Thank you so much for all your lovely feedback and comments. I am so glad you guys are still with the story. Here is the next chapter :)

This gets a little dark, I didn't want to go too far into detail, but I will just forewarn people this does get sad.

Again, not my sandbox, it is nice that I am allowed to play in and I will put them back when I am done.

Enjoy!

Andy turned quickly and switched the car on before sending Sharon a sideways grin,

"So…do you trust me?"

Trust; The word floats around Sharon's head as she enters her home. The lights were dimmed, indicating that Emily had already went to bed for the night. Looking at her watch she noticed the late hour, even though it was only 11 at night it was late, at least for Emily, Sharon was used to being up this late. Setting her stuff down she thinks back to how the night progressed, and how much Andy had trusted her…even when she expected him to hate her for lying to him.

She smiled as she heard him assure her that he understood the situation she was in. Her smiled sobered as she remembered their night, and the turn it took.

"It isn't much, but its home."

Sharon smiled as she looked around his apartment. It was very…Andy. His apartment was neat but messy at the same time. It was organized but there were papers spread across his dining room table. His family was obviously the most important thing to him, as the walls were lined with school photos and outing that they attended.

"Would you like something to drink? I know this isn't the restaurant we were planning on going to…"

Sharon waved her hand, "No, water is fine thank you, and I feel like this situation is more appropriate here than in a public area."

Andy nodded and headed into his attached kitchen, placing their deli sandwiches in the counter, "Please, have a seat. I will be out in a moment."

Sharon responded then headed towards his living room, sitting on the couch instead of the recliner. Her eye caught a picture of Andy and who she presumed to be his daughter, standing together outside UCLA, a degree in her hand and a smile on her face.

"My daughter, Nicole, three years ago, she had just earned her degree in arts, wanted to open a dance studio…"

"She is beautiful," Sharon commented, not looking from the photo, "Looks a lot like you, especially your smiles, how is her dance studio doing?"

Andy hummed softly and handed her a glass of water before sitting on the other side of the couch.

"It would probably be doing great if it was able to be open."

Sharon's eyes widened and she took a quick sip of her drink.

"I am sorry, I…"

Andy smiled softly and moved his eyes towards the photo the two, "It is okay, I guess it would be best if we started our conversation."

"Andy I…"

Andy moved slightly closer to Sharon, causing her focus to go on him, not the photo.

"It's okay Sharon, I told you that, I know what situation you were put in, almost all too well. Let me start at the beginning, if that is okay with you?"

Sharon could only nod, the emotion showing on his face and in his eyes were almost a look of complete devastation and she didn't want to ruin what they have worked so hard towards, a strong friendship. Andy took a deep breath, taking a long drink of his cranberry ginger ale.

"I was so proud of her, Nicole, she was a brilliant student and an amazing person. She worked so hard to make it through college…and loved her job. She worked as a waitress at the Tiny Dancer, before it turned into the nightclub."

Andy's eyes misted over, his hands shaking slightly causing him to set his drink down. Unconsciously Sharon moved closer to him, setting a supportive had on his knee. Andy looked back up at Sharon, a small smile of thanks flashed across his lips.

"She was happy, her and her best friend Rori, Aurora, had just moved into an apartment together after Nicole graduated. Aurora was also a waitress at the restaurant, going to school for culinary arts while Nicole just graduated. They clicked instantaneously, she was like a second daughter to me, which was nice since my son took the side of my ex-wife…" Andy waved his hand, "but that's a different story for another day."

"They were inseparable, Rori and Nikki, not only did they get along they had a lot of the same interests and goals. Aurora was so excited when Nicole graduated, Vito's dad, Vincent Sr., allowed her to be able to have off with Nicole to be able to go to the graduation, I swear she was the loudest one there, and it was only the two of us. Michelle and Nate were sitting somewhere else."

Sharon laughed at this, just from the way Andy was describing both young girls she could totally see that happening. It was nice to see Andy smile as he told the stories of his daughter, obviously something terrible had happened, probably paralysis or something, but it was nice to see him smile before he got to the tragedy of the story. She enjoyed his stories immensely, he always was so expressive when he talked, like you were there. Andy took picked up his glass, emptying it in one smooth gulp. Andy looked at Sharon and then to her glass, silently asking her if she wanted a refill.

She shook her head and leaned further into the couch. Somehow within his stories they had moved even closer together, leaving a few inches of space between their lower bodies, their upper bodies farther away but fully relaxed. They sat in silence for a few second before Andy continued, reaching for the hand that was still resting on his knee.

"I knew the Tiny Dancer was into some shady stuff, just from some of the conversations that Aurora and Nicole talked about, but of course they tried to stay out of it as much as they possibly could, just do their job and not ask questions. It worked well for the most part, but six months after Nicole's graduation, things started to change. Nicole was at the studio a lot, getting it ready to be opened so she wasn't at home much, so she wasn't totally in tune with Aurora, so she didn't realize that somehow Aurora got pulled into the darker side of Vincent's business."

"Nicole called me during the night one summer night, she had just finished the final touches on her studio. She was so excited, everything was ready for opening day the following month, needing all the Okays from the 'important people' she called them. She had gotten off early and decided to pick Rori up, surprise her right after her shift and take her to the studio. When she arrived at the restaurant her replacement said that she was in the back with some of her coworkers and Vito. Apparently, when Nicole went back, Rori was strung out of coke, the other two girls and Vito had disappeared. Nicole panicked and took Aurora back to the apartment and called me."

Sharon squeezed Andy's hand, putting the pieces together of what he was saying.

"Oh Andy…"

He smiled at the compassion he saw in Sharon's eyes, as everything clicked together.

"Andy…."

In a bold move Andy lifted a finger to Sharon's lips, hushing her and pulled her into him, gathering strength from the solid form of this beautiful woman at his side. He knew he should be angry, furious even with her for lying to him for all these months and investigating him, but he understood, that was the whole reason he even joined the Tiny Dancer staff in the first place….vengeance.

"Nicole was never the same after that." Andy continued, feeling Sharon relaxing against him. Not wanting to scar her with the details.

"I completely understood, I couldn't imagine losing a best friend like Nikki did, so I tried to be there for her as much as I could, but it wasn't enough."

He felt Sharon's intake of breath and held her even closer.

"It's funny, when I was promoted to second assistant manager and I had to wear those damn ties it was the first time I had worn them since Nicole's funeral."

Sharon shifted and leaned up to look at Andy without completely removing herself from his side.

"So you joined the Tiny Dancer to…" Andy shook his head, "Andy you could use my help in…" Andy nodded again, a small smirk forming on his lips,

"Look, she does have brains inside that pretty head of hers…" Andy fully laughed then as he felt Sharon smack him across the shoulder.

"Are you ready to eat or did I completely ruin your appetite?"

Before Sharon could answer a rumble rolled through her stomach, causing a laugh between both of them. Before Andy could get up Sharon leaned over and kissed Andy on the cheek…millimeters from his lips.

"Thank you, Andy, for sharing your past with me, and not kicking me out once you found out my double life. I could tell from the beginning trust was big to you, and there were so many times I wanted to tell you everything but I couldn't and I am so sorry about that."

Andy just waved a hand dismissively, getting up off the couch and extending a hand towards Sharon,

"It's all water under the bridge Ms. O'Dwyer…now, let's get us some food."

Sharon got under the covers and smiled as she heard her phone go off.

"Sleep well Sharon, and thank you for listening to my story and being my partner in crime. Shut your brain off tonight, we have a long day off tomorrow before the nightclub. Sweet dreams "

Sharon sent a short flirty reply back, remembering how Andy reciprocated her kiss early on the cheek, getting right next to her lips instead of a few millimeters away. She was very much looking forward to her new partner in crime…she just hoped that Emily would feel the same. Before she set her phone down she received another text message from the daughter in question.

"I will be making breakfast Mom…you will be filling me in before I go to school even though it's your day off. Goodnight, I love you."

Sharon just shook her head and sent a heart as a reply…nope, she didn't have to worry about her daughter, falling asleep for the first time without a care in the world, looking forward to breakfast the following morning.