While You're Making Other Plans

By Miss Shannon and Glistening Sun

20

The door opened and Provenza's head popped in, a scowl prominent on his face when he saw his friend and their Captain in a rather compromising position. "Ye Gods, Captain! That is not what I meant by don't be too hard on him."

"The only one who is hard is me, and now get out of here!"

Provenza's face turned from white to red in rapid succession and he began gasping for air. "You … you," he stammered, pointing at them helplessly. "Flynn, I will never get that image out of my mind."

"Lieutenant," Sharon chuckled not sure who of the two she was addressing and not caring too much either when Andy only pulled her closer to him, one hand still on her bottom, his free arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders.

Provenza coughed and sputtered, needing to hold himself upright by the wall while he was wheezing. "Well, at least someone seems to appreciate all that extra weight you put on! Never knew you liked big girls, Flynn," he spit out when he had at regained his breath and balance.

Sharon's laughter died down instantly and even though her face was perfectly calm, Andy could tell just how aggravated she was from the tension in her body and the now rapid kicking of their baby. He had shown Provenza a great deal of understanding, but this time his friend had crossed the line. Andy's voice became low rather than loud so as not to upset their unborn child any more than it already was, "First of all, you don't barge into your Captain's office without knocking. Second, I know you refuse to acknowledge Sharon's pregnancy but I am sick of you harassing the woman I love. You will start showing her the respect she deserves - and now shoot, I would like to spend some time alone with my fiancée."

Provenza glared back at Andy and for a moment it seemed like he was going to either shout or pounce at him

"Right now!" Andy ordered, his voice a low, threatening growl Sharon had rarely heard before. The deep rumble in Andy's chest and his intensely masculine tone made her swoon. Gosh, pregnancy hormones, she remembered them only too well. First Andy putting Jack into his place and now this … she struggled hard to suppress a content sigh and buried her face into his neck instead inhaling his scent.

Thankfully, Provenza turned around with a huff and slammed the door behind him, the words "Enjoy the big girl." hanging in the air.

"Sweetheart," the warm note of concern was all it took to push Sharon over the edge. The sigh she had been holding in sounded more like a groan as she started kissing Andy's neck moving for the point she knew drove him crazy. She bit down on his skin and was rewarded with a hiss, "Jesus, Sharon, I thought you were going to back out."

"Close the door," she whispered, her voice husky and low.

"And let's talk?"

To say Andy was furious would have been the understatement of the year. He had let it go, because he really hadn't wanted to cause a scene at the office. Also Sharon had been there in his arms and ready to do anything but talk. He had already had her on the desk when her phone had suddenly rung... Still, calling his pregnant fiancée a big girl was more than he was prepared to take, even from his idiot best friend. So he had gone and confronted Provenza and … dammit. He didn't need a drink, but he needed to hit something, he really needed to hit something because he was so angry he couldn't even think straight. He went to the shooting range to cool off and when that didn't help he went to the LAPD gym he hadn't been to in years. After his workout he was sore and sweaty and his mood hadn't improved at all. He would go home and talk to Sharon. She would help him calm down and focus. Maybe, if she was up to it, he could take her out for a nice dinner or a walk along the beach afterwards. He had left her in bed that morning with a sore back, but she had insisted he go and clear the air with Provenza. And what good that had done!

Almost smiling again at the thought of being home he opened the condo door to … boxes. Lots and lots of moving boxes, some of them already packed, some open, others still folded flat on the floor with a dishevelled looking Rusty trying to put them together.

"What the hell, Rusty, I thought we had an agreement?" he accosted the boy who only lifted his hands in a gesture of defeat, "Don't blame me. She made me buy them and bring them here. I swear I have nothing to do with this."

And then Andy noticed that the boxes were filled with Sharon's things, one held what looked like her favourite pairs of heels, another was carefully labelled evening wear. His heart sunk. Had she decided to leave him? He followed Rusty's direction to their bedroom stopping at the door without making himself known. Sure enough, Sharon was neatly folding her clothes and placing them into two large suitcases on the bed. There were more boxes, too. It looked like she had emptied out most of the closet already. He took a deep breath trying to remember what he might have done wrong. She said she had liked the way he had handled Jack. She had complained about her back jokingly blaming him for knocking her up. Well, that least it had sounded like a joke to him at the time. No, he was sure he hadn't done anything to merit anything quite as drastic. Although … what if she had finally come to her senses and was leaving him? That must be it. It was what Provenza had been telling him all along, that at some point Sharon would realise that she didn't want to be with him.

Sharon thought she had heard footsteps, but when Rusty didn't say anything, she continued folding up the pair of slacks. They had always been a little on the tight side and she wondered if she would ever fit into them again. She couldn't shake the feeling that somebody was looking at her and when she lifted her face and saw Andy leaning against the doorjamb, her lips curled into a bright smile. He was home and she could finally show what she had accomplished. Proudly she pointed at the half-filled suitcases, "I've had Rusty help me with the boxes and he even put these on the bed for me. You see? I'm looking after myself, no need to worry!" She put her hands on her hips waiting for him to smile and kiss her like he usually did when he came home. But Andy just stared at her darkly, "Don't you think that's a bit extreme?"

"Andy, please!" she laughed and shook her head, "Rusty is a teenager, he's perfectly capable of carrying a few boxes and suitcases for his mother. I would have gotten them from the closet myself if I hadn't promised you not to use the stepladder anymore," she added with a smirk.

How dare she change the topic like that? Andy was still seething from the talk with Provenza. Hell, he had spent most of the day fighting with his very best friend – over her, no less. And now she was leaving him? He was so wound up from his day that he didn't think and just blurted out the first thing that came to mind "You weren't even using the stepladder – you were on a chair! A goddamn chair!"

Andy's anger was like a wall, a physical presence in the room with them. She remembered that feeling from years ago when she had been behind her desk at FID and the good-looking Lieutenant had sneered at her, but it had been years since she had seen him so on edge. She looked at him more closely: he was definitely angry, but he looked sad and exhausted at the same time. Maybe she shouldn't have sent him to talk to Provenza on his own. She knew how much his friend's behaviour was hurting him, but she had counted on their decades old friendship and Patrice, who had promised to be there. "Oh honey, is Provenza still calling me fat and refusing to acknowledge I'm pregnant? Has that put you into such a grumpy mood?"

"I am not grumpy – and don't you dare change the subject! Why didn't you talk to me about this?" How could she do this? How could she just up and leave him? Didn't he at least deserve an explanation?

"What's there to talk about?" Sharon sat down on the side of the bed, smoothing her hands over her stomach before she pressed them into her back to relieve some of the dull ache that seemed to be a constant companion these days.

"What's there to talk about? You seriously ask me that? I thought you would at least tell me before … Dammit, Sharon, put your things back in the closet right now! I'll pack up my stuff instead!"

Sharon's heart melted. Andy was such a sweetheart even if the delivery left a little to be desired. When he had moved in with her, he hadn't argued over closet space even though she took up most of it and now he was offering to make more room. "You don't need to do that. You have so little space compared to me anyway and I won't be able to wear these in the near future." She leaned back and patted the place next to her. "Come sit down with me, honey, you look beat."

"Dammit, Sharon, what kind of man do you think I am? Do you really think I'm going to chase you from your own home? It's fine, you decided you don't want to be with me anymore, but that doesn't mean you have to leave."

Wait? What was that? Sharon couldn't believe her ears. "Andy! I'm not asking you to leave, I'm only …"

"No," he interrupted her rudely, "you're not asking me to leave, instead you're running away! Dammit, I don't even know what happened. One day we're engaged and now … now … I don't even know what I did, but I am not going to let you move out of your own home because you're breaking up with me!" Andy stomped through the room and started pulling his clothes from the shelves.

"Andy, I am not breaking up with you!" He continued to furiously throw his clothes onto the floor.

"Andy! Listen to me!" Sharon got up ignoring the pain in her back and moved into Andy's field of vision. He was scaring her now, his movements so forceful she didn't dare get closer to him for fear of being hurt.

"Andy!" she tried again. No reaction.

"Lieutenant Flynn!" At last he paused what he was doing. "Andy, I am not breaking up with you," she said, carefully taking a step towards him and placing her hand on his arm. "I am making space for our little one."

For a moment Andy stood motionless and then the angry scowl turned into a questioning look. "But you're packing up all your favourite things. All those boxes in the hallway with your shoes!"

"All my heels. Remember how you've been badgering me to give them up for months now?"

And then he understood. All fight when out of him. He felt stupid and a little embarrassed at having jumped to conclusions so quickly. He looked at her standing by his side with a look of concern her face and a calming hand on his arm. She wasn't leaving him, she was getting ready for the next step in their life, their child. She was getting ready to welcome their Little Peach!

"You thought I was breaking up with you," she stated as she moved towards him and looped her arms around his neck, bringing her face so close he could feel her breath. "Whatever Louie told you, whatever doubts he sowed, Andy, don't believe him. I can't imagine my life without you. I love you. I'm carrying your child. We're engaged. I've made a commitment to you and that stands whether you're sweet and caring or overbearing and protective or just plain grumpy."

Andy nodded and rested his forehead against hers with a sigh. "I think I had my first real fight with Provenza today and then I came here and you were packing and … dammit Sharon! You scared me."

"I'm sorry about your fight, honey," she kissed him softly, "and I'm sorry I scared you. I just … I had to get things ready for our Little Peach. We have so little time left and so much to do. We don't even have a crib yet and no changing table and we have no space here and we're always working and I thought I would get a head start and get some things sorted out and ..."

For the first time that day Andy felt like smiling. Not only had she just called their baby Little Peach, she was rambling and clearly having her very first nesting freak-out. He found her plain adorable. His heart was so full, it was all he could do not to kiss her senseless and push her into the wall. Instead he placed a kiss on the tip of her nose, and then another one on her lips. "Then I better help you clean up this mess so we can start getting everything ready for Little Peach."

That evening she fell asleep in Andy's arms with a blissful smile and a content hum, the covers pulled up right to her chin. As he listened to the sounds of the city below, the neighbours in their condos going about their nightly business and Rusty watching TV, time stretched in tune with her regular breaths. He loved to watch her sleep, her hair tousled from when he had run his hands through it in passion earlier and her lips still red. She stirred a little only to burrow closer to him and he placed a kiss on her forehead whispering how much he loved her. Even in sleep she seemed to understand, a low hum coming from somewhere deep in her chest.

Andy didn't know when sleep finally claimed him but he woke up to a dark room with an intense feeling that something was wrong. His sleepy mind couldn't figure out what it was, but his first instinct was to look at Sharon. It was too dark to make out her features, but her eyes were open, glistening softly in the dim light.

"Sweetheart," he croaked tracing gentle patters on her back. But instead of the hum he was expecting, Sharon whimpered pitifully and rolled into him, hiding her face from his view. It was only then that he realised what had woken him: their bed was wet and Sharon was tensing in his arms now, whimpering again.