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

A/N: I apologize for the lack of updates on this story lately. Life got in the way a bit as it tends to do sometimes. Anyways, I'm excited to finally be posting a new chapter for you guys! Enjoy!

Chapter 8: My Best Friend

It was now the middle of November. Sharon and the team had spent the day catching up on paperwork after wrapping up their latest case the day before. Andy had noticed that Sharon had been unusually quiet all day. So, as he knocked on her office door to turn in his paperwork, he decided he would check on her to make sure she was okay. A moment later, Andy heard Sharon tell him to come in.

"Hey," said Andy as he set the stack of papers in the inbox on Sharon's desk.

"Hey," replied Sharon with a tired smile.

"Umm…listen, I'm not trying to pry, but you've been really quiet all day. Is everything okay?" Andy asked her concernedly.

"Yeah. It will be. It's just been a weird day, that's all. My lawyer called this morning to let me know my divorce was final," replied Sharon.

In all honesty, Andy wasn't sure how to respond to that. He knew Sharon was probably relieved to finally be rid of Jack, but at the same time, divorce was a tricky thing. It had a way of making a person very reflective, which could bring up all kinds of emotions, especially in Sharon's case. Therefore, he wasn't quite sure what he should say to her. He knew he had to say something though, so he said, "Wow. That's big news."

"Yeah. Sorry if I haven't been my usual self today," said Sharon.

"Sharon, you have nothing to apologize for. It's a big day. I was just worried about you. That's all," Andy told her.

"Thanks. I appreciate that," replied Sharon.

"Well, I'm only a phone call away if you wanna talk about it," Andy told Sharon as he turned to leave her office.

"Andy?" Sharon called after him.

"Yeah?" Andy asked her.

"Thank you," Sharon told him sincerely.

"Anytime," replied Andy as he smiled at Sharon before closing the door to her office and making his way back to the murder room.

Andy quickly grabbed his jacket, wallet, and keys before leaving the PAB for the night. He wasn't sure if he should be the one keeping Sharon company tonight, but he knew he didn't want her to be alone. So, after he got off the elevator and made his way out of the PAB, he dialed the number of a certain DDA who he knew along with a certain lawyer friend of Sharon's would do their best to try and take her mind off things for a while.

About half an hour later, Sharon heard a knock on her office door. She was a bit confused as she knew the team had probably already left for the night. Regardless of that, she told whoever it was to come in. When the door opened, she was a little surprised to see Andrea walk into her office.

"If that can wait until tomorrow, you are getting your purse and we're gonna go meet Gavin at Vinoteca Farfalla," Andrea told her.

"What?" Sharon asked confusedly.

"A little birdy told me you were in need of some fun tonight," Andrea explained.

"I'm gonna kill him," said Sharon.

"No you won't," replied Andrea knowingly.

"Why the hell not?" Sharon asked.

Andrea fixed Sharon with a pointed look before she said, "Really? Come on, let's go."

Sharon sighed before she said, "Okay. One glass."

About twenty minutes later, Sharon and Andrea arrived at the trendy wine bar Andrea had insisted they were going to. They saw Gavin had already gotten a table and made their way towards him.

"Oh, honey. How are you doing?" Gavin asked Sharon concernedly.

"I'm fine, Gavin. It's not like it wasn't heading this direction for a long time anyways," replied Sharon.

"Well, as they say, onto the next," said Gavin.

"I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that yet," Sharon told him.

"What about your silver fox?" Gavin asked her.

"For the last time, nothing is going on with that. We're just friends," said Sharon.

"Oh, Sharon. You seriously can't tell me nothing's going on. About a month ago, you told me it was complicated. From what I saw at the charity banquet, it didn't look all that complicated," Gavin told her.

"Wait, you took Andy with you to the charity banquet at the Japanese American Museum?" Andrea asked Sharon.

"Yep and they looked pretty cozy on the dance floor together," Gavin gushed to Andrea.

"Damn Sharon! Get it girl! Ink's barely dry and you've already found someone else. Serves that asshole right," Andrea told her.

"First of all, nobody's getting anything right now. Plus, lczike I told Gavin, it's complicated," Sharon explained.

"Doesn't seem that damn complicated to me. Especially given all the laughing and smiling the two of you were doing that night on the dance floor. Everybody's eyes were literally glued to the two of you," Gavin told her.

"What?" Andrea asked Gavin prying for more details.

The two of them continued speculating about Sharon's love life as Sharon flagged down a waiter and ordered a glass of red wine. Something told her she was going to need it tonight. Sharon ended up staying at the wine bar for another hour before she decided to say her goodbyes to Gavin and Andrea. Once Sharon started her car and began driving off towards her condo, she decided there was one more place she needed to go first and with that she made her way towards the freeway, got onto Interstate 5, and began making her way towards Valencia.

About 35 minutes later, Sharon pulled up in front of Andy's house. She wasn't quite sure what had possessed her to get on the freeway and drive all the way out to Andy's house in Valencia. Nevertheless, she got out of her car and made her way towards Andy's front door. Once she got there, she knocked on the door and waited for him to answer.

A few moments later, the door swung open to reveal Andy standing in the doorway in a pair of black sweatpants and an LAPD t-shirt.

"Hey," Andy greeted Sharon.

"Hey. I didn't wake you, did I?" Sharon asked as she realized it was past 10pm.

"Nah. I just got back from the gym about an hour ago. Just been hanging out watching TV since then. You wanna come in?" Andy asked Sharon.

"Yeah," replied Sharon as Andy moved out of the way to let her inside before closing the door.

"You want something to drink?" Andy asked Sharon as he headed towards the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"Water's fine. Thanks," replied Sharon as Andy handed her a water bottle and grabbed one for himself.

"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier in my office. I wasn't trying to push you away. Like I said, it's been a weird day," Sharon told Andy.

"Sharon, for the last time, stop apologizing. I completely understand. Divorce can be a tricky thing sometimes. It has this nasty habit of making people reflect on things, which can bring up all kinds of different emotions. Especially in your case. Don't worry about it. Besides, I probably wasn't making it any better by acting all weird earlier," said Andy.

"What do you mean?" Sharon asked him.

"I wanna be there for you when you need me, but I don't want to hover and the last thing I wanna do is do something that makes you feel uncomfortable. Earlier, when you told me your divorce was final, I wasn't sure how to respond and I got a little weird about it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm willing to wait as long as it takes until you're comfortable defining and moving forward with whatever this is between us. I just need to know where your boundaries lie when it comes to all of this. Before, when you were still married, there was this line that we both knew not to cross. Now that that's no longer there, I'm…" Andy trailed off.

"Confused?" Sharon asked.

"Yeah and I don't know how to phrase this next part without sounding like a huge jerk," replied Andy.

"We're talking about physical boundaries here, right?" Sharon asked.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm pushing too much, aren't I? Forget it. It's a stupid question," Andy told her.

"Andy that's not a stupid question. In fact, it's a perfectly valid one. I get what you're saying about there being a line neither of us were willing to cross before and how that's no longer an issue. I see why you'd be confused as to how to proceed with the current situation. Umm…can I make a confession before I answer that?" Sharon asked Andy with an awkward smile as she stared at the floor.

"Yeah," replied Andy as he put two fingers under Sharon's chin to raise her head up until their eyes met and Andy smiled reassuringly at her.

"Along with you touching the top of my hand and both of us looking at each other a little too long to be just friends, I really enjoy flirting with you," Sharon told Andy as she chuckled nervously.

"I'm glad. Cause I really enjoy flirting with you too," replied Andy as he smiled at Sharon.

"To answer your question, in addition to what we've been doing, I wouldn't object if you decided you wanted to hug me or kiss my cheek," Sharon told Andy flirtatiously.

"Huh. I'll have to remember that," replied Andy as he rubbed his thumb along the top of Sharon's hand.

Sharon looked up at Andy and smiled at him.

"Sharon, can I ask you a question?" Andy asked her.

"Of course," replied Sharon.

"Why did you decide to drive all the way out here tonight? It's not like it's a short drive from LA, especially with traffic," Andy pointed out.

"I was on my way home and I realized that I missed my best friend," Sharon told Andy as her eyes met his.

"I missed you today too. Once I found out why you had been so quiet today, I wasn't sure if I should be the one keeping you company tonight," said Andy.

"Which is why you enlisted reinforcements," said Sharon knowingly.

"I may have made a phone call on my way out of the PAB. I just didn't want you to be alone tonight," Andy admitted.

"I told Andrea earlier that I was gonna kill you for that. I didn't mean it though. It was really sweet of you actually," Sharon told Andy.

"How did it go?" Andy asked her.

"It was alright. Those two are certainly the ones you call when you need a distraction. I missed being able to talk to my best friend though," Sharon admitted.

"Well, I'm here now. How about I make us some coffee?" Andy asked.

"Okay," replied Sharon as she smiled at Andy.

Andy walked into the kitchen to start brewing the coffee. Sharon followed him and sat on one of the barstools in Andy's kitchen.

"It's weird. I should be glad this whole mess is over and I am, but a part of me is also sad too," said Sharon.

"That's not weird, Sharon. In fact, I think that's pretty normal given the circumstances," Andy told her.

"Meaning?" Sharon asked Andy curiously.

"I think it's perfectly normal that a part of you is feeling sad and emotional about all of this. I mean you were married to the guy for almost thirty years and you do have two children with him. I won't pretend that I like the guy because I don't. He's hurt you a lot and that really upsets me. Despite that though, he was a big part of your life for a long time, even when he wasn't physically present in it," said Andy.

"Yeah. Thanks," said Sharon as Andy handed her a cup of coffee

"Also, knowing you pretty well at this point, you're probably feeling like you've failed in some way and I'm here to tell you that that is completely untrue. You stayed married to him and held out hope that he would get sober for far longer than most women would have. Not only that, but every time he left, you picked up the pieces and held what was left of your fractured family together. You pretty much raised Ricky and Emily on your own and from what I've seen, they're happy, healthy, and functional adults. So, the way I see it, the last thing you have done in this situation is failed," Andy told Sharon.

Sharon smiled and chuckled slightly before she asked Andy, "How do you do that?"

"What?" Andy asked her.

"How do you manage to know exactly how I'm feeling and know just what to say to make me feel better?" Sharon asked Andy.

"It's a skill," replied Andy jokingly.

Sharon fixed Andy with a look that told him she was serious. Andy set his hand on top of Sharon's and rubbed his thumb along the top of it before he said, "Like I said, I know you pretty well by now. I guess I'm starting to pick up on the more subtle aspects of your personality."

At that, Sharon smiled at Andy before she rubbed the thumb of her other hand along the top of Andy's hand and said, "Well, whatever it is, I like it."

At that, Andy locked eyes with Sharon and they stared into each other's eyes longer than usual. Not wanting to make things awkward and not wanting Sharon to leave just yet, Andy asked, "You wanna stay for a while and watch a movie?"

"Yeah. What are we watching?" Sharon asked Andy.

"I'll leave that decision up to you," replied Andy as he smiled at Sharon.

Sharon smiled back at Andy before she got up from the barstool and made her way over to the small bookshelf in Andy's living room where he kept his DVD's. She scanned the shelves for a couple minutes before she pulled one off the shelf and held it up as she said, "Oh my god. How did I not know you had this movie until now?"

"I'm full of surprises. Apparently, you are too. I never would've pegged you as the Dances with Wolves type," replied Andy.

Sharon smiled at Andy before she said, "It's a great movie. I love the love story the most though."

"You wanna watch it?" Andy asked as he smiled at Sharon.

"Sure. It's kind of long though," Sharon pointed out.

"It's alright. If you get tired or fall asleep before it's over, you can always stay in the guest room," Andy offered.

"Okay. Let's watch it," replied Sharon.

They'd started out sitting a comfortable distance from each other on the couch, but about an hour and a half into the movie, Sharon had shifted a little closer to Andy, while still keeping somewhat of a reasonable distance between them.

Then, about an hour after that, Andy felt Sharon's head lean against his shoulder as she continued watching the movie.

"Sharon?" Andy asked.

"Hmm?" Sharon asked Andy.

"You realize your head is on my shoulder, right?" Andy asked her.

"Uh huh. Do you want me to move it?" Sharon asked him flirtatiously.

"No. I mean not if you don't want to. I just want to make sure this is what you want and isn't something you're going to regret tomorrow," replied Andy.

Just then, Sharon sat up and looked over at Andy before she said, "Andy, this isn't something I'm going to wake up tomorrow and regret. Being here with you isn't something I'm going to regret. Just like I don't regret meeting you for coffee on the Sunday mornings when we don't have a case or going to that Dodger game together or bringing you with me to that charity banquet at the Japanese American Museum or sitting in Pat's diner for hours afterwards talking with you while we drank chocolate milkshakes. I like you, but more than that, I respect you and the feelings we both have wrapped up in this…mutual admiration we have for each other. So, if I do something like lay my head on your shoulder it's done with intention and is in no way designed to lead you on. For right now, this feels nice. We'll see where things go from here. Okay?" Sharon asked Andy.

"Okay. I just wanted to check in and make sure you were comfortable with this," Andy explained.

As Sharon returned to leaning her head against Andy's shoulder she smiled and said, "I am. Very comfortable, in fact."

Andy smiled at that before he asked, "Well, since you're so comfortable, would you mind if I let my hand rest against your shoulder while we watch the rest of the movie?"

"No. In fact, I'd like that very much," replied Sharon as she looked up and smiled at Andy before she turned her attention back to the movie as he slid his arm around Sharon and rested his hand against her shoulder.

A couple hours later, as the credits were rolling, Andy looked over at Sharon and realized she was asleep on his shoulder. He ran his fingertips along Sharon's upper arm in an attempt to wake her as he said, "Sharon."

"Mmhmm that feels nice," Sharon mumbled in her sleep as she adjusted her position and turned her face towards Andy's neck.

Not wanting Sharon to feel awkward when she woke up, Andy slowly sat up and gently shook her shoulders in an attempt to rouse her. When Sharon slowly began opening her eyes, Andy smiled at her. Sharon began rubbing at her eyes before she asked, "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how long you were out. I looked over at you when the movie was over and you were asleep," explained Andy.

"Well, that's awkward," said Sharon.

"Sharon, it's two thirty in the morning. Most normal people are asleep at this hour. Come on. You can sleep in the guest room," said Andy as he stood to help her up from the couch.

Sharon got up from the couch and began following Andy down the hallway. When they arrived at the point where they would go their separate ways, Sharon grabbed Andy's hand and squeezed it before she said, "Thank you."

"For what?" Andy asked her curiously.

"For not letting me be alone tonight. I didn't know I needed that, but somehow you did," replied Sharon as she let go of Andy's hand and smiled at him.

Andy smiled back at Sharon before he said, "Glad I could help."

"Me too," replied Sharon as her and Andy stood there staring into each other's eyes.

"Well, goodnight," Andy told Sharon as he leaned over and lightly touched her upper arm with his hand as he placed a kiss against her cheek before resuming their previous proximity.

As Andy's lips left her cheek, Sharon smiled at him as she said a bit breathlessly, "Goodnight."

They stood there staring at each other for another minute before Sharon pointed at the door to the guest room and said, "Well, I'm just gonna..."

"Yeah. Me too," replied Andy as the both turned to go into their separate rooms.

As Andy lay in bed that night, so many different questions were running through his mind. What would it be like to actually kiss Sharon? To bury his hands in her hair? To whisper sweet nothings in her ear letting her know just how much he cared about her, or even better, to be given the opportunity to show her? Andy didn't remember ever feeling this way before, but if there was anything he was certain of in this whole situation, it was this: He was completely smitten with Sharon Raydor.

Meanwhile, across the hall, Sharon couldn't seem to calm the butterflies in her stomach. It had just been a feather light kiss on her cheek, but somehow it was awakening feelings in her she'd almost forgot existed. Feelings she wasn't sure she could hold back much longer. If a simple kiss on the cheek did this to her, she could only imagine what Andy's lips could do to her under more passionate circumstances, not to mention what his hands were capable of making her feel if given the chance to roam freely over her body. She quickly tried to chase those thoughts away, but nevertheless the huge smile that had formed at just the thought of it didn't seem to fade and as she drifted off to sleep that night, Sharon could help but think that more and more, one of the main reasons she found herself smiling so much these days was because of the man whose guest room she happened to be sleeping in tonight. A man with whom she had initially started out as enemies with all those years ago. A man who years later would come into her life as a friend when she needed one most. A man who had somehow found a way into her life and now it seemed her heart as well. Somehow, Andy had broken past her defenses when she wasn't even looking and now that he had, Sharon was again questioning why she had waited so long before divorcing her now ex-husband, but more than that, why she had decided keeping Andy at arm's length for so long was ever a good idea.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! As always, please leave a review to let me know what you thought of it. Thank you to everyone for your continued support of this story as well as my other fics! Your support really means a lot to me.