Shattered Images part 5

by orchid1982

You can read this as a stand alone, but I guess it helps to read the other parts to know a bit more about their background story. This is a Shandy fic, but it's not like there is smut in every chapter. In this part Sharon and Andy try to continue their lives, after the impact their last case had on their private lives. In the mean time the LAPD hunts a serial killer.

8. Chapter 8

AN: I could not believe there were actually still readers and equally important who were so so kind to write a review or leave me a message to let me know you are still reading. It certainly helped spark the enthusiasm to write again and to update. I actually managed to keep my promise to upload today.

I have added an alarm on my mobile, so I will be reminded each week to post a new chapter. The story will at least be updated once a week. I hope that will help, as I am very much aware you have been promised regular updates before, lol! I am really trying the best I can.

Guest reviewer first of all thank you for leaving a review, to let me know you are reading. Please read the end note. I can't go into a lot of detail there, because I don't want to spoil this story for the people who do not want to know where this is heading and might accidently read it. I can hopefully explain a bit though. If you still have worries or have questions, please log in to leave a review. People who log in and review, I always respond to. Or send me a PM, so I can explain to you where I am heading. I am not angry, a lot of what you commented on made me smile, I want to respond to what worries you.

So to all the others who do not want to be spoiled do not read my end note. I will remind you there as well. I just have to write that end note, as I want to continue updating and not stop again like last time.

I hope you will enjoy the next chapter!

Disclaimer these characters are not mine, I am just playing with them. There might be some violence, I have no idea, it has been a while since I wrote these.

Chapter eight

Sharon heard a curse coming from the bathroom. She had learned to give him time whenever she heard noises like that. After the third curse though, she peeked in.

"Need some help?"

The frown between his eyebrows only disappeared, when he saw her sweet smile.

Sharon saw the object of frustration laying on the floor. She bend down to pick up his tie. Sharon wasn't sure what the problem was, maybe it was the lack of sleep. Before she wrapped the piece of fabric around his neck, her hand touched his cheek. It was still red, from where the back of her hand had made impact, last night. She was glad she hadn't hit his eye. It would have been embarrassing for him to explain a shiner.

Andy relished the feel of her hand was cool, it felt good as his cheek still felt warm. He hated to see that sadness in her eyes though. Feeling guilty about something that wasn't really her fault. Exhausted himself, he'd been fast asleep, not waking because of her tossing and turning, like he usually did. Andy hadn't woken up, until her hand made impact with his cheek.

In a reflex he'd grabbed her wrist, instantly letting go, as he saw her panicked look. Not even sure if she was fully awake already. Her body trembling, tears springing in her eyes as she realized she'd hit him. He had held her close to him, rubbing her back, until he felt her breathing evening out.

"Does it still hurt?" Her brows wrinkled painful.

"No, hon, don't sweat about it okay?"

He took her hand in his and kissed the palm of her hand, while his eyes gazed deep into hers. Sharon felt a warm feeling spreading inside of her, all because of the love she saw in Andy's eyes. No one had ever looked at her with that amount of unconditional love. The feeling was almost too much, either way she was never able to prevent herself from blushing. She could already feel her cheeks warming and the only way to stop herself from looking like a lovesick schoolgirl, was too busy herself, divert her eyes from his gaze as she couldn't bare it any longer. Her eyes focused on her hands, knotting his tie, the way she had hers, a few minutes ago.

Satisfied with the result, she smiled at him. "There, all done. Now scoot over, I still have to put my hair up."

Andy wasn't thinking about letting her continue though. He stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest. Andy buried his nose in her hair, the lavender scent of her shampoo invading his nostrils, calming him in an instant. He loved the wavy texture of her hair, the silky feel to it. The way it smelled like her.

"Andy.."

He kissed her neck, to end her protest, right behind her ear, on her pulse point, that was her soft spot. Andy smiled satisfied, feeling her relax right away, slumping her shoulders, dropping her head back.

Sharon could feel him smile against the skin of her neck. Andy knew damn well how he could make her react. It was amazing how well he could read her. Sadly they didn't have time though.

"Andy .. we don't have enough time."

"Sure we do, only takes half a minute to make a ponytail. I could even do it in that time."

Sharon shook her head, as she saw him smile in the mirror.

"I need to make a bun, that takes longer."

Sharon saw his face distort. "You don't like the bun, do you?"

She smiled teasing at him. What was it they said about women, they were always trying to lure you into saying something stupid? Like criticizing your girlfriend's appearance. He was on thin ice there, he knew it. Sharon hit the nail though, he wasn't a fan of the bun, although she still looked gorgeous as always. Wearing that hairstyle she somehow reminded him of Catholic school and those weren't the best of memories for him.

"Don't bother telling me I'm wrong, I know you do."

Reminded of Raydor and his controlling ways, he felt the need to say more. "I will always believe you're gorgeous, no matter how you look."

Seeing her smile, he knew he had said the right words. Guess he had survived this step.

Sharon was surprised, as she saw him gather her hair in his hands.

"Andy what are you doing now?"

"I'll help to make up for the lost time."

She gave him a skeptic look, not sure whether him 'helping' her, would actually decrease the time she needed to get ready.

"I have a daughter."

Sharon was instantly touched. Imagining Andy putting his little baby girl's hair in pigtails. So she smiled and enjoyed the feeling of his fingers weaving through her hair. Sharon tried hard to contain her giggle, as she saw the serious look on his face, while he tried to complete his task.

"So… when we would have a daughter, you wouldn't mind helping her get dressed in the morning?"

Andy looked into the mirror, seeking out her eyes. "Of course I wouldn't mind."

He seemed serious. Sharon could still vividly recall her conversation with Jack about the subject of children. He'd been very clear, he wanted her to be a stay at home mom. Give up her career, so she could be a mother to his children. That image had made her decide then, that she went first. She would do what she wanted to do. Her career and independence came first. The idea of children felt restrictive. Six years from now, it would be still early enough to begin family life. Her conversation with Jack fresh in mind, she had never raised the topic. Andy already was a father, so there was no need to rush.

"Here you go."

He hadn't done a very bad job, she only needed a few bobby pins to secure the errant lose strands. Andy gave her another kiss, this time on the highest part of her jaw.

"I already have breakfast ready. We still have enough time to eat."

Her stomach turned at the mere thought of food. "I can't not before.."

The sentence stopped, but he knew what she meant. Another funeral. In a way it was numbing, as there had been far too many these last weeks. They could also see it in the eyes of their colleagues. The blank look, the look of having to deal with too many deaths around them. The anger in their eyes slowly fading, replaced by worry and fear. They were slowly beginning to feel like the prey, instead of the hunters.

Andy felt the worry himself. If he was truly honest, he would like it a lot better if Sharon would stay at home, until this killer was caught. Of course he knew their job wasn't without risk, but it was different to know that she was put in the line of fire every day. Every day, there was the risk that she'd be targeted by the cop killer, as he was called by the media, and targeted meant killed, as none of the officers had survived.

Sharon wasn't the only one with nightmares. He had them too. Seeing her shot down, dreaming about her funeral. Every day that passed, he became more on edge, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Not while he went out there every day. Sharon must be just as scared about him. Besides he wasn't Raydor. Andy respected her independency, her capability to make the right decisions. He didn't want to smother her, although it was hard, as he was so worried about her too.

SISISISISISISISISISISISISISISISISSISISI

Andy had squeezed her upper arm, giving her a comforting smile, before he went to take in his place. She wished he could stand next to her, and not further down the line. There was an immense need to feel him near, now she couldn't even see him.

It needed to end. The constant pressure, it took its toll. They weren't even close to being on the killer's track. The media called him the cop killer, but amongst the officers, he was called the ghost. The man popped up, killed and disappeared into thin air. The only witnesses were dead, if they had even seen the man, before he targetted them. Before their last breaths left their bodies.

Although they were debriefed every morning, it felt like she was missing important pieces of the puzzle. These were homicides, but it wasn't their case. It was hard to distance herself from it. Especially as the anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach grew. Worrying about who would be shot next. And when. At first there seemed to be a pattern, but right when they believed he'd target them every day, as his pattern seemed to increase, the shootings stopped. It had been three days now and as time progressed, everyone became more on edge. The threat looming over them.

Sharon saw the struggle within Andy. To be honest she already had expected him to pressure her in staying home, if that was somehow possible. At least stay at the station, busy herself with the reports. She knew he was concerned about her and he always had the tendency to be overprotective. It already had been that way long before they'd started their relationship. She'd been waiting for the arguments to start, but they hadn't . Sharon loved him for it. He'd rather stress himself out, than argue with her.

It wasn't like she'd expected them to never argue. They'd probably would in the future, but at the same time she didn't worry about those, as she had faith they'd be able to compromise. Listen to one another. Opening themselves up for the others point of view. Seek common ground that way, because there was mutual respect. That was exactly what their relationship was based on, mutual respect.

In thoughts Sharon missed the beginning of the ceremony. Each funeral was numbing her more, her thoughts drifting further away every time. By now no longer looking at the family of the fallen officer anymore. She couldn't bare it, to see the grieve in their eyes. That overwhelming sense of loss. It clenched her heart, as she couldn't stop thinking about their own families. How it could be them at some point. So instead she focused on something in the distance. The big mausoleum behind the family. White marble stairs leading to the same massive pillars. From the distance it didn't tell her who was buried there. Probably someone rich enough to build such a majestic shrine.

She was pulled from her thoughts by the sudden commotion. Sharon looked at the shocked faces of the fallen officers family. She looked to her left and right, but she couldn't see much, as they all stood aligned. Only when she looked over her shoulder she saw the reason for all the commotion. One of the officers was lying on the ground, she saw another fall down. What was going on? She heard a swooshing sound on her right. Looking beside her, just in time to see another officer fall to the ground. Sharon stared, hardly registering the commotion that turned into yelling. Blood, there was blood. Someone was shooting at them, but from where? Who would chose this exact time to start shooting at cops, during a funeral of all times? She felt sick. For a moment everything around her began to spin. Sharon closed her eyes, trying to make it stop, but she suddenly felt weak in the knees as well.

'What?' Her thoughts were incoherent and then she felt her knees give up on her, as she passed out.

Andy had only one thought from the moment, he'd began to notice officers started dropping to the ground. When everything around him turned into chaos.

'Sharon.'

Hamilton pulled on his arm. "Get down."

"Sharon." His focus could not be on himself, only on the woman he loved.

"Dammit Flynn get down!"

The officers surrounding him tried to get as close to the ground as they could, that's when he finally saw Sharon. Why was she still standing? She should take cover. Andy saw her look beside her. The dazed look in her eyes. Was she in shock? Was she closing her eyes now? What was wrong with her?

Andy felt the Commander's pull on his arm until he eventually managed to pull him down to the ground with him. Still he screamed across the field. "Sharon! Sharon, dammit get down!"

She didn't even seem to hear him, like she was in shock. His heart raced in his chest. The fear, as she was an easy target, while everyone around her either was shot down, or had sought cover on the ground. He had to get to her. Andy was about to get up, so he could run to her, but then he saw her fall down.

"Sharon!"

"Dammit Flynn will you get a grip? She went down already."

"No, no, she fell down, that's something different. She needs help."

Andy's eyes were wild. Hamilton understood his worry, but at this time there wasn't much he could do. Hopefully he could get through to him. "You getting yourself shot as well, won't help her."

As soon as officers started to get up, they were shot at again. This wasn't going to work. They would have to get that shooter, so they wouldn't be like a couple of sitting ducks anymore. They didn't have rifles, or a clear target. They only had a rough indication as to where the bullets came from. There had to be a way. Hamilton took charge. Most of his division in hearing range, surrounding him unharmed.

"Zygerski, Dixon, you go that way, behind the gravestones, so they'll give you cover and stay low. Phelps, Keegan the other way. I believe the shooting is coming from the mausoleum."

Hamilton was sure the other commanding officers were taking charge as well. Hopefully they could surround that mad man and put a stop to this. "Flynn, you get to Elliot, see if she's okay."

Flynn would anyway. He'd be useless as long as he'd worry about her well being. "Sanders, you're with me."

Andy tried to stay as low as he could, trying to ignore a swooshing sound that passed his ear. He ignored the bodies he passed. They could be wounded, they could need help. They could be dead. None of that mattered though, focusing only on Sharon. She was still on the ground, not moving.

"Sharon?" His breath hitched as he reached her, feeling his heartbeat rage in his chest. Andy looked her over. Her eyes were closed, her face pale. "Sharon, honey?"

He reached out for her neck, his fingers searching a pulse. His eyes quick in scanning her body for bullet wounds. There was no blood, only her face dead pale. So was she injured? "Sharon?"

She didn't respond, but he felt her heartbeat strong underneath his fingertips. It calmed him a bit. There was no obvious injury. She did not get shot like the others.

"Honey?" He rubbed her cheek. Her heart rate fast. "Sharon, hon, come on wake up."

Andy rubbed her cheek with a bit more pressure, like when he would when he would try to wake her up from a nightmare. His heart still pounding in his chest, because she would not respond. Because of all the adrenaline raging inside him. Because of the chaos that was still surrounding them.

In the mean time cops fanned out, trying to get to this psychopath. It was them being sitting ducks, on open hunting season. He still heard the firing of bullets, but none of it mattered. All that he worried about was Sharon. He wanted to look into her eyes, make sure she was not hurt.

SISISISISISISISISISISISISISISISI

Andy had one eye on the chair he'd put her on. Had he been relieved, when Sharon finally fluttered her eyes. For a moment she had been so confused. Hardly aware of what had taken place and the aftermath of it. By the time she woke up, the shooting had stopped. The guy targetting them, gone. The sound of the sirens indicating the ambulances arrival on the background. Now people focussing on the carnage the guy left, instead of capturing him, as once again he had seemed to have vanished into thin air.

She had argued with him, because he had wanted to bring her to the hospital. She was fine. They would be busy with the actual wounded. This was something he wouldn't compromise on though. No matter what she said, she still didn't look well. Right now she sat bended over, her pale face in her hands.

As Andy touched her shoulder, she looked up. A faint smile,when he handed her a cup of tea. She still saw the deep line between his eyebrows. The worry in his eyes. There had been no stopping him in bringing her here.

"Could you please take me home?" Her soft voice pleaded with him, feeling so out of place. All she met was his stern expression.

"No, I want a doctor to check you out."

"Andy, I'm fine really. I fainted that's all."

He could tell she was embarrassed. "Sharon…"

"We were being targeted and I fainted, great cop I am. Now there are a lot of cops in here, who are actually wounded and who need help. I'm fine, will you please, please take me home?"

Andy sighed. He was conflicted, because she was practically begging him . How could he deny her that?

"Hon, you could have a concussion."

"Then bring me to bed, and wake me every two hours."

He shook his head, she was impossible to argue with.

Mark walked faster, when he saw his daughters form in one of the chairs in the waiting area. "Sharon?" He knelt down in front of her, looking worried. "Are you alright? Were you injured too?"

She shook her head.

Mark frowned. "Are you sure? You look pale…"

"She fainted."

Mark saw Sharon shooting an angry look towards Andy, apparently he shouldn't have told him that. "Did she fall to the ground?"

Andy nodded, earning him another angry look. It seemed as Andy's worry felt stronger to him, than his fear of getting into an argument with her. Mark gently took her head in his hands, his fingers probing for welts. Sharon flinched underneath his touch. He took a small light from his white lab coat pocket, shining it in her eyes. Then telling her to follow it.

"Are you experiencing any nausea?"

"A bit."

Knowing his daughter that was probably an understatement. "She's having a concussion. She needs bed rest and when she falls asleep you need to wake her every two hours. "

"I'll make sure of that." Mark nodded at Andy, sure he could leave his daughter in his care. He might not always like the man, but it seemed like he was not compromising when Sharon's health was concerned. He would take this serious, Andy would make her rest.

"Doctor Elliot, you're needed in the OR."

Mark looked conflicted at Sharon.

"Go."

It was probably one of their colleagues, who needed his help, more than she needed his. She had only fainted. Sharon only injury was the serious dent in her ego. People fussing over her was only making it worse. Her father nodded and went, hopefully saving whoever it was that was now fighting for his life in the OR.

Andy and she were the lucky ones. They were fine. The bullets missing both of them. No one in their division got hit. They would all be able to go home to their families. At least today. Andy was fast to wrap his arm around her waist, as she stood up from the chair. She didn't feel faint anymore, but leaned into him anyway, feeling the emotional weight of the day pressuring down on her. For now it would be okay to just give into him, seek his warmth, his love. Let him take care of her. It was what he needed right now. Feeling her near. Knowing they had both survived. Knowing how it could have ended different. Knowing that tomorrow they could be this guy's target, but for today they were safe and in each others arms.

DO NOT READ THE END NOTE, IF YOU WANT TO BE KEPT IN THE DARK A BIT LONGER.

OR IF YOU WANT YOUR HAPPY ENDING AT PART 5 AND STOP READING, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THEM BEING A HAPPY LITTLE FAMILY.

I HAVE TO WRITE THIS END NOTE THOUGH, AS I HAVE NO WAY OF RESPONDING TO THE PEOPLE WHO FEAR THIS WILL BE YET ANOTHER PREGNANCY STORY AND I WANT TO KEEP UPDATING AND IT MIGHT CAUSE ME TO STOP AGAIN IF I WON'T ADRESS THEIR FEARS AND EXPLAIN MYSELF A BIT RIGHT NOW.

SO PLEASE STOP READING IF YOU WANT TO BE LEFT IN YOUR HAPPY BUBBLE.

WARNING SPOILERS

I have been adressed a couple of times with the fears that this is going to be yet another pregnancy story.

No it is not going to be yet another pregnancy story. At the end of part 5, people who want their happy ending, can imagine it is going to be. That Sharon and Andy will form a happy little family and everything will be wonderful from that moment on.

I am not that kind of writer though. I do not like overly happy stories myself. I rather put my characters through a lot, as life just never is going over a path of roses either. Sharon is a very complicated character, life made her that way. There are a lot more parts in the planning. I know you all can see no further than this part. I at the other hand, have this story planned out until at least part 13. I already said in the beginning that some of the canon storyline will enter. So then it is obvious that Sharon and Andy are not going to have their happy little family after part 5.

I just wanted the readers who have already been with this story for a long time, to have a moment where they can chose to stop reading. Have their happy ending, before I wreck havoc in this ship. So they won't have to go through all the turmoil. That the people who loved their journey so far, who believe they went already through enough can have it end here. That this ending will be their happy ending. Kind of like some of us chose to think no further than that Sharon and Andy got married in season 6 and then went on a honeymoon and none of the other stuff ever happened.

I can very well imagine some readers might not like that Sharon will marry Jack at some point. That they will wonder why I chose that path in my storyline, just like some now wonder why I chose a pregnancy storyline. I can imagine that those readers won't like the upcoming parts that much, or the lines I follow in those.

I just never wrote this story for a bigger audience or with the plan to post it. When I planned out this story I wrote it for myself and my friend. She was my audience. The choices I made for each storyline in each part is based on what I knew she would like. I posted it, because she kept asking me when I would. I got tired of her asking, posted the first chapters, convinced not many were going to read it anyway.

But then there came more readers, people who chose to follow it, even if they had to wait months for another update. People began to let me know how much they enjoyed it. The only change I made along the way is to end part 5 where it will stop now. The original idea was that what now are part 5 and 6 to be one part. That is why part 5 is only 18 chapters. But when the audience for this story became bigger I did not want to disappoint anyone. So that is why part 5 might seem, as they will be happy ever after. Have a wonderful pregnancy, have their baby. I wanted to give people an out, before they would might start hating it. So right now it will look like this is one of those happy ending pregnancy stories, in which Sharon might transfer to IA, because she will become a mother, but their life will be great. If you continue reading though you will know by the end of part 6 that their life is far from happy.

I don't want Sharon to join IA because of motherhood, or because of better career opportunities. I never imagined that story path for my Sharon. It is not in character for my Sharon, or she would not have chosen RH to begin with. So something else has to happen and it has to be something big for her to chose to leave Robbery Homicide. It will be the direct result to decisions Sharon will make in part 7. She will make those decisions in the aftermath of part 6. So for that something major had to happen in part 6 as well. I will begin part 6 with a trigger warning. Another clue that they won't have a happy little family. I know I will spoil the end of that part already in the beginning, but I don't want anyone reading my story to be triggered by trauma.

When you write, plan out a lot of parts, you have to tie storylines together. You have to think about the bigger picture, especially when your story expands throughout multiple parts.

I hope this will answer your questions. No this is not going to be yet another pregnancy story. That said you might still not like where this is heading. You might not like that I at some point will cause a rift between Andy and Sharon. At least at a romantic level. You might not like other decisions I am making. You might grow tired of reading it and that is all fine with me. I hope people will enjoy it, all the future chapters and parts I am planning to post. I hope people will trust me as a writer. Trust that I am able to tie it all together, trust that I make certain decisions, because I believe it benefits the story and the character development. That it benefits the relationship between Sharon and Andy, even though her marrying Jack might seem the total opposite of that. And again a lot of people might not even agree with me on those decisions I will be making, have made. That is fine.

I have not been updating for several reasons, but I think the main reason was, because I did not want to disappoint readers, but at the same time I did not want to change my story either.

Part 6 is not only written, it is all typed and edited as well. Part 9 is completely written. Parts of part 7 and 8 are written. So there was no reason to delay uploading, because people would have to wait for more. It was because I did not want to disappoint and did not want to change anything either. I am back to uploading, because I saw that there apparently were still readers. Also people who have been reading this since October 2014. I realized that is 9 years, which is a long time. So I could at least keep to my promise and complete part 5.

Tbh now that the fandom is no longer at its high and most of the readers are gone I kind of have already decided to continue to post the other parts as well. Even if some might not like it, I know that who have been with me already 9 yrs, will give me the benefit of a doubt, trust me on making it all okay at some point. And even more important, I still enjoy writing this AU, escape into this world I created.

Part 6 is not even focussed on a crime, but way more on Andy's backstory, getting to know his family, how Sharon would fit in. They come from different social backgrounds, Sharon being a very private person and me imagining the Flynn family as an Irish Italian mix, with lots of outgoing characters. I so enjoyed writing Andy's sisters and the way they develope. How does that family interact with one another? How Andy's siblings will welcome her, what image they have of her? What kind of thoughts and feelings they have concerning their relationship, how much of that is tainted by his former marriage with Sandra? How will Sharon interact with his family, his children, how will Sandra react to their relationship development? I had so much fun writing part 6, thinking about all those questions, figuring out something that worked for me. I always felt kind of sad for not daring to post it, as readers were so happy that Sharon and Andy were doing so well and their life seemed to be perfect and there I go ruin at least a part if it. Now the fandom is no longer at its high, I kind of feel like I have my fic back. That it is all mine again, without having to fear to disappoint others and I don't want to go back there.

So again I hope people will continue to enjoy it. If not, I will be grateful for the time you all did enjoy reading this fic.

Also feel free to pm me with questions, with thoughts. I am a very nice person, I am not going to bite your head off. I like to interact with my readers. At the same time a part of me is also insecure and very eager to please, while another part of me knows that is impossible. So sometimes I can overreact a bit to something that is maybe not meant as criticism, or meant to hurt. That is why I try to explain in the only way I can, if I can't react to a review directly. Okay very long end note, but I had to get this off my chest.