It was finally the middle of March. It had been almost two months now since Sharon had stayed at Andy's place, and Rusty had been displaced too. Two months. In that time, Rusty had finally testified, and finally, the two had been reunited back at the condo. After settling in again in early February, Sharon took a couple of weeks to just enjoy Rusty. Work was work, and she was going through the motions, but she didn't take lightly what had almost happened with Rusty, with her family. Now, it was mid-March, and she and Rusty had just returned from a week in New York. Spring break for Rusty, so Sharon had decided a getaway was in order. Besides, she knew it would do both of them some good to get to New York and see Emily. Rusty had never been, and he'd only spoken with Emily over the computer, so it gave them some nice bonding time too. They'd enjoyed the sights, playing tourist with Rusty. Sharon had laughed. She'd relaxed. She'd enjoyed two of her three kids, because who was she kidding-Rusty was becoming more and more of a permanent fixture in her family, and she'd enjoyed her daughter. Sharon had also thought the week away would give her some clarity and time to work through her feelings. Sharon had spent time talking with Emily, girl talk. She hadn't mentioned her current love interest, but she'd listened to Emily talk about dating in New York. Sharon tried to picture herself dating anyone, but every time she did, she kept picturing Andy. He was clearly in the forefront of her mind, all the time.

Oh, the trip had given her clarity, just not what she'd hoped. She'd tried to forget Andy; it hadn't worked. She'd tried to move on from her love of him because by now, she was sure that is what it was, but it hadn't worked. She'd even tried to envision herself with any number of men. She'd spent time just people watching, and no one, no one compared to Andy Flynn. She was totally and helplessly a mess, a hot mess in love with her lieutenant.

Now, Andy, he'd seemed to be oblivious to her or was just used to women liking him. Sure, he had to know how handsome and charming he was, or maybe he was just good at keeping things completely professional. Sharon had tried that too, but she was a failure in that department. Her kiss on his cheek from January when she was trying the bold tactic had been her first move in a series of professing her newfound boldness. None of it had worked though.

At work, she'd been wearing a lot of new clothes. Oh, people seemed to notice all right, just not one Andy Flynn. Her clothing was still work appropriate, but she wore a lot of low cut blouses, higher heels, and shorter suit skirts. All of it seemed to be attracting a great deal of attention, just not from a certain lieutenant. No, she could say that the guy was a one-woman man; if he was committed to someone as he seemed to be with his girlfriend, he sure didn't notice other attractive women around him. She'd gotten bolder with him too, making sure to brush by his desk every time she left her office. She made sure to touch his arm in appreciation and smile at him constantly. Her eyes lingered over him, something she had hoped he would notice. He seemed to see her as a friend and nothing more. It was getting very frustrating.

That wasn't helping Sharon, and she couldn't figure out what to do. She felt like a pendulum. At one point, she was determined to keep things completely professional with them, and at the other extreme, she was bound and determined to get her lieutenant as hers. She seemed to swing from one mood to another, one extreme to another, and her bedroom pillow was getting a good cry most nights, as her moods continued to shift.

On this particular Saturday, she found herself at the grocery store, thinking of her swinging moods, her extremes in the case of Andy Flynn. She wasn't at just any grocery store; she'd grown fond of a specialty one Andy had shown her when she was staying with him. It wasn't exactly close to her house, but she liked the store, and of course, it reminded her of him. It should have been no surprise when, as she shopped, she spotted the very man of her affection, in the store too. She watched. Oh, she wanted to walk up to him, but he was with her, the girlfriend. The two talked as they walked, pointing out different things, and she decided very quickly to get out of the store. She made her way to the register, trying to avoid the awkward confrontation of seeing Andy with this girlfriend. She'd only seen the one picture of her last summer from the wedding, but she could tell the younger woman was beautiful, thin, and a brunette. She was in a hurry to get out without having to officially meet her.

"Sharon?" she heard, and she closed her eyes before turning around. She knew that voice. She dreamed of that voice all the time. With a deep breath, she turned to greet him.

"Andy!" she said, trying to act surprised, "oh, I didn't think I'd run into anyone here."

He shrugged, "Just picking up some basics. Dinner at home tonight," he added. "This is a bit out of the way for you, isn't it?"

She returned the shrug, "It is, but I really liked this store when you introduced me to it a couple months ago. They have a few salads that taste better than any I've found anywhere else."

"Oh, yeah," he smiled. "You did get quite a few salads when you were staying with me. Rusty not with you today?"

She shook her head, "No, he's at a movie with Buzz. I'm trying to give him a bit of freedom after everything he's gone through the last few months."

"I'm sure he's glad for the freedom. Say, how was your trip to New York? I've barely had a moment to talk to you about it," he asked.

She looked around behind him. The girlfriend had disappeared, which was good and bad. She didn't want her to pop up at any second, "Oh, it was exactly what I needed. Rusty enjoyed his first trip to New York. It was great to see Emily, and well, I got to see her perform every day we were there. Rusty enjoyed playing tourist too. Say, I don't want to keep you."

"Oh," he waved his hand, "I got checkout duty. No worries. My chauffeur will be in the car waiting when I get done," he grinned.

She nodded, "Well, as you can see," he indicated the line, "I need to get going. Maybe we could grab lunch sometime? Chat about what's been going on for each of us?"

"Sure," he nodded. "Sounds good. Have a nice weekend, Sharon," he smiled to her, and she waved as she started through the line. Once she finished, loaded her car, and got in, she closed her eyes and put her head on the steering wheel. She'd managed to avoid talking to his girlfriend, but still, that hadn't been easy.

Sharon's next opportunity to spend any time with Andy came a couple of weeks later, now early April. Rusty's birthday was approaching, and she wanted to throw a party for him. Knowing that Rusty hadn't had a stellar childhood, she suspected he hadn't had birthday parties.

"Sharon, you don't have to do anything for my birthday. My mom never did. I don't expect anything. It's just a day," he'd told her.

"Don't be silly, Rusty," she smiled brightly at him. "It's your birthday, so of course, it's a big deal. "Would you mind if I invited the team over for a party? It would be simple, cake and ice cream, or whatever else you would like. I would like to do this for you."

Rusty groaned as he looked to Sharon, but he could see the joy in her eyes, "Okay, Sharon, sure," he said. "Only the team."

With that plan set, Sharon was currently busy in her kitchen, putting the finishes touches on Rusty's cake. She wasn't a big baker, but she could do a basic cake. Rusty had told her no one had ever made him a birthday cake, so she was starting with that. It was going to be a simple party. It was no surprise that pizza was the main entrée for the evening. To give a bit of a healthy flair, Sharon had made a huge salad too, but she'd kept it simple with pizza, salad, cake, and ice cream. This was for Rusty, and as much as she would have liked to have had a different menu, she wanted him to enjoy his birthday.

The team was all coming. They couldn't turn down Rusty's party, but before they even came tonight, some had offered to spend part of their day with Rusty. He was family, after all. It was still mid-morning as Sharon worked on the cake, and Rusty was out with Provenza and Andy for lunch. They were taking him for burgers and had told Sharon they were going to get him a birthday present. She had no idea what that would be, but she was very grateful for their help and attention to Rusty. Julio and Buzz wanted to see a new sci-fi movie and had invited Rusty to the afternoon showing, and once it was over, they were all going to come to the condo for the party. With all that going on, Sharon had several hours to get everything set at the condo. She just hoped Rusty was enjoy his day too. With all the special attention, she knew he sometimes got a bit nervous, but she was hoping that since he was familiar with everyone, he'd have a great day.

Sharon hoped she had a great day too. Andy was coming to the party, and he hadn't mentioned bringing his girlfriend. Sharon was just excited to have some time to spend with him, and while she should feel a bit guilty about using her foster son's birthday party to be the reason, she wasn't feeling guilty at all. She was feeling bold, and when Sharon was feeling bold, there was no telling what might happen.