A/N: This is the fourth chapter! Special thanks to CMemlovr for beta reading! I hope you like it!

When they arrived at the restaurant, Sharon and Andy were seated in silence, as they remained until Sharon decided to begin the conversation they needed to have.

Clearing her throat, Sharon broke the silence, "Andy, we need to talk properly about our relationship."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with our relationship, Sharon."

"There is, Andy. Recently, we've been at each other's throats and things haven't been great. But we need to work on it, for the baby. I don't want this child being born to parents who can't be civil to one another – I want them to be surrounded by love."

Andy took her hand gently and murmured, "I love you, and you know it. You can't imagine how happy I was when I found out that you're pregnant and that I'm going to be a father again." Andy had made many mistakes in the past, but he believed that now was the time to fix them. "I love you, and I will love you until my dying breath," he whispered. Sharon's eyes brimmed with tears.

"I love you, too. But I think that when we become parents, we're going to have to be more responsible and not allow ourselves the same mistakes that we've made in the past."

Andy nodded in agreement, smiling that he and Sharon seemed to have finally reached mutual sentiments. Gently kissing her cheek, Andy raised his eyes long enough to notice that a waiter is standing nearby, ready to take their order. Taking the menu in hand, Andy glanced at the options available before noticing Sharon's cool demeanour.

"Are you okay, Sharon?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired."

"Would you like to order something?"

Sharon sighed putting her hand on her stomach, "I don't think I'll be able to eat anything, what with the constant nausea."

"Of course, I understand. Would you like a drink?"

Sharon thought for a moment, "Maybe a glass of orange juice?"

Andy nodded and relayed the order to the waiter. He had decided to order just a drink so as to support Sharon. Once the drinks arrived, Sharon sipped slowly from her juice as Andy observed her carefully, worrying all the while for her condition.

"I'm not sure how to tell the team, either," mutters Sharon unexpectedly, her expression thoughtful.

"Well, Amy already knows, so that's one less person to worry about. And I think Louie might have his suspicions, since he asked about us this morning."

"Oh, God, now everyone's interested. What did you tell him?"

"Nothing. I avoided his questions until I could discuss it with you. But for the record, I think we should tell them."

"You're right," she sighed.

"We should get you a doctor's appointment, too; we need to make sure that you're both doing fine."

"I've already got one scheduled for tomorrow," she reassured him.

"Maybe we should invite everyone to dinner to tell them? We should call Emily and Ricky, and Nicole."

"I agree, the kids should know first. Rusty's already aware of the pregnancy, and he's happy about it. I'm not sure about Emily and Ricky, though. When I was pregnant with Ricky, Emily was very jealous, though she was also quite young. I'm hoping she won't be as upset, this time around," replied Sharon thoughtfully. Andy took Sharon's hand in his, comforting her.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Sharon. It's as you said – Emily was a kid back then, she won't react the same way now – she's grown since then," Andy reassured her. Sharon smiled in thanks.

"You're right, I'm worrying over nothing. Emily loves her brother now, and the two have been inseparable since his birth."

"Everything will work out," smiled Andy.

"You're the only one who really knows how to reassure me, Andy," she replied gratefully.

After paying for their drinks, Andy broke the comfortable silence that had fallen between them, "Let's go home – it's getting late."

Sharon nodded in assent, but suddenly felt herself getting very dizzy and disoriented. Andy noticed, and held her by the elbow to right her swaying body.

"Are you okay, Sharon?" he asked, worried.

Sharon smiled softly, "Little dizzy, that's all. Don't worry, Andy."

"I'll take you home tonight – there's no way I'm leaving you as you are," he said sternly. Sharon smirked lightly, happy at the thought that Andy would be a good father. Sure, he'd made some mistakes – as had she – but they were ready to move on from them.

"Can I ask you something, Andy?" she murmured softly.

"Sure," he replied gently.

"Stay with me tonight?"

Andy was pleasantly surprised by the question, content that things between them were finally improving.

"Of course I will. I'll be with you whenever you need me, Sharon."

Arriving at Sharon's apartment, she let them both in before throwing her keys onto the table beside the door.

"Please have a seat, Andy. I'll be with you in a second." Leaving him to read a magazine in the sitting room, Sharon went to Rusty's room.

Glancing down at the title, Andy can't help but smile – Parenting Weekly.

Sharon entered Rusty's room as he was finishing a conversation with a friend on the phone.

"Did I interrupt you?" she asked with a smile.

"Not at all, mom. Come in," he invited.

Sharon closed the door and sat beside her son, "What've you been up to?"

"Nothing much, just talking to an old friend. How have you been today?"

"Fairly well, just some slight dizziness, but that's normal."

"I heard Andy's voice as you were coming in – is he here?"

"Yes, I wanted him with me tonight. Are you okay with that?"

"Sure, I'm glad that your relationship seems to be faring better."

"It is, yes. As he's here, I'm going to head to the living room for a while." Sharon kissed her son's forehead, ruffling his hair fondly before leaving his room.

Coming in to the living room, she was greeted by the sight of Andy, his eyes glued to the magazine before him.

"Andy?" she called quietly, startling him.

"Sharon, hey, I didn't see you there," replied Andy, somewhat embarrassed.

Laughing, Sharon sat beside him, "I see you've discovered the joys of Parenting Weekly."

"Well, actually, it's pretty interesting. I didn't think you'd want to read stuff like this, since you've already had kids."

Sharon took the magazine from his hands, looking down at the cover pensively. "I bought the magazine when I realised I was pregnant – I haven't had to actively parent a baby for years. It's been helpful in preparing me, and the pictures of babies encouraged me to keep the baby when I was…"

Andy hugged her tightly, "You didn't go through with it, and that's the important thing," he whispered soothingly. Sharon cuddled deeper into his embrace.

The next morning, Sharon's tension was palpable as she and Andy made their way to the doctor's office. She had Andy's support but was still worried; she'd left home without telling Rusty that she'd be going to the doctor, as he'd been out.

Reaching the doctor's office, Andy noticed Sharon's nervous demeanour.

"Sharon, are you ready?"

"I don't know, Andy. I've got a really bad feeling right now."

"Calm down, Sharon. It'll be fine," he reassured her, taking her hand.

Entering the doctor's office with their hands clasped together, Sharon and Andy sat on the other side of the desk from the doctor.

"Mrs. Raydor? What brings you here?"

"I'd like to confirm my pregnancy – I've done three tests, missed a period and experienced slight dizziness, but I'd rather have a doctor's confirmation." Sharon spoke into her lap as she replied.

"Well, hop onto the examination table, then, and we'll have a quick look."

Andy helped Sharon onto the table, holding her hand throughout the entire process.

"Congratulations, you're twelve weeks pregnant," announced the doctor, having completed the examination.

Andy felt a rush of various emotions and glanced at Sharon, whose eyes were brimming with tears, to share the moment.

"You'll have to wait until the sixteen-week mark to find out the baby's sex," the doctor informed them.

"Oh, no, we don't want to know until the baby's born – we'd like to be surprised." Sharon replied, watching Andy's face split into a grin.

"That's your choice, I guess. But I need you to be extremely careful. This is a high-risk pregnancy, so you need plenty of rest and fluids. I have some slight concerns since your blood pressure is so high, so you'll need to get off work as soon as possible to rest."

Andy listened attentively before replying, "Don't worry, doc, I've got her covered."

On the way home, Sharon seemed lost in thought. Andy didn't speak, as he didn't want to interrupt her thoughts. Besides which, he'd noticed that she seemed to become very tired. Still, there was something sad about her demeanour.

At home, Sharon's mood hadn't improved at all, and Andy had started to worry.

"Are you alright, Sharon?"

"I'm fine, don't worry," she replied, preoccupied.

"You've been in a funk since we left the hospital – what's going on?" he asked concernedly.

Sharon sighed wearily, "You heard the doctor, Andy. At 51 years old, my pregnancy is high-risk. We don't know that everything will go well, and that scares me."

"What do you mean, Sharon?"

"I'm trying to tell you – that if anything happens to me during the pregnancy, I want you to put the baby first, Andy."

"Sharon, that's insane! You can't start thinking like this now!"

"I'm just trying to be realistic, Andy. I'm not as young as I used to be, and I need to make sure that you'll follow my wishes on this. I know you're going to be a good father, and I want you to have the chance." Tears tracked silently down Sharon's cheeks.

Andy didn't want to hear any more of this talk. "Look, Sharon, even if it comes to this – and it won't – you will be my choice. I love you too much to let you go – I couldn't raise a child by myself, without you."

"I know you don't want to think about this, and that it hurts to even consider, but we have to be realistic."

Andy shot up from the couch, leaving the conversation to be alone in the bedroom. He couldn't take any more of this talk. Sharon sighed, knowing that she'd be unable to discuss this without getting emotional. Leaving the sitting room, Sharon entered her bedroom and placed a consoling hand on Andy's shoulder.

"Please, Sharon, I can't talk about this."

Sharon sat beside him, "We'll leave it, then. Maybe you're right."

Andy looked at her reassuringly, "You'll see, Sharon. Everything will work out, and we'll have a healthy baby." Andy hugged her tightly, unable to even imagine life without her.

~~~ TBC ~~~