Chapter 11 - Milestone

After Sharon and Andy exchanged presents with Nicole, Dean and Charlie, too (Sharon had, of course, managed to come up with a little something for Andy's son as well, despite the short notice of his attendance), and a bit more of the boys' entertaining them, even though it was barely 8 pm, after the evening's excitement, the two little guys seemed beat and now lay on top of Sharon and Andy.

Each of the boys had their legs draped over one of the armrests of the couch, Joey's head resting in Andy's lap and Ben's in Sharon's. Clutched in Ben's hands were the tickets they had gotten earlier. They were silently snoring away, oblivious to the hands of their grandparents that absentmindedly caressed their leg, arm or hair every now and then, or to the conversation that had finally shifted from them to more adult topics.

"So have you made any plans for the wedding?" Dean was asking them.

Andy and Sharon exchanged a look. "Not yet," he shrugged.

"But probably not until we move into the house," Sharon added, the thought occurring to her only just then.

Andy gave her a surprised look at the new piece of information, but nodded almost immediately, agreeing.

"The house?" Nicole inquired. She was no longer perched on the side of the armchair next to her husband but had instead made herself comfortable on a small bean bag between the couch and the chair.

"Oh," Andy rubbed a hand over the back of his head guiltily. "I forgot to tell you." He gave Sharon an even guiltier look. "We bought the house. You know, the one I mentioned a few weeks ago."

Nicole's eyebrows shot up, "But I thought your offer didn't go through?"

"It didn't, but Sharon," he nudged her shoulder, careful not to stir either one of his grandsons awake, "surprised me."

At his daughter's still puzzled look, Sharon clarified, "The buyers changed their minds so the realtor offered it to us again."

"Sharon figured it all out and surprised me with the news on Christmas morning." He smirked at her. "Nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw the papers!" he added on a chuckle.

Only Dean laughed, whereas Charlie, Nicole and Sharon barely managed a smile at his lame joke. When he shrugged defensively at Sharon, she addressed Nicole, ignoring him. "You're all invited over the moment we move in."

"Oh," Nicole clasped her hands together, "I'll take you up on that, don't worry," she laughed.

"We can also lend a hand with the moving," Dean said, looking at his wife for confirmation.

She instantly nodded, "Yeah, if you need help, just holler," Nicole told them.

"Thank you," Sharon replied, glancing over at Andy.

"Yeah, we'll see," he told them, smiling in thanks.

Charlie cleared his throat then, getting their attention. "Not to pry, dad," he looked at the woman next to him and added, "Sharon." He looked pointedly at her hand. "But I don't see an engagement ring anywhere."

Sharon laughed and waved him off. "Well, your father had to improvise," she told him, slipping off the ring he had given her. She did not have it refitted yet. "This is my engagement ring," she turned it around and put it between two fingers to show it to them.

Dean laughed. "Why would you improvise an engagement ring?" he sounded genuinely confused.

"May I?" Nicole asked, before Andy could respond, and held out a hand in front of Sharon, who gladly planted the ring on top of her palm.

"You have to, when your girlfriend," he gave said girlfriend, fiancee actually, an exasperated look, "only decides she wants to get married again, after you already come up with different plans."

This time Charlie's eyebrows shot up, but judging by the confused expressions on Nicole's and Dean's faces, he wasn't the only one not understanding what his father was talking about.

"I promise," Nicole suddenly said, having made out the engraving. She then looked up, "Decide to want to get married?" she asked, frowning. "Oh," she gave Sharon a wide-eyed look, probably guessing what he meant by that, "I'm sorry, don't mind me," she waved a hand at herself, "that's between you two, I know," she quickly said.

"It is," Sharon confirmed but gave her a warm smile as she reclaimed the ring and slipped it back on her finger. "But it's not exactly a secret either," she added, giving Andy a warm look. "Your dad's getting soft in his old age, you know," she told Nicole mischievously.

Andy just rolled his eyes, when Nicole laughed, while Dean and Charlie chuckled. "I try to be romantic, and she calls me soft," he told them, hooking a thumb at Sharon. "Can you believe it?"

"Not really," Charlie admitted, giving his father a slightly amused look, but sounding rather serious.

"Uh," Andy looked at him, rubbing a hand over his head again. Deciding it was best to just explain what happened, he said, "Well, I wanted to make Sharon a promise since marriage wasn't on the table for her," he gave Nicole a quick look, "something we actually discussed months ago," he explained. "You know, do something at least slightly more official, what with her family all there for a visit," he shrugged. "So I came up with the ring, so we can match," he raised his right hand to indicate his sobriety ring. "And then when I give it to her, she tells me she changed her mind." His voice went up as if saying "Can you believe it?" again.

Both Dean and Nicole smiled widely at them. "Well, soft or not, that's great news, congratulations!" Nicole told them, while Dean nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Sharon and Andy said but at the same time Charlie quietly asked, "What made you change your mind?"

It drew a surprised look from Sharon, but painted worried ones on Andy's, Nicole's and even Dean's faces. After a moment of considering the younger version of Andy in front of her, she just shrugged and smiled mirthfully. "Your dad," she told him simply, clasping Andy's hand and giving it a supportive squeeze.

"Hm," was all Charlie let out as he mulled over her answer. He gave his sister a quick look before shifting his attention to Sharon again. "Yeah, he's good at that," he finally said, smiling warmly now. "He changed my mind, too," he added, slanting a meaningful look at his father.

Andy's eyes widened, and he swallowed when his son's words sunk in. "Took me long enough," he muttered, sounding regretful, meeting his son's gaze.

"Me, too," Charlie admitted, a note of regret in his voice, too. "I'm stubborn," he added, then quirked an eyebrow, suddenly smirking in an eerily Andy-like fashion, as he gave him a long look. "Take after my father, I think," he told him.

Nicole rolled her eyes and shook her head at him, but had to smile a watery smile when her father said, thickly, "I missed you, son."

Charlie nodded, looking at him almost absentmindedly. "Missed you, too, dad," he agreed finally, pinning him with a look to show he meant it.

The rather heavy moment was broken when Andy heard Sharon take a long, probably unintentionally, loud breath. When he looked at her and noticed a sheen of tears in her eyes, he squeezed her hand and grinned. "Quite the roller coaster we're on this week, huh?" he asked her.

"Oh, hush," she waved a hand at him, blinking a few times, trying to collect herself again.

He grinned at her again and pulled her into a sideways hug, as much as it was possible with the two boys in their laps, and whispered against her ear, careful to have only her hear him, "Thank you."

For being happy for him, for loving him and his kids, for the Sharon effect, as his daughter dubbed it, she knew, so she squeezed his hand in welcome.

"So back to that wedding of yours," Nicole said, steering the conversation to lighter topics, "need a planner?" she asked, all but offering herself for the task as she wiggled her eyebrows at them.

Sharon let out a laugh, pulling out from Andy's embrace, while his heart probably dropped into his stomach as his eyes widened in horror. "Planner?" he repeated, feebly.

"Oh," Sharon came to his rescue, "it'll be a small affair." She waved a hand through the air. "Just a small reception after the ceremony, I think," she added, giving Andy a reassuring look. "You're invited, of course," she told Nicole. "All of you," she clarified, giving her husband and brother a look, too.

"That's right," Andy confirmed, visibly more relaxed now.

"Well, just tell us when and where," Dean said, exchanging a quick look with Nicole, "and we'll be there."

"Me, too," Charlie said.

"Don't forget these two guys," Sharon added, patting Ben's knee and looking over at Joey.

Nicole laughed, "Like they'd let us go without them!"

"We'd not let you come without them," Andy warned, grinning crookedly at his daughter.

"It's a plan then," Nicole confirmed.

"Can't wait," Andy said, smiling at Sharon.

...

"Oh, I hate to move them," Sharon said, carefully removing the tickets out of Ben's still firm grasp.

"I don't wanna wake them either," Andy told her. "But I gotta admit, I'm starting to lose feeling in my right thigh."

"Don't worry about it," Nicole told them, getting over to Sharon's side to pick up Ben, while Dean scooped Joey into his arms.

"They sleep like logs," Dean added.

"See," Nicole said when Ben only mumbled something incoherently in his sleep but settled down again after snuggling into her hold. "Fireworks wouldn't wake them up now."

They had continued talking for maybe another hour before Andy and Sharon finally announced that they should take their leave. Nicole tried insisting they stay longer (after all, 9:30 pm wasn't that late even if it was well past the boys' bedtime), but neither Andy nor Sharon could be persuaded, citing instead an early work day and possible unexpected roll outs as excuses.

"We'll be right back," Dean told them, following Nicole upstairs and into his sons' bedroom.

"I should probably get going too," Charlie said, getting to his feet. "I've had a long day."

By the time Dean and Nicole returned, the three of them were already in the hallway, busy putting on their jackets.

"Where's your car?" Andy asked Charlie, only now realizing he hadn't seen it parked in his daughter's driveway.

"Hid it in the garage," his son informed him, smirking.

"Of course you did," Andy shook his head in amusement.

"Got everything?" Sharon asked him, waiting readily at the door for him.

"Yeah," Andy told her, turning to Dean and extending his hand to him. When he took it, he said, "Thanks for dinner."

"Any time," Dean told him, then moved to say goodbye to Sharon.

"I'll walk you to your car," Nicole said, opening the door for them.

After exchanging one last look with Dean, Sharon and Andy walked out. Charlie, who couldn't leave until they did since he was parked in by Andy's car, followed them.

Nicole wrapped her arms around her father, surprising him when she held on just a bit more tightly and longer than usually. When she got out of his embrace, at his equally surprised look, she just shrugged. "I'm really happy for you," she told him, giving Sharon a quick look, too. She had already bid goodbye to Charlie and was now standing next to the passenger door.

Andy settled his own gaze on Sharon and smiled warmly. "Me, too," he said.

When Nicole rounded the car to pull Sharon into a hug, too, he didn't hear her when she quietly told her, "I know you don't believe in the Sharon effect, but thank you. We owe you a lot," she glanced at her brother, "whether you agree or not."

So when Andy noticed the rather watery smile Sharon gave Nicole when they pulled apart, he had no idea what that was about. He only managed to make out Sharon's rather resigned sounding "You're welcome."

"Bye, dad," Charlie told him, approaching him. When Andy wrapped his arms around him in a hug, he happily returned the gesture.

"Thanks for the surprise," Andy told him. "I really didn't like the idea of not seeing you until next year," he admitted when they ended the hug.

"Yeah?" Charlie rubbed a hand over the back of his head. "Maybe I didn't like it either," he shrugged, briefly lifting an eyebrow, too.

Andy just smiled, but then asked something that had actually crossed his mind an hour or so ago. "Did I really change your mind?" He couldn't hide the concern in his voice.

Charlie smiled at him, giving Nicole and Sharon, who were rather obviously following their exchange, a quick look. "Yeah, dad, you did." He lifted the corner of his mouth and an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly. "You can stop walking on eggshells around me."

Andy's entire face lit up. "Okay," he acknowledged, touched by what he knew his son was trying to let him know. "I'll try not to disappoint you again, son," he promised.

Charlie frowned. "I don't think I was ever really disappointed in you, dad," he said, and before Andy could offer a response, he quickly added, "Just pissed off at you."

Andy's eyebrows shot up but he sounded genuinely apologetic when he spoke. "I'm sorry."

Charlie just chuckled at him. "I know, dad." He locked eyes with his sister before adding, "Trust me, I know." When he continued, he sounded as apologetic as Andy. "Sorry for, uh, making this so difficult, but I promise, you don't have to prove yourself to me anymore. I believe you."

"About time," Nicole suddenly said, walking over to her brother.

It had taken her a lot less time than Charlie to recognize her father's efforts and to decide to just try and focus on possible better times with him instead of the past bad ones.

However, Charlie was, like he had just said, pissed off, too angry with his father for what he had done in the past to appreciate what he was trying to do in the present. Things were better, constantly improving, and she knew her brother was making an effort, too, but truthfully, she was getting a little tired of the entire situation. On the one hand, there was her father carefully weighing his every move around Charlie, while on the other hand, her brother seemed to be waiting for the other shoe to drop, putting a damper on things even when they seemed to be going really well.

It was a relief to have the constant tentative air around them finally lift like this, because it had kept them all slightly on edge, not just Charlie or Andy.

"I'll never stop though," Andy told both Charlie and Nicole seriously.

Charlie didn't look like he had a response to that, so Nicole decided to intervene before things became too emotional. "You can continue then by not forgetting to tell us your wedding date when you settle on one."

She smirked when both Andy and Charlie started laughing, relaxing now. "Don't worry," Andy slanted a look at Sharon, who was smiling at them, leaning against the side of his car, "that I won't forget."

"Good," Nicole told him, giving him a hug again, a brief one this time.

"I'll text you when we get home," Andy told her, finally unlocking the car.

"Okay," she nodded, watching both him and Sharon as they slipped into the car.

"I love you," Andy told both of his children before closing the door.

When they smiled at him, he did, too. He then turned the car on, and pulled out of the driveway.

...

"Yes?" Sharon drawled.

She was sitting, leaning against the headboard under the covers of her bed, checking on her emails on the phone. Her question was directed at Andy.

He had come out of the bathroom, flopped down on the bed on top of the covers and was now lying on his stomach, head propped on both his hands, his legs bent, crossed at his ankles as he gently swayed them through the air while watching her.

Instead of giving her an answer, he grinned. She quirked an eyebrow at him, considered him for a moment. He looked content and rather adorable with the way the corners of his eyes crinkled. Deciding to put her phone down on the nightstand she finally directed her entire attention to him.

He grinned again and raised himself up only high enough to reach for her hips and move her down the bed a bit. She quirked an eyebrow again but offered no protest. When she was more lying down than sitting, Andy moved between her covered legs, careful not to crush her with the weight of him, and, folding his hands over her stomach, rested his chin on top of them.

He looked up, grin now gone, and said, "Tonight was a milestone." The words practically oozed with his unhidden joy.

She ran a hand through his hair affectionately. "It was," she agreed in a soft voice.

"Did Nicole say something to you?" he asked, leaning into her touch slightly.

She smiled and looked away for a moment, considering how to answer that. "She accused me of the Sharon," she rolled her eyes, "effect again."

"And you told her she was welcome?" he said, referring to the only bit of the exchange he overheard.

"She is," she confirmed, rubbing a thumb over his forehead, smoothing out the lines that formed there when he frowned.

"That's awfully cryptic of you," Andy grumbled, lightly tapping the fingers of one of his hands over her abdomen, as if to highlight his dissatisfaction with her answer.

Sharon let out a soft laugh, jostling Andy as it went through her. "Your daughter just appreciates your efforts, Andy," she told him honestly.

"Accused you of having something to do with it?" he said, smirking now. The words weren't really a question.

She rolled her eyes again. "You two give me entirely too much credit for everything.

"Only giving credit where credit is due," Andy retorted. "Ah!" he warned when she geared up to protest.

He shrugged and went on to elaborate. "I know it was me, and Nicole, and Charlie," he named his son on a smile, "but you being there," whether at the wedding or any other subsequent outings, there was no need to define 'there', "did pique their interest initially."

He lifted his chin briefly to pull out a hand from under it, and reached for her hand. "Seeing that someone like you would pay me any attention," he stressed the last three words by widening his eyes as if in disbelief about the mere notion of it, "finally made them actually look at me." He wrapped his fingers around hers. "You know, to notice who I am now, and not who I was 15-20 years ago." He pulled her hand closer and softly kissed the tip of one her fingers.

"Andy," she started, but he squeezed her hand in a silent plea to let him get it all out.

"You didn't do much, fine," he relented. "But it was a lot, okay?" He pushed himself up, moving himself upwards, stopping to hover just above her lips. "And that means the world to me," he told her before pressing a kiss to them.

Not letting go of his hand, she moved her other hand into his hair and pulled him closer to herself, deepening the kiss.

When they pulled apart, he stayed close enough so that their noses were almost touching and smiled. Finally, letting go of his hand, she reached for his face and cradled it between her hands. His smile widened when she gently rubbed her fingers against his temples. "I am so happy for you," she told him thickly, pecking him quickly on the lips. "You've earned it, Andy," she added, kissing him quickly again. "All of it," she stressed, before kissing him properly.

"And you're welcome, too," she told him when they remembered their need for air, running a hand through his hair again. "You'll always be," she added on a smile.

"Come here," he suddenly said, a gravelly quality to his voice now, rolling over to his back, while reaching for her hand and pulling her with him. She let out a surprised yelp but settled willingly on top of him, ignoring the now tangled comforter between them.

He caressed her sides, before taking hold of her left hand. "I can't wait to put a ring on there," he told her, moving his other hand to run its fingers over hers.

"You know," she started, her voice going unusually high, making him look up at her, knowing instantly that she was going somewhere unexpected with that particular tone of voice, "I don't think I want to have this resized," she told him, wiggling the little finger of her right hand.

"How come?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

She shrugged. "I do want proper wedding bands," she gave him a pointed look, adding, "so we'll have to pick those out." She splayed her right hand over his chest to look at her improvised engagement ring. "But I like this one just as it is." She met his gaze and smiled. "It's more you," she explained, offering his chest a gentle caress.

He gave her a crooked smile, but let out a thoughtful hum. He absentmindedly ran his hands over her arms, deciding on his next words. "I thought about adding a rock to it when we had it refitted," he told her. She raised an eyebrow at him, clearly telling him she did not find that necessary, so he added, shrugging, "I wanted to."

It was true, having a small diamond added to the band when they took it for resizing was one of the first things that crossed his mind when he realized his impromptu engagement ring fit the wrong finger.

"Don't," she told him probably a bit more forcefully than planned because she leaned down to peck him on the lips briefly. "It's perfect just as it is," she assured him.

"It's not," he disagreed, not letting her pull completely away back to her earlier straddling position. He gripped her sides, urging her down again. When she lowered herself, he told her "But you are." before kissing her again.

She scoffed into his kiss and moved away by lightly pressing her hands against his chest to give him an unimpressed, almost bland look.

He only smirked though. "For me," he corrected himself and lifted his head a bit so he could capture her lips in another kiss.

This time she offered no complaint and instead, kissed him eagerly back. "You, too," she told him, interrupting them only for the briefest of moments before resuming their kiss again.

When Andy, more gently this time, rolled them over again, letting both his hands and lips go on a purposeful search of skin-to-skin contact as he hovered over her, they knew they would not be interrupting each other again any time soon.

TBC

Hope you liked this. Don't expect any updates though until next year! ;) I'll hopefully move on to their NYC visit then.

I wish you all a very happy New Year! See you in 2017! :D