DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters, except for Matthew and Moxie. The rest of them belong to James Duff and the Major Crimes franchise.

A/N: Thanks everyone for the continued reviews on this story.

Chapter 12

"No, Sharon, please no," Andy mumbled in his sleep. His hand had lightly touched her hand. Sharon had woken up and she glanced over at the clock in her hospital room. She fumbled for her glasses so that she could see what time it was. The clock showed around 3:30 in the morning. Andy was slouched in the chair next to her bed. She could tell he was having some sort of dream, and by the things he was mumbling, it wasn't a pleasant one either.

"Please, you can't leave me," he mumbled as his body shifted in the chair. He reached for her in his sleep and she gave him her hand to grab. This gesture seemed to calm him down for a few minutes until he woke up, breathing heavily, eyes wide in a panic of sorts. He was looking right at Sharon who was now fully awake looking right back at him.

"Sharon," he said in between deep breaths, trying to catch himself from hyperventilating. "Andy," she soothingly whispered to him, trying to get him calm. "It's okay, I'm here," she soothed his hand as he didn't let go of it.

The light over the head of her bed was still on as they hadn't turned it off when they went to sleep. The light casted a somewhat dark glow around Andy's face as Sharon sat more upright, trying to keep Andy's attention on his breathing.

He couldn't remember the last time he had such a nightmare. As he sat there staring at Sharon, she helped him regain control over his breathing. He then glanced at the clock and shook his head. He then looked at Sharon who was now sitting fully up in the hospital bed. She reached over and he met her half way.

She took both of his hands and pulled him closer to her. "What are you doing?" he whispered to her as he was pulled closer to her bed. She scooted back and made room for him. "You need to sleep on a bed, and I need the comfort of your arms around me," she whispered. She adjusted all of the wires that were attached to her still and made sure they were free of their bodies.

"I don't want to hurt or injure your side even more than it is," he softly told her as he finally sat down on the edge of her bed. "You're not going to," she reassured him. He reluctantly started to ease down onto her bed. "What if the nurses catch us?" he chuckled as he positioned himself so that he could put his arms around her like she wanted. "I'm sure your charm can get us out of anything with the nurses," Sharon sighed as she settled herself next to him.

"Must be that low dosage pain killer you're still on that you're giving me permission to use my charm with the nurses," he smiled as she lay next to him. "I think the last time that happened was when I got into that fight after my AA meeting, when I called you from the parking lot," he remembered like it was yesterday.

"You came rushing over to the ambulance where I was sitting. You had a concerned look on your face when you saw me," he added. "I was concerned about you. I was worried when you didn't show up like you said you were going to after your meeting. When you called me and said it was my lucky day, I thought you were joking," she whispered softly.

"I was mad at you when you investigated me, after visiting me in the hospital. I was surprised when you came back around after the chief and Provenza left," he kissed the top of her head. "How did you know I came back?" she wondered as she closed her eyes. "I fell asleep but woke up and saw you sitting next to my bed. You had dozed off watching me," he whispered and she hummed.

She remembered that too. How he had looked after that incident and all of the other incidents that happened to him over the course of the years. He held her in his arms as they both fell asleep.

Andy awoke next when a nurse stepped into the room. "Don't move, you're fine where you are," she told him as he started to stir. "I'm just checking on her IV, how's she doing?" she asked as she looked at the IV bag and the connector in Sharon's hand. "Okay, I'm hoping," Andy sighed. "She have a rough night?" the nurse questioned him.

At first Andy didn't know what to say because he thought the nurse was going to tell him to get out of Sharon's bed. "Is that why you're in bed with her, because she had a rough night?" the nurse clarified as she saw the confusion on Andy's face. "Oh, um, yes," he stated back. Andy didn't want to tell the nurse that it was actually he who had the rough night. The nurse then smiled and left the room.

Andy let go of a breath he had seem to be holding as the nurse left and settled back in the bed with Sharon. He slept on his right side again, careful not to disturb Sharon's side as he laid there. He didn't fall asleep again, he just kept watching her.

Morning came and Andy's phone alerted him to a text message. He rubbed his eyes and carefully turned on the bed to the tray table where his phone was laying. He picked it up and saw a message from Emily. He glanced at the message briefly as he looked at the time. It was now closer to 7am. He rubbed his eyes again, trying to read the message Emily had just sent him.

"What?" he whispered to himself and suddenly felt Sharon's hand on his back. "What is it?" she whispered. He responded to Emily's text and told her to look on the refrigerator for his permission slip for the baseball camp he was attending this morning. "They can't find Matthew's permission slip for the baseball camp," he mumbled to her as he turned and looked at her.

'Not on fridge' was the message that came back to his phone. Andy sighed once again and tried to think of where it could be. 'And he's starting to panic' was the next message from her. Andy shook his head and pursed his lips. "If they can't find it, tell them to go online to the website and print out another form, one of them can sign it for Matthew," Sharon hit the button to bring the head of the bed more upright.

Andy sent what Sharon had said back to Emily. Sharon winced as she tried to move which brought Andy's attention back to her. "What's wrong?" he placed his hand on her arm. "I'm okay," she said as she took a deep breath but the face that she made told him otherwise. "Sharon," he shook his head and then heard the response from Emily. 'Crisis averted, printed new one, driving him to camp now' she texted to him. Andy placed the phone back down on the table and turned his attention to Sharon.

He pushed her hair behind her ear and ran his hand down her cheek. "Please tell me," he said barely above a whisper to her. "I just had a sharp pain left side when I moved, that's all, it's not a big deal and to be expected," she told him with a grimace. "Sharon, it may come as a surprise to you, but you kind of are a big deal, especially to me," he told her as he ran his hand down her arm and covered her hand.

"Knock, knock, I see that you are awake now, that's good!" the same nurse who came in this morning, walked into her room. "How are we feeling?" she asked Sharon. "Uh, well, I have some pain still on my left side," Sharon told her and pointed to where the pain was. The nurse glanced at the IV and then noted something down on her chart. "Does your stomach feel full like you ate already?" she asked Sharon. "No," Sharon shook her head. "Did the pain radiate to your back?" she asked another question. "A little bit," Sharon answered and then saw the worriedness on Andy's face.

"Okay, I'll let the doctor know, he's early today so he should be stopping by soon," she left the room and then Andy looked at Sharon. "I don't like it when you're in pain," he muttered as he held her hand again. "It's only when I move a certain way," she assured him.

There was another knock on her door and both Sharon and Andy looked up and saw Doctor Fishman standing there. "Good morning, I understand you still have some pain on your left side this morning," he said as he washed his hands and dried them with a paper towel before stepping over to examine Sharon.

"Yes, it's only when I move a certain way though, not constant like it was previously," Sharon told him as he took a look. "Okay, I'm not going to press down here because I don't want to annoy your spleen," he said as he examined her. "What movements bother you?" he asked as he listened to her heart and lungs.

"Well, a few minutes ago I adjusted the head of the bed to a more upright position and then I tried to move myself to sit up, that's when I felt the sharp pain," Sharon informed him as Andy watched. "Okay, so the pain came from here, and radiated to your back, correct?" he asked her as he pointed to the area. "Yes," Sharon nodded as the doctor wrote some information down.

"Alright Sharon, I'm still going to release you today and I'm going to give you a pain prescription to manage your pain when you go home," he told her. "Are you allergic to tramadol?" he peeked at her over the rim of his glasses. "No," she told him and then looked at Andy.

"Good, now I'm going to write the prescription and it will be filled downstairs at our pharmacy. I want you to take one pill every 4-6 hours as needed for pain, but don't wait until the pain becomes severe," he told her and then glanced at Andy to make sure he was following along.

"The pain will eventually decrease as your spleen heals, but if for some reason, the pain becomes too much for you to handle, bring her to the ER right away," he looked at Andy and Andy nodded his head. "Okay, I'm going to schedule one more CT test this morning, and then I'll release you this afternoon," he told her as he stood up from the stool he was sitting on and then left the room.

Sharon looked disappointed as she laid there. "What's wrong?" Andy asked her as he moved closer to her bed. "I just thought I would be done with the tests, that's all," she huffed and he smiled at her. "He just wants to make sure nothing is happening before he releases you," the voice of reasoning in all of this mess had always been him, even when he broke down in front of her last night.

The next thing they knew, Sharon's IV was being removed by the nurse. Sharon then handed her wedding ring to Andy. He smiled at her and then she was wheeled away for her CT scan. Andy was once again left in her room waiting for her return. Andy decided to lay out the clothes that the kids had brought her and he quickly changed his clothes as well while he waited for her return.

Once she got to the testing room, Sharon laid perfectly still on the table and listened to the technician's directions he was giving her. "Okay Sharon, I'm going to move you towards the scanner part of the machine," she heard over the speaker as she was moved towards the scanner. Sharon heard clicking noises all around her. "Alright, lie perfectly still," the technician said as the machine started to rotate around Sharon's body.

Sharon kept her eyes closed as she laid there. "Okay Sharon, I need you to take a deep breath and hold it," she heard the technician again over the speaker and she did just that. She then heard more clicking from the machine as it took the pictures. "Okay, you can release your breath," she heard and she exhaled immediately.

"You are all done, good job Sharon," the technician stated to her as he moved her out of the machine. The people from the medical staff came inside the room once she was done and moved her from the table to a wheelchair to take her back to her room.

"How long was I in there?" she asked them. "45 minutes," one of them said as they waited for the elevator to take them back to her floor. Sharon let out another breath she didn't realize she was holding. "I think they got some really good pictures, so your doctor should be pleased with that," they told her as they stepped inside the elevator.

Andy sat there on the chair and waited for Sharon to return to him. He kept glancing at his watch, wondering how much longer it was going to take. His phone alerted to a message from Provenza. 'Don't worry, we didn't catch a case, just wanted to know how things are' it said. 'Waiting for her to return from one more test and then hopefully I can take her home' Andy replied.

He then looked up as they were wheeling Sharon back inside her room. "She did really well," the technician said as she helped Sharon stand up and get back into bed. "The doctor should have the results of the test soon and he'll be in to discuss it further with you," they said and then left the room.

Sharon gave a small smile to Andy as he, once again, took a seat by her bed. "Have you heard from anyone?" she asked him, wanting to talk about something other than her scan. "Just Provenza, he wanted to know how you were doing," he told her as he watched her lay there. He then reached for her hand and placed her wedding ring back on her finger.

When the doctor came back into Sharon's room, it was closer to noon. "Okay Sharon, I have good news!" he told them both as he sat down next to them. Sharon looked at Andy and he reached for her hand to hold. "The CT scan this morning did not show signs of internal bleeding so I am going to discharge you right now," he told them.

Sharon let out a small gasp and smiled at Andy who in turn, squeezed her hand gently. "That's good news doc!" Andy told him. "Yes, so Sharon, I am not going to clear you for active duty just yet. Your spleen is still enlarged and needs rest to heal. Your platelet count is still on a lower side but not dangerous low, just be careful if you cut yourself, okay?" Doctor Fishman told her as he was writing down some things.

"Here is a list, as a reminder, of what you cannot do right now as we don't want to have any more injury to your spleen" he told Sharon as he handed the list to Andy. "And, I wrote you two prescriptions, one is the painkiller tramadol, like I told you about earlier, and the other is an anti-biotic. I want you to take the anti-biotic every morning for two weeks. You can take both of them with food or without food, and I recommend eating yogurt while you take the anti-biotic. Any questions?" he looked at both Andy and Sharon.

"No, I don't think we have any questions," Andy said as he looked at Sharon. She shook her head no as Andy handed her the list that the doctor had given him. "Alright then, I will see you in two weeks, my nurses will schedule you for that appointment. You will come to the hospital first to get another CT scan and then come to my office across the street," Doctor Fishman said as he stood up from the chair.

"If anything happens between now and your appointment, if you don't feel good or you have any severe pain, get to the Emergency Room right away," he told them and they understood. "Thank you," Sharon told him as he shook her hand and then he shook Andy's hand. "Take care," he said as he walked out of her room.

Andy turned to Sharon and saw a sad look on her face as she read all of the restrictions for her for the next two weeks. He rubbed her hand gently to get her to look at him. "Why don't we get you dressed now," he told her and she nodded in agreement. "How does he expect me to basically not do anything for the next two weeks?" she asked as she stood up with the help of Andy.

"You're going to have to do it, sweetheart," Andy smiled and knew they both had a rough two weeks ahead of them. Sharon then walked to the bathroom with the change of clothes. "Will you be okay in there?" he asked her as he followed her towards the bathroom. "Yes, I'll be fine," she assured him and then closed the door.

By the time the nurse came into Sharon's room again, she was sitting in one of the chairs while Andy gathered all of her things. "So, here is your appointment card for two weeks, you come here to the outpatient wing for the CT scan at 8am, and then your appointment with the Doctor is in his office across the street at 9am. All of his information is right here on the paper," the nurse handed the piece of paper to Sharon.

"And looks like your ride is here to take you down," the nurse turned around and saw the wheelchair was ready for Sharon. Sharon stood up and Andy was right by her side as she walked over to the wheelchair and sat down. Andy then made sure he had everything of hers with him as they both left the room.

They made their way down to the waiting area on the first floor of the hospital. "I'll go get the car and bring it around the front," Andy fished his car keys out of his pocket and headed towards where the car was parked. When they had first arrived at the ER entrance, he had left his car to the side, but when Provenza showed up that afternoon, he had moved it to a regular parking spot.

Andy found the car and placed Sharon's bag inside. He then walked around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. That's when he saw some dried blood that was on the seat where Sharon sat three days ago. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath. He then went to the back seat and found a towel that was lying in the car. He brought the towel to the front seat and covered it as he didn't want Sharon to see that.

Andy then drove the car to the front of the hospital where Sharon and the nurse were waiting for him. He pulled up and placed the car in park as the nurse wheeled Sharon over to the passenger door. Andy opened the door for her and Sharon stood up from the wheelchair and held onto Andy's hand as she sat inside the car.

"Thank you so much for everything," Andy turned to the nurse and then she walked back into the hospital. Andy went around to the driver's side and got into the car. He looked at Sharon as she settled into the seat and paused for a moment as Sharon closed her eyes.

"You okay?" he asked her in almost a panicked voice. "I'm fine," she turned to him and opened her eyes to look at him. He nodded and then drove them both home.

TBC