DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters except Matthew and Moxie. The rest belongs to James Duff and the Major Crimes Franchise.

Chapter 8

The ride over to the Plummer's house was quiet. After stopping to get Ralph something to eat, the kid became quiet. Andy pulled down the street that Ralph's house was on. "I don't want my parents to be mad at me" Ralph said quietly. Andy parked the car on the street in front of the house. "Ralph, they are not mad at you, they were worried about you and will be happy that you are back home and safe" Sharon reassured the child.

Andy got out of the car and opened up the trunk, grabbing Ralph's bike out and placing it on ground. Sharon then opened the back passenger door and Ralph got out of the car with his backpack. Katie opened the front door of the house and ran over to them, hugging Ralph. "Oh my baby, I missed you so much" she said as she continued to hug Ralph. Charlie came out right behind Katie and stood on the sidewalk watching the scene in front of him.

Charlie stepped forward towards Andy, taking the bike from him. "Thank you for finding him" Charlie said to Andy and then looked at Sharon. She could tell that he seemed to be a little embarrassed over his behavior earlier. "You're welcome" Sharon stated and then glanced at Andy. "We're going to go and leave you three so that you can be together" she added and Katie nodded her head as she wiped the tears away. "Thank you" Katie said and the three of them walked back into their house.

Both Andy and Sharon looked at each other and sighed. They both then got into their car and Andy drove them back to the office. "I'm glad that ended well" Andy said, breaking the silence of their car ride. Sharon hummed in response and Andy could tell something was bothering her. "What is it?" Andy asked as they drove further into Downtown. "Just something seems off" Sharon said as she looked out the window. "Care to elaborate on that?" Andy asked her after some quiet minutes.

"Just something about Charlie's behavior when we brought Ralph home" she started. "From the way he acted earlier to now, I don't know" she shook her head as Andy pulled their car into the parking garage. Andy parked the car and turned it off. He then looked at Sharon. "We've had a busy day, with the early call out, to my doctor's visit, and now that we found Ralph and returned him home, maybe we should take the rest of the day, leave early, relax" Andy tried hinting at Sharon. Sharon looked at him and smiled, rubbing his hands with hers.

"We still need to pick Matthew from camp this afternoon" she told him in a low, sultry voice that drove him crazy. "That's not for a couple of hours still" he whispered as he was getting lost in her eyes. "We have a lot to talk about as well" she said as she caressed his face with her right hand, leaving her left hand in Andy's. She hummed as she ran her fingers over his jaw. "You didn't shave this morning" she said, feeling the stubble on his chin. Andy shrugged his shoulders, still looking at her. "I didn't have time" he whispered. Before they went any further with their flirting, Sharon cleared her throat. "We need to get back to the office" she told him. "Yes, Commander" he smiled, bringing her left hand to his lips for a kiss and then releasing her hand back to her.

They made their way back into the Murder Room. Amy was clearing the board. Mike and Buzz were discussing something as they walked inside. Sharon walked into her office as Andy stopped at Provenza's desk. "Everything turn out ok when you dropped the kid off with his parents?" Provenza asked. Andy glanced over at Sharon before turning his attention to his best friend. "Yeah, although Sharon feels like something was off when we were there" he told him, shrugging his shoulders. Provenza glanced at Sharon in her office. "Well, she has good instincts, maybe she saw something?" Provenza suggested and then went back to working on his crossword puzzle. Andy walked back to his desk and sat down.

Sharon was finished up a report when she heard a knock on her office door. "Come in" she said as she looked up and saw Provenza stepping in her office. "Lieutenant, have a seat" she gestured with her hand and he sat down in front of her desk. "Everyone is done with their reports, Commander" he told her as he handed her the reports from the team. She sighed as she took them. "Everything ok?" he asked, remembering what Flynn had told him earlier.

"I just think something is off with that whole situation" she confessed as she looked at her second in command. "Well, we didn't find anything adverse and the kid was ok" Provenza reassured her, but he knew that look on her face, something else was worrying her. "Is everything ok with Andy?" he asked her, glancing at his best friend sitting at his desk. "Yes, his doctor's appointment went well" she told him. "Is he still in a funk from yesterday's game?" he continued but didn't want to pry too much.

She sighed and looked over at Andy. "He's working through it" she simply stated. "Well," Provenza stood up from the chair. "Tell the team they can take off in 5 minutes, it's been an early day and we could all use the rest of the day to enjoy" Sharon told him and he nodded, then left her office. "The Commander says we can all take off in 5 minutes as it's been an early day" Provenza told the team and they all started to pack up their things. After hearing that, Andy turned around in his chair to look at Sharon in her office. She was also packing up her things. He waved to the rest of the team as they left and then knocked on Sharon's door.

"Yes" he heard her and opened the door. "Hey, are you ready to go?" he asked, stepping inside. "Yes, I am" she smiled and stood up from her chair. He held out his arms for her and she encircled hers around him. They hugged each other in her office and she buried her head into his neck. "I think we should get Matthew a phone" she muttered. He closed his eyes and held her. "I think that's a good idea" he whispered and she shifted in his arms, breaking their embrace.

"I think we should get him a phone after we pick him up" Sharon said as they stepped off the elevator. "Ok" Andy agreed as they walked to their car. Sharon waited for Andy to get in the driver's side before she spoke again. She cleared her throat as he started the car. "So, what do you want to talk about?" he asked as he backed the car up and started to drive. "Let's go to the beach, we can talk there" Sharon suggested.

Andy was hoping they would go home but he drove towards the beach like Sharon suggested. The ride over there was quiet. He pulled them into a parking spot and turned the car off. "Ok, so" Andy started as he turned in his seat so that he was looking at his wife. "Let's go outside, and walk" Sharon stopped him, placing her hand in his. He gave her a smile and then watched her step out of the car, him doing the same and then met up with her at the front of the car. She grabbed his hand and they started walking down the boardwalk.

Sharon wanted to bring up Andy's nightmare from last night. There was a slight breeze coming off the ocean as they continued to walk. Andy stopped, which in turn had Sharon stop as well. She turned around to look at him. "Are we delaying the inevitable?" he asked, searching her face. "I know what you want to talk about, Sharon" he said barely above a whisper. Sharon looked at him, and then tugged his hand and the rest of him towards the bench that was in front of them. She sat down and he followed her, wrapping his right arm around her, pulling her into his side.

She took a deep breath and then asked him, "Andy, you've had dreams before of me getting shot and whatever else, but last nights was different". "It was different" Andy mumbled as he closed his eyes and willed those images out of his head. "How was it different?" she asked as she took her right hand and placed it on his tie, fidgeting with it. He took a deep breath. "Because it seemed so real to me" he finally stated, closing his eyes, and he leaned his head down towards hers. "Is that why you threw up after?" she moved her hand from his tie to his left hand that was on top of his thigh.

"I threw up after the realization that I cannot live without you, and in that nightmare, I saw the fear in your eyes as the blood came gushing out of your chest and then the life in your eyes went away" he confessed, holding her hand in his. "When I woke up" he continued but he couldn't find the words to say. Sharon took his hand in hers and then shifted so that he was facing her. "I know" she told him. "I've had those types of dreams before, and" but before she could continue, he pulled her in for a kiss.

After they broke their kiss, Sharon looked into Andy's eyes as she turned her body. "What's really going on?" she asked as she caressed his face again, the stubble from his facial hair feeling rough on her fingers. Andy looked at her but shook his head slightly, and then looked downwards. Sharon turned her head on an angle to continue to look at him. "Hey" she whispered, bringing his chin back up so that he was looking at her again. "I don't deserve you" he whispered. 'No, not this again', Sharon thought to herself as she looked at him. She took a deep breath again before she spoke.

"Why do you think you don't deserve me, Andy?" she asked in her soft voice as she looked at him. He broke their eye contact by looking out into the ocean. She wishes he wasn't so hard on himself and she knows dealing with Charlie earlier had brought up some things. Even dealing with Jones yesterday at the game brought up the past too. His silence now was killing her. "Andy, you remind me every day that you are not like Jack. Jack didn't deserve me, but you do" Sharon told him. He sighed when she mentioned Jack's name.

"Didn't we go through this when I got shot and you saw Doctor Peters?" she asked him and he nodded looking at her. He saw disappointment flash across her face for a brief moment. "I thought you had worked through this" she caressed his face again. "I guess dealing with Jones at the game yesterday and then speaking to Charlie earlier today, it just got me in a funk" he confessed to her.

She ran her hand through his hair and settled her fingers at the nape of his neck. "And then having my doctor's appointment this morning, it just brought back a lot of memories" he continued. "I've never been taken care of the way that you have taken care of me" he added and then looked back into her eyes, and saw the tears in them. "Andy, I've never been loved the way you have loved me" she said, swallowing a gasp before she continued. "You take care of me in a way I never thought I needed to be taken care of" she told him. "We're quite the pair, aren't we?" he said, giving her his smile and she laughed and smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Do you need a meeting?" was the next thing Sharon asked him. "I'll call my sponsor after dinner tonight" Andy told her as they were now looking out at the ocean. The breeze was picking up but it felt nice. He glanced at his watch to see what time it was. He then kissed the top of Sharon's head. "We need to start heading over to the park district" he told her as she was fidgeting with his tie again. "Did you notify Nicole that we were picking him up?" he asked as he stood up and held out his hand for her to take. "Yes, I texted her after we brought Ralph back home" she said, grabbing his hand and stood up.

They walked back towards their car. As they stopped at the passenger side, Sharon reached for the door handle but was stopped by Andy's hand. She turned and looked at him. He leaned in and kissed her, placing her hand on his tie. Her other hand went around his back. Both of his hands cupped her face as he deepened their kiss. They broke apart after and caught their breaths. "Maybe we can take a vacation?" she suggested thinking that her and Andy needed a get-away somewhere.

"I just need you" he whispered to her, releasing her and opening the car door. She got into the car and he closed the door and then made his way around to the driver's side. His head was reeling from their last kiss. "Do you want me to text Nicole and tell her there's been a change of plans?" Sharon smiled at him. Andy thought about what she just said, but then shook his head. "No, we should pick him up, it will give us a chance to tell him what happened to Ralph, and then I thought you wanted to get him a cell phone?" Andy said as he reached for her hand.

"We could still do all of that when we pick him up from Nicole's house later" Sharon suggested as Andy looked at her eyes, filled with desire this time. "I don't want this to feel like a cheap roll in the hay with you" he whispered and she laughed at his joke. "I want it to be romantic, spontaneous" he told her. "Ok, how about we plan a date?" she suggested as she continued to smile. "We haven't had one in a long time, just the two of us" Andy answered. "How about no matter what happens with work, we plan on going out together this Wednesday? That should give plenty of time for us to have Matthew spend the night over at Nicole and Dean's and it's not your typical date night either" she suggested and Andy agreed and started their car.

Andy and Sharon pulled up to the park district building where the summer camp was being held. He parked next to Nicole's minivan and waved to her through the window. Nicole got out of her vehicle and made her way to speak to her dad and Sharon. "Hi sweetheart" Andy said as he rolled down his window. "Hi Dad, Sharon" Nicole smiled as she leaned on his door. "I'm glad you finished your case today" she added. "I hope Matthew wasn't a problem early this morning" Sharon said as she leaned over in her seat.

"He's never a problem, plus they were all excited to go to camp today" Nicole said. "That's good to hear" Sharon said as she looked around to see if the kids were being dismissed yet. "Hey, um Nicole, I was wondering, if it would be ok if Matthew spent Wednesday night with you guys" Andy asked his daughter. She looked at him and his goofy grin. "Sure Dad, he can stay with us" Nicole answered skeptically. "I'm taking Sharon out on a date that night" he sheepishly told her. "Say no more, it's not a problem" Nicole smiled and then the kids were being dismissed from their summer camp day.

Colin, Avery, and Matthew all came out at the same time. Matthew saw his parents when he walked out and ran over to their car. He opened the car door and got in. "Mom, Dad, you're here!" he said excitingly. "Hey buddy" Andy turned around in his seat to see him. "Grandpa, Grandma! Hi!" Avery went over to the car window. "Hi Avery!" Sharon said and saw Colin getting into the minivan. "Just send me the details for Wednesday Dad and I'll take it from there" Nicole laughed as her kids already were inside the minivan. "Bye, thank you" both Andy and Sharon said to her and Andy watched his daughter get back in her vehicle.

Andy waited for Nicole to back her car up before he placed their car in reverse and backed out of the spot. "So, Matthew, we need to tell you something" Sharon told him. "Ok" Matthew looked out the window. "You know Ralph Plummer" Sharon continued. "He's on my baseball team mom" Matthew said. Andy rolled his eyes at Matthew's response. "Yes, sweetie we know that" Sharon added. "He ran away from his home last Saturday afternoon" Sharon said as the car came to a stop at a light.

"Did you find him?" Matthew asked. "Yeh, buddy, we found him this morning" Andy spoke and then continued to drive as the light turned green. "Is he ok?" Matthew wondered as he shifted in his seat. "He's safe, and back home" Sharon assured him. "Why did he run away?" Matthew asked them. "He told us that his parents were arguing and he decided he didn't want to be home during that" Andy said as he pulled their car into the shopping center.

"What are we doing here?" Matthew asked, looking out the front window as he leaned forward in his seat. "Well, your father and I have decided to get you your own cell phone" Sharon told him as Andy parked the car in front of the cell phone store. Matthew got really excited and Andy saw that in the rear view mirror. "But, it's only gonna be for you to use in an emergency" Andy told him and Matthew suddenly stopped being excited. "Oh" Matthew frowned. Andy glanced at Sharon and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Let's go inside so you can choose your phone" Sharon got out of the car, and both Andy and Matthew followed, joining her on the sidewalk in front of the store and they all walked in together. Matthew was looking at the different phones but didn't know which one to choose. Sharon was looking at phones that were just for kids while Andy spoke to one of the salespeople.

"How about this one mom?" Matthew called over to get Sharon's attention. Sharon looked up and walked over to Matthew. Sharon looked at the price of the phone that Matthew was looking at and her eyes went wide. There were 4 different cameras on the back of the phone and it was not what Andy and her had in mind. "Um, how about we look at ones that are a little less money than this one" she told him and then steered him over to where the starter phones for kids were located.

Andy joined them with the salesperson and they decided on the basic Apple iPhone that they had in stock. Andy had informed the salesperson that the phone would only be used for texting and making phone calls. "That won't be a problem" the salesperson told them. They went to the counter and the salesperson started setting everything up. They also gave them a law enforcement discount on top of it.

All three of them walked out of the store about 45 minutes later and Matthew was so excited to have his own phone. "Remember it's only to call and text the people we put in your phone" Sharon reminded him. "Like who?" he asked as he opened the passenger door and got in the car. "Well, like your brothers and sisters, mom, me, and your uncle Louie" Andy told him as both him and Sharon got in the front seats. "Hand me your phone and I can start putting the numbers in as we drive home" Sharon suggested and Matthew handed his phone to her.

TBC