Chapter 6 #2
“I don’t use my insurance. Tami’s so good to me. I don’t want to cost her money,” Melissa whispered.
“She needs her employees to be in good shape. You have a physical job. That’s why she gives you health insurance, right? So you can use it if you need it?” Dr. Richards asked as he opened a cabinet to pull down a tray and started loading it with supplies.
Melissa looked at the thick thermometer and knew her eyes widened. That was bigger than she’d ever seen. The next thing he grabbed was a tube of lubricant and he squeezed a dollop out on a gauze square. What’s that for?
“Rocky, if you’ll help pull down Melissa’s leggings and panties.”
“What?” She looked at the big thermometer Dr. Richards now applied lubricant to and tried to back away from the exam table. He didn’t mean to…
“None of that, Little girl.” Rocky quickly lowered her garments to her ankles before easily lifting her to dangle over the padded table.
He held her in place with one hand on the middle of her back as he brushed her hair out of her eyes.
“We’re here to get you well. Dr. Richards needs to get the most accurate reading. ”
“You’ll feel me touch you now, Melissa,” Dr. Richards warned as he smoothed a gloved hand over her bottom before spreading her buttocks and applying a dab of cold lubricant to that small opening hidden there. “Good girl. Now the thermometer.”
Melissa dropped her forehead down to the cool surface below her.
She shivered at the feel of the cold instrument inside her and the feel of the air-conditioned air wafting over her bare skin.
Embarrassed, but feeling so bad nothing really mattered.
She trusted her friends, and Rocky and Zoey wouldn’t steer her wrong.
“Okay, Rocky. Let’s get her redressed and Melissa can take a seat on the exam table.”
A few minutes later, she leaned against her Daddy’s broad chest as Dr. Richards looked at her arm. She closed her eyes at the sight of his concerned face. She’d really screwed everything up.
“Little girl, I’m worried about this arm. You have an infection setting in and some stitches tore when you fell. I’m going to deaden your arm and clean everything up. Rocky, do you know what antibiotics she’s taking?”
She felt Rocky shift to pull his phone out of his pocket. Peeking from under her lashes, she watched him pull up a picture and show Dr. Richards. He was so smart. She wouldn’t have thought of that.
“Perfect. Thank you.” Dr. Richards paused and looked at Melissa. “Little girl, I’m going to make this as pain-free as possible, but it’s going to hurt in a few places. Would you like some medicine to distract your brain?”
Melissa nodded immediately. Now that she’d seen what was under the bandage, she knew why it was bleeding. “I get panicky when things are tough,” she admitted.
“Many people do. It’s normal.”
Dr. Richards turned and opened a drawer.
He pulled out something wrapped in plastic and tore it open to reveal a pacifier that was candy on the part that fit into your mouth.
“This medicine will absorb into your body as you suck on it. Zoey says it tastes like vanilla ice cream. See what you think.” He held it to her mouth and waited for her to open and accept it.
“Mmm!” Melissa said around the medicated candy. It did taste like vanilla ice cream. Or maybe whipped cream. The good kind that was made from scratch.
She settled against Rocky’s body to decide. Her tongue ran over the bulb to appreciate its flavor. Melissa realized Dr. Richards was preparing a shot, but for some reason, it really didn’t matter.
Popping the pacifier out of her mouth, she reported, “This is good. Are you going to fix my arm now?”
“Yes, Melissa. How do you feel?” Dr. Richards asked.
“I’m here with Daddy.”
Rocky pressed a kiss on the top of her head as if he understood exactly what she meant.
Dr. Richards gave them a second before saying, “Melissa, I want you to look at the wall over there and tell me what you see.”
She looked to the opposite side of the room. There was a big picture hanging there. It looked like a big finger painting. The colors were bright and beautiful. Studying it, she considered all the possibilities.
There were a few pokes at her arm that stung, but she didn’t look. Dr. Richards had given her a job. Pulling the pacifier from her mouth, she shared, “I think it looks like a big park or a field. Something out in nature. In the corner, that might be a flutterby.”
“I’ve thought that, too, Melissa. It’s a perfect flutterby. Do you see anything else?” Dr. Richards asked.
Again, she popped the medicine back into her mouth and considered the painting. A few minutes later, she reported, “In the middle, I think there’s an enormous bunch of purple hydrangeas. I love those. They are my favorite flower. They don’t smell very much, but that’s okay.”
When she popped the device back into her mouth, the candy part snapped off. There wasn’t much more of it. Melissa crunched it up and swallowed. “I finished this. Can I have another?”
“Let’s try something a bit different. Rocky, can you open that top drawer in the exam table? Grab one of those pink packets and open it.”
Melissa watched carefully, wondering what other incredible things Dr. Richards had. As Rocky ripped the plastic off, she saw it was another pacifier, but this just had a rubber tip instead. Rocky turned it to show her that written on the outside was the phrase, Good Girl.
“This is perfect for you, Little girl. Let’s see what you think?” Rocky held it to her lips, and she opened her mouth.
It didn’t taste as good as the other one, but it was soothing. Melissa laid her head on her Daddy’s shoulder and just zoned out. She might have taken a bit of a nap because she was surprised when Dr. Richards announced he’d finished with her arm.
She looked over to see the previously tortured looking skin covered with a clean white dressing. “It feels better.”
“It is much better. So, here’s how you’re going to help it heal. No work for at least three days. You must be fever-free or your Daddy is going to add on the rest of the week.”
When she opened her mouth to complain, Dr. Richards shook his head.
“There are no negotiations here. In addition, I’m going to give you a shot of an antibiotic that will work with the pills you are taking to supercharge them and ward off this infection.
I’m also going to send home three days of medicine to keep the pain away.
It will make you a bit groggy, but that’s okay.
You need to rest and let yourself heal. I’ll give you the first dose, along with your antibiotic. ”
“I don’t like shots. I don’t swallow pills well. Those capsules are huge.”
“I don’t blame you for not liking shots. You’ll still get one. The rest of the medicine you won’t have to swallow. It will go in your bottom when your Daddy checks your temperature.”
Melissa stared at the doctor as her brain tried to understand all that information. Her Daddy was going to take her temperature in her bottom just like Dr. Richards had? Medicine was going into her bottom?
“I can take pills. I won’t complain,” she told him.
“I know. You’re not a complainer. You’ll still have to swallow the antibiotic. The other medicine, you won’t.”
Dr. Richards looked at Rocky. “We need to pull her pants down again. Let’s have you sit on the table with her over your lap so we don’t jar that arm.”
In seconds, her leggings and panties hung around her ankles, and she hung over her Daddy’s lap with her bottom pointed to Dr. Richards. Melissa listened to the doctor’s instructions.
“Always lubricate Melissa’s bottom fully to take her temperature. Then, it should only take a bit more on the tip of the suppository.”
Before she could protest, he pressed a thick cylinder deep into her bottom. Rocky held her solidly in place.
“No wiggles, Little girl. We have to protect your arm.”
“But… he’s putting something in my butt.”
“Bottom. It’s medicine, Lissy. I think you need to feel better, don’t you?”
“Yes, but…”
“No butts,” Rocky told her firmly. “Dr. Richards knows how to treat Littles. We will follow his directions.”
A pinch followed. “Ouch!” Melissa yelped.
“All done. You were very good,” Dr. Richards complimented as Rocky lifted her to sit on his lap.
“Promise?”
“I promise, Melissa. I want you to promise me something,” he requested. “Listen to your Daddy and give yourself time to heal,” Dr. Richards told her.
“I can to that,” she agreed. Looking down at the pacifier in her hand, Melissa held it back out to him. “Here. This is yours.”
“No way. That belongs to a good girl. I think you’re the only one in the room who fits that description. It’s yours now,” Dr. Richards assured her.
“Thank you,” she whispered and looked up at Rocky to make sure he was okay with her having it.
“The best of all good girls,” he echoed.
“Go ahead and dress Melissa. I’ll adjust a sling for her. I want her to wear it when she’s up and walking. While she’s relaxing, it’s best to take it off and let her muscles move around. Let me know in two days if the redness hasn’t disappeared.”
“Yes, Doctor. Thank you for taking care of my Little girl,” Rocky told him.
Melissa could feel the emotion in that sentence. He cared for her. She loved how he wrapped around her, as if he would protect her from the world.