As much as it saddens me, this is the final chapter (it's nice and long, though!). Thanks so much to everyone who has kept up with this story! Judging from my viewer stats, it looks like some of you have read this several times, and that is the best compliment I can imagine (don't get me wrong, your awesome reviews are much appreciated!). If those of you who are "repeat readers" don't mind, would you please PM me and let me know what you liked, that made you read this over again? Or if any certain chapters stuck out as your favorites? If you are a guest reader, or if you would just rather tell me in a review, then that is fine, I just didn't want to sound like I was fishing for reviews, haha. If you haven't favorited/followed/reviewed, but have read this more than once, please don't let that deter you from letting me know what you liked. I'm terrible about not reviewing or favoriting stories I like, and I'm not going to look to see if you have previously done so. I would just like to get an idea of what drove people to read this story over again for future reference :).

After Sharon went to bed Tuesday night, she tossed and turned, unable to fall into a deep sleep. Harper was curled up beside her, and although her cough had improved some as the day went on, it was worse again now that she was lying down. The pediatrician had said that would happen, and Sharon remembered the same being true when Emily and Ricky were sick as children. Just as Sharon's doze was threatening to turn into a deeper sleep, Harper coughed harshly enough to wake herself up. Sharon woke up in time to see Harper's face crumple as she started crying. She drowsily sat up and pulled Harper into her lap.

"Shh, Harp, Mommy's right here. Don't cry, baby, that's making your yucky cough worse." Sharon gently rocked back and forth, holding Harper close and stroking her hair, as her cries died down to whimpers. When she was calm again, Sharon took her to the kitchen to give her some medicine. Harper drained the half-full sippy cup of pedialyte Sharon had given her to wash down the medicine, so she refilled the cup and carried Harper to the rocking chair. After drinking a little more juice, Harper handed her cup back to Sharon, indicating that she was finished. "All done?" Harper nodded. "Do you want to go back to Mommy's bed, or rock for a little bit?"

"'ock."

"Okay, sweetie." Sharon felt Harper's forehead, then gently squeezed the front of her diaper through her pajamas. "You're wet, honey. Let Mommy change you really quick, and then we'll come back and rock, okay?"

"Noooo," Harper whimpered. She turned into Sharon and cuddled against her. "I cold."

"I know, baby, but you need a dry diaper. I'll be fast, I promise." Sharon got on the floor beside the basket with diapers and wipes and laid Harper in front of her. She quickly wiped her down, taped a fresh diaper on her, and zipped her pajamas back up. "See? All done. It feels better to have a dry bottom, too, doesn't it?" Harper scowled in response. Sharon pulled her into her arms and held her close. "You are too precious, baby girl. Even when you're mad."

Sharon took Harper back to the recliner and rocked her, humming softly and patting her back, hoping she would fall back asleep soon. But, every time Harper's eyes started to close, she'd start coughing again, and Sharon would have to start all over.

"San," Harper whimpered pitifully, after a particularly violent coughing fit.

"I don't know what that means, baby. Do you want some more juice?" Harper shook her head. Sharon thought of the TV shows Harper liked to watch, trying to think if any of them even remotely resembled 'san.' "Do you want to watch Princess Sofia?" Harper shook her head again before her coughing started back up, and she started crying again. "Shh, sweetheart, you're okay," Sharon soothed. She stood up and gently bounced as she patted Harper's back. "Let's go sit in Mommy's bathroom for a while. I'll turn the shower on, and the steam will help your cough."

Sharon carried Harper through her bedroom and into the bathroom, closed the door, and turned the shower on as hot as it would get. After fifteen minutes of pacing, humming, and gently bouncing Harper, she had finally fallen asleep on Sharon's shoulder. Sharon stopped bouncing and slowly swayed back and forth until she was sure Harper was good and asleep before lowering herself to the floor and leaning against the bathtub to let the steam work its magic for fifteen more minutes.

While Sharon was dealing with Harper, Rusty had been tossing and turning, himself. He couldn't get his conversation with his other mother out of his mind, and, for some reason, he was starting to feel uneasy about the adoption, in general. Giving up on sleep for the time being, he started for the living room, intending to watch TV until he could calm his mind. When he walked by Sharon's room, he saw that the lamp beside her bed was on. He peeked in, but her bed was empty. A quick search of the kitchen, living room, and nursery revealed that Sharon's purse and keys were in their rightful places, but she and Harper were still missing. Rusty went back to Sharon's room to investigate further and realized that her bathroom light was on under the closed door. What the hell? As he got closer to the bathroom, he could hear the shower running. Now, Rusty was completely baffled. The only scenario he could come up with that would require Sharon to be in the shower and have Harper with her was that Harper had thrown up on her, but there was no evidence of that in Sharon's bed or anywhere else in the condo. And, surely, she would have woken him up to help her instead of dragging Harper into the shower with her? Rusty tentatively knocked on the door. He chickened out after a couple of soft knocks, knowing Sharon couldn't have heard him from the shower, and started to walk away before he heard her voice.

"Rusty?"

"Yeah. Um...Wha-"

"You can come in." Sharon knew he must be confused about her and Harper being in the bathroom with the door closed.

Rusty hesitated. "Are you sure? Are you, um, I mean-"

"Yes, Rusty, I'm fully dressed, I promise."

Rusty slowly opened the door and relaxed when he saw Sharon on the floor with Harper sleeping in her arms. "What the hell are you doing?"

Sharon chuckled. "Harp woke up coughing pretty badly a little while ago, and the steam helps clear her lungs. Close the door." Rusty closed the door and sat beside Sharon. "What are you doing up? You okay? You were a little quiet today."

"Yeah. I've just, um, been thinking, I guess."

"Hmm." Sharon looped her arm through Rusty's and laced her fingers through his. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"I don't know." Rusty lay on Sharon's shoulder, and they sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Rusty began to speak again. "I really do want you to adopt me, I have no doubts about that, I just...My mom lost her shit when I told her. I know she's been nothing but horrible to me, but I still feel bad. And then there's you. You've already done too much for me, more than I'll ever be able to pay back. I feel like I'm doing a lot of taking, and not nearly enough giving."

"Oh, Rusty." Sharon wrapped her arm around him and kissed his forehead. "You have brought me so much joy. You have no idea."

"Sharon. I've brought you extra expenses, trouble at school, and potato chip crumbs in the couch."

Sharon laughed. "Well, that, too, but I knew what I was getting myself into when I brought a teenager home. But that doesn't have anything to do with me adopting you. I've loved you like you were my own child since before I even thought about making it official. The adoption is for formality purposes, only."

"I know, I just-I guess it, like, reminds me of how much you've done for me and taken care of me. And you could've gotten rid of me once I wasn't the state's problem anymore, but you didn't. Helping me through college is more than enough, but adopting me on top of that just seems like too much."

"Honey. Adopting you has nothing to do with how I feel about you. I would love you and take care of you like you were my own, whether it were official or not. If you had decided you didn't want me to adopt you, that still wouldn't change. I emotionally adopted you long ago. I just need to officially adopt you so you can stay on my health insurance, and so I will still have standing as your mother in case you get hurt or really sick, or otherwise require me to be able to act legally as your mother." Sharon squeezed his shoulders. "I don't blame you for feeling a little apprehensive about all of this. I think you'll feel better about it when it's all said and done, and you won't be dwelling over it anymore. I love you, and I will always be here for you, whether or not you're my son on paper."

"Love you, too," Rusty mumbled into Sharon's shoulder. The heat and the sound of running water from the shower and the love and comfort of Sharon's presence were making him drowsy. He watched Harper sleeping soundly on Sharon's other shoulder, without a care in the world. "She looks so sweet like this."

Sharon smiled down at the sleeping toddler in her arms. "Doesn't she? Hard to believe she's capable of throwing a full-scale tantrum."

"God, who knew giving her the red sippy cup instead of the blue one was such a big deal? She looks too innocent to be capable of her history of tantrums."

Sharon smirked. "I've thought the same thing about you when I've seen you sleeping."

"I have never thrown a tantrum, thank you."

Sharon raised an eyebrow. "You've been pretty close."

"Whatever. How much longer are you sitting in here?"

"Just a few more minutes. Why don't you go on back to bed?"

"Nah, I'll stay in here with you. Why did her cough get bad again? She was a little better before she went to bed last night."

"Coughing is always worse at night, when you've been lying down."

"Oh. It's kind of scary seeing her so sick."

Sharon kissed his forehead again. "Tell me about it. But this should be her last bad night. She'll still feel bad for a couple more days, but it shouldn't be like this."

A few minutes later, Sharon started to get up to go back to bed. "Ugh, I didn't think this through when I sat on the floor with her. She's too heavy for this."

"Here, I've got you." Rusty wrapped his arms around Sharon and helped her off of the floor.

"Thanks, honey. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Rusty kissed Harper and went back to bed.

Sharon started to get back in bed, but with Harper finally sleeping peacefully, she hated to lay her down again. She looked longingly at her bed, but Harper was so comfortable in her arms, so she got a couple of her bed pillows, went back to the living room, and sat on the couch. She propped her legs up on the ottoman she had purchased not long after Rusty's injuries had healed, which actually matched the couch, and she was able to get fairly comfortable while keeping Harper inclined against her. Harper was still coughing, but not nearly as badly as before. Sharon covered them both with a blanket and fell asleep pretty quickly. She didn't wake up again until the sun was coming up, and Rusty was shaking her shoulder.

"Hey, Sharon, I'll take Harp. Go back to bed."

"Thanks, sweetie," Sharon mumbled. She barely opened her eyes as she handed Harper to Rusty, draped the blanket over them, and stumbled to her room and into bed. She woke up again soon after 9:00 on Wednesday morning. Rusty and Harper were both still unconscious when she went to the living room. She straightened the blanket over them and pressed her hand to Harper's forehead, satisfied that her fever was going down. While waiting for the coffee to brew, Sharon sat beside Rusty and watched him and Harper sleep for a few minutes. Rusty's mouth was hanging open, and Harper's head was tucked neatly under his chin, with a handful of his t-shirt in her grasp. They had adored each other from the beginning, but Sharon never got tired of seeing them together like this.

It didn't take long for the smell of the coffee and the soft strokes of Sharon's fingers on his cheek to wake Rusty. "Timizzit?" Rusty mumbled.

"A few minutes after 9. Want me to take Harp?"

Rusty looked down at Harper, still passed out on his chest. "Nah. She probably won't sleep much longer, and I'll be ready to get up when she wakes up." He held his hand to Harper's forehead. "Her temperature's going down, isn't it?"

"Yes, I believe so. You're getting pretty good at this."

Rusty shrugged. "Well, I learned from the best."

Sharon smiled. "That, you did."

"I don't think I'll ever be as creepy as you are, though."

"You know, I'm beginning to take 'creepy' as a compliment." Sharon kissed Rusty's cheek and went to her desk to do some work and check in with her team. Once Rusty and Harper were awake, Sharon made breakfast and gave Harper her medicine. She and Rusty spent the day taking turns holding Harper. She seemed to be feeling a little better, but she was still sluggish and just wanted to be held.

After dinner, Sharon was face-timing with her team, so Rusty gave Harper a bath and put her to bed in Sharon's room. Sharon was finishing with her call when Rusty came back to the living room after lying down with Harper until she was asleep. "Are you guys any closer to solving your case?"

"A little bit. Mike and Andy are working through the night, but everyone else is going home for now. If they find something, I may need to go in late tonight, is that okay with you?"

"That's fine. Harper's easy to watch when she's sick."

Sharon closed her computer. "Thank you. I'm going to read for a little bit and go on to bed. I'm actually hoping for a middle-of-the-night phone call. I hope we can wrap this case up before tomorrow afternoon." She got up and kissed Rusty's cheek. "Good Night, honey. I love you."

"Love you."

As predicted, Sharon's phone rang at about 4:00 Thursday morning, and she quickly got dressed before waking Rusty. She went to his room and sat on his bed. "Wake up, Rusty."

"Whaaaa..." Rusty muttered.

"Hey, honey. I need to go to the station. Mike and Andy found a new lead, so everyone's going in. Do you just want to go get in my bed with Harp?"

"Mm hmm." Rusty made no move to get up.

"Come on, sweetheart." Sharon pulled Rusty up and led him to her room. "Call me when she wakes up, okay?" Rusty nodded. "Judge Richwood said he would be in court until about 4:00, so we're going to meet him in his chambers at 4:30. I'll come get you and Harp before 4:00, but I hope I'll be home before then."

"Sharon, that's dumb. I can just meet you there with Harp."

"No, honey. I want us to go as a family." Sharon tucked him in beside Harper and kissed both foreheads before leaving for work.

Harper was feeling a little better when she woke up Thursday morning, and she wasn't quite so clingy. After giving Harper an early lunch, Rusty dreaded bringing up the word 'nap.' She had taken her naps quite willingly since she'd been sick, but he didn't know whether she was feeling well enough to scream about it today. He wanted to have her asleep by noon in case she slept longer than usual, as she had done the last few days. Interrupting her nap would definitely leave her in a sour mood for the adoption that afternoon, so he wanted to give her time to sleep as much as she needed. Rusty changed Harper's diaper and sat with her in the recliner. "All right, Harp, do you want to take your nap in your bed or Mommy's bed?" He hoped that distracting her with a choice would keep her from losing her damn mind. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

"Mommy's bed," Harper mumbled after careful deliberation.

"Good call." Rusty covered Harper with a blanket and patted her back as he rocked her to sleep. Once he'd tucked her into Sharon's bed, he straightened up the condo a little bit and climbed in bed beside her to take a little nap, himself. When he woke up, Harper was coughing and tapping his face. Rusty sat up and pulled her into her lap. "Hey, sweet girl." He patted her back until the coughing stopped. "Is that better?" Harper nodded and lay drowsily on his shoulder. Her hair was sticking up, and nothing short of a bath would be able to tame it. "Harp. You've got some serious bed head. I'm going to have to give you a bath." Rusty held her for a few minutes to give her time to wake up. She'd slept for a little over three hours. He looked at his phone and saw a text from Sharon, saying that she would be home by 3:30. "Mommy will be home soon! Let's go get some medicine, and by the time you're all clean, Mommy will be almost home."

Rusty carried Harper to the kitchen and sat her on the counter to give her the medicine. He felt her forehead and reached for the thermometer, which was still on the counter from when he'd checked her temperature that morning. He knew Sharon would be asking about Harper's temperature the second she got home. He was shocked that she'd only asked about it twice today. "100.8. Not too bad." Rusty picked Harper up and put the juice back in the refrigerator.

"San!" Harper smiled and pointed at the refrigerator.

Finally seeing an opportunity to figure out what that meant, Rusty opened the refrigerator door again and peered inside. "What? Show me 'san.'"

Harper closed the door and pointed to a picture of Sharon, Rusty, and Harper on the refrigerator (a/n: before you all jump on me about stainless steel appliances not being magnetic, some of them actually are). There were several of Ricky, Emily, Rusty, and Harper, in various combinations, but Sharon was only in a couple of them, as she was usually the one taking the pictures. "San!"

Rusty studied the picture of the three of them that had been taken the Christmas before at Sharon's office Christmas party. There were no other discernible objects in the background of the picture, that Harper could identify, anyway. "Look, Harp. There's Mommy, Rusty, and Harper. What else?"

"San!" Harper pointed to Sharon, looking pleased with herself.

"No, Harp, that's Mommy." Harper looked at Rusty like he was insane, and understanding finally hit him. "Wait, Harp, are you saying Sharon?"

"San!" Harper gleefully pointed to Sharon again.

"No, Harp, call her Mommy!" Harper shook her head and gave him her 'are you kidding' look again. Rusty groaned. "Oh, no, you're doing this because I call her 'Sharon,' aren't you?" Harper's expression changed from 'are you kidding' to 'well, duh.' Rusty thought for a minute. He'd gotten to where he wanted to start calling Sharon 'Mom,' but he felt weird just outright doing it. He felt like he would have to explain why he'd suddenly changed his mind, but he didn't actually know why. Harper gave him the perfect opportunity. "Listen, Harp, what if I start calling her 'Mom?' Will you stop calling her 'Sharon?'" Harper just stared at him, and he didn't know whether she understood him or not. Rusty sighed. "Come on, let's get you in the bath. I know you're ready to get out of this wet diaper."

When Rusty got Harper out of the bath, he dried her off, put lotion on her, and got her into a clean diaper. Sharon had left the outfit she wanted her to wear on Harper's bed, but Rusty knew there was no point in putting it on her until they were walking out the door. She could make a mess in a heartbeat. Leaving Harper in just a diaper, Rusty carried her back to the kitchen to wait for Sharon and work on the 'Mommy' thing some more. The apprehension he'd been feeling about the adoption had slowly been turning to excitement as the day went on, and he couldn't wait to see Sharon. He stood in front of the refrigerator with Harper in his arms. This time, he pointed to a picture of all five of them that was taken at Harper's christening. He was pretty sure Eileen was the one who took the picture. "Look, Harp. There's Ricky, Emily, Rusty, Harper, and Mommy!" He pointed to each person as he said their names. "Now you try." He pointed at Ricky to start over.

"'icky, Emmy, 'ussy, Hoppy, and san!"

"Harp-ugh, damn it," Rusty muttered, when he knocked one of the pictures and its magnet off of the refrigerator. He knelt to pick it up.

"Dam-eeeee!" Harper exclaimed.

"No!" Rusty covered his face with his other hand. "Please, forget I said that. This is not going to be 'rat-out-Rusty' day." After a few more minutes of identifying everyone in the pictures, Harper was still calling Sharon 'san.' Rusty hoped it would help if she heard him call Sharon 'Mom' in person. He was about to start on another picture when he heard Sharon's key in the door. "Mommy's home! Want to go see Mommy?" Rusty took a deep breath and went to the door to meet Sharon. He gave her a hug before she was even all the way in the condo. "Hey, Mom. Did you guys finish your case?"

"Yes, we-" Sharon's eyes widened, and she gave Rusty a bewildered look. He'd called her 'Mom' so nonchalantly that it hadn't registered at first. She was trying to decide whether to comment on it when he interrupted her.

"I, um, figured out what 'san' means," Rusty said, sheepishly.

"You did? That has been driving me crazy! What is it?"

"Um, it's you. She's been calling you 'Sharon,' because that's what I call you."

"Oh, of course! I can't believe I didn't think of that. That's actually pretty common for children her age." Understanding hit her. "Oh, so..."

"Yeah. I thought if she heard me calling you 'Mom,' she'd start calling you 'Mommy' again. It's not just that, though. I've been thinking about it for a while, but I just didn't know how to start. You're my mom, and you have been for a long time."

Sharon's eyes filled with tears, and she pulled Rusty back for another hug. "I love you, sweetheart, no matter what you call me."

"I know. But it was past time."

Sharon kissed Harper's forehead. "Mmm, you smell so good! Thanks for giving her a bath. How has she been today? She feels like her temperature has gone down a little bit."

"I think she's feeling a little better. She took a three-hour nap. Her temperature was 100.8 when she got up just a little while ago."

An exasperated "ahem" came from the hall behind Sharon. She'd forgotten all about the surprise she'd just picked up at the airport. She moved over to let the person not-so-patiently waiting in the hall inside.

"Who-Gran!" Rusty shoved Harper into Sharon's arms and practically jumped into Eileen's. "You said you couldn't come!"

"Now, what kind of surprise would this have been if I had told you I was coming?" Eileen stepped back and looked Rusty over. "My goodness, you've-"

"Do not finish that sentence with grown." As much as he loved being taller, the incessant comments about it drove him crazy.

"Okay, I won't...But you have."

"Gan!" Harper exclaimed, not to be outdone. Eileen happily took Harper from Sharon when she reached for her.

"Hi, baby girl! Speaking of growing! When did you get so big?"

"I sick, gan," Harper informed her pitifully.

"I heard, baby, but I know Mommy and Rusty have taken good care of you."

Sharon looked around the condo. "Oh, Rusty, thanks so much for cleaning up. Since we were able to close the case, everyone's coming here after the ceremony. I've already bought beer and wine, and I'm just going to order a few pizzas, since I didn't have time to do anything. I didn't even know if we would finish the case so everyone could come." Sharon kicked her shoes off and sank into the couch. "I'm exhausted."

"I bet." Rusty sat beside her, and Eileen sat on her other side with Harper in her lap. She looked at Sharon and lightly touched her hair. "I like your hair curled like this. You've been wearing it like this a lot recently."

Sharon looked nervous. "What? No, I haven't."

"Yes, you have. Your sister has noticed, too." Between Sharon's mom, siblings, and children, Harper was a bit of a FaceTime celebrity. Sharon had visibly seen more of her family recently, via FaceTime, than she had in years. Eileen narrowed her eyes and looked at Sharon suspiciously. "You've been wearing more makeup than usual, too. Are you-"

"Mama's gotta boyfrieeeend," Rusty said in a sing-song voice.

"Rusty! I do not!"

"Okay, Mom. Going out to dinner, movies, Dodger games, and that charity ball thing isn't 'dating.' You're right," Rusty said, patronizingly.

"You'll tell me about this later, right?" Eileen said, just loudly enough for Sharon to hear.

"Are you kidding? I can't wait. I haven't had time to talk to you when she hasn't been nearby."

"I am right here. And I do not have a boyfriend."

"If you say so," Rusty and Eileen said in unison.

Sharon rolled her eyes. "You two are infuriating, do you know that?"

"Yes," they responded, again at the same time.

Eileen gave Rusty a shrewd look. "Like I can't tell when she's trying to impress a man."

"I know, right?"

"Stop it," Sharon said, indignantly.

They had been talking for about ten minutes when Harper struggled to get down, so Eileen put her on the floor and turned back to their conversation. "Um, what's she doing?" Rusty nodded toward Harper, who was crouched down on the other side of the recliner. He could only see the top of her head.

"Wha-hmm, I have a theory." Harper slowly emerged from the other side of the chair a couple of minutes later and started for her toys. Sharon held her hands out to her. "Come here, Harp. I have a feeling you need a diaper change."

"No!"

"Yes." Sharon started to get up, but Rusty stopped her.

"I'll change her." Harper was running down the hall by this point, so Rusty chased her down and took her to the nursery to change her diaper. Once she was in his arms, the foul smell that met his nose let him know that Sharon was right. "How did you know what she was doing?" Rusty handed Harper back to Eileen before sitting back down on the couch.

"A lot of toddlers start hiding to poop when they get to a certain stage," Sharon answered. "It's actually a sign that they'll be ready to potty train soon."

"But you're not, like, doing that any time soon, are you?" Sharon hadn't seemed to be in any hurry, and that was fine with Rusty. He'd much rather change diapers than have to be on constant alert for a toddler's potty needs. They had recently started asking Harper if she was wet or dirty and sitting her on the toilet if she had been dry for a while to help her get the idea, but they weren't by any means potty training her yet, and they hadn't done any of that at all since she'd been sick.

"No. It would be possible to do it now, but it would be a lot harder than it has to be. I've never understood why parents think it's a race. I'm not going to even think about it until she's two and a half, unless she's really interested before then. I do want to be started a couple of months before she turns three, but I'm going to try to wait until she wants to do it. I learned that the hard way with Emily. The first time I tried to potty train her, it was a disaster, and I was the one being trained, not her. But, once I backed off and waited for her to tell me she wanted to do it, she basically trained herself. Ricky was a nightmare, though. I thought I was going to send him to college in diapers."

Rusty laughed. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."

Sharon looked at her watch. "Okay, Harp, let's go get you dressed. It's almost time to go."

When they reached Judge Richwood's chambers, Sharon paused for a moment before going inside. She handed Harper to her mom and wrapped her arms around Rusty. "I love you, sweetheart. You have no idea what a gift you are to me. I love being your mom."

"I love you, too. Thank you for showing me what it's like to have a real mom."

They pulled away from each other when they heard the elevator ding. The rest of the team had arrived, and Mrs. Tao was with Mike. As everyone greeted each other, Harper looked from one person to the other, not sure who to reach for first. She settled on Cathy, who was standing the closest to her. "Oh, hi, Harper!" Cathy took her from Eileen when she realized Harper was reaching for her.

"I sick." Harper sighed dramatically and lay on Cathy's shoulder.

"I can tell, sweetheart." Cathy held her hand to Harper's forehead. "Mike told me you were sick, but you seem to be getting better."

"She is. She had a pretty bad case of Croup, but she's feeling a lot better now," Sharon clarified. "Come, here, Harp, it's time to go inside."

Once everyone was seated, Judge Richwood gave a brief overview of the adoption process and what it meant. Rusty signed his form first, then took Harper from Sharon so she could sign both of her forms, one for each child. Judge Richwood then pronounced them 'family,' and Sharon and Rusty stood and hugged each other yet again, with Harper squeezed in the middle. "I love you, Mom," Rusty murmured. He could feel Sharon's tears dripping onto his cheek, which made him tear up a little, too. She'd been teary-eyed since Judge Richwood had begun speaking, and she had sounded choked up when she spoke at one time, but had composed herself. Her eyes still held unshed tears, though. When they made their way back to the team, there were handshakes and hugs for Rusty, and hugs and kisses on the cheek for Sharon and Harper amidst the sea of 'congratulations.'

When they got back to the condo, Sharon, Rusty, and Eileen set out the beverages and cleaned up a little bit more before everyone else arrived. Eileen was standing in front of the refrigerator, holding Harper as she proudly identified everyone in the pictures. Eileen knocked one of the pictures off, just like Rusty had done earlier that afternoon. "Dam-eeeee!" Harper exclaimed.

"Ha-arp," Rusty groaned, covering his face.

"What-have you been saying bad words in front of her, young man?" Sharon gave Rusty a stern look, but she couldn't hold it long before her face broke into a smile.

"Who, me? Never."

"Uh-huh."

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Sharon opened the door for their guests, and Provenza came in first, with 'it's a boy' and 'it's a girl' balloons.

"Oh, Lieutenant, you shouldn't have," Sharon said, looking amused.

"At least they're somewhat appropriate this time," Andy muttered.

"That's him," Rusty hissed to Eileen, nodding at Andy.

"Hmm," Eileen nodded her approval. "Well, I can definitely see the motivation for trying to impress him."

"Oh, dear god. Come on, Gran, you're on my side."

A couple of hours later, Sharon refilled her wine and paused to look around the room. Harper had been passed lovingly from person to person the whole time, and promptly told the owner of each new pair of arms, "I sick." Of course, this had been followed with the sympathy she expected and a hand or kiss to her forehead, even if it was the third or fourth time the person holding her had been informed of her malady. Eileen was talking to Andy. Rusty had undoubtedly pointed him out to her. She was pulled from her thoughts when Mike approached her with Harper, who was lying on his shoulder.

"Sharon, can Harper have more medicine, now? She feels like her fever's gone up a little bit."

Sharon looked at the clock on the stove. It was 7:30. "Yes. I was trying to wait until I put her to bed, but it's close enough. Want me to take her?"

"No, she's fine. She just seemed to be feeling bad again."

Sharon gave Harper her medicine and a sippy cup of watered-down juice, then kissed her forehead. Mike was right, she did feel warmer now. "I love you, sweet girl."

"'ove 'ou, Mommy."

A little while later, after most of the team had said a final 'congratulations' and left, Sharon was talking to Eileen and Cathy when she felt little arms wrap around her legs and a warm forehead against her knee. She leaned down and picked up Harper. "I think this little one is ready to go night-night."

"We need to go, anyway," Cathy said. "Night-night, Harper!"

"Nigh-nigh," Harper murmured, with her face buried in Sharon's neck.

Once everyone was gone, Eileen and Rusty each kissed Harper goodnight.

"All right, baby girl, let's go read in your room, and then I'll put you in Mommy's bed. Rusty, will you please turn her humidifier on in my room?" Rusty nodded and followed Sharon down the hall. He returned to the living room a minute later, baby monitor in hand, and collapsed on the couch against Eileen.

"It's been a big day, huh?" Eileen commented. She put her arm around Rusty and kissed his forehead. He nodded and turned up the volume on the monitor. Sharon was in the middle of Goodnight Moon. Rusty smiled when she neared the end, and he and Eileen recited the last line with her. "Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere."

Rusty lay on Eileen's shoulder as Sharon started singing Jesus Loves Me. She usually only sang the first verse before putting Harper in bed, but, every now and then, she kept going. Rusty wasn't surprised that tonight was one of the nights when she sang every verse. He teared up a little during the third verse, as he'd found new meaning in it tonight. Wanting as a friend to give, light and love to all who live. Just like Sharon.

"Night-night, baby girl," he heard Sharon croon through the monitor.

"Nigh-nigh, Mommy."

Thanks so much for the amazing feedback! Don't worry, I wasn't going to forget about the "San" storyline. That was actually the premise of this story. I think it's hilarious when toddlers call their parents by their first names because they've heard others do it, and I thought that would be a sweet way for Rusty to be convinced to start calling Sharon 'Mom.' I just had to find a baby. And I wasn't about to add yet another 'Sharon is pregnant' fic to the mix. This was supposed to be just a few fluffy chapters of Sharon and Rusty taking care of a baby, ending with the adoption. I intended for it to be five or six chapters, max, but all of you encouraged me to keep going. Harper's aunt wasn't supposed to bother them at all, but I had to add something when all of your feedback made me want to keep going. Thanks so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews! This was a fun story to write.