The Meaning of Family

Sick Little One

After Ava called Hailey "mama", Hailey's heart completely melted and she was eager to tell Jay but also didn't want to rub it in his face. They'd definitely need to have a talk with Ava when she was better about how she could call Jay "dad" or some variation of that if she wanted to and when she was ready.

Hailey finished bathing Ava and got her into a clean diaper and pair of pajamas before taking her downstairs with all of her things and settling her on the couch. "Okay, baby, mama's going to go clean her bed and then I'll come be with you. Drink some water, okay?" Ava nodded and took a few sips of water then laid down with her thumb in her mouth, hugging her lovies.

Hailey hurried to strip their bed and get their sheets and blankets rinsed in the tub then into the wash on sanitize mode. She then changed clothes and went downstairs to be with her girl. She was definitely ready to get the adoption finalized, they wouldn't be able to do that until January though.

Ava was passed out on the couch when she got downstairs, so Hailey took the time to do some stuff around the house while she could. Jay called not long after she started folding clothes and she scrambled to answer the phone before it woke Ava. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough, and Ava, as miserable as she was, started crying.

Hailey answered the phone as she lifted Ava into her lap. "Mama, seep," Ava cried as Jay said hi and he paused. Hailey lifted the phone to her ear as she soothed Ava.

J: hail, did she just call you mama?
H: yeah, she did. She started that an hour ago when she coughed herself sick. Then she got scared i'd be mad. It was so sad and so sweet.
J: that makes me happy, Hailey. She's really getting comfortable, and I know it will take her time to call me dad because of everything she's been through. Anyway, how is she?
H: not great. She coughed so hard she started throwing up and she absolutely lost it. It scared her so bad. She's got a fever and she's miserable. This cold got bad.
J: poor kid. I'm on my way home early. What can i pick up?
H: dinner, let's do soup for Ava, then some kids cold medicine. All I have is regular cough and Tylenol, and i think she needs more than that. Thanks, babe.
J: of course, be home soon. Love you.
H: love you too.

Hailey put her phone to the side and stood with Ava. "How are you feeling, baby?"

"Yucky. I needa go potty," Ava huffed, resting her warm head on Hailey's shoulder.

Hailey took her to the bathroom then they went back into the living room and Hailey convinced Ava to drink some pedialyte. She didn't want to toddler getting dehydrated on top of everything else. That was the last thing anyone needed.

Ava begrudgingly drank it and whined as she tried go get comfortable on Hailey. She did not feel good at all and everything hurt and she felt so yucky. She just wanted her sister, no, Hailey was her mama now, to make it go away.

"Make stop!" She cried before coughing again, pretty violently.

"I wish I could, baby. Jay is bringing a different medicine to help you," Hailey ran her fingers through Ava's hair before giving the girl a tissue and helping her blow her nose.

"Want it now," Ava cried, rubbing her eyes with her fists.

"Let's try something else, kid," Hailey sighed and took Ava with her to the little girl's bathroom. She got out the kids' vicks and put some on Ava's chest then settled her on the couch and set up a humidifier.

"This should help some, baby girl. Do you want to watch a movie?" Hailey asked as she settled on the couch with her little one.

"Movie," Ava mumbled around her thumb, which she couldn't really suck because she had to breathe through her mouth, so she was struggling.

Hailey found something age appropriate that wasn't annoying and turned it on, then kept rubbing Ava's back until she drifted back off on her arms. She felt bad the little girl was suddenly so sick, but she supposed that was just how kids worked. One hour they can be fine, the next they can be sick as hell. That was one of the mysteries of little kids.
——
When Jay got home, he went inside quietly since he wasn't sure if Ava was asleep or not. He set everything on the kitchen island and took his coat off before he went into the living room to find his girls. Sure enough, Ava was still passed out on Hailey.

Hailey smiled up at him and he bent down and kissed her. "How are my girls?"

"She called me mama," Hailey beamed, eyes brimming with tears. "I don't want to rub it in, and I swear I'm not trying to rub it in, but this is huge for her."

"Hailey, I'm happy for you. You're not rubbing it in. I mean it when I say that I understand it is going to take her a good amount of time to call me dad or daddy or whatever she comes up with for me, and until that day comes, it will be at her pace. Other than calling you mama, how is she now?"

"Super warm. Very pissed she doesn't feel good. Her chest is starting to rattle and I don't know how she got so sick so fast," Hailey explained.

"I'm going to take a quick shower and change after I start the soup, then I can take her for a little while," Jay said, rubbing Ava's back as he spoke. She didn't even stir.

"Thanks, babe," Hailey smiled in appreciation as Jay went over to the kitchen.

He started warming the soup on the stove then went upstairs to shower and change so he wouldn't potentially spread more germs to poor Ava. Then he went downstairs to his girls and he and Hailey were able to carefully transfer Ava to Jay without upsetting her.

Jay settled on the couch with Ava on his chest, and she stayed relaxed on his chest for about 20 minutes before she started coughing and woke up with tears in her eyes. Jay sat her up and rubbed her back as he talked her through the coughing fit, then he got her to drink some pedialyte and calm down.

With some coaxing, they managed to convince Ava to eat some soup before she simply burst into tears and begged to go back to sleep. She didn't feel good at all, her body hurt, her breathing was weird, and her ears were hurting now too. But she didn't want to explain all that, so she just cried and asked to sleep. Sleeping was better than experiencing this sickness.

Jay took her upstairs and changed her then laid down on the couch with her. She clung to him and kept crying and coughing for almost 40 minutes until she calmed down enough to go to sleep. Jay and Hailey just looked at each other with sad expressions on their faces.

"I hate how sad she is, she's miserable," Hailey frowned.

"Hopefully the sleep will help. I'll take her up to our bed soon, then we can have some time together before sleeping with a sick toddler," Jay said, rubbing Ava's back.

"No, I just want her with us. She's scared and she doesn't feel good. And I'm worried about her," Hailey said. She absolutely did not want Ava away from them.

"Okay. Do you want to hold her now?" Jay asked and Hailey put her bowl in the sink then went and took Ava from Jay and settled on the couch with the feverish child on her chest.

Ava slept on Hailey for about 2 hours before she woke up and cried and coughed. She was hurting and miserable. Hailey stood up and started to walk around, rubbing her back and humming to try to calm her down.

"She's really warm," Hailey sighed, feeling Ava's hot forehead on her neck.

"I'll get the thermometer," Jay ran upstairs and came back with the thermometer and put it in Ava's ear, which had her screaming.

"I know, I know, almost done," Hailey soothed and Jay pulled the thermometer out when it beeped.

"Shit. Hail, she's at 103.8, we need to go to med. She's also not breathing great," Jay began to worry and Hailey felt like her heart was going to stop.

"Okay, let's go," Ava began to cough aggressively and cry and she really was struggling to breathe. That combined with a spiked fever meant it was time to go to med. So off they went in a panic once they had Ava's comfort items.