Chapter 7: Walking on Sunshine
Summary: Addison, Olivia, Jake, and Angela got back to Addison's place just in time for Olivia's nap. In the meantime, Addison checks on Amelia and gets in a little bonding time with Jake and Angela.
"Mommy, can we go swimming when we get home, please? Pretty please? Angie is a really good swimmer. She can take me!" Olivia pleaded. She knew her mommy didn't really like swimming, but she liked the beach.
Jake glanced back toward his daughter.
"Is that so? Did she ask you, Ange?" Jake asked.
"No, I offered," Angela shrugged like it was no big deal.
"I don't know," Addison bit her lip. If it was a local pool, she wouldn't hesitate. But the ocean?
"Hey. Ange wouldn't offer if she couldn't handle it. She's a competitive swimmer, and she was a lifeguard at the rec center last summer. She's fully qualified," Jake said proudly, smiling easily.
"Are you sure you can handle her, Angela? You can say no," Addison asked the teen.
"Yeah, I can handle her. We won't go too deep and I'll make sure she has a life vest on. But I don't have my swimsuit on me and our house is 40 minutes the other way," Angela said, realizing she offered without thinking this through.
"There's a store next to the pharmacy here. How about we see if we can get you both a new suit? Olivia left hers at her dad's anyway," Addison offered. The truth was her daughter had more than one swimsuit, but she knew that if Angela was getting a new swimsuit, Olivia would also want a new one.
"We can just head back to our place first. Addison, you don't have to buy her a new swimsuit," Jake tried.
"She can leave it at my place if she wants. I'd like her to come around more. You are, after all, always at my place. It's only fair that Angela feels welcome, too," Addison justified.
"Oh, come on, Dad," Angela begged. She didn't dare say that he had been begging her to give Addison a shot for a while now. She liked Addison the few times they met, and the woman was offering to buy her stuff unprompted, so, of course, she'd take it.
"It's not a problem, Jake. Honestly. Olivia needs a new suit, too," Addison insisted.
She didn't really need one, but Olivia would love it. She had been begging for something new for a while now. Plus, a swimsuit would be a good investment; they lived on the beach near the water. It wouldn't hurt to have a spare or two around for the girl.
"Mommy!" Olivia said urgently.
"Yes?" Addison asked, recognizing her tone. It was urgent in her six-year-old mind, but in reality, it wasn't.
"I need Ariel, Mommy. She has red hair! Like us!" Olivia begged. Her summer fixation with My Little Pony had moved on to The Little Mermaid because of the red hair.
"I need her!" Olivia insisted.
"I can't promise you the store will have it, Livvy. But if they have one in your size, we can get it. If not, maybe Auntie can find one for you," Addison said. Amelia was good at finding stuff online. Addison, not so much.
The girl sighed dramatically. She needed Ariel.
Angela giggled. She wasn't around little kids too often, but Olivia was funny.
"Jake, would you mind running into the pharmacy? If I take Liv in, she'll want all the c-a-n-d-y," Addison said pointedly, opening her purse to hand Jake a 20-dollar bill, figuring that should cover it.
But Jake refused the money.
"Keep it. If you're buying my daughter a swimsuit, I can buy Amelia some medicine," Jake said with a smile.
"I'll meet you guys next door. Ange, you good?" Jake asked his daughter, who just waved him off.
"Go, get whatever you need, Dad. I'll be fine," Angela said. He rolled his eyes at the teen's attitude.
The three made their way into the store to look at the swimsuits.
"Does your dad have any sort of dress code?" Addison asked while browsing the racks. She never wanted to cross a line with her boyfriend.
"Not really," Angela shrugged, looking around.
"He lets me pick my battles, but he won't let me go overboard," Angela said.
"Meaning?" Addison asked.
"Meaning I don't get to wear a thong as a swimsuit," Angela said playfully. Addison giggled.
"Well, I wouldn't let you get one either," Addison said, sending the pair laughing.
"Mommy?" Olivia asked sweetly, pulling on her mom's dress.
"What's a thong?" Olivia asked innocently. Angela looked away, trying to subdue a laugh as she turned away.
"It's…like very thin underwear," Addison said, deciding it'd be best just to be honest.
"Why doesn't Dr. Jake want Angie to wear one?" Olivia asked.
"Well, it…shows off a little too much of your bum," Addison said, struggling to figure out the right words to say.
"And that's a bad thing?" Olivia asked.
"Well, would you like everyone to see that much of your bum?" Addison asked. Olivia thought for a moment.
"No, I guess not," Olivia decided.
Angela giggled at the conversation, unable to resist.
"Okay Liv, let's go see about an Ariel swimsuit. I think Angela can find her own swimsuit," Addison said, leading her daughter off toward the kids' section.
Before long, Jake found the two at the back of the store, browsing through the racks. Addison was starting to fear that they wouldn't find an Ariel swimsuit and there would be a meltdown.
Just as Addison was about to give up and try to coax her daughter into something different, Jake smiled in triumph. He held up a single The Little Mermaid swimsuit.
"It looks a little big, but she'll grow into it," Jake explained, after checking the size.
Olivia squealed, launching herself at him.
"You're the best-est, Dr. Jake," Olivia said, holding onto him tight.
"Thank you, Olivia," Jake replied, sharing a smile with his girlfriend.
With the new suit in hand, the three made their way back toward Angela, who also found something. She held it up to her father, silently asking for approval because he was there. Plus, she didn't want him to get upset with Addison for buying something he didn't like.
Jake agreed, so the four of them headed to the checkout counter before returning to the car to head back to Addison's.
Olivia immediately started fidgeting in her seat when they got back to the house, wanting to get out the second she laid eyes on the house. She just had to tell Amelia and Michelle all about her new swimsuit.
"Mommy, I need out!" Olivia exclaimed, fussing with the belt strap.
"Sit still. You can get out when the car parks," Addison said sternly.
"But Mommy! I need to tell Lia and Mitchie about Ariel! They're gonna be super excited!" Olivia insisted.
"Baby, Auntie isn't feeling good. So, no jumping or yelling, okay? Can you do that? Indoor voice only. Got it?" Addison asked. The girl pouted, shrinking back in her seat.
"I didn't mean to make Auntie sick, though! I promise!" Olivia exclaimed.
"Oh, baby no. Auntie's tummy is just upset, and it probably will be for a while. You're gonna have to be gentle," Addison said softly, feeling bad her girl thought it was her fault.
"I really didn't mean to, Mommy!" Olivia said quieter.
"I know you didn't, baby. Hey, Liv. Are you tired? Is that why you're so upset?" Addison asked, sensing it was close to her nap time.
"No," Olivia mumbled, rubbing her eyes as the excitement wore down.
"I think you are," Addison chuckled. Jake and Angela chuckled along.
"No! I wanna talk to Daddy," Olivia insisted before yawning.
"Okay, we can call him. Let's go inside first, okay?" Addison offered, unbuckling her seat belt after Jake parked the car.
By now, Olivia wasn't fighting in her booster seat anymore. She'd worn herself out already, but she wasn't going to admit that. Addison let her out only for Olivia to hold out her arms. As she carried her out, Addison mouthed a quick thank you to Jake and Angela before heading into the house. Jake and Angela smiled, grabbing the bags of clothes and medicine from the car before following suit.
When they reached the front door, they saw Addison holding her phone out in one hand with Olivia sitting on the couch. Amelia and Michelle were nowhere to be seen, so they figured they had gone back upstairs. A few seconds later, they heard the trill of the phone, which didn't last long before they heard a click on the other end.
"Addie?" Derek asked, his voice ringing out while Addison's phone was on speakerphone.
"Hey, Derek, sorry to bother you. Livvy wanted to talk to you," Addison said quickly.
She didn't know if he was working or with his girlfriend or post-it wife, but the fact that he answered must've meant he couldn't have been that busy.
"No, it's fine. I'm out fishing," Derek said.
"Of course you are," Addison commented sarcastically.
"Are you actually gonna put Liv on the phone or are you just gonna be passive-aggressive?" Derek asked somewhat jokingly. Addison rolled her eyes, which Derek was sure she was doing despite the fact that he couldn't see her, before moving the phone closer to Olivia.
"Livvy, Daddy's on the phone," Addison said sweetly.
"Daddy? Guess what?" Olivia said excitedly. She was still physically tired, that was for sure, but she was still excited about her new swimsuit.
"What?" Derek asked enthusiastically.
"I got a new swimsuit! Dr. Jake founded it for me and it has Ariel on it! I'm gonna go swimming with Angie!" Olivia exclaimed, straightening her posture to get closer to Addison's phone while she spoke.
"Dr. Jake?" Derek asked, suspicious.
"Yeah! Angie's Daddy," Olivia said like it was an obvious fact. Which, for her, it was. Derek shrugged from his end of the phone.
"Well, that sounds fun. Are you gonna swim before or after your nap?" Derek asked, after checking his watch.
It was around Olivia's nap time, and as much as Olivia fought it, she always got tired around the same time, like clockwork. It'd been that way since she was eight months old. Her parents couldn't quite bring themselves to wean her off her nap just yet.
"I'm not taking a nap today," Olivia huffed.
"Really?" Derek asked, faking enthusiasm. He knew Olivia would eventually cave or fall asleep, regardless.
"Really," Olivia insisted. Derek chuckled.
"Mommy, can we go swimming now?" Olivia looked up at Addison. Her eyes blinked sleepily but the adults could tell she was fighting against it.
"Sure. Why don't you head upstairs and I'll be up in a minute," Addison said, knowing that Olivia would fall asleep before changing into her new swimsuit.
"Okay," Olivia said, getting up from her spot on the couch before heading upstairs.
"Have fun fishing," Addison joked.
"Hey! Fishing's fun! Plus, it teaches you patience," Derek defended himself.
"Yeah. It also traumatizes your six-year-old daughter," Addison said.
"She'll get over it," Derek rolled his eyes. The two of them chuckled.
"Did you at least catch anything yet?" Addison asked.
"No, it's only been just over an hour," Derek informed her.
"Well, at least Liv will be happy to know that," Addison joked. Derek laughed.
"Give her a kiss for me before naptime for me, will you?" Derek asked, knowing Addison would say yes.
"Of course," Addison said before they both ended the call. Addison looked at Jake and Angela who were sitting around awkwardly, quiet during the phone call.
"Liv will probably only be down for an hour or two. You're welcome to stay and watch a movie if you'd like. I'm sorry, I didn't realize how close it was to her nap time earlier," Addison said.
"Don't worry about it," Jake said.
"Plus, I'm sure Angela brought a book to read," Jake added, chuckling. Addison looked back, confused.
"I'm…kind of a nerd," Angela said before pulling a book out of the bag she'd been carrying all day. She held out the bag with Olivia's swimsuit as well as medication for Amelia, which they combined into one bag earlier in the car.
Addison nodded before taking the bag and heading upstairs. She knew Olivia had probably been waiting patiently before resting her head on her pillow. When she came into her room, she surprisingly found Olivia still sitting up. But she saw her eyes fluttering close while trying to stay open and her head threatening to lean to the side.
"Come on, baby," Addison said, putting the bag down and laying Olivia down on her bed.
"But I wanna go swimming!" Olivia said, trying to fight back.
"You can go swimming after your nap," Addison said, pulling her blankets up to her shoulders.
"There will be plenty of time for you to swim later. It doesn't get dark until much much later," Addison insisted.
"You promise?" Olivia asked sleepily.
"I promise, baby. Now, get some rest. You had a big day today," Addison said, stroking her hair.
"Daddy wanted me to tell you to have a good nap, too," Addison said, giving her a double kiss. Kissing Olivia twice when the other wasn't around had always been their thing. Their divorce didn't change that.
"Did Daddy catch any fish?" Olivia asked sleepily.
"No, he said he didn't catch anything yet," Addison smiled.
"Good," Olivia said, snuggling with her stuffed bear.
"Sleep tight, baby," Addison whispered before giving her another double kiss.
With the medicine in hand, Addison walked down the hall, knocking on Amelia's bedroom door, wondering if the girls were still home. Michelle opened the door and smiled.
"Oh, hey, you're back!" Michelle exclaimed. Addison looked at her suspiciously.
"Why? What did you two do?" Addison asked.
"Nothing. Amelia's been puking most of the day. Is that normal?" Michelle asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. Some days are tougher than others. Think of it like any regular sickness where you're fine, but then you're not. Can I check on her?" Addison asked. Michelle nodded, stepping aside to let her in.
Addison walked into the room to find Amelia asleep in total darkness. Or at least she thought the younger woman was asleep. She frowned, seeing her looking flushed. She placed a hand on her forehead, checking for a temperature much like she did that morning.
"I'm not sick," Amelia mumbled, swatting her sister's hand away.
"That's not what Michelle said. She said you've been throwing up for most of the day. We got some medicine for you, so sit up and take it," Addison directed.
"Sit up. You'll feel better after," Addison said again.
"No. It's medicine," Amelia grumbled, opening her eyes.
"It's not addictive and not in your possession," Addison said sternly.
"Sit up. Now," Addison said again.
"If I sit up, I'll feel worse. It's worse than a hangover," Amelia said. If she could've gone through this after she got sober the first time, she would've never wanted to get drunk ever again. Addison chuckled, sitting beside the younger woman.
"It feels bad, I know, but this will help. So, open up," Addison directed.
"I don't wanna," Amelia whined, doing as told.
"You're even whiner than Liv today," Addison chuckled.
"I'm sick. She's a kid," Amelia explained as if it somehow justified her attitude.
"You're not sick; you're pregnant," Addison pointed out.
"No talking," Amelia said, slumping against Addison, as all her previous energy was now gone.
"Drink first," Addison instructed.
Amelia grumbled but sat up, drank a gulp of medicine Addison had gotten her, and slumped back down on Addison's shoulder. Addison held her as she slowly drifted off to sleep. Once she was sure Amelia was fast asleep, she got up slowly, tucking her into bed.
"Keep an eye on her, will you?" Addison asked Michelle, who just nodded in response. Addison smiled back before going back downstairs.
"Hey, sorry about that," Addison said when Jake and Angela looked up. They were sitting on the couch and playing some kind of game with their hands.
"Don't…worry…about…it," Jake said slowly as he and Angela continued clapping each other's hands in some kind of fast rhythm. Addison watched them until finally seeing Jake mess up the rhythm, causing Angela's smile to widen.
"I win," Angela said victoriously.
"Alright," Jake ceded.
"What…what are you guys doing?" Addison asked, amused.
"Concentration. You wanna play?" Angela asked.
"Concentration? What's that?" Addison asked.
"Come here, we'll teach you," Jake said, gesturing for Addison to sit down.
Jake and Angela held out their hands as they explained how the game worked. Addison followed along as well as she could. A few minutes later, she figured it out and was able to keep up with Angela pretty well when they played again.
"This is dangerous," Addison joked.
"Dangerous?" Jake asked.
"Liv will make us all play all the time once we show her this," Addison giggled. Jake and Angela laughed along, imagining the little girl asking every adult to play along.
They kept playing for a while, with Angela clearly better than both Jake and Addison before they finally decided to call it quits. Then, Addison suggested they put on a movie to pass the time, and Jake and Angela agreed. Angela sat on the opposite side of the couch, gesturing for Jake to sit closer to his girlfriend and to pay her no mind. It didn't take long for Addison to snuggle against Jake as the three of them watched the movie.
About an hour into the movie, they heard little footsteps above them. Not long after that, they heard Olivia slowly walking down the stairs.
"Hey, baby. Have a good nap?" Addison asked, straightening up.
Olivia nodded her head back slowly, walking over to her mom on the couch. Addison knew she was likely still waking up, so she picked her up to sit in her lap.
"What are you watching?" Olivia asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Uh…Narnia," Angela said.
"Angie! You're still here!" Olivia exclaimed.
"Of course, I'm still here, silly," Angela said.
"Can we go swimming now, then? Pretty pretty pretty please?" Olivia pleaded, now fully awake.
"Okay, let's get you changed, okay?" Addison giggled.
"For real this time?" Olivia asked.
"Yes, for real this time. Come on," Addison said as she let Olivia back down. She immediately ran for the stairs.
"We'll be right back," Addison said to Jake and Angela as she got up to follow her excited daughter.
"Guess I'll get changed, too, then," Angela said as she got up.
"I'll be here if you need anything," Jake said.
"Yeah, I know," Angela rolled her eyes as she got up to change in Addison's downstairs bathroom.
Jake chuckled, watching her go. He tried to be the cool dad, but sometimes, he went a little overboard.
"Where did Angie go?" Olivia asked, looking around, her lip wobbling. She ran downstairs the second she could so they could go swimming!
"She's just getting changed, Liv. She'll be right out, I promise," Jake explained.
Addison scooped her up.
"Hey, no crying. Angela will be right back, okay? You need to be patient. Let's get your vest on while we wait," Addison offered.
The little girl sniffled, trying to cheer up, but she was really upset that it seemed like Angela left her. Angela came out a few minutes later.
"Ready to go swimming Liv?" Angela offered Olivia her hand
Olivia took her hand happily, her little meltdown earlier forgotten.
"Do you know how to swim, Liv?" Angela asked. Olivia nodded back enthusiastically.
"Daddy taught me at the lake last year," Olivia said proudly.
"At the lake," Angela repeated, feigning a little extra enthusiasm for the little girl.
"Yeah! Mommy didn't like that though, so he and Uncle Mark took me to a pool instead after I told Mommy," Olivia explained.
Last summer, Derek had Olivia for a month for the first time since she moved to California and decided to take advantage of the sunny Seattle weather. The ocean would be too big and deep for the little girl, but he'd heard of smaller, and more importantly, much more shallow, lakes right outside the city. When he got there, it was like a small beach, with little kids playing around the sand and swimming in the water. Olivia didn't love the sand. It wasn't as good there compared to Addison's beach house, but the water was beautiful.
Derek bought her some decorative little arm floaties, ones that he knew Olivia would wear without much protest. They were pastel and multicolored, with a design to make them look like fish scales. After a few hours into her first swim lesson, she could doggy paddle with ease all by herself. All the way to the middle of the swimming area.
When she told Addison all about it later that day, Addison was glad she learned how to swim. But she wasn't super comfortable with the idea of Olivia swimming in a lake rather than a smaller pool. Derek apologized and promised they'd find a local pool. This time, Mark joined them and since it was a much smaller space, Olivia learned how to swim faster than she had at the lake.
And by the end of the next day, Olivia could swim. She learned the front crawl stroke and she could even do the butterfly if she wanted to. It wasn't the most graceful butterfly stroke, but she just liked the name. Since then, Addison had only seen her swim a few times when she came to Seattle to see her last year. Olivia begged Addison to come out so she could see her swim in person (Derek, of course, sent multiple videos, but they weren't the same).
Despite Olivia's new swimming abilities, Addison still felt a little uneasy about Olivia swimming out in the ocean in their backyard. Luckily for her, she had Angela now to make sure she didn't go out too far. With Jake listing out all her qualifications, Addison had complete faith in her boyfriend's daughter to keep her little girl safe out there.
As dinner time approached, the adults decided they had no desire to cook, so they agreed to order in.
"Burgers sound okay?" Addison asked after looking through some of the takeout menus and handing them to Jake.
"Sounds good. Are Michelle and Amelia coming? Or should we count them out?" Jake asked, making a mental note of what Angela would eat.
"I don't know. The medicine should wear off by now. Amelia's been pretty out of it, but I'll order for them, anyway. They eat like teenagers," Addison said. Jake chuckled, imagining it.
"Angela decided she wanted to be a vegetarian a few years back, so I don't eat much meat anymore," Jake said.
"Thanks for letting me know. I'll make sure to order her a veggie burger, then," Addison smiled.
"So, what made you want to move to L.A.?" Jake asked. Addison told him she'd grown up in Connecticut, and he'd seen her diplomas in her office from Yale and Columbia.
"My divorce," Addison chuckled.
"My ex and I moved to Seattle to fix our marriage. We tried, and he loved it there, but I felt like it suffocated me. Seattle was our last-ditch effort to save our marriage. I tried a little harder than I should have, honestly. I wanted Liv to grow up with both of her parents instead of being shuffled around from house to house or, well, state to state. After everything between me and Derek, I needed a fresh start. And L.A. was my fresh start," Addison said.
"How's that going so far?" Jake asked teasingly.
"It was hard at first, but I think things are looking up," Addison smiled as the two were content just staring into each other's eyes for a moment.
It was the truth; when Addison first came to L.A., she felt a little overwhelmed. A new city, a new job, and a two-year-old little girl. She moved on a whim after she and Derek got divorced and Naomi offered her exactly what she needed: a fresh start. Plus, the constant sunshine would be a nice change from the downpour that existed in Seattle. She felt like she was floundering for a while, as her new co-workers didn't exactly give her the warmest welcome. Olivia cried to sleep wanting her dad to be there with her, but she stuck it out. They both did. And now, almost five years later, Addison, Olivia, and now Amelia, finally felt settled into a new routine. A new life. And the more time they spent with Jake, the more at home she felt here.
A/N: The Jaddison fluff continues as the girls keep getting to know each other better. Too bad Amelia still doesn't feel well. We hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and we will also be posting the next chapter right after this so go ahead and move on to the next chapter. Thanks for reading and we will see you guys again next chapter. Chapter title inspired by the song, Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves. Comments and reviews are very much appreciated 3
