Notes: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I think we are on the home stretch of this fic, maybe a couple chapters (including the wedding :D) and a cute little epilogue I'm already cooking up.
Andy takes his spot at his seat next to Sharon, starting the process of brushing his teeth. He meets her eyes in the mirror as she uses a wipe to clean off the initial pass of makeup from her face.
"What?" Sharon asks as she turns the wipe over.
"I was talking to Emily earlier when I got back from the store," Andy says, pausing in scrubbing his teeth, "She seemed a little…off."
"Off?" Sharon asks before throwing the wipe away. She gets out her face wash and turns the water on, splashing her face before starting to scrub it in.
"Yeah," Andy nods, talking through the toothpaste in his mouth, "Bout money."
"Well she did just lose her job a couple months ago after being on medical leave months before that," Sharon says, "I'd be frustrated too."
"Well," Andy says after spitting his toothpaste out, "I think it's more than just general concerns about her finances."
"Like what?" Sharon asks as she leans her face forward before splashing water over it to clean the suds off.
"Us," Andy says after he rinses his mouth out, "I feel like she's been taking your offer to stay with us a year to heart. That she needs to find a place to live."
"What?" Sharon says, turning to lean against the counter as she looks at Andy, "She doesn't have to leave. She can stay as long as she wants. Right?"
"Right. That's what I told her," Andy says, "I told her to get her numbers together and then the three of us could talk about it and we could work out a solution."
"What was she saying?" Sharon asks, a tiny bit of hurt lingering in her chest that Emily would talk to Andy about it instead of her.
"That working at the dance studio and going back to school, she could afford all of her expenses for herself and Charlie. But that rent at a decent, safe place would be out of the question," Andy tells her, sitting down on the edge of the tub, "From what I could glean from what she was scribbling down. She'd have about $450-500 left over every month without having to dip into her savings."
"Okay," Sharon nods, biting at her thumb nail. She stares off for a moment before taking a deep breath and sighing. She leans over and presses a kiss to Andy's cheek, "Thank you for talking to her…and being so accommodating."
"Anything for family," Andy says with a smile. He turns his head and captures her lips in a gentle kiss, "I'll see you in bed."
"Yes, sir," Sharon smiles, resuming her routine. Andy sheds his shirt on the way, tossing it into the hamper before climbing into his side of the bed and grabbing his book. He puts his reading glasses on and cracks the cover, finding his way to his bookmarked page before starting to read.
Sharon comes out a while later, turning off the light in the bathroom before making her way over to the bed. She shrugs off her robe and drapes it over the chair in her corner of the room before pulling back the covers and getting into bed with Andy. He closes his book and puts it back on his night stand along with his glasses. Sharon shuffles closer to him and rests her head on his shoulder with a sigh.
"Everything okay?" Andy asks as he wraps his arm around her, pulling the blankets up. Sharon hums and rubs her palm up his chest.
"I've been worrying about her lately," Sharon says, "I've never particularly had to worry about Emily. She was the oldest, she knew what she wanted to do and put her mind to it and did it, but if I honestly think about it I don't know how much…conflict she's had to face. She got what she wanted because she worked for it, but she's never had it taken away from her."
"She's strong," Andy reminds her, "She takes after you."
"She does, but she doesn't have 10 years of conflict resolution and budgeting under her belt like I did at her age," Sharon notes before sitting up on her elbow and looking at Andy, "Do you think she's depressed?"
"I think that she's lost right now. Trying to find her footing," Andy says as he rubs his hand up her back, "She's going to be okay. She just needs to know what's coming next before she'll relax."
"Maybe you're right," Sharon says and drops back down to lay against Andy's shoulder, sighing softly. Andy presses a kiss to her head.
"On another boat, seems like bird number two is getting ready to 'officially' move out," Andy says, "Rusty seems to only really have a few things left here, most of his stuff has been moved over to Gus'."
"He did mention packing everything up a few days ago. I'm not going to rush him to do it. Not like we have a barrage of visitors banging down our doors."
"No, I'm just happy for him. It's great that he finally feels comfortable doing that," Andy says.
"It is," Sharon agrees, pressing a kiss to Andy's chest, "Do you ever think we're going to be truly alone in this house?"
"I hope not…maybe just…a couple days a week," Andy says as he playfully rolls over on top of Sharon, attacking her neck. Sharon lets out a loud laugh and wraps her arms around him, "Of course we could use it as an opportunity to view the lovely hotels of Los Angeles."
"Mmm, it does sound nice but I very much enjoy using our own bed for recreation," Sharon murmurs as she captures Andy's lips.
"Me too," Andy mumbles, his hands slipping under her nightgown.
The next morning Sharon pads down the stairs quietly, having left Andy in bed asleep. The sun was just beginning to rise for the day and the house was still dark. She pauses on the main floor, changing path towards Emily's room and quietly opening the door.
Emily was burrowed up in her blankets, lying on her side facing away from the door and Sharon could see Charlie beginning to wiggle around in her crib. She makes her way across the room and smiles at Charlie before picking her up. She grabs a diaper and wipes off of the dresser before carrying the baby out to the living room. She quickly changes her diaper and warms up a bottle for her before carrying her out back and giving her the bottle as they sit on the porch swing.
Sharon watches the sun rise over the horizon as Charlie eats, painting the city of LA in oranges and golds. After the baby finishes the bottle she sets it down next to her and burps her before snuggling her close and burying her nose into her fine hair. She loved any quiet time she could get with her granddaughter and satisfy her weakness for babies. She'd enjoyed her maternity leave when she had Emily and Ricky, giving her hours on hours to cuddle her babies close and spend quality time with them. Sharon had always wanted more kids after Ricky, but taking the state of her marriage into consideration she'd gotten an IUD when Ricky was a couple months old and then Jack had left.
Emily and Ricky were always enough for her, but there was always a lingering want in the back of her mind that would rear up at a friend's birth announcement or when she went in for her yearly exams and would dodge expecting mothers in the hallway. As the kids got older she geared that want towards the hope that she'd eventually have grandchildren to love and cuddle and spoil. Andy's grandsons had numbed some of that ache but Charlie killed it completely any time she'd yawn and stretch herself out across her chest, her tiny little rosebud mouth opening and closing as she slept.
Sharon looks up as she hears the sliding glass door open, smiling as Emily makes her way out before sinking down next to her mother and tucking her legs up underneath her body. Sharon wraps an arm around her daughter as she keeps hold on her granddaughter, resting her head against Emily's.
"Morning," Sharon murmurs.
"Morning," Emily replies in an equally quiet voice. Sharon's hand strokes up and down Emily's arm as they continue to swing for a while as Charlie takes her early morning nap and Emily clears the cobwebs out of her mind. After a bit longer they hear the coffee grinder in the kitchen, announcing Andy's awakening. Sharon leans over and presses a kiss to Emily's head, squeezing her close for a brief moment before standing up. She hands Charlie back over and reaches up to stroke Emily's cheek softly before going inside.
"You got up early," Andy says as he hands Sharon a mug, steam billowing from the top.
"Couldn't sleep," Sharon says as she takes the mug with a thankful smile, taking a sip, "So I got in a little Charlie time."
"How was that?"
"Perfect," Sharon says with a small shrug. Her hand reaches out and strokes over Andy's clothed chest, a reverent look on her face before she shakes her head and leans up on her toes to kiss him on the lips, "I'm going to go shower. Let's go out for breakfast."
"Okay," Andy says, arching his eyebrow as he watches her walk away and head back upstairs. He steps out onto the back porch and arches his eyebrow at Emily, "Did she say anything to you?"
"No," Emily shakes her head, pushing herself up off the swing, "Just 'Morning'."
"Hmm..." Andy hums before shaking his head.
"Still can't figure her out sometimes hmm?" Emily asks with a smile.
"Every once in a while, she throws a curveball at me," Andy says, "I believe we're going out for breakfast if you want to join us?"
"I think I'll take a rain check," Emily rejects with a small smile, shifting her hold on Charile, "You two deserve a nice morning together. Besides I was going to do some more work on that budget before the class I have this afternoon."
"Okay," Andy nods, patting Emily on the shoulder before making his way upstairs. He sheds his pajamas before getting into the shower behind Sharon.
"Hi there," Sharon says as she runs conditioner through her hair, smiling over her shoulder at Andy.
"Hi," Andy smiles back before grabbing his own shampoo and starting to shower. Sharon gets out a couple moments later and grabs her robe, leaving Andy alone under the spray. She starts getting ready as he finishes up, not doing much with her hair besides clipping it back away from her face. She puts on some basic make up before going to the closet to grab a tank top, stealing one of Andy's worn dress shirts on the way out.
Andy makes his way out of the bathroom a few minutes later. He pauses in rubbing a hand towel over his hair, groaning at the sight before him. Sharon was bent at the waist, starting to work a pair of jean leggings up her legs with her backside displayed perfectly for Andy to look at. She pulls the denim up her long legs, the fabric stretching to fit the curves of her body before she notices Andy's gaze.
"Can I help you?"
"I don't know if even God can help me," Andy rasps as the hand towel falls from his grip and he starts to rub his ear lobe. Sharon chuckles and pulls on the tank top she had picked out, fluffing it to fall over her bra properly. She presses a kiss to Andy's lips as she shrugs his shirt on, straightening out the collar before pulling away.
"Don't take too long," Sharon grins, flashing her eyes at him before heading downstairs. She grabs a pair of shoes from the hall closet before heading into the kitchen and sitting down in a chair to slip them on. Emily was sitting at the table with Charlie, eating a bowl of cereal as she reads the paper, "What are your plans for today?"
"I have a class to teach this afternoon. I've got some stuff around the house I want to do before I leave and then I might meet up with Ron after."
"If we aren't back by the time you leave will you text me and let me know if you'll be home for dinner?"
"Yeah of course," Emily smiles, "Where are you guys going for breakfast?"
"I don't know," Sharon says as she stands with a teasing smile, "I might let Andy pick."
"Let me pick what?" Andy says as he comes down to the main floor dressed in jeans and a nice t-shirt.
"Nothing," Sharon grins before kissing him, "Just kidding. Where we go for breakfast."
"Oh so generous, Captain," Andy says with a smile as he wraps an arm around her waist. Sharon rolls her eyes and kisses him once more before stepping away. She leans down and kisses Emily's temple, her fingers running through her daughter's long brown hair as she kisses Charlie on the head.
"You two have a good day."
"You guys too," Emily says with a smile as she looks up at her mom. Sharon smiles back before following Andy out to the garage.
[TBC]