“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” Chloe practically erupted from her grandparents’ vehicle, launching herself at me.

I wrapped her in a giant bear hug. As wonderful as the week with Oliver had been, there had definitely been a Chloe-bug shaped hole in our lives.

“Oliver!” she shrieked, squirming to get down from my arms and tackle Oliver with equal enthusiasm.

My dad laughed as he followed, carrying a giant Mickey Mouse duffel bag, which I eyed suspiciously.

“She didn’t have that when she left.”

Dad shrugged. "You know how your mother likes to spoil her."

"Oh, hush," Mom admonished, slapping Dad on the shoulder. "It's your father who is the pushover. Chloe just had to glance at some stuffed animal and next thing you knew, it was in our hotel room."

Chloe was chattering animatedly at Oliver, telling him about the rides and all the characters she had met. 

"How's her fever?" I asked. They had called yesterday saying Chloe wasn't feeling well, but she seemed fine now.

"It comes and goes," Mom said. "Don't let this burst of energy fool you. She was asleep for the last four hours, so she has a small reserve, but she'll crash hard soon."

She did look a little flushed.

"Let's get you inside, Chloe bug. You can tell Oliver and me all about it inside." 

Oliver turned with a smile to carry Chloe inside. 

"Are you sure you two don't want to stay the night? I have plenty of room."

"No, we're ready to get home to our own bed," Mom said. "But thank you, dear."

"Your Aunt June is planning the family reunion this year," Dad added. "She told me the dates, but I can't remember exactly. Next month sometime. I'll send you the details."

"He means I'll send you the details," Mom corrected. "There will be at least a few cousins Chloe's age. You should try to make it this year. Everyone would love to meet Oliver."

"Actually, that sounds good. Send me the dates as soon as possible so I can schedule it in." I'd been too busy when I had been in school, and too reclusive after Jen's death to attend. It had been years since I'd seen several of my cousins. It sounded like fun. Chloe would have fun. And I could already imagine introducing everyone to Oliver. If he was ready for that.

Mom and Dad said their goodbyes and I followed Oliver and Chloe into the house. She was already asleep, leaning against Oliver has he stroked her hair. 

"Do you want to move her up to her bedroom?" Oliver asked.

"No, let's just get her a pillow and blanket."

After tucking Chloe in, we tiptoed to the kitchen.

"When are we going to tell Chloe?" I asked.

"Well, I was hoping sooner rather than later," Oliver admitted, "but we should probably wait until she's feeling better."

I pulled him into my arms. "Does that mean I have to keep my hands off you?"

He kissed my lips softly. "Only when she's awake."

I wrapped my arms more firmly around him and took the opportunity to lose myself in his lips, sucking on his tongue, teasing him with light brushes of my own. 

"And at night?"

Oliver sighed. "As much as I hate it, we probably need to sleep in our own beds until we talk to her."

I loved how he put Chloe first. As fulfilled as I had felt finally taking Oliver into my arms and into my bed, this was even better. My daughter home, my omega in my arms. It was perfect.

"Daddy?" Chloe's sad and uncomfortable voice pulled me from the moment. 

"Ah, reality," I said, but I couldn't stop the smile on my face.

That smile faded quickly as the rest of the evening was spent ferrying Chloe back and forth to the toilet to throw up, or wash up after throwing up in a garbage can. Oliver kept a steady stream of ginger ale and saltine crackers coming her way, and I spent the night in the recliner. Oliver took the day shift while I muddled my way through work, and then we swapped again. Three days later, Chloe finally woke up with a spring in her step and a smile on her face, but Oliver wasn't quite so lucky.

He'd left the bathroom door open as he heaved into the toilet, and I hovered outside, unsure of how close he wanted me, of how I could help him. "Can I get you anything?"

He heaved again in response and I waiting, torn apart that there was nothing I could do to help him.

When he finally caught his breath, he said, "Wyatt, I'm so sorry, I don't think I can watch Chloe today."

I had already seen that. "Don't worry about it. You lie down and rest. I've had Sally redistribute the schedule, and she's going to watch over Chloe for the few appointments that absolutely need me. You rest. If you don't feel better tomorrow, I'll work on other arrangements until you feel better. It had taken Chloe four days to kick the bug. Maybe Oliver would be able to recover quicker since he was an adult with a stronger immune system, or maybe it would last about the same amount of time. It was hard to tell.

"I'm so sorry," he said again.

"Hush," I said. "Your job right now is to work on getting healthy. Don't worry about us."

He nodded tiredly, a further sign of how hard this was hitting him.

Chloe had a blast playing with the kittens most of the day, and Oliver had recovered enough to make us dinner. I fussed at him, but he simply smiled and placed a plate of hot lasagna in front of me. But then the next day started the same.

"You know how we told Chloe she couldn't play even when she felt good while she was sick? Yeah, that's you with the cooking dinner thing. If you wear yourself out because you have a span of time where you have energy, your recovery is going to take much longer."

"But you need someone to watch Chloe..." he protested.

"I've already texted Sally. Her niece has been looking for some babysitting jobs, so she is going to come over and look after Chloe. You rest."

I made sure Oliver was settled into his bed with everything he'd need until I could pop back for lunch and left once Faith, Sally's niece, arrived. The bug hung on for another couple days, but it was the weekend and I was available to look after my two favorite people, and Oliver felt well enough to join us for dinner on Sunday, which was the oh-so-special gourmet meal of frozen French Bread pizzas in the oven.

"With being sick, I forgot I have the doctor's appointment scheduled for tomorrow to adjust my suppressants," Oliver said. "Do I need to cancel so I can look after Chloe?"

"Don't be silly, we'll call Faith back. You like Faith, right, Chloe?"

Chloe nodded enthusiastically. "She likes unicorns too, Daddy!"

"You can't delay this appointment," I said. "We need you healthy, Oliver."

"Yeah, you can't play tea party if you're sick, Oliver!" Chloe said. "I couldn't play tea party when I was sick even though I really, really wanted to."

"See?" I said. "You need to get your medicines so you can play tea party."

Oliver rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Okay. But as soon as I get back from the doctor, we're having the best tea party ever, Chloe-bear!"