The balcony seemed like the perfect place to end her evening. It was familiar and comfortable. It was also dark and somewhat mysterious in the night sky. It described Sharon's thoughts after an evening with Jack.

The two had enjoyed their evening; it had been relaxing and enjoyable and surprisingly, free from interruption. Rusty had sent Sharon a text just after she and Jack had arrived back at the condo, telling her he was out and would be back before 11:00.

"Rusty won't be home until 11:00 or so," Sharon turned to Jack who was at the counter studying the Chinese take-out menu. He glanced up at her, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Jack asked. "I know you are protective of him."

"I think it's a good thing," Sharon grinned. "Yes, it's a very good thing," she said quietly and walked from the coffee pot where she had been making coffee and tea, to the counter where Jack was perched. She was now opposite him, as Jack was standing next to the barstools, and she leaned on the counter directly across from him. "I absolutely love having Rusty here, but I'm very much looking forward to a night where we can just talk and reconnect."

"Reconnect?" Jack raised an eyebrow and tilted his head as he looked at her.

She shrugged, "Dinner on the balcony, maybe some music, and maybe just time out there to sit and stare into the night sky."

"I like how you think, Sharon. I'll order the food," he said and quickly pulled out his phone to dial.

Now, as she looked at the LA skyline, she sighed, thinking about what a lovely evening it had been. The two had enjoyed their Chinese food on the balcony. Once they had finished, the two had moved to the the railing and stood next to each other for quite some time. Eventually, Jack had pulled Sharon into his side, wrapping his arm loosely around her waist, and she'd enjoyed it. Now, as she thought about it, she stood there, in the same spot, and she smiled. She smiled at the memory of Jack standing next to her as the two looked to the night sky. The sky was dark and mysterious, and while happy about the last few hours, it was the thing that was bothering her about Jack, the comparison. Sure, Sharon knew what the skyline looked from her balcony during the day, but at night, there was a bit of mystery. She felt Jack was similar; she knew what to expect from his typical behaviors and even intentions of the last 30 plus years, but there was a mystery to him now, one she wasn't sure if was scary or not. Just as the dark could be scary, she wondered if Jack's intentions were too. His behavior scared her, even though he appeared to be putting his life together again. As she stood, she thought it over and over in her mind and decided to proceed with caution, just what someone would do in the dark when they were thinking about moving forward.

Sharon sighed and closed her eyes as she listened to the sounds of LA. She could hear car horns and traffic sounds even still over the light music playing in her living room. Jazz. Jack liked it, so she'd put it on earlier. It seemed to fit the mood. After they'd been standing at the railing for awhile, staring into the night sky, Jack had turned to kiss Sharon. She hadn't resisted, and in fact, she'd enjoyed it very much. When she pulled back, she knew she'd confused him just by watching the expression on his face. Sharon left him standing there, speechless, but he smiled when she returned just moments later with a blanket. They curled up on one of her lounge chairs, Jack with his arm around her, and the two stayed that way for over the next hour. It felt good; it felt normal, and it felt like something a woman would do with her husband.

As Sharon turned back toward the lounge chairs, she smiled at the memory. They'd been content sitting there, not saying much, but just enjoying each other's company. Sure, they'd kissed some, but again, Sharon shrugged it off because that was something normal a husband and wife should do, sit together and kiss on the balcony.

Sharon had almost, she had almost, invited Jack to stay, but she didn't. Now, as she stood and thought back over the evening, she still wasn't sure if she'd made the right decision. He'd left just 20 minutes ago now, and she was back out on the balcony replaying the night in her head. It hadn't felt quite right, inviting Jack to stay. Yes, she was well aware he was her husband; she kept telling herself that, but their marriage was a mess. It had been a 30-year mess, and she knew she couldn't afford to let her emotions cloud her judgement. The problem was they WERE clouding her judgement, and she was having trouble keeping things black and white; the gray area was creeping in more and more each day in regards to Jack.

Her head snapped to the door when she heard it open. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Rusty walking in the door. She wasn't worried about him, well, she was, but that wasn't why she was relieved. She hadn't realized it until just that moment, but she was actually a bit terrified Jack had returned, wanting to spend the night himself. In that moment, she knew she'd made the right decision to send him home, or at least back to his friend's couch, where he was staying. No, she wasn't ready for Jack to stay with her, even if he was legally still married to her. No, that wasn't a chance she could take yet, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep telling herself that.

"Oh, hey, there you are," Sharon looked up as Rusty smiled at her. "It's getting cold out here. You okay?"

"Rusty, you are home a little earlier than I expected," Sharon said as she glanced at her watch. It was now 10:30; she had sent Jack home at 10:00, knowing if he had stayed much longer, she wouldn't send him home for the night.

"Yeah, I am kind of tired and have a headache," he shrugged. "I'm going to head to bed. What music is that?" Rusty grimaced.

"Jazz," Sharon let out a low chuckle. "Jack was here for dinner. He likes Jazz."

"Oh," Rusty frowned. "Where is he?"

"Home," she nodded. "He went home awhile ago now."

"So, what's the deal with him?" Rusty asked.

Sharon shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet, but it's been nice spending time with him. He seems sincere in his plans to change, but I've heard that before too."

"Yeah, well, I just want you happy, Sharon, but I also know he's hurt you before. I don't want that. You've been so good to me. I can't stand the idea of anyone, Jack especially, hurting you again," he told her.

"Thank you, Rusty," she smiled widely and walked to him. She gave him a small hug, as he was still a bit squeamish at the idea of anyone hugging him. "Get some rest if you aren't feeling well."

"I will. Get some sleep, Sharon," he nodded to her and turned to go back into the condo.

Sharon watched Rusty get a glass of water, wave to her, and then disappear down the hall. She took one last look around the balcony, almost wanting to remember every detail of the enjoyable evening before she locked up the door and turned off the music. Jazz. It always reminded her of Jack, and tonight, it had set the mood for a semi-romantic evening with her estranged husband.

By the middle of Monday morning, Sharon was ready for a cup of tea. She'd spent a couple hours going over expense reports and had started to have trouble focusing. She stopped working when she realized she'd started to hum the music from Saturday night. Jazz. There it was again, the tune now stuck in her head. She tried to shake it off, but she couldn't, so she stood, intent on making a cup of tea. She glanced out to check on the team. It appeared Andy and Provenza might have had the same idea, at least about a mid-morning break, because neither was at his desk.

"So, I get to the house on Saturday, and she's got this whole list of things she wants me to do to it, like I'm her personal contractor," Sharon stopped suddenly in the hallway as she heard Andy complaining to whom she assumed was Provenza. "Look, I don't mind helping her out, but she's wanting to make all these big changes to her house, asking my opinion, like I'm moving in there! I'm not! I'm not even sure this whole trying to get back together is such a good idea."

"Flynn, you've got to trust your gut. I keep telling you that getting back with the ex never works! Trust me. Take it from someone who knows," Provenza told him.

"Yeah, I know, but at the same time, I keep telling myself that it isnt't that bad. So, she wants to change things and wants to ask my opinion. Is that really so bad? She wants to rid her house of her ex," he sighed.

"Her other ex," Provenza corrected. "Let's not forget that. Again, take it from someone who knows. She now has two ex-husbands. She kicked out the second and thinks the first looks pretty good again. I've been there, you idiot! It doesn't work. I want you to be happy, but you aren't happy!"

"I'm not sure what will make me happy, Provenza!" Andy exclaimed. "I think she might, but then I get to spending time with her, and it just doesn't feel right. Something feels off. For example, I used to love going out to dinner, but lately, with Sandra, I dread it. I just do. I don't like any of the places she picks, and it just feels weird."

Sharon knew she shouldn't eavesdrop on two of her lieutenants, and she was afraid if she didn't interrupt now, someone else would come along and make things even more awkward. Normally, conversations in the break room stayed in the break room, but since a suspect had kicked at their break room door and broken the latch almost a month ago, the door didn't shut properly. Sharon had put in a maintenance request to have the door fixed, but that paperwork hadn't been processed yet. With that in mind, that she had walked into a private conversation, she decided to end it.

"I smell coffee," she announced as she walked into the room. The two men looked to her, surprised they didn't hear her coming. She had on pants and flats today; Jack preferred her in flats because he wasn't that much taller than she was, and the heels made her taller.

"Captain," Provenza shook his head at Andy, turned away from him, and he looked to her. "I'm making coffee now."

"That means you should run, Sharon," Andy turned and winked at her. "No one should have to drink Provenza's coffee."

Sharon smiled at Andy and nodded, "Good thing I came for tea. The coffee smells good, though, I must say."

"Flynn, what did you do?" Provenza pointed at him. "She ignored your comment about my coffee and claims it smells good. Have you irritated her? She always sides with you."

Andy rolled his eyes. Sharon chuckled and walked to the sink to start preparing her tea, "Andy has done nothing wrong, Lieutenant," she smiled at Andy and looked to Provenza. "He's still one of my favorite people."

Provenza raised an eyebrow to her, and she shrugged. Andy jumped to her defense before Provenza could say something sarcastic, "Provenza, if she starts liking you, we all know something is wrong."

"Well, in that case, I'm going back to work. I can't be seen talking to the captain for too long," he flashed a grin at her. "Captain, talk some sense into Flynn, please?"

Provenza gathered his things, and he moved out of the break room quickly, leaving Sharon at the counter where she was working on her tea. Andy was still seated at the table where he had been drinking his cup of coffee and talking to Provenza, the same conversation Sharon had just overheard.

"Everything okay?" Sharon looked to Andy and smiled after Provenza started down the hall.

"Yeah," he sighed and waved a hand. "Why? Am I that obvious?"

"Hmm, perhaps," she nodded, "but, maybe you are just out of sorts."

"Sorry?" Andy asked, not following Sharon's comment.

She nodded to him, "You aren't wearing your suspenders. You've been wearing those more and more for quite some time. Today, nothing, just a shirt, tie, and jacket. I know you have many pairs of suspenders, so maybe you are out of sorts because you aren't wearing them."

"Oh," he flashed a grin, the first one she'd seen on him the whole morning. "Well, I'm surprised you noticed. Sandra said she didn't like the suspenders, reminded her of her uncle. She said they made me look heavier and older than I am."

"Really?" Sharon asked, quite surprised. "Andy, I'm surprised she would say that, not to mention surprised you'd stop wearing them. You love your suspenders."

He shrugged, "Yeah, well, sometimes, things are just worth it, or so you hope. I'm trying to make amends and not make the same mistakes twice. Right now, that means I'm trying to figure out things with Sandra. She commented on the suspenders, so I'm trying. Relationships," he sighed.

Sharon nodded as she listened. She definitely understood that. As Andy spoke, she continued to think of her current predicament with Jack. She met Andy's gaze, noting he was looking at her, and she gave a small smile. "I understand. I really do," she said quietly. "Just remember, Andy, that you deserve to be happy too, no matter what. I tell myself that all the time."

He nodded, "Thanks, Sharon. You've always been so easy to talk to about anything."

She gathered her tea and walked toward him. She smiled as she approached him, "For what it's worth, Andy, you've got great taste in clothing, and I think if you like your suspenders, you should wear them. I think they will be missed around the office, should you choose to change your wardrobe for Sandra." She lightly squeezed his shoulder, gave him a smile, and then she started for the door. It wasn't until she was in the hall and humming the music from the other night that it hit her. Jazz. She didn't even like that type of music, and here, she'd just spend an evening listening to it for Jack.