There are two things I wanted in this episode. A Julio/Sharon moment. And another Shandy moment. Especially the Shandy moment, because it really could have been squeezed in, 30 seconds, tops!

Thing 1

A door closing startled her as she was walking down the corridor back to her office. When she looked up she saw Julio closing his eyes, leaning against the door, hands splayed on the cold wooden surface behind him and taking a deep breath. She walked up to him. "Is Mark giving you a hard time?" she asked, voice rising slightly as she sneaked a peek into the room Julio had just left.

He looked at her and she knew that, under normal circumstances, he would have straightened up and maybe put his hands behind his back, but this time he let his head fall back on the door behind him, his gaze directed at a random spot on the wall opposite of him. He looked almost forlorn. It had been a long night, she knew. He was in the middle of an even longer day apparently. "You could say that, Ma'am."

She took a step away from the window and turned her focus to Julio. "I saw Mrs. Urzua leaving." It was a statement but it sounded more like a question, which she was well aware of. She was hoping Julio would tell her if something was wrong without further prompting.

"She said she had a lot to do today and-" he scoffed, interrupting his own thought, and looked at her. There was a rough edge to his voice as he spoke again, "He was giving her a hard time, too."

And maybe she couldn't deal with Mark anymore, Sharon continued what she suspected was his unfinished thought. She offered him a sympathetic smile, tilting her head at him. "Yes, foster children seem to like giving people around them a hard time." Her eyes flickered back to Rusty for a moment.

He shook his head and looked away from her. "I don't know how you did it, Ma'am. I'm barely a day in and I'm beat."

There was such a sense of awe in the way he said it, that the sudden feeling of pride that washed over her as his words sunk in, caught her off guard. Not just pride in Rusty and his accomplishments, but pride in herself for the part she played in that. It was a rare sensation, she realized. Even though well aware of her contribution, she rarely offered herself a pat on the back in appreciation. Receiving it from someone else, if in words only, felt oddly gratifying despite never seeking recognition for any of it. However, before this feeling could awake more feelings, ones that were more difficult to control or hide, she smiled at Julio again. "It takes time," she paused to make sure she had Julio's attention, not that he ever was inattentive when she spoke to him, "and patience."

He let out a soft chuckle and pushed away from the door, finally taking his usual more rigid stance before facing her again. "I know." His voice was steady and he looked as determined as ever. He did know, she believed him.

She was about to continue on her way to her office, thinking that was the end of the conversation, when Julio spoke up again. "Rusty offered to stay with him. I hope that's okay, Captain."

She smiled again, softly this time. She seemed to do a lot of supportive smiling with Julio, she noted. Although this time it was not just in support of Julio but also at the note of another swell of pride because of how far Rusty has come. "It's not a problem, Julio." She waited a beat. "As long as he offered." She intentionally let humor tint her words.

He smiled and nodded. After a brief pause he moved on, "I'll try to not fall asleep again, Ma'am."

She really hoped he wouldn't because otherwise, as the boss, she mentally rolled her eyes, she would have to address it in a more official capacity. However, she decided not to linger on that for the time being and let out a soft laugh. "I know you will." She took a second to consider her next words. "This has been a sort of a last moment thing. Of course you will need a minute to get your bearings now. Believe me." Her eyes flew to Rusty behind the closed door again. She then moved to finally get going back to her office and threw Julio a few last words. "Just don't take too much time, Detective." The pointed look she gave him had Julio chuckling again.

By the time his "Yes, Ma'am." left his lips, she was about to turn the corner towards her office. She heard him though and stopped in her tracks when another thought crossed her mind. She didn't think it was necessary to point this out to him, especially if Mark's mother was found as quickly as they hoped she would be, but she felt she should do it anyway. She turned around, and happy to see Julio hasn't moved just yet, said loudly enough for her voice to carry over to him, "He also needs love, Julio." If her voice cracked slightly, she chose to ignore it.

Julio looked up at her, getting ready to go back to work as well, and nodded. Pointing it out really wasn't necessary, he understood. She could tell he did, even if his nod wasn't accompanied by his usual "Yes, Ma'am." Maybe she could tell because he only nodded.

Thing 2

She was leaning against Andy's desk, arms folded across her chest. They were waiting for Julio to finish up with Brie and her lawyer before they could officially close their case.

"So," Andy, who was standing next to her, leaning with one hand against his desk so that he was facing her sideways, started in a somewhat hushed, yet enthusiastic voice, "I sold my house." He was bursting with happy energy when he arched an eyebrow as if asking "Can you believe it?"

And she couldn't. Or could, but only barely. When he had told her earlier in the electronics room a number of things crossed her mind. One of them was "Holy crap." Andy must be rubbing off on her, she thought. Or was that Mike's go-to exclamation? The second thing was excitement. Because, although the reality of the next step they were about to take in their relationship hit her full force in that moment, hence the "Holy crap." reflex, she was excited. And happy. She had been about to spill just how happy about it she was by offering him a wide, teeth displaying, smile, when she remembered where they were and with whom. That quickly put a damper on her mood. Maybe not a damper, but it certainly sobered her and reminded her she ought to keep her professionalism. They were in the middle of listening to an interview after all. It was hard to do with Andy grinning contentedly besides her, but not impossible. That he was utterly adorable when he forgot her 'let's keep it professional' rule didn't help either. She managed though. Practice makes perfect, she practically scoffed at herself at that thought.

"You did." Her tone went up as she ended the sentence and she let her hand glide over his arm in a gentle caress. He was grinning at her like a few moments ago again. Only this time she grinned back. Yes, she was excited alright. And happy. Delighted even.

"Celebratory dinner?" He was still grinning at her, but he wiggled his eyebrows in askance.

She heard Julio approaching, talking to Brie so she pushed off the desk to face her and her attorney. "As soon as we are done here," she assured Andy through a smile and a last glance at him before turning into the Captain again.

Obviously dinner had to be cancelled or postponed since the whole situation with Julio's foster kid arose, plus the next episode picks up right after the end of this one, but I'll work around it in my next update. ^_^

Anyways, thanks for reading and please, do tell me what you think because I was fumbling for words quite a bit this time so...