A/N: I have mentioned on my Tumblr blog that I believe there was a missing moment/a small exchange that was edited out where Andy gave Sharon a small gift when he walked over to her. This is a oneshot describing that missing moment. As always, please let me know what you think of this. Happy holidays!
Sharon was quite unsure how she managed to forget taking the miniature Christmas village out of storage, but she was glad that Ricky managed to retrieve it from her storage locker and build it in the middle of the Major Crimes break room. Bending down, she inspected the details.
Truth be told, she could understand Ricky's fascination with the festive diorama. It was so beautiful and Christmassy. She could still remember how Ricky and Emily used to gather around the scenic winterland display and make up stories about how Santa and the Elves would visit Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, Little Dorrit and other Dickens Characters whose houses were in the miniature village. She remembered how she used to make hot chocolate with whipped cream for the three of them and they would sit on the big old couch in their living room, dressed in their Christmas pajamas, with only the colorful Christmas bulbs lighting their surroundings; she would read them one of their many holiday themed books (The Night Before Christmas, A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker and The Polar Express were all among Emily and Ricky's favorites). They would sing carols together and eat gingerbread cookies; Sharon would indulge in some homemade eggnog. When the three of them started becoming sleepy, they'd go to Sharon's king size bed and sleep there together.
"Merry Christmas," Andy's soft voice came from her right and drew Sharon out of her reminiscence. She turned to look at him. His face was lit up, a serene expression on his face. "I got you something," he said and handed her a small box. Sharon felt his fingers brushing against her own as he placed it in her palm. She looked at him for a moment, her jaw dropping open, and then at the box. It was a forest green box, decorated with golden and red mistletoes and had a sparkly green ribbon on the top. Sharon felt the blood rushing to her face; her cheeks must have turned a deep shade of red to match Buzz's green Dye Pack face. They could probably make a great holiday live mannequins, she thought. "Open it," Andy said, his voice warm. Sharon gave him a little nod and removed the lid from the box, placing it under it. Looking inside, she saw a silver-colored angel on a link chain. She picked it up and inspected it for a moment. It was a beautiful angel shaped stainless steel tea infuser. The chain had a couple of round purple gems and small chiseled silver beads at the end.
"Thank you again," she managed to utter. "For this, and for bringing Christmas to the station."
"It was my pleasure, Sharon, after all you've done for me; you deserve to be happy," Andy said. Sharon placed the tea infuser back in the box and looked back at Andy. As soon as their gazes locked, she could feel her insides melting, her chest filling with a fuzzy feeling and her brain turning to mush inside her skull. Her gaze descended to his lips and she felt her own lips tingling with need and her mouth watering with the craziest desire to draw him to her and kiss him senseless. Her hand moved to his chest on its own accord, and as soon as she caught herself in the action, she lifted it, which resulted in an awkward yet adorable affectionate pat.
"I'm…" she mumbled, feeling her knees going weak. Shaking her head to express her gratitude and stupor at the unexpected gift (and if she was honest with herself, unexpected feelings too), she caught the sight of Rusty and Emily talking outside the break room. "Excuse me," her voice shook as she spoke and her body already turned away from him as he shrugged a confident and all-too adorable 'sure'. "Thanks," she said and left the room before she would do something stupid in front of everyone, the green box still open in her hand, comforting and scorching the skin of her palm at the same time.
She'll need to address this thing between them, she knew, but not now, not today, not until she was ready. The only thing she was ready to acknowledge at the moment was that she had a lot of angels in her life and one could never have too many angels.
THE END