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Sharon had managed to avoid going by the Robbery/Homicide squad room at all costs after her run in with Andy. The number of hours she'd spent at church on her knees asking for forgiveness since their tryst rivaled the total amount of hours she'd spent in church in her life. She would never tell Jack. She favored honesty in their relationship and she felt confident that he wouldn't hold a lapse in judgement against her but his jealous streak knew no bounds and last thing she needed was him showing up at work ready to bash Andy Flynn's face in.
Yet, Sharon wasn't thinking about Andy or Jack at this particular moment. She was sitting on the edge of the tub in their small apartment's bathroom, staring at the contraption on the counter. After Jack had left for work earlier in the morning she'd called into work, telling her CO that she hadn't been feeling well and wouldn't be in for the day. She'd walked down to the pharmacy on the corner armed with cash before returning home with her purchases and holing up in the bathroom.
She'd spent the better part of the last two hours alternating between which thumb nail she was biting on or bouncing her legs up and down as she threw glances at her watch every few minutes. With one last glance of her watch she realized her time was finally up. She takes a deep breath and smoothes her hands over the top of her jeans before pushing herself up and stepping over to the counter. She twists her wedding ring back and forth before gathering the courage to look down.
Sharon takes a moment to process what she's looking at, leaping up slightly as a wide smile spreads over her face. She pumps her fist and claps as she laughs.
"Yes!" Sharon exclaims to the empty room. She takes a moment to stare at the test on the counter as her hand travels over her stomach, "Oh my god…"
Sharon spends most of the day practically dancing around the apartment in excitement, waiting for Jack to get home. She jumps off the couch when she hears his key in the lock, meeting him at the door and taking his briefcase from him as she presses a kiss to his cheek.
"Hi."
"Hey, what are you doing home? I thought you had to work a double today," Jack says as he kisses his wife properly.
"I called in this morning after you left. I didn't feel well," Sharon says as she sets his bag down, letting him drape his suit jacket over the back of the couch before he sits down to unlace his shoes.
"You don't feel good? Why didn't you say something? I could have worked from home."
"It's okay," Sharon waves him off and smiles at him, "I'm feeling better now."
"Certainly seems like it," Jack smiles as he sits back up, holding his hands out to her and pulling her close. Sharon nods as she steps in between his legs, running her fingers through his hair. At the gesture her mind immediately flashed back to the bathroom at the bar, the feel of coarse hair under her fingertips. Jack's hair was so soft compared to Andy's. Sharon shakes the thought away and braces her hands on his shoulders, smiling down at him, "Anything in particular that put you in such a good mood?"
"I'm pregnant," Sharon says, her smile turning into a goofy grin. Jack's mouth opens and closes a few times before he speaks.
"You're..."
"Pregnant!" Sharon exclaims, having to stop herself from bouncing again, "We're finally having a baby!"
"I...wow..." Jack says, his face reflecting surprise as he looks up at his wife, "A baby huh?"
"A baby," Sharon repeats, "I took a test this morning, I have an appointment next week to really confirm, but...we're having a baby."
"That's great," Jack says standing and wrapping his arms around Sharon, rocking her back and forth.
"You're happy?" Sharon asks as she leans her head back to look Jack in the eye, stroking her fingertips gently over his cheek.
"Ecstatic," Jack assures her with a smile, "Bout time."
Sharon laughs and nods, kissing him gently before hugging him close again.
"We should celebrate," Jack says as he steps back.
"What did you have in mind?" Sharon asks, arching her eyebrow in suspicion, "We can hardly pop open a bottle of champagne."
"Let's go out for dinner. We can splurge a little," Jack says.
"Jack," Sharon says, a small amount of exasperation seeping into her tone, "We're trying to save money. So we can get out of this apartment, so I can go back to school."
"One dinner isn't going to upset all that," Jack says, pulling her down the hallway towards their bedroom, "I promise."
"When was the last time you sat down and balanced the checkbook?" Sharon teases him with a playful smile before pulling away from him, "Okay, okay. One celebratory dinner."
"Perfect," Jack smiles. Sharon opens their closet and sorts through her side before pulling out a long sleeve black dress. The hem was short and the back dipped low, she knew that it was one of Jack's favorites. She gets changed and runs a brush through her hair, pinning her curls back from her face before digging out a pair of her least scuffed black heels and pulling them on. Jack puts his suit coat back on and straightens his tie before holding his hand out to Sharon, "Ready?"
"Ready," Sharon says, throwing him an excited smile before they leave the apartment. They soon find themselves at one of LA's finer eating establishments, not finding it terribly difficult to get a table on a Wednesday evening. They're quickly seated at a table for two on the edge of the dining room, putting in their drink orders. Sharon casts her eyes around the room, taking in the decor before her eyes land on a familiar pair of brown ones. Of all the places. Her eyebrows raise slightly as Andy raises his hand in a small wave. She fights the urge to frown at him, offering a small wave back.
"Who are you waving at?" Jack says, moving to turn around.
"No one, just someone I recognized from work," Sharon assures him with a smile, directing his attention back to her, "What looks good?"
"Besides you?" Jack grins as he opens his menu.
Sharon hadn't seen Andy since their brief glance at each other across the restaurant. She'd even geared herself up to go talk to him a few weeks later but was surprised when his crass partner, Provenza or something, told her that he was out on leave. After that she'd let any plans of ever talking to Andy again go.
Apparently he had no such ideas. Sharon looks up from the textbook she had balanced on the panel of the treadmill when she sees a pair of forearms cross over the top of it, arching her eyebrow as she sees Andy standing in front of her dressed in a pair of sweats, beads of sweat dotting his forehead and making his greying hair darken.
"You know you don't have to keep reading after you pass the Detective Exam right?" Andy says, a playful grin on his lips.
"But I do have to keep reading if I have any plans of getting into law school," Sharon replies, turning down the speed of the treadmill to a fast walk.
"Law school, huh?"
"Yeah," Sharon nods, "I want to enroll next fall, but I've been reading Jack's old textbooks in the mean time."
"Where'd you go to college?"
"Yale," Sharon says, shutting the book as he starts pawing through the pages, "Majored in History and Philosophy with a minor in Poly-Sci."
"No wonder they call you Rulebook," Andy grins.
"What did you major in to become a hothead?" Sharon fires back, a playful grin making it's way onto her face.
"I took a few classes as the community college before I started here," Andy shrugs, still smiling, "I know it's hard for you to imagine but organized education is hardly my strong suit."
"Imagine that," Sharon laughs.
"I hear congratulations are in order," Andy says, nodding towards her stomach that was mostly hidden by the baggy LAPD t-shirt she had been working out in.
"Ah, yeah," Sharon nods with a soft smile, "Seventeen weeks."
"First one?"
"Mmhm."
"It's terrifying," Andy says, "But also the best feeling in the world. My wife and I just had our first a couple months ago. Haven't managed to break her yet."
"Congratulations," Sharon smiles.
"Thanks," Andy says with a nod before lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck, "Look I...I wanted to apologize for what happened a couple months ago...I shouldn't have..."
"Let's just forget about it," Sharon says, not wanting him to continue talking, "It was a lapse in judgement for the both of us and we should just leave it in the past."
"Okay," Andy nods, "Consider it forgotten."
"Thanks," Sharon smiles. Andy steps back from the treadmill, pointing behind himself, "I'm gonna hit the shower. See you around, Rulebook?"
"Yeah," Sharon nods with a smile, increasing the pace of the treadmill again and opening her book to where she'd left off.
[TBC]
