Mr Boo

Chapter 12

Simon awoke early to the cot moving and a small voice gasping as though they were exerting themselves. He opened one eye and peered to the side to see Emily struggling to get up onto the cot beside him. He tried to stifle his laugh "What are you doing sweetheart?" he said softly.

Emily mumbled to him and smiled. Simon glanced over to Georgia still asleep in bed. "Is mama gonna be upset you got out of bed Emily?" he warned, with a chuckle.

Emily tried to whisper which made him laugh more. Knowing that Emily would probably create merry hell if he tried to get her back in bed and not wanting to wake Georgia up, he pulled the little girl up beside him. She immediately curled into his side, so Simon wrapped his arm around her to make sure she didn't topple off the cot. With a smile plastered on his face, he fell asleep again.

Simon awoke to movement in the room. Opening his eyes, fully alert, he saw Georgia standing beside the cot, looking at him intently "Simon are you encouraging my daughter to misbehave? She's not supposed to be out of bed" she asked seriously.

Simon looked down to the little girl, still fast asleep before looking up to Georgia, feeling guilty for upsetting her. "Well she was shuffling round during the night and I didn't want to wake you" he said in an apologetic tone.

Georgia continued to stare at him, making him feel uncomfortable. He really didn't know what else to say. Georgia shook her head and started laughing "Do I have to give you a time out for being naughty, Lieutenant?" she asked, teasing.

Simon started chuckling, relieved that she wasn't really upset with him. "In my defence, she's cute and persuasive" he said with a grin, before gently shaking the little girl awake. When she protested, he laughed. "Sorry sweetheart, but we've been rumbled".

Georgia picked up Emily and carried her to the bathroom, while Simon got up and headed off to get them some breakfast and drinks. Emily was in a bright chatty mood and happily ate her breakfast.

"Did you sleep well, despite being disturbed by your late night escapist?" Georgia asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I was knackered" he said with a contented sigh.

The doctor came by to visit and check Emily over. Simon and Georgia gave him an update of what she'd been up to, how she'd been sleeping well and eating. After checking vitals and doing some simple responsive tests with the little girl, he announced that she would be fine to go home.

Georgia bounced up and down "Munchkin, we're going home" she cried, obviously excited.

"Mrs Banks. Emily has been through quite an ordeal and may take some time to fully recover. I would recommend that you continue to monitor her and ensure that you limit her activities. The discharge team will arrange follow up visits for her" the doctor explained in a serious tone.

"You'll have fun trying to limit this little misses activities" Simon commented with a light laugh.

"I understand. Thank you Doctor. I can assure you that I will be keeping a very close eye on her" Georgia said, hugging her daughter.

With the discharge papers signed and the follow up appointments booked. Simon helped them to his truck and drove them back home, feeling on top of the world. As suspected, Emily was way over excited to be back in her room and playing with her toys and took quite a bit of persuading to sit long enough to have dinner. By the time she'd had her bath and was tucked up in bed, Simon barely got through three pages of her book before she was fast asleep.

Georgia slumped onto the sofa with a loud sign, overjoyed, that the traumatic ordeal of the last 8 days was over and she finally had her daughter back home. Simon handed her a mug of cocoa before sitting down beside her. Despite his calm and confident demeanour, Simon had been through his own roller coaster of emotions.