Chapter Text
The bedroom lay quiet except for the occasional low wheeze coming from the tiny form that lay huddled in the middle of the bed. Cocooned in her mother's warm embrace, the little girl finally slept peacefully after a night and day of coughing, sneezing and wheezing. The fever had broken about an hour ago, giving the small body the rest it deserved.
Veronica stroked her daughter's hair softly as the little girl lay snuggled against her body. It wasn't the first cold or fever they had to cope with, but when her temperature had reached 104 degrees, they'd been seriously worried. A call to Ava's pediatrician had reassured them that that was still acceptable as long as it didn't climb any higher and no other symptoms surfaced. All they should do was monitor her, give her some Tylenol and keep her hydrated.
Ava had cried herself to sleep, fed up with and exhausted by the violent coughing attacks, the snot running down her face and fever shivers raging through her. And all that was audible now was her even breathing, a low wheezing sound mixed in now and then, as mother and daughter lay tugged in under the warming comforter.
The mattress shifted slightly, and Logan slipped under the covers with them, settling into a comfortable position curled behind Veronica. A hand snaked over her midsection, then travelled over the girl's tiny form and came to rest on her small belly, stroking it gently.
"We've got enough in the fridge for a quick and dirty dinner," he whispered, his nose nuzzled against the side of her neck. "Or I could just order us some pizza."
"I'll go for the quick and dirty.”
“How is she?”
“Sleeping soundly for the last twenty minutes. I hope it’s gonna stay like that for at least a few hours.”
They lay in silence, the dim light emanating from the small lamp on the nightstand behind them the only thing that illuminated the otherwise dark room, until a fierce coughing attack broke the stillness. Ava started thrashing and whining in her sleep, her tiny body shaking intensely with each cough. Veronica pulled her closer, tightening the protective embrace and whispered sweet nothings in her daughter’s ear while Logan reached for his daughter’s hand, cradling it in his palm, his thumb brushing softly over her smooth skin. They rode it out with her, letting her know that they were there for her, helping her, protecting her. The coughing finally stopped after a few minutes, and the little girl settled back into a comfortable position, never once waking fully from the attack. With a deep, wheezing sigh, she drifted back into a deep slumber.
“Have you thought about having another one lately?” Logan asked, resting his chin on his wife’s shoulder as he looked down at the tiny girl in her arms.
“Totally out of left field,” she replied, visibly taken aback by his question, “you need to give me a heads up if you wanna have a serious discussion.”
“Heads up. I wanna have a serious discussion,” he mumbled and received a light chuckle in response. “So. Have you?”
“Have I thought about having another kid lately?”
“Yeah.”
She glanced over at him incredulously as she bobbed her eyebrows.
“Does you asking me if I want to have another baby have anything to do with Wallace and Shae adding to their brood next month and Mac just telling us last week that Tom finally managed to knock her up?”
“It sounds so… derogative when you say it like that,” he whistled and calmingly brushed his hand down Ava’s arm when the little girl silently twitched in her sleep. “I can say nothing bad about that little Mars bar we made.”
“I’ll remind you again tonight when she wakes up at 3AM crying, coughing and sniffling and we won't get any sleep for the rest of the night.”
“I’m serious, Veronica.”
“I’m listening.”
Settling his head back on the pillow, he nuzzled his face in her blonde hair, taking in the mixed scent of cherries and bubblegum. Mother and daughter apparently hadn’t only taken a bath together this morning, but had also indulged in sharing the same kiddy shampoo and body soap.
“We’re both not getting any younger. Ava could really need a little brother or sister," he mumbled, tightening his embrace around them. "Someone she can always rely on. Who’s there for her when we’re no longer around. If she’s anything like us, she’d really benefit from a sibling.”
“Oh, that’s deep.”
“Told you I wanna have a serious discussion. So, have you since we last broached this subject?”
She remained silent for a moment, her hand searching for his under the covers, fingers immediately linking when she found it resting against Ava's tiny body. Taking a deep breath, she gave him a gentle squeeze and exhaled her single word answer.
“Sometimes.”
“Do I have to squeeze every word out of you separately or what?” he cajoled.
“You can’t just drop something like this and expect me to have a serious discussion about it while we’re snuggled in bed with our sick kid,” she griped, inhaling sharply.
"I'm not asking for a most definitely and let's start trying. I just wanna test the waters and see if there's finally a maybe hiding somewhere in that sometimes. "
"Maybe," she answered, her lips temporarily forming a cunning smile that got lost in the dim light around them, "if you can manage another home run."
"So we'll consider it?"
She carefully rolled onto her back, making sure Ava was still resting in a comfortable position. The little girl shifted slightly and sniveled in her sleep at the sudden loss of a warm body behind her. When her butt bumped against her mother’s side, she flopped over and wriggled closer, curling up against her and throwing an arm straight across her chest. Veronica picked up the tiny hand resting on her breast and brought it up to her lips, kissing it gently. Placing their locked hands on her stomach, she moved her attention to Logan.
"I expect at least a fifteen minutes presentation and an Excel chart with all the pros and cons before I even consider moving from a maybe to a definite yes."
The corners of Logan's mouth curled into a sanguine smile, "Talk over dinner?"
"I should've known you wouldn't go into this without having your speech ready."
"No speech, but I did update my Excel sheet."
He bobbed his eyebrows at her, his tongue lazily slipping over his bottom lip before he winked at her with a wide grin.
"Wipe that smirk off your face. I haven't said yes."
"Yet."
"Must be some pretty convincing arguments you prepared."
"It starts with a prone position, maybe some illegal use of hands and ends in a slam dunk. Game, set and match."
"Logan!" she muttered exasperatedly, "Our kid is sleeping right here!"
"It’s how we made her. Nothing wrong with that."
"First strike out," she warned him.
"I think I need to get back to that Excel sheet," he smirked and leaned in to peck the tip of her nose. He crawled out from under the covers but stopped when he felt Veronica's fingers curl around his wrist.
"Hey," she gave him a warm, sincere smile, "Moments like these. For your Excel list."
"Pro or con?"
She shrugged her shoulders and flicked her eyes upwards, "Given all the snot and spit and gunk I had thrown at me today, definitely a pro."
"Soggy poopy diapers. Top of the list."
"Baby puke all over your clothes. Close second."
"Being peed on while changing that soggy poopy diaper."
"Nothing beats cleaning up a kid who's got the runs."
"You've got it all covered, honeybunch," He gave her a thumbs up while he winked at her with a shrewd grin. "I'll let you know when dinner's ready."
"Think you can throw in some pasta?" she stopped him once again, all cunning and charming as she batted her eyelashes at him.
"My lady has cravings."
"Right," she snorted, "don't get your hopes up. It was just a simple request. You'll notice when I have real cravings."
" Red, White and Blueberry with whipped cream, marshmallow fluff, peanut butter and maple syrup on top and a peppermint Aero bar on the side."
“Well, look at that. You do remember.”
“How could I ever forget after that two hour long grocery run in the middle of a very rainy night to find a pint of exactly that ice cream. But anything to please my ladies.”
"Pasta?"
"I'll see what I can whip up."
He kneeled on the bed and leaned in to place a quick but tender kiss on her lips, then brushed his hand over Ava's head to smoothen out a few wayward strands of hair.
"We'll talk," he muttered, more of a statement to remind her what she'd promised him than a question second-guessing her previous offer.
"We'll definitely talk," she reassured him as she placed her palm against his chest, playfully pushing him off the bed. "Now go make dinner. This lady here is starving."