7/10

Sharon curled into Andy's side with a satisfied hum, sliding her bare leg under his and rubbing her hand across his chest. Through the thin fabric of his t-shirt, he felt the firmness of her palm on his stomach and gave a little snort. Tilting his head so he could press his lips against the crown of her head, he buried his face in her unruly mass of hair.

"Take your hands off me, woman," he grumbled. "We're in a public place."

Sharon giggled and it shook her whole body. He was still amazed every time the composed no-nonsense police captain let go and laughed. He rested his hand modestly on her hip where her soft sundress covered the bathing suit she was wearing underneath. She had insisted that at her age, she wouldn't be seen in a bikini and that her Irish skin also didn't allow for long stays in the sun so they were in a quiet corner of the beach, quite a bit removed from where the waves were rolling so they could sit under a tree.

He shifted on the blanket they'd spread in the sand and nibbled her ear, making her give a little sigh.

"We could go swimming now. I feel in need of some cold water," he suggested, but Sharon rolled her eyes.

"Honey, we just had lunch. You must be careful with that. Let's wait another half hour at least."

"Sometimes you're such a mom," Andy complained but then her obedience to the rules and rational mindset were part of what had drawn him to her in the first place. And those legs of course. They, at least, remained bare beneath the hem of her blue dress and he ran one hand from her ankle up to her knee, gently massaging it.

He reached out and took off her sunglasses, making her blink both against the bright light and because without her prescription glasses, her sight was a little impaired. Still she looked up at him and smiled, somewhat distractedly.

"I love you, Sharon," he said. "and not just because you finally agreed to be seen on the beach with me."

She blushed a little at his words, this being the first time that he had actually said them. Sometimes he had wondered whether he should take her out for a candlelit dinner or do something equally romantic to tell her, but then the pompous stuff was not what she was into. This seemed so much more natural and, best of all, spontaneous. Smiling again, she reached up and kissed him deeply before she murmured her answer against his lips.

"I love you, too."

As wonderful as it was to exchange "I love you"s, it was sure to stop any decent conversation so they just looked at the beach, holding hands for a while. Their companionable silence was interrupted by Andy cursing under his breath. Sharon, still sans her glasses, narrowed her eyes and nudged him slightly.

"What's up?"

Andy pointed at a figure near them in a ridiculous pair of surfer shorts and an oversized checkered t-shirt. "Taylor is here. He's walking right towards us."

He could tell from her shocked intake of breath that she was frozen in panic. Having been busy covering up mischief for years, he reacted immediately. In one smooth movement he pushed her sunglasses back on her face, dropped her big straw hat on her head and ignored her surprised shriek of protest when he wrapped her dark blue silk scarf around her neck so it would cover the lower half of her face like a bandit's, also effectively hiding most of her hair.

"No matter what happens, keep your mouth shut," he hissed.

Taylor spotted them only when he was almost standing next to him and raised his hand to wave at Flynn. He looked relaxed and in a good mood as he approached them.

"Hey Lieutenant Flynn. Lovely day for a swim, right?" His eyes flitted towards Sharon and he tilted his head quizzically. Before he could fill in the blanks in his mind, Flynn hurried to give him an explanation.

"Oh, sorry. My cousin Ruth. Not very talkative today." He lowered his voice as if he was a little embarrassed by what he was going to say next. "She's recovering from plastic surgery, you know." He pulled at the skin around his eyes with both hands then rolled his eyes pointedly. "Half of her face is bandaged and she's not supposed to talk yet. I thought I'd take her out so she'll be able to see something else than the walls of my guest room for a change."

Taylor looked at the hooded person next to Andy and gave a confused frown.

"Well, anyway, I am on my way to get ice cream for the family, so see you soon. All the best for your cousin, though."

"Yeah, thanks," Andy said, his heart beating more quickly with relief. "She'll be as good as new in no time. If you know what I mean."

Taylor waved and started to walk away from them. Only when he was already a few steps gone, he turned around with a smug look on his face. "Oh, and Lieutenant Flynn, tell your cousin that I don't care what you do in your free time as long as you keep your lovey-dovey antics out of the office." Andy felt as if someone had emptied a bucket of cold water over his head.

"How did you know?" he lamented, effectively blowing what little was left of their cover.

"Seriously?" Taylor sighed. "No offense, Captain, and please don't slap me with a report or something, but I'd recognize those legs anywhere."

Sharon snorted under her scarf but, curiously, didn't take it off.

"Anyway, I'll go and get double ice-creams now as Mooney from Robbery/Homicide owes me a hundred bucks. Goodbye."

As soon as he was gone, Sharon took her disguise off and gave a long, somewhat tortured sigh. "Is there anyone who doesn't know?" she demanded wearily.

"Yeah, Sykes, I guess," Andy replied evenly. "I guess that means she'll be the only one taken by surprise by the wedding invitation."

"Oh, shut up." Sharon hit his chest.

"Were you reprimanded? Degraded? Fired?" Provenza had appeared in their line of vision, breathless, followed by a concerned-looking Rusty who was carrying a bunch of ice-cream cones.

"None of the above," Sharon said elegantly, having regained her footing. She took one of the cones from him and devoured it, suddenly a lot more relaxed.

"Damn," Provenza grumbled. "I was just an inch away from leading Major Crimes. An inch!"

"In your dreams," Andy said, still wondering how on earth he would be able to keep his antics out of the office from now on. "You don't have the legs for it."