#james andersen

Sicktember day 1: Hopelessly Bad At Self-Care

Description: Aiden neglects himself trying to finish a novel and ends up sick. James is a kind albeit exasperated caretaker. Pre-Cody, Aiden is 23 James is 25.

It’s not unusual for Aiden to get caught up in his own little world when writing; in fact, it’s part of what makes him so good. However, he has a tendency to get lost to the point of neglecting himself. On more than one occasion, he has locked himself in the upstairs study for days on end, barely eating or drinking, and only coming down to take care of Otis and Kipper. 

James and Trent have learned to just leave Aiden alone for the most part and let him do his thing. Generally after two or three days Aiden emerges and sleeps for twelve straight hours then returns to normal. His friends know better than to disturb him but on day 5 of radio silence on Aiden’s end. James is officially worried. His big-brother senses are tingling and despite both Trent and Daisy insisting that he’s fine, James finds himself at 6pm standing outside Aiden’s building with a bag of food from the corner deli; fully prepared to force-feed Aiden and drag him to bed if necessary. 

James calls Aiden twice and after receiving no answer, uses his emergency key to let himself in. Otis is draped over the back of the couch in the sunroom when James opens the front door and Kipper is curled up on his dog bed by the window chewing on a bone. The dachshund immediately jumps down to greet James with his tail wagging. James sets the bag of food down and bends over to pet Kipper. He surveys the house and frowns. Aiden should have heard him come in. “Hey Aiden, buddy. I brought food.”, James calls out as he walks into the kitchen. There’s no response and James tries again. 

“It’s your favorite. I know you forget to eat when you get like this but you can’t survive on air and caffeine.”

James is met with silence but before he can say anything else he hears coughing coming from upstairs and the unmistakable sound of Aiden wheezing softly between coughs. Shit James thinks before setting the food on the counter and quickly walking upstairs.

The door to Aiden’s study has a big KEEP OUT! sign on it which James chooses to ignore. He pushes the door open and is met with the sight of Aiden hunched over his desk, papers strewn everywhere, attempting to cough and type at the same time. There’s a small mound of tissues and crumbled paper in the wastebasket by his desk and a half-drunk mug of tea next to his laptop. The air smells stuffy and judging by the state of Aiden’s clothes, he hasn’t showered or changed shirts in days. It’s not unusual but it’s definitely not good either. 

“Aiden, buddy you ok?” James calls out as he slowly approaches his friend. 

“Mm fine, g’way.” 

James rolls his eyes and walks up next to Aiden. The young writer is even more pale than usual and his cheeks are flushed bright red. His blonde hair is matted down with sweat and he keeps squinting in pain at the bright screen of his laptop. “You’re sick,” James states, point blank. Aiden shakes his head and blinks when the action makes him slightly dizzy. He opens his mouth to speak but is instead caught in a horrible coughing fit. Aiden doubles over struggling to get a full breath in between coughs. Each one tears his already sore throat and causes his chest to burn. James kneels down and wraps a strong arm around Aiden, rubbing his back soothingly, 

“Easy there, try to breathe. I’ve gotcha.” James soothes. He can feel the heat radiating off of Aiden. One of the coughs morphs into a gag and James quickly grabs the small trash can, pushing it under Aiden’s mouth in time to catch a small stream of puke. Aiden whimpers and sucks in a small, raspy breath before sitting up. James places one of his hands against Aiden's forehead and brushes back his hair. “You’re burning up kid.”, James sighs. Aiden straightens up and tries to turn back towards his laptop but wavers slightly, even while sitting. He shivers and tries to blink away the fogginess. A large warm hand, James, comes to rest on his shoulder and Aiden tries to shrug it off. 

“M’ok, I need to finish this.” Aiden mumbles stubbornly. He lifts a shaking hand up to the keyboard as another shiver runs through him. James stands up and scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “What you need is to take better care of yourself. Starting with dinner, shower, and bed.”, James replies. His brows creased with concern when he noticed how shaky Aiden was. Then, suddenly a sob bubbles up from Aiden's throat and tears spring to his blue eyes. 

“I-I-I’m s-ssorry.”, Aiden chokes out between sobs, his slender shoulders shaking with the force. It wasn’t uncommon for him to get emotional when he was sick, particularly if he had a fever. Now that James has broken his focus, Aiden is acutely aware of just how terrible he feels. His head is pounding in time with his heartbeat, he is cold and aching all over. His chest and throat burn with congestion and his belly feels distinctly unsettled. There was no denying he was sick. Aiden had a notoriously weak immune system, which combined with his recent lack of self care had led to him catching a rather nasty bout of flu. Tears continued to track down his red, blotchy cheeks. 

James quickly knelt down again, pulling the smaller man into a warm hug and rubbing his back. “Shshshsh, it’s ok. I’ve got you”, James coos softly. 

The role of caretaker came naturally to James and he found himself on more often than not being the voice of reason with Aiden and Trent. He had lost track of how many times he’d helped the two of them through various illnesses and rough patches. James didn't mind either, it was second nature to help others and it gave him purpose. James carefully rubs circles on Aiden's trembling back for a few minutes, whispering reassurances, until Aiden’s sobs slow down. “I-I don’t feel so good,” Aiden whispers after a pause, his voice sounding far younger. He wraps his arms around himself and whimpers. 

“What are your symptoms? Does your belly hurt? Head?” James questions gently, hoping to figure out how he could help his friend. Aiden nods softly in response and leans into James’s embrace. “What else buddy?” James asks, looking Aiden over worriedly. Aiden shrugs in reply, unsure of how to put into words just how miserable he feels. “Are you still feeling sick?” James asks, nodding towards the trash bin. Aiden shakes his head, his stomach hurts but he doesn’t feel queasy at the moment. James thinks it over for a minute, trying to come up with a plan. 

“Alright, let’s get you cleaned up and into bed, Hmm?”

James scoops Aiden up gently and carries him out of the study towards the stairs. Aiden fits easily against James’s broad chest and he hardly weighs anything in comparison. Aiden presses his overly warm cheeks against the soft material of his friend's shirt and tries not to think about the way his tummy is sloshing and churning. Even though he doesn’t feel like he’s about to puke again, his belly is upset and the movement of being carried isn’t helping. The young writer wraps an arm around himself, resting a hand on his tummy and rubbing gently. He can feel it gurgling and bubbling beneath his fingertips. 

James carries Aiden into the bathroom and sets him down on the closed lid of the toilet. He grabs the thermometer from the medicine cabinet and crouches down next to Aiden. “Open up.” James prompts as he places the device in Aiden's mouth. Aiden obeys and slumps against James as he waits for the beep. While they wait, James checks Aiden's pulse, purely out of habit, and listens to his breathing briefly. Finally, the thermometer beeps, and James forms at the reading, not at all surprised. “102.6°F, no wonder you feel like shit,” James says as he sets the device aside. “Can you manage a shower by yourself?” He asks Aiden, recalling the time his friend had passed out in the shower from dehydration. 

“I can manage.” Is Aiden's tired response as he stands and slips his shirt off. James turns to leave, glancing back one last time. “I’m gonna grab you some clean clothes and heat up the soup I got you. Yell if you need anything.” He says before exiting the bathroom. 

Aiden turns the water on and strips out of his clothes. He is immensely thankful for his fancy, high-end bathroom. The shower has a built-in bench and Aiden sits down letting the water wash over him. The heat eases some of the aching in his back and neck. He weakly grabs a washcloth and begins washing away the sweat and smell of sickness. The steam loosens some of the congestion in his chest and Aiden feels like he can breathe fully. 

While Aiden showers, James grabs some clean pajamas and a soft, oversized hoodie for him. He sets the clothing on the bathroom counter and then goes to the kitchen. Otis is sitting by his food dish, staring at James expectantly and Kipper glances up hopefully. James fills both of their bowls and then opens up the bag from the deli. He places the sandwich in the fridge, unsure if Aiden’s stomach can handle anything that heavy, and heats up part of the matzo ball soup in a smaller bowl. He also grabs a bottle of water, a glass of apple juice from the fridge, and some crackers. In the background, he can hear the shower turn off and he carries the food and drink on a tray to the den. James sets the food on the coffee table and grabs one of the throw blankets from the closet. When Aiden walks into the den, James frowns; Aiden looks so small and vulnerable, not to mention pale and sick. It makes James’s protective big-brother instincts kick in. Aiden is clutching his beloved stuffed bear in his arms and he’s shivering despite the hot shower and warm hoodie. He sinks into the couch and James wraps a soft blanket around his shoulders and tucks another one over his lap. 

“Now I know you probably aren’t hungry but you really need to get something in your system,” James says firmly, motioning towards the food. Aiden shakes his head and sinks further into the plush couch. “My belly feels gross, I-I don't think I can,” Aiden responds quietly. His tummy hurts, although that could just as easily be from lack of food; Aiden doesn’t want to risk it. James frowns and rubs his hand over Aiden’s arm. “I know you don’t feel good, but I promise this will help.” James reasons. Aiden glances up at his friend and pauses for a moment before relenting, “Can we watch Dr.Who though?” Aiden asks as he grabs the tray of food. James smiles and ruffles Aiden’s slightly damp hair before queuing up the requested show. 

Aiden manages to eat most of the soup, allowing himself to get distracted by his favorite show. He even drinks a decent amount of the juice and after one and a half episodes he slumps back into the couch and pushes the food away tiredly. James stands up and clears away the dishes before returning to the couch. Aiden shifts on the couch and tries to get comfortable. His tummy feels bloated even after such a small meal. Aiden groans and wraps the blankets tighter around himself. James settles next to his friend on the cough and instinctively pulls Aiden against him so that the smaller man is practically on his lap. Aiden relaxes into the comforting embrace as James rubs his back. Kipper trots into the den and jumps up on the couch next to James, curling into a ball and Otis follows behind settling on a chair nearby. 

After 3 episodes, Aiden is finally asleep and James turns the TV off, smiling at his friend. He picks Aiden up carefully and carries him into his bedroom tucking him under the blankets. He places a bin on the floor next to the bed and makes sure Aiden’s inhaler is within reach on the nightstand before turning off the light. James does a quick tidy-up and checks all the doors and windows are locked before climbing into bed with Aiden and promptly falling asleep himself. 

They manage to sleep for several hours before the peaceful slumber is disturbed. James jolts awake to the sounds of coughing coming from next to him. He sits up and flicks on the lamp turning to Aiden. The smaller blonde is hunched over coughing harshly and clutching his mid-section. Upon seeing his friend's distress, James wakes up fully and reaches across the bed to grab the bin off the floor. He sets the bin on top of the blankets and starts rubbing Aiden’s back softly in an attempt to calm him down. Aiden whimpers as the coughs jostle his belly and tear his throat. 

“Easy Aiden, you gotta try to breathe.” James soothes as he wraps one arm around Aiden's back and uses the other to brace his forehead. “I-I mngh..” Aiden tries to formulate a response but the words get caught in his throat as his belly churns and gurgles sickly. All the coughing is tugging at his gag reflex and Aiden leans over the bin with a dry retch. He burps, wet and hollow over the bin and swallows against the rising vomit. Aiden stubbornly swallows again, determined not to vomit. It’s a losing battle though and the next cough brings up a mouthful of partially digested soup that splashes in the bin. James doesn’t even flinch, after everything he’s seen and dealt with this is nothing. He rubs Aiden’s back as his friend coughs up more vomit. When the heaving finally stops Aiden slumps back against the headboard, panting and exhausted. It feels like his stomach has been wrung out like a wet rag. Aiden glances between James and the trash bin, “H-how did you know?”, Aiden asks. One minute he was fast asleep and the next he was puking it, he couldn’t quite fathom how James could react in time. 

“Big-brother instincts my friend.” James replies with a smile. 

Sicktember Day 3: “What happened to your phenomenal immune system, huh?”

Description: James is sick but Trent needs someone to keep him together. 

Trent is 26 James is 25. TW for content; mentions of child abuse, assault, and panic attacks.

The drive back to his apartment is normally one of James’s favorite parts of his day. He turns up the radio and can drown out all the chaos in his mind. Today, however, the drive is proving tedious at best. There’s a deep-seated exhaustion sitting in his bones and the beginning of a headache creeping in. James rolls his muscular shoulders and tries to blink away the fatigue; the day isn’t over yet. Before he can go home and pass out in his bed, he needs to stop by Trent’s place and check up on him. Daisy and Aiden are out of town on some kind of “writing retreat”, and James had promised to check up on the young lawyer. 

James pulls up outside of the rundown apartment building that Trent lives in and parks his truck. As he steps out, he winces when the throbbing in his head picks up slightly. He shrugs it off and walks towards the stairs. His father’s voice echoes in his head.

“Andersen men don’t take sick days, son”

The sentiment has held true for the most part, James can’t recall a single time his father missed work or church because of illness ,and James has worked through nearly every sickness and injury unless he couldn’t physically get out of bed. Save for the time he got a concussion during a training exercise, and was ordered to be on bed rest, James has never taken a sick day. He has on multiple occasions boasted about his ‘Immune system of steel’, something that is evidently failing him at the moment. 

When James gets to the front door of Trent’s apartment, he pauses to clear his throat, before knocking. He can hear Trent on the other side of the door, pacing and muttering, it’s not a good sign. After a few moments, Trent opens the door and James’s concern immediately increases. His friend looks to be on the verge of a full blown breakdown. His eyes are blown wide and it’s clear he’s been crying. Trent’s lower lip is raw and slightly bloody from when he’s been chewing it. There’s some dried blood on his knuckles and James has no doubt he’ll find a new dent in one of the apartment walls. 

“Hey man, what happened?”

James' voice is soft and cautious as he walks into the living room. Trent starts pacing again, looking like a caged animal. His shoulders are shaking and his breathing is bordered on hyperventilating. Trent doesn’t respond to James' question at first. James waits patiently, he knows how easily Trent can be startled when he’s like this. After a few minutes, Trent drops down on the couch and hunches over. He sucks in a shaky breath and then looks up at James with red-rimmed eyes. 

“I, h-he was t-there. At the office today, Wilton Blakely.” Trent whispers. The name is unfamiliar to James, but it clearly holds some significance with Trent. “He c-came up to me and t-t-touched me. Kept going on about how great m-my f-father was.”James sits down on the couch a few inches from Trent and places a hand on his friend's knee to help ground him. 

Trent chokes back a sob and swallows thickly. His eyes begin to dart around the room. James can sense the impending panic attack and he squeezes Trent’s knee firmly. “Did he hurt you?”James asks carefully. Trent shakes his head and leans into James ever so slightly. He sucks in an unsteady breath before speaking, his voice barely a whisper.

“W-when I was eight, my parents had some dinner party and I spilled some water on him.” Trent flinches suddenly, he can still feel the sting of the first slap and his cheek even after all these years. “I-I-I-I d-didn’t m-mean to, but it d-didn’t matter.”. Trent doesn’t have to finish the rest of the story for James to know what happened. He is well aware of the torment Trent faced at the hand of his ‘parents’ and it makes James feel sick everytime he thinks about it. James instinctively pulls his friend closer and rubs Trent’s back to calm him down. 

“I probably deserved it anyway.” Trent says with a hollow laugh.

James shakes his head and hugs Trent. “You didn’t deserve it, any of it. What they did to you was horrible, but they can’t hurt you anymore. Alright?”James states firmly. Trent nods and slumps against James.

“Why don’t you shower and I’ll order some food?” James offers when Trent pulls away. Trent nods and stands up, he still looks rough and James has a feeling it’s going to be a long night. 

While Trent showers, James orders food. He hasn’t eaten since breakfast, which is probably why his head and stomach hurt, and Trent can’t take his meds on an empty stomach. Italian food seems like a safe bet, so James orders some pasta dishes to be delivered and flips through the TV channels until he finds something neutral to watch. He settles on Parks and Recreation, which seems like a safe bet. 

The food arrives shortly after Trent emerges from the shower and the two men settle on the couch and eat in relative silence. James isn’t exactly hungry, but he eats anyway hoping it will help his headache go away. Trent picks at his food, absentmindedly watching the show and occasionally cracking a shy smile at the jokes. When Trent has eaten most of his dinner, James heads to the kitchen to grab Trent’s anxiety and insomnia medication along with some aspirin for himself. James hands Trent his pills along with a bottle of water and watches as his friend swallows. Trents eyes are still puffy and far-away but he seems to be doing better. James clears away the food and tries to ignore the overly-full sensation in his belly. He really hadn’t eaten that much, especially considering his normal appetite, but evidently his stomach disagrees.

“T-thank you.” Trent mumbles when James walks back into the living room. James smiles and squeezes his shoulder,”No problem man.”, he replies. 

They watch a few more episodes; Trent relaxes more and more as the medication takes effect. James, on the other hand, grows ever more uncomfortable. Dinner is sitting like a rock in his stomach, refusing to digest. Occasionally he can feel the food churning sickly and his belly rumbles quietly, clearly displeased with his choice to eat. Apparently what James felt earlier was not hunger, but rather the beginning of a stomach bug. James places a hand on his midsection and rubs at it discreetly. He can feel a slight bloat to his abdomen along with the queasy ache. Now that his brain isn’t focused on taking care of a panicked Trent, James realizes just how terrible he feels. A wet burp rumbles up his throat and he muffles it in his fist. 

Trent doesn’t seem to notice his friend's condition, or if he does he doesn’t mention it. His eyes begin to droop and he slumps further into the couch yawning. The tension has eased from his shoulders and his breathing is calmer. James takes note and grabs the remote to turn the television off. 

“I think it’s bedtime, yeah?” James asks, turning to Trent. 

The young lawyer nods sleepily and stands up, walking towards the bathroom to brush his teeth. He turns back towards James and looks at him with sad pleading eyes.

“C-can you st-stay?”

James smiles at the request. He knows that Trent is prone to nightmares following a panic attack and he hadn’t planned to leave his friend anyway. Hearing Trent openly request it is definitely progress though. 

“Of course, I’ll be right out here if you need me buddy.”

Trent’s shoulders relax even further and he walks into the bathroom. 

Once Trent has left the room, James lets out another wet burp. It doesn’t bring him any relief and he presses his hand against his aching belly hoping to coax up another burp. He does, but it brings with it a splash of his dinner, which he quickly swallows back down. His stomach grumbles in response and cramps. 

James stands up carefully and goes to the hall closet where he has a stash of spare clothes. It’s not the first time he’s spent the night here and it won’t be the last. He changes into a fresh shirt and a pair of loose sweatpants. The waist band digs into his puffy belly and James winces, rubbing tenderly and trying not groan when he bends over to pick up his other clothes. The action of bending over sends up another splash of acid and food into his throat. For a moment James thinks he’s going to puke, but nothing happens and he returns to the couch. 

Trent has left a pillow and blanket on the couch for him. James settles onto the couch and curls in on himself. He hugs his bulky arms around his middle and squeezes his eyes shut. With any luck, he’ll be able to fall asleep. 

For the better part of an hour, James tries to sleep, with no success. His stomach hurts and keeps making increasingly loud and distressed sounds. His head is throbbing, despite the aspirin, and perhaps worst of all; James is alone with his thoughts. Everytime he shuts his eyes, he can see Drew’s face or the face of someone else he lost. His mind is flooded with the images of everyone he couldn’t save and it only makes him more nauseated. This tends to happen anytime he gets a fever and James hates it. 

Trent is sleeping soundly in the next room over and James really doesn’t want to disturb him, but he almost wishes Trent would wake up. At least then he would have something else to focus on.

Another cramp ripples through his middle and James bites back a groan. He can still taste dinner in his mouth along with the bitter saliva that keeps flooding in. James stands up, slightly unsteady, and quietly walks to the bathroom. He grabs his toothbrush that Trent keeps here and attempts to brush his teeth. The action makes him gag and James drops the toothbrush leaning over the sick to retch.

His stomach contracts as he gags but all that he manages is a pathetic dribble of bitter drool. He turns and kneels in front of the toilet, squeezing his eyes shut as the world seems to spin around him. Memories flood his brain and James grips the rim of the toilet until his knuckles are white. 

His back arches and he burps, bringing up a gush of puke; quickly followed by another. James pants over the water; the smell and sight of his partially disgusted dinner makes him gag again. James wraps one of his arms around his middle and uses the other to brace himself over the toilet. His belly gurgles under his hand and contracts sending up another wave of vomit. 

When he finishes, James flushes the toilet and washes his face and mouth, before returning to couch. He had hoped that Trent would stay asleep during his bout of sickness, but Trent is a light sleeper even when medicated. 

 “What happened to your phenomenal immune system, huh?”

Trent is sitting on a chair by the couch when James enters the living room. There’s a bucket next to the couch and a bottle of water in Trent’s hand. James flops on the couch and burps into his hand. Trent doesn’t comment but he looks worried just the same. James doesn’t usually get sick and Trent isn’t quite sure how to respond. “I would offer you my bed but I know you won’t take it. Just know that it’s yours if you want.” Trent says as James takes a tentative sip of the water. 

When the water doesn’t immediately come back up, James takes another tiny sip and sets the bottle down on the coffee table. He settles on the couch and looks up at Trent.

“Thanks man, sorry for waking you up.” James says yawning.

Trent stands up and pats James shoulder awkwardly. “It’s no problem” he replies as he heads back to bed. 

James finally manages to fall asleep, his stomach settling somewhat after having purged itself. His dreams are far from peaceful, but James can’t remember a time when they were. When he wakes up he decides that, just this once, an Adersen man is going to take a damn sick day. 

Age:26 Birthdate: 10/15/1996

Lives in Boston, MA. Occupation: Contractor/ Repair Man, Private Security, Army Veteran.

Appearance: Tall (6'6"),Short Brown Hair, Built like a tank, Muscular With Some Pudge. 

Personality: Outgoing, Patient, Responsible, Stubbourn, Humble, Protective, Loyal

Relationships: Friends- Aiden Becker, Trent Walker, Cody Reis, Daisy Thomas Girlfriend(eventually)- Jenny Hayes

General Info: James grew up in Lubec, Maine with his parents and younger brother Drew. He spent most of his childhood on small fishing rigs with his dad. James joined the Army at 18 after high school and served for 6 years as a paramedic. His brother followed in James’s footsteps and joined the Marines but was killed in action at 20. James holds himself responsible for his brother’s death and it has created tension with his family. After being discharged, James moved to Boston to be with his fiancee and to get away from Maine. She cheated and dumped him shortly after he moved there and James didn’t trust anyone romantically for several years. James met Aiden through a private security company as a bodyguard for Aiden during book events. He is essentially a giant teddy bear who looks like he could crush you with one hand. James has a major soft spot for Aiden and Trent.