Hello, everyone! :)

This is a story I'm transferring from tumblr, since I only now realized I totally forgot to post it here, so in case some of you've already read it but had hoped for a new story... whoops, sorry! XD

For those who perhaps haven't read it, this is a product of a conversation I had with escapewithstories about how very little we saw of Sharon ogling Andy. We instantly had several ideas we could write down, and I actually took a moment to quickly jot down one of them. She hasn't looked this over the way she usually does, and I really only gave it a quick proofread before hitting 'post' on tumblr. I could have edited it since, but I just know I'd change about a billion things about it, so I left it as is, warts and all.

Anyway, those of you who haven't read this, enjoy, and if perhaps someone re-reads it, enjoy it again! :D

CAUGHT

So, we're in agreement," Andy was saying as they sat side by side on the couch going through house listings on Sharon's laptop. "Nothing too big, but definitely with a backyard. And another spare room or two wouldn't hurt." He flashed her a grin while looking pointedly in the direction of Rusty's bedroom. "And definitely another bathroom."

She smiled, nodding, but wasn't allowed a word in, for he grabbed the laptop off her lap and started scrolling with intent. When he found what he was looking for, he tilted the screen back to her, and said, "Take a look at this one then." He waved his hand at the pictures with a flourish, and started talking her ear off with such an attention to detail that she suddenly realized he hadn't rushed into this decision the way she worried he might have. In fact, he must have been eyeing this particular listing long before they even sat down to discuss what each of them were looking for in a house.

"Rusty'd have double the space for himself here," was one of his very first arguments, and her heart both swelled and constricted at his opening choice. He knew how important it was for her that Rusty had a place in any life they would start together, and perhaps that was one of the reasons why it had taken so long for him to bring any of this up. He wanted to preempt any of her possible reticence by making it absolutely clear that her adopted son was always going to be a part of their future.

A slight pang of guilt went through her, and as she mulled that over she missed a couple of other of Andy's arguments until his teasing words, "That backyard's big enough to accommodate every whim of your sense of occasion," cut through her musings and she giggled.

The elated smile her reaction instantly drew from him had her eyes drifting from the screen to his profile as he returned his focus on yet another image he felt needed additional selling. As he continued to talk, every now and then she only hummed in response, distracted.

He looked so very excited, nearly vibrating with joy at the prospect of ever sharing anything even remotely similar to the house currently displayed. His shoulders drew together every other sentence, and he waved his hands enthusiastically whenever he tried to paint a particularly vivid picture for her, and there were crinkles at the corners of his eyes whenever some imagined scenario curled his lips into one of those lopsided smiles of his that she loved so much.

The word grandchildren, or more precisely 'their' grandchildren caught her attention next, although, if asked, she would have no clue what exactly he said about them, but a delicious kind of feeling spread inside her chest at the idea of one day being grandparents to not just Nicole's two boys, and having them fill their home with joy and laughter, and maybe add a few more grey hairs on their heads whenever they inevitably did something that would most likely drive them insane.

He looked up at her, the slight frown suddenly on his face confusing her, until she caught the words 'you', 'pool', and 'not giving up on that' before another slightly smug smile spread across his features, and she reflexively smiled back, barely even hearing what else he was saying.

Funny, she thought to herself, that she would find herself here. Dreaming up a future with a man that she used to, on good days, want to throttle. Oh, he could still be as infuriating as ever, these days he sometimes actually pestered her on purpose just for the fun of it, but now that knack of his had become endearing to her in a way she couldn't quite describe with words.

All she could do was smile, no doubt dopily, thanking her lucky stars for bringing them together, whether he worried her, or made her smile, drove her up a wall with his particular brand of insanity, or made love to her. She felt heat rising to her cheeks as she realized she definitely didn't mind that he was easy on the eyes as well.

Yes, she still couldn't quite believe she had actually agreed to this, to merging their lives like this, but there was no doubt in her mind that he wanted this, that he had thought this through, and that she wanted this as well. He was clearly embellishing all the little perks of their fully living together, but there was an absolute kind of certainty in the way he spoke, that she trusted him completely, and she found herself torn between wanting to kiss his rambling mouth shut, because, no, she needed no more convincing, and between wanting to keep on listening (a bit more attentively, of course) to his absolute faith in their happy future together, because, yes, it did sound absolutely blissful.

"Sharon?"

Her eyes snapped up to his, and she felt the flush in her cheeks deepen as she realized she'd been staring at his lips. When her hand had reached the back of his neck and her fingers started playing with the hairs on his nape, she couldn't say.

"Huh?" she mumbled stupidly.

"What do you think?" he asked, pointing at the laptop, but eyeing her a bit strangely.

Cursing herself for not listening, she hoped she guessed correctly what he meant by that, and said, "I think it's wonderful."

He frowned. "Yeah," he said slowly, and raised a bit in his seat to look at her more seriously. "But I was asking," he spoke slower still, "if you were up to taking a look at this house in person?"

"Oh," she let out before she could stop herself.

"Were you even listening to me? Look," he straightened completely now, even moving the laptop down onto the couch to his far right, "if you still need to think about it…" He shrugged, and Sharon sighed at the disappointment he failed to hide at the prospect of even more waiting. "It's okay. I mean, I-"

She tilted her head to the side, watching him with a faint smile as he scrambled for words. He really was utterly adorable, too. "No, I wasn't really listening," she mumbled, interrupting him.

His earlier frown reappeared. "Then who the hell-" He suddenly snapped his mouth shut before opening it to form a surprised 'o' as it dawned on him what exactly she meant by that. "You weren't really listening, huh?" he asked, but with a knowing lilt to his words.

She rolled her eyes, to hide her embarrassment really, rather than anything else. "You caught me."

He leaned toward her, his face mere inches from hers. "So," he drawled, bobbing his eyebrows up and down, "I'm distracting?"

She clasped his too-smug-for-his-own-good face. "Yes, Mr. Stares-at-My-Legs-Instead-of-Doing-as-I-Say."

"What can I say? They're great legs." She failed to hide her smile, and he grinned goofily, not bothered at all by her being aware of how very distracting he found her to be. "Good to know I have the same effect on you," he told her. "It's cute."

"Cute?" she repeated, quirking an eyebrow.

He nodded emphatically, despite her hands clutching his face, and just continued to grin.

She sighed, as if what she was about to do was such a terrible chore to do, then closed the little distance between them and planted her lips over his.

He responded with equal fervor and she laughed when he pushed her down onto the couch until he was lying half on top of her. "So," he started, breaking their kiss, but not proceeding with his question before kissing her once more, "did you like the house at all?"

She grimaced, running a hand apologetically down his cheek. "I really wasn't paying that much attention."

He chuckled. "Seriously?" Obviously, he didn't think she had zoned out quite that much.

"You said something about a pool, and the backyard and grandchildren?" she tried, shrugging.

He chuckled again, but asked seriously, "What were you thinking about then?"

She bit her bottom lip while tracing his own with her thumb. There was no way to quickly sum up her thoughts, but she finally settled on a quiet, "About how much I love you."

His lopsided smile appeared immediately, but he asked, dopily, "Yeah?"

She matched his smile, with a bright one of her. "Yeah," she confirmed mockingly, then clasped his face to quickly kiss him again.

When she dropped her head back down, he kissed the tip of her nose. "I love you, too."

She ran a hand down to his shoulder, until it traced his collar and she could run it down the path his tie would usually be. "Enough to give me another tour of that house?"

He answered quickly. "Enough to build you a house if need be."

She smiled a brilliant smile. "Good," she said, then tapped his shoulder, "now help me up."

He lifted off her, and offered her his hand. "Yes, Ma'am."

She rolled her eyes playfully at his eagerness, then reached over him for the laptop that had miraculously remained on the couch. "So," she said, when she had it perched between them on each of their thigh, "this one has double the space for Rusty…?"

...

Would love to hear your thoughts. :)