Summary: Baseball tickets leads to reminiscing at Serve.
Disclaimer: I own nothing…except their situation and the mistakes
Author's Note: Exams finished and new term we've hit the ground running. I apologise for this update taking so long to appear. My gods, bring on summer holidays.
-SHANDY-
It came as no surprise that everyone in the division enjoyed baseball, in some context, Andy had been given tickets from an anonymous person and even better they were Skybox tickets. The team cheered as they entered the Skybox to find that they were the only ones there. Drinks were bought as was some food before they sat down to watch the game.
As tradition, the first bowl was to be given by someone famous, the announcement nearly knocked Flynn out of his seat "Sharon O'Dwyer" what she did next made it so obvious, she looked up to the skybox her green eyes clear as daylight, on the big screens, how long had it been 6 maybe 7 years?
"Do you know this woman Lieutenant?" Chief Johnson asked, as the game began.
"What? Oh yeah, I owe her a lot, she kinda got me to start going to AA. She's…a handful. You probably wouldn't like her chief." He smiled, his chief could sometimes be very difficult to get on with. The rest of the game passed in a blur, Andy's mind still preoccupied with Sharon. Did she ever marry? Have Kids? When had she stopped playing professionally? During the seventh inning stretch his fellow officer Mike Tao took him over to the side.
"How do you really know this Sharon?" he asked pouring a coke into a glass.
"We met back in high school, it was on the field and well…she was a damn good player." He smirked
"Do you think she got you the tickets?" Tao asked, Andy shrugged and sat back down for the rest of the game.
-SHANDY-
Andy bolted out of the Skybox and down the flights of stairs, he took a turn and went out the back way, praying for a chance he'd see Sharon. He looked around the VIP car park area. A blonde boy ran in front of him, he looked up and smiled, a toothy grin.
"Hey kid, you lost?" he knelt down to be at the boy's eye level.
"No I'm playing hide and seek, with my mom" he replied, before ducking behind him. Andy stood still for a moment and then saw Sharon come towards him.
"Sharon" he called out, waving to her.
"Andy, you look a lot better." She smiled, as he kissed her cheek. The little boy giggled, Sharon smirked before creeping round Andy and surprising him.
"Sharon's got a boyfriend" the blonde boy laughed a little louder as Sharon picked him up. Sharon smiled at Andy.
"This is Rusty. Rusty this is a friend, his name is Andy" She introduced the pair, Andy felt his heart sink, she had married and had kids. Damn.
"It's very nice to meet you Rusty O'Dwyer" he joked holding his hand out.
"My name's Rusty Beck, Sharon's adopting me" Rusty smiled, the toothy grin that made him look very innocent and oblivious.
"Oh." Andy was taken aback, the light at the end was close again.
"I hope your kids enjoyed the game." She was about to wave goodbye to him but Andy ran after her.
"Oh er…they didn't really fancy coming but my division loved it. They're very grateful." He explained, they looked at each other awkwardly. "I want to see you again, please. I want to catch up Sharon" she put rusty down and scribbled her number, which always seemed to be changing in her mind.
"Call me, but I'm a mom now so use you head." She grinned, taking Rusty's hand and walked towards her car.
-SHANDY-
He waited a few days, there was a tough case at work which had really hit him hard. A 13 year old autistic girl who had been 'kidnapped' and killed by her own father who had been frustrated with her demands.
He had called her at noon, on a lunch break. He had snuck into the break room.
"Sharon, its Andy" he greeted
"Andy, hello." She replied quite curtly
"Everything all right?" he asked walking over to the vending machine
"Well I've had better days. I do a bit of teaching, let me tell you 13 year olds are some of the most annoying kids." She explained.
"That doesn't mean they deserve to die" he mumbled, forcefully pushing the buttons on the machine.
"Excuse me, has something happened?" her voice softened a little, realising something must have happened at his work.
"It's a long story, is it possible to see you and soon" he said quickly, as he spotted people at the door.
"Rusty has a playdate this afternoon so I can meet you around 3, I can see you outside the LAPD building, if you like or…" she suggested before tailing off so Andy suggested a restaurant nearby called 'Serve' where he'd meet her at 3. Once he had hung up, he felt calmer. He figured she had that effect on him, he realised she always had. As he exited the breakroom the day ahead seemed a little more bearable.
-SHANDY-
Sharon smirked as she looked in the mirror, without realising she had dressed in red and blue just like their first 'date', she adjusted her hair nodding once satisfied and went through to the living area. Her condo wasn't big, it was just herself and 6 year old Rusty but it suited them and it was near to her job and most city attractions so boredom was easy to cure. As she made her way to the kitchen she picked up a few of Rusty's toys she smiled at the picture he had abandoned on the dining room table. Sharon had no clue what it was but it made her smile so she stuck it on the pin board which had been transformed into 'Rusty's Art Board' since he had moved in almost 2 years ago. Once again she smiled remembering how they had met
Sharon watched as the children ran wild, a little bit of freedom goes a long way. Scanning the area she noticed a group of girls by the panda's and a group of boys by the tiger's then out of the corner of her eye she noted the lone boy, who looked younger than the rest.
"Are you lost? Have you lost your mommy and daddy?" she asked the blonde boy, he turned his eyes red from crying.
"Mommy meet me here." He replied, his voice slightly hoarse, he rubbed his eyes and Sharon picked him up and sat back down.
"Do you know time it was? When you last saw your mommy" she asked pulling a tissue out of her bag and wiped his cheeks and nose.
"Uh-huh, the clock went bong twice times" he held up two fingers after pointing at the zoo's clock. Sharon's green eyes widened, it was nearly four o' clock, who abandons a child for two hours. She decided to take action she called over the other teacher and explained briefly that she'd found the child and that she was going to take him to the police, so he could get help.
The rest they said was history, the boy's parents never turned up and child services had asked her to look after him, for a while, that short time had turned into forever very quickly. Sharon had wanted kids but a mix of the wrong guy and a pelvic injury meant she'd never have be able to conceive a child which had been a scary prospect at the time but she had Rusty now and she loved him so much.
Shaking her head to get her back to reality she went to the door and put on some converse, then toed them off jogged into her bedroom and picked up a pair of heels she adored.
Andy had waited in the car, just like he had when they had gone to Jonesy's. He was nervous, so very nervous, she had been quite angry the day she'd kicked him into the right frame of mind and the journey sobriety hadn't been simple or easy, there had been plenty times he'd mucked up and let his kids down and these days that meant he wasn't worth their time. He had a lot to prove to them.
He took a double take, she was stunning nothing had changed in terms of how she looked. He practically leapt out of the car and over to her.
"Sharon, you look amazing." He greeted her, his hand floating above the small of her back. The two slipped inside and were offered a table near the window, desperate to prove he was still a gentleman he pulled out her chair and allowed her to sit first.
"This is a lovely place, how'd you find it?" she asked as she settled in her chair.
"Well, it's a five minute walk from my work so, the team sometimes holds parties and get togethers here" he explained watching her over his menu. The waiter asked what they wanted to drink and Andy immediately asked for a cranberry juice, not noticing the shy smile that crossed Sharon's lips.
"I guess from that hasty order you are sober." She smiled once the waiter had gone.
"Yes, almost half a decade. It's been difficult but I have tried and I'm not the man you met in that bar, not now, not ever again" he assured her laying a careful hand over hers.
"Good" she replied slowly slipping her hand away, as she looked into his eyes, seeing the apologetic look which let her know he was being totally honest with her.
The diner went well, they laughed about old times, comforted each other through the difficult stories, Andy's alcoholism and the eventual end of Sharon's professional career. The two had fallen into a rhythm that made it look like they had been together for years.
"Sharon I meant to ask, how come you never married?" he asked as they tucked into desert.
"Back in the day, men wanted children, I couldn't give them that, too many baseballs in the gut" she joked, the subject still painful.
"I'm sorry I let you down." He whispered taking her hand in his, she looked at him thankfully her green eyes slightly glassy with tears. They stared at each other for a while until a tapping on the glass beside them disrupted them. They looked and Andy sighed heavily.
"My boss" he mouthed as the blonde woman and her husband, presumably, came over to the table. She was bright, the positive type or perhaps the fake type Sharon couldn't quite tell.
"Hello Lieutenant Flynn and you must be Sharon, the generous donator of Skybox tickets" her accent making Sharon squirm inside, the two women shook her hands.
"That's right Sharon O'Dwyer. Your welcome for the tickets, it was no trouble." She looked to the man who held his hand and introduced himself as Special Agent Fritz Howard. The stood silently smiling awkwardly until a waiter came up to them. Which meant they all split.
"Sharon, I really enjoyed today and…" he was about to give her a speech but she stopped him with her lips, he was shocked but he caught up quickly and let his arm circle around her waist.
"I had to do that Andy, I also have to go because Rusty needs to be picked up. I'll call you" she kissed his cheek and rushed off as fast as she could in heels.
-SHANDY-
When Sharon arrived at Rusty's friend's house she rushed up the path and knocked on the door. She waited a moment hearing laughing children behind the door then an adult's voice.
"Sharon, right on time" the mother of Rusty's friend, Elliot, greeted when she answered the door.
"I am, good. Is my monster ready to go?" she teased, the two mothers laughed and Elliot's mom shouted to the boys. They came barging through and stopped abruptly.
"Why are you wearing heels? And a dress? Where are your sneakers? You look weird Sharon" Rusty asked looking up at her.
"Thanks Rusty I appreciate your honesty. Now let's go" she took his hand, smiling at Elliot then heading to the car where she whipped out wipes and cleaned the boys hands and face which where insanely sticky.
"Why do you look like that, Sharon?" he asked
"Well I was going to dinner with a friend" she replied throwing the sticky wipes into the car bin
"Like a playdate, like I do with my friends" he suggested, she couldn't help but smirk at his innocence.
"Well, a little but my friend and I went to a restaurant instead of playing tag in the garden" she explained "Now do you remember what happens tomorrow?"
"Uh-Huh. We go see a guy and we become a family, in the law's eyes." He answered, while he looked up from the colouring book, she kept in the back of the car, just in case.
"That's right, honey." She smiled at him in the rear view mirror. The rest of the journey was quiet, but Sharon could see he was happily colouring in the back. Their car drove past the LAPD, Sharon looked out the window and spotted Andy she smiled, he smiled back when he saw her. She continued to drive and smiled to herself, this was definitely a good guy.
-SHANDY-
Several months later.
"Are you sure that you are okay looking after Rusty, I wouldn't normally ask mom" she asked once again as she drank coffee in her mother's kitchen. It had been several months since Sharon and Andy had reconciled and things were going well, really well. Rusty liked him, Andy's kids had begun foraging their relationship again, and although it was strained it was better than nothing.
"Your sister is coming over too." Eileen told her daughter.
"Erin's coming over, is she bringing Ava and Jessie" Rusty's blonde head popped around the corner of the doorframe, his eyes lighting up a little having cousins his own age was the best thing ever, even if they were girls.
Sharon watched her son bounce around the kitchen of her parent's LA home, which they had moved into not long after Sharon had come to LA. Although having not grown up in the house she still had so many memories some good some bad.
"Your totally ok with him staying overnight, I can pick him up if…" she started checking again.
"Ron, my girl you'll do no such thing. You have a night out with Andy and we'll see you tomorrow lunch." Her dad interrupted her coming through the door, scooping Rusty up causing him to giggle and laugh. Sharon watched a smile creeping onto her face, her dad was her hero the best man in the entire word, she looked up to him and couldn't imagine a world without him. Snapping out of her thoughts she kissed her mom's cheek and then kissed her dad who was now sitting with Rusty on his lap.
"Now, Rusty, you behave for grandma and grandpa. I'll see you tomorrow, I love you" she leaned down to kiss him but was given a sloppy lick on her cheek she huffed and laughed as her dad attacked her son as the tickle monster.
"I LOVE YOU MOM" she heard as she reached the door. Taking a deep breath she headed for her car. If tonight went well she could see herself being with Andy for a very long time.
-SHANDY-
Author's Note: Okay so we are nearly at the end of this little AU tale. Quick heads up the next chapter will probably jump around a little, time wise, but I'll do my best to keep it as clear as possible. Please leave a review on the way out, I love hearing from you all.
That-Geek