Chapter 15: Jem.
I do not own Rookie Blue or any of the characters.
Set after the Proposal. AU after series 4 - Andy stayed with Nick instead of getting back together with Sam and now they are married. Andy/Nick.
The pup is named after Jem Finch from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird .
Please read and review :).
The shooting had shaken Andy's feelings, but she had been so grateful for her husband and friends, even after returning to work and she had been beyond relief that Internal Affairs had had no further questions.
One evening, when she and Tracey were having dinner together, she mentioned to her best friend that she and Nick were trying to conceive a baby, and her best friend looked at her, totally speechless. "Andy, are you actually being serious about that? You and Nick having a kid? When did this decision happen?"
Andy smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we're serious about it, Trace. To be honest, I'd been thinking about it since Nick was shot, but I didn't think about it seriously until Sam asked us to watch Mya for the weekend. A couple of months ago. We both saw how great the other was with Mya. It made both of us so happy and, with our job, you can't take anything for granted."
Tracey grinned and said, "You'll be great parents. I can be godmother, right?"
"Of course. Although I'm not pregnant yet, so don't start making plans in your head." She paused, then said, "I was thinking about maybe getting a puppy. You know, before we have a baby, to see how we deal with it? What do you think?"
"I think it's a good idea."
Considering their jobs, having a dog would not be the easier of things, but Andy was sure that, with having mostly different shifts, she and Nick could work out how to make it work and it was a good step to take, whilst they were trying to conceive a baby.
Andy knew that her husband was out for the evening with Chloe and Dove, so on her way home, she went to the store which sold puppies and, almost immediately, her eye was caught by a tiny collie pup, with the biggest and cutest eyes ever. She knelt down in front of him and held out her hand and the pup immediately walked over to her, in a very challenging way because he was so tiny and started to lick her hands as a way of saying hello. She wanted this puppy and she smiled at him. "Hi, aren't you the cutest? What's your name, little one? I think I'll call you Jem. Jem Finch. Yes, that's your name!" Jem wagged his tail and, clumsily, tried to throw himself into Andy's arms and she laughed and lifted him into his arms, stroking his head. She was certain that Nick would love Jem as much as she did.
By the time Andy arrived home, Nick was already home and in bed because he had a shift at 9 the next morning. Holding Jem carefully, Andy took off her coat and took off her shoes before releasing Jem from her arms. She led the adorable pup into their bedroom, and indicated to him to walk around the side of the bed, whilst she slipped herself into the bed next to her husband, careful not to wake him. Jem walked over to the side of the bed and started to lick Nick's hand which was dangling out of the bed.
Unable to help herself, Andy started to laugh and Nick woke up, with a start, looking at his wife and then looking at the pup who was barking. He looked back at Andy and asked, "Is that what I think it is?"
Andy left the bed to pick up Jem, then she sat down next to her husband and kissed him before replying. "Yes, Nick, meet Jem. He's a collie and 6 weeks old."
Nick smiled and started to say hello to the pup, before he asked, "Where's he going to sleep? Andy, he isn't sleeping in our bed."
"No. There's a dog basket down there." She kissed Jem's head, then put him down on the floor, telling him to go to bed. The puppy looked up at her, confused, before he finally walked over to his bed and lay down. Turning back to her husband and wrapping her arms around his neck, she asked, "You don't mind, do you?"
Nick looked into her eyes seriously and said, "Andy, you haven't been smiling too much, recently, so I'm happy because you're happy." He paused, then smiled cheekily and asked, "Do you want to try and make a baby, Andy Collins?"
Laughing, smiling and catching his lips with hers, Andy whispered between breaths, "Of course I do, Nick Collins." They laughed and looked at each other for a couple of seconds, before kissing each other passionately and going under the covers of their bed. They would always be there for each other through hard and sad times and, fundamentally, they made each other happier and feel safer than they had ever been before; harder times were ahead, as with any marriage, but they would always have their love for each other, supporting and being a friend to the other and, together, they could deal with almost anything.