The developing romance is awesome to see and I like how John is grieving but growing into his life as a Little.

Me too Once in bed so don't get up until morning.

Hey everyone! First, I just want to say thank you to those that have commented, liked, or even just read this story. I know most on here just want to see the direct regression or humiliation of a single character over time, but I am happy with how this installment in the series is turning out. Looking ahead, there are three more chapters after this one. If everything goes according to plan, I should have just enough time to be able to put another chapter tomorrow, and then one on Tuesday and Thursday as well. If anything changes, I will be sure to post it on here like I have before. Next, as a reminder, there is currently a vote going for the next story I write. It will be done after my break at some point, but due to the short nature of this story, the timing for this vote will be short. As usual, if no one votes or there is a tie, I will use my discretion over what story is next (though in the event of a tie and there are several attributing votes, I may extend the vote and decide after my break). For now, though, this vote will end when I post my final chapter next Thursday at the latest. Further details about the specific date will come in subsequent chapters, but for those wanting to participate and haven’t read about them previously, the potential story options are located in the beginning of chapter 2. Finally, and back to this tale, I hope everyone enjoys the next chapter of this story! Chapter 4: Coping in New Ways Over Old Trauma “Good afternoon! Come on in! Come on in!” Carol quickly and warmly greeted both Polly and Austin, my next patient, as they soon entered the reception area. I rose from my desk and shuffled the papers I had out that pertained to the disappearances of the doctors of my previous patients today. It was all important, but I knew it could wait for the time being. Austin was a special patient to me by now, and I didn’t want either him or Polly to wait. “Hello, Austin… Polly,” I then greeted them as well, joining the three, including Carol, outside my office. “How are you all doing today?” Polly sighed. “Well… it’s been an interesting week… isn’t that right, Austin?” she asked looking down at her assigned Little. Curiously, he only nodded and shuffled around where he stood, and despite his more adult clothing today, I could still see the tell-tale bulge around the midsection of his diaper and hear the faint crinkling as well. Curious as to what was going on though, I simply gestured towards my office to him. “Shall we?” Again, Austin only nodded and waddled past me and over to the couch. Looking back, I could see that Polly was clearly concerned about her Little and I made sure to go over to her. “It’ll be okay, Polly. I’ll figure it out all this week. Don’t you worry.” “Thank you, Dr. Mengell. You’ve been such a big help, but…” she peered over Austin, now struggling to get on the couch by himself. “I’m just worried that he’ll slip back. He’s made so much progress and…” I held my hand up to stop her. “Let me just hear him out first. He can do at least that much now. Despite his shyness today, we’re not starting back at square one. Trust me on that.” Polly nodded. “I trust you… I’m just worried about him… that’s all, understand?” I nodded and knew the typical caregiver’s fears well myself. She then shook her head. “But you go now. Just help him out. Please…” I simply nodded, patted her shoulder, and with that, I then went back to my office and closed the door behind me. Austin was still struggling and as had become routine by now; I gave him an extra boost on top. “Danks, Doctuh M…” “You’re very welcome, Austin.” I smiled back at my patient and then sat down in my chair while retrieving his file from my desk nearby. “Alright… let’s begin,” I said as cheerfully as I could. I then peered back down into his rather thick file.   *              *              * Patient Name: Austin Sedder   Biological Age: 24 Years old Estimated Mental Age: Likely under 2 for emotions, but improving in bouts otherwise to preschool or even above Former Occupation: Master’s Degree Student in Ecology Current Occupation: Under the care of Polly, his state-appointed caregiver   Regression Initiated: 210 days ago Notes: Patient arrived to me in a serious state of neglect and abuse from his kidnap incident in western Carolusa by a local pro-Big survivalist group upon relocation back to his original home state. All markers for regression were visible then and initial visits proved valuable in learning more about his period of capture while also getting Patient out of his ‘shell.’ Now, abilities and emotional state are still notably at or below preschool level, but more movement on both fronts can be visibly observed after continued visits to local recommended doctor. I heavily credit the emotional improvement in Patient’s happiness over his own progress, though notably this could be problematic later. Plus, cognitive abilities and overall happiness seem to be improving with coping techniques and exercises given here in the office and reinforced by Patient’s caregiver.   *              *              * I suppose his thicker file was in large part due to his police file accompanying it as well. When he came to me about four months ago, stemming from my success with several of the Juventas incident patients and my friendly relationship with Officer Kenny, the courts had just started sending me several new Little patients in bulk. I got the opinion that some were sent to me to purposely diagnose them as incompetent, but Austin was different. I wish that I could say that his time being kidnapped down to western Carolusa was an anomaly for Littles in our society, but if recent news reports were anything to go off, I knew he wasn’t. Carolusa, Tanassum, and Kentake had all been recent hotspots for Little kidnappings, particularly amongst survivalist pro-Big groups, like had happened to Austin.     “You seem a little down today, Austin, but I just want to say first just how far you’ve come since you’ve been coming to me. I’m very proud of the progress you’ve made” He smirked over the compliment, but still said nothing. It was concerning, but considering he could smile, walk in here at all today, or that I was even expecting a response out of him, was testament to just how far he had come. Unlike several of the other Little kidnappers recently, Austin wasn’t regressed to be sold off to a Big couple in another country or to criminals or the impoverished who couldn’t use the traditional methods of adoption offered. Instead, he had been regressed as part of a growing movement of Bigs that thought Littles were ‘less than’ and deserved to be babified. Of the 15 Littles found in the compound, the eldest age found was Austin, coming in right around the six-month old range, at best, in terms of his physical, emotional, and mental state. “Is today another bad day?” I asked him plainly. Once I was able to advance Austin a little further to talking, along with his general doctor, we had established that some days were good, or others were bad. Bad days were becoming less frequent, but they often resulted into him clamming up and retreating into himself, like he had learned to cope with his previous trauma when he first came to me. Sadly, in confirmation of my suspicions, Austin only nodded and then tightly hugged his knees. “Alright, that’s okay,” I comforted. “Would this be something you want to talk about, or should we try something else today?” Austin hesitated for a moment, but then finally looked up at me and shook his head. “No,” he almost whispered, “I wanna tawk ‘bou’ ih.” “Okay then,” I smiled back to him, relieved that he was at least open to talking today. Other days weren’t so lucky. “Let’s start simple and broader… how was this past week for you?” Austin wavered for a moment with his hands and even grimaced at one point. “Ih…. Ih wass fine… I jus’ feew awone…” “Oh?” It was the first time he ever admitted that to me. Most of the time, he was flooded with new friends and other Littles, or as before, he was simply still too regressed to care, but this was different. “Do you know why you feel alone, or is it just a feeling you have in general? Both are okay though…” Austin sighed. “I dink… iss becaws Imma getting’ olduh… in my hea aweas’,” he said sorrowfully pointing up to the side of his head. “Iss aww comin’ back… buh bein’ olduh is tuff.” I then sighed myself. I knew this point was likely going to come up in our discussion at some point. See, unlike most of my other Littles where I eased them into their new mental or physical ability respective ages, for Austin, I had to progress him. I usually didn’t like doing that with patients because the process was often difficult, painful even, and most often a failure anyway. I was glad that Austin had been able to progress in order to testify at his trial last month, but I could see that he was starting to truly deal with the aftermath and consequences of that court-mandated decision.   “Your case worker Cynthia, Polly, and I thought that could happen at some point,” I admitted. “I have a guess as to why, but first, why do you think that being older as a Little is actually a problem?” To my surprise, Austin shook his head. “No, no… I wike bein’ olduh… I can do dings my fwien’s can’t, buh’ dass a pwobwem also… I wanna be wiff dem an’ feew da pull of my ol’ self, buh’ I jus’ can’t…” He winced and I wondered just what memory he was conjuring up specifically, but I wanted him to express his emotions without being interrupted first. “I wanna give in… I weally do, buh’… I jus’ geh’ so embawassed…” He sighed and dropped his head down in resignation. “I feew wike I’m bein’ wipped apawt. I jus’… I don’ know wha’ to do anymo’!” His head then sank into his hands in despair, and I could start to hear the softness of his cries. I knew he was at another critical stage after his abduction and capture. First, he had to resist the despair that had come with what they had put him through once he could even form words after he came out of his initial shell. Then, he had to rebuild his skills, but now, third, he had to deal with the emotional baggage that came with his new awareness. While I would never condone the involuntary procedure of regression, I did know that for some Littles, it did have an appeal of sorts. As another Little had even reminded me last week, ‘ignorance is bliss.’ “Hmmm… that must be very difficult to cope with.” Austin immediately nodded. I knew I needed to help my patient, but with how he had been regressed, his triggers, and timing being an issue, the options I had open to me were very limited. I then remembered something, however, that a colleague had recommended to me last year. It might have just been propaganda for all I knew at that point, but I felt it could also be valuable for Austin at this point in this type of controlled and non-judgmental environment. “I have a suggestion that might help you… but its also a little unconventional. I might be able to think of something else, but would you at least be willing to try my suggestion first?” Austin removed his head from his hands and looked up mournfully at me. “I jus’ don’ know… I wanna twy… buh’ I’m scawed…” I warmly smiled and nodded. “And it’s okay to be. Everyone gets scared, but first, we’ll just start slow, okay?” He nodded hesitantly. “Okay then. I want you to think of being a Little as a who made of separate part and each of those parts has a separate container. Can you do that?” I could see his confusion, but he finally nodded. “Good. Now, in each of these pots, there’s an element to being a Little. All can be a part of some Littles, but just because you take from one pot, doesn’t mean you have to take from another, okay?” Again, Austin hesitated. “I uh… I guess so.” “Good, that’s all I want you to think of for now. Now, in the first, goes your emotions. The second is for your mentality, the third is for your physical traits, and the fourth is what you look like. By now, I’m sure you’ve seen lots of Little before. Some wear diapers but don’t drink from bottles… or have a stuffy but don’t sleep in a crib. Or in your case specially, others could be like you but don’t have all your newly reacquired abilities, right?” “I mean… yeah? Matty fwom daycawe can’t even walk,” he noted, “buh’ we both watch da same cawtoons.” “Exactly. He has more in one of his pots than you do. Now, if you take all the qualities from one and just look at that alone, a person, even Little or not, would be classified differently. For example, everything Little related put into the physical pot might translate as being fully paralyzed, but everything in the mental would be classified more as being brain dead.” I could see Austin was still understanding and I was thrilled that his mental abilities were coming back still. It would also make the next part easier in one way but also harder in another. “Okay, what I want you to do, is think about that last pot, what a Little looks like…” Austin nodded and closed his eyes. “Can you think of some things for the pot?” Again, he nodded. “Perfect. Now, in this exercise, if one just has all those qualities in one pot and maybe not the others, it could just be considered roleplaying. Have you ever heard of that?” Austin opened his eyes and stared back at me. “Yeah… my fwiend befo’ aww dis… he did impwov.” He paused and I could see his mind clicking away over what I wanted him to do. “Iss wike… dat wigh’?” I smiled. “That’s right, Austin. Very good, but for this exercise, I want you to put more into that pot. I think you don’t want the burden and messiness of being a Little directly of what you can control, which is why you like being older, but you also feel isolated as well.” I saw Austin quickly look scared. “Remember, if there aren’t items in the other pots, it’s just roleplaying, no matter what you do or look like. No one will think you’re a baby, but this might help with your blocks initially. I want you to feel safe being a Little when you want, okay?” Austin hesitated but nodded again. “Very good. Now, look at yourself.” He did. “You look very nice today, but is that what a Little would wear? Do you think a Little would find all that comfortable? Do you even find all that comfortable?” Austin’s eyes betrayed him, as he quickly looked at his pants and belt. From our past sessions, I knew he didn’t like either, but he also felt more mature when he wore them. For a Little that had been regressed so severely before, maturity was important. Now, however, I could see the painful expression in his eyes over them. “No… I wanna take ‘em off…” I smiled. “I want you to feel comfortable here, Austin. If you don’t want to wear them, I won’t judge you. I promise, I will still see you as the same Austin you were before.” With my reassurance, he needed no other prompting and in seconds, he ripped his shoes, socks, jeans, and belt off and tossed them casually on the ground. Now that he was clearly happier and freer, I went about going through a few scenarios with him, but I could still see the fear over what he was doing and that he would be judged by someone else. Even when I turned on the calming music that soothed most Littles, I could still sense his hesitancy. I knew it was just our first session with this new method of immersion and removing his guilt over how he dressed or looked, but I thought I could see something deeper there as well. Guilt was plastered across his surface level feelings, but I just knew something else was there. Seeing his slowly growing contended smile with this new method of immersion, I didn’t want to poke, but I knew that it was better to poke in here rather than risk someone else poking him outside and risk another withdrawal inside himself in public. “Austin…” He quickly looked up at me from his almost daydream-like state. “We’ve talked a lot about what you went through… while you were kidnapped.” His smile quickly vanished. “It was the basis of why began to see each other in the first place, and I know a lot, but I think something is still holding you back. It could very well be something else, but I’m getting the feeling that it has something to do with that time.” His smile vanishing was just the first step, and next, I could almost see the life and energy drain away from him completely. I hated doing this to my happy patients, but when he ultimately nodded over my suspicions, I also felt the relief from poking in just the right spot. It was terrible, but I just hoped I could help him now. He had been through enough. He didn’t need to feel guilt as well in his new life. “I tol’ you ‘bou’ dose people…” I nodded, remembering several of his stories in a flash. “Dey made da days as bad as dey coul’ be.” What he described in detail to me next left me nearly speechless. Beatings, spankings, and other punishments and essentially torture routines were common for Littles like Austin and the others he was with. He had spoken of them before, but it had only been just enough to convict that survivalist group and not much else. “Dey depwived us of foo’, sweep, even when dey woul’ cwean us off. Of da fifteen, five bwoke wiff’n a week. By da secon’ month… onwy six of us wemained… sane.” I shuddered after each detail he revealed next to me. I could see he was starting to struggle with the next part of his story. I leaned forward and gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s okay, Austin. They can’t hurt you anymore. They’re long gone and you’re safe. Just take some breaths and go slow.” He smiled and nodded. He took a few small breaths, then one deep breath, and I could already see his eyes begin to mist, but he was still able to continue. “I wesisted mo’ an’ I became… da weaduh… boss even of dem to help dem geh’ back home. I made a pwomise… I twied givin’ dem hope buh’ da otthaw baddies saw. Dey pushed hawduh aftuh.” He blinked back the tears and wiped his nose on his arm. Trying to offer what comfort I could, I handed him a box of tissues and he blew loudly. “And you said that not long after the last of them was regressed, you were rescued, right?” Unfortunately, Austin nodded. It didn’t take a genius to see where his guilt was stemming from. “Fifteen Wittles an’ I was da onwy one to be saved. As da weaduh, I should’ve gone fiwst! Saved da othuhs befo’ myself!” “And that makes you guilty whenever you give into those instincts to be more of your Little self.” I looked at his discarded clothing on the floor and then back to his green onesie that he still wore that had been underneath it all but looked so much more comfortable in. “Even if that makes you uncomfortable or alienated in life with your friends.” Austin nodded. “How can I dwink a sippy cup o’ watch cawtoons when my pwevious fwiens… da ones countin’ on me to bwing dem home… can’t even wift a cup by demselves anymo’…?” I sighed. “Austin… that’s too big of a burden to put on yourself,” I tried to reason with him. “You did the best you could…” Still, despite my words, I could see that Austin was retreating within himself. His guilt, internally justified or not, was getting the better of him and I knew I was running out of time before I was too late. Panicking over losing him all over again for today at least, I looked around my room for things that could help him. I knew as a last resort that I could have hugged him, but unlike Bernard before, I knew that Austin could just take the hug as me forcibly placing my own feelings on him. He could lash out or feel that I wasn’t taking him seriously enough and that might have just been worse than doing nothing. I was just about out of ideas, seeing that most things in my office were useless or just could make him worse alone, but finally, in the corner of the room between my psychology textbooks and filing cabinet, I saw it. Knowing there wasn’t a moment to lose, I put my pad and pen down and hurried over to retrieve the object I had spotted for him. When I put the enormous stuffed teddy bear in Austin’s arms at first, I swore I could almost see a look of betrayal flash across his face. The stuffy was a large risk, but I also knew that it could have great rewards as well. Satisfied he wasn’t going to throw it though; I sat back down in my seat. When Austin looked back at me in bewilderment still afterward though, I knew I had to explain. “I know you still might harbor some guilt over what happened to your friends, but I want you to think of that bear as a surrogate of sorts for you. Just hug him a little bit, but not in just another friend relationship kind of way. When you hug him, I want you to put all your feelings, your bad thoughts, emotions, all that makes you feel sad right inside of him. Use him as a sponge for all the bad in you and a shield for all the bad around you. Don’t worry, he can take it, but for me, just try for a moment. If you don’t like him, you can always set him back down and we can then try something else.” Austin hesitated, but eventually hugged the bear. Like almost every Little out there however, the transformation was nearly instantaneous as I could see the relief wash over his face. The bear wasn’t even the best out on the market anymore these days, but his size and internal mechanics were designed to help increase the release of brain chemicals associated with peace and happiness. No tricks like others, but just the feelings one would normally get by hugging were amplified by only a little bit. Seeing his comfort and ease with the bear, I knew now was my time to really hit home with what I needed him to hear. “Austin… I know you might feel guilty for a long time, but I want you to hear at least from me that what happened, wasn’t your fault.” To my relief and delight, Austin began to hug the bear even tighter. “You did everything you could for your friends. It wasn’t enough in time and that’s a tragedy and I can only say that I’m so sorry that happened to you.” Austin nodded and buried himself further into the soft embrace of the larger than usual teddy bear. “I know they were regressed themselves and you promised to get them home. They didn’t as they were but know that their last thoughts before succumbing to your kidnappers’ designs, were about your comfort and that you at least had given them a chance. It was always a tiny chance, and your kidnappers should be punished eternally for that, and they are, but you also gave them hope in that compound. They didn’t have much, but you gave them that… and that’s not nothing… not by a long shot.” I could see that Austin had heard me, and while tears streamed down his face, his face was still one of relief. What I said was only logical, and others could have thought of it, but for Austin, I knew he had probably never heard of those words before. By now, he had probably only heard about the tragedy of the LPS rescue at that compound and that 14 Littles were permanently regressed and lost to the will of madmen. His kidnappers would pay for years for their crimes, what exactly was still heavily up for debate, but Austin had received little peace from a verdict that though was a measure of justice, still wouldn’t help his friends. It was all so terrible, but today, I was happy that I had found another way to ease his burdens and that maybe I might have just found him the peace he was so desperate to find in the aftermath of it all.    A few questions and answers later, from his face, I couldn’t see a drop of sadness or fear anymore. “So, how do you feel Austin? Are you doing okay?” Austin quickly nodded. “Uh-huh… I feel nice an’ comfy… safe… pwotected… iss dat stwange?” I smiled and shook my head. “Not at all. Teddy bears exist for a reason.” I sighed and saw the cute sight before me of Austin still hugging the stuffed animal. “I know being a Little gets a lot of bad stigmas sometimes, but I don’t want you to think about others. I want you to think about you and your friends… they would want you to be happy. So, be happy, Austin. I won’t tell you not to feel guilty, but don’t hold back from living in the moment because of them. If you want to do something, even if it looks younger than you’re supposed to be, if it makes you happy, just do it, okay?” Still holding onto the bear, Austin smiled and nodded contentedly. Like in most of my sessions, I then got Austin talking about his past week and the positives he could find from it. I could tell that most of his stories ended in caveats of holding back from fully enjoying something though, but it just made me more relieved over our session today. If everything went according to plan, I knew that he could have the potential for dozens of new and exciting events to tell me about next week. While we were talking though, Polly also came up a lot. She was a bit of a hippy in my opinion, especially for Losantiville these days, but she was a caring figure that was always respective of Austin’s limits or wants. She was court-appointed but I had quickly approved of her the first time I had met her after she had been assigned to Austin. The pair made for an unlikely successful caregiver-Little combo, but they made it work well. Still, most of Austin’s stories focused on his time at daycare or with his friends afterward or on the weekends. Polly rarely popped into his stories, but when she did, he almost always beamed with happiness… for the most part. “…an’ den we wen’ to da faiw! Powwy gah’ me some popcown an’ cotton candy!” “Oh?” It was nice hearing a positive story for once in his weekly rundown of his recollections. “Did you all ride any rides?” Austin enthusiastically nodded his head. “Uh-huh! We wode da mewwy-go-woun’ an’ even a wolluh coastuh. I got scawed dough…” His face quickly saddened, and I quickly focused in with concern. “Powwy wanted ta hug me… I dink… buh’ I dink she wass also scawed to also…” I had unfortunately heard this story countless times before. Up here in the northern part of the country, Big’s were often almost reverential, or at least respectful of their Littles. It was a nice change of pace from even a decade ago, knowing full-well of all those awful stories that people still talked about like modern day horror tales, but with that as well, several Bigs had even become fearful lately of doing something wrong. They saw Littles as people, and that was wonderful, but I often saw these Bigs tiptoe around their Littles afterward, worried that they were going to cross a line with them. Polly seemed like she had fallen into this trap as well.   “Hmmm… so she wants to hug you, but you think she’s worried about stepping over the line with you?” Austin nodded. “Well, that must be frustrating for you and her. I’m glad you noticed that, but let me ask you this… would you have wanted her to hug you in that moment?” Austin clearly thought really hard about it, but eventually nodded his head. “Uh-huh. I can’t do dings sometimes an’ I get scawed of huwtin’ myself… I wish she would jus’ tweat me like Billy gets tweated sometimes…” His friend, Billy, also just happened to be another one of my patients. Illegal fishing outside of the runoff from the Juventas plant had given him a double blast full of FOY and had rapidly regressed after. It had been terrifying for him, but his sister’s friend had quickly jumped into help. She still respected him, but she had no qualms about treating him like the Little she saw he was when she deemed fit. If I didn’t know any better, Austin almost seemed to be jealous of that type of affection now. It quickly made me curious about trying something today. “Austin… I want to bring Polly in on this for a minute… do you think that would be okay?” I finally asked. He hesitated but still nodded while also hugging his bear. I smiled and stood up and then opened my door and looked at Polly. “Polly… could you come inside for a bit? Nothing to worry about… just want to talk about some bits.” Polly seemed nervous, but smiled warmly and then entered my office, her feathered earrings and flowy clothing swaying gently behind her as she did. “Is everything okay, Doc?” I nodded and gestured to Austin. Polly’s eyes bugged out as she saw her onesie-clad Little hugging a bear. “As you can see, we’ve made some progress today.” I then pulled up my other chair. “Please, have a seat.” Polly did, but her shocked eyes never left the sight of Austin. “You see, Polly, Austin was feeling some guilt over a few things. I’ll let him share that if he wants later, but I just wanted to show you that he’s looking for some external traditional Little trappings, if you will.” Polly finally turned and looked over at me with both happiness and curiosity. “What’s that even supposed to mean?” “Well, simply,” I explained, “he wants to enjoy being a Little. Still retain the abilities he’s gained back, but he wants to give into some of his instincts… instead of fighting them. It’s perfectly natural… healthy even, but he needs you as well to do this.” “Oh?” She quickly turned back to Austin. “Is this true, honey?” I could see the nervousness in Austin already, probably fearing where this path could lead to. “It’s okay, Austin. This is a safe place and I’m sure that Polly just wants to help you.” Polly wasted no time in nodding her head in agreement. He sighed and finally relented. “I jus’ get scawed sometimes… I don’ wanna be a baby, buh’ a hug woul’ be nice… maybe even some wuv sometimes?” At first, I don’t think she knew how to respond, but she soon cracked. “Oh, sweetie… I’m so, so sorry!” I could see the guilt flash across her face. If any of the past Bigs I had seen were any indication, she was probably thinking back to all the times she now wished she had done something different. “It’s okay, Polly,” I made sure to console her. My job was to help Littles, but since they were so interconnected with their Bigs at the stage Austin was currently at, I knew they needed my help sometimes as well. “The main thing to focus on now is helping Austin out where he needs it.” I could see the guilt still dancing about on her face. “How about this? Austin has his bear, but he just might like a hug now…” We both looked at Austin, who wasted no time in nodding just about as fast as he could. “Oh, baby!” Polly wailed as she then immediately went over and hugged her Little. It was a tender moment, and even a little bit later when she used the opportunity to check his diaper, there were no tears or tantrums from Austin. Polly was just doing the job he needed her to do, but now he knew he could be a Little without feeling the need to be guilty and she knew she could be his caregiver without feeling her own guilt. “Oh! Who’s this?” Polly then questioned the bear next to Austin he still held onto with one arm like she had now only just seen him. “I dunno… Doctuh M gave him ta me…” They both then looked in my direction. I nodded to confirm my loan to him. “I keep him in here for my other patients when needed. They’ve come to calling him Fluffers.” Both grinned and Polly stroked Austin’s back. “Sweetie… I think Dr. Mengell needs him to stay, but how about this?” I could clearly see his distress as Austin squirmed uncomfortably, though clearly it was over the notion of parting with Fluffers, as opposed to something like his still exposed wet diaper. “How about we get you a new friend after this when we leave?” I don’t think I had ever seen such a turnaround in emotions as Austin did right then. His pouting lips and fearful eyes soon transformed into giddiness to the point where he nearly bounced off the couch. “Yes! Yes! Oh, pwease, yes!” Polly and I both chuckled. “Well, I guess that settles it then. We’ll go to Littles R’ Us and pick you up the best toy they have. Sound fun?” Austin repeated his joyful mantra over and over. By then, I knew I was losing him fast to his inner regression. While still very much the more mature Little over many of his other regressed friends, Austin still occasionally swayed into his more Little self when his emotions were heightened. Happiness was certainly one of them. Still, I wanted to know one more thing before both left entirely, and fortunately, with Polly in the room now, she was able to get Austin calmed back down a bit. “Thank you, Polly.” I then turned back to my patient. “Now, Austin. We’ve been seeing each other for a while now. I have some ideas if you don’t have any, so don’t worry if you’re not sure, but is there a place you want to be heading with our sessions?” I made sure to ask him the question rather than share my own plans. I did make some like I noted, and I knew it was a hard question to ask a Little now largely focused on purchasing a new stuffed toy to later cuddle with, but I wanted to give him the power a little bit this time. He experienced enough loss that I knew he would appreciate the gesture. “Hmmm… dat’s a toughy… I dunno, Doc,” he answered honestly. I was going to tell him that it was okay, but I could tell Polly wanted to know as well. With her newfound sense of care for her Little and the permission to push the boundaries of their relationship a little, she turned to him. “Austin… is there anything you still want changed? I know there’s some things you can’t change, and I’ll help you with those…” I could quickly see her eyes darting to his even wetter diaper now. “But, I mean, is there anything you don’t like and wish could be different?” Austin seemed perplexed for a moment still, but his eyes soon widened, and he nodded. “Yes… I don’ wanna be afwaid anymo’ of dis pwace an’ I don’ wanna be awone…” His words felt like they grew my heart three sizes and just about wanted to pop it, but his feelings were still valid. They would have been anyway regardless, but sadly, it was nothing I hadn’t heard dozens of times before with other patients. So, I gave him a reassuring smile. “I can do that, Austin. We can definitely do that together.” And just like that, the session was over. We talked a little more about next steps and the like, but as soon as Polly helped redress Austin, both were headed back out to the lobby. “Here.” I then handed Polly a note with a few suggestions over what to get Austin at Littles R’ Us. Some of it was what to include… others were about brands and features to avoid. Polly saw both and smiled. “Thank you, Doc.” She started to head out but paused and turned back to me. “Actually, almost forgot about it, but if you see Dr. Belamy, can you thank him for us? He’s been such a help with Austin’s recouperation. We can’t thank you enough for his recommendation.” My eyes narrowed and I wondered just what was happening. “Uh, I mean, sure… I’d be happy to, but don’t you all usually just see him tomorrow most weeks in the afternoon?” Austin and Polly both sighed and I could see there was an issue already. “Well, yes… but see, he called out sick two weeks ago and then didn’t show up last week. A lot of other of his patients had the same issue, but after doing some searching, we were already pointed to a new one. So, no big deal, but if you see him, can you let him know?” “Oh…” Fear gripped me fully. Another doctor… or maybe the same. ‘Surely four missing doctors in the same city can’t be a coincidence, right?’ It was a very bad sign, but I knew Polly and Austin didn’t need to know that fact themselves in this case. I knew I had to put on a façade and make them feel safe for now. “I’m sorry to hear that, but if I see him, I’ll definitely let him know.” Both then smiled at me, waved goodbye, and hand in hand, left the office together. I was very happy over today’s session, but my fear still lingered about the four missing doctors, so I turned to Carol. “Is everything okay, Dr. Mengell?” she asked worriedly, likely after seeing my frozen and nervous face. “No… no, I don’t think it is…” I then snapped out of my fear-induced stupor and walked over to Carol’s desk. “I need to see something on the main terminal here. Can you look up the three doctors that were being used by Carmen, Julianne, and Bernard?” “Uh… certainly…” I could see the panic and confusion begin to set in with Carol as well, but she immediately went to work. Not long after, her computer then beeped and I looked down to see what the records had to say. “Uh… Doctor?” I focused my eyes on the four blinking lines. Clearly and boldly, Carol had even included Austin’s doctor, and all were confirmed to have been Dr. Ethan Belamy. “What does this mean, Doctor?” I wish I had the answers to all life’s questions, but the fact is that I was just another person like everyone else. “I don’t know… I mean, something is happening, but I just don’t know what. We need to find more proof of something being an issue, but until we can, we just have to sit tight.” The clock in the reception area then clicked and I saw that it was the top of the hour already. My next patient was going to be in here any moment, and I wasn’t ready. “Come on. Help me wipe things down again. I don’t like when another Little doctor has been gone for at least a week and no one seems to know where, but for now, we need to focus on the present.” Carol nodded and quickly pulled out the wipes once more. As much as my advice was valid, even my own mind kept drifting back to Dr. Belamy. Little doctors just don’t disappear into thin air. ‘Right?’ The clock struck again, and I quickly had to think about my next patient. Despite Dr. Belamy’s apparent disappearance, I knew my next patient deserved all my care and attention as the rest of my patients had received before this new revelation.

zoot suit

If you haven't run across any really stupid people recently, could that mean that you are the stupid one...?