Mommies and Daddies

In my apartment.  I have pooped my diaper outside of my apartment at least once, though that was not intentional.

I know i should concentrate on work ...  But i also didn't like that they were discussing where they are taking Bella, Shelby and Ryan in front of so many people ... as they are still quiet useful hostages unfortunately ... 

As part of a system diagnosed only much later in life with DID, I must say I both envy and mourn Anna and Juliet conditions. And also that the ending got exactly how it is and should be for those who live with conditions like ours. Truly a masterful work of art and care. Loved every line of it and kept hanging on the plot for the whole evening it took for me to read. Thanks for sharing online your writing. It truly makes this world better, even if just a bit.

4 cliffhangers in a row?! 🤯 I should have expected the LPS angle ... Fortunately at least Amanda did...  I am glad Nikki is fine ...  The whole time i was expecting that Tanner or the Edgar guy where bought too ... and will bring Beth outside instead to Carly ...  Love the arrests ... For the change i expect to be that she is significantly shorter ... still waiting to see what other consequences will there be for her ...  Looking for the next chapter ...  Oh and: 7.47 hours later and post went up ... quiet precise prediction ... but it made me delete planned comment on missing chapter after exactly 7.5 hours ... 😡🤣 Also .. this could prove possibly fatal for Amanda's agreement to let Carly stay with her ... and it almost certainly means no more dolphin time .. 

Chapter 200: What Happened?!? BETH FELT LIKE she had been watching the progress screen above Fred blink for hours, but she knew that it was likely only a couple of minutes with the way the system worked. “Patient stabilized,” the NanoAid said. Beth let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding. “Patient should be transferred to a medical facility as soon as possible for further care.” Beth just stared for another moment before she noticed Fred groan and open his eyes. “Where…” he rasped, then made eye contact with Beth. “Fred!” she said, “You’re okay!” He started to sit up, but Beth pushed a hand down, “Stay where you are, you were hurt badly.” “The kids?” He asked. She shrugged, “I think they’re in their safe rooms…” Before she continued, Tessa appeared, “Fred, it’s good to see you conscious. Beth, the threats have been neutralized, and friendly law enforcement is currently searching the house. When they complete their search, I’ll help you to exit this room.” “What about Carly?!?” She asked Tessa. Tessa replied, “I have not heard from Amanda. From what I can see at Emerson, it appears that she is working with Marshal Evans to extract her.” “Wait, what’s going on?” Fred asked, “I don’t really remember anything…” “The house was attacked,” Beth told him. “I vaguely remember that – I must have taken a blow to the head?” “Along with broken ribs and some other things,” Beth confirmed. “Amanda went after Carly after she was pulled from her nest and taken to the admin building. Right then, though, we were attacked here. Tessa, can you find out anything else?” Beth pleaded. “I’ll do what I can, Beth, but it will take some time. Also, I’m still bound by Doctor Westerfield’s directive to not leave the house, so it’ll be a bit more challenging to discover the information.” Beth knew her face was soaked, even as she felt absolutely sick to her stomach. “Can you show me where everyone else is in the house right now, as they search at least?” She asked. Tessa displayed a three-dimensional model of the house, then with green silhouettes of ‘good guys’ moving from room to room, checking on them. She noted that there were ten ‘red’ silhouettes on the ground in various places around the house. One green one was down flat in Beth’s bathroom, leaving her feeling sick to her stomach. “Is Nikki okay?” She asked Tessa. “She is coming around now, my sensors indicate she will need to be checked out in the hospital, but thankfully, they were only using stun levels on their weapons when they entered your bathroom. I think the concussion grenade they used on you only knocked her out and concussed her.” “So are we secure yet?” Beth asked, after seeing the green silhouettes finish moving through the house.” “I believe so, but we’re going to wait for the ambulances to be allowed inside before I let you out. I want Fred and Miss Paulson to be able to go straight out there without any issues with waiting for them,” Tessa told Beth. Fred fidgeted for a few moments before Beth heard Tessa say, “Beth, go ahead and disengage the door locks. It’s that button over there,” she said, pointing. “Why don’t you do it yourself?” Beth asked. “I’m not allowed to, and the button is protected from me in case something goes wrong.” “Tessa… it is safe out there, you’re not just setting us up, right?” Beth asked, feeling her stomach clench in more fear. “I promise, Beth, no one can get to me like they did Rachel. That’s why they had to shut down all power here to get past me in the first place. They didn’t know there was a separate backup power supply just for my program in Amanda’s lab. It took me a while to reroute the rest of the house to get it back up, though.” Beth uneasily pressed a big red button on the wall, felt a click, and heard the hiss as the physical cylinders retracted. She found herself face-to-face with Marshal Tanner from the first shift, who had been off-duty. “Tessa said Fred is hurt?” She asked without hesitation. Beth shakily pointed, “I used a NanoAid on him; he was in rough shape before it.” “Got it,” she told her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. A local police officer said, “Miss, we want you to get checked out, too. There are a few ambulances ready to look you all over.” “Beth!” She heard from the stairs then, though. She saw Shelby running toward her, “You’re okay!!!” The smaller girl wrapped her arms around her before turning back to where her mom and brother were standing for a moment before turning to her, “Where’s Grandpa?” “He’s okay, but they’re checking him over,” Beth told her, trying to keep her calm. Right then, a set of EMTs with a gurney, escorted by an officer, entered the house and headed down to the safe room. Fortunately, Bella and her kids had been shoved in the safe rooms so quickly that, as far as Beth knew, they hadn’t seen anything other than the lights go out. She watched a bustle of activity as another set of paramedics went upstairs to treat Nikki and check on the assailants. There were probably forty officers and marshals within the house and perimeter, and she found herself and Bella’s family pushed into the living room to get them out of the way. “Miss?” A female paramedic said, approaching her. “Yes?” “One of the marshals suggested you were injured?” “I don’t think so…?” Beth said. “Beth, you’re bleeding!” Shelby said suddenly. “Where?” Beth asked. “The back of your head!” Shelby said, “Your hair’s all bloody there.” “Here, let me take a look,” the paramedic said. “How did I not even notice?” She asked Shelby as the paramedic made her wince as they took a gloved hand and began treating her. “It’s common in a case of shock, Miss,” the EMT said to her. “Can I get your name, please?” “Elizabeth Sylvester,” she told her. “Birthday?” She went through a series of questions that Beth knew were as much about verifying she didn’t have a concussion as actual information that was needed. The EMT used a topical treatment that sealed up the cut on the back of her head and noted the bruises that were forming on her body. “Miss Sylvester, I think it would be best to have you checked out at the hospital just to be safe.” Beth made a face at that and was about to respond when she watched a pair of tall women walk in wearing LPS jackets. “What are they doing here?” Marshal Tanner swore, having just come out of the safe room with Fred on a stretcher in front of him. “Can I help you?” She approached them. “Yes, we understand there are Littles here who need to be taken into custody temporarily?” “Do you mean the assailants in our investigation?” She asked. It was only then that Beth realized several wriggling masses were lying in the living room playpen. Her level of shock meant she’d completely not noticed them! “Names are Isabella Westerfield, Shelby Westerfield, and Ryan Westerfield?” “They are not under your jurisdiction,” Tanner told her. Beth was ready to get involved herself when she recognized Amanda’s brother-in-law, Matt, who came in, led by a police officer. “This man says he represents the family as their attorney.” “What is LPS doing here?” “We’re here on a wellness check and to take in Isabella, Shelby, and Ryan Westerfield into protective custody while we identify if their caregivers will be well enough to continue to care for them…” “I’m Matt Lethbridge. I represent this family, and I know they have a duly appointed caregiver and custody chain in the event of death. There is no reason for your presence, and you will not be taking them.” Beth was a bit squeamish about how forceful he was about that. She knew LPS had a longstanding history of removing Littles with very little recourse. “You cannot say that…” the older of the two women said. “No, but I can,” a tall man said, entering. “Judge Price?!?” The woman said nervously. “What are you doing here?” “A friend called me, and woke me up to tell me there was a big incident at the Westerfield’s house where his daughter was staying. I agreed to come check in on her.” He nodded toward Beth, “Care to tell me what’s going on?” “We received reports that these Littles are being allowed to stay up at night, sleep outside of cribs…” Beth watched the Judge give a look that reminded her of her dad when she or her siblings tried to lie their way out of something. There was no verbal warning; he just glowered until she stopped. “And the proof?” “A federal marshal…?” “Would that happen to be a Jenna Morales?” He asked her. “Your Honor, I don’t know that I should…” “I’ll take that as a yes. You’ll find that the former marshal has some major credibility issues right now. I recommend the following. Turn around, exit that door, and don’t even consider coming and bothering this family again without speaking to me first with evidence in hand of neglect or abuse. It had better be accompanied by ironclad proof if so! You may not know it, but one of those Littles you are trying to remove was the victim of your department many years ago - neither the Westerfields nor the Sylvesters will take kindly to your actions.” Beth watched the woman’s face drain, and the other woman didn’t even wait for her, turning tail and running. The older woman made a face like she’d had something sour, but followed her out. “Good thing you arrived when you did,” Matt told him. “I owe her dad more than a few favors over the years.” “Beth, you were injured?” Beth nodded, even as the paramedic said, “We really should get her checked out at the hospital. Fred is in the first ambulance leaving, and Miss Paulson should be down in a moment.” “Can she ride with Miss Paulson?” Matt suggested. She looked torn on that. “I’ll drive her in,” Marshal Tanner suggested. “No offense, but after what happened, I don’t think that’s a good idea?” Matt told her. “What happened?” Beth asked. “Something about Morales?” Matt looked torn, but said, “She was in on this. We don’t know all of the details, but she provided information to the culprits at the university.” “Wait! You know what happened to Carly?” She asked him. “They’re in the process of trying to get her out,” Matt said, even as his phone rang. “Hold on one second.” He stepped a few feet away. “Mandy? What happened? Is she okay...?” Beth felt her heart stop as she listened to the silence while Matt was given an answer. For a long moment, she felt her entire blood freeze cold, and couldn’t help but worry that the love of her life had the unthinkable happen to them. She couldn’t help but think about what her dad felt when she walked away toward her voluntary adoption out after saying goodbye all those years ago. He told her of the grief of finding out she had just disappeared off the face of the planet after they were engaged. Then... his finding out she was mentally no better than an infant... The grief she knew had to have eaten at him hit her like a wall, even as she watched Matt frown. “Make sure you all stay with her. We’ll get there as soon as we can, Amanda.” Beth stared at him and felt her face full of tears as he told her, “They got Carly out, but they don’t have information about her condition. I think there may be more to it because she was in the office, but Megan didn’t say. Let’s get you to the hospital. I’m sure they’ll let you see her as soon as we can get you checked over yourself.” Beth shuddered as her body was wracked with relief and tried to wipe her face. Right then, Nikki was brought down on a stretcher. She was sitting upright and seemed mostly okay, if a bit dazed. “Marshal Tanner, how about you go ahead and drive behind the ambulance that has Miss Paulson and Beth inside. Jim, would you mind following them as well? We need to make sure that she makes it to the hospital safely. I need to take Bella and her kids to our place,” Matt directed. “They can’t stay there alone,” Jim told him. “My son Sam and daughter Leelah have passed the certification classes to sit for Littles. They can legally watch them, and have babysat before.” “Good,” he told him. “I don’t want to see you in my courtroom over this mess.” “Neither do we!” Matt told him.   THIRTY MINUTES LATER, it felt like déjà vu as Beth was getting checked out in a hospital room by a doctor. This wasn’t Doctor Nickerson, unfortunately, but at least this doctor was still respectful and treated her like an adult. Ten minutes after the ambulance drove her in, they had her in an exam room. She had sat patiently while they scanned her and were just waiting for a final clear from a specialist reviewing the scan. Her parents and the marshals wanted to take no chances on her having hidden injuries. She’d been brought in with the dazed Nikki and kept together just long enough to know they were running more thorough scans on her, but initially thought she would be okay. They planned to keep Nikki under observation overnight to be safe. Beth turned on the TV as she waited for her results to see if there was any news about what happened at Emerson, because no one seemed to want to tell her any details. All she had been told was that Carly was brought out and was somewhere here in the hospital, on the other side, in the pediatric unit. She saw a ‘Breaking News’ chyron below the lower-quality screen. “Anna, what are you learning now?” “Jake, it appears that there was a major incident as federal agents moved to take Doctor Melanie Shapiro, the Dean of Littles, into custody. Our source has told us that agents observed Shapiro, the head nest mother who essentially serves as a Residential Director, forcefully taking a Little from the nest. Upon verification of a warrant for their arrests that was issued by a judge tonight, they moved to arrest her and check on the welfare of the Little.” “How is that Little doing?” Jake asked. “That is unclear. Our crews did observe a patient being taken out by a stretcher into an ambulance rapidly, and no one at the hospital will answer questions at this time.” “Were there any other casualties?” “Yes, Jake, three women were also brought out on stretchers and transported to the hospital. Their conditions are also unknown. Marshal Evans, a Deputy Marshal who is involved, has announced a press conference for the media here in the next couple of minutes.” “That’ll be a big one. Hopefully, we’ll get some answers then. We’ll be back with you when that begins. For now, we’re going to take a quick break and be back with more of this breaking news coverage!” Beth watched the commercials roll through, looking out the door and hoping someone would come in to tell her she was good to leave. Or, someone would come to say to her Carly was really okay, or… just anything! Instead, she sat bored until the next commercial. Then the next one, then the next one, until she finally saw Marshal Evans standing beside a man in an NBI jacket. The man in the jacket began, “Good evening, this will be a very brief news conference to update the public on events that have taken place on the campus of Emerson University. For the past couple of weeks, our NBI agents have been probing possible illegal activities by faculty and staff here at Emerson. Through our investigation, we have encountered many illegal actions, both nationally and here in the State of Ames.” He paused for a moment to swipe on his tablet, which he was looking at. “Among the actions are civil rights violations, human trafficking violations, and conspiracy crimes related to these. Given the nature of the cases, we will not be able to provide many more details at this time. Earlier this evening, an unknown organization or entity provided video evidence, in the form of documentaries, to news agencies and hacked into Emerson’s systems to broadcast one of them on every projector and device on campus. When the film stopped, a copy was provided to all national law enforcement agencies, along with raw evidence, and also to news agencies.” “Following our investigation, warrants were issued for the following individuals: Doctor Wendy Chester, Doctor Melanie Shapiro, Emaly Rhodes, Stuart Rhodes, and Roland Faulkner. More individuals who have not yet been served are also pending. During the course of apprehending Doctor Chester and Doctor Shapiro, our agents observed a Little being roughly handled. They brought the student out of the nest at an unusually late hour for Littles on the campus, then raised an outcry for help to a passing agent. Further investigation revealed that they, Chester, Shapiro, and Rhoades, had chosen to take out their frustration on the film shown tonight on her, though our investigation has not yet uncovered any links to the victim. Our agents followed the pair to the administration building and intended to move in and apprehend the suspects then.” “Due to a security protocol on the building, we were unfortunately delayed by nearly an hour in gaining entry. During that time, it is known that the Little in question was beaten severely, questioned, and an attempt was made to permanently regress that student. This action was outside the scope of state and federal law—and even the Emerson code of conduct. At some point, a struggle broke out, and our agents were able to gain access to the room and arrest the individuals. The Little was rescued and is currently being treated at the University Hospital.” “Additionally, during the arrest, Marshal Jenna Morales, of the national marshals, was apprehended. I’m going to allow Marshal Evans to make a statement on that.” ‘What the hell?!?’ Beth seethed, ‘She was supposed to protect us!!!! Wait! Wasn’t she one of the marshals on detail on the island, too…?’ Beth began putting pieces together and realized how they’d been found. ‘So… is this more of Mom’s past…?’ She watched as Marshal Evans came forward and gave a brief statement that the marshals were investigating her involvement and that criminal charges were pending. The one thing he added, though, was, “During the course of a struggle with the victim, Marshal Morales appears to have intentionally discharged her weapon at that victim.” ‘Carly was shot?!?!?!’ She felt panic strike her, even as she saw a man enter that she recognized as a friend of her dad’s, another attorney, from their meeting before Spring Break. “Edgar?” She asked, barely remembering his name. “Hi, Beth,” he said, coming over to shake her hand, but she hugged him instead. “What’s going on?!? Is Carly okay?” “As far as I know, she’s going to be okay. Not many people really know what happened inside the office at this point. As soon as you’re released, your parents told me to take you to see her. What did they say about your injuries? And what exactly happened to you?” Beth filled him in on the attack at Amanda’s house. The look on his face was quite severe as she explained what had happened. He shook his head, “I used to think your dad was a magnet for trouble…” She felt embarrassed, “It’s not my fault? Or Carly’s?” “No,” he agreed. “Okay, just so you know, I don’t think anyone is going to be able to stay at Amanda and Fred’s for at least a week. Your mom is flying out here and plans to find a place to stay. I think she said something about additional security, possibly too.” Beth sighed, “Normally, this is where I would rail about my mother being overprotective and overreacting…” He gave her a small smile, “Yeah, hard to say that after three problems in four weeks or so?” “More than that,” she sighed. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here anymore,” she told Edgar. Right then, the doctor came in, “Miss Sylvester?” “Yes,” she said. “You’re all clear, nothing will be long-lasting. I would recommend taking some over-the-counter painkillers for the next few days, as you will be quite sore. I’m also prescribing some cream that should help those bruises heal a bit sooner. If, for some reason, you begin to notice any dizziness, nausea, headaches, or other concussion symptoms, please come back to the ER and get checked out.” “Yes, ma’am,” she told her. “Great, just sign here, and I think your escort knows where to go next; I gave them directions.” Beth quickly signed on the tablet and was happy to walk away. Marshal Tanner was waiting outside, along with two uniformed police officers, an NBI agent, and another man wearing a Marshal jacket. “They said you know where Carly is?” she asked. “Yes,” Tanner told her. “If you’re ready, we’ll go there next.” Beth followed her, while the others flanked her, leaving no doubt that she was being guarded. The gaggle of law enforcement agents drew stares as they walked down the hallways and across a breezeway over a road to get into the Pediatric Hospital, where Carly had been taken. ‘At least I got to be with the adults this time…’ she thought. Tanner showed her badge to a receptionist, and a nurse led them to Carly’s room. Carly was hooked into the monitor system and had her eyes closed. Amanda sat in a chair beside her… crib. Beth blushed for Carly, but wasn’t overly surprised given the pediatric wing. She quietly waved at Beth as she entered. “How is she?” Beth asked her quietly. “She’s still unconscious right now,” Amanda said with a sigh. “They’re not worried yet, but she took a direct hit from Morales’s weapon at the highest non-lethal strength it can be set at. Given her size…” “She’s going to be fine, though, right?” Beth asked worriedly. “They think so. Hopefully she’ll wake up in the next hour…” Beth moved to the other side of the bed then and looked down. Besides her being unconscious, something seemed off. She couldn’t quite place it at first, not until she reached down and gently took Carly’s limp hand in hers. It was only then that it really dawned on her what was different. She felt her anger at what happened explode into rage, even as tears flowed down her cheeks for the love of her life! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!!!! Please press the 'Like' Button and leave a comment! So a HUUUUUGE thank you to you all for all of the love and likes on the last chapters!!!!! You made crossing a million reads even more special with them! Plus, this was a part I had been working toward for a long time!  Let me know what you think about everything, and what's to come! As I've said in a couple comments, we're nowhere near the final end of the girls tales here! I'll post again on Friday morning before work. I'll have a bonus this weekend up for grabs, but I may have to slow back down to once a week after that for a bit depending on if my writing output picks back up... I'm hoping this weekend will work for that! The first volume of this series is available now on Amazon Kindle!!! It's priced at $6.95 and includes chapters 1-73 plus a bit of a tag of an epilogue that wasn't in the original postings. I'm about 85% of the way through the AI audiobook version editing too, which will be available for $10.95 on its own, or as a $1.99 add-on to the Kindle version. (Hopefully I'll finish going through that this weekend... the script for the first film is a massive pain to get to sound correct and is taking about 50x more time than I expected!) Anyway, the Kindle Book link is here! https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Camera-What-Sofia-Hammerstein-ebook/dp/B0GDRDWS5P It'll probably be 4 or 5 books in total for Carly and Beth's story, I haven't got that set in stone yet! Thanks to those of you who have already purchased, please do give it a 5-star review when you finish. I appreciate the people who did so already! (Thanks for the great review too!) 💜