Chapter 14:

Sharon pulled her hand back. She couldn't bring herself to talk.

"M… mom?" Cat stuttered, concerned. It was very rare to see her mother lost for words.

Sharon took another deep breath. After thinking for a moment in silence, she asked, "what do you want to do?" she tried to keep her voice calm, but it was a little shaky.

"I thought I'd move back to LA, maybe start a daycare," Cat said, knowing that she wasn't telling her mother what she really wanted to know.

Sharon nodded. "And…?" she asked. It was clear to her that Cat knew what she was asking about.

"Mom." Cat looked angry.

"What are you going to do with –?"

"I'm twenty-nine, not sixteen. I can raise a baby."

"With what money?" Sharon wasn't about to make it easy on Cat. She wanted her to think it through from the very beginning.

"I told you about the daycare!" Cat started to feel frustrated.

"Do you have enough money to start a business?" Sharon asked calmly and caught a glimpse of Provenza, who was looking at them curiously from the murder room.

"I have some savings… and dad will help me."

Sharon froze. She looked at her daughter, considering her words. She never talked ill about Richard in front of her children, and she didn't want to start now, but she knew that his promises couldn't be trusted. "Okay," She said eventually.

"That's it?" Cat was confused.

"Yes."

"Okay…" she said slowly and studied her mother's face. As usual, it didn't give her any indication for her state of mind. "Is it alright for me to stay with you for a few days? Just until I find a place of my own."

"Of course. But you're not making Rusty sleep on the couch. It's HIS room now," Sharon said firmly and Cat raised her eyebrows.

"I won't mess with him," she said and chuckled.

Sharon nodded again. "Now," she said, getting to her feet. She walked around the desk and reached Cat's chair. Cat looked up at her, not sure if she should be scared or not. "Give me a hug," Sharon said and smiled. Cat let out air in relief and got up to hug her.

A few minutes later, Cat walked out of the office. She smiled at Provenza and Sanchez and waved as she left the murder room.

"What a shame," Provenza muttered.

"Yeah," Sanchez nodded as he watched Cat disappearing behind the door.

"Ahem," they suddenly heard and turned to see Sharon, looking stern.

"Ah, Captain," Provenza said, "you have a beautiful daughter." Sharon squinted as she looked at him, and Provenza wished he had something to do at that moment.

(***)

On Friday night, Sharon came to see Flynn for a short while since he didn't come to work. She wanted to see how he was feeling and to tell him about her reluctant date with John Martin. They were sitting in the kitchen with two cups of coffee and Flynn listened as Sharon talked. "So, I had to say yes…" she muttered as she finished. Her relationship with Flynn was undefined. They never talked about it, so nothing between them was clear.

Flynn looked at her without saying a word. He wanted to go to the door, lock it and hide the key, but instead he just muttered "alright" and tried not to sound upset. He didn't think he had any right to stop Sharon from going out with other men.

Sharon didn't expect such a cold reaction. It made her a little angry. She wanted to go right now and meet with Martin out of spite. "How are your wounds?" she changed the subject abruptly.

"Fine. Healing," he said shortly and looked at her.

"Okay," she said and put her cup down, "I have to go." They both got on their feet quickly and walked to the door in an awkward silence.

"See you later," Flynn said coldly and opened the door for her. He wanted to close it right back and kiss her, refuse to let her go, but his body wouldn't obey his brain. Instead, he just stood there and waited for her to react.

"Yes," Sharon replied coldly, although she wanted to yell at him for not caring. She stepped outside, buttoning her jacket against the cold wind, and walked to her car without looking back.