While You're Making Other Plans
by Glistening Sun and Miss Shannon
7
Sharon's stomach was becoming rounder each day and it sure as hell wasn't the peach cobbler she had become somewhat addicted to ever since she had found out just how well Andy knew how to make it. According to Doc Cottle, her pregnancy was going "ridiculously well considering your biblical age, young lady" and she tended to agree. Apart from some rather embarrassing moments when she had been unable to stop herself from hugging people or tearing up at random moments, she felt fine. She wasn't so sure about the people in her life, however. While Sykes had reacted to being spontaneously hugged by her boss with a beaming smile on her face despite the fact that the embrace had come as a disproportionate reaction to her bringing up a box of files, Provenza was a different story. He wasn't overly fond of physical interaction and his perpetual grumpiness had always made it easy for Sharon to keep her hands to herself and refrain from the reassuring pats on the shoulder she gave her other squad members. But the other day, she had unwittingly snuggled into his shoulder in the tech room while watching an interview. She had almost toppled out of her chair when he had sprung to his feet while making an exaggerated show of brushing dirt off of his shoulder. Even though she had found her balance in time, Andy had immediately jumped to full caveman mode, telling Provenza off for almost hurting her. Provenza, of course, had retorted by accusing Andy of being an "overbearing mother hen". Where Sharon usually broke up their fights, she had remained silent that time because she quite agreed with her second in command's assessment.
Andy constantly hovering over her was as sweet as it was annoying. Even though once, she had to admit, she had lost it for a second and had thrown a pen at him when his head had appeared in the creak of her office door for the fifth time in an hour while she was having a hard time concentrating on her paperwork.
Sightings of Stroh came far and few between and never close to Los Angeles. Ever since the card that Andy had received, Stroh hadn't sent any other messages which constituted the longest stretch of time she had gone without receiving any ever since his escape. Even though she was not entirely convinced that the absence of contact was actually a good sign, it did allow her focus to shift. And her new focus was the size of her stomach and the inconveniences that came along with it. Her clothes not fitting her properly being one, and her being nervous about people noticing being another.
With Andy in the bathroom shaving and probably murmuring to himself about keeping a grip on his protectiveness for one day and one day only, Sharon stood in front of the full view mirror, her hair and make-up fixed, but still in her underwear. She thought of the angry red lines that yesterday's pants - once a generous fit - had inflicted on her lower abdomen and chose to go for a dress. Having pulled a beige Armani dress that Gavin had once called baggy with a disapproving clicking of his tongue over her head, she eyed herself critically. It was a little obvious that the dress was as baggy as ever except in one place, but one of her more loose-fitting jackets would take care of that. She shrugged into the navy blue blazer that she liked so much and that, coincidentally was among the few that still easily buttoned. Before she took care of that, however, she touched her stomach through the fabric of the dress, caressing it softly.
"Don't you think it's time you made your presence known to your daddy, too?" she asked softly. "Because, my little peach, he would love that."
Little Peach was the sappy little nickname Andy had come up with for their baby. She used it only when he wasn't around to not give him the satisfaction of hearing her condone it. She had been feeling the baby's movements for a few weeks now and Andy was anxious to be able to, too. Sharon stood for a moment with her eyes closed, swaying gently on her feet. The days felt longer now that her feet were aching and she was craving the weirdest things. Whenever they weren't in a frenzy over a case, she spent entire hours looking up peach recipes on her phone. Not that she wouldn't have been happy eating the same dishes over and over, but she could tell that Andy was becoming a little tired of them.
"You're just like your brother and sister," she told the baby on her way to the kitchen. "Making me all sappy and crazy for peaches."
"And how exactly am I doing that?"
Sharon would have admitted without a moment's hesitation that her pregnancy was making her a little scatterbrained at times, but she sure as hell was not and had never been prone to hallucinations. Turning around on her heel, she found Rusty standing there, eyebrows raised in amusement and slight bewilderment. Bewilderment. That was his reaction to a lot of things she did nowadays which only figured if one took into account that he was living with her and therefore experienced her new habits first hand. For example, the other day she had had an entire conversation with him while hugging a pillow to her upper body because he had surprised her by getting home early and she had only been in a tight-fitting tank top. There had been no way to miss how utterly strange he had found her taking the throw pillow into her bedroom with her.
"Honey, I, um, I wasn't talking to-" she realized her mistake only when she had already said the words.
Realization dawned in his eyes as they flitted down to her middle where both hands were still pressed to her very visible bump under the still unbuttoned jacket and back up to the probably goofy expression on her face.
For a second, she debated pretending that Emily and Ricky had another sibling she had never mentioned before.
"They said you were too old."
That was not a good way to open this conversation, Sharon decided, because she had no idea how to react to that gracefully.
"Surprise, Buster, I'm not," she said instead and even though she was feeling only mildly distressed, her voice came out shaky and carrying a clear hint of tears.
"Oh God," Rusty continued, apparently oblivious to her tearful reaction. "I mean, I spoke to this girl at school about it and told her how old you are and she said no way." Sharon tried to say something, but he didn't let her and that was just as well since she was embarrassingly unprepared for this to happen. Her preoccupation with peaches had kind of let her cut herself some slack in other departments.
As in thinking about how to explain her pregnancy to her family and friends. (And superiors - oh how she was dreading that.)
Rusty ran a hand through his messy hair, his book bag abandoned next to his left foot, shoelaces still untied. His eyes were wide and just a little bit glassy. It was exactly the look Ricky had worn all the way back when she had explained to him that the universe was endless. The concept of endlessness had simply been too complex for him to take in.
"I should have trusted the evidence! I mean, at first you were throwing up every day and all the time for two months straight. Morning sickness is not just for mornings. I googled it! And those peaches! You don't even like peaches! And those websites I never wanted in my google search history also said that pregnant women are supposed to become really emotional and I saw you crying at an infomercial the other day!"
Sharon looked down at her hands in embarrassment, then quickly dropped them when she realized that she was still holding on to her middle. "It was about a malfunctioning cat flap and that little kitten was stuck outside in the rain," she murmured, feeling herself beginning to tear up again.
That poor little kitty!
Just a tiny, mewling ball of fur outside in the rain, missing its mommy.
She furtively dabbed at her eyes.
"You don't even really like cats!" Rusty argued heatedly which made her look up at him again.
"Do you want a cat?" she asked him hopefully. "We could get you a cat."
Rusty stared at her, his mouth hanging open.
"Well, no cat then." She awkwardly waved her hand in the air.
"You're really pregnant," Rusty said. "How is that even possible?"
She opened her mouth to respond, but Rusty turned another shade paler and raised his hand before she could say anything.
"No, no! Please, please don't tell me! I mean, I've successfully been telling myself that old people like you and Flynn only hold hands and watch black and white movies together and never do the nasty. I would rather prefer to stay in my happy little illusion. Thank you very much-"
He finally took a moment to look at her when she let out a gasp and his agitation instantly turned into concern. "Sharon? Sharon, are you alright?"
"Oh my God, Rusty!" she said breathlessly, one hand holding on to his arm while the other was pressed to her stomach.
Rusty looked absolutely horrified.
"How long has this been going on, Sharon? Are you in labor? Oh my God, are you having the baby right now? They say something about hot water and towels in the movies. What are they for, Sharon? What are they for? Oh no, I don't want to see this. I will not be able to UNSEE this. Oh God, oh God! Flynn! FLYNN!"
Sharon was unable to stop his rant until he ran out of air and had to stop to draw in deep, terrified breaths of air. Grabbing one of his hands that he had been waving above his head, she laid it against her belly.
"I'm not having the baby now, silly," she admonished him gently. "I'm only four months pregnant. Can you feel that? That's it. That's the baby."
Their eyes met and Rusty looked every bit as horrified as he had earlier. "This is so fucking creepy," he said in a strangled voice.
"Language, Rusty," she reminded him sternly.
"But there is a little creature inside you that is growing and growing and finally-"
She huffed. "Rusty, this is not Alien."
"How do you even know?" Rusty said tonelessly. "That isn't any less absurd than you having a baby at your age." Despite his rather harsh words, he did not take his hand away from her stomach but moved his thumb slightly against the movement inside.
A little late to the party, Flynn stumbled into the hallway, chin full of shaving cream, still holding his old-fashioned shaver. His eyes were darting from Sharon to Rusty and back.
"Oh God, honey, are you okay? Is everything alright?" he rambled.
"Man, this also explains why he is acting like your personal bodyguard. Knock it off, Flynn. It's only a baby," Rusty said smartly. He had surely recovered fast. "It's not like she is stalked by a serial killer or-"
His face turned green.
"Damn, Sharon! Why now? Why couldn't you have waited until Stroh is caught?"
Sharon ignored him for the time being and smiled over at Andy who looked a little ridiculous with the lower half of his face covered in white.
"It's alright, honey. Come here. The baby is moving." Flynn followed her invitation and stepped behind her facing Rusty who stepped back - though not without taking the time to inform him that what he was about to feel was "creepy". Andy's big hand covered almost all of Sharon's lower stomach, but she gently moved it to where she had last felt their baby's movements. Andy's other arm came around her upper body, holding her against him as he gently pressed his cheek to hers.
"Wow," he whispered and she could feel his grin against her face despite the shaving cream sticking to both of their skins now. "Hello little peach."
"Little Peach?" Rusty sounded rather exasperated now. "Really?"
"I told you it was too much," Sharon told Andy, lips curling into an amused grin.
"That kid is going to have some serious issues if you keep this up. I bet Lieutenant Provenza-" Rusty's brow furrowed. "Wait. Does he know yet?"
Two pairs of eyes nearly nailed him to the spot. "Nobody knows yet," Sharon told Rusty. "And we would like to keep it that way for a while."
Rusty snorted. "You sure won't be able to hide it for very much longer," he said pointedly. "And besides, Sharon, shaving cream on your face is not the look for you."
Sharon narrowed her eyes, then laid her hand on top of Andy's, caressing his knuckles. "We should get cleaned up and get ready for work. Otherwise we'll be late," she said to him before turning back to Rusty. "As for you, Mister, doesn't your first course start in twenty minutes?"
Rusty raised his hands in mock defeat. "So you expect me to keep my mouth shut, not talk to anybody about your amazing ability to reproduce forever and go to a class just after I have learned of it all?"
Sharon softened a little. "Rusty, I'm sorry for keeping this quiet for so long. We just needed some time to come to terms with it ourselves, you see?"
Rusty shrugged. "Yeah, I get it."
"Are you okay with it?" she asked carefully.
He shrugged again. "Let me just think about it for a while. I'll get back to you." He shouldered his bag and walked to the front door, then paused with his hand on the doorknob and turned around with a cheeky grin.
"Just, whatever you do, Sharon: Don't think about the little kitty locked out of the house in the rain." With that, he was out of the door, leaving a completely confused Andy in Sharon's right embrace as she pressed her face into his chest.