DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

A/N: Thanks to all of you for your wonderful reviews of this story and sticking with it in between my long updates. Here is the last chapter of this story. Tomorrow I'm headed on vacation so there won't be a new story for a while. Perhaps towards the end of April beginning of May, the next story should be appearing! Take care everyone and thank you again!

Chapter 17

Sharon was told to sit in the car while Andy ran into the restaurant they liked by the beach. She looked out the car window and watched the birds flying by with the occasional jogger running down the path. It was hardly busy for a Monday, even though the weather today felt more like a late summer than late fall. She saw Andy step out of the restaurant carrying a plastic bag and smiled.

Andy walked to the back of the car and opened the lift gate, placing the plastic bag inside a picnic basket that was back there. After he was done re-arranging some items, he closed the lift gate and got in the driver's side once again. Starting the car, he gave Sharon a smirk and she started to laugh. "What's so funny?" he asked her before they pulled out onto the street.

"Nothing," she smiled and grasped his hand in hers as he drove them to a spot closer to the beach. He parked the car and got out, walking around to open Sharon's door. She took his hand as she stepped out of the car and he pulled her into his embrace, gently kissing her lips. They broke apart and smiled at each other. "I kind of like this," Sharon whispered to him.

"You kind of like what?" he asked her as they both walked to the back of the car. "This, you and me, all of it," Sharon said as she motioned with her hand at their surroundings. "Well, I'm glad, because we are going to have a picnic here," Andy said as he opened the lift gate and grabbed the picnic basket and blanket that was in the back.

"When did you grab that?" Sharon asked in wonder. "While you were still talking to Emily before we took Matthew to school," he shrugged his shoulders. They started to walk towards the beach, Andy carrying the picnic basket while Sharon carried the blanket for them. They found a nice spot on the beach. Sharon spread the blanket and Andy helped her. He placed the basket down on the blanket and knelt down beside it, taking the food out.

Andy pulled out a bottle container and Sharon gave him a look as she sat down. "You brought a bottle of wine?" she asked him and he shook his head. "Sparkling grape juice," he answered as he showed her the chilled bottle. "Oh, what are we celebrating?" she asked him, smiling at his subtleness. "You and me, and us getting back to normalness," he told her as he poured the sparkling juice in two plastic cups.

They clanked their plastic cups together and took a sip of the sparkling juice. Andy placed his cup down and handed Sharon a container of food. "Your lunch, my dear," he smiled and she pulled her bottom lip in as she took the container of food from him. "Thank you," she whispered as she watched Andy settle next to her with his food container.

She opened it and saw that he had gotten her one of her favorites from the restaurant. They sat there, eating their lunch, enjoying each other's company.

After they were done eating, Sharon moved to sit in front of Andy and leaned her back into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and they watched the ocean waves crashing into the beach. "This is very relaxing," she told him. "I'm glad you are enjoying this," he whispered into her ear which sent a shiver down her spine.

Andy stood up a half hour later and helped Sharon stand up as well. "What are you doing?" she asked him as she watched him pull out his phone, searching for something on it, and placed it on the blanket. A song started to play from his phone and she shook her head at him. Suddenly she was overwhelmed with emotion as he grabbed her hands and pulled her in for a dance.

The song was Unforgettable by Nat King Cole and the last time she heard it played, they were dancing together in the beach house up in Monterrey, before Stroh showed up. Just like Andy did that night, he started singing along with the song, whispering the words into Sharon's ear. She sniffled and Andy wiped a tear from her eye. "Sharon?" he asked wondering if she was ok.

"I'm okay," she assured him, as she smiled at him. "I love you so, so much," she told him, her voice cracking from emotion. "Ah, babe, I love you too," he kissed her and they stopped dancing once the song was over. He pulled her in and she rested her head against his chest. The wind was starting to pick up a little bit, which brought a cooler ocean breeze where they were standing.

Sharon started to tremble a little in his arms as he held her tighter to him. "You cold?" he asked and she nodded yes. He gave her his jacket and she put it around herself. "We can head back home if you want," he told her as they stood there together. "I'd like that," she smiled which spoke volumes to Andy as he looked at her.

He quickly gathered their items and threw them all into the picnic basket. He fumbled with the blanket and threw that haphazardly into the basket as well. Sharon giggled at the sight before her and they walked back towards the car. Andy placed everything in the back section and he held the door for Sharon while she got inside the car.

Just as Andy got himself situated behind the steering wheel, Sharon's cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and saw it was the doctor's office calling her back. She took a deep breath and Andy now had a worried look on his face. "It's the doctor's office," she said and then answered her phone. "Hello?" she said and listened to the nurse on the other end of the phone. Andy sat there and listened to what Sharon was saying to the nurse. After a minute or two, she hung up her phone.

"My blood work is normal," Sharon said and Andy let out the breath he was holding. "Oh babe, that's wonderful news," he smiled at her and lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles. She laughed, it had been such an emotional day for her, and she felt both relief and happiness. "Do you still want to go home?" he asked her as he started the car.

She thought about all the other places they could go, but home seemed ideal for what she had in mind. She nodded to him. "Yes," she simply said and he graciously obliged her, pulling out of the parking space and headed towards their house. It was still early enough in the afternoon that traffic wouldn't be too bad.

Sharon turned in her seat so that she would have better access to Andy's right arm as he drove them. She started to unbutton the cuff of his long sleeve shirt and as they pulled up to a stop sign, he gave her a questioning look. "Easy access to your arm," she stated to him as he continued to drive. Sharon ran her fingers up his bare skin on his arm.

After about five minutes of her fingers running up and down his arm, Andy blew out air from his mouth. "Sharon, sweetie, if you don't stop that, I'm going to have to pull the car over and I won't be held responsible for what happens after that," he gruffed and she stopped teasing his wrist. She smiled and intertwined her fingers with his right hand.

Sharon looked out the window and saw very little traffic on the 405 heading north as they got on the freeway. They made it home in record time. Andy received some questionable looks from Sharon on the ride back because he was going a little over the speed limit at some points, but he didn't care. The doctor had cleared Sharon to resume light duty at work, normal activities at home, and her blood work came back normal. He was excited and he was sure she was as well as they pulled into the driveway.

Neither one of them saw that Sharon's car was in the garage as they pulled in. They had other things on their mind. Emily had taken Sharon's car to her rehearsal this morning. Andy turned the car off and got out, rushing over to the passenger side door, opening it and taking Sharon's hand in his. He pulled her in and they kissed, passionately. He held her up against the side of the car and she let out a slight grunt.

Andy opened his eyes when he heard Sharon. "Are you okay?" he asked, pulling away from her to look at her face. "Yes," she whispered as she caressed his cheek with her right hand. "Sorry," he muttered as he continued to kiss her lips, moving down to the side of her neck. Sharon closed her eyes as his lips traced over her neck.

"Andy," she called his name. "Yes?" he whispered as he caressed her sides with his hands, still kissing her neck. "Let's go inside our house," she told him as he moved his head to look at her. "Okay," he whispered and then led her towards the back door of the house. He fumbled with his keys and she let out a small chuckle.

He seemed nervous like it was their first date as he reached for the door to unlock it. As he did that, Sharon took over and pushed him inside the door, closing it behind them and running her hands up his chest. Andy started taking of his jacket that she was still wearing from the beach as they made their way into the kitchen.

They got half way to the island in the kitchen when they heard Emily clearing her throat. "Mom!" she startled them and they quickly broke away from their kiss and embrace. "Emily! What are you doing back so soon?" Sharon asked her as she still held on to Andy's hand. Andy bowed his head and closed his eyes, trying not to laugh after Emily caught them making out.

"I'm all done with the try-out and I came back here to grab some lunch," she said as she looked at her mother and step-father. "I'll be right back," Andy said to them and quickly walked down the hallway. Sharon watched him leave her with Emily and when she turned back to her daughter, Emily saw that her mom had been embarrassed that she had been caught.

Sharon ran her fingers through her hair as she looked at her daughter. "So is this what you do when you play hooky from work?" Emily leaned forward across the island to tease her mom. Sharon bowed her head and shook it. "Mom, relax, it's not like I'm 10 catching you guys making out," she teased her again and Sharon let out a sigh as she looked up at her.

Sharon moved around the island to get herself a glass of water. "I take it your doctor's appointment went well and you got cleared for work, and other activities," Emily asked, smiling. "Yes, the doctor did clear me for light duty at work, and other normal activities at home," Sharon gave her a small smile as she took a sip of water.

Emily looked down the hallway for any sign of Andy returning. "How were your auditions sweetie?" Sharon quickly changed the subject. "Oh, they were fine. You know how drawn out they can be, dancing and such," Emily paused as she looked at her mom. "They hired me and I accepted," Emily smiled and Sharon squealed. "Oh! Sweetie, that's fantastic!" she said, hugging her. "My baby's moving back," Sharon whispered into Emily's hair.

Meanwhile, Andy was in the first floor bathroom, splashing cold water on his face and his hands, when he heard Sharon let out a squeal. He turned the water off and wiped his face with a towel before walking back towards the kitchen. He saw Sharon and Emily hugging.

"I take it this is good news?" Andy said interrupting the mother-daughter moment. Sharon looked over at him and nodded her head. Emily looked up at him as she broke away from her mom's embrace. "I've been hired to dance here in LA, and I accepted!" Emily told Andy and he was very happy for her. "That's wonderful news Emily!" Andy told her. "Thanks," she smiled at both of them as they stood in the kitchen.

Andy glanced at Sharon as Emily walked out of the kitchen and into the family room. He saw her take a deep breath and walked over to where she was standing. He held out his arms and she wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him.

"See, now all the kids will be in California," he muttered to her as he held her. She sighed in contentment. "Sorry we were interrupted earlier," she told him as she moved her head to look at his eyes. "Sharon, really, it's not a problem," he told her as he rubbed her back. "Besides, we can celebrate tonight, when all the kids are in bed," he kissed the top of her head again and she relaxed in his arms.

Later on that afternoon, Matthew was picked up at his school by Andy. "So, how was school today?" he asked him as they walked towards the car. "Fine," Matthew muttered as he opened the back door of the car and climbed in. Andy sighed as he watched Matthew close the door. He shook his head as he walked around to the driver's side and got in. "Are you taking me to see Doctor Joe?" Matthew asked him.

"Yes, I am taking you today," Andy told him as he started the car. "How come you're not at work now?" Matthew inquired as they started to pull out of the school parking lot. "Well, I went with mom to her doctor's appointment this morning, and then we took the rest of the day off," Andy simply said to him. "Oh," Matthew muttered as he looked out the window.

"How is Mommy doing?" he asked a few seconds later. "She's doing much better and the doctor is allowing her to return to work tomorrow," Andy told him as he stopped at a red light. "But, don't worry because she can only stay in the office for right now, and I'm going to make sure she follows that to the rule," Andy winked in the rear view mirror as Matthew looked over at him. He gave him a small smile and then continued to look out his passenger window.

Andy pulled into the parking garage at Doctor Joe's office and parked the car. He met Matthew at the other side of the car and they both walked into the building together. Andy could tell that Matthew's demeanor had changed since he picked him up from school. He seemed a lot happier and acting like a kid again as he ran ahead of Andy and opened the door to Doctor Joe's waiting area.

As Andy stepped into the waiting room, he saw Matthew at the receptionist's desk signing himself in. He smiled as Matthew turned around to look at him, waiting to be yelled at for running ahead, but when Andy sat down on one of the chairs, Matthew smiled back and sat down next to him.

"You seem to be in a better mood since I picked you up from school," Andy pointed out to Matthew and he just shrugged his shoulders. Before he could say anything else, the door opened and Doctor Joe was standing in the doorway. "Matthew, come on in," he greeted him and then glanced at Andy. "Lieutenant, it's good to see you," Doctor Joe shook Andy's hand as Andy walked over with Matthew.

Matthew walked inside the office while Doctor Joe and Andy spoke. "How's Sharon?" he asked him. "Um, she's doing a lot better, in fact, the doctor cleared her for light duty now," Andy said as he scratched his head with his finger. "That's good news to hear. Tell her I wish her my best, and we should be done in an hour, if you want to come back," Doctor Joe informed Andy and he nodded, giving a quick glance inside the office. He saw Matthew playing with some toy and Andy smiled as he left Doctor Joe's office.

He pulled out his phone and called Sharon as he walked down the hallway. "Hello?" she answered her phone. "Hey, Matthew's with Doctor Joe, he said to come back in an hour," he told her as he stood by a window in the hallway, overlooking the city. "Yeah, that's how long they usually are," she told him. "Do you normally wait for him in the waiting area when you took him?" he asked her. "Well, I wasn't allowed to do anything else so yeah, Emily and I waited for him there," he could tell she was smiling as he listened to her.

"Are you relaxing?" he asked her as he thought about how to spend the next hour. "I am, I'm sitting on the couch right now and Emily is on her computer looking up moving companies," she said as she glanced over at Emily and smiled. "The ballet company is paying to move her here, she just needs to figure out when and what company to use," Sharon added.

Andy scratched his head. "Where is she going to put all of her stuff from New York?" he wondered. "In storage first. I may have told her she could stay with us until she finds a permanent place here," she hesitated the last part which made Andy chuckle a bit. "That's fine Sharon. I don't have a problem with that. It's why we got the bigger house, right?" he told her. He was happy that Emily was moving back home to LA. "Yes," Sharon smiled into the phone.

Andy glanced at his watch. "Um, well if we want to make dinner, I better get to the grocery store and I'll come back and get Matthew, and then we will be home," Andy told her. "Okay, I love you," she smiled. Even though he couldn't see it, he returned her smile. "I love you too. See you in a bit," Andy said and hung up his phone.

He walked over to the elevator and pressed the button to call it. He figured he would cook something on the grill tonight, he just needed to figure out what exactly as he made his way out of the elevator and down to the parking garage. He got in his car and drove to the grocery store that was nearby.

An hour or so later, Andy and Matthew arrived home carrying in a few bags of groceries. "Just put them on the counter, buddy," Andy told Matthew as he placed them up on the island. Matthew did and then went searching for Sharon. He found her in the family room with Emily still.

"Hi Mommy!" he said as he sat down next to Sharon on the couch. "Well hello there, how was school and how was Doctor Joe?" Sharon asked as she scooted over to make room. "Good," Matthew wrapped his arm around Sharon's waist and gave her a side hug. She smiled at him as she put her arm around his back.

A few minutes later, Andy walked in to see what they were doing and leaned over the couch next to Sharon. "Hey so I thought we could fire up the grill since we have a lot to celebrate today," Andy told her and gave her a peck on her cheek. "Sounds good," Sharon smiled.

Andy prepped the grill outside on the patio and Sharon brought the food that they were going to grill out to him. "Matthew seems better today," she told him as she watched him take the food from her. "I noticed a change in him when I told him you were doing better and were cleared for work," Andy said as he placed the food on the grill top.

"I think Doctor Joe has really helped him," she smiled as she walked back into the house to grab some more things they would need. Andy watched her walk away into the house. Matthew ran out of the back door and Moxie was chasing him. He ran all over the yard and Moxie followed him until he stopped and laid down. "Moxie! Moxie" Matthew called but the dog was tired. Matthew gave up on getting the dog's attention and walked over to where Andy was by the grill.

"Everything good, Matthew?" Sharon asked as she came back out, followed by Emily. "Yes," he answered her and watched Andy tend to the grill. Sharon and Emily sat down on the bench in the yard and Matthew later joined them. Andy watched his family from the grill and a smile started to form on his face.

Later that night, after everything was put away from their celebratory dinner, Matthew went upstairs and Andy tucked him in bed. "I'm glad Mommy is feeling better," Matthew yawned as he climbed underneath the covers. "Me too kid, me too," Andy smiled and ruffled Matthew's hair. "Good night buddy," Andy said as he turned off the overhead light, leaving the lamp on the nightstand on. "Night," Matthew replied as Moxie settled down next to him.

Andy walked across the hallway to his and Sharon's room and noticed the bathroom door was closed. He went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a new white t-shirt. As he was making his way to the foot of the bed, Sharon came out of the bathroom wearing her new, green negligee and matching silk robe.

Andy dropped the clothes that he was holding as he watched Sharon step out of the bathroom. He took a deep breath as she came closer to him. "Wow!" he whispered as he reached for her and rested his hand on her cheek. "You like?" Sharon bit her lip, loving the reaction she was getting from Andy. "Oh yes, very much so," he mumbled to her as he bent his head and kissed her lips.

They maneuvered themselves onto the bed, Andy forgetting about the clothes he was going to change into and concentrating on feeling Sharon underneath him. "You're absolutely beautiful," he whispered as his lips kissed their way up her neck to behind her ear. She worked diligently on removing Andy's clothes until he was down to only his boxers.

They continued kissing and caressing each other throughout the night. Andy landed on his back and Sharon was on his side. Both of them, trying to catch their breaths afterwards. "I'm glad you're feeling better and that the doctor cleared you," he told her as he ran his fingers up and down her spine. "Me too, I missed being with you," she shifted her head and rested it on his chest.

Andy reached down and pulled the covers up over both of their bodies. He stared up at the ceiling, as he held Sharon, finally feeling that he was now able to relax. He closed his eyes and shortly later, both of them were sleeping.

The End