Forced To Be

Simon's P.O.V.

  I admired my little girl for only a second before carrying her back to her nursery. I went to set her down on her changing table, but her tiny fists clenched my shirt tightly. I chuckled, gently prying her fingers away from my shirt.

  However, as soon as I positioned her on the changing table, she woke up. May blinked a bit in confusion as she looked around her room. Once her eyes caught sight of me, she reached out to me with grabby hands and cried.

  I was quick to try and soothe her, rubbing her belly and kissing her forehead.

  "It's alright little one, Daddy's here." As I shushed her, her fingers grasped one of mine, pulling it down towards her. I could tell she was slipping into her head-space even before she starting sucking on my finger tip for comfort.

  I reached under the table and grabbed a paci from the bowl that I kept them stored in. I removed my finger from my mouth, but teased the nipple of the pacifier at her lips before she could start crying again. Luckily, May accepted the replacement easily, sucking harshly on the soothing piece of plastic.

  I taped her up in a thickly padded nighttime diaper that was at least three inches thick. Once I finished that, I tried my hardest to make quick work of dressing her in warm, but easily removable pj's, just in case she got too hot.

  May was already deeply asleep by the time I finished dressing her.  I looked over at her crib, but I didn't want to leave her alone. It wasn't that she wasn't safe, she only had a stomach bug. It was that this was a very important bonding moment for both of us and I didn't want her to wake up alone.

  I gently picked her up, supporting her head with one forearm, my other arm beneath her knees. I made sure to move slowly and carefully as I made my way out of her room and into mine.

  I had a crib positioned next to my bed so that I could have her with me safely at night. The crib wasn't very tall, only as tall as the edge of my bed. I only planned on using it when May was little enough that she wouldn't be able to get out on her own, but tonight seemed to be an exception and if she got out, she got out.

  I laid carefully into the crib and adjusted the soft edges in case she rolled over into the bars. I pulled the soft belt over her middle and fastened it to the other side of the crib. I sighed and climbed into bed after dimming the lights. It had been quite the day.