Chapter 18:

Richard took another step forward, smiling, and put his hand on Sharon's cheek. She moved her head right away but didn't move backwards. "I won't say it again," she said quietly. Richard lowered his hand and chuckled. He looked at her for another moment and then turned around and left the room.

Sharon sighed in relief and followed him. She watched him as he said goodbye quickly and left, leaving Cat confused.

"Why do you two always have to fight?" Cat asked after the door closed behind Richard. Sharon didn't answer. She couldn't tell her daughter the painful truth about her father. Cat rolled her eyes in annoyance and walked to the bathroom angrily. Sharon waited for her to close the door and then sat down next to Rusty, who was watching them quietly.

"You don't like him much, do you?" he said. Sharon examined his face. He looked concerned and she found it awfully cute. She smiled at him without answering. "Me neither," he said.

"So… how's school?" she changed the subject.

(***)

"Good morning, everyone," Sharon said when she entered the murder room two days later. Provenza got to his feet and approached her right away.

"The DA's office dropped the case against Lionel Hernandez," he said quietly and Sharon frowned. "They say they have no concrete evidence without Adama." Sharon sighed in frustration. "So another asshole is getting off scot-free," Provenza said grumpily. Sharon opened her mouth to speak but Provenza continued, "speaking of assholes, Hernandez' lawyer is here," he pointed to show her, and Sharon followed his finger and saw Richard standing next to her office door, looking at her.

Flynn was looking at Richard, he seemed irritated. Sharon knew that he could feel the tension between her and Richard, but he didn't know the reason for it.

"Hello, dear," Richard said to Sharon from across the room. All the squad members turned to look at him with surprised faces. Sharon rolled her eyes and walked to him.

"Dear?" Sykes sounded confused.

"Well, yes. I may have neglected to mention my name. Richard Raydor," he smiled. He was obviously enjoying the moment, knowing how annoyed Sharon probably was, although she wouldn't let it show.

She stopped a few steps from him, holding the strap of her purse. "What are you doing here?" she asked quietly, aware of everyone's stare.

"I need to talk to you. Our last conversation was… cut short," his mean smile appeared for a second on his face.

"I've got work to do," she said shortly and entered her office. Richard followed her, ignoring what she said. He slammed the door behind him and Sharon startled. She turned to look at him and tried to keep her expression calm.

"I hope you don't object to Cat moving in with me," he said, "because that would end badly."

"Are you threatening me?" she said quietly. The entire squad was looking at them through the glass walls of her office.

"Oh, no, never," Richard scoffed. Sharon examined his face for a moment. She knew that he only wanted to take Cat in to annoy her.

"I won't object, because I don't mind," she said eventually and suppressed a smile when Richard arched his eyebrows in surprise.

"You don't mind? Since when? You always tried to keep our children away from me."

"Cat is old enough to know what's good for her," Sharon remained calm. Richard looked at her for a moment. He looked like a child that lost his favorite game, and Sharon loved it.

"Fine," he muttered and walked to the door. He gave her a quick glance over his shoulder, as if he wanted to check again that it was really her, and left. Sharon shook her head. She knew what was going to happen with Cat. She waited for him to exit the murder room before she left her office and went to the restroom, to calm down away from the squad members' looks. The door closed behind her but opened again before she could enter the stall. She turned around and her eyes widened in shock when she saw Flynn.

"Are you crazy?!" she whispered nervously as Flynn locked the door.

"What's going on with your husband? Something's off with him," he said while checking the stalls to make sure they were alone. He reached the last one and turned to look at her.

"Nothing's going on with him. Family matters," she said monotonically. "Get out."

"Are you afraid of him for some reason?" Flynn asked, examining her face. As usual, her expression told him nothing. Sharon froze for a moment, surprised.

"I'd rather not talk about it," she said firmly. Flynn approached her, looking somewhat frustrated. He gazed at her for a moment while trying to find his words.