Light In The Dark

by Kate04

Chapter Two – It Had To Be You

Time: A few months after the events of "Tears On Her Dark Face"

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It was just past 2 am and raining heavily. Sharon was so far beyond tired that she only functioned on autopilot. Ricky had been home with an ear infection for almost a week, being understandably cranky and hadn't let her sleep more than two hours at a time. Between work, dealing with the somewhat agitated babysitter, the sweet, elderly lady from next door, who kept an eye on her kids when she had to go out late and several sleepless nights, she was running on fumes. Today was her first full day back at work and she had drawn the on-call rotation right away. Not for the first time did she wonder why officers always had to shoot or beat up people so late at night.

As she walked towards the crime scene, Sharon took a deep breath and steeled herself for what she knew by now would come - the hate of her fellow officers. It was something she hadn't gotten used to in the few months after her transfer to Internal Affairs.

Passing the tape, she saw hostile looks aimed at her and the whispering started the moment they thought her to be out of earshot. She had better ears than most, though, and the comments stung more than she would ever admit.

When she flashed her badge at the Robbery-Homicide Lieutenant who seemed to be the incident commander, he rolled his eyes and gestured to a tall, dark haired man in a blue LAPD jacket, who sat in the back of an ambulance, cradling a bandaged hand to his chest and studying his shoes intently. She strode over to him and introduced herself. At the sound of her voice, he looked up and stated at her wide-eyed and the moment she took in the somewhat familiar features, she understood why.

She felt heat rise to her cheeks and was grateful for the flashing lights of the police cars and ambulances, which illuminated the night and hid her embarrassment. Of all the people she could have had to investigate as one of her first cases in this division, it had to be the one man she had hoped never to run into again. What were the odds?

All the pain and the guilt of that night a few months ago came rushing back and it was all she could do not to turn around and run away. The fact that he seemed to be just as uncomfortable did not make her feel any better.

Swallowing her misplaced feelings and the urge to flee, she focused on the most immediate problem. She nodded in greeting, putting on a practised smile.

"Sergeant Flynn?"

At his nod she continued.

"I'm Sergeant Raydor with Internal Affairs. Could you please tell me what happened here?"

He sneered at her, his own embarrassment making room for that hostile look she saw wherever she went while on the job. At least he didn't look like he was going to bring up that unfortunate incident in the pub.

"Yeah, I can tell you what happened."

His voice carried so much anger that Sharon almost recoiled from it.

"We knocked on our suspect's door to invite him – politely – to join us for a chat downtown. He wasn't too eager, though. Ran into the apartment and when we went after him he and his buddies over there decided to put up a fight. Didn't go so well for them, so the suspect drew a gun. I was faster and, well, I only got him in the shoulder, anyway. It's not like I killed the asshole."

She gave him a tight smile and hummed low in her throat at his dismissive tone. Studying his injured hand and the cuts and bruises on his face, Sharon decided that he wasn't seriously hurt.

"Do you think you're up to walking me through it, Sergeant?"

His derisive snort was followed by a grunt as he pushed himself up. The way he held himself indicated that he had taken a good blow or two to the midsection. If he weren't such a jerk about all this, Sharon would actually feel sorry for him.

The walk-through went a lot more smoothly than she expected. Underneath his antagonistic exterior Sergeant Flynn was a professional and knew that it was in his best interest to work with her.

When they where done and back outside, Sharon turned towards him, her cold façade relaxing slightly.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Sergeant Flynn. If I've got any further questions, I'll let you know. As soon as I'm done with my investigation, my report will be sent to your captain. Until then, you'll have to stay behind your desk, of course."

"How long do you think that's gonna take?"

It was obvious that he didn't like the prospect of being stuck on desk duty. He also looked exhausted, pain clouding his dark eyes.

Sharon allowed some warmth to slip into her gaze.

"It shouldn't take more than a couple of days if it's all as straightforward as it looks."

She saw him bristling at the implication that he might have been lying to her and Sharon hurried to go on before he could vent his anger and she'd have to do something about that, too. She really didn't feel like writing even more reports if it wasn't strictly necessary. As it was, it would be close to dawn by the time she got all the statements she needed and she'd really like to make it home in time to have breakfast with her children.

She briefly touched his arm in a calming gesture and gave him a slight smile.

"Go home and get some rest. By the time you feel better, this should all have resolved itself."

She saw him release a breath, his shoulders slumping in defeat. For a moment he looked like he had that night in the pub when he had told her about his messed up marriage. The thought of what had happened after that sent a shiver down her spine and made her insides tremble. Though not unpleasant, the sensation was highly unwelcome and Sharon decided that is was time she walked away.

The case was indeed resolved by the end of the next day, as all witnesses corroborated the Sergeant's statement. Sharon was relieved that there was no need for her to question him again. Considering his rather impressive file, she was pretty sure that their paths would cross again eventually. She just hoped that it wouldn't be any time soon.