Notes: Thanks to those that reviewed the last chapter! Always great to hear from everyone and glad I can still surprise you :)
"Mmm," Andy groans, his brow furrowing as he hears the phone ringing. He rolls over towards Sharon's side of the bed, reaching out and picking it up, "Hello?"
"Sergeant Flynn?"
"Yeah, that's me," Andy says as he sits up on his elbow, rubbing his eyes, "What's up?"
"Lieutenant O'Dwyer, uh…" Andy perks up at the mention of Sharon's name, sitting up fully, "She passed out at the scene that we're at…"
"Where are you?" Andy asks as he kicks the sheets aside and gets out of bed, rushing to grab the first clothes he can lay his hands on.
"We were rolled out to Robertson and Olympic. EMS is looking her over right now…"
"I'll be there in twenty," Andy says before hanging up the call and dialing another number. Their next door neighbor that had moved in the year before had two kids Emily's age in the same school. She had offered her services to keep an eye on the kids if they both ever needed to be rolled out at the same time, "Hi, Dana sorry for calling so late. They're in bed, I'm hoping I'll be back before they are up. I'll have my pager on me…thanks."
Andy hangs up the phone and grabs his car keys before heading out of the house and down to the scene. He parks his car outside of the tape and gets out, ducking under with a practiced ease before sprinting over to the ambulance where Sharon was seated on the edge being looked over by a pair of EMTs.
"I'm not going to the hospital," Sharon says from behind the oxygen mask that was sitting over her nose and mouth. Her glasses were sitting in her lap, one of the lenses cracked and arms bent from her impact with the ground.
"Your head is going to need actual stitches and you're severely dehydrated," The medic tells her as he tapes a pack against the cut on her head.
"I'm not goi…"
"Yes you are," Andy says as he steps closer. He was surprised at how pale and fragile she looked. Had she looked that way a few hours before when they had gotten into bed together? He watches as Sharon narrows her eyes at him, opening her mouth to retort before pulling the mask away from her face and throwing up into the small bin she was holding in her lap. Most of her stomach issues up to this point had been incessant nausea that had her eating less and less. She'd only thrown up a couple times, but tonight seemed to be the pinnacle and she could barely keep even her stomach acid down at this point.
"Let's get her prepped to move," The medic who was taping up her head tells the other one, the two of them helping her onto a gurney and attaching a couple monitors. One starts an IV of fluids, making Sharon wince as he stabs the back of her hand before taping the needle and tubing down. Andy moves to climb in next to them, but is stopped by the medic.
"You can't come with us sir, you'll have to follow behind."
"Where are you taking her?"
"Cedars," The medic says before slamming the door shut. Andy sighs and runs back over to the car, turning the engine over and following behind the ambulance as they drive. He pulls into a parking spot at the Emergency entrance, walking through some short bushes as the ambulance parks and the medics start to unload Sharon. They rush her inside with the gaggle of nurses and doctors that had been waiting and Andy follows behind them at a close pace, reaching out to grab Sharon's hand before a nurse stops him at the inner ER doors.
"Sir, you can't go back there right now."
"She's my wife, why can't I?" Andy protests loudly, all he wanted to do was talk to Sharon and see what was going on.
"You can't go back right now, once the doctor has looked her over you can go back," The nurse reiterates, clapping a clipboard to his chest, "You can fill out these forms while you wait."
Andy growls and nods, retreating to a chair in the waiting room before starting to fill out the forms the nurse had given him. He fills out the things he can before handing the forms in at the check-in desk.
"Do you know how much longer it's supposed to be?"
"It'll probably be about another hour or so," The nurse tells him with a reassuring smile.
"Thanks," Andy sighs as he slumps down in the chair again, his knee bouncing up and down as he waits. Each time the doors open and a doctor steps out he perks up only to sigh and sink back down when they call out someone else's name. It's a couple hours later before a doctor comes out and calls his name out. He jumps up and walks across the waiting room to the doctor, "I'm with Sharon, how's she doing?"
"She's doing okay," The doctor tells Andy as he walks him back to where Sharon was being kept, "We stitched up the cut on her eyebrow. Right now we're giving her some fluids, she was severely dehydrated when she was bought in and at first glance she's anemic as well. We're running a couple blood panels to see the extent of the issue."
"Does it seem like it might be something serious?"
"It could just be a stomach bug," The doctor shrugs as he pulls the curtain on Sharon's cubicle back. She had been changed into a hospital gown and was dozing quietly in the bed, only a little color returned to her cheeks, "It'll be a little bit before we get the results back but you can sit with her while we wait."
"Thanks," Andy says before pulling up a chair next to the bed. He reaches out and takes Sharon's hand, squeezing it gently, "Hey trouble."
"Hey," Sharon smiles as she opens her eyes.
"How are you feeling?" Andy asks, reaching up to brush a curl out of her face.
"Nauseous," Sharon admits, "Though I think the IV's helping a bit."
"What's been going on?"
"I don't know," Sharon murmurs, "It's been the last week or so. It's been mostly nausea until tonight…I can barely keep anything down."
"The last week!? Why didn't you say anything?" Andy questions as he gets out of his chair, pacing the length of the small cubicle.
"I thought it was just food poisoning," Sharon says with a sigh as her eyes track back and forth, watching him, "Then it kept on...I was supposed to go to the doctor tomorrow."
"Still, I can't believe you wouldn't tell me about something like that," Andy says, his brow furrowing, "What if it's something serious?"
"You know how I get when I'm sick, and I know how you get when I'm sick," Sharon tells him, "The hovering doesn't do anything but irritate both of us by the time I'm healthy again, and sometimes I just want to avoid it. It's probably nothing, something one of the kids brought home."
"It's not nothing!" Andy exclaims, "You're dehydrated and anemic, you passed out at work..."
"Andy!" Sharon raises her voice to get his attention. He stops mid-step and his shoulders slump as he looks at her laying in the hospital bed. They had talked about something happening to one of them, yet any time they talked about it it was always work related. Quick, but never painless. But what if it was something more serious? Sharon reaches her hand out to her husband, curling her fingers around his as he steps closer, "Andy, I'll be fine…really."
"You better be, I'm not ready to live without you," Andy murmurs as he kisses her hand before sitting back down next to her bed. He waits a beat before speaking, "You threw up all over Robertson's shoes?"
"Oh god," Sharon groans, closing her eyes as she covers her face with her hands, "I'm never going to live this down."
"Don't worry I think your reputation as a hard ass will stay in tact…people will just be afraid of you spewing all over them," Andy teases with a smile. Sharon turns her head to look at him with narrowed eyes, glaring softly, "Kidding."
"Sure you are," Sharon murmurs, offering him a small smile before squeezing his hand as they wait for the doctor. After a little bit longer a nurse comes in and starts unhooking Sharon from some of the monitors.
"What are you doing?" Sharon asks.
"Doctor Benton wants to admit you. We're moving you up to the ninth floor," The nurse explains as another comes in and helps her get Sharon prepped to move, "He was going over your results and should meet us in your room."
Andy gives Sharon a worried look as he takes her hand again as they transfer her to a portable bed. She squeezes his hand reassuringly with a weak smile as they wheel her upstairs to a permanent room. The nurses get her settled in bed again and update her chart before the doctor comes in with a folder.
"Feeling any better, Sharon?"
"A little bit," Sharon says as she shifts her position in bed, getting more comfortable as she leans against the pillows, "I'm guessing you know what's wrong?"
"I hope so," Andy grumbles as he stands next to the bed, his arms crossed over his chest.
"We do," The doctor nods, reviewing the results one more time, "Sharon, I believe what you're suffering from is hyperemesis gravidarum."
"Hyper-what-what?" Andy says as the doctor spits out the technical term.
"Hyperemesis gravidarum," The doctor repeats again at a slower pace, "It's a technical term for severe morning sickness; it ends up causing weight loss, dehydration, some other metabolic issues. Which is why I wanted to admit you."
[TBC]