DISCLAIMER: I do not own them, much to my eternal sadness. I am but borrowing them for just a little while.

A/N: A little angsty drabble that came to me while I was trying to finish off To Be Here. I figured I might as well get it out and let you guys have it to help tide you over during the hiatus!

I hope you enjoy it - please do leave a review and let me know what you think!

For lightsandsirens - thank you for your constant words of support and encouragement. They mean the world to me. A review from you always makes my day a whole lot brighter.

Written for the #ShandySundayHiatus Marathon 2014 - Week 2.

The knock at the door startled Sharon. She was curled up on the couch, reading a book and waiting for a movie to start. It was late - a little after midnight - but she had absolutely no inclination to go to bed. Major Crimes had caught a tough case this week. Someone was targeting children and they had found their latest victim today. That was difficult enough to deal with. The hardest part, though, was that they had been a matter of minutes too late to save her. A matter of minutes too late to catch the perpetrator, too. Something like that…well…it was hard to accept. Really hard.

Another knock, more hesitant this time, roused her from her musings once more. She hastily pushed her blanket off her legs and rose from the couch, crossing to the door and pulling it open.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she took in the figure leaning against her doorframe.

"Andy… Are you okay?"

She stepped closer to him, concerned. His face was a mask of pure grief and he had obviously been crying at some point before his arrival at her condo. She knew he had taken the discovery of the girl's body hard - he always did when it came to children, and he had been the one to find her, the one who had tried so desperately to save her - but she had never seen him this distraught before. She had kept him by her side much of the afternoon, sensing that he needed to have her close, but she mentally kicked herself for not checking on him again before she dismissed the team for the night.

Reaching out to him now, she cupped his cheek gently with her hand, her thumb stroking his face softly. He leaned into her touch, closing his eyes for a moment before he opened them and looked at her once more. His gaze took in her yoga pants and t-shirt and guilt mixed in with the grief on his face.

"Did I wake you?" He said thickly. "I'm sorry, Sharon. I can go…"

"No!"

She grabbed his hand as he turned away, pulling him back towards her and through the door of the condo before he could make good his escape. She knew what it had cost him to come to her and she couldn't allow him to be alone, not tonight.

"You didn't wake me. I was just watching some TV, I wasn't sleeping." She closed the front door and turned back to him, propelling him further into the condo with a firm but gentle hand at his back. "What happened?" she asked softly as she helped him remove his jacket. She hung it up by the door and prodded Andy gently in the direction of the kitchen, manoeuvring him to stand beside the counter while she busied herself making tea for them both.

"I needed a drink," he admitted immediately. "Really needed one. More than I have in a very long time."

His dark eyes followed her movements around the kitchen, seeking her gaze, searching for some sign of disapproval. When none was forthcoming, he continued.

"I didn't have one."

The words were unnecessary.

Regardless of the fact that she would have smelled it on him - his drink of choice had always been bourbon, a difficult smell to disguise… Especially to her, when it had been her husband's downfall, too - but she knew that if he had given in to temptation he would currently be propping up a bar somewhere, not standing here in her kitchen looking so utterly wretched. She smiled carefully at him, meeting his anxious gaze with the warmth of her own.

"I know."

He swallowed hard and nodded almost imperceptibly. Of course she did.

"I went to a meeting."

"Did it help?"

Her concern was genuine, not patronising. He shrugged.

"A little." He met her gaze again. "Not enough."

"So you came here." She smiled again, the warmth behind it letting him know that there was no judgement. That this was okay. That she was pleased that he would seek her out at the moment he needed someone.

Andy nodded.

"I…uh…I needed to go someplace safe and I…" he paused, eyes fixed on the floor as a hand came up to rub at the back of his head. "I feel safe with you," he finished in a soft voice, determinedly not looking at her.

Sharon fought back the tears that were threatening to fall as she quickly crossed the small kitchen to stand in front of him. Without hesitation, she stood on the balls of her feet, her arms coming around his neck and pulling him into a tight embrace. She felt his arms lock around her waist, holding her against him as his head rested upon her shoulder, his face buried in her neck.

Turning her head slightly, Sharon murmured softly into his ear.

"Oh, Andy. You are safe with me. Always."

Ten minutes later, they were both settled on her couch. The television played quietly in the background, although neither of them really noticed its presence. Andy's attention seemed to be firmly fixed on his cup of tea, steaming untouched on the table in front of him. Sharon's attention was firmly fixed on Andy.

He sat with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together as he leaned his chin upon them. Sharon could practically feel the coiled tension radiating from him. Eventually she sighed and shifted, grabbing a cushion from one of the armchairs and returning to her seat. She lay the cushion on her lap and called his name softly.

He turned to her and she patted the cushion with a small smile.

"Come here," she whispered.

He went to her gratefully, laying along the couch with his head resting comfortably on the cushion in her lap. She pulled the blanket around them before touching a hand to his face tenderly. Her fingers moved into his hair, stroking through it slowly as her other hand rested on his upper arm, a simple touch that she knew would calm him. That she knew he loved.

"Five minutes," he murmured softly, his eyes tearing up as they stared unseeing at the television. "That's all it would have taken. Just five minutes earlier and we could have saved her."

"I know, honey." She felt the sting of tears in her own eyes again at the thought of that precious child and what she must have gone through.

"Five minutes and we would have had him." There was anger in his tone this time, mixing with the grief and hopelessness that the day had left imprinted on all of them.

"Andy, it's nobody's fault but the bastard who did this. And now that we know who he is, he's not safe. He can't hide." She squeezed his arm, her fingers in his hair never stilling in their movement. "We'll get him, Andy. We will."

He moved his arm to wrap around her knees, his hand resting on her thigh. The small caresses that his thumb made against the inside of her knee let Sharon know that he was calming down, albeit gradually.

"I know," he said eventually. "I just wish it had been today." She squeezed his arm again in response. "I just… I just felt so alone this evening," he finally admitted.

She swallowed hard, her heart breaking for him - and not for the first time tonight.

"You don't have to deal with this on your own, Andy," she promised him softly. "Not when you have me."

Sharon couldn't sleep. She had tried and tried but it was just impossible. All she could do was lay here and think about Andy. She had left him sleeping on the couch - after making him solemnly promise to come to her if he needed to. She wasn't really afraid that he would go in search of a drink, especially not after their time spent together tonight. She did, however, worry that he might slip away - afraid of being a bother - and the last thing she wanted was for him to be alone tonight.

Sitting up in bed, she glanced at the clock. Three-fifteen. She sighed and pushed the covers off her body, before standing and making her way to the bedroom door. There was no harm in checking on him, she decided. And if he caught her and questioned it, she could easily say she was simply getting a glass of water. Yes. She would do that. Then she would be reassured. Maybe then she could actually get some damn sleep.

Stepping into the hallway, Sharon stopped short. Andy was making his way towards her slowly. He paused when he looked up and saw her standing there, shuffling his feet in sudden embarrassment. Sharon smiled softly and held a hand out for him, silently nodding to him that this was okay. He hesitated only briefly, before moving towards her again, quickly now. He reached for her and took her hand, immediately threading his fingers with hers.

Looking up at him in the dim light that was cast into the hallway from her bedroom, Sharon could see that he had been crying again. His eyes were red-rimmed and watery, his breath coming in ragged gasps. She reached up with her free hand, curling it around his neck and pulling him to her, pressing her lips to his forehead in a tender kiss. His arm went around her waist, pressing her flush against him as a shudder ran through his entire body.

They stood like this for several minutes as his breathing gradually slowed and returned to normal. Neither one of them spoke. They simply held each other, foreheads and noses touching, eyes closed, the mere proximity of the other enough to bring the comfort that they both needed. It was so natural when Andy slid his hand up her back, his fingers slipping underneath her hair as he pulled her closer. She didn't flinch when his lips met hers, welcoming the contact, the softness of his lips as they lightly brushed against hers.

Andy opened his eyes when he felt a tiny tug on his hand. He fully expected her to turn him - to walk with him back to the living room, maybe sit with him for a while, before leaving him alone again to go back to bed. He looked at her in astonishment when she instead moved towards her bedroom door, pulling him with her. He stopped in the doorway and pulled back on her hand. His dark eyes held a silent question as they met her emerald gaze. He had never seen her so open - and she had never seen him so uncertain. Sharon smiled shyly at him and nodded once.

This time when she tugged on his hand, he followed without hesitation, entering the room behind her and closing the door on the outside world with a soft click.