What is Not Understood
By Kadi
Rated T
Disclaimer: This is not my sandbox, but it is my favorite place to play.
Chapter 2
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear. That their phones had not gone off during the night was a good sign. After a couple of leisurely hours spent together enjoying the sunrise from their bed, and the way that their room was slowly bathed in light, Sharon and Andy had both finally risen to get a start on their day.
Sharon had showered and dressed for the day with her mind set toward the flower beds on the east side of the house and finishing them. She wore a pair of black, spandex workout capris and a red tank. Because the morning was cool and they would need to make a trip to the plant nursery to pick out what they would be planting, she had pulled a thin, ivory sweater over the ensemble.
Afterward she stood in the center of the kitchen, a cup of coffee in one hand while she enjoyed the natural light that streamed in from the many windows. Most mornings her gaze was turned toward the back yard, watching as the morning sunlight sparkled on the clear water of the pool; that morning she was content to watch the way the ring on her finger caught the light and gleamed up at her. They were going to have to tell their kids, but there was time enough for that. For now she was pleased with the knowledge and allowed herself to enjoy the warmth that filled her at the thought of the future that they were going to have.
"We're going to have to do something with that flower bed." Andy's voice echoed toward her before he entered the kitchen. He came in carrying the newspaper and looking as annoyed as he sounded. He peeled the soiled wrapping off of it and dropped the paper on the center island beside her before moving over to the sink to rinse off his hands. "That damn delivery guy is pissing me off."
"Hm." Sharon hummed in amusement. She lifted her coffee in both hands and sipped from the cup while she watched him move around the kitchen. He dried his hands and took down a mug to fill. "That is the plan," she reminded him. They were getting it done this weekend if she had to put Rusty and Gus on it. Sharon was tired of looking at the empty space.
"Yeah, I know." She had already reminded him that morning. Andy moved back to the island and set his coffee on the granite surface beside her. He kept a hand on the cup as his other arm wrapped around her waist. Andy leaned in to her back and dropped a kiss to her shoulder. Her sweater had shifted, exposing not just the strap of her red tank top, but a small expanse of soft skin. "Later," he mumbled and kissed a path to her neck, "busy right now."
A low, throaty chuckle filled the room. Sharon covered his hand where it splayed across her stomach and tilted her head to the side, giving him better access. Her eyes closed and she leaned back against him, content to let him have his way, if just for a few minutes. He had caught her staring at her ring that morning, and had asked if she had any regrets or second thoughts. In light of their argument the previous night, she could understand why he would be concerned. Sharon had allayed those fears quickly. For whatever reason they may argue or disagree, she was confident they would always find a way to work it out. They had learned, and were still learning, from the relationships they had before. They were building a life together, and their path would not always be an easy one, but she was willing to take the bad with the good. Sharon hummed again and turned her head toward him. Their lips met in a slow, lingering kiss.
"Oh come on. Really!" Rusty made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat as he crossed the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee and turned to lean back against the counter. By now they were mostly separated, even if Andy still had his arm around her. "Dude," he pointed his cup at the older man. "That's my mom." There were some things that he just did not need to see. They had talked about this. There had been a dual agreement that there would be no making out in any communal locations. There were some things they didn't want to see either.
Andy heard Sharon snort. Her head lowered and she lifted her coffee cup again, to hide her laugh, he knew. His hand moved from her stomach to her hip. He shrugged at the kid. Andy lifted his own cup and took a sip of coffee. Then he smirked at the boy. They had talked about it this morning. They would tell the rest of their kids together, but Rusty lived with them. It would be harder to hide, and they really didn't want to. "Yeah," Andy said, in a drawling and happy tone, "but that's my fiancé."
He was not the kind of person to get all giddy and want to jump around, but if anything could tempt him, it was this. It was delivering the news to Rusty in his own way, and in response to one of the kid's smart aleck reactions to his relationship with Sharon. Andy had put up with a lot of crap from that kid in the time that he had been dating Sharon, and was happy to do it for her, and because really the kid had been through hell and couldn't help a lot of it. There was plenty, however, that the little fountain of sarcasm could help. For that, Andy just grinned as he watched him stare, wide-eyed, at the pair of them. When Andy glanced at Sharon and found her staring at him, brows raised, he just shrugged. She wasn't taking this one from him. Oh no, this was all his. He lifted his cup again, eyes sparkling happily. When she only rolled her eyes and leaned against him, he almost felt like dancing.
Rusty's jaw had dropped open. It moved a few times but there was no sound. For once he was completely speechless. He watched his mother lay her head on her boyfriend's shoulder, and while he had expected this would eventually happen, he was still a little thrown by it. "Are you serious?" He finally managed to ask.
"Very serious." Sharon lifted her hand so that he could see the glittering stone on her finger. It was a simple, emerald cut diamond set in a gold band. She did not wear a lot of jewelry, and when she did, the pieces were usually simple and elegant. There were a couple of more ornate items in her collection, pieces that she was drawn to or paired with specific outfits in her wardrobe. Andy had chosen well. He had known that she wouldn't want anything too extravagant for everyday wear. The ring was classic and elegant, like her, had been his words on the matter. Sharon placed her coffee cup back on the granite surface in front of them and met her son's gaze. "Rusty," she said carefully, "I understand that things are changing for us again, but…"
"Yeah." Rusty shook his head. "It's fine," he said. "I mean, it was only a matter of time once you moved in together. That's kind of how these things work, isn't it?" He looked into his coffee cup and sighed. "I just…"
Sharon's brows knit in concern. He seemed to really be struggling with their announcement. She had hoped that, by now, Rusty could just be happy for them. She felt Andy grow stiff behind her and suppressed an urge to sigh. Sharon could not fault Andy for his response or that he was getting ready for an argument. Her fingers circled his wrist and stroked the soft, inner skin beneath the gold bracelet that he never took off. "Just what," she prodded, and wanted him to say it. If there was going to be a confrontation then she wanted to have it now so that they could all move beyond it.
Rusty sighed. He looked up at them through his lashes. He shrugged his shoulders and waved a hand through the air between them. "It's just that… now I owe Lieutenant Provenza fifty bucks." Rusty rolled his eyes heavenward and groaned. "He gave you two months and I thought it would take a little longer. I figured it would happen at Christmas." He gave them both an exasperated look. "He's a goofball," he said and pointed at Andy. "That's something he totally would have done, and then he would have been all proud of himself for really getting your sense of occasion," Rusty pitched his voice low in a passable imitation of the other man. "You had to do it now?"
Her mouth opened but quickly closed again. Behind her Andy was laughing. She pushed him away from her. "It is not funny." She gave his chest a light smack. "Andy! Do not encourage him."
"Too late. Provenza already did." He continued to laugh, even when she glared at him. There was no heat in it. Sharon was more amused than upset. "He's not wrong." The kid had him pegged. Andy shook his head. He leaned against the island. "Two months," he said to Rusty, "really?" Before the kid could answer, he looked down at Sharon again. "Did he just call me a goofball?"
She smiled serenely at him. "He's not wrong," she parroted back at him.
Rusty gave them a long, bland stare in return. He ignored how the older man gripped his mother's side in a way that made her squirm and snicker. "She likes rules," he said, repeating Lieutenant Provenza's statement on the situation. Rusty walked over to stand on the opposite side of the island. He placed his cup on it and gripped the edge of the granite-topped surface. "Amy had you down for New Year's Eve, so I'm not the only one that's going to be paying up. Mike wouldn't take the bet, Buzz said that you're a pair of snails and gave it a year."
"Damn." Andy whistled, impressed with the take on them. "The old man really cashed in. What about Julio?" His eyes narrowed speculatively and he took another drink from his coffee cup.
"Andy!" Sharon had her arms folded across her chest. She was less than pleased that their friends and colleagues were taking bets on their personal life.
"What?" He looked down at her. His dark eyes were still sparkling. "I'm going to make that old reprobate give me half of it."
"Good luck with that." She rolled her eyes at him. There was no way that the Lieutenant would part with his winnings, and she wasn't going to get involved. Sharon made up her mind right then to stay out of it.
"Julio owes him seventy-five." Rusty shrugged. He grinned crookedly. "He said you already manned up and popped the question, she was either just dragging her feet on the answer or you guys weren't telling anyone yet. He thought maybe you were waiting until Ricky and Emily visited to tell them in person." His brother would be visiting in a couple of weeks and Emily was trying to work her schedule around joining them too.
"Dragging my feet?" Sharon's eyes widened. Her arms dropped from where they were folded across her chest. Andy roared with laughter and she whirled on him. "Andy."
"He just wasn't sure that she really wants to keep you," Rusty added.
Andy's laughter died almost immediately. A smile curved Sharon's lips. She lifted her coffee cup and tilted her head. Her lips pursed. She stood there for a moment before she stated simply, "the struggle was real."
"Rusty."
The other man had put his cup down. Rusty nodded appreciatively at the warning. There were things that they didn't want him to see either. "Yeah, I'm out of here." He took his coffee and made a quick exit. "Congratulations though," he called back. He barely made it to the stairs before the low rumble of a male voice and the sound of his mother laughing had him wriggling in a full body shudder. He was glad that his mother was happy, truly, and he had come to really appreciate the Lieutenant's place in his life too… but god save him from horny old people in love.
After finally managing to untangle herself from Andy, Sharon left him to finish his coffee while she followed Rusty upstairs. She wanted to make sure that he knew not to tell his brother and sister their news. It was something that she wanted to tell them herself, with Andy beside her. So far her older children had been fairly removed from her relationship due to the busy nature of their lives. For Ricky and Emily, even with them living together now, the idea was more abstract. Once Rusty had agreed that this was not news that he needed to deliver, Sharon left him to spend the remainder of his day however he planned.
She ushered Andy out of the house and the two of them ran their errands. They went to the plant nursery to pick out items for the remaining flowerbed. Like the rest of the landscaping they had chosen simple, sturdy plants in muted colors that would fit their desert surroundings and busy work schedules.
They spent the rest of the afternoon digging out the space and laying down fresh planting soil. Rusty joined them when he realized what they were up to and took over the more difficult task of digging and framing the plot. The manual labor wasn't his idea of a good time, but he knew that Sharon worried about Andy's blood pressure, and neither of them were exactly young chicks. It was also shaping up to be a pretty warm day, so in a plain white t-shirt and a pair of old jeans, Rusty did the hard part and let his mother and Andy worry about the actual planting and arranging.
Afterward, Rusty showered and left to go meet Gus, thus leaving his mother and her partner to enjoy the rest of their weekend alone. After they had finished their landscaping chores and a few other items on Sharon's list, they decided to go out for the evening. They drove up in to the hills toward Malibu and had a quiet dinner at a cozy little restaurant they had found there, quite by accident, a year before. After dinner they took a walk on the beach, and while it wasn't the snow covered ground that he had originally envisioned, as they stood with the moonlit surf dancing around their bare feet, arms wrapped around one another and swaying with the tide, Andy asked her to marry him again.
They spent a leisurely Sunday morning in bed. After a long night spent enjoying one another and celebrating the future that they were going to have, neither of them was in a hurry to leave the quiet comfort of their shared bed. They passed the morning with soft looks, gentle touches, and quiet laughter as their evening of decadence spilled into their morning hours. It was close to noon before they finally left the bed in favor of a shared shower.
Brunch was a simple affair of fresh fruit and hot coffee and then there was nothing else to do for the rest of the day except enjoy it. The afternoon hours found them on the sofa, Sharon's legs draped across Andy's lap as she reclined at one end of the couch and he sat nearby with his feet propped on the coffee table in front of them. A soft blanket covered her legs and his lap as she lay, wearing a sweater and a pair of shorts, with his hand gently stroking the length of her calf while he watched an old movie and she read. Occasionally his hand would slide a little higher than her knee and she would hum in response. Her hand would find his shoulder between the turning of a page and stroke the length of his arm before her attention was fully captured in the words printed in front of her again. It was an afternoon of quiet companionship, in which they were content to simply be.
Their quiet day was interrupted near late afternoon by the sound of the doorbell ringing. They both looked up as the quiet chimes sounded throughout the front of the house. Andy paused the movie as Sharon drew her legs from his lap. "I'll get it." He leaned over her as he rose and a kiss was pressed quickly and chastely to her mouth. He left her to rearrange herself on the sofa and made his way into the foyer. He was surprised to find Julio standing on the other side of the door. Neither of their phones had gone off during the weekend with more than the usual texts or phone calls from their kids and other family members. "Hey," Andy stood back to let the younger man in to the house. "What brings you all the way out here?"
The Captain and Lieutenant were living in the hills now, not all that far from where her Condo had been in Los Feliz. Their commute was about the same as it had always been, but Julio lived on the other side of town. "Is the Captain home?" He hated to bother them on a day off, especially when they all got so few of them. What he had to share wasn't great news, and he had waited as long as he could before spoiling what was left of their weekend, but Julio wanted them to hear it from him. It would be worse, he knew, if they found out about it at work, especially if it came from some asshole that would enjoy rubbing it in.
"Yeah." Andy frowned at the other man's quiet demeanor. Julio was usually far more jovial outside of work. He jerked his head back toward the family room. "Come on. Can I get you something to drink?"
Julio shook his head as he followed him. "No, thank you. I'm good." He had been in the house before, right after they finished moving in. There had been a housewarming party. He thought it looked a little different now, more settled, more like an actual home. Julio smiled at the still empty den. "I thought you guys were going to finish that?"
"We're still thinking about it." Andy hooked a thumb at Julio as they stepped into the family room. "Look what I found."
Sharon had heard their voices. She was as surprised as Andy that Julio would drop by, but not displeased by it. She smiled brightly as she dropped the now folded blanket on the back of the sofa. "Julio." She had members of her team in her home before, but she wasn't quite accustomed to being so casual in front of them. She swept her hands down her soft, comfortable sweater and tugged a little self-consciously at her simple denim shorts.
"Ma'am." Julio nodded, but smiled a bit. No one would ever equate the woman in front of him to the tough as nails Raydor that they were all accustomed to. With her hair pulled up and her feet and legs bare she looked comfortable and small, and not at all as formidable as he was used to. Julio knew better than to take her appearance for granted, though. "I'm sorry to bother you at home on a Sunday," he stated, "but I thought that there was something that both of you should know."
"Oh?" Sharon waved Julio into one of the wide, comfortable chairs near the sofa, even as Andy reclaimed his place on the sofa and she joined him. They sat with their shoulders and hips touching. When she crossed her legs, he draped a hand casually across her knees. Sharon laid her hand on his arm and leaned in to his side. It was more demonstrative than she usually allowed herself to be in front of those who reported to her, but as Julio had reminded them, it was the weekend and she was at home. Sharon shared a look with Andy before her attention drifted back to the younger man across from them. "Has something happened?"
Julio leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "The other night when we were at Joe's some guys from Hollywood and a couple of other divisions decided to be jerks." He looked at the Lieutenant, and when the other man nodded, Julio continued. He figured that by now Flynn would have told her about it. Julio was glad that they wouldn't have to get in to all of that. "Davidson and his idiot partner Mitchell decided to get a hooker to come on to the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant put her off," he said, "and decided he had enough fun for one night."
Andy hadn't given her all of the details, but she knew the general gist of it. "I excused myself to the men's room," he told her, "the woman they put up to their little joke followed me. She cornered me when I came out, that's when the lipstick thing happened."
"The guys had a good laugh at it," Julio continued. "Some things were said. It got a little heated, but we all left before it could get out of hand." The last thing that they all needed was to get into trouble with the Captain for getting into a fight while defending her honor. "We thought that was the end of it," he explained. "Turns out we were all wrong." Julio sighed as he dug out his phone. He swiped it on and went to his text messages. "I guess Davidson and Mitchell were angry that we cut their fun short." He held the phone out to the Captain. "That's been going around ma'am. It got sent to me this morning. Someone forwarded it as a group message, and I guess they forgot that I was in the group."
Sharon frowned as she accepted the phone. It was a picture of Andy at Joe's. The scantily clad woman in front of him was obviously the source of the other officers' amusement. She was a short blonde, and even in the badly lit photo, Sharon could tell that it was a bottle job. The woman had her face turned in to Andy's neck while he held her upper arms. What the others were taking for a smile, Sharon easily recognized as a pained grimace. She felt him grow stiff beside her as he studied the phone from over her shoulder. When he started to lean away she circled his wrist with her fingers and kept him where he was. More upsetting than the photograph itself was the caption that someone had affixed to it. Proof Flynn has still got his balls, we got him a real woman.
Sharon's lips pressed into a thin line. She had seen enough. She passed the phone back to the Detective. "You said that you were sent that photo this morning?" She questioned.
"Yes ma'am. I was at mass," Julio explained. "I didn't see it until afterward, and then Mark and I went to the park." Julio shrugged and gave her a sheepish look. "I also called Mike and we did some checking. It went out to quite a few people. There was nothing that we could do to stop it at that point, and I didn't want to ruin your whole day…" So he had waited until much later in the afternoon.
"Son of a bitch." Andy stood up and paced around the room. He ran a hand into his hair. He was wishing now that he hadn't let the others calm him down the other night. "I shoulda put my fist in that little bastard's mouth when I had the chance."
Sharon cast a disapproving look at him. Violence would not solve the situation. "Thank you, Julio. I appreciate your discretion. Unfortunately you are right, there is nothing that we can do to recall the text now." She sighed. "At this point, where I would have stayed out of what was a tasteless practical joke and a disagreement between off-duty officers, Detectives Davidson and Mitchell have forced my hand." She would have to report them to their commanding officer for disciplinary action. "Tomorrow morning I would like for you and Lieutenant Tao to write up your findings for me."
"Yes ma'am." Julio had a feeling that was where this was going to end up going. He didn't disagree. Davidson and Mitchell had it coming and he hoped that Internal Affairs and HR slapped it to them really good. Their actions the other night had been pretty bad, but now they had crossed a line. Julio turned the phone's screen off and tucked it back into his pocket. "I'm sorry again, ma'am." He stood up, frowning when she joined him. "The Lieutenant's not wrong though," he continued, "we should have kicked the crap out of them. I'm sorry I wouldn't let him do it."
"I will choose to pretend that I didn't hear that." Sharon walked to the door with him, since Andy was now pacing the room and muttering furiously. "Thank you for coming by, Julio. We will handle the situation. Go and enjoy the rest of your day off."
"I will." He smiled sadly at her. "You too," he said, although Julio had a feeling that would be less likely now. "Don't let them bug you ma'am. They're idiots."
"On that we are agreed." She smiled warmly at him. "Give your mother and Mark my best."
Julio nodded. He always did. As he left, he paused. He nodded toward her left hand. "Congratulations."
Sharon followed his gaze to the hand that was resting against the edge of the door. The afternoon sunlight had set the diamond to sparkling. Her smile softened into a more genuine expression. "Thank you."
He left then, and as she shut the door, Sharon's smile faded. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. She let it out slowly before she went in search of Andy. He was no longer in the family room. She found him standing on the patio, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans and a deep scowl on his face. Sharon laid her hands against his back and leaned in to him. She kissed the side of his neck before her arms wrapped around his middle. "I'm sorry." The officers responsible were having a great deal of fun at both their expense but it was Andy that they had made the butt of their joke.
"I'm not." Andy pulled her around to stand in front of him. His arms circled her. "If this is the price I have to pay to get to have you, so be it. You're not an emasculating bitch, Sharon. The only people who can't see that are the morons with their heads buried up their own asses." He wasn't usually so crass in front of her, but his temper needed an outlet. Andy sighed. "Whatever happens now, they brought it on themselves, so do whatever it is that you have to do. At the end of the day, as long as I get to come home to you, nothing else matters."
She turned her face into his neck and held on to him. He had a right to be angry and upset. She felt much the same way. "You're right," she told him quietly, "this is what matters." They stood there for a while, in the comfort of each other's arms. Eventually they went back inside to try and recapture the quiet peace of the day. It eluded them, dancing just out of reach, so they enjoyed the simple rhythm of shared household chores instead.
When Rusty got home that evening he found them curled together on the sofa. There was an old movie playing quietly, but neither of them was watching it. They had dozed off at some point. He rolled his eyes at them as he went through the house turning off lights and making sure that all of the doors were secured and the alarm was set. It wasn't that late and he figured at some point they would get up and head to bed. They usually did. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked back at them. Sharon's favorite throw blanket was tucked around her. Andy lay behind her on the sofa, arms and legs wrapped around her, as though she had been cold. Rusty rolled his eyes again. He snapped a quick picture with his phone before he started up the stairs. His mother had told him that he couldn't tell Emily and Ricky that she had gotten engaged, but she never said anything about making sure that they knew that she was already so definitely married.
-TBC-