his voice, "Um, Sh-Sharon? I know you have friends, we have known each other for a long time, and we already work together, but if you ever need someone to bounce some ideas around with? Or if you ever need any help with anything...?"
As Andy's voice trailed Sharon considered his words. "Well, thank you, Andy." She paused smirking into the receiver as she decided to lighten the mood once again, "We have known each other for quite some time. That does not necessarily mean we have to be more than work friends, or friendly coworkers though... but maybe, maybe we could be friend-friends. I will have to think about it and get back to you though."
Andy simply chuckled at her response, "Okay, sounds like a plan. Don't rush the decision or anything though. You will have to be absolutely certain on this. It is a big step, being friends with someone like me. Could definitely ruin your reputation around the building. So, don't worry, take your time, I'll wait." With that he pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed end call with his thumb. He smiled to himself as he turned down his street, genuinely enjoying the changing nature of their possible friendship.
Sharon smiled to herself as he ended the call. When she went to place the phone back on the table she heard someone behind her and turned to see Rusty standing just behind the door. She took a step and opened the door a little wider, "Rusty, I'm sorry did I wake you?"
"No, sorry," he shuffled his feet and joined her on the patio. "No, I was just, um, like checking in? I guess. Everything okay out here?"
Sharon smiled gently at the boy she thought of as her son, "Yes Rusty. Thank you. Everything is just fine, nothing for you to worry about. I'll be back inside in a moment and will lock up."
"Okay, well, good then." He lifted his hand in a small wave, "Good night, Sharon."
"Good night, Rusty."
Rusty turned and walked back into the apartment. He had seen the letter on the table and the empty couch when he had arrived home that evening. He knew Jack had left. In his experiences with his biological mother it had always been best to leave her alone when a man left her. Even though Sharon was not like his mom he still had been cautious in how to proceed this evening. He had heard Sharon checking on him when she got home, but he had wanted to give her some space. After sitting alone in his room for a while he had decided to check on her. He found her on the balcony giggling on the phone and could not help but listen in for while. She was definitely different than his biological mother, and she also apparently had a friend or two out there for her when she needed.
