A Series of Unfortunate Events

Disclaimer: These are not my characters they are fully James Duffs. I just love them so much and love to play with them.

Chapter 9

Sharon placed the baby in her crib and zippered her into her sleep sac, then she put her little cap on and stood up but continued to look down at the innocent sleeping infant and her heart melted yet again. "Come to bed my love," Andy pleaded. Sharon smiled and nodded. Andy put his arm around her and she put her arm around him, and they made their way to their room after wishing Rusty goodnight. Sharon blew Rusty a kiss, and he sent one back to her, looking self consciously around his room as if he expected somebody to jump out and tease him.

Once they got to their room, Andy closed the door and began helping Sharon get her jacket off and then her short sleeved shell, then her jeans. Remembering Rusty's plea to let Andy help, Sharon didn't fight the help in getting undressed. In truth she doubted she'd be able to do it herself anyway. She was that tired. It seemed like every muscle in her body hurt. Once she was mostly undressed, she slowly made her way to the bathroom. After taking care of her bathroom needs, she came back to the room and Andy helped her with the rest of her clothing.

When she was completely undressed, Andy put one of his t- shirts on her and helped her lay face down on the bed. Once she was settled, he rubbed some analgesic cream on his hands and then massaged it onto her shoulders her arms her back, her hips and her legs. While he was doing this she groaned, "arrrrggggghhhh."

"Am I hurting you?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, in fact I'll give you an hour to stop," she moaned.

Andy smiled, "Well, to be honest I'm not sure I have an hour left in me."

Sharon raised her head and the upper half of her body to look at him. He looked almost as exhausted as she felt. "Oh, Andy honey, I'm so sorry. You should be resting too, I was really just joking."

"I know and so was I. I'm fine, Sharon, just relax." Sharon lay back down and closed her eyes as he started to palpate her back around her lungs. It hurt a little but felt good too. She coughed to help dislodge any lingering crud from the bombs. Finally after massaging her back, arms, legs, shoulders and alternating that with palpating the area around her lungs for ten more minutes, he then patted her butt gently, and said, "hopefully that helped to get the kinks out."

"Ooooh, you have no idea," Sharon groaned. "I wouldn't admit this to anyone else, but I may have overdone it a tad this evening," she ducked her head and couldn't look him in the eyes.

Andy chuckled and said, "Ya think?!" and laid down beside her.

She turned on her side facing him and slapped his chest. "How did you know?"

Andy smirked as he said, "well, I am a detective." As Sharon rolled her eyes he explained, "When I came home tonight and you met me at the door with a duffel bag full of yours and my clothes, that was my first clue. It was heavier than you are supposed to be carrying. 10lbs is all you're suppose to carry Sharon! Then you told me what was going on, and you had a look on your face, I couldn't identify. I knew that you were worried about Rusty, and what was happening to him and his sister while we were in LA trying to get to him. Then there was fear for Sharon Beck and the Lewises. You told me once that you were a bit nervous about the idea of flying around in a helicopter so I recognized your fear of flying nerves. I also knew you'd be angry about the Cathedral City PD treating Rusty like a suspect. I recognized all those emotions, but one look in particular I wasn't sure about until I saw it again several times throughout the evening. I finally realized you were in a great deal of pain, and were trying your best to hide it and that and the other stuff you were feeling combined made it difficult to recognize." He gave her a look that conveyed the fact that he wasn't happy that she was trying to hide her pain from him.

Reveling in the feel of the soft fur like hair on his chest. The smell of his cologne, and the vibrations his voice made in her ear, it was a moment before she realized it was her turn to speak, she said, "Andy, in my defense, yes it did hurt like hell trying to get myself dressed without help. Yes, I was in pain, but Rusty needed us… and well there wasn't a whole lot to be done about it. You were at your meeting so I had to dress myself and pack for the two of us. My sole focus was to get to him, and now we know... to Bella. Then there's the fact that I was determined to be able to dress myself without help. I can't depend on you to dress and undress me for the rest of my life!"

"And why not? I'll have you know that I love dressing and undressing you, although my favorite is definitely the undressing part." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, "and I love taking care of you, by the way. May I remind you that you've had plenty of opportunities to take care of me!" He ticked them off on his fingers, "When I fell out of the car! When I had the blood clot! When I was recovering from having the clot removed and we can't forget the heart attack. You took wonderful care of me then! Now is my chance to take care of you and I love it."

"Oh, I know you do and as long as I continue to be stiff and sore I'll avail myself of your help, whenever possible. Rusty has convinced me that letting you help is important to both of us?" Sharon got a look in her eyes and smiled mischievously and shrugged flirtatiously. "When I'm completely over this, we'll just have to make undressing me part of our forplay. We could even play doctor," she said, blushing at her flirty self.

Andy's eyebrows went up and he gave her a lecherous grin. "Sounds intriguing! I'd love to play doctor with you," Andy said, teasingly.

She smirked, but then her mood seemed to change, "Andy, I'm sorry I've been so very disagreeable lately. I'm just not used to having someone even want to take care of me, let alone insisting on it. I've taken care of myself for a very long time. Having you take care of me so… intimately... has been wonderful, on a lot of different levels, but it also has me feeling incredibly… uncomfortable at times . Having to depend on someone else to dress and undress me. Even if that someone else is you," she explained as she stroked his chest some more.

"I know Sharon, believe me, I know. I had the same feelings when you were caring for me, but I feel bad that because I was at my meeting, you were forced to over do it. I should have been there to help! You should have called me. Why didn't you?"

"Andy, we both know that there will be times when you'll have to be elsewhere. At work or at a meeting. Could I have used your help? Yes, I could have, but did I manage to do it on my own? Yes, I did!" she said proudly with a little humor. She imitated Andy's habit of justifying his actions with a series of questions but unlike Andy she stopped at two. Then, sobering quickly she went on with her point. "Why didn't I call you? I felt like even though it was an emergency situation, it would have been wrong of me to call you out of your AA meeting. You were there because you needed to be there. I know you needed that meeting. It's been rough for you, these past several weeks. The bombings and not knowing if I survived them, then me getting sick and ending up in the hospital. It's been a very stressful time for all of us, but particularly so for you."

Sadly he asked, "because I'm an alcoholic?"

Sharon thought for a moment before answering. "Well, that will always be a consideration, I suppose, but mostly I know it was hard on you because you love me. With me being in the middle of those bombings and not knowing if I survived, it must have been terrible for you. I know it was for me when that father and son from the white supremacy case blew themselves up. I thought my heart was going to come out of my chest until I could see that you were okay. Once I knew you were okay, I was okay. I was okay, but that was only a few seconds compared to the hours you had to wait after the bombing at the PAB and then three days days later I was in the hospital and it was at least a week before you knew whether I would get better or not. That is a great deal of stress for someone in recovery, not to mention the stress for someone who had a heart attack only nine months ago!"

"Yeah, it is and I'll admit, things have definitely been a bit difficult at times and you're right, I really did need that meeting. It's the first I've been able to go to, you know since the second bomb was detonated."

She nodded her understanding. "Andy, please never neglect your sobriety needs. If you need to go to a meeting, go! I never want to be the reason you fall off the wagon."

Andy shook his head as he said, "you wouldn't be, Sharon. If I was stupid enough to trade my life with you for a night on the town just because things were a little difficult, it would be on me not you. I would never blame you. That's Jack's MO not mine."

Sharon smiled up at him, "thank you for that. It was definitely something I needed to hear. Jack was well... Jack. He always blamed me when he fell off the wagon and for too many years I believed him."

"Well, Jack was an ass," he said with a touch of humor but he was completely serious.

She agreed, "yes, he was, which is why I'm no longer married to him and I'm going to marry you, Andy Flynn whom I love with my whole heart. A man that, although he started out with the same type of past as Jack, is now the complete opposite of him. You're there for me Andy, in so many different ways. I can't begin to count them."

"As you are me and I plan on being there for you for the rest of my life."

Sharon smiled a little sadly. They were both more than aware that with the health issues he'd had in the recent past, the end of his life could come sooner than the end of hers. Although with her own recent health crises that wasn't necessarily true anymore. She decided to change the subject before things became too maudlin. "You know, speaking of being there, I was a little worried that you wouldn't make it home in time to come to Cathedral City in the helicopter with me. I was so very happy to see you walk through that door this evening! I really did not want to fly with Fritz in that helicopter alone. Now mind you, I would have if I had to, but I am really glad I didn't have to."

Andy chuckled as he remembered the look of abject terror on her face as they rose into the air. "You did seem to be be a little… on edge while we were flying. What was that about?"

"A little on edge? I was terrified! Not to mention the fact that I was freezing." She shivered from the cold and the unexpected flight.

"Yeah, it was a little cold, even for me. It was a good thing Fritz had those parkas." He couldn't stop the smirk forming on his face. "You know, you looked pretty adorable in the pink one."

Sharon slapped his chest again and then pointed a finger at him. "There had better not be any pictures of me in that hideous coat floating around the murder room when we get back."

Andy raised his hand in mock submission. "Oh no, I wouldn't do that! I know what's good for me."

"You had better," she said with mock seriousness.

Then as he saw her shiver again ever so slightly, he grew concerned. "Are you cold now?"

"Are you kidding? How could I be cold when I'm up against my own personal furnace?"

He held her closer. "Well, you were shivering."

"Oh that, I was just remembering the helicopter ride. It wasn't my first and I'm sure it won't be my last, given what we do for a living, but hopefully any future trips will not be any time soon!"

"What scares you so much?" he asked curiously. There was still so much he didn't know about Sharon Raydor. While it was true, she was opening up to him more and more, he was pretty sure he had barely scratched the surface of what made her tick.

Sharon shrugged ever so slightly, "Well, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that a helicopter, by its very existence, defies the laws of gravity. Then there's the fact that there is far too much glass and not nearly enough metal and insulation between me and the night sky," she said shuddering. She then wiggled even closer against him and yawned hugely. "Ohhhh, I'm sorry, it's just that suddenly I'm just so sleepy." She kissed him sweetly on the lips and closed her eyes.

Andy laid back into his pillow with her head on his shoulder. "Go to sleep, Sharon my love, we'll talk more in the morning."

They both slept well until around 5am when Andy started having a nightmare. He was walking down the corridor of a hospital or it seemed more like a morgue. After a time he walked into a room where Sharon lay on a gurney as pale as death. She was on oxygen, and there were machines making hissing and beeping noises. Then everything stopped and Sharon opened her eyes, which in this nightmare were dark and cold, nothing like the warm green they were when she was alive. In an eerie voice she asked, Why weren't you there for me, Andy? You promised you'd always be there, but no, you had to be the hero!" She pointed a finger at him and gave him a Darth Raydor glare. "You saved a lot of people today but you couldn't save me because you weren't there! Now, I'm dead and it's all your fault!"

"No, Sharon! I'm so sorry, you're right, I should have stayed with you!"

Hearing Andy yelling from in the bathroom, Sharon made her way back to the bedroom, she climbed on the bed and lay facing him. "Andy, wake up! Wake up, Andy, it's okay. I'm here, I'm here, my darling." Sharon wriggled closer to him and placed her cool hands on either cheek, patting his face to get him awake.

When Andy finally opened his eyes he saw Sharon, her beautiful warm green eyes were open, her hands lay on his cheeks stroking gently, a look of concern on her face. There was no anger or condemnation or blame on her face like in his nightmare. He wrapped his arms around her and sobbed into her shoulder. "Thank God! Thank God, you're here and you're alive!"

Sharon hugged him close, murmuring to him as if he was a small child, with tears in her own eyes. Her arms shifted so they were around his middle, so she could run her hands up and down his back more easily and with less pain. "Yes, I'm here and I'm alive. It's okay, it was just a bad dream." She hugged him and tried to comfort him.

It took a moments for Andy to get a hold of himself. The nightmare was so real. He hugged her back and buried his face in her neck. It smelled faintly of her own unique scent, mixed with aspercreme and baby lotion from holding Bella. It was the best smell he could remember smelling at that moment.

After a few moments Sharon asked, "Was it that same dream?"

Andy nodded, "yes, you were in the hospital room/morgue hooked up to those machines. Then they all stopped and you opened your eyes and told me you were dead because I wasn't with you at the PAB to save you! I was off trying to be a hero, saving everybody else but you."

"You know I'm not the Sharon in your dream, right? I'm not dead and I don't blame you for anything. I am alive because of what you did! Andy, you know I'm proud of you right? Your actions bought me time to figure out where the bomb was and we were able to get far enough away not to be killed. We're a good team, you and I."

"We are, but you still ended up getting really sick and Provenza is still recovering. If I'd shot the bastard right off the bat instead of just trying to talk to him… he wouldn't have been able to push the button on his damn phone, and the bomb wouldn't have gone off!" He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

TBC...

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