This Good-bye is for You, Ch 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Major Crimes; James Duff, et al, has that lovely distinction.

A/N: When Sharon gets bad news, she decides to handle it alone leaving Andy hurt, angry and confused. Putting his detective skills to good use, he pieces together the long-distance clues she leaves him.

A/N2: The illness is secondary; primary is their love and the way it changes them for the better.

A/N3: Enjoy! Leave a review if y'all's feel so inclined; they are ever so lovely to read. #TodayIsLife

~~~~~PT~~~~~

Sipping the last of her tea as he took his clothes off and laid them on the love seat, she smiled around her mug. When her stomach had settled enough from both the consultation with her doctor and the conversation with her fiance, she removed her own clothing, laying them with his, took his hand and led him to the bed.

They held each other close and discussed more of what happened over the last month; most importantly to both of them, they openly shared all of their feelings. They kissed often between parts of the conversation and cried together. In the end, it was a deep, cleansing, torrent of tears for both of them and when they finally stopped, there was only kissing and holding each other left to continue.

"I want to make love with you, Andy," she whispered between kisses causing him to move back enough to look at her.

"I want that too, Sharon," he assured her. "When I was doing research on the side effects of your treatment, it said we might need some extra help making it feel good for both of us so I bought some, just in case. I don't want to hurt you," he said as he pushed her hair back from her eyes. He'd been surprised she still had hair when he first saw her but now, up close, he could tell it was thinning out and becoming a little brittle from the treatments.

"I know you won't, Andy," she assured him.

Moving in to kiss him again, she wrapped her leg around his waist and he rolled her onto her back, settling himself carefully on top of her. She'd lost a good amount of weight, even if it wasn't as much as they'd expected her to lose; she seemed tired, but her eyes looked at him with love and her body responded to his every touch with as much eagerness as it always had. He found himself forgetting the past month of treatments as he gave into everything she was making him feel with both her words and her touches.

She whispered, "I want you," at the same time he murmured, "I need you," and he took a chance on becoming one with her.

Their kisses were deep and passionate; showing their love still existed after their separation, sharing their hunger for one another, needing the connection that only this close intimacy could provide. Their actual physical connection, however, was slow and careful. He didn't want to hurt her, so he moved the slowest he ever had in his life. Still, he heard her whimper causing him to cease all movement, including kissing her.

"Sharon?" he rasped.

"But I do want you, Andy," she whispered before covering his lips with hers.

"Things happen to the body sometimes when you undergo treatment. I knew to expect it," he reassured her as he moved out of her.

"We could use whatever you brought," she suggested shyly, her legs moving from around him to rest along his sides.

"We could but first there's me," he smirked at her, causing her to smile. God, he loved when she smiled at him like that.

Kissing her passionately at first, he then moved along her neck leaving wet kisses until he reached her pulse point. Sucking on it, he heard her moan softly and move against him. Switching to the other side of her neck, he nipped and licked until she moaned again. Capturing her lips in another sizzling kiss had her legs moving around his waist again.

"I'm nowhere near done," he husked, so she moved her legs back down with a sigh. "Patience is a virtue," he teased. Her only response was an eye roll and a smirk.

Kissing her softly first, he then began a trail of butterfly kisses down her chest, letting his thumbs flit along her breasts. Upon reaching them, he swirled his tongue around one nipple while his fingers massaged the other. Hearing her hum, he sucked her breast into his mouth, his tongue continuing its swirling motions around and on her nipple. Her moan had him moving over to repeat his ministrations on the other one.

When she whispered, "Andy," he moved up to look at her. Her lips crashed into his; her quest to be as close to him as possible making her pulse race and her body warm.

Trying to control himself, his member throbbing to give her what she wanted, he moved from her mouth and continued his trail down her body. Once she knew where he was headed, she moaned in anticipation.

Her legs over his shoulders, his tongue barely touched her nub causing her to groan. Repeating his actions had her writhing under him, pushing herself into him but he just chuckled and moved away until she settled back down. Flicking her nub had her moaning again and when he swirled his tongue around it, she whispered his name. Liking how her body reacted to this slow torture, as she finally called it, his tongue pushed on her sensitive button before swirling once more. Hearing her moan, "Please, Andy," had him sucking on her clit and licking at the light flow of her sweet juices before going back to his slow ministrations. Time and again, he'd switch it up; time and again, she'd let him know it wasn't nearly enough.

When he finally stopped teasing her, she was beyond ready to feel him inside her. Realizing he was not about to give in to her just yet, she moaned, "Andy," then added, "use your fingers...please," in what she hoped wasn't too much of a begging tone. His lopsided grin when he looked up let her know he was enjoying himself way too much to move quickly.

The fire in her belly was coiling but not near hot enough to boil over. At this point, she'd had enough of his teasing and wanted to release all the tension and pain she'd been feeling the last month. Then she wanted him to do the same.

His hand slid along the underside of her thigh; she moaned, waiting for him to add to the pleasure in which she already relished. When his finger slid inside, she bucked against him and moaned, "Another one." Adding the second had the heat inside her climbing higher, a third had it moving closer to the boiling point.

Wanting to capitalize on what she was feeling, she gave into every thought that entered her mind as his fingers slowly moved in and out of her and his tongue continued working its magic on her nub. Sliding her hands along her body, she began at her knees working her way slowly down her thighs, stopping to run her fingers through his hair, then continuing on to move over her stomach not stopping their travels until she was massaging her own breasts. Whispering, "Faster, Andy...please," she bucked into him as she moved one of her breasts up to her mouth and began swirling her tongue around her nipple. "Watch me," she husked, knowing he would.

He moved his head up enough to see her holding both breasts in her hands, massaging one slowly while her tongue swirled the nipple of the other. When she mouthed it, he felt himself begin to twitch wildly. Wanting to occupy himself while he watched, he began slowly moving his fingers again while his tongue barely touched her nub. Soon, the harder she sucked her breast, the harder his tongue made contact with her clit; the swirling became faster, the sucking harder, and he only broke away to lap at her sweet nectar.

He heard her quietly say, "I'm so close, Andy," as she switched to her other breast, repeating her ministrations causing him to move his fingers in and out of her quicker than he'd planned. She moaned louder than she had till that point, looking at him afterwards while she ran her tongue along her nipple and smiled. She knew what she was doing, of that he was sure. An overly-aroused Sharon pulled no punches and she always got what she wanted. His fingers were moving quickly now, having a mind of their own it seemed. His tongue swirled and flicked as he kept his eyes on her, entranced by her movements and sounds.

"Oh, yes, Andy," slipped out on a moan and she let her legs drop down and spread open as she bucked into him. "Don't change a thing," she begged, no longer caring about anything but the release that appeared to be seconds away. As his fingers moved even faster, hitting exactly where they need to, he felt her walls clench around them. Peeking up again, he saw her clenching the sheets in both hands. Her eyes closed, she moaned and writhed, until she finally went over the edge. Breathing out, "I want you inside me," she let go of the sheets to massage his scalp while her body settled down.

Kissing every part of her on his way up her body, he had her again whispering "I want you," by the time he finally reached her mouth and they engaged in a blazing kiss. He knew from his fingers she might still need help but was willing to try before making that suggestion. Her legs already around his waist, he slowly slid into her. Feeling some resistance, he tried again, going a little deeper.

When he heard her whimper, he pulled out, and moved to grab the aide he had bought just in case. Pouring a drop into her palm, he tossed the bottle towards his bag as she stroked along his member eliciting a groan from him. "That feels good," he murmured. Hearing his pleasure, enjoying his moans, she began to massage it in.

Unable to take her hand on him any longer, he kissed her deeply, lay them back down, and they soon found themselves joined once more. This time, however, he heard only moans of pleasure as they moved together slowly.

When he whispered, "God, I missed you," she allowed herself to continue to be completely honest and raw by admitting, "I'm so glad you're here."

Hearing those words only made him want her more but he knew to take it slow, for the both of them. They spent their time enjoying being together again; whispering words of apology and forgiveness, words of love in the here and now, and words of hope for the future.

As they both fell over the cliff in rapid succession, she spoke in a voice so low he almost missed it. "I need you, Andy."

It wasn't often he teared up or outright cried in front of her but on that day, he had already done both freely. His eyes again misted over hearing the one word she'd never before allowed herself to say to him. Need.

"You won't regret it, Sharon," he promised, holding her tightly to him yet stroking her face ever so gently. "I need you too," he rasped before kissing her.

As they lay snuggled together, she asked him why he didn't give up on her. "Because we love each other and even though you tried to sneak out on me, I saw the ring still on your finger."

Absentmindedly she touched it and smiled. "I told you to move on but you didn't." Sometimes a person doesn't realize the scars they've incurred from a previous relationship until their current one shows them how it should've been done.

"There is only one woman I wanna spend my life with and I'm right here with her."

Her eyes clouded over and she became serious. "This may not work, Andy. The doctor said it is now but I'm only halfway through my treatment."

Caressing her cheek softly with the back of his fingers, "I know that, Sharon, but I missed a month with you. I'm not losing any more time. Even if it doesn't work, I want you to be my wife. At least give me that."

"I want that too," she assured him quietly. "I'm not going anywhere, not again," she promised before kissing him.

~~~~~# # #~~~~~

Andy being there with Sharon the next three weeks of her treatment freed Emily up from going with her and keeping an eye on her afterwards. She was happy to just visit the couple and see for herself how much a difference it made to have the person you're sharing your life with be there for you in times of need. Sadly, she thought about how she had almost no memory of her father being there for her mother when she really needed him to be.

Despite observing them during her visits, Emily was still surprised when Andy one day mentioned to her his belief that the illness and separation only made he and her mother stronger as a couple.

Though they thought she was still asleep, Sharon agreed with a tired smile. "That's why I'm going to marry him when we get back home." Home: her condo, her son, her Church, her team...her life in Los Angeles; she missed everything about it with the exception of being able to see her daughter whenever she desired. "That's why Andy made sure to tell all of our children to check their schedules."

"We've already checked our schedules, as you knew we would, and we'll all be there a week after you've both gone back. We'll be there to see the wedding."

"I told you they'd make sure they were there, Andy," she said happily as she sat up in bed slowly. "My children are very smart and would know immediately why you wanted them all in LA," she announced proudly.

"I never doubted it for a minute," he replied, barely hiding his own smile. Even his son had agreed to share in their happiness and attend both their wedding and the dinner party afterwards.

~~~~~# # #~~~~~

One month back in LA

A day after the treatments ended, Sharon was able to stop taking her anti-nausea medication. As sick as she had been, she could only imagine how much worse it would've been without the prescription. Her hair was much thinner but she still had most of it and, for that, she counted her blessings. She'd practiced new hairstyles while in the City and was quite pleased with the looks. A week later, her doctor officially informed them that she was in remission and the future looked promising.

One of the upsides to having Andy back on the East Coast was that he could share people and places with her from his life in New Jersey. She'd most especially enjoyed meeting the police officer who had caused her fiance to turn his life around at age thirteen merely by giving him a chance to do so.

True to their word, a day after returning home, they got their license from City Hall and when the children on both sides were all able to come together, they said their vows in front of family and friends. The ceremony was presided over by Sharon's good friend, Judge Grove.

Asst Chief Taylor wanted Andy back to work a week after the wedding but he informed Sharon she had time left if she needed it to make her final decision regarding a formal resignation or return to work. After careful consideration, she decided to go back when her husband did. There would be less hesitation regarding her return, she believed, if they both walked into the Major Crimes Division together.

On her first day back, Captain Raydor already knew her office had only been used by Lt Provenza when absolutely necessary. She also knew that most of those times were to chew Lt Flynn out for one reason or another.

When she saw her second-in-command come into the Murder Room carrying coffees for the entire team, herself included, it was the first time she realized just how glad he was to have them back and how thrilled he was to no longer be in charge.

"Welcome back, Captain," he practically singsonged as he handed her the hot beverage, "welcome back."

"It's good to be back," she said softly as she looked around the room. When her eyes landed on Andy, she repeated, "It's good to be back."

[The End]

A/N4: Thanks to all who made it to the end; I truly appreciate y'all's hanging in there on this journey. Major thank you to all who left reviews, DMs, favorites and follows. Y'all's are so sweet! 3 #TodayIsLife