"Knock, knock," Sharon said as she poked her head in the doorway. Andy looked up; he'd decided to take her up on her offer, to try out this arrangement. That wasn't a surprise to Sharon, Andy really, either. He needed somewhere better to crash than Provenza's couch, especially with Provenza getting married now in just over a month. It was now a couple weeks later. Work had been busy for both of them, Andy just coming off a week of call. Andy paused what he was doing, standing there next to the bed as he had started to unpack to look over at his now, landlord and roommate.

"Hey," he said with pursed lips. "Ahh, look, I know you outrank me at work, but-"

Sharon's eyes widened, and she shook her head, "Oh, I certainly don't expect us to use rank here. Sharon is just fine," she said, her lips tight as she nodded. "Andy, ok, I presume?"

"Yeah, sure, of course, glad we got the formalities out of the way. Well, who do we have here?" Andy gestured toward her, Sharon standing there with her kids, the baby on her hip and a toddler at her side. She smiled at the mention of them.

"This is Emily," she said, raising her hand to indicate her daughter. "She's three and a half now and a bit nervous about having to share her house. She wanted to know if you like animal crackers?"

Andy gave them a warm smile and bent down to be closer to Emily's level. His room wasn't huge; the house itself wasn't that big, but it was a room, a place to store his things and somewhat call his own. He had a roof over his head and was finally seeing some of his personal possessions for the first time in several months. He gave Emily a soft smile, "Hi, Emily. I'm Mr. Andy. I have a little girl and a little boy too, just a little older than you. I promise not to eat your animal crackers."

Her eyes got wide, and she titled her head slightly, "Ricky can't eat them. Don't give him one."

"Okay, I won't. Thanks for telling me," he said, glancing up to Sharon.

"Where are your kids?" Emily asked. Andy snapped his head back to her, and she stood there, twirling her long dark hair on her finger. "Do they watch Sesame Street like me? That's my favorite show."

Andy chuckled quietly and gave her a small nod as he glanced back up at Sharon, "Yeah, they like that show too. They live with their mom, just like you live with your mom. Maybe you will meet them soon."

"Okay, Emily," Sharon said, clearing her throat. Andy groaned slightly as he stood, and Emily looked up at Sharon ."That's enough for now. Let's allow Andy time to unpack, okay? Andy is a friend of mine. I told you he's a police officer too. We worked in the same office a long, long time ago. I know this is strange and new, but he's going to be here for awhile, okay my sweetheart?"

Emily made a face at Sharon, which had Sharon rolling her eyes. She frowned and looked to Andy, gesturing at the baby, "This is Ricky. He's nine months old, or just about."

Andy grinned at the chubby baby who was patting his mom's face as she spoke. Andy made eye contact with Sharon, "He looks like you, something about his eyes."

She smiled softly, "My mom and dad said the same thing."

"Oh, do they live around here? Are they going to be here often?" Andy asked.

"No," Sharon waved with her free hand. "They live in Florida, retirement community, one of those deals. They won't be here much, if at all. I get along with my parents, but we seem to do better long distance. They are supportive, but I don't want them trying to fix my problems. Also, they aren't thrilled with my life choices," she said, enunciating the words. She ran her hand over Emily's hair and continued, "They love the kids, but things are slightly strained with my having so many life changes recently."

"Ahh," Andy nodded, getting an understanding. "I think I understand."

"Anyway," Sharon waved her hand and looked around the room, "I hope things are okay in here. Thank you for giving me an extra week to get my things and furniture moved to Ricky's room. I'm sorry the walls are a dusty rose color. It's not my favorite color, and I didn't paint them. The house came like this, and it's been on my list of things to do. It really doesn't look like a masculine color."

"Oh," Andy said, raising his eyebrows as he glanced around the room, almost as if just noticing the color. "It's fine, no problem at all. To be honest, I'm just glad for the room. I'm not exactly some home decorator," he chuckled.

"Mmm," she said pursing her lips as she bounced at Ricky. Emily continued to just look at his things while she held tightly to Sharon's hand. "Ahh, I know we were out for just a couple hours running errands, but it looks like you got a decent start on moving. Is Lieutenant Provenza coming back to help you with the rest?"

"Oh," Andy said, surprised. "This is it," he gestured around him. "Yeah, it worked out and all, your kids getting up from their nap just after I got here. I hope you didn't run out on my account, but we got everything. I'm all moved in, not unpacked, but moved in. You didn't have to grab the kids and go; I hope you know that."

"I see," Sharon said, clearing her throat as she glanced to the meager stack of belongings. He didn't have much; she could see that. He and Provenza had arrived at her house mid-afternoon. The kids had been napping. The plan had been for Andy to come by in the afternoon, after she and the kids were home from church. Andy and Provenza arrived, and as they started to carry the first boxes in the house, the kids woke from their naps. Sharon quickly cleared out to give them men space to work. "I wasn't trying to run out, but I know that I have a narrow window of time to get things done while the kids are happy and alert. We're approaching meltdown time here," she said with a small laugh. "I'm sorry to have asked if you had more to bring over."

"Yeah, you know, I am starting over, almost from nothing," Andy said, feeling the need to explain. "I used to have a house full of things, but I walked away from it, my own doing. I mean, drinking won over my family; I realize that. I let Sandra keep most everything. The television and chair were mine, gifts from long ago, so I felt like they were really the big things I should take."

Sharon nodded as she looked to his things, trying not to stare. At a quick glance, she noted he had a mattress on a simple frame, no headboard or any furniture with it. He had a television in the corner on the floor. There was an old recliner chair in the other corner. He had several boxes stacked by the closet, and with the closet door open, she could see dress clothing hanging there. The closet appeared to be almost full, the only part of the room that looked complete.

"Oh, ahhh," Sharon said, slightly flustered as she turned back to Andy. "Do you need a card table for your television? I have an old one in the garage area. I don't have any extra furniture, but I have that and maybe an old lamp out there if you want one for the side of your bed."

"Yeah?" Andy asked, a hopeful look on his face. "That would be great. I don't have a dresser. Provenza said he thought he has an old side table in his garage that I could use for a nightstand, but the old guy has so much junk in there, nothing particularly useful, but it might be a few days. A card table for the television would be great. Eventually, I hope to buy a dresser and maybe a nightstand to just have a room set, but yeah, thanks. I didn't have much after the divorce and was renting a studio apartment. I got rid of the couple things I had-an old couch and coffee table from a yard sale when I went to rehab and got rid of the apartment, but Provenza kept my mattress in his garage. That is new, and I didn't want to replace that again."

Sharon nodded as she listened, "Well, I won't keep you from unpacking. As you know," she gestured down the hall, "the bathroom here is for you to use. I've moved everything to the other side of the house to share with the kids. The kids and I are going to put the groceries away. Oh, I did clear out a cabinet for you, for your food or anything like dishes, you might want to store. If it's okay with you, could I use the kitchen until maybe 7:00 each evening?" Sharon looked to him, desperate to work out this topic. She continued to explain, "The kids need to be in bed by 7:00, 7:30 at the latest, and I work hard to get home on time, get them fed, and then to bed. If you don't mind doing your dinner after 7:00, that would be very helpful to me."

"Oh sure, not a problem at all," Andy waved his hand in the air. "With Provenza, I did a lot of the cooking, but he wasn't even there that much. It is going to be nice to get back into a routine, to get back on my feet. Thank you again for the idea," he told her.

"Well, as I said, I'm hoping this arrangement works for both of us," she explained. Ricky started squirming in her arms. "I'll leave you to settle in here. Come on, Emily. Let's put away our groceries and get you some dinner."

Emily kept her eyes locked on Andy as Sharon turned her to walk away. Andy waved at her, and she finally gave him a small, tentative wave. Sharon moved the kids to the kitchen, and things seemed to quiet in the house.

20 minutes later, Sharon was at the stove, making Emily a grilled cheese sandwich. Emily was at the table working on a bowl of fruit, and Ricky was in his high chair when Andy walked into the kitchen. He, too, was timid, and stuck his head into the doorway.

"Sorry to bother, but I'll cut your grass this evening if you just tell me where the mower is," he said.

Sharon turned around, and the kids looked at him. Emily pointed to Sharon, "Mommy is making grilled cheese, my favorite. It's the bestest."

"Best, Emily, the best, not the bestest, but I'm not sure I agree it's that amazing," Sharon said with a small sigh. She gestured with the spatula in her hand, "The mower is in the garage, gasoline can by it. I know the yard is really overgrown. I've not cut it in a couple of weeks, just too busy. This house looks sad; I know," she frowned.

"Nothing a little sweat can't fix," he smiled. "I've always thought a good hour or so outside can really turn around a house. Just you watch-getting the grass cut and lawn looking great will make a big difference."

"Please don't feel like you have to do that tonight or work on something every minute you are here," Sharon pleaded. "You did just move in this afternoon. I know I expect a lot at work, but I'm not keeping you on some leash here."

"Noted," he nodded. "I'm just about at stopping point in my room. There's only so much I can do without furniture or anything."

"Oh, gosh, I mentioned that card table and lamp," Sharon put her hand to her mouth. She turned to flip the grilled cheese and turned back to him. "Sorry, I am just in the middle of this."

"If it's okay with you, I can dig around in the garage. I'll find it, and I'll get the grass cut. No, it's fine. Like I said, I have a roof over my head. I made a list of a few things I need at the store, like a couple new pillows," he frowned. "I have no idea where my pillows went; Provenza might have snatched them," he chuckled. "I can't find pillows or a full set of towels. Anyway, that's nothing you want to know, but I'll do something I can do now."

"Sounds good," Sharon said, her lips tight as she nodded to him. "Thank you for that."

"No problem," Andy said, knocking his knuckles on the doorframe. "Emily," he looked to her at the table. Both kids looked up, and he winked at her, "You enjoy that grilled cheese. I might make the same for my dinner later, but I'm sure your mom makes it better."

Emily giggled, and just before Andy stepped out of the room, he stepped back and called to Sharon, "Oh, Sharon, I hope it's okay, that check for you. I promise more, but it's all I have, honestly. I have a few more payments to the rehab center, and then, I promise I'll be able to really kick in more. I just finished paying off my sister, so while it's not looking like things are improving, I promise they are. I'll be anxious to start saving for a down payment on an apartment of my own as well as a car, just as soon as I get my feet on the ground. Hopefully, I can start working some real overtime or get a second job now that I'm starting to stabilize. More money is coming. $100 is what I could do today. There will be some next paycheck, promise."

Sharon raised her eyes, "Oh, it's fine. $100 right now helps me a lot. It really does."

"Look, maybe we can sit down and discuss bills and all since I'll be using the power and water too, cable even?" Andy asked.

"Sure," Sharon said, pursing her lips. "I'm hopeful this can work for both of us, a fresh start in many areas."