Andrea had reached the third day of her mandated time off before she hit the wall of boredom. She was so accustomed to doing things, to being on the go, that the enforced stillness gnawed at her brain. But being able to think about where her life was going was also proving to be a blessing. Jon had been right, she hadn't really taken any time to go about sorting her feelings about losing Sharon and Emma. A part of her wondered if she would have taken Emma's death so hard, had it not come on the heels of losing Sharon.

Letting out a soft sigh, she pushed the covers off her body and sat up in the bed, bringing her knees up tight to her chest as she drew in a few deep breaths to try and center herself before she climbed out of bed and threw on workout clothes. Getting back into a routine with yoga and running seemed to be the only good that would come out of these eight weeks. It was odd, though, that she didn't really want to think about going back, even though she felt adrift.

Yawning widely, she threw her legs over the side of her bed and padded over to her dresser, pulling out workout pants and an oversized t-shirt, changing into them before padding down to the living room and cueing up her go to workout channel on YouTube and going through the next workout. She had managed to work up a bit of a sweat during it, so after turning her tv back off, she went upstairs, stripping off her clothes and stepping into the shower, allowing the water to slough off the scent of her workout.

"I wonder if I should reach out to Andy, talk to him about how I reacted to Rusty?" she asked aloud as she lathered shampoo in her hair. "We've always been cordial to each other, but I feel like there's been a huge chasm that's opened up between us since Sharon passed. He must have known about my crush on his wife, even though I tried to keep it under wraps, and that's affected how he treats me. I mean, I understand where he's coming from, but it still hurts, since he's my only link to Sharon."

Sighing a little, she stepped beneath the stream of water, washing out the shampoo as she lathered up her loofah and began to scrub at her skin. "And then there's Rusty. Do I really want to deal with him on a full time basis? It's becoming increasingly clear to me that we cannot work together, but I made a promise to Provenza, to think of Sharon, and I don't know if I can just shirk that duty. God, I really wish that you were here, Sharon. Maybe I wouldn't have gotten caught up in this whole mess."

Refusing to give in to the tears that were trying to spill out of her eyes, Andrea took a deep breath and rinsed off the soap before turning off the water and standing, staring at the steam on the door. Reaching out, she traced her finger in it, the absent pattern appearing causing her to remember how much she had loved doodling and creating art. These last few months hadn't been very conducive to creating, and she wondered if that might be a part of her current frustration.

Getting out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around her body and then made her way into her bedroom, picking out clothes for the day. Her mind went into autopilot as she got ready, and then she was making her way into the living room, and picking up her laptop, going through her email. There weren't too many in her personal inbox, but when she got to an email from her alma mater, she paused, finding herself staring at the screen.

"I can't believe this," she murmured as she read the email for a third time. "This almost seems like fate, if I were to believe in such things." Running a hand through her still wet hair, she took a few deep breaths before glancing down at the picture of her and Sharon. "You would laugh at me, but I think there's a reason why I got my MLS degree. I just never thought that I'd need to use my backup degree." A wry smile curved her lips as she clicked through on the link, finding that it was a standard application process. She didn't know why, but a thrill of apprehensive excitement swept through her body as she called up her resume, quickly brushing it up before creating a brand new cover letter, specifically targeted for this job. It was a quick process, and it wasn't until she had sent her resume to the correct email address that she realized what she had done.

"Oh, well, it's not like they'll hire me, anyway. At least I was bold enough to take that step, and knowing that there is an option out there for me, no matter how small a chance it is for me, makes me feel a lot better." Again, she looked at Sharon's picture, letting out a soft sigh before she continued to clear out her inbox. There was an email there from Andy, and she quickly wrote him back, glad that he was still speaking to her, at least. She skirted around the Rusty drama, referencing it obliquely as she spoke about her extended time off, though she did make certain to ask how the rest of the squad was doing.

When that was done, Andrea stood and went into the kitchen, her grumbling stomach telling her that she had ignored eating for too long that morning. After a quick bowl of cereal, she stepped outside to check on the weather before hurrying back in and shoving her feet into sandals before grabbing her tablet and keys, going back outside and taking a seat beneath the shade tree, diving into her book and losing track of time.

"I didn't realise that you would spend your time off being lazy here, Andrea."

She looked up to see Andy standing over her, a smirk on his lips as he shook two bags of carry out. "You should have called first. You didn't know I was home," she replied as she exited out of her book, noticing that she had spent the last three hours immersed in a world so very different from the one she was currently living. "Though I will never turn down free food."

"Good. I tried to remember what you liked, from the nights you spent over at our place." She gave him a small nod as they went inside. "I know, you emailed me back, but I think that we need to talk a little more in depth. Rusty's been giving me the silent treatment, and I knew that the answer might lie with you."

Andrea pursed her lips together tightly as she led him into the kitchen, indicating for him to take a seat as she grabbed plates and utensils. "There's a friction between us right now, I won't lie. But I'm really hoping this can be cleared up with my time off."

"How long were you forced to take off?"

She let out a bark of a laugh, knowing that he could read between the lines so well with her. "Eight weeks. The head of HR wanted it to be permanent, but Jon fought for me."

"Jesus, Andrea. What did you do? Stab Rusty?"

This set her off, and she collapsed into a chair in a fit of laughter as she shook her head. "I wish it was something that bad. No, I just told him to go fuck himself. I lost my head, and I should have acted more like an adult. But…"

"You're still grieving, like me. I lost my wife, you lost your two closest friends. That takes time to work through, but I was the only one who took bereavement time."

Andy reached over and patted her shoulder, and Andrea found her mirth turning to sadness at that gentle touch, and he pulled her into a warm hug as she allowed herself to cry for all that she had lost.