Chapter Three
Andy sighed and walked in, sat on the bed, putting her head in her hands. Meredith walked over to her and ran a hand up and down her back. "Breath. Just breath, Andy, I'll be okay."
Andy tried to stay calm while Carina brought in an ultrasound. Meredith gently squeezed Andy's hand, showing her support as Andy looked up.
"Can you lift your shirt, Andy?" Carina asked, pushing the ultrasound machine closer. Andy swallowed back the fear she was feeling and lifted her shirt with one hand, Meredith holding the other, gently rubbing the top.
Andy took a deep breath and let it out before Carina began the exam. Andy's abs tensed under the cold gel as Carina apologized. Carina began to move the wound around and turned the sound up on the machine and a soft heartbeat filled the room. "It looks like you're six weeks pregnant, Andy," Carina told her.
Andy's eyes teared up as she let out a gasp. Meredith gently rubbed her back and tried to comfort her as Andy was flooded with fear. Carina looked over to Andy and could see that she was overwhelmed so she turned off the sound and printed a couple of copies of the ultrasound for her. Carina walked over to her, handed her the photos and wiped the gel off of her stomach. She brought Andy's shirt down since she could tell Andy was in shock so she left the room, knowing she could trust Meredith to take care of Andy.
Meredith moved to face Andy and continued to rub the back of her hand.
"Andy," Meredith softly spoke and watched Andy's scared eyes look into hers. "I know this is scary so what do you want to do? Want to go back to the station or do you want to go back to your place?" Meredith asked, concerned about her friend.
Andy slowly got up off the examination table and took a second to adjust to standing up again, unsteady on her feet, slightly leaning on Meredith. Meredith, noting that Andy was zoned out, slowly guided her to her office and sat her down on her couch. Meredith kneeled in front of Andy, trying to find her gaze.
"Andy," Meredith tried again, and this time Andy looked up. "What do you want to do right now?"
Andy's eyes teared up and she swallowed back her tears. "Any chance you have a change of clothes I could wear?" Andy asked, suddenly feeling suffocated in her work clothes. "I just, I don't want to go back to the station, and I don't think I want to be alone right now," Andy explained, looking down, ashamed.
"Hey. Hey. You don't need to feel embarrassed right now," Meredith tried to reassure Andy. Andy nodded and sighed. Meredith stood up and walked over to the makeshift closest in her office and grabbed a shirt and some sweatpants. Andy walked towards Meredith, grabbed the clothes and then walked into the bathroom. Once the door was closed she breathed in and out, trying to calm the fear she was feeling. She sank down and sat on the closed toilet seat while there was a knock on Meredith's office door.
Meredith groaned, stood up from her desk chair and walked to see who was knocking.
"Amelia? What are you doing here?" Meredith asked, running a hand through her hair.
"You have surgery in half an hour, and I was wondering where you were," Amelia explained and frowned when she noticed that her sister was distracted. "Are you okay, Mer?"
"I'm fine," Meredith paused. "Just..." Before Meredith could continue Andy stepped out of the bathroom.
"Hey, Mer..." Andy started to speak but paused when she saw Amelia. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were going to have company." Andy said and started to walk towards the door when Meredith stopped her.
"Andy, it's fine. Stay. I'll be right back," Meredith said and led Amelia out of the office to talk to her.
"Meredith, what's going on?"
Meredith sighed. "It's kind of private right now," Meredith explained. "Can you do me a favour?" Amelia nodded. "Find Bailey and get her to do my surgery? I can't focus right now," Meredith told her.
Even though Amelia was concerned, she nodded her head and left to find Miranda. Meredith took a deep breath and walked back into the office to see Andy lying down on the couch, an arm over her face, covering her eyes.
"Herrera," Meredith called as she closed the door, walked further into her office and sat on the couch by Andy's feet. Andy sat up and looked at Meredith. "I know this is scary, but you have me, okay? You'll have so many people around you to support you," Meredith tried to reassure Andy but could still see the doubt in her eyes.
"I know. I just," Andy paused. "I want to have a family, I want to be more than just a firefighter, I just don't know how to do that," Andy admitted.
Meredith looked at Andy, completely understanding how Andy was feeling. When Derek died she felt empty despite being pregnant with Ellis. She loved that little girl, and she knew Andy would adore her child when they came. She understood that the baby was a scary thought right now. "Andy, you will not have to go through this alone. Please remember that."
Andy nodded, gave Meredith a small smile and sat up. "I should get back to the station to talk to Robert. He'll be wondering where I went."
Meredith nodded and offered to drive Andy to the station so that Andy didn't need to walk. Once they got to the station Meredith gave Andy's hand one last squeeze before Andy left the car. Meredith watched her walk in and hoped for the sake of her friend that Robert would take the news okay.
