DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

A/N: Here is the next story following "A Parent's Prerogative". Hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter 1

It was a Monday morning as Ricky D'Angelo sat in the courtroom, handcuffed, listening to the Assistant US Attorney speak about the charges against him. He glanced around the room. He looked at the jurors and then at the judge. The Federal courtroom that he was currently sitting in was huge. Marble and wood were everywhere in the courtroom. He was barely listening to the Assistant US Attorney when he turned around and made eye contact with another person in the open seats. He slightly nodded to them. He then turned around and continued to listen as his lawyer had tapped him on his shoulder. The Assistant US Attorney was then finished with his opening argument. The judge then moved forward to hear the opening argument from D'Angelo's lawyer.

Three blocks away from the Federal District Court, Sharon was sitting in her office enjoying a quiet moment alone. Things had been busy at their house over the weekend since Emily had flown in from New York with her ballet company. She had been over at the house Saturday all day and then finally Andy had driven her back to hotel Saturday night. Sharon had insisted on Emily staying with them while she was in town but Emily argued that the ballet company was paying for her hotel room so she might as well use it. Sharon and Andy had told their kids on Sunday that they were going to adopt Matthew. Everyone was happy for them and welcomed Matthew officially to their family. They went over to Nicole and Dean's house for dinner last night, and that's when they told them. After dinner, Andy was playing in the backyard with Matthew and his step-grandsons. They were playing whiffle ball and Andy was the designated pitcher. Sharon, Emily, and Nicole were sitting on the back deck enjoying their view. Dean started a fire in the fire pit and once it was fully lit, the women moved closer to keep warm. Sharon clapped her hands when Matthew hit the whiffle ball over Andy's head. He was running around the makeshift bases. Andy's step-grandsons decided that instead of chasing the ball, they would jump on top of Andy and bring him down to the ground. She laughed, remembering that as she sat in her office.

Andy and Provenza returned along with the rest of the team from a call out that they thought would be their case. Turned out that the homicide, as it was ruled, did not have any links to another case so they gladly had Robbery/Homicide take the case and headed back to the office. Andy knocked on Sharon's door. "Come in" she said and smiled as Andy entered her office. "Ah, Captain, the call out was a bust. Robbery/Homicide is going to take it as it doesn't seem connected to the other case" Andy explained to her as he sat down. He looked at her and she looked different. "What's got you so happy?" Andy asked her. "Hmm, nothing. Emily is in town performing, which we are going to see in a couple of days, we had a lovely evening last night at Nicole's, and we are adopting Matthew" Sharon said to Andy as she sighed and smiled. Andy shook his head as he got up from the chair and walked around her desk. He leaned his head down to her and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. "Love looks good on you" he whispered to her and then turned around and walked back to his desk.

The rest of the day went by slowly. There was no case and Sharon dismissed her team early in the afternoon. "Go home and enjoy this before another case gets thrown at us" she said to her team as she walked back in to her office. The team was happy that they didn't have to stay there any longer than usual and all left promptly. "Hey Flynn, Patrice is going out tonight with her friends, do you want to do something?" Provenza asked him. Andy looked at him and then back at Sharon who was sitting in her office. "Uh, sorry but we planned on taking Matthew out for dinner, you know, to kind of celebrate" Andy said to Provenza. "Oh, okay, no problem. See you tomorrow" Provenza said as he left. Sharon had called up St. Anne's to let them know that Matthew would be picked up on time and not attending the after school care program.

Sharon was ready twenty minutes later and they both walked out of the Murder Room. She had told Chief Howard that she was letting her team leave early and he had no problem with it. She had texted Emily earlier and knew that she had rehearsals until 5 but she asked her if she wanted to go out to dinner with them and Matthew. As they were leaving in the car and heading over to Matthew's school, Emily texted Sharon back. 'Sure. I'll be done at 5. Pick me up at hotel?' it said and Sharon replied to it. As Sharon and Andy pulled up to the school, the parking lot was packed with cars and buses. They got out of the car and joined all the other parents waiting outside to pick up their children once school let out at 3:30. The doors to the school opened and children started walking out to their parents. Sharon and Andy waited by the door until they saw Matthew walk out. "Hey Matthew!" Andy said as he came up to them. "What are you guys doing here?" Matthew asked them. "Oh, well we got out of work early and decided to come pick you up on time today" Sharon said to him as they walked back towards the car. "How was school?" Andy asked him as he got in to the car. "It was okay. We have a test tomorrow in science" Matthew said to him.

Andy and Sharon both turned around in their seats in the car to face Matthew. "We were wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight, Emily and Rusty are coming with and you can even pick the place" Sharon said to him. "Can we go out for pizza?!" Matthew asked them. "Sure, I know a great place we can go to" Andy said to them and then turned around in his seat. He then drove them over to pick Moxie up. He and Sharon figured that if they picked up Moxie, they would have enough time to go home and everyone could change before they left to pick Emily up for dinner. After picking up Moxie, they headed home. Sharon received a text from Rusty saying that he would meet them at the restaurant, just to let him know which one they were going to. Matthew and Moxie played in the backyard while Andy and Sharon watched them from the back porch. Sharon snuggled in to Andy's side as they sat there watching Matthew chase Moxie around and vice versa. Moxie tackled Matthew and jumped on top of him. Sharon got up when she saw that and wanted to rush over to him but Matthew was laughing as he sat up and petted Moxie. Moxie licked his face and then Matthew stood up. "Sharon, it's okay" Andy said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to him.

After they all changed their clothes and got themselves ready, they left to pick up Emily at her hotel room that she was staying at. The ballet company placed all of the dancers at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, just steps from where they were performing at the Dolby Theater. Traffic was typical heading down Hollywood Boulevard. Sharon had texted Emily that they were on their way over to her. She had texted back saying that she was ready and outside waiting for them. Andy pulled up to the hotel about twenty minutes later and Emily jumped in. "Hi everyone" Emily said to them as they pulled out and headed towards the restaurant. "Hello, dear" Sharon said to her as she got in the back seat. "How was rehearsal?" she added. "Oh, it was fine, Mom" Emily answered as she looked out the window. "I forgot how bad traffic is in LA!" Emily said as they crawled down the street. Traffic was barely moving but they made it to their destination, Miceli's Restaurant.

They entered the restaurant and got seated right away. The waitress came over to them and took their order. Andy had gotten up from the table, excusing himself saying he had to use the bathroom. He made his way towards the front of the restaurant and stopped to speak with their waitress. "Excuse me, my family and I are celebrating adopting the little boy who's with us and I was wondering if you could bring us some sort of dessert to share after we are done with our pizza. I want it to be a surprise" Andy explained to the waitress as he looked over at their table. "Sure, sir. We can do that" the waitress said to him and then Andy made his way back to the table. Sharon gave him a look as he sat down and grabbed his hand to hold it. Matthew was coloring the kids menu and Sharon was playing the dots game with him. Emily was explaining how the rehearsal was going. "Rusty, how was your day?" Sharon asked him. "Oh, well funny thing happened while I was in class. My professor in my communications class announced an internship opportunity and he stated that it would be perfect for me to apply for" Rusty started to say to everyone. "Oh, that's great. What kind of internship?" Sharon asked him. Rusty looked at her and Andy. "It's with the Deputy District Attorney's office in Downtown" Rusty said. Andy took a sip of water when Rusty was explaining this and nearly choked on it. "What?" Sharon said to Rusty as she looked at Andy. "Are you okay?" she whispered to Andy and he nodded. She turned her attention back to Rusty. "Yes, I'm going to be interning with DDA Hobbs" Rusty said to them. Sharon was shocked when Rusty said that because she had spoken to Andrea earlier in the day and she failed to mention any internship with Rusty. "That's great Rusty" Andy said to him and their food came to the table.

After everyone enjoyed the pizza, the waitress removed the pizza pan and a minute later, the staff of the restaurant came out singing in Italian, holding a big piece of chocolate cake, with a candle on top of it. Sharon looked over at Andy as they placed the dessert down in front of Matthew. Andy just shrugged his shoulders. Matthew's eyes went wide as he saw how big the piece of cake was. "Uh Matthew, we are sharing that piece with you" Sharon said to him as Matthew was smiling. Everyone had a piece of the chocolate cake and then Andy paid the bill. Emily protested and wanted to pay it. "It's our treat" Andy simply said as he handed his credit card over to their waitress. It was still early when they left the restaurant. "I can give Emily a ride back to her hotel. I know Matthew has a test tomorrow and you probably want him home as quick as possible to study" Rusty said to Sharon as Andy went to get the car. Sharon was standing there holding Matthew's hand as they waited. "Are you sure?" Sharon said. "Positive Mom" Rusty said and then gave Sharon a hug. "We'll talk later about your internship" Sharon said as she pulled away from the hug. Emily hugged her mom and the two of them left. Andy pulled up with the car and both Sharon and Matthew got in. "Where's the rest of them?" Andy asked. "Rusty is driving Emily back to the hotel" Sharon said. Andy then drove them home.

When they got back home, Matthew wanted to watch TV and made his way with Moxie to the family room. "Uh, no Matthew, you need to study for your science test!" Sharon called out to him. Matthew stopped half way and pouted. "Come on, come back in the kitchen and I'll help you" Sharon said to him as he slowly made his way back and had a seat at the kitchen table. Andy's phone rang. He looked at the caller id and saw it was Provenza and answered it. "Did we catch a case?" Andy asked him. "No, I'm bored here at home so I thought I would call you and see how dinner was" Provenza said to him as he was sitting in his recliner. "Oh, it was fine. We went to Miceli's for pizza. Hey did you know Rusty is going to be interning at DDA Hobbs's office?" Andy said to him. "What! Why on Earth would he want to do that?" Provenza said into the phone. Andy shrugged his shoulders, not that Provenza could see him. "I don't know, he dropped that on us at the restaurant tonight" Andy said as he made his way towards the den and sat down there.

Matthew got up from the table about one hour later after studying for the test. "Thank you for helping me" Matthew said to Sharon as he placed his books in his backpack. "Oh you're welcome, sweetie" Sharon said as she stood up. "Now it's time to get ready for bed" she added as she walked over to the sink to put their glasses away. "But, I wanted to watch TV" Matthew said to her. "It's bed time Matthew" Sharon said to him as she glanced at the clock as it was already 9:30. Matthew huffed as he walked past Moxie who was laying on his bed in the kitchen. He was stomping his way through the hallway and Andy heard him coming. As he past the den up, Andy stood up and went over to him. "Hey, what's all the stomping for?" Andy asked Matthew. Matthew turned around. "I really wanted to watch TV but Mom said that I have to get ready for bed now" Matthew said to Andy as he pouted. Andy glanced at his watch. "Sorry, buddy but it's time for bed" Andy said to Matthew and he didn't like that response. Matthew turned around and huffed as he was going up the stairs. Andy shook his head as he made his way towards the kitchen. "We have a not so happy camper on our hands" he said to Sharon as he came up to her and pulled her into his arms. He then started to play 'Unforgettable' on his phone and swayed with Sharon. "What are you doing?" she said laughing and smiling at him. "I miss dancing with you. We haven't danced to this song in a while, Sharon" he whispered in her ear as he pulled her closer to him. They danced around the kitchen for about five minutes, Sharon reveling in the feeling of Andy holding her. "I should go check on Matthew upstairs, make sure he is getting ready for bed" Sharon said and then pulled Andy in for a kiss. He reluctantly let her go and then he took Moxie outside.

Sharon went upstairs to check on Matthew and was surprised to see him all ready for bed. She tucked him in his bed. "Can you read me a story?" Matthew asked her. "Sure" Sharon said and then sat down on the edge of his bed and began to read him a story. Within five minutes of Sharon reading Matthew a story, Matthew was sleeping. Sharon slowly got up and kissed Matthew good night on his head and then left his room. Moxie came upstairs with Andy and after Moxie went in Matthew's room, Sharon closed the door. "He was out as soon as I started reading him a story" Sharon said to Andy as they made their way to their bedroom, closing the door behind them. Andy pulled Sharon in against his chest and started to kiss Sharon from her ear down to her collar bone. Sharon gently pulled his head back up to meet her eyes and leaned in to kiss him on his lips. She broke apart, needing to catch her breath. "Where did you really go at the restaurant when you got up to use the restroom?" Sharon asked as she walked away from Andy and headed in to their closet to change her clothes. "I went to speak with the waitress because I wanted the dessert to be a surprise" Andy said to her as he took off his watch and badge and laid them on the dresser. He then made his way to the closet as Sharon was done changing in to her nightgown. He placed his gun in the safe in the closet and changed his clothes as well. Once they were all set for the night, Andy maneuvered Sharon over to their bed as he kissed her and they fell on to it, kissing and never letting go of each other.

Meanwhile, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Ricky D'Angelo sat in his jail cell staring at the wall. He was in the cell by himself, in solitary confinement per the judge's orders. One of the guards walked by his cell and stopped. "Are you behaving yourself?" he said to D'Angelo. "Yes sir" D'Angelo answered and the guard kept walking. D'Angelo then laid back down on his cot and waited for morning to come.

TBC