To say she trusted Andy was an understatement. She trusted him with her life, with her kids' lives. It was the trust in his abilities as a cop and as a father. When she found their murderer's arm around her neck and a gun to her head, she was relieved to see it was Andy who found them first.

Their suspect had the advantage of height over her and it made it easy for him to hold her close to him. She didn't fight, her gaze focused on her lieutenant while she counted each breath in and out. The arm was pressing dangerously against her windpipe, but she didn't give the fear anywhere to grab hold. She shifted slightly, the edge of her shoes digging into her heel. The suspect tightened his arm and she gasped instinctively, her eyes closing for the briefest of moments.

"You don't want to do this. I told you that we will help you, Marcus." Andy's voice was calm, but his eyes were anything but. Even from this distance, Sharon could see the hard, cold focus in his brown eyes. "But before we can help you, you need to let her go."

Marcus shook his head and the gun pressed harder against her head. She winced, knowing she was likely to have a few bruises when this incident was over. She didn't consider the possibility that Marcus would pull the trigger. Instead, she kept her eyes on Andy and her focus on her breathing.

"No. You're all a bunch of fucking liars. You want to put me away from Eric's murder and I didn't do it!" Marcus was almost hysterical and Sharon's eyes flicked back to him. "I didn't kill Eric!"

"Then let me help. I can help prove that you didn't do it, but you've got to let her go. If you don't, Marcus, you'll be arrest for assaulting an officer and there's nothing I can do for you." Andy's hand shifted ever so slightly on his gun, aimed steadily in their direction.

"I-I…" Marcus faltered and his grip on both her neck and his weapon slackened. She swallowed and allowed herself to take a deeper breath, feeling her lungs accept the larger wave of air eagerly. "Can you? Help?" He finally asked, his voice softening considerably.

"We can and we will. Just let her go." Andy had inched forward, but Marcus didn't notice. He adjusted his gun and stared at it like he had seen it for the first time.

Suddenly, his grip was back and tighter than ever. Sharon's breath caught in her throat and she whimpered despite herself. She felt rather than saw Marcus's hand tightening near the trigger and focused on Andy's familiar face. He'd made sure her kids were taken care of if—

She didn't have time to go further with the thought. There was a gunshot that echoed around before the alley fell silent. She didn't move, but found she could breathe easier and she wasn't sure why. She wavered where she stood, managing to reach out and lean against the brick wall for support. Her stomach heaved and she looked down, her eyes coming to rest on Marcus with a small and bleeding wound between his eyes.

"Good shot," she managed to huff, attempting to come off casual and failing miserably. "Next time, don't aim so close to me." She heard a weak chuckle behind her but couldn't raise her eyes to look at Andy. She dug her fingers into the cracks between the bricks and rested her head against the warmth, her eyes closing as she tried to regain her breathing. "Is he dead?"

She heard shuffling behind her and then a grunt from Andy. "He's dead. Looks like we're not getting out of here anytime soon." Slowly, Sharon turned around so her back rested against the wall and she looked at Andy. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered automatically. She tentatively rubbed her fingers across her tender throat and then up to her temple where the gun had rested not long ago. "Where's backup?"

"Should be here soon." He looked her over and she managed to meet his gaze for a moment before she dropped her eyes to her shoes and sighed. "Sharon…"

"I'm fine, Andy."

"You just had a gun against your head and those marks on your neck don't look pretty." She sighed and forced herself to meet his gaze once more.

"I'm fine." Despite herself, she held out her hand and he took it immediately. He tangled their fingers together and gave hers a firm squeeze before he kissed the back of it. "I just…" She swallowed and hesitated a moment before she leaned against him. "I trust you."

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, his free hand gently tangling in her hair. He held her there for several minutes, angling them so he could better lean against the wall. She curled into him and he absently stroked his thumb across her scalp. They stayed like that for several minutes until their backup arrived with lights and sirens. Sharon was escorted to the ambulance while FID swarmed Andy, separating the two for nearly an hour.

They had driven to the scene separately and returned to her condo in their respective cars, Sharon arriving home first. By the time Andy made it upstairs, she had already changed into pajamas and he found her curled up in bed. He quietly moved into the bedroom and slid his jacket off while his eyes roamed the outline of her body.

"Sharon?" He slipped his suspenders off and unhooked them before he toed off his shoes and sat on the edge of the bed, his hand resting by her arm.

"You're home," she murmured, shifting beneath the blankets before her head popped up and her eyes met him.

"I'm home and you're in bed." It was only late afternoon and it was highly unusual for Sharon to be in her pajamas and in bed this early—he knew it had to do with what happened and it worried him. "Rusty's still at school?"

"Until six," she answered. Her eyes moved over his face for a few moments before she reached over to loosely take his hand, her smaller one curling up in his larger one.

"And I assume the paramedics gave you a clean bill of health?" He leaned against the headboard and she immediately curled into his side with her head resting on his chest.

"Some minor bruises, but nothing serious. They said take it easy for today, but I can go back tomorrow." She stifled a yawn and he smiled a little, bending to press a kiss to her head.

"I see you took their advice." His tone had a hint of teasing in it and he was relieved when she laughed a little.

They lapsed into silence, the room only filled with the sounds of their breathing and Sharon's occasional shifting beneath the blankets. Andy was content to hold her, knowing she needed the rest and not wanting to be anywhere else. It took her a few minutes before she said anything else.

"I'm glad you were there today." It was a simple sentence, but tone told Andy everything he needed to know.

"I'm glad I was there too," he whispered. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm okay because of you." She tilted her head to look up at him, her brow furrowed behind her glasses. "Thank you, Andy."

"I'd say anytime, but I'd rather not do that again." His lips twitched up and hers did the same after a moment. "Get some rest and I'll be here when you wake up. Maybe even with some dinner."

"Sounds like a bribe to me," she mumbled.

She shifted around again before finally settling on her stomach with her head resting over Andy's heart. Her arm wrapped across his body and he tangled their fingers together while his other arm wrapped around her, holding her securely to his chest while she fell into an exhausted slumber.