Chapter 10: Daddy Daycare

As Amelia put on her earrings and took one last look in the mirror, she repeated, "Owen, are you sure you can be on your own? We're talking all day."

"Mia, we're talking 5-6 hours. And, yes, I'll be fine," Owen attempted to assure her. Looking at the twins who were climbing around on the bed and playing with their daddy, Owen stated purposely loud enough for Amelia to hear, "Mama is silly. Yes, she is. She thinks Dada is going to end up in the ER if he's alone for more than 10 minutes. Silly Mama."

"Seh-yee Mama," Ella repeated as she flirted with her Da. Finally, the day before, Ella had decided that Da was a good guy. Now instead of trying to avoid Owen, Ella couldn't get enough of him. Ella turned to Amelia and giggled, "Seh-yee."

"Ha! Very cute," Amelia huffed playfully as she looked for her purse.

Gwendolyn laughed and ordered Owen, "Da, wop!" Wop was Gwen's way of saying 'walk.' She was asking Owen to hold his hands out so she could grasp them and attempt to walk. She tried to walk on the bed, her legs sinking into the blankets as she stepped.

Smiling as she watched Owen help Gwen, Amelia asked, "Really? You'll be ok?"

"I'll be fine," A shirtless Owen stated with boredom as he sat in bed propped up with pillows. This time, he didn't even look at her.

"What if you're walking to the bathroom and fall?" Amelia fretted.

Owen laughed, "Amelia… Please. I will be fine."

"You worry me," Amelia stated as she leaned down to kiss him. Owen wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto the bed for a more extended kiss. Giggling, Amelia insisted she would be late if he didn't let her go.

"You're no fun," he kidded as he helped her stand up.

Amelia and the twins left for the hospital just before 10:00am. Lynne had the day off and had left the previous day to visit a friend. Owen would be home alone until Sarah brought the older kids home from school a little after 3. For five hours, Owen would be in the house alone and without assistance. Although Amelia was concerned about the logistics challenge, Owen was elated.

Once Amelia and the girls had driven away, Owen wasn't sure what to do with himself. He wanted to take full advantage of the solitude – not just any solitude, but solitude at home. That was a rare occurrence. He hopped out of bed using his crutches and headed to the Living Room. He turned on some music and powered up the surround sound. If he'd wanted to converse with someone, they would have had to yell to hear each other. Smiling to himself, Owen was proud of his first accomplishment of the day. He planned to leave the music on all day.

He made his way to the kitchen and decided to eat ice cream for breakfast while he sang along with the lyrics he could recall and balanced himself against the counter. Next, he opened the patio door, and the dogs came bounding inside looking for breakfast. Owen didn't know where their bowls were, so he simply poured some dog food on the kitchen floor. He felt like a kid who'd been left unsupervised for the first time. He was nearly giddy about his newfound freedom.

After 30 minutes of breaking rules, Owen realized his day was going to turn out to be far more boring than he'd anticipated. He had already completed all the tasks he had hoped to accomplish: an unhealthy breakfast, loud music in a style of his own choosing, and making a few messes. There was nobody there to keep him company, and it was too cold to sit outside on the patio. He attempted to brainstorm some ideas for how he would pass the time, thinking to himself, I could read, I could check email and otherwise waste time on my phone, or I could get dressed, bundle up, go outside, and play fetch with the dogs. And then the revelation occurred. He would play X-box all day without anyone else begging for a turn. He'd choose a violent game Amelia would never allow the kids to see or play, and he could yell at the game as loudly as his heart desired. Paradise. The time passed quickly as he navigated Call of Duty and yelled when the outcomes didn't go his way.

At 1:00pm, he forced himself to take a break for lunch. Amelia sent a text, Hey handsome. Everything going well? Heading into surg. Xxoo.

He sent a reply, all is fine. Have only fallen six times. Only one newly broken bone. No worries – Seattle Pres took great care of me.

Ha! Amelia texted back.

After two more hours of Call of Duty, Owen forced himself to turn it off. After all, the rule was no screens during the week. He didn't want the kids catching him.

Thirty minutes later, as Sarah and the kids arrived, Finley requested to be let out by the gate. He wanted to show Nai the treehouse that Derek, Jackson and Alex built. Bronwyn and Oliver wanted to go to the treehouse also, but Sarah reminded Oliver that he had some homework to complete and reminded Bronwyn that she needed to practice for dance class. Sarah drove Oliver and Bronwyn the rest of the way to the house, greeted Owen, then left to do the family's grocery shopping and errands.

Meanwhile, Finley and Nai stood at the base of the tree, looking at the treehouse. They were both wearing their school uniforms, so climbing up the tree seemed a tad inadvisable. "I was hoping to show you the inside, but we'd have to climb up in our good clothes. What do you think?" Finley asked.

"I forgot to bring a change of clothes, so I'm stuck in this all day anyway. Let's go for it," Nai urged. "I'm just a little afraid of falling though."

"I'll climb up right after you so I can help you if you have any trouble," Finley offered with sincerity. In the moment, the thought that he'd be able to see up her short skirt was not on his radar. He was truly offering to help her feel safe.

Nai began to climb and nervously giggled as she reached higher and higher. Finley was distracted by his surprise view and would have been no help if Nai had needed a hand. They both reached the top and climbed into the treehouse.

The guys had really gone overboard – the house had a door and cut outs where they planned to add windows. The windows would let in light and allow the kids to use the treehouse usable even when it was raining outside. Little by little, the kids had brought blankets, pillows, and other items up to the treehouse. Finley and Oliver really wanted a few bean bag chairs inside, but they hadn't figured out how to safely climb up while holding them.

"Are you cold?" Finley asked as he tended his girlfriend.

Nai smiled, "Actually, a little bit."

Finley responded with a sweet grin, "Stand up." She stood up and looked at him inquisitively. Finley stretched out a blanket as he widened his arms and he wrapped her up. Conveniently, he ended up hugging her once the blanket placement occurred. The two giggled as Nai sat down on the floor and encouraged him to join her.

Finley stretched out on the floor of the treehouse, using another blanket as padding. Nai followed suit, so the two ended up side-by-side sharing a pile of pillows and staring at the ceiling.

"I like to come up here to be alone and get away from the house. It's always so noisy there," Finley mused aloud.

Giggling, Nai responded, "Isn't that funny? I like to come over to your house because it's not creepy quiet like my house."

"Somewhere in between would be nice, wouldn't it?" Finley chuckled. Nai shuffled around trying to get comfortable. Without chatting, Finley rearranged the pillows and slid his arm under Nai's neck. With her heart beating fast, she was tucked into his grasp. They turned toward each other, he leaned over and they kissed three times. As Finley gently slid his tongue onto her lips during the third kiss, Nai giggled nervously. She pulled away but kissed his cheek to attempt to make the moment less awkward. Then she lay flat on her back with Finley's arm once again around her.

"Remember at dinner the other night when you said you'd tell me about Bronwyn's wish? She wished that her parents would be her guests. What was that about?" Nai asked as she held his hand and traced his fingers.

After a few seconds of silence, Finley began, "You know my dad – the one here that I live with?" Nai nodded her head. "He is actually my bio mom's cousin. My bio mom was an only child but had a ton of cousins. My dad – this one – is an only child too, and I guess they were pretty close growing up. The whole thing gets kind of confusing."

"I think I'm following," Nai assured him. "Keep going."

"I was born in Victoria, BC in Canada. Oliver and Bronwyn were too. Our dad, Blake, was a firefighter and died in a building collapse when I was in 1st grade. Oliver was really little – I think he was 2 or 3 - and my mom was pregnant with Bronwyn. Everyone always tells me that Oliver and I look just like our dad," Finley explained.

"Wow, Finley, that's so sad," Nai responded as she stroked his hair.

Finley shrugged, "Yeah, I guess it is. I dunno…it just feels normal to me – it's my story." Then he continued, "My bio mom, her name was Kayla, she was really great. She was playful and fun. Her mood was almost always upbeat even though she was raising us alone. She had red hair like Bronwyn's and a big, happy smile. I really miss her sometimes."

"I'll bet you do," Nai affirmed with a sad expression. "I can't imagine losing my mom, Finley. What happened to her?

Finley continued, "When I was 11, she was in a car accident and died right there. It was so weird – we saw her in the morning, she told us she loved us, and we kissed her goodbye. Then, we got home from school and she was dead. Gone. Uncle Owen – well, my Dad – he came up and stayed with us and did a bunch of paperwork with the bank and lawyers and other people. He and Aunt Amelia had just gotten married…like maybe 3 or 4 months earlier. They adopted us because my mom had a will that said that was what she wanted if anything ever happened to her."

"So, you're actually Canadian? That's kind of cool," Naomi commented.

Finley grinned, "I think the three of us are citizens because our new mom and dad who adopted us are. Honestly, I'm guessing that's how it works."

"Was it hard to move here and to have new parents? That must have been kinda strange," Nai wondered aloud.

"Aunt Amelia and Uncle Owen had just been up to visit us – she was speaking at some big conference. We already knew Uncle Owen. He had visited us from the time I was little and always played soccer with me and Oliver. I remember thinking how fun he was because he'd always let us attack him and climb on him and stuff. My bio mom told me once that she was sad for him because he really, really wanted kids, but his wife didn't," Finley explained.

"Your mom now didn't want kids?! What did she do when you came to live here?" Nai asked with surprise.

Finley chuckled, "Oh, no. Sorry. My dad was married before he was married to my mom. She lives in Switzerland now and is a famous doctor. I've met her, she's pretty cool."

"You had me worried for a minute. I thought your new mom didn't want you guys," Nai shared.

Finley continued, "I think she did – she was really loving from the beginning. She was either already pregnant with the twins or got pregnant just after we moved here. I can't remember all that. She wanted kids, but she was in the hospital all the time when she was pregnant. Dad hired Lynne, but it was weird to think how we'd gone from my bio mom to a nanny and huge house. Our house in Canada is nice but it's not fancy. I'll take you there someday." He squeezed Nai's hand and smiled.

"How come you don't ever talk about your other parents or about moving here?" Nai asked.

Finley grimaced, "I dunno. Sometimes people look at me kind of funny when they hear the story – like they're really, really sad for me. That makes me feel weird. Plus, this is my life now and it's good. It's not a secret or anything, it just takes a lot of time to explain."

The two continued talking and occasionally kissing. They discussed Finley's new classes and funny stories about school. As they chatted and relaxed, they both drifted off to sleep. Finley's arm was snuggly around Nai's shoulders as they napped.

Back at the house, Oliver was finishing his homework and Bronwyn was eating a snack. Owen was chattier than usual because he'd been so lonely earlier in the day. The afternoon was full of interaction. Bronwyn practiced dance with her dad as the audience. Oliver and Owen played and cheated their way through a game of Battleship, complete with Owen offering sound effects with each miss and hit. Each time a piece was 'sunk,' Owen whistled Taps. Oliver tried to whistle along, but only had the lung power to occasionally join in.

Around 4:30, Oliver and Bronwyn started asking what they could do next. Owen was just as bored but wasn't about to use that word. Whenever Amelia heard the word uttered by one of the kids, she had a motherly knack for finding an extra chore or task. She'd successfully trained the entire family to avoid the word 'bored.' As the three tried to come up with options, Owen reached for a stray piece of thread sitting on the carpet. Almost unconsciously, he kept winding the thread around his fingers and tying intricate knots. The kids watched with intrigue, trying to figure out his method. Suddenly, Bronwyn jumped up and bounced as she announced, "I know! I know! Let's play hopspital!"

Both Oliver and Owen shrugged in agreement. "Desert hospital or Seattle hospital?" Oliver asked.

Owen suggested they stick with Seattle. He had Oliver drag in the med bag from the car and told Bronwyn to go gather a bunch of stuffed animals. They would be the patients. "Are you an attending, a resident, or a nurse?" Owen asked the kids. After explaining that the attendings were more in charge, Bronwyn insisted on being one. Oliver wanted to be a resident because, he reasoned, he was going to learn from his dad while they played. In response, Owen shared that residents often learn more from nurses than from anyone else, so he declared that he'd be a nurse.

Bronwyn lined all the animals up. She and Oliver were going to take turns deciding what was wrong with each patient.

Just like he did many times a day at the hospital, Owen bellowed, "Whatta we got?" While not normally a line for a nurse, he figured he had to get the scene rolling.

"Stuffed cow with a cut-up lip," Bronwyn explained.

Owen prompted, "When you do the bullets, you have to say how old they are, how they hurt themselves, and give their blood pressure numbers. A regular BP is 110/70."

"Ok," Bronwyn nodded definitively, "Stuffed cow with a cut-up lip. He tried to climb the wire fence and it collapseded on his face. Three years old. BP 1000/7."

Doing his best not to crack up, Owen asked Oliver, "Dr. Hunt, what should we do?"

"Let's shine a really bright light in his face to make sure there's no wires in there. Then we'll give him stitches," Oliver declared.

"Does he get any medicine to numb his lip first?" Owen asked.

"Give him lots of Tylenol," Bronwyn ordered. "And listen to his heart, Resident Oliver."

Owen handed Oliver the stethoscope and Oliver placed it on the cow. "Yep, his heart's good. Let's stitch him up."

"You get to do it, Resident. It's how you learn. Dr. Bronwyn and I will be right here to help," Owen explained. Owen walked him through two stitches and then had him try a few on his own. Oliver actually had fairly impressive dexterity and skill.

"What's next?" Owen called out.

"Oh! Oh! My turn," Oliver hollered. He reached over and grabbed an old stuffed frog whose leg was limp from years of being carried by the foot. All of his leg stuffing had worn into pieces. "Let's cut off this one's leg. It doesn't work anymore."

"I want to give the medicine shot," Bronwyn insisted.

Owen handed her a syringe without a needle, "Here you go, doctor."

"We need to get this one up to sir-grr-ee NOW." Bronwyn explained. Owen taught her to say STAT for now before handing each of them one of his surgical caps, a set of gloves, and masks. He sent Oliver to go get their 'scalpels' (aka butter knives) out of the silverware drawer.

As they lay on the floor operating, Owen declared, "It's not looking good. I think he's got gangrene throughout his body. See how green all of his skin is?" Owen found his play on words hilarious. The kids didn't even catch the pun.

"That's serious!" Bronwyn screamed. "You better put that air pump thingy on his mouth." Owen handed her a bag and showed her how to press it.

Owen inquired, "Should we intubate, Dr. Bronwyn?"

"Nah…just give him a band aid and he'll be ok," Bronwyn ordered.

Out of nowhere, Ella and Gwen approached and jumped on their dad. Owen looked back, spotted Amelia and asked, "How long have you been standing there? I didn't even hear the garage door."

Grinning, she responded, "Since the 1000/7 BP reading. Man, that cow is in a world of trouble. How are his post-op sats?"

"Mommy, look at us. We're all dressed for sir-grr-ee!" Bronwyn declared with gloves 8 times the size of her hands and a mask that covered nearly all of her face. Owen's green scrub cap hung loosely on her head but looked fantastic against her red hair. And I'm a Pretending, so I'm in charge like Daddy."

"A Pretending?" Amelia giggled. "Do you mean Attending?"

"Sure," Bronwyn shrugged with a flutter of her eyelids.

"Interchangeable terms, I think," Owen laughed.

Oliver interjected, "And I'm a resident, so I'm learning. Nurse Dad taught me how to do stitches. What does resident mean anyway? Isn't a resident someone who lives somewhere? Like they live at the hospital or something?"

Simultaneously, Amelia and Owen answered, "Pretty much."

"Where's Finley?" Amelia inquired as she scanned the room.

"Him and Nai are at the treehouse," Oliver announced.

"Really? Can you please go get them and tell them pizza's here?" Amelia requested. She turned to Bronwyn and Owen, instructing as if she were speaking to two children, "Bron, go put all your patients in the waiting room in your room. Owen, clean up your supplies and put them in your med bag." She winked after her last statement.

Owen kicked his left leg down on the floor, "Buuuuuuutttttt… I don't want to. They made the mess. Not me."

"Yeah, right. Clean up the OR, Nurse Daddy," she teased. "I'll leave you some pizza in the break room."