The Gift
Chapter 7
Mike became a fixture around Andrea's house. He was there when Molly began walking, talking and was her favorite jungle gym. He even began referring to himself as Daddy. Andrea had set up a spare room for him, never entertaining a romantic relationship with him. They were both so busy professionally, that sometimes Molly was the only thing that kept them going.
The Navy had been rebuilt and both Mike and Andrea were deploying. Neither of them wanted to leave Molly, but since the Navy didn't know that Mike was Molly's father, they hadn't made a connection. It wasn't like they were a family unit where the officials were concerned. So, they hugged and kissed Molly goodbye, knowing it would be months before they saw her again and left her in Ally's care.
Deployment was interesting. Teaching new sailors how to do their jobs was not something either Mike or Andrea was used to. Mike was the Fleet Admiral and Andrea was CO of the Michener. He was based mostly on the Michener, so they did a lot of talking.
Mike had been dreading the landing at Mayport. They were flexing the Navy's muscle so that the world knew that the US was back on the global stage. He had a bad feeling about it. Had even mentioned Pearl Harbor to Andrea. He also hated the media with a passion. That didn't help him.
They met up with Tom and the others, visited for a little bit and then went out to the dock to talk to the media. The next hour was a total blur to Andrea, and later, she would remember none of it, except extreme pain.
She woke up two days later in the hospital, complete paralyzed from her waist down. Ally was there, with Molly and they gave Andrea an encouraging smile.
"Hey, there. Molly was just asking for you." Ally said. Molly was in her stroller but was asleep.
"How bad is it?" Andrea said. Ally gave her a sympathetic look and patted her hand.
"You were shot with fifty caliber bullets. Two of them. They say you'll have to learn to walk again, but they do say that its possible." Ally said, a little too happily.
"Uh…what about Mike?" Andrea asked.
"Word has it that the James survived the attack somehow and that he is with them. Tom Chandler came by the other day to make sure that Molly and I had everything we needed." Ally said quietly.
"Okay. Well, call the therapist so I can get moving." Andrea said. She wasn't the sort to dwell on the misfortune of being paralyzed. She was the sort to do something about it. She had a little girl to take care of and things to do. Whoever had caused the attack would not win.
For some reason, when I write this story, the chapters just aren't that long. I make my point and end the chapters. This chapter went AU because on the show, Andrea died but that just didn't work for this fanfic!