While You're Making Other Plans

by Miss Shannon and Glistening Sun

14

Rusty wanted to move out? She could feel the panic creep up on her, that tight feeling in her chest. It wasn't as bad as when she hadn't been able to reach him a few weeks ago, but she could already feel her legs becoming unsteady. Then Andy's arms came around her, pulling her against his chest, solid and warm. She could feel herself relax a little in his presence.

"Of course not, sweetheart. Rusty was just telling me that he forgot to cancel the application for a dorm room he put in. Someone is going to be happy to get a room earlier than planned."

The baby kicked. Hard. Reflexively, she put her hand over the spot and started humming. Sharon was beginning to feel woozy, but not enough to miss the look of protest on Rusty's face – even if he quickly schooled his features when Andy gave him a warning glare. Andy's hand settled over hers. "Rusty was a little embarrassed that he forgot to cancel, but I told him it's no big deal."

These two men. They had obviously forgotten that she was a police officer herself. A pregnant one who tired easily and inexplicably, with an insatiable craving for peaches and a strange unsteady feeling in her legs right now, but she could see right through them. She tried her best to smile and give her voice a warm, patient note, "Would you two like to tell me what's really going on?"

Their baby chose that moment to give another strong kick and Sharon leaned back into Andy's embrace, failing to suppress a groan. She really did feel like a punching bag today.

"You look a little pale, my dear. Let's find you a place to sit down, shall we?" Patrice voice was quiet and gentle soothing some of Sharon's anxiety almost immediately.

"And you two are coming with us. No arguing in my kitchen."

"Patrice, I apologize. We are ruining your party. We should all go home and continue our conversation there." Sharon felt awful for upsetting what had started off as a perfectly lovely evening.

"Oh nonsense! I've got just the place where you can sit down and continue your conversation in private."

She ushered them into the bedroom and Sharon couldn't help but look around curiously. The large king-sized bed looked new and there were plenty of colourful pillows. Certainly a woman's touch, and a huge improvement compared to the stuff that had once been stored at her own apartment. Patrice indicated for Sharon to sit down on the bed, but that was too much. The Lieutenant's bed? Oh no!

"I know what you're thinking, but it's my bed, too and if it helps you any, take the left side, that's mine." When Sharon tried to protest, she looked at her with all the authority three decades in nursing had given her, "I think we both know that you need to lie down – and soon. You forget that I have a trained eye. I can see the way you're holding yourself, and that your blood pressure is already higher than it should be. Give it a few more minutes and your legs are really going to start shaking."

Sharon obliged, extracting herself from Andy's embrace and allowing Patrice to help her settle into bed. The moment she lay down Andy was by her side, his hand warm against her cheek, his eyes full of concern. Gosh, lying down did feel good.

"Get up, Andy, let's go talk some sense into that best friend of yours!"

"I'm not leaving Sharon when she's sick."

Patrice put her hands on her hips and Sharon almost had to laugh at her stance, "Your girlfriend isn't sick. Contrary to what you men think, pregnant women aren't actually all that fragile. Sharon needs to rest, which she is doing right now, and she needs to have a conversation with her son. While you and I need to talk to Louie. Rusty, you will tell your mother whatever it is you've been planning about moving out and you'll have a quiet, calm conversation about that. No upsetting her, is that clear? If she starts shaking or becomes very pale or," she paused meaningfully and fixed her eyes on Sharon, "insists that she's fine and wants to get up, you come get me. Understood?"

"Uh," Rusty muttered

"Understood?" Sharon noticed with amusement that the tone of Patrice's voice made her son stand up straighter.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good."

Lieutenant Provenza might have a track record with women, but it seemed like he had finally met his match. Patrice put a hand on Andy's back ushering him out – and the room was suddenly quiet except for the muted chatter from the living room. She looked at her son and patted the bed beside her. Patrice was right: they needed to talk.

/

All things considered, Rusty thought, the evening had still gone rather well. He'd talked to Sharon and they had agreed to draw up a list of all the pros and cons, talk to SID to determine the threat levels and then make an informed decision - together. The look of relief on her face had been almost physically painful and when she had pulled him into her arms and told him now much she loved him, he'd hugged her back fiercely, awkwardly bent over her round belly. The baby had kicked and he had instinctively moved away, but she had pulled him right back against her. "I think your little sister wants to say hello to you. Oh Rusty, I wish I could hold you like this all the time and have you as close to me as her. Just to know you're safe." He had wanted to protest, but he could hear the tears in her voice.

Now they were home and Sharon hugged him again to say goodnight, holding on to him for much longer than was necessary. He found that he didn't mind it at all. In fact, he really liked Sharon's hugs, despite the hair in his face and the kicking Peach. He remembered those first desperate and awkward hugs years ago; now he felt comfortable and safe. Safe. That's what it was always about with her. Being safe and being kind. Was he kind by insisting on moving out when she so obviously didn't want him to? Sharon didn't let go of him until Andy gently asked her to come to bed. Rusty pressed a quick kiss to his mother's cheek and disappeared into his room before the Lieutenant could change his mind and ask him to join them.

Not much later he heard a knock on his door. "You can come in, I'm decent."

"Always the comedian, uh?" Andy's stepped into the room and quietly closed the door.

"If you're here to make me sleep in your bed again – I'm not coming."

"Rusty, you know I'm sorry about that – but your mom did get a good night's sleep and that's what counts."

He huffed. Not that he doubted the importance of rest for his mom, but he had paid the price for that. "Well, I'm still having nightmares."

"Tell me when Sharon stops paying for your sessions with Doctor Joe and I'll happily step up."

The Lieutenant was a bit of comedian himself. Rusty couldn't help but smirk – even if he never wanted to repeat that particular experience. He indicated the chair in the corner. "I suppose you're here to talk?"

Andy nodded solemnly and sat down with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands, "I do want to talk to you. Is now a good time?"

"Well, you're already here and I'm assuming since you've come into my room in the middle of the night that you want to do this without Sharon … so yeah, go ahead. Give it to me. Tell me I'm irresponsible."

The older man sighed audibly, "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about. Sharon told me about your agreement and I think that sounds very sensible. I want to talk about Sharon and Little Peach."

Rusty raised his eyebrows in surprise and shuffled a little closer. Andy looked worried and he could feel cold fear settling at the bottom of his stomach. "She's … is something wrong with the baby?"

"No, thank God everything is okay with Sharon and the little one. Rusty, I was wondering how much you actually know about the risks of this particular pregnancy?"

"Doctor Cottle talked about that when he was last here."

Andy rolled his eyes at the mere mention of the man and Rusty suppressed a laugh. Lt. Tao and Badge of Justice were one thing, but Doc Cottle? Andy really didn't like the guy, and it showed in the way his face turned red almost instantly. It was even more comical when Sharon was there because then Andy always tried so hard not to let it show – and failed miserably. Rusty had heard them argue a few times: Andy didn't trust Cottle and Sharon didn't trust anyone else. Like always, Sharon had won the argument.

"It's very unusual for women of Sharon's age to even get pregnant. We've done some tests and we're really, really lucky so far. Against all odds, our baby is healthy and growing well. Sharon doesn't talk with you about that, but there are still so many things that can go wrong, both for Little Peach and for her. Either one of them could become sick and … and …"

… and they could loose them both. "You don't have to say it. I understand." He looked into the older man's eyes and could see the fear and something that looked a lot like helplessness. Andy probably wanted to keep Sharon at home and keep her safe and she refused and still went to work and sometimes even to crime scenes. And then of course there was Stroh …

"It's not like when a younger woman has a baby. Being pregnant is dangerous for Sharon and any kind of stress is just going to make it worse. We've been so incredibly lucky so far, so lucky that the only complication is her blood pressure. She might not show it, but Sharon is so scared that something might happen to our baby. And you know she worries about you. Just the thought of you being out there on your own with Stroh on the loose is making her sick."

"Andy, I understand that she worries, but I can't keep living with you indefinitely!"

"Just until Stroh is caught or we have a better handle on where he is and who is doing his dirty work for him."

Rusty could see the muscles in Andy's face twitch, but he ploughed on with what he was sure was a winning argument, "Besides, where are you going to put the nursery and the crib and all the other baby things? You need my room."

"I'm not saying this is ideal. The condo is small for the three of us, and it's going to be too small for the four of us for sure. But it's easy to keep safe and it's familiar. I can't put Sharon through the stress of house-hunting and moving right now – so we'll just have to make do. You know Sharon is going to blame herself if something goes wrong, she'll probably never fully forgive herself if the baby is born too early and … dammit, I can't even think about that! Rusty, I love your mom with all my heart – and I am determined to make this pregnancy as easy as possible for her. There are many things I can't do anything about, but some I can, and I will."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No. I believe you are smart enough to make the right decision by yourself. I actually want to offer you a deal."

"Dude, you realise you're turning into her?"

"Says the young man who raises his eyebrows just like his mom? Rusty, stay with us until the baby is born. Sharon will still worry about you, but at least it's not going to be quite so dangerous for her and the little one anymore once she's given birth."

Rusty nodded. That made sense to him and it would only be another few months. "And then you'll let me move out?"

"Yes, then you can move into your dorm room. I thought you could go ahead and rent it now and I'll pay for the rent."

"So this is a secret?"

"It would better be."

"Wow, you're keeping secrets from her."

"No, we are keeping secrets from her. This is not a secret that hurts Sharon. What's the harm in paying for a room?"

"It's still dishonest."

"Yes, but it's for her own good. Trust me, she'll understand once she can hold our baby in her arms."

The image of Sharon with a baby gave Rusty an unexpected warm and fuzzy feeling. He would be a big brother! "Okay, but you'll have to do that. Make her understand, I mean.."

"Deal."

"And this conversation never took place?"

"Of course not. I'm glad we understand each other, Rusty."

In one quick movement, Andy pushed himself out of the chair and shook Rusty's hand. The two men fixated each other for a moment as they came to a silent agreement. They loved her, in different ways, but between them they would make the coming months as easy as possible for her.

/

Sharon felt like she had spent the past months either hiding or trying to convince people of her pregnancy, but she was really looking forward to today. They were going to have a picnic with Nicole and her family. On account of her condition the picnic had been moved to the backyard and there would be chairs and tables instead of blankets. She was happy and completely relaxed, curled into Andy in the backseat of her car with Rusty playing chauffeur. They planned on telling the boys that Grandma Sharon and Grandma Andy were going to have a little baby and she was curious to see their reaction. A part of her was also very much looking forward to the feeling of their little hands on her stomach, and their curious questions. Her baby was moving a lot today and the boys would probably enjoy feeling that.

The meeting with SID had gone over well and she was pleased with the result. Something was going on between Andy and Rusty, but they both seemed content and if it meant Rusty would stay with her she wouldn't question it. She had even allowed herself to make a few plans: there was enough space for a crib in their bedroom, a changing table would fit over her bathtub and she would make room in her closet. She doubted her old clothes would fit again anytime soon, so she could easily store them at Andy's house. There was really no need for Rusty to move out, no need at all.

"You're cuddly today," Andy rumbled into her hair splaying his hand over her belly. She loved when he did that, it was an instant connection and today her whole body was still brimming with the memories of the night before.

"I'm always cuddly afterwards … you know that, and after last night …" she trailed off and gave him a kiss that was maybe a bit too passionate considering Rusty was with them. But then Sharon knew he was focussing on the road and not really paying attention to the two people in the back seat.

Their weekend at the spa had been their last time to really be intimate with each other. Since then, Rusty had either been home or she had been too tired or too preoccupied – and last night everything had finally come together. Rusty had gone to see a movie with Buzz and Julio, and Andy had run her a warm bath. They had reminisced about the time they had conceived their baby and tried to recreate the experience – with quite some success, she thought. She knew she was lucky that Andy still wanted her so much despite her visible pregnancy. When she had told him, he had chided her saying she would always be the most beautiful woman in the world to him. And he had meant it, looking at her with such love and adoration she wanted him to never stop. They had been up until quite late and Rusty still hadn't returned by the time they had finally gone to bed. Well, or at least they hadn't heard him come home.

"After last night I'm having an even harder time staying away from you," Andy whispered when he broke their kiss and slipped his hand underneath her top making her sigh happily.

"Excuse me! I'm right here. Do you two realise that I can hear you?" Rusty rather unceremoniously interrupted their romantic moment. "Maybe you should consider giving Little Peach a new nickname. I was thinking about Spongebob – you know, with all those sponges in your bathroom it seems much more fitting seeing how ..."

Sharon whipped around and stared at Andy who was struggling not to laugh, "Oh my God, you told him?"

"As I said, I have very good ears – and you two were kind of hard to overhear last night."

Sharon covered her face with her hands and turned into Andy's shoulder, mortified. How would she ever look her son in the eye again? And how could Andy laugh about this? She hit him on the chest.

"Andy, stop! And you, Rusty, you said you'd be home late!"

"Yeah, Mom. The danger of your nosy teenager making the safe choice and coming home at a reasonable hour!"