Work Text:
Staccato
She cradles the phone handset with a frustrated huff. Placing her pen down on her desk with a sigh, she takes a long and slow blink. She takes off her glasses and pinches the corners of her eyes, careful of her meagre make-up, and rests her head back against her chair for just a minute to ward off the tension she can feel building behind her eyes. Taking a quick look at her watch she sees it’s just about to tick over to lunch time, and she breathes a sigh of relief, because she honestly couldn’t have focused on this report a minute longer. Standing, she puts her glasses back on and makes her way out of her office and over to the murder room.
They’re waiting on lab test results and a call back from a lawyer’s office, so everyone is taking five minutes to breathe and debrief, the lingering sounds of laughter in the air as Sanchez makes a crack at Andy’s expense. It’s not a particularly difficult case to crack, but everything takes time, and so a lunch break is a welcomed distraction. Standing around the whiteboard, the mood is friendly despite the sticky heat of summer that lingers and just won’t break. Sharon walks out of her office and stands with them, taking a place next to Andy, though there’s a good foot between them.
“You get through?” he asks, referring to her phone-tag she’s been playing all day.
“Not yet. I’ll try again later”
“Did you hear we’re getting a new DDA?” Amy asks Sanchez, just as Provenza is approaching the group from the break room, and they wordlessly make a hole for him to join their circle, right between Sharon and Mike.
“I heard a rumour” says Sanchez, having a sip of his drink.
“Andrea mentioned something the other day when I ran in to her at lunch” says Sharon, and Andy’s head quirks sideways at her with a funny look on his face.
“Andrea?” questions Provenza, pitching the name just a little higher, mocking her, and everyone else looks a mix of curious and confused; not at Provenza, they expect that kind of thing from him, but rarely does their Captain mention her plans outside the office. It’s a foreign concept. She’s grateful that they no longer fight her place here, but she wonders just how long it will take until they get over their shock at her having a life outside the office. Maybe homicide detectives just don’t know different, or maybe it’s just never crossed their minds, but she honestly thinks it would knock their socks off if either of her children ever sauntered into the office just to see her and say ‘hi’. She thinks she’ll do that one day, just to see the reaction. Either that, or kiss Andy right here where they’re standing, once they’re finally allowed to be public.
“It might surprise you to know that I do catch up with friends for working lunch occasionally” she says, rolling her eyes and making everyone smile good-naturedly.
“And here I thought you were just ducking out to polish your broom” quips Provenza, earning him a light whack with the backs of her fingers. She’s well aware of the nicknames she used to get, and honestly it’s all water under the bridge at this point, so she finds it a little bit funny that he’s teasing her now, using it as a friendly dig. It feels welcoming in the way that getting a nickname in high school is a form of approval. Better to be known and accepted, she figures, than to be hated; she doesn’t mind being called a witch if he says it with love.
“So who is it? This new DDA?” asks Sykes.
“Did she say what they’d be doing?” adds Tao, popping his head out of the ballistics report in his hand long enough to join the conversation.
“Her name is Emma Rios,” says Sharon, half nodding her head. “She’ll be taking the Stroh case, too”
“A newbie taking one of the most high-profile murders in recent years?” asks Andy, incredulity written on his face. “Is that a good idea?”
“I’m not sure” she says on a hum, shaking her head, swaying a little on her feet with her arms crossed. “Hobbs seems to think she can take it- she’s shown great promise with lesser cases, and her conviction record speaks for itself” she says, speaking almost by rote. “Still, she’s young”
“I don’t want that scumbag let free because some rookie got it wrong” says Provenza, wagging a finger for emphasis.
“Neither do I” agrees Sharon. “We’ll just have to wait and see. You never know, she might surprise us”
Nobody looks particularly convinced, but they don’t say anything.
“Here’s hoping the eighteen months it takes to go to trial is enough time to prepare her” says Sanchez, doubt clouding his voice, his loyalties running high at the reminder of Phillip Stroh and all he means for this group of people. Everybody nods a little bit, feeling much the same.
“Has Rusty met with her yet?” asks Sykes kindly, showing a sense of understanding in her eyes that frankly surprises Sharon, though she’d never show it. Sykes has more to offer than anyone gives her credit for, and she loves seeing these moments when it shines through.
“Not yet” says Sharon. “And I haven’t made mention that I’m his guardian either”
“Why? You’re not doing anything wrong” says Provenza, defensive on her behalf, which she finds both touching and a bit surprising. He has been nothing but supportive of her relationship with Andy- if she can call silence and ignorance support- but has never made much comment on her guardianship. That he seems sympathetic now tells her that she’s doing a good job; that her people are pleased with the progress she’s made with Rusty, and the place he holds in all their hearts. The time he’s spent at the squad over the summer has been good for all of them; Rusty has experienced safe and honest friendship, and the squad gets a reminder about why their job is so important; the next generation and all that he represents.
“I know I’m not doing anything wrong” she says, reassuringly. “But I’d like to meet Rios in a professional capacity first, get a sense of who I’ll be dealing with before she meets with Rusty”
“The last thing you want to do right now is upset the kid- he’s just settling in” says Andy, worry in his voice and concern on his face, and if they weren’t at work she’s probably lay a hand on his arm or something. But the environment is enough to keep her professional, and so she only nods at him.
“I agree. And summer school goes back shortly, and then first semester after that. Which is why I’ll meet her first- suss her out”
She misses the few smirks that go around the group at her tone, but Andy doesn’t, and he shares a look with Tao as he fights against making a comment about her being overprotective, or a mother bear or something equally derisive. Nobody here needs reminding of who they’re dealing with, or what Rusty means to her.
“When’s she coming in?” asks Tao.
“Next week, apparently. But I might make a quick trip over to the DA’s office and introduce myself before then”
“Meet her on enemy turf” says Provenza with a sly grin.
“More like… start on the offensive” she counters with a look of her own. Provenza only chuckles, very deliberately and with a shake of his head, and it looks practically conspiratorial the way the two of them have started bouncing comments off one another. A phone rings and everyone disperses, but Sharon and Provenza share one more look before she walks back to her office to grab her things for lunch.
As everyone gathers, Andy follows her to her office a few steps behind. He walks in and doesn’t shut the door, and that tells her what kind of conversation this is going to be.
“Are you worried?” he asks as she rounds her desk.
“About?”
“About all the trial stuff beginning soon. It’ll be over a year before he sees the inside of a courtroom, but Rusty has to start preparing”
“You’re asking if I’m worried about Rusty going on the stand?”
“Yeah”
She ponders the question as she gathers her jacket and packs away the files she doesn’t need after lunch time. “Not really” she says, thinking on it. “I won’t deny that it will be hard for him; he has a long way to go. But he’s strong, and he’s smart”
“And he has you”
She only nods. She isn’t modest about the place she holds in Rusty’s life; she won’t bother to deny the impact her home has had on him. If she can continue to provide his refuge, she thinks he’ll be alright.
“He’s not ready now. But I think he can be ready by the time we go to trial” she says, measured and fair, and without conceit.
“And this Emma?”
“We’ll deal with her when the time comes, if she’s even someone who needs dealing with”
He lowers his voice, just enough that any eavesdroppers can’t overhear from outside. “And what are you doing tonight?”
She only smirks at his leery look, dropping her eyelids just fractionally and reaching for her purse, looking casual as she checks its contents. “Cooking dinner. Watching a movie. Reading my book in bed”
“Need help with any of those things?”
She looks up with an expression that is positively deadly, and leans forward just enough. They stare at each other, both smirking, only a couple of inches between them with her leaning forward and him towering over her desk. She can feel his breath on her face and see the challenge in his eyes. He's daring her to be naughty, just this once, knowing she never will, and she's resisting just to tease him, knowing it will drive him mental. She's never been one for games; she's dealt with her fair share in relationships. But this feels positively wicked, standing here in her office, the door and blinds wide open. Her smirk widens fractionally.
"Good God"
They both look up suddenly at the doorway, innocently moving apart in the process as they see who's standing there. With both hands on his eyes and a squint visible underneath, Provenza looks like he just walked in on his parents naked and writhing. Close enough, she thinks with a mental shrug.
"Can you two, please for the love of god, keep yourselves calm in the office"
"What're you talking about, grouch?" asks Andy, needling him with a playful grin and falsely innocent expression.
"I'm talking about you two sucking face in an open fish tank, that's what" he grouches, gesturing to her open blinds, though people have already cleared out for lunch.
"We were not sucking face" she replies, a sense of incredulity underneath her amused tone and raised eyebrow. “We were discussing Rusty’s situation with the trial”
Why he would ever think they'd be so careless as to make out in her open and exposed office she'll never know. The fact that none of them have neither confirmed nor denied that there is a relationship at all tells her the cat is definitely out of the bag with Provenza, but probably not with anyone else, given his concern that someone would see them. It's good to know.
"Well that's not what it looked like" he says, still in a grump, but also looking somewhat cautionary.
"What do you want?" snarks Andy, crossing his arms with an affected huff.
"I came to ask you if you two would like to join us for lunch. Of course if you'd like me to close the blinds instead-"
Andy just glowers, and Sharon's face sits halfway between outrage and amusement, so mostly just looks constipated. Provenza almost chuckles at the two of them, but manages to control himself as he just smirks.
"Let's go" says Sharon lowly, belaying any impending argument and gliding towards the door with her jacket in hand and her purse strap over one shoulder.
"After you, oh Captain, my Captain" croon Provenza, sweeping his arm wide in the doorway to admit her. He shoots a look at Andy behind him, still fighting the giggles, and walks after her, Andy stomping at the rear.
"You know, you two make a cute couple Provenza" teases Andy, a scowl still on his face though his words are light.
"Oh please" drones Sharon, tilting her head back. They can all feel her eyeroll in her words, though neither man actually sees it.
"Don't start with me, Andrew, I am far superior at this game and you will only lose"
"No really, you would. Same height and everything"
Sharon snorts as she hits the button for the elevator, the two men behind her proceeding to enter one of their friendly arguments, and she can only grin and she proceeds to witness the whole thing all the way to her car. She doesn't know how they managed to agree to carpool, but she ends up driving, and Andy spins around in the passenger seat to continue his verbal sparring with Provenza sitting in the back.
She drives perfectly well with all of the ruckus; she's had lots of practice ferrying unruly children around town.