Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.
A.N. I was going to post this under "Through Thick and Thin" since the first chapter sparked the idea for "Through Thick and Thin" but then I decided it would work better attached to this story because it is a continuation of this one.
A.N.2 I changed the nickname from "Kitten" to "Princess" in the last chapter (I hope I got them all) to keep with my theme from "Through Thick and Thin".
Sam pulled into the driveway with a smile. Andy had been home for three days and although he hated seeing her in pain, he actually liked the arrangement he had worked out with Frank.
Instead of working full shifts, Sam was now working three-quarters of a regular shift. His shift was broken up. The first part of his shift started after he dropped Katie off at her nursery school and ended at 12:30 when he left to pick her up. He returned to work at 6:30, after he tucked her into bed (Andy's rule was she could stay awake as long as she wanted as long as she stayed in her room) and then he finished at 9:30.
Before Andy's injury, Katie had stayed in school until 3:30. The school had an afternoon program but Sam and Andy made a joint decision that if Sam came home to be with Andy, they should just have Katie at home so they could spend more quality time together.
While Sam was at work in the morning and when he went back to work at night, Tommy was "on call" in case Andy needed anything.
The nursery school director and Katie's teachers had been very understanding. Katie had missed two days because of Andy's injury (two days in a row because Sam refused to fight with her) but her teachers quickly caught her up, telling Sam and Andy that it was the beginning of the year and the unit was a 'getting to know you' unit so Katie actually hadn't missed much. The director told Sam that if anything came up on his shift and he was running late, he shouldn't worry about it.
As Sam unlocked the door, he turned to his daughter. "Remember, quietly. Mommy might be sleeping."
Katie nodded. "But when she wakes up can I show her the picture I made for her in art?"
Sam knelt and touched his daughter's cheek. "Of course." He kissed her forehead before straightening and opening the door.
Katie preceded him into the house and he realized Andy was awake when she screamed "Mommy!"
"Hey Princess. How was school?"
Sam closed the front door and made his way into the living room. Andy was seated on the couch. Katie sat in the middle of the room, her backpack on the floor, rummaging through it, looking for her picture.
Sam sat next to Andy. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine." She turned her attention away from him as Katie came up to her. "What do you have Sweetie?"
"I made you a picture in art class." Katie handed her mother the picture.
As Andy took the picture, she winced. She tried to mask it but Sam saw through it. "It's beautiful Katie." She leaned forward and kissed her daughter's forehead.
"Katie, why don't you go hang your picture on the refrigerator" Sam said after he admired her picture.
Katie skipped into the kitchen as Sam moved to kneel beside Andy. "When's the last time you took painkillers?"
"Sam…" It was a warning, but a weary one.
"Andy, I saw you wincing both when you took the picture and when you gave Katie a kiss. You need to let your body heal itself."
Andy made a face. "I hate the painkillers. It makes me sleepy."
"So you'll sleep. Katie and I will both be here when you wake up."
"Will you?"
Sam glared at her. "Yes, even if it means getting back late for work. When did you last take it?"
Andy sighed. "This morning."
Sam knew what she meant. The last time she had taken it was before he left for work. He stood and returned with the painkiller and a glass of water.
While he was getting medicine for Andy, Katie returned to her mother. After placing her backpack neatly in the front hallway (after a gentle reminder from her mother) she sat down on the floor with her dolls.
Andy took the medicine without complaint and then snuggled next to Sam. Sam just wrapped an arm around her as the two of them silently observed their daughter.
After a few minutes, Katie looked up. "Daddy? Why's Mommy sleeping?"
Sam shifted slightly and realized that Andy had indeed fallen asleep. He moved her into a more comfortable position before looking at his daughter. "Because Mommy still has a lot of boo-boos." He pointed to Andy's cast, the only visible sign of her wounds. "The doctor gave her medicine to help her sleep because her boo-boos hurt." He never imagined having to explain such a concept to a four-year old and he hoped he was doing it right. Andy was so much better at explaining these things to their daughter but lately she had been asleep when Katie asked questions.
Katie studied her mother for a second. "Oh. Can I tuck her in?"
Sam didn't know where it came from. He was planning on leaving Andy on the couch but his daughter had a good idea. It was probably better for Andy to be in bed. "Sure Princess."
Katie skipped up the stairs as he gently lifted Andy from the couch. He slowly carried his wife up the stairs and set her on the bed. He helped Katie tuck the covers around Andy and watched as Katie kissed Andy on the forehead, wishing that the camera was not in the kitchen. As he held his hand out to Katie to lead her out of the room she whispered "you have to give Mommy a kiss first."
Sam grinned and kissed Andy's forehead whispering "sleep well sweetheart" before leading his daughter out of the room.
As soon as they were out of the room, Katie asked "when can I have lunch? I'm hungry."
Sam smiled. "Right now." He enjoyed this time home, although he wished it were under better circumstances. He just had to be reminded (more often than not) that she no longer ate lunch in school.
Andy woke with a groan. The reason she hated the painkiller really had nothing to do with the sleeping aspect, even though she always complained about it. What she really hated was the fact that she always woke up with the urge throw-up.
She tried to open her eyes but the room seemed to spin. She closed them quickly and quietly called "Sam?"
Sam was playing in the playroom with Katie when he heard her. Grinning at the fact that he moved the baby monitor into their room so he could hear her, he gave his daughter a quick kiss before taking the stairs two at a time.
He opened the bedroom door slowly and saw her squeezing her eyes shut. "Don't open your eyes" he said softly. He grabbed a water-bottle from the dresser and sat down next to her on the bed. "Drink" he held the water-bottle to her lips.
Andy sipped slowly. After a minute, the nausea passed. She opened her eyes and looked at Sam. "No more" she said softly. At Sam's confused look she clarified. "No more painkillers unless I tell you I absolutely need them. I can sleep without them and I can't deal with this feeling of nausea every time I wake up."
Sam sighed. He knew there was no point in arguing. "Fine. But only if you promise to tell me if the pain gets really bad."
Andy nodded. "I will." She held out her arms. "The doctor told me to take it easy and not walk so much. I want to go downstairs and play with our daughter."
Sam grinned and scooped her up carefully. "Great! She's been waiting for you to wake up. She wants to have a tea-party."
They woke to shrieks. Andy started to sit up but Sam placed a hand on her shoulder and held her down. "You aren't supposed to do a lot of walking yet."
"But –"
"No buts!" He interrupted her. "I'll be right back."
He started to climb out of bed but she grabbed his hand with her good one. "Please, she is going to want me, not you."
Sam sighed. "If she wants you, I'll bring her in here. You need to stay in bed." Andy was probably right. If Katie had a nightmare, there was no way she was going to want Sam. He was willing to bend his rule about not bringing Katie into their bed if it meant Andy staying in bed.
Sam walked into Katie's room. By the light of the night light, he was able to see her tossing and turning. He realized that she was not awake.
Sam sat down gingerly on her bed and gently stroked her hair. "Shh, Katie, I'm right here. It's okay."
After a minute, Katie's eyes began to open. "Daddy?"
"Right here princess."
"Where's Mommy? Is she in the …" she struggled with the word "hop…hos…hospital again?" Tears were flowing down her cheeks.
Sam pulled her close. "No Princess. She's not in the hospital and she's not going back anytime soon." Considering she couldn't go back to work for a little while and when she did Frank was probably going to keep her behind the desk for a while.
"I want Mommy!"
Sam swept her into his arms. As he walked back to Andy, he gently reminded his daughter to be careful.
As soon as Sam stepped into the bedroom, Katie cried "Mommy!"
Andy lifted herself up to a sitting position, ignoring Sam's glare. "Come here sweetie."
Sam brought Katie close. Katie snuggled up to Andy. Sam glared at her. Andy gently lowered herself and her daughter onto the pillows. She stroked Katie's hair.
Sam turned off the main light and turned on one of the bedside lamps before climbing back into bed. He had a feeling Katie would not be returning to her own bed tonight.
After a while, Andy whispered "Katie? Princess? Want to tell me what scared you?"
To the surprise of both of her parents, Katie burst into tears. They were even more surprised when she pulled out of Andy's embrace and wrapped her arms around Sam's neck.
Sam hugged her as he made eye contact with his wife. Confusion was written clearly on her face. Sam thought he detected hurt in her eyes but he couldn't be sure.
"Katie?" he tried softly as he stroked her hair.
"What if I hurt her?" she whispered into his ear.
Sam gently pulled her hands off his neck so he could look at her face. "You're not going to hurt her."
Andy touched her daughter's cheek. "Katie, sweetie, come here."
Katie went back into the safety of her mother's arms.
Andy snuggled up to Sam and gave her daughter some time to calm down. Andy just held her while Sam placed a comforting hand on his daughter's back.
"Katie?" Andy said softly when Katie's whimpers ceased.
"You didn't come home!" She buried her face in Andy's neck. She shifted slightly and Andy tensed but managed not to let a whimper of her own escape.
"You had a dream where Mommy didn't come home?" Sam questioned.
Katie turned her head to look at Sam. When she met his eye, she nodded.
Sam touched her cheek. "It's okay princess. Mommy's right here and she's not going anywhere."
A.N. Reviews make my day so let me know what you think.