#36#
A/N: Argh, I had entirely forgotten how much interaction Andy and Sharon had in this episode. Fun to rewatch an episode and see stuff you had totally forgotten, and find new stuff to fangirl over. Hehehe. I hope you enjoy this little piece. And once again, I’m soo happy you all find this series entertaining. =)
/STRIKE THREE/
“For god’s sake Flynn - why’d you invite her?”
“Huh!”
Andrew Flynn hastily looked in the direction Provenza was glaring, O’Malley’s filled with officers in every crook and corner, and he saw Sharon Raydor gliding across the room towards the booth Provenza and Andy occupied. She strode with a rigid frame, her eyes straight ahead and her cap under her arm. There was something stiff about her movements and even if she could blend into the crowd of officers likewise in uniforms from the funeral, Sharon stood out like a sore thumb.
She wore a pinched expression and pursed lips like armor and Andy noticed a few intense glowers that followed her path, more than a few none too happy with the head of F.I.D uncharacteristically crashing the unofficial wake for Stern and Duran. One of the young rookies at a table nearby, fresh-faced and gangly, looked on the verge of starting a riot but Andy quickly caught the idiot’s eye and shook his head in warning; the last thing they needed now was a moron trying to bring turf wars into the bar.
“I didn’t invite her,” Andy said in a flat voice and turned back to regard Provenza, surprised and annoyed that Sharon chose now to impose her presence on him. “Why would I invite her? - of all people?”
“Because you are the biggest moron to walk this earth,” Provenza told him in a sour voice as he twirled his tumbler of whiskey and exhaled too loudly, “and only you would be stupid enough to invite someone whose presence will surely set everyone on fire.”
Andy rolled his eyes, “Heck, I’m not that insane.”
Provenza shook his head in disagreement.
“Gentlemen,” Sharon said in greeting when she came to a stop at their table, both hands placed confidently on her hips and her eyes doused in an emotion Andy couldn’t pinpoint. Her voice was low and smooth, sincere if it had not been for the slight curl to one side of her mouth.
“Captain,” Provenza tilted his whiskey tumbler at her in greeting.
Andy decided to not greet her and simply made an irritated gesture with his right hand, indicating the space between Provenza and himself, “We are kind of busy at the moment.”
Sharon pursed her lips in badly concealed exasperation and her body stance became even more rigid. Nevertheless she sat down without an invitation, forcing Andy to scoot further along the bench to give her room.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Andy told her as he crossed his arms defensively, his mouth drawn into a disapproving scowl without effort, “Your presence is only bound to set people on edge. Don’t you usually drink with your own people? I think I remember you I.A rats preferring a different establishment.”
Sharon resolutely ignored him and instead her eyes were focused on Provenza. Andy watched her fold her hands neatly in her lap and from his vantage point of her in profile, her smile even looked genuine.
Provenza on the other hand looked uncomfortable, not too used to Sharon smiling at him, and after five prolonged seconds of the Captain simply staring at his partner, Provenza finally made a weird face and then said his voice forcibly polite, “You care for a drink, Captain?”
Sharon smiled even more at Provenza, “Yes, please.”
“Wine?” Provenza ventured.
She nodded in affirmation and Andy watched his partner leave the table as if his ass was on fire, waddling towards the small bar counter and throwing a look over his shoulder that was directed at Andy and distinctly said that he should do something about the situation.
Andy was certain Sharon would start talking the moment Provenza left their little corner of the bar but she continued to ignore him, her eyes on a faraway wall and her mouth compressed into a thin line. The smile was completely gone.
Andy clenched his jaw and pretended to ignore her as well, sipping his cranberry juice and avoiding starting up any kind of conversation.
They sat in stuffed silence until Provenza came back with a wineglass for the Captain and a whiskey for himself. Sharon sipped her wine, Provenza his whiskey and Andy pretended he was entirely alone at the table.
“Look, if you two want to be alone,” Provenza started after another period of silence, his voice aggravated but Andy caught the unsure look the man fixed on Sharon; he was right, she was unusually quiet.
“No need,” Sharon started out in a pleasant voice and she bestowed a little smile on Provenza. Then she turned her head in Andy’s direction and immediately her expression was clouded in patronizing appraisal, “We are all professionals, lieutenant.”
Andy fumed and clasped his hand angrily around his glass, trying to not blow up completely. She was obviously taking a dib at him and implying he was not professional.
“Some of us are better at professionalism than others,” Andy countered, his voice hard and reproachful, “and some of us,” he paused to give her a belligerent smile, “enjoy stealing evidence from other divisions and making life hard for honest working people in general.”
Sharon sighed.
Andy continued, “And some of us cannot handle following an investigation but need to take it over.”
“Do yourself a favor, lieutenant, and stop beating around the bush,” Sharon said in a low voice, “say it plain and simple. I can take it.”
“You are a bitch,” he threw in her face before he could think about repercussions and feelings.
Sharon did not seem bothered by it at all. If anything her eyes seemed to narrow with satisfaction at the words and she granted him a smile that was anything but a smile. She looked a bit dangerous, not that he would head the warning. Andy briefly noticed Provenza trying to slink down in his seat as if that would bring the old idiot out of the crossfire.
Sharon sipped her wine and keeping her eyes on Andy she addressed her question to Provenza, “How long has he been in this foul mood?”
Provenza made a grimace, “Since the early nineties - give or take.”
Sharon nodded, the smile now condescending.
Andy scowled at them, “You are both mental.”
Sharon continued to appear unbaffled by his mood, another polished smile thrown in Provenza’s direction, “So, I hear you’ve become a grandfather once again, lieutenant.”
Provenza nodded and narrowed his eyes at Andy. Apparently Andy was not allowed to divulge this information to anyone, especially not Sharon.
“In that case, congratulation is in order,” Sharon said and sipped from her wineglass.
“Hell Sharon,” Andy interrupted with a brusque voice that resulted in both Provenza and Sharon wincing in their seats and giving him matching arched eyebrows. Andy ignored their reproach and continued in the same gruff voice, “just drop the bullshit and tell me why you are here. You did not come here to converse with him,” he gave a nod at Provenza.
Before Sharon could answer, Provenza piped up, “Don’t mind him and his crappy mood, Captain, it’s only because he was forced to spend a weekend shouting at the ex and now he needs to make everyone else miserable. Force of habit, you know.”
“It’s my fucking business,” Andy told the both of them, “so just butt out.” He narrowed his eyes on Provenza because he had a feeling if he looked at Sharon he would feel like an asshole.
“Oh,” Sharon breathed, “well, that certainly explains a lot.”
Provenza nodded in agreement, “This is my cue,” he got up with a jovial smile. The idiot took his whiskey tumbler and then looking into the crowd of people he exclaimed, “I think I see someone I need to talk to, bye-bye,” and then he was off into the throng of people before Andy could protest at being left alone with Sharon.
Andy sighed and then finally looked at Sharon. To his surprise she seemed amused and for the life of him, Andy couldn’t figure out why.
She shook her head, a wry smile at him, “You could just have told me, you idiot.”
Andy chose not to reply.
Sharon inched closer to him, her eyes alight with mirth and she reached her hand out and landed it his knee.
The gesture was meant to calm him down, and it did to a certain degree. She continued, the same soft, understanding voice, “I was not sure whether I had done something to upset you or if you were simply aggressive because well, who knows.”
“I’ve been fine.” Andy grunted, the lie easily slipping from his lips.
“Oh gosh, you don’t say,” Sharon replied with a sardonic voice, her eyes crinkled in humor, “so all that grumpy yelling without any reason whatsoever, huffing and puffing, and pissing on your territory; that was simply you being fine?”
“Well, obviously it’s necessary to mark my territory because otherwise you are going to commandeer it, or you know, steal it from right under my nose. And frankly, it’s hard not to yell when you are in my face all the time, hijacking things left and right, imposing yourself into our investigations - and really, do you have to be such a pain in the ass.”
She shrugged, “You have your job and I have mine. The very foundations of our jobs are very different, so naturally it is bound to result in some minor glitches.”
“Glitches, my ass,” Andy replied flippantly and was surprised when Sharon gave a short giggle. He couldn’t help but smile at the amused sound.
Andy grinned, “Though, when push comes to shove, I suppose I have been a royal asshole. So there’s that.” He watched Sharon, the smile that was entirely different now, pleased and cheerful, and a small bit shy because she looked down at the table, her expression hidden for a second.
“Hey,” he said in a warm voice and she looked up. Andy leaned closer to her and then whispered, “How about meeting me in the back, huh?”
Sharon arched an eyebrow, “Pardon?”
Andy looked skyward for a brief second and then he gently pushed her towards the edge of the bench, “C’mon, just get up and meet me out in the back hallway.”
She still looked unconvinced, her eyes going around the bar and the many people who had entirely forgotten about her presence for now.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to fuck you out there,” Andy gave her a cheeky smile because the notion of a restroom tumble was always high on his list even if it was not the place nor the time for it, “I simply want to kiss you without every idiot in here asphyxiating on their drinks, huh.”
Sharon looked back at him, a playful look from beneath lashes, “Mmm,” she hummed. With a smile she stood up and walked purposefully towards the back and the toilets.
Andy grinned as he watched her make her way. After a good two minutes he got up as well and followed her path, glad no one gave him a second look.
The door closed into the bar and thankfully the hallway was empty. Her lips were warm and welcoming, his hands landing naturally on her hips as he drew her closer to his body.
“Sorry,” Andy mumbled in between a kiss, knowing he must have been a complete buffoon throughout the entire investigation of the shooting of Stern and Duran. He was still upset about the whole spectacle with the evidence but when he thought about it, he should have expected it. It was the sort of thing Sharon simply did; she was good at ruffling feathers.
Sharon leaned up and kissed him back, “You are forgiven.”
Andy chuckled and then pushed her up against the wall for good measure, “Gee, thanks.”
She laughed and he captured the merry tones with another kiss.
…
=)
/STRIKE THREE/
“For god’s sake Flynn - why’d you invite her?”
“Huh!”
Andrew Flynn hastily looked in the direction Provenza was glaring, O’Malley’s filled with officers in every crook and corner, and he saw Sharon Raydor gliding across the room towards the booth Provenza and Andy occupied. She strode with a rigid frame, her eyes straight ahead and her cap under her arm. There was something stiff about her movements and even if she could blend into the crowd of officers likewise in uniforms from the funeral, Sharon stood out like a sore thumb.
She wore a pinched expression and pursed lips like armor and Andy noticed a few intense glowers that followed her path, more than a few none too happy with the head of F.I.D uncharacteristically crashing the unofficial wake for Stern and Duran. One of the young rookies at a table nearby, fresh-faced and gangly, looked on the verge of starting a riot but Andy quickly caught the idiot’s eye and shook his head in warning; the last thing they needed now was a moron trying to bring turf wars into the bar.
“I didn’t invite her,” Andy said in a flat voice and turned back to regard Provenza, surprised and annoyed that Sharon chose now to impose her presence on him. “Why would I invite her? - of all people?”
“Because you are the biggest moron to walk this earth,” Provenza told him in a sour voice as he twirled his tumbler of whiskey and exhaled too loudly, “and only you would be stupid enough to invite someone whose presence will surely set everyone on fire.”
Andy rolled his eyes, “Heck, I’m not that insane.”
Provenza shook his head in disagreement.
“Gentlemen,” Sharon said in greeting when she came to a stop at their table, both hands placed confidently on her hips and her eyes doused in an emotion Andy couldn’t pinpoint. Her voice was low and smooth, sincere if it had not been for the slight curl to one side of her mouth.
“Captain,” Provenza tilted his whiskey tumbler at her in greeting.
Andy decided to not greet her and simply made an irritated gesture with his right hand, indicating the space between Provenza and himself, “We are kind of busy at the moment.”
Sharon pursed her lips in badly concealed exasperation and her body stance became even more rigid. Nevertheless she sat down without an invitation, forcing Andy to scoot further along the bench to give her room.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Andy told her as he crossed his arms defensively, his mouth drawn into a disapproving scowl without effort, “Your presence is only bound to set people on edge. Don’t you usually drink with your own people? I think I remember you I.A rats preferring a different establishment.”
Sharon resolutely ignored him and instead her eyes were focused on Provenza. Andy watched her fold her hands neatly in her lap and from his vantage point of her in profile, her smile even looked genuine.
Provenza on the other hand looked uncomfortable, not too used to Sharon smiling at him, and after five prolonged seconds of the Captain simply staring at his partner, Provenza finally made a weird face and then said his voice forcibly polite, “You care for a drink, Captain?”
Sharon smiled even more at Provenza, “Yes, please.”
“Wine?” Provenza ventured.
She nodded in affirmation and Andy watched his partner leave the table as if his ass was on fire, waddling towards the small bar counter and throwing a look over his shoulder that was directed at Andy and distinctly said that he should do something about the situation.
Andy was certain Sharon would start talking the moment Provenza left their little corner of the bar but she continued to ignore him, her eyes on a faraway wall and her mouth compressed into a thin line. The smile was completely gone.
Andy clenched his jaw and pretended to ignore her as well, sipping his cranberry juice and avoiding starting up any kind of conversation.
They sat in stuffed silence until Provenza came back with a wineglass for the Captain and a whiskey for himself. Sharon sipped her wine, Provenza his whiskey and Andy pretended he was entirely alone at the table.
“Look, if you two want to be alone,” Provenza started after another period of silence, his voice aggravated but Andy caught the unsure look the man fixed on Sharon; he was right, she was unusually quiet.
“No need,” Sharon started out in a pleasant voice and she bestowed a little smile on Provenza. Then she turned her head in Andy’s direction and immediately her expression was clouded in patronizing appraisal, “We are all professionals, lieutenant.”
Andy fumed and clasped his hand angrily around his glass, trying to not blow up completely. She was obviously taking a dib at him and implying he was not professional.
“Some of us are better at professionalism than others,” Andy countered, his voice hard and reproachful, “and some of us,” he paused to give her a belligerent smile, “enjoy stealing evidence from other divisions and making life hard for honest working people in general.”
Sharon sighed.
Andy continued, “And some of us cannot handle following an investigation but need to take it over.”
“Do yourself a favor, lieutenant, and stop beating around the bush,” Sharon said in a low voice, “say it plain and simple. I can take it.”
“You are a bitch,” he threw in her face before he could think about repercussions and feelings.
Sharon did not seem bothered by it at all. If anything her eyes seemed to narrow with satisfaction at the words and she granted him a smile that was anything but a smile. She looked a bit dangerous, not that he would head the warning. Andy briefly noticed Provenza trying to slink down in his seat as if that would bring the old idiot out of the crossfire.
Sharon sipped her wine and keeping her eyes on Andy she addressed her question to Provenza, “How long has he been in this foul mood?”
Provenza made a grimace, “Since the early nineties - give or take.”
Sharon nodded, the smile now condescending.
Andy scowled at them, “You are both mental.”
Sharon continued to appear unbaffled by his mood, another polished smile thrown in Provenza’s direction, “So, I hear you’ve become a grandfather once again, lieutenant.”
Provenza nodded and narrowed his eyes at Andy. Apparently Andy was not allowed to divulge this information to anyone, especially not Sharon.
“In that case, congratulation is in order,” Sharon said and sipped from her wineglass.
“Hell Sharon,” Andy interrupted with a brusque voice that resulted in both Provenza and Sharon wincing in their seats and giving him matching arched eyebrows. Andy ignored their reproach and continued in the same gruff voice, “just drop the bullshit and tell me why you are here. You did not come here to converse with him,” he gave a nod at Provenza.
Before Sharon could answer, Provenza piped up, “Don’t mind him and his crappy mood, Captain, it’s only because he was forced to spend a weekend shouting at the ex and now he needs to make everyone else miserable. Force of habit, you know.”
“It’s my fucking business,” Andy told the both of them, “so just butt out.” He narrowed his eyes on Provenza because he had a feeling if he looked at Sharon he would feel like an asshole.
“Oh,” Sharon breathed, “well, that certainly explains a lot.”
Provenza nodded in agreement, “This is my cue,” he got up with a jovial smile. The idiot took his whiskey tumbler and then looking into the crowd of people he exclaimed, “I think I see someone I need to talk to, bye-bye,” and then he was off into the throng of people before Andy could protest at being left alone with Sharon.
Andy sighed and then finally looked at Sharon. To his surprise she seemed amused and for the life of him, Andy couldn’t figure out why.
She shook her head, a wry smile at him, “You could just have told me, you idiot.”
Andy chose not to reply.
Sharon inched closer to him, her eyes alight with mirth and she reached her hand out and landed it his knee.
The gesture was meant to calm him down, and it did to a certain degree. She continued, the same soft, understanding voice, “I was not sure whether I had done something to upset you or if you were simply aggressive because well, who knows.”
“I’ve been fine.” Andy grunted, the lie easily slipping from his lips.
“Oh gosh, you don’t say,” Sharon replied with a sardonic voice, her eyes crinkled in humor, “so all that grumpy yelling without any reason whatsoever, huffing and puffing, and pissing on your territory; that was simply you being fine?”
“Well, obviously it’s necessary to mark my territory because otherwise you are going to commandeer it, or you know, steal it from right under my nose. And frankly, it’s hard not to yell when you are in my face all the time, hijacking things left and right, imposing yourself into our investigations - and really, do you have to be such a pain in the ass.”
She shrugged, “You have your job and I have mine. The very foundations of our jobs are very different, so naturally it is bound to result in some minor glitches.”
“Glitches, my ass,” Andy replied flippantly and was surprised when Sharon gave a short giggle. He couldn’t help but smile at the amused sound.
Andy grinned, “Though, when push comes to shove, I suppose I have been a royal asshole. So there’s that.” He watched Sharon, the smile that was entirely different now, pleased and cheerful, and a small bit shy because she looked down at the table, her expression hidden for a second.
“Hey,” he said in a warm voice and she looked up. Andy leaned closer to her and then whispered, “How about meeting me in the back, huh?”
Sharon arched an eyebrow, “Pardon?”
Andy looked skyward for a brief second and then he gently pushed her towards the edge of the bench, “C’mon, just get up and meet me out in the back hallway.”
She still looked unconvinced, her eyes going around the bar and the many people who had entirely forgotten about her presence for now.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to fuck you out there,” Andy gave her a cheeky smile because the notion of a restroom tumble was always high on his list even if it was not the place nor the time for it, “I simply want to kiss you without every idiot in here asphyxiating on their drinks, huh.”
Sharon looked back at him, a playful look from beneath lashes, “Mmm,” she hummed. With a smile she stood up and walked purposefully towards the back and the toilets.
Andy grinned as he watched her make her way. After a good two minutes he got up as well and followed her path, glad no one gave him a second look.
The door closed into the bar and thankfully the hallway was empty. Her lips were warm and welcoming, his hands landing naturally on her hips as he drew her closer to his body.
“Sorry,” Andy mumbled in between a kiss, knowing he must have been a complete buffoon throughout the entire investigation of the shooting of Stern and Duran. He was still upset about the whole spectacle with the evidence but when he thought about it, he should have expected it. It was the sort of thing Sharon simply did; she was good at ruffling feathers.
Sharon leaned up and kissed him back, “You are forgiven.”
Andy chuckled and then pushed her up against the wall for good measure, “Gee, thanks.”
She laughed and he captured the merry tones with another kiss.
…
=)