Note-I always like to have actors and actresses in my head for my original characters. So, just for reference these are the people I'd have playing Sharon's family.

Colleen O'Dwyer (Sharon's Mom)-Ellen Burstyn

Judge William O'Dwyer (Sharon's Dad)-Gregory Peck (I know he's dead but it's fanfic and I totally could see Sharon being raised by Atticus Finch)

Christine O'Dwyer Simmons (Sharon's sister) Dana Delaney

Ed Simmons (Sharon's brother in law) Brian Dennehy

I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
If only in my dreams

"This is where you grew up?" Following Sharon's directions, Andy turned into a long driveway. Once he parked, he turned to her with raised brows. He knew Sharon had grown up with money but the large brick Colonial home sitting up on the knoll of a long sloping front yard was still a surprise. A single candle burned in each of the many windows and big festive wreaths did indeed adorn the doors. It was a classic, elegant home. A home that befit the classic, elegant woman to whom he was now engaged.

"Home sweet home," she smiled.

"It's huge."

"I know it looks big but actually," she snapped her seatbelt off. "By Greenwich standards it's a pretty modest house."

Andy nodded. He had seen some of the ostentatious mansions as they were driving into the quaint tree-lined downtown area of the city. "Like Beverly Hill's in Connecticut."

"Pretty much. There are a lot of celebrities who live here because we're so close to Manhattan and right on Long Island Sound."

"Mom, this was your house?" Rusty's eyes widened with awe as he met her in the driveway. "And there was only you and your brother and sister."

"Yes."

"It's an absolutely beautiful home Sharon," Nicole said. "But are you sure we wouldn't be better off staying in a hotel?"

"Oh, no, there's plenty of room."

"That's not what I'm worried about. The boys, they're so young, they rough house and well, I just don't want them breaking anything."

Sharon smiled. "It's a home Nicole, not a museum."

"Yeah," Ricky said. "Em and I did plenty of rough housing here growing up. Gran always said she just put away the good antiques when we came for a visit."

"There really isn't anything to worry about; my parents are thrilled to have everyone here for the holiday. They'd be very disappointed if you didn't stay."

As if the conversation had been heard inside, the front door was flung open by an attractive older woman, her short wavy white hair perfectly coiffed and still retaining a faded hint of the auburn of her youth. "Oh, they're here William,"she cried out with excitement. "They're here! "

Ricky and Emily rushed up to the house throwing themselves into their grandmother's open arms. When Rusty continued to stand tentatively behind his more gregarious siblings, Colleen stretched an arm out to him.

"Rusty Beck, you get over here and give your grandmother a hug. " She sounded very much like Sharon at her most bossy. Rusty complied with a shy smile, finally laughing when she pulled him in with Emily and Ricky.

Sharon held back, letting her mother get in all the hugging and cheek pinching with her grandkids before stepping forward into a gentler embrace.

"Mom." She kissed her mother's soft cheek, inhaling the faint scent of her Chanel perfume. Her mother had worn that same perfume since Sharon was a child and it was a scent she would always associate with "mother".

"Oh, Sharon." Colleen O'Dwyer cupped her daughter's precious face in her hands. "It's so good to have you all here."

"Well, we're excited to be here."

"Colleen you think we might want to let them all inside to warm up? They do have that thin California blood, you know."

They all looked up at the tall stern looking white haired man who seemed to fill the doorway, a Golden Retriever at his side.

"Daddy," Sharon beamed. The stern features softened into a tender smile.

"Munchkin," he said, crushing his daughter in a bear hug.

"Munchkin?" Nicole mouthed the word to an amused Andy.

"William is right," Colleen said. "You must be freezing. Please come inside everyone."

Once inside Sharon began the introductions.

"I know you've all talked on skype, but Mom, Dad, I'd like you to formally meet Lieutenant Andrew Patrick Flynn. Andy, my parents William and Colleen O'Dwyer."

"It's nice to finally meet you in person Judge and Mrs. O'Dwyer. "Andy held out his hand.

"Oh, none of that formality Andy. You're living with our daughter, you're family." Colleen opened her arms to give him a hug. Andy could definitely see where Sharon got her nurturing warmth. "We are William and Colleen, none of that Judge and Mrs. Stuff." She let him go and while Sharon made the introductions for Nicole, Dean and the boys, William shook his hand. His greeting was far less effusive than Colleen's was. Not that he was unfriendly, just more reserved. Andy wasn't sure if a certain eyeballing was just a protective father sizing up his daughter's boyfriend or if it was the mention of he and Sharon living together that had raised William's hackles. The O'Dwyer's were devout Catholics so he was not sure how well that arrangement had gone over with them.

"We're so happy to have little children in the house again," Colleen was saying to Nicole and her family. "I made some gingerbread men today and I thought after supper we could decorate them and have them for dessert. Also, William and I took out the old train set that used to belong to our son and that Ricky and Emily loved playing with when they were your age. Once we get you all settled in your bedrooms you can come down and play, would you like that?"

Both boys nodded with excitement. "Can we Mom?"

"I don't see why not."

"Where do you want us all, Mom?" Sharon asked.

"Well, Nicole, Dean and the boys can have the side by side guest rooms. Emily usually stays in your old room but she can stay in Christine's and Ricky and Rusty can stay in Richie's so you and Andy can have yours." Living in New York City, Emily was a frequent visitor to her grandparent's home. And although it was hard on Sharon to have her beloved daughter living on the other side of the country, knowing that her parents were close by and that Emily had a close relationship with them did at least give her some peace of mind about it.

"Perfect." Sharon gave Andy an "I told you so" lift of the brow. He had been sure that her mother would put them in separate rooms, but Sharon had been pretty clear with her parents about her and Andy living together and she felt her mother would respect that. Judge O'Dwyer was another story altogether. Andy was quite sure he had seen the old man wince when Colleen mentioned where he was sleeping. Fathers never changed; their little girls would always be their little girls.

The interior of the house was just as lovely as the exterior. Shining hardwood floors covered by plush Persian carpets in deep jewel colors, antique furniture, wall sconces, paintings in gilt frames, brick fireplaces and chandeliers. It all spoke of understated elegance and in many ways reminded Andy of Sharon's tastefully decorated condo, though with different styles of course

However, Sharon was right, it was not a museum, it was also warm and comfortable. The entire house smelled of cinnamon, vanilla and ginger-much like when Sharon made gingerbread cookies back home. There was a big comfortable leather couch in front of the blazing fireplace and there were plenty of family pictures along the staircase leading to the second floor. Andy looked forward to getting the chance to look at all the pictures and get a glimpse into Sharon's childhood, which had obviously been very, very different from his.

"This is me," Sharon said while opening the door to the last room at the end of the hall on the second floor. Andy couldn't contain his grin as they entered Sharon's girlhood room. While not left in a creepy shrine sort of way it did hold the ghost of a teenage girl. Colleen said that they had not changed it very much since Sharon had left for college, other than repainting a couple times and taking down her pin ups of the Beatles and David Cassidy. The walls were pale lavender, the furniture all black and white. A braided rug in varying shades of purple lay over the mahogany wood floor and a white quilt with little black and lavender sprigs covered the full sized bed. Sheer black curtains with embroidered white flowers adorned windows that looked out over Long Island Sound in the distance. The only artworks left on the walls from Sharon's younger years were two large framed posters of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Rudolph Nureyev. Along another wall there was a large bookcase, empty now save for a few well-known best sellers and classics that Colleen placed there for guests.

"When Sharon lived in this room that case was crammed with books. Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, What Katy Did, all the Laura Ingalls Wilder and Judy Blume books, Nancy Drew, To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye…Oh my, did she love to read."

"Still does." Andy grinned.

"When I have the time." Sharon wandered over to the small roll top desk where she'd done her homework as a child and the vanity table where she'd sat as an adolescent looking into the mirror wondering when she might actually get boobs and her period like her best friend Lisa Connell who always seemed to be a few steps ahead of her, then later as a teen grimacing and bemoaning her braces. God, she would never want to relive those years again.

"What's this?" Andy asked seeing a box on the floor next the bureau. Sharon joined him and began picking through it.

"This is all my stuff, from when I was a kid."

"Your father and I have been going through the attic cleaning out a lot of old things. I made boxes for you and Chrissie to go through. You can decide what you want to keep and what you want to throw out."

Sharon wasn't listening; she was already lost in her memories, pulling things out of the box. First was a pair of pale pink Pointe shoes, obviously well used. "My old Pointe shoes," she said.

"The apple didn't fall far from the tree," Colleen said to Andy. "Before Emily became a professional ballerina her mother was quite the dancer. She probably could have gone pro herself if the law hadn't been her greater passion."

"Mom, I was never as good as Emily," Sharon protested.

"Only because it wasn't your passion the way it is hers. You just loved it."

"I did love it."

Andy found himself wishing he could see Sharon dance. Not like in his arms, he had done that with her plenty of times and she was so graceful and light on her feet, but he would love to see her dance like the ballerina she had once been. She still took a barre class so he doubted she was very rusty.

Next, with a big grin, Sharon pulled out a large gold letter S.

"What is that?" Andy asked.

"It's like the M Mary Richards had up in her apartment."

Andy continued to look at her blankly.

"Didn't you ever watch the Mary Tyler Moore show?" she asked.

"I guess, yeah I'm sure I did. Yes, I remember that clown episode. You know, when he died."

"Chuckles the clown. Oh, that's a classic."

"Mary Tyler Moore was Sharon's favorite show." Colleen took the letter from Sharon with a smile, her eyes going soft with memories. "She and Chrissie. They'd plunk their little bottoms down in front of the TV every Saturday night to watch."

"I idolized Mary Richards," Sharon admitted. "I took that S with me when I went I went to college and put it up in my dorm room. Speaking of college, you still have my tassels?" She pulled out two cords and tassels one gold and the other gold and maroon.

Andy took one, examining it. "What did you get those for?"

"The gold one is from high school, for National Honor Society."

"And the gold and maroon is what she got for graduating summa cum laude from Boston College." Colleen fairly beamed with pride in her eldest daughter while Sharon flushed a little. She had never been comfortable with people gushing over her.

Andy was impressed, but not surprised. Unlike him, Sharon rarely did anything in half measure. He had gone to San Diego State on a baseball scholarship and while he had aced his criminology classes because the topic fascinated him, when it came to classes that didn't fascinate him he rarely put much effort in and did just enough to skate by and get his degree so he could apply to the police academy. However, Sharon was the kind of person who would buckle down and ace even the classes she hated.

"Well," Sharon said rising. "It's getting late. We can go through the rest of that stuff later."

"Definitely later." Andy grinned and picked up a large scrapbook. "I can't wait to look through these pictures of you as a kid."

"Great." Sharon's grimace made him laugh.

"Okay then," Colleen said. "I'll leave you to unpack. I figured you'd all be tired traveling all day so I made a nice big pot of creamy clam chowder, got the clams fresh today down at the fish market. I'll heat up some brown bread and johnnycake to go with it. Give you a nice taste of New England for your first night."

"Thanks Mom, we'll be down in a little bit to help you set the table."

"So," Andy said once Colleen left. "I'm happy to admit that I was wrong about your mom letting me sleep with you."

"I'm not sure she'd put it that way, but I told you I've been very upfront with them about you moving in with me and I am well past the age of answering to them."

"Oh, we have a little rebellious streak do we? " Andy wrapped his arms around her waist and grinned down at her. "Tell me, did pretty Sharon O' Dwyer sneak boys into this pretty room of hers?"

Sharon scoffed. "Of course not, Andy, I was a good Catholic girl." His grin widened and she slapped at his arm. "I WAS," she insisted.

"That's not why I'm smiling," he said.

"Then what?"

"I'm smiling because you're pretty much the only woman I know that I would believe when she said she was a "good Catholic girl."

Sharon rolled her eyes. In her younger years she might have been embarrassed to be labeled a "good girl" worried that people would find her boring or less sophisticated or might taunt her with it as Jack had a time or two, but now she was completely comfortable in her own skin. There was nothing wrong in a woman being selective about whom she let into her life…and into her bed. She was who she was and she wasn't going to change.

"But," he continued while running his thumb over her bottom lip. "Tonight I think I'd like to see just how good you really are."

"You might be surprised."

"Let's just hope these walls aren't too thin."

Sharon shook her head. Leave it to Andy.

"But before all that I do have one big question."

"Yes?"

"What the hell is brown bread?"

TBC