It Was The Smartest Thing I Ever Did, Because Now You're Here (12/?)
Title: It Was The Smartest Thing I Ever Did, Because Now You're Here
Author: x_avecia_x
Rating: PG-13
Warning: A few sweary words, nothing too shocking.
Word Count: 1,694
Disclaimer: I do not own Community - although I would totally marry Dan Harmon then claim half in our (inevitable) divorce settlement - that is unless he concedes to my end game Jeff/Annie demands. If you recognize any of it, it isn't mine.
Summary: Annie and Jeff deal with the consequences of their attraction.
Author's Note: Sorry this took a while folks, my beta sent this back days ago and I haven't gotten around to making a few tweaks and posting until now.
Once again a massive thank you to JHeaton for his beta-ing services. This is a shorter chapter but one that needed a LOT of work so mad props to him for being so patient with me :)
Enjoy.
______
Annie was finally awake and, amongst everything else Jeff had been feeling, a small part of him felt relief that she’d finally be there beside him, in the NICU…so he would no longer feel alone. Their friends had been there of course, but every time he was alone in the ward, once they’d gone home, he was reminded how absolutely terrified he was of being by himself with his son, or, to put a finer point on it, bringing up Aaron by himself. When Annie was still in her coma following her surgery, that thought crossed his mind more times that he cared to admit to himself. He needed Annie to remind him he wasn’t going to be as careless or incompetent as his own father was. Even if she never said it out loud, she just had this calming effect on him that gave him the strength to refuse to let his mind wander down those darker paths.
But nothing was ever simple for him. Well…definitely not recently.
Despite the nursing staff’s early encouragement for Annie to get out of bed the day after she woke up, her temperature increased and they were positive she had contracted an infection. Annie had tried to respect the doctor’s when they then told her she should have a further day or two of bed rest, but when her resolve cracked and she tried to get out of bed without the help of her nurse, it ended with her crumpled to the floor in a mess of sweat and crippling pain. The nurse had tried not to lecture Annie, but when she explained a little more forcefully that the infection meant she couldn’t go into the NICU at all, it resulted in more tears, and left Jeff wondering just what he had to do to catch a break.
Even after being allowed out of bed, it was another three days before the medical staff was satisfied Annie had fought off the infection- and allowed her into the NICU to see Aaron.
Jeff had been giving her updates almost hourly on how Aaron was doing; this included showing her the numerous pictures (enough to fill a catalogue) that he’d taken. Often, it would result in a miserable sob from Annie, and it had always heightened her frustration at being kept away from the NICU. She hadn’t even been allowed in the waiting area to look into the unit as a precaution. Jeff had no idea what else he could do but plead with Annie to just relax and focus on regaining her strength. Thankfully, his pleading finally paid off when Annie rolled her eyes and promised him she would follow her doctor’s orders. She hated every moment stuck in her hospital bed, but eventually (after a lot of complaining and Jeff consistently reminded her not to break her promise to him) she got better.
‘I can see him? Are you sure?’
‘Yep, the nurses will probably here any minute to help you up.’
‘I wish they’d just come already. All this waiting has been unbearable.’
Annie fidgeted excitedly with her bed covers. Jeff knew though that seeing Aaron wasn’t necessarily going to make it any easier for her.
‘Annie, I know you’re excited about this, but you need to understand that the doctors still won’t let us touch or hold him. He’s still pretty weak.’
She sighed and threw her head back.
‘I know that, Jeff, I just need to see him. I can’t expect you to understand - right now I feel like the past six months have been a figment of my imagination. Just over a week ago, he was still inside me. I could feel him moving. Then all of a sudden that’s gone, but I don’t have my baby to make me believe that it was real.’
He took her hand and was about to reply when they were interrupted by a nurse sporting a large smile and an orderly pushing a wheelchair.
‘Well, Miss Edison, today's the day. Let’s go see that handsome boy of yours.’
‘Did you hear that, Annie? She said he’s handsome. I told you he took after me.’
Annie groaned at Jeff’s immodest jesting as she managed, with a little help from the orderly, to swing herself off the bed and into the wheelchair.
‘I can handle the handsome,’ she replied, ‘it’s the inherited ego that I’m worried about.’
By the time they reached the neonatal ICU, they had traded other barbs about inherited flaws such as receding hairlines and mild obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but they fell silent the moment they walked through the door to the ward and Aaron came into view.
As Shirley had warned Jeff to expect, Annie promptly burst into tears.
‘Hey, come on,’ he said soothingly, bending down beside her so she could focus on what he was about to say. ‘It’s time to start being a mom.’
The nurse who was in the room smiled towards Annie as they came in but continued tending to the baby. The orderly who had brought her up to the unit maneuvered Annie closer to Aaron's incubator before helping her out of the wheelchair. Annie turned her head to look at Jeff, seeking some encouragement, which he provided with a smile and a nod of his head.
‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,’ she said, vocalizing her hesitation.
‘Just talk to him, it’s what I’ve been doing.’
Jeff moved next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, doing his best to reassure her. She peered down into the incubator, taking a deep breath that caught in her throat.
‘Uhm. Ok...’
Annie opened her mouth again and then quickly closed it, placed her hands on the incubator then quickly removed them. Jeff decided to jump in, sensing it was going to take some assistance to help her get over her initial shock of seeing their son properly for the first time.
‘Hey, ’sup, Aaron, look who I brought with me, it’s mommy...’
He stopped and shook his head, remembering a certain name stored in his cell phone contact list as he mentally replayed that sentence.
‘...wow, Britta was right, that's so not cool.’
But Annie didn’t notice and instead began talking like there was nothing in the world that could stop her.
‘Oh, you’re so tiny.’ She whimpered a little as she saw just how small their baby was. ‘I’ve missed you so, so much but I know that the doctors and nurses have been taking really good care of you, and that your daddy has been watching over you until I could be here. I can’t wait to take you home.’
Jeff's arm was still curled around Annie, and he felt a strange tightening in his chest as she moved closer to him. She sighed in what he could only imagine was contentment, the way he had felt the first time he was introduced to his son. After taking a deep breath Annie smiled brightly back at Jeff, who couldn’t hold back his own ridiculously proud grin.
‘He’s really somethin’ isn’t he?’
‘He is - can you believe we made him? I mean, I know how it all works and everything...’
Although Annie was far from the repressed teenager she was when she first came to Greendale, it was clear to Jeff that she was still embarrassed to talk about sex out loud.
‘...but it still amazes me to think that something so amazing could come out of our lack of self-control.’
Looking back at it later, Jeff was unsure whether he'd been deliriously happy at his family finally being united or deliriously tired from lack of sleep, but either way, he knew he would probably not have said what he said next had he been in his right mind.
‘Uh, I’m pretty sure we got something good out of it at the time too.’
‘Jeff!’
She spoke quietly, but pulled away from his embrace and gave him a thoroughly hard slap to the chest. To Jeff’s credit he had the decency to look ashamed.
‘You’re right, I’m sorry, not appropriate in front of the kid...’
‘Or the nursing staff either,’ muttered the matronly nurse, glaring at him as she left the ward.
‘...but my point still stands.’
Annie’s eyes darkened a little before shifting her attention back to her little boy.
‘You know it wasn’t as simple as a good time, Jeff. Was that really all it was to you, a good time? Was I crazy to believe you three weeks ago when you told me you had real feelings for me beyond sleeping together? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, you did say relationships are complicated.’
‘Wow, never saw that one coming back to kick me in the ass...’ he muttered sarcastically, wanting desperately to just go back a few seconds and prevent himself from sticking his foot in his gigantic mouth. ‘...Look, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, and clearly this was not a time for joking, but I’ve been honest, Annie, my feelings for you haven’t changed.’
Annie turned around to look at Jeff. He held her gaze confidently, not shying away from his declaration. He could see her wavering, and finally her features softened slightly, turning into a smile. He didn’t want to labor the point; he was acutely aware it wasn’t the time or place for the much-needed ‘what comes next’ discussion that was inevitable. Instead, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her back toward the incubator.
‘We can talk about it later. He needs his mom right now.’
He moved closer behind her, close enough to place a chaste kiss on the top of her head. He gave a small, silent sigh of relief when Annie lifted her arm to place her own hand on top of his, giving it a light squeeze.
‘You do realize he has your pointy nose?’ she stated matter-of-factly, breaking the silence.
Unable to stop himself, Jeff groaned and enveloped Annie in his arms, thankful she didn’t seem to put up any resistance.
‘So long as he doesn’t inherit my supposedly generous forehead-to-face ratio, I think I’ll cope.’
Author: x_avecia_x
Rating: PG-13
Warning: A few sweary words, nothing too shocking.
Word Count: 1,694
Disclaimer: I do not own Community - although I would totally marry Dan Harmon then claim half in our (inevitable) divorce settlement - that is unless he concedes to my end game Jeff/Annie demands. If you recognize any of it, it isn't mine.
Summary: Annie and Jeff deal with the consequences of their attraction.
Author's Note: Sorry this took a while folks, my beta sent this back days ago and I haven't gotten around to making a few tweaks and posting until now.
Once again a massive thank you to JHeaton for his beta-ing services. This is a shorter chapter but one that needed a LOT of work so mad props to him for being so patient with me :)
Enjoy.
______
Annie was finally awake and, amongst everything else Jeff had been feeling, a small part of him felt relief that she’d finally be there beside him, in the NICU…so he would no longer feel alone. Their friends had been there of course, but every time he was alone in the ward, once they’d gone home, he was reminded how absolutely terrified he was of being by himself with his son, or, to put a finer point on it, bringing up Aaron by himself. When Annie was still in her coma following her surgery, that thought crossed his mind more times that he cared to admit to himself. He needed Annie to remind him he wasn’t going to be as careless or incompetent as his own father was. Even if she never said it out loud, she just had this calming effect on him that gave him the strength to refuse to let his mind wander down those darker paths.
But nothing was ever simple for him. Well…definitely not recently.
Despite the nursing staff’s early encouragement for Annie to get out of bed the day after she woke up, her temperature increased and they were positive she had contracted an infection. Annie had tried to respect the doctor’s when they then told her she should have a further day or two of bed rest, but when her resolve cracked and she tried to get out of bed without the help of her nurse, it ended with her crumpled to the floor in a mess of sweat and crippling pain. The nurse had tried not to lecture Annie, but when she explained a little more forcefully that the infection meant she couldn’t go into the NICU at all, it resulted in more tears, and left Jeff wondering just what he had to do to catch a break.
Even after being allowed out of bed, it was another three days before the medical staff was satisfied Annie had fought off the infection- and allowed her into the NICU to see Aaron.
Jeff had been giving her updates almost hourly on how Aaron was doing; this included showing her the numerous pictures (enough to fill a catalogue) that he’d taken. Often, it would result in a miserable sob from Annie, and it had always heightened her frustration at being kept away from the NICU. She hadn’t even been allowed in the waiting area to look into the unit as a precaution. Jeff had no idea what else he could do but plead with Annie to just relax and focus on regaining her strength. Thankfully, his pleading finally paid off when Annie rolled her eyes and promised him she would follow her doctor’s orders. She hated every moment stuck in her hospital bed, but eventually (after a lot of complaining and Jeff consistently reminded her not to break her promise to him) she got better.
‘I can see him? Are you sure?’
‘Yep, the nurses will probably here any minute to help you up.’
‘I wish they’d just come already. All this waiting has been unbearable.’
Annie fidgeted excitedly with her bed covers. Jeff knew though that seeing Aaron wasn’t necessarily going to make it any easier for her.
‘Annie, I know you’re excited about this, but you need to understand that the doctors still won’t let us touch or hold him. He’s still pretty weak.’
She sighed and threw her head back.
‘I know that, Jeff, I just need to see him. I can’t expect you to understand - right now I feel like the past six months have been a figment of my imagination. Just over a week ago, he was still inside me. I could feel him moving. Then all of a sudden that’s gone, but I don’t have my baby to make me believe that it was real.’
He took her hand and was about to reply when they were interrupted by a nurse sporting a large smile and an orderly pushing a wheelchair.
‘Well, Miss Edison, today's the day. Let’s go see that handsome boy of yours.’
‘Did you hear that, Annie? She said he’s handsome. I told you he took after me.’
Annie groaned at Jeff’s immodest jesting as she managed, with a little help from the orderly, to swing herself off the bed and into the wheelchair.
‘I can handle the handsome,’ she replied, ‘it’s the inherited ego that I’m worried about.’
By the time they reached the neonatal ICU, they had traded other barbs about inherited flaws such as receding hairlines and mild obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but they fell silent the moment they walked through the door to the ward and Aaron came into view.
As Shirley had warned Jeff to expect, Annie promptly burst into tears.
‘Hey, come on,’ he said soothingly, bending down beside her so she could focus on what he was about to say. ‘It’s time to start being a mom.’
The nurse who was in the room smiled towards Annie as they came in but continued tending to the baby. The orderly who had brought her up to the unit maneuvered Annie closer to Aaron's incubator before helping her out of the wheelchair. Annie turned her head to look at Jeff, seeking some encouragement, which he provided with a smile and a nod of his head.
‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,’ she said, vocalizing her hesitation.
‘Just talk to him, it’s what I’ve been doing.’
Jeff moved next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, doing his best to reassure her. She peered down into the incubator, taking a deep breath that caught in her throat.
‘Uhm. Ok...’
Annie opened her mouth again and then quickly closed it, placed her hands on the incubator then quickly removed them. Jeff decided to jump in, sensing it was going to take some assistance to help her get over her initial shock of seeing their son properly for the first time.
‘Hey, ’sup, Aaron, look who I brought with me, it’s mommy...’
He stopped and shook his head, remembering a certain name stored in his cell phone contact list as he mentally replayed that sentence.
‘...wow, Britta was right, that's so not cool.’
But Annie didn’t notice and instead began talking like there was nothing in the world that could stop her.
‘Oh, you’re so tiny.’ She whimpered a little as she saw just how small their baby was. ‘I’ve missed you so, so much but I know that the doctors and nurses have been taking really good care of you, and that your daddy has been watching over you until I could be here. I can’t wait to take you home.’
Jeff's arm was still curled around Annie, and he felt a strange tightening in his chest as she moved closer to him. She sighed in what he could only imagine was contentment, the way he had felt the first time he was introduced to his son. After taking a deep breath Annie smiled brightly back at Jeff, who couldn’t hold back his own ridiculously proud grin.
‘He’s really somethin’ isn’t he?’
‘He is - can you believe we made him? I mean, I know how it all works and everything...’
Although Annie was far from the repressed teenager she was when she first came to Greendale, it was clear to Jeff that she was still embarrassed to talk about sex out loud.
‘...but it still amazes me to think that something so amazing could come out of our lack of self-control.’
Looking back at it later, Jeff was unsure whether he'd been deliriously happy at his family finally being united or deliriously tired from lack of sleep, but either way, he knew he would probably not have said what he said next had he been in his right mind.
‘Uh, I’m pretty sure we got something good out of it at the time too.’
‘Jeff!’
She spoke quietly, but pulled away from his embrace and gave him a thoroughly hard slap to the chest. To Jeff’s credit he had the decency to look ashamed.
‘You’re right, I’m sorry, not appropriate in front of the kid...’
‘Or the nursing staff either,’ muttered the matronly nurse, glaring at him as she left the ward.
‘...but my point still stands.’
Annie’s eyes darkened a little before shifting her attention back to her little boy.
‘You know it wasn’t as simple as a good time, Jeff. Was that really all it was to you, a good time? Was I crazy to believe you three weeks ago when you told me you had real feelings for me beyond sleeping together? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, you did say relationships are complicated.’
‘Wow, never saw that one coming back to kick me in the ass...’ he muttered sarcastically, wanting desperately to just go back a few seconds and prevent himself from sticking his foot in his gigantic mouth. ‘...Look, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, and clearly this was not a time for joking, but I’ve been honest, Annie, my feelings for you haven’t changed.’
Annie turned around to look at Jeff. He held her gaze confidently, not shying away from his declaration. He could see her wavering, and finally her features softened slightly, turning into a smile. He didn’t want to labor the point; he was acutely aware it wasn’t the time or place for the much-needed ‘what comes next’ discussion that was inevitable. Instead, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her back toward the incubator.
‘We can talk about it later. He needs his mom right now.’
He moved closer behind her, close enough to place a chaste kiss on the top of her head. He gave a small, silent sigh of relief when Annie lifted her arm to place her own hand on top of his, giving it a light squeeze.
‘You do realize he has your pointy nose?’ she stated matter-of-factly, breaking the silence.
Unable to stop himself, Jeff groaned and enveloped Annie in his arms, thankful she didn’t seem to put up any resistance.
‘So long as he doesn’t inherit my supposedly generous forehead-to-face ratio, I think I’ll cope.’