She was finally sleeping; he had slept a little too, but really, that was the least of his worries right now. He wanted her to get some sleep, any sleep, and finally, she was. He'd about had to wear her out, he closed his eyes and silently chuckled to himself. It was almost 5:00 in the morning now, and he'd maybe slept an hour and a half. Man, he was tired, tired from the crappy case, tired from staying up worried about Sharon, tired from their middle of the night roll in the sack. Andy really hadn't come here for that, truly, not that he was complaining. In the back of his mind, he knew it was a possibility, but Sharon wasn't just a roll in the sack to him; he cared for her as a friend. He wasn't going to lie; he had been wanting Sharon for days now, and it seemed pretty apparent, from last night, that she felt the same way. It was almost funny that now that they were sleeping together, they couldn't get enough of it. It was like a sponge. Somehow, though, it was working, because she was still his friend. Sharon was honestly becoming a very good friend, and through it all, he was worried about her, worried about this mess with Rusty. He wanted to be whatever Sharon had needed last night. She'd needed him on different levels, and he was just glad he could be here for her.

Andy had been serious when he'd told Sharon he would even stay on her couch. He was her friend and wanted to make sure she was okay with Rusty's mess. It was a dicey situation, and he wasn't sure what they would do with Rusty. Sharon was taking good care of him, but Rusty had hidden those letters. He had a feeling they'd allow Rusty to stay with Sharon but convincing her of that was another story. Plus, what he had was a feeling; it wasn't a guarantee.

After he and Sharon had talked at the door, she'd locked up again and pulled him with her toward her room where she'd dropped his hand at the door, walked to her side, and just curled up on the bed, not on Andy. She'd nodded to the other side of the bed, almost like she wanted him to be just close enough to her. Not a word had been spoken, and he was okay with that, just letting Sharon decompress as she needed to do. Sharon had turned on her television, and even now, Andy couldn't really remember what they'd watched-some house type show where people remodel their homes. It didn't matter. He just sat there and let her be. She curled up with a blanket, and both remained silent for over an hour. Andy knew Sharon well enough that she'd talk when she was ready. This was enough; this was why he came. He also knew that suggesting she do anything or try to sleep was useless; Sharon would do things on her schedule. Period. It was probably after 1:30 in the morning when she finally sat up, got up, and she walked into her bathroom. Andy was still wide away, even though he hadn't slept much the last few days either. He wasn't sure what to do, so he just continued to sit there and watch the television. He heard Sharon brushing her teeth and nodded to himself, hopeful she'd decided to maybe get some rest. To encourage that, he turned off the lights and stood to at least turn down Sharon's side of the comforter. He didn't do the same to his side because he really wanted her to call the shots. If she said she wanted to be alone, he'd go to the living room. He sat back down against the headboard on the side he'd claimed and turned his attention to the show again. Funny, they both had televisions in their bedrooms, but they had never watched television together in the bedroom. Their relationship, if it could be called that, but it really wasn't one, had been physical, and home remodeling shows definitely had not fit into that mold.

Andy glanced toward Sharon when she came out of the bathroom, and he nodded to himself, happy that she'd changed her clothes for bed. She had on her robe, and even if she didn't sleep right away, she appeared to be trying. He looked back at the television while she put on her hand cream, almost feeling that he was interrupting something intimate, her nightly routine. The idea was silly, though, as the two had been involved in the most intimate acts over the last month. Still, it felt odd. The darkness of the room helped, and he turned toward her when she finally took off her robe and slipped into bed. He tried to give her a small smile.

"Just feel free to kick me out, and I'll leave you alone here. We can watch this as long as you want," he said. "This is all," he gestured, "whatever you need Sharon."

She looked over at him and reached for his hand, pulling him toward her, "I need to be distracted. I need to forget everything for just awhile. I need you to help me with that. I need something enjoyable now. You can do that for me. We've been so happy and carefree these last few weeks when we've been together. The tone is different tonight, but I don't want it to be. I want this to just be as carefree as it has been, but I'm raw. I need you to help me forget," she explained, still tugging at his arm. He rolled toward her, his eyes searching hers. She smiled at him, the fear of the unknown regarding Rusty still in her eyes, but she gave him a small smile. She pulled him toward her again, and that was all it took. Even in the dim light, he could it in her eyes. He and Sharon fell right into what was becoming familiar territory for them.

Andy glanced over at her now, and she was still asleep. Sharon was lying on her back, but her head was turned to the side, facing him, which allowed him to see her sleeping, almost peacefully sleeping. They'd been up a long time. After they had finished just over a couple hours ago now, Sharon had rolled back to her side, and Andy had watched, wanting to know if he'd just made a big mistake by coming over tonight. Sharon sat up, reached for her robe, put it on, and stood, still not facing him, but the windows.

"I'm going to get a shower and try to relax," she told him. "Thanks for that; you helped a lot. I just need a moment now."

"I can go," he said and sat up in the bed, wishing he could see her face. It was dark, and she wouldn't turn toward him, but she just raised her hand almost in silent protest.

"No, you don't have to run out. It's the middle of the night. I just," she dropped her head and sighed.

"You don't need to say anything. I will just leave you alone here and go to the living room," he said and started to the door.

"That couch is horrible," she said. "You aren't bothering me. I'm going to shower," Sharon stated and left for the bathroom. Andy waited until he heard the water start running, and then he got up to get a glass of water. Even being on the other side of the wall from her felt too intimate for some reason right now. He took his time in the kitchen, and before he returned to the bedroom, he even stood by the balcony sliding glass door and just looked out over the city. It was beautiful at night, and it was hard to believe that somewhere in that city, someone wanted to get to Rusty. They'd find the person, and in the interim, he just prayed Rusty was going to be able to stay with Sharon. Andy sighed and walked back to the bedroom. The room was a mess. He started to clean it up, and as he did that, he could hear Sharon crying in the shower. He hated that, hated that she was so upset. It wasn't his place to do anything more, so he cleaned up the bedroom, got back into bed, and he turned off the lights. Sharon would want that; tonight was all about what Sharon wanted.

Now, he continued to study her, and as he was looking at her, her eyes fluttered open and looked back at him.

"Hi, sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I was just glad to see you were sleeping, "he explained.

"I slept a little," she sighed. She shook her head just slightly, "I was hoping it was a nightmare."

"Living nightmare," he nodded. "Look, I'm going to go. If I leave now, I can run home, shower, and start my day. I know you need your space."

"Listen," she said as she cleared her throat and shifted toward him, turning on her side. She put her hand on his chest, "If you go, I'm only going to think about this mess. I know last night was not the normal light and fun time we've been having. I apologize for putting emotions into it, but," she eyed him, now running her hand up and down his chest, "if you stay right now, I promise to have my head in a better place. I will deal with real life in a couple of hours, but now," she said, shifting closer to him again as she propped herself up on her elbow to look down at him, "can I interest you in me?" Sharon said that in an almost teasing tone, and before he could answer, she added, "I'll even throw in breakfast when we are finished."

Andy smiled at her, surprised at her teasing tone this morning, but glad to see that she was doing better than last night. He shifted slightly and pulled her toward him, "Good thing we have a couple of hours before we have to be at work. Your wish is my command Captain."