DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters except Matthew and Moxie. The rest belongs to James Duff and the Major Crimes Franchise.

Chapter 5

Andy pulled the car into the driveway and parked it. Sharon got out of the car and opened Matthew's door. She woke him up and he grabbed his glove and new bat and climbed out of the car, closing his door behind him. "Matthew, go on ahead, I want to talk to your father" she told him and he continued towards the back of the house. Sharon looked at Andy. He looked defeated.

She walked over to him and moved his chin with her hand so that he was looking at her. "I'm sorry that happened to you at the game" Sharon whispered to him. He looked at her. "I just want to take a shower and rinse this beer off of me" he told her in a low voice, barely above a whisper. "Andy?" she looked at him but didn't want to push. "We'll talk after your shower" she sighed and then he walked ahead of her towards the back of the house and opened the door.

Matthew went in and placed his glove back in his baseball bag. He then took Moxie out into the yard. Andy walked inside and made his way upstairs after leaving the bag with his shirt on top of the washer. Sharon saw that and took it out of the bag and threw it in the wash. She then turned to watch Matthew and Moxie in the backyard. They were out there for a couple of minutes before they ran up to the back door. Sharon opened it for them and they came inside. She closed the door and proceeded into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Andy was upstairs in their bathroom, started the shower, and then stepped inside after discarding his clothing on the floor. He let the water run over his head and down his body. 'Why does it bother you what other people say about Sharon?' he thought to himself as he stood there, water pouring down on him. "Because you asshole, I love her" he said to no one. He then turned the water towards the cold direction.

Back in the kitchen, Sharon wasn't going to worry about what they were going to have for dinner yet as it was still early. They had gotten home around 3:45 in the afternoon. 'What is it with baseball and not being able to enjoy a full game', Sharon thought to herself and she made her way into the family room. She peaked her head in and saw that Matthew had turned on the TV and was watching some Star Wars cartoon from what she could tell. Moxie was sitting next to the boy on the couch.

"Matthew, I'll be upstairs helping your father" Sharon called out to him and he turned his head towards her. "Okay" he simply stated and then focused back towards the TV. Sharon then made her way upstairs to where Andy was. She didn't know what she was going to do at that moment. She knew he needed some space, but on the other hand, she didn't want him to get deeper, lost in his thoughts.

She could still hear the water running as she made her way into their bathroom. She took a deep breath as she discarded her clothing, letting them join Andy's on the floor and opened the shower door. The sight before her brought tears to her eyes. There was Andy, head hung down, as the water was pouring down him. She stepped in behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. He didn't jump when she did this. She laid her head between his shoulders.

"The water is cold" she mumbled into his back. "Sorry" he muttered and then turned the dial towards the middle to get the water warmer for her. He closed his eyes and she did as well as they just stood there, water running down the both of them. It took about a minute or so before either one of them moved. Andy was the first to turn around and face Sharon. "I'm sorry" he mumbled to her as she looked at him and caressed his face with her right hand.

"I know," Sharon answered and paused before continuing. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. "We ran into him, he insulted you, I was ready to pummel my fist in his face, Provenza stopped me, I got beer poured on me instead, the end" Andy told her. Sharon looked into his eyes and shook her head, giving him a small smile. "I'm sorry I ruined the rest of the game for you guys" Andy continued. "No," Sharon shook her head and moved Andy's face so that he was looking at her. "You didn't ruin anything, Andy, Jones did by acting the way he acted" Sharon reassured him.

He turned Sharon into the water now as he saw goosebumps on her skin from being cold standing on the opposite side of the shower head. "Let me get you warmed up a little" he mumbled as he kissed her underneath the water. Sharon still had her arms wrapped around Andy's waist as he stood with her. He pulled back looking at her. "As much as I would like to continue this, I feel like I need to blow off some anger" Andy confessed to her.

She understood and released her grip on him. He then reached behind her and turned the water off. He stepped outside the shower and handed her a towel before wrapping a towel around his waist. Sharon placed the towel around herself and then grabbed another one for her hair. Andy walked into their bedroom and found a t-shirt, boxers, and a pair of shorts to wear. He quickly got dressed and headed back downstairs.

Sharon looked at herself in the mirror and dried herself, realizing she didn't have a change of clothes in the bathroom. She threw her robe on and walked into their bedroom and towards the closet. She pulled a shirt, pants, and a cardigan sweater from the hanger off and gathered them, bringing them back into the bathroom for her to change.

As Andy made his way downstairs, he could hear the TV in the family room and knew that's where Matthew was. He proceeded into the kitchen where he found the drawer with the spatulas inside. He moved them to the side and found what he was looking for, the box of toothpicks. He pulled the box out, placing it on the counter, and pulled out a toothpick to chew on. He then made his way to the door that led to the basement and opened it, making his way down another set of stairs. He turned the lights on and saw the punching bag, the one that the kids got him for his birthday, there. He turned on the radio and proceeded to place the boxing gloves on his hands. He started punching the bag.

Sharon came downstairs and went into the family room to check on Matthew. She sat down next to him as he watched the TV. "When are we going to have dinner?" he asked her and she looked at him with a wonder. "Are you hungry already?" she asked. Matthew shrugged his shoulders. She knew at his age, he was having a growth spurt, because he was constantly hungry and they were having to buy him new clothes as he was getting taller. She glanced at the clock in the room. It was now 4:30. "Maybe in an hour or two?" she told him.

Andy had been in the basement for a good 45 minutes, not that he punched that bag for 45 minutes straight but he took a few breaks before continuing on. He heard the basement door open and someone coming down the stairs. Sharon saw him punching the bag furiously. Andy stopped when she got to the floor. "I think you got him" Sharon said to break the air. "It's easy when you picture a face you want to punch" Andy chuckled as he looked at her.

"Hmm, I bet" she said as she walked over to him and removed his boxing gloves. She saw he had a toothpick in his mouth. "I see you found the toothpicks" she asked. He nodded his head and removed it from his mouth, throwing it in the trash next to the wall, joining the other six that he went through while he was down there. He wrapped his arms around her waist this time. "So did you blow off your anger?" she asked. "Yes, it helped" he smiled as he leaned down and kissed her lips, a moan escaped Sharon as he broke their kiss after a few seconds. He held her close to him, even though he was now all sweaty.

Sharon relaxed in his embrace. "Our boy upstairs was asking me when we were going to have dinner" she told him. Andy hummed as he placed her head under his and held her. "I told him in an hour or two, but that was about 40 minutes ago" she sighed as she was enjoying this closeness between them. She could feel Andy relax and come back to her. "Remind me to thank our kids for getting this contraption for you for your birthday. I know I was reluctant when you first got it, but it seems to be helping you" Sharon confessed.

"So, after dinner, do you think maybe we could have dessert?" Andy asked her, giving her his Flynn smile. Sharon looked at him but didn't respond. "Because you see, I skipped dessert last night, and was hoping we could have some tonight" Andy said as he kissed her. "I'll see what I can do" she answered as she slipped her arms away from his embrace and walked back towards the stairs. "Don't forget, you have your doctor's appointment tomorrow" she turned her head to look at him and he just stood there watching her as she continued to walk up the stairs to the main level of their house. He placed another toothpick back in his mouth and turned off the radio. He turned the lights off and made his way back upstairs.

He joined Sharon in the kitchen as she was looking in the refrigerator trying to decide what to make for dinner. "I'll tell the doc tomorrow that I'm fine, and that this checkup is for nothing" he started to say but then he saw her give him her Sharon means business eyes and stopped. He decided to change the subject instead. "We could just order something?" Andy suggested as he now stood behind her. "Hmm, we had junk food at the ballpark today so I thought I would make something on the healthier side for dinner tonight" she pulled out the ground turkey container and placed it on the counter. "Could you get the tomatoes and zucchini out as well?" she asked Andy who was happy to oblige her. He placed them on the counter next to the turkey.

"What are you going to make?" he asked, standing there watching her prepare the counter with different pans. "Hmm, well, I was going to make some Mediterranean turkey meatballs, with zucchini and tomatoes" Sharon answered and looked over at him. She stepped towards him and smiled, taking his toothpick out of his mouth, and kissed him on the lips before stepping away and throwing out his toothpick in the garbage in the kitchen. She then proceeded to prepare dinner.

"I'll go see what Matthew is up to" Andy said and then walked away from the kitchen and into the family room. Matthew was now sprawled out on the couch sleeping with Moxie on one end. The TV was on and another cartoon was being played. Andy walked over to the oversized chair they had a plopped himself in that as he grabbed the remote. He flipped through the channels and found something good to watch.

A half hour later, Sharon stepped into the family room and found both Matthew and Andy sleeping while the TV was on. She carefully removed the remote from Andy's hand and turned the TV off. She then gently nudged his right shoulder. "Sweetie" she whispered but Andy just turned his face towards her. She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss. Andy opened his eyes and saw Sharon standing over him. He smiled up at her. "Dinner's ready" she softly spoke to him and he nodded his head and stood up.

Sharon then stepped over to where Matthew was sprawled out on the couch and gently woke him up. "Matthew, dinner is ready" she told him and he woke up, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "Come on, we're eating in the kitchen tonight" she told her boys and they followed her back into the kitchen to sit at the table.

As they were eating dinner, Matthew was pushing around the vegetables on his plate. "Everything ok?" Sharon asked him. "I'm not sure I like these green things" Matthew shrugged his shoulders as he pointed to the zucchini on his plate. Andy chuckled and Sharon glanced over at him. "You don't have to eat those, Matthew, just finish whatever you can" she smiled and saw Andy's jaw open at her response. She started laughing at him and the face he made. "What?" she asked him as she tried to keep a straight face. "Nothing" Andy just shook his head and they continued their dinner.

As they were cleaning up the kitchen later that night, Matthew was already upstairs and sleeping, Andy walked over to stand behind Sharon, who was standing at the sink. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into her neck. Sharon smiled as she continued to wash the pan that was left in the sink. "So, is Matthew going to summer camp this week?" Andy asked her as he broke away from what he was doing. "Yes, he starts the two-week camp tomorrow" she answered as she rinsed the pan under the water.

Sharon then turned around in Andy's arms and looked up at his face. She placed her arms around his neck as she looked at him. "Are you sure you're ok, Andy?" she asked him. "I'm fine, I promise" he smiled and leaned down to kiss her. They broke apart and their foreheads were touching. "I'm just worried about you" she whispered. Andy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You haven't chewed on toothpicks in a long time and when I saw you this afternoon with one in your mouth" she said and then paused. "I know I'd only chew on them when I had a craving" he whispered. "And now you're worried that I have a craving for alcohol" he finished and she nodded her head as she looked into his eyes.

"Sharon, I've been over 20 years sober, you have helped me through a lot of those years, I told you before that I know what I have to lose, and I'm not going to lose you, the kids, or the job, but especially you" Andy spoke as Sharon listened. She nodded her head and looked down towards her feet. "Hey" Andy said and moved her chin up so that he could look in her eyes. He saw love in them as he leaned forward and kissed her again.

Later that night, Sharon was laying on top of Andy. She lifted herself up as Andy watched her. Her face had pain on it as Andy looked at her. He saw that she was bleeding from her side, and the blood-stained shirt she was wearing was now fully soaked. "Sharon?" he called out to her but she didn't respond. His hands were searching her shirt and now her chest was bleeding and he realized she had been shot multiple times, he tried stopping the blood that was rushing out of her but he couldn't. He saw the life in her eyes leave her. "Sharon!" he screamed and then jolted up.

He looked around and saw he was in their bed; Sharon had woken up when she heard him scream her name. "Andy" she gently rubbed her hand on his arm. He was catching his breath, trying to calm himself down. His heart was racing as he was now trying to focus on Sharon's face. "You're okay" he whispered to her and she nodded. All of a sudden, he didn't feel good and quickly got out of their bed and raced into the bathroom. Sharon heard him throwing up as she got out of bed and followed him.

When she stepped into their bathroom, the scene in front of her made her heart hurt. Andy was over the toilet, dry heaving after emptying his stomach. She stepped closer to him and gently rubbed his back as he was finished. He flushed the toilet and stepped over to the sink, running the cold water over his hands and face as she stood next to him, watching. "Sorry" he mumbled as he placed toothpaste on his toothbrush and started to brush his teeth, trying to get the bad taste out of his mouth.

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked him, gently coaxing him back into their bedroom and then they both sat at the edge of their bed. He swallowed a couple of times before he started to speak. "You were shot" were the only words he could say before his phone started to ring. She looked at his eyes, filled with moisture and cursed that his phone interrupted them. He took a deep breath and reached for his phone on his night stand. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Robby Oderno. "Who's calling at this hour?" Sharon asked and wondered, glancing at the clock as it was 2:15 in the morning.

"It's Oderno" Andy told her. "Lieutenant Flynn" he answered his phone. "Lieutenant, sorry to bother you at this late hour but we have a missing child on our hands and the parents told us that they know you and the Commander" Robby Oderno told him as he listened. Sharon kept looking at her husband. "Who are the parents?" Andy asked as he looked over at Sharon, still sitting at the edge of their bed watching him. "A Charlie and Katie Plummer?" Oderno told him. The name didn't sound familiar to him at first but when Oderno told him the name of the kid, "Ralph is the kid missing" he heard, and then put two and two together. Ralph, the kid on Matthew's baseball team was missing. "Send me their address and I'll head over there" Andy said and hung up his phone.

"Honey?" she said to him as he made his way back to her. "That kid Ralph, on Matthew's baseball team is missing" he started to tell her. "His parents told Oderno that they know us so he thought he'd call us to come out" he finished. "Okay, call Provenza and the rest of the team" she told him as she stood up and started to get dressed for their call out.

TBC