Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Seeing Finn naked for the first time made Hadley throb in a way she hadn’t throbbed before. There was an ache between her legs and she wanted Finn to rub it away so badly.
He helped her step out of the shower and wrapped a soft towel around her. Despite the heat, the cold air made her shiver. Finn rubbed the soft material over her, before guiding her into the nursery. Picking her up, he settled her on the changing table.
“What kind of diapers? Grumpy, green Christmas man, or candy canes?” he asked.
She pulled the towel over her face and body. “Candy canes,” she mumbled.
“Poor baby, I know you’re cold. I’m sorry. I’m hurrying.”
He applied a diaper, then took it off, and reapplied.
“Sorry, Peeps. Third time is a charm,” he said, finally getting it on her right.
Hadley was smiling into the towel, not wanting him to see her giggle. Poor Finn, he was trying his best.
He worked her into a penguin pajama set before picking her up and settling her into his bed. She yawned as he covered her up.
“Sleepy girl,” he teased, rubbing her back.
She was so tired.
“Go to sleep, baby, I’ll be here when you wake up,” he promised.
Hadley fell asleep with a full heart.
Hadley woke up surrounded by warmth. She stretched before snuggling into the firm body behind her.
Finn kissed the back of her head.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, sweet girl.” His growly morning voice was extremely sexy. Hadley turned in his arms and snuggled into his chest. His large hands rubbed her back. His warm body felt so good.
“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked. “You feel a bit warm.”
“Better, Daddy.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yas-huh.”
“No more itchy throat?”
“No, Daddy. I feel lots better.” Her head hurt a tiny bit, but she still felt much better.
“Good,” he said, hugging her tighter. “Maybe you’re just warm from being so snuggled. Daddy held you the whole night.”
“I love sleeping with you, Daddy.”
“Me too, Peeps, but we need to get up soon, so you can go to preschool.”
Hadley didn’t want to go to preschool. She wanted to stay with Finn all day.
“Maybe my throat still hurts a bit.”
“Oh?” Finn moved one of his arms from around her and reached on the nightstand behind him. Flipping on the flashlight on his phone, he told her to open her mouth. She did, allowing him to shine the flashlight in her mouth.
Hadley felt silly, but she didn’t want him to know she told a story so she could stay home with him, so she opened her mouth, hoping to buy some time.
“Shit, Hadley, your throat looks awful.”
She was surprised. It only hurt a tiny bit, probably just from allergies.
“Oh,” she said, unsure how to respond. “Can I stay home with you today?” She didn’t want to be apart from him even a tiny bit.
“Yes, baby. I’m going to take you down to the infirmary. It might still be your allergies, but I’d feel better if we got you checked out.” He slid from the bed and pulled the covers over her. “You can wear your jammies down there, okay? When we get back, we can have a movie day. Definitely no preschool if you feel yucky.”
Hadley laid there quietly while guilt churned in her tummy. Finn looked really worried. She should tell him the truth.
Once he was dressed in jeans, boots, and a hoodie, he came back to the bed. “Let’s go, babygirl,” he said before he scooped her up.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, baby?”
“I lied to you and I’m really so very sorry,” she said before she buried her face into his neck. She couldn’t bear to look at him due to shame. Their second day in a relationship and she’d already messed it all up. Just like she always did.
“What did you lie to me about, Hadley?” He tried to set her on the bed, but she clung to him.
“I do feel better, I think my allergies are just being wonky. I just don’t want to go to preschool. I want to stay with you.”
He rubbed her back again and sat on the bed with her in his arms.
“Thank you for telling me the truth, Peeps. Lying to each other could really hurt our relationship.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy!” she sobbed into his neck, the guilt too much to handle.
“Aw, honey. Don’t cry. You’re going to make your throat hurt so much worse.”
“It doesn’t hurt much at all. I lied, remember?”
“Shhh,” he soothed.
“I just wanted to stay with you,” she coughed.
He stood with her in his arms and carried her out the door.
“I’m proud of you for telling me the truth. I know that must have been hard.”
“Don’t be proud of me. I was so bad, Daddy.”
“No, baby. You made a naughty choice. You’re never bad, Peeps. You said you told a fib because you wanted to stay with Daddy?”
“Yas-huh,” she cried.
“You know, Daddy wanted you to stay with him too, but he didn’t want to make you sad by asking you to miss Nanny J’s class. I think we both should have communicated better, huh?”
She nodded into his neck.
“Even though we’ve been friends for a very long time, there’s things we will have to work on and communication will be one of those things. We both should have expressed our wants better,” he told her. “How about we both promise to work on that from now on, okay?”
She nodded again.
“I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“I forgive you, Peeps.” He kissed her forehead. “You’re warm, baby. I do think maybe you have a little fever.”
Hadley realized she did actually feel bad.
“Daddy, I think I don’t feel so good. For reallies this time,” she whispered. She wanted to go back to their room where she could talk to Daddy freely.
A soft buzz filled the elevator and Hadley lifted her head. “I stopped the elevator so you can talk to me. Can you tell Daddy what hurts?”
“My head,” Hadley said as she thought, “and my arms and legs.”
“Are they achy?”
“Yas-huh.”
“Does your throat hurt?”
“Just a little bit, but it’s better than last night.”
“Okay, baby, just lay your head back down and we’ll get you all better.”
Hadley put her head on Daddy’s shoulder and relaxed. He would take care of everything.
“Here’s the doctor now, baby,” Finn said as the door opened.
“Actually, I’m a nurse practitioner,” the woman. “My name is Nurse MacIntosh.” She set the huge book she’d carried in on a table and gave them a smile. “I heard we have a sick Little one. How can I help you?”
“Hadley is nonverbal and I left her support cards in the room. I’m going to speak for her and if she wants to add anything, she will let me know,” Finn explained. “Yesterday Hadley had what I thought were allergies. We went to the stables and were playing with some animals. She was sneezing, had watery eyes, and an itchy throat. I gave her some Benadryl, but this morning she woke with body aches, perhaps a fever, and her throat looks really raw.”
“Oh, goodness. Poor Little girl. Don’t you worry about a thing, sweetheart. We’re going to get you all checked out.” She gave Hadley a smile before turning to address Finn. “We’ll start with your temp. Can you pull her pants down below her bottom for me? You can keep holding her in your lap, just lay her across your knees.”
Hadley shook her head, but it was too late. Finn was already flipping her across his lap.
“Peeps, if you need to use your safe word, just tap my leg three times, okay? I didn’t grab your support cards. I’m sorry, baby,” he said as he pulled her pajama pants and diaper down.
The nurse chuckled. “It looks like her diaper is soaked as well. New Daddy?”
“Yes, and a terrible one so far,” Finn said, shaking his head.
“No, not at all. Most new Tops panic the first time their Little one is sick. I’m sure you woke up, noticed she wasn’t well, and rushed her here. That is a wonderful Daddy. I’m glad that Hadley has someone taking care of her so thoroughly,” she said, sitting on a stool and sliding over to the couple.
“This is going to be a bit cold, Hadley,” she warned before touching her anus with something cold.
Hadley whimpered.
“I know, Peeps. I’m sorry,” Finn soothed.
“Here’s the thermometer, Little one,” Nurse MacIntosh warned before Hadley felt the implement being inserted.
She gripped Finn’s leg tightly and he rubbed her back. The thermometer felt huge and she whimpered again.
“I know, baby, but it will be over soon and then we can snuggle in bed all day,” Finn promised her.
“Alright, love, we just need that to sit there for three minutes, okay? It will beep when it’s done.”
Tears rolled down Hadley’s face. She didn’t want to lay there for three minutes. She felt like she had a turkey baster up her ass.
“It’s okay, Peeps. You’re being so brave for us.”
Hadley grabbed her dangling pacifier that was clipped to her shirt and shoved it in her mouth, plotting to leave the infirmary a one-star Yelp review.
“Do they sell these in the gift shop? I didn’t bring a thermometer at all, but I took a hybrid class with Dr. Morgan our first full day here and learned how much more accurate a rectal temp was.”
“Yes, we do, this exact brand actually. I’m so glad to hear you’re trying the new hybrid classes. Did you enjoy it?”
“I did, very much. Dr. Morgan was very informative.”
“Yes. My husband and I’ve sat in on a few classes as well. We miss him since he went back to Littleworld but were delighted when he agreed to teach for us once a month.”
Hadley knew Finn had taken some classes but hadn’t realized they’d dealt with some embarrassing topics. Yucky.
“So you’re informed on how to give a proper enema and the benefits of them as well?” Nurse MacIntosh asked.
Enemas?
“I did. I haven’t introduced her to them yet but will in the near future.”
“It may be sooner than you planned. There is some fecal matter on the end of the thermometer. That means she is a bit impacted.”
Hadley gasped.
“Oh, Peeps. Has your tummy been hurting, baby?”
She hesitated. Having a Daddy meant letting them know the hard things too and they had just had a talk about being honest with each other.
She nodded.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, baby. We’re going to make it feel so much better.”
“She does have a temp. I recommend giving her acetaminophen suppositories to bring it down. I’ll send you back to your room with some, but we definitely need to clean her out so they will work properly.”
“Thank you so much,” Finn answered.
“Let’s go ahead and change her into a gown. I’ll finish the rest of my exam and then we can get her feeling all better in time for Christmas. I’m going to grab a few things and I’ll be back.”
Hadley was set on her feet and Finn stripped her off. She shivered when she was exposed to the cool air.
“Poor baby,” Finn cooed as he wiped the tears from her face. He worked her into the pink gown. “Do you feel bad?”
She nodded. She did feel so very bad. It had taken a while for all the aches and pains to register.
“And you’re embarrassed?”
She nodded again. So very embarrassed.
He kissed her forehead. “I know this is all new, Peeps. But I’m not grossed out or embarrassed at all. Taking care of you is a privilege, and I’m so thankful you’re trusting me with the task. I won’t bend on your health. We will be leaving this room with your bottom squeaky clean and some meds to help you feel better, but if you need a break or some reassurance, you can still tap my leg, okay? We can slow down or take a break if we need to.”
She hugged him and he chuckled. “I love you, little girl.”