AN: This is an unbetaed one shot. It's been a long time since I wrote anything and wanted to flex my muscles.
Sam sighs and looks over at Andy lying in the hospital bed. This was not how he expected the night to go. He was glad that he had proposed, and Andy had accepted before the evening went to hell. They had talked about getting married, and he was positive she would say yes, but he wanted to propose formally and give her the ring. The ring on her finger made telling everyone he was her family easier at the hospital.
The day had started out so well. Sam had conspired with Tracy and Gail so that Andy was out of the house for the afternoon. The girls had gone off to a spa day. He smiled at the memory of how happy and relaxed Andy was when she came home; at the joy she showed when she saw he had setup a romantic night in and was putting the finishing touches on dinner; and at her passionate response to him getting down on one to knee to propose.
Then mused Sam, everything went to hell. He had wanted to take her up to bed and finish celebrating there. Andy had wanted to call her dad and his sister Sarah to share the news. She jumped up to get her phone and somehow tripped over that damn cat of hers. The cat was unhurt, but something was clearly wrong with Andy's knee. She couldn't straighten it and was in severe pain immediately.
"Ms. McNally," said the eager, young looking student doctor, while he came into the curtained cubicle. Andy didn't even stir.
"I think she's pretty well asleep after the drugs you gave her," Sam told the student doctor. "What's going on?"
"Well, things are still pretty backed up so we can't get her into x-ray yet, but well, I kind of forgot to ask a question," said the young man as he went to shake Andy.
"Why don't we see if I can answer before you wake her?" said Sam in his best training officer voice.
"Well, I guess, I mean you are her fiancé. Am I correct in assuming she's sexually active?"
"Yes," answered rolling his eyes.
"Ok then, do you know what she is using for birth control?"
"Yeah, the ring one, it sounds like new ring," again resisting the urge to be a smart ass to the young man. The cop in him knew not to make assumptions, but seriously what kind of jerk didn't know what his fiancé was using for birth control.
"Ok, Nuva Ring. Do you by any chance remember when her last period was? Is there any chance she could be pregnant? We need to know before we get an x-ray," asked the doctor in training.
Sam froze for a minute. The last time he could remember Andy having her period was several months ago. The past couple of months had been pretty crazy. Illnesses and accidents had kept 15 Division stretched pretty thin so both Sam and Andy had been working lots of overtime and not always at the same time. He was pretty sure Andy would have said something if she thought she was pregnant, but he couldn't swear she wasn't.
"Listen, the last time I can be sure she had her period was a couple of months ago. Maybe you should do a test just to be safe?"
"Sure," said the young man.
Andy only barely roused the intern drew her blood. For a minute, Sam had been wondering if they should have tried to ask her if she might be pregnant, but given that taking blood didn't wake her, he doubted she would have answered rationally.
Sam sat there thinking about what it would mean if Andy were pregnant. Part of him was excited about the idea. They had talked about children, and both wanted them. But, he knew Andy wanted to wait awhile. Careerwise it would be easier for her to fit in a long stretch of desk duty and get some management experience in several years than it would be now when she'd be relegated to lower level tasks at the desk.
Plus, deep down, Sam had to admit to himself that he was traditional enough to want to be married before Andy was pregnant. He knows it's kind of old fashion, but he doesn't want anyone to be able to tease Andy about having to get married. He also knows he wasn't the only person who wondered if Andy was pregnant when she and Callaghan announced their engagement so quickly.
Although the timing wouldn't be ideal, Sam was getting excited about the idea of a child with Andy's smile. A small person to teach about cars, sport, take to the zoo and be a family with would be a wonderful thing. Holding Andy's hand, he imagines her in a hospital bed, not in the ER, but in a delivery room, squeezing it hard while in labor.
Andy starts to stir. Very groggily, she looks at Sam and says "we're still in the hospital right?"
"Yes, we are waiting for them to x-ray your knee. They are kind of backed up," answers Sam. "Do you need anything?"
"I'm ok. Very floaty feeling," answers Andy.
"Well, they've give you the good drugs and a muscle relaxant. Are you in pain?" asks Sam.
Before she can answer, Andy's asleep again.
A nurse comes in and says "I'm here to take Ms. McNally to x-ray. You can wait in the waiting room until we get back."
"Um, they were going to do a pregnancy test before the x-ray. Did the results come back?" asks Sam somewhat anxiously, honestly not sure what he wants to hear.
"It was negative," says the nurse.
"Oh," answers Sam.
Sam sits in the waiting room, trying to sort through his feelings. He's mostly glad he guesses, the timing isn't great, but he is a little disappointed. He feels a small sense of loss over a baby that never even existed.
"Hey Sammy, what are you doing here?" asks Oliver Shaw as he steps into the waiting room.
"Andy's in x-ray. She tripped over her damn cat and messed up her knee. The worst case is a torn ligament and the best case is some kind of a sprain. You here on a case," asks Sam?
"Yeah, I'm here about a big car wreck. It sounds like McNally will be fine," answers Oliver.
"She'll be cranky if she has to stay off her leg for awhile, but it doesn't sound like major damage. This wasn't the way I thought tonight would go though. I proposed tonight, and she said yes."
"That's awesome man! It will make a good story to tell the kids. If you have a daughter she'll be pestering you for stories like this, "says Oliver.
Oliver notices the look the passes over Sam's face when he mentions kids. "Unless, kids aren't in the picture?"
"No, kids are in the picture in the future. It's just some intern got Andy all drugged up before he asked if there was any chance she could be pregnant. They needed to know for the x-ray. So he asked me and well, I couldn't remember when it was last that time of the month. So they did a test. It was a negative, which is mostly good because the timing is not great, but I spent some time thinking she might be, and it was nice. Listen Andy is so out of this she doesn't even know about this, so don't say anything."
"No problem, Sammy. Listen, Zoe had a false alarm right after we got married, and I felt the same way. I'm sure little McSwareks will appear when the time is right. "
Just then Andy was brought back from x-ray and Oliver was called away to talk to the car wreck victims.
When they were settled in another curtained area to wait for the doctor, a much more awake and lucid Andy asked "why was nurse telling me not to be disappointed that I wasn't pregnant and that I should remind that cute husband of mine that trying was half the fun?"
"Oh, well, Doogie Howser forgot to ask if there was a chance you could be pregnant before he drugged you up. The last time I could remember you having your period was a couple of months ago, so they did a test. I guess I must have looked a little disappointed when the nurse said the test was negative. I mean I know the timing is not great and really I'd like us to be married first, but it was just kind of a nice idea. Now, I feel kind of clueless because I couldn't remember," rambled Sam.
"Well, having your babies is one of the reasons I agreed to marry you, but yeah, I'm not really ready for that yet. Although, if I did get pregnant accidently, I think it would qualify as a happy accident. You aren't clueless either. The last time I had my period you had been in Ontario for that seminar and the time before that was while you had the flu. You know I'd tell you right away if I thought I was pregnant."
"I guess that explains why I couldn't remember" answered Sam. "And I know you would tell me right away, I just wanted to be safe."
Just then a doctor entered followed by Doogie, showed up at the curtain saying "Ms. McNally, it looks like you dislocated your knee cap. I don't think you've done any major damage to the ligaments. We are going to give you another shot of muscle relaxers, then reduce you knee cap, take another x-ray and send you home. You'll send to follow-up with an orthopedist in the next few days. Any questions?"
"Yes, when can I go back to work?"
"What do you," asked the doctor?
"I'm a police officer," answered Andy.
"Well, certainly not before you've seen the orthopedist. You'll be on crutches for a couple of weeks and in a knee brace doing physical therapy for a couple of weeks after that. It will be a couple of months before you are out on the street, but you should be able to be on desk duty pretty soon" said the doctor.