#ziggystvrdust

[sheppardrussell-archive]

@ZiggyRussell: “suggested a Star Wars night” like those aren’t an every other night thing #helpme #ilovemyhusbandandkidsbutlord

@SheppardWR: pssh it’s not every other night. #youknowyousecretlyloveit

[sheppardrussell-archive]

@ziggystvrdust

There’d been countless doctor appointments and physical therapy appointments and therapy sessions, but this visit was one that he’d been looking forward to.  With any luck, his orthopedic surgeon would have talked to his therapists and he would be cleared to have the casts taken off of his leg.  He’d walked a little in physical therapy, which was harder than he’d imagined, but with crutches he was getting there.  Shepp’s fingers were threaded through Ziggy’s, his good leg bouncing up and down rapidly as he waited for them to be called back to an exam room.  “If Dr. Spencer sees his shadow, does that mean I have six more weeks of cast-wearing?” he asked, smirking a little and trying to joke about it to keep himself from being too hopeful.

[sheppardrussell-archive]

@ziggystvrdust

Since the ordeal on Halloween, Sheppard didn’t have dreams when he slept.  Either he was sleeping too soundly or the medication was just blocking out the memory of the events.  But now, his eyelids were concealing eyes that rapidly moved back and forth in his skull and he was mumbling nonsense syllables as the dream played out.  The mumbling turned into more frantic sounds as it went on and before long, he was shooting upright, covered in sweat with a scream in the back of his throat.

The doorbell rang not long after and Sheppard pulled himself up using his crutches, hobbling over to the door and reaching down to pull it open.  He didn’t know who he’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the tall, greying man and slightly shorter woman in a pantsuit standing in front of him.  “Dad?” he furrowed his brow, looking between them.  “Mom?”  The two looked at him, nodding and smiling a little sheepishly.  

“Hello, son,” his father nodded.  “Are we too late for Christmas?”  They both had gift bags full of gifts and his mother was holding a bottle of wine in one of her hands.  Shepp’s jaw was slack and he looked behind him, looking for backup.  

“Uh,” he started, not sure what to say. 

[castonradio-blog]

Hi! I'd like to request "Make You Smile" by Elle King for Sheppard Russell, my best friend, my soulmate, and the best father to our babies I could ever ask for. Thank you for loving, inspiring, and encouraging me, and thank you for letting me be the wild child that I'll always be. My heart is yours, forever.

What a declaration!  Hope you’re hearing this, man!

[sheppardrussell-archive]

Meanwhile, at the ranch:

 “So, the Cubs won the Series,” Richard said after Ziggy and Linda walked into the kitchen to start working on dinner.  Baseball had always been Sheppard’s favorite sport and, besides fishing, it was their thing.  Of course, Sheppard and his father were both Yankees fans, so the thought of Chicago winning anything was both hilarious and infuriating.  

“And I slept through it,” Sheppard answered, a look that said ‘Can you believe it?’ written across his face.  “’Metri told me when I came out of it.  Between that and the election results, I thought I might’ve woken up in some sort of alternate universe.”  Dawson was sitting on the floor beside him, placing his toys in rows and giving them what appeared to be a pep talk.  “How are things back home?”  Sheppard asked.  It had been a long time since he’d referred to New York as home, and he wasn’t sure how much of it was for his father’s sake or how much of it was genuine curiosity. 

“They’re well,” Richard replied with a nod.  “It’s New York, always changing.  I still can’t understand how you thrived here, as small as it is.  I thought you’d stay fast paced forever,” he chuckled. 

Shepp watched Dawson, only catching a few words of his speech before he was handed an armful of toys.  “You can be fast paced in a small town,” he answered Richard, motioning to Dawson with a Tonka truck.  “Exhibit A.”  Richard shrugged and grinned, managing an ‘I guess so’ before he was also handed toys.  

“You help too, Grandpa,” Dawson instructed, not going further into detail as he went back to the coffee table to set up the “bad guys.” 

“Medically speaking,” Richard turned back to Sheppard, instantly switching from parent to doctor, “how are you?  Ziggy told us a little, but I’m curious.” 

Sheppard could only sigh for a second.  He knew the routine and knew it well.  “I’m better than I was,” he answered.  “I can’t remember much of the time I was in the hospital, but you know how it goes.”  He then launched into an almost robotic rundown on his injuries and surgeries and his recovery process.  “I have an orthopedic appointment next week to get the staples out.  There’s, um, quite a few.  And maybe they can tell me when I can get these things off,” he knocked on the cast around his thigh.

The game had started and Dawson was all over the place, giving orders and play-yelling at his pretend enemies in different voices like he’d seen Shepp do. 

“And your heart?” Richard asked between rounds of attacks.

“Daddy’s heart clicks!” Dawson said, running up to Richard, bouncing up and down like it was one of the coolest things in the world.

Sheppard chuckled.  “It’s fine, for now.  The valve is doing what it’s supposed to.  Until they have to replace it, they won’t know the condition of the tissue or if I’ll need a full heart replacement.”

“Maybe it won’t come to that.  Maybe this one will last,” Richard said, switching back to parent mode.  “I’m sorry this happened, Sheppard.  And I’m sorry we haven’t exactly been around for you.  I’m done with the childishness, personally, and I think your mother is slowly coming around.  I know I’ve not said it in a long time, but I am proud of you, son,” Richard said. 

Sheppard sat there, floored.  Dawson was too busy playing to notice that they’d both stopped.  “Thanks, dad,” Shepp said, his voice only a little louder than a whisper.  Before he could say anything else, Dawson picked his arm up, a reminder that they were still in the middle of something.  Sheppard was thankful, because it cleared the cloud of emotion that was hanging over them, and he was so emotionally drained that it brought a sort of relief.  

They kept playing, the two adults not sure what it was exactly that they were accomplishing but both feeling a little like kids again.  It wasn’t long before Sheppard looked up and saw Ziggy and his mom coming back into the room and he grinned, feeling better about the situation than he had the whole day.

@ziggystvrdust

[sheppardrussell-archive]

merry & bright || shepp & ziggy

@ziggystvrdust

The good thing about having Ziggy’s family over was that there were people at almost every turn that were willing to help do things and help check on Dawson.  It took some getting used to, but it had helped immensely in making sure that all of the gifts had been put out around the tree and everything was done for the next morning.  Sheppard couldn’t wait to see Dawson’s reactions to all of it.  And, by the time they packed everything in and went to sleep, there were only a couple of hours before their bedroom door swung open and Dawson bounced into their room, babbling excitedly about Santa and presents and something else that Sheppard didn’t catch since he’d just woken up. 

[sheppardrussell-archive]

@ziggystvrdust

Discharge papers had been signed.  Everything except for the cannula attached to the portable oxygen tank in his lap had been disconnected and removed.  Physical therapy instructions had been given and follow-up appointments had been set.  They were all packed up and Sheppard was sitting in a wheelchair, wearing an actual set of clothes (gym shorts and a sweatshirt) for the first time in weeks.  Nurses had been in and out, wishing them well and telling them that they’d miss the singing and other shenanigans around the floor.  

As they rolled him down and out to the car, he was just happy to see something other than the one floor of the hospital.  The change of scenery alone was enough to send waves of relief washing over him.  Once he was in the car and Ziggy was sitting beside him, it finally hit him that it was really happening--he was getting to leave.  He was going to his house.  “Finally,” he smiled at her.  “Let’s get the hell away from this place.”

[sheppardrussell-archive]

“This is daddy and I at our wedding!” Ziggy exclaimed, going through the wedding album. A small girl with blond curls was flipping through a different, older album. 

“Momma! Who dis?” she exclaimed, pointing at a picture of a little boy. Now, there was a picture she hadn’t seen in a while. Five years, to be exact. Ziggy smiled, pulling the little girl into her lap. 

“That would be Dawson, your big brother,” she explained, nostalgia taking over as she ran her fingers gingerly over the photo. In the picture, her late son grinned up at the camera, face covered in strawberry ice cream.

“My big brudder?” Joy asked, looking up at her mother. “How come I never met him?” she asked, frowning.

Ziggy sighed, unsure of how to explain it to her. “Well, baby, he was very sick,” she said, figuring lying to her would be worse than the truth. “He wasn’t much older than you, actually. But mommy lost him, and I miss him very much,” she explained. The little girl in her lap frowned, wrapping her short chubby arm around her waist.

“I’m sorry momma. What was he like?”

Ziggy laughed, wiping the tear that had strayed down her cheek. “Well, he was a lot like you actually. Goofy, adorable, sweet as cherry pie,” she teased, peppering her cheek in kisses, with a reward of adorable giggles from the three year old. Behind them, the front door opened with the arrival of Sheppard home from work.

“Daddy!” Joy exclaimed, bouncing up and rushing over to her father. Ziggy laughed, shutting the photo albums and standing up. She lifted up Joy so Sheppard wouldn’t have to bend down.

“Welcome home, sweetheart! How was your day?”

Sheppard loved coming home to his girls, loved walking in to hear the excitement in his daughter’s voice when he opened the door and stepped through, and this time was no different.  As she ran up to him, he had just enough time to take his backpack off and unhook Cheesecake’s harness, who quickly stepped out of it and licked the little girl before running off to the kitchen to get some water before she reached him.

“Joy!” he answered with just as much fervor, taking her from Ziggy and hoisting her up above his head.  “It was ok.  But I’m glad to be home because you have no idea how much I’ve missed this silly little girl,” he said, bringing the giggling three-year-old back down so he could tickle her, intensifying the giggles.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder and he took the opportunity to lean down to kiss Ziggy.  “How was your day?  Any adventures I missed out on?”