RF Such Is My Life, pt. 11
Title: Such Is My Life
Pairing: The Closer - Raydor/Flynn
Rating: M for language, sexual situations
Part 11
Flynn goes through the motions until he can get back to the squad room and fake a sudden illness. Actually that doesn’t happen, but he does consider it. After the Chief has them search the crime scene and a hundred yard radius of it for the twelfth time, she finally decides to let the body and them go. To say Andy Flynn sprints to Sanchez’s car is an understatement. Provenza is out of breath when he catches up to them and climbs in the backseat.
“Where we going?”
“Downtown,” Julio remarks, turning the car toward the station.
“I thought Flynn had a hot date he needs to get to,” Louie jabs, nudging Flynn’s shoulder with his elbow as he leans across the front seat. Andy pays no attention to him, keeping his eyes on his phone. Sharon has ignored every one of his last ten messages and her phone is going straight to voicemail. Flynn curses. “She hasn’t cancelled on you has she?”
Sanchez shifts closer to the driver’s side door, one hand near the handle in case he needs to stop fast and break up a fight. He isn’t sure that whatever is upsetting Flynn has anything to do with Sharon Raydor, but he isn’t going to bet his paycheck against it.
“Don’t take the long way,” Flynn says to him, his eyes straight ahead. Sanchez nods and speeds up.
“I can go lights.”
“No, well, no. Just as quick as you can.”
“Woah, Flynn, what’s your hurry? Afraid she isn’t going to keep? Gotta say, Raydor was looking pretty hot under the sun today. I thought you were done with her but well, if you just gotta scratch an itch-” The older detective chokes on his words when Flynn’s full fury turns on him.
“Louie, if you value our friendship you’ll stop now,” he says through tight-lips, his brown eyes boring a hole through the man.
“You like her?”
“This isn’t about her, it’s about our son.”
The noise inside the car descends into an eerie quiet as the men hold their breath and digest what Andy Flynn let slip. He mutters another curse, mentally kicking himself as he turns round to face forward again. Deciding that the saying discretion is the better part of valor is a good motto to follow right about now, Sanchez keeps quiet and slips the blue light from under his seat onto the dash. He flips the two switches to the left of the steering wheel on and increases speed. Flynn doesn’t say a word. And thankfully, neither does Provenza.
Leaving the station parking garage, Flynn calls her phone one more time. “Sharon, call me now damn it! He’s my kid, too!” He slams his car door shut and, not knowing what else to do, heads to his apartment, all the while formulating what he will do to Sharon Raydor if and when he is able to put his hands around her neck.
Arriving at his apartment building, Flynn takes the steps two at a time, working off his frustration. He stops short at the sight of his door slightly ajar. Andy pulls his gun, holding it down beside his leg as he shoulders the door open. A quick glance inside has him breathing a sigh of relief and holstering his weapon.
“What the hell are you doing?” he yells at his son, who is spread out in his recliner, remote in hand as he sips a soda.
“Hey Dad, how was work today?” Danny flashes a grin which quickly disappears as Flynn slams the door shut and flies across the room. Daniel pushes the recliner’s leg rest down and stands up fast, knocking the back of his legs into the chair as he scrambles out of the way.
“Do you know what you’ve put me and your mother through? Do you even know where she is?”
“I, um, isn’t she, don’t!” Daniel flinches back, throwing his arms up as Flynn reaches for him. Andy stops short of grabbing his son, deciding at the last second to throw his hands on his hips in a stance similar to one he’s seen Sharon take.
“Look at me! Have you called your mother?” He barks out, the fury Provenza saw earlier in his eyes now doubled. Daniel meekly shakes his head.
“What’s your problem, kid?”
“You! Okay!” Danny shouts back, his confidence that Andy Flynn isn’t going to strike him growing. “What did you do anyway? Get wasted and knock her up?”
“Sit down,” Flynn says in a quiet, restrained tone. “Sit now.” He points and Danny falls back into the chair. He watches the man who is his father run a hand through his silvery hair before letting out a long huff as he sits down on the couch across from him.
“What happened between your mother and me is none of your concern. It happened. Period. That’s all you need to know. You are not allowed to use that against her, ever. Do you understand me?”
“Why not?”
“Because,” Flynn stares at him, “I said you can’t. Do you really want to push me on this?” Danny swallows hard and shakes his head. “All you need to know is she loves you more than life and you are hurting her worse than you can imagine right now.”
“Do you love me?” If not for his lowered head and his submissive posture, Flynn might have dismissed the question as a smart-ass remark. Instead he sees Danny’s sincerity and pauses, some of his anger dissipating.
“Honestly, yeah, I do,” Andy admits. He settles back on the couch, the weight of the day’s worry falling from his shoulders. “You’re mine, so loving you is automatic.”
Danny snorts, “Tell that to my other dad.”
“I don’t know the guy, but I can assure you that me almost taking off your head was all out of worry and fear and love for you and for your mom,” he adds without even thinking.
“But you don’t know me,” Daniel says, raising his head enough so Flynn can look into his green eyes. “What?”
“You have your mother’s eyes.”
“Do you love her?”
Flynn flinches at the question. “Love, Sharon, I-” and he can’t say no which throws him, but he isn’t sure about a yes.
“I should call her,” Daniel interjects as the sight of his mother’s worried face finally flashes in his mind.
“Yes, you should,” Flynn nods, happy for the distraction from his son’s question. He sees the clock and is stunned at how late it is. “Have you eaten? Are you hungry?” Danny looks back from digging in his backpack and shrugs.
“Why?”
“I don’t get to do this parent thing often kid, so you’ll have to give me some leeway here.” Flynn grabs his phone and speed dials the local delivery place. “Italian blend good for you?”
“That works,” Danny says, grabbing his phone and sitting back down on the recliner’s edge. “Parent thing often? What’s that mean?” he asks when Flynn hangs up.
“I, uh, you have a brother, Jesse.”
“Wow and I thought this week couldn’t get anymore interesting,” the kid deadpans but Flynn just chuckles. “What?”
“Nothing,” the detective shakes his head thinking how much like him Danny is.
“So when do I get to meet Jesse?”
“When my ex-wife stops being a,” Flynn pauses, reminding himself that although Daniel is a teenager, he is not just any teenager, “when she stops being difficult and allows him to visit.”
“Older?”
“Younger, Jesse’s thirteen.”
Daniel nods, digesting this new information, “So you and my mom and that whirlwind romance…”
“I’m not joking, Daniel,” Flynn’s eyes harden, “there are lines.”
“I’m not crossing any,” Danny holds up his hands in surrender. “Just tell me it wasn’t some affair from you either, that you weren’t dodging responsibility or-” Flynn reaches across the short distance between him and his son to grab Daniel’s hand.
“Look at me,” his says, his eyes locking with his son’s, “If I had known that you were mine I would have been there from day one.”
“Before or after your AA meetings,” Daniel asks with a straight-face. Andy feels the pang that hits each time someone calls him on his life back then, however, this pang hits harder than most. He drops his head and bites his tongue to prevent his usual defensive wise-crack from spilling out. “Amazing what you can find on the Internet these days. Apparently you were at an AA meeting a few months back when a guy attacked you. How’s your side?”
“I remember what it was like to be your age,” Andy says, his voice strained as he tries to keep calm. “I don’t remember much from some years, but I remember that one. Everything pisses you off, the world sucks and your parents don’t know shit.” He looks up, his eyes meeting Daniel’s in an unflinching stand-off. “I’ve got a past and I’ve had some problems. If you want reasons to hate me, you won’t have to look hard to find some. Just ask your mom.”
As Flynn talks, Daniel feels his mouth go dry and tries to swallow but his throat feels tighter. Flashing in his mind are the images of his mother and Flynn from the ballpark, of her smile when the doorbell rang the night before, and then he sees her like she looked that time he fell out of the tree and broke his arm. Rick hadn’t been in town that day, and when he came home all he did was mutter a “be more careful” to Danny as he walked to his office and closed the door. The only time Rick had ever raised his voice at Danny, in a tone even close to how Andy had earlier, was when Danny wanted to play ball and accidentally made Rick hang up on a client. Daniel’s face starts to flush at the realization that the man before him, who doesn’t even know him, really does care about him more than the guy who thought he was his father ever did. Daniel sinks lower, feeling more than regret for his stupid crack.
“Um, I…” Daniel’s voice is hesitant. He clears his throat and tries again, “I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry I worried you and that I haven’t given you a chance.” He holds Flynn’s gaze, watching as the man sits back and slowly nods.
“Okay,” Flynn says at last, “call your mom. Food should be here soon. You can go wash up, I take it you’ve found the bathroom?” Daniel shakes his head as he stands. “So you can pick locks but you don’t go snooping?”
“Bachelor pad; isn’t really much I haven’t seen,” his son smirks.
“Does your mom know about your skill?”
“She thought me,” his grin widens, “locked the keys in the house one too many times so she had to pick the lock. I helped.” Flynn scoffs, shaking his head. “So is that it?”
“I’m sure your mom will have plenty to say to you. But,” Andy stands, noting that even though Danny is closing in on 5’6” maybe 5’7”, he’s still taller than his son and he uses that height to his advantage. “If you ever do this again, I will tear your head off. Understand?”
“Yeah, I do,” Daniel nods, his face full of remorse. “Um..”
“Um?”
“What do I call you?” he asks with a meek look toward the detective.
“You can stick with Flynn until you decide to try something else.”
“Okay, uh Flynn could you keep my mom from killing me?”
“You’re gonna owe me, kid. Now call her.”
Pairing: The Closer - Raydor/Flynn
Rating: M for language, sexual situations
Part 11
Flynn goes through the motions until he can get back to the squad room and fake a sudden illness. Actually that doesn’t happen, but he does consider it. After the Chief has them search the crime scene and a hundred yard radius of it for the twelfth time, she finally decides to let the body and them go. To say Andy Flynn sprints to Sanchez’s car is an understatement. Provenza is out of breath when he catches up to them and climbs in the backseat.
“Where we going?”
“Downtown,” Julio remarks, turning the car toward the station.
“I thought Flynn had a hot date he needs to get to,” Louie jabs, nudging Flynn’s shoulder with his elbow as he leans across the front seat. Andy pays no attention to him, keeping his eyes on his phone. Sharon has ignored every one of his last ten messages and her phone is going straight to voicemail. Flynn curses. “She hasn’t cancelled on you has she?”
Sanchez shifts closer to the driver’s side door, one hand near the handle in case he needs to stop fast and break up a fight. He isn’t sure that whatever is upsetting Flynn has anything to do with Sharon Raydor, but he isn’t going to bet his paycheck against it.
“Don’t take the long way,” Flynn says to him, his eyes straight ahead. Sanchez nods and speeds up.
“I can go lights.”
“No, well, no. Just as quick as you can.”
“Woah, Flynn, what’s your hurry? Afraid she isn’t going to keep? Gotta say, Raydor was looking pretty hot under the sun today. I thought you were done with her but well, if you just gotta scratch an itch-” The older detective chokes on his words when Flynn’s full fury turns on him.
“Louie, if you value our friendship you’ll stop now,” he says through tight-lips, his brown eyes boring a hole through the man.
“You like her?”
“This isn’t about her, it’s about our son.”
The noise inside the car descends into an eerie quiet as the men hold their breath and digest what Andy Flynn let slip. He mutters another curse, mentally kicking himself as he turns round to face forward again. Deciding that the saying discretion is the better part of valor is a good motto to follow right about now, Sanchez keeps quiet and slips the blue light from under his seat onto the dash. He flips the two switches to the left of the steering wheel on and increases speed. Flynn doesn’t say a word. And thankfully, neither does Provenza.
Leaving the station parking garage, Flynn calls her phone one more time. “Sharon, call me now damn it! He’s my kid, too!” He slams his car door shut and, not knowing what else to do, heads to his apartment, all the while formulating what he will do to Sharon Raydor if and when he is able to put his hands around her neck.
Arriving at his apartment building, Flynn takes the steps two at a time, working off his frustration. He stops short at the sight of his door slightly ajar. Andy pulls his gun, holding it down beside his leg as he shoulders the door open. A quick glance inside has him breathing a sigh of relief and holstering his weapon.
“What the hell are you doing?” he yells at his son, who is spread out in his recliner, remote in hand as he sips a soda.
“Hey Dad, how was work today?” Danny flashes a grin which quickly disappears as Flynn slams the door shut and flies across the room. Daniel pushes the recliner’s leg rest down and stands up fast, knocking the back of his legs into the chair as he scrambles out of the way.
“Do you know what you’ve put me and your mother through? Do you even know where she is?”
“I, um, isn’t she, don’t!” Daniel flinches back, throwing his arms up as Flynn reaches for him. Andy stops short of grabbing his son, deciding at the last second to throw his hands on his hips in a stance similar to one he’s seen Sharon take.
“Look at me! Have you called your mother?” He barks out, the fury Provenza saw earlier in his eyes now doubled. Daniel meekly shakes his head.
“What’s your problem, kid?”
“You! Okay!” Danny shouts back, his confidence that Andy Flynn isn’t going to strike him growing. “What did you do anyway? Get wasted and knock her up?”
“Sit down,” Flynn says in a quiet, restrained tone. “Sit now.” He points and Danny falls back into the chair. He watches the man who is his father run a hand through his silvery hair before letting out a long huff as he sits down on the couch across from him.
“What happened between your mother and me is none of your concern. It happened. Period. That’s all you need to know. You are not allowed to use that against her, ever. Do you understand me?”
“Why not?”
“Because,” Flynn stares at him, “I said you can’t. Do you really want to push me on this?” Danny swallows hard and shakes his head. “All you need to know is she loves you more than life and you are hurting her worse than you can imagine right now.”
“Do you love me?” If not for his lowered head and his submissive posture, Flynn might have dismissed the question as a smart-ass remark. Instead he sees Danny’s sincerity and pauses, some of his anger dissipating.
“Honestly, yeah, I do,” Andy admits. He settles back on the couch, the weight of the day’s worry falling from his shoulders. “You’re mine, so loving you is automatic.”
Danny snorts, “Tell that to my other dad.”
“I don’t know the guy, but I can assure you that me almost taking off your head was all out of worry and fear and love for you and for your mom,” he adds without even thinking.
“But you don’t know me,” Daniel says, raising his head enough so Flynn can look into his green eyes. “What?”
“You have your mother’s eyes.”
“Do you love her?”
Flynn flinches at the question. “Love, Sharon, I-” and he can’t say no which throws him, but he isn’t sure about a yes.
“I should call her,” Daniel interjects as the sight of his mother’s worried face finally flashes in his mind.
“Yes, you should,” Flynn nods, happy for the distraction from his son’s question. He sees the clock and is stunned at how late it is. “Have you eaten? Are you hungry?” Danny looks back from digging in his backpack and shrugs.
“Why?”
“I don’t get to do this parent thing often kid, so you’ll have to give me some leeway here.” Flynn grabs his phone and speed dials the local delivery place. “Italian blend good for you?”
“That works,” Danny says, grabbing his phone and sitting back down on the recliner’s edge. “Parent thing often? What’s that mean?” he asks when Flynn hangs up.
“I, uh, you have a brother, Jesse.”
“Wow and I thought this week couldn’t get anymore interesting,” the kid deadpans but Flynn just chuckles. “What?”
“Nothing,” the detective shakes his head thinking how much like him Danny is.
“So when do I get to meet Jesse?”
“When my ex-wife stops being a,” Flynn pauses, reminding himself that although Daniel is a teenager, he is not just any teenager, “when she stops being difficult and allows him to visit.”
“Older?”
“Younger, Jesse’s thirteen.”
Daniel nods, digesting this new information, “So you and my mom and that whirlwind romance…”
“I’m not joking, Daniel,” Flynn’s eyes harden, “there are lines.”
“I’m not crossing any,” Danny holds up his hands in surrender. “Just tell me it wasn’t some affair from you either, that you weren’t dodging responsibility or-” Flynn reaches across the short distance between him and his son to grab Daniel’s hand.
“Look at me,” his says, his eyes locking with his son’s, “If I had known that you were mine I would have been there from day one.”
“Before or after your AA meetings,” Daniel asks with a straight-face. Andy feels the pang that hits each time someone calls him on his life back then, however, this pang hits harder than most. He drops his head and bites his tongue to prevent his usual defensive wise-crack from spilling out. “Amazing what you can find on the Internet these days. Apparently you were at an AA meeting a few months back when a guy attacked you. How’s your side?”
“I remember what it was like to be your age,” Andy says, his voice strained as he tries to keep calm. “I don’t remember much from some years, but I remember that one. Everything pisses you off, the world sucks and your parents don’t know shit.” He looks up, his eyes meeting Daniel’s in an unflinching stand-off. “I’ve got a past and I’ve had some problems. If you want reasons to hate me, you won’t have to look hard to find some. Just ask your mom.”
As Flynn talks, Daniel feels his mouth go dry and tries to swallow but his throat feels tighter. Flashing in his mind are the images of his mother and Flynn from the ballpark, of her smile when the doorbell rang the night before, and then he sees her like she looked that time he fell out of the tree and broke his arm. Rick hadn’t been in town that day, and when he came home all he did was mutter a “be more careful” to Danny as he walked to his office and closed the door. The only time Rick had ever raised his voice at Danny, in a tone even close to how Andy had earlier, was when Danny wanted to play ball and accidentally made Rick hang up on a client. Daniel’s face starts to flush at the realization that the man before him, who doesn’t even know him, really does care about him more than the guy who thought he was his father ever did. Daniel sinks lower, feeling more than regret for his stupid crack.
“Um, I…” Daniel’s voice is hesitant. He clears his throat and tries again, “I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry I worried you and that I haven’t given you a chance.” He holds Flynn’s gaze, watching as the man sits back and slowly nods.
“Okay,” Flynn says at last, “call your mom. Food should be here soon. You can go wash up, I take it you’ve found the bathroom?” Daniel shakes his head as he stands. “So you can pick locks but you don’t go snooping?”
“Bachelor pad; isn’t really much I haven’t seen,” his son smirks.
“Does your mom know about your skill?”
“She thought me,” his grin widens, “locked the keys in the house one too many times so she had to pick the lock. I helped.” Flynn scoffs, shaking his head. “So is that it?”
“I’m sure your mom will have plenty to say to you. But,” Andy stands, noting that even though Danny is closing in on 5’6” maybe 5’7”, he’s still taller than his son and he uses that height to his advantage. “If you ever do this again, I will tear your head off. Understand?”
“Yeah, I do,” Daniel nods, his face full of remorse. “Um..”
“Um?”
“What do I call you?” he asks with a meek look toward the detective.
“You can stick with Flynn until you decide to try something else.”
“Okay, uh Flynn could you keep my mom from killing me?”
“You’re gonna owe me, kid. Now call her.”