Thank you for the reviews! Sorry Andy is still out of it, but that is sort of the point of the story :) Here's more of Sharon and Provenza...
She felt a hand on hers and instantly jumped in her chair, not realizing she was asleep. "Andy," she called, hoping that hand was his. She was defeated though when her eyes met the gaze of Provenza.
"Sorry to startle you, Captain," he said softly. "You were asleep. I tried calling your name a couple of times, but I think your days of no sleep are catching up with you."
Sharon nodded, looking back over to Andy. He was still out, no change. She'd been sitting in the chair and had it pulled up next to his bed where she had been resting her elbows on the mattress as she continued to hold Andy's cold hand. She must have fallen asleep, head on the mattress. Looking at the scene, she grimaced at how sore she would probably be from sleeping like that. It must be pure exhaustion because there was no way a person could sleep in that position otherwise. She looked back to Provenza, "Sorry. I guess I was really passed out. I felt your hand, and well," she gave a small frown, "hoped Andy was waking up."
"I really am sorry for that," he said. "You've been sleeping awhile. I stopped in earlier, and you were asleep then."
"What time is it?" Sharon asked, looking around. She had left her watch at home by mistake, her lack of sleep causing her to be forgetful as well.
"6:00," he said. "I stopped by here at 2:00 to tell you I was going to a meeting with Taylor and would be back. You were asleep then, so you've slept for a few hours now."
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant," she sighed. "I didn't mean to sleep like that."
"Don't apologize to me. I'm sure Flynn is on Cloud 9, even in his state, thinking he slept with the captain," Provenza smirked to her, trying to get Sharon to laugh a little. It worked. She let out a small chuckle.
"That just might get him to wake up," Sharon played along. "He'll be sorry he missed it."
"Flynn, only an idiot like you would sleep with the captain in the ICU," he said louder as if trying to get Andy to wake up. Nothing. Sharon turned back to Provenza.
"Work?" she asked. The two understood the inference made from that question.
"Work is fine. They had a case that came up, but it looks like an open and shut one already, thank goodness. Taylor wanted an update on Flynn. He also asked what our plans were for sitting with Flynn's sorry self, so I told him that we were taking turns since all his family was out of town. Speaking of, Sandra has left me two messages because she'd like an update and only called me because she couldn't get you on your phone. Would you please call her back? Flynn and I have a pact to not have to speak to the ex's unless it's really bad. This," he waved to Andy, "doesn't fit that criteria."
Sharon raised her eyebrows as if in asking if he was serious, but instead nodded, "I'll call her back. You just don't think she likes you. She likes me just fine," Sharon added.
"Well, fine. You can have her. I'll give you Flynn and Sandra, package deal. Wanna take my ex, Liz too?" he joked.
She shook her head, "No, you can have her. You already have so many, what's one more?" she said with a little more lightness in her voice.
"Look, you've been here this long. Go, stretch, call Sandra. In fact, Flynn is going to need some of his personal items when he wakes up. Why don't you go to his house and get some stuff for him? He'll be ticked when he wakes up and none of his stuff is here. So, go, get out of here for a couple hours. Make your phone calls and let your kids know you are still around, get Flynn's stuff, and then come back. I'll sit," he offered.
Sharon bit her lip, looking at Andy, "I don't want to go, Lieutenant."
"You'll be doing me a favor. The last thing I want to do is dig around in Flynn's unmentionables," he shuddered. "I know you have a key to his house."
Sharon's eyes grew wide, "How do you know I have a key?"
He rolled his eyes, "You have a key; he has a key to your house-yeah, goes back to the good friend crap. He told me all about it, that you were trying to dismiss it as work safety issues. Face it; you two are so comfortable with each other, you can't even argue a reasonable defense."
Sharon just shrugged as she turned back to Andy, "Perhaps."
"So, go. Get his stuff. I don't want to touch anything that might come out of Flynn's bedroom. Again, if I sit here and tell him you are alone in his bedroom, that might get him to wake up," Provenza grinned. Sharon rolled her eyes. "I'll even give you a minute to say good-bye and explain to him you'll be back, because I have no doubt you will be back here in a couple of hours."
Sharon nodded, and before she could say anything more to Provenza, he stepped out of the room, giving her a moment alone with Andy. She turned back to him, "Andy," she said as she leaned over closer to his ear, "I'm going to step out for a bit. I'll go by the house and get some of your things. Provenza is going to sit here with you. I'll also call Sandra and update her so she can update the kids. It would be a much easier call to make if you woke up," she stopped, looking down at him. He made no movements, no facial expressions, nothing. He continued to sleep. She continued, "I'll be back in a couple hours, and then I'll be here all night. I'd even be okay if you decided to wake up while Provenza is here because I'm sure he is going to tell you tale after tale of how I'm alone at your house, in your room, or that maybe he'll try the opposite, of how he's here because I'm out on some hot date," she actually grinned, the first she'd done that in days. "Andy, know that you can't believe a word out of his mouth. I don't want to be anywhere else but here, and I will be right back. I'm leaving you in good hands as well as with Provenza," she smiled again. "The angel you gave me for Christmas that I brought you, it's right here next to your bed. I want it back, but you'll have to give it back to me when you wake up. Until then, he does a good job of watching over me on my nightstand each night. I'm only okay sharing him with you since you gave him to me. He's never left my nightstand until today, and as soon as you wake up and get out of here, you need to put him back where he belongs. Until then, he'll watch over you, as will Provenza," she sighed, trying not to cry. Her emotions were a roller coaster. "Sleep well, My Love, and wake up soon," as she kissed his forehead and squeezed his arm. She turned away quickly to leave, thinking that if she backed out of the room, looking at him, she wouldn't be able to go.
With tears in her eyes, she barely met Provenza's gaze. He seemed to understand, nodding at her as she quickly moved by him. She only slowed her pace once she got around the corner, and instead of continuing down the hall, she stopped and put her back against the wall, bent her head, and started to cry. She dug a tissue out of her purse, dabbed her eyes, and once she had collected herself again, she continued to the elevator. She had a mission, and she wanted to finish it quickly. Andy was waiting for her, and she had to get back to him.
The drive to his house was long from the hospital, but she didn't really notice it, not this night. She spent the first half of the drive on the phone with Sandra, giving her the update so she could call the kids. It was odd that Andy's ex-wife liked Sharon, but like most people, she probably realized a long time ago what Sharon only now was, that Andy loved Sharon, and even that Sharon loved Andy. Sharon ended that call, promising to let her know when Andy woke up, and then she finished the rest of the drive in silence. She promised herself that she would call Rusty on the return trip to the hospital.
It was odd going into Andy's house without Andy there. She'd been there plenty of times, sometimes with Rusty along too. She liked his house quite a bit, but just hated how far away it was from both her condo and work. Andy had done a variety of updates to the home, and it was cozy; it was Andy. She flipped on the lights when she entered, noting it looked normal. There was no sign in the house, that Andy was injured, hospitalized, and fighting for his life. Before Sharon got any further, her practicality kicked in, and she walked back outside to collect Andy's mail. He had quite a pile, and she flipped through it as she brought it into the house, looking for anything that might be urgent. Seeing only normal bills and junk mail, she put it on the counter, separating the junk mail and throwing it out. It was one small thing she could do for Andy right now, simple, yet she needed to feel useful. Sorting mail somehow grounded her because she then turned around, taking a deep breath. Andy. His house, his stuff, his chair. She walked to his favorite chair and sank down in it, pulling the blanket that was on the back of the chair over her. Yes, she loved that blanket, and she used it almost every time she was at his house. Andy's house always felt cold to her, even though he kept it set at the same temperature as hers. The blanket, her blanket, he'd joked. She would be taking this back to the hospital, for sure. She sat in his favorite chair, with her favorite blanket, and she looked around. It was quiet, too quiet in the house. She was used to laughter, baseball games, long talks, but she wasn't used to the silence. It was getting to her, so she stood and folded the blanket, setting it on the table by the door to take with her. Then, she turned and headed to his bedroom to pack a bag for him. As Sharon dug around looking for Andy's things, she had to chuckle at his drawers. He had a drawer full of suspenders. She'd never met anyone with that before, but she had to admit that discussing one's dresser drawer layout wasn't at the top of discussion topic lists. Quickly, she found his toiletry items and some fresh clothing. She knew what he wore around the house when he was lounging, a Dodger shirt and coordinating sweatpants, so she packed both. She had also, on occasion, seen him in his old LAPD shirt and coordinating pants too, so she packed those. She didn't know how long all of this would be going on, but she decided if he needed more stuff, she'd come back, gladly because more stuff would mean that he had awakened. She remembered seeing his robe hanging on his bathroom door, so she grabbed the green, tattered old thing. She chuckled at it; he really needed a new robe. Maybe she'd have to replace this one once he got out of the hospital.
As she looked around the room, trying to figure out what else he needed, her eyes focused on something she knew he'd need, but didn't admit to many-glasses. Yes, Andy wore reading glasses, but not many knew that. Sharon was one of the few. He didn't like wearing them, and he had told her before that if Provenza saw him wearing them at work, he was sure that Provenza would give him grief about his glasses constantly. So, while he really needed them for computer work or reading, he suffered through, trying to convince a room full of detectives that he was fine without glasses. The absurdity of it all had Sharon let out a chuckle. Provenza had tried a similar stunt with his glasses, or lack thereof, with the range. After almost failing completely and losing his range certification, Provenza had finally caved and now had glasses to shoot. Andy didn't need them for his weapon, but he was still holding out that he wouldn't wear them at work. Sharon looked to Andy's nightstand and saw the black framed glasses sitting there on top of a book he was reading. Sighing, she went to them. She knew he'd need them some at the hospital. She put the book in the bag she'd started, and she picked up the glasses, looking for their case. Oh, she actually loved these glasses and had told Andy she liked him wearing them very much. She'd try that again at the hospital. Maybe telling Andy that she was going to let Provenza in on the glasses secret might spur him to wake up. Sharon sighed at the idea that Andy had been staying at Provenza's place, yet he'd still left his glasses here. Then man was stubborn, but of course, she knew a thing or two about being stubborn.
Sharon opened his nightstand to find the case for his glasses. She found it, along with a pile of cards. Recognizing the first, she picked up the stack and immediately discovered he had saved every card she'd ever given him, and they were right here, by his bedside. She sat down on the bed and started going through the cards. This wasn't snooping; she'd given him each one, all with various notes inside. She started with the bottom of the pile, and as she worked her way though, she could see, even in a card, that their relationship had grown. The notes inside got longer and longer, the cards more frequent. The beginning of the stack had cards for his birthday and Christmas over the last several years, but as they got more recent, she'd started giving him cards just because, funny ones, ones that she said she'd picked up and was reminded of him, ones of encouragement, cards of all kinds. She took a few minutes to read through all the notes she'd written him, smiling at each one. Once she finished, she carefully put the cards back in his drawer as they had been and then noticed he had a stack of pictures next to them. They were pictures of the two of them, ones she'd even seen before. Some had been taken by Nicole, a few from work parties elsewhere, some by Rusty, and some she'd taken of the two of them. Birthday parties, baseball games, formal events-he had all the picture proof of a relationship she had been too blind to see, too scared to address. All had been sent to his phone, and it appeared he'd had them all made into photos. She was touched; he obviously cared for her deeply, was truly in love with her, and she knew she needed to get back to him. She had plenty of pictures too, most of hers though, on her phone. Thinking about it, she made up her mind then and there to have the photos printed out as Andy had done. She wasn't hiding anymore; she wanted Andy, and he was going to wake up. There was no other outcome.