A/N: I apologize for posting late. I stayed up to watch Eurovision, although I now feel (for the first time in 19 years) that it was not worth my time. I've been waiting to post this chapter because it gives a little pre-Shandy, but in a way I feel is more organic than what we've seen on the show, at least on Sharon's part. If you don't like Shandy, that's okay, be kind about it and respect it that I and many other people do, and move on. There will be plenty of non-Shandy content in the future of this story, and Rainie and Sharon's relationship will be explored, even within Shandy chapters. That said, I did mention before that I will follow canon except for season 6 which I'm planning to rewrite, or at least introduce a different issue for Sharon to deal with - one that will allow a happy ending.

I want to thank the awesome blossom-of-snow for being my incredible beta. I appreciate all your help with this story.

Several times a month.

The idea that she and Andy could ever be a couple sounded strange to Sharon. How could Rainie see anything more beyond the platonic – absolutely platonic – friendship between her and Lieutenant Flynn? Sharon made it a personal rule never to date co-workers. The few men she's dated during Jack's long absence from her life were completely unrelated to her work.

Several times a month.

Did it really look this way to people? Sharon recalled her conversation with Nicole in her office, where she asked her how she managed to work with the man she was dating. Sure, she and Andy spent a lot of time together after work. He accompanied her to events that she typically attended alone, and she was his plus one at several family gatherings, strictly as a buffer. Or a friend. It was nice to have a friend from work who could relate to the challenges of their lifestyle. There wasn't anything unusual about spending time with a colleague.

Several times a month.

Dating? The idea of entering a relationship terrified her. What little confidence she had about her ability to be in a romantic relationship was shattered away after Alfie's offensive rejection. The notion that she let another man use and discard her gnawed at her. She had poor taste in men, obviously, if she kept going down the self-destructive path of dating emotional abusers. No, it was better for her to stay out of the dating world.

Several times a mo – Enough!

Sharon shoved her covers aside and rolled out of bed. If she didn't calm down, sleep would continue to evade her, and these thoughts would plague her all night. She walked to the kitchen, prepared herself a cup of tea, and took it to the living room, where she let her body sink into the couch. She closed her eyes as she brought the teacup close to her face. It was too hot to drink yet, but she inhaled the rich and earthy smell of the herbal infusion and enjoyed the warm steam that billowed around her face.

In moments of extreme insecurity, she usually called Alfie or knocked on Louisa's door, but now that her two closest friends were out of her life, Sharon had no one to bolster her mood. Andy had successfully filled that void, somehow, but she couldn't call him and ask him to lift her spirits about her dating life. He was clearly not neutral in this situation, and even though she knew that she should still be angry with him for misleading his family about the nature of their relationship, the anger was short and fleeting. His smile, his humor, the kindness of his heart made it impossible to stay mad at him for too long. She didn't realize how alone she felt without a friend who could give her a piece of honest and useful advice based on their long acquaintance.

"What are you doing up?" Sharon saw Rainie coming down the hall.

"Nothing, just having some tea," Sharon replied.

"If it's any comfort, I can't get any sleep either," Rainie said as he walked to the kitchen and prepared herself a cup of tea too.

"It's not," Sharon declared. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing serious, don't worry," Rainie assured her. "What's going on with you?"

"Too many thoughts," Sharon admitted.

"You could share them with me," Rainie suggested and carefully descended on the couch, cradling her teacup in her palms.

"Oh, I don't know…" Sharon shrugged and brought her cup to her lips. She took a tentative sip to see if the tea has cooled down a bit.

"Is it about what I said to you earlier?" Rainie asked.

Sharon hummed noncommittally. She was always surprised by Rainie's perception, although she should have gotten used to it by now. Sharon always assumed her wisdom stemmed from a survival instinct that helped her detect the first sign of trouble. Sharon was happy to see Rainie was put that ability to good use, by listening and trying to help her loved ones.

"I was just joking about that," Rainie said.

"I know," Sharon replied.

"So, why are you so upset about it?"

Sharon shrugged.

"Come on, Sharon. I'm a good listener; you know that." Rainie encouraged her.

"I'm just pretty bad at dating, that's all," Sharon played down her thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

"Just that I always pick the wrong men to date," Sharon replied.

"Are you referring to Alfie?" Rainie inquired.

"I didn't date Alfie," Sharon answered.

"Maybe you didn't call it dates, but that's what it looked like," Rainie indicated. "What happened between you two? Why don't you talk to each other anymore?"

"Alfie was just not the person I thought he was," Sharon replied.

"I thought you'd known him your whole life," Rainie said.

"So did I," Sharon sighed. "He just… It turned out that he took me for granted, and it felt horrible."

"Took you for granted how?"

Sharon now realized that Rainie's curiosity about her and Alfie's relationship still hasn't waned. She couldn't blame her. Alfie was a strange presence in her life, a hybrid between her childhood and adulthood. She could see how Rainie would find the relationship interesting.

"He gave me a specific impression, and then took it back without telling me," she replied, hoping that just for once, Rainie won't ask any more questions.

"So, that means you got together and then broke up?"

Sharon hummed affirmatively, grateful that Rainie's final question did not require further elaboration.

"I didn't realize you had, like, real feelings for him," Rainie said.

"It wasn't that. It was our compatibility and the physical attraction that made me think that a relationship between us was possible." Sharon's cheeks turned red as she realized that she was talking to her daughter about her love life. "And him saying the same thing to me… anyway, he changed his mind the following day."

"He's a grade-A jerk," Rainie declared. "I bet he didn't mind sleeping with you before he took it back."

Sharon took a sip of her tea to avoid providing her daughter any kind of response on that matter.

"Well, screw him. It's his loss, Sharon," Rainie said. "And long distance relationships sound very stressful. Who would want to see the person they're dating only once every few weeks, right?"

"I didn't even think of that. We never got that far," Sharon admitted. The fact that she never considered the idea of how a long distance relationship with Alfie would work was a testimony to her short-term planning as far as relationships went. In fact, the first time they broke up, it was because she went to study in Los Angeles and they didn't think their relationship would survive the distance.

"Well, now you don't have to," Rainie said. "But if you want to date anyone, I can think of one valid option."

"Andy and I are not dating," Sharon insisted.

"You know, Sharon, I think your problem is not that you're bad at choosing dating partners, but that you can't recognize when you're actually dating a person and when you're not," Rainie pointed out.

"I'm not that oblivious. If I dated anyone, I would know," Sharon replied.

"Well, your friendship with Andy looks like more than that, and it appears that Nicole and I were not the only ones who were fooled. It seems like Andy was under that impression as well," Rainie said.

"Misrepresenting our friendship to his family and then believing his own lies does not make this dating," Sharon argued.

"Why not?"

"First of all, because in order to date someone, both sides need to know and agree to a date," Sharon replied.

"So, all he needs to do is ask you out?"

"Things are not that simple, Rainie. First of all, I don't date co-workers," Sharon declared. "And secondly, I just got divorced a few weeks ago, and I am not ready to date."

"Fair enough," Rainie said. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm sure Andy is feeling just as confused about tonight as you are."

"Why would he be?"

"Because if he convinced himself that you're dating, only to realize that you don't, it would probably feel like the ground is a bit shaky under his feet."

"So what?" Sharon shrugged. "It's a mess he created for himself." He wasn't getting off the hook that easily.

"That might be true, but maybe he needs help finding his footing again, and understanding where the two of you stand with each other could help him," Rainie noted.

"So what you're saying is that Andy and I should talk about us not dating?" Sharon looked at her daughter with confusion. Why would she and Andy need to talk about that, of all subjects? Why can't tonight serve as a clear enough indication to Andy that Sharon was not his girlfriend?

"Yes, because even if you don't want to date him, you still need a friend, now that you don't talk to Alfie anymore," Rainie said.

Sharon contemplated the idea as she drained the last drops of tea from her cup. Rainie wasn't wrong. Andy may have done a pretty messed up thing, but it wasn't anything close to what Alfie has done, and she was more than willing to forgive him if they could resume their friendship. She wasn't sure if she'll ever be open to the idea of dating Andy Flynn, but she liked his company and craved it. She may have a rule about dating colleagues, but she didn't have a rule about befriending them.

-TBC-

As always, I'd love to know your thoughts about this chapter, so feel free to leave a review or send me a PM.