The Pregnancy Ship

Chapter 18: When it Rains it Pours part 1

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.

Warning: This chapter is rated M for sexual content.

When Andy arrived home he looked for Sharon but couldn't find her at first. Then he saw out the back window Melinda was with her in the pool area and she was swimming. She hadn't been able to do that for several days. So he went to their room and got into a pair of swim trunks. Then went to get some herbal tea, the electric teapot, some cups and sugar for the two of them, and Melinda if she wanted some. On the way into the pool area he grabbed a big towel. Once he placed the tea on the table and plugged in the teapot Andy started toeing his shoes off. Melinda came over to him. "Glad you're here. She had a tough afternoon."

"What happened?" Andy asked, worriedly.

The therapist explained," She had a bit of a meltdown at the mall, well not in the mall, in the car. We went as a field trip to pick up her dress for the wedding. A large group of kids jostled her as we were coming out of the store, and she had a bit of a panic attack when she lost contact with my arm."

"How long were you separated? " Andy rubbed his hand down his face.

"No more than a half a minute, but it was a long time for her. Sharon stood frozen until I came back and got her, which is what she was supposed to do. She was also supposed to call my name, but her voice froze in her throat. I got her to the car and she had her meltdown there."

"Which consisted of?" Andy was concerned for Sharon. He had experienced a few of her meltdowns in the last week, but this one seemed a little more serious.

"She started shaking after it happened, in the mall and when we got into the car she started rocking and keening, and she put her arms over head." She demonstrated. "I talked her down so it only lasted a very short time, about a minute and a half and then I brought her home. I thought the pool would help her calm down."

"Sharon had nightmares about being lost in the mall last night." Andy said looking toward Sharon as she swam. He felt so bad for her.

"I know she told me, after the fact." Melinda said regretfully. "Nightmares are normal at this stage. I had them when I was blind. Sometimes they can be helpful in working out fears and sometimes they can paralyze you, which is what happened today. I won't let her let that happen again."

"To be honest, I'm surprised she even went with you, she refused to go to the PAB with me. Said she wanted to become more adept at navigating at home which was familiar, before she went out in public."

"Well, first of all the PAB has people she knows and does not want to be seen as weak and needy in front of, at the mall she can be anonymous. In the second place, I didn't give her a choice. I told her it was part of the therapy. Listen I'm going to go, my daughter's game is in an hour and a half. Don't worry she'll get the hang of it. Goodbye Sharon, Andy, I'll see you tomorrow. What time is the wedding?"

Andy answered, "1:00,"

"I'll be here at 12:00 to help with whatever I can. I put her dress just inside the closet to the left. It's still in the bag." She collected her things to head home.

"Thanks, Melinda."

"Bye." Sharon waved in the general direction she heard the voices coming from.

As he had been puttering with the tea, and talking to Melinda, Sharon had stopped swimming and she had started treading water. Andy started walking into the pool. "Hey," Andy said not wanting to startle her.

"Hey," she said, her head tilted to the side. She started doggie paddling toward his voice.

"I missed you," he said.

"I missed you more," Sharon replied. "More than you could ever imagine."

"I heard what happened," Andy said reaching out and pulling her to his arms. As she put her arms around him she shuddered and made a harrumph noise. "Definitely not my finest moment," she said sadly.

Andy kissed her forehead and stroked her back in an attempt to comfort her. "Sharon, if I'd been in the same situation, I would have reacted the same way. It was a frightening situation for anybody to be in. Don't beat yourself up about it," he said stroking her cheek.

Sharon may not have been able to see, but she could feel the tenseness in Andy's body and could sense that he was worried, not about what had happened to her at the mall.

"Andy, something is wrong, isn't there? You have news, bad news?"

"I'm afraid so, " he said sorrowfully.

"About the kids?" she asked full of trepidation. Trying to steel herself against what seemed to her like one bad situation after another. 'When it rains it pours,' she thought.

"No, the kids are fine as far as I know. Rusty went to pick up Em and Linda?"

She nodded, "just before you came home. Ricky went with him. They were leaving as we were coming back."

She started to tell him the rest of the story, but realized Andy was starting to speak. "Okay. Sharon, I'm going to say this quickly, Jack is dead. I know that was abrupt, but there is no easy way to tell you. He was murdered this morning. We think the killers were two men Joe and Pauley Munzi who are goons that belong to Vince Gardelli. Apparently Jack reneged on one gambling debt too many." Andy waited for what he said to sink in and for Sharon to crumble, but her face did not change it did not crumble.

Her chin lifted, and she appeared to be looking him in the eye. "I bet you thought I would fall apart, given my emotional state as of late, but quite honestly, I don't have it in me anymore. Andy I've been expecting this for the last 25 years. Ever since Jack substituted gambling for drinking all those years ago and then he started, combining the two. I'm sorry for him. I am, but I'm sorrier for my children. They deserve so much better, than that sorry excuse for a father I gave them," she said sadly."

"You've been more of a father to them in the last year then Jack was in their whole life. I know I shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but it's how I feel," she said defensively pressing her lips together and shrugging.

Andy started to nod in understanding then remembering she couldn't see him he stopped and said, "it's understandable, and Sharon he put you through hell. We'll tell the kids together tonight, okay?" he kissed her softly on the lips wanting to comfort her.

She nodded. "Thank you, Andy, I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me to have you by my side. There is something else isn't there?"

Andy winced. It was uncanny how she knew without even being able to see him that he was holding back. He had hoped to postpone telling her this part, but he knew in the long run she would get it out of him, and it was better sooner than later. "Yes, about ten years ago, Jack was involved with Sue Baker."

"This Sue Baker is the person you went to talk to earlier?" she asked.

Andy said, "yes." She was a witness so to speak. She heard the shots being fired; saw the men coming out of the house. Sue then went in to see whether whoever was shot needed medical attention. She ended up accidentally touching the murder weapon."

"And they had been involved at some point?" She asked trying to get to the bottom of his anxiety about how she would react. Sharon could hear in his voice how worried he was that this would hurt her.

"Is that all? He was involved with many women, it used to bother me, but not any more."

Andy braced himself to tell Sharon everything he learned from Sue. "By involved I mean he married her, after getting drunk with her. They ended up in Vegas, married. They stayed married for two years. She tried to divorce him because he kept stealing from her. Sound familiar? Then she found out they weren't really married, because he was already married to you and you had children by him."

Sharon bowed her head and chewed on her lip unprepared for how much it hurt to hear his words. Although she had come to terms with Jack's infidelities long ago, it hurt to hear the proof that he was a scoundrel to the very fiber of his being. It hurt her for her children's sake a great deal. She started swimming back and forth for a moment, trying to process the information. Finally she came back, just as suddenly wanting to reveal to Andy a little more of her past with Jack so he understood just how fed up she was. "Andy, the first time I knew for sure Jack was cheating on me, I was pregnant with the baby I miscarried after Ricky who was just three months old at the time. I had left work for an appointment with Ricky's pediatrician and Janet, my OB/GYN were in the same building. I found out I was pregnant and I went straight home to tell him. I was furious! I had told him it was too soon to have sex. Ricky was only three weeks old at the time, but he was determined. After I had told him no it was too soon, he waited till I was asleep and then forced himself on me. I was too groggy and tired to fight him. The next day, I told him that until further notice he would be sleeping in the daybed in the guest room. That had been several weeks before. When I got home that afternoon to tell him about the pregnancy, I looked for him in his in-home office but he wasn't there. I found him in our bedroom in our bed, n...naked and b... buried to the hilt in his secretary. Who was bent over shoving her...her butt in his groin. They were moaning and grinding against each other moaning obscenities."

Sharon's face was suffused with color, and Andy realized why she was so uncomfortable talking about sex. She had given her heart to Jack Raydor and he had betrayed her. That scene probably played over in her head whenever sex was mentioned. His mind was brought back to the present, when he realized she was finishing her story. "I thought I was going to faint! I almost dropped poor Ricky who was in the car seat carrier. I turned and walked out of my room and out of my house. I sat in the car for awhile in shock. My neighbor, Carole who was outside gardening saw my face through the windshield. Apparently I was white as a sheet and shaking. She invited me into her house to talk and have a cup of tea. I stood up to get Ricky in his car seat and go with her, but she noticed I was bleeding and rushed Ricky and me to the emergency room. Once they took me back to the treatment area she took charge of Ricky and went to pick up Emily from day care then she came back to the hospital. I had lost the baby, but it had been a pretty early miscarriage, so although I felt sick and sad, they let me go home that night with instructions to keep my feet up for a week or two. When we got back to the house, Jack and Noreen were gone."

Taking a few seconds to compose herself Sharon then continued, "Carole stayed with me that whole week; luckily her husband was out of town. Jack came home two weeks later. He said he had left to go on a business trip. I told him what I had come home to tell him, what I had seen, and what had happened as a result. He said…" Sharon swallowed the lump in her throat, "he had known I was there all along. He had even put on a show for me, as payback for banning him from our bedroom and not allowing him access except on my own terms. Jack had said that it...was good that I had lost the baby, we had enough kids as it was." Her voice became thick with tears at the mention of her children. I was beyond furious by that time. I told him if he was so against children to keep his...his pe… his thing in his pants when I told him it wasn't a good time for sex and to wear a condom when we did! I didn't want to deny him or make him wear a condom but it was the only birth control method I wasn't allergic to and the only way I could keep from getting pregnant, every time I turned around. He said that...if I wasn't such a fertile myrtle, we wouldn't have these problems. Then he said that I was the reason for his affairs, that I was so unattractive when I was pregnant, and so loose he couldn't find pleasure with me. So he felt the need to go find his pleasure elsewhere."

Sharon's face was suffused with color from embarrassment and her voice betrayed the hurt she felt at remembering much less repeating the words. "He left that night and didn't come back for several months. He'd stay a few days or weeks however long it took to get money out of me and left whenever he felt like it, from then on. I let him, because whether I wanted to or not I believed him, that I was to blame for everything. Em was five and Ricky was two when Jack left for good, we didn't see him again for three years. I was pretty sure he had someone else, many someone's," Sharon shrugged her shoulders.

Andy was horrified that the man she had been married to, that was suppose to care for her could treat her that way or say something as harsh as what Jack did. There was no way he wanted her thinking that he thought of her like that so Andy told her firmly, "Sharon, Jack was a fool and he couldn't be more wrong. You are beautiful pregnant and if he considered you loose then he must have had a pretty small pecker."

"Thank you for that and it was tiny now that I think of it," with a giggle she then looked up into Andy's face. She was starting to pay more attention to the shadows she saw and interpret them in relation to where his face was or where his eyes would be. It helped at times for spatial awareness and Sharon leaned in to kiss him. "I've got you in my life now Andy, and I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for you. I'll not allow myself to be devastated by his death or by something he did ten years ago when he wasn't even in my life. If I feel anything it's embarrassment for staying married to him for as long as I did."

"You shouldn't feel embarrassed, you always hoped it would work out," Andy said, stroking her cheek.

She laughed bitterly, "yeah and how did that work out for us?" Sharon asked as she ran her hand through her wet hair and then put her arms around his neck. "Andy, I was so naive. He was never going to change. He was never going to be a better father, or a better husband. I should have realized that long ago and divorced him years ago."

"Well, it's a moot point now, Sharon. He's gone now. He can't hurt you or the children ever again. Speaking of that, Sharon I don't want you think I want to because I don't, but do you want to pos..."

Sharon put a finger to his lips, "No. I am through allowing Jack Raydor to derail my plans, alive or dead. Since he's been murdered, his body won't be released for burial for several days. We'll get married as we planned tomorrow. Meanwhile we'll tell the children and they can decide what to do with his remains once they are released," Sharon said, dispassionately. She bowed her head and then looked up realizing how that might sound, she said, "Andy, did that sound cold hearted to you?"

"No Sweetheart, you are not cold hearted. You are the warmest hearted person I know, but you've been hurt deeply by Jack many many times. You had to close the door on your feelings for him or be destroyed. Now that door has been ripped wide open, all you are trying to do is get it closed again." Andy looked into Sharon's unfocused green eyes, and he saw infinite sadness there. "Are you afraid the kids will expect you to postpone the wedding?"

Shaking her head as she answered, "Well no, I don't know that I'm afraid of that exactly. They know we love each other. They know that I finally have someone in my life that truly makes me happy. They're good kids, I raised them and I love them with every fiber of my being. I think I'm afraid that in telling them we plan on going through with our plans to get married tomorrow it will sound callus as if I don't care about their loss. I don't want to hurt them Andy, but I also am determined not to postpone our plans either. I've thought from things they've said here and there that even though I tried to shield them from their father's shortcomings they knew deep down what he really was but I'm not sure anymore. Especially after Emily told him about your blood clot last year, after I specifically told her not to tell anyone!"

"Her father was not just anyone, Sharon. He manipulated her, he made her think he was worried about you, that he cared. I think it's pretty normal for children of divorced parents to secretly want their parents to get back together or at least care about each other in spite of their differences, no matter how old they are." Sharon nodded in agreement. Andy noticed that in spite of the warm air surrounding the pool Sharon was starting to shiver because the air was still cooler than the water. "Hey, you're cold. Let's get you out of this pool and into..."

"Bed?" Sharon asked hopefully. She was so tired and needed to be held by the love of her life.

"Well, I was going to say a shower, but bed sounds good too. We have a while before the kids get back." They made their way out of the pool and into their bathroom. They got out of their bathing suits, took a quick shower and then after Andy locked their bedroom door. Getting into bed, they didn't bother with clothes because they knew they'd just end up on the floor anyway.

Cuddled up together, Sharon sighed contentedly and buried her face in Andy's neck.

"Andy, I love you so much! I can't wait to be your wife." Her voice was thick with emotion.

"I love you, Sharon more than I can express and I can't wait either. I think that we have been married in our hearts for awhile now. We're just going to say the words tomorrow."

She started to kiss him then. Light little kisses up and down the crook of his neck. She found his earlobe and sucked on it. Andy started kissing her neck, too and sucked on her earlobe. He kissed his way down to her nipple, and sucked on it. "Ooooohhhh Andy! It's been so long since we've been together like this and it feels sooooo good!" Sharon moaned running her fingers through his hair, encouraged he switched to the other nipple. His fingers stroked the inside of her thigh and found its way to her center. He stroked her nub and she moved her legs further apart to give him access. She reached down and stroked his fully engorged member. Andy pushed her gently on her back, he kissed her passionately for awhile and then he moved so that he was between her legs. He rested her legs on his shoulders and buried his face into her center, licking, tasting and nipping her ever so gently. He ran his hands over her baby belly and her breasts.

Her areolas were quite large, as were her nipples, which were very sensitive. She moaned as he spread her labia apart and slid a finger up and down, then inside, then another one slid inside hitting her g-spot Andy pressed and rubbed her g-spot as well as kissing and tasting her nub. Sharon cried out as her body tensed and jerked, her legs tightened around his head, and then as her hips rose off the bed, her heels drummed a staccato beat on his lower back as she climaxed, "Ahhhhhhh Andddyyyy!" Sharon cried out holding tightly to his hair. Before he made his way back up her body, he licked her clean running his tongue in figure eights over her very sensitive nub, creating aftershocks. Then he kissed his way back up to her mouth kissing her passionately. She tasted herself on his lips.

Then she pushed him onto his back and took him into her mouth, he was very well endowed. Sharon massaged his family jewels and slid her fingernails lightly up and down the back of his member as she sucked, occasionally pressing on the chode. Andy moaned and ran his fingers of one hand through her hair and massaged her head, tweaking her nipples with the fingers of his other hand. When she knew by the sounds he was making and the thrust of his hips that he was about to come she threw her leg over him, slid the head along her center and then impaled herself on his member. She moved up and down gently, controlling how much of him went in. He was quite large so where normally she would accommodate the whole thing, because of her pregnancy she could only accommodate half before it became uncomfortable. She leaned foreword searching for his mouth he met her halfway. The position caused his member to scrape against her g-spot and they cried out as they came together. "Andy, that was incredible!" Sharon cried out.

"It was wasn't it," he grinned. "Pregnancy sex is hot!" he teased.

She smacked him on the chest, "cheeky monkey!" she murmured affectionately.

For a little while, they held each other. Kissing then they drifted off to sleep in each others arms and slept till Andy heard someone walk past their door. Andy nudged Sharon, "they are home," he whispered. He got no response. He watched her breathing and realized she was just sleeping deeply. He pulled the blankets around her shoulders more and kissed her forehead. Then he got up to put on his green fleece robe and then went to the door to see what was happening. He opened the door to Rusty who was about to knock. "Hey Rusty, you're back. Andy asked quietly, Where are the ladies?"

"They opted for the caregiver cottage since it's also handicapped accessible, like the house. They wanted to be out of the way so that Mom didn't feel uncomfortable during her therapy sessions with Melinda."

Andy smiled at that, "well that was thoughtful. Listen, we'll need to have a family meeting before or after dinner. What are we doing for dinner?"

"Um... Ricky and I were going to make some eggplant Parmesan like you showed us."

"Sounds great Kid," Andy, said proud of him for wanting to try that recipe. Knowing it was his mother's favorite.

Andy and Rusty heard Sharon getting up and going into the bathroom, seconds later the flush of the toilet and the water running in the sink alerted them to her coming back into the bedroom. Andy closed the door a little more to give her privacy to get dressed. Rusty was reminded of how badly shaken she had looked earlier that day. "By the way, how is Mom?"

"Oh... Well...um she had a rough afternoon, but she...she's doing fine now."

Rusty suddenly realized that Andy was in his robe and nothing else, and what that probably meant. "Yeah I bet she is." He said with a knowing smirk. Then a thought crossed his mind concerning her health and the precariousness of the pregnancy "Geez should you even be doing that in her condition? Pregnant and blind! I mean..." Rusty looked scandalized.

Sharon poked her head around the door, pulling on a fuchsia cardigan over a moss green jersey shirt and a pair of moss green and fuchsia leggings. "Rusty that's none of your business," she hissed. "For your information pregnant people do have sex and so do blind people for that matter," she said indignantly.

Rusty's face was about as red as a tomato. As was both Sharon and Andy's. "I know that, but I thought you were supposed to be so careful... I mean your age and the fact it's high risk..."

Sharon relaxed when she realized that his inappropriate outburst came more from concern for her than any objection to them being intimate. She decided to address his concern. "Honey, we do have to be careful and we are. That's all you need to know. Okay?" She hugged him, and he hugged her back.

"Sorry Mom, Andy." As they held each other, he felt something kick him in the side when their stomachs touched during the hug. "Whoo, Sharon what was that?" Rusty asked amazed.

"That, Honey was your little sisters. Sometimes I swear they must be tap dancing or kickboxing in there," Sharon giggled.

He looked at his mother with astonishment. Then Rusty raised an eyebrow at Andy to indicate he wanted to feel it again. Andy nodded and whispered in Sharon's ear. Andy reached for Sharon and Rusty's hand, and put them together. She took his hand and moved it around her stomach to where she was feeling movement. "Wow! Do they do that a lot?" he asked astounded.

"Lately yes. They were sleeping earlier, but I guess we... um... woke them up," Sharon blushed at what she was implying. "Usually they are active when I'm trying to sleep and asleep when I get up and start moving around."

Rusty decided it was time to change the subject. "Well take your time getting ready. Linda and Emily are fried from their trip west, so they're resting. Dinner will be ready at 7. You've got about an hour and a half."

"We have to have a family meeting. We have some bad news to tell Ricky and Emily," Sharon said sadness coming into her voice as she remembered.

Rusty said "Yeah Andy told me there needed to be a family meeting, but not why."

"Well, I'd rather tell them first since it concerns their father."

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