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.

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Chapter 16: Hospitals.

May arrived, bringing with all of the hope and life which was always associated with summer and Andy was now feeling far more confidant with being back at work and very happy that she and Nick had now been married for 5 months. She was slightly stressed about the fact that she and Nick had been trying to conceive a baby for 2 months, with no result yet, but she told herself that it was common, especially when couples were trying. It did worry her slightly, but Nick didn't seem to be too concerned about it. She tried not to think about how both Tracey and Marlo had been able to get pregnant by accident and now she and her husband hadn't manged to conceive yet, but she told herself that it was common and repeated to herself what Nick always said to her. They just had to be patient.

It was 2 in the morning and Andy was just at the end of the nightshift and she had changed out of her uniform when she checked her mobile to see that she had 4 missed calls from Nick, all from about half an hour ago. Gail must have seen her worry, because she asked if she was alright.

Just as Andy was about to call her husband back to ask him what was wrong (because she knew that there was something wrong), Sam walked over to her. "McNally, Collins has been trying to get hold of you for almost an hour. He even called me."

Rolling her eyes, Andy replied, "Yeah, Sam, I've only just finished my shift. Why is my husband trying to call me?" She could see the look in Sam's eyes and that, along with all of Nick's calls, told her that there was something wrong. "Sam, what's wrong? Sam, what's wrong?" She repeated, this time with more force in both her voice and eyes and she knew that Sam, of all people, knew how determined she could be.

Sam shuffled on his feet, looking awkward. "McNally, I shouldn't be the one to tell ya this. But Collins is already at the hospital."

"Nick's at the hospital? You're telling me my husband is in the hospital? Sam, what the Hell is going on? Tell me- now!"

Holding up his hands, Sam replied, "No, McNally. Collins isn't ill. It's-it's your dad." The second he said that Andy felt as if she couldn't breathe, but she listened to Sam. "He had a heart attack. His girlfriend dialled 911. He's in hospital."

Running her hands through her hair, Andy whispered, "I need to see him. He needs to know I'm there. Oh my God, Dad!" She looked down at the ground and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears from leaving. It had always been her and her dad, ever since her mum had left. He wasn't totally alone. Nick was with him and, in that moment, she was so grateful for her husband, and she was sure that her dad's girlfriend was there, too. She looked back up at Sam, who was looking both concerned about her and awkward and she inhaled a deep breath, before she asked, "Sam, would you be able to give me a lift to the hospital?"

Her eyes connected with Sam's dark ones and he smiled softly, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. Of course. Come on, McNally." He reached for her arm and stroked it softly before Andy followed him to his car. All Andy could think about was her last conversation with her dad; it hadn't been about anything significant and she wished now, that she had taken the time to tell him how much she loved him. Sam was a good friend. He was being a good friend now and, even though she could hardly talk now, she appreciated it, deeply.

At that early time in the morning, the hospital was almost bear. Sam was very worried about McNally, because she had not spoken a single word since they had left the station. He had seen how close she and her dad were and he didn't know how she'd cope if anything happened to the retired Detective. He was glad that she had such a kind and caring husband as Collins, even if Sam was still in love her and knew that he always would be. Sam would always be there for McNally, as a friend; he would never want to risk losing her completely. He wanted to walk McNally into the hospital, to see that she found Collins, but, even without speaking, he knew that she wanted to be alone.

Feeling slightly shaky and as if she were in the middle of a nightmare, Andy made her way into the hospital and found the ward where she was sure her dad would be.

Nick had been waiting with Tommy's girlfriend for almost an hour and he was very worried about Andy; he knew how close she and her dad were and he knew that she would be devested. He had only texted Swarek because there had been n-one else he would trust to tell Andy something so bad, considering Tracey and Chloe had both left. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his wife walking towards him and he stood up and she practically ran into his arms. "Andy, shhh, ssshhhh… everything's going to be okay. It's alright."

Andy shook her head and wiped her tears, before she asked, "Nick, what happened? What happened to my dad?"

Looking into her eyes, Nick just replied, "He had a heart attack. The Drs are keeping an eye on him."

"I need to see him! He needs to know I'm here!" Andy cried, desperate to see her dad, but her husband held her back by hugging her, but she pulled away, "Nick, why are you stopping me from seeing my dad? He needs to know I'm here. I need to talk to him."

Nick sighed and indicated for Andy to sit down, but she just shook her head and tried to get past him, before he finally said, in a very low voice, "Andy, he's unconscious. They don't know if-if he'll wake up." His voice broke as he saw the look of realisation in his wife's eyes. Andy's heart was breaking and there was nothing that he could do.

Pushing her hair away from her face, Andy whispered, "Nick, I still need to see him. He's my dad."

She saw the look of silent surrender in her husband's eyes, so she walked towards the room to where her dad was. Nick took hold of her hand and squeezed it as he whispered, looking into her eyes, "I'll be here when you're done."

Andy couldn't bring herself to smile, but she reached out for his cheek and touched it as she whispered, "Thanks, Nick."

For Andy, seeing her dad unconscious was one of the worst things she had ever seen, but she stayed there and told him everything she wanted to tell him, hoping that, somehow, he could hear her.

As soon as she was finished and she had kissed him, she left the room and walked back to the waiting room. She sat down next to Nick and stared into space and she slowly took hold of his hand as she whispered, "I can't leave him."

"I know."

Andy turned to face her husband, then he hugged her close, before he changed his position on the chair and she spread her body across the chairs and rested her head on his lap, with her arms wrapped around her. Andy held his hands and closed her eyes. She knew that she would not sleep, but she was so tired that she needed to close her eyes. She kept going over this in her head, but she needed to be strong for her dad and she was not alone. She didn't know how she could be in this world without her dad and that very thought was terrifying, but she had to be strong. He wouldn't have wanted her to think like that.