What if McCall became pregnant after the affair described in Unfinished Business? (AU from the affair in Unfinished Business.)
McCall looked down at the plastic stick in her hands. To be honest, she'd only bought the thing after one of her fellow students at the FBI Forensics course joked about the possibility when she'd been found hugging the porcelain throne for the 2nd time that day.
She double checked the lines that appeared on the stick against the instructions on the box it had came in. God, could they make these things less cryptic? Three blue lines meant...positive. Yep, oh boy, positive.
How was she going to tell Hunter? How would he react? He'd never mentioned wanting kids. How would he react?
The phone rang, startling her out of her reverie. She picked up the receiver, and answered, "McCall" automatically.
"Hey, smartie pants, one more week and you'll be back with us uneducated cops," Hunter's voice teased.
She couldn't tell him over the phone; this she had to do in person. She tried to disguise the trepidation she felt as she answered, "You know, I kinda like it out here in Quantico. Think they'd mind if I put in for a transfer?"
He laughed. "Come on, McCall. You have to come back. They're threatening to partner me up with Terwilliger. Save me, please!"
"Ok, big boy, I'll come back and save your delicate self from mean old Terwilliger."
They chatted for a few more minutes, mostly about how the class was going, before hanging up.
The remainder of the 6 week course flew by and before she knew it, McCall was on a flight back to L.A.
Hunter waited outside the gate for McCall's flight to arrive, checking his watch against the Arrivals Board for the umpteenth time.
There had been a hitch in McCall's voice over the phone for the last week or so that he couldn't pin down. Was she nervous about what had happened before she left for the course? Did she have 2nd thoughts about it? Would things change between them? He had gotten closer to her than he ever thought possible when he'd first proposed their partnership, and didn't want to lose the friendship that had developed.
He'd even made time to come down and pick her up from the airport, ditching Megan Malone, his temporary partner while McCall was away, to track down leads on their current case.
He watched a McCall's plane pulling up to the gate and her flight's status updated from "on time" to "arrived." The plane stopped and the gangway was pushed out to the plane's door. Slowly, he watched as the passengers disembarked, the first class passengers first, and then the coach passengers.
He stood and watched for the familiar face of his partner, knowing she'd probably see him first due to his height. But that wasn't the case as an 2 departing passengers moved away from each other to reveal McCall; she was looking away from him but down at her bags as she adjusted them. He hadn't realized how much he missed her as she lifted her face, spotted him, and smiled.
"Hunter! I thought you said you couldn't pick me up," she exclaimed.
"Well, I was able to rearrange my schedule, so here I am," he replied. "Here, let me take that." He relieved her of her larger carry on, and inquired about whether she had any checked bags. She did and they headed down to the baggage claim.
They made small talk as they walked, and Hunter noticed she seemed to have more color in her cheeks, and seemed several times to almost say something before pulling back.
McCall was surprised to see Hunter at the gate to meet her. She was happy he'd made the time to meet her, but nervous as well. She still hadn't thought of a way to tell Hunter that she was pregnant. She almost just blurted it out several times, but a crowded airport didn't seem the place to tell him.
They finally made it to baggage claim. As they waited for her bag, he stared at her, seemingly sensing something was up.
"You ok, McCall? You seem a bit off…" he queried.
She shook her head. "Just tired. Long flight, ya know. But I would like to get together, when I'm settled back in. Just you and me; I'll even buy dinner."
Hunter nodded when McCall suggested dinner. Apparently she wasn't quite ready to tell him what was on her mind, yet, but he'd respect that maybe she just needed time.
The next week or so was crazy busy. Hunter was still working with Malone to finish their case, one McCall had dead-ended on before she left for her FBI course and Malone's fresh eyes had helped move forward. McCall was busy doing catch up from her time away, and helping Capt. Devane to implement some of the things she'd learned from her FBI course. They didn't have nearly as much time together as Hunter would have liked, and when they did, McCall seemed to alternate between being jealous of his time with Malone and keeping him at arm's distance. She wasn't acting like herself, but every time he tried to pull her aside, something seemed to interrupt them.
McCall was getting frustrated. Over the last week and a half, she hadn't gotten a moment alone with Hunter, let alone enough time to give him the big news. One time, tired and short on patience, she'd almost shouted it out in the middle of the Homicide squad room. Thankfully, she'd caught herself in time.
It didn't help that most of the time she saw Hunter, he was with Megan Malone, working on the case she couldn't solve, and having a fine time of it. She felt replaced, like he didn't need her anymore.
She would have invited him over for dinner after work, but most of the time, she was tired from the long hours, and the extra toll the pregnancy was taking on her body. She'd fall into bed most nights right after she got home and grabbed a bite, only to awaken bleary eyed, and seemingly way too soon, the next morning. Thankfully, she wasn't showing, yet.
It all came to a head when they got an arrest warrant for the suspect in Hunter's case. Hunter, Malone, and McCall headed to his house to arrest him. Hunter knocked on the front door, while Malone and McCall covered the back entrances in case he ran.
"Police!" she heard Hunter call as he knocked. The back door nearest McCall opened, and their suspect erupted out of it.
"Stop, police," McCall called, raising her gun. The suspect just kept coming at her, and barrelled into her. She managed to keep a hold of her gun, but the guy elbowed her hard in the gut. Pain exploded in her abdomen, and her breathe wooshed away. She tried to call out to Hunter or Malone as she held onto the suspect, but she couldn't catch her breath. As they struggled, he hit her again in the the stomach and pain got worse. She had to let go of him. The suspect ran towards the street, and Hunter, and she tried to call out a warning. She only managed a croak.
Hunter must have heard something, because he turned just in time to see the suspect rush past him. Thankfully, he tackled the guy and called for McCall and Malone. McCall tried to get up, but doubled back over in pain as Malone came around the opposite side of the building to help Hunter arrest the suspect. Once they got the suspect under control, Hunter called out for McCall.
"McCall, what happened?" Hunter queried as she stood up, finally managing to catch her breath and stand back up.
"The guy just barrelled over me," she responded, in between breaths and clutching her stomach. "I think he got me, good."
Hunter cupped her chin as McCall's color turned grey. She felt like she was going to vomit. "You ok?" he asked, as she proceeded to double over, and unable to turn her head in time, vomited all over Hunter's shoes.
McCall's wouldn't look at Hunter, and had whispered something to the medic as he was evaluating her. He hadn't caught just what, because that was when Malone had called to him to let him know she'd take the suspect to the station.
The medic had looked askance at him as he turned his attention back to McCall, before loading her into the ambulance. Hunter insisted on coming with her, and they had let him since she didn't object.
He held her hand as the medic continued to evaluate her as the ambulance sped down the road. Hunter used his free hand to brush McCall's dark hair back from her forehead and silently prayed for her to be ok. She turned her head away, and Hunter could swear he saw tears in her eyes. Her lips trembled.
"It'll be ok, Dee Dee," he said softly.
She licked her lips, and face turned away, said, "no, it won't. Because you don't know…"
McCall's voice broke, and tears started streaming down her face.
It was then that they reached the hospital. The medics guided McCall's gurney out of the ambulance and into the hospital. Hunter followed, wondering what could possibly have McCall in full on tears. The hospital staff stopped him in the waiting room, and he watched them wheel her into the bowels of the hospital, taking his heart with them.
After what seemed like hours, a nurse came to get him.
"Sergeant Hunter?," the nurse called. When he nodded, she continued. "We've stabilized Sergeant McCall, and we want to keep her overnight for observation. You can visit her for a few minutes if you like, but keep it quick. We don't want to over-tire her."
He nodded, and the nurse led him to Dee Dee's room.
McCall lay in the hospital room. The nurse was getting Hunter, and she was still trying to find the words to tell him what happened. Thankfully, she was still pregnant, but they wanted her to stay overnight to make sure no permanent damage had been done to her or the baby.
She heard his familiar footsteps coming down the hall.
"Come on, McCall, you can do this," she said to herself. "You're the Brass Cupcake. Tough as nails…."
Hunter entered the room at the nurse's indication, and the nurse left.
He just stood in the doorway for a moment before entering and pulling up a chair.
She took his hand, and gathered her strength. She felt tears welling in her eyes, again.
"Hunter, I don't want to lose you as a friend, but I have something to tell you. I've wanted to tell you since I got back from Quantico, since before, but it never seemed the right time."
Hunter's heart leapt into his throat. Oh, god, he thought, multiple scenarios ran through his brain as he listened to McCall speak.
"After, after we were together that night, before I left," McCall continued, "I found out I was pregnant. I...you know I've always wanted children. This isn't they way I thought it would happen."
McCall cupped her abdomen, then continued. "Then, I got to thinking. This baby is part of you, part of one of the best friends I've ever had. And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted the baby, even though it was a surprise."
Tears were running down her face, and she seemed about to speak again when Hunter put his hand over the one Dee Dee had on her abdomen. Pregnant? A baby? It was never something he had even thought about, never something he had even dreamed for himself.
"I don't want to lose…" McCall continued.
Hunter cupped her cheek and kissed her full on the lips, interrupting her. He wanted whatever she could give him, had never dreamed she'd want him, a dyed in the wool bachelor cop with too many miles, but, oh, how he had sometimes wondered if she could accept him after everything, including losing a husband in the line of duty.
He broke the kiss.
"I don't want to lose you, Dee Dee," he said looking into her eyes. "I can't imagine my life without you. This baby...I never thought having children was a possibility for me. But it's part of both of us, and I want to see this through."
McCall smiled through her tears, and kissed him.