"Invitations (3/4)" - Hobbs/Raydor Fic
Title: Invitations (3/4)
Co-author: Immas13
Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor
Rating: T
Word Count: 2, 464 words
Disclaimer: Not our characters or television show.
A/N: Many thanks to redrockcan and sharon_ray for their beta and suggestions.
Summary: Sharon is forced to openly come to terms with her relationship with Andrea, who is growing tired of their secretive romance.
Chapter One is HERE. Chapter Two is HERE.
Sharon checked her watch and noticed that it was nearly twenty to nine; Conner was late. Frowning, she sent him a text, Where are you? and received a reply a few moments later, Sorry slept in. Be there in five.
Sharon was making the final touches to the waffles and fruit salad when she heard the key turning in the lock at her front door.For the second time in just a few hours, Conner let himself into her condo with his spare key.
“Hey!” he called out to her. “Good morning, sorry I was late.” He came around the corner and placed a small, simple bouquet of flowers in the middle of the table.
“Oh! Those are beautiful,” she said.
“A wise woman informed me last night that I should take the time to let the women in my life know that they’re important to me. I drove by Sara’s place earlier and left some for her too, she was still sleeping but I left them with her roommates,” he said.
“Your sister will love that.” Sharon beamed at him. He looked far less troubled than he did just a few hours ago.
“Right, so, I also owe you an apology,” he said, “You don’t owe it to me to tell me when you’ve got a boyfriend. I guess I felt left out that you obviously are sharing your life with someone, and that you hadn’t included me,” he said sheepishly. “You’ve always been open and honest with Sara and I, even when we were kids, and I appreciate that we’ve been able to have that sort of relationship; I guess I’m not used to being unaware of what’s going on. But regardless I shouldn’t have reacted that way.”
Sharon gestured for him to take a seat at the table. “Apology accepted. Though I didn’t have you over this morning for that; we need to talk about something serious.”
“We are talking,” he said cheekily as he reached for the syrup and poured a generous amount on his waffles and fruit. As he put the syrup back on the table, he noticed an extra place setting and his face reddened noticeably. “Oh, um, did you invite him over?”
Sharon fiddled with the cutlery beside her plate. “I invited them over, yes. When we were talking last night about you and Nathalie, it made me think. I haven’t been taking my own advice, and I decided that I needed to start doing so.” Conner frowned.“What I am trying to say is-”
The knock at her door could not have been more ill-timed.
“Um, should you get that?” Conner looked between his mother and the door.
“Yes, of course,” she said as she went to the door, “Conner? I’m really very happy right now, I’d like you to remember that.” She nodded, hoping to God that her son would react well to meeting Andrea.
“Sure Mom,” he said, still slightly confused, as he rose from his seat to greet his mother’s new boyfriend.
He thought that maybe she’d met someone at work. Perhaps an officer in another department, an older gentleman, maybe he had kids too? Or maybe her friend, Gavin, had set him up with someone. He did not expect his mother to open her front door to welcome the attractive, blonde-haired woman standing on the other side.
“Hi,” the blonde said nervously, looking at Sharon for reassurance.
“Conner, this is Andrea Hobbs, Andrea, this is my son, Conner,” Sharon said.
Conner blinked, shifting his focus between Andrea and his mother. “Andrea?” he said, not quite believing his eyes.
“Nice to meet you Conner,” Andrea held out her hand, he could see that it was shaking ever so slightly.
“Yes, nice to meet you as well,” he amended as he accepted her handshake. Beside him he could hear his mother let out a shaky breath.
The three of them made their way in awkward silence back to the dining room table. Andrea took a seat next to Sharon and Conner resumed his place which put him across from Andrea, who was apparently his mother’s...girlfriend? Partner? He wasn’t sure which term they preferred. He looked at them, back and forth, trying to force his brain to catch up with what his eyes were processing. For several moments, neither adult said anything.
“Oh for God’s sake, say something,” Sharon said, she looked like she was about to either start laughing or crying, or perhaps erupt into a tearful laughter.
“I’m, surprised,” Conner said slowly. He knew enough about men and women coming out later on in life that he didn’t want to react negatively, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel totally blindsided by this revelation. “I just...this isn’t what I expected.” Sharon cringed. “No, I mean,” he sighed, “this isn’t coming out right. I’m surprised,” he repeated, “and well, shocked-”
Andrea cleared her throat. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I can leave, if that would make this conversation easier?” She regarded both Raydors.
“No, that’s not necessary.” Sharon directed her answer to Andrea. “Conner, I want you to know that I love both you and your sister very much. And I am so, so sorry for not being completely honest with the two of you, but, this was....difficult for me to come to terms with.” Andrea reached for Sharon’s hand and gave it a light squeeze, Sharon seemed startled, but returned the gesture and smiled warmly at her; Andrea’s hand retreated back to her lap after a moment. Conner noticed how tense his mother was despite their tender exchange.
“I understand,” he said quickly. “And if anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I obviously did or said something to you to make you feel uncomfortable in telling me.” Connor’s statement held more anger behind it than he had intended.
“No! No,” Sharon shook her head, “you and your sister are my joy; the most important thing I’ve ever done with my life, along with Rusty. I was concerned about upsetting or confusing you.”
Conner nodded, still taking it all in, “So this is real, you two are a couple?”
Sharon glanced at Andrea, “This has been new for us, but yes I think couple is the appropriate term.”
“Is this the first, um, relationship like this that you’ve been in?” Andrea blushed, embarrassed on Sharon’s behalf. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry,” Conner said in response to her reaction, “I’m just...this is a whole part of your life that I don’t know about, and well, I don’t want to be nosey but I also don’t want there to be any weirdness between us,” he said, hoping to reassure his mother. In all of his life, he had never seen her so uncomfortable, or so not in control of a situation.
“I’ve dated since separating from your father,” Sharon confirmed cryptically, “but this is the first time it’s ever felt real.”
Andrea smiled, proud and humbled that Sharon had finally taken a step forward.
“Right,” he said, nodding. “Does Sara know?” Sharon shook her head in the negative. “Rusty?”
Sharon paused. “Yes,” she said.
“Oh.” Conner seemed honestly taken aback by this.
“Conner, I never wanted you to find out this way. I wanted to tell you myself, I wanted to be sure of my own feelings before I decided to share them with you.”
“But you were sure enough to tell Rusty?” he asked slowly.
“The situation is different. Rusty has only ever known me as I am now, involved with Andrea. It’s taken me a long time to fully understand who I am, and many years of soul searching and questioning to come to terms with my identity. It’s a process Conner, one that I’m still trying to figure out.”
“I guess I’m frustrated that I wouldn’t be included in that journey. You helped Sara and I discover ourselves as young adults, you watched us grow up, we would have understood,” he protested.
“And while you were coming to terms with yourself, I was doing the same. It’s my job as your mother to be there for you, not the other way around. It wouldn’t have been fair to you if I had told you the way I was feeling before I fully understood myself. Rusty doesn’t have the luxury of having a parent who puts his needs first, I had to give him that respect; I promised him that when he moved in here. I hope you can understand.”
Andrea regarded Sharon as she championed through this difficult conversation with her son. She wasn’t sure if Sharon would appreciate an interjection from her, despite her really wanting to speak up and verbally support Sharon; instead, Andrea remained firmly at her side, supporting her silently.
“How did you two meet?” he asked. He wasn’t sure at first if it was the right question to lead with, but knew he had made the right decision when he saw his mother’s shoulders visibly fall in relaxation.
“Andrea is a Deputy District Attorney, her office coordinates with Major Crimes to arrange trials and such,” Sharon explained.
“Another lawyer? Really?” He looked at Andrea, who nodded her confirmation. “Mom, you have a type,” he said, trying to relieve a bit of the tension.
Sharon gawked at her son who was now chuckling into his breakfast. “I do not,” she said, grateful that her son’s - albeit sometimes crude - sense of humour had lightened the moment between them.
“Yeah, you do,” he retorted. “My Dad is an attorney as well, so am I. Or, he was one,” he said to Andrea, grateful that he had something in common with her. If all else failed, he could always resort to talking about law; it was a subject that he was comfortable with, that he grew up with as both the son of an attorney and now as an attorney himself.
“I see,” Andrea said slowly. “Should I be worried about your fascination with my profession Sharon?” Andrea asked, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. She hoped that she was making the right move with her attempt at humour with Sharon’s son; she really wanted to be able to get along with him, and with Sharon’s daughter as well. She loved and respected Sharon’s role as a mother, and she wanted to be able to have at least a friendly relationship with her kids.
“No,” Sharon replied dryly. Andrea was responsible, thoughtful, and in control of her instincts; the exact opposite of her ex.
“Only if you like gambling,” Conner interjected. At Andrea’s questioning gaze, Conner continued, “Jackson Raydor was not the most financially responsible person.” Sharon raised her eyebrow at her eldest child. “He wasn’t,” he said defensively. Sharon glared at him in a way that effectively silenced him.
Sharon sighed and turned her attention back to Andrea. “I’ll explain some other time,” she said, her tone indicating that this was going to be yet another difficult discussion between them. Andrea smiled reassuringly at Sharon, understanding that this clearly wasn’t the time nor the place for this topic.
Conner addressed Andrea once again. “Soooo, do I call you Andrea, or Ms. Hobbs...” Conner trailed off.
“Andrea is fine. Only my eighty year old neighbour calls me Ms. Hobbs,” Andrea said, winking. “Um, Sharon told me that you’re engaged?” she said, hoping to direct the conversation away from her and Sharon for a moment. Both women were highly uncomfortable being in the spotlight, or being the discussion topic, both personally and together. “You must be so busy with wedding plans?”
“Yeah, we’re pretty busy at the moment, but it’s been great you know?” Joy seemed to radiate from him. “We’ve got the date secured with the church, now it’s just a matter of-”
“Sharon?” All three adults leaned back in their chairs to greet Rusty who had just let himself in. “Oh, wow, did I interrupt something?” he said when he saw them all sitting at the table.
“Rusty, I thought that I had to pick you up at noon?” Sharon said, checking her wrist watch; it was barely 10am.
“We got back earlier than expected, there was like no traffic, so Dave’s Dad dropped me off.” He shrugged his overnight bag off and kicked his sneakers aside before sitting next to Conner. “Hey Conner, hey Andrea,” he said briskly, as though it was the most natural thing in the world to see his foster parent with her partner and one of her biological children all sitting at the table.
“Anyway, no one was upset about getting back early, they made us go to bed at like 9:30pm every night,” he said, exasperated.He helped himself to a plate and dove into the forgotten waffles and fruit in the centre of the table. He’d missed Sharon’s cooking while on his retreat this weekend, so he was exceptionally grateful to come home to such a plentiful breakfast spread out on the table.
“So,” he said with his mouth full, “what did you guys do this weekend?” He regarded the three adults sitting with him. Andrea kept looking worriedly at Sharon, who still looked like she was about to either laugh or cry or maybe do a little of both. Beside him, Conner was shaking with the effort to hold in his laughter. Hastily swallowing his breakfast, he asked, “uh, guys? Is everyone alright? Sharon you look kind of stressed out.” He looked at Conner again, who was now laughing silently. “Dude, what is up? What did I miss?”
Sharon couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing, the stress and ridiculousness of the last twelve hours having finally taken their toll on her. Andrea let out a sigh of relief before chuckling along and Conner clapped a clueless Rusty on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry man, I’ll explain it to you later,” he said, taking pity on the kid as he tried to conceal his laughter. “It’s all good,” he promised Rusty.
“Don’t you dare,” Sharon warned, still laughing.
“You guys are so weird,” Rusty said, shaking his head as he helped himself to another fork of waffle. “I leave for like two days and you all lose it.”
“Well we’re glad to have you back then,” Sharon teased, “to keep us rascals in check.”
Co-author: Immas13
Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor
Rating: T
Word Count: 2, 464 words
Disclaimer: Not our characters or television show.
A/N: Many thanks to redrockcan and sharon_ray for their beta and suggestions.
Summary: Sharon is forced to openly come to terms with her relationship with Andrea, who is growing tired of their secretive romance.
Chapter One is HERE. Chapter Two is HERE.
Sharon checked her watch and noticed that it was nearly twenty to nine; Conner was late. Frowning, she sent him a text, Where are you? and received a reply a few moments later, Sorry slept in. Be there in five.
Sharon was making the final touches to the waffles and fruit salad when she heard the key turning in the lock at her front door.For the second time in just a few hours, Conner let himself into her condo with his spare key.
“Hey!” he called out to her. “Good morning, sorry I was late.” He came around the corner and placed a small, simple bouquet of flowers in the middle of the table.
“Oh! Those are beautiful,” she said.
“A wise woman informed me last night that I should take the time to let the women in my life know that they’re important to me. I drove by Sara’s place earlier and left some for her too, she was still sleeping but I left them with her roommates,” he said.
“Your sister will love that.” Sharon beamed at him. He looked far less troubled than he did just a few hours ago.
“Right, so, I also owe you an apology,” he said, “You don’t owe it to me to tell me when you’ve got a boyfriend. I guess I felt left out that you obviously are sharing your life with someone, and that you hadn’t included me,” he said sheepishly. “You’ve always been open and honest with Sara and I, even when we were kids, and I appreciate that we’ve been able to have that sort of relationship; I guess I’m not used to being unaware of what’s going on. But regardless I shouldn’t have reacted that way.”
Sharon gestured for him to take a seat at the table. “Apology accepted. Though I didn’t have you over this morning for that; we need to talk about something serious.”
“We are talking,” he said cheekily as he reached for the syrup and poured a generous amount on his waffles and fruit. As he put the syrup back on the table, he noticed an extra place setting and his face reddened noticeably. “Oh, um, did you invite him over?”
Sharon fiddled with the cutlery beside her plate. “I invited them over, yes. When we were talking last night about you and Nathalie, it made me think. I haven’t been taking my own advice, and I decided that I needed to start doing so.” Conner frowned.“What I am trying to say is-”
The knock at her door could not have been more ill-timed.
“Um, should you get that?” Conner looked between his mother and the door.
“Yes, of course,” she said as she went to the door, “Conner? I’m really very happy right now, I’d like you to remember that.” She nodded, hoping to God that her son would react well to meeting Andrea.
“Sure Mom,” he said, still slightly confused, as he rose from his seat to greet his mother’s new boyfriend.
He thought that maybe she’d met someone at work. Perhaps an officer in another department, an older gentleman, maybe he had kids too? Or maybe her friend, Gavin, had set him up with someone. He did not expect his mother to open her front door to welcome the attractive, blonde-haired woman standing on the other side.
“Hi,” the blonde said nervously, looking at Sharon for reassurance.
“Conner, this is Andrea Hobbs, Andrea, this is my son, Conner,” Sharon said.
Conner blinked, shifting his focus between Andrea and his mother. “Andrea?” he said, not quite believing his eyes.
“Nice to meet you Conner,” Andrea held out her hand, he could see that it was shaking ever so slightly.
“Yes, nice to meet you as well,” he amended as he accepted her handshake. Beside him he could hear his mother let out a shaky breath.
The three of them made their way in awkward silence back to the dining room table. Andrea took a seat next to Sharon and Conner resumed his place which put him across from Andrea, who was apparently his mother’s...girlfriend? Partner? He wasn’t sure which term they preferred. He looked at them, back and forth, trying to force his brain to catch up with what his eyes were processing. For several moments, neither adult said anything.
“Oh for God’s sake, say something,” Sharon said, she looked like she was about to either start laughing or crying, or perhaps erupt into a tearful laughter.
“I’m, surprised,” Conner said slowly. He knew enough about men and women coming out later on in life that he didn’t want to react negatively, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel totally blindsided by this revelation. “I just...this isn’t what I expected.” Sharon cringed. “No, I mean,” he sighed, “this isn’t coming out right. I’m surprised,” he repeated, “and well, shocked-”
Andrea cleared her throat. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I can leave, if that would make this conversation easier?” She regarded both Raydors.
“No, that’s not necessary.” Sharon directed her answer to Andrea. “Conner, I want you to know that I love both you and your sister very much. And I am so, so sorry for not being completely honest with the two of you, but, this was....difficult for me to come to terms with.” Andrea reached for Sharon’s hand and gave it a light squeeze, Sharon seemed startled, but returned the gesture and smiled warmly at her; Andrea’s hand retreated back to her lap after a moment. Conner noticed how tense his mother was despite their tender exchange.
“I understand,” he said quickly. “And if anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I obviously did or said something to you to make you feel uncomfortable in telling me.” Connor’s statement held more anger behind it than he had intended.
“No! No,” Sharon shook her head, “you and your sister are my joy; the most important thing I’ve ever done with my life, along with Rusty. I was concerned about upsetting or confusing you.”
Conner nodded, still taking it all in, “So this is real, you two are a couple?”
Sharon glanced at Andrea, “This has been new for us, but yes I think couple is the appropriate term.”
“Is this the first, um, relationship like this that you’ve been in?” Andrea blushed, embarrassed on Sharon’s behalf. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry,” Conner said in response to her reaction, “I’m just...this is a whole part of your life that I don’t know about, and well, I don’t want to be nosey but I also don’t want there to be any weirdness between us,” he said, hoping to reassure his mother. In all of his life, he had never seen her so uncomfortable, or so not in control of a situation.
“I’ve dated since separating from your father,” Sharon confirmed cryptically, “but this is the first time it’s ever felt real.”
Andrea smiled, proud and humbled that Sharon had finally taken a step forward.
“Right,” he said, nodding. “Does Sara know?” Sharon shook her head in the negative. “Rusty?”
Sharon paused. “Yes,” she said.
“Oh.” Conner seemed honestly taken aback by this.
“Conner, I never wanted you to find out this way. I wanted to tell you myself, I wanted to be sure of my own feelings before I decided to share them with you.”
“But you were sure enough to tell Rusty?” he asked slowly.
“The situation is different. Rusty has only ever known me as I am now, involved with Andrea. It’s taken me a long time to fully understand who I am, and many years of soul searching and questioning to come to terms with my identity. It’s a process Conner, one that I’m still trying to figure out.”
“I guess I’m frustrated that I wouldn’t be included in that journey. You helped Sara and I discover ourselves as young adults, you watched us grow up, we would have understood,” he protested.
“And while you were coming to terms with yourself, I was doing the same. It’s my job as your mother to be there for you, not the other way around. It wouldn’t have been fair to you if I had told you the way I was feeling before I fully understood myself. Rusty doesn’t have the luxury of having a parent who puts his needs first, I had to give him that respect; I promised him that when he moved in here. I hope you can understand.”
Andrea regarded Sharon as she championed through this difficult conversation with her son. She wasn’t sure if Sharon would appreciate an interjection from her, despite her really wanting to speak up and verbally support Sharon; instead, Andrea remained firmly at her side, supporting her silently.
“How did you two meet?” he asked. He wasn’t sure at first if it was the right question to lead with, but knew he had made the right decision when he saw his mother’s shoulders visibly fall in relaxation.
“Andrea is a Deputy District Attorney, her office coordinates with Major Crimes to arrange trials and such,” Sharon explained.
“Another lawyer? Really?” He looked at Andrea, who nodded her confirmation. “Mom, you have a type,” he said, trying to relieve a bit of the tension.
Sharon gawked at her son who was now chuckling into his breakfast. “I do not,” she said, grateful that her son’s - albeit sometimes crude - sense of humour had lightened the moment between them.
“Yeah, you do,” he retorted. “My Dad is an attorney as well, so am I. Or, he was one,” he said to Andrea, grateful that he had something in common with her. If all else failed, he could always resort to talking about law; it was a subject that he was comfortable with, that he grew up with as both the son of an attorney and now as an attorney himself.
“I see,” Andrea said slowly. “Should I be worried about your fascination with my profession Sharon?” Andrea asked, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. She hoped that she was making the right move with her attempt at humour with Sharon’s son; she really wanted to be able to get along with him, and with Sharon’s daughter as well. She loved and respected Sharon’s role as a mother, and she wanted to be able to have at least a friendly relationship with her kids.
“No,” Sharon replied dryly. Andrea was responsible, thoughtful, and in control of her instincts; the exact opposite of her ex.
“Only if you like gambling,” Conner interjected. At Andrea’s questioning gaze, Conner continued, “Jackson Raydor was not the most financially responsible person.” Sharon raised her eyebrow at her eldest child. “He wasn’t,” he said defensively. Sharon glared at him in a way that effectively silenced him.
Sharon sighed and turned her attention back to Andrea. “I’ll explain some other time,” she said, her tone indicating that this was going to be yet another difficult discussion between them. Andrea smiled reassuringly at Sharon, understanding that this clearly wasn’t the time nor the place for this topic.
Conner addressed Andrea once again. “Soooo, do I call you Andrea, or Ms. Hobbs...” Conner trailed off.
“Andrea is fine. Only my eighty year old neighbour calls me Ms. Hobbs,” Andrea said, winking. “Um, Sharon told me that you’re engaged?” she said, hoping to direct the conversation away from her and Sharon for a moment. Both women were highly uncomfortable being in the spotlight, or being the discussion topic, both personally and together. “You must be so busy with wedding plans?”
“Yeah, we’re pretty busy at the moment, but it’s been great you know?” Joy seemed to radiate from him. “We’ve got the date secured with the church, now it’s just a matter of-”
“Sharon?” All three adults leaned back in their chairs to greet Rusty who had just let himself in. “Oh, wow, did I interrupt something?” he said when he saw them all sitting at the table.
“Rusty, I thought that I had to pick you up at noon?” Sharon said, checking her wrist watch; it was barely 10am.
“We got back earlier than expected, there was like no traffic, so Dave’s Dad dropped me off.” He shrugged his overnight bag off and kicked his sneakers aside before sitting next to Conner. “Hey Conner, hey Andrea,” he said briskly, as though it was the most natural thing in the world to see his foster parent with her partner and one of her biological children all sitting at the table.
“Anyway, no one was upset about getting back early, they made us go to bed at like 9:30pm every night,” he said, exasperated.He helped himself to a plate and dove into the forgotten waffles and fruit in the centre of the table. He’d missed Sharon’s cooking while on his retreat this weekend, so he was exceptionally grateful to come home to such a plentiful breakfast spread out on the table.
“So,” he said with his mouth full, “what did you guys do this weekend?” He regarded the three adults sitting with him. Andrea kept looking worriedly at Sharon, who still looked like she was about to either laugh or cry or maybe do a little of both. Beside him, Conner was shaking with the effort to hold in his laughter. Hastily swallowing his breakfast, he asked, “uh, guys? Is everyone alright? Sharon you look kind of stressed out.” He looked at Conner again, who was now laughing silently. “Dude, what is up? What did I miss?”
Sharon couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing, the stress and ridiculousness of the last twelve hours having finally taken their toll on her. Andrea let out a sigh of relief before chuckling along and Conner clapped a clueless Rusty on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry man, I’ll explain it to you later,” he said, taking pity on the kid as he tried to conceal his laughter. “It’s all good,” he promised Rusty.
“Don’t you dare,” Sharon warned, still laughing.
“You guys are so weird,” Rusty said, shaking his head as he helped himself to another fork of waffle. “I leave for like two days and you all lose it.”
“Well we’re glad to have you back then,” Sharon teased, “to keep us rascals in check.”