She'd always loved Easter, but this year it had been hard to enjoy it. Sure, Hannah had helped, sweet little Hannah in her yellow Easter dress wearing the silly bunny ears Ricky had sent her. She was too young to enjoy anything like an Easter Egg hunt, and that was maybe a good thing this year. It had been two weeks now since Sharon had buried her mom, two weeks, but it felt like an eternity.

Sharon had spent the last two weekends since the funeral traveling to and from Phoenix to help her dad. Counting the funeral weekend, she'd been there three weekends in a row, and honestly, before that, she'd been there for spring break. It felt like she lived in Phoenix, and her car miles were adding up as well. Hannah was feeling it too, and now that Sharon was finally back home on this Easter Sunday evening, she didn't want to leave Flagstaff for at least a couple of weeks. She needed a break, and she had a feeling her dad did too. She'd been trying to help him the last couple weeks as he sorted through her mom's things. Last weekend, the two had tackled her mom's clothing. Some might have thought they were moving fast, not taking time to grieve, but both she and her dad felt the need to tackle things head on. This weekend, they had tried to enjoy Easter. Sharon had arrived Friday, and they'd tried to relax for the weekend. The two had taken Hannah to the community pool, but even that had its memories. Her mom had really enjoyed taking Hannah to the pool over spring break. The three had gone to Easter Mass, and they'd gone out to brunch after that. The afternoon, this afternoon, before driving home, her dad had given Sharon her mom's jewelry box. She'd sorted through it with her dad there at the house, the two talking about different memories with different pieces of jewelry. She'd taken almost everything home with her, almost everything but her mom's engagement ring. Her dad had wanted to keep that, and she was not about to argue with him over the ring he'd given her mom decades ago.

Now, it was finally time for Sharon to relax. She couldn't remember the last time she had just sat on her couch in the evening to watch a show on television. It had been a long time. Even the last two weeks, during the week, when she was home, she'd been busy grading papers, making phone calls, paying her own bills, and just falling asleep from exhaustion. Now that Easter was over and she had no reason to go back to Phoenix for the next few weeks, she was really looking forward to settling into her new normal.

Because, after losing her mother and multiple trips to help her dad, it was time to do that, to find her new normal. Life would go on, work would continue, Hannah would grow and develop, and her dad would find his footing. Yes, it was time to sit down for one evening and relax. Mindless television sounded perfect, and as she walked down the hall after putting Hannah to bed, she sighed at the sight of her couch. It looked like the perfect place for her over the next few hours.

After she sat, she turned on the television and flipped through the channels. As expected, she couldn't find much to watch, but finally settled on a police drama. It was billed as a crime show, but really, it was a drama. She continually rolled her eyes at it, the scenes showing a lot of things that would never happen in a real police setting. She lost interest quickly, and her mind started to wander. She looked around her apartment; it was a nice home for her right now, but she would need to do something more permanent here. She was enjoying her job, and the university seemed pleased with her work so far. She'd hated that she'd had so much drama right away with her job, but that was life; it was unpredictable, and she was hoping now that things would start to calm down for her.

Her eyes traveled to her photos on display there on her end table, and she smiled at her recent additions. Yes, life had been crazy the past few weeks, but she had managed to take a few pictures of her kids and get them framed. She had one of the three kids taken after the funeral. It seemed odd to take a picture after a funeral, but she had all three kids in town, and that didn't happen often. She had one next to it of her dad and the kids, the picture taken for the same reasons. Her mom's death had been sudden. Nothing was guaranteed, and if she had learned anything, it was to live for each moment, and to cherish her family time.

With that thought going through her mind, she reached forward to pick up her cell phone off the coffee table. She'd thought about calling him earlier in the afternoon, but she had put it off, telling herself on the drive home she needed to focus on driving. Now, it was getting late, and she was running out of excuses. She'd made excuses the last two weeks to not call him, but it was getting awkward, more than it had before. He'd made such an effort to be supportive during the funeral, that she needed to make this effort too. He hadn't been completely out of contact, though. He'd sent her a couple texts a week since leaving Phoenix to ask about Hannah. He'd asked Sharon how she was doing too, but he'd asked a lot about Hannah. She was changing so much and so quickly that it was easy to talk about her. Now, though, Sharon felt like she owed him a call. He'd kept his distance, as he'd promised, he'd been supportive, and through everything, he hadn't turned and walked away. He was surprising her, and men often did not surprise her, at least not in a good way.

"Andy, hi, it's Sharon," she said into the phone and cleared her voice. She instantly rolled her eyes at all of that, telling him who was calling because obviously he'd know from his caller id and then, she sounded even worse clearing her throat right into the phone. It wasn't the way she'd wanted to start the call at all."

"Hi," he said. "Hold on." She paused, almost ready to say something, and she waited. It sounded like he was out of breath, moving around, and she froze, hoping she hadn't called him in the middle of something. It sounded like he had someone there, and her mind started racing, thinking of what he could be doing if he was with someone, whether at his place or somewhere else. "You there?" Sharon heard him ask. "I'm back."

"Ahh, yes, I'm here," she paused and frowned at herself. "If I am interrupting, we can talk another time."

"I was just moving for more privacy," he said, and she nodded. He was with someone. "How is Hannah? She okay?"

"Umm, yes," Sharon nodded. "Shes' fine. Are you sure this is an okay time to talk?"

"I'm home," he said. "Oh, Happy Easter. Did Hannah have a good Easter?"

She frowned to herself; he hadn't really addressed anything about being home. It wasn't her place to ask. He was engaging her in conversation. If he didn't want to talk or was otherwise engaged, he could have told her. She nodded, again, then, rolling her eyes, as she realized he couldn't see her. "Yes, she had a nice day today. She was really the bright spot with my dad. It was a rough day for him, for me too, and she just kept smiling. I'm so glad she was there to help Dad especially today."

"I thought of your family often today," Andy said. "I'm glad Hannah helped so much."

"Oh, she has two teeth already," Sharon blurted. "I forgot to tell you that two cut through at the same time. She looks so adorable. Both are actually on the bottom. She just has the best personality. You didn't even know it, and they were there. I mean, I've been checking, and I could feel them below the gums, but there they were. I will send you a picture. I took one of her today in her Easter dress, and you could just barely see the teeth coming up on the bottom."

"I'd really like to see that. Thanks," he told her. "How are you holding up now? I know the last few weeks have been challenging to say the least."

She let out a long sigh and shook her head, "I'm okay. It's been a lot, but I'm okay. I was just thinking about that, and I'm glad to be home, to return to some normalcy. I don't know when I will be going back to Phoenix, but I think my dad and I just need our own time to process things. It's not that we don't get along; we get along really well, in fact, but I felt like I was hovering, and I'm sure he felt the same. We both need our alone time."

"Well, good, then, that you are getting back to work. You have, what, another month until the semester ends?" Andy asked.

"Yes, not even," she told him. "My classes will be done by April 30, just before then, actually. I have exams that week, and by the weekend, I will be done with the first semester."

"Congratulations, then, professor," Andy said with a slight chuckle. "You survived college."

Sharon chuckled too, "Well, I'm not technically a professor, but I appreciate the thoughts. Somehow, this feels like it has been harder than my first semester attending college. Of course, I wasn't juggling a baby and the mess I've had with Mom." She paused after saying that, her thoughts instantly going to her mother. The line was quiet as both allowed the moment to hang in the air.

"Regardless of title, you've taught at a university now almost a semester. You've come from a different line of work and moved to that. It has to be a good feeling. Now, do you teach over the summer?" Andy asked.

"I did volunteer to teach a section of an introductory course, one of those 'Intro to Criminal Justice,' and surprisingly, many don't enjoy teaching it or teaching it over the summer. I don't mind. It keeps me busy, and it's only the second summer session. It will be good for me. Teaching, I'm enjoying it," she explained.

"I'm glad things are working out for you, Sharon," Andy said. "I can hear it in your voice, the relief now. You sound tired, but content."

"I've been here a few months now, but am just starting to feel settled. Hannah seems to be feeling the same. She's adjusting to daycare, and I think she is happy."

"That's all I want for her," Andy sighed.

"It's also partly why I called, " Sharon told him. "Look, I know I agreed to talk about Hannah."

"I've not pressured you, Sharon, but yes, I want to discuss her, seeing her. Look, I don't want to fight, but I love her and believe she can be loved by both of us. A kid needs her dad."

"I've thought a lot, and I want to agree with you on that," Sharon said, fidgeting and stumbling over her words. "I'm still very cautious and guarded. A lot has happened for me. I've had a lot of time to think, to talk. I cannot let her out of my sight with you, and I am trying to trust you, but I know I'm not there. I would like to extend an olive branch so to speak, to offer you a time to visit her if it would work with your schedule."

"Really?" Andy asked, the excitement evident in his voice. "I will make it work. When were you thinking?"

"I was thinking a couple weekends from now, the end of the month, when the semester ends. I would like to get through that before I deal with you," she said and paused. "I'm sorry; that sounded worse than I wanted."

"So, in two weekends?" Andy asked, ignoring her comment.

"Yes, I am not sure of your work schedule, but that works for me," she told him.

"I'm on call this next weekend. The weekend you mentioned, it would work. I really want to come and see her. What did you have in mind for the weekend?" Andy asked.

"I haven't thought about it yet," Sharon sighed. "I'm still trying to decompress from the last two weeks. I have a lot to catch up on around here, and I am supposed to work all this weekend a the flower shop because we are prepping for a few things next week. I suppose we could just take it easy and see what the weekend holds."

"Okay," Andy nodded. "I'll be there. I can't wait. Thanks, Sharon, for calling."

"I didn't want to be a bother, but I knew you might need to make plans," she told him. "I can let you get back to your evening."

"My evening can wait a few minutes," he told her. "You and Hannah doing okay? Do you need anything?"

"Hannah and I are okay," she nodded to herself. "My dad has been spoiling her. It's like he's been able to pour his grief into her. Now that we are back home for awhile, I'm not sure how he will be. It will be an adjustment. I already see it. So many times I want to call my mom, but she's, she is not there."

"I wish I could help," he told her.

"You did," she told him. "I am realizing you want to help."

"I do. Listen, you get some rest. It sounds like you are tired. I'll plan for my visit. I'm already really looking forward to it. Thanks again," he said.

"Bye, Andy," she told him. "I'll make sure to send you pictures of Hannah."

Sharon hung up the phone and sat back against her couch. She took a deep breath, not even realizing just how much her heart had been racing. That call had been so hard for her. She couldn't remember a time she'd been that nervous on the phone. It was Andy. She'd spoken to him before. He'd seen her at one of her lowest points with her mom's death. He'd seen her in the bedroom, too, and it was absolutely ridiculous she was so nervous, but on the other hand, she was really stepping out right now. She was inviting him to see Hannah, and she wasn't sure she trusted that decision, but she'd made it. Her gut had been telling her to consider it. Her dad hadn't said much, but she could tell he agreed. So, she would try.

Back in his house, Andy walked back to his living room, where he threw his phone into his chair and then followed, slumping into it.

"What's wrong with you? You look like your favorite pony just died," Provenza told him.

Andy frowned, "Nothing, nothing at all, in fact. That was Sharon."

"She called you? That's a change," Provenza chuckled. "I thought you were stepping back from any bedtime tango with her. Was it that?"

"No, actually, it was about Hannah," he nodded. "She is inviting me to see Hannah."

Provenza's eyes widened, "Well, that's a switch. That's what you've wanted, time with your kid."

Andy just nodded, "Yeah, it is," he said and as he thought, smiled slightly. "Provenza, all I want now is a relationship with my daughter. I really hope Sharon is seeing I can do a decent job, that I want to do a decent job."

Provenza eyed him, "When's this visit? You realize, Flynn, you can't visit in a day?"

Andy shook his head, "Two weekends, and I'm going there. Sleeping with Sharon, that's not happening. I'm focusing on Hannah. She's what is important. Sharon has enough going on right now, and I can't be her bedroom crutch. I'm not sure she will ever trust me, but at least this is a start with Hannah."

"So, not happening?" Provenza raised an eyebrow.

Andy shook his head, "Absolutely not. I'm going to book a hotel now."