Not many fixes at all...
-- -- -- -- --
The ladies decide to take an untraditional approach to the baby shower and whisk Addison off for a three-day weekend of rest and relaxation. At the spa, they're bathed in mud, wrapped in seaweed, and massaged until their muscles are so relaxed that Rachel almost falls when she stands afterwards. And that's only the first day.
The men, on the other hand, are on a different sort of mission. Mark decides that it's about time he finishes the guestroom-turned-nursery and quickly enlists Weiss, Ben, and Mike so that they can paint, furnace, and organize before Addison arrives home on Sunday. While Mark and Weiss head to Pottery Barn Kids, where they find a gorgeous white crib, rocking chair, and changing table set, Ben and Mike begin painting the room. By the time Mark and Weiss arrive back at the apartment Friday evening, the nursery walls are a wonderful Jungle Green shade and Mike, the artist of the group, is stenciling trees and animals onto the corners.
They quickly put together the crib and changing table, made easier by the fact that Ben, unlike Mark and Weiss, is willing to read directions, before returning to the nursery to help Mike stencil and paint the trees and animals. Before they know it, Sunday has arrived and, along with it, a call from Addison saying she'll be home within an hour. There's a mad dash to get everything put in its place, Trading Spaces style. Mark is just adjusting the Yankees mobile he bought when the sound of the door being unlocked is heard. All four of the men freeze for a few seconds before time speeds up dramatically. Mike throws the blanket over the rocking chair, Ben stuffs the last diaper into the giraffe holder, and Weiss whips the trash bag into the closet all at the same time. Mark scans the room quickly before deciding it's up to his satisfaction and the men walk into the living room just as their significant others meet them from the opposite side.
"You're up to something," Addison says suspiciously at the looks on their faces. "Did you burn the kitchen down while we were gone or something?"
"Why do you always think we've done something bad?" Mark asks.
"Because you usually do, do something bad," Nancy points out.
Mark smirks at her.
"So how was the spa?" Ben asks, jumping in to save his friend from his wife's infamous wrath. "Did you have a good time?"
"Oh yeah," Lisa says. "Manis and pedis are so nice."
"I bet," Mike grumbles. He puts his hands on his lower back and arcs forwards so that his back pops loudly. "The massages probably weren't so bad either."
"Nope, not so much," Addison says, grinning. "So, what did you do this weekend?"
"You mean aside from drink beer and piss in house plants?" Nancy asks sarcastically. "Nothing, most likely."
All four men snort.
"You mean you did do more than drink beer and piss in plants?" Savvy asks skeptically. "So which one got sent to jail?"
Mark smirks. "Come on."
"I told you," Addison chuckles as Mark grabs her hand. "They burnt down the kitchen and now they're showing us the damage."
"Oh there is no damage," Mark says cockily as he leads Addison down the hallway to the nursery. "Now, I want you to close your eyes. No peeking."
"Mark, I've seen the guestroom before," Addison tells him.
"Just close your eyes Ad. And no peaking." He watches her until her eyes are closed before pushing the door to the nursery wide open. He gently pushes Addison forward into the middle of the room before telling her, "Okay, open them."
Addison opens her eyes slowly. The smirk on her face quickly melts into pure shock as she takes in all of the room's surprises. She can hear Lisa, Rachel, Savvy, Kathleen, and Nancy gasp as they pile into the room themselves, but can't tear her eyes away from the walls to gauge their reactions.
"Mark," she whispers, still turning in a slow circle. "Mark, it's gorgeous."
"How did you do this?" Nancy asks her husband.
"Mark and Weiss picked out the furniture, I put it together, and Mike did all the detail work on the walls," Ben says, grinning. "We've been planning this from the second you told us you wanted to take Addison away for the weekend."
"Why the hell didn't you do this for any of our kids?" Nancy scolds and slaps Ben's shoulder.
"Because none of us thought about it when our kids were born," Ben tells her.
Nancy blinked. "Good point."
An hour later, once everyone else has gone, Mark watches as Addison wanders back into the nursery. She's done this every few minutes since the reveal just so that she can marvel at the beauty of their child's room.
"So, you still think we sat around all weekend drinking beer and pissing in potted plants?" Mark asks as he pushes off the doorframe and shuffles into the nursery. He wraps his arms around her shoulders and smiles down at her. "Did I do good?"
"You did great," Addison tells him. "I just... Doesn't this make it seem so much more real?"
"Is that a bad thing?" Mark asks, concerned.
"No. No, not at all," Addison says softly. "It's just... He'll be here soon. You know?"
"Well that's why I figured this would be a good idea." Mark tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I didn't think Baby Sloan would be happy if he came home and didn't have his own room. Hey, are you okay?"
"Are we ready?" Addison whispers as tears begin to prick her eyes. "I mean, look how fucked up our lives are already. Are we really ready to be responsible for another human life?"
"Yes."
"How can you be so sure?" Addison asks, sniffling.
"Because of how you are with your nieces and nephews," Mark tells her. "Not to mention the countless babies you take care of every day."
"There's a big difference though. We can't just give him," she gestures to her abdomen, "back at the end of the day."
"And I wouldn't want to," Mark states simply. "Addison, what is it that you're afraid of?"
"What if I'm a terrible mother?" Addison asks, her words barely audible. "What if I'm cold and distant and the only thing my child remembers about me from his childhood is the way I stayed in bed for hours crying because I was too depressed to get dressed? What if I snap for no reason?"
"You're not your mother," Mark says softly. "You're not going to be like that. Like her."
"It's not like either of us had model parents." Addison sighs. "I just don't want to be like them."
"Then we won't," Mark tells her. "Don't you think I'm afraid? Ad, my father spent ninety percent of my life at the office or at the country club. The only time I ever spent with him was on Christmas and possibly Easter and even then he never paid me any attention. But we're not them. And we did have model parents. What about Jim and Emily?"
"I never met Jim," Addison says.
"Well he was a great guy." Mark smiles. "And he was exactly the kind of dad I want to be. It's going to be tough. I admit it. But together, we can do this. We can and we will. And if it gets to be too much sometimes, we've got a huge support system to take advantage of and to call in to babysit."
Addison giggles. "That's true."
"We've got this," Mark says and pulls Addison closer so that he can feel her breath on his neck. "We're a team. Okay?"
"Okay." Addison peeks up at him and smiles. "Thanks Mark."
"You feel better?" Mark asks. "Think we'll make it?"
"I know we will." Addison nods. "Because I've got you by my side."
