Andy opened the back door and stepped out onto the patio, glancing over at Sharon who was sitting there with a cup of tea.

"Okay if I join you?" Andy asked, nodding to the chair. The sun was setting; the late summer evening was coming to a close. Sharon looked up, a blanket loosely draped over her, and she gestured at the other patio chair across from her.

"Be my guest," she said with a small smile. Andy nodded and quickly took the seat as he looked around at the yard.

"If I do say so myself, the yard is looking good," he smiled at her.

"Much better," she nodded after sipping her tea. "I can't believe the transformation."

"You and me both, and I guess I mean that for your yard and honestly myself. Thank you for today," he said as he looked to her to meet her gaze.

Sharon shook her head slightly, "I didn't do much, but I'm so glad you got to see your kids. They are adorable, and they do love you."

"Nah," he waved as he crossed his leg to get comfortable. "They barely know me. They were really just excited to be here and loved playing with your kids. Ricky was a big hit with them."

Andy smiled as he started to think about his day. Yes, it had been a good day. Things had gone much better than anticipated. The last couple days had gone well, which made him slightly nervous, expecting the shoe to drop, other problems to develop. Just yesterday after work, he and Provenza had spent several hours car shopping. Andy had left with a six-year-old sedan, something better than he'd expected. He'd had good luck with that too, the car salesman giving him a good deal when he realized Andy was a cop. Turns out the dealership was appreciative to the LAPD after they'd had extensive vandalism done to their car lot. Of course, Andy had not been involved in any of that, but the guy just seemed to have a deep respect for the LAPD. Whatever it was, Andy was grateful, grateful for a kind soul and grateful the guy had gotten him into a better car than he'd imagined buying. His car even had some extra features. Really, he was thinking he'd end up with something that had well over 100,000 miles on it, no features, maybe something that had been repossessed and possibly even cosmetic issues. Instead, his car was six years old, had one previous owner, and it only had 64,000 miles on it. Andy really had lucked out with it, and the fact that it was black was good with him too. That had been another concern, if that was the right word. He envisioned having to buy something in a color he didn't want-bright red for a cop or something bright yellow like a school bus. He was grateful, grateful that he'd gotten a break on his road to recovery.

Today, spending time with his kids, well, he still had a smile on his face. As he sat on the back porch with Sharon, he turned to her and found her curled up in her blanket, staring into space. Neither seemed to mind the silence. It was enough to just be in the presence of the other person, enjoyable even.

Sharon cleared her throat before she looked at Andy. He didn't even realize he was still looking at her, but she smiled at him, "Nate, he looks a lot like you. Nicole is a beautiful little girl. She and Emily had fun, and it was so nice that Nicole is just a little older."

Andy nodded in agreement, "I watch Emily and think that I missed a lot of that with Nicole. I can't believe she's already going to be in second grade. Nate is going into fourth grade-crazy. I've missed that. Even when Nate was like in kindergarten, I can't remember much of it. I was drinking so heavily then, and if I wasn't drinking, I was working. Not anymore," he nodded to her. "Things are going to change. I just want the kids to see that I'm changing. Nate being a little older, nine," he added, "he is mad at me. I get it; his dad hasn't been around, and now, here I am, wanting to be around him. Nicole was a little younger, sure, but that also means she doesn't remember me at all as a good dad, a caring dad."

"You'll get there with them," Sharon smiled. "You didn't tell me how things went with your ex on the phone. Are you relieved she didn't drop off the kids?" The social worker involved in the case had brought the kids, mainly to check on things with this being the initial visit, which Andy thought was ridiculous with his own kids, but that's what the judge had decided with this new arrangement\][. After this visit, presuming things went well-which they had-Sandra, Andy's ex-wife would be the one bringing the kids. The social worker hadn't mentioned anything, and thankfully, the visit had gone very well as far as Andy was concerned. Truly, the kids playing together had been the best distraction for a dad trying to get to know his kids again. His kids were so young, had been alive so few years, but he'd missed most of it already.

"Ahh, Sandra was fine," he waved his hand. "I'm not sure if she was happy or mad things went well. I get the feeling she would prefer if I wasn't in the kids' lives at all. I'm not going anywhere; she can get used to it."

"She will," Sharon offered a sympathetic smile. "I'm proud of you. If the final report is okay, hopefully, you will get to see the kids again, maybe in two weeks, and then, maybe eventually every weekend. I'm just sorry Emily will be disappointed she can't play with her new friend each week."

"Oh, I hope your kids will be around again. I was shocked that Nate took so much to Ricky. I never imagined him, a nine-year-old boy so excited about being around a baby, but he was. He just sat there on the floor and played with him. That was one of the nicest things to see today. I hope the kids understand I'm just staying here, not that you and the kids are like some replacement family or something. Oh, and by the way, I'm glad you have that swing set," he nodded in the distance.

Sharon smiled as she looked over at it, "Yes, a very kind man helped that set back to life. It looks great. Staining it really helped, and I'm sure the kids are just glad to see you. They don't think you've replaced them."

"You suggested the stain," he said to her. "Oh, by the way, speaking of that kind of work, would it be okay if I painted my room, I mean," he gestured with his hand, "your master bedroom? I remember you mentioning that you didn't like the color, and I'm not a huge fan of mauve."

Sharon grinned at him,"That is your room to paint and/or decorate. If you tell me the color, I'll buy the paint, just as long as you don't paint it black or something. I like the color of your car, but that's not the tone I'm thinking for that room."

"What?" Andy teased her. "I was thinking black walls with my black comforter and black curtains-a totally depressing place," he winked. The two chuckled lightly and drifted into silence again, enjoying the night sky.

"I don't have my watch. Do you know what time it is?" Sharon asked.

"10:15," Andy said looking at his. "I really should go to bed. I'm just still on a high after the last couple days. Having my car is really such a big step. I feel this sense of freedom I haven't felt in a very long time, like I'm actually a responsible adult."

"Andy, you should be proud. You've made a tremendous amount of progress in the last few months," Sharon stated.

"You've helped a lot. Otherwise, I think I would have given into my pity party, staying there on Provenza's couch, day after day. Last thing I need is Provenza with his new wife. Just a room here has given me a sense of purpose," he told her. He stood to head to bed. Before he stepped inside, he looked over at Sharon.

"I know I keep saying it-" he started to say. Sharon held up her hand and shook her head.

"We've helped each other," she finished. "Now, what color for that room?"

"Oh," he said, a smile on his face, "I was thinking a light gray color. How would that be? It's much better than the mauve and would brighten the room. I'll do all the work. I really don't care the color; you can pick."

Sharon smiled at him, "I'll pick it up after church tomorrow. Would that be okay?"

"One condition," Andy gestured to her, pointing at her. "I know this is a stretch, but speaking of your church-you have that paper up on the fridge, the paper about the parent night out, right?"

Sharon narrowed her gaze, "Yes, they are doing that next weekend, 3-7, next Saturday, why?"

Andy nodded, "I work next Saturday evening, but I would really like to thank you for the help with the kids. I know you say it's not necessary, but I mean it, Sharon. I wouldn't have seen them without your help. So, since you have free childcare, could I please take you to a simple dinner? No strings, nothing. It's not a date," he clarified quickly. "I know neither of us see this like that. Just a friend wanting to thank a friend for hep. I mean, if Provenza had done it, I'd suggest the same."

Sharon chuckled because she was nervous, and it seemed to be the easiest thing to do. She distracted the question with her comment, "So, you're taking me to some greasy buffet he likes? I heard him talk about his favorite places."

"No," Andy chuckled. "I wanted to see if you'd agree and then pick whatever you want. I'm game. I never go out to eat, and from what I can tell, you don't either. My treat, and I'll even drive my new car if you would be okay with it. Simple meal while your kids are at church and before I go to work. What do you say?"

Sharon bit her lip a moment, and then, she looked at him with a slight shrug, "Like Mexican food? I'm not the fancy type, but I like good, local Mexican food."

Andy grinned, "Can't remember the last time I had good Mexican food. Sounds perfect."