just_1_word | 27.4. Hold
27.4. Hold
Co-written with paramedically | Follows THIS
"You're kidding? Chicken Pox?" Andrew asked in concern as he came over to where Ali was setting the baby capsule onto the sofa and lifting Jamie out into her arms. "Where has she been to get that?" He tucked the crutches under his arms so he could stroke the baby's tear-dampened cheek softly.
Ali nodded as she rubbed Jamie's back and kissed her tiny blonde head. "I know I said she had no rash, and she didn't, but when I changed her nappy just before leaving for the doctor, I noticed the spots across her tummy and going up under her arms. I freaked out. All those damn posters in the doctor's waiting room about meningitis and bird flu and anal cancer and shit. Why do they do that? By the time her name was called, I was thinking she had it all, you know? But he just said it was going around and a lot of kids in the area had it. She probably got it from the supermarket or some shit like that." She shook her head. "I'm just glad she's okay. Chicken Pox I can handle, it was the not knowing that was driving me crazy. I just wanted to make her feel better."
"Of course," Andrew murmured in understand, leaning down to see the infant's face. "She's breaking out down her neck now. She's going to be covered. What did the doctor say about the vomiting and diarrhoea? Do we need to put anything on the rash?"
Ali cupped Andrew's cheek and leaned in to give him a lingering kiss. "God, I missed you. Do you want to sit and take her for a little while? She just wants to be cuddled." She kicked her shoes off with a tired sigh. Being a mum really was the most draining thing ever. More than marathon sex. "He gave me a prescription for some drops and things for her. I told him I'm not putting that pink shit on my daughter, so he recommended this baby salve thing and another thing we have to bath her in. He said the rash could literally go all over, in her ears, nose, bum... all over. She's probably going to be miserable for about a week. Treat the symptoms or some shit he told me. I can't believe she's sick," she added and promptly burst into tears.
Andrew had just managed to manoeuvre himself onto the sofa when Ali's tears came. "Hey..." he said softly, tugging on the edge of her shirt so she would sit beside him. He took Jamie and settled her into the crook of his arm to he could use his other to pull Ali into a hug. He kissed her hair and gently rubbed her back. "You've been up all night with her and you're worried to the max. You're going to try and get some sleep and I'm going to stay here to take care of her. I'll make it back to Princeton in time for the wedding. Have you eaten?"
Damnit, these were those sorts of tears that came out of nowhere and just seemed to not want to stop. It wasn't a forceful cry, but she couldn't stop leaking once she started. She really was exhausted and everything else he said. She was relieved Jamie just had the Chicken Pox, but on the other hand, her little girl was sick and she couldn't seem to shake the maternal worry no matter what. It had been just like after Andrew's accident when she watched him like a hawk and hardly left his side. Who would've thought it? Alicia Sullivan actually had a maternal streak. She also seemed to have a submissive needy streak that she would never admit to because she really did want him to stay and take care of them both. She shook her head. "Not really. I haven't been thinking about me much. I need to try and feed Sunshine, too, but it probably won't be very successful. Oh shit, the wedding. I think they all said they were fine with babies there, didn't they, and there were other babies coming too, but we can't take her with the Chicken Pox! The other kids will catch it and I wouldn't wish that on any new parents."
"You both need to try and eat. Do you have any milk expressed? I can give her a bottle and make you something to eat," Andrew decided as Jamie started to whimper in his arms again. No more than ten seconds later, she threw up all down the front of his shirt and started sobbing. He sat her up on his lap so she wouldn't choke but she was just sick all over again. "Oh, sweetie, you aren't feeling good, are you? Your tummy's sore, isn't it?" he murmured, using her bib to try and wipe her face a little. "Okay, new game plan. I'll give her a quick bath and put her in some jammies and we'll just try and get her to take a bottle of water. In the meantime, you're still going to have something to eat and I'll think about what we can do for the wedding."
Ali collected a towel from the baby bag, watching her daughter in concern as she tried to wipe the vomit up. It wasn't like baby sick was that gross. It was mostly just milk at the end of the day. Jamie had just never been avomity baby. She usually kept her milk down, so this was enough to tell Ali that the baby girl was feeling poorly. "I don't know if I can leave her... I just... god. It's Luke and Tab's wedding, though. You're going to be Best Man. I can't miss that." She watched him hesitantly. "I can ask James. Only if you don't mind her being with him. I know you find it hard trusting him. She's your daughter too, Andy. If you don't want me to leave her with him, I won't."
Andrew was starting to carefully untie Jamie's soiled bib. "I do trust him," he corrected pointedly. "The guy is in the Secret Service. He's the epitome of trust and loyalty and all that stuff. He's, like, sworn to take bullets for the President and shit. I just don't know him. How am I supposed to connect to him when I don't know him? And yeah, because of that, I would rather my... Jamie to be with me than him. That's just, I don't know, a protective thing? But truth is, baby, I don't know much of anything to do with your old life, especially not Marc or James or whoever he is, and it kind of scares me. But I understand. So long as I've got you both, I'm cool. If it's any consolation, as nerve-wracking as it will be, I think him taking care of her while we're at the wedding is a good idea. He just needs to learn that she's a little person, not an object. Considering he has one on the way, better he learns that sooner rather than later."
"Your daughter," Ali insisted, getting teary again. "Please, Andy. I need you to be able to say she's your daughter. I need you to just trust me when I say I'm trying to sort that whole issue out, okay? I just need a bit of time. In every essence, she's your daughter and you're her Daddy. You've been in her life since day one."
Andrew searched Ali's eyes, not exactly sure what her cryptic comment meant, but he nodded. "She's my daughter," he repeated softly and then kissed the baby's head, followed by a soft kiss to Ali's lips.
Ali wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "I'll call James," she promised. "We'll work something out."
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Word Count | 1,303
Co-written with paramedically | Follows THIS
"You're kidding? Chicken Pox?" Andrew asked in concern as he came over to where Ali was setting the baby capsule onto the sofa and lifting Jamie out into her arms. "Where has she been to get that?" He tucked the crutches under his arms so he could stroke the baby's tear-dampened cheek softly.
Ali nodded as she rubbed Jamie's back and kissed her tiny blonde head. "I know I said she had no rash, and she didn't, but when I changed her nappy just before leaving for the doctor, I noticed the spots across her tummy and going up under her arms. I freaked out. All those damn posters in the doctor's waiting room about meningitis and bird flu and anal cancer and shit. Why do they do that? By the time her name was called, I was thinking she had it all, you know? But he just said it was going around and a lot of kids in the area had it. She probably got it from the supermarket or some shit like that." She shook her head. "I'm just glad she's okay. Chicken Pox I can handle, it was the not knowing that was driving me crazy. I just wanted to make her feel better."
"Of course," Andrew murmured in understand, leaning down to see the infant's face. "She's breaking out down her neck now. She's going to be covered. What did the doctor say about the vomiting and diarrhoea? Do we need to put anything on the rash?"
Ali cupped Andrew's cheek and leaned in to give him a lingering kiss. "God, I missed you. Do you want to sit and take her for a little while? She just wants to be cuddled." She kicked her shoes off with a tired sigh. Being a mum really was the most draining thing ever. More than marathon sex. "He gave me a prescription for some drops and things for her. I told him I'm not putting that pink shit on my daughter, so he recommended this baby salve thing and another thing we have to bath her in. He said the rash could literally go all over, in her ears, nose, bum... all over. She's probably going to be miserable for about a week. Treat the symptoms or some shit he told me. I can't believe she's sick," she added and promptly burst into tears.
Andrew had just managed to manoeuvre himself onto the sofa when Ali's tears came. "Hey..." he said softly, tugging on the edge of her shirt so she would sit beside him. He took Jamie and settled her into the crook of his arm to he could use his other to pull Ali into a hug. He kissed her hair and gently rubbed her back. "You've been up all night with her and you're worried to the max. You're going to try and get some sleep and I'm going to stay here to take care of her. I'll make it back to Princeton in time for the wedding. Have you eaten?"
Damnit, these were those sorts of tears that came out of nowhere and just seemed to not want to stop. It wasn't a forceful cry, but she couldn't stop leaking once she started. She really was exhausted and everything else he said. She was relieved Jamie just had the Chicken Pox, but on the other hand, her little girl was sick and she couldn't seem to shake the maternal worry no matter what. It had been just like after Andrew's accident when she watched him like a hawk and hardly left his side. Who would've thought it? Alicia Sullivan actually had a maternal streak. She also seemed to have a submissive needy streak that she would never admit to because she really did want him to stay and take care of them both. She shook her head. "Not really. I haven't been thinking about me much. I need to try and feed Sunshine, too, but it probably won't be very successful. Oh shit, the wedding. I think they all said they were fine with babies there, didn't they, and there were other babies coming too, but we can't take her with the Chicken Pox! The other kids will catch it and I wouldn't wish that on any new parents."
"You both need to try and eat. Do you have any milk expressed? I can give her a bottle and make you something to eat," Andrew decided as Jamie started to whimper in his arms again. No more than ten seconds later, she threw up all down the front of his shirt and started sobbing. He sat her up on his lap so she wouldn't choke but she was just sick all over again. "Oh, sweetie, you aren't feeling good, are you? Your tummy's sore, isn't it?" he murmured, using her bib to try and wipe her face a little. "Okay, new game plan. I'll give her a quick bath and put her in some jammies and we'll just try and get her to take a bottle of water. In the meantime, you're still going to have something to eat and I'll think about what we can do for the wedding."
Ali collected a towel from the baby bag, watching her daughter in concern as she tried to wipe the vomit up. It wasn't like baby sick was that gross. It was mostly just milk at the end of the day. Jamie had just never been avomity baby. She usually kept her milk down, so this was enough to tell Ali that the baby girl was feeling poorly. "I don't know if I can leave her... I just... god. It's Luke and Tab's wedding, though. You're going to be Best Man. I can't miss that." She watched him hesitantly. "I can ask James. Only if you don't mind her being with him. I know you find it hard trusting him. She's your daughter too, Andy. If you don't want me to leave her with him, I won't."
Andrew was starting to carefully untie Jamie's soiled bib. "I do trust him," he corrected pointedly. "The guy is in the Secret Service. He's the epitome of trust and loyalty and all that stuff. He's, like, sworn to take bullets for the President and shit. I just don't know him. How am I supposed to connect to him when I don't know him? And yeah, because of that, I would rather my... Jamie to be with me than him. That's just, I don't know, a protective thing? But truth is, baby, I don't know much of anything to do with your old life, especially not Marc or James or whoever he is, and it kind of scares me. But I understand. So long as I've got you both, I'm cool. If it's any consolation, as nerve-wracking as it will be, I think him taking care of her while we're at the wedding is a good idea. He just needs to learn that she's a little person, not an object. Considering he has one on the way, better he learns that sooner rather than later."
"Your daughter," Ali insisted, getting teary again. "Please, Andy. I need you to be able to say she's your daughter. I need you to just trust me when I say I'm trying to sort that whole issue out, okay? I just need a bit of time. In every essence, she's your daughter and you're her Daddy. You've been in her life since day one."
Andrew searched Ali's eyes, not exactly sure what her cryptic comment meant, but he nodded. "She's my daughter," he repeated softly and then kissed the baby's head, followed by a soft kiss to Ali's lips.
Ali wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "I'll call James," she promised. "We'll work something out."
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Word Count | 1,303