Sicktember Day 22: Toothache
Word Count: 680
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating: G/K
Characters: Elicia Hughes, Maes Hughes
Warning:
Summary: Elicia has a toothache. Daddy has Elicia. He can't make it better, but at least he can hold her.
Notes:
Toothache
Elicia whimpered and buried her face in her daddy's housecoat. She could feel his arms wrap around her, holding close and keeping her warm. She whimpered again, snuggling in as much as she could—although she was very careful to keep her cheek off of anything.
Daddy's hand rubbed her back. "It's okay, Princess," he said. "It'll all be okay."
"Hurts," she whimpered, fisting up her hands in his shirt. "Daddy, my tooth hurts."
"I know, baby," he said. "I know it does. I'm sorry."
"Why?" she asked.
She felt him sigh. "Because sometimes teeth just hurt."
She whimpered again. She didn't like that answer. She just wanted Daddy to tell her why it hurt, so she could make sure that it didn't hurt again. She didn't like this! She didn't like that her tooth hurt. It ached, and it was too sore to eat sometimes. Mommy had made her pudding and jello, and other things that didn't really hurt, but it didn't matter. Her tooth still ached. It made it hard to go to sleep, and it woke her up from her sleep.
She turned her head up towards him. "Fix it?" she asked. "Daddy… Daddy, fix it. Please!"
For a moment, it looked like her daddy was in pain, before he smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, Princess, but Daddy can't do that. I don't know how to make it better."
Elicia whined at that. No, that wasn't what she wanted to hear! Daddy could fix anything! Daddy was supposed to know how to fix it and make all the hurt go away! Mommy had tried, but she hadn't been able to. If Mommy couldn't, then Daddy was supposed to! She teared up, buried her face in him again, crying.
Daddy held her closer and rubbed his hand on her back, gently shushing her. Mommy was in her room, asleep, but Daddy had Elicia, and Elicia felt just as safe in his arms. She leaned into the comfort, glad Daddy had her, even if he couldn't do anything about the pain in her tooth.
She kept crying, and after a few minutes, Daddy stood, and walked over to the refrigerator. He reached up in the freezer for a moment and came back with something.
"Here," he said, and handed her something small and cold. She remembered these. She had used them a long time ago, when she was really little. Mommy had said that she had used them when she was first getting her teeth, because it helped.
Elicia took it, still crying, and looked at Daddy. He smiled at her. He looked tired.
"I don't know if it'll help, but we're going to try it. Try putting that in your mouth, near your tooth. It might hurt a little more at first, but after a while, it might help."
Sniffing, Elicia did as she was told. She put the cold, frozen thing in her mouth, near her tooth. She whimpered as she did. It hurt! It was too cold! But Daddy had said to keep in there for a little bit, and he had his hand on hers, keeping it in.
He walked back to the couch with her, and sat down, cuddling her close. Elicia snuggled in, still crying, still whimpering. But, after a little bit, Daddy was right. It still hurt, but it didn't hurt as badly. She still didn't like it, but at least it was a little better.
"Don't worry, Elicia. Tomorrow we're going to the dentist, and we're going to see if he can make it better."
Daddy's voice was close, and she could feel the rumble in his chest as he spoke. She wasn't entirely sure what a dentist was, but she trusted Daddy. Daddy always took care of her. Elicia felt sleep starting to overtake her, but she didn't mind. She was safe in Daddy's arms, he was going to take her somewhere that could make it better, and he had made it a little better now. Her tooth still hurt. But at least she had Daddy.