While You're Making Other Plans

By Miss Shannon and Glistening Sun

16

Rusty was surprised when he noticed the small changes. Andy actually let his mom do stuff again. Like, she got to carry groceries and put them away and he was no longer falling over himself to do everything for her. It was an interesting change for sure and he had a pretty clear idea when it had happened. Buzz had mentioned a fight of sorts at work that ended in a 'make-out session against the Captain's desk' at which point Rusty had stopped listening and rolled his eyes. He had had to roll his eyes some more the following days though because every time his mom complained about her sore back Andy would just wink at her and she would smile back happily. Gross. Gross old people. He really didn't want to know.

Andy struggled with Sharon's newly claimed independence; she could see how difficult it was for him and hearing him repeat his little mantra when shaving in the morning only made her love him more. Meanwhile, she was thoroughly enjoying the new balance in their relationship. It felt a lot like before she had gotten pregnant, when they had been a couple that argued and made up, a couple that shared life and its responsibilities equally. Except that she was actually quite pregnant now. Now into her sixth month her stomach was getting a little bigger and a little rounder with every passing day. She loved Andy's boyish excitement at her growing bump. Well, she did up until the moment he suggested buying a measuring tape to keep track of her ever-expanding waistline. That day, Sharon thanked her lucky stars that the Darth Raydor glare still worked on him - sometimes.

That was not to say that he didn't look out for her anymore, because he did. Like that day when she was too tired to get up from her desk at work and too stubborn to ask him for help and he spent five minutes in the green chair looking at her with that self-confident smirk of his. Finally, he walked around the desk and wrapped his arms around her pressing a kiss against her bulging middle and another on the top of her head. She hummed gratefully when she felt his hands massaging the sore muscles in her back just the way she liked. Gosh, she was so tired, she could have fallen asleep right here in his arms.

"I respect your independence and your stubbornness equally, sweetheart, but I think it's time you wrapped your arms around my neck so I could pull you up," he whispered into her hair and tightened his arms around her waist. "Everybody's gone so there are no witnesses to see the great Darth Raydor pulled out of her chair."

"Is that a promise?" she laughed and leaned into him, inhaling the familiar scent of his aftershave. They had been so busy that she hadn't had a change to do this all day, and she had missed this, missed him.

"We can even take a detour past that fancy French place to pick up one of these peach tartlets you like so much."

"Is that a bribe?"

"I was going to call it dessert," he said and pulled her onto her legs, holding her tightly against him, the baby giving a kick in protest at the lack of space. Andy laughed, "I think our Little Peach is hungry, too."

They ended up eating the tartlets in bed, curled up under a new blanket she had bought in another fit of nesting a few days ago, and she fell asleep in his arms with the half-eaten tartlet still in her hand. Andy stayed awake for much longer just looking at her. She was beautiful, but she looked utterly exhausted.

/

Andy hoped that Doc Cottle would finally reveal the sex of their baby at the next check-up, but he didn't trust him. He was determined to at least get an ultrasound image he could show Patrice so she could tell them. He had repeatedly suggested seeing another Doctor, but Sharon had, quite predictably, refused claiming she knew she was carrying a little girl with Andy's brown eyes, and she had cradled her belly in such a thoroughly adorable fashion that his heart had melted and he had forgotten to push his point any further. Sharon on the other hand had some plans of her own for the appointment.

"What can I do for you, young lady? It looks like my medical miracle is progressing well. Maybe a little too well, uh? You've put on more weight than I expected. Now let me see, there's a button on this thing somewhere for the heavy ones, don't want to damage my equipment," Cottle said fiddling around with the controls of the exam table. Andy couldn't believe that Sharon let the doctor treat her that way, his temper was starting to boil already and they had only just started.

The doctor was irritatingly quiet during the ultrasound, taking measurements and printing pictures while Andy's foot tapped along nervously. "So, young lady," Cottle finally said and handed her a paper towel to wipe off the gel, "are you ready to hear the good news?"

Sharon squeezed Andy's hand in warning as she slid off the table and smiled at the doctor, "We are. So, is it a boy or a girl?"

"Only one head, two arms, two legs, a perfectly healthy little human. You should think about seeing a midwife, my girl," he suggested as he sat down behind his desk, motioning for them to take their places across from him.

"What? That's it? You spent a good twenty minutes looking in there and you still can't tell us the sex of the baby? What kind of quack are you?"

Cottle lifted an unlit cigarette to his mouth, "This job can get very tedious, young man, and seeing your face is rather entertaining. So entertaining that I might not even charge you for this consultation."

"We can pay for the consultation just fine, you idiot!" Andy muttered under his breath.

"With this young lady's age you should be grateful you're having a child at all, let alone a healthy one."

"Sharon!" Andy protested trying to drag her away. They were going to find a proper doctor and they were doing to do it now!

"Could you recommend a midwife for me? We would like for our baby to be born at home."

The room went silent.

Then Andy exploded, jumping up and throwing over his chair in the process, his head a bright red. "What? Are you crazy? Sharon! We want our baby to be born in a hospital, with qualified medical staff. What on earth has gotten into you?" He felt like shaking her. What on earth was happening here? This all felt like some really bad joke, first that dirtbag of a doctor and now this? With a few large steps he was at the doctor's wide desk, leaning over it menancingly, "Doc, you have to back me up here! She can't have the baby at home. It's not safe."

The doctor remained motionless, but he knew the smile on his patient's face only too well. She had been trying to make a point and it was for him to deliver now.

"Don't tell me you're one of those? An all-natural home birth in old age? I always thought an educated women like you would have more sense than that. I agree with your assessment, Flynn, this one is crazy."

He could see the short smile of triumph on his patient's face before she quickly schooled her features and reached for her boyfriend's hand. She had made her point, and she had made it well. The two men had finally agreed on something – even if it was only that she was crazy.

It took the rest of the day and repeated assurances that she would of course give birth to their child in hospital before Andy would talk to her again, and then a more few days more before he could see the humour in it.

/

Andy quietly turned the doorknob to his grandson's room and stuck his head into the room. His heart nearly missed a beat when he took in the scene in front of him. There she was! Her features were soft in sleep, a strand of hair hanging into her face. She was lying on her side, her body curled around their unborn baby like she always did when she was alone in bed. Except she wasn't alone: there was a little boy snuggled up against her, his hands on her belly, his mouth half open in sleep. Andy's heart swelled with happiness at the sight of them. His family. The woman he loved more than he ever thought possible, their child and their grandson. He had volunteered to wake them from their afternoon nap, but seeing them like this he didn't have the heart to disturb their peaceful slumber. They had had a tough case the week before and Sharon had gotten far too little sleep for his liking. He had been so relieved when she had volunteered to keep Ben company during his nap.

So instead of waking them, he eased down on the bed bit by bit and stretched out behind Sharon careful not to jostle her. Even asleep she moved into his warmth and hummed contently when he buried his nose into her hair and placed one hand on her stomach. He drifted off to the feeling of the small hard box in his pocket and the soft kicks of their baby underneath his hand.

An insistent tugging on his hand woke him up not too much later. He opened his eyes, struggling to focus for a moment.

"Grandpa Andy, how come Baby Peach is awake when Grandma Sharon is asleep?" his grandson whispered. Oh dear, Sharon wouldn't like that new nickname.

"Hey Ben," Andy started in a low voice and pushed himself up on one elbow to be able to look at Ben. "The baby likes to sleep when Grandma moves around, it's a bit like rocking a baby in a cradle. And when Grandma goes to sleep, the baby wakes up."

"But doesn't Baby Peach wake Grandma up?"

"Sometimes, yes, if the little one kicks a lot."

Ben nodded and grew quiet, moving his little hands to where he could feel the movements of the baby. "Why are you and Grandma getting married at our house?"

Oh no. He was planning to propose to Sharon later today and they had planned a special role for the two boys, but it seemed Ben had misunderstood something. Andy could only hope that Sharon was still asleep so he could still surprise her.

Knowing how much Sharon loved their combined families and how much she enjoyed special occasions, he had minutely planned today with Nicole. He had even called Emily who had laughed her head off at being consulted by her mother's live-in boyfriend and father of her youngest sibling. When Andy had explained that he wanted to propose to her mom had she had responded enthusiastically, "Oh Andy, she will love it! Including your families in that moment is exactly what she would want. Darn, I so wish I could be there!" Emily wouldn't be, but Ricky had arrived just before Andy had come up to wake Sharon and Ben.

"Grandma Sharon and I are not getting married today. Not yet. Today I'm going to ask her if she wants to become my wife."

The little boy adjusted his position and looked at his grandfather with a serious expression on his small face, "Why do you want to marry Grandma Sharon?"

"Because I love her very much, and she makes me happy."

"How happy?"

While Andy was still thinking of a comparison the little boy would understand, Ben came up with his own explanation, "Like chocolate cake and ice-cream maybe?"

"Yes, like chocolate cake and ice-cream all day long, every day. Except I never get a sore tummy if I have too much. That's how happy she makes me."

"But you have to make her happy, too!"

Andy had already undergone a thorough inquisition at the hands of Sharon's sons in an empty interview room with Ricky joining over videoconference. Nicole had done the same, though in a more private setting, and now it seemed like his grandson was intent on repeating the experience. Well, he knew what he wanted to say.

"That's why I'm asking her to marry me. I want to promise her that I'll always be there for her, and that I want to spend my life making her happy. Her and our baby."

Ben nodded, having reached his conclusion, "I think Grandma Sharon must like you a lot, Grandpa. I think she should marry you."

"Thank you, Ben."

"But … Grandpa, what if she says no? She can say no, right?"

Andy sighed inwardly. His greatest fear was that he had somehow misjudged her and that she wouldn't want to marry him; that he would have put her on the spot and embarrassed her in front of her family. He took a deep breath and placed a soft kiss on Sharon's hair needing the connection to assure himself that he had made the right decision.

"I guess you better hope she says yes because if she says no, it's gonna be kinda awkward."

That child! 'Kinda awkward' - as if he didn't know that himself. But he didn't want to worry the boy. "Ben, your grandma and I have known each other for a really long time and yes, she can say yes or no, but I really hope she will say yes."

"But what if she says no?"

Good grief, this little boy was persistent.

"Then we won't get married."

"But she will still be Grandma Sharon?"

"Of course! Ben, Sharon will always be your grandma, that will never change."

Suddenly Sharon groaned and moved a little. Andy lifted a finger to his lips, "I think your Grandma's waking up, Ben."

"Can I be there when you marry Grandma?"

Andy was quick to nod, desperately trying to signal to the little boy to be quiet, but Ben was much too excited now, "And then I get to carry the ring, because Noah did that for mom's and dad's wedding and we get to throw roses at you and Grandma!"

As if on cue Sharon's eyes fluttered open.