Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or M/C, but if I did, this is what would happen.
A/N: So, it came to my attention from a reviewer that I completely forgot to mention that the soulmate quote Sharon says in Chapter 11 is not mine. I feel terrible for forgetting to include such an important detail because I never wish to take credit for another's work. In any case, through my internet research, I was unable to find the author of this quote. It seems to be one of those quotes where the author is either anonymous or unknown. If anybody finds out the author, please PM me so I can give them proper credit. Thanks!
Anyways, here is the next chapter in this story. There's about a four month time jump between the end of the previous chapter and this one. I've also come to the decision that this story will have one more chapter after this one before it's finished. So, this chapter and the next will be wrapping things up and (hopefully) bringing it to a satisfying conclusion for all of you. Enjoy!
Chapter 12: Building Blanket Forts & Making Memories
Sharon and Andy had been dating for about nine months now and neither of them could get enough of each other. Much of their time outside of work was either spent going out somewhere together or spending time at Andy's place or Sharon's condo. So much time in fact, that they each had begun leaving a few extra outfits at the other's place for the nights they stayed over, which were becoming more and more frequent these days. They both took great joy in this domestic life they slowly seemed to be falling into and enjoyed spending as much time as they could together.
Tonight, Sharon was over at Andy's house. Nicole had asked him earlier in the week if he'd be willing to take the boys for the night on Saturday so she and Dean could have some time together. He had immediately agreed and informed Nicole that there would be no stopping Sharon from coming over once he told her the boys would be staying with him that weekend. They'd shared a laugh about that because they both knew how much Sharon loved spending time with Ben & Finn.
After they all ate dinner on Saturday, Sharon and Andy had the boys change into their pajamas before they chose a movie from the stack of DVD's Nicole had sent over with them.
As Ben & Finn came running down the hall and into the living room in their pajamas, Finn asked Sharon, "What are we watching Sharon?"
"I don't know. Let's see what movies your Dad and Nic sent over," replied Sharon as she pulled a stack of movies out of their backpack.
"Okay, we have The Lego Movie, How To Train Your Dragon, The Angry Birds Movie, Minions, and Up," answered Sharon.
"Oh, can we watch Up?" Finn asked Sharon excitedly.
"I don't know. Let's see what Ben and Grandpa Andy think first. What do you think Ben? Do you wanna watch Up or would you rather watch a different movie?" Sharon asked.
"I like Up," replied Ben.
Just then, Sharon looked up at Andy questioningly before he replied, "Up it is."
As Andy went to put the disc in the DVD player, Sharon went down the hall to grab a few extra blankets before walking back into the living room with them.
As Andy looked down at the blankets in her hand, he eyed Sharon with a playful look in his eye before turning to the boys and asking, "Hey guys. How would you two like to build a fort before we start watching the movie?"
"Cool!" exclaimed Ben.
"Can we sleep in it?" Finn asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I don't see why not," replied Andy as he looked over at Sharon to find her smiling at him.
"How are we gonna build it?" Ben asked Andy.
"Well, first you and I are gonna go get the air mattresses out of the closet while Finn and Sharon go grab the pillows and some more blankets. Then, we'll all meet back in the living room in a couple minutes and come up with a plan," replied Andy with a childlike glint in his eye.
Andy had blown up the two air mattresses and Sharon had grabbed the chairs from the dining room table while Ben & Finn arranged the pillows. Andy & Sharon then began arranging the chairs around the perimeter of the air mattresses before helping Ben & Finn drape the blankets over the tops of the chairs to create the fort.
"Are you guys ready to watch Up?" Andy asked them.
"Yeah! Have you watched Up, Sharon?" Finn asked her.
"I haven't, but I'm excited to watch it with you guys," replied Sharon.
"That makes two of us," replied Andy.
"It's only the bestest movie in the world," replied Finn.
"It's like his favorite movie ever," Ben explained.
"I can tell," replied Sharon as she chuckled at Finn's excitement over the movie.
"Well, why don't you two climb onto one of those air mattresses and Sharon and I will take the other one so we can start the movie," Andy told the boys.
The boys settled on their air mattress and each grabbed a blanket while Sharon and Andy settled on their own air mattress before Andy draped a large blanket over him and Sharon.
"Are you guys ready?" Andy asked them.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Finn as Andy pressed play to start the movie.
"Picture first though," replied Sharon as she grabbed her phone and took a selfie of the four of them sitting in their carefully constructed blanket fort.
Soon after, as they laid there watching the opening scene of the love story of Carl and his wife, Ellie unfold, Andy watched as Sharon smiled at the sweet yet difficult love story of the two characters.
When the introduction of the movie concluded, Andy heard Sharon sniffling and pulled her closer to him as he whispered, "What the hell kind of movie is this? It's five minutes in and somebody already died. I thought kids movies were supposed to be happy."
"I know. Is it weird that I found it really beautiful though too? Like they were so happy together and even when things were difficult, they still had each other and adventures to go on together. That's pretty rare to find in life," commented Sharon.
"We somehow managed to find it," Andy whispered in Sharon's ear.
Sharon looked over and smiled at Andy before she placed a kiss against his cheek and said, "Yeah, we have. There's nobody else I'd rather go on adventures with either."
Andy glanced over at Sharon and smiled before he replied, "Me either.
It was then that they finally turned their attention back to the movie to see what kind of new adventure Carl was about to embark on.
As the credits rolled, Sharon looked over to find the boys fast asleep on their air mattress. She leaned over to pull their blankets up a bit more before turning around to snuggle into Andy as he shut the TV off.
"That was such a mom thing to do," replied Andy as he smiled while placing a kiss against Sharon's temple.
"Well, between the two of us, we have five kids. So, it would make sense," Sharon joked.
"Yeah. Plus two terrific grandsons," added Andy.
"Yes. They are pretty great, aren't they?" Sharon asked him.
"Yeah. You're great with them too and they absolutely love you," replied Andy.
Sharon smiled in the dark as she said, "You know, Rusty's always joking that the next one of the kids to have a kid is really royally screwed because apparently when I'm around babies my mothering mode kicks into overdrive."
"Has he ever even seen you around a baby before?" Andy asked her.
"Yeah, mostly with Gavin & Jorge's little girl, Penelope. He says I turn into this bizarrely mushy person whenever I'm around a baby," said Sharon.
"Well, every time I've seen you around a baby, I think you've been pretty normal. Although, I won't lie and say I'm not looking forward to seeing this bizarrely mushy person someday," Andy told her.
"Maybe someday…" Sharon trailed off sleepily.
"We should get some sleep. Cause I know these two will be waking us up early in the morning," said Andy.
"Mmhmm," Sharon hummed as she drifted off to sleep in his arms.
Andy smiled to himself and pulled Sharon closer to him as he too drifted off to sleep peacefully.
Around 6:30am the next morning, Sharon heard voices and movement coming from the other air mattress. She heard Finn and Ben sitting on their bed debating whether to wake up her and Andy yet. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled over at them. Once Sharon was sure they saw she was awake, she sat up and gently and peeled Andy's hand away from her waist before she motioned for them to quietly follow her into the kitchen.
Once they got into the kitchen, Sharon asked them, "Are you guys hungry?"
"Yeah," replied Ben.
"Do you guys want pancakes?" Sharon asked them.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Finn.
"Shh!" Ben shushed his brother.
"Sorry," Finn apologized.
"It's alright. Grandpa Andy's probably awake in there. Do you guys like blueberries?" Sharon asked them as she began mixing the pancake batter.
"Blueberries are the best!" exclaimed Finn.
"Yeah! Are we gonna have blueberry pancakes, Sharon?" Ben asked her.
"If you guys want, we can," replied Sharon.
"Yeah!" replied Finn excitedly.
"Well, then you guys are gonna need the blueberries for that," replied Andy as he came into the kitchen and grabbed the blueberries out of the fridge before setting them next to the bowl on the counter for Sharon.
"Grandpa Andy!" Finn and Ben exclaimed as they jumped off their seats at the kitchen island and ran over to launch themselves at Andy.
"Morning guys," replied Andy as he hugged them both.
Sharon glanced over at Andy and smiled across the room at him as she shook her head at the scene before her.
Just then, Andy bent down to Ben & Finn's level and said, "I think Nic put coloring books and crayons in your backpacks. Why don't you two go find them and I'll meet you guys in the living room in a couple minutes?"
"Okay. Come on, Finn!" Ben excitedly told his brother as they walked out of the kitchen and into the living room.
Once the boys went into the living room, Andy walked over to where Sharon was standing at the counter mixing the blueberries into the pancake batter as he wrapped his arms around her waist before placing a kiss against her shoulder.
As Andy continued holding her, he rested his chin on Sharon's shoulder and said, "Good morning."
"Morning," replied Sharon as she turned her head to smile at Andy.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Andy asked her.
"I figured it would happen sooner or later with a 5 and 7 year old in the house," Sharon joked.
"Funny," replied Andy.
"Also very true. I woke up and they were sitting up on their air mattress debating who was gonna be the one to wake us up and when. So, I figured I'd get up and start breakfast," Sharon told him.
Andy chuckled at the story before he pulled Sharon closer to him and asked, "You want me to start the coffee?"
"A man after my own heart," joked Sharon as she smiled at Andy.
"I think we've already established that particular event occurred quite some time ago," replied Andy as he began preparing the coffee to brew.
"Mmhmm," Sharon hummed affirmatively as she poured the pancake batter onto the griddle.
After Andy turned the coffee maker on to brew, he grabbed Sharon's hand and pulled her towards him before placing a kiss against her lips. As they broke apart and continued resting their foreheads together, they heard the sound of laughter coming from the entrance to the kitchen.
"I think we have an audience," Sharon told Andy.
Andy chuckled before moving his lips next to her ear and whispered, "Watch this."
Andy let go of Sharon before quickly turning around and chasing the boys into the living room.
As Sharon turned around to check on the pancakes, she smiled to herself as she heard the sound of laughter coming from the living room.
After they had all finished eating breakfast and Sharon set everyone's plates in the sink to wash, Andy came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist before leaning down next to her ear and whispering, "Thanks for cooking breakfast. Now, get out of here. Go relax and have fun with the boys. I've got this."
"Are you sure?" Sharon asked him.
"Mmhmm. I'm kicking you out of the kitchen," Andy joked.
Sharon hummed contentedly before she whispered, "That might just earn you some special treatment later."
"Looking forward to it," replied Andy as he let go of Sharon and she turned to head back towards the dining room table.
Meanwhile, as Sharon made her way towards the table, she heard Andy say to the boys, "What do you guys need to tell Sharon for making you breakfast?"
"Thank you, Sharon," both Ben & Finn said at the same time.
"You guys are so welcome. Now, why don't we go watch The Angry Birds Movie in the fort while Grandpa Andy does the dishes," Sharon suggested.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Finn.
"I love that movie!" Ben shouted excitedly.
"Well, then let's go," replied Sharon as she began ushering them towards the living room.
At that, Andy shook his head and smiled to himself before turning his attention back to the dishes that needed to be washed.
After Andy has finished washing the dishes, he had quietly snuck back to the master bathroom to take a quick shower.
Once he'd gotten dressed, Andy quickly made his way back out towards the living room where he found Sharon in the middle of the air mattresses with Ben and Finn on either side of her.
Andy took a moment to admire the scene before him as a goofy smile overtook his face and Sharon noticed him standing there and suggested, "You know, if you take a picture it tends to last longer."
As she saw Andy take his phone out of his pocket, Sharon quickly paused the movie before she said to the boys, "Grandpa Andy wants to take a picture real quick."
The three of them turned in Andy's direction as he snapped a quick photo before returning his phone back to his pocket.
Sharon turned the movie back on as Andy sat down next to Finn and whispered to Sharon, "The shower's free now if you wanna get a quick shower in."
Sharon looked over and smiled at Andy before she whispered, "I'm fine where I'm at right now. Maybe after the movie's over. After all, I have to find out what happens to all these eggs."
Andy chuckled at that for a moment before it faded into a smile as he turned his attention back to the movie.
After the credits finished rolling, Andy asked the boys if they wanted to go out to the backyard and play soccer. They had both enthusiastically agreed and he'd told them to go get dressed and then they'd go outside and play. The boys quickly ran towards the bathroom with their clothes.
As Andy heard the door slam slightly, he pulled Sharon towards him and rested his hands on her hips.
"Mmhmm. You smell good. I on the other hand…" Sharon trailed off.
"Smell fine. I'm not sure how you manage it, but even when you haven't showered yet, you still manage to smell wonderful," replied Andy.
"Flattery will get you just about anywhere," Sharon joked.
"What about when it's true? Where does that get me?" Andy asked her mischievously.
"For now, nowhere. Now, later on though…" Sharon trailed off flirtatiously.
"I'll have to keep that in mind," replied Andy before he and Sharon broke apart as they heard the boys running down the hall and towards the living room.
"Can we go play soccer now, Grandpa Andy?" Ben asked Andy.
"Yeah. Why don't you go grab the soccer ball by the front door," said Andy.
"Sharon, are you gonna come play soccer with us?" Finn asked her.
"Well, I'm gonna go take a shower first, but I'll definitely come play with you guys once I'm done," answered Sharon.
"Okay. Come on Ben! Let's go!" Finn exclaimed before he and Ben headed for the backyard with Andy quickly following behind them.
After Sharon had finished showering, she changed into a pair of black leggings and an oversized purple sweater before drying her hair and throwing it up into a ponytail. Once she walked back into the bedroom, Sharon found her pair of black Nike running shoes and quickly put them on before heading for the backyard.
As she walked out into the backyard, Sharon smiled at the scene before her as she watched Andy playing soccer with Ben & Finn. Once Andy spotted her, he dramatically fell to the ground on his back as he shouted, "Thank god!"
Sharon laughed as she walked towards Andy and stood over him before she asked, "That bad, huh?"
"I'm getting too old for this kind of stuff," replied Andy out of breath.
As Sharon extended her hand to help him up off the ground, she suggested, "Why don't you go grab all of us some water and take a break?"
"Deal," replied an out of breath Andy as he turned to make his way towards the house.
Meanwhile, it was at that moment that both Finn and Ben noticed Sharon's presence.
"Sharon!" exclaimed Finn as he ran towards her.
As Ben followed his brother, he said, "Hey Sharon. Do you wanna play soccer with us?"
"Of course I do," Sharon answered excitedly.
"Good cause Grandpa Andy isn't very good," whispered Finn.
Sharon chuckled at Finn's statement for a moment before she asked, "He isn't?"
"I think he just got tired after a while and let us win," replied Ben.
"Sounds about right. Are you guys ready to play?" Sharon asked them.
"Yeah!" exclaimed both Ben and Finn as they ran off towards the soccer ball with Sharon following closely behind them.
After another hour had passed, Sharon suggested that they all take a break for a while at the patio table Andy was sitting at.
After taking a swig of water, she asked the boys, "Are you guys hungry?"
"Yeah!" exclaimed Finn.
Well, how about a snack?" Sharon asked them.
"Yeah! What are we gonna eat, Sharon?" Ben asked her.
"Well, if I'm not mistaken, I think Grandpa Andy and I bought some fruit snacks and granola bars the last time we went to the store. So, unless Grandpa Andy got into them…" Sharon trailed off.
"Nope. They're still in the same place," replied Andy as he smiled at Sharon.
"Well then, let's go get you boys some snacks," replied Sharon as she headed inside, the boys following closely behind her.
As Andy got up to follow them into the kitchen, his phone rang with a Facetime call from Nicole.
"Hey Nic," said Andy after he accepted the call.
"Hey Dad. What are you guys up to?" Nicole asked him.
"Well the boys just finished tiring both of us out playing soccer and now Sharon's in the kitchen getting them both a snack," replied Andy as he walked into the house.
"Hi Nicole!" Sharon said cheerily in the background as she heard Nicole's voice coming from Andy's phone as he entered the kitchen.
"Hi Sharon. Been keeping these three out of trouble?" Nicole asked her as Andy turned the screen of his phone towards her.
"What do you mean trouble? Grandpa Andy was the one causing trouble this morning," Ben interrupted.
"Yeah. He gave Sharon cooties while she was making pancakes for us," Finn added.
"Nic I can explain-" Andy began before the sound of Nicole's laughter interrupted him.
"Don't! I think it's hilarious, Dad!" replied Nicole through her laughter.
Sharon could also be heard laughing in the background before she said to Andy, "You did notice who they chose to sell out first."
"Yeah, dad. Looks like they have a new favorite," replied Nicole.
"We may have fewer women than men in this family, but for some reason I still feel severely outnumbered," Andy told them.
"I'd get used to that if I were you," replied Sharon as she handed the boys their snacks and brought them each a glass of water to the table.
Andy just shook his head before he asked, "Was there a reason for this phone call besides making fun of me?"
"Yeah. I was just calling to let you know that Dean and I are on our way over to your place right now to pick up the boys. We should be there in about ten to fifteen minutes," Nicole told him.
"Great. There were even more witnesses to my humiliation," Andy replied dramatically.
"Well, it doesn't take much when you have two truth telling kids around," Dean could be heard saying in the background.
It was then that Sharon snatched the phone away from Andy and said, "That means you guys are raising them right. We'll see you guys when you get here. In the meantime, I'll try to get this one to stop moping. Bye!"
"Bye! See you soon," replied Nicole as they both hung up and Sharon handed Andy back his phone.
"Was that really necessary?" Andy asked her dramatically.
"Was what necessary?" Ben asked Andy.
"Well, you see Ben, when you're older-" Andy began before Sharon cut him off.
"Stop it," she told Andy.
"What? I was just gonna tell them that when they're older there will come a time when they'll realize that women are always the boss," replied Andy.
"Well, Sharon is your boss at work, Grandpa Andy," commented Ben.
After Sharon recovered from her fit of laughter at Ben's comment, she looked up at Andy and smiled lovingly at him before she said, "And everything else is a discussion."
"Yeah, yeah," replied Andy grouchily before locking eyes with Sharon and instantly grinning at her.
About 10 minutes later, Nicole and Dean arrived to pick up the boys. After gathering all their stuff and saying their thank yous and goodbyes, the four of them left and Andy and Sharon were once again alone in the house.
As Sharon turned around to begin disassembling the blanket fort still up in the living room, Andy wrapped his arms around her from behind and whispered, "Don't."
"Why not?" Sharon asked as she let out a hearty chuckle.
"I've always wanted to make out in a blanket fort… and if I'm not mistaken…a certain someone did promise me some special treatment for doing the dishes," Andy whispered mischievously.
"I told you it might earn you some special treatment later. No definitive deals were made," replied Sharon teasingly.
"Is there anything I can do to change your mind, Captain?" Andy asked before placing a kiss against Sharon's neck.
"Well, for starters, you can stop calling me Captain while you're kissing my neck like that," Sharon told Andy.
"Yeah, that is a little weird, isn't it? How about beautiful?" Andy whispered in Sharon's ear before placing another kiss against her neck.
"Beautiful's much better. Especially considering the circumstances," replied Sharon as she turned around in Andy's arms.
"Which are?" Andy asked mischievously.
"The fact that there's a much better deal to be made here," said Sharon flirtatiously.
"I'm listening," replied Andy as he rested his hands against Sharon's lower back.
"I thought we'd do a little more than making out," Sharon whispered suggestively in Andy's ear before she wiggled out of his grasp and sat down on the air mattress.
As Andy sat down next to Sharon, he whispered, "What did you have in mind?"
It was then that Andy got his answer as Sharon's lips crashed passionately into his. Soon enough, they were laid out flat on the air mattress as hands explored skin and lips began seeking out the most sensitive areas on each other's necks. As the fire continued to build between them, they both knew they were about to make even more memories to last a lifetime.
A/N: As always, leave me a review to let me know what you thought of the latest chapter of this story. As a writer, I find your feedback and constructive criticism to be of great value in helping me become a better writer and your reviews, as always, are greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading and staying with me through this LONG hiatus! As I mentioned before, there will probably be one final chapter to this story before it's completed. Until then, you're free to check out some of my other stories you may not have read yet, or if you'd like, I'd be more than happy to recommend some awesome Shandy fanfic authors who have written some amazing stories!