DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters. They belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

A/N: This chapter is longer than the other chapters because there is going to be a lot going on. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and support. Let's see what happens now to our beloved couple...

Chapter 5

Andy stirred in his sleep and heard his phone alert to a text message. He reached over Sharon as she was sleeping and tried not to disturb her. He unlocked his phone as saw a text message from Provenza. It said 'Julio and I decided to drive up earlier than planned. Meet you at beach house in one hour'. Andy groaned. Sharon woke up to Andy looking at his phone. "Is everything okay?" she asked. "Yes, Provenza and Julio are driving up now, they are about one hour away and said they would be coming here" Andy said in a quiet voice. "Hmm, what time is it?" Sharon whispered. "2:36 AM" Andy said back. Sharon settled back in to bed and reached over for Andy but he instead got out of bed. "Where are you going?" Sharon asked as Andy was putting a t-shirt on.

Just then, they heard a noise that sounded like something being knocked over. Andy looked at Sharon and went to grab his gun. Sharon quickly got out of bed, threw on her cardigan sweater, and grabbed her gun as well. They made their way to the bedroom door. Sharon gave Andy a nod. Andy mouthed "I love you" to her and opened the door slightly. He had left a light on in the living room and in the kitchen as well so there was some light in the cottage. He made his way through the house towards where he thought the noise came from. Sharon was right behind him and they checked and cleared the rooms as they went along.

Suddenly, someone jumped out and blindsided Andy. It was Stroh. They struggled and both were knocked down to the floor. "Andy!" Sharon yelled. During the fall, Andy's gun slid across the floor away from him and Stroh. Andy was on the floor with Stroh on top of him. Sharon drew her weapon at the two but could not get a clear shot. "Knife!" Andy yelled out to alert Sharon that Stroh had a weapon. The two were struggling and Andy's left arm was sliced by the knife. Andy gritted his teeth and continued to fight with Stroh.

"Stay there!" Andy said to Sharon. He wanted Sharon in one spot, and that was away from Stroh. Andy had one hand on the knife and punched Stroh in the face with his other hand. Sharon looked on at the two fighting, and still didn't have a clear shot. She was afraid if she shot; she would hit Andy as the two kept moving around trying to gain the upper hand.

"I'm going to kill your precious Captain" Stroh said to Andy as they still struggled. "The hell you are!" Andy said as he punched him again in the face and grabbed Stroh's hand with the knife. As they were struggling Andy was able to turn the knife around and stabbed Stroh in the chest. Andy looked into his eyes. Stroh fell on top of Andy and Andy threw Stroh off of him and got up. Catching his breath he looked at him making sure he wasn't going to move.

Andy went over to where Sharon was standing, her gun still aimed at Stroh. Andy grabbed Sharon's gun and hands and lowered them both. "Are you alright?" Andy asked. "Yes, are you?" Sharon responded as Andy pulled her into his arms and closed his eyes. "I am now" Andy said between breaths. Sharon started crying in his arms. She then noticed that Andy's left arm was cut and bleeding. "Oh my god Andy, you're bleeding" she said as she ran to get a towel from the kitchen. She then placed it on his arm to stop his bleeding. She had flashbacks to the night when he called her after his knife attack.

She then ran into the bedroom, grabbed her phone, and called 911. She told them that they were LAPD officers and that they had an intruder in their home they were renting, that he was stabbed, and to send an ambulance and the police. She hung up and texted Provenza and told him what happened. 'Are you guys okay?' Provenza texted back. 'Andy's been cut on his arm, I think Stroh is dead, waiting on ambulance and police' Sharon answered.

She looked over to where Andy was sitting now; he still held that towel to his arm. His eyes kept staring at Stroh's body. The police and paramedics arrived and entered the cottage. Sharon showed their badges to the police officers and explained what had happened. The police captain that she spoke to over the phone yesterday also arrived and spoke to Sharon. "So, this was our guy?" he asked. "Yes, we tied him in to the disappearances of those women. Two of my detectives are on their way right now with their findings" Sharon said to him. "Looks like self-defense to me captain" he said to her as he surveyed the crime scene.

She glanced over at Andy who was being looked at by the paramedics. Twice in almost two weeks she thought to herself and shook her head. She excused herself from the captain and walked over to where Andy was. "You are going to need stitches, sir" one of the paramedics told Andy. "I'm fine" he said back to him. "You are going to go get stitches Andy and also get checked out by a doctor" Sharon said to him as one of the paramedics cleaned up his knife wound. Andy hissed at the pain, the adrenaline was starting to wear off now.

One of the police officers took Andy's statement while another one took pictures of the area. The coroner then arrived to take Stroh's body out. Provenza and Julio arrived just as that was happening and walked into the cottage. "Captain" he said to Sharon and nodded to her as he looked around. "Lieutenant" she said back to him. "Are you okay?" Provenza asked as he pointed to the blood that was on her shirt. "Oh, yes I'm fine it's Andy's blood" Sharon said in a shaky voice. Julio went up to her and placed his hand on her arm. She nodded back to him. "Detective, why don't you fill in the captain here" Sharon said as she introduced Julio to the police captain.

Provenza walked over to where Andy was still sitting with the paramedics. "Don't even start" Andy said as he looked up at him. "I didn't say anything" Provenza shrugged and held his hands up. "Exactly!" Andy said, as he hissed again when the paramedics placed gauze over his wound. Sharon then walked over to where Provenza was with Andy. "We are going to take him to the local hospital for some stitches now" the paramedic said to Sharon. "Can I ride with him?" Sharon asked as she looked at Andy. "Of course" the paramedic stated. "Ah, what hospital are you taking him to?" Provenza asked the paramedic. "Community Hospital" they answered. "We will finish up here Captain and then meet you there" Provenza said as he walked over to where Julio was.

Sharon and Andy rode in the back of an ambulance again. Andy didn't want to make this a habit of his. "I'm sorry Sharon" Andy said as he looked at her. She was staring at him with a worried look on her face. "For what?" Sharon asked. "This wasn't how I had planned this weekend" Andy said and reached out to grab her hand with his good arm. "All that matters is that you are okay, that's all I really care about" Sharon said as she caressed his hand in hers. Sharon's eyes were starting to tear up again and she reached up to wipe them with her other hand.

They pulled into the local hospital and walked into the ER with the paramedics. They were met by a triage nurse who took Andy and Sharon to a room where she got Andy's medical history and had to fill out some paperwork. The nurse then looked at the wound on Andy's arm. "Wow! How did that happen?" the nurse asked Andy. "Basically, I got into a fight with a serial killer and he had a knife, sliced my arm up, but I got the better of him" Andy started to say. The nurse just looked at him in shock.

"Andy" Sharon said as she tried to swat his good arm. "We are LAPD officers and were up here for a vacation when we ran into someone who escaped from us about 2 years ago" Sharon started to explain. "No need to explain, honey" she said "you got quite the guy here, being all brave" she continued as she started to clean Andy's wound. Sharon just smiled at her and then at Andy. "Yes I do" Sharon said as she continued to look at him.

Meanwhile, back at the crime scene, Julio and Provenza were explaining to the police captain there about how Stroh knew those 4 women who disappeared. "One of our lieutenants in our squad was able to locate Stroh's apartment in Monterey. This is the address" Provenza said as he handed the paper to the police captain. "Thank you" he said as he took the paper. "Don Dahvee Park is right there sir. More than likely, that's where he buried the bodies" Julio stated and handed him more papers that they brought. "Thanks a lot gentlemen, we will take it from here" the police captain said as he shook both of their hands. Provenza and Julio started walking back to their car. "Come on, let's go to the hospital and see how they are doing" Provenza said to Julio as he got into the car.

Back at the hospital, Andy was getting stitched up and being looked at by a doctor there. "Considering all that you went through tonight, Mr. Flynn, all of your vitals are normal" the doctor said. "Good" Andy replied. "The only concern we had was that your bleeding took a while to stop, but since you listed all the medication that you take, I understand why that occurred, and it's not a big deal" the doctor concluded. Andy shook his head. "You are all set to go" the doctor stated and walked out of the room, but not before he shook Andy and Sharon's hands.

"Are you in any pain?" Sharon asked as she stood up to gather Andy's things. "No, they numbed the area before they stitched me up" Andy said wearily. They both walked out of the room and Andy placed his good arm around Sharon's waist. They met Provenza and Julio in the waiting area. "Glad to see you're okay sir" Julio said as he patted Andy on the back. "Too many hospital visits Flynn for my taste!" Provenza said teasingly to Andy. "Mine too" Andy said as he smiled at Sharon and started to walk out of the emergency room to the car that they drove up in.

"Well, at least you took the explorer up here" Andy said as he held the back door for Sharon. As he walked around to the other side Provenza was waiting for him. As no one was looking, he gave Andy a hand shake. "I'm glad you're okay" he said to him and patted him on the back. "Me too" Andy said back to him. Andy leaned in closer to Provenza saying "All I kept thinking about was how I couldn't let him get to Sharon and that I had to protect her at all costs." "You did good Andy, you did real good" Provenza said and they both got into the car. Sharon leaned into Andy's right side as Julio drove back to the cottage they rented.

They were going to get their stuff and find a hotel or something to stay in for at least that night. As they walked back into the cottage, there was crime scene tape everywhere and nothing had been cleaned up yet. "So much for my security deposit" Andy said as he stepped back inside with Sharon by his side. "I'm sure they will understand Flynn" Provenza said as he followed them inside. They picked up their stuff and packed the car. Sharon drove them to a nearby hotel as Provenza and Julio followed behind them.

Once inside the hotel, Provenza told them that they should meet him and Julio at the local police station at 10 am, just to make sure everything was covered and then he went to his room. Sharon and Andy went up to their room and Andy laid down on the bed. Sharon changed her clothes as she did not want to keep wearing what she had on. She looked at herself in the mirror in the bathroom. Thank God he is okay, she thought to herself, and she walked out of the bathroom and climbed into bed next to Andy.

She curled up next to him and he wrapped his right arm around her. She kissed him like she's never kissed him before with such urgency and he returned the kiss. "I love you Sharon, with everything I have" Andy whispered to her. "I love you too Andy. Thank you for saving our lives tonight" Sharon said as she kissed him again. They both then fell asleep and held onto each other till morning came around.

TBC