Despite the distraction caused by his family, Andy's thoughts constantly wandered back to the IA Captain. Regrets knocked around in his head. I should have asked for her number, where she was staying, anything. The usual end to this train of thought was that she could have easily asked him for the same information and she hadn't. He understood: she was married and pushing toward divorce, the last thing she would want is someone else. Even if he just wanted to continue as a friend.

It took a handful of days before his brothers retreated to their favorite bar and urged Andy to go with them. He valued his sobriety too much to accept, and instead found himself wandering around Manhattan, the Lincoln Center brightly shining down the street. He pulled his coat around himself more and glanced up at the cloudy sky that was doing everything it could to snow. He shivered and continued walking until a poster flapping in the wind caught his attention.

It was a large advertisement for the New York Ballet's yearly production of The Nutcracker. It immediately brought his thoughts to Sharon and he found himself climbing the well lit steps in search of the box office.

All logic told him it was stupid, that she likely wouldn't be here and he was wasting both his time and his money. With a sigh, he pushed the thoughts away and clung to the small hope that he would see her.

He bought his ticket and took his seat without a single glimpse, but his attention was drawn to the stage when the ballet began. He instantly recognized the young woman dancing Clara; the dark hair and features—even from the distance—looked like Sharon. She was a good dancer and he found himself enjoying it as the story progressed, but the back of his mind was still hoping to see Sharon again.

Disappointment kept him in his seat when the dancers took their bow and the lights came up. "At least it was a good show," he told himself as the rest of the audience filed out and he slowly rose to his feet to follow.

He huddled into his coat as he returned outside, snow falling lightly to the ground. It blurred the Christmas lights Manhattan was decorated in, but he couldn't stop to enjoy them with the disappointment settled so heavily on his shoulders.

He started back down the steps, absently folding the ticket stub in his pocket, hands stuffed there to keep warm. He heard shouting but couldn't make out any distinctive words, so after a quick glance, he continued walking.

"Andy! Andy, wait!" He stopped and looked again, this time able to make out a red figure hurrying toward him, hair and scarf flying out behind her in the wind. "Andy!"

"Sharon?" He made his way back up the stairs and she met him at the top, standing a few stairs above him which put her at his height. "Sharon, hi!"

"What are you doing here? I thought you were staying with your family?" She was breathless from rushing to him and shivered a little in the snow.

"I was. I am. They, uh, went out drinking and I thought I'd find something better to do." He shrugged, his hand waving as he talked with the ticket stub still between his fingers.

"Did you see the show?" She smiled up at him and he was taken aback by how beautiful she looked.

A dark green scarf was tucked into her red jacket, a matching red hat barely keeping her hair contained. Flecks of white settled in her hair and on her jacket and her eyes lit up as she smiled. She was stunning.

"I did," he finally remembered to answer. "It was absolutely stunning."

"It was!" She laughed and wrapped her arms around herself for further warmth. "I saw it last night, but I wanted to surprise Emily tonight afterward." She paused, another shiver running through her as she looked up at him. "Do you have any plans tonight?"

"None. My brothers will be out drinking until the early hours and I'd rather not deal with them until they're at least hungover." He joined her on the top step and turned so he blocked the wind and snow as it started blowing harder.

"Would you like to join us for dinner? Nothing too fancy. Just something warm, really." She blushed and he didn't know if it was from her invitation or the chilly air.

"Are you sure you don't mind? I'd hate to intrude on you and your daughter." He smiled apologetically, trying to ignore how the disappointment had so quickly evaporated upon seeing her.

"I don't mind at all and neither will Emily. Come on, let's go back inside where it's warm." She reached out for his hand and he took her gloved one without a second thought, allowing her to lead him back into the window-filled room of the Lincoln Center.

They warmed up near the inner wall, eyes occasionally glancing toward the windows to watch the snow continue falling. Sharon had slipped off her gloves and unbuttoned her coat, but her cheeks still held their healthy flush. After a few minutes, the young woman from the ballet hurried over to them. The similarities between mother and daughter were even more obvious when they stood beside each other in front of him.

"Emily, honey, this is Andy. The one who kept me company on the train, remember?" Sharon smiled at her daughter and nudged their shoulders together. Emily grinned.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm Emily, Sharon's daughter." She gave him a once over with enough of a threat in her gaze to show him how protective she was of her mother. Emily offered her hand to Andy and he shook it, a brief smile appearing.

"I invited him to dinner with us tonight since his family abandoned him."

"They didn't abandon me-" Andy tried, but Sharon shot him a look and he fell silent. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked Emily instead.

"Not at al! Mom needs more friends." Emily laughed and Sharon rolled her eyes as she guided her daughter into the snow, Andy following beside them. "What are you thinking for dinner?"

"What about that Italian place down the road you mentioned?" Andy perked up at the mention of Italian and Sharon glanced back at him. "Is that okay, Andy?"

"Sounds great. I always like to see how it compares to my mother's cooking." He grinned and Emily hailed a cab for them.

Dinner was an entertaining affair, one of the best dinners Andy could remember having, but it felt like too soon when the bill was paid—he insisted on paying and though Sharon initially insisted, she eventually gave in. They all stood and made their way back outside where the snow had calmed down and now fell in light flakes. Both women shivered and he quickly hailed a cab for them.

"Thank you for dinner," Sharon told him, a small smile tugging at her lips. Wind tugged her hair across her face and she clumsily bushed it away with a gloved hand.

"It's no problem. Thank you for letting me interrupt your family time." He smiled and looked at Emily. "And thank you for a great show."

Emily blushed and shook her head. "No, thank you. We wouldn't be anywhere if we didn't have a good audience." She tugged her coat closer just as a cab pulled up to the curb.

"I'll let you two get home and out of the snow," he told them.

"Thank you," Emily said again as she climbed into the cab.

Sharon stood by the open door, one hand resting on the snow-covered hood of the cab and the other on her purse. She smiled at Andy and he smiled back, an odd ache in his chest at the thought of her walking away.

"Mom." Emily said more but he didn't catch more than the first word, but Sharon ducked her head into the cab to listen. When she straightened up, a blush covered her cheeks.

"According to my daughter, I should give you my number," she laughed. "I'm sorry, I haven't really done this," she gestured between them with her hands, "in a while. But if you'd like my number?"

Andy didn't know what 'this' meant, but he wasn't going to turn her number down. "Yeah, of course. One sec." He fumbled in his pocket for his phone and slipped his gloves off so he could type. "Okay, shoot." She smiled as she gave him her information, shivering a little in the cold. She didn't look like she was ready to leave, but he felt badly about keeping her in the cold. "I'll give you a call so you have mine," he offered.

"Thank you, Andy. Maybe we'll see each other again before we leave." Her smile turned into a smirk as her fingers fiddled with the zipper on her jacket.

"I'm here until the end of the week, so it's definitely possible." He shrugged and smiled.

"You have my number. Goodnight."

He stepped back as she followed her daughter into the cab. A moment later, it pulled away from the curb and he watched Sharon leave for a second time. This time, though, he had her number and he wouldn't rely on pure chance to see her again.