I know I normally only write Marina, but I have been trying to figure out how to write Travic for a while now, and I finally got something written so enjoy!
It was December 24th, Christmas Eve. Christmas Day itself was always on of Vic's favorite days of the year growing up. It was the one and only day her parents would close their restaurant for half the day and just spend time with her. It meant so much to her and she would look forward to it for months.
After she joined Station 19, she found new family traditions with her fire family. Often, they would have to work on Christmas Eve or Christmas day, or one unfortunate year, both. However, this year, that was not the case.
For Vic it was because she was still not cleared for duty after the accident with the pipeline and subsequent heart damage though Teddy had told her it was likely that she would be cleared in the beginning of the year, her heart doing extremely well, especially considering all the damage.
She was still struggling to process what happened to Dean and had found herself meeting with Diane twice a week or more just to talk about it and get advice or reminisce or sometimes just cry. It had been good, and while Vic knew from her experience with Lucas that she would ever be "over it," she was feeling better every day.
She had been looking forward to Christmas a lot this year because A shift had somehow managed to score both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, having worked Thanksgiving and scheduled to work a double on New Year's Eve/Day. Ben and Bailey had invited them all over for Christmas Eve dinner which everyone was going to be at and then Vic and Travis were going to spend Christmas Day with her family in the morning and his mom at night.
Unlike A shift at 19, Theo had pulled the short stick at 23 and was working both days. With their captain still out recovering, there was a lot on the lieutenants at the station, and while Andy was supposed to take Christmas Eve and Theo Christmas Day, Theo had volunteered to take both after hearing that 19 was getting together, knowing that Andy should be part of that. Andy had tried to fight him and take his Christmas Day shift, but he insisted that Andy spend that day with her cousin, aunt, and uncle as planned. He knew 19 had had a rough year, and while Andy was technically not part of it, Theo knew she would always be 19.
Also, Theo and Vic had been struggling with their relationship since Dean, both of them just feeling out of sync and Theo didn't want to spend the holidays navigating that. It had been getting better, but he didn't really want to spend the day with 19.
He had gotten up the morning of the 24th, giving Vic a gentle kiss as he got ready to leave for work, trying not to wake her up. However, as usual, her eyes fluttered open as his lips met hers.
"Merry Christmas Eve," he said gently, smiling at her.
"Merry Christmas Eve," she said, "Are you leaving?"
"I am," he nodded, "I will be back on the 26th. I'll call later, ok? Enjoy your time with 19 tonight."
"Be safe at work, ok?" she said, something she had been saying every time he left the house for months at this point.
"Promise," he said, giving her another kiss, "Love you."
"Love you too," Vic said, pulling the covers back up.
Often when Theo left for work, she would get up for the day, especially in the past two weeks as her body got better and better, but today, she was extremely tired, deciding to just let her body sleep.
The next time she woke up was to her door opening. She groaned as she felt her head pounding, rolling over, seeing Travis standing in the doorway.
"Hey," she said, pushing herself up to sitting, "Did you just get home?"
"I did," he said, eyebrows furrowed, "Did you have a rough night?"
"No," she said, confused, "Why?"
"It's almost noon," he said, "Are you just waking up?"
"Are you just getting home?" she asked, "What kind of call kept you at work this late?"
"We got called to a car accident about ten minutes before shift end," Travis said, "And it ended up being a five-vehicle pile-up with a lot of victims. We got everyone out and to the hospital, but it took forever."
"Yikes," Vic said, rubbing her eyes, "How was the rest of shift?"
"Typical," Travis shrugged, "Some heart attacks, two Christmas tree fires, a kitchen fire from a massive cookie baking day gone bad. Pretty standard for this time of year. Oh, and tonight, you are gonna want to be extra careful around Maya because apparently being five days into IVF hormone treatments are not agreeing with her emotions or body. She is a damn hormonal disaster. She started crying when Jack told her she had dirt on her face."
"I still can't believe they are going to have a baby," Vic said, laughing a little until she started coughing, leaning back against her pillow as she tried to calm the fit.
"Are you ok?" Travis asked worriedly as he quickly walked into Vic's room all the way, going over to her.
"I'm fine," she said, finally getting her lungs under control as she shivered a little, "Did Theo turn down the heat again? It's cold in here."
"No," Travis said, putting a hand on Vic's forehead, "Shit, Vic. You are burning up."
"I'm not," Vic said, "I was just under the covers and sleeping. I'm fine."
"No," Travis said, "No, you are too warm. And the cough. I am going to grab a thermometer and then call Teddy. This could be bad."
"I'm fine," Vic said, "It's Christmas. I am fine."
Travis was already gone though, coming back a few minutes later with a thermometer, his phone up to his ear.
"She has a cough," he said into the phone, running the thermometer over her forehead, "And her temp is 101.7. Let me ask. Vic, do you have any other symptoms?"
"I'm fine Travis," Vic said, before shouting toward the phone, "I'm fine Teddy. He's being crazy. It's Christmas and I am fine."
She was broken off by a cough though, Travis holding the phone toward her.
"Did you hear that?" Travis asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed, "Yeah. You can talk to her. Hang on."
"I'm fine," she snapped at him, taking the phone, "Hey Teddy. I'm fine."
"Vic, I know you think you are fine," Teddy said, "But I need you to be very honest with me, ok? Are you having any trouble breathing? Or any chest pain?"
"No," Vic said, "No. My breathing feels fine. I promise. I can have Trav listen to my lungs if you want. He is pretty well trained."
Travis got up at this, going to find his stethoscope while Vic kept talking to Teddy.
"Are you having any other symptoms?" Teddy asked, "Anything at all?"
"I'm kinda achy," Vic said, "And tired and I have a headache. And maybe I'm a little congested and slightly nauseous."
"Ok," Teddy said, "Well, it sounds like you might have the flu. I just want to make sure though. Can you come by Grey Sloan and get tested? I'll even just come out to your car and do it. I can take a quick listen to your lungs and heart too, just to make sure it still sounds good."
"Are you working today?" Vic asked as Travis walked back in.
"I am on until noon," Teddy said, "And then it's time to last minute Christmas shop for Leo and Alison."
"Ok," Vic said, knowing better than to argue with Teddy Altman, "I'll have Travis bring me over. We will be there in like 15 minutes?"
"I'll be there," Teddy said, "Just text me when you get here."
"Thanks," Vic said, hanging up the phone.
"Does she want to see you?" Travis asked nervously.
"She wants to run a flu test," Vic sighed, "And listen to my chest. I told her we would be there soon."
"Alright," Travis said, "I'll go get the car started. You get dressed."
Vic nodded, getting up. Her body felt heavy and tired as did her soul. All she wanted was to spend time with her family, both fire and biological, and if she was sick, that wasn't going to happen.
She put on a sweatshirt and some sweatpants before grabbing her purse and jacket and heading out of her bedroom. She found Travis standing there waiting for her, wrapping his arm around her.
"I'm fine," she sighed as he walked her out the door.
"I just want to make sure," Travis said, trying hard not to let his anxious thoughts take over.
Sure, he had seen Vic sick before, but the fact that she was sick less than two months after having a heart attack and basically dying twice made him feel on edge. He was secretly glad that Teddy had wanted Vic to come in, needing reassurance from the cardiothoracic specialist that his best friend was going to be ok.
"Alright," Travis said as they started driving, "Let's get you checked out."
"I'm fine," Vic said, crossing her arms, "The only reason I am even going in is because Teddy said I need to."
"It's better to be safe than sorry," Travis said, "Especially with your heart."
"My heart is basically fine," Vic said, "You were at my last appointment. You know. Teddy said I was the healthiest person she had seen who was less than three months out from multiple major cardiac episodes."
"Yeah, but most people who have those are elderly or out of shape," Travis said, "You are young and fit so it doesn't take much for you to be the healthiest."
"Exactly," Vic said, "But that all works in my favor. I'm fine. I probably just have a cold or something."
"Vic, you have a decently high fever," Travis said, "This is at least the flu."
They pulled into the hospital parking lot, Travis going to drop Vic off at the ER entrance when she stopped him.
"No," she said, "Go park in that close spot right there. Teddy promised an in-car exam and test."
"Oh, okay," Travis said, driving over to the parking space, "I'll text her."
Within five minutes, Teddy Altman was at the side of the car, armed with her stethoscope and a flu test. She quickly listened to Vic's heart and lungs, satisfied that she sounded clear before pulling out the nose swab.
"Alright," Teddy said as she took the sample, "Now, if this is positive, I can prescribe you some Tamiflu to help you get over this faster, though, there is currently a national shortage of it so I'm not sure you will get your hands on any. You know with the heart meds you are on, you can't take Advil, but Tylenol is fine to help with the fever and pain."
"Great," Vic sighed, "So even though there is a med I might be able to take, I might not be able to get it."
"Unfortunately," Teddy nodded, "If this is negative, I might have you come in for a few more tests, just to make sure everything is ok, but you have all the classic flu symptoms. For now, just rest. Lots of fluids. Warm showers might help with the aches."
"So, does this mean I have to miss Christmas?" Vic asked, looking at Teddy with tired eyes.
"I would not recommend being around other people," Teddy said, "Assuming this is the flu, you are very contagious. Sorry."
"Ok," Vic said, biting her lip as she nodded, "Thanks."
"I will call you within an hour with the results of this," Teddy said, "Feel better."
"Thanks," Vic said as Teddy shut her door.
"Alright," Travis said, "Let's go home and get you into bed."
Vic was quiet the entire way home, just staring out the window. Travis didn't push her, knowing she was probably not feeling very well and figured she just wanted quiet.
Once they arrived, she was out of the car before he could open her door, Travis quickly following her and opening the door.
Once inside, Vic trudged up the stairs, going into her room.
Travis quickly went into the kitchen, starting a pot of tea before texting the team, letting them know what was going on and that he and Vic would not be joining them for Christmas. He also put in a grocery order, making sure to get plenty of juice, Gatorade, crackers, vapor rub, cough drops, tissues, and Tylenol along with some soup.
He texted Emmett, letting him know what was going on and telling him that he should probably stay away from the house for the next few days because Vic was sick. Emmett almost immediately called him.
"What's going on?" the younger man asked, voice full of concern.
"Vic has what we think is the flu," Travis sighed, pouring the boiling water into a mug, adding a tea bag and some honey, "I took her for a flu test, but you don't want to come over here and catch it."
"Trav, it's Christmas," Emmett said, "I don't care if I get sick. I want to spend it with you."
"It's up to you," Travis said, "But you have been warned."
"I'll take my chances," Emmett said, "I'll come by tonight at the time we were supposed to go to Ben's. Do you need me to get anything?"
"I put in a grocery order," Travis said, "If I think of anything else, I'll text you."
"Alright," Emmett said, "Bye Babe. Love you."
"Bye," Travis said, "Love you too."
Travis then grabbed the mug of tea, going upstairs, detouring to his room to put on pajamas before going into Vic's room, half expecting to find her asleep. Instead, the sight he saw broke his heart. Vic was lying in bed, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks.
"Hey," he said, setting the tea down on nightstand before climbing into bed next to her, "What's wrong?"
"I'm going to be alone on Christmas," she said, tears running down her face, "And this year has sucked more than I know how to process and I just wanted to have a good Christmas with family and now I can't even have that."
"You are not going to be alone," Travis said, pulling her close, "I am going to be right here."
"What?" Vic said, sniffling as she looked at him, "No. You should go spend Christmas with everyone."
"No way am I leaving you here alone," Travis said, "You are my family. You cannot be alone for Christmas."
"But what about Nari?" Vic said, "She will be alone tomorrow if you don't spend it with her."
"Well, I have already been exposed to the flu," Travis said, "And I bet, if I ask, I can convince Maya and Carina to have her over because Nari and Katherine get along very well, and Carina likes my mom."
"You would really miss Christmas for me?" Vic said, wiping tears off her cheeks.
"Vic, what kind of question is that?" Travis said, "Of course I would. I would skip every holiday for the rest of my life for you."
"I love you," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder for a second before she started coughing, burying her face in her elbow, "I thought you hated sick people though."
"I do most of the time," Travis said, "However, because you are so pitiful, and I am feeling the Christmas spirt this year, I will make an exception, just this once."
Vic reached over, punching him gently in the shoulder.
"Hey," Travis said, "Don't make me change my mind. Now, how about you drink some of this tea, I will put on a Christmas movie, and you can rest, ok?"
"Ok," Vic nodded, taking the mug of tea from Travis, "Thank you."
"Of course," Travis said, pulling an extra blanket up over Vic as she shivered.
"What about Emmett?" Vic said suddenly, looking at Travis as he browsed Netflix for a Christmas movie.
"He is going to risk coming into this house of infection," Travis said, "I tried to talk him out of it, but he loves me too much."
"Gross," Vic said, coughing again as she reached for a tissue off her nightstand, her nose suddenly deciding to run, "Shit. I should probably text Theo and warn him I'm sick."
"You probably should," Travis said, nodding as he selected White Christmas for them to watch.
"I don't want him to come back here though," Vic sighed, knowing it sounded bad when she said it, "I mean, it's not that I don't want him to, but I just…"
"Have had to do the non-sexy bed bath version of your relationship for months and don't want to do it anymore?" Travis said, raising an eyebrow.
"Kinda," Vic said, "Also, I just…I kinda just…I just want to spend this holiday with family and Theo is kinda family, but also, he doesn't get it…not really…how hard not having Miller here is right now and I feel like I can't talk about it with him because I do love him, but I also have been trying to deal with the fact that Miller had feelings for me and now he's gone and I will never know if I could have had those same feelings for him and telling Theo that feels so weird and…."
"I know," Travis said, setting down the remote as Vic started to cry, pulling her close, just hugging her, "It's ok."
Travis just held her until the tears stopped and her breathing evened out, rather loud snores telling him she was asleep. He considered moving her off of him, but she seemed so comfortable, and he didn't want to wake her up. Instead, he quietly put the movie on before settling down, allowing his own eyes to slip shut, having not gotten a ton of sleep last night between calls.
When he woke up about two hours later, Vic had moved away from him, having kicked off the covers from her body, clearly having gotten hot. He smiled when he saw the socks on her feet, knowing those were her Ripley socks. He knew she only put them on when Theo was at work, not wanting to bring that baggage into their relationship any more than it already was.
Travis got up, seeing that the groceries had been delivered. He put the groceries away before checking his messages. He saw he had messages from just about every member of the team, wishing Vic well and telling him they would miss them that night.
He also had texted Carina separately, asking if his mom would be able to crash the Deluca-Bishop Christmas dinner the following night, the Italian telling him that his mom was always welcome with them. She also told him that she and Maya were going to stop by around 4 if that was ok to drop off some soup and a few other things. Travis told her that was fine, checking the clock and seeing it was already 3.
Once he had made sure his mom knew the plan for the following day, he went back to check on Vic, finding her still sound asleep.
He grabbed her phone, seeing she had a message from Teddy. He normally would not listen to her messages, but he knew that this could be important, and just in case he needed to take her in, he decided to listen. Luckily, Teddy's message said that Vic did indeed have the flu and that she had tried to call in a prescription for Tamiflu but couldn't find any pharmacies that had any available. She again said that Vic should rest, drink lots of fluids, and take Tylenol as needed.
Travis put Vic's phone back down, checking on her one more time before going downstairs to do a little cleaning before Emmett came over. Just as he was finishing, he heard a knock on the door, finding Maya and Carina standing outside in the cold.
"Hey," he said, smiling at them, "Come on in."
"Hi," Maya said as she and Carina came in.
"Buon Natale," Carina smiled, giving Travis a small hug.
"How are you both?" Travis asked as he took a big pot of soup from Carina.
"Fine," Maya said, biting her lip, "Is Vic in her room?"
"She is," Travis nodded, "But she might be asleep, and she's probably very contagious."
"I won't wake her if she is," Maya said, holding up a big bag, "But I was her secret Santa so I want to go give this to her. I don't care that she's contagious."
Travis almost argued but remembering how hormonal and grumpy Maya had been during their last shift, he kept his mouth shut, going into the kitchen with Carina while Maya went upstairs.
She slowly opened Vic's bedroom door, the younger woman groaning as she rolled over to see who was entering.
"Hey," Maya said quietly.
"Hey," Vic said, rubbing her eyes as she pushed herself up a little, "What are you doing here?"
"Just dropping off your secret Santa present," Maya shrugged, "Actually, it's kinda good that you can open this on your own time instead of with everyone tonight."
"What?" Vic said as Maya handed her the bag.
"You don't have to open it now," Maya shrugged, "Or you can. It's up to you."
"Now I'm curious," Vic said, pulling away the tissue paper in the bag, pulling out what felt like a book. As soon as she saw it, tears filled her eyes.
"So, I went to help Andy get the houseboat…cleaned up I guess," Maya said, "Just to sort through his things and we found so many pictures, obviously, and some other stuff, and obviously we put a lot of it in storage for Pru when she grows up, but I thought you might like to have some of these…I don't know."
"Thank you," Vic said as she turned the pages of the book that was filled with pictures of her and Dean and their team as well as some of her and Pru that he must have taken when she wasn't looking, "Maya…this is… If I wasn't so sick, I would hug you so hard."
"I don't care that you are sick," Maya said, leaning over and hugging her friend tightly, causing the bag to tip over and spill out the other item.
"What is this?" Vic said, seeing the piece of fabric that fell out.
"Oh, it's one of his sweatshirts I found in his locker when I cleaned it out," Maya said, "I thought you might like to have that too."
Vic started crying again, Maya pulling her back into a hug, tears running down her own face. That lasted about a minute before Vic started coughing, pulling away from Maya, grabbing a tissue and blowing her nose when the coughing died off.
"I didn't mean to make you cry that much," Maya said, grabbing a tissue too, wiping her own eyes.
"I didn't mean to make you cry," Vic said, "Though I hear it's not that hard these days."
"God, this is like the fifth time I have cried today," Maya said, "I asked Carina to help me clasp this necklace and when she said she would, I literally started bawling."
"What?" Vic said, laughing a little.
"My emotions are a mess," Maya said, shaking her head, "Hormone injections are no joke. Between that and the nausea, I don't know how I am going to survive the next five days."
"But then you will get to have a beautiful little firehouse baby," Vic said, leaning back against her pillow.
"Hopefully," Maya nodded, smiling a little. Just then, there was another knock at the door, Carina coming in.
"Boun Natale Victoria," the Italian said, smiling, "Sorry you are sick."
"It happens," Vic shrugged, "Thanks for bringing Maya over here to drop this off. I really needed it tonight."
"Carina also brought you something," Maya said, "She made soup."
"You didn't have to do that Carina," Vic said, smiling.
"Well, I was already making it for my lovely wife who hasn't had much of an appetite the past few days," Carina shrugged, "So making an extra large batch was nothing."
"Well, thank you anyway," Vic said, coughing a little.
"Oh Vic," Maya frowned as the sick woman groaned a little, "We are going to go, but I hope you feel better soon."
"Thanks," Vic said as Maya leaned over and gave her one more hug, "And seriously Mai, thank you for this."
"Merry Christmas," Maya said, "See you soon."
"Merry Christmas," Vic said, rubbing her eyes as the two of them left.
About five minutes later, Travis came back into the room, finding her looking at the book of photos.
"Hey," he said, climbing into bed with her, "Is that your gift?"
"Yeah," Vic nodded, "Shit, I should have sent my gift with them."
"I did," Travis said, "Don't worry about it."
"Thanks, Trav," Vic said, leaning her head on his shoulder as she looked at one photo in particular.
It was the day she had moved in with Dean and Pru, and she had insisted they take a picture to remember he day. She was holding Pru in her arms and Dean was smiling behind her.
"He always let anyone just move in," Vic said, tracing his face with her finger, "Gibson and Warren and me and Andy. I think you and Maya are the only two who never lived with him."
"Yeah," Travis said, nodding, "He was so generous with his space and time and money and everything"
Vic nodded, wiping at a tear. Eventually, Vic closed the book, setting it aside.
"How are you feeling?" Travis asked, "Do you want some food? That soup Carina made smells amazing."
"Maybe," Vic said, "I'm not sure if I'm hungry or nauseous, but I should probably eat."
"Do you want it in bed or downstairs?" Travis asked.
"Downstairs," Vic said, "And can you light the fireplace?"
"It's already done," Travis said. Just then, they both heard a voice downstairs.
"Trav?" Emmett called.
"Go see your boyfriend," Vic said, "I'll make my way down in a few minutes."
"I'll be down in a minute," Travis called before looking at Vic, "How about I help you downstairs? I don't want you to trip."
Vic thought about arguing, but she was feeling dizzy and tired and knew he was right. He helped her up, Vic thinking about slipping on Dean's sweatshirt but deciding against it, not wanting to have to was it. Instead, she grabbed one of her own sweatshirts, going downstairs with Travis's help.
"Hey," Emmett said, smiling as they both walked into the kitchen, Travis going and giving him a quick kiss before going back to Vic, guiding her to the couch, "How are you feeling Vic?"
"Never better," Vic sighed as she sat down on the couch, Travis draping a blanket over her.
"Sorry you are spending Christmas sick," Emmett frowned, "That sucks."
"Yep," Vic said, rubbing her eyes, "Hey, Trav, did you listen to my messages?"
"Only the one from Teddy," Travis said, "Just to make sure you didn't need the hospital. You do have the flu, by the way, and there are no meds anywhere around so you are just going to have to tough it out."
"Yay," Vic groaned, pulling the blanket closer.
Soon enough, Travis and Emmett joined Vic on the couch, Travis and Emmett with the takeout Emmett had brought and Vic with Carina's soup. They flipped on some Christmas movies, all three of them just relaxing.
Vic only ate about half of her soup before discarding it on the table, moving so her head was in Travis's lap.
"Hello," Travis said, looking down at her, "Comfy?"
"Yep," Vic said, cuddling closer to him as he shook his head.
He couldn't even pretend to be annoyed with her, just happy that she was able to find some comfort at the moment. Vic fell asleep pretty quickly on his lap, Travis keeping one hand on her back while holding Emmett's with the other.
"I don't have to stay tonight," Emmett said after a while, "If you just need to take care of her, that is ok. I know how important she is to you and how scary this has all been."
"You can stay," Travis said, "I want you to stay if you want to. I mean, I totally get it if you don't want to spend the night in this house of germs, but I want to spend Christmas morning with you."
"Ok," Emmett said, "I just don't want to intrude."
"You aren't," Travis assured him, leaning over and giving him a kiss.
Emmett smiled, deepening the kiss a little bit. They would have kept going, but suddenly, Vic woke up, jumping up immediately and stumbling out of the room.
"What…?" Travis said before he heard the distinct sound of vomiting coming from the bathroom, "Shit."
He got up, immediately going to his best friend's side. He found her leaning over the toilet, throwing up everything she had eaten.
"Oh Vic," Travis sighed, rubbing her back as she continued to throw up.
Once she was done, he leaned her back against the wall, about to get up to grab her a glass of water when Emmett appeared in the doorway with one as well as a wet washcloth.
"Thank you," Travis said, taking both items as Emmett nodded.
Travis helped Vic take a few sips of water to rinse out her mouth, wiping off her hot forehead with the cloth.
"I want to go to bed," Vic said after a few minutes of sitting there.
"Ok," Travis nodded, "Can you walk or do you want me to carry you?"
"I can walk," Vic said, "But…don't let go?"
"I'm right here," Travis reassured her.
They made their way upstairs, Vic crawling into bed while Travis got her a fresh glass of water and a trash can. He then climbed into bed next to her.
"You should be with your boyfriend," Vic mumbled, "It's Christmas Eve."
"Good thing my boyfriend understands when my best friend needs me," Travis said, "Now, go to sleep."
Vic didn't argue more, instead, just moving closer to Travis as she fell asleep. Travis laid there for about half an hour, just to make sure she was really asleep, before going back downstairs to spend more time with Emmett. They ended up in bed not long after, celebrating Christmas Eve in their favorite way.
Emmett fell asleep quickly after they finished their escapades, but Travis was stuck awake. Just as he was about to try to sleep, he heard coughing from Vic's room. He got up, pulling on clothes before going to check on her.
"Hey," he said quietly as he walked into her room, "You ok?"
"I guess," she said, but in the small sliver of moonlight, he could see tears on her cheeks.
"Come here," he said, climbing into bed with her, "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, ok?"
Vic nodded, snuggling into his arms. He caught sight of the clock on her nightstand, noticing it was three minutes after midnight.
"Merry Christmas Vic," Travis said, rubbing her back as she shivered in his arms.
"Merry Christmas Trav," Vic said, smiling a little, "Thank you for being my person."
What did you think? I don't think I will write a ton of Travic, but if I get a good prompt, I don't think I would be opposed to trying it again.
