Better or Worse

by Kadi

Rated T

Disclaimer: This is not my sandbox. I only visit it.

To the casual onlooker there was nothing at all that was odd or out of the ordinary about a lawyer and a police detective chatting in a courthouse lobby. Jack Raydor certainly felt no qualms in approaching his ex-wife as she stood with that lawyer friend of hers, Gavin Baker. "Now what do we have here?" He was still feeling rather smug and pleased with himself following his meeting with her earlier in the week. "Come to step on the civil rights of some other poor, unfortunate fool that was stupid enough to take one of your deals, Sharon?"

She didn't answer. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction, and she definitely wasn't going to let him ruin this day for her. Instead, Sharon's head inclined while she smiled, a bit too sweetly, at him. It was Gavin that responded. He looked over the rims of his glasses and down his nose at Jack. "They're only unfortunate when they have you for a lawyer."

"Still letting Baker fight your battles for you, Sharon?" Jack shook his head at her. "That's not going to help you in court. I don't remember him being all that versed in family law."

Her brow arched. She looked past Jack, however. A smile slowly curved her lips. Andy had returned from where he'd gone to walk with Provenza as far as the side exit. They had surprised them, his partner and her friend. Although in hindsight, Sharon realized that it probably shouldn't be a surprise at all.

"If you're going to do something idiotic," Provenza had told his partner, "you're not doing it without me!"

Gavin wasn't quite so dramatic about it. "I'm just here to make sure you wore the right shoes, sweetie."

It was, quite possibly, the sweetest thing that either of them had ever done. Not that she would tell them that, of course.

Provenza was headed back to headquarters now, and Sharon had stayed behind to talk to Gavin while Andy walked with him to the exit. She knew that Provenza was trying to talk him into convincing her to not come back to the office that afternoon. She was considering it.

Now, however, Andy stood behind her ex-husband and he wore a look that could only be described as a plea. There was something that he very much wanted to do, and he wouldn't, not unless she agreed. Her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled at him. Her gaze moved back to Jack, she didn't want to miss a minute.

Andy almost smirked. He reached out and tapped the shorter, stalkier man on his shoulder. When Jack looked back at him, he took a step forward, and loomed over the other man. "You know, Raydor, I can't figure out if you're just stupid or really that self-involved. Doesn't really matter, and I don't really care. Thing is, either way, I'd appreciate it if you'd get the hell away from my wife."

The wide-eyed, dumbfounded look on his face was worth every second of the confrontation. When he looked at her, Sharon only smiled serenely. Her gaze lifted to Andy, and it was to him that she spoke. "I want to pick Anna up at Daycare, and then I think we should take your partner's advice. There's nothing there that won't wait until tomorrow, I think we can afford to make it an afternoon." As she spoke, her thumb swept over the unfamiliar weight of the ring on her left hand. He surprised her with it. It was a simple, elegant band. She didn't wear much jewelry, something he'd obviously paid attention to.

"Yeah." Andy brushed past Jack and moved to stand beside her. "I was hoping you'd come around to that. It's rare I get to spend so much time with my two best girls." If he was laying it on a little thick for Jack's benefit, well, the other man didn't need to know that. The answering sparkle in Sharon's eyes told him that she didn't mind. His hand brushed her arm. "Ready to go?"

"I am." She lay a hand on his arm and turned. "Gavin, I'll call you in a few days. We'll finish discussing that other matter."

"No problem sweetie." He fluttered his fingers at her in a wave. "Go, have fun. Be naughty." To Andy, he smirked. "I'd have punched him. That was better. I'm beginning to admire your flare for the dramatic." Gavin turned and his smile faded. "Jackson. It's never a pleasure."

He continued to stare at them, mouth slightly agape. "You married him?"

"Yes I did." Sharon smiled up at the man that was now her husband. "We should go." If she stayed even a moment later, she'd forget her resolve to ignore Jack and possibly make more of a scene than was needed.

"Come on." His hand moved to her back and he guided her past the other man. Andy walked alongside her, and waited until they stepped through the main exit at the front of the courthouse before he looked down at her. "Okay?"

"I am." She leaned into him as they walked. "Seeing him today was unfortunate, but only I can allow it to affect me. So I am choosing not to." Sharon's eyes glittered happily. "I can't say it wasn't just a little fortuitous, it did save you from having to hunt him down so that you could do that."

"Yeah." Andy grinned. "That was better than punching him in the face." He looked at his watch. "Not bad for having been married half an hour."

She pressed a hand to her mouth as she laughed. "You are horrible."

"Yeah." He slipped an arm around her and drew her close. "Guess you're kind of stuck with me now, though."

"Someone has to keep an eye on you." She leaned into his side, content to allow the embrace as they were off duty and, they had only been married for half an hour. She felt the rumble of his laughter and smiled in response. "Rusty will be in class until four, and then he has a lab until six," she reminded him. "I wouldn't mind staying in tonight. The kids' flights arrive tomorrow night and we've had takeout every night this week. Unless you made other plans?"

"We're not making any plans, remember?" He grinned teasingly at her. "We were going to go back to work, so I figured we'd talk about it later. Staying in sounds great to me." Andy dug out his phone when it began to vibrate in his pocket. He looked over and noticed Sharon doing the same. "On second thought…"

"Good thing we're not making plans." She shook her head and sighed. "So much for making an afternoon of it. Looks like we're going back to work." Sharon swept her thumb across the screen of her phone. "Yes, Lieutenant, what have you got?"

Provenza's voice filled her ear. "Body dump up in Griffith Park. The team is rolling out. The MO matches a couple of cases that Robbery-Homicide has been working. It's being turned over to us. I'd say we can handle it, but our illustrious Assistant Chief may want you present on this one."

"Yes, I think you may be correct." Sharon smiled ruefully at Andy. She imagined he was getting the same update from the text he was reading. "It's not a problem, Lieutenant. We'll meet you there. Have Lieutenant Tao send the exact location, and we'll join you soon."

"Nothing says congrats on getting hitched like a fresh body dump," He snarked. "The location is on its way."

Sharon shook her head as he hung up. "There are times I wonder if he's always been this cheerful."

"You must be talking about Sanchez." Andy smirked. "The words Provenza and cheerful should never be used in the same context." He tucked his phone back into his pocket and arched a brow at her. "So, just another day at the office huh?"

"Hm." She shrugged. "Welcome to our life?"

"I'll take it." He took her elbow and guided her to where they'd left her the car. It was parked two blocks from the main exit. Andy drove while Sharon sent a text to Rusty, letting him know they would probably be working late, and asking him to pick up Anna after his lab.

When they arrived on scene, the pair strode toward where the rest of their team had gathered near the body. It had already been predicted, and thus was no surprise when they found Taylor was also present. Since she had only just arrived and had nothing to give him, Sharon ignored his presence for the moment. Provenza stepped away from the group that consisted of their team and the coroner's assistant to join her. He had her attention immediately, but at the edge of her line of sight she watched Andy join Sanchez and Tao. The former nudged him with a grin while the latter just shook his head and filled him in on what little information they currently had. A small smile curved her lips when he walked around and knelt on Kendall's other side, already diving in with little distraction.

Beside her, Sharon felt another approach. She glanced up and found Chief Taylor waiting patiently while the Lieutenant completed his briefing. When he had, she turned to the Chief. "I understand we're picking this up from Robbery-Homicide, I trust we can expect to have all of their notes and case files delivered quickly?"

"That is already being handled," The chief stated. Her attention was already back on her team, and his brow arched. "I understand congratulations are in order, Captain."

Sharon glanced at her watch. It had now been an hour and ten minutes. News traveled quickly. "I believe so. The necessary forms are on my desk waiting for signatures." She arched a brow at him. "HR will have them this afternoon."

He grunted quietly in response. "Just promise me I won't have to start calling you Captain Flynn and the rest will be fine."

It drew a sharp look from her. "I don't know." Sharon hummed quietly. "It might have a rather nice ring to it." Because it would annoy him, she flashed a pleasant smile and stepped away to join the rest of her people. She would really never understand why some people felt the need to be so unnecessarily boorish.

"Hey Buzz," Andy was holding back to edge of the tarp that the body had been wrapped in. "Did you get these?" With his gloved hand, he pointed out the two ligature marks around the victim's wrist. "Looks postmortem."

"Yeah," Kendall agreed, moving aside slightly when Buzz leaned over to get a better camera view. "So are these," he pointed out the marks on the victim's legs. "She was bound, after she was dead."

"Same MO as the other two." Andy stood from where he knelt. "Any idea when we'll get that information?"

"Robbery-Homicide has already received instruction," Sharon stated. "I'd like someone to go back to the Murder Room and meet them..." Her gaze swept the group. Andy looked only too eager to do it. "Detective Sanchez, Detective Sykes, please handle that for us." Andy shook his head and gave her a knowing smirk, but she only tilted her head at him. "Lieutenant, I'd like you to speak with the young man who found the body."

"Yes ma'am." Andy rounded the body and peeled off his gloves as he went. He shook his head as he walked away. He couldn't completely prevent the small grin that appeared. Welcome to their life. Seemed pretty normal so far.

MCMCMCMCMCMC

"It was right in front of their faces. How did they miss it?" Mike dropped the file in his hand on his desk and shook his head. They'd just discovered that in each of the locations where a body was found, there was a connection between the individuals who had called it in. It was an immediate red flag for each of them.

"It's Robbery-Homicide," Flynn snorted. "You have to ask?" He took another slice of cheese pizza out of the box and moved back to his desk. "Surprises me they can tie their shoes in the morning."

Sykes leaned forward in her seat to grin at him. "Lieutenant, didn't you use to be Robbery-Homicide?"

"Yeah Flynn," his partner smirked happily. "What division were you in before you came here."

"Hey," Andy pointed at him. "I got out while the getting was good."

"Okay, be all that as it may," Sharon interrupted them, "we know it now. Let's bring our helpful citizens in and see if we can start finding stronger connections between them. I also want to do a more in-depth look at our victims, see if they were connected in some way that our friends in Robbery-Homicide overlooked."

"She means blatantly missed," Provenza drawled. "Stupidly stumbled past, idiotically-"

"Yes, thank you Lieutenant for the translation," Sharon stated. She stood from the edge of the desk that she had been leaning against when she spied Rusty hovering near the entrance to the Murder Room. She waved him inside and walked over to meet him. "Hey. I think we're going to be here most of the night. If you'd like, you can bring Anna up after you pick her up and have dinner here."

"Uh, yeah..." Rusty shifted uncomfortably. "That's going to be a problem." He swallowed hard past the sudden dryness in his throat. Rusty rubbed his hands against his jeans. "Uh, Sharon... Anna wasn't in Daycare. I was kind of hoping she was here..." His stomach clenched, and then rolled pitifully. "Jack signed her out already."

Sharon felt her heart drop. Air rushed out of her lungs in a ragged gasp. "What?" It was the sound, thick and raw, surprise tinged with a hint of desperation, that had every head in the room turning. There was a sudden rushing in her ears, loud, drowning out the other sounds in the room. Sharon stepped back from Rusty and turned, while her hands went to the pockets of her jacket to seek out her phone. Her fingers were cold and felt slightly numb when they finally closed around it. They had told him they were picking up Anna, but the rollout would have made the news, given the nature of the case. Sharon drew a breath and let it out slowly while she dialed, and stepped into her office to make that call. She would not allow herself to fully respond until she had spoken to Jack. If he was attempting to teach her a lesson, then it was an act he would regret, that much she could promise him.

He didn't answer. The call didn't go to voicemail either. Instead, it vibrated in her hand. Sharon lowered it. The response was a text, obviously an automatic response. Her breath hissed between her teeth as she read it. "The interesting thing about family law is that without a custody agreement, your badge doesn't mean a thing. I'll see you in court."

Rusty was left standing alone. The attention of the others was split, moving between him and Sharon. Finally he looked at Flynn, who was frowning in the direction that Sharon had gone, a curious expression in his eyes. Rusty drew a breath. "Jack took Anna. Donna, down in Daycare said that she couldn't stop him. Legally, she couldn't do anything."

"Son of a bitch!" Flynn tossed his plate onto his desk and marched into the office. The door slammed behind him, and a second later, the blinds were closed.

Provenza pointed at Julio. "Get on the phone. Call down to traffic, have them run his car. I want him pulled over."

"You can't do that." Mike interrupted even as Sanchez was picking up his phone. "It's not a kidnapping, it's a custodial disagreement. We can't bring him in." When the two men glared at him, the Lieutenant shrugged. He looked miserable about it, but the law was the law.

"So nothing happens?" Rusty shoved his hands into his pockets. He looked at each of them. "He just picks her up at daycare and no one can make him bring her back?"

"Unfortunately no," Buzz said. He walked over to stand next to the boy. "As far as the law is concerned, Anna's father has every right to pick her up and take her home with him. If there's no formal custody arrangement, then he hasn't broken any laws or court orders."

"That's so stupid," Rusty scowled.

"This time," Buzz shrugged, "I would have to agree."

"Then what do we do?" Sykes looked around the room. "We can't just sit here and do nothing. Right?"

"We can have him pulled over," Julio muttered, "And let the uniforms who do it put him cuffs and haul him in."

Provenza ran a hand over his hair. "No." He didn't like it. His eyes narrowed. "No, Mike is right. We can't do that. Legally he hasn't done anything wrong. I think this time we're going to have to just sit and wait, let the courts handle it." He glanced at Rusty. The kid looked miserable. "Which I agree, it's damned stupid." The lieutenant sighed. So much for the celebratory mood they'd all been in. He guessed they wouldn't be having cake later after all. Flynn was right, son of a bitch.

Her phone was already pressed against her ear when Andy entered the office. She hadn't made it farther than the chairs in front of the desk, and was leaning against the back of one while she spoke. She looked up and around at the sound of the door. Her eyes were wide, but upon seeing him, she relaxed a small degree. Sharon turned again, and when his hands settled on her shoulders, she leaned back against him. Just once more she would let herself forget where they were and take the solace that was offered.

"I understand all of that, Maddie." There was a tremor in her voice. "Believe me, if I didn't, I'd have already put a want out for him. I want to know what we can do now. He took her out of daycare without so much as a notification, we didn't even know that she was missing until Rusty arrived to pick her up." She would having words with the daycare supervisor too. Sharon had specifically removed Jack's name from the list, even if they couldn't legally prevent him from taking Anna, it had at least warranted a courtesy call. With her free hand, she reached up to rub her forehead, already a headache was beginning to build behind her eyes. The lips she felt press against the back of her head made her eyes burn. Sharon's teeth scraped her bottom lip.

Madison Campbell had been handling almost all of Sharon's legal work for most of the last twenty years. She was more than slightly acquainted with the history that was Jack and Sharon, more than because she and Sharon had been college roommates. She had been there for the beginning of it. She had seen the good, the bad, and the incredibly ugly. "There's nothing that I can do tonight," she said gently. "There isn't a judge in this town that I can pull away from his dinner because Sharon has been inconvenienced by Jack." Madison sighed. "I know that sounds harsh, but it's the truth. I don't like the Jackass either, but we have no grounds for an emergency placement order. There is no evidence that Anna is in any danger with him. At best, because this is a custodial dispute, if I tried to play that card she'd end up in foster care while it was settled. I know that's not what you want."

"No, it isn't." Her teeth ground together. The little dig at her relationship, or past relationship to be more exact, with her ex-husband had not gone unnoticed. No, Madison had never cared for Jack. Even when they were all friends, she was not overly fond of him. She was only too happy to handle the divorce. Less happy to handle the adoption. "I'm not going to wait a month while you file all the appropriate briefs. I want this handled. Sooner, not later," she ordered.

"Don't trot out the Darth for me, sweetheart. I remember when you used to blush to the roots of your hair and couldn't say more than three words if you thought someone was looking right at you." Madison snorted. "It's not going to take a month. I'll start making some calls first thing in the morning. With any luck, you'll have her home sometime tomorrow, but there is a very real possibility that this could take some time. It depends on how far Jack is willing to go and what lesson it is that he thinks he's teaching you."

Sharon sighed. Hands squeezed her shoulders. She lay her free hand over one of his. Andy was silent and solid behind her, but she could feel the tension that was coiling through him. That it hadn't snapped yet was something of a miracle, she thought. "He's angry. Jack has never handled rejection well, forget that he was the one that left. I got married today and he knows about it. He's punishing me. He doesn't want her. If I thought for even a minute that Jack wanted to actually grow up and be a father to this child that he created, of course I'd never prevent that. Right now he's not thinking of her at all." Her jaw clenched again. Sharon drew a breath and let it out slowly. "Madison, if we can do it, I want his rights severed this time. That he is willing to put a child in the middle of our problems… no," She glanced at Andy behind her. "I'm done. He's burned the last bridge we had."

"Strictly speaking, I may not have grounds for that," the lawyer replied. "I'll do what I can. If anything, I'll get you sole custody. That he pulled this stunt the same day you got remarried isn't going to do him any favors when we go to court. Sit tight kiddo, I'll work my magic, it just won't be tonight. This is family law, we don't get to play in the same sandbox as you. There are times when I truly wish that we did. Other times, that really works in our favor. Just don't do anything stupid like try to have him arrested and I'll do the rest." Madison paused. "Unless you have grounds to have him arrested?"

Sharon exhaled loudly. "Oh, don't I wish." She let her head hang. "Unfortunately, while Jack may be the most unreliable person on the planet, he hasn't done anything illegal that I know of."

"Then your hands are tied." Madison said, and not without a little sympathy. "Stay tuned. You'll hear from me in the morning."

No, it wasn't what she wanted to hear. Not even remotely. Sharon pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright. Thank you, Madison."

"Don't thank me yet," she drawled. "You haven't seen the bill yet."

Sharon groaned as the other woman hung up. She turned and let her head drop against the very strong, very solid chest that was waiting for her. "There's nothing we can do," she said quietly. "He hasn't broken any laws."

Andy's hands came up to slide into her hair. "I know." He wished to hell that he didn't. His head bowed and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. His teeth ground together while the muscles between his shoulder blades clenched painfully. "This is on me. I made an ass out of him today."

"No." She lifted her head. "Jack made an ass of himself." Sharon wrapped her hands around his wrists and gripped them tightly. "Andy…" The misery in his dark eyes made her breath catch. "It's me, Andy. With Jack it is always going to boil down to the fact that I stopped needing him. I stopped wanting him, and in the end, I stopped loving him." Her eyes closed and she let go of one more ragged sigh. When she opened them again, the moisture she was only just holding back made them gleam a bit too brightly. "The last night that we were together, Jack realized that there was never going to be anything between us but Anna and our other children. I was trying very hard to bridge that gap, but there was just nothing left. It's not an easy realization to make. Even when it's a crap marriage it's hard to acknowledge that it's really over. What I didn't expect was that he would walk out and leave Anna behind. He did. Now I've moved on and so has she, and he's going to make me pay for that."

He pulled her closer and let his arms circle her. Her pain was a tangible thing. She was letting him hold her and that made him ache all the more. When she folded against him and another tremor ran through her, Andy turned his face into her hair. "We'll get her back," he promised. "Maybe not tonight, but it will happen."

She drew back and lifted her eyes to his face. "She doesn't have her doll, or her bear, or her blanket. She's going to be in an unfamiliar environment. She is going to wake up frightened tonight, and—"

"Don't." Andy watched her bite down on her bottom lip again. It was already a little bruised from the punishment it had taken. "He isn't a complete stranger to her," Andy said, although it pained him to do it. "As far as Anna is concerned she's with her daddy, and she hasn't seen him in a while. She'll be over the moon about that, enough maybe that she'll sleep through the night. Tomorrow we'll start trying to get her back, and with any luck, maybe you'll even be able to appeal to Jack's good sense." If he had any, Andy thought. He didn't really believe a word that he said, but he thought she needed to hear it. Just saying the words made his throat ache and bitterness settle in his stomach like lead. It made him just a little nauseous, but Andy reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and added, "She's not missing, Sharon. We know where she is. She's safe."

They lived in a world where that wasn't always the reality that parents were faced with. Sharon could remember a case, not so long ago, that hadn't ended quite so well. A possible custody dispute that was anything but, and two little coffins for a grieving mother. She closed her eyes against the memory and nodded. He was right. They knew where Anna was, and she was safe, so far as they knew. Another tremor ran down her spine. Her hands stroked his forearms. "I know that you're right. I should be grateful for that, and I am. I just don't like it."

"You don't have to." Andy shrugged. "That's just the best I've got." He was better at having something to do, a door to kick in, a face to knock around. It was harder not having a plan of action. It was that helpless feeling, knowing she was hurting and that there was nothing he could do to make it better. "You know, Sharon, if you want to take the kid and get out of here, we've got this. We're going to bring the witnesses in and question them, and there's still a lot of leg work to be done. We don't really need you here for that, we've got it pretty covered."

"Hm." A small smile tugged at her lips. "No." She drew a breath and let it out slowly. "I'll just worry, and not have anything to focus on. At least here I'll be busy. No," she said again. "It's okay. I'll stay. I'll get Rusty to stay, he can camp out in his cubicle until we're ready to leave." The tension hadn't left him yet. Her hands moved to his chest. "For the record, your best, works very well. Andy…" There was more that she wanted to say. So much more. Her head tilted and she smiled fondly. "I know this isn't easy for you either. I'm sorry that you're caught in the middle."

"I'm not." His hands dropped to her arms, stroked them gently. "I'm right where I want to be. I go where you go, remember?" He took her hands and held them. His thumb swept over the cool smoothness of the ring that now adorned her finger. "We're in this together. The good and the bad."

"Yes." Sharon decided that, just this once, she could let them slide over the line of propriety. She'd blame it on the events of the day. She tipped her face up and let her lips brush his. The kiss was soft, and it was brief. She hummed quietly and let her fingertips brush his cheek. "Thank you… for being here." Her eyes shone brightly up at him, moisture pooled again. "When I needed you."

"Always." He kissed her brow. "I'd better go." Andy sighed. It was the last thing that he wanted to do, but there was still a case to be worked, and he should send Rusty in. The kid would be beside himself by now. "Okay?"

"No." Sharon drew away from him. "It will be." It was just going to take time. She looked beyond him, to the door and sighed. "Will you send Rusty in?"

"You got it." Andy stepped back. He stopped at the door and looked at her again. "You know, it's hard to find a new pickup line when you keep using that one."

Sharon chuckled, the sound was full of more mirth than she felt. "I guess it's something we'll just have to work on." Her brow arched. "Back to work, Lieutenant."

"Yes, Captain." He stepped through the door and pulled it closed behind him. All eyes were immediately on him. "Rusty," he jerked his head behind him. Andy walked over to his desk and picked up the case file he had been working on before the kid arrived. He waited for the teenager to step into the office before he sighed. "Lawyer is on it," he told the others. "In the meantime…"

Life wouldn't stop because it was getting a little difficult. All they could do was push through it, keep doing their best… and pray that the rest would work out.