'Don't be nervous baby, nothing bad is gonna happen.'

'Are you talking to Petra or me?'

'Both of you, I know how important the check-ups are today for both of you.'

Alexis made kissy faces at Petra who was resting against her shoulder and wobbling around as she began to learn the boundaries of her own strength. 'Well we can't have Petra or Mumum feeling bad, now can we? No we can't.'

Shane smiled at Alexis nervously as they sat in the waiting room of Doctor Cook's pediatric offices across the street from Saint Vincent's. The space was welcoming and friendly, designed to make children feel a little less scared of the possibility of medicine.

He was so glad to see Alexis back to herself she'd been when they'd first brought Petra home. His thinking wasn't so black-and-white that he'd say Alexis at her low point the previous week wasn't his wife. All of what she was feeling made Alexis who she was, determined and prideful and stubborn, and most importantly she set high standards for herself, sometimes impossibly high which inadvertently set her up for failure.

Rather than dwelling on the negative of it, as that would do no-one any good, he leaned over and kissed Petra's cheek. His heart melted into a sunny puddle of love when she smiled at him. 'Please, please, please don't hate me for your booster shots today.'

'Of course not, Papa, I'm just going to be scared because it hurts a little and I'm so tiny I don't know what's going on,' Alexis replied on Petra's behalf before giving her a little kiss herself. 'Dont worry my precious gem, you'll be just fine.'

'Petra Weaver!'

Loudon, the faithful nurse who was Cook's right-hand man, called the name of the next patient then ushered them into the sea-creatures room, which had all manner of animals espousing healthy-lifestyle choices, like drinking milk and playing lots to stay active and healthy. Alexis gently laid Petra onto the exam bed, removing her little jeans and sweater as per Loudon's instructions. 'Yea I know it's a little cold isn't it sweetie-pie, but Doctor Cook is gonna have a look over you, and then the scary part and then you'll be all done.'

Petra responded with a cheerful 'blb' and went straight for her toes, going so far as to try and stuff the left ones in her mouth. 'Oh, sweetie, I doubt those taste good. Here.'

Alexis opened the baby bag, found the grape-flavoured pacifier which Petra couldn't live without. The baby was happily sucking away when Cook came in with Petra's birth files in hand.

'Good morning family, how is our little rock-star today?'

'She's good,' Shane replied as Cook began the exam. 'She eats regularly from Alexis and bottled breast milk, and she is filling her diapers on a regular basis, although she wets more than she poops.'

'Not common but not something to red flag,' Cook replied, running her stethoscope over Petra's tummy. 'She cries good and strong?'

'Not often but when she does there is no mistaking she's letting us know what the deal is,' Alexis replied. She was glad she could sit in the chair by the bed and let Petra hold onto her finger. 'She likes this,' she added, wiggling her index finger.

'That's good, she has a good strong grip.' The doctor checked over her joints, flipped Petra to her tummy to check the development of her neck and back muscles. 'I think she's ready in a week or so to begin tummy time. Twenty minutes once a day, usually in the evenings is better.'

'Cool.'

'I'm noticing too she has a tendancy to use her left side as her dominant side, which probably means she will be left-handed like you Alexi,' Cook continued. 'My advice on that is if she does favour that side for self soothing, and later feeding and picking things up, don't try to correct her as it is confusing to the way her brain has developed her sense of order.'

'Okay.'

'So, I'm going to have Loudon come in and do that boosters, and we're also going to draw a small blood sample as well, so that we can screen for anything like allergies or immune deficiencies so we can avoid any nasty surprises.'

'Good plan,' Shane said, then looked at Alexis who was clearly trying to brace herself for the impact of Petra sniffling when she received her shots. 'It'll be fine Mumum.'

'I know, I know, but she's my baby. I gotta protect her.'

'I know the feeling,' he replied, then looked over when Loudon came in and suddenly felt his inner tough guy come out. He wanted to pin the guy to the wall and inform him that he wasn't about to use those instrument of torture on his child. He doubted Petra or Alexis would approve so instead he stuffed hands threatening to clench into fists into his pockets. He watched as Alexis leaned close, murmuring to Petra it would be done soon and then they would go for a treat. He held his breath as Loudon administered the booster, waiting for the little one's confused cries to fill his ears but there was nothing.

'Should we be worried?' Shane asked, unsure if this was a good or bad thing.

'Sometimes infants have a delayed reaction, like when they hear their parents' voices or their Tylenol wears off. This one, however, might cause some complaining.'

Loudon used the longer needle on Petra to quickly prick the heel of her foot, had the small bead of blood well up for him to collect on the slide. As predicted, it had Petra' face buckling into little whimpers that quickly subsided when she heard Alexis' soothing voice; when he was gone, Shane rushed over and all but smothered Petra in kisses.

'It's okay, my love, Papa's here, nothing bad is gonna happen now.'