A/N: Thanks so much for being patient with me through breaks and trips and burnout. Your support truly means the world to me. Hope you enjoy this latest chapter of Antithesis.

Ch. 7: Into the Night

The next weekend, Sharon and Andy brought their four children, Andy's two, Nicole & Brandon, and Sharon's two, Emily and Ricky, together for a playdate.

Once the kids met each other, it was apparent that they'd instantly become fast friends.

Soon enough, Emily was taking Nicole to her room while Ricky took Brandon to his room to play.

That left the two adults alone in awkward silence for a moment after their last flirtatious encounter the weekend before.

Who knew that cooking dinner with someone could be so intimate, Sharon thought.

Finally, it was Sharon who broke the silence by sitting on the couch and saying, "Have a seat."

"Alright. Thanks," Andy told her as he sat down across from her on the couch.

"How's work been?" asked Sharon, making conversation.

"Oddly quiet the past few days actually," replied Andy.

"That's good though, isn't it?" asked Sharon.

"Sometimes, yeah. It's also a little unsettling though. There's usually almost always a dirtbag to catch on the streets of LA," said Andy.

"So, what you're saying is you're bored without a criminal to catch?" asked Sharon.

"Not exactly. It's just disconcerting I guess. I'm half expecting to get called out on a case this afternoon," answered Andy.

"Well, you know you can always call me to watch the kids if you happen to have them when you get called out. With a few more employees at the bookstore now, I'm able to spend more time at home," offered Sharon.

"Well, thank you. I really appreciate the offer, Sharon," said Andy as he smiled at Sharon.

"It's no problem," said Sharon as she bent her head down and smiled to herself.

"Should we talk about this thing lingering between us?" asked Andy bluntly.

"Yeah, we probably should," admitted Sharon just as Andy's beeper went off.

He checked the number and saw it was the LAPD and asked, "Can I use your phone real quick? It's work. Hoping I'm not being rolled out, but we'll see."

"Sure. It's on the table near the front door," said Sharon as Andy stood up and headed in the direction of the phone.

A few minutes later, he hung up with whoever he was talking to at the LAPD, and headed back towards Sharon.

"Looks like I'll have to take a raincheck on the conversation we were about to have. They're rolling me out to a homicide," said Andy.

"Alright, raincheck then. The kids are just getting to know each other. Why don't you leave them here and I'll watch and entertain them while you're at work," suggested Sharon.

"Are you sure, Sharon?" asked Andy.

"Positive," said Sharon.

"The investigation could go late into the night or even into early tomorrow. Are you sure you're okay with taking care of all four kids for that long? I don't wanna take advantage of your generosity too much," said Andy.

"You're not. It's completely fine, okay? Go on. We'll be fine and the conversation will keep," said Sharon as she smiled at Andy.

"Okay. I owe you one. I'll call when I'm done," said Andy.

"Okay," said Sharon disappointedly to nobody but herself as Andy went down the hall to say goodbye to his children before exiting the house and off to wherever his homicide investigation was.

Meanwhile, that afternoon at the Raydor residence, Sharon played with the four children and found various ways to entertain them, whether it be through playing Polly Pocket with the girls or Legos with the boys or games they could all play.

Currently, it was about seven in the evening & Sharon was cleaning up the kitchen from their dinner.

God, she wished Andy was here.

It's not that she needed his help to take care of the four kids.

She wanted him there.

Really wanted him there.

To talk to, to laugh with, to smile at each other awkwardly, and maybe more in the future once she was finally divorced from Jack.

As she thought about the maybe more part…she smiled to herself as she continued cleaning the dishes.

The four kids were currently in Emily's room busily playing a board game.

A few minutes later, Nicole and Emily and Ricky and Brandon came into the kitchen when Sharon was just finishing up and lost in thoughts of Andy.

"Mom," said Emily, causing Sharon to jump from where she was standing over the sink drying the last plate.

"Oh! Emily, you scared me. What's up, sweetie?" asked Sharon.

"Well, it's almost bedtime and Nicole & Brandon don't have any pajamas to wear," Emily told her mother.

"Oh. That's not a problem. Just let Nicole borrow some of yours and Ricky you can let Brandon borrow some of yours," suggested Sharon.

"Okay," replied Emily as she and Nicole headed for her room to change and Ricky & Brandon did the same in Ricky's room.

Once the children were dressed in their pajamas for the night, they came out and asked if they could watch a movie for a while before bed.

Sharon agreed and put in Aladdin for her and the children to watch for a while.

An hour and a half later, all the kids were asleep on the couch.

Sharon carefully stood up and looked at the scene before her and smiled.

First she picked up Ricky and set him in his bed before doing the same with Brandon and depositing him next to Ricky.

Then, she picked up Emily, and then Nicole and put both of them to bed in Emily's room.

Once she made sure both rooms of children were asleep, she closed both of their bedroom doors and headed for the master bathroom to take a bath and have a glass of red wine.'

As she laid in the hot water of the bubble bath, she slowly sipped on her red wine and halfheartedly read her romance novel while lost in thought.

What a day it had been.

She'd had tons of fun playing with the kids, but something was missing.

Or rather someone.

She'd missed Andy today, but understood that he had to work, just like her.

They were both single parents so working wasn't a want as much as a need.

Speaking of wants and needs.

As Sharon lay in the tub, her thoughts drifted to Andy…and not all of them were platonic.

Ever since he'd come over for dinner after the museum, she'd been dreaming of him just about every night.

She'd tried to stop, but her thoughts and dreams were filled with him.

Whether it was him playing with the kids out in the backyard…and somehow there was a dog out there too.

Or whether it was them sitting on the couch with her feet in his lap as they annotated their books while the kids were on the living room floor playing a game.

Him quoting poetry to her and her reading the highlights of her romance novels to him, which she still read from time to time.

Then, there was one where the kids weren't there at all, but just off with a family member or something.

That one admittedly was her favorite as of late.

It was just her and Andy in a dark room filled with candles.

It was about this time that she reached up and set her book on the bathroom counter before returning to her daydream.

Her & Andy were tearing each other's clothes off hastily, moving towards the bed as they continued kissing.

Then, once they stood naked in front of each other next to the bed, Andy had looked her up and down hungrily and simply said, "Beautiful."

She'd smiled to herself at that part and began touching herself underneath the water as the daydream continued.

That was…until there was a thudding knock on the front door that shook her out of her reverie.

Who could be here at this hour and knocking incessantly?

She quickly toweled off and threw her robe on and tied it around her as the loud knocking continued.

She knew it wouldn't be Andy at this hour knocking like that.

It was either one of two people.

The police…or…and she didn't even wanna think about the other option.

As she opened the door, she was confronted with that other option.

"What are you doing here knocking on the door like that this late, Jack?" asked Sharon angrily.

"I wanted to see my kids," said Jack drunkenly, clearly unaware of what time it was.

"They're sleeping now. Come back tomorrow when you've sobered up," said Sharon as she attempted to shut the door in Jack's face.

"No! I wanna see them now! You can't keep me away from my own children," yelled Jack as he barged into the house.

Sharon kept her voice low, but firm, as she said, "Jack. You're drunk. Get out."

"Where are they?" asked Jack as he stumbled down the hallway.

"No, Jack. Not tonight and not unless you're sober," Sharon attempted to push him away from the children's bedrooms.

Jack was strong & strong willed when he was drunk, she'd give him that.

As Jack opened the door to Emily's room, he saw a second girl in there with her and yelled at Sharon, "What are you doing, now? Taking in strays?"

"No, Jack. That's a friend of Emily's. Now shut the door," Sharon told him.

"Mom?" asked Emily as she suddenly stirred.

Go back to sleep, honey," Sharon told Emily as she pushed Jack through the doorway and shut the door.

"I wanna see my boy," said Jack as he stumbled towards Ricky's room.

Sharon tried to get him away from the door, but Jack was stronger than her and pushed past her as he entered Ricky's room.

"Let me guess, another friend?" said Jack loudly.

"Yes, Jack. They're having a sleepover. Now shut the damn door," Sharon told him firmly again.

Jack for once complied and stumbled out into the living room as Sharon shut Ricky's door and went out into the living room to confront Jack.

"Jack. You reek of vodka. I won't let you see the kids like this. Maybe when you're sober, we can talk about this like adults. Now, I'm not gonna tell you again. Get the hell out of my house," Sharon told him.

"Why are you so anxious to get me out of here, Sharon? Is there someone else here?" asked Jack angrily.

"Not that it's any of your business anymore, but no. Now, get out," said Sharon as she held the door open for Jack to leave.

Unfortunately, he didn't listen and began barrelling down the hallway to what had once been their bedroom and yelled, "You pussy! Come out and face me like a man. After all, you are sleeping with my wife."

"Jack, there's nobody in there. Now, let's go," Sharon reiterated.

Jack busted through the bedroom door and went looking for whoever he thought was there before heading for the bathroom and saw the bubble bath, candles, and a glass with a tiny bit of red wine in it.

"You did have someone here, didn't you? You bitch! You're cheating on me! Who is he?!" yelled Jack as he threw her glass of red wine against one of the bathroom walls, where it shattered into a million pieces.

"Jack, I'm telling you no one was or is here except me, the kids, and their friends. Now, get out!" Sharon exclaimed, figuring the kids were probably already awake after all the noise Jack had been making.

"Mom? Is everything okay?" Emily asked sleepily from the doorway to her bedroom.

"Emily!" exclaimed Jack as he headed towards his daughter, who was in the doorway.

"Dad?" asked Emily as she could clearly smell alcohol on him.

"Yes, daddy's here now," said Jack as he headed towards the girl.

Sharon pulled on his arm in an attempt to get him away from Emily and said, "Emily, grab the cordless phone out of the living room and lock you, Nicole, Ricky, and Brandon in there with you. Tell Nicole to call her dad at work." Sharon told her daughter.

"Mom? Are you alright?" Emily asked once again.

"I will be, sweetie. Now, go," Sharon told her.

Emily did as Sharon asked and locked everyone in her room with her as she told Nicole to dial Andy's work number now.

Nicole did just that and when Andy answered, he said, "Sharon, is everything alright?"

"Dad. It's me," said Nicole as she began crying into the phone.

Emily took the phone from an inconsolable Nicole and said, "Andy, it's Emily. You need to get here now. My dad's back and I think he might be about to hurt my mom."

"Emily, slow down. Where are you guys right now?" asked Andy as he waved his partner over.

"Mom told me to lock everyone in my room and call you. So, that's what we did," said Emily.

"Alright, I'm on my way with my partner now. None of you are to leave that room until I get there and tell you it's safe to come out. Understood?" confirmed Andy.

"Yeah. I understand. Hurry, please. I just heard a loud noise across the hallway," said Emily as she began to cry as well.

"Don't worry, Emily. We'll be there in ten minutes tops," said Andy before he hung up.

Andy updated his partner about the situation and they began racing over there in record time with a couple of patrol units following them over there as well.

Meanwhile, in the meantime, Jack had choked Sharon until she was almost unconscious and then shoved her backwards.

As Sharon fell, she hit the back of her head on the edge of the tub before slumping forward and onto the floor of the master bathroom, where she fell unconscious moments later.

Meanwhile, as usual, Jack decided to run away from his problems.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading this latest chapter. Feel free to leave a review if you so feel inclined.