==========Expecting==========
"Okay, I've put it off long enough," she declares a few nights later, when they're in bed together.
"Put what off?" He asks.
"I have to start looking for a new condo," she clarifies. "Mine only has one bedroom," she reminds him as she draws lazy patterns on his chest.
He nods and runs his fingers through her hair as he seems to consider something for a moment. "What if we got a place together?" He suggests.
She looks up at him with more than a little surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah, I mean… I do have an extra bedroom for the baby, so you could move in here, but I think it'd be nice to get a place that's completely ours," he explains.
"Yeah, that would be nice," she agrees with a smile.
"So… you want to do it? Live together?" He questions.
She seems to mull it over for a moment, but eventually, she opens her mouth to respond. "Are you sure?" She wonders. "I mean, we've only been back together a month… You aren't worried that it's too soon?" She continues.
"No. I mean, yeah, we've only been back together for a month, but it's not like we don't know each other," he reminds her. "And if you want to wait, we can, but I'm sure. I'm in this for good, okay? I just… I want the three of us to be a family and be under the same roof," he says with a hand on her growing stomach. "So yeah, I'm sure," he adds.
"Okay," she nods with a grin.
"Okay?" He asks with a bit of surprise. "I don't want to pressure you into this or anything. I won't be upset if you want to wait… I'd understand," he assures her.
"No, I want to," she tells him. "I want all of us to be under one roof, too," she adds. "And we have spent every night together anyway and it would make things a lot easier when the baby comes and I mean… we're committed to each other, right?"
"Right," he says with a nod and a smile.
"Okay, so yeah, let's do it."
==========Expecting==========
They actually find the house must faster than Sam thought they would. He figured Andy would spend three weeks making pro/con lists and researching every house in a twenty mile radius before finally making a decision, but it actually happened very easily.
It was the fourth house they went to. They just walked through the place, looked at each other and knew.
It was perfect. Lots of open space and natural light. A large deck overlooking their backyard. Three bedrooms and a small garage. And it was in a nice neighbor that was only a fifteen minute drive from the station.
Yeah, it was perfect. So, they ended up buying it and luring all of the coppers of 15 to help them move with promises of pizza and beer. And since Sam implemented a strict 'don't let Andy move anything or else' policy, she got to direct traffic and boss everybody around, which she enjoyed immensely.
And about a week later, they were completely unpacked in their new home.
And that's kind of when it really started to hit him- how much his life has changed in the past year. He's still having a hard time believing that this is all actually happening. That he's going to be a Dad. That he and Andy are going to have a family. It still feels completely surreal.
"What are you thinking about?" She asks as they lie in bed… their bed. He's been a bit lost in his thoughts for a while now and she's just… curious.
"I just... I still can't believe this is my life sometimes," he admits.
"What do you mean?" She asks as she furrows her brows a little while she turns to face him.
"I just never thought I'd be the guy going to Lamaze class and putting cribs together and researching which car seat is the safest. I never really wanted to be that guy… Before I met you, I never wanted commitment or a family or any of that… Or maybe I just never let myself want it because I never thought I could have it… But now I am that guy and I just… I really like being that guy," he explains.
She beams at him for a second before giving him a big kiss. "Well, that guy looks good on you," she tells him.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah… really good," she says, seductively, as her hand travels down his chest.
==========Expecting==========
"So, I was thinking…" she tells Sam as they lie in bed a few nights later.
"Should I be worried?" he teases as he turns to face her.
"Probably," she quips with a big grin.
"Yeah, I thought so," he retorts.
"Ha ha," she says with a roll of her eyes. "Anyway," she says, dramatically. "I was thinking about talking to Noelle and offering to babysit Olivia sometime," she tells him. "I mean… we could probably use the practice," she adds as she gestures towards her belly.
"I'm sure Frank and Noelle will appreciate their daughter being our guinea pig," he jokes.
"I really think we should do this," she declares, ignoring his last remark. "I mean, neither one of us has much experience with babies and we're kind of gonna have one soon," she reminds him with a nervous laugh. "So are you in?" She asks.
"Well, it depends," he muses.
"On what?" She wonders.
"Do I get to make out with the babysitter after the kid goes to sleep?" He teases.
She rolls her eyes at him again, but the big smile on her face is giving her away. "If you're lucky," she replies.
"Well, then I'm definitely in."
==========Expecting==========
It's a week later that they are at Frank and Noelle's house babysitting Olivia so the two of them can go out to dinner together. And Olivia hasn't stopped crying since they left.
Andy is standing in the middle of the room, gently bouncing Olivia while she rubs her back, desperately trying to soothe her. "I don't get it. We've tried everything. Why won't she stop crying?" Andy asks Sam, completely in a panic. "God, I haven't even given birth yet and I already suck at this," Andy declares as she starts to pace around the room.
"Andy, babies cry. You can't take it personally," he assures her as he runs his hand up and down her back.
"But I should be able to calm her down… that's what mothers do!" Andy argues.
"Okay, hold on. I have an idea," Sam says before he disappears down the hallway, leaving Andy standing there with the baby in her arms.
He returns several moments later holding a tube of hand cream. "Here, let me take her for a second," he says, holding his arms out to take the baby from Andy. Once he's got Olivia resting on his hip, he passes the hand cream to Andy. "Whenever I used to ride with Noelle, the squad car always reeked of this stuff… she wears it all the time," he explains. "Put some of it on," he instructs.
"What? Why?" Andy asks. Still, she doesn't wait for his response as she unscrews the cap, squeezes a dollop on her hands and rubs the lotion into her skin.
"Because then you'll smell like her," he clarifies. "She probably just misses her mom," Sam explains as he gestures towards Olivia.
"Okay," Andy nods as she places the hand cream on the coffee table and takes Olivia from Sam. Andy continues to gently bounce her up and down and it's only thirty seconds later that she starts to calm down. Andy shoots a look at Sam as her jaw drops. "Oh my God. Sam. She stopped crying," Andy announces as tears start to well in her eyes.
"I know," Sam says with a smile as he runs his hand down Olivia's back.
"How did you know to do that?" Andy asks.
"Read it in one of those baby books," he replies with a shrug.
"I didn't know you were reading baby books," she says, just completely in awe of him.
"Well, I read it months ago… Oliver gave it to me. It's a book specifically for Dad's," he explains. "It said that when you're alone with the baby and you can't calm her down, sometimes it's just because she misses her mom. It actually said to just drape one of her shirts on you or wrap the baby in it, but I didn't really want to go through Noelle's drawers and I saw the lotion in the bathroom earlier, so I figured that would probably work just as well," he says with a shrug.
"Wow… Sam, I… I mean, I already knew this, but… you're just… you're going to be a really great Dad," she tells him.
He gets a big smile on his face before he leans in to kiss her. "And I already know you're going to be a really great mom," he assures her.
"I'm really going to try to be," she promises. "But I just feel like there's so much more I need to learn," she admits.
"Well, we still have some time," he reminds her as he pushes some hair out of her face. "And whatever we don't know, we'll figure out together," he adds.
==========Expecting==========
Sorry about the long wait for this one! I'll try to be faster, but I'm finally coming down to the chapters that aren't fully written, so we'll see.
Reviews always serve as great motivation, though!
