It would have been perfect if Andy would have opened his eyes widely and acknowledged what Sharon had said, but he didn't. He was so groggy from his surgery, but he did seem to hear Sharon. He squeezed her hand tightly, and he started to say something, but he seemed to drift off to sleep in mid-thought. Sharon replayed it over and over in her mind, "Sharon, you and I belong-" and he'd started snoring after that. What had he been trying to say? Was he going to say they belonged together? Maybe, he was going to say they belonged as far apart as they could be within the city limits of L.A. Sharon didn't really believe that; she could tell she was trying to put up her walls again, and she talked herself down by acknowledging that Andy WAS going to say something about the two of them belonging together.
Truth was, she knew that. She did belong with Andy. In spite of all the problems, all the hurt, all the blame, the two belonged together, and she was going to propose a clean slate when he was finally lucid enough to talk to her. The two could go in circles both apologizing and placing blame. Yes, sometimes, things were too big to overcome, and people were often too hurt to try and overcome them, but Sharon believed she and Andy had made a lifetime of mistakes and shared a lifetime of misery. For once, she was going to choose to be happy, to trust-even though that was a tough one, to share, to ultimately, open her heart to him. It was time; it was overdue in fact.
Andy continued to sleep, and Sharon chuckled at his light snore. He seemed so worn out from his surgery, and she was glad he was resting. A small knock at the door had her looking toward it, and she found a young man walking in with a tray of food.
"I'm delivering lunch trays," he said quietly when he noticed Andy sleeping. "If he sleeps through this, just have the nurse call down to the cafeteria. Today's tray has a chicken broth, Jell-O, and a basic salad," he told her. "You might want to eat it yourself if he's going to sleep. Better eat while it's hot," he smiled and left the tray. "I hope your husband gets better soon."
"Oh, he's not my -," Sharon sighed and rolled her eyes as he exited the room before she could even correct him. She turned back to Andy, her hand still in his, and she started to run her thumb over his hand again. She eyed the food. It did look good, and it even smelled good, evidence that she clearly had been in the hospital too long. Hospital food wasn't meant to look and smell appetizing. She glanced at her watch, and it was then she realized she'd been sitting there almost six hours. She'd had that early breakfast, meek as it was, hours and hours ago. She shook her head at the idea; she couldn't eat Andy's food. He was sick and lying in a hospital bed. It wasn't right. She skipped meals all the time, but today, she was starving, ravenous even. The stress of the day, really, the stress of the last several weeks, had really started to get to her, and right now, all she could think about was eating that Jell-O. It sounded absurd, but she decided to act, not think, and before she could even scold herself, she had pulled the tray toward herself, and she started sipping on the soup with the spoon. Oh, it tasted good; the warm liquid warmed her in a way she couldn't describe otherwise. She had put out a lot of energy worrying about Andy, worrying about the future, and worrying about them over the last few hours, she needed the soup.
She finished the soup and suddenly was horrified. She'd just eaten the lunch of a man, sick in the hospital. Why had she done that? Chicken broth. She'd attacked the chicken broth like it was her last meal. That wasn't a funny thought; Andy was going to get better. She looked to the tray, and she sighed because as much as she wanted to push it away, the Jell-O was still staring at her. Red, really cherry Jell-O, and there it was. She gingerly picked up a spoon, and she started in on that, only to find a few minutes later, she'd polished that off too. That only left the salad. Knowing her love interest was a vegetarian, it made sense to let him have the salad, but then she asked herself if he would really feel up to eating that when he hungry? She decided not, and less than five minutes later, she'd finished everything. Sharon had eaten all of Andy's lunch, but really, she knew she was doing him a favor. He wouldn't be hungry, not for any of this, and when he was ready to eat, she'd get whatever he wanted because after all, she had just eaten his lunch.
Sharon pushed the tray away, and she took Andy's hand back in hers to resume her watch. Now, she was fidgety, and she didn't have anything to do. She eyed the television, and then she looked to Andy. She knew Andy well enough that the television wouldn't wake him; it never did at home. The two of them had watched a lot of tv and movies together over the years, and usually once he fell asleep, he was out for a couple hours. Now, she knew this was a different situation, but she decided she wanted to risk it. Even if Andy did wake up from the noise, he would either go back to sleep or finally be alert enough to talk. She left his side to find the television remote, and she turned it on quickly. She returned to his side and took his hand in hers again while she waited for the television to come to life. Thankfully, the tv came on with the 'mute' word flashing right away. She started flipping the channels to find something to watch. There wasn't much on, several old black and white movies, some sports commentators talking, but she finally decided on something. It wasn't her normal choice, but she didn't feel like watching the news on mute, and at least this would provide plenty of action.
Another knock at the door had her terribly worried that the same young man would be back to collect the evidence, evidence that she'd committed a crime against a sick, wonderful man, the decimated lunch tray. She'd eaten his lunch, but the knock wasn't for that. Provenza knocked as he opened the door and stepped in. Sharon didn't move from her spot, rooted in the seat with her hand clasped in Andy's.
"So, are we making any progress?" he asked, the question carrying multiple meanings, and he looked to her for answers on at least two different fronts.
Sharon gave him a small smile and continued to hold Andy's hand while she turned slightly toward Provenza. He moved closer to her so the two could talk quietly and not disturb Andy.
"He's been drifting in and out of sleep. I can tell he's in some pain; he's grimacing at times. When he was awake, he was alert enough to know who I was," she explained.
Provenza frowned and eyed her, "Alert enough to know you, but did the idiot or you, start a fight with the other?"
"No," Sharon gave a soft smile and looked to Andy's hand. "I'm not going to fight with him. I'm done fighting. He needs to rest and get better. I told him as much. I told him I'd be here when he wakes. I want the best for him, Lieutenant."
"I can't believe I'm saying this," he sighed and rolled his eyes, "but, with Flynn being my best friend and being somewhat incapacitated at the present time what do you want with him? You say you want the best for him, but enough of this cat and mouse game. You two are driving each other crazy, have been for a long, long time. Captain, this whole mess could end up killing him. I know he messed up, but so did you. What is your end game here? You can't sit there like that," he gestured to her hand in his, "only for him to wake up, and then you two start another round of misery."
Sharon bit her lip, almost trying to hold back her thoughts, but she took a deep breath and continued, "Lieutenant, I'm not leaving here anytime soon. I would prefer to discuss this with Andy, but I do not want to keep hurting him. I'm hurting; he's hurting, and ultimately, we are miserable right now. I want to fix this."
"About time," he grumbled. He looked around the room, "This place is depressing. I suppose I should have brought a balloon with me. Are you watching Star Wars?" he started to chuckle as he looked at her. "Didn't peg you for the type, Captain."
Sharon held back a chuckle, "I don't think Andy minds," she shook her head. "It was either that, the news, or Sesame Street. Hmm, a balloon. That seems like it was just yesterday, the stabbing. You and I have come a long way."
"As have you two," he gestured, "but the mess has to stop."
"I know," Sharon said quietly. She continued to run her hand up Andy's hand. "I regret so much, and I'm going to tell him that. I regret not doing this sooner, for one. Andy is a good man, a flawed one," she shrugged, "but who isn't?"
"Well," he chuckled, "I have a long line of ex-wives who would agree, but I'd like to think I've made tremendous progress."
"As would I in this situation, Lieutenant," Sharon nodded. The room fell into a comfortable silence as they both looked at Andy. He still looked awful with his bandages and bruises. Provenza looked around, almost trying to find a topic to discuss. The two normally had no problem at work, but with things so strained between Andy and Sharon, the situation right now with Provenza, it was awkward.
"Did you eat his lunch?" Provenza eyed the tray and turned back to Sharon, looking at her with a horrified expression.
She blushed and tried to hide her gaze, but she finally looked at him, "I was hungry. I've been sitting here worried sick for hours."
He shook his head, "What did you eat? It couldn't have been anything that good. I would have brought you a pizza or something!"
"Soup, salad, Jell-O," she gestured to the items, or the very little remains of the items left on the tray. "If Andy wants something when he wakes, I'll get it, but the soup would be cold by now anyway."
Provenza shook his head, "It's always the girlfriend."
"I'm not his girlfriend," she sighed, and when she met his stare, she rolled her eyes.
At the same time, he said, "It's always the semi-girlfriend."
The two continued to stare at each other, both knowing exactly what Sharon was to Andy, but neither wanted to admit that Sharon was still dodging that.
"If this is how you are going to spend the afternoon, I won't interrupt," he said quietly. "Do you need anything? I was planning to offer to sit here while you took a break for lunch. You are welcome to take a break, and I'll sit."
"No," she offered a small smile, "I don't want to leave. I'm fine here."
"Well, can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, more food?"
"No," she shook her head. "Really, I'm okay."
"I'm going to head back to work then. I'll stop in later after work. Take care of him," he gestured to Andy. "Figure out what you are because calling you the 'non-dating girlfriend' isn't going to cut it and neither is 'the boss' with how your hands are locked with his coupled with the worry on your face," he said as he gave a nod to her.
"I will," she gave a simple nod of thanks. "Thank you for stopping by here today. Call me if anything comes up at work."
"Will do," he waved to her as he left the room.
Sharon settled in and turned back to the tv. She rolled her eyes, Star Wars. It was like she was back home with all the boys, Andy included, watching it. Ricky loved it. Emily even liked it, but the family had been shocked to learn Rusty had never seen it. It was just another thing from growing up as he had, Rusty had never watched the movies. When that had been discovered last Christmas, the family, Andy included, had all settled in to watch the entire series. It had been after their big case at work. Sharon had invited Andy over for Christmas, and they'd had a wonderful day, ending with board games around the table together. Yes, she sighed at the Monopoly game idea. She and Andy had tried to play that at the house the other day, and it hadn't gone well. The family had enjoyed the game that night, but somehow during the game, the topic of Star Wars had come up, and Rusty had admitted to never seeing it. So, the next afternoon, Andy had been invited over again, and the five had settled in for a movie marathon. Emily had stretched out on the floor with pillows all around her. Ricky had somehow contorted his long legs into one of the orange chairs, and Rusty had decided to forgo the couch and join Emily on the floor. That left the whole couch for Sharon and Andy, and within minutes, the two were snuggled into each other's sides, Andy with his arm around Sharon, to settle in for their movie day. They'd watched show after show, stretching into the late evening, and even near starvation hadn't stopped them; they'd just ordered a few pizzas and continued with their movie marathon. By the end of the night, which happened to be almost in the middle of the night, the three kids were stretched out on the floor with pillows and blankets, while Sharon and Andy were stretched out together on the couch with a blanket over them as well. Now, as Sharon stared at the screen, she couldn't help but smile at the memory.
"We don't have to watch that the next seven or eight hours, do we?" he grumbled from the bed. Sharon turned quickly, her memory taking her away from staring at his sleeping form.
"I'm sorry," she started to scramble with her free hand. "If it's bothering you, I can turn it off now."
"No, it's fine," he said with his raspy voice. "Leave it. Last time I watched that, well, good memories."
"Hmm," she ran her thumb over his knuckle, "Christmas with the kids?"
"Yeah," he sighed. "It was one of the best times I've had in a long time. Sitting there with you and the kids for almost 12 hours watching show after show after show. We barely stopped for food."
Sharon laughed, "That's just what I was thinking about right here, right now. I was just remembering we ordered pizzas and then being in our movie coma when they arrived. I always wonder how many times the pizza guy knocked on the door?"
Andy tried to chuckle, and he started to cough. "Rusty wanted to watch them again the other day, right before I fell. That had been the plan." He coughed again.
"I'll get you some water," she patted his hand and started to stand. She let go of his grasp, and she poured his water. She helped him sip some, and then she put the water back on the table and sat back down, this time with her hands in her lap. She wasn't sure if Andy realized she'd been holding his hand.
He looked to her, his brown eyes still trying to focus from their sleepy state, "I was enjoying you holding my hand."
Sharon's eyes widened, and she moved closer again, taking his hand in hers, "I won't let go."
He gave her a sleepy smile and nodded slightly, "Just when I'm ready to eat," he told her. "I'll need my hand to eat. I am actually a little hungry. Anything around here I can eat?"