Thanks again for the reviews! I'm having fun writing about the "Next Generation of Idiots." Enjoy the chapter!

The trio moved into the condo to the open arms of everyone waiting inside. For Sharon, it was like Christmas again; all her kids were under one roof with her whole family complete. Emily and Wes moved inside behind Ricky. Everyone greeted Ricky and then turned to see the duo standing there together.

"Well, Emily, this must be Wes, the one we've heard so much about…from your parents," Eileen said as she walked over to hug Emily and Wes. Eileen had made sure to have a rather large pause in her statement to emphasize that Sharon and Andy had told her about Wes, not Emily.

"Hi Gram, Grandpa," Emily squealed as she hugged both of them. "Other family of mine with whom I'll deal later," she waved to the rest of them and turned back, hand in Wes' to introduce him. "Yes, Grandma, this is Wes, Wes Nolan. Wes, this is my grandma, Eileen and my grandpa, Bob.

Wes stuck out his hand, visibly nervous, "Ma'am, nice to meet you," and a nod toward Emily's grandfather.

Eileen walked over and gave Wes a big hug, "Oh, there's no ma'am here. You can call me Eileen and him Bob, or Grandma and Grandpa works too. My, Emily, you did bring home a handsome one. Whew. You and your mom have certainly developed good taste in men," Eileen said as she smiled at both Wes and then turned and smiled at Andy.

Andy chuckled and shook his head, "Eileen, turning on the charm."

As everyone moved in out of the doorway, they assigned rooms and made sure to get Emily, Wes, and Ricky's bags to the right spot. The condo was large enough that they still had extra bedrooms leftover. One good thing about a ski condo; it had plenty of room for everyone. It was called a condo, but more like a townhouse. Truth be told, the group had started calling it the condo years ago, and it stuck. The place had four floors, narrow, but multiple rooms on each floor.

"Wow, Em, I had no idea it was this nice or this big," Wes whispered to her.

"Yes, we've been coming here a long time. See why we like it?" she smiled.

The two were ushered into the kitchen and handed cups of hot chocolate. With the time being after midnight, Eileen and Bob turned to the group and announced they were going to turn in.

"Now, if any of you get up before we do in the morning, there are already three breakfast casseroles ready and in the refrigerator. Go ahead and put them in. I made two French toast and one egg one. Night all," and with that Eileen followed Bob down the hall.

Rusty and Gus turned to their family, and Rusty broke the silence, "So, this is nice and awkward. Yeah, looking forward to a week of this. I think I'm going to turn in. Everyone-looking forward to the inquisition tomorrow," Rusty smirked.

"Yeah, I'm going to just follow him," Gus replied, and the two left.

"I'm beat," Ricky announced. "Some of us didn't take a half day today; some of us had to actually work all day. Night. Wes, I'll take the bed by the windows."

"Thanks, Ricky. I'll be up soon," Wes replied, starting to calm down as Emily squeezed his hand.

"Well, sweetheart, I'm glad you both made it here safely. We're off to bed too. Make sure you leave a couple lights on for Gram; she gets up a lot at night, and she can't see well. Goodnight you two," Sharon smiled and grabbed Andy's hand as they turned to walk to their room.

"Night sweetheart, Nolan-" Andy nodded at Emily and Wes. He followed Sharon.

After everyone else had left the two were left alone in the living room, standing there.

"So, this is it?" Wes asked still nervous.

Emily sighed, "Yes, this is it. There's a deck on the back and balconies on some of the bedrooms. I'm still wired from the drive, but I'd like to move around. Want to take a midnight walk?"

Wes smiled, and for the first time, he looked really relaxed, "That's a great idea. With you-there's no place I'd rather be. Lead the way."

The two bundled up. Wes had noticed a new Columbia winter coat had been placed on his bed when he put his luggage away. He'd tried it on, and it fit perfectly. He put that on after helping Emily bundle up. The two took off on their walk.

A quick walk turned into an hour one. The two were having such a good time, and they loved the quiet, still night. It helped that they were all alone outside. Wes took every opportunity to pull Emily into his embrace and kiss her. They seemed to do more kissing than walking, but that didn't seem to bother either of them. As they walked back to their condo, Emily took the opportunity to nail Wes with a snowball. Soon, the two were in a massive snowball fight, something Wes had never done. He loved it. He loved everything about the night, and soon, he found that he was dragging Emily down onto the cold, snow packed ground laughing with her. The two laughed until they were blue, although the cold was helping with that too. Wes began kissing her again, and soon, they were into a rather heated make-out session in the snow.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I'm freezing now, and I'm sure I'm soaked through after rolling around in the snow," Emily giggled.

"Yeah, not my best idea," Wes added.

"Oh, great idea, just should have worn snow pants too," she smirked.

Wes helped Emily get up, and they made their way back inside. After taking off their outerwear, Wes turned to Emily to see her freezing.

"I'm sorry you are so cold. Why don't you go change or just go ahead and go to bed?" Wes asked her.

"Hmm, that blanket would be pretty handy right now," Emily smirked.

Wes rolled his eyes, and played along, "Well, my feet are cold. I was promised some slipper socks."

Emily giggled and told Wes she would be right back. Wes made his way over to the gas fireplace and found the switch to turn it on. Emily returned with the blanket and the socks. She'd also quickly changed into leggings and a long sleeve off the shoulder shirt.

"You cheated!" Wes exclaimed. "You changed."

"Yeah, well, I told you I was cold. The blanket can only do so much."

Wes sprinted upstairs with a loud whisper, "Be right back," and soon he was back in flannel pants and a t-shirt. "Now, where are those socks?" as the two snuggled on the couch with the blanket and freshly poured hot chocolate. Soon, they both drifted off to sleep. Wes thought to himself that he never saw his day ending like this, and while it hadn't gone like they planned, there was no place now he'd rather be.

Wes was stirred from his happy slumber with the sound of someone clearing their voice above him. As he woke up, he realized he couldn't move. Emily had fallen asleep and was leaning on him. He opened one eye and saw their hot chocolate mugs on the coffee table. As he gained his orientation, he opened both eyes and looked up to see Andy staring down at him, coffee cup in hand, with a very neutral expression.

"You know, you really should go up to your bed. Couches are not comfortable. Take it from me-I've spent plenty of nights falling asleep on the couch with a beautiful lady snoring on me the last few years, and it will kill your back. I know you're younger than I am, but still. You should go," Andy told him.

Wes groaned as he shifted, realizing that Andy was right; his back was aching. He realized his other problem was that he couldn't move Emily all that well. He maneuvered a bit and was able to lay Emily down on the couch, where she remained undisturbed, and he stood up, now face to face with Andy.

"Yeah, thanks for the tip," he said. "I see what you mean. My back is killing me. Man, she was like dead weight on me."

Andy smirked, "I know that feeling. Gets it from her mother," as he took another sip of his coffee.

"It's early, still. You should go back to bed," Andy started.

"No offense, then, but why are you up then?" Wes asked.

Andy sighed, "It's these pills, my new meds. I never seem to sleep well anymore," he said as he shrugged. "Could be worse. Could be dead, so I'll take it. I'm not even going to put those casseroles in for another half hour. No one will be up for awhile, I expect, with everyone staying up so late last night."

Wes looked around and spotted the clock, 6:15. He sighed and moved around to the back of the couch. "You know, I think I'll get some coffee too. One thing about me-I don't nap well. Never have. Once I'm up, I'm up. Mind if I join you?"

Andy nodded, "Fine. We can sit in the kitchen and hopefully, we won't wake up Emily."

The two moved to the kitchen, where they sat and talked for almost an hour before Andy realized he should put the casseroles in. He moved around the kitchen as they continued talking. Wes found himself relaxing with each minute. Truth be told, he liked the lieutenant. It was a bit awkward, but he was quickly getting over that and trying to compartmentalize work and his private life.

"Do you find this awkward?" Wes finally asked. "I mean, let's be honest. We're sitting in the kitchen, on vacation together, in our pajamas, talking, and we work together."

Andy smiled into his coffee cup, "A little, but I've also been trying to get past the part that you work with us and just focus on the fact that I know you are a good guy. That's all we want for Emily, a good guy who treats her right. So, yeah, maybe a bit, but I've also had practice."

"Practice?" Wes questioned.

Andy took another sip, "Yeah, well, it's not easy going from taking orders from your boss to asking her to marry you," he chuckled.

Wes thought a minute, "Yeah, guess I hadn't thought of that. So, you're used to the work/home balance then?"

"Yeah," Andy shrugged, "Although, it still is a bit strange, not bad, but strange. See, with Sharon, I was in love with her long before she even realized we were dating," he chuckled. "I had to tread lightly and almost walk her through every step of the way easily. It was a process. It was one of those things that didn't just happen. We didn't go home one day as she being my boss and me being her subordinate to the next day getting married. It evolved slowly, and with you around here now, it's kind of the same thing. Luckily, Sharon and I have had a couple months to get used to the idea of you being around. We've just not seen you two together, so I don't think of it as too weird. Besides, we always say the team is like family; I just didn't know half of us might actually BE family."

Wes chucked at that. They talked awhile longer, and soon, Sharon made her way into the kitchen, dressed in a long sleeve matching pajama set with her hair pulled back.

"Morning," she whispered as she smiled at the sight of the two of them talking at the table.

"Morning sweetheart," Andy smiled as he looked up at her. He held up his cup of coffee over his head, where Sharon walked over, took it from his hand, and took a sip.

"Ahh, needed that. Thank you," she said as she kissed him on the head.

"Wes," good morning," Sharon turned and smiled at him.

"Captain," Wes acknowledged her with a nod of his head as he sipped his coffee, "morning."

Sharon chuckled as she patted Andy on his shoulder, "Wes, I'm standing here in my pajamas, no makeup, talking to you, as Andy is sitting here in his pajamas, talking to you, on our family vacation. You are dating our daughter, so when we aren't at work, and as long as you are dating Emily, please call us Sharon and Andy."

Wes looked up, surprised, at the two, "Are you sure? It's not weird for you?"

Andy shook his head and looked at Wes again, "When the Captain gives an order, you follow it," he smirked.

Sharon smacked Andy on his arm, "Andy, be nice."

Andy put his hands up, "I'm being nice. I've been nothing but nice to him the last hour and a half."

Wes chuckled, "Okay, I get it. Thank you for that. I'll try not to make things too awkward at work, and I'll try to keep work and home separate."

"Just don't start calling her Sharon at work," Andy smirked. "That's for me only. Besides, Provenza would have a cow if you started it too. I'm not sure he's fully recovered from me calling her Sharon and not Captain."

While Andy was answering Wes, Sharon had given Andy his coffee back and was busy moving around the kitchen, preparing her own. She then joined the two men at the table.

"So, about that, since you are both here," Wes started, "I've always been curious about that since I started in Major Crimes. The fact you call her Sharon. I'm guessing that at some point, that started? I know you are professional enough you would have called her Captain. How'd that start?"

Sharon and Andy glanced at each other and smiled. They both started chuckling too as they looked back at Wes.

"Well," Sharon started at the same time Andy said, "You see…"

Sharon nodded at Andy and he continued, "Yeah, about that, we tried to be subtle. We do work with bloodhounds, I tell you."

"Umm, yeah, experienced that," Wes smirked.

Andy continued, "We'd been getting closer, as friends, for a long time. It surprised both of us how much we thought alike on cases and could read each other's minds. The team noticed we worked really well together, almost like two halves of a whole, but it was still very professional."

"Then I invited myself to Nicole's wedding," Sharon smiled, jumping into the conversation, as she grabbed Andy's hand. "Things changed with that. I still wasn't divorced, and we weren't doing anything wrong, but things changed."

"I guess after Nic's wedding, I saw Sharon-not Captain Raydor, but Sharon. I just wanted to be around her more and more. Sharon started slipping into my vocabulary more and more, sometimes at work. We were going out to eat several times a week, and that tone carried to the office. We still were very professional, and honestly, it seemed to help our working relationship even more. We seemed to have a sixth sense on cases together. We found ourselves stronger, together, and a good team," Andy said as he squeezed Sharon's hand.

"Yeah, recipient of your teamwork," Wes added as he raised one hand.

The trio laughed at his comment as Andy continued, "Provenza hated it. He kept telling me to get over my 'high school crush' as he would say. He kept telling me that nothing good would come of 'Sharon' except disaster, and he wanted to avoid disaster at work as much as he could."

Sharon jumped in, "Soon, though, he was using Sharon for everything at work. I didn't mind. To me, it was Andy, my best friend. He still treated me as the boss, but it was just my name. I once told Rusty very few people called me Sharon, but with Andy, he broke that barrier very quickly. If the rest of the team noticed, they were polite enough to never say anything, but even I noticed Provenza giving Andy a hard time," she smiled as she squeezed his hand.

"Yeah, and after awhile, I just didn't care," Andy added casually. "I got the girl. That was all that mattered to me. Years of wooing-all worth it."

Wes chuckled again and looked at the two, "Well, thank you, Sharon, Andy. I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner. Honestly, making things at work awkward was our main concern. We are both very committed to each other, and I don't see myself going anywhere. I care deeply for her."

"Well, I like the sound of that," Bob interrupted the group, as he walked into the kitchen. "That sounds very much like a conversation I had with another male in this room a couple years ago," he said as he glanced toward Andy.

Sharon and Andy looked at each other and chuckled. Andy commented right back, "Don't remind me. 60 year olds aren't supposed to get nervous talking to their girlfriend's parents. In fact, most 60 year olds aren't talking to a girlfriend's parents at all."

Wes looked between the trio with questioning eyes.

"Wes, my parents came to visit after Christmas a couple years ago. The kids had come home for Christmas and were able to stay through the New Year. We'd ended up having a crazy case that caused us to work through Christmas Eve. Andy arranged for Christmas at work, and the kids set it up. My parents came to visit a few days later. At that point, we weren't officially dating, but Dad there managed to corner Andy," Sharon giggled.

"Yes, because for at least the year prior, probably longer, all of our phone conversations included talk of 'Andy.' Andy and I went here. Andy and I went to the ball game. I took Andy to the gala. Andy this and Andy that. So, when Andy happened to drop by the condo during our visit, not knowing we were there, yes, I had to find out his intentions," Bob added.

"I stopped by a few hours after you had arrived because Sharon hadn't even told me you were there yet. You took me on the balcony and threatened anyone who came near us to leave us alone so we could talk," Andy shook his head. "I believe you told me that in your eyes, I was already better than Jack because I was there. I'd gotten Christmas presents for your grandkids, for your daughter, and I'd already treated your daughter better in the stories you'd heard than Jack ever had. You also told me you'd never seen Sharon that happy and didn't buy the not dating story. You told me we could call it whatever it was, but you could see that Sharon was happier than she'd ever been."

"Yes, that's right," Bob added. "I also recall that when we went back inside, my nervous daughter had reappeared from the bathroom, and her only comment to me when she walked over was 'Well'?"

Sharon chuckled at the memory, "I did say that," she smiled.

"Yes, very unconvincing, Captain," her dad added. "The 'well' only convinced me even more you were head over heels for this guy, regardless of what you were calling the relationship. The only time a person asks 'Well?" when their dad has just interrogated a guy is if she is very interested in what happened and what the dad thought," Bob smiled.

"It's not every day you fall in love with your lieutenant," Sharon smiled warmly at Andy. Then she turned, to Wes, gained his attention, "Emily's happier than we've ever seen her. So, thank you. Take care of her like the treasure she is."

Wes nodded at the group, but before he could reply, Andy jumped in, "Because if you hurt her, your life, on all levels-personal and professional-will be miserable."

The group chuckled at that and got up to start on the casseroles that were now ready. Over the course of the next hour, the rest of the group wandered into the kitchen for breakfast.

Emily was the last one to join the group, which was ironic since she was sleeping on the couch nearby. Everyone chuckled at the sight of her curled up in her blanket.

"What is that thing?" Ricky questioned.

"Don't ask," Wes nodded. "It's hideous, that's what it is. She loves it. She actually got it at the gas station last night."

Eventually Emily joined the group, leaning over Wes' chair, stealing his coffee. She made up a plate for herself and joined Wes in the empty seat next to him.

"So, Sharon, I've noticed a trend," Rusty started out by saying.

Sharon raised her eyebrows and looked at him, "Yes…"

Rusty, now smirking, "Well, we all know you like to take in, strays, how should we say it? What's up with the name situation though?"

Sharon and the rest of the group looked around, all confused.

"So, like you seem to be attracted to names ending in 'y." You named your kids Emily and Ricky. Got rid of Jack, well because I'm guessing he didn't fit the 'y' thing. Adopted me, Rusty, again with the 'y.' Cozied up to the only 'y' at work-Andy. Now, he's part of the nuclear family. So, what's up with the names?"

The group chuckled at Rusty's dumb comments, and then he continued, "You know, I've put even more thought into it. Seems as if your crazy kids are continuing your odd obsession. We've just switched to 's' with Gus, Wes, so Ricky, that means you need to find a girl named, I don't know-Bess, Tess…something like that," Rusty said simply as he picked up his orange juice, smirking behind the glass.

Ricky turned to him, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Besides, already have a girlfriend," he said nonchalantly as he stabbed a piece of French toast and stuffed it into his mouth.

The reaction of the group was the same; they were all speechless.

Sharon, who had her fork in her mouth, quickly turned to Andy, wide eyed, and his reaction, behind his coffee mug matched hers. "Ricky, you have a girlfriend?" Sharon asked. "Why haven't you told us about her? How long have you been dating?"

Sharon fired off question after question, totally intrigued by her son's admission. Ricky sat there, totally calm, taking another bite of his food, completely unaffected by Sharon's questions.

"Yeah," he replied with his mouth full, "Her name is Lauren, so sorry little brother to ruin your theory."

"Lauren! You're still dating her?" Rusty exclaimed, "You were dating her last summer."

"Mmm hmm," Ricky said with more food in his mouth and not looking up at the group, "I know."

Ricky didn't offer up anything else as the group all had stopped eating and was now looking at him. Finally, after he mopped up the syrup on his plate with his last bite, he looked up, "What?"

"I think everyone would like some information," Sharon smiled, "I thought I raised you two better than that, but it seems you both like to hide details," Sharon said very matter of fact.

Ricky sat back, very calm, and looked at the group again. He shrugged, "Lauren is a hair stylist. She's almost done with her undergrad in elementary education. She's got a year left at Stanford. She's putting herself through school because her parents passed away a few years ago. So, she got a cosmetology license to cut hair to earn money. She does that in the evenings and works around school. She's Catholic, and yes, she goes to Mass regularly," he shrugged.

Andy looked at Sharon with eyes raised. Sharon still sat there shell shocked, "Ricky, why haven't you mentioned her, and Rusty, what do you mean still dating her?"

The two boys looked at each other, and Rusty helped, "Oh, I just meant that I met her last summer when I went up to hang out with Ricky."

"Last summer!" Sharon exclaimed.

"Oh, finally, the spotlight is off us," Emily exclaimed, looking at Wes.

Everyone continued to glare at Ricky.

"Ricky, I believe your mother would like you to finish explaining," Bob stated.

"So here's the deal. I met Lauren about a year ago. We started dating ummm, last February, so now, it's almost been a year. She's cool," Ricky added.

Rusty started laughing, and everyone turned to him. "Dude, you are dating a hair stylist with your hair? No wonder it's looking better. Plus, it's been a year, and you explain her to all of us by saying she's cool?"

The entire table started laughing at that comment, while Ricky reached up and touched his hair, "Hey now! She does a great job on my hair."

Sharon, who couldn't contain her laughter had her head buried in Andy's arm. He was laughing equally as hard.

"Ricky, we've all noticed your hair looks better. Why haven't you mentioned Lauren to your mother or me?" Andy asked.

Ricky shrugged, "Just hasn't come up. Plus, I knew with the Detective Inquisition I would get jammed up like Em has," Ricky added. "I did meet her when she cut my hair. I started going there after Mom and Rusty gave me such a hard time. It took awhile to find someone who did a good job with my hair; she did."

Sharon, who had finally stopped laughing, looked at Ricky, "I wish you would have told us about her. The poor girl probably thinks your family is terrible, never asking about her. No family left? That's terrible, but she sounds like a hard worker. I like that."

"Yeah, she is. She's pretty great. You can find out whatever you want about her. She'll be here this afternoon," Ricky said nonchalantly.

Andy almost choked on his coffee he was drinking, and Sharon even had to pat him on the back. She turned to Ricky, "This afternoon? She's coming?"

Ricky shrugged again, "Yeah, you said family vacation, so she's coming. She had class all day yesterday, worked last night, and she's working this morning before coming up, but she wanted to drive here. I offered to drive with her, but she has to be back for class by Tuesday, so she can't stay long. I figured Em would be hating life and hating me for ratting her out about the boyfriend, and hey, I figured with everyone else bringing someone, maybe you should meet her. I'm pretty crazy about her."

The entire group sat, shell-shocked at the latest confession. Wes was the first to break the silence, "So, this is turning into a fun trip."