Not much was said. The evening was not what either had planned nor expected; it was quickly turning into a disaster. Andy took Sharon's hand, guided her across the room, planted her in one of the kitchen chairs, returned to the stove, and put on a kettle of tea. Sharon was embarrassed and mad at herself; she'd almost pulled it off, a lovely evening, and it had gone horribly wrong. While she sat, she didn't notice that Andy cleaned up their burned dinner. She snapped out of her haze when he put a steaming cup of tea in front of her and sat down in the chair adjacent to hers with a matching cup.

"So," he said quietly as he reached out and ran his finger over her hand trying to get her to look at him and continued when she finally did, "this looked like it was going to be a lovely evening." He gave her a soft smile, and she just shook her head and sighed.

"Why did I have to go outside? I don't know why I did any of this! It was all a silly idea. Andy, I'm so sorry," she sighed again before she took a sip of her tea.

"Don't be sorry," he said again quietly. His voice had a very calm, soothing effect, which was very charming to Sharon. Considering he could yell and scream at the lowest of dirt bags, Sharon loved this tone, one most people never heard from Andy. "I'm so sorry this was a disaster. If I would have been on time, it wouldn't have been an issue either. Provenza," Andy chuckled, "he's always part of the problem, but I'm so happy you came here trying to surprise me. I'm definitely surprised, and we can still salvage the night," he tugged on her hand and gave her another soft smile.

Sharon found her voice after she sipped on her tea . She put her cup downbefore she spoke, "I burned dinner. Andy, this was my idea of a surprise first date, and I ruined it. Let's just forget it and call it a night."

Andy frowned, almost in a pouting tone, "I don't want to call it a night. I am really glad you are here, and I ran off Provenza to spend the evening with I you." He reached for her fingers and laced his with hers. She glanced up at him, and he shrugged and then grinned, "I'd really like you to stay awhile. We can figure out something to eat."

Sharon bit her lip and felt herself blushing again, "I don't want to be a burden."

"Please," Andy waved her off and made a small noise, "I already cleaned up the dinner mess, so now, it's just you, me, and whatever we can scrounge up. Oh, my pizza is outside!" Andy jumped up and started for the door. Sharon called after him.

"Don't get locked outside," Sharon yelled as he jogged down the hall. She shook her head thinking about the fact they were going to eat cold pizza for their romantic dinner date and sat there for a few moments replaying the night's events in her head. Suddenly, she remembered the cannoli was also outside, so she stood to go and at least retrieve their dessert. She didn't get to the door before she met Andy coming back inside.

"What's wrong?" Sharon asked him, but the detective in her should have noted his empty hands before asking that.

"He took all the pizza!" Andy exclaimed. "Provenza! He took both pizzas. Guy didn't even leave my pizza. Seriously, how is that guy still my friend?"

Sharon burst out laughing, the laughter finally the stress relief Sharon needed from the tension of the evening; the whole mess just kept getting worse. Andy ran his hand through his hair, and when she looked up at him, she asked, "Did you see the cannoli? I had a box sitting outside next to the planter."

Andy eyed her, "There was nothing there. I'll check again, but I'm guessing if he took the pizzas, he took dessert. He'll complain about running into you here, especially dressed like that," he gestured at her and quickly smiled, "not that I'm complaining at all. You look lovely, but I can only imagine Provenza. He'll justify stealing the cannoli as his damage control for the night."

"Hmm, yes, not my finest moment running into him outside," she sighed. Andy put up his hand, "I did get something," and he reached for his shoulder where Sharon hadn't noticed her gym bag. "Look, I know you put a lot of effort into this evening and not just with dinner. I know you are probably a bit uncomfortable in my shirt, but I'd gladly let you wear it anytime," he winked at her as she started to blush. "I got your bag from the car because I'd love for you to stay for awhile and know you would be more comfortable in probably anything else but what you are wearing."

Sharon reached for his hand, "You know me better than I think I know myself," she let out a loud sigh. "Thank you. How did you know my bag was in the car?"

Andy rolled his eyes, "Sharon, you just said it yourself that I know you maybe better than you know yourself. I've been riding around with you for days, helping you with things from the car, and besides that, we work together. I know you keep your gym bag in the car. Now, I've brought you your bag because I know you are probably ready to crawl into a hole and pull a blanket over your head. So, go ahead and change. We can reserve that shirt or anything like it," he winked, "for another day."

Sharon let out a long sigh and gave him a small smile, "Thank you. You do know me, and how is it you are able to relax me when I'm most stressed?"

"Ahh," he pointed a finger at her, "there's an idea. I can at least pay you back for one of my many back massages. Get changed, and we can talk about that here later. First order of business is dinner."

"Dinner," Sharon rolled her eyes and looked away. Andy put his finger on her chin and gestured for her to look toward him. She turned with a slight frown.

"I get to eat with you. Whatever we eat, it doesn't matter. We could have a bowl of cereal, and it would be the best last first date ever."

Sharon finally smiled at that, "Best last first date?"

He shrugged, "I don't plan to have any future first dates, do you?"

"No," she smiled brightly at him. She reached for his hand and gripped it tightly. "Thank you. I'll go change."

Andy nodded and followed her down the hall. She walked into the guest bathroom, but before she closed the door, Andy stopped in the doorway. "You could have used my bathroom. I don't mind sharing, even with a girl," he grimaced. Sharon chuckled and nodded.

"I'll remember that. This is fine for right now. I'll be right out," she told him.

"I'll see about dinner. I'm starving now that I have food on my mind," he told her.

"I am too, but there's not much. I did make a salad, and there's bread. That doesn't sound very filling for the evening," she explained. Andy nodded and walked toward the kitchen while she changed.

Sharon joined him a few minutes later, now in a plain gray t-shirt and a pair of light blue yoga pants. Andy smiled at her causal appearance, and she rolled her eyes. "You get my best look," she teased.

"I know," he nodded ignoring that she was teasing. "I enjoy all your looks. You look fantastic, perfect for pizza."

"Pizza?" Sharon asked.

He nodded, "I couldn't get it off my mind. I just ordered a pizza, and they said it would be here in about 45 minutes. I figured that was enough time to enjoy our appetizer, this garlic toast," he gestured to it, "as well as our salad. By the time the pizza gets here, we will be ready for the third course of our meal. I can't replicate cannoli for dessert, which, by the way, I'm very saddened to hear we are missing out on that, but I can offer you an alternate dessert option."

Sharon grinned, "Really? And, what might this alternate dessert be?"

"Graham crackers," he nodded as if that was the most normal thing two adults would eat for dessert. "Stop," he gestured with his hands, "I know you are going to tell me it's too much, that you don't deserve such gourmet treatment, but I do like to keep my reputation here and keep my favorite lady happy. I always have a supply of graham crackers on hand for the two little monsters who invade my life on occasion."

Sharon started laughing again, and Andy walked to her. He opened his arms, and Sharon wrapped hers around him. "Thank you for this," she sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"Stop it," he told her. "No apology. People will be jealous of our first date. The food doesn't matter to me, just the company. Having a first date at home is even better, but I say, we just stop calling it a first date." Sharon looked up at him, slightly confused, and he shrugged, "All things aside, when would you really say we had our first date? I'm serious," he said as she was about to protest.

She bit her lip and looked away. He tugged on her arm at his side, and she looked back, sighed, and admitted, "Nicole's wedding."

"My thoughts exactly," he grinned and kissed her lips quickly before pulling away from her. "I realized that day I really liked you, even if we were both trying to keep things on a professional level, or I guess, friendly level since you admitted we were friends," he smiled. "It fits the criteria for a first date," he nodded. "We had dinner, dancing, and quite the venue for it all."

Sharon chuckled as she looked to the ground. She finally looked up to find his brown eyes looking at her, "Let's just remember, then, if that's our first date, that I asked you out." Andy's jaw dropped open, and she shrugged. "It's true, Lieutenant. You came into my office, still upset about the wedding, but finally ready to admit that you needed to go. You were going to go alone; I offered to go with you."

"Bossy and demanding," he grumbled and kissed her again quickly. "That was just one more thing I liked about that day, he winked. "I liked your strength, your stubbornness, and your refusal to leave my side. You were amazing at that wedding, and I certainly found it attractive, even if then I couldn't put words to it or even act on it really when I did figure it out. I'm just glad we finally have figured it out."

"I am too," she sighed and buried her head in his shoulder. "Would you mind if we ate? I'm so hungry."

"Dinner is served," he gestured toward the table where he had put out the salad she'd made along with the garlic bread. "I took the liberty of ordering a veggie special for our pizza. Stupid Provenza for getting me stuck on the idea of pizza tonight. We really should reserve pizza nights for times when we're with Rusty," he rolled his eyes. Sharon laughed and sat where Andy was holding out her chair for her.

"Thank you," she nodded to her chair. "Yes, while much of the evening is ruined, a murder call-out and Rusty sitting here with us would definitely be the two things that could further ruin a romantic dinner," she winked. Andy grinned and reached for her hand.

"I'm so glad you came over here," and when she started to roll her eyes, he tugged on her hand. "Hey, I'm serious, all joking aside. It is a wonderful surprise. You rushed here from work to plan this special evening for us. I'm very touched; it means a lot."

Sharon squeezed his hand, and the two settled in for their light dinner. Their string of bad luck changed when the pizza arrived 15 minutes early.

"Your Italian feast," he winked at her as he produced the pizza box. She shook her head, amused at his playful attitude. She turned toward the living room.

"Would you mind if we ate in there? I'm so exhausted, and to be honest, curling up on the couch with you and a slice of pizza sounds wonderful," she asked.

"Perfect idea," he gestured to the couch. "I'll bring the graham crackers."

After Sharon finished laughing at Andy's silly comments, the two settled in for the evening. They had spent many evenings together, even before he'd been sick, so they were used to watching television together.

Andy started flipping through the channels, and he suddenly stopped and turned to Sharon, "Don't even ask if we can watch; that will ruin our date." Sharon's face lit up, knowing what Andy was suggesting, and she gave him a sad, flirty face. "That won't work," he pointed at her. "We're not watching his show."

"So, you acknowledge it is his show!" Sharon exclaimed.

"No!" Andy said quickly and then stared at her. "We will not speak of it tonight."

"Promise," Sharon nodded and held up her hand. She chuckled as Andy turned back to the television to find something they could watch.

"Ooooh," Sharon pointed at the television with a piece of pizza in her other hand, "a romantic comedy, maybe?"

Andy looked at the title and read the description on the screen and nodded, "That, I can handle. You, me, pizza, a romantic comedy, and of course, graham crackers-what more could one want from a first date?"

Sharon moved closer to Andy and hummed as she snuggled into his side and tucked her feet up under her legs, "I suppose the only thing a girl could want is a second date."