Fortunately, Ava didn't get sick again once they were at the cabin. She woke up an hour and a half after she'd been placed on the couch, confused.
"Haiwey? Jay?" She called out, panicked. She had no idea where she was and she couldn't see or hear them.
Hailey heard her from the kitchen and went around to the couch. "Hey, baby, how's your tummy?" She asked, pulling Ava into her lap.
"Tummy okay. Whewe awe we?"
"We're at the cabin on the lake, baby, do you want to see?" Ava nodded and Hailey carried her to the front windows.
They could see the lake, the views, and people out on the water in boats. Ava's eyes widened.
"Wow," she looked at Hailey with a smile. "We getta go in the watew?"
"Yup! We'll go into the water after you eat and we show you the house," Hailey said, rubbing Ava's back. She was glad Ava seemed excited and not frightened by the new environment.
"M not that hungwy," Ava mumbled, hiding her face.
"I know honey, but you need something in your tummy to help it feel better. And it'll help you have energy to go swimming," Hailey explained as she walked into the kitchen and handed Ava to Jay.
Ava sighed but nodded. Her tummy felt empty but she didn't want to throw up again. She knew they wanted her to eat though, so she'd try, and the fruit and crackers looked really yummy.
"You wanna go swim after we show you the house?" Jay asked, getting a happy nod from the toddler in his lap.
"Great! I think you'll like it, kid. Eat some of this and I have your juice," Jay got the sippy cup and Ava drank from it, then she ate most of what was on her plate before she was led through every room of the house.
Once that was done, they changed and put sunscreen on, then Hailey got Ava's crocs on her and they walked to the lake. Ava had a life jacket on to be safe and clutched both of their hands as they walked into the water.
She was a little nervous about it and squirmed when the water came to her torso, but she didn't cry at all, so they went a little deeper and Hailey crouched down. "What do you think?" She asked, tapping Ava's nose, making the girl giggle.
"Crocs feel weiwed wet," Ava scrunched her nose up and Jay laughed as he lifted her up, took her crocs off, and threw them to the shore. They were all wearing shoes because of the rocked at the shoreline, but now there were less rocks so he wasn't as worried about Ava cutting her feet open.
"Thank you!" Ava smiled up at him and they went a little deeper for Ava to actually swim around. It took her a few minutes to warm up to it, and once she did, she loved it.
They spent a couple hours just swimming around and playing in the water before going inside, taking showers, and making sandwiches for dinner. They ended the day outside by the fire pit, watching a disney movie on the tv Will and Jay had installed outside the year before.
The next day, Jay got up early and went for a run before he rinsed off and started on breakfast. Ava woke up before Hailey and came out of her room; she'd only had one nightmare that night; and went over to him with a pout.
"What's wrong?" He asked, scooping her up.
"Wet," she huffed, squirming. Jay nodded in understanding and got her changed, hoping the night terrors would stop soon and hopefully Ava wouldn't wet the bed so heavily anymore.
"Is that better?" He asked once she was dry and in a tank top and shorts. Ava nodded with a smiled and Jay took her wrist brace off to let the skin breathe for a bit.
"Bek-fast?" She asked, reaching up. Jay lifted her up and tickled her, getting a laugh.
"Sure, what should we make?"
"Toast sticks, pease?"
"French toast sticks? Sure. And what fruit?" Jay questioned as he set her on the kitchen counter.
"Bewwies an gwapes," Ava told him, face serious. Jay laughed and got out her desired fruits.
Ava talked about random things while Jay toasted the french toast sticks and cut up fruit. He also heated up some sausage for protein for them.
Hailey woke up as everything was finished and came into the kitchen, beaming when Ava reached for her with a smile. They ate and had a slow morning, then went on a hike before putting Ava down for an early nap so they could go out on the boat for the afternoon without having a cranky toddler.
Taking Ava out on the boat was probably their new favorite thing. She absolutely loved it, and she loved when she got to go tubing (at a slower speed) with Hailey and then with Jay. After they finished tubing, they simply took the boat around the lake for over an hour, occasionally stopping to get in the water and cool off.
At one point, Jay let Ava "help" him drive the boat, which completely melted Hailey's heart. She didn't think she could be more in love with Jay Halstead, but seeing him with her sister proved she was wrong.
Once Ava started saying she was hungry, tired, and that her wrist was hurting, they headed back to the house to dock the boat. Ava was entering meltdown mode, whining and crying, so Hailey lifted her up and got off the boat.
"Ava, i know you're tired and sore, but crying isn't going to do anything to help it, baby. Can you please take a deep breath?" Hailey tried, and Ava pressed her face into Hailey's shoulder with a whine, her thumb going to her mouth but Hailey stopped her since she hadn't washed her hands in a while.
"Wan my bunny!" Ava cried, wiggling around.
"Okay, you're okay. Jay, I'm going to get her into a bath," Hailey told her husband, who nodded and wished her luch.
By the time she was in the bath, Ava was sobbing. She was so tired and her wrist was sore and she was hot and sweaty.
"I know, just bear with me, Ava girl. We need to get you clean," Hailey made quick work of washing Ava's body, then she washed her hair and wrapped the crying child in a towel and scooped her up so she could calm her down.
Ava finally put her thumb in her mouth and started to settle down in her sister's arms. "Sowwy," she apologized once she stopped crying.
"It's okay, baby. Don't apologize for having emotions. You tried to stay calm, that's good, but sometimes we have to let it out. Now, let's get dressed and maybe I can ask Jay to order pizza for dinner?" Hailey asked.
"Too hot fow cwothes," Ava huffed, wiggling again. Hailey shook her head with a smile. "Okay, no clothes then."
She dried Ava off and put her in a pull up then brushed her wet hair and put it in two dutch braids. "Alright, babes, let's get you a movie going so I can shower," Hailey put Ava in the master bed and turned on a kid movie then she got in the shower after asking Jay to order some pizzas.
When Hailey finished her shower, Ava was no longer in the bed. She followed the sound of Jay's voice to the kitchen and found him sitting at the counter with Ava on his lap, still clad in just her pull up, eating watermelon. She discreetly took a picture and made it her Home Screen before she made her presence known.
"I see you found a snack," She smiled at Ava, who giggled and held up a piece of watermelon.
"Haiwey have some!" She said, smiling.
"Thank you, Ave," Hailey took the piece of fruit and ate it then kissed Ava's head.
"Alright, pizzas are on the way, I'm gonna go shower. Munchkin, watch your sister for me, okay?" Jay looked down at Ava and she nodded with a grin, mouth full of watermelon.
Jay sat Ava on the other chair, went and kissed Hailey, then went to shower. Hailey went and sat by Ava, getting a picture of her grinning, cheeks stuffed, watermelon juice dripping down her chin. "Is that yummy?" Ava nodded rapidly and Hailey laughed.
"I'm glad. Make sure you chew before you swallow, babe," she sat with the little girl and ate some watermelon before putting it away so they'd still be hungry for dinner.
"M seepy, Haiwey. When awe we gonna eat?" Ava asked as she wiped her mouth then reached over for Hailey to pick her up.
Hailey hugged her close and tickled her, making her laugh. She got her a shirt then they laid on the couch together. Jay finished his shower right before the pizza got there and they ate and watched a movie before getting Ava ready for bed and down for the night.
The next morning was an early one after Ava woke up screaming at 5:30 and didn't go back to sleep. She just wanted them to hold her, so they did just that until breakfast. Hailey made eggs and biscuits while Jay got dressed and he dressed Ava in a yellow tank top and pink shorts.
Ava ate but was quiet. They tried to get her to tell them what she saw, but she refused and put some bacon in her mouth to not have to talk. They sighed but let it go. They knew even with a 4 year old, forcing her to talk wouldn't be a good idea.
After breakfast, Ava seemed to settle down a little and Hailey got ready and they went on another hike. They got a lot of pictures on the hike and Ava calmed down even more and started laughing and talking.
Once they finished their hike, it was pretty hot, so they put on swimsuits, sun screen, and life jackets before Jay got the jet skis out and they took turns with Ava, who loved it. They swam for a while as well, not noticing it was getting cloudy until it started raining and they rushed to get them docked and get back in the house.
The rest of the rainy day was spent on the big back porch, watching tv, reading books, and playing games once Ava's nap was over. However, Ava had refused to nap alone, so she and Hailey ended up asleep in a hammock on the covered patio. Jay got a picture and made it his Lock Screen. He loved his wife and the little girl who'd entered their lives so suddenly.
Jay grilled burgers for dinner and after they ate that, they got the fireplace going and made smores. It was probably their favorite evening of the trip, even if Ava wouldn't sleep alone that night.
Unfortunately, the next morning they had to leave. They ate breakfast, cleaned with Ava's help, packed up, then gave Ava medicine to prevent her from vomiting, then headed back to the city. Thankfully, Ava slept most of the trip because the medicine made her drowsy, and she didn't get sick.