Sharon and Andy.

Sharon stood at the bar, waiting for Andy. She'd sent him home from work earlier-her office wasn't the place to discuss Abigail. It was far too heavy and personal a topic for the office and Sharon needed to have her head in the game while she was at the office, anyway- or, at least that was the excuse she was allowing herself to use. No, dinner was a far more fitting situation to listen and help Andy as his friend. She'd changed in to a pair of dark boot cut jeans after work, but left her green silk chemise on. She'd thrown a tight black cardigan over it and her hair was half up, half down with a few hair stray hairs framing her face-this certainly wasn't the perfectly groomed Captain Raydor Andy was used to. She wanted to appear softer, wanted him to know he could lean on her. She had to laugh as she sipped her glass of wine. Last time Andy, a bar, and Sharon had collided it was disastrous and she wound up with a hang over she wouldn't soon forget. Amazing how quickly things can change, she mused, butterflies rumbling around in her stomach as she waited for him. She felt horrible that she was excited to see him; surely she shouldn't find anything positive in this situation. Still, she was excited to see him.

Andy spotted her immediately from the host stand and walked towards her, admiring her shape as she stood against the bar. Even in the depth of his sadness Sharon could excite him. Good lord, he thought, he was in trouble if they kept meeting outside of work like this. Sooner than later he wouldn't be able to control himself around her. He'd have to tell her how he felt about her; he'd have to kiss her. Part of him felt bad-like he was taking advantage of being sad about his sister to score a date with his boss. Really, that wasn't it, but the guilt was there nonetheless. He was deeply sad about Abigail. He was also deeply excited by the shape of Sharon's hips in her tight jeans.

"Waiting for someone?" he asked, practically whispering in her ear as he approached her.

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face, or the chill that shot up her spine when his hot breath hit her neck. That was unexpected.

"Well hello." She grinned, grabbing her wine glass off the bar. "The table is ready for us, I was just waiting for you."

Andy offered her his arm and she took it as they walked to the table. He pulled out her chair and finally exhaled when she let go of his arm and sat-having her that close to him was challenging. "Thank you for meeting me tonight, Sharon…and thanks for letting me catch a break today."

Sharon smiled at him softly, turning her wine glass in her hand as she spoke. "It isn't a problem Andy. I'm happy to help you. I'm honored you trusted me enough to tell me about your sister."

Andy returned her compliment with a pained smile. The mere mention of Abigail brought it all back to the forefront of his mind. That's why they were at dinner, to discuss Abigail, not to shamelessly flirt with each other. He'd set this all in motion by admitting he couldn't handle the Amelia case, and now he'd have to deal with everything-her death, her murderer, mourning her. Even with Sharon's help, he wasn't sure he was ready for it.

"I appreciate your help, Sharon." It was a complete understatement of his gratitude, but he couldn't think of what else to say. He looked down at his menu and studied it nervously, suddenly feeling like a fifteen-year old boy on his first date. He knew he was attracted to Sharon, he'd known that for a while, but he didn't expect her to turn him in to a useless puppy. Women didn't do that to him, he did that to women. This was a foreign feeling for him, but he wasn't sure he hated it.

Sharon smiled at him and reached her hand out, touching his on the table. Her hand came to a rest on top of his and it was clear she had no intention of letting it go.

"Andy, I care about you. I know we've had our challenges at work, but I know you're a good cop. Besides that, I know you're a good man. I invited you to dinner tonight to help find a solution to the problem you're having with this case. I just didn't think my office was the right place to do it."

Andy nodded, but he was confused. She was holding his hand like this was a date. She was speaking to him like she was his boss. Was it sympathy, or did she have the same feelings he did?

"Alright, lets hear it boss. I hope this isn't simply a dismissal from the case."

Sharon squeezed his hand. "No, its not. I am sensitive to the fact that being a part of this case may be therapeutic for you. I am also sensitive to the fact that it could be damaging for you. I'd like to hear more before we make a decision, but I'm open to you continuing to investigate this if you think it is what you need, that you can still be an effective investigator, and that you think there's a chance we will catch this guy."

Andy was taken aback by her response. He wasn't used to Sharon being so flexible-if this were Taylor or Pope he was dealing with he'd be off the case in a minute. He rubbed the top of her hand with his thumb, enjoying the warmth of her slender fingers interlaced with his. Sharon caught her breath in her throat and blushed. She was as nervous as he was and she had finally shown it, if only subtly. Andy grinned at her, and then let her hand go so they could look through their menus and order. It still felt somewhat foreign to hold her hand-especially because he didn't understand why they kept doing it. The mixed signals had been happening all day. Sharon took a large sip of her wine, feeling suddenly like she needed a few more glasses to keep her confidence up. This was exactly how she wound up with the last hangover.

Andy looked through the menu once more, and then set it aside. Between his sister and having Sharon across from him, he wasn't much in the mood for food anyway. They ordered and Andy sipped his cranberry and soda, enjoying the feel of a drink in his hand even if it wasn't alcohol.

"Well… where do I start?" He shook his head, unsure of how to relay everything to Sharon.

Sharon looked at him expectantly, her lips pursed as she concentrated on his face. She always pursed her lips when she was concentrating. Andy thought it was cute.
After a moment, Sharon opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Should she question him about it or let him come around to discussing Abigail in his own time? Another moment passed and she sipped her wine, and then sighed.

"How old were you when Abigail passed away?" she asked gently, resting both her hands on the table as she spoke.

Andy grumbled. He didn't like the term 'passed away'. She hadn't passed away, she was murdered. "I was twenty five when she was killed. I was a rookie in the force. I spent two more years there while they tried to find her killer just to help my parents get through. After a couple years, we gave up. I moved to the west coast and started in the LAPD and never looked back." He brushed his thumb against his eyebrow and stared at the tablecloth. "That is, until Amelia."

Sharon nodded and picked at the stem of her wine glass. She felt helpless. She wanted to give him some kind of answer that would help but she knew she couldn't.

"So Abigail is a cold case still? I'm so sorry, Andy. No one should have to face that." Her tone was soft and genuine, but she chided herself for using a technical term. Abigail wasn't just a case; she was Andy's family.

"Yea. They haven't found her killer yet. We come from a pretty tight knit community so every once in a while it'll get drummed up again and the police will give it another half hearted go. In a way, I almost wish they'd stop that. Its easier to deal with her being gone when they don't call to remind me of it."

The food arrived and Sharon resituated herself at the table, smoothing a linen napkin across her lap. She wasn't very hungry anymore, but Andy had taken the liberty of ordering both of them a full three courses despite his own waning appetite and she felt compelled to oblige him.

"I can see how it would be easier if you didn't have many reminders. I'm sorry that keeps happening to you, Andy." She liked the way his name felt on her lips. She had to catch herself before she thought any further about the rest of him on her lips, too. She blushed again and picked up her fork, distracting herself with her dinner. Now was not the time or place to hit on her subordinate officer. Actually, she reminded herself, just about never would be the time and place to hit on her subordinate officer.

"Its alright, Sharon. I'm used to it. Seeing Amelia was just hard. It brought everything back, especially the day I had to identify her. I didn't want my parents to see their youngest kid like that, so I volunteered to do it. No parent should have to see their kid in a state like that." He shook his head, thinking back to his dream-to her face. Abigail would always haunt him, but he didn't realize it could be this bad again.

Sharon sighed and reached her hand back across the table, wanting to comfort him. He glanced down at her fingers extending toward him and raised an eyebrow, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. He took her hand in his again and squeezed it, allowing his legs to rest closer to hers under the table, too. Sharon felt his foot brush against her calf and the red in her cheeks deepened. She wished she didn't blush all the damn time. Andy smirked and Sharon let out a small, embarrassed laugh in recognition. They were getting close-maybe too close-and neither one of them much cared that they were breaking the rules. Not tonight, at least. Something felt right when Sharon's hand was in his and he was going to savor every moment he could.

Their courses came and went and Sharon and Andy both stuffed themselves, much more receptive to the food than either thought they would be. Andy sipped his coffee while Sharon blew on her green tea to cool it down.

"So…" she hesitated, "now comes the hard part, Andy. We have to decide what to do about work. My first concern is that I want you healthy and safe."

Andy nodded, stroking her hand with his thumb as they sat and talked. "I appreciate that, I do. I think I can stay on the case, but I'd like to take a bit more of a back seat role. Tao isn't enjoying reading all the books and doing the research right now, maybe I can do that and free him up. If we catch the killer, I want to be involved. I want to see him pay."

Sharon nodded, considering his answer. "I think that's fair. You can stay on the case in that role. Lieutenant Tao will appreciate it, no doubt. I do have to make sure you understand one thing, though, Andy."

She contemplated whether to move her hand or keep it under his. She needed to be his boss at this very moment, but holding his hand was so nice. She quickly decided against letting go of him-just getting it out of the way would be better. Andy raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to go on.

"You have to keep in mind that we are dealing with Amelia's killer, not Abigail's. I need you to promise me that you won't get this turned in to an FID case if I let you be involved. I can see how easy it would be to snap-you have a lot of emotional history with this one. If you're going to stay on, I feel like counseling is going to have to be mandatory until we close this case-and we will close this case. Can you do that?"

Andy rolled his eyes, but didn't dare let go of her hand. He hated counseling-shrinks didn't do anything for him. Still, he could see her point. If something did happen and internal affairs or force investigation was brought in, at least Sharon could say she'd taken a recommended course of action in counsel with a licensed therapist. She was covering both their asses; he knew that if he was being honest with himself.

"Alright, alright. I can do that. But don't expect me to like it, okay?"

Sharon grinned at him. "Deal. You don't have to like it; you just have to do it. I want you to go once a week while we pursue this, and we will revisit how often you need to go when we prepare to make an arrest, based on the counselor's recommendation, okay?"

"Okay. Deal." Andy slapped his credit card down on the check before Sharon could see the Bill. He was calling it-it was a date, whether she liked it or not.

Sharon smiled at him and pushed her hair out of her face. "Thanks for dinner, Andy."

"Any time, Sharon." He grinned sheepishly, putting his wallet back in his pocket.

Andy stood and walked behind Sharon's chair, pulling it out for her as she got up. Her took her coat off the back of it and held it out for her to slip in to, then offered her his arm as they left the restaurant. Andy had parked next to her car on purpose, looking forward to walking her out at the end of the evening. Sharon pressed herself against him as they sauntered out to the parking garage, neither of them wanting the evening to end.

"Well, this is us," Andy muttered reluctantly, making no move to let her go. Sharon looked up at him for a moment, then sighed and buried her head in his chest, hugging him tight. It took Andy off guard, but he liked it. After a moment, he wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back gently, holding her even tighter to him. This felt right, even when the rest of his world felt all wrong. How would he let her go, knowing she'd just be his boss tomorrow?

Finally, Sharon lifted her head to look him in the eye, a glint of sadness behind her big green irises. "I don't know what we're doing here, Andy…" There was no use in finishing the sentence. They both knew where she was going with it.

Andy pushed a stray hair out of her face and rested his palm against her cheek, his other hand still planted firmly on the small of her back. "I don't either, Sharon, but I'd sure like to find out where this is headed."

"This is going to be disastrous at work, and since I'm the superior officer, I'm headed straight for the chopping block…" Sharon groaned, her eyes still locked on his. It was as if her mouth was disconnected from the rest of her-she could hear herself opposing whatever this was, but the distance between her and Andy seemed to be getting less and less the longer they stood there despite her halfhearted attempts to stop it. She could feel his hips against hers as he held her close, his thumb tucked in one of her belt loops now.

"Work doesn't have to know right now, Sharon. Hell, we haven't even kissed yet, no crimes have been committed here." Andy tried to be annoyed with her and her undying love for the rules, but he was just too relaxed with her arms around his neck, her fingers gently tugging at the hairs at the nape of his neck as she ran her hands through it and over his shoulders. It was true they hadn't kissed yet, but if they stayed in this position much longer he wouldn't be able to resist it.

Sharon lowered her head and rested it on his chest again. She was wildly attracted to Andy, but was it really fair for her to add this extra stress to his life right now when things were already so upside down? Surely this couldn't be healthy with his current situation being so rough. She was being selfish. Ever since he'd hit on Chris at the bar she'd been determined to make him hers despite the rules at work. Did she do it just to see if she could? It hadn't been intentional, really. No, she finally decided, what she felt for Andy was genuine-but it wasn't fair, to either of them. She sighed quietly and lifted her head, thinking it was time to call it a night.

"Look, Andy… I agree that work doesn't need to know right now. I also agree that we're in a good place because we haven't ah..committed any crimes, so to speak. Why don't we keep it that way for a couple weeks while we get this stuff figured out with the case? Then-I promise-we will revisit this."

Andy couldn't even pretend to hide his disappointment. He scoffed and let her go, half offended that she was able to just put him on hold, half infuriated that her damn rules were winning out- again. "Fine, fine. Whatever you say, captain." His tone was dismissive and he stared at the ground, not wanting to look her in the eye. He was angry with her, that was obvious.

"Andy, please…" Sharon leaned against her car, already missing the feeling of his arms around her. "I know… I know that I didn't give you the answer you wanted. It's not even really the answer I want. I just don't want to start this-whatever this is, whatever its going to be-while you are so upset. I want to help you through this, not put extra strain on you. You are already dealing with so much stress right now-the last thing I want to do is make it worse. I'm NOT walking away from you, and despite what I know you're thinking, I'm not choosing the rules over you. I like you. A lot. I have for a while and I've been stupid because of it… I'm sorry."

Andy's expression softened. He was almost surprised at how well Sharon managed to express her emotions. He figured she'd be as bad at it in her personal life as she pretended to be at work. He was also a tiny bit annoyed that she managed to always know what he was thinking. Still, he knew she was right, yet again. He nodded, resting his hands on her hips, moving closer to her but still keeping distance between them.

"Alright, alright.. you're right, and I know you're looking out for both of us. I can wait a few weeks as long as you promise me you won't change your mind and walk away. I don't think I can handle another ending with no closure right now."

Sharon brushed his cheek with her hand. She was shocked at how fragile he was; such a foil to the cop she knew in the murder room-definitely a foil to the FID file she was painfully familiar with. "You have my word. I will not walk away from you, Andy Flynn…besides," a sheepish grin crept across her face and she laced her fingers through his, "you've got me all hung up on you. I couldn't walk away if I wanted to."

Andy smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. It wasn't what he wanted, but it would do for now. "Good. That's exactly where I've wanted you for a while now."

Staying any longer would be torturous, so Sharon and Andy parted ways and got in to their cars.

Rusty.

Sharon was still on cloud nine when she came in to her apartment. She set her keys and her purse on the dining room table and moved to take her cardigan off before she switched on the lights. As soon as Rusty heard the door, he rushed down the hall.

"Sharon, have you checked your phone? Did you get ahold of Christine? Where have you been?!" Rusty was in a panic-Sharon hadn't seem him in this state in months. And Christine? Why would she need to talk to Christine? She wasn't due in LA for another three days.

"Rusty, slow down. What's wrong?" Sharon took him by the hand and led him to the couch. "Why do I need to get ahold of Christine?"

Rusty tried to sit, but was far to upset. He stood back up almost immediately and began to pace. "Christine decided to fly in a few days early. She was having dinner tonight with some guy-she said she'd be here around 9. We figured we'd surprise you when you got home, but now its nearly midnight and she's not answering her texts or her phone calls and I couldn't get ahold of you and I have no idea where she is and I-" Sharon put her hands on his shoulders, then wrapped him in a hug. She swallowed hard as her heart hit her stomach.

"Rusty, you need to calm down. I am sure there is a logical answer for all of this, okay?" She tried hard to keep the panic out of her own voice as she let him go and moved to grab her phone out of her purse, hoping to God this time her hunch was wrong.