Thanks to all readers who gave encouragement and requested another chapter. Hope you like this one…

Ch. 2 – What dreams reveal

Upon parking outside his apartment, Andy Flynn dialed his partner for the 7th time and left yet another nervous message since Tao wasn't responding to his calls and neither was Buzz. Andy was left fearing the worst and knew better than to call Sharon.

"Dammit, Louie, call me back now! I need to know what's happening with Sharon. Please call me back, please."

Andy walked into his apartment and immediately went to his bedroom where he shed his clothes and took a brief hot shower. It would help him sleep despite his nervous stomach and he needed to feel something consoling after his disastrous actions.

Within ten minutes he had finished shower, checked his cell phone for messages, brushed his teeth, checked his cell phone again, put on fresh underwear and t-shirt, checked his cellphone and fell into bed. Can I get fired for this? Andy wondered, I have to fix this with Sharon, if she'll let me. Andy's eyes closed as he slipped into a deep, dreamless, exhausted slumber.

Sharon closed her office and headed home shortly after Provenza left at 4:45 pm. No one wanted to hang around after the debacle of a pin ceremony least of all Sharon. Getting home early – or more correctly – on time for once would raise questions from Rusty. Sharon felt the tension in her shoulders and forced herself to relax them, feeling them drop a couple of inches lower. Sighing, she pulled her cellphone from her pocket and waivered about calling a friend to vent to and to garner some personal perspective.

Sharon put her phone back in her pocket and rode out the rest of the elevator ride frustrated. Once settled into her parked car, Sharon pulled out her cellphone and dialed her buddy, Gavin. He picked up nearly immediately.

Gavin's knowing smile over his dirty martini was enough to cause Sharon's face to blush deeply close to the shade of her own glass of rose.

"Well, at least you know now for sure," Gavin teased.

"Know what? What are you saying," Sharon prompted.

"Andy's feelings for you. I mean he kissed you - on the mouth," Gavin reminded her. "And he used one of the best techniques known to man turning a friendly peck into something more, - turning his head like that. That certainly was no accident!"

Sharon shook her head slowly. "I don't know if he did it deliberately or if it was just bad timing."

"I know you were born on a Tuesday, Sharon Raydor, but not last Tuesday!" Gavin chided her. "Face it. The man is into you. And maybe…" He purposely didn't finish his thought.

"Maybe what?" Sharon frowned at her friend.

"…Maybe you're into him to? Just a teeny, tiny, lil bit?" Gavin pursed his lips as he swirled the two olives speared in his martini. Sharon looked away to collect her thoughts.

"I thought you were going to give me legal perspective on how to best handle this problem."

"So you're avoiding my questions, huh?" Gavin was unflinching.

"Fine. I like Andy. We're good friends…" Sharon said flatly.

"With or without benefits?" Gavin interrupted.

"Without!" Sharon said quickly. "It's been strictly platonic until…today." Gavin said nothing and waited for more reaction or clues to what Sharon was thinking.

"Now, I have to deal with this rather embarrassing situation internally," Sharon said slowly.

"Yes, you do." Gavin sipped his martini delicately. "I have a few suggestions you should consider before doing anything, though." Sharon looked hopeful.

"First, you need to have a private conversation with Andy and find out what it is exactly he wants from you. As if we both don't already know the answer to that." Gavin said sarcastically. Sharon could feel her cheeks burning.

"But before that's established, you need to think about how you feel about Andy and his desires."

"Gavin, I called you because I need legitimate legal advice here, not dating advice!" Sharon said stubbornly.

"Sharon, I'm giving you both, for free I might add!" Gavin leaned forward and took Sharon's hand in his. "Listen to me and think about your situation on two levels. The personal and the professional because they affect each other."

Sharon listened silently.

"Now, I think you need to talk with Andy after you think about what you want. I mean we know the man is interested in you. He proved that by chucking his career right out the window kissing you in front of enough witnesses. My god!"

Sharon held back from commenting. Gavin was still holding her hand and it forced her to acknowledge her own personal feelings. Yes, Andy was attractive. He was funny. He was caring and kind and had stood up for her when it mattered. He was passionate about helping people. He was a very nice man – who worked for her. Sure, they got along very well together and he was easy to talk to. He made her feel comfortable and relaxed and even got her to open up about her own life. She liked being with Andy.

Then it hit her.

Sharon suddenly remembered the strange dream she had had about Andy not long after the Nutcracker evening with Nicole and Rusty. The dream made very little sense but she remembered at some point Andy was slow dancing with her and she began undoing the buttons of his shirt. The dream was so vivid that Sharon woke in a panic thinking she had actually caressed Andy's bare chest! She was so bothered by the dream itself and her actions in it that she had avoided Andy most of that specific day out of embarrassment.

God, what dreams reveal, Sharon thought to herself.

"Sharon? Helloooo? Where'd you go?" Gavin was patting her hand and smiling. "Were you even listening to me?"

"Of course, Gavin." Sharon heard herself say. "I was just thinking about what you said, about what I want."

"Good. Good. So what do you want? Could you ever see yourself with Andy?"

Sharon was stupefied by Gavin's bluntness.

"Well, come on, Sharon, out with it."

"I don't know…I never really thought about him like that. I mean we're friends and I do enjoy his company but…" Sharon felt confused. "What I mean is I do like Andy but I can't see…."

"Can't or won't?" Gavin questioned. "The man might even be in love with you. He's watching out for you and Rusty over that Stroh maniac, staking out your home so you'll be safe. Don't you have any feelings for him? Is it really one-sided?"

Sharon felt very uncomfortable with Gavin's personal questions.

"I can see this is getting weird for you, Sharon so lets just try out a couple of scenarios to help you figure out what you should do, okay?"

Sharon nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Scenario One: After you officially reprimand Andy and tell him to keep his mitts and lips off you, he keeps his distance. A couple of weeks go by and you're out one night and you spot Andy having dinner with a woman on what is clearly a date. How would you feel about that?"

Sharon heard every word and allowed her imagination to envision Andy on a date with someone else. Immediately Sharon felt betrayed and hurt. Damn that smart ass Gavin. So what if she felt a little possessive and even jealous. That just meant….oh no.

"What's scenario two?" Sharon deflected. Gavin raised an eyebrow in contempt.

"Not answering my question, I see. Fine. Scenario Two, Andy leaves Major Crimes, perhaps he decides to retire, or Deputy Chief Taylor sees fit to fire Andy. How would you feel about that?"

Sharon narrows her eyes at Gavin and gives him a decent glare. "I would be very unhappy."

"In scenario 1 or 2?" Gavin presses on.

Before Sharon realizes it, she's answered him. "Both."

"I knew it!" Gavin flashed Sharon a sweet, toothy smile. "You two would make a really cute couple."

"How is this helping?"

"It's not but it sure is fun!" Gavin said as he raised his glass at the bartender and gestured for a refill.

Rusty was cooking spaghetti when Sharon arrived home.

"You got a couple of messages, Sharon."

"From?"

"Jackson. And Lieutenant Provenza," Rusty said as he strained the noodles from the boiling water. "Want to eat first?"

"Sure, Rusty," Sharon walked into the kitchen to gather plates and utensils to set the table.

"I got it, Sharon," Rusty smiled. "How was your day?"

"I should be asking you that question, Rusty."

"Mine was fine. Got my English test back and got a 94 on it," Rusty seemed proud.

"That's fantastic!" Sharon looked pleased and came over to pat Rusty on his back.

"Yeah, I got some homework tonight, mostly reading so …how was your day?"

"Weird."

"Weird? That's a first," Rusty was clearly curious. For a moment Sharon wondered if Rusty had already heard about Andy kissing her. "How weird was it?"

"Just really weird …how about we forget about that for now and eat instead. Everything smells so good!"

"Well, at least tell me if it's weird-good or weird-bad," Rusty needed a little closure.

"Both, now where is that parmesan cheese thingie?" Sharon said to distract Rusty as she glanced around the kitchen and saw the tall container on the counter.

Rusty took the hint and dropped the subject for the moment.

"Unless they were urgent, I'll return those calls after this delicious smelling dinner," Sharon said enthusiastically. "I'm starving!."

Provenza sat alone in his car watching the parking garage entrance and the front door entrance to Sharon's building. Sharon had arrived home just a few minutes ago and Provenza felt better just knowing where she was. Julio would relieve him in a few hours.

So what if the Captain told him and Andy to drop the stake-out. It's a free country and a man can spend his off-hours anywhere he wanted, like outside his boss's home. At least that's how Provenza rationalized his current situation and location.

Glancing around the neat neighborhood, Provenza considered texting Andy to let him know he was covering the shift. Nah, better he sleep instead. The repercussions would come soon enough. He hoped asking the captain to just cut Andy some slack would actually work. Maybe Captain Raydor for once, just once, bend the rules where his well-meaning, love-sick partner was concerned. Stranger things had happened.

Thankful Jackson didn't pick up, Sharon left a brief message letting him know she was returning his call and told him to call her tomorrow at her office. Provenza's message was a brief message letting her know he might be late to the office. Nothing worth worrying about.

Rusty was easily distracted into discussing the events of his day as Sharon sat smiling and listening to her son talk. Her mind refused to revisit her own eventful day. She needed a reprieve from work and Rusty was very enjoyable when he got going on an interesting subject.

Once the table was cleared and Rusty was parked in front of the television, Sharon went to her trusty bottle of chilled white wine, poured herself a larger amount than usual and informed Rusty she was going to turn in early but was planning on taking a long bath.

Alone in her room, Sharon took a large swallow of wine then went over to her bedroom window and looked outside to see if the unofficial stake-out was in fact over. Not recognizing anyone's car, she paused to think about Stroh and his chances of breaking into her place. Her new security locks on the balcony and her front door eased her mind and she began to undress.

Within minutes, the bathroom door was locked, her tub filling with bath-salted hot water and Sharon was pinning her hair up for a well-deserved relaxing soak.

She lit three candles near the faucet, slid under the soft water and took a sip of her chilled white wine. The combined effects were just what she needed. Peace and privacy and time to think - or not think. It worked for a few minutes but as usual, Sharon's brilliant brain returned to the elephant in the room.

Provenza had intimated Andy's actions were not entirely his partner's fault. Perhaps Andy's feelings were not "one-sided" as the wise elderly detective had mentioned. Sharon held her breath. Sure, she had feelings for Andy but outside of her odd dream that one time, she didn't believe she gave Andy any signals beyond platonic friendship. Right? Maybe? Maybe she had said something or done something to give Andy the idea they could be more than just friends?

Her mind revisited Rusty's smart little commentary the night of the Nutcracker ballet. Andy and Sharon weren't dating because dating would imply romantic interests. She certainly hadn't …even thought about that. She was going out with Andy as friends. Andy had certainly never done anything that could be misconstrued. At least not in front of her. The whole confusion between Andy and his daughter Nicole about Sharon being his girlfriend was all of Andy's doing.

Sharon closed her eyes and let her mind relax. Was she an idiot? Was she pretending to be blind? Had her horrendous ex-husband completely walled her off from the world of male attention?

Why did she kiss Andy on the cheek? It was meant to be friendly. She had hugged Julio in the past when the detective returned to work after being shot and hospitalized for weeks. It wasn't flirting with Andy so it was entirely reasonable to kiss him on the cheek. Like she would have for Lt. Tao or …no, wait a minute. She realized she wouldn't have kissed Tao on the cheek. Nor Provenza not even now that they were much friendlier and closer with one another.

"Oh shit!" Sharon said out loud. She lifted her wine glass and took a large gulp.

Andy woke up around 2 pm and felt relaxed and refreshed. He had slept nineteen hours! Andy immediately checked his cellphone and saw not one message or voicemail. That's weird, he thought. And then he remembered what he had done and it all came flooding back. The dread of facing Sharon and the rest of the Major Crime team after he kissed her was overwhelming. He immediately dialed Provenza.

"You're awake?" Provenza said as soon as he answered.

"I am," Andy tried to sound relaxed.

"Don't!" Provenza stopped Andy from asking.

"What? I was just going to …"

"I know what you were going to say, so shut up and let me talk," Provenza said in his usual curmudgeonly way. "The Captain doesn't look nearly as pissed as yesterday, so that's a good sign…"

"Oh shit!" Andy said aloud.

"…and I proposed a solution that might let you keep your job and your retirement pay," Provenza added firmly.

"What did you do, Louie?" Andy sounded even more worried.

"Don't panic, man! I just suggested you would apologize to the team and clear the air."

"What does that mean 'clear the air'?" Andy said nervously.

"That you would explain how you had insomnia or something and were so tired you were loopy," Provenza added. "Remember that time when I almost kissed you? When I was so tired and thought you were Evelyn?"

"What?"

"I may have mentioned that to the captain to explain how sleep deprivation makes people do weird things," Provenza murmured.

"You told her that?"

"Well, it's the same thing, right?" Provena pushed back.

"Yeah, I suppose it was." Andy said slowly. "Did she …understand?"

"I think it worked because she ..." Provenza hesitated. "So all you have to do is just publicly apologize to her and to the team and explain how it won't ever happen again, right?" Provenza ended on an aggressive note.

"Yeah, yeah. I can do that. That's great. Is Sharon okay with that?"

"Yes but there's more."

"Like what?" Andy asked fearfully.

"That you tell the team there's nothing going on between you and the Captain."

Andy fell silent.

"You still there, Andy?"

"Yeah."

"Well there isn't anything going on between you two, right?"

"I know."

"So we're good, right?" Provenza urged.

"Yeah." Andy sounded deflated. "Should I come in now?"

"That's a good idea," Provenza agreed. "Lets get this over before it becomes office gossip."

"Alright, see you in a little bit and Louie, thanks man. You saved my ass," Andy added.

"I always do, Andy. Now hurry up."

Sharon turned from the murder board to find out why no one was responding to her question. Seeing nothing but wide eyes staring back, only Julio signaled to her silently to turn around.

Sharon turned and saw a penitent but refreshed Lieutenant Andy Flynn waiting to be acknowledged.

"Lieutenant," Sharon managed to utter without showing her surprise. "Are you fully rested? Feeling better?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well then, take a seat. We were discussing Phillip St…"

"Captain, if I may…" Andy interrupted. "I need to say something to you and to the team."

Sharon paused and glanced back at Provenza who was nodding his approval.

"Go ahead, Lieutenant," Sharon replied.

"First off, I must apologize for my inappropriate behavior yesterday," Andy looked so uncomfortable that Sharon almost stopped him. "I …I know what I did was wrong on so many levels and I hope you can forgive me for taking advantage of the situation…when you … pinned, recognized my 30 years on the force."

Sharon could feel a lump rise in her throat. Seeing Andy struggle to explain himself to her felt wrong somehow even though it had to happen. She nodded her head and swallowed hard. "Apology accepted, Lieutenant."

Andy gave her a grateful smile. She could see his lower lip quivered slightly at that pause. He cleared his throat and turned slightly away from Sharon and faced the rest of the team.

"Secondly, I apologize to you all for my behavior yesterday and for making anyone feel uncomfortable, besides Shar…the Captain, here."

Sykes and Sanchez smiled back at Andy. Tao nodded to signal his understanding. Provenza smiled discreetly. Andy could feel his face burn.

"I think you should know that I had - have been dealing with insomnia recently and hadn't slept in days and didn't realize how that would affect my behavior." The room remained silent. "But for the record, I did get about 19 hours of sleep since yesterday."

"Good for you, Lieutenant," Sykes said softly.

"Maybe you should see a sleep specialist?" Tao ventured. "Just in case you know?"

"Thank you, Mike. I think that's a great idea," Andy replied sounding relieved. "Uhm, but there's one more thing I need to mention."

Sharon looked down at the floor and waited.

"I uh, I know my actions yesterday might have given you the wrong idea about the Captain and me." Andy cleared his throat and placed his hands in his pants pockets. "Its my understanding that most of you know I have a crush on our boss."

Sharon's head jerked and she looked at Andy in surprise. Julio was smiling and covering his mouth to try to hide it. "Finally!" Julio murmured a loud.

"She's …just not that into me," Andy said with a little chuckle. "So what I mean is my actions yesterday were entirely one-sided and our Captain here didn't deserve to be treated that way. I hope you all forgive my momentary lapse of judgment and maintain the same high level of respect for our Captain as before I made an ass of myself."

Provenza paused before clapping his hands and the rest of the team took the cue to join in. Buzz was smiling at Andy and gave him a thumbs up.

"Thank you, Andy," Sharon was genuinely impressed and shot Provenza a look of approval. "How about we take a break and reconvene in 15 minutes to our discussion?" Good. Andy, may I see you in my office?"

"Of course, boss." Andy heaved a heavy sigh and followed her.

Sharon closed the door after Andy entered and she remained standing behind her desk. Andy held his breath and waited for a response.

"Thank you, Andy."

"No need to thank me, Sharon. I had to clear the air. Thank you for letting me off the hook."

"Actually, it was Lt. Provenza's idea."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to agree to it."

"That's true. You're a fine detective, Andy and I didn't want to lose you. I still have to report the …kiss thing to HR though. I hope you understand why. I'll write up a report for you to sign and make an appointment to discuss it Captain Granger. But I'll also include your sleep deprivation and your apologies to the team and me."

Andy smiled. He knew it was the best he could hope for. Not filing a report would leave them both open to suspicion.

"Is Taylor going to make your life hell over this?" Andy asked.

"Why would he stop now?" Sharon said flippantly. "I can handle him. Don't worry about it." Andy nodded.

"Do you forgive me?" Andy asked shyly.

"I …yes."

"Thank you, Sharon," Andy lingered for a moment before moving to the door. "We're okay then?"

"We're okay," she reassured him. "Just don't ever do that again, got it?"

Andy frowned and nodded and opened the door to leave. "I get it."

Once the door closed, Sharon sat down and let out a huge sigh of relief. Somehow Andy's departure just now should have made her feel better but it didn't.

Did this sound plausible? I want to keep the tension going between these two but I also want it to stay in character. Let me know your thoughts. Love your ideas on how it should go for another chapter. Reviews are wonderful!