A/N: This is the twenty-eighth chapter! Special thanks FOR THE LAST TIME to my amazing beta CMemlovr for beta reading! Thanks for your help so far Bettina! Please review for the next chapter! I hope you like it!
While Sharon slept on peacefully the next morning, Andy continued to get ready for work. Smiling gently, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips, prompting her to open her eyes lazily.
"Morning," he murmured.
"Morning," she yawned, stretching.
"How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good, just a little tired. I think I'm going to give work a miss today."
Nodding understandingly, Andy replied, "I'm glad that you're taking the rest you need. I can stay home with you, too," he offered.
Sharon was thankful for Andy's support – she only had to think about what her life with Jack had been like to appreciate Andy all the more.
"What are you looking at?" laughed Andy.
"I'm just thinking about lost time," she sighed quietly.
"Lost time?" he prompted.
"You and I met fairly late in life – I just wish that we'd met and been together sooner. You and Jack are so very different; something that I'm eternally grateful for. I'm just glad to have you in my life," she smiled.
Andy grinned, reaching to hug her tightly to his body.
"I'm always going to be here for you, Sharon. Whatever happens next, we'll deal with it together."
Sharon laughed wetly, not having realised that she'd begun to tear up. Swiping away the tears from beneath her eyes, she asked, "Nicole and Rusty?"
"Having breakfast," he answered, "as you should do," he smiled.
"Of course I will," she giggled, "just as soon as I can get out of this bed."
"Has the little one been behaving?"
"Quite well," she chuckled.
Across the hallway, Nicole and Rusty were enjoying breakfast together in the kitchen.
Despite the quiet between them, Rusty noticed that Nicole was somewhat tense.
"What's up with you?" he asked, "you seem anxious."
"I'm not anxious, just pensive," she replied, "I really, badly want to know the baby's sex – I want to go shopping for some new clothes, and it's so hard to buy stuff that's not colour coded these days," she complained.
"Seriously, that's what's on your mind?" he asked incredulously, "Mom and Andy obviously don't want to know, and to be honest, I'm getting tired of this topic."
"It's not just a topic," she insisted, "this is about showering our new sibling in personal gifts!"
"And much as I want to do that, too, we have to respect their wishes," argued Rusty tiredly.
"But if we tag-team it and try to convince her together…"
"We can wait four more months, Nicole," he sighed.
Their conversation was cut short by Andy's entrance into the kitchen. He strode into the kitchen whilst speaking heatedly on the phone.
"Look, Provenza, Sharon's not coming in today! She's unwell," he growled.
"I get it, but don't you think she should make that decision herself?" pressed Provenza with frustration. "Besides which, we need her here this afternoon," he gritted out.
"She needs her rest, and I won't let work interfere with her health!" insisted Andy.
Sharon came into the kitchen quietly, fully clothed and ready to have breakfast. Noting Andy's open frustration, and having heard the latter end of the exchange, Sharon swiped the phone from his hand and asked Provenza to repeat the situation to her.
"I will be in this afternoon, Lieutenant," she assured him.
"Thanks, Captain," he replied gratefully, "we didn't want to bother you, but…"
"I understand, Lieutenant – it's my job. I'll see you later." She hung up and braced herself for some kind of comment from Andy. Honestly, his overprotectiveness was becoming too much.
"You said you were too tired to work," he hissed.
"And now I'm well enough," she replied with a tone of finality.
"I'm not going to argue with you about this," he replied wearily.
"Just as well – you'd lose," she teased.
"Look at the pair of you, arguing like a pair of grandparents," laughed Nicole, poking fun at her dad.
"Hey! Ease up on the age thing – Sharon's young, and so am I," he growled playfully.
"But if you think about it," began Sharon teasingly, "we could be grandparents soon, if our current kids get a move on."
Andy grinned widely, recognising the jibe she'd thrown in Nicole's direction.
"What are you up to, today?" he asked casually, still smiling from Nicole's reaction to Sharon's comment.
"I'll probably grab a coffee with Andrea."
"Sounds like a good idea," he replied approvingly, "you'll enjoy that."
"Are you going to join us for breakfast, or what?" prodded Rusty suddenly, noting that his mother had yet to eat.
"I'm coming," she laughed, sitting beside Rusty.
"Are you sure you want to go to work today?" pressed Andy, hoping to dissuade her.
"Yes, I'm sure," sighed Sharon. She'd been hoping that he'd let the topic go when Nicole had started teasing them.
"Then I suppose it's no use arguing."
"Lighten up, dad!" interjected Nicole, "she's fine, and you don't need to worry so much."
Sharon grinned, glad that she had support in Nicole.
********...********
After Andy had left for work, Nicole decided to attempt to persuade Sharon to find out the baby's sex. She knew it would probably be futile, but she had to try.
"So, Sharon…" she began.
"Yes?" she replied pleasantly.
"When's your next doctor's appointment?" she asked, attempting nonchalance.
"In a few days, why?"
"Just checking how much time I have to change your mind," laughed Nicole.
"If this is about the baby's sex, I don't want to hear it," replied Sharon wearily.
"C'mon, Sharon. Try to see it from my point of view; I can't spoil my new sibling as much as I'd like to because there's a severe shortage of strictly gender neutral clothing around."
"Look, I do understand. And I understand that you all are just excited to find out, but half the fun is being surprised," she insisted, patting her shoulder fondly.
"Sure, surprises are fun, but buying clothes is so much more so," she persisted.
Sharon laughed lightly, determined not to let the matter annoy her. "There's only four months left to find out, Nicole. You can wait that long," she replied calmly.
"Four months too long," huffed Nicole.
"Well, to make the time seem shorter," she grinned slyly, "how about joining Andrea and I for coffee today?"
"I'd love to, but I can't," she replied apologetically. "I'm meeting another friend today."
"Sounds lovely," insisted Sharon, "we'll plan for it some other time, then."
**********...*********
Several hours later, Sharon and Andrea were engrossed in shopping for baby clothes. Despite Sharon's protestations, Andrea continued to buy clothes for the baby.
"This is adorable," crooned Andrea, lifting a tiny pair of trousers to show them to Sharon.
"It is," agreed Sharon, smiling.
"Let's get it," she encouraged, laughing.
"You've bought enough for today," insisted Sharon, "I'm fairly certain my baby's going to be the best dressed, with the amount you've bought," she laughed.
"Just this pair of trousers, please?" she insisted. Sharon relented, and a few minutes later they left the shop to grab a coffee.
"Still feeling tired?" asked Andrea, sipping her coffee.
"Not really," Sharon smiled, relaxed. "Spending time with a good friend can have that effect on me."
"Then I'm glad to be of service," she chuckled.
Silence fell between them and Sharon checked her watch. "I've got a few more hours to spare before I've got to go to work."
"Why're you going to work?" asked Andrea concernedly, "didn't you say that you were tired this morning?"
"Stop fussing," she teased, "I'm fine and capable of work."
"Then I'll support you," replied Andrea simply.
"I appreciate that," smiled Sharon, "thanks for your company, today."
"Any time," she replied sincerely, "especially if we're buying baby clothes."
"Speaking of buying clothes…Nicole asked about the baby's sex again today. She says it's because she wants to buy clothes for her new sibling."
"I can understand that – and even I can admit that I'm becoming impatient. I can't wait to meet your new little one!"
"It's only a few more months, now," smiled Sharon.
"And I'm counting them down," laughed Andrea.
********...*********
Later in the day, the team was called out to a crime scene, and was awaiting the Captain's arrival, having informed her as the call came in.
"Where is she, Flynn?" asked Provenza with irritation.
"She was with Andrea, last I heard. She should be here soon," replied Andy calmly.
Less than ten minutes later, Sharon was on scene and ready to go.
"How bad is it?" she murmured to Andy.
"Not terrible," he replied subtly. "How are you?"
"Just fine."
"Here's what Buzz has managed to pull up about the victim so far," interjected Provenza, handing a file to Sharon.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Walk me through the scene, please?"
Working their way through, they made their way to the victim's body. Sharon crouched beside her, tutting softly. "She was so young," she murmured, her fingers itching to trace the scars littering her body. "Next of kin?" she prompted, her eyes never leaving the corpse.
"We found the ex-husband, but haven't been able to locate her current husband and child," replied Sykes instantly.
"Where could they be?" she asked softly.
"We're still trying to figure that out," replied Provenza.
Andy helped Sharon to her feet. As she dusted off her knees she asked, "how old is the child?"
"As far as we can tell, she's only a few months old."
"Poor thing," sighed Andy.
"We have to find this baby, people," instructed Sharon, "I don't care if we rip up the house in the process, but we have to make sure that the baby is not here before we start broadening our search."
As the others spread out to complete her instructions, Andy sidled closer to Sharon.
"Are you sure you're doing okay?"
"I'm fine," she assured him, "We just have to find this baby."
After an hour of searching, Sykes and Sanchez returned to Sharon outside the house, triumphantly holding a screaming baby.
"Where was she?" she asked, taking the baby and rocking her soothingly in her arms.
"She'd been stashed in the nursery – it took us a while to figure out where she was," admitted Sykes.
"She's beautiful," murmured Andy, allowing the baby to play with his finger.
"She is," agreed Sharon, "but we still have to locate her father."
*********...*********
A few hours later, the team was no closer to finding the little girl's father. As Andy continued taking care of the baby in Sharon's office, Sharon set down the supplies she'd bought.
"I got some milk for her," said Sharon, stroking the baby's face lightly, "I just hate that we haven't managed to get her to stop crying."
"It reminds me of when Nicole would cry – I just can't stand to see her uncomfortable."
Andy encouraged the baby to take the pacifier into her mouth, relieved when she latched on.
"You're going to be a great dad," murmured Sharon as she smiled gently at the baby.
******** ... ********
Thankfully, the case was wrapped up fairly quickly, as the victim's ex-husband confessed.
"I'm glad we managed to find the baby's father, in the end. And, that he didn't kill his wife," sighed Sharon.
"Me too," replied Andy, "there's nothing like reuniting a parent with their child."
Comfortable silence fell between them, and Sharon was reminded of her shopping trip with Andrea earlier in the day.
"Speaking of parenting," grinned Sharon, "Andrea and I bought enough clothes to keep our child in a new outfit every day, if we were so inclined."
"Can't wait to see them," replied Andy sincerely.
********...********
The evening progressed peacefully. Andy, Nicole and Rusty admired the new baby clothes, discussing the items of clothing that they liked the most.
"Andrea's got good taste," Andy whistled quietly through his teeth.
"You can say that again," agreed Nicole, "look at this!" She grinned, holding up a cute onesie.
"And you'll see that they're all gender neutral," teased Rusty.
"Speaking of gender neutrality," interjected Sharon, "Andrea and I discussed your little attempt at convincing me to find out the baby's sex, Nicole."
"And?" laughed Nicole, her eyes twinkling mischievously.
"And, despite saying that she supported me, she reminded me that she'd be extremely happy if I were to have a girl," laughed Sharon disapprovingly.
"I'd be very happy with a girl too," grinned Nicole.
"A little sister sounds nice," admitted Rusty.
"We had talked about what it might be like to have a daughter," confessed Andy, happy that the others shared in his opinion.
"The best part is that, at the very same moment, the baby kicked, wanting to remind us of their presence," chuckled Sharon.
"Sounds like the baby had something important to say," Nicole smiled slyly.
"Think it's a little early for talking, yet," chortled Andy.
"You know what I mean!" protested Nicole, "The baby's telling us that she's a girl!"
"Maybe, but we can't just decide for the baby before they're even born," insisted Andy soberly.
"Speaking of baby girls – you should've seen Andy with the baby this morning," interjected Sharon, smiling dreamily.
"What baby?" asked Nicole and Rusty simultaneously.
"There was a baby at the crime scene today and it needed care until we could locate her father. Andy was just a complete natural," she beamed.
"I'll bet he was," teased Nicole affectionately.
"Not natural so much as practiced," replied Andy humbly, "I just love kids so much."
"And proof of it is that you're a great dad," grinned Nicole, sidling closer to her father to hug him tightly.
~~~ TBC ~~~
