After about three weeks, Artie was feeling significantly better. He was finally able to get rid of the sling, but had been told he'd need to keep the neck brace on for a few more weeks, which annoyed him. But, he supposed, it was better than having to keep both the sling and the neck brace.
His shoulder was finally feeling a lot better. He still had some issues with anything involving lifting, such as getting out of bed, but at least he could wheel himself around for short periods of time…enough to get around the house.
This also meant that he was finally able to get rid of the catheter they'd insisted he have when he left the hospital. He had grouched about it at first, before deciding to just act like it didn't exist, something that was difficult pretty much any time Quinn or Michael provided him with any assistance related to it, but he tried his best to block it out, something they both knew and tried to assist with.
Feeling like he was almost back to his regular, independent self, he had asked Michael to take him to the museum one Friday morning, thinking he could get a couple of hours of work in. He wanted to try and go back to work as quickly as possible, although he was enjoying spending time with Quinn and Avery. He was feeling useless, and thought going back to work, at least part time, might help with that.
Unsure that it was the right thing to do, Michael dropped him off, saying that he should just text him whenever he was done, since Artie hadn't been cleared for driving yet. He'd been about to leave the parking lot, when Quinn texted him, asking if he could please stick around for a little while, since she didn't think Artie was going to last very long.
Artie had barely made it through the door of the museum, when he was met by Jack. This should have made him feel suspicious that maybe Quinn had called him, but it didn't, and he just assumed Jack had been walking by when he saw him coming. He was still moving pretty slowly, and it seemed to be taking a lot of effort, but he was determined to try, at least.
After greeting him, Jack looked down at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Has your doctor cleared you for work?" he asked, noticing how Artie shifted, figuring whatever came out of his mouth would probably be less than truthful.
"Well…he cleared me for work-like activities, so I figured that was the same," Artie said. His doctor had cleared him for being in his chair and moving around, but for no more than a couple of hours at a time before resting.
"Work-like activities? Well, that doesn't sound like he cleared you for work. Not that I'm not glad to see you…you just need to take it easy." Jack had been to see him a bunch of times over the last few weeks, so he could see how he'd improved, but still…he didn't look that great. "But now that you're here, let's go get a coffee, before you leave again."
Realizing that arguing with his boss was pointless, Artie agreed, and before long they were sitting in the deserted café in the lobby of the museum.
"I'm feeling kind of…useless," Artie admitted, once they both had coffee. "Now that I'm sort of mobile again, I want to be doing things. And I'm really enjoying being at home with Quinn and Avery, and getting things ready for the baby, but I just…feel useless."
"Well, I'm pretty sure Quinn and Avery don't think you're being useless," Jack said, looking at him. "So my advice is that you take the time you can right now and do things with them, and come back here when your doctor says you're good to go."
The conversation went back and forth for a little while longer, before Jack noticed that Artie was starting to look uncomfortable, and suggested that he get whoever dropped him off to pick him up. Somewhat reluctantly, Artie texted Michael, who texted back that he was in the parking lot. He must have stayed in case Artie couldn't handle it, he thought, as Jack walked him out.
And, of course, he'd been right.
While Artie was gone, Quinn and Avery decided to try to organize some baby things, which proved slightly difficult, since Michael was currently occupying the room that would be the baby's.
Avery offered that they could put the baby things in her room, and Quinn had agreed, saying that they could definitely do that. They had just finished putting together a mobile that Avery had picked out, when Artie and Michael came back.
Artie looked miserable, and said he was going to bed for a little while, but that maybe they could all do something together later, which thrilled Avery.
After Artie was in bed, Michael went to Quinn and asked if she needed help with whatever they were doing, and before long, he was dragging the crib upstairs from the basement, since Avery had said she thought they should put it together so they could put all the baby things in it.
It was the crib that all three Abrams children had used in their infancy, that Beth and Steve had insisted Quinn and Artie should have when Quinn was pregnant with Avery, and Quinn got a little teary-eyed when Michael brought up the pieces.
"Maybe we should wait for Artie," she said, watching as he stacked the sides neatly against the wall. "I'm sure he would want to help put it together," she added, looking at Michael.
"Probably," Michael agreed, moving the crib sections out of the way so they weren't blocking anything. "Is there anything else you want brought up?"
Quinn thought for a moment, before suggesting a couple more things, which Michael and Avery went downstairs to find.
Quinn headed into their bedroom to check on Artie, finding him still awake, attempting to play with Bailey.
"Babe, Michael brought the crib upstairs, and we're going to put it together when you're up again, ok?" she asked, going over and sitting gingerly on the mattress beside him, taking his hand. "How are you feeling? You don't usually volunteer to go rest," she added, her voice laced with concern.
"I'm just a little stiff," Artie said, shifting around slightly. He didn't think it would be a good idea to tell her that it felt like someone had put an elephant on his head and was pressing it down into his shoulders. "That sounds great…although I don't know how useful I'll be at putting it together."
"You weren't too useful the first time around, and you weren't hurt then," Quinn chuckled, biting her lip and grinning at him. "If your dad hadn't helped, Avery would probably have had to sleep on the floor."
"We didn't have any instructions," Artie protested, laughing. "It wasn't my fault."
"Your dad said a monkey could have put it together," Quinn teased, leaning forward to kiss him.
"Well, he had three kids worth of practice, so he just knew what to do," Artie insisted, after kissing her back.
"Sure sure," Quinn teased, kissing him again. "You should take something and sleep for a little while, and then we'll put it together later."
Artie didn't argue, and before long, he was falling asleep, and Quinn was on her way down to the basement to see what was keeping Michael and Avery.
Eventually, Artie was awake, and they were putting together the crib. Much to Artie's delight, Michael couldn't quite figure out how to put it together either, and soon Steve was on his way over, since Avery insisted that they HAD to put it together so the baby things could go in it.
"You guys are both hopeless," Steve said, having snapped the crib pieces together in under ten minutes. "Are you SURE we're related?" he asked, chuckling slightly.
"Well, considering the fact that we both look a lot like you, I'd say yes," Artie said, laughing. "Thanks for coming over. Quinn and Avery were doing baby stuff all day, and thought it should all go in the crib," he added, as Avery began putting things they'd collected into the crib.
"I helped Uncle Michael carry things upstairs!" Avery announced, wrapping her arms around her grandpa. "He said I was a good helper!"
"I'm sure you were!" Steve said, hugging her back. "Looks like you were a pretty good helper," he added, surveying the baby paraphernalia strewn all over everywhere.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Quinn asked, remembering that she hadn't actually taken anything out of the freezer to cook, and that there was nothing in the fridge. "We can order something…I forgot to go shopping."
Steve said yes, he would love to stay, and suggested that they call Beth and Linds to join them, who could pick something up, so that Quinn and Artie wouldn't have to worry about it.
Quinn protested that that wasn't necessary, but Steve insisted, and before long, Beth and Linds were on their way over with Chinese.
Later that evening, Quinn and Artie were lying in bed, Quinn's head resting on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
"Are you excited for tomorrow?" she asked, looking up at him. "The doctor said next time the sonogram should actually look a little more baby-like."
"I am," he said, his face lighting up as she talked about the appointment they had the next day. "Do you think we should bring Avery? Michael said they could find something to do if we didn't want to."
"Do you think we should take her?" Quinn asked, sitting up. "She'd probably like to come."
"She would," Artie answered, smiling. "I think we should take her. She'll love it."
"This morning while I was making breakfast she wrapped her arms around me and was talking to the baby about what we were eating," Quinn said. "She was telling him or her how much everyone loves bacon, and that she knew the baby would too."
Artie burst out laughing, the movement hurting his neck.
"Well…she was right about that," he chuckled, groaning slightly as he tried to move his head, temporarily forgetting about the brace holding it in place.
"She talks to the baby more than you do," Quinn added, a smile on her face. "About everything. The baby is going to know exactly what goes on here before he or she even gets here."
"Well, she just wants the baby to be prepared," he said, bringing his hand down to rest on her midsection. "Nothing wrong with that."
"No, I suppose not," Quinn laughed, putting her hand over his. "This baby is pretty lucky, to have such a great big sister and daddy," she added quietly.
"And mommy," Artie added, his voice equally as quiet. "I think this is one of the most loved babies in the world."
"I agree," Quinn yawned, pulling the blankets up over them. "I think we should sleep now…our appointment is pretty early tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan," Artie answered, yawning. "You made me yawn."
"Are you calling me boring?" Quinn asked, laughing tiredly. "Thanks, babe. I love you too."
"No…I called you an…infectious yawner," Artie chuckled, yawning again. "And you're not supposed to say I love you too until I say I love you. So…I love you."
"I love you too…again," Quinn murmured, yawning again. "Goodnight, babe."
A/N: I feel like now you guys will be expecting daily updates, and I don't know if I can deliver that, but I will try!