Bold Script taken directly from Major Crimes. These characters and dialogue do not belong to me, they belong to James Duff. *

Prologue

I was the perfect wife! How is any of this fair to me?! Just keep your mouth shut!

(Cellphone ringing continues)

You're under arrest for murder!

Shut up!

Sharon! Sharon! Listen to me! Get in here! Everyone, Buzz, call the paramedics! Damn it. Damn it!

(Screaming) (High-pitched ringing)

Okay. Starting compressions.

Sharon! Sharon!

(Cellphone ringing continues)

Sharon!

Yes? Yes, yes, doctor. We know. We're trying. An ambulance is coming, but you have to help her, doctor, okay? You have to help her!

He's got to leave. Buzz!

You have to help her, doctor!

Buzz, get him out of here!

You have to help her, please!

Get him out of here!

(High-pitched ringing)

Sharon. Don't give up, Sharon. Sharon, please hang on. Sharon. Sharon.

Chapter 1

Sharon slowly awoke to the incessant sound of beeping. The smell of antiseptic permeated the air. Her head felt foggy. She opened her eyes, at least she thought she did. All she could see was black. Trying again, she finally pried them open. Blinking against the bright light, she looked around the room. A soft snore pulled her attention to the left. Andy. His head lay cushioned on their entwined hands as he slept.

"Andy." Her voice came out in a whisper. She tried again, "Andy."

He jerked awake. "Sharon! Finally!" He pressed his lips to her hand, tears welling in his eyes.

"Mouth, dry. Water?"

Andy poured her a glass and held the straw to her lips. "Drink slowly babe. It's been a while since you've had anything."

After sating her thirst, Sharon looked around the room. Two doors on the left. A television mounted on the wall. Looking to her right, she found the machines that were making that awful beeping noise. An IV tube pierced the top of her hand.

Turning back to Andy she asked, "How did I get here?"

"Tell me the last thing you remember."

"I was in my office with Mrs. Landon and Lt. Provenza. We were just getting her to confess to the murder of her husband and Bonnie Pearl." Her mouth snapped shut as everything came rushing back to her. Her heart beating overtime. The roaring that pounded in her head. Everything going black. The monitor to her right started beeping loudly.

Andy reached over and pressed the call button. A nurse hurried into the room and silenced the monitor. "Ms. Raydor, take some deep breaths. In and out. Good. Let's get that blood pressure back down."

Sharon squeezed Andy's hand as she gulped in the air her lungs so desperately needed. "Andy, why am I in the hospital."

He looked down as he sucked in a shaky breath. What didn't he want to tell her?

"Please, Andy. Just tell me."

"After you collapsed in your office Sanchez performed CPR and got your heart beating. On the way to the hospital, you coded again, but they brought you back. Your doctor performed emergency surgery to get the LVAD in place." He closed his eyes for a moment. The pain clearly etched into the lines of his face. "It was the longest eight hours of my life."

"Oh." Sharon licked her lips. "Andy, I'm sorry." Tears pooled in her eyes.

"Hey, babe. You don't have anything to be sorry for." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

She gulped down a sob and closed her eyes. She needed to tell him the truth, but not yet. She had gotten angry on purpose. She had pushed and pushed at Mrs. Landon, knowing that the more worked up her heart, the higher the chance she'd have to die.

Before she could comment again, Dr. Torres walked into the room. "Sharon, it's good to see you awake. You gave us all quite the scare."

Sharon gave him a half-hearted smile.

"I assume Andy filled you in on what we did?"

Sharon nodded.

"Good. With the LVAD in place that will give you time until a heart is found for you."

"Doctor, I really don't want to take a heart from someone in more need than myself." She felt Andy's hand tighten around her own.

"Sharon, you won't be taking a heart from anyone else. There are a variety of factors that go into matching someone with a heart. First there is blood type. Second is body size. The heart would need to fit in the heart cavity. Some cases are more critical than other cases and those ones get moved up on the transplant list."

Sharon opened her mouth to protest again.

Andy clasped her hand, "Babe, we don't need to think about this right at this moment. Let's get you well enough to go home and then we can talk this over again."

Dr. Torres smiled, "Andy is right. Take one step at a time." She nodded. "Okay, I will let you rest, and I'll be back to check on you tomorrow."

Her eyes slipped closed as she watched Andy walk out into the hallway with the doctor.