AN: Thank you so much for all the great reviews and every story follow! It's nice to know people are still enjoying to read this story. The past weeks I've been really busy writing.

A big thank you for the beta work on this chapter goes to glistening sun, mistakes left are all mine :)

Rated M, there will be the discription of a crime scene in this chapter, just so you know.

Chapter three

Sharon hurried towards the station, she was running late. The line at the dry cleaners had been ridiculously long. Andy already met her halfway when she was rushing in.

"We've got a case, hon."

Sharon stopped and turned to follow Andy out.

"Sorry I'm late."

"Why don't you just buy yourself a washing machine…?"

"I can't put my blazers in a washing machine, Andy." She shook her head. Men didn't understand these things. "If they were open Sundays I wouldn't have to rush on Monday mornings."

Andy smiled, typical Sharon's logic.

"Could you slow your pace a bit?"

"Shouldn't wear those killer high heels, hon."

"The body isn't going anywhere, Andy."

She sounded slightly annoyed, which caused a huge grin to form on his lips. He loved teasing her. He loved the way she wasn't shy and talked back. That's what had appealed to him when he had first been partnered with her. She was neither scared by him nor impressed. That's what had earned her his respect.

"Where are we going?"

"The Asturion."

"The hotel?"

"Hm-mm. Tech is already present. One victim. Female."

"Are they sure it's murder?" Some people chose a hotel for suicide.

Andy looked at her. "She was found in a laundry container."

Someone must have put her there. There was no way she had crawled in there herself to die. Their first murder case of the year. Was it bad she was longing for some action after all those weeks of filing reports and small robbery cases?

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They both looked up at the majestic entrance.

"Ever been here before?"

"No, Jack prefers the Winston. Have you?"

The Winston, of course, that was an expensive place. He wouldn't be able to take her to such an expensive place on his salary. Why did he keep returning to the idea of them being together? They would never be in a relationship.

Sharon squinted her eyes."Wonderful memories, huh?"

Andy was pulled from his thoughts. "What?"

"I asked whether you'd been here Andy and you answered me with silence. Memories?"

"No. I've never been here. Mortgaged up to the hill, remember?"

She hoped he wasn't feeling uncomfortable. She just assumed he could have stayed at the hotel. She never had to think about money. Neither did jack. She must seem like an awful snob to him.

They followed the Tech people, who were swarming around the crime scene like a hive of busy bees. They had to walk all the way to the basement. The woman was still in the laundry container, only her face and part of her shoulder revealed while the rest of her body was covered by white cotton bed sheets. She looked like she was asleep, the lack of blood gave the entire crime scene a surreal look.

Nichols was hanging over the edge so he could have a better look at the body without disturbing any of the surrounding evidence. "Good, you're here."

"Time of death?"

"You know I can only guess as long as they're not on my table."

"Alright, we'll settle for your guess, like always."

"Some point last night, based on the discoloration of her skin and the way rigor has set in."

Sharon put her hand on Andy's arm seeking support to climb up a on box so she could have a better look inside the container and at the body.

"Don't touch anything!"

Sharon chose to ignore the frustrated guy from Tech leading the investigation. Andy looked over his shoulder though, narrowing his eyes.

"This isn't her first crime scene you know."

Sharon looked closely at the body of the woman. The red marks on her throat. She was already bruised up pretty badly. A pair of strong male hands had marked her pale slender neck with red angry marks.

"Strangulation."

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

Strangulation never helped them much. Usually no murder weapon they could look for. No proof.

"Any ID?"

"We're not there yet. TD needs to pack every sheet in this container. It will take a while before we'll get to her or learn whether she had a purse with her. I suggest patience."

"Someone take a picture of her face."

Andy didn't like the word patience. He believed it was crucial to start a murder investigation as soon as humanly possible. Nichols looked over at TD. She would let Andy take care of it. Sharon was more interested in what she saw in front of her, marks on the body visible with the naked eye. Strangulation most of the time meant someone was killed in the heat of the moment. Pre-meditated meant different weapons, a gun, a knife, poison. Strangulation meant an act of passion or despair.

"Will you let us know when you begin the autopsy?"

"Of course."

"Sharon?"

She looked over her shoulder at Andy who was holding up a picture. It was time they'd begin to do their job. First assignment, finding out who the victim was and what she was doing at the hotel.

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Andy flashed his badge at the desk clerk, hardly preparing the man for the picture of the dead woman he shoved in front of his eyes. The young man's face turned a light shade of green, Andy warning him not to throw up on him.

"Have you seen this woman? Was she a guest here?"

The man looked queasy.

"You might have checked her in. Yesterday, or some other time." Sharon's voice was more patient, gentle, reassuring.

"I started my shift this morning. I'm sorry."

"That's alright. Are you sure you've never seen her before?"

"I'm sorry."

Andy lost his patience, while Sharon was very understanding, he just couldn't wait for this man to come to his senses.

"I need the name of the guy who worked last night. Telephone number, address, would be helpful too." Andy only spoke in commands when he was being this impatient and clearly frustrated.

"Sure."

While the man searched for everything Andy had asked for, Sharon's mind was elsewhere. If their victim was a guest, then she had been at the hotel alone. If she had been with someone else, they likely would have reported her missing, unless the husband or boyfriend was the one who had killed her. They'd need a name. Without it they could not find out whether she had a husband. Nothing about her social and private life. They'd be searching for a needle in a haystack.

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The guy that had been on desk duty the night before was a bit cranky. Apparently he had only been asleep for a couple of hours. Them ringing his doorbell aroused him from his sleep.

His answers weren't very helpful. No, he had not checked her in and he might have seen her before, but he wasn't sure whether it had been with a man and whether it had been her husband or boyfriend. Or whether it had been her in the first place. He could not help them with a name either.

Paying the man a visit had not helped them much at all.

"So what now? Arouse the bartender from his sleep?"

He could tell she hadn't liked the idea of visiting the desk clerk this early. He should have listened to her earlier. They didn't get very far with a cranky witness. Sometimes it was better to be patient, wait for the right opportunity. Sharon was a lot better at that than he was.

"No, we better wait."

A smile curved her lips. He would have scolded anyone else with such a satisfied smile. Seeing it on Sharon's lips however, made his heart skip a beat. Seeing her smile always warmed his heart. It brought him great joy and happiness.

"I guess we'll start digging through the files, see who's reported missing?"

Andy shook his head.

"No, we'll do lunch. We'll have a better chance returning to the hotel later. Ask that bartender what he knows. "

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Andy was near her, but she was still feeling uncomfortable. She could feel all eyes on her. The room fell silent when she entered. They stared at her without saying a word. Sometimes looks could say more than words though. If she'd been disliked before, a nuisance, they hated her now. They treated her like a pariah, a rat. They blamed her for selling out one of their own. It didn't matter to them that Landry was a dirty cop. Most of them probably didn't even believe the accusations that had been made against him. She didn't feel threatened easily, but when such a large group was against you it was hard not to feel uncomfortable.

Andy squared his shoulders and clenched his fists as the room fell silent. They all stared at Sharon and the looks they were giving her were not pretty. They held her responsible for what had happened with Landry. No one seemed interested in the fact that Landry had been a dirty cop and nearly killed her.

He should not have brought her here. He could only imagine how uncomfortable she felt. He placed his hand on the small of her back, instantly feeling her tense up at his touch.

"Let's go somewhere else, okay?"

She looked up at him. He had never seen her this determined.

"No, I'm not going anywhere."

She hadn't done anything wrong. If she gave into this now, she might as well just quit her job and that wasn't something she was planning to do.

Sharon got herself a salad, shaking her head at the greasy substance Andy opted for instead. She could tell he restrained himself not to yell at anyone for treating her so horribly. His muscles clearly visible underneath his shirt, but he tried to keep his frustration from her.

"Are you sure you want to sit here with me? You'll lose credit."

"They're all insane. They should give you a medal for what you did."

A sad smile appeared on her lips, now it seemed as if Andy was her only friend at the station.

"None of them threatened you, did they? Landry's got a lot of friends around here."

Some of them had cornered her, closed doors in front of her, made nasty remarks. There was no way she would tell Andy though. He would have IA on his back in no time.

"No..."

Andy stared at her. She was a terrible liar. Her eyes were always telling on her, and the slight blush that covered her cheeks.

"Who?"

He had caught her on her lie. She could tell he was already irritated, ready to punch his fist into anyone who hurt her.

"It's not that bad."

She rubbed her forehead, avoiding his eyes. Last thing she'd want was for him to blow up.

As soon as she avoided his eyes, he knew her answer was only what she was trying to make him believe. It had been bad. The thought that they were giving her a hard time infuriated him. No one was supposed to hurt her. He had no idea whether talking about this would help her. He knew he got angry, frustrated. He could punch someone in the face right now, but would that really help her? By now he had learned that Sharon liked to simply change subjects, shut things out. Everything inside of him screamed to punch someone in the face though. He had to act on his anger. Andy reached out for her, his fingers gently touching her chin, making her look up at him. All his anger washed away when he saw the vulnerability in her eyes. There was no way he could add to that pain.

Andy just stared at her. There was no longer any anger in his eyes - only pain. He was hurting for her. She knew he did not believe her. He saw how much it affected her and somehow that was enough for him to let go of his anger.

"I'll be fine."

That was something he would believe. No matter what came her way, she would deal with it.

"I know."

Just as long as she knew he was there for her in case she needed him. For a moment they kept their eyes locked on each other, before Andy pulled back his hand.

"You know you should stop eating that greasy stuff."

There, that was his Sharon alright, changing the subject in a heartbeat, putting the focus on him. Andy looked at her and then at his plate. He wouldn't know what was wrong with it. He had no idea how she could function all day on a lunch of that green stuff on her plate.

"I need fuel for my body, hon."

"You're going to get high cholesterol, that's what you'll get."

"I'm Italian."

He grinned, his eyes twinkling.

"Partly Italian…and that does not mean you won't get high cholesterol."

"I feel fine."

"I want you to reach old age Andy Flynn."

"You know how dangerous this profession is, hon."

"Stop, don't even joke about that."

Sharon looked at him seriously, fear in her eyes. She cared a lot about him. He hadn't quite realized just how much until now.

"Hey, I'm not planning on dying, okay? You're stuck with me."

"Sounds good to me."

Andy smiled at her, his fingers brief brushing her hand. He didn't care about the looks the others were giving them. He didn't care much about the opinion of anyone but Sharon. She was his partner, his friend and he loved her. No matter what would happen, he would always love her.