DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

Chapter 3

Andy and Matthew made their way inside the Murder Room and Matthew went straight into Sharon's office and greeted her there. Andy made sure Matthew went into Sharon's office before heading over to where Provenza was at. "We have a problem" Andy said to him in a low voice. "What do you mean we?" Provenza asked him. "The officer at the desk stopped me before Matthew and I came up here and said there was a man downstairs earlier who was looking for you" Andy said to Provenza as they went out in to the hallway. "So?" Provenza said as he shrugged his shoulders. "So, that guy has to be Croelick" Andy continued. "Ok Flynn, if Croelick is here then why didn't he just say he was here and come up to see us, an officer could have escorted him up here" Provenza reasoned with Andy. Andy took a deep breath while looking at Provenza. "The officer said that the guy hung around and then left five minutes before I showed up here with Matthew" Andy said back to Provenza. "I think we should tell the Captain" Provenza said and then he started to walk back in to the office. Andy hung his head and followed him back.

They made their way towards Sharon's office and saw Sharon speaking with Matthew. Andy knocked on the open door as he came in. Provenza waited outside for a minute. "Um, Sharon, we may have a slight problem" Andy hesitantly said to her. She looked up at him as Matthew went to go sit at the table in the office. She shook her head slightly. "What kind of problem?" she asked him. Andy looked at Matthew and then back at her. "Ah, an officer downstairs said there was a guy looking for me and Provenza earlier" Andy started to tell her in a low voice. Sharon looked at him and then back at Matthew. "Okay" Sharon said as she walked over to where Matthew was sitting. "Matthew, I will be right back, you just work on that homework and I will look over it in a few minutes, okay?" Sharon said to the boy. Matthew just nodded.

They all walked over to the Murder Board and Andy informed the team what the officer downstairs had told him. "Mike, can you pull the security footage from downstairs?" Sharon asked him. "Yes" Mike said as he started typing on his computer and pulled up the image. "So, is this guy Croelick?" Mike asked. "It has to be, who else would ask for me and Provenza?" Andy stated. "Do you want us to find him outside and then bring him in for questioning?" Julio asked Sharon. Sharon really didn't want to keep Matthew here all night with them, but it was looking like she didn't have much of a choice in that matter. It was already after 5:30 and the building's official hours ended in a half hour. If Croelick really wanted to talk to Provenza and Andy like he told the officer downstairs, he would need to do it soon. "No, we will wait for him to show up again, and then we will go from there" Sharon stated as she looked at everyone. "In the meantime, let's close up here in a half hour and go home so we can get a fresh start tomorrow" she added as she walked back to her office and closed the door.

Andy didn't like the fact that Croelick was in the lobby earlier. He was being very bold by coming down there. They really don't know where he has been all these years, just bits and pieces they discovered while running their reports earlier in the day. Andy wasn't going to go to his meeting tonight, he wanted to stay with his family and protect them if Croelick was indeed in the area. Sharon wasn't going to like that but if anyone could persuade her, it would be Andy. "Are you ready to go?" Andy asked Sharon as he walked into her office. Sharon looked at him from her chair with a surprised look on her face. "Aren't you going to your meeting tonight?" Sharon said to him as he walked over to where Matthew was sitting. He started to help Matthew put his school work back into his backpack. He then walked over to Sharon. "No, I'm not" Andy said as he looked at her. Sharon gave him a look, but knew exactly why Andy wasn't going. "Look, there will be plenty of meetings that I can go to. I just want to be with you, especially if Croelick is in the area, okay?" he said to her and gave her his charming look. Sharon was hesitant to agree with Andy, she didn't want him threatening his sobriety over this case. "Fine, we'll discuss this later" Sharon said reluctantly and grabbed her things. The rest of the team already left.

They walked out and headed to the elevators. Matthew walked ahead of them and hit the button to call the elevator. Sharon and Andy came up behind him and waited. The doors opened and they walked in and the elevator took them to the garage level. They were going to take Andy's car home tonight so they could all drive together. Andy then drove them home. He didn't notice a pickup truck at the exit of the parking garage that had followed them towards the condo. He then pulled into the garage and all three of them got out of the car and headed inside. Croelick was in the truck that had followed them to the condo. "Well well Andy, looks like you have been busy since I left" Bill said to himself. He then drove off.

As they entered the condo, Sharon placed her keys on the table and toed off her heels, putting on more comfortable shoes. Matthew came running into the living room looking for Moxie who was sitting on the couch next to Gus. "Moxie!" Matthew ran up to the dog and the dog was excited that he was home. "I'll start dinner" Sharon said as she walked into the kitchen. "Hi boys" Sharon said to Gus and Rusty as she walked past them towards the kitchen. She then peered into the refrigerator to see what ingredients they had to make a quick dinner. "When was the last time Moxie went out?" Andy asked Gus as he sat down on the chair in the living room. Gus glanced at his watch. "Maybe two hours ago? If you want Lieutenant, I can take him out" Gus stated to Andy. Andy got up and shook his head. "No Gus, I'll take Moxie out" Andy said as he grabbed the dog's leash. "Come on Moxie!" Andy said to the dog and the dog came to him.

"Matthew, I would like for you to continue your homework, please" Sharon stated from the kitchen as she glanced to see what everyone was doing. Gus had turned on a cartoon show for Matthew. "I'm going to go see if your mom needs help in the kitchen" Gus said to Rusty as he walked towards Sharon in the kitchen. "Do you need any help in here?" Gus asked Sharon. She was standing at the stove, cooking some chicken beast strips and vegetables. "Uh, sure Gus, if you want to make either noodles or rice for this that would be great" Sharon said to him as she kept stirring the food. "I hope the dog wasn't too much trouble for you and Rusty today" Sharon said. "Oh, no trouble at all" Gus said to her.

Andy was walking the dog outside around the condo building and as the dog was sniffing the grass, he started barking for no reason. Andy looked around to see if maybe there was another dog in the area but he didn't see one. Moxie continued to bark straight ahead of them and Andy got a strange feeling. He looked around them and then headed back inside with the dog.

Dinner was almost ready by the time Andy came back in with the dog. Matthew was still watching a cartoon with Rusty as Sharon came into the living room. "Matthew I asked you to go do your homework, that was 20 minutes ago" Sharon said to the boy. Matthew looked up at her innocently. "Now please go wash your hands as it is time for dinner" Sharon told him and Matthew got up and headed for the bathroom. Sharon huffed and Andy came up to her. "Relax, he's just a kid Sharon" Andy said to her as he pulled her in for a hug. Matthew came bounding back towards the kitchen. "Dinner's ready" she said to him. Andy pulled her in for a kiss and then they joined everyone at the table. Gus asked Sharon who was going to watch the dog tomorrow and Sharon looked at Andy. "Oh, well, we were going to take him to a dog play and stay for the day. That way the dog can interact with other dogs and be able to run around" Andy said to them.

Gus left about an hour later with Rusty as they were going to the movies. Sharon gave Rusty some money for them watching Moxie all day long. Sharon was at her desk looking over some paperwork she had brought home from the case. Something wasn't adding up to her and she needed to figure it out quickly. Andy sat at the table with Matthew while he did his homework. All of a sudden Moxie jumped off the couch and headed for the front door, barking again. This startled Sharon and she looked up at Andy. "Stay here kid" Andy said to Matthew as he got up from the table and headed towards the front door. He glanced over at Sharon who was now getting up from her desk. He held up his hand gesturing for her to stay where she was. Moxie continued to bark at the door. "Moxie, enough" Andy said to the dog. Moxie sat down by the door and looked at Andy. Andy looked through the peep hole but didn't see anything. He grabbed his gun on his waist and slowly opened the door. He stepped out in to the hallway but no one was there. He then came back inside and locked the door.

"Anything out there?" Sharon asked him as he came back inside. "No" Andy said as he shook his head. Moxie then went to the kitchen and sat down by Matthew who was still sitting at the table. "That's odd, what would make the dog bark like that?" Sharon said. "You know, Moxie was barking a lot when I took him outside before dinner" Andy said to her. "What are you looking at?" Andy asked Sharon as she went back to her desk. "I brought some paperwork from the case home, something is just not adding up here" Sharon said to him. "I'm all done with my homework" Matthew called out to them. "Good, let me take a look at it" Sharon said to the boy as she smiled at Andy and walked over to Matthew. Andy took a deep breath and then looked at the paperwork Sharon had brought home. He knew that she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight if something was bothering her with this case, so he decided he would try and see what they were missing.

Two hours later with Matthew asleep now and Moxie in Rusty's room with him, Sharon and Andy were sitting on the couch looking over the papers. "Earlier today in my office, I didn't mean for it to sound like I didn't trust you" Sharon quietly said to Andy. Andy glanced up at her and put the papers he was holding on the coffee table in front of them. "Come here" he said as he held his arms open. She put the papers down as well and scooted over closer to Andy. "I know you didn't. I was being stubborn and my feelings got hurt. I'm sorry" he whispered to her as he held her close. "We need to bring Cora in tomorrow. I would like to speak to her. She's hiding something" Sharon said to Andy as she rubbed circles over his t-shirt. "What about Croelick?" Andy asked. "He will come to us, that's in his nature" she said to him. "Okay, but let's not talk about work anymore" Andy whispered to her as he leaned in for a kiss. Sharon adjusted her position on the couch and Andy scooted down so that he pulled her on top of him as they both stretched out on the couch. She was slowly kissing him and he was slowly kissing her back.

"Why didn't you go to your meeting tonight?" Sharon whispered to him as she laid on top of him, her head on his chest. He was rubbing her arms and back with his hands, holding her in his arms. "Because if Croelick is somehow involved in all of this, he is dangerous. I mean he showed up on the chief's doorstep many times when we were investigating him. I want you to be safe. And I want Matthew to be safe. I can't do that if I am at a meeting, Sharon" Andy quietly answered her. She just listened to him talk. "Besides, I was having doubts but you've helped me, better than any meeting" Andy said to her as she moved her head to look at him. "I love you" Sharon said to Andy and leaned down for a kiss. Andy kissed her back. "I love you too" he said to her. She got up and held out her hand for him to take and they made their way down the hall and in to their bedroom.

Friday morning came early at the condo. Andy woke up to an empty bed and glanced over at the clock. It was 5:15. He groaned as he shifted and moved to get up. He wondered where Sharon was at and then he heard the water running in the shower, so that answered his question. He got up and made his way to the bathroom. He saw Sharon's figure in the shower and he decided to join her. He opened up the shower door and slid in behind her. He started to message his hands on her back and shoulders and she turned around to face him. Andy looked at Sharon, who now had burns all over her body and there was smoke coming from the shower head. "Help me" Sharon said to Andy. Andy looked around and they were no longer in the shower but outside and he saw Croelick standing in the background.

Andy woke up, sweating trying to catch his breath. Sharon woke up as well as she heard Andy struggle to breath. She placed her hand on his chest to help him calm down. "Are you okay?" Sharon asked him and he shook his head yes. He was able to start breathing normally within seconds and Sharon checked his pulse. It was a steady beat and was going back to normal. "What time is it?" Andy asked her as he rubbed his forehead with his hand. She looked at the clock. "5:20" she said to him. Andy then swung his legs to the side of the bed and sat up. Sharon sat with him, rubbing her hand on his back. "Want to tell me about your dream?" Sharon asked him. "More like a nightmare" Andy stated. "You were in the shower and I joined you. As you turned around I saw you had burn marks all over your body. You asked me to help you. There was smoke coming from the shower and as I looked around I saw Croelick watching us" Andy said quietly to her. She continued to rub his back as they sat at the edge of the bed.

A few minutes later he stood up and turned on the lamp on the table. Andy looked back at Sharon and leaned down to give her a passionate kiss. "I'm going to take a shower now" Andy whispered to her as she held his face in her hands. He then walked towards the bathroom and turned the shower on. Sharon sat on the bed contemplating whether or not to join him. He wanted to desperately wash that nightmare out of his head. Every time he closed his eyes, he could picture Sharon with the burn marks and that shook him to the core. He stood underneath the running water and just let the water run down his body. He heard the door open and knew Sharon was joining him. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her.

They both got dressed and by the time their alarm actually went off, Andy went in to wake up Matthew. Sharon traded places with Andy and help Matthew get dressed and ready for school. Andy took Moxie outside and they went for a short walk. By the time Andy and Moxie came back inside the condo, Matthew was already dressed and sitting on the couch reading a book on snakes. She looked up and saw the look on Matthew's face as he was telling her all about the different kinds of snakes. "That's really interesting" she said to him and smiled. Sharon was sitting at her desk, still going over some papers from the case. "Did you eat yet?" Andy asked Sharon as he walked past her. She took a sip of some tea she made. "No, not yet" she said to him as he made his way to the kitchen. Moxie followed Andy and waited until Andy fed him breakfast.

It was early enough that they weren't going to be rushing out of the condo so Andy decided to make his famous pancakes, but a heart healthier version of course so Sharon wouldn't yell at him. Sharon heard the mixing bowls clatter to the floor in a loud bang. "Andy?" she said as she got up and rushed over to the kitchen. "It's fine" Andy said to her as he saw her come in view. He had already picked up the bowls. "In our new house, I'm hoping you can let me arrange some items the way I like them?" he said to her with a smile. He would tease her from time to time about how her kitchen was arranged. "It depends, are you going to do all the cooking for us then?" Sharon teased him back. "Can you get the egg whites out of the fridge while you are here?" Andy asked her as he started to pour the ingredients in the mixing bowl. "Hmm, what are you making?" Sharon asked him as she gave him the carton of egg whites. "My famous pancakes, the healthy version of course" he said to her with his charming smile. "Of course" she said back to him smiling as well. She then returned to her desk.

"Matthew, do you want to help me with this?" Andy asked Matthew and he willingly joined him in the kitchen. "What are you doing?" Matthew asked him. "I'm making us pancakes for breakfast. Do you like pancakes?" Andy asked him. Matthew looked back at Andy for a second. "Yes" Matthew said. "Ok, great so just come over here and help me mix the ingredients in the bowl" Andy said to him as he brought a chair closer to the boy could kneel on it. Matthew helped Andy make the pancakes while Moxie watched them very closely making sure any batter that was dropped was licked up off the floor. Andy told Matthew to go sit at the table and then brought some dishes out for them to use. He placed all of the made pancakes on a plate and placed that on the table as well. He then called out to Sharon. "Breakfast is ready, my dear" he said to her as she made her way to the table.

Once everybody was set, they left the condo to drive Matthew to school and to drop off Moxie at a Doggie Day Care center Andy had heard about. As they pulled up to Matthew's school, Sharon got out of the car to walk Matthew up to the entrance. "Have fun kid" Andy said to him as he waited in the car. Sharon brought him to the front door of the school. "Be good and have fun Matthew" she said to him as she gave him a hug. He hugged her back and made his way inside. Sharon then made her way back to the car. Andy drove them to the Doggie Day Care place in Hollywood. Sharon waited in the car while Andy took Moxie inside. The place was very nice and had great reviews on the web. Plus they were open late which Andy thought was a plus given their work schedules. Andy came back to the car and sat inside. "Everything okay?" Sharon said as she looked at him. "Fine, Moxie didn't even turn around, just went with the worker and joined all of the other dogs there" Andy said to her. She laughed. "Just like a child" Sharon said as he started to drive to work.

They arrived at the Murder Room and everyone was already there. As Sharon walked towards her office, she called for Lieutenant Tao to follow her. "I want to speak with Cora Richards this morning, please bring her in for questioning, but she is not under arrest so act accordingly Mike" Sharon said to him. "Right away Captain" Mike said and then left her office. He took Amy with him. Provenza was at his desk and Andy was sitting at his desk. Julio was speaking to Buzz about something when Provenza's desk phone rang. "Great" he muttered and tried to get the attention of Flynn. "My, my, my, looks like you guys have moved up in the LAPD world" Croelick stated to them as he walked into the room.

Flynn stood up and moved quickly over to where Croelick was standing. "You son of a bitch" he said to him and then turned Croelick around and patted him down. "Lieutenant, always a pleasure" Croelick said as Andy finished his pat down. Sharon saw the commotion from her office and came out to see what was going on. Croelick turned around and waved to Provenza and Julio. He then looked at the lady he had seen with Andy last night. He smiled at her. "Hi, I hear you have been looking for me" Croelick said to Sharon as he held out his hand for her to shake. "Right" Sharon said to him but did not reach out her hand. "Lieutenant, please escort our guest to the conference room, I'll be right there" Sharon said to Andy as she looked at Croelick. "Sure Captain" Andy said and he showed Croelick the way to the conference room.

"So Lieutenant, do you like working for her?" Croelick said hoping to get a rise out of Andy. "She's very attractive. I can see why you are with her" Croelick said as Andy brought him into the conference room. "What do you know about her?" Andy said gritting his teeth. Croelick just smiled back at him and had a seat. "Where is just plain Brenda?" he asked Andy. "She left for another job" Andy said back to him. "Tell me, do you find it hard to take orders from her at work and at home?" Croelick asked him as Sharon stepped into the room with Provenza. Andy just stared at him. "Hello, Bill, I believe you know your rights" Sharon said as she walked in to the room. "I don't think we've met before. My name is Captain Sharon Flynn" Sharon said to him as she sat down on the opposite side of the table. Andy stood on her left and Provenza stood by the door. "Oh, you're married to each other, that would explain it then" Croelick said to her. "Explain what?" Sharon asked him. "Why I saw the two of you last night together going in to a condo building with a child" Croelick said as he shifted in his chair.

This of course made Andy's blood boil and Sharon knew it too. She didn't want to give Croelick any advantages during this questioning period so she moved the interview along. "I need you to explain a couple of things Mr. Croelick" Sharon started to say to him. "Oh, you can call me Bill, Sharon" Croelick said to her. "First of all, Bill, where were you two nights ago?" Sharon asked him. He looked back at her from across the table and then looked at Andy. He held a smirk on his face. "Well, so much for the pleasantries. I was in Fresno, at my house. Next question?" Croelick said to her. "Do you know a Cora Richards?" Sharon asked him. He looked at her with his fiery eyes. She was nothing like Brenda. "Yes" he said as he stared at her. "Who is Cora, Bill?" Sharon asked him. "Before I answer that Sharon, you need to answer a question of mine" Croelick said back to her. Andy moved forward and placed his hands on the table. "We're not playing your games here Croelick!" Andy said to him. Sharon interjected for a second. "No, it's okay Andy. What's your question?" Sharon asked him.

TBC