My muse decided I needed to write a short, fluffy add-on to last weeks episode (5x14) xD

And here it is! :D

He could hear her brushing her teeth in the bathroom. It was one of the many things she did in a very particular way. She always started with her left bottom teeth, then, after about 30 seconds, she moved on the to right side, before doing the exact same thing to her upper teeth. Usually he could even tell from the sound which teeth she was currently brushing, upper or bottom. Tonight, however, it was different. The sound was different. The duration of it was much shorter too.

"You ok?" He asked for about the umpteenth time today.

She didn't answer immediately. He could hear some ruffling before the door opened and she stepped out of the bathroom. "I am." She sat down next to him on the bed. "Brushing my teeth just turned out to be more painful than expected."

"Want me to get you another advil?"

"No. It's not that bad. Really." She slipped under the covers and leaned against the backrest. "My head is spinning but sleep will help with that."

"We should have let a doctor look at you."

"I'm ok. Mike looked at it."

"Tao isn't a doctor."

"Andy." She said, taking his hand and entwined their fingers. "I'm fine." Her voice firm but soft. "In pain, yes... but I've had worse."

"I was ready to strangle that guy." He admitted. Anger was building up within him whenever he thought about that sorry excuse of a human being who had dared to hit her.

"I know." There was no trace of reproach or disappointment in her voice. "I'm very proud that you didn't."

"I almost did though. If you hadn't stopped me..."

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you didn't. You did not let that person drag you down to his level. You changed Andy. You don't let anger have as much control over you anymore. And if I hadn't been there to remind you of that Provenza would have."

He smiled at her as he squeezed her hand. She had so much faith in him, much more than he deserved and definitely much more than he had in himself.

"Me being investigated by FID would have been the last thing we need. Especially now that we have Davis on our ass."

Sharon groaned. "God don't remind me of her. She is watching us like a hawk, waiting for one of us to misbehave so she can claim I tolerate misconduct in my division."

"She'd especially love it when your boyfriend were the one making the misstep." He emphasized the word boyfriend, referring to Davis' comment earlier today when she was being an unprofessional, condescending bitch, and indirectly criticized Sharon's relationship with him.

"Our relationship is disclosed to our immediate supervisors. We have never let it interfere with our work and we are both trying very hard to continue to prevent that. We have done everything by the book. She better look for another way to question my authority!"

"You know we all have your back, right? Even the old grumpy guy."

A smile crept to her lips as she nodded. "I know." She assured. "But it's nice to be reminded."

Andy returned the smile and let go of her hand. He faced her and carefully cupped her chin. He turned her head a little to have a better look at the angry bruise on her cheek. His finger softly traced the upset skin. "Are you sure you don't need any more ice?"

"I am."

"Ok." He pecked her on the lips, lay down on his back and stretched out his arm, prompting her to lie down with him.

Sharon switched off the light on her bedside table before snuggling up to him. She rested her good cheek on his shoulder, her hand on his chest.

They were quiet for a few moments. Andy's arm was around her, his fingers drawing lazy circles on her back while hers were playing with the top button of his pajamas. She did that a lot. Playing with his buttons and fiddling with his ties and suspenders. It comforted her, calmed her down. He liked it. A lot.

"Try to get some sleep." He said in a whisper. "And wake me up when you need anything."

"I will." She probably wont and he knew it. She was fine, more or less. If she needed something she'd get it herself and let him sleep. His doctor had told him that he needed to make sure to get enough rest and Sharon took his instructions very seriously. She would not wake him to get her an advil or a glass of water. Her legs were okay and so were her hands. She'd manage.

He pressed a kiss into her hair. "Good night."

Sharon hummed a "night" back and let out a long, deep sigh, letting go of the stressful day. She was glad to be home, glad to have him with her. A few months ago she hadn't been sure whether he'd ever come back to the condo, back to her bed, back to her. He had laid in the ICU, motionless, connected to several machines that kept him alive. She stayed with him the entire time, until he woke up and forced her to go home and get some proper sleep in her own bed. She was reluctant to leave but Nicole promised her that she wouldn't let Andy out of her sight and update her the moment his condition got worse again. Thankfully that didn't happen and he recovered fairly quickly. He really was - as Provenza had put it- a damn lucky bastard. Weathering one health crisis after another, always getting away with just a black eye. Sure he had to stick to a healthy diet, reduce stress and avoid field work but everything else was just the same. She was in church more than once to thank the power above for that.

Looking back she really had not expected it. She had not looked for it but she had found love again. Though she didn't really like putting it that way. It made the way she felt about Andy sound equal to the feelings she used to have for Jack, when in fact they couldn't be more different. She was never friends with Jack. They met, he was charming, they fell in love without really knowing each other. She fell for the man he had told her he aspired to be. He never managed to become that person. Admittedly he had tried. But he had given up as soon as he encountered the first bump in the road.

With Andy it was entirely different. They slowly had got to know each other. First as colleagues, then as friends. They grew closer every day. With every conversation, every dinner, every outing. They became an integral part of each others life and not spending time together on a regular basis simply became unthinkable. It hadn't really dawned on her that they were dating until Rusty had pointed it out. Being with Andy felt so natural, so organic she hadn't even realized that they had long crossed the bridge from friends to something more.

Once they got together they knew each other really well, they knew exactly what they were getting, they knew what kind of people they were and they also knew that it wasn't just attraction they felt for each other. It was a lot more. And even though they didn't say it out loud for the first few months of their relationship, they both were aware from the very beginning on that they loved the other. Sincerely. They had found a home in each other, a home a building never could provide.

They had talked about their relationship several times and had promised that there wouldn't be any secrets, no lies, just the truth. So Sharon had wanted to tell Andy about Stroh's possible return to the States the moment Chief Howard had told her. However, then she had realized that there really was no reason to drop that bombshell on him tonight. He already had to deal with her getting sucker punched today, this had put enough strain on his heart. She'll give him one more night to rest and recover from today's events before she'd tell him. She'd also tell Rusty tomorrow. He needed to know. Tonight, however, she'll grant them all some peace. She'll try blocking it out herself. She'd enjoy falling asleep to Andy caressing her back and pretend like there was nothing to worry about.

"Love you" He murmured against her forehead, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"I love you too." She replied as she softly squeezed his arm.

Andy closed his eyes, pulling her a little closer. Not that it really changed anything, she was already as close as she could get.

Her hair tickled his cheek, her unique scent slowly lulling him into a comfortable state between consciousness and sleep. He knew that there was something on her mind, something that had nothing to do with today's incident. He had thought about asking her about it but he really didn't wanna push her, he trusted her. She'll tell him when she was ready, he was sure of that.

The end

Thank you for reading :D Have a fab week you all :D