Hey guys, I'm back :D Holy crap I am so sorry I took this long to get this one done *facepalm* muse is continually in absentia these days, but I've finally managed to scrape this together. Soooo thank you for waiting and thanks to lieutenantflynn, SanctuaryGurl, Natchez and det-timoney for reviewing. *SQUISHES*
Flynn kept a firm grip on Sharon's hand as they weaved their way through the maze of tables and people to find the rest of Major Crimes crammed into two horseshoe booths at the back of bar. He let his eyes do a quick sweep of the occupants of the booths and sighed heavily when he noted an extra body was squeezed onto the benches.
He listened to Willis laugh loudly at something Tao had said and he grimaced at the exaggerated sound. He glanced down at their joined hands when he felt Sharon give his a light squeeze; he still couldn't help but be fascinated by how perfectly her smaller hand seemed to fit in his. "You okay?" she asked him just loud enough to be heard over the din of music and inebriated customers.
When he looked at her, he saw that her lips held a tiny, encouraging smile. He returned it and pulled her closer to his side, releasing her hand in favour of wrapping his arm around her waist, letting his hand come to rest on her hip. She leaned into his embrace and her smile widened ever so slightly.
He should have known that the moment they were sharing wouldn't last for long however, as Provenza's irritated voice floated across the room, "Hey Flynn! Get your ass over here!"
Flynn sighed heavily and leant down to press a quick kiss into Sharon's hair before leading her over to the rest of the squad. He glared at Provenza until the older man shrugged and shuffled around the booth to make room for the two newcomers. Not wanting to subject her to having to sit beside Provenza, Flynn squeezed into the booth first, shoving the older man further around the bench in the process. Sharon lowered herself gracefully into the empty space and leaned against his side, smiling when he draped his arm protectively around her shoulder.
"What the hell took you so long? I called you nearly an hour ago!" Provenza griped before taking a long swig of his drink. Flynn forced himself not to shuffle uncomfortably on the bench and schooled his face into what he hoped was a neutral expression. It didn't help that he could practically hear Sharon smirking beside him.
"I was busy." He replied dryly. He felt Sharon tense beside him and knew that she was trying desperately not to giggle, if only for the purpose of not ruining her carefully crafted dragon-lady image. Flynn was especially glad that from where he was sat, his friend would not be able to see that striking purple bruise that Sharon had left just above the collar of his shirt. He could almost imagine the shit-eating grin that would be on his friend's face for the rest of the night.
"Lieutenant Flynn, Cap'n Raydor, why don't y'all get yourselves a drink?" Brenda cut in before Provenza could think up a retort. Flynn glanced at Sharon who nodded and scooted out of the booth and waited for him to stand. Placing his palm in the small of her back, he gently steered her towards the bar, aware that there were several sets of eyes following them.
He ordered a glass of Rosé for her and a cranberry and soda for himself and rested himself against the edge of the bar. Sharon stood beside him and removed her jacket with a deliberate slowness, beginning to feel the warmth of the establishment. "She's watching you again you know." There was an edge to her voice that he rarely heard outside of the police department.
Feeling the bartender tap him lightly on the shoulder to tell him their drinks were ready. He held hers out for her and watched as she took it absently, not taking her eyes off the table. "I know, just try and ignore her." he replied.
Sharon gave a light hum and quickly glanced at him with a small smile playing on her lips, "Aren't I supposed to be telling you that?" she arched an eyebrow delicately and tilted her head.
He grinned at her and took a sip of his drink, "How about this; lets say we both ignore her."
Sharon chuckled lightly and inclined her head towards the table, "Ready to go back?" Flynn sighed and shook his head quickly before taking another sip of his cranberry and soda.
"Not really, can we just go home?" he leaned a little closer to her and lowered his voice, "I can finish making it up to you." He grinned slyly when a light blush coloured her cheeks.
She took a quick swallow of her wine and kept the glass close to her face as she answered him, "I'm sure you would, but as everyone is waiting and your friend is still watching, I'm sure they would notice if we left in a hurry five minutes after arriving."
He made a short grumbling noise and reached down to take her free hand, "Probably, not that I'd give a damn if they did." He replied while leading her back over to the table. Sharon covered a snort and deposited her drink on the wooden surface and waited for Flynn to slide back into the booth.
Settling herself into Flynn's side, Sharon spared Willis a quick scathing glance before turning her attention to the chief. "How's the investigation going, Chief?" she asked politely. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Andy turn away from Provenza to face his superior.
"It's over, Cap'n." Brenda replied vaguely, lifting her large glass of merlot to her lips and taking a long drink.
Flynn let his gaze sweep around the table, holding each set of eyes he met for a couple of seconds before glaring at Provenza beside him, "How come no-one told me it was over?" Provenza shrugged and idly tapped his fingers against his glass.
Andy huffed angrily and hunched down in his seat. Sharon smirked at his sulking and nudged him gently with her elbow. He gave her a small but meaningful glance before reaching for his cranberry and soda and draining half of the glass quickly.
"So, what happened?" he asked after clearing his throat. The other members of the squad shuffled uncomfortably in their seats and looked to their chief, who was absorbed in her glass of her merlot.
"Her brother shot her." A bored voice piped up. Seven sets of eyes all snapped to the owner of the voice who was sipping her beer and looking coolly indifferent to how unsympathetic her words had come out sounding. Sharon sensed every muscle in Flynn's body tense and felt him clench his hand into a fist where it had been resting on her thigh underneath the table. Keeping her gaze trained on Willis across the table, she brushed her fingers across his knuckles in a light caress until he relaxed enough to thread his fingers through hers.
"The father confessed to leaving his gun laying around after he got home from work," Provenza started, shifting in his seat so that he had a clear sight of both Andy and Sharon, who were watching him intently. "The girl's brother took the gun outside to so they could play cops and robbers." He paused and sighed heavily, the sigh turned into an annoyed grunt when his eyes found their joined hands. He seemed even less amused when they both gave him the same defiant look, as if daring him to say something.
"He opened the back gate so that they'd have more room to play," Willis continued only to be promptly cut off by Gabriel.
"He tripped and the gun went off, hitting his sister." Gabriel finished, staring into the foam of his beer as if it held answers to why that little girl had to die in a tragic accident.
Flynn took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Poor kid." He said quietly and Sharon squeezed his hand lightly under the table, offering comfort in a way that she knew he needed.
"And that is why we're here, ladies and gentlemen," Brenda cleared her throat and raised her glass, prompting the others to do the same. No words were said as eight glasses were held in a silent salute to a young child that none of them knew.
The group fell into comfortable hushed banter for the better part of an hour, the alcohol flowing as easily as the conversation; Provenza's cheeks had begun to turn rosy and Gabriel sat with hazy eyes while Sanchez and Tao mocked each other. Willis, on the other hand, had kept firmly to herself, only engaging the others when she was asked a direct question.
Sharon kept half an eye on Willis while she amicably exchanged small talk with Brenda; they're relationship not having fledged into full-blown friendship yet. She was keenly aware that the young sergeant's attention was fixed in place, or rather on one person. She was surprised when Andy turned his face slightly to face her and glanced down at their still joined hands. She hadn't even noticed that she'd tightened her grip.
"You okay?" he asked her quietly, a small smile covering his concern. Sharon nodded and relaxed her hand slowly before pulling it away completely. He frowned at the loss of contact but said nothing, only gave her a questioning look when she slid out of the booth gracefully.
"I'm just going to use the ladies room." She supplied, not waiting for his nod of acknowledgement before she turned towards the bathrooms.
"Oh, one second, Cap'n," the southern drawl reached her over the sound of Gabriel laughing at something Sanchez had said. Sharon paused and waited for the chief to catch up with her. "I think I'll join you." She continued in her sunny tone, steering Sharon away from the tables.
Flynn watched them leave; staring after them for a moment before turning back to the rest of the squad. "Why do women always have to go to the bathroom in pairs?" he asked, gesturing with a thumb over his shoulder to their fast retreating backs.
They all glanced at Willis who simply shrugged and took another sip of her beer. "It's a chick thing." Sanchez answered in an utterly serious voice, earning a snort of derision and a napkin in the face from Anna.
In the ladies room, Sharon checked her perfectly meticulous make-up and lightly fluffed her hair until she was satisfied with the result, silently scolding herself for giving in to Flynn's request to laze in bed for a while longer after Provenza's phone call. While she had of course enjoyed the comforting intimacy after her brief moment of doubting the strength of their relationship, she regretted not being able to take the time to properly control the wild mass of her hair, especially after the treatment it had gotten from Flynn's roaming hands.
In the mirror she saw Brenda digging through her ridiculously sized purse, "I didn't mean to interrupt your evenin' with this, Cap'n." Brenda's voice was almost muffled as she put her face almost inside her purse as she tried to locate something or other that had most likely hidden itself in the deepest, darkest crevice at the bottom.
Sharon frowned and leaned against the counter, "It's fine, Chief. Besides, I'm sure Andy wants to be here."
The small noise of agreement that Brenda made quickly turned to one of mild frustration as she began taking objects out of her bag and placing the sloppily by the sinks. "Yes I'm sure he does, but what about you, Cap'n?" she glanced at Sharon whose expression had morphed into one of puzzlement.
"Chief?"
"Oh for heaven's sakes!" Brenda threw her hands up in the air and started returning her belongings to the monstrosity that was hanging off her arm, occasionally looking at Sharon in the mirror, "Do you want to be here, Sharon? You seem…tense."
Sharon frowned again; apparently her carefully schooled expressions and reactions had been letting her down around the CIA trained interrogator or she just really was that tense. She decided not to answer, instead concentrating on picking non-existent dirt off her skirt.
"You've joined us plenty of times before and have never seemed uncomfortable," Brenda continued and Sharon sighed as she watched the woman transform from a civilian into a police officer right before her eyes. "The only thing I can think of that's different is Sergeant Willis bein' here."
Sharon knew immediately that she shouldn't have averted her eyes from the other woman because she caught onto it immediately. "She seems awfully fond of Lieutenant Flynn." Sharon scoffed at the chief's words.
"She acts like a schoolgirl harbouring a crush." She replied with a small smirk.
Brenda made a small noise of victory and pulled her lipstick out of her bag with a flourish, "And that is exactly why I can't have her in my department." She drawled, dapping the colour across her lips while Sharon's own smiled at her reflection.