Archive of Our Own ^beta

“You’re way too hot,” Addison whines as she pulls away from her husband’s grip.

Mark’s voice is nasally yet somehow still seductive. “Flirting with me now, Red?”

“Shut up. Quit touching me.”

“You’re all the way on the other side of the bed now. I fear it’s not my heat that’s getting to you.”

Addison groans. She reaches over and blows her nose into the tissue, wincing when she sees the color of her mucus.

“I have 3 c-sections today, plus one scheduled induction.”

Mark pushes himself up a bit against the pillows. His beard is starting to come in again. “You can barely stand, Addie. How are you going to operate?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“No, you won’t. Because I’m calling all of us in.”

Addison arches a brow. “You’re calling out sick? Didn’t you work with pneumonia or something?”

“I was being dramatic at the time. Besides…Jackson’s still sick.” Mark nods to their son on his chest. 

Addison winces when she hears the raspy cough escaping his mouth. “I am officially killing Aarons.”

“But when I said that, I was being dramatic.”

“Back then, Jackson was barely sick, and we thought he just had a cold. Now, all of us have RSV.”

More than anyone, Addison understands the plight of a working parent, especially one who works in the medical field. While technically they accrue a good amount of PTO and sick time, there’s the pressure to never take it. Many doctors pride themselves on going to work sick, almost like a badge of honor. Addison won’t deny that there have been times she probably pushed herself a little too hard.

But one thing she doesn’t fuck around with? Her kid. Especially when Jackson has to go to daycare. In some ways, she knows that she’s privileged in that respect. They have a huge village and can trade childcare, or with Archer having a private practice in the area now, along with Evelyn basically becoming another grandparent, a babysitter is never too far. Addison knows not everyone has that…

But she also knows that Dr. Delilah Aarons could have passed his surgeries off to Owen the day she dropped her very sick daughter off at daycare. Not to mention, Delilah often brags about her stay-at-home husband, who was too busy with golf to come pick up when daycare ultimately called. Something Addison only knows because she saw how frantic and stressed Erica, the front desk admin, was when she arrived to pick up Jackson that afternoon. Sure enough, 48 hours later, Jackson started showing symptoms. Within the next 24 hours, they were rushing him to the ER, and he was diagnosed with RSV. Addison and Mark started juggling their own schedules so one could be home with him, until Mark started feeling sniffly and headachy. And Addison’s slight cough gained some wheeze to it.

“I feel like I’m dying,” Mark moans after sneezing 3 times into the arm not wrapped around Jackson.

Addison frowns sympathetically. “I’m not far behind you.”

Jackson starts whining a little bit. Mark massages his temples and presses soft kisses to his head, trying to gently wake him up a little. Addison reaches over to the nightstand and grabs the insulated sippy cup they’ve been using for him. Not long after Jackson opens his eyes, she has him take a few sips. Jackson pulls away, wiping at his nose. Mark swoops in with a tissue for him.

“Yucky, Dada,” Jackson complains.

“I know, Ducky, I know.” Mark kisses his head again. “You’ll stay home again. I don’t think you can go back to daycare until Monday.”

“Dada stay wit’ me? Or Mommy?”

“I think both Mommy and Daddy are going to be home with you today, Lovebug,” Addison says, coughing a little into her arm.

Despite the bleariness in his eyes and the snot still pouring from his nose, Jackson smiles a little. “Mommy and Dada?”

“Mommy and Dada,” Addison confirms, tending to his nose. Jackson whines and kicks his legs, nearly getting Mark in a special place, but Addison quickly redirects. “I know, it’s no fun at all. I’ll get you some Tylenol…”

“No, med’cine, Mommy. Yuck.” Jackson curls up against Mark.

“I know it is, bub. But you need it to feel better. Daddy and I are going to take some too.” A big sign that Mark is under the weather, even he doesn’t buck that.

“Daddy too?” Jackson asks, looking over at him.

“Daddy too,” Mark promises.

“Then Mommy is going to order us some breakfast from our favorite diner. I think we’ll be doing a lot of ordering today.”

Once again, another sign that Mark is sick, he doesn’t argue about that either. While he’s not as anti-takeout as Owen, he still insists that they try to cut back and eat at home because he likes to try making different things. Addison grew up with a chef and a full staff, so cooking still isn’t her forte. She’s learned the ropes of healthy takeout long ago. It’s been a source of contention in their marriage for a while, but today, neither is going to argue.

“We can watch whatever you want,” Mark says to Jackson as Addison manages to get out of bed. She limps toward the bathroom. “You gonna be okay, Addie?”

“I’ll be fine.” She bends over to cough again into her arm. “Can you order breakfast, though? That way, it gets here soon. He should eat.”

“Of course. I’m not getting you a coffee, though.”

“You better not order one for yourself either.”

“Needs big smoot-ee,” Jackson says, as seriously as a toddler can while he tries to figure out the remote.

Mark manages a small smile. “A smoothie sounds like just what we need.” He glances back at Addison. “Something with kale?” 

Jackson wrinkles his nose off his mom’s nod. “Daddy, I wan’ mango.”

“I know what you want, JackJack. I know.”

Addison heads into the ensuite to grab the medicine. She makes sure to get some Vicks as well and a refill for the vaporizer. Jackson’s clearly not 100%, but he sounds better than before. He’s nearing the end of this, while their hell is just beginning. 

She braces herself with a sigh. It’s no doubt going to be a very long day.