A Family Christmas
….
April woke with a start at the shrill whimpering coming from the next room. She reached out and turned on the bedside lamp, squinting at the harsh light that flooded the room. Turning over in the bed, she looked down at the man lying next to her, his eyes still tightly shut as he let out a light snore. She smiled and rolled her eyes, jabbing him hardly in the ribs.
"Mmmm" he grumbled, his faced contorting into a frown, though his eyes remaining shut. His arm raised to cover where she'd hit him.
"Get up" she instructed him with mock harshness. He replied with another groan and made to turn over onto his other side. She responded with another sharp jab with her elbow, his time to his turning back. He allowed himself to let out a small yelp of pain. That one had really hurt.
"I mean it Jackson" she told him menacingly. "It's your turn. I've already gotten up twice tonight".
He opened his eyes unhappily and sat up in the bed, looking down at his wife miserably. "I was having such a good dream" he grumbled, standing and putting on a shirt. He only slept in pyjama bottoms because April tended to leave the radiator on in the winter months, it got quite heated underneath the doona….and not just in the other way!
"I'm sure you can continue dreaming of beer and football after you come back" she replied mockingly, turning around and switching off the lamp, snuggling back into the soft, warm covers.
"You give me other things to dream about" he told her huskily with a wink, as he stood in the door way. Even in the dark, he could see April blush in her cute manner. After 3 years marriage, he still loved seeing her blush like a teenager. He turned on the hallway light of their apartment and squinted as the light hit his unprepared eyes. He leant against the wall and felt his way to the next room. His eyes adjusted just as he turned the door handle.
"Hey" he called out soothingly into the darkness of the room. The hallway light filled the small room and illuminated the small being inside. "Watcha doing baby?" Jackson smiled, speaking in a soft, comforting voice. Jackson walked over to the crib and looked down at his son. One last wail was let out before the baby recognised his father and smiled brightly, his bright blue/green eyes sparkling. Dried tears stained his little cheeks which were bright red with emotion. Jackson reached down and gently wiped his son's cheek with the back of his finger. Just looking down at his son made his chest swell with pride. Maybe five years ago he would never have imagined himself in this position, married, with a baby son. But he wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world!
Charley Harper Avery was brought into the world 6 months ago. A day that Jackson would probably never forget. April was 8 ½ months pregnant and working at the hospital. Chief Hunt had allowed her to at least do her rounds, after persistent begging and grovelling. Even then she had promised (both Owen and Jackson) to take it easy with regular breaks and to sit down whenever she could. In fact it was rather frustrating for her because the interns were nothing short of carting her around the hospital in a wheelchair (at Jackson's request). If she hadn't had a swollen belly and back pain, she would've jumped him there and then for 'interfering'. She was doing a consult in the ER with Jackson after a trauma patient had come in and requested a plastic surgeon to do the suturing on his lacerated forearm. April left the man with Jackson and was approached by Cristina, asking where her trauma patient was. A second later April's water had broken….all over Cristina's shoes. The entire attending staff in the ER had broken out into laughter. Cristina's eyes were shooting daggers. All April could do was stand there frozen with wide stunned eyes, looking between Cristina's ruined shoes and the huge puddle beneath her. Jackson had jumped into action, recruiting a nearby resident to continue the suturing.
"Hey!" the patient called out angrily as Jackson stood and removed his gloves.
"Sorry man!" Jackson replied with sympathetic eyes and a shrug. "I'm about to be a father!" he grinned at the man and jogged over to April, placing his arms on her shoulders and leading her over to the nearest wheelchair and then towards the elevator up to OB.
After an exhausting twelve hour labour, little Charley had arrived. Being 2 week premature, he was a little smaller than average, but otherwise completely healthy! Light brown hair…bordering April's auburn. He had light olive skin- a mixture of April's ivory and Jackson's dark olive and taking after Jackson- piercing blue/green eyes. April loved that about her son, that he took after his father's eyes. After all, they one of the things that had drawn her to him in the first place. Charley was a name that both April and Jackson had agreed on together, but the middle name was April's doing. She wanted him to have that prestige. It didn't mean he had to become a surgeon, but the family history was worth preserving. Aside from that…she actually did like the name Harper.
Six months later, Charley was suffering from bouts of restlessness, keeping his parents up during the night. He still had months before he would start teething and he wasn't ill or in need of changing. He was a very good baby when it came to that. Charley let his parents know. April and Jackson recognised different cries for different situations. Long drawn out wails meant hungry. Short sharp screams meant diaper. It was the shrill whimpering that both parents dreaded most. It meant bored. Charley had been very bored lately. Neither April or Jackson could figure it out. He slept during the day like a log, but at night he only managed three or four eyes of shut eye, keeping his parents up and only calming when either April or Jackson came and held him. He loved attention. At the hospital, he cooed when the nurses fussed over him, giggled when Meredith or the other attendings played with him, smiled when the day care staff held him. "Like father like son" April would joke affectionately. Jackson had recently come into the habit of taking Charley on rounds with him. April wasn't a fan, but plastics patients were rarely contagious…mainly women getting boob jobs or nose jobs who loved seeing babies…especially cute ones like his son. Charley never come down to the pit. Those days, he was safely tucked away in the crèche with the other children. Charley was Jackson's pride and joy…why not show him off to the world?
Jackson leaned down and picked Charley from the crib, cradling his head carefully as he sat down in the nearby armchair reserved for this purpose or for April's midnight breast feeding sessions. He looked down at his son lovingly and their blue eyes locked. "Why you causing so much fuss?" Jackson asked his son with a smile. Charley just replied with a bright grin. "You love the attention don't you?", he continued in baby talk. Charley kicked his legs out strongly, he was good at that. Even in the womb he would cause April to brace herself against nearby furniture when he had kicked. They suspected with legs that strong, he would be walking quickly. "You gotta let Mummy and Daddy sleep Charley" Jackson told him with mock seriousness. "No more shenanigans!" he pointed a finger at his son with a faux frown. Charley reached out with both hands and gripped his finger hard, continuing to grin. Jackson found it very hard to be frustrated with his darling son.
"I bet you're excited about Christmas!" Jackson spoke soothingly. "Tonight is Christmas Eve! Santa is coming to bring you lots and lots of special presents! He's coming to tell you to give your parents a present- a peaceful night's sleep" Jackson told him matter of factly. "He'll be disappointed if you don't do it. Tomorrow is going be fun. We're going to Aunty Meredith's house". Jackson rose from the chair and began to pace the room, rocking his son gently in his arms. "We're going to have turkey and ham and vegetables and pudding and eggnog. It'll be yummy! Everyone will be there" Jackson explained to his son. He knew he probably looked and sounded ridiculous having a conversation with a baby, but Charley loved the sound of voices. It helped him sleep. "Aunty Cristina and Uncle Owen. Uncle Alex, Uncle Derek, Aunty Meredith and Zola! Callie, Arizona, Sofia! Doctor Bailey and Webber…Grandma Catherine!" Jackson's smile faltered as he remembered Mark and Lexie. He always missed them during the holiday season. He and April usually went down to the cemetery on Christmas Day to leave some flowers on their graves before Church. April was still very Christian and insisted on attending Church at Christmas and Easter. They had Charley baptised as soon as they could. Jackson was pretty indifferent to religion…but it meant a lot to April.
"Aunty Lexie and Uncle Mark are looking down from Heaven right now", Jackson told him son with a sad smile. "I'm sure they are very proud of you my baby boy. They love you very much". Charley must have sensed a change in Jackson's emotions because he gave his father's finger as hard a squeeze as he could muster. Jackson grinned back tears and kissed his son on the forehead. Charley closed his eyes and began to doze as Jackson continued to rock him gently. A few minutes later he placed the small infant back in the crib and covered him with the blanket. He gave his son one last glance before walking out, leaving the door to the room ajar.
He walked quietly back to the main bedroom and silently slipped back into the king bed he shared with April. She must have been awake because she immediately turned to face him, reaching out and caressing his cheek with her hand. "I'm sure they're happy wherever they are" she told him lovingly. "They are looking down and protecting us". Jackson nodded wordlessly in agreement. April turned back onto her other side and allowed him to spoon her so that his lips rested upon her neck. He planted a couple of light kisses on the nape of her neck.
"He ok?", she asked.
"Yeah, just wanted to have a chat", Jackson chuckled lightly.
"I heard!", she replied knowingly. "I heard the whole thing", she pointed to the baby monitor sitting on the bedside table. "I'm sure Santa will have something special for you too", she cheekily told him.
"Mmmm" Jackson said, his hands running down the front of her body underneath the covers. She quickly smacked them away.
"You get your presents Christmas morning" she chastised mockingly.
"It's 2 in the morning!" he whined, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Technically it is Christmas morning!"
"Too bad! Charley has to wait, so does his father!" she told him decidedly. She twisted her neck so that their faces were touching. He leant forward and rubbed his nose against hers lovingly. "Merry Christmas", she whispered to him.
"Merry Christmas April", he replied, leaning forward and kissing her deeply. They broke apart and resumed their spooning position.
"I'll see you in the morning", she told him, closing her eyes and welcoming sleep.