Take on the World

3.

A/N:
y'all are gonna hate me for this so i'm just letting you know ahead of time, but trust me, it'll all work out in the end!

Andy managed to get through two whole shifts without Robert finding out about Luna. She wasn't necessarily hiding her from him, she just somehow managed to find a sitter that was her father for the past two days.

No one dared to mention the looming question of why the two hated each other so much. They would all ask Maya if she knew anything, she always responded with a shrug.

But today was the day that Andy was absolutely dreading. She couldn't find a sitter so Pruitt was to watch the little girl after school, instead of watching her, he brought her to the station.

"mommy!"

Andy turned around just in time to catch her daughter who was jumping into her arms. "Mija, hi..."

She looked up at her father who was standing by the front door to the station, he didn't know about Robert, but he'd managed to put two and two together.

"She wanted to see you," Pruitt shrugged, "I couldn't tell her no."

"Of course you couldn't," Andy replied with a slight laugh, standing up with Luna in her arms. "But that's okay, because i'm on reception today, so i'll get to spend the rest of the day with you."

Luna looked at her mother with the biggest smile on her face. "Really?" She asked, hope filling her voice.

"Really," Andy nodded as Luna's head dropped down to rest on her shoulder.

Andy walked back over to chair that was in front of the front desk and sat down, positioning Luna to be fully on her lap. As she began talking to her father about things, Robert happened to look up from the paperwork he was filling out.

He couldn't quite make out what Andy was holding, Pruitt was blocking a clear shot. So he moved his chair a bit to the left and saw the brown curls sprawled over Andy's shoulder.

After watching for a few minutes, the little girl's head shot up and he finally got a good look at her. She had his nose, and his eyes. Was she... No, there was no possible way... Andy would've had the decency to tell him, right?

His mind was running a thousand miles a minute as he continued to watch the two. It was definitely some stalker type shit but honestly, he didn't care at this point in time. After watching for a bit longer, he turned back to his paperwork and tried to focus... Although he wasn't successful.

•••

The whole day, Robert tried to keep his mind from wondering to the pair right outside his office door. But he'd often find himself looking up from his desk and watching Andy and Luna talk about whatever it was they were talking about. He watched Andy listen to every single word that was coming out of the little girl's mouth, he picked up that Luna would talk with her hands and got excited about whatever topic she was rambling on about.

When it was time for the team to eat dinner, Pruitt had come back by to pick Luna up. Robert watched from his office, trying to keep it as subtle as possible.

He watched Andy bend down to be eye level with the little girl, saying something that made her smile. The two shared a hug then Luna took Pruitt's hand and he led the two out of the building. He saw Andy give a small wave then quickly stand up and walk off in the direction of the beanery.

He had questions... lots of them. But obviously now, at work, wasn't the time. Was there ever really a good time to ask? Probably not.

•••

"Ah look, it's Miss Andy-desk-duty-Herrera," Travis joked when Andy walked into the beanery, earning laughs from everyone.

"I don't think I'm ever going to see an actual fire again..." She sighed, going to sit down at the table. "Sullivan hates me, and he hasn't said one word to me."

Maya shot Andy a glance from across the table, knowing that Andy was just trying to keep things on the down low for now. But that didn't stop her from giving her that look every time she decided to dismiss the real reason why he hated her. She knew Luna was at the station today, that means Robert now knew she existed. That was a start.

"Herrera!" The team heard that loud, summoning voice coming from downstairs, their eyes all immediately going to Andy, who looked like she'd just seen a ghost. "My office, now!"

Slowly getting up from the table, it felt like the room was spinning. She couldn't see straight or even think straight, along with how nauseous she suddenly felt. As she walked by, Maya grabbed her hand a gave it a quick squeeze

The walk downstairs and to Robert's office felt like a million miles long. With every step she took, she felt the pit in her stomach grow larger and the fear settle in.

Once she got to the door, it was already open, Robert was leaning against the front of his desk, arms crossed.

"Come in," He sounded rather annoyed, his voice was sterner than usual.

Andy hesitantly made her into his office, "Is there a problem, sir?"

"Cut the sir, We're not at work right now. It's just me and you," His words took her aback, she flinched slightly. They really were about to have this conversation...

"Robert, I can explain..."

"Don't explain, just say it. I need to know," He snapped, cutting her off.

She couldn't bring herself to say it, so she just stood there, searching his eyes for any sign that he might regret his previous statement... there wasn't any.

"she's... yeah," Andy sighed, avoiding eye contact with the man in front of her. She didn't want to see his reaction, it terrified her, the look on his face and what he would say... What would he say?

"It's against policy to have children under the age of thirteen in the station for an extended period of time when you're on duty," was all he said, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I will write you up next time it happens, is that clear?"

This time, she looked up at him. The fear was replaced with pure rage now, she expected multiple different reactions and this was not one of them, not even close.

"Crystal," She answered through her teeth, trying her level best to keep her cool.

With one last glare, she turned and walked out of his office, making sure to slam the door on the way out. She didn't care if he got mad because of that, it was the least of her worries right now. He just found out he has a daughter and dismissed it, didn't even give it a second thought.

Possibly it was the pure shock, Robert honestly didn't know why he snapped like that. There was about a million different things he could've said in that exact moment, but he chose to say that.

If things weren't already strained between the two, they sure as hell were now...