"Captain, the victim's sister is in conference room two," Lt. Tao said through the closed door.
"Okay, I'll be right there," she said as she raised herself from the waste bin. Her morning sickness had progressed longer today than normal and the added stress of this case wasn't helping. She was almost ten weeks along and she and Andy decided that when the case was closed, they would tell everyone. She felt that they couldn't keep it a secret for much longer, no matter how much she wanted to.
"Okay, Ms. Andrews, sorry for asking you down here today, but we had some follow-up questions about the preceding events last evening," Sharon started as she sat down across from the woman. She was about 26 and was treating her younger sister for a night on the town to celebrate her college graduation. Her sister went outside to take a phone call and six hours later, the police found her on a park bench, dead, wrapped in blankets.
"Whatever I can do to help. It's no trouble at all. We were at the bar and Shelby got a call from her boyfriend and went outside so she could hear better. I stayed at our table and ordered more drinks. After about 20 minutes, I got up and went out to look for her. When I couldn't see her, I tried calling her name, and then called her phone about a dozen times. When she didn't answer, I called the police and then this morning I got the call from you," she did her best to relay the information the best she could without crying again.
As soon as Sharon was about to ask more questions, she felt another wave of nausea come over her and quickly turned the interview over to Tao and made a bee line for the restroom. Andy saw her rush out of the room and immediately followed her. When he found her, she was already hunched over.
"Oh sweetheart, I got you," he said as her pulled back her hair. "Bad day, huh?"
"I've never been this sick this far into the day. And I had to leave the victim's sister in there with Tao. Ugh, I'm so exhausted and I'm actually ready to tell everyone now."
"Let's finish this case and then we'll both go talk to Taylor and then the team. It'll all be alright."
As they both got up and walked out, they were instantly met by Provenza. "What is going on you two?" he asked with a determined face. "I swear, Andy you," he was cut off short.
"Oh calm down. You'll find out soon enough. Trust me," Andy said as they walked on by.
This case ended up being the hardest they've seen in a really long time. Every time they thought they had someone, it turn up a dead end. Finally, after a week of constant puzzlement, they caught a break and the murderer. Sharon, feeling worn out and anxious, waited for Andy to finish his report so they could go see Taylor.
"Hey good lookin'," he said as he peered into her office. "Ready to go spill the beans?"
She was more than ready. She had been ready a week ago, but the case was more important. When they reached Taylor's office, Sharon took Andy's hand in hers and they walked in together. Not sure what Taylor's reaction would be, Sharon let Andy take the lead.
"Chief, there's something me and Sharon need to talk to you about."
"Okay, I guess since y'all just finished the case, this is something personal. Let me hear it," Taylor look partly confused and disturbed, but that might have just been his usual face.
"There's not an easy way to say this, so here it goes," Sharon's normal strength was clearly withered, whether by the case or the morning sickness, and probably both. "Chief, I'm pregnant. Andy and I are going to have a baby."
Taylor sat there for a minute and then stood up with a smile and shook Andy's hand. "Congratulations! I'm glad you told me. Better now than when she's put in a dangerous situation."
"Our thoughts exactly." Sharon commented. "So this is going to work? I mean, you're not mad?"
"Captain, you are not the first police officer to get pregnant. I'm not saying this will be easy, with you leading your team, but that's for another day. Today is to celebrate. I'm guessing you are going to tell the rest of your team?"
"Yes, we wanted to inform you before, but we are going to right now," replied Andy.
"Okay, great. We can discuss working hours and limitations at a later date, Captain."
As they left his office, a huge weight lifted off Sharon's shoulders. But she knew either her hardest critics or her biggest supporters were up next. As they walked from the elevator, Sharon took her husband's hand once more. The team looked up and met them both in the murder room.
"Okay, Captain, what's going on with you two?" Provenza inquired. "The both of you have been acting very strange for the past couple weeks."
As Andy explained and told the team about the pregnancy, Sharon's shoulders went up and she smiled. Before Andy could address the face Provenza gave them, Sykes was already screaming and giving Sharon a big hug.
"I knew it!" she said. "I didn't believe that stomach bug hoax for a minute."
"Congratulations you two." Tao said as he reached to shake Andy's hand.
What Sanchez did next surprised everyone, especially Sharon. He came over and gave her a big bear hug saying, "Congratulations Captain. If you need anything, let me know."
After a few minutes of chatting about due dates and being "over the moon happy," they started to leave for the day. About to head out, they realized Provenza sitting at his desk, just staring at his computer. Andy decided to go talk to him.
"You okay, old man?"
"Looks who talking, old man," he responded. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking about baby names and how beautiful my wife is."
"Really, Andy. A baby? At your age? You have your own grown kids, and grandkids. If you needed a baby fix so bad, then go to a daycare, not have one of your own."
"You think we planned to get pregnant? This was a complete shock to the both of us. We are happy though. I wish you could at least pretend to be happy, if not for me then for my wife?"
"Ah, fine. You know I really hate it when you bring the captain into everything. Even if she is your wife." He got up shook Andy's hand and told him congratulations.
When they got home, Sharon changed into something more comfortable and Andy started to fix dinner. It had been a hard week for both of them. Sharon's morning sickness was continuing farther into the day and Andy had problems with the case. He knew he shouldn't, but he got too involved with the family of the victim again.
"So, aside from Provenza pouting for a little bit, I'd say everyone took it really well," called Sharon from the other room.
"Yeah, but I got him to warm up to the idea," Andy answered his wife as she walked into the kitchen.
Just as they were about to kiss, her phone rang.
"Don't get it," Andy tried to persuade her as they lingered inches from each other.
"I have to. Just one sec," she said pulling away from his hand that had wrapped around her waist.
"Captain Flynn," she answered. "Oh, Ricky! I'm so glad you called." It had been nearly two weeks since she informed her son of the pregnancy. There was a long pause on her end before she said something. "Sweetie, I'm happy you've seen this addition to our family more positively now and I'm glad you were able to talk to Emily and Rusty. I'll talk to you soon. And yes I'll call if I need you. Love you, bye!" she hung up the phone with a grin and then started back towards her husband who was now seated at the table with their dinners.
"That sounded promising," he said as she sat down.
"Yes, very. He had a chance to talk to Emily and Rusty and realized how rude and unfair he was to me. I think Emily had a lot to do with that. Ricky said that Rusty had some words about being a good son and supporting a mother no matter what. God, I love my kids."
"Me too. Now let's eat before we fall asleep in our chairs."
Now at fourteen weeks, Sharon was starting to show and she could feel the team become more protective of her when they went to crime scenes. They wouldn't let her near anything remotely dangerous, kept her away from any risky suspects, and would not, under any circumstances, let her go anywhere alone. This was comforting to Andy, since he couldn't be by her side all the time, but Sharon was feeling restricted and aggravated. She was the Captain and the boss of her team. She didn't like being treated like a newbie or a hazard. Even still, her morning sickness was still coming strong. She felt like nothing was going to get better until they had their next doctor's appointment.
Dr. Matthews was a few minutes late, but that gave Sharon and Andy some alone time, something they missed. With being at work all day and then wanting to sleep when they got home, they rarely got the chance to sit and talk. In those short couple of minutes, they discussed baby names and colors for the nursery and whether or not to have Thanksgiving at their house, or let Nicole take it.
"Nicole did offer, Honey," Andy stated.
"I know, but next year I will not have the energy," Sharon answered. "I'm active enough to host it and I want to. If you want Nicole to help, that would fine. Have her make desserts." Sharon was willing to compromise to save Andy from getting agitated from worrying too much. Unbeknownst to him, she did that quite often.
"Sorry I'm late," Dr. Matthews said as she came through the door. "Traffic was horrible. So, are you ready to see if you have a little boy or girl?"
"Yes. Very. We don't want any surprises," Sharon answered.
Andy leaned over to his wife and whispered with a smile, "Any more surprises."
"Okay, so I see the little guy there and," she prolonged the rest of the sentence before stating, "It looks like a little boy!"
An instantaneous smile ran across Sharon's face as she looked towards her husband. He then bent down to kiss her softly, then looked up to the screen to see his son. As he gazed at the picture on the screen, Sharon watched in amazement at her husband. They were a family. Right when all seemed to be perfect, her phone rang. Andy answered it, and the look on his face sent chills up her spine.