The ride to the hospital was uncomfortable silent for Rusty. Maddie sat in the back listing to her iPod and he could tell by the intense look on Sharon's face that she was deep in thought. He was starting to think that maybe he had over reacted to the idea of Andy moving in with them, while he recovered.
"So when does Andy get out of the hospital," Rusty said trying to break the silence.
"Um…. I believe its Thursday, but he hasn't said for sure," Sharon said focusing on the traffic ahead of them.
"So who will stay with Andy if he doesn't stay with us?" Rusty asked.
"I'm not sure at the moment, but Rusty it's not for you to worry about. Everything will work out," Sharon said trying to convince herself just as must as she was trying to convince Rusty.
Rusty knew that tone in her voice. He had heard it many times before when he had upset her. He thought that he had gotten past his trust issues with her. She wasn't the Sharon who had left him to fend for himself; she was the Sharon who selflessly took him in when he had nowhere else to go.
Andy was sitting in the chair by his bed when the three of them entered his room. He half smirked to himself when he saw the three of them together; they had become a little family overnight it seemed. He noticed right away that something was off with Sharon and possible Rusty too, but Maddie was Maddie. She was so chipper sometimes, it was almost infections, he thought as she came bopping over to the side of his chair.
"We brought you something to eat. Aunt Sharon said the food here sucked," Maddie said with a grin.
"Maddie, I don't believe that was the exact terminology that I used," Sharon said putting her hands on her hips.
"You are up and moving around. That's good, have you been for a walk yet today?" Sharon said to Andy hoping that he wasn't pushing himself to hard.
"Actually I have not. Would you kids want to take this old man for a walk around the floor?" Andy said looking over at Rusty.
"I'm good, I am going to work on some homework," Rusty said setting his backpack down.
"Just you two beautiful ladies then?" Andy said smiling at the two of them.
By the time they made it to the end of the hall Andy needed a moment to rest. He had forgotten how much of a toll this took on this body. Sharon had suggested that the head back to his room, but he was determined he was going to do one full lap around the floor. Even if it meant that he had to sit and take a break half way. He hated being stuck in that bed all day. When they finally made it back to his room Sharon insisted that he get back into bed. He did as she asked, letting her think that he only was doing it because she said so. The truth was that the walk made him very tiered and he was more than happy to get back in the bed and rest.
The nurse came in shortly after to give him his next dose of pain meds. Looking over his chart she says, "Looks like if you keep up the good work Mr. Flynn the doctor will have your discharge papers ready by Thursday," turning toward the kids as she walks out of the room she says, "I'm sure you guys will be happy to have your Dad back home, won't you?"
Once the nurse was gone, Maddie and Rusty looked at each other and laughed. However, they quickly realized they were the only two laughing. Sharon shook her head at the two of them and told Rusty to take Maddie down to the gift shop so she could pick out a magazine for Andy.
Rust figured by the serious look on Sharon's face that she wanted to talk to Andy alone. He looked back and forth between her and Andy for a moment. He was smart enough to know that she wanted them to go so she could talk to Andy about being released from the hospital and he knew that he was the reason for the sadness in her voice. He sighed and turned to walk to the door, but something made him stop. He turned around quickly and blurted out, "Andy did Sharon tell you the good new yet?"
"Rusty, what are you doing?" Sharon said stepping towards him.
"Good news?" Andy said a little confused.
"Yeah, you're going to be moving in to the new house with us while you recover. I will forewarn you now; Maddie is pretty excited about it." Rusty said smiling at Sharon.
"Rusty, are you sure?" She said placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm sure." He said before hugging her, "Come on Maddie, let's go down to the gift shop."
"You want to tell me what that was all about?" Andy said once the kids were out of the room.
"Do you want to tell me why you lied to me about your sister?" She said raising an eyebrow at him.
"Provenza told you didn't he? That old goat, I swear he couldn't keep his mouth shut to save his soul." Andy said shaking his head.
"It doesn't matter who told me. Why did you lie about it?" She said wondering if he lied because he didn't want to move in with them.
"I didn't want to feel like you had to take me in like I was a stray dog. And to be honest, I wasn't sure if we were ready to live under the same roof." He said looking up at her.
"I don't think I would compare you to a stray dog," She said smiling at him. "I was a little worried about that myself. Andy, I haven't shared a house with a man for a very long time and I wasn't sure how the kids would take it."
"Is that what was wrong with you and Rusty when you got here?" Andy said locking his fingers with hers.
"Rusty, seemed upset with the idea during dinner, I was amazed that he brought it up," Sharon said sitting down on the side of Andy's bed.
Andy sat up and bushed a stay hair out of her eyes. "Maybe he just wanted you to be happy," he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her. "Are you sure that you are ready for this?" He whispered into her lips.