"Thank you for the flowers, everyone," Sharon leaned out of her office, smiling at the group.
"Captain, that was all Nolan," Julio nodded to him, "but we are glad to see you smile."
Sharon nodded to Wes, "That was very thoughtful. I appreciate the gesture."
"No problem, Captain," he nodded to her.
The team got back to work, and Julio spoke up, "Tao, is the lieutenant coming in today? I didn't want to ask the captain."
"No, he told me that he and the captain were going to alternate the hospital until Andy goes home," he relayed.
"When will that be?" Wes asked.
"Few more days," Mike explained. "Not soon enough if you ask Andy, I'm sure," he grinned. The team all chuckled.
"I'm really impressed how close you guys all are," Wes said to them. "It's cool to see."
"We have worked together a long time, a very long time," Buzz jumped in, "and all feel like family, some more than others," he grinned.
The day progressed, and things remained quiet for the team. Being down a couple of lieutenants or a lieutenant and captain, depending on the day, it was nice to have a little down time. As the day was winding down, Julio looked up, "Is she going to stay here and work late?"
"No idea," Amy nodded. "You know how she gets, but if I had to guess, yes."
"Maybe we should make sure she gets out, gets some dinner?" Wes suggested.
Buzz frowned, "Probably won't work. She's stubborn. We have watched this for a long time-she'll work herself into exhaustion if we let her."
"I'll go get her some; she can at least eat here," Wes stood, putting on his coat. "What does she like?"
"Salad, get her the Greek salad at the deli down the street. That's her favorite. Lieutenant Flynn and Buzz like the same thing," Amy offered. Buzz nodded.
"Yes, that's her favorite," Buzz agreed. "They have good food all around."
"On it," Wes said. "I'll be right back. I've got nothing else going on, so I'll make sure she eats before she goes home. I know all about long, lonely nights from working so long undercover. Still getting used to the real world now myself," he offered a shrug.
"She's the worst about working herself to death and not eating. Right now, one of us has to keep an eye on her," Mike said. "I don't know how she can do it-go so long without eating, but she does sometimes. Then, she'll get so exhausted, she about collapses. It's not good for her."
Wes returned 20 minutes later with her salad, dinner for himself, and dessert. He would have preferred to take her to dinner, but for now, it would suffice. He noted that as he returned, the couple team members who were left, stood to head out, nodding to him.
"Captain," he said as he knocked on her door, "I brought you dinner."
Sharon looked up from her paperwork, "Detective," she smiled at him, "that was very thoughtful and totally unnecessary. You seem to be very worried about my eating lately," she laughed. He could tell she was tired and looked stressed.
He shrugged, "I just know how important a good meal is," he offered the bag. "Come on, Captain. You need to eat, and help a guy out-I eat alone every night."
She offered a smile and extended her hand to the chairs, "Alright then, have a seat, please. I have to admit that I didn't eat breakfast, and I had a granola bar somewhere around the lunch hour." Wes sat and immediately opened the bags.
"I heard you like a Greek salad," he produced. "I also took a chance and got you dessert."
Her eyes grew wide, "Dessert, huh? Well, I don't indulge often, but I do enjoy dessert."
"Cheesecake?" he questioned, holding it up. "I took a chance."
"Good choice," she nodded. "I love cheesecake, but I rarely make it. My daughter loves it, but my boys, not so much," she frowned.
"Ahh, I heard you have kids. How many?" Wes asked.
"Three," she replied between bites, all grown, or so they say they are," she rolled her eyes. He chuckled.
"I'm sure to you, they will always be kids, no matter how old they get. Do they live locally?" he asked.
"My one son, yes," she smiled. "My other son and daughter, no, so it's not often I see them. I try to cherish each visit. Things like this with Andy remind me life can be so short," she sighed, as she shook her head. "Enough about me. So, tell me detective, are you enjoying it here so far? I'm sorry your first week has been this crazy. Hopefully, soon, things will calm down. We could all use some normalcy here, and hopefully Andy will be cleared to return to work, and the team can get back to some sort of routine," she explained.
He smiled between bites, "I'm enjoying the team very much. You are a close group, a lot like family. It's weird not being undercover, but I think this will be a good fit for me. I know I have a lot to learn, but I'm very glad to be given the opportunity here. Captain, I'm very impressed with your leadership."
Sharon raised her eyebrows at his compliment, "Well, thank you," she nodded to him. "A team likes this, though, runs itself. It's a fine-tuned machine, and I just make sure people-Provenza and Andy to be exact-don't get into trouble," she grinned. "We have all come a long way, and I'm glad to be here, part of this group."
"I have also heard that you can work yourself to death, Captain," he smiled. "Now, you should know that all work and no play-" he teased.
Sharon gave a soft smile, "I know. It's still hard, and right now," she shook her head, "right now, I need to work to focus."
Wes was about to give her another compliment when her phone rang, "I'm sorry," she said, gesturing to the phone. "This is my daughter, and she lives in New York. I need to take this."
Wes stood, nodding to her, "No problem, Captain. I guess I'll get going. I enjoyed dinner," he smiled to her. "Will you be okay here?"
"Fine," she smiled, answering the call. As he left, he heard her say, "Emily, honey, hi."
Wes left the building that night determined to do something more for the captain. He could feel she was stressed, being down detectives, and he would do what he could to make her life easier.