Thank you for hanging around for my little experiment. I know you cannot tell, since this is kind of rough, but historically I have been such a crazy perfectionist I would never even consider putting something out there for people to read/see/judge me on… but I am working on challenging myself into living life more fully and to not worry over what others think. So far it could be just the "honeymoon phase" of minor risk taking, but I am really enjoying taking the time to write and to imagine different scenarios. Thank you to the followers and reviewers for your support and for humoring my crazy. I guess I should state an obvious disclaimer that these are not my characters, but they are rather fun to play with. This picks up with Sharon continuing her letter and then the morning right after chapter 1.

Into Something More
Chapter 2

'I do not know what possessed me to bring you to my place that night when I should have taken you back to Parker Center and have written you up, and probably taken you badge… but something in your brokenness, something in how you spoke about your children and how you needed to change to get them back gave me pause. I was not responsible for your actions, but I felt like I had a chance to help your family, since I had no real ability to help my own. I knew that if my own husband had expressed even an ounce of wanting to change, to wanting to be around, I would have done everything to help him out. Not necessarily for him or for me, but for the kids.
So, I took you home, gave you a clean shirt, and decided to let you sober up on the couch. Emily and Ricky were in for quite surprise that morning…'

The Next Morning

As he slowly began to regain consciousness he became acutely aware of the smell of fresh coffee, as well as the feeling of being watched by more than one set of eyes. He groaned as he rolled over to his side and attempted to open his eyes. With the harsh sunlight beaming through the open windows he could tell three things: one, it was early, two, he was not at home, and three, he had a massive headache and not necessarily solely related to the fact he had spent the better part of the last week hiding from his feelings in a bottle. He gingerly lifted his fingers to his eye and felt a nice bruise already formed under the tender skin. Pressing gently against his eyem, the events of the night before slowly came flashing back to him. Andy realized it had not been a dream. Not only had he gotten into a minor squabble with a suspect, but that also meant he had broken down in front of Raydor. Which had then for some reason landed him here, where he was now, waking up on her couch.

Andy turned slightly as he cautiously lifted his head. Over the back of the couch he could see two kids staring at him from their barstools at the counter. They were around the same age as his own children. Seeing them siting there eating gave him a pang of sadness as he imagined where his children were this morning. Obviously he was wishing he were with them, rather than here inevitably making an impression on the lives of other unsuspecting children, but that ship had sailed. Just as he was about to stand he saw Sharon come around the corner with two fresh cups of coffee, "Emily, Ricky, take those last bites and finish getting ready, please."

Both kids took a final bite from their respective breakfasts and quickly jumped down from their stools. Emily took her brother's plate, rinsed both dishes, and loaded them into the dishwasher. Then together the children turned down the hall to finish getting ready for school. As they passed by Andy, Sharon gently stopped them, "Emily, Ricky, this is Mr. Flynn." Both children turned and awkwardly stood at the arm of the couch. They looked from their mother to the man. After a moment Ricky stepped forward and held out his hand, "Hello Mr. Flynn."

Andy stood and let out a small chuckle at the boy's attempt at being a 'grown up' and took the boys outstretched hand, "Oh it's Andy, they only add the Mister when I am in trouble." Peering back at Sharon, he shot her a crooked smile as she rolled her eyes and moved to stand behind her children. Placing her hands on their shoulders she gently gave each of them a squeeze as she directed them to their school bags.

The boy relaxed a little as his sister stepped forward from under her mother's hand and smiled, also holding out her hand, "It is nice to meet you sir." After shaking hands Emily turned to her mother and dropped her head to whisper, "Why is he here?"

Standing tall to address both Andy and the children, "Mr. Flynn," Sharon cut her eyes toward him in silent refusal to allow Andy to convince her children to be informal, "Is here because he got into some trouble at work last night and needed a ride back to the station." Turning back to her kids she clapped her hands together and continued, "So, after I drop you kids off at school I will take him to where he needs to go." Nodding their heads the kids turned and collected their bags before moving to the front door.

Andy stood slowly and stammered, "Listen Sharon, I can get a cab." When she simply continued to gather her things he went on, "Thank you, I guess, for letting me vent last night. I mean." Taking a pause to gather his thoughts, "Thank you for not, I guess, for not just firing me on the spot," he rubbed his hand over his face, "But I need to get going. I don't want to bother the kids or ruin more of your morning."

"Yes, you need to get going, but you are not off the hook yet." Sharon picked up her keys and met the kids at the door, turning around to face Andy, "I have not decided to completely ignore your actions last night simply because you were having a 'bad day.'" Opening the door and following the children out she continued, "I merely have decided to allow you the opportunity to keep your job. That is, if you decide to come along with us this morning and if you have an open mind about the direction of your future."

The drive to school was relatively uneventful and after the kids had been dropped off Sharon pointed the car in the direction of downtown. After a few moments of riding in relative silence Andy could not take the suspense anymore, "Okay, what's your deal Raydor? I know you well enough to know that there is some catch to all of this. There has to be a deal somewhere in this."

Sharon smiled to herself, "You mean it is not like me to want to help a fellow officer?" Andy let out a short chuckle as she continued, "You mean you would rather I just blindly follow the rules without every once in a while deciding to explore some of the gray areas in the book?"

Not completely sure where the conversation was going Andy responded, "Well you do seem to love the rules, and lady this does not seem to be normal procedure for handling an idiot officer."

Eyes still fixed on the road ahead of her she began to smile just a little as she continued, "Perhaps I have decided to use loophole in the rulebook and to offer you a way to help yourself." A moment of silence passed between them as she pulled the car into a relatively empty parking lot behind an old church. Andy recognized the area as just a few blocks away from Parker Center. Sharon turned the car off and turned to face him, "Here is the deal. Here is a chance for you to prove that you meant what you said last night." Taking a moment to recall just what he had told her after leaving the scene he took in a slow breath as she continued, "this is your chance to prove to yourself that you can be the man you want to be. To prove that you can be a man your children deserve to know."

Allowing his anger to rise just a bit, "Who are you to tell me what I need to do or what I deserve? What do you know about…"

Before he could truly get going on his tirade she quickly cut him off, and in a calm yet icy tone continued, "You're right. I do not get to tell you what you deserve, but I do have some power over your future with the department." She took a breath before continuing, "And to ensure the future that you do deserve. So, you will be taking a mandatory leave of absence to attend an anger management seminar as well as the LAPD refresher course on diffusing domestic situations."

"Then why are we here?" he frustratingly countered, "This isn't the LAPD, this is a church. Last time I checked you were not able to force me into getting right with God."

"Go ahead, you can yell at me all you want, but just know that yelling will only get you farther away from your family." Looking directly into his eyes, "They may have left you, but that is not permanent, it is within your power to get them back." After another moment she continued, "This is not me forcing you to go to church, although I would not dissuade you from that if you chose to make it a part of your life." Andy rolled his yes, but she took the action as his silent acceptance of her plan, "Have you even considered that they did not leave you, that you left them? You left them when you decided it was all too much and it was easier just to lose yourself at a bar."

Rubbing his hands over his face again in an attempt to collect his thoughts and to cool his temper, "Why are you doing this?"

She let out a quiet hmm, "Well, maybe because I know what it is like to be on the other side." Sharon looked down at her hands, "I also know that I would do almost anything for my kids to have a relationship with their father, but he never seemed to care enough to get out of the car when we made it to this spot." She gestured to the church, "You have an opportunity today, this moment, for a restart. There is a group meeting up there right now whose members can offer you avenues to help yourself get out of your head and to realize how your actions are impacting others." Sharon reached across Andy and unlocked the door. "This is your second chance to find who you are and to get your life back on track." He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned his attention to the church. Andy fixed his gaze upon the couple of people slowly making their way inside as he heard her continue, "Plus, you have some free hours around the seminar times as a result of your actions last night. You can take the time to reevaluate your life, and if you can make the choice to stay sober I am sure your life will start moving towards the life you want."

Andy opened the car door and stepped out of the car. Sighing he turned to look back into the vehicle, "I guess this is my only shot?"

"Well," she paused, "Not your only shot. I am sure you can continue to do what you want, but you know where that will get you."

Turning to look at the church and then glancing back at her he let out another heavy breath, "This does not mean we are friends Raydor."

Smiling at his attempt to lighten mood, "Oh trust me, I do not need you as a friend Flynn."

He smiled as he placed his hand on the door to push it closed, "Good because even if I have let some aspects of my life fall apart. I do not think my reputation or my ego could handle the talk if someone thought I was making nice with the rat squad."

"Ha-ha," she sarcastically responded. With a smile she turned the car back on and finished, "Good luck Flynn, they will come back if you work on getting yourself back to someone they want to know." With that he closed the door and she drove to the station, leaving him with the means to figure out the rest on his own.

Present Day

Andy sat alone in the room waiting for the boys to return with the rings. Fiddling with the small ring on his pinky he thought back to the many ups and downs he had gone through in his life. He chuckled to himself as he imagined what his younger self would say if he knew that one-day he would be marrying Sharon Raydor. 'Sharon', he thought to himself and smiled, 'how in the world had he not only fallen for Sharon, but somehow convinced her to spend the rest of her life with him.' He had definitely given her a run for her money over the years, but truly he had her to thank for everything. Sure, she would say that he had done everything- that he had put in all of the work and helped himself. Ultimately, though, he knew that if she had not broken from her rulebook that evening he would have continued to spiral out of control and probably would not have lasted much longer.