A/N: Because Jim's touch is magic just about anywhere :) Enjoy xx Mariah

Ages:

Jim - 42
Melinda - 38
Katie - 13
Aaron - 9
Mackenzie - 3

Today had been long. Longer than most days were for Melinda, and all she wanted to do was take a soak in her bath with a glass of wine. She'd relax all of the stress from today and the entire week. Her husband would be home and had been with Mackenzie since he got off this evening.

It was Fall, early October, and now that Faith had moved to town she babysat Mackenzie in the mornings when Melinda and Jim both worked. She wasn't quite old enough for preschool and they hadn't wanted to put her in the costly hospital daycare.

It was looking to be a relaxing night for Melinda with both of her oldest children out of the house. Katie was at Hannah's birthday party and Aaron was on a camping trip with a few of his baseball buddies and their dads. Jim was going to go, but Melinda had talked him out of it because she wanted to celebrate their wedding anniversary, but that wasn't going to happen tonight. Jim had been texting her all evening about how Mackenzie was sick as a dog and as Melinda walked into her bedroom, what she saw was the most precious thing in the whole world in front of her.

Jim sat with his back against the headboard with Mackenzie's blonde sweaty head on his chest. Her cheeks were no longer flushed or feverish, but her tiny lips were as pink as ever pursed around the thumb she still tucked into her mouth at night. Just like Katie did. His wide palm rested on her back in a way that made her smile.

For the past three years that was how their youngest child had ended a lot of her nights. Whenever their children wanted to be comforted they would cling to one of their parents and they would rub their backs, soothing their pain away as much as they could. Melinda would usually sing to them, but Jim wasn't as gifted in that department, but either way, they could listen to the beats of their little hearts and know they kept their child safe and loved another day.

She wondered if Mackenzie would always need her daddy when she was sick. She sighed, because who was she kidding? No one was as comforting as Jim. He was a rockstar. The first time Katie got sick, she had to watch her rational husband lose his damn mind. It had been a sight for her. She'd been worried out of her mind then too.

Jim had paced the floor with his gorgeous blue eyes wide and frantic. "She has a fever, you would think they could do something!" He had yelled softly, not wanting to wake their daughter was finally asleep on Melinda's chest.

Katie had just turned five-months-old that January and was curled up on Melinda's chest, sucking on her thumb. Her fever was still high that last he'd checked for probably the hundredth time that night. It was nearly one hundred degrees if she remembered correctly.

Melinda had sighed, she was rubbing her baby's smooth back like she always. "The doctor says that babies this age can have a temperature that high and it is fine especially after shots. Jim, she will be fine. We can call if it gets any higher or gives her some of the medicine they gave us at her check-up on Monday."

She'd rocked the little girl in her arms, whispering sweet words to her as she moved around the nursery. She was doing her best to give her skin to skin contact like she did with all of her kids. She was only wearing her nursing bra and a pair of comfy pants. She'd been home all weekend with her in these pants and had yet to have the time to take them off.

Jim pulled at his hair so hard he had to have given himself a headache and his voice was hitting this hysterical screechy pitch Melinda had never heard but made her bite her lip to keep from smiling.

"She is not fine Melinda! She feels like I just took her out of the oven. I could cook an egg on her forehead for Christ's sake!" He'd muttered to her, sitting down in the rocker to calm himself.

He finally calmed down after one more phone call to the hospital and eventually getting the pediatrician to promise that if for some reason the fever was not gone by morning that he would make the trip to our house himself if for the love of God he would stop calling. This didn't stop Jim from sitting like some kind of knight beside her in their bed all night long, and this had not been the first and certainly had not been the last time that his princess was guaranteed to never fight alone.

The sun graced the horizon that morning and with kicking feet and cooing words, our princess greeted her relieved daddy. He looked like death warmed over with his rumpled shirt and black hair a mess, but he smiled at her with a brightness that rivaled the break of dawn at their backs. That was the start of it. If any of their kids get sick; they needed their daddy.

Melinda watched him feed them popsicles for tender bitten tongues, coax straws filled with bubbles of ginger ale past pale nauseous little lips, and give crackers that will be the only thing they were willing to eat. His arms were the only place they were willing to sleep; even Katie at thirteen would beg for her parents to snuggle with her when she's sick. Because their parents gave them medicine and laid with them. Jim would usually cradle them, their head on his chest so that they could hear the lullaby of his heart.

Melinda would read or sing to them, rubbing soft circles into their backs. Jim had told them that love was the strongest magic and that magic was stronger than medicine. That he loved them so much that when he wrapped them in his arms, he could pull the sick away. So tonight, Mackenzie snuggled into him with a fever burning in her cheeks and aching in her head of tangled hair.

Jim rubbed his hand against her back in circles as she walked quietly into the room and saw one of his eyes open to look at her. "Hey, beautiful..." He whispered, smiling at her. "How was your day? I didn't get a chance to really talk to you when I left this morning."

She undressed, feeling his eyes on her while she changed into a silky nightgown. A bath wasn't looking probable anymore. Tomorrow maybe, but she could wait until then.

"Hey," she answered softly, the headache she had walking into the house had ceased to exist after seeing him. "I'll be right back. Just gonna brush my teeth." Melinda came toward him on the bed, kissing him. His hand moved around to squeeze her behind as she leaned into him, her hand grasping his face. "How is she doing?"

"Mmm, I missed you today." He whispered as she pulled away, still close to his face as she smiled at him. "I think her fever might've finally broken." He kissed her once more before she pulled away to lean forward and kiss Mackenzie's forehead. "Grab the thermometer in the bathroom?"

She nodded and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and clean her face off. She grabbed the thermometer off the counter and after a few minutes she settled into the bed and he kissed her, taking the thermometer and putting it in Mackenzie's mouth.

"Long day?" He asked, looking over at her as he waited for it to read her temp.

"The longest day ever. The store was so busy and I had a ghost, but seeing you two made my whole day. Is her fever down?" She asked, getting comfortable in bed as the thermometer beeped.

"A little, but not completely," he said, touching her forehead after reading the temp. "She's at 100. I'd move her to her bed, but I don't want to wake her."

"I understand. Mackenzie is finicky and she always has been," she laughed and kissed his shoulder. "Delia is opening tomorrow... so maybe when you move our daughter to bed we can take a shower... or you can make up for the lack of tonight in the morning."

"I like the sound of both options," he said, placing the toddler between them. Mackenzie fitfully tossed from her side to her belly and Jim leaned across to kiss her again. "I love you, Mel."

"I knew marrying you would be exciting," she said, winking at him. "I love you too." She turned to Mackenzie then, running her hand through her blonde hair. "Did she eat? You didn't text me back."

"I made her some soup." He explained, leaning back into his pillow more comfortably. "She only had half a bowl and a glass of water. I did get her to eat some saltines too while we watched The Little Mermaid. That's when she fell asleep."

"Sounds like a good night for being sick," she said, leaning down to kiss her daughter's cheek. "I hope this fever breaks tonight."

"Yeah. I just hope all this starts to lessen too. After my morning shift I picked her up from my mom's and she wasn't feeling too good. It just progressed as the day went on." He explained, sighing. "I made an appointment at the hospital tomorrow afternoon and took the day off to be with her."

"You are the best dad you know." She said, looking up at him. "You didn't believe me at first and now look at you."

"You're pretty great too." He laughed, his hand touching her cheek from where he laid in bed. He was so close, but so far away from her.

"Not as great as you," she said, blushing as he smiled.

"Even better than me," he whispered and leaned in to kiss her softly.

Only another minute passed before Melinda got out of bed and moved to lay on top of him, a better angle to kiss him at, and for him to run his hands all over her body. His lips and hands began to travel lower, and the idea of taking a shower right now with him sounded so amazing.

The thought ended with that when Mackenzie abruptly woke up, throwing up all over herself and the sheets. The little girl started to cry as they both suddenly jumped from the bed, Melinda picked her daughter up just as she threw up again, this time all over her.

"Sorry, Mommy," Mackenzie whispered, looking at the bed as Jim started to strip the sheets off as she carried her into the bathroom. "Sorry, daddy."

"It's okay, princess. Let's go take a shower," she said, holding her breath in to avoid the smell, rubbing her back as she carried her. "We take one together."

"Mommy is right. You don't have to be sorry. It's fine," Jim said as she walked past him.

Melinda turned the shower on right away to warm up the water. "I want you to start to clean yourself like we do at the pool okay?" she soothed her little girl, setting her down on the toilet seat to help her undress.

Mackenzie nodded, knowing how it went there and would be fine doing it here, especially if it got all this junk off her.

She put her in the tub and pulled the shower curtain closed, then started to take her nightgown off before she stopped to throw up in the trash can because of the smell. She'd never had a strong stomach, especially not when she got thrown up on. She was proud of herself for holding this long.

"You got this?" Jim grabbed the clothes and threw them with the sheets carefully. She was still in her bra and underwear and he smiled as he leaned down to help her wipe her face.

"Yes... I've got this." She said, covering her mouth. "I think I'm good. This shower will help." She stood, pushing her underwear down and turning, pulling her hair off her neck. "Unclasp me?"

"This isn't the shower you were talking about earlier," he sighed as his hands touched her ass first, moving up her side and then to her lower back. His hands went up to her back, unclasping her bra as he kissed her lips and then up the length of her neck. His hands moved up her sides, smoothing over her slim stomach. "I want you. You're too beautiful for me."

"I need to shower," she whispered, pulling free as she went into the shower. "We can put her in her bed now that she's up. I'll be done soon, and then you can have me."

"Mmm, okay," he said, pouting and enjoying the view of her climbing into the shower.

As Melinda helped her daughter clean herself up and showered too, Jim took Mackenzie once she was finished and let Melinda continue to shower. As Jim cradled Mackenzie wrapped in a green towel, she saw what all of her kids saw when they're sick. How could they not want to be cradled by arms that keep them safe and against a beating heart that taught them to believe in magic? One who held them while they were sick and in a time of need.

And as she finished showering, she got out, wrapping herself in a towel just as Jim walked back into their room with clean sheets. Mackenzie came in behind him, sucking on her thumb with a little mermaid plush toy in her grasp. She was in her pajamas and her hair was in a messy braid that Jim must have tried to do for her.

"Mommy?" The little girl came up to her. "Will you fix my hair?"

"Sure, baby," she smiled, walking past her. "Go sit on the bed after your daddy finishes. I just need to get dressed." She passed Jim as he put on the sheet and Mackenzie helped him with the pillows and then hopped up on the bed, seeming to feel better. Melinda changed quickly and came to sit with her daughter, pulling her hair free and fixing the braid before carrying her into her room to tuck her into bed. "Goodnight baby. Come and get me and daddy if you need anything."

Jim came in with some medicine and a cup of water. He'd also brought a bucket in case her belly didn't feel good, just in case. He spoon-fed her the cough syrup and gave her a sip of water before putting the cup on her side table. They both kissed their baby girl again before turning her nightlight on as they shut the overhead light off.

He hugged her once they were in the hallway, whispering how much he loved her. God, she knew that already, but she loved hearing it. She knew how safe those arms feel and what they meant to her kids.

They meant love. They meant home. They meant always.