While You're Making Other Plans

By Miss Shannon & Glistening Sun

24

Everything hurt. Sharon couldn't even decide what hurt most. She was hot and sweaty, yet shivering. Her head was pounding, her back was aching and it felt like her whole body was on fire. She tried to move, but something seemed to be strapped around her, holding her down. She started to hum to soothe herself, but it didn't help much.

Slowly she became aware of movement, movement within herself. Her baby! Her little boy! She placed her hand over the place she had last felt him, whispering words of love and applying a little counterpressure until he kicked back. She sighed: if nothing else, her little boy was well.

Her mind seemed to be wrapped in cotton wool, she was feverish and lonely. A sadness so profound she couldn't even find the words to describe it had settled in her. She knew that something was very wrong, but her mind was too foggy to remember what it was. With a low groan she curled more tightly into herself, wrapping her body around her child instinctively protecting her only link to Andy.

She woke up to another type of movement. This time, the movement didn't come from within her belly. The mattress dipped as if something heavy was being placed next to her. A familiar smell assaulted her nostrils, making her lips curl into a small smile. A long warm body stretched out behind her, moulded against her back, a hand coming to hold hers.

"You're here," she whispered in wonder and felt herself relax against his strong form.

"Where else would I be? Close your eyes and try to rest, sweetheart. I'm here."

When he buried his face into her hair and kissed the sensitive skin of her neck, she hummed contently. His large hand was holding her small one, fingers lacing together. She stretched a little, bringing her body into more contact with his until her back fit snugly against his chest and one of her legs had found its place between his. The warmth that radiated from him soothed her pain and while she had been hot and sweaty just a moment ago, she was now just comfortable.

"I missed you," she whispered and his embrace tightened. "I missed you, too, my love. Are you okay, any more contractions?"

Sharon hummed, "Not for a while."

"Good," he mumbled and ran his hand over her belly.

She had always loved these hands that were so big and strong, that could make her feel safe with a single touch. It seemed that not so long ago they had been able to cover her entire stomach - but not anymore. Still, as he splayed his hand right over her bellybutton she sighed happily.

"I love you, Sharon. Don't ever forget how much I love you. No matter whether I'm holding you in my arms or I'm far away, you are my greatest love."

Sharon tried to turn around to look into his face, to tell him that he, too, was her one great love, but his tight embrace didn't leave her much space to move. Finally Andy seemed to notice what she wanted and helped her turn, a strong arm underneath her heavy stomach. Their lips met in a gentle kiss before she pulled away and buried her face into his neck, greedily sucking in the familiar scent. He was back. Andy was back.

"I love you," she whispered as his fingers ran through her hair, making her feel sleepy, "and we're going to have a little boy."

"I was right," he stated matter-of-factly and she laughed happily. "A tiny little Andy."

"It's good we're having a boy. You'll be able to look at him whenever you want to remember me, my love. You'll look at him and you'll see me and you'll know just how much I loved you."

"Andy, no! Don't talk like you won't be here!" Panic was starting to rise in her and she wanted to move her head to look at him, but a strong hand pulled her face into his chest, lips gently kissing her forehead. "I'll always be in your heart. I'll never leave you. And now sleep, my love, rest for our little boy's sake."

He began rocking her back and forth gently, just as she liked it, one hand cupping her head and holding her close while the other rested on the side of her stomach, warm and heavy. His deep calm voice lulled her to back to sleep. She only registered snippets of what he said.

"I'll always be in your heart, sweetheart … call him Angelo, our little angel, after the city his parents helped to protect, after the city you love so much. Don't call him Andrew Junior. I know you'd like that, but call him Angelo, it's still close enough so he has something to remember me by. Talk to him about me, sweetheart. Don't let him forget me."

His voice was so soft and kind that her mind didn't seem to understand just how ominous his words were and so, with his lips on her temple and ensconced safely in his arms, she drifted off into a deep and painless sleep.

Emily had been watching her mother for the past day, Mr Owl clutched tightly to her face. It seemed like she had finally settled down in the early hours of the morning, sighing and turning onto her other side where she then rested peacefully, a smile on her face. She had checked the monitor attached to the CTG throughout the night, but it looked okay. Patrice had shown her what to look for and at least her mom wasn't in labour anymore. Her fever seemed to be down as well. Maybe the worst was over …

"Emily?" her mother's hoarse voice woke her up.

"Mom, hey, you're awake!" Emily smiled and put her hand on the side of her mother's face. "Good morning," she said softly, "how are you feeling?"

"Emily, what are you doing here? You needn't have come!"

That was so like her mother, always turning down offers of help or support. Emily shook her head and caressed her mother's cheek. "Trust me, Mom, I had to come. My little brother and my almost-step-dad are missing, you were in preterm labour and …"

"Emily, no, everything's fine now. They're back. Andy spent last night here with me." If she hadn't known better, Emily would have fallen for her - so convincing did she sound. But Emily knew better and so she shook her head and, with a sad look, pushed the matted hair away from her mother's forehead. "Mom, Andy and Rusty are still missing."

"But … Emily, Andy was here. I …"

"They gave you steroids to speed up the little one's lung development in case they wouldn't be able to stop the labour. You … you didn't do too well with the medication, you got a really high fever." That was what she would tell her mother for now. There was no need to tell her just how severe the side effects had been and just how close she had come to loosing her baby brother. After that call from Gavin, his voice hoarse and shaky, she had dropped everything else and rushed to her mother's bedside.

Emily watched as realisation dawned on her mother's face and the pain crept into her features. Her hand seemed to automatically reach for her stomach – not doubt trying to calm herself as much as her baby.

"Emily…" she pleaded, "What happened?"

"First of all, the little one is fine. They're keeping you on the CTG to make sure they catch any signs of labour."

Sharon nodded, "Thank God."

"But Andy and Rusty are still missing, Mom."

"How long?" her voice was barely a whisper.

"Day four."

"Oh Emily."

Emily was the child of a cop, and she knew as well as her mother what that meant. The longer they were missing the less likely they were to get them back and at this point...

"No. Oh no!"

Her mother's head sunk back into the pillow and she closed her eyes, her face drawn, her skin white and pallid as tears began sliding down her cheeks. Her hands kept caressing her stomach in a random pattern. Emily knew she was following the baby's movements and when her little brother gave a particularly strong kick, her mother's face showed the slightest hint of a smile.

"Oh Emily," she said again crying in earnest now. "You shouldn't have put your life on hold to come, but I am ever so glad you are here."

"Mom…" Emily hated seeing her mother so helpless and despondent. She had always been the strong one and the only tears she'd shed in front of her had been happy ones. It wasn't like she hadn't seen her mother cry over her father, but those had always been private moments when her mother had believed herself to be alone. Little Emily had watched those episodes from her earliest childhood on. But now her mother was crying in front of her and not even trying to hide it.

"Can you call Lieutenant Provenza? I … I need to know where they stand with the search. God, I need to go to the office and work. I can't just lie here."

"You're not going anywhere, Mom. You've got one job and one job only: to make sure my little brother gets here safely."

"But …"

"No buts. You know it's what Andy would want you to do."

It was a bit of a low blow, but Emily figured that the end justified the means and she was beyond sure that it was exactly what Andy would want her to do. From the few times she'd seen them interact since her mother had gotten pregnant, Andy might not even approve of her being updated on the search too much.

"Em … I should have been there. We should have been together. We … we had a fight."

"Whatever happened, I'm sure Andy is grateful that you weren't there, that you and Little Peach are safe."

Sharon took a deep breath and smiled at her daughter, "You've spent too much time with him … I just … God, I want him back."

"We all do, Mom. Let me call the grumpy Lieutenant. He wanted to talk to you anyway."

"Do they have any leads?"

"Just talk to him," Emily said trying to avoid her mother's eyes. But there was no way something went past her mother, even when she was lying in a hospital bed. One look was enough to know that her daughter was hiding something and Emily squirmed under her intense gaze.

"Emily! Emily Raydor, stop lying to your mother. What did he talk to you about?"

"I'd really rather you talk to him."

How did her mother manage to be just as scary lying in a hospital bed with a swollen stomach and a stuffed owl as she was in her black suit and heels? She didn't even need to say anything: she just looked at her and Emily relented instantly. "It's, uh, it's a little delicate, Mom. Listen, I know you love Andy, but … God, I hate doing this. I don't know how you people do this but … have you and Dad like … like reconciled? I mean like … intimately?"

"Emily!" Sharon sat up straight, Mr Owl lying forgotten beside her.

"Just that … Dad went to see you at work and he seems to think that the baby is his."

Sharon didn't even register the full meaning of the sentence before she shot back, "How do you even know about that?"

Emily rolled her eyes. Didn't her mother know how the LAPD worked? She had grown up an officer's kid and she and her peers still talked. Her mother putting her father into the drunk tank was not something that would skip her attention, much less the more salacious details surrounding the incident "I just know, okay?"

"We haven't reconciled." Before Sharon could ask or explain anymore, she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Captain? May I come in?"

"Lieutenant Provenza," she drew out every syllable and Emily was only too glad that her mother's intense attention was now directed towards someone else. "I need an update – stat."

"How are you, Captain?"

Emily smirked – the old man was trying to make small talk, but he was obviously failing – and her mother was now furious.

"I need an update regarding the search for Lieutenant Flynn and my son," Sharon demanded. "Where do we stand? And while you're at it, please enlighten me on why you found it fit to talk to my daughter about a possible reconciliation between me and my ex-husband."

"Uh, Captain… we've worked all angles on the case. We haven't heard anything from Stroh, no letters, no ransom notice, nothing. All our sources tell us he is still in Greece, maybe Macedonia by now. Whoever took them, it wasn't Stroh."

"And?"

"And? Dammit, Sharon, I don't know what kind of game you're playing. That idiot is my best friend and for some strange reason, he loves you. I warned him, I warned you and you promised me this wouldn't happen."

"What wouldn't happen?"

"Do you know how much he was looking forward to that baby? Hell, the guy was over the moon and back, he loves you and he would do anything for you. How dare you make him think that ... that … Captain, you disgust me!"

"Excuse me? Lieutenant, I am willing to cut you some slack because Andy is missing and he's your friend, but what on earth are you trying to say?"

"What I am saying is that you made him believe that baby was his. And when your ex-husband decided to come back, you dropped Andy like a hot potato! You drove him away! There are no signs of a struggle at the condo - other than the broken door. It certainly looks like both of them went willingly."

"Without their phones?"

"You broke his heart. Damn, did you have to lead him on like that, make him believe the baby is his? Couldn't you have found a way to let him down easily?"

"This is ridiculous! Of course Andy is our baby's father – who else should it be? What you are saying is an insult to both Andy and me and I will not allow anyone to talk about us like that. I have always been faithful to Andy!"

"Well, how do you explain your ex-husband's fingerprints all over your condo, Captain? And I mean all over: on the bed, in the bathroom, in your closet, hell, even on your goddamn hairbrush! Huh, Captain, care to explain?"

"I cannot explain that, but Jack hasn't been to the condo in over two years. Dammit, instead of focussing on my no-good ex-husband, you should be out there looking for the people who took Andy and Rusty!"

"I am only following my best lead, Captain."

"Do better!"

"Captain, I need to take your statement about your involvement with your ex-husband."

Sharon took a deep breath that turned into a squeal very unbecoming to a Captain of the LAPD.

"Now go and find Andy so he can knock some sense into that thick head of yours."

The old man looked at her, both hands pressed to her stomach, but her eyes firmly on his and decided that this one was a staring contest he wouldn't win.

"That is an order – go!"

Half an hour later Sharon was finally alone. She had managed to send Emily to get some food from her favourite take-away and was resting peacefully trying to wrap her mind around Jack's fingerprints in her condo. Some of them could be explained by earlier visits … but not in those places. After all, the last time he had been there had been years ago, just after her divorce and for all she knew, he'd passed out on the living room couch. Gosh, that was so long ago, before she had even allowed herself to admit just how deeply she felt for Andy – and now Andy was missing and she couldn't even look for him …

She looked up when she heard a knock on the door. A young doctor with strikingly blue eyes opened the door.

"Captain Raydor?"

"Oh, I'm just Sharon here." She felt a bit ridiculous to be addressed as Captain when she was lying prone in a hospital bed.

"Well, Sharon, I'm here to give you your medicines."

Something about the doctor struck her as odd even though she couldn't put her finger on it. He moved up to her bedside quickly and before she had even had time to protest, he had taken out a syringe.

"Stop." Her voice was quiet, but authoritative. "What is this?"

The young man smiled, "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe to take in your condition."

And then he stuck the syringe into her infusion and gave her a triumphant look.