A/N: A little shameless self-promotion- check out my new story The Mighty Fall. Enjoy!

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Sharon's perspective

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Provenza and the team were still working to find what they could on the video from the hospital, so I thought it would be best to stay with Rusty. I told him Andy wouldn't be living (for lack of a better word) with us anymore and he went to his room, slamming the door for affect. I can't deal with him at the moment, especially not after what I said to Andy today. What I'm doing is completely insane, not only do I love him, I am putting Rusty and myself at an even higher risk. I don't want to, I really don't, but if one of us has to jump in front of a bullet to save my son, I'd rather it be me. After all, I don't expect Andy to be on a suicide mission to protect us, even though he seems to be anyway.

A soft knock on the condo door jars me from my thoughts, and as I hurry over, I wish Andy was here. What if it's Stroh?

Opening the door I can't help but sigh, "Andy." He's wearing a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Provenza sent us home." He won't look at me, "It's almost eleven at night."

"Oh." I lost track of time, "Do you... Want to come in?" I ask, unsure of what he wanted at such an ungodly hour.

"Yeah." He steps through the threshold and jams his hands in his pockets as I close the door, "I just thought I should pick up my things. The sooner you can get me out of here, the better."

"Hey," I reach out and remove his hand from his pocket, gently cradling it in mine, "I want to keep you safe. I don't want you getting hurt because of me."

"I don't want you to get hurt either." He responds, his voice gravely, "And this... This is hurting me Sharon. I can't pretend like I don't care about you and that I don't love you because I do. Nothing is going to change that."

"I love you too." I breathe out, a weight feeling as if it was lifted from my shoulders, "And even though we may not be together, that doesn't change a thing. I'm just so conflicted right now."

"Please, don't shut me out." He begs, finally lifting his eyes to meet mine, "What are you thinking about?"

I let out a light chuckle and squeeze his hand, "Everything. When I told Rusty you would be leaving he locked himself in his room and all I could think about was how important you are to both of us. But the other part of me wants to protect you from whatever Stroh is planning because... because I need you Andy. We need you, and I don't know if I could handle losing you."

"You won't have to. I'm not going anywhere." He assures me, reaching out with his free hand to caress my cheek, "I don't care if you don't want me around, I'm not leaving. I'll rent out the condo next door if you don't want to see me again, but you have to let me do this, please."

"I'm not a damsel in distress." I roll my eyes, honestly touched my his words, "I don't need you to protect me."

"I know." He nods, "But," he lets out a deep breath, "if it comes down to it, you're not going to beat Stroh in a fistfight."

He's right, but that doesn't make this any easier. We're both making these choices to protect the other, but we're hurting each other at the same time.

"You're right." I sigh, reaching up and wrapping my arms around his neck, "I love you."

He chuckles and hugs me back, kissing the side of my head, "I love you too. We don't have anything to worry about, I promise."

I want to believe him, I do, and as much as I trust him, there's still the possibility for things to go terribly wrong.

"I'm scared." I breathe out, pinching my eyes shut as a few stray tears attempt to escape, "I don't want to put you in danger Andy. You have Nicole and the kids to think-"

He cuts me off with a strong kiss, "I have you and Rusty to think about too."

"I'm not gonna win this argument, am I?" I tease, running a hand up and down his chest, "You're too stubborn for your own good sometimes."

"You're not gonna win." He smiles, "And you're just as stubborn, that's why we go so well together."

"You think?" I'm standing on my tip-toes so my eyes can meet his, "It only seems to make things more difficult."

"Yeah, sometimes, but we work through it. Because as stubborn as we are when it comes to our decisions, we're even more stubborn about keeping the other one around."

I lean forward and gently kiss his lips, more than ecstatic to have worked through everything, "I don't want you to leave."

"Good." He breathes when we end the kiss, our foreheads touching, "I'm not planning on it."