It Just Keeps Getting Better
***Danny's POV***
"You've got to be kidding me!" Danny heard Joanna grumble to herself.
"Babe, what's the matter?" Danny walked out of the bathroom and entered their bedroom.
"None of my jeans fit anymore! I've gained like forty pounds." She landed on the bed with her jeans unbuttoned.
"Babe, you have not gained forty pounds. You look amazing. Maybe the dryer shrank them." He hovered over her. He would never tell her for fear she would get angrier, but Joanna was incredibly sexy when she was pissed. He leaned in to give her a kiss, but she turned away.
"How can you want to kiss me right now?" Danny became alarmed as tears ran down her cheeks.
"Hey, look at me. I want to kiss you every second of every day and that is never going to change. Don't look at me like that. It's the truth. I love you." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
"I love you too. I'm sorry, I don't know why I've been so emotional lately."
"It's okay. That's what I'm here for." He kissed her on the lips slow and deep.
The past couple of months together had been amazing in every sense. He thought he had a high sex drive, but she had him beat. Not only was their sex life great, but their everyday life was just as great if not better. The kids took to her easily. Danny was scared that when he started working regularly that it would strain their relationship, but she was understanding. "It gives me more time to spend getting to know the kids." That's what she had told them after he had been overthinking an uncomplicated text from her the entire day. "Damn it Danny! I was married to a cop for almost four years! Stop pushing me away. I'm not going to leave you. You mean the world to me, all three of you." They both had cried, and he made slow passionate love to her that night. Yes, they had their fair share of arguments, but it didn't matter because they always got past them. He was unconditionally in love with this woman and it felt amazing.
"Joanna! We're home!" He heard Grace's voice ring from the living room.
"Wow, what am I chop liver?" Danny asked his children sporting a mock-hurt face at the lack of mentioning his name.
"No, you're Danno?" Charlie looked at his father in confusion.
"Hey, kids. Did you miss me? I missed you like crazy!" Joanna wrapped the kids in a tight embrace. Scenes like this always melted Danny's heart. He'd never get used to it. Tonight was "Family Game Night." Joanna had come up with the idea. She did it when she was a little girl with her father and mother before she passed. Danny was happily to oblige, and the kids loved it, but the universe didn't because his phone rang.
"Danny Williams. Yeah, I'll be there in ten."
"Aww, Danno, but tonight is game night," Grace whined.
"Hey, your dad can't help it," Joanna hugged Grace. "We can play without him. He usually cheats in UNO anyway." That got a giggle out of both children.
"I do not cheat!"
"Every time we play you get every 'Draw 4' card in the deck," Joanna rolled her eyes. "Go on. Duty calls. We'll just have fun without you."
"I love you," Danny leaned in for a kiss.
"I love you too. Come home safe, please." She smiled and pecked him on the lips.
"Ewww. Why do you like kissing Danno?" Charlie asked.
"Because they love each other. She's our second mommy, Charlie." Grace answered and her answered went straight to the adults' hearts.
"You think of me as your second mommy?" Danny felt tears welling up in his eyes at Joanna's voice.
"Yeah! You love us, we love you, Danno loves you, you love him, you'd do anything for us, and you can put up with Danno," Grace giggled at the look on Danny's face. "Don't you think of us as your kids?" The little girl's voice suddenly went sad.
"Gosh, of course I do! I love you guys so much." She hugged them both and Danny joined.
"Why tears?" Charlie asked clearly confused.
"They are just happy tears because I love all three of you so much," Joanna smiled down at the little boy. "Now let's go play and let your daddy go to work."
"Are you okay?" Danny wanted to make sure everything was okay before he left.
"Yeah, baby. I don't know why I've been this emotional lately, but I'm fine I promise."
"Alright, I love you. I'll call you later to check in."
"I love you too. Hurry home." She gave him one last kiss, just slightly longer than a peck. Danny took that as a promise for later.
The case was an open and close ordeal. The murderer didn't cover his tracks well, and as soon as the team tracked him down he admitted to it. He was relieved to get home. Although it was already close to midnight, he knew Joanna would still be awake or at least would wake up when he got there. He peeked in the kids' room, to find them both asleep. He placed a kiss on each of their foreheads, then crept down the hallway to his room. He didn't find her in the bed but saw the light on in the bathroom.
"Babe? Are you in here?" He pushed the bathroom door open to find his girlfriend on the floor leaning over the toilet. "Baby!" He ran over to her.
"Oh, God. I didn't want you to see me like this." She looked terrible. Her eyes were watering, and she looked exhausted.
"Babe, it's okay. That's what I'm here for to take care of you. What's wrong? How long have you been puking?"
"I don't know, I just felt sick after I put the kids to bed. I barely made it to the bathroom. I've been in here for about an hour."
"Oh, babe. I'm sorry. Do you think you can stand up?"
"Yeah, I think I'm through puking my guts out. I'm just so tired." Danny picked her up bridal style, in fear that she would fall.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to get you a cold rag and a bin just in case you get sick again." Danny walked back into the bathroom to retrieve the items. "I'm taking you to the doctor tomorrow…" he started but she had already fallen asleep.
***Joanna's POV***
She woke up from a rather peaceful sleep, luckily feeling like her regular healthy self. She had tried to remember what she ate or if she had been around anyone sick, but she was having no luck in narrowing down what had made her sick. As she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, she was relieved that she didn't look sickly. Joanna knew she was going to have to take a trip to her doctor because Danny wouldn't leave it alone, but first she wanted food. Her stomach growled in response to her thoughts of breakfast.
"I sure hope I smell pancakes," Joanna walked into the kitchen, finding her sexy boyfriend working over the stove.
"Good morning to you too," he leaned in to give her a small peck, but she dipped her tongue in is mouth. She wasn't sure what had come over her, but it was like she craved Danny.
"Good morning," She breathed as they pulled apart.
"I take it that you're feeling better…that doesn't mean you are getting out of going to the doctor," Danny tried to look intimidating but looked wrecked from their kiss instead.
"Yes, daddy." When her intentional sarcastic comment came out of her mouth, she realized how sexual it sounded. Man, she felt like a horny guy. "But first I'm starving." She attempted to roll over her comment because she wasn't sure how Danny felt about it. His facial expression looked pained, but the bulge in his shorts said something else.
"We're going to readdress my new nickname, when I figure out if you're healthy. I'll get dressed while you eat. After you get done and get dressed we'll go." He retreated to their bedroom. We're going to readdress my new nickname… Her faux pas turned into an enticing promise for later. After she finished her food, she felt that familiar lurch in her gut from last night. She leapt from her seat in the kitchen and bolted to the bathroom, nearly running Danny over.
"Babe, what are…" she couldn't hear the rest of his sentence over her vomiting.
The ride to doctor's office was fortunately calm. She didn't need to puke, but instead she had an urge to sexually assault her boyfriend. She had always found him extremely sexy, but this was getting out of control. She wasn't aware of any sicknesses that turned a grown woman into a horny teenage boy, but that's exactly how she had felt. After she turned her paperwork into the front desk, Danny's phone rang.
"Damn it, Steve. I'm busy. I had to take Joanna to the doctor."
"Baby, it's okay. I'll call you as soon as I leave here. Just get Steve to pick you up here so I have a way home."
"But babe I…" Danny tried to protest.
"I don't want to hear it. This is your job. I promise I'll call."
"Fine," he leaned in and pecked her on the lips. "I love you."
"Love you too, babe."
She only had to wait ten minutes after Danny left to hear her name called. She was sure it was a cold or possibly food poisoning, but she felt a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was like some instinct was telling her that she was wrong. She didn't have long to think about her feeling because the doctor soon entered the room.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Chambers. How are you Miss Grey?" The doctor was a tall, thin, middle-aged woman, and she had a friendly face. This eased Joanna's worry slightly.
"Fine, given the circumstances," she gave a small smile to her doctor.
"I can understand. So, what have you been experiencing?"
"Umm, the reason I'm here is because I got severely sick to my stomach last night. It was so bad that it made me too weak to stand, but when I woke up this morning I felt normal. I ate breakfast, more than I normally do, but then got sick again."
"I see. Anything else?"
"Okay, this is probably not relevant, but I've been wanting to jump my boyfriend way more than usual, and that's a lot. Oh god, I can't believe I said that out loud. My increased sex drive is completely unrelated." Her face was burning bright red at her confession.
"I don't know if I'd say that," the doctor gave her a small smile. "I would like to take a urine sample before I tell you anything."
She did as she was asked and peed in a cup. She had been needing to pee since she had arrived but had been too anxious about what was going on with her body to relieve herself. It felt like years before the doctor entered the room again, but in reality, it had been ten or fifteen minutes.
"I have a few more questions to ask. They are a little personal, but its protocol."
"Um, alright."
"Have you been sexually active in the past four to five months."
"Yes." Joanna began to panic. Dear God if she had an STD or worse she would have a mental breakdown. She couldn't imagine having to tell Danny that.
"Have you had several partners in that time frame?"
"No, just one. My boyfriend." Her heart felt like it was coming up her throat.
"Did you and your partner use protection every time you had intercourse?"
"I believe so… Yeah, we had to."
"Miss Grey you can calm down," she wasn't covering up her nervousness too well, but who would be able to in this situation?
"It's sorta hard, given that you're about to tell me I have an STD, STI, or HIV."
"Joanna, you don't have any of those. I want to show you something." The doctor left the room and shortly returned with a nurse and an ultrasound machine. "Lay back and lift up your shirt. This is going to be cold a t first."
The presence of the machine didn't calm her nerves at all. A whole knew catalog of diseases ran through her mind. Stomach ulcers, something wrong with her intestines, kidney failure…her thoughts stopped dead when she her a steady thumping. "Is that, is that a…" she couldn't form a sentence.
"Yes, that's a heartbeat. You're pregnant Miss Grey."
She was dumbfounded. She couldn't believe it at first, but everything made sense. Emotional sensitivity, food cravings, sickness, and increased sex drive were all common symptoms pregnant women faced. Hell, she had gone through all those things except the increased sex drive when she was pregnant with Bella. What had shocked her the most was how far along she was. Four months give or take a week. That was around the first time her and Danny had slept together. Danny, she thought. How was she going to tell him? This wasn't something she could tell him through text or over the phone, but she had to tell him. She felt a buzz in her pocket. It was Danny calling.
"Hey," she tried not to sound as shaky as she felt.
"Hey babe. How did it go? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. They said it just has to run its course. It's not bad at all." She wasn't lying.
"That's great! We wrapped up the case and are heading to Sidebar for drinks once we finish the paperwork up. You want to come?"
No. "Yeah, sure. Just text me when you're headed that way."
She wasn't in the mood to go out for drinks, when she couldn't drink, but she knew that if she hadn't agreed to go that Danny would get worried. She was still trying to figure out the perfect way to tell Danny. She wanted it to be special. Joanna decided to go look at the mall for some inspiration. She didn't find anything there, so she decided to go home to wait for Danny to text her. Why was it so difficult to tell someone that you're pregnant? Okay, so maybe she was making it more difficult than it had to be, but she wanted it to be special. It had to be something he would love. That's when it hit her. Coffee. Danny drank a cup every morning. She could buy him a new mug, and on the bottom, paint the words "I'm pregnant." It would shock the hell out of him when he finished his cup and those words were written on the bottom. She stopped by a small shop and bought a blue clay mug, a bottle of black paint, and a small paintbrush. As soon as she got home she painted the words and baked the mug in the oven, so the paint would set in. She was super excited to tell Danny, but she had to hide the cup in her car, so he wouldn't use it until she wanted him to. After she hid it under the seat of her car she got the text from Danny and headed to Sidebar.
"Hey, babe!" He pecked her on the lips. "I already ordered you a beer."
"Oh, I just want water."
"What? Who comes out for drinks but doesn't drink?" Steve looked at her funny causing her to sweat. She didn't have a real excuse, well one that she could divulge yet.
"Oh, I'm an idiot. You probably can't mix alcohol with the medicines the doctor prescribed. I'm sorry, babe."
"It's fine, Danny. I still love you." Being at the bar wasn't as bad as she had thought it would have been. The talked about everything, and Danny seemed to be in a great mood. Everything was going smoothly until the conversation took a turn.
"So, Commander found anyone to have babies with yet?" Lou joked with Steve.
"Nah, Lou. I don't know if kids are in the cards for me. I already have Grace and Charlie, plus I'm sure Danny will have more that I can spoil." Steve patted Danny on the shoulder. If only he knew how right he was, Joanna laughed to herself.
"I don't think so Steve. Two is enough." She thought she was going to vomit. "They are a handful as it is. Don't get me wrong I love them both, but I don't think I could handle anymore." Joanna felt tears beginning to sting her eyes.
"Danny, I'm not feeling so well. I'm going to go home." She had to get out of there before she lost it.
"Okay, we can go." He got up to go with her, but she needed to get away from him.
"No, you stay. Have fun with the team you deserve it."
"Alright, I love you." He smiled at her and kissed her long and slow. She almost lost it then.
"Love you too." She rushed to her car. As soon as she sat in the seat she lost it. He didn't want anymore kids. What the hell was she going to do? She was going to lose him, and that made her sick to her stomach, but she knew she wasn't going to get rid of this baby. She felt a buzz in her pocket. Rachel was calling. Damn it. She took a slow deep breath to steady her voice. "Hello?"
"Joanna? Sorry, Daniel wasn't answering his phone. Are you home?"
"I'm on my way there now. Is everything okay with the kids?'
"Oh, yes they're fine. Stan needs me to fly to the mainland tomorrow morning, and I was going to bring the kids to Danny's tonight. If that's fine with you."
No. She loved the kids, but she didn't know if she could control her emotions, but she knew she couldn't turn her down. "Yeah, that's fine. I just pulled in the driveway."
"Okay. I'll be there in twenty minutes." She cried for eighteen minutes straight. The best day she has had in a while turned to one of the worst. She wasn't ready to lose her little family. She knew Danny would still be around for the baby, that was how perfect he was, but she also knew he was going to hate her. She'd have to wait and tell him after the kids went back to Rachel's. She refused to let them see the two of them fight.
"Honey, we're home!" She hadn't expected to hear Danny's voice. "When I found out the kids were coming over I came home because I know you weren't feeling well." He kissed her forehead. He was so perfect. She felt sicker than she had last night.
"Joanna!" Charlie's little footsteps echoed through the house.
"Hey, big guy!" Charlie crawled into her lap and started to hug her but stopped when he got close to her belly.
"Baby?" Joanna felt her heart stop. She was praying she had misheard the little boy.
"Wh-what?'
"Baby!" He put his hand on her belly just as she felt a small kick. Tears pricked her eyes.
"Charlie, just because your babysitter is having a baby doesn't mean every girl is." Grace plopped down on the couch beside the two. "Sorry, he has been doing that ever since he felt Samantha's baby kick." Joanna was speechless.
"What's this about a baby?" Danny walked into the room. Her throat felt like it was closing.
"Baby!" Charlie screamed.
"Charlie, she's not having a baby. Your babysitter is." Danny laughed, but raised an eyebrow when he made eye contact with Joanna. She knew how she was feeling was written all over her face. God, this was it.
"No! Feel, it's kicking!" The little boy squealed.
"Uh, Charlie let's go put our pajamas on," Grace ushered her little brother into his bathroom.
"Babe?" Danny's concerned voice broke the dam that was holding her tears back
"I'm s-s-so s-s-sor-sorry." She put her head in her hands and sobbed. "I promise I was going to t-t-tell y-y-you. I w-w-wanted to sur-sur-surprise you." She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "You said you di-did-didn't want anymore k-k-kids. I'm s-s-so so-sor-sorry." She was a mess. She felt like she was having another panic attack. She tried to keep herself quiet, so the kids wouldn't hear her. She took one more long slow breath. "I didn't want to tell you tonight because I didn't want to upset the kids. I know you are still going to want to be in the baby's life, and I'd love that, but I can leave tonight if you want, or we can wait until the kids go back to Rachel's, so we don't upset them." It took every ounce of her self-control to keep it together. She looked up at Danny, and her heart broke even more. Tears were sliding down his cheeks because of what she had done.
"I'm sorry." He finally spoke, but she didn't understand why he was apologizing. "I'm a terrible boyfriend. I can't believe I made you feel like that." She was becoming more confused as he continued. "I love you more than I can express. I may not have been planning on another baby, but sometimes plans change." He paused and grabbed her hands. "I want to raise this baby with you in this house, if you'll still have me."
"God, Danny why wouldn't I want you?" New tears flowed from her eyes, but this time it was from pure happiness.
"I don't deserve you. I made you believe that you did something wrong. Even after you thought I wasn't going to want to stay with you, you still thought about my kids first. You're such a great mother to them, and I can't wait to see how you'll be with our baby."
"We deserve each other Danny. We deserve happiness." She rested her forehead against his. "Feel." She took his hand and placed it where she had felt the baby kick.
"God, I'm going to be a daddy again." He kissed her again.
"Oh man, I hope it's a little girl," Grace piped up. "Don't worry I didn't let Charlie hear until I knew everything was okay."
"Baby brother?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know little man. It could be a little sister."
"Oh, no!" They all laughed at the smallest of the Williams clan.
"Alright, time for bed you two." Danny ushered the kids into their rooms, and Joanna went to get his "surprise" out of her car.
"I guess there's no point of this anymore," she gave him the mug and a small smile.
"I'm so sorry babe. It's beautiful." Danny sat the cup down on the counter and wrapped his arms around her. She was ecstatic that she wasn't going to have to live without him. She felt tears stream down her face. "What's wrong?" He took a step back to look her in the yes.
"Nothing, I am just happy that I still have you. I was so scared." She squeezed hi, tight against her.
"I love you, and I'm so sorry for scaring you. I don't know why I answered the question the way I did, but I promise I'm beyond excited to become a father again." He kissed her forehead. "I almost forgot to ask, how far along are you? One month or two?"
"Four. give or take a week," She laughed at his expression. "I know I couldn't believe we got it right on our first try." Danny huffed out a laugh. "I have an appointment in three weeks. I'll be twenty weeks, so we can find out the gender."
"Wow, I feel like we skipped so many steps. We just found out we're having a baby, but we already get to know the gender. I remember when Rachel found out she was pregnant with Grace, it felt like a lifetime before I knew I was having a little girl."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. We waited until we had her to find out she was a girl. We had a friend of ours decorate the room according to the gender, and she locked the room, so we couldn't see."
"We're not going to do that with this one," Danny laughed.
"I agree, that was terrible." She laughed. "Since I didn't get to surprise you can we surprise the team?"
"I think that is a great idea."
The next day Joanna went out and bought six coffee mugs and painted "We're pregnant" inside of each one. They invited the team over for breakfast that weekend and filled their freshly painted mugs with coffee. Steve was the first to finish.
"Oh my god!" Steve exclaimed.
"Holy crap!" Jr and Jerry shortly followed.
"Congratulations!" Tani and Adam announced.
"What's going on?" Lou was on his last gulp. "Oh, lord I hope it's a little girl! I don't think I can handle another Danny. We won't be as lucky this time, like we were with Charlie." The entire team laughed as Danny threw a piece of toast at Lou.
Joanna had excused herself from the table and went outside to get fresh air. She thought her life had been perfect when she started her relationship with Danny. Then he met his kids, and she thought her was full. Now she was having a baby of her own. It just keeps getting better, she thought. The laughter of the children and team had faded.
"Their reactions were great." Danny wrapped his arms around her. "That was an amazing idea." He turned her around to face him. "Before I met you my life was miserable, or at least I made it miserable. You walked into my life, having been through hell, but you were so strong, and you wouldn't take my crap," they both laughed. "I fell in love with you, so quickly that it terrified me. I pushed you away because that's what I do, but you never left. I thought I had the perfect life with you and the kids. You treated them as your own, and they loved you like a mother. Of course, I had to go and screw it up by running my mouth, but you still wanted me. Now you're pregnant with our baby, and I thought to myself it just keeps getting better." Joanna felt tears streaming down her face at her boyfriend's words. She chalked it up to the pregnancy hormones, but then she saw the same tears running down the detective's face as he took her hands in his. "I've been trying to figure out the perfect time to do this, for about a month now. I finally realized that it was going to be perfect as long as we were surrounded by family," She became slightly confused at his words until his next movement.
"Oh. My. God." She breathed.
"Joanna you've been a blessing to me, and I couldn't think of anyone I would rather spend the rest of my life with. Would you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"
"Of course!" He placed the ring on her finger, and she pulled him up into a heated kiss. She didn't break it until she hear a wolf whistle from Steve and an "Ewww" from Charlie followed by a "Shut up" from Grace.
"It really just keeps getting better." She kissed Danny once again.
END Part 2