Warning: Includes a lot of angst and mentions of major character deaths.

The girl walked over to the hospital bed and wrapped her arms around the elderly woman in it. The woman pulled the girl into her arms, shushing her when the girl started sobbing on her shoulder.

"Oh, Shari," she said, her hands gently caressing the girl's head. "There's no reason to cry right now. That's just how the world works. People come and go," she rubbed the girl's back and then sent her hand forward to reach the man who stood behind the girl. "Rusty," she uttered his name softly, the same way she always did. He walked over to her and took a seat at the edge of the bed, gently pulling Shari away from the woman and onto his lap. He looked at her and then at the girl at his lap.

"Shari, can you go outside and sit a little with your father?" he asked.

"But what if…" the child started but he shook her head at her. The question the girl wanted to ask remained in the air, but all of them knew what she wanted to ask.

"I won't die in the next five minutes," Sharon Raydor did her best to sit in bed and smiled, the tube in her nose making it a little uncomfortable to move her facial muscles.

"Promise?" Shari said and her grandmother nodded slowly.

"I promise. I just need a few moments to speak with your father here," Sharon replied and squeezed Shari's hand before the girl left the room to sit with her other father. "She's just like you," she said and took her son's hand. The girl looked like Rusty and on top of that she also had his character.

"She has a little of David too," Rusty argued, but inside he agreed with Sharon. The girl, who was named after her in honor of everything she's done for him reminded him of himself sometimes. He had three children now with David – Shari was the oldest and then there were Louise and Frankie. Sharon loved all of the grandsons her three children brought to the world, but it always seemed to Rusty that she had a special connection with Shari. As a baby, Shari only let Sharon hold her, not even her dads were able to calm her down when she cried; as a toddler, she followed Sharon around all the time and now as a preteen she spent as much time at Sharon's house as she did with her friends. Rusty could understand that connection very well. Sharon knew how to listen and never judged and that would make any child, even the troubled teenager he used to be, feel welcome and respected and grow attached to her. Emily and Ricky's children were in their early and late teens now and they also seemed to trust Sharon better than they did their own parents. "She has a little bit of you in her too, you know?" Sharon shook her head with amusement.

"You have to be here for her when I'm gone. She's always going to have Emily and Ricky too, but she will need you and David most of all." Sharon smiled at him.

"About that," Rusty said, his voice shaking a little. "Emily said that you decided to sign a DNR."

"Yes, darling. My heart and kidneys are not going to hold on for much longer and life support is not the path I want to go, so when that happens, I just want to die, with the three of you beside me," she said and took an excruciating breath. When she signed the DNR, she knew Rusty would oppose. Even after he got married and had a family of his own, he always turned to her for advice, for support. She was there for him whenever he needed, and soon he will have to learn to live without her.

"But Sharon!" he said and reminded her of the teenager that he used to be. He was almost 40 now, but it appeared that the child in him was never truly gone. "Maybe they can save your life if you draw the DNR."

"Oh, honey. I don't want that," Sharon placed her hand on his arm and smiled to him. "I know things like this are hard for you." When Lieutenant Provenza passed away, Rusty cried for days, even though he was already in his early 30's when it happened. The same thing happened when his mother died from drug overdose and when Andy was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer, shortly after he and Sharon decided to get married. He didn't deal with goodbyes and deaths very well and considering his history as a child and teenager, Sharon was not surprised. Now she was genuinely worried for him. She trusted her other children to be there for him, but she was still concerned about his wellbeing. "But everyone dies eventually. Drawing the DNR may extend my life, but it will also extend my suffering. I would feel much better if I can die a dignified death, with my children by my side, so the last thing I see is the beautiful family I have."

"But I'm not ready," Rusty said, once again sounding like the terrified teenager he used to be.

"Honey, you're never ready to lose a parent. I was nearly 60 when my parents passed away and being older didn't make me ready to lose them," Sharon said patiently. "But I am ready to die; not right now, but in the near future." She could see the tears shining in her son's eyes. He was so beautiful and talented and she loved him so deeply. "I know that it's not easy to lose the people you love, Rusty. I may not be here, but you'll still have all the memories we created together."

"I hope you get to live longer than you or the doctors expect, Sharon, but just in case you don't I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you've done for me. I don't think I have the words to tell you just how big a role you played in my life, from the moment I first met you, but every day that passes, I always keep your wisdom and your love in mind." Rusty's tears started rolling down his face. In the years that passed since his teenage years, he had learned that crying in front of people was not a weakness and that none of the people he loved would mock him for it.

"Sweetheart, I know you do. And know I'm proud of you, for everything you have done and accomplished. You are a brave, kind and compassionate man who took the worst of situations and made something good out of it. You inspired me just as much as you inspire the kids who come to you for help. You are an exemplary person, Rusty and I couldn't be any prouder of you than I am right now." Sharon pulled him into her arms and kissed his cheek.

"I'll never forget everything you've done for me, Sharon. I wish all mothers and fathers in the world would be like you, then there won't be children like me who lose their homes and families because of their sexual orientation or because their parents use drugs or have to serve time."

"But until then, these children have you to help them through and if I've ever done anything right it was to give you the money to start the youth shelter." Sharon remembered how uncomfortable Rusty felt asking for that money, and to make things easier for him, she agreed to give him a loan, knowing very well that until he's able to pay it back, she won't be there to take it.

"The only reason I'm able to help these kids is your love and your support of me, Sharon," Rusty sighed.

"You give me too much credit, Rusty," Sharon sighed. "You're the one making a difference in their world, you're the one who's there to listen and make sure they're fed and attend school and have a safe place to sleep. You've done all of this without my help. Don't make me a saint."

"To me you are a saint, Sharon," he said.

"Saint Sharon, I wonder what the Catholic church is going to think about that," Sharon grinned as she leaned into her pillow.

"You're tired. Do you want me to leave now?" Rusty asked, realizing just how much energy this conversation must have taken from her.

"Please stay with me a little longer, if you have time," she requested and felt Rusty's fingers tightening around her own.

"I always have time for you, Sharon. You know that," he said and his mother smiled as she closed her eyes, quickly drifting into a peaceful slumber. Soon, he knew, she won't be with him anymore, but she will always remain in his heart, in his memories and in his thoughts, until the day he, too leaves this world.