He glanced at his watch, and with quick math, he realized he still had another hour until his plane landed. Home. He was going back home. He was leaving his old home and on his way to his current home, his new home. L.A. had been good, but odd at the same time. He glanced over and saw the older woman next to him was asleep on the flight. Thankfully, she was leaning toward the window and not toward him. She'd been sleeping for most of the flight, and he was glad because it had given him time to think and enjoy the silence. He shifted his legs again; his feet were falling asleep and quite uncomfortable. He tried stretching them, but there just wasn't enough room. He was ready to get off the plane and get back to his life in New York.

Andy had accomplished a couple of his goals while in L.A., and as he sat back and thought about the trip, he'd really done most of the things he wanted to do. He'd seen them team; he'd seen them on a couple of occasions, the late-night pizza and then finally the morning he testified. Court. He'd done that too; he'd testified in court, and as he expected, they didn't get to him until earlier in the morning. Now, it felt like a lifetime ago, but he'd been on the witness stand now less than 12 hours ago. Thinking over the quick trip, he'd hung out with the team for an hour while they ate pizza and took a break from the case, and then he'd gone to Provenza's house. Provenza had been about a half hour behind him, so as Andy was just getting into bed, Provenza was rolling in for the night. The two had a few minutes to talk the next morning. In fact, Andy even made breakfast for the two, as Provenza had a 9:30 work arrival after the very late night. Andy had cooked up some eggs and toast for the two of them, and they'd chatted, mostly about the case, while they ate. Andy enjoyed hearing about it, just as Provenza enjoyed the fresh perspective. Something did the trick because by mid-afternoon, they were wrapping up the case finally. While Provenza was busy with work, Andy made his way to the courthouse where he waited outside the courtroom most of the afternoon. Due to the judge's schedule, Andy's testimony was put off until morning. He didn't mind it too much; he had brought a book to read, and for the first time in a long time, he'd just read all afternoon. With that out of the way, he had contacted his kids for dinner, and with their schedules, the three decided to meet up relatively early, 5:30, for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Andy knew both his kids loved Mexican food, so it seemed like the perfect casual spot. Dinner had gone well. Both kids had come, and they had discussed a lot of things. Andy was hopeful at least one, if not both, would visit him in New York. The kids told him he looked well and appeared to be doing well with his move, and Andy was excited their relationship appeared to had taken a turn for the better.

Now, his relationship, or lack of one with Sharon had not gone well. It hadn't gone badly, but there hadn't been anything hopeful on that front. He couldn't get her out of his mind. It was driving him crazy, more and more each day. Yes, he'd seen her with the team Monday evening when he'd brought the pizza. He'd spoken to her, even briefly, then, and he had really wanted to get together for coffee. As he leaned back and closed his eyes, he thought more and more about her. He just wanted to get coffee with her. He knew that sometimes schedules didn't line up, but he had really wanted for theirs to do so. He knew he'd run her off with his lack of interest, and now that he had his head on straight and could see what was right in front of him, she appeared to have moved on and wasn't interested, at least from what he could tell. He thought back to his Tuesday spent mostly waiting for court, to the text message he'd sent her, hoping to meet up for coffee later.

"I'm still in court for the day. Looks like it's going to be tomorrow before I testify. I was hoping we could get that cup of coffee, maybe late tonight? I'm having an early dinner with my kids, and that could end quickly or go a bit later. I think I'd be free by 9:00. I realize that's late, but I'd enjoy sitting and talking with you if you are free," he'd told her.

Andy hadn't gotten a response for almost an hour, and when he did, he hadn't been hopeful, "Sorry, I was in a meeting with Chief Pope. We finally broke the case, and Major Crimes is finishing up with that. I am back to my office, at least for today. I can't meet tonight. I have plans. I'm sorry. I don't think I will be home until late."

Andy remembered staring at that message for quite some time before he replied, "No problem. My schedule is tight; I know that. I'll catch up with you when I finish in court on Wednesday morning."

"I hope dinner goes well tonight with your kids. If I don't see you before you leave, I hope you have a safe trip back to New York. I'll be there later in the month," she had told him in her next text.

And, they hadn't been able to meet for coffee. His testimony had run right through lunch, and the judge had held everyone later for lunch knowing that Andy had to catch a flight home. He appreciated the judge's consideration for his schedule, but at the same time, it left him on a very tight schedule to get back home. He'd left the courthouse with no time to spare, no time to stop back by Sharon's office to see her. He'd gone straight to the airport, and thankfully, he'd made his flight with just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat in the airport. He'd already flown once this week on an empty stomach and wasns't going to do it again.

Looking back over his quick trip, that was Andy's regret, not getting a chance to sit down and talk to Sharon. He had wanted to apologize, to tell her he was interested, and to hopefully find out if she was still even remotely interested in him. She'd had plans Tuesday night. Plans. He had no idea what she was doing, but she had plans. Of course, she was completely free to have plans. He didn't fault that, but he just wished he could have been part of her plans. He'd ruined that chance, though, and there might not be a way to fix it. Was she seeing someone? That could be it. Provenza had mentioned running into her in a restaurant with a man, and she certainly was available. She'd told Andy that she didn't have a lot of time for dating in Los Angeles, but maybe she'd made time. Andy knew she was looking for more, not that she couldn't be on her own, but he understood. Life was better, in his opinion, if you could share it with someone, and maybe, just maybe, she wanted the same. If she was dating someone, it would explain why she wasn't very excited about seeing him, but that could also be explained by his lack of interest. He'd blown her off, and maybe, she had found someone else.

Andy had been lost in thought and had started to doze off, but he opened his eyes when he heard the flight attendant on the intercom system. He glanced at his watch, and he noted they had 20 minutes or so before they landed. More time had passed than he had realized. He really wanted to talk to Sharon, actually speak to her. She hadn't blown him off in her text about getting together in New York, but really, she still could. She was polite, extremely polite, and she was kind. Granted, he had not seen that side of her when he had been working in L.A., but she was. He felt like coffee in New York, or at least speaking to her in person, was the key. It was almost a now or never situation, and now that he was seeing Sharon in a different light, he was finding himself more and more interested in her. If Sharon blew him off again, he knew he had completely lost any hope of anything with her.

As soon as the plane touched the ground, and he could turn on his phone, Andy did so and immediately sent Provenza a text, "Just landed. Thanks for letting me stay with you. Good to see you and everyone. Forgot to ask if you know more about the guy Raydor is seeing? I didn't get a chance to ask her."

Andy waited; it was very late here in New York, and he had to be at work in the morning. Technically, it was morning because it was now after midnight. He was exhausted and not sure how he was going to function at work. It wasn't too late for Provenza, so he was hopeful he might get a reply.

"Why would I care about anyone Raydor is dating? That guy is obviously delusional," Provenza replied, and Andy sighed. He knew better than to ask his friend, but he had, so he replied to him.

"Just curious. I see Emily often, and I was just wondering," Andy told him.

"She's in our office a lot. I'm not asking her. Just ask her yourself when she visits. We're all counting down the days until she goes on vacation. She's flying your way August 25," he told him.

Andy perked up at the mention of that. Of course, Sharon had a date; he just didn't know when she was coming. Now, he had an idea of her plans, her visit. He wouldn't stalk her; that wasn't his style, but he would put forth genuine effort to see her, to spend some time with her.

"Yeah, I'll do that," he told Provenza. "I'm getting off the plane. Get some sleep. I know I need it," Andy told him, and with that, he put his phone in his pocket to focus on getting home.

As he waited at his seat to deplane, he glanced over, and the older woman was awake, but quiet. He looked around and watched as people waited to get up and off the plane. Sharon. He couldn't stop thinking about her; it was almost making him sick to his stomach that he had turned her down and been so rude to her. He really felt badly about it. Something felt different about her; it wasn't just a crush, but he had really enjoyed being around her. Now that he wasn't, he almost missed her, which was silly because they hadn't spent that much time together. He pulled out his phone again, and before he could over-analyze things, he pulled up her contact information.

"Just checking in with you and wanted to let you know it was great seeing you on my trip. I'm really sorry we couldn't get together. I was looking forward to it. I'd really like to see you when you are in New York if your schedule permits. Anyway, my flight landed, so I'm back on the other side of the country. See, I managed to stay with Provenza without rolling out FID to a crime scene," he typed and sent before he could think twice.

He stared at his phone, and his eyes grew wide when he saw a message reply sent. She'd replied, and she'd replied quickly, "Glad you made it home. Nice to see you too, and yes, life has been busy. I'll text you once I'm in town-last week of August-to see if our schedules line up for coffee."

Andy grinned. Their schedules would line up for coffee; he'd make sure of it. He wasn't going to let her go back to L.A. without talking to her. He couldn't predict the outcome; maybe she was dating someone, but he could try. He could apologize and see if there was anything there to salvage, any relationship there to be had. Sharon, he had finally realized-finally, after moving across the country to start a new life, was worth it.