Notes: Thanks to those that reviewed the last chapter and the few that were getting caught up with this fic! Always great to hear from you. Just another fun fluffy chapter before we dive back into anything too serious.


December 2002

"There you are," Andy says as he steps into the bedroom, finding Sharon hunched over her toes armed with a brush of bright red lacquer. He leans down to kiss her before backing up with a slightly disgusted sound as he sees the mud mask spread all over her face.

"You would think you'd be used to this now," Sharon grins as he wrinkles his nose and shakes his head. She turns her attention back to her toes as he starts to undress from his work clothes.

"Nope," Andy shakes his head again, "I don't kiss you with the goopy mask on."

"This isn't the goopy mask, it's the muddy one," Sharon corrects with a laugh.

"Semantics," Andy replies as he tugs his shirt over his head, "I don't even know why you use those things. You don't need it, you're gorgeous."

"Well thank you," Sharon replies, a bemused smile playing on her lips. Sometimes he could be so oblivious and it was adorable, "But trust me, you don't think I need them because I use them."

"Semantics still," Andy laughs, "Where are the kids at?"

"Emily was staying late at ballet, Ricky is at a baseball sleepover," Sharon recounts as she continues to paint, "Nicole was going to pick Emily up and they were going to go to a movie before they came back here. Charlie stopped by to grab his suit and said he'd see us at the meet tomorrow. And the twins were reading when I came in here, but I'm betting they're watching tv now."

"Baseball already?" Andy asks as he tugs on a pair of sweatpants before dropping onto the edge of the bed.

"Mmm, some 'team bonding' night," Sharon tells him, "I will consider ourselves lucky if we don't get a call from someone's parents or the cops."

"They're 13."

"Exactly," Sharon replies with a pointed look, "They're actually teenagers now."

"Still," Andy argues as he reaches across the bed to grab the paperback book sitting next to Sharon, "What time is Charlie's meet tomorrow?"

"Three," Sharon tells him as she screws the cap onto the nail polish, blowing gently on her nails. She doesn't notice Andy's brow furrow as he mouths the title of the book, "We can leave a little later than normal, it's at North Hollywood."

"Something you need to tell me?" Andy asks as he holds the book up facing her with an arched eyebrow, "Baby names?"

Sharon rolls her eyes as she looks up and snatches the book out of his hand. She smacks him hard on the shoulder with it a couple times before stopping as he shrinks away.

"Ow! I was joking!"

"You're not funny, Andrew," Sharon rolls her eyes and tosses the book back next to him, "I was looking at names for the dog, twit."

"We have two special gifts down the hall that give me a reason to ask," Andy teases as he picks up the book again, leafing through the pages before dropping it back on the bed.

They had started discussion of getting another dog over the summer but had been waiting for the right point. They closer they got to the holidays they had planned for it to be one of the kids' Christmas presents. Sharon had recently found out through a friend that the animal shelter in Hollywood had just gotten in a litter of rescue puppies. She'd made an appointment for them to go in over the weekend, meet the puppies, and see if any of them would be a fit. It was going to be a couple weeks before they would be able to go home, just in time for the holidays.

Andy flops back to lay on his back with a heaving sigh, keeping his eyes on her, "Find anything?"

"A few. I think we'll get a better idea once we see them," Sharon rests her chin on her knees and offers him a small smile, "I'm excited. I hope we can get one…I miss having a dog around."

"Me too," Andy agrees.

"Think the kids will be excited?"

"Yeah, definitely," Andy nods. He reaches out his hand and strokes her ankle softly, smiling when she covers it with her own, "How was work?"

"I have a promotion," Sharon says as her thumb gently slips under the gold chain around his wrist. It was one of the things she'd gotten him for his birthday and she was glad to see he enjoyed wearing it.

"Where was the first offer from?" Andy inquires. He knew she had put in for and interviewed for a few Captain positions that were open in the department. In his opinion any department was insane not to want her, but he was rational that her time in IA had tainted how people viewed her and her ambitions.

"Robbery Homicide, surprisingly," Sharon tells him, quietly gauging his reaction, "They're looking to have an intermediary lead for Robbery Special. Not managing that section of the division but running a team of officers."

"It'd be a good move, but a lot of kidnappings," Andy points out, "What's their offer?"

"Few extra vacation days, six percent raise, bigger office," Sharon lists, "Input in hiring."

"Not bad. What do you think of it?"

"It'd be a good move, but a lot of kidnappings," Sharon reiterates, "I don't know if I can do that day in and day out with the twins as young as they are..."

"When are you supposed to hear back from the other places you put in for?"

"End of business Monday," Sharon tells him, "I'd consider the move to Robbery Homicide if it was the only offer I got..."

"If it's the only offer you get you're quitting," Andy interrupts, "You deserve a Captain's promotion. You've put in enough blood, sweat, and tears since you started there."

"And just what would I do after I quit for not getting a promotion?" Sharon laughs.

"Whatever you want," Andy says, "Stay home with the kids, do some consulting…there's got to be plenty of companies out there that would want to hire you and actually appreciate what you do."

"I didn't realize you cared so much about how the LAPD treated me," Sharon comments as she looks lovingly at her husband.

"Of course I do," Andy replies and sits up, "You've put so much time and effort into everything that you've done there. And there are times they as an organization have treated you as less than ideal, and that's not to mention how the officers treat you."

"Pot, kettle," Sharon smiles, "I knew what I was getting into when I got a job there. And I have done a lot since I've been there, which is why I won't so readily abandon it. Least not yet."

"What do you want?" Andy asks with an arched eyebrow, "Before you retire I mean. What do you want out of this?"

"I want to make things better," Sharon answers, a soft smile on her lips, "I want to help the officers help people. All I've ever wanted. I'd like to spend a few years at the Assistant Chief level making that happen. I doubt at this point that I'd make it all the way to Chief…Commander's the highest any woman has made it so far. If I could get beyond that…I'd feel good."

"I think you could make it," Andy tells her with a bright smile, "To Chief."

"One person in my corner. That's all I need," Sharon smiles before leaning over and pressing her lips to his, laughing as his nose wrinkles and he pulls away after a moment.

"Momma," Libby calls out as she pushes her way into Sharon and Andy's room, "Hi Dada."

"Hi princess."

"Momma, Drew and I finished our book, we need the next one," Libby says as she tosses the books up onto the bed, "Do we have it?"

"No I don't think we do," Sharon says as she picks up the books that the twins had been reading. The two of them were miles ahead in their reading capability and Sharon could hardly keep them stocked with things to read, "They didn't have it the last time I went to the bookstore. I'll look when Daddy and I go run errands tomorrow."

"Can we come on errands?" Libby asks as she tries to pull herself up onto the bed.

"Not tomorrow, honey," Sharon shakes her head as she helps Libby up onto the bed, smiling as she climbs into Andy's lap, "We've got adult errands to run. Emmy and Nic are going to stay and watch you guys before we go to Charlie's swim meet."

"Ooh, I like hanging out with Emmy and Nic," Libby grins, "Do you think Nicole would braid my hair?"

"I bet she would if you asked extra nice," Sharon grins back.

"I will," Libby nods before her face gets serious, "Momma, you've got stuff all over your face."

"I do," Sharon laughs. She reaches up to touch the mask she had put on earlier, finding it dry and crackled as she glances at her alarm clock, "I need to wash this off. Why don't you take Daddy out to the living room and you and Drew can pick out a movie to watch tonight. The pizza should be here soon."

"You ordered pizza?" Andy asks before looking down at Libby, "Mom ordered pizza?"

"Mmhm!" Libby nods with a smile, "Drew talked her into it."

"Might have to give him a cookie," Andy grins as he stands up with Libby in his arms.

"Hey! I want a cookie," Libby frowns as she looks up at her father with a furrowed brow, the perfect twin of her mother in that moment. Sharon smiles as she watches them go before getting up from the bed and heading into the bathroom. She washes her face and dries off before grabbing a sweatshirt and heading out to the living room. Andy drops a kiss on her nose as he walks past with the pizza boxes, setting them down on the coffee table.

"Don't tell your brothers and sisters," Andy grins as he whispers to Drew, opening the lids to the boxes before dropping onto the edge of the couch. He gets two paper plates out and serves each of them a slice of pizza with a breadstick and some marinara sauce, encouraging them to sit on the floor. He makes Sharon a plate and hands it over to her before grabbing his own. She sinks down onto the couch next to him and sets her plate in her lap.

"What are we watching?"

"Shrek," Drew and Libby answer simultaneously as Andy starts the movie, their little eyes glued to the screen.

"Mmm a new one then," Sharon jokes quietly as she shoots Andy a grin. He laughs and rolls his eyes before starting to eat.

In the morning, Sharon hums quietly as she walks into the kitchen and finds Emily and Nicole standing at the stove together making breakfast. From the smell of it they were making French Toast. She fills a mug with coffee, adding a heavy dash of cream before kissing Nicole on the cheek and putting her hand on Emily's back.

"You two are early risers for getting back so late."

"It's the youths these days, Sharon," Nicole grins, "They don't need any sleep."

"Watch it, you're still a youth," Emily elbows her sister. Sharon smiles and grabs an already cooked piece of breakfast off of the plate next to the stovetop. She tears off a small chunk and pops it in her mouth.

"When are you and Dad leaving?"

"I need to wake him up here in a moment," Sharon comments as she looks at the clock on the wall, "You two will be okay with the twins?"

"We'll be fine," Emily assures her mother, "It's only a few hours."

"Ricky should be home by noon, we'll be back in time to get you guys and go to Charlie's swim meet. So will you make sure everyone is dressed and ready to go in case we don't have time to stop stop."

"Sure," Nicole nods, "What time?"

"2:30," Sharon tells them before finishing her piece of French toast and filling another mug. She carries both cups back to the bedroom and sets Andy's down on his side of the bed, sinking down onto the mattress next to him. She runs her fingers gently through his hair as she takes a sip of her own coffee, "My sleeping beauty."

"Ngh," Andy grunts as he feels the fingers in his hair and the mattress dipped low next to him, "Five more minutes."

"No five more minutes," Sharon murmurs softly, "We've had a lie in already. We need to get going soon if we're going to get to the shelter when they open."

"I don't need to shower do I?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head with a smile. She continues to run her fingers through his hair as he wakes up. After a few more moments he pushes himself up into a sitting position and she hands him his cup of coffee. Andy grunts his thanks before taking a long deep drink, "I'm going to start getting ready."

"Kay," Andy murmurs as she gets up from the edge of the bed. Sharon takes a drink of her own coffee before heading into their closet. She pulls out a pair of broken in jeans and a cable knit sweater, changing into them from her pajamas. She pulls on a pair of socks before grabbing her Uggs from their shelf and passing Andy on her way back into the bedroom.

Sharon takes a seat on the bench at the end of the bed and pulls her boots on, tucking her jeans into them before padding into the bathroom to wash her face and do something with her hair. She ends up putting on a light dusting of makeup and tying her hair up in a clean bun. She picks a simple pair of earrings and puts on her cuff bracelet before going back to the bedroom. Andy was sitting on the edge of the bed finishing his coffee, his eyes still slightly droopy with sleep.

"Want me to get you a to-go mug?" Sharon offers as she takes another sip of hers.

"Nah, one more I'll be good," Andy says as he pushes himself up. The two of them head down to the kitchen and Andy refills his cup, quickly downing the cooled black liquid. He kisses Emily on the head as he hugs her before doing the same with Nicole, "You guys have a good time last night?"

"Yeah," Nicole nods with a smile, "It was a good movie. I even got to see a little bit of Emily's rehearsal. I'll admit to not being able to wait to see the Nutcracker this year."

"Stoppp, you saw like five seconds."

"It was a great five seconds," Nicole responds, "You're going to kill it, Em."

"I bet she will," Andy smiles at his middle daughter.

"We'll have our phones if you need anything," Sharon says as she puts her mug into the dishwasher before grabbing the car keys.

"Go, we'll be fine," Emily shoos, flipping the spatula at her mother. Sharon rolls her eyes with a smile before telling the girls goodbye and tugging Andy out to the car. The two of them make their way to the shelter, easily finding a parking spot outside in their small lot before heading inside. Sharon talks to the receptionist as Andy looks around. There were some cats roaming around the counter tops and reception area and dogs could be heard barking in the background. He jumps slightly as a fat orange tabby jumps up onto the counter in front of him, letting out a small meow.

"Hi there," Andy murmurs as he reaches up to pet the cat. He ruffles his ears and scratches under his chin, smiling as he feels the cat start to purr and lean into his hand.

"Find a new friend?" Sharon asks as she steps over to him.

"I think so," Andy grins as he looks over at her, "Why didn't we ever get a cat?"

"Because we accidentally got our dog," Sharon says wryly, "If it had been a cat in the back of the car when you picked us up at the airport we probably would have ended up with a cat."

"It would have jumped out of the car," Andy laughs and ruffles the cat's ears one last time before following Sharon and the shelter worker back to the room where they had the puppies sequestered. Neither of them notices the tabby following along behind them, his tail bobbing back and forth at a lackadaisical pace.

"So it will be a couple weeks before they are able to go home, and we've had some interest. I would suggest putting in an application today if you decide to go ahead with it."

"Oh my gosh, they're so tiny," Sharon whispers, slapping at Andy's arm blindly and cooing in a voice that was reserved for things under the age of three.

"From what we can tell they're German Shepherd Lab mixes," The shelter worker explains as Sharon leans over the side to ruffle the ears of the perky puppies, "They're about six or seven weeks old. We have an equal mix of males and females, a mix of different colorings though. They'll be up to date on shots and everything, but we will require that you schedule an appointment to have them neutered or spayed before you're able to bring them home."

"What are the adoption fees?" Andy asks.

"Two fifty."

"You would be worth it," Sharon coos at the dog currently getting her attention.

"You're welcome to sit and play with them for a while if you like."

"Yes, please," Sharon nods. The shelter worker opens up the pen that the puppies were running around in, letting Sharon and Andy in. The both of them take a seat on the floor, laughing as the puppies bound over and try to climb into their laps and up their bodies. It's only after a few minutes that a sorrow filled meow makes its way over the high pitched barks. Andy turns around and finds the tabby cat standing up on his hind legs against the fence of the pen, pressing his face through one of the tiny diamonds. The cat lets out another meow as he stares at Andy. He perks up when the man's hand reaches over and ruffles his ears.

"What are you doing in here?" Andy asks as he pets the affectionate animal.

"Oh, I see you've met Frank."

"Frank?" Andy asks.

"Yeah, he's been here for a couple months," The shelter worker tells him, "He's usually not so affectionate. Do you guys have any cats?"

"No," Andy shakes his head before leaning over a little further and picking Frank up with both hands bringing him into the pen. He plops him in his lap and continues to give him quite a thorough petting as Sharon continues to play with the dogs, "What are you thinking?"

"I want them all," Sharon laughs before indicating the puppy net to her that was gnawing away on a plastic chew toy. The dog was on the smaller side but was fluffy with a coat of deep caramel. Their muzzle and face was black, along with their tail and the tips of their floppy ears, "I like her the best."

"She's cute," Andy comments.

"She seems to be playful, but a bit calmer than the others," Sharon shares, "Once she's a bit older she'd probably be good for going on a run with, or running around the yard with the kids."

"I think she likes you," Andy notes as the rest of the puppies abandon them for another prospective family that had come to look at them. Sharon nods and smiles at the puppy, running her fingers through her coat and wiggling the toy she was chewing on, "Lily was always your dog."

"Lily was the family's dog," Sharon furrows her brow.

"I know, I don't mean that Lily didn't love all of us cause she did. But you were here favorite," Andy smiles, "I remember when you were pregnant with the twins and she would lay with you on the couch with her head on your stomach. She was always protective of you."

"Should have been after she ate all those shoes," Sharon smiles sadly.

"Do you want to put in an application?" Andy asks as Sharon picks up the dog and cuddles her close, her hand easily fitting between her ears as she pets her. She nods as she buries her nose into the dog's fur.

"Mmhm…what about your little friend?"

"My…oh," Andy smiles as he looks down at the tabby who was now belly up in his lap and half asleep, soft purrs still making their way out, "What would you think about getting a cat?"

"Mmm," Sharon hums, looking at the fat cat in her husband's lap, "I'm not scooping a litter box."

"That's what kids are for."

"Andy," Sharon laughs and Andy grins.

"The cat could get them off the trail of us getting a dog," Andy suggests, "They said he's been here a few months…"

"He is kind of cute…"

"And his name's Frank…you have to admit that's a pretty great cat name."

"Frank the cat," Sharon repeats, reaching over to give Frank a rub, "So we bring Frank home today and come back and get the dog in a few weeks?"

"I think that sounds fair," Andy nods, "Should we pick him up after the swim meet? We can get some stuff while we're out and that way he won't be alone when we first bring him home."

"Makes sense," Sharon smiles as she stops petting Frank and reaches up to cup Andy's cheek, pressing a soft kiss to his lips, "I promise not to tell the guys you have a cat."


[TBC]