'I almost lost you' kiss:
It's much later that it hits her, that she really realizes how close she had come to losing Sharon.
It's hours after her heart no longer beats like a war drum, thundering in her chest as Rusty's forced-calm voice informs her of what the phone call he'd just received was about.
Hospital. Gunshots. Surgery.
Rusty's voice had cracked when he spoke the next word.
Sh-aron.
And Andrea's breath had caught in her throat as she tried to swallow, already on her feet, grabbing keys and a sweater before Rusty could even get his first sneaker on.
It's long after she'd paced the waiting room, where members of Sharon's division tried filling her in on what had gone wrong during what Sharon said would be a quick trip to the office - "One hour. Give me one hour and then I'm all yours for the rest of the weekend," Sharon had promised, lips smiling as she leaned in to kiss Andrea.
She heard nothing.
She saw nothing.
Rusty's attempts to distract her with a few witty comments did not work - although she tried to smile for his sake.
It's after dealing with doctors and questions and policies and everything else.
It's when they are finally alone, after Andrea's allowed the chance to breathe again.
It's when Sharon's eyes are blinking open and Andrea's are blinking back tears that she doesn't want Sharon to see.
It's when Sharon doesn't ask what's wrong, when she doesn't say anything at all.
It's when she tries to sit up a little but Andrea stops her, hand gently pushing her shoulder, avoiding the bandaging that covers her chest.
It's when Sharon's voice is scratchy and rough as she tries to speak - Andrea will get her some water for that, but first - -
"You have no idea how good it feels to hear your voice." It's barely a whisper. She's unable to hold back fresh tears as she leans over the side of the bed to kiss Sharon's lips, hard and unapologetically desperate for the feel of the woman who could have been gone from her life if things had happened just a little differently.