Chapter Text
Andy didn’t even know why he had greed to do this. Yes, he did, who was he trying to fool. He was trying to make more amends, repair his relationship with his children, maybe even someday his ex-wife.
The wedding had gone well. They were all ready to start letting him back more fully into their lives, more than a quick drive by on the holidays. It was a clinical setting, carefully monitored by a professional, but it was a start. He just didn’t want to talk about his feelings. He wanted to be able to have dinner with his daughter and son without having to try to impress a stranger.
For being a family therapy session they were spending a lot of time talking about him. True, he was the “problem,” but this was beginning to spiral out of control. A simple question about Sharon, The Captain, had led to a seemly never ending spiral personal questions.
Therapists, they always latch onto that one thing they know you don’t want to discuss. Kate wasn’t helping, preening in her chair. She was practically obsessed with the idea of Sharon. Even though she had seen her with her own eyes, she still didn’t seem to believe that she really existed or that she would be involved with him in any way.
“Now, when did you say you met Sharon again?” Kate asked. The look in her eyes telling him she knew exactly what she was doing.
She still had the ability to really piss him off with so little effort. He tried to keep his temper in check, but the constant Sharon questions were starting to get to him.
“Look, I told you before, I don’t remember exactly when I met Sharon. It was a long time ago. Maybe around the time of my first officer involved shooting. I don’t know. A few years ago she started working more closely with my division and last year she became my commanding officer.” He figured that would shut her up, all the information she could possibly want.
“Dating your boss Dad?” Nicole asked, “Isn’t that against the rules? Or at least a risky move?”
Andy held back the sigh that he felt building in his chest. “I’m not dating Captain Raydor Nicole, we’re just friends.”
He swore he heard three barely contained scoffs from the other members of the group. Turning towards their therapist, he found no help there. He was still leaning back in his chair, fingers steepled in front of his mouth, taking in the family dynamic, his face betraying nothing.
“I don’t look at my friends like that.” He heard in a grumbled whisper from his left.
Andy could always count on his son to make the snarky comment. He knew exactly who he got that from; he had no one to blame but himself for that. He simply shook his head in disbelief.
Andy leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. Closing his eyes for a minute, he realized there was only one way he was going to be able to get out of this. He was going to have to lie. It was the only thing they were going to believe. At least the chances were slim that The Captain would ever have to find out. He took a deep breath and prayed that this would work.
“So, maybe, I haven’t been entirely truthful about my relationship with Sharon.” He took a quick breath and continued, seeing Kate gearing up for an argument out of the corner of his eye. “It’s true that we’re friends, very good friends, I guess you could say. But we’re not dating, not officially, not right now. We’re working on getting there, but it has to be handled very carefully. She is my boss after all. Okay?”
Andy made brief eye contact with his son, daughter and ex-wife in turn, noting each look ranging from weariness to contained joy to cautious disbelief.
“Okay” His son huffed.
“Okay” Nicole nearly giggled.
“Okay” Kate conceded in that tone that only she could use against him still.
“Okay,” their therapist finally piped in, “It seems like that’s all the time we have for today. I’ll see you all next time.”
“Yeah,” Andy thought to himself, “Maybe they’ll have forgotten all about The Captain by next time.”