Her nose twitched. She needed to sneeze, and as she became more aware of that, she could hear the annoying noise in the background. Her alarm. It was time to get up, but wow, she had not slept well. She felt like she could sleep for another few hours. She hated that feeling, the feeling that she had not had a good night's sleep, but she still had to get up for work. She started to reach for her alarm, intent on shutting off the blaring sound. Why was that alarm so annoying this morning? As she started to wake up, she moved her hand, fumbling for her alarm. She knew it was there, but she wasn't hitting it. The bed felt different than it should. An arm touched hers, strong and larger than hers. Andy's hand. She hummed, so grateful he was there, and then she remembered she had, no they had gotten new bedding just over the weekend. He'd moved in three weeks prior, and now that he was here, she had been wondering why she'd fought it so long. Living with Andy was everything she wanted. She'd resisted it for so long, but he made her happy. Getting new bedding over the weekend had just been one step in creating their life together. They'd been blending their homes, starting their lives, and she reminded herself she just needed to get used to this new bedding, bedding Andy had picked for them.

"Sharon? Captain?" she heard, and that had her opening her eyes quickly, at least trying to do so. It was not Andy's voice, and as she grasped the hand, she realized it was not Andy's hand. She knew Andy's hand, and this was not it. Her eyes hurt; it hurt to open them, and for some reason, the light bothered her more than normal. Oh, she couldn't be coming down with a migraine, not now. There was so much to do at work. She had to get to work. She had to be in court; she was needed there this morning. She tried to open her eyes again, and instantly, the light made her grimace. "Captain, can you hear me? Ahh, Sharon, are you awake?"

Who was the voice? It wasn't Andy; it wasn't Rusty, and it wasn't Ricky. Thankfully, she also knew it wasn't Jack. She couldn't place it, but she could tell by the pain she felt in her eyes when she tried to open them that this wasn't a dream. She opened them again. She tried to speak, but as she did, her mouth was dry, and instead, she let out a very dry, rough cough.

"Oh, she's awake, nurse!" Sharon heard and tried to again fully open her eyes. She didn't recognize this person. Where was she? She tried to lift her hand, and it still felt like a dead weight and as she finally almost felt like she was prying her eye open, she saw an unfamiliar surrounding. Where was she?

"Mrs. Raydor, hi," she heard and rolled her head slightly. There was now a woman, one she didn't recognize standing next to the man she didn't recognize. She tried to lift her head, but it was too hard. "Mrs. Raydor, can you hear me? My name is Monique. You're in the hospital. Just relax. The doctor is on his way."

She tried to shake her head slightly, and that hurt. Everything hurt. She groaned, and even that almost hurt. It hurt her throat. She was so thirsty. She tried to lift her arm, and with that, she had a shooting pain running up it. She grimaced, and they must have noticed her facial expression.

"Don't try to do anything right now, Ma'am," she heard from the gentleman standing there. The woman, who said she was a nurse, was checking something, looking at a monitor near the bed. Sharon coughed again, and the man spoke again, "Water? Nurse, okay if I get her some water?"

"Yes, that is fine," she said. You're one of her sons, right?"

"No, ahh, not a relative. I work for her," he explained. Sharon, who had closed her eyes, opened them as she registered his saying that. She tried to look at him, things still a bit hazy without her glasses. Where were her glasses? She didn't recognize this man at all. Who was he? Where was her family? "We've been taking shifts here with her here so long. No one wanted to leave her alone, even for short time periods. We've all just been waiting for her to wake up."

"Andy," she finally coughed out, and even then, she wasn't sure anyone heard her. Someone must have heard her because the man, he looked at her and nodded.

"Right, let me call the lieutenant. Wow, I can't believe you are awake. I mean, it's exactly what everyone has been waiting to happen, but I didn't know it would be on my watch. He's going to kill me he wasn't here."

"Yes, let's alert her family," the nurse said. "They've been here non-stop."

"On it," he nodded, and Sharon again tried to talk, but she only started coughing.

"Let's get you some water," the nurse said, moving to the bed to raise it slightly. Sharon felt better as her position changed; she didn't feel her head was so heavy. She'd been lying at an angle, but sitting up more felt better right now. She tried to turn her head when she head the man speaking again.

"Lieutenant," he smiled into the phone as he started to pace the room. "She's awake. She just woke up. The nurse is here now, and the doc is on his way."

"Andy," she coughed again, not sure it was an audible sound.

"He'll be on his way, Hon," the nurse said. "I don't know all your family, but he's been here nonstop. You've been in a coma now for a long time. I'll have to check my records, but I think it's been almost exactly a month." Sharon's eyes widened, and she tried to open her mouth and move, but the nurse patted her arm to quiet her. "Just relax a few moments. I know it's a shock. Your arm is hurting there where you were shot."

"She's awake and trying to talk, Lieutenant," she heard and tried to turn her head. It was pounding, though, and that was driving her crazy. "Yeah, I know you've been here. I'll tell her you have been here. I'm sure Lieutenant Provenza will have something to say about her waking up when you weren't here" he chuckled. "Okay, yeah, see you soon."

She opened her eyes when she felt movement again by her arm, and she saw this man sit down next to her and take her hand, "Sorry, Captain. I know this is beyond the realm of normal work relations. The lieutenant asked me to sit here with you and hold your hand until he got here. He's been really worried about you; we all have."

"What, what," she said in a very raspy voice and shook her head again.

"What happened? Is that what you are asking right now?"he looked to her.

She gave a slight nod, "Captain, you were shot. Do you remember that? You were sitting in court, you and Chief Taylor. You were both shot. There was a court case. It's been a mess since then, and they weren't sure when you would wake up. From what the lieutenant said, they weren't really sure why you weren't waking up, but the point is you did now. It's good to see you with us, Captain," he flashed a smile.

"Who?" Sharon shook her head again giving him a nod.

"Oh, right," he smiled brightly at her as he leaned closer. She knew she wasn't projecting her voice much, and he leaned in to speak to her. He was kind; she could see that, and he was obviously someone Andy knew. Who was he? "I guess we haven't officially met. Captain, I'm Detective Wes Nolan. I've been working with your division the last month. I guess you are my boss. It's been a crazy month with you out, Lieutenant Flynn out, and everything."

"Shot?" Sharon said, coughing again. "I didn't die on my desk?"

He looked at her with a confused expression, "No, nothing like that."

"Just rest there, Mrs. Raydor," the nurse said. Sharon frowned, wanting to say more. The man, Wes, he'd said, patted her shoulder.

"It's okay, Captain. It will all be okay. I'm sure everything will be explained, all in due time. Just rest now and know we're so glad you are back."