Hey Guys! I am back! Took a 2 weeks hiatus, trying to figure out a few things with this story. We are in the home stretch. Four more chapters.
Thank you all to those who have been reading, reviewing, and favoriting. I really appreciate it!
Chapter 6 - Trial and Error
Andy Flynn had not seen Sharon in over a week. Since the morning of the accident, he had been whisked away into meeting after meeting. New Internal Affairs representation, meant the officer had to re-evaluate the situation. Sharon's notes had been extensive, a clear blue print of the next course of action in tandem with Flynn's lawyer. The roadblock that they were dealing with was that the new IA rep – a kid Sharon swore by – did not like Baker.
The constant bickering between the two men frustrated Flynn to no end. Some how it was worth the stress and annoyance. He was finally getting a board meeting with Delk and Pope. That was to happen soon. Emphasis on soon, he was told. If things worked in their favor. Apparently there was some meeting that the duo had to be part of and pushing the date up was more likely to happen.
All in all he missed Sharon. He had gotten used to her being in his bed in the morning. She had her own place, sure. He stayed over at her place, sure. But the waking up thing – the domestic rhythm – they found themselves in had been working for them. He missed it. He missed everything about it.
Dating her was one thing. Listening to her talk about the case, watching her slip into this persona he did not like, was another thing. He liked the no nonsense woman who refused to take no for an answer. She was feisty. She was something else. The version of Sharon that hung out with him on her off days, who walked with him along the beach – the girlfriend esque persona – the one he was falling in love with – he missed her.
With a bag of groceries in his arm and a bouquet of flowers in the other, he tried not to smash anything while he tried to knock on the door. It was faint and he was going to juggle a few things around but stopped when he heard movement inside of her place.
Gavin had let it slide that Sharon was home and had been home with the kids upon their release. That had been a couple days ago. It wasn't courage that Andy was trying to muster – he was trying to give her space. He had a feeling Sharon hadn't told her children about him.
The scratch of the door unlocking had him straightening up. The door cautiously opened and the tired green eyes met his. They softened when the door opened wider, a smile settled on Sharon's lips when recognition set in.
"Hey," Flynn said with a shrug.
Her eyes danced from the flowers to the bag of groceries and stepped aside. He couldn't touch her. Not with the kids in the house. He wanted to kiss her – that had been their routine. It felt odd to him that he couldn't get back to it.
"Ricky and Emily are in their room," she said.
He took that as an invitation. He dropped the bag on the counter and spun around, catching the back of her neck in his hand and her waist in his other, pulling her to him. He pressed his lips to hers hard. His tongue danced at her bottom lip, prying her mouth open and on a sigh she granted him access. He felt better. He felt whole again.
The meetings that he had to sit through weren't like the ones he sat through with her. Her voice had become soothing. He knew she was fighting for him and not against him. It was a different feeling with Elliot. He felt guarded, worried, hopeless and Andy had expressed that to Gavin. Gavin wasn't sold on Elliot either.
He released her when he was forced to swallow her moan. She had stepped back and curled her fingers around the island of her kitchen. She gave him a smile. She had missed him too. She missed waking up next to someone from an elongated period of time. She had missed the feeling of being wanted and not used.
Her children were using her because she was the only one they had. She was their mother, she could be used every which way. That was fine. It was Jack who had used her to get under their skin. Emily refused to talk to her for the first day, after Sharon brought her home. Ricky was more conversational.
"I brought stuff to make dinner," he said, motioning to the bags. "Those are for you."
He bought her lilies. They were expensive and the last bunch the store had, but they were worth it. Every dollar was worth it when Sharon apprehensively reached out to touch a pedal. Or when she delicately lifted them out of the plastic and into a vase that was in the storage space above her stove. It was all worth it when she pressed her lips to his cheek and hovered.
"Thank you," she said breathily into his ear, squeezing his free hand.
It was all worth it.
"How are the kids?"
He wanted to show that he cared. All he knew was that Ricky was better off than initially reported and Emily had in fact broken her ankle, which was a lot better than a sprain. Sprains were more difficult to heal.
"Emily refused to talk to me," she shrugged. "Made Ricky fetch everything for her."
Andy began to take things out of the bags and set them on her counter. She had reached for the lettuce and cracked it, washing it.
"His wrist was fractured," she said. "But they only gave him a soft cast. The fracture is small."
"That's good, right?"
Sharon nodded in the affirmative and set the lettuce in a bowl. She had her hand on his hip, reaching over for the bag of croutons when the tell tale click of Emily's crutches sounded down the hallway. There hadn't been enough time to detach herself from the man, to give herself enough distance. Emily hovered in the living room, her eyes on the things displayed on the counter and then up to Andy.
"You're Flynn?" Emily questioned immediately.
"I am," he nodded. "You must be Emily."
The girl quirked an eyebrow as if to say 'Duh'. Andy grinned inwardly, tossing a glance over his shoulder to Sharon. The woman's face was tinged with pink. She was embarrassed. The girl got her attitude from Jack – that much was evident.
"Mom," Emily started. "Are we ordering dinner?"
"No," Sharon said. "Andy is making us dinner."
Surprise filled the girl's eyes. It was the use of the first name falling off of her mother's lips that surprised her. It was the fact that there was a man standing in her mother's kitchen, seemingly at home, that surprised her. Her father had mentioned someone had replaced him and the realization this man was him – it unsettled her.
"Oh," Emily commented.
"You want to pull up a chair?" Andy questioned. "Maybe you can help your Mom out and cut the tomatoes."
Sharon gave her daughter a wink and a nod. Andy wasn't there to intrude. Sharon knew that, but she saw the apprehension in her daughter's eyes. She had been living with Jack and if he spoke negatively about Sharon and her life – the apprehension was expected.
Emily gave in and crutched her way over to the table, settling her crutches against the table, wincing when one of them toppled over. She had to keep her leg elevated – the hard cast would be coming off in a couple weeks and she had to make sure she didn't hit anything. The girl would have to go to Physical Therapy when it was taken off.
Sharon took the tomatoes and set one down in front of Emily, handing the girl a knife. It wasn't sharp as the one Sharon was planning on using, but it would do the trick.
"Cut away from you," she said quietly, before pressing a kiss to Emily's head.
The pasta – well, what was left of it, sat in the middle of Sharon's dining room table. Ricky had woken up from his drug induced nap and had stumbled into the dining table, ate a plate of food and crashed on the couch. He was asleep, face down, body spread out, lightly snoring. Emily had excused herself back to her room, under the pretense that she had to read.
Andy had taken Sharon out onto her patio – not that it was big – big enough for two people to curl up into a chair and watch the city. They had been sitting out there for nearly an hour, quietly conversing about the case, about the kids, his and hers, and just basking in the orchestra of the city.
"I have a meeting with Delk and Pope at the end of the week," Andy said. "I'm probably going to get fired."
His hand rested high up on her hip. She had a hand to his chest, which she used to swat his chest.
"You're not getting fired," she pressed. "Believe me, will you?"
He caught her lips in a kiss. It was gentle, it was kind, there was no ulterior motive behind it. He wanted to see her and he was determined to have her. If stolen kisses while her children were otherwise occupied was the only way, so be it. He was willing to cope.
He opened his mouth at her ear and breathed what he had realized a week ago in a hushed whisper. He was sure it was going to be drowned out by a horn of a car, the breaks of the bus, or a shout of someone on the street. Yet they were in quiet, total silence when the statement of love poured out of him.
Tense is what she became at the admission. She had her face against his neck, her lips at the underside of his jaw. She was curled into him, her body, her fingers, her everything – totally in him. She ached to be near him in the hospital. She ached to be near him at dinner, when they sat across from each other. She ached to have him in her bed, like they had been, but things were different now.
Things were so much different.
"Let me take you away from the city," he prompted. "Let me take you and the kids up north to a lake."
"A lake?"
He nodded. "There's a lake house up north. Not too hot and not too cold. The kid's would love it."
"They have doctor's appointments," she sighed. "You have your meeting. I can't just leave."
He wanted to protest, claim that she could just leave. They could all just leave. He'd be back for his meeting with Delk and Pope – she would be back for the kid's appointment's. It would be fine. She would make sure of it.
He gave her a look. It was one of defeat and hope.
"I have three days," he said. "Three days to do whatever I want and I want to take you to the cabin. You and your kids."
"Andy-" she sighed.
It was a lost cause, he realized. She didn't want to leave her kids, didn't want to leave LA in the event that something happened. Granted, yes, the cabin was away from civilization – there wasn't a hospital for a few miles. He gave into her – he always did. He nodded and ran a hand over the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry," she said, reaching out.
The moment her fingers touched his wrist, he pulled back. It was a mistake. He was pulling away from her and yet again he was acting like a child. He was being greedy. He wanted her.
"It's fine."
Dismissive. The tone was dismissive and he watched as she uncurled from him and sat in her own space.
He watched as she stood, took a deep breath and came around him to go inside. He took a moment before following her in. Despite her children being immobile and mute, they still had things around the place and she was picking them up. She tossed a throw blanket onto a chair. She kicked Ricky's shoes under the table, getting them out of the way.
"I want to go away with you," she said, standing still in the middle of her living room.
Andy was still at the sliding glass door, looking at her; watching her as she battled with the words in her head.
"It's not that I don't," she continued. " I do. But the kids – the kids are mine now. I've had so much time away from them that yes, my personal life, what it was is now on infinite hold."
"And I'm trying to give you a small chance at having both," Andy said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm not asking you to run away with me, Sharon. I'm asking you to come with me up to a cabin where the kids don't need to hear the sounds of traffic or the drilling of machinery."
Sharon looked at him with sadness in her eyes. She shook her head and flexed her fingers.
"I can't," she said. "Truth be told, I shouldn't even be in a relationship, of any kind with you."
He was expecting it. The sucker punch to the gut. The rest he knew would play out in her favor. It would involve him leaving, going home to his place, and that would be the end of whatever it was they had.
"I stepped away from the case because of my children," she said. "My children come before my job. I got swept up in the romantics of a close working relationship and it shouldn't have happened."
Andy took a step towards her, debated it. Three things could happen, he thought to himself, as he listed the three ideas in his head.
He could yell at her. Call her names. Threaten her job.
He could kiss her, make love to her on the floor of her living room, and consequences be damned.
He could leave.
As he stood toe to toe with her, the options weighing and fighting each other out, a fourth one came to mind. He seized it and went running with it.
He crushed his lips to hers. He buried his hands in her hair and tilted her head back for more. His lips went from hers to her neck, sucking on the point that made her knees weak. He knew he succeeded when her hands came to his hips, the nails of hers digging in to his side. On the moan, he stepped back, dropped his hands from her and turned away.
Picking up the keys from her entry table, where he always dumped his keys, he picked them up and swung her front door open. The keychain for his car dangled off his index finger as the door slammed behind him. The echo of it followed him down the hallway and onto her elevator.
He tried to have a relationship. It failed.
A trial and error, for which he had no plausible solution.
Except one.
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