A/N: The beauty of Fan Fiction is getting to play with the characters that we so love, and give them a happier path than the one they might actually travel... Thank you for reading... SHARON RAYDOR LIVES! SO SAY WE ALL!

"It never gets old, does it?"

Virginia turned to find Sharon at her side. Both women were dressed casually in jeans- Sharon had paired hers with a white poet shirt, while Virginia wore a grey and navy blue rugby striped tee.

"No, it doesn't," Virginia said in reply, of the view.

Sharon took a seat on the porch railing, next to her cousin. "I just saw Andy going up the stairs to the loft. He said you'd prescribed a before-breakfast nap for him."

"That I did."

"Marty's in bed, too," Sharon said of her lover.

Virginia could not help but smile. "And you're not there, with him?"

When Sharon rolled her eyes lovingly, Virginia smiled.

"What is with your preoccupation with me having sex with Marty!?"

"He is a very good looking man, and I would think that you would want to take advantage of him- and often."

"Oh, that I do... Often."

The cousins giggled together, and then made their way down to the lake. The water was not nearly as warm as the ocean was, the day before, but they kicked off their Birkenstocks and rolled up the cuffs of their jeans, and waded in to their knees.

"I was surprised that you didn't invite Andy to share your room with you."

Just for that bit of teasing, Virginia reached down into the water, and playfully splashed some at Sharon. Her cousin splashed her back, and they laughed until they had tears in their eyes.

It felt good to be a kid again, even for a moment.

"I wanted to ask him," Virginia explained. "But-"

"You're afraid," Sharon surmised.

Her cousin shrugged.

"Why?"

"I don't want to hurt him."

Sharon's heart ached at her cousin's reply. Andy Flynn was a very special man, and she knew that she herself, had wounded him badly.

But when Andy was with Virginia, Sharon saw joy in his eyes again.

And it was the same joy that shined so brightly in Virginia's.

"I know that the two of you were lovers, once."

Before Sharon could reply, Virginia continued.

"I can see it, in the way that he looks at you... and the way that you look at him. You're very careful with each other. And then there is Martin. He and Andy vacillate between being friends, and looking as though they want to castrate the other."

The doctor was, if anything, endearingly blunt, and Sharon loved that about her cousin.

"It is all quite interesting to observe," Virginia also noted.

Sharon stifled a nervous giggle, as she imagined the telenovela that was her life.

"Yes, I suppose that it is," she said of the two men. After a beat, Sharon took Virginia's hand in hers, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Did you love Andy?"

Sharon hummed. "Yes, and I still do- but just not in the way that he deserves to be."

"It's always been Martin, hasn't it?"

Sharon blushed a bit, then nodded. "But I have to say, when he came back in my life, I was every bit as afraid of hurting him, as you are with Andy. We had so many issues, and despite many gestures on his part, I pushed Marty away. That is until Rusty called me on my insecurities, and reminded me that God wants us to be happy, and if I truly believed, then I should have faith, trust my heart and go with it."

Virginia sighed, as she knew Sharon's faith was incredibly important to her.

"But I don't believe, Cousin. You and I share many similarities, but faith is not one of them."

Sharon pulled Virginia into a sisterly and gentle hug, before whispering into her ear, "Trust Andy. He has enough faith for the both of you."

Then, just when things were verging on getting weepy between the cousins, both of their empty stomachs growled, and they were reminded that none in their little group had breakfast yet.

"The men will be waking from their naps," Virginia noted. "We should get back to the cabin."

Sharon nodded in agreement. "And have breakfast waiting for them when they get up."

Virginia snorted at such a suggestion.

"What?! I'll have you know that I actually make very good pancakes! Rusty eats them every Saturday morning!"

"Because he's still a growing boy, and that's what they do," Virginia retorted.

Sharon groaned, loudly.

Before the cousins made their way from the shoreline of the lake, back to the cabin, they honored a long held tradition of theirs, started in childhood.

Each found a stone on the beach, and held it in their hands. With closed eyes, Sharon and Virginia made silent wishes for what they hoped would happen during the course of their visit, and then threw the stone as far as they could, into the lake.

Over the years, the cousins' wishes ranged from the oftentimes silly, to the occasionally serious.

And on this day, their wishes were the same.

Happiness and time, with the men they loved.

###

The cabin was on fire.

Andy was certain of that, as he awoke from beneath an O'Dwyer family heirloom quilt. He'd slept soundly, and was hugging the second pillow when reality hit.

Sharon and Virginia were shouting, and banging things around, down on the main level of the cabin.

Andy threw back the covers, and rushed to the rescue.

Castillo was just emerging from the second bedroom, as Andy hit the ground floor of the cabin. They regarded each other with a united nod, and then sprang into action.

Both men were prepared to do battle with the flames, save Sharon and Virginia, and maybe even the cabin.

Smoke was emanating from the kitchen area, and the cousins were... laughing.

"What the hell?!"

"Are you both alright?!"

Sharon and Virginia stared back at Andy and Castillo, guiltily.

"We were making breakfast for you boys," Sharon explained with a cough, amid the clearing smoke.

Virginia frowned at the pile of charred pancakes on a large serving platter.

"Things did not go as hoped," the doctor explained dryly.

"You made this?"

Sharon smiled at her lover, as Castillo examined the pancakes warily.

"We were making breakfast, and got to talking... and I may have spilled some of the batter on one of the burners, and-"

"And nearly got killed in the process!" Castillo exclaimed.

The cousins blushed in unison, as their men hugged them.

"We were able to salvage these," Virginia said of a plate of charred pancakes. They may have had blueberries in them at one time, but it was hard to tell.

Andy stepped up, and bravely plated one of the black discs. After doctoring it with a bit of butter and maple syrup, he then did his best to dig in.

Sharon and Virginia each waited for his reaction, while Castillo tried not to laugh.

The pancake, while completely ruined on the outside, was somehow still runny on the inside...

And it was...

Oddly delicious.

"I like it!" Andy proclaimed, with a mouthful of gooey carbon and melted blueberries. When Castillo snorted incredulously, the lieutenant urged him to try the pancakes for himself.

The cousins' expectant faces guilted the former DEA agent into action, and Castillo caved.

"These are frakking incredible!" he declared after a prolonged beat. To add emphasis, Castillo kissed Virginia on the cheek, and Sharon on the lips.

When things between the captain and her lover began to turn steamy, Andy plated a few more pancakes, and followed Virginia back out to the deck.

Even though things between him and Sharon were well over, Andy didn't need to see her making out with her new lover.

Not when a certain doctor was waiting for him...

"I'm not jokin'," Andy stated as he crossed the threshold to the deck. His mouth was full of pancake, and his hair was still mussed from sleep. "These are really good."

Taking a seat next to him on the porch swing, Virginia snorted. "Leftenant, you are biased, and hardly a credible witness."

Andy's smile crinkled his eyes, as he sawed into one of the pancakes on his plate, then offered her a molten bite.

Virginia hummed as she tasted her own cooking. Andy tasted better, but he was right- the pancake was actually good.

"See? It's wonderful! Would I lie to you?"

"Yes... I mean, no..."

Andy chanced a kiss to the lovely redhead's lips, and tasted maple syrup and melted blueberries there. He wanted nothing more than to make love to her, in that very moment, but knew that they needed to go slow. Andy feared that his emotions would overwhelm Virginia, and that was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

He also didn't want Virginia to think that he was only attracted to her because of her resemblance to Sharon.

Andy saw Virginia for being the successful and beautiful woman that she was. The Doc was a million times smarter than he was, and when she looked his way, he felt like the luckiest guy in the world.

He prayed to God that he could find a way- somehow, to convince her of what was in his heart.

Virginia returned his kiss, and their tongues easily mated. Both parted eventually- with happy and contented sighs.

"Just goes to show you, Doc- life can surprise you in the sweetest of ways."

Being in such a perfect place, and with an even more perfect man, Virginia Dixon felt the very beginnings of the faith that her cousin had spoken so eloquently about.

#TO BE CONTINUED#