A/N Hi, I'm back. I'm a bit late for #ShandySunday so it will be a #ShandyMonday. Thank you all for reading and reviewing and a big thank you to all the Shandy shippers and #Flynngirls on twitter :D


Andy stood outside the conference room looking gloomily through the glass window. Sharon was sitting in one of the chairs and the one right next to hers was occupied by the scared little girl.

He could see that Sharon was doing all the talking, hoping she could get through the little girl with her compassion and gentle disposition. She had bought a plate full of cookies and a glass of milk. After starring at the plate for a while, Allison stretched her arm and took a cookie and she slowly started nibbling it. Sharon smiled down at her and gently caressed the girl's hair.

Andy didn't want to interrupt the moment, but he needed to talk to her. He gently tapped his knuckles on the glass, catching Sharon's attention.

Her head quickly turned around and she nodded at him. She said a few words to Allison before exiting the room.

"Hi" she said after closing the door behind her.

"Hi" he replied back, hands in his pocket.

He could sense that they were both nervous about the situation.

"You think I'm making a mistake" she finally interrupted the awkward silence.

"I didn't say that." he stated. "You're doing what you do best; taking care of people. I just don't want to see you get hurt"

"I couldn't just leave her there." she paused looking at Allison taking a sip from the glass of milk. "For a moment there I saw a scared Emily and..."

"And your mother instinct kicked in" he teased

She sighed. "I didn't act like a Captain. It's the second time I get to emotionally invested with a witness." she sadly chuckled. "Maybe I'm not Major Crimes material. I didn't have these problems at FDI"

Andy laid a hand on her shoulder. "Being compassionate doesn't make you weak or a bad cop, it means that you feel more than others and most times it's not such a bad thing." he took a big breath. "If it weren't for you that little girl might be now in a dark room with other kids and strangers scared to death. Here, we can get her to trust us and figure out what happened to her parents"

She nodded, still not really convinced that she was doing the right thing, but Andy's encouraging words had helped.

Andy

She still didn't know what to do with her feelings for him, and this new situation with Allison might complicate things more.

"Some first date, huh?" she tried to joke, her eyes searching his.

He lightly chuckled. "I was thinking the same thing. It suit us, though. When did we do anything normal?"

She had to laugh at that. Yes, nothing was normal about their past relationship. But normal was overrated.

"Did you call Rusty? I don't want him to think that I've kidnapped you or something."

"What? Took me to your apartment for a great night of hot sex" she teased him mischievously.

Andy just stared at her with his mouth opened, shocked. He didn't know she had this side of her and for a moment he was lost on what to do about it.

Sharon decided to put him out of his shocked state and answered his question.

"I called him in the car. I told him we caught a case and didn't know when I could be back home. Who knows how he will react when I tell him about Allison."

"He is a good kid and you've raised him. I'm sure he'll be fine with it." The duffel bag laying on the floor beside him, reminded him of the real reason he came to her. "I got some clothes from Allison's room." he lifted the bag up "she'll probably be cold in just her pajamas"

Sharon smiled at his thoughtfulness. He really was a good man.

"No luck in trying to make her talk?"

She shook her head. "I'm out of ideas. We'll probably have to wait for Dr. Joe tomorrow"

"Let me try something" he put the bag back on the floor and bent down to open it. He took something from out of it, something that Sharon recognized as a brow teddy bear with a red bow tie and a checked waistcoat. "I've found this on the floor. Maybe this will help her. I remember Nicole used to have a teddy bear at her age. She wouldn't go anywhere without it" he smiled thinking about those far memories.

"Let's try" Sharon smiled and they both went inside the room.

Allison had almost finished her cookies and milk. Her eyes got scared when she saw the stranger man, but they soon sparkled when she saw what he was holding.

"Dr. Who!" she exclaimed snatching the teddy bear from Andy's hand and hugging it tightly to her chest.

"So it speaks" Andy and Sharon shared an amused smile.

"Andy found Dr. Who at your house." Sharon sat beside her. "Did you lose him?"

The three years old nodded. "I lost him when the big man made a loud noise. I got scared and ran in my room hiding under the bed. Then there was another big noise and shut my eyes and mouth. Daddy told me not to make a noise. But it's okay to talk now?"

The little girl looked at them scared that she was in trouble for disobeying her father.

Sharon put her arm around the girl in comfort. "Yes, Allison. It's okay to talk now. The big man is gone." She saw that Andy wanted to ask more questions, but she silently shook her head. They had made progress for now ,but she didn't want to scare the girl into silence again.

"I want my mamma" the girl sobbed. "When can I go to her?"

"Oh Allison" Sharon drew the girl to her and held her in lap. She locked her eyes with Andy's. How were they going to explain to her that her parents weren't coming back.

Sharon was rocking the crying girl in her lap while Andy had an arm around them, trying to give them extra strength.

They stayed like that for minutes until they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Ma'am" Sanchez peaked his head inside. He uncomfortably observed the scene, but said nothing. "We've got something" he reported.

Sharon nodded and saw that Allison had fallen asleep. She carefully shifted the girl in her arms.

"Here, let me" Andy put an arm under the girl's knees and with the other one he gently slid the girl from Sharon's arms into his.

"Let's put her on the couch in my office" Sharon said while she exited the room. They went down the corridor and she opened her office's door for him. "She'll be more comfortable here" She got a blanket that she kept inside a wardrobe and tucked her under it.

Allison soon slipped further down the warmth of the cover and held Dr. Who tightly against her chest while the other arm sneaked up and she put her thumb in her mouth.

Both Andy and Sharon smiled adorably down at her and to outsiders it could seem like they were proud parents looking down at their kid.

"We have to go" Andy laid a hand on her back and guided her out of her office towards the murder room where the others were already waiting for them.

"Thank you for finally joining us" Provenza muttered. "If you've finished with babysitting duties we can finally show you what we've discovered." The old lieutenant was feeling grumpy mainly because he didn't like working late, he should have been in bed hours ago. Secondly because he didn't like what he knew was going on between Andy and their captain. He didn't need to have office love drama.

Provenza nodded at Lieutenant Mike Tao who got up from his chair and started his presentation.

"The victims are Michael and Caroline Green. He was an accountant for a company named Trackvise and she was a professor at LA College. No criminal background, just a speeding ticket for Mr. Green. I'm still waiting on their financials. Won't have anything until tomorrow morning."

"It's already morning" Provenza grumbled.

Detective Sanchez ignored the lieutenant's comment and started his part of the presentation. "The alarm system was cut off." He showed them the pictures of the cut wire. "and the killers entered from the backdoor. The kid was probably already in bed while her parents were watching TV in the sitting room." He showed more pictures of the crime scene. Buzz was still working on putting together the footage he had taken.

"They both were tortured before they were killed. Tomorrow's autopsy will tell us more. But the killers were definitely looking for something. The whole place was a mess"

"Allison told us about a big man making a big noise. Probably when he shot the parents." Andy said from where he was leaning against his desk. Sharon wasn't very far from him.

"Will we be able to get a description?" Tao asked.

Sharon shook her head. "The girl is clearly traumatized. I don't want to insist and make her close in herself again. I want to wait for Dr. Joe before we ask more questions."

"She said that her father told her not to make a noise, so at some point Mr. Green got free."

Sanchez nodded. "I'll have to look at the crime video to make a more precise reconstruction."

"I've sent the bullets to the lab. Pending results" Tao announced.

"Amy," Sharon turned towards the young detective. "Where are we in finding some legal guardians for Allison?"

"I've left a message at a lawyer's number I found. I hope he'll contact me again tomorrow, but it is the weekend."

"Well," Sharon stood up. "we can't really do anything until tomorrow and I know Chief Taylor won't be happy to pay for extra time, so let's all go home and be back tomorrow at 10." She turned around. "Julio, tell Buzz that he can finish his work in the morning."

Everyone nodded and prepared to leave. Provenza was the last one to get his things together. He observed Flynn quietly talking to Raydor and she nodded placing her hand on his chest. The lieutenant quietly puffed at the intimate gesture and shook his head before leaving for the night.

"Are you ready to go?" Andy had asked her gently.

"Yeah" she took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

"Sharon, you're going to be fine" he smiled at her. "Plus, you're not alone"

So many emotions were rushing inside her, but one in particular she recognized and let it envelop her: love. She was in love with this man. She laid a hand on his chest and felt his heart beat under her palm. It was strong and slightly rushed and it sent a shiver through her to know that she was the cause of it.

For a moment she realized that even if they were now alone, they were still at work. She dropped her hand embarrassed. "So" she nervously ran her hands down her dress. Oh, how she wished she had pockets. "We should gather everything and go"

"Sure" Andy smirked. "Allison's bag is still in the conference room"

"I'll get that" she offered. "Why don't you…"

"I'll carry Allison" he nodded.

They met again at the lifts. Allison was so tired that she didn't even wake up when Andy had lifted her up from Sharon's couch still wrapped inside the blanket. She just moved further into the man's arms and laid her head on his shoulder.

"We've got a heavy sleeper here" he smiled at Sharon as they went inside the elevator car.

Sharon caressed the girl's hair and moved a piece of strand that had fallen over her face. "She looks so peaceful right now. Hard to imagine that just a few hours ago something so terrible has happened to her."

"Kids are strong, Sharon. She will get through it with our help"

They soon got to his car. Sharon's opened the back passenger doors for him so he could lay Allison in the back seats. Once Andy made sure Allison was comfortable, he leaned back out and then opened Sharon's door.

"Thank you" she smiled as she brushed passed him and got inside the car.

Andy gulped and he closed the door before going to the driver seat. Sharon laid her head against the window. She would from time to time turn her head around to check on the three years old. But much of the drive was spent in silence. They didn't need to talk, just being together was enough.

"Rusty is still in bed" she said after she had opened the front door of the condo.

"Where should I put her?" Andy asked carrying Allison through the threshold.

"Down the corridor last door on the left" she whispered slowly taking her heels off.

Andy followed her directions and entered Sharon's bedroom. He wished the first time crossing the doorway of that room would have been for different reasons, but for now he took what he could.

Allison opened her eyes when she felt her body dip into the mattress.

"Shush, go back to sleep" Andy whispered.

Her little eyes soon closed again. After he made sure she was back to the land of dreams, he closed the door behind him. He found Sharon in the kitchen.

"Can I get you something?" she asked as she poured water in a glass.

He leaned against the kitchen counter. "No, thanks" he looked at his watch. "I should probably go. I mean… I do need a couple of hours of sleep before going back to the office" he chuckled.

"Yeah" she nodded, but she didn't really want to night to end. "Andy, thank you for the lovely evening"

"You mean despite the murder and the late hours and the babysitting?" he smirked.

"Yeah" she lightly laughed. "Despite all that, I really had a lovely time"

"Me too" he smiled sincerely. "And I hope we can do it again. This time without interruptions"

"I would like that too" she smiled back and she took a step towards him.

Andy didn't know what she was going to do and he was surprised when she lifted herself with the tip of her toes and gently pecked his lips.

"Is that all the goodnight kiss I'm going to get?" he asked joking when he final recovered.

"For now" she eyed him playfully. "You have to deserve more"

"Oh really?"

"Really" she kept grinning.

"Good night Sharon" his words were gentle.

"Good night Andy" she opened the door for him.

"One last thing" he quickly turned around after stepping outside. She raised her eyebrow in questions as his face changed into serious expression. "Was there really going to be a great night of hot sex after dinner?"

She snorted laughing. "Well" she said after she stopped laughing. "You will have to invite me again and find out"