On Board Conduct Unbecoming

Chapter 24 [What's With The Floordrobe?]

Andy was, of course, at work first.
Provenza was already there when he arrived, and the others had started to wander in one by one.
"The Captain's not here yet?" Provenza eyed Andy as he asked.
"She had an appointment" he answered simply. "Don't ask me when she'll be here. I'm not her secretary."
"You haven't got the legs for it anyway" Provenza chuckled.

"So, the wedding went well then?" Provenza asked him.
"Oh yeah! I totally forgot to tell you. It was brilliant."
"Changed your tune pretty fast on that one. Won't even bother asking how that happened" he scoffed.
"Shut your pie hole old man" Andy growled at him, and the others chuckled at him being put in his place.

"Oh Captain! Nice to see you! Your secretary couldn't tell us what time you'd be in this morning." Provenza just couldn't help himself.
"My secretary?" she asked.
"Yeah the desk gnome over there with suspenders on. Told him he hasn't got the legs for it." still finding himself amusing.
Sharon looked at Andy and grinned.
"Just some personal matters to attend to. I'm here now." she said and walked into her office, closing the door behind her.

Text Exchange.
Andy: Everything ok?
Sharon: Yes. He said it sounds like the iron, but has taken a blood panel.
Andy: Do you need to take iron?
Sharon: He said to wait for the results. He'll call later today or tomorrow, when they come in.
Andy: Glad you didn't put it off.
Sharon: Feeling better today, but best to be sure.

The blending of two households, required some purging on both sides, so the pair spent each night going through things at the condo, or at Andy's house, hoping they could manage to get it looking blended at Sharon's condo before her parents arrived. She'd told them nothing since their visit, despite the frequent requests for updates. She figured springing it on them when they got there would be their penance for what her father had orchestrated with Emily during their stay in Park City. Sure, it wasn't as big, but it was all she could muster in payback at the moment. Between work and packing/unpacking, she was exhausted. Goodwill was reaping the rewards, and both were happy to be shedding the past in deference to their new future together.

They had still been doing a lot of double car trips to work, in order to keep things separate and to keep the team in the dark. There were also some occasions where one would need to stay later than the other, so it often made sense to both have their own vehicles. With the moving of households, Andy would often go to his house to pick up boxes and furniture, while Sharon returned to the condo to do more sorting. This particular night was one of those, and Andy arrived at the condo later than usual, after stopping to drop off at Goodwill on his way home. He carried two boxes up in the lift and unlocked the door, scooting them inside in front of him. He went looking for Sharon, and was speechless at the sight of her sitting in the middle of the bed. Around her, it looked as though a tornado had torn through the place. There were clothes literally everywhere. She had all but completely emptied the entire walk-in wardrobe. She just sat there and looked at him with wide eyes and no words.
"Um, Sharon... I'm not sure if anyone's told you, but floordrobes are no longer in fashion." he grinned.
"You are not funny" she told him as the tears started to well in her eyes.
"Oh hell... I didn't mean to upset you. Hey, hey what's wrong?" he asked her tilting her head up towards him as he made his way through the rubble to the bed.
She had decided to go through her wardrobe, to make room for Andy's hanging clothes, and thought it would be a good idea to try things on as she went, to weed out anything that wasn't a good fit anymore. She'd had a few instances lately, where she'd blamed love for a few extra pounds, and she didn't want to keep what she wasn't going to wear.
"Nothing fits the way it should anymore. I'm terrified something's wrong with me." she told him.
"Why would something be wrong with you? I mean, why would you jump to that particular conclusion Sharon?" he asked her.
"The doctor's office called this afternoon when I got home. He said he would call and give me the results and tell me if I needed to start taking iron. But when the office called, they asked me to come in tomorrow." She just continued to look at him with her eyes brimming with tears. "They wouldn't ask me to come in if there was nothing wrong. They'd just tell me what to do."

Andy was worried. He was very worried, but he wasn't about to let her see that. She needed to lean on him, and he needed to be there for her. She was probably right. If the doctor himself had told her he'd call with results and options, and nothing was wrong, then that's what would happen. He was worried for her, because he felt like the request for an appointment meant there was something going on with her that needed to be explained. He tried to think quickly because she needed some kind of reassurance, and she needed it from him.

"Maybe it's something to do with the menopause stuff and needs to be explained Sharon." he offered.
"It's definitely related to that somehow Andy." she told him. "What if something's very wrong? What if it's cancer?" she asked, her eyes begging him to tell her she was wrong.
"Sweetheart, even if it is, and I am saying that is the absolute worst case scenario and not necessarily the issue, but even if it was, it would be reproduction related right? Those are the tests he did aren't they? Hormone levels and stuff?" he asked.
"Yeah. Where are you going with that Andy?"
"Well, you told me yourself you're past childbearing. So even if that worst case scenario ended up being the issue, a hysterectomy wouldn't be the end of the world would it? I mean, it's not like you're hoping to use all that gear again right?" he tried to phrase it in a way that wouldn't make her feel old.
"I guess you're right. I didn't think of it like that. Ok, I can work with that." she sighed and leaned into him resting her head on his chest.
"There's definitely something wrong though Andy. I'm sure of it. The only place things don't fit, is there, in that area. But in that case, you're probably right. If that's what it is, it's not the end of the world."
"I'm going with you." he didn't ask, he told her.
"You don't need to. I will be fine." she answered.
"I know I don't need to. I know you'll be fine. I'm going with you." he said again.
He usually let her direct this kind of thing, and was always careful not to push too hard against what she felt she was capable of, but if she was going to find out something serious was wrong, he was absolutely not going to let her do that alone.

"Let's tidy this tornado alley up, and I'll fix something easy for dinner ok?" he asked her.
"What did I ever do without you Andy Flynn?" she asked him.
"Well, you probably had a lot less stress before you met me the first time" he chuckled.
"That's not what I meant and you know it." she smiled, a little more relaxed than she had been.
"What time is your appointment?" he asked. "I'll let Provenza know we'll be in later in the day. He can suck it up."