Aiden pulled into the driveway and sighed as he spotted Antonia's car. He pulled his car right up to the bumper of hers, though he was quite certain that neither one of them would be leaving the house for the rest of the day. He pulled his sore and feverish body from the seat and moved toward the back seat, where he opened the door and looked down at the little sleeping boy. "I hope you're feeling better, pal. Because daddy feels like crap." He mumbled as he pulled the car seat from the car, and grabbed the diaper bag and the pharmacy bag and walked toward the front door of the house.
When he entered the house he listened for any movement, and heard nothing. Groaning, he set the car seat down and heaved a sigh as he sat heavily on the couch, looking down at the sleeping baby. Without the movement of the car, Max knew that something was off, and his eyes flicked open as he let out a little grunt. His lip pushed out in a pitiful little pout. "Oh, so you're not going to give me a break after all, are you?" He whispered to the baby, who seemed for the moment, to be content with sitting in the seat. "I'm going to go get you a bottle ready, and then we'll go upstairs and get some sleep." He said, reaching down to touch the baby's chubby cheek. "How does that sound?" He asked, watching as a slight crooked smile appeared on the baby's face, his eyes brighter than they had been all day. "You look like your mama when you do that." He said, making a face at the baby, he grabbed the handle of the seat and carted him into the kitchen with him. "There's no use making you stay out here alone." He mumbled to the baby.
He set the carrier on floor by the counter as he made easy work of preparing a bottle, glancing to the baby now and then as he went about the routine with little to no thinking. He crouched down at the carrier, and carefully unbuckled Max, lifting him into his arms as he stood up. As soon as he stood up, he came face to face with a set of sad brown eyes looking back at him. He cradled the baby and lifted the bottle to his lips, and Max hungrily latched on, his eyes closing as his daddy held him securely to his body. Now looking into her eyes, Aiden could feel the anger for Antonia that he felt earlier starting to bubble to the surface, and tried very hard to keep his cool.
She stood across from him, grasping tightly to the bathrobe she had wrapped around her, feeling the chill from the air, she wasn't sure if it was from her fever, or from the stare that Aiden was giving her from those four or five feet that separated them. "I'm sorry." She whispered, feeling a hard lump in her throat as she tried to speak, his eyes refused to soften to her apology and she felt a pang of guilt and fear that seemed to be battering her mind. "How is he feeling?" She whispered, looking toward the baby as he suckled at the bottle, his nose seemingly clear, his completion far less rosy than earlier.
"He's fine." Aiden said, his voice sounding a bit grumbled as his own congestion seemed to be taking control of his body. He watched the way she was holding herself, her eyes were on the baby, and her fingers were dancing across the pocket of her bathrobe as if she wanted to reach out and grab for him. "Ace said that you weren't feeling well." He said, letting his anger take a momentary back seat while his concern for her wellbeing became the focus.
"No." She shook her head, looking back up into Aiden's eyes. "Aiden, I'm sorry." She whimpered.
He saw the pitiful look on her face, and all he could hear in the back of his mind was the nagging reminder of what she had done. "I don't care." He said, turning around, he walked toward the sink as he fed the baby, walking away from her. "I don't care that you're sorry." He said as he walked around the kitchen island, he headed toward the sitting room. "We needed you today, and you left." He said, his voice laced with contempt. "This is supposed to be a partnership, Antonia." He said seriously.
"I panicked." She said softly.
"No shit, you panicked." He whispered angrily. "What if I wasn't here? What would have happened if I was doing something work related and wasn't able to get to you? What would have happened then? Would you have just left him in his crib and just taken off?"
"No!" She exclaimed, tears springing to her eyes. "I love him! I was scared!" She cried, reaching for the baby, she watched him take a step back. "Let me hold him." She said, appalled that he would keep their child from her as if he didn't trust her.
"I'm feeding him." Aiden snapped. "As I have been doing all day long today. In addition to taking him to the doctor, giving him his medicine, changing his diapers, and dragging him along to pick up his sister who decided that today of all days would be a good day to punch another kid in the face." He grunted angrily. "Not to mention that I have whatever he has, and I'm about ready to pass out from exhaustion. It's been a really long day, Antonia. It's been a really long day, and I'm just not in the mood for apologies right this second." He said walking away from her.
"Aiden!" She exclaimed, turning to watch him walk away from her. "Aiden, don't walk away from me." She said, watching his eyes turn and clash with hers.
"Why? Are you the only one in this relationship that's allowed to walk away? I'm not discussing this right now. I'm done. At least I'm walking away with the baby." He said with a sarcastic glare. "I'm putting him in his crib, and I'm going to bed. You can keep on doing whatever the hell it is you have been doing all day without us." He said, walking toward the stairs.
"That's not fair!" She exclaimed. "I'm trying to apologize! I'm trying to make things right!"
He turned around quickly and stepped toward her. "The only way to make this right, is to go back in time and make sure it didn't happen in the first place. Freak outs and panic are fine. They happen. But when you get in your car, and you take off, and I can't get you on the phone? When I have to hear from a second person that you're okay? That's beyond a freak out, Antonia. That's full on abandonment and neglect." He snapped. "What would have happened if Max's condition was worse than what I thought? He's tiny, Antonia. He is defenseless and cannot fully express what is wrong. What if you left, and something horrible had happened? What if he did stop breathing, or worse. Could you have lived with yourself then? I know that I couldn't have." He continued, watching as she simply stared at him, her breathing erratic as she tried to remain composed. "Think of the consequences of your actions, Antonia. Think of someone other than yourself for once." He continued. "He is relying on you. I am relying on you. I just want some goddamned support!" He growled, his rant spiraling out of control. "We're supposed to be partners! We're supposed to be equals! How the hell am I supposed to trust you with my life at work, if I can't trust you with our child's life at home?" He exclaimed.
"That's enough!" She exclaimed angrily. "That is enough." She said, taking a step toward him. "Don't you dare talk to me like that, do you understand me? Don't you dare question my trustworthiness, or my dedication to our children! Don't you dare come in here and berate me, and talk down to me, and refuse to hand over my child! You want us to be equals? You want us to be partners? Then accept my goddamned apology when I say that I made a mistake! Now hand over my baby so that I can apologize to him!" She shouted angrily, her entire body vibrating with anger as she reached her hands out to him. "Hand him over to me." She growled, her jaw set, her teeth smashed together in an angry scowl. "I swear to God, Aiden." She whispered between her gritted teeth. "Give him to me." She said slowly.
He stared at her for several moments, feeling both guilty for his outburst, but also intensely angry. He watched her dark eyes as her pupils dilated, her hands reaching out for the baby. "You're angry." He said, his eyes burning into hers.
"Give him to me." She said, taking a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Aiden." She said. "Hand him to me right now." Aiden watched her calm down, her anger drained from her face as she waited for him to hand the baby over. "Give me my baby." She said slowly.
"Our baby." He said, staring directly into her eyes, he stepped forward. "He's our baby, Antonia. He is 'our' son. He needs both of us. Not just you, not just me. He needs both of us. I need both of you. Do you understand why I am upset? Do you understand why I'm angry with you? It's not because you left. I expected you to run." He shrugged.
"Aiden." She whimpered.
"What? It's your M.O., Ant." He said, using the nickname of her childhood. It didn't get past her, and his tone was almost condescending. He had never called her by that name. "I am angry because you left, and you didn't even try to contact me. You sent Ace. You went to him, and you didn't even try to check on how Max was. I'm not angry about having to take care of a sick child. I'm his father, that's my responsibility. I'm angry that you disregarded both of us and sent someone else to do your dirty work. I didn't know where you were, if you were hurt. I didn't know where to find you. What if something happened to you?" He said, carefully lifting the baby into her arms. "You are my life." He said, putting his finger on her chin, she looked up into his eyes, and she could see the gentle green eyes that she had fallen in love with. "I don't want to be the person that you apologize to. I want to be the person that you run to, always." He said, watching her eyes as her mouth opened slightly to respond. He leaned down and kissed the baby's forehead, then turned and walked up the stairs quickly without another word.