Chapter 80:
"Nobody," Sharon said quietly just as someone knocked on the door. "Could you get that, please?" she added, looking at Rusty.
He nodded and walked to the door.
"Are you crazy?!" Sharon whispered angrily to Cat, whose shoulders quivered with subdued laughter.
"I didn't know he was listening!" she whispered back just as Rusty closed the door and walked back to the living room, holding a white envelope.
"What's that?" Sharon asked, sending a warning look towards Cat, to make her stop laughing.
"I don't know," he said hesitantly while examining the envelope in his hand.
"Who delivers mail on Sunday?" Cat asked, frowning.
"This guy wasn't a mailman. He was doing a personal favor for someone. That's what he said," Rusty looked at Sharon with concern.
"Who?" she asked, getting up.
"My mother," he handed her the envelope, but Sharon didn't take it. She only looked at him with shock for a few moments, and then shook her head.
"No, it's for you. You should open it, if you want to."
Rusty shrugged, trying to make it look like he didn't care, but inside of him there was a storm going on. His mother abandoned him a long time ago and hasn't contacted him ever since. Now she suddenly writes to him? He couldn't help but feel confused.
"Do you want to go to your room to read it?" Sharon asked gently.
Rusty waited a moment before he answered, "No, I don't want to read it," he handed her the envelope and looked at her with begging eyes. She reached for it, feeling like she was taking a burden off his hands.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yeah. Just… put it in the trash or something," he said and walked to the kitchen.
Cat waited for him to get out of earshot and then leaned forward, toward her mother. "You're not gonna throw it, right?" she whispered.
"I'm going to keep it somewhere, in case he'll change his mind," Sharon said quietly.
(***)
Three weeks later, Sharon returned to work. While Flynn was suspended for only eight days, FID took their time in investigating her case and clearing her name. It made her wonder if some of her former detectives in FID wanted to get back at her for being stern with them, or for anything else that might be.
Sharon came in late on her first day back to work. She had one last meeting with Taylor and the FID lead detective, in which they officially cleared her back to duty. Sharon's heart pounded in her chest as she walked from the elevators to the murder room. She didn't see any of her detectives on the way and, apart from the heels knocking on the floor with every step of hers, the corridor was pretty quiet. When she entered the murder room, it was empty. She figured they were all out on a murder, and walked straight to her office.
The darkness disappeared instantly when she opened the shutters, and the bright daylight washed the entire room, giving her a sense of warmth. It felt good to be back in her office. In a way, it was her natural place. She was always a hard worker, very dedicated to her job. She enjoyed spending her days with Cat and Rusty, but a whole month of not being able to work was too much for her.
Sharon sat down on her office chair and looked around. Sanchez appeared behind the corner, dressed in jeans and t-shirt, which meant he worked under cover. Right behind him walked Sykes, who was also dressed casual. Sharon got on her feet just when the rest of the squad appeared behind the same corner. Flynn and Provenza were both holding their jackets in their hands, and the latter's tie was sloppily askew. If Sharon had to pick a word to describe their general look, it would be 'tired'. Tao was the only one who looked fit to work in an office.
Sharon took advantage of the fact that none of them have noticed her yet, and followed Flynn with her eyes. He looked upset or impatient, she couldn't tell. He definitely wasn't in a good mood. She wondered if he missed her as much as she missed him.
They didn't see or speak to one another ever since the fight. Sharon found it more and more difficult to fall asleep at night. Every time she closed her eyes she would see his face. The need to be in his arms burned in her veins like an incurable disease. Many times she wanted to call him, but, remembering how he treated her the last time she tried to talk to him, she never went through with it.
She turned to look at Provenza and her heart skipped a beat when she realized he was looking right at her. A second later he said something to Flynn and the latter looked at her too. Sharon walked around her desk and entered the murder room quickly.
"Captain!" Sykes jumped on her feet. "It's so good to have you back!"
"Thank you, Amy," Sharon said quietly.
Provenza rolled his eyes and sat on his chair. "Yeah, welcome back," he said grumpily, so she wouldn't know that he was actually relieved to give her back the leadership. In the last few weeks he finally understood why Taylor and Pope decided to put her in charge of the Major Crimes division instead of him. He'd never admit it, but keeping everything and everyone in order was not something he was very good at. He loved being a detective, but hated dealing with bureaucracy and with Taylor breathing down his neck.
"Good to see you," Sharon heard a voice to her left and turned quickly to see Flynn looking at her with soft eyes. The expression on his face was nothing like the one he had a minute ago, when she watched him from afar.
Sharon examined his face, wondering if his mood changed thanks to her, and fighting the urge to wrap her arms around him and bury her face against his neck.