A/N: Sorry for the long delay in posting y'all. I've been feeling a bit burned out and am actually taking a semi-hiatus from writing (except for prompts) for the month of September to catch up on prompts so I'm better able to focus on my other stories when I come back. At least that's the plan (for now). So, I thought since it had been so long, that I'd give y'all a new chapter before going on my semi-hiatus in September. Anyways, enjoy.

Chapter 8: Sobering Moments

As Andy, his partner Louie Provenza, and the patrol officers arrived at Sharon's house, the patrol officers followed a man drunkenly stumbling down the street and easily caught up with him and quickly put him in handcuffs and in the back of a patrol car.

Meanwhile, Andy rushed into the house yelling "Sharon!" as he and Provenza searched the house for her.

Finally, after searching the whole house except the master bedroom, he quickly entered it and searched for Sharon in there.

When Sharon was nowhere to be found, he entered the attached master bathroom and exclaimed, "Sharon!"

As he ran towards her lifeless looking body slumped against the edge or the tub, he immediately bent down and took her pulse.

"She's breathing okay. Jack must have knocked her out," said Andy to Provenza.

"I'll call an ambulance right now. Don't pick her up. She might have a head or neck injury," Provenza told him as patrol officers began taping off the scene.

Andy settled for holding her hand until the ambulance arrived and the paramedics came rushing in.

—-

As the paramedics began assessing her vital signs and overall condition, Andy told them, "Her breathing seemed okay."

"Stand back and let us take care of her, sir," said one of the paramedics.

As Andy let go of Sharon's hand and stepped back to allow the paramedics to do their job, he saw one of the paramedics put a neck brace on Sharon's neck and for the first time noticed the outline of fingers on Sharon's neck.

"I'll kill him!" yelled Andy as he began running down the hallway and out the front door towards the patrol car they were holding Jack in.

With Provenza trying to keep up with him, he yelled to the patrol officers, "Keep him away from the suspect!"

Two patrol officers rushed to head Andy off from lunging at and attacking Jack.

As they got ahold of Andy, Andy yelled at the window of the car Jack was in and said, "You son of a bitch! The first chance I get, I'm gonna choke you and see how you like it!"

"Flynn! Let him be! He's not worth it!" exclaimed Provenza as he got in Andy's face.

Andy struggled against the patrol officers for a few minutes until Jack was driven off and Andy saw the paramedics wheeling Sharon out of the house on a gurney.

"Is she gonna be alright?" asked Andy.

"She's got bruises and contusions on her neck. Looks like someone tried to choke her. She's also got a nasty bump on the back of her head. Might be a concussion. Won't be able to tell that though until we get her to the hospital," explained the paramedic.

"Alright. Thanks," said Andy as he momentarily squeezed Sharon's hand and then let the paramedics wheel her towards the ambulance as he scrubbed his hand across his face.

"Flynn, I'll go with her to the hospital and interview her when she wakes up. You take care of the kids and find a sitter for them and then meet me at the hospital with the car," Provenza told him.

"Okay," replied Andy with a far off expression as he saw them wheel a still unconscious Sharon into the ambulance, Provenza close behind them.

Andy once again scrubbed his hand across his face and debated what to tell the kids as he turned around and walked back inside the house.

He immediately went to Emily's room and found four scared kids inside.

Both Nicole and Emily launched themselves at Andy as soon as he opened the door, tears in their eyes.

He comforted the girls for a few minutes before he told the boys, who looked equally scared, "Come here."

He too enveloped the two boys in his arms and held all four children.

Eventually, Emily's tears subsided and she lifted her head from Andy's shoulder and asked, "How's my mom?"

"Let's go into the living room and we'll sit on the couch and talk about what happened, okay?" suggested Andy.

"Okay," all four children chorused as they exited Emily's bedroom and headed for the living room.

When all four kids were sitting on the couch, Andy crouched down in front of them and said,"One at a time, tell me what happened."

Emily began first and said, "We were all sleeping. Mom must have put us in our beds after we fell asleep watching Aladdin. Then, I heard yelling and Dad busted into my room and woke me and Nicole up."

"Then, I heard a man's voice yelling some more. I think it was coming from Ricky's room because I heard the man yell, "I wanna see my boy," explained Nicole.

"Then, that woke me and Brandon up. Mama told him to shut the door and he did," said Ricky.

"Yeah. Then I think they went back out to the living room because I heard footsteps going away from Ricky's room. Then, a couple minutes later, I heard someone stomping down the hallway," Brandon told his father.

"Yeah. I heard that too. Then, I got up and went to mama's room when I heard something shatter against the wall. That's when mama told me to call you. So, I did. Is she gonna be okay?" asked Emily tearily.

"I'm not sure. My partner went to the hospital with her. I'm gonna get a sitter for you and Ricky and take Nicole and Brandon back to their mom's house and then go check on her myself," Andy told Emily earnestly.

"Mom leaves all the numbers on the fridge," Emily told Andy.

"Alright. Why don't you four grab blankets and pillows and try to sleep out here in the living room for a bit?" suggested Andy.

Emily led the way down the hallway to get blankets and pillows. Once everyone got their blankets and pillows, they came back out to the living room and settled in on the couch and floor while Andy was in the kitchen looking at all the numbers Sharon had posted on the fridge.

He debated who to call first when he saw her parents phone number. He should probably call them first so they can catch the soonest flight from Florida to Los Angeles.

Andy dialed the number of Sharon's parents' house in Florida. It rang a couple times before a man picked up and asked blearily, "Do you know what the hell time it is?"

"Well, if I've got the time difference right, I'd say it's a little after one in the morning there, sir," said Andy.

"Who is this?" asked Sharon's father.

"My name's Andy Flynn. I'm a police officer and a friend of Sharon's," explained Andy.

"Why are you calling here instead of Sharon? Is she alright?" asked Sharon's father concernedly as he sat up in bed.

"Well, not exactly, sir. Her estranged husband, Jack, came over tonight and hurt her pretty bad. She's currently at Cedar's with my partner. She was still unconscious when they put her in the ambulance about forty five minutes ago," Andy told him.

He heard Sharon's father speaking to Sharon's mother, relaying the information Andy had given him to his wife.

"Ask about the children," Sharon's mother told her husband.

"What about the children? Are they okay?" asked the man.

"Physically, yes, they're fine. Emotionally, not so much. I guess he busted into their rooms where my children were also spending the night and scared them all pretty bad," said Andy.

"That son of a bitch!" exclaimed Sharon's father.

"My thoughts exactly, sir. Not to worry though, we caught him wandering drunkenly down the street shortly after it happened and took him into custody on assault charges so far, but now that we've gotten more information, those charges might extend to attempted murder as well," Andy explained to him.

"Alright. We're on the next flight to Los Angeles. Who will be taking care of the children?" asked the man.

"I was gonna take my kids back to their mother's house on the way to the hospital, but I was gonna call Gavin or Andrea to come stay with Ricky and Emily until you guys get here. I'll keep you updated once I know more," Andy told him.

"Okay. Thank you, Andy," said Sharon's father before he and Andy hung up.

Next, he called Gavin, who answered right away.

Andy told him what had happened to Sharon and he was over there within twenty minutes.

Meanwhile, once Gavin got there, Andy loaded a sleeping Nicole and Brandon into the backseat of his car and gently put seatbelts on both of them before climbing into the driver's side himself and starting the car up and eventually backing up out of Sharon's driveway.

He dropped the kids off at his ex-wife's house and he told her that he'd caught a case, which was partially true.

He knew she could tell he wasn't being entirely truthful, but thankfully didn't give him any grief about it.

The kids would tell her what really happened in the morning anyways.

As Andy drove to Cedars, he quickly found a parking space in the visitors lot and pulled into it.

Andy put the car in park and killed the engine, he took a deep breath and scrubbed his hand across his face before getting out of the car and steeling himself for what would come once he walked through those doors and to the nurses station.

As he walked towards the nurses station, he quickly flashed his badge to the nurse at the front desk and asked, "Can you tell me which room Sharon Raydor is in? She was brought in with bruises on her neck and head trauma. My partner should be with her now."

"Sure. She's in room 215. They just finished running tests on her. Do you need me to show you where her room is or have you been here before?" asked the nurse.

"I think I can manage," said Andy as he put his badge in his suit jacket pocket.

As he proceeded down the hallway, he saw Provenza standing outside the room.

"Hey. How is she?" Andy asked his partner worriedly.

"Still unconscious. They have her sedated to help bring down the swelling in the back of her brain," explained Provenza.

"Alright. Well, you can go for now. I'll stay with her until she wakes up. Then, I'll call you to interview her when she's ready to. Here, take the keys to the squad car and take it back to Parker Center," Andy told him.

"Flynn. You alright?" asked Provenza as he saw the weary look on his face.

"Yeah. If I need a meeting, I'll go to the church down the street. I go there whenever we have a case over here," said Andy.

"Alright. Call me if you need anything," said Provenza

"Okay. Thanks," said Andy as Provenza left and he entered Sharon's room.

She was hooked up to a few machines monitoring her vitals and the IV, which was currently sedating her.

Andy took a seat in the chair next to her bed and held her hand all night, even when he fell asleep at her bedside.

Sometime in the early morning, a nurse shook him awake.

"Hi. Can you please move for a second so I can change her IV bag?" the nurse asked Andy.

"Sure," replied Andy as he stood up and went to the foot of Sharon's hospital bed while the nurse changed out Sharon's IV bag.

"Do you know when they'll take her off of sedation?" asked Andy.

"I'm not sure. The doctor will have a more concrete answer on that in a few hours when he or she comes in to check on her. For now, her vitals look really good and strong. So, that's definitely encouraging," said the nurse as she smiled at Andy.

Usually, Andy would smile back and flirt with the nurses he encountered at the hospital, but he simply turned his attention back to Sharon and told the nurse, "Thank you."

The nurse nodded and once again left Andy alone with Sharon.

Andy sat there as he gently brushed a strand of Sharon's hair out of her face before his hand fell back to his side.

"Sharon, you've gotta wake up. There's so much I wanna talk to you about. Us. Especially us. The kids. God, the kids were so scared when I opened that door. Both Nicole and Emily were crying and Ricky and Brandon were just scared. Luckily, they didn't see much of the altercation, but Emily and Nicole and even the boys all heard all the commotion. That was smart thinking telling them to hide in Emily's room and have Nicole & Emily call me. I'm sorry I couldn't get there sooner. I'm sorry that this happened to you and the kids. I should've never left you with four kids yesterday. That was stupid of me," Andy told her unconscious body.

Andy grabbed Sharon's hand again and laid his head next to it and soon fell back asleep.

—-

It was around 7:30 in the morning when someone shook him awake again.

This time, it was who he could only assume were Sharon's mother and father standing behind him as he shook the sleep from his eyes and stood up.

"Andy Flynn, I presume," said Sharon's father.

"Yeah," replied Andy groggily as he scrubbed his hand over his face for a moment.

"John Donnelly. Sharon's father," the man introduced himself and stuck out his hand.

Andy took the man's hand and shook it before the woman next to him spoke up and said, "I'm Marjorie Donnelly. Sharon's mother."

"Nice to finally meet you both. Just wish it was obviously under better circumstances," said Andy as he shook and let go of Marjorie's hand.

"Likewise. What can you tell us about her condition?" asked Marjorie.

"Well, they haven't told me much since I got here last night. My partner rode to the hospital with her while I stayed back and comforted and interviewed the kids. When I got here after leaving Emily and Ricky with Gavin and taking my two kids back to their mother's house, my partner told me they'd told him that they were sedating her because of the swelling in her brain. I asked the nurse earlier this morning how long they'd sedate her and she said the doctor would have a more concrete answer this morning whenever he or she shows up to examine her," explained Andy.

"So, they did an MRI of her brain?" asked John.

"I'm assuming so," said Andy.

"What are these bruises on her neck from?" asked Marjorie as she brushed her hand against Sharon's neck.

"Well, judging from the large finger patterns on her neck, I'm assuming Jack choked her until she passed out and she somehow hit her head on the tub because she was lying near the tub unconscious when we found her. The nurse said her vital signs look good though. So, at least that's encouraging," said Andy nervously.

"I'll kill him," John ground out between gritted teeth.

"My thoughts exactly. Like I said, he's in jail right now. Hopefully, he stays there for a good long time," said Andy angrily through equally gritted teeth.

"So, when's the doctor coming in?" asked Marjorie.

"Sometime this morning. They didn't really give me a specific time," said Andy.

"Alright. Well, son. Not to be rude, but you look like hell right now. Why don't you go get some coffee, take a shower, and sleep for a few hours. We'll stay with Sharon while you're gone and then go back to the house and relieve Gavin once you get back," suggested Sharon's father.

"Alright. Thanks. Here's my card. I'll write my home number on the back so that you two have it if anything changes. I'll be back, Sharon," said Andy as he gently squeezed her foot at the end of the bed and let go before exiting the hospital room and heading towards the cafeteria for some coffee.

—-

Once Andy got a cup of coffee, he called his partner.

"Flynn?" asked Provenza.

"Yeah. Hey. I'm gonna hit a meeting for a bit at that church up the street. Think you could pick me up around nine and take me back to Parker Center so I can get my car?. According to Sharon's father, I look like hell and need some sleep," said Andy to his partner.

"You looked like hell last night when I saw you. Any updates on Raydor?" asked Provenza.

"Well, the nurse said her vital signs looked good when she came in to change the IV bag early this morning. Won't know more until later this morning when the doctor comes in to examine her," Andy told his partner.

"Okay. Are you heading to your meeting after this?" asked Provenza.

"Yeah. Should be over by 9," said Andy.

"Alright. Get going then," he told him.

"Alright. Thanks," said Andy before he hung up the pay phone at the hospital and headed down the street to St. Mary's Catholic Church for an AA meeting

—-

Once Andy drove up to his craftsman bungalow after Provenza had picked him up from his AA meeting and dropped him off at Parker Center to get his car, he put it in park and killed the engine before scrubbing his hand along his face and not for the first time today.

The truth was, he was worried about Sharon…probably more than he should be.

He couldn't help it.

At some point, she had made her way into his heart when he wasn't even looking for anything.

Truthfully, it was probably that night there was a blackout at the bookshop.

She'd taken such great care to choose books that Nicole would love and honestly his kids were the way to his heart anyways.

It wasn't just what she'd done for his kids though.

It was that spark of effervescence she'd brought into his life from the moment she entered it.

Kind of like those candles in the bookshop that night.

Andy mused on that for a couple more minutes before getting out of the car and unlocking the front door to his house and entering, shutting the door, and then turning the deadbolt.

He went back into the master bedroom and began undressing before throwing his suit, tie, undershirt, and boxer briefs into the laundry hamper and heading straight for the shower in the master bathroom.

Andy turned the water on as hot as it would go and stepped into the piping hot shower.

He leaned his head underneath the spray and stood there a moment before his emotions got the best of him and before he knew it, he was punching the tile in his shower as hard as he could.

He only hit the shower wall twice, breaking a couple tiles, before sinking down onto the shower floor as the tears began to flow freely from his eyes.

He sat there with his head in his hands for a couple minutes before getting the strength to stand up and finish his shower.

Once he was out, he dried off and then wrapped a towel around his waist before inspecting his hands, which were black and blue across the knuckles.

"Damn," Andy said to himself as he shook out his hands and walked into his bedroom to find a pair of gray sweats and a blue Dodgers T-shirt in his dresser and put them on.

He hadn't slept the best at the hospital last night and he was pretty sure he wouldn't sleep much here either, but he laid there and closed his eyes, which turned out to be a bad idea.

He kept seeing flashes of discovering Sharon slumped against the bathtub, unconscious and with finger-like bruises on her he got angry and threw his bedside lamp across the room, shattering the lightbulb and damaging the lampshade beyond repair.

He quickly knew sleep wasn't gonna be an option for him. So, he got a broom and dustpan and swept up the broken glass from the lightbulb and forcefully threw the rest of the lamp away.

As he laid back down in bed , he just wished there was something he could do for Sharon in this moment.

He felt completely helpless and frustrated with the whole damn thing.

—-

About 30 minutes later, the phone next to his bed rang.

He immediately picked it up.

"Hello?' asked Andy.

"I wasn't sure if you'd still be sleeping or not, but I wanted to give you an update on Sharon," John told him.

"How is she?" asked Andy desperately.

"Well, there's still a bit of swelling in her brain from the force of her head hitting the edge of the bathtub, but it's slowly going down. They wanna keep her on the sedatives for another day or two. Just until the swelling goes down a bit more. They said her voice might be a bit muffled & scratchy as her throat is still healing up. Jack's lucky that he didn't break her windpipe or I would've killed him myself," said John.

"Yeah. I almost did just that when I saw those bruises on her neck too. Couple of patrol officers and my partner had to hold me back from choking the life out of him," Andy explained.

"Good man," said John.

"I try to be. Haven't always been the greatest at it, as my ex-wife can attest to, but I was never violent towards her or any other woman. Myself, well that's a little different story," said Andy as he looked down at his bruised knuckles.

"Well, I think that just shows that you care. Maybe a little too much," said John.

"Yeah, maybe. Listen, I'm gonna drop by Sharon's house and have Gavin pick a few things out for her for when she wakes up. I'll check in on the kids and let him know both of you will be over once I'm back at the hospital," Andy told John.

"Actually, it might just be me coming back. I think Marjorie would like to stay if that's okay?" asked John.

"Of course. You're her parents. Feel free to come and go as you please and we'll coordinate care for Ricky and Emily until Sharon comes home," said Andy.

"Alright. Well, we'll see you in a bit, Andy. Thanks for showing up for her and the kids. They haven't always had that with Jack. In fact, once the kids were both born, he had no interest in his family," said John.

"No problem. See you in a bit. Thanks for the update," said Andy before he and John hung up.

Andy took his sweats off and put on a pair of jeans before buttoning & zipping them up and grabbing his keys and heading to Sharon's house.

God, he hoped Sharon and the children were eventually alright.

He had so much he wanted to tell Sharon when she woke up.

So much he wanted to ask her.

He just hoped he'd get both the courage and the chance to do so.

A/N: Thanks for reading y'all! Feel free to leave a review if you feel inclined to do so. It really helps me as a fic writer to know what people liked and what they didn't (constructively of course) like as far as the writing goes.

Anyways, guess this is goodbye for the month of September as far as this and my other multi-chapter fics are concerned. See y'all (hopefully) in October with lots of inspiration gained from my mini hiatus.