Sam bursts through the front door, tripping over a giant giraffe that someone had thought would make a good baby gift. I mean it's ten times bigger than the baby will be.
"Andy!" he yells, racing through the house checking every room, finds her folding clothes on their bed.
"What are you doing?" he pants. He drove like a maniac here after she called his cell and calmly informed him her water had broke fifteen minutes before.
Andy snorts, "What does it look like I'm doing?" continuing to fold his underwear.
He grabs the underwear and her hand and starts dragging her toward the front door. She stops suddenly and wrinkles her nose "You stink!"
"What?" He's looking at her like she's lost her mind. "Well let's see, I spent the morning looking for a counterfeiter and oh yeah, when I finally found him it was in a pile of trash. LETS GO!" he starts to pull her toward the front door again.
"I'm not going anywhere with you smelling like that. Go shower." She says and pushes him back toward the bathroom.
"Andy, for God's sake, your water broke, we need to get to the hospital. PLEASE!" He's shaking, sure his blood pressure had to be at a dangerous level. He also realizes he's still clutching the underwear. He sighs and drops them on the couch.
Andy just calmly shakes her head no and continues to stare at him.
"Look, sweetheart, as soon as we get to the hospital and you've been checked out by a doctor, I promise I will find a shower. Ok?"
"No. Sam do you really want to meet our baby looking like this the first time she see's you?"
"I don't care!" he groans, "Anyway, I don't think babies can even see the first few days. Let's go!"
"That's puppies, not babies. Babies can see." She huffs out. "I see those baby books have come in real handy."
"Well I know one thing all the books say - when your water breaks you're supposed to go to the hospital!" He's this close to picking her up and carrying her out to the car. He has every intention of using lights and sirens the entire way.
Andy on the other hand has read all the books and she distinctly remembers that you're good until the contractions are about eight minutes apart and hers are like ten maybe. So he definitely has time to take a shower, I mean he's making her eyes water.
"Sam you would be done by now had you not stopped to argue with me. Go on - it's ok." she pushes him toward the bathroom.
He sighs and starts stripping along the way, deciding the faster he gets this done the faster they can get out of here. The one thing he does remember reading (or maybe Oliver told him) women get crazy during pregnancy, the hormones or something.
Andy goes and gets a juice from the fridge and sits down to wait for him. She's loved being pregnant but these last few weeks have been torture. She feels like she's carrying an elephant, hasn't seen her feet in a couple of months. Sam's been working a lot of overtime so he can take off a few weeks after the baby's born. She really had felt bad for him, working eighteen-hour days only to come home and get jumped by his super horny, pregnant wife. She doesn't know what that's about – I mean she always wants him but the last few months have been crazy. He's a good sport though, takes it like a man, or maybe gives it- whatever; the point is they'll both be glad when she's no longer pregnant.
She hears Traci come in and directs her toward the kitchen. Traci stands in the hall looking somewhat surprised "What are you doing? Where's Sam? I thought your water broke?"
Andy nods and takes another hit of juice. "He's taking a shower. We're about to leave."
"He stopped to take a shower? He left a suspect handcuffed to a dumpster but he stopped to take a shower?"
Andy just shrugs, "he stunk."
Traci shakes her head and smiles, "Okay, how far apart are your contractions?"
Andy shrugs again, "Nine – ten minutes. Something like that."
"ANDY! You need to get to the hospital!" Traci hears a door open down the hall and sees Sam streak across it – wet as a cat and naked as a jaybird. She jumps into the kitchen before he can see her.
"What?" Andy asks, looking toward the hall.
"Nothing. Nothing." Traci shakes her head then whispers, "He was naked."
Andy busts out laughing.
"Hush!" Traci hisses. "I don't need for my partner to know I saw him naked. And anyway I didn't see anything. Well, I mean I saw some things." She smiles at Andy who continues to cackle.
Sam interrupts by sliding into the kitchen in his sock feet and nearly falling on Andy. She holds an arm out for him and takes a sip of juice. He starting to think she may be in some sort of shock seeing as how calm she is now and how neurotic she's been the last nine months.
He notices Traci for the first time, "What are you doing here?"
"Just wanted to say congrats." Traci smiles
Andy laughs out loud then tries to stifle it. Traci gives her a dirty look and says, "I mean about the baby."
"What else would you mean?" Sam asks as he pulls Andy from the chair and starts for the front door.
"She meant me. She was congratulating me." Andy chuckles.
Sam's not even paying attention anymore as he helps her into the front seat of his car.
"We didn't get the bag." Andy's says as he straps the seat belt around her enormous belly.
"I got it." Traci says, heading back toward the house. "Go on to the hospital, I'll meet you there."
An hour later Andy is sitting in a hospital bed trying to breathe through a contraction.
"I told you," she huffs through the contraction "we had time."
Sam just smiles, feeling a million times better now that he knows he won't have to have to deliver his daughter himself. He leans down and kisses the top of her head. "I know you did sweetheart."
Andy's never quite got the hang of the breathing technique they learned in Lamaze class. She breathes until she starts to hyperventilate then stops. Says she's doing it right because the purpose is to take your mind off the contraction and it does.
Traci comes in followed by Chloe and Dov. "Hey mama, how you doing?" Traci asks, handing the bag to Sam.
"Good. Good. It's not that bad." Andy grinds out.
"I see that." Traci smiles and rubs Andy's back a little.
Chloe's literally buzzing with excitement, which looks only to be under control by the strong hold Dov has on her arm. But then Dov makes a fatal error by releasing her to hand Sam the basket of muffins with a stuffed giraffe in it. (Sam is starting to think there's a theme here with the giraffes that he apparently knew nothing about).
Chloe jumps toward the bed surprising Traci who takes a step back.
"I'm so excited to meet my future God-daughter!" she says, reaching out to touch Andy's stomach.
"WHAT?" Sam and Traci ask simultaneously.
Andy's in the middle of a contraction and hyperventilating, so she just waves her hand – which no one knows the meaning of.
"You can't be the baby's god-mother." Dov states, "You lost the neighbors cat last week."
Chloe turns with a hand on her hip, "I did not lose that cat. Cats are free spirits. You can't lose them. They journey off and come back in their own time. Cats can't be tamed."
"Uh…yeah they can. Give 'em a can of tuna fish and you won't ever get rid of them." Dov replies, shaking his head. "You forgot to feed the cat and it ran away."
Chloe just shakes her head. "Cats eat rodents and berries and stuff. He just wondered off- he'll be back."
Dov shakes his head; sometimes its best to just let it go. How can you argue with someone who thinks cats' forage the woods for berries?
Andy, finally through the contraction and the dizziness of breathing, raises her head to find Sam and Traci both giving her contrite looks.
"What?"
"You told Price she could be the god-mother?" Sam groans, "Really?"
"I told her in spirit. Traci the official one – don't worry." Andy reaches for the ice chips.
"What does that even mean- in spirit?" Sam's still not comfortable with Chloe being anything to the baby other than friends of the parents or parent - official or not.
"It means" Chloe starts, "that I'll be in charge of the baby's…."
Andy starts frantically shaking her head, "It doesn't mean anything. She just wanted to be a part of it is all."
Sam still doesn't look convinced but seeing that Andy's starting another contraction, lets it go.
"Okay guys, lets give them a little privacy." Traci starts to herd them out receiving a grateful smile from Sam. "We'll be in the waiting room, call us if you need anything."
"But I was gonna help with the delivery." They hear Chloe complain as Traci shuts the door.