Sorry for the delay in updating this story. Would love to hear your thoughts one way or the other to make sure things are staying in character or if you have ideas where this should go. Please leave a review either way. Thanks for reading.

Ch. 3 – Plotters gonna plot.

Rusty felt more listless than usual as he flipped thru TV channels late Saturday morning without the usual protest from the unusually quiet Sharon now nursing a second cup of coffee.

"You okay, Sharon?"

Sharon was deep in thought and didn't realize her son was speaking to her.

"Sharon? Mom? Yo? You there?" Rusty flipped off the TV and turned to face Sharon. "Are you okay?" Rusty demanded. Sharon stared uncomprehendingly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Sharon said quickly.

"What's up with you these days?"

Sharon shook off whatever was clouding her head. "I don't know what you mean. I'm fine."

"Suuure," Rusty said dryly. "If you say so."

"Really, Rusty."

"What's bugging you? Something happen between you and Lt. Flynn?" Rusty decided to go for the jugular. Whenever he brought up the lieutenant it seem to elicit more attention from Sharon.

"Why would you ask that?" Sharon queried.

"Cuz Lt. Flynn's hasn't been around for a while. He use to come by and I don't know… Rusty prompted. Sharon pressed her lips together.

"There's nothing to worry about, Rusty, I'm just tired I guess."

"If you say so, but you'd tell me if I did something wrong, or …"

Sharon realized Rusty was worried about her. "Don't worry, this has nothing to do with you. I'm just …"

"So there is something bothering you," Rusty announced. "Seems like its been bugging you for a while now since that 'weird' day at work," Rusty was far too perceptive for Sharon's immediate liking. His air quotes around the word 'weird' bothered Sharon.

"I'm perfectly fine. Nothing is going on, so what do you have planned for the weekend," Sharon tried unsuccessfully to change the subject.

Rusty knew Sharon wasn't going to share whatever was bothering her. He decided to go for the Mother vein. "Nothing much. Wanna go see a movie tonight?

"That might be fun," Sharon said weakly.

"Cool, you pick the movie," Rusty pushed. Sharon hadn't seen a movie at an actual movie theater in weeks. Something she missed since she and Andy weren't hanging out together any more.

"What do you want to go see?" Sharon asked softly.

"I heard Whiplash was good. What do you think?"

"The piano movie?"

"Yeah, the movie with that bald guy, the piano teacher actor is like sooo familiar, he reminds me of the Commander. The movie's up for an Oscar or something," Rusty said, "we could call Lt. Flynn and see if he'd like to join us?"

"Uh, no, lets just go together, it'll be fun," Sharon said brightly. She and Andy had been avoiding each other for the past two weeks.

"Cool. It's a date, Mom." Rusty said with a smile as he got up and put the TV clicker back on the coffee table. "I'm gonna go take a shower." Sharon nodded and gave him a weak smile and got up for another cup of coffee from the kitchen.

"Lt. Provenza?" Rusty said in a hushed tone.

"Rusty, hey kiddo? How are you?" The elderly detective sounded happy to hear from the young man. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm sorry to bug you on your weekend but I think something is ….so the reason I'm calling is,… um, is something going on between Sharon and Lt. Flynn?"

Provenza wasn't expecting the topic and paused a little too long.

"You're going to have to be a lot more specific," Provenza advised.

"How come Lt. Flynn's hasn't been around here lately?" Rusty said to the point.

"What do you mean? Like at your place?" Provenza sounded nervous. Rusty knew he had struck a nerve.

"Did something happen?" Rusty asked. "Sharon's been kinda…I don't know…kinda down lately. Like someone died or something."

Provenza read into the remark and tried to answer without giving away too much.

"I'm sure the Captain's just fine. Probably tired. It's been a tough week."

"Yeah but its more than that, Lieutenant," Rusty sounded worried. "Did anything happen at work that might be worrying Sharon?"

"Did you try asking her yourself?" the elderly man said with his customary sarcasm.

"Of course I did but its like she doesn't want to talk about it. Is it about Philip Stroh?" Rusty's voice took on a tinge of fear.

"No, no, Rusty, it's nothing for you to worry about. Just a lot going on as you can expect but nothing about Stroh that's for sure."

"Then what is it? Sharon's not her normal self and Lt. Flynn's never around anymore…" Rusty paused. "Just tell me, whatever it is. If you don't then I'm just gonna go crazy trying to figure it out…"

"Fine. Look, it's nothing you have to worry about," Provenza offered.

"So there is something going on!"

Provenza knew he'd said too much. This kid Rusty was like a human lie detector. "Oh for god sakes, Rusty, it's no big deal."

"If its no big deal then just tell me what it is," Rusty pounced.

"I don't know if I should be talking about this with you, Rusty," Provenza said slowly.

"Just tell me, Lieutenant." Rusty sounded concerned. "What happened?"

"Look, you don't need to get involved," Provenza hedged.

"Sharon's my mom and I'd like to know why she's so bummed out. Maybe I can fix it," Rusty said earnestly.

Provenza felt his heart swell for the boy's good intentions. "Rusty, this isn't something you or I can fix so we just have to let it play itself out and what will be will be, okay?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Lieutenant," Rusty replied. "All I know is Sharon isn't herself these days…and she won't tell me why. She's always so preoccupied but with a sad look on her face. I'm starting to think this is about Lt. Flynn."

Provenza sighed into the phone. "Maybe you ought to think about becoming a detective, Rusty," Provenza deflected.

"So it is about Lt. Flynn, isn't it?" Rusty sounded relieved. "What happened? Did they have a fight?"

"Not a fight exactly,...what I'm about to tell you, so help me Rusty, if you say one word about this to the Captain, I'll kick your narrow little ass into next week," Provenza declared. "I'm serious."

"I promise, not a word."

Provenza hesitated. "Ahhh, about two weeks ago, Flynn got his pin for 30 years on the force.

"Wow, I had no idea Lt. Flynn was that old!" Rusty murmured.

"Hey, he's not that old!" Provenza grumbled. "Flynn started young!"

"Okay, okay!" Rusty placated. "So what happened?"

"The Captain presented Andy with his 30-year pin in a sorta informal ceremony more like an announcement kinda thing...and uh, well, Flynn kind of kissed her by accident… in front of the team."

"Holy shit! You mean on the mouth?" Rusty yelped.

"No! On the elbow! Of course, on the mouth," Provenza snarked. "But in Andy's defense he was practically dead on his feet."

"Seriously? Wait, how do you kiss somebody by accident?"

"Never-mind that right now," Provenza cautioned. "Suffice it to say that didn't go over so well."

"Did Sharon freak out?"

"Nothing terrible but you could tell the Captain was not happy. That's for sure," Provenza huffed.

"So she didn't kiss him back?"

"Hell no! Of course not! But she took off, …" Provenza stopped himself. "and then she sent him home to get some sleep."

"Why? Was he sleepwalking? Sleep-kissing? Is that even a thing?"

"I don't know ….no, of course not, Rusty! Lt. Flynn hadn't been sleeping much and was tired and…," Provenza paused carefully, the last thing he wanted to admit in a slip was why Andy was so tired. The less the boy knew about the Stroh-stakeout on Sharon's apartment, the better. "But after Andy got some sleep he came in and apologized to the Captain and to the rest of us and then…" Provenza caught himself.

"And then what?" Rusty asked. This kid didn't miss a thing to Provenza's chagrin.

"What?"

Shit! Provenza realized Rusty knew most of the story, so he might as well hear the rest.

"Uh my partner stupidly and very publicly announced… well, he …" Provenza sighed heavily.

"Tell me!" C'monnnnnn." Rusty was dying to get the full story.

"Fine! Andy admitted he had a crush on the Captain."

"Well, d'uh! Everybody knows that!" Rusty said with a smile. Provenza caught himself smiling a little, too. "What did Sharon say?"

"Well she didn't say she felt the same way, that's for sure!" Provenza snapped.

"Ohhh, I get it," Rusty said slowly. "That explains why he's not been around. He's probably really,really embarrassed, huh?"

The truth was Flynn was practically a mime these days at the office even whenever the partners were in the car on their way to a crime or hanging out after work. It seemed Andy was going to a few more AA meetings lately too.

"Well, he's been pretty quiet these days, but he'll bounce back eventually."

"So that's why Sharon's been so quiet," Rusty realized. "I'm really glad you told me what's going on because I had no idea this was bugging Sharon."

"Rusty, my boy, that may not be why Captain is feeling that way."

"Oh yeah? So both of them are acting weird since then, way too quiet, they're both unhappy and its not about that?"

Provenza knew the boy was right.

"So how do they react to each other at work?"

"Rusty, its complicated."

"So, what you're saying is the Lieutenant accidentally kissed his boss. Then he apologizes publicly and tells everyone he has a thing for Sharon," Rusty couldn't help feeling a little smug knowing this confirmed everything he thought about Sharon and the Lt. not-dating dates. "So what are we going to do about it?"

"Do about what? What do you mean ..ooooh no. Nuh-uh! 'We' aren't going to do anything about it," Provenza balked.

"Maybe we should, I mean it's been weeks and neither one acting normal," Rusty explained. "All we need to do is …."

"Nonononono! We are not doing anything, you hear?" Provenza fussed.

"Well, I'm going to the movies with Sharon tonight. Around 7 or 8 o'clock to see Whiplash. It's only playing in one theater right now.

"Why are you telling me this?" Provenza sounded genuinely confused.

"Think about it, Lieutenant," Rusty said. "We could bump into each other and…"

"Good lord! Rusty!"

"Trust me! Now call Lt. Flynn and invite him out tonight. Remember, Whiplash! Okay?" Rusty was grinning as he spoke.

"Whiplash, yeah, I'm gonna get whiplashed to death if this blows up!"

"It won't. Trust me. Now make the call," Rusty urged and hung up. This is gonna be great! Rusty was a little excited by his plan. Sharon was such a good person and she didn't deserve all the shitty things life had handed her like Jackson. Andy Flynn seemed to make her smile so why not help things along. Holy shit, he actually kissed her. Sleepy, my ass!

Lt. Provenza called Andy and it took some doing but he finally got his partner to agree to seeing a movie with the promise of burgers afterward as Provenza's treat. Andy knew his partner was concerned about him and gave in although he would rather have stayed home holed up all the same. He'd been spending plenty of time at AA meetings, sometimes attending two meetings a night to get past his broken heart and keep his mind off the bottle.

The last time Andy and Sharon spoke about anything other than a case, Sharon had told him clearly she wasn't interested. He remembered her exact words. "Don't ever do that again" in reference to his stupid kiss. He could barely look her in the eye knowing she wasn't interested in him. Things had been awkward ever since.

Maybe getting out and seeing a movie with Provenza would be a nice change of pace. He couldn't sit and sulk in his apartment forever.

Sharon and Rusty found seats near the middle of the theater rows and slipped into a pair of vacant seats in the nearly full theater. The lights dimmed and Sharon settled in to watch the previews as Rusty dug into his bag of popcorn. She glanced over at her son and enjoyed the fact he wanted to hang out with her.

Within a few minutes, the sound of a familiar laugh caught Sharon's attention and she tried to locate the direction of the voice. It was too dark to see much but she picked out the familiar laugh once more as the audience was reacting to an upcoming comedy's preview.

"Hey! Is that Lieutenant Flynn down there?" Rusty asked loudly as he pointed three rows below to a silver-haired man seated next to what appeared to be a blonde woman.

"Ssshhhh!" Sharon said in a panicked voice. The last thing she wanted was to be seen by Andy while he was out on a date. She unconsciously slid down in her seat a bit. Rusty noticed and couldn't help smile to himself.

"Is he on a date?" Rusty said, a little too loudly for her tastes. Sharon could feel her stomach sink.

"I don't know, Rusty. Don't worry about it, lets just watch the movie," Sharon whispered.

"The movie's not even on yet, Sharon. I'm gonna go say hi, maybe he can come sit with us," Rusty started to stand before Sharon stopped him.

"Don't!" Sharon grabbed Rusty's arm.

"Why?" Rusty asked innocently.

"Just, don't. Please." Sharon didn't want to explain herself and really wanted Rusty to sit back down.

"Okay, but I don't…" Rusty began as the last preview ended and the movie started. Rusty reached for his cell phone and surreptitiously texted Provenza, hiding his phone behind the popcorn.

Provenza felt his cell phone vibrate and pulled it out of his pocket to read the text.

"It could be a murder, don't answer it," Andy whispered to Provenza.

"It's Patrice," Provenza lied and glanced at his screen's text.

"We're here" Rusty texted. "3 rows behind you."

Seconds later a text appeared on Rusty's phone.

"Good. Stay put." Provenza responded.

"Who's the woman between you," Rusty texted Provenza.

"What woman?" Texted Provenza.

"Next to Andy," Rusty texted back. "Short blond hair?"

Provenza turned to glance past his partner and noticed a blond woman seated next to Andy. There were two women next to Andy, neither of who knew him or Provenza.

"The blond?" Rusty tried again.

"No clue. Not with us." Provenza texted.

"Good," Rusty texted back as he glimpsed Sharon's face next to him. She was engrossed in the movie. He waited a few minutes and then handed Sharon the bag of popcorn. She shook her head no.

"Have some," Rusty said sweetly. Sharon conceded and reached into the bag for a few kernels. "I swear that's Lt. Flynn down there! Look!"

Sharon couldn't help herself and glanced in the direction Rusty was pointing. "It could be," Sharon said pretending not to care.

"Guess he's on a date," Rusty said casually. Sharon said nothing but her eyes remained on Andy's silver hair instead of the silver screen. "That's a bummer," Rusty added. Sharon looked over at her son. "I thought the Lieutenant was into you."

"We're just friends, Rusty." Sharon tried to sound unfazed and popped the kernels into her mouth before grabbing another handful. Rusty remained quiet and kept an eye on Sharon. She wasn't going to say anything more so Rusty gave up – for now - and decided to watch the movie. And wait.

Nearly two hours later, as the credits rolled Andy and Louie stood up and looked up toward the exits.

"Lieutenant Provenza? Lt. Flynn!" Rusty yelled. Andy jerked his head in the direction of his name and saw Rusty standing next to an uncomfortable-looking Sharon Raydor.

Oh God! Be quiet, Rusty! Sharon begged internally. No luck, the detectives spotted them immediately. She had to be polite and forced a small smile.

"Hey Rusty!" Provenza waved back. Sharon glared at Rusty who was oblivious but in no way ready to leave the aisle and waited for the flow of people to pass.

Andy glanced up and caught Sharon's eye. Smiling immediately, Andy nudged his partner. "What are the odds, heh, Lou?"

"It's fate," Provenza said sarcastically. Andy looked genuinely happy for a split second.

Sharon held her breath and waited for Provenza and Andy to approach. She could see the blond woman following behind Andy. "Hey, Sharon," Andy said shyly. Sharon nodded.

"Andy," She said softly.

The two detectives paused and gestured for Sharon and Rusty to step out of their aisle ahead of them. Sharon had to restrain herself from running.

"What did you think of the movie?" Rusty turned around to walk backward and asked both men. Sharon kept moving.

"Great. I loved the music," Andy said carefully. The air had been a little strained at work for the past couple of weeks and neither he or Sharon seemed fully comfortable alone in the murder room as of late. "What did you think of the movie, Sharon?"

"It was intense," Sharon managed to say with a quick glance over her shoulder. Andy looked at Provenza who shrugged at Andy's concerned face.

"What about you, Rusty?" Provenza asked. Rusty grinned.

"I loved it! Maybe I'll get a set of drums and start…." Rusty said enthusiastically waiting for Sharon's reaction but saw none forthcoming. "Lt. Flynn, where's your date?"

Perfect! Sharon forced herself not to react. She shot Rusty the most withering glare which Rusty pretended he didn't see.

"I wouldn't call Provenza my date exactly." Andy laughed.

"Hey, I'm offended! I paid for your ticket!" Provenza cajoled his partner and Rusty laughed. Sharon slowed her pace a little realizing her initial impression was wrong. She consciously let out a sigh quietly.

"Well, it was nice seeing y…" Sharon said as she reached the lobby with the three guys in tow but Rusty wasn't going to let her off that easily.

"Hey, why don't you guys join us? Lets go get something to eat and talk about the movie." Provenza smirked at Rusty and shook his head lightly. He knew exactly what the boy was up to and couldn't say he minded. Andy perked up considerably once he saw Sharon but he was afraid to respond to the invitation.

"It's getting late," Andy hedged as he glanced over at Sharon waiting for her cue.

"C'mon you guys," Rusty cajoled. "It'll be fun! It's not even 10 o'clock!"

"I could eat," Provenza added.

"When do you not," Andy joked, patting Provenza's gut.

"Come on, Sharon, what do you say?"

Sharon smiled at Rusty's exuberance. "Fine, okay."

"Where do you want to go?" Andy asked looking at Sharon directly.

"I suppose somewhere there's burgers," Sharon suggested pointing her chin at Rusty. Andy grinned. Rusty loved burgers and never turned one down in all the time the detectives had known him.

"Lets go! There's gotta be a restaurant around here," Rusty said glancing around. He knew if they went in separate cars Sharon would find a way to beg off.

"C'mon, this way," Provenza said gesturing to the others, "I know a place."

Sharon made it a point to stay next to Rusty and led the way with Andy and Provenza behind. Andy couldn't help but watch Sharon. His eyes followed the sway of her hips in her snug blue jeans. It had hurt when she told him in no uncertain terms to ever kiss her again. He'd have to get over the embarrassment but that didn't mean he wasn't still very attracted to her.

Sharon hoped the restaurant wasn't too far and before she could finish her thought, Rusty pulled open the door to a lively looking upscale burger place filled with people on a Saturday night.

The hostess seated them in a booth in the back and Sharon pulled Rusty deftly as she slid into her seat. Andy slid in to give is partner the aisle seat and blushed when his foot bumped against Sharon's. She looked up and then away quickly.

Relax, Andy reminded himself. She doesn't hate you, it's just a burger with buddies. Yeah, right.

Sharon tried to appear unfazed but her heart was beating a little too fast. Why was she feeling nervous? It was just Andy…who kissed her and ruined everything,

Provenza pretended to be reading his menu holding it up enough to block Sharon and Andy from seeing his face. He glanced to the side of it with a crooked smirk on his face and saw the same expression on Rusty's smug face.

Rusty winked and Provenza winked back.

"Everything looks so good," Rusty said. "We should do this more often! Don't you think?"

Provenza faked a quick cough to cover his chuckle. Neither Sharon or Andy said a word. It was going to be a gloriously long and fun night torturing his boss and partner.

"The night is young…" Provenza managed to add as he signaled a waitress. "…and I'm thirsty!"

Andy and Sharon looked up at Provenza and caught each other's eye before quickly looking away and back to their menus.

Rusty suppressed a laugh and studied the menu. Sharon and Andy, sitting in a tree….! Rusty sang internally.

Ah, the plot thickens as two people who aren't supposed to be attracted to one another are brought together by "fates," Rusty and Louie. The tension is growing and something's gotta give. Please review and let me know how you'd like to see it develop. Thanks for reading. Review are so encouraging and appreciated.