Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or M/C, but if I did, this is what would happen.
A/N: This chapter is a missing scene from the Season 3 episode, Flight Risk. It's based on this line that Andy says while standing with Sharon in her office as she is preparing to go do a very difficult death notification:
I'll wait. In case you need me. – Andy Flynn (3x1: Flight Risk)
Chapter 3: Something's Different
She'd just finished delivering one of the most difficult notifications of her career thus far. She'd never get used to that. Especially when it involved having to tell a mother that her children were dead. No matter how many death notifications she delivered, it never seemed to get any easier. The day that it did would be the day she'd turn in her papers to retire.
As she looked out the window of her office and into the murder room, she saw Andy sitting at his desk with his feet propped up. She didn't know why, but it still kind of surprised her that he was still there. He had told her he'd wait for her in case she needed him after the notification. So, she figured he was simply making good on that promise. He usually did and that's what made him a great friend. He was always there for her when she needed him.
So, she quickly gathered her purse and made her way out into the murder room. She stopped once she reached the side of Andy's desk.
"Hey. How'd it go?" Andy asked her.
Sharon shook her head sadly before she said, "Not here."
"Okay. How about I pick up some food and I'll meet you at your place in a half hour or so," Andy suggested as he stood up to grab his jacket off the back of his chair.
"Okay," said Sharon as she gave him a half hearted smile.
About forty minutes later, there was a knock at the door to Sharon's condo. Rusty, knowing Sharon was out on the balcony and probably didn't hear it, went to answer the door. He opened it and saw Andy standing in the doorway.
"Hey, Andy," said Rusty.
"Hey, kid. Where's your mom?" Andy asked him.
"She's out on the balcony. I think she's on the phone with Emily. Do you want me to get her for you?" Rusty asked.
"No, not yet. Let her finish her call first," Andy told him.
"Okay. Why don't you come in," Rusty told him noticing the bag of food in his hand.
"Thanks. Did you eat yet? There's enough food in here if you want some," Andy told him as he went to set the bag on the counter in the kitchen.
"Thanks, but I just ate a little while ago. I wasn't sure what time Sharon would be home with the case and all. What's up with that anyway? She seemed a little off when she got home," said Rusty.
"Tough case. Don't worry. She'll be okay. She just needs to decompress and wrap her head around it, that's all," Andy told him.
"Which explains why you brought food," replied Rusty as he grabbed plates and silverware and set them on the counter next to the food Andy had brought.
"Thanks. Chalk it up to the Italian in me. In my family, whenever somebody would have a bad day, people would always bring food over," said Andy.
"So, basically you're an Italian grandmother," Rusty joked.
"I'll admit, that was pretty good. I'd watch it if I were you though," Andy told him.
"Yeah, yeah. I've got homework to do. Enjoy whatever it is you've got in that bag," Rusty told him as he walked down the hall towards his room.
After Rusty disappeared into his room, Andy opened Sharon's fridge to see what kind of beverages she had to drink. He found a pitcher of pink lemonade and set it on the counter next to the plates. He then took something out of the bag on the counter and placed it in the fridge before closing it. He grabbed a couple glasses and set those on the counter as well. He decided he would take the food and lemonade out onto the balcony first.
As Andy walked out on the balcony, Sharon could hear footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw Andy with a bag in one hand and a pitcher in the other. He held up the bag so that she could see the name on the front of it.
As she put her hand over the phone she smiled at him as she said, "Moretti's. My favorite."
Andy smiled at that before he set the stuff on the table and made his way back into the condo.
Meanwhile, as Andy went back inside to grab the plates and glasses, Sharon told Emily, "Listen sweetheart, I gotta go. Andy just got here and he brought dinner. I'll talk to you again soon though. I love you."
A moment later, Sharon set her phone down and was about to go find Andy when she turned around to see him making his way back out onto the balcony.
She stood up to help him when he said, "Sit. I've got it."
"Andy, this is great. Thank you," Sharon told him as he sat down and handed her a plate, glass, and silverware.
"No problem. How's Emily?" Andy asked her.
"She's good. Busy with rehearsals, but good," replied Sharon as she scooped some pasta onto her plate.
"And you?" Andy asked, looking at her seriously.
Sharon looked away from his gaze for a moment before she looked back at him.
"You know, having emotions makes this job so much more difficult," Sharon told him as her eyes began to well up with tears.
"Yeah, it does. It's what makes us human though. If we didn't have those emotions or feelings, we'd be the ones on the other side of a jail cell," Andy told her as he momentarily patted the top of her hand with his own.
"Yeah. I guess you're right," replied Sharon.
"What you can stop doing though is beating yourself up about it. You made the right call today, Sharon. However terrible it may sound, that was the only way we were going to get to the truth about what happened. Even if you had told that mother the truth from the beginning, it wouldn't have changed what happened to her children. Unspeakable evil exists in this world. We encounter it at work almost every day. The only thing we can do to fight that is to get to the truth and make sure those people pay for what they've done. To get justice for the victims. We did that today. You did that today. So, the way I see it, you did exactly what you were supposed to do," Andy told her.
"Have I mentioned lately how well you know me?" Sharon asked him.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never met you before in my life," Andy replied sarcastically.
"Don't think I didn't notice that allusion to the rules you stuck in there at the end," Sharon told him.
"What can I say? You've brought me over to the dark side," said Andy.
Sharon and Andy sat out on the balcony and talked for a while before Sharon asked him, "Do you want some coffee? I was gonna make some tea anyways."
"Sure. That reminds me. I left you a surprise in the fridge," Andy told her.
"What?" Sharon asked as she got up and headed into the kitchen with Andy following closely behind her.
Sharon opened the fridge and gasped before she turned around and unexpectedly hugged Andy.
"Wow. Not exactly the reaction I was expecting, but okay. It's just dessert, Sharon," Andy told her before turning to grab two small plates out of the cabinet.
"It's not just dessert, Andy. It's chocolate cheesecake. Didn't anybody ever tell you that chocolate makes everything better?" Sharon asked him as she began brewing the coffee and went about making her tea.
"Maybe once or twice," replied Andy as he smirked at Sharon.
"Well, in that case, you've just earned an award for being the best friend ever," Sharon told him.
"Oh. So, I've been upgraded?" Andy asked her.
"As you know, I don't have a ton of friends and none that would bring me pasta and chocolate cheesecake and help shut down the pity party I was having earlier. So, I guess you could say that makes you the best friend I've got," Sharon told him before she stuck her mug in the microwave.
Andy smiled at that before he said, "I feel the same way. I mean you don't see anybody else helping me fix things with my family."
Sharon smiled at Andy before she removed her mug from the microwave and stuck an oolong tea bag in it as Andy grabbed his mug and poured himself a cup of coffee.
Noticing the slightly awkward silence between them, Andy spoke up and asked, "How about some of that chocolate cheesecake?"
"Yeah," replied Sharon as she grabbed a knife and handed it to Andy, their hands momentarily brushing during the handoff.
Sharon quickly removed her hand from the handle of the knife as she went about gathering two forks from the drawer next to her.
She couldn't quite explain it, but Sharon knew there was definitely something hanging in the air between them in this small space. Something different. It wasn't exactly bad, it was just different.
She decided to put it in the back of her mind for now as she walked over to the dining room table and sat down, Andy distractedly following her and doing the same a moment later.
Yes. Something was definitely different and she wasn't sure how long they would be able to ignore that fact.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! As always, let me know what you thought of it by leaving me a review. Thanks for reading and reviewing!