What forms beyond clouds? Part 6

Sharon Raydor covered a yawn with the back of her hand as she made her way down the hallway from Chief Taylor's office. The monthly budget meeting with Chief Taylor in person, and Chief Pope pretentiously interrupting over the intercom, was thankfully over and done. It had been a jawbreaker this time and, even though working on a short patience, she had managed to stop herself from snapping at the two men. She also managed to engineer in a snarky comment about professional standards and promises of promotions that led nowhere. That had surprisingly kept the two men from saying more on the subject of Major Crimes latest overtime crisis. If Sharon wanted to actually attain the rank of commander, like promised, then she had to remind the two eggheads what they had promised her.

Sharon smiled to herself; Andy Flynn's colorful vocabulary had a tendency to sneak into her thoughts, especially when it concerned the two chiefs.

After a brief talk with Lieutenant Provenza on the phone, Sharon was up to date on the progress with their case. She was making her way back to the squad room when a familiar voice stopped her by the elevator.

"There you are, darling," Gavin Q Baker greeted her with a sweet cadence as he leaned against the wall next to the elevator. The lawyer gave her the obligatory onceover and approving, his eyebrow arched, "Here I was beginning to think you were avoiding me on purpose."

Sharon raised an eyebrow in confusion as she approached her old friend, "Avoiding you? Why would I be avoiding you?"

"Your sweet, sweet subordinates left a peculiar message on my phone about a recent case of mine," Gavin's voice took on a sharp tone, "and between the lines, it sounded like they think my client is somehow responsible for two murders. You didn't answer your phone, darling, and I tried it at least ten times – I even left you a couple of messages about those lieutenants of yours, and their badly veiled accusations, and how that will hold up in court."

Sharon sighed.

Her phone had beeped several times during the meeting, now she knew why.

Gavin continued his rant, "Three years on, darling, and you have yet to instill the tiniest speck of diplomacy into your squad," he huffed with a headshake, "Frankly, I'm disappointed. I thought you would rule them with an iron fist." Gavin demonstrated this with his hands, and then continued talking, "not this sloppy slappy thing you have going," he concluded this rant by throwing out his arm dramatically.

Sharon rolled her eyes demonstratively, and when she was within reach she gave him a half hug, only half succeeding in keeping laughter out of her voice, "Oh, poor you."

"Well, hello there," Gavin greeted her in an amused tone as he hugged her back and kissed her cheek. His aftershave was a familiar scent that reminded Sharon of past evenings spent snuggling up to the man as they watched television, and of nights spent walking arm in arm, inebriated by mojitos and exuberance.

Sharon sneaked her arm through his, and she gave him a soft smile, "Walk with me to my office and I will explain everything to your satisfaction, Counselor."

"My pleasure, Officer," Gavin offered back with a genuine smile, eyes crinkled behind his spectacles.

"You look divine, by the way darling," Gavin leaned in and whispered just as they crossed the threshold into the squad room of Major Crimes.

Sharon smiled, but she hid it when Lieutenant Provenza looked up with a scowl, his eyebrows rising impossibly higher when he saw who was in tow; Provenza never cared much for lawyers in general. Provenza turned his gaze up high, but he was quickly engrossed in his folders again. Andy on the other hand looked up from his desk with a broad smile; however it changed to a more demure one when he noticed Gavin by her side.

Sharon could have slapped the two lieutenants; she was certain they were to blame for the less than cordial message to Gavin.

Sharon prodded Gavin to walk into her office first and gestured at her old friend to take a seat before she closed the door behind her. She drew down the blinds, throwing in a little assuring wave in Andy's direction before the blinds were down.

"That oaf out there was the one who called me," Gavin said in an affronted voice.

Sharon turned around, hands on her hips and pretended ignorance with a hum, "Hmm? What oaf?"

"The oaf! – the bullheaded one, that oaf," Gavin exclaimed with a gesture at the closed blinds in the direction of Andy's desk.

"That doesn't narrow it down for me, Gavin," Sharon said and pursed her lips. She took off her blazer and put it on the back of the chair before she took a seat behind her desk. She kept her elbows on the surface and her hands together as she gave her old friend a serene look.

"Whatever," Gavin sighed and threw a dismissive wave.

Sharon gave him a sagely smile.

Gavin then leaned in across the desk, his eyes curiously on her chest, "Are you wearing what I think you're wearing?" he deliberately paused to give her a saucy look, "Oh my."

Sharon barely kept her hands from flittering to cover her chest. She had unbuttoned two buttons in her shirt after the budget meeting, and apparently without the blazer, Gavin could tell what she was wearing underneath. She found herself blushing and tried to hide it as she quickly looked sideways, "I don't know what you mean."

Gavin clapped his hands together delighted, "Oh my, ohh. At work nonetheless, darling? I admire you, you know. You are by all accounts, a woman of my heart."

Sharon rolled her eyes at the display he threw on, "Of course I'm, occasionally, going to wear the underwear you gave me for Christmas. Today it just happens I forgot laundry and it was the only thing left in my drawer."

"Mmhmm," was the reply; he looked as unconvinced about her little lie as she felt.

"So," Sharon tried to turn the subject away from her underwear, "about your client and the law suit – we believe - ,"

Gavin interrupted her, his expression closed as he leaned back and crossed his arms. "My sweet, innocent client, Daisy Higgs, is nowhere near capable of killing two men. Although if she did kill those two despicable men, I would say, off the record, 'good on you, dear'."

"Still, we would like to talk to Daisy and officially affirm her alibi. Maybe she can tell us a bit more about the stalking and the lawsuit. It could help us move our investigation along."

"Frankly I haven't seen her since the case was dismissed in court and by the end of it, she was living in a homeless shelter."

Sharon nodded, "Which shelter?"

"One of the south east ones, I think," Gavin answered and then he exclaimed, mildly annoyed, "Sharon – you can't think she had anything to do with it?"

"It's inconclusive at the moment," she answered evasively.

Gavin rolled his eyes, "My, my, you think I've had something to do with it then?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Gavin," Sharon shook her head, "you can't stand the sight of blood. I have a hard time imagining you splitting open the stomach of anyone."

Gavin made a grimace, "Ack."

"Precisely."

"So," Gavin started, his voice taking on a snippy tone, "are we still on for Friday? Because if you cancel on me at the very last second again, I might resort to, oh, I don't know – blackmail or something equally atrocious."

Sharon shook her head, "I won't cancel on you. And if I do, it's only because murder triumphs -,"

"- fun," Gavin interrupted her, "Murder triumphs fun. You are no fun, Princess."

"I am all kinds of fun," Sharon disagreed with a smile, "and don't call me Princess."

"I would agree but the lack of evidence, aah... When was the last time you had any sort of fun? Hmm?"

Sharon laughed, "Oh get over yourself. I might have cancelled on you the last two times but before that you were the one who cancelled, because of a client or a court date or something. You were rather vague about it as I recall."

"I had a date."

"In court?"

Gavin rolled his eyes, "No, I had a date with another lawyer. Handsome fella, and oh, you would have drooled at the sight of his abs, Sharon. Gorgeous, I tell you, and very firm to touch."

"How did it go?" Sharon leaned closer, excited on his behalf.

"Let's just say I will be taking another advice from your romance book and not go for lawyers again, ever. Too much bother. Drama queens, the whole herd. Though, unlike you, I am not going to go completely celibate."

Sharon huffed.

There was a knock on her door and Sharon grinned as Gavin sat more upright, his legs crossed and his smile so very artificial as he directed a scowl at the door and at Amy who poked her head in; he abhorred interruptions.

…