Hopefully the chapter is fixed now! I wanted to let you all know that my friend HAS5245 and I had decided to collaborate on a prequel to this story called "You're My Home". It follows the events of Sullivan's death to the first few months of their marriage prior to the events of "The Home Team". If you like this story, you'll love that story. Go check it out! I hope you all like this chapter. I'm sorry it's a little late. My computer crashed and I only recently got the file back on my new one. Enjoy and remember to follow and review! I love hearing what everyone thinks!
"Now are you sure you'll be okay on your own with all three kids?" Andy asked as she leaned against the door of the Suburban while Jack took all her luggage out of the back. It had been three weeks since Rowan's concert and the boys were out of school for the year. Andy had gotten invited to a conference in LA with Maya and had reservations about leaving the kids and going until Jack urged her to.
"You and Maya are going to have a blast at that conference. Go ahead. Don't worry about me. I can hold down the fort here while you're gone", he assured. "What did you pack in here Andy? Rocks?" He asked as she laughed
"Very funny. It's going to be hard being away from my babies, even if it is for two days. You all be good for Daddy and listen. Understood?" she called to the back of the car as Rowan took out his earbuds.
"When are we ever not good Mama?", he smiled as Andy opened the back doors and unbuckled Amelia from her seat.
"I want to hug all of my kiddos before I go. Come here", Andy smiled as she hugged them all close and kissed them.
"Do you have to go Mommy?" Amelia asked looking up with her big brown eyes.
"No", Andy stated
"Yes", Jack said at the exact same time. "Yes, you do. Maya is waiting over there. Go enjoy yourself, even if I'll miss you like crazy", he answered as he kissed her in the drop off terminal at the airport.
"Oh really? You're going to miss me like crazy huh?", Andy chuckled as she pulled him into a long hug. "I'm going to miss waking up to you tomorrow morning"
"FaceTime me and you can", Jack chuckled as Maya walked over to them.
"Ready to go?", she asked as Andy pulled her suitcase and carry on along. "She'll be fine Gibson. We're going to re learn how to have fun like we did before you guys went and adopted three kids. Right?" Maya laughed as Andy went down the line from her husband to her kids, kissing each one of them.
"I love you Jack, and you Ro, and you, and you, and you", she smiled as she found herself lips to top of head with Maya.
"I'm flattered but I have a girlfriend, and you have a husband", Maya joked
"I'm sorry, force of habit. I thought I wasn't done with the kids", Andy laughed.
"Alright, well our flight leaves in forty minutes so we have to get in there", Maya smiled
"I know, I know. I just want everything to be settled before I go", Andy stressed
"Come on, let's go. Mr. Mom can figure things out himself for two days", Maya laughed as Andy picked up her suitcase again and walked towards the doors with Maya.
"Alright, everyone say goodbye to Mommy!", she heard Jack say as a chorus of goodbyes could be heard in the background.
The first day went by smoothly without a hitch as Lexie watched the children while Jack was at work. He was happy when he came home to leftovers in the fridge and each one of the kids asleep in their beds. After eating, he went upstairs to his and turned around to see Andy's empty side. The bed was too big for him without her. He smiled to himself knowing that he had the next day off. He figured a trip to the zoo would be fun. Andy wouldn't be coming in until the next night, so it was just a full day for him to spend alone with their kids. A beautiful sunny Wednesday. He was excited when he woke up the next morning and went into the kids' rooms to wake them up too. He had a whole fun day planned.
"Good morning DJ! Are you ready to go to breakfast?" Jack asked
"Where are we going?" He wondered as he stepped out of bed in his Ironman PJs
"Wilson's, then the zoo, and then I was thinking we could all ride the ferry around the bay. It'll be a fun, Dad and kid's day", Jack smiled
"Oh boy! Are we going to see tigers and lions at the zoo?" DJ asked as he quickly got out of bed, feet hitting the floor with a thud.
"Yes, we are!", Jack answered excitedly as DJ raced to get ready. Jack went into Amelia's room next figuring it easier to wake her up than Rowan who could sleep the entire day away if he wanted to. He chuckled as he looked over at Amelia sprawled across her bed, blonde hair in it's usual snarly state. He shook his head knowing how long it would take him to brush out all the snarls. He went over and sat on the edge of her bed, gently nudging her awake.
"Good morning sleepy head, do you want to go to the zoo and have a super fun day today?", he asked as she nodded sleepily, focused more on the bed than what her father was saying. Jack looked at her in confusion as his gut feeling went off. Something was definitely not right here.
"Huh, something's up. You're normally running circles around Mommy and I on our days off. Are you feeling okay Lia bug?", he asked as she nodded. In truth, she didn't, but she didn't want to disappoint anyone. She knew her brothers were excited about the zoo, and the ferry and she knew that everyone would stay home if she was sick. Jack believed her until he saw her hair sticking to her face and the beads of sweat in between the strands of hair. He knew that the air conditioner was on and there was no way it was that hot in her room. She had even worn pajamas with shorts to bed. Knowing better, he chalked it up to her being sick even if she wouldn't admit it. She wasn't a biological Gibson, but she had that Herrera-Gibson stubborness.
"You're going to have to try a little harder to fool your cool Dad here. The air conditioner is on in here, you're wearing shorts, and you're sweating buckets", he stated as he put a hand to her forehead despite her objections that she was fine. "And you're burning up. Nice try, but the only place you're going today is right here in this bed"
"DJ and Ro aren't sick. They'll be sad", Amelia excused referring to the promised family fun day that was now going to be a day of staying home.
"I know, they will be, won't they? Wait here for a minute and don't move", he smiled as he kissed her on the forehead and walked out of the room. Even at three, Amelia was already thinking of everyone else around her and unfortunately herself last. It was times like this where he wished Andy could hop on a plane and call back. He didn't dare call her. If she knew Amelia was sick, she would move heaven and earth to be on the next flight. He made a call instead to the next best person he knew.
"Jack?", the person asked on the other line
"Marsha, hey, I need to ask you for a big favor"
"Of course, what is it? You need me to watch the kids?"
"Just Lia. She's sick, and I planned a fun day with the boys, and she won't let me miss it" Jack chuckled.
"Oh my, the poor kid. Of course, she wouldn't let you miss it. I'll stay with her while you guys have a fun day. I'll be over in a minute"
"Thanks Marsh, I'll let her know" Jack smiled as he hung up the phone and went back into Amelia's room. "Okay, here's the deal munchkin, Gigi's going to stay with you while I take your brothers out. Then when you're better, you and I will have a fun day together, just the two of us. Deal?"
"Yeah. I guess Daddy", she smiled as he turned on the lights in her room to get a better look at her. His heart broke. The kid was as white as a ghost with all the color drained from her face. For two minutes he contemplated calling Andy but decided against it. He needed to sort this out himself and show her that he could hold down the fort for a weekend. His thoughts were interrupted as he saw Amelia's face go from white to green. He wasn't well experienced in children being sick, but he knew enough to know what was coming next. "My tummy hurts", Amelia cried as she looked up at him.
"It does? Does it feel like anything's going to come out of there?" Jack asked as Amelia nodded slowly, her little eyes wide in fear. Obviously, this had never happened to her before. Jack took a deep breath as he explained the next step to her. "Ok, let's take a little trip down the hall to the bathroom. Do you think you can make it there?" he suggested as the contents of last night's dinner made their way all over her bed.
"I'll take that as a no", he thought aloud as DJ came running into the room still in his Ironman PJs with Rowan trailing behind him, visibly angry and still half asleep with a bad case of bed head.
"Dad! I told him to stop barging in my room while I'm sleeping and woah, what's going on here…" Rowan asked as he spotted the scene in front of him.
DJ looked equally surprised as he stood looking at Jack in silence.
"Rowan, you're up. Lia's sick. Can you go downstairs and get a can of ginger ale from the fridge?" Jack asked as he picked up Amelia and moved her to the floor.
DJ eyed Rowan jealously as Rowan left the room and headed down to the fridge.
"Can I help? Why does Rowan get to help and not me" DJ asked. Jack, not having the patience to argue, spotted a job for DJ when he looked at Amelia's hair.
"Hey, DJ, can you hand me a hair tie from the dresser? It's up there in the jar." Jack asked as DJ tried to reach the top of the dresser to no avail.
"I can't reach. But I can use one of the doll chairs", DJ suggested.
"I don't really like you standing on chairs", Jack answered as DJ pulled a chair over to the dresser and perched himself on it regardless. "Dalton James, what part of 'no' did you not understand?"
DJ grinned proudly as he handed Jack a yellow elastic. Jack took it as Rowan walked back into the room without the ginger ale.
"I don't know where it is. It's not where Mom keeps it" Rowan explained before Jack could say anything. "How am I supposed to get it if I can't find it?"
"That's a great question buddy. Mom put them in the fridge. Top shelf. Meet us in the bathroom" Jack explained as he looked over at DJ entertaining Amelia with one of her dolls.
"Anything else Dad?" Rowan asked before tuning out of the room
"Take DJ with you. I don't either of you getting this. Maybe its best if we all stay home today", he answered as Rowan pulled a wide-eyed DJ out of the room all the while DJ was asking "Is Lia okay?"
Jack smiled at him and messed up his hair. "She's okay buddy, just go downstairs with Ro or go get dressed. Choose one".
When the boys left the room, Jack shifted his focus to Amelia who was sitting on the hardwood floor. He noticed she was crying, probably from the shock of being sick. This was his first sickness of any kind in the house and he was determined to handle it without so much as a phone call to Andy. "I know this must feel super gross Lia Mia. Don't worry. I'm right here.", he suggested as more throw up made its way on to the hardwood floor. Jack didn't even worry about the mess as he picked her up and ran to the bathroom where he sat her in front of the toilet and turned the water on for the tub.
"I don't feel good", she cried as he used the hair tie DJ had given him to pull back her bedhead as best he could.
"I'll bet you don't. It's okay. Let's take a very big deep breath munchkin, okay?", he asked as DJ came running in the bathroom half dressed, with Jack's phone in his hand.
"It was ringing so I picked it up. Its Mommy and she wants to talk to you", DJ stated as he handed Jack the phone. Now was not the time for Andy to call. He prayed to God that DJ didn't mention anything. It was the day of the conference and he knew she needed to focus on that. "Also, Rowan tried to get the ginger ale, but he spilt the iced tea"
Jack narrowed his eyes "The one in the glass pitcher?"
Rowan nodded as Jack winced hearing Amelia throw up over the toilet again.
"It's broken isn't it?", Jack asked as he ran his fingers through his hair while DJ looked at his bare feet and nodded. This was not happening right now. Not with Andy on the phone. He heard the unmistakable sound of Andy questioning if anyone was still there. He covered the speaker and whispered to DJ "Don't touch it, don't go near it. Put shoes on and please put on pants"
"Ok Daddy. I'll go tell Ro to stop cleaning it up", DJ answered as Jack put the phone to his ear, rolling his eyes as DJ left the bathroom. Visions of Rowan slicing his hand or foot on glass filled his head as Andy tried to talk to him. He was certain he heard someone yell "OW" from downstairs but blocked it out of his mind for two seconds as he answered the phone.
"Hi babe", he smiled as he answered the phone with one hand and rubbed circles in Amelia's back with the other as she continued throwing. This was going to be a very long day.
"Babe? You haven't called me that in a while. How is everything there?" Andy asked
"Everything's fine honey! Perfect in fact!", Jack lied as Rowan came limping into the bathroom.
"I dropped a can on my toe", Rowan stated as Jack fished a washcloth out of the bottom of the sink and threw it towards him.
"Get ice from the fridge downstairs. And wear slippers on your feet!", Jack called as Rowan left the bathroom
"It doesn't sound fine. Who's hurt?" Andy asked
"No one Andy, no one is hurt, no one is sick. He asked for ice because he stubbed his toe and the floor is extra cold in the morning, so I told him to wear slippers", Jack lied as Andy heard the unmistakable sound of vomit in the background.
"Who's throwing up I heard someone throw up. You're not sick, are you? The kids? Remember, I can be on the next flight home if you need me", Andy answered worriedly.
"No. No one's sick. Vic bought DJ one of those sound effects machines yesterday and he keeps playing that sound. Hang on. Dalton James Herrera Gibson, put the machine away before I take it", Jack called trying to sound convincing as he heard a grainy "What machine?", from down the hall.
"Leave it to Vic to do that. How's everything else? I miss you like crazy. These bathrobes at this hotel are amazing. Maybe I have to bring one home and wear nothing but the bathrobe for you one night when everyone's asleep", Andy teased as Jack wondered what that would be like.
"Oh hell yes", he answered forgetting that Amelia was in the room.
"What's hell?" she asked innocently as she looked up from the toilet. He smiled, grateful that being sick didn't mean her curiosity faded
"It's a grown-up word that you aren't using", Jack explained
"Why?" Amelia whined as Jack changed the subject by talking to Andy.
"I miss you as Andy. The kids miss you too." Jack reminded her as he heard the sound of arguing and breaking glass.
"Ohhh, you're in trouble", Rowan yelled in the hallway as he ran down to the bathroom. Jack groaned at the thought of having to break up another Rowan and DJ fight. Rowan and DJ could be each other's best friend and worst enemy all at the same time.
"Any fun plans today?" Andy asked oblivious to the brewing argument in the hallway on Jack's end.
"I'm taking the kids to breakfast, the zoo, and then a ferry ride" Jack explained hoping she didn't hear the background noise. He looked at the door as Rowan walked in and fished a bowl out from under the sink.
"Is that one of the kids? Can I say hi?" Andy asked as Rowan waved his hands in front of his face to express that now wasn't a good time.
"Amelia and I having a tea party, and Rowan and DJ are actually practicing a song they're writing so maybe call back later? Look, I love you and I want you to enjoy yourself. Call back later. I love you Andy", Jack answered as he hung up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He felt like he was handling a five-alarm fire as an acting captain right now. He took a deep breath as he looked at Rowan, expecting an answer for the bowl.
"I got you off the hook with Mom. What's the bowl for? The truth please"
"DJ tried to pull a shirt off his dresser and the fishbowl broke. I need somewhere to put Goldie", Rowan explained.
"Fill the bowl with water and put him in there. Do not cut yourself. I don't want any ER visits while your mother is away. Then I want you two to go down to the playroom and find something constructive to do in there. Do you copy?" Jack ordered
"Copy that Captain Dad", Rowan smiled as Jack heard the doorbell ring. It was Marsha. Thank God.
"I know I'm asking you to do a lot. Can you go let Gigi in and tell her I'll be down in a minute?" Jack asked as Rowan ran down the stairs at full speed. He turned back to Amelia as she looked up at him.
"How we feeling Lia bug?" Jack asked as Amelia shook her head and threw up yet again. How did this little girl have that much in her? He started singing the only song that would get her to calm down if she ever had a nightmare, 'My Girl'. "All done?" He asked as she nodded and wiped her hand across her face.
"How's this for a plan? What about we get you cleaned up and you spend the whole day in Mommy and Daddy's big bed watching movies?" he asked as she nodded, not having the energy to say anything.
One warm bath and a new pair of pajamas later; she was tucked into the master bed. Jack turned on Moana and left the empty trash bin from his bathroom next to Amelia. After making sure she was okay, he went downstairs where Marsha had two steaming cups of coffee waiting.
"I feel guilty about leaving her today. But I don't want to disappoint the boys. DJ was so excited this morning when he heard we were going to the zoo", Jack sighed
"I know. Speaking of the boys, don't worry about the boys this morning. Both of them are dressed and in the playroom. DJ is playing with his cars and Rowan's making a house out of Legos. Goldie unfortunately didn't make it, so we had a little toilet funeral for him down here. The glass in DJ's room and in the kitchen is clean and both boys already had some cereal for breakfast. You just sit and relax", Marsha smiled
"Thanks Marsh. I don't want to disappoint them, but I don't want to leave Amelia either. She's never been this sick before. It broke me. She wouldn't stop throwing to the point where she was dry heaving on nothing. And I don't want to call Andy and worry her. She's been looking forward to this conference for months and I know that the minute I mention one of the kids names or my name for that matter and the word "sick", she'll be on the next flight over", Jack expressed as he sipped his coffee.
"You got that right with Andy. She's a mama bear in every sense of the word"
Jack smirked "Sometimes its scary how much of a mama bear she is"
"Jack, I think I have an idea for today. You worry about Lia, I'll take the boys to the zoo", Marsha smiled as Jack hugged her.
"Thank you. I owe you big", he smiled
"You don't owe me big. You're the closest person I have to a son. Who was mother of the groom at your wedding? Hmmm?" Marsha asked
"You Marsh. Thank you for being there for me. For our family", Jack smiled as Marsha stood up and hugged him.
"Oh, it's no problem at all. I'll go get the boys and we'll be on our merry way. A ferry ride actually sounds fun", Marsha smiled as she called the boys out of the playroom. Rowan and DJ walked into the kitchen with confused looks on their faces.
"Is Lia okay?" Rowan asked as Jack messed up his hair
"Yeah. Lia's okay. She's a little sick today so, I'm going to stay here with her while you two go to the zoo with Gigi. Okay?", he asked as the boys ran up to Marsha.
"Yay! We're going with Gigi!" DJ expressed as he hugged Marsha and turned back to Jack. "Can I have twenty dollars so I can buy Lia a new teddy bear at the zoo?"
"Sure. I'll have Gigi hold onto that so you don't lose it. And I'll give you and Rowan each twenty as well. Have fun today and listen. No monkey business", Jack laughed as the boys laughed back at him before racing each other to put on their shoes in the foyer. After everyone had left, Jack cleaned Amelia's room back to the way it should have been and checked on Amelia.
"How are we doing sweetheart?", he smiled as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I feel yucky", she answered as she looked at him.
"I know love bug. You'll feel better so soon though. Gigi's at zoo with DJ and Ro so I'm yours all day. I brought up some Saltines for you. Are you hungry?", Jack asked as he put them on the nightstand.
"No, I just want cuddles", Amelia answered tiredly as Jack climbed in beside her. He didn't care about catching the bug. He just wanted her to feel better and be happy in that moment.
"You just want cuddles? Ok, move over. They say those help the stomach flu. What are we watching?", he asked as she nibbled on the Saltines
"Frozen", Amelia smiled as she buried herself in the blankets next to her dad with his arms around her. He put on the movie and she tried to explain every character to him when he told her he never saw it before. After the movie, Jack tried to fall asleep and looked to see Amelia finally sleeping beside him. The saltines and ginger ale proved to be a bad idea as she woke up and had another round of tears and throw up, this time in the master bathroom. He finally got her back to bed and she had fallen asleep for a few hours. He even took a nap and woke up only to the sound of his phone going off. It was Andy.
"Hey stranger", he whispered careful not to wake up Amelia
"Why are we whispering? Are you home?", she asked. "I thought you were going to the zoo"
"We decided to stay home instead and watch movies all day. All the kids fell asleep", Jack lied
"Huh. That's funny because Vic just called and told me she saw Marsha and the boys at Wilson's. I tried to yell at her for the sound effects machine and she never bought him one. Also, DJ mentioned something about Amelia throwing up? What's going on there? The truth please mister. The jig is up." Andy asked. Jack could hear Maya in the background saying "Andy, they're waiting for you"
"Okay fine. It's just a touch of the stomach flu but she's fine. Honestly. Marsha took the boys out for the day so I could spend all day with her. Seriously don't worry honey. I have everything under control", Jack smiled as he looked over at Amelia.
"Do you want me to come home?" Andy asked
"No. Between you and Lia being stubborn. You have the second part of your conference and your presentation tomorrow. Worry about that. The home team is fine" Jack assured
"Stubborn. Says the guy who begged me to do inventory when he broke his ribs in that car accident" Andy laughed
Jack chuckled at the memory "Because you had me doing nothing but the lightest of all desk work"
"Face it, you're just as stubborn as me and our kids. But, seriously, I trust you to handle this yourself. You're the father of our children and the love of my life. I trust you. Tell Amelia that I hope she feels better. Maybe I can FaceTime her tonight?"
"That would be nice. The boys will be home around seven so maybe then?" Jack asked
"Sounds good. Well, Maya's calling me, so I have to go, but I'll call later. I love you" she answered
"I love you too, and I miss you", Jack answered as he hung up. Amelia moved beside him and woke up as he put his phone on the side table. "Lia, what are you doing up?"
"I heareded you talking to Mommy" Amelia answered. "What did you talk about?" she asked as she sat up wincing from what Jack presumed was the trauma of throwing up all morning. He grabbed Andy's brush from the nightstand and started working through the snarls in Amelia's hair.
"You three. Mommy misses you and she's sorry you don't feel good. She wanted to come home, but Daddy told her no", Jack explained.
Amelia tapped her chin and looked at Jack with her glowing brown eyes. "You telled her you're making me feel better?" she asked
"I am?" Jack asked.
"Don't be silly. You're my Daddy and you're 'upposed to be good at that", Amelia laughed as Jack smiled
"Thank you for saying that sweetheart", Jack answered as she winced "Am I hurting you? I'm sorry love bug but you have a ton of snarls in your hair", he explained
"Can we read after?" Amelia asked as she looked up at Jack.
"Of course we can Lia Mia", he smiled. "Your brothers will be home soon so we can read until then"
"Daddy?" Amelia asked
"Yes munchkin?"
"I think you're the bestest Daddy in the whole wide world", she smiled holding out her hands as wide as she could.
Jack smiled at this comment. He needed to hear that after everything today. "Sometimes all you need is one person or child to tell you that you're doing everything right" Jack thought.
"And I think you're the world's greatest Amelia", he smiled as he got up and walked towards the door. "Think you're ready to go downstairs? We can read down there?"
Amelia grabbed her blanket and climbed out of the bed wincing with each move.
"Carry me?" she asked as Jack picked her up and brought her downstairs, sitting her on the couch surrounded by pillows. They read together and colored as she tried to nibble on Saltines again. A smile of relief spread across his face as she managed to keep them down for two hours. "She's getting over this" he thought as she snuggled next to him with a picture book. He handed her his phone to play a game when they boys walked in with Marsha. They each wore a new hat from the zoo and carried various souvenirs in their hands. Stuffed animals, a RC safari car, and a new Lego ferry boat model.
"Put those up in your rooms and come back downstairs to say goodbye to Gigi", Jack called upstairs as the boys raced each other up the stairs.
"Jeez Marsha, what did you do? Buy the whole gift shop?" Jack asked
"I just bought a couple of things. I have to spoil my grandkids sometime", Marsha smiled "How's my little Lia?" she asked as she walked over before Jack stopped her in her tracks.
"I don't want you getting what she has Marsh. I would wait", Jack warned as Marsha moved past him.
"I'll be fine. I want to check up on my Lia Mia. Have you checked her temp? She feels awfully warm", Marsha wondered aloud as Jack went into the downstairs bathroom and came back with a thermometer.
"Hey, you with the iPhone", he joked.
"Who me?" Amelia asked
"Yes you. Put this under your tongue and don't move", Jack ordered as Amelia shook her head.
"It's too cold", Amelia excused.
"I know. How about I sing the My Girl song while we do it?" he asked
Amelia tapped her chin "Okay Daddy. We can do that"
Jack started singing as the numbers on the thermometer climbed. "Oh wow. Yup that's a fever. 102.3"
"That's high for a little girl. Did you call her pediatrician?" Marsha asked
"Pedia what?" Jack asked
"A pediatrician. A doctor who specializes in children's health" Marsha answered
"I'm going to see how she does tonight, and I'll take her to Grey Sloan tomorrow if I need to", Jack explained.
"Okay, well, you call me if you need anything. Don't you go catching this or you'll be in big trouble", Marsha stated, as she kissed Amelia on the head. The boys came bounding down the stairs and hugged her before she left.
"Thank you for a super fun day Gigi", Rowan expressed as Marsha kissed him goodbye.
"Yeah Gigi! Thank you!" DJ chimed in as she kissed him too.
"I loved spending the day with both of you. Next time we'll bring Lia when she's feeling better", Marsha smiled as she hugged and kissed Jack before heading home.