Page 1 of Winter Surprise (Seasoned SEALs #4)
“It’s okay, Ian. Daddy’s going to get you some help.
” Navy Lieutenant Dylan Chaney glanced into his rearview mirror, first checking the traffic behind him then looking at the mirror on the back seat positioned so he could see his screaming son.
He’d tried everything he knew to cajole his eight-month-old, but nothing seemed to work.
He was at his wits’ end which said a lot for a SEAL trained to endure torture and physical abuse.
He’d spent the entire day on constant diaper changes…while Ian screamed.
He’d carried his son around bouncing him on his hip and in his arms…while Ian screamed.
He rubbed his baby’s small back…while Ian cried.
His son wouldn’t take a bottle, but given how many slimy diapers he’d changed that day, Dylan was sure his tiny baby had to be dehydrated.
After surfing the web for what might be wrong with his little boy, fear shot through him like he’d never experienced before.
What if Ian is deathly ill? What if I lose my boy?
Dylan had grabbed the diaper bag and his son, loaded everything into his SUV, then headed toward the Naval Hospital on the mainland. He admitted that he needed help, an extremely hard thing to do for a Navy SEAL.
From the moment he’d taken custody of the son he’d never known about, Captain Evan and Genevieve Hubbard, Ian’s grandparents on his mother’s side, had always been there to help him through raising a baby. They weren’t even in the country as he turned toward the Coronado Bridge.
When not at work, Dylan spent all this time with his son or helping the Hubbards. After losing their only child, Ian’s mother, they’d practically adopted Dylan as their son. Genevieve took care of Ian while Dylan was at work or deployed. They were wonderful grandparents to his son.
As he passed the street to the Navy clinic on the small base, Ian’s scream of pain pierced Dylan’s heart.
His car seemed to automatically turn left.
The lights were on in the small white building but thankfully there were very few cars parked out front.
Within seconds, he had Ian out of the car, diaper bag slung over his shoulder, and strode into the building.
His gaze quickly swept the waiting area and found it empty.
With no line, he stepped up to the glass window.
“I don’t know if you do babies, but I can’t seem to make mine happy.” Not that he felt he needed to state the obvious because Ian continued screaming.
A pretty Navy lieutenant in a white coat walked from the back and into the lobby, her arms stretched out. “Is the baby hurt?”
“I don’t know.” Dylan didn’t try to hide the desperation in his voice. “He’s been crying for hours. I’ve tried everything from changing diapers,” He scrunched his nose. “Which were really gross today, to?—”
The lieutenant took his baby and started swaying the way Genevieve did. “What’s wrong with this beautiful little baby…” She stared at his son for several heartbeats. “I know you. You’re Ian Hubbard.”
“No. His name is Ian Chaney,” Dylan corrected. “Captain Hubbard and Genevieve are his grandparents.”
The woman with soft brown eyes held his gaze. “So, they found you.”
What the hell does that mean?
“Has Ian been seen at this clinic before?” She stroked his son’s reddened face.
“No.” Dylan had to think for a minute. He’d always taken Ian to the big Naval hospital in San Diego, where he was born. “At least I don’t think so. Genevieve watches him during the day and while I’m deployed. She’s never mentioned bringing him here.”
“Let’s see if we can figure out what’s making this precious little boy so angry.” She headed toward the doors to the back. “I’m going to give him a cursory look while you fill out all the paperwork.”
Oh. Yeah. Paperwork. There were always forms to be completed.
Reaching into his back pocket for his wallet and ID card, he approached the window one more time.
Fortunately, the little clinic’s system was connected to the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, so he was back with his son relatively quickly.
At the doorway to the exam room, Dylan had an unobstructed view of the lieutenant’s extremely nice backside as she leaned over Ian, checking his diaper.
Without looking at him she noted, “His urine looks to be slightly dark but not enough to worry.” She tested his skin by pressing down on it and watching it spring back.
“He’s a little dehydrated but again, not enough to be worried.
Has he been drooling like this all day?”
She lifted the wet onesie from his skin and glanced over her shoulder at Dylan.
“That’s probably the fifth or sixth T-shirt he’s been in today. Between the drool and the out-of-control sh—poop, I’m going to be washing baby clothes for days.” He tried to explain but she bowled over him with her next statement.
“Nothing seems distended or sensitive.” She continued probing, which looked more like massaging, his rounded belly.
A weight lifted from Dylan’s heart. The lieutenant sounded promising.
She unfastened his diaper and pressed the area around his tiny cock. “How long since his last bowel movement?”
As though the question were permission, Ian squirted. With expertise, she quickly covered his privates with the diaper. Glancing at Dylan, she asked, “Has it been like that all day? Loose and watery?”
“Yep.” With practiced ease, he flung the diaper bag onto the end of the examination table and had everything he needed lined up to change his son’s diaper and wet onesie. “If you’ll excuse me a minute, I’ll handle that.”
The lieutenant stepped inside and washed her hands with antibacterial soap before moving to Ian’s head. “He doesn’t feel hot, but has he been running a fever?”
“No, and I’ve checked at least ten times an hour.
” He glanced at the woman, noticing how pretty she was in a classical way.
She could easily have been a nineteen-forties pinup girl, especially when she raised one eyebrow in doubt.
“That’s no exaggeration. I haven’t been able to figure out what’s wrong with him so I kept checking his temp. ”
The lieutenant covered her hands with a glove and rubbed Ian’s gums.
His son immediately stopped crying and chewed on her fingers.
Her small smile changed her whole face. She was gorgeous.
“Here’s your culprit. Grab a pair of gloves after you wash your hands.
” She put her hand on top of the baby, securing him to the table while massaging his gums. “It feels like Ian is getting all four top teeth at the same time. No wonder he’s so miserable.
” She peeled back his upper lip and Dylan could see the front was swollen.
“Oh, poor little baby,” the corpsman said as she entered the exam room and handed the lieutenant several sheets of paper.
“Will you get a weight on him and a temp just for the chart?”
“Certainly, ma’am.” The enlisted woman looked at Dylan. “Sir, if you would wait here, I’ll bring him right back.” She gave him a big smile.
While his son was gone, he took a few minutes to secretly observe the lieutenant as she filled in the paperwork.
Several inches shorter than his six-foot frame, and about his age, the woman carried herself with the assurance of a doctor.
He glanced at her nametag. Sanders. At least he could now call her by her name.
“Dr. Sanders, I want to thank?—”
“I’m a physician’s assistant, not a doctor,” she corrected. Then she gave him a self-deprecating smile. “And I’m never going to be a doctor.”
“You’re too nice to be a doctor,” the corpsman said as she handed Ian to Lieutenant Sanders.
“Ma’am, it’s past closing time. Everyone else has left.
” Wincing, she added, “I have to swoop by the exchange and pick up a few more things for Christmas. I can’t believe it’s the day after tomorrow. Would it be all right if I leave now?”
“Certainly, go ahead.” The lieutenant smiled then glanced toward Dylan. “I’m sure Lieutenant Chaney will stay with me until I lock up and walk me out.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
The lieutenant followed her out and Dylan heard the door lock. Seconds later, the lobby lights went out.
“Have you been having problems here?” He let his concern flow through his voice.
“During the holidays, the entire staff are women. At the medical center, no one is allowed to walk out alone. We agreed to maintain those protocols while we were all working here the next few weeks,” she explained.
“Good idea.” Dylan looked down at his son. “Is there some kind of gel or something I should rub on his gums to help soothe the pain?”
“Definitely not.” Shaking her head she continued, “Keep offering him fluids. Pedialyte is best for him right now, and before you ask, no, he can’t have Gatorade or other energy drinks.
Dip the corner of a clean washcloth in cold water and give it to him.
The dry part will help absorb the drooling while he chews on the wet part.
You might even want to consider freezing a washcloth with one corner wet.
He’ll love you for it. Teething tablets, topical gels, and even several homeopathic remedies you might read about on the Internet can be dangerous for a baby his age… even fatal.”
She knew how to get him to pay attention. He would never do anything to harm his son.
“Don’t plan on getting much sleep until those teeth break through the skin.” She grimaced.
“Fucking great. Goes with the rest of my holiday.” Which sucked so far.