Chapter Fourteen
Eric awoke with a start. He’d thought a noise had punctured his slumber but now there was nothing. A dream, maybe? Though he hadn’t gone to bed feeling anxious—no, he’d drifted off to sleep worn out but pretty damn satisfied.
Devy had still been not feeling great when he tucked her in for the night, but she said the medication was definitely helping and she’d been able to take another bottle at dinners. He’d given her a syringe of the nutrition solution in her bottom at each meal as well since she wasn’t taking enough calories in with just the bottle feeding but it was definitely an improvement. She’d acquiesced easily to using her diaper and being changed into a fresh one too. What a well-behaved babygirl.
And since she hadn’t been up to taking a bath, he’d given her a sponge bath that she’d seemed to enjoy a great deal, especially once he’d bound her wrists and ankles under the guise of safety. His sweet little thing liked bondage which wasn’t at all unusual for littles and submissives—often made them feel safe, held.
Eric turned the recent memories over in his mind, replayed the scenes to spark the feelings Devy inspired in him—that nice warm glow would help him go back to sleep, rest up for another day full of little patients and tending to his very own special little patient. Shooed away that obnoxious voice that whispered he might not get to keep her forever. That voice could shut the fuck up.
Then there was that sound again—it hadn’t been a dream that had woken him. It was like a pained little cry that slipped into a pitiful, heartrending whimper. Devy wasn’t okay, and alarm shot through him, as well as the compulsion to fix it or at least check on her and see if there was anything he could do to help. Maybe she was having a bad dream and he could ease her back to sleep with some soft words and making her the little spoon to his big? Or maybe she was in pain, and that would need to be dealt with because it wasn’t acceptable.
He hadn’t turned the baby monitor on because he hadn’t told her it was there. As much as he wanted to make sure she was safe, he also didn’t want to violate her privacy. It would be one thing if he’d told her about it and she’d agreed but she hadn’t. Another conversation they would have.
Instead, he slipped out of bed and padded down the hall to the door of the inpatient room, straining to hear anything else. When he was right outside the door, he heard another whimper, followed by what almost sounded like a sob. Was she having a nightmare? Had her migraine come back with a vengeance? Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to stand out here and do nothing.
Knuckles sounding briefly on the door, Eric let himself in before he heard a reply. When he did, he felt as though he’d been punched in the gut. There was poor little Devy, all curled up in the bed, holding herself in a ball and rocking as much as she could on her side.
“Devy baby, what’s the matter?”
Concern shot through him. How long had she been like this? He wasn’t a heavy sleeper but she wasn’t being very loud.
“S’nothing,” she slurred, her voice cracking at the end.
“Doesn’t look like nothing to me. You’re clearly in a lot of pain. How long have you been hurting like this? Why didn’t you call me?”
“Didn’t want to wake you,” she managed.
They were going to have to have a serious talk about her responsibilities when she was feeling better, and if she agreed to it, that discussion was going to include a thorough spanking. It wasn’t a punishment because he wasn’t a huge disciplinarian but he did want to impress upon her how serious he was and a blistered bottom was a good way to make sure the lesson stuck.
For the moment, he inhaled a deep breath to give himself a second to school his voice. “I always want you to wake me if you’re in pain or upset. I know you’re not used to having people take care of you so I understand it’s not your instinct to ask for help. But my job is to look after you, help you be healthy and happy and do whatever I can to make that a reality. When you don’t let me know you’re hurting, what you’re telling me is that you don’t trust me. Is that what you’re trying to say?”
“No, Eric,” she breathed, eyes wide and brows creased. “I do trust you. I didn’t want to bother you. You’ve already done so much for me and—”
Devy’s protests were cut off by a gasp and her curling even further in on herself, letting out another pathetic noise.
It was killing him to see her like this—first fix the problem and then give the lecture, Southerland.
“Okay, baby, okay, come sit with Daddy.”
He picked her up and slid under her so he could cradle her in his lap and his little buttercup didn’t argue. No, she just buried her head in his shoulder and whimpered. Now that he was holding her—and hopefully the warmth of his body was comforting even if it didn’t fix anything—maybe he’d be able to pry some information out of her so he could fix it.
“Is it your tummy?” he asked, rubbing her back in firm circles.
“No. I—I’m getting my period. S’always like this.”
His stomach dropped. “You’re in this kind of pain every month? Have you told your doctor? This isn’t normal.”
“He said it’s just cramps,” she replied, and his anger flared.
That was shitty but also not surprising. Physicians had a habit of dismissing women’s pain and if a patient didn’t aggressively pursue answers they were often left with none. A lot of his colleagues were brilliant and empathetic care providers but not all of them.
“No, it’s not. I have a lot of adolescent patients so I’m pretty familiar with menstruation. While some discomfort isn’t unusual, that’s not what this is. You should be able to get through normal daily activities, maybe pop an aspirin or two. But this—”
He never enjoyed seeing anyone in pain they hadn’t asked for, but it cut him deeper when it was a little boy or little girl, and with Devy it felt like getting stabbed straight through the heart.
“Is there anything that helps you feel better?”
Devy shook her head, rubbing her face into his shoulder. “Not that I’ve tried. But I’m usually just trying to get through the day so I haven’t tried much.”