Thank you to each any every one of you who reviewed, favorited, followed, etc. this little angsty story! Your support and encouragement means so much! This is (sadly) the last chapter in this little trip through Sharon's experience dealing with her past in order to move forward with her present. There is some content at the end of the chapter that definitely dances along the T/M line, so just be aware as you approach that part of the story.

As always, 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.

After they wrapped things up for the day, Andy stopped by a meeting. When he finally got home, he walked into his kitchen and started reheating leftovers. Once he heard the hum of the microwave, he walked to his bedroom and began changing out of his suit and into a t-shirt and basketball shorts. He rubbed a hand over his face and let out a sigh. Things still weren't any closer to reconciliation with Sharon and it was growing more concerning by the day. As he walked back towards his living room, he contemplated going over to her condo. By the time he had sunk down onto his couch, he realized it was a bad idea.

He was lost in his thoughts when he heard a knock at his door. He got up to walk towards the sound and tried not to get his hopes up about who could be on the other side. He opened it and found a hesitant Sharon Raydor.

"Hi," she said quietly and offered him a small smile. He was happy to see her, and that smile, God, he had missed her.

"Hi," he replied surprised and offered his own smile. Sharon seemed to loosen up a bit at the site of it. She looked relieved. "Come in, please," he offered warmly and moved aside so she could enter.

After they were both inside his foyer, he closed the door and turned to face her. They took a moment to just drink in the sight of each other, and it brought a warm glow and smile to both of their faces. Just then, the microwave dinged, and Andy realized that he had forgotten all about his dinner.

"I'm sorry. I'm interrupting your dinner. I can come back later," She offered. She barely got the words out when Andy quickly interjected.

"Absolutely not. Dinner can wait. I'm not that hungry anyway," he replied. She offered him a sad smile.

"Andy, I want to thank you for allowing me the time to work through some things," she started. He went to take her hands, but stopped himself.

"Of course, Sharon. You know I'll always wait for you. No matter what," he said sincerely.

"I know, and I just hope that I'm not taking advantage of that," she began, but he interrupted her.

"Sharon, I do it because I want to. I want to be sure that you're Ok with everything. That we're on the same page because if not, then this is never gonna work," he explained. She nodded and then paused unsure of how to continue.

"This was never about you. I just need you to know that," she said sincerely and he nodded. "I've spent most of the last, almost week now, trying to figure out why things I thought were no longer an issue were coming up in our relationship. I certainly don't want them to. I want my past to stay far away in the past," she took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Oddly enough, it was Provenza who snapped me out of it," she added and Andy gave her a puzzled look.

"He was telling me about Friday night and how he'd never seen you like that and it just clicked all of a sudden. The reason Jack's betrayal was so raw for me these past few days is because I didn't want to think about it happening to me again. To us," she paused a moment and Andy took it as a sign to jump in.

"Sharon, I would never do that to you," he started, but she shook her head and he stopped.

"I know that. And that's the thing, Andy. I was looking for a way to leave my past behind and the answer was in front of me the entire time: You. You are my present, and hopefully..." She paused again hesitant about the rest of her answer. "My future," she concluded and matched his gaze. His brown eyes were teeming with emotion.

"Sharon, I'm here as long as you want me to be. I'm not going anywhere. You're it for me," he said softly as unshed tears shone in his eyes.

"Good, because I was kinda hoping you would stick around for a long time," she answered with her own unshed tears. He pulled her toward him and took her into his arms. They both closed their eyes and let the feeling of being surrounded by the other sweep over them. It felt warm and inviting. It felt safe. It felt like home.

"I love you," Sharon said softly into his neck. Andy held her tighter until the burning need to see her face overwhelmed him. He pulled out of her embrace just enough to look her in the eyes.

"Good," he rasped. "Because I kinda happen to be completely in love with you," he said with a smile. He watched her face light up with her own smile and knew that stepping away from the embrace had been worth it. This time, Sharon closed the space between them and held him close. With her face buried in his neck, she breathed in his scent and gently caressed the back of his neck. Andy nuzzled her hair away from her neck and began placing soft, tender kisses on it. He made a trail up to her jawline and then over to her lips. When he got closer to her mouth, she moved her hands to both sides of his face and pulled him towards her. Their lips crashed together desperately and every emotion from the last few days poured out of them and into that kiss. When the need for air won out, they pulled away, but remained close.

"I wouldn't mind kissing you like that for the rest of my life," he whispered.

"Careful, I might hold you to that," she answered with a grin. He brought his lips back onto hers and they began a coordinated dance that quickly began to include tongues and teeth, neither feeling they could get close enough to the other. There was a desperate need to stay connected like this for the foreseeable future. It was born out of pain and the feeling that they could have lost all of this entirely.

They blindly started to move towards his couch. Sharon let Andy guide her since she was completely lost in him and the emotions that were swirling around in her head and through her quickly overheating body. When they reached the couch, Sharon pulled him down on top of her and they resumed their connection. They slowed their pace a bit, and enjoyed the feeling of slow, languid kisses that left then both a bit breathless.

Andy finally tore his lips away from hers, and allowed them to blaze a path back down her jaw to her neck. He paid attention to her breathing and easily found a spot on her neck that seemed to drive her crazy. After spending extra time there, he continued down her neck to her enticing décolletage. He undid the top button on her blouse and then the second exposing the lacy top of her bra. He gently kissed along the top of her cleavage and enjoyed the soft moans his actions provoked. He undid the third button and took a moment to simply enjoy the sight of her partially exposed skin straining against the rest of her lace bra. He took his hand and softly ran his fingertips across her cleavage. He heard her breath catch in her throat, and he smiled at the sight of her. She was so beautiful in more ways than he could express.

He wasn't sure how far she wanted things to go, so he decided to slow it down a bit. He moved back up to her lips and captured them again. It was a slow, passionate kiss that left her feeling giddy.

"I love you," she said this time to his face.

"I love you, too," he whispered in return and kissed her quickly, but tenderly. "Want to get some dinner?" He added.

"I don't want to leave this happy bubble with you," she cooed. "But I guess we should probably eat something," she decided with a tinge of disappoint in her voice.

"Hey, I have no plans tonight, so we can continue this later if you'd like," he said with a flirty smile. He sat up and allowed her to do the same.

"So... To be continued, then?" She added with her own flirty smile. He nodded while watching her button up her blouse. He noticed that she left the top one open and he couldn't help the surge of electricity it and her suggestive words sent through his body.

Andy reheated a big helping of leftovers and they sat in companionable silence while they enjoyed them. Throughout the meal, they would catch each other stealing glances or smiling like teenagers. It was a weird feeling, but certainly not unpleasant. They were just finishing up, when Sharon seemed to turn more serious.

"Andy, I'm truly sorry for putting you through this mess the past few days," she said apologetically. Andy gently placed his fork down on his plate and took her hand.

"Hey, you don't owe me an apology. Our pasts are our pasts, Sharon. We think we've got a handle on them, but we've both been through a lot. Truth is, neither one of us knows how our demons are going to affect us along the way. As long as we keep talking and keep trusting each other, I think we'll be okay," he concluded. She smiled contemplatively.

"It caught me by surprise. I should have handled it better," she admitted.

"Doesn't matter. You handled it, and I think we came out stronger for it. That's all that matters," he said squeezing her hand.

"Yes, we did," she agreed and smiled brightly at him. After a moment, Andy got up and took both of their plates to the kitchen. He quickly rinsed them off and placed them in the dishwasher while she put the rest of the stuff away. When they were finished, they found themselves back on his couch. She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest over his heart. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Sharon put a voice to her thoughts.

"You mentioned something about not having any plans tonight," she said with a flirty tone and she turned her head so she could see his face.

"Yup," he answered with a smile. "Why, you got something in mind?" He added with a flirtatious tone.

"Hmm... Maybe," she flirted back. Andy wasn't exactly sure where she was going with this, but he was game to follow along.

"Care to fill me in?" He asked before kissing the top of her head.

"I think it would be a lot more fun if I just showed you," she whispered before capturing his lips in a searing kiss. Heat spread throughout their bodies. As the kiss deepened, Sharon pulled him towards her and they toppled back a bit uncoordinated until they were horizontal on the couch. When they had shifted themselves into a more comfortable position, they resumed the heated kisses and added wandering hands. Sharon enjoyed the weight of him on top of her. The way his mouth moved with hers while his hands traveled along her body sending a tantalizing mix of heat and goosebumps to spread throughout.

Andy resumed his earlier path kissing his way across her jaw, down her neck, and to the open top button of her blouse. He brought his hands to the front of it and began slowly unbuttoning the others. With each button, he kissed the newly exposed skin and took delight in the goosebumps he could see rising in his wake. After he reached the last button, he moved back up her body and slowly pushed the two sides of the blouse away to expose more of her skin. He paused and looked up at her, and she nodded her approval. He pushed the material completely away and sat up a bit to admire the site in front of him. She was breathtaking.

He leaned back down and kissed her tenderly. When he pulled his lips away from hers, he moved them further up her face.

"You," he whispered before softly kissing her forehead.

"Are," he whispered before kissing her nose.

"So beautiful," he finished before fully capturing her lips once again. The kiss easily turned passionate, and Sharon tangled her hands in the hair at the back of his neck pulling him closer.

They stayed like that for a while. Both enjoying the freedom to simply be together. To enjoy each other. To explore new territory and test boundaries. They allowed their hands to lazily touch previously uncharted territory while their mouths connected. Sharon felt like she could get lost in this feeling and the warmth that it spread all over her body. She felt giddy and light. She felt loved and in love. It was glorious.

"Maybe we should move this to your bedroom," she suggested breathlessly in between kissing him. She felt a wave of embarrassment come over her, and it caused her to giggle at how out of practice she was with all of this. Andy picked up on it and decided to lighten the moment.

"No arguments here. I've been wanting to get you into my bed for a long time," he answered with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. She just resumed her giggles allowing him to pull her up and off the couch.

"You are terrible, you know that?" She asked while lightly swatting his arm. He responded by picking her up and carrying her to his bedroom as her laughter rang out down the hallway. Once they were inside his room, he put her down and slowly pushed her blouse off the rest of her shoulders and down her arms. He kept his eyes locked on hers and he watched as desire turned them the prettiest shade of green he'd ever seen. She moved closer and slowly brought her lips to his. They began a slow, passionate kiss that had liquid fire running through their bodies and pooling in their groins.

Sharon began lifting up Andy's shirt allowing her hands to trace every inch of his skin on the way up. When they had to break apart to remove the shirt over his head, he spun her around so her back was against his chest. He moved her hair to one side and began kissing her neck and shoulders. She leaned into him and let out soft moans that drove him crazy. While he continued to kiss her sensitive skin, he ran his hands down her arms and then to the front of her pants. He carefully unbuttoned and unzipped them. With one fluid motion, he pushed them down her hips and they pooled on the floor at her feet. He gently ran his hand down the front of her panties and heard her breath hitch. He did it several more times before moving his hands back up her body gently caressing along the way. When he reached her breasts, he covered them with his palms and massaged them hungrily through the lacy material.

Sharon's moans encouraged him, and he undid the clasp on her front clasp bra. He slowly pulled the lacy fabric back enjoying the way the soft flesh of her breasts filled his hands. As his own desire built, he began kissing her neck and shoulders with more intensity. He teased her hardened peaks with his thumb and forefinger as Sharon moaned and arched her back into his touch and ministrations on her neck. He allowed his right hand to slowly travel back down her body while his left continued enjoying the feel of her breasts. When he reached the elastic band of her panties, he lifted it and began moving his hand further down underneath. Sharon's breathing got heavier, and Andy watched as her chest rose and fell faster as he explored the new territory.

After teasing her a few times, Sharon turned her head and crashed her lips into his. They shared a passionate kiss. He slowly removed his fingers and pushed her panties the rest of the way down. She turned around in his arms and pushed his shorts down.

"We still haven't made it to the bed," she whispered with a smile.

He kissed her passionately and then removed the final clothing barrier between them. They finally made their way to his bed and fell onto it in an undignified heap. They took a moment to enjoy the feeling of heated skin on skin. They allowed their hands to caress and tease until the desire became too strong. Their lips connected as they finally melded their bodies into one. The connection was powerful and overwhelming, so they took a moment to catch their breath before they started a steady rhythm. As they gradually increased their motion, their hands locked together and their kisses became more desperate. Finally, Sharon fell over the edge. She let the calm wash over her as she felt Andy fall over a few moments later.

As they laid together in his bed skin still heated and bodies still tangled in the afterglow, Sharon reflected on everything that had happened over the last several days. She hated what her fears and emotional scars had done to her and Andy, but she was thankful for what they had done to their relationship. She felt closer to him than she ever had, and she no longer had any fear of history repeating itself. She knew that with Andy by her side, her past would remain where it belonged and her future was yet to be written. Whatever may come, she knew they were in it together. And that thought filled her with warmth and, strangely enough, set her free. With Andy, she found the freedom to leave her past behind and head happily into her future hand in hand.

THE END