Couple Time, Interrupted
After checking on his children for the third time since they were put to bed and feeding his son his 12:45am bottle Eric finally went to bed at 1:15am. He knew he had to be up again at 6:15am but he was restless. He sighed as he lay down next to his wife, putting his arms around her shoulders. Calleigh put her arms around her husband's waist, placing a kiss on his chest.
"You okay?" Calleigh asked softly. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Eric frowned. "I don't understand it, Cal. What could possible go through someone's mind to do that to anyone? And a child, their own child?"
"I don't know, babe. I don't know," Calleigh murmured.
She didn't understand it either. But it felt good for both to have someone to talk who understood what both saw everyday. Maternity leave was a nice break for Calleigh. It had difficult enough for him to see what he saw at the scene as a father, being protective of his wife Eric was glad she hadn't been there. One of the hardest parts to grasp for the couple was that it wasn't like the woman had got pregnant by accident. In vitro-fertilization was not cheap and not to mention physically and emotionally taxing and time consuming. To go through all that to have a child and then do this? It didn't make sense.
Eric's paternal instincts were even stronger than usual that night. Both her parents thought that Chloe had seemed pale and her eyes were glossy. But she was still quite energetic and didn't have a temperature so they didn't make an issue of it. However at 2:15am, Chloe woke up crying for Daddy; and only daddy. She had a fever and said her head hurt. To cool the girl off Eric removed the child's pajama top that was damp with sweat, wrapped a thin blanket around her back so she wouldn't get chilled and washed her face and neck with a cold clothe. He sat with her in the rocker in her room. The girl had always found being in the rocking chair soothing. Calleigh gave her daughter a dose of Children's Tylenol for her fever and headache. Chloe's temperature was 100, if it didn't start to go down in twenty minutes Calleigh was going to call their family doctor.
"Mommy stay and cuddle with you?" Calleigh said to Chloe, knowing her husband had to work in the morning she wanted him to be able to go back to bed.
Chloe shook her head, cuddling into Eric's bare chest.
"No. I want daddy," she said.
"It's all right, Cal. I plan to call in sick tomorrow, anyway."
After Chloe had fallen asleep, her legs wrapped around her dad's waist, Eric got up from the chair and laid down on Chloe's bed with her. He stayed with her till five when he was sure she were in a deep sleep. Her fever had broke so there wasn't any need to call the doctor.
Calleigh sleepily put her arms around her husband when he slipped back into bed. She knew he didn't mind staying with Chloe to make her feel better.
"Daddy's little girl feelin' better?" She asked. "If she wasn't sick I was going to ask her what happened to 'I want mommy.'"
Calleigh hadn't told Eric yet that she had seen Alissa during lunch. Since he was staying home the next day she would tell him later in the morning.
Eric smiled in reply.
"Yeah. I think daddy made it all better. For now, anyway. She's out for a while."