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Chapter 62 – Small World [8:35 PM] Zack looked around from inside the black vinyl and plexiglass cave that was the backseat of the police SUV. Driving through the city in the back of a police car had felt weird; he felt as if people were looking at him and wondering what he’d done to end up in the back of a police car, on a Friday night, even though the glass was tinted, and logically, he knew the people glancing at the cruiser as they rolled past, could not see him. It was interesting to note him to note that the roads seemed to open up in front of them, even though they didn’t have any lights or sirens on. No, by all means, after you, Mrs. Cop, thank you for not pulling me over… Zack’s eyes widened as the SUV made a right turn up a short driveway, and then through a gate that opened automatically as they approached it. They were going into the back parking lot of a large police station. There were US, state, and city flags arrayed on tall poles in front of the building, and the surroundings were brightly lit. There was a parking area behind the building, surrounded by heavy, black fencing, that they pulled into. There seemed to be dozens of police cars parked side by side, all backed into their spots, looking ready to go. Many of them were the same SUV that they rolled up in, while others were cars, and a few were large pickup trucks. Zack had never seen so many emergency vehicles in one place. Officer Riley backed into an empty spot close to the building, which was a vast expanse of grey concrete, interrupted by black glass windows that you couldn’t look in through. She got out and opened Zack’s door, then went around behind the SUV and opened the hatch, before returning with the damaged scooter, and then extending a hand to Zack so that he could slide down off of the tall bench seat and put his injured leg on the cushion. Officer Riley let him wheel himself out of the way of the door, then said “Wait for me Zack, sometimes people zip out of this lot pretty quickly, don’t go out into the driveway without me.” She took his left hand in hers, and did a careful sweep of the lot, before leading him at a relaxed pace towards a set of glass and metal double doors. Other officers were streaming both past them, into the building, and out of the building towards them. Some of the officers nodded or said hello to the lady he was with, while many of them swept him quickly with their eyes. Zack again felt self-conscious about wearing the lightweight, damaged romper over a bulky, crinkly diaper, in front of the phalanx of young, serious men and women who were crisscrossing the lot in all directions. He felt like a toddler being led through a college campus, and he pinned his eyes on the ground in front of him and shrank in closer to the officer he was following, as much as the contraption he was straddling would allow. Officer Riley gave Zack’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay, buddy, you’re not in trouble. We just need to figure out what’s going on with you…” She was interrupted by her radio cracking to life. “Twenty eighty-two, do you still require EMS to attend?” The officer stopped walking, and turned to examine Zack, who kept his eyes focused downward, as though there was something terribly interesting about the handlebars of his scooter. “Adam, I’m just going to run my hands over your arms and legs and back – tell me if anything hurts. Are your only injuries your knee and your hands, outside of your cast?” Zack nodded as the officer did a gentle sweep of both his arms, and then each of his legs, bending over to allow her to manipulate his ankles. Finally, she swept a hand down his back, immediately noting the plasticky smoothness of his underclothes, which commenced halfway between his shoulders and his waist. She did not let on that she’d noticed anything. “Did that hurt at all?” “Nope,” Zack whispered, as more officers filed past them on their way in or out of the busy building. She felt my diaper. She knows. “Well, I think we can tidy that knee up with a first aid kit for now, so maybe we’ll save ourselves the wait for a paramedic.” She picked up the radio. “Twenty eighty-two, negative, no need for EMS to attend.” “Roger, twenty eighty-two, social services is waiting for you in the front reception area.” The officer’s eyebrows went up. “Well, Adam, tonight is your lucky night; I thought we were going to spend a couple of hours twiddling our thumbs and getting to know each other before social services got here. Do you know what social services does?” Zack shook his head. “Let’s get inside and I’ll tell you.” Zack allowed himself to be led by Officer Riley through the black-tinted doors, and into a small lobby with a desk built into one side, behind which stood another police officer. An officer who guards the officers, Zack thought. Officer Riley spoke to the officer behind the desk, then wrote in a binder for a moment, and then there was a buzzing behind them, and another glass door, this one clear, unlatched and swung robotically open. Zack followed officer Riley through a maze of brightly lit, busy hallways, until they entered a room through a tan-coloured doorway marked “Interview 4.” Inside the room, there was a round table with a half dozen chairs around it, and then a sideboard with pads of paper and pens on it. She led Zack over to a chair and then pulled it out so that it would be easier for him to sit down on it. She held his hand as he shifted his weight off the scooter and pivoted to sit on the chair, then she rolled the scooter to the side. “I’m going to go find the social worker, and a first aid kit. I’ll be right back. If anyone asks you who you’re with in the meantime, what you going to say?” Zack squinted for a moment, then whispered “Officer Riley.” “Correct! And hopefully by the end of this conversation, I’ll know who I’m with, too! Don’t try and go anywhere – you need a card to swipe out of this place. I’m not going to lock you in here, but, you won’t get past the end of the hall if you decide to go exploring. Zack looked across the room at his banged-up scooter, which he would first have to hobble over to, without crutches or a hand from someone. “I won’t go anywhere,” he said in a low voice, and then he yawned, partly out of fatigue, and partly out of stress. “Do you want a drink, Adam?” Zack nodded, and then the officer left the room. Zack rotated his chair slowly and carefully, so that he faced into the dark, woodgrain plastic table, and then he put his head down on his arms and closed his eyes. _________ The door opened with a loud mechanical sound, startling Zack, who jerked his head up off his arms and looked around. I fell asleep. Officer Riley walked back through the heavy door, one which, Zack noted, could be locked from the outside but not from the inside. Beside her was another woman, slightly older, probably about Kelly’s age, he judged. She was dressed in jeans and a sage green woolen sweater, and she had a light complexion, curly brown hair that fell to just above her shoulders, and she was wearing red framed glasses. Behind the lenses were brown eyes that appeared to be kind. The new lady stooped over slightly and put her hands on her thighs, before extending her right hand to Zack across the fake wood of the table. “Hi, Adam, I’m Mrs. Katrina. I work with Social Services.” Zack nodded. “Hi, Mrs. Katrina.” She has the mannerisms of a teacher. Officer Riley closed the door behind them, and gestured to a chair, which Mrs. Katrina sat down in. The police officer remained standing, as she put a bottle of orange juice down in front of Zack. She seemed to want to loom over the table a bit, and she had a serious look on her face, but then she cracked a joke. “Someone is going to be searching for the thief that stole that juice from their lunch…” she said, and then she smiled slightly. Zack looked at the two women, and swallowed. He wasn’t sure what to say. As though reading his mind, Mrs. Katrina started. “Adam, I want you to know that you’re not in trouble, at least as far as we know right now. This is a police station, and Officer Riley is a police officer, but, you haven’t done anything that we know about that would put you on the wrong side of the law. Although, you should know that, under certain circumstances, it can be a violation of the law to give false information to a police officer. Information such as who you are, or where you live, for example, or, what you’re doing out on the streets late at night.” Zack’s face blanched and his eyes widened. “So,” she continued, “are you ready to tell us who you are?” Zack slid his eyes between the two ladies’ faces, and then down to the mustard-brown graining of the table. Even despite being in the presence of an armed police officer, and now, a lady from… Social Services? Whatever that is… Zack still felt that revealing anything that would result in him being whisked back to the hospital, and back to Kelly, would be a mistake. He was willing to take his chances with the law. He had never been in any trouble, but he knew people, distantly, who had, such as a kid named Karl in the eighth grade who had let off fireworks in one of the washrooms, resulting in an evacuation of the school in the middle of the day. Even that guy had been back at home and back on social media within a few hours of leaving in the back of a police car, although he’d been off school for a couple of weeks, which always struck Zack as a strange punishment to administer. He’d set off fireworks in the bathroom to get out of school. Mission accomplished. Zack shook his head, but then realized it probably looked like he was declining to cooperate, so instead, he started nodding vigorously. “My, uh, name is Adam Cooper, and I’m from Olympia. Two-one-two-three Woodhaven Street. Well, I thought that was the number, but I might be wrong about that. We just moved.” The police officer leaned forward to address the social worker. “He said that he recently moved here. From Canada. Somewhere in Canada… he’s not sure exactly where.” Mrs. Katrina furrowed her brow. “Well, Adam, I’m a bit confounded, because you sound like a smart boy. Are you saying that you never knew where you lived, up in Canada? Canada is a big, big place, Adam. Nobody is just ‘from Canada’. They have, I think, ten provinces, big cities, and thousands of miles of wilderness. Is there a province or a city that can recall having lived in?” Zack looked at his hands, which where involuntarily wringing themselves. He decided to occupy them, and the moment, by opening his orange juice and taking a long swig of it. Tart… gees. Really tart. He smacked his lips and took his time putting the lid back on the bottle, while trying not to let his hands shake. Where did that Asian kid in gym class say that he was from? “Uh, we lived in Vancouver. I’m sorry, I’m really tired, I’m just having a hard time thinking.” Mrs. Katrina looked up at Officer Riley, and then she motioned towards the door with her head, and stood up. “Adam, Officer Riley and I are just going to chat in the hallway for a moment. We won’t be long.” Zack nodded, and then the two women opened the heavy door, stepped out, and closed it softly behind them. In the hallway, which was brightly lit, police officers and an older man in a suit made their way past, as the two women leaned into each other and made eye contact. “You said that you think he was wearing… a pull-up or a diaper, under his outfit?” Officer Riley nodded. “I gave him a light frisk when we first got here, mostly to check if he had any other injuries, but also, just to make sure that he didn’t have anything on him that might have been useful to us – a phone or a wallet. He doesn’t have anything with him, other than a five-dollar bill. But he’s definitely got something bulky on, underneath that… bodysuit, or whatever he’s got on. It felt like it was made of plastic.” Mrs. Katrina nodded thoughtfully. “We have to consider the possibility that he’s special needs in some way, perhaps on the ASD spectrum, or that he might be developmentally delayed in some manner. He seems very well spoken, but also extremely nervous, which is probably fitting, given his circumstances. Did he say how old he was?” “He said he was thirteen,” the officer responded. “But I don’t necessarily buy that – he’s small for thirteen. My best guess is that he’s nine, maybe ten. He’s smart for age, whatever else is going on with him.” “Well, we should proceed cautiously, in my opinion. I’m not sure that grilling him or threatening legal consequences is going to get us anywhere. He might just shut down. We have to assume, given the diaper, and his strange answers, that there is more here than meets the eye. We might want to have him seen by a psychologist, or a pediatrician. In the meantime, he’s clearly exhausted, he’s got some cuts and scrapes, and, anywhere we go from here, it’s going to take some time.” Officer Riley nodded once. “I have to imagine,” the social worker continued, “that somebody, somewhere, is going to be looking for him, if they’re not already, and that they will reach out to the authorities, as soon as they realize he’s gone. A kid his age, in his condition, is going to be missed almost right away. So… does it make sense to keep him here, asking him questions that he clearly can’t, or doesn’t want to answer… or, should we clean up his scrapes, get him something to eat, get him a change of clothes, find him somewhere to sleep tonight, and wait for someone to come looking for him?” The police officer looked at the social worker, nodding slightly. She was thinking about where she was in her shift schedule, what she would otherwise have been doing with her night, and, the fact that some of her fellow officers were out on the streets, and might need assistance at some point, while she was in the station, babysitting a kid who might have developmental problems. This didn’t seem like a law enforcement issue – not yet, anyway. She could go down some obvious avenues of inquiry, put calls into local hospitals and group homes, and inquire if anyone was unaccounted for, but getting anywhere with that would likely take hours, later in the evening. Handing this off to social services makes sense. “That makes sense to me, Mrs. Katrina…” Mrs. Katrina interrupted her. “Just Katrina is fine, officer.” “Okay, Katrina, I can assume that your department will be conducting its own internal inquiries, given that it’s possible that you’ve been in contact with him before? Unless he is, as he says, a new arrival from Vancouver. in which case, the school boards or, or the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, will have him in their system somewhere.” “I will start the process first thing in the morning. For now, I’m going to try and see if I can find him an emergency placement for the night with a foster parent… although the diaper situation might complicate that a bit. I have people who are geared for younger intakes, and people who deal more with youths, but the youth people aren’t generally equipped for… that.” “Do you want me to run out and get him some pull-ups while you’re still here? There’s a twenty-four hour pharmacy around the corner from the hospital – they have almost anything you can think of. I was in there last week, trying to find a cane for an elderly guy who had his stolen from him. He literally couldn’t leave our lobby unless we found something for him, or we’d have had to call him an ambulance, but he wasn’t injured. Who steals a cane from an elderly person, I’ll never understand. I think it had a street value of about zero dollars…” “I don’t know,” Katrina mused, “if pull-ups are going to do the trick. I have a daughter who used to wear them overnight. They really were for minor accidents, at best. Given the size of what that kid has on, I suspect we might need something a little more serious. And would you be able to slide something up over that big cast he has on? I think he needs something with tapes.” “I see what you’re saying. Hopefully they have something in stock that would work for him – his waist is not that large. Or maybe an adult pull-up would fit over the cast, although I suspect those would be too big on him.” “Sure, Officer, if you don’t mind doing that. I don’t want to take up too much of your time.” “You have no idea how much of my time would have been taken up by him, if you weren’t available tonight. It’s no problem – I’m going to be heading out and driving around anyway. I’ll run up there and see what they have.” “Bring me the receipt, and I’ll e-transfer you whatever it costs, and put it in my expense report.” “Okay, then, it’s settled. I’ll go dig up a first aid kit, and then I’ll do some shopping. I’ll also get you to poke around in our storage – we usually have random articles of clothing in there – you know, evidence, things like that.” Katrina guffawed. “No, I’m kidding,” the officer said quickly, “but we deal with car accidents, domestics, fires… Victim’s Services has a relationship with a couple of local charities, so we usually have kids’ pajamas, teddy bears, t-shirts, things like that.” “Perfect – if we can get him through tonight, then tomorrow, if he hasn’t already been claimed by someone, I can get him some basics.” Officer Riley walked down the hall towards what looked like a central work area within the station, a cluster of desks and cabinets in a larger, brightly lit room, while Mrs. Katrina pushed the door to the interview room open, and once again found ‘Adam’ resting his head on his outstretched arms.

Lara sat at her desk staring blankly at her laptop, not reading a word. Her attempts to study were clouded by thoughts of the well spanked boy sleeping downstairs. Every time she tried to refocus, it was no use. She just continued picturing Ted. Bent over across Stacey’s knee. Begging not to be paddled. His pink bottom in the air over the arm of the couch. Standing in the corner with his pants around his ankles. His buised butt getting strapped across his bed. Climbing into bed wearing nothing but a pull-up diaper. Lara’s hand slid between her legs. Working their way upward, her fingers found a growing warmth spreading as she considered how infantile Ted had been treated. The thought of him in pull-ups made her remember… “He needs thicker diapers!” Quickly opening a new tab on her browser, Lara searched “thick adult diapers.” As she perused the results, she muttered aloud to herself. “Hmm… no, too thin… and boring… “Here, these are thicker! But man, still boring… “Ha! Pink ones!” Lara perused a site with various options of plain colored diapers. She giggled a little as she read the descriptions like “overnight protection” and “heavy wetting.” She hit the back button and again clicked into the search bar. Hesitating momentarily, she amended her search. “cute adult diapers” Lara’s eyes spread wide open as the results poured in. Her jaw dropped. There were pages and pages of adult sized diapers fashioned with bright colors and babyish prints. Dozens of styles with varying thickness, though most of them boasted serious absorbency. Her hand dropped quickly between her legs. The warmth intensified and her fingers felt a dampness spread as she pressed them against the crotch of her leggings. She began rubbing herself, while her other hand scrolled the diaper selections. Lara was astounded as she saw the pictures of grown girls and boys modeling the colorful infantile diapers. She never would have considered something like this sexy, but in that moment, she was intensely turned on. After about ten minutes down the rabbit hole of adult baby accessories like pacifiers, onesies, and changing mats, Lara added a pack of baby blue printed diapers to her online cart and quickly checked out. Her purchase would arrive in just a few days. She was so titillated. Saving a few bookmarks for sites to check back on another time, Lara closed her laptop and opened her legs. She had more pressing matters to attend to than shopping for pacifiers. She slid a hand down the waistband of her pants as she pushed back from the desk. She closed her eyes. Imagining Ted, standing in the corner, red splotches at the tops of his thighs, just below a poofy baby blue diaper, Lara’s fingers worked the lips of her pussy. Finding the target, Lara gasped and bit her lip. She rubbed furiously as she pictured Ted’s muscular body, sprawled out on his bed, naked but for a cute Pamper, bulging at the crotch. Stifling her moans so as to not wake up her roommate down the hall, Lara pushed harder into her clit and massaged it deeply. The image in her mind flashed to Ted willingly bending himself over her knee. She pull down his diaper and began reddening his bare bottom. She imagined what she might say to him. “Naughty, naughty little boy. You just can’t act like a big boy can you? You need a good spanking and a fresh diaper, mister!” Lara’s entire body flexed. Her mind went completely blank as she reached a massive climax. She bit down hard on her lip, drawing a little blood, trying not to yell out in ecstasy. As she recovered her composure, Lara smiled to herself. It was weird for sure, the idea of spanking and babying her friend. But there was no denying, it was also very sexy. Lara regarded the state of her panties. They were very wet and had soaked all the way through to her leggings. “Sheesh, maybe I need a diaper too…” she muttered to herself with a snicker. Suddenly, she remembered the second bag of Goodnites stashed under her bed. She bolted over and retrieved the pack. Then she stopped. Standing like a statue, examining the package, Lara hesitated and debated inside her head. She squeezed the bag and turned it over. The dampness in her crotch began to cool, and a shiver ran up her spine. As if this were a sign, she tore open the bag and pulled out a pink and purple pull-up. She peeled off her pants and underwear, moving quickly so that she wouldn’t back out. Goosebumps rose on her bare, slender legs. She stretched out the diaper, and pulled it on. Turning so she could see her bum in the full length mirror behind her, Lara blushed and smiled. The print on her pull-ups was far less infantile than what she had just ordered for Ted, but there was no certainly mistaking them for big girl panties. Lara ran her fingers over her butt and pulled at the edges of her diaper. It was soft, and was rubbing her in the all right places. She liked how it accentuated her curves and cushioned her crotch. She felt like she had to share this with someone. Stacey surely wouldn’t want to be woken up. But Lara thought maybe Teddy would be interested to see what she had on. Slipping out of her room, she tiptoed downstairs, trying to be quiet but acutely aware of the soft rustling from her Goodnites.

A/N: I realized that I never actually gave a description of what this story is about and honestly, I have no clue myself. I’m kind of just writing as I go along, whatever pops into my head. However inspiration has defiantly come from Chasing Emily, Nerissa’s Home for Diaper Girls, Bnuuy Brainwash, ausdpr, Personalias and I can’t remember the name of the story but it was just like Groundhog Day where this Little is stuck in this never ending cycle! Besides that there are many more I’ve taken influence from! Also, for those of you new to my writing, I’m not big on doing structured stories. I’ll kind of chose a place to start and go from there and fill in it all along the way. Please stick with me! I’ve worked out the ending (whenever that will be) and it will all make sense later on hopefully. OoOoo Chapter 3: Etiquette School. The place where Little’s dreams were sent to die. Honestly, she would have preferred a public spanking, permanent diapering or even getting kicked around by her horrid Amazon toddler cousins but Etiquette School?! Oh, there was no hope of coming out of there sane. She’d woken a few moments later, dazed and confused wondering if it had all been a dream. But it was not. “Abby!” She cried, tugging on the front of the woman’s shirt. “Please! You don’t have to do this, I’ll behave. I’ll be good! Spank me! Diaper me forever, I don’t care! You know what they’ll do to me-” She wouldn’t look at her, ignoring her words and was placed back in her crib. Moving to open up the curtains, Dani exclaims, “hey!” Her hand moves to her eyes, attempting to block the stream of sunlight shining on her face. Her head pounded, a seeping ache forming in the back of her skull. She squeezed her eyes shut. “It hurts!” “That’s what happens when you drink alcohol. I’d think you’d understand what a hangover is, being that you’re an adult and all.” “I’m sorry.” The Little tried again, sincerely meaning it this time. “I was stupid and naive and should have listened to you. I promise I won’t do it again-” “Oh you bet you won’t. Especially when you get out of etiquette school.” She was deadly serious with her stony face, mouth pressed into a thin line and hands on her hips. “We’ll be driving up to Aequor tomorrow morning. I already made the call and a space has been reserved for you.” Dani struggled to breathe, in shock that they were going to Aequor. It was the second largest city after Amazonia located on the coast which was six hours away! Dani had been to Aequor once on a school trip when she was fourteen. It was warm and the ocean was the bluest that she’d ever seen but the people… not one Little was free. She knew they’d taken them there for its shock factor. To show everyone how good they had it in Amazonia compared to Aequor and the more conservative cities and it worked. After just one week, nobody complained about having to wear pull-ups to school ever again. “They’re going to scramble my mind. I thought you didn’t want a regressed Little! I’ll hate you forever!” Dani spat. “This is what you need. It’s for your own good and it’s all my fault. I haven’t been a good mother to you.” “That’s because you aren’t my mother. I already have a mother. I have parents that I haven't seen in three years because of you! I could never love you, you’re just like every other Amazon! IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!” Dani screeched at the top of her lungs, eyes blinded over with angry tears. So caught up in her own feelings, she didn’t even notice as Abby left the room holding back tears of her own. Dani realized then that Abby was just one of those Amazon Saviours, thinking she could save the poor Little just to make herself look better. None of this was ever about her. She’d just been another pawn in this awful Amazon world. OoOoo The phone rang and Abby laid back in bed, unable to stop the trail of tears pouring from her eyes. She hadn’t cried like this, not in a long time because she was the type of person to never take anything to heart. But hearing Dani say the words, I hate you, broke something within her. The phone picks up and her older sister sounds from the other line. “Hey Abby. What’s up?” “I- I don’t know what to do!” Those are the first words out of her mouth. She attempts to compose herself only to burst into tears once again. It’s silent on the other end besides a heavy breathing. Finally, she speaks up. “What’s wrong, Abby? What happened?” Her sister, Veronica is concerned. “I’m sending Dani to Etiquette School tomorrow and she hasn’t taken it very well.” “Of course, she hasn’t. She’s a Little, what did you expect? Besides, you know I’m not one to tell someone how to parent but it’s about time you’re doing this.” Her sister was straightforward, always had been and did not bullshit around. Abby could handle it usually but this time… this time she couldn’t stop the tears. “I love you, you know that but are you really crying over a Little? Who’s the adult in the relationship? Why are you allowing her to control you-“ “She said she hates me!” Abby exclaimed. “My own daughter hates me!” Veronica sighs, mumbling something intelligible under her breathe. “She doesn’t have the emotional intelligence or comprehension skills to even understand why you are sending her to Etiquette school-” “Dani does.” She tries to argue. “No she doesn’t.” Her sister cuts her off. “Littles see the world in black and white, in good and bad. She heard something she didn't like so she lashed out. That’s normal, even with Amazon children. You wouldn’t believe the number of times Billy and Cameron have said they hated me.” She thinks to her nephews, rightful terrors they are, at only seven years old. They couldn’t be left alone with Dani because they’d simply scare her to death. “The difference is that the boys will grow up. They will gain maturity and learn from their past mistakes, but Dani? That’ll never be possible for her. You are doing this Little girl a favor.” “It doesn’t feel like it.” Her voice is just a whisper, questioning her own ability to even properly parent. “Let me ask you a question,” says Veronica. “What would happen if you were to throw a baby in a pool?” “They’d drown!” Abby gasps. “Wh-why would you throw someone in a pool that can’t even swim? They’re way too young.” It’s quiet on the other end and half a second later, it sinks in. “I’ve just about drowned Dani. I’m killing her everyday.” The Little’s words ring in her mind: “Giving me all of these freedoms is like dangling a carrot in front of my face. It’s right there and I can feel it yet it’s ripped away every time, just out of reach.” Abby shakes her head wondering how she had been so naive? Her sister’s voice softens, understanding creeping into her tone. “You took her in with good intentions but you have to decide whether you want to be her friend or mother. You can’t be both. She simply can’t process it all.” “I… you’re right.” The Amazon quietly admits wracked with guilt. “I just don’t know if I can face her right now. I don’t know what to do.” “Let me watch her for today. Go on a drive, meet up with some friends, just get out of the house. Steve is away with the boys on a camping trip and won’t be coming home until tomorrow.” “Are you sure?”Abby sniffles, contemplating her offer. “You know how she gets around you.” Her sister was strict and parented with a firm hand, something Dani was not used to. She basically quaked in fear at her sister so she was reluctant to leave them alone. “There is no better time to learn than now. This is what she needs and you know it.” Veronica was right as usual. She had no argument. “Go clean yourself up and tell her what’s happening. I’ll be damned if you let a five year old make you cry. You are twenty-five years old, Abigail. Start acting like it.” She didn’t say this out of malice but tough love which is exactly what Abby needed at the moment. “How soon will you be over?” “Twenty minutes. You’re doing the right thing, Abby. Don’t doubt yourself.” The line went dead and Abby did as she said. Washing her face, getting dressed for the day and brushing the hair out of her eyes, she looked better, decent almost. Re-entering the nursery she let out a shaky sigh at her baby’s puffy eyes and pale face. Curled up in a ball, staring off into the distance, Dani didn’t even react to her re-appearance. “Honey?” She whispers, crossing the room to the crib. Softly, her hand touches her back and with a jump, the girl is shocked back into reality. Abby lets out a sigh of relief that she is not crying anymore yet how resigned she seemed, how unhappy, was almost as bad. “What do you want?” She says coldly, turning to stare her straight in the eye. Abby struggles to keep her composure, shaking away any uncertainty from her body. “I have some stuff to do today so Auntie Vee is going to spend the day with you. You are to listen to her as you do to me and trust me, she will not take any of your attitude.” “But I don’t like her!” The girl cries out. “You’re just trying to get rid of me now-” “Daniella!” She yanks the Little up by the armpits, holding her out in front of her. “One more word and I’ll tan your hide so hard that you won’t be able to sit for a week! You’re Auntie loves you. Show some respect.” “Isn’t respect earned?” She sneers. “That’s it. I’m done with your shit.” OoOoo “In the nursery.” Those were the only words said as her sister arrived. At ten in the morning, she was already craving a fat glass of red wine. That’s how fed up she was. “Do I want to know what happened now?” The shorter, older version of Abby stood in front of her. Staring at her dirty blonde hair, narrow face and pointed nose that she inherited from their father, Abby could only shake her head. “She hasn’t had breakfast yet and you’ll need to dress her. Beware, she is in a hell of a mood-” “Abby.” Veronica stops her. “Get out of here, let me handle this.” She didn’t need to be told twice. OoOoo “Look what we have here.” Dani grimaced, unable to keep the pained expression off her face. She’s resorted to sitting on her knees, unable to sit on her reddened bottom that had not even been brutalized ten minutes before. Freezing at the sight of her “aunt” Dani had been hoping it was just a threat, that she wouldn’t actually send her devil of a sister. Obviously the Little was wrong. Her bottom lip slipped between her teeth, regarding the woman with a weary stare. “Aren’t you going to say hello to your Auntie?” Her voice was sickeningly sweet and the threat was clear. “H-hello Auntie Vee.” She tried not to show her fear but her voice shook as the woman smiled, baring her pearly white teeth. A shiver went down her spine, instantly wishing Abby was here to pick her up- No! Her mind hissed. She doesn’t care about you! Dani, you don’t need her! Yes, that's right. Abby was evil, selfish and corrupt just like every other Giant. She wasn’t going to fall for her games any longer. Now she just had to survive the evil sister. The woman stood at nine feet and even though she was smaller than Abby, she wasn’t to be underestimated. Dani wasn’t afraid to admit that she was scared of her. It’s why her voice was seemingly lost in her throat, letting out a whimper as she was lifted into the air. She wouldn’t put it past the woman to drop her flat on her ass. “Now, none of that.” Veronica hushed. “We’re just going to have some yummy breakfast, get dressed and then we’re going out for the day.” “Out?” She squeaked. “B-but why?” “Because, it’s healthy for little girls to get some sun and the park is having Toddler Story Hour! Won’t it be fun to make new friends?” Dani stifles a whimper. The thought of going out in public with other regressed Littles… it was her worst nightmare. “But I already have friends.” “We can never have too many though.” That was the end of the discussion and Dani knew better than to push this woman’s buttons. At the same time, Dani wracked her mind about how she was going to get out of this. Toddler Story Hour was the definition of hell. Playing with a bunch of drooling brain dead Littles? Yeah, no thank you. Besides, she was older! She was a preschooler! Dani continued to pout, suckling on the tip of her thumb as they moved to the kitchen. Switched to one arm, her Aunt rummaged through the fridge grabbing out a cup of yogurt and fruit. Her stomach grumbled, instinctively reaching for the food only for her hand to be swatted away. “Ouch!” She squealed, yanking her hand back. “Silly girl!” Veronica giggled. “This is Auntie’s food.” But Abby always lets her choose her own breakfast. What was she going to eat? Much to the Littles confusion they went to the living room settling down on the couch. As her thoughts spiraled, the Amazon unbuttoned her blouse and out popped a large breast. Her jaw dropped at the sight and while every fiber in her body rebelled against this indignity, she couldn’t stop the conditioned response. Drool pooled in her mouth, dribbling down her chin just able to taste the thick sweet creaminess. “Such an eager girl, aren’t we?” “N-no,” the words trembled in her throat. She was Pavlov’s dog personified. “Relax honey,” she cooed. “You are way too skinny, we need to fatten you up.” Conflict tore her in two wanting nothing more than to run away screaming yet she craved the milk like one needed air to breathe. In the end, the Amazon didn’t give her much of a choice, re-positioning into a cradle in her arms, guiding her lips to her exposed nipple. The Little was hesitant but knowing there was no way to out of this, she latched on and the world blurred around her. Now, she was actually fucked. OoOoo Dani blinked heavily, trying to make sense of how they had ended up at the park but the haze was too strong. Just a moment ago they were at the house. They were getting dressed for the day and Auntie Vee was telling her what a good Little she was, how cute her little bum bum was all nice and padded. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of Talcum powder. She lifted her puffy dress the color of the sky decorated with pretty sunflowers. There was the faintest wetness that hadn’t been there before. ”What are you doing silly girl?” The Amazon giggles, lifting her suddenly and dragging her back onto her lap. “Are you showing everyone your diaper?” Everyone? Dani is terribly confused and glancing around, she sees they are sitting in a circle. Other Amazon’s and Little’s surround them. “Is that your daughter? What a cutie pie.” A woman speaks up sitting beside them with a Little only a foot taller than herself dressed like a sailor in a blue striped legless onesie. He chewed on his pacifier, picking at the grass in a weird fixation. “My niece actually. Her name is Dani.” her Aunt smiled, rubbing her back. “And yes, you say that now…” They share a laugh though Dani doesn’t know what is so funny about this situation. “Oh, is she a naughty Little girl? My Tommy was the same way before some time spent at Etiquette school and enrollment in daycare. He was studying to be an engineer before, isn’t that funny? Now he just loves playing with his toy trucks and trains.” A feeling of anxiety rises in Dani’s chest that she can’t pinpoint the cause of but this wasn’t right. None of this was right! She watches as the boy, Tommy, picks at his nose, unable to do anything but stare in disgust. “Why actually, Dani is headed for Etiquette school tomorrow. Sometimes they just need a little reminder how to be Little-” “Oh that is so true.” Another woman pipes in across the circle with a girl and a boy latched onto both breasts. Dani’s cheeks pinken and she can only look for a few seconds before turning away. “What etiquette school are you sending her to? My kids went local to Amazonia Tech. I say it’s cra- horse dung,” she catches herself, not wanting to swear in front of the Littles, “that Hypnosis is illegal now in Amazonia. Back when Teddy and Dora attended, it was all the rage and they’ve turned out perfectly fine.” Many others had now tuned into the conversation and all seemingly agreed with her sentiment. “She’s going to Aequor first thing in the morning just to get a little adjustment. Someone thinks she’s bigger than she is!” Her voice had turned into an irritating coo, tweaking her nose. The high had faded and any moment she’d come crashing down and Dani wasn’t sure how long she could stay compliant for. “Aequor, you say? That’s where my son went. Trust me when I say, it’s one of the best schools around. They can have her sorted in under a week.” The lady had just arrived a few minutes ago. Tall, black and beautiful, the boy she carried on her hip had his face buried in the crook of her neck. Around her shoulder besides the obvious diaper bag was a tote bag with a tall book peeking out from the top. The conversation died down and people seemed to know the woman as they all turned their attention towards her. Pulling out the book from the bag, the cover was a drawing of a diapered and pacified Little fearfully running with their arms outstretched towards a towering Amazon with a halo glow as a scary monster lurked in the background. There were whimpers, Littles clinging onto their caretakers as looks of fear crossed over their faces. Dani couldn’t help the a shiver went down her spine, the image obviously meant to induce a sort of alarm. Her aunt’s hold tightened and she shook off the feeling, not wanting to appear weak. Not wanting to appear little. “It seems we’ve got a big group here!” The woman suddenly gleamed, addressing the group of around fifteen families. “Welcome to Toddler Story Hour! For those new here, my name is Miss Berry and this here, is my Little Johnny Boy. Can you say hi to everyone, dear?” The name stopped her short, sucking in a breath, as she waited with dreaded anticipation. His head lifted, a pink blush spreading across his cheeks at the amount of eyes before finally settling on her’s. Oh his hair! His voice! His heart-melting dreamy eyes! It’s the stripper. Little Johnny Boy. Dani doesn’t know if this is God’s sick sense of humor but whatever it was… she had no words. They stare, less than a second, before going back to his caretaker’s neck, softly sucking on his paci so as to forget where they were. Anxiously, her eyes flit around the circle checking if anyone else saw their exchange but the others remain oblivious, oohing and awing over the shy little boy who just couldn’t let go of his mommy. Hugged tight in his hand was a striped zebra who’s ear looked like it’d been chewed on a few too many times. Dani just couldn’t comprehend that this was the boy - man - who just last night, literally made her wet (and not the way she usually was). “Oh my,” she laughs, rubbing his back. “I see someone is a shy little boy today. But that’s ok because we’re going to be reading a really fun story today called: ‘It’s Okay Not to Grow Up’.” As she began, her voice was soothing, calm and Dani felt her shoulders drop and heart rate slow just listening to the sound of her melodic tone read the words off the page. OoOoo As Little Molly Lu filled her diaper nice and big, her mind was consumed with many different thoughts. Her mommy opened the back of her stinky diaper, ahhing and oohing at Molly Lu’s dirty little bum. “Mommy?” She asked. ”Yes, sweetheart?” Molly Lu’s mommy said. She looks up at the tall powerful Amazon and Molly Lu asks, “why am I not a grown up?” “Do you want to be a grown up?” Molly Lu’s mommy knew this was not a weird question. All Little girls and boys had big imaginations! The Little girl nodded her head. “Yes, I want to be a grown up!” Molly Lu exclaimed. She wanted to drive one of those big cars and go to the park by herself and go on a date with a cute boy! Little Molly Lu’s mommy had a big smile. She patted her head and the two walked to the front door. Molly Lu was very confused. “Where are we going?” It was dark and cold outside as Mommy opened the door. “You want to be a grown up. This is your chance.” Said her mommy and Molly Lu couldn’t believe it. Her eyes went big and she skipped outside. But her mommy didn’t follow her and Molly Lu turned around. “Mommy, are you coming?” Her face was sad as she shook her head no. Mommy said, “grown ups don’t stay with their mommies and daddies - only Little babies. Grown ups also don’t wear diapers and grown ups certainly do not cuddle and get nummies.” Little Molly Lu was suddenly very scared. If Mommy was not here, who would tuck her into her crib? Who would change her diaper? Who would scare away the nighttime monsters? The door closed shut and Molly Lu had never felt more lonely in this big scary world. A growl is heard and she looks around the dark with tears in her eyes wanting her mommy. The Little girl lets out a tinkle into her diaper and Molly Lu wonders, why did she ever want to be a grown up… There was a collective silence over the group, Little’s sucking the life out of their pacifiers with wide-eyes and trembling bodies. The story went on showing illustrations of the small diapered woman being chased by the monsters of adult responsibility and expectations that every Little adult seemed to inherently remember no matter how fucked their mind was. Even Dani found herself shivering at the thought of copious amount of school work and the growing stress she hadn’t had to think about in years. “It’s just a little story, sweetie. You never have to be scared in Auntie’s arms.” Veronica whispered in her ear in what Dani guessed was to be words of comfort but felt more like a vague threat. She doesn’t remember how the story ended, though most likely back with the Amazon, because she’d tuned it all out. Veronica frowned at her lack of reaction, staring off into the distance at the other families and lone Amazon’s and Littles alike, cruising through the park on such a nice day. There were sounds of laughter and screams of joy, breaking over the heavy silence that had fallen over the group. Afterward, Amazon’s were talking, Littles sticking fearfully close to their caretakers still spooked from the story. Dani sighed, feeling two fingers sneak in the side of her diaper checking for its wetness. Only damp, thank god. That was just from this morning’s feed. It’s not like she messed herself constantly. These past few days had just been abnormal. “I haven’t seen you around before! Is this your first Toddler Story Hour?” Looking up, Dani withheld her gasp trying her best not to be too obvious. The stripper- Little Johnny Boy - fiddled with his stuffie secured tightly on her hip. She could see the puffiness around his lower half, covered by little blue sailor shorts to match the rest of his clearly themed outfit. The Amazon holding him stuck out her hand towards Veronica, the two of them shaking firmly. “Yes, it was.” Veronica smiled, answering the question. “Decided to take my little niece here on a day out. Give Mommy a little break.” “Well, today was certainly the perfect day! Next week's story will be on the importance of diaper wearing.” Oh for fucks sake! Dani struggles not to roll her eyes, having heard this one far too many times for her liking. The man in front of her, she can see, is struggling with the same thought. A very non-babyish, discreet smirk plays on his lips masked behind the rubber bulb. Dani knew she had to get him alone because she had far too many questions that were not about to go unanswered. The Little decides to take a gamble. It’s a risky one but she doesn’t know any other way and in all honesty, this was the safest. “Auntie Vee?” Her soft voice, light and airy stops the conversation. They all look at her, a hint of suspicion in Veronica’s eyes and absolutely adoration in the other. “Yes, darling?” “C-can we go play on the playground? It looks so much fun!” A brow is raised, Veronica pausing for half a second as she tries to work out what her true intentions are but even she is momentarily taken aback by the girl’s big blue eyes. “Oh, that’d be fun! Look at all the other Littles running around. Do you want to make some new friends, Little Johnny Boy?” The other Amazon exclaims, untangling his arms and legs from around her body and placing them on the ground. Immediately, he reaches up again and a whine escapes his throat. His body only makes it up to her knees and he tugs on her long flowing skirt. “Somebody must really love their mommy!” “You bet he does. That’s Aequor for you.” Dani is placed down and the Amazons can’t help but fuss over the two Little’s, walking them over to the playground just a few feet away. “Come to Auntie Vee, if you need anything, okay? I will be sitting right here with Miss Berry.” She points to the picnic table behind them. Staring at the man beside her, it seems the last thing Little Johnny Boy wants to do is leave the Amazon’s side but deciding to lead, she grabs his hand in her own and they run off. OoOoo The Amazons are watching from across the playground, not too closely, and they are out of hearing range. The two Littles sit down in the sandbox, bucket in hand and shovel in the other just for appearance sake. “D-do you remember me from last night?” Her voice is a whisper behind her pacifier, weary of behaving ‘too grown-up’. For a moment Dani thinks that he is not going to respond but then he nods in defeat, cheeks twinging pink. “Of course, I remember you.” They build a sandcastle, filling their buckets up. The sand is itchy on her bare legs but she does her best not to fidget. That would prompt the Amazons to come over. “What the hell is going on? Last night you were knee deep-” “Can you please not say it like that?” He hisses suddenly. He brushes his floppy hair from his face and he seems almost embarrassed. “Well it’s how it was.” Dani huffs. “Am I wrong in your affections for me? Because I certainly had them for you.” Dani doesn’t know what possesses her to admit that out loud but it’s said and… she doesn’t regret it. Little Johnny Boy doesn’t seem to either. “I-I’m just embarrassed. Y-you’re pretty and now I’m in a diaper.” “Do you think I care? Take a look at me.” A small smile plays at his lips, the tension slowly fading from his body. He talks again, explaining his story. “Mom - Miss Berry - No, Alisha - adopted me six years ago. I’m a Portal Little from another dimension.” Her eyes just about pop open. A Portal Little? She’d heard of them in stories but never had she actually met one in real life! “Which dimension are you from?” “Earth.” Dani was bursting with a million questions. Supposedly, Littles were free there. They were the adults. They were normal size and Amazon’s were the abnormality. Oh, to live in such a place… “I wasn’t supposed to come here. My brother and his girlfriend had signed up for one of those inter-dimensional two week vacation tours but my brother’s girlfriend fell sick and gave her ticket to me. That was six years ago and I haven’t seen my brother since.” “And you were adopted?” Her voice was understanding, pitying the man. If only he’d made a different choice… said no or fell sick himself. She liked to believe there was a reason for everything but what reason did the Gods above have for taking away their adulthood? “Yes but Alisha is different-“ Oh, she’d heard that before. “Do you really think I would be a stripper in the Underground without her knowing?” He gives her a look, seeing her disbelieving expression and well, he had a point. “I went to Aequor but I’m not fully regressed. When Alisha wants me regressed, I’ll slip at just a simple smell. But most of the time I’m lucid like now.” Oh, Dani could believe it. She sighed, “I’m sure you heard I’m going there tomorrow?” Now it was his turn to pity her. She’d considered running away, making her escape at the park but there were too many watching eyes. Even if they made it past Veronica and Alisha, who was that to stop literally any other Amazon from snatching them up? It was too risky. Glancing back, The Amazons seemed deep into their conversation, not even looking their way. “I’m sorry.” He whispers. “Maybe you can convince your Mommy not to go all the way? Perhaps just make you incontinent? I’m assuming she’s not like the others given last night.” It’s what Dani used to think but the Little wasn’t too sure of her intentions anymore. “I’ve pushed a few too many buttons and if my evil aunt has anything to do with it, this is the last time I’ll be having a normal conversation.” she grumbles. “Besides, you still haven’t explained what you were doing at the party. A stripper, really? Even the most liberal Amazon wouldn’t allow that.” “Well, you see-” He doesn’t have a chance to continue. The diapered man freezes and a familiar look crosses over his face. Skin red as he grunts, his hands clench into fists and the padding swells beneath his bottom. The stench hits her nose a moment later. There is no time to say another word because from the corner of her eye, the two Amazons are headed their way. So they were watching… “I can’t say anymore,” he hurries to say. “Just know that not everything is as it seems.” OoOoo A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you to all those who have read and reviewed. I promise I’m going to respond, I’m just so bad at it. As always, please feel free to leave a review, I love hearing what you all have to say. I’m going to try to post another chapter sometime this week because I’m going on holiday for about the next month starting on Friday and will not have anytime to write. However, if I don’t post this week, just know that I will start up again towards the end of May!

Hi all! Just wanted to provide a quick update so that yall know this story isn't dead! It's the end of the semester for me, which means I'm very busy and haven't had much time to work on this story. I apologize for keeping you all waiting, but, once the semester ends, I should have a lot of free time to make good progress on this story. So while it might be a few weeks before the next update, after that they should continue pretty regularly. Thanks for your patience!

Part 2 Angela spent most of the afternoon watching cartoons. She’d been insulted when Eric had sat her in front of the television and put on a little kids’ channel for her, but she’d barely managed to start complaining before the bright colours of the show drew her in. Even if it was a silly plot about a little baby bear leaning to be good for her Daddy, it was actually quite fun to watch. Later, she made a bit of a mess at dinner, and Eric needed to wipe her mouth clean for her and send her off to change her top. He’d even joked about getting her a bib. Angela had giggled, but really she’d been a bit scared. She didn’t want to wear a bib like a baby, and she didn’t know why she’d had such a hard time getting her food in her mouth like a big girl. But it wasn’t until she was getting ready for bed that evening that Angela really started to get upset, when she walked into their bedroom and saw the large disposable diaper waiting for her on the bed. She froze immediately at the sight of it. Even though she knew she wore them every night (didn’t she?), there was something about seeing it this time that was different. “I can’t… I don’t want to… I’m not wearing that.” “Sweetheart,” said Eric, like he was explaining something very simple to someone stupid. “You have to wear your nappy otherwise you’ll make a big mess. You’ll go pee-pee all over the sheets, darling, just like you do every night, and I don’t want to have to wake up in wet sheets.” Angela blushed. She felt utterly pathetic. “But it’s okay, baby,” Eric cooed, and Angela felt butterflies fluttering in her tummy at the gentle tone of his voice. “I still think you’re adorable, even with a yucky wet diaper on. I don’t care that you’re not fully potty trained at night, sweetie.” Angela’s face went even redder, but at the same time a pleasant tingle ran down her spine. Lucky girl. She was a lucky girl to have Eric. She held out her arms hopefully, and he responded by pulling her in for a big cuddle. His hand reached down to cup her bottom possessively. Angela felt dizzy, she felt drunk, and she didn’t even resist as Eric stripped off all of her clothes and laid her gently down on the bed, with her bare bottom planted right on the seat of the bulky adult nappy. ‘Good girl,” he crooned as he sprinkled her nether regions with baby powder and patted it into her skin. “That’s a good girl.” He taped her diaper tightly around her waist, and pulled her back to her feet. She stood there awkwardly, her legs spread apart by the thickness of her nappy, shifting from foot to foot. Eric started to undress as well, down to his boxer shorts. But he didn’t have any babyish underwear to change into because he was a grown-up. Angela was about to get into bed when she realised she hadn’t put a top on. Did she usually go to bed topless? She looked down at her large bare breasts and felt a bizarre urge to start jiggling them, to start bouncing them up and down. She giggled. She was such a silly girl! “What are you giggling at, sweetie?” her husband asked, smiling. “Nufing!” Angela blushed and shook her head. “I mean, nothing.” She was just being dumb. She was being a silly girl. She couldn’t tell him she’d been thinking about bouncing her boobies – that would be so embarrassing! It definitely wasn’t something that a big girl would do. But then it wasn’t something a little girl would do either, was it? Because they didn’t even have boobies! Angela screwed up her face in concentration. Eric laughed. “Silly girl! Are you trying to do thinkies? It’s bedtime, sweetie. Time to turn that sweet little brain off.” Angela scowled. Eric knew she hated being talked down to. She stuck out her bottom lip and stomped her foot to show him how angry she was. “Don’t patwonise me!” she whined. “Sorry, sweetheart,” he said, but there was something about his eyes that made Angela feel like he was still laughing at her. She got into bed grumpily, her tits jiggling and her diaper crinkling loudly. Eric got into bed next to her and immediately pressed himself right up against her body, reaching round to grab one of her boobs so tightly that she winced. She almost moved away instinctively. Weren’t they fighting about something? Weren’t they angry with each other for some reason? But then she remembered that good girls didn’t do that. Good girls didn’t say no with their mouths or their bodies. Angela frowned. That didn’t sound right. She wasn’t her husband’s property… was she? But she felt herself getting wet at the thought. It had been a while since they’d have sex, although she wasn’t sure why. She was so horny. She imagined him taking her now, ripping her nappy off and ramming his cock inside her, using her any way he liked. Then she pulled a face, sickened with herself. Where were these thoughts coming from?! She wasn’t a whore! Even so, she didn’t push her husband away. Eric didn’t fuck her that night, but Angela drifted off to sleep with his hard cock pressed firmly against her padded bottom. When she woke up the next morning, her diaper was soaked with pee-pee. Even though she knew it was something that happened to her every morning (although her actual memories were a little foggy), it still felt strange and embarrassing. It was so yucky! The sodden nappy was cold and clammy, and it reeked of piss. Their whole bedroom smelled like urine now. She’d probably smell like pee herself for the rest of the day. Her new perfume… She untangled herself from Eric’s arms and slipped out of bed, nearly gagging when her diaper sagged as she stood up. It was so heavy! She heard Eric moving behind her, and turned around. Her husband was propping himself up in bed, looking at her with a smile that was a too much like a smirk. “Do you need changing, sweetie?” he asked. She looked at him dumbly. “Do you need me to help?” he tried again, nodding at her waist. She followed his gaze to the sopping wet Pampers sagging between her thighs, and felt herself going red. No! She didn’t need help changing! She wasn’t a baby! A mental image of herself laying on her back with her legs in the air flashed in her mind, and she shook her head vigorously. “No fank you,” she mumbled. “I mean, no thank you.” What was wrong with her voice? She sounded silly. Silly like that secretary at the therapist’s office. A lisping porn parody. She ran her fingers through her hair and over her bare chest. No pigtails. No stripper tits. She was a big girl. A respectable woman. “Okay sweetheart,” her husband said, smiling patiently. “Go change your nappy then.” Angela broke out of her thoughts, realising she’d been standing there stupidly, like she was waiting for his permission to go. She turned around and toddled to the bathroom as quickly as she could, her droopy diaper swinging about between her legs as she went. She imagined she could feel his eyes on her backside and her face burned with shame. She must look so stupid! She nearly cried when she saw herself in the bathroom mirror. She was a sexy grown woman with great tits and a tight body, right up until you got to her waist, where instead of seeing her cleanly shaved pussy and toned ass, there was a bulky disposable diaper hanging heavily between her legs, clearly full to the brim with wee-wee. When she undid the tapes, it fell to the floor with a wet smack. She got to work cleaning herself up with wet wipes, making sure to get every bit of pee around her nether regions. She couldn’t stand being so dirty. Even as a child, she’d always hated any activities that got her messy. When she was done, she shoved her used nappy in the tiny bathroom bin and wandered back into the bedroom naked. Eric had arranged her clothes out on the bed for her, and for a moment, Angela could only stare at them in disbelief – a pastel-pink, little-girlish frock with frilly white ankle socks, trainers, and a pair of baby-blue panties with Disney princesses on the crotch. The outfit looked exactly like something a four-year-old would wear. Angela was about to shout, when all of a sudden a strange fuzziness filled her mind. She thought of the lovely swirling colours she’d seen at the therapist’s office, and looked at the clothes again. They were kind of cute. They weren’t baby clothes after all. They just looked a bit silly, and she was a silly girl. Angela smiled vacantly at Eric when he started to dress her, sliding her underwear up her legs and pulling her frock over her head (“Arms up! That’s a good girl!”), even pulling on her socks and tying her shoelaces for her. She felt looked after. She felt pretty and cute. She felt like a good girl. Once they were downstairs, she hopped from foot to foot impatiently while Eric put his own shoes on at the door. “Come onnn!” she whined, fidgeting with the hem of her dress, lifting it up absent-mindedly and flashing her adorable little-girl undies. “Looking forward to seeing the therapist, sweetie?” he asked, chuckling at her immature antics as he finished putting his shoes on and picked up a large sports bag. Angela nodded her head eagerly. She wanted to see the pretty lights again. “Good girl,” said Eric, taking her hand. A pleasant tingle ran down Angela’s spine and into her pussy. “Let’s get going, baby.”

Part 1 After Angela cheats on her husband, she agrees to go to couples therapy with him, but each session with the therapist leaves her feeling less and less like a grown-up. *** Angela tapped her foot impatiently while her husband spoke with the therapist privately, probably whining about how angry and betrayed he felt. They were both supposed to go in together in a moment, but for now she was stuck waiting in reception. Really, she couldn’t understand why Eric was being so dramatic. It was only sex! It wasn’t as though she didn’t love him anymore. She just needed to have a little fun sometimes, that was all. They weren’t even thirty yet! He was twenty-eight and she was twenty-seven. Did he really expect her to settle down and stick to a single sexual partner when she was still so young? But he’d insisted on seeing a marriage counsellor and she’d eventually agreed, albeit reluctantly. Their therapist was a man. How was he supposed to understand what it was like for a woman in her situation? And her first impressions of the office hadn’t been great either. The receptionist was a total bimbo! Angela glanced over at her. She was dressed up like some bizarre fetish fantasy. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a pair of high pigtails, and her stripper-sized tits were crammed into a sparkly Disney princess top. Didn’t this place have a uniform? She looked like an overgrown six-year-old for goodness sake! And she’d been acting like one too when she’d tried to match their names to their booking. Her husband had been very patient with her stupid lisping voice and barely passable ability to read, but Angela had wanted to turn around and leave straight away. What kind of serious therapist’s office employed a woman like that? At last the door opened, and the therapist stood in the doorway. He smiled kindly and gestured her to come inside. “He’s weady for you now!” the bimbo receptionist chirped happily, looking up from what looked like a fashion magazine for tweens. Angela rolled her eyes. “Thanks.” She went into the office and the therapist closed the door behind her. Eric was lounged on a sofa facing a hard-backed wooden chair, looking perfectly relaxed. Angela sat down next to her husband, leaving a few inches of space in between them. The therapist didn’t take a seat in the wooden chair, however. He took a tablet from his desk in the corner and stood in front of Angela. “Here,” he said, handing it to her. She looked down at the screen in her lap in confusion. What was this for? Some sort of presentation? “I find that girls always get a bit nervous in my office,” he said, talking to her in a light, overly friendly tone, as if he was talking to a nursery-schooler. “This will help you relax, okay sweetie?” Angela scowled. She was about to launch into a furious tirade. She couldn’t stand being talked down to! Who the hell did this man think he was? If he assumed most women were like his ditzy receptionist then he had another thing coming. But before she could say a word, the tablet in her lap came to life. Brilliant pastel colours swirled and spiralled on the screen, sinking into a single spot in the centre, and her complaints died in her throat. She couldn’t take her eyes off it. It was just so pretty… “There we go,” said the therapist in that same sweet tone. “That always takes care of fussy little girls.” “Is there anything I have to do?” Eric asked. Angela felt strange. She was vaguely aware of the men’s words, but it was as though they were coming to her from the end of a very long tunnel. Her attention was focused on the dazzling lights on the screen. “Not a thing. Let me do all the talking. Did you hear that, Angela? We’re going to have a little talk, okay sweetie? Nothing to be nervous about. I’m a trained professional, after all. We need to have a little talk about how you betrayed your husband. About how he found out you were cheating on him. Because that wasn’t very clever of you, was it Angela? Getting caught.” Angela shook her head, not taking her eyes off the screen. “Not clever,” she echoed. It was true. She shouldn’t have been caught. She should have been more careful not to let him find out. Because even though there was nothing wrong with what she’d done, even though she was completely in the right, Eric wouldn’t understand. “That’s right, Angela,” said the therapist. “You’ve been a very dumb bitch, haven’t you?” Angela frowned. That didn’t sound right. Dumb bitch. Was it okay for the therapist to call her that? “Look at the pretty sparkles, sweetie,” he encouraged, and Angela sank back into the swirling lights. “That’s right. You’re just a dumb bitch, Angela. All women are, but you especially. That’s okay though. You don’t know any better – you’re just girls.” Angela knew vaguely that there was something she didn’t like about what the man was saying, but she was too engrossed in the swirling colours to care. His words were like background noise. She could understand them if she concentrated, but it was so hard to focus with the wonderful patterns in front of her. “Yes, you’re just a girl, Angela. Just a silly little girl. A big child. It doesn’t matter if you do something wrong, because you can’t be held accountable for your actions, can you? You’re sweet and innocent.” Angela nodded eagerly, a dim smile spreading across her face. She hadn’t done anything wrong. If she wasn’t so distracted by her tablet, she’d have smirked at Eric. His stupid attempt to guilt-trip her with marriage counselling was backfiring on him. The therapist was on her side. “Besides,” the therapist continued. “You didn’t cheat on your husband anyway, did you Angela?” Angela was confused. She had cheated on Eric. Was the therapist going to help her cover it up? But Eric already knew, didn’t he? Surely that wouldn’t work! The lights on the screen grew brighter. They were so, so pretty… “You didn’t,” the therapist said again. “In fact, it’s completely impossible for you to have cheated on your husband. You know why, I’m sure. It’s because of your embarrassing bedwetting habit.” Angela wrinkled her nose and started trying to shake her head in disgust. She didn’t wet the bed! The therapist must be confused. He must be mixing her up with some little girl. Maybe one of his other clients was some silly little bedwetter who needed to be reassured that everyone had accidents now and again, but that certainly wasn’t her. “Don’t… I don’t wet the bed…” she mumbled. Her words felt heavy in her mouth. It was hard to think. She just wanted to watch the pretty swirling lights. “Look at the colours, sweetie,” the therapist told her. “That’s a good girl. You are a bedwetter, Angela. You wet the bed every night. You have done for quite a few weeks now. And what man would want to sleep with a woman who still pisses herself in her sleep like a dumb toddler? You’re very lucky your husband puts up with your babyish behaviour, young lady.” Angela’s face slackened as the spirals spun faster and faster. Lucky. She was a lucky girl. She was lucky to have a husband who put up with her bedwetting. Another man might leave his wife if she started peeing herself every night. Especially if she’d cheated on him too. But Eric didn’t know about that. Did he? It was strange. For a while Angela had been sure he did. And the therapist didn’t seem to know either. In fact, he thought it was impossible for a bedwetter like her to cheat on her husband! She blushed even more brightly. How had she done it? Angela frowned slightly. She didn’t know. She couldn’t remember clearly. But the therapist was right – who’d want to have sex with some stupid, bedwetting baby-woman? Why would anyone sleep with her when it meant waking up in piss-soaked sheets, or next to someone in a sopping wet diaper. Her special protection. Her baby pants. Was the therapist still talking? She tried to pay attention. “…because your husband puts up with you in other ways too, doesn’t he?” he was saying. “It’s not just the bedwetting. You actually have quite a few silly, childish behaviours that no adult woman should reasonably be expected to have. You…” Angela tuned out again. She could feel his words entering her ears, but her attention was focused entirely on the lights in her lap. So pretty. Such pretty lights… When she came to, the tablet was gone, Eric was standing up and putting his coat on, and the therapist was looking at her with a satisfied expression on his face. Had she fallen asleep? “Ready to go home?” Eric asked her brightly. Angela smiled back, a little hesitantly. She’d thought she was in trouble, but maybe she’d just been confused. She was such a silly girl sometimes. Such a dumb bitch. Eric held out his hand, and she took it. It felt nice to be holding onto him. It felt reassuring. He held her hand all the way back to their house, and while he walked, she couldn’t help herself from skipping along beside him.

Chapter 40: Healing Little in Love 2 – LittleFallenPrincess It had been six months since the protests stopped. Six months since the Prime Minister got voted out and arrested, along with Chris Slater, for their roles regarding the attack on Charlie. Thanks to LIBRA going through all their servers and all of Chris’ house, we found a bunch of incriminating evidence for both Chris and the Prime Minister, meaning that it was pretty much an open-and-shut case. It was as I feared, Chris had initially started off wanting to help people… but he got greedy. After setting up his apartment blocks, and once LIBRA had decided to try and find a candidate to run for parliament, he was approached by some companies, and also the Prime Minister, about potentially selling us all out for guaranteed safety. Turns out they had found out about what happened to Madison, and were terrified of LIBRA using that technology against us, so instead of fighting us, they turned our biggest supporter. Shortly after my wedding, he started receiving messages from them. And not long after that… began discussing using that technology on littles, as they had had one unfortunate accident when one of the researchers played around with the settings, frying their brain… making them Brute Force victim number one. All in exchange for saving his own skin. The Prime Minister had told him of his plans for the country, of his planned betrayal, and said that littles would never have power. Well… all except Chris. So the whole time I was campaigning, trying to convince people to go out and vote for us… Chris was being manipulated and coerced by these powerful individuals, and by the time we won… they were already the best of friends. And being the nuisance that I was to both Chris and the Prime Minister… they both decided to hypnotise Charlie to get me to back down, as apparently if they had gone after me, it would have just empowered littles. But if they went after me through Charlie… it would just be another Amazon regressing a little. Every time she went to one of her ‘publisher’ meetings, she was really being hypnotised by the device Chris had developed, and… well… you saw how that turned out. Now… obviously, with the current laws… they weren’t going to prison for their role in creating the Brute Force hypnosis. But they had gone after an Amazon. Manipulated her mind. And what was worse… was that apparently Charlie wasn’t the first. Obviously, they had to test it on others, so they found critics of Chris or the government, and manipulated their minds. It was a huge scandal and I had a lot of higher ups questioning me and LIBRA regarding the ‘destruction’ of the device. But I wasn’t lying when I said I destroyed it. I’m not having anything that messes with people’s brains, be it Amazons’ or littles’ minds. So yes, it was a bit of a hectic half a year. And a lot has happened in those six months. Let’s get it over with… no, I didn’t accept the nomination. I turned it down and suggested Lorna Carter be nominated instead. She seemed trustworthy, and I had Dotty look into her situation to make sure my gut was right about her. Turns out it was, Lorna had adopted her little friend after she had rescued her from a previous abusive adoption, and was helping her recover, even sending her to see Eve a few days a week. So she had my full backing, which apparently meant a lot to the rest of the party, who all voted for her in a landslide win. So she took over as interim Prime Minister, and called for an election within the year, pledging to dismantle the current party and lead a new one, made up of both Amazons AND littles, making sure to only let in those who weren’t the ex-Prime Minister’s lackeys, people who wanted to actually make a difference to little’s lives, you know… the ones who ran this party until the Prime Minister and Chris got their grubby little hands on it. I was asked, personally by Lorna, to run in my constituency again, but I… turned them down. I’d had enough of being in the limelight. I’d had enough of being targeted due to being the only little. Even if they were going to take more little candidates on… I didn’t want to be part of it anymore. I set out to make a difference… and I have done. Not only did I get the corrupt leader out, root out the corruption within LIBRA, and start a country-wide protest that led to everything changing… but I finally passed the Littles Equality Act. It was the first thing Lorna did as interim PM, making sure to ‘right the wrongs caused’ and ‘doing what they should have done within the first week of winning’. And thanks to our majority in the House of Commons, we got it passed quickly, just before the election. It was the House of Lords that I was worried about, but it turns out the protests got them shaken up too, and they quickly passed it, with two thirds majority voting in favour of the bill. And… before you ask… no, I didn’t use the device before I dismantled it. Of course I didn’t. I just saw the good in people and hoped for the best. And so it became law. Littles in our country suddenly had rights they no longer held before. Adoptions plummeted because it became illegal for Amazons to adopt littles without consent. Sure, some people still forcibly took littles, but the police now had much greater power to bring those to justice. Corruption in the government and the police was quickly stamped out, ensuring that they were serving the people, and that means everyone, littles included. Businesses catering to baby equipment for littles found their profits dropping sharply, so they all moved away overseas to countries that still allowed nonconsensual adoptions. But even with that drop in our economy, that was quickly made up by the number of littles who started returning to work now that it was safe to do so. And to top it all off… TV and radio suddenly became safe for us, after all forms of hypnosis for littles was banned. To my surprise, there were still quite a few consensual adoptions. Nowhere near the thousands every month that we had before forced adoptions were banned, but still a good dozen or so each month. Adoption centres were shut down, some of which forcibly. There was no need for them anymore, they were all out to make a profit at the expense of the littles it forcibly took, and they treated all of us so inhumanely. But in its place… were ‘LIBRA centres’. After Chris’ arrest, his funds had been used by Dotty and Claire and the rest at LIBRA to open what are known as LIBRA centres. They had bought the old adoption centres and turned them into these little ‘sanctuaries’. These centres are here for any littles in need of help. Whether it's because of an Amazon who is trying to adopt them forcibly, or if they need help after being exposed to any illegal infantilising hypnosis or nanites, LIBRA centres were set up to help any little in need. They also helped littles who wanted to be adopted, finding them safe, loving families if they wanted to go down that route. There were a lot of background checks to make sure the Amazons who would adopt them weren’t in it to abuse the littles, and so that if the little ever wanted to ‘grow up’, they could. Eve also really had her work cut out for her. Faith had helped her develop a way to help those who had been subjected to the brute force hypnosis recover, though it was going to be a long, difficult process to get back to normal for the regressed littles, a lot longer and harder than it was for those only subjected to the generic hypnosis pumped out on TV. Once she was done though, Faith and Morgan said goodbye once again and headed back to their new home, telling me that we needed to visit sometime. And so Eve continued her work and her research. Plus not only did she still manage her own clinic, but she now trained others in her methods to help un-regress littles, and then those got hired at LIBRA centres. LIBRA was slowly making their way through the previously registered adoptions, freeing any adopted little they could, and helping them recover at one of their centres. Some wanted to stay adopted, choosing to stay as an infantilised little in the care of an Amazon, as it made the world a lot easier to deal with. Honestly… part of me understood their choice. It’s better for us all now… but it’s still scary out there. Those that were too far regressed to consent to adoption were forcibly taken by LIBRA and were in the process of being treated at their centres. They’ll be given the choice if they do manage to recover, and then LIBRA will help them rebuild their life… or sign up to a consensual adoption if they choose that. Of course it would take time for those littles rescued to recover and get their adult mind back, but in the meantime they are taken care of by Amazons who are carefully vetted by LIBRA. Those that are too far gone are made sure that they are only adopted by genuinely caring Amazon parents, or their little families if they are still around and willing to take care of them. Speaking of LIBRA, Claire and Dotty had taken over, using the funds left by Chris to start the centres, taking a more public stance compared to the secretive organisation Chris had run. They met with the new Prime Minister often, trying to guide her new Equalities office to improve things across the country. I helped here and there, but once they had a handle on things, I left them to it, opting to spend more time at home with Charlie. LIBRA not only helped with littles either… They also helped start a research organisation into fixing the declining Amazon birth rate. If the Amazon maternal/paternal instinct could be quelled by having their own children… along with the societal changes we are enacting… maybe they’ll never need to adopt littles. So hopefully they’ll manage to find a solution as to why Amazons are finding it hard to have children, and can fix it. And before you ask… no, not all Amazons were happy with these changes… There were a few protests, but they got like ten people to show up to each one, which in comparison with our millions… made it obvious what our society really wanted. These ancient artefacts needed to move on and progress. So yes, that’s pretty much everything that has happened since everything went to shit six months ago. Massive change, lots of work… and I have finally found a night off that I was fully intending to spend with my wife. “Hey, my love, I’m home!” I called out as I shut the front door to our home. “In the living room. Be quiet though…” Charlie replied from the living room, whispering. “Oh, is she asleep?” I asked, hanging up my coat and walking quietly into the living room. “Yes. She’s been waiting for you to get home. She missed her big sister.” “It’s still cute that she calls me that, especially when she’s like double my size.” I walked in to see Charlie snuggled up on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around her and Nessa, whose huge nappy was sticking out from underneath the bottom of the blanket as she sucked her dummy. Okay… so maybe a bit more has changed since the protests… Whilst Charlie was in hospital, Nessa had spent all that time with my wife, at her bedside, protecting her. So of course during that time they reconnected, and once Charlie was out of the hospital, she properly introduced Nessa to me and we chatted and got close. Turns out Nessa is just as amazing and lovely as Charlie made her out to be. She’s so sweet and kind… and adorable. Once Charlie and I had time to heal regarding our Mummy and baby sides… we arranged for a few playdates with Nessa, as a thank you for everything she did. And whilst I will admit it was a bit weird to be playing with dollies with someone nearly double my height… I quickly bonded with the Amazon adult baby and she became one of my closest friends. So close that whenever she comes over she’s my ‘baby sister’, and Charlie looks after us both. We’re not in a relationship with her or anything, but we have our own little family thing whenever she visits and… look, it’s hard to describe, but Nessa isn’t really interested in relationships right now and Charlie and I are happy just as we are. I just get a baby sister occasionally whenever Nessa stays over, which is every other weekend lately. I love it, as I genuinely love spending time with Nessa, and she looks so freaking adorable all snuggled up with my wife like that. But because she’s here… that means that these adult clothes I had been wearing all day at the office… had to come off. No doubt Nessa will be awake soon and will want to play video games with me, and Charlie insists that if Nessa is a baby, then so am I. I think she just uses that as an excuse to spend more time with her baby girl. And I… I am not complaining. ----------------------------------------- “WIVIE! It’s getting late!” Nessa said, as she looked at the clock, pausing our game and pointing up at the clock. “I’m surprised you can even tell the time. You’re littler than me…” I grinned at her from behind my dummy, looking up at her as I snuggled between her legs, my thick nappy creating a nice little cushion on her feet, and her thick nappy creating a nice little backrest for me, though I swear during the last race my ‘backrest’ got warmer… “Look at my little girls… aren’t you adorable!” Charlie said as she waltzed over and bent down on her heels, ruffling Nessa’s hair and reaching down to give us both kisses on the head. “Hey! Can we have one more game?” I asked. “One more, then you need to be big girls for a bit whilst we get you both ready. Auntie Claire’s having her baby shower and I need to get you both dressed up for the party.” “I’m surprised we get to be dressed up big for it…” I commented, not realising what I had just said. “Oh baby… you’re not going dressed up big… It is a BABY shower after all. Claire has to learn how to change nappies…” “Oh come on! She already knows how to change nappies! This isn’t fair!” I whined, whilst Nessa just blushed and hid her face. She was still getting used to being little around others outside of me and Charlie, but at least she was getting close to my friends, so that she won’t freak out. “Yeah well what Mummy says, goes. You know that. And good job I got you to make a bigger version of that pink dress I love on you so much… Ickle Nessa is going to look absolutely precious!” “EEK!” My ‘baby sister’ squeaked, hugging me tightly like a stuffie. “Oh my god… Liv, you have to make me a dress like that for my little one… You two look like sisters… it’s adorable!” Claire said, looking a lot bigger since the last time I saw her. You’d have thought she would have taken some time off from LIBRA, but last I heard she was just as busy as she was at the start of her pregnancy. Nessa and I blushed as we walked into Claire’s apartment. Well… Nessa waddled in, with a toddler harness on that Charlie held the end for, and I was carried in by my wife, in her arms. Thankfully, we weren’t the only ones being humiliated today, as I looked over to see my friends, all dressed up in their cutest baby clothes, being fussed over by their Amazons. Even Eve was baby talking to Zoey and Sarah, who were snuggled up together on her lap. Amber… she didn’t look so happy, sat on the floor by Gwen, but at least she was looking better than she has in a long time. Thanks to Faith’s discovery, Eve managed to develop something to help Amber recover from her mushy brained state. She still acted babyish occasionally, the baby side of the hypnosis still taking over occasionally, but she was lucid some of the time. Gwen kept her as a baby for the time being, until Amber has recovered enough, even having to adopt her through the new, consensual means. Which meant that Amber understood the need to have Gwen do it, accepting to relinquish control to her friend until the time where she has fully recovered and is able to nullify the adoption. Thankfully, me and my friends had used our many playdates with each other to ease Amber into the whole ‘adult baby’ thing, meaning that she was no longer mortified by being treated like a baby or slipping into her ‘baby brain’. She had always wanted to stay away from baby stuff when she had gained her independence, but at least she accepted it was a part of her life for now, even if it’s not permanent. Which helped her enjoy playing with us. Sometimes I’d even see her getting into it, which made Gwen happy, knowing that she wasn’t making Amber miserable by being her Mummy. Ellie and Danny were here with their Mummy too. Catherine must have had the same idea as Charlie and dressed them both up in matching onesies so they looked like sisters. Which I must admit… was adorable. And made me blush more upon seeing them. Other than this lot though, the only other one invited was Malcolm, the father of the soon-to-be-born child, who awkwardly hovered behind Claire, sipping a glass of whiskey. We knew that our other friends wouldn’t feel so comfortable around all this baby stuff, so whilst we did invite them… we understood why they wouldn’t want to come. Lots of humiliating babyish party games later… and it was present opening time. Claire and her bump carefully sat down as she was passed wrapped gifts one at a time, all whilst I snuggled up with Charlie on one of the chairs. Malcolm let his partner get all the attention and had sat next to us, whispering to me. “So Liv… you’ve only got a few months in office left, right?” He asked. “Yeah. About two. That’s when the election is.” I replied. “A little over a year in office… you sure you want to only have a year?” “Yup. Had enough. Don’t like the press. Don’t like the attention. I wasn’t qualified for my role, I just wanted to make a change.” “And that you did. Whole country got turned upside down thanks to you. So have you any idea what you’re going to do when you finish?” “I… was wondering if you had a position available? Still in need of a designer and seamstress?” I smiled up at him. “I… guess I am. The previous woman I had in was a right baby… worked from home in her nappies… sucking on a dummy… she was good though.” “I missed you too!” I laughed and grinned at him. “It’ll be good to have you back. Though isn’t it a bit boring for you? All your adventures… all this stuff you’ve been through…? It’s not like we’re going to be rescuing any littles or anything anymore. We’ll actually just be running a shop.” “I know. But hey, with the littles going back to work and not being scared to go out… the market is there for little outfits that aren’t babyish.” “I think you’ve got a point. So boss… want to start brainstorming on Monday?” “Boss?” I asked, confused. “You’re the one hiring me…” “We both know who’s in charge.” Malcolm replied. “Yes, me.” Charlie interrupted, kissing my forehead and making me blush and bury my head in her shoulder. I looked at Malcolm and he looked at me, trying to contain our laughter, but it was futile. “Yeah, she’s right…” ----------------------------------------- We arrived home after a very fun baby shower with a very sleepy Nessa in the back of the car with me. “I’ll put Nessa in the spare nursery that I made up for her. Can you be a big girl and go get on the sofa? I need to snuggle with my wife before we get some sleep.” Charlie said as she unbuckled the snoring adorable Amazon adult baby from the car seat and gently lifted her up onto her hip. “You’re so strong…” I commented as I waddled beside my wife up to the front door. “She’s just a very light girl, poor thing. I can tell Madison’s comments about her weight in the past did a number on her…” “Is that why you’re trying to make sure she eats? I wondered why you were so insistent.” “I am. I… want to make up for not standing up against Madison.” “You know she called my office, right?” “Madison did?” Charlie inserted the key into our front door but stopped as she looked at me, clearly surprised. “Yeah, but I wasn’t in. So she left a voice message.” “What did she say?” “Sorry. For everything. She wasn’t looking for forgiveness, just wanted us to know how sorry she was. And that she’s doing something with her life now. She’s… she’s actually working in one of the LIBRA centres opening up.” “Well I still hate her guts. But after helping you whilst I was not myself, and now working to help other littles… maybe I won’t punch her in the face if I ever see her again.” “I don’t blame you if you do though.” “I’m just glad she didn’t completely ruin poor Nessa here.” “Me neither.” “Now, baby girl, go get that cute, padded butt on the sofa and I’ll go get this little one tucked in. Then be prepared to be showered with a million kisses!” “Eeeeek!” ======================================================= Just the epilogue to go! Was this how you expected it to end all those weeks ago when I started posting? Was it everything you hoped for? Did you enjoy the ending? Please leave all your comments and stuff, I'm excited to hear what people thought of this story. (Obviously there's the epilogue to go, but this is the last proper chapter). Epilogue on Wednesday, new monstrum story starts a week today! My new story just had it's third chapter on SubscribeStar, so expect it here next week (at least that's the current plan). Also thinking of opening up short story commissions now too finally, now that my writers block seems to have subsided. If you haven't seen, I'm now up and running on Subscribestar! (Sorry for the reminder again, trying to get my subscribers back after the Patreon rubbish!) ======================================================== I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Please leave likes and comments and all that fun stuff, I love reading them! If you want to read the next 4 chapters, thanks to two weeks early access to my main story and also soon-to-be exclusive access to short stories (or even have a chance at commissioning one when I add the tier for them!), why don't you check out my SubscribeStar! 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I realized I was a week or three behind, so you're getting two chapters this week! Seventy-Seven I still wasn’t used to the idea of getting ready for work in the morning. For some time now, my mornings consisted of being woken by Mommy, getting my diaper changed, having breakfast made for me, and then being sent off to the living room with my cartoons. Now, after a diaper change and breakfast, there was a stack of adult clothes waiting for me to slip into. Tight, restrictive, adult clothes. Something seemed off, though, and I wasn’t completely sure what it was until I spotted Mommy again in the kitchen after I had gotten dressed. “Are you not going to the office today?” I asked. Her yoga pants and t-shirt couldn’t have been further from what she normally wore to work. In fact, she rarely looked this schlubby when it was just in the house. “Not today, Baby.” “But…” “Don’t get your diaper twisted. I’ll still be driving you to the office. But then I’m coming back home.” “Are you okay? Are you sick? Are you…” “I’m fine,” she said, smiling. “Thank you for caring, Baby. Mommy just needs a little me-time this morning. And then, this afternoon, I have an appointment that I’m not really looking forward to.” “An appointment?” I asked. “What kind of appointment?” My mind quickly scrolled through the worst-case scenarios. Some sort of diagnosis from her doctor? Business issues? A job opportunity that would take her far, far, away from me? “It’s nothing you should trouble yourself over right now,” she said. “I promise, we can talk about it more later.” I wanted to trust her, but it was the ‘right now’ part that troubled me. Did that mean, at some point, I’d have to trouble myself over it? I let it go. Clearly she was already feeling stressed about it, and she didn’t need me badgering her for more information. I gave her a tight hug as a show of support, which she reciprocated by tightly grasping my body as well. Soon after, I was in the passenger seat as she drove. Sitting next to me was a bagged lunch she had packed for me. I hadn’t looked to see what she packed, but judging by the shapes I could feel through the paper bag, there was at least a baby bottle waiting for me. While I had no doubt that whatever she had packed would be received well by the office, I also knew that it’d probably cause me to blush. Future-me problems, I told myself. It felt right to offer one more sign of support for whatever it was that seemed to be weighing heavily on her mind–whatever it was that involved her ‘appointment’: “Mommy, whatever’s going on, I’m sure it’s going to work out for the best. These things usually do–especially when you’re involved.” She took a hand off the wheel and put it on my thigh. “You’re a sweet boy, Clarky. I know I’ve told you this a thousand times, but it continues to be true.” “At least ease my mind a little,” I said. “You’re not, like, dying, are you?” “No,” she said, chuckling a little as she stared ahead. “It’s nothing like that.” “Oh. Well…that’s good.” “I promise you, I’ll tell you everything soon enough.” “Okay,” I said, believing that. “Clark?” “Yes?” “This is going to sound like a silly question, but I need to ask it anyway. You know that I love you, yes?” “Of course.” “I do. I love you very much, Clark. In fact, it’d be hard for me to think of anyone I love more than you. And that’s not just in some romantic way. That’s a familial love. That's friendship love. That’s a love I thought I’d only feel for my actual flesh and blood–if I ever had children. I love you, Clark.” “I…I know that. And I love you too. But…” “I just wanted to say that,” she said. “That’s all. I wanted to make sure that it was extremely clear.” “I do understand that,” I nodded. Her words were making me nervous. It sounded like the sort of thing people said in movies before they sacrificed their lives. Or…made some sort of questionable decision. This was usually the point where I’d start to panic or overthink things–but I trusted Mommy far too much to let my worries get the best of me just yet. Soon enough, as she said, I’d have answers. And when I did, I had no doubt that everything would make sense. “I hope you have a good day at work, Baby,” she said, pulling up in front of the office building. She leaned towards me, planting a wet kiss on my cheek. “I’ve asked Lyndie to keep an eye on you today. Try not to give her much trouble, okay?” I shrugged, laughing. “No promises.” “That’s a good boy,” she smirked. “Now, off you go. I’ll see you tonight.” No sooner than I had departed the car, Mommy was off and down the road, headed back to the house, I presumed, for her me-time. It was a rare occurrence for Mommy to just stand, or sit, still–it seemed like she was always doing something. Always moving. I tried to imagine what her me-time would even look like. A giant cup of tea–or glass of wine–while she watched soap operas? Did she read a book in the bathtub? She did like to read–though her taste in books never seemed especially relaxing either. True crime and true crime adjacent, usually. How she didn’t have nightmares about it all was beyond me. “Good morning, Clark,” Amber said as I approached the front desk. “G-good morning.” Amber seemed nice, and Mommy spoke highly of her, but I had yet to get a good read on her. She was distant enough from the baby-shenanigans that I just didn’t know what went through her mind when she saw myself or Risa waddling around in diapers. “Think you’ll be alright without your Mommy today?” Was she mocking me? Or was that a genuine question? “I, uh, think I’ll be good.” “Of course he’ll be alright,” said another voice. Lyndie was approaching. “He’s got me looking after him.” “Good morning, Lyndie.” We walked deeper into the office, and when I felt we were far enough away, I had a question: “How do you feel about her?” “Amber? She’s cool. Don’t expect her to change your diaper, but she’s never going to give you any problems.” “Hey, uhm, do you know anything about Mommy staying home today?” I asked. “Some sort of appointment?” She was quick to shake her head. The suspicious part of me thought it was way too quick. “Can’t say I do,” she shrugged. I wasn’t about to call Lyndie a liar, so I kept my doubts to myself. “So, how’s the diaper doing this morning?” she asked, her hand giving my bottom a good firm pat. Behind us, I could hear Risa giggling, causing my cheeks to blush. “Dry so far,” I said. “I’ll check again soon enough,” Lyndie assured me. “Well, you know where to find me.” I sunk into my office chair and booted up my PC. There was actual work to do. Actual responsibilities. I still wasn’t used to how novel this felt. I had a few tasks assigned to me–nothing that seemed extremely critical or urgent. Likely just the boring and tedious tasks that nobody else wanted to do–the sort of stuff that would’ve been relegated to the interns, if this company had them. Interns. Wow. That used to be me. There was some file organization to do. Some data entry. Some proofreading on an early draft of an employee handbook. There was a folder of images that needed to be moved to another server to be used on the company’s still-developing website. “Are they giving you lots of work to do?” Risa asked, strolling up to my desk. There was a baby bottle in her hand, filled with what looked to be milk. She casually tipped it into her mouth, suckling from the nipple. When she was done, she wiped the drips of white liquid from her lips with the back of her hand. All without the slightest care in the world as to what other people might think. Too, her attire was quite infantile–a colorful onesie underneath some pastel pink overalls. I wondered if she actually wore this into the office or if she changed into this outfit when she got here. I tried to imagine someone walking down the street in this get-up, but it just didn’t seem likely. “I’ve got a bit, yeah. Enough to keep me busy today.” “Same,” she said. “It feels like there’s always something to do. But I like that.” “How, uh, are you feeling about the company?” I asked. It felt like just small talk, but I was genuinely curious to get more insight on her thoughts about this place. “Love it,” she said. “It’s like a dream job. I’m getting paid while I’m using my diapers, you know?” “How do you like Ms. Beaufort?” “Oh, she’s the best. And the, uhm, breastfeeding? Like…holy shit.” I laughed and nodded my head. “It’s nice.” She grabbed a chair pulling it up alongside my desk and took a seat. “You know, I just want to say, you’re, like, my hero.” Lyndie had mentioned something like this to me when I first started working in the office–something about Risa and Bradley seeing me as a legend for how I taken into Ms. Heller’s home to be treated like a big baby for a good length of time. Still, hearing her say this to me now, my only response was: “Huh?” “Like, man, I would kill to live like you do. Okay, well maybe not kill, but you know what I mean.” I wasn’t sure that I did, but I nodded anyway. “That had to be awesome, right? Living the dream? Full-time baby?” “It certainly had its perks,” I shrugged. I opted not to talk about the downsides. The feeling I had of being so far behind now–the insurmountable amount of catching up that I felt I had to do now. The loss of familial and friendly connections. “I’ve got so many questions for you,” she said. “But if I start asking them, I’m sure we’ll be here all day.” “Well, uh, I’m around if you ever want to chat.” I was just being polite. I didn’t mind talking to her about my experiences, but I wasn’t entirely comfortable about the idea of just being interviewed by someone I barely knew. “Good morning, Clark,” said another voice, just beyond Risa. I looked up to see Ms. Beaufort’s smiling face–and her ample milk-filled bosom. “H-hello, Ms. Beaufort.” “Oh please. It’s Auntie.” I tried that again: “Good morning, Auntie.” “My assistant isn’t being too distracting, is she?” “N-no,” I stammered. “Of course not.” “She can be a chatty little baby. But that’s why we have this.” Ms. Beaufort revealed a pacifier and slid it into Risa’s mouth. Risa’s cheeks blushed as she looked down at the floor. I was tempted to reiterate that Risa had done nothing wrong, but it didn’t really seem important. As embarrassed as Risa seemed to be, I could tell that this was also the sort of thing she lived for. Relatable, really. I’d have died if Mommy pushed a pacifier into my mouth back at the old office, in front of my other co-workers–but I’d have thought about that moment for weeks after. “And, one more thing,” Ms. Beaufort said, helping Risa to her feet. “Let’s check on the status of your diaper, hmm?” Risa let out a meek moan of protest through her pacifier, though did little to actually resist. Of course her diaper was going to get checked right here, in the middle of the office. That was how this place worked. Ms. Beaufort unlatched the shoulder straps from the overalls, letting them tumble down Risa’s legs. Next, her hand reached between Risa’s legs and gave the bottom of the onesie a good tug to pull the snaps apart. Next, the onesie was pulled up past Risa’s hips so that her diaper was exposed. I had been told previously that Risa was all about the cloth diapers, and here they were. I was expecting a pair of plastic pants, but these were more like a cloth diaper cover–I suspected they had a waterproof liner. I couldn’t see the cloth diaper itself, but given the bulky shape of her bottom, I had to imagine it was pretty thick. I was curious to see how Ms. Beaufort would go about checking diapers like this, since you couldn’t really see the cloth diaper itself. Sure enough, waiting just another moment revealed that answer, as Ms. Beaufort’s hand gently squeezed the bottom of the diaper. I imagined that she knew the feel of a wet diaper. Then, she lowered her head closer to Risa’s bottom and gave it a quick sniff. It didn’t seem necessary–messy diapers rarely needed that thorough of an investigation to identify–though I suspected this was more for show. Really, if all she was going to do was to squeeze the diaper, she probably didn’t need to unsnap the onesie. This was just how this place worked. “Wet,” Ms. Beaufort announced–just as much to Risa as it was to anyone who felt like listening. “It could probably hold more though. I’ll be checking you again soon enough.” “Y-yes, ma’am,” Risa stated. No ‘Mommy.’ No ‘Auntie.’ It was a curious way to address her, but Ms. Beaufort didn’t seem to have a rebuttal or correction for her. As best as I could tell–’ma’am’ was just the expected way for Risa to address her at the moment. I had questions about that–but this probably wasn’t the time to seek answers. “Clarky,” Ms. Beaufort cooed in my direction, “it’s always a delight to see you in the office.” As quickly as she materialized, she floated back to her office, closing the door behind her, leaving Risa to reassemble her onesie and overalls on her own. I couldn’t help but notice the struggle she was having with the onesie snaps. “Do, uh, you need help?” I asked. “I appreciate you offering,” she said, looking up at me with glowing pink cheeks. “But I can get this.” Perhaps realizing that she was better off taking her struggles back to her own desk, she slowly shuffled backwards towards her own space, her overalls still around her ankles. By the time she got to her chair, it seemed that she at least had her onesie fastened overtop the waterproof diaper cover. I told myself again: This was just how this place worked. Soon enough, I found myself deep in my own work again. Time seemed to zip by at a quicker clip when I had purpose, and that seemed fine by me. The quicker the day went by, the sooner I could talk to Mommy about whatever it was her ‘appointment’ involved. Of course, part of losing myself to work–losing myself to anything, really–was that I stopped paying attention to my own potty-needs. Suddenly, my diaper seemed sopping wet. I had a vague recollection of it growing warmer and more swollen a few minutes earlier, but it seemed so normal and expected that I just didn’t dwell on it much. This, I presumed, would be the hardest part of potty training. Glancing over to Risa’s desk again, where she was finally sitting down after untangling the shoulder straps for her overalls, I realized that I didn’t want my next diaper-check to be a huge production. I’d be proactive, taking my diaper to Lyndie instead. “Out of work already?” Lyndie said as I entered her office. “Or…” She sniffed the air. “Nope. Doesn’t smell like a dirty diaper.” “Well, actually,” I said, feeling my cheeks warm, “I did kinda want to talk to you about my diaper…” I caught her checking the time on her smartwatch. “Hmm, it’s later than I thought it was. I suppose that was enough time for you to dirty your diaper. Just wet?” “Yes,” I nodded. “But wet enough to be changed, I think.” She laughed. “Well, you’d be the expert. Come on over to the changing table.” “You don’t mind?” “For you, Clarky? I don’t mind a bit.” Soon, I was on my back with my legs up in the air. It felt like the most normal position in the world, especially because I was in the company of Lyndie. “How goes the potty training anyway,” she asked, her lips curled into a wry smile. “Uh…I’m working on it. D-did you hear that I actually used a toilet the other day?” She snorted and shook her head. “I did not hear that. Just once?” “Well…I was at, uhm, someone’s house. And…it probably would’ve been rude of me to do in my diaper what I did in her toilet.” “Her?” Lyndie asked, honing in on the most important detail. “I need a name, Clarky. Who were you visiting? Megan?” “N-no…” Though, I still owed her a call… “Someone I know?” “You know who she is, but I don’t think you know her name.” “How much longer are you gonna leave me suspense, Clarky? Out with it. Who have you been spending time with?” “Her name is Paige…” “You’re right,” she shrugged, peeling the tapes of my diaper open. “That name means nothing to me.” “Pizza Girl.” She had to stop what she was doing and step back from the table for a moment. “Wh-what? Are you serious?” I nodded. “How in the hell did that happen?” “We…ran into each other.” “Oh shit,” she said, shaking her head. “That night at the pizza shop?” “Yeah…” “And…she gave you her number? Even though she knows about your diapers?” “Uh, funny thing about that…” I told her the whole story. I told her about the brief conversation at the pizza shop, and Paige’s note. I told her about how our little stunts back at the old apartment had somehow inspired Paige to seek out diapers of her own. I told her about the bar, and the subsequent trip to Paige’s house, where I had to make a hasty decision about where I pooped. All the while, I was laying atop the oversized changing table like it was a therapist’s couch–my diaper open and my caged cock dangling in the open without either of us batting an eye. “Hm,” was all Lyndie could offer when I finished my tale, quickly returning to the task of wiping my skin in preparation for the next diaper. “That’s…all you have to say?” She laughed and shrugged. “You have to see that this is a very ‘Clark’ problem, right?” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “These sorts of things are always happening to you.” “I guess,” I said. “It’s not a bad thing. Someday, it’s all going to make a very interesting memoir.” “Who would want to read that?” She laughed again, sliding a new diaper under my freshened-up bottom. “I bet there’s an audience for that somewhere.” New diaper in place and taped up, I slid off of the changing table to get my clothes back on so that I could return to my job. Someday, returning to work after a piss could be as easy as zipping up my fly and washing my hands. Can you even imagine? “You know,” Lyndie said. “You should talk to Ava.” My ears perked up and I spun around to face her again. Did she say something? Had Ava indicated that she wanted to spend time with me too? Did Ava somehow mention that… Well, maybe it was best if I just asked: “Oh yeah?” “Well, she’s been hassling me to join her and Caleb for a night out, but I wasn’t really interested in being the third wheel. But maybe you and Paige should join them. Like a double-date? Wouldn’t that be adorable?” “Uh…maybe.” I could just imagine it: half the table sounding excessively crinkly while the other half giggled and pretended not to notice. “Ava would love it, you know,” Lyndie shrugged. “She’s always saying that she wishes she got to hang out with you more.” “Oh. Maybe it’s not a bad idea…” No, I was pretty sure that it was a bad idea. “Okay! I’ll throw the idea out there to Ava tonight.” Was it too late to tell her not to bother? Whatever. If Ava was actually interested in the idea of a double-date, I’d let her be the one to tell me that. And if, by that time, I decided it really wasn’t something I wanted to do–I’d tell Ava myself. Who was I kidding? If Ava told me to meet her on the moon, I’d drive to Florida in a heartbeat to hijack a space shuttle. The rest of the workday held few other surprises. Apart from another wet diaper of my own in the afternoon to change–and Risa scrambling to Ms. Beaufort’s office after she claimed to have ‘made pudding’ in her diaper–the day seemed light on infantile hijinks. I was productive, too, getting through almost all of my assignments, and even finding some time to organize some of Mommy’s files for her. When it came time to leave for the day, I was almost disappointed–a feeling I didn’t think I’d ever had about work before. “You ready to get out of here?” Lyndie asked. “Are you my ride home?” I asked. She nodded. “Gabby asked me to drive you back. You don’t mind, do you?” I shook my head. “No, of course not. Did she say anything to you? About what she had been up to today?” Lyndie shook her head, but it was all that convincing. She knew more than she was letting on, but it was hard to say how much. It was fine. Whatever Mommy had going on, that was her business and it was on her to tell me about it. I couldn’t hold it against Lyndie for keeping Mommy’s secrets if that’s what Mommy wanted. It was a quiet drive back. Lyndie tried to make small talk, and I did my best to roll with it–but I was back to just thinking about Mommy. Maybe I wouldn’t have been so stressed if I had an inkling of an idea as to what this was all about, but I had nothing. Zilch. Not an ounce of context. Not only that, but it felt like this mysteriously dark cloud had come from nowhere. I didn’t remember it being there yesterday morning. What changed? When? Why? How? Etc. Lyndie’s car finally rolled into Mommy’s driveway. It wasn’t always easy to determine if Mommy was home or not, because there was no way to tell if her car was in the garage or not. There was, however, another car in the driveway–one that I didn’t recognize. A white Mercedes that looked relatively new–given how exceptionally pristine it appeared. “Looks like company,” I said. Lyndie shrugged and offered a playful laugh, but it rung pretty hollow. Did she know who this car belonged to? “Let’s head inside,” she said to me, turning the car off. “You’re, uh, coming in too?” “Yeah, well, Gabby thought it might be a good idea I was here.” “Okay, so, what is going on here?” She sighed. “It’ll be okay. But we should head in. She’ll explain everything.” “Explain?” I asked. “What is there to explain?” “This isn’t a bad thing,” she said. “I promise. But you might not like it at first. And I’m really sorry about that.” “You’re really not going to tell me what’s going on?” She shook her head and waved for me to follow her up the sidewalk. I swallowed, rotated my shoulders in an attempt to loosen myself up, and let out a little spurt of pee into my dry diaper. Okay. Here we go. The front door opened and we stepped into the foyer. I could hear talking. Two voices. Both feminine. One, without a doubt, was Mommy. The other was familiar, but just muffled enough that I couldn’t make a perfect identification for. The cadence of the conversation seemed polite, but awkward. I knew Mommy’s various tones well enough. She was talking to someone she didn’t know that well. She was being cautiously friendly. The closer I got to the entrance of the living room, the more clarity the conversation had. I could hear the familiar clink of spoons in teacups. “...it’s not really my business,” Mommy was saying. “I’ve tried to encourage him to reach out, of course. But, at the end of the day, that’s not a decision that I can make for him.” Was she talking about me? “You understand why I had to assume the worst, don’t you?” the other voice asked. Oh. That voice was also very familiar to me. Suddenly, I felt myself getting a little lightheaded. Not to the point where I thought I’d topple over, but enough so that everything around me seemed a little fuzzy. Let’s get this over with, I guess. I stepped forward, clearing the corner and entering the living room. There they were: Mommy was sitting on the loveseat, a cup of tea hanging from her hand. Across from her, on the other side of the coffee table, was my mother. Annette Leiland-Ashburn, in the flesh. Finally in the same room at the same time as Gabrielle Heller. “Clark,” my mother said, standing up. “I’ve been looking for you.” Seventy-Eight In the back of my mind, I knew this day was going to come. My mother wasn’t going to just shrug, kick at the ground, and say ‘Oh well, I guess he’s gone now.’ Sooner or later, she’d accept my silence as a challenge. On one hand, it occasionally made my mother look like the Terminator–an unyielding agent who wouldn’t stop until she got what she wanted. On the other hand–wasn’t she just being a good mother? Her son had fallen off the grid without saying where he’d be off to–what else was she supposed to do? So I wasn’t mad to see my mother. I felt upset–but I was only upset at myself. I had ample opportunity to reach out to her and to try and explain things. I probably didn’t even have to tell her everything. Or even much at all. All I had to do was reach out and confirm that I was alive and doing well, and I could’ve bought myself more time if I wasn’t ready to have a bigger conversation with her. “Clark,” my mother said, standing up. “I’ve been looking for you.” “Well,” I said, feeling my heart shake violently in my rib cage, “you found me.” “I truly didn’t want it to come to this,” my mother said, walking towards me. “I didn’t want this to be a whole production. I just wanted to know what happened to you, and I wanted to be sure that you were alright.” Her arms opened and wrapped around me. For a moment, I was too dumbstruck to reciprocate, but I finally lifted my arms and hugged her back. “How did you find me?” I asked. The question seemed to imply things, I thought. It implied that I was trying to hide, or that I didn’t want to be found. Really, I just wanted to know what led to this moment. “I’ll take the heat for that,” Lyndie said, waving to me. “Your mother and I had exchanged numbers back when she came and got brunch with you and me.” “I only recently reached out to her,” my mother said, releasing me from her grip and stepping backward from me. “Though I probably should’ve done it much sooner.” “I wasn’t sure what to do,” Lyndie said. “I probably should’ve come right to you, Clark. I’m sorry I didn’t. But I went to Gabby instead.” “And I reached out to your mother myself,” Mommy said. I was surprised at the anger that I was feeling. I didn’t think I was mad a few moments ago, but Lyndie’s admission that she should’ve talked to me first stirred me up a little. Yeah. She should’ve talked to me first. Because now–looking around to see my mother’s, Mommy’s, and Lyndie’s concerned faces–it felt like an intervention. Or, worse, a shaming. “I’ve got to go take care of a thing or two,” I said to the women. “Why don’t you all keep talking about me without actually talking to me.” I wasn’t entirely sure where I was going, so I just let my feet take me wherever. I ended up going up the stairs to the nursery, shutting the door behind me. Fuck me. That was a temper tantrum. And for what? So that I could storm into my nursery? I checked my own diaper–as if I might’ve surprised myself by it being more used than I remembered. No, only mildly damp. I thought that I might fix that soon enough. That’s what I needed–a good load in the back of my diaper. One that I could sit on, squish all over, and stroke myself to. Supposing, of course, I had a key to the damn cage. I sat down on top of the changing table. The plan was to just do nothing for a while. Here, in my infantile sanctuary, I’d just wait out the rest of the adult world that I didn’t want to have any part of. I knew I couldn’t stay here forever, but a few minutes didn’t seem like a bad idea. I’d just sit. Think. Maybe I wouldn’t even think all that much, if I could help it. I must’ve managed to disassociate from reality a little, because when I heard footsteps approaching the nursery door, it felt like I was being woken from a nap. It was going to be Mommy, probably. She was going to apologize. She was going to say some magical thing to make me feel better about this situation. There was a knock at the door. “Yeah?” When the door opened, I saw it was Lyndie. I wasn’t mad about this, though. If anything, I was relieved to see her. Lyndie kept me grounded. “Hey,” she said, slowly entering and closing the door behind her. “Hey.” “You alright?” “Did I overreact down there?” I asked. “Look, if I were in your shoes, I’d have cursed someone out. You were pretty civil about it.” “That’s something.” “I’m sorry I went to Gabby instead of you when your mother reached out.” “It’s fine,” I sighed. “I was living my life like an infant for almost ten months now. Mommy was taking care of everything for me. I can’t, then, be surprised when everyone keeps seeing me as a baby.” “Are you gonna go down and talk to her?” she asked. “Because, if you want, I can down and tell her to fuck off.” I laughed. “No, no. You don’t have to do that. I’ll talk to her. I just needed a minute.” “You’ve been up here for a little bit. Did you need another minute? Did you need a diaper change?” Lyndie smirked “N-no. It’s dry. I checked.” Of course, I wasn’t that sure how long it had been since I first came up here. Maybe my diaper still wasn’t as dry as I remembered it being. I shifted my body a little, trying to feel how my diaper squished beneath me. It didn’t seem wet. “Well, the offer will still be on the table if you need one later.” “I’m sure, eventually, I’ll have to take you up on that.” We both laughed and shook our heads. Just another surreal moment in a long, long, series of surreal moments in our lives. “Do you remember the first time we met?” Lyndie asked. “Maybe? I’ll be honest, these days, it feels like my memories of the old office start with Mommy handing me a diaper.” Lyndie laughed. “I think I started, like, two weeks before you did. They kept telling me that there were more interns coming, and I was kind of dreading it. They put me in a fucking closet, but…it was, like, my closet, you know? And so then you showed up. I did not like you.” Maybe this shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was–I could recall Lyndie being kind of distant for those first few weeks, though I just assumed that was her personality. “Really? What was it that you didn’t like about me?” “I think I just thought that you were the person that I didn’t want to be. I didn’t want to be a corporate drone. I didn’t want to be indoctrinated into the world of being a ‘team player’ or having to give a shit when the company put cupcakes in the break room. But you–you just had this naiveness about you. I firmly believed that the company was going to swallow you whole and turn you into all the things that I never wanted to be.” “Wow,” I said, shaking my head. “I guess that premonition came true, huh? I became the ultimate lapdog.” “Don’t be silly, Clark. The exact opposite happened. Gabrielle made a move to get her hands on you, and the person I thought you’d be would’ve resisted. That person would’ve–I dunno–gone to HR. Quit. Got reassigned to another company for your internship. But you went for it. Even when things got weird–and they got pretty damn weird pretty damn quickly.” I had to laugh again. ‘Pretty damn weird’ was still an understatement. “I’m not all that sure what that has to do with right now,” I said. “I just wanted you to know that I look up to you. I always have. Sure, you were always the baby. The one that everyone got to take out their weird fantasies on. But you always rolled with it, embraced it, and made it your own. If you had rejected Gabrielle’s ideas early on, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am now.” “You? You look up to me?” “You think with your diaper sometimes,” she shrugged. “But you seem to keep your heart in your diaper too, so it’s not all that bad of a thing. Look, here’s my point: Whatever happens downstairs–whatever awkward conversations you have, whether it’s today or tomorrow or ten years from now, I don’t want anyone to ever make you feel like you made the wrong decisions, okay? At the end of the day, you’ve always done exactly what you wanted to do. So many people never get to live out their fantasies like you did. Maybe they can’t. Or…maybe they’re just too afraid to. But you did it, Clark. I’m proud of you. I’m happy for you. And I hope that you never let anyone else tell you that you lived your life wrong.” There was so much I wanted to say to her. So many details in her words that I wanted to comment on. But really, the only response I could give was to hug her. I slid off the changing table and threw my arms around her, squeezing as tightly as I could. “Now don’t go telling people I was being this nice to you,” she said into my ear. “I don’t want anyone thinking I’m soft.” I chuckled, finally relinquishing my grip. “Thank you, Lyndie. I really needed to hear that.” “Of course. But I meant it. Every word of it.” “I know.” Someday, I hoped to say something equally as beautiful to her. “I should probably head back downstairs,” Lyndie shrugged. “You coming with me? If you need more time to yourself, I can pass that message along for you.” “I should go too,” I sighed. I didn’t want to go, but I felt like I had run out of good reasons to hide–though I had plenty of bad reasons. “It probably won’t be as bad as you think it’s going to be,” Lyndie said. “Probably?” “I mean, there’s always the chance your mother takes out a sword and cuts Gabby’s head off. Or yours. It’s not likely, but it’s possible.” The idea of this didn’t really make me feel any better, but it at least served as an interesting distraction as I tried to imagine my mother as some sort of ninja. “You’re an adult, believe it or not,” Lyndie continued. “Your mother knows that. The only reason she’s here is because she wanted to make sure you’re alive and that you’re safe.” “Yeah…but she saw photos and–” Lyndie shrugged. “So what?” Her response was so simple, so blunt, that it forced my mind into overdrive as I tried to rationalize all the concerns and fears I had developed over the last ten months. “So what? Lyndie, I sent her photos–well, I didn’t send them, but she thinks it was me–of me at one of my absolute worst moments. It’s probably changed the way she looks at me. It’ll change the way she sees me for the rest of my life. Or her life, at least.” Lyndie shook her head. “Don’t be so sure of that. Your mother isn’t this infallible being–she’s human. She’s probably had moments like this herself in her life. Like, no, she probably never wore diapers as an adult. But she probably humiliated herself in front of the wrong people. Or exposed the wrong part of herself to her mother. If what she saw in those photos disgusted her so much that it changed how she saw you, she wouldn’t have put in all the work that she did to find you. She would’ve cut you off in the same way that you cut her off.” That made sense to me. I wasn’t completely certain that I bought it, but it at least made sense. “Yeah,” I said. “Maybe.” “Worst case scenario–well, outside of the one where she has a sword–is that she says mean things to you. And then, Gabby and I tackle her and roll her out the front door.” “You’d do that for me?” “Clark, I’d roll anyone out a door for you.” “Well, uh, I’d do the same for you,” I said, despite the fact that I was hoping that there’d never be a scenario where I’d be expected to follow through on such a promise. “Perfect. So? Shall we go, then?” “Yeah…” “Wait, before we go,” Lyndie said, her lips twisted into a little smirk, “can I get a status update on that diaper?” I felt my cheeks warm a little. Somewhere in the midst of that conversation, I had felt a little trickle of pee in my diaper. It wasn’t much, and I didn’t feel especially soggy now, but I couldn’t really say that I was ‘mostly dry’ anymore. “It’s a little wet.” “Wet enough for a change?” Were it any other time, I’d have said that it wasn’t. But if I had to go back downstairs, and I had to wear a diaper while I talked to my mother, it seemed better that I do it in one that was completely dry. “I think I’d feel better if I was wearing a dry diaper.” “Wow. Changing you twice in one day? Just like the old days, huh?” The old days. Sometimes they didn’t seem that old. Sometimes they seemed like entire lifetimes ago. I was back on the changing table, my pants pulled off and the diaper opened up so that Lyndie could wipe me down. A new diaper was slid under me, and a dusting of baby powder was applied. Lyndie and I both looked at each other at the same time, likely thinking the same thing. “Should I have skipped the powder?” Lyndie asked. “It’s scented,” I said. “I’m…going to smell like a baby.” “Well, you always smell like a baby. This house smells like a baby.” “Fair enough,” I shrugged. It seemed like a moot point anyway–the powder was already on me. Soon, I was fastened into my fresh padding and my pants were eased back up my legs. That was that–there weren’t any other distractions or delays. It was time to, quite literally, meet my maker. To my surprise, when Lyndie and I came down the stairs, the tone of the conversation I was hearing in the living room was unlike anything that I expected. It wasn’t dour, nor was it awkward. It wasn’t combative. It was the sound of…camaraderie? Friendly conversation. Some laughing. “...but as cute as it was,” my mother was saying, “I knew that those were the flowers I was growing in the garden. So I was simultaneously annoyed that he had uprooted them all–but completely charmed that he had made this haphazard bouquet for me.” “Ah, Clark,” Mommy said from her couch, watching Lyndie and I slowly stroll into the room. “Your mother was just sharing some adorable memories of you.” The idea of my mother and Gabrielle Heller having a civil conversation about the embarrassing moments of my childhood was usually the sort of thing I had nightmares about. I took a deep breath and steadied myself. It felt good to have Lyndie next to me–her presence gave me strength. “Did she tell you the wedding story?” I asked. “That’s usually the first one she tells people.” Both my mother and Mommy laughed, nodding their heads. I felt my cheeks blushing some, but I did my best to shrug off the rest of my humiliation. I was trying to think two or three steps ahead. If I sat down, where did I sit–who did I sit next to? What did we talk about? How much could I say–how honest could I be–with an audience? No. I needed to just do what I should’ve done months and months ago–I needed to have a conversation with my mother. One on one. “Mom?” I asked. Amusingly, both Mommy’s and my mother’s faces perked up–though it didn’t seem like my mother noticed this. Mommy quickly realized I was talking to my mother, chuckled, and sat back in her seat. “Yes, Clark?” “I was hoping you and I could talk. Like, uh, just you and I.” “Of course. Did you want me to join you in another room, or…” “Lyndie,” Mommy said to her. “Maybe you and I can step out for a little bit?” “Sounds good to me,” Lyndie nodded. Mommy got up, waved goodbye to me, and left the room–Lyndie following behind. Finally, and for the first time in a very long time–my mother and I were in a room alone together. It wasn’t a public place. We weren’t at risk of being interrupted by anyone or anything. Unlike our moment together at brunch all those months ago, we weren’t just waiting for Lyndie to return. It was just us, and there hadn’t been a moment like this in years. “Hi Mom,” I said, sitting down in the seat that Mommy had been sitting in previously. I felt my diaper crinkling beneath me–and even though I had that extra padding between my ass and the seat, I could still feel the warmth of where Mommy’s ass had been moments before. “Hello Clark.” “I owe you an apology,” I said. “You do,” she nodded. That was my mother–a little too direct at times. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you,” I told her. “I’m sorry I didn’t reach out–even if it was just to let you know that I was okay.” “You moved and you didn’t even tell me,” she replied. “I didn’t even know you had moved, let alone know where you had gone. What if something happened? What if I needed to get a hold of you?” I sighed, nodding my head. “S-sorry…” My mother took a deep breath, held it, and slowly released it. To my surprise, when she was finished exhaling, there was a small smile on her face. “Clark, I’m not actually angry at you.” “No?” “You’re my only child, Clark. And, for a good part of your childhood, I was raising you by myself. Yes, I know I’ve been a bit overprotective in the past. Overbearing, even. I just thought that I had to be. I will probably always be very critical and concerned about your well-being. I’ll be like this when you’re fifty years old.” “Fifty?” I laughed. “I can’t even imagine that.” “It’ll happen to you someday, believe it or not,” she said. “But to my point, I think all that worrying and concern is my problem. You’re still an adult. You can, and should, do whatever it is you want to do.” Whatever it is you want to do. It felt like she was tip-toeing around what she knew, or thought she knew, about my lifestyle. “But,” I said, “I shouldn’t hide from you. You should know where I live.” She laughed. “It’d be nice. Though…I suppose that’s really up to you. It occurred to me today, as I was driving here, that I might not have had the right to just barge into your life. If you didn’t want to talk to me anymore–or if you didn’t want me to know where you were–I suppose that’s a right you have too.” “I’m glad you’re here,” I said. “I’m glad we’re talking.” Sure, it wasn’t really that simple–I had plenty of thoughts about the timing of this visit and if she had, in fact, ‘barged’ into my life. But I had known for a very long time that I wanted to talk to her–and if she hadn’t done so, who could say how long it would be before it actually happened. “Good,” she said. “Look, maybe we should rewind a little. Those pictures that I sent you…” “No,” she said, wagging a finger at me. “You don’t owe me an explanation for those, just so you know. Unless it’s something you truly think that I should know.” I laughed. It probably wasn’t really that funny–especially not to her–but I couldn’t help myself. On no planet would I ever think that it was important that my mother know I was willingly using diapers and acting like a baby. “I think we’re better off not talking about it,” I said. She nodded. “Fair enough. I deleted the photos, just so you know. I don’t have them anymore. I only ever looked at them once–and that was more than enough.” The photos were burned into my memory–I felt like I knew every single pixel of them. They probably were a lot for her to see. Especially without context. “Gabrielle seems nice,” my mother said, looking around the living room. “And she seems invested in your happiness–whatever that entails.” Again, I had to wonder what she imagined when she thought about my lifestyle. “She’s been very good to me,” I said. “Is she, like, your partner?” “Uh…” I was almost about to say ‘no,’ but the answer didn’t feel that simple. “Not in the traditional sense, I guess.” She laughed at that. “Whatever is going on here, I imagine it’s complicated.” “That’s an understatement.” “And Lyndie is in on it?” “In a way.” She nodded, seeming to mull it over for a moment or two. “But you’re happy?” “Yes.” “And you’re not harming anyone else?” “No.” She shrugged. “I mean–I guess I’m happy for you, then.” “It’s not going to be like this forever,” I said, well aware that ‘this’ had yet to be defined out loud. She nodded, her smile implying a “Sure, if you say so,” sort of response. “I suppose I do have one question,” my mother said. “You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.” My heart pounded in my chest as I held my breath. I was dreading what this could be. “So, you’re living with Gabrielle, and it seems like you know each other well and she takes good care of you–I suppose the details of that are none of my business. But…I’m curious. Do you see her as a mother-figure, Clark? Is she the version of a mother that you wished I was?” Oof. What a question. I could, and probably would, spend years breaking down and dissecting that query. Was it even possible to offer a concise answer for my mother now? Maybe. “It’s different,” I said, realizing that the room had likely been silent for a good minute or three. “I wouldn’t want her to be you. And I wouldn’t want you to be her.” That felt like an alright answer–one that scratched the surface. But it also occurred to me that there may have just been one thing that she wanted–perhaps needed–to hear: “She doesn’t replace you.” My mother nodded. It was unclear if she believed me, or if she was happy about this answer–but I at least felt that she understood it. That was the best that I could do. “Whatever it is you have here, Clark, it seems to make you happy. Gabrielle and Lyndie speak very highly of you, and they clearly love you. I’m not going to pretend that I’m not jealous, but I am happy for you.” I wasn’t sure what to say. I said, “Thank you, Mom,” but I wasn’t entirely sure what I was thanking her for. “I could impart some motherly wisdom for you, if you’d care to hear it,” my mother said. I sighed, expecting some speech about how I needed to grow up or get my life in order. Perhaps some words about responsibility or maturity. “Sure.” “I may be a little late with this advice, but it’s still a good thing to know.” “Uh huh.” “See, when you were young, you’d get diaper rashes all the time. I tried a lot of different topical treatments and ointments. But do you know what worked best? Coconut oil. Every time–cleared it right up.” I felt my cheeks glowing–my face might have been on fire. “Jesus, Mom.” “I’m just saying,” she shrugged. “Maybe you’d find that information useful.”

Introduction: I've been on the bedwetting journey for years and definitely sleep-wet on a pretty regular basis (maybe 5-10X per month) It's normally during my first phase of sleep (like waking 2 AM finding I've totally wet) but later (like 4 AM) I find myself holding the 2nd batch. In part, may be a deeply buried desire to not sleep in wet sheets. It's almost like if I know I drenched myself at 2 AM then by 3-4 AM I awaken to myself holding the new urine just to keep the sheets dry. I believe the occasional difficulty of getting back to sleep in wet sheets, T-Shirt etc may be pausing my development as a bedwetter. Gamechanger Tip (for me at least!) I found the combination of a good diaper (Abena or other) with a larger cloth diaper on the outside and plastic pants over them has allowed me to truly wet throughout the night while keeping the sheets dry. I wet every time, whether a 1 AM wetting in my sleep, a 3 AM stir and wet, or 5 AM before I get up wet. Even got up one of the following mornings for a little restroom break and ended up wetting myself right by the toilet (because I couldn't get the layers off in time!) It's such a good feeling- I now feel a total "freedom to wet" and also feel the distinction between "was I asleep or awake" slipping as I just always wet at night. I know my body accepts this, and also feel the control I used to have to "hold it at 4 AM" slips away a bit more each time I just fully go. Takeaways Recommending strong diaper + cloth on outside + plastic pants. Truly puts you in a place where you're free to wet all times at night (for those who subconsciously hesitate from dislike of wet sheets) Each time makes it more natural to sleep through. Bonus is that it creates a barrier to getting up for the restroom- The layers take work to unlayer fully so it's 100X easier to wet and go back to sleep. Allowing me to let go of that last bit of control (4 AM piece) and slide into wherever the bedwetting fairy takes me 😆 Note- Fully understand the alternative approach of getting 100% used to sleeping in wet sheets. That's totally viable but not currently practical for me.

Would you be okay with a relative raising you to be a baby? I mean, setting rules about when to sleep, how long you can watch TV and so on, completely without getting sexual of course, really just parenting. What is your opinion on this?

Depending on your definition of "in public," I've probably been out in diapers more times total than I was ever out in underwear, lol.

Don't put sheets on the bed, then they will stay dry.

Hi everyone. This story is not over! I had some life events happen that have slowed down the next installment. My wife and I have moved her ailing father into our house and the disruption has taken the wind out of me. I seem to have a break coming up and hope to get the rest of the party posted. Thanks for your patience and understanding. April

You've changed your name like a billion times on here LOL

I just finished this, and it did not go the way I was expecting in a very good way. I love the interactions between Zack and Elaine. Maddy is an interesting character too. I don't like Kelly, but I suppose that's the point, and I'm curious to see what happens to her and how she handles the situation, since it seems like more people are going to find out about Zack's diapers and might start asking questions. And I wonder what that means for Dr. Paige, since her name will probably come up. I'm curious to see where this goes.

Chapter 10 “Oh she is a good girl.” Paul was smiling at Simon and talking about me as though I really was an uncomprehending baby. “Yes, she’s been everything we were looking for. She’s beautiful, slim and seems to be enjoying herself. She’s been a proper submissive.” “Well, she’s certainly got the look of a helpless baby right now. This nappy is drooping between her legs, the dummy is in her mouth - this is a good look.” As she talked to Simon she took my hand and pulled me across to her and then placed her hand on the seat of my nappy. And pushed! Poop mushed against my backside. “Let’s get her into a more appropriate outfit.” With that Paula went over to the wardrobe and picked out an outfit. I have to admit it was cute - a bodysuit with under crotch poppers “for an easy nappy change” with a skirt that was clearly too short to cover the nappy. And a matching bonnet. She stripped me of my adult clothes and I was soon dressed as a ‘proper’ baby. Both of them complimented me on my cuteness, saying that I looked like a pretty baby girl. They also teased me that I stink like a little baby girl too! This was all, even with a heaving, smelly nappy, fun. Things were about to get a bit tricky though. “Go and get the pushchair, Simon”. I’d not seen a pushchair, but Simon returned with what appeared to be a slightly larger than normal pushchair and opened it up. I was sat in the stroller by Paula, the poop in my nappy spreading into every conceivable part of my nether regions. I was wide eyed by this point. My suckling on my dummy stopped briefly as I cried “Mama” I stuck to the rules - this gig was too well paid to screw up - and, even though any public viewing of me in this state would be mortifying, there was a big part of me that was sexually excited. The anxiety had another effect. My bowels released more poop into my nappy. I wasn’t expecting it and I couldn’t control it either. I hadn’t asked permission. I looked at Paula pleadingly. She smiled at me as she strapped me in. “That’s okay sweetheart, you’re a proper baby now. Are you ready to go for a walk, little Louise? Shake your head for no, nod for yes” The test of a true submissive is trust. I decided that I was safe in their hands - if they were going to take me out like this it would be them that would have to take the flak. I nodded. Simon grabbed the handles and started to wheel me to the door. As he opened the door and started to push me into the corridor Paula placed her hand upon his shoulder and said softly “Stop Simon. Bring her back into the room and close the door.” Simon pushed me back into the room. Paula bent down and released my straps and took my hands in hers. “Come on baby, on the bed.” I went with her to the bed. She lay me down over her lap and undid the buttons on her blouse. “I’m sure my little girl’s hungry after all that excitement” She pulled open her blouse and revealed, to my surprise, a nursing bra. I couldn’t believe what was happening, She pulled out her boob and placed the teat between my lips. I suckled straight away, tasting her milk. Her right hand was supporting my head onto her boob, her left reached down to my nappy and slowly rubbed, the crinkling noise of the nappy combining with the soft squelching of the mess within. This was relaxing, comforting. Feeling a familiar pressure in my bladder I pulled away briefly from her milky tit and said, in my best baby voice, “Wee-wee Mama”. Pulling me back onto her boob, she gave the command and my nappy absorbed the flood of warm pee. “You’re such a good girl, Louise. You’ll be perfect.”

Sorry for the delay in getting the next chapter out, I wrote half of the chapter last Friday, but life got in the way and I could not find the time to finish it until now. Hopefully, y'all are still okay with the slow burn, but I think it will pay off in the end (I'm at 22K words right now). Even though I love AR virus and similar type stories, it still always seemed like magic to me. Hopefully, my plan for Will's physical regression will be plausible to the reader and I do a decent job of explaining the mechanics of how it could happen. I imagine that the process of going from an adult to a toddler or infant would be painful and ugly. I think I may be getting a little too caught up in details in some aspects too. I debated on having a different nurse in this chapter since nurses typically work 4 12s and 3 days off, but I decided against it since these are one-off characters. I am also thinking of going back and adding that after the nurse injects medicine into Will's I.V. they need to then flush it with some saline to make sure all the medicine goes into Will. But I may just be splitting hairs here. I plan to have Chapter 7 posted Monday night and Chapter 8 either Friday or Saturday of next week. For at least the next couple of weeks, I see myself being able to post 2 chapters a week. Chapter 6 I woke up to my mom shaking my shoulder and saying, “Will, Racheal is here to start your feeding tube, do you need any more morphine?” Groggily, I took stock of my body. Noticing that the pain meds were starting to wear off, I looked at Racheal and said, “I could probably use some more pain medicine now or I will be in trouble soon.” Racheal said, “Certainly, Will.” Then she injected a syringe of morphine into my I.V., and with the feeding bag already hanging from the I.V. pole, she connected the bag to the port on my feeding tube. Before she could finish cleaning up and asking if I needed anything else, I was back asleep. I woke again to the need to poop, getting out of bed, I grabbed my I.V. pole and went straight to the bathroom. Sitting on the toilet pooping my brains out for either the 3rd or 4th time today, I was feeling a little queasy. Seeing that the feeding bag was empty, I hoped that this was helping. I wiped, flushed, and washed my hands. I get back into bed to see my dad looking up from his magazine and my mom looking up from her phone. “How are you feeling, Will?” My dad asked. I said, “I feel OK, just a little nausea.” “Let's get the nurse and let her know.” He said. Wasting no time he reached over and grabbed the remote off the table and hit the call button. A few minutes later Isoline walks in. “Good evening Will, what can I do for you?” Isoline said. Before I could respond, my dad said, “Will is feeling nauseous, could it be from the feeding tube?” Isoline said, “That is a possibility. The doctor did prescribe him medicine for nausea that I can give him in his I.V. and it looks like he needs another bag of fluids soon and I need to flush out his feeding tube. I will be back in a minute.” True to Isoline’s word she was back with the needed supplies a few minutes later. She then flushed my feeding tube, switched out the fluids, injected the nausea medicine into my I.V., and threw all old medical supplies away. Turning to me, Isoline said, “Let me know if you need anything else tonight, I will wake you up around 1 am tonight to ask if you need any more morphine.” I said, “Thank you,” and then Isoline walked out of the room. My mom then said, “Will, it is getting late and we want to be here first thing in the morning to wait on the doctor. Your father and I plan on staying at your apartment tonight, is there anything that you need that we can get for you?” “I probably could use a few extra pairs of my smallest sweatpants or pajama bottoms and underwear. I would like to take a shower sometime tomorrow and as funny as it would be to moon y’all, I don’t care to have my butt hanging out the back of a hospital gown all the time,” I said. With a smile, she said, “Anything else?” I said, “Could you pack me a toiletry bag and you can take the pair of sweatpants by my backpack to be washed.” “Sure, how are your underwear and sweatpants fitting you with all the weight and height loss?” She said. “Uhh … very baggy and loose. Luckily, I can tie the drawstrings tight on this pair,” I said. She said, “We will just pick you up some smaller-sized clothes on our way to your apartment tonight.” With a sigh, I said, “Yeah, that is probably the best option right now.” After a moment of thinking, I said, “Could you bring me my ODE homework so that I can email it to my professor?” My dad interjected, “Son, you don’t need to worry about school right now. Did you let them know that you are in the hospital?” “Yes, and I told them to plan for the possibility that I may not be back next week too, just in case,” I said. He said, “That settles that, and either your mother or I will call the department office Monday to update them on you.” Reluctantly, I said, “OK.” “Will, get some rest tonight, we love you, and will be back first thing in the morning,” my mom said. I said, “ I love y’all too.” After both my parents hugged me, they walked out of the room. Flipping on the TV, I settled on watching reruns of Ancient Aliens. In less than an hour, I was back to sleep. I woke up the next morning to Rachael gently shaking my shoulder. “Good morning Will, do you need any more morphine?” she said. After a few seconds to fully wake up and internally access my body, I nodded yes to Rachael. Rachael then pushed two different syringes into my I.V., one I could tell was Morphine and the other I assumed was the nausea medicine. I then saw her hang up another bag for my feeding tube then connected it to the port of my feeding tube. After throwing away all the medical trash, she said, “Will, are you feeling up to getting weighed and measured this morning?” I said, “Sure.” Getting out of bed, I see that my parents are already here and are getting up to help me get my I.V. pole situated. As all four of us were heading to the nurse’s station, my mom asked, “How did you sleep last night and how do you feel this morning?” “I slept OK, I only woke up once to get more morphine and another time to go to the bathroom. I feel worn out, but OK,” I said. My mom said, “That’s good to hear as far as spending the night in the hospital. We have new clothes for you to change into after you take a shower today.” I nodded to my mom as we were walking behind the nurse’s station. I let Rachael weigh and measure me and like yesterday my dad asked, “How much does he weigh and how tall is he?” Rachael said, “He weighs 117 pounds and is 5 foot 5 and ¾ inches tall.” After a short pause, she added, “The doctor should see him in about an hour.” With tension in the air, my parents and I walked back to my room. I thought to myself ‘Now I’m shorter than Mom.’ Once back inside the room, I asked my mom, “Can I have one of those new pairs of sweatpants and underwear? I may as well take a shower while we wait on the doctor.” My mom said, “Sure.” Walked over to the chair by my bed reached into a plastic shopping bag and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a pack of underwear. She then ripped open the pack, pulled out a pair, and handed them both to me. She then walked back over and grabbed the toiletry bag that she packed for me. “Will, I’m going to go set your toiletry bag on the counter in the bathroom for you,” she said. I said, “OK, can you ask Rachael to get me a clean gown and socks for when I get out of the shower?” “Sure, sweetheart,” my mom said. I nodded and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I turned on the water to the shower and started to strip out of my clothes. After checking the water temperature, I step into the shower. I let the water run down my body while trying my best to not let the tape holding my feeding tube in place get wet. After washing my hair and carefully rinsing it out, I started washing my body. This time I noticed that most of my body hair was gone. I have some hair on my legs and arms, but I now have no hair on my chest and armpits. I also am missing almost all of my pubic hair. I finish rinsing off, then turn off the water to dry off. Stepping out of the tub, I slowly get dressed in the new pair of sweatpants and underwear. Looking at the size shows that it is a men’s small. Thinking back to the last time that I wore this size made me realize that I started wearing this size in 8th grade. Looking into the bathroom mirror, I see a version of myself that I have not seen since 8th or 9th grade. Looking at my face, I can tell I am years away from needing to shave. Not knowing what to do about this, I just brush my teeth and comb my hair. I walk out of the bathroom, pushing the I.V. pole with me. I see my parents are sitting down watching the news and there is a new gown and socks on the foot of the bed. I put the gown on and before I could start trying to tie the back together, my mom was up, tying it for me. I sat on the bed, then pulled the socks up my feet. I swung my legs into the bed and laid back in bed. As my mom was sitting back down, she said, “Rachael should be back soon to flush your feeding tube out.” I said, “OK,” and then we sat in silence for a few minutes watching the news on TV. Rachael entered my room with a syringe in hand walked over to my I.V. pole to disconnect the feeding tube bag and used the syringe of saline to flush my feeding tube. After throwing the empty feeding bag in the trash, she turned to me and said, “I'm going to fix the tape that is holding your feeding tube in place since the tape got wet when you took a shower. I nodded and she carefully pulled the tape off my face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a roll of medical tape and after tearing off a few strips, she re-taped my feeding tube back in place on my left cheek. “You're all set, Will, the doctor should be here soon. I will be back around noon to set you up with another feeding and to see if you need more pain medicine. Of course, let me know in the meantime if you need anything before then,” Rachael said. I said, “Thank you,” and Rachael walked out of the room. My mom turned to me and said, “Hopefully, the doctor will have some answers today.” “I hope so, when I was taking a shower, I noticed that most of my body hair has fallen out now,” I said. With a look of concern, my mom said, “Well, your father and I were talking last night and regardless of what the doctor tells us today, we are going to ask for you to be transferred to the Mayo Clinic as soon as possible.” I said, “OK, I hope I have better luck there and they can find out what is going on.” Before we could get any further in our conversation, there was a knock on the door, and in walked Dr. Wilson. “Good morning Will, how do you feel this morning?” He said. I said, “Tired and run down, not much different than yesterday.” Dr. Wilson said, “I was hoping the feeding tube would give you more energy, but I am glad that you seem to be handling it well. Have you been having any worse or new symptoms?” “I felt nauseous yesterday evening after being fed from the feeding tube, but the nausea medicine helped and I noticed this morning while taking a shower, that most of my body hair has now fallen out now,” I said. “The nausea medicine should continue to help. There is still a chance that you could vomit, but if you do vomit, it should not affect the feeding tube. If you do have issues with the feeding tube, let someone know immediately. A nurse may have to take the feeding tube out and put a new one in,” Dr. Wilson said. My dad interjected, “Do you think this is even helping him?” Dr. Wilson said, “It is too early to tell right now, I did see in his chart this morning that he lost a quarter of an inch less than yesterday. But what we perceive as a nonlinear loss in height could be linear for his body since as he gets shorter, it takes less to sustain him. A 185 pound person that loses 10 pounds is not as concerning as a 95 pound person that loses 10 pounds.” “That makes sense, what are his test results?” My dad asked. “As expected, his blood cultures came back negative. We did test for more rare diseases that could affect his skeletal muscle system. We tested for Osteogenesis imperfecta, Achondroplasia, Hypophosphatasia, Multiple osteochondromas, Fibrous dysplasia, Pseudohypoparathyroidism, and Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. All tests have come back negative. It does not seem to be a condition that I know of that could fit the symptoms that he has. Most diseases that affect the skeletal muscle system can take years to cause noticeable changes and to cause a decrease in height like Will would have gross skeletal deformities. His scans show a normal skeletal system and for all intended purposes, he is healthy besides his symptoms,” Dr. Wilson said. “How could this even be happening?” My mom said in frustration. Dr. Wilson said, “Honestly, I am not sure how something like this could be happening. I have talked to some colleagues and they agree that something of this nature is unheard of. We all agree that this is probably a genetic disease in nature, but without further testing, we do not know.” In a worried voice, my mom said, “Will’s father and I have been talking and we want to have Will transferred to the Mayo Clinic.” Pausing for a second, Dr. Wilson responded, “That is the second half of what I wanted to discuss with Will on.” Before I could respond, I was hit with the immediate need to go to the bathroom. As I was getting out of bed, I said to Dr. Wilson and my parents, “I have to go to the bathroom.” My dad jumped up out of his chair and before I could reach over to unplug my I.V. pump, he was already unplugging it and helping me to the bathroom. As I walk into the bathroom, my dad shuts the door behind me. After what has become my new normal in the past few days, as far as bathroom visits are concerned, I stepped out of the bathroom and made my way back to my bed. As I was settling back in bed, Dr. Wilson turned to me and said, “I have already gone over this with your parents but I want to go over what to expect over the next 24 hours. “OK,” I said. “I have already put in the request for you to be transferred to the Mayo Clinic this morning. We will keep you here for the rest of the day and tonight, but early tomorrow morning an ambulance will be transporting you to the Mayo Clinic. I have already transferred all of your medical records and results to the Mayo Clinic and have been bringing a team of doctors at the hospital up to speed on what has been going on with you. Do you have any questions?” Dr. Wilson said. Thinking for a second, I said, “No, I just hope they can figure out what is going on.” “The team of doctors that will see you are some of the best in the world and they specialize in genetic, autoimmune, and diagnostics medicine. If anyone can solve this enigma, it would be them. I will also be following up with your case and offering my help as they take over,” Dr. Wilson said. Feeling a little more at ease with my situation, I said, “Thanks, Dr. Wilson.” “I'm going to let you get some rest, let the staff know if anything changes for you between now and being transferred tomorrow morning,” Dr. Wilson said. After Dr. Wilson left, my mom said, “I’m glad we didn’t have to fight with the doctor on getting you transferred.” “Me too, there is enough drama going on already,” I said. Turning my attention to the TV, I see that my dad has the weather channel on. After spending a few minutes watching the weather forecast across the country, my eyes felt heavy and I fell asleep. I awoke to my I.V. pump beeping. I look over and see that my fluid bag is empty and groan at the beeping waking me up. As I am turning to look at my parents, I hear my mom say, “I already pressed the call button, Rachael should be here soon.” I groggily said, “OK.” A minute later Racheal walked in and heard the beeping from the I.V. pump, walked straight to it, and pressed a few buttons to turn it off. She turned to me and said, “I’ll be right back with a new bag of fluids.” She walked out and was back a moment later. She disconnected my I.V. bag. She then hung a new bag of fluids up and connected it to my I.V. She said, “Alright Will, you're all set now, I will be back later for your mid-day feeding and pain medicine.” I nodded and as she was walking out of the room, my mom spoke up and said, “I have been talking to Marley and she wants to Facetime you if you are up to it.” I said, “Sure.” Wasting no time, she hands me her phone that is already calling my sister. A few seconds later, I see my little sister's face pop up on the phone. While our older brother favors our dad, both she and I favor our mom. If it wasn’t for the two-year age gap, most people would think that we were twins growing up. With a look of shock, Marley said, “Hey Will, how are you feeling?” “I mainly just tried and wore out,” I said. “Wow Will, you look like you are back in middle school or at the most 9th grade,” pausing for a second I can see a devilish grin form on her face, “looks like I’m not the baby of the family anymore,” Marley said. Before I could respond back, I heard my dad speak up in a playful voice saying, “No matter what Will looks like, you will always be the baby of the family and my little princess.” Smiling, I said, “You heard Dad Princess, I hope I am not holding you up from your tea party?” Groaning, she said, “I guess I am never going to live it down that I had tea parties until I was 12.” “Nope, and you are the only one of us who still has a stuffed teddy bear,” I said. In mock shock, she said, “Don’t bring Mr. Biggles into this.” “Well, I have to punch below the belt since you are bigger than me now,” I said. With concern, she said, “What are the doctors doing for you, have they figured anything out?” “They figured out what it is not so far. I’m being transferred to the Mayo Clinic tomorrow morning and a team of some of the best doctors in the world are supposed to be trying to figure this out. Hopefully, I get some answers in the next few days,” I said. She said, “I hope so too. I was just wanting to check in on you, I will let you get some rest since mom said that you pretty much sleep all the time right now.” I said, “Yeah, the only reason I’m awake right now is because the I.V. pump was beeping earlier and woke me up.” “Well, I love you, Will, get some rest,” she said. I responded, “I love you too, Marley.” After talking to my sister, I spend the rest of the day sleeping and only walking up to either go to the bathroom or get more pain medicine. When my parents left to go back to my apartment for the night, I went to bed that night hopeful that the doctors at the Mayo Clinic could find out what was going on with me.

Chapter 20: Euphemisms Mesmerized by what I was seeing, I watched Hannah swing for another minute. Once Emma had gotten her cousin started with a push, Hannah didn’t have any issues maintaining her momentum on the swing set. Hannah swung her legs back and forth in a rhythm that kept her flying high into the sky each time she swung toward me. Every time Hannah was vaulted up into the air by the swing, the wind seemed to catch her skirt without fail, lifting it up enough to give me a brief glimpse of what I was by now one hundred percent certain was a pull-up. I wondered if Hannah knew how little her outfit did to conceal the pull-up and if that was something that concerned her in any way. Emma was standing next to me in front of the swing set, but she had pulled out her phone and was tapping away at it. If Emma had gotten a glimpse of her cousin’s undergarments, she didn’t say anything to me. Despite the suspicion that I had heard some crinkling from Hannah as we walked to the park, I was still somewhat surprised to find that Hannah was wearing a pull-up. Emma’s tale about Hannah wetting herself on the couch – and her statement that she thought Hannah ought to be put back in diapers during the day as well as at night – had made it appear as though Hannah hadn’t been wearing any daytime protection. But I was certain my eyes hadn’t deceived me. I had accepted Emma’s statement about Hannah’s bedwetting without thinking too hard on the matter. After all, my sister had wet the bed until she was my age, and it was clear from the advertisements I’d seen that pull-ups were sold for bedwetters the same age as Hannah and me. So, finding out that a thirteen-year-old girl was still wetting the bed – though unusual – wasn’t a surprise. And, from what I’d learned recently in conversations with my parents and Grace, there seemed to be some clear medical explanations for why a kid my age could experience bedwetting. But this – a girl my age needing to wear a pull-up during the day – was something altogether different to consider. It was like that five- or six-year-old girl I had seen getting her pull-up changed at the mall last week, another shock to my preconceptions about pull-ups and who used them. But why? That was the question I couldn’t escape. Why would a girl my age have difficulty controlling her bladder while she was awake? I wanted to pee my pants, and even trying to get my body to do it intentionally took an insane amount of effort. Using the toilet was natural, and it took a lot of convincing to get my body to do otherwise. So, what was the deal with Hannah? I looked around the playground. It had been several years since I had lost interest in running through it. We weren’t the only people using the playground by far. There were a couple of younger kids on swings further down the line on the swing set, and behind us on the playground, and another dozen or so from toddlers to kids a couple years younger than others running around on different play sets and equipment. I cringed a little as Hannah’s skirt lifted up to flash her pull-up again. I found myself getting embarrassed at the thought of what anyone else at the park would think of Hannah – and by association, Emma and me – if they were to notice that Hannah was wearing a pull-up, and about the derogatory word Emma had used to describe her cousin on the way to the park. As my parents had explained from their own experience, bedwetting was a normal thing that could happen to any kid, so while it was still embarrassing to have my family view me as a bedwetter, I could handle that as it allowed me to get pull-ups for myself. I remember that Emma had mentioned that her cousin had autism as if that was a one-size-fits-all explanation for all of her strange behavior. That had to be the explanation for why the girl wasn’t smart enough to use the toilet, despite being a teenager. “Alight, she’s good now. Come on,” Emma said, looking up from her phone. “She’s perfectly fine playing by herself.” We walked a short way from the playground to a nearby soccer field that wasn’t being used. I sat down on the grass and switched over from my tennis shoes to the soccer cleats I had brought along in my bag. I considered the possibility of taking a pull-up or two from Hannah once we got back to Emmah’s house. If I hadn’t already begun my bedwetting plan, I was sure I could have arranged to spend the night at their place. That would have been a perfect chance to get some pull-ups and learn more about why Hannah needed them. But with my parents now thinking I was a bedwetter, and with them not having gotten me any pull-ups yet, that wasn’t an option. Besides, as impatient as I was getting for pull-ups – seeing another girl my age wearing them wasn’t helping – I felt certain that I would be getting some from my parents soon, so unless the perfect opportunity presented itself, it wasn’t worth risking it to get any from Hannah. These soccer fields were currently set up for elementary-age kids, so the soccer goals were a lot smaller than the full-sized ones we typically played on. But that worked well for playing simple games of one-on-one and for practicing being more accurate with our shots. It was a shame that Angie wasn’t around, as she would have been able to play goalie for us. Instead, Emma and I took turns attempting to block each other’s shots. I dribbled the soccer ball out past the penalty box, which, like the goal, was proportionally smaller than the field we played our games on. Emma positioned herself in the middle of the goal, a few feet off of the line. Behind her, Hannah was having fun by herself on the playground. She had moved on from the swing set. Now she was busy climbing on a massive, circular jungle gym. Twisting through the different rings and levels until she was near the top of the structure. I pushed the ball ahead of me to the right with the outside of my right foot before stepping ahead to line up a shot. I pulled my leg back as far as I could before swinging it forward. I wasn’t going to give Emma a chance to stop it from going into the net. In the distance, Hannah had reached the top of the jungle gym. Even from as far away as I was, it was still obvious that she wasn’t wearing normal underwear. That made me even more curious. Emma hadn’t seemed to have had any reservations in talking about all the issues she had with her cousin. I couldn’t see how Emma could have been unaware of her cousin wearing a pull-up. That brief moment of taking my eye off the goal caused me to send the shot well over the top. The soccer ball sailed in the air. “Seriously,” Emma said. “You would have missed that by a ton, even on a regular-sized goal.” I groaned and jogged past Emma. It was my responsibility to retrieve the ball since I had missed the shot. Hannah saw me approaching and slid down from on top of the jungle gym. She jogged up to grab the soccer ball, which had rolled a few feet onto the rubber surface of the playground. “I want to play soccer now,” she said, starting to walk with me toward the soccer field. I really wanted to say no. But Hannah hadn’t even phrased it as a question. By the time I had managed to think of a somewhat polite way to tell her to go back to the playground, we were already nearly back to the soccer field. Emma had taken advantage of the break to grab a water bottle from her bag. She had just finished drinking from it when Hannah and I returned. “Can I have some of your water?” Hannah asked her cousin. Emma pointed to the other side of the playground. “Go get something from the drinking fountain over there.” “I tried it. It’s too cold,” Hannah whined. “It makes my teeth hurt. Can I have yours instead?” “Fine,” Emma said. She didn’t look happy about it, but she handed the water bottle to Hannah nonetheless. Hannah pushed open the cap, and then raised the water bottle right up to her mouth, placing her lips on it. “No, no, no,” Emma said, snatching the bottle out of her cousin’s grip. “Don’t be gross. I don’t want your germs on my water bottle.” Hannah stomped both of her feet on the ground. “That’s not fair. I need something to drink.” I winced at the sound of her high-pitched whining, but I wasn’t going to offer her my water bottle. I didn’t want anyone’s germs on it, either. “You can have my water bottle,” Emma said. “But you need to pour the water into your mouth.” Hannah crossed her arms. “I can’t do that. It will spill.” Emma tilted her head back and demonstrated for her cousin, pouring water from the bottle into her mouth without having her lips touch it. “That’s how you do it.” Emma handed the water bottle back to her cousin. Hannah hesitantly raised the bottle in the air, but she didn’t have it aimed correctly at her mouth. When she squeezed the water bottle to get a drink, the water instead sprayed all across her face and dripped down onto her shirt. Emma looked as though she was having a hard time suppressing a laugh as she watched her cousin struggle to line up the water bottle for another attempt at taking a drink. The second attempt didn’t go any better than the first. And now Hannah’s face and shirt were all wet. “I can’t do it,” Hannah pouted. She looked like she was going to start crying. “Fine,” Emma said. “Drink it however you want. You can have the rest of it.” Hannah raised the bottle to her lips and sucked on it almost like a sippy up. “See what I have to deal with,” Emma said to me quietly. “She whines like a baby when she doesn’t get what she wants. If I hadn’t given her the water bottle, she would have been tattling on me to my mom and aunt when we got home.” “All done,” Hannah announced. She handed the now-empty water bottle back to Emma. “Why don’t you go back to the playground,” Emma said. “Maddy and I are going to play soccer for a little while more, and then we will head back home.” “I can play soccer, too,” Hannah said. I watched as Emma started to say something and then bit her lip. I remembered what she had said just earlier about how she was supposed to be accommodating to her cousin. “Yes, that would be nice,” Emma said flatly. “Awesome!” Hannah yelled. She walked up to one of the soccer balls and kicked it toward the goal, putting it straight down the middle. Hannah turned around proudly toward us. “See.” “Yeah, and I would have blocked it if I was playing goalie,” Emma said with a wave of her hand. We decided to play a game called World Cup. The rules were simple. One person would guard the goal while the other two players competed against each other to score a goal. Whoever scored had to take the next turn at playing goalie. The game started off with Emma standing in the goal. She threw the ball out toward the middle of the field, and Hannah and I raced off to get it. Hannah was unexpectedly fast for how awkward her running form was. She made it to the ball first and began to turn to dribble back toward the goal. I backpedaled a little as I kept myself in front of Hannah, waiting for her to lose control so I could step in and easily poke the ball away from her. But, to my surprise, she was handling the ball much better than I had anticipated. Still, as she neared the top of the penalty box, I swung my foot forward, thinking I was going to get an easy steal, but instead of making contact with the ball, my cleated foot swung harmlessly through the air, and I nearly lost my balance. I didn’t know how Hannah had managed to evade me, but I turned to see her spinning past me, all while maintaining perfect control of the soccer ball with her feet. She took a shot at the goal and put it past Emma and into the corner of the net. She jumped up and down in celebration, again showing off the pull-up she was wearing. Emma started laughing at me. “I can’t believe you fell for that move.” “You’re the one who let it in the goal,” I retorted. “Only cause I was too distracted by you spinning in a circle.” I made Emma pay for that comment by stealing the ball from her and getting a goal of my own. Hannah’s goalkeeping skills weren’t anywhere near the level of her dribbling, so that wasn’t as much of a challenge. We continued our game for another twenty minutes or so, though the question of who was the winner was never really in doubt. Hannah had easily scored more goals than either Emma or me. It made more sense when she mentioned that she played the forward position on her school team back in Illinois. After scoring another goal, it was my turn to guard the goal while the two cousins faced off against each other again. I punted the ball gently, sending it out for them to chase after it. Hannah again reached the ball first and managed to keep it away from her cousin until she was closer to the goal. Hannah sidestepped deftly past Emma, but before Hannah could get the shot off, Emma shoved Hannah off of the ball with her hip, causing Hannah to fall to the ground. I was so caught off guard by the move that I wasn’t ready for Emma’s shot, which sailed past me untouched into the goal. Emma did an exaggerated celebration, sliding down on her knees on the grass. The way she had been so aggressive toward her cousin shocked me. No hard fouls was one of the unspoken rules we had when we were practicing. As Hannah lay on the ground for a moment, I got a much closer look at her pull-up than before. It did appear as though she had managed to keep it dry so far. After a few seconds, Hannah stood up awkwardly, brushing off her skirt as she did so. Beep. Beep. Beep. The timer on Hannah’s watch began to go off. Unlike when we had been back at Emma’s house, Hannah didn’t rush off to use the restroom. She tapped frantically at her watch, finally getting the alarm to shut off. Hannah got into position next to me as Emma grabbed the ball to walk toward the goal. Emma looked over at her cousin. “Aren’t you going to take your potty break?” “I can wait until we’re home,” Hannah insisted. “Hannah,” Emma said. “Your mom did tell me to make sure that you went if your watch went off while we were out.” Hannah glanced over at the center of the park. “I’m not going in a porta potty. Those are gross.” “Whatever,” Emma said. “I suppose you are wearing a diaper today, so it doesn’t matter if you pee your pants.” “I’m wearing a skirt, not pants,” Hannah said. “And they’re absorbent underwear, not a diaper. Only babies wear diapers, and I’m not a baby.” I recognized the euphemism from how the pull-ups were often described in the advertisements I had seen. I had always found the phrase to be really silly. Who would actually think those undergarments were underwear rather than just another version of a diaper? “Whatever,” Emma muttered quietly, rolling her eyes after turning away from her cousin. “Same difference.” Emma returned to stand in front of the goal before again through the ball out for Hannah and me to chase. We went through a few more rounds before deciding it was time to head back home. Emma and I sat down to change from our cleats back to our tennis shoes for the walk back to her house. Hannah was still dribbling a soccer ball absentmindedly in the field behind us. “Are you free to do anything else this afternoon?” I asked. I wasn’t sure what answer I wanted. There was part of me that was curious about Hannah’s need for pull-ups and another part of me that really didn’t want to spend any more time around that weirdo than was necessary. “Sorry, we’ve got plans to do stuff with Hannah’s family this evening,” Emma said. “But we could do something tomorrow.” “What are we doing tomorrow?” Hannah had snuck back up on us completely unnoticed. “We could play soccer again. Please?” “I think it is supposed to be raining tomorrow,” I said, as we started to walk down the path out of the park. “Then we can stay inside and watch a Harry Potter movie.” “That would be fun,” I said automatically, without thinking about it. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I saw Emma just glare at me. I then remembered how she had warned me not to bring that topic up. What followed was an incredibly detailed interrogation from Hannah. “What House would you be in? What is your favorite character? What movie do you like best? Should Harry have ended up with Ginny? What would your patronus look like?” I barely had time to answer dozens of rapid-fire questions before Hannah jumped onto the next one. There finally was a brief pause, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness that was over. I was mistaken. The next thing I knew, Hannah was talking about some Harry Potter fanfiction she had read on a website I hadn’t ever heard of before. Emma had slowed down, and was now trailing a dozen feet or so behind us to try to avoid the conversation. I hadn’t even realized that people writing their own versions of those stories were even a thing. She was talking at one-hundred miles an hour, with just the shortest of pauses to catch her breath as she detailed her favorite alternative plot, which somehow involved Hermione and Malfoy becoming friends. It was so bizarrely outlandish, but there wasn’t a chance for me to step in and ask any questions. Hannah paused her rambling mid-sentence as we were about a half-block away from Emma’s house. She then took off in a straight sprint, cutting across several yards rather than remaining on the sidewalk. “You know,” Emma said as she caught up to me. “You can’t say that I didn’t warn you about bringing up that topic.” Ahead of us, Hannah came to an awkward stop about halfway up the driveway to Emma’s house, when she suddenly frozen mid-sprint and stood with her legs crisscrossed. She remained frozen in place for about fifteen seconds before walking slowly up toward the house. “Yep, looks like she just pissed herself again,” Emma said with derision. “Such a baby.” --- Links to all my stories can be found at https://abdlwriter.wordpress.com/

When you're being arrested 20 times in a row in the same spot so all the legacy media press can have their climate propaganda pics. You might indeed need diapers. In my honest opinion, we'd be better off feeding her to a polar bear tho 😛

Ted suddenly felt a cool hand cup his flaming hot butt. With a gentle tap, Lara encouraged him up. “Ok hun, all done with spanks for tonight. Why don’t you get a pull-up on and get into bed.” A wave of shame and indignation passed over the young man. It wasn’t fair! They said he only had to wear Goodnites when he was drinking. He hadn’t had a drop that night! But the feeling of Lara’s hand on his prone backside made Ted think better of arguing. He resigned himself to just put the diaper on, and get some sleep. As he rose off the bed, Lara scooped up the loose pull-up and handed it to him. She allowed herself a quick look at his impressive package. “We want to see how they fit,” she explained. “They look pretty thin, so Stacey and I want to make sure they’ll do the job.” Completely humiliated, but with resignation, Ted accepted the childish garment and stepped into it. Lara watched eagerly as it stretched up and over his thighs. Ted winced, rose on his toes and nearly started crying again as the tight fitting pull-up crinkled and rubbed over his swollen bottom. He did not remember his Goodnites fitting this snuggly as a preteen. And of course, he’d never worn them over a bruised backside. Seeing Ted’s manly frame squeezed into the tight diaper, Lara could contain herself no longer. She approached him and invasively pulled and prodded at the thin padding. “Hmm… yeah, I don’t know, Stace. I think these will definitely leak,” said Lara. “Especially if he pees as much as he did last night.” Ted felt the heat rise in his cheeks. It was embarrassing enough to stand in front of two hot college girls while wearing nothing but a diaper. It was so much more humiliating the way they discussed his bed wetting as though he wasn’t even in the room. He felt like three year old. He wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole. “I think you’re right. We’ll have to look for something more absorbent before the weekend,” said Stacey. “But for now, it’s bedtime for this naughty little boy.” She gave Ted a big hug. Her warm body against his bare flesh made him relax a bit. “Goodnight Teddy,” she said softly. “Welcome to the club.” She smiled, tapped his padded butt and left the room. Lara came in for a hug herself. She squeezed him tightly, then pulled back, holding the boy by his shoulders. “You trust us right?” she asked with a sweet smile. Ted blushed. He smiled back and nodded. “We’ll get this sorted out, don’t you worry.” Lara cupped the crotch of his Goodnites with her fingers, eliciting a twitch and sudden bulge beneath the padding. “And it will always stay our little secret. Just like the spankings.” Ted beamed. He felt affection, caring, love. But all he could do was continue smiling and nodding. “Alright, in to bed buster.” Lara sent him toward the bed with a sharp slap on his sore bottom. “And straight to sleep! Or else…” Ted yelped and dived under the covers. He was asleep before Lara left the room.

Arriving back at the house, Lara hurried upstairs to hide her extra purchases. She stuffed the girls’ Goodnites and sippy cup under her bed, then headed back downstairs with Ted’s pull-ups and the pack of wipes. Stacey, meanwhile, went to her own bedroom to retrieve the wicked strap. She twirled it in her hand as she returned to the first floor, eager to give Ted his first taste of the brutal implement. Lara tore the package open as she walked, sliding out one of the thin diapers. She stifled a giggle as she inspected it. Meeting Stacey in the hallway, Lara handed over the pull-up. “I don’t know,” Lara demurred, “they’re pretty thin. By the look of his accident from last night, I don’t think these will do the job.” Stacey tucked the strap under her arm and performed her own inspection, pulling out the leg cuffs and stretching the sides. “Yeah…” she muttered, “we might need to come up with a plan B. Let’s have him try them on and we can take a look at how they fit.” Lara blushed and felt her pussy dampen as the prospect of seeing Ted in a diaper drew nearer. The two girls moved down the hall to Ted’s room. They had heard him in the bathroom, so just waited for him to make his way out of the shower. Lara hoped he would emerge in just a towel. She couldn’t wait to get a good look at his fully naked body. While they waited, Lara and Stacey readied the room. Lara put the Goodnites on his nightstand, leaving the one she had pulled out atop the pack. She placed the wipes neatly next to the package of pull-ups, smiling at the Huggies logo and the cute designs featuring Winnie the Pooh. Stacey grabbed a couple of pillows and stacked them in the middle of the bed. She took aim with the strap, making sure Ted’s butt would be elevated enough to receive his punishment. Satisfied, she draped the strap neatly over the pillows. With everything set, the girls sat down on Ted’s bed and waited for him to return from his shower. They didn’t have to wait long. After a few minutes, Ted wandered into the room, naked but for the fluffy towel around his waist. Finding his roommates waiting in his bedroom, ready to spank him again, he clutched nervously at his towel. He couldn’t meet their eyes, having just finished fantasizing about them. His eyes glued to the floor, Ted stood waiting for one of them to speak first. Lara also found it hard to speak as she looked over Ted’s muscular frame. She felt her panties dampen slightly, anticipating him dropping the towel and bending over. Stacey finally broke the silence. “Ok Teddy. Ready for your first strapping?” Ted flinched at the word ‘strapping.’ He clutched the towel, and the ache in his butt seemed to swell. But, really, he did want to get it over with. Exhausted both from the emotions of the day, and from his lack of sleep the night before, Ted was desperate to get in bed. He looked up slowly to see the strap splayed out in the bed. He knew he’d have to go through it in order to finally get some sleep. Ted nodded. But remained glued to the floor. Lara rose slowly to her feet. She approached him and took both of his hands in one of hers. She lifted his chin to meet her gaze with the other hand. “It’s gonna be ok,” she said. “Two quick smacks and it’s over.” Ted again felt warmth and care wash over him, staring into Lara’s sweet brown eyes. He felt the tension in his body ease. Lara’s hand moved from his chin to the towel. Quickly, she brushed it open and let it fall to the floor. Stacey stood from the bed and picked up the strap. “Lie down over these pillows, please,” she instructed. Still gripping both of Ted’s hands in one of hers, Lara led the naked boy over to the bed. She helped him into a kneeling position in front of the stacked pillows. Ted felt a pit in his stomach. He was fearful to feel the heavy leather implement on his very sore butt. He stared down at the bed, feeling anxious but giving no resistance as the girls guided him into position. Stacey took his hands and pulled him gently forward. She extended his arms so that his fingers reached the edge of the mattress. “Hold on here,” she instructed, curling his fingers for him. Meanwhile Lara pulled Ted’s ankles backward, and pressed down on the small of his back. She couldn’t help running her hands all over his toned legs, stopping just before she reached his bruised ass. She drank in the sight before her: A stark naked young man, fit and muscular, bent over on his own bed, backside in the air, wearing deep bruises from a serious paddling, ready for more from the strap. Lara was incredibly turned on. Stacey, however, was ready to get down to business. She readied the strap in her right hand. She laid it across Ted’s ass, taking aim. “Ok young man,” Stacey said, again striking her best authoritative tone. “One stroke from each of us. This is going to hurt. It’s ok to cry or yell out, but I want you to stay in position until we tell you to get up, understand?” Ted quickly nodded then buried his face in the bedding. In a quick instant, Stacey lifted the strap and expertly hammered it down across the most tender part of Ted’s butt. The breath left his lungs as Ted writhed on the bed. His back arched and his eyes bulged. With his bottom still slightly damp from the shower, the stoke from the strap was explosive. Stacey handed it across the bed to Lara, then grabbed Ted’s shoulders and pushed him back into place. “Hold still,” she chided. “One more.” Ted finally caught his breath and began crying. Lara wasted no time and quickly backhanded a searing lash in exactly the same spot. Ted howled and buck on the bed. He had never felt pain like this in his life. Tears streamed down his face as he sobbed like a child. He again buried his face in the sheets. Stacey held him down by the shoulders for a minute until his crying subsided. As he regained some semblance of composure, Ted turned his head. He felt the wetness of the sheets press against his cheek. Wiping his eyes, his nightstand came into focus. The feeling of the wet sheet and the sight of an open pack of Goodnites reminded him: his humiliation that night was not quite over yet.

1 Riley lived a monotonous life. Like any other eleven-year-old girl, she would wake up early in the morning, eat breakfast with a bowl of milk and cereal, brush her teeth and become an athlete to catch the bus that would take her to school, spend five hours listening to her teachers' endless speeches, and write down everything important on her notepad. Friends she had none. Not that she minded the company of others, let's be clear; she preferred to stay in the background and be on her own. In group work she would participate enthusiastically and do her part; when it was over she would go back to being the shy, reserved little girl she was. From time to time she imagined what her life would have been like if she had had friends. Probably, it would have been less boring and static and more eventful. Once, she posed the question to her parents, whose answers did not enlighten her much. Her father Greg told her that having friends fills the days with great excitement, while her mother Helen told her that time passes more quickly and cheerfully if one is in the company of a friend. She was still pondering this on her way home from school. She passed Vito's restaurant, then Mary-Ann's china store, then stopped at the supermarket entrance. She looked at it undecided about her next move. It was quite a long way, at least a 30-minute walk. She had finished her water bottle in the story hour; she would be thirsty even before she entered the residential area. She tapped the left pocket of her jacket, she had her wallet with her, therefore money as well. She was sure of it, she had not used it before this moment. Thus, she passed through the entrance and headed for the bottle counter. She took a fresh water bottle and set off in search of the crates, which in a single moment turned into a full-fledged treasure hunt. She found herself in the meat department, continued to the right, all the way to the back, and arrived at the area dedicated to bread. Puffing, she went back four wards and turned left. She was surprised to see the shelf of baby products on one side and the toy shelf on the other. Motionless as a statue, she admired the baby products side, especially the diapers and wet wipes in their colorful and flashy packaging. She came out of her trance-like moment by shaking her head. She reached over and grabbed a package of Pampers Baby-Dry. Fluffy, she thought. I wonder how they will fit me? Suddenly, Riley was struck with a sense of disgust and placed it back on the shelf. Why had she thought that? Why had she stopped there and held a package of baby diapers in her hands? What was happening to her? She took steps back. Her gaze shifted to a young woman with brown hair and delicate face. She, too, was looking at that section with interest. She stopped at the exact spot where Riley had been perched and picked up the diaper package and placed it in her cart. In that instant, their eyes met. Caught in the act, Riley looked away; her mother had taught her that looking at strangers was rude. She blushed. In complete silence, the lady smiled at her and continued on her way. The little girl took one last look at the shelves filled with diapers and other baby products. She would have liked to buy them and use them. However, there was one detail that hammered in her head: she was an eleven-year-old girl and able to listen to her body, not a baby. She went back to find the speakers, putting this strange episode behind her and hoping it would not happen again. I am a big girl, she told herself. And big girls don't wear diapers. * The next day, Riley was there again looking at those shelves full of light blue packages of Pampers Baby-dry diapers stacked one on top of the other and one behind the other forming an impregnable wall. The real reason she was there was still a mystery, but she didn't care at that moment. She was itching to buy a pack of diapers and a package of wet wipes. She reassured herself by saying, "I'll take them now. I'm going to get them now. I'll take them now." As soon as he took the first step, he would immediately retract it. Then, the air grew tenser and tenser, and Riley tried harder and harder not to panic. She did this seven times in a row. "You still here too?" asked a soft voice. The little girl turned her head to her left; it was the woman she had seen twenty-four hours earlier, dressed in a slightly wrinkled dark blue overcoat and brand-new light blue pants. Her first thought was: What a strange coincidence. "Uh-huh," Riley replied, nodding. His heart began to beat faster. "I'm glad to know I'm not the only person in this lane," replied the adult in a friendly, cordial tone. "I forgot to take the wipes yesterday." The woman fetched them and then returned to Riley. "You seem nervous, are you all right little girl?" Riley nodded hastily, as well as giving an unbelievable smile. The woman looked behind her, then turned her focus back to the little girl with a questioning face. "Why are you here?" she asked as she lowered herself to her height, eyes as clear green as an expanse of grass on a sunny day. Quickly, she added, "If you don't mind me asking." Riley remained silent. Why was this woman asking her that question? Was she a woman who had ulterior motives? Where were the adults at that moment? She began to breathe nervously. The woman realized she was being impetuous toward her, so she repeated the question in a lighter, less inquisitive voice, "What brought you here, honey?" "I... I-I don't know," Riley stammered, taking a few steps back. "Maybe..." "You're interested in these things," replied the woman thoughtfully. "It's nothing wrong, you know." Her eyes lit up. The woman continued. "It's a curiosity that a lot of kids have, so there's nothing wrong with... going back to being a little baby and using baby things. " "Really?" "Yes," she replied, smiling, "you're not crazy, you're a normal kid. You're unique." Riley's eyes became glazed over and she rubbed them with the sleeve of her jacket. "I want to make you a proposition, so you are free to refuse," the woman began. "I'll buy you everything you need and drive you home. What do you say?" Without thinking, the little girl shook her head. Such a proposal could not be refused. And Riley already had a counter-proposal in mind to make to the mystery woman. She took courage and proposed to her, "I have the money and I want to take it... but the only thing I need... is... to know how it fits." The woman smiled. "Would you like me to put it on before we part?" Riley blushed embarrassed and looked away from her. No. No! This was going too far; her private parts remained private! The woman chuckled amusedly, "Just kidding, silly! Just lie on top of it, lift it up until you feel it over your belly, and attach the tapes. If you're having difficulty, watch a YouTube video." Riley nodded and in a low voice thanked the woman, before leaving her field of vision he ruffled her hair playfully and wished her good luck with everything. Would she see her again someday? She took a package of diapers, one of wet wipes and a lotion of moisturizer and walked to the cashier to pay. The cashier who had served her, a woman in her 60s, complimented her on being a diligent and responsible girl. She could not blush upon hearing those sweet words; she wished they had been true! Once outside the supermarket, she felt over the moon, and the smile on her face was proof of that. Now, it remained for her to go home and turn back the clock; the day had taken a decidedly more exciting direction than the usual monotony. 2 Once she got home, Riley put her backpack down in her corner and pulled out everything she had bought at the supermarket. After that, she took them to her room and slammed them inside the closet, to hide them better she decided to throw some of her clothes on it. This was fine for the time being; Mom and Dad rarely came into her room and rarely went to look inside her closet. He ate the last slice of margherita pizza left inside the oven. It tasted terrible, but she didn't care so much as long as it satiated her a little. When the impromptu lunch was finished, Riley put her plate and glass back in the kitchen sink and rinsed them quickly, then set them to drip in the cabinet above the sink, just as her father had taught her, who, in turn, had taught her mother. She always did her homework in the kitchen. Usually she would have done them in her room in absolute peace, but being home alone and having hidden in those four walls her diapers, she could not afford to fail in her school duties. "Business before pleasure," her parents often reiterated to her. Literature was one of the boring subjects she found interesting, especially when it came to writing a short text trying to take a cue from a story written by a famous author. This time, she had to write a short text where the main character thought about a long series of concerns regarding his future. Riley did not have to reread the text from which that exercise originated; she already had in mind what she had to write and set about doing it. It took her ten minutes, then she went on to do the homework for the other subjects. At five in the afternoon, Riley finished the last exercise in math, the subject he hated most in the world. She closed all the books she had on the table, stowed all the pens and pencils scattered in her pencil case, and put them back in the bookcase that preceded the threshold to enter the kitchen. Finally free! She ran to her room, nearly tripping, and closed the door behind her. She approached the closet, every fiber in her body was in trepidation, and her hands wasted no time in opening the doors and throwing onto the floor the clothes she had used hours earlier to hide her loot. She still couldn't believe it, she had actually taken them and they were in her room, waiting to be used. She took the package, the wipes and the cream; with clumsy movements she laid them on the floor and admired them as if she were looking at a treasure made of gold and precious jewels. "What am I waiting for?" she asked herself and opened the package of diapers. She took one out and opened it. She studied it for a moment. Delicate, soft and very stretchy. Perhaps too stretchy for what she had expected, obviously it was a garment that had to fit on a multitude of different sized babies. She would have no problem wearing it, she reflected, since these diapers were the largest size she had found on that shelf. It would have to fit. She placed the diaper on the floor. Before sitting on it, she pulled down her panties and underwear. She took a damp washcloth and gave it a wipe down there, then applied moisturizer. She sat on it-as the lady at the super market had told her-and pulled the front over her belly. She was succeeding, the diaper fit, everything was running smoothly, and it was too early to sing victory right away. She attached the left and right ribbons, the diaper was attached to her body. Riley let out a long sigh. Was she dreaming? Impossible, she could feel her skin telling her, "Hey Riley, you're wearing a diaper!" She wanted to really answer, but her mouth was unable to move. She was living the dream. She stood up, the diaper remained there firmly in its position. It's perfect! An idea came to her: her panties were the diaper she was wearing. She took off her shoes (which she had forgotten she still had on), then slipped off her pants and kicked them onto the bed. Her panties fell onto the soles of her feet, the final step was near. She removed her feet from both ends, picked up her pants and put them back on. She looked at herself in the mirror. There she was: Riley, a normal eleven-year-old girl. The little girl looked down at her bottom, the flat padding of her diaper suggesting that she was wearing one and not normal underwear. She opted to change them for jeans, they turned out to be a better choice, her bottom had taken on its normal shape. Within minutes, Riley tidied up her room. The package safely inside the closet with the wipes and lotion; the underpants and panties in the dirty laundry basket in the bathroom and the washcloth tossed in the basket, again, in the bathroom. Everything was clean and tidy as if she had never been there at any time of the day. Mom and Dad would never suspect. At that moment, the sound of the lock came straight to her ears, then the creak of the door led her from the stairs. "I'm home!" announced Helen, her mother, in a tired voice. "Riley?" "I'm here, Mom." Helen looked at her daughter at the top of the stairs and a reassuring smile formed on her face. "Are you all right?" Riley nodded, "Everything's fine. You?" "Tired" she replied, hanging up her jacket. "Done all your homework?" "All of them." "Great," her mother commented happily. "Now I'll start making dinner. Pasta tonight!" * Greg returned at seven o'clock in the evening. Like his wife, he was wiped out from the endless hours at the office, each day the load was getting heavier and heavier, and keeping up with the various deadlines was beginning to become untenable. Seeing his wife's muse-like face and his little girl again lifted his spirits. "Good evening!" Greg entered the kitchen and curtsied. Riley and her mother greeted him with excitement and enthusiasm. Especially Mom, who kissed him fleetingly so as not to lose focus on preparing dinner. To her, however, he gave her a big hug. The pasta was delicious. Mom had been good at cooking it, and each forkful of spaghetti was a one-way ticket to food heaven. Riley cleaned the plate twice. "Gee, Riley!" surprised Helen. "You were really hungry!" The little girl nodded, smiling. "I'll join in!" added Greg, then swallowed a rolled forkful of spaghetti. Helen and Riley laughed. Dinner continued smoothly. Greg and Helen talked about their days, one more messy than the other, and Riley sat listening to them trying to follow the river of their words. She imagined a long stream of water heading toward a waterfall. Riley did not understand why her imagination was making her see this. What was her head trying to say? Then she felt the stimulus down there, the first of the day, that said softly to her, "Pee!" Oh no... not now! Riley remained composed and calm, she was good at not showing her emotions and passing for a different emotional state than she really felt. Peeing at the dinner table? In front of her parents unaware that she was wearing a diaper? What if she wet her jeans? No, that's too risky! She could get up and go to the bathroom, however, she would have to pay attention to the loudness of the diaper tapes. Mom and Dad would surely have heard the tear. She had no other choice, so she let go. The warm pee all over her as if she had dived into the pool, in less than a few moments the absorbent layer of the diaper absorbed it all inexorably. She felt only an uncomfortable damp sensation. All in all, she liked it. Mom and Dad continued with their talk, never stopping for a glass of wine. At one point, Helen stopped and sniffed the air. Seeing her, Riley did likewise; there was a strange, intense smell. "But where is this smell coming from?" she asked suddenly as she looked around. Greg also sniffed and looked around. "What kind of stench is that?" Riley imitated their movements and behaviors. Now they catch me... Now they catch me... Now they're going to catch me.... MOM AND DAD ARE GOING TO CATCH ME! Riley got up from her seat and with slow, silent steps approached the kitchen exit. But her mother's voice planted her there just a few steps from the door. It was over. "Riley, would you come here for a second?" In a barely audible voice, the little girl said, "Uh-oh." * Helen was puzzled at the sight of the undergarment her daughter was wearing. She turned her gaze to her husband who, like her, had no idea what was going on. With the chandelier light pointed at her, Riley lay there on the table in the living room with her jeans down. Her swollen and yellowed diaper was partially covered by her pink long-sleeved shirt. The little girl had a sorry expression on her face, but she did nothing to hide it, and she did not feel like crying. She looked in vain for her parents' gaze. Helen lifted the girl's shirt in a slow movement, then felt the diaper. Heavy and definitely at the limit of its absorbent capacity. She brought both hands together to remove the left tape, but stopped when Riley spoke in a submissive voice, "Mom... I have everything... in my room." Helen pulled her hand away from the child's waist. "What, honey?" "It's all in my room." Greg went and returned, and in his hands was the opened package of diapers with only one diaper missing. The two adults realized he hadn't had it long. Helen then grabbed her by the arms and sat her down. He gave her a stern look. "We would like an explanation, young lady," her father spoke in a firm voice. Riley sighed defeatedly. "Yesterday, I went to the supermarket to get a small bottle of water. As I was looking for the checkouts, I came across the shelves of products for small children... I went back there today and got all this." Greg looked at Helen, then she took the floor, "Why did you buy diapers?" Riley did not answer. "Riley, answer your mother," her father urged her. "I wanted to... wear them... I wanted to try them on," her voice was about to break into tears. Before bringing her hands to her face to hide it, she concluded, "I just wanted to wear them." Silence. "Wait here, we'll be right back," his mother said, walking away with Greg in tow. * Sheltered in the garage, Greg watched Helen pacing back and forth, intent on finding a foothold in that unpleasant, constantly falling situation. He, too, was as confused as his consort, but he did not let panic drive him. He pondered for a long time, then asked her, "What are you going to do?" Helen replied tartly, "I don't know Greg!" "It doesn't look like anything scary to me. It's better than seeing her with drugs in her hand." Helen gasped impatiently. "Gregory, for God's sake, what are you saying?" "I'm saying it's nothing scary. It's just ... diapers." "Just diapers?" she exclaimed exhaustedly. "Just diapers..." he replied uncertainly. "But it's not the end of the world, Helen." "You think if I let her wear them, she'll be okay?" "That might be a good idea," Greg replied sympathetically. "Let's see how the situation develops and-" "And?" "And we'll decide later what to do," he concluded. "Now, how about we worry about her dirty diaper?" Helen watched the door and nodded conflictedly. "I'll need some help changing her, I'm pretty rusty, you know." "All right, now let's get back to her, please." * "Wipe," Helen said, and Greg handed it to her. After that she rubbed it around Riley's private regions, who was enjoying the moment. Once thoroughly cleaned, Helen lifted her bottom, removed her soiled diaper and ordered her trusty colleague a clean diaper. Her husband slipped it off the package and started playing with Riley as he had when she was smaller. As the two of them played, and with a decisive move, Helen stole the diaper from her husband's hands, opened it and tucked it under her daughter's bottom. In a commanding voice, she announced, "Cream?" Greg handed it to her. In no time, Helen slathered it on her and closed her diaper. The magical moment ended in that instant of silence. "Now off to bed, young lady! We'll talk about this tomorrow, okay?" her mother told her in a loving voice. "Okay," and the little girl ran toward the stairs. "Mom? Dad?" "Yes, honey?" her father asked. Riley opened her mouth to speak, but then had second thoughts, "Nothing, goodnight." 3 Her parents were already in the kitchen when she came downstairs. From behind the ajar door, Riley heard the vibrating noise of the coffee machine and the sounds Dad made when he sucked milk from his bowl. Neither of them was talking; what had happened last night had shaken them to the point that they could no longer have a normal conversation, Riley surmised. She could not go back up to her room, her mother would come to wake her up and ask questions again about the.... At that moment, Riley remembered the diaper she was wearing. It had been years since she had peed in bed, and now that she was wearing a diaper, her old problem was back. "Yikes," she said as she pulled her pajama pants forward and looked at the bulging diaper. "Riley?" her mother called her from the kitchen. "Honey, is that you?" Riley pushed open the door. "Good morning." "Did you sleep well?" asked her father cozily. Riley nodded and sat down in her usual place. After that, her mother also joined them, holding her cup of freshly brewed coffee. "Are you okay ... down there?" her mother asked curiously, catching sight of the little girl's pants. "Um..." stammered Riley impishly. "Maybe not." "Don't worry," her mother snapped at her in a soothing tone, "later, we'll fix it." "Okay." "Do you want cereal or cookies with a bowl of warm milk?" her father proposed as he stood up. "I'm not... in the mood... in the mood for breakfast, Dad." "Are you sure?" "Yes," replied Riley confidently. "In your opinion, am I crazy?" Both Greg and Helen were horrified by her question. They looked at each other for a moment, without thinking twice Greg reassured her, "No, no, no. You are not crazy, you are perfect just the way you are." Riley's eyes began to glaze over. "Even though ... I want to wear diapers? Even though ... I'm 11 years old?" Greg opened his mouth to answer, but Helen beat him to the timing. In a firm, loving voice she said, "Yes. If that's what you want, we'll let you." "Really?" the little girl asked, wiping away a tear that ran down one eye. Then she looked her mother straight in the eye. "Yes," she reassured her. "But there will be rules." Riley looked at her mother and father interdictedly. "Rules? What kind of rules?" Greg was also puzzled, but said nothing. Her mother Helen resumed speaking. "If you want to wear a diaper, just tell us and we'll put it on. This implies that only Dad and I will be able to change you and, most importantly, check it if you had an "accident." "If you would not like to wear it and put on big girl panties, just tell us and we will accommodate you. This is first rule. All clear?" "Yes," Riley answered truthfully. She had never taken her eyes off her mother throughout the whole talk. "Second rule: the diaper issue stays between us. It will be our secret. You will only wear it when it's just the three of us. Before you ask, you won't wear it at school, the reason you can guess for yourself," Helen explained. "Fair enough," commented the 11-year-old. "Can I wear it when I go out with you?" "Yes," replied Greg confidently. "I remind you that only Mom and I are aware of your 'secret.' Keep that in mind." "Are there any other rules?" asked Riley innocently. "Nothing else comes to mind at the moment," said Greg then asked his consort, "Do you have any other rules in mind?" "I have nothing to add at the moment." "I do have an addition in mind," Riley spoke cautiously. "But it's not a rule, can I make it anyway?" Helen and Greg exchanged a doubtful look, but they both wanted to hear what their little girl had to say. It was Helen who gave her the floor. "I'd like to get some pull-ups," Riley began determinedly, and seeing the doubtful looks from her parents, she had to make a long speech, "They're panties that are also diapers. If I started wearing diapers, I would start peeing or doing number two without me knowing it. With pull-ups I can go to the bathroom as if I were wearing regular panties. "They are easier to put on. You would rip the sides and slip it on like regular panties. They also have a symbol on the front to tell if I need to be changed." "I have two questions," Greg said puzzled. "When would you wear them? Then, how do you know all these things?" "I'll answer the second question: it's all written on their packages. Answering the first, I could put them on alternately with my underwear to stay trained to go to the bathroom at all times," the little girl answered excitedly. "They can also come in handy for going out," commented Helen. "I think we've talked enough, how about we go get ready?" "To go where, Mom?" "We're going shopping, honey," replied her mother, taking her by the hand and walking her out of the kitchen. "Where are you going?" asked Greg curiously. "We're going to get ready," replied Helen playfully. "Someone needs a clean diaper." * Riley was surprised by her mother's skill and care in cleaning her and putting on her new diaper. The night before it seemed like it was one of the first times she had done it; today, however, she was a veteran with a long experience behind her. "Done," her mother told her as she attached the last tape. "Get changed and remember to put on something that will hide the diaper better." The little girl opted for a long dark green sweatshirt and a pair of black jeans. In front of the mirror, even she could not tell if she was wearing a diaper. Great, I'm ready. Thirty minutes later, mother and daughter, hand in hand, entered the supermarket. Helen was struck to see that sincere smile on her daughter's face. She could not remember when was the last time she had seen her smile like that. Finding the pull-ups was as easy as drinking a glass of water. Riley was over the moon in grabbing the package. Seeing the caricatures of cartoon characters on a pink background left her speechless. She found them as gorgeous as the diaper she was wearing. After paying, they returned home. Once they returned, Helen took the opportunity to check her diaper. She took her to herself, pulled down her jeans and felt her well: she had peed, she had peed a lot! She led her to her room, The little girl threw herself on the bed, eager to be changed clean. "Mom, can I put on one of the pull-ups?" asked Riley as her mother opened her diaper. She grabbed a washcloth and set about cleaning her private parts. Not thinking much about it, she replied, "All right, but when you have to go to the bathroom you have to tell us." Having finished cleaning her thoroughly and applying the cream, Helen helped Riley put on her first pull-up. The little girl did, quite literally, jump for joy. "How are they?" asked her mother. "It's a cross between a diaper and underwear. They are so comfortable!" replied the 11-year-old happily. Helen rolled up the soiled diaper, then said to her, "I'm going to make lunch. Remember to go to the bathroom and rememtell us, okay?" "Okay, Mom," she slipped on her jeans. Just before her mother came out of her room, Riley called her. "Thank you," she told her. Helen smiled at her and left. For a moment, Riley felt like the luckiest little girl in the world. 4 The following Monday, as per routine, Riley went to school and came home. The day had given her quite a few surprises: a surprise history test, a math quiz, and pair work in art class. She had done the test and the quiz to the best of her knowledge, all thanks to her method of study that allowed her to defend herself well even in the most reluctant questions. Surely the test went well, she told herself. The art hour, however, put her to the test. She had never had much inclination for artistic and creative subjects-except for writing where she felt she had mastered the real thing-too abstract and poorly understood. Had it not been for Theo to guide her, the blank canvas would have become her definitive work that would have enshrined her in the long line of bad artists. Theo. It was rare that a classmate of hers intruded into her endless stream of thought. It seemed to her that she was discovering his existence for the first time. Like her, he was shy, solitary and unreachable. Those thoughts made her lose her appetite, so she went to her room to put on some more comfortable clothes to stay in, including putting on a pull-up. She grabbed her backpack and immediately set out to do her homework; she planned to spend the afternoon doing whatever she wanted. With the last science exercise completed, the little girl stood up and stretched. The rumbling of her stomach reminded her that she had skipped lunch, she looked at the clock: it was two o'clock in the afternoon. She had better eat something. She put a piece of frozen pizza in the microwave oven, set the temperature and time - 10 minutes - and pressed the "START" button. She waited sitting at the table. The ringing of the phone made its way through all the rooms,m until it reached the kitchen. Riley sprinted to the living room where the phone was located, picked up the handset and in a nervous voice said, "Hello?" "Hey, Riley, it's Theo," said the voice with a bit of insecurity. "Am I disturbing you?" "Hey, Theo," she greeted him, then answered happily, "no bother. Tell me everything." "I just wanted to ask you how you found yourself working with me today," he said cautiously. "I saw you ... angry, I wanted to know how you were." Riley bit his lower lip, and without his noticing a drop of pee ended up in her diaper. Theo was telling the truth, during that hour of class she felt like a complete wimp, a no-good. At one point, just before the end of class, she roared all her frustration at him. She sighed thinking back to those thirteen seconds that seemed interminable, then answered him in a sincere voice, "I'm fine. I've calmed down and..." She paused to sigh again. "I'm sorry I acted that way. It usually doesn't happen to me to-" "Of not being able to do something right?" the companion on the other side added promptly. "I know how that feels." Riley smiled, wondering if Theo could have seen it. No, he couldn't have seen her; who knows where he lives!" she told herself. "So, do you forgive me?" "Even if you didn't apologize to me, I'd still forgive you," Theo said casually. "Would you like to come over and finish the task?" She missed a beat. Had she heard correctly? A classmate of hers asking her to come over? Yes, she had understood correctly. She would have wanted to say yes immediately, but what if Mom and Dad had said no? Riley answered uncertainly, "I have to talk to my parents about it first. If I'm not mistaken, your parents should have their numbers? At least they should have my mom's." Theo muttered something (or so it seemed to Riley). "Yes, my mom told me she has both, but she prefers you to talk to them directly." Riley brought her hand to his temple in disbelief. Of course she was going to talk to them directly about it! He replied, "When they come back I will talk to them about it. Let's stay that way for now." "Alright, I'll talk to you later or possibly tomorrow," he concluded, then said goodbye to her, "Have a great rest of your day. Bye Riley!" "You too, Theo! Bye!" and hung up. At that exact moment, the squeaky, annoying sound of the oven alerted her that her snack was ready. She jumped off the couch, but something stopped her on the spot. What the... The little girl touched the front of her pull-up. It was hot and the front symbol was slightly faded, but it wouldn't be long before it disappeared completely. "I better go pee before I get it all over me," she confuted to herself aloud, as if there was another person with her, and went to the bathroom. * The pizza tasted like cardboard. The tomato and cheese had lost their distinctive flavors; the dough was the only decent thing that managed to convince her to go all the way through it, every last bite. The cold pull-up began to bother her, especially between her legs. Rule one was pretty clear. If you want to wear a diaper, just tell us and we'll put it on. This implies that only Daddy and I will be able to change you and, most importantly, check it if you had an "accident." When she put on the pull-up, Riley had not heeded to the rules they had imposed on her that Saturday morning. She couldn't wait for Mommy (or Daddy) to come home and clean her up and put a clean diaper on her. They would come to know that she had transgressed one of the rules. She made up her mind: she would tell the truth. She thought back to what had happened that night. She brought her legs against his chest and hugged them, their puzzled faces still well in her mind. At that moment she made a promise to herself: No more secrets and no more lies to Mom and Dad. To chase those thoughts away, she went up to the second floor, went to her room to get a book and headed for the bathroom to pee. * Riley was engrossed in reading that she paid no attention to her mother entering the house. In fact, it was her appearance in the kitchen that brought her back to reality. The little girl began to break into a cold sweat. "I didn't know you were reading," Helen exclaimed in surprise. "Did you do all your homework?" Riley nodded a nervous smile. She was not good at masking her emotions, and Helen immediately sensed that something was wrong. She asked her, "Honey, is something wrong?" Riley suddenly got up from her chair with still that smile that Helen found annoying. She hastily replied, "Yes, yes, yes, Mom! Everything is fine! I'm just glad you're back!" Helen gave her a guarded look. "Why are you acting like this? It's not like you." True, Riley couldn't blame her; she couldn't explain that strange behavior. She gave a tense giggle, then calmed herself by taking three deep breaths. There, she was about to tell her, "Mom, do you remember the rules you gave me for diapers?" Her mother nodded and crossed her arms. He looked her straight in the eye, from her face she was not at all pleased. She asked in a haughty tone, "Are you wearing one now and need to be changed?" "I'm wearing a pull-up," the sorry little girl hastened to say. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." Helen looked up at the ceiling. "I should have expected you to wear one in our absence. By the way, again!" Riley looked down guiltily, turning her toes back over each other. Helen continued brooding, but on the verge of scolding her. "I appreciate you telling me, Riley. However, your father and I gave you rules for a reason. These aren't toys; they can harm your health if misused. Being in one of those things for a long time could give you a skin rash. Do you understand?" She turned her gaze to her and nodded. "Now we're going to go up and give you a good cleaning," he told her. "Until I talk it over with your father, you're going to wear big girl panties. Diapers and pull-ups are off-limits!" "All right," Riley said, and her mother escorted her to the bathroom. * "Today I got a call from Theo, a classmate of mine," Riley began as her mother removed her dirty pull-up. "We have an art assignment we have to finish. He asked if I would be free to go to his house tomorrow. Do I have your permission to go?" Helen rubbed her nether regions well and then replied, "We'll talk about it tonight over dinner with your father, okay?" "Okay," replied Riley meekly and let her mother finish cleaning her. "No diaper? Not even for the night?" Helen shot her the look. Riley sighed in disappointment. "Understood." "Would you tell me what you understood?" her mother questioned her in a stern voice. "I understood that not following the rules has consequences." "So?" "You will not put me in a diaper now or before going to bed." "What will you do before you go to bed?" "I will go to the bathroom and pee like a big girl." "I guess you've learned your lesson, at least for now," Helen concluded contentedly. 5 Riley remained silent for most of dinner. The talk she had with her mother in the bathroom monopolized her thoughts; she began to think that they would confiscate her diapers and throw them into oblivion. He found rule one unfair, why could only her mother and father get their hands on her diaper, despite the fact that she had managed to put on a diaper by herself without anyone's help? Adults are weird!" she thought. "You're quiet today," her father began curiously, "did something happen?" Riley looked up from her empty plate and looked at her mother. With her gaze, she was telling her to tell her father what she had done. "Yes, something happened," the little girl replied indifferently. "In fact, two things happened." "Which one do you want to start with?" interjected Helen, feigning curiosity. "A classmate of mine called me today," Riley began a tad excitedly, "Theo Bennett. We have to finish our pair work for Professor Towers, he asked if I could go to his house tomorrow to finish the project and do homework together." "I don't see why not," Greg drank a glass of wine. Then he turned to his consort, "Did you say yes too?" Helen smiled at him. "Yes. Her friend lives nearby and His parents are willing to have her as a guest for lunch. So of problems we don't have any, is it okay for you to pick her up in the evening? That way I have time to take care of some chores around the house." Greg nodded and smiled at his daughter. He commented happily, "I didn't think you had a friend!" "Yeah," Riley laughed nervously. He didn't really consider Theo a friend; he was more of an acquaintance, almost a stranger. Who knows why his father had already labeled him as his friend? "What about the other thing?" asked Greg then casually. Riley's face darkened for a moment; she felt the conversation would take a turn for the worse. She sensed her mother's stern look. Okay Riley, you can do it. It's like an interrogation: beginning, explanation, conclusion. "Here..." the little girl spoke softly. "Today I... wore a pull-up on the sly." A contented smile took shape on Helen's face, glad to hear Riley admit her mistake and direct it to her better half. Greg sighed dejectedly. "So, you're telling us you wore a diaper in our absence?" "Pull-up, Greg," Helen corrected him. Greg quickly repeated his question, but corrected. "Yes, Daddy," Riley replied sadly. "That's the first thing I did when I came home. Then Mom came and I told her everything. I'm sorry." "Did you pee there?" asked her father tensely. Helen intervened, "From what I understood, yes and no. She had peed some before I came back, then she peed again just before I changed her and cleaned her up. So, she did it twice." Riley blushed full of embarrassment. Was that a detail to point out? "Is she wearing another one now?" asked Greg to his wife, forgetting his daughter's presence. "Big girl's panties," Helen replied. "I have a punishment in mind to give her for transgressing the rule." "Shall we talk about it now? In front of her?" "No," Helen replied, remembering that Riley was there with them. "There's something I'd like to point out to both of you." She paused. As long as she had all eyes on her, Helen continued with her speech, "This is especially about you, Riley. Today while I was changing you, I noticed that you hadn't given yourself a good scrubbing down there. Tell me out of curiosity, did you go to the bathroom once today?" "Yes, I went," replied Riley downcast. "After I noticed that I had slightly wet my pull-up." "You gave yourself a scrub, didn't you?" Her mother asked. Riley shook her head. "You know that after you pee you have to clean yourself up down there," her mother scolded her. "That's why I've decided that every time you come out of the bathroom, you have to come to me so I can take a look at you. We'll start tonight." Riley did not protest. Her mother was right; she could do nothing but humor her. "All right." A brief silence followed, and both Greg and Helen got up with their dishes in hand to go put them back in the dishwasher. Riley sat there in her seat, her fear of no more diapers making her eyes glaze over. "Will you take them away from me forever?" asked Riley fearfully. Both her parents approached her. "No," her mother consoled her. "We don't want to take away your diapers, if you want to take them, we won't object. We are doing this to teach you, to teach you to be more responsible." Riley pulled up her nose. "Why can't I wear them by myself?" "Because we want to take care of you," her mother promptly replied. "As well as making sure you get cleaned properly." "Thank you," said Riley and hugged her mother, then hugged her father as well. "We are here, honey," her father told her, then her daughter broke the hug. Riley took her plate and put it in the dishwasher, next to her parents' plates. She helped them clear the table and then they went to the living room to watch a movie. * "Am I disturbing you?" asked Helen in a low voice. She was in the doorway to her bedroom. "No, tell me," replied Riley and closed the book he was reading. "Come in." "I've come to take you to the bathroom," she announced, holding out her hand to her daughter. "Even if you don't run away, I want to make sure you go to the bathroom before you go to sleep." Riley grasped her hand and let herself be carried away. She did not find this new custom fair; she was a big girl, not a little girl. "Mom! I'm 11, I know when I have to go to the bathroom!" whined Riley. "I know," laughed her mother. "But sometimes, moms want to make sure their kids go to the bathroom before they go to sleep." Entering the bathroom, without letting go, Helen positioned Riley in front of the toilet. The little girl felt uncomfortable; her mother's presence put her under great stress. She wanted to tell her, but nothing would change her mind about going out and giving her a moment of privacy. Her mother knelt down and proceeded to gently lower her pants, Riley could not help but blush. After that, she told her softly, "What are you waiting for? Sit down and try it." The little girl obeyed resignedly, as well as red in the face like a tomato. The toilet was cold, but her mother's reassuring gaze caught her attention. She smiled at her and let go. "All done?" she asked her as soon as the tapping turned to silence and the little girl nodded confidently. "Good, now on your feet." Riley stood up, then her mother tore off three pieces of toilet paper. With gentle forward motions she cleaned it under there. She repeated those gestures five times, subsequently flushing the paper down the toilet. Riley recognized the pattern; she used to do this when she was younger. Same care and gentleness, she seemed to have gone back in time. "That's how you should wipe," she concluded in a calm, teacher's voice. "Always forward, never backwards. Minimum five times, if you want to be sure give it three more passes. All clear?" "All clear," she answered truthfully, lifting her underpants and underwear in one go. "Thank you, Mommy." "You're welcome. I'm going to bed," announced her mother as she returned to her feet. "Flush and brush your teeth. Oh, before I forget, tomorrow when you come back, I'll take a look at you. Good night, honey." "Good night, Mommy," he told her before squeezing the flush lever. * "What did you have in mind?" asked Greg already under the covers. "I don't know yet," replied Helen doubtfully. "We could use diapers as a reward when she behaves." "Helen," he spoke exasperatedly, "she is a good girl. She studies and behaves well." "A good girl sneaks a pack of diapers, puts one on and pees in front of her parents?" pointed out Helen annoyed. "She didn't even follow the rules we gave her on Saturday!" "I don't understand why you have to punish her." "Greg, she sneaked a diaper!" reminded Helen, her voice frustrated. "When did we put her in a diaper?" began Greg meditatively. "Monday through Friday, only in the evening and at night. Saturday and Sunday she could wear it all day. You know what I mean?" Helen furrowed her brow. "No." "Riley doesn't enjoy them enough. Only two days. No wonder she wants to sneak them on," Greg enlightened her. "And you want to punish her even though she told you the truth." "We can't help it, our jobs keep us away from her," Helen replied. "She won't bring them this weekend, that's decided." "Then you don't understand," blurted Greg. "When she brings it, she's happy. Even with the pull-ups, she's happy. Isn't that clear to you?" "It's quite clear to me," Helen replied curtly. "I want to teach her that choices have consequences. When we had caught her with that dirty diaper, we did nothing. "I don't want Riley to get into this bad habit of doing what she wants on the sly." Greg got up and went to sit beside his wife and kissed her left cheek. "She would never do that," he said in a sultry voice. "You know the thing she hates most is to hurt us. That's why she told you the truth today." A tear streaked down her face. "Do you think she'll take it badly if I tell her she can't wear diapers this weekend?" "Will she take it badly? Yes, definitely." "It's decided, this is her punishment." "You know I'm against it right?" "Yes, but you'll have to humor me this time," Helen concluded and began to snog him. 6 Theo no longer had the strength to hold his head up to pay attention to the lesson of Mrs. Daniels, the literature teacher. He had the crazy idea of resting his head on his desk, his nose and forehead attached closely to the notebook paper. He did not care if the middle-aged woman saw him and scolded him. Riley, unlike her desk mate, could keep up with her lengthy explanations. Eyes following her every movement and her right hand writing on the notepad every word that came from her thick lips. Mrs. Daniels walked over to the blackboard and began to draw a diagram that looked like an upside-down tree. At the top and middle she wrote "How to write a horror story" and drew three arrows far apart. "How do you keep from falling asleep?" asked Theo in a low voice at one point. "I stay awake and listen," she answered quietly. Theo changed position. He stretched out his arms on the bench and rested his chin on the bench. She said in a half-asleep voice, "I can't wait for it to be over." She wanted it too, damn right she did! Riley felt she was at the end of her rope. Listening and writing at the same time took a large chunk of her energy, which, after four hours of class, she had none left. To avoid falling behind, the 11-year-old began writing as fast as she could; readability would suffer greatly. Half an hour later, the last bell of the day rang. Mrs. Daniels said she would explain the third arrow the next day, but the buzz of her students' voices prevented her words from reaching their ears. Getting angry was useless now. She grabbed her smartphone and took a picture of the blackboard, then began to put all her things in her backpack. For her, too, the day had turned to an end. "Mrs. Daniels?" a female voice called to her that she recognized. "Yes, Riley?" "You dropped this," she said and handed her dirty, weather-worn blue case. "I thought something was missing," she exclaimed in surprise as she grabbed the object. Most likely it had fallen from the desk during the general marasmus. She thanked her in a kind voice, then asked, "Do you have any doubts about today's class?" "Um..." she hinted uncertainly as she flipped through her notepad. "I actually would have one." Mrs. Daniels looked at her watch. It was 1:20 in the afternoon. She had to go to lunch with her colleagues and was, punctually, late. "You will bring it to me tomorrow, I really have to run now. Study mind you," she told her mortified and hurried out. "Of course she has to run," the little girl commented irritably and set off to join her friend downstairs. * "So," Theo began thoughtfully, "what do you think about . um... geography?" Riley thought about it before giving her answer. She loved geography. Finding out the customs, the lifestyle of the inhabitants, the strengths of the economy, and the brief history of a state in the world excited her so much. Unfortunately, this subject fell into the "I hate this subject because of the teacher" group. "Nice for goodness sake," replied Riley holding back an edge of anger, "but Mr. Johnson is making me hate it." "Then it's a common thought," Theo said, then asked her another question. "Let's get off the subject of school shall we? What do you do in your spare time?" I sneak around and use diapers! Ha ha ha! If I answered him like that, he would think I was crazy. Ha ha ha ha! Riley held back a laugh at that thought, although there was nothing funny about it. Theo looked at her puzzled. "Never mind," Riley hastened to say, "I read and write. Do you?" "I read too!" gave a toothy grin Theo, nearly baring her way. "What kind of books do you read?" Riley hinted with a smile. If she had had a diaper on, she would have peed from excitement. But at that moment she didn't have one, so she had to restrain herself as any big girl would. She cleared her throat, then answered him, "I mainly read fantasy books, occasionally I read normal books." "Normal books?" "Books that are not in the fantasy or science fiction genre," she explained to him. "Mom is convinced that I like them a lot, so she gets them for me." "For example?" asked Theo curiously. He seemed to know the genres in question. "The last ones she got me are about friendship, simple and mundane and without any elements that manage to stand out from other books dealing with the same topics," Riley accentuated her feeling of annoyance toward the end. "Sometimes I wonder why my mother gets me such books, even though I don't like them." "Do you remember the names by any chance?" asked Theo without losing interest. "I ask because I only read those kinds of books." "Books about friendship?" "No, children's fiction books," Theo pointed out. "The fantasy genre doesn't appeal to me much." "Oh," said Riley slightly disappointed. "Anyway, the names of those books are When We Were Together and Ashes. I could have done without reading them." Theo retorted offended, "You can't say Ashes sucks! It's the only one that manages to touch chords that other books in the same genre can't!" "For example?" questioned Riley in a defiant tone. "The whole story revolves around the so-called 'invisible string theory,' " Theo began to explain, "according to which a person is nothing more than the center of an infinite set of strings that connect him to other centers-which are other people. I point out right away that this does not exist in reality, but still, the protagonist - Paul - becomes the epicenter of the pain of every single character he interacts with. "This is where the main themes of the story surface: the desire to connect to others and the outside hand that helps those who are suffering. Paul is a loner, whether he likes it or not he needs to be around people, so he joins the group of losers ignored by everyone and constantly targeted by bullies. "As he spends his time with them he realizes that he too has his own limitations and difficulties to overcome. So he decides to help them overcome their fears and difficulties, they also do the same for him. When Richard and Izzy die in the car accident, Paul begins to wonder if all this connecting with each other is really worth it, so he becomes the spark that destroys all the strings that bind to him. "Needless to say, this is his reaction to their death and that talking to someone about it kept him from destroying the last, most important bonds he still had: his new friends and his family. The ending in which he and his friends throw their ashes at the lake where they first met is the symbol-and the title-of the play." Riley stood in silence surprised to have heard an explanation that only she could have brought up if she had discussed it with another person who was not interested in books. Theo was a reader like her; his attention to detail was identical to hers. It was true!" she told herself. It had not happened in her head! It had happened for real! "Wow!" was the only thing she managed to say. Then Theo stopped in front of an empty driveway that led to a two-story white house. "Here we are. This is my house, welcome!" In that instant, Riley realized that she had removed from her mind the fact that she and Theo were walking to his house. Their conversations had overridden their perceptions of reality, at least hers since Theo was in charge of taking her to his house. They had passed by her house and she had not even noticed! She felt lost for a moment. Mom was right, he lived not very far from her house and the other dwellings were very reminiscent of hers. Getting lost was impossible; she would find her way back in no time. The kids approached the front door. Theo rang the doorbell and saw Riley looking around, but it did not take her long to realize that it was the same porch she had at home. They were greeted by her father, Hank Bennett. An all-American man, broad-shouldered and fully fit, he wore a tank top and long pants. Both the 11-year-olds were speechless to see him in such attire in the middle of winter. "Hey, guys!" Hank greeted them, then turned to the little guest. "You must be Riley, very nice to meet you!" "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Bennet," replied the little girl politely, then proceeded to remove her jacket. "Call me Hank," the man quickly put in an amused manner. "I may be an adult, but I'm not that adult, you know? I still feel like a 20-year-old kid!" Both Theo and Riley burst into thunderous laughter. "Take off your shoes and go wash your hands, lunch is ready," announced Hank and then hurriedly headed for the kitchen. In the bathroom, Riley was the first to wash her hands. Theo suggested that she go first because he had been told that, and I quote, males must know how to behave well with females, as they are the fairer sex, so they had to go first. Hearing this, Riley had to hold back laughter. "Really?" was his response. Theo replied gallantly, "Yes, milady. You ladies are viewed differently than we gentlemen. Therefore, we ask you not to express criticism of our manner." This time she could not hold them back and burst out laughing for the second time; he had been in her house for just over ten minutes and was already fighting not to pee her pants from the laughs. 7 Mr. Bennett had cooked excellent steaks: flavorful, slightly spicy and cooked to the right temperature. Riley filled and cleaned her plate three times; as luck would have it, he had cooked about ten small and medium-sized steaks. Theo was the one who ate the least out of all of them; he justified himself by saying that he did not have much of an appetite. Lunch finished, the two friends helped Mr. Bennet clear the table, after which he left them on his way to his office. Theo explained to Riley that his father worked from home on certain days of the week, and today was one of those days. It would have been nice if her parents had that chance too, the little girl thought to herself. Three o'clock in the afternoon. The two eleven-year-olds were already at work on their couple's project in the kitchen, the only space in the house large enough for them to work on. The week before, Mrs. Towers assigned their class a job to do in pairs: draw a city where the real stars were the buildings. No streets, just buildings and the sky. She would grade all the work and give both components the same grade. She left the barbaric task of creating the pairs to the students, who, in addition to generating chaos, formed balanced pairs. Riley and Theo balanced each other well. She, an excellent art history student and bad artist, and he, a good art history student and very talented artist. Theo came up with a definite idea of how to make the city, the object on which their delivery was based. Four skyscrapers arranged in the shape of a trapezoid, the two forming the minor base in the foreground and the other two - making up the major base - following and well away from the sides of the sheet; surrounded by other buildings with windows colored in colors other than yellow, intended to color all the windows in the trapezoid. Riley, art denier that she was, approved of the idea, but on the condition that they make an informed choice of colors. And there they were, passing the colors around and coloring the multitudes of white squares that remained. Yellow windows (the first ones the duo colored), reds, oranges, pinks, greens, blues, magentas, purples and many other colors caught the attention of anyone who looked at them. The sky was still white with gray insignia of the Moon and the clouds passing in the midst of those black towers, they told themselves that would be the last part they would color. They had set a list for themselves: draw the buildings and skyscrapers with windows; color the windows; draw the clouds; and finally, color them together with the sky. Compared to the time in the classroom, Riley was more relaxed and more confident in coloring the white spaces. Moreover, the silence that enveloped the kitchen room kept her glued to her task. From time to time, she cast glances at her friend to make sure he was doing his part. It wasn't necessary; Theo was devoting his heart and soul to coloring buildings and windows and, every few seconds, supervising their work. It's definitely coming along nicely. Theo and I are not a bad team after all. An hour later, Theo put down the purple marker and gave a tired sigh. Then he asked his friend, "How many windows do we have left?" Riley finished coloring the last window with red and announced it contentedly in a very high tone of voice, after realizing this she apologized. Theo raised his arms to the ceiling in victory. Exhausted, he said, "We are almost at the end." At that point, Riley got up from her seat. "Where's the bathroom, Theo?" "Up, turn left and first door to the left," he answered her in the same voice. "While you go to the bathroom, I'm going to stop and recover too. I'm beat!" Riley walked out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs. He went up to the second floor and turned to the left, as Theo had told him moments earlier, and looked for the bathroom door with his eyes. There it was! It was a plain white door; she lowered the handle and stepped inside. The bathroom furniture was all light blue, like the diaper packaging she had at home, while the walls were a strange white. He observed it closely; it was a white with light blue undertones. So the dominant color of the bathroom was light blue, she told herself and walked to the toilet that was at the end of the room. In front of the toilet, a dark sky-blue dresser stood toward the ceiling, it looked as if it might touch it, but the thin deep black space gave the 11-year-old confirmation that the cabinet was not in contact with the ceiling. Beautiful, she thought as he squared it from top to bottom. She counted six in total. She looked at it again for the second time. The last drawer was open, inside it a package of diapers was illuminated by the light coming from the window. She recognized them; they were Pampers Baby-Dry overnight diapers. Overnight diapers -- wait a minute, does Theo pee in bed? Riley ignored that question and ignored the contents of that drawer. She pulled down her pants and... gasped in disbelief. Her panties were slightly wet, the smell of pee plugged her nose. Oh, come on! Wasting no more time, she pulled them down and sat on the toilet. Theo's diapers and her panties' smell became her fixed thoughts for that minute sitting to relieve herself. It couldn't be true. * In forty minutes, the work was finished and all imperfections removed. Riley and Theo were satisfied, especially him since it had been his idea. "What grade do you think we'll get?" asked Theo of her. "I don't know... maybe an A," Riley replied slightly nervously. "I doubt we'll get a bad grade!" Theo smiled at her, then took the drawing and put it inside the clear envelope he had brought it home with the week before, then put it inside his backpack, being careful not to crumple it. After that, he told her happily, "Mrs. Towers will be impressed with our work." "Mmh-mmh," Riley quipped casually, thinking about the wet underwear against her skin. Mom would surely take her back. "Would you like to see my room?" proposed Theo to her. "I'd like to show you my bookcase." "All right," Riley answered him, smiling. She felt the need to distract herself from everything and turn off her brain. On the stairs, Theo said, "I'm going to the bathroom and then I'll join you. My room is the third door on the right." Suddenly, Riley stopped on the last step terrified. Now? Right now you have to go to the bathroom, Theo? Then in the same bathroom where your diapers are in full view? Oh... maybe I'd better tell him. "Wait a moment, Theo," she hesitated in a serious tone. "There's something I have to tell you." "Can't you wait a few minutes?" the friend implored her. "I'll come in and out." No, I can't wait! In fact, I don't want to wait! "Theo, I saw them!" admitted Riley apologetically. "I went in and saw the open drawer." Theo's face darkened. Riley recognized that expression, even that state of mind. She felt guilty, the same guilt she had when her parents caught her with a diaper on. "So... now you know about my little secret." Riley nodded. "I won't tell anyone, I promise." "I know you won't," Theo told her like it was nothing, then smiled. Silence. "I know you have a lot of questions for me, but I'm going to go to the bathroom first and then we'll talk about it," Theo said as he headed for the bathroom in small steps. Before taking his leave, he reminded her, "Third door on the right!" * Boring. Boring. Super boring! Boring. My goodness, pure boredom! Boring. Riley was standing in front of Theo's bookcase in her room. She was studying the various books he had and, reluctantly, could not find one that would pique her interest. She began to wonder if Theo took those stories seriously. From the titles alone, which were trite and not at all profound - except for "Ashes," which reevaluated her - she could already imagine the other stories. "Gee, Theo," she said boredly. "Besides Ashes, you don't have any exciting books." "I expected this answer from you," he said as he entered his room. Riley jumped in fear. Had she spoken too loudly again? After that, she sat on her bed and watched Theo take two random books from the bookshelf. There was something about him that did not convince her, her eyes studied his butt. Why is his butt so... big? The friend made a leap to grab a book, failed. So he made another, this time succeeding. Twice, his ears picked up rough sounds reminiscent of typical paper noises. At that point, Riley understood: Theo was wearing the night diaper he had seen in the bathroom. What had he put it on for? "Here," Theo told her, handing her two of his books. Ashes and When We Were Together, the two books they had talked about before entering the house. He added hopefully, "Reread them and then tell me what you think." Riley raised her right eyebrow, not understanding this last sentence. "If you want to try to change my mind, you're way off base. Besides, I already have these two at home." Theo resumed them mortified. "I had forgotten we talked about them, but read them again anyway." "Why?" Theo put them on his desk. "Your idea can change you know?" The friend wasted no time in thinking it over. So, she replied doubtfully, "Okay." After that, Theo sat beside Riley on the bed, keeping his distance to respect her "boundaries." He had never stopped smiling. "Whatever questions you have in mind, ask me," his friend prodded her. "Why are you wearing a diaper?" Embarrassed Theo looked down, but pretended not to. How had she guessed he was wearing one? He replied surprised, "I wanted to put it on." "But aren't you supposed to put it on before you go to bed?" "Yes, but sometimes I put it on long before I go to bed," Theo explained, scratching the back of his head. "My parents let me, but as long as I take it off, do what I have to do, and then put it back on. They check on me a lot to make sure I'm following the rules." Riley nodded. Like at home, her parents had given her rules, albeit different ones, and they wanted to make sure she stayed safe. But to Theo, diapers were like regular underwear-that was the subtle difference that made them different. She would have liked to tell him that she wore diapers too, but after what happened recently and her promise, she let that desire disappear from her mind. "Every once in a while... you think you want to... try to... you know," Riley stammered, but she did not understand why. Theo answered naturally; he was just at ease. "Yes, every now and then. Then it comes back to me that I do it in my sleep and the urge goes away. Also because my mom shudders when she has to take it off me. She hates to get her hands on something messy like my diaper after a good night's sleep." "I understand," replied Riley sadly. "It can't be easy for any of you." "Mom and Dad keep trying new methods to get me to stop," Theo admitted bitterly, as if it were an impossible problem to solve. "As I told you, it's my mother who puts it on and takes it off. Occasionally my father does it, but he is not good at cleaning down there. Even though he is a male like me, sometimes it hurts me. That's why I prefer my mother." Riley wanted to tell him, she didn't want to make him feel lonely. That's what she had sensed in his voice. Also mixed in were innocence and regret for being that way. No one has to know, Riley. Just me, Mom and Dad! The three of us! Silence. Riley couldn't resist a minute longer. "Theo, I have a secret too," she began cautiously and truthfully. "I wear diapers, too." "Bedwetting is a common thing among us eight-to-thirteen-year-olds," Theo revealed for the purpose of curiosity. "You don't understand, I wear them all the time," Riley sputtered. "Or rather, only on weekends do I wear them. Morning, afternoon, evening and night. I don't have any medical problems, I just like them. I like their drawings, I like peeing on them and feeling them all around me. And, most of all, the attention my parents give me in taking care of me." Theo remained silent, having no idea what to say. He wanted her to be happy, she wanted him to be happy too, so he hugged her tightly. "Your secret is safe with me, Riley," he told her in a low voice. Riley was speechless, the hug and his words warmed her heart. She was not dreaming, the warmth of her friend made her feel good, safe. She told him in a soft voice, "Yours is with me too, forever." 8 The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Riley and Theo managed to do all the homework they had and spent the last half hour up in his room talking about the thing that had led them to become best friends: diapers. They stretched out on the floor, wanting to play out a scene from a book they had read where two characters - a boy and a girl - were talking about their problems lying on the floor next to each other. To feel more comfortable, Theo slipped off his pants let the world admire his Pampers Baby-Dry for the night. There was no shortage of shenanigans from his friend where she urged him to wet himself to which he laughed while maintaining full control of his bladder. "Mom picked me up on her shoulder," Riley recounted gesturing toward the ceiling, "we moved to the hall and she laid me down there like I was a baby. Then she tried to take my diaper off, stopped when I told her I had more in my room." "What did she do then?" asked Theo, brushing his diaper. "She went to the garage to talk to my father. They came back together and changed it for me," she replied. "I couldn't believe it: mom and dad changing my diaper at age 11! The next day we discussed this, they set rules for me; I went to the supermarket with my mother and she bought me pull-ups for children who have to learn to use the toilet. They may be small, but boy are they very stretchy!" Theo listened fascinated, at one point asking, "How are the pull-ups?" Riley giggled happily. "Beautiful, it's like you're wearing underwear and a diaper at the same time!" Their conversation went on until six o'clock, the time when Greg, Riley's father, came to pick her up. She said goodbye to her friend and her father, then they walked to the car. When she returned, her mother Helen accompanied her to the bathroom to give her the pre-announced checkup. She pulled down her pants and looked down at her daughter's smelly and still wet panties. "What happened?" he questioned her. Riley explained everything to her, in full detail, the moment she discovered her friend's night diapers and also about the two drops of pee that fell into both her underwear. She blushed with shame. "Next time, sit and watch, don't stand and pee your pants," she admonished her, removing her soiled underwear, then helped her clean herself. At dinner, Riley monopolized the conversation. It was one of the few times the little girl talked so much she almost forgot about the plate of spaghetti on her plate. Her parents listened without ever interrupting her, surprised to find that her best friend - so their little daughter had twice declared - was peeing the bed. Having finished the meal and cleared the table, everyone went to their respective rooms, or almost since Helen forced Riley to follow her to the bathroom for the second time all day. The 11-year-old repeated the same instructions her mother had given her the day before with some uncertainty, did a fair amount of work that her mother completed. After that she gave her the report, "You need to pay more attention, Riley! You cleaned yourself up like you were late for something!" The little girl nodded and yawned; she couldn't take it anymore already. She brushed her teeth and went to her room, she definitely wanted to end this heavy day with a good night's sleep. She threw herself on her bed, at that moment someone knocked. "Come in!" It was her mother, she wanted to talk. He crossed the door and went to sit on one side of his bed. She admitted in a feeble voice, "I need to tell you something." "What is it, Mom?" asked the little girl as she sat down. "Your father and I have discussed it and decided on your punishment: for the rest of the week, you will not wear diapers. Starting next Monday, you can wear them, provided-" "As long as you or Dad are there to put them on me," Riley concluded in a saccharine voice, the tone her mother hated most of all. "I know Mom, I've learned my lesson." Helen did not get angry at her tone of voice; she preferred to let it go and go to bed. Like her daughter, she too wanted to sleep. She wished her a good night and headed to her room. * The diaper-free weekend arrived and passed in a second. Riley spent those forty-eight hours with her parents tidying up the house, that is, tidying up the attic. None of them would have expected that tidying it up would take two days, evenings included. It was Helen who had suggested this activity; staying still, lazing on the couch in the living room waiting to do something stimulating was bringing her a nervous breakdown. Greg, too, was trying not to sit idle; he took to reading a computer book in the kitchen, next to Riley who was studying the ticking of the clock in a bored manner. The third floor had been labeled "the oblivion," the place where everything that had ceased to have a definite use ends up. It was his parents who had given him that name, following an argument they had had that ended in a rather ambiguous way: suddenly, they forgot what they were arguing about. The entire room was chock-full of furniture and boxes with no writing to identify their contents. "Why did they have all that furniture?" wondered Riley, knowing that that question would not pull her away from that barbaric task. They set a goal for themselves: take everything downstairs. Helen and Greg would take care of the furniture, while Riley would take care of the boxes. All three lost track of time; they had started at 1 p.m. and stopped at 9 p.m. Her parents sprawled on the couch, surrounded by the twelve pieces of furniture they brought down several hours earlier. Riley took advantage of this and poked around the partially empty room, opened certain boxes and found old clothes and thirty-year-old china sets. What a bore! She passed between two tall pieces of furniture, perhaps two closets, and came across a long chest of drawers. Six rectangular-shaped drawers divided into two columns, it looked familiar. Then she realized what it was: it was the piece of furniture her parents used as a base for her changing table when she was an infant. I want this one in my room! I'm rehiring you indefinitely! The next morning, Riley proposed to her parents, who were zombies trying to return to the world of the living, but with little result. "Would you like to what?" her mother asked, yawning. "I found the old cabinet you used to use as a changing table," said the excited little girl. "It's big enough for me to lay on it, so changing me would no longer be an endless search." "Why ... are we taking so long to change you?" asked Greg, then took a sip of water. Riley gave him an obvious look. "Dad, do I need to remind you that for you lost my diapers by leaving me lying on the bed with everything in view?" She blushed on that last part. Greg yawned, but preferred not to answer. "Having a dedicated diaper corner would be nice," Helen intervened. "I already have the arrangement in mind for everything." Greg blinked three times. "So, should we move that to your room?" His tone was puzzled. "Yes," the little girl answered decisively, then put her hands together. "Please?" Greg sighed conflictedly, then smiled at his daughter. Through it all, Helen could not help but laugh. * In the early afternoon, a truck parked in front of their house. They were the workers from the secondhand furniture store to which Greg sold three cabinets and six drawers. Ten minutes of phone calls, emails with pictures of each piece of furniture attached, and a thousand dollars earned. He was the happiest person since his daughter. They loaded the furniture, nodded, to say goodbye and thank him for choosing their store, to Greg and left without giving a glance to either Helen or Riley who had been present every moment of their brief stay. "Rude," Riley said promptly, until she was sure they had left their field of vision. And Helen agreed with her with a complicit smile. Then she added, "You'll meet some rude ones too, always behave yourself and you won't end up like them." "Become rough, fat men?" the 11-year-old asked incredulously. "But I'm a girl!" Greg burst out laughing. "There are rough women, too, honey," Helen told her with amusement. They spent the better part of Sunday afternoon moving furniture and organizing Riley's room. The little girl had the opportunity to place the furniture as she wanted. Her parents enjoyed following the directions. The cabinet - changing table - they placed behind the door. The closet next door, the bed and the desk remained in place. With this thinking work completed, Greg went out to run an errand. Riley was happy; her room had become even more beautiful. The latest arrival (or return?) was looking good, two of the six drawers had already been filled. The first with diapers and pull-ups, the second with underwear, lotion and wipes. It was not yet complete, missing the mat that made it a proper changing table. At six o'clock in the afternoon, Greg returned with something that made Riley happy beyond measure: the mat! All three of them went to put it in its place, on which occasion Riley asked her parents to try it out. Her father took her on his shoulder and laid her down as if he was, for real, about to put a diaper on her. It fit perfectly, was comfortable, and she could almost take a nap in it. "It's perfect!" exclaimed Riley. Her father put her down and hugged him along with her mother. "Thanks, guys!"

Megan's Strange New Life Chapter 1: Moving to a New Pod “Megan! We need to go!” I heard my dad calling at me as I quickly scanned around my empty bedroom, with the missing bed that used to rest against the window, my purple and pink dresser that was at the foot of my bed, and the memories of my friends sprawled out on the floor with me, coloring, chatting, or doing homework. This room had been mine for the last ten years of my life, and now, I was leaving it. A tear fell down my cheek as I bade one last farewell to the shut door. “What’s taking so long?” My dad looked over an oversized box that blocked most of his body from my view, and I was lucky to see his blue eyes and wild thick curly hair poking up over it. “Honey, did you forget something or are you missing something?” he sounded a little concerned for me. “No. I got it all,” I sighed. My bed and dresser, things I’d had since I was like four, were given away to poor neighbors. I honestly had been begging dad to get rid of that dresser for ages now, with its Snow Queen theme in purple and pink. But now it wasn’t there, and I was leaving my baby room behind, I couldn’t help it. The tear lingered on my cheek. “Well, do me a favor and open the door, honey. This box is killing my back!” I nodded, pulled my pink pullover shirt with Stitch on it down, and jumped over to the door, not happily, but just to not delay the time it took. I didn’t want my dad to hurt himself. I breathed heavily as he passed, looking down at my faded blue jeans and where my favorite shirt was already trying to pull itself up again to expose a small part of my stomach. It was probably time to admit that the shirt was getting too small for me. “I know, kiddo,” he smiled with his mouth, but his eyes were misty like mine, and I think he was nearly as sad as I was to leave. Sometimes, you just had to go where life took you though! That’s what he’d always say, especially in a time like this. “You know, baby….” I nodded as he told me the familiar phrase. I knew it was coming. “Cheer up, sweetheart! You’ll have twice the number of friends you’d had before because you still have friends, that with today’s tech, you can even keep in touch, and now, you’ll make new ones, too!” I shook my head. “But I can’t go to Cindy’s slumber parties anymore or hang out with Sharon at the mall.” “You didn’t…,” he started to look at me like I might have pulled the wool over his eyes and just now figured it out. “No, dad. What I mean, was now I’d never get to hang at the mall with the other teens with my friends. You always take things wrong. Sheesh!” But I smiled up at him. He just shook his head, labored to get the box to the van and in the back, and then I was in, and we were pulling out of the drive. Another tear slid down my cheek as I saw the driveway appear from under us, to the front, as we backed out of the drive. A heavy sigh tore at my heart. I remembered, three years ago, my dad had gotten a truck, and my mom, living at the time, glared her green eyes into his icy blue ones, and she asked him: “What do you think we can do with that piece of junk?” “Well, we can haul big things that we need, like when we buy a tree, and …,” but mom had her hands on her hips, and he knew that his truck wouldn’t last. I missed my mom’s green eyes and sunshine caramel light hair. I miss her perfume, and I miss her sing-song voice when she called my name. I was tranced out for a bit. “Megan!” my dad’s voice cut through my daydream so sharply I knew he had been calling my name a few times. “Sorry dad. I was just thinking.” “Thinking?” We were on the road, now, driving through the city towards the big one that would take us far away. The sigh in my throat was nothing to the sigh in my heart. “Yeah, about mom and about when we got this van.” “You remember that? That was like three years ago!” he said back to me sounding a little surprised and a little sad at the same time. He probably picked up on that it was our last memory of doing something outside of the hospital with my mom. I nodded, but he probably couldn’t see me. I didn’t feel like verbalizing though. I was starting to remember my mom’s face again, and I didn’t want what little I could still recall to vanish so quickly. Dad became kind of quiet, too. I really miss mom. I miss my own little bedroom in that little house we had forever and even if the room was infantile, it was mine and it had the memories of my mom in there, when she’d come and check on me at night, when I got scared and she hugged me, and even when I used to wet the bed, and she hugged me and then made it all go away and put me back to sleep. I sighed. “I was happy in that house,” I told my dad. “I loved my room.” “You hated your room,” he reminded me, but I could hear the chuckle in his voice. He knew that he was just egging me on to tell him what I missed. “No. I said it was juvenile and babyish, not that I completely hated it,” I huffed. “I liked that out the window was a tree and then the front road so I could see when my friends were coming to the house….” “Oh?” he had a laugh in his sound as he asked. “You’re sure you didn’t miss the princess dresser?” I frowned. It was the most babyish thing in my room, but then, I remember how mommy and I picked it out together when I was like six years old, they decided that it was time that I had my own bed in my bedroom, and not a toddler thing that was right in their room. “I… I do miss the dresser,” I sighed in sadness. “I miss mommy.” “I know,” he said his voice being a little less mocking now as we turned to the subject of why I really missed the baby things in that room. “But now, it’s time to grow up,” he told me. “I don’t mean about mom. You will miss her sometimes, and sometimes it will be very strong, but that’s okay.” “So, what about growing up?” I asked. “Well, even though you will sorely miss mommy sometimes, what you have to grow up about, is to remember that the dresser and the baby toys you had, are not her. They were kind of special to you because she bought them, but honestly, the most precious thing you should carry with you about her, should be in your heart.” I nodded. Of course, I knew he was right, but that still didn’t make it any easier to throw away the baby blocks I had because there was no room to bring unnecessary things with us in the car. My bed and dresser were both donated to a kid that was poor and needed it more. I hope that kid takes care of that stuff. “So, you are going into the fifth grade…,” dad tried to change the topic a bit. “You’ll be the biggest kid at your school next year.” I giggled. “There are, other fifth graders, daddy.” “There are?” he asked as though to be surprised by the fact. “You know there are,” I said half amused that he thought I wouldn’t catch on to his paternalizing behavior. Over the years, I had learned when he was playing like I knew something more than he did, and when he really was shocked that I knew something, though sometimes, he could still trick me. But me? The only fifth grader? He had to know I’d catch that one! I nearly laughed at myself being bothered that he played like that. Of course he did. It was just one of the silly things he did when he wanted to take my mind in a different direction, and it worked. I forgot, kind of, how much I missed mommy. “So, daddy?” I leaned towards the front seat, and got closer. “So…, you got a new job, right?” “Yes, sweetheart. It pays a little more than the last place, and because I’m going to rent the company trailers, rent will be reduced, too, so we’ll have more money to spend on you.” I smiled. “Okay. But do you know anything about where we are living?” “I do, sweetheart. There will be plenty of space to play, and it will be safer from dangerous people because people don’t typically like to live in a place like that.” “What’s wrong with where we’re living that even crime animals don’t want to live there?” I asked wide eyed. “Well, it’s a small town, so it’s easier to get caught if a crime animal takes something,” daddy said. “And there are less targets to take from because of the smaller number of people.” “Oh,” I looked down. I started to think about a couple of my favorite old, old, shows from when daddy was little a zillion years ago, and wondered if the town would have even twenty people in it. Anne of Green Gables made it feel like there weren’t many more than twenty. Little House on the Prairie also didn’t seem to have that many. Never heard of those shows, right? Well, my mom used to like them, so I watched them, and then I liked them, but I know they are like from a zillion years ago. It’s like I said. “Oh?” he asked as he heard my disappointment. “What’s wrong? You’ll have a lot of space to play and run around!” “Well, if there are less than fifty people in town, how will they have a mall?” “They don’t, sweetheart,” he frowned at me through the mirror. “But there are a few more people than fifty.” “So, there goes hanging out at the mall at all as a teenager.” He chuckled. “Baby, you have like five or six years before you need to worry about that. There’s no way I’d let you go to the mall by yourself before you’re sixteen. You do know that, right?” I frowned. “I guess.” I scooted up to sit up. I loved talking to my dad, but being in the same position too long was uncomfortable, so I sat up a little more, and then I pulled my feet up on the bench style seat and then leaning my back against the side of the van, the very side he was driving from, I got comfortable again. “So, if it’s a small town, does it have a small lake or maybe a mountain to climb?” I asked. “It might,” he said as though he wasn’t sure himself. “But it will also have fresh air and you might even see some wildlife. You never know. It won’t be like San Diego.” “San Diego isn’t that bad,” I crossed my arms. “I like it there.” He sighed and shook his head. “Well, honestly, I don’t.” I frowned wondering why he wouldn’t like it! There were plenty of things to do there, and it was easy to get around town even if your car wasn’t working. There were a lot nice shops and restaurants, and it seemed there were books and computers things everywhere! He liked computers. “We’re going to be on the road for a while,” daddy told me. “Why don’t you dig your crayons out or a book and occupy yourself for a while?” I nodded. I woke up rubbing my eyes. I didn’t remember when the smooth rhythm of the car, the soft music, and the quietness of reading had put me to sleep, but now, we were on the road somewhere way out in the desert-like steppes of Southern California. There were a few trees and bushes here and there, and way up ahead, I could see the hills and mountains looming up before us. It was still rather peaceful in the car, so much so, that it seemed boring. The skies seemed clear with maybe a cloud spotted here or there in the sky. I scooted up some, pushing a bushy curly mass of hair from my face and grabbing daddy’s seat, I spoke through the quietness of the car. The heavy atmosphere seemed to affect how loud my voice was. “Daddy? Where are we?” I asked. “We just left the Apple Valley and Victor Ville area,” he looked at me through the mirror. The shadow of where he always kept the hair off of his chin and under his lip was starting to creep up on him. “Are you hungry? It is getting near lunch time if you want to stop in a little bit.” Relieved that I didn’t have to tell him why I really needed to stop, I nodded, but he kept looking through the mirror at me, as if he couldn’t really tell I was nodding. Maybe he just looked up there so I would know he was paying attention to me, but he couldn’t really see me. I know the mirror is really for him to see the cars behind us. “Yeah, I’m a little hungry,” I said after a few moments. Okay, he was my dad, and I probably didn’t have any real reason that you would call a reason, but I’m just shy about personal things, okay? Get over it. Anyway, we continued to ride along on this stretch of boredom’s-ville road. There were a lot of ups and downs on this stretch of road, as if someone found a place where the earth had been pulled together in a fancy pleated fashion, and they purposefully built a road over that section thinking it might liven up the desert or something! I’ll tell you, it did not! It just made it feel annoying when you thought you could really see something interesting, then you were going up another hill that hid what you were looking at. I squeezed my thighs together wondering when we were going to stop. He mentioned getting lunch in a bit, so it couldn’t be that long, could it? I looked out the window to try to distract myself a little more from the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. “Barstow should be up here in about fifteen or twenty minutes,” my dad smiled back at me through the mirror that I was sure he couldn’t see me from. He had broken into my looking out the window imagining a unicorn running along the side of the road, which meant my mind went right back to the pang in my side and the feeling I had at the pushing pressure inside wanting out. “We’ll get some lunch there.” I leaned up. “That long, dad?” “I’m afraid so, kiddo. Is there something else bothering you?” “No. Nothing.” I quickly sat back being far too embarrassed to say anything else on the matter. My face felt a little bit hot, and I shook with the uncomfortable feeling that he somehow knew of my shame, that I had to get to the restroom. I hope he doesn’t suspect.” I thought back into last year at my desk one day: Back in fourth grade in January or February: We had been reading from our class study book, How To Eat Fried Worms, I think the book was called. I was sitting in my seat, feeling a little uncomfortable, and it was like thirty minutes before lunchtime. I saw people sitting quietly around me, still reading, and the teacher was calling on someone else to read a bit. As we read one, two, or sometime as many as five paragraphs, we discussed what was going on in the story. I was starting to fidget a little bit…. “Megan?” I heard my dad break into my thoughts again. “Are you alright back there? You seem a bit quiet.” “Yeah, I’m okay,” I sighed. I wished he wouldn’t keep interrupting me. He keeps making me have to go worse! I pushed my hands on the front of my pants, and looked out the window for a sign that might tell me how much further I’d have to wait. “Honey, you don’t sound okay,” my dad looked up into the mirror, and though I was sure his eyes couldn’t really see me, it felt like he could see not only my eyes, but right down into my body and into the full bladder that was swishing around inside, battering at the dam that I was trying to reinforce with my thighs tightly pushed against it along with my hands. “Look, if you need something, you should tell baby.” “There’s no bathroom around here,” I suddenly blurted out in frustration and anger that he kept making me think of it, and I was so embarrassed that I had to tell him that I had to go! I didn’t mean it. I was just really having a hard time and didn’t want to do anything like a baby, here. He sighed. “Okay. Well, hold on. Just about another ten minutes, sweetheart.” He didn’t even get mad that I yelled at him. Maybe he knows I had to go really bad? I felt my face get even redder and knew I had to be turning purple. I wanted to crawl into a tiny hole, but even though I felt all the shame of having to tell him I had to go so bad, I couldn’t stop my body fidgeting and my legs rubbing against each other, as if they were trying to massage the feeling away. Frowning, I tried to close my eyes, wanting out of this predicament I somehow got myself into. I wanted dad to forget what he found out. I wanted to just be sitting there quietly, just waiting patiently like the big girl I was supposed to be. This was worse than anything…. But no, not really. Back in Fourth grade, last January or February: “Megan, stand up and read for us, please.” Mrs. Thompson called on me in reading. The clock was still twenty-five minutes until lunch. I was already squirming in my chair. “Um…,” I looked around. I didn’t want to stand up. Everyone might see me squirming. But if I didn’t stand up, then everyone would be watching me for sure! I nodded and stood up…. “There’s the truck stop,” dad interrupted the memory of my worse day since starting school. I felt grateful, but at the same time, annoyed that once again, his interruption brought me back to the present where I was reminded that I was trying to keep my self dry now. It was eleven years old, now. I was over halfway to being an adult. I couldn’t be in this situation! It was so babyish! I looked out the window and saw we still had a very short way to get there, but the truck sign loomed up out of the ground like a savior! I was very happy to see that sign, and mentally scolded my bladder to wait just five more minutes! It wasn’t that bad! Of course, it was bad. My bladder pushed back in increased pressure to let me know that scolding it internally into submission was NOT going to work. The only thing I could do to keep from disgracing myself, was get to the promised bathrooms given by signs under the Truck Stop name, and get there now! We pulled our car easily into a parking area as there were plenty of places to park around. I pushed my knees together and internally scolded my bladder. “Look, just three more minutes, and then you can go,” I promised. “Just three minutes. Please. It’s not going to kill you to wait that long!” My bladder pulsed at me, and I couldn’t tell if it was agreeing to the deal, barking at me because I was scolding it, or if it was warning me that I didn’t have three minutes. I just knew that it wasn’t good to have the swishing pressure hammering at the dams inside. I had to keep my thighs so close together it was hard to take any regular steps, and my hands were pushed up against my pants, trying to add strength to the barricade. My dad had started to just walk, but when he looked back and saw me struggling, he strode his three giant steps towards me, and he bent down. His blue eyes looked into mine. He looked serious but comforting at the same time. “You’re not wet, at all yet, are you?” I shook my head. “I’m going to carry, you honey. It will be faster, and you might make it, okay?” I nodded, my upper teeth pulled across my lower lip momentarily. “Be careful,” I whispered. “If you hold too tight, I might um….” But he put a finger on my lips and gave me a serious look while his eyes were soft and understanding. “Just do your best, baby. I know you don’t want to have this happen. Trust daddy.” I nodded and let him carry me. The jolting of his movement wasn’t helping the strength of my dam, but he did carry me more like I was something rather than someone which meant he kept my legs together which made the dam stay in place though it was weakening. My upper body was nearly up over his left shoulder. “Just another moment,” he whispered as I was jolted along. I hoped I could make it. He finally sat me down just outside the bathrooms for girls. “Honey,” he made me wait one last moment while he lectured me about being safe. “Remember, if you feel scared to come right out even if you are not done, and if you are in there more than five minutes, I’m going to come in on you looking for you, okay?” I nodded pushing my legs and hands against the dam hoping he’d hurry this up. “Okay, then,” and brushing the side of my face with the back of his hand moving some of my bushy caramel light brown hair out of my eyes, he turned me towards the bathroom patting me on the back to send me in. Relief! There were eight stalls in here, and I don’t think any of them were being used. I saw some other women and girls near the sinks, but I ignored them. The closest stall was necessary! I hobbled to it as fast as I could, slammed the partition door hard, and hobbled to the toilet and started to pull at my pants when suddenly I felt a little urine pushing out. I grabbed my pants down as fast as I could getting pee pee on the floor, on the toilet seat, and into the toilet. Nervously, I felt around my jeans. I was afraid. But the butt was dry. I pulled at the front. It was dry. I didn’t see anything noticeable in them, but I could feel a little bit of dampness that was just around the middle and partly down one thigh on the inside of the jeans. My panties were damp and I was sure there was going to be a dried yellow stain where a little bit wet the middle of them. Daddy never checks my clothes anymore, so he won’t know. But that means I have to wear the damp panties and the jeans until they dried out. A small price to pay. No one will know I almost acted like a baby. We were back out in the main area again, and dad took my hand leading me to one of the many restaurants that seemed to be around this giant complex of places for people stopping. There was a motel, a gas station, six restaurants, a little souvenir shop, and even a tiny drug store. It was almost like someone took a mall apart, and then separated each of the stores into separate buildings, and then placed them around this huge parking space. “What about Mexican?” my dad smiled at me with a big toothy grin. I loved the way his eyes got those little creases at the edges on the outside when he smiled, and how his forehead sometime got light lines that seemed to disappear up above his hairline so it looked like they probably went all the way to the top of his head. They were just faint lines though, when he smiled. “Okay,” I said cheerily. I loved Mexican food, especially if it wasn’t just the fast food that we Americans label Mexican like this restaurant wasn’t. We walked through the door, and I could see Mexican themes everywhere from iconic large Sombreros hanging on the wall, to a huge map of Central America in the center of the area where we had to wait to be seated, and some other things that people sometimes didn’t think about. “Daddy? How come that picture shows white people invading Mexico? I though America never went that far south.” “Honey, the Europeans invaded all way from Canada all the way down further south than even Mexico when they first came here. Our white blood doesn’t come from being natives of the area of the United States alone.” “Really?” “Yeah, honey. Didn’t they teach you that in school yet?” “No. We just learned about the gold rush, and some animals, and how the white people kicked the Californian peoples out so they could get the gold here.” “Ah. I forgot. I thought state history and culture was taught in third grade.” “Huh?” I knew what history meant, but I had never heard of culture as being something taught. I thought it was just who you were. Like there was Mexican culture, Chinese culture, and Black culture and those were just things that they did that was different a little bit from what I did. I didn’t know that you had to learn it at school? Or maybe daddy did when he was little but now it’s all over the place. Daddy is like a zillion years old, after all. As we sat down, they brought out a plate of Quesadillas with some spicy sauce in a dish for us, and they gave us little glasses of water, like most good places did. The young waitress handed us a menu, and as she started to walk away, my eyes were drawn over a door where a woman with dark red hair was holding the hand of a girl not too much smaller than me in a jean ripped jacket with cutesy decals of pink and yellow flowers on the sleeves, a pink shirt where the jacket was open and I could see a portion of a unicorn, and her pants were ripped and stained from just above the knee down. It wasn’t just stylish rips like people sometimes buy these days, but it was really worn. Her hair was nearly as bushy as mine, but it was a dirty blond that looked like it might be changing color. “Get your filthy kid and get out of the restaurant,” I heard someone yell at the woman. I felt sorry for the child who was holding her stomach, though and I patted daddy on the arm and nodded over at them. “I think the little kid is hungry,” I told him. She was probably around my age, but I purposefully said little kid to get dad to look. He frowned and walked over where the woman and girl were standing. “Do you know this woman?” the usher asked my dad. “Yeah, they’re with us. You know how little kids are! That’s her favorite jacket and pants, so she insisted on wearing them. I swear, she’s going to wear those jeans until they fall apart!” There was a chuckle and my daddy lifted up the little girl as if she was his child, and the woman walked with them and sat the little girl down next to me. I couldn’t tell while we were sitting if she was really shorter than me or not. The woman smiled at my dad. “Thank you.” “Don’t mention it,” he nodded at the waiters around the room. “We can talk about it later.” I smiled up at my daddy. My daddy was really nice to people sometimes. That’s one of the good things about my daddy. If he thought you were in trouble, he’d help you even if it wasn’t his business. “So, does um…,” Daddy waited for the lady to fill in the little girl’s name for him as he was trying to find out about them. “October, oh, um… Octy,” the woman trembled some. She looked like she was lost in how to do something this sneaky. “Yeah, does Octy like anything special that is Mexican food?” The little girl looked nervous as she peered her eyes through the top of her had that was bent down to the table, and she mumbled. “aysi z gu.” I didn’t hear what she said at all. I know what gibberish I did get was not anything that could be intelligible to even my smart daddy. “Honey, I couldn’t hear you,” my dad whispered to the little girl that I saw getting tears in her eyes, and she shook some. I didn’t know what to do. Would she get more scared if I hugged her? I showed her the menu, and I pointed to the enchiladas I was hoping to get. “Do you like that?” I asked. The girl nodded her head a little bit, but she was still shaking really bad. I frowned and looked back to the woman. Now, I noticed, the woman was looking like she was shaking a bit, too. I wondered what they were scared of, and it sort of made me nervous. I cast my eyes about to see if it looked like someone was looking for someone. I imagined they’d probably be angry and maybe even stomping around, so I was looking for a person with that kind of vibe. My dad put a hand on the woman’s hand, and he whispered up at her. “Tell the little one to just eat quietly, and you, too, and then we can go back to my car together after lunch, and maybe you can tell me how I can help you.” The woman nodded. “My name is David. David Lawrence,” My daddy told her with a stern look like he knew she was in trouble, but I couldn’t tell if daddy thought helping her was a good idea or not. It was the kind of look he gave me when he was fixing a problem that I caused, but tried to pretend just happened, but he didn’t really believe the problem was there for no reason. “I… I’m Vanessa,” the woman nodded. “I…I’ll tell you everything, once we are safe.” My daddy nodded. “Well, I will get you somewhere safe. I wouldn’t forgive myself if you got yourself in trouble, and it caused a child to get hurt.” The woman nodded and looked down. “Thank you.” As we sat and ate our lunch, I felt my face blush a little hot because I thought the other kid was sitting a little too close to me, and I definitely smelled something. I was kind of surprised my daddy didn’t smell how bad it was, if I could smell myself. I would probably have to tell him I peed my pants after all. I felt tears in my eyes as I realized that this little girl I didn’t know was going to find out. She had to smell me, though. It was really strong. My daddy reached a hand across the table, and he mouthed at me. “It’s okay, baby. We can talk later.” I nodded. Did he really know and was waiting to get me alone to not make me embarrassed? I was so stupid thinking I could hide that I peed my pants from him. Of course, he knew every time I did something weird. “Your little girl looks a little scared,” the woman said. “Assuming it’s not because of you, maybe we are making her nervous?” My daddy shook his head. “She’s just going through some stuff,” he seemed to try not to tell her about private matters. “She’ll be fine after we talk later.” “I don’t mean to cause trouble, David. I’m sorry I don’t have any money to pay you back for lunch, but we can just disappear when we are done eating.” “No, Vanessa. I promise, it’s not you. Megan is just emotional right now. She’ll be okay.” I could see the woman looking more at me than my dad though in that exchange, it felt like she knew something. Maybe I smelled so bad she knew I wet, too. I shook my head. I had to ignore her stares. But they were hard. I gulped. She knew I had peed my pants. I could tell. She knew. I shivered a little more. I didn’t even want daddy to know! What was I going to do now? She’ll tell him. He already knew. I shivered again. “Your child is really scared,” the woman told my dad. “I really think if you let me talk to her for a moment, just over there by the bathrooms, I can calm her down. She didn’t look nervous until we sat at your table.” My daddy looked at me for a moment. They seemed to watch each other for an eternity. My daddy looked around for a moment. “Don’t worry. The people looking for us don’t know we are here,” the woman told my dad. “We left in the middle of the night a couple of days ago. No one knows where we are. I promise.” My dad sighed and nodded. “Okay. But you stay where I can see my daughter.” The woman nodded and she stood up. “Come on, Megan. I promise, you’ll be okay, and your daddy will be right here watching us. I just don’t want to scare Octy anymore than she already is.” I nodded as I looked up at my dad. “Just be ready,” he mouthed at me so I’d know he didn’t fully trust the woman. I knew what he meant. He taught me how to get away from a big person a couple of years ago. Even a woman doesn’t like her foot stepped on between where the leg meets just under the ankle. And he would be out of his seat if he saw me fighting her. We walked over by the bathrooms, and the woman bent down to my ear. “Look, sweetheart, I told your dad the truth,” the woman got really serious with me as she looked intently in my eyes. “No one knows where Octy and I are, so you don’t have to worry about anyone causing your daddy trouble. You are safe.” I nodded up at her, my lower teeth pulling at my upper lip. I crossed my legs as though hiding something. I didn’t think it could be seen, but still, best not take any chances if she doesn’t know. “Honey, if you gotta use the toilet, that’s fine. You can go. I’ll just go back to the table and tell your dad that the new people at the table made you too nervous to tell him.” I frowned. My dad just took me. What would he think? But the woman thought I had to go. If she figured out I was wet, and I didn’t go now, what would she tell daddy? I shivered. “I mean it, sweetheart,” the lady smiled at me. “You can’t just stand there and pee your pants like a baby—not a big girl like you. Go potty and your daddy will understand, honey.” I looked at her for a good long time, long enough that she put her hand on my shoulder. “Sweetheart, are you already leaking?” she asked me. I shook my head no. I wasn’t going to admit that if she didn’t know I was wet. “Then go to the toilet before I tell your dad that you are peeing in your pants, baby.” I nodded and went into the bathroom. She was forceful, but at least she didn’t know I almost peed my pants. I went to the sink and grabbed some paper towels, wet them, and then went into a cubical to try to pull my pants down and wipe out the panties. I couldn’t get caught wetting my pants! Not at eleven years old! I shook as I tried to wet my panties with the water trying to make them smell less like I peed. I dampened around the middle of my jeans, too, but I couldn’t tell which leg some of it went down earlier because both legs were dry, and there wasn’t a stain. I just patted water on both sides of the inside of the leg parts by the middle. I wet the panties as much as I could without making them wet enough that I was afraid they would get my jeans wet, and then I used toilet paper and patted the panties dry. Do I smell less now? I stood up, and looked between my legs at my inner thighs. I patted some toilet paper there, too, just in case. The toilet paper didn’t come out wet, so I must be okay. I sighed. Finally, I came out of the door just as I saw the severe woman reaching her hand out to push the door open. She squatted down. “Your daddy sent me to check on you. You were in there a while. Are you okay?” I nodded. “Okay, then, let’s go finish eating, sweetie.” We walked back, and I kept looking up at her hoping I didn’t smell bad. We sat and started eating. So if the woman didn’t know I was wet, maybe daddy didn’t know? Maybe he just thought I missed mom again? Maybe he just thought like I did and was worried someone was going to come even if she thought she was safe. Maybe I was worried about nothing. Only I smelled it. Octy didn’t say anything about it to me. But as I sat there, nervously, I started to smell it again. I couldn’t understand it. I thought I got the smell to go away when I wiped it with water. I didn’t smell it when I was talking to the woman, I don’t think. No one gave me any strange looks. Why do I smell it again? A tear rolled down my face from my left eye. It smelled, and once dad was in front of me long enough, when we talked, he was going to know I was bad and acted like a baby. I wasn’t even supposed to do this. I am eleven years old! Please, don’t let everyone at the table know I peed! I looked over at Octy who was still looking down. I knew she was nervous. She was too nervous to say anything, probably. If she smelled me, she couldn’t speak up about it. She barely said a word since she sat with us. The woman, Vanessa, was talking to my daddy. They were more getting to know each other like what music they liked or where they went to school. From the way they talked, it might have looked like two single parents met up on a date and took their kids with them.

((Based on the wonderful worlf created by altered states. Warning: story will contain themed such as forced orgasms, institutionized sexism, and other mature themes.)) Marry woke up grogily as she heard the banging on her apartment door. She practically rolled out of bed, not even bothering to change out of her pajamas. She'd change just before she went to school as normal. Marry was one of those lucky girls who didn't have parents. Making her effectively emancipated by defualt. No diapers, no frilly clothes. So, instead of princess pajamas like many of the girls who attended her college she actually had semi mature nightwear. "H-hello" marry said as she opened the door surprised to see 2 police officers and a... very bubbly girl. "Hello! Would you be Mary Foster?" The girl said in a pratonizingly sweet voice. "Yeah that would be me. Whats going on?" Marry asked wondering just what the hell was going on? "Perfect!" The girl said before giving a nod to the officers. Before marry could react the two officers started pulling mary away from her apartment. Try as she might she could not stop them. Despite her growing panic and desperation they forced her into a car seat, restruaning her to it. Before they drove off she heard the girl say something about an orphanage. Still confused, and honestly a bit scared she could only look out the window of the cop car as it took her from her life.

Does anyone wanna rp this beautiful story with me (looks like some little darling threw a tantrum when she saw her husband was cheating on her)

Part 3 When Angela arrived at the therapist’s office, she waved happily at the receptionist. “You look, like, totally pwetty today!” said the bimbo. “You look pwetty too!” said Angela. And she meant it. The receptionist’s pigtails were so cute! For a moment Angela wished her own hair was in pigtails, but then she remembered that was only really meant for little girls, even if they did look really good on the woman in front of her. Her own hair was in a ponytail today, tied back with a large pink scrunchie. That was much more respectable and grown-up. She wasn’t a ditzy receptionist after all. Eric led her by the hand into the office itself, where the therapist was waiting with the tablet in his hands. Angela squealed excitedly when she saw it, and the two men laughed. “Here you go, sweetie,” the therapist said, handing her the screen once she’d settled down on the sofa next to Eric. Her husband had his arm around her waist, holding her body close to him. “Is it safe if I see the screen?” he asked the therapist. “It’s fine. The program only affects girls like little Angela here.” Angela didn’t understand what they were talking about, but she didn’t care. The tablet had come to life, and she was engrossed in the wonderful, beautiful sparkling spirals once again. “You like your pretty lights, don’t you Angela?” the therapist asked her. She nodded. They were so pretty. “Good girl. We’re going to have another talk, sweetie, just like we did yesterday. You wet the bed last night, didn’t you Angela?” Angela turned red, but nodded again. It was so embarrassing to talk about, even though she knew the therapist was a professional. It was much easier to let herself be drawn in by the bright colours. “That’s right. You woke up in a yucky wet diaper. You’re such a stupid baby, aren’t you Angela?” Angela blushed even more brightly. Stupid? She wasn’t stupid, was she? She wasn’t a stupid baby. She shook her head, frowning. “Look at the lights, little one. A clever, grown-up woman wouldn’t have wet the bed. She wouldn’t have soaked her night-time nappy like a silly little two-year-old, Angela. Only a baby would do something like that. A stupid, overgrown baby like you. We already agreed that you’re a dumb bitch, remember? Well, being a stupid baby too isn’t much different, is it?” Angela shook her head again, but she couldn’t tell whether she was agreeing with him or not. Maybe she was stupid. A stupid baby. “That’s right, it’s very similar. You’re just a stupid baby. A stupid baby who wets the bed. But it’s not so bad being a baby. You get to be taken care of all the time, and you like being taken care of, don’t you Angela? Like a princess?” Angela nodded, still staring at the swirling lights. That was what she wanted, wasn’t it? To be treated like a princess? That’s why she’d married Eric in the first place, she remembered. So he’d look after her. So she could live like a princess. “Yes, you’re a stupid baby who needs someone to take care of her. You need someone to look after you because you’re a dirty girl, aren’t you Angela?” Angela focused, trying to clear her mind of the fuzziness. Something about this didn’t feel right. Was she a dirty girl? She wasn’t sure. It sounded familiar. In fact, she’s sure she’s thought of herself as a dirty girl before. A bit dirty. A bit naughty. She’d done some dirty things hadn’t she? She’d done some dirty things with men who weren’t her husband. But the therapist didn’t know about that, did he? “You’re a dirty girl, Angela. A messy girl. A messy girl who needs someone to take care of her and clean her up.” Angela frowned. Messy? No… she was dirty. Not messy. But weren’t they the same thing? Her head felt like it was full of cotton candy. She was probably confused. She could be so stupid sometimes. She was a stupid baby. “You make all kinds of messes, sweetie. You make messes in your diapers, and not just at night…” The therapist kept talking, but Angela lost herself in the colours on the screen. She was such a silly, messy girl. She needed her Daddy. She needed her Dada. She became vaguely aware that someone was taking off her clothes. Was it Eric? Were they going to fuck? Even though she was a stupid baby, she was also a dumb bitch. And dumb bitches got fucked whenever a man wanted to fuck them. But no, she wasn’t getting fucked. Someone was changing her into her nappy. Was it bedtime? No, it didn’t matter that it was bedtime. Stupid babies needed to wear their nappies all the time. “…but when you’re at home, there won’t be any need for other clothes,” the therapist was saying. “You like it when Daddy looks at your naked body. You’re a dirty girl. It’s silly to have your boobies out all the time, and you love being silly. And your Daddy needs to be able to see if you need your diaper changed too, because you’re such a stupid baby that you won’t even tell him if you’re wet or messy. You’ll wait to be checked like a silly little girl.” Angela nodded. She was so silly. So stupid. “…and if Daddy’s going to be taking care of you, it’s only fair that you treat him with respect, wouldn’t you agree? You need to look up to your husband more, Angela, and I know the perfect way to do that. All you have to do is…” The therapist’s words echoed in the back of her mind, settling there. She felt dumb. She felt ditzy. Ditzy like the receptionist. Was Angela like her? She frowned. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be like her. Hadn’t Angela hated her at the beginning? Hadn’t she thought the receptionist was a bimbo? A vapid, overgrown six-year-old? She realised she was still staring at the swirling patterns on the tablet with her mouth open, a line of drool hanging from her lips. “Something’s wrong…” she mumbled, interrupting the therapist. “I’ve been acting wike… like a child. You’ve been doing something to me… Eric’s been…” She had to look away from the lights. She had to stop this. Otherwise she was going to end up like that moron on reception, some sick little fetish fantasy for her husband. Worse. She’d be lucky to end up as mature as that brainless bimbo. Daddy… Eric had something else in mind for her. Bedwetting. Nappies. He wanted to take away her adulthood. He wanted to punish her for cheating on him! That’s what all this was about! “Not to worry,” said the receptionist, chuckling. “This always happens around this point. The suggestions get a bit much for the poor little girls. They still have their dignity, somewhere deep down. But it’s no use.” Before Angela could do anything, the lights on the tablet became even brighter, brilliantly bright. They swirled faster on the screen, and Angela felt herself slipping back into them. No… She had to stop looking. She didn’t want to be turned into a big baby! She didn’t deserve this… She deserved… She deserved to be looked after. Yes. She deserved to be treated like a princess. A little princess… A sweet, innocent little princess who never says no to Daddy. Angela blinked, and the session was over. The pretty lights had gone! She pouted and looked up at the two men. Eric was on his feet and the therapist was talking to him, saying some grown-up stuff she didn’t understand. Something about a woman’s rightful place, whatever that was. Angela got up too, her diaper crinkling loudly under her frock and squishing between her legs. She must have peed in it at some point, but she didn’t remember when. Little girls like her couldn’t tell when they went potty in their pants. The soggy thing peaked out below the hem of her dress by at least two inches. Angela blushed. It was embarrassing, but she knew it didn’t matter if people saw her wet nappy. She was just a stupid baby. “And she won’t need any more sessions?” Daddy asked the therapist. “No. The conditioning takes a little time to fully sink it, but she’ll be all done by tonight.” The two men shook hands. “Ready to go home, baby girl?” Daddy cooed, turning to look at her. Angela replied with a big smile, and held out her hand for Daddy to hold. “Good girl,” he said, and her princess parts tingled delightfully. They walked home together just like they had yesterday. He walked smoothly while she toddled along beside him, her diaper pushing her thighs apart like the big dumb baby she was, and she didn’t let go of his hand once until they were all the way home.

Being an adult baby, I’m so glad that I can potty anywhere I want, even while podcasting a show.

Lawyer

As long as I got plenty of hugs, had lots of nice toys and blankets and wasn't left in used diapers for too long then I think that it could be a nice experience.

In my experience, they are totally different worlds. I worked as a PM in construction management/engineering for 6 years while working on my master's part-time. If I had to stay in the hospital during that time, I could almost guarantee, that half the office would have visited me.

9 Five devastating days. On Monday Riley received the result of her math test: a B with several negative notes. She had miscalculated several times and marked the correct answer; Mrs. Heller seemed offended when she handed her the corrected paper, as well as making her feel like a nobody. Usually, she ignored that viper's harsh comments, but that day they hurt her. She felt sick for the first time since the beginning of sixth grade. She was grateful that Theo reassured her once she was back in her seat. Tuesday was slightly better, but not by much. Mrs. Towers graded all the work, many A's, a few B's, and one C. Riley and Theo's worl was much criticized: variously colored windows, buildings too close together, and the sky too blue for a normal afternoon. Theo replied almost offended, "We chose to make a city at night, Mrs. Towers. Dark blue is the color of night!" If he had kept quiet, she and his companion would not have been the unlucky ones to get that damn C. The next day and the day after that, the group of males decided to show their worst, so much so that the entire class earned two good notes within a day of each other. In fact, on both Wednesday and Thursday, at lunchtime, Helen received a call from Assistant Principal Allen to bring her up to speed on what had happened at school. On Friday, there was a clean slate of questioning and testing. Riley, Theo and their classmates did their best. As a joke, Theo likened that day to revenge for the riots of the last two days, and his friend agreed with him, since all the teachers had the brilliant - and crazy - idea of fixing everything that day. Old people and sadists too! * Saturday finally arrived. Riley woke up very early and made breakfast for her parents. It was the first time she had done such a thoughtful thing, she had memorized everything they did for breakfast - drinks, cereals and cookies. Getting it wrong was a distant probability; she had written herself a schedule to best implement her plan. She made her father a cup of hot milk with some chocolate chip cookies, and her mother a cup of latte with a bowl of gluten-free cookies. Five minutes before 9:30, Riley entered their room quietly with an alarm clock in hand and stood in the middle of the bed. She watched them excitedly, noticed their joined hands and their crossed gazes. They are beautiful, she thought. Then the alarm clock rang and knocked them out of bed. "I'm awake!" exclaimed Greg shocked. "Mom!" cried Helen, also distraught. They looked at each other with terror on their faces for a moment. Without needing to speak they said to each other, "That wasn't my alarm clock!" "Good morning!" announced a sunny voice. Still bewildered, her parents turned their attention to the source of their abrupt awakening. Greg sighed in frustration and brought a hand to his face. Helen, frowning in anger, said her name, "Riley!" "Here I am!" joked the little girl. "I was having a good dream," complained Greg, then asked, "What time is it?" "It's almost 9:40," replied the sunny little girl and walked to the door. "I made you breakfast." "What?" asked Helen to the little girl, but she was already gone. "Our daughter made us breakfast," said Greg in amazement, then gave his wife a peck. "Tell me you saw that bulge too." Helen looked at him intently and returned the gesture. "Yes, I saw it. But I'm waiting for you to ask me, I'm not in the mood to be a detective." * At the table everything was ready. The bowl of milk for Greg, Helen's cup of coffee, and cookies for both of them. There was no shortage of cereal and the empty bowl for Riley, who, in order not to forget them, placed them first. At precisely ten o'clock, Greg and Helen entered the kitchen and sat down in their respective seats. "What are your plans for today?" asked Riley smilingly. "I think I'll get ahead with some backlog of work in the garage," replied Greg and dyed a cookie in milk, then bit into a piece. "I'll do a lot of things today, but I wouldn't know where to start," half-asleep Helen added, uncertain whether to drink coffee or eat a cookie. "What about you, Riley? Are you and Theo seeing each other today?" Riley swallowed a spoonful of cereal, then replied, "I don't know yet. First I have homework to do, and then..." "And then what?" asked Greg suddenly, pointing his eyes at his wife. This is detective time!" he said to himself with amusement. "Honey, would you come over here for a second?" asked Helen accompanied by a wave of her hand. She pulled at her pants and checked her diaper. "Yes, you definitely need a clean one. Come over here I'll take you to your room to change," Helen silenced, taking her on his shoulder. As they walked out of the kitchen, Riley gave her father a wink and a playful tongue-lash as if to say, "Bye Dad, see you later!" Arriving in her room, Helen laid Riley down on the changing table. She removed her pajama pants and took a closer look at the swollen diaper and the little girl, who giggled amusedly. Helen plugged her nose and shook her head a little. Then she announced to her, "That's enough playing, Mommy has to take care of your diaper!" She tore off the tapes, took the wipes, and rubbed them with absolute precision. He lifted her bottom and slipped off her wet diaper, applied the cream and put a clean one on her. Last, but not least: he tickled her. "Mommy! Mommy!" he called her crying with laughter. "Stop please! Ha ha ha! Stop!" Helen stopped and threw the soiled diaper into the trash can, leaving Riley to catch her breath. "You're clean now," he told her and set her down from the changing table. "Remember to tell us when you need to be changed." Her mother hugged her and went off to do her chores. Feeling the new diaper hug her, Riley went to her closet and went in search of a T-shirt and pants to face her day. She had sweatshirts, sweaters, blue and black jeans, and sweatpants. He chose an orange sweater and black jeans, later went to the bathroom to wash her hands. She went down to the living room, picked up his journal and leafed through it. Math, literature, geography, science and art history, the quintuple that would keep her chained to that table for many hours. "For all the diapers-this is my death sentence." * The only break she took was at lunchtime. Riley spent almost two hours sitting at the table in the living room doing the damn homework, and yes, math was what was driving her crazy. Expressions, with fractions! Why? Why did mathematicians have to complicate everything! Couldn't they stay in their caves and solve their complex calculations and theorems and bury them there? Surely, the world would be a better place! Science and art history? These were subjects in which one had to waste a lot of time understanding all the mechanisms that tied everything together. She studied them very willingly, though rather superficially. Before going to bed, she would give each one a read. She avoided opening the geography book with her whole self. She felt superior, for some strange reason. Perhaps because she thought she was wronging Mr. Johnson, which suited him well. She found no solace in literature homework, the one subject for which she was worth any suffering. The text to be produced was not a piece of cake as she thought, the delivery presented more constraints that did not allow her to dabble as usual. She wasted eight sheets of paper writing eight different versions of the same story! Whereupon a question arose for her: why was the homework more difficult than usual? So out of the blue? Even the spaghetti and meatball lunch failed to lift her spirits. Her parents talked exclusively about their jobs, which brutally killed her desire to listen to their conversation. At least she could count on one thing: the diaper that gave her that warm feeling she so desperately needed. When she peed, her face lit up and all her troubles disappeared, but the conversation she had been having in the background also stopped abruptly. She looked up from her plate and realized that both her parents were looking at her. "What is it?" asked Riley puzzled. "Did I do something wrong? "I think someone is ready for a clean diaper," exclaimed her mother. At first, the little girl did not understand; after a few seconds she blushed. Oh, that! How did I not think of that! "Eh-eh-eh!" giggled Riley nervously and justified herself. "I'll finish clearing the table," Greg intervened, standing up with his plate in hand. Helen put a hand on Riley's shoulder and accompanied her to her room for her second change of the day.

🙂 Good to see another chapter on here!

Sorry but I did not read anything that they were lesbians only good friends with a kink about spankings. This story is really great. Your writing makes it twice as good to read. I was happy to read this and say I can't wait for an upgrade. 🙂

Chapter 9: Lila Gets an Older Sister (Part 1) Two-year-old Lila happily wakes up in her crib. Since the day that she first re-experienced her birth, it has been two years since the day that she was “born” (or reborn, since she used the magic diaper to travel back to the very moment of her birth). Two years and one month technically, since she spent an entire extra month being less than a day old. Since Lila has been (re)born, she has made many wishes with the magic diaper that she always wore. A lot of them had to do with wearing different outfits, all the bottles of milk that she wanted, turning various babysitters into babies her age, excessively wetting the bed, causing peeruptions in her mother’s face (most of the time, it was on Jolene, her favorite babysitter), having full control in all of dreams, remodeling her room to whatever she wanted, regressing younger on certain days that she felt more and more like a baby, and many other fun ideas. At this point, a faint glowing aura emanated all around Lila. From her continued use of the magic diaper, it magically altered her DNA. While Lila had the appearance of a human, it was clear that her form was a little more advanced than that. She was a magical girl that always got her wishes granted thanks to the magic diapers that she wore. Lila happily sighed when she noticed that her Pampers Size 3 diaper was once again soaked. From one of her past wishes, she simply waved her hands over her soaked magic diaper, and she was magically changed. She smiled and touched her diaper again, causing her bladder to fill up and empty out of control. She touched the back side of her back, and a pair of wings sprouted out of her back. She flew out of her crib, giggling with delight. I gotta love all of the past wishes that I have made! Some of them have permanent effects, like this! She touched an empty bottle in her crib, and it instantly refilled with her mother’s delicious breast milk. She reached in the air and her pacifier automatically appeared in her hand. She rapidly sucked on it, like a cold popsicle that she was trying to thaw. She touched her back again and her wings vanished. She teleported back in her crib and laid in her yellow footed sleeper, happily sucking away on her pacie. The mother walks in and glances at the crib so see if her darling daughter was awake. Sure enough, she was. Lila was laying there, with a bright smile on her face. She lifted Lila out of the crib and placed her on the changing table. “Lila,” she told her. “It’s time for another diaper change.” Lila smiled when she heard her mother say that. She loved diaper changes. Especially when her soaked diaper begins to leak. Those changes are the very best. The mother unzipped Lila’s footed sleeper revealing Lila’s wet and soggy diaper. She looked at Lila with a serious look on her face. “Honey, sooner or later, you are going to have to learn how to use the potty. But Lila shook her head. “Nu! I nu use potty!” Cynthia sighed. “You are two years old now, Lila. It is time that you start learning to use the potty. Let mommy know when you have to go potty again, okay?” Lila shook her head. “Nu!” Lila looked down at the soaked diaper that her mother was taking off. Both the diaper and her body was glowing. Mommy is not gonna make me use the potty! I never wanna use the potty! Ever! Oh, how I wish that my mommy would not want me to get potty trained! The bright light surrounding Lila and her diaper flashed and tickled her. It then touched her mother. Cynthia then grinned at Lila. “Honey, I know that you are two years old, but it doesn’t seem like you are anywhere close to wanting to use the potty. And that’s just fine with mommy. You can wear diapers as long as you want, dear. Just let mommy know when you are ready. Okay?” Lila grinned, as her mother cleaned her and put a new magic diaper on her. I’m never gonna be ready! I wanna wear diapers forever! Lila’s day continued as any of her other days did. It was full of fun, toys, and naps. Due to all of the effects of her past wishes, Lila was more magical than her ordinary human self. She could change her clothes anytime she wanted. Make whatever she wanted to eat or drink appear out of nowhere. Instantly fill her diaper at her very command. She could fly in the air and make multiple copies of herself. During her afternoon nap, she laid there staring up before she fell asleep. I love this magic diaper. But do I always have to make wishes? Oh, how I wish that I was as magical as the magic diaper! The bright glow of light tickled her, and she smiled. Her faint glow that emanated from her body became as bright as the magic diaper that she was wearing. She floated up with the aura surrounding her and transformed her room into a royal bedroom. She made a crown appear on her hair and made it night. She then fell asleep. That night, her magic diaper flashed, and Lila could hear a voice coming from it. “Not so fast.” The voice boomed. “Who are you?” Lila said, her voice beginning to tremble. “Who I am is not so much as important as who you are becoming.” the voice boomed. “I granted your every wish, and even let you keep the effects of the wishes. But the wish that you just made is going way too far.” “But…” Lila said, trembling as she peed her diaper in fear. “No buts! I had just one simple mission, and that was to find a child that was unhappy. I found you because your mother was very unhappy with the way she was treating you. And you were also a bedwetter. Finding unhappy children is always my mission. You like it when I grant all your wishes, right?” Lila nodded, afraid to say another word. ”If you like the freedom of wishes, you need to respect the rules. As far as I am concerned, making a wish to possesses as much magic as the magic diaper is going way too far, and as of this day, that wish is strictly forbidden. If you were to make it again, it will not be granted. As another punishment, I will remove all the effects of every past wish that you have made. You will still be two and you will still have the magic diaper. I just want you to make more wishes, instead of relying on all the effects of your old wishes. If you want something, wish for it!” Lila nodded. “Who are you?” Her magic diaper flashed. “Again! That is not important. Who I am is not as important as what my mission is. Search the world for unhappy children. I have them find me and they can be happy again.” Lila grinned. “I member stowwy wit genie an magic lamp! Ow yoo genie?” After Lila asked this, she heard laughter. “Genie? Is that what you’re going to call me? Who I am is not important and really none of your business. All you need to know is the mission that I was given. You were an unhappy child and my mission is to make you happy. Are you happy, Lila?” Lila nodded. “Vewy happy!” “Good. The extension of that mission then is to keep you happy. Are you going to follow the rules? I am not going to grant anymore wishes that break those rules. I only allowed them to test you. And you failed!” Lila gave the magic diaper a cute and innocent looking face. “How I fail?” “Well, the first instance that you failed was when you turned your babysitters into babies. You think that’s a lot of fun, don’t you? It is neither fair nor fun to change them into babies against their will. That is a clear violation of the rules and you will not be doing that anymore. Jenny, Julia, and Jessica are now their normal ages of 18. In fact, I will be honest. I created Julie, Jessica, and Jolene as replacements for Jenny because of the bad wish that you made. You can only turn people into babies if they want to be one.” “Awww!” Lila pouted. “But it’s so much fun to do!” “But how much fun is it going to be if you can’t make any more wishes? You will respect the rules, or I will leave you and find another unhappy child in need of that happiness that I can provide them. So what’s it going to be, Lila?” “Wespect wules!” Lila shouted. “I bweak any otha wules?” “You have broken a few other rules as well. Changing your age is not a violation of the rules. That one is perfectly fine. I also allowed you to be the youngest in place of Camden. But I think convenience wishes are pushing the rules. You want to refill your bottle? Wish for it! Don’t have a loophole where you can refill your bottle by touching it. Don’t make wishes to automatically soak or soil your diaper or wet your crib. I don’t have a problem with your bladder naturally filling up, but let nature take its course instead of replacing nature with magic.” Lila nodded. “Fowwow awl wules!” “Good girl. A couple more things. I noticed how disrespectful you are to your mother. Having me grant your wishes doesn’t give you a license to be rude or disrespectful to her. This includes always wetting your crib, sheets, and clothing and peeing on your mother or babysitter when they’re changing your diaper. Using me to grant all your wishes has made you into a spoiled rotten brat and I won’t stand for it anymore. You are going to be nice to your mother, father, brother, and babysitters or you’re not going to have a magic diaper anymore. Do I make myself clear, Lila dear?” Lila could not bear to lose the magic diaper. It came at the time that she needed it the most and it made her very happy. But the magic diaper was right. It has spoiled her rotten and she took advantage of every moment. All the bedding she made her mother have to wash and all the frustrations that she caused both her and her babysitter. This, she decided, is not going to happen anymore. “Vewy cwear!” she finally shouted. “That’s a good girl. One more thing, and it’s a big one. Your most recent wish was the biggest violation of the rules that you have made up to this point. You wished to have as much magic as the magic diaper you are wearing. To test you, I allowed it, but it will not happen anymore. As I have said already, that wish is now forbidden, and if you even make a wish like that again, I will not only not grant it, but will leave you forever. I will find another unhappy child and for all I know, you may very well be unhappy once again. Is that a promise? Will you promise that you will never make that wish again?” Lila nodded. “Uh huh! But if I unhappy, you come back?” “No. I will not. I only make one visit to each unhappy child I find. If they abuse the rules after I have already warned them, I don’t make a second visit. Believe me, I have left numerous children who are once again unhappy because they did not take heed to my warning. Consider everything that I have spoken to you as a warning. If you need any of the other rules, I can give them to you. You could wish to have the rules or remember every single one. I will grant that wish. Are you going to be a good little girl now? Lila?” Lila smiled and nodded. “I be vewy gud gul! Make mor wishes afta yoo dun?” “Yes. Besides all the rules that you have broken, I need you to be a good girl. In return, I will keep granting your wishes and will keep you happy. I will also be with you as long as you wish. By the way, it was a good wish to have me on every diaper that you wear. Some children lose me after one diaper change. But you knew how to keep me around. To better help you in the future, I must ask you this question. Lila, do you like being tickled?” Lila nodded. “Yeah! I wuv tickle! I tickle easy!” “Good. I will keep tickling you after every wish. I know all the places where you are the most ticklish. I really like you and you are probably one of the best children that I have worked with. Just be nice, okay?” Lila nodded. “Otay!” “I will leave you to your wishes now. Sweet dreams, Lila!” The booming voice stopped, and Lila continued her nap. Lila woke up before her mother even came in to check on her. The memory of the magic diaper talking to her was still fresh in her mind. Wow! That magic diaper is very serious! I was having a lot of fun with it, but there are rules? I will make sure to follow every one! I will be very nice to my mommy and daddy! Also, my brother Camden! My babysitter too! I don’t want to lose this magic diaper…She then thought of the rules again. So many rules! But I don’t know them all, and I’m afraid of breaking them again. Oh, how I wish that I remembered and knew every single rule by heart! The magic diaper tickled her again, and she could almost hear it saying, “As you wish, Lila”. All of a sudden, her mind was flooded with every rule that the magic diaper wanted her to follow. There were a lot of rules, but somehow due to the wish, she could remember every single one. And because of this, she knew what wishes she could make, and which ones were off limits. Wow! I know every rule, and I will be sure to follow every one… Lila, now having full knowledge of the rules that the magic diaper gave her, knew what she was going to wish for next. At least she had a general idea of what she wants next. She also wanted to practice being nice to everyone in her family, and her babysitter. Using the magic diaper was so much fun, but it should not give her a license to be mean and disrespectful to her family or others that cared for her. These thoughts continued to remain in her mind as she continued to think about what she would wish for next. She thought about her whole family and how much each of them loved her. Her mother, who always treated Lila like her little girl. Because of her wish, she became the baby of the family. And with her being two, she really was the baby of the family. Her father always loved to come home and see his beautiful baby girl. He always liked to get special gifts for her. Among her favorite gifts from her daddy were her pacifiers. She had various colors and designs, all reflecting what he knew she would like. And her older brother Camden. He always loved having Lila as his little sister, calling her “Little Lila” every chance he got. She loved that nickname, and she ate up all the attention. But something was missing. Lila had an older brother, but she did not have an older sister. Hmmm…I really love having Camden as my older brother. But can I just have another member in this family? I love my babysitter, but I would love to have an older sister that could babysit me. Oh, how I wish that I could have an older sister who’s older than Camden and old enough to babysit me! Lila grinned, as she knew what would happen next. Her magic diaper flashed and tickled her in her most vulnerable areas, causing her to pee her diaper a little. The pee slowly materialized into wet gels, which she usually squished around when her diaper gets really wet. Meanwhile, an older girl appeared in the house out of nowhere, in a new bedroom that appeared out of nowhere. She was in a very stylish bedroom that a teenage girl would live in. She laid with her legs stretched across the bed with an open textbook and paper. She was doing her AP math homework and was nearly finished. All of a sudden, the door cracked open. It was her mother. “Angela dear,” the mother said, staring down at her daughter. “I see that you’re almost done with that, but could you please do something for me?” Angela looked up at her mother and nodded. She knew that whenever her mother asked for a favor, it usually had to do with her baby sister. She sat up on her bed and stared at her mother with a dutiful smile. “What favor do you have, mom?” Mrs. Watson mouthed the words to her daughter to stand up. “Lila hasn’t woken up from her nap yet. Could you be a dear and get your little sister up? I don’t want to ruin her sleep schedule for tonight.” Angela smiled when she heard that the favor had to do with her baby sister, Lila. She loved her to pieces and was always fun to take care of and babysit every now and then. “Ah,” she smiled. “My little baby sister needs to be woken up for her nap. Sure mom! I’ll go check on her right away!” “That’s my Angie,” she mother said, patting her daughter on the head. Angie nodded and exited her room. She crossed the hallway and entered Lila’s room. There her baby sister laid. She was only two and still sleeping in her crib. Shouldn’t she be too old for that crib and have a toddler bed? But mom said that she will grow out of it when she’s ready. Plus, she told me how she has tried this before. She just kept falling out of bed. At this, she smiled and she approached the crib, looking down on her beautiful baby sister. “Li…la!” she sung in a pleasant, sustained tone. “My sweet little princess. Did you have a good nap?” Lila’s eyes opened and she smiled when she saw the result of her wish looming over her and smiling. From all the flood of memories that filled her mind associated with the wish, she knew her older sister by name. “Annghee!” she shouted. “Ana-lah! I good nap!” Angela laughed when she heard her little sister respond. “Oh, you’re so cute! So you had a good nap then? Angie’s gotta check to see if you went pee pee. Did you go pee pee in your diaper, Lila girl?” Lila remembered the rules from the magic diaper. She wanted to be nice to her older sister that she loved. But all of a sudden, she felt a sharp sensation in her abdomen. And then a strong bowel movement followed. At that point, Lila couldn’t hold it anymore. A strong flow of gushy mass began flowing into her diaper. “Poopy!” she shouted. Angela looked at her little sister with surprise. “Poopy? Wow, you just…” Angela caught a strong whiff of the business that Lila just finished doing in her diaper. “Woo! That’s quite the stink bomb, you little stinker!” She reached down into the crib to tickle Lila. “Tika tika tika tika tika!” she said, tickling Lila all over. Lila squealed and laughed. She then peed her diaper a little more. Her diaper was now very soaked, but not quite ready to leak yet. Angela lifted Lila out of her crib and laid her on the changing table. “Legs up little girl!” she ordered. Lila lifted her legs right on cue. Angela pulled off Lila’s skirt and unsnapped her diaper. She wadded up the messy diaper and began cleaning Lila up. After wiping everything clean, she inspected Lila to find a tiny rash starting to form near her princess place. She took some cream and spread it all over that area. She then powdered the new Pampers Size 3 and her front. She laid her on the new diaper and stretched it over her, fastening the tabs snugly into the landing zone. “All changed, my cute little sister!” Angela told her. Lila smiled as she glanced at the diaper that was snugly fastened just below her belly button. Like every diaper that she has ever been changed with, it was glowing brightly. And with all the rules that she knew, she knew that only she could see the glow, and any other younger child. Angela put Lila’s skirt back on her. Before she left Lila’s room, she grabbed one of her sister’s Size 3 Pampers Cruisers diapers and hid it in her pants. She then called to her mother. “Lila is up and I changed her! Can you go get her?” “Yes dear! I’m coming, Angie!” Angie smiled as she passed her mother in the hallway. She then entered her room and closed the door to finish her homework. Before Angela began to finish her homework, she got out the diaper that she took from her baby sister’s room. She pulled down her pants and panties and unfolded the diaper. She then stretched it and laid it over her panties. She then pulled her pants up, with the diaper covering her inside her panties. Angela smiled, as she felt the soft diaper inside her panties. Having done this for about a month already, she was ready to take this to the next step. At her local pharmacy, she saw some fitted briefs that she had her eye on. When her parents go away for the weekend, she would go and buy them. Afterall, she will be the one babysitting Lila while they’re gone. Angela began to squirm, and then slowly began to pee into the diaper. She felt the warm and moist pee against her body before it turned into a squishy gel. My sister is so lucky! I don’t know why I am starting to like diapers so much. This is so silly… That’s when she thought of the dream. One night about a month ago, Angela had a strange dream and this is what happened. Begin strange dream Angela closed her textbook and put her pajamas on. Having spent so much time on her homework, it was very late. She crawled into her bed, and her eyes became heavy. Then, it happened. Angela’s bladder was full and she began to squirm beneath the sheets. Before she could even get out of bed, her bladder slowly emptied. She soaked her pajamas and then the bedding. As she was doing this, she could feel herself getting smaller and smaller. Then she spoke and realized that her voice was little again. It sounded like she was four. All she could do that point was scream. “MOMMY! I wet the bed!” The door burst open, with the mother sighing. “Again, Angie? This is the fifth time this week that you did this.” Angela’s face filled with tears. “I’m sorry, mommy!” She shouted. “I’m sorry!” The mother shook her head. “Angie…That’s it. I already told you. What did mommy say if you have one more accident?” Angela was trembling as she looked at her mother. She was too afraid to respond. “You know what mommy told you! You had another accident, so that’s it. I’m putting you back in diapers.” A look of frustration and joy filled Angela’s eyes. “But I’m a big girl mommy! And big girls don’t wear…” “Enough dear!” The mother said, as she got out a Pampers Size 4, pulled off the sopping wet underwear, and laid her daughter on the floor. “You wet the bed again, so you lost your big girl privileges.” She got out some baby wipes and began wiping Angela clean. She then powdered the diaper and Angela’s front side. “Put your legs up, honey.” Still in tears, Angela did what she was told. Her mother folded the diaper over her to cover her front side. Then, she fastened both tabs snugly to the landing zone. Angela then wiped her tears, and a look of relief came over her. Being diapered by her mother again felt kind of…nice. The mother looked at Angela sternly. “Mommy’s going to check your diapers every morning. If they’re soggy, you are going to keep wearing them every night until we start having dry nights. Mommy doesn’t want any extra laundry, okay?” Angela nodded. “Okay mommy…” The mother put on some new bedding and tucked her daughter in. She kissed her goodnight again and left her room. Then it happened again. Angela was beginning to flood her diaper. She let out a sigh of relief as the warm pee began to touch her body. End strange dream Upon waking up from that strange dream, Angela found herself in soaked pajamas and bedding. After experiencing this for the next four days in a row, she needed some protection for her new nighttime accidents. Knowing that Lila wore diapers, she started sneaking them into her bedroom and wore them to bed. Every morning from when she started doing this, the diaper was always fully soaked. She finished peeing in one of her baby sister’s diapers and laid down to finish her honor’s math homework. Meanwhile, Lila was downstairs with her mother, enjoying her next feeding time. She latched on to her mother’s exposed breast and was suckling off her right nipple. A flow of warm breast milk began to fill Lila’s mouth. Since she had a mouthful, she gulped it down and smiled. “Milky!” she shouted. The mother smiled as she looked at her darling daughter. “You like that yummy milk?” Lila nodded. “It gud!” She glanced around wondering what her older sister was doing. This milk really is yummy, but what is my older sister up to? Oh, how I wish that I knew what my older sister was doing! She knew not to make a wish being able to read her sister’s mind as that was a violation of the rules and an invasion of her sister’s privacy. The magic diaper gave her a flash and tickle of approval and her wish was granted. Lila closed her eyes and could suddenly see her sister upstairs, laying there and doing her homework. She then saw her sister walk out of her room and into her room again. Where is she going? She then saw her sister grab a diaper and leave her room with it. Why is my sister taking my diapers? This was a question that she wanted to ask the magic diaper, as she didn’t want to break any rules. But in remembering all of her accidents that she had when she was five, she smiled and nodded. Could my older sister be a bedwetter too? Maybe I’ll ask her later… The weekend came and Mr. and Mrs. Watson left Angela in charge of the house and with babysitting Lila. They gave her money to buy food and extra diapers for Lila in case she needed them (Lila was almost out of diapers, due to her sister sneaking them). And since Angela just got her driver’s license, she got to drive a red Chevy Impala which her father got for her. They gave Angela the rules and told Angela to “have fun”. Angela smiled, knowing that she was going to have fun with her favorite little sister. Well, her only little sister. Camden was staying over at a friend’s house for the weekend. The door closed and Angela picked Lila up. She placed her on the couch and she lounged on it with her. “So, my little princess. What do we want to do? Do we want to watch a cartoon? How about some Baby Shark or Cocomelon?” Lila smiled at the idea of watching those videos again. But the curiosity regarding her older sister filled her mind again. Why did she take my diapers? Is she really a bedwetter? Lila couldn’t stop thinking about this, and before her sister could load YouTube, she shook her head. “Nu!” she shouted. She wanted to say “no”, but her speech could only be that of a two-year-old. She knew all of the rules by heart, so she knew what she could do to fix this. I want to speak to my sister like I’m five but I’m still speaking like a two-year-old! Oh, how I wish that I could talk with much better speech! The magic diaper tickled Lila with the flashing light and her wish was granted. “Angela!” Lila shouted. Angela gasped. “Did you just say my name clearly? What happened to ‘Ana-lah’?” Lila’s face blushed. “Um…I’ll tell you later! Don’t play the videos yet! I have an important question to ask you!” Angela grinned. “Wow. For a two-year-old, your vocabulary is very impressive. Can you explain to me why?” Lila sighed. She had to make up something for now, but she would tell her sister later. “Um…I’m very shy! I talk like a baby around everyone ‘cause I’m afraid to speak to them in full sentences…” Angela gasped again. “Why Lila? Just look at you! Speaking in this kind of vocabulary for a two-year-old! You’re a very gifted little girl! You and I share mom’s smart genes.” Lila nodded at her sister with impatience. “Yeah! Now, I have a question!” Angela nodded, as she stroked her little sister’s golden-brown hair. “What does my little princess want to know? Ask me anything!” Lila blushed, and after a few minutes finally blurted out her question. “Angie, are you a bedwetter?” Angela’s face became a shade of pink. She was not prepared for her little sister to ask her this kind of question. “Umm…Lila?” Angela twitched and her bladder began to release. “Why do you think your older sister is a bedwetter?” Angela’s panties became soaked and a small puddle began forming underneath her. That’s when it hit her. Oh no. I forgot to put on one of Lila’s diapers! Lila looked at the accident that was spreading underneath her older sister. “Why?” She giggled. “Because you’re doing it right now!” Angela’s face grew redder and she began to whimper. “I’m sorry!” she told Lila. “I’m very very sorry that you have to see this!” But this time, Lila didn’t laugh. She remembered how important it was to be nice and respectful to her family. She wrapped her arms around her older sister with an understanding look. “It’s okay.” She told her. “Accidents happen.” Angela grimaced. “Yes Lila. But they normally don’t happen to big girls like me! And what do you know about accidents? You wear diapers!” Lila sighed. It was time to tell her older sister the truth. “Let me tell you a secret.” She told her older sister. She leaned over into her sister’s ear and whispered. “I was a bedwetter when I was five!” Angela shook her head and laughed. “Don’t be silly, little Lila. You’re still two!” “Na-ah!” Lila argued. “I wasn’t always like this. I have another secret to tell you, but you must promise not to tell mommy or daddy…” But Angela kept laughing. “You are so so funny. Please cut it out. Let older sis get into something dry.” But Lila shook her head. “Here’s my secret. I am wearing a magic diaper. Oh, how I wish you could see the glow coming from it!” Lila knew that she could confide her secret to an older person, as that wasn’t against the rules. The magic diaper tickled her with the bright glowing light. Angela gasped when she saw the light. “Lila, where is that light coming from?” “From my magic diaper!” she shouted. Angela still couldn’t believe it. “You put a light in your diaper, didn’t you?” She laid Lila on the floor and removed her skirt. “Let me see that light, you little stinker!” She unsnapped the diaper and took it off. She noticed that there was no light inside it. The entire diaper glowed before her very eyes. At this point, Angela was freaking out. “Lila, why is your diaper flashing like this?” Lila sighed. “I already told you. It’s a magic diaper.” Angela gasped, as she re-diapered Lila since the diaper was dry. “Magic…diaper? Okay then. What makes it so magical besides it glowing?” Lila grinned. “I will tell you. But you must tell me why you’re a bedwetter. I will then tell you about the magic diaper and how I got it.” Angela nodded. “Deal. Okay…Where do I begin? You are only two years old so who are you really going to tell? Okay. I know that this is going to sound weird to you, but you’re my smart little sister. Here goes. I had a very weird dream over a month ago where I was finishing my homework and getting my pajamas on. I then got into my bed. After that, I had to pee, like really bad.” Lila nodded. “Then you wet the bed, right?” Angela nodded as her face blushed. “Yes. But what made this dream really weird was that I kept getting younger and younger as I was wetting the bed. I got younger until I was just four years old. At this point, I was freaking out, so I screamed to my mom and told her that I wet the bed. “ Lila gasped. “So you became younger? That’s pretty weird.” Angela sat Lila on her lap. “It gets weirder. Mom comes in looking upset. She told me that it was the fifth time that I wet the bed that week and that was the final straw. She told me that she had to put me back in diapers. So, she cleaned me, powdered me, and then diapered me. And you wanna know what’s weird? I actually kind of liked it.” Lila gasped. “You LIKED it?” Angela blushed again. “Yeah. Very weird, huh? When I woke up from that weird dream, my underwear pajamas, and bedding were all soaked. And this didn’t stop happening after that. After wetting the bed for the next four nights, I desperately needed some protection for my nighttime accidents. So…I snuck some of your diapers into my room so I could wear them. Can I keep doing this? I could…Or I could get some adult diapers that fit me. So yeah. That’s why your older sister is a bedwetter. Now, how did you get that magic diaper and what makes it so magical?” Lila hugged her older sister, which made a few tears come out of her eyes. “It’s okay.” Lila told her again. “I’m just happy to have an older sister like you to talk to.” Lila, who was still sitting in just a pink shirt and diaper, pointed down to her the glowing diaper. “As I have already told you, this is my magic diaper. With this magic diaper that I’m wearing, it can grant me any wish!” Angela gasped. “You’re kidding! ANY…wish?” Lila nodded. “I’ll prove it again. Oh, how I wish that I could have my pacie!” The magic diaper tickled her with a flash of light, and a pacifier appeared in her hand. Angela was taken in shock by what just happened. “The magic diaper just did that?” Lila nodded. “Yup! It will grant my every wish, just as long as I don’t break any rules. Or it will leave me forever…” Angela was still in shock, with so many questions filling her mind about the mysterious diaper that Lila was wearing. “W-where did you get it?” she stammered. “I’ll tell you, but you have to believe me.” Lila told her. “Okay?” Angela nodded. “I have seen you get a wish granted with that thing so I totally believe you. Please tell me!” Lila climbed off of Angela’s left knee and onto her other knee. “I’ll tell you.” Lila said, as she began her story. “Before I was even a little baby, I was just a five-year-old girl getting ready for bed in my house. I was not the youngest, but had a little brother named Camden.” Angela gasped. “But Camden is seven! He’s older than you!” Lila sighed. “Can you let me continue? Yes, he’s older now. But he wasn’t always older than me. I was older than him. I was five and my little brother Camden was only three months old. I was very jealous about all the attention that he was getting. My mommy was not even paying attention to me! Ever since my little brother was born, I started to wet the bed. At first it didn’t happen very often, but it soon started to happen every night. Even now and then, I didn’t wet the bed. But those were very rare nights. That night, my sheets were still dry, and my little brother woke me up. It made me so mad that he always got everything! Every time little Cammie was a little wet, my mommy would always go and change him. And here I was, wetting the bed almost every night!” Tears began to roll down Lila’s eyes. “I’m sorry…” Angela cuddled her little sister and comforted her. “It’s okay. I’m starting to understand now. Continue…” “Anyway,” Lila continued. “My mommy got up and changed Camden. Then she went back to bed. I used to be the baby before Camden was born. I just wanted mommy to pay more attention to me! I had a dream where I really had to pee, so I got up and went to the toilet. I made it! I peed everything into the toilet and then I woke up. My Frozen underwear, pink pajamas, and My Little Pony bedding was soaked! Just like it was almost every night. I got up and woke mommy up. I didn’t want to sleep in wet bed sheets. So, I woke mommy up and she took me to the bathroom. She told me to wait there while she took care of my bedding. I just couldn’t take it! I was just crying my eyes out from this always happening now.” “Aww…” Angela said, snuggling Lila close to her. “Now, how did you find it? Are we close to that?” Lila grinned. “Very close. Anyway, while mommy was taking care of my bedding, I noticed a faint light coming from inside the trash can underneath the sink. “The magic diaper!” Angela gasped. Lila nodded. “Uh-huh. I took off all my wet clothes and opened the door. I found a white plastic sack that you find in those big boxes of diapers. It looked like it was empty, but why was there a light coming from it? Since I wanted to know where the light was coming from, I reached into the white plastic sack and pulled out a diaper. It looked like mommy forgot that she had one diaper left! She forgot to use it on Camden! I put it pack in the trash with the white sack and closed the door to the sink. Mommy came back and we both took a shower, so she made sure that I was nice and clean. Then she gave me new Frozen underwear with yellow pajamas. She took me back to my room and I saw that my bedding was changed with Disney Princesses on them.” Angela grinned. “I see. Do you want to watch a Disney Princess movie now?” Lila shook her head. “I’m not finished. You wanna know how I got it? Anyway, my mommy tucks me into my dry bedding. I am now in my dry pajamas. I waited for mommy to go back to bed for a few minutes. When it got quiet, I snuck out of bed and went back to the bathroom to get the diaper. I opened the door underneath the sink and got the diaper out of the white sack. I then took the diaper back to my room. The diaper was only a Size 1, so it couldn’t fit me. I laid in my bed with the diaper on the floor, trying to think what to do with it. Since it was glowing, I was thinking of using it for a night light. I’m scared of the dark, so I usually sleep with a night light.” Angela playfully jabbed Lila and laughed. “I know that you are. You had a screaming fit when I forgot to turn it on one night.” Lila nodded. “Yeah. I’m still afraid of the dark. But instead of using that diaper for a night light, I decided to get out of bed and hold it. I then thought of my little brother Camden again and how he got everything. How mommy kept ignoring me and always wetting the bed every night. I held the magic diaper in my hand. As hard as I could, I wished that I was the little sister instead of my brother. The magic diaper flashed, then I noticed something weird. It looked like the diaper could now fit me, so I took my pajamas and underwear off. I laid down and I put the diaper on, doing it just the way I remember mommy doing it with Camden. I was sitting there in my baby brother’s diaper and it actually…fits? Then more weird stuff happened. I couldn’t move, so I made another wish. I wished that I could be laying in my bed. I appeared in my bed and more weird stuff happened. My bed started to turn into a crib and then I got so tired that I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in my crib again. I couldn’t talk ‘cause I was only three months old. The same age as Camden. That means…” “Camden became your age?” Angela gasped. Lila nodded. “Yeah. Mommy came in the room and it felt so good to be babied by her again. Finally! Mommy was paying attention to me! After that, I made many more wishes with the magic diaper. One important wish I made early on was that every diaper that mommy changed me into was a magic diaper. That way, I always had unlimited wishes and could have whatever I wished. I wished for a babysitter, I made fun wishes during my naps, I wished that I was old enough to walk again, then I wished that I could be older and younger. Finally, I wished to be at the moment I was born and decided to stay there. I didn’t make any more wishes to be older. I just grew up from when I was born, making many more wishes with the magic diaper. I became very powerful due to a lot of the effects of the wishes still lasting. I then wished to become as magical as the magic diaper. I found out that was a very bad wish.” Angela gasped. “Why? Are you still that powerful?” Lila shook her head. “No. The magic diaper scolded me like my mommy and daddy and told me I was a bad girl for breaking a lot of rules with the magic diaper. Wishing to be that powerful became a forbidden wish, and I could never make it again. I didn’t know that there were rules to using it but it let me know very quickly.” “It talked to you?” “Yeah. It was a loud voice and it told me every rule that I broke and told me not to do it again. It also told me to be nice to my family. I didn’t want to lose the magic diaper, so I listened. It spoke to me while I was taking my afternoon nap.” Lila smiled. “The one that you woke me up from!” Angela embraced her little sister again. “So, what wishes did you make after that?” Lila grinned. “I wished for an older sister, and you appeared!” Angela shook her head. “How? I’m the oldest, and I have always known you, Lila.” Lila pointed down at the magic diaper. “It’s the magic diaper. It made my wish happen, so it was like you were always here.” Angela looked at her body in disbelief. “So I’m here because of that magic diaper?” Lila nodded. “Yup!” Angela hugged Lila and cried a few more tears. “Well,” Angela said looking at her soaked panties, dress, and the couch. “Now that I know that you have a magic diaper, can you wish me some diapers? I at least want to wear them to bed until I’m dry every night.” Lila nodded. “That’s what I wanted to do anyway. I was going to help you with your bedwetting, but I wanted to know why.” Angela got up from the couch and began to go upstairs. Something stopped her in midstep. “Wait.” She said, facing Lila, her face starting to redden. “How did you find out about me wetting the bed?” Lila looked at her sister and giggled. “Oh, that. I knew that I couldn’t make a wish to read your mind so I wished that I knew what you were doing. It granted my wish by me being able to see you when I close my eyes. I saw you leave your room and enter mine to take one of my diapers. That’s when I guessed that you were a bedwetter. Why else would you need diapers?” She looked at her sister. “Are you getting a shower?” Angela nodded. “Yeah. Gotta get out of these wet clothes. We’ll watch a Disney movie together after I get changed. Oh, and I soaked the couch cushion a little. Can you make a wish to remove that stain?” Lila nodded. “Sure! Oh, how I wish that the couch cushion where my big sister peed it is clean!” The magic diaper tickled Lila with its light and her wish was granted. The couch cushion was not only clean, but it smelled kind of nice. Angela went upstairs to go and freshen up. While Angela was doing this, Lila went up to her older sister’s room and did what she promised. She wished for three mega sized boxes of Pampers that could comfortably fit her sister. Because of the wish, the Pampers were an even bigger size than what could be found in stores. They were Size 12’s and could easily fit Angela. Lila looked at the boxes of diapers and smiled. Three is not too many. I have a feeling that my big sister is going to be in them for a while…Lila then wished for the diapers to be only visible to her and Angela so their mother couldn’t see any of the diapers or the packaging. She finally wished for a large pack of baby wipes, a couple tubes of Aquaphor, and three big containers of baby powder, which she made visible only to her and Angela with another wish. She left her big sister’s room, giggling. It feels so great to help my big sister! Lila toddled back downstairs to the living room, waiting for her sister so they could watch a Disney princess movie. Angela got out of the shower and smiled. She was still flabbergasted at everything that just happened. Her little sister suddenly started talking in complete sentences and disclosed a very big secret to her. She was wearing a magic diaper that could grant her every wish. And after she demonstrated it by wishing for her pacifier, she immediately believed it. She then gasped when she thought of Lila wishing for an older sister. It’s because of Lila that I…exist? The idea felt weird to her, but because of Lila, Angela was born into the world and was the oldest in the Watson family. When she thought of Lila talking in complete sentences again, it all made sense now. From the story that Lila told her, Lila was not really a two-year-old girl. She was a five-year-old in a two-year-old’s body. Her mannerism’s all reflected that. Angela walked into her room with a towel wrapped around her waist. She glanced in her closet and almost had a heart attack. “You wished for three big boxes, Lila?” she shouted. “Thank you, my sweet little princess.” She whispered. Angela knew that it wasn’t bedtime yet, but she had to check out these new Pampers that Lila wished for. Angela opened the big box that contained 80 diapers. There were 4 white sleeves of 20 Pampers each. She opened up the first sleeve and took one out. This was going to be even better than wearing Lila’s little diaper as a pad, since these ones actually fit her. She looked at the box again. “Size 12?” she smirked. “They don’t even make Size 12! The biggest I’ve seen is Size 7…” She glanced around and found the baby wipes, the Aquaphor, and the powder. She didn’t need wipes or Aquaphor, since she just showered and was wearing these diapers for the first time. She laid down like she has seen Lila do so many times during a diaper change. She opened up the diaper, stretched it out, and powdered the inside of it. She laid on top of it and powdered her princess parts. She knew the proper hygiene having done it with Lila so many times. She stretched the diaper over the front of herself and fastened the two large tabs snugly over the landing zone. She put on her bra with a green dress and joyfully skipped down the stairs. But when she got to the living room, she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Lila?” Lila got up from the couch and approached her older sister. “Yes, big sister?” Angela pointed up stairs. “Th-those diapers in my room. There are so many of them. If mom sees this, I’m in so much trouble.” Lila giggled. “She won’t see anything! I wished that only we could see it!” Angela stammered. “What about the wipes, the creams, the powder…” Lila shook her head. “Only we can see it. She won’t be able to.” Angela hugged her baby sister. “Oh, thank you, Lila! My magical diaper girl!” she said, as she patted Lila on her diapered bottom. “Wait…Li…la! Does my little princess need a diaper change?” Lila stood up as she began to flood her diaper. “Maybe!” she shouted in a cutesy voice. Angela gave Lila a playful jab. “Maybe! What is that supposed to mean? Here. I’m going to check….” She felt the bottom front of Lila’s diaper and it was very warm. “Ahhhh! You’re peeing it now, aren’t you?” Lila nodded. “I’m so used to it that it just happens. Sometimes when I’m not even thinking about it.” Angela nodded. “Well, let me know when little Lila is done!” A few more second passed and Lila diaper was almost at the point of leaking. “Little Lila is done!” Lila giggled, humoring Angela. “Well, lay down so I can change you!” Angela told her little sister. Lila laid down. Angela cleaned Lila, powdered her and laid her on a new diaper. Lila then gave Angela a funny look. Angela frowned. “What?” Lila grinned. “Are you wearing one?” Angela played dumb. “What are you talking about?” “You know!” Lila told her. “Those diapers that I wished for upstairs. Are you wearing one?” Angela’s face started to redden, and she let go of the diaper she was in the middle of putting on Lila. “What? Me? Nope!” Lila then pulled up her sister’s dress, fully exposing the Size 12 Pamper that she was wearing. “You’re not wearing? Then what’s that? It looks like a diaper to me!” Lila giggled, seeing her older sister in diapers. Angela’s body began to twitch and she began to pee herself in embarrassment. “Y-y-y-yes Lila!” she confessed. “I am wearing one! I know that it is weird, but I kind of like wearing them too!” “And you’re peeing it too!” Lila told her. “I can tell. Your face looks like a tomato. And it's okay if you like wearing them. That's why I wished for so many of them for you. I figured that you might like them." Angela nodded. “You are so right, Lila! I’m glad that I’m wearing it too. We don’t want another accident…” She hugged Lila. “But isn’t this great, Lila? We both get to be diapered girls this weekend!” Lila frowned, still laying on top of her open diaper. “You need to finish changing me!” Angela nodded, and fastened the tabs snugly to the landing zone. She then put Lila’s skirt back on her. Her face then became very serious. “PLEASE don’t tell mom that I am starting to like diapers.” Lila nodded. “She won’t see anything. If I’m hiding them from her, I’m not going to tell her. We’re sisters. We can trust each other with our deepest secrets. Now, can we watch that Disney princess movie now?” Angela nodded as she patted her diapered bottom. “Sure Lila!” Angela prepared two drinks for her and Lila. She got Lila a baby bottle filled with milk and a large glass of orange soda for herself. They both watched Cinderella and Angela chugged her soda, not worrying about having to pee during the whole movie. She felt the now cold squishy gel that was in her slightly soaked diaper. Yup! This weekend is going to be so awesome… Lila looked at her big sister and smiled. She sat in her lap and began to cuddle her. She then wished for her pacifier to appear again and began sucking on it. The bottle that Angela gave her was already empty, so she needed something else to suck on. She contentedly sucked on her pacifier as she enjoyed the Cinderella movie with her older sister. This was a very good wish! I’m very happy that I can have an older sister that can take care of me. Even one that turns out to still need diapers…She quietly giggled when she thought about that. From the rules that the magic diaper gave her, she straightened up. She wanted to be a good girl and really cared about her older sister. When her mother comes home, she will continue to show her kindness to her mother, too. Both Angela and Lila continued to watch Cinderella to the ending, where they lived happily ever after. While the movie was over, the weekend has just begun.

Part 38 “I’m sorry for having multiple accidents in my diapers, and for acting, umm, like an immature little girl all day long.” Cassidy didn’t quite make it through the embarrassing apology without faltering a little bit. Mostly because it was quite the mouthful, and it took her a moment to think of the second half after getting past the first. Of course, Audrey had a way to make things worse. She pulled out her phone and trained it on the diapered girl buckled into the back seat. “Good. Now say it for the camera, and we’ll be done.” “But-” “Cassie. Do you want to leave, or do you want to sit in the hot car for another hour?” The car was pretty warm after sitting in the sun all day. Cassidy had been thoroughly distracted by the dirty diapers followed by Audrey’s cleavage and subsequent demand for an apology. Now that her sister pointed out the heat, however, Cassidy felt it more than before. The open door provided some ventilation, but the AC would be much better. Still, she had to try one more time. As close as they were to getting on the road, a video like that would be so incriminating than the picture Audrey had just taken. “Audrey, can’t we just go? I don’t want-” “Cassidy.” It was the first time Audrey had used her full name in hours, and it was surprisingly effective at getting her attention. “Be a big girl for once, okay? Just say it. Now, please.” Audrey was her younger sister. Although clearly age wasn’t the only factor, considering who else had bossed Cassidy around today. This situation was very much the same, where getting talked down to made her feel pressured to do as she was told in order to avoid looking worse. Even if she had just been thinking about how it was a terrible idea to offer up this kind of ammo to her sister. Blushing darker than before, Cassidy muttered the full apology. That wasn’t good enough for Audrey. “Speak clearly, Cassie,” she said, “Now, did you have something to say?” Clutching her chest more tightly than before, both because she was feeling particularly exposed and vulnerable when on camera, as well as to make sure that her boobs were completely concealed, Cassidy said more audibly, ““I’m sorry for having multiple accidents in my diapers, and for acting like an immature little girl all day long.” Audrey let the silence linger for a few seconds, to be sure that she caught the end of the apology on video. The added bonus was the way Cassidy averted her gaze afterwards, making her look a lot more shy and awkward than she normally was. With another little smirk, Audrey stopped the recording. “Good job, Cassie. Now, sit back there and think about what you could have done differently today.” With that, she gently closed the back door and got into the driver’s seat. The drive back felt a lot longer than the initial trip to the faire. It was just under thirty minutes, but each of those minutes felt like an eternity when naked save for dirty diapers. The mess itself was bad enough, and that was before dealing with the fact that Audrey’s little sedan was shorter than a lot of other vehicles. While most of those drivers and passengers would be focused on the road, that didn’t stop Cassidy from constantly worrying about her exposure. Her arms never left her breasts, and she just had to accept that anyone might see her underwear situation due to how she couldn’t cover everything. Better to aim for modesty, even if diapers were mortifying in their own way. She was briefly tempted to ask Audrey to stop somewhere. While their parents wouldn’t be home yet, that didn’t protect Cassidy from people she and her family knew from potentially seeing her as they got closer to the house. Every stop sign and red light would be a risk. The problem was, Cassidy was nearly naked. That meant Audrey would be going in alone, and she still had Cassidy’s wallet. Getting her sister to pay her back for all the renaissance faire purchases was already going to be like pulling teeth, and another shopping spree would just compile to that task on the horizon. Plus Cassidy was still quite motivated to simply get home and shower. That was the quickest way to get things back to normal; she’d have to deal with the potential blackmail and minor financial crisis later. Cassidy was so caught up in her own thoughts and overall discomfort that she wasn’t paying much attention to the drive. It wasn’t until they were getting off the highway at a less familiar exit that she glanced around in curiosity. She didn’t say anything for another few minutes, as it easily could have been a detour that Audrey was taking to avoid traffic that Cassidy hadn’t seen. They also hadn’t said a word to each other all drive, as Audrey had been content listening to her music as she chauffeused Cassidy home. When they turned into a neighborhood that definitely wasn’t a shortcut back to theirs, however, Cassidy finally piped up. “Umm, Audrey? Where are you going?” “We just have a quick stop to make,” Audrey said, “Relax, sis.” “Yeah, but-” “We’ve talked about this. You need to stop freaking out over nothing, remember? It’s not an attractive trait to have!” Cassidy fell quiet again. It’s not like she could do anything to prevent Audrey from taking the unexpected detour. Her sister was the one driving, and Cassidy was the one in the back seat and merely along for the ride. A couple minutes later, they were pulling into the driveway of someone else’s house. That was enough to make Cassidy pipe up for a second time. “Audrey!” “Cassie!” Audrey replied, in a mockingly shrill tone. She turned off the ignition and got out of the car without any hesitation. Then, to Cassidy’s surprise, Audrey came over and opened the back door. “You’re coming, too. Let’s go.” Cassidy’s eyes were already a little wide from how the car door was no longer hiding her from a portion of the neighborhood they were in. But actually getting out as she was? Absolutely not. Immediately shaking her head, Cassidy said, “No. I’m not wearing anything!” “And you don’t have anything to hide,” Audrey rolled her eyes, “Believe it or not, sis, I’m trying to help you. Our dad came home early for something. So do you still want to go there, or would you rather stop by my friend’s place first?” Was ‘neither’ an option? As helpful as Audrey was claiming that she was trying to be, Cassidy couldn’t help but notice that she hadn’t mentioned the latest complication until she absolutely had to. If Cassidy had known earlier, maybe she would have actually pushed for a stop along the way. Ignoring the jab about her smaller chest, Cassidy asked, “What friend?” “Elena,” Audrey said, without missing a beat, “And she used to babysit, by the way. Your diapers won’t be a big deal.” Cassidy somewhat recognized the name, but she hadn’t spent much time with Audrey’s friends when they had both been in high school. Also, changing diapers as a babysitter wasn’t quite the same as seeing a girl Cassidy’s age in them. As badly as she wanted to change, the thought of getting out of the car and letting someone else see her like this was paralyzing. Wasn’t there another option? ------------------------ Check out my website: www.ladyluciastories.com And my SubscribeStar: https://subscribestar.adult/lady-lucia

Cloth diapers here!

The main storyline continues. Chapter 10 Sarah and her mother, Lisa, arrived at Kate's house for a playdate. When Kate greeted them at the door, Sarah was surprised to see her friend wearing just a t-shirt and a diaper. Kate smiled warmly, seemingly comfortable in her attire, and invited them inside. Jenna, Kate's mother, welcomed them and suggested they all sit down in the living room. As they settled in, Lisa gently asked, "Is everything okay? We couldn't help but notice Kate's attire." Jenna nodded, placing a comforting hand on Kate's shoulder. "Kate has always been an anxious child," she explained. "We've been working together to find ways to manage her anxiety, and we've discovered that sometimes wearing a diaper can help Kate feel more secure and calm when she's feeling overwhelmed." Kate added, "Yeah, sometimes I just feel worried or uneasy for no reason. It's really hard to deal with." Sarah looked at her friend with concern, while Lisa nodded understandingly. "I can imagine how challenging that must be," Lisa said softly. "You know, we've had our own struggles with Sarah's bedwetting. And sometimes, she even has trouble making it to the bathroom during the day." Sarah's face flushed with embarrassment, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She hadn't expected her mom to share such personal information about her daytime accidents. Jenna, sensing Sarah's discomfort, added, "We've found that diapers can be really useful in managing anxiety. When Kate was younger, she had a fear of automatic flush toilets. Wearing diapers helped her feel more secure and in control when we were out and about." Kate nodded, remembering how much the diapers had helped her during that challenging time. Lisa, wanting to offer support, said, "It's important that we accept and support our children's needs, whatever they may be. Finding healthy ways to cope with anxiety and other challenges is crucial for their well-being." She turned to Sarah and added, "You know, Sarah, maybe wearing diapers during the day occasionally could help with your accidents, too." Lisa's suggestion hung in the air for a moment, and Sarah felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, unsure of how to respond. Kate, sensing her friend's discomfort, spoke up. "Hey, Sarah, maybe you could wear a diaper today, and we could be diaper buddies!" Her tone was gentle and encouraging, hoping to ease Sarah's anxiety. Sarah's eyes widened at the suggestion, and she glanced uncertainly at her mother. Lisa gave her a reassuring smile, silently communicating that the decision was hers to make. Jenna, wanting to support both girls, added, "It's okay if you're not comfortable with the idea, Sarah. But if you do decide to try it, know that you're in a safe and understanding environment here. I mean, you can see what Kate’s wearing." Sarah bit her lip, considering her options. On one hand, the thought of wearing a diaper during the day filled her with apprehension. What if someone found out? On the other hand, the idea of being "diaper buddies" with Kate held a certain appeal. And the sleepover had been fun. After a moment of deliberation, Sarah took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I'll try it. But just for today, and only because we're at Kate's house." Kate's eyes lit up at Sarah's agreement to wear a diaper. "That's great, Sarah! Wait right here, I'll go grab one for you!" She darted off to her room, her excitement palpable. Sarah shifted nervously on the couch, her embarrassment still evident on her face. Lisa placed a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "It's okay, sweetie. This is a safe space, and no one here will judge you." Jenna nodded in agreement. "Absolutely, Sarah. We're all here to support you and Kate." Moments later, Kate came rushing back, a diaper in hand. She held it out to Sarah with a grin. "Here you go, Sarah! We're going to be the best diaper buddies ever!" Sarah took the diaper hesitantly, feeling the soft, crinkly material in her hands. She looked at her mother, uncertainty etched on her face. Lisa smiled reassuringly. "Do you want me to help you put it on, honey?" Sarah nodded, feeling a mix of relief and embarrassment. She stood up and followed her mother to the nearby bathroom, diaper in hand. Once inside, Lisa helped Sarah remove her pants and underwear. She unfolded the diaper and had Sarah lie down on the floor. With gentle, practiced movements, Lisa slid the diaper under Sarah's bottom and brought it up between her legs, securing it snugly around her waist. "There you go, sweetie," Lisa said, helping Sarah to her feet. "You know, this reminds me of your sleepover with Kate. It's nice that you two have someone you can share this with." Sarah nodded, feeling a sense of warmth at the memory. She took a tentative step, feeling the soft padding between her legs, and looked at her mom and said, “I guess it’s kind of comfortable.” Lisa hugged her daughter. "I'm proud of you for trying this, Sarah. Remember, Kate is your friend, and she understands what you're going through." Sarah nodded, taking a deep breath. She and her mother exited the bathroom and returned to the living room, where Kate was waiting with barely contained excitement. "Sarah! You look great!" Kate exclaimed, bouncing on her toes. "Now we really are diaper buddies!" Sarah couldn't help but smile at her friend's enthusiasm. Despite her initial embarrassment, she was starting to feel more at ease, knowing that Kate was also wearing a diaper. Jenna clapped her hands together. "Alright, girls, why don't you go play in Kate's room for a bit?” Kate grabbed Sarah's hand, grinning from ear to ear. "Come on, Sarah! Let's go play!" — As Sarah and Kate headed off to Kate's room, their diapered bottoms crinkling softly with each step, Lisa and Jenna settled back onto the couch, both wearing expressions of motherly concern and understanding. Lisa sighed, turning to Jenna. "I really appreciate you sharing Kate's experiences with us. It helps to know that we're not alone in navigating these challenges." Jenna nodded, placing a comforting hand on Lisa's arm. "Of course. We're all in this together. I know how tough it can be to see our girls struggling with things like accidents and anxiety." Lisa nodded, her brow furrowing slightly. "Sarah has been having daytime accidents once or twice a month, usually when she gets really engrossed in an activity. It upsets her so much when it happens. I hate seeing her so hard on herself." Jenna's expression softened with empathy. "I completely understand how upsetting accidents can be for Sarah. Kate has gone through similar experiences, and it's heartbreaking to see how much it affects their self-esteem." She paused for a moment, remembering a specific incident. "When Kate was potty training, there was an incident with an automatic flush toilet that really scared her. She absolutely refused to use public restrooms after that, so she diapers until she was six if we were going out for more than an hour. I remember on her sixth birthday, we went to the zoo, and she wore diapers all day." Lisa's eyes widened with understanding. "That must have been challenging for all of you. How did you help Kate overcome her fear?" Jenna smiled softly. "We worked with her gradually, but we also realized that the diapers provided a sense of security and comfort for her. It wasn't just about public restrooms, but also about the sensory input she got from wearing them. The snugness and the crinkly sound seemed to help her feel more grounded and calm, and helped with her anxiety in general.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I know it might seem unconventional, but have you considered having Sarah wear diapers during the day, especially when she's engrossed in activities? It could help alleviate some of the stress and anxiety she feels around accidents." Lisa nodded thoughtfully as she listened to Jenna's suggestion about having Sarah wear diapers during the day. "I've actually considered that before," she admitted. "But Sarah really doesn't like wearing diapers during the day. You saw how hesitant she was to wear one today, even though she could see Kate’s diaper." Jenna leaned forward, her expression understanding. "It's a big step, and it's important to respect Sarah's feelings on the matter. Is she anxious about the possibility of accidents?" Lisa sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It's not so much anxiety about accidents, but more the embarrassment she feels when they happen. She's such a confident, outgoing girl, but the accidents really shake her. I think she's worried about what others might think if they found out about them." Jenna nodded, her eyes full of empathy. "That's completely understandable. It's a vulnerable thing to navigate, especially at their age. But if you do decide to try it, maybe you could start with situations where she feels more comfortable, like when she's at home or with close friends like Kate. That way if she has an accident she can see that no one will notice if she’s wearing a diaper. And the sensory aspect might be calming for her, too, like it was for Kate." "That's a good point," Lisa agreed. "I've noticed that Sarah does seem to find a certain level of comfort in wearing diapers at night, even if she doesn't explicitly say so. Maybe introducing them during the day in a gradual, supportive way could help her feel more at ease wearing them when she’s likely to have an accident." Jenna smiled warmly. "Exactly. And remember, every child is different. What works for Kate might not be the perfect solution for Sarah, and that's okay. The most important thing is that we're here to support them and help them find what works best for their individual needs." Lisa took a sip of her coffee, feeling more at ease as the conversation with Jenna flowed. "You know, we actually just recently switched Sarah to youth diapers for bedtime. We were using GoodNites for a while, but they started leaking pretty frequently." Jenna nodded in understanding. "It can be a challenge to find the right fit and absorbency. We went through a similar process with Kate. She's always wet the bed and has never been out of diapers at night. We used baby diapers until she was about seven, and then we transitioned to youth diapers when she outgrew them." Lisa's eyes widened slightly. "I hadn't realized Kate had been wearing diapers for so long. It's comforting to know that we're not the only ones navigating this journey." "Definitely not," Jenna assured her. "And it's been a learning process for us, too. There were times when we questioned if we were doing the right thing, but ultimately, we had to trust our instincts and do what was best for Kate." Lisa nodded, her expression thoughtful. "I think that's what I struggle with sometimes - knowing if I'm making the right choices for Sarah. But hearing your experiences helps me feel more confident in trusting my own judgment." Jenna reached out and gave Lisa's hand a reassuring squeeze. "You're doing a great job, Lisa. Sarah is lucky to have a mom who loves her so much and wants to support her in every way possible." Lisa smiled gratefully, feeling a surge of emotion at Jenna's words. "Thank you, Jenna. That means more than you know." As the two mothers continued to chat, their conversation drifted to lighter topics - their daughters' favorite school subjects, upcoming summer plans, and the latest neighborhood gossip. But even as they laughed and joked, the bond between them had deepened, forged by their shared experiences and the love they had for their children. From Kate's room, the sound of giggles and playful chatter drifted down the hallway. — Kate rummaged through her toy box, pulling out a couple of her favorite stuffed animals. "Hey Sarah, want to play with these?" she asked, holding up a teddy bear and a plush bunny. Sarah nodded, a slight hesitation in her voice. "Sure, that sounds fun." A mischievous grin spread across Kate's face. "I have an idea. Wait here!" She darted over to her dresser and pulled out one of her diapers. "Let's see if we can put this on the bear!" Sarah's eyes widened, and she shifted uncomfortably, feeling the crinkle of the diaper she was wearing. "Oh, um... I don't know..." she mumbled, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Kate, not noticing Sarah’s embarrassment, continued, “We’re wearing diapers so they should wear diapers too,” pointing to her stuffed animals. Sarah, still blushing, grabbed one of the diapers and a teddy bear. The girls sat cross-legged on the floor, the teddy bear between them. They worked together, trying to maneuver the diaper around the stuffed animal's plump, furry body. However, despite their best efforts, the diaper was simply too big. "It's not working," Sarah said, a mix of relief and disappointment in her voice. Kate furrowed her brow, thinking for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "I have an idea! Hang on." She jumped to her feet and hurried over to her closet. After a minute of rummaging, she emerged with a triumphant grin, holding a package of Pampers diapers. "Look what I found!" Kate exclaimed. "These are the diapers I used to wear when I was younger. I bet they'll fit the stuffies perfectly!" Sarah's eyes widened, and she glanced down at the diaper she was wearing, feeling a twinge of embarrassment. "I, um... guess those look a lot smaller." "Yeah, they weren’t comfortable to wear when I got bigger. These diapers are a lot more comfortable," Kate said, gesturing to one of the youth diapers. Sarah nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Yeah, they are." As the girls began diapering the stuffed animals with the Pampers, Sarah's embarrassment gradually melted away. They chatted and giggled, their earlier discomfort fading in the joy of their play. "Look at this one!" Sarah held up the newly diapered bunny, admiring their handiwork. Kate grinned, holding up the giraffe. "And check out this guy! He looks so cute!" Soon, the floor of Kate's room was covered in a veritable menagerie of diapered stuffed animals. The girls leaned back, surveying their work with satisfaction. "You know," Sarah said softly, "this is actually really fun. I didn't think I'd enjoy playing with diapers like this, but it's fun to pretend." Kate nodded, her expression warm. "Exactly! It's like... it's just another part of our lives, and we can make it fun and silly if we want to. And no matter what, we'll always have each other's backs." Sarah smiled, reaching out to give Kate a big hug. "Diaper buddies forever!" And with that, the girls collapsed into a fit of giggles, their stuffed animals scattered around them, a testament to the unbreakable bond of their friendship and the power of play to overcome embarrassment and fear. — As Sarah and Kate continued playing with their diapered stuffed animals, Kate suddenly paused, a familiar sensation overtaking her. Without hesitation, she relaxed and began peeing in her diaper, the soft hissing sound barely audible over their giggles and chatter. Sarah, engrossed in their play, didn't seem to notice Kate's actions. Kate, feeling the warmth spreading through her diaper, simply shifted slightly and continued playing, unfazed by the situation. A few minutes later, Sarah became aware of a growing pressure in her bladder. She squirmed uncomfortably, suddenly hyper-aware of the diaper she was wearing. A faint blush crept into her cheeks as she realized she needed to pee. Feeling self-conscious, Sarah tried to ignore the sensation, focusing instead on the stuffed animal in her hands. She didn't want to interrupt their play or draw attention to her need to use the bathroom. Despite her best efforts, Sarah soon felt a small trickle escape, dampening her diaper. She tensed, trying to hold back the flow, but found it increasingly difficult to do so. Gradually, her bladder released into the diaper, causing a subtle warmth to spread around her bottom. Sarah's face flushed with embarrassment as she realized what had happened. She shifted uncomfortably, hoping Kate wouldn't notice the slight change in her diaper's appearance. Kate, still caught up in their play, didn't immediately realize Sarah's predicament. She continued chatting and laughing, making their stuffed animals embark on new adventures. After a few more minutes, Kate paused, a look of realization crossing her face. "Oh, Sarah," she asked gently, "did you use your diaper too?" Sarah's blush deepened, and she nodded shyly. "Y-yeah," she mumbled, avoiding Kate's gaze. "I had an accident." Kate smiled reassuringly, reaching out to pat Sarah's hand. "It's okay, Sarah. That's what the diapers are for. And besides, mine's wet too" Sarah glanced up, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I guess you're right," she said, feeling a bit more at ease. Kate grinned, holding up her stuffed animal. "Of course I am! Now, let's get back to playing. I think Mr. Bear here needs a fresh diaper!" As Sarah and Kate continued their imaginative play, Sarah couldn't help but notice the familiar sensation of her wet diaper. It reminded her of waking up every morning to a heavy, squishy diaper, but this felt different somehow. The warmth was more immediate, and the wetness seemed to be distributed differently than when she woke up after a night of bedwetting. Kate, on the other hand, seemed completely at ease. She moved and played as if nothing had changed, despite the fact that her own diaper was just as wet as Sarah's. Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door, and Lisa and Jenna poked their heads into the room. "Hey girls," Lisa said with a smile, "what have you been up to?" "We've been playing with our stuffed animals!" Kate exclaimed, holding up her beloved teddy bear. "We put diapers on them, just like ours!" Jenna chuckled, stepping into the room and kneeling beside her daughter. "I can see that! It looks like you two have been having a lot of fun." She gently patted Kate's diaper, checking for wetness. "And I see someone's diaper is quite wet. Did you have an accident, sweetie?" Kate shook her head, grinning. "Nope! I went pee-pee in my diaper on purpose. It's no big deal." Sarah's face flushed as Kate continued, "And Sarah's wet too! She had a little accident while we were playing." Lisa turned to her daughter, surprised. "Sarah, you had an accident?" Sarah squirmed, feeling self-conscious under her mother's gaze. "I-I didn't mean to," she mumbled, looking down at her lap. "I tried to hold it, but I couldn't." Lisa's expression softened, and she moved to sit beside Sarah, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Oh, sweetie, it's okay. Accidents happen, and that's why you're wearing a diaper. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Jenna nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. Kate isn’t embarrassed about them at all.” Sarah managed a small smile, leaning into her mother's embrace. "Yeah, but it feels different using it during the day. Not bad, just... different." Kate beamed, scooting closer to her friend. "See? I told you it was okay! And now we can keep playing without having to stop for potty breaks." Lisa and Jenna exchanged a warm look, both proud of their daughters' growing friendship and the way they supported each other through new experiences. "Well," Lisa said, giving Sarah a gentle squeeze, "it looks like you two are having a great time. How about Jenna and I go make some snacks?" Jenna nodded, turning to Kate. "Kate, sweetie, do you want a fresh diaper, or do you want to keep this one on for a bit longer? It doesn't seem too wet yet." Kate thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I'll keep it on for now. It's still comfy, and I don't want to stop playing just yet." Jenna smiled, ruffling her daughter's hair. "Alright, that's fine. Just let us know when you're ready for a change." Lisa turned to Sarah, expecting her to want a fresh diaper right away. "What about you, Sarah? Do you want me to change you into a dry diaper?" To Lisa's surprise, Sarah hesitated, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Actually," she said slowly, "I think I'll keep this one on for a little longer too, if that's okay." Lisa raised her eyebrows, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Oh? Are you sure, sweetie? I thought you might want to change out of your wet diaper right away." Sarah blushed slightly, but a small smile played on her lips. "Well, it's kind of... soft and comfortable, in a way. I don't know, it just feels nice. And like Kate said, I don't want to stop playing just yet." Lisa exchanged a glance with Jenna, both mothers pleasantly surprised by Sarah's newfound comfort with her diaper. "Well, alright then," Lisa said, giving Sarah a gentle pat on the back. "You just let me know when you're ready for a change, okay?" Sarah nodded, her smile growing a bit more confident. "I will, Mom. Thanks." As Lisa and Jenna left the room to prepare snacks, Kate grinned at Sarah. "See? I told you diapers could be comfy, even when they're wet!" Sarah laughed, feeling a warmth spread through her chest that had nothing to do with the wetness of her diaper. "Yeah, you were right. I guess it’s not so bad."

Hey everyone! Sorry about the later posting than I was expecting originally. I was all set to edit this chapter last night, but then an emergency came up and I had to push it after my busy day today. Should be able to pop several more of these chapters out this week, so stay tuned. As promised, located next are the two ideas for the story after this one. I usually will give three options, but these were too close to call last time, so just let me know which of them you all would prefer for what I write next. If they are nearly tied again though, I will take the runner-up and add it to my next poll with already some backing behind it. Bethany Set as a semi-sequel to The Opening, follow former drug runner, Bethany, as she strives to find herself a better life that has been promised in the newly discovered dimension, tentatively called, ‘The Amazon Dimension,’ though some have begun calling it another name due to the ever-increasing rumors of something awaiting all portal Littles on the other side. Join Bethany as she looks to turn her life around there and maybe even find a redemption of sorts and something else in the most unexpected of ways. Watch out though, in this new world, new and even greater dangers than the ones she left lurk around every corner. Tell Me More Sequel With this shorter story, continue with Dr. Trisha Mengell from Tell Me More as she dives further into the lives of her patients following the FOY incident over a year ago now. All seems as well as can be with her various Little patients until she notices a frightening pattern begins to develop over time during each session. While it could be nothing and just a fluke in the city or her patient’s mind’s turning softer and more imaginative, follow the good doctor as she explores the truth behind what she might suspect within the very system that she herself is a part of. Moving forward, I will be trying to post as much as I can, barring any emergencies that happen to crop up. My goal is to try and finish this story before the end of the month and try to go quickly with my next one as well so that I don’t have another break coming up next month right in the middle of my story. It’s not the worst, but it’s a big pause that I would like to avoid if all possible. Fingers crossed, but I will let you all know here if anything changes with this plan. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter! Chapter 2: Being a Little Can Be So Complicated Sometimes William Shakespeare once wrote that ‘Hell is empty and all the devils are here.’ Well, I highly doubt that old Billy ever came to this dimension or spent time in a Little’s foster home facility before, but I have to imagine that he experienced at least the next worst thing. See, Nancy and I talked for a long while, but being a shivering Little who’s been bruised and had their clothing ripped into who is also seated between two major players in dealing with Littles, I had no chance of escape it turned out. So, the police had taken me in, but Nancy had essentially assigned herself to me to be my proverbial guardian angel. I don’t even think they believe in that type of stuff here, but she made sure that I was treated well and at least sent to a nice foster home until further plans could be made for me. I wanted to be grateful that I hadn’t ended up worse, like I had heard happened to so many others, but my times at the foster home were trying to say the least. Despite the fact that it was determined and pushed by Nancy that I would be treated ‘older’ amongst the other Littles, I later realized that age is pretty much all relative here when it came to the treatment of my kind in this society. My current multi-colored and star-adorned white training panties, green tights, black Velcro shoes, and cotton dress with the words ‘super awesome’ did little to assuage me that I was really the ‘big girl’ others claimed I was. I suppose, now looking around the room once again to ground myself in my new reality, that things could always be worse. After all, I was wearing leg coverings of some kind, I could walk around, and above all, I wasn’t wearing diapers. Training panties were no picnic, but I knew the same qualities I took pride in that I still had, could not be said for some of my fellow foster Littles. So, since I had gotten here late that night and was given my intro bag for ‘big girls,’ I had been assigned to the older of the three levels assigned to us Littles. Currently, I was the only one up here in the oldest of the rooms, but I was assured by Mrs. Tatum, the supervisor foster mom here, that it wouldn’t stay that way forever. That was two weeks ago, and I quickly realized that being untouched or at least considered a ‘big girl’ around here was pretty rare. Most who came were assigned to one of the lower rooms. It was lonely existence most days, but fortunately, I just busied myself in reading. Mrs. Tatum had a wonderful library, and though most seemed to cater toward the belittlement of Littles in some form or fashion, they still provided me with a way of passing the time. I had already breezed through about six of them, and it would have been more if not for a certain task I was asked to provide, even right now by a few of the other Littles here. See, Mrs. Tatum was only one woman. While her daughter helped during some afternoons, nights, and at least part of the weekend, the other times she had to rely on government-provided volunteers. Seeing I was a teacher and avid reader though, I was gingerly asked if I could provide story time to the other Littles here to give the Bigs at least some free time. Feeling an underlying tension and authority just swell around the kindly but intimidating Big, I accepted my new role. “Miss Emily! Miss Emily!” Taylor, one of the mildly regressed Littles shouted as he pulled on the hem of my dress to get my attention as I had previously buried my head in a book. I gently flopped the book to my chest and peered over at the early 20-something Little now before me. His midsection bulged in a way that could only mean one thing and he was constantly sucking on his fingers when not yelling, laughing, or getting my attention, but he was still okay by me. “Yes, Taylor?” I asked, almost having to distance myself with the other Littles and treat them like the toddlers or babies they often acted like. “Wead to us?” he begged, his eyes bulging practically with tears. He had gotten good at trying to convince me to play with him and his friends, or like now, read to them. Very good. I rolled my eyes and groaned a little bit, having just stopped in the middle of the climax of my own story, but I knew the concept of waiting wasn’t big on most of the Littles here, so I sighed and set my book down. “Okay, but just one for now though, okay? I know it’s nearly naptime and Mrs. Tatum wants you all to get at least one nap in this afternoon.” “Awww!” he said in frustration, going as far as to even smack his foot on the ground. I then stood up and while we almost stood eye to eye, something about the loss of height for some Littles coming through the portal still and his mentality, I could feel him shrink under my watch. It was disheartening to see the former marketing major college student behave in such a way, but after one Big commented on how cute it was that I was playing with the babies one day, I felt the more separation between us, the better off I would be at least. “You know the rules, Taylor. I don’t make them, but just try and be good for me. Can you be a big boy and do that for me?” I then played along with his little game of conspiracies of Bigs everywhere and looked around to see if anyone was listening in before I then leaned over to him and whispered. “I even heard there might be a treat for some of you all if you were behaved today…” His facial features immediately became shocked, and his body went rigid like he was some soldier on parade. I half expected him to salute me right then. “Oh! I’ll be good! I’ll be good! I pwomise!” With that, he then speedily took off back to his level’s playroom, where I knew the rest would be waiting as well. I of course was stretching the truth a tad, just to keep him and the others in line, but given Mrs. Tatum and the way she cared about those under her watch, I highly doubted that there wouldn’t be a treat of some kind tonight. Taylor and the others didn’t need to know that it really wasn’t contingent on their behavior for me during story time. It could’ve been bad if they ever caught on, but for a few moments each time I reminded them, I knew each of the Littles I was about to confront during story time would be on their best behavior, just like always. So, I sighed and went downstairs to the toddler level room. Mrs. Tatum had converted it and the other floors for us Littles into three parts. They were comprised of a single large room and bathroom beyond the hallway outside of them that contained the staircase between levels. This way, the door could be closed to each room easily to allow for naptimes but still have a wide-open space inside for playtime or sleeping when the time was right. Now, when I walked in, each of the Littles were messing around with their own toys, playing make believe, or coloring. As soon as I stepped beyond the threshold though, the six Littles in the room immediately swarmed me. “Woah! Easy there, you all!” I panicked slightly as each tried to climb up on me as if they were really children and I was the adult in this society they thought I was, rather than just everyone here being an adult. Still, despite my outfit and the bruises I was sure to get by tonight, it was nice that I was able to feel mature for one single moment around here. When a Little nearly headbutted me though, I had to put my foot down. “Floor now, or no desert tonight!” A series of gasps flooded the room and every Little hit the floor as if someone had just announced there was an incoming mortar strike. One of the Littles, Justin, quickly looked up at me with wide eyes. “Pwease, Miss Em. We be good. Wight?” he asked as he turned around and asked his fellow Littles. Most nodded right away. Satisfied, he turned back to me and gave me the biggest pleading face I had seen yet here. “Pwease still wead to us?” I chuckled a little at the sight before me. “Oh, alright. I can’t say no to that face, but I need everyone to be on their best behavior, okay?” Each of the Littles before me nodded once again and I took my seat over on the rocking chair in the corner of the room by the shelf of books. Of course, the wood and blue chair showed me just how I small I really was in this world, but only people like me or the Bigs here could sit in it. So, to most everyone else here, it was practically my throne and I smiled as my subjects gathered before me. “Okay… which book did you all want to listen to today?” Each Little started sputtering several titles all at once to me, but I looked over the room and when I saw that Izzy was raising her hand, I raised my hand to quiet the room and then chose her. “Me?” she asked nervously. I nodded. “Yes, Izzy. I chose you today. What do you want me to read aloud today, huh?” The Little scanned the books still not picked off up the floor and then to the ones on the bookshelf. I could see she was struggling to see, or maybe even to read them, and I almost offered to help her out, knowing full well that many Littles sadly lost their ability to read, but she then piped back up. “Uh, can you read If You Give an Alces a Koulouri?” I smiled and nodded. It was quickly becoming one of my favorites to read aloud, as not only was it silly and therefore entertaining to the Littles before me, but because it largely dealt with animals, it was one of the few that didn’t put us Littles down or just outright praise the Bigs. So, smiling, I picked up the book from nearby and opened it to the first page. “Can everyone see?” I saw every Little enthusiastically nod their heads. “Okay…” I then looked to the first page and began. “If you give an alces a koulouri…” I lingered on the page for a moment so everyone could see the moose-like creature on the first page, but using my experience in reading to kids, which is practically most of them were mentally, I then flipped to the next page. “Then he’ll want some cream cheese to go along with it.” A few of the Littles giggled at the humorous imagery and I continued on, knowing that I had them hooked now. Several pages later, filled with the alces ending up with a bunch of koulouris on their wide antlers, and then one more book after that by popular demand, I could see that many of the Littles were already starting to nod off. I still finished the last book, but as soon as I closed the page, I saw a smiling Mrs. Tatum standing nearby. “Thank you, Emily. I think you might just have the magic touch.” I blushed a little at the praise, but I was just glad it was something positive said about me. “Maybe, but I think everyone was tired from the outing in the park earlier today. That really seems to do the trick.” Mrs. Tatum smiled and entered the room fully while two of her volunteers came in behind her. One was a Middle and the other was a Big. I got the distinct opinion that both minded my presence here, but both also took advantage of their time off when I read any of the stories aloud and distracted my fellow Littles. Sensing that it was now naptime, I soon exited the room. Before I did though, Mrs. Tatum gently and briefly paused me. “Are you sure I can’t interest you in a nap as well? Might feel nice.” I hated her persistent question, despite the fact that I was a little tired. The problem was though, I knew it was a loaded question. While I waited for a new passport or for the local government to determine what should be done with me, I had to wait here under the watchful eye of Mrs. Tatum. She was a lovely woman, but she was still a Big and given what I had already experienced, I felt that my maturity was already on the line in this house. My training panties were evidence enough of that. So, I quickly shook my head. “No, thank you though. I might rest a bit upstairs or just get a little more reading in.” Mrs. Tatum nodded but one of the other volunteers briefly scoffed. I ignored it and Mrs. Tatum probably just chalked it up to her now having to deal with a dirty diaper. It was just life around here and I quickly retreated to my room upstairs before any further incident could occur. A few hours later, I found out that Mrs. Tatum had to leave for some errands in town. It wasn’t far, and I could even see it sparkling in the sun from my large bedroom window, but I knew her errand fell right in the middle of dinner time. Now, I’m not picky necessarily and spice is pretty alright with me for most dishes, but mealtimes had become a bit of a bane of my existence here. Beyond the food even, Mrs. Tatum allowed me to eat with the adults at a later time, but when she was gone, her persistent and strict volunteer, Kathy, did not. “I don’t care what Mrs. Tatum allows you to do, Emma. I’m in charge when she’s gone. Not you,” she commanded down to me while in the kitchen. “You will eat with the other Littles and those of us who are actually adults.” “It’s Emily…” I reminded her for at least the third time today. “Come on… just let me please show you that I can at least…” “I said no!” Kathy practically spat back at me. “Do I need to remind you of your official place here? Despite what you do at reading time and what Mrs. Tatum lets you get away with, you’re still a Little. And don’t you go off and forget that. I promise you don’t want me to remind you.” Her words were cold and the only feeling I even remotely felt with her was dominance and ego. I knew my added presence here was a rub on her position as she used to read stories to the Littles herself before I came along. Mrs. Tatum couldn’t decide between us unfortunately, so we left it up to the Littles instead. It was a blind vote and only Mrs. Tatum and the Littles knew the exact final tally, but in the end, Kathy was no longer in charge of story time. Sulking a little, I cherished the fact that I at least was allowed to eat in a relatively normal booster seat at the table rather than the highchairs the other Littles had to endure themselves. Still, my demotion under her watch was a blow to my ego that was hard to swallow. Further, that evil wretch also ensured she gave me Big food to eat after I first asked for something more mature than the smiley potatoes or dino nuggets I had first been served here. It wasn’t always a problem, but for whatever reason, I guess most Bigs had a different palate than ours and most of their food was horribly spicy. I had learned how to cool it down or mellow out the flavor, but I’ll just leave it that the first time I experienced the new food, fire had practically erupted in my bathroom later that night. Regardless though, I got through another meal and was only able to get through another chapter before Mrs. Tatum popped her head in my cracked door, one of the rules being that I was never allowed to shut it. “Time for bed, Emily. Start getting ready and I’ll check on you in a bit. No dilly dallying,” I nodded and sighed as I started getting ready for bed as she had noted. I had fought with her at first with my bedtime being so early, but without a nap during the day and the fact that I had to expel twice the energy the Bigs did just to keep up with them, meant that I soon didn’t mind it and was even grateful for the fact that it was later than all the other Littles here. What I did mind though, was all the checking Mrs. Tatum would do before she let me go to bed. I know she was just doing her job, but as I was the only one in the big room up here, I think she lavished more attention on me than some of the other Littles. So, even as I finished everything, she would still come in and start going through her list. “Wash your face? Jammies? Brush your teeth? Go potty?” I would nod in the affirmative to each of her questions, and I knew I wasn’t upsetting her at least, but the routine was starting to get a little tedious, particularly the annoyingly persistent potty question. Once she was satisfied with all my answers though, she wished me a goodnight and began to leave the room, but something had been bugging me though and I quickly spoke up. “Is it always going to be like this?” Mrs. Tatum froze in the doorway before sighing and returning over to me. I could see she wanted to give me hope, but I could also see the hard reality of this world was jutting in as well. “I don’t think so, honey… I wish I really could give you a better answer than that, Emily, but it’s just so hard to say these days. You never know what’s going to happen next with all you Littles.” She sighed again. “I will say this though… if I can, I’ll try to keep you safe as best I can until you leave this place.” It wasn’t much, but it was that tiny sliver of hope I had been searching for to hear from her tonight. Kathy was getting to be a big problem and I worried about her doing something rash with me every day that she volunteered here and was solely in charge. “Thank you,” was about all I could say, and Mrs. Tatum just nodded and left my room before flicking off the lights. The next two days proved very much the same, but come Tuesday, Mrs. Tatum announced that she had to leave up north to new Columbia to visit her sick sister. She promised she would be back by Saturday night at the latest, but unfortunately, her absence only meant one thing to me: Kathy was now in charge. I quickly felt nauseous. At first, I think the two of us just honestly avoided each other as much as possible, but later that night, I could see the power in her head had been building and selected dinnertime to unleash her wrath on me. I didn’t even question my eating with the rest of the toddler level Littles as I had before, and I was expecting my usual meal of spicy Big food. With how I prepared it now, it was almost bordering on pleasant, but Kathy had other ideas. “Alright everyone, dig in!” she cheerfully chimed from the kitchen as she and the other volunteers then walked in and placed our plates of food in front of us. It didn’t take a genius to see what was wrong with my plate tonight. “Wook at that! Miss Em’s eatin’ the same thing we are!” Taylor noted to the rest of the table. I could feel the hot blush envelop my cheeks as I looked down and saw the vegetables, fruit, and of course, dino shaped nuggets. “Uh, what’s this?” “It’s Littles food, silly. You eat it,” Kathy almost seemed to joke. The other volunteers snickered in the corner as they left to finish preparing their own meal for later. I grimaced and looked down at my plate again. Admittedly, the fruit, vegetables, and even the small pond of ketchup-like substance in the corner of the plate were all fine. The nuggets though… having helped in meal prep for the Littles before, I knew the dirty secret that they were actually the cauliflower kind, but I also concernedly knew that they contained a mild laxative and some potent fiber. For unpotty-trained Littles, it just meant they didn’t get backed up. For me though… “Please, Kathy…” “Uh oh,” she mocked in her sing-song voice she mainly used on the other Littles. To them, it was almost playful, but to me, it was just meant as an insult. “Looks like someone doesn’t want to eat their veggies.” Several of the Littles gasped and I knew I had to handle this carefully. I couldn’t just outright say the reason I didn’t want to eat the nuggets but eating them was a whole other problem as well. “Kathy… I…” “Oh no. We have a picky eater. Let’s start the countdown everyone!” Most of the Littles nodded and I could feel my position weaken amongst them. Before, I was their superior, but now, I was being treated just like any other fussy Little. “One!” they began. I tried to utter out an excuse, but everyone followed Kathy’s lead and they jumped to “two!” before I could. “Kathy… please!” I tried begging again. “I can eat the veggies, but…” “Three!” everyone shouted. There were no halves, quarters, or even eights or thirds getting to three. It was just plain old successive ‘three.’ The word resounded in the dining room and every Little immediately looked at me and then up at Kathy. “Tsk, tsk…” Kathy chided as she shook her head in disappointment. “I guess someone needs a little trip over to the timeout stool…” Every Little here knew about the stool and had experienced it for themselves in the living room at one point or another. It was in the front of the house and prominently situated underneath the naughty chart there to show any visitor or the family when watching TV that the Little seated there had messed up. I had sat there only twice by now, both when I first got here, and my negative behavior was marked by the corresponding two stars. Now, I would be getting a third. And so, it went. Kathy marched me over from the table to the stool and made me sit there for thirty minutes to think about my naughty behavior. In retrospect, I suppose the lesson was for me to learn that I was just like any other Little under Big rules, but I only sat there that night and fumed. In the end, as usual, I still had to eat my dinner, and before I went to bed that night, I could already feel the effects when I went potty as part of my still-present night routine. The next day, once again, I just tried to avoid Kathy, but I was just interminably grateful that I was alone and practically had the bathroom on my floor to myself. Some Littles from downstairs would use it if they could, or one of the volunteers would use it if the one made for them up or downstairs was full, but today, I occupied it the most often. I didn’t have any accidents, but my bowels were wrecked from just the six nuggets I had eaten forcibly last night. For her part, Kathy just despicably grinned at me the whole day. Unfortunately, her toying with me didn’t end there. By Thursday though, I think my resignation and focus on only my bowel issues on Wednesday had left her wanting something more from me. So, my day began with my shower, but when I returned, another volunteer was there. “Look,” Tawnya began, her face looking like she wanted to be anywhere else but there right then. “Kathy scares me as well, and so when she asks me to do something, I do it.” Her eyes then darted over to an outfit on my bed. “I’m sorry…” My eyes widened as I more closely examined the outfit she was pointing to. At first, I thought the checkered seafoam green dress was just like any of the others I had worn here. It had a bow and was shorter than most of the others, but it wasn’t too terrible. Then I saw that I was only going to be able to wear the dress… without any tights on underneath it. “I can’t wear that!” Tawnya sighed. “Please, Emily? Please can you just wear it today? I have a job to do, and Kathy selected that outfit for you specifically. Training panties as well…” My eyes raced back over and saw the thick panties colored in a similar seafoam green with a large whale printed across the butt. My heart raced and I felt that I was eternally doomed if Kathy was to stay here and rule over me, but I resolved it within myself that Mrs. Tatum was really the one in charge. I only had a few days to go, so to keep the peace and for the sake of Tawnya, I just nodded my head. She smiled back at me and helped me get dressed in the new outfit, yet another requirement that Kathy had insisted on lately. I would have protested as well, but I just had to put it out of my mind that I was standing in front of this Big in the nude. I wanted to punch Kathy so hard right then, but I knew grumbling wouldn’t do me any good, so I just braced against Tawnya’s shoulder as she ruffled the panties up my legs when I stepped into them. Finally, the process was done, and I subjected myself to another breakfast with the other Littles, which was followed by another trip to the park. The place was wide, free, and Little friendly, so Mrs. Tatum often took us here to expel our energies. I resigned myself to just reading today, trying to keep my dress as low as I could so I wouldn’t accidentally show off my training panties to just any stranger walking by. It didn’t help that there was also a breeze, and once again, I could see Kathy’s wicked grin every once in a while, when I would glance over at her. Still, we all got back to the foster home in one piece and just in time for lunch. My crust was cut off, my plate was in the shape of a rhino, and my utensils were all plastic, but it was still a good meal. Unfortunately, I also felt a need to pee right then. So, without thinking, I just got up from the table, remembering rule three of the guide for Littles I had read before coming here: if you feel the need to go and there is a bathroom nearby, use it immediately. “And where do you think you’re going?” Kathy sternly asked, looking in from the kitchen. I froze and answered back as politely as I could. “Just to the bathroom…” “You have to ask before you can go potty, Emma…” she shot back with a glare right in my direction. I practically had to stick my fingers in my eyes to keep them from rolling over that statement, but I nodded instead and kept calm. “I’m sorry. May I use the restroom?” I asked, making sure I used the proper question. ‘Can I use the restroom’ was almost universally known as the death knell for any Little as it always raised a legitimate concern with Bigs about Littles; could the Little in question actually go potty? The English teach in me would have been mortified if I tripped up on that sort of trap around here. Regardless, though, Kathy smiled. “Of course you can, honey.” I nodded and ran upstairs. Unfortunately, someone had left their toys on the second floor by the younger Littles room. The Littles in there rarely left their room and were attended to by two separate near-constantly watching volunteers. The house only had two Littles that mental age now and both were practically newborns, having been found in some kind of back alley testing facility. Even then though, it just made Bigs seem to desire them more and there was already a couple willing to take both home by next Tuesday. Regardless, the plastic train stubbed my toe, and I willed everything in my being not to curse out loud right then. I was successful though, and I continued up to my floor. Just my luck though, I had caused a commotion, and it didn’t take long for Kathy to quickly follow behind me up the stairs. “Everything okay?” I nodded and just hoped she would go away. She didn’t. “You have to be more careful on the stairs, Emma. Maybe you just need a little extra help today. Let me go with you.” Before I had a chance to respond, Kathy took my hand and led me up the stairs, her grip near vice-like. Panicking, as we rounded the corner, I took the opportunity of our weaker connection, and I wrenched my arms from hers. “Get off me! I don’t need your help!” Kathy frowned immediately. “Don’t you take that tone with me, missy!” I just walked away, trying to avoid conflict, and still having to pee. I had miscalculated though, and it had the opposite effect. “And where do you think you’re going?” Kathy asked, her hands now situated on both hips and her breathing turning almost into a snarl of sorts. “You apologize to me right now!” At the single moment, I realized I had two options. First, I could apologize, humiliate myself and possibly even show Kathy that I needed her help… at least in her mind. Second, though, I could refuse, and she could get angry and likely punish me further. Seeing as she was already angry though, and the first could just lead to more problems in my future, I shook my head. “No!” As if the hallways had suddenly turned into an echo chamber, my voice seemingly bounced off the walls and appeared to almost shake Kathy right where she stood. For a moment, I thought she might even back down, but sticking to character, she didn’t. “No? What do you mean ‘no?’” Her tone quickly became darker, and her hulking presence inched closer to me as she looked down on me in fury. “You don’t say no to me! You got that? I am a Big here and you are a Little! I don’t care who you used to be or that you’re trying to go back home. You’re in our world now and you’re nothing but a Little. You’re either going to learn your place or you’ll be sorry.” With that finally spat, she yanked my hand and dragged me up the final leg of stairs to my floor. I quickly wondered if I had made the right call in defying her, but something was telling me that I hadn’t. Kathy then quickly stopped in front of the bathroom and my heart dropped. “Decision time. Either be the Little you are or face the consequences. There is no third option.” I looked in the bathroom and saw there was now a child’s potty sitting on the ground next to the smaller toilet, horrifyingly now locked with a heavy-duty mechanism arcing over the top. Even if I said no, I would still need help to get it off or instead just use the little purple potty now in there. At that moment though, I also realized that Kathy was insisting she go in with me while I did my business. Since I was given the training panties on day one here, it was a thought that had utterly terrified me of being watched like a little kid fresh off potty training. It seemed according to Kathy, today was going to be the day that I would cross that line in my potty habits, and I wasn’t sure if it was a line that could ever be recrossed or undone. Now, admittedly, I know a lot of people probably would have just given in, just like I knew before as well that they wouldn’t have turned right at the statue down the alleyway. I know those things and that I’m not perfect either. I was a fully independent and successful teacher back on Earth… no executive I will admit, but one just doesn’t turn off being an adult in these types of situations. I challenge anyone else not to put up a little fight or struggle to maintain their independence at least a little bit in situations like these. So, despite hating myself as soon as I did it, I shook my head. Sadly, it turned out it was the last straw for Kathy. Anger flashed across her face. Her movements were swift and deliberate as she grabbed my wrist once more and dragged me into my room. The basic décor stood in stark contrast to the other more fun and cutesy rooms of the house, but I had always appreciated that. Now, the starkness just gave me less to focus on as Kathy glared down at me. “Don’t you move one muscle.” Her voice was calculating, and I could almost feel myself wince as she then left and went over to a door on one end of the room. It had been locked the whole time I had been there and had just assumed it was another closet in here next to mine. It wasn’t. “Hmmm…” Kathy mused as the door finally opened, “which one today?” I tried to get a better look, but her large Big-sized body just blocked nearly every inch of the narrow opening. “Aha! Perfect!” She retrieved something and quickly closed the door back up before walking back over to me. I tried to make out what was now in her hand, but when I did, I wished I hadn’t. There, all bright red and shiny even, was a long spanking paddle. Holes filled the end that was a little over the length of her hand, making the whole thing just a shade under three feet in total. I gulped as she strutted back over to me with it swaying ominously from her hand. She sat down, smiled sadistically at me, and then patted her lap. “Come, Emily. It’s time you get acquainted with another punishment that most Littles experience at least once. Something’s telling me you’ll be fast friends with it quite soon though.” I eyed the spanking implement balanced gracefully in her hand and my knees seemed to turn into jelly. I wanted to move, but I was finding it hard to take a step further. “I meant now! Don’t make me come over there!” she thundered at my slow movements. Despite nearly collapsing at each step, my fear of her only making things worse for me was a powerful motivating factor. “Turn around,” she then commanded me. I nodded and turned, and to my horror, I could feel her giant hand snatch the back of my training panties and drop them to my ankles. My face flushed with embarrassment, but I didn’t have long to feel it. “Over my lap… now!” I hopped right to it and eased myself over her lap. Her things provided ample room for me to lay down on, but I could still feel the heat rise in my cheeks and my whole body become very uncomfortable as she lifted my short skirt up towards my back. I couldn’t see it, but I knew she now had a perfect target across my vulnerable behind in order for her to ‘teach me a lesson.’ “It didn’t need to be this way, Emma…” Kathy started, almost seeming disappointed in me. “Now, as this is your first spanking here, I will go easy on you. I think just 15 smacks in a row should do.” I could almost feel myself shaking in fear as she began to rub my butt all around. I think it was to prepare my skin or something like that, but it just gave me more time to contemplate my ultimate doom. Under this roof, I felt I was already losing so much of who I was. I had only been here now for a little over two weeks, and there were some rumors that a new passport lately could take three months to be renewed. It didn’t bode well for me at all. “Okay, ready?” she asked in a surprisingly mellow voice. I wasn’t sure why the change was present, but my best guess was that now was business more than her pleasure. Before, intimidation was critical, but now, a lesson being learned seemed more important to her. Regardless, I just nodded my head and braced for impact. “One!” she called out. The first spank hit me like a linebacker and sounded like a thunderclap. I bit my lips to keep from yelling out, but by the sixth, I just couldn’t help it anymore. Fire began to scorch every inch of my posterior and I tried to keep my squirming down, but after each of the thousands of needle-like blows hit me, my who body would go rigid, and I would involuntarily struggle to be free. Still, Kathy was relentless in her punishment of me. AS if she was painting a canvas, soon, there was not a single spot that didn’t ache or scream in pain. I was quickly reduced to a puddle of tears, and my only relief came when Kathy finally reached the magic number, 15. She rubbed my butt for a little longer and even applied some lotion to it. It stung something awful at first, but after a few moments, I felt eh sweet relief of pain, even if it was just for a single moment. Seeming satisfied now, she then carefully helped me stand up again. “Now, are you going to be a good girl for me and listen?” I wanted so badly to tell her no or to screw herself, but my butt just throbbed and ached for me to say otherwise. Not being able to form the words though, I just nodded. It seemed like it was enough and Kathy just smiled and led me to the bathroom, where, under her supervision, I finally relieved myself. “Good girl!” she praised. My cheeks flushed again, but once more, my butt just screamed out to me more than anything else. Still, Kathy seemed happy for once and led me back to my room and turned out the lights so I could have ‘a little alone time.’ I cried myself to sleep and just hoped something would change. Nothing did, but I was about the most compliant Little ever, so even into Friday, all seemed okay between Kathy and I now. By the end of the day though, I could tell she was itching to reassert her authority over me, whether I warranted it or not. So, after dinner, I retreated upstairs with the other Littles. “Oh, Emma?” I turned around and faced my tormentor and many of the other Littles did as well. “I think you’ve had a long week and with tomorrow being Saturday and all, I think you should have an earlier bedtime tonight. How about you have the same as the rest of the toddler Littles, huh?” Despite my bruised posterior, I could feel the anger swelling up inside of me. I wanted to be compliant to at least avoid being punished, but this time, I hadn’t done anything wrong and yet I was still being degraded like all the others. It was too much right in that moment, and I stepped forward… but I felt a hand quickly stop me going further from behind me. I looked back and another Little, Lilly, gravely shook her head. I could tell she was scared for me right away and not wanting to upset her while also seeing the wisdom of her restraint, I nodded. So, I then looked back up at Kathy and summoned just about all the will I could muster to smile politely back at her. “That sounds like a… good idea. Best to be awake tomorrow…” Kathy sickeningly smiled back at me, and I just took it in and retreated back upstairs with the rest of my kind. Lilly soon confronted me as we ascended the stairs. “You getting’ in trouble is jus’ bad, Miss Em.” I nodded in resignation. “I know Lilly. I just… it’s hard, you know?” I could tell she wasn’t completely sure if she did know, but from what I had gathered since, everyone knew about my punishment yesterday and everyone here had received it at one point in their stay here. Despite my lack of information, I knew that if nothing else, though, she was trying to help me out and prevent what had already happened to me from getting worse. “Yeah,” she said a little hesitant. “Just be careful. Dis area’s dangerous for dose who don’ follow da rules, in here or out dere…” I acknowledged what she told me, but it was just a concept that didn’t seem to want to stick in my head. I of course would try and avoid being punished, but there was just a sense of being an adult that I couldn’t shake. Regardless though, I just settled down for the night an hour early and hoped that tomorrow would bring me just that. Now, Saturday is family day around here. Of course, we Littles don’t have family here in this dimension most likely, but it was a day set aside during the week that we all looked forward to for one reason or another. See, it was where prospective caregivers would come and meet with, or even rent out, one of us for the day. The hope was to build a bond between us and them that could ensure a proper fit and later smooth transition if they decided to begin the adoption process. Unfortunately, being the mental age I was, my prospects were usually fairly slim, so my potential escape plan from Kathy later would always come up short. Further, once any Big beyond that hurdle found out I was applying for another passport as well, Mrs. Tatum had informed me that it was practically the final nail in my coffin against me for most. So, as a result, I had spent the past two Saturdays with Nancy, and I didn’t mind one bit. Of course, Nancy would still come around during the week when she could, but her job as a high-level executive at one of the local bigwig companies this week meant that today was the first time I had seen her in a week. From the other times she had come here, she knew about my various struggles, but after this last week with Kathy, I now had a whole new set of problems. “So, she even spanked me on Thursday and sent me to bed early yesterday,” I explained to Nancy once we exchanged our usual pleasantries and she apologized for not making it here sooner. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Emily,” she said was a sad face. Her eyes then scanned over me and I could see her eyebrows raise just a bit. “I see she’s also selecting some… different outfits for you lately?” I looked own at my outfit, this one only composed of tight dark pants and a shirt that spouted the phrase, ‘#1 Princess.’ It was a bit mortifying, especially considering my training panties puffed out against the dark fabric. “You could say that…” We talked for a little while longer, even going so far as to walk around outside as we did so. Kathy almost denied us leaving the foster home, but Nancy got her way in the end after some selective and strong words. Oddly, that type of force against my latest foe had made me see her differently after that. Nancy was a Big, so I wasn’t naive and a little nervous about that, but I would have been blind to say that she wasn’t at least a bit protective of me. It wasn’t much, but at the same time, something was telling me that this week with Kathy, now that it had happened, wouldn’t be the last. If I stayed here, I wasn’t confident that I would be making it back home as the same woman I had left Earth as. So, a new thought popped into my head. It was so simple, and a huge risk on my part, but faced with my current options, it at least seemed the safest path away from Kathy. Mulling it over a bit more, once we passed the swing set that I had come to know so well over the past weeks, I told Nancy my proposal. For her part, Nancy just listened and to my relief, actually seemed to give it some legitimate thought. Still, I could see her hesitancy as well. “I don’t know, Emily… me taking you in from this place? It’s a lot to ask…” I nodded my head. “I know Nancy, but I don’t think I’m going to make it here. Mrs. Tatum and the other Littles are great, but Kathy… I’m just not sure how long I can stay as who I am if she’s treating me like the helpless Little I think she wants me to be. I just feel that something is going to happen and it’s going to cause me a lot of issues down the road. Does that make sense?” Nancy nodded and we then walked another block as our conversation switched around a little. Finally, as we came to a large tree just off the path, she looked back at me. “Okay… I’ll do it, but you need to know, because of your situation and all and my job… there’s going to be some stipulations…” My mind raced with the possibilities, but at least she had said yes. I was so desperate to get away from Kathy and her schemes, that if Nancy asked me to do her laundry every day as that stipulation, I think I would have agreed to it in a heartbeat without much thought. Still, a little voice in the back of my head wanted to know more. “What sort of stipulations exactly?” Nancy smiled. “Nothing hugely impactful, but because of LPS and all, we need to keep up a front for them. At home, you could be free and go to bed at midnight for all I care, but if they ever came over, I would need you to act like the best Little in the world. The slightest hesitation or bad behavior, in their minds at least, and the jig would be up.” She paused for a moment and scratched the back of her head. I braced for what was coming next. “Also… I have a job and I can’t leave you at home by yourself… that would only lead to many things only being worse… for both of us actually.” I didn’t like where this was headed, but I was weighing any options she told to me against what Kathy wanted now and likely in the future. As long as it wasn’t diapers, I felt confident that I would say yes to almost anything. “Go on…” Nancy sighed. “Well, for Littles, there aren’t too many options for during the day, but I think I saw an ad the other day for… to be honest, a daycare.” I think she was waiting for me to bolt, but I just stood my ground. “Yeah… I know it’s probably not ideal, but this place specializes in curated times to occupy your day based on your mentality. It’s got multiple levels for dealing with Littles and is some of the most top tier care in the city. We can always find something else, but what do you think?” Her stipulations weren’t diapers and before, I knew that was about my only caveat in whatever they turned out to be. I had so many other questions, but for now, on the surface level at least, Nancy had presented a way forward to me that just might work. Daycare admittedly, but it was something that seemed better than what fate awaited me with Kathy if I stayed in Mrs. Tatum’s foster home. So, with a sigh, I nodded. “I’m in.” Nancy smiled and we both began walking back to the house to start filling out the paperwork. I would still have another few days at the bare minimum for the paperwork to go through and for Nancy’s house to be inspected by LPS first, but I knew I was taking a big leap into my future. Nancy seemed much better than Kathy though, so I just crossed my fingers and hoped everything would be fine for a few months until I could get my passport back.

Interesting direction to take this story! I knew she was going to get in trouble with Abby, but I never think she would go this far!

oh wow this turned out to be quite unexpected and has gotten my attention! waiting for more as always!

@Apache Raccoon darn you got me and it’s April 3rd as I write this. Lol

Chapter 8 We lay quietly for a little while before Simon whispered in my ear “would my baby girl like a nappy change before bedtime?” “Yes Daddy, my nappy is very full!” “Okay baby, let’s get you cleaned up.” As before he tackled the cleanup with practised expertise. This time, however, the nappy was an incredible mess. I stank and was covered in poop. He soon had me clean again. “Would you like to take a shower, Baby?” “Yes please Daddy!” I replied. He left me to take a shower. It gave me a few minutes to think about the course of events. It had been quite a day, strangely a lot of fun and my bank account was certainly going to feel the benefit. I was on the clock until the morning, though, and I wondered what else was in store. Returning into the bedroom I saw a nappy was ready for me on the bed. My dummy was placed in my mouth and I was guided onto the bed where the new, thick, babyish nappy was placed under my bum. Simon powdered me, rubbing the baby powder gently around my vagina and backside, spending a little bit of extra time on my clit. “That’s so nice Daddy!” I said. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it, little girl.” He put me in a clean nappy and stood back to examine his handiwork. “You’re a very beautiful little girl, Louise” “Thank you Daddy” “Are you free tomorrow? I’d like to book you for another 24 hours.” I hadn’t got any bookings and was planning a day off, but the money was too good resist and I was a little curious as to how this was going to pan out. “That would be lovely Daddy.” “A couple of things though. Firstly, I want you to be completely dependent on your nappies, so I have some caster oil I’d like you to take. I’m going to suggest a little bonus of £500 on top of your agreed rates. I thought about it for a second. I’d spent the evening in dirty nappies with little control and couldn’t see how this could be any worse. “Okay Daddy” “Secondly I want you to meet a friend of mine - a lady. She’s very nice and she’ll be your mummy while we’re with her. Is that okay?” “Yes Daddy, but I charge additional fees for couples and groups.” “That’s perfectly okay Baby. I’ll give you the cash now and then we’re all sorted for the moment.” He went to the safe and took out a fairly substantial wad of cash. He counted out the agreed amount and handed it over. It was something like four times as much as I’d ever made from a single encounter. “Thank you Daddy!!” While I was putting the cash in my purse, Simon was making up a bottle. “Here you go baby. I’ve mixed the caster oil with orange juice to make it a little more palatable.” He pulled me to him on the bed and placed the nipple of the bottle into my mouth. I dutifully suckled. It wasn’t very pleasant, but it the 500 quid made it slip down all the better! As I finished my bottle Simon reminded me that any toilet needs overnight were to be left in the nappy - not in the toilet. He left a bottle of baby milk on my bedside table, kissed me and then held me as I drifted off to sleep.

Hey everyone! This is now the second to last chapter. Originally, I was going to add Emma’s perspective right after this before the very last chapter, but as I mentioned previously, all that will now become a separate story. Further, I’ve already written most of the last chapter, so finishing it should be pretty straightforward. I will still need to edit it, but unless something massively problematic or time-consuming comes up tomorrow, the final chapter should be out by tomorrow some time. Lastly, for those of you reading this one, I’m still trying to determine my next story, so be sure to let me know what you want of the three stories I placed on here to decide from. For those of you who may have missed these options or whatnot, just refer back to chapter 4. As this will be announced during the next chapter, this is your last chance to make a comment. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this next to last chapter! Chapter 14: Judgement of the Futures What a week’s time difference makes in one’s life. I know it’s less than 2% of a year, but at the same time, I couldn’t even begin to fathom all the changes that had happened since the staff here first administered their pulses to Emma to calm her down. Emma’s recovery was slow and painful, and every toy, worker, and volunteer just wanted to wrap her up and make her feel better. Fortunately, though, Miss Dee-Dee had been using the diluted Tabers milk with Emma and she had finally weaned her off it two days ago. It took until last night for Emma to finally come out of the fog, and though her potty control was practically non-existent still, she was no longer the same perpetually distraught Little who had heard the news about Nancy leaving her. Next, the daycare went on a field trip yesterday, and oddly enough, she seemed to improve dramatically over the course of that one outing. I wasn’t really sure what to make of it, but I was just happy now that she was recovering from her ordeal. I knew she was still sad, and the deep-laced trauma that Nancy had caused would take time to truly recover from, if at all, but Emma was at least no longer feeling the connection between Nancy’s absence and her thinking of herself as being a ‘bad’ girl. Speaking of bad girls, while Emma had still mostly been her daze, I was able to listen around the daycare and found out that Nancy had already been scheduled for an expedient trial. Rumors swirled around that some wanted to make an example of her, while others persisted that the pro-Big movement was going to bat for her amidst charges of bribery and corruption to do so. Inside the daycare, it was hard to know which to believe, but as the week had progressed, I just felt further confident that she would no longer threaten Emma’s well-being. The more time she spent away from Emma by now, the better. So, with things clearing up around Emma and her acceptance of going up for adoption and now at least the concept not causing her to burst into tears every five minutes, the staff had discussed it two nights ago on whether she was ready or not. I guess they believed she was as Mrs. Gillies broke the news yesterday, seeing how Emma seemed more ready than ever, that she would begin the adoption interviews tomorrow morning. Emma only calmly nodded, but now, it was my turn to panic. As such, this morning, I went to stretch my legs before Emma woke up and to clear my mind in preparation for the big day. As it turned out, Nadia was doing the same, being leader of us toys and all, and quickly joined me. We talked about daycare in general and my potential future, but finally, she asked the question I had been dreading myself. “You think you’re ready for today?” I sighed. “To be honest, I’m just not sure. I feel that so much is riding on today. Unless I’m mistaken, I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that it could change everything.” Nadia nodded. “I hate to tell you this Dash, but of course it will change everything.” If I had blood, it would have frozen right then at her confirmation of my worst fears. Nadia smiled, clearly seeing my discomfort. “Relax, Dash. You’ll be okay. I’ve seen this before with other Littles and you have a leg up on almost every single one of them.” “I do?” I could feel a sliver of hope rising in my chest. “You do. Of course you do. Just think about the other Littles that have been adopted here since you came.” I pondered them all for a moment, but the odds felt heavily stacked against Littles from my point of view. “Not too pretty, right?” I nodded. “Yeah, Nadia, and that’s exactly why I’m nervous. I mean, Zack went off to a good place apparently, but Fiona? For all I know, she’s either close to braindead by now or growing a third arm from all the chemicals they’ve probably tested on her. And then Tyler…” I trailed off and thought of the most recent adoption case here. Tyler had recovered more than most could have ever guessed, but reflecting back now, I felt that he was likely just being prepped for his new caregiver. His new daddy had come in all joyous and strong and the two seemed to hit it off right away. I was glad that Tyler’s toddler to preschool level mentality would finally be able to rest and enjoy life. As it turned out though, his daddy had other plans. Probably one of the most frustrating things about Big society were the subtleties of what was considered good or bad with Littles. Hitting was bad but spanking was almost expected. Surgical alterations to the brain were illegal now but permanent hypnotic states that achieved the same effects were still widely practiced. Even now, I had to be very careful about the stuff that Emma was watching around here. So, as it turned out, Tyler’s daddy seemed to revel in where exactly this line was for Little care. At first, Tyler seemed positively thrilled at his new life. New toys and playdates all filled his future, but soon enough, his daddy began to place him in scenarios that seemed designed to humiliate him. Petticoat punishments, outfits designed to show his often-leaky diapers, and planted hypnotic triggers that made nearly every humiliating scene ten times worse were just a few of the things he endured. For someone like the already fragile Tyler, it didn’t take long for him to break. His once miraculously obtained maturity now seemed to all be locked away. He would still come to daycare in some sailor suit that left little to the imagination over the state of his infantile bulky diapers, but Tyler would just play by himself and babble incoherently out loud as if he now had some invisible friend. And if that wasn’t enough to feel bad for him, his daddy also seemed to revel in his punishments. The slightest infraction of his daddy’s rules and Tyler would find himself over his lap for a massive enema or a merciless spanking. Either one would end in pain for hours, but his daddy always just chalked it up to ‘improving his Little’s behavior.’ The staff always tried to help Tyler when he came in, but they knew this road only lead to one of two destinations. Tyler’s new daddy would either tire of him and hire a nanny to take care of him as a newborn, or he would pawn him off to the nearest research lab for a quick cash payment so that he could buy a new Little for his barbaric schemes once again. I now shuddered at the thought. “Don’t think about them, Dash. I know it’s hard, but they’ll only cloud the task ahead of you. Due to various reasons, none of them had a toy like you. Tyler was blackballed from having a toy here by us and Fiona and Zack’s toys were old and didn’t have the technology to really influence them during the day. One positive scenario out of three is about what you would expect, but you, Dash… you make the difference, and your odds are so much better at finding success for Emma today.” I was finding it infinitely ironic that the subliminal messaging that had first got me into trouble with everyone here had now become my secret weapon against all the evil around here as well. I knew that the difference in perception was largely due to what the messages were being used for, but I still found it interesting over the shift in the perception of my ability. Regardless, though, I knew Nadia was correct and that my messaging would be critical and one of the biggest factors in whom Emma chose today if she encountered any of the more terrible Bigs. ‘No pressure, right?’ With that, we talked a little more about what to maybe look out for and what I thought might be a good caregiver for Emma, but soon, the sun streamed in, and we both went our separate ways. Just as I snuggled back with Emma, Miss Tully came in to wake her up for the day ahead. “Rise and shine, sweetie!” Emma only smiled back and proceeded to just lay back as Miss Tully went about the usual morning routine. Just as she finished retaping the last tab of her diaper, she smiled back down to her. “Today’s the day you get to find someone to take care of you. Isn’t that exciting?” I could sense the hesitancy in Emma still, but she just nodded her head and held me closer. Ever since Nancy had left, not counting bathtimes in the backroom for just such situations or my own wandering when she was asleep, I had yet to leave her side. Even when she was being fed, I was always squashed right in the seat along with her. For Emma, I had become her safety net in approaching the world, and while the reasons why nearly wanted to tear my heart in two, I was proud to provide the service for my Little. So, after a round of breakfast, Emma was bathed and dressed in a mostly white dress decorated with patterns of pink and green floral patterns. A large pink band wrapped around her and tied in the back and was adorable, but also caused the billowing material below it to poof out right over her diapers. Emma didn’t mind and just giggled as the little white shoes were placed on her feet and a dainty pink headband slipped into place over her hair. A pink carnation crooked right off the middle on the headband completed the outfit perfectly. Finally, she was ready to meet her future caregiver. Once again, Emma was escorted into Mrs. Gillies’ office and placed in a highchair. I didn’t like the whole notion of us being potentially trapped if a Big decided to get nasty, but I was at least partially relieved when Mrs. Gillies spoke up next. “Okay, Emma. We’ve basically narrowed down our selection to three different caregivers and all should be good fits in their own ways. You just hug Dash however, if you get at all scared, or call out for me if anything get’s too uncomfortable, okay?” Emma immediately hugged me tighter and nodded. “Good. Now, I’m going to let the first one in. Just see what you think of her and then we’ll move onto the next one.” Again, Emma just nodded. Mrs. Gillies seemed like she wanted to hear something more and say something more herself, but with a sigh she walked out. “You can go in now…” A woman said a few things back but then began to walk in. ‘Okay… this is it…’ The gigantic woman walked in with an air about her that I couldn’t tell if it was more dignified or snobbish. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her narrow-framed glasses hugged her face and almost seemed to bounce about slightly against her taut face as she walked in the room. Her clothing was well-pressed and selected, giving her a put-together but intimidating, domineering presence. “Hello, Emma,” she said, her body barely moving as she nearly floated over to the chair in front of us and then sat down. “I’m Dolores Abernathy. It is a pleasure to meet you.” “Hi…” Emma said shyly, squeezing me once again. I could quickly tell she was uncomfortable around her, and my yellow flags were going up already. Dolores’ face contorted for a moment. “Emma, please sit up straight and project your voice. A proper lady does not slouch and always makes herself heard clearly to whomever she is speaking to.” Emma did as she was told, but I currently wasn’t feeling any love so far from the strict lady now before us. Still, I let their interview continue, hoping that things would improve quickly. They didn’t… “Emma, sit up.” “Emma, clear your throat.” “Emma, stop playing with your hair.” “Emma, stop hugging that unsightly dog so close.” More warning flags were popping up around the woman, but I supposed one could tolerate it if it helped Emma mature a little. It definitely wasn’t the way I would go about it, but I could see the upside of her dominance. Then, she went from acceptable to me wanting to escort her out of that room myself, willing or not. “I’m told you haven’t taken any ballet classes yet. We’ll soon have to change that,” Dolores noted stiffly, looking over a single file in her hands that she had popped out of the bag she had brought with her. “My old cawegivuh nevuh bwought me to a wehesuhl…” Emma sadly reported back. Dolores’ eyes narrowed. “Emma, we do not badmouth those who take care of us before. I’m sure she did her best, but I want to talk about something different. Your speech… I think we need to fix some things. Repeat after me.” It wasn’t a suggestion. Dolores perked up more, popped out her lips one and then began. “Something simple to start… Sally sells seashells by the seashore. Now, you try.” I could see her sincerity in making Emma a better Little was there, but I wasn’t sure if she would make her happy, but still, I let Emma try at least. “Sawy… sewls seaschewls by da schee… scheeschowe.” I knew it was her best effort and I was so proud of her for even attempting such a task, but Dolores’ eyes just seemed to want to twitch out of their sockets right then. “That was… a good… first try… I guess.” She sighed heavily behind her gritted teeth in a way that conveyed her clear disappointment. “I suppose we’ll need to work on that, but one more thing I think I need to address…” Her eyes then horrifically narrowed in on me. “About… him.” Her words cut through me like a knife. The way she said ‘him’ made me feel like some bug that needed to be squashed immediately. While I was at least willing to entertain the notion of discipline with a purpose to help Emma out, I felt that Dolores was bordering on being too strict now. I just hoped I was wrong. “Wah abou’ him?” Emma asked pitifully as her grip around me only tightened. I didn’t like Dolores right now, but I was at least feeling a little safe that Emma was cradling me so close. Instead of jumping to do whatever Dolores had said to do, Emma was now questioning her orders. Dolores glared back at both Emma and me now. “He’s filthy and obviously an impediment to you growing up. Proper Littles should have age-appropriate toys, but one’s in proper working order… or at least ones that don’t look like they just came out of the garbage.” There was silence in the room for a little bit after that. Her words struck me deeply and I was tempted to steer Emma away from this uptight disciplinarian, but I wanted to know what she had to say first. After all, I didn’t want to control my Little, only protect her, and I was admittedly a bit of a mess as of late. Being with a distraught Little at all times of the day, including diaper changes, playtimes outside, and meals, one tended to get a bit messy bit by bit. Finally, Emma glared back and gripped me even closer. “No, Dowowes… I’a nah givin’ up Patsch! He’s my fwiend…” Her rejection now was the final nail in Dolores’ proverbial coffin. Almost immediately, I made sure from my messaging that Emma would never choose Dolores if ever asked in the future. From her body language, I don’t think that would have been a problem, but I just wanted to make sure. After, Dolores tried to reason with Emma as best she could in her proper way, but I could see the tension between the two had already set in and Emma might have had the body of a woman back in her own dimension, but she had a stubborn streak like any other toddler would once they had made their mind up. So, Dolores left in a huff yet still determined to obtain the Little she had just met. For her, I suspected she was looking for a challenge. After, I was now figuring out why I was needed here. I felt that Emma could have handled Dolores on her own, but I added both a source of safety and a second opinion… just in case. Then, after a diaper check, with Miss Tully declaring that Emma should be set for at least a little while longer, the next Big strolled in. Immediately, I could smell his aftershave and as he sat down in front of us, I could feel the waves of masculinity ripple off his shoulders. His stubble, dark peacoat, and tousled hair could portray someone who was a, as Dolores might have said, ‘ruffian.’ Underneath all that though, I could see an intelligence burning behind his eyes… a desire for something. If nothing else, he at least intrigued me. “Vincent Carlos,” he said casually with almost a twinkle in his eye. “You must be Emma.” Emma quickly nodded and hugged me closely, but I couldn’t tell if it was from discomfort or that in another life, she might have actually found him attractive. But this being the society it was, at most, the two could only ever be daddy and daughter, so I watched on for any signs of issues. He smiled warmly. “Awww. No need to be shy around me, Emma. I just wanted to meet the Little I’ve heard so much about. I just loved all the bits of defiance against another Big and your bounce back from a near catatonic state. Just brilliant!” Emma’s head popped up from its previously stationary stare at the floor. “You dih?” she asked innocently, her eyes widening like her favorite movie star had just complimented and had read all about her. Vincent chuckled. “Of course, sweetie. Why do you think I’m here?” His words flowed into Emma effortlessly and I could see she was already taken by the stranger. I readied myself more, just in case, but the two then began a pleasant chat of question and answer. Each question, like “where did you originally grow up?” was always followed by a quick answer to the best of her ability, like “Vehmon’?” I could tell those memories of her past life remained hazy from the treatment that she had been subjected to, but her answers always only ever seemed to intrigue Vincent further. At first, I didn’t think anything of his questions, but the further he asked them, the more I became concerned with what was actually happening between the two. If I didn’t know better, I swore he was conducting a job interview rather than getting to know her. Finally, though, as he paused and looked over some of the notes he had brought with him, Emma asked a question back. “Whas youwe jahb?” Vincent for once seemed thrown off a little, almost as if he was trying to make something up, but he just sighed and smiled piercingly back at Emma. “It’s a company called Diamond Technologies. It’s pretty big, but I’m actually part of their research group out west.” “I nevuh been ou’ wess before!” she exclaimed excitedly. “Duh you have a hosee?” Vincent laughed but shook his head. “No, unfortunately I don’t. I can ride one, but Peirama is a bit greener than the wild west. It’s actually a very beautiful town and there’s tons of other Littles just like you there.” “Weawy?” she asked enthusiastically. I could tell his hooks were deepening into her by the minute and while I felt hesitant, I wasn’t sensing anything bad… about… him… My mind whirled and reared on its axel. It was hard to remember so long ago now, but Fiona… ‘Didn’t she? Oh shit!’ I finally remembered that Fiona had been adopted out by a research company… Diamond Technologies. I wasn’t sure where she was at now, but Vincent said he was in research. Alarms bells were quickly going off in my head. Still, I wasn’t sure what I should do. On one hand, Emma seemed absolutely enchanted by the prospect of going out west, but on the other, based on Fiona’s fate and his job as a researcher, I felt obligated to ring all the panic sirens I could. Once again, though, I felt indebted to Emma for her to see all this out. I needed a hint of her hesitancy, or something like that, so I could intervene before she made a terrible mistake and not feel that I was controlling her. Seeing his sway with her though, I had a few creeping doubts that was going to be easy. Now, everyone has a fatal flaw of some kind. They may try to overcome it and succeed, but its presence will always be there waiting to bring them down. For me, it was my past and the fact that I once wanted to regress Littles. I had moved beyond that phase, but even now, I was holding back in trying to help Emma out for fear of performing those same actions against her, for her betterment or not. For Vincent, though, I realized his fatal flaw was arrogance. Emma had been so thoroughly enchanted by his seeming spell that he was now pushing the boundaries of their conversation. Seeing that she hadn’t made any terrible connection to Diamond Technologies, he began an entirely new set of questions. These felt far more sinister than a simple background check. His unlikely chance at slipping up had actually happened. “What’s your biggest fear?” “Could you deal with small, enclosed spaces for long periods of time?” “Have you ever had a bad reaction to hypnosis, voluntary or forced?” “Any objections to being spun very quickly, bees, or being submerged in darkness for more than 24 hours at a time?” “How are you with needles?” With each question, I could feel Emma once again begin tightening her grip around me. I could tell she was still very much enthralled with Vincent still, but her answers became more strained… harder to articulate even. “Why you askin’ me aw dese quessions?” she finally asked, the fear in her voice now very evident. Vincent smiled. “Well, sweet pea, I just need to know these types of things to figure out your limits. Maybe I think you would like… amusement parks, and I just want you to be able to go on all the rides. Make sense?” He said the whole bit with such confidence and vigor that one might have been forgiven for thinking that he was telling the truth, but his brief hesitation before amusement parks were setting off more sirens in my head. It was one thing to ask strange questions, this was a strange land after all, but making things up like that on the spot showed me he was either a good liar or had already planned for contingencies like these and was just remembering how to respond non conspicuously. Either way, I didn’t like it. Emma seemed more convinced than I was, and therefore still wasn’t absolutely rejecting him on the spot. It made me nervous, and I thought it couldn’t get any worse right then with my nerves… until Vincent pushed a thick stack of paper, likely around 20 sheets, in front of Emma along with a neon-colored and glittery pen beside it. “Can you read, Emma? I didn’t see that if you could in your file.” Emma looked down at the numerous pages and the smaller text on each of them as she flipped through a few. She started to try and read the first page, but after a minute or so of trying to sound out the first word, she looked up at Vincent with defeat in her eyes. I knew her reading skills had taken a major hit before when she was first regressed, but as Nancy had fumed at everyone, Emma still had the ability. Likely, it was probably just all the legalese in front of her right then and more about sounding the words out than anything. It could have been a hypnotic block for all I knew, but her defeated stare back up at Vincent spoke volumes. “Awww. That’s okay.” He then reached over and pointed to the bottom of the page. “This is a contract, Emma. If you sign right at the bottom, I can have you out of here real soon. It will be kind of like an adventure. Does that sound fun?” To my surprise though, Emma hesitated, and now, I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she was showing signs of her distrust of Vincent. There still seemed to be a part of her that wanted to sign the contract and go with him out west, but I could feel her pulse quicken, her breathing began to labor, and her grip around my midsection begin to tighten. I didn’t like seeing her in such a distressed state, but for my own conscience, it was the little hint of her denial of Vincent that I had been looking for. So, I quickly switched on my messaging and slowly tried to get Emma to steer clear of this man. Given his appearance and his suave yet underhanded and sinister intentions most likely however, I was worried about any outright rejection Emma could show him like she had with Dolores. Bearing that in mind, I made sure that my messaging was more subtle… precise and safe with what I wanted her to do. The first step was for her not to sign the contract. “I wanna dink abou’ ih fiwst. Iss dah okay?” to which of course he replied, ‘yes.’ Secondly, I wanted the time between the two to be over as soon as possible. My mind ran over the dozens of possibilities that I could achieve without hurting Emma or angering Vincent. She could always cry, but Vincent might not react well to that and in a game where seconds counted, I felt I should avoid scenarios like those as much as I could. This also led to the elimination of her throwing something, having a tantrum, yelling at him, swearing, and several other scenarios I concocted. Also, not wanting to hurt her eliminated even more possibilities. I felt stumped… until her stomach rumbled. I knew that Emma’s breakfast was making its way through her system. She was always a little slow and if my time estimation was anything to go by, it was right around the time she would usually go. Seeing Vincent and his suave persona, I felt that a dirty diaper might just be enough to give him enough of an excuse to leave, especially in an enclosed room like this. So, out of options, I began to message Emma. “Push, Emma. Your stomach is feeling a little full and maybe even uncomfortable. Push and let all that go. I’m sure Miss Tully or Mrs. Gillies will praise you like the good girl you are afterward.” Then, even more unconsciously than usual with her lack of control and under my sway now, Emma began to push. “So, would you be willing to move out west with me, Emma?” Vincent asked calmly, almost now even toying with the papers in front of her as if he was pushing a sweet treat toward her. “I…” She grunted briefly. “I don’ know… iss so faw an’ aww my fwiens awe hewe. I nee’…” Emma grunted again, but this time my messaging held, and her bowels didn’t. Soon, a low wet fart could be heard punctuating the stillness of the room. I could see Vincent quickly realize what had happened and before Emma had a chance to even finish, I could see the panic set in his eyes. Likely, he knew if he ran out now or reacted how he wanted to what he just witnessed, Emma could later reject him. He probably did want a Little deep down, but I also suspected he wanted a test subject far more rather than a being to love and care for. Finally, though, Emma relaxed. “I jus’ don’ know… wai… whewe you goin’?” she asked a little panicky over Vincent’s quick rise from the table. “I, uh, I need to go, Emma.” He then headed for the door in about the most panicked and yet still straightlaced fashion I had ever seen before. “Just look over the contract and let me know soon.” It was a little hilarious if not also a complete confirmation of my suspicions regarding his true purpose here. I suspected Emma would be a little upset over this one at some point, but I knew I had just saved her from a lifetime of pain and misery at some testing facility out west. Miss Tully soon entered and seemed a little perplexed. “I just saw Vincent leaving. He seemed so nice and…” I could see her nostrils flare up. “Oh, I see. Did someone make a mess? Does someone have a mushy tushy in here?” Emma just giggled back as Miss Tully came over, checked, and then lifted us both out and over to the Burrows room to get changed. It was peaceful there and I guessed that the Meadows room was likely crowded and may have been viewed as too big of a risk of overstimulating Emma today. I knew that the whole staff was pulling for her to find a caregiver today, and I guessed that none of them wanted to be responsible for even the possibility of upsetting her and throwing the last interview off. As Miss Tully proceeded to change the destroyed diaper about Emma’s lower half, I was right there with her as she held me close to her chest and played with my ears as she usually did lately. I didn’t mind, and I was too engrossed in my own thoughts to care even if I usually did mind. See, I realized with some degree of panic, that the next interview was our last. If it failed as well, Emma was likely going to have to choose between three bad options or possibly be seen by the community as a problem Little. Not only could it hurt her future adoption options, but the case against Nancy could be in jeopardy as well as the pro-Big movement supporting her could use it as evidence that Emma was the problem… not Nancy. Changed and still happy, to my relief, Emma toddled and was escorted back into Mrs. Gillies’ office where she was waiting. “Hello, Emma. I just wanted to stop in to say good luck with the next adoptee, but also that it isn’t just one. They’re a couple. Is that okay?” Emma just nodded her head and allowed herself to be placed back in the highchair. For me though, a couple could spell potential disaster. Now, I had nothing against couples in general, but I always hesitated with them a little bit whenever a Little was with them. Due to a number of wars and viruses in the last 80 years or so, much of Big society had been reduced down to single women. Fertility issues and a lack of men were hard obstacles to navigate around, so couples were rare. Unfortunately, because of their rarity, while it did make them a strong pairing more often than not, it could be dangerous for a Little. While a Little had no say technically with a Big, there was at least something to be said of when arguments were between just one Big and their Little. A few sympathies for the poor dears and an argument could swing in their favor, but with couples, the Little would almost always be outnumbered. This wasn’t a dealbreaker, but I had seen a couple hurt Littles often when the Big’s ideologies were always thrust on them. So, with a great deal of hesitancy on my part, I braced as the couple walked in. To be honest, both seemed a little nervous and sat down opposite of both of us. The woman had large frizzy red hair, wore glasses and a purple cardigan, and seemed to look like she was actually dreading today. The man seemed clean-cut with his stylized haircut and casual but professional clothes but almost shy as well. They seemed perfectly normal and almost a little underwhelming, but at the same time I saw something on their faces, lingering behind the masked expressions they currently wore, hope. Not hope of a power trip or a new lab rat, but the hope that Emma wouldn’t tell them ‘no.’ The man spoke first. “Hello, Emma. I’m, uh, oh gosh darn it. I’m already bumbling this up. I’m sorry Emma,” he stumbled along. He then took a breath and recollected himself. “Sorry, I’m Jimmy,” he finally made out with a large infectious grin. “And I’m Lilly,” his wife piped up. “Sorry about how we’re acting. Just a little nervous is all.” At first, I thought Emma was just going to outright reject them, but instead I gratefully saw her empathetic side come to the front. “Dass okay… I’m ner… nervuss too.” Lilly smiled in a way I had seen so many other times before on other Bigs who seemed to see beyond just the cute Little before her. Her smile almost seemed to say, ‘finally… a Little who seems unbroken but that also looks like who could use my help.’ She leaned in and smiled even wider. “There’s no need to be, Emma. We just wanted to meet you today.” “That’s right,” Jimmy agreed. I could see both were recognizing the barrier that Emma had been putting up around the most recent Bigs she met lately. I’d imagine it was probably still the aftermath from Nancy, but then I saw James look right at me, still cradled in her arms. “So, who’s your friend there?” Emma seemed to glow a little at his question and held me up a bit so they could see me better. “His name’s Patsch,” she said proudly. “What a wonderful name,” Lilly beamed. “He seems like he must be a good friend to you.” Emma quickly nodded but then seemed a little sad. “He is… he’s been dere fo’ me fo’ a wong time. He doesn’ wet me down…” Both Lilly and Jimmy looked at each other with concern and I worried that Emma had just shown her cards too early to this already nervous couple. There were other Littles out there who had gone through less and I could feel our chances slipping away. To my surprise though, both then clasped their hands together and looked back at Emma with only sympathy. “Emma… we know about Nancy,” Jimmy began. “We’re very sorry for what she did to you.” Lilly quickly nodded in agreement. “We just want to assure you that would never happen with us. We just want to find a Little we can adopt, and then we came across you and just had to meet you in person.” Emma hugged me once more and rocked back and forth a little bit like she was figuring out a massive, complex equation in her head. I knew that was practically impossible, but after a moment, I really wasn’t sure she was going to say. She then looked at both across the table, still nervous and yet hopeful, and asked a single question. “Why you wan’ to adop’ me?” The question was straightforward, but it was by no means simple. I hadn’t produced a single influencing message to her since Vincent left, so this question was all her own. I guessed that with Nancy being brought up, I shouldn’t have been surprised though that Emma would now want to judge her own caregiver to be better. I couldn’t blame her. Both Jimmy and Lilly seemed hesitant to speak, and even conferred with each other for a moment, but Jimmy then spoke up first. “We’ve been trying to have kids for a while now, Emma. Always wanted them, but…” He then trailed off. “But I was told I could never have them,” Lilly burst out, Jimmy holding her hand tightly and stroking her back in support. I could see the pain and knew it was a still too often occurrence in Big society. Besides their technology, I felt it was one of their overall few redeeming qualities in why I didn’t just write them off as a stain on the universe with how they treated Littles. After that, I could see Jimmy see that Lilly needed a minute. I was guessing that the news was likely still fresh. “See, Emma, we feel we just have so much to give someone who needs a little help and maybe a little love. We saw your ad in the news the other day and we just had to meet you in person.” Emma’s mind was still a little fragile and sluggish from her emotional breakdown last week and her subsequent dosages of Tabers milk. While it was technically out of her system now, I knew its effects could linger for much longer. As such, Emma just sat in her highchair and took in all that they were saying. Now, to me, so far, they were just showing all green flags in my book. They seemed like a nice couple who just wanted to give out their love to someone who needed it. While other societies may have opted for a dog or some other pet, this society almost always went the way of adoption. Unlike the other two caregivers we had met today though, I felt no malice in or greed with their actions. After a moment, Lilly seemed to be able to compose herself and spoke back up. “I know all this is probably a lot for you to take in right now, Emma. We don’t expect an answer from you today even… in fact, I’m not sure we would take you out of here even if we wanted to.” Jimmy nodded. “I know it may sound strange as compared to other Bigs you might have met, but we want you to be comfortable and make a decision based solely on what you want. We want you to have all the facts and don’t want to force you into any of this.” Emma seemed almost overwhelmed, but then she suddenly gripped me even tighter. “You don’ wan’ me… I’m bwoken…” she said mournfully. Her words shattered my heart, and from their expressions, I could tell Jimmy’s and Lilly’s as well. I feared this might happen after the whole incident with Nancy and her manipulative ways. Littles often had to process so much and at one point, if they ever recalled all that they went through since their old life and had now subsequently lost, these types of sentiments often bubbled to the surface. For anyone listening, it was devastating to hear it said aloud and in person. “No, Emma,” Jimmy then said defiantly. “You are not broken. You’ve been through a lot, but that’s okay. It doesn’t mean you’re damaged either. It just means you have a past… a story. We all have those.” Lilly nodded. “He’s right, Emma. We don’t think you’re broken at all. In fact, everything we keep hearing about you is just nothing but praise.” Lilly paused for a moment. “Actually, I’ll say this right now just so you know our stance on this. If you’re willing to give this whole thing a try with us as your potential caregivers, then so are we. No worries, judgements, or anything like that, okay?” Emma seemed completely overwhelmed by all that was being told to her, but just nodded. It was a lot to take in for a normal well-adjusted person, but for Emma… I would imagine it was like living in darkness and finally finding that single ray of bright light after so long before. A few seconds later, all fully primed and emotional from the day, I saw Jimmy lean over to Lilly and whisper something in her ear. I couldn’t hear what it was, but Lilly only nodded back enthusiastically. With a smile and some hesitancy, Jimmy looked back at Emma. “Emma? We want to leave this up to you, and it could be too much, too fast, which in that case tell us, but… do you want a hug?” There was a moment of silence and Lilly quickly added, “But it’s totally okay if you don’t! We just want you to be happy and I know a hug usually makes me feel better. So, what do you think? Are you up for a hug maybe from us?” I could see Emma contemplate the offer for a moment, but she ultimately nodded. Jimmy and Lilly started to approach her, but Emma then held out her hand to stop them. “Buh’ onwy if you incwude Patsch in da hug as well. He’s my fwiend…” Jimmy and Lilly seemed shocked, but then just chuckled and nodded. “Of course, Patch will be included in the hug,” Lilly said, coming closer to Emma’s left side. “After all,” Jimmy continued as he approached from her right side, “we wouldn’t want someone so important to be left out of our hug together, would we?” Emma seemed to swell with emotions as the two closed in on both sides, not out of some evil plan to attack her from two sides, but to hug her. It wasn’t even some power trip or some such nonsense but instead born out of a genuine caring over Emma’s well-being. She was sad and the two Bigs just wanted to make her feel better. To say the least, with everything I saw, it was quite refreshing. As the four of us all tangled ourselves into a massive hug, Lilly even leaning down a little further to ensure I was included as well, I felt a shift in something within me. As Emma said my new name, Patch, out loud to Jimmy and Lilly, it felt so permanent and just… right. I had been feeling inclined toward the name for some time now, but I still felt like a Dash. As I left the repair shop and encountered my other models in the Dash series though, the feeling of a stronger attachment to the name ‘Patch’ only became stronger. I was still who I was body wise as I began this journey, but Dash felt like the hallmark of an old life. It was a reminder of better times at first, but now, it was just a name of shame for me in what I used to do to helpless Littles like Emma. Additionally, I felt that both Jimmy and Lilly were just who Emma needed to move beyond what had happened with Nancy. Nervous, awkward, and just ordinary people, but good as well. Of course, I would leave it up to Emma to be the final decider, but I knew that I at least wouldn’t have to influence her away from them. Even then though, Emma seemed like she didn’t want to let go of the hug, so I felt I could almost see the possibilities of what lay in store for the future now. My point being though, if Emma chose them, I would be taken with her to her new home. I wasn’t sure Jimmy or Lilly were local or not, but I felt perfectly fine with whatever future as long as Emma was in it with me. If that was to come to pass though, I would have passed the final marker in truly becoming her stuffy, and as her stuffy, I felt she had the right to name me whatever she pleased. I thought I would feel more of a loss when this moment came, but as we all embraced with the possibility of a better life together on our minds, I felt confident that I had done my job in all this. Emma would find the life she always deserved, and I knew I had found my Little that I was always meant for. And so, from that moment on, I knew two things; I was Emma’s stuffy, and my name was Patch.

Hey everyone! First, I just want to give a huge thank you to all who have been reading, commenting, or liking this story. It’s not a lot of you, but it’s always nice to see a few of you enjoying or at least still continuing to read this story. Next, again, I just want to reiterate that I’m still debating on whether I should include the perspective of Emma in this story or not. Let me know your thoughts and I’ll be sure to post my decision by the next chapter. Lastly, for those of you reading this one, I’m still trying to determine my next story, so be sure to let me know what you want of the three stories I placed on here to decide from. For those of you who may have missed these options or whatnot, just refer back to chapter 4. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter! Chapter 11: Tough Roads and Crossroads Lie Ahead Breathing the air of freedom once outside, I couldn’t help but also feel a twinge of fear shiver along and down my back. We were all fragile toys, Tops, Carmen, Poodee, and I, so I knew that any problems that a normal toy would encounter out here, would only be magnified with each of us. As it was, Poodee, Carmen, and I were held together by numerous stitches and patches of fur that might not have even been ours, and Tops was thinning out in several places. His recent attachment to one of the Littles inside had only made it worse, but each of us also carried a determination with us to save our friend. “Alright Poodee, where to now?” I asked the nervous but still present poodle behind me. Poodee held the map up that Sarge had given us and Tops held the flashlight over it. “Hmmm… well, we’re here,” she said while her paw pointed on the map, “but we need to go here.” Her paw then traced far across the map. “Not too bad, but we can either go the longer way, or the shorter but dangerous way.” Of course, it just had to be one or the other. “I don’t know about you all, but if we want a chance at all in making it back here before tomorrow morning, I think we should stick with the shorter path.” Carmen and Poodee just nodded, but Tops seemed a bit hesitant still. “I don’t know, Dash… I’ll go with whatever the group wants to do, but let’s agree that if the path through the shortcut gets too bad, we get out of there immediately. We’re not exactly prime condition toys anymore and it would be dangerous enough for us even if we were.” I nodded. “Agreed. Good thinking, Tops. No sense in losing one of us in trying to save a friend tonight.” I sighed and then turned back around. “Alright, let’s get moving.” “Take a left, Dash…” Poodee noted before folding up the map again. “We go straight after for a bit, but definitely a left up ahead.” I gulped but willed my paws to move on. Left would round us moving behind the daycare… and old man Paul’s backyard. It would only be a brief stint on that side, but I knew without even looking by now that we would also subsequently be passing by Buster’s territory. My heavily stitched ear flicked in nervousness, but for the sake of Pete, I just kept walking. So, soon enough, we all took a left and I could see the back of the building and then the fence on this side that held back Buster. It was an old ugly looking thing, but I just hoped the rust at the bottom would still be enough to adequately keep Buster in check. I thought that if I just walked quietly enough by the fence, he would never suspect any of us, but Carmen accidently stepped on a dry and dead leaf. I snapped around and looked at her with deadly seriousness. “Sorry…” she whispered, having a fear of Buster as well. Any toy worth their while or who actually valued their existence lived in fear of becoming Buster’s next chew toy. Unfortunately, despite our otherwise quiet presence, the dry leaf proved to be enough of a disturbance. Buster quickly ran up to the gate and started barking at us. “Run!” I screamed. We all then ran as fast as we could, but Buster was at least three times our size. He had no problem keeping up with us, and soon, at the end of the fence, I saw our ultimate doom when dealing with a faster animal. There, small but vulnerable, was an opening in that part of the fence. To my horror, using his superior stride and speed, Buster quickly got to it and wiggled through before stopping right in front of us… all seconds before we could have even a single moment to react. “Don’t move…” I barely whispered to my equally petrified friends. Buster growled and loomed ever larger. I could see gobs of drool coat the sidewalk as he stalked right up to us. I felt I was a goner as he paused and sniffed around me. Buster had his meal of me earlier this year, but now, he was going to finish me off. ‘Sorry Pete… we tried…’ But instead, to my utter shock, Buster just licked me. My fur was covered in a thick slime that smelled terrible, but in moments, the hungry pooch was just sitting on his hind legs and wagging his tail and panting right in front of us. “What the…?” “Oh! Doy!” Poodee exclaimed from behind me. I saw each of my friends unfreeze, but Poodee smacked herself on the forehead. “Geez! I always forget… dogs can sense our inherent level of goodness. Everyone just thinks Buster tears into every toy that crosses his path, but he only eats the bad ones.” “Seriously?” Tops asked skeptically to which Poodee only smiled and nodded. Carmen chuckled and then gave me a slap in the back. “Look at that, Dash! You’ve got a genuine endorsement now from the literal animal community. You’re one of the good guys now!” Covered in drool on my left side and now reeking of dog breath, I didn’t feel so lucky, but eyeing my stitches and different patches of fur, I knew full-well that it could be a lot worse. “Lucky me…” “Here…” Poodee then crouched down and picked up a nearby stick. It wasn’t too big, but Buster quickly saw it. Now seeing that she had him in her sway, Poodee drifted the stick back and forth, and almost hilariously, the former mangy and terrifying mutt seemed to move its head with the simple object. “Alright, Buster. Here’s the stick! You want the stick?” Buster quickly nodded back. “Well then… go get it!” With that, Poodee launched the stick back into old man Paul’s yard. Buster immediately took off after it. “How’d you know that was going to work?” Tops asked, marveling and shocked over the latest turn of events, pretty much mimicking Carmen and I as well right then. Poodee just shrugged. “I actually really didn’t… but it did, so come on! We’ve got a lot of ground to cover tonight if we still want to save Pete.” She waved us forward, and the rest of us, still a little stupefied by what had just transpired, followed her lead. After, I thought it was all going to be smooth sailing, but once Poodee looked at the map again, we knew we had to cross a major intersection coming up. For whatever reason, cars still whizzed by in record breaking speeds. I knew without any doubt that if any one of us hesitated for even a second, we were done for. “Well, screw this!” Carmen said, even go so far as to turn around. Tops quickly stopped her. “Easy there, Carmen… we’ll do this together and quickly. We time it right, we should have plenty of time, okay?” She nodded, and while she was the only one of us who had began to run away, I could see the fear still entombed in each of us. Toys weren’t meant to use crossroads, and I had really hoped that the intersection would be clear at this hour. What I didn’t know though, was it was still just at the tail end of rush hour. Still, I felt I needed to lead the group on, and fortunately for everyone else, I had been highly observant in my time with Charley. While it was mostly to form a better strategy in regressing him undetectably and efficiently, it did bleed to a few other aspects of life as well. One was that I knew that Emma was currently wearing the impossibly thick You-Ni-Corns brand of diapers, despite Charley never having worn them, but another was that I knew stoplights pretty well. “Okay… here’s the plan,” I iterated to my friends. “The light’s turn red, yellow, and green.” I then pointed to the nearest stoplight. “If it’s green, we’re goners, but yellow and red may give us a shot. As soon as the light turns red next when we’re all ready, we’ll dart across the street here. We’ll go faster than a walk, but not so much where we could trip.” I then pointed to the other side of the street. “If the lights over there turn yellow though, I want everyone to run. Even if you drop something, just run. Everyone clear?” Most nodded, but Poodee seemed a little hesitant. “What about being seen? Won’t it be weird for us to just be running across the road?” I nodded. “It would, but each of us is going stick a few bits of dried leaves around us. It’s pretty dark around here, and if anyone sees us, they’ll likely just pass us off as blowing leaves in this weather. It’s not fool proof, but right now, unless someone has another idea, this will just have to be the plan.” Everyone nodded, and I could still see the hesitancy in Poodee’s eyes, but she gathered up the fallen bits of twigs and leaves to stick in around her body. The leaves weren’t amazing, but once most of our sides were covered up, I saw that everyone was at least as ready as they were going be. “Alright, let’s move out in 3… 2… 1… go!” The whole group quickly took off across the road. I few cars cut the intersection pretty close to the crosswalk we were quickly walking across but considering no one was shrieking over the sight of us, I felt our disguises were halfway decent for this time of night. We were almost across though, when the unthinkable happened. Tops was half-walking, half-hopping across the street. He was still pretty confident and was even helping Carmen to cross as well, but at the same time, his crossing was much slower than the rest of us. He wasn’t the worst walker I had ever seen, but by the time I was across to the other side and looking back at him, he was still only about halfway. “Go faster, Tops!” I shouted back at him. Tops nodded, but even though the light was red, I saw a car speeding toward the intersection and the crosswalk Tops was still on. I wasn’t sure what was happening, and maybe I got it wrong, but it didn’t matter… Tops was right in the car’s path. “Tops! Run! Run right now!” “What? What is it?” Poodee asked worriedly. “Look!” I shouted while pointing to the low riding and speeding car headed right for our friend. She quickly saw the danger immediately. “Move it Tops! Come on!” Poodee cried out as well. The racing yellow and blue car just sped further. Tops tried, but his speed just wasn’t a match for the oncoming car. In seconds, I squeezed my eyes shut, as I heard Carmen shriek out. “Tops! No!” I felt sick. I was a mere toy out here in the big wide world, and I knew there was nothing I could do… but then I looked back. Thinking and dreading that I was going to find my friend’s shattered remains, to my everlasting pleasant surprise, I just saw Tops, hunched over and crouched into a little ball. I could see some black marks on his back where the underside of the car had grazed him and his camouflage was absolutely pulverized, but he was alive. “Holy…!” “You made it!” Poodee yelled out to him with clear relief and jubilation. “Yeah…” Tops said, looking over his body to see if he was even really injured anywhere. “I guess I did…” “Oh! You idiot!” Carmen cried out, clearly a little emotional over her close friends near passing. “Get out of the road, you damn fool. You only get one miracle tonight, and you just zapped yours right in the bud!” We all chuckled a little after and inspected Tops a little further once he finally made it to the other side. His back was definitely going to need a good wash, but he was otherwise mostly intact from his near miss of the car. I suspected he was likely only inches away from becoming a pancake, but in this case, ‘almost’ had just saved my friend’s life. So, our calms returning to normal, we ventured onward. On the direction of Poodee though, we soon entered the forest section of our path tonight. If we were able to cross the whole thing, we would be safe at last, as far as roads or dogs were concerned, on the other side, but seeing the mass of trees and thicket, I knew I couldn’t get my confidence too high up just yet. “Let’s go everybody… single file…” Everyone didn’t like the path, but knew we had few other choices, so we all entered one at a time. Soft pellets of mud began to pelt each of us as we moved through the bramble before us. It was hard going but we were making progress as I had hoped we would. I was worried would have been ensnared in the thicket after about five minutes in, but instead, it took about 30 minutes. “I’m caught…” Poodee called out from the rear. Her delicate condition after Harriet’s previous adventures of tearing her apart had been taking a toll on her ever since we entered the forest. While Tops had been snagged, and Carmen and I had to maneuver carefully around one particularly large bush in our way a little bit ago, each of us had made it through unscathed. Now, I looked at Poodee, and I could see from her brief struggling in the rear, she had only entwined herself more tightly into the thorned bush she was now attached to. “Oh… crud…” was about all I could say right then. Carmen gave me a little slap to my side. “Dash! That’s not helpful,” she admonished me while working her way back to the trapped Poodee. “We need to help her out of this…” She seemed sure in her words, but her looks showed her trepidations about the whole situation. Sighing, I dragged Tops along and we all examined the situation with our trapped friend. “Wish I had brought a knife…” Tops finally said when each of us had thoroughly examined the bush and yet Poodee was still stuck. “Well, wishing won’t do us any good…” Carmen pointed out. “If only we could just get through this branch…” Her arm gestured to one of the more firmly embedded branches in Poodee now. “Maybe we could just…? No… Or maybe…? No…” Finally, though, Poodee made the hard call for all of us. “Look… time’s wasting on just me. At this point, either leave me behind or pull me out. If I rip, I rip.” Her words were confident, but I could still see the fear behind her eyes. “Are you sure, Poodee? We can keep trying if you want. We won’t leave you, but ripping yourself apart… and in your condition? It could be worse than we could repair…” Poodee sighed and looked back over her trapped body, but ultimately nodded. “Just do it… quick. Or at least before I change my mind.” So, with her final consent, I nodded back at my other friends, and each of us grabbed her in a strategic more secure position. “Okay… we pull when I say and pull towards me… only towards me. Got it?” My friends nodded and Poodee did as well, but it seemed like she wanted to be anywhere else right then… and I really couldn’t blame her. “And… now!” With one hard yank, Poodee was free. Unfortunately, we all heard a loud rip and quickly rushed to see where it had come from. To our relief, the branches had only popped a few of her older stitches, but still, some fluff was threatening to tumble its way out of her. Seeing my friend like that, I knew our options were limited in going forward. Ahead just seemed like more of the same, and I knew Poodee couldn’t handle another situation like that again, let alone risk it for the rest of us as well. I then looked up, and to my relief, the moon was high in the sky. From one of Charley’s later before bed books that Monica had read to him, I knew it meant that it was now firmly nighttime. I turned back to my friends, and could see their fear and hesitancy moving forward, so with it all combined, I knew what we had to do. “I know things have been tough, but we have to keep moving for Pete. That being said, we told ourselves that if it ever got too hard with the shortcut, we would hit the longer way. So, who’s in favor of going the longer route now?” Everyone seemed hesitant, but Poodee was quick with the map and after looking at for a moment, looked back up. “It actually looks like we made it through the longer part of the longer path. Now, the distances are about the same between either option. If we take a right up at the creek, we could make it out of here and get to the repair shop in about the same time as going forward would.” Smirking at Poodee having likely saved our hides, literally, I turned back to the group. “So… how about now?” Quickly everyone raised their hands, and so, using Poodee and her map, we finally made it back out of the woods using the stream she had told us about. I never felt so relieved to see a sidewalk and a road in all my life. Awhile later, we were within sight of the repair shop, but I could hear voices quickly approaching. It could have been just another bunch of toys, but I didn’t want to take the chance, so I spun back around to the group. “I hear voices! Hide!” Like scurrying nocturnal animals shirking away from the light, we all dove into a cluster of nearby bushes. Despite the lateness of the year, they still were pretty well covered in their usual foliage, so they provided an excellent cover for us. Not long after, I saw that I was right to dive into the bushes. “Geez… you hear about those new humane Little laws on the senate floor in New Columbia?” the man asked the woman, both Bigs. “I did… poor little deluded dears think that thing is actually going to pass?” she asked rhetorically, clearly not a part of the Littles movement. “Must be true babies there to think that would ever pass.” The man nodded, but also seemed a little uncertain. “I don’t know, Irene… I’ve been hearing the arguments made and I have to say… almost convinced me…” “Oh, Richard…” she practically gasped. “Not you as well?” Richard laughed right as they walked by us. “Oh, definitely not. Just saying though… Libertalia is changing. This may be the south, but the north is having a pretty powerful influence on the senators at least. I doubt the house will pass it though…” “Oh, definitely not,” Irene agreed. “All Littles are just helpless babies and sometimes, they just need a strong hand to guide them. I mean if not us, who then? The Middles?” Both shook with laughter, and after a turned corner, were gone. When my existence began, I would have been a staunch ally of what they were saying. I even believed back then that Littles were meant to be and would have been better off regressed. Now, I was about the polar opposite end of the spectrum and would have told them both off if I could. After all, it was people like Nancy that made the passage of those laws more important than most other things right now. “What a bunch of whack jobs!” Carmen spat. “I don’t know, Carmen…” Tops began hesitantly, “not saying I’m in favor of shooting that bill down obviously, but what they said about it never passing? Can’t really fault them for thinking that might just be some elaborate joke or ploy by Littles.” “No,” Carmen sighed, “but I wish it was a little closer to reality than just a pipe dream of that pro-Littles movement.” “You just never know…” Poodee mused dreamily. “You’ve seen our daycare… that place is built with pro-Littles in mind.” We all looked at her strangely. “Uh, Poodee… how can you say that? They use FOY and most Littles end up younger than they were supposed to. How is that a pro-Little place?” I asked her. “Just think for a minute… if it wasn’t for FOY, the Bigs would use surgery, punishments, and hypnosis to hurt or change the Littles back down into submission and into their second babyhoods. FOY isn’t great either, but it’s more like going to sleep than downright abuse at least. From what you’ve seen, don’t you think the same?” She had a point, and I could tell that the rest of the group thought so as well. FOY was still part of the problem, but with all the other solutions out there, it did seem to be at least a little more merciful. In some cases, I had even heard it was able to be reversed. It would take a lot of effort, but as opposed to surgery where something would be cut, FOY gave a Little the chance to still be who they were again one day to some extent. Case in point, Emma. If it was even a decade ago, there would have been no way I could have ever helped her, however… she was facing a brutal Big, but I also knew that was only because she had been healed now to some degree. Shuffling the thought off, I got everyone back out of their seeming daze and led us on to the repair shop just down the street. A bird tried to swoop in on us on the way, but a quick little flashlight action from Tops shooed them away in no time. Then finally, after a former enemy dog, mud, others speeding through red lights, birds, and bushes, we were face to face with the shop. The whole group just stared up at the little shop at this nearly abandoned corner of town, but of course to us toys, the whole thing still seemed gargantuan. I think we were all also just a little stunned that we had even made it here at all as well. Of course, one wants to believe they will succeed in their appointed task, but the odds were always long, as we had even proved tonight with our several near misses. Another variation of this group… all of us might just be tomorrow’s mulch by now. Still, I was just personally glad we were finally here. “So… do we just ring or…?” Tops asked sarcastically. Carmen just rolled her eyes at his comment, but I knew his question was valid. To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about getting in, but I was still determined to put on a front of confidence in front of the group. “Spread out… there’s got to be a way in for us toys. Bigs don’t always think of security for keeping us out.” The group nodded and split up. Poodee was with me while Tops and Carmen went their own separate ways. After a moment, Poodee kept looking but broke the silence between us. “You didn’t have a plan to get in, did you?” I sighed. “Was it that obvious?” To my shock, Poodee giggled a little. “No, but I can see when you’re lying Dash. Being quiet for so long made me a keen observer and I basically picked up on everyone’s subtle clues in their bodies. I saw you were confident to be able to get in, but not that you had a plan to do it. Besides, if you did, I don’t think we would be looking, right?” “I never thought of it like that before…” I was just glad that Poodee wasn’t making a big deal out of it now. I knew that Pete was a mentor to all of us and any plan to rescue him was considered brave, so I suspected I was being given a little slack. Still, though, I couldn’t help but feel good that she kept my small secret in confidence. “Hey Dash! Poodee!” Carmen then shouted a little bit later. “I think we found something!” Poodee and I then rushed around the corner of the building and came face to face with a large door. I couldn’t see anything up top like I had expected, but when my eyes shifted back down to confront Carmen and Tops, I saw it… it was a large doggy door right in front of me. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! Another dog tonight? These Bigs collect them or something around here?” “I don’t about that, but it’s this or we bust out a window from what I can see,” Tops noted as he hoped down from a few stacked boxes by a window up higher. “Positive is though… up in the window, I saw the dog, but I also saw it’s treats. It doesn’t look too unfriendly, but I can hook one of the treats with the rope and bribe the dog as part of plan B.” It seemed to make sense, but then I felt I missed something. “Plan B? What happened to plan A?” Carmen shuffled around and gestured to Poodee. “What she said earlier… animals can sense the good in us or not. Plan A is just to walk in and hope for exactly that.” “But I’m going to play it safe and hook the treat first… just in case that’s just some toy circle gossip or rumor.” Tops gestured to each of us. “I don’t think anyone wants to take a risk otherwise, right?” We all quickly shook our heads and then went along with their plan. We each crept quietly into the doggy door and were just thankful there weren’t any extra alarms to it. The repairman likely thought a Big, Middle, or even Little would never be able to fit through the opening unseen during the day, and at night, the dog we were now about to charm, would likely take care of anything or anyone else. I just hoped that Poodee was right earlier. Tops then pulled the rope out and made a little lasso out of it. It took about seven or eight tries, but soon, he hooked one of the longer treats hanging off the edge and pulled it down. Carmen caught it while I went over cautiously and held out my paw to my fellow dog. In seconds, the dog began to stir. Its eyes opened and stared me down cold. It was the same look that Buster had given me when he first saw me. I could feel my whole body begin to internally quake in fear. I didn’t want to show it, but I knew my instincts were powerful and were probably about to get me to flee the scene in seconds. “Treat… now…” I whispered over to Tops. Tops nodded and both he and Carmen slid the treat over to me. I slowly picked it up and held it out in front of me. “Nice doggy… Easy there… just a toy, giving you a treat… no biting me please…” The dog, Bruno, sniffed my outstretched paw and the treat held within. At first, he didn’t seem to know what to do. Clearly, we were intruders and Bruno likely only had one order for things like us. At the same time though, we were apparently good toys and giving him a treat. Fortunately, seconds later, Poodee was proven correct, and our goodness and the treat won out over his training. “Oh, who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?” Carmen asked in her sing-song voice to Bruno. Bruno just responded happily and licked all of us. One treat later and Bruno settled down. To my relief, we were now inside and past the ‘security.’ “Okay… this place isn’t too big, but there do seem to be a lot of rooms. I say we split up again but be sure to shout out. Time is ticking and Pete needs this part no matter what before morning. We can always delay or come in late to the daycare, but right now, Pete is the priority.” Everyone nodded and we split up individually to cover more ground this way. Presumably, we had navigated our way through the hardest obstacles already tonight. Being a repair shop, I half-expected to find bauble and half worn out fixtures from everyday appliances, and while I did find several of those objects in the first room I searched, the rest of the shop seemed dedicated to toys. It made sense of course to house us toys since he was the one who was repairing us from the daycare, but it was just downright unsettling to see so many of us here. To my ultimate sadness though, it didn’t take long to see that most in here were just husks of their former selves. Most were decades old by now and had likely already just moved on as whatever we were. I had seen it before a few weeks ago with a particular old mouse toy that just kind of stopped living as we were. There was a whole ceremony, and it was very nice, but this place… it was giving me the creeps. Essentially, for us toys, we were basically looking at a hospital, morgue, and cemetery all in one. Trying to shuffle those images out of my head, I found a backroom that seemed to be under heavy security. Given that Pete was likely to be repaired where the repairman kept all his tools, I figured they had to be valuable. A room like that was bound to have a little extra security. I was wrong. As soon as I entered, I knew I had made a mistake coming in here. The repairman had looked at me closely and a little too greedily for my own liking, but I had just passed it off as another project for him to fix… maybe a challenge even. I now thought differently as this room was filled with dozens of lines of toys. Baby lions, Miss Pinks, Mister Browns, even Hop’s model. All seemed to be asleep or even moved on, but it was the toys at the rear of the room that really drew me in and unnerved me most of all. There, tucked away preciously, were about a dozen of so of the ‘Dash’ line… my line… I slowly approached, hoping that maybe with our inherently large mental capacity, they would be able to tell me something. As soon as I came within a few feet of them, each of their eyes opened wide and stared back at me. I stopped and even jumped back a little bit in surprise. “One of us,” they chanted in unison. “Uh… hi,” I said, a little nervous. I was honestly hoping they wouldn’t recognize me in my current state, but each just seemed to peer within me more than what I felt comfortable with. “Uh… I’m looking for a parrot that might have come through here… can you all…?” “One of us,” they said in unison again. “Yeah… you said that,” I nearly stuttered as I tried to move on, “but see, I need to find a parrot. He’s about this tall and…” “One of us, brother,” another Dash said, now walking up to me. “Welcome home.” I quickly backed away. “Yeah… no thanks. I already have a home. See, I need to find a par…” “No, Dash. You belong with us,” the other me said more demandingly this time, even going so far as to walk closer to where I was. The rest soon followed, and I glanced back at the door and wondered if it would hold all of them back if it came to that. “No… I belong with Emma, and I need to get back to her…” I said, trying to go about this whole thing a different way. “See, to do that, I need to find…” “You’ve come back. It’s been so long since you’ve been here brother,” the head toy enforced, clearly not letting up or wanting to talk about Pete. “Uh, I’ve been here before? Like here, here?” I questioned. I didn’t remember that, but then again, if I was ever repaired, I was supposed to go into factory mode temporarily to preserve my systems. If that’s what was happening to the rest of the Dash’s, it could explain the creepy group speak. Disturbingly though, everyone of… me, began to quietly laugh. “Yes, brother,” they said in unison. “One of us. Come… be one of us.” The lead Dash nodded at the rest of the pack and then looked at me. “You were repaired and maintained here by one Monica Hubert.” I could see the Dash’s eyes light up a pale white and I knew he was going through online files. It was a feature I never found particularly useful, but I guess in cases like these… “Yes… you were here some time ago for your check-up, but then never returned…” “Return, brother,” the pack said in unison. “They are right, Dash. Return with us, brother,” the head Dash tried to convince me. “Return to us. Let us repair you… let us show you the way again…” I could almost feel myself being drawn into them. I didn’t want to, but I almost felt a wave of some kind leading back over to them. “Dash? Dash? Where are you? Where did you…?” Carmen then stepped into the room and saw the scene unfolding before her. “Oh… what the…” “Carmen!” I shouted. Her presence seemed to be shocking enough that I felt the wave dissipate and I quickly ran over to her. “Thank all cuddles above that you’re here! I had a…” Carmen shook her head. “I don’t think I want to know… just come on… we found Pete” She then tried to lead me, but the other Dash’s looked right back at us. Curiously though, they didn’t seem to move any further from where I had left them. “Brother…” the head Dash began again. “Why are you with her? She is beneath you. Come back to the fold. We can help you be part of the pack again.” “One of us,” the pack said in unison, their eyes now glowing the same yellow mine used. “Jiminy!” Carmen shouted out in shock over seeing my other models. She then took hold of one of my paws and refocused me back on her. “Let’s go, Dash. We shouldn’t be here!” I nodded slowly and took one last look at the leader and the pack. “We will be waiting for you, Dash… always… you’re one of us…” I could feel a pull of some kind right then, but Carmen’s tugging just helped me push past the room. After a second, I didn’t feel it, and I stopped. “Wait… Carmen… I just want to thank…” Carmen then held her own hoof up to my mouth and shook her head. “I don’t know what happened in that room, but I don’t want to know. You are our Dash, and we are here to save Pete. Let’s just agree to never talk about what I just saw in that room… for both our sakes, okay?” I slowly nodded and quickly walked away with Carmen to wherever Pete was apparently being kept. As we passed dozens of worn out or husked toys, I was just glad that she had come and pulled me away. I wasn’t sure what was going on back there, but I felt as if I stayed, I would have never wanted to leave the pack again. There was something else though as well. I wasn’t sure what it was, and for a moment, I almost thought it was a pity for them. Sure, they were shiny and even truly flashy, but they were all alone and would likely never find a Little to stay with permanently. In essence, they would never be someone’s stuffy. I don’t think they cared though, and the more I thought about it as I raced toward Pete, the more I felt it was something else. Ever since Emma had called me, ‘Pash,’ I kept rolling the name around in my head. It felt weird and just plain unnatural at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered who I even was anymore. Seeing those other near-drone Dash’s, I wondered if I really even could call myself a true ‘Dash’ anymore. Sure, I still had my speed and my abilities like those others, but I also felt a shift within myself that at the end of the day, I wasn’t the same toy that I was even beyond my special features. Now, I wasn’t sure if I was Patch exactly, but I also wondered if I just took a second to think about it, that maybe I was more Patch than Dash lately. For right now though, I had to set that thought aside and just help Pete.

Gender isn't clothes nor is about your body shape it's more about how you feel you are on the inside and there's a big array of terms and their definitions for those who are looking for something more exact. Personally I don't think anyone of us can find something so personal it ticks every box right down to a tee so really you look at a broad umbrella that has most of you and rely more on conversation to fill in how it it is exactly with you plus in the end we own that term we choose for us. From that we can chose whatever we feel most comfortable in be it underwear or outerwear part from how we put together any one look.

I agree. I too wore nappies in public as a child and teen (to an extent) Many a summer we would be in a park or on the beach and I'd just be told to strip off. The same as kids who didn't wear nappies would and run around in thier undies/knickers. I spent many a day on the beach in nothing more than a nappy till i started high school aged 11 No one battered an eyelid as far as i was aware. Public changing areas etc when i was a young teen no issues. Wearing in public is only taboo because we in part make it that way. Like others have said speedos and bikinis are now the norm for continent people why not nappies for incontinent people...

One year, 1,600 pages, 2,020 likes, and a very happy family. ——————————— Chapter 93 “Who’s a good bear? Is it you? Is you a good bear? Yes, you is. Such a good bear. The very best bear ever.” Becky paused, and quietly waved to Amanda, putting a finger to her lips and pointing into Jamie’s nursery. “Such a soft bear, too ... You give good hugs.” Amanda bit her lip and shook her head, wishing she could take a video. It made sense. She just didn’t know Jamie talked to his bear that way. The same way they sometimes talked to him. That’s the first pretend play children do, imitating their parents. She could understand how Jamie would take on the same mantle, thinking of his bear the way she and Becky thought of theirs, anthropomorphizing his little buddy. Amanda was willing to admit she talked to her stuffies growing up and occasionally talked to the bear Jamie had given her when she was alone. Becky, smiling ear to ear, waited until Jamie was done playing and laid his head back down in the crook of the bear’s arm. He’d been down for a nap for a while without sleeping, so he tired to just rest. He was rubbing the bear’s belly, enjoying its soft fur. “Baby bear,” Becky sang quietly to get his attention. “Hi, Mom.” “How’d my bear sleep?” “I didn’t, really.” “O, no? How’d your bear sleep?” “He always sleeps soundly,” Jamie giggled, not knowing she’d seen him talking to his bear. “Well, somebody needs their diaper changed.” Becky walked to the edge of the crib and reached in, dodging Jamie’s arms and picking up his bear instead. He was confused and didn’t know what to say. Becky laid the bear on Jamie’s changing table and reached under it for the newborn diapers stuffed into the bottom shelf, acting as though nothing were out of the ordinary. Humming to herself, she opened the diaper the bear was wearing and stopped, furrowing her brow. “Something is different ... O no! I got the wrong bear!” “Hehehehe,” Jamie giggled. “Sorry, Jamie. The two of you look so much alike these days.” “It’s okay.” “You mind if I finishing changing his diaper first?” “Nope. He’s been in that one for too long.” Becky made a production out of it, tickling the bear’s tummy and dusting its diaper area with powder before she replaced the old diaper with the new one. “All clean,” Becky said. “You’re being awfully silly today,” Jamie said. No more than Jamie, though, a thought Becky kept to herself. “Now for the other bear,” Becky said as she put the teddy in the crib and lifted Jamie out. “You is a very wet boy,” she said when she saw how saggy his diaper was. “May I please be naked for a while,” Jamie asked. Becky had no qualms about that. The only thing nearly as cute as his butt in a diaper was his butt in nothing. She wiped him down, powdered him, and took a diaper from the table to carry back to the living room. “Ready to tackle the afternoon,” she asked him. “Meh.” She put him on her hip and got only one step before Jamie asked, “Can you please get my paci?” Becky smiled, ruffled his hair, and reached into the crib, fishing around the blankets until she found it. She took the bear and handed it to Jamie. “Maybe your bear would like a pacifier, too.” “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “Why not,” she asked as she headed to the living room. “He’s still growing. It would be bad for his teeth.” Really, he just didn’t want his bear to have a pacifier somehow attached. It would be less snuggly. He yawned a great big yawn. “O, of course,” Becky said with a chuckle. “Mom,” Manda said, pretending to be surprised. “You diapered the wrong bear! You were supposed to diaper the hairless one with the pink butt.” Becky gave Jamie’s butt three smart pats. “I like this butt.” “I’ve always been partial to it myself,” Jamie added and yawned again. “What are we supposed with a naked Jamie,” Manda asked. “We could tickle it.” “No!” “You don’t wanna be tickled,” Becky asked. “No. Maybe later.” “Well,” Becky said as she sat down on the couch and shifted him to her chest, “maybe just some gentle tickles.” She offered Jamie his paci and guided his head down. With one arm around his waist, she used her right hand to run her fingernails up and down his bare skin. Jamie cooed and shifted his body back and forth, trying to snuggle deeper. “I bet I can get you to go to sleep,” Becky said softly into his ear. He nodded and closed his eyes. “You are such a good bear,” she said. “Such a soft bear ... Mama’s good bear.” From his neck to his feet, from his right hand to his left, Becky caressed every inch of him. Manda took out her phone and silenced it before taking a picture of Jamie in their mom’s arms. She’d print that one. She texted it to Mel. “Feel good, baby,” Becky whispered after several minutes. “He’s out, I think,” Manda told her. She reached over and caressed his thigh. He did have a cute butt, and let’s face it, not all littles do. She sighed and sat back. “You want him for a while,” Becky asked. “Nah. Enjoy him.” “I always enjoy my baby bear,” Becky whispered to Jamie, “because he is the bestest bear there ever was.” She put her other arm around him, her hand wrapped around his side, and enjoyed the heavy, warm softness of her bear.

Chapter 92 Perhaps what Jamie missed most when he was staying at the apartment was the big, and private, backyard. A raised planter bed separated the patios, but beyond the edge outside their apartment, there was a long, wide strip of grass running past other apartment buildings, broken only by the sidewalk. The playground was of course open to the entire complex. There was no private place outside the edge of the patio, and that was more secluded than private. Becky and Amanda had talked first among themselves and then laid out the rules for Jamie. He could play in the grass behind their building and the two buildings on either side, but he couldn’t go anywhere else in the complex and especially not the pool. They were worried about Jamie. They were worried about a little seemingly alone and how bigs might react to that. The good intentions of strangers worried them, and the bad intentions did, too. They didn’t want Jamie being brought back by the manager, or worse, and what that might cause. They didn’t want to see Jamie hurt whether by accident or on purpose. Until they got to know the neighbors and the neighbors got to know Jamie, they decided to be cautious. He was, after all, still a little in a world made for bigs. There wasn’t much to do behind the building. There was no sandbox or swing set or anything beyond a picnic table. After reminding him once again the limits of where he could play, and after he assured her he understood, Manda stayed inside with a book while Jamie took his football and went to just walk and kick it around for the distraction on a slow day. Dribbling the ball, he made his way down to the end of the building over and back past their apartment to the end of the grass on the other side. He turned and started his way back wishing there was someone to kick the ball around with. He didn’t want to ask Manda because she seemed content with her book, and he always tried to be cognizant of the fact that it wasn’t her job to keep him entertained. Growing bored, Jamie approached the fence that marked the boundary of the complex on the back side. From their patio, he couldn’t see over it, and curious, he found a knothole and looked through. On the other side was a small wood choked with undergrowth and more than few discarded cans and bottles. Jamie figured teens likely used it as a place to get away from the prying eyes of parents, and perhaps older kids used it as a secluded place to play games and explore in the dirt. He assumed it was off limits to him, though he planned to ask Manda if the two of them could check it out, and he turned to continue his dribbling to see three and then four older kids crawling through the fence where the boards were loose at the bottom. Jamie never had much interest in older kids, or younger ones either. The younger ones could be dangerous once they grew to be bigger than him, and the older ones seemed mostly disinterested. He only encountered them at the pool, and he looked on them there the same many of them seemed to look on him: as being in the way. One of them spotted him, and she saw her wave her arm at her companions, three boys. Assuming they’d chase after him if he walked away, and Not wanting to be chased, he stood still until the reached him. “Are you lost,” the girl asked. “No. I was just playing with my ball.” “All alone?” “I’m allowed. My big said I could,” Jamie replied. Curious, he asked, “What’s back there?” “Just woods. I’m Yasmine. My friends call me Yazzy.” “Jamie.” “This is Brett, Steven, and Hao.” The boys all said hello, looking eager to find a new adventure, and they well knew that littles don’t go on adventures. “What do you guys do back there?” “We have a fort,” the one called Steven answered, “but we don’t allow littles.” Yasmine turned and gave him a dirty look. “I’m not allowed to play back there anyway.” He hadn’t specifically been told that. He just assumed the fence was a boundary. “Don’t you have any friends to play with,” Yasmine asked. “We just moved in. That’s my building,” he told her as he turned to point. “We’ll play with you.” “How old are you guys?” “Eleven,” she answered as the same boy said, “Too old to play with littles.” Jamie wasn’t sure he would have had a different reaction at that age to the prospect of playing with the toddler they saw him as, but the boy’s reaction struck him as typical of the attitude he seemed to find among a lot of older and teen boys. They just weren’t interested in littles. Girls were more likely to take an interest, though he rarely interacted with them. “Don’t be a buttface,” the boy called Hao said. “We’ll kick your ball with you,” he offered. Jamie was a little suspicious. Hao seemed sincere enough, and Yasmine seemed genuinely nice. They were still big kids, though, and Jamie was torn between his reservations about kids and wanting to make friends at his second home. “Will you play nice,” he asked. “Yeah, we’ll play nice,” Yazzy told him. Still not entirely confident but willing to take a risk, he dropped his ball and kicked it toward her gently. She passed it back. The fivesome started dribbling and passing the ball between them, starting to walk, for them, and jog, for Jamie, down the strip of grass. They were careful with the ball and didn’t play rough. The boys especially seemed amused by the small size of Jamie’s football. They dribbled it more easily than one of their own balls, and Steven and Brett seemed mostly to play with each other. Yazzy and Hao included him whenever they got the ball. They stopped in a larger grassy area and spread out to pass the ball back and forth. Jamie was enjoying himself. Brett and Steven may have been mostly ignoring him, but they weren’t being mean and he had people to play with. They were no longer behind his building, but Jamie decided Becky and Manda’s real concern was him being alone outside the boundaries, and he wasn’t alone. If they kept playing for much longer, he’d go back to the apartment and tell Manda. “Remember to share,” Yasmine reminded Steven as he passed again to Brett, and the boy shrugged and kicked the ball toward Jamie. Without meaning to, it sailed over his head, and Jamie ran to get it. Wanting to show he could play well, if not kick as hard as they could, Jamie drop kicked the ball back into the circle and chased after it. “Good kick,” Hao congratulated him. Jamie tried not to smile as he took his place in the circle again. He wanted them to think it was business as usual. Steven and Brett started to include him more, and Steven paused the ball with his foot on top and nodded at Jamie. As Jamie said, “Not too hard,” Steven hammered the ball at Jamie. It went wide of him, and he had no intention of trying to stop it. It follows a straight line into the parking lot and bounced off a car door. Jamie followed it with his eyes and turned back around to find himself alone. He rolled his eyes, not exactly blaming them for getting scared and running away. He would’ve at their age. He walked toward the parking lot and very carefully poked his head out from between two cars parked at the edge to make sure it was safe and trotted across the row to get his ball, which had come to rest against a tire. Being a responsible adult, Jamie went over to the car Steven had hit and checked to see if the door panel was dented. It wasn’t, but there was a scuff. Jamie spit on it and used the hem of his shirt to wipe it off, hoping it would rub out easily. It did, but he couldn’t reach the whole thing. About to stand on his ball, Jamie found himself in a shadow. Feeling caught, he turned ready to explain and apologize but didn’t get the chance. “Did you do that,” a woman standing over him asked. She had a hand on her hip. “A big kid I was playing with did. I’m sorry, but it’s rubbing right out.” The woman leaned over to take a closer look and straightened up. “I don’t see any kids,” she said. “It’s better to always tell the truth.” “I am telling the truth,” Jamie defended himself, a little emphatically but still calmly. “They ran away.” “So there was more than one of them?” “Yeah. There were four.” “Well, come on. Let’s go.” She held out her hand, and Jamie didn’t take it. “Where,” he asked. She didn’t seem angry, but she was three times his size. “Your apartment. Which building do you live in?” She hoped he knew. “I can go home on my own,” Jamie told her. The woman wouldn’t leave a little in a parking lot anyway, and she wanted to take him to his mom and let her deal with his naughtiness: the scuff on her car, and being in the parking lot. She was tempted to give his mom a piece of her mind for letting him wander away. “I’m gonna take you,” the woman said. “Which one is yours? And no fibbing,” she warned him. “That one,” he pointed. She took his hand. He reacted and tried to pull it away. He didn’t mean to; it was just instinct. “I’m holding your hand,” the woman said, still calm but growing impatient. She gripped his hand more tightly but not painfully. She took the ball from him and carried it in her palm. Knowing he was in trouble now, Jamie didn’t look forward to facing Amanda. He hadn’t gotten in trouble in months, and he wasn’t sure just how much trouble he was in. The woman let go of his hand, knocked on the door, and put her palm firmly on top of Jamie’s shoulder. Amanda opened the door and frowned, expecting this well-intentioned big brought him home thinking he was where he shouldn’t be. “Is this your little,” the woman asked. “Are you okay,” she asked him first. He nodded and walked through the door, turning and standing next to Amanda’s left leg. She put her hand around his shoulder. “I found him in the parking lot trying to rub a scuff out of my car door.” Jamie looked at the floor and didn’t see the look of surprise and disappointment Amanda turned on him. She hadn’t considered she needed to do anything beyond the reminder she’d given him to make sure he stayed where he was supposed to. Jamie was unregressed, after all, and didn’t need that kind of supervision. At least, he didn’t at home. “I’m Amanda,” she said. “Dorothy.” She handed the ball over. “He said the kids he was playing with did it, but I didn’t see any kids.” “Is you car okay?” “Yes.” The woman wanted to lecture Amanda about not knowing where her little was but held it in. “I’ll leave you to it.” “I’m sorry about this. Jamie, anything to say?” He’d apologized once already in a general way, as in he was sorry for the inconvenience. He wasn’t going to apologize for hitting her car because he didn’t do it, and it was an accident anyway with no harm done. “A big kid did it, and it was an accident,” he said a little plaintively. “I’m sorry it happened,” he added for the woman’s benefit. “Thanks for being him back,” Amanda said. The woman nodded and left, and Amanda shut the door behind her. Jamie had music to face. “C’mon,” Amanda said and guided him in front of her to the couch. She sat down and he stood in front of her. “What happened?” She wasn’t angry, at least not audibly, but she was more than disappointed. “I didn’t lie,” he said. “No one said you did,” she said evenly. “She did when I said I didn’t do it.” “So where did you meet this kid?” “In the yard behind our building. They were playing in the woods behind the fence.” “Did you got back there?” “No. I didn’t think I was allowed. They came through a hole in the fence.” Jamie was telling the story to the couch cushions on either side of Amanda, having a hard time looking at her. He was embarrassed to be in trouble and embarrassed to have been brought home and embarrassed to have been treated like a little kid by that woman. “And,” Amanda asked with a patient nod. “We started playing with my football,” he said and recounted the story. “I was bored and I wanted to make friends and I’m sorry. I won’t do it again,” he said when he was done. “Well, I’m not upset about the car, Jamie, but I am upset you went outside the boundaries and that you walked into the parking lot and that you wandered off with strangers. I’d didn’t even know you weren’t in the back.” “I didn’t go far,” he weakly defended himself. “That’s not the point and you know it. If you had come ask permission, I might have said yes, but you know where you’re not supposed to go and went there anyway.” “I didn’t mean to at first ... And I was gonna come back if we stayed much longer.” He knew that didn’t excuse it. It only showed that he knew what he did was wrong. His voice was getting shaky. She reached out and picked him up into a hug, giving him a kiss and a good squeeze. “Let’s take a moment to calm down, and then we can finish talking about it.” Knowing what was coming, he stayed silent as she carried him to the corner behind his playpen and set him on his feet. “Think about what you did, and we’ll finish talking when I come get you.” Jamie nodded and Amanda gave him a gentle pat on his butt to check his diaper. As much as he hated corner time, Jamie counted himself lucky. He knew enough to know that every other big of his acquaintance save Becky would’ve had his diaper down and his butt over their lap. He didn’t recall every timeout he’d ever gotten, but he was sure this was the only time he’d done something most bigs would view as an automatic spanking. The thought of it made him unconsciously reach behind himself to rub away an imaginary itch on his left butt cheek. At least he knew that would never happen. Amanda went out through the patio door, leaving it open, and sat on the chair she’d borrowed from her mom. She felt the weight of guardianship in a new way, with a serious issue to deal with and without Becky to take the lead. She considered calling her but wanted to use this opportunity to demonstrate that she was in charge at their apartment and that he had to follow the rules there just at his other home. She needed also to make him understand that the stakes were different here. Everyone here was a stranger so far; no one knew them; and it wasn’t at all like wandering over to Amy’s house without telling anyone. That he wandered off with some random kids and had walked through the parking lot alone just added to it, and both of those were big deals on their own. Giving his butt a few hard swats would’ve been satisfying were it not for want she believed about hitting littles and everything she knew about Jamie’s past. “Hi,” a girl said, interrupting Amanda’s thoughts. She looked up. “Do you have a little?” “Yes. Are you one of the kids who was playing with him?” She nodded guiltily. “Jamie didn’t hit that car. Steven did it. Can I tell Jamie I’m sorry I ran away?” Amanda took a deep breath and let it out. “Jamie is in time out right now.” “But he didn’t hit the car.” “What’s your name?” “Yasmine.” “I’m Amanda. Jamie isn’t supposed to go out of past those buildings, and he isn’t supposed to go anywhere with strangers.” “I didn’t know that. I wouldn’t have asked him to play.” “Well, Jamie knows that. It’s okay for you to ask him to play, but he should’ve come and asked me if he could.” “I’m sorry.” “I’m glad you came and found me. It’s okay for you to play with him, but you need to remember he is a little. You can’t wander away with littles.” “I ...” She didn’t know he had boundaries, but she did understand now that boundaries or not, she did wander away with him. “It’s my fault he got in trouble.” It was a little bit, but it was really Jamie’s own bad decisions. This girl’s bad choices were easier to excuse than Jamie’s. Amanda expected him to show better judgment than this girl. “Jamie knows the rules. He didn’t have to go with you.” The girl nodded solemnly. “Can I tell him I’m sorry when he’s out of timeout?” “How about me and him come to your house later and meet your mom?” Yasmine was certain she’d get in trouble if her mom found out what she’d done. “Mom’ll get mad if you tell her.” That wasn’t something she’d say to someone her mother’s age, but Amanda seemed so young by comparison. “I don’t think we need to tell her so long as you understand he’s a little and you can’t take littles anywhere without their gig’s permission, and that he needs to ask before he goes somewhere with anyone.” “I understand.” “It’s our job to watch out for littles. Sometimes we gotta help them stay out of trouble.” The girl nodded and told Amanda her apartment number. Amanda watched her walk away and felt a little calmer. She looked at her phone and decided to let Jamie think for ten more minutes. That was longer than his standard timeout, but his actions were also worse than his standard misbehavior. Explaining what she shouldn’t have done to the girl made Amanda feel a little like a teacher; it struck her that part of having a little or being a parent is thinking of it as a job, and addressing naughtiness is just a part of the job. She knew she shouldn’t take misbehavior personally. Jamie’s actions were upsetting, and thinking about what might have happened scared her, and she needed to make sure he understood all that and what to do instead in the future. It wasn’t about punishment. It was about teaching. It was as simple and as complicated as that. She went back inside to get him. If Jamie had forgotten his good sense and walked out of the yard with strangers, he remembered how timeout worked. He stood still with his hands at his sides until Amanda picked him up from behind and carried him back to the sofa on her hip. She sat down with him on her lap, one arm around his waist, so they could look one another in the eye. Amanda renewed her resolve when she saw what looked like almost watery eyes, reminding herself she could hug him until he couldn’t stand it after she was done with her lecture. “I love you,” she decided to begin with and regretted it, “and I’m disappointed in you. You know better.” “I know...” “Please let me finish.” He nodded silently. “You know the areas where you’re allowed to play. You’re smart enough to know the fence is one of them. You know not to walk away with strangers. And you know not to walk through parking lots alone. So, tell me what you were thinking.” Jamie sighed. This was still an odd part of being a little to him. So rarely did he ever want to do something he wasn’t allowed to, he’d never gotten used to what it felt like to be chastised like a child, and for exercising his own judgment to boot, even if he did see it was glaringly bad judgment. “I saw these kids and they offered to play, and then we were running and we were around the corner. It took me a second to realize I was out of the boundaries, and then I thought I’d come back and tell you if we stayed there much longer.” “Come and tell me what, exactly?” “That me and my friends were just around the corner. I wasn’t alone, I mean, and I know that’s what you and Mom are most worried about.” “You’d thought I’d give you permission to go back there?” “Yeah.” “I’d have put you in timeout.” She let that sink in. “When you realized you were around the corner, you should’ve come right back. That rule is for your safety, not just because we don’t want the someone bringing you back. But what really scares me is you ran off with strangers. Why would you do that?” She tried to soften her voice and make sure he understood this talking to came from a place of love. “I ... they’re just kids. This girl and one of her friends were nice, and I wanted someone to play with. I didn’t think ... they’re kids. I didn’t think of them as strangers.” In fact, Jamie had gotten used to not thinking of anyone as a stranger anymore, not as an adult. They may be people he didn’t know, but they weren’t strangers in the sense people mean when they warn kids. In his years as a little, he didn’t hold quite that same view, but he hadn’t reverted to thinking of strangers as being strangers in the way he did as a child. “Anyone you don’t know is a stranger.” That had never been an issue until now, living in an apartment complex with people they didn’t know in such close proximity. “They may be kids, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe. They might not have bad intentions, but they also might. What if they just didn’t let you come back when you said you were ready? They might think that’s just playing or teasing, but that wouldn’t make a difference to you if they did that. And what if one of them carried you to their apartment or into those woods? What if one of them thought it would be funny to be mean to you?” “They seemed nice enough ...” “And they probably are, but we can’t just hope. If you meet a new person here and want to go play with them, you need to bring them to me first, and I need to go talk to their parents, and then we’ll decide where you can play and how long.” Jamie nodded. “What if the big is an adult? Like Amy?” “Then I need to get to know them. Does all that make sense?” Jamie nodded. “It’s not just about keeping bigs from thinking you need help when you’re safe. It’s about making sure you really are safe. And you don’t set a toe onto the parking lot without me or a big I approve.” “I’m sorry.” “I know, honey. I don’t want the manager coming or your social worker getting called, but more than anything - anything - I don’t want you getting hurt. It scares me just to think about it.” Jamie expelled air from his chest, his eyes getting watery. “For the rest of this week if I’m not outside with you, your play area outside is the grass right behind our patio, like there’s an imaginary line from the edge that goes all the way to the fence. Next week, we can try again with the bigger area. Understood?” “Yes,” Jamie said with a pitiful voice. “I’m sorry. I was stupid.” Amanda pulled him closer and let him put his face against her, buried in the fold of her tee shirt. She put both arms around him and held him for a moment. He calmed himself down in just a minute and sat back, wiping his eyes and looking embarrassed again to have done such a dumb thing. “You’re weren’t stupid, Jamie Bear. Your behavior was stupid. You are a very smart and very good bear.” Jamie’s lips formed the tightest frown Manda had ever seen him make as she drew in a deep breath through his nose and pushed it out, resting his head on her again but not nuzzling into her shirt. She patted his back. She knew he wasn’t trying to be cute or get out of trouble. Sensitive thing that he was, he was in the process of making himself feel guiltier than Amanda ever could. She had to pivot and put a stop to that before he got any further into his own head. “Do you have any questions?” “No. I’m sorry.” “I know, and we’re all done talking about it. You’re forgiven, and I know you’ll use better judgement in the future.” “Are you gonna tell Mom?” “I don’t see any reason to. This is our house. We just dealt with it. Now we can get on with our day.” “What are we gonna do?” “We are going to change your pants,” she said as she kissed his head, “and I met your friend, Yasmine, and later on we’re going to over to her apartment so I can meet her mom. Sound good?” “Yeah.” “You don’t cheer up, and I’m gonna make you sleep in the woods.” “No, you won’t. That’s outside the boundaries.” “I was just testing you,” she gave him another kiss and pinched the back of his bare thigh. He jumped and gave her a dirty look, smiling at her. “I love you muchly, Jamie Bear.” “I love you, too.” “Let go change those pants.” “Would you please read to me for a while?” “Read our bedtime book in the middle of the day,” she asked, letting the register of her voice climb a little higher, helping him to hear that she wasn’t angry or disappointed anymore and she was ready to have fun with him again. She knew what he was really asking: could he sit in her lap while she held him tight around the waist and he leaned into her, one of his favorite ways to be in the world. “I know. I’m just all out of sorts today.” “Such a silly bear. We’ll have to go to the library soon to get a new book.” Five minutes later she had a Jamie Bear in just a dry diaper, his paci between his lips, and as she glanced from the page to him, she knew he needed a nap before lunch. Perhaps she did, too.

12 - Back to Normalcy The faint whispers of bumper to bumper traffic, ongoing construction, and brisk winds could be heard from a distance. Thin, vertical strips of light stained the wall, as from the opposite side they peered through the drawn curtains. The only other presence in the room was the digital clock by the bedside, glaring its digital numbers; early hours of the morning. Possibly the faintest ongoings could be heard from the other side of the closed door, but nothing loud enough to awaken who was asleep; buried amongst the plush comforter and blanket, and supported by the expansive mattress which was a glorified cloud. The pillow easily capable of supporting three heads was occupied by only one, but it had selfishly thrown itself about it from one end to the other; back and forth multiple times in the night. The loose sheets and bedding had been partly folded over each other and areas were bunched more than others, whilst one of the culprit’s appendages hung lifelessly over the edge. The times between each motion and slothful stir became less and less, and became more and more restless from the waist below. It would remain like that until about fifteen minutes later, and then a groan and sigh would erupt. “Ugh….” Propping herself up against the headboard, Emily blinked her eyes as the darkness was still leaving their corners. Her body had gone back to being wet all over, and just about the only silver lining was that it wasn’t as bad this time...But she still felt warm again. Again, not as much; especially from her head, too. In fact, it felt pretty normal. Cold, almost? She pressed a hand to her forehead, surprised to feel a texture that wasn’t skin. It was rough, wet, and cold. Luck was on her side though, because instead of her skin turning into a washcloth, she’d just had one put on her instead. Did Joyce put this on me? Emily held the pile of wet cloth in her hand, with a gaze lost in its countless fibers while her consciousness kicked into full gear. Despite how it made her feel on the surface, it invited a new warmth inside of her; a reminder of the doting person she was in the domain of right now...However, one thing led to another, and it suddenly reminded her of the mishap she caused for Joyce last night. She’d need to apologize properly. Emily couldn’t even begin to imagine how important of a call she must have disturbed! Then again, didn’t Joyce say it was her mom that she was talking to? What was she thinking? Of course that was an important call! And even if it wasn’t, it probably wouldn’t be the best if she found out about their relationship...How would they explain what they had? Was there even a way to describe it? The thought was too taxing to consider, and it only reminded her of the mental blocks that were jutting outwards in the most awkward places; her headache still in mild swing. All over she still didn’t feel too spectacular, but painful still couldn’t fully describe it. She felt dull. For better and worse, it meant she at the very least wasn’t as uncomfortable, yet she was still trapped on the tightrope between sweet sensation and suffering. One chain of thought kept leading to another in her head, and her focus finally stumbled upon her bladder, which was making itself known with a constant knock against her lower area. Right now? A small whimper escaped her, as confining herself to the bed was what she wanted more than anything. Her surroundings were still slightly spinning, and she was still caught in a perfect state of half-sleep to fully jump back into it. She wanted nothing more than to crash right now, but of course bodily needs had to get in the way...Peeling back the rustled covers, she suddenly stopped. A diaper. She was wearing a...diaper. That’s right...The decision weighed heavily on her shoulders, which is why she didn’t want to give it much thought; she wanted to sweep it off her plate before it became crushing. If you wanted to use your diaper too, that’d be perfectly okay with Mommy… As if on cue, the words whispered through her ears; maybe her mind? It didn’t matter. Coupled with sleepiness, sickness, stress, and simple laziness, Emily almost surprised herself when she started to push slightly on her bladder. She couldn’t actually be doing this, could she? Wetting of her own complete volition? She couldn’t stop questioning herself, but she didn’t stop pushing. It was certainly strange, but deep down, she knew it was okay...The idea didn’t sit totally well with her, but she was too tired to care, and her smaller side could only think of Joyce as she did her deed. Despite the inner turmoil, her momentum showed no signs of slowing. Finally, after forcing herself from a sitting position, she let out a deep sigh as a sudden, warm stream invaded her underwear; her diaper. The sensation was almost relieving, oddly enough. It became one less worry, and now she could go back to sleep, as she was already trying to get comfortable again. Though, she’d had her fair share of warm temperatures already, and the sudden wet heat around her waist didn’t feel amazing given the already heated circumstances. Thankfully she didn’t need to go that much...but she did feel a bit bashful...But Joyce would take care of it, right? She could depend on the woman, after all. She was...special. Rolling over on her side and straightening the bedding somewhat, Emily found herself the maximum amount of comfort that was possible, given she was sick and in a wet diaper. She hadn’t bothered to glance at the clock, and didn’t let her mind escape the confines of the room. Nothing in that moment mattered more than whisking herself off to dreamland. Hopefully there would be better adventures than the ones before, though. “Mhm. I’m just switching out her washcloth right now. I’ll make sure to give her that stuff you mentioned,” Emily could hear Joyce move around the room, as she slowly opened her eyes. “And yes, I’ll keep on top of her with fluids and food. Thank you again, Amanda. I know weekend calls really aren’t your thing...” There was another brief pause. “Just send me the bill; I’d feel bad not giving anything in return. Okay? Perfect. I’ll keep in touch if things don’t get any better.” Emily could now see enough to know Joyce had just hung up on her phone, and could feel the mattress shift when something new descended upon it. Beside her, it didn’t take Joyce very long to turn from her phone and to her, as her stare rained sunshine and roses upon the sleepy girl. “Good morning, sleepyhead!” She gave Emily’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “Are you feeling any better? Worse?” “Better, I guess.” Emily tried to sit herself up a little, taking notice of how the room was much brighter now. The curtains had been drawn, and the outward city sky was spewing its torrent of light through the windows. “Well, I can’t say I expected you to kick this is one sitting...” Joyce’s voice was somber, as she stroked Emily’s hair. “But as long as you’re feeling better in any shape or form, it’s a step in the right direction.” “I know...And thank you for taking care of me,” Emily’s innermost feelings were starting to feel raw again. “I even interrupted that call last night, and I took up your time because of it...” She was the absolute worst. Even the smallest of disturbances she caused felt like they held the weight of the world, and she only knew how to take, take, and take from Joyce when all she would do is give. The one opportunity she had not to be a screw-up, and she managed to-! “Interrupted? I only remember you doing as you were told.” Her words cut through Emily’s mental madness like how she threw a wrench in Joyce’s earlier call. “Well, maybe not completely, because someone was out of bed when they weren’t supposed to be,” She looked down on Emily with a playfully stern look. “But even if it were an issue, how could I ever be mad at you?” “I know, but even on top of that, this was supposed to be our weekend! But instead, I’m spending it being sick!” Emily’s headache was throbbing the more she felt her emotions getting out of control. “It’s not fair to you, and at every point I somehow demand more and more of you!” Despite being so out of it, Emily could feel her deep-seated concerns bubbling from within. Having Joyce take care of her was one of the most amazing things she’d ever experienced, but to a whole new degree was she dragging the woman down. “Hey, hey!” Joyce helped pulled Emily up, and wrapped her arms around her. “Why are you being so hard on yourself? Don’t you remember? I wanted this kind of thing, and don’t you like it too?” “Yeah...but still-!” “Then why are you fighting it?” She looked Emily in the eyes, who already looked to be on the verge of tears. “Have I ever been forced by you to do anything? There’s never been a single moment in our time together like this where I’ve wanted it to stop.” Her undying concern and warmth only made Emily crumble further, as she buried her face in the woman. “Never once have I thought of you as a burden, and you’re a blessing that I could never appreciate enough. I’d never wish for anything bad to happen to you. Ever. But, I’d be lying if I said that the way you’re relying on me now didn’t make me happy in some way...” She was happy to be Joyce’s baby, but the idea of total dependency still didn’t sit well with her. It was a part of the job she was still adjusting to, and each time she dipped further into the chilling pool of babyhood, it was getting harder and harder to adjust. “Emmy, you’re not allowed to be mad at yourself, and you’re definitely not allowed to feel bad when you ask me for things, or when I do things for you.” “...Really?” Joyce almost wanted to laugh, but she’d never want to seem like she was mocking her. Still, she had figured it was a given by now. “Of course, silly! Do I need to prove it to you by putting mittens on your hands and booties on your feet? So then you’ll really need someone else to do everything for you? Maybe then you’ll learn how to lean on me a little?” Now she was laughing at the thought, and with Emily clutched in her arms, she could tell it was lightening her mood too. “I’ve already said it a few times, but I guess I need to say it again. Don’t EVER apologize or feel guilty for having me do things for you. If you’re worried about causing me trouble, think about how stressed I am when you’re the one that’s sad. Your happiness is my happiness, and the same goes for when you’re glum.” Maybe it wasn’t her way with words, as much as it was her entire character; her being. Joyce always knew how to pick up the pieces and make Emily whole again. Even Emily knew she was being ridiculous; feeling bad after all this time that had passed and how far she’d come. She should know better than to fret over these things… “I can’t stop you if you’re going to feel guilty, but I’m hoping you’ll learn to not be so hard on yourself when these things happen, because I’m not going to stop providing for you, you know.” She’d just need to work a little harder drilling that into her… “Can we stop dwelling over the unnecessary stuff, though? I’d much rather I have my bubbly little girl back.” “I’m sorry...” Emily partly mumbled, still buried in the shirt of her caretaker. Joyce could only laugh, hearing her little girl trying to be so sincere in the most innocent way possible. “I just don’t want to be a burden...” “It’s okay, and that’s the last time I want to hear you being sorry when there’s no good reason for it, got it? You’re not a burden, and you’re far too precious to be called otherwise.” Meekly Emily nodded her head, as she finally let go of Joyce. “Good. Now, let’s get you into the kitchen. We’re at least gonna try something for breakfast. I’m not asking for a lot, but I’d rather you eat something before I give you your medicine.” She had already stood from the bed and was waiting for Emily to take the lead. Given how her head and stomach were feeling, food didn’t really seem appetizing at all right now. For Joyce, though, she’d at least give it a try...Emily was just about to comply, but was suddenly reminded by something she partly remembered doing in her half-dazed state… “Ah, Joyce? Do you think we could...take care of something before breakfast?” Instinctively her legs shuffled; a loud plastic crinkle making itself known. “Take care of what? I thought you didn’t want to wear clothes? You still feel a bit warm...” “No...it’s not that. At some point, I-” “Used your diaper?” The words effortlessly came from Joyce’s mouth, as she looked at Emily with a knowing smile. Slowly but surely, she was having her down to a ‘T’. “Y..yes.” It was still far too difficult to look Joyce in the eye when she responded to these sorts of things, which is why her vision took much more stock in the padding around her hips. It was crinkly, plastic, white, and lavender-scented. The wetness indicator was unperturbed; waiting to be...wet? The more Emily started to turn her gears, the loud crinkle started to make more sense, as well as the fresh smell of powder, and the pure, white crinkly exterior. “You already…?” Stunned, Emily blinked her eyes as she found it in herself to look at Joyce, who seemed to be eating up every morsel of the abashed realization she was currently saturated in. Yet again, she’d been taken care of and handled without even being around to notice. The squishy wetness between her thighs was gone, now that she took the moment to feel it, and speaking of wetness, the spots that Joyce had so gingerly dried last night felt anew again as well. “I did say don’t expect me to be waking you up, silly.” Joyce didn’t feel like waiting anymore, as she took Emily’s hands and guided her onto her feet. “I know you might still be embarrassed about the diapers, but I want to thank you for putting your trust in me,” She gave Emily another loving hug. “There’s no need to be so hung up on those things.” As she returned the hug, Emily’s mind was still a few seconds behind, fully processing how she’d been cleaned and changed without ever waking up; consciously, at least. Maybe the novelty was starting to wear, considering this wouldn’t have been the first time. Had she simply become that comfortable around Joyce? Was that sort of thing even possible? It wasn’t that she minded so much, more that it was somewhat jarring. “Now come on,” Joyce gave Emily’s bottom a crinkly squeeze. “Are you gonna march off to the kitchen on your own or do I need to carry you?” Her thoughts had a sudden backpedal. “Unless you want me to?” Within the first second Emily was already out the door, followed by a chuckling Joyce. Thankful for the accommodating temperature throughout the home, Emily sat her bare thighs on the cushioned kitchen chair, while the second woman stationed herself by the counter. Even being remotely close to food or food-related stuff was already enough to have Emily’s stomach churning. “What are we thinking? Is there anything you might have in mind that you think would be good right now?” “Not really...” Not even Joyce’s food, undoubtedly the best cuisine she’d ever experienced, could break her spell. In fact, it would likely have the exact opposite effect. “Do you have any cereal?” Maybe she’d figure something out with that… The lack of depth to her suggestion wasn’t exciting to Joyce, but it was easy to understand how much of a struggle it was to eat just about anything right now. “Let’s see...I think we might have some in here somewhere...” Joyce opened one of the cabinets, finding an unopened box of Branflakes. “How about a drink? Water? Maybe I could make you your special morning drink?” “No thank you...water’s fine.” Sitting at the table was already putting a mild strain on her head. It felt as if her skull was repeatedly being tapped by a large, blunt mallet; each blow erupting a mild throb as it shook her entire head. At other times it was a little black speck with legs, sitting on top of her brain, carrying a needle in its hands, and would at the slightest movement relish in plunging its tiny spear into her thoughts. It was by far the lowest quality meal Emily had ever eaten in Joyce’s presence, and despite being so meager in what was set before her, it still looked like one of the greatest challenges she’d ever faced. Second thoughts were coming in full swing. “Joyce, I don’t know if I can’t eat right now...” She slightly grimaced, as the bowl of moistening flakes and innocent-looking milk taunted her insides with sheer presence alone. The glass of water was a tall cup of poison waiting to boil her insides and clog her arteries; her figurative imagination didn’t make much sense, but the gist was that it all looked nauseating. They were a pair of deadly assassins ready to execute her digestive tract. Taking a seat next to her, Joyce picked up the spoon from Emily’s bowl, with a small pile of flakes soaking in a puddle of milk. “I know eating food is probably the last thing on your mind right now, but trust me when I say that there’s nothing worse than taking medicine on an empty stomach. You may not be happy with me right now, but it’s for the best that you at least eat a little. I won’t force you to eat it all, but why don’t we give it a few bites and see how you feel?” Still with the spoon in her hand, she reared it toward Emily’s mouth. The closer the food got to her, the more and more Emily could feel herself revolting at the sight and sensations which aroused her sight and smell. They occupied her nostrils like pungent perfume that had long overstayed its welcome. She wanted nothing more than to get this over with, and was almost considering death a better fate than this. “Here, I’ll even do the hard part. Open wide!” Slowly, Joyce edged the spoon towards Emily’s sealed lips, and as soon as the metal spoon made contact, her initial resistance caused a little milk to spill from the metal rim and onto her shirt. “Should I find you a bib and we’ll try this again?” She grinned at Emily, who then felt herself submitting to an even greater force, as a tiny slit between her lips allowed entry for the enemy substance. It was swallowed much faster than it came in, and Emily didn’t feel particularly great as it went down her throat, but not as terrible as she expected either. “Such a good girl,” Joyce commented, and with her other hand dabbed a cloth on the corner of Emily’s mouth. “Should I give you the spoon back now? Or maybe my little girl wants to be spoiled a little bit more?” Her tone stripped her words of any potentially insulting meaning. Either choice felt equally as welcomed, yet Emily could feel herself being tempted much more by one in particular. “You keep doing it...” Her words were brief, and her headache was limiting her ability to maintain etiquette and manners. Maybe 10 minutes ago she’d been rambling on about dragging Joyce down so much, but it was obvious how weak-willed those feelings had become; seeing as she was being spoon-fed by her now, and even asking for it. “I like that answer, too.” Joyce smiled as she took another spoon full. “Now open up for the airplane! Whoosh! Whoosh! In for the landing!” Another package was delivered to Emily’s stomach, and it hadn’t felt any better than the last. Maybe it was the playful treatment that let her keep it down, though. There was a brief pause in between cereal and Joyce’s praising to allow for a sip of water, but they’d gotten through about half the bowl until Emily was calling it quits. “I’ll say I got as lucky as I could,” Joyce wiped Emily’s face another time, thankful, but hoping she could have fed her little girl for just a little longer. She couldn’t wait to do it again, only under much different circumstances with a much more evident dynamic. Certainly this would be the last obstacle to overcome before that could happen. Unless father time and mother nature were really that cruel. “I’m sure you were ready to stop after the first bite, but thank you for toughing it out for me, my little soldier. All that’s left is to swallow a few pills and then you’re free to relax until your next round.” The small capsules went down much easier, considering there was no real taste to them. After she swallowed, Joyce’s forehead was pressed to Emily’s, reverberating its own kind of warmth. Satisfied with the reading, Joyce pulled her head away. “Is there any special spot you want me to set you up in? You can go back to bed or I can put you on the couch?” “On the couch.” As sick as she was, at least moving her base of operations gave her the illusion of activity. Hopefully this would be the last day of laziness. She was sick of feeling so out of it and wanted more than anything to be well again. She wanted to be able to play with Joyce again. It didn’t take Joyce very long to move a few pillows and blankets to the sofa, quickly having the girl situated and as comfortable as possible. “Comfy?” Joyce asked as she stroked the tip of her finger across the bridge of Emily’s nose. “Mhm. Thank you.” “You’re very welcome. I have a few business emails to sort through, so I’ll be in my office, okay?” Emily nodded her head, without too much emotion in her response. As Joyce started walking away, when she got into her office she started to have a sudden change of heart. Pausing just before she brought the tower to life, she veered to one of the larger drawers of her desk, and pulled out an entire laptop, carrying it back into the living room. “Did you already finish your work?” Emily asked with a hint of surprise. She was too sick to feel like joking at the moment, and didn’t feel like weighing on the things that were happening around her too seriously. “No, but I was thinking it might be better to do it while keeping you some company.” She sat herself on the couch next to where Emily was resting her head. She unfolded the top of the device and it quietly sprang to life. “Unless that’s not okay with you?” She looked down on Emily with a look waiting for confirmation, tilting it the slightest bit to match the angle of Emily’s; not really trying to incite a particular response. “No...you can stay.” Emily looked back towards the tv, but was quietly wiggling her toes in response to the matronly presence next to her. The pillows and blankets were one thing, but being with Joyce invited a whole new sense of security. Almost like the diaper...In a way, it was an accessory to Joyce’s care...A reminder. Absentmindedly, Joyce quietly stroked Emily’s hair with her nearest hand, while the other navigated digital mail and typed responses at a mild pace. She wasn’t in any rush to get the work done, clearly, and it served as the perfect excuse to spend some quality time with Emily despite her being sick. Not that she needed an excuse, but it was something that made the process feel much more natural. Slowly over time, Emily gradually moved more and more until her head had completely surpassed the pillow. Instead, it found a new cushion which was Joyce’s thigh. At some point the contact was hard not to notice, but the only confirmation Joyce gave was a warm smile to herself, and the slightest shift to try and accommodate the head occupying it. Emily, who was brimming with anxiety right now for being so daring wasn’t so much for words either. The pillow which had at first been an aid was now nothing more than an obstacle, which is why it was soon removed from the equation, and Emily’s head had unobstructed access to Joyce’s firm, but cushiony leg. No words needed to be exchanged, as the feelings and atmosphere were enough to convey meaning. Much later into the process, Emily had dozed off some time ago, and only between emails did Joyce finally notice. Needless to say, she was almost caught in a trance looking down on her; seeing the small girl be at peace. Almost unconsciously, Joyce’s hand wandered to her phone, watching Emily’s chest slightly rise and fall with each calm breath. Just as she was about to take a picture, she froze; realizing just what she was about to do. How would Emily react if she was taking a picture of her like this? When she was so vulnerable? What if something like this got out? If anyone saw it; anyone close to either of them...But, the more Joyce’s mind raced in a panic, the more she was allowing rational thought to intrude. The more she looked at the cute, slumbering Emily, it was becoming a bit clearer that it was just a harmless photo...Not to mention, the camera angle wouldn’t catch anything incriminating...The shirt was a bit cutesy, but it was hard to see what was on it from this point of view, and the blanket certainly covered what definitely needed to stay under wraps. If she doesn’t like the picture, I can just delete it. I’ll show it to her once she wakes up. Forming a resolve, Joyce quietly angled the shot and snapped her photo; a timeless memory permanently digitized. It was one of those moments that Joyce hoped would last forever. Something about her innocence was intoxicating, and Joyce wanted more than anything to keep coaxing it from out of its shell. Leaning over, she pecked her lips on Emily’s exposed cheek. Content with what she’d done, Joyce finally used both hands to focus on her work. “Cryostasis?” From the subject heading alone she already skipped over it. “Maybe a century from now...” “And down the hatch!” Joyce cooed as the final set of pills for the night made their way into Emily’s mouth. She swallowed, and was hoping not only they’d be the last for the night, but for this entire ordeal as well. “What do you say we have you turn in early again for tonight? Just so we can really nip this thing in the bud?” “I think so too...I really don’t want to feel like this in the morning.” Since she woke up it had been a winning battle, but Emily knew if there was real progress to be made, it would be through sleep. She’d been trying her best to keep up on food and water, but they were still things she wasn’t crazy about. There wasn’t a single official diaper change that night; minus the one from the morning, and dinner consisted of some extremely small stuff. Thankfully Joyce (despite being reluctant) let her off without an official lunch. Drinking water never left the picture though. “Okay then, let’s get you settled down for the night. Probably panties would be for the best, huh?” Oddly, Emily agreed with a small tinge of disappointment. The weekend was over, and so that meant the same for their ‘special’ time. While Emily may have been on vacation, that didn’t mean the same for Joyce. Without her in the picture it just made the moment feel empty...There wasn’t much point in acting a role if there wasn’t another to reciprocate it. “Maybe if you’re up for it we can experiment a little over the weekdays?” Joyce perked up Emily’s ears with her suggestion. “I know I’m sometimes home earlier than you...so maybe this week if you’re up for it we can try picking up where we left off?” As she guided Emily back to her room, she could see the tiny grin Emily was trying, but failing to hide. “Oh?” Joyce leaned forward to nuzzle her cheek. “Looks like I struck a chord with someone? If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought you’re the one asking me to do this!” Her teasing caused Emily to crumble, which only made Joyce laugh more. It was all in good fun though, and as bashful as she was being, the joy written all over Emily’s face was undeniable. Joyce had dressed her in the pajama set with the extra length on the torso arms and pant legs, and of course, thinner underwear. She didn’t look to be one hundred percent, but at least a solid seventy. Tucked under the covers, Joyce sat on the bed with Emily for a little longer, making small talk, and simply enjoying their time together. “Oh! I almost forgot...” Joyce’s voice trailed off as she snaked her hand into her pocket. “I have something I want to show you...” A surprise? Emily could suddenly feel her pulse race. A surprise from Joyce could mean just about anything in the realm of tangibility. If it had a physical form and was acquirable, Emily had her doubts that it wouldn’t be possible for Joyce to get...Emily hadn’t ever tried to think about it too much, but where exactly Joyce ranked on the list of powerful people was probably a notable rank… “I managed to catch this earlier, and I wasn’t sure how you’d take it...” Joyce turned her phone to Emily, as she looked back at a still image of herself; nuzzled against someone’s leg and covered in a blanket. She wasn’t crazy about pictures of herself...but even with that in mind it still pulled at the heartstrings a little… “Wh...when did you take this?” “When you were sleeping earlier today...I didn’t know how you might feel about pictures…” Suddenly Joyce wasn’t feeling too confident anymore, or at least she was trying to be receptive to Emily’s feedback. “Of course, I didn’t catch anything suggestive, and I wouldn’t show it to anyone! I’d be willing to delete it if you ask…” The slightest bit of sadness sparked within her; imagining a scenario like that. “It’s just...I don’t know...nice to have a few pictures of you, I guess...” Pictures...Simple in their own right, yet hearing it from Joyce gave them a new sense of meaning. More than just a static moment in time, it was now a logged memory; a piece of evidence that Joyce and Emily were now interlocked. A part of her was now with Joyce, and was kept safely in the confines of her phone...It was weird, of course, to think about it so intensely, but it was exciting nonetheless. “Keep it.” Emily briefly spoke. “Really?” Joyce’s hopes had definitely gotten the best of her, as even she couldn’t hide her joy. “Are you sure?” “Well...you said it yourself, didn’t you?” Her cheeks were starting to grow red. “It’s nice to have a few pictures...Thank you for asking me though...You don’t need to ask me anymore. I trust you.” A giggle erupted from Joyce as she pulled Emily in for one last hug. She’d have to be much more watchful in the future for picture-worthy moments now! Past regrets were starting to dawn on her; perfect moments that could have been immortalized! Moving forward though those same regrets would not be allowed to pass. “You get some sleep for me, okay? I want to all rested up for when I get back tomorrow. Don’t worry about getting up early.” “I won’t see you in the morning?” “I get up pretty early for work, and you know that already. You should be sleeping in though, and you should be taking advantage of your time off! Especially when you’re sick.” Emily doubted it would really affect her, but the thought of missing out on an opportunity to see Joyce was disappointing to some degree. Again, her explanation was truthful, but that didn’t mean it agreed with her feelings. “How about I say goodbye in the morning?” Joyce started to straighten out the bedding again. “If I wake you up for a second to say bye, will you go back to sleep for me?” Quickly, Emily nodded her head; much more pleased with this new compromise. “It’s a deal then. I’ll see you in the morning, sweetie.” “Night!” Emily glanced at her phone for a few minutes, then rolled over to her side. She waited for the sound of the door closing, but it never came. Joyce always left a crack in the doorway, and Emily lulled off into a slumber just from thinking about it. “Emily? Hellloooo? You in there?” A familiar voice eased its way into Emily’s ears, and then a laugh soon after. “I knew it was a bad idea waking you up...I’m headed out now for work and I’m here to say bye, okay?” “Okay...” Emily could only murmur, as she wasn’t even aware of what was happening. Her internal clock hadn’t been prepped for a time like this. “Okay?” In a small amount of disbelief, Joyce chuckled over her loopy state. “Alright then,” She leaned in for a much calmer whisper. “You go back to sleep for me now, okay? I’ll be home later.” “Good...night….” The only thing Emily could really register was something soft press her cheek, and then the sound of heels padding across carpet and soon the clicks and clacks of colliding with a wooden floor. As the noises became more quiet, so did her surroundings and suddenly everything else. She had been in the middle of a pleasant dream, and it wasn’t so willing to let her go that easily. Besides, she was in the middle of an important spa treatment with Ashes, and just because the moon was crashing into Mars, that didn’t mean apples couldn’t be blue. “Still, Joyce, I never really figured you the type to go to the movies.” Emily curiously poked as they exited the theater. “I didn’t really expect you to ask me to do something like this...” “Why not?” She leaned them against a nearby wall. “I’m human too, you know!” True, she didn’t really go to the movies; at all, really, but Emily had brought change to her life in more ways than one. “Besides, doesn’t it feel good to be out and about after getting sick? I assumed you want to do something like this...I guess not though...” Obviously pretending, Joyce plastered a disappointed look on her face as she gave Emily a full view of it in its entirety. “N-no! I didn’t mean it like that,” Clearly skipping over the sarcasm, Emily did her best to ensure damage control, despite there never being a need for it. Still, she never wanted to even insinuate the slightest idea that whenever Joyce spent a dime on her it was money wasted. “I was just surprised, that’s all.” “I know what you mean, and I was kidding, so don’t worry so much.” Joyce pat the top of Emily’s head; paying no mind to the people around them. “Why do you tease me so much?” Emily slightly puffed her cheeks, but of course she wasn’t really angry, but playfully annoyed. “Because,” Joyce poked her plump cheek as if she were popping a bubble. “You’re too cute not to!” She spoke in a lowered voice, and suddenly Emily wasn’t feeling so brave to publicly challenge her again. “What do you say we go get something to eat now? Popcorn and candy doesn’t really count as a meal to me...” She was right, there. Joyce insisted on getting a little bit of everything for Emily’s sake, though she didn’t put so much as a dent in it; her stomach didn’t have the capacity, nor would it sit well with her conscience. Even still, when at the snack counter, if Emily gave even the slightest hint of finding something good-looking it wound up in Joyce’s purse. She could go for some real food too. “By the way,” Joyce started as they walked back to the car, and Emily was all ears. “Do you have anything going on tomorrow? Anything important?” “No, I don’t think so. Why?” It didn’t take much thinking, as the greater part of her time was now freed up because of work and the rest was occupied by Joyce. Joyce was a little surprised to hear that, but it wasn’t a disappointment. “Well...” Her first word was infused with intrigue and curiosity. “I was thinking that maybe tonight when we get home we could do a little bit of…’bonding’ together?” Her wording on the surface was vague, but Emily knew exactly what she meant, and truthfully, she loved the sound of it. “Yeah...It sounds like fun.” Openly warming up to the babying experience was strange, but the idea was far from foreign now. It had become too regular to consider it a stranger. “Great! I wanted to ask because I was thinking maybe we could try and cover more than just one day?” “More...than one?” She never really thought about it, but their play never did go beyond a single day...When she was sick a few days ago that put them in a weird place, but Emily wouldn’t count it as official. What she was asking for now would be totally intentional and uninterrupted. It was certainly a commitment, but it was...exciting. “Tomorrow’s Friday and I don’t have any real reason to go to the office tomorrow,” She probably did, but it wasn’t like Sheila couldn’t fix her schedule to suggest otherwise. “And I know your workplace is still sorting through its own issues.” Yes, this was true. It was hard to believe she’d gone an entire week on paid vacation. Maybe it wasn’t the best way to phrase it, but how far from the truth was it? “Would you be okay if we tried something like that?” “Yeah, I’d be fine. Actually...I think I’d kind of want to try it too.” “Then it’s settled,” Joyce gave her another squeeze from behind, then freed her long enough to let her get in the passenger seat. “We’ll get right to it once we’re home. Sound good?” Emily nodded her head, and Joyce turned on the ignition. “Any idea what you’re in the mood for?” “Uhm...You pick.” “Hmm...I have one place in mind.” Apparently Joyce was taking control early. Rather, Emily was surrendering herself much sooner. It didn’t matter though, because in the end all that really did was Emily wanting to be with Joyce, and Joyce wanting to be with Emily. They’d become inseparable, or were on the verge of becoming so. Nonchalantly Joyce checked the time on her phone, and seemed to be pleased with how things were progressing. Give it just another hour at most and the movers were likely to be done in the apartment. Even if it all had good intentions, Joyce felt a little strange deceiving Emily like this… Today’s outing was to give Emily a sense of freedom again, but it was also to get her out of the house just long enough to move in some of the bigger purchases...The assembly would already be finished and Joyce could rearrange if need be. The painting was finished a few days ago and that’s what mattered the most. It was all for Emily, but Joyce was admittedly giddy imagining what the final products would be. Her “client” had gotten progress shots from BabyCare, but only by seeing them in the flesh could they truly be appreciated. Her mind then stumbled upon some of the other items she was having delivered; some things that wouldn’t be limited to just the one room. Where was she going to put the chair? It was another assembled piece, but it was probably too much work to keep taking apart and putting back together. The room’s closet was probably big enough to store it...She’d need to figure it out at some point, but it wasn’t at the forefront of her mind right now...Instead, she was much more focused on getting them fed. “So what are we gonna do tonight?” Emily started to lose herself to the hypnotic hum, as the room was filled with lavender, and her lower half descended upon a plastic-covered cushion. She was still a bit squeamish in moments like these, but routine and habit were dangerous things; stick to something long enough and you just might get used to it. “I’m not sure about that part, yet.” Joyce drew up the plastic front and gingerly pressed the tapes. “Unless you have any ideas? You’re allowed to want things too, you know.” She started to trace her finger on Emily’s bare stomach, which expectedly caused a squirming fit. In a stifled laugh Emily retreated to the far end of the bed in search of safety, staring dagge--well, tiny daggers, at the taller woman. The sense of play was already filling the room, and that made anger impossible. Emily was no longer the tortured, but the submissive, dancing in the palm of her caretaker. Joyce looked at her expectantly, already formulating ideas for what they could do. She knew that she wanted this to start, but she wasn’t sure what they’d do to keep it going…Though, she was a little surprised to hear a suggestion from Emily. “Well...does it have to be something here?” Her voice was weak, as if her resolve were to crumble at the slightest breeze of objection. “No,” Joyce had corralled her charge back to the end of the bed. “What did you have in mind?” “Then maybe...” She wasn’t intentionally trying to drag her words out for the sake of suspense, but was more hung up on the idea of making demands. Not that it could even come close to being one with how she sounded, though. “Milkshakes?” Her eyes looked to almost be glimmering at the sound. “From that one place?” “Shake Stop? The one you were so insistent on not wanting last time?” “It’s not that I didn’t want one...” Joyce looked to be thinking. “I’m not sure...” “You’re right. We just got home, and it’s already late.” It was pretty late. They hadn’t got home until a handful of hours after sundown. Due to a lot of aimless browsing in stores they got derailed pretty fast; not that either of them had a schedule to keep to. In fact, it was exactly what Joyce wanted, even if the work at the apartment had been finished a while ago. “We can always do something-” A finger was suddenly pressed to her lips. “And at what point did I say no?” She planted a kiss on her forehead. “I was just thinking about whether or not I should be giving you sugar so late! You’re much cuter when I need to carry you to bed, you know?” The classic, telltale look was written all over her face, and Joyce could only giggle. “Come on though, I should probably get you dressed in something before we go. I think just a diaper might be a little too chilly for the outdoors. Don’t you?” Pulling her punches, Emily let herself be taken near the dresser which Joyce was already sifting through; the three shelves on the left. Since getting her things from Jack’s place, they had devised a system for Emily’s wardrobe in the dresser, which was to keep her more…“adult” things on the right end of the dresser. The left side...well...it was the exact opposite, to say the least. “Left leg, nice and high!” Joyce commanded as Emily held onto her shoulders while she was kneeling on the ground. And without really paying much mind until now, as soon as Emily’s first leg slipped in and past the fabric, the bottoms felt nothing like street clothes; much too soft for that. The pastel colors she could now see didn’t seem to suit a public appearance so much either. “Joyce? I thought we were going out? Why are you dressing me in stuff I’d sleep in?” Her questioning still didn’t stop her body from stepping in the other leg hole. “Isn’t it easier to just get you dressed in your jammies now?” Joyce didn’t sound to find the topic as interesting as Emily, and was much more complacent with the outfit choice. “Do you not like how it looks?” No, it looked fine, but it was the context that mattered here… Sure, she’d gone outside before in the clothes she slept in, but that was maybe in sweatpants and a top! Not an outfit intentionally marketed as a pajama set! She really did look like someone who was set up for bedtime...And then there was Joyce, the person who looked to be much more suited with interacting with the outside world...But, at the same time, Emily was now truly represented by Joyce. She was the adult...She was the only one who needed to be concerned with business...Emily was supposed to be carried along like this, and be allowed the simple pleasures of letting someone else do all the heavy lifting. She had someone in charge of her outfit, and her social interactions. The lack of freedom in exchange for care had her heart beating fast. Try as she might, she couldn’t refuse how much she was loving this. Joyce took her blush and lack of eye contact as a good sign, and finished pulling the top over her head. The cuffs hugged her at the wrists and waist, and she looked simply precious. Her entire demeanor reflected a small child who needed to be cared for; needed to have things be done for them, and that need was being fulfilled to the utmost. Joyce could only notice it by sound when she moved, but the real cherry on top was the crinkle from Emily’s hidden diaper; the final nail in the coffin which completed everything. The simple white socks came next, and she then ushered the pampered girl out and into the shoe area by the door. And for just a moment while she was lagging behind, Joyce slipped a duplicate key from her pocket and unlocked the door that shrouded countless mysteries. Peering inside, without turning on the light, the sights Joyce could then see were astonishing. It was almost surreal; having so many individual pieces born from fantasy and imagination, suddenly be realized and consolidated; all be brought together and united under one banner of infancy. With all her willpower she forced herself away from the breathtaking sight and closed the door, re-locking it. Had she seen it a day earlier, it wouldn’t have been possible to contain such emotions; such a passion and burning desire to put so many fun toys and devices to their full use. Rearing her head around the corner, Joyce watched Emily’s back as she slipped on her shoes. It was just a sliver, but between her pants and the slightly raised shirt, Joyce could see the beginnings of a white, plastic waistband that contrasted so heavily with the pastel blues and purples she was dressed in, yet complemented the theme so much. “Don’t forget your jacket. I know you’re in some warm clothes now, but I want to be extra prepared.” “If you gave me a chance I was gonna get it,” Emily playfully jabbed. “What flavor are you gonna get this time?” “Hmm...I’m not too sure? I’ve been a fan of vanilla lately.” “And like that she’s fading fast, folks!” Joyce in a distant shout announced to the imaginary audience as she carried Emily in her arms. “It seems not even milkshakes can keep her going! You know, I thought cats like to nap during the day and play all night? You’ve got the napping part down, but not so much the other...Maybe you’re defective?” Emily in a sleepy giggle could only stare back as she collided with cushiony bedding and pillows. Joyce looked at her longingly, reflecting on the mini-speech she planned to use if Emily did stay up too late. It was all in good fun, and to be honest she was just looking for an excuse to tease her. In the time they left and she was putting her to bed, Emily hadn’t felt the need to use the bathroom, and Joyce was expecting that to change at some point...She just hoped Emily wouldn’t be creeping around that night. One, if she’d already used her diaper between sleeping fits, it increased the likelihood of doing it again. And two, she might see things that weren’t supposed to be revealed until the morning… “Don’t let the bed bugs bite, Emmy!” Joyce kept her voice low, so not to disturb the already slumbering girl, and for the first time fully closed the door on her way out, rather than just stopping right before the end. She opened the door to the room she checked on before they left, and was just as pleased with the results, only that much more now that the lights were on. “Let’s get to work...” Joyce started to move a few things around; rearranging things here and there. She even went forward with the task of moving a few things outside of the room and into other areas of the apartment. Each and every item she moved on to, it was a reminder of how far she and Emily had come; how much progress they had made, and how much closer they’d grown together. Not only as a mother and child, but as significant others who could not do without the other. All the waiting and patience was worth the look she’d see on Emily’s face in the morning; the raw emotion that would burst from within. It would only be the beginning, and it was surely going to get better. By no means had they cleared all obstacles, but the net gain would be positively glorious. It took a good forty-five minutes before Joyce was satisfied with her work, and she could bring the night to an end by closing the door, though not locking it this time. She checked her phone for the time, and let out a sigh as she knew she’d need to get up early tomorrow. The whole day would just be her and Emily, and it would all be about her special little girl. Quickly throwing something to sleep in on, Joyce reeled back her covers and could start to feel herself sinking into the mattress almost immediately. The clock nearby read 12:01 AM. Happy birthday, Emily. Gasp! Another update so soon? Had this one ready, and figured why not. On top of that, I made a small mistake with my closing comment on the last post. Apparently the last chapter was already the one both websites were at, so I guess now they're being updated together. As always, thanks for reading and let me know what you thought!

Here's the next part, more Gwen for you! If you would like to, I put up a small poll to vote for your favorite character: http://www.strawpoll.me/12926029 Miss Michelle got a vote before Lisa did! Part 25It turned out that Gwen rode a motorcycle, a great big loud one. Honestly, when she started it up it was terrifying. She had on a pair of shorts under her skirt, which she hiked up while climbing on to the bike. I had asked her why she wore a skirt at all, she had just smiled and said because she wanted to. In a way, I envied her - she knew exactly who she was and what she wanted and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her from pursuing it. Of course, she looked like she could knock a person's head off with a well placed punch, so that probably helped with the self-confidence.The park was pretty packed, there were lots of Amazon mommies and a few daddies wandering around with their Littles. Thankfully April changed me in the trunk of the car before we came here, there were a lot more people here than there had been near the restaurant. I was very thankful for her investment into the diaper bag. April still had me drinking 4 of those huge bottles each day, and I seemed to be wet basically all the time. Messes were still very unpleasant, but April worked to make sure I never had to deal with it for long.April carried me on her hip to a rare clear bench in the crowded park.. well, crowded was probably an overstatement. There was still room to play, but most of the seating was occupied and there were at least a dozen Littles running around. Gwen and April took a spot on the bench and set me down on my feet."Okay, sweetie - go and play, we'll be right here if you need us," April smiled at me and linked hands with Gwen, "Remember, you're trying to learn how to interact with other Littles, try to remember that you're a Little yourself and don't fight it. Just have fun."Just have fun, I thought, that should be easy, right? Because I've done such a great job of it so far.I nodded and toddled off toward the playground. It was huge, the centerpiece was a giant "tree trunk" made of plastic that was hollowed out and had a ladder inside. The treetop was a platform that led to slides and other platforms and was enclosed by large bars so no one could fall. It was probably twenty feet tall... it had four slides and various staircases coming out of the platforms, one straight, one tube, one long and twisty, and one that looked bumpy. The treetop seemed to be the popular place, there were several Littles running around up there, laughing and going down the slide just to climb up again via the stairs or the treetrunk. That looked too busy to me, so I wandered over to a large sandbox where it seemed like more calm Littles were playing. I sat down next to a girl who was wearing a pair of shortalls over a pink shirt and a cute butterfly sun hat."Hi, I'm Kimmy. Can I play with you?" I asked, honestly unsure how I should proceed."Hi Kimmy, I'm Susie," she smiled at me. She had shoulder length blonde hair, pulled into a side ponytail. Her smile looked sleepy and there was something wrong with her blue eyes, they looked a little cloudy, "I'm building a castle. Wanna help?""Okay," I agreed. Her "castle" was a couple of mounds of sand with a stick poking out of the top of one, but this seemed like a nice calm thing to play, so I started digging a moat."So Susie," I started, trying to find a way to start a conversation, "What's your favorite food?""Mommy milk," Susie giggled, "It makes me feel tingly." She didn't even look up from scooping the sand as she talked. "Do you like mommy milk?""My mommy doesn't breastfeed me," I conceded, "But I want to ask her to.""It's the best," Susie assured me, "Better than anything else ever ever.""How old are you?""11 months," Susie answered without a pause."No, I mean... how old were you before you came here?""I'm 11 months," she frowned, "I don't before." Her face scrunched and her second sentence came out broken."You don't before?"Susie climbed to all fours and went red in the face. I sat puzzled for a moment, and then the smell hit me."Did you just..?" I asked, concerned."Before make my head hurt," she complained, "Need milk." And she started crawling off, leaving me with a lump of sand with a trench dug halfway around it. I looked around, unsure of what to do next. Susie seemed to have some sort of block preventing her from talking about her previous life. I started to wonder if maybe that subject wasn't a great one to cover with other Littles. April had said that most of us were damaged, I knew that was true for me but maybe I was less damaged than most? I knew that in the other place I didn't love myself and I didn't feel loved, but it didn't hurt to think about.I stood up and went to find someone else to play with. There was a group of Littles playing tag, but that looked too rough, I didn't want to get shoved. I walked over toward the swingset, it was nothing but those baby swings that a Little would need help getting in or out of. There were three swings on the swingset, two were occupied by squealing Littles being pushed by Amazons, one daddy and one mommy. They looked happy... I wondered what that felt like.As I was pondering that question, I felt someone scoop me up from behind and I started to panic."No!" I kicked my feet, realizing how helpless I was. Was I being kidnapped!?"Whoa there," Gwen's smooth voice came from behind me, "I didn't mean to scare you, tater tot. You looked like you wanted to swing, may I push you?""Gwen!" relief flooded my body as she flipped me around to face her, "Yes please," I blushed, "it looks fun."It was, actually. It was a lot of fun. Gwen slid me gently into the baby swing, which was comfier than I expected thanks to the padding of the diaper, and she pulled me way, way back before letting me fly forward. I was flying through the air, it was basically a thrill ride with the push she gave me. I reached ten feet in the air easily at the apex before swinging back again to feel her strong hands on my back again. I couldn't remember the last time someone had pushed me on a swing, and I laughed gleefully as I gripped the chains. It was scary at first, but once I surrendered and trusted Gwen, it was fun. She wasn't going to let anything happen to me and she wouldn't be pushing me this way if she thought it was dangerous. I started waving to April who was still sitting on the bench at the height of the forward swing."Hi Mommy!" I waved vigorously, "Hi Mommy! Hi Mommy!" I laughed, greeting her each time I reached the end of the forward swing before returning to Gwen."Okay, tater tot," Gwen laughed and scooped me out of the swing, "Why don't you go play tag with those Littles over there?""I don't wanna get shoved," I frowned, cuddling into Gwen's arms. "That looks too rough.""Oh, are you a delicate porcelain doll?" Gwen tickled me with her calloused left hand, "Are you going to break?""No!" I laughed, squirming, "I just don't wanna get hurt.""If you never risk getting hurt, you miss out on a lot in life, Kimmy. Give it a shot for me? If you fall down, if you get hurt, I'll be there to pick you up. Okay?"I nodded and Gwen carried me over to the Littles who were playing tag. It looked to be two girls and three boys, only one of the girls was wearing a skirt besides me."Can Kimmy come play tag with you?" Gwen asked the group of Littles."Okay!" one of the girls responded, "but she's it!" She giggled and started running away.Gwen set me on my feet and I chased after her. I never even noticed Gwen wandering off, I was focused on the game. And it was fun, we were all full grown adults running as hard and as fast as we could. Everyone seemed to be in great shape, and if you fell on your butt you had a cushion ready to break your fall. There were lots of laughs and I was 'it' many times before April called me away. Playing something as simple as tag was surprisingly fun if you let it be, adults didn't get to run as hard as they could with no fear of consequences and nothing to gain but fun very often.When April called, I said goodbye to the other Littles and wandered off.. the group had grown and shrunk during the game, many faces had changed but the fun had stayed the same. I hugged April's legs when I got back to the bench."That was fun," I admitted, "More fun than I thought.""I'm glad you had fun, sweetie. Are you wet?""A little," I admitted. I had to pause at one point to go during the game of tag, which had made me 'it' again. It hardly seemed fair."You're very fast," Gwen complimented me, "you looked like you were having a lot of fun. Did you make any new friends?""It was fun! They're all my friends now.""What are your new friends' names?""Um," I thought about it, I hadn't actually caught anyone's name but they were definitely my friends. I'd play with them again happily. "I don't know!" I laughed, realizing how silly it was to have a friend whose name you didn't know."We need to go home, Kimmy," April said, stroking my cheek, "we need to get some dinner in you and get you to bed, it's getting close to your bedtime.""Let me help you get her in the car," Gwen offered. April agreed and she grabbed me by the ankles and carried me upside-down to the car, I was kicking my feet and laughing the whole way."Stop! You're showing everyone my diaper!" I complained, but my protest was just met with tickling fingers. Wetting my diaper while upside-down was certainly a new experience, but thankfully it was only a little and nothing leaked.I was panting as Gwen buckled me into the carseat and popped a pacifier she grabbed off the seat in my mouth."I had a lot of fun with you today," she smiled at me, "I hope we can play again. Is it okay with you if I kiss your mommy again?"I nodded, both to the hope for another playtime and to her affection for April. I felt very honored that she wanted my permission. Gwen was a good person. She didn't have to ask me anything, I was just a Little and had no say over who April kissed... but she knew how important April was to me and she asked me anyway. It was incredibly sweet.I watched as Gwen drew April close and gave her a long, loving kiss, sliding her fingers through April's hair. April wrapped her arms around the taller woman, one hand at the shoulder and one hand at the waist. They were both incredibly feminine as they embraced and I smiled at how happy they both seemed. A part of me wanted to kiss April like that, but I think I knew that I could never make her feel quite the way that Gwen did. Gwen could make her feel small and protected, Gwen could be both powerful and soft at the same time. I could make her feel needed and loved, but I could never make her feel protected. Our love was different than her affection for Gwen. I... didn't feel jealous of Gwen. She provided something that I couldn't, and she couldn't provide what I did. It felt like there was enough April for both of us... and there was something very comforting about the way Gwen held me too.I yawned in the carrier, hoping I would get to see Gwen again soon. She was something special.After their kissing was concluded, Gwen rode off on her motorcycle, promising to see April again soon."Well sweetie, this was a pretty good day, huh? Let's go eat some dinner and get you to bed. I've got to go to the studio again tomorrow, so we've both got a big day."Tomorrow was going to be a LittleGarden day for me.