A/N: This is the twenty-seventh chapter! Special thanks to my amazing beta CMemlovr for beta reading! Please review for the next chapter! I hope you like it!

Summer had dawned, and the morning was sunny and warm as Sharon examined her reflection in the mirror, scrutinising the bump that had already been five months in the making. Frustrated, she tossed her clothes aside and felt tears welling in her eyes. Andy entered their bedroom and was surprised to find Sharon sitting hunched over on the bed.

"What's the matter, honey?" he murmured softly, sitting comfortingly beside her.

"I'm massive!" she groaned, her shoulders shaking.

Andy attempted to stifle his amusement before replying, "You're pregnant, not massive. There's a distinct difference."

"My clothes just seem to be getting smaller by the day, and I can't fit into anything without looking like a whale," she sniffed.

Andy squeezed her shoulder gently, "You're five months along, Sharon. The baby's growing, and I'm glad to see it."

Sharon's expression softened, "I know I'm being silly," she huffed, "but things just seem to upset me more easily these days."

Andy chuckled and hugged her soothingly, "Just think: it'll all be worth it for that first time holding our baby."

Silence fell between them as Sharon mulled over Andy's words.

"I know you don't want to talk about this, Andy, but we have to," she began hesitantly.

"What?" he asked, warily.

"It's hard, and I get it, but we have to plan for every possible eventuality, including one that doesn't involve me," she cleared her throat, pushing down the emotions that had begun to rise like bile in her throat, "I know that you'll be a good father-"

"You can't keep thinking like this, Sharon!" he cut across her words, "Why are you bringing this up again?!"

"Because we need to talk about it," she pressed, "I'm not so young anymore, and I need to know that you'd be capable of taking care of our baby if anything were to happen to me," she finished adamantly.

"I just…I can't do this right now," he admitted hoarsely, "I can't think that way. I can't think about losing you."

Sharon nodded, discontent with the decision, but respecting that Andy might need more time. "Fine, we'll shelf this conversation for now. But it does need to happen sometime, Andy," she warned.

Standing for something to do, Sharon began putting her clothes away to distract herself.

Nicole unknowingly interrupted the terse silence between them, smiling widely as she announced that breakfast had been made.

"Why'd you do it alone? I could have helped you!" insisted Sharon.

"I know you could have; I just wanted to make a special breakfast for you," she grinned.

Andy smiled affectionately, commenting, "She looks just like her father now, doesn't she." His eyes twinkled with good humour.

"Certainly does," agreed Sharon, smirking lightly.

They followed Nicole to the kitchen for breakfast, Rusty's absence made all the more noticeable. On the table, Sharon's favourite morning tea was already laid out in front of her plate.

"Smells fantastic," commented Sharon, beaming at Nicole.

"Thanks," she replied, "now tell me what you think after you've tried it," she laughed.

"Well, considering how hungry I am, there's no chance that I'm saying no to your amazing pancakes," she grinned, snagging one of the pancakes with her fork and dropping it into her plate. "I didn't know that you could cook so well," she complimented.

"Just something I've enjoyed doing for a while," she replied humbly, "I've always loved it."

"The both of you are actually really good at cooking," commented Sharon, directing her attention towards Andy.

"Just the way our family is," he responded easily.

Five pancakes later, Sharon decided to stop eating; she still wanted more, but felt way too full to eat a single bite more. Patting her belly softly, Sharon grinned when she felt a small kick against her palm. Silently, she lead Nicole's hand to her belly, her expression softening when Nicole beamed excitedly back at her.

"I felt a kick!" she laughed disbelievingly.

"The little one recognised their sister," smirked Sharon.

"Really?" she whispered, awed.

"Look at that; the baby can't wait to meet you," chuckled Andy.

"The baby's getting pretty active now, some days it feels like it never stops moving!" she laughed.

Content silence fell between them before Nicole asked, "When will Rusty be back? It's so quiet here without him."

"He should be back tonight," smiled Sharon, "I miss him too much."

"You can look forward to his return, then," smiled Andy lightly.

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

Hours later, Sharon sat quietly in her office, pensively mulling over some of the thoughts that had been bothering her. Meanwhile, Andy called Andrea, sensing that Sharon might need to talk to her.

"What's going on, Andy?" asked Andrea.

Pulling Andrea by the elbow to a quieter spot, Andy began, "I think Sharon needs you right now."

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Sharon's just stuck on the idea that something might happen to her – that she won't be able to see our baby. I just don't know how to help her through it."

"I'll see if there's anything I can do," assured Andrea.

"Thanks," he offered up a small smile.

Andrea strode confidently into Sharon's office.

"Andrea! What are you doing here?" asked Sharon, smiling delightedly.

"Just wanted to check in with my friend," she smiled, hugging her tightly. Sitting beside her, Andrea said, "and, I wanted to talk to you…"

"About what?" she asked guardedly.

"Andy asked me to drop by-"

Sharon sighed in frustration, "Andy's making a mountain out of a molehill," she snorted softly.

"He's just worried – and so am I – that the way you're thinking is unhealthy, particularly at this stage of your pregnancy." She worried her lip between her teeth.

"What's unhealthy – and potentially dangerous – is not considering what might happen if this pregnancy has unforeseen circumstances that we haven't planned for," she bit out tiredly.

"But you don't have to think about that – you haven't had any indication that this pregnancy is progressing badly, so there's no reason to think that way," Andrea attempted to soothe her concerns.

"I know that I don't need to think about this now, but I do need to think about it for the future. That's not to say I'm stressed or worried – I know the baby will have a great father – but I need to know that we have proper contingency plans in place."

"Look, I'm positive that you're going to be fine – just look at how well the pregnancy has progressed this far! It doesn't do you much good to think about what might happen."

"I guess," she huffed, still not fully understanding why nobody else saw the urgency of this particular conversation.

"Please promise me that you're not going to dwell on this?"

"I'll do my best," she promised, "And you have to promise me that, as the godmother to my child, you will take care of my baby if anything happens to me."

"I promise," she replied resolutely, knowing that insisting otherwise would be futile.

While Sharon and Andrea were talking, Andy decided to discuss his concerns with Provenza.

"I just…I don't understand why she can't let go of these irrational concerns…" muttered Andy worriedly.

Provenza clapped a hand to his shoulder reassuringly, "I understand that you're worried, but have you actually tried listening to her concerns, instead of waving them off?"

"I guess not – I just don't want her to keep thinking about all this stuff."

"Then talk to her," he insisted, "let her explain what's worrying her."

"I'll try," he replied, "Thanks for your support, Provenza."

"Anytime, Flynn."

Andy caught Andrea as she was leaving the murder room.

"How'd it go?" he asked quietly.

"She's worried," she admitted, "And I think you need to talk to her."

"Why?"

Hesitantly, Andrea replied, "She asked me to promise her that I'd be there for the baby if anything were to happen to her."

"I don't know what's gotten into her lately," he shook his head tiredly.

"Nor do I, but I do think that there might be something more that's bothering Sharon. You need to talk to her," she insisted.

"Provenza said so too," he confessed.

"Then I think it'd be a smart move," she smiled encouragingly.

"Thanks, Andrea."

She smiled slightly and waved away his thanks, making her way for the exit instead. As she was leaving, Andy decided to talk to Sharon.

"So, why'd you call Andrea?" she asked immediately on seeing him.

"I thought you needed someone to talk to, since I don't feel that you're being completely truthful with me," he sighed.

"You think I'm lying to you?" she hissed, glaring at him as he averted his eyes.

"No, I – I'm not sure what I think. All I know is this; you brought up discussing 'contingency plans' after weeks of not mentioning it, and I'm wondering whether it's because there's something that you're not telling me about," he finished, frustrated.

Abruptly, Sharon asked, "Do you remember a friend of mine, named Abigail?"

"Vaguely, yes. What's she got to do with anything?"

"I've been thinking about her a lot more, lately," she muttered cryptically. At Andy's confused expression, she elaborated: "Abigail died in childbirth – she never got to see her baby." Her eyes glimmered with tears, though she didn't shed them. Andy nodded in understanding, comprehension dawning on him suddenly. "She was my best friend, growing up. I guess that her…unforeseen circumstances have been on my mind a lot, lately."

Andy moved closer to her and pressed his lips comfortingly against her forehead as he took her body in his arms. "I understand."

"I'm scared that the same thing will happen to me," she confessed.

Soothingly, Andy rubbed Sharon's back, "You can't think like that, Sharon. It's fatalistic at best, and at worst a possible cause for miscarriage if you keep stressing yourself out so much. I know that you're sad – that you're hurting – but you can't apply what happened to your friend to yourself. Your circumstances are different," he spoke in low, soothing tones, attempting to encourage Sharon to calm down.

"I'm terrified that I won't be able to hold our baby." Her voice was barely a whisper, but Andy could feel the pain behind it.

"Sharon, please, don't do this to yourself. You can't allow your grief for your friend to colour your feelings about this pregnancy – it's only going to hurt you more."

She nodded minutely against his shoulder, drying her tears tiredly. "I know that," she admitted, "and I'm trying so hard not to think about what happened to her."

"Then you're already headed in the right direction," replied Andy encouragingly.

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

While Sharon and Andy were at work, Rusty returned home to find Nicole waiting to tease him.

"I'm glad that you're home," laughed Nicole, "I had nobody to annoy without you around," she teased playfully.

Grinning easily at her, Rusty spared her the retort that he'd had ready, remembering instead that she'd had to deal with her mother in his absence. "What happened with your mom?" he asked abruptly.

"Well, I met with her for a little while, all with Sharon's support in keeping my dad calm. She promised not to come near me again, so our meeting was helpful, at the very least."

"I'm glad that everything worked out for you," he replied honestly.

"Me too," she smiled, the ease of her manner assuaging Rusty's concerns.

A short while later, Rusty and Nicole heard the door to the apartment creak open.

Sharon stepped into the living room, followed by Andy, and hugged Rusty the minute she saw him.

"I'm so happy you decided to come home early," she grinned.

"How'd it go with your friends, kid?" asked Andy, smiling.

"Pretty good," Rusty shrugged noncommittally.

"He's just fine," laughed Nicole, noting Sharon's surveying of Rusty.

Both Sharon and Andy were content that Rusty had returned, pleased that they could enjoy more time together as a family.

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

The evening was noneventful. Sharon was able to enjoy her family's company, and Andy was able to enjoy Sharon's company without his usual niggling concerns. Andrea's phone call was unexpected, but not unwanted, as Andy recognised that she had called purely out of concern for her friend.

"How is she?" she asked worriedly.

"She seems better," replied Andy evenly, "I'll fill you in tomorrow."

"Then I'm glad," replied Andrea instantly, "just give me the details tomorrow."

"Will do. Come over – I'm sure Sharon would love it."

As they said their goodbyes, he hung up and was met with a questioning glance from Sharon.

"Andrea," he explained, gesturing to his phone, "she wanted to let us know that she's going to visit tomorrow."

"Fantastic," smiled Sharon.

Behind them, Nicole and Rusty were bickering as usual, much to their mutual amusement.

"It's getting a little late, guys," warned Andy, interrupting their conversation.

"This isn't over, yet," laughed Nicole.

"It never is," smirked Andy.

"You're right, there," grinned Rusty. Then, turning to Nicole, he said, "We can continue this tomorrow."

"Can't wait," she replied mischievously.

The two went to their respective rooms, leaving Sharon and Andy together in the living room.

"I'm glad the two of them get along so well," smiled Sharon.

Andy reached around her, folding her body into his arms, "me too," he murmured contentedly. "How're you feeling?"

"Better," she smiled, "even the kicks aren't as bad today."

"That's good," he replied mildly, "are you ready to head to bed? I don't know about you, but I could just drop."

"I am," she smirked, "but I wouldn't mind a hand getting there."

Smiling gently, Andy let her out from his embrace and took her hand in his before leading her to their bedroom. He was momentarily stopped by Sharon, who leaned heavily against the wall.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, exhaling heavily, "I'm just really tired."

Andy nodded understandingly and led her more slowly, content that there was nothing physically or emotionally troubling to be concerned about.

~~~ TBC ~~~