Chapter Text
Henry sighed as he felt the alarm on his fitness watch start to manically vibrate on his wrist, alerting him to his early four-thirty morning rise. He opened his eyes and looked at the back of the head of the woman in front of him, still sleeping soundly, curled up under their shared blanket. Henry knew what the front of her looked like, hugging a stuffed unicorn to her chest, while she suckled a soother with a clear and sensitive guard, the image of a dinosaur on the button. It brought a smile to Henry's face, like she always did, she was Henry's light in a very dark and gloomy world. He leaned in, nosing the back of her hair, catching the scent of the shampoo he had used to wash it the night before, before they crawled into bed, the feeling of her warm body always grounded him, and he thanked whatever God or force that brought them together at the end of the world.
It had been almost a year since what had been dubbed the end of the world occurred, a virus that swept through it and made a total mess.
Henry had hunkered down in London at first, but as things got worse and hysteria turned into riots, looting and a mob mentality, him ending up having to arm himself. He packed his stuff and Kal into the car and left. Heading to his small patch of property in Dorking, praising himself for building that high and deep, metal privacy fence, since it did wonders to keep people out. But after a while, people became scarce and less frequent in his neighborhood, his own neighbors either caught the virus and died, or left the area in fear, seeking even more secluded places to hide from the virus. But Henry stayed in place, turning the half acre of land into his own fortress and sanctuary, only venturing out when he needed to.
It was on one of Henry's ventures that he found you and had no clue how you survived up until that point.
Henry hiked to High Street in Dorking, twelve kilometers from his home, heading for the farm supply store that was among the shops, so he could plant some seeds in the garden he had started. He stopped for a moment to study the disheveled coffee shop to his right, trying to remember just how much coffee he still had, and if he should pop in and get more, when he started at the sound of metal trash cans banging together across the street, in an otherwise deathly silent town, then heard something that also caught him off guard.
Crying, like that of a small child's.
Henry was confused beyond belief, and his anxiety started to amplify. “I don't know about this, Kal.” He said, looking down at the Akita, who was alert and staring across the street. “What do you think?” He asked, gulping, reaching behind and pushing his jacket away from the Taurus G2c he had in a back holster.
Kal lunged forward suddenly, yanking so hard on Henry's arm, he broke free, dashing across the street and into the alley in question.
“Kal!” Henry yelled after him, pulling the handgun out as he ran after him, holding the gun low and to his side as he entered the alleyway. “Kal.” He called out in a loud whisper.
The alleyway wasn't silent, Henry could still hear muffled sniffles, like someone was doing their best to keep quiet. He couldn't see where the sniffling was coming from or where Kal had gone, which only made his anxiety and paranoia worse, he also spotted the disturbed metal trash cans.
“Who's there!” He barked, brow pinched. “Come on, now!” He growled, pulling back the slide on his weapon.
The sniffling slowly grew quiet, but nothing came out, except Kal, who poked his big head out from around a large dumpster, his long, pink tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth, but looked otherwise unharmed.
“Kal, get over here!” Henry hissed at the Akita, snapping his fingers at his feet. “No, come!” He hissed, when Kal stubbornly sat down instead. “I swear.” He huffed, putting the safety on and shoved the gun back into the holster. “If you get me robbed, I'm taking it out of your treat allowance.” He scolded the Bear, rushing over to Kal and reached out for his collar.
But, as he bent over, his line of vision came around the other side of the dumpster. “Oh.” He gasped, finally finding the source of the tears and sniffles.
It was you, huddled up against the brick wall and dumpster. You were filthy and in nothing, but a pair of shorts and a tank top, not something that was ideal for the incoming weather, your hair was so dirty, there was raw skin from where the straps of a backpack rested on top of your shoulders. You had a line of blood running down your left knee, pulled up against your chest. An instinct instantly started screaming off the radar inside of Henry, seeing you and the small, frightened look in your eyes, your chapped bottom lip puffed out and quivering, a sign you were no doubt about to start crying again.
“Hey now.” He cooed at you, lowering his tone and dropping into a squat, while relaxing his tall, muscular body, knowing just how intimidating he must be to you. “It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you.” He whispered, allowing himself to tap into that instinct, knowing you would most likely identify with it and be more willing to trust him.
“You're all right, little one.”
You blinked at him, your eyes filling with a little bit of recognition.
“Yeah, what are you doing out here, sweet girl?” He asked, resting his hand on Kal's neck and started petting him, it was clear you were in Little Space, deep in Little Space, and he wasn't sure if you falling and then becoming scared of him had triggered it or if this was you, in a natural state.
“Hm, are you with someone else?”
You shook your head, eyes big with a teeny bit of increased fear, like you expected him to hurt you, hearing you were alone.
“Hm.” Henry hummed, that didn't sit right with him, that you were alone in such a world, while so Little. “You have a nasty boo-boo.” He said, motioning to it, and noticed other cuts, scrapes and bruises in various stages of healing. “Why don't we go clean it up?” He suggested, knowing there was a drug store just two or three businesses down from the alley you were in. “I bet we can find you a little treat afterwards.” He said, smiling brightly at you, hoping to entice you into going with him, that cut looked nasty and the alley was filthier, he didn't want the wound to get infected.
You looked at Henry, apprehensively.
“Here,” He smiled, holding out the end of Kal's leash. “You can even walk Kal down there, if you want? He's a good buddy to have when you have a boo-boo.” He told you, his eyes bright.
You stared at Kal and Henry for a moment, before slowly reaching out and taking the loop of Kal's leash. Henry smiled brighter at you, stood up and stepped back, so he didn't crowd you, as you stood. He motioned you to the entryway of the alleyway, then followed after you and Kal. He watched you limp slightly on your hurt leg, and smirked, noticing your bag was a Superman backpack.
Destiny. He chuckled to himself.
“Right here, love.” He called out to you, softly, pointing out the drug store, then held the door open for you. “All right, let's find you some super cute plasters!” He said, navigating the aisles with you, until finding where the first aid was. “What stickers do you wanna put on your owie, honey?” He asked, looking down at you.
You stood beside him, hugging Kal's leash to your chest as you looked at all the band-aids, before pointing to a square metal tin with an ice cream cone on it.
“That one's cute.” Henry smiled, plucking it off the shelf. “Like you.” He added, winking at you, then grabbed some non-sting wound wash and some cotton pads. “Right, let's get you cleaned up, princess.” He cooed, only barely touching the small of your back, hardly brushing the fabric of your tank top, when you mewled and scooted away from him. “I'm sorry.” He gulped, looking down at you, brow pinched with concern and sympathy, a nagging curiosity at reaction in the back of his mind.
“I'm sorry.” He repeated, biting his lip. “I didn't mean anything by it.” He tried to reassure you, a lump of emotion in his chest and throat as he looked into your eyes, they held such a vulnerable hurt.
You blinked at him, then glanced down at your feet, shrugging your shoulders.
Henry took a deep breath, steadying himself. “Come on, let's get this cute plaster on you.” He whispered, his voice a bit rough around his lingering emotion.
You turned away from him and went down the aisle, finding a chair in the waiting area of the pharmacy and sat down in it, before looking up at Henry, blinking softly. Henry chuckled, smiling softly at you. He grabbed the chair that sat beside you, pulled it around in front of you and sat down. Setting all of the medical supplies down on the floor and ripping open the packaging on the plasters, before handing them to you to pick one out. While he soaked a cotton pad in the wound wash and started to gently clean the blood off your shin and wound. He held one of the pads to your scrape, while he watched you file through the clear packaged plasters, before selecting one with cherries on it, and held it out to Henry.
“An excellent choice.” He smiled at you, removing it and carefully stretching it over the cut. “There, all better!” He nodded, giving it a gentle pat. “Now, you stay right here, and I'll be back with your prize for being such a brave girl.” He told you, standing up and disappearing for several minutes, before finally returning, his hand behind his back.
“You ready?” He asked, a soft smile on his face.
You bit your lip, but Henry could see the glitter of excitement in your eyes as you slowly nodded your head. Henry brought his hand out from behind his back and showed you what he had brought, a cute white unicorn with a rainbow mane and tail, and a glittery horn. Your whole face lit up, seeing the little stuffed animal, a big smile on your face as you scooted to the edge of your chair and held your hand out for it. Henry grinned at you, letting you take the stuffie from him and watched you hug it against your chest and wiggle your body happily. It was a sight more beautiful than the fear and meekness you ordinarily had.
But Henry had another issue he needed to mull over.
What am I going to do with her?
“I have to run a few errands, while I'm in town.” He told you, licking his lips. “Do you wanna come with me?” He asked, cocking his head at you, figuring if you went with him, it would give him time to decide if he was going to bring you home, it would make finding you again easier as well, and it would help you adjust to his presence.
You looked up at him, mouth slightly agape, before shrinking in on yourself, closing your body around the unicorn, as if you said no, he would take it back.
Can you be any cuter?
“You can keep your stuffie, no matter what, baby girl.” He told you, softly. “It's yours.” He said, smiling at you gently, then bit his lip, realizing he didn't have a vital piece of information. “Can you tell me your name, sweetie?”
You blinked at him, then looked around, before getting up and disappearing into the store. Coming back a moment later, with a notepad and pen clutched in your hands. Henry cocked his head at you, curious to where this was going, as he watched you use the pick-up counter to write on the note pad. You looked up at him expectantly as you tapped the notepad and stared up at him, chewing on your bottom lip.
Henry moved over to the counter and looked at the pad, seeing your name scribbled on the yellow paper. “That's your name?” He asked, lifting a brow at you.
You nodded at him, beaming, and bouncing on your toes.
“I don't mean to be rude, but can you—not—talk?” He asked, as gently as he could, pushing his jaw forward.
You shifted shyly, and shrugged your shoulders, looking down at your feet.
“I understand.” Henry murmured, getting that you not talking was a side effect of something more. “That's all right, we can communicate in other ways. You just told me your name without saying a word. My name is Henry, by the way.” He said, smiling at you sweetly, then tilted his head.
“So, do you want to come along with me?” He asked, lifting his brows at you.
You were still for a moment, before nodding your head at him.
“All right then.” He said, unclipping the backpack he had and set it on the floor, before collecting the plasters, wound wash and cotton pads, shoving them to the bottom of the mostly empty pack, then put it back on.
“Off we trot then, sweet girl.” He cooed, grabbing Kal's leash, then led the way out of the drug store.
You followed close behind Henry, your attention on your unicorn as you gently played with its mane. Henry glanced over his shoulder periodically, to check on you, smirking every time he saw you caressing the stuffed animal. You were content and happy in your own world, apparently feeling safe enough to regress further into it around Henry. Trusting, if anything happened around him, he would protect you. It made his heart and stomach clench, solidifying the blaring voice inside of his head that told him to take you back with him, that he needed to take care of you.
She's a seriously regressed Little, alone, in a post-apocalyptic world, who has somehow fended for herself, up until now. How could I do my business, then leave her here, knowing that? I can't! Not as a Daddy or a decent human being. I mean, look at her, Cavill!
He argued with himself, looking back at you again, catching your attention this time, and getting an adorable smile. You were so small, clearly underweight, but that was to be expected, living on the streets. He wondered what you looked like all squeaky clean, he bet your hair was gorgeous. Your skin was covered in cuts and bruises, smudges and splatters of mud and dirt, your shorts were stained with blood and other dark patches, Henry guessed was from your monthly and, if he listened to experience, Little accidents.
Should I look into getting her pull ups or pampers?
Henry sighed, he hadn't prepared for any of this. He hadn't left his sanctuary expecting to find and provide for another person, let alone a Little. But he found, he wasn't upset or annoyed by it, either. Deep down, he found himself planning everything out, turning one of his spare rooms into a nursery for you to stay in, getting you some toys to play with, definitely some new clothes and toiletries, so he could get you cleaned up.
Fuck, looks like I'm bringing this Little one home with me.
He chuckled and smirked to himself, shaking his head. “This way, sweetie.” He called out to you, motioning you around the corner and down the street where the farming shop was. “I have to pick up some seeds from the garden store that's down this way.” He explained to you.
You looked up at him and cocked your head, with an inquisitive look.
“I'm building a little garden in my backyard.” He answered your expression. “I own a good, but little piece of land outside of town, that I've sorta turned into a safe haven for myself and Kal.” He explained, looking down fondly at the Akita. “Fresh produce is becoming virtually impossible to find now, so I figured I'd start my own garden and grow my own!”
You clapped your hands at Henry, grinning at him, showing how impressed you were by his train of thought, will power to be self-reliant and resourceful. Henry chuckled and grinned at you, bowing his head at you, in recognition of your sweet gesture. He stopped at the edge of the sidewalk for a moment, before he started to cross, to make his way over to the farm store, when he felt the soft touch of your hand in his. He looked down at your hands, then back up into your eyes and smiled.
“Good girl.” He cooed at you, very gently squeezing your hand. “Safety first, when crossing the street.” He said, quickly crossing the street with you and Kal to the Hillier Garden Centre. “You wanna go grab us a basket?” He asked, pointing to the disarray of carts out front of the broken automatic doors of the gardening store.
You nodded, breaking away from Henry and ran towards the baskets, the items in your Superman backpack rustling. You grabbed one of the carts and wheeled towards Henry, looking up at him, excitedly.
“Good job, darling.” He winked at you, took the handle of the cart and entered the center. “Let's see, where are the seeds and bulbs?” He said, glancing around the large space around him. “What is it, honey?” He asked, looking down at you, when you gently tugged on his arm.
You pointed to the far left and Henry followed your finger, just spotting half of the sign that displayed what he was looking for.
“You make a good helper.” Henry smiled at you, directing the cart that way.
One side of the aisle was herbs, while the other side was veggies, it was just what Henry had wanted and came for. He walked up and down the aisle, appraising the stock, without really giving any of them specific attention yet. Until a packet of peas seeds caught his attention and he stepped forward to pick it up and examine it; turning it over to read the information.
“Hm, it's getting a bit too late in the year to plant these, but it never hurts to have them anyway.” He said, setting the yellow packet into the cart, and went back to looking. “You know,” He hummed, stopping to look at you and Kal, a thought occurred to him. “I could build a greenhouse for the plants that aren't supposed to be planted and harvested this time of the year, and then keep the outside garden for the ones that can be.” He nodded, the wheels of his brain turning.
“Yeah, I'll do that.” He decided, with a curt nod of his head. “I'll just have to find something to build it with.” He said, examining the other bulbs and seeds, picking out several, like lettuce, beans, turnips, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, leeks and artichoke. “What?” He frowned, hearing you make a funny noise as he put them in the cart and turned towards the herb side of the aisle.
You pointed to the artichoke seeds and shook your head, a disgusted look on your face, which made Henry genuinely laugh.
“They're good for you, little one.” He smirked, amused with you. “Yes.” He nodded, as you shook your head harder. “You've probably never had them cooked properly. I'll make you my famous roasted artichoke, and you'll never think a bad thing about them again!” He told you, chuckling. “I swear, you'll drool over them.” He said, then paused and realized what he had said, but you didn't seem to notice, you seemed more interested in him cooking for you.
“But we have to grow them first.” He added quickly, turning towards the herbs, grabbing basil, garlic, rosemary, peppermint, parsley, fennel and sage. “Let's take these too.” He said, grabbing a packet of chilies seeds. “All right, I need to grab a couple of tools.” He sighed, pushing the cart out of the aisle and looked around until he found them, grabbing a hand, three prong cultivator.
He was looking at a bulb planter, debating whether or not he wanted to take it with him, when he caught you grabbing one of the hand snips off their hook. His safety alarm shot through the roof as you opened and closed them. He set the planter back on the shelf in front of him, quickly.
“Baby, no.” He scolded you, taking the sharp scissors from you and hung them back up. “That's very sharp, little one, you can hurt yourself.” He told you, examining your hands, to make sure you hadn't hurt yourself. “You don't touch those, do you understand?” He said, firmly, his brow creasing as he stared into your startled and slightly frightened eyes.
You gulped thickly several times and licked your lips, before finally nodding.
“Good.” Henry sighed, picking your unicorn up from the shelf you set it on to look at the snips and handed it back to you, his anxious blood pressure going down. “You keep this in your hands, sweet girl.” He told you, cupping your cheek for a moment and staring into your eyes, with a look of comfort passing between you.
You lowered your head slightly and nodded at him again, biting your lip.
Reassured you wouldn't do anything silly again, Henry went back to what he was doing, grabbing the planter and tossing it into the cart. He grabbed planting pots and a couple of seed trays. He paused and looked at you, seeing you had become withdrawn and shy with him again after your scolding. Pressing his lips together, he guided you to another aisle and stopped.
“Put your friend right there, so he can guard our things.” He told you, tapping the seat of the cart, as he faced you.
You whimpered, reluctant for a second, but finally did as Henry asked.
“Can you hold your hands up, like this?” He asked, holding his hands up with his palms out and fingers wiggling.
You frowned at him, not understanding what he was up to, but did as he asked of you. Henry winked at you and turned to one of the tall shelves, pressing his lips together, as he studied the items hanging from it, before pulling one of them off. They were a pair of cute, blue and purple floral gardening gloves, the top was waterproof spandex, and the palms and fingers were rubber. Henry slipped them on to your hands, they were only a little loose, which wasn't the worst thing in the world, it would work.
“Beautiful!” He grinned, looking you in the face.
You looked at your hands, flipping them back and forth, and flexing your fingers, before smiling up at Henry.
“You like them, then?” He chuckled at you, amused by your giddiness and watched you grow more comfortable with the oblivious fact you would be following him home. “Good, I think one of these wellies would go well with them.” He said, motioning to the Wellington Garden boots. “What size are you?” He asked, lifting a brow at you.
You shrugged and lifted your foot, revealing a pair of sneakers that had seen a much better day.
“Good lord.” Henry gasped, eyes wide at your shoes, shaking his head.
“You need new shoes, baby doll.” He said, appalled at the condition of your footwear. “Take those off and we'll find what boots fit your feet. You can wear those, until we find you better shoes.” He told you, motioning to the gardening boots. “How in the world did you make it anywhere with those shoes, pumpkin.” He said, rhetorically, sighing and carding a hand through his hair.
You scrunched up on yourself and lowered yourself to the floor, slowly untying the once white shoelaces of your sneakers and pulled them off, then set them aside. Henry set a pair of boots in front of you, and you tried them on, but shook your head, when they were too big. Henry gave you another pair and you stood up, finding they fit, even though they were a little heavy, they were still more cushion and coverage than your old shoes. He nodded with approval, realizing he was going to need to make a stop at another store to get you clothes and a few other things, which complicated the situation.
He already had more than he could carry.
I'm going to need to grab something to haul all of this stuff back to the house. He sighed, biting his lip as he watched you walk in a circle, stomping your booted feet as you tested them. But this beautiful cutie is definitely coming back with me and Kal.
He glanced around and spotted an expandable utility wagon in the aisle, at the other end, and went down to retrieve it. He dumped everything from the shopping cart into the wagon, then looked back at you, chewing on his lip, mentally adding onto the list of things he needed to grab, before you made the eight mile walk back to his place. Sighing, he grabbed the handle of the wagon and continued moving about the center, stopping in one aisle that had a section of gardening related books, and was happy to find a two-in-one book on building greenhouses and growing all varieties of foods inside, not just vegetables and herbs, but fruits and regular plants as well.
“All right, that should do it for all of the gardening stuff I need.” He sighed, pressing his lips together as he surveyed the contents of the wagon. “Now, we need to make another stop at Marks and Spencer.” He said, heading for the front doors and got two aisles down, before he realized that you weren't with him any longer.
Letting go of the wagon and Kal's leash, telling Akita to stay, Henry headed back to the book aisle and found you heading the opposite direction.
“Hey.” He called out to you, cocking his head as you turned around to look at him. “This way, silly girl.” He cooed at you, jerking his head back slightly to get you to come back in his direction.
You looked at him, nervously twisting your unicorn's mane around your finger, before motioning between you and Henry.
“Yeah, baby girl.” He grinned at you, nodding. “You're going to come home with me, sweetheart.” He told you, his voice a tender rumble.
You blinked at him, your head tilting to the side as you gave him a soft look of inquiring interest. Henry closed the gap between you and looked down at you, smiling sweetly.
“We both know you're a Little.” He told you, matter-of-factly. “And you're plainly very deep into Little Space a great deal of the time, even with the world being in the condition it's in.” He pointed out, licking his lips and watching your face twist with embarrassment. “Not that it's a bad thing, honey. But you're too Little to be on your own.” He stated, his hand tingling to reach out and touch you.
“And you plainly know, by now, that I'm a Daddy.” He smiled at you, proud of what he was.
You smiled shyly, looking down at your feet, and nodding gently.
“As a Daddy, I can't leave you to fend for yourself, knowing that you're such a sweet and tiny Little out here by yourself. So, I'm going to bring you home with me and Kal and take care of you.” He explained his intentions. “That is, if you don't have any objections to the matter?” He said, biting his lip and felt his stomach quiver at the possibility of you telling him no.
He wouldn't know what to do with himself, he would be in a constant state of worrying about your well-being and safety.
He waited patiently as he watched you process his intentions. You looked at the cute unicorn he had given you, then down at the plaster he had put on your cut and the boots he had selected to replace your pathetic trainers. He had been nothing but been nice and caring towards you. He seemed protective and affectionate as well, everything a Daddy should be towards a Little. It was true, you were Little a good deal of the time, even times when you really shouldn't be. You tried hard not to be Little, but it was hard, when everything around you were a trigger and you felt safest inside your Little Space. But if you had Henry to Daddy you, you wouldn't have to worry about that anymore, you could be yourself again, even at the end of the world.
You looked up at Henry, eyes sparkling, and nodded your head, vigorously.
Henry beamed at you. “Great. Now, I have another question for you.” He said, tilting his head down, so his chin rested on his chest. “What kind of Little are you?” He asked, his blue eyes gentle and curious. “I need to know what needs you have and how I am going to need to take care of you.”
Nodding, you slipped your backpack off and unzipped it, shoving a hand inside and rummaged around for a moment, until you pulled an object out and held it out to Henry, who took it from you. It turned out to be a clear and sensitive guard paci with an adult sized teat, instead of a baby one. He instantly understood with the soother what kind of Little you identified as, an Adult Baby, which he had suspected.
“All right, good to know.” He smiled, handing the paci back. “Now, let's head out.” He said, stepping sideways, so you could go to the head of the aisle.
You grinned at him, popping your paci into your mouth, and headed out of the aisle with him. Henry slipped the loop of Kal's leash around his wrist and grabbed the handle of the wagon, guiding you out of the garden centre and back into the street. He held his free hand out to you, and you quickly took it, heading for the Marks and Spencer store that was across the street and down the block a short way.
“Do you have any clothes in your backpack?” Henry asked as you made it to the doors of the store.
You shook your head at him, shyly biting your lip.
“That's all right.” He cooed at you, squeezing your hand and shoved the door open. “Go in.” He instructed you, then followed after with Kal and the wagon.
Going deeper into the store and finding the woman's clothing section, Henry started going through the clothing, knowing you needed clothes for the upcoming winter. You couldn't wear shorts and a tank top, knowing how much snow the area got. He found a rack of jackets and filed through them, pulling one of them out, it was a black funnel neck, thermowarmth and hooded, quilted puffer.
“Come here, sweetie.” He called out to you, motioning you over as he opened the jacket. “Take your backpack off, so we can see if this will fit you. It's going to be winter soon, and you can't go around in a tank top and shorts. You'll freeze.” He told you, holding it open for you to slip your arms into, then zipped it up some, before walking around you, tugging on it lightly. “That should do.” He nodded, then looked back at the rack. “What color do you want?” He asked, motioning to the two others in the jacket's size that fit you.
“There's navy and light blue.”
You pointed to the light blue one and Henry took the jacket you were wearing off, before picking up the blue one, tossing it into the wagon. He got you a lighter jacket for chillier, but not quite such cold days, before moving onto tops and pants, finding your size and got you jeans, leggings, shirts, jumpers, even a couple of skirts and dresses, for summer. Henry moved onto undergarments, getting you bras, underwear and socks. He paused in one of the clothing aisles, seeing a super cute, cotton night dress that looked like a long, short-sleeve shirt, tossing the black and white striped garment into the wagon, along with a pair of gray, fleece pajamas covered in black hearts.
Making your way to the shoes next, since you couldn't walk around in the hefty garden boots forever, Henry sat you down on the bench bolted down in the center of the aisle and walked up and down the selection of shoe wear, until he found a pair of waterproof trainers in your size.
“Let's get these on your feet, pumpkin, they'll be comfier than the boots.” He said, taking a pair of socks out of the wagon and knelt down in front of you. “Let me see your toes.” He grinned at you, tapping the top of your boots.
You lifted your left foot, enabling Henry to remove the boot and slip the white sock on, followed by the gray and pink trainer, then did the same with the right. Henry put your boots in the wagon and started to grab the handle, when he felt a tap on the center of his back and turned around to you.
“What is it, honey?” He asked, lifting a brow at you.
You tapped your first two fingers to your temple, frowning up at him.
Henry's shoulders relaxed as his brow pinched. “I don't understand, sweetie.” He told you, softly.
You whined around your paci and took your backpack off, pulling a white bottle of rapid release Tylenol out and shook it. Henry took the bottle from you and popped it open, finding about six out of the twenty-four blue and red gelcaps, when it hit him, what you were trying to say.
“Your head hurts!” He gasped, looking back at you.
You nodded, but instantly stopped, and smiled at him instead.
“All right, that's easy enough.” He said, depositing two of the gelcaps into your palm, then put the lid back on and pocketed the bottle. “You can have some of my water.” He told you, reaching behind him to the water bottle he had stowed in the net side pocket of his backpack.
You put the medicine into your mouth and grabbed Henry's black, metal insulated, water bottle with both hands and gulped down the still ice-cold water that was inside, before handing it back to him.
“Do you have a water bottle?” Henry asked, wondering what you had in your backpack.
But you slowly shook your head.
“Hm, guess we'll have to get you one.” He hummed, putting his back in its pouch.
How in the hell did this girl survive this long?
You wandered around the store until finally finding the water bottles and you ran up to the shelf, picking up a half-gallon water bottle with an insulated sleeve that was black with pink, wild roses all over it, a shoulder holster and a soft, silicone spout. You turned around to Henry and held it up to him, grinning brightly, making him chuckle.
“That's the one you want, little one?” He asked, even though he knew it was pointless.
You nodded at him, face scrunching up cutely.
“Okay then, let's get you some water to put in it.” He said, directing you towards the food section and ripped open one of the few remaining cases of water, pulling out several bottles. “Hand the bot—where did you get those?” He asked, his voice a little high pitched, turning around to see you munching on a container of honey roasted peanuts.
You shook your upper body, making your backpack rattle, and smiled at him, still munching on the peanuts in your mouth.
“Well, at least I know you have snacks in there.” He smiled back at you. “Now, give me your water bottle, precious, I need to fill it up.” He cooed at you, holding his hand out for it.
Nodding, you let the strap of your water bottle slip off your shoulder and held it out to him, then dumped some more peanuts into your mouth, watching him open bottle after bottle of water, until yours was full, then secured the lid on tight.
“There we go, honey. Make sure you drink from it regularly, it's important to stay hydrated.” He told you, handing you the water bottle back.
You smiled at him, slinging the heavy water bottle across your body, then held your container of peanuts out to Henry, who smiled and held his hand out, enabling you to pile some into his palm. He winked at you and tossed the nuts into his mouth, slapped his palms together to dust the salt off his hands, then grabbed Kal's leash and the wagon handle again, and made his way outside once more with you.
“Give me a second.” Henry said, stopping outside the drug store. “Hold Kal's leash.”
Nodding, you took his leash and watched Henry pop into the store, still munching away on your peanuts as you waited. He came back a short time later and dropped several items into the wagon that made you shift shyly, adult diapers and pull ups, as well as more Tylenol and a bottle, some formula, baby wipes, diaper cream, baby powder, a package of two MAM, sensitive guard pacis, shampoo, body wash, a toothbrush and a package of soft baby washcloths.
“All right, Peanut. Let's get you home.” He smiled, daring to gently rest his palm on the back of your head.
And take you home he did.