On Board Conduct Unbecoming

Chapter 3 [Drop A House On Her]

Flynn had stayed less than 24 hours in the hospital. He'd been told to go home and rest. She'd told him so herself, because as the victim of the attack, he could not involve himself in the investigation except as a witness.
She was surprised when she arrived in the Major Crimes murder room, to find Flynn in electronics, watching an interview with the man who she suspected had been paid to end Flynn's life. He identified the attacker, thankfully, and was told that his job as a witness was done, and that he now needed to go home again.
Looking at Sharon, he flashed his signature grin, and said "Ok. But know that I'm moving very slowly." He used every single opportunity presented, to show his contempt of her in the past ten years. Was that what he was doing again? It didn't feel quite the same. She couldn't quite figure out what the meaning was behind that statement, and usually she was good at reading sarcasm. In fact, she often said sarcasm was her own second language. She'd become fluent in it to accompany her mask. If the mask didn't scare them, the sarcasm she allowed to flow from her would usually finish that job. What was Flynn's game here? That GRIN!

She knew the man was a womaniser. The LAPD grapevine flourished with tales of Provenza & Flynn's escapades, not always, but more often than not, involving young blonde women. Provenza had been married and divorced four times. Flynn, to his credit, had only been married and divorced once, just like Sharon herself. He was a self-confessed alcoholic, just as her husband had been, but apart from that trait, he and Jack were poles apart. While Jack had refused, and continued to refuse, to admit that alcohol was a problem for him, Andy had accepted his problem and not only asked for help, but set into motion a recovery plan that had seen him sober for the past ten years.
And oh that GRIN!

Sharon tried to rationalise her thoughts. Why on Earth was she running through the chronicles of Andy Flynn in her head? Why in hell was she comparing him to Jack? Why had Flynn CALLED her directly when he was in trouble, and stirred these thoughts into reality? "I don't have TIME for this!" she groaned. Yet somehow, she found herself on Andy Flynn's doorstep with her notebook in her hand, waiting to see if he would answer the door.
"Uh.. um.. Captain O'Dwyer. To what do I owe this privilege?" he asked. "Have you come to drag up some bullshit I don't know I've done yet?"
"Nice to see you too Lieutenant!" she fired back at him. "Do you want to do this out here on the stairs, or are you going to invite me in?"
"You want to come inside?" he asked incredulously. "This is my home. Should I be asking you if you have a warrant? What exactly is it you think I've done now?" he barked.
"Lieutenant Flynn... I have a couple of follow up questions I need to ask you in order to finish my paperwork. You have been officially cleared of any wrong doing, and there are no further charges pending. I simply thought it might be better if I came to you, rather than inconveniencing you by asking you to come to FID. There's no ulterior motive to my visit." she countered, knowing that wasn't quite true. She had an ulterior motive. She needed an answer to the question that had been plaguing her for three days. WHY had he called her cell that night.
He was still eyeing her with suspicion as he opened the door and gestured for her to enter.

She looked around as she walked into Flynn's home, but kept her mask firmly in place. She didn't want him to know that she was intrigued by what she saw. His home was comfortable, even somewhat modern in style, with furniture that looked cared for. The décor was not new, but not old either. A combination of polished wood and leather, and books, lots of books. She hadn't picked him for a reader, and shrugged internally at this new revelation. A few treasured family photos had pride of place on the mantle, either side of a wooden clock which had just chimed the half hour mark.
Realising she probably appeared as though she were looking for something specific, Sharon brought her attention back to Flynn.
"Take a seat Captain" he told her. "Can I get you a glass of water? A coffee?"
Surprised at the change in tone, Sharon indicated that a glass of water would be welcome, and he went to get it.
Coming back to the table with two glasses, he asked "So, what is it you need to know that I haven't already told you?"
"Oh, right, yes. Can you tell me, if you would, why you called my cell number direct on the night in question Lieutenant?" she asked.
"What?" he asked. He looked totally blindsided by the question, as though it hadn't occurred to him that he'd done it at all. "You called my cell phone when you were injured. You could have, SHOULD have, called 911 and then the desk at FID." she told him, simply stating the order of protocol generally followed in similar circumstances. "I'm trying to understand why it is that you called me specifically."
Andy thought for a moment. Why HAD he called her? In truth, she had been the first person he thought of when he realised he'd been hurt, fired his gun, and the suspect had fled. WHY was she the first person he'd thought of though, he asked himself.