Waiting

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Major Crimes. James Duff, et al, has that lovely distinction.

Summary: Ep tag 5.13; If there was one thing Sharon Raydor and Andy Flynn were good at, it was waiting.

A/N1: Enjoy! Leave a review if you feel so inclined. They are ever so appreciated. #TodayIsLife

~~~~~PT~~~~~

Their case was solved. Sharon had gotten the absolution she'd needed. Now she and Andy could have some downtime alone. Or so she thought.

Andy had been having some pain for a couple of days. Thinking it was nothing, and believing his promise to tell Sharon if anything was bothering him health-wise pertained only to the clot, he didn't mention it. He should have.

As he held onto her wrist and she held his face with both hands, waiting for the ambulance to get there, the only thing she focused on was the fear in his eyes as he seemed to have trouble breathing and the pain tore through his chest. Looking at her, though she tried to school her features, he saw the same fear in her eyes.

Seconds seemed like minutes and minutes like hours as they waited for the EMS to get there. His colleagues were calling out to him, trying to keep his attention focused. He only wanted to see Sharon. Words were beginning to sound jumbled as the seconds ticked off. The overhead lights were beginning to dim. He noticed that, despite everything going darker around him, Sharon was whiter. The fear was running through her and her skin tone was pale. It made him glad she wasn't there to witness his dust-up with the car. It would've terrified her just as this was now.

He felt Tao pull on his tie, loosen it and open the top two buttons of his shirt. The Lieutenant had to work around his Captain but he did so without hesitation. No one expected Sharon to let go. Andy didn't want her to because it meant he had to also. She was his lifeline in those moments.

When the EMS arrived, they placed him on the stretcher, checked his vitals and tried to get him to talk. When he couldn't answer them, fear flew across Sharon's features before she calmed herself and spoke to him soothingly. Much as he wanted to, much as he tried, he couldn't answer her either. His hand still around her wrist, she instinctively helped raise the stretcher. She might be in the way but she was determined to help as much as possible to lessen the effects of her proximity to him. Moving quickly with them to the elevator, she heard Provenza call out that he'd grab her stuff and bring it to her at the hospital. Turning briefly, she nodded in acknowledgement and gratitude.

The ride down was quick, the firefighters' key turned to avoid any stops along the way. He was put into the ambulance; still refusing to let her go, she hopped up quickly without any of the grace or elegance for which she was known.

As the ambulance flew through the streets, lights flashing and siren blaring, Sharon spoke softly to Andy, assuring him that he would be fine and be home with her soon. His eyes seemed to have turned the darkest shade of brown she'd ever seen on him; and she had seen his eyes all shades by then.

Finally going through the doors of the ER, it felt like they had reached the finish line of a race. Andy would now be taken care of by the professionals, he'd be fine, and then go home. 'Only,' she reminded herself, 'it might not work out that way.' She barely heard the nurse telling her she had to let go and stay in the patient waiting area. When she tried to take her hand away, Andy squeezed harder. Neither wanted to release the other but the nurse was there to ensure they did. Finally getting free, she whispered, "I'll wait for you," before they wheeled him away once again.

Walking into the waiting area, she knew Rusty and Gus would be there soon as would Provenza with her belongings and the rest of her team. Taking only a few seconds to calm herself, she called Nicole and informed her about her father. After declining to go there immediately because she had the boys and Dean wasn't home yet, she asked for updates, promised to be there as soon as she could, and offered to call her brother since his relationship with their father was still a work in progress. Grateful for that, Sharon thanked her and hung up.

Pacing, she thought of the first time she heard those words. "I'll wait for you," he promised with a shrug, "in case you need me." She'd felt that case down to her bones and it tore off a piece of her heart. Andy knew the toll it was taking so, as her friend, offered to do the notification. When she had refused, explaining she needed to do it herself, he'd made his offer to wait. They had both become champions of waiting since that day.

Sitting down briefly, she wondered what was taking her son and the team so long to get there. Deciding it was traffic and they weren't using sirens, she sat back and thought quickly about the times they spent together as just friends. On their first date, Andy had admitted to her that he had feelings for her during their friendship that she didn't pick up. Explaining that she had so much going on in her life, she told him she cared very deeply for him as a friend but that it wasn't until after that dinner before The Nutcracker that she truly began to think about whether there was more between them.

Pacing again, she covered her face as she groaned over answering fine when he finally worked up the courage to ask her out on a real date. She chuckled upon remembering the look on his face after she told him she couldn't kiss him, that they had to take it slow, until Taylor had been informed. Remembering that first real kiss made her face flush and her body reacted as it had in that moment. Remembering the first time they made love brought tears to her eyes. He had been so patient waiting for her to be ready to share that last part of herself with him; to show him just how much she loved and trusted him with all of her.

Leaning against the wall for support, she allowed the fear to wash over her for only a minute before she gave herself a stern lecture about how strong Andy is and reminded herself they've been down this road before with his blood clot. 'He'll be fine,' she told herself, 'he'll come home again.'

Provenza, Rusty and Gus walked in together and headed to the waiting area. The members of the team would arrive shortly. The Lieutenant peeked in first, saw his Captain leaning against the wall, fighting to hold back tears, and stopped short, holding back the boys. "Give her a second," he said quietly. Feeling uncomfortable within a minute, he cleared his throat to announce his presence as he entered the waiting area. Her mask was back in place when she greeted them.

Having no information to give, Sharon merely said Andy was inside and sat down with a heavy sigh.

The wait seemed to last an eternity. The rest of the team arrived and sat or stood quietly. It seemed as if they all believed anyone speaking would break the spell of protection they all wished for their friend and colleague.

A nurse came out asking for his Power Of Attorney so Sharon stood, introduced herself and explained that they live together. As his POA, she could make his medical decisions in the event he was unable. The nurse handed her a clipboard with all the paperwork needed for Andy's latest health episode and went back inside. They'd discussed this, what their wishes were in the event of a crisis, so Sharon sat and began calmly filling out the forms. They gave her something else to concentrate on and still her fears in the process.

She was finished and handed them back to the nurse when she returned with the doctor treating Andy. Listening intently, she felt her breath hitch and a lump form in her throat. Her hand instinctively moved to cover her diaphragm as the doctor explained what was happening to her boyfriend. At this point boyfriend sounded better to her than live-in lover as Provenza had once teasingly called him. Just as the doctor was finishing up and ready to go back inside, Nicole and her mother arrived. Sharon introduced his daughter but her mother had stayed back, avoiding eye contact with most in the room, especially Provenza.

After the doctor left, Sharon hugged Nicole and summarized what she had missed. The younger woman explained her brother thought hospitals were morbid and if his father was dying, waiting around for it to happen was even more morbid. Seeing the tears begin to well in Sharon's eyes, she quickly apologized. "He'll be fine," Sharon told her with a confidence she didn't feel. Nicole agreed, recalling the many times her father had been counted as down and out but like the Phoenix he had risen each and every time.

Andy's ex-wife walked over to them and easily wrapped her arms around Sharon. "I've seen you two together. I've seen how he loves you. He won't leave you," she assured her quietly. Their conversation was their own, not meant to be overheard by anyone else, not even her daughter. They had an understanding between them born of loving an alcoholic and raising their children. They had each gone about it differently but they understood one another on a certain level.

Nodding her head, Sharon thanked her and they went to sit down next to each other. The team was watching with hidden fascination, except for Provenza who couldn't seem to hide his shock. He settled down as soon as he saw that the ex-Mrs Flynn was having a strange calming effect on his Captain.

Throughout the next few hours, Sharon sat down and spoke individually with each person present. She also paced a great deal. There were a few times she'd excused herself to be alone. She'd called Emily and Ricky. She'd called Andrea and Gavin. She'd gone to Chapel and prayed, once again, that Andy would live and she'd have more time with him. Whenever the tears threatened to fall, she willed them away. That day, she vowed to remain strong for Andy until he could be strong for himself.

The waiting was the worst part but it was what they did. If there was one thing Sharon Raydor and Andy Flynn were good at, it was waiting.

[The End]

A/N2: Thanks for reading!

A/N3: This was meant to stay in canon so the next part, "Snippets of Waiting," will be separate since we don't know for sure what was wrong with Andy.