AN: Here's my holiday special, I think this will be 6 chapter job. Takes place just before Season 2 Episode 14 (infamous All In). Just some thoughts on missing scenes from before, during, and after that episode. I'm trying to stick to canon here at least for the first few chapters, then it may go AU if inspiration directs me there. Also, I'm including a small amount of reader participation with this story, you have the opportunity to add a small element into the story. Check out the end of the chapter for details and instructions ;)

CH 1 :: Closeted Musings

Andy walked out of his therapy session shaking his head. What have I gotten myself into? And Provenza isn't even here to blame.

"Dad!" Nicole shouted trying to catch up to him as we made his way down the stairs towards the parking lot.

He stopped and looked up, "Yeah?"

"You forgot the tickets," she said waving a white envelope in the air.

"Oh right," he shrugged and met her halfway back up the steps. "Thanks again Nicole, but if we catch a case the Captain, err Sharon, won't be able to spare us both to go the ballet."

"I know, I know, but try please. The boys would love to have you there, and we'd love to spend some more time getting to know Sharon." She was smiling widely at him and he felt his heart sink. He knew he couldn't say no to his little girl, but he knew he was getting himself in too deep.

"I'll try." He leaned in and gave her a quick hug, "I gotta get back. I'll call you."

"Okay, bye dad." She said as she walked in the opposite direction towards her car.

As he climbed back into his car he turned his phone back on checking for messages. It was Saturday morning, but criminals never stopped to observe the weekend. The team wasn't on call, but he also knew that meant little. He had two missed phone calls and five unread text messages.

Provenza: Hey are you still coming over? The Lakers game.

Provenza: Hello? Why aren't you picking up?

Provenza: You better be with some broad right now!

Provenza: Well now you have to get the pizza AND the beer!

Sharon: Good morning! If you happen to have a free moment this weekend, I could use some help. No rush of course.

The message from Sharon brought a smile to his face and made him for a moment forget about how annoying Provenza could be, when his phone rang.

"What!?" He yelled not needing to look at the caller ID, knowing that it would be Provenza again.

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"I was busy ok. What is so god damn important? I got your texts, yes I'm still coming over and yes I'll get the pizza and the beer!" He shouted back again wanting to get off the phone so he could get back to Sharon's message.

"Well fine then, no need to shout."

"Ok, I'll see you in a few hours. Tip off isn't until one." He brought his voice down, but it was still full of annoyance. He didn't wait for a response and clicked "End." Andy went back to his text messages and began typing…

Sure I can swing by now if that works for you. He looked up and erased it. Of course I can stop by. What do you need? He looked up again, pausing and then erasing the message. Before he could continue he saw a bubble with (…) appear on the screen. She was writing to him.

Sharon: Are you typing an essay?

Andy: Uh no, just slow at texting.

Sharon: Oh. Well I was just going to ask if you were free to swing by now. I know I said it was no rush, but…that may have changed.

Andy stared at his phone feeling intrigued by her remarks, they sounded quite flirtatious. They had loosened up with one another since Nicole's wedding, she had been more free in her touches with him and their conversations had become more personal.

Andy: Well, I was just finishing something up, but I'm free now. I can be there in say 15.

Sharon: Oh that would be great. The door is unlocked just come in.

Andy: Ok see you soon.

Andy put his phone back into his coat pocked and pulled out of his parking spot. He felt a smile forming on his face, knowing that he was going to see Sharon and hopefully spend some time with her was a welcomed surprise.

Fifteen minutes later, he was riding up the elevator to the eleventh floor. He gave a quick knock on her door before opening it.

"Sharon!" He called out.

"Ah, Andy. I'm in here." She shouted, it sounded like from her bedroom. Andy made his way down the hallway, her door was almost completely shut. He spoke through the crack in the door, "Sharon?"

"Yes, come in." She said. He slowly pushed the door open, never having been in her room before he was slow to move beyond the doorway. He looked around seeing her bed made and everything in its place. He turned away from the bed, still not seeing her. "Sharon, where are you?"

"Uh in here." Her voice sounded a bit hesitant.

He pushed the door of her closet open and found her laying on the ground with a few boxes strewn about the floor. He rushed down to her side, "Are you okay? What happened?" He pushed her hair away from her forehead and grabbed her hand.

"Yeah. I think I pulled something in my back and I couldn't get up." She said wincing as she tried to move up.

"How did you end up on the floor in the first place?" He asked, still holding her hand.

"Well, I was trying to get some of the Christmas decoration boxes down from the shelf and well they came crashing down and I fell back." She looked away from him a bit embarrassed at her current situation.

"Is this what you wanted me to come help you with?" She nodded at him. "Why didn't you wait?"

"Well I love the holidays and I was feeling anxious and excited about getting the house decorated - you know before the inevitable roll-out for a case. So I thought I would just get these light boxes and get started while I waited to hear back from you." She rambled as she continued to avert her eyes from his dark gaze.

"Sharon, I wish you had just waited for me. I'm always happy to help you know that."

"I know." She said in a soft voice, "Can you try and help me up?"

Andy put his arm around her shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position. She let out a sharp "Ow" from the movement.

"How long have you been on the floor?" He asked worried she had been like this for an hour.

"Not long. Don't worry I wasn't here all morning," She said giving him a knowing look. When she met his eyes she saw the concern and suddenly felt the warmth between them - his hand was still holding hers and the other was wrapped around her.

"Do you think you could stand up?" He asked, sensing that she was feeling a little uncomfortable with their close proximity. She nodded and he let go of her hand, putting his arms under her armpits, "On three, one…two…three." He lifted her up and she let out another "Ow." He let her stand there leaning against him for a moment as she steady herself. He felt his body responding to her perfume and how close his hands were to her breasts. "You okay?" He asked slowly pulling his arms away. "Yes. Thank you."

They moved out of her closet, "Let me get you some ice and advil for you back, otherwise you're going to really feel it tomorrow." He rushed out of the room trying to put some distance between them, he thought for a second that she had a look of hurt in her eyes as he moved away from her. Sharon crawled into bed and repositioned the pillows against the headboard to put herself in a more comfortable position as she waited for Andy to return.

"Here you go." He handed her a glass of water and two pills. She took them and smiled up, "Thank you Andy."

"Of course. Here's some ice for your back. We'll alternate ice and heat - Do you have a heating pad?" He immediately froze catching the we he just said hoping she didn't call any attention to it.

"Uh yes…" She paused, "In that drawer." She pointed to her nightstand on the other side of the bed.

Andy opened the drawer and saw the blue heating pad lying on top and pulled it out. As he was about to close the drawer he spotted a recognizable box of Trojans and bottle of lube. He smiled inwardly for a moment seeing that she was prepared, but it immediately fade when he wondered who was using the condoms. He hadn't seen her with anyone, but knew she was intensely private and would never say anything to him. Andy didn't think she was the type for a one-night stand though. Maybe they're for the ex. He thought as he walked around to where she was laying and plugged in the heating pad. He seriously hoped she wasn't still letting that asshole into her bed, but he knew he couldn't completely blame her if she had. He and the ex had fallen into bed a few times early on in their separation. Maybe it's an old box, full of expired ones.

"Here you go," he handed her the heating pad. "Once the ice numbs you up, why don't you lay on this for awhile."

She smiled up at him and grabbed his hand as he turned away, "Thank you again Andy." She winced again as she moved against the ice. "Can you go to my medicine cabinet a get the bottle of baclofen?"

"Sure." He said walking into her bathroom. It felt odd to be poking through her things even if she had asked him to do it. He quickly found the bottle and brought it back to her.

"I usually prefer natural remedies, but I occasionally get back spasms and with our job we know criminals don't stop so we can rest…" She was rambling again.

"Sharon, you don't have to explain it to me." He knew she wasn't the type to fall into addiction over pain pills. He read over the label when he was in the bathroom, it was a six month old Rx and she had only used 3 of the 12 tablets that had been prescribed. He handed her the glass of water as she took the pill.

"So where's Rusty?" He asked settling gently on the bed beside her.

"OH, he's off at some chess practice with the team today. I guess they have some tournament coming up after the holidays. In his words, 'they need the practice.'" She smirked as she spoke.

"Never one to sugar coat, is he?" He said smiling back at her. She let out a small chuckle followed by an "Ow."

"Are you interested in some good gossip?" He asked changing the subject.

"Hmm, well I am, but I'm not sure I should hear it." She said with a cheshire cat grin on her face.

He waited to see if she would actually protest, but he knew that she wouldn't. They enjoyed their private conversations together, over the last few months they had grown to see each other as partners within the larger team and not just colleagues. They often shared banter and gossip over a salad in the break room.

"Well it would seem that Provenza has a new lady friend in his life…" He said suggestively.

Her eyes went big, "Oh is that so, and how do you know this?"

"Simple, every other time he's started dating someone he trades up his wardrobe. Did you see what he was wearing yesterday? Definitely a woman." Andy was trying to sound serious, but he found the whole thing entertaining.

She started laughing, "Ooo Don't make me laugh Andy!" She choked out between giggles and pain.

He stayed sitting beside her talking for awhile longer before she finally drifted off from the medicine. He turned down the heating pad and got off the bed, careful not to jostle her awake. As he began to back out of the room, he decided to go back into the closet and get out the Christmas boxes for her. He was sure that she had a specific location for everything in these boxes, but wanted to help. Carrying the boxes to the living room, he began opening them up and felt excited to see her garland and ribbons on top. He knew he wasn't great at decorating, his wrapping was proof of that, but nonetheless he got a wild-hair and decided to start pulling things out.

Two hours had passed when his phone began buzzing. He answered it, but spoke softly not wanting to wake Sharon up in the next room, "Hello?"

"Where on earth are you?"

He shook his head, he should have checked the screen before answering, "I'm busy. What do you want?"

"What do I want? The game starts in 10 minutes. There's no pizza or beer. When are you planning on gracing us with your presence!" Provenza shouted into the phone.

Andy walked towards the hallway and back at the decorations he was messing with and made a quick decision, "About that, I'm not going to be able to make it. I'll call in the pizza and have it delivered. On me."

"Fine, but it's not like they deliver beer you know!"

"Yeah Yeah, I know you still have some in the fridge from the other night old man." He said waving his arms, feeling his blood pressure rise. He wasn't sure what it was about Provenza that made them stay friends when he riled him up so much.

"So you're not coming then?"

"No, I just said I was busy. Something came up and I can't make it." Again he didn't wait for a response, he was tired of listening to him complain so he hung up. Andy walked into the kitchen and filled the tea pot up with water. He rummaged through the cabinets finding two mugs and some Earl Grey tea. A few minutes later he walked into her bedroom with the steaming hot tea. She was still asleep. The look on her face was so peaceful, he thought he could stare at her for hours. He set the mug of tea down next to her and walked back out of the room. After finishing his own tea and decorations he decided it was time to go. He knew she could be asleep for another few hours and Rusty would be home soon to look after her. There was no reason why he should stay and continue playing house with her. He went to pull a pen out of his pocket to leave her a note when he came across the tickets Nicole had given him. Suddenly he felt an overwhelming sensation of guilt. He was lying to his family, to himself, and maybe even to her. It was time to hit a meeting. Deciding against leaving a note, he sent her a quick text and walked out of the condo.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

You have 24 hours to "vote" and you can only pick one option, one vote allowed.

Reader participation: Sharon thanks Andy for helping her A) with baked goods taken to his house personally B) inviting him over for dinner C) by calling him later that night after Rusty goes to bed.