Andy woke in the morning and was relieved to find that Brenda was still there. She'd curled up in a ball over by the edge of the bed, so he brought her back to him. She mumbled in her sleep, but he couldn't make it out. He wondered when he'd turned into such a sappy man. This was not like him. When he was with a woman, he usually was the one in charge. Brenda made him lose all sense of that. He was afraid of making the wrong step, of doing something wrong, and her disappearing from his life. He hated to say this was the "l" word, but he hadn't felt like this with a woman in a very long time.
After laying there with her in his arms for a while, he slowly got out of bed and readied for the day. After showering, he dressed in one of his suits, before going to the kitchen. He decided to make her breakfast, in an attempt to make up for missing their dinner out. He really did feel bad about that, but Provenza had left him no choice. He seemed to remember Gabriel complaining about Brenda stealing his french toast once, so he went with that choice.
Brenda started to stir in her sleep, she smelled something delicious that had awoken her. She blinked her eyes, startled to realize she was not in her own bed. It was a little weird for her, simply because she hadn't allowed herself to spend the night at many men's places. When she was in a relationship, she usually preferred to be in her own bed. Now, she'd been in his bed twice. She looked down to see what she was wearing, seeing the LAPD shirt that was quite large on her. She remembered now, and shook her head to clear it. Had she really had a meltdown over him going on a "pretend" date? She felt silly now. She slipped out of his bed, pausing to turn around and make it for him. And finally, the smell of something wonderful lured her out of the bedroom, and she searched her way through the house, looking for the kitchen.
"That smells delicious. I didn't know you could cook, Andy." Brenda said, once she wandered into the kitchen.
"Eh, I'm a bachelor, Chief. Had to learn how to cook a long time ago. I do get sick of my own cooking every once in a while. That's why I love going out to our restaurant. Besides, I owe you a meal, since we missed last night." He flipped a piece of french toast at that point.
Brenda came up behind him at the stove and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her head on his back, listening to his heart beat and gentle breathing. She could hear his heart racing, liking the effect she had on him.
Andy busied himself with the french toast, dishing some out on to a plate he had at the ready. He put the plate down, turned and pulled her to him. He gave her a morning kiss. "How'd you sleep?"
"Pretty good, you have a very comfortable bed." Brenda replied.
Flynn handed her a plate of french toast, before turning and dishing his own out. They sat at his table then, and had breakfast. Brenda was feeling awkward this morning, and didn't know why. He had the advantage of being in his own home and already being dressed for work, while she sat in his kitchen wearing his shirt. She also was surprised to find that the french toast was quite delicious. At least one of them could cook, she supposed. She certainly knew she wasn't great at it.
Finishing it up, she looked at the time, surprised to see it was getting on. She had to go home, shower and change yet. And here he sat, all ready for work. Getting up, she went and sat on his lap, kissing him.
"Thank you for this. It was delicious." Brenda said, breaking the kiss.
Andy groaned. Brenda sitting in his lap, with only his t-shirt covering her was doing things to him. He wanted nothing more than to take her back to bed. Instead, he said in a raspy voice "You're welcome." He kissed her again.
Again, Brenda broke the kiss. "I have to get going. I'm going to be late getting into the office as it is." And then she kissed him again.
Andy broke the kiss this time. "Well, if you got to go..." he trailed off.
"Yeah, I do." Reluctantly, Brenda stood up and left him. He pulled her back for one more kiss.
"We have to stop making a habit of this."
"Of what?" Flynn questioned.
"Managing to delay ourselves every morning. Now, I really do have to go." Brenda stood up, pulling down the t-shirt that had managed to wander up on her.
Andy gave her an appreciative look. "I don't mind the delays."
Brenda gave him a look, before wandering out of the kitchen, heading for the bathroom where she'd left her clothes. She quickly changed, needing to get going. Coming back out, she seen Flynn standing in the living room, looking troubled.
"Anything wrong?" Brenda questioned him. As soon as he heard her voice, a mask fell over his face and the look was gone.
"Only thing wrong is we have to go to work." Flynn looked at her, not really wanting to leave.
"Well, that may be, but we have work to do. I'll see you there." Brenda kissed him goodbye.
Andy didn't know what to make of her. One minute she was making him weak in the knees, the next, it was like a bucket of cold water was being poured over him. She really could turn it on and off.
"Sure thing, Chief. See you there." He pulled her in for one last kiss. He couldn't get enough of those lips.
Finally, Brenda exited his house and climbed into her car. She took a quick glance in her mirror, noticing the swelled lips and redness in her cheeks. If she hadn't broken away, she was sure she would be much later for work than she currently was going to be. Her look wasn't anything that couldn't be hidden with makeup, but she looked like she'd been thoroughly kissed. She started the car and began the drive home.
Getting there, she let herself in, hearing the persistent meowing of Joel. He apparently did not appreciate being left alone for such a long period of time and was voicing his displeasure. Brenda went to the kitchen and poured him some food, then headed to the shower. It didn't take long and she was ready to head out the door. She'd blow dried her hair, and chose one of her flowery dresses for the day. To finish it off, she'd grabbed her red sweater. Finally, she was ready.
Getting to work, she was almost in the door of Major Crimes when she'd stopped to put on her high heels. She hadn't stopped downstairs, and put down her bag to make the change. She heard Provenza's voice loudly razzing Flynn, talking about the previous night.
"You should have seen it, Sanchez, this woman was all over Flynn last night! He almost had to beat her off with a stick!" Provenza crowed.
Brenda felt sick, listening to that. What had happened last night? Andy had said nothing had happened.
She heard Provenza start talking again, and remained where she'd knelt taking off her runners.
"So, Flynn, did you get lucky last night? What happened when you took her home?"
"Nothing happened, Provenza, nothing. I dropped her off, that was it." Flynn sounded pissy.
"Right, Flynn, right. The way she was all over you, there is no way you'd turn that down. I'm surprised she didn't have her tongue down your throat. You two looked awfully chummy when you went out the door." Provenza went on.
Brenda straightened up, an anger overtaking her. She believed Andy when he said nothing had happened, that the woman he'd been with had put on an act to make Provenza believe they were into one another. Apparently, it had worked, perhaps too well. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she entered the room, fire in her eyes. Conversation stopped as the team recognized the look on her face, one that meant something bad was coming.
"Perhaps we should all get to work and forget about Flynn's lovelife for now, Lt. I, for one, do not want to hear about some woman who may or may not have had her tongue shoved down his throat. If you think you can abandon that line of thought, maybe we could get some work done. Speaking of which, next time you skip out early and leave someone else with your work, you get to do everyone else on the teams. Now, where are we with the case?" Brenda had a no nonsense look in her face.
Flynn looked down, caught between two opposing forces in his life. Brenda had won this round, he could see, but he doubted Provenza would give up that easily. He was saved from any more thoughts by Tao speaking up, informing Brenda that the phone dumps on the vic had produced a potential lead, one that they hadn't considered. Brenda assigned Gabriel and Sanchez to go find this new lead, bring him in for questioning. She thanked Tao for finding the lead, gave Provenza one more dirty look and gave a brief smile to Flynn as she walked by. She then secured herself in her office, locked away from everyone with her blinds still closed from yesterday.
Brenda released her breath, feeling like she'd been holding it for awhile. She listened to the release of air, keeping herself calm. Where she'd irrationally felt like crying when she'd first overheard Provenza, she realized that wouldn't have done her any good. She believed Flynn when he said that nothing had happened. She didn't know why, but she had a deep-seated feeling he would do nothing to hurt her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Provenza coming in her door. She was surprised he'd come in, and wondered why. It certainly wasn't to talk about the case, she didn't think.
"Chief, you have a moment? I'd like to speak to you for a sec." Provenza asked, eying her.
"What's on your mind, Lt.?" Brenda asked, wondering what he wanted.
"Listen, I know you and Flynn have become quite close in the last few months. And I know that you're just friends, but some days, I get the feeling that you are heading to becoming more than just friends. And this office doesn't need that." Provenza at least had the sense to look downward.
Brenda gave a sharp intake of breath, irritated with the man sitting in front of her.
"Lt., I don't believe that any relationship that I have with Lt. Flynn is any of your concern. Yes, we're good friends, but we have no intention of going beyond that. And if it did, I assure you, it would not affect in any way, shape or form the work in this office does. Do I make myself clear?" she said in a particular tone that indicated she was pissed.
"Well, that's the same thing Daniels and Gabriel said, and look how that turned out. All I'm saying is, Flynn has been soft on you for awhile. He's going to get hurt, no matter how you try to let him down easy. And you will eventually let him down." Provenza stumbled on.
"How would you know I would let him down? And what business is it of yours anyway?" Brenda was miffed.
"You really aren't his type, you know? You're a classy lady. Flynn, he travels in a lower circle. Ones that aren't quite so high maintenance as you. Sure, he's doing all the right things now, but one day, he won't be able to anymore. You'll get upset, drive him away, and he's left shattered. Why do that when you can prevent it?"
"Lt., I can assure you I will never drive Lt. Flynn away. We are good friends, I rely on him quite a lot, as I guess you all can see. I won't hurt him. But that's supposing a relationship beyond friends. Which we don't have." Brenda lied partially. He didn't need to know anything else.
"Look, I'm not trying to screw with your friendship, but I don't think you have any idea what you're getting in to. Flynn, your friend and confidant right now, is the one who tried to get rid of you when you first started here. He's the one who let the papers know about your ethics review in Atlanta. How do you know he's changed his spots?" Provenza was grasping at straws and deliberately let that info slip.
Brenda looked stunned, not happy with that little bit of knowledge. Holding on to what little composure she had left, she replied. "This conversation is over. If you want us to maintain any semblance of friendship, you will walk out of here, return to your desk and forget this conversation ever happened. I'm through talking about this. It's none of yours or anyone else's business what I do with Flynn. And telling me that he betrayed me seven years ago is water under the bridge. He did what he did. He hated me. I hated him. We got over it, we're friends now. Perhaps unconventional friends, but friends none the less. He's made his amends. And whether you believe it or not, he's changed. I think he has, and he's a great guy. Maybe you should revise your opinion of him, too."
"Keep telling yourself that, Chief. And when this ends with one of you working in another department, I won't say I told you so." Provenza got up, leaving a very shaken Brenda sitting there, angrier than she'd been in quite a while.