RF Such Is My Life, pt 6
Title: Such Is My Life, pt 6
Pairing: The Closer - Raydor/Flynn
Rating: M for language, sexual situations
The tennis ball hits midway up the 9-foot wall, comes hurtling down at speed, and at the last second is scooped up by Danny. Laying on his back on the floor in the family room, Danny tosses the ball up, tapping his converse sneakers against the floor while reaching out to catch the ball again. He nods his head in time with the song playing on his iPod, dressed and ready half an hour ago.
“Twenty minutes!” he yells out, briefly looking at the direction of his mother’s room.
“What?” she yells back.
“If we don’t leave in twenty minutes we’ll hit traffic.”
“I’m coming okay,” and he can tell she’s still in her closet.
“Jeans and the shirt I got you last season, Mom. It’s a ballgame not prom! Women take forever to do nothing.” He trails off so he is only muttering the last part, but Sharon hears him anyway. She stands in the hallway, hands on her hips and stares down at him.
“What are you ten?”
“Plus some,” he cheekily grins.
“Get up, let’s go.”
“Really? You sure?” Danny stays on the floor, giving her a once over. “That your final outfit?” He gives her an appraising look, amazed that she did in fact pick jeans and, while she’s not wearing the ‘Dodgers Do It Better’ shirt he’d gotten her, the blue v-neck is passable, but she’s wearing some fancy dress boots instead of sneakers. “Overall you’ll do,” he grins. And waits. “Mom?” When Danny looks back at her face, Sharon’s expression confuses him.
She’s looking at him, but it doesn’t look like she’s seeing him. Danny jumps up, shutting off his iPod as he moves to his mom. “Hey, you ok?” He touches her arm, relieved when she blinks.
“What?”’
“Um, you spaced out. I’ve seen Lily do that but I just thought she was weird.”
“Huh”
“Well, it’s still weird but now I know it’s genetic,” he cracks a smile and she almost goes back into that distant look again. Sharon catches herself though, shaking her head slightly. For a moment there, well, he’d reminded her of Flynn.
“Mom, you’ve been acting, well off for a week now. Is everything ok? You’re not having to deal with those Major Crimes pricks again, are you?”
“Daniel,” her eyes go wide and Danny tries not to grin at her sudden snap back into being his mom.
“Wow, that’s it? All I got to do is toss out a British curse and you’re back? Ok, mental note taken.” Sharon scowls, now mentally keeping her own notes of how much she does that with Danny. Was he like Flynn or was she looking for ways for him to be like, like his father? “So really, are you ready? Can we go?”
“What?” she asks, noticing Daniel moving toward the door.
“Now, go, yes?”
“Yes, we can go.”’
“Keys?”
Sharon inhales, thinking why not let him drive. “Fine, but we’re taking the Jeep,” she holds up her hand to silence any protest. “Jeep or nothing.” Daniel frowns, but snatches up the keys and heads to the garage, tossing her a glance as he goes so she sees that sneaky grin of his back in place. Sharon’s stomach clenches at the thought of Flynn’s traits being genetic. “Lord help me,” she whispers as she follows him out.
Being fidgety isn’t Andy Flynn’s style, and it’s a sensation he doesn’t like at all. Toothpick in place, he makes himself lean against the wall outside the entrance to the ballpark so he doesn’t walk a trail in the sidewalk. Instead, he just chews through half a box of toothpicks. Catching sight of Raydor and her son, his son, he kicks at the small pile at his feet to scatter the evidence of his nervous habit.
“Hey,” he nods as they move within earshot, momentarily distracted from looking at Daniel by the sight of Raydor dressed down. She looks more human he thinks, which causes him to frown.
“Everything ok?”
“Oh, yea,” he covers with a smile. “Hey, I’m Flynn,” he addresses Danny.
“Daniel, this is Lt. Andy Flynn.”
“Hey,” Danny gives Flynn a steady once over. “You work with my mom?”
“Yea.”
“Cool. So who’s your favorite player?”
“Well, I’m partial to Gibbons,” Flynn says as they head into the stadium.
Danny quirks his brow, “Gibbons? He’s been playing for ages.”
“Did you see that catch he made at the wall?”
“True that was very nice, but…”
Sharon falls back a step, observing the two and allowing herself a moment to hope for the best.
Well into the 5th inning, the male bonding between Andy and Danny has Sharon feeling a little left out. She sits back and watches as the two lay out their cases for how the current batter will do based on a series of codes and number combinations that she can’t even begin to understand.
“Are all men wired to know this stuff?”
“What stuff?” Flynn asks, glancing from the action on the field to her.
“RIB, IBB, AB, RIG…”
“Mom, there’s no RIG,” Daniel cuts in, not even glancing away from the game. At some point, he’d adopted the same pose as Flynn, elbows on knees, chin resting on the back of his hands, eyes intently on the game. With Danny in the middle of them, Sharon wonders if anyone thinks they are a family. “And it’s RBI, runs batted in, I’ve explained this to you before.”
“Must be a guy thing,” she smirks. “I’m going to get a soda. Anybody want anything? Peanuts, crackerjacks?” Danny grins and rolls his eyes as he shakes his head at her silliness.
“Want me to go with?”
“No, you guys watch the game.”
“Well, here then,” Flynn takes his eyes off the game long enough to reach into his back pocket for his wallet. He pulls out a couple of bills, handing them to her, “Popcorn and a coke if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” and he thinks she really means it.
After his mom is gone, Andy catches some sideways glances from the kid and braces himself. “So,” Danny says, leaning back in his seat, “you work with my mom?”
“Uh, yea, I do,” Andy nods.
“Some days I don’t know how you guys do it. You know, Mom doesn’t say much, but I can tell when something big has happened.” Flynn looks at him, noticing that Danny is watching the game but isn’t paying as close attention as before.
“It’s just you and her now?”
“Lily’s working on her master’s at Stanford and Kate is in New York with her internship. So, yeah just Mom and me,” he says, biting at his lip like his mother sometimes does. “Do you know what’s going on with her? She’s been distracted for a few days now.”
“Distracted?”
“Edgy sorta.” Danny sighs, bracing his feet against the top of the seat in front of him as he slumps further down in his chair. “I really hope she’s not, but I just bet she’s working with those stupid asses from Major Crimes again,” he mutters.
Flynn maintains his self control as his years of conditioning himself not to react in order to get more out a person come in handy. He manages another nonchalant glance Danny’s way and waits for him to continue. “I don’t get what their deal is, but it’s like they hate her. All she’s trying to do it keep them out of trouble, but they fight her worse than the other people, you know the families.”
“I thought she doesn’t tell you much?”
“I grew up in a house with three girls. I know how to find out things. Besides, this is my mom. If she’s upset I’m going to find out why.” Daniel grins a slow, sneaky smile. “Besides, I saw a story in the paper the other day, something about a family suing the department for not protecting their son. Apparently he was dropped off in the middle of a gang stronghold. Two plus two always adds up to four.”
“Fair enough.” Flynn sits back, keeping his mouth shut as much as he can.
“I mean, you get it right? Sometimes you just screw up, but I don’t get why they think she’s out to get them. I know she can be annoying with her follow the rules, but,” Danny glances around as if to make sure his mom is nowhere near, “well, I’ll never admit to her but she has a point. And she’s fair. Some days, some days,” his young face turns hard, “I just want to hit them you know. I wish they saw how much it hurts her to fight both sides like that.”
For a second, Flynn wonders if Raydor set him up, but one look at the kid tells him this is all Danny. He shuffles his feet, suddenly more interested in the ground beneath him than the game. Slight against his unit aside, he can’t help but think that the kid is alright if he cares this much about his mother.
“I mean, you feel that too, right? Working in FID?”
“Uh,” Flynn raises his head a little to catch Danny’s gaze, “I don’t work in FID.” Danny frowns. “I work in,” and for the first time in well, possibly his career, Flynn is hesitant to say. “I’m in Major Crimes.” Danny blanches.
“Hey, little help,” Sharon calls from the end of the aisle. Danny jumps up, grabbing the tray holding three sodas from his mother then stepping back so she can move down the row. She hands Flynn his popcorn, soon noticing that something isn’t right.
“Here, Mom,” Danny holds out Flynn’s drink for her to take while he settles in her seat. She takes it, gives him a look then turns to Flynn, mouthing, “What?” He shrugs, takes the drink and slides back in his seat. Sharon glances at them, both with eyes on the game and straws at the ready. “You okay?” She asks Danny, holding out a pack of peanuts for him. He takes them with a nod. “Okay then, so who’s batting?” One mumbles, the other shrugs and Sharon decides looking through the roster is her only option if she really wants to know.
Pairing: The Closer - Raydor/Flynn
Rating: M for language, sexual situations
The tennis ball hits midway up the 9-foot wall, comes hurtling down at speed, and at the last second is scooped up by Danny. Laying on his back on the floor in the family room, Danny tosses the ball up, tapping his converse sneakers against the floor while reaching out to catch the ball again. He nods his head in time with the song playing on his iPod, dressed and ready half an hour ago.
“Twenty minutes!” he yells out, briefly looking at the direction of his mother’s room.
“What?” she yells back.
“If we don’t leave in twenty minutes we’ll hit traffic.”
“I’m coming okay,” and he can tell she’s still in her closet.
“Jeans and the shirt I got you last season, Mom. It’s a ballgame not prom! Women take forever to do nothing.” He trails off so he is only muttering the last part, but Sharon hears him anyway. She stands in the hallway, hands on her hips and stares down at him.
“What are you ten?”
“Plus some,” he cheekily grins.
“Get up, let’s go.”
“Really? You sure?” Danny stays on the floor, giving her a once over. “That your final outfit?” He gives her an appraising look, amazed that she did in fact pick jeans and, while she’s not wearing the ‘Dodgers Do It Better’ shirt he’d gotten her, the blue v-neck is passable, but she’s wearing some fancy dress boots instead of sneakers. “Overall you’ll do,” he grins. And waits. “Mom?” When Danny looks back at her face, Sharon’s expression confuses him.
She’s looking at him, but it doesn’t look like she’s seeing him. Danny jumps up, shutting off his iPod as he moves to his mom. “Hey, you ok?” He touches her arm, relieved when she blinks.
“What?”’
“Um, you spaced out. I’ve seen Lily do that but I just thought she was weird.”
“Huh”
“Well, it’s still weird but now I know it’s genetic,” he cracks a smile and she almost goes back into that distant look again. Sharon catches herself though, shaking her head slightly. For a moment there, well, he’d reminded her of Flynn.
“Mom, you’ve been acting, well off for a week now. Is everything ok? You’re not having to deal with those Major Crimes pricks again, are you?”
“Daniel,” her eyes go wide and Danny tries not to grin at her sudden snap back into being his mom.
“Wow, that’s it? All I got to do is toss out a British curse and you’re back? Ok, mental note taken.” Sharon scowls, now mentally keeping her own notes of how much she does that with Danny. Was he like Flynn or was she looking for ways for him to be like, like his father? “So really, are you ready? Can we go?”
“What?” she asks, noticing Daniel moving toward the door.
“Now, go, yes?”
“Yes, we can go.”’
“Keys?”
Sharon inhales, thinking why not let him drive. “Fine, but we’re taking the Jeep,” she holds up her hand to silence any protest. “Jeep or nothing.” Daniel frowns, but snatches up the keys and heads to the garage, tossing her a glance as he goes so she sees that sneaky grin of his back in place. Sharon’s stomach clenches at the thought of Flynn’s traits being genetic. “Lord help me,” she whispers as she follows him out.
Being fidgety isn’t Andy Flynn’s style, and it’s a sensation he doesn’t like at all. Toothpick in place, he makes himself lean against the wall outside the entrance to the ballpark so he doesn’t walk a trail in the sidewalk. Instead, he just chews through half a box of toothpicks. Catching sight of Raydor and her son, his son, he kicks at the small pile at his feet to scatter the evidence of his nervous habit.
“Hey,” he nods as they move within earshot, momentarily distracted from looking at Daniel by the sight of Raydor dressed down. She looks more human he thinks, which causes him to frown.
“Everything ok?”
“Oh, yea,” he covers with a smile. “Hey, I’m Flynn,” he addresses Danny.
“Daniel, this is Lt. Andy Flynn.”
“Hey,” Danny gives Flynn a steady once over. “You work with my mom?”
“Yea.”
“Cool. So who’s your favorite player?”
“Well, I’m partial to Gibbons,” Flynn says as they head into the stadium.
Danny quirks his brow, “Gibbons? He’s been playing for ages.”
“Did you see that catch he made at the wall?”
“True that was very nice, but…”
Sharon falls back a step, observing the two and allowing herself a moment to hope for the best.
Well into the 5th inning, the male bonding between Andy and Danny has Sharon feeling a little left out. She sits back and watches as the two lay out their cases for how the current batter will do based on a series of codes and number combinations that she can’t even begin to understand.
“Are all men wired to know this stuff?”
“What stuff?” Flynn asks, glancing from the action on the field to her.
“RIB, IBB, AB, RIG…”
“Mom, there’s no RIG,” Daniel cuts in, not even glancing away from the game. At some point, he’d adopted the same pose as Flynn, elbows on knees, chin resting on the back of his hands, eyes intently on the game. With Danny in the middle of them, Sharon wonders if anyone thinks they are a family. “And it’s RBI, runs batted in, I’ve explained this to you before.”
“Must be a guy thing,” she smirks. “I’m going to get a soda. Anybody want anything? Peanuts, crackerjacks?” Danny grins and rolls his eyes as he shakes his head at her silliness.
“Want me to go with?”
“No, you guys watch the game.”
“Well, here then,” Flynn takes his eyes off the game long enough to reach into his back pocket for his wallet. He pulls out a couple of bills, handing them to her, “Popcorn and a coke if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” and he thinks she really means it.
After his mom is gone, Andy catches some sideways glances from the kid and braces himself. “So,” Danny says, leaning back in his seat, “you work with my mom?”
“Uh, yea, I do,” Andy nods.
“Some days I don’t know how you guys do it. You know, Mom doesn’t say much, but I can tell when something big has happened.” Flynn looks at him, noticing that Danny is watching the game but isn’t paying as close attention as before.
“It’s just you and her now?”
“Lily’s working on her master’s at Stanford and Kate is in New York with her internship. So, yeah just Mom and me,” he says, biting at his lip like his mother sometimes does. “Do you know what’s going on with her? She’s been distracted for a few days now.”
“Distracted?”
“Edgy sorta.” Danny sighs, bracing his feet against the top of the seat in front of him as he slumps further down in his chair. “I really hope she’s not, but I just bet she’s working with those stupid asses from Major Crimes again,” he mutters.
Flynn maintains his self control as his years of conditioning himself not to react in order to get more out a person come in handy. He manages another nonchalant glance Danny’s way and waits for him to continue. “I don’t get what their deal is, but it’s like they hate her. All she’s trying to do it keep them out of trouble, but they fight her worse than the other people, you know the families.”
“I thought she doesn’t tell you much?”
“I grew up in a house with three girls. I know how to find out things. Besides, this is my mom. If she’s upset I’m going to find out why.” Daniel grins a slow, sneaky smile. “Besides, I saw a story in the paper the other day, something about a family suing the department for not protecting their son. Apparently he was dropped off in the middle of a gang stronghold. Two plus two always adds up to four.”
“Fair enough.” Flynn sits back, keeping his mouth shut as much as he can.
“I mean, you get it right? Sometimes you just screw up, but I don’t get why they think she’s out to get them. I know she can be annoying with her follow the rules, but,” Danny glances around as if to make sure his mom is nowhere near, “well, I’ll never admit to her but she has a point. And she’s fair. Some days, some days,” his young face turns hard, “I just want to hit them you know. I wish they saw how much it hurts her to fight both sides like that.”
For a second, Flynn wonders if Raydor set him up, but one look at the kid tells him this is all Danny. He shuffles his feet, suddenly more interested in the ground beneath him than the game. Slight against his unit aside, he can’t help but think that the kid is alright if he cares this much about his mother.
“I mean, you feel that too, right? Working in FID?”
“Uh,” Flynn raises his head a little to catch Danny’s gaze, “I don’t work in FID.” Danny frowns. “I work in,” and for the first time in well, possibly his career, Flynn is hesitant to say. “I’m in Major Crimes.” Danny blanches.
“Hey, little help,” Sharon calls from the end of the aisle. Danny jumps up, grabbing the tray holding three sodas from his mother then stepping back so she can move down the row. She hands Flynn his popcorn, soon noticing that something isn’t right.
“Here, Mom,” Danny holds out Flynn’s drink for her to take while he settles in her seat. She takes it, gives him a look then turns to Flynn, mouthing, “What?” He shrugs, takes the drink and slides back in his seat. Sharon glances at them, both with eyes on the game and straws at the ready. “You okay?” She asks Danny, holding out a pack of peanuts for him. He takes them with a nod. “Okay then, so who’s batting?” One mumbles, the other shrugs and Sharon decides looking through the roster is her only option if she really wants to know.