Page 58 of Night By Night

“Maybe nothing. Maybe just a stomach bug. I’m not a doctor. But you need to tell them all these symptoms. Also, has she been losing weight?”

“What?”

“Weight. Has she lost any weight?”

“I don’t know.” He tried to think back. “I don’t know what she weighs.”

“Have them look at her records. It should be in there if he just had her school physical done before he moved down here.”

“Okay. I’ll be there shortly.”

He ended the call and told Marcia what was going on before he hurried out to his car with his stuff. On the way over there, he called the pediatrician’s office and confirmed they could see her. Bryce had drawn them up a power of attorney so Maddox could do anything like this for JJ without having to drag Hank out of work for non-emergencies.

When he arrived at the gym, May directed him back to the office, where JJ was curled up asleep on the couch, a fleece throw over her and a bucket on the floor next to her. June was working at her desk.

“I’ll carry her bag for you,” June said. “I got her stuff ready.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re going to take her to the doctor right now, right?”

He stared at her, knowing something was going on. “Just tell me your thoughts.”

She glanced at JJ before meeting his gaze. The petite woman was intimidating. He loved her to death, and so did JJ, but he suspected if you got on her bad side she could take you apart at the seams.

“She was cold. That’s something else lately I’ve noticed, that she gets cold really easy. Have them check her blood sugar.”

“What?”

“Just…ask them. Tell them all her symptoms and then ask. She might need a different diet. She’s doing a lot of physical activity. Her blood sugar might be low.”

He tried to calm himself. “Okay.”

JJ woke up when he picked her up to carry her out to the car, but fell asleep almost before he’d pulled out of the parking space. He ended up carrying her into the doctor’s office because she was fussy and grumbly and tired.

As he sat and filled out paperwork with her in his lap, he shoved aside the thought that yeah, he was a dad now, and he wished he couldbeher dad.

If only.

When it came time for the insurance info, he returned the forms to the clerk. “Her dad doesn’t have health insurance yet. I’ll be paying for today’s appointment. Is there a discount or something for self-pay?”

The office clerk nodded. “We do cash discounts.”

“Well, it’ll be a credit card.”

She smiled. “Same thing. I meant non-insurance.”

“Okay, thanks.”

He sat to await their turn, JJ softly snoring against his shoulder, she was so deeply asleep. When the nurse called them back, he was able to rouse JJ enough she could stand on the scale. The nurse checked her weight, frowned, and then consulted her chart before tweaking the balance weights on the scale.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Dad, has she been on a diet or something?”

“Step-dad,” JJ groused, climbing into his lap again.

He let it go because it wasn’t worth wasting the time to clarify it. “No. She’s a couple of weeks into her gymnastics day camp, and she goes to a martial arts camp in the afternoon. She was doing the martial arts camp after school for several weeks before the end of the year, though. Why?”