Little Ezra || agere (ON HOLD)

E L E V E N

𝑻𝑹𝑬𝒀

"Trey.." Ezra walked slowly into the living room, I was stunned upon hearing him say my name given the fact that the last time I saw him, which was when I put him down for a nap, he was still little. "What's up, bubba?"

"I don't feel good" He told me, sitting on the couch next to me. "What does it feel like?" I asked, putting my hand on his forehead, he did feel a little warm. "My head and nose hurt" He muttered out, closing his eyes. "And my throat feels scratchy" I nodded. "I wanna be little" Ezra whispered out. "I don't like this"

My first instinct was to hold him, so that's what I did. I pulled him into my lap, allowing him to lay his head on my shoulder. "I know, babe. I'll make it better" I told him, rubbing small circles on his back. After a few minutes of that, and me trying to figure out how I would be able to help, I heard him starting to cry softly.

"Hey, hey" I pulled him, so he was sitting up, seeing his fact broke my heart. "It's okay, baby" I assured him wiping his face. "You don't have to cry, I know it hurts"

"What does Amanda usually do when you're sick, my love?"

I could see him trying to hold back a smile from the nickname, but he eventually responded. "I n-never get sick" I was told. I nodded, attempting to figure out how to make this better, how to make it stop hurting.

"How about this," I moved him off of my lap, so he was now standing in front of me. "I'm gonna run you a nice bath, we'll get you some nice warm clothes, and then we can cuddle and watch movies" I suggested. "Sound good, lovebug?"

Ezra nodded in return, a smile fighting its way onto his face. I smiled, standing up and grabbing his hand. I guided him up to the bathroom, where I began running him a warm bath, making sure to pour some bubbles in to hopefully make him feel little.

Once the tub was filled enough, I started leaving the bathroom, assuming that since he was big now, he wouldn't want me to be in here when he got undressed, but he stopped me. "I-I need help" He told me shyly.

"I don't think I can balance properly on my own" He added, looking down at the floor, which made sense to me. I could see the way he was swaying slightly, trying to hold himself up on his own two feet.

I allowed him to hold onto me for support as he began to get undressed, helping when needed. I, of course, made sure respect his body by keeping my eyes on his face. Once he had all his clothes off, I helped him into the tub, before telling him I would be right back.

In return he nodded, leaning his head against the wall gently. It was truly hurting me having to see him like this.

He's usually so bright and happy.

I went into his room, searching for and eventually finding the dinosaur onesie he was wearing on the day we met. I couldn't help but smile at the memory. I laid the onesie out on his bed alongside his stuffies and his dino pacifier, just in case, before retreating back to the bathroom to check on him.

I knelt down next to the tub, sitting on my knees, and began running my fingers through Ezra's hair gently. "Dada, Ezzy's tummy hurt" He whined out. I smiled a little, happy that he was able to get into little space, but I also felt bad.

His little space is usually his escape from the bad things.

"It's okay, baby" I grabbed a washcloth and some soap so I could actually wash him. "Daddy's gonna make it all better" I whispered, kissing his forehead softly. I began washing his body gently, singing to him softly, hoping that would sooth him a little bit. 

I ended up handing him the washcloth eventually so that he could wash his private areas himself, which I'm sure he understood as me not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

While he was doing that, I started to wash his hair. From the way he paused momentarily, and his eyes fluttered shut, a smile appearing on his face, I could tell it probably felt good having his head massaged like this.

Especially with the fact that he said his head was hurting.

By the time the bath was over, he seemed to be feeling a little bit better, but he still wasn't his usual perky self. I helped him out the tub, wrapping him in a fluffy towel, before scooping him up and carrying him into his room. The way I picked him up caused him to giggle softly, which caused me to smile at the sound.

I could never get tired of hearing Ezra's sweet giggle. Once I had him back in his room, I dressed him in a pull-up, which was personally requested instead of a diaper, and helped him into his dinosaur onesie. "Feeling any better little dino?" I asked softly, bouncing him gently.

Ezra nodded slightly, head pressed to my shoulder, face hidden in my neck. "Let's go get you some food and watch some movies, little love" I carried Ezra down to living room, sitting him on the couch, which was a struggle due to him not wanting me to put him down.

I then, made my way to the kitchen, making some chicken nuggets and mac and cheese for Ezra, a bottle included just in case he wasn't hungry for actual food. By the time I made my way back to the living room, Ezra had begun crying softly. I quickly sat the food and his bottle down, before pulling him into my arms.

"Shh, baby, daddy's here now" The poor baby clung to me, sniffling every so often, as tears dropped down onto my shoulder. "Daddy's sorry little one. He didn't mean to take so long, love"

After a few minutes of me trying to get Ezra to calm down. Amanda walked in from work, looking drained. I explained the situation to her, telling her I had it under control when she questioned if I needed any help taking care of Ezra.

She nodded, letting me know she was going to head to bed early, before going up to her room, leaving Ezra and I in the living room.

I sat Ezra down on the couch once his crying had subsided and grabbed the plate with his nuggets and mac and cheese. I held a fork-full of the mac and cheese up to his lips, but he refused it, turning his head slightly. "Not hungry?" I asked sitting the fork back onto the plate.

In return, Ezra pointed at the bottle sitting on the table. "Use your words, love" I brushed some hair from his eyes. He only pointed at the bottle again, indicating that he's gone back to being nonverbal, causing me to sigh.

I grabbed the bottle off the table, handing it to him. I went to reach for the remote to put a movie on, but before I could, Ezra climbed into my lap, laying his head on my shoulder. I couldn't help but smile at the action, knowing he probably felt safest, in this moment, in my lap.

My arms wrapped around him, holding him close to my chest, as I reached for the remote again, turning on The Lion King for him to watch. I was sitting at an angle so he would be able to lay on my shoulder and still watch the movie.

About halfway through the movie, Ezra dropped his bottle, letting me know that he was done. However, he still refused to say any words. I eventually laid down on the couch, Ezra laying on my chest. Before I knew it, he had fallen asleep, me soon following suit, hoping that he would feel better when he woke up.

I just wanted my bright, happy baby back.

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