Andy found his place beside her.

After he closed the door she had made her way to the front of her desk, moving the chairs aside she perched herself there. Her posture was casual, her silence was anything but. She gestured to the place beside her she had made clear was for him, and with a slight nod of acknowledgement, he made his way to her side.

They had been this close before, and maybe this exposed before, but they had never invited it so knowingly. He knew her eyes were on him, they hadn't left him since he had walked to stand beside her. He felt like he was being assessed even though it was him that had posed the question.

"What do you need me for?"

He looked at her from the corner of his eye and noticed as he did that she moved her gaze downwards. He was just about to break the ice, but she took the initiative.

"I was thinking of buying a power tool."

"What?" Andy asked.

Sharon looked over at Andy. He was confused in a way that amused her, but at least she knew she had his attention.

"Do you ever watch late night television? There's a tool I keep seeing in the infomercials. It has all these different attachments, so you can actually build almost anything with just one tool. I didn't buy it, at least not yet. Though one restless night I came very close to buying a 5-in-1 steam mop. After that I decided to keep my purse well out of reach of the television."

"Wow, I mean I knew you weren't sleeping…"

She looked at him with her eyebrows furrowed.

"…Your coffee order had dramatically increased in the last few months, and I think I actually saw you drink a Red Bull the other day." He elaborated.

"Mmm, that was Rusty's. I was just having a sip - it tasted like syrup-flavoured petroleum."

Andy struggled his shoulders, and looked back at Sharon who was leaning her neck to one side and back again.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about this… situation for a while, but every time I've wanted to, I've had a different thing to say. So I'm not really sure if I can answer your question." Sharon said straightening her back, and looking over at Andy.

He nodded slowly, trying to take in her words, and wondering about all the different responses she never shared. His wondering didn't go unnoticed, and Sharon leaned her head forward and touched his hand.

"I guess it's hard to say what you need, when you don't really know what you're missing." She responded.

"And you aren't missing a lot." He added.

Sharon pursed her lips and tilted her head, not sure whether she wanted to agree with his statement or not.

"I know I'm tired, and I hope putting away that file tonight…" she said as she turned her head towards the credenza. "…I hope it will mean I can close one door for a while, and perhaps open another."

Andy followed her line of sight and back to her desk which seemed to be missing a particular manilla file that had been a constant in the last few months.

"Stroh?" He asked.

She nodded in his direction and let out a sigh she had been holding back.

"I've been having Rusty watched for months. The other day he came to me with a problem he didn't want me freaking out about. He told me he thought he had a stalker."

"Wait? Really?" Andy leant forward.

"He took a selfie to get the person in shot, and when he showed it to me I recognised the face immediately as one of the SOB team I had arranged to follow him."

"Oh," Andy leant back, relieved.

"Between Rusty's now high tuned awareness, along with this recent case, I came to the conclusion maybe I need to back off a bit and stop trying to control everything."

Andy leant his head in her direction, wondering about all the measures she had put in place to keep an eye on Rusty - all the extra work, and the worry it would have caused. It was no wonder some days she had been distant.

"I don't know what you need…" he began. She looked up at him and started to feel every under slept night all over again. "…But I can offer you my time. I care about you, and I want to keep caring about you. I can make dinner, I can take you to that theatre you like. I'm even pretty good with household stuff. You know fixing things, cleaning, interior design…"

"Interior design?" Sharon tried to think of all the times she had visited Andy's house, and suddenly remembered how well all his furniture matched, how well everything complemented the layout of the rooms.

"Yeah, you know if you ever got into renovating, or we could just go to the movies. I'm good with providing distractions." Andy replied gently bumping her shoulder with his own.

She dropped her head, shaking it and smiling to herself.

"Of that I have no doubt," she replied.

They were inches apart. His expression was soft, and she felt a warmth in her chest that was becoming all too familiar with their encounters. He lifted his hand to her face and while he caressed her cheek he gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He wasn't ready to move his hand away so it just sat resting gently against the curve of her ear. She smiled under his touch and he let his thumb make circles on her skin. She went to close her eyes, feeling for the first time in months that she could actually sleep.

"Oh really Oderno," Provenza exclaimed from the other room, followed by three sets of exasperated footsteps behind him.

Sharon's eyes went to full alert and Andy moved his hand away just as quickly.

"Well no one ever said this wouldn't come without complications." Andy said as he scratched his head.

"Hmm," she replied as she took a deep breath.

"Maybe I should have got you to close the blinds as well."

"Next time perhaps," Andy replied, trying very hard not to wink at her.

She wouldn't admit it, and he wouldn't point it out, but Sharon was beginning to blush. She tried to lean a little straighter against the desk and keep her eyes focused on the murder room. She was watching the back and forth between Provenza and Oderno, but despite herself her cheeks became a little rosier than usual.

He liked his place beside her. He couldn't imagine anyone else in her place, and he tried not think about anyone else in his. He needed this. He needed her presence in his life. He needed someone who understood why their work was so important, someone who he could commiserate with, and find joy with amongst all the darkness. But more importantly, he just needed her.

Sharon was looking somewhere beyond the blinds that lined the window to her office. Provenza and Oderno had moved on to the break room, and the others were busy at their desks. She smiled at something he couldn't see, and her hand now leaning on the desk stammered its way towards his. One finger at a time climbed on top of his, till she could feel his hand pull away from the desk and gently squeeze hers.

"Andy, I may be tired, and I may not have a clear answer to your question, but I have a sense of one."

"Oh?" He asked.

He felt his heartbeat a little faster and hoped her grip on his hand didn't give it away. But sensing his concern she squeezed his hand.

"I want to build something...with you."

.

A/N: It's nice to have my occasional experience with insomnia come in handy for something. Thankfully I also had the good sense not to buy anything from late night infomercials ;)