Everything He Is - Chapter 2

by Kadi

Rated: T

Once the leads began rolling in, it turned out that their case was far more involved than they originally believed. A body dump out on Mulholland had turned into three more bodies. One was found in an alley on Sunset, same MO as the Mulholland body. Two others were found in Griffith Park, not far off a hiking trail. The last two bodies were found on Federal ground, and so the team was utilizing their FBI asset. In the three days since the first body was found, Lieutenant Flynn had only been home twice, and the second time was only for half an hour to shower and change clothes. His body ached wearily, he was tired, cranky, and there was an ache burning deep inside him. He hadn't seen his wife for more than a minute, and while he'd spoken to her, it just wasn't the same. Andy hadn't realized just how much he took for granted all the time they spent working alongside one another until he had to be without her.

She understood. Of that he had no doubt; he had managed to fall in love with and marry the one woman who would understand, completely, the demands of this job on his time and emotions. That didn't stop Andy feeling guilty for leaving her at home, alone, with a new baby and a move to coordinate. Not that he felt she couldn't handle it. God only knew that Sharon could do anything once she set her mind to it, the woman was simply amazing. Every day she surprised him with just how amazing she truly was. No, he didn't want to repeat the mistakes of his past, and while he knew, intellectually, that he was hardly doing that... he worried. They were in this together, and so they should be doing it together. Sharon shouldn't be hiring movers, arranging for utilities to be transferred, packing, and caring for their young son all on her own. He should be there with her. Yes, she had Rusty. Andy knew that boy was utterly devoted to her, and would do whatever she asked, within reason. He was still a teenage boy and he had his own responsibilities, such as a full college course load. Andy felt terrible about leaving both of them to deal with everything on their own. He felt terrible period.

He missed his family.

During those two weeks he spent at home he'd gotten used to being part of a unit again, more so than during any of the weeks and months leading up to Ian's birth. Now he was without them and he knew that the nagging ache deep in his center had to do with wanting to hold his wife, his son, and trade playful barbs with the teenager that he was beginning to think of as his too.

He did not want to be sitting in an interview room, head pounding, eyes heavy and listening to Agent Howard and Detective Sanchez try and get information out of their best lead, a possible witness.

"This is bullshit." Andy leaned back against the table he was perched on. He was in his customary place at the back of the electronics room. "Let's just throw the little son of a bitch in jail and see if that loosens his tongue up any," he waved in aggravation at the monitor.

Where he sat beside Buzz, Provenza rolled his eyes and swivelled in his chair toward his partner. "And on what do you propose that we charge him? He's a witness, not a suspect," he drawled sarcastically. His partner had been growing steadily more belligerant the last eighteen hours. Louie could sense the fit of temper that was building in him. He was accustomed to that, and couldn't blame him. They were all running on too little sleep and too much coffee.

"Violating his probation," Andy shot back. "I don't care, we can hold him forty-eight hours because he sneezed wrong."

"Violating his probation?" Amy slanted a look at him, unconvinced. He was reaching and they all knew it. "How?"

"By irritating the crap out of me," Andy snapped. "Pissing off a police officer should look fine on the booking sheet. We've held them on less. Just tag his ass and get it over with. Maybe a few hours down in holding will help him remember."

"Pissing off a police officer," Lieutenant Provenza shook his head slowly. "Yes, I would like to see you explain that one to the Captain."

It might not have been the best route to go, even Buzz looked concerned when the Lieutenant tensed. His body bowed up as though he were getting ready to go off. He drew a breath, while his cheeks flushed with temper. His phone chimed as he opened his mouth to reply. Andy's jaw clenched. His dark eyes were almost black with annoyance. They could hear his teeth grinding together as he reached into his pocket for the phone. He scowled at the display to see the text was from Rusty. His thumb swept across the display and he was greeted with a picture. It was of Ian, with his eyes and mouth wide in what might have been considered a smile for a baby that was barely over two weeks old. In the photo, Rusty was leaning down, head beside the baby's with a comedic smile of his own as he snapped the picture. Beneath it, the text read It's his first selfie! We're rocking the technology. Don't tell mom!

The effect was almost immediate. The tension drained out of him. He snorted a quiet laugh and shook his head. The spontaneity of the moment shook him out of his irritated funk. Then Andy looked closer at the photo. His eyes lit up and he shot to his feet. The floor in the backdrop did not belong to the condo or the new house. It was the dull gray of the tile in the murder room. Andy pushed out of the electronics room and spotted Rusty right off. The kid was standing at Provenza's desk and gave him a slightly guilty look at being caught rearranging things on the desk. Andy smirked, but said nothing. Instead he looked beyond him to the carseat sitting on the surface of his desk.

Rusty finished pushing the stapler to one side of the desk and placing the pen holder on the opposite side. He flashed a sheepish look at the LIeutenant when he stepped away. "We were taking some stuff over to the new house. We figured we'd drop by for a few minutes." Rusty jerked his head to the fresh shirt and tie hanging from Flynn's chair.

On his desk beside the baby's carseat there was also a closed, plastic container with what looked like freshly made pasta and vegetables, as well as a thermos of coffee. Andy hardly paid that any mind. Instead, his eyes focused on his wife. She was standing in her office, flipping through the messages which were piling up on her desk. He was drawn toward her, and stopped only long enough to lift Ian out of his carseat. The slight weight settling against his chest eased some of the ache inside him. Andy pushed open her office door with his hip and arched a brow at her. "Busted."

Sharon looked up and smiled. "I'm not working. I'm just... skimming." She dropped the messages back onto the desk and walked toward him. Ian was gurgling happily in his father's arms. Sharon gently cupped the back of the baby's head, but leaned up on the balls of her feet to kiss his father. She was breaking cardinal rule number one about bringing their marriage into the workplace, but there was only Rusty to see them, and he was busy rolling his eyes at the display. "Hi," she whispered, once she had drawn back.

"Hi." He reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She was in another of the soft, sleeveless dresses that he was coming to love. This one clung to new curves in all the right ways. "Just decided to drop by, huh?"

"Well..." She shrugged. "The office is between the apartment and the house." Her eyes danced with emotion. She had missed him too. "Sounds like you caught a tough one. It didn't seem unrealistic to think that you would appreciate a clean shirt and an actual meal."

The corners of his eyes crinkled when he grinned. "Playing favorites, Captain?"

"Absolutely." She tapped his chest with the back of her hand as she slid past him into the murder room.

"Well, since you're here." Andy held the baby out from his body, hand beneath his head and the other beneath his bottom so that he could get a good look at him. "Me and you are going to go check out the interview. If we're lucky, Uncle Julio is going to do the smack down. He was looking a little irritated."

"Andy." Sharon rolled her eyes at him.

"Kid's gotta learn young, babe." He smirked at the baby. "Right Ian?" When the baby gurgled and waved his fists, Andy just grinned crookedly. "That's my boy. Stick with me bud, mom's all lost in the rule clouds."

His abrupt leaving was rather odd. He'd gone from supremely annoyed to damned near cheerful in about a second. When Andy stepped back into Electronics, every head in the room turned toward him. "Figures." Provenza rolled his eyes. "Pathetic."

"Oh!" Amy stood up and hurried over. "Isn't he adorable."

Ian screwed up his face into a scowl at the new person, especially when she touched him. Andy leaned his hip against the cabinet at the back of the room again and nudged Tao with his elbow. "Hey, looks like his mother when he does that." But to Amy, he just shrugged. "He's not used to being around too many strangers."

"Emphasis on the strange," Provenza muttered to Buzz.

The technician snorted. He glanced at Flynn. "Does the Captain know you've got him watching an interview?"

"Yeah," He shrugged. "She's pretending not to be sneaking a peek at some of the work piling up on her desk." Then he realized what Buzz was really asking and he scowled. "Hey, he's my kid too!"

"Okay, alright." Provenza stood up and reached for the baby. "If you're going to have him in here, at least keep it down." For a moment it looked like his partner might actually refuse to give the baby up, but his eyes narrowed. The older Lieutenant smirked triumphantly when he lifted the infant into his own arms. He settled the boy into the crook of his arm and reclaimed his seat. "Now then," he shook his finger at the baby. "Forget any of the brainwashing those two have already started. You listen to me..."

Andy rolled his eyes toward Tao beside him. The two shared at look and Andy shook his head. "And he calls me an old woman," he muttered, small smile playing at his lips.

For the next ten minutes they had to listen to Provenza explaining the pertinent facts of interrogation techniques to the two and a half week old Ian Flynn. He had the kid mesmerised, they had to admit that much. The baby was wide eyed and gurgling in response to the attention, right before he started to doze off, obviously content with where he was.

"Gentlemen." Taylor stepped into the electronics room, looking for an update. "Number one, where are we with the witness, and number two... why is your Captain in her office working?"

"Shhh!" Everyone in the room waved him toward silence. Provenza swivelled in his chair and pointed at the sleeping baby.

"She only intended to stay a minute," Flynn stated, figuring that was probably close to the truth. "Grandpa over there stole the baby."

"Hey now!" Taylor moved closer and leaned in to get a look. "Check it out. Little man is getting big already."

Flynn looked skyward and tried to suppress the words coming out of his mouth, but couldn't quite manage. "Healthy eater." When Taylor turned and fixed him with a bland look, he shrugged. "He is. We can set an alarm by that kid. He does not miss a meal, come sleep, diaper, or bathtime."

Taylor shook his head. "That update, Lieutenant?" He could not be distracted by the lure of a new baby for long.

"They're wrapping it up," Provenza waved toward the monitor where a uniformed officer was retrieving their witness. "We didn't get much. We're going to book him on probation violations and hold him forty-eight hours."

"Alright." Taylor saw now problem with that. Sometimes these guys would loosen up and start talking if they thought they could get out of a little jail time for it. "What charge?"

"Pissing off Flynn." Provenza smirked.

Andy inclined his head, pursed his lips. He nodded slowly. "I am supremely irritated right now," he deadpanned. "Just look at what the guy is wearing. It clashes horribly. Our witneses has severely insulted my fashion sensibilities."

Taylor rolled his eyes at them. He could throw the rulebook at them, almost literally, but these guys hadn't changed. Instead, they'd figured out new and more interesting ways of getting around the rules... and they'd taken the rulebook with them. "Put him on a forty-eight hour hold for failure to cooperate with an ongoing investigation," he told Provenza. "See if that loosens up his tongue. Send his prints down to SID, have them match them to the crime scenes and evidence we have on file, see if we can place him at the scene. If being in a cell doesn't work, maybe being implicated as a possible serial killer will." He looked down again, the baby was yawning widely and blinking open his eyes. "Bye-bye little man, bye now..." He tickled his belly. When the baby screwed up his face into a scowl and looked like he might start crying, Taylor shook his head. "Looks like you, Flynn."

He watched him leave and rolled his eyes. "Maybe because I feel the same way most of the time." The baby was beginning to fuss, so Andy reached for him. "Like I said, alarm. I bet he's hungry."

"I don't think so." Provenza gave him up easily and waved a hand in front of his face. "Might want to check out the diaper situation, Flynn."

Andy was realizing that, even as he said it. "Yeah, come on. Let's go see mom." He smirked at the others. "She's good at dealing with Taylor's crap."

The guys laughed, and even Amy got a chuckle out of it. With the interview over, they filed out of electronics. When Andy saw that Sharon was actually speaking with Taylor now, he took the diaper bag and headed off to deal with the diaper situation himself. Detective Sanchez and Agent Howard rejoined them, both looking just as weary as the team.

Provenza ran a hand over his hair. "We're going to book him. We can hold him for a couple of days. It'll loosen his tongue, or it won't..." He filled them in on the plan. "In the meantime, we need to-" He trailed off when he reached his desk, realizing at once that something was wrong. His eyes narrowed. "Captain!" He drew her attention, where she stood just outside her office speaking to the Assistant Chief. He only pointed at the abomination that was now his rearranged desk.

Sharon tilted her head at him, although she put her hands up, she smiled. "I can say with absolute honesty that it wasn't me, Lieutenant. I'm afraid it was like that when I returned from checking messages in my office."

The Lieutenant's eyes narrowed. He glanced around the room and spied Rusty, sitting on Buzz's desk and laughing. "You." He shook his finger. "I'll deal with you later."

Rusty tried to effect an innocent look, but failed miserably. "Bring it on, Lieutenant."

Taylor shook his head at their antics. "Captain, we look forward to having you back," he shot a pointed look at the Lieutenant as he made his way out of the Murder Room.

Sharon simply shook her head as he left. Her gaze quickly swept the room. "Where is Lieutenant Flynn?"

Provenza began to chuckle. "Your son had the same reaction to Taylor as the rest of us. He thought he was full of crap."

"Oh." She pressed her lips together in an effort to suppress a smile.

Agent Howard's head tilted as he perched on the edge of an empty desk. "I heard about that. I thought it was just a crazy rumor." He had been travelling between Los Angeles and Washington quite often for the last few months, with Morris filling in for him more often than he wasn't. "I mean, I heard you two got married," he waved a hand in the general direction that Flynn had gone. "I thought the rest was just... you know, talk."

"Hm, no..." She sat on the edge of Andy's desk and smiled. "It has been a rather... interesting year."

"She means productive," Provenza drawled.

Sharon simply shrugged and smiled. "That too."

"Then I suppose," the agent said, a bit uncertainly, "congratulations?" It was a little unusual, having a child at their age. They were older than he was, for crying out loud, and it had even been questionable back when he and Brenda were discussing it.

"Yes." Sharon's smile brightened. She could understand, fully, where his reservations might stem from. "Thank you. We're very happy." Her gaze shifted behind him at the return of her husband with her son. "That was quick."

"I am a master at shoveling crap," he drawled.

The corners of her mouth twitched. "I believe you." Her lips pursed. "He always cooperates better when he's hungry." Sharon took the diaper bag from him and reached into it for the bottle she brought with her. She held it out for him with a smirk.

Andy sighed and rolled his eyes. "He hates these damned things." He placed the nipple against the baby's lips. "Now just remember, we talked about this. You, me, the milk and my suit." Ian was resistant, as he usually was when being prompted to take a bottle instead of mom. The first drops of milk against his tongue changed his mind, and he decided to latch on.

"Good thing I brought you a clean shirt then, huh?" Sharon stood up from the desk and reached for the baby. "Eat while it's still marginally warm." With practiced ease, the baby exchanged hands without ever losing his hold on the bottle.

Sanchez's head perked up from where he was making notes following the interview. "Hey. How come he gets food?"

"He hasn't been home in two days, Detective," Sharon stood in place, slowly rocking the baby from side to side while she fed him. A small smile played at her lips. "Although, if you check the break room, you might find that there is more where that came from. This is the vegetarian version."

Provenza's eyes narrowed at his partner. "She cooks?"

"She does." Andy popped the top off his food and reached for his fork. He lifted a bite to his mouth and almost moaned. Steamed and sautéed vegetables and angel hair pasta in a rosemary sauce. "I'm betting the stuff she put in the break room has chicken in it."

"It does." Sharon was focussed on her son. Her cheeks colored a light shade of pink as they discussed her domestic proclivities. "Someone took a very long nap this morning, and I felt like cooking instead of packing."

"She still gets cravings," Rusty told Buzz. "She wanted garlic bread, so she made pasta. I don't always follow her logic."

"There's bread?" Andy looked into the bag on his desk and grinned. He took out a parcel wrapped in wax paper and opened it. "She bakes too," he chirped.

Sharon rolled her eyes at them as the team began heading toward the break room to see for themselves that their Captain had not only brought them food, but home cooked food. "Really?" She made a face at her husband.

"What?" He grinned crookedly at her. "Oh come on. You're all maternal and soft right now. I'm luring them into a false sense of security. When you come back, you'll knock their heads together. It'll be great."

"I might start with yours," she said drily.

"You're on leave, Sharon. Enjoy it, okay?" He watched her lift their son to her shoulder and rub his back. Andy stood up and glanced around. Seeing that Howard was otherwise occupied on the phone and not paying the least bit of attention to them, he dropped a quick kiss to her lips. "Miss you," he admitted, looking somewhat pathetic.

It got the laugh that he was going for. Sharon rolled her eyes at him. "I know. Me too. Your partner could be right about us."

"Pathetic idiots?" Andy shrugged. "I'll never tell."

"Good." She shook her head at him, but shot him a pointed look over her glasses. "As you were, Lieutenant." Twice now they'd disregarded the rules about workplace fraternization. She could probably, quite easily, blame hormones but that wouldn't save them if they were caught. If she were honest with herself, the continued flux of her hormones probably contributed to just how much she missed him and was the impetus for having stopped by to see him. Even if she had used dinner and a fresh shirt as her excuse.

"Yes ma'am." With a sheepish smile, Andy reached for his meal and leaned against the edge of his desk, watching her while he ate. While she rubbed their son's back and bounced him gently against her shoulder, he reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Unseen by either of them, while he used the cover of utilizing the landline to phone his contacts at the bureau, Agent Howard took out his cell phone. He zoomed the camera in toward them and quickly snapped a photo. Frozen in time in his phone's memory was now a moment that Brenda would never believe without seeing it for herself, two people who were seemingly unlikely as friends and even unlikelier as a couple, smiling at one another over the top of their child's head. No, she was definitely not going to believe this one. Fritz smirked to himself as he sent her the photo via text. Not a rumor, he wrote. Turns out, it was true! She dropped by during her maternity leave to see the husband!

"I'm going to slip out while they're distracted," Sharon said. "We still need to swing by the house, and there are some things we need to get at the Market, that neither of us have managed to pick up yet." She was cringing at the thought of taking the baby inside the store, but it couldn't be helped. It was time to suck it up and deal with it.

"Yeah okay," he sighed. He wasn't ready for her to leave yet, but he understood that she couldn't stay. This was really no place for the baby, and the two of them would just be a distraction. It had, however, improved his mood quite a bit. Andy put his bowl down and took Ian out of her arms. He held the baby against his chest for a moment, just enjoying the feel of his son in his arms and the way he cooed now that his belly was full. Andy figured he'd be asleep about three seconds after she got him into the car. He sighed as he lay him in the carseat and buckled in him in. "I'll walk you down," he decided, wanting to prolong the moment as long as he could. Andy lifted the carseat while she retrieved the diaper bag and her purse.

She smiled at him and nodded. "Rusty," she beckoned the boy over. They walked together to the elevator, and her smile softened when Andy didn't stop there, but joined them. They rode the elevator in silence, and as they left it to make their way into the parking garage, he slipped an arm around her. Rusty hurried ahead of them with the keys to get the car unlocked.

Andy placed the carseat in its base once they reached the car and made sure that it was secured. His hand swept gently over the baby's head before he leaned back, out of the car. Sharon stood beside him on the driver's side. He reached past her and placed his hand on the door, intent on opening it, but bent his head and captured her lips first. Here, in the garage, there was no one to see them. He was just a guy kissing his wife. He slipped his other hand up to cradle the side of her head, thumb gentle against her cheek as his lips lingered against hers. When she hummed, his lips curved into a small smile. "I don't know when I'll be home," he mumbled, with some regret.

"I know," she murmured softly. "It's okay." Sharon lay a hand against his chest and leaned into him. She tugged playfully on his bottom lip. "Be careful."

"Always." He had something worth going home to now. Andy's arms curled around her and he pressed her back against the side of her car. His mouth angled over hers, he poured all the pent up emotion which had been driving his frustration into that kiss. His mouth moved across her jaw, to her neck, and he buried his face there. Andy inhaled deeply, as if memorizing the smell of her perfume, mingled with the softer scent of her shampoo.

Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He shuddered against her and Sharon lay her hand against the back of his neck. With her lips against his ear, she whispered quietly. "I love you." She pressed gentle kisses against his hair. "Get him and come home to me."

Andy lifted his head. He smiled down at her. He swept his hands into her hair tipped her head back, kissing her more gently this time. "Yes ma'am." He spent just another moment, nuzzling at her cheek, and then he stepped back. He knew if he didn't move away from her now, he never would. Andy pulled her door open and held it for her. "Get some rest." She was a force to be reckoned with, but she was still only a couple of weeks post delivery. Andy cast a pointed look at the teenager in the passenger side of the car. "Keep an eye on things kid."

Rusty rolled his eyes at him. "Yeah. I usually do." The way he saw it, he had a couple more years worth experience of keeping an eye on Sharon than Andy did.

"We'll be fine." Sharon settled in the driver's seat and reached for her seatbelt. "Call me," she told him. "I don't care if it's three in the morning." Her look held meaning. If it became too much, she wanted him to reach out to her.

"Aye, aye Captain." He winked at her. Andy pushed her door closed and stepped back. He stood in the parking garage, hands tucked into his pockets as he watched her pull out and drive away. When she turned a corner in the garage, he sighed. Already he ached with missing her. All of them, really. Andy rubbed a hand across his forehead and took a deep breath. He let it out slowly before he turned and made his way back inside. She was right about one thing, the sooner they got this son of a bitch, the sooner he could go home.

Rusty noticed as they drove away from Headquarters that Sharon was quiet, at least, far more quiet than usual. He glanced surreptitiously at her as they moved into traffic. It wasn't much of a leap to figure out the reason. "They always figure it out," he told her.

"Yes," she said simply. She glanced into the rearview mirror, to check the reflection in the baby mirror they'd installed in the backseat. Already Ian was dozing off. A small smile graced her lips. He was another car baby, just as Charlotte had been. Ricky couldn't be bothered with the car. He would cry from the moment he was placed in his carseat until he was taken out of it again. Charlotte was different, she loved to ride. "I know," she said, finishing the thought.

"You just miss being with them," Rusty said knowingly. He smiled at her. "You're missing the action too, aren't you?"

Sharon sighed quietly. "A little. They're shorthanded, Rusty, and it's a difficult case. But yes, to answer your question. I love my job. As much as I enjoy being home with Ian right now, and you," she added with a smile cast in his direction, "I do miss it a little." Sharon glanced at him again and shrugged. "It is what it is. They'll cope without me, and you're right. They will figure it out. They'll catch the person responsible, and with any luck there won't be anymore lives lost. In the meantime, you and I have a date with the market."

He tilted his head at her and grinned. "Can you handle that? It's an entire store full of strangers and strange germs."

She rolled her eyes at his teasing look. "I'll put him in the sling, he'll be fine. You can push the cart and do all the work," Sharon smirked at him. The sling was silk, and made to hold Ian diagonally against her chest. It was a gift from Gavin, which he had picked up during his summer trip to Italy. It wasn't very practical for everyday use, but it was lovely, and it worked. More than that, she loved it.

Rusty rolled his eyes at her. "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"You did," she smiled. Sharon reached over and touched his arm. "Rusty, they'll be fine," she said again, knowing that he worried too.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I know." He shrugged. "I kind of miss seeing them all the time though, never thought I'd feel that way. You know, now that I don't have to see them all the time."

"They're family, Rusty," she said gently. "Of course you feel that way. All too soon I'll be back at work, honey, and you'll have more reasons to swing by." When he only nodded, she smiled softly at him. "I miss them too."

He arched a brow at her. "Even Lieutenant Provenza?"

She laughed quietly. "Yes. Even Lieutenant Provenza." She slanted a look at him. "That never leaves this car."

"Your secret is safe with me, Sharon." Rusty grinned widely.

They shared a look and she shook her head. A warm, affectionate smile settled across her face. Sharon glanced into the backseat again, satisfied to find a sleeping Ian. She adored them all, these boys of hers.