Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, followed, and supported this story! I really appreciate all of the feedback. This is the final chapter in this little journey between our favorite couple. As always, I welcome your feedback.

I do not own Major Crimes or any of the fabulous characters. That honor belongs to James Duff and co. I just enjoy writing about them.

Chapter Three

Sharon was running late. Andy had left the PAB before her. Since she still had a couple of reports to finish, he was going to stop and get them dinner and then they would meet at her condo. Sharon had just finished the last part of her final report when Taylor found her and wouldn't let her go. Lengthy conversations about overtime and budgets was not what she had had in mind for her Friday night. Now, she was close to an hour later than she had told Andy she'd be (luckily, she had managed to discreetly send a short text to him earlier). They had very little down time over the last few weeks, and Sharon was really looking forward to tonight with Andy.

After their last failed attempt at making love for the first time, Sharon had decided not to have any expectations when it came to their evenings (and occasionally nights) together. She took the pressure off herself and their relationship and decided to allow things to fall into place naturally. After a bit of self reflection, she realized that her body had only been trying to protect her. Giving so much of herself meant giving over her trust, and after everything that she had gone through with Jack, trust wasn't something she could give easily. Even though she did, indeed, trust Andy, there was (and would always be) a caution that she couldn't overcome when it came to trusting others, especially with this level of intimacy. It was ingrained in her so deeply that it was a part of her.

Time. She just needed more time, she had decided.

As she put her key in the lock of her condo door, she mentally thanked herself for never getting the key back from Andy when he had moved out after the blood clot situation. She would have felt terrible if he had had to wait for her all this time in her hallway. When she crossed the threshold, her senses were inundated with the delicious aroma of pasta from Andy's favorite Italian restaurant. It was her favorite, too. She discarded her keys, hung up her coat, and went straight to the kitchen where she found him getting everything out for dinner.

"This smells delightful," she said with a smile. All of the tension from before leaving her at the sight of the man in front of her.

"Thought you'd be happy with this choice," he said proudly. She hummed her approval before closing the space between them and giving him a sweet kiss.

"Thank you," she beamed. He kissed her again just because the urge to do so was too strong to ignore.

After dinner, they settled in together on the couch and talked about everything and nothing. It was nice to reconnect in this way after another tough case. Sharon never thought about how it would feel to discuss the difficulties of the job with someone who truly understood. Jack had never wanted to hear much about her work, which suited their relationship just fine since he was opposing counsel the majority of the time when it came to the LAPD. But now as she sat tucked into Andy's side with his arm holding her close and hers resting on his chest, she was grateful to have someone to decompress with at the end of the day. A true partner.

Later (after it was decided that it didn't make much sense for Andy to drive the forty minutes back to his house), they laid in bed together. Sharon was surprised at how natural it felt to have Andy in her bed and how easily she could get used to it. He wore his undershirt and boxers, and she found that she was rather partial to the look. She had settled on a simple nightshirt like the couple other times they had found themselves together in her bed.

Andy leaned over to give her a goodnight kiss. It was something he had done the previous times they slept side-by-side, but something was different tonight. There was a certain spark that quickly built into a flame as they both deepened the kiss. Before she knew it, she had pulled Andy down on top of her and their simple goodnight kiss had morphed into a full-fledged make out session. His hands roamed over her clothed body until they met the smooth skin of her legs. He caressed her upper thigh firmly, and Sharon could feel the desire welling up inside her. Except, this time, her body was responding just like she needed it to.

They continued to kiss and caress for a while, and Sharon could feel herself getting more and more turned on. Whatever doubts and trust issues she had in the past seemed to melt away. She was dressed in a simple, very unsexy nightshirt and their night had been nothing extraordinary, but none of that mattered. She wanted him. She wanted this.

"Andy," she whispered as his lips found purchase on her jawline. He hummed in response. "I want to make love," she breathed out on a contented sigh. Andy was surprised by the assurance and confidence in her voice. He ceased his ministrations and brought his eyes to meet hers.

"You're sure? Because we don't-" he began to say, but her lips cut off the rest of his words (and thoughts, for that matter). She kissed him with all the passion and desire she felt for him, and he no longer needed to question whether or not this was what she truly wanted.

Her hands found the hemline of his t-shirt and made quick work of divesting him of it. She explored the soft, carved plains she found underneath before winding up to his shoulders and down his arms. His hands went back to her legs and began lifting her nightshirt inch by inch as he mapped the newly exposed soft skin of her inner thighs. Once they broke for air, Andy again trailed his mouth along her jawline and began a sensual path down her neck.

When he'd managed to lift her nightshirt to her waist, he met her eyes for approval before going any further. She quickly caught on and leaned up just enough to wrap her hands around the bottom of the garment and raise it up and over her head in one fell swoop. Once she laid back down on the pillow, Andy sat back on his haunches for a moment, just admiring the beauty of the woman in front of him. He could tell that she was growing impatient under his intense gaze, so he leaned down and placed soft, delicate kisses to the smooth skin of her lower abdomen, then her navel, then her rib cage, then the valley between her perfectly round breasts before finishing his journey with a heady kiss to her lips.

"I love you," he said, emotions overwhelming him and almost causing the words to stick in his throat. She placed her hands on his face and pulled his mouth back to hers. Their lips and tongues met in a lusty and loving kiss.

"I love you, Andy. Thank you for being so patient with me," she beamed contently.

"You're worth waiting forever for, Sharon," he whispered sincerely, and she fought back the tears that tried to well up in her eyes.

The moments after that morphed into a wonderful blur. Sharon allowed herself to be consumed by the moment as they began a slow build to the final level of intimacy they both craved. His hands were drawn to her breasts as they massaged the soft flesh. At some point in all of their caressing and kissing, Sharon's underwear and Andy's boxers joined their shirts somewhere on her floor.

With the final barriers between them removed, they took time to learn new parts of each other's bodies. Her fingers found the perfect amount of pressure as she slowly massaged his obvious arousal while his tried varying speeds and pressure until her moans told him he had found the right ones. And when they were both completely ready, they reconnected their gazes to make sure they were both on the same page.

"You should know," she said around heavy breaths. "It's been... awhile," she confessed. It wasn't much of a revelation (Andy had figured as much), but he appreciated her willingness to share that information with him.

"For me, too," he replied. And it was true. He hadn't been with anyone since before he and Sharon began their friendship several years prior. Once he had gotten close with her, there was really no one else who he even remotely wanted as much. "Don't worry, we'll go slow".

"Only at first, I hope," she retorted, and they both smiled. He leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss while he guided himself inside of her slowly. Her legs wrapped around him encouraging him to go deeper, and he carefully complied. They remained still for several moments while their bodies adjusted to the feeling and sensations swarming them. When they were both ready, Andy started a languid pace, and Sharon soon met him thrust for thrust.

He moved in and out of her, and she reveled in the delicious feeling of having a man truly make love to her. She was pretty sure it had never been like this, felt this amazing or fulfilling. As their arousal built, Andy's pace increased, and Sharon welcomed the extra friction. The truth was that she was on fire. Things had been slightly painful in the beginning, but she had powered through it, and it was definitely nothing but pleasure now. She could feel the familiar pressure and heat building in her core. Andy must have been close, too, because his pace increased and his movements became more erratic. She was on the edge, but she wasn't sure it was going to be enough. She started to worry that her body was going to betray her again when she suddenly felt Andy's fingers exactly where she needed them. With his help, she fell over the edge and he came crashing down with her.

They laid like that for several minutes while they caught their breaths and basked in the afterglow of what they had just done together. Andy hadn't felt this connected to another person in so long he had forgotten that it was even possible. And he had certainly never made love like that - that deeply, that completely.

Sharon's body was still thrumming from all of the sensations she had just shared with the man lying on top of her, still inside her. Neither seemed to want to break the physical connection even though it was becoming harder and harder to maintain. Their sweat-soaked bodies began to chill, and Sharon let out a small shiver. Damn it. Andy noticed and instantly rolled off of her, pulling the blanket up to cover them. She felt his absence immediately. When was the last time she had made love like this? When it was so good, it left you both completely sated and aching for more? It was a good thing tomorrow was Saturday and neither of them needed to be anywhere. It was also a good thing that Rusty was spending the weekend away, she thought.

Once their breathing slowed down and their bodies relaxed fully, Sharon draped herself across Andy. He soothingly rubbed her head and shoulders while she caressed his chest.

"That was...," she trailed off, unsure of a word that would adequately describe it.

"Yeah," he replied simply.

"I don't even know if I can think of a word to describe how incredible that was, Andy," she conceded.

"Me neither," he laughed. "Saying it was worth the wait would be the understatement of my life," he added. She laughed softly.

"Let's just agree that we should plan for many repeat performances in the future," she said.

"I can definitely agree to that," he assured her. "But first, sleep," he added dramatically. She laughed again, the thought of her wearing out noted lothario Andy Flynn amusing her more than it should.

Before either could say anything else, they drifted off to a contented and deep sleep. The knowledge that she had finally overcome her lingering insecurities and issues of trust enough to give herself to the man snoring softly beneath her was enough to put a smile on Sharon's face as she drifted off to sleep. And after the evening's activities, she knew she was in for a very good night's rest.

THE END