Sorry for the delay! I've been trying to finish this story and juggle my other new story. Yes, our favorite idiots are finally figuring things out, but not to worry...we're two weeks from total chaos when Sharon takes over Major Crimes...
"We can't possibly tell people right now," Andy sighed, as he and Sharon sat on her balcony talking. It was now the beginning of August. The last two weeks had been hectic at work, case after case, and Sharon and Andy had barely spent any time together. When Andy had a rare night off, Sharon found herself at work. Now, finally, they had a night off together, but they were faced with another dilemma.
"I know," Andy," Sharon sighed. The two had talked about having a small party at Andy's place to tell the team about their engagement. After meeting Gabriel's girlfriend and knowing he was talking about getting married too, they didn't want to piggyback on that, especially when they were already engaged and had been for a couple of weeks now. Sharon fingered her ring, one she now loved very much and hated taking off each day for work. She and Andy were sitting on one chair together, and she patted his leg, "This is a mess. We need to wait. It's not fair to Brenda."
"Yeah," Andy nodded in agreement. Sharon heard him let out a sigh, "I can't believe Chief's mom died. Never saw that coming. I know Chief didn't either; she was worried about her dad, but man, her mom."
Sharon nodded too, "Just shows us life is short," she hummed. She clasped her hand in his, "Makes me happy we have gotten to this point. I don't want to be anywhere but here with you," she smiled. He pulled her closer, and the two continued to sit, thinking through their dilemma.
"Well," Andy started again after he'd thought a few moments, "What about having everyone to my house in a couple of weeks? We said mid-August, and that would be mid-August still. It's not this week, like we had talked about telling my team, but it's close. Chief is going to be grieving for awhile, and maybe getting her focused on you and I joining forces, legally, will get her mind off her mom, at least for a day or so," he grinned. "You two have come a long way, but you know she won't believe or even want to imagine the two of us getting married," he chuckled. Sharon smiled and started to chuckle too.
"Okay," Sharon nodded. "I was on call that weekend, but I can switch it. Maybe you can sell it to the team as something positive for all of you. Maybe Gabriel will bring his girlfriend; there's something off there I can't put my finger on," she sighed.
"She seems nice enough," Andy shrugged.
"I've got to trust my gut, Andy," Sharon nodded. "I'm sure I'll get to the bottom of it. Maybe spending time with her again, I'll figure it out."
"Well, with the party settled, we still need to figure out when we are going to tell the kids. We can't exactly tell the team and not tell the kids for another couple weeks. It will get back to some of them, and that will only irritate them. I don't think we need any additional kids mad at us," Andy pointed out.
Sharon nodded, "You're right. Maybe we can tell them after the party with the team. We could call each of them."
"I don't mind doing it right now, Sharon. I want the whole world to know you agreed to marry my sorry self," he chuckled, kissing the top of her head. She patted his arm. He continued, "So, WHEN are you going to marry me, hmm?"
Sharon hummed, turning slightly in the lounge, to meet Andy's gaze, "I've been thinking. All this about Brenda's mom," she shook her head, "I don't think I want to wait," she shrugged. She had tears in her eyes. Clearly, Brenda's mom passing away was hitting her harder than she or really Andy too, expected. "I love you so much, and with everything we've had go wrong, I don't want to wait. Andy, we aren't getting any younger. Her mom was in good health. She just passed away. I don't want to go day after day, not married to you. I want to marry you, nothing held back."
"So, what are you saying? You want to get married sooner than later, okay," he shrugged. "How soon? When?"
"How about before the party? We won't just tell them we are engaged; we can tell them we got married. Andy, we both had the big church weddings, and those didn't go well for us. Things with the church are a mess for us. Why don't we speak to Judge Grove? We know plenty of judges in this city, and certainly we can find one who wouldn't be opposed to marrying us. Simple. Us. The kids will be frustrated, but when aren't they with us? We've spent years apart, years trying to put things together, another year and a half torn apart, and we are now together for good. I want this for us, no one else."
"You serious?" Andy said, sitting up, pulling Sharon up with him. He wanted to sit face to face if they were going to have this discussion.
"I am," Sharon nodded. "I don't want anything fancy, just you. I don't even care the date, just sooner than later. The wedding itself is only legally binding what we already know, so let's not wait." Sharon smiled at him, her eyes sparkling. Andy knew that look, and he had trouble ever saying no to that look. He grinned too.
"You don't have to convince me. Our daughter is going to be mad," he smiled, "as will all the other kids," he added.
Sharon shrugged, "She's been mad at us before. We'll just tell her to just be glad she's completely legitimate," she chuckled as she bit her lip. "So?"
Andy leaned in and kissed her. It was a sweet kiss, full of promise. When they broke apart, he smiled and kissed her nose quickly. "Deal, but that shouldn't be a surprise to you."
Sharon grinned, clasping his hands in hers, "Deal. This way, we'll be married before Emily and Ricky come to visit. We can celebrate with them, all the kids. That also takes the pressure off dealing with Nicole's wedding. I know you didn't want to overshadow her, rightly so, and this way, the focus can still be on her wedding next year. She's young; she can have the big, grand affair. I know that's costing you an arm and a leg anyway, so let's keep ours just ours. Simple, you, me, the judge," she shrugged, "and, I guess a couple of witnesses."
Andy chuckled, "I almost wish the witnesses could include Provenza," he stood up, pulling Sharon with him. "Almost," he winked. "I think I'll get more enjoyment out of seeing his face at the party when we tell him we are already married."
Sharon laughed, as they cleaned up their dishes from their tea and snack. "Two weeks, and we'll have the team over," she smiled. "Let's get our calendars out and figure out when we are getting married."
Andy held open the sliding door, smiling at Sharon, "So romantic, syncing our calendars to see when neither of us are on call so we can get married. Gotta love our jobs," he smiled.
