The Pregnancy Ship

Chapter 28: Moment By Moment

This is an A/U story

Sharon was up early, it was now 7:00am and she'd been up for two hours. She had swam first thing and then she showered, gotten dressed, fed and changed the twins, who had gone back to sleep. She was getting ready to make breakfast when the knock came on the door. She was glad she'd put the coral three-quarter sleeve blouse and blue jean Capri's on, instead of padding around in her robe. She went to the door and opened it. Louie Provenza stood on the wraparound porch holding Mikey, in his baby carrier that was decorated with baseball paraphernalia and a matching diaper bag hanging from his shoulder. "Good morning Lieutenant," Sharon said warmly and stood aside waving him into the living room.

"Good morning Capt… er... Sharon. Um, I wanted to thank you for doing this, I know it's an imposition to ask you to take care of Mikey when you have your own two…"

"Nonsense Lieutenant, it's not an imposition at all. I offered and I love Mikey. He'll be my godchild after all and he's such a sweet baby. Also I won't be doing this alone, Julio said he'd help, Emily will be here with me too. Andy's planning on coming to the hospital to be with you for support and I believe Rusty will come as well. Is Patrice already there?" Sharon stopped to take a breath.

"Yeah, she actually spent the night at the hospital, we've been taking turns."

"It must be rough having to split your time between home and the hospital," Sharon said sympathetically. Here let me take that," She reached out and took the diaper bag from his full hands. She rummaged in the bag for the expressed milk bottles, of which she found several and put them in the refrigerator. There was also a can of formula for emergencies and there was a bottle warmer, which she put on the counter. After taking care of putting the diaper bag on the table behind the couch she took time to really look at her first Lieutenant. He looked pale and tired to her, at seventy-two he wasn't a young man and she was well aware of the emotional turmoil he had been in since his and Patrice's twins had been born.

He let out a long sigh before replying, "Yeah it is difficult going back and forth it's hard on all of us, especially my little slugger here but when Kayla survives this surgery we will maybe be able to bring her home with us in a couple of weeks and we can all be together."

"That would be wonderful," Sharon said.

Mikey began to cry and Louie put the carrier with his baby son in it on the couch and bent to undo the straps so he could take him into his arms. Sharon was amazed at the gentleness with which he put one hand behind the baby's neck and the other hand on his little bottom and lifted him to his shoulder. Mikey's wails immediately started to dwindle but not cease completely, once his daddy started swaying back and forth, talking to him. "Hey, little Buddy you're not giving your Auntie Sharon a good impression. You need to show her you can be pleasant and smile at her."

Sharon chuckled. If anybody had told her four years ago that Louie Provenza would be holding his own baby not a grandchild, in her living room and calling her Auntie Sharon she would have insisted they were either drunk or crazy. "Lieutenant, has he been fed lately? Is he wet?" she asked.

"Patrice nursed him two and a half hours ago when she came home to shower and change so he is probably hungry. I changed him just before coming over here."

"You changed him?" Sharon asked with a disbelieving smirk on her face.

"Yes, of course I changed him, he's my son after all! It's not rocket science like it was when my older kids were babies," he said defensively.

"I'm sorry Lieutenant, it's just," she giggled a little. "I guess I've never seen this side of you before, I must confess I'm impressed."

"Well, don't be impressed with me, be impressed with Patrice. She went over it, over it and over it with me before the babies were born. She was determined that I would help take care of our baby or babies as it turned out to be. I'll have you know I can also heat a bottle, feed him and burp him too I've even given him a bath!" Provenza answered proudly.

Sharon nodded, "I'm sure you can," she said still amused but trying to hide it. She went and put a bottle in the bottle warmer then she reached for Mikey. The lieutenant gave him to her a little reluctantly. He watched as she swaddled him with the cotton receiving blanket and then held him close, swaying back and forth.

Mikey stared up at her, no longer crying. "He seems to remember you," the lieutenant said surprised.

"He does, doesn't he?" Sharon said pleased. "Of course, he's seen me often enough and is familiar with my voice so I'm not surprised." Louie looked shamefaced at the implication about how often she had watched his son. Sharon realized how what she had said might have been taken wrong and quickly qualified her statement. "Oh... that's not meant as a… as a criticism Louie. You and Patrice have had a rough month with Kayla being in the hospital, I've been glad we could help in some way."

"You've been a great help… Sharon. Patrice and I don't know what we'd do without you. With Keisha in the mental hospital and Patricia having joined her sister, Lily in Africa, 3 months ago not to mention…" He paused for a moment then finally admitted in a low voice, "I haven't told my family about Patrice yet, much less Mikey and Kayla, well you and Flynn and the squad are our only real support."

Sharon looked shocked, "you haven't told your children about Patrice and the babies yet?"

"No," Provenza said. "To be honest I've been so consumed with the situation with Kayla I haven't really been able to think about what to say. They're not going to be happy and I don't want Patrice or the children to be hurt by their attitudes. Liz knows, but she promised to keep her lips zipped. She says I need to trust them, but I'm afraid to. Some of my children can be a little too much like their old dad with the flying sarcasm and grouchy dispositions. Patrice's family knows but doesn't like me, so they are out too."

"I think Liz is right. You do need to talk to your family. They may surprise you, especially under the present circumstances."

"Well, I'll think about it. Thanks again for everything."

Sharon waved his thanks away. "Like I said, I don't mind at all, especially since I'm not going to be alone in this. By the way, has Mikey had that formula before?" Sharon asked. Her head was cocked to the side and she had a concerned look on her face.

Provenza wondered at her question but answered, "once or twice why? He's not crazy about it, just use it as a last resort."

"Yesterday I found out the hard way that my girls are lactose intolerant after I drank milk instead of Silk almond coconut milk which we ran out of. It was an unholy mess," Sharon shuddered at that memory, "and I guess I'm a little gun shy about cow milk based products. If you and Patrice don't mind, if I run out of bottles, the ones Patrice has made as well as the ones I've made for the girls, I'll just nurse him, he doesn't seem to mind if Patrice doesn't."

Louie was touched that Sharon would do that for his son. "Patrice and I will not mind at all, we're just glad he's so well cared for in our absence. I just hope you'll have enough milk for all three of them.

"Oh, I'm sure I will. Ever since I nursed him the first time, when we ran out of expressed milk, I've been keeping up my milk production by pumping to make bottles for the girls. I don't know why I bother, they don't like bottles and we're lucky if they'll drink even an ounce out of one, but as it turns out it's good that I do that so I have enough for all three of them."

Louie Provenza felt his face heat up as they talked about nursing babies, versus expressed milk or formula bottles. He never would have dreamed he would be discussing these things with anyone even Patrice at this age, let alone the Wicked Witch of all people. Granted, she was no longer the Wicked Witch she was and had been for quite a while now, a very dear friend as well as a colleague, but still… he looked at his watch and was relieved to see a way out of this uncomfortable subject. "Listen, I have to get to the hospital the surgery is in an hour and with LA traffic, it'll take almost all that to get there." He bent down and kissed his son's silky black curls, "sorry I have to leave Little Buddy. Daddy will be back as soon as I can." He started to pull away, but Mikey seemed to accidentally grab his ear, and his tiny hand then lay on his cheek, as he stared at him for a second. Louie took his little hand from his cheek and kissed his tiny palm. His eyes were glistening with unshed tears as were Sharon's. Then he cleared his throat as he said to Sharon, "there is a key to the house in the diaper bag, just in case you need more of his clothes, or diapers, feel free to get them. I packed what seemed to be three days worth, not that he'll be here that long, but with babies this age, it's hard to know how many he'll need in any given day."

Sharon nodded, "I will. It's great that you live just next door." She reached and hugged him, "go Louie, you don't want to be late. We'll be fine, Julio and Emily will be here, and Andy will be leaving soon to be with you and Patrice."

"Thanks, again. Tell him to take his time, no sense hurrying over there just to sit and wait in the waiting room."

"Nevertheless, I know he wants to be there to be a support to you. Go and we'll be praying for Kayla!"

Rusty came out of his room, "hey Lieutenant. Can I ride with you? My car is in the shop for maintenance repairs." Had that actually been true, he could have used Sharon's Escalade, but he didn't say that since he was supposed to be trying to get the lieutenant to the hospital without letting him drive. Sharon had been worried about Louie's ability to get to the hospital in one piece given his worry over his daughter. So she had enlisted Rusty's help.

Provenza looked at Sharon and she knew he knew about their little scheme, but he sighed and acquiesced, willingly. "Sure, Kid. Come on and I'll even let you drive. How about that? By the way, where is Gus?"

"Working. He works 16-hour days, 5 days a week. He just made sous chef! He's really excited."

"Sounds like he should be, but tell me… What exactly is a sous chef and I thought he was doing landscaping?" Provenza could be heard asking Rusty.

"He was but he got sick working in the hot sun, he almost got sun stroke. Anyway he likes cooking better. As for what a Sous Chef is you'll have to ask Gus. I have no real clue. I just know it must be good, because Gus was completely jazzed about it."

Sharon smiled as she listened to their conversation as they went out the door she took the bottle out of the bottle warmer and shook it. She tested it on her inner wrist and then put the bottle in Mikey's mouth. "Now my little man let's get you fed and changed so you can nap while I feed the other two." The baby monitor was at her elbow so she could see what her girls were up to. So far they were sound asleep in their rocking hammocks. Sharon stroked Mikey's baby soft skin. She gazed at him while she fed him. He had a head full of silky black curls. She thought he looked more like Patrice at the moment although his skin tone was a combination of Patrice and Louie's. He had his mother's big dark eyes, delicate nose, and Louie's mouth. He weighed not quite 81/2 lbs but close and he was 19 inches long.

Andy came from the bedroom. He stopped when he saw Sharon holding Mikey, feeding him. It never ceased to amaze him how beautiful she was. She wore her auburn hair with the sides pulled back and with two strands of hair hanging down on either side of her face. She wore no make up, which meant her freckles were visible. She was wearing contacts so she wasn't wearing her glasses and he could see her beautiful green eyes when she looked up and smiled at him. She looked young and fresh faced; it was hard to believe she would be 53 in April. "Hey, Beautiful. Mikey is here already? I didn't hear Patrice."

Sharon rolled her eyes at the assumption that Patrice was the only one that could bring their baby over. "That is because Louie brought him. He had a hard time leaving him too. The poor man, he's so worried about Kayla and so torn between being there for Mikey and being there for Kayla and Patrice. He was so pale, Andy! I mean even more so than usual. I'm worried about him."

Andy could see her concern. He sat beside her and stroked her cheek. "That old man is going to live forever, he's too ornery to do anything else so don't worry. He'll be fine and the doctors wouldn't be operating on little Kayla if they didn't think she would survive, would they?" Andy asked.

"From what I understand, it's not something they can put off for very long. They did what they could in the first operation. They closed up the hole she had in her heart, but they had to stop when she showed signs of stress and they didn't think she could handle anymore. This operation is to finish what they started, by putting in a new valve and an internal pacemaker. Their best bet would be a transplant, but this is what they've got for now. She's not strong enough to withstand a transplant. Oh, by the way, Patrice called last night while you were in the shower and I forgot to tell you." She explained what their friend had said, "Kayla was taken to Cedars from St. Catherine's yesterday morning so she could be better cared for. Their cardiac neonatal care is better at Cedars. The operation will be done there."

"Actually, Louie texted me that info just before I came into the living room."

"Sorry I didn't tell you... I had a lot on my mind." Sharon said sheepishly," shouldn't you be going? It's across town after all."

Andy shook his head, "not yet. In the text Provenza sent, he said to not hurry. I'll just be sitting in the waiting room for hours as it is. As for you having a lot on your mind, I know Emily told me all about it, while she helped me fix dinner."

"Emily cooked?" Sharon asked shocked.

He laughed, "no, but she fed the babies part of a bottle each, which freed me up to cook.

She rolled her eyes. "She helps when I make egg-nog and cookies for Christmas, and she can heat up take out in the microwave, but in general cooking seems to be a complete mystery to her."

"How did she survive living alone all these years?"

"She budgets for takeout at least three days, lives on salads the other four. Unfortunately, she takes after me."

"Noo! You don't cook?" Andy said in mock surprise.

Sharon slapped him on the chest, "Oh you! I just told you, I bake. You know, cookies and stuff at Christmas time, but as you also know, I'm not the best cook. I can put together a few meals and I make a mean salad, but you are the chief cook and bottle washer here," she said placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Andy tried to think up something sarcastic and playful, but decided not to; he didn't want to hurt her feelings. She seemed upset underneath her playfulness. Suddenly she changed the subject.

"So…ummm," she looked down at Mikey who was still sucking happily on his bottle, and the twins still sleeping in their hammocks and then up at Andy. He could see that her beautiful green eyes were glassy with unshed tears. "Emily told you what happened in New York with the… um… mis... mis... miscarriage?" Sharon tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat, but it wouldn't go away. She was surprised that it was so hard to think about let alone talk about. She guessed it was because it involved her first daughter and her first grandchild. A grandchild she would never see or hold. She buried her face in Andy's neck and he felt her shoulders shake with silent sobs. He kissed the side of her forehead and held her while she cried. It lasted only a few moments and then she pulled away to wipe her tears away with the tissue he handed her. Then since Mikey had finished half his bottle, Andy held it while Sharon put him in the position to be burped. She patted his back till he let out a burp that seemed loud for such a little baby

Andy and Sharon smiled a little as she reached for the bottle again and he handed it to her. She put it back in Mikey's mouth and turned to look into Andy's face, embarrassed by her emotional breakdown. "I'm sorry Andy, I seem to always be falling apart on you these last several months. It's just that this thing with Emily is tearing me apart inside. I try to push it away, it's done, it's over with, but I can't let go of the tragedy of my daughter's career being destroyed by someone who wanted her spot in the ABT so badly she was willing to destroy Emily's life to do it. It's not fair! She… this Petra person, not only took Emily's career away she murdered her child, my grandchild! Not only that, due to her actions she quite possibly took away Emily's chances of having more children! Let alone her ability to dance again! It's just not fair that she be allowed to live Emily's dream while Emily gets nothing." Sharon said thickly.

"What do you mean she murdered her child?" Andy said concerned.

"Emily didn't tell you she was pregnant when she was pushed down the steps?"

"Well… yes, but she didn't mention she was pushed. That I'd remember."

"Maybe because she can't prove it, she was afraid to mention it to you. She told me that she felt a sudden pressure across her shoulders and the word, 'bitch' was whispered in her ear right before she fell."

Andy put his hand to his chin and rubbed. It was a habit he had, that he said, helped him to organize his thoughts. "Were there any witnesses?"

"Not that they know of, Linda came from around the corner, she saw Emily landing on the ground, but not what happened before. Linda didn't notice anyone around."

Andy nodded slightly. "Sweetheart, I'll make some calls, I've got a few buddies left in the NYPD. I'll see if they are willing to take a look into the situation, you know, under the radar. There are always witnesses in New York. They may not be willing witnesses, but they are witnesses all the same. We just have to find the key to make them tell us what they know. You know that. We'll get this Petra person. We may not have the proof we need to put her in jail, but maybe we can stir up enough trouble that she is fired from her position as lead dancer with the ABT. If she's not from this country maybe we can get her deported. Actually, the both of them deserve to be sent back to where they belong!"

Sharon's wonder at Andy's willingness to go out of his way to help her daughter warred with her knee jerk reaction to being rescued like a damsel in distress. She pressed her lips together, to keep herself from snapping the words, "I don't need you to rescue us Andy!"

Thank you for reading my story. A special thank you if you have taken the time to leave a review.