The Pregnancy Ship

This is an A/U story

Disclaimer: These are not my characters they are fully James Duffs. I just love them so much and love to play with them.

Trigger warning: In this chapter for…talk of miscarriages

Captain Sharon Raydor sat at her desk, holding her head in her hands, she felt so nauseous! She'd been fine until somebody had come past her office carrying a meat eater's pizza. She wondered if she had the flu. She had cared for Rusty during a bout with the stomach flu, but that was a month ago. She looked up and saw Andy gazing at her, concerned. She smiled weakly at him. They'd ditched the notion of old-fashioned dating three months ago and had not slept apart since. The first morning had been awkward with Rusty, but Rusty had told Sharon that she didn't have to worry about him, he was fine with it. Andy had proven himself, to be a stand-up guy, it was obvious that he loved her, and wouldn't hurt her. Sharon had hugged him and beamed at him. So proud her boy was on board with their relationship, finally. He had balked about their dating officially at first, but she understood it was old experiences with his other mother, that was guiding this reaction. It was an understandable considering his history, but odd considering he was the one who had pointed out they were dating last Christmas.

The smell of the meat eater's pizza was getting stronger as Amy knocked and offered her a plate. "No, thank you, Amy." She gestured for her to take it away quickly then turned and throw up into her trashcan. One, two, three times.

Suddenly someone's hand was putting a cool wet paper towel to the back of her neck and handing her a glass of water. "Hey Sweetheart, you okay?

"Not really, I was thinking I must have gotten the stomach flu, but Rusty was sick like a month ago."

Andy handed her a cup of raspberry tea, she sipped it only to throw it up seconds later. She groaned. "I hate being nauseous , there must be another stomach bug going around."

Andy shrugged , "There might be ,I suppose , there's always something going around . But ,..I haven't heard about any stomachbug going around the ninth floor in the last couple of days . Not since last month , anyway .

I don't understand it, I was so careful when Rusty was sick last month . I must have washed my hands 100 times that weekend"

She groaned again and leaned her head back against Andy's shoulder .The last time I felt like this I was pregnant with Emily."

Andy's eyebrows shot up,at the mention of pregnancy. A frisson of ..fear ..or excitement went down his back .Not wanting to jump to conclusions, and either get too excited or scared he decided on focusing on The obvious omission of her pregnancy with Ricky . .

"You weren't sick with Ricky?"

"No. No dizzy spells or nausea with Ricky. With Ricky, I had a bleeding incident. I had to keep my feet up for two weeks. That is not easy when you have a toddler and a full-time job to hold down. Emily was three, and a precocious three. My mother ended up coming to help me, for one week. My sister Mary came for the second week. By that time , Jack was AWOL for the third time."

"Well Jack was... an ass! ! "Andy huffed

Sharon raised an eyebrow weakly , " I cant argue with that ." She said.

Andy helped her up off the floor and sat her on the love seat that he had brought her for her office. She hadn't been sure it would fit , but it had , perfectly .His mother had died and left him her house just recently. It had beautiful furniture in it. This burgundy love seat had been in the front room of the house . The room was actually more of a foyer area and was too small for the amount of furniture stuffed into it .The love seat was plush and was comfortable, just right for the office.

He watched as she sunk into the cushions , gratefully , her eyes closed , looking pale.

" How about I take you home. Better yet, I'll take you to see what's her name? Um...Dr. Lockhart?"

Sharon patted his arm to calm his worry .

"No doctor yet. Not... not yet... if you'll take me home that would be good. This flu, if it is the flu, is really kicking my butt."

Andy laughed, "Did Sharon Raydor just say butt? I'm shocked."

She swatted him, on the chest. "Oh, you! Don't be so cheeky," she groaned and buried her face in his neck. "We need to hurry . and please stop by the executive bathroom for me please! "

"Okay ! " Andy said and started to to lift her into his arms .

Sharon shook her head , "No , don't carry me, just help me walk there".

He took her out the back way, dropping the trash can liner full of vomit in a big trashcan. They stopped by the bathroom, and she barely got her panties down before she sat on the toilet. She had just been to the bathroom recently like in the last half hour. Sharon couldn't understand the urgency. The last time she had this urgency was when she was pregnant with her children .

Oh no, that couldn't be it! Could it ? She asked herself . Could she really be pregnant at her age ? She had just had her 52nd birthday a little over three months ago for crying out loud! April 28th!.

"Andy...we had better stop at CVS on the way home," she said as she got up and washed her hands and then found a piece of wintergreen gum in her purse .

"Okay , sure , we can do that . What will we be stopping for ?"

Sharon teetered for a moment, as she turned from the sink to answer him .She turned too fast and he caught her. "Okay, you are scaring me, Sharon, what's going on?"

She buried her face in his neck and he heard a small-strangled sob. "Andy please don't be mad! I had no idea. I honestly thought that ship had sailed long ago."

Andy pulled away from her, "What ship honey?" he asked a look of confusion and concern on his handsome face .

"The pregnancy ship!" Sharon watched as a myriad of emotions crossed Andy's face. Shock, wonder, and then joy. She saw no anger or dismay or recrimination at all.

"Mad? How could I be mad? You just told me you think you're pregnant with my baby, and you think I could be mad?" Then he realized Jack had been mad and had disappeared both times she was pregnant. He stroked her face. "Sweetheart, I am over the moon happy! I am not mad. I'm also not Jack. I know you have only him as a reference, but I am not going to throw you over for drink and gambling. I am going to cherish you with every fiber of my being. Just like you and any baby, we make together should be cherished. If you are truly pregnant, you will make me the happiest man in the world! If you are not, well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But I'll love and cherish you no matter what! Do you understand?"

The tears that were falling were now both happy and sad tears. "Oh, Andy! I'm sorry I assumed you would react like Jack did. You are right, you are not Jack, but you are also right about him being my only point of reference. He used to call me fertile myrtle you know that? He'd say it with derision."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again , Jack is an ass ! "

"You're not wrong , he is an ass ! But in all fairness , having children right away was not in his plan . We had hoped to get our careers established before we started having babies . But ...well, I've never been able to use birth control because I was allergic to them. IUDs got rejected by my body, pills made me deathly ill. Condom's are made of latex , which I'm allergic to. The diaphragm was made of latex as well. The rhythm method didn't work that well either because my cycle was never reliable. Plus, even if it had been, Jack always wanted it when he wanted it. It didn't matter if I said it wasn't a good time. The only reason I don't have more children is because he was gone so much. "

" Andy sat down on the little futon that was there for the convenience . He then pulled her into his lap and and cuddled her .

"That sounds tough" he said sympathetically .

She rolled her eyes and said "You have no idea .I had two miscarriages, one between Emily and Ricky, and one after Ricky. "

Her voice trembled a bit and she closed her eyes to regain her composure .She was surprised that it still hurt her to speak of it , even all these years later .

" The first one was an early miscarriage like...um six weeks in. The second one happened when I was two and half months along. Both pregnancies happened because Jack would come home and be very um... amorous only a month or so after the babies were born. I would get pregnant and lose it. That happened twice, and after the second time, I started banning him from sleeping with me because he would never remember when I told him It wasn't a good time. Since I was usually asleep, when he came home, exhausted from caring for an infant, or an infant and a toddler, and working full time, ...I would ...I would ...lock ...lock my door . It was the only way I could keep him from impregnating me every time I turned around! I thought about getting my tubes tied, but

She ducked her head , embarrassed to admit that in spite of evidence to the contrary , she had still had hoped Jack would change for the better ,

."..I always held out hope that Jack would change and we could have another child that he would finally be happy about. Then when he left the last time , well there was no point .Gosh ...I feel so stupid ." "

" Honey you were young , and in love and you wanted to believe that Jack would change , I get it . I'm sure Sandra wanted to believe I'd change too "

"Andy , don't be so hard on yourself . You did change "

"Not fast enough for Sandra . " he said

"But more than fast enough for me ." Sharon said. She framed Andy's face with both her hands and kissed him sweetly on the lips He kissed her back . Then she whispered in his ear . . " Let's go home . "

He nodded and she stood up slowly to keep from getting dizzy . He stood beside her and captured her lips in another kiss . Hmmm minty fresh . "

She swatted his chest , and said You better believe it . Believe me you wouldn't have wanted to kiss me before I found this gum in my purse . " She turned toward the door and took in a deep breath .

"You ready ? Andy asked .

"As I'll ever be . "

Luckily they didn't meet anyone in the hallway on their way to the bank of elevators going down to the parking garage , or as they walked through the garage to the car,and got in . As soon as they were moving , Sharon drifted off. As he drove , Andy thought about all he had learned about Sharon's life with Jack and was appalled about what she told him about the way Jack had treated her. He couldn't imagine treating Sharon that way. Suddenly a horrifying thought crossed his mind.

"Sharon, is this pregnancy , I mean , assuming you are actually pregnant , is it going to be dangerous for you?"

" Hmmm, what ? Ohhh , um , I don't know, Andy, I think maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let's just get the pregnancy test, see if it's positive and go from there."

Andy pulled up to CVS and parked .

"Okay, you stay here and rest. Here is a bag for you in case you need it to be sick again . I'll be right back." She nodded, the motion made her feel woozy and she closed her eyes. She didn't wake up when he got back in the car; Andy drove to his new house. He had lived in an apartment until his mother died of complications from a car accident. She had been paralyzed and had been in a wheelchair for years. The accident had caused her to form an aneurysm, and it had finally burst. So the house was made for a handicapped person, with a ramp and a remote control door. Andy pushed the button and unlocked the door so it would open by itself once he was closer with Sharon in his arms. He carried her to the bedroom and gently laid her on her side. He took her shoes off, threw a fleecy throw blanket on her and went to the ensuite bathroom to set things up for later. Andy put a nightgown; he had bought for her recently, so she could sleep over, on the counter of the sink by the toilet. He put all three pregnancy tests he had bought on the counter as well.

He came back out and looked to see if she was awake. She was still sleeping soundly, so Andy went into the living room and outside to the car to bring in her bag from the condo. She had packed it that morning and put it in the trunk. He also gathered her briefcase with her iPad and laptop. Then he went back into the house. Andy could hear Sharon wkho was still sleeping but was making little noises of distress. He went into the room and sat beside her rubbing her back gently and whispering soothingly to her. She relaxed, but then started again. He realized she either needed to pee again or throw up again or both.

" He prodded her gently , Sharon honey wake up . Come on I'll walk you to the bathroom. "

Sharon whimpered ..in her sleep. She blinked her eyes and tried to get up .

" Hmmmm , Andy , help me ,And I have to pee ! And I may need to throw up again, although I can't imagine there anything left to throw up!" " she cried , panicked . Andy lifted her and rushed her to the bathroom .Once there , He stood her beside the toilet and she pulled her panties down,

"Do you want these test all at once or one at a time?"

"All at once I think ". She took them from him and placed them under the stream as it began." Once she was through with the tests he took them and handed her the trash can . She spit a little bile into it , and then leaned into him exhausted .

"Wait how did I get in here? Did you carry me ? "She asked .

" Yes," Andy said." You were sound asleep and I didn't want to wake you . I didn't realize you were such a heavy sleeper."

"I'm not... usually unless I pass out from exhaustion".She started to heave again and she spit more bile up in the can on her

lap. "I'm soo sorry Andy , you shouldn't have to see me like this .!"

" Babe, it's okay , you can't help it ."

When the kids were little I was a light sleeper. You learn to sleep with your ears tuned for trouble. Since the kids are grown, I was sleeping a little more deeply, but then Rusty came, and I had to be a light sleeper again. I just felt woozy in the car and just now. That's another thing that seems to happen when I'm pregnant, I get dizzy even sitting down."

"Well, I guess we don't even have to use those pregnancy tests then , we already know the answer."

Sharon grabbed them from him and used them . When the time was up and it was time to read the results , Sharon and Andy watched the lines become pink . All three were pink!, which meant they were all positive, "We are pregnant Andy ! She looked up at him, tears of joy running down her face and his. He knelt beside her. "Is this going to be dangerous for you?"

"I don't know the answer to that question, Andy, but I would never abort a child. Not even for my own safety."

"I thought you were a feminist. I thought you believed in the right to choose.

"I do Andy for other women." As she spoke she put one hand on his shoulder and one hand on her chest, "but for me personally, I believe in the sanctity of life. I could never abort a child, especially not this one. Who seems to have been conceived in spite of my age? Which makes it a miracle," she laughed. "I kind of feel like Sarah from the Bible."

"You do know of course she was ninety when Isaac was born," Andy quipped.

She pouted. "Andy, are you saying I'm old?"

"No Darling I'm not, you brought up Sarah yourself," she nodded in agreement.

"Sharon I would never ask you to have an abortion. But I love you, and I would choose you over the baby if there were a choice that had to be made, I want you to understand that. I love you with my heart and soul, and even though I'd love to have a baby with you, if it's dangerous for you to continue this pregnancy, I choose you."

Sharon looked down, pressed her lips together and hummed, overcome with emotion. She suddenly stood up pulled up her panties and slacks and went to the sink. Sharon washed her hands and walked gingerly back to the bed. She pulled the covers back and sat down. Andy brought her nightgown to her. It was actually an oversized (for her) Green Bay Packer's jersey with the number 12 on the back. He knew she was a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan. He had another in a box on his closet shelf, for later a number 52, Clay Matthews. Both jerseys were signed. Her eyes grew wide when she saw it. "Oh Andy! Is that for me? Oh my goodness! Number 12 Aaron Rodgers," she squealed!

Andy laughed at her fangirling over Aaron Rodgers, "be careful or I'm going to get jealous!"

Excitedly Sharon asked. "Where did you get this?"

"A friend of mine sells sports paraphernalia. This was that other birthday present that I said hadn't come yet. It arrived yesterday."

"Oh Andy, you are so sweet. I love my open-heart necklace, and my going steady ring. You didn't have to buy me anything else!"

"I wanted to," he thought back to her birthday, around three months ago. She had been thrilled with the necklace but then he had brought out the ring box and she had gone quiet. Pressing her lips together nervously, "Andy I..."

"This is not what you're thinking," he told her. "We said we were doing this the old-fashioned way, and so, this is a going steady ring." It was a silver Claddagh ring with the two hands clasping and several small emeralds. "It was my grandmother Flynn's." He put it on her ring finger that had been empty for a very long time.

"Going steady? Is that what we are doing?" She asked shyly.

Smiling Andy admitted the woman he loved, "I am Sharon, are you?"

She reached over and kissed him. "Yes, I am. Thank you!"

"Andy? Where did you go?" Sharon asked laughing.

Her voice brought Andy's thoughts back, "just remembering when I gave you the going steady ring. It's only been a few months, and now we're going to have a baby."

She couldn't stop the smile on her face. To Sharon, it meant so much for her that Andy was happy about all this, "I can't believe this. It just doesn't seem possible."

Andy suggested, "let's get you in your Green Bay Packers jersey, and we'll try again to get some tea in you and maybe some crackers."

"Does Rusty know we're here? What about the team?"

"Rusty and the team know."

"Um, what do they...know?" Sharon asked nervously.

To ease her mind Andy explained what he told everyone. "They know you have what we think is a stomach bug and I brought you here to take care of you."

Sharon breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want anybody to know about the pregnancy until it was confirmed by Janet Lockhart her OB-GYN. "Where is my phone?" Andy found her purse and got it out for her. She found Dr. Lockhart's private number. "Dr. Janet Lockhart, Sharon is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. Janet, can you squeeze me in today or tomorrow?"

"I've got a cancellation at three today can you come?"

"What time is it now?"

Taking a quick look at her watch Janet replied, "1:30."

Sharon held up three fingers to Andy and he nodded in understanding. "Yes, we can be there."

Wondering why she needed to be seen so soon the doctor asked. "What is this about?"

"I um...think I may be...um...preg...pregnant!" Sharon took a quick shower, which Andy helped her with, then dressed in a comfortable sundress, and low-heeled sandals. She brushed her hair into a French twist with a clip, a few curls on each side of her face. Andy thought she was breathtaking. She put on a little lip-gloss on and she was ready. They made it to Dr Lockhart's, office by 10 minutes to three. They sat in the waiting room with a few young couples that were pregnant. Sharon felt self-conscious. She felt so incredibly old to be going through this again. Andy squeezed her hand and smiled at her. She smiled tearfully back.

"Sharon Raydor?" Sharon stood up, Andy stood up too. She looked a little unsteady, so Andy put his arm around her waist, and walked with her. "Hello Mrs. Raydor, come this way. We'll weigh you first. Step up here." Sharon walked onto the scale, "110lbs, have you been losing weight on purpose? Mrs. Raydor?"

"No. I've been nauseated for about a week now, and haven't felt like eating. Today I started throwing up when I smelled meat lovers pizza and I've been feeling dizzy as well."

"Let's go in here," said the nurse. "Okay, I need you to get completely undressed and put this gown on, take this to the bathroom and give us a sample, please. Put it in the little door next to the toilet, before you do that though, let me take your blood pressure." She did, it was 145 over 90. "It's a little high, but that's understandable, under the circumstances. The doctor will be in to see you in a few minutes. She'll take it again later."

Sharon got undressed with Andy's help. He helped her put on the gown because she was shaking, and couldn't manage the ties. After they took care of the urine sample, He gently lifted her onto the examining table. She leaned against him and swallowed the bile back, and closed her eyes against the dizziness. "Sharon?"

"Hi, Dr. Lockhart," Sharon said sheepishly. "Dr Lockhart, this is Andy Flynn, he and I are...together."

"Hello Andy, I'm Dr. Janet Lockhart. I can tell you are an improvement over Jack already. He never once came to an appointment with Sharon and he showed up drunk to both Emily and Ricky's birth."

"Thank you, Doctor, I will be here for all of the appointments. Since I've been a recovering alcoholic for 20 years, I will do my best not to be drunk at the birth of my child."

Dr. Lockhart smiled and turned to Sharon. She read from her notes, "Well, Sharon, you think you are pregnant? So, you've been nauseated and throwing up? Are you dizzy?"

"Yes! Also, I have frequent urination, sensitive breasts, and the whole 9 yards. We took three pregnancy tests and they were all positive."

"Okay. I take it this is a surprise? Not something you planned?"

Sharon nodded, "we thought the pregnancy ship had sailed, but it looks like it definitely still in the harbor."

"Well, let's get started, then." She listened to Sharon's heart, took her blood pressure again. This time it was 140 over 88. "Okay, it's going down a little. I need you to lay back." She examined Sharon while Andy looked on. Sharon held onto him for dear life. When it came time to do the pelvic exam Sharon was very tense."

"Andy, if you have some funny stories or just interesting stories you haven't told Sharon, now would be a good time."

Andy started telling Sharon about a case where Julio tried to kiss a transvestite, she giggled, relaxing and making it easier for the doctor and for her. Then he pulled out the stops and told her about the body in Provenza's garage. When the nurse came in to take blood and help the doctor with the Pap smear, he also told her about the births of his children. He had had to deliver his twins himself because of a pile-up on the freeway that caused it to become a parking lot, so they were unable to get to the hospital in time. Nicole was born first; Nathan was born five minutes later and blue. Andy had done CPR on him and had brought him back but it had been touch and go for a day or two.

"Maybe not the best choice of stories that last one. Okay, that's all over. Sharon now the good part, we get to see the baby. We have a new sonogram machine. It's 3D so we'll be able to see a lot more then we used to at this stage." After setting up and putting conducting gel on her stomach, the doctor put the wand on her slightly rounded stomach. She moved it around until she saw the fetus, but it wasn't just one fetus. It was two. "You have twins in your family, Sharon?"

"Yes, I have twin sisters and Andy has twins a boy and a girl."

"Well, now you are having twins."

"Twins?"

"You are about 12 weeks along. We won't know what they are until 16 weeks. Judging from the symptoms based on your other pregnancy's at least one is a girl, but every pregnancy is different so. Here is a picture for you to take home if you like I can make a copy for each of you." Sharon and Andy both nodded. Their eyes were both filled to overflowing with tears.

Smiling as she saw their babies, "Look at them Andy, twins! Oh my, um what does that mean exactly? I mean in relation to the pregnancy?" She asked concerned.

"Every pregnancy is different, Sharon, but you had textbook pregnancies for the most part, in the past. I would say be very careful about how much you work or are on your feet. Your blood pressure is a bit high; we want to keep an eye on that, rest when you feel the need to. Keep fluids in your system. I know that it may be difficult with the nausea you are experiencing."

"And for the nausea, wear these ." she brought out a handful of anti-nausea bracelets, both wrists. She put on the bracelets for Sharon and Andy showing them where the ball went. "Between the tendons on her wrists. These will either take the edge off or it will get rid of the nausea altogether. Or it won't help at all, but it's worth a try. If the nausea stays severe, we'll have to consider at home intravenous therapy. Which I know will go over like a lead balloon. This is a high-risk pregnancy Sharon. Hell, if it had been just one fetus, it would be high risk, but two are very high-risk. Take one day at a time,and take care of yourself."

"I guess she means no going three days without eating properly or sleeping!" Andy said looking at Sharon with an eyebrow raised.

"Absolutely not! Andy ,You make sure she doesn't do that, ever!"

She turned to Sharon . If you want to survive this pregnancy, and you want these babies to survive .you can't do that to yourself or the babies . And If your job requires you to do that, you'll be on maternity leave a lot sooner then the last trimester. You might even be on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy .

"Okay! Okay, I'll be good," Sharon nodded. "What about... um... intimacy?"

"That is easy. Don't do anything that hurts, no penetration After the middle of the second trimester. There are things you can do to... satisfy each other without the penetration. Normally I tell couples they can have sex all the way to the ninth month but with a high-risk pregnancy, I say not past the second trimester, maybe with you, I 'll say take one day at a time. If there is any show of blood whatsoever I want you in this office immediately or the emergency room. If any discomfort at all happens stop what you are doing. I hope that doesn't put a strain on your relationship but is what it is. If you had asked me should or could you get pregnant at this age I would have said no! If you had asked me, should we get pregnant with twins I would have said absolutely not, but what's done is done! Now we deal with what is!"

Andy looked a little nonplussed by her attitude, but he answered her. "I am not just in this relationship for the sex, doctor. I am in it with my whole heart! I love Sharon, she is my world. I want to do what's best for her and I want you both to know, if it comes to a choice between her and these babies, I will choose her!"