Together they walked to the little diner a few blocks down the road where Spence and he spent most of their break hours. Whereas the food could best be described as plain, Andy had rather fond memories of their coffee. It had kept him from collapsing after a long work night more than once. They chose a booth in a somewhat secluded corner and ordered two cups of coffee. Sharon eyed him curiously and he could tell, she was trying hard to read him. "Sooooo", he breathed out,"what`s the verdict?" She gave him a somewhat bashful smile and stared down at her coffee mug:"You were certainly right about the coffee, it is rather good!" " That´s not what I meant and you know it! What´s your verdict on the infamous Andy Flynn?" Now he was grinning like a Cheshire cat. She lifted her gaze and looked him directly in the eye, her voice suddenly sounding a little tense: " I think that your FID file doesn`t do you justice at all and that I really shouldn`t be sitting here with you!" "And yet, here you are!" "Yes, here I am", she sighed, absentmindedly caressing her round belly. "How far along are you?" he asked gently. "5 months and I have 2 year old at home." Her face darkened and Andy thought that she looked like she was about to cry. "I should really go", she had already started gathering her things when Andy spoke again:"Was that your husband on the phone earlier?" She froze and looked at him in surprise. "How much did you hear?" "Enough I guess…" Sharon slid all the way back into the booth. She clasped the half empty coffee mug in her hands and stared into the black fluid. Andy could almost hear her pondering and hated himself for bringing up the topic. And if he was completely honest with himself his intentions were purely selfish for his actual intent was to discredit Jack. He made a decision once, a promise he would never consciously do something to hurt Sharon, a promise he had just broken. His head dropped to his chest and he too grabbed his coffee for support. "Listen, I didn`t mean to… I uhm just…." "Do you think people can pretend to be someone they´re not?" It was almost a whisper, barely audible for him, more like a thought that had accidently escaped. He just looked at her inquisitively, baffled for a moment. "I mean, is it possible for someone to pretend to be someone else, to even fool the people close to him only to turn around eventually and become a completely different person? Or were the people around him just too ignorant or naïve or stupid or…." At that point she was so upset that she didn`t even notice the tears streaming down her face. Andy let go of his mug quickly and reached for Sharon´s hands instead. "Listen to me Sharon, don`t, ok? Don`t do that! It´s not your fault that Jack is neglecting you and the kids, you´re not responsible for his drinking and gambling, you´ve tried long enough to be patient and understanding! It´s his decision and his alone, do you understand?" She stared at him in disbelief, slowly pulling her hands away from his grasp. "I´ve never talked about this to anyone, how can you possibly know about Jack and our life?" She sounded hurt now, angry even. When he tried to reach out for her again she backed away instantly. "What kind of game are you playing here?" "This is not a game Sharon, I just know the type, ok?" "Oh really? And how´s that? Some Psych seminar at night school? I`m leaving !" Now she was downright furious. Before she could storm away Andy grabbed her wrist to hold her back:" I know it because I AM the type" he said his tone resigning, letting go of her. She stopped moving but still stood with her back facing she didn't speak, he continued: "Have you ever wished you could live your life all over again? To go back to the moment it all went wrong and try to make it right?" At that she turned around, her face almost completely expressionless. She gestured Andy to scoot over and sat down next to him. She turned her head away and looked out the window with pursed lips. "About a million times", she finally said regretfully. "But then I look at my little girl and how adorable and perfect she is and I wouldn`t want it any other way. I wouldn`t want to do it all over again,I could never be sure of the same outcome even or especially with a different partner. Who can say what other man I would have attracted…could have been better but could have been a lot worse too." "But what if you were the one who screwed things up good and hurt everybody you loved in the process? Wouldn`t you have an obligation to try and make it better if given the chance?" "Oh Andy, people hurt each other all the time, sometimes willingly but probably mostly unintentionally. For every corrected mistake you will make a different one instead. Trial and error, that`s how life works. Realizing your wrongdoings is the first step, admitting them in front of others and regretting them is the second and the final step is to learn from them and avoid them in the future. I think you should try to be true to yourself and others, it`s pretense I can`t understand. Who we are as human beings is ultimately the sum of all the conscious decisions we´ve made in our lives even if they turned out to be wrong. I even dare say that we grow more from those! The only question is, if we manage to turn them into something positive. Tell me,"she turned around and fully faced him now, "are you happy with who you are right now?"