She awoke in a groggy haze and rolled over to whisper good mornings in JC’s ear. His side of the bed was empty. The clock read 11:45. They’d both slept in late, but she couldn’t think of where he could be.

“JC?”

He emerged from the bathroom, looking barely alive. His dark hair was tousled in every direction. His eyes were red and swollen as he trudged back to bed.

“Oh no. Not you now.”   

He nodded, lying next to her. “How’re you feeling? ‘Cause I feel like a truck hit me.”

“Oh no...I feel a little better. Damn it. Logan and that calamari. “

“I don’t even fucking like calamari.” He paused for a brief moment. and reached for his phone. He looked up and pointed at her. “You. You got me sick.”

She pulled her own aching body out of bed to get dressed.

“I doubt that, Jace. Oh, well look at that.. Lance cancelled our post gala meeting," she said, scrolling through her own phone. "He just texted to tell me he's sick... Like really sick."

"That makes two of us," he groaned. "Did you make out with Lance at the Christmas party too or did he eat the calamari?"

She set her phone aside and sat down next to him. "Jace, for the last time, I did not get you sick. Lance probably did eat  the calamari! And there's got to be some flu bug floating around, Mr. Anti-flu shot."

"That's crap, and you know it. It's just the flu." he sniffled and reached for a tissue.” With or without the damn shot.”  A shudder went through his body.

Studying her watch, she was suddenly alarmed at how late it had gotten. "What did you need from the pharmacy? I have an eye doctor’s appointment here soon and could grab some things for you at CVS.”

“Eye doctor?” He looked up from the mess of tangled blankets he was wrapped in.

She looked around the room and reached for her purse. “Yeah, those glasses I have are giving me headaches. Won’t be long though. What do you need from the pharmacy?”

“Cough drops, sleep aids, decongestant,” he listed, slowly. “Oh and tissues. More tissues.”

He waved an empty tissue box at her and swept the pile of crumpled tissue into the trash bin below as she made notes on her phone.  

“Okay, got it.” She blew him a kiss. “Be back soon.”  

He laid back down and looked at the bedside table before hearing her open the door.
“MEREDITH! KEYS!”  

She raced back up the steps as he held out her keys. “I love you, Joshua. What would I do without you?”

“You’d be locked out of everywhere. Lucky girl.”

Two hours later, she came back to find JC peacefully sound asleep. His hands were tightly wrapped around his phone under the mess of sheets.

“I’m back,” she whispered, stroking his hair.

His tired eyes fluttered open to adjust to the dim light. “Mere? You’re back? Good. I’ve been waiting for you.”  

“You’ve been asleep, silly,” she said, running her fingers through his matted hair. She pulled up a plastic bag full of pharmacy items and watched as he rooted through for honey flavoured cough drops.

"Mhmm. It’s about time too. Come on. I've got something to show you." He opened the bottle of decongestant, took a huge swig and filled his pocket with cough drops.

She gently pushed him back into bed. "You're sick, JC."

"I know. And I'll be back in bed after I show you one thing. Help me up?"

"This had better be important." She grabbed his hand to help him out of bed.

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "It is. Your Christmas gift. A little early."

"What?"

As he studied her shocked face, he took her hand and led her down the stairs. "Just come with me."  

JC wrapped his arm around her and covered her eyes with his hand. “Ready?”

“Um...Yes?”

“You sure?”

“Jace... “ .

He placed a small gold key in her hands attached to a SiruisXM lanyard.  "Open your eyes. Here's the key to your new home studio, Ms. Carson."

"What? Oh my god! JC!" Her brown eyes filled with excitement as she held the key in front of her face. "Baby, you've gotta be kidding!"  

He hugged her tightly and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Luckily, you can't misplace the keys to my heart. But. For the love of everything good, don't misplace that key."

She wrapped the lanyard around her wrist tightly. "Oh my god.”

"But...if you do, I installed a device that will unlock your studio with your fingerprint." He took her finger and swiped it across the lock next to the door. The door clicked open and JC grinned.

"JC... Oh my goodness... All the boxes?"

“Mhmm,” he nodded. “I’ve been taking care of it since August. I had to sort out wedding stuff and studio stuff. Probably why the wedding napkins ended up at the gala. Luckily, you didn’t notice too much. Keeping it low key.”

She placed her hands on his cheek and kissed his forehead. “You sneaky devil.”

"You deserve it. Well, go look around." He held the door open as she walked over the threshold.

The entire studio was equipped to broadcast radio from the comfort of their home. A pair of silver headphones rested on the main microphone stand. The leather chair next to her workstation had the letters "MC" in script-like font on the front. She ran her hands over the lettering, her eyes lighting up at the detail.  

"You're lucky, your initials don't change when we get married." He sank onto the leather couch and coughing overcame him.  

She put her hands on her face, pensively taking it all in. "I can’t believe you. Jace, this is amazing. Thank you. All the hard work you put into this. You did all of this? It's more than I could've ever asked for.”

"Well, I had some help. A lot of help. From Lance. That favor for the gala?" He moved his hand to show her everything he's helped with. 

She turned around quickly as her hands scanned the switchboard. "Really?"

"Yep. I mean, essentially, I know how to set up a studio, but he's the guy specifically for radio. Merry Christmas baby."

She studied every corner. He’d hung her radio accolades and photos from various events, the newest being the Sirius Gala.

“Well, if we’re going to give Christmas presents early... can I give you mine?”

He perked up for a moment. “Will it make me feel better?”

“It might. It’ll make me feel alot better. But first. You.” She pointed at him. “Upstairs, back to bed..”

He groaned and got up from the couch. “This gift had better exceed expectations.”

She bit her lip to keep from smiling as she walked behind him. “You could say that.”   

As they both entered the bedroom once again, JC crawled back under the covers. “Before you give me anything, will you turn off the flashing Christmas tree? It’s making me sick.”

She laughed and clicked it off before crawling into bed next to him. She handed him a small box wrapped in silver paper. “Merry Christmas, love.”

“Do I get a hint?” He sniffled and unwrapped a corner.

She shook her head. “I’m bad at hints. Open it... I’m nervous.”

His eyes went from her to the wrapping. He tore the paper off and uncovered a small box. Inside, ruffling the tissue paper, he pulled out a small pair of sneakers; one with blue laces, one with pink laces

“Oh my god...” he breathed, nervously.  

Meredith buried her face in the covers. “It wasn’t an optometry appointment.”

His face blanked for a moment. “It wasn’t an optometry appointment. Am I feverish or hallucinating? Both?”

She chuckled and placed her hands on his face. “Merry Christmas.... Daddy.”

“There’s my latest project,” he said, kissing her forehead. “Turning the guest bedroom into a nursery.”

She smiled ."This time at least, I get to help."