A/N: This is an episode tag to 3.19 "Special Master" trying to give my interpretation of the Shandy moment at the end. Hope it succeeds in doing that.

As usual, I'd love it if you let me know what you thought of this fic in either reviews or PM.

His hand on her shoulder anchored her to the ground. She didn't even realize how much she needed it until that moment.

"Hang in there, okay?" his voice brought her some peace, although at a moment like this, with a psychopath escaped from police custody and a severely beaten suspect, an issue that was going to get Julio in trouble again, the effect of his voice was short-lived. But it felt good. It felt good that he tried to comfort her; that he cared for her.

For the first time since the dinner with Nicole before The Nutcracker, she didn't feel the need to flee when he touched her.

Truth be told, she didn't need Nicole or Rusty's help in order to know that she liked Andy on a more intimate level than just friends and colleagues but it was something that she needed to process and think over; she needed to accept that they were no longer 'just friends', but something more. At this stage, she could admit to herself that they crossed the line that separated friendship from a romantic relationship, but they weren't quite there yet. It was a gray area in between, an unfamiliar territory that none of them dared to explore together before. It was going to take getting used to.

Andy had given her the required time and Sharon was grateful that he understood what she needed without her having to ask. What she knew he needed right now was acknowledgement; acknowledgement that she finally accepted it and made up her mind, that she was done with the thinking and ready to move into action.

Her hand moved upwards to touch his. Her lips curved up in a mischievous smile that expressed so many conflicting emotions at once. She caressed the back of his hand with the tips of her fingers, in a motion that represented her feelings towards him in the best way possible: wanting to feel his presence in her life but too scared to go the whole way and create full contact.

He smiled back at her and she removed her hand. Andy's hand left her shoulder as well and he walked away from her, into the interview room.

She knew that at the moment, this was all they could do but the most important thing was that now Andy knew: she was not running away from her feelings. Not this time.

THE END