Chosen Family

I'll Be There for You

Chapter 23: I'll Be There For You

Summary: Addison takes Maya and Olivia to visit Michelle in the hospice. Meanwhile, Addison considers putting Olivia in a different school and Angela wants to go shopping for a birthday present for Olivia.

"Hey," Addison poked her head into Michelle's room. Amelia was sitting beside her bed with a book in hand.

"Hey," Amelia managed to give her a small smile back. Olivia poked her head out from behind Addison and looked up at Addison as if asking permission to come in.

"Go ahead, baby," Addison said, gently encouraging her.

"Hi Lia!" Olivia exclaimed, still cautious while entering the room.

"Hey, Livvy," Amelia gestured to Olivia, motioning for her to come closer. Addison brought Maya closer to her as she rubbed her back gently as they stood back.

"H..hey, Liv," Michelle choked out. Her speech still stuttered, but being hooked to oxygen helped regulate some of her speech patterns.

"Hi, Mitchie," Olivia said shyly.

"Did your mom tell you what's going on?" Amelia asked hesitantly. Olivia nodded.

"Mommy said Mitchie's sick and that she's not gonna get better," Olivia said sadly. Amelia held her tight, kissing the top of her head.

"Ss..sorry...kid," Michelle said, trying to smile as her body twitched.

"It's not your fault, Michelle," Addison said gently, stepping into the room with Maya by her side.

"Maya, what are you doing here? Wait, what time is it?" Amelia asked, suddenly realizing it was too early in the day for the girls to be out of school.

"I stayed with Addie last night and she let us take the day off," Maya said.

"Wow, that's big," Amelia commented. She knew it took a lot to convince Addison to let Olivia stay home from school. And she could only imagine the fight Sam put up.

"We had a long night," Addison shrugged.

"I thought we could use the day. They watched TV for a good part of the morning before I made them go outside," Addison explained.

"What did you do all day, kiddo?" Amelia asked, holding Olivia a little tighter than normal.

"I slept in Mommy's bed and Maya made teddy bear pancakes. Then I got to watch TV and play outside for a long time. And then Dr. Jake came over for lunch," Olivia looked over at Mommy before leaning in closer to Amelia.

"He just came over so he could kiss Mommy, though!" Olivia giggled, trying to keep it to a whisper, but she didn't really know how to whisper. If anything, it was a stage whisper.

Amelia laughed. Maybe the first time in a while. Maya and Addison also giggled along.

"He totally wanted to kiss Auntie Addison," Maya confirmed, winking at Olivia, which sent her into a fit of giggles.

"I'm sure he wanted to do other things," Amelia muttered quietly. Addison glared, making Maya giggle.

Before Addison could think of a reply, Olivia decided to make sure everyone had her attention.

"Mitchie, can I read to you? I'll even do it with my French book. 'Cause that'll make you better, right? Cause I'm being good?" Olivia asked.

"Livvy, you remember what I told you last night?" Addison asked gently. Olivia looked up at her, wide-eyed.

"Michelle's not gonna get better, baby," Addison said, stroking her daughter's hair.

"N...no. A...ddi...son. Let...her...read." Michelle said.