The Pregnancy Ship

Chapter 11: Pajama Party

This is an A/U story

Disclaimer: These are not my characters they are fully James Duffs. I just love them so much and love to play with them.

Sharon finished getting dressed again and they stopped at the front desk to make another appointment then Andy walked Sharon out to the car, opened the passenger door for her. As she buckled her seat belt he closed the door and went around to the drivers side. Andy was putting his seatbelt on when Sharon asked about Andy's mother's middle name. "It's Madison."

"Madison? I thought she was Italian." Sharon said, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"My grandmother named her after a girl she met at school. They were really close. Madison stood up for her when the girls in the school were bullying her because she was Italian I think my grandmother and her family had just come off the boat, when she met Madison. Madison knew some Italian because her father was in the military and they lived there for two years."

"Oh, well I like the name Madison. Can we consider it, do you think?"

"I thought we were pretty sold on Isabella," Andy said putting the key in the ignition.

"The only name I'm completely sold on is Natalie because they'll be born so close to Christmas. Emily was supposed to be a Natalie, but Jack insisted on Emily because it was his mother's name. Don't worry; I'm trying out different names. I won't know for sure until they're here and we can look into their sweet little faces and can see which name fits them." She yawned and as usual the minute the car started moving Sharon was out.

So while she slept, Andy picked up food for all three of the pregnant ladies. Sharon, Andrea, Patrice, also for Andrea's husband, Paul, Provenza, rest of the team and for himself. At noon he pulled into the driveway to Andrea and Paul's place. Unbeknownst to any of the ladies Paul, Provenza and Andy had cooked up this pajama party based on the idea Andrea and Sharon had come up with that had them laughing about when Andrea was in the hospital.

Andrea was bored and restless after being on partial bed rest for the last month. Sharon needed to stay off her feet, because her exam had been a little more intrusive than usual, and Patrice had been experiencing breakthrough bleeding. Not a lot but enough to be put on temporary bed rest. Being together, they could keep each other company while still keeping their feet up. Paul worked from home and could keep an eye on them, and could wait on them if need be. Offering them drinks of juice, fruit infused water, decaf ice and snacks.

When Andy and Sharon pulled up to the house Sharon started to wake up. Andy put his hand over her eyes while at the same time helping her out of the car. "Andy, what are you doing?" Sharon said as she tried unsuccessfully to pull his hand away from her eyes.

Andy said "It's a surprise, now stop fighting me. He kept his hand over her eyes until they arrived inside. Provenza had pulled up with a sleeping Patrice right behind them and was struggling to cover Patrice's eyes. "Surprise! You three can have that pajama party you were talking about last month," said Andy.

Sharon looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and then spotted Andrea on the couch. She was touched that Andy had remembered, she gave him a peck on the lips in thanks for his thoughtfulness. Patrice hugged and kissed Louie also.

"Are you sure you're okay with this Andrea or should I say, Paul? Having three pregnant ladies in one room with all these raging hormones...you're a brave man!" Smirked Sharon.

Paul laughed and said, "I don't mind, Actually, I'm all for anything that keeps her..." he pointed to his wife, "on the couch and out of trouble," he said with fond exasperation. "When Andy told me his idea I was like, oh yeah! When today? No problem!"

"Are you kidding? It was my idea originally!" Andrea said feigning indignation, "and I'm going stir crazy here on this couch day in day out. I'm all for company, the more the merrier and...what's that old saying? Misery loves company."

Patrice said, "Thanks for including me! My goodness, I haven't been to a pajama party since I was thirteen or fourteen!"

"Of course, you're invited. We're all on this ship together!" Andrea said smiling.

"Yes, we are!" Sharon said giving Patrice a side hug.

"Okay, girls you can bond, once everybody is dressed for the occasion," said Andy.

"Here 's your bag, go on and get in your pjs, Sweetheart. The faster you are dressed and ready to join this pajama party, the faster you will be off your feet, like the doctor ordered." He explained and gave her a gentle pat on her bottom. That was exactly the wrong thing to do at that particular moment. Sharon's face became a thundercloud.

Andrea decided she better distract Sharon to diffuse a potential blow up. She knew her friend hated to be patronized. "The guest room is across the hall and there is a bathroom. Honey, he's right you should get comfortable and off your feet, both of you Andy shot Andrea a thankful smile.

Once in the guest room Sharon discovered the bag Andy had given her contained her nightgown, robe, slippers, and her favorite feather pillow and fleece blanket, along with other stuff he thought she might need. She instantly felt guilty for the way she had behaved just now. He was only doing what he'd promised the doctor and her parents he would do. Take care of her. She knew he hadn't meant the love pat he gave her to be condescending in any way, although it had felt like it to her at that moment. It wasn't his fault that she'd spent years taking care of herself because of the kind of husband Jack had turned out to be, and now found it difficult if not impossible to let others take care of her. Or that Jack would smack her on the butt in front of his friends, and that he did mean to be condescending.

Patrice had followed her into the guest bedroom and was on the way to the bathroom to change. "Are you alright, Honey?" she asked as she observed Sharon standing by the bed staring into space still not dressed.

"Oh, yes, I'm alright. Just realizing how different my situation is from the one I was in before, and how I need to adjust my attitude," she said and quickly got into her nightgown robe and slippers. She waited for Patrice to come out of the bathroom so she could use it, then the two of them went out to the living room. Sharon went right over to Andy and whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry."

He kissed her and whispered back, "It's okay. I shouldn't have smacked you on the butt in front of people."

Once Sharon and Patrice reappeared, Paul, Andy and Louie put their food on trays then Andy and Louie needed to leave for the precinct but not before kissing their girlfriends goodbye. Sharon sank down tiredly between Andrea and Patrice who sat on opposite sides of the long sectional La-Z-Boy sofa. It was a dark blue micro fleece material, very soft and overstuffed.

Sharon wore a nightgown with pink rose buds scattered all over it. A white fluffy robe and pink fleecy slipper socks. Her hair was pulled back away from her face leaving a few strands on either side of her forehead. She had her pillow and fleece blanket with pictures of her children on it. Patrice had her pillow and fleece blanket with pictures of Yorkie, a Poodle and Bichon Frise puppies. Andrea's fleece blanket had a Thomas Kincaid painting on it of a house in the woods with an English garden. Patrice was wearing red fleece pajamas with pictures of high heels all over them, a robe and ballet slippers. Andrea had a calf length purple pink and blue plaid flannel button down nightshirt, a purple fleece robe and purple fleece slipper socks.

Paul gave them each a tray with their lunch and a drink. They thanked him and he left them alone. They ate their lunches, which was a turkey sandwiches on rye for Sharon and Patrice, and roast beef for Andrea. While they ate they caught up with each other. "So Andrea, how are you?" Sharon asked. Her hand over her mouth as she swallowed and her eyebrows wiggled up and down to indicate she wanted the truth.

"I'm fine Shar or I think I will be, when I hold my babies in my arms! This pregnancy is only five months in and already so much has happened. At least the doctor warned us from the beginning that that one embryo seemed iffy and would probably not make it. But at the time it still seemed to be alive so we decided to give it a chance. I'm just glad we discovered that it had lost its battle early so it wasn't able to have much of a physical effect on any of us long term," she wiped a few tears away. "Who knew I would be this broken up still? It's been a month and I still tear up."

She half laughed and sobbed at the same time. "I thought I didn't want kids! I didn't even like kids or so I thought, but there is something about having the choice of whether or not to have children taken away from you that changes your feelings. In the beginning when Paul and I had that pregnancy scare and then it turned out not to be, I was relieved, not really ready for a family. I wasn't even sure I wanted one! Paul kind of did though. So we decided to freeze our eggs and sperm, but we got busy with our careers and forgot. Believe it or not and then we found out about Paul's prostate cancer and although I was just happy he survived. Paul was devastated to find out he couldn't father children anymore because of the cancer treatment. Then we were reminded about the frozen embryos and sperm and we were given another chance. The first try failed, but this one was so successful and then we lost the one. It's been a roller coaster ride from the beginning. Sorry, I'm not usually this emotional," Andrea felt embarrassed to be crying on a day when she should be happy to have company.

"Honey, you have every right to be emotional. You've been through a lot," Sharon said as she handed her a tissue.

Andrea decided to diffuse the emotions she was feeling by turning the conversation in Sharon's direction. Andrea said, " So, Sharon now that you're sixteen weeks, I guess you know what you're having. So no more Eggbert and Eggberta?"

"No more Eggbert and Eggberta, its twin girls, fraternal. Their names will possibly be Natalie Grace and Madison Ciara."

"I thought you were going to name one of them Isabella, after Andy's mother?" Asked Andrea.

"Madison was Andy's mother's middle name. It was the name of a girlhood friend of his grandmother's. I'm trying them both out. I haven't really decided yet. Natalie has been a given all along, but the other twins name is still up in the air. For the longest time I thought it was going to be Natalie and Noah, now that I know the second twin is another girl, I'm still adjusting. They both have Eileen as their third names, it's a tradition in our family."

"Does Andy know? That you are not entirely sold on Isabella?"

"Actually yes he knows. We talked about it on the way over here, before I fell asleep.

"Where did Ciara come from?" asked Patrice.

"Oh, I've had a pen pal named Stephanie for several years. We became pen pals when Steph and Emily were teenagers. It was one of Emily and Stephanie's school projects, in the beginning. Once it was over and she got the grade Emily asked me to be Stephanie's pen pal. Steph had a different life then Emily, she's more mature and had ideas and issues closer to my own and Emily was very busy with ballet and didn't have the time to continue writing, but she didn't want to leave her hanging. She asked me first to make sure I was willing then she asked Steph who was willing. We had met once when she came to the states for a visit, we got along famously. It was like we'd known each other forever. She even stayed with us while she was here. So, we started writing to each other. She's a sweet young lady and we kept in touch. Now it's through email and skype though, although we use snail mail sometimes. She lives in Germany, she had a little girl named Ciara seven years ago. I liked the name a lot and the little girl is adorable, she calls me Tante Sharon. I asked permission to use her name as a middle name for one of the girls. She said she'd be honored." Wanting the focus to be off herself, Sharon turned to Patrice, "What about you? What are you and Louie having Patrice?"

"A little boy," she said excitedly. "Louie and I are still working on the name. This is the first boy for both of us. We both had all daughters."

"Patrice, I'm so happy for you!" said Andrea.

"I'm happy for you too, Patrice. I met one of your daughters today, Patricia. She looks sooo young, yet she's twenty-six!"

"Yes, she does. Sometimes I start to say Patricia Courtney Perry, I told you...and then I remember my baby isn't twelve anymore. I shouldn't treat her like she's twelve even though she looks it! For the most part she listened and was helpful. She knew what she wanted to be from the time she was two. She always wanted me to teach her how to be a really good nurse! But my other girls sure gave me a run for my money. Lily was the oldest she was headstrong and impetuous. She had a heart as big as all outdoors and wanted to help the world. It was a real interesting journey trying to temper her enthusiasm and find out what was the best fit for her. She finally decided to become a Pediatrician. Her first job once she finished her residency was as a Pediatrician in a hospital in the area where the rich lived; it came with a hefty salary for her. She took it because she knew she would need a nest egg to do what she really wanted to do. Which was travel the world and help the poor in other countries. I kept trying to steer her toward the poor in her own backyard, but her dreams were a bit loftier than that." Patrice answered proudly.

"And Kendra?" Prompted Andrea. She had been curious about Patrice's granddaughter Keisha' situation for a long time.

"Well, Kendra was the middle child and she came with all the middle child drama, plus schizophrenia, which we didn't realize until later. She ran away at fourteen and three months later came back pregnant. At that point she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I found out her grandmother on her father's side had it. Kendra had Keisha at fifteen, once she was no longer pregnant we put her on the meds and she managed well or so we thought. Things started to look up. She met someone who incidentally turned out to be Keisha's real father. We didn't find that out until later. Anyway Kendra and Michael appeared to be straightening out and then... then New Year's Eve the year Keisha turned seven, they ran into a telephone pole. They were both high and drunk, neither one of them survived." Patrice took a moment to collect herself after recalling the event that took one of her daughter lives.

Patrice first took a deep breath, slowly letting it out before continuing, "Keisha was in the car though she survived. She had a broken leg, a pelvis, arm and a concussion. The child was a mess of hurts. Once she got out of the hospital, I brought her home with me and I nursed her back to health. I had really hoped Keisha would escape the problems her mother had. She appeared to be. She didn't like change and she had a terrible temper, but otherwise she seemed fine. I worked a lot as a nurse, so she was a latch key kid, but it seemed like she was on track. She got A's in her classes, she and Toby seemed to be doing great. She didn't talk much about anything. I guess she was having problems. She didn't tell with me about problems with Toby and voices in her head that apparently told her Romeo and Juliet's fate was better than living without Toby. Now she's in a state facility for the mentally insane and I think how could I have been so blind?" Patrice sobbed and wiped her face with tissues Sharon handed her.

Sharon reached over and gave her new friend a hug. Patrice hugged her back. "We often have problems seeing those we love how they really are. We want to believe they are how we see them, our spouses or our children or grandchildren. In the cases of children or grandchildren it's even harder. They've grown inside of us. We've cared for them as babies, fed them changed them, caught them when they fell, fixed their hurts, and dried their tears. It's hard to believe that our children, our babies are capable of doing really bad things." Sharon said wisely.

Andrea felt bad for opening that can of worms up and decided it was time they had some fun. She suggested the game, "Never Would I Ever," with drinking their soft beverages when they'd done what was mentioned. They started out with a pregnant mama's version of the game.

Andrea started, "never would I ever have a baby under water." Sharon looked down and took a sip of her fruit infused water.

"You did?" Patrice asked.

"Yes. It was a thing back then, real natural. I loved water, loved to swim and I had a lot of anxiety about Emily's birth, because she was my first and I didn't really know what to expect. So the midwife thought it would help me relax and get through it. It was a wonderful experience, actually. I would have done it again with Ricky, but my midwife moved out of the state and our insurance changed, not to mention Ricky was breach and had to be taken by cesarean," she shrugged.

"Would you do it with the twins?"

"I would if I could, but I know Janet wouldn't go for it. She treats me like I'm a powder keg about to explode and she keeps reminding me how everything could go wrong in an instant. Like I don't already know that! I wish she would relax and let me relax!" Sharon said with exasperation.

"You could change doctors," said Patrice.

"I could, but I don't want to. She's been with me since I had Ricky. I can't imagine going thru this without her. Actually, the reason I trust her is she tells it like it is and doesn't pull any punches. I know in the back of my mind that if Janet is expressing concern, I need to be concerned too, but I hate the restrictions, and being treated like I'm three. Mandatory naps and..." She laughed out loud suddenly, "and what feels like play-dates arranged for me! Although, if I had to be on bed rest, even just for the day, this is much more fun than doing it alone."

"Better than with a certain lieutenant? " asked Andrea with her eyebrows quirked wickedly.

"Well, if that certain lieutenant were to be there I'd certainly enjoy it, but I doubt if those activities, although quite pleasurable, would be what the doctor ordered." Sharon quipped with a wicked grin.

"You got that right!" said Patrice.

"All I know is it's so much better having you two here to commiserate with, being by myself just sucks! That being said, this little party arranged by our significant others is rather like having a play-date arranged for us," said Andrea laughing sardonically.

"Oh well, their hearts were in the right place and it's more practical having us all together with one caregiver, than separately with three," said Patrice. She smiled thinking of Louie. Everybody else saw his grumpy side but she knew the teddy bear underneath his bluster.

"But see that's what I'm talking about we are pregnant not sick, we shouldn't need a caregiver!" Sharon all but shouted, frustration from the argument with her doctor spilling over.

"Yes, we are Honey, but we're also women who are used to being active and doing things on our own. None of the three of us would keep our feet up and stay put if there wasn't someone here to do the things we are not supposed to be doing." Patrice said matter of factly!

"Sharon, I think you're as frightened that something will go wrong as you are frustrated by being treated like you are fragile flower, but at least after this weekend you can go back to PAB, and at least do paperwork. I'm stuck here for the unforeseeable future and Patrice for another week and a half." Andrea said.

Sharon ducked her head, feeling embarrassed by her uncharacteristic behavior. Her emotions were very difficult to reign in these days. They were all over the place! She was well aware that the underlying emotion. The bottom line so to speak was that she was terrified that the doctor's concern and over monitoring were more warranted than she'd like them to be and that something terrible would happen, instead of just could happen. She knew she'd go crazy if it did. If she even survived this. "I'm so sorry girls for acting so whiny and selfish. I'm just so...freaked out these days." She half sobbed, half laughed. "I remember just last summer asking Rusty when have you ever seen me freaked out? Well, he's seeing it plenty these days!"

"Pregnancy hormones can really mess with you, Honey. Andrea and you have them doubled. It's okay, we understand. We're all older than the average pregnant woman, and we're all scared," said Patrice as she rubbed Sharon's back in comfort. "We're all on this boat together."

Sharon nodded and wiped her face with tissues, "thank you."

Feeling the need to change the subject and the activity Andrea decided to abandon the rest of the game, and decided to suggest another idea instead. "Okay, how about we watch a movie? I've got, Mama Mia, The sound of Music and Hairspray, which one do we watch first?" Andrea asked holding up the TV channel changer.

"How about Mama Mia first? At least we'll be awake for it." Sharon suggested and arranged herself into a comfortable position to watch her favorite Meryl Streep movie. All three women knew the words to every song and sang along with the movie. Patrice and Sharon were able to harmonize quite well, but Andrea 's voice cracked and squeaked. All three of the girls laughed at the cracks and the squeaks.

"What? I said I loved to sing. I never said I could sing! I'm a lawyer not a contestant for The Voice," Andrea said in mock annoyance.

"We're sorry! It's just too funny," Sharon put her hand over heart and tried to get her breath. "It's alright, Andrea we love you anyway, even if you can't sing, " said Patrice.

"Well, thanks a lot...that's comforting! I think!"

After their crying, singing, and laughing had run its course none of the three made it through the opening credits of the second movie. They were all gently snoring to Julie Andrews singing, The Sound of Music. Not because they didn't love the movie, it was just that they needed the sleep.

Not hearing them talking or crying or laughing after a while, Paul came in to check on them. He found all three pregnant ladies lying sideways on the couch, curled up under their blankets sound asleep. Andrea's blanket was falling on the floor so he picked it up and tucked it around her. He picked up the empty drink glasses and took them to the kitchen for refills. He put together a snack tray for when they woke up, consisting of fruit, and cheese and some crackers along with some cookies. Ge covered it with plastic wrap and put it on the coffee table along with clean solo cups of orange juice. He had written their names on the red solo cups so they didn't get mixed up. Better to be safe than sorry. He then fished his phone out of his pocket and took pictures, and then sent them to Andy and Louie.

At the precinct, Andy was working on paperwork for their latest case, when his phone dinged indicating a text with an attachment had been sent to him. Across the room, Louie's also dinged. They both looked at their phones and smiled.

Tao looked up at the sound of the dings. He saw both Andy and Provenza smiling tenderly at something on their phones. "Okay, something you'd care to share?"

"It's more like do we dare to share," Andy said pensively, "and I'm not sure I do."

"Oh come,on Lieutenant what is it?" Julio asked.

Amy said, "we promise we won't tell."

"No thank you. If Sharon found out these pictures even existed much less that I showed them to you, she'd kill me!"

"I can't believe this! You're scared of her!" Provenza exclaimed.

"You bet your bippy! I'm scared of her and you would be wise to be afraid too."

"I'm not afraid, " the white haired man scoffed.

"You may not be afraid of the Captain, but I bet you're afraid of Patrice," Andy said.

"I'm not afraid of either of them, or DDA Hobbs for that matter and to prove it. I'll show you guys the pictures." Then reconsidering he said, "but...you better not let on you've seen them or even know they exist!" Said the old guy.

"I thought you weren't afraid Lieutenant," said Julio.

"And I thought you wanted to see the pictures, Julio," retorted Provenza.

"Okay, sorry sir."

Julio, Tao, and Amy laughed and huddled around Provenza's desk, when he showed the pictures of The Captain, Patrice, and Andrea Hobbs asleep on the couch. Snuggled down with pillows, blankets and fuzzy socks. There was a collective, "awwwwwww."

"DDA Hobbs sure looks better than the last time we saw her, " Amy pointed out.

"Yeah and sassy as ever. Bored to tears though, she was really happy to have the company, " said Andy.

"Being stuck on bed rest, even partial bed rest has got to suck. Especially if you're used to being active," Amy said. Thinking she was glad it wasn't her.

"Yeah, it sucks alright, but in her case it's definitely necessary," said Tao.

"Andy, is the Captain on permanent bed rest or just for the rest of the weekend?" Tao asked

"Just for the rest of the weekend but if her doctor had her way, Sharon would be on bed-rest till the babies are born. I think, however, we've got Doctor Janet convinced that Sharon's safer here than at home alone. I hope so. Sharon is getting really exasperated by the restrictions. She's convinced she'll follow her mother, because apparently her mother had twins at fifty-two, healthy and only two weeks early. She seems to forget her mother's doctor put her on partial bed rest in the middle of her second trimester too, but she believes she won't have a problem. The doctor is trying her best to impress upon her how Important it is to be preventive and preemptive. You know, figure out what could go wrong and guard against it by being extra cautious. They're driving each other crazy. She doesn't want Sharon driving and she wants her on maternity leave yesterday..."

"Yeah, I can see how frustrating it would be for the Captain, but at the same time when you're a doctor and you see everyday how badly things can go wrong...you want to do everything you can to protect the mother and the babies. I can see both sides of the situation, and it's got to be difficult for the Captain to not be in complete control," Tao mused.

Andy chuckled, "you have no idea!"

"Has she experienced any of the problems the doctor is worried about?"

"No, she hasn't. Of course, I've been making her take naps in the afternoon and I got her a stool to keep her legs up under her desk. We've been keeping track of her blood sugar and protein levels. I massage her legs at night. We swim in the morning and at night if she's awake enough to do it. I think the main sticking points are she doesn't want to go on maternity leave early. She wants her mind kept busy with cases because she's afraid she'll drive herself crazy worrying. Plus, she and I both feel she's better off here where she's surrounded by the team then by herself at home. Her sister, Mary who was supposed to come next month to stay with her had to leave from taking care of her father and go back home because her husband broke his ankle. So instead Ricky will be here the last few weeks of the pregnancy to help. Then there is the fact that she says I'm hovering. I don't let her make her own decisions and I treat her like she's three!"

"What did you say?"

"Basically, I told her too bad. I'm not going anywhere. My job is to make sure that she follows doctor's orders. So, I'm not hovering, I'm doing my job."

"Well you kind of are, hovering, I mean. You need to give her some choices. You know like instead of going in her office and saying, okay Sharon, time for your nap. Maybe you could say, you've been sitting for awhile, would you like to take a walk to the break room or would you like to rest laying down for a while?"

"She'll see through that pretty quick," Andy said.

"She might, but she'll appreciate your efforts to give her back her control. I had this conversation with her when you were chomping at the bit to get your control back after surgery."

Andy thought about it, remembering Sharon doing the same thing to him after he expressed frustration over being managed after surgery. "I guess we're alike in that way," Andy mused.

"Oh, you have no idea!" Laughed Tao.