Theo POV:
As is our luck, Mila's arm is broken. Snapped right in the middle of her forearm. If that wasn't bad enough, it's not something that can be repaired with just a cast. She needs surgery to place pins in her arm. This girl just can't seem to catch a break.
My poor baby is currently laying in my arms, sleeping soundly from the pain medicine. She whimpers every once in a while, settling quickly when I start to pat her diapered butt.
The staff have continued to give us weird looks, since they know Mila's real age. Some have even outright asked why we're treating her like a baby. Hazel explained it's because that's how Mila's grown comfortable with her size. A partial truth.
Hazel sighs from her sitting position on Mila's hospital bed, tossing her phone to the side. She runs her fingers through her tangled brown hair, growling in frustration before she puts it up into a messy bun.
"I'm going to get us something to eat from the cafeteria. You okay here with Mila?" She asks me.
I nod, looking down at my sleeping girl. She's now wearing a hospital gown, an IV is in the back of her hand, and a monitor is wrapped around her big toe. Her pink bow lips are parted as she sleeps deeply. I can even see the purple-ish veins underneath her eyelids.
My little cherub baby.
"Do you have a taste for anything?"
"Chicken salad if they have it. If not, a burger would be fine. The doctor said Mila can eat since her surgery isn't going to be tonight. They don't have enough operating rooms open." I comment with a shrug.
"I'll grab her something. She has to be hungry. Alright. I'll be back." Hazel stands, leaning over to place a brief kiss on Mila's head.
Our girl mumbles, her head tossing back and forth with her lips pursing. Oh lord. She wants the boob.
"Here. I expressed this in the bathroom. Your mom is going to bring my pump. I texted her." I'm handed a twelve ounce bottle full of milk. God, my wife is an overproducer.
I rub the nipple of the bottle over my baby's lips, waiting for her to latch on. It takes her a second to realize there's a bottle right there. When she does, she latches on and suckles for all she's worth.
"There you go." I murmur, lifting the bottle to make sure she's not sucking on air. We definitely don't need her having an upset stomach on top of a broken arm.
While feeding Mila, I hear a nurse approach our door and three sharp knocks. Yelling for them to enter, I pull the bottle out of my ladybug's mouth. I doubt she wants the nurse seeing that.
In walks a middle aged woman in green scrubs. "Hello, I'm nurse Alana. I'm going to be Mila's overnight nurse. How's she doing?"
"The pain medicine is working, as you can see." I gesture with my free hand to where Mila's sound asleep, a drop of milk running out of her open lips.
I laugh awkwardly, swiping the drop away. Alana seems to catch on pretty quickly. She walks over, crouching down in front of me.
"Don't be embarrassed. Honestly, the nurses have been talking about the 'baby dwarf', but it's clear that she loves you and y'all love her, so who cares how you guys chose to live your lives. I think it's quite sweet."
A frown forms on my face when I think about those people making fun of Mila. She doesn't deserve that, especially when she's not feeling well.
"Well, thank you." Leaning over, I grab the bottle and offer it to Mila again.
She latches on right as Hazel walks back into the room. She's holding a brown bag that I'm sure is full of our food. Alana stands, introducing herself to my wife.
"I'm going to take her blood pressure and temperature, and then I'll be out of your hair." Alana grabs the thermometer, waving it over Mila's head.
"No fever and her blood pressure is still good. Alright. If you guys need anything I'm one button press away." With that said, the nurse leaves the room.
***
I'm munching on a chicken salad sandwich, when Mila begins to stir on my lap. She yawns widely, opening her hazel eyes. The first thing she says to me is, "Daddy?"
"Hey, baby. How are you feeling?"
"Owie." She mumbles, slipping the thumb on her good hand in her mouth. She eyes my sandwich, pops her thumb out, and reaches for it.
"Do you want some?" I don't want for her to answer. I just bring the sandwich to her face and wait for her to take a bite.
She takes a huge bite, smacking her lips hungrily. I can tell the pain medicine is still running rampant in her system, based off of the woozy way she eats. Her eyes flutter, a happy hum escaping her mouth.
"Is that good, ladybug?" I chuckle.
"Sooo guuuud, Dada." Mila mumbles around her mouthful of food.
Hazel snorts from the bed, trying to contain our laughter. Our girl is as high as a kite right now.
"Do you want some more?" I question. I'll give her my whole sandwich if it makes her happy.
She nods happily, a lazy smile crossing her face. I laugh, offering her another bite.
"Dis da best sammich evah!" Mila mumbles, slurring her words. Her eyes are nearly crossed and her cheeks are rosy. Poor thing can barely hold her head up.
I toss my head back, trying to contain my laughter so I don't disturb the other patients. My girl is just being too funny right now.
"It's that good? I'll make you some when we get home."
"Wha es dat?" She inquires, pointing with her good arm at my nearly depleted sandwich.
"Chicken salad, pretty girl."
"Wan Mama iken swalwad..." She mumbles, not making any sense. Looking over towards Hazel, I see her recording on her phone. Our kid is going to go viral if we post this.
"You want Mama's chicken salad?" I ask for clarification.
"Dada iken swalwad. Miwa eat iken swalwad from Mama bewbie." Now she's just mumbling to herself. Shaking my head fondly, I feed Mila each bite of my food until it's all gone.
Except that seems like the end of the world to Mila. She slowly and dramatically tosses her head back, letting out the fakest cry I've ever heard.
"What's wrong, pea?" Hazel asks through her chuckles.
"Wan mwore!" She whisper-cries.
"Okay, pea. Mama will go get you more. How many sandwiches do you want?" Hazel offers sweetly. Our baby can have anything she wants right now. As long as it keeps her happy.
"Ummm... Eweven."
Hazel's eyes widen and she coughs, "You want eleven sandwiches? That's a lot. How about I get you two and we'll go from there?"
"Otay, Mama. Miwa wuv chu."
"Love you too, pea. I'll be right back." Hazel leaves again, leaving me with our loopy baby.
By the time Hazel gets back, she's nearly asleep again. She seems to have forgotten about her sandwiches completely. We'll try and get her to eat again once she's not so loopy.
"What should I do with these?" Hazel wonders.
"See if one of the nurses will put it in the fridge for her."
"Here, trade me. I'm going to nurse her while you go in search of Alana."
"Or we could just press the nurses button." I suggest.
"Fine. I still want to hold her. Hand my baby to me." Hazel demands sharply.
Standing carefully, I pass Mila over to her mama, cautious of her arm that's in a sling. She grumbles, not happy that her sleep is being interrupted.
"Dada." She whimpers, her face scrunching up. The poor thing looks like she's about to cry.
"Mama's got you, pea. Do you want some milky? You can have some." Hazel tries her best to comfort Mila, all to no avail.
She sighs and passes her back over to me. I support her bottom as her head comes to rest on my shoulder.
"Always wants her Daddy when she gets an owie." Hazel mumbles under her breath.
"What can I say? I'm her favorite person."
"She just likes you right now because you're always at work." Hazel comments through stutters, trying to one up me.
My eyes roll to the heavens as I sit back down. I yawn, stretching my legs out in front of me. Mila will hopefully have her surgery tomorrow, so it's best if we get some rest now. I'm exhausted and I can tell that Hazel is too.
I don't know that the quality of sleep we're going to get here is going to be any good. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to get a few hours. With that thought in mind, I lean back and close my eyes.