The Meaning of Family

Stress

(I already had this chapter planned and was gonna change it, but I'm really freaking stressed so everyone's stressed.)

The next couple of days went well, Ava enjoyed going with Hailey to get a backpack, lunchbox, and nap mat. Ava chose soft pink for her backpack and yellow for her lunchbox and got a nap mat with flowers on it. She was obsessed with them!

Hailey took her to the aquarium one day with Natalie and Owen, and they went swimming together. Then Saturday came and Ava realized that she would be going to school on Monday. Immediate fear settled over the tiny blonde and she burst into tears during dinner that night.

"Whoa, Ava, what's wrong?" Jay asked as Hailey moved Ava's fork from her hand. Jay lifted her into his lap.

"No sool!" She wailed, almost choking on her food. Hailey quickly had the toddler spit the food into a napkin so she wouldn't choke, then sat beside Jay and rubbed Ava's back.

"I thought you were excited to use your new things?" Jay asked.

"Yes, but not fow sool! Stay wif you and Haiwey!" She wailed, flopping forward into Jay's chest.

"Honey," Hailey sighed, reaching over to rub Ava's back. "What can we do?"

"No sool!" Ava sobbed, growing hysterical.

"Right now, let's focus on calming down, kiddo. Are you done eating?" Ava nodded, still sobbing.

"Okay, look at me. Good. Breathe with me, Ave, breathe. Let's keep doing that," Jay instructed and Ava pressed her face into his neck, but she started copying his breathing.

Fifteen minutes later, she wasn't hysterical and was sucking her thumb as Jay held her and swayed as Hailey watched sadly, growing anxious because there wasn't much she could do to help Ava. She went and put her and Ava's dishes in the dishwasher then went to get Ava.

"Ave, how about you and I go shower and Jay can finish eating then we'll watch a movie in the big bed together," Ava nodded and reached up to her sister, melting into her arms.

"You're not going to finish?" Jay asked his wife, concerned.

"I'm full," Hailey brushed it off and headed upstairs with Ava.

She stopped in Ava's room to grab her nightgown and bedtime diaper, they were nowhere near close to the tot being dry at night, and went into the master bathroom. Hailey took her time brushing Ava's hair and her own before getting in the shower with the little girl and holding her. It was relaxing; Ava nearly fell asleep in Hailey's arms, but the older blonde woke her enough to wash her hair and body then let her sit on the shower floor while she washed her face, hair, and body. Then she held Ava a little longer before getting out and getting them both ready for bed.

Jay noticed that both of his girls seemed calmer when they came out of the bathroom, although they were still pretty stressed. He was, too.

"I'll go change," he said, kissing both of the girls.

Hailey got settled in bed with Ava and found a kid movie on Netflix that Ava liked and they were okay with watching and not going nuts. Jay soon joined them and Ava shifted over to lay on his chest, sucking her thumb rapidly, an indication that she was stressed.

"Ave, you wanna watch?" He asked, moving her wet hair out of her face, rubbing her cheek with his thumb.

Ava nodded and moved to look at the tv while she cuddled with him. She didn't talk at all or react much to the movie, which concerned them, and she ended up falling asleep on Jay's chest, clinging to him and her bunny at the same time.

"Are we doing this right?" Hailey asked once she knew Ava was asleep.

"I hope so. We have to try, even her therapist said so. If the first week is a complete disaster, we'll do something different. The teacher and school seem great, and she adjusted to us and did well with the team," Jay sighed, still rubbing Ava's back.

"I'm worried about her."

"I know, Hail, I can tell. I'm worried about both of you," Jay admitted, a stress headache beginning to form.

"I hate this."

"Me too. I know it's hard but it might be good for her. We just have to do it and be consistent with her. She'll be coming home at lunch and taking her nap here for the first two weeks," Jay wasn't sure who he was trying to convince more, him or Hailey.

"Let's watch something," Hailey decided and turned on Big Bang Theory. She didn't want to think anymore, it was making her nauseous.

"I love you."

"I love you too."
——
Ava woke up crying multiple times in the night because of nightmares and her body hurting, which after a panicked call to Will, they learned was likely how Ava's body reacted to extreme stress. It was a long night and Sunday was an even longer day.

Ava cried a lot, had two accidents, didn't want to be alone, and refused to eat anything but fruit and crackers because her whole body felt weird. Eventually, the upset toddler fell asleep as Hailey paced the length of the house with her, also crying, while Jay talked to Natalie about if they should bring Ava in in case something was really wrong. 

They came to the conclusion that they didn't need to bring Ava in, but if she was still like this in a few days, they should, and she needed to see her therapist on Monday. Jay got that set up with the help of Dr. Charles then he sat down and held Hailey while she cried and held the sleeping Ava.

"She's so tense," she sobbed quietly.

"I know. She'll be okay, somehow, she's going to be okay through this," Jay hoped, holding his girls.

The whole day was hard, as was the night. But somehow, despite the stress and the crying, they all got through it.