Disclaimer: I don't own it, but I wish I did.

Shots ring out. Rusty wakes up suddenly, bolting upright drenched in sweat. It was just a dream. He takes deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, the image of Sharon bleeding out on the ground overwhelming him. He curls tightly into himself and slips back to sleep. Four hours later he wakes up, stretches, and looks at his alarm clock, 9 o'clock, time to get up. He rolls out of bed and pads out to the bathroom. As he finishes up in the bathroom, he hears harsh coughs coming from Sharon's room. Rusty hesitantly walks over to Sharon's door and knocks on it. He has only been in her room once and that was when he thought someone had broken in. "Sharon, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she says in a croaky voice. He hears her clear her throat softly.

"You are not fine, Sharon. I'm coming in," Rusty calls out worriedly and then opens the door. He looks at the bed and sees Sharon in a bundle of blankets. In the last year that he has lived with her he has never once seen her sick. He almost believed she never got sick; that she had the perfect immune system of a mom.

Sharon looks up as she hears her bedroom door opening slowly. "Why did you come in here?" she rasps, "I don't want to get you sick."

"Well, it's not like I'm going to avoid you all day. I might as well start pushing my luck now. Do you need anything?"

Sharon glares at him but then decides that it's not worth the fight. She whispers, "A cup of tea would be nice."

"Alright, give me a minute," Rusty worriedly says.

Sharon lifts the corners of her lips in a barely there smile and Rusty leaves the room. He walks out into the kitchen and takes Sharon's favorite mug and his favorite mug out of the cabinet. He heats up water for the tea and then puts coffee on for himself, pouring the coffee in his mug and then drinking it. Taking Sharon's tea in to her, he opens the door and sees Sharon arched up in her bed coughing up a storm. He rushes over to her side, quickly places her mug on the bedside table, sits down on the side of her bed, and then starts rubbing her back. As the coughing subsides, she lies back with her eyes closed and moans. After a minute or two she opens her eyes and rasps, "Thank you."

Rusty hands her the tea and then helps her sit up so she can take a sip. Once she takes a couple sips, he helps her lay back down and he puts the mug on the table. She clears her throat and grasps Rusty's hand in her cold one. She tries to remove the worried look on Rusty's face by telling him that she'll be okay but it ends up being in a cracky voice which then makes him more worried.

"Are you sure there isn't anything more I can do for you, Sharon? I'm worried and I don't know what to do."

"Well, since you don't want to avoid me, you can sit and talk with me. That'll help," Sharon rasps. She pats the other side of the bed.

Rusty hesitantly walks around to the other side of the bed and then sits down. Sharon scoots more to the side and Rusty lies down beside her. He climbs underneath the covers and pulls the blanket up to his chin. He's silent for a little while, making Sharon think that he's fallen asleep. "I know I've never wanted to open up to you before, but I want to talk to you about what happened."

Sharon gives him a look urging him to continue.

"Dr. Joe got me to open up to him and I don't even know him, but I still haven't opened up to you. And I know why that is. I don't know him and that's why it was easy to tell him. I couldn't tell you because I was scared that what I would say would make you not want me here anymore."

"Rusty, you will always have a home here," Sharon rasps and takes a sip of her tea. "But I understand."

Rusty takes a deep breath and continues. "When I was out on the streets, I had to do really bad things. I thought that my mom leaving me was my fault and I deserved what I had to do. I sold my body to men so I could be their whores. I did things to men that normal people don't do because I had to survive. The only thought that ran through my head while doing this was that I had to do this so I could survive. I've done things with men so many times that it became normal for me. I didn't know what it was like to have family. At first, I knew that what I was doing was bad, but then it became normal. I didn't feel like I was doing anything bad. I felt like I deserved it and it was what I had to do. I… I…"

Sharon audibly swallows and then rasps, "Rusty, it was not your fault. No matter what you had to do, you did it so you could survive. And now you're here, with someone who loves you and will always love you." Her voice cracks at the end due to emotion and illness. She slowly turns her head to look at Rusty and her lips have been lifted into a smile.

Rusty looks down at the bedspread, gathering up the courage to tell Sharon about his dream. "Sharon, I had a dream last night…"

"Mmmhmm," Sharon hums after a moment of silence and then takes a sip of her tea.

"I had a dream where you got shot and died. It was the person who has been writing me letters, but that doesn't make sense because he's coming after me not you. He was holding me back and I couldn't save you. I woke up drenched in sweat and had to keep telling myself that you were alive. I was terrified, Sharon. But why would he shoot you?" Rusty says, his voice wavering. He looks at Sharon and notices the odd look on her face. "What is it that you're not telling me?"

"The letters we've been receiving lately haven't been addressed to you."

"Who have they been addressed to?" Rusty says cautiously because he's afraid to hear the answer.

"They've been addressed to me," Sharon says hoarsely. She coughs but recovers quickly.

Rusty's heart drops. "What?"

Sharon rolls over onto her side so she can face Rusty. "There's nothing to worry about, Rusty. The letters don't threaten my life. I've had letters sent to me before and most of them were a lot worse than these."

Rusty can hear the way her hoarse voice takes on the practiced edge when she's saying this. He can see the fake smile that she puts on, but he lets it go because he doesn't want to push her. He told her what he was hiding from her in due time, he knows she'll do the same.

"Don't worry, Rusty. You're not getting rid of me anytime soon. I'll be here for a long time," Sharon rasps emotionally.

"They can't be wrong, right?"

"I don't know what you mean," Sharon says with a confused look on her face.

"Only the good die young," Rusty says with a smile.

Sharon playfully gives him a tired smack on the chest. She lets out a laugh that quickly turns into a cough.

"Sharon, are you sure you don't want to go to the doctor? You look pretty bad."

"Rusty, I'll be fine. It's just a cold, I promise," Sharon croaks. "Come here."

Rusty hesitantly scoots closer to her, still not comfortable showing emotion, and she hugs him to her side. He slowly lays his head down onto her chest and relaxes against her. He doesn't notice the slight wince when he lays his head down.

She feels his breathing even out and realizes that he has fallen asleep against her. He must not have been able to sleep well after having the dream. Even when sick she can still care of her son. Actually, she's not sure what she has, but she hopes it's just a cold and not something more serious.

I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are appreciated!