These characters are not my own. I'm just enjoying them right now. Okay, so this is a bit A/U in some areas. This story assumes that Sharon divorced Jack and adopted Rusty during Season 2 and not Season 3. Her divorce and adoption would have taken place almost a year earlier, just before the ballet-the first time around with the ballet. Many thanks to "justasofty" for the general idea to this story. I hope everyone enjoys it, and we'll see where it takes us!

"Andy, do you want to tell me what is really going on?" that question kept popping into her head as she sat at the ballet, trying to figure out what WAS going on. Why was she here? Did Andy really want her to meet Graham again? She'd met him at Nicole and Dean's wedding. He seemed like a nice enough guy; he was Dean's boss, well he had been until Nicole's new job took over that role. Now, he was the boss over both and a personal friend of theirs. Sharon and Andy had ended up at the table with Graham at the wedding, and while Andy had been busy with some pictures and such, she'd spoken to Graham for awhile. They'd gotten along, but at the time she wasn't divorced. Now, she was. Was that why Andy had invited her? Were they all trying to set her up with Graham now?

"Sharon, so you mentioned before you enjoy the ballet?" Graham commented pulling Sharon out of her thoughts. It was intermission, and Andy had gone in search of the restroom. Sharon had told him she would walk out with him, but he'd told her he was fine and to relax and not get stuck in the crowd. So, here she sat in the theater with Graham. Nicole and Dean had gone to check on the boys. Graham's granddaughter was also in the Nutcracker, which was why he was there, and his daughter had also gone to check on the granddaughter.

"I'm sorry," Sharon smiled, "yes, I love the ballet. My daughter is a professional dancer in New York. In fact, she's the Sugar Plum Fairy in this year's production," Sharon smiled brightly.

"Well, I don't know much about the ballet, but I know that's an amazing honor. Wow, New York. You must enjoy watching her," Graham smiled at Sharon.

Sharon nodded, "Yes, I do when I get the chance. Lately, these last few years, well, I haven't been able to go much. Work has been too busy. I'd love to see her soon. I wish I could go before she ends the Nutcracker for this year," Sharon shrugged.

Graham nodded, "My wife loved the ballet too. When she was still alive, we went each year. I still don't know anything, but I went," he smiled slightly. "That's why Sara enjoys the ballet so much. It reminds her of her mother."

Sharon gave him a sympathetic look, "I'm sure that's a fond memory."

Just then, they were interrupted with Andy's return. He sat back down, next to Sharon, "Well, no call out for work so far, so I'm considering this night a success," he smiled at Sharon.

Sharon nodded, "You know, you probably just jinxed the whole evening."

"Does work interrupt a lot of evenings?" Graham asked the two.

Both glanced at each other, smiling and nodded. There was something odd about the two; they could almost read each other's minds without speaking, yet Nicole had said Sharon was her dad's friend and boss.

"You could say that," Sharon chuckled.

"Anytime you have real plans, in our line of work, expect them to be ruined. That's partly why it's so hard to have any social life. Duty always calls," he chuckled.

"Well, we rarely have issues like that in accounting at work," he chuckled. "Tax season makes for some long evenings, but otherwise, it's a pretty standard 9-5 type job."

The lights dimmed, signaling the rest of the performance. Everyone returned to their seats. Nicole couldn't stop gushing about the boys. Apparently, they were so excited backstage, they were about to burst. They had done well in the first half of the ballet, and their small part in the second half was about to start.

Sharon spent the rest of the ballet unaware of the stage. She kept thinking back to Andy's weird behavior at work. He was fidgety, had been for the last couple of days. Then, when he'd asked her to the ballet, he'd tried to say it was due to her vast knowledge of dancing. Sharon knew Andy better than that; something was going on. She'd thoroughly enjoyed dinner with him, as she had on many occasions since Nicole's wedding. Truth be told, Sharon had thought maybe Andy liked her. She had thought that maybe he'd been a gentleman, waiting for her divorce to be final, but it appeared her radar was off. Andy was being a friend, a very good friend, which is what they had discussed. Sharon couldn't fault him for that, but still. Somehow, she'd misjudged all their outings, dinners, and such. Maybe all of this was to now set her up with Graham, a widowed friend of the family. Maybe it was to keep work professional. Yes, that must be it, Sharon thought to herself. Andy wanted to remain friends and nothing more due to working together. That made sense, but set her up with someone else? It was certainly a bit confusing, and Sharon didn't know what to expect.

Once the ballet ended, Andy told Sharon he'd go to the coat check to get their coats. Sharon nodded and turned to follow him, but Graham stopped her with another question.

"Sharon," he asked and she turned around, "I can't get you to your daughter's performance in New York, but could I interest you in seeing another ballet this Christmas season? If you are free any evening, I would love to take you to the ballet and dinner. My schedule is a lot more flexible than yours," he smiled.

Sharon caught herself; she was a little surprised by Graham's asking her out, but she had just spent the better part of two hours thinking things through, "Umm, well, yes, that would be lovely," she smiled. Graham seemed liked a decent man, and since he worked with Nicole and Dean, two people whom she trusted greatly, then well, she would go out with him. If that's what it seemed like Andy, Nicole, and Dean wanted, well, then she was open. Sharon wasn't exactly looking for a relationship, not at all, but she was lonely. She'd enjoyed Andy's company so much, more than she realized, and it had dawned on her not long ago, that maybe this is what a true relationship is supposed to be like: two people who respect each other and want to spend time together. Problem was that Sharon thought she had that with Andy, but apparently, he wanted to remain very good friends while allowing her the room to find a special someone.

"Listen, I don't want to make this awkward, so here's my card," Graham handed her his business card. "Feel free to call me, or as the younger generation is doing so much, even text me. If you want to text me with your number, I'll be happy to call you to make this a little more old school," he chuckled.

Sharon smiled brightly at him, "Thank you. I will," she nodded, and as she saw Andy returning with their coats, she added, "I'm going to get going. Andy's coming this way with our things, but I will talk to you soon."

Graham nodded and patted her hand, "Take care, Sharon."

"Sorry, there was quite a line at the coat check," Andy grinned to Sharon, returning with their things, "I'm glad you didn't have to wait out there. Ready to go?" he asked as he helped her slip on her coat.

Sharon smiled at Andy and nodded, "Yes, and again, Graham, it was nice to see you again," Sharon smiled as Andy placed his hand on her back and escorted her out of the theater.

As the two rode home, Andy broke the silence, "So, did you enjoy it?"

Sharon leaned her head back and closed her eyes, "I did. I always enjoy the Nutcracker. Thank you for taking me. The boys did such a great job."

Andy nodded, "They did. I'm glad we could talk to them briefly after their performance. I'm not sure they will get any sleep tonight, though," he chuckled, "they were bouncing off the walls."

Sharon laughed as she covered her mouth, "I know. I remember that excitement. Emily used to get like that too. While I loved watching her, I always dreaded the crash after her performance. It's like a sugar high on Halloween."

Andy chuckled, "Does she still get like that? I'm sure it's different now that she's an adult, but is she still that excited?"

Sharon shook her head, "No, thankfully, she's learned to control her emotions. Now, with it being her job, she's really just exhausted at the end of each night. Still, on opening nights, I usually get a phone call with her gushing about everything. I need to fly back to New York sometime to see her. I miss seeing her perform."

The two continued to talk as Andy drove her home. Andy had a fantastic evening with Sharon and was glad things had gone so well with his family. Ever since Nicole's wedding, he had been enjoying her company more and more. The ballet was just one reason to take her out for a lovely evening. He could tell she'd enjoyed it quite a bit, and while he wasn't a fan of the ballet, he had too.

"Andy, would you like to come up for a cup of coffee?" Sharon asked, as they arrived at her condo.

Andy raised his eyebrows, "Are you sure, Sharon? It isn't too late?"

Sharon shook her head, "No, it's fine. I have tea too, the one kind of mine that you do like, if you would prefer that, but you're welcome to come up. I probably won't be able to sleep for awhile."

Andy grinned, "Well, then I will. Thank you."

The two arrived to the condo, still laughing about one of the many topics they had discussed for the evening. Andy was glad Sharon was having a good time with him; she seemed much more relaxed since her divorce had finally gone through.

The wheels in Sharon's head were still turning, trying to figure out what was going on with Graham and this obvious ploy to set her up with him. She didn't want to outright ask Andy; that seemed weird-asking your very good guy friend about the guy he's trying to set you up with right now? No, she couldn't do that; she shook her head. She'd have to figure out another way to discuss Graham. When the two entered the condo, they found Rusty engrossed in work on his computer.

"Rusty, you're still up?" Sharon asked, very much surprised, as she and Andy entered.

Rusty turned around from his position on the couch, "Oh, hey, yeah, I'm working on math," he grumbled.

Andy chuckled as the two hung up their coats and moved into the condo further, "Want any help? I'm pretty good at math. Better than your mom," he whispered.

Sharon lightly smacked at him, "Oh hush. Who would have thought my giving you the financials on every case would turn you into such a math whiz?"

Andy shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, I just do what the boss tells me to do. I can't help it if I'm gifted in math," he winked toward Rusty, "So, need some help?"

Rusty looked up, completely overwhelmed, "Are you sure? I could really use the help, but I don't want to interrupt your evening."

Sharon smiled and turned toward the kitchen, "Rusty, it's fine. I'm going to make us some tea after the Nutcracker. Andy can help you."

"Of course, I can," Andy said as he sat down on the couch next to Rusty, "What are friends for, right?"

Sharon heard that comment, and she had to admit it stung. Of course, she was friends with Andy, but it was becoming more and more apparent that was all he saw them as-friends. Sharon continued working around in the kitchen, getting their drinks ready, and once done, she took Andy his tea, where he was helping Rusty on the couch. That sight-the sight of Andy helping Rusty, well, it tore through her heart. That man, he was a good one, and the more she thought about it, she reminded herself she needed to be grateful he was in her life at all.

The three of them spent the next hour working through Rusty's math, and by the time he finished, Rusty looked like he was going to fall asleep even walking back to his room. It was well after midnight, a late night for all of them.

"Thank you for helping Rusty so much," Sharon smiled. "While I won't admit it in public, you are better at math than I am."

Andy grinned as he stood, "Can I record that? Sharon Raydor admitting to not being the best at everything," he winked.

Sharon chuckled as she stood and collected their mugs, "Thank you again for tonight," Andy. Sharon wanted to ask about the whole Graham setup, but now didn't seem to be the time. Andy was walking toward the door, ready to head home after a long day.

"Thank you for going with me, Sharon," Andy smiled, "I'm very glad you could go. It meant a lot."

Sharon joined him at the door, "Well, be safe going home. Will you text me or call me when you get there? I know it's late to be out driving."

Andy turned and smiled sweetly at her, "Of course I will. Now, get some rest yourself. We tempted fate one time with no murders during our evening out. I'm sure we'll pay for it some other time this week."

Sharon chuckled, "I will," as she looked up at him. Andy leaned over and hugged Sharon, pecking her on the cheek, something they'd done in greeting and good-bye for quite awhile.

"Night, Sharon. Thanks again for a wonderful night. You're a great friend," Andy winked at her as he turned to leave.

Sharon closed the door and sighed. It had been a lovely evening, but it hadn't gone at all like she's expected. Sharon collected her purse and phone, taking both into her bedroom. The tossed them on the bed and got ready for bed. Once she was ready, she went to climb into bed and noticed Graham's card had fallen out of her purse. She picked it up, studied it, and thought. She nodded to herself and placed it by her phone. Tomorrow she would text Graham about going out. If Andy, Nicole, and Dean wanted her to go out with him, she'd at least give it a try.