He was surprised to have two messages from Sharon when he returned to the house, the first thanking him for dinner and the second asking him to coffee the following day. He accepted as soon as his fingers had enough feeling to type out a response and they continued texting for several hours. Finally, she didn't respond and a glance at the clock told him that she had probably fallen asleep. It didn't take him long to do the same.

They managed to see each other every day the rest of the time they were in New York, sometimes with Emily or Andy's brothers tagging along. He found he genuinely enjoyed her company and they realized early on that they had the same train back home.

They met at the train station a week and a half after they first met. Andy had already said his goodbyes to his family and he stood aside as Sharon said goodbye to her daughter. She was teary-eyed when she followed him on to the train, wiping at her eyes as she sank into her seat and let out a breath.

"You okay?" he asked softly, pulling a pack of tissues out of his bag for her.

She nodded as she took it, but she didn't respond until after she had blown her nose and tucked the used tissue into her pocket. "She's my baby," she murmured, "and I don't know when I'll see her again."

He nodded his understanding and rested his hand over hers. "I'm sure you'll see her soon. Isn't she coming to California for your birthday next month?" It was a passing comment they had made earlier that week and Sharon looked up at him, obviously surprised he had remembered.

"She is, yeah." The surprise seemed to have switched her thoughts for the moment and she offered him a watery smile.

"What?" he asked when she continued staring at him. "I thought it might be a good idea to suck up to an IA Captain. Maybe you could say a few nice things about me to the LAPD department?" He laughed and she rolled her eyes.

"Depending on the size of your file, it might not do any good," she teased, laughing again.

"Damn. I'll have to go to sensitivity training anyway." He smiled and she pulled out her book again, shifting to get comfortable in her seat as she opened it.

He watched her for a few moments before he turned to his phone. They were quiet until the first stop late that evening; Sharon finally put her book down and stood up, Andy stirring awake and looking at her.

"Everything okay?" he asked immediately.

She smiled down at him and nodded. "Conductor said we'd be here for about half an hour. I thought I'd stretch my legs and get some… Well, as fresh of air as possible. Do you want to join me?"

"Sure, I'll be right out. I want to hit the bathroom first." She moved out of the way so he could stood up and he moved the opposite direction as her.

He stepped off the train not long later and looked around for Sharon. In the busy train station, there was much he could see so he pulled out his phone and called her. Two voicemails later, he decided she had left hers on the train. Sighing, he pushed his way through the crowd to the opposite side, unable to help scanning for her reddish hair.

It didn't take him more than a few minutes before he was tired of getting jostled around by the crowd and decided to return to the train. He stayed close to the wall and passed by the pay phones, pausing long enough to wonder how many places still had working pay phones. He walked by a hallway that branched away from the main terminal and was surprisingly quiet. Eager for a little less human contact for a bit, he ducked into it and followed it a few feet. He didn't make it far before yelling reached his ears.

"I don't know why you're here! You might as well go home now; neither of us want to see you."

He knew he should turn around and leave, but the voice was familiar despite being distorted by the acoustics in the hallway.
"Sharon… Come on." The name caused him to take a few steps closer to the voices; he found Sharon and a larger man at the end of the hallway.

"You had your chance, Jack. You had several chances. I'm done." She stopped and took a deep breath. "You'll find divorce papers waiting for you at home. I'm done."

He took a step toward her and Andy moved around the corner in case he tried to do something. Instead, she held up her hand and stopped him.

"I'm done," she repeated, her voice firm and dangerous. Even Andy felt his blood run cold and he understood how she could be in IA.

"I'm sorry, honey. I screwed up, but Emily's still performing. I can still watch a show." Her husband was desperate. Andy recognized it all too well.

"Neither of us can stop you from doing that." She shrugged and stepped away from him. "But I'm tired of you running in and out of my life. I'm cutting you free. You won't have to worry about your 'nagging wife' anymore." She shook her head and walked toward Andy; he didn't have enough time to get around the corner before she reached him. "Andy?"

"Uh. Hi." He swallowed and cleared his throat, hands finding his pockets.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just going back to the train now." She walked around him, but he reached out and gently grabbed her arm.

"Hey, wait a second. I'll walk you back." He didn't know why she was apologizing, but he could see the tears forming in her eyes. "You're small enough to get lost in the crowd."

A small laugh spluttered out and a tear leaked down her cheek before she nodded. Andy heard no sign of her husband behind them, but he wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her back into the terminal.

She was quiet until the train started to move again, and then quiet for a while longer. She opened her book, but he could see how rarely the pages turned and knew she wasn't actually reading. He thought about asking what was on her mind, but she didn't seem like she wanted to talk and he respected that. He knew he had seen more than he should have anyway.

It was dawn by the time she spoke again. He had dozed off despite himself, but a glance at her told him she hadn't done the same.

"I'm not sure which is worse," she sighed, her eyes sliding closed. He could see the exhaustion on her face and the tear tracks that hadn't faded. He thought some of them looked recent. "The fact that he showed up late, or if he hadn't shown up at all."

He wasn't sure how to respond and remained quiet for a moment. "It sounds like he's shown up late most of your life," he said gently. "Look, I've been where he is."

"No, you're—" She tried to interrupt him, but he took her hand and shook his head.

"That's exactly how I was as an alcoholic. Ask my ex-wife. If you want my honest opinion, you've given him way too many chances and it's past time to cut ties with him."

She ran the fingers of her free hand through her hair and then rubbed at her eyes. "Those wheels are already in motion. I guess it'll be over before long."

"It takes some getting used to," he admitted, "and it's not easy. But you're better off without his baggage. Someone as… incredible and intelligent and beautiful as you shouldn't have to put up with an asshole like him." He paused a moment, worried he had crossed a line. When she said nothing, he continued. "Clearly he didn't know what he had."

"Andy…" She licked her lips and shifted in her seat so she was turned toward him, their hands still intertwined and resting on the armrest between them.

"I mean it," he told her. "All of it."

"Thank you," she sighed, the briefest of smiles tugging at the corner of her lips. "No one has said anything like that to me in a while."

"Well, it's time someone starts." He smiled and hers returned, a little bigger this time. "Now, how about I get you a glass of wine from the cart and we'll figure out what to do for the rest of the ride?"

A soft laugh fell from her lips and she nodded. He was momentarily distracted by how beautiful the sound was. "I can't say no to that. Especially after those compliments."

"That was the idea," he teased, squeezing her hand before he let go and stood up.

He made his way to the next carriage and returned a few minutes later with a cranberry soda and a glass of wine. As the sun continued rising behind the train, he watched her relax as they talked, but it didn't take long after the wine was gone for her to fall asleep. He moved the armrest and she leaned into his side, his arm snaking around her waist. He looked out the window as she slept, caught up in the feeling of having a woman in his arms again. He felt like he hadn't held someone like this since things were good with his wife and wondered if the same was true for Sharon.

All too soon, their train reached its destination. Both Sharon and Andy were slow in gathering their bags and climbing from the train; they lingered on the edge of the terminal in subdued conversation.

"I'd love to have dinner with you sometime," he finally said after several minutes talking about no real topic. "I can drive out to San Francisco."

"That would be great," she replied, smiling widely, "but you don't have to drive all the way up there. We can meet somewhere in the middle, like Fresno."

"Yeah, sure." He smiled too and adjusted his hold on his baggage. "I'll give you a call and we can find a night that works."

"Sounds good. I look forward to hearing from you." She set her bag down and stepped forward, leaning up to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "It's a date."

"Have a safe drive back to San Francisco. Are you sure you're okay making that drive right now?" He looked her over as she picked up her bag again.

"Oh, I'll be fine. I've made the drive plenty of times before." She smiled once more and pulled her bag onto her shoulder. "I should get going, though."

He nodded and let out a breath. "I'll call you about dinner. Text me when you're home? Just so I know?"

She laughed and nodded as she stepped away from him. "Of course, Andy. I'll talk to you later." She waved as she turned around and disappeared into the crowd within seconds.

Andy tried to catch sight of her but she was gone. Shaking his head and unable to help his smile, he grabbed his things and started toward the exit, already trying to figure out a date and a place for dinner.