Sharon jerked awake when she heard Andy's alarm go off. LA was experiencing a bit of a cold snap, and she was more than happy to be able to stay under the covers. Andy grumbled about it being cold and gave her a suffering look as he climbed out of bed and started for the shower. With him up, Sharon immediately rolled over to his side of the bed, relishing his familiar scent and the warm spot he'd left. She dozed off until she heard him come back in, dressed for work. "Okay, now you're just rubbing it in. This isn't fair."

Sharon sleepily opened an eye in his direction. "It's warmer over here and smells like you...You're only working a half-day, anyway, and then you can come back and keep me warm."

"Ha, ha." Andy leaned down to kiss her. "I love you."

"Love you...hold on." She blindly reached up for his face until he was leaning beside her again, wanting another whiff of his new cologne. "'Kay. Bye."

Sharon got up a little while later and slipped into her warmest robe. The kitchen still smelled faintly of coffee, but she knew Rusty had probably studied for most of the night and left for his last exam of the semester before 6:30 to get more last-minute studying done at school. Still, she confirmed that his car was gone to make sure he hadn't crawled back in bed and overslept before putting a coffee pod in the Keurig. She wasn't going to make another pot just for herself, and the coffee that was left wasn't exactly fresh.

It was too cold to take her coffee out to the porch like she usually did, so Sharon settled in a bar stool and looked out at the gray, misty morning. She was startled by a knock at the garage door, but she looked over and waved in her neighbor, who was dressed for the hike they had planned. She looked at the clock on the microwave. "Oh, my, did we say 8:00? I thought we said 8:30."

Debra shook her head. "No, we said 8:30, we're just out of creamer, and I wanted some coffee first."

Sharon finished her granola bar and got out a coffee mug and the creamer. "You know where the pods are, help yourself to whatever you want. I'll get dressed while you're doing that."

Coffee in hand, she went to her bedroom and changed into her workout gear. It was chilly outside, so she looked through her drawers for her warmest sweatshirt. Once her mug was empty, she tied up her hair and brushed her teeth. Debra was finishing her coffee by the time she got back to the kitchen. "Ready to go?"

The hiking trail was a couple of blocks from their neighborhood, so it wasn't long before they were back home. It was after 10:00, and Sharon's granola bar was long gone. "I know this defeats the purpose, but I wouldn't mind cooking breakfast if you want to come back over. I'm getting hungry again."

Debra shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I have stuff for mimosas, I'll run home and get it. Need anything else?"

"I think we have everything. See you in a minute." Sharon stopped at the end of the driveway to get the mail. The Christmas cards had stopped in the last couple of days, but there seemed to be a couple of stragglers in today's mail. She opened the cards first and added them to the bulletin board beside the refrigerator that was now covered with Marie, Nicole's and Dean's children, Mark, her siblings' and friends' grandchildren, and the children of some of Emily's and Ricky's high school friends. The last one she opened was from Patrice, and she laughed at the image of Provenza's face photoshopped into The Grinch and Patrice's into Cindy Lou Who.

She got her Christmas playlist started on Google Home and was pulling things out of the refrigerator when the alarm system beeped. Debra came in with another neighbor. "I found a wanderer on the way back," she explained.

"Hi, Caroline," Sharon greeted as she started a pot of coffee.

"Hi, Sharon. I can't believe you guys went hiking this morning. I took one look outside and rolled right back over in bed."

"It was tempting," Sharon agreed, "but I feel better now that we've done it. I've been eating like crap this week, and next week will just be worse. I've at least exercised every day, but I probably won't next week...Is it cold in here? I can turn the heat on if I need to."

Caroline shook her head. "God, no. Mike's been bitching about turning on the heat since it got colder this week, but I'm finally not hot all the time, for once. My doctor took me off of hormone replacement, and Mike might miss it more than I do. I wasn't freezing him to death while I was on it, and I would've humped the sink if I could. That stuff had me wanting it all the time."

Sharon laughed. "I remember my sister saying the same thing several years ago. And I'm surprised Andy hasn't whined about wanting to turn on the heat, but I'm sure he will soon."

"On that note, I think it's time for mimosas." Debra opened the champagne and started filling glasses. "I brought my homemade strawberry jelly, too."

"Do you know the way to my heart, or what?" Sharon buttered some bread and slipped the slices into the toaster. "I'm going to need a detox after New Years."

Once the kitchen was clean and her friends were gone, Sharon started a large pot of vegetable soup. Andy came in a little after 1:00 and wrapped his arms around her waist as she was stirring it at the stove. "Mmm, smells good."

"What? Me, or the soup?" Sharon turned to kiss him. "I'm kidding, I know I don't smell great. Debra and I went hiking this morning."

"I'm not complaining." Sharon's playlist was still going, and the next song had Andy twirling her around the kitchen. They're singing deck the halls, but it's not like Christmas at all, 'cause I remember when you were here, and all the fun we had last year...

She kissed Andy again before pulling away from him. "I need to take a shower, you mind watching the soup?"

"Sure."

Sharon pulled her top over her head on the way to their bathroom and turned the shower on before discarding her clothes in the hamper. It wasn't five minutes before she felt a slight chill as the shower door opened. "Andy!"

"I'm going to be watching chick flicks all afternoon, so you can let me have a little fun first."

"But my soup..." Sharon protested with mock concern.

"It's on low. It'll be fine." Andy took the loofah from her hand and took over for her. She relaxed in his arms and let him run it over her. When they got out, Sharon dried off and pulled on her favorite sweatpants and a UCLA sweatshirt. Andy was getting a bowl of soup, but she wasn't hungry yet. After plugging in the Christmas tree lights and adding a cranberry-scented bar to her scent warmer, she settled in the recliner with a couple of blankets and flipped through the streaming options on the TV for Love Actually.

"You're not hungry?" Andy asked, situating himself beside her with his soup.

Sharon shook her head. "Debra, Caroline, and I cooked breakfast just a couple of hours ago. I'll get some in a little bit."

Andy sighed dramatically. "Must be nice."

"Oh, it is...But I can't wait for you to join me. You don't have too much longer...Andy, seriously, your soup's going to get cold!" Sharon said when he kissed her for what seemed like the hundredth time since he got home.

"We're under the mistletoe. That's Christmas's rule, not mine."

Sharon rolled her eyes. Andy had strategically placed mistletoe in several places in the house where they often ended up side by side. "This place is crawling with mistletoe, it's damn near impossible to not be under it."

Andy grinned. "Yeah, that was the point. It's not often that your love for rules works in my favor."

"I do like the rules," Sharon murmured, returning the kiss. "Especially this one."

Andy finished his soup and curled up beside Sharon, trying to get warm. "Sha-aron, it's freezing in here!" The gas logs were on, but they hadn't done much good yet. "Just because you're cold-blooded doesn't mean the rest of us are!"

"It's not freezing, Andy."

"It's close enough. I need another blanket." Andy got a soft brown throw from the chest against the wall and got comfortable again in the chair. He was always a fan of Sharon's appearance, no matter what, but he liked her the best this way. With no makeup, comfortable clothes, and the scent of her soap instead of perfume, he always had a hard time keeping his hands off of her. Love Actually had only been on for a half hour, but he was already lost. "I can never keep up with this movie."

Sharon nudged him as his hand wandered under her blanket. "If you'd pay attention to the movie, for once, then you could follow it."

"Yeah, because that's what my mind is on right now. The movie."

Emily called a few minutes later, asking if she could drop off Marie to take a nap while she finished up her shopping. Sharon met her in the driveway and unbuckled the fifteen-month-old from her car seat. "Hey, precious! Are you going to stay with Gammy for a little bit?" Marie could barely hold her eyes open, but she smiled and reached for Sharon.

"Thanks, Mom," Emily said. "I didn't think it would take me this long, but I want to finish today, and she wasn't having it."

Sharon lifted Marie into her arms and rubbed her back. "It's okay. You know I'll keep her any time. Be careful, honey."

"I will. I should be back in a couple of hours."

Sharon checked Marie's diaper as they walked inside, pausing by the thermostat to switch on the heat. "Let's get you changed, and then I believe it's naptime."

Marie didn't protest at either suggestion like she normally would have and lay still as Sharon got her changed. Andy gave her a knowing look, having heard the heat kick on, as she sat in the recliner beside him with Marie lying on her shoulder. "Oh, so that's what it took to get some warmth in here." His expression softened when Marie gave him a sleepy smile. "Hey, wild girl. We'll play when you wake up, okay?"

Sharon shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I won't need you to keep me warm later."

"Never mind," Andy quickly amended.

Sharon draped her blanket over Marie, rubbing her back and rocking as her eyes began to close. Obviously a little cold, the baby curled into her as she fell asleep. With a contented sigh, Sharon lay against Andy. "I'm so happy," she couldn't help but comment.

"Retirement agrees with you, no question," Andy agreed. She'd had more time for her family and friends than ever before, and she was always glowing when she came home from, or even talked about, the charities she volunteered for downtown a few days a week. "I love seeing you so happy."

"Hmm." Marie's warm weight and heavy breathing were starting to put Sharon to sleep, too. It was warmer by the time the movie was over, so she decided to put her down. "Will you please set up the pack'n play in our room?"

"Sure." Andy carefully edged himself away from them and walked toward their bedroom.

Sharon waited a couple of minutes before following him with the sleeping toddler in her arms. Andy had just finished, so she laid Marie down and lightly patted her stomach before grabbing the monitor and leaving the room. Emily and Emmett had gotten more than one monitor set as gifts, so one of them stayed at Sharon's and Andy's.

Next on the movie list was White Christmas, and Rusty came in from his exam and collapsed on the couch as it was starting. Sharon pried her head away from Andy's shoulder and looked over at him. "Hi, honey, how was your exam? Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Mmph. Remind me to check the exam schedule before I register for classes," Rusty whined. "Even 1Ls didn't have any this late. I should've just gone to Bainbridge's office and bent over. It would've been faster and less painful."

Sharon's eyes widened. "Rusty!"

"Oh. Sorry. Forgot you were Mom," he mumbled against the back of the couch.

He'd started studying for finals around Halloween and was in the top fifteen percent of his class, so Sharon doubted it was all that bad. "I'm sure you did fine, honey."

For the next couple of hours, Sharon and Andy dozed off and on until they heard Marie babbling through the monitor. "I'll get her," Andy volunteered.

Sharon sat up and rubbed her eyes, surprised to see that White Christmas was almost over. Its familiar score and dialogue had lulled her to sleep more than once since it started. She was starting to get hungry, so she got a bowl of vegetable soup and came back to the living room. One of many good things about living in a neighborhood again was having neighbors who liked to garden and share their excess vegetables and fresh tomato juice. She usually preferred not to eat on the furniture, but the dreary day called for it, and Rusty was unconscious and unable to call her out.

She had just gotten The Holiday started when Andy came back in with a drowsy Marie in his arms. She was obsessed with Andy, but she always wanted Sharon when she was sleepy. "Ga," she whimpered, holding her arms out for Sharon.

"Come here, baby." Sharon took her from Andy and patted her back as she nuzzled into her shoulder. Marie lay on Sharon's shoulder for a few minutes, but it didn't take long for her to perk up and look around for Andy.

"It's about time you come see Papa!" Andy picked her up and pulled some of her toys out before getting on the floor with her. He gave the TV a pained look and turned to Sharon. "When's it time for Die Hard?"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "You and Rusty can watch it while I'm at dinner tonight." She and her closest friends had been doing an earring exchange every Christmas for over thirty years now, and they were going out for dinner for that tonight.

Rusty woke up a little while later and joined Andy and Marie on the floor, and Andy took the opportunity to get back in the recliner with Sharon. The blankets were no longer necessary, but they still curled up together. Rusty hadn't noticed the change in temperature when he got home, but he did now that he was more alert. "I just noticed that it's not ten below in here. Andy, you finally got Mom to cave?"

Andy shook his head. "That would take a power greater than me." He nodded at Marie. "It took the rugrat coming over to save us from freezing to death."

Rusty nodded. "I should've known."

Later that evening, Sharon got ready and slipped into her favorite casual red dress. Or maybe it was her favorite because she liked to tease Andy in it, she couldn't remember. Andy gave her a suffering look as she walked into the kitchen with her clutch. "Putting that dress on and then leaving me isn't good for my blood pressure."

Sharon kissed his cheek. "We'll have to do something about that when I get home," she murmured, wiping off traces of lipstick she left on his cheek.

"Oh, god," Rusty moaned from the bar. "I think I'd rather take another exam than listen to to you guys be disgusting."

Sharon got home a couple of hours later and changed into her pajamas before getting a glass of wine and joining Andy in the living room. He moved over in the recliner so she could sit with him.

"You guys do know that there's other furniture in here," Rusty pointed out, looking disturbed.

Sharon shrugged. "Who needs it?"

"Oh, gross." Rusty scrolled through the guide on the TV. "Ugh, Badge of Justice, no thank you. I'm still not over it."

Andy ran his hand over his face. "Oh, god, here we go."

Sharon sipped her wine. "I'm not, either. Sherry dying would've been tolerable if it made sense and wasn't done as a result of an adult using human life as a bargaining chip and then throwing a fit when he didn't get his way-I know it's fictional," she said, anticipating Andy's thoughts, "but he acted like a child about it."

"Yeah, look at Madam Secretary," Rusty added. "It was canceled, but Mom said that the last season was her favorite. The writers managed to write a great season that the fans would love even though they knew it was canceled. Huff knew he was going to piss everyone off, but he went on and on about how it was the 'season loyal fans deserved and they were going to be happy with it,' and then blamed them for reacting the way they did."

Sharon shrugged. "Well, not every show can have a woman creator, but even the ones that don't should at least be honest and stand by their decisions instead of blaming the network and fans when people rightfully get upset. He flat-out said that no major characters would die after Baylor, so a lot of fans had a false sense of security about Sherry and thought that the dropped hints were just Huff being dramatic."

"I can't believe it's been two years..." Rusty looked at the date on his phone. "Today. I remember because it was my other mom's birthday-damn it, I haven't called her yet."

Once he was out of the room, Sharon wrapped her arms around Andy's neck and lay on his shoulder. "How are you? Still cold?" She asked meaningfully.

Andy nodded. "Frigid."

Sharon got up and offered her hand. "Let's go see what we can do about that."

"Right behind you, commander."

Hope y'all like it, thanks for reading!