Thank you all so much again for all of your kind words and support! Here is the penultimate chapter. As always, I welcome your feedback.

I do not own Major Crimes or any of the fabulous characters.

Chapter Eleven

Agony. That was what Sharon felt in every fiber of her being. She had wanted to tell Andy that she wanted things to work, too. That she wanted to start again, see where a real relationship would lead. She wanted to tell him the words that were deeply embedded in her heart and caught in her throat. But the emotion of the moment got the best of her and she panicked. She ran when she should have stayed. She hurt him when she wanted to love him.

The problem was, she had only recently discovered her own feelings for Andy. It started that disastrous night with the "desk sex" incident and only continued to grow from there. She wasn't sure she could put a name to the feeling at first, but after spending time with him at Hollywood Forever and then a few dinners after, the intensity of her feelings could only be one thing: Love. It was an illusive emotion that had abandoned her a long time ago, leaving only hurt and distrust in its place. She never expected it to return and in such a spectacularly powerful way. But here she was completely consumed with it and longing to be with the man she felt it for.

These thoughts danced through her head as she quietly sipped her coffee. Brandon, going above and beyond what was expected of him as Gavin's fill-in, had taken her to a cozy coffee shop and allowed her to wallow by herself until she was ready to open up. He knew the basics anyway. Gavin had been sure to fill him in before sending him off into a hornet's nest. He just wasn't sure what had triggered her sudden exit and solemn mood.

"Thank you for this," she said quietly. He nodded. "And I'm sorry you got dragged into all of it. I promise my life is not usually such a... mess," she added a bit sheepishly.

"I live with Gavin, remember? The man is the definition of mess sometimes," he laughed. She smiled. They allowed the silence to surround them once again.

"He loves me," she stated quietly. He could see the smile trying to play across her lips before she took another sip of her coffee. Brandon didn't have to ask who "he" was since it was written all over her face.

"That's good, isn't it?" He asked confused. She nodded.

"Amazing, really. The problem is I was too much of a coward to tell him how I feel. I ran instead," she admitted. He studied her.

"Maybe you just weren't ready to hear it," he offered.

"Hmm... it did overpower me," she agreed. "I'm so afraid of losing him, of getting hurt because I don't think I could handle going through that again and yet, I lost him before we even tried to make it work. How's that for irony," she scoffed.

"Are you sure?" Brandon asked. She looked at him with confusion. "Maybe you should go to him, tell him how you feel, and find out for yourself," he said.

"I'm pretty sure I'm the last person he wants to see right now," she replied with a sad smile. Brandon studied her a moment. She just needed a little push.

"Somehow, I highly doubt that," he said around a coy smile. He made it sound so simple, Sharon thought. Maybe it was.

Andy sat on his couch, his tux rumpled and hair askew. The TV was on, but he wasn't listening to it. He was too lost in his own thoughts wondering how he had managed to make things even worse than they already were. Why wasn't he satisfied with their comfortable friendship? Truth was, he was and he would have been if he knew they could never be anything more to each other. But there was something that simmered just below the surface between them, and he needed to know what it was and whether it would work. Now, he would never know.

That reality settled inside him and took up residence in his bones. It filled him with tremendous sadness. He was surprised when he heard the knock on his door. He was shocked when he opened it to find Sharon Raydor on his doorstep. She looked as broken as he did. He wordlessly let her in, and they stood facing each other in his moonlit hallway, silence filling the space between them.

"I hope I'm not bothering you," she said hesitantly. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Sharon, you could never bother me," he admitted quietly. She allowed her eyes to meet his, and she almost drowned in the emotion she saw swimming in them. Clarity washed through her mind and settled in her heart.

"I'm sorry, Andy. I shouldn't have left earlier," she said contritely.

"No, I shouldn't have just sprung that on you. It was too much," he said rubbing a hand behind his neck.

"This thing between us scares me. But I don't want to lose you," she whispered, and he looked at her with disbelief. Was she saying what he thought she was? Before he could analyze it further, she took a few tentative steps in his direction before leaning up and ghosting her lips against his, her eyes slipping closed when he moved his lips against hers in reply. Neither could suppress the shiver that traveled up their spines and spread throughout their trembling bodies. She didn't want to think anymore, she simply wanted to feel. To feel Andy's soft and pliant lips as she captured them in a more thorough kiss before pulling back and looking him in the eye.

"I love you, too," she said, the words spilling over her lips in an emotional whisper. He could barely believe he was hearing them. He pulled her into an embrace and held her for several heavy moments. Her hand caressing his chest between their bodies before moving up to the sensitive skin on his neck. He nuzzled into her hair and placed light kisses along the shell of her ear.

"I am so completely in love with you," he breathed out in between kisses. He could feel her shudder at his words, and when she pulled away to meet his gaze, he saw unshed tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she said. He shook his head.

"None of it matters now," he said before kissing her once again. Their lips danced together sensually before her tongue traced his bottom lip and he eagerly granted her access. Their tongues explored and enjoyed the taste of each other while their hands softly caressed safe areas. Neither was in a rush to jump into bed again after everything that had happened between them.

They continued to enjoy the feeling of simply making out with each other without any intention of progressing it. Their lips connecting, tongues dancing, hands sensually memorizing chaste parts of each other, and their bodies heated and close. It was a heady mixture and both were beginning to feel a little drunk on it. When they finally tore themselves away, their breaths short and foreheads still pressed together, they shared a giddy smile.

"Well, this is certainly an unexpected turn of events," he said with a laugh.

"I couldn't go to sleep until we ended things on a better note," she said quietly. "Brandon was kind enough to drop me off," she explained.

"I knew I liked that guy," he said with a laugh before capturing her lips once again in a short, sweet kiss. "Do you need a ride home?" He whispered.

"I was hoping I could stay here. With you," she said a bit shyly. He removed his arms from where they were resting comfortably around her waist, and reached for her hand. After they shared a shy, passionate moment just drinking each other and this new reality in, he put his arm around her and they walked together down the hall to his bedroom.

There were things they still needed to discuss, but for tonight, they would do something they hadn't done before: simply hold each other while they slept with no intention of anything else.

TBC