Rosalind
This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole
ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a
court of law.
To borrow a phrase: NYPD Blue no mine......no permission..no money, no sue, please?
"What're you grinnin' for?" Andy asked as John took his coat off, unable to remove the huge smile from his face. As soon as he had realized what she was telling him, John had felt his heart soar up to the stars that Grace was always staring at and he twirled her around in his arms. Then he had set her quickly back on the ground, worried that he probably shouldn't have done that. She had laughed at him and made him kiss her. He knew he had rambled the whole way home, wondering out loud if it would be a boy or girl, dreaming about the house he was going to buy her, imagining the laughter at Christmases to come.
They had woken Ros just a bit early to tell her. He had been just a bit afraid that she would be upset, especially since only just half a year ago she had been kidnapped. Would she feel she was being deprived of her parents? But, as usual, the young Rosalind surprised her father and exclaimed at how happy she was going to be to have a younger brother and sister. (She apparently hadn't quite grasped that it was only going to be one or the other)
"Well?" Andy prodded when John didn't answer right away.
"Grace is pregnant" he said it as casually as he could but somehow the entire squad heard him and he was soon getting healthy slaps on the back from the guys and hugs from Rita and Connie.
"Congratulations, John!" Connie seemed almost as excited as he was himself. She had become good friends with Grace.
"When's she due?" Rita asked. Why was it the women always thought to ask these questions, and never the men?
"Uh, May" he answered happily, barely able to contain himself.
They received even more generous reactions from Grace's family.
"Beware, John Clark" Mark said with all seriousness, "You've just taken on O'Malley kids" He rolled his eyes as one of his own four broke something in another room and went to investigate.
"He's right you know" Matthew, his twin, added, "I've only got three and they're a handful. And don't you go thinkin' Grace is gonna stop with just two. You'll end up like me parents if you're not careful" John didn't think Grace would want to take it quite that far, but he knew that she wanted more children.
"Ach, congratulations, boy" was the greeting from both Mr. O'Malley and Peter. Each of the brothers took their turn saying something equally congratulatory and dire, in their own ways, before he ever got around to his mother in law.
"Now, don't you be worrin' about a thing" she told him quietly, "You just give me a call when it starts to get to you" John gave her a confused smile and didn't bother asking what she was talking about. Grace's mother was often cryptic, usually on purpose, but she usually ended up being right about....whatever she was talking about in the first place.
He was glad, however, a few months later, that she was the way she was because it shortly became apparent that a pregnant Grace was completely out of his league.
"Ah, don' worry about it too much" Mr. O'Malley told him one night when John had decided to take his wife for a lovely little visit to her parent's house. She and her mother were now safely tucked away in the kitchen, drinking tea and no doubt discussing things he didn't want to hear. Rosalind was playing with Sherry, William and Erin, Matthew's kids, who were visiting her grandparents for the evening.
"All the McCormick women are like that" Paul, who could often be found at his parent's home, told him.
"McCormick's?" John repeated.
"Molly's clan" Mr. O'Malley explained, "And it'll only get worse. Gracie's got just as much fire in 'er as 'er mother, and I was a-hidin in the garage and at work for well on nine years while we pushed out this brood" He jerked his head toward his son. John could only imagine going through a whole decade of Grace as the pregnant tyrant. She was always, of course, kind and gentle with Ros, but when it came to John she slapped, pinched, yelled, cried or did pretty much anything that came to her mind, depending on what mood she was in. He had already learned to wake her with a soft kiss and a nuzzle, to then proceed to make sure she had a cup of tea and that Rosalind brushed her teeth in the morning. In the evenings he said and did whatever he could to keep her happy, including making three trips in a row to the corner store to buy whatever he whimsy happened to be. He had also quickly learned to change his own moods as quickly as hers, for she might be screaming at him one minute and kissing him passionately the next. It all left him rather frazzled and exhausted.
He was, therefore, enormously happy one evening when he came home from work and found her grinning, flipping some sliced potatoes in a skillet.
"Oh, John!" she cried as soon as she saw him and abandoned her cooking food. Her belly would not permit her to get as close as she would have liked, but she compensated by wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I had the most marvelous news from the doctor today!" she told him. He prepared himself to be excited over nothing.
"We're having twins!"
To borrow a phrase: NYPD Blue no mine......no permission..no money, no sue, please?
"What're you grinnin' for?" Andy asked as John took his coat off, unable to remove the huge smile from his face. As soon as he had realized what she was telling him, John had felt his heart soar up to the stars that Grace was always staring at and he twirled her around in his arms. Then he had set her quickly back on the ground, worried that he probably shouldn't have done that. She had laughed at him and made him kiss her. He knew he had rambled the whole way home, wondering out loud if it would be a boy or girl, dreaming about the house he was going to buy her, imagining the laughter at Christmases to come.
They had woken Ros just a bit early to tell her. He had been just a bit afraid that she would be upset, especially since only just half a year ago she had been kidnapped. Would she feel she was being deprived of her parents? But, as usual, the young Rosalind surprised her father and exclaimed at how happy she was going to be to have a younger brother and sister. (She apparently hadn't quite grasped that it was only going to be one or the other)
"Well?" Andy prodded when John didn't answer right away.
"Grace is pregnant" he said it as casually as he could but somehow the entire squad heard him and he was soon getting healthy slaps on the back from the guys and hugs from Rita and Connie.
"Congratulations, John!" Connie seemed almost as excited as he was himself. She had become good friends with Grace.
"When's she due?" Rita asked. Why was it the women always thought to ask these questions, and never the men?
"Uh, May" he answered happily, barely able to contain himself.
They received even more generous reactions from Grace's family.
"Beware, John Clark" Mark said with all seriousness, "You've just taken on O'Malley kids" He rolled his eyes as one of his own four broke something in another room and went to investigate.
"He's right you know" Matthew, his twin, added, "I've only got three and they're a handful. And don't you go thinkin' Grace is gonna stop with just two. You'll end up like me parents if you're not careful" John didn't think Grace would want to take it quite that far, but he knew that she wanted more children.
"Ach, congratulations, boy" was the greeting from both Mr. O'Malley and Peter. Each of the brothers took their turn saying something equally congratulatory and dire, in their own ways, before he ever got around to his mother in law.
"Now, don't you be worrin' about a thing" she told him quietly, "You just give me a call when it starts to get to you" John gave her a confused smile and didn't bother asking what she was talking about. Grace's mother was often cryptic, usually on purpose, but she usually ended up being right about....whatever she was talking about in the first place.
He was glad, however, a few months later, that she was the way she was because it shortly became apparent that a pregnant Grace was completely out of his league.
"Ah, don' worry about it too much" Mr. O'Malley told him one night when John had decided to take his wife for a lovely little visit to her parent's house. She and her mother were now safely tucked away in the kitchen, drinking tea and no doubt discussing things he didn't want to hear. Rosalind was playing with Sherry, William and Erin, Matthew's kids, who were visiting her grandparents for the evening.
"All the McCormick women are like that" Paul, who could often be found at his parent's home, told him.
"McCormick's?" John repeated.
"Molly's clan" Mr. O'Malley explained, "And it'll only get worse. Gracie's got just as much fire in 'er as 'er mother, and I was a-hidin in the garage and at work for well on nine years while we pushed out this brood" He jerked his head toward his son. John could only imagine going through a whole decade of Grace as the pregnant tyrant. She was always, of course, kind and gentle with Ros, but when it came to John she slapped, pinched, yelled, cried or did pretty much anything that came to her mind, depending on what mood she was in. He had already learned to wake her with a soft kiss and a nuzzle, to then proceed to make sure she had a cup of tea and that Rosalind brushed her teeth in the morning. In the evenings he said and did whatever he could to keep her happy, including making three trips in a row to the corner store to buy whatever he whimsy happened to be. He had also quickly learned to change his own moods as quickly as hers, for she might be screaming at him one minute and kissing him passionately the next. It all left him rather frazzled and exhausted.
He was, therefore, enormously happy one evening when he came home from work and found her grinning, flipping some sliced potatoes in a skillet.
"Oh, John!" she cried as soon as she saw him and abandoned her cooking food. Her belly would not permit her to get as close as she would have liked, but she compensated by wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I had the most marvelous news from the doctor today!" she told him. He prepared himself to be excited over nothing.
"We're having twins!"