One morning, Ember wouldn't leave Andy alone. Wouldn't let Robert play with her, just followed Andy around like a shadow. She did it the next day, and the next, and the next. At night she'd sleep in between Andy and Robert (which annoyed Robert to no end).
"Dogs can tell when somethings wrong. Have you had a check up recently?" Travis said when Andy complained to him about it. Andy shrugged and texted Meredith, figuring she was due for her physical and may as well see if anything was to Ember's weird attachment.
Three days later she found herself in an exam room with Meredith and Amelia (who was joining because she was bored) while they waited for her blood work to come back. The exam had come back normal, but Meredith had decided to give her the full rundown to be safe.
"Andy, I got your blood work back. You have elevated hCG. Judging by your levels, I'd say you're 6 weeks pregnant." Andy heard a ringing in her ears as she reached out for Amelias hand, grasping it to try and anchor herself.
"You have options. Why don't you go home, think it through, and then you can either continue with me or Carina, depending on what you want." Meredith said, resting her hand on Andy's shoulder.
Andy drove home, still in a fog. Robert was at work until tonight, and her head was spinning. Once she walked into the house she immediately fell onto the couch, feeling the beginnings of a panic attack rise within her.
She heard a whining from in front of her, where Ember had wormed her way in between Andy's legs, and was nudging her knee with her nose.
"You were trying to tell me, weren't you baby?"
She went through the motions the rest of the day. She did laundry, emptied and reloaded the dishwasher, walked Ember, visited her dad, all with this big secret bubbling inside her.
Robert finally got home, kissing Andy quickly before heading to the shower to wash off the sweat and smoke of the day.
"You had your physical today, right? Everything okay?" Robert came up behind Andy, giving her neck a kiss and pulling her against him.
"Turns out Ember was right. She detected something. I'm pregnant, 6 weeks along." She didn't face him, letting the moment of silence settle.
"You're pregnant?" Robert whispered, turning Andy to him. She lifted her chin to look into his eyes, filled with tears just as hers were.
"Yeah, we are." She said, letting the beginnings of a smile break onto her face. Robert whooped, spinning her around the kitchen before kissing her deeply.
—
It felt a little bit like divine intervention when Andy's water broke while on a walk with Carina, Maya, and Ember. Carina was Andy's OB, Maya was going to be in the room as a birth partner, and Ember wasn't allowed in the hospital (in a moment of weakness Andy had asked but no dice). Maya called Ben so Tuck could come over and stay with Ember, and Carina called Robert. After waddling back to the house she said a tearful goodbye to Ember, trying to snuggle the puppy as much as possible around her belly.
At the hospital things moved fast. There was no shortage of doctors coming in to check Andy (ands it as an excuse to get off their feet for a few minutes) and before long she was dilated to 10, and getting ready to push. Maya proved to be the best birthing partner possible, an endless stream of encouragement, and Robert simply was teary and doing his best to be supportive.
After what felt like ages of being torn apart, Andy screamed her daughter into the world. She had a full head of hair, and was healthy as could be. Carina immediately deposited her onto Andy's chest, where she began to root around until she found a nipple to suckle on.
"Does the little bambina have a name?" Carina asked, doing her best to perform checks while not disturbing the baby's latch on Andy.
"Ryan Lucia Sullivan." Robert said, kissing Andy's forehead.
Over the next few days the team came in and out, bringing gifts and food. They told Vic her name, and Vic cried before saying that it was just what Ripley would have wanted, and he'd love his niece to bits.
The most important meeting happened when they got home. Andy went in the door first, immediately dropping to her knees to greet Ember, trying to calm her down. Robert followed, Ryan in her carrier, held high above where Ember could reach her.
"Okay, Ember we want you to meet your little sister. This is Ryan, and you have to protect her." Andy whispered in her puppies ear, holding her collar tightly to avoid too much excitement. Robert set the carrier on the ground gently, and Ember surged forward, sniffing at the new human in confusion. Ryan opened her eyes and they widened, the beginnings of a cry starting, until Ember stuck her tongue out and licked the baby, startling her enough that it cut the cry off at the start.
From that day forward, Ember and Ryan were inseparable. Ember slept on her nursery floor, and once Ryan transitioned to a bed she'd sleep there. Ryan learned how to walk holding Ember's ears, and was lulled to sleep by lying with her head against Ember's chest.
Ryan and Andy had both been usurped as Ember's favorite person, and they'd never been happier about anything else.