"Enigma (8/16)" - Hobbs/Raydor Fic
Title: Enigma (8/16)
Co-author: sharon_ray
Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor
Rating: T
Word Count: 3, 870
Disclaimer: Not our characters or television show
Summary: Sharon and Andrea's relationship has been balanced on the precipice of friendship and something more for longer than either of them care to admit. Will the ever-present danger of their jobs finally push them over that fine line? Or will it pull them apart?
A/N: Fic starts out in season seven of The Closer, and follows the events (we've taken some liberties of course) of Major Crimes. This fic is complete and chapters will be posted on a weekly basis. On ff.net: Enigma.
TW: Part of this chapter takes place during 1x09 "Cheaters Never Prosper" and, as such, Daniel's physical abuse of Rusty is dealt with. Please avoid reading if this is triggering for you.
Ch.1, Ch.2, Ch.3, Ch.4, Ch.5, Ch.6, Ch. 7,
(graphic made by me with my own screencaps and those taken with permission from MajorCrimesTV.net. Please do not take or re-post.)
“So he’s still not going anywhere?” Lt. Provenza asked as he glared disapprovingly outside her office.
Sharon worried her lip and looked at the older man sitting across from her over her glasses. “No, he apparently is not going anywhere, if his occupancy of the break room for the last,” she checked her wristwatch quickly, “hour and a half is any indication.”
“Huh?” Provenza asked. “Oh, you’re talking about Dunn. I was referring to the politician who is littering my desk with his paperwork,” he grumbled.
“Trust me, I want him gone too,” Sharon said, smirking up at Provenza from the file she was holding. “I can’t seem to find anything unusual about Mr. Hanson’s phone records,” she mumbled as she surveyed the file once again.
“Yeah, his credit report checks out too,” he said, waving the papers in his hands. “Could it be that Mr. Hanson actually was a decent young man?” he asked sarcastically.
Sharon chuckled. “Believe it or not, there are some decent people out there.”
Provenza rubbed his eyes in frustration and placed the victim’s credit report back into its folder.
“An hour and a half huh? Jesus, this guy just can’t take a hint, can he?” Provenza grumbled under his breath, referring to the sudden arrival of Rusty’s father. Nobody liked the idea of Daniel Dunn suddenly coming to claim Rusty as his biological son.
“No, and neither can our guest today,” she said as she surveyed Mr. Felton sitting at Amy’s desk, typing away on his iPhone. “But really, how much longer must we entertain him? Surely he’ll have to leave at some point?” she asked.
Provenza chuckled darkly. “Seeing as he’s Taylor’s special guest, I doubt he’s going anywhere soon,” he muttered dryly. “Anyway, our pimp, Mr. Alvarez is lawyered up and ready to go. We need to question him sooner rather than later. Flynn has them set up in interview room one,” Provenza reminded her.
“Yes, thank you for reminding me. I need to call the DA’s office-”
“Already taken care of. I called Hobbs directly,” he said, “Ah, speak of the devil from the DA’s office herself, here she is,” he said as he focused his attention on the blonde who was walking towards the pair of them.
DDA Hobbs walked in to Sharon’s office, holding her briefcase in front of her, almost like a shield. “I’m so sorry I’m late, Lt. Provenza,” she said quickly, avoiding eye contact with Sharon as she did it. “But you did call rather last minute and I was stuck in my office wrapping up another case. Nevertheless, I’m here now.” She could feel the tension radiating off of Sharon as she stood in her office, so she turned her attention towards Lt. Provenza, hoping that he would bring her up to speed on the day’s events quickly so she could get on with her work.
“Well, we just need to get this wrapped up as soon as we can,” he grumbled in his usual, curmudgeonly fashion. He was never one to hide his annoyance and now certainly wasn’t an exception seeing as Andrea was over an hour late. “So that I can send Mr. Felton on his merry way. Jackass keeps putting his things on my desk when the Captain very clearly indicated that he was to use Sykes’ desk,” he muttered. “Anyway, the Captain here can give you some more information on the suspect, I’m going to meet Buzz in electronics, we’re going to interview the suspect in a few minutes.”
Sharon sat down at her desk and folded her hands in her lap, trying to keep her cool as she was left alone with Andrea. For the last several weeks, Sharon had been avoiding using Andrea in ongoing investigations. Sharon arranged a stack of files on her desk and stared at her computer screen for a moment before carefully regarding the blonde standing across from her.
“Is there...anything I need to know about the suspect?” Andrea asked coolly. She wasn’t enjoying this anymore than Sharon was. In fact, the last person she’d wanted to see right now was Sharon. It meant a lot more time spent at her desk and in the courtroom, but she was fine with that. Life was finally starting to feel next to normal again. She missed Sharon terribly, but life completely without her was easier than life half with her.
“Right now we are holding a Mr. Alvarez in custody for questioning. He’s a pimp who controls several underage girls; our witness, Elena, one of the girls he’s been selling on the streets, fled from the bathroom of our victim, Derek Hanson’s home last night. Derek runs a safe house for sex workers and was found murdered by Hollywood Division,” Sharon answered her with an even, controlled tone.
Though her tone was certainly professional enough, Sharon couldn’t bring herself to look at Andrea. She feared if she looked at her, she may come unglued; that her professional facade would crumble. Not seeing Andrea for that many weeks felt like a death of sorts to Sharon. She had certainly lost something precious and irreplaceable. Focus, Sharon, she chided herself. She wouldn’t do this. She closed her eyes for a short moment and schooled her features, then finally turned her face toward Andrea, doing her best to wear a pleasant, professional expression.
“Okay, and it’s my understanding that I am here as an advisor to the case, correct?” Andrea sighed as she met Sharon’s gaze.
“Yes. Assistant Chief Taylor has some rather interesting guests accompanying him in my murder room this afternoon, so Lt. Provenza thought it best to have some extra legal counsel nearby. You know how Assistant Chief Taylor can get with his.... political friends,” Sharon explained.
“So, am I here to actually work with the suspect, or to babysit a politician all day?” Andrea asked dryly. She didn’t mind helping the Major Crimes division out usually, but the current circumstances combined with Assistant Chief Taylor’s usual attitude meant she was less than willing to waste a day playing nanny to any special guests rather than doing actual legal work.
Sharon regarded her patiently. “We have reason to believe that Mr. Alvarez is the guilty suspect, we will need you to collaborate with us on sentencing for him as well, as soon as we elicit a confession from him. In the meantime, any help that you could offer us in dealing with Mr. Felton would be most appreciated,” she said calmly.
Andrea pursed her lips as she contemplated her response to the older woman. “Very well,” she said. “I’ll be in electronics with the other members of your division should you need to discuss anything with me,” she said coolly before turning on her heel and exiting Sharon’s office.
Sharon closed her eyes and exhaled carefully. She silently counted to ten, took a deep breath, then exhaled again; she willed herself to let go of all thoughts of Andrea Hobbs as the air steadily left her lungs.
***
Andrea rolled over, aggravated as hell, to snatch her cellphone from her nightstand. Whoever it was that was calling this late was going to get an earful from a very irate DDA. Who the hell called someone at 1:00 am on a Saturday morning? Her family all lived on the East coast, so it could not possibly be them as it was an even more obscene hour where they were. Upon seeing the caller ID, she let out a stream of curse words under her breath. Sharon Raydor had some nerve to be calling her at such an hour, especially when they’d cut off contact completely from one another outside of work, and almost entirely at work as well. She tossed her phone back onto the nightstand and rolled over, feeling irritable and restless.
Her phone stopped ringing, and Andrea let out a relieved sigh. But seconds later, her phone started ringing again. She was torn between being aggravated, angry, and a little bit concerned. Even when they were friends, Sharon never called this late unless something was wrong. Swallowing her pride, she snatched her phone again.
“I know we’re not on the best of terms, and I promise you I’m not calling just for the hell of it,” Sharon rushed through an obviously rehearsed greeting, “but I need your help Andrea. You’re the only person I can trust right now, the only other person who knows his history and who Rusty can trust. He was physically assaulted by his father, and...I...” her voice broke.
Andrea sat up straighter in bed; she felt a wave of panic and nausea wash over her at hearing Sharon’s words. “Calm down and take a deep breath; does he need to visit a hospital? Do you need me to send an on-call therapist?” Andrea asked; her own voice was noticeably groggy.
“No, the cuts aren’t deep enough to warrant stitches. And I don’t think that he will react well to an on-call.” Sharon said shakily. Andrea heard her clear her throat before continuing. “I was able to clean and bandage him up here. I took photos before that though. Andrea, I need to know what Rusty’s legal options are because so help me if there isn’t a way to ensure that Daniel doesn’t come near him ever again I am going to drive over there and shoot him,” Sharon ground out.
“Don’t do that,” Andrea said seriously. She knew how protective Sharon was of her children, and Rusty was now one of her children, as far as anyone was concerned. “Let me think for a second,” she requested. She quickly ran through the basics of what she knew about parental rights and custody, trying to find a loophole or law to their advantage. “Can you come by my office on Monday morning? Around 8:00 am? Bring Rusty and you might as well bring Provenza. I think I have an idea but we’ll need to make sure Rusty is okay with it, and I’ll need tomorrow to make sure that I have all the necessary paperwork, and that what I have in mind is in fact possible,” she explained.
“Okay. Okay, I can do that,” Sharon said, nodding frantically. “We can do that. Lt. Provenza is usually in the office around then anyway, I’ll call him tomorrow and ask him to meet us.”
“You’re going to have to take a few more photos of Rusty tomorrow morning. Any...trauma to his body will show even more the next day,” Andrea said gently.
Sharon took a shaky breath in. “Yes, of course. Thank you Andrea,” she said, “I, I know that I’m the last person you want to speak to at this hour, but....thank you.”
Andrea weighed her words carefully. “You’re welcome. And Sharon? It’s going to be okay. I promise you that even if Rusty isn’t comfortable with what I have in mind, I won’t let his father have legal custody over him. I promise,” she said firmly.
“Okay,” Sharon said, relief washed over her; she knew that she could count on Andrea. Even though their friendship had fallen apart, Sharon knew that she had been right in trusting her to help protect Rusty. “I’ll see you on Monday.”
“You will,” Andrea vowed.
***
Sharon kept a protective hand on Rusty’s shoulder as they walked down the long hallway to Andrea’s corner office. She couldn’t help it; she felt like she had failed to protect him when he most needed it, now all she wanted was to stay as close to him as she could. Rusty humored her and allowed her to keep it there as they knocked on Andrea’s closed office door and waited for an answer.
“Come in,” Andrea called from behind her desk. Lt. Provenza was already sitting in her office, fiddling with the lid on his disposable cup of gas station coffee.
“Captain.” He nodded at Sharon as she walked in to the office with Rusty, finally letting him go only when they were safe inside those four walls. “Hey Rusty, why don’t you have a seat and let me stretch my legs a bit,” he got up and patted the back of the chair, giving Rusty a warm, sympathetic smile.
Rusty nodded and sat down. He couldn’t hide that he was uncomfortable, but he knew he had to cooperate despite his discomfort. Sharon had explained to him that Andrea had taken time out of her weekend to help come up with a plan of action for him.
“I know that this is an uncomfortable situation, for everyone,” Andrea began carefully. “But I have an idea for how we can fix this so Rusty never has to see Daniel Dunn again, if that’s what he wants. Rusty, is that what you want?”
“Well yeah,” Rusty muttered, “I don’t want to see him again.” Rusty crossed his arms over his chest and concentrated on his shoes.
Andrea watched Rusty for a moment, then looked between Sharon and Lt. Provenza to make sure they were paying attention. “Sharon sent me the photos of what Daniel did to you, Rusty, over the weekend. That is grounds for child abuse, easy. There’s no question about it, and that means that there could be a way to get him to voluntarily sign away his parental rights.” Andrea sat back in her chair as she went over the details one more time in her head.
“Okay, we’re listening,” Sharon muttered, leaning forward against the desk. She had taken the seat next to Rusty when they entered.
“You said his fiancée has two young daughters, right? Surely this woman is not going to want a convicted child abuser around her children, or at least we can hope. If you can manage to get a spontaneous confession out of him,” she suggested, looking at Lt. Provenza, “You and Captain Raydor can use it for leverage to get him to sign away his rights. If he refuses, you have every right and reason to arrest him for child abuse. DCFS won’t have any choice once charges have been pressed; they’ll deem him an unfit guardian for Rusty. I am certain that it can work.” She regarded Rusty carefully for a moment. “Rusty, this is where I am going to have to ask you to be incredibly brave, should Daniel try and call you, I would like you to ignore his calls. But, should Daniel come in to speak with Sharon so he can try and set up a meeting with you, I would like you to allow this to happen.”
“No,” Rusty said. “No way, you said you were going to make sure I never had to see him again,” he shouted.
Andrea nodded patiently. “Yes, and I promise that this will be the eventual outcome. However, you need to communicate to Daniel that it is your wish to have him sign away his parental rights,” she explained. “I am sure that Sharon and Lt. Provenza would be more than willing to sit in on this meeting, if that would make you more comfortable.”
“Yeah, the Captain, myself, and our fully loaded guns,” Provenza ground out.
Sharon placed a gentle hand on Rusty’s forearm and looked him in the eye, trying to block out the other two people in the room. “Look at me, Rusty,” she said quietly. “You and I. You know our deal. I don’t lie to you. I will be with you, Lt. Provenza will be with you. We will be there, every step of the way. We will not leave you. We will make sure that Daniel Dunn is gone for good with this meeting.”
Rusty watched her for a moment, searching for something he could believe in her eyes. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Sharon; he inherently didn’t trust anyone. “You promise you won’t leave me alone with him?”
Sharon nodded her head and took his hand in hers so she could squeeze it gently. “I promise, Rusty.”
Lt. Provenza cleared his throat behind Sharon and nodded at Rusty in agreement. “Me too, Rusty. I promise, kid.” He clapped Rusty on the shoulder lightly. “Now uh, we need to get Rusty to school, don’t we, Captain?” he said to Sharon.
“Yes, he’s missing his first class but his gym teacher is expecting him to be there for 10:00 am,” Sharon confirmed.
“Tell you what Rusty, why don’t we take a drive, let’s go get some breakfast and then I’ll take you to class myself, what do you say?”
Rusty smiled weakly. “I don’t want to be any trouble...” he trailed off shrugging. To be honest, he was a bit nervous going to school today with the bruises and cuts on his face.
“Trouble?” Provenza chuckled, “Why would it be any trouble? I have a civic duty to ensure that our youth are attending class on time, and to, well, make sure that they’re well fed,” he said sternly, though the tone of his voice betrayed the affectionate twinkle in his eyes.
Rusty fiddled with his schoolbag and shrugged. “Okay. That’d be cool,” he said.
“Come on now, the early bird special ends damn early on weekdays,” Provenza scoffed as he lead Rusty out of Andrea’s office. Before closing the door on the two women, he nodded to Sharon.
Sharon sat back in her chair and rested her head in one hand, sighing quietly. “Andrea I cannot thank you enough. I will make sure that Rusty meets with Daniel Dunn one last time so that it is clear that we all want his rights signed away,” she reassured Andrea quietly.
“I know it isn’t going to be easy for him, but it’s the best way to move forward quickly without a custody hearing,” Andrea said as she eyed Sharon critically. She had to admit, Sharon looked like hell. Her eyes were sunken and lined with black circles; she was even thinner than the last time she’d seen her. Andrea paused as she watched Sharon rub her forehead with her thumb. “Did you sleep at all this weekend?” she asked gently. She knew that she might be overstepping her bounds, but she willing to take a risk, given the circumstances.
“Barely,” Sharon laughed darkly. “Ricky was going to visit so we could have dinner last night for he and Rusty to meet, but I had to call and ask him not to come. I didn’t get into details, just explained that there had been an.issue with Rusty’s biological father. He understood, just....I was so looking forward to Rusty starting to get to know his father, and my own kids, and for him to start building a life for himself.” She covered her mouth with a trembling hand, obviously fighting to regain her composure. “I’m sorry for calling so late,” she said again. “But, I didn’t know who else to call,” she admitted quietly.
“Sharon...” Andrea pursed her lips, contemplating how to properly regard her...what was Sharon? Friend? Colleague? Lover? All of those things and yet lately, none of those things. “It’s alright. Really... I would have rather you called me than anyone else. I mean that. We will get this figured out and make sure that Rusty is safe.” Andrea wanted to reach across the desk and hold Sharon’s hand, but she didn’t dare make contact with her. She tucked her hands into her lap instead and stared back at Sharon mournfully. “Rusty is an amazing kid; the last few months, spending time with him while working on the Stroh case…I’ve become fond of him,” Andrea admitted.
Sharon smiled. “He does tend to grow on you,” she said softly, fondly. “I find myself grateful every day for having him in my home, in my life.”
“I do have to ask, though... what do you plan to do with Rusty after Daniel Dunn has signed away his parental rights, Sharon? Will you be taking on that role permanently? It’s quite obvious how deeply you have come to care about Rusty...” Andrea trailed off, unsure of what she was really asking Sharon.
“I have put some thought into it, though probably not as much as I need to,” Sharon admitted quietly, “I do care very deeply for Rusty. I would like him to stay with me for as long as he wants to stay. I don’t know what that looks like yet; if I become his permanent foster mother, or if I adopt him, or what... I just know that right now, I need him away from Daniel. I need him safe, Andrea.”
Andrea sighed as Sharon stared past her, focusing her gaze at the window behind Andrea’s desk; her head was clearly elsewhere. Andrea’s heart felt heavy; all she wanted to do was fix this for Sharon, to help keep Rusty safe.
The first and only dinner she had shared with them at 25 Degrees had almost been simple; it had definitely been happy. They had shared stories and laughed and conversation had flowed naturally between her and Sharon as Rusty joked and complained about school. Andrea would give almost anything to go back to that evening where, for an hour, she and Sharon and Rusty sat in that restaurant and pretended like everything was normal and fine; that she and Sharon were still friends and Rusty was safe and unharmed.
Of course, fixing things for Sharon and Rusty still didn’t fix things between her and Sharon, but it was a step. Perhaps it was a false hope, but Sharon calling Andrea for help had ignited some sense of hope in her that their friendship hadn’t fallen entirely to the wayside yet.
“Well, I suppose I should be getting back to my office,” Sharon sighed as she grabbed her purse off the floor next to her. “We both have long days ahead of us, I’m sure. Thank you again, for well, everything,” she said.
Andrea nodded. “Yes. Of course.”
Sharon stood and nodded at Andrea. She wasn’t sure whether to shake her hand or hug her or simply turn around and leave. She felt as though some gesture of affection was appropriate given the circumstances, but she couldn’t bring herself to touch Andrea. Instead, she flung her purse over her shoulder and wrapped her arms around herself as she waited for Andrea to respond.
Andrea stood up from her chair, but did not move from behind her desk. “I’m glad you called me, Sharon. I’m really, truly happy that I could help Rusty. Will you please keep me up to speed with how things are going? Uh, with uh, with Rusty, of course,” she muttered, stumbling over her own words.
Sharon nodded her head as she walked to the door. “Sure thing, Andrea.”
“I’d like to know that he’s safe, and happy, and if there is anything else that I can do to help him,” Andrea said quietly as she watched her go.
Sharon paused in the doorway as she contemplated Andrea’s words. She looked back at Andrea and allowed a weak smile to cross her face as she nodded to the younger woman and departed. Seeing Andrea this morning was the first thing that had made her feel anything close to happy in days.