Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I have a bunch of new chapters coming soon! As always, please review and follow, I love hearing what you think. Also check out You're My Home, the prequel that HAS5245 and I have been working on! Happy reading!
After basically living out of the Peds ward at Grey Sloan for three and a half days, Amelia was finally cleared to go home, and Andy couldn't have been more thrilled. She had a strong desire to sleep in her and Jack's king sized bed as opposed to an uncomfortable twin-sized mattress that she shared with both Jack and Amelia for three and a half nights. Amelia had refused to go to sleep at night unless both of them were with her, assuring her that she was okay. One night, Andy and Jack had tried to go home to shower and Amelia cried to the point where she was hyperventilating. She woke up with nightmares about Carl and even Jenna. Amelia's fear of hospitals was something she probably wouldn't get over until she was older, especially considering that she associated it as the place where bad things happened to good people. Miranda had done a great job of reassuring both parents that she would grow out of it and even directed them to a few articles online to read. After ensuring that Amelia was sound asleep in her own bed, both Andy and Jack fell into a deep sleep throughout the next morning, Andy barely heard the sound of the alarm going off but was too comfortable to wake up or even move to shut it off. Besides, the alarm clock was on Jack's side. "Can you shut that thing off? I'm sleeping", Andy mumbled tiredly as she snuggled next to her husband.
"I wish, but we need to get up so we get to work on time and the boys get to camp on time. It's their first day", Jack chuckled as he leaned over and kissed her. "Best sleep you've gotten in days?"
Andy smiled as she kissed him back, "Mhm. You?". She laughed until it finally registered in her mind what day it was. She frowned and ran her fingers through her hair while she said something in Spanish that Jack didn't quite understand. Andy checked her phone and sighed, Jack was right, it was the first day of summer camp. How could she have forgotten, especially after putting it in her phone calendar and setting a reminder. "I'm such an idiot. I blanked and forgot that camp was starting today. The boys are probably already up and ready", she thought as Jack put his arms around her and kissed her.
"You are talking about our boys right? The same ones that we have to pry out of bed on any given day?", Jack chuckled while fishing out of the drawer, the whistle Andy used at her wedding dress run. "If we want to be on time, we could always do what Maya does and wake them up like this"
Andy smacked him with her pillow and sat on the side of the bed, stretching. "I'm sure that would go over great Einstein. I want them to get up and get ready, not hate us. Ugh, speaking of getting up, we have to", she yawned as she stood up and put on her slippers.
"You got it boss", he smiled as he watched her go into their closet to find her work clothes for that day. While she was doing that, Jack quickly went into their bathroom to change. As he buttoned his shirt, Andy walked in to brush her teeth. They exchanged a quick smile as they reached over each other for their toothbrushes, being on the wrong sides of the sink. After brushing her teeth and putting on a little makeup, Andy put her hair into its usual ponytail that she wore for work. Jack smiled as Andy struggled to button the button up over her t-shirt. "You're starting to show, I think that's great", he assured as she looked at herself in the mirror.
"I told Maya that I needed a bigger size but she never got back to me", Andy noted as she turned to the side a few times to get a better view of herself. She had to admit she was excited that she was at this stage. "I'm getting bigger everyday it seems. Sooner or later my shirt will be the least of my worries. Carina wants me on bed rest come October, which means you'll have to deal with the crew here alone for two months", Andy chuckled. "Not looking forward to that. I thought I was done with wasting away watching Netflix after my leg healed"
Jack wrapped his arms over her shoulders and leaned over to kiss her."I know, but you'll be doing yourself a favor by not over exerting yourself and I know damn well that you would if you could. Everyone knows that", he chuckled as she looked at him unimpressed. "I'll tell you what, so you don't miss work, I'll tell you about all of the adrenaline filled calls we go on while you're on bed rest. You'll hear about them so many times that it will almost be like being there", he suggested
Andy chuckled as she turned from side to side and checked herself in the mirror again, "Ahh, you know I love you very much. However, Gibson, if you come home after shift and tell me about the calls while I'm doing another three months of staring at walls and watching Netflix, I might actually kill you". Andy managed to finish buttoning her shirt as best she could and walked out of the bathroom, stopping in the doorway to talk to her husband, "I'll go get the kids up and start breakfast. You take a few extra minutes of quiet. You'll need all the time you can get before October".
"Thank you", Jack answered jokingly as Andy left the room to go get the kids in order.
She tiredly walked into Rowan's room and flipped on the lights without so much as a warning. He shielded his eyes as she opened the curtains and muttered something along the lines of, "It's called summer for a reason, leave me alone", but Andy couldn't be sure. She chuckled as she watched him put the pillow over his head, hoping to drown out the sound of the alarm clock he was already ignoring.
"I don't even know why you have one of those if you insist on letting it go off", Andy answered as she pulled the covers off of him. "Come on Rowan Andrew, let's get up and actually be on time for camp today", Andy explained as Rowan sighed and trudged out of bed. Today was going to be a long day. Once she was sure that Rowan would be getting ready, Andy went next door to DJ's room only to find him not there. She wondered if he had gotten up already and decided to go into Amelia's room to see if she wanted anything for breakfast. "At least one out of three is ready for the day, good job Herrera-Gibson", she told herself as she stopped at the door with a smile creeping to her lips.
DJ was sound asleep in his Flash sleeping bag on the floor of Amelia's room. He missed her while she was gone as did Rowan. Andy snapped a quick picture on her phone for her locker before turning on the lights. DJ ever the drama king dramatically shielded his eyes from the light and put his head back down on the pillow that he stole off Amelia's bed. "Come on Mommy, I'm too tired", he whined. "It's not even noon yet. Abuela let us sleep until noon when she was here. Why can't you be fun like her?", DJ added, staring at Andy with unblinking blue eyes.
"Because I'm not your Abuela. Besides, don't you want to wake up for camp and see all your friends?", Andy asked while DJ groaned and turned the other way, pretending not to hear her. Andy sighed, "I know you can hear me Dalton James. Come on buddy, Dustin and Roger will be there"
DJ rolled his eyes and threw the covers off before standing up with a head full of bedhead. "Whatever", he grumbled, preferring not to get into a conversation about friends. He had enough trouble with them at school and didn't particularly want to deal with them during the summer too. Most of all, he didn't want his mom to find out because he knew how she would react. "Can I get ready now?", he snapped as he grabbed his things and started towards the door, only to be stopped by Andy.
"You can lose the attitude and meet us downstairs for breakfast", Andy answered matter of factly as he walked out of the room, angrily, without a word. Andy could have sworn that something was wrong but chalked it all up to first day jitters and the change in routine with Amelia being away for a while and having so many of their extended family stay with them while Lexie was off. She decided to give him a pass and instead went to wake up Amelia, who insisted on going downstairs in mismatched slippers because two of the same looked 'too boring'.
"Why do you have to work?", Amelia asked as they walked downstairs and into the kitchen together where both boys were fighting over the last of the box of Trix. "And why can't I come too?", she added as Andy pulled the cereal box out of the way, earning glares and a chorus of 'Hey!' from the boys.
"Because Mommy has a very important meeting this morning and you are going to spend some quality time with your abuela", Andy answered as she quickly poured two equal bowls of cereal and put the coffee on for Jack. She looked up at Jack while he came down the stairs and sat at the kitchen island next to DJ. "How was your extra few minutes of quiet?", she asked him.
Jack smirked and grabbed an apple out of the bowl, "Is it just me or is everyone in a mood?"
Andy chuckled and frowned, "My mother let the boys sleep until noon and not only that but she let them play video games all night long. Now I'm saying no and apparently I'm the bad cop. This is why I can't get along with her"
"She's babysitting Amelia while Lexie's away at her aunt's funeral. Let's be happy she said yes", Jack answered, giving Elena a brief moment of credit. Andy glared at him and he immediately regretted that comment. He walked behind her while she was preparing lunch for the boys and hugged her from behind, "If it makes you feel any better, I'm not too comfortable with her in our lives again either, but we have no other choice right now. Marsha went on vacation and I'm not about to let Teddy and Dr. Dipsh-", he started, stopping only when he realized what he was about to say. He preferred not to let DJ pick up on how to curse if he could help it. "It's times like this where we have to think about who won't screw our kid up more"
"Ha, you're not funny you know", Andy chuckled as she zipped DJ's lunch box closed and set it to the side for later. She sighed as she thought about her mood too this morning; she was on edge ever since Squires sent her the email last night asking to speak with her. It had been so cryptic and as usual, offered very little information about why he was meeting with her. She slid his coffee in front of him and smiled while watching the boys devour their bowls of cereal. "I'm sorry Jack, I'm just on edge with this whole meeting with Squires. Nineteen's been good. I can't imagine why he would want to meet. Nonetheless meet with all three of us", Andy excused.
DJ looked up from his breakfast and with a spoonful of cereal in his mouth, asked Andy, "Who's this Squires guy and why are you afraid of him?".
Rowan rolled his eyes at DJ and answered him matter of factly, "Mom's boss. I think she's afraid that her and Dad are going to get the axe"
"DJ, I am not afraid of him. Rowan, eat your breakfast before we're late", Andy answered nervously as she zipped their lunchboxes into their backpacks before finally taking a seat beside Jack. Jack sat there smirking at her while Amelia silently rearranged the bananas on her plate. Normally she would have burst her way into the conversation, talking a mile a minute with the boys, but she wasn't quite herself yet. Andy sipped her coffee and silently prayed to Robert that everything would be okay and that her job wouldn't be in Jeopardy. "You don't think I'll get fired right?", she asked, turning to Jack.
Jack smiled and shook his head, "No way. The only way nineteen runs as smoothly as it does is because of you. Besides, do you know how much flack he'd get for firing a pregnant woman? Robert would probably haunt his ass…."
Andy glared at him, "Read the room. Your children repeat everything you say"
"Great, then you guys tell Mommy that she isn't getting fired", Jack concluded, turning to Rowan, DJ, and Amelia for back up.
"You aren't getting fired Mom", Rowan answered as he got up from his stool to give Andy a hug that she happily returned. "Your team is lucky to have you. And that's coming from the first lieutenant of this team", he added, grinning at the notion of self-appointing himself the Home Team's lieutenant, just like his dad.
Andy smiled at him and kissed him on the forehead, "Thank you buddy. Wait, who said you were the lieutenant?"
Rowan shrugged while DJ inserted himself into the conversation, "You're a really good superhero Mom. Even better than the ones in the books", he grinned while running over to her and hugging her too.
"And I think you're super great", Amelia added, climbing off her stool and going in for the hug as well with the boys. She climbed up into Andy's lap while Andy held all three of them close. "I don't know what I'd do without you three soon to be five", she admitted as Jack cleared his throat. Andy held her arm out and made space for him too. "Don't think I forgot you, come here. My family", she added as they stayed like that for a few minutes before heading back to breakfast.
After breakfast while the boys were making sure their backpacks were ready and Jack was skimming the pool, Elena let herself into the house using the key Andy gave her the night she stayed with the boys. "Your house doesn't look that bad. I was surprised to see how organized it was with the three kids", Elena smiled as she walked through the dining room and into the kitchen where Andy was putting away the rest of the dishes. Elena reached onto the counter and grabbed the coffee mugs to put in the cabinet.
"I was going to do those", Andy expressed as she put the clean cereal bowls away in the cabinet. "But I guess you can help", she added while mentally trying to convince herself to give Elena a second chance through the kids. She was really trying, and that meant Andy had to try too. "For the sake of the kids", she thought to herself as she put plates and silverware away beside her mother.
"How's Lia doing? Any better?", Elena asked, trying to make small talk. She could tell that Andy wasn't happy about how she spent her night with Rowan and DJ. She just figured as their grandmother, that it was her right to spoil them beyond a reasonable realm.
Andy smiled, "Slept like a rock last night. DJ slept in her room; he's so happy to have her home. She's still not herself with energy and eating but we'll get there"
"That's good", Elena answered as Jack came back downstairs followed by Amelia and the boys. "Good morning Jack, good morning boys", Elena greeted as Jack checked for his wallet before acknowledging that she was there. The boys however, immediately ran up to her and hugged her with Amelia tagging along close behind. "First day of camp? Have either of you been before?", she asked
Rowan shook his head, "Nah, Jenna said it was too expensive, so we stayed with her and Carl last summer. Oh and with Mom and Dad too. I'm kind of excited, only because I heard my group gets to build robots", he grinned. "How about you DJ, are you excited?"
"Not really, I'd rather go to the station with Mommy and Daddy", he expressed while Andy frowned and knelt down to his level.
"We talked about this bud, you can't come to work with me because we have to help people. Once you see Dustin and Roger you won't want to leave honey. Trust me", she assured him as she kissed him on the head.
"I guess", DJ muttered as he cast his head downward, still not too keen on going to camp. Everytime he thought about Roger, his former best friend, his stomach did little flip. Being bullied relentlessly sucked and worst of all it was the person he trusted most that was initiating it. He was dreading going back there and listening to the laughing and the hurtful comments that emerged from Roger's mouth. He tried hard to make it stop but it seemed as though there was no way out. DJ sighed as he slipped his spaceship backpack over his shoulder and stood beside Rowan for a picture he knew Andy wanted to take.
Amelia walked over and stood between them, smiling from ear to ear, and wanting to be a part of the pre-camp festivities even if her start date had been pushed to the few days before their vacation. She wasn't letting feeling sick stop her, that was for sure. "Now you take the picture", she commanded as Andy chuckled and snapped a picture on her phone of the three of them. "Hey, I want to see that", she ordered as Andy knelt down and showed her the phone. "I look good"
Andy laughed as she put the phone away and took her giant purse off the hook, "You look beautiful and you boys look so handsome and camp ready. Alright, now we have to get going, we're already running late". She kissed Amelia goodbye and hugged her mother quickly, "Thanks again Mom. Call if you need anything"
"Be good for Abuela", Jack told Amelia as he kissed her on the cheek. "We'll see you tonight when we get home. Let's hustle you two, come on", he added as the boys ran ahead of him and Andy, racing each other out the door and to the car.
