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.

A/N: Thanks to all of you for your wonderful reviews of this story. Here is the next chapter, but not the final one...

Chapter 16

Sharon and Andy walked from the car to the main entrance of the hospital. He opened the door and Sharon walked through, grabbing his hand as he came up next to her again. They continued walking down the corridor towards the outpatient radiology area. The waiting area was big with chairs and couches. Andy glanced around the room and noticed people sitting there waiting for their loved ones or for tests themselves.

Sharon walked over to the check-in counter, telling the patient intake person that she was here for a CT scan for Doctor Fishman. The woman looked up her information on the computer and then gave her a wrist band with her name and information on it, wrapping it around her left wrist. "Okay, just have a seat there and someone will be with you shortly to take you back to another room," the woman informed her and Sharon nodded, turning to Andy, and he led her to one of the chairs to sit in.

He noticed that her hand was cold and as they both sat there, she took a deep breath. Andy wiggled her hand a little bit. "Hey, you're going to be fine," he reassured her and himself, for that matter that she was going to be okay. A routine test, he thought to himself, to see if her spleen had returned to normal after two weeks of the gunshot wound trauma. He sat there next to her, holding her hand and placing his other hand on top, hoping that his warmth would be enough as they waited.

"Are you going to tell me what you had in mind for after my test and doctor's visit?" Sharon asked him as they sat there. She wanted something to look forward to as they waited, perhaps it would help her to keep her mind off of the test itself, even though the CT test was not invasive. "Hmm, well I will tell you that it involves being outside and walking around," Andy chuckled as he rubbed her hand.

They waited another 15 minutes before Sharon heard her name being called by one of the technicians. "Sharon Flynn?" they called out and Sharon began to stand up, with Andy following her. "Hi Sharon, my name is Stephanie and I'm going to take you to another room where you'll change into a gown and wait for your test," she explained to Sharon and Sharon nodded.

"Um, could I go with my wife?" Andy asked Stephanie as he stood next to Sharon. "Sure, Mister Flynn, we are just going to go back to her own cubicle and you can wait there for her while she's at her test," Stephanie informed him as the three of them walked down another corridor and into another set of rooms.

They walked to an open room where Stephanie placed a gown for Sharon to change into on the bed and also placed some socks for her to wear next to the gown. "Okay, here's a gown for you to change into and also some socks for you to wear, we don't want you to slip as you walk," she smiled and then closed the curtain behind her when she left the room.

Andy looked at Sharon as she took off her watch and jewelry. "Would you like me to step out a minute while you change into your gown?" he asked her, sheepishly. "No, Andy, you can stay," she smiled at him, knowing that he wanted to stay but gave her the option anyways. She handed him her clothes and he placed them neatly in the bag that was provided. He then held up the gown for her and she slipped her arms into the holes, tying the gown in back for her.

She sat down on the bed and laid back. He helped place a blanket over her, knowing that she would be cold just laying there, waiting. Andy sat down next to her on a chair. "Here we are again," she mumbled to him and he gave her questionable look. "I mean one of us in a hospital while the other one waits," Sharon stated. He smiled, but before he could say anything, two other technicians walked into her room and Andy stood up.

"Hello, I'm Mary and this is Donna, we are going to be taking you for your CT scan," Mary told Sharon as Andy watched them. "Can you tell me your name?" she asked Sharon. "Sharon Flynn," she told them as they maneuvered around the room. They checked her wrist band as a double check. "Okay, so the procedure should take about 45 minutes because the doctor ordered it with contrast," Mary informed them both. "Oh, okay," Andy muttered as he looked at Sharon.

Andy reached out for Sharon's hand before they wheeled her away to the other room. "I'll be right here, waiting," he told her and leaned down, kissing her forehead. "Okay," she gave him her smile and he watched them wheel her out of the room and down the hallway. He returned to the room and sat down on the chair. He reached over to the table where her rings and watch were sitting on top and grabbed her wedding rings, placing them on his pinky finger for safe keeping.

He pulled out his phone and texted Emily 'good luck!' before she left for her audition. Next, he searched for short getaways for Sharon and him to go on. That lasted only a few minutes before he stopped and took a deep breath, and looked over to the area where they had just taken Sharon through. He saw other people being wheeled in and out of the area; the place was busy for a Monday morning.

Sharon was lying on the gurney bed as they wheeled her around to the other room. She got tired of seeing the overhead lights whizzing past her so she decided to close her eyes for a brief minute. They wheeled her into the room and Sharon noticed that it was even colder in this room, if that was even possible.

"Okay, Sharon, we are going to help you transfer over to the other bed there," Mary informed her before they moved her. "Okay," Sharon swallowed and laid still as they moved her. She really hadn't been feeling any pain for a couple of days now and felt just a slight twinge as they moved her. "You doing okay?" Mary asked her.

"Yes," Sharon replied and moved her gown to straighten it a little. "Okay, we are going to set up the IV with contrast now. You should feel a little pinch as we insert the needle but it will only last a brief second," she explained as she started to insert the IV into Sharon's arm. Donna hung up the contrast bag on the IV pole and Sharon started to feel colder.

"Would you like a warm blanket?" Mary asked her and Sharon nodded. Mary went to a heat storage and opened it, pulling out a blanket for Sharon to have. As soon as the blanket was over her, she started to feel to warmer. "Okay, we have to wait about 15 minutes for the contrast to go through your body, but we will be staying with you throughout the process," she told Sharon as she squeezed her right hand, reassuring her.

Andy stared at the clock on the wall in the small makeshift room. It had been about 30 minutes since they took Sharon back. He looked at his phone again, but there were no new messages. As if the texting gods were working in his favor, Andy received a text message from Provenza. He was wondering how he was doing as he waited for Sharon. He knew that Andy would be worried as he sat there by himself.

Back in the CT scan room, Sharon was all set and ready for the procedure to begin. She was lying on the table now as it slowly moved her into the center of the machine. "Okay Sharon, we are going to start the test now so I will let you know when I need you to take a deep breath and hold it for about 10 seconds," the technician spoke to her over the speaker and she nodded. Sharon waited until she was inside the machine before she closed her eyes.

"Okay Sharon, take a deep breath for me and hold it," the technician said and Sharon did. She heard the machine making noises and held her breath for the 10 seconds, listening for when the technician next spoke over the speaker to her. As her eyes were closed, she thought about everything that had been happening the last two weeks while she had been at home.

"Alright Sharon, we are done and got some good pictures of your spleen, I will be moving you out of the machine now," she heard them say and she felt herself being moved. The two technicians stepped back into the room and helped transfer Sharon back onto the gurney bed.

He responded to Provenza's message as he waited for Sharon to return back. 'I'm fine, just hate waiting for this' was the message he sent. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Ten minutes later he heard a gurney moving closer to him and he opened his eyes to see Sharon being wheeled back into the room. She smiled at him as the technicians moved her around. Andy stood up to give them room.

They helped Sharon sit up and then left the area as they were finished. "How was it?" Andy asked her as he helped her change back into her clothing. "I was cold in there, especially when they were giving me the dye contrast," she told him as he held her shirt up. "The technician said they got some good pictures so hopefully," Sharon started to say but stopped as she looked at Andy.

"What?" Andy gave her a concerned look. Her lip quivered and she leaned forward into his chest. Andy hugged her close to him. "I just want this to be over with and back to normal," she mumbled into his clothing. Andy rubbed her back. "Everything's gonna be just fine, I promise you," he reassured her, wondering where all of this was coming from. She nodded and then he helped her continue to get herself dressed.

Before she left the room, a nurse stopped by with some paperwork and told them how to get to Doctor Fishman's office from the hospital. "Thank you," Sharon told her as they left the room and walked back down the corridor they came in from. As they made their way to the lobby of the hospital, Andy looked around and then pointed to the direction of where they had to go. He held her hand as they walked over to the professional building and to the doctor's office.

Andy stopped Sharon before they entered the office door. "I love you," he kissed her cheek and opened the door, allowing Sharon to step inside the office first before he followed her in. She went to the receptionist's desk and signed in. She turned to see Andy waiting for her to have a seat and she did. He sat next to her and they waited. "Mrs. Flynn?" the nurse said as she opened the door. "That was quick," Sharon muttered as she stood up with Andy. She gave a small smile to the nurse as she walked through the door and followed her to an exam room.

Sharon took off her sweater and handed it to Andy. "Did you have the CT scan this morning?" the nurse asked Sharon as she brought a blood pressure machine with them into the room. "Yes, maybe a half hour ago?" Sharon told her. "Good, we should have the results soon then," the nurse said as she placed the blood pressure cuff on Sharon's arm. The machine read Sharon's blood pressure along with her oxygen level and pulse rate. "115 over 68," the nurse said as she took off the cuff and moved the machine out of the way.

"He's going to want you to change into a gown, just makes it easier. You can leave your pants on," the nurse told Sharon and then left the room. Andy took Sharon's shirt as she removed it and handed her the gown. She put it on and sat back on the exam table. She folded her arms in front of her. "Is there a rule that says you must make all doctor's exam rooms cold for their patients?" she asked and Andy smiled.

He handed Sharon her sweater and helped put it over the gown she was wearing. "She said you had to wear the gown, didn't say you couldn't wear something over it," he shrugged his shoulders at her. "So, do you want to tell me where you are taking me after this?" she asked as they waited. "Only if you describe to me what it is that you bought yourself when you went shopping with Emily," he grinned and she swatted her hand at his shoulder.

"What?" he chuckled as the door opened and Doctor Fishman walked in. "Sharon, hello, nice to see you again," he said as he sat down on the stool in the room. "Hello Doctor," she answered him as she sat nervously on the table. "Lieutenant," Doctor Fishman shook Andy's hand and Andy smiled in return.

Doctor Fishman then placed some pictures of the CT scan up onto the board to show the both of them. "So, how have you been feeling this past week?" he asked Sharon as he turned around to look at her. "I've been feeling okay, no more dizziness, and the pain has really subsided," Sharon told him. "That's good!" Doctor Fishman said and turned his attention to the pictures.

"So, this is your spleen today, and this was your spleen two weeks ago when you were in the hospital," Doctor Fishman pointed to the two pictures. "Your spleen has returned back to a normal size, you can see here that the swelling did go down like we hoped it would," he explained to them. Andy listened to the doctor and was expecting him to say 'but' with some bad news. He glanced at Sharon and gave her a smile.

Sharon cleared her throat as she listened to her doctor finish speaking. "But," she said and Doctor Fishman turned around to look at her. "But, I still want you to take it easy for the next couple of weeks. Light duty only, no going to crime scenes or chasing suspects, got it?" he informed her and Andy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh don't worry doc, I'll keep an eye on her and make sure she stays close to her desk the next few weeks," Andy chuckled slightly as Sharon glanced at him. She turned to the doctor and smiled. "You can resume normal activities at home," the doctor said, not wanting to embarrass them. Hearing that brought a slight smile to Andy's face.

Just then, another nurse knocked on the door and entered the room. "This is Gina, she's going to draw some blood so we can see how you're doing on that avenue," Doctor Fishman explained and Gina walked in with her blood draw supplies.

Sharon took off her sweater with the help of Andy and gave Gina her left arm. She was able to pull three separate vials of blood from Sharon and then left the room. Doctor Fishman wheeled his stool over to the table where Sharon was sitting and he pulled out his stethoscope.

"I want to take a listen to everything while I got you here," he told her as he placed the stethoscope on her chest. He listened to her lungs and her heart. He pulled the stethoscope out of his ears and placed it behind his neck. "Okay, I'm going to push in on your abdomen and side, please let me know if you have any kind of pain when I do it," he told her and she nodded, laying back on the table.

Doctor Fishman felt Sharon's abdomen and checked her responsiveness. "Okay Sharon, I'd like to see you back here in a month, just for a check-up," he informed her and Andy as he moved around the exam room. "I should have your blood test results in a couple of hours, and if everything is okay, then my nurse will call you to let you know. If something shows up, she will also call you," he told them as Andy stood next to Sharon, who was still sitting on the exam table.

"What would show up?" Sharon asked him. "If your platelets are still on the lower side, I'm hoping they won't be, but I want to make sure," he told her. "What happens if they are still on the low side?" Andy asked him. "Well, we will then have to figure out a course of action, but like I said before, let's take one step at a time. We got your spleen to go back to normal size, so hopefully your blood work will come back within normal ranges also," Doctor Fishman told them as he opened the door.

"Remember, light duty at work and I'll see you in a month," Doctor Fishman shook their hands and left the exam room. "Great, one more thing to worry about," Sharon said as she sat there. "Hey, everything's going to work out," Andy helped her put her clothes back on as she took her gown off. She got dressed and they left the room, with Sharon leading the way to the receptionist area. She made an appointment for a month later and they both walked out of the office and returned to the car.

Andy glanced at his watch as he opened the car door for Sharon. It was almost noon by the time they left. Sharon sat in the car and Andy went around to the drivers' side and got in, starting the car. He turned and looked at Sharon and reached for her hand. "So I thought we would go to the beach," he told her and she leaned her head back against the head rest and smiled at him.

Andy turned back and pulled out of the parking space, not letting go of Sharon's hand as he drove them towards the beach.

TBC