"Ohhhh fuck…" Sharon ground out in a long, low growl.

Brenda had her stunning girlfriend pinned up against the filing cabinet in her office and her three fingers pushed up into her. If Brenda had her way every day would begin like this: ruffling the put together Captain, hearing the curses and affirmations fall from her lips unbidden.

Sharon's muscles clenched down on Brenda's fingers almost painfully. Sharon bit down into her lip, stifling the inevitably loud moan that came with the powerful release.

Brenda's spare arm held her tightly against her body as she came down from the endorphin high that hard just surged through her. Brenda peppered kisses along Sharon's collarbone and neck and up to her face. These fleeting moments after orgasm were when Sharon was at her most docile and Brenda intended to savor these moments.

Sharon grinned against Brenda's lips when they touched gingerly.

Brenda reached behind Sharon's head and pulled a tissue out from the box and wiped off her fingers.

"Cheeky." Sharon teased, her dulcet tones only serving to send a surge of arousal through her partner.

Brenda ran her tongue over Sharon's bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth and releasing it. "I have to get to work," Brenda whispered.

"Yes, you do." Sharon agreed, "so do I. Want to have lunch today if the opportunity presents?"

Brenda nodded, smiling at her girlfriend. She took Sharon's left hand and brought it up to her lips and pressed a soft kiss to the ring. "Yeah, yeah," Sharon pulled her hand back, "get out of here. You don't own me." She said playfully.

Brenda left the office, grin still spread across her face. Sharon couldn't help but smile as she sat down at her desk to reapply her lip stain. Brenda was waiting at the elevator bank when Sharon joined her.

"Forget somethin'?"

"Uh… no… you're investigating a case where Phillip Stroh is your lead suspect and he was a part of the federal lawsuit against you." Sharon said slowly, searching Brenda's face for any signs of recollection. "I'm still looking for the leak in your division…"

Brenda scoffed, "what on earth for? The lawsuit is over, who's the leak gonna have left to inform? iYou/i?"

Sharon rolled her eyes, "wouldn't that be great…"

The elevator doors slid open and the two women stepped in. They were silent on the ride down. Sharon understood Brenda's reluctance: she loved all of her boys and the very idea that one of them would betray her was unfathomable. Whomever the leak turned out to be… it would break Brenda's heart.

Sharon Raydor believed in the sanctity of the bond between members of the LAPD – whether others wanted to acknowledge it or not – and she was fiercely protective of Brenda. She did not believe there was any place for an officer in the LAPD who would go behind the back of his superior officer anonymously and with such cowardice. Brenda deserved better than that; the LAPD deserved better than that.

The elevator doors opened again and they got out and walked into the bullpen. Sharon shoved her hands into her pockets and followed behind Brenda.

Brenda launched into her instructions for the morning and Sharon hung back, paying closer attention to the room's other occupants rather than Brenda's words. She glanced at Flynn who raised his eyebrows suggestively and mouthed "nice hair."

Sharon smirked and shrugged, mouthing back, "jealous?"

He snickered and turned his full attention back to Brenda. Sharon and Flynn had developed a certain camaraderie in the preceding several months that was refreshing to her. She would not allow herself to let her growing fondness for him cloud out the possibility of his being the leak until she could say who it was beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The group started disbanding and she snapped out of her thoughts. She waited until everyone dispersed and set about their tasks to take up root in one of the conference rooms. She had several boxes of files to go over with a fine tooth comb and they weren't going to read themselves.

Sharon had scarcely gotten through a half of one of the boxes before she was called to Pope's office. Hands stuck in her pockets with indifference, she asked, "you summoned, Chief?"

"Um, yes." He nodded, regarding Sharon strangely for a moment. "It's Chief Johnson."

Sharon waited for him to elaborate and when he didn't immediately continue, she coaxed, "yes, what about her?"

"Were you aware of her obsession with Phillip Stroh?"

"I am aware that she has the original case file."

"And you've never attempted to persuade her to let it go?"

She narrowed her eyes at Pope. She questioned his motives, now more than ever. "We all have that one case that sticks with us." Sharon wouldn't allow herself to dwell on hers in that moment and she quickly added. "But no. We keep our personal and professional lives separate – having managed to maintain a very good balance for the last six years. A fact for which we have been praised by both of your predecessors."

"She needs to be reeled in. She's going at Stroh too hard and it's going to get her into trouble."

Sharon snorted a small laugh, "Brenda lives in trouble."

"Okay, Captain. That's it."

"So I can go back to my work now?"

"Yes, you can go." Pope waved her off. Sharon turned around to leave. "Oh, but Captain?"

She slowly turned back to him. "Yes?"

"If you observe any questionable conduct by Chief Johnson – either professionally ior/i personally – I expect to be notified."

"Actually, isir/i, as a member of Professional Standards if I am witness to any conduct which violates the LAPD's code of conduct I am required to file my report with the State Attorney General's office to avoid biased actions on the part of superior officers of the LAPD."

"Of course." He nodded though he glared at her back as she walked out of the office. She could already tell this was going to be one of those days.

Brenda pushed open the door to the conference room with her butt, carrying an armload of lunch and set it down on the table away from the files that Sharon was reading. Sharon put down the one she was holding and rubbed her eyes, "thank god it's finally lunchtime."

"You still doin' that?" Brenda looked at the stack of papers over the rims of her glasses judgmentally.

"Yes." Sharon set her pen down. "I'm still doing this."

"Have lunch with me." Brenda pulled out container after container of thai food and set it down on the table before taking out plates. "Why are you doing that?"

"Because I enjoy doing tedious tasks for very little payout. I'm a masochist." Sharon bit into an egg roll. "Yellow curry?"

"Right here." Brenda pushed the container toward her.

Sharon opened the box and took a big bite. The heat of the curry spread through her head, causing her eyes to water a little. "How's search for Natalie going?"

"Well, we've found her, David's picking her up."

"Baldwin's pretty pissed off at you for provoking that mistrial."

Brenda shrugged, "I know, collateral damage."

"Pope too."

Brenda rolled her eyes, "Will…"

"I don't know why all these people insist on coming to me when they want you to do something – or not do something."

"They're wising up. They know you're the only one I'll listen to."

Sharon laughed, "bullshit. You've got me wrapped around your little finger."

"Oh, it's mutual." Brenda leaned in and Sharon met her in the middle, their lips brushing one another's.

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway and Brenda looked up. "Yes, lieutenant, how can I help you?"

"We have Natalie Gilbert in the conference room. She knows her real name."

"Alright, I'll go talk to her."

"No." Baldwin interrupted, appearing beside Flynn in the doorway.

"But she's a victim." Brenda objected.

"No, she's not. She's a witness. We are not trying George Harris for her rape. Make no mistake, this is imy/i case You wanted the suspect free, he's here. I can't talk to him; you can. But this witness, she's mine."

"Chief Johnson." Sharon spoke up, saying pointedly, "with Mr. Harris under arrest, Mr. Stroh will be here shortly, you won't have much time to speak with the suspect."

"Excuse me… Captain." Brenda turned back to Baldwin. Sharon folded her arms across her chest, she was going to let that go but the blonde better not try to keep pressing her luck.

"I'll take Detective Gabriel and Lieutenant Tao. They're great on the stand."

Brenda glared at Claire as she disappeared into the conference room. Sharon and Brenda locked eyes for a moment and Sharon pointed down the hall to the interview room.

"I'm going, I'm going." Brenda insisted, "Detective Sanchez, would you come with me?"

"Yes, Chief."

Flynn walked over to the coffee pot. "Captain, you want a cup?"

"What?" she looked up to see him holding up the carafe. "Oh. Yes, please."

Provenza rolled his eyes. As far as he was concerned Sharon would always be the enemy. Even though he could never not love Flynn but he didn't have to like all of his decisions. Befriending the wicked witch was definitely a bad decision on his part.

Sharon accepted the coffee. The conference room door opened and Natalie and Baldwin came out followed by Gabriel and Tao.

"I just can't." Natalie professed. "It's not that I won't. I just can't."

"I'd still like you to be in protective custody." Baldwin insisted, "I'm working to right the wrong that was done when it came to your case. Okay?"

Natalie looked conflicted.

"You don't have to do anything. The system mistreated you and it's going to try and make it right this time."

Natalie chewed her bottom lip. She didn't particularly want to trust the system that had swept her under the rug before but she didn't perceive that she had very many options at this point. She nodded.

"Lieutenant Provenza, would you process her please?"

Provenza pushed himself up out of his chair, "right this way. Can I get you some water or a soda?"

"Uh… no… thanks." Natalie and Provenza disappeared down the hallway. Baldwin gave Sharon a sidelong look before disappearing in the other direction.

Sharon rolled her eyes and sipped the coffee, taking it in gulps rather than dainty sips. Tao sat down at his computer and feverishly started doing research. Brenda and Sanchez returned a short time later. Brenda was clearly incensed – the interview had not gone as hoped obviously.

"Where's Natalie?"

"DDA Baldwin wanted her in protective custody so Provenza's processing her now." Gabriel said, standing.

"But Stroh's in the building, all I need is for her to look at him!" Brenda snapped.

"Chief, Natalie refuses." Sharon said evenly.

"Was she able to pick Stroh's picture out of a six-pack?"

"Baldwin wouldn't let me show them to her." Gabriel explained and when Brenda's nostrils flared in anger, he felt his self-preservation instinct take over. He held his palms up in a submissive gesture, "I tried."

"Detective! That's why I had you in the room." Brenda raged, her anger level gaining momentum. "This is what I get for giving Baldwin four more weeks?"

Sharon put her hand on Brenda's elbow, pulling her attention back. "She wants to use Natalie to get a conviction against Harris and when she does, for a more lenient sentence he may very well give up his partner." Sharon insisted, using even tones, trying to get her girlfriend to reel it in a little bit. Angry people make mistakes and Brenda couldn't afford any more.

"Chief, I'm trying to find a place to park Natalie Gilbert but it's proving to be more difficult than it should be." Provenza came back, drawing Brenda's attention away from yelling at Sharon. "She's homeless, she has no place to go and, uh, I think putting her back in a motel room might prove to be counterproductive."

"We can't just let her walk out of here." Sharon said pointedly.

"Goodness no, Captain," Brenda drawled, her voice sickeningly sweet and dripping with animosity. "There's the Johnson Rule to consider. We can't let people leave the building if they're going to be facing hostile situations. Natalie's going to need some protection, don't you agree?"

"I… think we probably have space for her at the house… don't you?"

Sharon let herself in through the kitchen and sighed heavily when she saw that her breakfast table was covered with bridal magazines. "Angela!" She called into the house.

"One sec!"

Sharon didn't particularly feel but she figured if she was going to be doing it then spaghetti was an excellent option. It really didn't require much attention and most people liked spaghetti.

"Hey, I was just looking in the attic for grandma's wedding dress. I thought you had it."

"No… I don't think I've ever had your grandma's wedding dress." Sharon put a pot under the running water and filled it. "Can you clean off the table please?"

"I brought these over for you to look though."

"I figured." Sharon set the pot on the unit and turned it up to high, sprinkling a little bit of salt into the water. "Please get them off the table."

Angela closed the open magazines and pulled them into a pile before hefting them over to the edge of the counter. "Are you thinking, like, a spring wedding?"

"I don't know if there'll be an actual wedding. It wouldn't be legally binding anyway. Just wearing the ring basically accomplishes the same thing."

"Jeez, mom, how utilitarian of you." Angela rolled her eyes, "but what about how fun it would be to have a wedding? Wouldn't it be romantic? And you guys could take a honeymoon! Have you and Brenda talked at all about your plans?"

"Well…" Sharon paused for a second, digging the linguine noodles out of the pantry closer. "No, we haven't really." In truth, with Brenda's father's surgery and the added work stress of the Johnson rule, the two hadn't really gotten around to talking about their plans – or if any plans existed at all.

"Where is Brenda?"

"She's bringing home a witness who we were unable to find conventional sleeping arrangements for."

"Oh yikes, is it a mob informant? Are we gonna get shot?"

"No, she's a witness in a rape case." Sharon rooted around in the refrigerator for the parmesan cheese. "I don't think I should invite you to stay for dinner. She's part of an ongoing investigation."

"That's fine." Angela slung her bag over her shoulder. "Kick out your only daughter."

"Come here and give me a kiss," Sharon demanded playfully.

Angela smiled and kissed her mother's cheek. "Want to go out and get drinks on Friday night?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"I'll text you the deets." Angela said on her way out the door.

"Use whole words, Angela, you're not in that big of a hurry!" Sharon called after her. She sighed and surveyed her cooking space. She would grate the cheese and throw the salad together and everything should be done in about ten minutes.

When Brenda and Natalie showed up Sharon was setting the table. "Hi Natalie," Sharon wiped her hands on the dishtowel and put it on the counter before extending her hand, "we weren't properly introduced, I'm Captain Sharon Raydor. You can call me Sharon."

"Thanks," Natalie took her hand.

"Please, sit down," Sharon gestured to the table. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Just water."

Brenda put a hand on Sharon's shoulder, "sit, I'll get the drinks."

Sharon sat and Natalie timidly chose a seat. Brenda brought the water glasses over and started to dish out the pasta. Natalie watched her.

"I want to tell you…" Natalie said. Brenda looked up. "I want to say… how sorry I am about that other woman. I just… can't do any more than I already have."

The front doorbell rang. Sharon furrowed her brow, almost no one used the front door so it wasn't anyone she was close to. "I'll be right back."

"That's okay." Brenda said to Natalie when Sharon was gone. "I'm only worried that one of your attackers is still out there. You got a good look at him, we have his DNA and he knows all that." She sat down across from Natalie.

"Anyway, you're perfectly safe here tonight. I'm only concerned about what happens later. When you're out on your own somewhere and the LAPD's not around. Of course, if you could identify the guy we could pick him up, end this ongoing threat against your life but as it stands now, he's going to go after you again. Only this time, he'll try to silence you, keep you from ever telling us. You don't remember anything?"

"Brenda, can you come here for a moment?" Sharon asked from the living room.

"What is it, Sharon?" Brenda rounded the corner and stopped when she saw Fritz standing with Sharon.

"What are you doing?" He demanded tiredly.

Brenda's posture straightened and she stuck out her chin defiantly. "She's homeless, Fritz."

"So she's staying the night?"

Brenda shrugged a little. "I was hoping she'd end up taking me to a bar…"

Fritz turned to look at Sharon, "I'd expect this from her but I expected better from you."

"iExcuse/i me. This is imy/i house." Sharon sneered.

"Do you really think it's fair to drag that poor girl through her rape again when it's clear she doesn't want to think about it?" Fritz's attention was back on Brenda.

"Do you think it's fair that the guy who did that to her is running around free? I'm trying to find him and put him in prison." She snapped.

"No, you're not. You're trying to nail Stroh."

"It's the same thing."

"Is it?" Fritz and Brenda were locked in a glare and Sharon was about to interject and try to calm everyone down when Natalie walked in through the doorway.

"I – I remember something. Stella's Nightclub. That's what it was called."

Brenda and Fritz left to take Natalie to the nightclub after the arrangements were made for the sting operation to run into Stroh. Sharon held back; Fritz was there representing the feds. Sharon knew that if anything went down she'd be called in anyway and she intended to eat and get a bit of rest before that inevitability.

Sharon laid down on the couch, closing her eyes and waiting for the inevitable summons.

Sharon leaned against the wall near the interview room drinking her second cup of coffee from the Major Crimes breakroom waiting for Brenda to finish. She'd just come from Pope's office – which was always a shortcut to her bad side and she really just wanted to go home. Pope certainly did delight in trying to make Sharon be the continual bearer of bad news. She heard the door open and she set the coffee down and pushed herself away from the wall to meet her.

Baldwin walked up, fixing her with a tired expression. "Don't soft pedal this." She said pointedly. She knew that Sharon didn't make it a habit to go easy on Brenda – and vice versa – but when push came to shove they'd have each other's back and Baldwin wanted the message to be received loud and clear. "I want it said to her the way Chief Pope said it would be done."

"Soft pedal what?" Brenda looked between Sharon and Baldwin.

Baldwin hadn't planned on saying anything to the feisty blond but now she couldn't resist. "I'm not ungrateful for the results you've achieved but you behaved toward me with what I consider to be a condescending, dismissive and secretive attitude and, whether you're aware of it or not, you harmed the prosecution of my case."

"Your case?"

"That's right. My case." Baldwin stared Brenda down before tossing over shoulder, "Captain." Before walking away.

Brenda turned to Sharon, idaring/i her to say what she had to say. Sharon already hated this conversation. "Maybe we should office…"

"No, no, here's fine." No good could come from a conversation that started that way.

Sharon took a deep breath. "Chief Pope… believes…"

"Chief Pope believes?" Brenda snapped before reminding herself that Sharon was just being used as the messenger and she'd at least wait for her her to finish before shooting her. "I'm sorry. Go on."

"Chief Pope believes that you should start bring prosecutors on earlier in your cases, he and the district attorney agree that provoking a mistrial-"

"I didn't provoke a mistrial! I answered the questions as truthfully as I could in keeping with the oath I took on the stand."

"I know." Sharon said gently. "I understand."

Brenda softened a little. Yes, she did. Sharon always understood – and when she didn't, she made an effort to try. Brenda knew that the same could not always be said for her.

"The Chief of Police would like the district attorney's office to have a more open access to Major Crimes."

Brenda nodded, "okay, we'll talk. Anything else?"

Sharon paused for a long moment before continuing. "You are no longer to investigate Philip Stroh, monitor his movements or in any way shape or form interfere with the conduct of his activities, either personal or legal, without prior approval of Chief Pope."

Brenda nodded, she felt as though she'd been punched in the stomach. Sharon's heart wrenched at the pain in Brenda's eyes. Damn Will Pope to hell for making her deliver this speech. Brenda looked so defeated as she nodded, "thank you… Sharon."

Sharon felt even guiltier at the use of her name. Brenda didn't blame her and somehow that made it worse. If she blamed her then she would at least have anger and passion but where it stood she had quiet resignation.

"Brenda," Sharon grabbed her attention back. "I'm sorry about this. I'm speaking to you now not only as a representative of professional standards but also as a colleague iand/i your girlfriend. There are people around who have it in for you… and if I were you I would take these orders very seriously."

"Trust me." Brenda said softly, "I am… and you're my ifiancée/i, Captain. Or did you forget?"

Sharon quirked a small smile, "like you'd let me forget."

Brenda rubbed her eyes, "look, I know I've been tryin' to cut back on using sugar when I'm upset but… can we just go to the Cheesecake Factory or somethin'?"

"Yes," Sharon smiled more broadly. "Yes, I think that cheesecake is definitely in order."