A/N: This is the twentieth chapter! Sorry for the delay. Special thanks to my amazing beta CMemlovr for beta reading! Please review for the next chapter! I hope you like it!

The next morning, Sharon felt much better – particularly when she caught sight of Andy standing before her on opening her eyes. Andy leaned over and kissed her forehead, causing Sharon to smile softly.

"Good morning, darling," he smiled.

"Good morning, Andy."

"How are you feeling? Still tired?"

"Thankfully, no. I'm feeling well enough to go to work today."

"Good," he smiled, relieved, "let's get you some breakfast, then." Andy helped Sharon out of bed and waited until she had dressed herself before going to the kitchen to have breakfast. As they entered, Rusty was finishing up with his own meal.

"Morning, Rusty," greeted Sharon, kissing his cheek. Andy echoed her greeting.

"Good morning, mom, Andy. You both are looking happy this morning – any reason?"

"Well," answered Andy, "your mom's feeling much better this morning, that's as good a reason as any to be happy."

"Makes sense," replied Rusty, "I'm glad you're better," he added, addressing his mom.

"Do you want something to drink?" she asked, busying herself with breakfast.

"No, I'm all done, thanks."

Accepting his reply, Sharon returned to her own breakfast.

Dropping down beside Rusty, Andy looked over at his work. "Ease up, Rusty. You've been studying for a while – are you taking enough breaks?"

"I just want to be sure of what I know," reassured Rusty, "but I take enough movie breaks, don't worry."

Nodding, Andy turned to Sharon, "You sure you're feeling fine?"

"Why would I lie?" asked Sharon, frowning as she took a sip of her juice. Andy's phone rang in the background, diffusing the tension that had suddenly risen.

Answering with barely concealed frustration, Andy barked, "What've you got, Provenza?"

"I need to speak to the Captain, Flynn. She asked to be kept up to date on the case."

"Could you call back later? She's busy right now," he replied stonily.

"Is that Provenza?" asked Sharon, irritated that Andy had begun filtering her calls again.

Sighing resignedly, Andy handed the phone to Sharon, "Yeah, he said that he has something for you." It would be of no use to argue with her, anyway.

"Have you apprehended the suspect?" asked Sharon without preamble.

"Amy's with him now. Can we expect you shortly?"

"You can, Lieutenant," she replied, hanging up immediately afterwards.

"Well?" prompted Andy.

"I'll be going in to interview a suspect," she informed him crisply.

"Why do you always have to do it?" he asked concernedly.

"Because it's my job," she retorted firmly, "and because today I'm well enough to do it." Tugging her jacket away from the chair she turned to Rusty and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'll see you later," she murmured quietly.

"Later, mom," replied Rusty, already preoccupied by his studies.

********...********

An hour into her interview, accompanied by Amy and Provenza, Sharon sat back and surveyed the suspect closely. On the other side of the monitor, Andy did the same to her, grousing all the while about her stubbornness to Julio and Mike.

Julio chuckled quietly at his grumbling before commenting, "It's not like you didn't know she was stubborn before you got involved. Besides, everyone knows you can't keep the Captain from her work."

"Julio's got a point," agreed Tao, "if the Captain wants to work, she will."

Andy rolled his eyes, knowing that they were telling the truth and all the more frustrated for it. A few minutes later, Sharon exited the interview room, followed by Provenza.

"All done?" asked Andy pointedly.

"Well, the real killer's been apprehended, so yes."

"Thanks for the help, Captain. We appreciate your continued presence," commented Provenza, a slight smile curving his lips.

"I'll always be here, Lieutenant, regardless of circumstances."

Turning to Andy, Sharon noticed a look of annoyance flash across his features.

"A word, Andy?" she instructed, directing him to her office. On entering, Sharon sat behind her desk calmly, observing Andy's behaviour before snapping, "What's your problem?"

"I don't know what you mean," he replied indifferently.

"If you're annoyed by something, say so," she said stonily.

He took her hand reassuringly and replied, "If you're happy, then I'm happy."

"I appreciate that," she smiled, "By the way, Rusty called earlier and said that his exam had been unexpectedly moved to today," she informed him.

"That's unusual," remarked Andy.

"It is, but I'm sure he'll manage." Sharon smirked – her son was incredibly intelligent and capable.

"I'm sure he will," smiled Andy.

********...********

Thankfully, Rusty's exam had gone successfully. As he walked home contentedly, he felt that someone was following him. Turning to glance behind him uncomfortably, he continued to walk home cautiously. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice calling him. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned and saw his biological mother.

"Mom?" surprise flashed across Rusty's features. How had his mother known where to find him?

"Rusty!" His mother pulled him in close, tears shining in her eyes.

"How did you find me, mom?" he asked.

"I just saw you – and oh! I'm so happy to see you. How are you?"

"I'm fine," he replied slowly, perplexed.

"Did you just have an exam?"

"Yeah."

"And? How'd it go?"

"I think I did pretty well."

"I'm so glad," she trilled enthusiastically.

Rusty regarded her with confusion before responding slowly, "I've got to go – mom will worry if I'm home late."

Sharon wiped her eyes and frowned slightly, "You call her mom?"

"I do," smiled Rusty, "she might not be my biological mother, but she's my mom."

"Oh," she muttered quietly.

"Look, I really have to go."

"Sure," she replied slowly, "I just needed to see you – I miss you, honey. Take care of yourself," she murmured, kissing her son's forehead.

******** ... ********

That evening, Rusty didn't want to tell Sharon about his encounter with his mother. He was afraid of worrying her, so he decided instead to talk to Andy about it. While Sharon showered, Rusty decided to broach the subject with Andy.

"You okay, Rusty?"

"I guess…" he replied quietly, "it's just – I didn't want to worry mom about this, but-"

"What's the matter?" asked Andy concernedly.

"I bumped into my mother on the way home today."

"How'd she know where to find you?"

"I don't know," admitted Rusty, "She just came up to me outside my exam – said she wanted to know how I've been. I just – I don't want to worry Sharon. Please don't tell her," he finished, chewing his lip.

"'Course, kid. We can keep this between us."

"Thanks, Andy," Rusty smiled softly.

About twenty minutes later, Sharon joined Rusty and Andy in the living room.

"What are we up to?" asked Sharon with a smile.

"Just talking about Rusty's exams," replied Andy easily.

"How'd it go?" she pressed eagerly, turning to Rusty.

"I think it went well," smiled Rusty.

"I'm sure it did," grinned Sharon.

Checking his watch, Rusty murmured, "I'm pretty tired – I might turn in." Hugging his mom goodnight, he left Andy and Sharon in the sitting room.

"Good shower?" asked Andy absently.

"Absolutely – the water was perfect and relaxing," smiled Sharon.

"I'm glad," he replied, placing his hand on her belly. "How is the little one today?"

"Nice and calm," smiled Sharon.

"So, no kicking?"

"None. Hopefully that'll last the night."

Andy hugged Sharon comfortingly.

********...********

Two days later, Sharon stood in her room, surveying her appearance as she prepared for her doctor's appointment.

"I'm getting huge," she moaned, frowning.

"You're not huge – you're pregnant," he smiled reassuringly.

"I know – and I'm glad that I bought these maternity clothes; everything else is too small," she groaned. Andy smiled indulgently as a silence fell between them. "I'm scared that something might be wrong with the baby," she admitted quietly.

"There's no use worrying about it without having spoken to the doctor first," replied Andy, attempting to reassure her.

As they arrived at the hospital's entrance, Sharon stopped in her tracks.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied absent-mindedly, "I'm just nervous."

"I'm here for you," he smiled softly. Guiding Sharon to the maternity wing, they reached the reception desk without incident.

"What can I do for you?" she greeted politely.

"We have an appointment with Dr. Nelson – Ms. Raydor," clarified Andy.

"She's in her office; please take a seat and I'll let her know that you've arrived."

Nodding, the pair of them took a seat in the waiting room, their hands clasped together tightly.

Sharon made a tight noise of irritation, drawing Andy's questioning attention.

"Have they never seen a woman pregnant at my age?" she asked, frustrated.

Andy chuckled softly, "Nobody's looking at you but me, Sharon – and I promise that it's not because you're pregnant."

Smiling softly, Sharon replied, "Thanks, Andy."

Coming up to them, the receptionist informed them that Dr. Nelson was ready to see them.

Entering the room slowly, Sharon and Andy took a seat in Dr. Nelson's office.

"Nice to see you, Ms. Raydor," smiled the doctor. Andy held her hand tightly, "we'll be doing the ultrasound today."

"Good," Sharon smiled tightly.

"Let's see how the little one's getting on, then," replied the doctor, helping Sharon to lie on the examination table. "Relax," smiled the doctor. Peering at the monitor, the doctor murmured, "At this point you're about sixteen weeks along – have you had any problems lately?"

"No," replied Sharon.

"Sharon," intoned Andy warningly. Then, turning to the doctor he said, "She's had a few issues at work lately."

"Anything too troubling?" pressed the doctor, directing his attention to Sharon.

"I do worry sometimes," she admitted, "but it's nothing I can't handle."

"Well, you don't have to worry about this little one – your baby is healthy, as are you." Smoothing the gel on her belly, the doctor asked, "are you sure you don't want to know the sex?"

"We're sure," replied Sharon certainly. The doctor continued to examine the baby closely, "I hope everything's okay," she murmured worriedly.

"And here's the baby," smiled the doctor, turning the monitor to allow Sharon and Andy to see it. "Everything seems normal."

"Look at our baby, Andy," Sharon smiled wetly.

Andy remained silent, unable to vocalise the importance of this moment to him.

"Is the baby's heartbeat normal?" asked Sharon, directing her attention to the doctor.

"It is," confirmed the doctor, smiling.

Once the ultrasound had been completed, Andy helped Sharon off of the examination table.

"If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call," intoned Dr. Nelson politely, handing the couple their ultrasound pictures. "And please, remember to be careful." Sharon and Andy smiled and left the office.

"That was…really good," smiled Sharon.

"It was," agreed Andy.

"We'll have to call Nicole and Andrea later on to let them know how the appointment went."

Andy nodded silently, taking Sharon's hand as he led them away from the hospital.

********...********

A couple of hours later, Sharon, Nicole and Andrea were relaxing together at Sharon's.

"I'm so glad that everything's going well with the baby," smiled Nicole, looking at the ultrasound pictures.

"Me too," sighed Sharon.

"You can't imagine how happy I am for you – that the baby's growing healthily," chimed in Andrea.

"And I can only imagine that my dad's thrilled," intoned Nicole.

"He is," smiled Sharon.

"You still haven't found out the sex, right?" pressed Nicole, slightly frustrated.

"No, but you'll find it out soon enough," replied Sharon warily.

"Well, the most important part is that the baby is healthy," added Andrea. Sharon smiled in agreement, patting her belly softly.

"The baby's health is everything – so we're both incredibly happy that it's growing well," grinned Sharon. She couldn't possibly verbalise just how ecstatic she felt at the prospect of holding her baby in her arms.

~~~ TBC ~~~