Andy was worn out; it had been a long day, and it didn't help that with the time, Hannah would already be asleep for the night. He hated that, not seeing her, especially when she was in town, in his house, for a few days. Sure, he'd spent the morning with her, and he'd loved every minute of it. After preparing for a short walk around the neighborhood that really looked like he was going to take her out for days, he and Hannah had enjoyed their quiet walk. He'd packed snacks, enough for days, for her to enjoy, and she'd been rather quiet on their walk, almost as if she'd enjoyed it too. He'd put her down for a nap, and while normally, he would want her to get a good, long nap, he was happy when she slept for not quite an hour; it gave him more time with her before he did have to go in for work. His little girl was too young to know what was going on, but it was almost like she wanted more time with him too. He'd fed her and played with her, happy to see that she was trying to pull herself up on things. She wasn't there yet, but she was trying, and he was wondering if she was going to skip crawling-in the regular fashion-and go to walking. Hannah was amazing, and he sometimes had to just stare at her, shocked that he'd help create such a wonderful little girl.

So, as Andy pulled into his driveway after a long afternoon of training, he sighed at the relatively dark house. Yes, Hannah was in bed. The light from the guest room was out, and he could tell just a faint light, most likely from the living room was on. He'd sent Sharon a text message on his drive home, but he hadn't heard back from her, sure she was busy with Hannah's bedtime routine. The two hadn't had much time to talk since their middle of the night discussion, but Andy felt like a weight had been lifted from him. He'd told Sharon what he felt, and the ball was in her court so to speak. She'd left early for court, as he would have expected, and their lunchtime exchange had been fast too, as she had been stuck in some traffic trying to get back to the house. He didn't know what the evening would entail, but he had a feeling she wouldn't be ready to talk, mainly because he knew she was still trying to figure out her own feelings.

With food in hand, Andy walked wearily to his front door and unlocked it. He opened it and had to smile. In all his years, all his thoughts, he never ever would have imagined finding Sharon Raydor, of all people, curled up, asleep on his couch. She looked rather peaceful, and as he thought about it, this was probably the one time she wasn't trying to figure out anyone's motives, when she was sleeping. The table lamp was on next to her, and she had a book open, sitting on her chest. He closed the door, quietly, hoping he didn't bother her sleep.

Andy walked to his kitchen, still chuckling that Sharon was sleeping so peacefully on the couch. From what he could tell, she had been reading and fell asleep. He was glad to see she felt comfortable enough to use the blanket he kept on the back of his recliner. Andy put down the food and walked down the hall to check on Hannah. It was now almost 8:30. He hated getting home this late, but at least he had food with him. That had been in his text to Sharon, and now, he could see she probably hadn't even seen it, especially if she had fallen asleep shortly after putting Hannah to bed. He smiled when he spotted Hannah, sprawled out in her travel crib on her side, almost pushed up against the side of it, her legs in an odd position. He tilted his head to get a good look at her and grinned when he noticed she was sucking on her thumb. He hadn't seen her do that before and wondered if it was normal. She didn't have it all the way in her mouth, just the tip of it. He ran his hand lightly over her head, careful not to wake her. Her full head of dark hair was so soft, and as much as he wanted to sit and watch her sleep, he had hot food waiting and was starving.

As Andy walked back to the kitchen, he pulled his phone to put it on silence. He'd told Provenza not to call tonight, but he never knew what to expect from his best friend. During the day, Andy had explained to Provenza that he'd put his cards on the table regarding Sharon, and with that, he didn't expect any issues. Yes, he wanted her; that was obvious, but he was handling the situation okay right now. He'd told her his feelings, and she wouldn't be ready to process anything just yet. He was fine with that. Andy took another look at Sharon sleeping as he walked back into the kitchen. He shook his head; she looked so beautiful sleeping, so full of love and life, and he hated she had been burned so badly in her adult life.

He looked at the food and decided to take it outside on his back porch to eat. He had a feeling the rustling of the bags would wake Sharon, and he didn't want that. She hadn't been sleeping well, and he was glad she'd fallen asleep on his couch. As he opened his sliding door to the yard, he looked back at Sharon, content she was still sleeping.

Andy let out a long sigh as he sat down and then groaned when he realized he had not gotten anything to drink. He really wanted something to drink with his dinner and had been thinking about a glass of cranberry juice most of the drive home. He didn't want to go back inside with her sleeping, but he was extremely thirsty. He had thoughts of using the garden hose, but then, he chuckled at that, the sight of him drinking from the garden hose because he was that desperate for anything. He didn't have anything in his car either. For now, he'd sacrifice his thirst. He'd eat and then get something to drink when he was done. It was a lovely evening; summer was in the air. There was still a bit of a coolness to the air, but it wasn't bad. He enjoyed rare evenings like this, times to eat outside and enjoy the stillness of the evening. He pulled out the Chinese food, aware he'd bought way too much, but as he was ordering the food, he realized he didn't know what Sharon liked to eat. He'd been realizing that a lot about her, that he really didn't know much about this woman, the woman he now cared about deeply, the mother of his young daughter, the woman he wanted in his life. He knew very little, and so, he'd ordered several different things on the menu. Quite frankly, his food order looked like he was going to feed a baseball team. There was enough Chinese food for days, but that was okay. He would eat it, most of it. He'd find out what Sharon enjoyed so that next time, because he knew there would be a next time and a time after that and a time after that, he would know her order.

He spent the next 15 minutes just enjoying his dinner, glad to unwind after his long day. He really couldn't stand Taylor and Pope. Both had been in his afternoon training, and both had gotten on his very last nerve. It was a good thing it was the weekend. He needed a break from the two, and what had gotten him through the day was the thought of Hannah and Sharon waiting for him at home. He was looking forward to a nice weekend with them, even if their situation was a bit odd.

He turned his head when he heard the sliding glass door open, and he smiled softly at Sharon as she stepped outside, "Hi, I didn't want to wake you." He looked at her, dressed in casual clothing with a long open sweater over her outfit. She gave him a small smile.

She nodded as she ran her hand through her hair and also shut the door before going to sit down across from him at the small patio table. He moved the food bags, knowing they had taken over most of the table, and he looked at her as she started to speak, "Sorry I fell asleep. I was reading, and that's about all I remember," she rolled her eyes slightly. "I don't remember much of what I read, so that was a waste. When did you get home?"

"Ahh, about 20 minutes ago," he told her. "Things ran late at work. Taylor couldn't shut his trap, and Pope wasn't much better. Traffic was a beast, and then, I stopped for food," he nodded to the bags. "I tried to text you about dinner, but I guess you were sleeping."

"Sorry," she shook her head at him.

"No, no," he raised his hands in surrender, "no apologies. Seeing you curled up on my couch was actually really great. It was a nice sight to see. Did you get some sleep, I hope?"

"A little," she nodded. "Court went well this morning, but I was just worn out from so much, just too much on my mind," she sighed and dropped her head to look at her hands. Andy frowned slightly.

"Hey, no need to explain or talk tonight. This is a safe zone," he chuckled lightly. "I have come with food, so please eat. I really just wanted to come home and spend a nice evening with you if you want to eat with me."

Sharon gave him a somewhat playful glance as she eyed the food bags and then looked at him. She gestured with her hand, "Is that Chinese?"

"No, it's pizza," he rolled his eyes at her before he shook his head. "Of course, it's Chinese. I can't imagine that's a problem."

"I love Chinese," she nodded with a small smile. "I haven't had it for quite some time."

"Great, see I didn't know that, I mean, about you loving Chinese food. I didn't know what you liked, so I bought a few things," he explained, handing her one of the bags.

"A few?" she chuckled. "There are what, six or seven different cartons here, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "a few."

"Andy, that's more than a few," she laughed, and then, her eyes met his. "Thank you. This looks great."

"No problem," he nodded at her. "I'm surprised, honestly, that you are this excited about take-out Chinese food. I had a long day, and this was easy. You deserve better than that."

She paused in her search of the food and looked at him, "I don't deserve anything. I appreciate you getting dinner. I honestly hadn't thought about dinner with taking care of Hannah. I had a cup of tea when I fed her, and that held me. By the way," she looked at him over the rim of her glasses, "You have a lot of tea."

He shrugged, "All things I'm realizing I don't know about you, or I don't know enough," he explained. "Why don't I get you a plate, and we can just eat and have a light conversation? I'm so thirsty," he chuckled. "I didn't want to wake you, so I've been out here desperate for something to drink."

"I'm so sorry," she shook her head. "I took over your house."

"Not at all, Sharon," he said to her as he stood. "It was one of the nicest things I've seen in a long time, walking in and finding both you and Hannah asleep. It wasn't a problem at all," he said and turned to go back into the house. He left Sharon there to sit in silence for a moment and returned with a plate for her, cranberry juice for himself, and a glass of water for Sharon. "I didn't know if you wanted anything else to drink."

"Ahh, no water is good," she looked up at him as he put it down for her. "Thank you. I prefer water with dinner, sometimes wine with a glass of water, but water."

"Ahh, good to know," he said as he sat. "So, did you find anything in those bags you enjoy eating?"

"Yes," she nodded. "There are several things I like. I'm a fan of many of the same things you have on your plate. I don't particularly like noodles; I prefer rice. I don't like extremely spicy things, but most anything with chicken of beef is good. I have a weak spot for crab rangoons. I don't know why," she gave a slight roll of her eyes. "You even got those."

"Well, we might have a fight, then, Raydor," he gave her a look. "That's one of my favorites, and I hardly eat anything fried like that."

"Eating together, then, might not be the best idea," she said in a slightly teasing tone. Andy liked that she was almost teasing him. Her mood was decent, good, in fact, and he had seen this side of her on just a few rare occasions. It was like he knew this side existed, but he hadn't seen much of it. He liked it and whatever brought it on with her tonight. He just winked at her.

"I'll take my chances," he smiled.

Dinner continued with light conversation. Sharon asked about his day and then about the team. He told her what was going on with each person, how some of the same people continued to irritate him day after day. She listened and offered her own stories about a few of those same irritating people. As they finished dinner, he glanced at his watch, shocked at the time.

"We've been out here over an hour. It's now 9:50. I don't know where the time went."

"That's the problem with Chinese food," she nodded. "You just keep eating and eating, and after awhile, you've eaten everything. We made a huge dent in this food," she said as she eyed the table.

"I'm glad. I'm glad you were hungry. I know I was. It's been a long few days, a long few months, really," he looked to her. "I'm happy you got some rest because I made plans for tomorrow."

Her eyes widened, "You made plans? For all of us? Oh, wait, are you doing something?"

"Sharon," he gave her a half frown before he continued, "do you really think I'd beg you to visit with Hannah only to make my own plans for Saturday? Of course, I made plans for the three of us. I would like to do something fun. I thought we could go to the beach, nothing major, but even just a nice walk or something. I'd like to take Hannah. She hasn't really been to the beach, has she?"

"The beach?" she asked, gesturing with her hand. "You want to go to the beach?"

"I mean, yeah," he shrugged. "It is California, sunny L.A., as you know. We do have an ocean right here. I'd like to go. I don't even care what beach-more secluded or a busy, touristy one-whatever. We can stay local or go for a drive. I don't care, but I think it would be fun. The weather is supposed to be nice, and then, I planned for us to go to dinner."

"Dinner?" she asked, her eyes wide again.

"Yeah, Sharon, that meal after lunch. Hannah's a big fan of dinner, and I thought we could go out to eat, somewhere in public, with Hannah."

"We don't have to do that," she shook her head.

"Look, I'd like to do this. We've barely gone anywhere or done anything, well," he rolled his eyes and continued, "aside from checking out hotel rooms in different locations. For once, I'd like to go out with you and Hannah."

"Andy, I can't-I just don't know if I-" she paused.

"You're leaving on Mother's Day. Let's address that, shall we? I'm well aware Sunday is Mother's Day. You are too, and we're going to address that. You are a mother, not my mother, which would be really twisted, but you are the mother to three kids, one of them mine. I don't care what a piece of paper says or what you think I am or maybe what I'm not. You're Hannah's mother, and I'm speaking for her only right now. I'd like to take you to dinner, Hannah too," he added and continued, "for Mother's Day. Now, I would have done the traditional brunch or something, but let's also address that you coincidently booked your flight back to Phoenix for 11:00 A.M. Sharon, on a Sunday, on Mother's Day, a flight that would have many options to PHOENIX. So, yeah, I've figured out your plans to dodge Mother's Day, so I'm making tomorrow Mother's Day. Hannah can't tell time; she doesn't know her days of the week yet, so she's good with it being tomorrow. Now, you aren't going to tell that beautiful little girl she can't celebrate her mom tomorrow, are you?"

Sharon let out a long sigh as she sat back in her chair. Andy watched her cross her arms and look at him and he looked right back at her. Finally, she let out a low scowl and sat back up in her chair, "You know, being a detective isn't always a good thing."

Andy tried to hide his smile. She'd all but admitted he was right about calling her out on everything. He sat forward, "You play with the best," he winked, "and that's what you get."

She stood, closing the bag of food as she gathered her plate and then his. She looked at him, still sitting there, almost smirking at her, and before she stepped away she said, "What I got from 'playing' as you are calling it, is an eight and a half month old in there who looks more and more like you every single day. I can't even get you out of my mind when I want to do just that." She opened the door and stepped inside, leaving him sitting there, thinking about what she'd said. He put his finger to his mouth; she was in a much better mood, yes. She was still dodging quite a bit, but he felt like they'd cleared the air. He stood and called to her as he opened the door.

"You really think she looks like me?" he grinned as he stepped inside.

Sharon was quiet inside as she cleaned off the dishes. Andy pulled out some of his storage containers for the leftovers, and he started to put things away while she worked. He preferred his own containers to the cartons from the restaurant. He hadn't expected her to answer him about Hannah; he still didn't see it. He saw Sharon when he looked at Hannah, but if she was reminded of him each time she looked at Hannah, he was okay with that and was not going to argue. The two worked quietly next to each other for the next few minutes. Finally, Sharon turned off the sink, and as she was drying her hands, she cleared her throat, "Why did you first sleep with me?"

Andy, who was still working on the leftovers and not looking at Sharon, raised his eyebrows at the question. He often wondered what was going on inside her head, and tonight, he didn't know what she was processing, but he hadn't expected that question. He said exactly what came to mind, "You asked-because you asked."

He heard her sigh and finally looked toward her. She turned toward him and rested her back against the counter to look over and speak to him. She was next to him now, looking across the kitchen, while he was still facing the same counter. "That's not a complete answer," she frowned slightly at him. He paused and met her gaze, deciding that if she wanted to talk, he was going to participate. "I mean, yes, I'm aware I ASKED, the first time, most every time," she pursed her lips and shook her head. "Why?"

"You asked," he said again and shrugged. "You did."

"Yes, but surely, that isn't your only answer. I mean, what made you agree that night?"

"Honestly, you asked. I didn't have a better idea or plan. We were both lonely. We were on that stupid work trip. You were pretty hot, too, still are," he gave a small shrug as he looked down at the containers. "As you have said, it seemed like a simple, no-strings attached situation. I've been in plenty of those over the years. After the first time, I just wanted more, Sharon, more of that. It was good, better than good. It filled a void, a need, I hadn't filled in a long time. What, you want me to tell you I did it to annoy you or Provenza?" he shrugged. "I did it for me, for what I wanted. But, the real answer, to start, was that you asked."

"Other women, though," she gestured with her hand and swallowed, as she was nervous, "I'm sure have asked. I know there have been others. I'm just wondering what was different, what is different. Women have to have asked. Do you agree each time?"

"They have," he nodded. "I've slept with others. You know that. I've told you, but it's different now, and no, it's not every woman."

She narrowed her gaze, trying to figure out what he was saying, "You would turn down a woman?"

"Have and will from now on," he nodded. "I mean, it's not like they are beating down my door," he chuckled. "I'm not looking for women." She eyed him again, and before she could say anything, he said, "I don't need that from random women."

"So, let me get this straight," she turned slightly to him. Her eyes met his, and she continued, "If a woman walked up to you and said, 'Andy, are you interested in going home with me?' you would turn her down?" As she asked him that, her eyes stayed locked on his, and her hand moved to his shirt, where she fiddled with the button on it. He continued to look at her, his eyes on hers.

He put his hand over hers and laced his fingers in hers, "I'm saying," he said quietly as he leaned toward her before he spoke quietly again, "if a random woman asked me that right now, I'd turn down the offer, yes. I had a different answer, what a year and a half ago, even I'll admit a year ago. My answer now would be no and will continue to be no-for random women, I mean," he added. I've realized that-at least to me-that's something pretty special I don't just want with anyone anymore." The tension was there; the two were within inches of each other, and neither knew what to do or say. Andy broke the silence, "Of course, many would say I was an idiot if I turned down some random woman like that, but I've been called an idiot before; in fact, I've been called an idiot for not turning down a woman. I can't win, so maybe, I'll just continue to turn away those women, random ones, I mean."

Sharon broke their eye contact and looked down at the floor. When she looked back up at him, their eyes met, and they started to kiss, his hands moving to her waist and her hands moving around his neck. The two stood there, in a rather heated kiss for a few moments, before they broke away, each one grasping for air. Andy let out a long sigh and looked down at the floor. Sharon looked away too, their heads still almost touching.

"I need to get some sleep," he said quietly. "You should too. I know your nap doesn't make up for months of no sleep. We are going out tomorrow," he said, moving his head back to meet her gaze. The two started to kiss again, almost moving like magnets toward each other. Sharon gripped his arms, and his hands found her waist again as he ran his hands along the hem of her shirt. This time, it wasn't as heated, but it was full of passion. Andy finally pulled away from her, and he could hear Sharon trying to catch her breath again.

"Get some sleep, Sharon. To answer your question or whatever we were discussing just now, I'm not worried about turning away the random ones. I can and will turn them away from now on, but my biggest struggle right now is turning down the right one because I have to right now."

With that, he looked into her eyes, leaned toward her, kissed her cheek while he squeezed her arm, and he turned to walk to his room. "Be ready for an adventure tomorrow," he called out as he stepped out of her sight.