Chapter 7

…

Sharon came to stand at her office door as she watched Noah Taylor being taken away in handcuffs; Louie came over to her looking more than pleased with him self.

"Is that it done?"

"All done Captain, charged with the 3 murders and 2 attempted murders, he'll not be going anywhere for a very long time."

Louie saw the sadness in Sharon's face as he filled her in on the case.

"Captain…I thought you'd be happy."

"No I am, more or less. All of this, so much death and all because he wanted to join a gang…it's such a waste."

Sharon went back in to her office as Louie followed her inside.

"He chose to do it Captain, nobody put a gun to his head. He should have had enough common sense to see the devastation that lay ahead of such a stupid act of violence, don't feel bad for him."

"I had the hospital on the phone while you were in with Noah; Judge Taylor had to have her leg amputated."

"Aww geez, that's bad luck."

"Very."

"You know, there's nothing left to do here…case is closed. Why don't you get Flynn to take you home, you need to sleep?"

"Yes, I think I will."

"Right."

"Oh Lieutenant."

"Yeah."

"I over heard what you said to Andy earlier, don't be angry with him for keeping my relationship with Andrea a secret…I asked him too. I wasn't ready for you all to know, it's knew to me…with Andrea I mean."

"Captain, whatever issues you and I have had in the past…we've both moved on and believe it or not I respect you and do care about you…I may not always show it and if you tell anyone I said this I'll deny it, but I wish you all the happiness in world…Hobbs is good for you."

"Thank you Lieutenant, that means a lot."

"Good night Captain."

"Good night."

"FLYNN, THE CAPTAINS READY TO GO HOME, DRIVE HER WILL YA'."

Sharon giggled to herself as Louie ordered Andy to take her home, getting up slowly and grabbing her purse and jacket from the stand to see Andy standing in her doorway.

"I hear you're ready to go home."

"He's something isn't he?" She grinned.

"Oh he's something alright, come on…bed time for you."

"Thank you Andy."

…

Andy glanced over at Sharon to see her fast asleep in the passengers seat, he pulled into the parking garage of her condo and gently lifted her out of the car. The last thing he wanted was to wake her. Her head fell onto his shoulder as he gently carried her into the elevator and up to her apartment. He knocked lightly on the door, knowing Rusty would still be up. Rusty stepped aside when he saw Andy carrying Sharon in his arms, the young man pointing to her bedroom down the hall. Rusty closed the door behind him and followed Andy through to Sharon's bedroom and watched as he placed her gently down so as not to wake her up. Rusty grabbed her blanket from her chair and placed it over her to keep her warm as Andy remover her shoes. As Rusty went in to the hallway, Andy closed the door quietly behind him and followed Rusty back through to the kitchen.

"She'll probably be out for the count." Andy said.

"I'm surprised she never woke up."

"The joy of having kids; you get the knack for picking them up without waking them."

"Hey, thanks for looking after her tonight…what with Andrea and stuff."

"I was happy to do it."

"Is she really not mad at me for blabbing about her and Andrea?"

"To be honest I think she's relieved that she doesn't have to hide their relationship anymore."

"I can't believe they're actually getting married."

"About time in my eyes, you should get some sleep Rusty, you're looking pretty tired yourself."

"Right back at you."

"Night kid."

"Night Flynn, and thanks for bringing her home."

"That's what friends are for."

…

Sharon awoke the next morning to find herself covered with her favourite blanket and no recollection of going to bed; she got up slowly, her ankle throbbing a little. She limped through to the sitting room to see Rusty watching TV.

"Rusty…"

"Oh hey Sharon, here sit down."

Rusty got up and helped her sit before getting her some tea.

"Do you want anything to eat?"

"No honey I'm fine."

"You should eat something."

"Maybe later, Rusty how did I get to bed last night."

"Oh, Lieutenant Flynn brought you home, or should I say carried you." He laughed.

"What."

"Relax Sharon, you fell asleep in his car and he carried you up. You were exhausted."

"I was very tired."

"Yeah, anyway I gotta go to school, will you be okay on your own."

"Oh I think so, I need to get back to the hospital but I need to have a chat with Emily and Ricky first."

"About you and Andrea?"

"I think it's time, don't you."

"Good luck, Flynn said to call when you were ready and he's pick you up."

"Oh okay, thanks honey."

"I'll see you later."

…

Sharon spent the best part of the morning on the phone with her kids, explaining to them about her relationship with Andrea and the events of the past few hours. Emily accepted what her mother was telling her and as long as Sharon was happy then so was she, Ricky was a little angry that she hadn't told them sooner and although he would take a while to adjust to his mom's new found love he was happy for them and demanded to meet Andrea soon. The knock at the door disturbed Sharon's thoughts; she got up to go answer the door to find Andy on the other side.

"Morning sleeping beauty."

"Andy, morning."

"How are you today."

"Good, my ankle's not as bad today."

"You sure, you look…I don't know."

"I've just spend the morning on the phone with Emily and Ricky, I thought it was time they knew about Andrea and myself."

"Ahhh…and?"

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, Emily was fine…Ricky was…I think the best word to describe him was shocked but he accepted it and wants to meet Andrea as soon as possible."

"Did you tell him about the proposal?"

"Of course I did, I'm done hiding Andy…I don't want to pretend anymore, I love Andrea and I want everyone to know, no matter what happens."

"Good, that's the woman I know. So are you ready to go and visit your fiancé?"

"Try and stop me, lead the way Lieutenant."

…

To Be Continued….