A/N: I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I needed time to regroup my thoughts about this story and where it was going, and when I was ready to update, it was in the midst of planning my trip to the US to watch Mary in Gloria: A Life (which was amazing, by the way). I hope that I'll be able to update regularly from now on. Despite its length, I have every intention to finish this story.

I'd like to thank the talented and lovely blossom-of-snow for being a really dedicated beta for this story and making a lot of helpful suggestions. She's a gem and I feel lucky that I had the chance to meet her face to face in Princeton.

Brown. Sharon has never been picky about the color of her partner's eyes. Alfie had steel gray eyes with specks of green. His gaze was always calm, never revealing his feelings. Jack's eyes were blue, and he's always had a slightly mischievous gaze in them as if nothing was entirely serious. That was what attracted Sharon to him as a young woman, and that quality in him essentially made them drift apart. Andy's umber brown eyes conveyed none of the elusive emotions of his predecessors. His earth-colored gaze was always warm and reassuring. Looking into Andy's eyes in moments of uncertainty always grounded Sharon, and that was the reason why she sought his gaze from across the murder room. Within a moment, he was by her side and wrapped his fingers around her sweaty palm.

"We have a little announcement to make," he called out over the chatter of their colleagues.

They have been dating a little over two months, and after letting their families know, they decided that it was time to let their second family know about their relationship.

Sharon let out a long and deep exhale and squeezed Andy's fingers for a short moment, drawing as much strength she could. Telling her children was not as difficult as telling her colleagues about Andy and her. The carefully-constructed reputation she has spent her entire career building could collapse with just a few words. Andy had nothing to lose. The worst he could experience was teasing and a few biting comments from his teammates. She, however, could lose all of her subordinates' hard-earned respect. The eternal ruler-follower has gone rogue; she imagined them saying. Her years of being the target of insults and nasty remarks in Internal Affairs haven't prepared her for this. There was a difference between being disliked for doing a perfectly-required work no one else wanted to do and being scorned for developing feelings for one of the officers in her division.

Her hand left Andy's, and she shoved it into the pocket of her navy blue jacket.

"Umm, Andy and I want to tell you that we are –" She turned to look at him for reassurance again. "We are a couple."

Five sets of eyes gaped at them, and a couple of jaws dropped.

"We are going to maintain a professional relationship at work," Sharon broke the silence that spread across the murder room.

Sharon could see Provenza rolling his eyes. Out of all their colleagues, he must have been the least surprised. She knew he was aware of her and Andy's new relationship almost from the start, if not before. Buzz seemed to be the most clueless member of their team, as he always was. But the stunned expressions on Amy, Julio, and Mike's faces were an indication that her team held her to higher standards than that. Her heart sank inside her. She could almost see her team members' respect for her shuttering in front of her eyes.

"Look, guys –" Andy said.

"Ye Gods!" Provenza cut him off. "It's a busy day. Let's all wish the Captain and Flynn good luck in their relationship and move the hell on!"

His voice seemed to shake the shock out of their teammates, and they all mumbled barely-audible 'good luck's before they went back to the tasks they were working on before.

"Thank you," Sharon mouthed silently to Provenza, and he responded with the nod of his head.

"You okay?" Andy quietly asked as he turned to her.

"Yes, we'll talk later, okay?" She said softly.

He smiled at her, the kind of smile that made her heart beat rapidly inside her chest and sent warmth to her cheeks. It was a humble yet comforting smile that was capable of making her brain lose track of time.

"I'm here for anything you need," he said, and his hand slid into the pocket of her jacket and gave her hand a quick squeeze that infused her with energy.

"I know," she replied.

Much later that day, Andy was able to escape from the murder room and slip into Sharon's office, carrying lunch that he has made for the both of them the previous evening: a salad and pasta. Sharon picked at her food and stared into her pasta bowl for a few minutes before she lifted her gaze.

"Thank you for being by my side today," she said quietly.

"I wasn't really helping. Provenza was the one who –"

Sharon shook her head to cut him off. "You were there with me. I could feel your support even if you didn't utter a single word."

"I'm sorry it was hard for you," Andy said and impaled a single penne with his fork. "I know this relationship is not easy for you to deal with on the professional level. I hope that me being in your life isn't staining your reputation."

Tears sprung in Sharon's eyes, but she didn't let them cross the threshold of her eyelashes. "Andy, I choose to be with you. This relationship means a lot to me. And yes, it might make people talk, but with you by my side, I feel like we can do it."

"As long as you don't regret being with me," Andy replied.

"Not for a second," Sharon said.

Andy reached for her hand from across the table and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against her knuckles.

"Do you think the team is angry with us?" Sharon asked.

"No, they're probably just surprised. No one was angry when Amy started dating Lieutenant Cooper, so I don't see why we would make anyone mad by dating each other," Andy replied.

Sharon hummed. She has forgotten about Amy and Lieutenant Cooper, and it made sense. The team was more upset about her trying to hide their relationship then they were angry. And once the cat was out of the bag, they accepted Amy's relationship and were happy for her.

"Do you think they were running bets about us?" Sharon smirked.

"If they did, then Buzz most certainly lost," Andy chuckled.

"He's awful at betting, isn't he?" Sharon giggled.

Seeing that Sharon was done eating, Andy closed the Tupperware lunchbox. None of them was ready for their lunch break to end, but there was no food left, and it appeared like they exhausted the topic.

"Did I tell you that Rainie called me 'Mom' for the first time the other day?" Sharon asked. She hadn't found the chance to share it with him, and she knew he was the only person who would understand the importance of that moment to her.

"Did she?" Andy asked. "That's wonderful, Sharon. I'm glad that she's no longer angry."

"I apologized to her," Sharon said.

By the way Andy's eye color became richer, Sharon knew he was proud of her. They both knew that what she said to Rainie a few days earlier was not right, but Andy did not push Sharon to apologize sooner than she was ready for it.

"I think she'll try to be more accommodating the next time you stay over," she said.

"I'm glad. I never meant to create troubles between the two of you," Andy replied.

"You haven't. It all happened because of my attitude, not hers or yours."

"I don't think that's true, Sharon," the softness of his voice caressed her ears.

"It is, but I understand her side of things now, and I hope that someday she'll be happy for us."

The depth of the gaze in Andy's eyes made her turn her head to the side.

"She will be. Rainie loves you, and she wants you to be happy."

Sharon was surprised by the warmth that spread inside her chest and climbed up her cheeks. She wasn't used to having such a supportive partner. She never had anyone she could rely on before. Andy was so understanding and responsive to her emotional needs that it was hard to believe that a few years ago, they were thorns on each other's sides.

"You're one of a kind, do you know that?" she brought her palm to cup Andy's face and brushed her lips over his.

The astonishment that was reflected in his eyes made her smile.

"Don't get too used to it. We're at work."

Andy winked at her, and the darkened gaze in his eyes hinted at his thoughts. A throb between her legs and the wildly creative ideas her brain began to conjure were sure signs that it was time for their lunch break to end before she did something that would really ruin her impeccable reputation.

"Tonight, your place. I'll be staying over," Sharon said and motioned towards her office door.

"I can't wait," Andy said and went back into the murder room, where the members of the squad filtered back in from their lunch break.

Those eyes; those damn eyes of his could drive her crazy. But God almighty, did she love those beautiful eyes.

-TBC-