Author's note: Like so many, I was devastated by the loss of this fictional character. While Sharon Raydor wasn't real, she represented so much of what was right about strong women on TV. This is my way of dealing with the loss of such a great character and show.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, and I get nothing but satisfaction from these musings. These are my imaginings of what happened between what we saw on TV.

First Night

When Andy first asked Sharon out and she said yes, he was as surprised as she was. He had hoped she'd say yes, but part of him expected her to kindly decline, saying it wasn't a good idea. However, that didn't happen. Instead they went on their first date, then their second date, and now they were officially a couple. They hadn't "come out", so to speak, to the team, but that was because Sharon wanted to first disclose their relationship to Chief Taylor, and he was out of town.

However, when Chief Taylor came back, they hadn't gotten a chance to tell him because they were asked by the FBI to reopen an old kidnapping case. Some new information about the victim, Kevin Clark had surfaced, and Major Crimes was tasked with following up on the new lead. As it turned out, Special Agent Jerry Shea's suspicion of Kevin's parents was completely misplaced, and it was Kevin's best friends that were responsible for the murder. Special Agent Jerry Shea was an idiot, to say the least, and it gave him and Sharon one hell of a laugh to see Shea make an ass of himself at the press conference.

When he and Sharon told Chief Taylor, he was supportive of their starting a relationship, but Andy could tell that his old Captain was enjoying Andy's obvious discomfort in having to disclose this information. To add insult to injury, Sharon told Taylor they were dating in the "old fashioned" sense of the term and it seemed Taylor found amusement in the conflicting personas of this Andy Flynn with the one Taylor knew from years ago.

Nonetheless, disclosures were made, and now he and Sharon were free to engage in any type of relationship they chose. As much as he wanted to be with Sharon, he knew they weren't quite ready to change the nature of their relationship just yet.

Sharon sat at her desk wrapping up the last of the paperwork to close the John Price case. It had been two weeks since she and Andy spoke with Assistant Chief Taylor. Their meeting with him had been successful, but she was a little irritated that Taylor would insinuate that she would act less than professional in this situation. Her reputation for following the rules was notorious, but she prided herself in her adherence to the rules and laws that governed them all. She would not waver now under any circumstances, even romance.

Sharon smiled to herself remembering the conversation she had had with Rusty a few weeks ago. She wanted to tastefully bring up the subject of Andy with Rusty, but it had gone all wrong. First, when she mentioned overnight guests, Rusty immediately assumed she was talking about him and TJ. The whole conversation was painfully awkward, but she knew Rusty wasn't exactly sold on the idea of her and Andy dating, even though he was the one that originally brought it to their attention. When he did realize what she was talking about, or rather whom she was talking about, his genuine revulsion bruised her ego a bit. Well, she conceded, he was still nineteen and she was his mother after all.

Now that the conversations with Rusty and Chief Taylor were behind them, there seemed to be nothing really holding them back from taking their relationship to the next level. Sharon had told Andy she wanted to take things slow and he took that information in stride. He was extremely patient with her. It wasn't as if she didn't want to... move their relationship forward, but there were certain things to be considered. Oh damn, she thought to herself, who was she trying to fool. She was scared, simple as that. She wanted Andy more than she thought possible, but the truth of the matter was she was terribly self conscious. Not only had it been years, at least a decade if she was honest, since she was last intimate with a man, that man had been her husband. To compound that, she longer sported the trim and tight body of her youth. She maintained a slim figure, of course, but time and gravity were forces that she had no power against. Sharon knew that if there were any moves to be made they had to come from her.

Andy was sitting at his desk working on a few leads for Gus Wallace. The young man that Rusty found while searching for Alice Herrera's real identity had emailed him, again, to ask if he found out any new information. Mariana Wallace, Alice's real name, was Gus's sister, and Andy had promised Gus that he would look for his other sister Paloma, who was missing. Andy told Gus that he may not like what he found, but he made a promise, and he never renege on a promise.

The murder room lights dimmed all of a sudden, and when he looked up, he realized he was alone. Still able to see, he bent back toward his computer to finish the last report. He hadn't found Paloma yet, but he was close.

A small, warm, delicate hand moved along his back and settled on his right shoulder. Andy could feel Sharon's warmth against his left arm and when she turned and perched herself on his desk it took all his self control not to reach out and caress the bare leg only inches from his hand.

"What do you say we grab something and take it back to my place? Since it's a bit late, I was thinking a salad, but if you have any other ideas, I'm all ears."

Sharon seemed a little flirtier than usual. As much as he would love to spend the time with her, it was late, and he had to admit; he was tired. He still had about an hour ride home.

"Sharon, you know I would love to, but it's a little late for me tonight. Rain check?" The look on Sharon's face told him he better think of something quick. "How about this, I'll make you a deal. Since tomorrow is Saturday and we haven't caught a case, why don't I drive over in the morning and take you to breakfast." Reasonable enough, he thought.

Sharon sat quietly, contemplating the offer. Her face was unreadable, though the more Andy got to know her the more he was able to understand the small gestures and their meanings. This time, however, he had no clue what she was thinking.

"How about this," she began. "You drive to my house and I will make you breakfast."

"Well sure, whatever you like. I take you out or you make it. Either way, of course I'll be driving to your house to get you."

Sharon took a deep breath. Men could be so dense at times. "No, Andy. I want you to stay the night." Sharon uncrossed and crossed her legs for good measure.

Andy's eyes grew wider at her suggestion. "Sharon, are you sure? I... don't mind waiting..."

"Andy, I think you know me well enough to realize once I've made my mind up about something, there's very little that can change it."

He did know that. "What about Rusty?"

"I've already taken care of that. I'm going to get my bag. I'm going to head out now. Can you grab something for us on your way over? I'm sure we can find a movie or even a game to watch on TV." Since they were alone she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "See you in a bit." She went back to her office to grab her belongings to head out.

Andy's head was spinning. Of all the things Sharon could have just said to him, this was not what he expected.

Sharon shut the front door and dropped her keys in the glass bowl under the mirror. She kicked her heels off and walked down the hall towards Rusty's bedroom. He must have gotten her text earlier because his door, which was usually closed, was open and the lights were off. She knew he would head over to Lt. Provenza's house for the evening after he got finished at the UCLA library where he usually studied. When they had their talk, this was the plan they came up with until Rusty was comfortable enough to stay. He would be back in the morning.

Sharon ran to her room and quickly turned on the shower. She undressed, put her hair in a quick bun, and jumped in to wash the long day off her. While she was still apprehensive about the evening, it was more because she wanted it to go well. She had moved past her initial fears and simply wanted to be with Andy in every way possible.

She was just slipping a tank top over her head when she heard Andy knocking at the door. She grabbed her beige cardigan off her chair and threw that on as she walked barefoot down the hall to the door.

Andy had a bag in each hand as he walked in, and he quickly handed the familiar brown paper bag with the large pepper on it to Sharon which contained their dinner. In the other he had his gym bag that he brought in from his car. Thankfully, he had it even though he hadn't been to the gym in sometime. He always kept a change of clothes in the bag and a toiletry bag with deodorant, razor, and other similar items.

"Uh, Sharon, do you mind if I use the bathroom? I'd like to get out of this suit."

"Not at all. If you need, there are towels in the linen closet next to the bathroom. I'll be out here looking for a game or a movie."

Sharon busied herself by getting dinner out of the takeout bag. She set the dining room table and got some iced tea for Andy and her. She turned on the TV and looked for something to watch. She doubted either of them would be actually watching. Instead, she turned on the radio finding a jazz station that played old classics and new artist. Some background music might help ease some tension.

Andy came out of the bathroom in gym shorts and a T-shirt. His hair was damp and spiked in all directions, yet Sharon hadn't seen anything more endearing. They sat down at the table and consumed their meal in silence, content to simply enjoy each other's company. Occasionally, Andy would reach out and caress Sharon's hand, and the familiar flutters almost took her breath away every time he did.

They finished their dinner in silence, cleaned up, and retired to the couch in the living room. They snuggled close to each other on one end of the sofa, with Andy wrapping his arm around Sharon's shoulders. He could tell she was somewhat contemplative this evening, and he hoped she wasn't regretting initiating tonight's events.

"Where is Rusty anyway?" Andy enjoyed the feel of Sharon next to him.

"He's staying at friend's house tonight." Sharon wouldn't elaborate and Andy didn't probe further. Wherever Rusty was, he must be safe, otherwise Sharon wouldn't have let him out of her sight.

"So…do you want to watch TV…?" Andy knew what he wanted to do, but he didn't want to just jump into bed.

"Hmmm….no, not really." Sharon ran her hands through Andy's spiky silver hair. She watched as he closed his eyes and took that opportunity to initiate a deep kiss. Lost in each other, they only separated because they needed to take a breath. "Perhaps we should take this to the bedroom," Sharon suggested breathlessly.

Andy let Sharon lead him to her bedroom. He had never been in it before now and took a moment to take in everything around him. He was somewhat surprised to see it colored a soft pink with a deep crimson bedspread on her queen-sized bed. Sharon took off her cardigan and began to lift her tank top. However, before she did, she went to turn off the bedroom light. Despite her desire, she still felt self-conscious. Andy however, stopped her before she could reach the switch.

"No, Sharon. I've waited so long for this moment. I want you, and I want to see all of you. Please know, you are perfect to me."

Sharon half laughed and half sobbed. Her resolve crumbled in the face of such sincere affection for her old and wrinkled body. She let Andy remove her tank top over her head while she removed her leggings and helped Andy with his t-shirt. They moved over to the bed, turned off the bedroom light, and crawled onto the bed. They removed the remaining obstacles and took the opportunity to explore each other thoroughly. Although initially worried about her age and lack of practice, she was actually relieved they didn't have to awkwardly stop to take care of certain business.

Andy was a patient and gentle lover, taking his time and making sure she wasn't uncomfortable at any time. She was reassured when her body remembered what to do even when she was worried she wouldn't. She had hoped she and Andy were compatible and that this new level of intimacy wouldn't be awkward. However, what she discovered, laying in Andy's arms basking in the after glow of their love making, was that she felt more comfortable with Andy than she ever felt with Jack. It was a startling discovery, to say the least.

Andy was sitting at the table eating breakfast when Rusty came in. "Mom?" Rusty walked his backpack to his room and came back to the kitchen. "Oh, hey Lieutenant. Where is Sharon?"

"She's… changing. She'll be right back." Andy was eating some eggs he made and sipping a cup of black coffee. "I, uh, made some coffee."

Rusty walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and poured himself some cereal. "No thanks, I'll just have some juice and cereal." He took both back to his room. However, on his way there he crossed paths with his mother. The pointed look he gave her only made her chuckle. "Well, at least he isn't in his bathrobe, right?" With that remark, Rusty retired to his room and shut the door leaving Sharon to laugh outright at her son's keen observation.

"Everything ok with the kid?" Andy was worried that Rusty's antipathy toward his relationship with Sharon wasn't causing any problems.

Sharon sat down next to Andy and pick up her coffee cup and took a sip. "Oh yes, I believe everything will be fine."