Sharon shook her head in disgust. This was not going the way she had expected. A knock on the front door didn't help. Going to open it, she noticed Ricky had headed into the kitchen to get away from her. Rusty was already locked in his bedroom, music playing to drown out the conversation. A headache was forming behind her eyes that matched the one already formed behind her heart.

"Andy?" she said, opening the door further. She didn't expect to see him.

"Yeah..." he scratched behind his ear and looked down at the floor, sure signs that he was uncomfortable but going to do what he came to do anyway. "I saw some stuff today and I thought maybe it was your turn for a buffer." He shrugged the last bit and smiled that crooked grin of his.

Momentarily stunned, Sharon let go of the breath she didn't realize she was holding, and her shoulders deflated as she exhaled. "Am I the only one who didn't see this coming?" she asked quietly, as she ushered him into her condo.

"You want the truth or you want me to say something comforting?"

Sharon closed her eyes and sighed, "That obvious, was it?"

"Meh, I'm removed from it all. You're living the hope that your family will work. That's always been your thing."

"So it's just a fantasy that all three of them will at least get along for my sake?" She looked at him, feeling deflated.

"If you're going to talk about me, Mom, at least wait till I'm gone," Ricky burst around the corner with the all too familiar look of displeasure on his face.

Before Sharon had a chance to respond, Flynn intervened, "Hey! That's your mother. Show some respect!"

The air crackled. Sharon didn't think anyone aside from her own father had ever said those words to her children. Part of her wanted to pat Andy on the arm and tell him it was okay, but another part of her appreciated the support. It was unfamiliar but certainly not unwelcome.

Ricky didn't seem to know what to do either, so he stood there, almost frightened, looking from his mother to this stranger.

Andy didn't let the silence stop him. He pointed at Ricky then the couch, "You're an adult, act like it. You go sit on the couch and get yourself together." Then he looked at Sharon, "The Kid in his room?"

She nodded, turning to look at Andy. He was already heading down the hall.

Knocking loud enough to be heard over the music, Andy waited for the door to be answered. "Turn that down," he demanded, as he barged into the room and closed the door. Whatever he was saying to Rusty was lost to her, so Sharon turned back to Ricky and moved to sit in the chair across from him.

"Who is that guy?" Ricky asked as soon as she was seated.

"That's... his name is Andy Flynn and he works with me at Major Crimes. He's also become a very good friend."

"He seems to know his way around here pretty well." If Ricky was harbouring any attitude, it died as soon as he saw the pained look Sharon was giving him. "Sorry... he seems to really care about you, Mom."

"We care about each other. Our whole team does."

Ricky nodded his head, and looked down at his clasped hands. "I'm trying to understand this, Mom. I really am."

"I should have handled this better. I'm sorry, Ricky. I wasn't anticipating..." she stopped, taking a moment to choose her words carefully before continuing. "I didn't take your perspective into account. I was thinking of what was best for Rusty, but I didn't explain things to you."

"Why adoption, Mom? He's not a child anymore, and he's already got a mother."

Sharon struggled again to find the words to help Ricky understand, when the door down the hall opened again, and she turned to watch Rusty shuffle towards the living room with Andy right behind him, phone in his hand. "See you soon," was all he said before he hung up.

"You're leaving?" Sharon asked, surprised that he would go after such a short visit.

"Nope," he replied. He knew Sharon kept her delivery menus in the credenza in her dining room, so he opened the drawer, picked up all the flyers and brought them over to the coffee table. "Now, the first thing you two guys are going to do is agree on what's for dinner. Nothing like this can be settled on an empty stomach."

Rusty immediately leaned forward and started to pull some of his favourites out. Ricky looked from his mother to the Andy-guy, about to protest. The look Andy was giving him let him know that would not be in his best interests, so he leaned into the collection and started shuffling as well.

Sharon was amazed that Andy had set them to such a mediocre task, and they were obeying him. Rising from her chair, she looked at him and reached out her finger to point to the kitchen.

Nodding his understanding, Andy followed her, looking once over his shoulder to see that Ricky and Rusty were doing as they were instructed.

"Andy, I appreciate the support, I do, but I can handle this." She had crossed her arms, letting him know she meant business.

"Look Sharon, you are the world's best mom. Those boys know it and so do I. But sometimes a man has to be kicked in the ass by another man."

"I don't understand."

Andy smiled gently, "I think you do. Look... you've been a single parent all your life, right? Those kids in there love you and fear you, in a good way. But they also know what buttons to push."

She started to protest, but he shook his head and grabbed her upper arms in his hands to make sure he had her full attention. "We all need back-up, from time to time. And right now you need back-up. Like I told you before, you did that for me with Nicole. You've done it lots of time, actually. This is me returning the favour."

"I didn't handle this well," Sharon confessed shaking her head and closing her eyes.

"Maybe yes, maybe no, doesn't matter now. We're going to have a dinner that they both like, and we're going to spend some time hashing this out."

"Who was on the phone?"

"Nic. I invited Nicole to come over."

"Nicole? Why?"

"Because I got a hunch Ricky has been told some things that aren't on the up and up, and with Nicole here, it might help. She knows Rusty and she knows he's a good kid who was in a bad place. Another voice might help Ricky understand what's going on here."

"You think..."

"Come on, Sharon, I'm sure you've thought about it too. Jack is pretty pissed about the divorce and you adopting Rusty. You want to tell me he's above calling his own kid and giving him a version of Rusty that's not accurate? He's always known the way to you is through your kids."

"I had hoped Jack would be decent about it, but..." she sighed.

"Look," he squeezed her upper arms again before letting go, "we don't know nothin yet. Let's have dinner, let's talk it out, let's get Ricky's fears on the table and we'll go from there."

"What did you tell Rusty?"

Andy shrugged, which Sharon recognized instantly as his way of getting out of telling her the whole truth, "Eh, I just reminded him of a few things, like how Ricky has been protective of you his entire life and that's what's going on now. Come on..."

"No one has to protect me," Sharon protested quietly as she followed Andy out of the kitchen.