Maddie is only 5. Sarah and John Bs Daughter
John Bs POV
I wake up to the soft creak of the door opening. I have always been a light sleeper while Sarah was the opposite. I see my daughters shadow in the dim light lingering at the doorway but not making any effort to come in. She was a shy girl even around Sarah and I when something was wrong. Usually she was a silly ball of energy, the slightest inconvenience and she shut down though. I glance over at the clock and see that is was only 3 in the morning. Maddie had a clock in her room and knew she was supposed to stay in her room until at six or until Mommy or Daddy came to get her. "You alright Sweetheart?" I whisper getting out of bed. "No." She whispers eyes super glued to the ground. "What's wrong?" I question kneeling down in-front of her. She just shakes her head. Being closer I could see how off she looked. Her eyes were welled with tears and her face was pale. Glancing down I saw her Elsa nightgown spotted with vomit. "Is your belly bothering you baby?" She nods and a whimper escapes her lips. "Did you throw up?" I question wanting to clean wherever the puke ended up. Well not wanting. Cleaning puke wasn't my favorite fatherly duty but it was better than having the smell stuck in the carpets. "I'm sorry Daddy." I shake my head. "Don't be sorry baby. It happens. You're ok." I say pulling her into a hug. Her tiny arms wrap around my neck and she buries her head in my shoulder. I pick her up and carry her to her room. She was rather light only weighing 20 pounds. She was a small but healthy child. I flick on the lights and strong smell hits me. There was a puddle of puke in her bedding. "I'm going to toss the sheets in the washer. Why don't we get you settled in the bath?" I question grabbing a clean nightgown. "Can I put bubbles in it?" She whispers. "As much bubbles as you want." I chuckle turning on the water. As the tub is filling up I help her out of her stained nightgown. "My belly hurts." She whines cradling her stomach. "Throw up hurt or a bellyache?" She has grown noticeably more pale in the last few minutes. "Throw up hurt." She says eyes starting to pool with tears again. "Come here." I say flipping up the toilet lid. I grab a hair tie off the counter and pull her long brown curls into a messy bun. She waddles over and sits on my lap staring into the toilet bowl. "Daddy I'm scared." She whispers glancing at me. Her beautiful brown eyes, that she got from her mother looking up at me. "I know baby. I know it hurts but you're going to feel so much better once your belly gets rid of all the bad stuff." I sigh rubbing her back. "Promise?" She says extending her tiny pinky. "Promise." I smile making a pinky promise with her. She takes a couple unsteady breaths before retching into the toilet. It was painful to watch but thankfully after two heaves she brings up an impressive amount of bile. "There you go baby. Good job. Are you all done?" She shakes her head. "More throw up." She chokes out heaving a few more times. The force of her reaching caused her to pee her pants and I try not to acknowledge it as it seeps into my pajama pants. A small amount of bile drips into the toilet and she leans against me tiredly. "All done." I flush away the mess and turn off the faucet which was just getting full. "Ready for a bath or do you need a few minutes. "Bath." She says getting off my lap. "Did I pee?" She whispers clearly embarrassed. "Hey it happens Honey. Mommy pees every time she throws up too. Don't be embarrassed" I say helping her out of her soiled undies. She nods a little and gets in the tub. "Bubbles?" She softly requests. I grab her purple container of bubble bath and hand it to her letting her pour in as much as she wanted. A smile dances across her pale cheeks as she splashes in the bubbles. "I'm going to clean up a bit. I'll be back in a minute. Yell if you need me." I say standing up and heading to her room. I wanted to change out of my pajamas she just peed on but I figured it would just get dirty again when cleaning up the vomit. I take off her sheets having everything all together and tossing the whole bundle into the washer. I add her nightgown and then change and put my clothes in before staring it. I go to the closet and put fresh sheets and the blanket from the couch on her bed before finally going back to check on Maddie. "How you feeling Honey?" I question kneeling down next to the tub. "A little better." She says playing with her dolphin. "Do you want to play more or go to bed?" She yawns right on cue and mumbles bed. "Alright let's get you all dry. "I say helping her out of the tub all drying her off. I brush her teeth for her before giving her some space to get changed. In the meantime I set up her bed with a bucket and some water. She walks back into her room and wraps her arms around my legs. "I love you Daddy." She whispers. "I love you too baby." I chuckle picking her up and laying her down. "Can you lay with me?" She questions. Before I could even answer she cuts me off. "If I throw up again I need your help. Or if I have a bad dream. Please Daddy." She rants. I nod and lay next to her.
She had a twin so I didn't really fit well. Maddie was a cuddler though so she burrowed into my chest and snuggled her head into the crook of my neck. "Night night Daddy." She whispers sleep lacing her voice. "Night Night Maddie." I smile kissing her forehead.
