Disclaimer : I don't own the characters !

The next day !

Dressed in his uniform, Street opened the door to his apartment to Commander Hicks, who had agreed to come before their day's shift began.

"Hello Commander, thank you for coming."

They shook hands, and the young man brought his ex-father-in-law into his home.

"Coffee ?" Street offered.

"I'm fine, thank you." Hicks politely declined. "So what's going on ? You asked me to come after you sent me Chris's work stopping without further explanation. I thought you told Hondo she was fine."

"She's fine, it's true, but…"

He couldn't continue because Chris came out of the bathroom, in a bathrobe, her skin nauseous and slightly pale.

"I hope I won't feel nauseous until the end." she said, her voice thick. "Hello, Commander !"

"Chris, are you okay ?" asked the latter.

"I'll be better when I have eaten." she answered.

"I made you a smoothie, it's in the fridge." Street told her, before turning back to the Commander. "Chris is not sick, she is pregnant."

"What ?" Hicks wondered. "But, I thought all your tests were"

"Yes, they were." Street cut him off. He apologized. "But her doctor is formal, she is ten weeks pregnant, and that is why we would like you to keep it to yourself. Doctor Keysler agreed to make a stop for Chris by lying a tiny bit. With our job, Chris can't stay behind without arousing suspicion, and we'd like to wait until the end of the first trimester before telling anyone. We hoped you would be okay with keeping it to yourself."

Hicks glanced at Chris, who was in the kitchen and seemed to be getting better as she gulped down her fruity smoothie.

"Um, yes no problem. I totally understand uh…" The Commander looked a little disoriented. "You catch me a little off guard, I admit. I thought you would confide in Hondo instead of me."

"You're the boss, Commander, and the team will stick to what I tell them if you support my version, which is that Chris is sicker than the doctor thought and she needs rest." Street said. "Believe me, I already feel bad for having to lie to them for two weeks, but I think first and foremost of Chris and the baby."

"Yes I understand !" Hicks said. He held out his hand to the young officer. "Congratulations, Street."

"Thank you, sir !" Street said.

Chris approached the two men, and exchanged a nod with the Commander.

"But it is not necessary to lie to justify your stop. I'm just going to give you two weeks off for Street to make up for you." Hicks said.

"Oh uh, yeah, no problem." Street agreed, before looking at his wife. "You have a vitamin deficiency, that's good."

"Perfect !" Hicks said. "Rest up, Chris, and I'll see you back at HQ soon. We'll need some help with the paperwork."

"You can count on me." smiled Chris. "Thanks boss !"

After the Commander left, the couple huddled together for a while. Street cupped her face in his hands, and stroked her thumbs across her cheeks.

"I've got to go. I already miss you." he said.

"Be careful, do you hear me ?" Chris told him. "If something happens to you while I'm not here..."

"It won't." he promised her. "I love you, more than you can imagine, Chris. And I already love this baby."

He slipped a hand on Chris's stomach over her bathrobe.

"If you need anything, you call me, okay ?"

"I promise, but don't worry about me. I'll hang out in front of the TV and eat whatever our baby wants."

S.W.A.T. HQ !

Already dressed, Street just had to put his bag in his locker. The rest of the team was already there.

"Where's Chris ?" Luca asked. "I thought she's doing better."

"Yes, she is fine but she is very tired. She took a two-week leave to regain her strength." Street replied.

"Can we do something to help you ?" Deacon asked.

"I'll let you know." Street said with a smile. "Uh, I haven't looked at the schedule yet, what do we have planned ?"

"No practice until tomorrow." Deacon said. "You are free to train."

"Good idea, I'll go to the shooting range." Street said.

"I'll join you in five minutes." Luca said.

Once Street is out of the locker room...

"I find him weird, don't you?" Tan said.

"Chris is down on her diet, and they're trying to have a baby." Luca reminded him. "He's got a right to be weird, especially when it's not working out."

"Luca is right, you just have to be there for him when needed." Deacon said.

Luca found his best friend at the shooting range.

"Shall we making a little bet ?" Luca offered, loading a practice weapon.

"We haven't lived together for months mate, I don't see what we could bet." Street said. "Apart from paying for each other's lunch."

"Yeah you're right !" Luca said. "Hey, why didn't you take a few days too, to stay with Chris ?"

"To get my ass kicked after two days for being too clingy ?" Street joked, making Luca laugh. "I prefer to come to work. And she's fine. She just needs to regain her strength."

He put on his goggles and perched the helmet over his ears which sent a very clear message. The subject was closed. Luca did not insist and imitated his friend. After emptying a few magazines, Street asked his buddy :

"Only a month before you become an honest man. Impatient ?"

"Yeah, you can't imagine." Luca said.

"It's true that I haven't known Chris for as long as you have known Ally, but don't forget how I was a few days before the ceremony." Street said.

"You're right !" Luca said. "I never thought that one day I would marry my first love. It seems so unreal."

"How did your father and your brother take it ?" Street asked. "We never talked about it."

"Oh, they're happy." Luca said. "They always adored Ally, like her parents always adored me."

"I can't wait to be out in the open." Street smiled at him. "Just to see you stressed !"

…

The apartment was spot on, so Chris didn't have much to do except run some laundry. She took a relaxing shower, and put on one of her husband's sweatshirts and leggings. She liked to wear Jim's clothes, especially when they weren't together. She lazed around for a few minutes in front of the news, before changing channels and falling on a documentary. She left it in the background and went to get her laptop. She surfed the net, and could not resist going to sites for future mothers. She read several articles of stories from pregnant women, techniques to maintain her shape during pregnancy. While she and her husband were trying to conceive, unaware that the baby was already on the way, Chris had resisted the temptation to go online and do what she was doing. There was no question of adding depression to his frustration. But here, it made things even more real. Certainly, she wanted this baby, but that did not prevent her from apprehending a little. That of not knowing how to be a good mother. Street would tell her that it was no use worrying, that she would make a wonderful mother, but it was hard not to think about it. She shook her head and turned off the computer. No, she wouldn't let that fear get to her. She was not alone on this journey. Not only did she have her husband, but she would have her friends, her family to support her.

There was a knock on the door, and Chris was surprised to see Annie.

"Hi, what are you doing here ?" asked the young woman. "And how did you get in ? Not that I'm not happy to see you but…"

Annie laughs softly.

"Remember that I know the gate code, and someone was coming out before I rang." Annie said. "David told me you had taken some time off, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh uh, come in, please !" Chris stepped aside to let her in. "Want some coffee ?"

"With pleasure !"

She put a steaming cup of coffee on the table, and went to get herself a glass of fresh juice.

"You don't drink coffee ?" wondered Annie.

"Oh no. I could never rest if I drink caffeine." Chris said. "How are the kids ?"

"Oh, they're fine, and at school for the day." Annie said. "It allows me to have more time for myself, especially since Victoria is in kindergarten."

"Are you staying for lunch ?" Chris offered.

Annie agreed, and the two friends cooked together, until the smell of zucchini cooking in a pot made Chris gag. The young woman put a hand over her mouth and rushed into the bathroom to vomit.

"Chris ?" Annie turned off the gas and joined her friend, but the bathroom door was closed. "Chris, are you okay ?"

"Yeah, give me a minute !" Chris said.

Zucchinis ? She got up once she had nothing to vomit, flushed the toilet and brushed her teeth. The baby therefore hated zucchini. Chris sneered. She who thought she couldn't stand the smell of sweat, cheese or cabbage. But not the zucchini, which she ate since she was a kid. She left the bathroom and found Annie in the kitchen, who had drained the pasta in the colander.

"Sorry about that."

"I threw the zucchini away, since it's obvious you can't stand the smell." Annie said.

Chris swallowed. Her friend was very perceptive, and with four children, she was able to recognize morning sickness. Chris rolled her eyes inwardly. Morning sickness, my ass. What was the point of calling it that if it was to have it at any time of the day ?

"So…" Annie crossed her arms and faced Chris. "Spit it out !"

"I…I don't know what you're talking about." Chris said. "I just had..."

"Nausea, yes I know I'm not stupid. I had four children and I know how to recognize the symptoms." Annie said. "So, are you going to dare lie to my face ?"

Chris bit her lip. Yeah, it was out of the question to try to serve Annie with a lie.

"You…uh, promise me it won't get out of here ?"

"Yes of course." Annie said. "It is not for me to announce anything that concerns you."

"Uh, yes, I'm pregnant !"

Annie let out a small squeal of excitement as she hopped up and hugged Chris.

"Oh honey, I'm so happy for you." She pulled away. "Is that why you took so much time off ?"

"It was Hicks who proposed it, they had planned to arrest me by lying a little bit about my condition." Chris said. "You're the second person to know that. I'm two weeks away from the end of my first trimester and…"

"Say no more, my lips are sealed, I promise you." Annie assured. "We're going to sit down, have lunch – no zucchini…" Chris chuckled. "...and you're going to tell me everything."

"Oh uh, there's not much to say."

Once seated with their lunch, Chris recounted what led the couple to go to the ER and find out about the pregnancy.

"Ten weeks, do you realize ? I didn't realize anything."

"You're not the first this has happened to." Annie said. "So you plan to keep it a secret for two weeks, but how do you plan to do it ? Living like a hermit until the end of your first trimester ?"

"I haven't thought about it." Chris said. "I'm going to have to find a good excuse to avoid lunches at my aunt's. And stop her from coming here. Oh, I'll find out when the time comes."

"Don't hesitate to dot the i's and say what you want clearly." Annie said. "I know your aunt has always been supportive of your relationship with Jim, but I also remember you telling me that she was jokingly pressuring you to get pregnant."

"I know, and I think it's her tendency to always be on my side and expect certain things from me that makes Lucia so jealous of me." Chris sighed. "I don't know what else to do to make her stop hating me."

"Could you talk to her ?" Annie suggested. "I'll be there if you want, and I'll buffer you two, and in a public place like that she won't make a fuss."

"You're probably right, but I don't want to take any chances with this baby…" She stroked her belly through her sweatshirt. "…then I would wait until he or she was born. Hopefully, Lucia will soften. Although I can still dream. Alright, enough melodrama. You had four children so give me some advice."

They chatted for over an hour before Annie left. Alone again, Chris lay back on the couch and turned on the TV. A hand on her stomach, her mind drifted off to what was happening on the screen and she fell asleep.

...

A day without any crime. Street didn't complain and returned home when his shift ended. He smiled when he saw Chris, asleep on the sofa, a talk-show playing in the background on TV. Kneeling beside her, Street stroked his wife's forehead.

"My love !" he crooned in a whisper. "I'm home!"

A smile crept across Chris's face, her eyelids slowly opening.

"Hi ! »

"Hi ! What time is it ?"

"Almost six." Street said.

"Hmm, I slept all afternoon." she muttered. "I really have to find something to occupied myself."

She sat down again, and Street sat down next to her. Chris snuggles up to him and says :

"Annie came to see me, Deacon told her that I had taken time off. She stayed for lunch, which we started making together until the smell of zucchini made me nauseous."

"Zucchini ?" Street repeated. "Okay, so we'll do without them."

"And Annie understood that it was nausea, and I told her that I was indeed pregnant." Chris said. "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter, we know that Annie won't tell anyone." Street reassured her. "She won't say anything, huh ?"

"No, she promised me." Chris said. "And we're going to have to find an excuse not to go to my aunt's house."

"I'd take care of it." he says. "Shall I make us dinner ?"

"How about taking a shower first ?"