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TK squirmed uncomfortably in his booster seat, hands drifting to his tummy. It had been feeling icky since this morning when he and his daddy left the last hotel they'd stayed at the night before, but he couldn't tell if it was because of something he'd eaten or because he had to go potty. He really hoped he just had to go potty, because the last thing he wanted was to end up sick on their road trip to San Deigo.
Both TK and Owen had tons of PTO saved up, so when his daddy suggested they go on a father-son road trip to San Diego the next time TK was scheduled to regress, TK was ecstatic and agreed right away. They planned on spending four days in the city, which would include a trip to the San Diego Zoo and the beach. TK had been looking forward to this trip for days. No way was he about to ruin it by getting sick.
A particularly sharp pang suddenly shot through TK's lower tummy, forcing a pained whimper from his lips as his arms wrapped around his middle and he bent forward.
"TK? You doing okay back there, baby?"
TK slowly raised his head and met his daddy's worried gaze in the rearview mirror.
"Um, m'not sure."
"Is your tummy hurting, baby?"
TK reluctantly nodded his head. "Uh-huh."
"Do you feel like you're going to throw up? Or like you might just need to go potty?"
"Think... think I gotta go potty, daddy."
"Okay, bug, just hang on a bit longer. We'll stop right now at the next gas station."
TK just nodded again in response and leaned his head back against the headrest of his carseat, keeping his arms tightly wrapped around his tummy as he did his best to ignore the constant pangs and spikes of pain.
Just as his daddy was pulling the car into the lot of the ampm gas station, however, TK suddenly felt a warm wetness seep into the front of his undies. His eyes went wide, a small gasp escaping him as his hands immediately flew to grasp his crotch. He didn't even realize he had to pee!
"Uh-oh," he whispered, going stock still in his seat.
"What happened, bug? What's wrong?"
As soon as they were parked Owen turned around in his seat to look back at TK. Immediate understanding filled the older man's eyes when he saw the way TK was sitting.
"M'sorry, daddy! I didn't know I hadda pee, too. B-but only a little came out!" TK blinked back the tears that started stinging his eyes.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, baby. Accidents happen. I'm going to come around and get you out, okay?"
"M'kay," TK mumbled.
TK watched his daddy reach a hand into the backseat to grab his big boy bag (it was not a diaper bag right now, thank you very much) before jumping out of the front and making his way around to TK's side in the back. He carefully but quickly unbuckled TK from his carseat and led him inside the gas station. They hurried into the single unisex bathroom in the back of the store. Owen was quick to double layer the toilet seat with the flimsy paper covers that sat above, and TK was even quicker to yank his shorts and undies down and take a seat on the toilet.
When he happened to glance down upon sitting, TK felt his heart drop at what he saw. There right in the middle of his white Lightening McQueen undies was a dark red, wet spot. He just stared in disbelief for a moment, before everything over the last few hours (maybe over the last week now that he really thought about it) started to make a lot more sense. The sweet cravings. Getting emotional over the tiniest things. Being even more exhausted after a shift. The terrible, awful pain in the lower part of his tummy.
It was that time of the month.
"Oh, bug. You're a week early."
His daddy's voice was nothing but warmth and kindness, and yet TK found himself still bursting into tears. He buried his face in his hands and began to sob.
"It's all r-ruined now!"
Owen immediately pulled TK's head to his chest, who in turn let his hands fall from his face so he could wrap his arms around the man in return. Owen made gentle shushing noises as he started to card his fingers through TK's baby soft, brown locks.
"It's okay. It's okay, Ty-Ty. They're not ruined. Daddy knows just the trick to get these kinds of stains out before they become permanent."
TK shook his head without lifting it from the older man's chest. "N-nah th-that! The–hnngh–the tr-triiiip!"
"Oh, bug, no. No, nothing is ruined. I promise we're still going to finish the road trip, baby."
"B-but wha' about th-the zoo an' the b-beach?"
Owen moved his hand down to rub between TK's trembling shoulder blades. "We can still do both of those things, little bear. We'll just do them at a pace you're comfortable with. Remember how daddy brought your wagon with us for just in case you get tired walking at the zoo?"
"Uh–uh-huh."
"Well, now we can use it for the whole day, so you won't have to worry about walking with your tummy feeling so crampy. And while swimming at the beach will have to wait for another time, we can still build sandcastles, hunt for seashells, and walk the pier. We can even have dinner on the pier if you're feeling up for it then, too."
"R-really?" TK pulled back just enough to meet his daddy's eyes while still keeping his arms around him. "Anything I-I want for reals?"
Owen nodded with a smile. "Anything at all, jellybean."
"Even... McDonalds?"
Owen chuckled fondly. "Yes, even McDonalds. So long as you promise to eat all of your apple slices," he added with a teasing lilt to his tone.
A small, watery smile lifted the corners of TK's lips. "P-promise, daddy."
Once TK's crying died down and he was reduced to post-cry hiccups, his daddy gently pushed him back until he could rest his hands on the boy's shoulders.
"You feeling ready to get cleaned up and head back out, baby?"
TK nodded. "Yeah, m'ready, daddy."
Owen gathered some toilet paper in his hand and dabbed TK's face dry, then folded some more for TK to use to wipe himself up with. While TK took care of that, Owen took TK's bloodied underwear and folded them into a Ziplock baggie. Fortunately, the shorts he was wearing hadn't been stained. After tucking the baggie away in the white bag, he pulled out a pull-up with Mickey Mouse on the front. When TK saw the pull-up in Owen's hands, however, he instantly frowned.
"Daddy, noooo!" TK whined, a pouting forming on his lips. "I'm a big boy! I don't need a pull-up. I want a pad."
"Baby, you know it's a lot easier for you to leak when you're little and wear just a pad. I know you're a big boy right now, but a pull-up will make sure that doesn't happen."
"But–but...!"
TK sniffled harshly, tears welling in his eyes once more.
"Okay, okay. Let's take a deep breath, okay?" Owen said, stepping in front of TK again. He guided him through a few deep, calming breaths until he was no longer on the verge of breaking down again. "I understand why you don't want to wear a pull-up, baby boy, but it's necessary right now."
TK's bottom lip quivered. "M'a big boy..."
"Even big boys need a little extra help every now and then. And that's perfectly okay." Owen stretched the sides of the pull-up apart and held it out in front of TK. "Come on, buddy. Step in for me, please."
TK hesitated for a second longer before exhaling a shaky but resigned sigh and stepped into the pull-up one foot at a time. He pulled his shorts back up, then let his daddy lead him over to the sink to wash his hands.
"Why don't we grab a snack before head out?" Owen said as TK was drying his hands with the bathroom's brown napkins. "You can pick whatever you want."
TK's pouty expression was gone in an instant and replaced by a hopeful one. "Can I get a applesauce pouch an' some string cheese? Oh! An' maybe some peanut butter cups, too? Pretty please, daddy?"
Owen smiled and ruffled TK's hair. "Sure thing, champ."
TK's face instantly brightened. "Thank you, daddy!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms around Owen in another hug.
"You're very welcome, baby boy." Owen hugged him back and pressed a kiss to the top of his head before pulling away and turning the both of them towards the door, keeping an arm around TK's shoulders. "Come on, let's go get those snacks, huh?"
"Yeah!"
TK couldn't keep a grin off his face the entire time they walked through the store of the gas station in search of his desired snacks. His tummy still didn't feel the best (and likely wouldn't for the next couple days), and he still wasn't thrilled about needing to wear a pull-up either, but all the excitement about the road trip and all the fun they were still going to find a way to have in San Diego was starting to come back.
He wasn't going to let his stupid time of the month ruin his vacation with his daddy. Absolutely not.