Chapter Text
For the last few days, it had become a common occurrence for Root to spend her early morning hunched over the toilet. The Machine had brought up several possibilities but only one had been mentioned more than once and Root had quickly disregarded it every time. Shaw was back and she was assured by Root everyday that everything was real. Sure, she had her moments were she would freak out, mainly after a particularly disturbing nightmare, but she was always brought back within half an hour. All Root had to do was mention Oliver and she would begin to calm down. The little boy kept her grounded, as he did for Root as well.
They had destroyed Samaritan almost a month ago. The evil ASI was no longer in existence and they were free to continue their little underground operation. True to her word, Shaw declined Finch's offer to continue saving numbers and happily accepted her cover identity. Sameen Grant was a homicide detective that just so happened to be partnered with Lionel Fusco. She was a former surgical resident that had joined the marines and then had gone MIA for four years. Her wife, Shaw had almost choked on her sandwich when she had heard the word, Samantha had been pregnant at the time and now they were just a small, happy family.
Root had also taken a step away from working numbers. The Machine had once again taken it's rightful place and began giving relevant numbers to the ISA again. It was with this knowledge that Root made her decision and hadn't regretted it since. The Machine still spoke with her, after all she would always be the Analog Interface, but She never gave Root any work to do. She was simply Samantha Grant, a woman who worked as a consultant for a small, startup IT business run by Harold Whistler.
Reese had almost instantly turned in Detective Riley's resignation and told Iris everything, from beginning to end. He was working numbers full time now and didn't have to worry about balancing a double life. Fusco continued to work numbers on the side and didn't have to worry about a nosy new partner. Shaw always covered for him and solved many of their cases on her own, continuously giving Fusco credit to make it look like he did something. Finch continued as Professor Whistler, however he quickly retired and began a startup IT business with the aid of Root and Caleb Phipps. On the surface, he was a regular business man but if one were to look a little further they would see that he was the genius that had built an ASI, or God in Root's opinion.
It had been unsettling at first for Root to hear the Machine speaking in her own voice but she got used to it. Shaw had a more difficult time with it, especially because She began using it after Root had been shot and it was unclear whether or not she was going to survive. She had heard from Reese later on that Shaw had locked herself in the subway cart for ten minutes, holding a gun to the consoles that were keeping her running, before the Machine gassed the cart and she passed out. It was stories like that in which Root knew that Shaw loved her, even if she hadn't voiced it. But now, Root wasn't so sure she would.
"At this point there is a seventy nine point eight percent chance that you're pregnant." The Machine told her. As each day passed the odds increased, especially after the day she was supposed to get her period although it never came.
"I can't be," Root whispered to herself before hurling into the bowl again. Once she had sufficiently emptied her stomach contents, which consisted of nothing but clear fluids at this point.
Root knew that it was a lie. It was entirely within the realm of possibility that she was pregnant but she just didn't want to admit it to herself. She knew exactly what she wanted and this baby, whilst unexpected, was quickly being factored into her plans for the future. Like with her first pregnancy, she was ecstatic. She was having another baby with the woman she loved more than life itself. Their son was going to have a younger sibling and, whether it be a boy or girl, she knew that he would be excited.
But she didn't know how Shaw was going to react. She hadn't been there for the first pregnancy, she didn't make any decisions about Oliver or their future until he was almost four years old. She didn't get to decide whether she wanted the baby or not. And that's the thought that made Root scared. What if Shaw didn't want the baby?
Shaw, despite her many doubts, was an amazing mother. She was always available for anything remotely involving Oliver, whether it be dropping him off or picking him up from daycare, spending time with him or simply keeping an eye on him during the nights that he had nightmares. She made sure they always had his favourites stashed away somewhere in the kitchen and allowed him to have free reign over the TV shows they watched or video games that they played, something that Root had been completely shocked by.
But she didn't know how Shaw was going to react to the news. They hadn't discussed having more children at any point in the last couple of months, they were simply concerned with getting there relationship where they wanted it to be. Shaw was much more open with Root and would actually talk to her about things. She was more affectionate too and didn't roll her eyes every time Root worked an innuendo into their conversation, she would just smirk back. They didn't do PDA although sometimes Shaw would let Root hold her hand for a while whilst they were walking Bear or going somewhere to eat. But just because Shaw was trying with their relationship didn't mean that she wanted another child with her.
"Okay," Root said more to herself than the Machine about five minutes later, confident that she wouldn't vomit all over the floor if she stood up. "I'll take Ollie to daycare and then I will get a test from the pharmacy."
She cleaned herself up a little, washing her face and brushing her teeth and mouth clear of the foul taste, before exiting the bathroom and acting as if her brain wasn't just about to short circuit.
-----
When Shaw returned home around midday she was exhausted. For the past week she had been working from early morning to late into the night in order to close the current case that she was working. She couldn't say enough how much she despised serial killers but, with a little help from Reese, she was able to catch the guy and put an end to his little spree. Her captain had been so impressed that she allowed Shaw to leave early to catch up on some much needed rest.
She hadn't seen Root or Oliver when they were awake. She would check on the four year old when she got home before stripping off her clothes and curling into bed with Root before leaving early the next morning whilst they were both still asleep. She would be lying if she said that it hadn't taken its toll on her, especially when one of the victims had been a young boy a few years older than Oliver. That had been two days ago and she had immediately called Root to make sure that their son was okay. She even got to speak to him a little bit before he had to be taken to daycare.
She quickly stripped off her leather jacket, which was originally Root's, not caring where it landed and placed her keys and badge on the small table by the door. She then moved to the office where she locked up her gun with the others they had collected. As she began to move to the bedroom, that was when she heard sobbing and it made her completely pause. She knew that Root had the day off but she had expected her to go have lunch with Finch and geek out about something.
Shaw debated for a good few minutes before knocking on the bathroom door, hearing the sobbing stop immediately. "Root," She called softly as sniffles echoed off of the tiled interior.
"Just give me a minute, sweetie." She heard Root reply, her voice thick with emotion. Shaw was immediately concerned but fought the desire to simply walk in the bathroom. They respected each other's boundaries no matter what and Shaw wasn't going to violate that, especially when Root was so vulnerable.
It was a minute later that Root stepped out and despite her obvious attempt to wash her face, Shaw could still make out the tear tracks on her face. It made her heart stop in her chest not only because Root managed to look beautiful no matter what but there was actual fear in Root's eyes, something that Shaw had only ever seen once when their son had gone missing.
Shaw easily slipped Root's hand into her as she led the tall brunette into their bedroom where they sat on the bed. Root refused to meet Shaw's concerned gaze, fearing that she would somehow know just by looking at her. They remained silent for a few minutes before Shaw finally spoke.
"What's wrong?" Shaw asked softly. When Root continued to blankly stare at the blanket that covered the bed, Shaw cupped her face and forced eye contact. She didn't know what had happened but it was enough to cause Root to cry in the bathroom alone so it had to be serious. "Talk to me."
Instead of saying anything, Root reached into the back pocket of her jeans and removed one of the many pregnancy tests she had taken in the past few hours. They had all come back with the same result and the room was plunged into complete silence as Shaw laid eyes on the unmistakable plastic.
Root placed it down on the bed between them and allowed a few tears to be released as she watched Shaw stare at it with no expression whatsoever. The silence lasted a whole ten minutes this time but it was Root that broke it.
"I'm sorry," She whispered brokenly. But to her surprise, Shaw looked up at her with the brightest smile she had ever seen on the Persian's face.
"This is for real?" She asked and Root instantly made eye contact to see nothing but sheer joy being displayed.
When Root nodded in response, Shaw immediately connected their lips in a fierce, passionate kiss that told Root everything that she needed to know. Before Root knew it, she was lying on her back with Shaw hovering over her with the same bright smile as before.
"We're having a baby," She whispered in complete awe as she gazed at Root lovingly.
Root simply smiled in return and connected their lips again, this time softer but just as excited.