“I’m here with Daddy.”
Rocky pressed a kiss on the top of her head as if he understood exactly what she meant.
Dr. Richards gave them a second before saying, “Melissa, I want you to look at the wall over there and tell me what you see.”
She looked to the opposite side of the room. There was a big picture hanging there. It looked like a big finger painting. The colors were bright and beautiful. Studying it, she considered all the possibilities.
There were a few pokes at her arm that stung, but she didn’t look. Dr. Richards had given her a job. Pulling the pacifier from her mouth, she shared, “I think it looks like a big park or a field. Something out in nature. In the corner, that might be a flutterby.”
“I’ve thought that, too, Melissa. It’s a perfect flutterby. Do you see anything else?” Dr. Richards asked, completely unfazed by her cute alternative term for a butterfly.
Again, she popped the medicine back into her mouth and considered the painting. A few minutes later, she reported, “In the middle, I think there’s an enormous bunch of purple hydrangeas. I love those. They are my favorite flower. They don’t smell very much, but that’s okay.”
When she popped the device back into her mouth, the candy part snapped off. There wasn’t much more of it. Melissa crunched it up and swallowed. “I finished this. Can I have another?”
“Let’s try something a bit different. Rocky, can you open that top drawer in the exam table? Grab one of those pink packets and open it.”
Melissa watched carefully, wondering what other incredible things Dr. Richards had. As Rocky ripped the plastic off, she saw it was another pacifier, but this just had a rubber tip instead. Rocky turned it to show her that written on the outside was the phrase,Good Girl.
“This is perfect for you, little girl. Let’s see what you think?” Rocky held it to her lips, and she opened her mouth.
It didn’t taste as good as the other one, but it was soothing. Melissa laid her head on her Daddy’s shoulder and just zoned out. She might have taken a bit of a nap because she was surprised when Dr. Richards announced he’d finished with her arm.
She looked over to see the previously tortured looking skin covered with a clean white dressing. “It feels better.”
“It is much better. So, here’s how you’re going to help it heal. No work for at least three days. You must be fever-free or your Daddy is going to add on the rest of the week.”
When she opened her mouth to complain, Dr. Richards shook his head. “There are no negotiations here. In addition, I’m going to give you a shot of an antibiotic that will work with the pills you are taking to supercharge them and ward off this infection. I’m also going to send home three days of medicine to keep the pain away. It will make you a bit groggy, but that’s okay. You need to rest and let yourself heal. I’ll give you the first dose, along with your antibiotic.”
“I don’t like shots. I don’t swallow pills well. Those capsules are huge.”
“I don’t blame you for not liking shots. You’ll still get one. The rest of the medicine you won’t have to swallow. It will go in your bottom when your Daddy checks your temperature.”
Melissa stared at the doctor as her brain tried to understand all that information. Her Daddy was going to take her temperature in her bottom just like Dr. Richards had? Medicine was going into her bottom?
“I can take pills. I won’t complain,” she told him.
“I know. You’re not a complainer. You’ll still have to swallow the antibiotic. The other medicine, you won’t.”
Dr. Richards looked at Rocky. “We need to pull her pants down again. Let’s have you sit on the table with her over your lap so we don’t jar that arm.”
In seconds, her leggings and panties hung around her ankles, and she hung over her Daddy’s lap with her bottom pointed to Dr. Richards. Melissa listened to the doctor’s instructions.
“Always lubricate Melissa’s bottom fully to take her temperature. Then, it should only take a bit more on the tip of the suppository.”
Before she could protest, he pressed a thick cylinder deep into her bottom. Rocky held her solidly in place.
“No wiggles, Little girl. We have to protect your arm.”
“But… he’s putting something in my butt.”
“Bottom. It’s medicine, Lissy. I think you need to feel better, don’t you?”
“Yes, but…”
“No butts,” Rocky told her firmly. “Dr. Richards knows how to treat Littles. We will follow his directions.”
A pinch followed. “Ouch!” Melissa yelped.