Sir Daddy Longlegs

Chapter 5: Fever

The movement of Joseline squirming and tossing in her sleep wakes Brian. He quickly wraps his arms around her tighter and whispers into her ear, “shh Babygirl, wake up… Daddy’s here.” He brushes her sweat soaked hair out of her face, as his hand touches her forehead, he realizes she’s feverish. Quickly he pulls himself out of her where he’d been since their first love making. Brian scoops her into his arms and carries her into the bathroom.

Gently he lays her on the changing table on her tummy. With a hand gently but firmly on the small of her back, he reaches for the thermometer and Vaseline with two of his other hands. He pushes the thermometer into the Vaseline while he scoops out a little with a finger of the free hand and gently probes the opening of her bottom. He makes sure there will be no pain with this. He doesn’t want to wake her unless he must. The thermometer quickly and effortlessly slips in just enough for it to do the job. His hand on her back starts rubbing gently up and down, letting her know by touch that she is safe and she is loved. He murmurs softly to her, singing a soft lullaby, the song continues as he watches the clock over the table. As soon as the time has passed he gently pulls the thermometer out and holds it in the light to read. Her fever is higher than Brian likes, but it’s still in the safe zone… He jots down the temperature on the pad next to the table 103.7. He turns her over and quickly diapers her. He knows as long as she’s sick she won’t be getting up to use the potty anytime soon.

He then slips a cool nightgown over her head and picks her up into his arms again. He moves to the nursery and lays her carefully into the crib. He pulls the rocking chair to the side of the crib. He slips his hand in between the bars of the crib and pushes a teddy bear into her arms gently. Then he places the palm of his hand on her chest, to make sure he can feel her breathing well. He lays his head against the crib and closes his eyes waiting for her to need him.

A few hours later a harsh cough wakes him. He looks up and notices she seems to be having trouble breathing. He stands and bends over the rail. “Little one, wake up baby. How do you feel?” He asks her softly… glazed eyes blink up at him, he can see the fever in her cheeks and rests a cool hand on one. “Is it hard to breath baby?” She nods and coughs again, an obvious wheezing in the cough. “Ok, Daddy is going to help you, ok?” She closes her eyes and tries to turn over. He lifts her limp and drenched body from the crib and goes back into the bathroom, without a second thought, he pours a pitcher of cold water into a basin. He pours a bottle of rubbing alcohol into the water and carries the basin over to the changing table after turning off the water. Setting the basin down he sits her on the table just long enough to slip her now soaked nightgown off, then he lays her down on her back. Keeping a hand on her chest, he takes a bottle of cough syrup and an oral syringe. He fills the syringe to the dosage he knows his babygirl will need. He gently slips the tip into Joseline’s mouth and squeezes the bulb on the other end. Her natural suckling instinct causes her to suckle on the tip, drinking the fluid as it passes into her mouth. Her nose wrinkles in her sleep showing that she recognizes the foul taste, but still she sleeps.

Picking up a soft sponge, Brian slips it into the water mixture then squeezing it lightly to keep it from dripping puts it on her chest squeezing the cold liquid over her body. Over and over he repeats this process moving the sponge over different parts of her body. Soon the heat of the fever seems to have eased. Removing the soggy diaper, he lifts her legs up as if to change her but slips the thermometer into her instead. Joseline’s eyes flutter open and she looks up at him through hooded eyes. “Daddy’s just taking your temperature baby. It will be done soon. Are you feeling any better?” He asks hoping for affirmation. She nods softly and tries to speak but reaches up to rub her throat instead. Brian watches her with concern, it’s obvious she’s sicker than he originally thought. Glancing at the hourglass, he pulls the thermometer out and reads the glass tube. He frowns. Joseline’s temperature has lowered, but it’s still over 103 degrees. He decides it’s time to change tactics. He lifts the straps to keep her on the changing table, so she doesn’t get hurt. Then goes around the room getting the enema ready. While she’s not in trouble, he does want to lower her temperature, so he uses cool water to fill the bag. He adds a ¼ cup of mineral oil to the water to keep her from getting raw. Then he refills to bowl of water with more of the waterubbing alcohol mixture but increases the amount of rubbing alcohol into the mixture. He attaches a special nozzle, so she won’t have to try to hold the water in, it will flow in and out without her even realizing. He puts the end of the out put tubing into the toilet for easy disposal of the contents. Brian makes sure the nozzle is lubricated well so Joseline won’t have too much discomfort and pushes it against her rosebud. Slowly it slips in. He makes sure to keep a hand on her bottom, so the nozzle won’t lip out while another hand opens the flow of the water, a light trickle slips into her, cooling her from the inside out. While the water flows slowly in and out of her, he takes the sponge and starts gently cooling her from the outside.

As the bag of water and mineral oil slowly empties and the sponge soaks up water and then is gently squeezed over her body, the heat starts to dissipate, and a small shiver starts to show in her body. Brian keeps a close eye, as soon as the shivering starts, he stops with the sponge, and leans close to her ear. He whispers to her that she is safe, and that Daddy is here. “I’m taking care of you baby, you’ll be better soon” he says softly. He softly starts singing lullabies to her helping her stay relaxed. His voice fills the air around them, enveloping them in a bubble of love that no one can penetrate. An almost translucent bubble actually starts to form around them in protection, emanating from his voice. Brian glances up just as the last of the enema slips in and then back out of Joseline. He rubs her back as the enema does it’s work.