It was the day they had been waiting for. Rusty and Riley were going to officially have a family. Of course Sharon insisted that it all was simply a technicality, that even if they had decided not to get adopted for whatever reasons they would still forever have a family with her, but she was nearly giddy with excitement. Andy had laughed at her for checking her watch every fifteen minutes since she arrived, but she couldn't help it. After all the kids had been through they deserved a family, and it would make Sharon feel a little more at ease knowing she could get to them in an emergency.
"How did Sharon Beck take it?" Andy asked as he took a seat on the edge of Sharon's desk. They had been working a particularly odd case but it was a great reminder to Sharon how blessed she was to have added two amazing kids to her life without really meaning to. So many people would do anything to have a child and two extra landed in her lap. Nothing could have possibly made her happier.
Sharon shrugged and closed the file she had been working on. "Rusty said it went fine, then shut himself in his room for a couple hours. Riley hugged me and thanked me for loving them." Translation, the usual. Sharon Beck had left her children in tatters as she always did when they saw her. Yet, they wouldn't let Sharon help with the emotional wounds their mother forced on them. That was a battle they preferred to fight on their own.
There was that deep sadness in her eyes. When her kids came home hurt, Sharon carried their pain with her. Andy gave his love an understanding smile as he discreetly placed his hand atop hers on the desk. "This is a good thing, and to be honest, I hope this get a little farther from their mom."
It was an understandable thought, but Sharon still struggled with how to feel about that. After all, Sharon Beck was their mother just as Jack was her other children's father. Of course the circumstances were different but still similar. It was the kids' choices. They chose what they wanted from their parents. All she could do was standby and be sure someone was there for them as a constant.
"Riley is so excited," Sharon told him quietly with a soft smile as she focused on the way his thumb was drawing circles on the pack of her hand. "We went out and bought her a dress. It's just wonderful to see her smile again. Rusty, though, still seems nervous. Like he's sure he doesn't deserve it."
The look of sadness in those darling blue eyes as he promised her that one day he would give her a reason to be proud of him still broke her heart. There was a similar look to Riley if she dared to look past the eager excitement. There was a fear of rejection lying just below the surface, like she was still worried Sharon would change her mind.
If only Riley could realize how completely impossible that was, just as she wished Rusty could see how endlessly proud she was of him. They had come so far from where they were years ago. Those angry teenagers who fought her and each other with everything they had, the ones who got in fights at school and were so far behind that it looked like they were going to have to spend an extra year in high school or get their GED. The ones who defied all statistics and became strong, intelligent kids who are preparing to start college soon. She couldn't take away the scars their mother had left them with, all she could do was reassure that she loved them much too much to ever inflict more hurt upon them.
"You are a great mom, Sharon," Andy reminded her. "Those kids know how lucky they are to have you."
She couldn't stop a smile. "Thank you, Andy." She stood up and dared to move closer to him, their hands still linked. "Still not nearly as lucky as I am to have them."
With the shades in her office closed nothing stopped her from taking the extra couple steps and allowing Andy to wrap her up in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and felt him let out a deep breath. The days before she joined the Major Crimes team she could not image that one day she would be so completely in love with him. Then again, he was her best friend, a co-parent to her children, and her confidant. Falling in love with him was just as natural as letting Rusty and Riley into her heart. Some things are just meant to be.
His hand gently played with the ends of her hair that fell onto her back as she buried her nose deeper into his neck.
"You all deserve this, Sharon," Andy whispered, turning his head just enough to wear his breath tickled her ear.
She pulled back slightly to gain a better look at his face. Those brown eyes were so filled with love that she made a choice to ignore the face they were at work and tilted her head up to place a soft yet loving kiss on his lips. It was so easy to love him.
As they separated he smirked at her. "The no PDA in the workplace was your rule, remember?"
She shrugged and let her hands slide down his arms until they were finally in his. "This is my private office." Andy raised a brow and Sharon giggled. "Don't get any clever ideas. Today is a special occasion."
Andy let out a small chuckle before he tilted his head down and pressed another kiss against her lips. "Well, if you want to break anymore rules just let me know." He shook his head as she stepped out of his arms. "You are beautiful."
A warm blush came across her cheeks as she made appropriate space between them. She just needed to finish some paperwork before she could leave. It wouldn't take too long but she was just anxious for four o'clock. Soon her kids would legally be her kids.
"She's probably busy."
Rusty's voice from the back hallway had both Andy and Sharon exchanging looks. They had told her they would meet her at work, but she expected they would hang out in the murder room or break room.
"You're just saying that because you know how pissed she'll be." Riley seemed amused at her brother's expense while Sharon already found herself preparing for whatever happened this time. It sounded like something Rusty was alone in. If it had to do with Phantom, usually Riley was the one who broke the news like a heartbroken pup. However that didn't bring back the pair of Michael Kors that the dog had for dinner. "Maybe you should talk to Andy first."
They were just outside her door now, oblivious to the fact that every word they were saying was easily heard. Andy smirked at the kids bringing him into the situation. As much as he knew Sharon wouldn't appreciate the kids considering going to him to get around their mother, it was flattering in a rather odd way.
However Rusty knew better. "Um, no. He'd tell Sharon. They're all about 'honesty' and 'communication'." The terms sounded like they disgusted him but had Sharon almost giggling. One hand covered her mouth while the other held onto Andy's bicep. "Provenza. He'll probably help us."
"Us?" Riley scoffed. "You."
Sharon tilted her head to Andy and motioned for him to step away from the door. That was when the kids came in she could act none the wiser.
"Us," Rusty said with finality. "I wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for your big mouth."
"All I did was ask for the guy's freaking name. That's not illegal. Hell, as a cop shouldn't he been more than willing to give it?"
With that, Rusty pushed open the door startling Sharon and Andy into acting like they were going over a case together. However, it didn't matter how believable they were or not because Riley pushed right past her brother.
"Rusty got a traffic ticket!" she announced to her mother as she turned around and looked at Rusty's awestruck face. "What? It's best to just rip off the band-aid."
Rusty glared at his sister as Sharon reeled to catch up. "A traffic ticket?" she asked turning her full attention to her son.
"For tailgating," Riley supplied before getting a silencing glare from her mother. She held her hands up and took a couple steps back until she was standing next to Andy.
Sharon sighed and looked at her son. "Rusty, I've warned you about following too close."
"I know, I know. But he wasn't going to give me a ticket. He had just spent an half an hour in his car making us just sit there and when he came back he asked why we were driving a police captain's car." Rusty rolled his eyes and took a second to glare at his sister again. "Riley told him that you are our mom and he started laughing."
There was a slight rumble from Riley that sounded suspiciously like "asshole" before Andy put his hand on her shoulder to keep her quiet. He and Sharon both had an idea of where this was going. Though she had made many friends in the last several years working in Major Crimes, she still had her fair share of enemies. Sharon took a glance at her daughter and noticed that this was getting her fire started too.
"So then Riley-" Rusty's eyes glare even harder at his sister. "-askes what the joke was and the guy just kinda brushed her off. Then she asked if we could go and told him that our adoption was going through today."
Riley's silence no longer held as she took an angry step up. "Then the guy wrote Rusty a ticket. He was a total ass, Mom."
"Whoa, whoa," Andy jumped in, pulling the spitfire back a step. "I think we're missing part of the story." He looked to Sharon who was now standing with her arms crossed over her crest. The twins looked at each other and finally it was Rusty who caved to continue.
"Well, the guy said the nicest thing he could do for us was make us miss our own adoption." Rusty's voice was low and quiet. Each word was obviously carefully chosen. "He said that he'd be doing us a favor, since you're an- um- piece of work lady."
Andy glanced at Sharon features. He knew that these words weren't something that particularly hurt, but it did annoy her. Especially when her children were thrown into police drama they had nothing to do with, they had no idea what it was even about, and they were unfairly blindsided by some possibly corrupt cop.
"And I asked him his name."
Sharon turned to Riley who had some sense in looking somewhat hesitant about what she did. "I was nice about it. I smiled. He was the one who got all defensive and said that if we wanted his name he would happily write it down for us."
On cue, Rusty held up the yellow paper of the traffic violation and passed it to Sharon. Andy moved to read over her shoulder. "McAdams? Seriously, that bastard is still in traffic?"
Sharon sighed and patted his arm. "Andy please." She was honestly glad that all he gave them was a minor traffic violation. He had a tendency of playing fast and loose with the law, especially where his interests were concerned. He had been on the force for twenty years and still in the limbo that was traffic.
Placing the paper on her desk she turned to her two youngest. "You know that some police don't like me. There are a lot of people in this world that don't like me." Yet she was not ashamed. Her eye contact with her children was solid and unwavering. "It doesn't bother me. Don't let it bother you."
Easier said than done. Especially with Andy's knuckles turning white just as his neck was turning red. It was all out of love for her, she knew that. But loving her, just like loving anyone, came with certain baggage. She had an alcoholic ex-husband and a lot of people in the LAPD who wouldn't mind screwing with her family.
She looked to each of her children and then finally to her boyfriend. "Please?"
As expected, Riley was the first one in her arms. They had only gotten closer in the last several weeks since Riley's assault. The self-harming had stopped, but Riley was still having difficulty sleeping. She had promised Sharon she would wake her up anytime the nightmares got bad enough that she couldn't fall right back asleep. It was fairly clear that Riley didn't wake her nearly as often as the bad nightmares occurred, but sometimes Sharon would go check on Rusty and Riley in the middle of the night. Rusty slept like a log. Riley always watched her come in. It was nights like those where Sharon would just hold her daughter until she fell back asleep, and usually Sharon would fall asleep with her.
Rusty however didn't reach out for a hug. Instead he offered his hand to his mother while she held Riley under her arm. He would listen because loving his mother sometimes meant obeying when he didn't agree. At least that was what he had learned with this mother because the decisions were always to protect him and never to hurt anyone.
It was Andy who didn't join them. He wasn't going to promise to stay out of it because he was the one person in the situation that could actually do something. He had known McAdams from his drinking days, then again McAdams had been a rookie back then. When it came down to it, Andy knew he was also guilty about giving Sharon hell, but she had changed his mind maybe too easily.
"You will pay the fine, Rusty," Sharon informed her son firmly. The look on Rusty's face was one that said he was going to argue, but she held up a finger. "We are not above the law, you were tailgating, and you will still pay the fine."
Sharon gave both her kids a squeeze. "I have some work to finish up here, and then we'll drive together, sound good?"
The kids halfheartedly agreed before being kindly ushered out by their mother. Andy however was already headed toward the other door.
"Andy!"
Her voice was classic Darth Raydor and it would have stopped him dead in his tracks if he wasn't already mad as hell. "Provenza!" he called to his friend as he ignored Sharon, which was never a good idea. "McAdams."
It was Julio who answered first. "From traffic, sir?"
Andy nodded. "Who's running traffic now, I need his extension."
"Lieutenant!" Sharon called again, doing everything but running to catch up with him. Riley and Rusty had already sprinted around the hallway to stand in the other entrance of the murder room, ready to see what was going to happen.
"What the hell's going on?" Provenza snapped as Riley stepped into her brother's shadow and held on to his arm.
"The bastard harassed the kids," Andy stated.
"McAdams did? Why?" Amy asked from her desk as Andy snatched his phone up and started dialing the building operator.
Toa leaned back in his chair for a clearer view of Amy. "If I had to guess I would say something to do with the captain. He has a bit of a reputation." His statement was punctuated with a slight grimace.
Andy was giving his name to the operator as Provenza rolled his eyes dramatically. "Ye gods. What is going on?"
"Andrew Flynn!"
This time her voice could cut through ice as her finger landed on the phone's button, ending the call. Her green eyes were flickering with fire. Not only was Captain Raydor mad, but so was his girlfriend Sharon.
But Andy was ready for this fight, because he knew he was right. "Captain," he said sharply. "You are a part of our team. Your kids are a part of our families. When someone screws with one of our own, we make sure they know we don't take it lightly. If this was Kevin Tao or Nicole, you would be making a call to their supervisor."
Sharon's eyes narrowed even more and her voice dropped to a very soft, in control tone. "You're right. I would be. This is my team. I am in charge." Tension hung in the air as Andy dropped the receiver back into the cradle, all while holding Sharon's intent glare. "I think you should take a walk, Lieutenant."
Everyone watched in silence as Andy snatched up his coat and car keys and headed toward the elevator. Rusty and Riley both scurried out of his way. Riley looked between her fuming mother and the man who she considered a father before quickly racing after him.
Today was the day that Rusty and Riley got their family. Riley was not willing to let Andy walk away like that.
The rape storyline is not dead. Don't worry, you will find out more about what happened there. However I felt that there was a real need to push the story forward. Please review!