"Mom!" Emily squealed as she flew into the room. Andy followed behind her, smiling at the sight. Emily flung her arms around Sharon, who, even though she was expecting them, was a little surprised at the force behind Emily. "Oh, Mom, it's so good to see you. I'm sorry," she pulled back and put her hand to her mouth. "I almost attacked you."

"Emily," Sharon gushed, kissing her on the cheek. "Oh, it is so good to see you too, and you aren't crushing me. I was just caught off guard," she told her as Emily stepped back to sit down on the side of the bed by Sharon. Sharon was dressed, casual, comfortable clothing, but she was in clothing to go home, to finally leave the hospital. She had on black leggings with a simple, long sweater, perfect for easy movements. Andy had brought her clothing over the last couple of weeks, but she'd been most comfortable in her loungewear and robe. Today, though, it was good to see her dressed and ready to go home. Emily pulled Sharon's hands into hers and sat there on the bed, looking at Sharon, who was leaning back against her pillows resting. "Seeing you in person," she sighed. "It's much better than over the computer."

"I know, Mom," Emily gave her a soft smile. "I've been so worried," she said, now a little choked up as she wiped a tear. Andy stepped up behind Emily, squeezed her shoulder, and he greeted Sharon.

"Morning, Gorgeous, and I will add you are looking particularly wonderful today," he smiled brightly, stepping around Emily to lean in and kiss Sharon. She quickly pulled one of her hands from Emily's grasp to squeeze Andy's shoulder while she returned the kiss, and then, he stepped back, out of the way, so the two women could visit.

"This, finally," she sighed, "is starting to feel like normal. I can't wait to go home."

"I'm going to step out for a few minutes, check in at the desk, and see when the doc might be by," Andy said. "That will give you time to visit."

"Thank you, Honey," Sharon reached again for Andy's hand and squeezed it as he winked at her to step away and out of the room. Emily watched the interaction, and when Andy had left, Sharon turned her attention back to Emily, sighing as she looked at her daughter. "It is so good to see you. I know I keep saying it, but it's true. I've missed you so much, and you look wonderful. I'm very happy you were able to come for a visit."

"Oh, me too, Mom," Emily said, leaning in to hug Sharon again. "I feel like I can't be close enough to you. It's been such an ordeal. After you were shot-" she paused when she sat back and pursed her lips. Sharon shook her head.

"We don't need to talk about that now, not unless you want to do that. I know," she nodded. "I know," she repeated. "You just look so wonderful, Sweetheart."

"Thanks, even if I feel like I've been a stressed mess," she shook her head. "It's a wonder I still have a job. I've been a wreck, but work, work," she nodded a couple times, "work has been great, very supportive."

"Good, glad to hear that," Sharon said, sitting back to get comfortable. "Sorry, I'm still very tired often and just need to rest a bit."

"No, Mom, do not apologize," Emily told her. "Andy has told me how you are doing, and you do whatever you need."

"It sounds like you've been talking to Andy often," Sharon looked at her. "I'm glad you could do that, that you felt comfortable to talk to him."

Emily nodded, looking down slightly, "It was a bit weird seeing him at the condo this morning. I decided to crash on the couch there last night because you weren't there. Dad isn't home either, and let's be honest that his place won't be the warm, fuzzy feel of home. I just wanted to be near family, which is odd," she rolled her eyes slightly. "The condo just felt odd, not bad odd, but Rusty and Andy were there. You weren't. It's like my family, the idea of family, has taken on a different role. Don't get me wrong-I was glad to be there, but a couple years ago if you would have told me that I'd stay at the condo with Rusty and Andy-without you-I would have not believed it."

Sharon nodded as she listened, "I hope it's not too uncomfortable for you, being there with Andy. I know you are used to Rusty by now, but Andy-"

"He's there to stay," Emily nodded and finished the sentence like she knew how it had to end. "I know that; I do," she nodded. "I'm happy for you, Mom," she gave her a small smile, "in more ways than one. Andy has been worried sick about you. I know he told you about the heart attack. Ricky, Rusty, and I were worried that he would have another heart attack, and something would happen to him. To be honest, we were afraid you'd wake up, and Andy would have died. For awhile, we also had to accept that both of you could pass away," Emily said, shaking her head and wiping a tear. "I've never seen Rusty so upset when you both were here in the hospital. I know he has had no one, and let's just say that you, both you and Andy, have had an impact on Rusty even if he doesn't want to show it."

Sharon played with her hands in Emily's, listening to her speak. She met her gaze, "I know this was hard on you. I try to imagine just how hard. I see it on your face, Andy's face, everyone's faces," she acknowledged. "I hear it in your voice when we talk. I can only say I'm so sorry to have put you through that and hope you realize I'm going to be okay. I may not be able to use my shoulder perfectly again, but I'll be okay. I'm here, and that's what matters."

"I'm so happy for that, Mom," Emily told her. "Andy, I wasn't trying to complain about him at the condo. It's different," she shrugged. "I mean, yes, you weren't there, but he was there, and it's different. It's not bad, but I honestly don't remember Dad being home much with you, not much, just a few memories. He left so early on in my life, and even the few times he was allowed back home, it wasn't for long. I never remember feeling like we were all okay as a big family. Even with just Andy and Rusty last night, I felt warmth, love, even. I felt like I was wanted there. Yes, it's odd with Andy there, seeing him go about his normal routine in your condo, which I know is now his too," she paused. "I am happy for you, Mom. I know you've been alone a long time. It's nice to see you smile. I watched your eyes follow him out of the room. They never trailed away from him until that door closed. I know you love him, and I'm glad he loves you, that you two found each other, finally," she squeezed her hands and laughed. "Mom, we've all been very aware of you two for so long, much longer than you've actually been dating."

"I've been told," she gave a slight roll to her eyes. "Know that you are always welcome back home, always. I know the definition of home and family has changed. The condo was never your home; I bought it after you went to college. Rusty and Andy are new additions to the family, but we are all a family in that home. Never forget that, and never forget that I love you and Ricky, all of you as my family."

"I know that, and thank you for saying that," Emily nodded. "It's not all bad," she winked. "I always wanted a sister around, and I have been talking to Nicole quite a bit. She's been great, really helpful, and when Rusty hasn't had the details I've asked about, Nicole has."

Sharon raised an eyebrow slightly, a little surprised, but also impressed to hear that, "I'm glad you and Nicole have been talking and getting closer."

"Yes, in fact," Emily said, "we wanted to get together while I'm here. Maybe she could come by the condo one of these days. I don't want to leave you, and I know she'd enjoy seeing you too."

"That would be great," Sharon smiled. "She's been busy with the boys, and I'm sure she would love a break."

"Okay," Andy opened the door and walked in, clapping his hands together. "Doc is rounding now and is going to sign off on your discharge papers. I'm waiting on some scripts for you, but I can start taking your things to the car. The nurse is bringing me a cart for all of the flowers."

Emily looked around the room and started to laugh, "How did I not notice all the flowers? I guess I was just too excited to see you, Mom."

"Oh, they've been multiplying," Andy winked. "All these flowers make me look bad," he rolled his eyes. "I'm the guy supposed to get her flowers. I did, and mine are dead now. They come almost each day still. Work seems to have the flower shop on retainer. I think Provenza is just trying to make me feel bad, like I should be spending more on flowers."

"Stop," Sharon chuckled and shook her head. "I've loved all the flowers, and as much as I hate to see the flower displays end, I'm perfectly okay with it. It means I'm going home. Besides, the best bouquet was still from you," she reached out to take Andy's hand in hers. Emily sat there, watching them. "You had a gorgeous bouquet of all my favorites."

"I hate that Rusty took the lead on flowers from us," Emily made a face. "I should have known better to trust him."

"Nonsense," Sharon patted Emily's hand. "He did a great job. He brought in three dozen roses, which I know was not cheap, saying there were a dozen from each of my kids. That was beautiful," she squeezed Emily's hand.

Emily nodded, "I'm glad you liked them, but seriously, how did I not notice all of this? It's like a flower shop in here!"

Andy started to laugh, "You're telling me. Now, they are all going home with us. Em, you might be holding flowers in the car. I'll start taking things there now."

"Andy, my toiletries are still in the bathroom," Sharon pointed out.

"I'll get them, Mom," Emily stood and made her way there. "I'm here to help."

"I hope you are here to visit," Andy said to her, collecting some of Sharon's things. "Your mom doesn't want much help, right Sharon?" Andy winked at Sharon, and before she could answer, he said, "You know, Emily, she's very independent."

Sharon burst out laughing, and Emily stepped out of the bathroom with some of Sharon's things in hand, "This sounds like it's been a topic of debate."

"Just a small one," Andy emphasized with his fingers and winked at Emily. "Anyway, I'm going to load up the car and will be back to collect both of you soon."

He threw Sharon a little wave and grinned at her as he stepped out of the room again. Emily just watched, shaking her head at him. Sharon was still chuckling and smiling. Emily nodded at her, "You have it bad for him, Mom. He's sweet and funny. I know we've known Andy for years, but I'm not around you two a lot to see this," she gestured with her hand. "I'm glad you are so happy. Rusty doesn't say much, and what he does say is usually in the form of a complaint about you two, so I like it. It's healthy, and it's what I want for my own life."

"I hope you find it," Sharon smiled. "Don't give up on that."

"It's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about," Emily admitted as she stepped toward Sharon's bed again and sat down. Sharon had shifted, sitting on the side of it now, and Emily sat beside her. "I've been sort of seeing someone."

Sharon raised her eyebrows at Emily, "Okay, I'll ask this then-how do you sort of see someone?"

"Mom, seriously?" Emily started to laugh. "You, of all people, ask me that? It's complicated. We're friends."

"Ahh," Sharon nodded. "So, this isn't a 'sort of seeing someone' like you think you're dating him, but he doesn't know that."

"No, Mom, that's all Andy's style," Emily teased and bumped shoulders with Sharon, her good shoulder. Sharon rolled her eyes slightly at Emily, and then, she nodded in agreement.

"Yes, well, we've discussed before that I was slower on the draw to my relationship with Andy, but tell me," she encouraged. "You're seeing someone?"

"Like I said, sort of seeing someone," she gave a small shrug and looked down, playing with the hem of the sheet. "His name is Aaron. We, ahh, work together. He's been a good friend through all of this, something I really needed. We've been friends for awhile, but when I went back to New York after you were shot, I was just really struggling. He's been there for me, and it's slowly evolving, nothing major, but I spent most of my time with him, more than before."

"Aaron," Sharon nodded and pursed her lips. "You work with him? Is he someone in administration or works there at the theater?"

"No," Emily shook her head, "he's actually a dancer," she said, her eyes meeting Sharon's. "He dances, some of the same scenes I dance. I spent a lot of time with him, really, a lot," she said, nodding as she said it. "I'm actually missing him right now, at least being able to talk to him."

"Emily," Sharon said taking Emily's hands into her own, "do not misunderstand what I'm saying here. I'm very happy to hear you are dating or whatever you want to call it," she smiled at her daughter. "I just can't help but wonder, or really am cautioning you, are you sure he's interested in you? You and I both know you tried dating several dancers through high school and college. None of them worked out, and that's mainly because they weren't interested in you. I remember having a conversation like this with Rusty a couple years ago, that sometimes things aren't what they seem."

"Mom," Emily met her gaze, "I understand your question and concern. Aaron seems interested in me too. I mean, he is interested in me. He ended a two-year relationship a few months ago. That's the major caution here. It's not a lack of interest in me; it's not even a work issue."

"I'm one to say anything about a work romance," Sharon playfully rolled her eyes. "I will, however, tell you that they can be tricky. It's not always easy navigating home and work. Andy and I work very hard on that, even if it seems easy to everyone else. There are times at work I want to ring his neck, and I have to remember to not carry that home with me. I know he gets frustrated too, but we work on it. It's not something I've had to go into great depth in our conversations, but it was a factor, not really a concern, but a factor when we started dating. We knew it was a tricky balance, and as you know, we had been truthfully been close for a long time before we started dating. Dating, though, threw a new piece into the puzzle. I am his boss. We both know that, and when we started dating, we had to discuss that, that at work, I had to tell him what to do. That had to stop after work hours, though. Off the clock, we are a team, not that we aren't a team at work, but it's different. Off the clock, we discuss things. We work together; we don't have a rank structure. I work very hard to keep my emotions in check while at work. People don't see the side of me Andy sees at home. I love him very much and have for a very long time. I've tried very hard to not let that show at work, whether that is a good idea or not. Some at work, not necessarily on my team, but others, might say I appear cold and claim they can't see us together. It's all about the work face versus the home face. At home, I just want to be by Andy's side. I sometimes feel like a teenager in love," she grinned to herself. "I can't show that at work. So, my point is that I'll caution you, but I won't say that work relationships are a problem, just something you have to navigate."

"Yeah," she let out a long sigh. "We had one disagreement a couple weeks ago. Honestly," she rolled her eyes, "it was stupid, but we let it affect work. That won't happen again. We learned a lesson with that. I did want to talk to you about balancing things because I know you have had to do that."

Sharon smiled brightly and shook her head, "This sounds like a very familiar conversation I had with another wonderful young woman a few years ago now." Emily gave her an odd look, and Sharon explained, "Nicole." Sharon nodded. "Nicole came to me before Andy and I were officially dating. Sure, we'd been spending a lot of time together then, but I clearly remember that day, Andy irritated me to no end. He had Nicole and the whole family, really, believing we were dating. She wanted advice on balancing home and work, as she was navigating that with Dean when she became his boss. It was such an awkward conversation that I wanted out of immediately, and somehow, I walked out of it with tickets to the Nutcracker with Andy, Nicole, the whole family really, along with Rusty-the family outing," Sharon chuckled.

"Right," Emily nodded. "Mom, I mean, you have to admit you two were so dating back then. Wait, was that when Rusty and Nicole put you two on the spot? Mom, you'd been seeing Andy for quite some time then. We saw it that Christmas."

"As much fun as it would be to discuss how dense I was in the dating department, let's get back to you," Sharon gave her a simple nod. "Aaron is a dancer, a man you like very much."

"Yes," Emily nodded. "He's from Nebraska, so we really did grow up with different backgrounds. He grew up in a rural setting, both parents around, and well, as you know, things were quite different for me. His mom owned the ballet studio."

"Ahh," Sharon nodded. "I see. Okay, well, I'm happy for you. If he's been the guy to get you through the last couple of months, he must really care. I know you've had a lot with me so sick. He's been a friend, then?"

"Yes, I mean, that's what is so great about him. We can talk for hours and often do. He's just sat there, holding my hand on several occasions when I've been so upset, I couldn't sleep. I'd finally drift off to sleep on my couch or something, and he'd be there holding my hand, still holding it when I'd wake up later. He's a good guy, Mom, and while we're still figuring out that transition from friends to being a couple, I think he's a good guy, and he's really good for me."

"Okay, first load in the car, and your doc it outside filling out the paperwork," Andy said, as he opened the door and found the two women seated there talking. "Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt."

Emily smiled at Sharon and squeezed her hand again. She turned and looked at Andy, "You're family, Andy. I'm sure Mom will fill you in on everything later, and that's perfectly okay. I'm glad you are here for her, for us. It's nice to have a stable man in all our lives."

Sharon started to tear up as she looked to Emily and then met Andy's gaze. He raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised at her admission. "Wow," he nodded. "All that for just packing up the car. Wow."

The three chuckled slightly, and Emily stood, walking to him to hug him. "Thank you for taking care of Mom when I'm so far away, when Ricky is so far away. We know you love her, and we are glad for that. I'm really looking forward to spending the next few days at home with both of you."

Andy put his arm around her shoulders, squeezing one, "I think you are going to have a great visit with your mom. It's time to get her out of here so she can enjoy that visit with you and get back to her life at home. Yeah, I personally will see to it that you and Sharon have a fantastic weekend."