A/N: Hey everyone. Here's another story for you. I hope you all like it. I'm not saying you have to do it, but reviews would be really awesome. Thank you all for the support you've given me thus far. I can never thank you enough. Feel free to follow me or message me on my Bechloe related tumblr: you-call-it-a-dude. Enjoy!
"Beca, will you please sit down? You're making me anxious." Chloe said as she filled out the clipboard with information regarding Callie.
Beca was pacing in a circle around the waiting room of the pediatric ophthalmologist's office. During the last few months, Beca and Chloe noticed some changes in Callie's eyesight. She was standing closer to the television, would put her face extremely close to her coloring books when she would color, and her right eye started to cross inward. When Beca and Chloe noticed that, they immediately made an appointment to see her pediatrician who gave them a referral for an ophthalmologist. Once they were told it could be something serious, Beca took to WebMD (something Chloe told her NOT to do) and completely freaked herself out because one of the potential diagnoses was a tumor. Now the brunette had the tumor possibility in her brain and that's why she was pacing a hole in the floor.
"How can you not be anxious?" She practically hissed at Chloe. "Our precious little baby probably has a tumor in her eye." Beca picked up the toddler from where she was playing with Lego blocks. She cradled Callie against her chest while the toddler squirmed and whined to be put down. "Stop, I'm trying to love you, Callie. Don't fight it."
"Calliope Mitchell?" All three of their heads snapped up to look towards the woman at the front desk. The three of them walked over to the woman, who stood up and led them to an examination room in the back. "Dr. Adams will be with you shortly."
"Excuse me? Did you want this clipboard?"
"Oh yes! Thank you." The woman took to clipboard and exited the room, shutting the door behind her.
Chloe took a seat in the available chair while Beca sat in the examination chair with the tiny redhead on her lap. The two of them were looking around the colorful room and Beca was pointing out all of the little toys in the room, trying hype Callie up for the examination a little. The brunette couldn't help but notice one of those little machines where you put a coin in and get a toy in return. She secretly hoped that Callie would get a chance to do that. After about ten minutes of waiting there was a knock at their door and a bubbly woman in her early 50s came into the room.
"Hello! I'm Doctor Adams. It's so nice to meet you." The woman said as she shook Beca and Chloe's hand. She then pulled up her stool and sat in front of Callie who had been mean mugging her since she entered the room. "And you must be Calliope. Look at that beautiful red hair you have!" The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a fairly large gold coin. "This is for you sweetheart. As soon as we finish your appointment today, you'll get to get a toy from that machine behind me!" She handed the coin to Callie and she excitedly took it with a smile. "Okay, moms, what brought you all here today?" She slid her stool over to her desk and picked up a metal tool that had a tiny duck on a spring on top of it.
"Well we noticed not too long ago that she was starting to sit extremely close to the TV, would practically have her face resting on her coloring books when she would color, and then her right eye began to sort of turn in. As time progressed it started to turn in more." Chloe explained, fiddling with her fingers.
"I do see that. Let's see if we can figure out what's going on, shall we?" She scooted forward towards Callie and shook the tool. It made a quacking noise and Callie's eyes followed it. She moved it in another direction, shook it again, and Callie's eyes moved towards the noise again. After doing it a few more times she slid her chair back. "Very good! You're doing so great!" She pulled an occluder from her desk drawer, and then scooted back closer to Callie. "Okay, look at the ducky for me!" She shook the duck again and when Callie focused on it, she placed the occluder back and forth over each eye to help determine her dominant eye. "Look at you! Best patient I've ever had. Let's check your pupils now." She pulled a wacky looking penlight from her pocket. After doing a quick test to check her pupils, she put her penlight back into her pocket and then wrote some things into Callie's chart. "As much as I hate to do this, I'm going to have to dilate her eyes to make sure she doesn't have any eye diseases."
"Is this going to hurt her?" Beca asked, pulling Callie closer to her chest.
"It won't hurt her, but it'll most likely be uncomfortable. I'll need her to lay down across your lap please." Beca just nodded and positioned Callie as she was asked to do. Instantly she began to retaliate and tried to sit up.
"Shit, Chlo. Help me." The redhead stood up and held Callie's shoulders down while Beca held her legs.
Doctor Adams stood up and used one hand to hold Callie's face steady and the other to apply the eye drops. Once the drops were in, all hell broke loose and the toddler began to scream and cry loudly. There was a chorus of cooing and soothing words coming from all three of them. Doctor Adams wiped her eyes off and then she and Chloe stepped back to allow Callie to sit up. The little redhead reached for Chloe and once her mom picked her up, she buried her face in her neck and continued to wail. Chloe rocked her and rubbed her back in an attempt to soother her. The doctor handed a devastated looking Beca another one of those gold coins, as well as a lollipop, with a wink.
"It should take about thirty minutes for those to kick in, so if y'all when to head back into the waiting room and we will call you back shortly." Beca and Chloe nodded then headed into the waiting room. Callie's wails had finally calmed down to very exaggerated sniffles, but the toddler kept her face buried in Chloe's neck.
Chloe took a seat in the waiting room and continued to rub patterns on Callie's back. Beca took a seat next to them. The brunette was trying her hardest to get their grumpy little daughter to smile, but –oh man- if looks could kill, the look Callie was giving Beca would be enough to send her six feet under. She held the lollipop out in front of her face and Callie smacked it away before tucking her arms between herself and Chloe.
"She hates me. She hates me because I had to hold her down." Beca said with a pout. She held up the second gold coin and the toddler, who tucked her arms back in between herself and Chloe as soon as she grabbed it, snatched it from her hand.
"She doesn't hate you, babe. She's just a little grumpy." Beca frowned at her daughter. Her eyes were extremely red, most likely a combination from the drops and her crying, she also had red blotches on her face that she gets from crying too hard. She reached out and pulled a strand of matted hair stuck to her cheek and pushed it behind her ear.
/
After thirty minutes they were called back into the room. This time she sat on Chloe's lap for the exam. There was a little bit of a fight to get her to turn around and face the doctor though. Doctor Adams dimmed the lights of the room. She used a tool called a retinoscope to figure out if she has any vision issues. After working with the retinoscope for quite some time, Doctor Adams pulled out a pair of flimsy plastic sunglasses and placed them over Callie's eyes before turning on the lights.
"Okay, ladies. Your daughter has something called Strabismus Amblyopia."
"What is that?" Beca asked before she could continue. Chloe shot her a glare and the doctor just laughed.
"It basically means that her eyes are misaligned. In this instance her left eye is her dominant eye. There are two things we are going to do to correct this. First off is that she is going to need glasses. I got her prescription information with the retinoscope so all we need for you to do is pick a frame for her. Second thing we are going to do is that she is going to have to wear a patch over her dominant eye to help strengthen her weaker one."
"How long will she have to do this for?" Chloe asked, pushing hair from Callie's face.
"The glasses are going to be a permanent solution until further notice, but as for the eye patch, I want her to wear it two hours a day for ten weeks. I do have to tell you though, if the patch doesn't improve the condition, we may have to do surgery. We won't worry about that now though. I'll bring out some frame selections, meanwhile this little trooper can put those coins in the machine and get some prizes." Doctor Adams stood up and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Chloe stood up and set Callie on the floor.
"Come on, sweet pea. Let's get a little toy." They made their way to the machine. Both Beca and Chloe kneeled on each side of their daughter and helped her put her first coin in. Beca twisted the knob and when they heard the plunk of the plastic container coming out, the brunette pulled it out and opened it, revealing a small, stuffed, purple teddy bear.
"Look, Callie Cat!" Callie squealed in excitement, throwing her hands up in the air, accidentally knocking off the tinted sunglasses that were protecting her still sensitive eyes. She squinted and put her hands over her eyes. "Oh no! Hold on, princess." Beca quickly picked them up and moved her hands off her eyes to place them back on. "There you go. Stylin 'n' profilin. Come on, let mommy do the last one with you." Callie put the coin in the machine with the help of Chloe, who also turned the knob for her. The second item she got was a small, blue, wind up dinosaur.
"Ooooh! Look, baby!" Chloe wound up the toy and set it on the floor so it could walk. The toddler squatted to watch the toy. There was a knock on the door and Doctor Adams entered the room holding a handful of glasses frames. While Callie was distracted with the toy, Beca and Chloe stood up to look over the frames.
"The black ones." Beca said without looking at any of the other ones.
"Bec, there are other colors."
"Black."
"I like the pink ones, though." Chloe argued.
"Black is versatile."
"Yeah, but pink is cute. Let's have her choose." The brunette rolled her eyes, but agreed. They each held out their color choice for the toddler to choose. "Callie, which one do you think is pretty?" The little redhead pushed her plastic sunglasses up her nose and stared intently at her two choices.
"Hmmm…" She looked up at her moms before looking toward the other selections on the desk. She gasped when she caught sight of the blue ones and toddled over to the desk to retrieve them. "Pretty!" She handed them to Chloe then walked back to mess with her dinosaur toy. Beca and Chloe just looked at each other before shrugging and handing the glasses to the smiling doctor.
"I guess we are doing the blue ones."
/
After Doctor Adams put in the order for the glasses, they were told they would get a call to pick them up in around a week and that she would explain to them how to use the eye patch when they return. Once all the information was conveyed, the three of them were free to leave. They were walking through the halls of the Children's Hospital where Doctor Adams was located, Beca carrying a still very pissed of Callie. She tugged on the sleeve of Chloe's jean jacket when they walked past the gift shop.
"Chlo, let's get her a toy or something. Those shitty little knick knacks aren't enough." Chloe took in the sight of their pouting daughter who had her head resting on Beca's shoulder. She felt so bad for her little one. The redhead just nodded her head and held on to Beca's free hand, leading them both into the shop. The fact that they were at a children's hospital meant that there was an overwhelming amount of toys, games and stuffed animals in there. The second they walked in, Callie's head perked up and she gasped.
"Pick something out, love." Chloe said, adjusting the glasses on her face that almost got knocked off as Beca set her down. Beca made a beeline for the snacks and candy, so Chloe watched Callie weigh all of her options.
Beca returned over to them with an armful of things. She knew the brunette was probably hungry, but so was she and Callie. Beca just wasn't patient enough to wait until after they picked Frankie up from Aubrey and Stacie's to get lunch. She couldn't help but smile at the fact that Beca basically grabbed four of everything: four different types of candy, four different types of chips, and four different drinks (soda for themselves and juices for the kids).
"She still hasn't picked yet?" Beca asked, trying to keep everything in her arms from falling.
"Nope, but she's narrowed it down." Chloe nodded toward their daughter who seemed torn between getting a stuffed frog and a doctor's kit. She looked up at Chloe with a hopeful face. "Only one, munchkin." She pouted before setting the frog back on the shelf. She kept the doctor's kit clutched in her hand and lifted her arms up to be picked up. Chloe lifted her up onto her hip and headed to the check- out counter.
/
The following Thursday, Chloe found herself back at Doctor Adams' office once again. Unfortunately, Beca wasn't able to take the day off of work, but she would be picking Frankie up from daycare. Judging by the way Callie gripped Chloe's shirt, the redhead could tell the poor thing was probably scarred for life now. After waiting about ten minutes, Doctor Adams came into the room holding a little green glasses case and a package of two blue cloth eye patches. She took a seat on her stool and scooted up towards Chloe and Callie.
"Okay, sweetheart. Let's get these on you." She unzipped the case and pulled out the tiny pair of dark blue glasses. They almost reminded Chloe of pimped out Harry Potter glasses. The doctor opened them up and slid them onto Callie's face and her eyes widened. She turned to look up at Chloe and smiled.
"Oh my goodness! Can you see better, baby?" Chloe watched as Callie looked around the room in awe. She looked so cute in those glasses, too. The blue of the glasses made her red hair stand out and the glasses framed her cute little face so perfectly. While Callie took in her surroundings, Doctor Adams explained the eye patch to her.
"Okay, Mrs. Mitchell. This type of patch will go over her glasses. So you slide the side of the frame through this opening right here," She pointed to the opening she was talking about. "And then slide it through the second opening. Then you'll pull it down so the patch is over the glass of her right eye. Does that make sense?"
"Yes. I have a quick question though. Is there a best time for her to wear it? Like should she wear it while she's at daycare?"
"It's up to you when she wears it, but it'll probably be more comfortable if she wore it at home and in the evening. It is completely up to you. All that really matters is that she wears it two hours daily."
"Okay, great. Thank you."
"Of course. I'll give these to you." She handed Chloe the glasses case as well as the package of patches. "You can head up to the front and make a follow-up appointment for ten weeks from now." Doctor Adams stood up and shook Beca's hand then bent down to Callie's level. "Goodbye, dear!"
/
Beca and Frankie got home at around 5:00pm. The redhead decided to have Beca stop and pick up Mexican food for dinner because it was just one of those days where she didn't feel like cooking. Beca set her purse and the bag of food on the counter and adjusted the child on her hip because Frankie had practically been up her butt since she picked her up from daycare. She took off Frankie's shoes then set her down.
"No, mama. Up!" She whined, grabbing on to Beca's shirt.
"Don't you want to see mommy and Callie? I think I hear them in the family room." Frankie threw her head back and pouted more. She gripped Beca's shirt tighter and let herself dangle. Beca just sighed and picked her back up. "Okay, let's go." She headed into the family room and saw Chloe sitting on the couch with Callie on her lap. She was using her plastic stethoscope and putting it on Chloe's eye. The redhead closed her eye tightly.
"It doesn't go there, stinker!" She tickled Callie's sides, making her squirm. Frankie decided that she now wanted to go by Chloe and Callie so Beca set her down and she took off running to Chloe. "And there's my other stinker!" She scooped Frankie up onto her lap and started tickling both of them. Beca made her way to the couch and picked up a squealing Callie. "Now my main stinker is here too!" She said with a wink. Beca cradled Callie in her arms and looked down at her, admiring how sweet her daughter looked in her glasses.
"Look at my pretty girl!" She pressed kisses all over her daughter's face then adjusted her so they were face to face. Callie pressed her forehead against Beca's and sighed contently. "Hi, my baby."
"Hi!" The little redhead said sweetly before giving her mama a slobbery kiss on the mouth. Beca sat on the couch next to Chloe and set Callie down so she could go off and play with her sister. Chloe leaned back and pulled at Beca's feet so she would lie down and drape them across her lap.
"I brought dinner." Beca mumbled, shutting her eyes when Beca started massaging her feet.
"I think it can wait a little." Beca nodded in agreement, sinking further into the pillow she was laying on. Chloe turned her attention to the show she had playing on the television. After a couple of minutes Beca felt something soft plop onto her stomach, followed by a tug to her shirt and then a foot to her face.
"Oof." She opened her eyes to see Callie facing her, emptying out all of the contents in her doctor's kit onto her chest.
"I guess it's mama's turn to be the patient. She likes to go for the eyes, so watch out." The brunette said, stifling a laugh.
"Wait, what?" Before Beca could comprehend what was being said, there was a plastic thermometer about to be jabbed into her eye. She quickly grabbed her daughter's wrist and sighed in relief. Callie just wiggled her arm and tried to break free. "You little turd. I'm going to get you." She grabbed Callie by her ankles and pulled them so she was lying down. Chloe sat up and started tickling her sides. Frankie gasped, climbed behind Beca and wrapped her arms around her neck. She pulled herself up so she was on Beca's back.
"I got you, mama!" She exclaimed loudly. Having Frankie on her back distracted the brunette, giving Callie the chance to sit up and pounce on her.
"Help! I'm under attack!" Beca shouted, flailing her arms. Chloe sat up on her knees.
"Get your mama! Don't let her win!" Beca gasped loudly and pointed an accusatory finger at Chloe.
"Traitor!" The redhead stuck her tongue out at her wife and wiggled in her place. "Oh you're in for it now!" Beca managed to escape her daughters' grips and lunged forward at Chloe, making the redhead squawk and attempt to get up off the couch to run. "Oh no you don't! Help me get mommy!" Beca grabbed Chloe by the shoulders and pulled her back down. She wrapped her legs tightly around Chloe's waist, put her arms underneath her armpits and her hands behind her head to keep her arms pinned up. Callie and Frankie were both hanging on to each one of Chloe's legs, giggling madly at the scene in front of them. Chloe was laughing loudly as Beca shouted some nonsense, attempting to sound like an announcer at a wresting match. "One…Two…Three!" Beca shouted, planting a kiss on top of Chloe's head between numbers. "And Beca Mitchell is the champion! Do you give up?"
"Gimme one more kiss first."