Page 36 of Jade

There was one place. One place where she knew she’d be welcomed with open arms, no questions asked. One place where all her needs would be met and no one would think less of her. And she was pretty sure she could almost make it. Maybe even before Ryan got back.

Summoning every last bit of strength she pulled herself to her feet. She didn’t pack a bag or grab anything but Leon; Baze would have everything she would need.

She felt a twinge of sadness and regret when she yanked open the door to their suite and left for what might be the last time.

Every step on the way to the elevator felt like her feet were filled with lead and she felt like she’d walked miles when she was only halfway there. Falling to the ground, she crawled the rest of the way, and when she got inside the elevator, she sat on the floor, pushed the button and leaned her head against the paneled wood.

She crawled out, pushed herself to her feet, and knocked on the main penthouse door. When Baze opened it, she fell into his arms and started to cry.

Ryan

Something was up with Jade, and it went beyond feeling like crap and being sick as hell. He was sure of that. He just had no idea what it was.

To be fair, he hadn’t asked. She didn’t seem to have the energy to talk and he knew her throat was killing her. Her glands were so swollen her neck was several inches thicker than usual. So he didn’t push, and he did his best to give her space while still taking care of her.

But something had to give, she was barely letting him do that. He supposed he could force her somehow; put on his Daddy face, and make her eat and drink and take meds and all that, but if it didn’t work, what then? He couldn’t punish her. There was no possible line of action for repercussion.

Still lost, he wandered into the pharmacy and walked up and down the aisles as if he would see something there that would spark inspiration and give him the answer he was seeking or at least give him a way to make her feel better. He did that for ten full minutes, and then, feeling guilty for being gone so long, he grabbed the items he’d come for. He was heading to the check-out counter when his phone rang.

Pulling it out of his jacket pocket, he saw that it was Baze and answered with a frown.

“Can I call you right back? I’m at the pharmacy about to check out and I really need to get back to Jade.”

“Well, that’s what I needed to talk to you about.”

“What do you mean?” His heart started to pound. What did Baze mean? Was he calling about Jade? Had something happened? Had she gotten worse? Spiked a high fever? Fallen on the way to the bathroom? He’d been gone less than thirty minutes and she’d been sleeping when he left.

“Jade’s here,” Baze said, making no sense at all.

“Here? Where? Where is here?”

“The penthouse. She showed up about ten minutes ago. I answered the door, and she fell into my arms and started crying.”

“Oh my God.” He dropped the items he’d gathered and strode out of the store. “I’m on my way.”

“Ryan. Stop.” Baze barked out a command that would have made the Littles in his care quiver in their boots. Ryan stopped in his tracks.

“She shouldn’t be there! She’s too sick!”

“And that’s precisely why she came here.” Baze paused and sighed. “She didn’t want me telling you this, she begged me not to, but I’m pretty sure that breaks some kind of Daddy code or something.”

“Tell me what? What is going on?” Ryan cried, the urgency he felt alarming him.

“Jade is really struggling being sick.”

“Well yeah, she feels like crap. I’m doing my best to take care of her, but it feels like she is fighting me at every turn.”

“She probably is.” Baze sighed again, his worry evident over the phone line. “Ryan, Jade has no energy, her throat is on fire, she’s out of her mind with fever half the time, and on top of that she has a terrible gag reflex. She hates taking pills, and she isn’t thrilled about the under the tongue thermometer.”

“Well, I can’t do much about those things,” Ryan said exasperated. “She needs the meds and I need to monitor her fever. Aside from that, she’s barely eating or drinking and I told her if she keeps on like that I was going to take her to the hospital.”

“She doesn’t need to go to the hospital. There are easy solutions to all of those problems. Things Jade knows would make her feel better, but she wasn’t comfortable asking you to do them, so she came here because she knew I would.”

“What do you mean?” Ryan asked exasperated. And then it hit him. “Oh my word. She wants to be babied. Liquid meds and Gatorade in a bottle, and diapers and taking her temperature the old-fashioned way. That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”

“That’s what I mean,” Baze confirmed.

For a moment, Ryan stood speechless in the middle of the sidewalk outside of the pharmacy. Suddenly and all at once, it became crystal clear.