His heart ached as he saw Sharon curled into a fetal position on the floor. He quietly walked over and sat down about a foot from her. As he got a better look at her, he realized her shirt was ripped open and her left hand had been bleeding at some point. Julio was right, she had finally begun to cry, slow silent tears. It took all the control he had not to touch her, as he quietly talked to her.

"Sharon, sweetheart…I'm here…I need you to let me…help you."

"Andy…I…Jack…came…"

No sooner than she uttered his name, did he have her cradled safely in his lap. She buried her head in the nape of his neck and softly cried. After a few minutes, she looked up into his chestnut eyes. "I'm sorry…I don't know… why I let him in."

"Shh" he hushed, hugging her closer, "let's get off this floor and then you can tell me what happened while I look at your hand." He gently helped her up and led her to the kitchen. Before she could realize what was happening he easily lifted her and sat her on the counter by the sink.

"Andy!"

"You're not dizzy are you? Will you be okay sitting there for a minute?"

She slowly nodded her head as she watched him walk to their bedroom. He came back with one of his LAPD sweatshirts and the first aid kit. Her hand had stopped bleeding but there was dried blood on the side of her palm and several fingers so he couldn't really tell where the blood had coming from. He gently guided her hand under the cool flow of water in the sink. Once the dried blood washed off he could easily see the small cuts running along the side of her palm. He also realized that she had several small glass shards still in her hand. He placed her hand gently back in her lap and went back to the bedroom to get his reading glasses. Once he removed the shards of glass he washed and dried her hand once more before applying antiseptic ointment and Band-Aids.

Next he helped her remove her torn shirt. His chest swelled with anger as he noticed the bruises beginning to form along her wrist and upper arms, fresh bruises on top of the older fading ones. He gently traced one of the marks with is finger. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry I wasn't here to protect you from that son of a bitch."

"It's not your fault." She said gently cupping his face despite her bandaged hand. "It's my fault for opening the door."

"Honey, it's his fault and his fault alone. Deep down, we both know that." Using his finger, he tilted her chin to him and captured her lips in a soft kiss. He reached for the sweatshirt and carefully helped her pull it over her head. Before she could move from her position on the counter he gently picked her up and carried her to the couch. As they sat together with her snuggled tightly against his chest she slowly told him everything that happened. As tears, little by little, ran from both their eyes he realized how lucky she was that his revolver was still in the bedside table. The outcome could have been so much different had she not been able to hold him off so easily.

They were both still holding each other on the couch when Rusty, followed by Provenza and Julio came in from dinner. Sharon slowly stood and made her way to Rusty, hugging him tightly to her. As Andy came up behind them, she released Rusty and stepped closer to Louie and Julio. "Thank you…both of you for taking care of…Jack tonight. I want to make sure…that you know that I wasn't…afraid of the three of you…I just…needed…a moment…I…"

"Captain, there's no need to explain. We know," Provenza said as she placed her bandaged hand on his arm.

"Ma'am, we're just glad you are okay," Julio shyly smiled.

"Before we leave there is one thing that I do need to tell you," Provenza said motioning for Sharon to sit back down. "I had Buzz pull the security footage from your building for the last week. Jack has been here every day just watching and waiting. I really think he was waiting for the exact moment when he knew you would be alone. Look Sharon, you have a lot to consider before Jack's 24 hour hold is up tomorrow. I just want to make sure you have everything you need."

Andy placed his arm tightly around Sharon, "Thank you Lieutenant. It looks like I definitely have a lot to consider."

Andy stood, leaving Sharon on the couch and walked Provenza and Julio to the elevator. Provenza turned and griped his best friend by the shoulder, "Will she be okay?"

Bowing his head to look at the floor before making eye contact with Provenza and Julio, "I can only hope so. We all know how incredibly strong she is, but there is only so much… I just don't understand why? Why after all this time he came after her…He was sober for god's sake! So why?"

"I'm sure she is asking herself the same thing. Flynn, take good care of her and we will check in with you in the morning," Provenza sighed as he and Julio moved into the elevator.

As Andy strode back into the condo he immediately noticed that Sharon was nowhere to be seen. Rusty was on the couch staring off into space. "Rusty, are you okay? I know what happen today…"

"Damn-it Flynn, when is all this going to stop? She is the kindest, most generous person I have ever known. She doesn't deserve any of this. Jack is an asshole. I don't understand why? I just never imagined that he would want to purposely hurt her."

"I think we are all feeling the same way, Kid. I assume she went to her room? We really need to try and talk her into eating something. Any ideas?"

Rusty stood and made his way to the kitchen. "How about I make grilled cheese sandwiches for the two of you?"

"That sounds good. I'll go check on her and we will be back shortly."

Andy made his way down the hall to the bedroom. The door was open and the lights were on, which he took as a good sign. He found her curled up on the bed facing away from him. Gently, he sat down beside her and pushed the hair away from her face. Her eyes were red and bright. Her cheeks damp with shed tears. "You want to talk about it?" he asked tenderly.

She shook her head no and carefully rolled over so she could look him in the eyes.

"It's okay, sweetheart, I understand. Rusty is making us a grilled cheese and some tea. He thought that might sound good to you."

"Andy"

"Sharon, I'm not going to let you go to bed without eating something, just a few bites, for me and Rusty."

She slowly sat up, pulling him to her and breathing in his scent. He had no idea how much he calmed her. They sat like that for a few minutes before Andy stood and carefully took her hand to escort her to the kitchen.

Rusty had everything ready and waiting for them on the dining table. As they sat down, Andy glanced over at Sharon's plate. "Hey, why didn't I get triangles?" he kidded as he looked at the four perfect triangles on her plate and the 2 halves on his plate.

"Rusty is a master at the grilled cheese and he knows exactly how I like mine," she smiled taking a bite out of one of the triangles. "Thank you honey, it's delicious."

"Why am I not surprised that you like dainty little triangle sandwiches?" Andy laughed, rolling his eyes.

"It goes better with my tea," she said pouting slightly.

"Don't worry Flynn, I can cut yours like that next time. I just figured you for the more manly type of sandwich guy. But hey, if you want triangles…"

"No, no, Rusty. Manly rectangles are just fine."

Andy's cell phone rang, glancing down to see that it was Provenza, he excused himself to the balcony for a few minutes. Sharon and Rusty sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Sharon spoke up. "Rusty can I ask you a question and will you be honest with me?"

"Sure Mom, I'm always honest with you."

She took a sip of her tea and continued, "I just want to make sure that you are comfortable…calling me Mom…and that you aren't doing it because you… think that's what I… need to hear right now."

"Oh my god!" Rusty exclaimed, rolling his eyes and leaning across the table to look at her. "Can you just for once…just one time, not worry about how someone else feels and focus on yourself." Before she could speak he continued, "okay, look I…I've been calling you mom in my head for some time now. And since even before Christmas, I call you mom when I talk or text with Emily and Ricky. And that's like every day. When…I thought I had lost you…I wasn't losing Sharon. I was losing my Mom." He carefully took her hand in his and continued, "you are my Mom in every since of the word. That other person who gave birth to me is that other Sharon. You will forever be my Mom and I will love you no matter what."

As she smiled through her tears, she squeezed his hand tighter, "And you are my son in every since of the word. I will always love you no matter what."

Sharon continued to nibble on her grilled cheese and sip her tea as Rusty sat with her. After a few minutes, she glanced out on the balcony to see Andy still on the phone. Standing slowly, "Will you let Andy know I'm tired so I'm going on to bed? Thank you for dinner."

Rusty stood, coming around the table and hugged her tightly, "Night Mom, love you."

"Love you too, honey."

"Rusty sat and finished the remaining two triangles Sharon had left on her plate. Andy came back and looked at Rusty questionably. "She ate the whole sandwich?"

"Oh, no just half, I ate the other. She said to tell you she was tired. Flynn…will she be okay…really okay?"

"With time and love and support, yes…yes I think so. But the next few days are going to be difficult. She has a lot to think about and a lot of decisions to make concerning Jack and his future."

"What do you mean?" Rusty asked confused.

"She has to decide if she is pressing charges or not. It is a lot to consider and there are pros and cons to both. We both know she will also put how her decision will affect Ricky and Emily first and foremost in her mind. So it's a lot…a lot for her to deal with especially when she hasn't fully recovered…"

"What do you think she should do?" Rusty interrupted.

"I can't say…I'm not sure myself. I just know I will support her no matter what."

"I didn't want to say anything, but…Ricky is flying in tomorrow morning. I'm picking him up at 9:00. Do you think she will be mad?"

"Rusty, how much does Ricky know?"

"Not much, just that they had a disagreement. I told him I couldn't tell him over the phone. He tried to reach you both and kept getting voicemail so he called me while I was at dinner with the Lieutenant and Detective Sanchez. You're not mad are you?"

"No, not at all, I think it is good that he is coming. I wanted to call him myself. In fact I planned on doing that in the morning. She will be irritated at first, I'm sure. But in the end I think she will be glad. You and I both know how hard she works to protect them."

"Yeah, sometimes and I would never tell them this, but sometimes and I think you and I get to see more of the real Sharon."

"I see what you mean too, but we will just keep this between us," Andy said finishing up his grilled cheese and tea. "Night, Rusty. And if I didn't say it earlier, thank you for taking such good care of her today."

She was sound asleep when Andy walked in their bedroom. He stopped and just starred at her, taken aback once again by her beautiful fragility that only he gets to see. She had changed into the green dress shirt he had worn to work earlier. Lying on her side facing him, she had the edge of his shirt pulled up over her nose and mouth, her fist holding tightly to the extra fabric. As quietly and quickly as possible, Andy got ready for bed and carefully slid in behind her. He lay flat on his back trying to will himself to sleep, but everything that happen today weighed heavy on his mind. His eyes began to sting and he could feel the pressure building in his throat and chest. Try as he might to hold it all in, he couldn't. As the tears began to fall, he held his breath trying to be as still as possible. Minutes passed as he tried to control himself. Suddenly, he felt her roll into him, her arm coming tight across his chest and her leg moving in between his. She never said a word, he knew she was still sound to sleep; but even in sleep she knew what he needed.

SASASASASASASASA

Something hit him hard in his side, tearing through the cobwebs of sleep in his mind, but it was her loud piercing scream that finally shattered him awake. He quickly turned on the bedside lamp and realized that she was no longer in the bed with him. She was sobbing now, he could hear her, but he could not see her. Jumping from the bed, he hurried around the bed and found that she had somehow wedged herself under the bench at the foot of the bed. As he knelt in front of her, Rusty softly knocked and entered the room without waiting for an acknowledgement. Andy placed his finger to his lips to motion Rusty to be quiet. Sharon was on her side, hugging her knees, sobbing the word "no" over and over. Careful not to startle her, Andy began quietly saying her name and telling her she was safe repeatedly. He did not touch her, not yet. He had to see her eyes and know that she was fully aware before he could do that. Her sobs quieted and she slowly opened her eyes. Dazed, it took her a minute or two to realize that she was on the floor in her bedroom. Both Andy and Rusty were on the floor too, their faces full of fear and worry.

"What happen?" she whispered, still not moving.

"You had a nightmare. Can you sit up?" he asked carefully offering his hand to her.

She took his hand and allowed him to pull her from underneath the bench. Andy turned to Rusty and asked him to get Sharon a glass of ice water. After Rusty left the room, Andy helped Sharon to her feet. She swayed in his arms, catching her; he lifted her to his chest. He sat her gently on the bed and made his way to the bathroom for a damp washcloth. When he returned, Rusty was sitting beside her while she sipped the cool water.

"I'm okay now. Really, I promise. Rusty, thank you for the water, now go on back to bed."

Rusty hugged her gently before giving Andy a concerned look as he made his way back to his room. Andy took the glass from Sharon and helped her to get settled back in bed. He gently wiped her face and forehead with the cool, damp cloth. "Do you want to talk about your dream?" he asked, even though he was pretty sure he already knew her answer.

She surprised him when she curled into him and quietly began to tell him about the dream. Jack…Jack was trying to hurt him and Rusty. She had absolutely no fear for herself, except the fear of losing them. Andy listened, holding her tightly as she poured the details out as if it was a movie they were both watching. It broke his heart to think that after everything she has been through in the past few weeks, with Stroh and Dunn, that it is Jack that haunts her the most. He gathered her tightly in his arms, kissing her cheek and promised her that he and Rusty are safe. Rationally, she knew that it was only a dream, but she couldn't help but worry of what may lie ahead for all of them.