When Sharon and Andy arrived back to the murder room, they found that Andrea was nowhere to be found and the lieutenant was back at his desk, still looking as grumpy as ever, but at least he was elbow deep in paperwork. All she could do was give Andy her behave look before he went back to his desk to complete his work for the day. Before heading into her office, she decided to make a stop at Provenza's desk to inquire as to what he and Andrea had been talking about. "Lieutenant."
"Captain," Provenza barely grunted out, not even giving her a glance. When he realized that she wasn't going to leave him alone, he finally looked up at her. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"Actually there is. I was wondering what Andrea was doing here before. I don't remember her mentioning that she was dropping by."
Good lord, she was like a bloodhound with the memory of an elephant. There isn't much that could get past her. "Oh, right. That. She and I had some…things to go over for something we're working on. A case that's dragged on long enough. We're hoping that we can get both parties to sit down and make a deal without them having to settle for things that neither one of them want. It's all pretty cut and dry. They just need a little nudge in the right direction. It was something that happened long before you joined Major Crimes. Don't worry, Captain. Hobbs and I have it under control."
"That's…fine," she squinted. There wasn't a damn thing about anything he just said that didn't have her suspicious. Sharon would let it go for now, but would be keeping an eye on him, and Andrea, to find out what they were really up to. "I see you've made some good progress on your work. I've instructed your partner to keep his mouth shut for the rest of the day, so I suggest you do the same. I'd really like to leave here before dusk for once."
"Yes, of course. This is me, keeping my mouth shut as I get my work done. Speaking of getting work done, these are for you," Provenza said while handing her a small stack of file folders.
As Sharon grabbed the folders, she thought about pushing him a little further, but there really wasn't much to go on, so she just retreated to her office still rather curious of whatever Provenza and Andrea were up to. First Andy hiding what was really bothering him, now the lieutenant and her own best friend putting their heads together? No, she didn't like what was going on in her murder room one bit and trying to find everything out was going to end up being a huge pain. As she went to put her purse away, she saw the corner of the envelope Jack had given her sticking out. Everything was telling her to wait until she got home to read it, but she was also extremely anxious as to what nonsense counter offer he came up with. Whatever it was, she knew that Gavin would take care of it for her. When she began opening the envelope, she was startled by the ringing of her desk phone. "Major Crimes, this is Captain Raydor."
"Good afternoon, Captain." It was Hillary, Chief Taylor's assistant on the line. "Chief Taylor along with Chief Pope and Captain Riggs are having an impromptu meeting and would love your input on a few things. Are you available to join them?"
"Hi, Hillary. Yes, I'm available. Is there anything I need? Do you know what this is about?"
"No, ma'am, I don't have much information. Taylor and Riggs are just waiting on the pope, so you might as well head on over now. I'll let them know you'll be here in a moment. See you in a few."
Sharon groaned. Impromptu midday meeting were never good. They were often long, boring and unnecessary, and could usually be settled within a few emails. Why the "Three Amigos", as Mike had named them, needed her she didn't know, but a summons was a summons, so she gathered the few things she thought she'd need and made her way out of her office to inform everyone where she was heading. As she walked down the hall to the chief's office, her hopes of leaving the building before dusk slowly died with each step. Good lord, she was being dramatic, but the day had already been full of nonsense and drama, and she was very much over all of it. Please, please, please let this be brief, she thought to herself as she opened the chief's office door. "Good afternoon, gentlemen…"
Meanwhile, back in the murder room, the tension between Andy and Provenza was still thick. They were doing exactly what they were told, keeping their mouths shut and staying away from each other. But every once in a while one of them would look over at the other to give a dirty look. Mike, Julio, Amy, and even the ever so patient Buzz, were pretty much fed up with both of them as well. Even though they had finished their work, they all thought better than to leave Abbott and Costello unsupervised.
Since Julio's desk was almost smack in the middle of Andy's and Provenza's desks, he had been caught in the proverbial crossfire for most of the day. Now that they were more or less calm, he decided to head over to Mike's desk to see if he knew what was going on. "Tao, what's the deal with the two of them? It hasn't been this bad in a long time."
On their walk, Mike tried to get anything out of Provenza, but he didn't go into too much detail. "All he said was that Andy had his head in his ass, was a bigger idiot than he thought, and he's going to be the reason why Provenza may opt for retirement by the end of today."
"Um, so, business as usual?"
"You'd think, but I think there's more to it than that. I don't think it's something, I think it has more to do with a certain someone," Mike said as he nodded towards the captain's office. They knew. They all knew something was up with the captain and Andy and none of them seemed to have a problem with it. The only one who did was Provenza, so Mike figured that's what their bickering was all about. Knowing the two of them as well as he did, he knew it wouldn't last long. "Give it a day, they'll forget and they'll go back to being them. I don't think it's too much to worry about."
"Or, the lieutenant can stop being a damn grump all the time and let his friend go after what he wants." He paused when he saw the look on Mike's face. "Oh, come on, Tao. We all know it and we all don't care. Someone needs to tell Provenza to channel his inner Elsa and Let It Go."
"His inner Elsa? Who even are you?"
"I had my niece over this weekend. There was a sing-a-long, a crown, something about gloves, then she threw some ice at me talking about warm hugs. Don't ask. Look, just help them fix it. The kids don't like it when the uncles fight." Julio stopped when he looked over at Buzz and Amy having their own conversation and motioned at them to join he and Mike. "You guys trying to figure out the uncles, too?"
"I've seen them go at it, but this one's different. Are we all thinking it has something to do with mom?" It was Buzz that had coined the silly nicknames for Provenza, Andy, and the captain. Everyone else just joined in.
"Of course it does. But it's none of our business. The only thing that is our business is getting as much done as possible. Mom's gonna be pissed off enough from this stupid meeting and I don't feel like being grounded today," Amy said while crossing her arms. "You guys can figure it out, I'm going to double check my work."
Tao, Julio, and Buzz looked at each other and decided Amy was right. Not that they'd ever tell her that. Hopefully whatever was going on would be resolved as soon as possible. Julio was right. The kids really didn't like when the grownups fight. It makes things weirder than they already are.
Andy was hyper focused on getting his work done, so he didn't notice that Hobbs had come back to the murder room. Wanting his full attention, Andrea slammed her briefcase down on Andy's desk with a resounding thud. Something told him that this wasn't official business between DDA Hobbs and Lieutenant Flynn. No, judging by the look on her face, this was going to be an Andy and Andrea conversation. "May I help you?" Andy looked up and asked with an eye roll.
"Actually, yes. Yes you can. You can stop being so damned you."
"Uh, you'll have to be a little more specific than that because I have no idea what the hell that's supposed to mean." He wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what she meant, and the fact that she was looking to have this conversation at his desk in the middle of the murder room was very, very telling.
"You know, I always said you were dumb, but I never pegged you for stupid, Andy. You know exactly what I mean." She wasn't expecting it, but when he stood and grabbed a hold of her arm to lead her away from the murder room, she realized she struck a nerve. When they reached the back corridor, Andy held out his arms as if he were allowing Andrea to continue. "Stop glaring at me like that, I'm not one of your suspects. You need to stop holding back."
"Aw hell! I'll tell you the same thing I told Provenza. It's none of your business! At least not on my end. Whatever you two talk about during your BFF time stays at BFF time. Leave me out of it!"
"Like hell it isn't! You…this…whatever you two are, are the only things we do talk about lately. She's there, Andy, but she's fighting it. It has to be you that makes the first move, you know that! Unless," she hesitated, "unless you really aren't interested in anything other than friendship."
"Of course I'm interested! Jesus, Andrea!" He scrubbed his hands over his face in sheer agitation over all of this. This was now really starting to get to him. "How can anyone look at her and not be? It's just," he paused. This would now be the second time he'd express his concerns over being similar to Jack. "Sharon deserves a hell of a lot better than a man like me. Sober or not, I'll always be an alcoholic. She doesn't need that again."
"You, Andrew Flynn, are nothing like the sorry excuse for a man that is Jack Raydor. Even at your worst, and I've seen you at your worst, you are, were, nothing like him. I also happen to know that Sharon doesn't see you that way at all." Andrea stopped when she saw that Andy didn't believe her. "You've got it in your head that when she sees you, she sees Jack, and that's the furthest thing from the truth. When she sees you, she sees someone she trusts, someone she admires, someone she enjoys spending time with, and someone she really, really, likes. I'll say it again, Andy, Sharon's there…and I know you are, too."
"So, what? I go and find her and swoop in like some big hero guy, promising to make everything better and tell her I'm not like the other one? I don't make promises I don't know if I can keep. I can't risk hurting her. I don't want to risk it." He had been pacing the floor for most of their conversation, but sat down on the windowsill right after he was done. He was trying so hard to keep everything to himself, but it was no use. Of course Sharon's DDA best friend would find a way to drag the truth out of him.
This is the side of Andy that Sharon told her about. The side that no one got to see. The sensitive, caring, puts everyone else's feelings before his own, guy that Andrea knew Sharon was already half in love with. And judging by the look on his face, he was half in love with her, too. She smiled and nudged his shoulder when she sat down next to him. "Sharon doesn't need a hero. She doesn't want a hero. Andy, she just wants you. All of you. If there's anyone in this world that knows her, it's me. You have to trust me on this."
"I don't want to risk messing everything up. We're finally in a good place. It took forever, but I'm happy we've got our friendship back. I'm okay with it being all that we are." Andy shrugged.
"God, you two are a mess. She's said the exact same thing. And just like her, I don't believe you either. There's nothing just friends about you two. The only two people that don't want to acknowledge it are you guys. Like I said, stop holding back. And stop being so damned you."
As he watched Andrea walk towards the elevators, he thought about everything they had talked about. He knew Andrea wouldn't mislead him, especially when it came to Sharon. But he still didn't feel right about any of it. No, it was too soon for her. He would hold true to his word. He'd wait for her. He'd always wait, until she needs him.