Her Daddy

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          The afternoon after being thrown in the lake, Ophelia was left with heaviness in her chest and an overall feeling of unwell. Her throat was sore, her voice hoarse from swallowing some of the water, and he nose continued to run no matter how many times she blew it.

Ryder frowned, placing his hand against her forehead as she pulled his comforter under her chin. "You're a little warm." He murmured, pulling his hand away after a few moments.

Ophelia hugged lightly, rolling her eyes. "Damn Jackson." She grumbled, the corners of her lips turning down in a scowl.

He seemed amused by this, smirking lightly and kissing her forehead gently. "It's too soon for you to have gotten sick from that." He told her but seemed almost in disbelief of his own words. "Unless it is from yesterday and you would need to see a doctor right away."

"Not yet." She pleaded, her eyes widening slightly as she looked up at him. "If it gets worse we can go." She added, not really wanting to spend much time in the doctor's office.

He nodded his head in agreement. "Let's hope it doesn't get much worse. You are going to get lots of rest until you get better." He decided, standing up and placing his hands on his waist. "I'm gonna go make you some soup and get you some medication just watch tv for a bit."

Ophelia watched as he left the room, heading for the kitchen as he had told her. She sighed lightly to herself and reached for the tv remote on his nightstand. Getting sick was not unusual for her and she found herself with some sort of virus quite often.

She switched the TV on and flicked through the channels till she came across a movie about a girl trying to learn how to dance. Ophelia found it amusing enough and watched a good twenty minutes before Ryder finally returned, a stuffed animal tucked under his arm and a steaming bowl of soup in his hands.

She sat up and took the bowl, smiling as he placed her stuffed animal beside her. He held up one finger and left once again, this time returning with two, small, white pills and a small pink cup with juice.

"Open up." He said softly, and she did as he asked. He placed the pills on her tongue and passed her the juice. She took it in both hands, taking a large sip to swallow the pills.

Once they were down Ryder took the cup back and screwed on the lid, presenting her now with a sippy cup. She smiled gratefully as he set it on the nightstand beside her. "Thank you Daddy." She said quickly.

"Only for you ángel." He told her before crawling into bed next to her.

Ryder slipped under the covers and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Ophelia shifted slightly so she could lean into him, keeping bowl of soup in her lap.

She smiled as she ate, feeling his fingers slide through her hair, his thumb gently caressing her arm. She loved the care he gave her and preferred this more than his cold exterior he often put on.

Ophelia knew when the medication was beginning to kick because she was starting to loose concentration and found herself spacing out instead of eating. Ryder seemed to notice this too and lifted the bowl from her lap, putting it on the nightstand to deal with later.

She turned to face him and he carefully folded his arms around her, keeping the blanket around her shoulders. "You need the rest baby girl. Just sleep." He whispered, running his fingers gently across her cheek.

As much as she wanted to stay awake, she just physically couldn't do it. Her eyes were heavy and keeping them open was beginning to be more of a chore than anything else.

She closed her eyes and curled in close to Ryder, burying her face against his chest. It wasn't long before she was in a deep sleep, completely comforted with his arms around her.