Thank you all SO MUCH for the wonderful reviews, favorites, and follows. It truly warms my heart and encourages me to continue. Here is the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it just as much, if not more, than the first chapter. For the characters that have yet to be named on the show, I borrowed popular names from other fics.

For those of you that had special requests, if I did not meet them in this chapter, they should be in the next one.

As always, I do not own these characters. Any mistakes are my own.

Chapter 2

Andy received a text from Sharon inquiring into his whereabouts. When she escorted Jack to the door, she saw that he had blocked Andy in, and Andy had not taken her car either. She figured he must've gone for a walk. Andy let her know Provenza had picked him up and they would be there shortly. When Provenza pulled up to the house, Andy saw Rusty letting Buzz and Julio in. Of course the guests were already arriving. He had hoped that he would have a little more time to at least speak to Sharon. "Thanks for the lift. I'm gonna rush in to shave and change real quick. I will join you guys shortly. Please go ahead and go in." Andy grabbed the bags of ice that were in the trunk and headed to the door. Rusty was still there holding it open. He passed the bags off to Rusty. "If you don't mind getting the old man and Patrice settled and put these away, I'm gonna go change."

Rusty gave Andy a once over. He was still wearing his "housework" clothes. Sharon probably wouldn't appreciate that. "No problem," Rusty smirked. "I got this supervision thing under control."

Andy looked heavenward mentally asking for patience. "Still a funny guy," he grumbled as he made a beeline for the bedroom.

Rusty greeted the older couple and got their jackets hung on the coat rack. He then led them further into the house towards the kitchen, placing the bags of ice, that he could now see were partially melted, into the freezer. This is going to be fun to break apart later.

Sharon was chatting with Julio and Buzz, but when they walked into the dining area, she greeted her Lieutenant with a nod and Patrice with a hug. "I'm so glad you two could make it." She glanced behind them not seeing the one person she was looking for. "Where's Andy?"

Provenza rolled his eyes,."It's good to see you, too, Captain," he said just a tad sarcastically. "He went to make himself pretty. Don't worry he's fine and still irritating as ever."

Patrice playfully admonished her husband, but Sharon just smirked at him. "If you all will excuse me for a moment," she addressed all of the guests and her kids. No one-not even Julio and Buzz considering they had no knowledge of earlier events- was surprised to see her anxious to check on Andy. She had been more watchful over him the past few months, and for good reason. "Please grab some refreshments and make yourselves comfortable. I'm sorry. I will be right back."

Provenza was already headed toward the table. He was looking forward to satisfying his sweet tooth since Patrice had brought it upon herself to change up his perfectly fine diet. "We're fine, Captain. Go check on Pretty Boy." He waved one hand dismissively while his other picked up the largest cooking he could find. Patrice was already warning him to not go overboard.

Sharon smiled and shook her head at the pair, but quickly made her exit. Despite reassurance from both Provenza and Andy himself, she needed to see with her own eyes that he was okay. When she walked into their room, she encountered Andy walking out of the closet putting on a clean shirt. He certainly didn't look any worse for wear, but she also wanted to know how he was doing emotionally.

Andy paused mid-dress with his arm hanging awkwardly in the air through the sleeve of his shirt. He immediately began apologizing, "Sharon, I'm sorry I left. I shouldn't have left you to deal with Jack alone, and I know I didn't finish all the prep..."

Sharon shook her head halting his and reached up to finish helping Andy with his shirt. She began buttoning his shirt for him. "How are you feeling?"

Andy was taken aback. He was sure she would be at least a little upset with him for leaving. "I'm fine really. Sharon, I'm sorry for leaving, I just needed to take a moment. I was caught off-guard by his arrival."

"Andy, I understand. I was surprised myself by his appearance. I just wanted to make sure he didn't get you overly worked up." She buttoned the last button and ran her hand down the shirt. When she looked up at him, she noticed a small dab of shaving cream on his upper lip. She wiped it off and leaned up to kiss the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, he tried his best." He chuckled mirthlessly. "But really, I'm fine. I was more worried about you being displeased that I didn't have everything ready. I didn't get all the food laid out."

Sharon shook her head and smiled, "Andy, everything looks great. You did everything I asked. I had Rusty put out the rest of the food since he bailed on his "supervising" duties. Now come on. Let's go join the party. We will discuss Jack's not so pleasant visit later."

"Anything you say, my dear," Andy leaned down to place a kiss on Sharon's upturned lips. He draped an arm across her shoulders and led her out of their room, "Come on. Let's go indulge your sense of occasion." She smiled brightly and leaned a little further into him.

As they joined the others in the living room and dining room, Sharon noticed that Tao and his wife had also arrived and were talking with Emily and Patrice. Sharon was happy that Cathy was able to join Mike tonight since she had not been able to join him for many of the team's get-togethers. Sharon released her hold on Andy as he joined Provenza, Rusty and Gus, and walked over to greet them. She hugged them both and when Mike excused him self to join Ricky and Buzz in some debate over some new technology gadget, she turned to Cathy to ask about their boys.

The doorbell rang about ten minutes later. Sharon was about to excuse herself to answer it, but Rusty signaled that he had it. She took the opportunity to check the refreshments table and make sure everyone had a drink.

"Sorry I'm late," Amy said apologetically as she entered the room.

"Amy, where is Coop?" Julio was the one to ask when it appeared she was alone, but the whole team was wondering. Before leaving work the previous day, she confirmed they were both attending.

"Uhhh," she stammered, "he had a last minute gift to get. His family does a white elephant gift exchange each year with the extended family. He remembered last minute that he still need to get one."

Provenza rolled his eyes. "Ye Gods, thank you, Captain, for sparing us from that idiotic tradition!"

Buzz immediately asked, "What's wrong with a white elephant gift exchange?" It's not that he was particularly fond of them; he just wanted to know why the lieutenant was so vehemently opposed to them.

"One year my old squad decided to do one of those at the annual holiday party. You know what I got?" He became increasingly worked up the more he spoke. "I got somebody's teeth molds! Who the hell does that? That's not a gift!" He was now shouting, which only made everyone laugh harder.

"It's supposed to be funny, sir." Julio said in his typical deadpan. "You know, a gag?"

"Well, I think it's stupid! I wanted to subpoena the entire squad's dental records so I could shove the damn things back down the moron's throat, but my commanding officer said "horrible elephant gift" was not sufficient grounds for requesting one." Provenza threw his hand up in the air in exasperation. "What the hell did he know?"

Julio practically fell out of his chair with laughter. Clearly he was still upset by this event that had to occur at least 13 years ago. "What gift did you take that year?"

"A roll of toilet paper," he stated proudly; like it was the cleverest gift ever thought up.

Andy rolled his eyes, "How original."

"What? I grabbed it from the storage closet at work. I didn't have to spend a single penny on the damn thing AND I wrapped it in a paper sack from the grocery story that I just happened to have in my car," he boasted. "So Sykes, call up Cooper and tell him I have the perfect idea for him. Flynn! Do you have a spare roll of toilet paper?"

Andy shook his head. "I'm not giving you a roll of toilet paper. This is what I like to refer to as Provenzanomics: Don't pay a single penny if at all possible, or have a plan to make "quick money," but come out the other side of said plan in debt instead." He glowered at his partner. "I really hope you put more effort into buying Patrice a gift and avoided storage closets."

Provenza made a point of looking under the tree. "Did you even buy any presents? These are all wrapped way to nicely to be any of yours," he shot back.

Andy sneered at him. "Why don't you shove another cookie in that pie hole of yours like you've been doing all night. Better yet, there's actually pie."

"I think I will," the older man stated haughtily, "but not because you suggested it."

Everyone else continued to laugh at the two men's antics. Before Provenza could get up to get a slice of pie, Patrice halted him. "Actually, I think you've had enough sugar for the rest of the month." This made everyone laugh harder. Provenza glared at them all, but turned to Patrice-knowing he had already lined his pockets with cookies and bonbons while she was distracted talking to the Captain's kids- and sweetly said, "Of course, honey."

The laughter died down and they all continued more sedate conversations amongst the small groups they had created. Sharon noticed Andy glance at his watch for sixth time in the last few minutes. She walked over to him and quietly asked, "Have you heard from Nicole?"

Andy's shoulder's deflated, "No," he said on a sigh. "I think I will go call her if you don't mind." It wasn't like Nicole to change plans without notifying them. He was getting a little worried and so was she.

She rubbed his arm, "Of course."

Andy excused himself and stepped into the hall. He selected his daughter's number from his favorites. Just when he thought he was going to get her voicemail, Nicole picked up, "Hello?"

Relief washed over, Andy. "Hey, sweetheart. I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you, but are you guys gonna make it tonight?"

"Oh, Dad, I forgot!"

"Oh." Andy's relief turned into disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Dad. We're at the hospital."

That disappointment quickly turned to panic. "Is everything okay? Are you okay? What happened?" He rapidly fired the questions at her.

"We are fine for the most part. Daniel, his friend, and friend's son stopped by the house today. The son is a couple of years older than the boys. They were outside playing together. Aiden, the friend's son, was teaching the boys how to do "stunts" on their bikes. Long story short, Jake had a crash-landing and it appears he has broken his arm. We are waiting on x-rays to see the extent of the damage before they cast it. I'm sorry I forgot to call you and tell you we won't make it. I just got distracted with all the chaos."

"Sweetheart, don't worry about the party. Taking care of Jake is more important. I was just concerned when I hadn't heard from you is all. Do you need me to pick up Ethan so he's not bored at the hospital?"

"Oh, no. Daniel dropped him off at Mom and Greg's for us. Dad, the doctor is back. We will see you all for lunch tomorrow, right?"

"Are you sure you still want to host lunch tomorrow after all this? I don't want you to have to go through all the trouble. It's a lot for you to do."

"It will be fine. We have almost everything set up already and Mom and Greg said they would come early and help. Dad I really have to go now."

"Of course, of course. If you need anymore help, don't hesitate to call. Let me know how it goes. See you tomorrow. Love you, sweetheart."

"Love you, too, Dad. Bye!" She quickly hung up.

After she hung up, Andy stood looking at his phone for a moment longer. Even though he completely understood, he was disappointed Nicole and Dean couldn't make it. He didn't get many chances to spend time with them without his ex-wife and her husband being present. He also wished Nicole felt comfortable relying on him to help out more often. He and Sharon lived closer and he wanted to be there for her just as much as Vicki and Greg.

A few moments later Sharon came around the corner to check on him. She placed a hand on his back and rubbed it gently. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes and no," Andy turned around to face her. "Jake had a bike accident and broke his arm. They're at the hospital right now waiting on x-rays to see the extent of the damage."

"Oh that's awful! Do we need to head to the hospital?"

"No," he said disappointedly. "She said they were fine when I offered to pick up Ethan. He's already at Vicki's"

Sharon nodded and continued to stroke his arm. "What about lunch tomorrow? Do we need to make other plans or go early to help her get ready?'

"No. I offered to, but she said Vick and Greg would do that." Sharon quirked an eyebrow at his petulance. Greg would never be a favorite topic of his. He looked back at her and reached up to flip her hair behind her shoulder. He then cupped her neck and leaned down to place a sweet kiss on her lips. "Let's get back to the party."

As he gave her one more kiss, Emily rounded the corner, headed for the restroom. When she saw her mother and boyfriend she stopped in front of them. "Are you two seriously sneaking away to make out? Should we round everyone up and use the front closet to play Seven Minutes in Heaven? We could really get this party going." She waggled her eyebrows.

Her daughter's attitude was far too cheeky for her liking. Sharon swatted Emily's arm with the back of her hand. "Don't be ridiculous. We were just checking on Nicole since they hadn't arrived."

"That's not what it looked like. Well if you change your mind, please let me know. I wouldn't mind having a go with Buzz in the closet," Emily quipped as she skipped around them and shut the bathroom door before her mom could scold her further.

Andy threw his head back and laughed. Sharon glared at him, "Do not encourage her." He held his hands up in surrender. Sharon's face softened when she asked, "You sure you're okay? Is something else bothering you?" She got the impression that there was something else on his mind besides Nicole and Dean's absence.

"I'm fine. I promise. We can talk more later," he mumbled.

She nodded and ran her hand down the front of his shirt. She rested it on his hip momentarily as she stretched up to kiss his cheek. "Let's rejoin the party before one of my other children causes trouble or your partner does." Andy chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist and led her back to the party.

When they walked in to the living room, they found everyone crowded around the couch and coffee table. Provenza was seated in the middle, while Rusty and Buzz flanked him. "What's going on? Did the old man faint from eating too many cookies?"

Provenza whipped his head around to glare at Andy. "No, you idiot. Rusty pulled out his laptop so Buzz could pull up The YouTube. I wanted to show everyone this hilarious 2016 Cat Complication video."

"Compilation," Buzz corrected.

"Whatever. Hurry up. We don't have all night. Now Flynn, shut up and come watch this." He waved Andy and Sharon over. "It's bound to even change your surly mood."

"My surly mood?" He asked offensively. Sharon squeezed his arm to prevent him from continuing as they joined the others by standing behind the couch. Emily joined them seconds later and stood on Andy's other side. "Oh I saw this one! It's quite funny."

Provenza shook a hand at her. "Yes. Yes. Don't ruin if for everyone!"

Buzz rolled his eyes. "As if the title wasn't a dead give away."

"Less yakking, and more typing," Provenza sniped back.

Once Buzz had the video up and playing, everyone was laughing. The video was funny, just like Provenza promised, but watching him react and point with glee was even funnier, and made them laugh harder. When the video ended, everyone practically had tears in their eyes. Amy spoke through her giggles, "You know Lieutenant, there are more cat compilations for each year."

Provenza's laughter died quickly, "Are you making a joke at my expense, Sykes?"

"No, I would never." She raised her hands in defense. "Look them up."

"Buzz, what are we waiting for? Let's watch them!" Provenza rubbed his hands in anticipation.

It's not that they didn't enjoy watching the video, or rather watching Provenza watch the video, but everyone else didn't want to spend the rest of the evening doing just that. Thankfully, Patrice stepped in. "Louie, honey, maybe Buzz wouldn't mind sending the links to your phone so you can watch them later."

Buzz sighed in relief, "I can do that. "

There was a momentary lull in conversation and activity as Rusty put his laptop away, but once again Patrice came to their rescue. "Does anyone have any special plans for New Year's Eve?"

Tao was the first to speak up. "The cast and crew from Badge are having a party that we will most likely attend. Jonny promised it would not disappoint."

Andy rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything, Sharon shot him a warning look. So he turned and mouthed it instead. Badge, Badge, Badge. Ricky caught the interaction between them and wondered what it was all about. When he raised an eyebrow in question at his mom, she just shook her head and gave him a look that said 'do not go there.'

The rest of the party passed smoothly. Andy and Provenza managed to avoid anymore quarrels. Instead they entertained everyone with stories from "back in the day." This was the first time Sharon was able to host a party at her house since taking over Major Crimes. She was very pleased with how everything turned out, despite Jack's visit almost derailing the mood for the evening. After she bid the last guest goodbye, she stepped back into the house to find Ricky and Andy putting away the extra chairs, Emily was collecting any trash, and Rusty and Gus were loading the dishwasher. As they all worked, they were laughing together.

Gus chuckled, "Lieutenant Provenza is something else. What's his fascination with cat videos?"

Andy rolled his eyes and grumbled, "He's something alright. He's really just 5-year old trapped in a 90-year old body."

Sharon chose that moment to join the conversation. "So, that makes you a 3-year old trapped in an 80-year old body?" As everyone had a laugh at his expense, Andy shot Sharon a look showing he was not amused. He lifted the last chair with a jerky movements, and took it out to the garage. Sharon joined Rusty and Gus in the kitchen to help them with the remaining dishes. "Gus, are you staying the night?"

Gus looked cautiously at Rusty, but before he could answer Rusty stepped in. "Actually, I was thinking we would stay at Gus's tonight so Ricky could have my room instead of the couch. That way you don't wake him up when you get up before the crack of dawn."

Sharon frowned. She did not like the idea of her kids not all being together on Christmas Eve. "There's no need for you to give up your room. While we were out shopping, we picked up an air mattress to set up in the office for Ricky. It's much more comfortable than the couch. Besides, we have to get up early so we can open presents before we go to lunch at Nicole's."

"Mom," Rusty wasn't sure how he felt about Gus staying with everyone here. "It's really okay. It will be better this way so we are not all fighting over the bathroom."

"Don't be ridiculous," Sharon dismissed his last excuse. "There are three bathrooms. That's plenty for all of us."

Rusty gave Gus a pleading look to come up with some excuse why they couldn't stay, but Gus just shrugged. "I don't mind staying."

Sharon clapped in glee. "Perfect! Now that we have everything cleaned, shall we watch a Christmas movie?"

Ricky yelled from the living room, "As long as it's not It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street."

Sharon stepped around the corner. "What's wrong with either of those?"

Ricky gave her a pointed look. "Nothing, but I have it on good authority that you have already watched both of them...twice."

Sharon gave Andy a fixed stare. "What?" He shrugged. "You have. And I was more than happy to watch them with you, but please don't make me watch them again." He clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture.

Sharon sighed, "Fine. What shall we watch?"

Emily made the next suggestion. "Love Actually."

All the boys shouted "No!" in unison. Emily mock pouted. "Fine. That leaves Elf, The Grinch, National Lampoon, and A Christmas Story."

Sharon immediately nixed A Christmas Story stating Andy and Rusty had already watched it three times. They all finally agreed on National Lampoon. Sharon instructed everyone to go get comfortable and to be back in the living room in no more than five minutes. When Sharon and Andy stepped back in the living room, Ricky had his air mattress set up in the middle of the floor. "Richard, really?"

"What?" He shrugged before he plopped down on the mattress. "You said get comfortable. Don't worry, I will take it back to my live in office when we're done."

Sharon relented. "Fine."

Andy steered Sharon towards his recliner in hopes that she would join him. He smiled widely when she made no move to object. Emily, Rusty, and Gus took over the couch. They all settled into the respective places and Ricky started the movie. As Sharon snuggled closer into Andy he placed a kiss right below her ear and whispered, "Happy?" She turned to give him a quick answering kiss and smiled brightly. "Very."

TBC