She finally felt his hand on her waist, strong and steady, already expecting her. Andy on his end wasn't expecting her weight to be multiplied and projected strongly by the explosion and fell with her in his arms. They rolled together a few feet but he tried as much as possible to keep her off the ground. When they finally stopped rolling, he blinked to the smoke and the debris flying in the air, his vision was blurred and his head confused.

- Sharon?

The kids were crying and shouting from afar.

- Mum! Mum! Are you okay?

He was managing to stand up, looking around for his woman. She was tossed a few steps away from him, not responding neither to his calls nor to her children's screams. The time stopped. He could only see her body, limp, not a single sign of life there. He had never been so scared of losing someone in his whole life. He reached for her waist and delicately turned her around. Her hair was spread on her face, not letting him see it. Was she breathing?

- Sharon, please! Wake up!

He moved her hair away and caressed her face, feeling tears forming in his eyes.

- Come on, Sharon! Open your eyes! You can't leave me, not yet!

Her body remained limp, lifeless. He tried to feel her pulse. He was agitated and wouldn't manage to concentrate.

- Please, honey wake up! he wasn't fighting the tears and let himself cry for dear life. Your children are here, everyone's safe, you need to come back to us and hold them. They need you Sharon! And so do I! I don't know why it took me so long to tell you this but…

He felt her hand moving, her eyelids heavy but slowly getting back to life.

- Sharon, can you hear me? both of his hands were on the sides of her face, his eyes expecting hers to finally open.

- Andy… she mumbled. The children…

- They're here, Sharon, they're safe! he was so happy to hear her voice again.

She opened her eyes, a deep green shining through them. He couldn't stop himself. He kissed her so deeply, something he had been craving to do for 10 years.

- I love you, sweetheart, you're the love of my life… tears were still rolling down his cheeks. I love you and I'm sorry it took me so long to come to you!

- Andy…

- No don't say anything, I'm sorry I just needed to say it out loud, I was so afraid to lose you…

- No, I… I love you too… Andy…

She painfully moved her good arm around his neck and pulled him closer, kissing him again and letting him know how much she felt the same for him.

By then, the children were safely taken care of by a fire fighter approaching them.

- Hey guys! Are you okay?

- I think so… said Sharon, slowly coming to her full senses but still laying on the ground.

- She had a pretty bad fall, you should take her and the kids to the hospital and check if everything's fine. They probably inhaled much smoke! Andy was nervous, really wanting the three of them to be fine.

- We're gonna check that. Can you walk Ma'am?

- I think so… let me just…

- Wait, let me help…

Andy quickly held her neck and back, putting his shoulder forward to invite her into his arm. Neither of them wanted to let go of each other's touch. She was now leaning into him, grabbing his hand firmly in hers. She needed contact, to feel safe. After so many weeks by herself in her anxiety, and of course the recent plot twist, she terribly needed to lean into someone's arms and feel protected. She couldn't believe it, he came for her, he saved her even after how she had turned his help down.

Now reaching the fire fighter truck, she finally saw her children.

- Momma! You're awake!

- Of course I'm awake! I'm so glad you're both safe now! She lowered herself with Andy's help and took them both into her motherly arms. I love you…

- We love you too… Emily was almost crying, the poor girl still under chock.

- Thank you so much for being there for them Andy… her words and her eyes were showing only gratefulness and the deepest of love.

Despite the dramatic situation, they were living a magical moment and it was simply unexplainable. Sharon and her kids had nothing left, at least nothing in terms of material, and yet they were happy and wearing wide smiles on their faces because tonight they were celebrating love and life.

In the days following the fire, Sharon and the kids had a short stay at the hospital. Though they had nothing too bad, she didn't avoid the concussion, however small. She stayed a few days more for observation while the kids stayed at Andy's, her parents being way too far and her house in ashes. Every day, Andy would bring the kids to visit their mum who was looking way healthier than she had that night. The doctors were very positive and only wanted her to stay a few more days to make sure everything was alright with her eyes that got some broken glass into it and with her poor shoulder who was fairly painful since her adventure down the improvised rope.

Sharon had nothing left, not even a few clothes to change and yet she had never looked happier. Her face was glowing and she couldn't help but look at him with loving eyes. She finally felt full again, he was there and he loved her, she loved him. She was still daydreaming about their moment together. She had been waiting for that for so long she couldn't even remember.

On a darker side, of course, the team proceeded to an investigation and obviously, the fire wasn't accidental. Jack. That bastard. Again, he tricked them and almost killed the three of them this time. That's the motivation Pope needed to finally make the right decisions and get them back under 24/7 surveillance. Jack's sudden change of behavior still remained a big mystery, even for Sharon who had been living with him for the past decade.

What was different this time, was that Jack hadn't been so careful with what he had left behind, probably thinking everything had burnt. The Major Crimes division worked hard on several clues found throughout the house and in the street. They would get him this time and he would pay for all the damages he caused.

She heard two knocks on the door. It was probably him, checking on her again. It made unconsciously smile and say a warm "come in!" to the door. Only her smile faded when she realized her visitor wasn't exactly who she thought…

- Charlotte… Hi! Thank you for passing by! She tried hard not to sound too disappointed nor fully surprised.

- Hey, Sharon! I was just in the area and felt like passing for a chat… Charlotte sounded way too mysterious.

- Are the kids alright?

- Oh sure! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you… They're both very fine… actually I was wondering… have you got plans for when you leave the hospital? I'm afraid I won't have anymore room left for you… she snort laughed nervously, with all the kids around and everything…

She knew exactly where she was getting at, her gushy feelings far gone.

- Of course, I'm sorry Charlotte! We invaded your space! Don't worry, as soon as I'm out of here we'll leave you alone.

- No, I don't mean to throw you out!

- Of course not… it was exactly what she meant and Sharon knew it.

- You know, it's just that things haven't been so easy with Andy lately and I'm afraid…

- What are you implying exactly?

- He's been talking about a break for us, even mentioned divorce and I believe your presence might…

- Might what? What are you trying to say?

- You know what? Nothing, just forget about this, I shouldn't have mentioned this… how rude of me right! she tried to apologize still smiling stupidly.

- You should probably leave now…

Sharon was back from her gushy emotions, feeling like reality, as always, was catching up on her. She was stupid enough to believe that things were actually very simple while it was an impossible chaos and she had to get out of it. She couldn't be seen as a mistress and a marriage breaker, on top of it all! She made a mistake and she would fix it as soon as she could.

Her release was planned for this evening. Andy wanted to surprise her and go get the kids so that the four of them would be able to have dinner together. He thought about bowling but her shoulder was still very fragile… he then opted for booking a table in a nice burger restaurant where there was a playing area for Emily and Ricky. He was a little early to pick her up, they would maybe finally be able to talk about what happened that evening, he thought.

Two knocks resonated in the hospital room. No one answered so he pushed the door, only to find a made bed and an empty room. She was gone. How could she be gone? The room that felt so warm and inviting a day earlier, seemed suddenly so cold and sad. What if Jack had found her and wanted to finish the job? A thousand questions were popping in his head, he was just so confused. He called Provenza, hoping that somehow he'd know something… While the phone was still ringing, he caught a nurse in the hall.

- Hey miss! I'm sorry, I'm here to pick up Mrs Sharon Raydor, she's been a patient of yours for the last few days… she's not in her room anymore. Where can I find her?

- Hello, Sir. Hum… please follow me, so that I can check with our online system.

- Sure.

A tiny hope enlightened his eyes, hoping for a sensible reason to explain her disappearance before turning on his panic mode.

- Oh right! Mrs Raydor from room 1285.

- That's her!

- I'm afraid she checked out two hours ago, Sir.

- What? Are you sure?

- Well, it's what I have here in her file. Also, there's a copy of the document she signed when she left with the woman who picked her up.

- And who's that?

- I'm sorry, Sir, I can't share such information with you if you're not family… she seemed truly sorry for him.

- Right… Thank you for your help.

He hung up the phone before Provenza even picked up and hurried out of the hospital. Who could have picked her up two hours ago? And a woman?! Who the hell came to get her when he was the one supposed to do it? Why didn't she call him?