I nod. "It was a short conversation. He asked how I was, I said doing good, asked about work, nothing serious."
"Do you want to talk to them again?" Brandt glances over at me and smiles, knowing this is a touchy subject.
"They're still my family," I start. I told him about what happened that day and Brandt was mad. He wanted to go lecture my mom about the seriousness of the whole situation. "I know she feels bad about it, but I also am a bit upset that she hasn't reached out. I'm sure my brother is loving being the only kid in the house again."
"I'm not going to push you to see them if you don't want to," Brandt says. "But if you decide you do, I'll be right there."
"I appreciate it." I want to change the subject for now. We're almost to the apartment. "How are we going to handle havingyour family over at the apartment? If Vivian does come over on Tuesday, what about my room with all my stuff?"
I don't feel right having an actual kid play with my toys. Especially if I’m not there. I hear Brandt snicker and turn to look at him. "Baby, I won't share your toys with her. Those are yours alone. We can just lock your door when we have company over. Vivian is really good at listening to rules, unlike someone I know."
I smile, knowing that he's talking about me. The closer we get to being in the apartment, the more I can feel that itch to slip into my Little side. I've been playing all day, but not in my Little headspace. I'm looking forward to getting some time in.
"Are you still okay with me doing that?" I know I've been throwing tantrums and not listening to his rules here and there, but I want to make sure that he's still enjoying it. I definitely still like when he gets all stern. Now that we've had sex, I'm hoping that some of those punishments will be a bit more naughty.
"Of course," he says easily. He parks the car in his designated spot. My car is three down, in the opposite row. "I love that you're pushing the right buttons too, and not fighting me on the important things. I appreciate that."
He lifts his hand while he says the last bit and tucks a strand of hair back behind my ear. I lean my head into his touch, brushing my cheek against his palm. "I like it, too. Stern Daddy is my favorite."
"Really?" He pulls his hand back. It's no secret. I've told him this before. "Well, how about stern Daddy tells you that he wants you to go upstairs and take a shower? Then we can play for a bit before dinner and watch a movie?"
"Can I take a bath?" I ask quickly. "I want to play with my boats."
"As long as you promise to keep the water in the bathtub."
"I… Can't keep that promise." I'm being honest. Daddy opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. He nods once and it makes me laugh.
"Try not to get too much water on the floor," he says finally. He leans over the console and kisses me before we get out of the car. "I'll get your bath started and you take your medicine, okay?"
"Got it!"
He grabs the small cooler we brought and we head toward the elevator. I get hit with a sudden wave of tiredness and lean my head against Brandt's shoulder. I close my eyes for just a moment. At least I think it's a moment, but then the doors are opening.
"Ty, are you okay?" Brandt is right beside me, but his voice sounds far away. I nod. "Tyler, look at me."
I lift my head up and focus my eyes on him. "I'm okay. Just a long day."
"Baby, you don't get drops like that that quickly."
“I’m just sleepy, Daddy.” I smile up at him as he unlocks the door to the apartment. “Bath and bed, please.”
Chapter Twenty
Idon'twanttoleave Tyler at the apartment Sunday. After his drop when we got home, I made him take his medicine, gave him a snack to get his levels back up, and then got him in a luke-warm bath. I didn't want him to be too hot or too cold. He laid back in the tub and let me wash his hair and body. There was no playing or funny business. The only water that made it out of the tub were the droplets on my clothes as I helped him move around.
I wrapped him up in light clothes and kept him on the couch with me, checking his blood pressure and heart rate every ten minutes.
Everything was fine soon after taking his medicine, but I still woke up at least once an hour just to make sure he was still breathing. I checked his pulse each time, the only way I was ableto go back to sleep. I even angled his head on my shoulder so I could feel his breathing against my neck.
Heading into work today was rough. I got maybe three hours of sleep in total. I had Tyler get up and take his medicine before I left. He might have rolled his eyes when I asked to check his blood pressure before I left. Everything was level.
Nine hours into the shift, I'm on my second energy drink just to stay awake. The Emergency Room is busier than usual and we're staying on our toes with all the patients that are being admitted to our floor. An announcement overhead catches all of our attention.
"Trauma alert. Incoming. ETA ten minutes. Trauma alert. Incoming. ETA ten minutes. Car pile up. Multiple persons, injuries unknown. Peds case times two. Labor and delivery on standby."
"Oh no," my desk partner, Brandy, says under her breath. "I hope they're okay."
"I hope so too," I say. I know that Derrek is on the Pediatric floor. I'll have to check with him before my shift is over to see if he has any updates on the kids at least. The trauma alert repeats itself.
