"Sweet Pea." Adam's face lit up like Christmas when Polly arrived and he grimaced as it hurt his throat to speak, his voice was still a little scratchy from having the breathing tube in for four days. It had left him a little hoarse but he hadn't shut up since it was taken out so it was unlikely to get better any time soon. Now he was on the mend though he was seriously getting pissed off lying around day after day. It had been a long few days for everyone since they pulled back on Adam's sedation and let him wake up.

The anticipation of waiting to find out what damage, if any had been done to his brain had taken it's toll and the first day had been a bit of a rollercoaster with Adam's confusion and rattled brain but by the next day he was back to hitting on Kim and complaining about everything, especially the food so they knew he would be just fine.

Polly kissed his cheek, grateful that he had at least had a shave. She hated beards with a passion and Sam was unlikely to ever have one if he wanted any hope of getting hot and heavy with Polly. A bit of stubble she was okay with, filthy beards were a big turn off. "How you feeling today?"

"Useless."

"You are getting better obviously. You are getting grumpier." Adam's track record of being laid up was well known; he was obnoxious, rude, belligerent and a right royal pain in the ass. Kim handled him best, she took none of his shit and Polly wasn't far behind her. He didn't even try with Gus because he got nowhere. He had whinged to Kim that they'd raised kids who had no sympathy but she just told him to shut up.

"Where's your Mom?" He was sick of these four walls, and the nurses and everyone else who decided they needed to poke and prod him. They were so damn cheery all the time; it was driving him insane.

"She'll be here in a minute." Polly set the bag she was carrying down on the tray, just out of Adam's reach. "Have you talked to her today?"

Adam shook his head. "What's in the bag? Something nice to eat?"

She pushed his hand away. "No. Just wait."

"I don't want to wait if it's donuts. I am hungry, and angry. I'm hangry."

Polly pulled up a chair. Adam was still in pain from his leg surgery and convincing him to take pain meds was a feat in itself. He had a pin and plate in his thigh, which was making him immobile and it hurt to breathe. Fortunately they were all ultimately short-term injuries that they could deal with because his head injury turned out to be minor in the grand scheme of things and Adam had woken up grumpy and bitching to all that would listen. He still had some major headaches but in general he was good and they were very happy with his progress and once he was up and about they could go home.

Adam though was unhappy and everyone knew it. He made damn sure of that.

"You starting Physio today?" Polly just ignored him and changed the subject bringing a reluctant smile to Adam's face. She was her mother's daughter.

"So they say. Although I am not sure what shit exercises I can do lying in this fucking bed."

"Never happy?" Polly rolled her eyes. Adam hadn't changed one bit, if anything he was getting worse with age. Kim had taught them how to deal with him from the very beginning. She never mollycoddled him, gave into his whining or put up with his shit. Most of it she let roll off her back and Polly and Gus did exactly the same. "Why can't you be happy? You weren't even happy to see me?"

"I am always happy to see you, I don't see you much anymore you are too busy with the Zookeeper."

"I thought you wanted that for me? I thought you wanted me to be someone's one in a million."

"Yes, but I didn't think that would mean that I would lose my spot."

"Your spot?" She knew where this was going, it wasn't the first time Adam had whinged about 'losing' Polly to another man.

"As your number one man."

"You are still my favourite Father….." Polly repeated for what felt like the hundredth time …"if that helps?"

"Pfft." Adam scoffed at his daughter but his eyes were smiling and his smile got even brighter when Kim walked in and greeted him with a lingering kiss until Polly coughed to remind them that she was there and didn't really need to see this…again. It was amazing how much better Kim looked now that Adam was well and truly out of danger but she still hated not having him at home and coming into the hospital every day was taking its toll so Polly decided it was time to cheer them up.

"So…" Polly grabbed the bag. "I bought you both something. You need to open it together." She pulled out a wooden box and handed it to them and her nerves started to flutter.

On the lid of the box it said 'Choose Wisely' and inside were handwritten cards; each one with a different name - Nan, Pa, Pops, Grandy, Gran, Nanna, Granddad. And it took Kim a few seconds to figure out what it meant.

"Oh my god." She flew around the bed and almost bowled Polly over in her excitement. "Oh my god. You're pregnant?"

"Yes I am. I hope you are happy because we are still in shock so we need someone to be happy for us."

"Yes. Yes. Yes." Kim bounced up and down. They both then looked at Adam who was holding up the card that said 'Pops' and had tears in his eyes. Polly knew he'd pick that one, they did consider just putting Pops in for her Dad, there was no way he was going to be anything else. It was what he called his Dad and it was also what Polly and Gus had called their grandfather.

"Dad? You okay?"

"I wish I could jump up and hug you too."

Kim let Polly go and she hugged her Dad. "I don't need you to jump out of bed right now, I need you to be up and about in 6 months time to cuddle your grandbaby."

"I will Sweet Pea. I promise." He choked on a little sob. "I love you Baby Girl, so much."

"So?" Kim needed information. She didn't know whether to hug Polly or Adam, so she held both their hands in an almost vice like grip. "Tell me more."

"I am just over three months pregnant and it's going well. We found out about eight weeks ago and spent two weeks ignoring it and then about two weeks freaked out and then Dad's accident so it's been a bit of a challenge." Suddenly the past two weeks had made sense. Polly was tired and emotional and completely freaked out, it was no wonder she so erratic and Sam was so protective. "I have a video on my phone if you want to see it?"

"Of course." Kim squealed and started crying the instant she saw that tiny baby on the screen. It seemed kind of surreal, it didn't seem that long ago that they were looking at a little alien on a small screen and wondering what the hell were they going to do now. Now that little alien was standing in front of them telling them they were going to be grandparents. When the fuck did that happen?

"It wasn't planned that's for sure and we were pretty shocked to be honest. Sam was pretty stunned but he's so excited. We both are, we can't wait. The past few weeks have been torture; we just wanted to blurt it out but we wanted to make sure everything was all okay first. We haven't told anyone else yet so you are the first to know." Polly rambled a little; her biggest fear was that people weren't going to be happy for them. They knew it was quick and the past six months had been such a whirlwind but they were certain about one thing, this was meant to be. This baby was very much wanted.

"So I can expect him to come and ask me a question soon?" Adam was trying his best to sound annoyed but he couldn't fool them. He honestly didn't think finding out his daughter was pregnant would make him feel like this. He kept convincing himself he wasn't ready to be a 'Pops' but now that it was happening he wanted it right now.

"What? Like you and Mom got hitched as soon as you knocked her up."

"What's your point? He knocked up my baby girl, he's got some explaining to do." He was still holding the card in his hand. "Where is he anyway? Where is the sperm donor?"

"Dad, don't be a dick."

He held up the card. "You can call me Pops."

"Pops, don't be a dick. Sam's at work."

Kim was foraging around in the box. "I think I will be Mimi." She eventually held up her card.

"Mimi" Adam spluttered. "What the hell is that? That's not a name for a grandmother. What about Hot Nan, is that in there?" He grabbed the box from her hands and started flicking through them.

"I am not going to be Hot Nan."

"But you are a Hot Nan." Adam was grinning like a Cheshire cat. This is exactly what Polly was hoping for, to cheer him up because he was pretty miserable and she hated seeing him like this. Her Dad was larger than life and he looked so helpless in that bed. "No offense to Jolene but I think your Mom has the Hot Nan thing covered."

"Somehow I think Jolene will be okay with that. So Mimi and Pops?"

"Mimi and Pops." They both agreed.

Sam had been floored; he was absolutely speechless. He was cooking dinner when Polly got home and she just looked at him blankly. Finally feeling like her body was back on an even keel they decided that it was time to go back to the Doctor and get the implant put back in, they were trying really hard to be safe and do the right thing but it was getting more and more challenging. They had even talked about children and decided that they needed to wait a while, it was what they both wanted but it was way too early in this incarnation of their relationship to contemplate having a baby. They needed to give this a year at least to smooth out the kinks.

In the beginning they were very diligent and they still were, they just spent a bit more time wondering if they could get away with it, trying to guess Polly's cycle. They'd slipped up a few times and it was a relief when Polly got her period. Well she had two periods and they started getting cocky and then bang, there was a rooster in Polly's hen house.

One more try with the implant and if it didn't work they had no idea what to do next. Sam really didn't want Polly to suffer, no matter if it made things awkward for them at times and Polly really appreciated his support. Perhaps it would never be sorted and they'd always being looking for a way around it or counting days.

"Sam, we fucked up." Polly blurted out.

"What?" he had started dishing up dinner and his hand just hung in mid air. "Oh."

"So the Doctor did a test before he put the implant in and well there is no need for it now or for the next eight months."

"Ummm, Wow. Really?"

He was stunned and motionless until Polly burst into tears and he dropped the spoon back into the saucepan and finally moved towards Polly, and she was shaking as much as he was. "Hey come on, it's not that bad is it?"

"What? Being pregnant? I don't know."

"We really fucked up?" For a moment he thought that maybe they were dreaming that this conversation was actually taking place.

"Apparently we did. Well you know that night of my birthday, at the zoo when…"

"I finally pegged you on the bonnet of the car?"

"…Yes well Sam, that's been the only time we didn't use a condom this month and well, we made a baby."

"That was a good night." Sam just stared at Polly and she had to admit for a moment she did wonder if he was even aware of where he was. "You said that was our place, I guess you were right."

"So it seems." Polly at least felt comforted by the fact that Sam hadn't let her go yet. "Can I ask though? What do you think?"

Sam closed his eyes for just a second. He wanted to say the right thing, he wanted to say what he felt but this had been in his head for barely a minute and he hadn't even digested it yet. When he opened them Polly was staring at him….waiting for him to say something. "I am so in love with you." It was the only formed thought in his head.

"Really?"

"Yes, Polly. Really. I love you, you know this."

"Okay." She nodded tearfully. "Sam, this is so quick. I can't believe we are going to be parents."

"Then this..." He rested his hand on her flat stomach. "…Is one lucky baby."

"It's good right?"

"It's good. It's better than good, it's great." He nodded and hooked his finger under her chin so that she would look at him, Polly always felt like the perfect height for him, she fitted him and had the ability to mould herself to his body. "I love you, I am so in love with you and right now I feel….." he paused briefly and wiped away one lonely tear that escaped from the corner of his eye. "….Polly, I feel content."

That meant the world to her. He often said it, that he was content and it wasn't because he felt like he had just settled for something, he was content because for a few years he didn't feel like his life was heading in the right direction. Professionally yes, but not personally and he never quite knew why. An out of the blue phone call changed everything. When the Lincoln Park Zoo came calling it threw him into a world that he never thought he'd have again. It threw him right back in Polly's world and he was unbelievably happy, yes he was content. He'd stopped looking or trying to force something to work because they just did, they worked.

Being with Polly was easy; loving her was easy, it always had been. They needed those ten years apart to grow into the people they were now, to know what you wanted and didn't want, to see the other side of life. Now six months later they were in their apartment trying to digest the news that they were about to become parents and he held onto her a little tighter.

"Holy fuck." Polly breathed out slowly, trying to steady her racing heart. She knew, deep down when the Doctor told her that Sam would be happy but it was still a nerve-wracking drive home.

"Are you okay?"

"Sam, I'm pregnant."

"Yep." He was still watching Polly and all the emotions flitting across her face. "Are you okay?"

"I think so. It's just a shock. I seriously did not even expect it…" she forced a painful little laugh out. "... now it's kind of just smacking me in the face and I am a little terrified to be honest."

"I am a whole lot of terrified."

"When the Doctor asked if I could be pregnant I kind of laughed, I sounded like a hyena on heat. He insisted on the test, standard procedure apparently and he just kind of looked at me and smiled. He said, I think we can skip the implant and I'm like why? Don't you think I'm ready? I want to try it again. He laughed, patted my hand and said too late Polly; you are already pregnant. I told him he was an idiot, that it wasn't funny and then I cried." Polly barely drew breath as she talked at a million miles an hour.

"I wish I'd gone with you."

"I wish you were there too, I was sad you missed out. That moment when it sunk in, I wanted you there." Polly could finally laugh. "One thing I do know though….. I am glad it's with you. I am kind of glad we fucked it up."

"I am having that moment right now." Sam leant back and brushed the hair back from her forehead. "This is what I want, more than anything. I think it's amazing." He had an overwhelming need to kiss her, so he did, long and slow. His hand found it's way to her stomach and he rested it there gently and the kiss was loving, passionate and intense. They couldn't speak right now so they needed to show each other how they felt.

Polly wasn't surprised when her mother followed her out of Adam's room. He had eventually drifted off to sleep; Adam was still recovering and would sleep half the day, which gave them all a break from his constant whinging. Although today he was on cloud nine, so now they were taking a break from Adam's insistence that Kim be called Hot Nan.

Polly was waiting for it. She had braced herself for Kim's reaction and it was also one of the reasons she didn't want Sam here. If he had seen one ounce of disappointment from Kim or Adam he would have lost it. He was adamant that this was a good thing and Polly didn't want anyone to ruin that for him. "Just say it Mom."

"I am happy for you both, it's just a bit of surprise."

"For us too."

"What happened?"

"I told you I had to have my implant taken out, it was causing problems." Polly was already on the defensive and Kim wasn't overly impressed with her tone of voice. They had desperately hung on over the past two months because it had been rough and now they just wanted to enjoy the next few months and look forward to meeting their baby.

"Yes, so it's not the only form of birth control."

"For me it is, the Doctor didn't want me to go on the pill, and neither did I as that is worse, you know it is and the non-hormonal stuff doesn't suit me either. We didn't really have a lot of choices. It doesn't really matter now does it? I'm pregnant, that horse has bolted and we are happy. Really happy, please don't rain on my parade or Sam's." Polly fossicked around in her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. She couldn't believe how thirsty she was at the moment. Some days she felt like she was drinking a swimming pool full of water and the last few days, since Adam had woken up she was constantly eating, she was always hungry and snacking and Sam joked that she was making up for lost time because he had struggled to get her to eat for a while.

"I am not going to rain on your parade, Polly sweetheart I am happy for you and I am excited but it is really quick."

"I know. We know that but it was going to happen eventually, with Sam. You know how I feel about him Mom, we knew that one day we'd have a family so it's just a bit earlier than we'd like but here we are."

"You sound so blasé about it. It's a big deal Polly, everything changes."

"We are not blasé about it, trust me, we've freaked out a shitload, we are still freaking out. We've also talked a lot about what we want and how we are going to manage but we are not teenagers Mom, we are both thirty and I don't want to be an old parent. You and Dad did it."

"Yes we did but we had been together for a while and were engaged." Kim was watching her twist and untwist the lid of her drink bottle and could tell that Polly was getting annoyed and it was the last thing she wanted to do, she didn't want to upset Polly but she wanted to make sure they knew what they were in for.

"So if we are engaged it's okay?"

"No Polly, don't twist my words."

"It could have been worse, it could have been Austin."

"Thank god you didn't have an issue with your birth control while you were still with him seeing as you don't seem to be able to control yourself."

"I can control myself and I did with Austin. Sam and I just, well we tried really hard but on the odd occasion it just wasn't convenient and well, here we are."

"Polly!" Kim almost screeched. "You are smarter than that."

"No, I didn't mean it like that. Sam just wanted me to feel well and to not struggle with the implant and the Doctor wanted me to have a break. We tried to be careful and Sam was pretty good with it all..." She shrugged. If she wanted to completely freak her mother out she would have told her it was probably on the bonnet of a car in the parking lot at the zoo when this little mishap occurred. "..occasionally though we just got carried away. Anyway, it's done, Sam's bun is in my oven."

Kim rolled her eyes. "You spend far too much time with your father." That was all Adam coming out of her mouth right now.

"Are you happy Mom? I am happy, really happy. I can't wait and I am terrified too." Polly voice started to shake a little. "I can't do this without you."

"Of course I'm happy. I just had to say it, I'm your mother it's my job to make sure you are making smart choices and baby..." She pulled Polly into her arms. "…you are not alone Polly. I'm here; I'll always be here for you and my grandbaby. I think this baby is lucky, it's got you and Sam."

"The smartest choice I made was saying yes when Sam called me and said he was waiting outside my building. I don't regret anything."

Polly left while Adam was still sleeping and promised that she'd come back tomorrow and bring Sam. He had to face the music eventually and Adam had already sent him a message although he refused to show Polly what he said. She was picking him up from work and they were having dinner with his parents. "How are my Babies?" Sam was surprised that Polly was waiting for him in his office. She was curled up on the couch in the corner where Sam often slept if he stayed overnight.

It was surprisingly comfortable. Sam's office was quite large because he did often long hours here. It had a table and chairs in the corner where he held daily meetings with his team and often had dinners with Polly when he was working late. The large overstuffed green couch wasn't the prettiest she'd seen but it was big enough for Polly to sleep on. One wall was covered with a bookshelf, overflowing with all manner of books, photos, magazines and folders. Sam was a little old school and loved grabbing a book to find something out rather than just look on the computer.

On the corner of his desk he had one photo. The photo Polly had given him for his birthday.

"Tired."

"How's the Grandies?"

"Have you not checked your phone?" Polly sat up a little so that Sam could sit down and she plonked the pillow in his lap so she could lie back down. "Dad sent you a message."

"It's on the desk. What did it say or don't I want to know." Sam lifted her shirt and started playing with her stomach, it was starting to stick out just a little not that anyone noticed when Polly was dressed but they could both see it. She was just a little thicker around the waist.

"He wouldn't show me."

"Are they okay though?"

"Mimi and Pops? They are excited."

"Interesting choice of name by your Mom."

"It's cute isn't it?" Polly shivered a little and Sam grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and covered her over. "Dad wanted her to be Hot Nan."

That made Sam laugh, of course Adam would say that. "Are you ready for round two?"

"I think so, do you think your parents will be happy? I want them to be happy."

"They will be. Mom loves babies."

"Anyway, tell me about your day?"

"Pretty quiet. We had some tour group come through so that was a little intense for an hour or so, I don't think anyone actually spoke English; they just nodded and took photos of me talking. One of them was keen to swim with the Polar Bears, try explaining to someone that it was not an option with hand signals and broken English."

"You have all the fun."

"Have you eaten much today?" Before Polly could answer Sam added. "And by much I mean not that bag of fruit and nuts you carry around to nibble on, I mean real food." Polly had constantly tried to convince Sam that the snacks she had were enough and that grazing all day was better. He was having none of it though and made sure she had a decent breakfast. 'You are growing my baby, I've got some skin in this game too.' He would tell her if she complained too much.

"Yes. Mom made me eat lunch. I told you, once they know you will have two more people on side to nag me."

"Thank fuck for that."

"Yes, yes. Thank fuck for that, just what I want, 24/7 nagging. At least when you are at work I get some peace."

"Ah, you love it and you wait until Mom gets whiff of it."

Sam had to disappear for a half an hour to do the final lockdown for the night so he left Polly in his office. Before he left he grabbed his phone and laughed. "What does it say?"

"It's personal." He winked as he slipped his coat on, put his phone in his pocket and left.

"So you are not going to tell me what Dad said?" Polly was still on about it as they headed to his parents place.

"If I don't tell you, you will just check my phone while I am sleeping won't you?"

"No."

"Bullshit."

It wasn't as bad as he was expecting. 'Hey Zookeeper, First you pop her cherry & now you knock her up. You and I need to have a chat & remember, I have guns…. big guns. I am available anytime for questions.' But it was freaking Polly out not knowing so he was willing to continue playing this game and he knew Adam would expect nothing less of him. Polly tried to make out that it annoyed her when Sam and Adam ganged up to tease her but she loved it. She had to love how well they seemed to get on, however if things turned to shit Sam would be a dead man.

"Hey Mom." Sam threw his arms around his mother. "What's for dinner?"

"It's good to see you too." She pushed him away and hugged Polly.

"I'm going to grab a shower, is that okay?" Polly was kind of surprised. He seemed nervous all of a sudden and she didn't want to be left here and pretend like nothing was going on. She hoped that Jolene didn't pick up how jittery she was as she tried to make small talk while she waited for Sam to come back down.

When he did he called his Dad into the kitchen and literally blurted it out. He shoved his phone at them with a photo of the sonagraph. "A surprise Baby. Very unexpected." It was almost like he'd lost the ability to form sentences.

"Oh my god." Jolene gasped.

"That's our baby." He was so blunt about it Polly was a little speechless.

"What?"

"That's a human, our human. Your grandchild."

Jolene stared at them both and then back at the screen before bursting into tears. "Oh my god." She covered her mouth with her hands and cried before throwing her arms around them both. "Oh my god, this is wonderful." She leant back and looked Polly over. "How are you? Are you well? Any morning sickness? Can I get you something?" She reached for her husband. "Phil get Polly a chair."

"A little, nothing major but I am starting to turn the corner now. Now that I am passed the 12-week mark I've felt pretty good for the past week or so, just the occasional bump now. It was a little rough with Dad but we are pretty much over that now."

Sam really liked how they both crowded around Polly, hugging her as she showed them the video of his baby again. He loved that video and had watched it a million times; he couldn't get over how much he was obsessed by that little baby, just as much as he was obsessed with Polly.

"Boy or Girl? Or is it too early?" Jolene hugged Polly tightly.

"We don't know yet and we haven't really decided if we want to find out. I think my next scan is when they can tell."

"I bet Kim is excited? Their first grandbaby?"

"They are, both of them are. We really wanted them to know so it might help cheer Dad up and he's more determined than ever to get out of hospital now."

"Well this is worth celebrating. A new baby." Jolene clapped her hands. "Let me get the sparkling water."

It did feel a little like the Spanish inquisition over dinner about where they were going to live, what about a wedding, Polly's work and surprisingly their birth plan. "We are still getting used to it being in there, we haven't figured out how we are going to get it out yet."

Sam left early the next morning, before Polly was awake. He had someplace he needed to be before he got into work. Pushing open the door to Adam's room he wasn't surprised that he was already awake. Adam didn't sleep well in hospital and was often up early much to his annoyance.

"I was waiting to see you." He flicked off the TV and stared hard at Sam as he handed him a coffee. He knew better than to turn up without one. The coffee here sucked and Adam was a serious addict.

"Thought you might be. How you feeling?"

"Like a useless slab of meat and strangely older and I feel an overwhelming need to say something wise."

Sam pulled up a chair and Adam did like that he seemed a little nervous. He really liked this kid; he was smart, funny, and hardworking and adored his daughter. "How's Polly?"

"Still asleep when I left. She's pretty tired at the moment." Sam just dove in. "I love Polly, more than anything and I am going to look after her and our baby. We are really happy, slightly shocked and terrified but I wouldn't want to be doing this with anyone else. I want you to know that I'll take care of her."

"I know you will."

"Adam, I adore her and one day I will marry Polly, but right now we just don't think we can cope with a wedding and a baby and getting you back on your feet." Sam rambled on and Adam let him go. "Polly is worried about you and I have been out of my mind trying to make sure she is taking it easy and looking after herself and her body. The DCFS thing shook her up and we just want things to calm down. My focus is solely on making sure Polly and the baby are okay. I hope you understand."

"I do Kid, I do. Having a baby is a big deal, far bigger than the wedding. Although don't tell Kim that please, she'll break my other leg." Adam understood exactly where Sam was coming from. Polly was so much like Kim it wasn't funny and the amount of stress she'd been under lately was too much. "I just want her to be happy and I know you make her happy."

"She makes me happy too. I feel like I've hit the jackpot."

"And I will be waiting patiently for the day I get to give her away. Just don't run off and elope and take that away from me."

"I won't." Sam jumped up and offered his hand to Adam, who took it and pulled him in for a hug.

"Welcome to the family Sam, you belong here." Adam pushed him away playfully. "Now go before it gets too soppy." He called out to Sam as he got to the door. "Hey bud, look after my granddaughter too."

"You think it's a girl?"

"I think every man deserves a daughter to love as much as I love mine. Once you have a daughter, you'll get it."