#flynn has gone to law school and it's her first major case

[thereigning-lorelai]

second season where the boys have already come back to life and take bobby/trevor to court for intellectual property theft.

[roslinadama-sinequanon]

Christmas in Connecticut-Chapter 20 of 20

In this chapter Andy tries to keep his cool when Maura voices her skepticism of his relationship with Sharon. Peggy jumps to Sharon's defense.

Sharon spends some time with Sylvia who has a sentimental gift to give to her soon to be daughter in law.

This is the last chapter of this installment. Stay tuned as the story continues back in LA with "Saying Good-bye to Yesterday" which will focus on the annulments and some of what happened in Season Five. We will meet Winnie Davis and Sandra and there will be a few fireworks with Jack who is not going to be happy about his kids forcing him to sign the annulment papers. As with this story it will weave in and out of canon.

Story available here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12789981/20/Christmas-in-Connecticut

Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13293105/chapters/34782611

And here are a couple pics to go along with Andy remembering back to going to the Japanese embassy dinner with Sharon. Didn’t they look gorgeous that night.

You can also read the chapter here:

True to her word, as soon as Gina squeezed into her chair next to Sharon she set in to regale her with stories about Andy as a boy. The others were not content to let Gina steal the show and once she got started Maura, Peggy, Nell, and Sylvia were keen to join her, with Andy jumping in every so often to defend himself or offer explanations. The Flynn siblings were loud and boisterous; they competed with each other, interrupted each other and finished each other’s stories while Sharon was content with sitting back and taking it all in, the calm in the middle of their storm.  

Most of the stories were amusing, though a few made Sharon catch her breath with the danger young Andy had put himself in and the risks he’d taken. He sure hadn’t changed much. Listening to what he had been like as a boy she found that the traits he had as an adult were simply modified versions of those he’d had as a child. The women in his life gave her a clear image of a young boy full of mischief, quick to laugh and just as quick to flare into a temper, a young boy caught between two worlds, defending the honor of both.

“Back then, there was still some rivalry going on and PC wasn‘t something any of us had even heard of,” Andy explained. “To the Italian kids, I was a mick. To the Irish, I was a dago. It felt like I was always fighting somebody.”

“And don’t forget Dennis,” Peggy waved a fork at him. “You were always protecting him.”

“My cousin.” He responded to Sharon’s questioning look.

“Oh. The one with Downs?” Her friend Summer’s daughter Rhiannon had Downs and when Andy met her Sharon had been surprised at the ease and rapport that he’d had with the young woman. She and Summer had been friends since their kids were in diapers and she‘d seen how often people were uncomfortable around Rhiannon, but not Andy. When she had commented on that, he’d told her about Dennis.

“Yes,” Peggy said. “You know how kids are. They can be brutal to anyone different. They were always picking on Dennis. But when Aunt Loretta moved into the building Andy started walking him to school and Dennis didn‘t have any more trouble. Joe couldn’t be bothered, but Andy took care of him, just like he took care of all of us. As much as I hate to admit it, outside of the house he was a pretty decent brother."

"Outside?" Sharon’s brow arched with interest.

"Mmm..." Peggy took a sip of her wine then settled back in her chair giving her brother a little smirk. "Inside the apartment, he could say whatever he wanted about us, complain about us, tease us, pull our pigtails, and let me tell you, he did all of that. A LOT. He could be a little pest. But let anyone outside the house dare say anything bad about any one of us and they’d have Andy in their face.”

It was amusing to see that Andy was actually blushing. That didn’t happen very often. There wasn‘t much in the world that could surprise or embarrass her fiancé but it all rang true. Andy still had a protective streak a mile wide and she had never doubted his loyalty to her or the team. He might grumble about the squad and he loved to jab at them, especially Provenza, but she knew with every ounce of her being that he would step in front of a bullet for any one of them, especially her.

Andy took another helping of mushroom risotto and grew thoughtful. “That all started with Dad. He used to tell me, they’re your sisters, Andy. In this family, we take care of our own.”

“He used to say the same thing to Joey.” Gina’s eyes rolled derisively. “But he was always too busy with his friends. He never took any responsibility for us.”

“It didn’t take many fights for kids to learn that you didn’t mess with Dennis or the Flynn girls,” Maura added. “Andy was a tough little shi---kid and he taught us how to fight too, said we needed to know how to defend ourselves when he wasn‘t around.”

Sharon bit back a smile. Andy was the only person she knew who could look both sheepish and proud at the same time. “He’s still tough,” she said.  Sometimes too tough. Her sexy third in command Lieutenant was always the first one to kick in a door, and, along with Julio, to get in a perps face. He had zero tolerance for those who lied and those who hurt others…dirtbags. However, unlike Julio who still struggled with his temper, Andy had learned to keep his under control for the most part. When she’d first gotten involved auditing the Major Crimes division she had often been the one to set off that temper. Her position in FID, her insistence in following the rules, her ability to keep her composure, and the fact that for a time he thought she was out to get them, all seemed to set Andy off like a powder keg.

In an interesting case of reversal, once they had begun working together the opposite seemed to be the case. Somehow, and she wasn’t quite sure how it happened, she had become the one who could calm him down. When she saw his temper escalating all she had to do was give him a look, softly say his name, or rest a gentle hand on his arm and it was as if all the tension left his body.

“Well, girls shouldn’t be fighting,” Sylvia said firmly.

“Maaaa!” Her daughters were outraged.

“I disagree, Sylvia.” Sharon‘s protest was softer, but no less firm. “All girls and women should know how to protect themselves. I‘ve actually taught some basic women‘s self- defense classes at local high schools and at the battered women‘s shelter where I volunteer.”

“Kick em’ in the balls, takes em’ down every time.”

“Gina!” Sylvia sputtered.  “Good Lord.”

“What? I’m just sayin'…”

“She’s not wrong, Ma.” Andy shifted in his seat, wincing at the thought. “A swift kick to the balls will bring any guy to his knees.”

“Andrew, my goodness, do you children not see that we have guests?”

“Oh, don’t mind us. We’ve heard worse, right?” Ricky looked down the table at his siblings and Nicole who all nodded in agreement. “Hazard of being a cop’s kid, you never know what your dinner conversation is going to be about.”

An impish smile curved on Sharon’s lips as she turned to the older woman. “Besides, that goes both ways, Sylvia. We’re not guests, we’re family, right?”  

Sylvia sighed but acquiesced with a nod of agreement and Sharon turned back to Gina assuring her, “You were right. Groin attacks are definitely a big part of the course. It’s a very quick way to incapacitate a man.”

Eager to change the subject, Sylvia turned to her daughters. “Girls, would you get the pannacotta please.”

The Flynn girls might be feisty, but they listened to their Mama.

************************

“Groin attacks?” Maura sidled up to Peggy at the refrigerator and began pulling out the ramekins of chilled desserts. “Does she always sound so hoity -toity?”

“She’s a cop, I’m sure she can turn the air blue with the best of them, but she has class. You ought to take a lesson or two. And be quiet you don’t want her to hear you and you sure as hell don’t want Andy to hear you. That will really piss him off.”

“She’s definitely got him whipped.” Maura didn’t drop the subject but did speak more softly in an effort to placate her sister. “Did you see the way he looks at her with those puppy dog eyes? And, oh my God, seriously? She’s got him going to the opera and the symphony. Jesus, he’s got it bad.”

“He’s in love Maur.” Peggy began spooning the juicy combination of strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries over the desserts. “And if you were paying attention you’d see that she looks at him exactly the same way.”

“Hmph.”

“She does. And she’s gone riding on the back of his motorcycle on the Angeles Crest Highway and to a boxing match with him. Do those things sound like something she would have done before she met Andy? When you’re in a relationship sometimes you have to go out of your comfort zone. And it’s not as if they don’t have anything in common. They work together; they both love old movies and sports. I mean she loves the Dodgers, what more could Andy ask for?”

“I’ll give you that. I didn’t see the sports fanatic thing coming. Figure skating, sure, but football?” The very idea of the elegant Sharon Raydor wearing a big foam cheese on her head to root for the Packers was incongruous.

“See, you can’t just judge people by how they look or where they come from. Don’t let Ken’s shitty mid-life crisis make you bitter and hard. Andy’s had a tough go of it, admittedly through some of his own doing, but still. He’s fallen in love with a terrific woman, he’s getting married and he’s happier and more at peace than I’ve ever seen him. Let’s just be happy for him, okay.”

********

With lunch finished the LA contingent, including Emily, but not including Andy and Sharon, had to leave for the airport. After they left, Sharon rose to help clear the feast from the table but Andy handed her a cup of coffee and ushered her away to go relax with his mother. They weren’t leaving for LA until the following morning so they could spend a little more time with his family.

Sipping her coffee Sharon made her way back to the living room, pausing to pick up a framed black and white 8x10 photo. She settled into the couch with it, involuntarily shuddering at the crinkling noise the plastic covering made when she sat. The last time she had seen a plastic cover over a couch had been a few years back when a serial killer had lured Rusty to an empty condo in their building and had come very close to killing him. Were it not for Andy calling and tipping her off to where they might be, she never would have would have made it in time to bash the door in with a fire extinguisher and save him. Her heart began racing at the thought of how close she’d come to losing Rusty so she forced herself to leave the past and focus on the wedding picture in her hands.

The tiny dark- haired bride was wearing a ball gown style wedding dress circa 1950’s, tiny waist and full taffeta skirt, so she assumed it was Sylvia. A thrilled little jolt ran through her at the thought that she would soon be looking for a wedding gown of her own. Definitely not a ball gown style though, possibly an elegant A-line or a sexier fit and flare. Something romantic and stylish, both vintage and modern. Definitely some lace. She loved lace. When she got back to LA, she’d have to pick up a few bridal magazines and have a look at what was in style now. Gavin would be a big help there. His favorite television show was “Say Yes to the Dress.”  

At the woman’s side was a tall, very handsome young man with a thick head of a hair and a smile she knew all too well. The same smile as the one on the face of the man who was helping his sisters clear the table. The resemblance was uncanny. Andy had a framed picture of his parents in their bedroom and she had seen family photos at his house, so it wasn’t the first time she’d seen his father but in this wedding shot Patrick Flynn was young and still had the cocky grin that in his son made her heart flutter.

“My Patrick was a handsome man, wasn’t he?” Sylvia sat down in a chair across from Sharon.

“Yes, he certainly was.”

“Well, of course, you’d think so, wouldn’t you? Joey, my older boy, he's Rossi through and through, shorter, darker, pure Sicilian. Actually, he looks a lot like my father and my grandfather. But Andy, all he got from me was the color of his eyes, skin that doesn’t easily burn and a temper that heats up as fast as it cools down. In everything else, he has the look of his father, his height, his build, everything, right down to the twinkle in his eyes and that mischievous little smile. Oh that smile,” her eyes turned wistful as they landed on a laughing Andy in the kitchen. “That smile got them both out of a lot of trouble. I don’t know what it was, or why I fell for it, but all they had to do was give me that grin and I would forget why I was angry with them. The girls told you about Andy fighting, but I‘ll tell you, that boy could tell a tale and charm his way out of detention with just a smile. Even the nuns fell for it and I don‘t think I need to tell you how tough they could be.”

“Mmm…“ Sharon took a sip of her coffee and nodded in agreement. “It is pretty irresistible. “She couldn’t count how many times she’d been irritated with Andy, all he had to do was flash her that boyish grin, and she couldn’t seem to help grinning back, her anger magically dissipating.

“I always had a thing for the Irish boys. Did Andy tell you how Patrick and I met? “

“He said it was at a church dance.”

“Just like the movie.” Sylvia clapped her hands with delight. “Only backward. I was the Italian one, Patrick the Irish. Did you see “Brooklyn”?”

“I did, yes. It was the first movie Andy and I went to together.” They had just finished a case and were talking about what they were going to do on their days off. Andy had expressed interest in seeing the movie because of its connection with his parents and when she said she’d wanted to see it as well, he had suggested that they should go together. It was funny how natural it had seemed, sitting in the darkened theater sharing a bucket of popcorn and a diet soda with love em‘and leave em‘Andy Flynn.

“Well, of course, neither of us was new to the country like the young girl in the movie. I was a third generation American, but Patrick was a fourth, his family came here during the potato famine. I had never even heard about this famine until I married him. Then I read all about it. My God, it’s hard to imagine such suffering.”

Sharon nodded, she‘d done her own research on her family‘s history. “That’s when my father’s family came. They settled in Boston, though.”

“One generation doesn’t seem like much of a difference but it was. My grandfather wasn’t born in this country, he spoke English with a very thick accent and it always seemed like he still had a foot in the Old World. It wasn’t like that with the Flynn’s. Patrick’s family seemed so much more American to me. They had a history here. His great-grandfather fought in the Civil War and helped build the Brooklyn Bridge, his grandfather fought in World War I and Patrick in World War II. We Rossi’s were still the new kids on the block.

“Did your families give you a hard time when you told them you wanted to get married?”

“No, not really. By the time Patrick and I got married in the 50s, things were changing. Before the war, everyone was divided even though we shared the same religion. There was an Irish church, an Italian church, a Polish church and you rarely socialized with anyone outside your parish and your ethnic background.  After the war that began to change. The churches started to consolidate and we all started moving into the same neighborhoods instead of staying in our own little enclaves. There were a few snide remarks of course, you know, why wasn‘t an Italian boy good enough for me and things like that. But I think my parents were just happy that I was marrying another Catholic and not a dreaded Protestant.” Sylvia laughed, shaking her head at the way things used to be. Then she leaned forward and reached out as if to touch Sharon’s chest, only stopping herself at the last minute.

“That’s a very pretty necklace.”

Sharon’s fingers moved to her neck gently touching the delicate heart-shaped pendant, two hands cupped around a glittering emerald heart. “It’s a Claddagh. Andy gave it to me when we spent a weekend in Corona Del Mar.” Her eyes grew soft and she flushed slightly at the memory. Andy had bought her the necklace the night they had first made love. After dinner in Laguna Beach, they had been browsing through a Celtic store and had seen the necklace. While she had been purchasing some Innisfree perfume, he had surreptitiously bought the necklace and surprised her with it the following evening while they were gliding around the Newport Beach harbor in a romantic gondola.

“That look on your face tells me it must be pretty special.”

“Yes,” Sharon’s voice grew low, almost dreamy. “Very special.” When he’d put it around her neck he’d told her that when she wore it he wanted it to remind her of how much he loved her and how much the weekend had meant to him. Who knew that under his cynical, wisecracking exterior lay a romantic soul who shared her sense of occasion?

“Speaking of special, there’s something I’d like to share with you.” Sylvia rose and returned a few minutes later holding out a little velvet bag to Sharon. Sharon took the bag and when she opened it, she found a lovely rosary in mother of pearl, with a silver crucifix. “That rosary was brought over from Italy by my great-grandmother. She carried it at her wedding then it was passed down to my grandmother and my mother, to me, and then to each of my daughters. Andy said how important the church is to you and that you are hoping to have a nuptial mass, so I thought… Well, I thought maybe you would want to carry it with you on your wedding day. You’ll need a something borrowed.”

Sharon fingered the beads, her chest tightening with emotions and for a moment, she was unable to speak.

“Don’t worry,” Sylvia continued, mistaking her silence. “Sandra didn’t carry them. I offered but she wasn’t very interested in anything old fashioned like carrying a rosary on your wedding day.”

Sharon smiled at the woman who would soon be her mother in law, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Sylvia, I would be honored to carry this rosary with me on the day that I marry your son. Old fashioned is not a problem for me. Thank you.” She reached out to squeeze the older woman’s hand.

“No. Thank you. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen my boy so happy. That’s all you.”

****************************

“I still can’t believe you’re getting married.” Peggy handed Andy another stack of plates he promptly set into the soapy water in the sink. “After Sandra, I didn’t think you’d ever take the plunge again.”

“Me either.” Even though they both knew the marriage wasn’t working and he and Sandra had both agreed to the divorce, their split had been bitter and acrimonious with a lot of anger and hurled insults, especially when it came to custody issues. Then when Sandra had begun using Nicole as a weapon against him, it had left him soured on the very idea of marriage. In fact, until he had fallen in love with Sharon he would have told anyone who asked that he would rather be shot in the head than ever get hitched again. Dating and sex was one thing, but taking those vows was something else entirely. “Sharon changed all that.”

“Yeah, we can see that. But I could see something was happening between the two of you way back at Nicole’s wedding.”

“You think? I don’t know. That was the first time we had ever gone anywhere alone outside of work. It wasn’t a date, but…” He trailed off not sure how to explain it.

“But what?”

“But it started to feel like one. And after our first dance, I guess I started wishing it was one. That day did change things between us.” It was strange how it had all happened so organically. He’d always had an eye on Sharon, even when he couldn’t stand her. It was in his DNA. A pretty woman walked by and he had to look. And Sharon was a beauty.  A cool, impenetrable, and totally untouchable beauty.  It was frustrating. He wanted to despise her yet there was a strange attraction he felt in her presence and the first time he had felt the urge to act on that attraction was well before they were even friends. He was pissed, yelling at her, defending his honor as an officer of the law and she was standing there cool as a cucumber holding his fat employee file filled with exonerated complaints, not even flushing as one might when trying to control their temper. No, she was completely unaffected by his anger and he suddenly got the urge to grab her by the shoulders and kiss her senseless. Kiss her into a reaction. The overpowering pull of attraction and its accompanying surge of lust only served to make him angrier. How was he attracted to Sharon---stick up her ass--- Raydor?

He wasn’t sure when exactly he’d gone from irritation with her and her rules, to admiring her legs when she sat on the edge of a desk and her cleavage when she leaned over one, to really seeing her as a person. It was probably right around the time she’d started asking him for advice on addiction after she’d found Rusty’s drug addict mother and had then asked him to accompany Rusty to pick up that mother up at the bus station. The crushing disappointment when she hadn’t been on the bus had caused Rusty to run off—so quickly Andy hadn’t been able to find him. The kid had lived on the streets long enough to know how to disappear. Telling Sharon he had lost the boy had turned out to be even harder than he’d thought it would be. The fear shining in her eyes and the way she had tried to smile so bravely and assure him she knew it wasn’t his fault, even as the tears welled in her eyes, made him feel like such a heel. He’d hated disappointing her. Then, just when he thought he couldn’t feel any worse, despite how upset she was, she’d squared her shoulders and taken a moment to tell them all that they had done a great job. He‘d just stood there with his heart twisting painfully in his chest as her voice broke and she‘d rushed off before breaking down in front of them. God how he’d hated being responsible for making her cry. Sharon might have a tough shield she surrounded herself with, but inside she was a marshmallow when it came to those she loved. Seeing that vulnerability and how deeply she’d come to care about a boy she had only taken in a few weeks before had raised her much higher in his estimation. Before he knew what was happening he found himself looking forward to hearing her high heels clicking down the hall first thing in the morning and feeling a little stab of pleasure at her “Good morning Lieutenant” as she made her way to her office, coffee in hand.

After Nicole’s wedding when they had really gotten to know one another as people, not just co-workers, it had seemed natural to start hanging out together more outside of work. They would go out for coffee or dinner or to the movies. And when he‘d had Dodger tickets dropped in his lap, instead of inviting Provenza as he normally would have done, he‘d invited Sharon. Just another reason for Provenza to grumble over their burgeoning friendship. Not a month later Sharon had invited him to be her “plus one” to a black tie charity dinner at the Japanese embassy and that was when it had started to feel more like dating than a friendship to him--and that possibly Sharon was feeling the same. It was fun getting all dressed up in his tuxedo for her and she had looked stunning in an elegant floor-length Grecian style gown the color of orange poppies that seductively left one shoulder bare. He was falling for her, he’d felt it, and it worried him. He knew that a relationship with her was hopeless and did try to put some effort into protecting himself. He‘d tried to keep her from working her way into his heart, but every time he told himself they were just friends he would remember how damn good it had felt to hold her in his arms when they danced at the wedding and the comforting intimacy of their shared life stories when they went out for lunches and dinners. He would be reminded of the warmth that spread through him when she laughed or when she rested her hand on his arm while she spoke. She was smart, stunning, vulnerable, and way too classy for a guy like him, but he wanted her dammit. He wanted her so bad, he ached with it and instead of thinking about all the roadblocks to a relationship with her, not the least of which was the fact that she was still legally married, his heart instead beat with all the possibilities of a romance.

“Are you really sure she’s the one for you?” Maura had been listening to the conversation while she covered the leftovers. Her skeptical tone caused Andy to turn to her with a frown and his temper quickly flared.  

“What do you mean by that?”

Maura held up a hand. “Don’t go getting all defensive. I just mean that, well, look at her. I’m not blind; I see why you’re attracted to her. She’s beautiful.” In that uppity sort of way, she was used to in her customers at Saks. “But she’s not the kind of beautiful you usually go for. “

“Thank God,” Peggy muttered under her breath.

“Greenwich, Connecticut? Come on. She obviously comes from money and you‘ve never been into high maintenance. Dating your swanky boss is one thing but…”

“Jesus Maura, get the chip off your shoulder,” Peggy interjected with a hard glare before Andy could explode. “Just because you have to deal with those rich bitches giving you a hard time at Saks, doesn’t mean every woman who has money is stuck up or high maintenance.  I spent a lot of time with Sharon at Nicole’s wedding and she could not have been kinder and more gracious.

“Peggy’s right.” Andy tried to keep his cool, reminding himself that there was a time that he too had thought that Sharon, with her luxurious Brazilian blowout, Armani suits, and designer high heels was looking down her pretty nose at him.  “Look Maur. You think I don’t know she’s out of my league? I do. But not because she comes from money and we don’t. Because she is amazing and she has a heart bigger than anyone I‘ve ever known. I don’t know why she loves me or why she agreed to marry me. I just thank God that she did. Give her a chance, get to know her. You might have more in common than you think.”

“Doubtful,” Maura scoffed.

Andy took a deep breath trying to remain patient; the last thing he wanted Sharon to witness was a knock down drag out Flynn family fight.  “I’m serious. Her life hasn’t always been easy. She’s had to struggle just like all of us. And just like you, she had a louse of a husband who walked out on her and left her to raise her children alone, only she didn’t have any financial support from him.” He didn’t think it would be smart to add that unlike Maura, Sharon hadn’t allowed herself to wallow in bitterness and self-pity, because he knew a thing or two about bitterness and self-pity. Maura was more like him or the him that he used to be than he cared to admit.

Maura turned and tried to look at Sharon through new eyes. The younger woman was smiling and completely focused on whatever Sylvia was telling her. She didn’t usually change her opinions on people but maybe, just maybe her judgment of Sharon was clouded by her own unhappiness…and jealousy.  Maybe Sharon’s quiet, soft-spoken manner just meant that she was a reserved person, not that she was a snob.

“You shouldn’t judge people so quickly,” Antonella admonished her.

Maura held her hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay, I get it.“

“And you,” Antonella turned to her brother. “You should not be so hard on yourself. You are handsome and you can certainly be charming when you want to be. You are also kind and sweet--when you aren’t trying to be Mr. Tough guy, and you walk out your door every day and protect people. That is nothing if not admirable. Why shouldn’t Sharon fall in love with you? So you’ve made some mistakes, everyone does. It‘s how we rectify those mistakes that really matters and you seem to be doing a good job with that. I was so happy to see Nicole today. She’s turned into a lovely young woman. Peggy gave me the quick run down about you and Sharon, how you went from adversaries to, well, I guess where you are now. But I would like to hear it from you. Why do you love her? Why do you want to marry her?” It was telling to Nell that Andy didn‘t even have to pause to think about it.

“It’s true. I used to think Sharon was uptight, brusque, humorless, all business. But the first time I saw her smile, damn…It was like the sun filled the room. Then as I got to know her I could see that the way she distanced herself, the walls she put up, were all part of the job she had at the time. Now I’d say an easier question would be, what don’t I love about her? She’s courageous, strong, and confident. She really cares about the people who work for her and she has this, I don’t know how to explain it, this depth of love for her family that has just always reached out and grabbed me right in the heart. She’s a phenomenal mother and she has great kids.  She’s also direct, doesn’t play games and she can give back as good as she gets; I find that all very sexy. And one of the things that I’ve come to admire most about Sharon is what used to drive me crazy about her, no matter what’s going on she’s always cool-headed and in control., always grace under fire.”

“Well, they do say opposites attract.” Gina’s grin belied her sarcasm.

“Let him finish,” Nell said.

Andy smiled at his eldest sister and continued. “I know people say this all the time but Sharon really is one of those people who is every inch as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She’s just a real doll. When she smiles at me I feel like I’m ten feet tall and when I’m with her she’s this kind of safe harbor where I can forget all the ugliness of the world of murderers, rapists, and pedophiles where I spend my days. I’ve never had anyone in my life that has been able to do that for me. Before Sharon, I felt so empty inside.” There was a slight emotional break in his voice and Nell reached out to take his hand, her eyes soft with sympathy. “ I tried to fill that emptiness with booze and when I had to give that up, my job, but nothing ever completely worked…until her. Sharon fills all that emptiness inside me and now I feel like I have a second chance at life.”

His sisters had gone silent and were staring at him with something akin to amazement.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re a freaking poet now?“  

“Maura stop it.” Peggy swatted at her with a dishrag. “That was beautiful Andy.” Andy shrugged, slightly embarrassed by how sappy he‘d gotten.

Maura smiled and jabbed him with her elbow. “I’m just giving you crap. I can see why you love her now. It’s not just about how she looks.” When Andy shook his head and turned back to the sink Maura’s smile faded and she reached out to touch the scar on his neck. “Are you still having any issues with that clot and the pinched nerve?”

“A little. The clot is gone, but I’ll still be on blood thinners for a few more months and I still get some numbness in my hand from the nerve issue. Until that goes away, I’m going to be stuck on friggin’ desk duty. “

“Well, better that than the alternative,” Peggy eyeballed him. “It had to be terrifying to think you were having a heart attack.”

“It was. It sure as hell felt like one. The pain in my chest took my breath away and it went down my arm just like you hear about a heart attack. Then my arm went numb.  I don’t remember much of what happened. But I do remember Sharon holding one of my hands for dear life.” While the other caressed his face soothingly.  “All I could think about at that moment was that I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to leave her.” The memory of the love and terror shining in Sharon’s eyes was still so vivid, as was the feel of her tears dripping on his hand, the hand she continued to clutch in the ambulance while begging him not to leave her. He had so many regrets at that moment. He had waited far too long to ask her out on a real date. He had foolishly allowed his fears to keep him from telling her that he loved her as soon as he’d come to that realization. He was never going to see her roll her eyes at him again, or shake her head with long-suffering patience when he was being a pain in the ass or slap at his arm or chest when she was irritated with him or amused by him. He would never again hear that wonderful laugh or see her bright emerald eyes turn to soft jade when he made love to her. But his biggest regret was that he might never know what it would have been like to call her his wife.

“Aaaandy….”

The four siblings paused in their conversation and Andy turned and grinned widely at the familiar voice. “Hey, Dennis. Sharon, come meet Dennis.”

The man who met Andy in the living room for a hug was barely five feet tall, his hair salt and pepper, his eyeglasses coke bottle thick and he had the nasal tone of someone with Down syndrome. This was the man who was more brother than a cousin, the man whom Andy used to protect from the bullies.

“Is this your girlfriend, Andy?” He eyed Sharon up and down with a frankness that in other men would have earned him a Darth Raydor glare, but which was, she knew, just innocent curiosity.

“Yes, she is. This is Sharon. But she’s more than my girlfriend; Den. Sharon’s going to be my wife.”

“I like that, Andy. Hi Sharon. I’m Dennis.” He held out a hand as he had been taught.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Dennis.” Sharon’s smile was warm and genuine. “Andy’s told me so much about you and what great friends you were growing up.”

Dennis turned to Andy with a smile. “I like her Andy. She’s nice. And she’s really pretty too.”

“Yes, she is, isn‘t she.”

“Can I come to your wedding, Sharon?”

Sharon’s heart melted. “Of course you can. You’re family; we’ll be inviting the whole family. And I know how special you are to Andy.”

“Andy’s my friend.”

“You bet I am.” Andy fist bumped him. At that point, his Aunt Loretta came in followed by Peggy’s husband Luke who had been busy all day at the restaurant.

“I live in my own house now, Andy.”

“You do?” Andy raised a brow at his aunt.

“He does,” Loretta nodded. “It’s a duplex in Queens where he lives with others who have Down’s.”

“That’s great Den. Do you still work at Stop n’ Shop?”

“Yes. I get the carts and bag the groceries and sometimes they let me help put out the vegetables. Are you still a police officer?”

“You bet.”

“Andy’s a hero,” Dennis told Sharon. It touched Sharon deeply to see the affection and hero worship Dennis had for Andy, the man who had protected him throughout his childhood. She reached out and took Andy’s hand, pulling it into her lap.

“Yes, he is.”

“Where do you work, Sharon?”

“I work with Andy.”

“You’re a police officer too?”

“I am.”

“Then you’re a hero too.”

“Nice to know there are some people left in the world who still think so,” Andy muttered under his breath. Sharon gave him a little smirk but nodded in agreement.

“Here they are Sharon. I knew I could find them.” Sylvia entered the living room carrying several photo albums.

“Oh Ma, what are those,” Andy groaned.

Sharon grinned and grabbed one of the albums. “Payback is a you know what. I deserve a little retribution for you pilfering through my awkward stages. “

“Babe you didn’t have any awkward stages.”

Maura rolled her eyes and stuck a finger down her throat as if to make herself vomit. Andy glared at her but Sharon laughed.

“You were right Sylvia,” she said. “He does have the gift of blarney.”

“It’s not blarney,” he protested. “It's a fact. You were beautiful from the day you were born.”

“Well, I still say you’re a tad biased, but I love you for it.” She kissed the back of his hand and then dropped it to flip open to the first page of the album. “But not enough to miss out on finding a picture of Andy Flynn the altar boy that I was promised is one of these albums.”

“Oh God, if Provenza ever got hold of that…”

“Stay on my good side honey and all will be well.”

Sylvia grinned and nudged Andy. “She’s got a sneaky side. I like that.”

*************************

“I don’t think Maura liked me very much.” Sharon lay curled up to Andy’s side, her fingertips tracing imaginary patterns over his broad t-shirt covered chest. As soon as they got to their hotel at JFK airport, they had washed up, brushed their teeth and gone straight to bed. It had been a long day and they had to be up early in the morning.

“Maura doesn’t like anyone, babe.” Andy kissed the top of her head. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“I’m serious, Andy.”

“So am I. Look, right now Maura doesn’t like much of anything. I told you her first husband ditched her and left her to raise her two kids alone and now her second husband just left her for a younger woman. She had to sell her house and she hates her job. She’s angry at the world.”

“It’s hard to blame her for that. I wish there was something we could do to help her.”

“Yeah, me too. At least when I was that low I had a job that I loved. I don’t know how I would have gotten through everything if I’d lost my job.”

“Well, let’s be thankful you didn’t.” If he had lost his job during his drinking days, they never would have connected. “It’s too bad Joe’s living in Florida now, I would like to have met him. And I wish I’d gotten to spend more time with Nell. She’s worked in some fascinating places.”

Andy snorted derisively. “If you consider no electricity, no running water, and a hole in the ground for a bathroom as fascinating. I‘d call it hell.”

“Andy!” She gently swatted at his chest.

“What? It’s true.”

She reached into his t-shirt and pulled out the ring he always wore on a chain around his neck. She toyed with it for a few seconds before asking, “There’s more to this ring than just the fact that it was your father’s, isn’t there?”

“How…” He trailed off without finishing the question. Sharon was a detective; there must have been something she had seen when Antonella commented on it. “It is my father’s ring, but he didn’t give it to me, Antonella did. I was pretty messed up after my Dad died.” He trailed off as if unsure how to continue. Sharon hummed with understanding and nuzzled into his chest comfortingly. Losing his father at the young age of 14 to a brain aneurysm had been traumatizing. Andy didn’t talk about it often, but he had told her how it had led him to start following his older brother down a path that could have gotten him into serious trouble.

“My mother wasn’t really there for us. I know she was shocked and grieving and she had to support all of us but I didn’t see it that way then.” Fourteen was such an awkward age. He had tried so hard to be a man and keep his tears contained, but inside he was still a little boy who wanted to sob out his grief and who needed his mother to hold him and comfort him, and promise him that everything was going to be all right even though it felt like the end of the world. Instead, his mother had turned inward and he’d felt lost. Sylvia was not a bad mother, he always knew she loved him, but she was not a nurturer; she was more a pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get on with life kind of mother.  A more sensitive person, a mother like Sharon, would have seen through his tough outer shell and helped him deal with his loss. A mother like Sharon would have told him it was okay to cry and comforted him through his sorrow.  “If it wasn’t for Nell we probably all would have run wild. Then, not even a full year after my dad died, Nell decided to join the convent. I was really pissed about it--and I was a dick to her. I couldn’t believe she really wanted to be a nun. I accused her of wanting to get away from all of us so badly she was willing to throw her life away to do it.”

“I’m sure she knew you were just lashing out because you were hurt.”

“I don’t know.”

"It's really not surprising that you felt that way. First, your father dies, then your mother emotionally shuts down and then the one person who always gave you that unconditional nurturing love tells you she is leaving. It makes perfect sense that you'd feel lost and abandoned." Sharon's heart ached. Though it was impossible, she wished there was some way she could go back in time and take away the pain that he'd gone through as a boy.

"I told Nell I hated her. God, I wish I could take that back. It was the last thing I said before she left for the convent." He placed a hand over the one Sharon was rubbing over his chest, and then lifted it to touch his necklace. "After she left, when I got back to my bedroom there was an envelope on my pillow. When my father died, my mother gave us all something to remember him. As the oldest, Antonella got his wedding ring. Inside the envelope was his ring on a chain. There was a letter with it. She wrote that whenever I felt alone I should wear that ring around my neck and know that both her and my dad were with me."

Sharon sniffed and he glanced down to see tears swimming in her eyes.

"Hey, are you crying? Don't cry. Like I said before it was a long time ago."

"I can't help it. Sometimes you break my heart. "When she was in his arms like this it was hard to remember a time when he had thought she was cold and hard, because under that Darth Raydor glare there was no one softer or gentler than Sharon was.

"I don't mean to."

"Comes with the territory when you love someone. Have you been wearing it all this time?"

"No. I didn't put it on right away but I did hold onto to it. I kept it in my drawer and the day that I came home from my first AA meeting I put it on and I haven't taken it off since-though it has had a few new chains. I guess I figured I needed all the help that I could get.

"And has it helped?"

"I think it has, yeah. I don't really need it anymore, now that I have you. But, I kind of like having a part of my dad with me."

Sharon reached out to rub the ring between her fingers. "I wish I could have met him. He sounds like he was a good man. Your mother still wears her wedding ring and it's been what, 41 years since he died."

"Mmm...She was only 43 when it happened, he was only 50. A couple of my aunts tried to set her up on dates but she said that in her heart she was still married to my father and that's the way it would always be."

"That's both sad and romantic."

"She really believes that she's going to see him again when she dies and that's why she's not afraid of dying."

"Do you believe that?" Universal Salvation was one of the basic tenets of Christianity and sometimes she wasn't exactly sure where Andy stood in his relationship with God.

"I grew up in the church, you know that. You saw the altar boy pictures. I can't believe my mother gave you one."

Sharon giggled. "You were adorable."

He shrugged. "If you say so."

"I do." She rose on one elbow so she could see his face. "I also know you've had your issues with the church."

Andy grew silent, the conflict within him still there, though far less strong than it had been in the past. Sharon didn't prod or push, he loved that about her. She simply caressed her thumb over his cheek until he was ready to speak.

"After my father died, I was so angry with God for taking him. I just could'nt understand it. There were so many bad guys out there; my dad was a good guy, why did God have to take him? Why?" The pain was still there, even after all these years.

"I don't know. Sometimes we just can't understand why. That's what faith is, believing that there is a reason even if we don't yet understand what it is."

Andy sighed noncommittally. He wished he shared her unwavering faith. Those words were not just a platitude. She too had suffered loss at a young age when her brother died so she understood what he was feeling. "I hadn't even gotten a chance to get through that when Nell told us she was leaving us for God."

"Andy. Oh, honey, she wasn't leaving you for God."

"That's what it felt like. When I went off to college I walked away from all of it, God and the church."

"But you married Sandra in the church." It was the reason he was going to need an annulment too.

"I did. Sandra's family is Hispanic and Catholic so we married in the church but Sandra wasn't all that religious. Other than the big things like, baptisms, first communions, Christmas, Easter, we didn't go to church after we were married. Then I joined AA. Part of that is having a higher power."

"But it doesn't have to be God, right?" She knew a bit about AA from Jack's few short stints and a lot more from Andy.

"No, it doesn't. It can be anything. It's all about accepting that you can't conquer your addiction alone. But when I started thinking about a higher power, I kept coming back to what I knew. Once a Catholic always a Catholic, right? Then, it wasn't very long after that when the church scandal hit and I was so pissed I couldn't bring myself to go back to church."

Sharon nodded, pain tightening in her chest. She had experienced her own crisis of faith when the Catholic Church scandal exploded. It had been a very dark time for her and she'd only been able to navigate her way through it with the help of Father Stan who at that point had only been her priest for a few years. It had drawn them much closer and with his help, and a lot of soul-searching, she had chosen to remain a faithful Catholic, though she would never again be the innocent follower she had once been.

"I didn't really get back into going to church until I moved in with you. But I think that He and I have made peace now."

"How's that?"

"He's gotten me through some really rough times with my addiction and He gave you to me. Maybe even God needs to make amends."

Sharon gave a soft laugh and kissed his bicep. "An interesting theological concept. I'll let you take that up with Father Stan. But I am glad that you made your peace with God, with Antonella, and with Nicole."

"Me too. I like having a clean slate to start my life with you." Though he felt there might be one person left he had yet to make peace with. He had made his amends to Sandra but he wasn't sure they had ever really made peace.

"It's really going to happen for us, isn't it?"

"You bet it is, babe." He kissed the top of her head. "That is if you still want to marry me after hearing about what a troublemaker I was."

Her laughter was smothered into his shoulder. "Well, I've always known you were a troublemaker. I seem to remember our first fight was over your employee file."

"Second fight. The first one was over the evidence you removed from a murder scene we were investigating."

"Ah yes. You won that one. Pope made me return it all to you."

"Only because Brenda went to him to plead her case."

"Hmm…you're right." Brenda Leigh Johnson had gotten her job as deputy chief through a sexual relationship she'd had in the past with their chief of police. Because of that relationship, Brenda was usually able to get her way with him and Chief Pope let her get away with things he would never have accepted with any of his other officers.

"You know, a few years back there was a time we thought Brenda and Pope might have picked up where they had left off. I wanted to know if she was banging the boss and now here I am…"

"Andy Flynn, do NOT continue that statement."

"Uh, I wasn't. I mean, uh, I was just going to say, here I am marrying the boss."

Her eyes narrowed. Andy was a terrible liar. "Sure you were."

"I was. But to give you full disclosure,  I like banging her too."

"Andy!" Her attempt at chastising him was ruined when she couldn't contain her giggle.

"What? It's true."

"You really are incorrigible."

"And that doesn't give you second thoughts?"

"Not at all." She watched him playing with the engagement ring on her finger. "It's actually kind of tantalizing. Who knew that underneath it all I actually have a thing for sexy bad boys?"

"Sexy, huh?"

She got back up on her elbow and cupped a hand over his cheek, her voice a throaty purr. "Very, VERY sexy."

The End…

Of this installment anyway. Stay tuned as the story continues back in LA with "Saying Good-bye to Yesterday" which will focus on the annulments and some of what happened in Season Five. We will meet Winnie Davis and Sandra and there will be a few fireworks with Jack who is not going to be happy about his kids forcing him to sign the annulment papers. As with this story it will weave in and out of canon.

[orbemnews]

Hailed as Historic, Biden’s Interior Nominee Now Embodies Partisan Chasm WASHINGTON — When Representative Deb Haaland was tapped in December to be President Biden’s interior secretary, the decision was hailed as historic. She was the first Native American ever nominated to serve in cabinet — in this case to head a department that, for much of the nation’s history, has mistreated and neglected Indigenous Americans. On Tuesday, when she faces her confirmation hearing, another label will be applied to her nomination: embattled. No other Biden nominee to head a cabinet department has divided the political parties as sharply. To her considerable number of supporters, she embodies the hope of the Biden era, an activist second-term representative from New Mexico who would break ground like no other member of the cabinet, ethnically and politically. Her detractors have zeroed in on her activism, especially her forthright denunciations of any and all oil and gas exploration on public land and her fierce opposition to the natural gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. “Representative Haaland has a long record as a vehement opponent of American fossil fuels,” said Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, one of the nation’s largest oil, gas and coal producing states, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will consider her nomination this week. Propelled by an activist campaign, Ms. Haaland emerged last fall as a dark-horse candidate to head the Biden administration’s Interior Department, the vast government agency that oversees the nation’s 500 million acres of public lands and is most responsible for the well-being of the nation’s 1.9 million Indigenous people. Ms. Haaland, a citizen of Laguna Pueblo, one of the country’s 574 federally recognized tribes, would also become the face of one of Mr. Biden’s most divisive climate change policies, his pledge to ban all fracking on public lands. To call her nomination the most endangered of Mr. Biden’s slate would be untrue. That title belongs to his choice to head the White House Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, who has garnered opposition not only from Republicans but also the Senate’s most conservative Democrat, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia. What differentiates Ms. Tanden’s nomination from Ms. Haaland’s is the depth of their support from the Democratic Party’s activist wing. Ms. Tanden’s social-media needling of Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, and her association with Hillary Clinton has left her liberal support tepid at best, while Ms. Haaland has become a favorite of the Sanders wing, who see her as a transformational figure. She could also win the support of some Republican moderates, such as Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose state is 18 percent Alaska Native. “The number of folks across the country who are energized about her nomination, I’ve never seen,” said Collin O’Mara, the head of the National Wildlife Federation and a former top environmental official in Delaware who worked with the Biden administration’s transition team as it assembled its list of nominees for environmental posts. In the center of that partisan chasm once again sits Senator Manchin, who leads the Senate Energy Committee and has a history of siding with Republicans on issues of energy and climate change. To win him over, Ms. Haaland will highlight her distinctive personal story and a hardscrabble background that could appeal to a West Virginian who identifies with his increasingly Republican state’s working class. “I’m not a stranger to the struggles many families across America face today,” she will say, according to prepared remarks distributed by the Interior Department on Monday afternoon. “I’ve lived most of my adult life paycheck to paycheck.” “It’s because of these struggles that I fully understand the role interior must play in the president’s plan to build back better; to responsibly manage our natural resources to protect them for future generations — so that we can continue to work, live, hunt, fish, and pray among them,” Ms. Haaland will say, according to the remarks. A “35th-generation New Mexican” and the child of military veterans, she attended 13 public schools before graduating from high school, started a salsa company and worked as a cake decorator before putting herself through college and law school on food stamps and student loans. In 2015, Ms. Haaland became the head of the state Democratic Party and helped to flip the New Mexico Statehouse to Democratic control. In 2018, she and Sharice Davids of Kansas became the first two Native American women elected to Congress. That personal story has not insulated her from partisan attacks. Oil-state Republicans have called Ms. Haaland “radical” and “divisive.” Some of Ms. Haaland’s past environmental positions have gone further than those of Mr. Biden, who has sought to reassure the oil and gas industry and labor unions that his plans do not include shutting down existing drilling and fracking on public lands. Ms. Haaland was an original co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, the resolution written by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, and Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat. that calls for the United States to eradicate fossil fuel pollution within a decade. “I am wholeheartedly against fracking and drilling on public lands,” Ms. Haaland told The Guardian in 2019. Her congressional campaign sponsored the People’s Demand for Climate Change, a petition demanding that governments “pledge to an outright and immediate ban on fracking.” In 2016, Ms. Haaland joined the Standing Rock Sioux protesters in North Dakota who camped out for months in opposition to the Dakota Access oil pipeline. Senator Steve Daines, a Republican from the oil- and coal-rich state of Montana who also sits on the Senate energy panel, said that while he did not agree with Mr. Biden’s energy and climate change agenda, he has voted to confirm nominees such as Jennifer Granholm for energy secretary and Pete Buttigieg for the transportation secretary. But Mr. Daines said Ms. Haaland could be more strongly guided by the activist beliefs she espoused before her nomination than by Mr. Biden’s. “I’m not convinced that she can divorce herself from those radical views,” Mr. Daines said in an interview. There is also opposition in her own home state, where the $2 billion generated annually by oil and gas production on public lands make up nearly a quarter of New Mexico’s budget. “A permanent ban would devastate New Mexico’s economy,” said Ryan Flynn, executive director of New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. “The consequences on New Mexico would be more severe than any other state.” Three Democrats who are preparing Ms. Haaland for her hearing said they remained confident of Ms. Haaland’s confirmation. Mr. Manchin declined a request for an interview, although his spokeswoman, Sam Runyon, said he was looking forward to Tuesday’s hearing, “where they will further discuss her experience and qualifications to lead the Department of the Interior.” Propelling her forward is a national campaign to elevate her candidacy from outlier to inevitable. In a letter made public last week, nearly 500 liberal, environmental and Native American groups wrote, “Representative Haaland is a proven leader and the right person to lead the charge against the existential threats of our time — tackling the climate, extinction and Covid-19 crises, and racial justice inequities on our Federal public lands.” The Montana Wildlife Fund ran an ad signed by 2,500 Montanans in four newspapers urging Mr. Daines to vote for her. Ms. Haaland’s supporters said they were prepared to campaign against any senator willing to vote against the first Native American cabinet secretary. “There is a potential that Republicans will burn their bridges with tribal and Indigenous voters if they come out against her,” said Julian Brave NoiseCat, vice president of strategy and policy at the research group Data for Progress who spearheaded last fall’s campaign to urge Mr. Biden to nominate Ms. Haaland. “In Arizona, Wisconsin, Alaska, and New Mexico — a lot of western parts of the U.S. — it’s a significant part of the vote,” he added. “If you want to be competitive in those areas, it’s better not to lose 80 percent of the Native vote.” Ms. Haaland’s backers also point to her role as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee in pushing through a major bipartisan public lands law last year that increased funding to preserve land for public use. Introducing her to the panel on Tuesday will be Representative Don Young of Alaska, the Republican House veteran who worked with Ms. Haaland on that bill. In a statement last year, Mr. Young called Ms. Haaland a “consensus builder” who has “been open to working across the aisle” and “would pour her passion into the job every single day.” Source link Orbem News #Bidens #Chasm #Embodies #hailed #historic #interior #nominee #Partisan

[wetrumpfeed]

Afternoon MAGAthread: YOUR WEEKLY PRESIDENTIAL RECAP!

HAPPY SCHUMER SHUTDOWN 2.0 PATRIOTS!

This is u/Ivaginaryfriend here to keep you comfort while millions of government officials literally (not literally) lose their jobs. I've got a nice recap of all things spicy and dank from the past week to keep you guys warm and comfy during these cold and troubling times so sit back and get /cozy/ 'pedes!

As always, if you happened to miss any past recaps you can check those out here!

Sunday, December 16th:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

A REAL scandal is the one sided coverage, hour by hour, of networks like NBC & Democrat spin machines like Saturday Night Live. It is all nothing less than unfair news coverage and Dem commercials. Should be tested in courts, can’t be legal? Only defame & belittle! Collusion?

So where are all the missing Text messages between fired FBI agents Peter S and the lovely Lisa Page, his lover. Just reported that they have been erased and wiped clean. What an outrage as the totally compromised and conflicted Witch Hunt moves ever so slowly forward. Want them!

Remember, Michael Cohen only became a “Rat” after the FBI did something which was absolutely unthinkable & unheard of until the Witch Hunt was illegally started. They BROKE INTO AN ATTORNEY’S OFFICE! Why didn’t they break into the DNC to get the Server, or Crooked’s office?

At the request of many, I will be reviewing the case of a “U.S. Military hero,” Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder. He could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a Terrorist bomb maker while overseas. @PeteHegseth @FoxNews

Judge Ken Starr, former Solicitor Generel & Independent Counsel, just stated that, after two years, “there is no evidence or proof of collusion” & further that “there is no evidence that there was a campaign financing violation involving the President.” Thank you Judge. @FoxNews

The Democrats policy of Child Seperation on the Border during the Obama Administration was far worse than the way we handle it now. Remember the 2014 picture of children in cages - the Obama years. However, if you don’t separate, FAR more people will come. Smugglers use the kids!

Required television watching is last weeks @marthamaccallum interview with the wonderful wife of Rod Blagojevich and the @trish_regan interview with a Jerome Corsi. If that doesn’t tell you something about what has been going on in our Country, nothing will. Very sad!

“It looks here as though General Flynn’s defenses are incidental to something larger which is for the prosecution to figure out if it can find a path to Donald Trump without quite knowing what that crime might be. It stops looking like prosecution and more looking like...... ... ....a persecution of the President.” Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal. Thank you, people are starting to see and understand what this Witch Hunt is all about. Jeff Sessions should be ashamed of himself for allowing this total HOAX to get started in the first place! ... ....The Russian Witch Hunt Hoax, started as the “insurance policy” long before I even got elected, is very bad for our Country. They are Entrapping people for misstatements, lies or unrelated things that took place many years ago. Nothing to do with Collusion. A Democrat Scam!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

This guy explains the democrat russia collusion AMAZINGLY with comedy

LET US GET THIS STRAIGHT: Hillary deletes 33k emails, bleach bits, hammers devices - crimes disappear Mueller deletes thousands of emails, devices scrubbed - crimes disappear And Trump is the one under investigation?

I demand the Chinese put a White guy on their money. Maybe Iran or Iraq should put a White person on their money? Are they not inclusive or multicultural? Oh yah I forgot, only the West has to be.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Respect.

It's 12/16/18 and the murder of Seth Rich remains unsolved. Literally, nobody cares outside of T_D.

https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/a6vcbi/heard_nj_passed_new_gun_laws_my_response/

Funny How Shills Come Here to Downvote. Don't They Know that Reddit Won't Even Show Us on the Front Page?

Monday, December 17th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Personnel to a Key Administration Post

First Lady Melania Trump Visits USS George H.W. Bush & Military Bases

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

The DEDUCTIBLE which comes with ObamaCare is so high that it is practically not even useable! Hurts families badly. We have a chance, working with the Democrats, to deliver great HealthCare! A confirming Supreme Court Decision will lead to GREAT HealthCare results for Americans!

It is incredible that with a very strong dollar and virtually no inflation, the outside world blowing up around us, Paris is burning and China way down, the Fed is even considering yet another interest rate hike. Take the Victory!

Anytime you hear a Democrat saying that you can have good Border Security without a Wall, write them off as just another politician following the party line. Time for us to save billions of dollars a year and have, at the same time, far greater safety and control!

Today I am making good on my promise to defend our Farmers & Ranchers from unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations. I have authorized Secretary Perdue to implement the 2nd round of Market Facilitation Payments. Our economy is stronger than ever–we stand with our Farmers!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Steele admits he was hired to undermine 2016 election results by Perkins Coie

US conducts 6 airstrikes against Somalia extremists, 62 dead

WOWW Melania Trump stuns at White House Christmas ball

Families of Children Murdered by Illegal Aliens Rally at US-Mexico Border.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

😂WEW VLADS😂

Man, Christmas Dinner Will Be Fun

Take a moment of silent prayer to remember the thousands who've died from net neutrality. #NeverForget

Gone fishin’

Tuesday, December 18th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Executive Order on Providing for the Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on December 24, 2018

Vice President Pence Delivers Remarks at Kennedy Space Center

President Trump Participates in a Roundtable Discussion

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Biggest outrage yet in the long, winding and highly conflicted Mueller Witch Hunt is the fact that 19,000 demanded Text messages between Peter Strzok and his FBI lover, Lisa Page, were purposely & illegally deleted. Would have explained whole Hoax, which is now under protest!

Good luck today in court to General Michael Flynn. Will be interesting to see what he has to say, despite tremendous pressure being put on him, about Russian Collusion in our great and, obviously, highly successful political campaign. There was no Collusion!

I hope the people over at the Fed will read today’s Wall Street Journal Editorial before they make yet another mistake. Also, don’t let the market become any more illiquid than it already is. Stop with the 50 B’s. Feel the market, don’t just go by meaningless numbers. Good luck!

Facebook, Twitter and Google are so biased toward the Dems it is ridiculous! Twitter, in fact, has made it much more difficult for people to join @realDonaldTrump. They have removed many names & greatly slowed the level and speed of increase. They have acknowledged-done NOTHING!

Illegal immigration costs the United States more than 200 Billion Dollars a year. How was this allowed to happen?

Russia Dossier reporter now doubts dopey Christopher Steele’s claims! “When you get into the details of the Steele Dossier, the specific allegations, we have not seen the evidence to support them. There’s good grounds to think that some of the more sensational allegations..... ... ....WILL NEVER BE PROVEN AND ARE LIKELY FALSE.” Thank you to Michael Isikoff, Yahoo, for honesty. What this means is that the FISA WARRANTS and the whole Russian Witch Hunt is a Fraud and a Hoax which should be ended immediately. Also, it was paid for by Crooked Hillary & DNC!

Michael Isikoff was the first to report Dossier allegations and now seriously doubts the Dossier claims. The whole Russian Collusion thing was a HOAX, but who is going to restore the good name of so many people whose reputations have been destroyed?

(Retweeting FLOTUS) Merry Christmas from President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. @POTUS & @FLOTUS are seen Saturday, December 15, in their official 2018 Christmas portrait, in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)

“President Donald J. Trump’s Commission on School Safety examined ways to make our schools safe for all students and teachers.” Read more: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-committed-making-schools-safer/ …

Congratulations to @MarthaMcSally on her appointment by Governor @DougDucey as the Great new Senator from Arizona - I have no doubt she will do a fantastic job!

The Democrats, are saying loud and clear that they do not want to build a Concrete Wall - but we are not building a Concrete Wall, we are building artistically designed steel slats, so that you can easily see through it.... ... ....It will be beautiful and, at the same time, give our Country the security that our citizens deserve. It will go up fast and save us BILLIONS of dollars a month once completed!

America is the greatest Country in the world and my job is to fight for ALL citizens, even those who have made mistakes. Congratulations to the Senate on the bi-partisan passing of a historic Criminal Justice Reform Bill.... ... ....This will keep our communities safer, and provide hope and a second chance, to those who earn it. In addition to everything else, billions of dollars will be saved. I look forward to signing this into law!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Fun fact: Reddit has just shadow removed every thread about that deranged college SJW who stole that guys MAGA hat. You remember? That massively viral video that was posted all over Reddit from this source? The only one left up is a low voted thread here.

A message to France: Record and upload everything

If you no longer need our protection and your life and health are no longer at risk in your home country, you must go home.

New York Senator keeping it classy. Quickly deleted his tweet, but the internet never forgets. Liberalism is a mental disorder.

House GOP releases transcript of explosive closed-door Comey questioning

PRESS BRIEFINGS, INTERVIEWS, RALLIES:

Press Beating

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

POTUS and FLOTUS are Spectacular

Wait, I'm Confused 🤔

Unlike democrat senators we here take suicide prevention serious. Thats why you see the hotline at the sidebar. A senator who calls others to commit suicide should resign!

WELCOME TO R/ THE_DONALD!

Finally obtained my license to carry by the Boston police! This subreddit has motivated me so much and I I truly thank all of you for your awesomeness. Aiming to be one of Boston's Finest this one's for you guys! #bostonpeds

Wednesday, December 19th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts

President Trump: "It's Time For Our Troops To Come Back Home"

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

In our Country, so much money has been poured down the drain, for so many years, but when it comes to Border Security and the Military, the Democrats fight to the death. We won on the Military, which is being completely rebuilt. One way or the other, we will win on the Wall!

Mexico is paying (indirectly) for the Wall through the new USMCA, the replacement for NAFTA! Far more money coming to the U.S. Because of the tremendous dangers at the Border, including large scale criminal and drug inflow, the United States Military will build the Wall!

We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.

The Trump Foundation has done great work and given away lots of money, both mine and others, to great charities over the years - with me taking NO fees, rent, salaries etc. Now, as usual, I am getting slammed by Cuomo and the Dems in a long running civil lawsuit started by..... ... ...sleazebag AG Eric Schneiderman, who has since resigned over horrific women abuse, when I wanted to close the Foundation so as not to be in conflict with politics. Shady Eric was head of New Yorkers for Clinton, and refused to even look at the corrupt Clinton Foundation...... ... ....In any event, it goes on and on & the new AG, who is now being replaced by yet another AG (who openly campaigned on a GET TRUMP agenda), does little else but rant, rave & politic against me. Will never be treated fairly by these people - a total double standard of “justice.”

Col. Jim Carafano on @IngrahamAngle “Trump has made the Middle East a better place. When Trump came into office, ISIS was running amuck in the Middle East. Over a million refugees poured into Western Europe - none of that is happening today. That’s all due to Trump.”

“Trump gets no credit for what he’s done in the Middle East.” @IngrahamAngle So true, thank you Laura!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

President Trump signs executive order making Christmas Eve a federal holiday

President Trump declares victory over ISIS, orders total withdrawal of US troops from Syria

Twitter Refuses to Punish Democrat Senator Who Told Woman to Kill Herself

FITTON:WINNING: Two federal courts, Judges Sullivan and Lamberth ruled on key Clinton email issues. Judge Sullivan required Mrs. Clinton to answer additional questions under oath and Judge Lamberth ordered additional discovery into "one of the gravest modern offenses to government transparency."

✨BREAKING✨ Christopher Steele Admits Hillary Clinton Paid Him for Dossier

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

This is what the unaudited thots brigading us look like. Deport on sight.

The Babylon Bee: "Trump Criticized For Breaking With Longstanding American Tradition Of Remaining In Middle Eastern Countries Indefinitely" 😂😂

Brigade in progress, kindly show concern trolls the door. Pic unrelated.

A message for the daily shariablue cuckold brigade.

Thursday, December 20th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Designate Individual to a Key Administration Post

President Trump Participates in a Signing Ceremony for H.R. 2, the “Agriculture Improvement Act”

President Trump: "We Need the Wall"

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

“I’m proud of the President today to hear that he is declaring victory in Syria.” Senator Rand Paul. “I couldn’t agree more with the presidents decision. By definition, this is the opposite of an Obama decision. Senator Mike Lee

Getting out of Syria was no surprise. I’ve been campaigning on it for years, and six months ago, when I very publicly wanted to do it, I agreed to stay longer. Russia, Iran, Syria & others are the local enemy of ISIS. We were doing there work. Time to come home & rebuild. #MAGA

Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing? Do we want to be there forever? Time for others to finally fight..... ... ....Russia, Iran, Syria & many others are not happy about the U.S. leaving, despite what the Fake News says, because now they will have to fight ISIS and others, who they hate, without us. I am building by far the most powerful military in the world. ISIS hits us they are doomed!

The Democrats, who know Steel Slats (Wall) are necessary for Border Security, are putting politics over Country. What they are just beginning to realize is that I will not sign any of their legislation, including infrastructure, unless it has perfect Border Security. U.S.A. WINS!

With so much talk about the Wall, people are losing sight of the great job being done on our Southern Border by Border Patrol, ICE and our great Military. Remember the Caravans? Well, they didn’t get through and none are forming or on their way. Border is tight. Fake News silent!

After historic victories against ISIS, it’s time to bring our great young people home!

When I begrudgingly signed the Omnibus Bill, I was promised the Wall and Border Security by leadership. Would be done by end of year (NOW). It didn’t happen! We foolishly fight for Border Security for other countries - but not for our beloved U.S.A. Not good!

Congress just passed the Criminal Justice Reform Bill known as the #FirstStepAct. Congratulations! This is a great bi-partisan achievement for everybody. When both parties work together we can keep our Country safer. A wonderful thing for the U.S.A.!!

So hard to believe that Lindsey Graham would be against saving soldier lives & billions of $$$. Why are we fighting for our enemy, Syria, by staying & killing ISIS for them, Russia, Iran & other locals? Time to focus on our Country & bring our youth back home where they belong!

Farm Bill signing in 15 minutes! #Emmys #TBT

Democrats, it is time to come together and put the SAFETY of the AMERICAN PEOPLE before POLITICS. Border security must become a #1 priority!

General Jim Mattis will be retiring, with distinction, at the end of February, after having served my Administration as Secretary of Defense for the past two years. During Jim’s tenure, tremendous progress has been made, especially with respect to the purchase of new fighting.... ... ....equipment. General Mattis was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations. A new Secretary of Defense will be named shortly. I greatly thank Jim for his service!

Thank you to our GREAT Republican Members of Congress for your VOTE to fund Border Security and the Wall. The final numbers were 217-185 and many have said that the enthusiasm was greater than they have ever seen before. So proud of you all. Now on to the Senate!

Soon to be Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, last week live from the Oval Office, that the Republicans didn’t have the votes for Border Security. Today the House Republicans voted and won, 217-185. Nancy does not have to apologize. All I want is GREAT BORDER SECURITY!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

DON'T LET THE SHILLS DOWNVOTE : Page 390 IG Report - FBI Agent " So , you find Huma lied , BFD . No one at DOJ is going to prosecute ."

BREAKING: Speaker Ryan says Trump will not sign Senate-passed bill to avoid government shutdown

Trump Orders Major Afghan Drawdown: 7,000 Troops To Return Home In Coming Weeks

Acting AG Matthew Whitaker cleared to oversee Trump-Russia investigation, source says | Fox News

TICK TOCK BOOM - Court docs in lawsuit against Buzzfeed reveal that PAUL RYAN'S CHIEF OF STAFF RECEIVED A COPY OF THE PISS DOSSIER DIRECTLY FROM CHRISTOPHER STEELE

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Because of President Trump, my cousin will be coming home from Syria for Christmas! Now bring the other one home from Afghanistan! Fully onboard the MAGA train now! #TrumpTrain

Hilary Clinton is given a free pass with multiple crimes, but trump, who has done nothing illegal, is constantly harassed in an effort to uncover dirt. I was taught as a child that in America, you start with the crime and search for the perpetrator. Sadly, that is no longer the case.

Trump after signing the farm bill and dropping an epic TBT tweet.

MFW Congress gives you money to build a wall out of Hympecrete.

Friday, December 21st:

TODAY'S ACTION:

EO on Promoting Active Management of America’s Forests, Rangelands, and other Federal Lands to Improve Conditions and Reduce Wildfire Risk

Presidential Proclamation to Take Certain Actions Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act and for Other Purposes

Presidential Memorandum on the Delegation of Functions and Authorities Under Section 1238 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018

Memorandum on the Delegation of Functions and Authorities Under Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019

President Trump participates in a signing ceremony for S. 756 and H.R. 6964

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Senator Mitch McConnell should fight for the Wall and Border Security as hard as he fought for anything. He will need Democrat votes, but as shown in the House, good things happen. If enough Dems don’t vote, it will be a Democrat Shutdown! House Republicans were great yesterday!

The Democrats are trying to belittle the concept of a Wall, calling it old fashioned. The fact is there is nothing else’s that will work, and that has been true for thousands of years. It’s like the wheel, there is nothing better. I know tech better than anyone, & technology..... ... .....on a Border is only effective in conjunction with a Wall. Properly designed and built Walls work, and the Democrats are lying when they say they don’t. In Israel the Wall is 99.9% successful. Will not be any different on our Southern Border! Hundreds of $Billions saved!

No matter what happens today in the Senate, Republican House Members should be very proud of themselves. They flew back to Washington from all parts of the World in order to vote for Border Security and the Wall. Not one Democrat voted yes, and we won big. I am very proud of you!

The Democrats, whose votes we need in the Senate, will probably vote against Border Security and the Wall even though they know it is DESPERATELY NEEDED. If the Dems vote no, there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time. People don’t want Open Borders and Crime!

House Republican Vote, 217-185.

Shutdown today if Democrats do not vote for Border Security!

Even President Ronald Reagan tried for 8 years to build a Border Wall, or Fence, and was unable to do so. Others also have tried. We will get it done, one way or the other!

Mitch, use the Nuclear Option and get it done! Our Country is counting on you!

Thank you @SteveDaines for being willing to go with the so-called nuclear option in order to win on DESPERATELY NEEDED Border Security! Have my total support.

There has never been a president who has been tougher (but fair) on China or Russia - Never, just look at the facts. The Fake News tries so hard to paint the opposite picture.

General Anthony Tata, author, “Dark Winter.” I think the President is making the exact right move in Syria. All the geniuses who are protesting the withdrawal of troops from Syria are the same geniuses who cooked the books on ISIS intelligence and gave rise to ISIS.”

The Democrats now own the shutdown!

I’ve done more damage to ISIS than all recent presidents....not even close!

Today, it was my great honor to sign the #FirstStepAct - a monumental bi-partisan win for the American people!

Today, it was my honor to sign into law H.R. 7213, the “Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018.” The Act redesignates the @DHSgov Domestic Nuclear Detection Office as the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. Read more: http://45.wh.gov/aWBqYb

A design of our Steel Slat Barrier which is totally effective while at the same time beautiful!

Some of the many Bills that I am signing in the Oval Office right now. Cancelled my trip on Air Force One to Florida while we wait to see if the Democrats will help us to protect America’s Southern Border!

Wishing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg a full and speedy recovery!

OUR GREAT COUNTRY MUST HAVE BORDER SECURITY!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter: CNN’s 2014 “Journalist of The Year” just lost his job for totally “fabricating at least 14 articles about @realDonaldTrump” He literally said “I’m sick and need to get help” You couldn’t make a Trump Derangement Syndrome better if you tried. #TDR #fakenews

He’s working for us folks!

Liberals are suddenly war hawks. Do they have any principles at all?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg had cancerous tumors surgically removed from her lungs this morning. Here's a picture of Amy Coney Barrett for absolutely no reason at all.

Tucker Carlson: "Two months ago, when Senators Manchin and Donnelly needed moderate voters. They both said in campaign ads that they supported the Wall. Now neither one are no where to be found." They lied to get elected. Just like a Democrat.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

RED PILLS FIRED

SHUTDOWN

3....2.....1.....HAPPY SHUTDOWN! SUCK IT CHUCK AND NANCY! 🎉🎉🎉

Thank You Mr. President for getting us out of Syria. Godspeed sir.

Saturday, December 22nd:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

I am in the White House, working hard. News reports concerning the Shutdown and Syria are mostly FAKE. We are negotiating with the Democrats on desperately needed Border Security (Gangs, Drugs, Human Trafficking & more) but it could be a long stay. On Syria, we were originally... .. ....going to be there for three months, and that was seven years ago - we never left. When I became President, ISIS was going wild. Now ISIS is largely defeated and other local countries, including Turkey, should be able to easily take care of whatever remains. We’re coming home!

Will be having lunch in White House residence with large group concerning Border Security.

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

BOOM. The "Womens March" has been in bed with the Nation of Islam since day one. YUP, you 'vagina hat' libtard fatties have been taking orders from middle-east anti-Semite extremists all along—and you called us the racist! PROOF Linda Sarsour travels w Farrakhan security. (link in comments!)

Organizer of Antifa attacks on Tucker Carlson identified, linked to congressional Dems

Melania and Barron head to Mar-a-Lago for Christmas without President Trump, as He STAYS in DC WORKING for US!

Hahhahaha! Here is story on when OBAMA fired MadDog “without even a phone call,” over their discomfort with his pointed questions about Iran.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Already looking forward to day 2

My dad is a colonel in the Air National Guard. Because of Trump, he won’t be deployed to Syria in a few months and instead he was reassigned to go to San Diego and help border patrols. Coincidentally, I live in San Diego and that means he can take a little time off to come with me to Comic Con.

NOW...(pay attention) we don’t re-open the government until we get FULL FUNDING of the Border Wall. Are you seeing how this works now, Chuck? Nancy?

Owen Benjamin-Government ShutDown Time Song

WEEEW LAD!

Without further ado, some tunes to help you go through all this WINNING:

Closing Time

Leave (Get Out)

Complicated

Float On

Break My Stride

Party In The U.S.A.

MAGA ON DEPLORABLES!

submitted by /u/Ivaginaryfriend [link] [comments]

[junker-town]

A weekend at Army-Navy, college football’s most heated, petty, loving family reunion

Perhaps no rivalry in college football is as historic and meaningful ... nor as polite.

PHILADELPHIA — Army-Navy is college football's best rivalry, because it's historic and petty and exceedingly polite.

The schools have an extraordinary history of mascot thefts. Army fans and cadets mercilessly make fun of Navy’s midshipmen for their lolly-gagging form during march-ons, when the student bodies enter the field and then go to their seats. Navy fans loved to lord their school’s 14-year winning streak over Army fans, until it ended in 2016.

How’s it feel to lose? “It’s like your puppy dying,” West Point class of 2014 grad Danny Little says. He came from Fairbanks, Alaska, for this game. For him, one of the best things about 2016’s streak-breaker win was that “Navy had never known a loss.”

But amid the schools’ desires to top each other is more mutual respect than in any other college football series. Army-Navy goes as hard as any game, but it’s really light on actual fighting — physical or verbal, in the parking lots or the stands.

The most audacious thing I heard anyone say during hours of Saturday tailgating was a Navy fan yelling “Shut up!” at a woman who’d yelled “Beat Navy!” toward his tailgate. Her response was a smiling “That’s very rude! That’s very rude!”

There are crowds where such an exchange would lead to charges of fan incest (Pitt-West Virginia or the Iron Bowl, maybe), NCAA violations (virtually any SEC game), and the like. You don’t get that at Army-Navy. You get something like this:

“There’s always a little battle of one-upsmanship, and whatever that might be,” says Larry Needle, the executive director of PHL Sports, the agency that brings the game to Philly. “If Army’s bringing in a big tank, then Navy wants to bring in their bigger ship.”

At Army-Navy, there are just two things that feel out of place: the forward pass and any serious trash talk.

James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Philly has this down to a science now. The city has hosted 87 of the academies' 118 games against each other. Needle’s group estimates the city gets an influx of 50,000 people, who take up the majority of the nearly 70,000 seats at Lincoln Financial Field.

"They love to drink," says Jimmy Masiak, the general manager of Tavern on Broad, on Friday night, the eve of the game. "They love to drink. I think that's why they always come to Philadelphia, because we're a drinking city. And they fit right in. They were like locusts last night. They came in and just drank everything."

Masiak's bar required restocks, because an Army-Navy crowd goes through whiskey and bourbon fast; Maker's Mark and Knob Creek, largely. The people who come to town may arrive as rivals, but they're there in the same spirit.

"They're just cutting loose," says David Hall, a Navy vet whose son, Matt, used to play fullback for the Mids. "They're having a good time. They don't get that opportunity. Especially the cadets, they don't get that opportunity all the time."

Army-Navy visitors don’t amount to a full-on takeover in a city of about 1.6 million, but they give businesses a big bump from about Thursday night to Sunday. Wherever they congregate becomes a celebration of college football and common bonds.

These are often the same bars where college kids are showing up in Christmas sweaters to drink and dance to “Jenny from the Block,” while a bunch of Army parents from Massachusetts gather in a corner. Sometimes Army-Navy festivities spill out of the bars, into the streets.

An example: On Friday at 11:19 p.m., a guy sits in the passenger’s front seat of a cab at the intersection of Broad and Walnut streets, outside a Wawa. He yells to a 20-something in an Army jacket, “Nice shirt!”

The red light is just about now turning green, but the guy in the Army gear runs over: “That’s a nice ring!” he tells the guy in the cab, whose driver would very much like to move.

He examines the guy in the cab’s class ring for several seconds, then darts across the road and into the bar, yelling “Beat ‘em! Beat ‘em! Beat ‘em!”

This year’s game is extra contentious because the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, given to the team with the best record in games between these schools and Air Force, is on the line. That annual series often ends in a tie, in which case the trophy stays with the school that had it the year before. Army hasn’t won the trophy since 1996.

“Of the three, we’re not known for being good at football, so this would be huge for us to take this back and prove to everyone that we are that school who’s best at everything,” Little, an Army captain, says. “Because we’re better than Navy and Air Force at pretty much everything else, but being better than them at football’s what matters.”

The stakes are high, and yet good vibes abound.

“There’s nothing bitter,” says Chris O’Connor, a 1989 West Point grad and Army major who served 10 years. We’re talking at a tailgate the next morning, while some Black Knights play cornhole on U.S. Army boards that are covered in snow. “You look at other rivalries, and they actually get angry. Nobody gets angry at each other, and we realize that after this, you know, we’re together, and we have to kind of go out and fight this fight.

“Brothers in arms, I guess, people have called it.”

That’s the prevailing view among people who make the pilgrimage to this game. “Camaraderie” is the word that comes up most when you ask someone why they’re in Philly.

“We love them,” says Rita, a Naval vet tailgating a few hundred yards away who preferred not to give her last name. “We love the Army, because they are our sister service. But we love the Navy.”

At an Army tailgate, outside Lincoln Financial Field.

You’ll meet cool people at Army-Navy weekend. Here are some I met:

A three-generation military family from Greeley, Colorado. None of the four men had ever attended before. The grandfather is an 87-year old Navy vet, a petty officer second-class named Juils Jorgensen who joined up in 1950 and went to Korea. He’d wanted to make this game since that year, and now he was with his kid and two grandkids, who served in the Marines and the Army. “So yeah, I’ve been looking forward to this,” he said. “Matter of fact, I went to see my doctor and I says, ‘Doc, you’ve gotta keep me healthy for another year.’ He said, ‘OK.’”

Tim and Mary Flynn, a couple from La Plata, Maryland. They’re Army people, ever since Tim went to West Point and graduated in 1985. I met him at a bar and asked, “Navy fan?” because it was dark and I thought his yellow and black rugby shirt was actually yellow and blue. He was gracious, and the two of them invited me to their tailgate the next morning. They insisted I come and eat. Two of their kids are deployed now, one an Army nurse in Iraq and the other a solider in Korea. They put on a tailgate for their family, friends, and some classmates of their son, Tim, the one who’s in Korea. They said I’d fit right in.

I think this is why Army-Navy is the most respectful football game in the world, even on a day when boxed Fireball is flowing by about 7 a.m. It’s fun, and it’s a salute to the academies and service members — absolutely. But it feels like a family reunion first of all, with “family” defined broadly. Typically, nobody’s going to be mean at a family reunion.

“It’s the only football game I’ve gone to where everybody’s on the same team,” says Phil Bedard, an Army dad visiting with a group from Hopedale, Mass. “You’re up in the stands, and you could be sitting next to a Navy person, and you’re all on the same side. You’re all kind of rooting for the same thing. You want Army to win, of course, but there’s a camaraderie here that you don’t get at other events.”

The academies have homecoming weekends during the year. But this game has a very Wednesday-before-Thanksgiving feel to it.

“I mean, I can’t wait to get [inside the stadium], because I’ll run into classmates when I get in there that I haven’t seen in 10, 15 years,” O’Connor says.

Not everyone there is an Army or a Navy fan. A tricked-out Rutgers tailgating truck makes an appearance near the stadium with fans who just wanted to be there, and who had some military backgrounds among their group.

“It’s the best college football game of the year,” says David Levy, a 31-year-old Rutgers law student from Brooklyn. “It’s amazing, ‘cause even though they’re heated rivals, everybody’s pretty nice. It’s pretty calm.”

At 11:03 Saturday morning, I’m talking — tailgate-provided Yuengling in hand — with another Army dad about the triple option. We’re wondering if the snow that has blanketed Philly is going to stick on the grass at Lincoln Financial Field.

(It will. Army will win on a snow-aided missed field goal on a day when its players, in all-white uniforms, are literally camouflaged into the field.)

Mary Flynn holds up a phone of her son, Tim, FaceTiming from Korea.

Mary Flynn brings over an iPhone and introduces me to her son, Tim, who’s FaceTiming from Korea.

“Welcome,” he says.

It’s after midnight where he is, and this is the first year in many years that both he and his deployed sister, Aileena, aren’t at this event. But this is still their tailgate.

I can’t describe how intrusive I feel. This should be college football’s most exclusive game, given what you have to give up to become part of the academies or the military branches they service. But Army-Navy welcomes all. That includes writers who fans meet in bars, and even the people on the other side of the stadium — to a point.

“Everybody coming here, coming together, just being one big family even though it’s a rivalry and we want to win," says Aidan Flynn, Tim’s brother and Mary’s son. "And we desperately want to win.”

[roslinadama-sinequanon]

Major Crimes Re-Watch-Medical Causes

What I loved best about this episode is how Andy/Sharon centric it really is. Though I’m not sure the writers were even thinking in this vein yet or not, we get some major foreshadowing of the future Raydor/Flynn/Beck family with Sharon relying heavily on Andy to help her in dealing with Rusty and his mom.

The case-Jumping to conclusions. The crowd outside the club jumps on Lesley and nearly beats her to death assuming she was drunk when she plowed into the crowd. Later, after finding out how her boyfriend had drugged her Lesley is tormented by the idea that he made her a murderer and it is something that she will have to deal with for the rest of her life. Imagine how those people would feel if they’d killed Lesley and then found out that she was innocent. This is why we let the law deal with things, because in the heat of the moment no one is thinking rationally.

“Oh, you’re through already, cause that was hilarious“-Andy’s got the dad thing down. Rusty is pissed that he got dragged out of bed to follow Sharon to work and Andy gets another glimpse into what Sharon is dealing with—and sympathizes with her.  After Rusty’s sarcastic rant, typically Sharon just ignores him and lets it all roll off her back. In her profession and because she is a mom she is used to this kind of stuff and doesn’t let it get to her, it is Andy in dad mode who gives it back to him.

“Maybe now you can get rid of the little psycho”-The look on Sharon’s face when Andy says this and the way that she speaks shows us that however much of a pain in the ass Rusty is, Sharon has already become attached to him and isn’t completely relishing the idea of letting him go. Also, I think she is understandably wary about Sharon Beck and handing Rusty back over to her given her history of abuse.

“You did get a warrant to search that purse?” “Come on, do you think I’m new at this?” The look that Sharon gives him is actually quite sexy and his cocky sexy grin in response is really  the first—and only time—we get anything resembling a sexual vibe between them. Yes, we get a lot of sweet puppy dog eyes and tender smiles—but evidently, James Duff does not believe people over 50 can be sexy—just sweet and tender. And it is a real shame because Mary and Tony do it very well and there could have been some great sexual tension in the relationship that was never developed. These re-watch’s can be extremely frustrating because of all the “what could have, and should have beens.” So many missed opportunities.

“She’s agreed to return to LA and resume her role as Rusty’s mother as long as we wire her $500.00 cash.” OMFG, really? How BIG of her. This is a woman who should not be allowed to have a pet, let alone be responsible for a child. Personally, I think she should be arrested for child abandonment and gross neglect but Sharon Beck’s treatment of Rusty growing up is quite often glossed over on MC.

“Cough it up”- Interesting again that it is Andy who takes it upon himself to get contributions for Rusty’s mother’s bus. For Andy I think it is a combination of trying to help Rusty along with getting him off all their backs, while for Buzz it’s all about not having to baby-sit the little pain in the ass anymore. If he’d had the money, I think Buzz would have paid it in full to get rid of him. If that scene happened today, I think many MC fans would contribute to the “say bye bye to Rusty fund”. But, at this point in the series, the Rusty/Sharon condo mother ship scenes were my favorites. It’s only later when it becomes apparent that the TPTB aren’t interested in any other insight into Sharon’s life other than her job and as Rusty’s mother and the Rusty show started overshadowing and interrupting the Sharon storylines I really wanted to see developed, that I was ready for him to be gone--or at least cut back recurring status.

“Everyone is putting money in to buy a bus ticket.” “Everyone put money in?”

Kind of sad. Rusty’s never had people doing things for him before and he’s not sure how to respond to kindness other than to promise he’ll pay everyone back.

“Lt. Flynn has offered to take the two of you out to dinner.” It was only in the re-watch that I noticed the “offered”. I wonder if Andy offered because of his knowledge of addiction. Having spent so many years in AA and counseling Andy would probably be the one who could easily size Sharon Beck up--and also be the one to offer insight and assistance in getting her into a rehab situation should she be open to that. Having said that I think there was a real missed opportunity for a great scene here between Andy and Sharon. Sharon could have opened up to him about why she didn’t want to be the one to meet Sharon Beck, first because she didn’t want the woman to be ill at ease from the start and wanted this meeting to go well for Rusty,  but also I think because she is angry with the way this woman treated Rusty and she doesn’t want Sharon B. to get that sense of judgment right from the start. I don’t think we get nearly enough of Sharon being frustrated or angry at the way Sharon B. treated Rusty. Understandably, she isn’t going to vent to Rusty because that isn’t appropriate, but I would like to have seen her vent a little “mama bear” to Andy or Provenza or anyone really. And then Andy would offer to take him to the bus station and take them out to dinner, that way he can size Sharon B. up and also offer assistance to get her on the path to regaining custody of Rusty.

“People have bad days.“ Good God, this just shows us the world Rusty inhabited. Yes, people have bad days, they say things they shouldn’t say etc. but a bad day is NOT abandoning your child at the zoo. No, that is criminal. In this scene with Sharon, we see Rusty the child and Rusty the enabler completely emerge. He makes every excuse in the book for his mother’s inexcusable behavior, especially blaming it all on Gary. Because it is easier to believe that someone made her dump him than it is to accept that his own mother left him of her own volition. He is trying to convince Sharon, and himself, that once Gary is out of the picture things will be perfect between them again, conveniently forgetting that they were not perfect before Gary was in the picture.

“I cannot release you into her custody right away.” I should think not. I’m surprised that Rusty didn’t think there would be any repercussions for what his mother did. It just shows how neglected he was his entire life for him not to realize what a terrible thing she did and that she would have to prove she could be a better mother to get him back.

“They’re not rules, they’re laws” Of course Rusty immediately turns on Sharon when she tells him she can‘t just hand him over to his mother, that‘s for a judge to decide, and, just like with Andy in episode 1, Sharon remains calm and rational in the face of his outburst. Rusty responds to this by immediately calming down, just as Andy did, which proves how good Sharon is at de-escalating angry confrontations.

“Concentrate on the positive”-Sharon is training Rusty on the way she deals with life. You can’t dwell on the negative; you have to try to take the best out of every situation.

“I wanna make this up to you, and I will. “ “You don’t have to make anything up to me. I was perfectly happy to help you.”

This is beyond Rusty’s comprehension; in his world, nobody does anything for anybody just out of the kindness of their heart. There is always the expectation of reciprocity. This is the start of Rusty continually feeling like he owes Sharon--no matter how many times she tells him he doesn’t owe her anything but to be safe and be kind.

“I guess I don’t have to fill out these school forms anymore.” “I guess not.”

There is almost a little sadness and a tinge of regret that shows us that Sharon does mean a little something to Rusty and that he is giving something up to regain his mother.

“Flynn can take Rusty’s mother to dinner, but if you would like to go with Rusty yourself?” “I would but I don’t think his mother would appreciate me being there and I want this to be as easy on Rusty as possible.”

Two things here--Provenza has just put out his own olive branch. He sees Sharon now as a person with feelings, not just the Captain who took away the job he wanted. And he can see how trying this whole situation is on her and tries to help. From this moment on the anger is gone, acceptance given. Of course, there is still a little friction occasionally, but it is more grudging and/or humorous than laced with rancor.  It happened much faster for Sharon than for Brenda.

And, again, we see that Sharon is always trying to do the right thing, always trying to do what is best for others, not necessarily what is best for her. Provenza sees that and starts to respect that she is one of the “good guys”. But, at times, this isn’t always a good thing; it is this character trait that kept her in an unhappy marriage.

“Does it have a mini- bar? She doesn’t like mini-bars.” Rusty is obviously very nervous. Nervous about seeing his mother again, nervous about Andy judging her and nervous about his mother displaying her addictions in front of Andy. This is a great fatherly scene here for Andy. This is the Andy I love. He is kind, compassionate and understanding and does not make any derogatory comments about Sharon B. or what she‘s done, instead he humors Rusty‘s nerves and tries to make things easier for him. This is important because Andy is the dirt bag king; criminals only bring out disgust in him. So, for him to tell Rusty he got a nice hotel room for Sharon B. and then offering to cancel dinner when Rusty seems uncomfortable with it all, is quite revealing of the man beneath the cynical shield Andy surrounds himself with as a coping mechanism to deal with the ugliness of the world he inhabits in his work.

“Hold on…” Rusty is not oblivious to who his mother is. He knows Sharon B is not on that bus well before Andy turns his back on him to question the bus driver. Disappointed and devastated, his world crashing in, Rusty flees before bursting into tears in front of Andy.

“What do you mean Rusty ran off?” Andy feels so horrible about the situation. You can read it all over his face. And it’s personal. He truly feels like he let Sharon down, not just as his boss, but also as a friend. The fact that Sharon is trying so hard to be brave, assuring him that it’s not his fault only makes Andy feel even worse. And, like Rusty before her, Sharon has to turn to leave the murder room before she cries in front of her colleagues--though they can all tell by her sort of quivering voice.  

It is interesting that at this point they are so convinced that Rusty just wants to escape they never bothered checking Sharon’s condo to see if he’d returned there.

It’s the end of another exhausting day--this time Sharon needs a glass of wine.

“Why did you run away from Lt. Flynn?” “I don’t cry in front of people and I started to cry, so I left.”

Sharon nods, she gets it. She doesn’t cry in front of people either. But more than that, Rusty has opened up to her for the first time, has allowed her to see his vulnerability. When Rusty offers to pay everyone back the money his mother stole from them Sharon makes up the idea that their bosses will cover it--yet again allowing someone to save face.

Rusty tells her he is filling out the forms for school, tacitly admitting that he has given up on his mother and will be staying with her.  

“Your mother is the one who is losing out. It doesn’t have anything to do with you.“ I have a feeling this is probably something she’s had to tell her own children in regards to Jack’s disappearance from their lives. Rusty tells her it’s hard to let go and Sharon responds that holding on to someone when they’re gone is even harder. Again, speaking from her experience. This is something they have in common.

“Rusty is home.” For good. Sharon has become home to Rusty. His rose colored glasses have come off and he’s finally seen his mother for who she is, and, unlike his mother, Rusty learned in this episode that he could trust Sharon. She said she would find his mother and she did. So when his world came crashing down, he rushed back to Sharon’s condo, to his home, where he is safe and ready to build a new life with a mother who truly cares about his well being.

[roslinadama-sinequanon]

Thoughts on Shockwave Pt.1

1.    Andy Flynn in a leadership role-The beginning crime scenes are always the most boring part to me--because Sharon is never there. So we will start with the next scene. Andy Flynn really fits nicely in his new leadership role. He and Sharon seem to make a good team both personally and professionally. While the team was watching the video of the bombing, Andy was leading the questions while they were responding to him as the man in authority.  Not sure I can remember a time I’ve heard Julio refer to Andy as “Sir” as he did in his response in this scene.  I don’t like that Andy has been sort of marginalized by his heart attack--I was afraid that would happen-- but if he gains more authority and has a more commanding presence it will make not getting him in the field much more palatable.

2.       The look on Sharon’s face when Andy alerts her to Winnie’s press conference- Man, she was PISSED. I loved the way the camera followed her steely determined walk through the murder room to the press conference. Sharon was oozing barely restrained fury, followed by her angry posse to back her up. They even had the deadly posse glares down pat. I did not expect Sharon to lay into Winnie in front of their subordinates and the press, Sharon is nothing but professional, but I was hoping for a little more. Once the conference was done, I would love to have seen Sharon express some of the rage she was feeling—which could have been done a couple ways. Sharon asking to speak to Winnie in private then taking her task for disrupting their investigation. There is precedence for this. When Sharon felt Pope was in the wrong she had no problem telling him off and he has an even higher rank, so why not with Winnie? The only thing I can think of is that Sharon is trying to keep her composure because she knows Winnie is trying desperately to get her to lose her cool and could use that against her. Another way to get around this would be for Sharon to storm off to her office and have a kick the trashcan moment. I could see Andy following her into her office and with the door shut Sharon venting to him about Winnie. She can trust Andy because she would be venting to her fiancé, not her subordinate.

3.       Winnie’s press conference- It was a power move, pure and simple. It had nothing to do with trying to solve the case. It was all about Winnie Davis proving that she is in charge and getting her name on the news. And when Winnie sees Sharon and the Darth Raydor death glare she was sending her way it did give her pause for moment. Which I liked.  For that one moment she actually saw Sharon as a worthy opponent, which most of the time I don’t think she does. After being taken aback for a slight pause she continues on with a few looks Sharon’s way making it pretty apparent her words were as much for Sharon as for the press. I have never liked Winnie Davis; I think she is a whiney, power hungry, selfish, nasty bitch. But in this episode, I also felt that she is completely unprofessional—which will come up in further comments.

4.       Morgue scene-Poor Morales, caught in the middle, not sure to whom he is supposed to respond.  He is clearly uncomfortable with Winnie’s presence.  When he asks whom he should send his report to Sharon says quietly, but firmly “Me” while Winnie jumps right in with a send it to me too. She is clearly trying to assert her authority over Sharon and it’s pissing  Sharon off—and it’s sure pissing Andy off, and it’s making Morales uncomfortable.

5.       Andy and Sharon handling the morgue scene-While Sharon tries to ignore Winnie, Andy is not letting Winnie off the hook. He questions her about intent and Winnie is so freaking condescending to them. Her “You might be afraid to call it terrorism” is aimed directly at Sharon—as if labeling her scared and weak. Sharon doesn’t bite; she just says in that quiet Sharon way that the only thing she is afraid of is failing to arrest the people responsible because they acted on wrong assumptions. The way she draws out the word wrong and looks at Winnie is the only thing that gives her away, letting Winnie know that SHE is the one who is wrong.  Andy jumps right in reminding Winnie that this situation is a little outside her operational experience. Her response that it might be but her experience is in leadership and decision-making is clearly another dig at Sharon. Loved Sharon’s little lip quirk—she is trying so hard to keep her cool. But when Winnie continues on, throwing it in Sharon’s face that her qualities are what made Pope put her in charge while Fritz is gone, Andy is done with continual digs at Sharon telling her “that ask might have led you to some wrong assumptions too”.  Basically telling her that just because Pope asked her to coordinate departments does NOT mean she got the Asst. Chief job. Though she is sure acting as if she thinks she does. Sharon jumps in before there is an all out argument between the two and brings them back to the case, but Winnie‘s glare at Andy tells him exactly what she thinks of him. Winnie does NOT like Andy Flynn-either because of past history or because he is Sharon’s boyfriend/fiancé or because Andy is willing to stand up to her or simply because she doesn’t seem to like anyone. Then Andy gets the call on his cell and says “Captain”—only interested in informing Sharon. Winnie looks at him expectantly; he catches her eye and deliberately turns from her to look only at Sharon while he giving the information needed.  SCORE for Andy!  I really like how this scene showed that while Andy is still Andy, he has definitely matured. He got his digs in and did not shy away from confronting Winnie but he never lost his cool and started yelling at her as he might have in the past. He was completely professional.

6.       Gusty-It has become quite apparent that Rusty and Gus are at very different points in their life and are looking for different things in their relationship. There seem to be more issues between them than Rusty not being willing to move in with him until he can afford to pay his way. Rusty is 20 years old, he is still a kid and is still trying to figure out who he is. He just changed majors and is excited and passionate about his new career path. For the first time in his life he has a stable home and family with a loving mother who is always there for him and a man who is about to become his step- father—a relationship with a man that he’s never had before. He’s happy in college and with his internship and excited by the prospect of going on to law school and becoming a lawyer. The fact that Gus just assumes he will be willing to give all this up and completely uproot himself to move to Napa, transfer to a different college and lose his internship really pulls the rug out from under Rusty. I don’t blame him for being shaken up, especially since it came out of the blue and was done without any conversation or consideration as a lead up. Rusty is just not ready to give up all that he has up for the unknown and a relationship he does not completely trust. 

Rusty is often called out for being selfish—and he most certainly is. Now I have noticed, so is Gus. Gus is clearly far ahead of Rusty in what he expects in a relationship. He’s been on his own a long time, has the career he wants and is now ready to settle down.  But in this instance we see a really controlling side to Gus and Rusty has never responded well to that. I really don’t think either of them is mature enough to be in a serious relationship right now—case in point Gus breaking up with Rusty when he said he didn’t want to move in with him. There was no understanding or acceptance just a “see ya later, we’re done”. Contrast that to Andy being willing to endure a very slow old- fashioned courtship because it was what Sharon needed. Then Gus going storming off the minute Rusty does not jump up and down with excitement over all the decisions he made for the two of them moving to Napa. Contrast that to Andy wanting to live with Sharon but being willing to have conversations about how and when that might happen. 

I like Gus, but I think Sharon foreshadowed their relationship pretty well when she commented they may have found each other too soon. They seem like the kind of couple who will break up and 10 years from now they will re-connect and both will be in the right place psychologically and emotionally for a real relationship.

7.       Murder Room-Here is where I think Winnie really shows that she is unprofessional and not a very good detective. From the second the bombing occurred she jumped to the conclusion that it was terrorism and is unable to accept there could be any other motive—no matter how much evidence is presented to her. She even ignores or pooh poohs what the bomb squad has to say about it because the bomb squad backs Sharon’s theory, not hers.  She is irritated and ignores anyone who does agree with her assessment. Contrast that with the way we have seen Sharon handle cases over the past several years. Sharon usually has a theory about the murder but when evidence proves that theory wrong she quickly changes adapts and follows where the evidence leads her, and is able to come up with new theories. She is always open and appreciative of the ideas, theories and expertise of her team, because Sharon is all about solving the case NOT about getting credit for herself for solving a case. Winnie cannot seem to do that, because for her it’s not about solving the case, it’s about proving that SHE is right and getting credit for herself. She wants the case to be terrorism because it’s all about Winnie and if it is terrorism, it will be a much bigger story, bigger headlines and more limelight for Winnie Davis.

8.       Disgust of Winnie Davis in the Murder Room-Can’t tell you how much I loved all the disgusted looks cast at Winnie as she questioned the bomb squad in her usual condescending way. She is so NOT a team player. Winnie’s butting in obviously irritates the hell out of Sharon and it is also obvious that Sharon is really struggling with holding her tongue.  She looks away from Winnie, probably because if she had to look at that superior condescending puss she would say something she does not want to say. Loved Julio lecturing Winnie about what terrorism actually means, but my favorite part was Wes! “So DEPUTY Chief” OMG the disgust in his tone is PERFECT. Then, “if you call the feds you risk losing the chance to swoop in and take all the credit.”  He is saying what everyone in that room is thinking---And it is the role Andy Flynn would normally play, but he is not there. Not sure where he is but it was probably intentional as they seem to be changing his dynamic.  Love that Wes did not back down, he looked Davis straight in the eye and said, “I think you heard me” when she questioned him. Sharon is shocked, as is everyone, but the team is also thinking “YES!”  Winnie’s response to Wes, telling them all that if Sharon is wrong about the murder she’ll make sure she gets the credit for that shows us yet again that with her it’s all about credit and blame, not the case.  Julio’s smile over Wes’s comments was priceless.

9.       Sharon in the Murder Room-While it’s quite apparent that Sharon feels the same as everyone when it comes to Winnie, she is a thorough professional and makes sure to chastise Wes for the way he spoke to a commanding officer—though certainly not harshly. It is only when Provenza brings up the job that Sharon really shows emotion. First of all, she mentions the job changing the person not the person changing the job and we’ve seen that with Fritz--and don’t want that for Sharon. And my theory on that is that she is frustrated with not being able to speak her mind. She had to bite her tongue at the press conference, Andy got to say the things she wishes she could say in the morgue, and now Wes, and Julio to a certain extent, got to take Winnie on in the murder room, but Sharon is trying very hard to keep her cool for THEM. She doesn’t want the damn Asst. Chief position, but she is doing everything—including not getting into a pissing contest with Winnie—to keep herself in the running so Major Crimes will not be destroyed. Considering that she is the one who has had all the digs and barbs thrown at her all day, there is no one who more deserves the right to fight back more than Sharon and yet she has not. She’s been able been able to suck it up, whereas the team hasn‘t and I can see why that makes her angry and frustrated.  But even after taking them to task she finished with telling them she is the happiest she has ever been in her professional life working with all of them to catch the bad guys. Awww…..She really does not want that job, she is feeling forced into it and she isn’t happy about it. I also think this is the moment that Wes really became a member of the team. I hadn’t really thought much about him before tonight, but he’s turned out to be really okay.

10.     Rusty and Andy sending Sharon off to the bomb scene- We were shown again that Andy has really grown and matured. The old Andy might have argued or tried to cajole Sharon into letting him go into the field with the team. This new mature Andy has accepted that he has to approach his job in new way and appreciated that Sharon was in a rush to save lives and didn’t have time to listen to him complain about not being part of the action. Plus, who would have run the command center? Winnie? No way would Andy trust Winnie Davis with having Sharon’s back. The first time I watched the episode I too was unhappy that Andy didn’t have a word or a touch for Sharon as she went off into danger. With Sharon, there has always been a brush of her hand along Andy’s back, a soft touch to the shoulder SOME kind of acknowledgement that she is worried and loves him. Andy did not. I’m wondering if that is a reaction to some former boundaries Sharon had set in place on him at work when they first started dating. Whenever there has been any affectionate moments in the workplace they seem to have been initiated by Sharon, a bump to the arm at the service for Alice Herrera, her tapping the back of his hand to let him know she wanted to hold his hand, her going to him when Ricky outed them and sliding an arm around his waist. Even the one time Andy did initiate a hug during “Hindsight” he was very careful to look around and make sure no one was watching them. I’m sure now that they are engaged Sharon is probably more open about these things but old habits die hard. Plus in re-watching the episode there really was not time for a physical moment, Sharon was rushing to try to save lives and Andy understands that.  I am glad that Rusty told her to be careful. Ever since the White Lies shooting when he didn’t seem to give a damn that Sharon could have been killed, it has bothered me that Rusty does not seem to worry about Sharon. But, I think now that he’s really seeing more of what she does on a daily basis and has gone through the shooting, watching a perp punch her in the face and now this, he is more aware of the danger she is in every day. What I do wish they would have added is Sharon turning to say she will be careful and catching Andy’s eye, he gives her a little head tilt and she nods back at him like “I understand, you love me and you want me to be careful” They’ve always been good at non-verbal communication and that would have only taken an instant.

11.     Last scene/Bomb goes off-I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Andy in command. There is something very sexy about it in the same way that he’s cute and sexy when he’s being playful or grumbling.  This new authoritative side to him is pretty hot. And it shows that Sharon has rubbed off on him and that he is gaining a sense of comfort in his new role.

Not sure why the bomber was taking pictures of the Major Crimes team, kind of weird if was just after the sisters.  

I know many people were upset that Andy didn’t freak when the bomb went off, but in watching that scene several times, it is evident that he is in complete shock. That bomb went off and his world just sort of ended in that moment. He froze. Then behind him he hears a trembling voice saying “Mom, where’s Mom?” and feels a hand grip his arm. His instinct is that of a father. He immediately reaches back and covers Rusty’s hand with his own in a gesture of comfort. We didn’t get to see the scene play out but I’m sure Andy tried to push his terror back to keep Rusty from going off the deep end, while also knowing that he’s recently been through a bombing like that and everyone was fine. I thought Graham did a really good job in that scene, the way his bottom lip quivered at first, the way he trembled asking where his mom was and then the way he reached out for Andy. They really have become father and son.

12. Anticlimactic-If this were going to be the second to the last episode ever it wasn’t all that big a deal. If they really thought MC was done for, I would like to think the finale would include some major terrifying Philip Stroh stuff. It started with Stroh and it ought to go out with Stroh. Anyway, it’s not as if anyone is worried about the team, they immediately showed previews for next week with the team out and about with nary a scratch. And though we did not see Sharon we heard her voice and she’s fine. So, it’s hard to be worried when you already know everything works out okay. I do hope there is a little angst, maybe Andy rushing to the scene or the hospital because they were on radio blackout SOMETHING to make it not just exciting, but also moving. However, I do not hold out much hope, because with the way MC works I’m sure tomorrow nights episode will begin with everyone back at the LAPD working to find the killer with barely a mention of the bomb that went off.