Once they arrive home Sharon lets Kathy know that her and Andy were going to take a short walk and would lock up when they got home. Andy offers his hand out to Sharon and smiles at her when she takes it, guiding her down the drive to the road. She wraps her arm around his and rests her head on his shoulder, sighing happily as they walk.

"Are we going anywhere in particular?"

"You'll see," Andy smiles.

"Oh will I?"

"Mmhm," Andy nods and continues walking with her at a leisurely pace. After walking for a few minutes Andy looks down as Sharon glances off to the side towards a secluded, wooded alcove she'd pointed out to him the day before when they had gone on a walk with her family. She'd told him how she'd spent a lot of time there as a child, at first playing with her brother, later lounging on the shoreline of a small water feature and reading. He smiles at her surprise as he turns them down a freshly shoveled walk to head into the area.

"Andy…"

"Might not have been buying socks earlier," Andy says with a sheepish look. He'd left the house for a while earlier in the afternoon after lunch but before they had taken a short nap before dinner and mass under the pretense of having forgotten to pack black socks. Sharon had insisted that he borrow a pair from either her father or one of the boys, but Andy had waved her off and ventured out into Hartford on his own. But instead of purchasing socks he'd made a few stops around town before heading to the alcove.

Andy had taken care to loop thousands of white Christmas lights around some of the tree branches, bathing the dark woods in a warm glow. He'd looped lights along the bank of the creek and had lit the walk way he had shoveled in conjunction with a small area for them to stand in.

Sharon lets out a surprised gasp as they walk into the lit area, taking in all of the lights as they twinkle amongst the snow. She turns to look up at Andy, an amazed smile taking over her face as she rests her hands on his chest.

"This is…Andy, this is amazing, you did all of this this afternoon?" Andy nods and rests his hands on her hips, squeezing gently.

"I did."

"It's so beautiful," Sharon says, leaning up to press a kiss to Andy's lips, "Thank you. But…what's all of this for?"

"Your first Christmas present."

"My first present?" Sharon arches her eyebrow.

"Yeah. I wanted to make sure I got the honor of giving you your first gift this year."

"Well you definitely went above and beyond," Sharon compliments. Andy winks at her before digging in his pants pocket to retrieve his gift to her. He pulls out a black leather ring box and holds it out to Sharon. Her eyes widen as she looks at the box, swallowing hard.

"I…I love you, so much Shar. And this can mean whatever you want, as long as it means the future. That future can be whatever we want it to be, I just want it to be with you," Andy says. He opens the box and holds it out to Sharon. Nestled in the fabric inside was an intricate rose gold claddagh ring. It was embellished with a deep purple amethyst for the heart and the band was encrusted with small diamonds.

"Andy…" Sharon breathes as she looks at the ring. She reaches her hand out to touch it before snapping it back and looking up at him, "I…"

"Whatever you want," Andy reiterates. Sharon reaches up and cups Andy's face in her hands, pulling him down and pressing her lips to his in a deep and thorough kiss. She lets him go after a moment and lets out a breath as she grins at him.

"I love you. It's beautiful," Sharon tells him before reaching out to take the box. She holds it for a moment, admiring the ring before looking up at Andy again, "Whatever I want?"

"Always," Andy murmurs. Sharon takes the ring out of the box before closing it and giving it back to Andy. She orients the ring in her grasp before slipping it down her ring finger on her left hand, the crown pointing towards her fingertip. She closes her fingers around Andy's hand and smiles as she kisses deeply him again, her arm snaking around his waist. She pulls back and presses another soft kiss to his lips before resting her head on his chest and hugging him close.

Andy wraps his arms around her and presses a kiss to her temple as he squeezes her tight. Sharon pulls back after a moment and looks down at her hand, smiling as she wiggles her fingers with a small laugh. Andy smiles and tips her chin up, "Okay?"

"It's perfect, it's beautiful…Next to Ricky, probably one of the best Christmas presents I could have ever asked for."

"Well no one could ever top him," Andy replies. Sharon laughs and nods, before squeezing Andy's hand.

"I don't know that I'm ever going to be able to reconcile what I feel about still being married in the church and where that leaves us, and I appreciate that you're understanding and you get that," Sharon explains, "But I do know that you're it for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you officially married or not. You're everything to me, Andy. I love you."

"I love you too," Andy murmurs, kissing Sharon softly, "Merry Christmas, Sharon."

"Mmm," Sharon hums as she smiles against Andy's lips, "Merry Christmas, Andy."

[The End]