Sharon stormed down the hallway, throwing the cordless phone at the couch, narrowly missing Andy.

"Hey, watch it!" Andy said rather loudly. Sharon stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide, and she looked over at Andy, an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry; I didn't know you were sitting there. I couldn't see you from behind, as I came down the hallway," she gestured, her face beet red as she shook her head.

"Obviously, the phone did something to deserve that," Andy nodded to the couch where the phone had landed before falling to the floor. The battery compartment had popped open, and Sharon rolled her eyes and sighed as she saw the mess she'd made. She started toward it, but Andy waved her off, moving quickly from the chair, as he closed his book, to pick up the phone mess. "What happened?" Andy asked. "Care to chat?" Andy gestured to the couch, and he looked back at her. She took a deep breath, and she moved to sit on the couch. Andy fixed the phone and resumed his place in the chair. He loved sitting in the chair this time of year. He had a perfect view of the Christmas tree. While it wasn't technically his tree-it was Sharon's tree-he still enjoyed it. After the divorce, he hadn't done anything with Christmas; he'd been drunk most of the time, and he had no money for a tree or ornaments. This year, he was finally getting into the Christmas spirit and had even put a very small tabletop tree in his bedroom. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed celebrating a real Christmas until now.

Sharon rubbed her temple and then sighed as she looked over at him. She gestured with her hands, something Andy had figured out she did when she was frustrated and couldn't express her frustration any other way. She cleared her throat, and he put his book on the coffee table to give her his full attention, "My parents aren't coming for Christmas, not at all. I mean, I expected they would come even just for a weekend, a short visit. It's been ages since they've seen the kids, shortly after Ricky was born, and they aren't coming. They blamed it on me for a variety of reasons," she said, ticking off things on her fingers. "Work, Jack back in town-my divorced from Jack, even though they can't stand him, ahh, let's see, oh, they have a lot going on, and basically they were fumbling the entire conversation to find reasons NOT to visit." With that, Sharon let out a long breath and sat back against the couch. He could see her phone call with her parents had taken a toll on her.

"I'm sorry," he frowned. "I know you've said things are strained."

"They think that throwing a few extra bucks my way is the answer!" Sharon exclaimed, as if she hadn't even heard Andy. She gestured wildly, "I'm not surprised. That's what they've always done, well, except when they feel like they are teaching me a lesson. When it comes to my kids, though, they just throw money. A few extra dollars at Christmas for the kids doesn't make up for not seeing them!"

Andy nodded silently, allowing Sharon to gather her thoughts, almost as if he was waiting for another outburst from her. He looked to the floor, and he could her hear moving her hands, smacking her hands on her lap. Finally, he eyed her, and she was smoothing down her hair. She appeared to have finished talking.

"I really am sorry," he frowned. "You're right; family should see family. I wish I could change things with your parents. They aren't staying away because I'm staying here, are they?"

Sharon raised an eyebrow at him, "I'd omitted that part," she said with a slight smirk. "That was one of their complaints too, that they didn't feel comfortable staying with me while I had some stranger, some tenant living here. I told them we were friends, that you were even a police detective too, but their minds were made up long before they called me."

Andy just nodded. The two fell into a comfortable silence. It was a Tuesday evening, the beginning of December. A couple weeks had now gone by since Andy had dropped the bombshell that he wanted to move out by May 1st. He knew that it was needed; Sharon knew it was good for him, but it still seemed to have almost caused a rift, if that was even the right word. Things weren't exactly the same. The two had gotten attached to having another adult in the house, someone with whom they could talk these late night, sometimes lonely evenings. Sharon sighed and rolled her head back against the couch. Andy did the same in the chair, and the two were silent for several minutes.

"We'll just have to make Christmas extra special," Andy finally met her gaze and smiled at her. Sharon shook her head back at him.

"I'm now working all day Christmas Eve and on call for Christmas," she told him. "I work again on the 26th and 27th. I'm off the 28th and 29th and then back on for New Year's."

"Done," Andy nodded to her.

"Done?" Sharon questioned, glancing over at him. She was tired; he was tired. She was barely lifting her head to even look over at him. He stretched out and put his feet on the coffee table. Sharon raised an eyebrow, and he quickly moved, kicking off his shoes and smirked at her as he put them back up on the table. He always tried to be respectful of her rule regarding no shoes on the coffee table. Sometimes, he just forgot. "Thank you," she grumbled quietly. "Done?" Sharon repeated again.

Andy shrugged, "I'm off Christmas too, you know, as we talked about having all the kids here for the afternoon. Well, I have to work New Year's too, and my captain was telling all of us to figure out our two days off between Christmas and New Year's. He needs people on each day, but for once, he's being a nice guy and letting us figure out our schedule. You just figured it out for me. I'll take off the same two days, I mean," he sat up, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees as he looked to her, "if that's okay with you? Maybe Sandra will let me spend some time with the kids one of those days. Maybe we could do something fun with the kids, even go to the beach to walk or a park or something."

Sharon pursed her lips as she thought a moment, and then, she sat up too, her eyes now almost sparkling, "Do you think Sandra would let you keep the kids overnight? I have an idea."

"Maybe," Andy said, giving her a look. "I know that look," he said waving his finger at her. "What are you plotting?"

"Knowing my parents and even from what they just said, I have a feeling they are going to send the kids a decent amount of money for Christmas. I completely realize they are almost trying to buy their affection, but as I said, that doesn't replace a grandparent physically here, but my idea is this-what about the zoo?"

"Zoo?" Andy questioned raising his eyebrow at her.

Sharon shrugged, "I'll call it the kids' Christmas trip. San Diego has a wonderful zoo. I've been wanting to take the kids. Emily will love it. Ricky won't remember it, but he'll still enjoy the animals. The weather is usually decent in San Diego this time of year. We could take all four kids to the zoo, even make a trip out of it. I never splurge and stay in a hotel, but if Sandra is okay, maybe we could do that with the kids. She's been okay lately about you seeing the kids more and hopefully, she'd be okay with this. What do you think?"

Andy let out his breath, taking in all of Sharon's thoughts. He nodded before he spoke, still thinking. Finally, he looked to her, "I can't remember the last time I've been anywhere fun, at least outside of Los Angeles. San Diego would be something to remember. I'd have to make sure she's okay with taking the kids to a hotel."

"We could try and get one near the beach," Sharon shrugged. "The kids would all love that. Sweatshirts and playing on the beach-sounds amazing to me. Honestly, this is not sounding as depressing as I thought. I can look for a good deal on a hotel, something basic and practical."

"One night in a hotel shouldn't be too expensive," Andy said, almost talking to himself as he nodded. "Tickets to the zoo, I can afford that with the kids. Yeah," he flashed a grin at her, I'm in, that is, if Sandra is okay with it."

"Great," Sharon said clasping her hands together. "I have a feeling-knowing my parents-they'd already put the Christmas checks in the mail before this phone call. Honestly," she shook her head and looked up, "I'm trying to cut the problems from my life. If my parents don't want to see my kids or me, if they don't want to invest in our lives, then, I don't have time for that drama."

"That's a good point," he said looking at her, then, frowning. "Look, Sharon, you'd tell me if my staying here was the only reason they aren't visiting, wouldn't you? I mean, if they would come if I wasn't here, I'll move out this weekend."

"No," Sharon reached over patting his knee, "it's not just you. I mean, they used your staying here as one excuse, but you here or not-they aren't going to visit. They, of course, told me to come and visit, but they know I can't afford it, nor do I have the time off right now. They do, but they've made their choice. No," she said with a small smile, "it's not you. I'm glad you are here. You've been a model tenant."

"Model tenant," he said with a small smile. "Thanks, never heard that before."

"A great friend too," she said, her eyes meeting his as she quickly squeezed his hand. "We'll have a great trip with all the kids. I will speak to Sandra myself if that helps convince her."

"I'm actually looking forward to Christmas this year," Andy winked. He turned and looked over at her tree again, "You've helped me so much, Sharon. I can't begin to repay you, but I'm going to try and make Christmas special. I think you have a great idea."

"Me too," she smiled. "It's time I start living life, enjoying things with the kids, and we are all going to start with a little trip out of town. I think it will be good for all of us."