hold me in your arms

chapter thirteen

Ryan's pov

Unfortunately, Jaymie did not sleep as soundly as I thought she would, and she did not feel better in the morning like I had hoped she would.

I woke up at half-past four in the morning to screaming and crying, only interrupted by a hacking cough. It woke me up with a start, leaving me a bit disoriented at first, but eventually, the memories came flooding back. I remembered going to the beach and having loads of fun, and I remembered driving home and Jaymie getting sick. I looked around and realised I was in her bed and I remembered her asking me to stay with her. I looked around to find her and eventually noticed she was on the floor with tears streaming down her face. I rushed down to pick her up, scooping her into my arms and rocking back and forth. My soothing attempts were to no avail, as she continued her sobbing nearly choking on her tears. I stayed on the floor with her simply rocking back and forth.

After what seemed like hours, she finally started to calm down. Tears were still falling down her cheeks at a rapid pace, but she was breathing somewhat normally and she was only coughing small little coughs. They sounded almost painful, but I knew that she was sick, so there wasn't much I could do for the cough. If she wasn't better by this afternoon, I'd have to take her to see the doctor.

I stood up with my girl, continuing to hold her in my arms and rock her gently back and forth. She wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, so I ultimately decided to bring her downstairs. I was lucky that I had bought a few bottles a week or so prior, so I carried her into the kitchen turning on the light above the sink so it wasn't too bright. I knew Jaymie would not let me set her down, so getting everything together was a bit of a challenge, but I eventually got everything I needed. I grabbed the milk from the fridge, then moved over to the pantry to grab some sugar and vanilla. I mixed them together in a bottle before placing it in the microwave to warm up a bit.

After testing it to make sure it was just right, I screwed the cap on carrying it, along with Jaymie, to the couch. I placed her in my lap, cradling her head in the crook of my arm as her legs curled up and rested against the end of the couch. I hovered the nipple of the bottle over her mouth, waiting for her to latch on, but she only stared at it with wide eyes. I nudged her mouth open with the tip of the bottle, but she squeezed her lips together, pushing it away, causing me to sigh.

"Angel, open up, please. It'll make you feel better," I tried to reason with her, but she only blinked up at me.

"Wa da?" She asked, playing with the bottle.

"It's a bottle, baby. You gotta drink it." I put it in my mouth to have a sip, showing her what to do.

"Baba?" She asked, cocking her head in curiosity. I nodded with a smile, giving her tummy a little tickle which made her giggle adorably.

"That's right, little one, a baba. It's yummy, can you drink it for me?" I asked, attempting to place it in her mouth once again. Thankfully, this time, she gladly took it and started sucking at the tip, drinking the milk. I combed my fingers through her hair as she continued to drink. "Slow down, sweetheart," I said, pulling it from her mouth a bit so she could take a bit of a breath. This caused her to whine a bit. "Don't want you to get a tummy ache," I explained and patted her tummy, smiling when she giggled again.

She took the bottle again, drinking it much slower this time, her eyelids starting to droop in drowsiness.

"Good girl," I praised. "Shut your eyes bubba, you can sleep now." I don't think she understood what I was saying, but her eyes continued to droop, eventually closing completely. The bottle fell lax in her mouth, so I pulled it out and brought her closer to me, being careful not to wake her up.

Once I was certain she was asleep, I allowed myself to relax, shutting my eyes and tuning out the world. At least for a bit.

...

I woke up a few hours later with the sun glaring at me through the windows in the living room. Jaymie was still asleep, but she was squirming in my arms. I placed my hand on her forehead and felt that it was still warm. She definitely still had a fever. Almost as if on queue, Jaymie started crying, waking up and flailing around. I sighed. This is gonna be a long day.

"Shh, angel, don't cry bubba," I tried to soothe as I continued to rock her. Her head was still cradled in my arm, the other one was secured over her waist and moving her hands away so she didn't hurt herself.

"Ma ma," she wailed, twisting and contorting her body, trying to squirm free.

"I'm here baby, it's okay." I held her, using my free hand to play with her hair and brush her cheeks and nose. She grasped onto my hand and brought it to her mouth, gently sucking on my thumb, and as adorable it was, I knew she needed some food and a nappy change. I stood up, making sure to keep her in my arms before heading off to start the day with a very sick, very little princess.

...

Enough time had passed and everything was finally situated when I got the chance to phone the doctor.

"Hello!" The chipper voice of the office receptionist called out. "How can I help you?" She asked.

"Hi, I was hoping to schedule an appointment for my friend Jaymie Keys? Do you have an opening for some time today?"

"Of course, love. Let me check, just give me one second." I heard the clicking away at a keyboard. "Alright sweetheart, it looks like we are all booked for today, but we can get her in tomorrow at 9:45? Does that work for you?" I nodded and smiled, before remembering she couldn't see me.

"Yes! That sounds wonderful, thank you so much!" I exclaimed, writing down a reminder on a notepad.

"You're welcome dear, see you tomorrow,"

"See you tomorrow, goodbye," I smiled before hanging up the phone. The only issue now was making sure Jay was big enough to go, and getting her to actually go. She hated the doctor, but hopefully, she'll feel better about it knowing that I'm there. Hopefully.

A/N: Here's chapter fourteen! As I said in the author's note, thank you for your patience on the wait! As always, comment, vote, recommend to people if you'd like! Thank you all for taking the time to read this, it means a lot to me! Enjoy xx

 Question of the day! What is your idea of a perfect date? I would like to take my girlfriend to the aquarium, then to a 50's diner for dinner and dessert where we listen to old music on a jukebox, and then cuddle on a blanket looking at the stars!