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

Chapter 10

That afternoon, Sharon had received a text message from Emily stating that she was able to get back into her building and she would let them know how everything is once she sees it. Sharon sent a quick text back to her daughter and then turned to look outside her office into the Murder Room. She saw Andy on his phone sitting at his desk. Provenza was reading the newspaper at his desk. There was a discussion at Mike's desk with Buzz and Julio, as Mike was showing them something. Amy was at her desk, working on something else.

Just then, her desk phone rang and she answered it. "Commander Sharon Flynn" she said to the other person on the line. "Hey it's Andrea" she heard and then listened to Andrea speak to her. "I just wanted to give you a heads up that Victor Rocco is no longer in federal custody" she said as Sharon listened. "What?" Sharon replied as she glanced over to look outside her window at the buildings. "How did that happen?" she asked. "I got notice late morning that the federal government was releasing Rocco after good behavior" Andrea informed her. Sharon shook her head. "Thank you for informing me" Sharon told her. "You're welcome, oh and by the way, Rusty did a great job in court the other week" Andrea told her and then they hung up.

Sharon placed the phone back on the receiver and took a deep breath. She was glad that Andrea informed her of Rocco's current status, and she stood up from her desk and walked out to the Murder Room. "Everyone, I just got off the phone with Andrea and she wanted to inform us that Victor Rocco is no longer in federal custody" Sharon told them. "Did he escape?" Provenza asked, as he glanced over towards Andy. "No, he did not escape, Lieutenant. He was released on good behavior" Sharon answered and heard a scoff coming from Andy. "Good behavior, yeh right" Andy muttered.

Sharon then turned around and walked back into her office. Andy followed her and closed the door behind him. "So, should we be worried about Rocco now?" he asked. Sharon shook her head no. "I'm not, unless, you can think of anything that might bring him at the forefront of the Major Crimes division of the LAPD?" Sharon looked at him as he stood there with his arms crossed in front of him. "Their mob, Sharon" he shrugged his shoulders and watched her. "Let's not worry about that, ok" Sharon said as she sat down at her desk.

"Oh, Emily texted me earlier and said she was able to get inside her place" Sharon gestured for Andy to take a seat in front of her desk and he did. "Oh, yeah, right, the Battalion Fire Chief called me before you came out of your office and said that the fire was caused by a faulty hot plate in a condo on the top floor" Andy told her and she nodded, both of them breathing a sigh of relief. Sharon glanced at the clock and stood back up. "I have a budget meeting with Chief Mason in a few minutes, walk me there?" she asked him as she gathered her binder and held her hand out to him. Andy stood up, holding her hand and smiled. "Gladly" he whispered and led her out of her office.

"I'll be in a budget meeting with Chief Mason" she told Provenza as they walked by his desk. Provenza acknowledged it and continued reading his newspaper. Andy opened the door to the hallway and he and Sharon walked hand in hand down towards the Assistant Chief's office. They stopped just short of the door. Andy smiled at her and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Just then Chief Davis walked up towards them and cleared her throat. Andy rolled his eyes as he moved to the side of the hallway to let her step through before focusing back on Sharon. "I'll see you later" he whispered to her, she smiled, and then she opened the door to Mason's office, stepping inside. Andy turned around and walked back to the Murder Room.

Andy walked in and stopped at Provenza's desk. "Hey, what are they working on over there?" Andy leaned down on Provenza's desk and asked him. "They're looking at the latest tech, mumbo jumbo that the LAPD is getting" he told Andy as he looked up from his newspaper. "Are you going to read that all day?" Andy asked as he stood up and gave him a look. "Why not? There's nothing else better to do" Provenza quipped back looking up a him. Andy shook his head and continued on towards his desk, sitting down, and started to type something into his computer.

He opened his top desk drawer and pulled out the folder with Croelick's name on it. He conducted a search to see how many wildfires were currently active in the Los Angeles County area. There were two currently in the area. One was located near Paradise Springs in the Angeles National Forest. The other fire was located in the town of Sanberg, near Castaic Lake. As Andy read further in the reports, it said they were both started by lightning. He leaned back in his chair and read the autopsy report on that body last year that was burned in the fire that Randall Meijers had started before they had finally caught him in the act.

When they had their case against Randall, Andy was certain that Croelick was somehow involved in this person's death. But they didn't have enough and Croelick had walked out. He did it once and he would do it again, Andy was certain about that. There had to be a way to id the body, but Dr. Morales said, at that time, that there was no way as there were no hands with the body, and it was also burned beyond recognition. Andy glanced at his watch; he figured Sharon would be coming back soon from her meeting. He placed the folder back inside his desk and locked the drawer.

Sharon was walking down the hallway from the Chief's office when she heard Winnie Davis behind her. "So Major Crimes still gets whatever they want!" Davis stated in a condescending tone and Sharon stopped where she was and turned around. "You know Chief Davis, this jealousy that you have is really unbecoming of you" Sharon placed her hand on her hip as she looked at her. Winnie scoffed at her statement. "Oh, I'm not jealous Commander" she stated in a lower voice so other people who were now in the hallway couldn't hear their conversation.

"Oh? Then what would you call it?" Sharon asked her, now she was intrigued. Sharon and Winnie were staring at each other, but before either one said anything else, Chief Howard walked over to where Sharon was standing. "Commander Flynn, could you walk with me over this way, I have something to run by you" he told her and she nodded her head, turning around and walking with him towards the Murder Room. Winnie Davis shook her head and proceeded to the elevators. "I was told to save you from her wrath" Chief Howard whispered to Sharon as they walked. Sharon let out a chuckle. "From who?" she asked. "Mason" he simply stated and walked her to the Murder Room door.

Sharon stepped inside the Murder Room by herself and walked towards her office. She saw Andy at his desk and he gave her a smile as she walked closer to her door. "Ah, Commander, you survived your budget meeting?" Provenza asked her as he walked back in the room. "Yes, Lieutenant, I did" Sharon turned around to face him. "Well, that's good" Provenza said as he continued back to his desk. Andy looked at him and wondered where he was returning from, but before he could ask him, Sharon looked at Andy and gestured for him to come into her office.

As she was walking around her desk, Andy stood at her door. "Come in and close the door" she told him as she sat down on her chair. Andy did as she asked and then sat across from her. He could tell she was exhausted from her meeting. "Everything ok?" he asked her. "It was the usual from Chief Davis, but Chief Mason was fair in his decisions, although she would tell you differently" she huffed. "Oh?" Andy chuckled. "Yes, we had a little confrontation in the hallway after the meeting was over" she told him. "You did?" he grinned as he leaned forward in his chair.

Sharon shook her head at him. "It was civil if that bursts your bubble" she mentioned. He was listening to her. "I called out her jealousy, although she took exception to that but before it went further, Chief Howard walked by and escorted me back to the Murder Room" she explained. "Well, it did not burst my bubble but I am glad that you came out of her wrath in one piece" he told her. "Hmm, yes, so anything happen while I was gone?" she asked him. Andy thought about what he was going to say. "Uh, well, Provenza kept reading his newspaper, and the guys were looking over some tech stuff" he told her. "And did you look over anything?" she asked trying to get a hint about their date tomorrow night.

"Oh, well, I looked into something that's been in my desk for a while" he was vague with his answer and Sharon gave him a look. "And?" she asked further. "Ok, I was looking into the body that was discovered during that wildfire after we had caught Randall, to see if we could get any sort of ID, and then I looked into seeing how many current wildfires that are burning right now, but they are in the northern part of the county, and were caused by lightning" Andy told her and she nodded her head and then looked over something that was on her desk. Andy looked at her. "You're not mad?" he asked. "Why would I be mad?" she looked up at him. "Because I'm looking into Croelick again" he answered her.

She placed the paper that she was looking at back on her desk and leaned forward, placing her folded hands on her desk. "Andy" she whispered his name as she looked at him sitting across from her. But before she could say anything else to him there was a knock on her office door. She sighed before answering. "Come in" she told whoever was on the other side of the door. Her door opened and Mike entered her office. "Ah, Commander, bad time?" he asked looking at the two of them. "No, what is it, Lieutenant?" she said to him. "I have the report on the latest tech that the department has acquired, and some of this will come in handy for our team" he told her as he handed the report over to her. She took it from him and glanced at the paper. "Thank you, Lieutenant," she replied. "Uh, why don't we all call it a day as well" she added and Mike nodded his head, "Have a good night you two" he told them and walked out of her office.

Andy kept looking at Sharon wondering if she would continue their conversation before Mike interrupted them. "I've been thinking about Croelick as well today" she told him and he was shocked. "Really?" he asked, wondering what had brought him up in Sharon's mind. "When Matthew brought up he was going to the rec center with camp to go swimming, that's where he told us he had seen him before" Sharon said in a concerned voice. Whether it was concerned for Andy or Matthew, he couldn't tell at the moment. "Yeh, that had me a little concerned this morning" Andy told her. She smiled at him and then started to shut down her computer. "Why don't we leave now, we can pick up Matthew from camp and then have dinner at home" Sharon suggested to him. Andy continued to look at her. She raised her eyebrows as he did. "You're beautiful, do you know that?" he told her in a low voice and she blushed, shaking her head.

Sharon and Andy then headed out of the office and walked towards the elevators. As they stepped inside an empty one, Andy grabbed Sharon's hand and she leaned her head on his arm as the doors closed. The elevator took them down, but had stopped on the 3rd floor. The doors opened and Winnie Davis stepped inside. Andy suppressed a groan as he saw her but Sharon didn't move from her spot. Winnie Davis eyed the two as she turned around to face the door. The silence on the elevator was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. The doors opened on the 1st floor and Winnie Davis stepped out. Andy quickly pushed the door close button and Sharon giggled at his gesture. "What?" Andy just shrugged his shoulders as the elevator took them down to the parking garage.

They made their way through the streets of Los Angeles to the park district to pick up Matthew from camp. As they waited for the camp to let out, Nicole pulled up next to their car. Andy waved to his daughter. She waved to both of them and Sharon got out of their car and stood next to Nicole's window that was now rolled down. "How's everything going?" Nicole asked her. Sharon glanced over where Andy was still sitting in the car and then back at his daughter. "Things are okay" she told her. Nicole smiled and then glanced over at her father before continuing. "Did he tell you where he's taking you tomorrow night?" she asked her step-mother. Sharon shrugged her shoulders in response. "If he knows he's keeping it tight lipped and not giving me any clues" Sharon answered her.

The kids started to come outside in groups and Sharon saw her two step-grandkids but not Matthew. "Grandma Sharon!" they both shouted to her and ran over to where she was standing, between the cars. "Oh, boys!" she hugged each of them. "Where's Matthew?" she asked them. "He should be coming out; he was talking with Joey about baseball when we left" Avery told her. Colin walked over to where Andy was sitting in the car and waved to him. "Well, hello there!" Andy said to the boy and tousled his hair. "Hi Grandpa!" Colin laughed. Sharon looked over to the entrance of the building and finally saw Matthew walking out with another kid, she assumed was Joey. She waved in Matthew's direction and Matthew turned to the other kid and they high fived each other before Matthew ran over to where Sharon was standing.

"Did you have a nice day today?" she asked him as he waved to Nicole and got into their car. "Yes! We went to the pool at the rec center and it was a lot of fun!" he told them. "Did you see anyone that you knew?" Andy asked him, hoping he would say no, as he started to drive towards their house. "No" Matthew answered as he looked out of his window at the passing scenery. "I do need to charge my phone when we get home cause it's almost at zero" he told them and both Sharon and Andy glanced at each other. "Why is it so low?" Sharon asked. "Oh, um, I may have forgot to charge it last night" Matthew hesitated as he told them.

As Andy pulled the car into the garage, Sharon was looking towards him. "Like what you see?" he spoke in a low voice. Sharon hummed and smiled. Andy rolled his eyes as he turned off the engine. Matthew then stepped out of the car and waited. "How about I start the grill and we cookout something?" Andy suggested to her as she was holding his hand. "That sounds good to me" she smiled and then he brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. "Where are you taking me tomorrow night?" she asked in a whisper. "It's a surprise" he informed her, gave her a wink, and stepped out of the car. This time it was Sharon's turn to roll her eyes as she watched him leave the car. She then joined him and Matthew and they walked over to the back door of the house.

"Mom, can we go on a vacation?" Matthew asked Sharon as they were sitting at the kitchen table. Andy was outside grilling dinner so it was just the two of them in the house. "Oh, um, it would depend on your father's and my work schedule" she answered him and saw some disappointment in his eyes. "And don't you have baseball games the whole summer?" she pointed that out. "I do but maybe we can go after one of my games and just come back Sunday night?" Matthew suggested and Sharon looked at him. "Hmm, are you trying to make a deal?" she asked and smiled. Matthew shrugged his shoulders. "Well, where would you like to go?" she asked and wondered what he would say. "Can we go back to Disneyland?" he asked he, just as Andy walked into the kitchen and placed the plate of food on the kitchen island.

"Well, I suppose we could, we would have to pick a weekend that we are not on call" Sharon told Matthew and he smiled. "Now, go wash your hands before dinner" she told him and he got up and ran towards the bathroom. Sharon walked over to the kitchen island and joined Andy. "So, what was he asking?" Andy smiled as he ran a finger over her hand. "He was wondering if we could go on a vacation to Disneyland again" she smiled at him and moved her hand just out of his reach. She was now putting food on her plate and a plate for Matthew. "Disneyland, huh?" Andy said as he scratched his head. Matthew then came back to the kitchen and joined them at the island. "So, you want to go back to Disneyland?" Andy asked him as he took his plate from the island and brought it over to the table.

"Yes, I had such a good time there last year that I want to go back again" Matthew sat down at the table and looked at the food that was on his plate. There was a turkey burger and some grilled potatoes on it. He took the ketchup from the table and squeezed some onto his burger before placing the bun back on top. "Well, we could see what weekend we are not on call" Sharon this time telling Andy. "Well, I think that's a great idea!" Andy told them, smiling at Matthew and Sharon. "Great! I heard there's a new Star Wars land inside the park!" Matthew said excitedly. "Oh, where did you hear that?" Andy wondered. "From Joey" Matthew said as he took a bite of his turkey burger.

"Joey went there with his family a couple weeks ago" he continued as he chewed his food. "He said it was so cool" he finished his food and then got up from the table, and started to walk away but Sharon called him back. "Take your plate and place it in the sink" she told him and he did. He then left the kitchen for the family room and turned on the TV. Meanwhile Andy looked at Sharon after Matthew had left. "So, when did you want to take him?" he asked as he placed his right arm on the back of her chair. Sharon pulled out her phone to look at their work calendar. "Well, we could plan and take him in three weeks?" she told him, as she looked up from her phone.

"Ok, place it on the calendar and we will plan for it" Andy told her as he shifted in his seat, turning to face her. "Now, let's talk about tomorrow night" he whispered to her as he leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Oh? I thought it was a surprise" she grinned as she kissed him on his lips. "It is" Andy groaned back as she broke their kiss. Sharon hummed as she looked into his eyes. "So, we should leave here around 6 tomorrow night" he whispered to her and she smiled. "Ok" she said. Before they could kiss again, Sharon's phone rang. Andy lowered his head as she grabbed her phone. "It's Emily" she told him as she answered.

"Hey sweetie" Sharon greeted Emily. "Hey Mom" Emily said. "Is everything ok with the condo?" Sharon asked as she stood up from the kitchen and walked towards the den. Andy watched her leave and then pulled out his phone to make the final touches on their date tomorrow. He then walked into the family room and saw Matthew was watching his favorite Star Wars cartoon. Matthew and Moxie were both sitting on the couch. "So, everything was good at your camp today?" Andy asked as he sat down next to Matthew. "Yep! We practiced cannonballs today at the pool" Matthew told his dad. "Oh, I'm sure that was a lot of fun" Andy said. "It was until we got yelled at" Matthew grumbled. Andy turned his head to look at him. "What do you mean you got yelled at?" Andy asked. "Someone complained to our camp counselors and they told us we needed to stop" Matthew shrugged his shoulders as he continued to watch the show.

"Did they tell you who complained, Matthew?" Andy asked him as he was now sitting on the edge of the couch pillow. "No" Matthew answered quietly. "Ok" Andy looked at him. "Am I in trouble now?" Matthew asked. Andy turned his head. "Why would you be in trouble?" Andy asked, folding his hands together. Matthew shrugged his shoulders. "Because I knew we weren't supposed to do cannonballs in the pool but I did them anyway" Matthew confessed. Andy sighed as he looked at him.

Meanwhile, Sharon was still speaking to Emily on her phone. "I don't know Mom, it kind of feels weird here now" she told her mother. "Weird, like how?" Sharon asked her, in a concerned voice. "Like, I know the fire was contained to the top floor but I can't seem to wonder if it had moved further down the floors, or if we weren't notified by the fire alarm" Emily confided in her mom. Sharon didn't say anything. After a few seconds of silence Emily started again. "Do you think maybe if I can't settle back down here in a couple of days, if I could stay over with you guys at your house, you know, until the top floor gets fixed?" she asked and Sharon knew that Emily was uneasy about currently staying at her condo.

"Of course, sweetie, you can stay over here, no problem" Sharon told her and Emily sighed. "So, has Andy told you where he's taking you tomorrow night?" Emily changed the topic. "No, he has not. He keeps telling me it's a surprise" Sharon informed her daughter. "Hmm, that's sort of romantic Mom" Emily grinned into the phone. "Yes, well, we shall see what he comes up with" Sharon laughed. "It's Andy, Mom. He'd do anything for you" Emily reminded her. Sharon hummed in agreement. "Well, I'm going to let you go" Emily added. "Ok sweetie, try to have a good night" Sharon told her. "I will, good night" Emily said and then they both hung up their phones.

Later that night, after they had tucked Matthew into bed in his room, Andy was waiting for Sharon to come into their bedroom. She was currently in their bathroom getting ready for bed. Andy was sitting on the edge of their bed, looking at his phone when she stepped out. He glanced up at her and saw her wearing her purple camisole. He took a deep breath, tossed the phone down, as she walked closer to him. "Sharon" he whispered her name as she stood between his legs, her hands on his shoulders. She leaned down to kiss him and he pulled her down on to the bed with him.

It was after 4 in the morning when Andy heard his phone ringing as Sharon stirred in her sleep. He unwrapped his arms from her embrace and leaned over to where his phone was. Picking it up, he looked at the screen, squinting his eyes from the brightness, and saw his partner's name. He groaned as he answered it. "Yeh?" he said to his partner as he rubbed his eyes with his hand. "Unfortunately, Flynn, we have a Major Crime" he heard his partner tell him.

TBC