Sharon's visit with Julio had been short, but sufficiently long for her to reassure herself that he would be well. Seeing him annoyed at the ruined suit and by the constant fussing of his mother was a good sign. Although she couldn't blame Mrs Sanchez: it certainly wasn't the first time she had visited her son in hospital and it probably wouldn't be the last. Like countless times before she took a moment to quietly thank her children for their career choices. They might have taken them far away, Emily all the way to the other side of the country, but at least they were not being shot at on a regular basis. Andy, however, was a different story and it could have so easily been him tonight instead of Julio. She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and pushing that thought far from her mind.

/

Sharon spotted Andy's familiar figure from afar, casually leaning against her vehicle, jacket and tie gone, trademark smirk in place. As the pace of her steps quickened, so did the beating of her heart and when she reached him she was actually a little out of breath. She stumbled, Andy caught her by her arm, but she surprised him by taking another step towards him, bumping into him in the process, missing his lips as she tried to kiss him. Chuckling at the clumsiness of this usually so graceful woman, he put his arms around her and held her tight so she couldn't slip again. She lifted her face and he could see the slight flush across her cheeks before she kissed him again, properly this time.

"That's a lovely greeting," he rumbled into the kiss while one of his hands moved up and disappeared in her hair. He could feel her lips curl into a smile and her arms wrap around his neck.

"On your way in to see Julio?" she inquired curiously.

"I was actually waiting for you."

Sharon looked up at him, then shook her head: "You are just saying that to flatter me."

"Is it working?"

"You tell me." She leaned in for another kiss, deeper this time and Andy marvelled at the change in her over the past weeks. There were standing out in a public place, in a close embrace, kissing, and she seemed perfectly comfortable. "Since you seem to have been waiting for me, any chance I can take you home with me to celebrate?"

"What are we celebrating?"

"Is that a yes to me taking you home?"

"Sharon, you can always take me home with you. Tell me, what are we celebrating?"

She paused for effect, but then thought better and the words just tumbled out. "Rusty said yes!" Her hands grabbed his head and she looked directly into his eyes. "Andy, he wants me to adopt him!" She looked so excited, so genuinely happy, he would have said glowing if that hadn't sounded so cliché. He settled on a warm "Congratulations, sweetheart," instead. "You are going to be a mum."

"I know!" Her hands around his head tightened a little and her eyes found his again. "Now, guess what he said after that? He said it was time for me to say yes, too."

"To the adoption?"

"That's what I first thought, too. But it was about us. He asked me whether I didn't think it was about time I said yes to you!" Her lips met his, with even more intensity than the last time, egged on by his arms that seemed to bring her closer and closer.

"And there we were worrying how to tell him about us."

"Not we, I was the one who worried, you always thought he'd be on board."

"You're his mum, it's your job to worry. Did you tell him you already said yes to me?"

"I did, and I think he was pleased. He seemed, uh, he seemed happy for us, really happy. He's the reason I asked if you were free tonight. He wants to celebrate with us – and maybe afterwards, you and me can have a another little celebration all by ourselves."

If he hadn't already been so taken by her, the intensifying flush across her cheeks and her slightly surprised expression at her own forwardness would have sealed the deal for him. Still, he couldn't resist riling her up just a little more: "Are you asking me to spend the night?"

But she was on a roll now: "Do you want me to rephrase that as an order, Lieutenant?"

"Uh, please! Preferably later, when we're alone," he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Andy, you are giving me all sorts of ideas now." How she could actually look shy now was beyond him. This time, he found her lips.

"I love your active imagination, Captain. Now go, drive home. I'll pick you both up in an hour for a dinner by the beach," he said sending her off with a little pat on her back.

/

Andy took them to a small beachfront restaurant that was run by an old friend of his. He found them a table in a secluded corner with a beautiful view of the ocean. Much to Rusty's delight, the place served burgers in all shapes and sizes alongside a few select Italian dishes that took Sharon's fancy.

It was a light and carefree evening with a lot of laughter and stories. They held hands under the table, then on the table and Sharon even gave Andy a peck on the cheek, but when Rusty suggested to "just go ahead and kiss him already, I'm not a baby anymore," she blushed furiously and hid her face in Andy's shoulder.

Rusty had been watching them all evening. Not just Sharon, he spent a lot of time with her and knew her well, but more the lieutenant: the tenderness with which he looked at his soon-to-be foster mum, the touches, the way his eyes followed her every move, the little gestures like pulling her chair in for her, picking up her scarf that had slipped off her shoulders.

Rusty hadn't meant to embarrass her with his comment, well, maybe a little but not quite so much – and the lieutenant seemed to pick up on that, pulling Sharon into an embrace, turning so her face was shielded from prying eyes while she took time to compose herself. He didn't forget to give Rusty a look either, not scolding but reminding him gently to show the respect to Sharon that she had always given to him.

A little later Rusty excused himself to go the bathroom and Sharon laid a hand against Andy's face, turning it tenderly so she could kiss him.

"Thank you for handling Rusty earlier. Maybe I should have been worried about myself rather than him."

"Sweetheart, I don't think he meant to make you feel uncomfortable, he just went a little overboard. I actually prefer him to my teenage nieces who squeal at the mere idea of older people showing affection."

"Not a problem I ever had with my older two. There are some advantages to being a single parent," she trailed off, not wanting to remember the disadvantages and difficulties that came with single parenthood. Tonight was a night for celebration.

Rusty observed them as he made his way back to the table. They were so different from anything he had every experienced with his mum and her string of boyfriends. They genuinely liked each other and as much as he didn't want to think about it, but there seemed to be a lot of things they enjoyed doing together other than well…what his mum and her boyfriends had been doing. Sharon was doing her strange snorty laugh thing again and the lieutenant looked at her as if she was the only woman in this world.

/

Rusty bid them goodnight as soon as they were back at the apartment on accounts of this being a school night, but just before he closed his bedroom door, he stuck his head back out and winked at Sharon.

"Rusty!" she sighed in exasperation, but he had already closed the door again and while she was still deliberating her next step, she felt Andy's hand pulls hers. "Come on, Captain. I seem to recall a very specific order earlier on."

Fin.