Incubus

by Miss Shannon

A/N: This is the sequel to "Rusty Beck – Marriage Broker". It is going to be a bit different but before the drama starts, enjoy the fluffiness. :-)

Summary: When nightmares become reality, Sharon needs her team's support. (Raydor/Flynn)

1

It was the perfect day for a wedding. The sky was bright blue and the sunshine dazzling. The air, however warm, was fresh and of exceptionally low humidity with a soft breeze that wafted past bare skin like a caress. Sharon Raydor, inexplicably nervous, stopped in her tracks and turned towards the young man in front of her. She shook her head slightly and reached out to correct the position of his tie that hung slightly askew. She then took half a step back and took in his appearance. The once lanky teenager had put on some weight and some muscle over the past few months and his shoulders looked broader. His blonde hair was still unruly and several strands were reaching down to his eyes from where he impatiently brushed them away every few minutes but he could not be talked into a visit to the hairdresser.

"Sharon, you're staring," Rusty complained and somewhat longingly gazed towards the building they were about to enter.

"I'm sorry!" She gave a little wave and a nervous laugh. "I am just admiring just how nicely you've cleaned up."

"Sharon," Rusty said earnestly. "You've been staring at me like this for minutes at the opera. Don't you think you'll get enough of the sight of me in a suit someday?"

She chuckled and reached out to hold on to his arm while the resumed their walk. "I don't really think so," she said and leaned her head against his upper arm for a moment, wondering when exactly he had outgrown her so much.

"I think you're just admiring your handiwork, Sharon. You have a knack for fashion."

Sharon gave a satisfied hum in response and followed her ward into the entrance hall, all the while still holding on to his arm. She could tell from Rusty's relaxed posture that he did not mind her clinging to him like this. They had grown so close over the past few months that she had no reservations about physical closeness anymore. At this point, kissing his forehead or running her hand down his back felt as natural as it did with her own children and Rusty seemed to agree. He was now truly a part of her family that seemed to be ever-growing nowadays. Six weeks after their visit to the Haunted House that had set off an avalanche of events, Sharon had found her small apartment crammed with her loved ones. She strongly suspected her mother of being eager to both make Rusty more comfortable by not having him dragged to Utah for Christmas and to meet Andy Flynn because she had insisted that this year she wanted to come to L.A. for the holidays. Rusty had looked adorably nervous when Sharon had introduced him to her son and daughter. Laura had always been open-minded and rational like her mother and had therefore welcomed Rusty warmly right away. James had taken a little longer to warm up to his new brother but the discovery of their mutual enthusiasm for a certain TV show had helped to quickly establish ties between the two boys. Sharon's mother Susan was the person Sharon had worried least about and once again proved to be the warm-hearted woman that she was and accepted Rusty right into her line of grandchildren.

Sharon liked thinking back to those three days that had been filled with so much love, fun and happiness despite the fact that the sleeping arrangements had been a bit difficult to work out. It hadn't taken Susan long to talk Sharon into inviting Andy to have dinner with them just before everyone was about to leave. Shortly before he was due to arrive, however, she'd almost suffered a nervous breakdown about whether her kids would like him or not. Laura, had gently calmed her down and told her that it was high time she found someone she liked. Again, James had taken longer to warm up to the new man in his mother's life, but after Flynn had left, he had called him "a pretty cool guy" - though grudgingly.

"Now you're staring into space, Sharon. It is rather disconcerting." Rusty's dry tone made her narrow her eyes at him.

"And here I went thinking that I had taught you some manners, Rusty," she said sharply but a small smile betrayed her affection.

"Wuss," Rusty quipped.

"Chump," she retorted.

"If I'd known that you already have a date, I wouldn't have bothered with showing up," a deep voice behind them said and Sharon felt a hand on the small of her back. Rusty quickly edged away from her and complained about "old people sex" under his breath while Lieutenant Andy Flynn took a quick look around and then pulled Sharon into his side to press a kiss to her lips.

"You know, it's not as if you hadn't seen each other in ages," Rusty pointed out in an annoyed tone that Sharon knew to be only an act for his own amusement as well as theirs. "In fact, I heard him leave this morning. By the way, Andy, you still owe me five bucks for those ear plugs."

Sharon looked from Andy to Rusty in shock, wondering whether they were joking or not. "Ear plugs?" she asked feebly and felt the heat creep into her cheeks.

"Don't worry. He's kidding, Sharon!" Andy said quickly.

Sharon smoothed down her cream-colored dress and adjusted its slim belt around her waist in order to distract herself from the horrible implications of Rusty's needing ear plugs when Flynn was around. Keeping it together at the office was difficult enough. At least after that first night, they had always managed make it to the bedroom. Sharon had vowed that she would forever keep from Rusty that her first night with Andy Flynn had started out on the couch for fear that he would refuse to ever sit on it again. And sit on the couch they did a lot lately. Sharon had lost count of the number of nights she had spent shivering and hiding her face in Andy's or Rusty's sweater while both of them never got tired of seeing her squeal with fear at the countless number of horror movies they had in their possession. She knew she should be happy that they got along so well but sometimes she worried about how often they seemed to be teaming up against her. Despite their difficult situation as both lovers and co-workers, their relationship had been smooth sailing so far. At work they did their best to stay away from each other even though they had definitely had their slip ups. Sharon wasn't sure how much the rest of the squad knew but she was sure that they were at least suspecting them as it was difficult for them to hide how close they had become. Even though they didn't touch and rarely even arrived together, she knew that one could tell from the way they talked to each other and especially the way they looked at each other that they were not just mere co-workers anymore. There was just too much intimacy between them.

She preferred to keep them in the dark, however, for as long as possible, as it was bad enough that Lieutenant Provenza was in the know. Andy's best friend was milking the situation for what it was worth and was having more fun with it than she had thought humanly possible. Sometimes, though not especially often, Sharon and Andy texted each other during the day to say things they could not voice aloud for fear of being overheard. Also, they were trying to keep their time alone in her office to an absolute minimum in order not to attract even more attention. Most of the time their texts were about where they would go for dinner or contained rather silly little messages like "I miss you" or "I can't wait to be alone with you." One day, during a staff meeting, however, Andy had sent Sharon a text from the other end of the conference table. She had checked her phone as Lieutenant Tao had been deeply immersed in a lengthy lecture on profiling and had found a message reading "Hey hot legs. I thought our rules forbade you from wearing skirts like this to work. I cannot concentrate." She had hidden her smile by pretending to look stern then had quickly typed back. "Would it help if I took it off?" Seconds later, her phone had buzzed again. Flynn had written. "I will do that for you tonight, I promise." Sharon hadn't been able to repress her smile this time and had looked up and subtly shaken her head to warn Flynn to resume. Upholding professional standards definitely did not involve sending sexy texts in the workplace. And she was pretty sure that this was where this was going. Despite her quiet admonishment, her phone vibrated again and she checked the screen, slightly surprised to find that it wasn't Flynn but Provenza this time. The message read "Stop the sexting in the workplace already! You're disgusting." When she looked up, she could see from the look on Andy's face that she had not been the only recipient. Needless to say, they had never texted during a meeting after that.

When they reached the flight of stairs that led towards the hotel's generous patio, they stopped for a moment.

"If you want to go on pretending, you should take your hand off her ass," Rusty said, barely able to hide his grin.

"My hand is not on her-" Andy began but then just narrowed her eyes and took his hand off the small of Sharon's back. "But good point, Rusty."

"I aim to please," Rusty said loftily and walked ahead to where white tents housed a dance floor and tables to the backdrop of a thin stretch of white sandy beach adjoined by the calm sea whose tiny waves were sparkling in the sunlight. Flynn leaned in slightly while they were still hidden from the other guests' view. "Before I have to go back to being your colleague, let me tell you this: This dress is amazing on you."

Disguised by the folds of said dress, Sharon squeezed his hand affectionately and whispered her gratitude. Although their little game of pretend certainly had its upsides – especially when they were finally able to let out the passion that had been forced to stay bottled up all day in the evening – she would have preferred to be able to be on Andy's arm and steal the occasional kiss right now. Maybe he had sensed her melancholia because he gave her one of his boyish grins and tilted his head slightly.

"If you think that I won't dance with you just because you are my boss and our whole squad is here, you are sadly mistaken, Captain Raydor."

She muffled her giggle with a fist and then began to descend the stairs after Rusty to greet the bride and groom. Amy Sykes looked breathtaking in a tight white dress that, like her, was unadorned but absolutely beautiful in its simplicity. With her hair pinned back to give emphasis to her elegant neck and the flowing fabric of the gown pooling around her feet, the last thing she looked like was an ambitious no-nonsense police officer. She smiled brightly when they approached her and stretched her hand out for Sharon.

"Captain! I am so glad you could make it!"

Sharon smiled and shook her head, very conscious of the fact that Andy was hovering over her shoulder, probably out of sheer habit. "Please, Amy. It's your wedding. Let it be just Sharon for today." And with that, she gave the younger woman a quick hug. "You look absolutely stunning," she said, amused by Amy's happily surprised expression.

"Thank you. Please meet my husband, David." Sharon shook hands with the tall good-looking man. None of them had even known Sykes was in a relationship, let alone engaged, up until that moment when she had invited all of them to her wedding reception. Apparently, she had been with her soldier boyfriend for years without ever mentioning a thing. Sharon approved of Sykes' discretion and ability to divide her personal from her professional life while Provenza had complained, cracking one stupid joke after another. She suspected that he was just miffed that something had escaped his attention.

When they moved away from the couple that had turned to the next set of arrivals, Sharon spotted Rusty talking to Provenza at a nearby table, glasses of champagne in hand. She headed towards them, trenchantly deprived her foster son of his glass and handed it to the passing waiter.

"There is going to be no underage drinking on my watch," she said sternly.

"Hello to you, too," Provenza interjected.

"Sharon," Rusty whined. "It's a special occasion and I will be seventeen next month!" Sharon put her arm around his shoulder. "The legal drinking age in this country is 21 which renders your argument invalid. Go stuff your face with candy like kids do." She gave his shoulder another affectionate squeeze and turned to Provenza.

"Hello, Lieutenant. And thank you for keeping my boy from drinking," she said sarcastically.

"Champagne is not alcohol," Provenza objected halfheartedly. "You look pretty good, Captain. As wicked witches go, I mean."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Flattery will not get you out of this. Especially not when it is laced with insults." Regardless, she was touched by his compliment. Even after all this time, no friendly words would pass Provenza's lips to benefit her if they weren't absolutely true.

"This is a wedding. You shouldn't be having arguments." Tao had appeared with his wife by his side who hugged Flynn and Provenza in turn and extended her hand towards Sharon to introduce herself. "Isn't that a beautiful dress, Amy is wearing there? I am a little jealous." The petite Japanese gave Sharon a wide smile.

"Me, too. I got married in the eighties. I think it's safe to say that I looked as if a tulle shop exploded on me." Their subsequent laughter ringing in Sharon's ears, she was involuntarily propelled back to an appointment she'd had a few weeks ago.

Barbara's office building was comprised of steel, glass and elegance, making Sharon wonder why she had never visited before. Her heels clicked on the polished wooden floor that should have looked out of place but didn't when she approached her best friend's office. When she poked her head around the door, Barbara jumped up from behind the desk and rounded it in one swift motion to come over and hug Sharon.

"Why do you always look like you're about to do a photo shoot?" Barbara asked in mock annoyance when she stepped back to take in the view of her friend. Both busy with demanding jobs, they didn't see as much of each other as they would have liked. Barbara gestured towards a group of chairs and a table in one corner while Sharon was trying not to be distracted by the stunning view over the city. "Being a partner in a major law firm seems to have certain benefits," she remarked dryly.

Barbara gave her familiar bark of laughter. She was less tall than Sharon with a reasonably slim but somewhat square body and slightly frizzy curls that she kept cropped at the chin. Barbara had a closet full of largely identical looking black suits and white shirts and didn't bother with fashion any more than she did with make up. With a few scattered pale freckles, regular features and clear gray eyes, she was not a stunning beauty but inspired confidence right away. Maybe that was why she was so successful in her profession.

"Let me repeat this so I can cherish it," Barbara said, closing her eyes with pleasure. "You are here because you have finally come to your senses and you are going to divorce that despicable little cockroach."

"His name is Charles," Sharon corrected softly. Barbara had hated Charles with a passion from the second they'd met and had been trying to talk Sharon into divorcing him for years. Despite her busy schedule as a first year associate, she had been a rock for Sharon back when she had gotten separated. It was around that time that she had taken up calling him "The Cockroach", usually decorated with colorful adjectives. "Despicable" was actually quite tame compared with what she usually came up with.

"Good of you to remind me as I have to put his name on the papers, too." Barbara grinned. "I hope he'll agree to no-fault. There isn't much for him to gain due to that formidable prenup that super talented young lawyer drew up back then. What was her name again?" She chuckled and reached out for Sharon's hand. "I'll make sure this goes as smoothly as possible, okay, Sharon? You know I am just messing with you because I am happy for you."

Sharon placed her hand on top of her best friend's and nodded. "I do, Barbara."

Sharon hoped desperately that Charles would not try to sabotage her attempt to finally free herself of him completely. Besides the legal ties between them and their children there wasn't much that linked them anymore. Sharon had always kept her own surname. When James was born, she had put Raydor on his birth certificate. Laura, who'd initially borne her father's surname, had been a toddler so Sharon had been able to change her name, too, without confusing her. Financially, they had no ties whatsoever. Sharon had never claimed any sort of spousal support as she had her own job and came from family money. The need to provide for her children had surpassed her pride and she had found herself accepting support from her parents that she had paid back dime by dime when her grandmother had died and left her a substantial part of her fortune. Her inheritance now allowed her to live comfortably, indulge in her habit of shopping for designer clothes and easily put both of her children through college without her husband's help. Now she was more than ready to get rid of him altogether.

"Is there a special reason for the sudden change of heart?" Barbara asked in a confidential tone that practically reeked of irony. As Sharon's resident best friend, of course she was well -informed about most things that were going on.

"Yes," Sharon replied with a smirk. "And then there's this other thing," she added, suddenly less nervous. "I would like for you to look into adoption procedures."

Barbara's eyebrows shot up in surprise which soon turned into joy. She grinned mischievously. "So he said yes?"

It had taken Sharon weeks to gather up the courage to finally talk to Rusty about the possibility of an adoption. When the time had come, she had skirted the issue for almost ten minutes before stammering the words. Her concern had been unnecessary, however, as her foster son had gladly welcomed the idea.

"I should charge you for this," Barbara groaned jokingly and scribbled down notes on to her legal pad. She looked up and gave Sharon another grin. "By the way. Is he debating taking your name? Because Rusty Raydor has a terrible ring to it. You know, like a rusty radar. Can radars corrode?"

"Would you like a drink, Sharon?" Rusty's voice snapped her out of her reverie and she gave him a confused smile, blinking against the sunlight that suddenly seemed brighter.

"I'll have whatever you're having Rusty."

It was a big party with many guests but the Major Crimes team kept together near the balustrade from where they had a beautiful view over the sea. Sharon looked at her team with a neutral expression by means of which she tried to hide her affection for them. Everyone was in elegant suits and even Provenza had managed to find a tie that was not in danger of inducing nausea. They stood together, chatting animatedly, drinking champagne and enjoying the easy comradeship that now characterized their relationships. Sharon was glad that Sykes had invited them all and she enjoyed spending time with them away from work. Rusty appeared next to her and handed her a large cocktail glass that was adorned with an assortment of fruit and several multicolored cocktail umbrellas. She raised the glass to be able to inspect its contents and pursed her lips. "Is that Pina Colada?"

"A Virgin Pina Colada," Rusty corrected with a wide grin. "As you forbade me from drinking."

"You did this on purpose," Sharon snarled.

"Did what on purpose? You said you were having whatever I was having?" Rusty asked with feigned innocence. Sharon set the drink down and picked a piece of watermelon to eat while glaring at her charge. Flynn appeared at her side and set his cranberry juice and soda down. She looked around for potential witnesses and then stole a sip. Rusty leaned in with a smirk.

"You know, if you're trying to make them believe you're not together, you're doing it wrong."

"Thank you, Rusty," Sharon said pointedly. "Now go and get me one of these."

"I just got you a drink!"

"Yes, but you know that I hate coconut flavor as well as cream."

"You never used to hate cream," Rusty pouted.

"I do now."

Rusty shuffled off and took Provenza with him who was tremendously enjoying the champagne if the rate he was downing glasses at was anything to go by. Tao had swept his wife off to the dance floor where they were swaying from side to side along with several other couples. Sanchez looked a little taken aback but then walked towards Sharon and Andy to toast them with his glass of champagne. Sharon raised her abhorrently decorated glass and then quickly set it down again without drinking from it.

"You're giving Rusty a hard time today," Sanchez observed.

"Oh no, that's just for show," Sharon explained, waving her hand dismissively. "Anyway, he'd deserve it. He's such a prankster."

They fell silent for a moment during which Sharon enjoyed the breeze that brought the smell of the sea and she was almost sure she could taste the salt on her lips. She didn't spend nearly enough time at the beach, she thought and resolved to take Rusty and Andy there soon. While they usually got their way in terms of weekend activities, this time she would put her foot down. Speaking of feet, she really felt like sitting down for a while. A chilled glass of cranberry juice and soda appeared in front of her and she turned towards Rusty.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said sweetly.

"Good god, Raydor. What's with the restraint? You should be having champagne. It's delicious!" Provenza drawled from where he had appeared at the other side of the table.

"You mean before there's nothing left because you drank it all?" Flynn asked with a fair share of disapproval. He usually didn't comment on other people's alcohol intake but he could tell by the way Provenza walked that he was already tipsy. And a tipsy Provenza usually made for a flirty Provenza. There were far too many attractive women around he could embarrass himself in front of and Andy thought it his duty to prevent his friend from making a complete fool of himself. Once again. Sharon chuckled, sipping her drink contently then raised her hand to wipe a few strands of hair her from her face that had been dislocated by the wind. Treating her like his boss and his boss only on a daily basis was becoming more and more difficult. He understood why she was so adamant about keeping up appearances but it wasn't easy to be around her all day without being allowed to touch her or even look at her for too long.

Provenza raised his glass. "It's a happy occasion!" At least he was a happy drunk and not a violent or depressed one, Flynn thought. If anything, Provenza was known to become a little sappy when he'd had too much. "Sykes found someone who puts up with her! It's a miracle!"

Sanchez laughed and Sharon shook her head, not completely able to erase the smile from her face.

"Look, old boy, why don't you have a nice glass of water or a cup of coffee before you indulge in more champagne?" Flynn signaled for the waiter while Rusty looked on, smirking.

"You are such a bore, Andy. It's a party. I am enjoying myself." Flynn could see a familiar expression forming on his friend's face which made him nervous. It was mischief, paired with just a little bit of sadism. Provenza turned towards Sharon and offered his hand, bowing slightly. In Provenza, it looked goofy rather than courteous. Sharon stared at him in surprise and threw a panicked look at Rusty when the lieutenant grabbed her hand.

"Would you give me this dance?" he asked and dragged her off without waiting for an answer. Flynn watched Sharon stumble slightly then catch herself. Provenza didn't hate Sharon half as much as he pretended to and sometimes Flynn suspected that he even had a soft spot for her. Needless to say, it was not a notion he liked to dwell on. Six months ago, the three of them had spent New Year's Eve together as Flynn and Provenza always did and Rusty was at a friend's party. Actually, Sharon hadn't wanted to intrude on their boys' night but in the end Provenza had ended up inviting her to join them because, as he put it, he couldn't "take her sad eyes anymore".

At first he had made a big show of her being out of place in his house but at the same time he had patiently explained each and every one of their little weird traditions to Sharon. In the end, he had cracked up a bottle of old scotch and he and had shared. They had drunk themselves into state that closely resembled easy companionship. In fact, a completely sober Andy had looked on with spooked fascination as they had laughed uproariously and patted each other on the back, taking turns with telling stories from back in the day. Finally, around five o'clock he had dragged Sharon home and put her to bed after which she pretended to not remember anything past midnight. He knew that she did, however, by her little smile whenever Provenza's name was mentioned. Provenza, in turn, claimed that he had only been nice because of the liquor.

When Flynn watched them sway rather awkwardly, he couldn't suppress his laughter that was soon joined by that of his fellow squad members.

"Man, he's a bad dancer!" Sanchez chuckled, almost spilling his drink. "Poor Raydor."

"I like how Tao is dancing so elegantly right next to them!" Rusty pointed out and, indeed, it made quite a contrast to Provenza's clumsy attempts at a waltz.

"Somebody should rescue her," Sanchez said with a sidewards glance at Flynn who knew that it was a test.

"Good idea. Rusty. Go dance with your mom!" he commanded the kid who initially reacted with a shocked gasp before his face turned into a smug expression.

"Why don't you go and dance with her?" he asked silkily. "You do like her, don't you?"

Sanchez's gaze was burning into Flynn's side and he felt profoundly uneasy so he took a sip of his drink. "Not as much as Provenza, obviously," he finally said and was relieved to see that the tension evaporated as Sanchez cracked up with laughter. "Anyway," he grabbed Sharon's abandoned purse from where it was sitting on top of their table. "I might try a different approach before he injures her fatally." He walked over to where Sharon was now very obviously trying to evade Provenza's stomping feet and held out her purse.

"Sharon, your phone's ringing," he said. "Screen says it's Taylor."

Despite the fact that she thought work was calling, Sharon smiled in relief. "Thank you, Andy." She disengaged herself from Provenza and gave him a slightly terrified smile.

"Sorry, Lieutenant Provenza. Duty calls. I'll see you later." She reached out her hand for her purse but Flynn just put his own hand on her back. "It's too loud over here. Let's go somewhere quiet." He lead her away from the dance floor and into the direction of the stairs that led towards the beach. "There's no phone call," he told her as soon as they were out of earshot.

Her eyes lit up with humor. "So you just made up an excuse to rescue me? How sweet!"

"Don't be too flattered. I just wanted to avoid having to massage your feet for hours again."

"That was only that one time!" she protested but allowed him to lead her down the stairs and on to the beach. A few chairs were scattered in the sand but he walked right past them and towards a more secluded spot where a couple of palm trees shielded them from view. He sat down in the sand and patted the spot beside him. Sharon shook her head slightly and then slowly lowered herself down. He could see that she was checking whether they could be seen from the patio and found herself satisfied with the result.

"Now we're down to sneaking away," she said and intertwined her fingers with his. "How very romantic, Lieutenant Flynn."

"Too bad it's lost on the pragmatic likes of you," he teased and cupped one of her cheeks to kiss her. Despite the fact that they had been spending the better part of the past seven months' nights together, kissing her still excited him. Maybe having to pretend at work that took up a great deal of their time helped to keep things fresh and new. He rested his free hand on her hip and gently ran it over her stomach. Sharon shrieked and he loved the sound despite the fact that her mouth was currently dangerously close to his ear.

"Damn you, you should know by now that I'm ticklish," she giggled and put her hand on to his to stop it from tickling her any further. They resumed their kiss to the rushing of the sea that drowned out the sounds of the music from upstairs and relaxed both of them to the point where they lay down in the sand, her head on top of his chest.

"Did you really look as horrendous as you said in your wedding gown?" he asked.

She turned her head and blinked against the bright rays of the sun. "Absolutely. We all did. It was the eighties, Andy. Ugly was a fashion requirement."

He chuckled. "I need to see that picture one day."

"I'll see if I can find it somewhere. I put it away a long time ago."

"I know you did." He kissed her again. "I know that nothing is ever easy and that little situation we got ourselves into isn't getting any easier, but I would really like to make you happy."

Now it was her turn to reach out to touch his face. "You know you are, Andy."

There was a momentary silence, then she sat up. "We need to go back to the party. No one will believe me if I say that a routine call from Taylor – most unusual on a Sunday, I might add – took that long."

He grinned. "Are you questioning my excuses for you?"

"Oh no," she said, planting a gentle kiss right next to his nose before getting to her feet, her shoes now in her hand. "I am very grateful for the rescue, whatever the circumstances. Lieutenant Provenza is the worst dancer I have ever had the misfortune of having to share a dance floor with."

"He has many talents, but dancing is not one of them," Flynn agreed.

"Especially when he's drunk."

"Open bars will do that to people."

They took some time getting the sand off their clothes and then headed back to the party. Provenza was busy chatting up a busty blonde that looked less uncomfortable than Andy would have expected so they passed him and returned to their table where Sanchez was standing with Buzz. Sharon greeted the tech and then turned towards Tao who was enjoying a poisonous-looking green drink with his wife.

"Where's Rusty?" she asked to which Tao furrowed his brow. "I thought he was with you, Captain?"

Sharon instinctively turned towards Flynn in alarm. Under the table, he squeezed her hand reassuringly. "He's somewhere, I am sure. Maybe scoring something to eat?" All squad members could see the concern in their Captain's eyes and immediately volunteered to take a look around while Sharon called Rusty's phone. The sound of a siren accompanied by a stern voice reciting the words "Danger, mom's calling!" over and over made them all turn around. Tao bent down and picked up a now battered iphone from under the table. Two large cracks ran along the screen so the words "Sharon Raydor calling" were barely readable. Andy's hand tightened on Sharon's shaking arm.

"I am sure there is an explanation for this," he said in a deep, quiet voice that was meant to reassure her but quite obviously had no effect.

"He always takes care of his phone," she said in a hollow voice. "you know he does. He would never-"

For a moment she looked as if she was going to throw up or to faint or maybe both so Flynn signaled for the others to start their search for Rusty and led Sharon to a nearby sitting area. "Sharon, you need to sit down."

She walked gingerly towards one of the rattan lounge chairs and shakily lowered herself into it. He kneeled down opposite her and took her shaking hands between his. She looked at him and a strangled sound erupted from her throat.

"Something happened. I know it did," she whispered. "and I was sneaking off to-"

"You need to breathe, Sharon," Andy reminded her.

"I left him alone, Andy. If something is wrong, if something happened to him-"

"Sharon," he interrupted her. "There could be an innocent explanation for all of this. And even if something happened, he is a sixteen year old and you left him with Sanchez and Provenza. It's not as if you'd left a toddler unattended."

She could see that she was uncomfortable with her outburst and that she was trying to compose herself. Sharon straightened up and took a deep breath, squeezing his hand. He could see the clouded look that reflected from her eyes whenever she was distressed but trying to hide it. He had seen it the last time Rusty had gone missing. Only now it was a hundred times worse.

"We'll find him," he said insistently. "It is all going to be okay, Sharon."

He could see in her eyes that she didn't believe him.