Brought to you by 'Fall Into Me' by Emerson Drive
A/N: This was initially a two-part chapter, but part two turned into quite a beast. So I decided to split them into two separate chapters. Let me know how things are going if you feel inclined. This is my first forray into writing, so I want to make sure that this experience is enjoyed by all. Any feedback would be amazing, I'm all for getting better as a storyteller. Thanks so much for all the support thus far!
Brenda Leigh Johnson had never been known for her impulse control. She was sitting at Sharon's kitchen table, half listening to the older woman rattle off all the rules involved in their tentative friendship, while attempting not to kiss her. They had just shared the hottest make out session the Chief had experienced in months, well years actually, and now she was being told they weren't allowed to do that anymore. It was disappointing news to say the least. On the bright side, the brunette did agree to a friendship. Brenda would just have to figure out some way to win her over when it came to the kissing. Hadn't Sanchez told her something about friends with benefits, or whatever they were called? In all honesty though, the blonde wanted more than just the steamy hook up's, that was just an added bonus. Dinner on Tuesday had only added fuel to the flame when it came to her desire for that woman. Sharon seemed to understand her better than anyone she'd met, and always knew exactly what to say to keep Brenda from doubting herself. Self doubt was something the blonde was all too familiar with these days, although she had always felt a little unsure of her decisions, especially when it came to her personal life. It didn't help that her parents, along with every man she had ever been with, continually questioned why she would rather arrest murderers instead of settling down in the 'burbs with a few kids. She couldn't remember anyone ever recognizing her personal uncertainty before Sharon, they were too busy judging her decisions. And now all she wanted was to hold that older woman's hand, cuddle on the couch after a long day, spend weekends together. These feelings were completely foreign, considering she had never actively pursued anyone. Every man she had been with in the past had to practically beg her to commit. Brenda knew there was hope, since the older woman had initiated this last kiss. So what was stopping her from just jumping in? Good thing confessions just happened to be her specialty, she would get the woman singing like a canary in no time.
Sharon was incredibly proud of herself. While she may have slipped initially, she was more than prepared to right the situation. Extracting herself from Brenda's embrace had been disappointing, but her sanity depended on not allowing the younger woman to get in her head. They could be friends, she just needed to be smart. And they needed a plan.
"Well Sharon, now that we've gone over all your rules…do you think we could maybe go get food or somethin'? I'm starvin' and also conveniently free." Brenda looked up at the brunette and smiled, hoping she would accept the offer. As much as this current arrangement frustrated the Chief, she certainly didn't want to spend another night alone.
"Sure, I guess I really don't have plans this evening. Let me just grab a jacket."
They took separate cars to the Chinese restaurant a few miles away. Sharon didn't want to go tempting fate, and she wasn't sure either of them could control themselves in a shared car situation quite yet. After parking they headed inside, the brunette making sure they had a booth that faced the center of the restaurant. Soon their server appeared and both opted for an iced tea, drinking without third-party present was yet another one of the new stipulations.
"So Sharon, what have you really been doin' these last three days?" quipped the blonde as she looked up from the menu.
"I'd been meaning to paint my guest bedroom for awhile, so I picked a color Wednesday and painted most of Thursday. I got caught up on some shows I had recorded and finally talked to my daughters for more than five minutes. It's actually been really nice to not think about the office, I haven't had a real break in almost a year." Sharon smiled at the blonde, she really had enjoyed the time off to catch up on life outside Internal Affairs.
"I can't believe FID can function without their rule lovin' leader." Brenda really couldn't believe the brunette had managed to stay away from the office for more than a day, considering she was such a stickler for that 72-hour investigation window.
"Conveniently, only one case came up and Elliot was able to take care of it without my assistance. I won't be coming back Monday to much paperwork." Sharon continued to scan the menu.
"Sounds like you were real sick, hope you're feelin' better soon."
Sharon couldn't help looking up, rolling her eyes at the smart remark. This younger woman was hell-bent on driving her crazy. At the same time, she was grateful that someone cared enough to ask what was really going on. Being alone for so many years, she had forgotten how nice it was to share things with another person, even the mundane, unimportant parts of her every day.
Their server returned, Brenda ordering her usual happy family and the brunette settling on chicken and broccoli.
"Since today is the first time you've really talked about'em, I'd love to hear about your daughters. Do you just have girls, or boys too?" The blonde had been surprised when Sharon mentioned her children. Willie Rae had informed her daughter that the brunette had kids, they had apparently swapped stories over making Christmas dinner a couple of years ago, but it wasn't like the woman was very forthcoming about them...or anything else really.
"Just two girls, Anne and Victoria. Annie is 32, she's a psychologist specializing in addiction up in San Francisco. She and her husband are expecting their first child in a few months. I'm not sure if I'm ready to join the 'grandma' club yet, but I'm happy for them."
"Grandma Sharon, sure has a nice ring to it," smirked the blonde. She couldn't see the brunette being anything less than an amazing mother and grandmother.
"Ugh, that word just sounds old. Tori's my free-spirited artist, she turns 29 soon. She's back east, in New York actually, working on some projects and attempting to get her installations displayed in a few galleries," continued the brunette. Sometimes she wondered how she got such polar opposite children, they were literally nothing like each other.
"Wait, back east? You're not from California? I always assumed you were, but bein' a Yankee would sure explain a lot," chuckled the blonde.
"I grew up in Santa Cruz, but moved east for college. I wanted to experience seasons and life outside my backyard, so Boston seemed like the perfect place. Not to mention BU had a great law program," stated Sharon.
"Uh, law? You're not also a lawyer are you?" Brenda had nearly spit out her iced tea at the thought.
"No, not a lawyer. I knew I wanted to study law in some capacity, but it wasn't until later in college that I decided I was more interested in police work. Pushing papers never appealed to me, I wanted to be out in the field helping people. Although, it seems that I ended up doing exactly that," replied the brunette, giving her companion a half-smile.
"Hmm. Well, I've never been to Boston, but I hear it's somethin'."
"You should definitely make it a point to go, it's a beautiful city with a lot of historical significance." Maybe once they figured out this friendship, Sharon could invite the younger woman when she visited next. She always had enjoyed showing her friends and family the city, especially those amazing off the path places that most visitors weren't never got to experience.
"So when did you move back here? Sorry if I'm pesterin' you with questions, I never did get around to reading your file…" The blonde looked over at her dinner companion, who was obviously a little more than uncomfortable with the idea.
"We both know the Pope would have never let you anyway," Sharon deadpanned, meeting the woman's gaze and slightly cocking an eyebrow.
"You doubt my abilities, Sharon Raydor? I bat an eyelash in his general direction and he's fallin' all over me. Especially now that Fritz's gone. He seems to think he has a chance at winnin' me back. I mean, how else do you think I got your address…" teased the blonde, she was enjoying how much this was getting to the older woman.
"You can't be serious." Sharon sighed at the thought. Of course Will would give Brenda anything she wanted, the blonde certainly had a way with men.
"And look how well it turned out? We're sittin' here havin' a lovely dinner. Now back to your story, you came back to LA…"
"When Tori was around 6. I was offered a promotion out here, so we moved." What Sharon didn't want to say was that her ex, John, had been fired from the District Attorney's office over a year before. They could no longer tolerate his drunken antics at work, so he had jumped at the chance to move out here and try to find a firm that wasn't aware of his awful reputation. Had they not relocated, Sharon was sure they would have gone under financially. Her detective's salary was the only thing keeping them afloat. And with no promotion in sight as a BPD officer, they really didn't have much of a choice if they wanted to continue living above the poverty level.
Brenda detected a hint of sadness as the brunette spoke of moving and remained silent, letting the woman have a moment. It seemed there was more to the story, but the Chief knew not to push, not yet anyway. Instead, she opted for a less invasive topic.
"So now that you're done paintin', what's the rest of your weekend look like?"
By the end of dinner, Brenda had secured another meeting with the older woman on Sunday. Over an enjoyable lunch, they swapped stories about growing up on almost completely opposite sides of the country. Sharon learned that the blonde was captain of her cheerleading team and first runner-up in the homecoming court, which wasn't that much of a surprise. The brunette had shared that while she was valedictorian of her catholic high school class, she was invisible to most of her peers, always afraid of bringing attention to herself. Brenda couldn't really imagine the Captain as anything but the ice queen who oozed confidence and charisma wherever she went. After lunch, they walked around the outdoor shopping center searching for the perfect comforter to match Sharon's newly painted guest bedroom. While the brunette claimed she didn't need help, she was glad they got to spend a little more time together before going home.
Monday morning, Brenda clipped into the office a little past 8. Everyone appeared to be present and ready to roll out to the crime scene. Noticeably absent, however, was the green-eyed Captain. Unsure if Sharon was planning on tagging along or if she had actually caught a force case, she grabbed her phone and typed a quick text. She would stall the guys until she got a reply, not wanting the brunette to catch hell from Will for not riding along to supervise the administrative details they usually forgot about.
To: Sharon R.
Hey, we caught a case. Will you be joining us this morning? I know Pope still thinks I need a chaperone and I wouldn't want to get you in hot water.
She heard her phone ding a minute later, signaling a new text.
From: Sharon R.
Can't, been here since last night dealing with a narcotics sergeant who decided to take a few pot shots at a kid during a bust. Pope's already all over my ass, so don't worry.
Brenda was pretty sure there was never a time when the Captains job didn't suck and this recent investigation sounded like a nightmare. Making a mental note to check up on the brunette later that day, she grabbed her purse and followed the guys out to the elevators.
The crime scene had been a pretty standard gang related shooting. No one had seen anything and no one was interested in talking to the LAPD. On the way back to headquarters, Brenda practically begged Gabriel to stop at a supermarket so she could stock up on her dwindling supply of ding-dongs and Reese's cups. There was no way she was going to get through the rest of the day without a steady supply of sugar, especially considering she had left her lunch at home. While inside, she grabbed a few other random bags of candy for Sharon. She couldn't actually help the brunette with her case, but she could bring her an obscene amount of sweets to ease the pain. Since she didn't know what the older woman liked, she grabbed an assortment of chocolate and gummy confections and hoped that at least one would peak her interest.
Once they got back downtown, the Chief told the guys she would meet them upstairs and continued on the elevator up to Sharon's floor. Briskly walking past a few IA officers, many of whom seemed genuinely confused by her presence on their turf, she knocked softly on Sharon's door. Her office blinds were closed, so she was either out or wasn't in the mood for visitors.
"Come in," sighed the brunette, looking up from the paperwork and smiling slightly when she saw it was the blonde entering. Brenda, not wanting to disturb the older woman more than she already was, sat down in one of the chairs and grabbed the clear grocery bag from her purse.
"Hey, Sharon. I'm not sure if you like candy, but I picked you up some after reviewin' our scene. Chocolate always seems to help a particularly rough case, at least for me. I didn't really know what you liked, so I kinda just got everything." The blonde placed the bag full of brightly covered wrappers on the desk, grinning at the Captain.
It took the brunette a second to register what was happening. While this was probably a normal gesture from a coworker for many, she wasn't used to anyone at the office caring about her day, or really caring about her in general. Her presence was a constant thorn in the side of every one of her colleagues and no one ever dared come up to Internal Affairs unless they were required to. Needless to say, being given anything other than a dirty look during a long investigation was a first for the Captain. And of course, the person responsible for said first was none other than her new 'friend' Brenda. As if the older woman needed yet another reason to let the blonde chip away at her heart.
"I better be goin', I hope I didn't disturb you too much." Brenda started to get up, but stopped when she felt Sharon's hand reach out over the desk to cover her own.
"Thank you, Brenda. It really means a lot that you care." Lightly squeezing, she gave her a genuine smile.
Brenda could feel her stomach flip, and neither woman refused to let go.
"Oh for heaven's sake!" In one quick motion she got up, still holding the Captain's hand, and rounded the corner of the desk, pulling the brunette up to meet her. The blonde closed the space between them and brushed her lips against the older woman's. This kiss was different from the few others they had shared. It was sweeter, more tender. And it was Brenda who broke them apart, knowing full well the brunette would go into Captain Raydor mode at any moment. If she was going to say something, it needed to be now. Resting her head against Sharon's, she decided to speak.
"I care about you Sharon Raydor, and I always will." With that, the blonde planted one last peck on the older woman's cheek and darted out of the room. She didn't want to stick around for the fallout.