Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or M/C, but if I did, this is what would happen.

A/N: I know I said I was going to make this chapter the condo chapter, but I decided to push that chapter to Chapter 5 as I felt the need to inject the slightest bit of angst into this story and an anon reviewer gave me the idea to write about their first fight and how they make up. So, this is my take on that. This chapter takes place a couple weeks after the events of the last chapter. Prepare for a little angst and a lot of fluffy Shandy feels!

Chapter 4: No Other Place I'd Rather Be

Sharon was furious with Andy. She had waited at the café for almost forty-five minutes before she paid for her coffee and left. They had made plans at the beginning of the week to have lunch early Sunday afternoon. They had discussed the time and where they were meeting, so Sharon didn't understand why he would stand her up like this. It wasn't like him to do that and it certainly wasn't like him not to call if he had to cancel a date. She had even tried calling him two or three times while she was waiting for him. Each time, she got no answer and then his phone would go to voicemail. She had left him a message and had even sent him a couple of texts, but got no reply.

In all honesty, Sharon didn't know whether to be mad at Andy or scared about what possibly could have prevented him from making it to the café for their date. What if he'd gotten into an accident on the way there and couldn't answer his phone? What if he got carjacked by somebody and was lying in the street shot somewhere in a pool of blood? It was these frightening scenarios flashing through her mind that led Sharon to get into her car and head to his house. She would start there and if she didn't find him there, she would start with all the possible routes he could've taken to the restaurant until she either found him or he finally called her back.

About fifteen minutes later, Sharon pulled up in front of Andy's craftsman bungalow. What she saw made her even more furious. Not only was Andy's car in the driveway, but there were also a few other cars there that she recognized as well. She was so mad, she decided not to even knock and used the key that Andy had given her a couple of weeks ago and told her to keep.

When Sharon opened the door, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was Andy, Provenza, Sanchez, Tao, and Buzz sitting on the couch watching football. With the surround sound on, nobody had heard Sharon open the door, but Andy was sure as hell going to know she was here. She chose that moment to loudly slam his front door.

Having heard the loud commotion, four out of the five of them went to reach for their guns before realizing that it was Sharon and leaving their guns holstered.

Andy looked at Sharon from across the room with a confused look, before Provenza said, "Flynn, you didn't tell us that the Captain would be coming over."

"Don't worry, Lieutenant. I'm not staying," said Sharon as she turned and gave Andy a pointed look before turning around to leave.

Andy Flynn was totally confused, but one thing he was not confused about was that Sharon was definitely pissed at him about something.

So, as she turned to leave, Andy followed her outside and said, "Sharon, wait!"

About halfway down the walkway to the street, Sharon turned around and waited for him to speak.

"Listen, I'm not sure what I did to upset you, but I can tell that you're pissed at me about something. So, can you please come over here so we can talk about it?" Andy asked.

As Sharon stormed back towards Andy, she said, "Sure, let's talk. How about we talk about the fact that you left me sitting alone at the café waiting for you for almost forty-five minutes? Or the fact that you couldn't bother to answer or pick up the phone and tell me you weren't going to be able to make it to our date today? Let's talk about that."

"Shit! Oh my god, Sharon. I'm so sorry. I know we talked about it earlier in the week, but I totally forgot. Damn! Listen, I can sit here and make all kinds of excuses, but I honestly just forgot and that's totally on me. Sharon, I am so sorry that I did that to you," said Andy apologetically.

It took Sharon a second before she regained her composure and spoke.

"It's alright. We should have talked about it later in the week. This week was really busy and I should have reconfirmed our plans for today. I just…" Sharon trailed off as a few tears began streaming down her face.

She swiped at them before looking at Andy and saying, "I'm sorry. I'm being stupid right now."

Andy grabbed Sharon's hand and pulled her towards him, as he wrapped his arms around her and said, "I can assure you that the last thing you're being right now is stupid. What brought those tears on though?" Andy asked her.

Sharon pulled out of his embrace and looked up at him before she asked, "Can we sit for a minute?"

"Sure," Andy said as he led her over to the front steps where they sat down and Andy put his arm around Sharon's shoulders waiting for her to speak.

"I guess I was crying because of the frustration and the fear of this afternoon," Sharon admitted.

"Fear? What are you talking about?" Andy asked her.

"When you didn't show up, I got scared. It's not like you to not call if you have to cancel. I started calling and texting you. I left you a voicemail and a couple of text messages," Sharon began.

"Crap! Sharon, I'm so sorry that I made you worry like that. I left my phone on the dresser when the guys showed up. I didn't even think…I'm so sorry," said Andy.

"It's okay. I shouldn't automatically jump to the worst possible conclusions," said Sharon.

"We're cops, Sharon. That's just how our minds work. We see some horrible things in our line of work and it's difficult not to bring that into our lives in situations like this. If you don't mind me asking, what kinds of things were going through your mind? That way I know how much groveling I need to do," said Andy.

"I thought you might have gotten into a serious car accident on the way there and that's why you weren't answering your phone. Either that, or you had gotten carjacked and were lying in the street shot somewhere in a pool of blood," Sharon told him.

"Jesus! I am such an ass. Here I am over here watching a football game. Meanwhile, you're sitting there worried sick that I'm lying on the side of the road somewhere seriously injured or worse. I am so sorry that I scared you like that," said Andy apologetically.

"It's fine, Andy. I'm just glad that you're not on the side of the road somewhere seriously injured or worse. I'd much rather have this be the outcome than the alternative," said Sharon.

"Still. I'm never letting that phone out of my sight again. Can I say something though?" Andy asked.

"Of course," Sharon replied.

"At the risk of sounding like a bit of an ass, I think it's really sweet that you were worried about me," said Andy.

Sharon just shook her head and smiled at Andy before saying, "Well, that's what I do for the people I really lo-oh to hell with it. I was going to say love and then I sort of stopped myself and then I realized that I don't really know what I'm waiting for before I say it. So, here it goes. I love you, Andy Flynn and you could've been injured or dead on the side of the road somewhere today and I might never have gotten the opportunity to tell you that, but that's not the reason I'm telling you I love you. I'm not sure how it happened, but somewhere along the way, you stole my heart. It could've been any time over the last three and half months that we've been dating or maybe it was even before that. All I know is that I love you and I'm not sure what I would do if I ever lost you and that is simultaneously the best and scariest feeling in the world. I've been hurt in the past and opening up my heart like this again is difficult and it scares me, but somehow with you, it's easy and I'm not that scared anymore because you're you and you're the man that I am in love with and I know that you love me too because…" Sharon trailed off.

"Because why?" Andy asked as he grinned at her.

"Because I heard you catch yourself a couple weeks ago when we were in bed talking the morning after we made love and I know the only reason you did that was because you didn't want to scare me off. Well, I'm here to tell you something, Andy Flynn. I'm not going anywhere," said Sharon.

Andy just sat there for a moment continuing to grin at Sharon, before he said, "Well, I'm fairly sure that I can't top that, but here it goes. You're right. I stopped myself and I'm not sure why. Maybe you're right and it was because I was afraid of scaring you off or that it was too soon, but I'll tell you something, Sharon Raydor, I don't give a damn if I say it now. I love you, Sharon Raydor. You were a pain in my ass when I first met you. Somewhere along the way though, you grew on me and we ended up becoming great friends who went to dinners and Dodger games and even a wedding together. All before we even officially started dating three and a half months ago. I'm not sure when the exact moment was, but somehow I ended up falling in love with my best friend and let me tell you, she's pretty great. She's smart and beautiful and confident. She makes me laugh and smile every day. She cares about what happens to other people and has a heart the size of California. Most of all though, I love her because she accepts me for who I am, flaws and all. Even when I'm a jerk and forget our date and make her worry that something terrible might have happened to me. Let me tell you though, she's stuck with me, because it's gonna take that something terrible happening before I ever leave her."

Sharon brought her hand up to her face and swiped away a couple of stray tears from her eyes.

"That good, huh?" Andy asked her.

Sharon chuckled as she leaned her head against Andy's shoulder and said, "More than good. I think you even topped my whole speech. Cause let's face it, I was rambling quite a bit there for a minute."

"I love your rambling," said Andy as he laid his head against Sharon's.

Sharon smiled at that and said, "So, not to ruin the moment or anything, but you wouldn't happen to have any yummy game day food in there, would you? Cause right now, that would make me love you even more. You see, I missed this little thing called lunch and now I'm super hungry."

"Let's go. If the guys haven't eaten it all by now, there should still be some good stuff in there, and if they have managed to eat it all, then I'll order a whole pizza just for you," said Andy as he stood up and extended his hand out to help Sharon up.

When Sharon and Andy came into the kitchen to inspect the food situation, most of the guys were so enthralled by the football game that they didn't even notice that the two of them had come back into the room.

Provenza noticed though and said to the guys, "Okay, now. Settle down. No more acting like complete nitwits. We are after all in the presence of the Captain. So, have some manners."

"Thank you for the announcement, Lieutenant. I just want to make one thing clear though, outside of work, you guys can call me Sharon. Otherwise, it's just weird," said Sharon.

"Alright," said Provenza as he turned his attention back to the game.

Back in the kitchen, Sharon and Andy were each fixing themselves a plate of food. There was still some pizza and wings left.

So, they each grabbed some of that before Andy asked her, "What do you want to drink? I've got water, lemonade, orange juice, soda, and I think one of the guys might have brought some beer."

"Lemonade sounds good," Sharon replied as Andy poured her a glass and handed it to her before pouring one for himself.

"Thanks," said Sharon.

"No problem," said Andy as they made their way over to the couch.

Luckily Andy had a huge sectional in his living room. So, there was more than enough space for everybody. Sharon and Andy were sitting on one end of the couch with Sharon sitting on the chaise, while Andy sat next to her.

After they were finished eating, Sharon curled up against Andy and whispered jokingly, "Really, Andy? The Patriots and the Cowboys? If you were gonna stand me up, you could have at least been watching the Packers."

Andy laughed at that and said, "Good to know. I'll have to remember that."

"What's so funny over there?" Provenza asked them.

"Sharon was just enlightening me about her taste in football," Andy told him.

"And what might that be?" Provenza asked.

"Green Bay all the way," said Sharon.

"You've got a good one there, Flynn. She could teach you a thing or two about taste in football," Provenza said to Andy.

"I agree," said Buzz as he leaned over and high fived Provenza.

"So, would one of you care to tell me who Andy's favorite team is?" Sharon asked.

"You mean, you don't know?" Tao asked her.

"Nope. We haven't gotten to football yet," said Sharon.

"Well, ma'am, I don't know how to tell you this, but Andy's favorite team is…uh, it's the Vikings," Sanchez told her.

"Hey! What happened to bro code, guys?" Andy asked the guys.

"I think bro code went out the window when you decided to bring your girlfriend into the middle of this three ring circus we call football Sunday," Provenza told him.

"Yeah. Remember when she shot that one guy right in the forehead with the bean bag gun? I was standing next to her when she shot him. I don't want any problems with her," Sanchez told Andy.

"You haven't even been in here 30 minutes and you're already bringing people over to the dark side?" Andy asked her.

"What can I say? People don't call me Darth Raydor for nothing," Sharon replied.

"You knew about that, ma'am?" Sanchez asked her.

"I know about a lot more than you guys think I do," Sharon replied.

"Looks like you're in trouble with this one, Andy," said Tao.

"There's no other place I'd rather be," Andy replied as he looked over and smiled at Sharon before pulling her closer to him.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the game. After the guys left, Sharon stayed and helped Andy clean up his kitchen.

Once they finished up, Andy came up behind Sharon and wrapped his arms around her waist before he asked, "Are you planning on staying tonight?"

Sharon turned and smiled at Andy before she said, "I wish I could, but I promised Ricky and Emily that Rusty and I would Skype them tonight. I should actually be going."

"Okay. Another night then. Here, I'll walk you out," said Andy.

Sharon gathered her purse and Andy opened the door. He closed it and they made their way towards Sharon's car. When they got there, Sharon leaned against the driver's side door and grabbed Andy's hand, pulling him towards her.

"Today was a great day, despite how it started," said Sharon.

"Yeah, it was," said Andy as he smiled at Sharon before kissing her.

After about a minute, Andy broke the kiss and said, "I love you, Sharon Raydor. Like you wouldn't believe."

"I think I have a pretty good idea. Especially after today…and this week…and last week...and pretty much every day since July," said Sharon as she smiled at Andy.

"Are you trying not to leave?" Andy asked her.

"Nope. Just giving you something to look forward to," Sharon replied.

"I told you on our first date and I'll say it again. You are such a tease," said Andy.

"Yeah, but you love me for it. I can say that now. Isn't it great?" Sharon asked him.

"It is great. And I love you for that and so much more," Andy told Sharon.

"I love you, too. I'll see you tomorrow," said Sharon before she kissed him for a moment and then opened up the door to her car to get in.

"I hope I didn't make you late for your Skype chat," said Andy.

"Are you kidding? I so budgeted time for this. I know how you can't keep your hands off of me," said Sharon teasingly as she smiled at him.

"You should go before I decide that I can't," Andy replied as he smiled at Sharon.

"Goodnight, Andy," said Sharon.

"Goodnight, Sharon. Text me when you get home so that I know you made it there safe. I promise to answer it this time," Andy told her.

"Okay. Bye," said Sharon.

"Bye," said Andy as Sharon started her car and drove off.

Meanwhile, back at Sharon's condo, Ricky and Emily had decided to Skype a bit earlier than planned. Sharon wasn't home yet when Ricky and Emily called, so Rusty answered it instead. When he answered the Skype call, Ricky and Emily's faces popped up on the screen.

"Hey Rusty," said Emily.

Little brother, what's up! Where's mom at?" Ricky asked.

"Hey guys. Apparently still on her date with Andy cause she's not home yet," said Rusty.

Do we wanna know?" Ricky asked.

"Probably not. I've taken to assuming that she's over at Andy's place if she gets home late or isn't here in the morning. She'll usually text me at some point letting me know she's still alive or going to Andy's place," said Rusty.

"So, it's getting pretty serious then, huh?" Emily asked.

"I'd say so. She's been spending a lot of time with him and he's been coming over here a lot more lately. It's all good though. Andy's a good guy," said Rusty.

"Well, since things seem to be getting pretty serious, and I won't be home until Thanksgiving, I think you should grill him a little bit for us," Ricky told him.

"Seriously, Ricky? Mom's not stupid. She's not just going to date some loser. This is Andy we're talking about," said Emily.

"So? That's our mother that he's dating. I think we have a right to know what his intentions are. I agree that Andy's a good guy, but mom's been hurt enough by our so called father. I just want to make sure that she's happy and that his intentions are good," Ricky pointed out.

"Well, you can do that when you're here for Thanksgiving. Cause I'm sure as hell not going to do that. Unlike you, I still have to live here," said Rusty.

"Yeah. You're on your own with that one, Ricky. Hey Rusty, mom's still not there, is she?" Emily asked.

"Nope. Why?" Rusty asked.

"Neither of you say anything about this, but for once, I'm going to be able to make it home for Thanksgiving. I want to surprise her though. So, don't say a word. Got it?" Emily asked.

"Sure," said Ricky.

"When are you planning on coming in? I can pick you up if you need me to," said Rusty.

"Thanks Rusty. I'm flying into LAX around 11am on November 25th," said Emily.

"You wanna really surprise her, Emily? Cause I've got a great idea," said Rusty.

"Let's hear it, little bro," said Ricky.

"I'm gonna talk to Andy. I'll ask him to take mom out to lunch that day around noon. I'll bring Emily by and we'll hide her in Mom's office. Then, when mom gets back from lunch, surprise!" said Rusty.

"Rusty, you are a genius. This is so happening!" Emily replied.

"Mom's gonna freak out. Somebody better video this for me cause I'm not gonna be there until around four o'clock that afternoon," said Ricky.

"I'll see what I can come up with. Hey, hold on, I think Mom's home," said Rusty as he heard the key turning in the door.

Rusty turned the laptop around and a moment later, Sharon walked in the front door.

"Hi mom!" said Ricky and Emily in unison as they saw Sharon walk through the door.

Startled, Sharon put her hand over her heart for a moment before realizing that two of her children were talking to her via the laptop screen.

"Oh goodness! You guys scared the crap out of me. I thought you guys weren't calling until seven. It's only six forty-five right now," said Sharon.

"Well, we thought we'd call a little early and bug the little bro," said Ricky.

"So, how was your date, mom?" Emily asked mischievously.

"Yeah. I thought you and Andy were just going to lunch. How did that turn into a whole afternoon?" Rusty asked.

Sharon took off her shoes and moved to sit down in front of the computer before she said, "It's a long story, but if the three of you must know, I spent the afternoon at Andy's place," Sharon told them.

"Oh god, mom! Too much information!" Ricky exclaimed.

"Really, mom?!" Rusty asked.

"For your information, it's not what you think. I think the two of you need to go to confession more often if that's where your mind goes," Sharon told them jokingly.

"In their defense, my mind went there too. I was just tactful enough to keep it to myself," said Emily.

"Until, now," said Ricky.

"Children. If you must know, I spent the afternoon watching football with Andy and the guys," Sharon told them.

"Wait, I thought the two of you were going to lunch. How did that turn into hanging out with Andy and the guys from the squad watching football all afternoon?" Rusty asked.

"Andy got his dates mixed up. It ended up turning out fine though," said Sharon as a smile crept across her face.

"Apparently more than fine," said Emily.

"Okay, enough. What have the two of you been up to?" Sharon asked them.

Their conversation continued on for a little while longer. After they said their goodbyes, Sharon went to change into her pajamas and wash her face. When she was done, she checked her phone to see that she had a text message from Andy. She had sent him a text right before she unlocked her door letting him know she had made it home safely.

His message said:

Good. Hope you have a great talk with your kids. I love you, Sharon Raydor.

Sharon replied with:

I love you too, Andy Flynn. I did have a good talk with the kids. You were definitely a topic of conversation.

A minute later, Andy replied with:

All good things I hope.

Sharon quickly texted back:

Of course. They were prying for information, but I didn't tell them too much.

Andy replied:

They should know that prying doesn't work when their mom's a cop.

Sharon texted back:

I guess. They also know that they're three of my four weaknesses in life.

Andy quickly texted back:

Oh. And what would the fourth one be?

Sharon smiled as she texted Andy back:

You.

Andy quickly replied:

Well, I'm damn lucky to even be on that list. How do you figure that happened?

Sharon replied:

Just you being you.

Andy replied:

I'm sure my dashing good looks didn't hurt either.

Sharon laughed as she replied:

Nope. Goodnight, Andy. I love you.

Andy replied:

I love you, too. Goodnight, Sharon.

That night, both Sharon and Andy went to sleep with huge grins on their faces, excited for the future held for them. They knew that as long as they had each other, they could handle just about anything.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! As always, let me know what you thought of the chapter by leaving me a review. Thanks for reading!